ã€ŠKuma Kuma Kuma Bearã€‹


 Chapter 1 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Equipment Getto Da Ze!

    Chapter 1 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Equipment Getto Da Ze!

    The long-awaited update has arrived.

    World¡¯s first VRMMO fantasy RPG.

    Many races, various professions, many skills, a game with a wide variety of ystyles.

    After being on the market for a year, a major update ising today.

    It has been three years since my social withdrawal, I¡¯m 15 years old now.

    I came across this game a year ago. It¡¯s called World Fantasy Online.

    A fantasy game with a sense of reality.

    I started ying a year ago. It is a life of gaming without school.

    Sleep? I sleep properly for 8 hours a day.

    I also get sleepy.

    First is sleep, second is delicious food, third is gaming.

    School?

    Like I would go to such a foolish ce.

    I own stocks in alchemy in this world.

    I just deposit money and it steadily increases.

    Such a simple game.

    If you sell information the money keeps increasing even more.

    My parents said that school is a ce to make friends.

    Are friends delicious?

    Parents were too noisy, but after handing them 100 million yen, they went silent.

    They didn¡¯te home anymore.

    I bet they are ying around with my money.

    When they run out, they will probablye back for more.

    So I decided to move to a luxury apartment in a secret.

    It¡¯s farewell to my parents.

    I¡¯m 15 years old, I got money, I can also cook. There¡¯s no problem even if I live alone.

    I can do myundry inunderette so it¡¯s OK.

    Today I will start the game with this update for the first time.

    The maintenance isplete.

    The maintenance has beenpleted without a dy, I enter the game at once.

    ¡¸Wee back, Yuna-sama. Would you like me to tell you about the new update?¡¹

    When I enter the game a woman in maid outfit guides me.

    When you begin the game for the first time, you are able to select either male or female as your guide.

    I chose a cute maid without hesitation.

    Butler is good, but I like maids more.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not necessary. Start as soon as possible please¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. Let¡¯s start with the update¡¯s campaign then¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s such a thing?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s a present item for yers with a year of gamey¡¹

    ¡¸Really!¡¹

    If it¡¯s a y time, I won¡¯t lose to anyone.

    I¡¯m not a hikikomori for a show.

    ¡¸Then, please choose your favorite item from this present box¡¹

    When the maid said so, a countless of treasure chests has appeared.

    As far as I see, treasure chest, treasure chest, treasure chest. There are countless of chests.

    ¡¸Choose from all of this?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please choose your favourite¡¹

    She said to choose, but this number of chests...

    Endless room with a unlimited number of treasure chests.

    Worrying won¡¯t solve the problem, so I decided to simply choose the chest under the maid¡¯s feet.

    All the other treasure chests disappeared when I took the one chest in my hands.

    It seems I¡¯m not able to reselect anymore.

    When I open the treasure chest...

    ¡¸What the hell is this©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`¡¹

    Item name: Bear set

    Right hand ck bear glove (Non-transferable)

    Left hand White bear glove (Non-transferable)

    Right foot ck bear Shoe (Non-transferable)

    Left foot White bear Shoe (Non-transferable)

    ck and White bear dress (Reverse feature, a different color in the front and back. Non-transferable)

    I wanted to wear it but stopped because of its ridiculous looks.

    I can¡¯t wear this even in the game.

    Even though I¡¯m a hikikomori without any friends, I can¡¯t wear something so embarrassing.

    Even transfer is impossible, I can only put it in the item box to rott.

    Anyway, let¡¯s confirm its effect just in case.

    ck bear¡¯s glove

    A glove of Attack, attack improves as level increases.

    White bear¡¯s glove

    A glove of Defense, defense improves as level increases.

    ck bear¡¯s shoe, White bear¡¯s shoe

    Increases speed depending on the level of the user.

    The user won¡¯t get tired of walking for long period of time.

    ck bear¡¯s Dress (Front)

    Increases physical and magic resistance depending on the level of the user.

    Heat resistance. Cold-proof.

    White bear¡¯s Dress (Back)

    Automatic stamina and mana regeneration when worn.

    Recovery amount depends on the level of user.

    Heat resistance. Cold-proof.

    What is this cheat power, I would be invincible if worn at my level.

    But I don¡¯t have the courage to equip this costume.

    But its power is going to waste.

    ¡¸U~n¡¹

    If I endure the embarrassment I will get strength, I¡¯m troubled.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing¡¹

    Well, I will not equip it at the moment, let¡¯s think about itter.

    ¡¸Please start the game¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s still a survey¡¹

    ¡¸What a hassle¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s a survey exclusively for customers who¡¯ve yed for a long time¡¹

    ¡¸Can¡¯t be helped¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Is World Fantasy Online more fun than reality?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course it¡¯s fun. Reality is boring¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have someone important in real world?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmph, I don¡¯t have such a thing¡¹

    Parents are mad for money, I don¡¯t go to school so I don¡¯t have any friends.

    ¡¸Do you have a best friend in real world?¡¹

    ¡¸No! These questions are really unpleasant¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have any important things in real world?¡¹

    It continues asking questions without minding words.

    ¡¸Maybe money~¡¹

    ???????????

    ??????????

    ?????????

    ????????

    ???????

    ??????

    ?????

    ????

    ???

    ??

    ?

    The questions continue.

    Just how many questions do you have?

    ¡¸Do you believe in god?¡¹

    ¡¸Religion? Of course, I don¡¯t believe in it. I believe only your own power¡¹

    ¡¸Last question, do you think the Bear outfit is cute?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s cute. However, I don¡¯t think I will wear it¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. Thank you for answering the survey¡¹

    The room bes dazzlingly bright.

    ¡¸Please enjoy your stay in the new world¡¹

 Chapter 2 â€“ Bear-san Meets a Girl

    Chapter 2 ¨C Bear-san Meets a Girl

    I opened my eyes.

    It was not My home. (When you enter the game you are transferred to your home)

    I was inside an unknown forest.

    The equipment was the bear.

    Both hands, both feet, the dress.

    It¡¯s the Bear set I got from the campaign.

    It¡¯s suddenly equipped, what¡¯s this punishment game.

    But, it¡¯s unexpectedlyfortable to wear..

    When I look at my hand, I see a bear puppet glove.

    I try to move its mouth.

    It¡¯s unexpectedly cute.

    I look around, but nobody is here.

    For the time being, I¡¯m relieved that no one is here to see me in this embarrassing appearance.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s change my clothes first¡¹

    It¡¯s not possible to change equipment while not being in My home.

    I try to take out items out of item box, but the item box doesn¡¯t open.

    A bug?

    It¡¯s troublesome, but let¡¯s try relogging.

    ¡¸Why?..¡¹

    Logout screen does not appear.

    I was trying to contact the few friends in my little Friend list, but the screen does not appear.

    For now, in order to figure out my location, let¡¯s open the Map screen.

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    The Map screen doesn¡¯t appear.

    ¡¸Hey, what is going on?¡¹

    I try the status screen.

    This appeared.

    Name: Yuna

    Level: 1

    Skills: Different worldnguage, Different world character

    ¡¸What¡¯s this~~~¡¹

    Update errors?

    ¡¸Oi, administrators what is happening. The character I raised for one year is now level 1, I want apensation¡¹

    Nope, I return my original character, I don¡¯t need money.

    I hear ¡®Chiror?n¡¯ sound

    It¡¯s the sound of receiving a mail.

    I thought it was the ¡®We are sorry¡¯ mail from the administration, so I try to look at email screen, but it does not appear.

    ¡¸How do I read this?¡¹

    An email screen opened before my eyes when I thought so.

    Sender: God

    Yuna-chan, congrattions.

    As a result of the survey, you were selected.

    p p p p

    The ce you are in is not the game world.

    It¡¯s the world that I manage.

    In other words, a different world.

    I will have you live in this world.

    Of course, because it would be bad to leave you naked, I gave you a bear outfit as a present.

    There are also other gifts, good luck looking for them.

    ¡¸Is this a new event?¡¹

    First, let¡¯s look for other yers because I don¡¯t understand.

    Different world, what novel is this from.

    In reality, something like that can¡¯t happen.

    Which delusional pervert¡¯s work is this?

    The problem is that I don¡¯t know my current location.

    I¡¯m level 1, if I¡¯m attacked by a monster I will die.

    If I die, will I return to My home?

    For now, let¡¯s leave the forest.

    However, being without a weapon is troubling.

    The only thing I got is a bear puppet that opens its mouth.

    While walking in the forest for a while I found a Cypress wooden stick with a good length.

    I hold it in bear¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸I wonder if I can use this instead a weapon?¡¹

    It¡¯s better than being empty-handed, I decided to take it.

    I feel like a hero equipped with a stick.

    While walking through the forest, looking like a bear with a stick in hands, a Wolfe has appeared.

    Wolfe is a wolf-like monster that normally appears in the vicinity of newbie towns.

    I wanted to confirm its status, but the status screen won¡¯t appear.

    Wolfe differs with levels.

    It should be weak, but I¡¯m not sure if I can take it down with my stick.

    At least it¡¯s only one animal and not a whole pack.

    I hold the stick like a sword. Wolfees running and jumps straight at me.

    I avoid sideways like I always do in the game and fling the stick the wooden stick into the side of the Wolfe.

    It would be cut in half if I had a sword.

    The Wolfe cried ¡ºkyain¡» in tearful voice and stopped moving.

    It was unexpectedly defeated with a single blow.

    Is this Cypress stick of the hero?

    I raise the stick to the sky.

    Well, joking aside.

    Huh?

    I watch the Wolfe, but there¡¯s no change.

    Although I defeated it, it does not change into an item.

    When a monster dies, it disappears and item drops.

    Normally the Wolfe drops meat, fur or Magic stone if your luck is good. This Wolfe doesn¡¯t disappear. I poke it with the stick, it does not move.

    It¡¯s dead without a doubt.

    Is the email I got earlier for real?

    Is this really a different world?

    Let¡¯s leave from here for now.

    Wolfe¡¯s blood is in the air, other monsters may be attracted to its smell.

    As you¡¯d expect I don¡¯t have the knowledge of dismantling Wolfe in reality.

    It¡¯s unlikely that it would be possible with the game and novel knowledge.

    I walked for a while since I defeated the Wolfe, but there¡¯s no end to this forest.

    ¡¸I¡¯m hungry~¡¹

    Item box doesn¡¯t open so I can¡¯t get any food.

    No, it¡¯s possible that the food is not edible if it¡¯s not a game world.

    I need to find people before monsters kill me or I end up starving to death.

    I walk a long distance in the forest, but there¡¯s no fatigue.

    Is this thanks to the bear shoes?

    They are embarrassing, but convenient shoes.

    ¡¸Somebody, help me...¡¹

    It¡¯s a person¡¯s voice.

    It may be dangerous, but it¡¯s the first time I hear another person. I head towards the voice aware of the danger.

    In a while I¡¯m near the ce.

    A little girl fell down. Three wolves are chasing her.

    The little girl loses strength in her legs and can¡¯t stand up.

    I pick up three stones that lie on the ground while running.

    I grab it firmly in ck bears mouth.

    I throw the stone to get their attention. Throw. Throw.

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    The stone hits the Wolfe.

    A blood scatters from three wolves and they fell down.

    I did not think it would hit.

    I wonder if this bear corrected the trajectory?

    I move the bear¡¯s mouth pakupaku.

    The wolves died so I approach the girl.

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    I speak to a ck-haired girl around the age of 10.

    Such character can¡¯t be selected so she must be an NPC.

    ¡¸Th, thank you very much?¡¹

    ¡¸Why a question?¡¹

    ¡¸Will you eat me?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t eat you¡¹

    ¡¸Are you Bear-san?¡¹

    I remember my appearance.

    I take off the hoodie of the lovely bear suit.

    ¡¸Now it¡¯s alright¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yes¡¹

    I tried to see the girl¡¯s status, but the screen did not appear.

    NPC¡¯s should have information about them but she does not, is this a bug or really a different world?

    When I see the wolves bloody corpses, the reality hits me.

    I¡¯ll talk to the little girl for the time being.

    ¡¸You alone?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yes, Okaa-san is sick so I went to search for medicinal herbs¡¹

    ¡¸A small girl like you?¡¹

    ¡¸I have no money. I can¡¯t afford to buy herbs in the city so I went to forest to get some. Then I was attacked by a Wolfe pack¡¹

    ¡¸If you came from the city, is there a city nearby?¡¹

    Un, good information getto.

    ¡¸Un, there is. Onee-chan didn¡¯te from Kurimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸I came from slightly far away. I will guard you to the city, won¡¯t you guide me there?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, okay¡¹

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go¡¹

    When I was about to start walking.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, you will leave the Wolfe corpses like this?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t dismantle them and can¡¯t take them whole with me¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a waste. Wolfe fur and meat is popr, magic stones too. It¡¯s quite cheap but it sells¡¹

    ¡¸You can dismantle?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I can¡¹

    ¡¸Then, please. We can divide the money equally. I would be saved too¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I can¡¯t dismantle and I will need money when I enter the city, it would be helpful¡¹

    ¡¸Un, understood¡¹

    The girl takes out a little knife and starts dismantling the corpses.

    ¡¸You are quite good at this¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I sometimes help with work¡¹

    Shortly after three Wolfe bodies were dismantled by the hand of a little girl.

    Fur, meat and magic stone were dismantled beautifully.

    We divided the luggage between us.

    It¡¯s hard without an item box.

    Even though in the game it would be inserted in item box with just a touch.

    ¡¸Is the city near?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, it¡¯s near. That¡¯s why I went to get the herbs¡¹

    ¡¸So? Did you find the herbs?¡¹

    ¡¸I found them. I was attacked when I was returning¡¹

    ¡¸Then, shall we go...¡¹

    I tried to call her name but remembered that I haven¡¯t asked her name yet.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Fina¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna. Then Fina, let¡¯s go¡¹

    After walking for a while through the forest I could see town walls in the distance.

    Oh, it¡¯s unexpectedlyrge.

    The height of these walls is so big that it could be seen from such a distance.

    With those there, the monsters wouldn¡¯t attack.

    While walking to the city I was able to ask Fina various things.

    This city isn¡¯t the one of the cities from the game world I know.

    This is not one of the resurrection points cities that yers use.

    There is possibility that this city was added in the new update, but the possibility that this is a game world

    lowers while listening to Fina¡¯s stories.

    Let¡¯s believe that I can get some good information once I get in the city.

    If there isn¡¯t even one yer, I may be convinced that this is indeed a different world.

    To enter the city an Identification or Guild card is necessary.

    When I say that I don¡¯t have one, Fina lends me her Guild card.

    But to enter the town, I must pay one Silver coin, they seem to check for criminal presence. She told me.

    Because I haven¡¯tmitted a crime, it should be all right.

    We are still quite far from the city entrance so I verify my status.

    Oh, my level has risen.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 3

    Skills: Different worldnguage, Different world letters, Dimensional box of the bear

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    White bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    ck bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    White bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear suit (Non-transferable)

    Oya?

    There¡¯s a new skill.

    I read the description.

    Dimensional box of the bear

    The space within the White bear¡¯s mouth is infinite. It eats anything (you insert).

    However, it can¡¯t eat living beings.

    Time stops for eaten things.

    It seems like I¡¯ve gotten myself something like an item box.

    In the game when food is put in the item box, it doesn¡¯t rot.

    If it¡¯s like this, is this the game world after all?

    But this function is attached to the bear.

    ¡¸N?¡¹

    The item box is empty as I thought, but it seems like there is money.

    It also contains a piece of paper.

    I remove the paper from the mouth of the White bear and read.

    (I brought you the money which you valued in your original world. Of course, because you can¡¯t use that money here, I exchanged it into this world¡¯s currency -God)

    I¡¯m grateful, but this tip the scales in favor of the different world.

    If this is really a different world, money will be helpful.

    That¡¯s because the thing I believe the most in the world is money.

    I confirm that there is an ungodly amount of money in my box.

    But, with this amount couldn¡¯t I stay indoors for my whole life in this world too?

    Let¡¯s think about it after getting in the city.

 Chapter 3 â€“ Bear-san Haggles

    Chapter 3 ¨C Bear-san Haggles

    After we arrived at the front gate, we were greeted by a guard.

    His eyes were looking straight at me.

    I then remember my appearance; I have Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear on.

    Even if I changed my expression, I don¡¯t think he would stop staring.

    I shouldn¡¯t look suspicious; Fina told me that it looks cute.

    Personally I think it¡¯s too cute, to the point of being embarrassing.

    It would be cute if someone about Fina¡¯s age wore it.

    However, it doesn¡¯t suit a hikikomori like me.

    Even though I call it cute, I would prefer it if I wasn¡¯t seen wearing it.

    ?¡¸You¡¯re the youngdy who was going to look for herbs! Did you find anything??¡¹

    ?

    ¡¸Yes~!¡¹

    Fina answers happily.

    ¡¸That¡¯s good. I hope you kept your promise and didn¡¯t venture too far into the forest. There are monsters in the forest after all...¡¹

    A wry smile appeared on my face.

    ¡¸So, who is this weird looking youngdy??¡¹

    ¡¸I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t ask too much.¡¹

    ?

    ¡¸Well, each person has their own circumstances. Regardless, you¡¯ll have to let me see your card before you can enter?.¡¹

    Fina showed her identification card to the guard.

    It¡¯s the one she had shown me on the way here.

    Entering is free if you¡¯re a resident, but visitors must pay a tax of one silver coin to enter.

    ¡¸I¡¯m on a journey.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you traveling alone looking like that??¡¹

    I show him the bear and moved its mouth. *Paku Paku*

    ¡¸For the time being?.¡¹

    That was the only answer I could give.

    ¡¸Identification?¡¹

    One word came out from the guard¡¯s mouth.

    The problem is, I didn¡¯t have anything like that.

    ?¡¸I don¡¯t have one. I can enter by paying a silver coin though, right??¡¹

    ¡¸You...don¡¯t have one? A card from any city is okay. A guild card is fine too.¡¹

    ¡¸I lived in a ce without identification cards.?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s....unusual?.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, not really.¡¹

    ¡¸So, can I go in?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, non-residents can go in when they pay the tax of one silver coin. Anyone without identification will get a background check...but I guess there¡¯s no problem if it¡¯s your first time in the city.¡¹

    I pass the guard a silver coin that had been taken out of the White Bear¡¯s mouth beforehand.

    ¡¸Then, please follow me to the examination room?.¡¹

    Since I hadn¡¯tmitted any crimes sinceing to this world, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems. Of course, I was clean in my original world as well.

    It¡¯s true.

    I¡¯m taken by the guard to a building near the gate.

    Are those the barracks that often appear in fantasy novels?

    There was a reception desk in front of me when I entered, and the guard ced a crystal on it.

    ¡¸ce your hand on this crystal. If you are a criminal then it will turn red?.¡¹

    ¡¸Only cing my hand on it is enough??¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it will react to your magic.¡¹

    I ced my hand on the crystal, but there was no response.

    ¡¸Looks like everything is okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really able to tell with only this?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t even know about this? Really? Just where did youe from??¡¹

    ¡¸A vige far away?.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will give you an exnation. This crystal is connected to crystals all over the country. When a person is living in a city and a baby is born, an identification card will be issued and their inherent magic registered at the same time. This is done in the Capital as well as other cities. With that, one could figure out the person¡¯s ce of origin.¡¹

    I wonder if it¡¯s something like a resident registration.

    ¡¸And when a crime ismitted, it¡¯s possible to register that data into the crystal te. As a result, the criminal won¡¯t be able to enter any cities or the Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸What happens when counterfeit cards are used? Or if I used someone else¡¯s card?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible. Cards are made to react to a specific magical power. They don¡¯t respond to magical power that isn¡¯t registered on the card.¡¹

    Something like a magical fingerprint I guess.

    ¡¸But if you haven¡¯t done magic registration, that system bes useless, no?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s very rare. As I said before, it won¡¯t happen to people who were born in cities or in the Capital. Something like that can happen only to vigers and the like. People like that rarelymit felonies.¡¹

    That...may be true.

    ¡¸That¡¯s all for my exnation. Do you want to know anything else? If not, you can enter the city now.¡¹

    I say my thanks and leave the room. Fina had waited for me.

    I pat Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, was everything okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, everything is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go to the guild to sell the Wolfe parts?!¡¹

    The inside of the city resembled the ones from the game, but I felt like something was...different.

    And for some reason everyone was looking at me.

    Was it because I was an outsider?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna¡¯s outfit stands out?.¡¹

    ...I forgot.

    That my appearance was that of a bear.

    I don¡¯t even have to say that all of the people we had passed by on our way to our destination had looked at me.

    I was taken to an inn-like ce that was next to a veryrge building.

    There were adventurers with swords and wands inside.

    The status screen didn¡¯t show up, so I wasn¡¯t sure if they were yers or not.

    I¡¯d like to check, but for now I¡¯ll follow Fina.

    ¡¸We can haggle here. Excuse me, I¡¯d like to sell some Wolfe materials?!¡¹

    Fina is talking to the man behind the counter.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you Fina? What brought you here at such time??¡¹

    ?

    ¡¸I came to sell material?s!¡¹

    Fina put the material onto the counter.

    I did the same.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this Wolfe meat and fur? What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸When I went to pick herbs outside, I was attacked by wolves, and big sis here saved me!¡¹

    ¡¸You went to the forest?!?¡¹

    The reception guy shouted.

    ¡¸Un, because mother run out of herbs?.¡¹

    ¡¸I have said it many times, and I¡¯ll say it again: If you need herbs then I¡¯ll give them to you?!¡¹

    ¡¸But, I can¡¯t keep asking Uncle Gentz. I don¡¯t have any money?...¡¹

    ¡¸I said it¡¯s okay. If something happens to you, what will I say to your mother?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I have been to the forest several times.¡¹

    ¡¸But you were attacked by a Wolfe today. Then this, uh, weird bear helped you out? Young girl, thank you for saving Fina.¡¹

    He expressed his gratitude with difficulty after seeing my appearance.

    ¡¸ Uun, I had lost my way so we helped each other out.¡¹

    ¡¸ I want to thank you properly, so I¡¯ll purchase these materials at a good price, how about it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹

    The man examined the Wolfe materials.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see...meat and fur. About this much for this quantity.¡¹

    Gentz-san put the money in front of us.

    I have no idea if it was a fair price or not.

    ¡¸Yes, thank you!¡¹

    Fina epted happily.

    She handed me half of the received money.

    ¡¸Fina, if I give you this money, will you show me a good inn? I don¡¯t know anything about this city since it¡¯s my first time here. We¡¯ll give the herbs to your mother first though, I guess.¡¹

    I remembered the reason I had found Fina in the forest.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s a good inn on the way, I¡¯ll guide you!¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina! Don¡¯t do anything dangerous anymore. Just tell me if you need medicine.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I understand.¡¹

    We start walking after Fina had replied.

    ¡¸The man just now, was he your acquaintance?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m always in his care. Sometimes, when there are a lot of monsters around, I help with his work.¡¹

    I see, so that was the reason she was so good at skinning.

    ¡¸So when he found out about my mother¡¯s illness, he sold me medicine and herbs at a really cheap price. asionally he gave me some for free. But I can¡¯t ask for medicine every time...¡¹

    That¡¯s why she went to the forest alone this time.

    I would like to do something for Fina, but it¡¯s impossible for now.

    I¡¯m kind of in the same boat.

    ¡¸This is it. Everyone says that the food there is delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. You should hurry and take the medicine to your mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, thank you big sis!¡¹

    Fina started running.

    When I walked up to the inn, a good smell tickled my nose.

    The sun was setting. Yup, it was time for dinner.

    A delicious meal could be expected.

    I gave in to the temptation of delicious food and entered the inn.

    When I went in, a girl in her teens looked at me with surprise.

    Every single time! People have the same reaction...that¡¯s troublesome.

    Since I have money now, I should probably buy some normal-looking protective gear.

    ¡¸Wel, wee?¡¹

    The girl looked at me as she spoke in soft voice.

    ¡¸I want to stay the night.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s okay. Are you alone?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I¡¯m alone. Is that bad?¡¹

    If you need to be with parents to stay overnight, where will I stay?

    ¡¸Of course not. Breakfast and dinner is one silver coin. It¡¯s half a silver coin without the meal.¡¹

    Apparently I can stay overnight without any problems.

    ¡¸Then I will stay for 10 days with meals.¡¹

    ¡¸The bath is open from 6pm to 10pm.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s a bath!??¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we have a bath. There are separate male and female baths, so please rest assured.¡¹

    A wonderful miscalction. I never thought there would be a bath in this inn too.

    ¡¸ Can I eat immediately?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    After listening to the girl, I took out 10 silver pieces from the White Bear¡¯s mouth.

    The moment the girls received the money, she grasped the ck Bear.

    ¡¸Waa, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s so cute! 10 days with meals, done. The meal for tonight will be prepared immediately so please go find a seat and wait. Ah yes, I¡¯m the daughter of the owner, Elena. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna. I will be in your care.¡¹

 Chapter 4 â€“ Bear-san Looks At Herself In The Mirror orz

    Chapter 4

    Satisfied with the delicious meal, I was guided to a room on the second floor.

    I had to thank Fina. She had guided me from the forest to the city and had showed me an inn with great food.

    She was my benefactor.

    ¡¸The bath is vacant now, so it¡¯s okay to enter. However, please don¡¯t stay in there for too long. There are a lot of people waiting.¡¹

    ¡¸Roger.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, breakfast is from 6am to 8am. You won¡¯t get any if you arete so please be careful.¡¹

    Elena left after her brief exnation.

    I, who was left alone, stepped into the room.

    It was a single room, so it wasn¡¯t that wide.

    It was only big enough to fit a bed and a small desk.

    I had an item box, so my luggage wouldn¡¯t get in the way. If it was just for sleeping then this room was sufficient.

    When I looked around the room, I noticed a mirror on the wall.

    I confirmed my appearance once more.

    orz

    Embarrassing.

    It was Bear-san, without a doubt.

    Girls sometimes wore these Bear clothes as pajamas at home.

    I went outside dressed like this. Mou, I¡¯m too embarrassed to show my face outside again.

    When I gathered enough strength to look at the mirror again, I noticed something strange.

    ¡¸My real face...¡¹

    The face reflected in the mirror was my real face.

    The outline was the same as the in-game face, but my hairstyle and hair color were different.

    I had silver-colored twintails in the game.

    The mirror showed long, straight ck hair that had grown to the waist. I was a hikikomori, so I didn¡¯t go to troublesome ces like beauty salons. Because of that, my hair had gradually grown long.

    Since having a hairstyle was also troublesome, it had remained straight.

    My real face, hair color, and hairstyle were reflected in the mirror.

    My in-game height had also been raised by approximately 10cm from my real height. However, when I checked my height, it was, without a doubt, my real height.

    I¡¯m not short.

    I¡¯m just a little shorter than average.

    It¡¯s true.

    Even though I didn¡¯t like it, with this I was convinced that this wasn¡¯t a game world.

    Somewhere in my heart I had wished for this to be a game world, so when I came to the conclusion that this was a real world I was momentarily shocked. At least, until I noticed that there was no reason to be shocked.

    My parents were good-for-nothings, I didn¡¯t have any friends, and, of course, I didn¡¯t have a best friend.

    The only thing I had left in Japan was the money I had gained through stocks. However, ording to God¡¯s letter, all of that money had been converted into this world¡¯s currency.

    The only things I regretted leaving in Japan were the entertainment and food.

    However, there was probably a lot of entertaining things to do in this world, and the food in this inn was delicious.

    I could stay indoor if I wanted to, but this world unfortunately had no inte or television.

    Oh well. If I think of this world as a game, it¡¯s probably better to travel to various ces and enjoy it.

    I felt happy while thinking about it.

    ¡¸Okay. I will prepare for tomorrow, take a bath, and go to bed.¡¹

    I asked Elena how to use the bathroom, since I may have shamed myself if I didn¡¯t ask.

    It was better to ask about things you weren¡¯t sure about.

    I was surprised by a jewel-like magic stone that produced hot water, but, aside from that, there was no real difference whenpared to an ordinary bathroom.

    After Elena left the bathroom, I started undressing in the changing room. I removed the bear gloves and the bear suit.

    orz

    After taking off the bear clothes, I was in my underwear.

    I was only dressed in panties and a bra...

    I walked around the city like this.

    At least give me a shirt.

    That reminded me, I need to buy spare underwear.

    After taking off the bear clothes, I removed my panties.

    Un?

    I saw something worrisome.

    I slowly spread the panties.

    ¡¸What the hell is this...¡¹

    There was a picture of a bear on the panties.

    Moreover, there were two bears; a white bear and a ck bear.

    Was this the taste of this world¡¯s God?

    ¡¸Let¡¯s not think about it too much.¡¹

    My fatigue subsided after entering the bath.

    A long bath was prohibited, so I finished up quickly.

    I didn¡¯t have a change of clothes, so I put on the bear-san panties and clothes again.

    ¡¸I will go shopping tomorrow.¡¹

    I remembered something when I put on the bear clothes.

    I remembered that if you wore the clothes inside out, the white bear would grant stamina regeneration.

    When I tried wearing the white bear, I felt like I was being healed.

    ¡¸Oo, this is surprisingly good.¡¹

    When I returned to my room, I quicklyid down on the bed to recover from today¡¯s fatigue.

    Comfortable.

    ¡¸Good night~¡¹

    After saying my farewell that only I could hear, I fell asleep.

    I woke up early, probably because I had gone to sleep early.

    There was no fatigue; was this the effect of the white bear?

    It was bing harder and harder to remove the bear clothes.

    Maybe this was the equipment¡¯s curse.

    The skills were good, but it had the appearance of a bear. It would have been nice if it had at least looked cool.

    It seemed like there was a little time before breakfast, so I called up the status screen.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 3

    Skills: Language from a Different World, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    The number of strange equipment had increased.

    Bear Underwear

    Does not get dirty, no matter how dirty it bes.

    The smell of sweat is reced by a more pleasant scent.

    The size changes as the wearer grows.

    The hikikomori¡¯s strongest equipment has appeared!!!

    Nonono, this was bad for a 15-year-old maiden.

    But, it maybe be a good thing that it grows with the wearer, though my chest looked like a board for now.

    In the future, it¡¯s necessary for me to have big breasts.

    After all, I had been living without changing the size of my underwear until now.

    When I went down to the first floor for breakfast, Elena was cleaning with a dustcloth.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning. Can I eat?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you can.¡¹

    Elena stared at me. *Jiro Jiro*

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s white today. You look very nice.¡¹

    She said with a beautiful smile.

    I hadpletely forgotten.

    I was a White bear now.

    It wasn¡¯t like I wasn¡¯t embarrassed because I wasn¡¯t a ck bear.

    It was too troublesome to change, so I had breakfast in White bear form.

    The bread and soup were delicious.

    Since I had money, it might be good to live as a hikikomori.

    When I returned to my room, I changed back into the ck bear.

    I thought about today¡¯s schedule.

    1. Buy a change of clothes (including underwear)

    2. Get an identification card (at the adventurer¡¯s guild)

    3. Buy equipment (I wanted a sword)

    4. Information gathering (at a library or a bookstore)

    5. Grasp my own strength (using the Wolfe as a baseline)

    I asked Elena for the location of the adventurer¡¯s guild. Apparently it was the building adjacent to the building where I had sold the Wolfe material with Fina.

    Since it would be a problem if I didn¡¯t have an identification card, I decided to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild first.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to thank you again and ask what you thought about the inn.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, the inn is great. The food is delicious and there is also a bath so I¡¯m happy. For now I¡¯ve paid for 10 days.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you like it.¡¹

    Fina showed me a big smile.

    ¡¸Was everything all right on your side, Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was able to give mother her medicine properly. So, where are you going to, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to the guild to get an Identification card. I was thinking about strolling around the city after that.¡¹

    I exined today¡¯s n.

    ¡¸May I join you on your way to the guild?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but I¡¯m only going there to get an identification card.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to ask if they have any work for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Work?¡¹

    ¡¸I told you yesterday that I¡¯ve had a skinning job before, right? It was Gentz-san that gave me the job.¡¹

    ¡¸Gentz-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the person who bought the materials from us yesterday. Sometimes adventurers bring monsters inrge quantities without skinning them beforehand. When that happens, I¡¯m allowed to help. Therefore, I go to check every morning. I¡¯m happy to help at such times.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah yes, you said something like that yesterday.¡¹

    No wonder this 10-year-old girl was so good at skinning monsters.

    I was convinced.

    ¡¸So that¡¯s why Gentz-san cares so much for Fina, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m always under his care.¡¹

    Maybe he was a lolicon...

    ¡¸It seems like Gentz-san likes my mother.¡¹

    Alright, I confirmed that my heart is dirty.

    It was a bad modern disease. Instead of having thought of an adult male going after an adult female, I thought of an adult with a lolitaplex.

    As I listened to the story about Fina¡¯s mother and Gentz-san, I noticed that I could already see the building where I had sold the materials yesterday.

    Of course, I drew attention from all around me during the walk.

 Chapter 5 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Adventurerâ€™s Guild

    Chapter 5 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Adventurer¡¯s Guild

    When I arrived at the guild, there were arge number of adventurers inside.

    Everyone either had a sword or a staff.

    It seemed like the game world, except that there were no yers around.

    ¡¸There¡¯s quite a lot of people in the morning.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because low-rank adventurers struggle to find work. Everyonees early so that they can get a good job.¡¹

    Indeed, you wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat strong monsters if you weren¡¯t strong yourself.

    Some adventurers can only take subjugation requests for weak monsters.

    If the number of requests didn¡¯t match the number of adventurers, some people would struggle.

    I split up with Fina at Gentz-san¡¯s ce and entered the male-dominated guild building.

    Many eyes turned to me when I entered.

    Was I that eye-catching, or was a woman entering that unusual? Everyone was staring at me.

    As expected, even though it hadn¡¯t mattered if you were a woman or a man in the game, were there not that many female adventurers?

    When I looked around, I saw that there were indeed more men than women. The ratio was about 7 to 3.

    I walked towards thedy receptionist, who looked about 20 years old, as I ignored the gazes on me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s my first time here, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yes, are you joining the adventurer¡¯s guild?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that I would get an identification card?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the adventurer¡¯s guild card can be used in any country.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I will have to trouble you.¡¹

    I felt a gaze from behind me when I asked, so I turned around.

    ¡¸Oioi, a weird-lookingss like you bing an adventurer? Are you looking down on adventurers? The quality of adventurers is dropping because of people like you.¡¹

    A temte?

    (Xant: A temte is a jap term referring to a cliche, like big-tits receptionist and shit.)

    ¡¸I just asked for an identification card. There is no reason for you to say something like that to me.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s even more reason to say such things. We don¡¯t need adventurers who will not work.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t say I that I wouldn¡¯t work. I will do what I can do.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m telling you, that¡¯s why the quality drops.¡¹

    ¡¸Miss receptionist, is what this person saying true?¡¹

    ¡¸There are no problems if you meet the minimum qualifications.¡¹

    ¡¸The minimum?¡¹

    ¡¸You must be at least 13 years old and get to rank E within a year. If you do not reach the minimum requirements, you will be kicked out.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank E?¡¹

    ¡¸Basically possessing the ability to subjugate low level monsters like Goblins or Wolfes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then there are no problems. I can defeat Wolfes.¡¹

    ¡¸Gyahahaha, don¡¯t lie. There¡¯s no way ass like you can defeat a Wolfe.¡¹

    ¡¸This person¡¯s rank is?¡¹

    I asked the receptionist.

    ¡¸He is Deborane-san, a rank D adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the people who are jeering andughing behind me?¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone is either rank D or rank E.¡¹

    ¡¸Fuh, this guild must be low quality for a D rank person to have an attitude like this.¡¹

    ¡¸What did you say?¡¹

    ¡¸You said it yourself. Are you an idiot or a stupid fool? If someone like me can¡¯t be an adventurer, then people like you, who can¡¯t win against me, would be worthless garbage who don¡¯t even deserve to live. For you to be unable to understand your own words, aah, I¡¯m sorry; are you perhaps a Goblin?¡¹

    ¡¸You bitch...do you want to die?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re annoying. Is there a ce where we can have a match?¡¹

    When I soloed in the game, stupid guys like this would appear once in awhile.

    Still, they weren¡¯t the type of opponents that a hikikomori would lose to.

    However, people with time and money would eventually try to get revenge.

    If I didn¡¯t crush this type of man, people like him would start popping up like pests.

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s in the back...¡¹

    ¡¸If you win, I will give up on being an adventurer and leave. If you lose, you will quit being an adventurer. What do you think about that?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t go easy on you just because you¡¯re a woman. If I lose to a bitch like you, I¡¯ll quit! Isn¡¯t that right guys!¡¹

    ¡¸Oh!¡¹

    The men in the back answered as such while grinning andughing.

    Don¡¯t be so amused.

    ¡¸You heard that right, miss receptionist?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but you should apologize...Deborane-san¡¯s behaviour is a problem, but he is definitely a rank D adventurer.¡¹

    With that, I made a promise with the receptionist.

    I won¡¯t let them forget it.

    I was guided by the receptionist to the practice field in the back of the guild.

    There were about 15 adventurers who were following Deborane.

    ¡¸Eeh, are you really doing it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. If the quality of the guild drops because of the low quality adventurers, they should have to quit as soon as possible.¡¹

    ¡¸You bitch. Don¡¯t think about leaving here alive.¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, you have the resolution to kill. So it¡¯s true that the smallest dog barks the loudest.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, let¡¯s begin!¡¹

    Deborane took a stance with his sword.

    ¡¸Oh...¡¹

    I forgot that I had no weapons.

    I didn¡¯t bring the Cypress stick.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? Hurry up and ready your weapon.¡¹

    When I looked around, not knowing what to do, I saw Finaing.

    What a good, timely child.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    It seemed that she had rushed over here after hearing themotion.

    How lovely.

    ¡¸Fina, can I borrow your knife? I will properly return it to youter.¡¹

    I approached Fina and asked her.

    ¡¸Are you fighting, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Somehow. Well, it¡¯ll be okay, so just watch.¡¹

    I borrowed the knife from Fina and stood in front of Deborane.

    ¡¸You bitch, are you going to fight with a weapon like that?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no need to use my weapon (Cypress stick) against a mere goblin.¡¹

    ¡¸I am going to kill you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve said it many times, but you aren¡¯t allowed to kill. Then, begin!¡¹

    Deborane started running while brandishing hisrge sword.

    I stepped sideways, covering about 3 meters in a single step. It was easy to dodge, thanks to the Bear Foot¡¯s skill.

    I got next to Deborane with another step and hit his side with the ck Bear¡¯s hand.

    Secret technique, Bear-san punch.

    Oh, although he wasn¡¯t blown away, his face got uglier. Was it because of the level difference?

    ¡¸You bitch...¡¹

    Deborane, who had gotten hit by the Bear-san punch, brandished his sword again.

    Oioi, trying to brandish a sword during close quartersbat, what a PvP amateur.

    There were a lot of PvP events in the game.

    Some were based on differences in levels, weapons, magic, or armor.

    In the events where level, weapons, and armor didn¡¯t matter, skill was the deciding factor.

    I fought in such events.

    People who only relied on brute strength couldn¡¯t defeat me.

    I hit the wrist that Deborane was using to hold his sword with a Bear punch.

    The force behind the punch caused Deborane to lose his grip on his sword.

    In the next instant, I had my knife ced on Deborane¡¯s throat.

    ¡¸It¡¯s over.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t joke around!¡¹

    When I pulled the knife away from Deborane¡¯s throat, he swung his sword at me.

    I avoided it by taking a step backwards.

    These Bear Feet are too convenient.

    ¡¸Miss receptionist, this match is my win.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t kid yourself! The match isn¡¯t over yet.¡¹

    The receptionist was confused, and didn¡¯t know what to do.

    I wish you would judge properly.

    ¡¸I understand. I will not only end this match, but I will also end your life. Don¡¯t think that I will stop the knife again.¡¹

    When I said that, the man¡¯s face twitched.

    He should know the difference between us.

    I dodged all of his attacks and I was faster than him. I hadn¡¯t used the knife when I Bear punched his waist, and when I attacked his neck, I would have pierced his throat if I had not restrained myself.

    He would have already been stabbed twice.

    ¡¸Is this knife that scary?¡¹

    I swung the small knife around.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. Normally a person who uses such a thing doesn¡¯t qualify as an adventurer. It was childish of me.¡¹

    I threw the knife into the ground, near my foot.

    ¡¸Look, there¡¯s nothing to be scared of now.¡¹

    I taunted him with the Bear Hands, making a e on,e on¡± motion.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make a fool out of me!¡¹

    The fool rushed at me.

    I dodged him with a single step, but his sword still chased me.

    As expected, he wouldn¡¯t fall for the same trick twice in a row.

    If one step didn¡¯t work, then I would take two steps, or even three.

    The third step dodged, the fourth got me into his blind spot, and the fifth allowed me to hit him straight in the eye.

    The Bear punch exploded in his face.

    Deborane¡¯s big body copsed.

    Right, left, right, left, right, left; I kept attacking his face.

    Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch. (Xant: Go to sleep go to sleep go to sleep)

    As expected, the ck bear was more powerful.

    Only his right cheek was big and swollen.

    When I saw that he had stopped moving, I moved away.

    The whites of his eyes were showing; he had passed out.

    ¡¸Well then, who is the next opponent?¡¹

    I asked the observing adventurers.

    Nobody came forward.

    ¡¸Seems like nobody. Then, Miss receptionist, please expel everyone here from the guild. It seems that they aren¡¯t good enough to stay as adventurers.¡¹

    I smiled pleasantly.

    ¡¸That is...¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, they said it themselves. A person with my skills doesn¡¯t qualify to be an adventurer. Does it make sense to let people weaker than me be adventurers? Of course, the man lying on the ground and everyone else here won¡¯tin. None of them can defeat me.¡¹

    I looked around while smiling.

    It didn¡¯t look like the adventurers who saw the fight believed that they could win against me.

    In the first ce, Deborane should have been the strongest one among them. Since I had defeated him so easily, there would probably be no one foolish enough to challenge me.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t say that.¡¹

    One adventurer broke the silence.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t say that either.¡¹

    Another person said.

    ¡¸Only Deborane said that.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    They intended to defend themselves after Deborane¡¯s loss.

    ¡¸However, I said that if you guys win then I would give up being an adventurer and leave this ce, but if you lose then you guys will quit. Then that guy said ¡ºIf I lose to a bitch like you, I will quit! Isn¡¯t that right guys!¡», and you all replied with ¡ºOh!¡». Then I confirmed with Miss receptionist.¡¹

    I looked at the receptionist.

    ¡¸Yes...¡¹

    She answered quietly.

    The surrounding adventurers started to gather on the practice field.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re going to go that far then you¡¯ll have to defeat all of us.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. All of us will be your opponent.¡¹

    One, two, three people came up.

    Apparently, they wanted to fight me together.

    Still, if they were only as strong as Deborane, it should be okay.

    The battle ended quickly.

    I hadn¡¯t looked at my status because I thought nothing had changed, but my level had risen after defeating Deborane.

    Bear step had be much smoother, and the power of Bear punch had risen greatly.

    Everyone copsed after a single Bear punch.

    ¡¸Oi, what are you guys doing!¡¹

    Arge, muscr man entered the arena.

    ¡¸Oi, Helen. Exin what¡¯s happening!¡¹

    The man said, facing the receptionist.

    Apparently, the receptionist¡¯s name was Helen.

    Helen did her best to exin what had happened.

    After the exnation ended, the muscle man looked at me.

    ¡¸Oi, the weird looking woman over there!¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸You did all of this?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not at fault. I was almost raped, so I retaliated. You can¡¯t possibly say that I¡¯m at fault.¡¹

    ¡¸The guild is neutral in fights between adventurers.¡¹

    ¡¸Then that means that you¡¯re my ally?¡¹

    ¡¸How did youe to that conclusion?¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t applied yet, so I¡¯m not an adventurer. I¡¯m an ordinary citizen. This ordinary citizen was attacked by adventurers, so it¡¯s the guild¡¯s responsibility to take care of it. Surely you aren¡¯t going to say that when an ordinary girl gets attacked by adventurers, it¡¯s her fault?¡¹

    ¡¸That is-¡¹

    ¡¸Then, you¡¯re my ally.¡¹

    Well, I wasn¡¯t a citizen of this town but...

    The man seemed to be troubled as he scratched his head. *Pori Pori*

    ¡¸What is it that you want, in the end?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to register for the guild, and to have those guys expelled.¡¹

    ¡¸You can register, but I can¡¯t expel those guys.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? You won¡¯t let them quit, even if they lower their heads and beg you because they aren¡¯t good enough? The guild doesn¡¯t allow such things?¡¹

    ¡¸What? You guys want to quit!?¡¹

    He asked the adventurers who had managed to stay conscious.

    The men didn¡¯t answer, and just stood there with ambiguous expressions on their faces.

    ¡¸They said that someone as weak as me can¡¯t be an adventurer. They also said that if they lost to me, they would resign from the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys said something like that?¡¹

    Some of the adventurers nodded.

    ¡¸These guys did something stupid.¡¹

    ¡¸I wasn¡¯t lying. Then, please ept our requests.¡¹

    ¡¸I will ask you again, do you guys want to quit? If you don¡¯t want to answer, give up your guild cards and leave quietly.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸¡¸¡¸I apologize!¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹

    The injured adventurers lowered their heads.

    ¡¸Could you please forgive these guys?¡¹

    ¡¸There are some conditions.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright. Let me hear them.¡¹

    ¡¸Next time I enter the guild, I don¡¯t want anyone to bother me again. If anything troublesome happens, I want the guild to deal with it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. If any adventurers bother you, the guild will take responsibility.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I have nothing else to say.¡¹

 Chapter 6 â€“ Bear-san Is Making A Guild Card. Occupation Is A Bear.

    Chapter 6 ¨C Bear-san Is Making A Guild Card. upation Is A Bear.

    I decided to make a guild card after returning from the practice field.

    ¡¸In order to register, I will need your name, date of birth and upation, please.¡¹

    Helen, who finished the arrangement for medical treatment, received my registration.

    A sense of weariness showed on her face.

    I dere that this was not my fault.

    ¡¸Date of birth?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is necessary to verify the age.¡¹

    ¡¸The age itself is no good?¡¹

    ¡¸The age on the guild card won¡¯t update without the date of birth.¡¹

    I see, if someone just gave their age, then they technically would be able to eternally stay 18.

    However, what should I do about the date of birth?

    My letters were from a different world, but hopefully it would be alright.

    For the time being, I wrote ¡ºYuna¡»in Japanese.

    I wrote the date of birth in Gregorian calendar format.

    Helen saw this and said,

    ¡¸So Yuna-san is 15 years old.¡¹

    It was conveyed properly.

    As expected of a fantasy world.

    Next was the upation column.

    ¡¸upation?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be helpful when someone wants to recruitpanions for their request. It will serve as a reference.¡¹

    ¡¸Companions?¡¹

    I reacted when I heard the word ¡°Companions¡± but it was definitely not because I was a loner.

    I¡¯m saying, it definitely wasn¡¯t because I don¡¯t have any friends.

    I have a few.

    It isn¡¯t zero.

    I had once been a Magic Knight in the game.

    Whenever I encountered monsters, I targeted their weaknesses, using magic against those with physical resistance and vice versa. I was able to use both magical and physical attacks because I was a Magic Knight.

    Unfortunately, it had been pretty unpopr in parties because it was such an ambivalent upation.

    If you needed physical damage, a swordsman was better, and if you needed magic damage, a mage was better.

    Therefore, I didn¡¯t enter parties because it was a nuisance.

    I don¡¯t want to be recruited.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not necessary for me. Do I still have to write it?¡¹

    ¡¸It would be helpful if you could.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm...¡¹

    Well, it was probably okay even if I wasn¡¯t a magic knight anymore, but what was my upation?

    I couldn¡¯t use magic and don¡¯t have a sword. Martial artist?

    It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t want to write it, I just couldn¡¯t.

    I had a feeling that a voice from the heavens was saying that ¡ºBear¡» was my upation.

    Name: Yuna

    Date of Birth: Day XX Month XX Year 20XX

    I ended up writing it.

    Helen stared at me.

    I wanted to finish this quickly, so I didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡¸Then, please put your hand on this crystal te.¡¹

    It was the same as the crystal they had at the gate.

    It seemed to verify magic, but did magic differ from person to person?

    Were the wavelengths of magical power different for each individual, like fingerprints?

    While I was thinking about such things, Helen was operating the crystal te.

    ¡¸It takes a while to finish registering, so I will give you an exnation in the meantime. The Guild card automatically updates your information. Your Adventurer rank, the number of received requests, the content of the requests, the sess and failure of the requests, and the currently registered request can all be seen in any Guild.¡¹

    I see, so it also records failures. It seems that a person with a lot of failures won¡¯t be able to receive many requests.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t record the number of subjugated monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it doesn¡¯t. There¡¯s no point.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you bring a magic stone, there is no way to confirm if you defeated it by yourself or with 100 people. Therefore, we can¡¯t measure the ability of a person this way.¡¹

    I see, there was no way to record the number of defeated enemies automatically, like in the game.

    If it automatically recorded the subjugation of a dragon done with 10,000 other party members, there would be fights over who had dealt the finishing blow.

    On the other hand, it would be pointless if all 10,000 people got the subjugation record.

    It seems that you have to tell the guild about the sess or failure of the request manually.

    ¡¸I will exin the guild rankings next. The ranking begins at F and goes up to E, D, C, B, A and S. The ranking changes with the number of sesses and failures of requests. Your rank won¡¯t increase if you have too many failed requests, so please take only requests that match your current power. Also, your rank won¡¯t increase if you keep taking requests of your rank.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸You can take requests from a rank higher than your own. Therefore, even if you, an F-rank, take hundreds of F-rank quests, your rank won¡¯t increase.¡¹

    ¡¸You mean I have to sessfullyplete a higher rank request in order to increase my rank?¡¹

    ¡¸The guideline is about 10 requests. The guild will judge you after that.¡¹

    ¡¸What happens if I cooperate with someone of a higher rank toplete the request?¡¹

    ¡¸When you receive the request, everyone who is participating will need to submit their Guild card. If there is a person of higher rank amongst them, then we will raise the passing line.¡¹

    ¡¸That means?¡¹

    ¡¸The number of requests needed to rise in rank increases. When a C-rank adventurer helps a D-rank adventurer with a C-ranked request, the number of quests needed to increase their rank will be more than 20. If an S-rank adventurer helps, your rank won¡¯t increase no matter how many requests youplete.¡¹

    ¡¸What happens when it¡¯s done in secret?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t respond to that. At that point it will be a problem of that person¡¯s morality. However, there are some nobles who use that method.¡¹

    That meant that high ranking adventurers could be hired to increase your own rank.

    It was probably expensive to employ a high ranking adventurer though, so it was most likely a method that was impossible for ordinary people to use.

    ¡¸Lastly, this card can¡¯t be used by anyone but Yuna-san. If you lose it, we will charge 10 silver coins to re-issue you a new one.¡¹

    She handed me apleted, silver card.

    When I looked at the card,

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    upation: Bear

    Adventurer rank: F

    (Xant:...bear omfg)

    This was the only information written on the card.

    This receptionist really wrote that my upation was Bear.

    When I looked at Helen, she wasughing.

    ¡¸Requests are posted on the boards over there. If you find a request to your liking, please bring it back to the reception desk.¡¹

    I saw a huge crowd around one of the request boards, but the other did not have anyone near it.

    ¡¸That is?¡¹

    ¡¸That board is for high rank requests.¡¹

    I see.

    ¡¸Would you like to ask anything else?¡¹

    ¡¸Not at the moment. If I have something to ask, I wille back.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, will you take a request today?¡¹

    ¡¸I intend to explore the town for a bit. I just came to this town yesterday after all.¡¹

    Fina was waiting for me outside when I parted with Helen.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸I was worried about you.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah! Sorry for making you worry. I was able to register properly, so it¡¯s alright. So Fina, did you find any work?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t. Most adventurers are able to do the skinning themselves. You can make more money if you do it yourself, so there aren¡¯t many monsters that aren¡¯t skinned yet.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to do the skinning myself though.

    Even if I would make less money, I had no intention of doing it myself.

    I had my Bear box. When I defeated a monster, I could put it into the box whole.

    In the first ce, skinning animals and monsters wasn¡¯t something a hikikomori like me could do.

    I stroked Fina¡¯s head and wanted to part ways, but I gave up that idea.

    ¡¸Ah, yeah. You are free right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I don¡¯t have any other work.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know how much you earn in a day but...won¡¯t you show me around the town? I¡¯ll give you a silver coin and lunch as a reward.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s too much. It was too much yesterday as well. A 10 year old child can¡¯t earn a silver coin a day.¡¹

    ¡¸Then today is special. If you don¡¯t ept, you won¡¯t find any other work in this city.¡¹

    I gently stroked her head.

    I didn¡¯t have a sister, but if I had one, would it feel like this?

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go. First, why don¡¯t you take me to a good weapon shop?¡¹

    I wanted toplete one of my objectives, so I asked Fina to guide me to a weapons shop.

 Chapter 7 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Weapon Store.

    Chapter 7 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Weapon Store.

    I confirmed my status before I left with Fina.

    I had a feeling that my level had risen during the fight with the adventurers from a little while ago.

    The power of Bear Punch has increased.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 8

    Skills: Language from a Different World, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    As I thought, my level increased.

    Also, another weird skill appeared.

    Observing Eyes of the Bear

    The Bear¡¯s hood can see the effects of tools and weapons.

    When the Bear¡¯s hood is not worn, the skill does not activate.

    It¡¯s a ve~~~~ry useful skill, but...

    Why is it that when I level up, the bear gets the skill and not me!

    Geez, if I want to live in this world, I might have to wear this bear for my entire life.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry. It¡¯s nothing. Well then, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    I headed to the weapons shop, with Fina¡¯s guidance.

    ¡¸What kind of weapon are you buying, Big sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, I haven¡¯t decided yet, but I want a sword and a knife for now.¡¹

    ¡¸Speaking of which, you don¡¯t have a weapon?¡¹

    ¡¸I do. (The Cypress stick)¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. It¡¯s not like you can walk around the forest without a weapon. If that¡¯s the case, why are you going to the weapon shop?¡¹

    ¡¸That, that is, because there may be a bargain. There also might be a weapon that suits me more. So, what kind of ce are you taking me to?¡¹

    Secret technique! If you get in trouble, change the subject!

    ¡¸It is a shop owned by a person called Gordes-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Gordes-san?¡¹

    ¡¸He is the one who manages the weapons that are kept in the guild. My knife was given to me by Gordes-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Given? What a kind person.¡¹

    ¡¸He said ¡ºI¡¯m throwing this away. You take it¡», and gave it to me.¡¹

    Tsundere?

    ¡¸When I went to see the weapons kept in the guild, he said ¡ºIt is a special asion¡» and sharpened the knife.¡¹

    Tsundere confirmed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s here.¡¹

    Fina was standing in front of a building that had a picture of a sword on its sign.

    They don¡¯t sell armor?

    When we got closer to the store, a *kankan kan* sound could be heard.

    I wonder if a weapon is being made?

    Fina entered the store first.

    When we got inside, a short girl weed us.

    When ites to weapons, it had to be dwarves. Was this a dwarf or a normal child?

    I felt troubled.

    ¡¸Ara, Fina-chan, wee. Did youe to sharpen your knife?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m Big sis Yuna¡¯s guide today. She wanted a weapon, so I decided to introduce her to Gordes-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, you brought a customer. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, this is Gordes-san¡¯s wife, Neruto-san.¡¹

    Yes, dwarf spotted!

    Or alternatively, a criminal with a lolitaplex.

    ¡¸You, why are you looking at me like that?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I was wondering if, by any chance, you are a dwarf?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a dwarf. Have you possibly never seen a dwarf?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s my first time.¡¹

    It¡¯s legal.

    Lolicons are rejoicing.

    I¡¯m a woman, so it¡¯s unrted to me, but if a lolicon had been transferred instead of me, the dwarves would have been in danger.

    ¡¸Then it¡¯s inevitable. You are wearing unusual clothes, Miss.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Yuna. Pleased to meet you.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what kind of weapon are you looking for?¡¹

    ¡¸I have not decided yet. Is it okay to look around first?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you beginner? Of course, it¡¯s okay. My husband has his hands full at the moment so you can¡¯t meet him, but it¡¯s alright to take your time and look around.¡¹

    The sound *kankan* could be heard from all over the ce.

    He was probably working.

    Well, I was just here to buy a sword, so it wasn¡¯t necessary to meet him.

    Fina looked disappointed.

    She probably wanted to see him.

    Since I had received permission, I began looking at the weapons in the store.

    I tried picking up the sword closest to me.

    It¡¯s heavy...not?

    Is it because of the Bear?

    I took off the Bear hand to experiment.

    Yes! It wasn¡¯t possible!

    I could lift it, but only that. It wasn¡¯t possible for me to swing it.

    I put the Bear hand back on and picked up the sword.

    It¡¯s light...

    Geez, I can¡¯t live without the Bear anymore.

    I tried using the Observing Eyes of the Bear next.

    Iron sword, Skills: None

    I simrly inspected the other swords.

    Copper sword, Skills: None

    Iron sword, Skills : None

    I wonder if iron swords are the main items sold by the shop.

    Bad items weren¡¯t being sold, but there were no bargains.

    If this was a game or a novel, there would be a legendary sword here.

    For the time being, I chose a sword that was easy to hold with one hand.

    Iron sword, Skills: None

    I didn¡¯t know which sword was the best, so I picked this one.

    ¡¸I also want to look at some knives.¡¹

    ¡¸For skinning?¡¹

    ¡¸There is also that, but can I see some throwing knives?¡¹

    I want to throw knives instead of stones.

    Neruto-san showed me a small knife.

    ¡¸Do you have 100 of these?¡¹

    ¡¸That much?¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t, then please give me as much as you can.¡¹

    ¡¸We have them, so wait for a minute. I will bring them out from the back. However, are you going to use all one hundred of them?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it useful for defeating monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸No matter how cheap throwing knives are, if you buy that much it will end up costing lot.¡¹

    ¡¸Cheap?¡¹

    ¡¸Throwing knives are a basic disposable item. They are made from iron scraps. Try imagining a fight against a monster in the forest while you¡¯re moving. When you use a throwing knife, you won¡¯t know where the knife will end up if you miss. Even if it hits, it may fall off while the monster is running. Therefore, throwing knives are disposable. That¡¯s why I asked you if it was for skinning. Of course, we also havebat knives.¡¹

    She exined in detail after learning that I was a beginner adventurer.

    I was very grateful.

    ¡¸Well then, I will also take a knife for skinning.¡¹

    I don¡¯t know if I will use it though.

    ¡¸Alright.¡¹

    A bigger, sharper knife was presented with the throwing knives.

    It might be unnecessary, but I will buy it, just in case I fall into an embarrassing situationter.

    ¡¸Umm, altogether...¡¹

    I took the payment out of the Bear box.

    No onemented when I used the Bear as a wallet.

    After Neruto-san received the money, she brought out several knives from a room in the back.

    ¡¸So, when will youe to pick them up?¡¹

    ¡¸I will take them now.¡¹

    I stuffed a hundred knives into the white bear¡¯s mouth.

    Then I stored the sword and the skinning knife.

    ¡¸Is that bear doll an item bag?¡¹

    She asked, while watching the bear in amazement.

    ¡¸Item bag?¡¹

    I tilted my head on hearing the unfamiliar words.

    In the game world, you could carry items without being restricted by quantity or weight.

    ¡¸An item bag is a bag that can store items. It¡¯s a convenient bag that can carry many things and allows merchants to deal with heavy items.¡¹

    ¡¸Are item bags rare items?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you not even know that?¡¹

    ¡¸It was a gift from a friend (the god), so I only know a little bit.¡¹

    ¡¸You met a generous person. They aren¡¯t really rare or umon. The value of an item bag depends on the amount that it can store. It¡¯s my first time seeing an item bag in form of a bear, so I was surprised.¡¹

    I wonder what this Bear box¡¯s limit is.

    Well, if it gets full, I just have to buy another item bag.

    ¡¸But, Big sis Yuna, if you had something so useful, why didn¡¯t you use it to store the wolfe material?¡¹

    At the time, I hadn¡¯t known about the Bear box, so the wolfe material had to be carried.

    ¡¸At that time, I was lost and confused, so I forgot about it.¡¹

    So, a good excuse woulde out of me when I tried to lie.

    The fact that I was confused was actually true though, because, back then, I had juste to a different world.

    Now that I had purchased a sword, throwing knives, and a skinning knife, we left the weapon shop.

    The next objective is to go buy some clothes (underwear).

 Chapter 8 â€“ Bear-san Is Shopping.

    Chapter 8 ¨C Bear-san Is Shopping.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of clothes do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸Something I can wear under these clothes first.¡¹

    I pulled at the bear clothes.

    Under this was just underwear.

    I want a shirt, at least.

    ¡¸An expensive or a cheap store?¡¹

    ¡¸Doesn¡¯t really matter. What¡¯s the difference?¡¹

    ¡¸The nobility shop in expensive stores. I¡¯ve never been in one, but the prices are high and the goods should be of superior quality. A cheap store sells clothes at an affordable price for an average citizen. There is also a second hand store that sells used clothing. There are often bargains, so I go to take a look every once in a while. What would you like to do?¡¹

    Personally, I wanted to visit the expensive store, but Fina¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good when she talked about it. Was there something wrong with that store? Did they choose their customers? I remembered my appearance again. Looking like this, there¡¯s a chance that I would be turned away when I tried to enter the store. In that case, I¡¯m okay with going to an ordinary store.

    I will pass on the second hand clothes.

    Wearing second hand underwear would be disgusting.

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you take me to the normal store first? I will decide where to go next after that.¡¹

    Fina led me to the tailor shop.

    A woman in her 20¡¯s weed us when we entered.

    When she saw my appearance, her smile disappeared for a moment, but was restored immediately.

    ¡¸Wee. What kind of clothes are you looking for today?¡¹

    ¡¸Underwear and some clothes.¡¹

    ¡¸Underwear is over there. However, the type of clothing that will suit the taste of the customer is...¡¹

    Not being able to wear a dress is quite frustrating!

    ¡¸If they fit properly, they will be fine.¡¹

    I left the shop assistant and walked further in with Fina. I looked at the underwear first.

    It¡¯s necessary to graduate from Bear-san panties.

    I chose clothes based on Fina¡¯s opinion.

    As a result, I managed to get some panties. However, there was no brassiere. It seems that they don¡¯t exist here.

    I also bought everyday clothes that I could wear under the bear clothes.

    ¡¸Thank you, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m happy to be able to help. What are you doing after this?¡¹

    ¡¸Are there any bookstores or libraries in this city?¡¹

    ¡¸There is a bookstore, but there are no libraries. I have heard from Adventurer-san that there are libraries only in the capital city.¡¹

    ¡¸Then bookstore it is, but let¡¯s eat lunch first. What do you rmend?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, is anywhere fine?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case I would like to eat at the inn that you are staying at. I¡¯ve heard that the meals over there are good. I¡¯ve never eaten there.¡¹

    ¡¸The Inn?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, adventurers who stay overnight at the Inn are engaged in business, so during the day, the Inn serves general customers.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so. Well then, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    Fina happily heads to the Inn.

    When we arrived at the Inn, it was crowded with customers.

    A good smell was floating around the Inn.

    ¡¸Wee. Oh, Yuna-chan, back so soon?¡¹

    Elena noticed us while carrying an emptied dish.

    ¡¸We¡¯re here to eat lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸There is an extra charge for lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. Are there any empty seats?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s full right now. But there will be some space in a little while.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you prepare the food immediately?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m mostly finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, is it okay to eat in my room?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will choose the dishes. Fina, choose what you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Just guide me to the bookstore once we finished eating. This is a proper reward.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Then...¡¹

    After we waited in the room for a while, Elena brought the food.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Leave it on the table.¡¹

    ¡¸I would be happy if you could bring the dishes back down after eating.¡¹

    ¡¸Roger. I will bring it down after we finish.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Mouth-watering dishes were lined up on the table.

    *fuka fuka* soft bread, meat dishes, and sds.

    Speaking of which, was there rice in this world?

    I¡¯m a Japanese, so I need rice, soy sauce, and miso in order to live.

    It¡¯s okay for now, since it¡¯s still only the second day, but I will eventually want it.

    ¡¸Fina, let¡¯s eat while it¡¯s warm.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, itadakimasu.¡¹

    ¡¸The bread is so soft~ The meat is also very good.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Fina suddenly stopped eating.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸That.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I bring half of this dish home?¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸I have a little sister and mother. I want them to try this.¡¹

    She said, while staring at the food.

    I don¡¯t have a family, but Fina¡¯s feelings are important to me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, but eat that. Afterwards, I will buy a supper for two, no, a supper for three so eat it for dinner with your family¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Today is special. It won¡¯t happen tomorrow. Therefore, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, thank you.¡¹

    After we finished eating, I brought the empty dishes back to Elena. I also ordered supper for three.

    With full stomachs, we set forth to the bookstore.

    It seemed to be in the opposite direction from the weapon shop.

    As always, the passerbys were all staring at me, but I advanced without minding it.

    I thought about wearing the clothes I had bought, but there was a chance that there would be problems, like in the guild. I won¡¯t take off this Bear until I know it¡¯s safe.

    We arrived at the bookstore.

    It¡¯s smaller than I thought?

    I¡¯m not saying that the bookstores in Japan are allrge, but the store here is smaller than the store in my old neighborhood.

    The inside of the store was stacked with many books.

    Apparently, the books didn¡¯t fit on the shelf and were stacked on the floor instead.

    Looking through all of this will be hard.

    ¡¸Wee.¡¹

    An olddy called out.

    ¡¸Grandma, you don¡¯t organize this?¡¹

    ¡¸Aa, I know where everything is, so it¡¯s okay. If there is a book you want, just tell me.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Then, a book that contains information about this world¡¯s monsters and a book rted to magic. If you have a map, that would be great too.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a moment.¡¹

    The elderly woman went to the back of the store.

    After some time, she came back with some books.

    ¡¸This book and this book are about monsters.¡¹

    She handed me two books.

    ¡¸Normal monsters are described in here. Creatures of legends are described in here. How are these?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take both.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then, this is the book of magic. It¡¯s only for beginners.¡¹

    ¡¸I will take it.¡¹

    ¡¸The map only shows information about the vicinity of this city. It¡¯s better to go to the Capital for a more detailed one.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Thank you.¡¹

    I paid and left the store.

    I thought it would take more time, but thanks to the grandma, it only took a few minutes.

    With this, my objectives wereplete.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, where to next?¡¹

    I was a little trouble.

    ¡¸Yeah. Thanks to your help, I got what I wanted. I will go back to the Inn and read the books. Besides, you must be tired from all the walking.¡¹

    I don¡¯t feel tired, thanks to the Bear shoes. If not for them, a hikikomori like myself would have fallen from fatigue at the weapon shop.

    ¡¸I¡¯mpletely okay.¡¹

    However, Fina was fine.

    Indeed, she is different from a hikikomori.

    ¡¸I wanted to go to toolmaker and armor shop, but I will go back for today. What will you do?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s early, but I will eat Elena-san¡¯s cooking when I go home.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Then, today¡¯s pay.¡¹

    I handed her one silver coin.

    ¡¸Is it alright? You even paid for today¡¯s dinner.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s only for today.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, big sis.¡¹

    There was still time until dinner after saying goodbye to Fina, so I returned to my room.

    I retrieved a book from the Bear box.

    First, I took a look at the map.

    This is the forest where I came from, isn¡¯t it?

    The forest was located a little bit away from the city.

    The Capital city was in the opposite direction of the forest.

    I couldn¡¯t tell the distance from this map. Is it far?

    It might be better to go to the Capital next.

    There seemed to be several viges in the outskirts.

    The valuable geography was hammered into my head.

    I wish I had a more detailed map.

    It would be convenient if there was a mapping system, like in the game.

    I took out the magic book next.

    The title said ¡°Beginner¡¯s magic¡±.

    Is there also Intermediate and Advanced?

    Are they sold in the Capital?

    I flipped the page and read.

    Fumu fumu.

    Un un.

    I see.

    ¡¸Well, let¡¯s give it a try. First, gather the magic.¡¹

    I tried to do it like in the game.

    In the game, you had to gather magic in one hand and give amand, which would activate the spell.

    If you gathered magic in your right hand, you cast it with the right hand. If you gathered magic in your left hand, you cast it with the left hand.

    yers who were ambidextrous with magic became a hot topic in the game.

    Me?

    I¡¯m generally right-handed.

    I tried to collect magic in my right hand because of that.

    After gathering it, I gave themand.

    ¡¸Light.¡¹

    In the room, a ball of light?......emerges.

    The deep emotion of sessfully casting magic was nothingpared to the shape of the ball of light.

    No doubt, it was a ball of light, not a sphere.

    It had a bear¡¯s face.

    It was the same face as the one on the gloves I wear.

    I had an unpleasant hunch, so I opened the status screen.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 8

    Skills: Language from a Different World, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Magic: Bear¡¯s Light

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    A Magic column was added to the skills.

    Bear¡¯s Light

    By gathering magic in the bear gloves, I bring out a bear-shaped light.

    Umm, can I cast magic without wearing the bear gloves?

    In order to try, I removed the bear gloves and tried casting the magic the same way.

    As I expected, the light didn¡¯te out orz.

    Uh, I¡¯m already one with the bear.

    I wore the gloves again with a tear in my eye.

    I want to practice attack magic, but I can¡¯t possibly do that in the Inn.

    I will just read the book for today.

    I went down to the first floor for dinner. It was delicious.

    I took a bath, then transformed into the white bear and got into bed to recuperate from today¡¯s fatigue.

    ¡¸Good night~¡¹

 Chapter 9 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 1

    Chapter 9 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 1

    Mother¡¯s medicine has run out.

    We don¡¯t have money to buy more medicine.

    I live with my mother and younger sister.

    I don¡¯t have a father.

    It seems he died while my mother was pregnant with my younger sister.

    I don¡¯t remember him too much.

    Mother can¡¯t work due to her illness.

    I¡¯m working hard instead.

    However, there¡¯s not much a 10 year old like me can do.

    Sometimes, Uncle Gentz lets me help with skinning for the guild.

    Uncle Gentz is my mother¡¯s acquaintance.

    He is always kind.

    He gave me the medicinest time, and the time before that as well.

    I can¡¯t depend on him any more.

    I have no other choice but to go outside of the city and pick herbs.

    I saw the herbs in the guild a lot so I can recognize them.

    I went out of the city and headed straight for the forest.

    Monsters live deep inside the forest, so I decided to only look for the herbs near the entrance of the forest.

    I have trouble finding them.

    I will go a little deeper inside.

    There it is!

    I can give mother this for medicine.

    I was fascinated with the herb and didn¡¯t notice I had been surrounded by three Wolfes.

    I can¡¯t possibly defeat them, so I try to flee.

    My legs are trembling, I copsed.

    It¡¯s no use.

    ¡¸Somebody, help me...¡¹

    The Wolfes came closer.

    Just when I thought it was already over, a Wolfe screamed and copsed.

    In an instant, all three Wolfes have copsed.

    Why?

    A figure in ck? hase out.

    It has a somewhat lovely appearance.

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    It spoke.

    ¡¸Th, thank you very much?¡¹

    ¡¸Why a question?¡¹

    ¡¸Will you eat me?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t eat you.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you Bear-san?¡¹

    I started smiling, probably out of relief.

    The person dressed as a bear is a woman called Yuna-san.

    When she took off her hood, I saw a beautiful woman with ck hair.

    She was so beautiful that I was surprised.

    I have never seen a person as beautiful as her.

    It seems that Big Sis Yuna came from the countryside and lost her way in the forest.

    Thank you for being lost.

    Apparently I can show her my thanks by guiding her to the city.

    If she requested money, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to pay her. I don¡¯t have any money.

    I¡¯m d she is a good person.

    Big Sis Yuna ignores the Wolfe corpses and walks away.

    Please wait.

    You can sell Wolfe meat and fur.

    Meat ¡ª¡ª¨C is delicious.

    When I exin, she says that she can¡¯t do it.

    Probably some young miss.

    If you look at the beauty hidden under the bear, it¡¯s understandable.

    I receive Big Sis Yuna¡¯s permission and start working on the Wolfe.

    Furthermore, it seems that I will receive half of the money it¡¯s sold for.

    It will be enough to pay for food for a few days.

    I¡¯m very happy.

    I go back to the city after skinning them.

    It seems that Big Sis Yuna doesn¡¯t know a lot of things.

    She asks many questions.

    She may be the daughter of some noble after all.

    We enter the city and go to the guild to sell the Wolfe materials.

    Uncle Gentz was angry.

    I made him worry, so it was inevitable.

    The Wolfe materials were sold, with a little left for me to take.

    Of course, I got Big Sis Yuna¡¯s permission to take it.

    We can finally eat meat, after such a long time.

    I¡¯m thankful to Big Sis Yuna.

    I hand half of the money to Big Sis Yuna but she asks me to guide her to an Inn instead of taking it.

    I show her my gratitude and guide her to an Inn.

    It¡¯s a ce between my home and the guild.

    A good aroma alwayses out of there when it¡¯s time for a meal.

    It has a good reputation so I decide to guide her there.

    When we arrive at the Inn, everyone turns their attention to us.

    It¡¯s probably because Big Sis Yuna is dressed in unusual clothes.

    If I met Big Sis Yuna in the city, I would also definitely stop and look.

    It¡¯s a little embarrassing, but it¡¯s a request from my benefactor.

    This much attention is nothing.

    After guiding her to the Inn, I thank her and return home.

    I make medicine from the herbs.

    I can¡¯t make high quality medicine, because I¡¯m not an expert, but it was able to ease mother¡¯s sickness a little.

    It¡¯s nutritious meat for the first time in a while.

    I also earned money.

    I will be able to buy something nutritious tomorrow too.

    I¡¯m thankful to Big Sis Yuna.

    I wake up early in the morning the next day.

    This is the usual routine.

    It¡¯s in order to look for work at the guild.

    The Inn I guided Big Sis Yuna to is on the way.

    I want to give my thanks again.

    Big Sis Yuna is going to the guild to get an identification card. Since I¡¯m going there too, we go together.

    I wanted to hold hands, but I endure it.

    That Bear-san looks so soft. I¡¯d like to hold it at some point.

    When we arrive at the guild, we separate because I¡¯m meeting Uncle Gentz.

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any work for me.

    I wanted to give up and go back home, but the guild suddenly became noisy.

    When I went to find out what had happened, I heard that Big Sis Yuna is fighting with the adventurers.

    I wonder why it happened.

    I hurry up and run to the practice field.

    When I arrived, Big Sis Yuna ran over to me while smiling.

    She wanted me to lend her my knife, so I give it to her.

    There isn¡¯t a reason to decline.

    The match was held.

    It was Big Sis Yuna¡¯s overwhelming victory.

    The Bear punch was awesome.

    There was no need for the knife.

    When the match is over, she gave the knife back to me.

    Big Sis Yuna went back inside to make the guild card.

    I¡¯m worried, so I wait outside the guild.

    This time, shees out without trouble.

    I¡¯m d.

    I hadn¡¯t found a job today, so Big Sis Yuna asked me to guide her around town.

    It seems that I will be rewarded.

    Geez, because of Big Sis Yuna, my feet hurt so much that I won¡¯t be able to sleep anymore.

    After returning home, I go directly to bed.

    First, we went to the weapon shop.

    Big Sis Yuna bought a sword, 100 throwing knives, and a skinning knife.

    She seems to be rich.

    Also, the Bear-san is an item bag.

    I¡¯m surprised.

    We went to the clothes store afterwards.

    Does Big Sis Yuna have no sense of fashion?

    I was asked to choose clothes for her.

    I think that the Bear-san clothes are really cute. I wonder if she won¡¯t wear them anymore?

    Next was lunch.

    She asked me to choose a ce to eat, so I rmended the Inn she was staying at.

    It was very delicious.

    She even ordered dinner for my entire family.

    After lunch, we went to the bookstore.

    After ordering several books, today¡¯s guidance ended.

    It was over unexpectedly fast.

    Big Sis Yuna wanted to read the books at the Inn.

    I have a free afternoon.

    I decided to get the meals from the Inn and go home early.

    Mother and younger sister were really happy.

    I hope tomorrow will also be as good.

 Chapter 10 â€“ Bear-san Practices Magic

    Chapter 10 ¨C Bear-san Practices Magic

    I woke up early in the morning to eat breakfast and headed towards the town exit. This is for the sake of practicing magic that I couldn¡¯t use inside the inn yesterday.

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s the littledy wearing the weird outfit from the other day. Are you nning on going out?¡¹

    The gatekeeper noticed me and decided to approach me.

    If I remember correctly, he¡¯s the same person that helped me a few days ago when I came to town.

    ¡¸Yep, here¡¯s my guild card.¡¹

    I showed my guild card and held it up to the crystal.

    In order to detect criminals, it seems like it¡¯s necessary to verify your guild card when leaving town.

    For example, if someonemitted a crime in town, the guild can register them as a criminal and they will be caught at the gates.

    ¡¸Looks like you became an adventurer. Hey, what¡¯s with this ¡®Bear¡¯ upation?¡¹

    He looked at my card as he asked.

    ¡¸Just ignore that.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s wrong.¡¹

    He patted my head as he said that.

    ¡¸Ooh, this bear feels pretty nice.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, stop that.¡¹

    I brushed his hand away.

    ¡¸Ooh, sorry, sorry. It¡¯s dangerous out of town, so be careful.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just going to practice some magic outside.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Well, as long as you don¡¯t approach the forest, you shouldn¡¯t encounter any monsters. There¡¯s the asional stray monster though, so take care.¡¹

    I retrieved my guild card and headed out of town.

    I made sure there were no signs of life around me after walking a bit.

    First, I tried using the body enhancement magic that was described in the book.

    It wasn¡¯t that difficult.

    Looks like all I had to do was distribute my magical power throughout my body.

    This was a skill used by warriors and swordsmen back when it was a game.

    The duration of the effect was short but since it raised your strength, it was popr in fights.

    I tried it out by distributing my magical power throughout my body.

    I started to run in order to test it out.

    Ooh, fast.

    I tried jumping.

    ¡¸Wahhhhhhhhh!¡¹

    I casually lept 10 meters and thending didn¡¯t hurt.

    It was probably an effect of the body enhancement.

    I tried various things out to make sure of it.

    I tried dashing, jumping, bear punching and bear kicking, both with body enhancement on and off.

    I confirmed my status.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 8

    Skills: Language from a Different world, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Magic: Bear Light, Bear¡¯s Body Enhancement

    Equips:

    ck Bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    ...Bear¡¯s Body Enhancement?

    Bear?

    Bear¡¯s Body Enhancement:

    Enhances physical power by distributing magical power throughout the bear equipment.

    I closed the status window, wordlessly.

    I decided to practice the next magic as if I didn¡¯t see that.

    Um, around here, I guess.

    Ignoring the bear issue, I looked for an area where I could practice attack magic.

    I ended up picking somewhere close to the entrance of the forest.

    In this world, casting magic requires the following steps:

    1) Gather magic power

    2) Create a mental image of the magic you want to use

    3) Incantation

    In the game, it was:

    1) Gather magic power

    2) Incantation

    It was simpler in the game.

    After gathering your magic power, all you had to do was cast the spell.

    After you gathered your magic, just saying ¡®Fire¡¯ was enough to cast the spell.

    In this world, it¡¯s necessary to create an image.

    But that wasn¡¯t a problem with my experience with games, manga, and novels.

    I gathered magic in my hand and envisioned a fireball burning.

    ¡¸Fireball¡¹

    Yep, I easily did it.

    A fireball is within the bear¡¯s mouth.

    It wasn¡¯t hot and the bear wasn¡¯t burning.

    I extended my arm and envisioned the fireball being thrown.

    My target is a boulder about 10 meter from me.

    The fireball soared out from the bear¡¯s mouth, striking the boulder and destroying it.

    As a test, I tried gathering magical power and created a fireball just from the mental image.

    I was able to confirm that I could use incantation-less magic.

    However, shouting ¡®Fireball¡¯ made it easier to envision, and the activation was faster as well.

    Incantations were required in game as well, so it looks like it¡¯s easier to cast magic through incantations.

    I¡¯ll try using water magic next.

    ¡¸Waterball¡¹

    Just like fireball, a ball of water formed in the bear¡¯s mouth.

    I fire the water ball towards another boulder.

    The boulder was barely broken after getting hit.

    It looked like fire was stronger.

    In that case, I¡¯ll try freezing the water then.

    I envisioned a sharpened tip and shot it towards the boulder.

    An ice spear flew out from the bear¡¯s mouth and destroyed the boulder.

    I can¡¯t use fire inside a forest so ice is quite useful.

    I¡¯m finished with fire and water, so I guess wind and earth are next.

    I wrapped the bear hand in wind and...

    ¡¸Air Cutter¡¹

    ...sent out a de of wind. The boulder was cut perfectly in two.

    Next is earth magic.

    I wonder if earth magic is defensive-type...

    In game, earth magic created a wall to fend off enemy attacks.

    I gathered magical power in the bear and extended my hand out towards the ground, envisioning a wall.

    ¡¸Wall Shield¡¹

    The ground surged upwards and created a wall.

    I don¡¯t know how strong it is, but I made a wall

    That means I have mastery over all four elements; fire, water, wind, and earth.

    I checked my status to confirm.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 8

    Skills: Language from a Different world, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Magic: Bear Light, Bear¡¯s Body Enhancement, Bear¡¯s Fire Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Water Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Wind Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Earth Element Magic

    Equips:

    ck Bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    As I thought, it¡¯s rted to bears.

    Bear¡¯s Fire Element Magic:

    By collecting magical power in the bear glove, fire magic bes useable.

    Spell power varies depending on magical power and mental image.

    Power increases more when envisioning a bear.

    Bear¡¯s Water Element Magic:

    By collecting magical power in the bear glove, water magic bes useable.

    Spell power varies depending on magical power and mental image.

    Power increases more when envisioning a bear.

    Bear¡¯s Wind Element Magic:

    By collecting magical power in the bear glove, wind magic bes useable.

    Spell power varies depending on magical power and mental image.

    Power increases more when envisioning a bear.

    Bear¡¯s Earth Element magic:

    By collecting magical power in the bear glove, earth magic bes useable.

    Spell power varies depending on magical power and mental image.

    Power increases more when envisioning a bear.

    In other words, I can¡¯t use magic without the bear equips.

    Geez, I get it already.

    I¡¯ve already epted it.

    However, there¡¯s one thing that caught my eye.

    ¡®Power increases more when envisioning a bear.¡¯

    ¡®When envisioning a bear,¡¯ it says.

    As a test, I tried envisioning the mes in the shape of a bear.

    A zing red bear was created before my eyes

    ¡¸Umm...¡¹

    I tried firing the bear at arge boulder for now.

    The boulder melted.

    It¡¯sva.

    This is dangerous.

    This magic is sealed.

    Let¡¯s prepare some water.

    It¡¯d be a problem if that started a fire, so I¡¯ll use water to put it out

    Normal water couldn¡¯t put it out, so I created a Water Bear and finally managed to put out theva.

    Dangerous, dangerous.

    I heard rustling soundsing from the bushes in the forest while I rested for a bit.

    A single wolf appeared.

    A partner to help me practice magic came.

    Since using fire magic might start a fire in the forest, let¡¯s use ice magic.

    I gathered magical power and envisioned thin ice.

    ¡¸Ice Arrow.¡¹

    It impaled the wolf through its head.

    The wolf who had its head impaled stopped moving.

    As I thought, this bear equipment definitelyes with aim-assist.

    It was just like the rocks from a moment ago, where it¡¯ll definitely hit what you¡¯re aiming at.

    It¡¯s useful though, so I have noints.

    I approached the wolf and ced the corpse into the Bear Box.

    I still can¡¯t dismantle the corpse, but I do have the Bear Box.

    I¡¯ll go and sell itter

    ¡¸Wolf, huh...¡¹

    I¡¯m a bit worried, so I decided to head deeper into the forest.

    It might be good for magic practice as well.

    Even in game, wolves were the practice targets for new yers.

    I used the power of the bear boots and started to run through the forest.

    I increased my speed and jump power by putting magical energy into the boots.

    Even the shock fromnding is removed, thanks to them.

    It¡¯s way too convenient, these bear equips!

    I ran through the forest and asionally jumped while looking for wolves.

    I looked down as I jumped and saw a pack of wolves.

    ¡¸I wonder if there are a lot of them.¡¹

    I could probably just run if things look impossible.

    Inded in the middle of the wolf pack.

    At the same time, I created and fired three ice arrows.

    Each one impaled the heads of the wolves.

    It looked like using three at once was okay.

    More wolves rushed out towards me from behind.

    ¡¸Wall Shield.¡¹

    I immediately raised an earth wall that the wolves collided with.

    At that moment, I attacked them from the right.

    ¡¸Bear~punch.¡¹

    A wolf was blown away.

    I attacked another wolf again.

    ¡¸And another Bear~punch.¡¹

    Another wolf flew.

    I¡¯ll use magic again since I was able to make some space.

    Bear punch¡¯s power has gone up, without a doubt.

    ¡¸Wind Cutter.¡¹

    A wolf was cut cleanly in half.

    Blood showered down in the form of rain.

    Yep, this definitely isn¡¯t a good feeling

    It half felt like a game, but the fact is that it was reality.

    Let¡¯s not use wind cutter.

    Ice should be good enough to kill them.

    I¡¯ll probably need to get used to this feeling eventually.

    I leapt upwards.

    I created as many ice arrows as I could envision and dozens of arrows were formed.

    I aimed at the wolves howling on the ground and fired them towards the pack.

    As I expected, they aren¡¯t able tond direct headshots, but they still pierced through the wolf¡¯s body.

    Dozens of wolves were defeated in an instant.

    Inded on the ground and Bear punch a wolf that was nearby.

    I repeated the physical and magical attacks over and over...

    The ground was littered with countless amounts of wolf corpses when the battle finished.

    I ced them one by one into my Bear box.

    It¡¯d be nice if the corpses disappeared and leave behind items like in game.

    I don¡¯t have any hesitation towards defeating monsters.

    It¡¯s something I did in game after all.

    The problem are the blood soaked corpses that remained after defeating them.

    This is the only difference from the game.

    In total, there were about 40 corpses.

    Due to mental exhaustion, I decided to end today¡¯s magic practice here and return to town.

 Chapter 11 â€“ Bear-san Becomes Rank E

    Chapter 11 ¨C Bear-san Bes Rank E

    After returning to the town, I headed directly towards the guild.

    Again, my head was patted by the elderly gatekeeper.

    I¡¯d like it if he stopped treating me like a child.

    Upon entering the guild, the gazes of every adventurer in the room turned towards me.

    They averted their gazes when I looked at them.

    Nobody said anything, so I went towards the reception desk.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what business do you have with us today?¡¹

    ¡¸I defeated some wolves in the forest, what should I do in this situation? If there are jobs on themission board, for example, can I ept them and immediately turn them in?¡¹

    ¡¸If themission is just to defeat monsters, you can immediately turn it in as long as you bring the magic stones as proof you defeated them. However, the magic stones must be turned in within a certain period of time.¡¹

    ¡¸Within a certain period of time?¡¹

    ¡¸It would be problematic if you were to bring in magic stones obtained a month ago, even though themission was just put out today.¡¹

    ¡¸You can distinguish between them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we are able to.¡¹

    They can do that, huh.

    As expected of a different world.

    ¡¸Wolf subjugation is a permanentmission, so normally you can ept it at any time. However, we need the meat and pelts as well. The meat can be sold to restaurants and normal households as food. It¡¯s one of the main food sources for this town. The pelts can be used for clothing and such, so the guild has a permanent subjugation order up for wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, can you take thatmission for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, F-rank subjugation will be for one wolf. E-rank subjugation will be for 3 wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh? Didn¡¯t you say that defeating a wolf would be equivalent to E-rank in power? ¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, my apologies. To be urate, you need to be able to defeat more than three wolves, as defeating one wolf would not suffice to demonstrate your ability.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so. Well, for now, I have 40 so can you turn them in for me?¡¹

    ¡¸.............um, Yuna-san. What did you say just now?¡¹

    ¡¸I have around 40 or so, can you turn them in for me?¡¹

    As I say that, I begin to hear whispering behind me. Things like:

    ¡¸40 wolves, she said.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s probably a joke.¡¹

    ¡¸How on earth would a single person be able to defeat that many?¡¹

    ¡¸But that bear is, you know, THAT bear.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s that bear, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case it¡¯s possible, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s that bear it¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t see that bear fight, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw it. Don¡¯t go against that bear.¡¹

    ¡¸I fought that bear. Stop it or you¡¯ll die.¡¹

    and such.

    ¡¸Excuse me, but where would the wolves be? Just magic stones would not be enough to qualify for themission.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t dismantle them, but I put them properly inside of my item box.¡¹

    ¡¸You had an item box? Not only that, but onerge enough to fit in 40 wolves? Well then, if you could pleasee to the building next door.¡¹

    Helen led me towards the neighboring building.

    Several men followed behind us.

    They¡¯re probably spectators.

    The ce she brought me to is the same ce where I sold the wolf materials with Fina.

    I don¡¯t see Gentz-san. A different man greeted us.

    From here, I can¡¯t tell if Gentz-san is out today or if he¡¯s deeper inside.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Helen-san?¡¹

    The male staff member came toward us once he notices Helen.

    ¡¸I brought some wolves, is that alright?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. Nothing¡¯s being dismantled at the warehouse right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, Yuna-san, pleasee over here¡¹

    I brought out a wolf corpse from the kuma-box.

    I understood one thing; even without reaching into the white bear¡¯s mouth, I can bring items out.

    I raised the white bear hand over the countertop, and the items that I want to release (wolves) came out once I brought them to mind.

    This is convenient, I¡¯m d I don¡¯t have to touch them.

    From the back, I hear:

    ¡¸There really are 40 wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸As expected from the bear.¡¹

    ¡¸If you get involved with that bear, you¡¯ll be like those wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸I want her to hit me.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to be stepped on by her.¡¹

    Let¡¯s do our best to ignore thosest words.

    ¡¸That should be all of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yu-Yuna-san, did you really defeat all of these by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸It just happened while I was practicing my magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa, just happened, huh? Thates to 42 wolves total.¡¹

    ¡¸It looks like the condition of both the meat and the fur are good. Next will be the magic stones, is it okay if we purchase those as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but is there any use for magic stones from wolves?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they don¡¯t have much power, but they are useful in various ways.¡¹

    In the game, there was pretty much no use for magic stones outside of those dropped by high-level monsters and bosses, so I don¡¯t recall ever selling magic stones from low-level monsters.

    ¡¸Well then, I will be continuing with the procedures, so please return to the guild building for now.¡¹

    When I turned around, the group of adventurers were still making a fuss. Since there were perverts among them, I ignored them and entered the guild.

    ¡¸Ok, so, I will be processing this job as an E-rankmission, so please let me see your guild card.¡¹

    I handed over my card.

    Helen, who received my card, looked over at me once again.

    ¡¸May I ask one thing?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Those wolves, did you defeat them one at a time?¡¹

    ¡¸There was a pack of them, so I defeated them.¡¹

    ¡¸A pack of 40....in that case, it would be a D-rankmission. Please wait for a moment. I will discuss this with the guildmaster.¡¹

    Helen went inside, and returned shortly afterwards.

    ¡¸I processed your wolf subjugation as 14 E-rankmissions, meaning Yuna-san is now an E-rank.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay to do it that easily?¡¹

    ¡¸I received permission from the guildmaster. You were able to clear a D-rankmission by yourself, so you are more than qualified for it.¡¹

    ¡¸D rank?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, subjugation of packs of 30 or more monsters are considered D-rankmissions. 50 or more is considered low C-rank.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I have no reason to refuse if you¡¯d like to raise my rank, so I¡¯m okay with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will continue with the proceedings.¡¹

    Helen seems to be operating something within the counter.

    ¡¸First, this is your reward for thismission. This is for 42 wolf meats, pelts, and magic stones. However, since the wolves were not dismantled, there is a 20% reduction.¡¹

    Fina mentioned this before.

    Adventurers will normally dismantle the corpses before turning it in.

    The 20% is for operational expenses to dismantle the corpses.

    Since I already heard about it from Fina beforehand, I nod in response to Helen¡¯s words and ce the money pouch I received inside of the kuma-box.

    Finally, since the process was finished, I put my guild card in there as well.

    ¡¸With this, Yuna-san is now E-rank, so please do your best.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    I returned to the inn, ate ate lunch, and returned to my room.

    Since I defeated those wolves, I summoned my status screen.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 13

    Skills: Language from a Different World, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Magic: Bear Light, Bear¡¯s Body Enhancement, Bear¡¯s Fire Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Water Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Wind Element Magic, Bear¡¯s Earth Element Magic

    Equipment:

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    My skills increased by one.

    Bear¡¯s Detection:

    Able to detect nearby monsters through the use of ursine intuition.

    Shows location of nearby monsters and stealthed units.

    If I remember correctly, this was a skill in the game used for detecting thieves/robbers.

    To think that this bear equipment could even learn this kind of skill.

    However, this will make it a lot easier to find monsters.

 Chapter 12 â€“ Bear-san Quarrels In The Guild Again

    Chapter 12 ¨C Bear-san Quarrels In The Guild Again

    The next day, I hurried over to the guild early in the morning, in order to receive a new request.

    I wanted to find a good job, so it was earlier than usual.

    If possible, a subjugation request would be good, so I can practice magic.

    It would be even better if it was wolves.

    I was hurrying to the guild early in the morning to get that kind of request.

    As I was walking, while rxing and viewing the city, a voice called out from behind.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Fina. Are you going to the guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. Are you going too, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yeah, I wanted to get a good job.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, please be careful to not get injured.¡¹

    ¡¸You do well at your job too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Fina grabbed my bear hand while smiling.

    I clenched her hand back without hesitation.

    Fina¡¯s smile bloomed even more.

    If I had a younger sister, I would want one like her.

    The guild came into view as I walked and smiled with Fina.

    ¡¸Well then, I am going now.¡¹

    ¡¸Have a nice day!¡¹

    I sent Fina off and entered the guild.

    There was a crowd before the board.

    I was toote.

    People began to notice me, but no one called out to me.

    Just as I thought this, a voice called out to me.

    ¡¸You are the woman who defeated Deborane-san?¡¹

    A male adventurer asked me.

    He looked maybe three or four years older than me.

    ¡¸...Deborane?¡¹

    I tilted my head.

    I don¡¯t remember that name.

    ¡¸Who?¡¹

    I asked, because I couldn¡¯t remember.

    ¡¸That would be you. The one wearing bear clothes, bear gloves on her hands and bear shoes on her feet. The woman who dresses like a joke.¡¹

    Indeed, if you looked around the world, I was probably the only person wearing an outfit like this.

    I wonder if there¡¯s another person like me.

    ¡¸Deborane, huh. I don¡¯t know that person, but I think that the woman in bear clothes may be me.¡¹

    ¡¸Because of you, Deborane-san is...he is hurt and unable to work.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is he one of the adventurers I fought before?¡¹

    That was the only thing that I could think of.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    Ah, I remember.

    The man who wanted to mess with me had a name like that.

    However, there is no reason toin to me.

    I should call the Guild Master.

    He promised me that he would take care of stuff like this.

    ¡¸That fellow, Deborane, wanted a fight. I won and thus he got injured. I¡¯m not in the wrong. Also, that goblin didn¡¯t get injured to the extent that he should be making so much noise.¡¹

    ¡¸You, don¡¯t treat Deborane-san as a goblin!¡¹

    ¡¸He has no courtesy, acts with bravado in front of a weak opponent, says big words, but can¡¯t do anything without a crowd behind his back. No matter how you look at it, he is a goblin.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t joke around!¡¹

    So noisy.

    I can hear you even if you don¡¯t shout so loudly.

    ¡¸Are you a goblin that doesn¡¯t understand speech? This matter should already be settled, with it being his own fault.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way Deborane-san would lose to someone like you!¡¹

    ¡¸Stop sulking. I heard Guild Master¡¯s exnation. She¡¯s not at fault.¡¹

    A blond woman in her twenties walked up to me and the man.

    She was quite a beautiful and slender woman.

    ¡¸But, we can¡¯tplete the request because of this fellow!¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, you must understand that she¡¯s not at fault. Gill, why don¡¯t you say something?¡¹

    The woman talked to the huge man that was next to her.

    He was a muscleman on the same level of the Guild Master.

    ¡¸Deborane is in the wrong.¡¹

    ¡¸What? You are also taking this weird woman¡¯s side?¡¹

    ¡¸After I heard the story, it was clear that Deborane was at fault.¡¹

    ¡¸Do we have to give up just because of that?¡¹

    I wonder if he¡¯s that badly injured?

    Certainly, I used a high number of Bear punches on his face.

    ¡¸Deborane is at fault, so there¡¯s no helping it.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. His Guild Card was nearly taken away from him, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸That was because of this fellow!¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, you are talking amongst yourselves. Can I also say something?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Lanz is just angry because Deborane can¡¯t take any requests, due to his injury.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, there¡¯s no need toin to me about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it alright to take the request without Deborane?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we already received it.¡¹

    ¡¸If we cancel the request, it will count as a failure!¡¹

    A failure was recorded forever on the Guild Card.

    They wanted to avoid failures as much as possible.

    Even so, it¡¯s troubling when youe to me just because of that.

    Goblin started the fight, so I¡¯m not at fault.

    ¡¸Should we just give up?¡¹

    ¡¸Butpleting that quest will push our rank up even further!¡¹

    ¡¸I heard some adventurers are quarreling with Yuna, and it turns out that it¡¯s you guys.¡¹

    ¡¸Guild Master!¡¹

    The Muscle Daruma came over.

    It seems like the receptionist called him.

    ¡¸I already told you that Deborane¡¯s case isn¡¯t Yuna¡¯s fault.¡¹

    ¡¸But, because of this fellow, we can¡¯tplete the request anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s your responsibility. Deborane challenged this fellow, and lost. You guys left Deborane alone without supervision, so you are at fault. You guys know that Deborane is quick to get into fights.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that but-¡¹

    ¡¸Then, there is a good method.¡¹

    ¡¸What? Canceling the request without marking it as a failure?¡¹

    ¡¸That is impossible. Once a request is taken, it can¡¯t be canceled without paying a penalty. Canceling is treated as a failure.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what is this good method?¡¹

    ¡¸Just take Yuna with you. I know for a fact that she is way stronger than Deborane.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, what are you doing, deciding by yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s simple. You should take Yuna, instead of Deborane.¡¹

    ¡¸No way. Why do I have to take on such unreasonable request.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the easiest solution.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, Yuna-chan, was it? Could you hear me out for a second please?¡¹

    The woman dressed as a mage asked me.

    What happened?

    I have very little experience partying, and that¡¯s in game rather than real life.

    Of course, I do have some experience, since I¡¯m not a loner.

    Though, it¡¯s just a little bit.

    I couldn¡¯t refuse the mage¡¯s gaze, so I decided to hear her out.

    We borrowed a room in the guild. Now I¡¯m alone with three of Deborane¡¯s party members.

    By the way, the Guild Master ran away.

    I have to deal with something this troublesome, but he ran away, that Muscle Daruma.

    This is all because of Deborane.

    ¡¸Then, first, I will introduce myself. I¡¯m Rurina. The one whoined to you is Lanz and the silent one is Gill.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna.¡¹

    For now, I introduced myself as well.

    ¡¸Then, the request we have received is goblin subjugation.¡¹

    Goblin subjugation?

    Goblins were less intelligent, humanoid demons.

    Wasn¡¯t that a monster for beginners?

    They need a party for this? Is this party weak?

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t just one goblin. It¡¯s a subjugation of a group of fifty of them. It will be hard without Deborane acting as a vanguard.¡¹

    In the game era, a group of fifty goblins counted as small fry.

    I wonder how the present me would do.

    The subjugation of a pack of wolfes was easy.

    In the game, the level of wolfes and goblins was about the same.

    If this was still the case, they should be no challenge for me.

    ¡¸Just to confirm, which is stronger, the wolfe or the goblin?¡¹

    ¡¸In the rank system, they are about the same. It really depends on the setup of the party. Our party is morefortable with goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Wolfe movements are fast. It¡¯s hard for a wizard like me to support the party. Goblins, on the other hand, can be overpowered in closebat.¡¹

    Still, goblins.

    Humanoid creatures.

    I will have to fight them eventually anyways.

    If this was a game, there would be no problem, but un...

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault. Lend us your power!¡¹

    ¡¸Lanz, be silent!¡¹

    It¡¯s fine to lend them a hand, but I don¡¯t want to be Deborane¡¯s recement. Also, that Lanz guy¡¯s attitude is horrible. That Gill guy just stays quiet, so the only decent one is Rurina.

    I¡¯m a honest-to-goodness hikikomori, so it¡¯s troublesome for me to help others.

    Still, it¡¯s certainly my fault that he got injured.

    The fight wasn¡¯t my fault though.

    Umumumumu...what to do.

    ¡¸Un. Is it alright to set some conditions?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s something we can do.¡¹

    ¡¸You want to reap the rewards? What a dirty woman.¡¹

    I ignored him.

    ¡¸Let me do the request by myself. You can have the achievement for seeding and all the rewards. In return, I don¡¯t want Deborane toe near me ever again.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, to leave it to you alone...¡¹

    ¡¸You want us to just stay silent and watch?¡¹

    ¡¸Why not? Thepletion of the request and the rewards will be yours, so there is no demerit for you.¡¹

    ¡¸If you fail, it will count as our fail. There is no way we can ept such conditions.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, we can¡¯t do something as shameful as letting another personplete the request and taking credit for it.¡¹

    Ah, yeah.

    If I fail, it will count as their failure.

    I also understand Rurina-san¡¯s point.

    As an adventurer, it would be a really shameful thing to do.

    What to do.

    ¡¸Then, I want only Rurina-san to help me.¡¹

    ¡¸Why only Rurina?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because she is the most decent one out of all of you, has the mostmon sense, interacts the most with me and is also the only woman. The main reason is, because I don¡¯t want to work with you?¡¹

    ¡¸You!¡¹

    ¡¸Lanz, stop it.¡¹

    Rurina-san stops him.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can you defeat a horde of goblins alone?¡¹

    ¡¸I can? The pack of wolfes was easy. Actually, I¡¯ll be able to practice magic more against goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸You can use magic, Yuna-san? ording to the story, you didn¡¯t use magic when you fought with Deborane.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t use it.¡¹

    To be more precise, I still didn¡¯t know how to use magic at the time.

    ¡¸I mean, I don¡¯t need to use magic on weak enemy. Rurina-san, you wouldn¡¯t use magic to kill a small bug, would you?¡¹

    When I treated Deborane like an insect, their mouths opened in shock.

    ¡¸Is it really possible?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just fifty Deboranes (goblins).¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will go with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Rurina?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you okay with that, Gill?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-chan, please take care of me.¡¹

    ¡¸So, when are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s alright with you, we can go immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with that, but I didn¡¯t prepare anything.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay. We were nning to go today, so we already prepared enough things for four people.¡¹

    I ignored Lanz¡¯s silent stares.

    Gill didn¡¯t say anything.

    I left the guild with Rurina. We have a goblin subjugation to do.

 Chapter 13 â€“ Bear-san Subjugates The Goblins

    Chapter 13 ¨C Bear-san Subjugates The Goblins

    I left with Rurina-san in order to subjugate the goblins.

    ¡¸I will ask just in case, but Yuna-chan, are you nning on going dressed like that?¡¹

    She looked at the bear and asked.

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Geez, I¡¯ve already given up.

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    She looked at my bear and sighed.

    ¡¸By the way, where are the goblins located?¡¹

    ¡¸They are near a mountain vige, six hours east from here.¡¹

    ¡¸Six hours!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, so it¡¯s better if we leave soon. I want to arrive during the day.¡¹

    Why are you telling a hikikomori to walk for six hours?

    If it weren¡¯t for the bear shoes, a distance like that would be forbidden.

    ¡¸I have food and water, so it will be all right.¡¹

    I¡¯m not worried about that.

    Incidentally, the ce I had practiced magic was in the forest, near the west gate.

    I sighed when I thought about the six hour walk.

    If I had known the location, I would have refused.

    It¡¯s toote now.

    I walk away from the town feeling depressed.

    ¡¸Umm, can I ask something? ¡¹

    ¡¸If I can answer it.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you dressed like that? I don¡¯t know how strong you are, but isn¡¯t it a better idea for an adventurer to wear good protective equipment?¡¹

    Someone actually asked the question I had thought of before.

    Q. Why are you dressed like that?

    A1: Because I like this outfit.

    (I don¡¯t intend to tell such a lie)

    A2: I answer honestly and say that this is the strongest protective gear.

    (I¡¯m not an idiot who would spill her own secret)

    A3: I can¡¯t use magic if I don¡¯t wear this.

    (I¡¯m not an idiot who would announce her own weakness)

    A4: I lie and say that this is a keepsake from my mother.

    (That isn¡¯t a reason to wear it all the time)

    A5: I say that it¡¯s ordinary protective armor.

    (I wonder if this is safe?)

    ¡¸That¡¯s because it¡¯s stronger thanmon protective gear.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Although I don¡¯t know the material it¡¯s made from, the bear has good physical and magic defense. Also, this white bear is an item bag.¡¹

    I had already shown the bear box when I was shopping, so there was no reason to hide it.

    I will just make her think that the bear is better thanmon protective gear.

    ¡¸Then, that ck bear is?¡¹

    ¡¸Power enhancement? It amplifies my power.¡¹

    I walked over towards the rock on the side of the road and hit it with a Bear Punch.

    The rock shattered.

    ¡¸I hit Deborane with this power, so it¡¯s no wonder he has a swollen face.¡¹

    Rurina seemed to be persuaded after seeing this bit of information.

    ¡¸Then, do those shoes also do something?¡¹

    ¡¸Shoes? ..........Yeah¡¹

    I just came up with a good idea.

    I looked at the bear gloves and shoes.

    I tried not tough and grinned.

    ¡¸Rurina.¡¹

    ¡¸What?...Those eyes...¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, do you want to get to the vige a little early?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    She felt uneasy and took a little distance from me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s bothersome to walk for 6 hours, so we will do this instead!¡¹

    I snuck behind Rurina-san and tapped her behind her knees. As soon as she copsed, I caught her.

    It was a girl¡¯s dream.

    It¡¯s the Princess Carry.

    It¡¯s not something that I¡¯d want though.

    ¡¸Hold on to me properly. It will be dangerous if you try to speak and bite your tongue.¡¹

    After saying that, I start running.

    ¡¸Hey ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`¡¹

    Fast, fast.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! Please stop©`©`©`©`©`©`¡¹

    I ignored her words and kept running.

    She¡¯s light, thanks to the bear gloves.

    I¡¯m fast, thanks to the bear shoes.

    The bear shoes are also stopping me from getting tired, no matter how much I run.

    We quickly arrived near the vige.

    ¡¸You are terrible, Yuna-chan. Even when I told you to stop so much. Even though it was my first time (Princess Carry)...I was scared.¡¹

    Rurina stared at me with teary eyes afterying down on the ground.

    ¡¸But, we have arrived early right?¡¹

    We arrived in 30 minutes, instead of walking for six hours.

    ¡¸Did you perhaps like it?¡¹

    ¡¸I did not. But still, I didn¡¯t expect to arrive so quickly.¡¹

    It¡¯s still morning, a long time before lunch.

    ¡¸The truth is, I wanted to stay overnight at this vige and hear the reports about the goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go subjugate the goblins right away?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. If you are not tired, let¡¯s go hear about the goblins from the Mayor.¡¹

    We greeted the gatekeeper stationed at the entrance to the vige.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with those clothes. Are you perhaps an adventurer?¡¹

    He looked at me once before asking Rurina-san.

    What¡¯s with those clothes = me.

    Adventurer = Rurina-san.

    I guess.

    ¡¸We havee to subjugate the goblins that have appeared in this neighborhood.¡¹

    ¡¸Only the two of you?¡¹

    He looks uneasy.

    I¡¯m not surprised.

    There were a lot of goblins on the request, but only two women came.

    Not to mention, one was dressed strangely.

    He could only look uneasy.

    ¡¸Yes. We want to hear the story, so could you arrange a meeting with the Mayor?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Follow me.¡¹

    The soldier didn¡¯t get rid of us. Instead, he took us to a house in the middle of the vige.

    ¡¸Mayor, are you in!¡¹

    ¡¸What is it, Roy?¡¹

    A man in his 50¡¯s came out.

    ¡¸The adventurers came.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, have youe to help us? What a relief!¡¹

    When he saw me, his voice became lower.

    ¡¸Umm, I¡¯m sorry, but only two people?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, only the two of us, but rest assured that we willplete the request.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    He looked at me with the same uneasy look as the gatekeeper.

    After all, appearance is important, right~

    A little girl who said she hade toplete a goblin extermination.

    Even if I had been told that, I would also think that it¡¯s impossible for a little girl.

    ¡¸If possible, I want you to tell us the location of the goblins.¡¹

    Rurina-san realized the Mayor¡¯s feelings and changed the topic so it would not get worse.

    ¡¸The goblins came from those mountains. I often saw them while I was hunting.¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that there are 50 of them, can you confirm this?¡¹

    ¡¸One person fell victim to them in the mountains. That was when we saw them.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so. Then we will go take a look. If we don¡¯t return by tomorrow, please contact the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Thank you in advance.¡¹

    We left the vige and headed towards the mountains.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you really okay by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I have only one request for Rurina-san. Please get the proof of subjugation and do the skinning.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    Pledge secured!

    The proof of subjugation seems to be the Magic stone.

    You have to cut the body open and take it out.

    Un, Impossible!

    It¡¯s even more troubling because the goblins can¡¯t be used as materials.

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go. I will walk in front, so follow me.¡¹

    I used my detection skill, the Observing Eyes of the Bear.

    I see a lot of reactions in that direction.

    It¡¯s inconvenient that there is no map, but it¡¯s nice to know what direction to go.

    There are dangerous reactions straight ahead.

    I decided to go and defeat it, whatever it was.

    ¡¸Umm, I don¡¯t mind following behind you, but please be more careful of the surroundings.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m using detection magic, and there are no monsters nearby.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you have such a magic?!¡¹

    ¡¸Surprisingly, there are a lot of goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸A lot?¡¹

    ¡¸About 100 of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, 100?! Is that true?! That¡¯s absolutely impossible for us.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? There are only 100 Deboranes.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really saying that?¡¹

    ¡¸I am.¡¹

    She sighed in defeat.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to tell you now, if it gets dangerous, I will leave you and run.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    I¡¯m faster anyways.

    ¡¸Haa, is it really okay? You may have made a wrong choice.¡¹

    We walked around in the forest for an hour.

    In the meantime, we had met 20 goblins.

    ¡¸That detection magic is convenient, letting you know the position of the goblins. It¡¯s too unfair to kill them with long range magic before they even notice you.¡¹

    ¡¸Get the stones properly.¡¹

    ¡¸I know.¡¹

    The goblin fell in front of Rurina, and she took out her knife to cut it. She got the stone and burned the corpse.

    It was to keep the other animals and monsters away.

    ¡¸It seems that the goblin nest is nearby.¡¹

    I concentrated the detection magic at one ce.

    I will approach slowly now.

    It was the same in the game. When subjugating a crowd, a surprise attack was very effective.

    Before I was noticed, I used my strongest magic and struck the first blow against the unsuspecting monsters.

    If it was in the game, the subjugation would be a sess.

    ¡¸It looks like those are the caves.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you, by any chance, nning on entering those caves?¡¹

    Even I don¡¯t want to enter a cave that has a crowd of goblins.

    There were around five of them standing at the cave¡¯s entrance.

    Probably the guards.

    ¡¸I want to confirm something, so wait here.¡¹

    I recited the chant for wind magic and unleashed it towards the cave.

    The wind magic passed through every corner of the cave.

    ¡¸Confirmation done. Apparently, the only entrance to the cave is over there. I will go now, so wait here¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, are you really going?¡¹

    I cut off the heads of the five goblins before her voice reached me.

    I then imagined a burning red bear.

    ¡¸Bearfire¡¹

    A bear-shaped me was thrown into the cave.

    I followed it up with another spell.

    ¡¸Bear Wall¡¹

    I sealed the entrance with a bear-shaped wall.

    It¡¯s finished.

    Now I only need to wait.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what did you do?¡¹

    ¡¸I shot hot mes into the cave, then sealed the entrance with a lid. Right now, the cave is burning hot and it¡¯s also running out of oxygen, so they will start suffocating.¡¹

    ¡¸Oxygen? Suffocating?¡¹

    Was oxygen possibly not known about in this world?

    If so, exining would be troublesome.

    ¡¸Simply put, the inside of the cave is running out of air.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Air disappears when lit on fire and sealed. Therefore, the goblins are now suffering from theck of air. Nice and easy, right? Or did you think I wanted to fight the goblins inside the cave?¡¹

    Rurina-san shook her head.

    ¡¸There¡¯s time to spare and the goblins are busy, so let¡¯s have a lunch?¡¹

    ¡¸You want to eat here?¡¹

    Don¡¯t say that.

    I won¡¯t eat at a ce where goblins can attack at any moment.

    Though, I have detection magic, so I¡¯m okay.

    ¡¸We could also go back to the vige, but isn¡¯t that tooplicated?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah but...By the way, how long should we wait?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, just a few minutes? I intend to wait until I can confirm that all the goblins have died by using the detection magic.¡¹

    For the time being, Rurina-san processed the goblins at the entrance of the cave.

    She then took out lunch from the bag that was on her waist.

    That was the item bag, huh.

    ¡¸How much space does that bag have?¡¹

    ¡¸This? It can¡¯t take as much as your bear can. It only has enough space for about five wolfes.¡¹

    Only that much?

    If I think about it, this bear is a cheat item.

    I ate the provided lunch, but it wasn¡¯t good.

    It was dried meat and lukewarm water. Apparently, the item bag doesn¡¯t stop time.

    I should have prepared a meal of my own.

    After lunch, I used the detection magic.

    ¡¸Hmm?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸One survived.¡¹

    ¡¸One...no way.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know something?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you said that there were about 100 goblins, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Un.¡¹

    ¡¸It may be the Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸Goblin King...¡¹

    Goblin King...the king of goblins, stronger and more intelligent than ordinary goblins.

    ¡¸Un, it¡¯s certainly possible, with 100 goblins around.¡¹

    ¡¸It does not look like it will die, so we have to fight it.¡¹

    ¡¸Impossible! The Goblin King is C-rank monster. It¡¯s a monster that needs a party of C-rank adventurers to take down.¡¹

    Even so, it¡¯s a monster that can¡¯t use magic and it¡¯s only a little strong.

    It would be dangerous if it hits me, of course, but I have no intention of getting hit.

    ¡¸We should return to the guild and call for support.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, it should be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, please. Please do as I say this time.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, I will go into the cave alone and fight. If I don¡¯te back out, call the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t send you to your death.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be fine. I¡¯m moving the rock.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan!¡¹

    I removed the bear wall, ignoring Rurina¡¯s cries.

    Hot air came out of the cave.

    I dissipated the air using wind magic.

    The entrance was still hot because of the bear mes.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t go inside if it¡¯s like this.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible, so let¡¯s return.¡¹

    ¡¸Un? Apparently, the King himself ising out.¡¹

    ¡¸You must be kidding...¡¹

    ¡¸Rurina, hide in the back.¡¹

    A huge goblin holding a red sword came out of the cave.

    It saw me and roared.

    This was the Goblin King.

    I started the battle with Air Cutter.

    The Goblin King waved his sword and cut through the spell.

    I started running when it targeted me.

    Fast.

    I took a sword out from the Bear Box and blocked the Goblin King¡¯s sword.

    Heavy.

    My power was slightly higher than the goblin¡¯s, so it was pushed back.

    The Goblin King swung down at me with one hand.

    I defended against it with the white bear, regained my bnce, and prepared to use magic.

    I wonder if my level is lower?

    If ordinary magic doesn¡¯t work, how about the bear magic?

    ¡¸Bear Cutter¡¹

    I imagine the sharp ws of a bear and shot them towards the Goblin King.

    Three wind des attacked the Goblin King.

    He used his sword the same way as before and tried to destroy the magic.

    However, the Bear Cutter did not disappear and hit the Goblin King.

    ¡¸Hmm?¡¹

    It didn¡¯t fall.

    The Goblin King took on three Bear Cutters, but it hadn¡¯t defeated him.

    ¡¸Hard?¡¹

    However, I knew that I had hurt it.

    The Goblin King roared in frustration and red at me.

    I started running.

    I think it¡¯s almost time to settle this.

    I used Earth magic to create a pothole in front of the goblin.

    No matter how intelligent it was, it couldn¡¯t notice a hole right in front of it, especially if it¡¯s head was full of rage.

    The Goblin King can only see me.

    He didn¡¯t watch his steps and fell into the hole.

    It might extinguish the me again, so I shot Bear Cutters towards the hole.

    ¡¸Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter¡¹

    It¡¯s surprisingly tenacious.

    I could hear screams from the hole.

    It might have been trying to climb up, but the Bear Cutters had sent it back down.

    I couldn¡¯t hear the screams anymore after shooting the Bear Cutters.

    I used the detection magic and saw that the reaction of the Goblin King was gone.

    When I stopped casting magic, Rurina came out from behind a tree.

    ¡¸Is it over?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not getting any response from the magic, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it, you really did defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸It was unexpectedly tenacious, I was surprised. Well, I¡¯m going to confirm that it¡¯s dead, so stay away from the hole.¡¹

    I raised the ground with Earth magic.

    The Goblin King¡¯s corpse came out of the hole.

    It was dead, but its face still showed fear.

    ¡¸It really is dead, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    I shot another Bear Cutter to make sure, but the Goblin King didn¡¯t show any reaction.

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s do this.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can it fit into your item bag?¡¹

    ¡¸It can.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, can I ask you to do it? It would be enough to bring the stone, but let¡¯s bring the whole body, just in case.¡¹

    I put the Goblin King into the Bear Box.

    I also picked up the sword.

    ¡¸Now, only the goblins in the cave are left.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go when it cools down.¡¹

    I cooled down the cave with water and wind magic.

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s okay to enter the cave now. After you.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, just to confirm, is the cave really safe?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s safe. Only, so many goblins died, so skinning them all might be difficult.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, help me...¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t.¡¹

    It¡¯s not like I can just slice up a body and take the stone from it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s dark in the cave, so be careful.¡¹

    ¡¸I have antern, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, then, please take this.¡¹

    I produced a light with light magic.

    ¡¸Please take it.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s shaped like a bear, but I will dly take it.¡¹

    Rurina-san entered the cave alone.

    There should be around 80 bodies in the cave. It takes one minute to take out the stone from a body, so it should take around 80 minutes just to gather the stones.

    I think that it will take about two hours in total, with all the walking she will have to do in the cave.

    I made a small house with earth magic and added a window for better venttion.

    I thought about the possibility of other monsters appearing and blocked the entrance.

    They wouldn¡¯t be able to enter through the window because it¡¯s small.

    Finally, I made a bed of soil andid down.

    It¡¯s hard, but it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t fall asleep.

    I will buy nkets next time.

    I was mentally tired, so I fell asleep immediately.

 Chapter 14 â€“ Bear-san Reports

    Chapter 14 ¨C Bear-san Reports

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! Yuna-chan! Wake up!¡¹

    ¡¸So noisy.¡¹

    I rubbed my sleepy eyes and raised my body.

    ¡¸You finally got up.¡¹

    Rurina looked at me through the small window.

    I straightened my back and stretched.

    ¡¸You were sleeping while I was working hard. That¡¯s not fair.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because skinning is Rurina-san¡¯s job. Are you done?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m done. I was so surprised when I walked out of the cave and saw a house. When I peeked inside it, I saw you sleeping. There is no door, so I couldn¡¯t get in.¡¹

    I opened the wall with magic and walked out.

    When I looked up at the sky, I could see that it had passed noon.

    About 3:00 p.m.?

    ¡¸There were so many goblins. It was really tiring, since Yuna-chan didn¡¯t help.¡¹

    I ignored theining and changed the topic.

    ¡¸Is there anything else we need in the cave?¡¹

    ¡¸No, there isn¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will close the entrance, since it would be troublesome if other monsters started living there.¡¹

    I blocked the entrance using Earth magic.

    Any chance of other monsters settling in the cave is gone.

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go back.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m tired though...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I will carry you.¡¹

    I don¡¯t intend on returning leisurely.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan...you don¡¯t mean...¡¹

    ¡¸The road is bad because it¡¯s a mountain, so don¡¯t talk.¡¹

    I smiled.

    I went down the mountain while holding Rurina, who had a face of defeat.

    Jump! Jump! Jump!

    Every time I jumped, Rurina screamed.

    Screams are loud when theye from right next to your ears.

    I ignored the screaming and continued running.

    When we arrived near the entrance to the vige, I let Rurina down and walked towards the gatekeeper.

    Rurina¡¯s legs look wobbly. I wonder if it¡¯s just my imagination?

    We greeted the gatekeeper and headed towards the mayor¡¯s house.

    ¡¸Umm, you came back quickly. Was it impossible after all?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s done.¡¹

    ¡¸Say what?¡¹

    ¡¸The goblin subjugation request is finished.¡¹

    ¡¸These are the Goblins¡¯ magic stones.¡¹

    Rurina took out a leather bag from her item bag.

    She untied it and showed the mayor the contents.

    It¡¯s probably the magic stones.

    I definitely won¡¯t look.

    I don¡¯t want to see blood-covered magic stones.

    I¡¯ll lose my appetite if I look.

    It would be alright if they were cleaned with water, but I don¡¯t think there was any water in that cave.

    ¡¸Oo, then you were able to subjugate the goblins. But, isn¡¯t there too many?¡¹

    ¡¸Because there were 100 of them.¡¹

    ¡¸100!?¡¹

    The mayor was surprised.

    Well, of course you would be surprised if so many goblins had lived near your vige.

    ¡¸Please rest assured. All of them were defeated. We also blocked the cave that the goblins were living in, so I don¡¯t think any new demons will settle nearby.¡¹

    ¡¸Th, thank you very much.¡¹

    The mayor lowered his head.

    ¡¸Then, I will prepare an inn for you to stay in.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much.¡¹¡¸No, we are returning.¡¹

    Rurina and my words ovepped.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s alreadyte.¡¹

    ¡¸We can get back before dusk.¡¹

    Two people stared.

    ¡¸Are you, perhaps, nning on princess-carrying me again?¡¹

    ¡¸There is no difference between doing it two or three times.¡¹

    ¡¸But, they kindly offered to let us stay at an inn.¡¹

    ¡¸Finishing troublesome things quickly is my motto.¡¹

    ¡¸...Are we really going?¡¹

    I nodded

    ¡¸...I understand. We should report about the Goblin King too, so let¡¯s return.¡¹

    ¡¸Goblin King?¡¹

    The mayor reacted to Rurina¡¯s words.

    ¡¸The reason 100 goblins gathered was because of the Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, that Goblin King is?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right. The Goblin King was also defeated, so it¡¯s safe.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    After being thanked by the vigers, we left the vige.

    ¡¸Please run gently. Also, jumping is absolutely prohibited!¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    Did I frighten Rurina by jumping off the mountain?

    Rurina clung to me on her own.

    ¡¸It¡¯s frustrating, but hugging the Bear feels really nice.¡¹

    Rurina stroked (the bear) me.

    I want you to stop.

    It¡¯s unpleasant, somehow.

    I couldn¡¯t handle the stroking so I held Rurina in a princess carry and started running.

    The road was t, unlike in the mountains, so it was easy to run.

    I ignored the reactions from monsters in the distance and ran.

    asionally, we passed adventurers in carriages, but I didn¡¯t mind them.

    It seemed like one of them was yelling something but I couldn¡¯t understand it.

    The gate of the city came into view.

    ¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing, so please put me down.¡¹

    I ignored the noise near my ear and kept running.

    ¡¸Yu, Yuna-chan? Please?¡¹

    The embrace got tighter, but it didn¡¯t hurt.

    I arrived at the west gate like that.

    The gatekeeper was surprised.

    Rurina was ashamed.

    I look like a bear.

    Three people stood in silence.

    I put down Rurina and silently handed my Guild Card to the gatekeeper.

    The gatekeeper confirmed the card in silence.

    Two people quietly entered the city.

    ¡¸Umm, should I carry you to the guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Stop it!¡¹

    Embarrassed, Rurina headed towards the Guild to report.

    There was a considerable number of adventurers who had finished their work standing at the entrance to the guild.

    When I thought that I wasn¡¯t going to get in anytime soon, the adventurers noticed me and opened a path.

    The road opened like the sea before Moses.

    ¡¸Can I?¡¹

    ¡¸Why not?¡¹

    After entering, we headed towards the reception desk.

    When we lined up at the reception desk, someone called to us from behind.

    ¡¸Rurina, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you here, Lanz?¡¹

    Lanz and Gil were seated on chairs while looking at us intensely.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know when you guys wereing back so I was waiting here, but my expectations seem to have been proven correct. For you to have returned this quickly, you must have been frightened by the number of goblins and ran.¡¹

    Lanz put on a dirty smile.

    Do you understand?

    If I fail the request, you also fail.

    ¡¸Lanz, I¡¯m sorry, but the request waspleted.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa?¡¹

    The fool became even more foolish when he heard Rurina¡¯s words.

    ¡¸The request is finished. 100 goblins and a Goblin King defeated.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa, what are you talking about? 100 goblins? Goblin King? You¡¯re taking your jokes too far.¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t a joke.¡¹

    The other adventurers turned this way after hearing Lanz¡¯s loud voice.

    ¡¸100 goblins?¡¹

    ¡¸Goblin King?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s probably a lie.¡¹

    ¡¸No way they defeated a Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸100 goblins! That¡¯s impossible with only two people.¡¹

    ¡¸But, it¡¯s that bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible if it¡¯s that Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸It is the Bear, after all.¡¹

    After hearing our conversation, the adventurers started moring.

    Still, why is it all about a bear?

    ¡¸Rurina-san. About the Goblin King, is that true?¡¹

    Helen came over.

    ¡¸I want to talk to you for a bit. Pleasee over here.¡¹

    We were guided to a desk with no people around.

    ¡¸Then, please tell me about it. If I¡¯m correct, Rurina-san received a request for subjugating a horde of goblins that appeared in the vicinity of a mountain vige. The number of goblins was approximately 50.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but when we got there, there were around 100 goblins.¡¹

    The adventurers with good ears behind us started to make noise when I reported.

    ¡¸Excuse me, but do you have the proof of subjugation?¡¹

    Rurina took out the leather bag that contained the magic stones from the item bag.

    ¡¸I will confirm it.¡¹

    She received the magic stones and started operating a machine at the counter.

    ¡¸Yes, these are certainly magic stones from goblins subdued today. I also heard about the Goblin King, is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the boss of goblins was the Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it true? Then we must quickly form a C ranking party.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right. Yuna-chan already defeated it.¡¹

    ¡¸...Defeated the Goblin King alone...¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear knocked down the Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear...¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear...¡¹

    It spread like an echo.

    ¡¸Is that really the truth? Then, I will have to ask you for the magic stone.¡¹

    ¡¸I have brought the Goblin King¡¯s corpse, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa, Yuna-san¡¯s bear item bag, right? Umm, it¡¯s probablyrge, right? I¡¯m sorry, but could we move to the next room?¡¹

    Adventurers followed us and Helen, like goldfish in a stream.

    ¡¸Could you take it out here?¡¹

    I held the White Bear and ejected the corpse.

    Sighs, cries, and various other voices leaked out from around us.

    ¡¸This is, undoubtedly, the Goblin King.¡¹

    The Goblin King¡¯s face showed resentment.

    Many of the adventurers looked afraid after seeing its face.

    Furthermore, they were astonished that I defeated it.

    Many wounds from a fierce fight could be seen on the Goblin King¡¯s body.

    Nobody would think that it was a one-sided ughter.

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Is it okay if we buy the corpse ourselves?¡¹

    ¡¸The Goblin King¡¯s material is usable?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. The Goblin King¡¯s skin is different from that of normal goblins, so it can be used to raise an equipment¡¯s strength and durability. The bones are used for weapons and made into magic tools. The Magic stone is powerful, so it has various uses.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m alright with it, but Rurina-san...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also alright with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, can we move back to the reception desk?¡¹

    I went back to the reception desk.

    The adventurers were still goldfish, so they followed too.

    ¡¸This request was received by Rurina-san¡¯s party. However, it was done because of Yuna-san¡¯s help, so what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Please mark it as joint party between Yuna-chan and our party.¡¹

    ¡¸Rurina?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan was the one who defeated it. We can¡¯t possibly say that it was our achievement. All I did was negotiate and skin the goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Let¡¯s handle it like that then. Everyone in Rurina-san¡¯s party, please submit your Guild Cards.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m good.¡¹

    ¡¸Lanz?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything. I was just waiting while thinking that woman would run away ande back. I onlyughed when I heard her say that she would defeat the goblins alone.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also good. I did nothing as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Gill?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Then, I will handle this request as if only Rurina-san and Yuna-sanpleted it. Will that be all right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸This is the reward forpleting the request and for the Goblin magic stones and this is the bonus for the subjugation of the Goblin King and its materials.¡¹

    Two bags were handed over.

    Rurina gave me the bonus bag.

    ¡¸There is no way that I can receive this. Also, take half of this.¡¹

    Half of the money received forpleting the request was handed to me.

    ¡¸Is it alright?¡¹

    ¡¸It was a reward for two people. I only did the skinning, but I can¡¯t give you all of it, so take half.¡¹

    I obediently put the money I received into the bear box.

    ¡¸Also, I¡¯m sorry. I will take care of Lanz, as well as Deborane.¡¹

    Lanz looked embarrassed.

    ¡¸Uun, I also had fun. I got to practice my magic against the Goblin King, so my time was not wasted.¡¹

    I became more efficient in using magic, thanks to having the Goblin King as my sparring partner.

    Since I defeated the Goblin King, I might be able to beat other monsters with ease.

    After leaving the Guild, Rurina-san invited me to go eat together, so we went to a store she rmended with Lanz and Gill.

    Lanz lowered his head and apologizedter.

    Gill also apologized for not joining us for the goblin subjugation.

    I decided to forgive them and had supper with them.

    ¡¸Is it really okay to treat us?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I have the money from defeating the Goblin King. You can also think of it as Deborane¡¯s medical fee.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then, I will eat without holding back.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I returned to the Inn after having a meal with those three.

    I informed Elena that I would not be having dinner and went straight to bed.

 Chapter 15 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Rainy Day Off | Part 1

    Chapter 15 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Rainy Day Off | Part 1

    I was staying indoors today because it had been raining since morning.

    I read a book about monsters to kill time.

    The majority of the Monsters described in the book were those often found in games, novels, andics.

    It might be a good idea to go around the world and look for them.

    I decided to go down to the first floor because my stomach was ready to have lunch.

    There were a lot of customers in the dining room.

    When I asked Elena about it,

    ¡¸Oh, the street stalls have to close, thanks to the rain, so customers are looking for stores that can stop them from getting wet. They focus on the shops that can keep them out of the rain.¡¹

    Certainly, the street stalls were done for in that rain.

    I would think that a customer wouldn¡¯t feel like shopping in the rain and would look for a warm ce to eat instead.

    When you think about it, it¡¯s natural for them to choose a store that keeps them out of the rain.

    I looked around the dining room for a ce to sit, but it was full.

    I didn¡¯t want to share a table with strangers, so I decided to go back, but at that moment,

    ¡¸Yuna-san, excuse me but there is no seat avable, so how about eating in your room?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. The truth is, I¡¯d like to prioritize Yuna-san, since you¡¯re living in the Inn, but...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Then, I would like today¡¯s special.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will take it to your room immediately, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    Approximately five minutes after I returned to my room, someone knocked on the door.

    That was surprisingly fast.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, could you please open the door?¡¹

    When I opened the door, Elena brought in a steaming hot dish.

    Since lunch was not included in the amodations, I payed Elena after receiving the food.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸You have it hard, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it¡¯s a good time to make a profit.¡¹

    She answered cheerfully and went back.

    I gratefully ate the food that was ced on the table.

    Stir-fried vegetables with meat, hot soup, and fresh bread.

    I appreciated the warm dish.

    I gnawed on the bread, but I already missed rice.

    The bread is delicious, but, as a Japanese, I need rice.

    I also want to eat ramen, but would there be something like that in this world?

    I will ask Elena next time.

    After finishing the meal, I thought about the schedule for the afternoon.

    I looked at my status screen.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15

    Level: 18

    Skills: Language from a Different World, Letters from a Different World, Dimensional Box of the Bear, Observing Eyes of the Bear

    Bear¡¯s Detection, Bear¡¯s Map

    Magic: Bear¡¯s Light, Bear¡¯s Body Reinforcement, Bear¡¯s Fire Magic, Bear¡¯s Water Magic, Bear¡¯s Wind Magic, Bear¡¯s Earth Magic

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (Non-transferable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (Non-transferable)

    Bear Suit (Non-transferable)

    Bear Underwear (Non-transferable)

    The number of skills has increased since thest time I checked.

    Bear¡¯s Map

    It is possible to make a map of the ces you have seen with the Bear¡¯s Eyes.

    When I produced the Bear¡¯s Map, all the ces where I had been, namely the ces around the town, the vige where the goblins appeared, the forest in the east, and the west gate, appeared.

    Everything else waspletely ck.

    It seems to be some kind of minigame.

    Although it¡¯s convenient, it¡¯s unfortunate that only the ces I¡¯ve visited are disyed.

    Well, getting a map of the world so suddenly would make it boring.

    Then I looked at the map, right at the ce where the Goblin King had appeared, and remembered.

    I took out a sword from the Bear Box.

    It was the Goblin King¡¯s sword.

    It didn¡¯t look as sinister as it did when the Goblin King wielded it.

    It had be a clean, shining, silver sword.

    Goblin King¡¯s Sword

    Level: 7

    Effects: Strength increase, Magical Power increase

    Strength increase

    Increases the strength of the user.

    Magic Effect

    It¡¯s possible to enchant this sword with magic.

    I think that was the reason the sword looked so ominous in the hands of the Goblin King.

    When I put some of my Magical Power into the sword, it sparkled a beautiful silver.

    Even if you felt depressed, you didn¡¯t have to cken it to that extent.

    I think it will be useful in the future.

    The rain won¡¯t stop today.

    When I thought about what to do for the rest of the day, I couldn¡¯t immediately think of anything to do.

    My experience of being a hikikomori was high, but it was useless if there was no inte, TV, novels, orics.

    Since there was nothing entertaining, I was unexpectedly free.

    There was nothing left to do but sleep.

    However, if I slept now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep at night.

    In Japan, if I couldn¡¯t sleep, I would read novels, y games, or browse the inte, but there was nothing to do in this world.

    So, from now on, I decided to think about what I can do.

    I decided to do some muscle training because I became a little concerned about it while fighting the Goblin King.

    My upper arms were like jelly.

    Thanks to the Bear, I could do push-ups a few times, dozens of times or hundreds of times and never get tired.

    Won¡¯t my armse off if I don¡¯t take a break? While thinking that, I took off the Bear. I¡¯m now in underwear.

    I¡¯m definitely wearing a shirt on the top.

    The bottom is still a Bear though.

    I¡¯m not wearing the underwear I bought before because they weren¡¯tfortable.

    I think I will go to the high quality shop next time.

    I tried doing push-ups while thinking that.

    Yes, even doing ten of them was impossible.

    Nothing has changed since my time in Japan.

    I decided to give up on my jelly-like upper arms and obediently put on the Bear.

    The scary thing is, I¡¯m gradually getting used to the appearance of this bear.

 Chapter 16 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Rainy Day Off | Part 2 Author note:

    Chapter 16 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Rainy Day Off | Part 2

    Author note: Sorry that it¡¯s short.

    Let¡¯s give up on muscle training. Since lunch time was almost over, I went downstairs to find another way to pass the time.

    The dining room and the reception desk of the inn were on the first floor.

    It waspletely crowded, just like during lunchtime earlier.

    Although right now, there wasn¡¯t a single person eating a meal.

    Elena sat at the counter with a fatigued expression.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-san, I apologize for earlier.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what¡¯s up?¡¹

    ¡¸Just killing a little time.¡¹

    I sat at the counter.

    ¡¸Even if I say that I¡¯m killing time, there¡¯s nothing to do. For now, can I get something to drink?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, just a moment.¡¹

    Elena went into the back and brought out a drink.

    ¡¸Here you go, Mira¡¯s Fruit Juice.¡¹

    There was a portion for herself as well. She sat in front of me and started drinking.

    ¡¸Are you free?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m on my break. I was really busy earlier, so I¡¯m resting now. Even so, I¡¯m still tending to the store, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m cking off!¡¹

    For the time being, I expressed my thanks as I received the juice.

    The juice was a little bittersweet.

    It¡¯s a shame that it¡¯s lukewarm.

    Un?

    If it¡¯s lukewarm, then it will be fine if I just cool it.

    I touched the ss with the ck bear.

    I thought of an image of ice while inputting magic power.

    With a popping sound, ice began floating in the middle of the ss.

    ¡¸Hey, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Just putting ice into the juice. I think it will be delicious when it¡¯s cold.¡¹

    After saying that, I drank the juice.

    It¡¯s deliciousness has gone up a few levels.

    ¡¸I-I want some ice too, please!¡¹

    While I was savoring my drink, Elena held out her ss.

    I wasn¡¯t really going to refuse, so I also dropped some ice into Elena¡¯s ss.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Elena skillfully spun her ice drink until it reached a suitable chill before drinking.

    ¡¸Oh, delicious! Just chilling it makes it quite delicious. This would be great on hot days, but there¡¯s no space left in the fridge for chilling the juice.¡¹

    Even in this world, refrigerators existed.

    They were made by using an ice magic stone.

    The ice magic stone was difficult to obtain, so it was quite valuable in this town.

    ording to the Monster Guide Book, monsters who lived in the north yielded ice magic stones.

    Well, to put it simply, monsters with ice magic stones couldn¡¯t be found around here.

    However, that was only needed when creating a refrigerator with a freezer option.

    For a normal refrigerator to chill food, even the no-attribute magic stones from the wolves could be utilized, once an ice magic element was inserted.

    Therefore, having a freezer was a luxury.

    Ordinary people generally used a refrigerator.

    ¡¸If only the refrigerator was a little bigger...¡¹

    My iced juice made clinking sounds as I drank it.

    ¡¸Elena isn¡¯t able to use magic?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, there¡¯s no way I could. Anyone who could use magic wouldn¡¯t be a simple innkeeper¡¯s daughter. I¡¯m quite jealous of you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Even if you say that you¡¯re envious, I can¡¯t use magic without the bear.

    Basically, residents of this world all had magic power (ording to Elena).

    I was taught this when I was using the bath for the first time.

    A water magic stone and a fire magic stone were used in the bath.

    When magic power was poured into the magic stones, hot water came out.

    When I was using the bath, I didn¡¯t think about using it, since I was naked, but normally, it could be used for relief.

    Even the bear¡¯s usage descriptions had ¡°usage of magic power¡± written, so I understood that I also had magic power within me.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t use magic without the bear costume.

    Even Elena, who had magic power, still said that she couldn¡¯t use magic.

    In short, in this world, the rtionship of magic and magic power wasn¡¯t really understood.

    It was likely that I¡¯d be the same as Elena without the bear.

    Taking that into ount, was there a chance that I could use magic, even when I wasn¡¯t wearing the bear?

    Though, it¡¯s super convenient that just thinking of an image is enough to use magic when I¡¯m wearing the bear, so I don¡¯t want to think about it right now.

    In the end, I ended up chatting with Elena until it was time for dinner.

    I, who was just killing time, was fine, but Elena, who was seen as cking off, received a furious scolding from her mother.

 Chapter 17 â€“ Bear-san Gets A Scolding And Rank D

    Chapter 17 ¨C Bear-san Gets A Scolding And Rank D

    Author note: Because I write slowly, tomorrow might be impossible...

    After I hadpleted the Goblin King subjugation, and while I was still receiving requests from the guild, I began to conduct various experiments.

    The application of magic, the methods for magic imaging, and confirming the power of bear magic.

    How to use the Goblin King¡¯s sword, how to input magic.

    How to use throwing knives.

    Confirming the offensive and defensive power of the Bear.

    Confirming the limitations, size, and other properties of the Bear Box.

    While conducting these various experiments, a week passed.

    Even today, I put the wolf I had used for an experiment back into the Bear Box when I finished.

    Then, let¡¯s go report to the guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you ¡°only¡± have wolves today as well?¡¹

    Why is it that the ¡°only¡± part of the sentence has such a strong emphasis...?

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸...Why do you ask such a thing?¡¹

    ¡¸Recently, many of the adventurers who were taking subjugation requests came back unable to fulfill their requests.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸I was told that, even if they headed out early, there were no monsters to be found.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸A vige submitted an orc subjugation request, without knowing that the orcs had already disappeared.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸Adventurers went on a kobold subjugation, but there were no kobolds.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸Adventurers went on a horned rabbit subjugation, but couldn¡¯t find any.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸This kind of thing hasn¡¯t happened just one or two times. Do you happen to know anything?¡¹

    Eyes full of suspicion were directed at me.

    The answer to that question is [YES].

    I knew everything, even the name of the culprit who had subdued everything recently.

    The defeated demons had been stowed away into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Is that so? The adventurers who received the requests sure are pitiful.¡¹

    Helen-san, who had been feigning ignorance, let out a big sigh.

    ¡¸I was also told that, before the subjugations, a girl wearing a cute ck bear costume was sighted quite a few times. Do you know anything about this?¡¹

    She silently looked at me in the eyes.

    Even though I really wanted to look away, I endured it.

    ¡¸Is it possible that my appearance is now popr?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that situation obviously impossible! The person who appeared is Yuna-san, of course! You¡¯re the only one like this!¡¹

    ¡¸If you already knew, wasn¡¯t it fine to just say so from the start?¡¹

    ¡¸The guild master told me to summon you when you came.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m stealing anyone¡¯s subjugation request. I just happened to be walking around there and demons just happened to appear, so I defeated them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there¡¯s no problems with that. Moreover, Yuna-san did not receive any subjugation requests to begin with.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why-¡¹

    ¡¸But, as one of the obligations of a registered guild member, I want you to report any demons you have subjugated. That way, adventurers who received a request but were unable toplete it will not be treated as if they failed.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll report it from now on.¡¹

    ¡¸That said, please meet the guild master today.¡¹

    ¡¸Ehhh...¡¹

    ¡¸Not ¡®ehhh¡¯. I¡¯ll guide you, so pleasee with me.¡¹

    I was forcibly taken by Helen-san to the entrance of the guild master¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Guild master, I¡¯ve brought Yuna-san.¡¹

    After knocking on the door, the guild master¡¯s voice could be hearding from inside.

    ¡¸Come in!¡¹

    Helen-san opened the door and entered.

    Inside the room, the guild master was working while sitting behind a desk.

    ¡¸You¡¯re here. You can return to your work, Helen. Yuna, you can sit there.¡¹

    He gestured towards a table in the middle of the room that had six chairs lined up in front of it.

    I sat down properly on a chair in the middle.

    ¡¸So, what do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸What do I want?¡¹

    ¡¸Youplete other people¡¯s monster subjugation requests, while not reporting anything to the guild. You also don¡¯t receive the request reward. You don¡¯t even sell the monster materials. What are you really doing?¡¹

    Killing time, practicing magic, practicing swordy, confirming monster information, expanding the map, and other various things.

    ¡¸I just came to this city recently, so I explored the surrounding area. I just killed the demons that I identally found while exploring.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what about the guild reports?¡¹

    ¡¸I just registered the other day, so I didn¡¯t know.¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t know about the rules on what to do if a party other than the request receiver defeated demons.

    Helen-san, who didn¡¯t teach me these things, is the bad one.

    It seems like it ismon sense amongst adventurers, but as a person who came from another world, of course I wouldn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸And the reason for not selling the monster materials?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not worried about money.¡¹

    ¡¸But, keeping it in the bag will cause it to rot and trouble you, right?¡¹

    Come to think of it, an ordinary item bag normally wouldn¡¯t stop the passage of time. If so, then the things inside would inevitably spoil and go bad.

    ¡¸Right. Can you keep this talk between you and me?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it? I¡¯m not the kind of person who spreads other people¡¯s secrets.¡¹

    ¡¸Since my item bag stops time, nothing rots, so it¡¯s all right.¡¹

    ¡¸...Seriously?¡¹

    For convincing purposes, I took out a wolf that I killed three days ago.

    ¡¸This is a wolf I killed three days ago.¡¹

    The wolf¡¯s corpse was ced onto the table.

    The guild master looked at and inspected the wolf.

    ¡¸It looks like a wolf you killed just a few minutes ago, though.¡¹

    Because of how fresh the corpse was, the guild master was able to judge it immediately.

    The wolf had yet to bepletely drained, so in order to stop the streams of blood from running onto the table, I returned it to the Bear Box after the inspection.

    ¡¸That way, it doesn¡¯t go bad, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand your story. However, from now now, please follow the subjugation rules of the guild. Otherwise, it will cause problems for the other adventurers.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I got it. Can I go now?¡¹

    ¡¸One more thing, did you defeat the orcs?¡¹

    ¡¸I did.¡¹

    There was no point in lying, so I answered obediently.

    ¡¸Haa, thenter today, we¡¯ll raise you to D rank.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it fine to give me a rank up that easily? I have yet to take any D rank requests, you know? If I remember correctly, don¡¯t I need to finish at least ten requests?¡¹

    ¡¸Since you can defeat the orcs and the Goblin King by yourself, it isn¡¯t a problem. Besides, you have more than ten orc corpses in that item box of yours, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    Certainly, there were around ten bodies inside.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but please sell the orc materials to the guildter. If we don¡¯t asionally have a flow of materials into the shop, our reputation will drop.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    ¡¸Ok! Is anyone there?¡¹

    He shouted towards the door.

    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹

    One of the female staff members of the guild immediately entered.

    ¡¸Sorry, but please tell Helen to raise this girl up to rank D.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, you can go now.¡¹

    The guild staff member led me to the front desk, where Helen was waiting.

    After passing on the message from the guild master to Helen, she returned to her work.

    ¡¸Congrattions on your rank up, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    ¡¸But it¡¯s really troublesome, so, if nothing else, please remember to submit reports.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if you understand. Then, since I need to perform the rank up process, please give me your guild card.¡¹

    She ced the guild card onto the crystal te before operating it.

    I still didn¡¯t really understand how that machine worked.

    How was it that all the crystal tes in the country were linked?

    In the end, what was this unknown magical technology?

    ¡¸I also have a request from the guild, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, can you refrain from hunting the wolves that are nearby? Of course, what you choose to hunt is up to you, but the livelihoods of the beginner adventurers would be in trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Though tentatively, I¡¯m also a beginner?¡¹

    Not even ten days had passed since I started out as an adventurer.

    ¡¸Yuna-san cannot be called a beginner.¡¹

    So I was told.

    Well, if you counted the experience I had from the time I spent in the game, I was certainly not a beginner.

    ¡¸A beginner couldn¡¯t possibly defeat a group of goblins, a Goblin King, and monsters of the same level as orcs.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay! It¡¯s fine if I just stop hunting wolves for a while, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. The guild really wants low-ranked adventurers to umte experience and raise their ranks. The wolves and goblins are the most suitable monsters for them to gain experience.¡¹

    ¡¸Goblins are fine?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no problem, since goblins increase quickly. Rather, please subjugate them. Not to mention, goblin materials don¡¯t sell, so it¡¯s not really a popr request.¡¹

    I don¡¯t want to do the goblin subjugation.

    Since the only materials that can be sold from them are magic stones, I can¡¯t even bring the goblin corpses to the guild.

    That¡¯s why, after defeating the goblins, I basically burned and buried them underground.

    ¡¸Well then, the processing is finished, so I¡¯m returning your card to you.¡¹

    I received my guild card.

    I¡¯ve be rank D.

    ¡¸Now that that¡¯s done, can I go home now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine. But, leave after selling your materials, please.¡¹

    After leaving the guild, I went to the building next door, since I needed to sell the materials.

    =====================================

    Yuna: The Question Corner is starting up!

    Fina: What the heck is this, all of a sudden?

    Yuna: This corner will try to answer the questions that our readers have been asking.

    Fina: But, I didn¡¯t ept or prepare for this!

    Yuna: That¡¯s why we wanted to see how the readers felt. Then, Fina, please read the question.

    Fina: Eh, what¡¯s this? Why aren¡¯t the request fees or the money for the monster materials stated?

    Yuna: Because it¡¯s troublesome to decide the price settings, that¡¯s why!

    Fina: That¡¯s it?!

    Yuna: Yes, next question, go!

    (Xant: You ask too many questions, Billy...)

 Chapter 18 â€“ Bear-san Receives Payment (For Sales)

    Chapter 18 ¨C Bear-san Receives Payment (For Sales)

    I left the guild and went to the monster material purchasing counter in the adjacent building.

    There were three counters, and two of them were currently serving guests. Naturally, I headed towards the open counter.

    ¡¸Yo, Bear Missy! Are you selling wolves again?¡¹

    Gentz-san greeted me whileughing.

    ¡¸I have other demons too.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so! The guild will buy anything you have for sale.¡¹

    For now, I took out ten wolves from the Bear Box.

    The adventurers in the room became a little noisy.

    Because a single person had brought ten wolves.

    ¡¸It¡¯s arge amount today, too.¡¹

    Gentz-san called out instructions to the staff members that were further inside to carry the wolves.

    Two people came out from the back to take the wolves.

    When the counter was empty again, I took out ten horned rabbits.

    The mor from the already noisy adventurers in the room became even louder.

    Incidentally, the horned rabbit was roughly one meter long.

    Its appearance was pretty cute, but its jumping power was strong, so a jump attack from the front was dangerous.

    It was quite possible for an adventurer who was equipped with weak armor to be gored at a bad angle and die.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this, you also have horned rabbits? Were these defeated just recently?¡¹

    Once again, Gentz-san called out instructions for the horned rabbits to be carried inside.

    ¡¸As usual, you don¡¯t skin them.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know how to do it, and it¡¯s troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, from the guild¡¯s perspective, an increase in work is a good thing, but adventurers who don¡¯t learn it will receive less money.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll learn it eventually.¡¹

    For appearance¡¯s sake, I answered properly, but for now, I don¡¯t have any intention to learn.

    It might be more correct to say that it¡¯s impossible.

    I have just managed to be ustomed to the corpses of the demons.

    As for skinning, that level is still too high for me.

    While I was talking with Gentz-san, all the horned rabbits on the counter were carried away.

    ¡¸Well then, ten wolves and ten horned rabbits for today, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Not yet, I still have the request from the guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸From the guild master?¡¹

    One orc body was taken out.

    ¡¸Hey, hey, you even have orcs? Wait a minute, don¡¯t tell me you also have ten orc bodies?¡¹

    The height of an average orc ranged from two to three meters tall.

    Forget carrying it by myself, even putting it on the counter was a problem.

    When I took out the orc, the adventurers began to make noise again.

    ¡¸That thing about an orc must be a joke!¡¹

    ¡¸But, there¡¯s no doubt that that¡¯s an orc.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you take it down by yourself?¡¹

    The adventurers were making a lot of noise, but I ignored them and answered Gentz-san¡¯s question.

    ¡¸I did.¡¹

    ¡¸Just a minute, although I have doubts about your item bag, it¡¯ll be quite a problem if you take out ten orcs here. Pleasee to the freezer warehouse in the back.¡¹

    With Gentz-san¡¯s permission, I went towards the warehouse behind the counter.

    As I walked, I heard the voices of the adventurers.

    ¡¸Ten bodies is a lie!¡¹

    ¡¸How is it possible to defeat that many orcs anyways?¡¹

    ¡¸Because it¡¯s the Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s the Bloody Bear, then it might be possible.¡¹

    ¡¸As expected of the Bloody Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸No wonder, it¡¯s the Bloody Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t know...?¡¹

    What is it, that Bloody Bear?

    I wanted to listen to the conversation the adventurers were having, but since Gentz-san had already gone ahead, it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    As expected, I couldn¡¯t hear the voices of the adventurers anymore.

    When I entered the warehouse, it was really chilly and cold, since it used an ice magic stone.

    ¡¸After entering, please close the door. Otherwise, the temperature in the warehouse will rise.¡¹

    Once inside, I closed the door.

    Many dismantled monster materials, as well as meat, were piled up inside.

    The wolves and rabbits I had brought out a little while ago were carried here.

    The guild staff members were working very hard.

    ¡¸It¡¯s cold, but please bear with it. If it¡¯s warm, the meat will rot.¡¹

    Gentz-san headed towards arge table at the very back.

    Even so, there was only enough space to fit one orc.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but please ce one on top of the table. You can ce the rest on the floor nearby.¡¹

    I took out the bodies from the Bear Box as instructed.

    ¡¸Thanks, really. As expected, carrying the orcs is seriously difficult. But, is it okay? If we skin them, the purchase price will fall.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t skin them, so it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not worried about money either.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it makes sense when you sell this much. Changing the subject, Bear Missy, what is your rank now?¡¹

    ¡¸It became D rank today, just a little while ago.¡¹

    ¡¸D rank. Of course that¡¯s the case, after defeating all these orcs. Then, can you listen to a small favor of mine?¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Missy, you¡¯re not good at skinning or dismantling, right?¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸If so, can you leave the skinning work to one of the young people whoes by my ce?¡¹

    ¡¸Then a source of ie for the guild will decrease.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s just Bear Missy¡¯s sales that disappear, it¡¯ll be fine, since you¡¯re one person. There are hundreds of adventurers who work here.¡¹

    That¡¯s certainly true.

    Even before I showed up, the guild was operating properly. That¡¯s why, even if only my portion disappeared, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡¸But, why that person?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s because she¡¯s a minor, so she¡¯s not a guild staff member yet. She¡¯s also a girl, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you talking about Fina?¡¹

    There was only one underage girl among my acquaintances.

    ¡¸Bear Missy also knows, right? About that girl¡¯s family.¡¹

    I nodded.

    Her father was gone, her mother is sick, and she had a sister three years younger than her.

    ¡¸I also give her work, but it¡¯s typically only when there¡¯s too much work at the guild to go around. Usually, the guild staff members can handle everything.¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, you want me to pass on work to Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. She¡¯s very skilled at skinning and dismantling so you can expect her to not damage the materials.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a problem, but I don¡¯t know when I will leave this town.¡¹

    I haven¡¯t decided yet, but I¡¯d like to go to the imperial capital.

    I also want to go see the other countries.

    ¡¸Even so, I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s just when Bear Missy is in town. I just want to give her work.¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, how much should I pay her? I don¡¯t know the market price for dismantling and skinning.¡¹

    ¡¸The guild takes twenty percent. That¡¯s why, it should be fine if you just give her ten percent of the proceeds.¡¹

    ¡¸Is ten percent fine?¡¹

    ¡¸Even that is a lot, you know. If you think that¡¯s too high, it¡¯s fine to lower it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll call Fina over, so please wait for a bit.¡¹

    Gentz-san happily headed into the back room.

    As I was thinking about entering the back room, Fina was brought over.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna!¡¹

    She came running over towards me and hugged me tightly.

    Un, she¡¯s cute.

    I¡¯ll pat her head.

    But, aren¡¯t you a little bloody?

    ¡¸Are you doing well, Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! Is it true that Big sis Yuna is going to give me work?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s true. Please take care of skinning the monsters I¡¯ve brought.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    She gave me a pleasant smile.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, Fina, you don¡¯t have toe here for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸But-¡¹

    ¡¸There was a lot of work brought over here recently, because this miss doesn¡¯t skin them. If she gives the work to Fina, there will be less work in the guild. But, I¡¯ll still give you work properly today, so don¡¯t worry. Even today, this miss brought over wolves, horned rabbits, and orcs. Ten bodies of each one.¡¹

    ¡¸That much?!¡¹

    ¡¸So then, what should I do starting tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I go over to the inn Big sis Yuna is staying at?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯lle around seven in the morning.¡¹

    I thought that it was early, but the residents of this world began working when the sun rose.

    On the other hand, when the sun went down, work was over.

    There were magic stones used for light, but there wasn¡¯t anyone who used it for work.

    I made a promise with Fina for tomorrow and left the warehouse.

    It was warm outside the warehouse, unlike inside.

    I got the money for the monster materials today from Gentz-san and returned to the inn.

    =====================================

    Yuna: Then, the question corner will continue!

    Fina: We didn¡¯t receive any questions though.

    Yuna: Okay, please read the next question.

    Fina: Is this really okay? Why doesn¡¯t the bear use the different world¡¯snguage and characters?

    Yuna: Because then it would be impossible to have a ¡°girl¡¯s talk¡± in the bath.

    Fina: Because of that?!

    Yuna: Because of that. It¡¯s for the author¡¯s convenience. Once the bear is taken off, talking will be impossible, so the girl¡¯s talk in the bath won¡¯t happen. It¡¯s really important, so I said it twice.

 Chapter 19 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Second Name Is Bloody Bear

    Chapter 19 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Second Name Is Bloody Bear

    Author¡¯s note: As always, thank you very much

    Breakfast at the inn was delicious as usual.

    A life where you don¡¯t have to cook your own meals is wonderful.

    While I was savoring hikikomori-vored dreams, an energetic Fina entered the room.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, good morning!¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    I greeted Fina while drinking my soup.

    It¡¯s warm and delicious.

    ¡¸Wait just a moment, okay? I¡¯m almost finished eating.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Elena, please bring a drink for Fina.¡¹

    Elena, who was moving around in the store, nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, so take a seat. I wanted to chat with you today, too.¡¹

    She obediently sat in the chair in front of me.

    Soon after, Elena brought a drink over.

    ¡¸To start with, Fina, there are a lot of things I don¡¯t know, so I hope you can teach me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸What are the things that are necessary for skinning? I don¡¯t know what they are, other than a knife.¡¹

    ¡¸Usually, just a knife is fine. If the sharpness is excellent, I can skin more cleanly. When it¡¯s dull, the wolf¡¯s fur can¡¯t be cleanly stripped off. For high-ranking demons, it¡¯s likely that a normal iron knife won¡¯t be able to cut into it.¡¹

    ¡¸What about Fina¡¯s knife?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s an iron knife, but because Gordes-san made it, it¡¯s a good one.¡¹

    ¡¸What else is necessary?¡¹

    ¡¸Other than that, a ce to perform the skinning, I guess? It¡¯s best to do it at a ce that¡¯s close to a water source.¡¹

    ¡¸Just that?¡¹

    ¡¸There are a few other little things, like a grindstone or a ce to preserve the dismantled raw materials, since the meat will rot after a while.¡¹

    ¡¸For the time being, a grindstone, a ce to work, and a ce to preserve raw materials. I also want to ask Fina one more thing.¡¹

    ¡¸Un.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you want to do while working on my request? Do you want toe along with me? Or do you want to wait here?¡¹

    ¡¸I want toe along, but I might be a burden.¡¹

    ¡¸Why do you want toe with me?¡¹

    ¡¸If I go with Big sis Yuna, I might be able to obtain some medical herbs for my mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, are youing with me?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s protecting a single person like Fina, it¡¯s no problem. Though, is it fine for Fina to stay overnight?¡¹

    ¡¸Erm, if I tell my mom in advance, it will be okay. She¡¯ll worry if I¡¯m gone for a long time though.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go out on a day trip today. Can you tell your mother next time that it might be a two day and one night trip?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll tell her properly.¡¹

    After eating breakfast, let¡¯s have a rxing walk to the guild.

    We¡¯ll get a grindstone at the tool shop along the way.

    When we entered the guild, Helen was busy corresponding with an adventurer at the reception desk.

    I leisurely headed towards the D rank request board.

    Fina followed behind me.

    There weren¡¯t many people in front of the D rank board.

    There was a lot of people in front of the E rank board, though.

    Today as well, there wasn¡¯t anyone who would call out to me.

    Well, during this busy morning, everyone was scrambling for work, so it¡¯s not like I was troubled about having a lot of free time or anything.

    I arrived in front of the board and took a look, but there weren¡¯t any interesting requests.

    ¨C Guard a merchant heading for the imperial capital.

    ¨C Orc subjugation, bring back the meat.

    ¨C [Onizaru] subjugation, because if my crops are destroyed, I¡¯ll be in trouble!

    ¨C Looking for a sword and a magic tutor, must be D rank or higher.

    ¨C Acquisition of [Meru Meru] grass.

    ¨C Investigate the cause of the abnormal outbreak of demons on Whale Mountain.

    ¨C Acquisition of iron ore from Whale Mountain.

    ?????????????

    ¡¸There are no interesting ones!¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, are you choosing based on that?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. If I¡¯m going to do it, it needs to be interesting.¡¹

    Next, I headed over to the C rank board.

    There were only four other adventurers.

    However, everyone looked like they werepanions in the same party.

    They were discussing and choosing work.

    I looked at the board from a distance, so as not to be a disturbance.

    ¨C Obtain Wyvern materials.

    ¨C Subjugation of a group of orcs.

    ¨C Defend Fort Unicorn.

    ¨C Extermination of the Zamon bandit group.

    ¨C Obtain Ogre materials.

    ?????????????

    There are some interesting ones, but since I don¡¯t know where the monsters are located, the acquisition quests are just troublesome.

    ¡¸Hey, the littledy with the weird outfit, this board is the C rank board!¡¹

    From the group of four, a guy who looked around 20 years old called out to me.

    ¡¸I know, I¡¯m just looking at the C rank requests that are avable. I wanted to know what kind of requests there were.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that child the rumored E rank Bear girl?¡¹

    A woman wearing a mage¡¯s outfit looked at me.

    ¡¸I became D rank yesterday.¡¹

    For now, I corrected her.

    ¡¸You¡¯re rank D?!¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, I only got that rank yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸What about your other members? It can¡¯t be. That little girl isn¡¯t even old enough yet?!¡¹

    They looked at Fina and assumed that she was a party member, but noticed that she was still underage.

    ¡¸Wait, didn¡¯t the rumor say that Bloody Bear was a solo adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s that about, that Bloody Bear?¡¹

    Ah, I want to know about that too.

    I¡¯m curious after yesterday.

    ¡¸What, Touya doesn¡¯t know?¡¹

    A person who looked like the party leader jumped into the conversation.

    ¡¸An adventurer who started a fight with a girl who had the appearance of a bear got assaulted nonstop until he was drenched in blood. She continued hitting him without mercy, even after he apologized. He was beaten until he copsed. I heard that all the adventurers at the scene were also beaten until they were bloody.¡¹

    What, that¡¯s scary.

    Which bear is that?

    ¡¸Moreover, recently there was a rumor that the bear girl, instead of skinning monsters, brings their bloody corpses to the guild every day.¡¹

    Obviously. If you cut it with a sword or defeat it with magic, of course there will be blood.

    In addition, because they¡¯re stowed away immediately, blood woulde out when I took them out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸She¡¯s called the Bloody Bear because of that appearance and behaviour.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know that such a bear existed.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know such a bear existed either, you know.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because you usually don¡¯te to the guild when we choose a request.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, that Bear girl is famous?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, the goblin pack subjugation, the Goblin King subjugation, and the orc subjugation were allpleted by her, so she¡¯s famous in the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true. That appearance too. Since she¡¯s really strong, she¡¯s be famous, recently.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know about Meru too?¡¹

    ¡¸Gathering information is natural for adventurers, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Sorry about that, Miss Bear. Because of that strange appearance, I thought you were a beginner.¡¹

    He doesn¡¯t seem like a bad person.

    He just wanted to warn me that it was a different request board because he thought that I was a beginner who didn¡¯t know anything.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, since it seems like you were worried about me.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Then, we¡¯re heading out, so if there¡¯s anything you need, you can let us know.¡¹

    It seemed that their discussion on choosing a request had finished, so the four people took the request form to the reception desk.

    I have also decided on a rank D request for our day trip, since they don¡¯t take too long.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, have you decided?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯re also heading out.¡¹

 Chapter 20 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Summoned Beast Is A Bear, And Bear-sanâ€™s House Is A Bear House

    Chapter 20 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Summoned Beast Is A Bear, And Bear-san¡¯s House Is A Bear House

    Author¡¯s note: Someone, please give me a naming sense skill.

    I want the writing skill too.

    [TL: me too. also that warehouse->bearhouse joke from a few chapters ago now feels like foreshadow]

    I received the request from an open reception desk and left the guild.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, what request did you ept?¡¹

    ¡¸Tiger Wolf subjugation.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis!¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that Tiger Wolves are bigger and stronger than normal Wolves. Will you be okay?¡¹

    She anxiously held onto my Bear dress.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it fine?¡¹

    It was only a slightly bigger Wolf, right?

    I stroked Fina¡¯s head, since she seemed worried, and we went to leave the city together.

    At the gate, there were two lines of people leaving; a slower line of merchants and a faster line of adventurers.

    We also lined up. I disyed my guild card and we left the city.

    We went through the gate and, after straying from the road and walking for a few minutes, arrived at a rtively unpopted area.

    Some adventurers were looking at us from a distance.

    Without worrying about them, we stopped.

    ¡¸Big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m taking out something that we can ride on, so wait a moment.¡¹

    I told Fina to move back a little before extending both the white bear and the ck bear out as far as I could.

    Magic power flowed through them.

    When the bears¡¯ mouths were fully open, a white object and a ck object came flying out.

    Those objects started moving sluggishly.

    They slowly stood up on four legs.

    Yes, it¡¯s a summoned bear beast!

    A white bear and a ck bear came to a stop in front of me.

    They nestled up against me, so I rubbed their faces and stroked their chins.

    It looks like it felt really good, since their eyes narrowed.

    They were fluffy, so it felt really good to touch them.

    They¡¯re gently rubbing against my cheeks.

    ¡¸Big sis!¡¹

    Fina took a step back.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re my summons, so it¡¯s safe. Come on Fina, you try touching them too.¡¹

    Fina gingerly approached and cautiously touched a bear.

    After understanding that the bears wouldn¡¯t do anything, a smile appeared on her face.

    ¡¸Now then, get on Hugging Bear, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸The white bear¡¯s name is Hugging Bear, and the ck bear¡¯s name is Swaying Bear.¡¹

    After getting on top of Hugging Bear, Fina carefully sat down.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡¹

    Fina anxiously sat on top of Hugging Bear.

    After Fina settled in, Hugging Bear slowly stood up again.

    ¡¸Uwahhh.¡¹

    ¡¸If you grab on tightly, it¡¯ll be fine. Well, Hugging Bear also has an ability that makes it impossible for you to identally fall off.¡¹

    Though, it might be startling if your line of vision is suddenly raised so high.

    ¡¸For example, even if you fall asleep and let go, you still won¡¯t fall.¡¹

    After Fina calmed down, I got onto Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll start moving slowly at first. Once you¡¯re used to it, we can move more quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸U-un.¡¹

    The two of us rode the bears at a running pace, towards the mountain that the Tiger Wolves inhabited.

    Needless to say, the adventurers, merchants, and travelers who saw us along the way looked at us curiously.

    At first, I was worried about the curious stares I was getting every time I summoned the bears, but since it was troublesome to summon them far away from the town every time, I ended up not caring about their stares.

    The bears we were riding gradually sped up.

    We headed even further, past the mountain where the Goblin King had been.

    It would have taken us six hours if we were walking, but we arrived in 30 minutes with the bears.

    ¡¸Ahhhhhh!¡¹

    Fina seemed to be having fun.

    I didn¡¯t know how many kilometers per hour we were moving at, since there wasn¡¯t a speedometer attached to the bear.

    I had never ridden on a car or a motorcycle before, so I couldn¡¯tprehend its speed just from the feeling.

    However, I understood that our speed had increased considerably.

    Although we were speeding up, there was no corresponding increase in wind pressure.

    The bears generated a power that wrapped their whole body, so the wind pressure couldn¡¯t be felt.

    Therefore, it was even possible to sleep during the journey.

    I increased the speed even further, so we arrived at the vige that had requested the goblin subjugation in the past in about 30 minutes.

    It¡¯ll be troublesome if they see us and raise a fuss about the bears, so we headed into the mountains without entering the vige.

    Our speed fell after we entered the mountains.

    Let¡¯s enjoy a carefree climb up from here on.

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, it should be somewhere around here.¡¹

    It was written on the request form that the Tiger Wolves came out around here.

    I found a t clearing in the middle of the mountains and got off of Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Is this ce okay?¡¹

    I checked the surroundings for obstacles.

    For now, I¡¯ll take some things to set up out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna!¡¹

    Something came out so Fina shouted in surprise.

    The Fina today is doing nothing but shouting.

    What came out was a house. A Bear House.

    There was a two story Bear House with a garden in front of us.

    The outward appearance, from the front, looked like a giant bear that was standing on all fours.

    The entrance was in the giant, opened mouth of the bear, and the second floor was inside the bear cub riding on top, which we could see from here.

    There was also a warehouse attached next to the house.

    ¡¸For the time being, let¡¯s head inside and rest.¡¹

    ¡¸...Un.¡¹

    Let¡¯s have the bears wait in the garden.

    It seemed like we were being eaten as we entered the bear¡¯s mouth.

    When we entered the Bear House, the inside was simr to a Japanese style home, since I was supposed to live here.

    ¡¸Ah, please take your shoes off over there.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know the customs of this world so I told her, just in case.

    After taking off our shoes at the entrance, we went to the living room.

    The first floor consisted of a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom with a toilet, and a mini storage room.

    The second floor had my room and a few prepared guest rooms.

    There was a rooftop balcony located at the bear cub¡¯s head, which I was thinking of using to dryundry.

    ¡¸Ah, please sit over there.¡¹

    I gestured towards the sofa-like chairs.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸What is this house?¡¹

    After looking around the room, she asked me.

    ¡¸A house I built with magic.¡¹

    After I understood that the size of the Bear Box was infinite during one of my magic experiments, I built this house to use while traveling.

    The house was built with earth magic while using the image of a bear. That way, it would be strong and durable.

    I designed the interior as I wanted, using earth magic to make walls and allocate the rooms.

    I bought and installed water magic stones for rooms that required water.

    There was a refrigerator in the kitchen too.

    I also installed light magic stones in each room, so it was bright even at night.

    The only thing missing from this house was probably a TV and aputer.

    If I had those, the hikikomori house would beplete.

    I went to the kitchen and brought some chilled fruit juice for Fina.

    ¡¸Is Big sis Yuna a noble from somewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, a princess?¡¹

    ¡¸No princess would look like me, right? I¡¯m just a normal adventurer.¡¹

    Fina looked like she wanted to say something but didn¡¯t.

    ¡¸Well then, after I take a break, I¡¯ll head out to look for the Tiger Wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸What about me?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine for Fina to look for your mother¡¯s medical herbs together with Hugging Bear. You¡¯ll be safe with Hugging Bear. If you feel like you¡¯re in danger, you cane back here. There¡¯s a strong barrier here, so it¡¯ll be safe.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸In addition, monsters will be ced in the warehouse, so please skin and dismantle them when you have time.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay to dismantle themter?¡¹

    ¡¸Ten percent of the raw material sales will be Fina¡¯s earnings, so isn¡¯t it up to you? Whether you find medical herbs quickly and work on skinning or spend all your time looking for your mom¡¯s medical herbs depends on you, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go to the warehouse next door so I can exin.¡¹

    It was possible to go to the warehouse from both inside and outside of the house.

    The size of the warehouse was about 20 tatami matsrge.

    There was only water and a workbench ced in the warehouse. Nothing else had been ced inside.

    For now, I took out and ced around ten horned rabbits and wolves next to the wall.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t really have to finish everything. When you¡¯re finished skinning and dismantling, can you ce them in this room and shut the door?¡¹

    The room next door had a freezer.

    This ce was created mainly for storing things that needed to be frozen inrge quantities.

    Time stops in the Bear Box, so things inside couldn¡¯t be frozen.

    That said, the Bear House was also frozen in time when it was ced in the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ll be off, so take care. If something happens, it should be fine if you rely on Hugging Bear.¡¹

 Chapter 21 â€“ Bear-san Goes On A Tiger Wolf Hunt

    Chapter 21 ¨C Bear-san Goes On A Tiger Wolf Hunt

    I left the Bear House, mounted Swaying Bear, and headed out.

    There isn¡¯t any problems with just using the bear feet, but recently, my favorite way to move around is riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    If I rode one exclusively though, the other one would get into a bad mood, so I had to alternate between them.

    While riding on Swaying Bear, I used detection magic to examine the surrounding area.

    Its detection distance increased as I leveled up.

    A countless number of monsters were detected by the magic.

    I wonder if this is it?

    ¡¸There seems to be two Tiger Wolves. It looks like a couple {pair}1.¡¹

    I told Swaying Bear to head in that direction.

    Swaying Bear began to run and weaved in between the trees at a gallop, advancing forward while ignoring the tree branches and bushes in the way.

    When I ran through with just the bear feet, it didn¡¯t go as swiftly.

    Today, we advanced while ignoring the wolves that were nearby.

    After moving for a while, the Tiger Wolves¡¯ indicators got closer.

    I told Swaying Bear to stop.

    Was there a river flowing nearby? I could hear the sound of running water.

    Somehow, it looks like I¡¯m near a river.

    I considered whether to dismount from Swaying Bear and go slowly on foot or to continue riding Swaying Bear.

    If they came to attack, it would be fine, but if I had to give chase, it would end up being quite troublesome.

    Not to mention, there were two of them.

    If I was something like a hunter from the game, I could approach from a direction that faced the wind, so that they wouldn¡¯t notice my smell, but I didn¡¯t have such an ability.

    I guess I should rush in with Swaying Bear after all?

    I told Swaying Bear to head towards the Tiger Wolves.

    Swaying Bear began to run.

    A ck shadow ran through the middle of the mountains.

    When Swaying Bear reached the river, I saw the two big tigers. The Tiger Wolves appeared to be resting next to the river.

    They sluggishly stood up when they noticed me.

    ¡¸Grrrr~¡¹

    I examined their appearance.

    ¡¸They¡¯re bigger than I thought.¡¹

    One was as big as Swaying Bear.

    The other one was slightly bigger.

    Was the smaller one a female and therger one a male?

    I slowly slid off Swaying Bear.

    I stroked Swaying Bear¡¯s face as I asked her to take on the smaller opponent.

    Wind magic flew towards the two Tiger Wolves.

    They moved quickly and easily dodged it.

    Swaying Bear ran towards the female Tiger Wolf.

    I shot me magic towards the male.

    The Tiger Wolf dodged to the right and charged towards me.

    Fast!

    Its speed and agility were different from normal wolves.

    The Tiger Wolf arrived in front of me in an instant.

    I created a wall of earth, but it was easily destroyed.

    Un, it looks like basic magic isn¡¯t effective.

    I was forced to create distance by jumping backwards.

    I jumped into the sky and ran away.

    The Tiger Wolf looked up while groaning.

    As I soared through the sky, I wondered about what to do.

    Then the Tiger Wolf jumped up.

    ¡¸No way!¡¹

    I was falling towards the Tiger Wolf¡¯s sharp fangs, which wereing towards me.

    ¡¸Bear punch!¡¹

    I struck the side of the Tiger Wolf¡¯s jaw hard and sent it flying.

    The Tiger Wolf crashed into the ground.

    As Inded, I fired countless ice arrows.

    All the ice arrows bounced off.

    It was the same for the Goblin King, but it seemed like normal magic at my level couldn¡¯t deal any damage.

    In that case, let¡¯s try using the same method I used to defeat the Goblin King.

    I opened a deep pit in the ground and dropped the Tiger Wolf down.

    As I approached the pit to attack, the Tiger Wolf came running back up, using the walls of the pit.

    If it approached with that momentum, the attack power of its ws would be multiplied.

    I dodged backwards.

    It looks like the pitfall is useless too.

    Meanwhile, Swaying Bear was fighting against the smaller Tiger Wolf.

    Attacking and defending with ws.

    Attacking and defending with fangs.

    It was an evenly matched fight.

    A normal bear would have lost in speed, but my bear was also fast. It was faster than the Tiger Wolf. Its stamina was also high, and even though it had run here all the way from the town, it didn¡¯t look tired at all.

    But, that Tiger Wolf was surprisingly strong, to be able to match my bear.

    I¡¯ll leave that Tiger Wolf to Swaying Bear and focus on defeating the Tiger Wolf in front of me.

    I want that fur, so I need to cause as little damage to it as possible. What should I do?

    ¡¸Water Bear!¡¹

    A bear made of water appeared.

    The water bear ran towards the Tiger Wolf and hugged it tightly with both arms.

    Then, it pressed the Tiger Wolf¡¯s face against its body.

    The Tiger Wolf¡¯s face went inside the water bear.

    It was pinned by the bear, disabling its movements. Arge volume of air came out of its mouth as it shook its head and began to drown.

    The bear magic was strong, as expected.

    When I looked over at Swaying Bear, the other Tiger Wolf was also pinned down.

    I created a ball of water and sent it towards that Tiger Wolf.

    The ball of water wrapped around the Tiger Wolf¡¯s face.

    The two Tiger Wolves struggled to escape but, since they were pinned down by the water bear and Swaying Bear, they were unable to escape.

    After a while, the two stopped moving.

    Subjugationplete.

    I stowed the Tiger Wolves away in the Bear Box and returned to the Bear House.

    TL: if there¡¯s rubi reading, I¡¯ll be using {} brackets to denote it when I can

 Chapter 22 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 2

    Chapter 22 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 2

    Now then, let¡¯s wake up and prepare breakfast for my mom and younger sister today as well.

    Mom¡¯s physical condition looked good today.

    My younger sister rubbed her eyes and woke up.

    I waited for the two of them to finish eating their meal before heading to the guild.

    To my delight, when I arrived at the guild, there was arge number of wolves that needed to be skinned and dismantled.

    It seems like I¡¯ll be able to get work today.

    I headed towards the freezer warehouse inside of the guild.

    The cold storage room is really cold.

    It can¡¯t be helped, since it¡¯s used to prevent the meat from rotting.

    But, I¡¯ll be borrowing the work coats, which are made from wolf furs!

    I can¡¯t do anything about it being a little too big for me, since it¡¯s for the guild staff to use.

    It¡¯s warm though.

    When I entered the cold storage room, there was a giant pile of wolves.

    One of them was lying on the table.

    The table was a little too tall for me, so I used a footstool, which was made just for me.

    This way, it was easier to skin the wolf.

    I cut through the wolf¡¯s stomach with a knife and skillfully stripped off its hide.

    This sure was a beautiful wolf pelt.

    The value of the wolf pelt changed based on whether it was full of sword wounds or killed in a single hit. These wolves looked like they were defeated in a single blow.

    It seemed like these were defeated by an excellent adventurer.

    In that case, I could understand bringing them here without skinning them.

    Unskilled adventurers would perform the skinning themselves, to avoid the skinning fee.

    On the other hand, there weren¡¯t many skilled adventurers who would go out of their way to learn how to skin just to avoid paying the fee.

    It was a good thing for me, so I¡¯m thankful.

    After cutting off the pelt, I separated the meat into sections.

    The meat was sold to inns, restaurants, and normal households.

    It was possible to receive the leftover scraps that couldn¡¯t be sold.

    We might be able to eat meat for dinner tonight.

    I¡¯m grateful to the guild.

    Recently, every time I went to the guild, there was skinning work.

    I¡¯m happy.

    The other day, there was a Goblin King.

    As expected, the Goblin King wasn¡¯t dismantled yet.

    For learning purposes, I was allowed to watch my guild seniors work.

    The Goblin King seemed very durable.

    The knife couldn¡¯t cut it easily.

    Nevertheless, the Goblin King had numerous wounds carved into its body.

    What kind of attack did the person who defeated it use?

    The front of its body was extremely damaged, but the back was spotless.

    Did they fight it head on?

    The adventurer must have been really strong, too.

    There was wolf skinning work today as well.

    It seems to be the same adventurer who brings them.

    That person was apparently a girl who looked like a bear.

    It was Big sis Yuna.

    It looks like Big sis Yuna has been helping me indirectly.

    When I went today, it looked like there were horned rabbits too.

    Their fur was fluffy, so it felt really nice.

    I overheard that the horn could be used to create some kind of medicine.

    I¡¯m not a professional though, so I didn¡¯t really understand the details.

    My job was to skin and dismantle them.

    I separated the fur, the horn, and the meat.

    I wanted to make clothes for my younger sister with this fur.

    I wanted it, but there was no way I was going to steal it.

    It would be a betrayal of the trust from Uncle Gentz, who gives me work.

    There¡¯s work today as well.

    I¡¯m as happy as I can be.

    While I was skinning a wolf, several guild staff members were called, and they headed out of the warehouse.

    As I listened to their conversation, arge number of unskinned monsters were carried in.

    It¡¯s probably Big sis Yuna.

    I wanted to go and confirm it, but there was no way I could leave the warehouse in the middle of work.

    As I skinned and dismantled the wolf in front of me, Uncle Gentz came over to me.

    Apparently, Big sis Yuna was hiring a dedicated employee to skin monsters for her.

    Although I was in the middle of work, I was still taken to where Big sis Yuna was.

    It was decided that, while Big sis Yuna was staying in this city, she would be giving work to me.

    I¡¯m happy that I¡¯ll be receiving steady work.

    I still had work to do, so I made a promise to meet her tomorrow before heading back.

    The next day, I woke up early in the morning and headed over to the inn that Big sis Yuna was staying in at the promised time.

    I¡¯m grateful to be able to receive work.

    When I arrived at the inn, Big sis Yuna was still eating breakfast.

    Did I arrive too early, perhaps?

    Big sis Yuna ordered me a fruit juice.

    It was very delicious.

    Then, we talked about today¡¯s schedule.

    I was asked whether I would like toe along or stay in the city.

    If she was heading into the forest, I wanted toe along.

    I might be able to find medical herbs for my mom.

    But, if it was troublesome, that was fine.

    When I said that, Big sis Yuna told me that she could protect me.

    It was decided that I would go along with her.

    Was this really okay?

    When we arrived at the guild, we headed towards the request boards.

    In order to not be a disturbance, I stood a short distance away from Big sis Yuna and waited for her.

    While I was doing that, Big sis Yuna got involved with some adventurers again.

    As expected, is it because that bear appearance is really eye-catching?

    Today, however, nothing serious happened and the adventurers left.

    Thank goodness.

    Big sis Yuna seemed to have decided on a request and she headed towards the reception desk.

    When I asked her what kind of request she was doing, Big sis Yuna told me.

    ¡¸Tiger Wolf subjugation.¡¹

    I was momentarily speechless.

    I was surprised.

    Although I wasn¡¯t really sure, was that really something that a D ranker could do alone?

    Everyone else seemed to be forming parties though.

    I don¡¯t really understand.

    Was it really okay for me to being along on that kind of request?

 Chapter 23 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 3

    Chapter 23 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 3

    Author¡¯s note: It¡¯s short.

    We passed through the gate and left the town.

    Speaking of which, I didn¡¯t hear about our destination.

    Did tiger wolves live in the forest nearby?

    When I asked, Big sis Yuna said our destination was far away, so she¡¯d take out something we could ride.

    Take out?

    I didn¡¯t understand what she meant.

    I was told to move away a little.

    Big sis Yuna extended her bear hands outwards and two objects, one ck and the other white, came out.

    What¡¯s that?

    Therge objects started moving.

    They were bears.

    They were really big.

    I was scared.

    They stood up and sidled over to Big sis Yuna¡¯s side.

    Yuna-oneechan seemed to be hugging them and stroking their heads.

    Then, while I was looking at Big sis Yuna,

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. they¡¯re my summons, so it¡¯s safe. Come on Fina, you try touching them too¡¹

    She said.

    I was scared, but I started to approach them slowly and touched one .

    It was soft.

    Somehow, the bears might actually be pretty cute.

    It seems like the white one was called Hugging Bear and the ck one was Swaying Bear.

    It was decided that I would ride Hugging Bear.

    I climbed on it¡¯s back.

    I could suddenly see from a lot higher up, so I got a bit scared.

    But, it was stable and I didn¡¯t seem to be slipping off.

    At first we were walking, but as I got used to riding, our speed increased.

    It was fun, and really fast.

    The scenery flew by quickly.

    It was the first time I¡¯de out this far.

    We climbed the mountain.

    Then, Big sis Yuna stopped.

    It looked like we would be taking a break on a t spot in the mountains.

    Even though I was just riding the bear, I was tired.

    I thanked Hugging Bear and climbed off.

    After Big sis Yuna got off of Swaying Bear, she checked out our location.

    Then she spread her arms out again and a house suddenly appeared in front of us.

    I wonder what I should say here...

    Once again, I went over what had just happened.

    Big sis Yuna spread her arms.

    After that, a house appeared.

    As expected, I don¡¯t understand.

    Was it really that easy to take out a house?

    Such a thing shouldn¡¯t be possible.

    Even a child like me knew that houses were supposed to be something made by carpenters.

    Though, why was the house shaped like a bear?

    While I was wondering that,

    ¡¸For now, let¡¯s go inside and rest.¡¹

    There was nothing else I could do but nod in agreement towards Big sis Yuna¡¯s statement.

    Inside the house, there were rooms that I had never seen before

    I was told to take my shoes off at the entrance.

    The floor was very pretty and clean.

    Certainly, there was no way I could dirty the floor.

    I took off my shoes and went into the room.

    I sat in the chair that Big sis Yuna pointed at.

    As I was looking around nervously, Big sis Yuna brought out some juice for me.

    I was surprised since it was cold, but it was very delicious.

    I asked about something that was bothering me.

    ¡¸Is Big sis Yuna a noble from somewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, a princess?¡¹

    ¡¸No princess would look like me, right? I¡¯m just a normal adventurer.¡¹

    It seemed like both guesses were wrong.

    Though, I didn¡¯t think she was a normal adventurer.

    An adventurer who could create and take out a house like this, summon two bears, and defeat strong monsters alone, all while dressed like a bear, wasn¡¯t normal.

    After my questions, we talked about today¡¯s schedule while drinking fruit juice.

    It seemed like Big sis Yuna would be heading out to search for the Tiger Wolves alone.

    I received permission to look for medicinal herbs inside of these mountains.

    I was also given the freedom to choose when to dismantle the monster corpses.

    For now, I decided to look for medicinal herbs for a little while.

    I was afraid of going by myself, but it seemed like Hugging Bear would be going with me.

    In that case, I could rx?

    If I can¡¯t find anything after a while, then I¡¯ll just work on dismantling. After all, that¡¯s what I came here for.

    Big sis Yuna headed out with Swaying Bear.

    I also went out to look for herbs while riding Hugging Bear.

    We walked through the mountains.

    I hope we can find medicinal herbs.

    The bear seemed to be happy while we were searching for herbs, for some reason.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, did you find any medicinal herbs?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t expect a reply, but I asked anyway.

    Hugging Bear turned its neck towards me and nodded.

    Eh, it could actually understand me?

    Hugging Bear advanced quickly.

    Are you looking for them?

    I was also looking for the herbs while riding Hugging Bear.

    It was possible since they could be easily seen from a distance.

    Which is why Hugging Bear sped up.

    Over there!

    Since Hugging Bear started running, we found the medicinal herbs quickly.

    Amazing.

    I got down from Hugging Bear and gathered the herbs.

    If I took all of them, there wouldn¡¯t be any growing here next time, so I only took half.

    Even so, there was still a considerable amount left.

    Was it because we were in the mountains, so nobody normally came here to pick them?

    While I was gathering the herbs, a sound came from behind the grass.

    When I looked towards the source of the sound, I saw a wolf.

    I stepped back in surprise, but the wolf quickly ran away.

    That¡¯s right, I have Hugging Bear with me.

    Did it run away because it saw Hugging Bear?

    ¡¸Thank you, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I¡¯ll pat your head.

    Un, it¡¯s cute.

    I put the herbs away in my bag, and started heading back.

    It¡¯s good that we found the herbs so quickly.

    I can start working on dismantling the monster corpses when I get back.

    Okay, let¡¯s go back.

    I got on Hugging Bear.

    However, when I tried to head back, I noticed something.

    I don¡¯t know the way back.

    I don¡¯t know which direction is the right one.

    I¡¯m lost.

    While I was thinking that, Hugging Bear started walking normally.

    Does it know the the way back?

    ¡¸Do you know where the house is?¡¹

    When I asked, it nodded.

    The bear was smarter than me.

    After a while, the Bear House came into view.

    Good thing we didn¡¯t get lost.

    It was thanks to Hugging Bear.

 Chapter 24 â€“ The Bear Works Before Going Home

    Chapter 24 ¨C The Bear Works Before Going Home

    Author¡¯s note: Even if I, the author, go to a parallel world and receive a cheat, dismantling is impossible.

    I returned to the Bear House while riding on Swaying Bear.

    Hugging Bear was curled up and sleepingfortably in the garden.

    Fina seemed to be in the Bear House.

    After telling Swaying Bear to rest, I headed to the warehouse.

    When I entered, I found Fina in the middle of skinning a monster.

    ¡¸Ah, Big sis Yuna, wee back.¡¹

    Fina noticed me when I entered the warehouse and greeted me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, you came back quickly. What about the Tiger Wolf?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I defeated it. Sorry, but is it possible for you to take out just the magic stone to use for the proof of subjugation?¡¹

    The Tiger Wolf Subjugation request only required the magic stone as proof.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine with me.¡¹

    I took out the two Tiger Wolves from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna is amazing.¡¹

    Fina was surprised when she saw the corpses of the Tiger Wolves.

    ¡¸I guess it was pretty strong. Normal magic didn¡¯t work and its movements were quick, so I had to use my trump card.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, Big sis Yuna is amazing, since you were still able to defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. So, Fina, did you go looking for medical herbs?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Hugging Bear helped me find some.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear did?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we were able to return quickly because Hugging Bear found some medical herbs immediately. When I asked if it knew any ces with medical herbs, it took me to a ce where they were growing.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know that Hugging Bear had that kind of ability.

    I¡¯ll give it a try next time.

    Fina continued working while chatting with me.

    Just by looking, I could tell that the pelts were stripped off beautifully.

    She¡¯s quite skilled.

    ¡¸Is just the Tiger Wolf¡¯s magic stone okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, just the stone is fine. I may ask for your helpter, though.¡¹

    When she finished dismantling the Wolf, Fina started working on extracting the magic stone from the Tiger Wolves lying on the floor.

    After cutting open their stomachs, she inserted her hand without hesitation and took out the magic stones.

    ¡¸Do you know where the magic stones are located?¡¹

    She didn¡¯t hesitate at all when she was inserting the knife or her hand into therge bodies.

    ¡¸The magic stone is often located in the middle of a monster¡¯s body.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, though I can¡¯t say for sure, since I haven¡¯t dismantled every single monster before. However, I thought that the Tiger Wolf would have it in the same location as the Wolf.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks. I¡¯ll put the Tiger Wolves away for now.¡¹

    I put the two Tiger Wolves back into the Bear Box after their magic stones had been extracted.

    ¡¸Well then, Fina, it¡¯s a littlete but let¡¯s have lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸I...didn¡¯t...prepare...anything...for lunch...¡¹

    Fina murmured quietly, with her head down.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I bought lunch from the inn, so go wash your hands ande to the living room.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    I returned to the Bear House and prepared fruit juice from the fridge. Steam rose from the warm lunch boxes I took out of the Bear Box.

    Thank you, Time-Stop-sama.

    Fina entered the room right as I finished preparing the table.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s eat while the food is warm.¡¹

    I made Fina sit down on a chair.

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, what do you want to do now?¡¹

    ¡¸What do I want to do?¡¹

    Fina tilted her head to the side.

    ¡¸Do you want to go home, or do you want to continue working?¡¹

    ¡¸If possible, I want to keep working.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s so, then let¡¯s stay here until thest minute. I¡¯ll be sleeping in the room upstairs. Let¡¯s head out before the sun sets if you can finish working.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I don¡¯t think it will take too long, so that should be fine.¡¹

    I headed up to the second floor and entered my room in the Bear House.

    My room was a little wider than eight tatami mats.

    There was a rtivelyrge bed, a round table, and four chairs in my room. There was also an empty dresser and an empty bookshelf, but nothing else.

    I hadn¡¯t ced anything from the Bear Box in here yet.

    For now, I reversed the bear clothes and crawled into bed as the white bear.

    I¡¯ll take a nap for several hours.

    Shuffle, shuffle

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, Big sis Yuna!¡¹

    Shuffle, shuffle

    ¡¸Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Please wake up.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. Did you finish dismantling?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I finished so I came here to wake you up.¡¹

    I yawned and got off the bed.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna?¡¹

    Fina¡¯s eyes sparkled when she saw my appearance.

    I wonder why?

    ¡¸That white bear-san is super cute.¡¹

    Ah, my current appearance was a white bear.

    ¡¸I wear this when I sleep.¡¹

    I took off the white bear, reversed it, and changed back into the usual ck bear.

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go back.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    On the way back, I rode on Hugging Bear while Fina rode Swaying Bear.

    When I only spent time with one bear, the other bear¡¯s mood would deteriorate.

    Therefore, I had to take turns riding them.

    When we arrived at the town, 30 minutester, the sun was already setting.

    We somehow managed to return before the sun setpletely.

    I wasn¡¯t sure but, as expected, I shouldn¡¯t keep a ten year old child outte in this world.

    When we arrived in front of the gate, riding on the bears, the gate soldiers were surprised and readied their weapons.

    After Fina and I got down from the bears, I released the summoning.

    Then, I put on an innocent face, took out my guild card, and attempted to enter the city.

    ¡¸Hey! What was that bear earlier?!¡¹

    ¡¸A summoned beast?¡¹

    ¡¸I see, a summoned beast.¡¹

    The gate soldier gave my card back to me without any further remarks.

    I thought that he would want to say something, but he didn¡¯t say anything.

    We entered the town and headed to the guild to report the Tiger Wolf subjugation.

    =================================

    Author:

    I apologize.

    About the monster subjugation proof, I think I¡¯ll make it so that adventurers only need to obtain the magic stone.

    Even for the wolves and goblins, it won¡¯t be the ears or the tails but the magic stones.

    The guild can understand things such as when the magic stone was obtained or what monster it came from.

    That way, a magic stone from the past cannot be used as evidence of subjugation.

    For all the readers who read up to here, I apologize.

    You don¡¯t particrly need to go back and reread the previous chapters.

    There is only this small change, so please continue to take care of me!

 Chapter 25 â€“ Bear-san Looks For A Place For Dismantling

    Chapter 25 ¨C Bear-san Looks For A ce For Dismantling

    Author¡¯s note: The other day, I thought of making a correction about the magic stones after reading the story again.

    I bought a hundred knives, but didn¡¯t use any.

    I write everyday without paying attention to the plot, so it¡¯s be like this.

    Mistakes caused by spelling and writing ability? Now that¡¯s normal.

    Every time I reread, these thoughts gue me.

    When we arrived at the guild entrance, Fina said she¡¯d wait outside, so I went in by myself.

    Well, certainly, it wouldn¡¯t feel pleasant to walk into the midst of a group of sordid men.

    There were also a lot of idiots who woulde over and get involved when a child entered the guild.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be back soon, so wait for me.¡¹

    After I entered the guild, I headed towards Helen, who was at the reception desk.

    There was nobody in line, so I went straight to her.

    ¡¸Are you reporting about your request, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, because it¡¯s finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Then please let me see your guild card.¡¹

    I handed over my guild card.

    Helen confirmed the request that was registered on the guild card.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you received the request for the Tiger Wolf subjugation?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Moreover, you just received it today, yet you¡¯ve alreadypleted it?!¡¹

    When Helen shouted, the adventurers in the room started amotion.

    ¡¸Yo, Helen said it was a Tiger Wolf.¡¹

    ¡¸She defeated a D rank monster by herself?!¡¹

    ¡¸But the Tiger Wolves¡¯ habitat is far away from here. Can you reallye back in a day?¡¹

    ¡¸What, you don¡¯t know?¡¹

    ¡¸Know what?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear? You mean that girl¡¯s outfit?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. She called out a bear as a summoned beast, got on it, and left.¡¹

    ¡¸A summoned beast? A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I saw it! There were even two of them, a ck one and a white one.¡¹

    Another adventurer intruded into their conversation.

    ¡¸Two of them!¡¹

    ¡¸Moreover, those bears were fast!¡¹

    The story had started in the back, but it soon spread over here.

    ¡¸So then, Yuna-san, may I have the magic stone as the proof of subjugation?¡¹

    I took out two magic stones from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Two stones?¡¹

    ¡¸There were two of them.¡¹

    It became even noisier behind me because of my remark, but I ignored it.

    Helen received the magic stones and ced them on the crystal te.

    ¡¸Yes, without a doubt, both of them were defeated today. Although the request only asked for one, I can increase your reward, would that be eptable?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, it¡¯s fine. What happens if I decline?¡¹

    ¡¸You will only receive the request reward for one Tiger Wolf, and only one subjugation will be registered in your guild card. One magic stone will be returned to you as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I don¡¯t need a magic stone right now, so please register both wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Two Tiger Wolf subjugations have been registered. Then, excuse me but, did you bring the Tiger Wolves¡¯ raw materials with you?¡¹

    Helen¡¯s line of sight moved towards the bear box.

    ¡¸I have them, but I¡¯m not selling them.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so. It would be helpful if you sell them to the guild, though.¡¹

    ¡¸No way, I want the fur.¡¹

    Yes, I was thinking of having Fina strip off the Tiger Wolves¡¯ furs so I could decorate the dreary Bear House with them.

    They would look good regardless of whether I decorated the walls or covered the floors with them.

    ¡¸I see, it¡¯s a shame about the fur, but what are you going to do with the fangs, the ws, and the meat?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need those, so I¡¯ll bring them after the Tiger Wolves are dismantled.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Here is your reward. I am also returning your guild card.¡¹

    The extremely heavy bag of money and the guild card were put away into the bear box.

    I left Helen and met up with Fina, who had been waiting outside.

    ¡¸Sorry to have kept you waiting. Then, shall we head back?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re not going to sell the wolves and the horned rabbits?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s troublesome, so I¡¯ll sell them next time. I was properly paid, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡¹

    It was because I had forgotten to put the dismantled materials into the Bear Box before I had put away the Bear House.

    However, I couldn¡¯t afford to not pay Fina, who had worked hard dismantling today.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    Fina was surprised to see the silver coin I handed to her.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, just take it.¡¹

    I asked Gentz-san, who was buying raw monster materials, about the monsters¡¯ market price.

    I handed over just a little bit more than that.

    ¡¸I may not be here forever, so save up your money.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    Since Fina¡¯s smiling widely, I¡¯ll pat her head.

    The next day, Fina came to the inn early in the morning.

    I¡¯d like to tell her that it¡¯s fine to rest today, since we worked hard yesterday.

    Although I also thought about resting today, it was my fault for not telling her yesterday.

    It¡¯s also bothersome to head out every single time I need to do dismantling.

    Is there a warehouse I can borrow somewhere?

    Even if there was, it would cost money.

    It would be good if I could borrow the warehouse at the guild. For now, let¡¯s head to the guild and take a look.

    Fina came along with me to the guild.

    It waster than the usual departure time, so there were only a few adventurers in the guild.

    I headed towards Helen¡¯s reception desk, since she seemed like she had plenty of spare time.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you looking for requests today as well?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I have something I¡¯d like to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Is there somece I can borrow in order to dismantle monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸For the Tiger Wolves?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s that as well, but it¡¯s because I have all sorts of monsters that also need to be dismantled. It would be nice if I could borrow the guild¡¯s warehouse.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s kind of impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸As I expected.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, you don¡¯t mean short-term, but long-term, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, about that, I wouldn¡¯t know.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I can introduce you to other kinds of ces instead.¡¹

    ¡¸...That¡¯s right. Is there an empty plot ofnd?¡¹

    ¡¸Land, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸Right, an empty, wide open space.¡¹

    ¡¸I think there is, but the Adventurer¡¯s Guild has no jurisdiction overnd, so it may be better for you to consult with the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸The Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the guild that handles the transaction of goods. Of course, they also handlend transactions, so I¡¯m thinking of sending you to them.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand, I¡¯ll go take a look.¡¹

    When I asked Fina if she knew where the Commerce Guild was located, she said she did,

    so let¡¯s go take a look right away.

 Chapter 26 â€“ Bear House Installation Complete!

    Chapter 26 ¨C Bear House Instation Complete!

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, we¡¯re here.¡¹

    The Commerce Guild building was located slightly west from the center of the town.

    Unlike at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, there were many different races going in and out of the building.

    There weren¡¯t any muscle heads or staff-carrying magic users.

    There were also a lot of merchants, who seemed to have one or two peculiar habits.

    There was a daunting atmosphere, unlike the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Even so, did the bear suit still stand out? Even here, many curious nces were directed at me.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you going to enter, Big sis Yuna?¡¹

    Fina asked while I stood staring near the entrance.

    I put aside my feelings of amazement and entered.

    It was crowded inside.

    Even here, the bear suit attracted a lot of attention.

    I pulled the bear hood down further, cutting my line of vision.

    Fina looked around restlessly and grabbed onto my bear clothes.

    We walked towards the reception desk in that manner.

    ¡¸Wee!¡¹

    A woman in her mid-twenties greeted us.

    Even after taking in my appearance, her expression didn¡¯t change, and she greeted us with a smile.

    As expected of amerce guild staff member.

    ¡¸Erm, I¡¯d like to rent a small plot ofnd, but when I asked at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I was sent over here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s correct. In addition tond, the Commerce Guild also acts as an intermediary for building transactions. So then, what kind ofnd are you looking for?¡¹

    ¡¸For starters, are there any vacant plots ofnd?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there are.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible for me to rent any?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I would like to rent one for a month. Around how much would that cost?¡¹

    ¡¸That depends on the size and location of the plot, but do you have any requests in particr?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s a little far, but preferably somewhere near the Adventurer¡¯s Guild; if possible, around the size of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯srge warehouse.¡¹

    ¡¸Arge plot ofnd around the size of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s warehouse, is it? I¡¯ll check to see what¡¯s avable, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    I moved a short distance away from the reception desk. After about five minutes had passed, she returned with several sheets of paper.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting, there are five ces that fit your criteria.¡¹

    ¡¸Which one is the least expensive?¡¹

    ¡¸That would be this one; among the five, it is the one that is furthest from the the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The monthly rent is thirty silver coins.¡¹

    One silver a day, huh.

    ¡¸Is that cheap?¡¹

    ¡¸Basically nothing has been built there. As for the rent, it is about the expected amount. Depending on how you use thend, there is a possibility that you will need to restore thend back to its original condition when returning it, so please take care.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I ask for the rent of the other plots?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there are also plots with rents of 90, 75, 48, and 35 silver coins avable.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you tell me the locations of these five plots?¡¹

    I took out a map so she could show me each location.

    ¡¸Un, the 90 and 75 silver plots are expensive, so I¡¯ll pass. I¡¯ll also pass on the 30 silver plot.¡¹

    The 30 silver plot was not in a convenient location for moving around.

    After that, the 35 silver and 48 silver plots were left.

    The best one was the 48 silver plot. It was located close to the guild and Fina¡¯s house, as well as the inn that I was staying at.

    The 35 silver plot was close to the guild, but it was far from both Fina¡¯s house and the inn.

    ¡¸Which would you like?¡¹

    ¡¸If this one was just a little less expensive, it would be good.¡¹

    I pointed at the 48 silver plot.

    ¡¸By the way, how do you n to use thisnd?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m thinking of building a house and a ce for doing dismantling work. Ah, of course I¡¯ll take down the house when I return thend, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Please wait a moment.¡¹

    The woman left for a short while and came back quickly.

    ¡¸Excuse me for my rudeness, but are you Bloody Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸Ahem, pardon me. Are you the adventurer Miss Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸... that¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much for the recent wolf, horned rabbit, and goblin king raw materials.¡¹

    ¡¸...? Why is the Commerce Guild saying that to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you know? The Adventurer¡¯s guild and the Commerce Guild are connected. The materials that enter the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s possession are brought to the Commerce Guild to be sold.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know that.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and since the number of wolves and horned rabbits have increased recently, all of the merchants are very happy.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the amount of materials that I, a single individual, sold should be an insignificant amount for the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸No, the raw materials that Yuna-san brings are very beautiful and of high quality.

    Normal adventurers will cut the monsters numerous times, so no matter what there will be a lot of damage. The materials that Yuna-san brings are not only beautiful, but popr as well. The rare Goblin King raw materials also became popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, which is why I spoke with my supervisor. How about we make the rent for the plot ofnd from before 35 silver coins?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if Yuna-san dismantles and sells raw materials to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, it will also be beneficial for the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, please do so.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, please allow me to guide you from now on.¡¹

    The receptionistdy stood up.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to guide me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, is it an inconvenience?¡¹

    ¡¸That isn¡¯t the case, but isn¡¯t it bad for a receptionist like you to slip out just for my sake?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, there is another receptionist. More importantly, I don¡¯t want to break the connection between us.¡¹

    ¡¸Connection?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-san is a promising new adventurer. I believe there are many people who want to create a connection with you. I am also one of those people. I apologize for thete introduction. I am Mylene of the Commerce Guild. Pleased to meet you.¡¹

    I confirmed with the map that the ce Mylene-san guided me to was correct.

    It was near the inn.

    This ce was also located near the guild.

    The size of the plot ofnd was alsorge enough.

    The low amount of human traffic was also good.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve decided on this ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Well then, please sign this contract and submit a copy of your guild card.¡¹

    ¡¸A copy?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine if you just ce the guild card here. It will create a copy that will be used as the renter¡¯s ID.¡¹

    I wrote my name, copied my guild card, and paid 35 silver coins for one month¡¯s rent.

    ¡¸Well then, since you want to build a house on this plot ofnd, themerce guild can mediate with the carpenter¡¯s workshop on your behalf. What would you like to do?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, since I already have a house.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    Mylene tilted her head to the side.

    It was too troublesome to exin the details about the Bear Box and the Bear House so I decided to keep quiet.

    ¡¸Is that so? If you need anything, pleasee to the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    Mylene-san bowed and returned to the the Commerce Guild.

    I confirmed that Mylene-san was gone.

    nce to the right, clear.

    nce to the left, clear.

    Check behind as well, clear.

    Front too, clear.

    I confirmed that there were no pedestrians at the moment.

    Then I took out the Bear House from the Bear Box.

    Yes, on thend with nothing on it, a house was built in an instant.

    I took Fina along and headed towards the warehouse.

    ¡¸Well then, Fina, please work on the Tiger Wolves today.¡¹

    I left the Tiger Wolves to Fina and immediately returned to the inn to cancel my stay.

    There aren¡¯t any meals, but I will be living in the Bear House from now on.

    ===============================

    It¡¯s strange, when I first started writing, the story was supposed to go to the imperial capital quickly.

    Well, since the Bear House can be moved at any time, it is possible to depart immediately.

    In the first ce, when I first started writing, the idea of a Bear House didn¡¯t cross my mind at all.

 Chapter 27 â€“ The Rumored Bear Girl

    Chapter 27 ¨C The Rumored Bear Girl

    Xant: TLC done by Estelion

    Author¡¯s note: Volume 2 will start from here.

    Several days after the Bear House was built, it had be a famousndmark.

    Before anyone noticed, a house was built in the vacant lot. Many were surprised that the house was shaped like a bear, and even the person living inside looked like a bear.

    Around the Bear House, there were a lot of spectators observing from a distance.

    For that reason, I haven¡¯t gone outside at all recently.

    On the first day, I went outside for meals, but now I¡¯m making and eating my meals at home.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, I¡¯ve finished dismantling today¡¯s portion.¡¹

    Fina came by every day for her dismantling work, so I¡¯ve been giving her one day off for every three days she works.

    Furthermore, her dismantling quota was five bodies a day.

    For that reason, she was normally finished in half a day.

    ¡¸Thank you, be careful on your way back home.¡¹

    ¡¸Un. Big sis Yuna, aren¡¯t you going to work?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go...eventually.¡¹

    Certainly, I¡¯ve been acting like a hikikomori recently.

    At this rate, it¡¯s only going to get worse, huh.

    Tomorrow, should I go to the guild first thing in the morning?

    The next day, for the first time in a while, I woke up early and headed to the guild.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-san! You finally came!¡¹

    Helen shouted as she caught sight of me.

    You¡¯re being a nuisance to everybody!

    ¡¸Good morning, Helen.¡¹

    ¡¸Geez, what have you been doing? I was waiting for you.¡¹

    ¡¸You were waiting for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is a designated request for you.¡¹

    ¡¸A designated request?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the request came from Cliff Foschurose-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸...Who?¡¹

    I don¡¯t know a person by that name.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know of him? Count Foschurose-sama is the honorable Feudal Lord of this city.¡¹

    ¡¸Honorable Feudal Lord?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    It seems like it will be extremely troublesome.

    If you were to ask me what I thought about nobles, my opinion would be based on the royalty from manga or light novels, where they were an existence that invited trouble.

    If possible, I don¡¯t want to get involved with them.

    So,

    ¡¸Pass.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh-¡¹

    ¡¸I refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh-¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going home, bye!¡¹

    ¡¸H-hey! Hold on a second!¡¹

    Helen jumped over the reception desk and grabbed onto my bear clothes.

    ¡¸What do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸What, do you really n on going home?!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to sleep, so I¡¯m going home.¡¹

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s still morning.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine for me to sleep whenever I want, right?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, please listen to the request, because although Yuna-san doesn¡¯te to the guild very often, Foschurose-sama hase many times for this request.¡¹

    ¡¸That has nothing to do with me, right?¡¹

    ¡¸If nothing else, please at least listen to the request!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t wanna.¡¹

    ¡¸Please~ I¡¯m begging you!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay to refuse after listening?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you so against this?¡¹

    ¡¸My grandmother¡¯s dying wish was for me to stay far away from nobles and royals.¡¹

    ¡¸What is that supposed to mean?!¡¹

    ¡¸It means that nobles and royals are the kind of people who will immediately kill or imprison someone that they don¡¯t like. Upon seeing a beautiful woman, they¡¯ll demand her body and threaten her if she refuses. They¡¯ll condemn innocent people without proof or extort money frommoners. They¡¯re the kind of existence that lets their money do the talking, always getting away with whatever they want. Furthermore, their children are arrogant, boastful, selfish and self-important, right?¡¹

    ¡¸What is with that biased way of thinking?¡¹

    ¡¸Am I wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s true that the nobles Yuna-san described exist.¡¹

    They do exist.

    ¡¸However, Foschurose-sama is different. He¡¯s a gentleman.¡¹

    ¡¸Have you met him in person?¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, you wouldn¡¯t know for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t heard any bad rumors like that though.¡¹

    ¡¸If people were killed secretly, you wouldn¡¯t know. After all, dead people can¡¯t talk.¡¹

    ¡¸Why do your thoughts go that far?!¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t say that it was due to the influence of mangas and novels.

    ¡¸Oi! What¡¯s with the ruckus on such a crowded morning!¡¹

    Muscle Daruma = Guild master has arrived.

    ¡¸Guild master!¡¹

    ¡¸Helen, you know it gets crowded in the morning. What in the world are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not my fault! Yuna-san has a designated request from Foschurose-sama but, because she has a strange prejudice against nobles, she won¡¯t even listen to the request.¡¹

    ¡¸Prejudice?¡¹

    ¡¸She was saying things like nobles will kill people they don¡¯t like, demand women¡¯s bodies when they see them, or that their children are arrogant and selfish.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¹

    ¡¸As I thought.¡¹

    ¡¸Guild master!¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, my bad. Of course, those kinds of aristocrats do exist, but Foschurose is different, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Absolutely?¡¹

    ¡¸Aah, because he¡¯s an acquaintance.¡¹

    Certainly, it¡¯s not strange for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s guild master to have personally met the Feudal Lord.

    ¡¸Please listen, if you refuse, it will affect the guild¡¯s credibility.¡¹

    ¡¸U-un, fine! I¡¯ll listen to the request, at least!¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much...though I say that, there¡¯s not much to the request. It¡¯s just a request for you to visit his house.¡¹

    ¡¸The heck?¡¹

    ¡¸Perhaps he just wants to meet the rumored bear girl?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear girl?¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t know? It¡¯s Yuna-san¡¯s nickname.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew about Bloody Bear, but not that one.¡¹

    It¡¯s an unpleasant nickname though.

    ¡¸The Bloody Bear is what the male adventurers call you. The female adventurers and children just call you Bear Girl or Bear-san.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸But, what are the rumors?¡¹

    ¡¸You look like a bear, defeated packs of wolves and goblins by yourself, defeated a goblin king, andpleted arge amount of subjugations as a beginner. Then you summoned bears and even built a Bear House. Of course there would be rumors.¡¹

    ¡¸What bear house?¡¹

    Apparently, Helen hadn¡¯t heard about that.

    ¡¸What, you didn¡¯t know? This girl rented a plot ofnd and built a house, ya know. It¡¯s even shaped like a bear. Moreover, it was built so quickly that nobody knows when it was built, which is why everyone has been talking about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that what she did with thend from the other day? I had no idea.¡¹

    ¡¸So, because I¡¯m the rumored bear girl, the Feudal Lord wants to meet me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I guess that¡¯s how it is.¡¹

    ¡¸After all, everybody is reporting information about you, be it the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, the Commerce Guild, the town gate, or the town guards.¡¹

    ¡¸Information?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild reported about a promising rookie in a bear suit. The Commerce Guild reported that a bear girl built a Bear House without anyone noticing and the gate soldiers reported about the summoned bears. The town guards would have also submitted a report when you walked around town with that appearance. With so many reports about you reaching him, of course he would want to meet you.¡¹

    What? That¡¯s scary.

    Is there now like the Protection of Personal Information Act?

    All I did wasplete the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s requests normally, built a Bear House with magic normally, used magic to finish my subjugation quests faster by summoning a mount normally, and strolled around town in my casual bear clothes.

    ¡¸Can¡¯t I refuse?¡¹

    ¡¸Beats me. At the very least, the average adventurer wouldn¡¯t refuse amission from a noble. If they did, they would be skipping town. In any case, adventurers would normally agree to requests like this one and meet the noble.¡¹

    ¡¸So troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that, he¡¯s probably just curious. Why don¡¯t you just try meeting him?¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, assuming I go meet him, when would be a good time? Since he¡¯s a Feudal Lord, he should be pretty busy, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I received his schedule for the next few days. Any time tomorrow or in the afternoon five days from now should be fine.¡¹

    Had everything already been decided, including the day we meet?

    ¡¸Fine, whatever! I¡¯ll go meet him!¡¹

    Reluctantly, I decided to meet him tomorrow afternoon.

    ============================================

    I didn¡¯t have a mind to work today, so I bought lunch at a street stall on my way home.

    Because I wrote about meeting the lord on a whim, I haven¡¯t thought about whates next at all.

    I¡¯ll figure it out by tomorrow.

 Chapter 28 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Lordâ€™s House

    Chapter 28 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Lord¡¯s House

    It was the afternoon of the day after I received the request, and I was standing a slight distance from the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    It seemed like I would be noticed by the soldier standing at the front gate if I went any closer.

    I had a hunch that I would be interrogated if I was found.

    Even though the gate soldier for the lord¡¯s mansion didn¡¯t do anything, he gave me such a feeling.

    It was an unavoidable hassle.

    I gave up and walked towards the gate.

    Even when the gate guard caught sight of me, his line of sight remained fixed straight ahead and did not waver.

    He was still looking straight ahead when I arrived.

    Somehow, it was an unpleasant gaze.

    ¡¸What business do you have?¡¹

    ¡¸I am Yuna, the adventurer. I was called here by the Lord.¡¹

    ¡¸Were you...¡¹

    He looked at me as if he was licking me all over.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve heard about your situation. For confirmation, please hand over your guild card.¡¹

    Unexpectedly, it seemed like the gate guard was well-informed about me.

    With this setting, I thought there would be trouble.

    Well, at least the Lord wasn¡¯t an idiot who would invite me and forget to inform the gate guard, huh.

    After the guard finished confirming the guild card, I was led to the front door of the mansion.

    When I arrived at the door, a maid-san in her early 20s took over.

    This was the first time I had seen a maid here.

    She was wearing a ck maid uniform.

    As expected, they exist, huh.

    If a maid lover saw this, they would rejoice, right?

    I thought it was cute but, unfortunately, I don¡¯t have that attribute.

    Maid-san walked silently through the mansion, stopped in front of a door, and knocked.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, I¡¯ve brought the adventurer, Yuna-san.¡¹

    A voice from within called out, ¡°Come in.¡±

    ¡¸Pardon me.¡¹

    Maid-san opened the door and urged me to enter the room.

    After I obediently entered the room, the door was closed behind me.

    Maid-san didn¡¯te in.

    The room was wide and contained arge desk, arge table, and a sofa.

    The room seemed like an office.

    The inhabitant of the room was a man in histe thirties, sitting in front of therge desk.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but please feel free to sit on the sofa over there.¡¹

    I obediently sat.

    ¡¸You really do look like a bear.¡¹

    The man came over and sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

    As he looked at me, an amused smile appeared on the man¡¯s face.

    As expected, he was a shitty noble after all.

    ¡¸If you called me just to make a mockery of me, I¡¯m going home.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸So what do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s true that I also wanted to meet with you, but my daughter was the one who wanted to meet you.¡¹

    ¡¸Your daughter?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I think she saw you in town once and she wanted to see you again, no matter what. In addition to that, she gets really happy when I talk about your achievements in the reports.¡¹

    Which is why we need a Protection of Personal Information Act!

    ¡¸So you called me for your daughter¡¯s sake?¡¹

    ¡¸While that¡¯s half of it. The other half is because I wanted to see the bear girl from the town rumors.¡¹

    Am I a bear from the zoo?

    Knock, knock.

    Someone was knocking on the door.

    ¡¸I have brought Noire-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Come in.¡¹

    A girl around Fina¡¯s age came in through the door.

    It was a blonde-haired girl.

    ¡¸Daddy, is it really true that Bear-san hase?¡¹

    The girl¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Bear-san! My name is Noire, but please feel free to call me Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸My name is Yuna, you know. Instead of Bear-san, can you call me by my name?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand. Yuna-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸So then, what should I do here?¡¹

    ¡¸Will you be my daughter¡¯spanion? I¡¯ll pay the request fee, of course.¡¹

    Noa pulled on my hand and took me away.

    ¡¸Where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸My room!¡¹

    Judging from the conversation, I had been taken to Noa¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Um, would it be alright if I hugged you?¡¹

    She asked me shyly.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, but-¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    Noa came and hugged me.

    I also embraced the golden-haired girl.

    It¡¯s possible that, since Fina is fine too, I might have a younger sister lover attribute.

    ¡¸You¡¯re so soft, and you smell nice too.¡¹

    I rubbed her head in reply.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve seen you once in town before.¡¹

    Yeah, I heard about that.

    ¡¸Although I was far away, it was a super cute appearance, so you easily caught my attention. When I talked with my daddy, I was told all kinds of stories about Bear-san, I mean Yuna-san, many times.¡¹

    I patted her head.

    After that, we talked about many things.

    I told stories about defeating the goblins, the wolves, the Goblin King, and the Tiger Wolves.

    ¡¸So then, I have a favor to ask of Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸A favor?¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, won¡¯t you show me your summoned beasts?¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! When I heard about the summoned beasts from my daddy, I wanted to see them.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, but not in this room. Also, we need to get permission from your father.¡¹

    It would be troublesome if I became a criminal because I summoned them on the grounds of the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    ¡¸In that case, let¡¯s get daddy¡¯s permission and go outside.¡¹

    I was pulled out of the room by my hand.

    We left Noa¡¯s room and headed towards her father¡¯s, or Cliff¡¯s, room.

    Noa opened the door and entered without even knocking.

    ¡¸Noa, haven¡¯t I always told you to knock on the door before entering?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, daddy. I have something I want to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸May I have permission to see Yuna-san¡¯s summoned beasts?¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts? Ah, the rumored bears, huh. Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡¹

    He asked me, who was standing behind Noa.

    ¡¸They won¡¯t do anything, so it will be safe.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, then it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay? If I wanted to kill you, you¡¯d die, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸But you won¡¯t do such a thing.¡¹

    ¡¸So you trust me, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I looked into many things before calling you. A kind Bear-san who will do many things for a young girl¡¯s sake.¡¹

    Cliffughed brightly.

    However, I noticed a brief killing intent in that smile.

    As I thought, a noble¡¯s character is naturally bad.

    ¡¸Even if I¡¯m nice to young girls, it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ll be nice to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, I¡¯m the Lord here. I¡¯ve seen many kinds of people, so I can tell just by looking.¡¹

    ¡¸You do know that I¡¯m wearing a hood, right?¡¹

    My hood has been on since I first met Cliff, so my real face hasn¡¯t been seen.

    In hindsight, it was probably quite rude.

    ¡¸More or less. Will you take off your hood and show me your face? From what I heard, you don¡¯t take off your hood, even when asked.¡¹

    I don¡¯t remove the hood?

    There was that kind of rumor going around?

    I¡¯m just hiding my face because wearing the bear dress is simply embarrassing.

    I took off the hood and showed my face.

    ¡¸Y-y-you...¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san is a beautiful person! So pretty.¡¹

    ¡¸I-is that so, thanks.¡¹

    I thanked Noa and patted her head.

    Although it was ttery, it made me happy.

    Still, I put the hood back on, since it was embarrassing.

    ¡¸What a waste.¡¹

    Cliff was saying something, but since we had received permission, we immediately headed out to the mansion¡¯s garden.

    For some reason, the Lord, and even the maid, started following along behind us.

    =========================================

    The Lord¡¯s family structure hasn¡¯t been decided yet.

    Well, it¡¯s fine even if I write it outter, right?

 Chapter 29 â€“ Bear-san, Mission Accomplished

    Chapter 29 ¨C Bear-san, Mission Aplished

    Author¡¯s Note: Each chapter is written with about 2000-3000 words, but it¡¯s unexpectedly short when I read it.

    But, it takes over five sheets of the 400-character manuscript paper!

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is an area that¡¯s about this big okay?¡¹

    As expected of a lord¡¯s garden.

    It was very spacious.

    I was told that, if needed, we could also use the soldiers¡¯ practice area.

    Right now, there¡¯s nobody there.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯m going to summon them now. Come out! Swaying Bear! Hugging Bear!¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came out from the Bear Hands.

    The two of them stood up.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear,e here.¡¹

    The two bears came running up to me happily.

    Theirrge size scared me at first, but now they¡¯re just cute.

    The people behind me, on the other hand, were surprised and raised a fuss.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear! It¡¯s a bear-san! Yuna-san, is it okay if I touch them?!¡¹

    ¡¸Lady Noire, it¡¯s dangerous! Please fall back!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. If you don¡¯t hurt them, they won¡¯t do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Please say something as well, Cliff-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯ll be okay, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama!¡¹

    After being told that ¡°It can¡¯t be helped,¡± by her master, Cliff, the maid-san stopped trying to detain her.

    Noa, who had obtained freedom, slowly came closer to the bears.

    ¡¸Is it really okay for me to touch them?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Try touching them softly.¡¹

    Noa gently touched Swaying Bear.

    She pet Hugging Bear with her other hand.

    The two bears narrowed their eyes in apparent pleasure.

    ¡¸It¡¯s very warm. It¡¯s also soft.¡¹

    ¡¸Want to try riding one?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, is it okay?¡¹

    Instead of answering, Hugging Bear lowered its waist to make it easier to get on.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t fall, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    I lent a hand and gave her a lift onto its back.

    Hugging Bear slowly stood up.

    ¡¸Waa, it¡¯s high.¡¹

    Noa seemed happy on top of Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is it okay to take a walk? Just around the house is fine!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹

    Hugging Bear slowly walked away.

    ¡¸N-Noire-sama!¡¹

    Maid-san panicked and ran after Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Sorry, but can I touch it too?¡¹

    Cliff came over while looking embarrassed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, but...¡¹

    When I gave permission, he touched Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Ooo, the fur is nice. It also feels good to touch.¡¹

    While touching Swaying Bear, Cliff was also ncing at its back.

    ¡¸Do you want to get on?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?!¡¹

    ¡¸The same as Noa, just onep around the house.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, thank you.¡¹

    After Cliff got on Swaying Bear, he went off running after Noa.

    A couple of minutester, the two returned side-by-side.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you very much. It was fun.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, you also let me have a very valuable experience today.¡¹

    A very tired looking maid-san appeared behind the bears.

    She looked exhausted.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault, so I didn¡¯t worry about it.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ll be returning to the house, so I¡¯ll leave Noa to you, Yuna. Pleasee to me when you n on leaving.¡¹

    Cliff went back inside the house.

    Noa really liked riding on top of Hugging Bear and didn¡¯te down.

    ¡¸It¡¯sfortable.¡¹

    She was sprawled on top of Hugging Bear.

    For a while, she patted Hugging Bear while sprawled on its back, but soon stopped.

    When I noticed it had be quiet and took a nce, she was breathing calmly and sleeping quietly.

    I told Hugging Bear to walk slowly as we moved under a tree.

    As expected, falling asleep while sunbathing wasn¡¯t an option.

    Maid-san was watching anxiously.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s let her sleep. Is there possibly something we can cover her with? Since it would be a problem if she catches a cold.¡¹

    When I said that, maid-san quickly went back inside the house and came back carrying something that looked like a nket.

    However, because Hugging Bear was too tall, she couldn¡¯t ce the nket on Noa.

    ¡¸Please lend a hand, Swaying Bear.¡¹

    Swaying Bear lifted the maid-san with both hands.

    The maid-san obediently allowed herself to be lifted, and covered Noa with the nket.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Swaying Bear-sama.¡¹

    Apparently, Maid-san was no longer afraid of Swaying Bear.

    I took out a small barrel and two wooden cups from the Bear Box.

    The barrel contained juice from an oren fruit, and it had a vor that was simr to orange juice.

    I poured ice and oren juice into a cup, and handed it to the maid-san.

    Maid-san recieved the oren juice and drank it.

    ¡¸Delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Good to hear.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. It¡¯s cold and delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s enough for a second helping, so drink as much as you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, they¡¯re rather obedient.¡¹

    We watched Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because they¡¯re summoned beasts. They are different from wild bears, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸It seems so. Thedy also seemed to be having fun, so thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not necessary to thank me, since it¡¯s my job.¡¹

    Maid-san¡¯s name was Amelia-san.

    I heard that she had been employed at this mansion for five years.

    She seemed to be an important existence, since she had been looking after Noa since Noa was five years old.

    Therefore, she asked me not to worry her too much.

    Even so, she thanked me for letting Noa have some fun.

    While I was talking with Amelia, Noa, who was sleeping on top of Hugging Bear, began to fidget and move around.

    ¡¸Good morning. You woke up.¡¹

    ¡¸Erm, where am I?¡¹

    ¡¸On top of Hugging Bear. You fell asleep.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right. Hugging Bear was sofortable that I fell asleep.¡¹

    ¡¸If you sleep outside for too long, you might catch a cold, so let¡¯s go inside.¡¹

    Noa didn¡¯t want to separate from the bears, but at this rate, there would be no end to this, so I sent Hugging Bear a signal.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear is also tired, so won¡¯t you let them rest?¡¹

    When I said so, Hugging Bear

    ¡¸Kuu~¡¹

    ...made a small cry and a sleepy gesture.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, Noire-sama. Hugging Bear-sama kept you from falling while you slept. Please let Hugging Bear-sama rest as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I understand. Sorry, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Noa got down from Hugging Bear and gently patted its head.

    ¡¸Ok then, I¡¯m letting them rest.¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s y again sometime, Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear.¡¹

    I cancelled the summoning, and Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear went back into my hands.

    ¡¸Well now, let us return to Noa¡¯s room.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m headed to where Cliff-san is.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, Yuna-san, could it be that you¡¯re leaving already?¡¹

    ¡¸My job here is already finished.¡¹

    I¡¯ve put up with Noa¡¯s selfishness for a while already, this much work should be enough.

    ¡¸Come on, let¡¯s eat dinner together!¡¹

    Noa grabbed onto the Bear Hand.

    I tried to decline, but I was pulled into the house by the hand.

    Cliff appeared right then and it became a talk about dinner.

    In the end, because Cliff also invited me, it was decided that I would be staying for dinner.

    I ate dinner. When I was leaving, they asked me to stop by next time. However, I courteously refused and returned to the Bear House.

    ¡¸By all means, pleasee again!¡¹

    Noa sent me off at the gate with that request.

 Chapter 30 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 4

    Chapter 30 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 4

    Author¡¯s note: A month has passed since I started writing.

    I returned to the Bear House safely, thanks to Hugging Bear.

    The medicinal herbs for my mother were gathered without incident.

    Next, I have to do the dismantling work.

    That¡¯s my job.

    Hugging Bear stayed outside as I headed towards the warehouse.

    I brought the wolf out of the warehouse freezer.

    Compared to other monsters, the wolf was small, but it was still big to me.

    I did my best to carry the wolf over to the table top.

    Big sis Yuna prepared a stepstool for me, so I was tall enough to work with the wolf on top of the table.

    I stripped off the pelt with a skinning knife.

    I then divided the meat into sections.

    I also took out the magic stone and ced it separately.

    After I had finished dismantling several wolves, the warehouse door opened.

    Big sis Yuna hade back.

    Eh, did she already defeat the Tiger Wolf?

    I¡¯m not even finished with the dismantling work.

    Big sis told me that she wanted the magic stones extracted from the Tiger Wolves.

    Of course I epted, since it was my job.

    The Tiger Wolves she took out were sorge that they surprised me.

    To be able to defeat suchrge monsters, Big sis Yuna is really amazing.

    I immediately started working on removing the magic stones.

    I cut open a section of their bellies.

    The Tiger Wolf was the same type of monster as the wolf, so it was likely that the magic stone¡¯s location was the same.

    The magic stone came out from the middle of its stomach.

    The Tiger Wolf¡¯s magic stone was nearly twice asrge as a wolf¡¯s.

    I washed them with water and handed them to Big Sis Yuna.

    Afterwards, I ate lunch and continued dismantling monsters.

    Big sis Yuna seemed sleepy.

    Did fighting the Tiger Wolves exhaust her?

    I¡¯ll also do my best.

    I worked hard, and soon the dismantling was finished.

    I¡¯ll go wake Big sis Yuna up.

    I climbed up to the second floor.

    Which room is she sleeping in?

    For now, I¡¯ll check them one by one, starting from this side.

    I knocked on the first room and went inside.

    There she is.

    She was sleeping on the bed.

    I shook Big sis Yuna to wake her up.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, Big sis Yuna!¡¹

    Big sis Yuna woke up.

    The Big sis Yuna that got off the bed was white.

    She was white, as if she were imitating Hugging Bear.

    The ck bear suit was cute, but the white bear suit was also cute.

    Apparently, the ck bear would switch with the white bear when the outfit was reversed.

    When I told her that I was finished dismantling, we decided to head back.

    Big sis Yuna made the bear house vanish.

    Magic is amazing.

    I rode Swaying Bear on the way back.

    Apparently, paying attention to only one of them would put the other one in a bad mood.

    I think I understand that feeling.

    I returned to town while riding on top of Swaying Bear.

    The soldiers at the gate were surprised.

    I think anyone would be surprised when they see these bears.

    But, the bears are cute.

    The next day, I went over to Big sis Yuna¡¯s ce.

    There didn¡¯t seem to be any ce to do the dismantling though.

    Certainly, it was troublesome to go out of the city every time.

    Big sis Yuna headed to the guild. It seemed like she wanted to rent somend.

    Was it really okay to do all that, just so I could do my dismantling work?

    We decided to head over to the Commerce Guild, introduced by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    After Big sis Yuna went to the Commerce Guild, she ended up making a decision on the spot.

    We were guided to the plot ofnd.

    The bear house was constructed on that plot ofnd.

    No matter how many times I see it, it¡¯s still amazing.

    I entered the warehouse and worked on dismantling the Tiger Wolves.

    The process was the same as with the wolves, but I was nervous.

    Even I knew that this was an expensive fur.

    I¡¯ll do my best though.

    I finished today¡¯s dismantling work without any incident.

    For several days after that, Imuted to Big sis Yuna¡¯s house every day.

    Suddenly, I became dizzy while dismantling.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± crossed my mind as I copsed

    Moreover it was unlucky that I was seen just then by Big sis Yuna.

    Big sis Yuna came running up to me.

    I was surprised when I looked at my hand.

    Blood was flowing out of my hand.

    It seems that when I fell, I cut my hand a bit with the knife.

    It hurts a little.

    Big sis Yuna touched the part that was bleeding.

    Is she going to use magic?

    While I thought that, my hand warmed up, the pain had vanished and the wound had also disappeared.

    It¡¯s amazing.

    Big sis Yuna removed her bear gloves and felt my forehead with her hand.

    Apparently, I had a fever.

    I was told to sleep on a bed in a room on the second floor for the time being.

    As I was lying on the bed, my forehead was touched again.

    This time it was the bear hand.

    It was soft and pleasant.

    I gradually felt better and fell asleep.

    When I woke up, it was evening.

    Because a meal had already been prepared for me, I was told to bring it home to eat with my family.

    After that, I was told to rest for a day.

    Two days after I had copsed, I went to Big sis Yuna¡¯s house.

    I was told that from now on, there would be three days of dismantling work followed by one day of rest.

    I was also told that if I did other jobs on the rest-day, then I wouldn¡¯t be given any more dismantling work.

    This was something that Big sis Yuna told me out of concern for my health, so I obediently listened.

 Chapter 31 â€“ Bear-san Goes To See Finaâ€™s Sick Mother

    Chapter 31 ¨C Bear-san Goes To See Fina¡¯s Sick Mother

    Today is a holiday.

    Like Fina, I¡¯m also taking the day off.

    A lot of things were established during this one month.

    First of all, when a skill levels up, it is learned automatically.

    Right now, I have learned six skills.

    Different World¡¯s Spoken Language:

    Can understand a different world¡¯snguage. (If I didn¡¯t have this, it¡¯d be bad.)

    Different World¡¯s Written Language:

    Can read and write the letters of a different world. (I can work in the guild because I have this.)

    Bear¡¯s Dimensional Box:

    Can store inanimate objects. (Experiment result: infinite size)

    Bear¡¯s Eyes of Observation:

    Can see the effects of items and weapons. (Well, you can normally do this in a typical game.)

    Bear¡¯s Sense of Danger Perception:

    Can discover the location of dangerous monsters and thieves. (It¡¯s convenient to know the locations of monsters, yeah.)

    Bear¡¯s Map:

    Creates a map of previously visited locations. (It¡¯s a basic mapping system from RPGs.)

    Magic was categorized separately from skills.

    There seemed to be certain rules for magic in this world.

    I had to make a personal effort to learn magic.

    However, in my situation, I was able to learn magic much more easily, thanks to the Bear.

    In reality, when I inserted magic power into the Bear, the Bear would activate the magic for me.

    For that reason, if I didn¡¯t have the Bear, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use magic.

    In this world, the power of magic relies on the creativity of the mental image used.

    Knowledge, imagination, that sort of thing.

    For example, if I used the image of a gas burner when using fire magic, a me that was capable of melting iron woulde out.

    It¡¯s likely that even if I showed this magic to the inhabitants of this world, they wouldn¡¯t be able to activate this magic, because they wouldn¡¯t know about gas burners.

    As for ice, it was impossible for them to use an image of stopping the movement of water molecules.

    That was why, when people in this world wanted to create ice, they would use ice magic.

    Not to mention, the incident when Fina copsed.

    Wound healing magic was also influenced by an image.

    When I imagined the wound closing up, I was able to seal the wound.

    I had not verified it yet but, in the case of healing severe wounds, I would probably be able to heal it if I imagined blood vessels connecting together.

    Moreover, the fever-lowering magic.

    If this were in a game, it would be categorized as a status-ailment curing magic.

    Erasing the germs, or poisons, inside the body seems possible.

    While I was thinking about things like this world¡¯s skill system, the doorway became rather noisy.

    There was a barrier covering the Bear House.

    When the Bear House was built, it automatically activated.

    It was set so that people I had not authorized could not enter the barrier.

    Unapproved people were absolutely unable to enter the house.

    Currently, the only person who could enter the Bear House was Fina.

    I thought of going down to the first floor, but the moment I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, Fina came flying in.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna!¡¹

    Somehow, her appearance was strange.

    Fina¡¯s body was trembling as she hugged me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    I separated from Fina and lifted her head to look at her face.

    Her eyes were red from crying.

    ¡¸B-Big sis Yuna, m-my mother has...!¡¹

    ¡¸Calm down first.¡¹

    ¡¸My mother was in pain, and...even though she drank medicine...it was no good...I went to see Uncle Gentz, but...he went out to look for medicine and hasn¡¯te back...I-I, what should I do?¡¹

    It seemed like her mother¡¯s condition was dangerous.

    ¡¸Un, I understand, so can you guide me to your house?¡¹

    There was a possibility that the status ailment curing magic could be used to treat her mother.

    I headed to Fina¡¯s house together with her.

    It was a small house, with three people living in it.

    After entering the house, we went to the room Fina¡¯s mother was lying in.

    The woman lying in the bed seemed to be suffering from pain.

    A small girl was crying next to the bed, and Gentz-san was standing next to her.

    ¡¸Fina. Bear missy, you¡¯re also here.¡¹

    ¡¸Uncle Gentz, what about the medicine?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    Gentz-san muttered one word and looked down at the ground.

    Fina¡¯s mother, while suffering, reached out her hand with as much strength as she could muster and stroked her daughter¡¯s head feebly.

    ¡¸Gentz...if...something...happens...to me...my daughters...please...¡¹

    ¡¸What are you doing?! Saying things like that!¡¹

    ¡¸I...sure gave you...a lot of...trouble...the medicine...and Fina...¡¹

    Fina¡¯s mother talked while enduring her pain.

    ¡¸Thank you...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about that! If you sleep, you¡¯ll get better, so don¡¯t talk any more!¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri, Fina,e here, let me see your faces onest time.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Mom!¡¹¡¹

    The two girls rushed over to their mother¡¯s bed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t give you anything. And, thank you, Shuri, Fina.¡¹

    Although both of them were trying their best to smile, their smiles seemed strained.

    ¡¸Gentz, please look after the two of them.¡¹

    ¡¸I get it, so don¡¯t say any more. Looking after these two will be troublesome for me, so you just rest and recover from your illness.¡¹

    ¡¸Gentz, thank you.¡¹

    She closed her eyes as she endured the pain, apparently having reached her limit.

    Poof, poof.

    I pped my hands in an attempt to get everyone to calm down, but even though my Bear Hands smacked together, no sound came out.

    ¡¸For starters, the three of you, please calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if I can do anything, but I¡¯ll take a look, so let me through.¡¹

    Fina tugged on her younger sister¡¯s hand and moved away from the bed.

    The sister cried and held onto Fina.

    Meanwhile, I stood next to the bed and examined Fina¡¯s mother.

    She was a young woman who had yet to reach herte twenties.

    However, her body had lost weight and was wasting away.

    She probably wasn¡¯t eating very much.

    ¡¸Please hold on a little longer.¡¹

    I ced both of my hands on top of the dying mother¡¯s body.

    I inserted magic power into the Bear with both hands.

    I tried to use an image of eradicating the malignant virus from her entire body.

    ¡¸Cure.¡¹

    A light covered the mother¡¯s body, and she gradually lost the pained expression on her face.

    Her breathing also started to calm down.

    It seems like a sess.

    Though, she still seemed considerably weakened.

    ¡¸Heal.¡¹

    I chanted a different magic.

    Her physical strength recovered.

    Fina¡¯s mother slowly opened her eyes.

    Then, she got up from the bed as if nothing had happened.

    ¡¸...There¡¯s no pain.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Mom!¡¹¡¹

    The two daughters rushed over to their mother.

    ¡¸Looks like I seeded somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, what did you do? It was as if you were a priestess from the heavens. No, never mind that, miss, thank you.¡¹

    Gentz-san¡¯s eyes slightly teared up as he grabbed onto my Bear Hands while thanking me profusely.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Um, thank you very much. You¡¯re the person who cured my illness, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I did it because Fina was crying. Even so, you should rest a while longer. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯vepletely recovered, and your physical strength might have decreased from lying down for so long.¡¹

    ¡¸How should I return my gratitude for saving my life? As you can see, I don¡¯t have anything valuable to pay you back with.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a minute, I¡¯ll do it. Miss, I can¡¯t do it immediately, but I will definitely repay you for this favor. That¡¯s why, please don¡¯t do anything to this mother and her children!¡¹

    Somehow, I feel like I became a viin.

    I cured your illness, so pay me money! If you can¡¯t pay, I¡¯m taking your daughter away!

    ...and with that sort of feeling, I would kidnap the daughter; that¡¯s the feeling I had.

    If there was a lolicon protagonist,

    ¡ºUhehehe, if you can¡¯t pay, don¡¯t you still have two cute daughters?¡»

    Would that line be said, I wonder.

    That¡¯s why, I have to clear up this misunderstanding.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t particrly need money or anything. I only wanted to protect Fina¡¯s smile.¡¹

    After I said that, I patted Fina¡¯s head.

    Oh, I said a really good line just now.

    Fina was moved by my words and came over to hug me.

    Somehow, I feel a little guilty...

    ¡¸But, in that case-¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, if there¡¯s anything that I can do, please say it!¡¹

    ¡¸Once I¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll do anything!¡¹

    Anything!

    She said it. Anything, that is.

    ¡¸In that case, I have a favor for the two of you, one that you cannot decline.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    An unpleasant atmosphere filled the room.

    They nced at Fina and her little sister.

    ¡¸Fina, please go with your sister to buy some delicious food, as well as something nutritious for your mother to eat.¡¹

    I took out money from the Bear Box and gave it to Fina.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, mother is fine now, so go on ahead.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I understand. Let¡¯s go, Shuri.¡¹

    Fina took her sister¡¯s hand and left the house.

    After sending the two of them off, I once again looked at Gentz-san and Fina¡¯s mother.

    ¡¸What are you going to make us do?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s simple. Both of you, please get married.¡¹

    ¡¸...ha?¡¹

    ¡¸...eh?¡¹

    Both of them were stunned and had their mouths wide open.

    ¡¸I know that Gentz-san loves Fina¡¯s mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-You...¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no point in denying it, even Fina knows about it. Besides, since Fina¡¯s mother trusts Gentz-san enough to entrust her children to you, she probably doesn¡¯t dislike you.¡¹

    ¡¸...That¡¯s-¡¹

    ¡¸Also, it¡¯s not good to increase the children¡¯s hardships, right? Gentz-san is a guild staff member, so your ie is stable, and it would be difficult for these three females to live peacefully forever.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Gentz-san, do you hate Fina¡¯s mother? Is it uneptable that Fina¡¯s mother married those children¡¯s father first?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    Gentz-san swallowed loudly.

    Then, he looked towards Fina¡¯s mother.

    ¡¸Tirumina, p-please marry me! I-I¡¯ve loved you from a long time ago! It¡¯s disrespectful to Roy, but I really love you!¡¹

    ¡¸...Thank you.¡¹

    I tried to quietly step out of the room and leave the house.

    Let¡¯s leave it to the two of them.

    ¡¸Where are you going?¡¹

    But, there was an old guy who betrayed those feelings of mine.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going home, since the current situation is a family issue.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so, erm, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Be sure to look after Fina and the others carefully.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, leave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸If the mother¡¯s condition worsens again, call me.¡¹

    Leaving Fina¡¯s house behind me, I returned to the Bear House.

 Chapter 32 â€“ Bear-san, Goes On A Junk Food Spree

    Chapter 32 ¨C Bear-san, Goes On A Junk Food Spree

    Author¡¯s note: Publishing daily is scary, ne.

    I was surprised when the number of subscribers suddenly increased.

    Thank you for therge amount of subscriptions.

    In particr, thank you to the people who subscribed to me when I first started writing.

    Fina¡¯s mother was in excellent condition.

    I think the term plete recovery¡± would be more urate.

    Her name was Tirumina-san.

    Tirumina-san and Gentz-san were going to get married.

    Right now, they were looking for a ce that a family of four could live in.

    Fina¡¯s house was at its limit with four people living there. Apparently, Gentz-san was originally living by himself in a small house.

    However, for some unknown reason, Fina and Shuri were at the Bear House.

    ¡¸Erm, why are you also here?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking about giving the two of them, Uncle Gentz- I mean, dad and mom, some time alone.¡¹

    Was that something that a ten-year-old should be considering?

    ¡¸Are we troubling you?¡¹

    ¡¸Not particrly. Even if four people came, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Once we find a house for the four of us to live in, we¡¯ll be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸But, why are you studying?¡¹

    That¡¯s right, Shuri was studying her characters inside the Bear House.

    ¡¸For me, my mother taught me my letters. However, in Shuri¡¯s case, mother was already too sick, so she couldn¡¯t teach her. I had to take care of the housework and earn money, so I wasn¡¯t able to teach my sister either.¡¹

    Though, even if I said study, it was just some characters written on top of dirty paper.

    There was nothing to write with, much less practice paper to write on.

    It was just memorizing characters by looking at them.

    I wonder if it can really be memorized this way.

    ¡¸In that case, let¡¯s go buy some study materials, you two.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸It will take you a long time to learn if you use that method of studying.¡¹

    ¡¸But-¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to worry about the money. Think of it as a wedding present.¡¹

    ¡¸Mom is the one getting married though.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about the small details.¡¹

    The two of them followed along and we left the Bear House.

    They were holding hands.

    The two sisters got along well.

    First, we headed to the bookstore.

    ¡¸Excuse me!¡¹

    I called out to the grandma in the bookstore with a loud voice.

    ¡¸What¡¯s it? I can hear ya even if ya don¡¯t yell.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, but do you have picture books for children? I want it for studying characters.¡¹

    ¡¸Picture books, for studying, eh. Then you¡¯ll want this one, this one, and that one.¡¹

    The granny brought over three books; some picture books and what looked like a character tables book.

    For now, I¡¯ll just buy everything.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I paid and left the shop.

    Next, we bought paper and writing utensils at the general goods store.

    After we finished buying the study materials, we got a little hungry, so I decided to buy some snacks from the street stalls in the za.

    When we arrived at the za, many different kinds of street stalls were lined up.

    A delicious smell came wafting from here and there.

    We entered the za and headed to the nearest street stall.

    It was selling skewers.

    It smelled good.

    ¡¸Hey uncle, three skewers please.¡¹

    ¡¸Oo, is it the bear missy? Three skewers? Sure! Thanks as usual.¡¹

    The uncle passed me three skewers.

    I held one skewer in my mouth and passed the rest to Fina and Shuri.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Next, let¡¯s go there!¡¹

    I scanned the lines of street stalls in the za, looking for my next prey (food).

    ¡¸Hey, bear missy! How about some vegetable soup?¡¹

    A voice rang out from the nearby stall.

    Steam was rising from arge pot, and it seemed very delicious.

    ¡¸Sure, three portions please.¡¹

    ¡¸Coming right up!¡¹

    The hot vegetable soup was served in wooden bowls.

    It was a system where you returned the bowls after you finished eating.

    I received the soup and passed two bowls to the other two girls.

    ¡¸Bear missy. In that case, how about bread to go with your soup?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s unfair! Bear missy, how about this here roasted meat?¡¹

    This time, voices rang out from the stalls all around us.

    ¡¸In that case, how about this freshly-squeezed fruit juice?¡¹

    A slightly older girl who was selling various kinds of fruit juice also joined in the war.

    ¡¸Hmm. I¡¯m in the mood for bread today, so three small loaves of bread please.¡¹

    ¡¸Ooo, thank you!¡¹

    The uncle who was selling bread expressed his thanks and handed me bread.

    I apologized to the stores I didn¡¯t buy from.

    ¡¸I¡¯lle buy some next time.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Come eat here next time!¡¹

    After receiving the bread, I greeted and responded to the people from the surrounding street stalls and sat at an empty bench nearby.

    I¡¯ve been buying and eating snacks in the za recently, so I¡¯ve be acquainted with the people from the street stalls.

    It might be because of this bear appearance, but the number of voices that call out to me when I walk through the za have been increasing daily.

    That meant that I had been buying and eating junk food quite often.

    It¡¯s fine as long as I don¡¯t get fat though.

    I pinched my stomach through my bear dress to check.

    I wanted to believe that it was okay.

    It would be great to get a [Unable To Gain Weight] skill.

    ¡¸Okay then, let¡¯s eat!¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Shuri copied her older sister and said her thanks.

    The two of them were pretty cute together.

    The three of us slowly ate the bread and soup.

    The soup had carrots and white radishes in it.

    I¡¯ve been frequentlying across ingredients that originally existed in Japan.

    However, I haven¡¯t been able to find rice, soy sauce, and miso.

    I also missed noodle dishes like ramen, soba, and udon.

    Did they exist in other countries?

    Nevertheless, this soup and bread were more than delicious enough.

    After we finished eating, we headed back to the Bear House, for the sake of studying.

    Later on, Tirumina-san and Gentz-san found out about our junk food trip, and they got angry at me.

    It seemed like the two sisters were unable to eat the dinner that had been prepared with great effort.

    I need to be careful not to overeat junk food.

    However, they thanked me for the study materials.

 Chapter 33 â€“ Bear-san Helps Out With Moving

    Chapter 33 ¨C Bear-san Helps Out With Moving

    Author¡¯s note: Thank you very much for reading.

    It looked like the new house that Fina and the others would live in had been chosen.

    The house was located near Gentz¡¯s workce, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    That was a strong requirement for Gentz, apparently.

    Finally, a property that matched the desired price, location, and size was found, or so I heard.

    Today, I came to Fina¡¯s old house in order to help them move.

    ¡¸Bring everything that you want to take over here. For the smaller objects, ce them all together in a box.¡¹

    I put the luggage that had already been packed into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Are you going to take this table too?¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have the money to buy a new one, so please.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, this chair as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Please.¡¹

    The luggage was swiftly brought out.

    Fina and Shuri were frantically doing their best to ce their limited number of belongings into a box.

    The belongings that were brought out to me were stowed away.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, can you take the bed too, please?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure.¡¹

    We went to Fina¡¯s room.

    Her belongings had already been ced into a box, so only the bed remained.

    ¡¸Just one bed?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because Shuri and I sleep together.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s so, your new father should buy one for you next time.¡¹

    I put away Fina¡¯s bed into the Bear Box.

    While I was at it, I also went into Tirumina-san¡¯s room and put away a simr bed.

    ¡¸Still, Bear missy¡¯s item bag is amazing. Normally, everything would have been moved by a horse-drawn cart.¡¹

    Well, that was because it was an item I received from the administrator (God).

    After that, I headed to each room and stored therge pieces of furniture.

    ¡¸Are we done moving all of the luggage?¡¹

    The room was splendidly empty.

    The other rooms were the same.

    ¡¸Un, thank you again, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Since we had finished packing the things in Fina¡¯s house, we decided to head to Gentz-san¡¯s house next.

    I wonder why?

    It has often been said that when a guy lives by himself, it¡¯s disgusting.

    Gentz-san also seemed to belong in that category.

    Even though you knew beforehand that you would be moving, why didn¡¯t you do any cleaning?

    ¡¸It¡¯s terrible.¡¹

    Tirumina murmured quietly after she saw the inside of the house.

    ¡¸Sorry about that...¡¹

    Gentz lowered his head.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, sorry but could you take my daughters and go to the new house?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Both of you, first set up your own belongings. I already exined the assignment of the rooms yesterday, so you understand, right? Also, the house has already been cleaned a bit beforehand, but not the most troublesome sections, so please take care of those areas. Prioritize cleaning the bedrooms, okay? Once you¡¯re done with that, please tidy up the other rooms. I¡¯ll also leave the arrangement of the luggage to you. Once I¡¯m done cleaning up this house, I¡¯ll head over to help as well.¡¹

    The house key was handed to Fina.

    Next, she nced in my direction.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sorry, but once you¡¯ve unpacked the luggage, can youe over here again?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m counting on the three of you.¡¹

    As expected of an adult woman and a wife who brought up two kids. She quickly gave out efficient instructions.

    We headed towards the new house that Fina¡¯s family would be living in.

    It was located about halfway between the entrance of the guild and the inn that I had previously stayed at.

    ¡¸Here it is.¡¹

    We stood in front of therge house.

    We opened the door using the key that Tirumina-san handed over.

    There probably wasn¡¯t any dust because it had been cleaned in advance.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, can you please take out the cleaning tools?¡¹

    I took out the cleaning tools.

    Fina headed towards the kitchen, carrying a bucket.

    She drew water out of a water magic stone.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, can youe to the second floor?¡¹

    The three of us climbed up to the second floor.

    The second floor had two rooms.

    Fina entered the room on the right.

    The room was roughly the size of six tatami mats.

    From a Japanese person¡¯s perspective, the room was a bitrge.

    Fina opened the window to let some fresh air in.

    ¡¸Shuri, can you go open the window in mom¡¯s room too? Once you¡¯re done with that, please start cleaning.¡¹

    Shuri nodded and left the room.

    Fina used a dust cloth to clean up the dirty areas.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, can you please take out the luggage?¡¹

    I followed Fina¡¯s instructions and went about cing the furniture and the bed.

    I more or less utilized the power of the bear to move things around.

    Finally, I ced the box with Fina and Shuri¡¯s belongings inside on the floor.

    Next, I headed into the room the parents would use and ced the bed and furniture.

    I also ced Tirumina-san¡¯s belongings on the floor.

    I put off cing the more trivial belongings and returned to the first floor.

    There, Shuri was trying her best to clean with her small body.

    I took out the table, chair, utensils, and other things in the kitchen.

    I ced the misceneous things in an unused room on the first floor.

    ¡¸Fina, this is all of the luggage. I¡¯m going back to Gentz-san¡¯s house, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Both Fina and Shuri said their thanks.

    ¡¸Both of you, please do your best.¡¹

    ¡¸For now, let¡¯s just clean up the bedrooms.¡¹

    When I arrived at Gentz-san¡¯s house, there was a mountain of boxes.

    Right now, it felt like everything had been packed into boxes.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can you take care of the luggage over there?¡¹

    I put away the luggage, following Tirumina-san¡¯s instructions.

    When I looked at Gentz-san inside the room, I saw a tired face.

    Even so, he obediently cleaned ording to Tirumina-san¡¯s instructions.

    Looks like he¡¯s already hen-pecked.

    After the luggage was put away, one after another, the end was finally in sight.

    The cleaning also gradually finished, and Gentz¡¯s house finally became empty too.

    It took us a while, but we finally headed to the new house.

    By the time we entered the house, more than half of the mountain of luggage had been put away.

    Fina and Shuri came over when they noticed us.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been tidied up quite a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but we haven¡¯t finished yet.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not possible to finish it all in one day. For today, let¡¯s just focus on cleaning the ces where we¡¯ll be sleeping. Yuna-chan, please ce the non-furniture items that can be carried by hand in the back room on the first floor. Then, please ce the other things in their designated ces.¡¹

    For the time being, I went about arranging therge luggage that had been brought from Gentz-san¡¯s house into various rooms.

    I ced them in the corners of the rooms, to be cleaned up at ater date.

    For things that I didn¡¯t know where to put, I ced them on the first floor, in the back room that had been mentioned earlier.

    ¡¸Since we¡¯ve finished setting up our bedrooms, let¡¯s stop here for today.¡¹

    Tirumina-san came down to the first floor from the second floor.

    ¡¸Fina, did you clean the kitchen and prepare for dinner?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, I haven¡¯t taken care of those areas yet.¡¹

    ¡¸Uun, even if we start now, we won¡¯t finish in time.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, do you want to go out to eat?¡¹

    Gentz-san brought up a proposal.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t. There are still things we need to get so that four people to be able to live here from now on. The girls and I don¡¯t have much money saved up, and we shouldn¡¯t spend your hard-earned savings for such a thing.¡¹

    The two of them red at each other.

    ¡¸Aaah, I get it. I¡¯ll pay, so let¡¯s go somewhere to eat. It¡¯ll be fine this way, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We can¡¯t possibly trouble Yuna-chan any more than this. I¡¯m already grateful that you helped us move the luggage. If we had to hire people to help, it would have cost us a lot of money. If it was just us, moving the beds andrge items alone would have taken a few days. You have my gratitude for helping as much as you did. I can¡¯t do something as shameless as asking you, who has helped us this much, to treat us to a meal.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really mind, though.

    Well, certainly, a person withmon sense would think that way.

    I cured her illness, free of charge, and came to help them move without asking forpensation.

    Now, I was even offering to pay for their meals.

    I might have refused as well.

    ¡¸If so, then, Tirumina-san, how about making the food at my house?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan¡¯s house?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine to freely use the ingredients I have, so won¡¯t you cook me something delicious?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, would it be fine...? I understand, I¡¯ll make you something delicious.¡¹

    Finally, apromise was reached and five people ended up heading to the Bear House.

 Chapter 34 â€“ Bear-san Enters The Bear Bath

    Chapter 34 ¨C Bear-san Enters The Bear Bath

    We arrived at the Bear House.

    ¡¸No matter how many times I see it, this house still amazes me.¡¹

    Both Tirumina and Gentz had already visited the Bear House several times before.

    When they first came to the house to express their gratitude, they had wanted to see Fina¡¯s dismantling work, so I ended up giving them a tour of the Bear House.

    ¡¸Okay then, I will be borrowing your kitchen. Fina, please give me a hand.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    Shuri also volunteered to help cook.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine to use the ingredients as you see fit.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, thank you. Though, if we really do, it would be bad if we couldn¡¯t cook something tasty.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really eat that much, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I am always receiving wolf meat from you, so the number of unreturnable favors you¡¯ve done for me has been increasing.¡¹

    The three of them headed to the kitchen.

    The leftover Gentz and I each sat on a chair and waited.

    ¡¸It¡¯s an amazing house.¡¹

    He looked around the room and muttered in a small voice.

    ¡¸Is that a Tiger Wolf¡¯s pelt?¡¹

    The Tiger Wolf¡¯s pelt, which had been obtained during the first time Fina went out on a subjugation with me, was disyed on the wall.

    The other one was being used as a nket in my room.

    ¡¸The first time I saw bear missy, I didn¡¯t think you would be such an amazing youngdy.¡¹

    He said nostalgically.

    Certainly, a little over a month had passed since I have arrived in this other world.

    Even in town, my bear-like appearance was bing famous.

    It¡¯s scary what people can get used to.

    Even the embarrassment I felt from having to wear this Bear Dress has disappeared.

    ¡ºBear missy¡»

    ¡ºBear-san¡»

    ¡ºBear girl¡»

    ¡ºBloody Bear¡»

    There were various nicknames people called me by, but they were all nicknames for me.

    Even now, I still couldn¡¯t do any dismantling, but I had gotten used to killing monsters.

    It was probably due to the experience I gained from ying games.

    I was able to meet Fina and see a lot of interesting things in this world.

    Although I haven¡¯t gotten mail or messages from God since the first time, I am grateful that I was brought over to this world.

    ¡¸But, missy, is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Un?¡¹

    ¡¸About the house.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, about that, hmm.¡¹

    I had bought thend under Gentz-san¡¯s new home as a wedding gift for them.

    Gentz-san purchased the house using the money he had saved up during his lonely bachelorhood.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really mind. It¡¯s just that, in the case that I leave this town, I don¡¯t want to see the three of them wandering the streets one day because Gentz-san suddenly died. If they have a house, then at least they will definitely have a ce to live.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, hey, don¡¯t go killing me off all of a sudden. I have a bright and shining future waiting for me after this, so that kind of unfortunate fate doesn¡¯t await me!¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s like that, then it¡¯s fine. Protect the three of them properly, okay? If you don¡¯t protect them, you know what will happen, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I swear to Roy in heaven that I¡¯ll protect the three of them.¡¹

    Roy was Tirumina-san¡¯s deceased husband, and the father of Fina and Shuri.

    When they were young, the three of them were members of the same party. After Roy and Tirumina got married, the party was dissolved, and it seems that Gentz-san ended up working for the guild.

    A few yearster, however, when Tirumina-san was pregnant with Shuri, Roy epted a request by himself and died.

    Gentz has been protecting Tirumina¡¯s family ever since.

    Apparently, they fell in love during that time.

    While Gentz-san was telling me about these old stories, Fina and Shuri brought over the food.

    Steam rose from each dish, making them look delicious.

    Tirumina-san carried over thest dish, served on an extrarge te.

    ¡¸Sorry to keep you waiting. There¡¯s a lot so please don¡¯t hold back.¡¹

    The three girls came back into the room and sat in their chairs.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, in the end, I used a considerable amount of ingredients. I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I have plenty of ingredients.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, that Bear Refrigerator is really great. The vegetables and meat didn¡¯t look spoiled at all.¡¹

    The Bear Refrigerator was a refrigerator that I had created in the shape of a bear.

    I bought an ice magic stone and made it myself.

    After all, the convenience and efficiency of the refrigerators in this world differed greatly from the ones in Japan, so I decided to make one myself.

    ¡¸I can gift one to you as a wedding present.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯d be happy, but my already unrepayable debt of gratitude would increase even more.¡¹

    ¡¸If you can¡¯t repay me, I can take your daughter instead.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, you¡¯re fine with this daughter of mine?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s honest, cute, diligent, thinks of her family, and is good at cooking and skinning. Every family would want one!¡¹

    The two of us turned to look at Fina, who was eating wolf meat.

    ¡¸Uu, Mom! You too, Big sis Yuna, please stop it!¡¹

    ¡¸How do you raise a ten year-old girl to be like this one?¡¹

    ¡¸That was probably my fault. I fell ill, so she had to carry a heavy burden and ended up having to work harder than normal kids. She had to take care of my illness, her little sister, the housework, and the work from Gentz¡¯s workce. As such, this child never did any childlike activities.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t particrly think that it was a burden or anything.¡¹

    ¡¸As we¡¯ve been saying, that kind of mentality is abnormal for a ten year old.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not the only one who worked hard! Shuri also helped me out a lot!¡¹

    Fina patted her little sister¡¯s head, who was ravenously tearing into her food right next to her.

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, Shuri also tried her best to help us.¡¹

    When we finished the meal, Tirumina-san took care of cleaning up.

    After the meal, I was rxing leisurely while drinking oren juice.

    ¡¸It¡¯s about time, shall we go home?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alreadyte, and there are vacant rooms for guests to stay overnight. Besides, Shuri is...¡¹

    Shuri was dozing off.

    ¡¸Shuri-chan is tired because she did her best to help with moving, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Un.¡¹

    Tirumina-san seemed troubled as she looked at Shuri.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a bother?¡¹

    ¡¸Not at all. In addition, everyone is covered with dust and sweat because of the move. If you go home now, won¡¯t it be really troublesome to prepare the bath?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true. Then, can we impose on you?¡¹

    In this world, the idea of baths seemed to have spread to some degree.

    If you weren¡¯t inplete poverty, the house would usually have one.

    This, too, was thanks to magic stones.

    It was possible to easily heat a bath using both a fire and a water magic stone.

    The world of magic is just as convenient as the world of science.

    I had finished the preparations for the bath while Tirumina-san was cooking the meal, so it was avable for use at any time.

    ¡¸Now then, since the preparations for the bath are finished, is it okay if the three of you go in? I¡¯ll guide you to your rooms afterwards.¡¹

    ¡¸Three people can enter?¡¹

    Back when I had made the bath, I purposefully made the bath reallyrge, in case the summoned bears, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, got dirty and needed to use the bath. However, when I unsummoned and re-summoned them again for the sake of testing, they were no longer dirty, so I didn¡¯t have a chance to take advantage of the size of the bath.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, even with three people. I¡¯ll go guide Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s enter together, Big sis Yuna. That¡¯s fine with Mom too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, but will we fit?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, because Big sis Yuna¡¯s Bear Bath is really big.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Bath?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll understand when you go in.¡¹

    Fina took my hand, pulled me up from my chair, and woke up the drowsy Shuri.

    Shuri stood up with a small yawn.

    Finally, Fina grasped her mother¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯te, Gentz-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t!¡¹

    The four of us headed to the bathroom.

    ¡¸Please take off your clothes here.¡¹

    In Japan, it was called a dressing room.

    Iid out a basket for each person.

    Everyone took off their clothes and ced them into the basket.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan...¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s just that, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen Yuna-chan¡¯s real face.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Even if I¡¯m wearing the hood, you still can¡¯t see my face?¡¹

    ¡¸I can see it, but the impression I get when you¡¯re wearing the hood and when you aren¡¯t wearing the hood arepletely different. I really didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be such a cute child.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Big sis Yuna is a beauty.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, yes, the ttery is appreciated, but I¡¯m entering the bath now.¡¹

    I took off the bear dress and entered the bathroom.

    The bathroom wasrge enough to hold about ten people inside.

    A white bear and a ck bear sat on opposite sides of the bath. Hot water was flowing out of their mouths.

    They were based on the hot springs I had gone to, where they would frequently have hot watering out of an animal¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really a Bear Bath, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸First, please wash your body.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, there¡¯s also soap. It¡¯s like an aristocrat¡¯s bath!¡¹

    ¡¸Come here, Shuri, I¡¯ll wash your body.¡¹

    Shuri headed over to where her older sister was.

    ¡¸Then, sit in this chair.¡¹

    Fina started washing Shuri¡¯s body, starting from the top of her head.

    When Tirumina-san saw that, she looked like she regretted missing the chance to wash her daughter¡¯s body.

    Then, she looked over here.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, shall I help you wash your back?¡¹

    ¡¸I can do it by myself. Please stick to washing your daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸But, isn¡¯t it really troublesome to wash that beautiful ck hair of yours, since it¡¯s so long?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s troublesome, but I can do it alone.¡¹

    ...Though I said that, my hair had been long for several years, so I had gotten used to washing it.

    Fina sat next to me and washed her body and hair.

    Shuri, who had finished washing her body earlier, was already soaking in the bath by herself.

    While Fina was in the middle of washing her body, she was caught and was now in the middle of being washed by Tirumina-san.

    I finished washing my body and was the second person to soak in the bath.

    After that was Fina, then Tirumina.

    ¡¸Still, Yuna-chan has a good figure.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    I have a slim waist, but my chest is,

    ¡¸Your chest is a little pitiful though.¡¹

    What I was thinking was said aloud first.

    My breasts were only slightly bigger than Fina¡¯s.

    Though, I was alsoparing myself to a ten year-old girl.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure my breasts will swell bountifully before long.¡¹

    ¡¸I think that¡¯s impossible?¡¹

    That¡¯s not the case.

    The possibility of them growing bigger still exists for several more years.

    ¡¸Will mine grow bigger?¡¹

    Fina entered our conversation.

    Ipared Tirumina-san and Fina.

    ¡¸You¡¯re free to continue dreaming.¡¹

    ¡¸Somehow, it feels like a really cruel thing was said.¡¹

    Tirumina-san looked at her own not-so-big chest.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, so don¡¯t worry about it. Fina¡¯s breasts will surely grow big.¡¹

    ¡¸I think around Big sis Yuna¡¯s size is good.¡¹

    GUSH!

    I embraced Fina tightly.

    It was a moment when Fina and I deepened our friendship through skinship.

    Things like this and that happened until we got out of the bath.

    When we returned, Gentz looked lonely, since he had been by himself.

    Looking towards us,

    ¡¸You girls, you took too long!¡¹

    Gentz-san¡¯s cry rang throughout the room.

 Chapter 35 â€“ Bear-san Uses A Hair Dryer

    Chapter 35 ¨C Bear-san Uses A Hair Dryer

    ¡¸Well then, it¡¯s my turn to enter the bath.¡¹

    Gentz-san headed to the bathroom.

    The four people who were left behind dried their hair with towels.

    At this rate, it would take a long time for it to dry, so I went to my room and brought back an item that resembled a hair dryer.

    I used earth magic to recreate a hair dryer¡¯s shape and then inserted a fire and a wind magic stone inside, thuspleting the imitation hair dryer.

    ¡¸Fina,e here for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Turn around.¡¹

    She obediently came over and turned around.

    Her hair, which had grown slightly past her shoulders, dangled in front of me.

    I gripped the dryer and inserted magic power, instead of pressing a switch.

    A warm wind blew out of the dryer.

    ¡¸Hya! What is it?!¡¹

    Fina let out a small yelp and turned her head to face me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a tool that blows out warm air to dry your hair.¡¹

    I aimed some wind at Fina¡¯s hand to demonstrate that it was safe.

    ¡¸It¡¯s warm.¡¹

    ¡¸If you understand, turn around.¡¹

    I dried Fina¡¯s hair and then began drying Shuri¡¯s hair next.

    The sisters were both obedient children.

    ¡¸That¡¯s quite a convenient tool you have there.¡¹

    ¡¸I made it because drying my long hair is troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸When you¡¯re done, can you lend it to me too?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure.¡¹

    I finished drying Shuri¡¯s hair and lent the dryer to Tirumina-san.

    ¡¸Is it okay for me to go first?¡¹

    ¡¸Mine is long, so it will take a long time.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, thanks for letting me use it.¡¹

    Tirumina-san dried her hair and, while I was in the middle of drying my hair, Gentz-san came out of the bath.

    ¡¸That was a good bath. I was surprised by the bears though. Missy, thank-¡¹

    Gentz-san saw my appearance and froze.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re bear missy, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Haa? Did you possibly hit your head while you were in the bath?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s because...¡¹

    Gentz-san looked at the three people next to me.

    ¡¸............£¿¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t seem to have an urate view of herself, so it¡¯s useless.¡¹

    ¡¸......?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what they were talking about, so I continued to dry my hair.

    While I was in the middle of leisurely drying my hair, Fina came over to give me a hand.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ll guide you to your rooms.¡¹

    I took the four people up to the second floor.

    ¡¸Gentz-san can have the room at the back. There¡¯s only two beds for the three of you, but is this room okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine because Shuri and I normally sleep together.¡¹

    I looked over at Gentz-san.

    ¡¸Gentz-san.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸The girls will be sleeping next to her, so please don¡¯t sneak into Tirumina-san¡¯s bed.¡¹

    I told Gentz-san with a serious face.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t do such a thing!¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, calling her to your own room is no good either, because I don¡¯t want to have to wash stained bedding.¡¹

    ¡¸I also don¡¯t want to make you wash such a thing!¡¹

    ¡¸For that reason, Tirumina-san as well, please refrain from going to Gentz-san¡¯s room.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand already! There¡¯s no way I would do that sort of thing in someone else¡¯s house, especially with my daughters here. Besides, I¡¯m understandably tired today, so I also want to go to sleep. Once again, thank you so much for today, really.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, good night.¡¹

    ¡¸Good night.¡¹

    The three entered their room.

    ¡¸I¡¯m also heading to bed. You really saved us today. Thank you.¡¹

    Gentz-san thanked me in an embarrassed manner and also went to his room.

    I¡¯ll return to my room and sleep too.

    The next morning, when I woke up and descended down to the first floor, I saw Fina preparing breakfast.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning to you too.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re up early.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because I¡¯ve always been preparing breakfast for my family. Um, I made breakfast without your permission, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. You don¡¯t really need to worry about the ingredients. So, is everyone else still sleeping?¡¹

    ¡¸Uncle Gentz- no, I mean, Father has gone off to work. He wanted me to pass on his thanks to Big sis Yuna.¡¹

    He ran around when Tirumina-san fell gravely ill, looked for a house, and even took time off for the move.

    As expected, taking leave for too many days isn¡¯t good.

    ¡¸Ah, Shuri and mom are still asleep though.¡¹

    ¡¸What should we do? Though, if they¡¯re tired, I would rather let them sleep.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Shuri is usually like this. Mom is weak in the mornings, since she was sick for so long, but she¡¯ll get up when you wake her.¡¹

    In other words, they were unable to get up by themselves, huh?

    ¡¸I finished cooking breakfast, so I¡¯ll go wake them up.¡¹

    Fina went to the second floor to wake the two people up.

    After a while, three people arrived.

    ¡¸Good morning. Yuna-chan, thanks for yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning!¡¹

    Tirumina-san and Shuri came while rubbing their eyes.

    The four of us ate the breakfast that Fina had cooked.

    Breakfast was simply vegetables sandwiched between slices of bread and oren juice.

    Now that I think about it, we¡¯re not eating fried eggs.

    Even though it¡¯s delicious in a sandwich.

    I haven¡¯t seen any eggs in town though.

    ¡¸Fina, I have a small question I wanted to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Where do they sell eggs?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Eggs, I said. When you fry an egg, ce it on bread, and eat it, it¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, such an expensive ingredient isn¡¯t sold.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Basically, eggs are considered luxury ingredients, so only nobles and really rich people get to eat them.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know.

    No wonder it wasn¡¯t being sold.

    ¡¸It¡¯s necessary to go to the forest to procure them, and they¡¯ll spoil quickly over time, so bringing them over a long distance isn¡¯t possible. Using a fast horse to bring them is costly, so they¡¯ve be an expensive ingredient. We¡¯ve never eaten one before.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, what about catching and raising a bird that can¡¯t fly...?¡¹

    ¡¸A bird that can¡¯t fly? Aren¡¯t they called birds because they can fly?¡¹

    Apparently, there weren¡¯t any chickens in this world.

    If I searched, would I find one somewhere?

    I added chicken and eggs to my food ingredients wish list.

    The three of them finished eating breakfast and went back home to continue the moving process.

    I offered to help again, but was turned down.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good if Big sis Yuna doesn¡¯t go to work.¡¹

    Though she said that, even if I didn¡¯t really go to work, I still had enough money to live on.

    A great person once said, if you work, you lose.

    However, in order to have fun in this world, I headed to the guild to search for an interesting request.

 Chapter 36 â€“ Bear-san Is Thanked By The Guild Master

    Chapter 36 ¨C Bear-san Is Thanked By The Guild Master

    Author¡¯s note: I was able to (finish the) submission.

    I arrived at the guild so I could look for an interesting request.

    When I entered the guild, my eyes met Helen¡¯s.

    I tried to go to the request board without stopping, but...

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Helen shouted.

    I would like it if you didn¡¯t suddenly shout out when you saw people.

    Aren¡¯t the adventurers in the room looking over here now?

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸What did you do this time? I was told to tell you that the guild master wishes to see you whenever you arrived.¡¹

    What was thisdy saying, as soon as I walked in?

    ¡¸Why? I didn¡¯t do anything this time.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that really true?¡¹

    Even if you look at me with suspecting eyes, I don¡¯t remember anything.

    I haven¡¯t even epted any requests these past few days.

    Regardless of my feelings on the matter, I was taken to the guild master¡¯s room again.

    ¡¸Guild master! Yuna-san arrived, so I¡¯ve brought her here.¡¹

    A voice from inside called e in¡±.

    I entered reluctantly.

    ¡¸For now, please sit down.¡¹

    I sat down in the chair that was closest to the entrance.

    ¡¸Umm, it seems like I was called, but for what?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about Gentz. I wanted to thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank me?¡¹

    ¡¸You cured Tirumina¡¯s illness and also made Gentz get married, it seems?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but why would the guild master be thanking me for that?¡¹

    ¡¸First, because I heard that Tirumina¡¯s illness was cured by a rare medicine from your hometown.¡¹

    Gentz was keeping quiet about how she was cured by magic.

    If it was spread carelessly and people who wanted their illnesses cured came to me, it would be troublesome.

    For that reason, we pretended that the illness had been cured by a rare medicine.

    ¡¸Tirumina-san was a former adventurer here, so I wanted to check up on her when she fell sick.¡¹

    ¡¸Was it for Fina¡¯s sake, since she was working at the guild?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I thought about how to help, even if it was just a little. However, it wasn¡¯t possible to openly employ her, so we could only do it when there was a lot of work. That¡¯s why I was grateful when you brought the wolves. You¡¯re employing her even now, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just doing as I like.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not just that. That fellow Gentz still hadn¡¯t gotten married despite his age. I knew that he had feelings for Tirumina, but she was sick, and even though her husband was gone, she still had two kids. Then, suddenly, you came along, healed Tirumina¡¯s illness, and supported Gentz¡¯s feelings. That was why I wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I intimidated them into getting married for Fina¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸And that wasn¡¯t because you were worried about her, but because you wanted her to be able to concentrate on work, right?¡¹

    He said it cheerfully.

    Could it be that the rtionship between Gentz-san and the guild master wasn¡¯t as simple as one between a subordinate and a superior?

    However, that is unrted to me, so I¡¯m going to go home.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m leaving.¡¹

    I was about to stand up, when someone knocked on the door.

    ¡¸Guild master, Cliff Foschurose-sama has arrived. Shall I show him in?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    The door opened and Cliff entered the room.

    ¡¸Pardon me for imposing on you so early in the morning.¡¹

    Cliff noticed me after entering the room.

    ¡¸Bear girl?¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, please allow me to excuse myself here.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I took up quite a bit of your time.¡¹

    I stood up from the chair and tried to leave the room, but I was stopped at thest moment.

    ¡¸Ah, is it okay for Yuna to stay?¡¹

    The feudal lord, Cliff, said such a thing.

    ¡¸I also have a small matter that I want to consult with Yuna about.¡¹

    Cliff pushed down my shoulders and made me sit in a chair.

    ¡¸So, what is it, so early in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸You also know that the king is celebrating his 40th birthday next month, correct?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, more or less.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have anything worthy to gift the king on that asion.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, go to the Commerce Guild. This is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸I already went, but there didn¡¯t seem to be anything that a king would be happy with. Even if I presented something that could be bought with money, he wouldn¡¯t be happy. That¡¯s why, I was wondering if there were any rare swords, armor, or tools at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸The noticeable things are turned over to the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸As I thought. I came to check, just in case. So, for n B, I¡¯d like to consult with you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you have rare items with you? Like the item bag that looks like a bear or the item that summons the summoned beasts.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t. Of course, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m handing over this bear item bag.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, can¡¯t you create something like that Bear House-thing? I¡¯ve seen it and it was amazing. Still, something thatrge would be difficult to carry, so I¡¯d be grateful for something small.¡¹

    Un, there¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t make.

    If I used ideas from Earth, I could create something like that hair dryer.

    However, if I did something like that, things would probably be really troublesome.

    If it turned out that way, living a leisurely life would be impossible.

    For now, I checked to see whether there were any suitable items inside the Bear Box.

    .........

    ......

    ...

    Un? There¡¯s a good item.

    ¡¸You came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to look for unusual weapons or armor, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, what about this?¡¹

    I took out the Goblin King¡¯s sword from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸This is?¡¹

    ¡¸The Goblin King¡¯s sword.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    ¡¸I certainly heard about you defeating a Goblin King before, but to think you were carrying the Goblin King¡¯s sword!¡¹

    The two people¡¯s reactions were unexpectedly good.

    ¡¸For now, let¡¯s confirm its authenticity.¡¹

    The guild master called a staff member over and requested a staff member who could perform identification.

    An elderly man arrived immediately.

    He examined the Goblin King¡¯s sword.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no mistake, this is a Goblin King¡¯s sword.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, thanks for your help. You can go back now.¡¹

    The male staff member left the room.

    ¡¸Will this be eptable as a gift to the king?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s good enough, since it¡¯s a rare sword.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Isn¡¯t it something that you can obtain by defeating a Goblin King?¡¹

    ¡¸Not all Goblin Kings have it. I don¡¯t know the details, but apparently this was originally a normal sword. When the Goblin King carries it, the Goblin King¡¯s magic power flows through it and it transforms, or so I¡¯ve been told. Therefore, Goblin Kings who are born with weak magic power aren¡¯t able to possess a true Goblin King¡¯s sword.¡¹

    Even in the game, it had a low probability of dropping.

    I wonder if it was the same thing?

    Though, to begin with, there was no concept of a Goblin King¡¯s development in the game.

    ¡¸So then, are you going to give me that sword?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, around how much do you want for it?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the value of such things, so how much would something like this be?¡¹

    ¡¸To tell you the truth, I don¡¯t know. Even if you want one, it¡¯s difficult to obtain one. Whatever you decide on is fine with me. If I am able to pay it, then I¡¯ll buy it.¡¹

    ¡¸With this approach, won¡¯t I be at a disadvantage, since I don¡¯t know the market price?¡¹

    Well, I wasn¡¯t hard-pressed for money so any amount was fine. Due to that, I didn¡¯t really care.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with giving it to you, so how about one favor instead?¡¹

    ¡¸A favor?¡¹

    ¡¸A feudal lord knows a lot about bad things, right? So, I want your assistance if I get into trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say such scandalous things. I¡¯m a respectable person.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, jokes aside, if I have a favor to ask of you next time, I¡¯d like for you to listen to my request.¡¹

    ¡¸What would you want me to do, as an example?¡¹

    ¡¸To make the guild master resign or something?¡¹

    ¡¸H-Hey!¡¹

    The guild master stood up.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a joke. I don¡¯t have anything I need right now. I¡¯ll be counting on you if somethinges up. If nothing does, isn¡¯t it a good deal for you?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you alright with that?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine. It seems more interesting this way.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll receive this gratefully. Is a contract prepared?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need one. It¡¯s fine if the promise is broken.¡¹

    I faced him with a smile.

    As a matter of fact, the sword was unnecessary.

    It wasn¡¯t a problem for me even if I didn¡¯t have it.

    I thought it was worthwhile as long as he owed me a favor.

    ¡¸No, if it¡¯s something I can do, I swear to lend a hand.¡¹

    Swearing that he would help was going way overboard.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ll be counting on you when the timees.¡¹

    ===============================================

    I was finally able to dispose of the Goblin King¡¯s sword that I had written about back then without thinking about anything.

 Chapter 37 â€“ Bear-san Goes On A Snake Subjugation

    Chapter 37 ¨C Bear-san Goes On A Snake Subjugation

    I was dyed by the Guild Master and Cliff, but I finally managed to head to the request board.

    Rank D Board:

    Sword instructor wanted, females preferred.

    Orc subjugation, bring back the meat.

    Fresh clucker¡¯s eggs wanted.

    All of a tiger wolf¡¯s raw materials wanted.

    200 goblin magic stones, no time limit.

    Gather Meru Meru Grass.

    Subjugation of Rock Monkeys on Whale Mountain, number currently undecided.

    ............

    .........

    ......

    ...

    There was nothing that stood out.

    I was interested in the clucker¡¯s eggs, but the location wasn¡¯t written. Maybe the person who had requested it didn¡¯t know either.

    In addition, even if you asked for it to be fresh, wasn¡¯t that impossible for a normal adventurer?

    Without a time-stopping item bag like mine, that is.

    Though I¡¯d go if I knew the location, just so I could find eggs to eat.

    After that were the Rock Monkeys on Whale Mountain, but the undetermined number was a problem. I don¡¯t want to receive a request that has no end in sight.

    If I hadn¡¯t been caught by the Guild Master and Cliff, there might have been other requests, but now it can¡¯t be helped.

    I went to take a look at the rank C board next.

    ...

    Rank C Board

    A Wyvern¡¯s raw materials wanted.

    Private escort wanted, confidentiality required.

    Mermaid¡¯s scales wanted.

    Request for the annihtion of the Zamonpany of thieves.

    Gather Histori Flowers.

    Subjugate a water snake, bring back raw materials.

    Subjugate a fire tiger, bring back raw materials.

    ............

    .........

    ......

    ...

    The rank C requests seemed interesting, but I didn¡¯t know how far away the locations were.

    However, I was surprised to learn that mermaids existed.

    It might be a good idea to go take a look someday.

    There didn¡¯t seem to be any interesting requests for a one-day trip, so I was thinking about heading back home, but I noticed that there was a lot of noiseing from the reception desk.

    ¡¸Why is it no good?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not saying that it¡¯s no good, just that it will take time.¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t any time! My pops and mum and everyone else in the vige will die!¡¹

    A short-statured boy was appealing to Helen while in tears.

    ¡¸Like I said, there aren¡¯t any adventurers who can defeat a ck Viper right now. Even if I call for one, it will have to wait until tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸My mum and pops will...¡¹

    The boy broke down and started crying.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    I approached the two of them.

    ¡¸It seems like a ck Viper has appeared at this child¡¯s vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Is the ck Viper a snake?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯srger than a normal viper. The especiallyrge ones are over ten meters long. It seems that many vigers have already been eaten. This boy came into town on a horse, but the adventurers who can defeat something like a ck Viper already left earlier. The earliest that they coulde back will be in a few days.¡¹

    A ck Viper, huh?

    I looked at the crying boy.

    ¡¸Then, what if I go?¡¹

    ¡¸You talk about going to the area with the snake so lightly. A ck Viper is not only big, but also a rank B monster, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸But if we don¡¯t hurry, won¡¯t the vigers be in danger?¡¹

    ¡¸Even so!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll run away if the situation bes dangerous, so it¡¯s fine. Helen can follow the procedures for summoning adventurers to help, just in case, since I can at least stall for time.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, are youing by yourself, miss?¡¹

    The boy had been listening to our conversation and asked me anxiously.

    It was no wonder that he was worried, since I had said that I would take care of the ck Viper subjugation alone.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine to think of me as a scout. My role will be to gather information and pass it along to the adventurers who can defeat the ck Viper. So, where is the vige?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s two days away by horse, to the southeast.¡¹

    I wonder if the distance you can cover by riding a horse for two days is a lot?

    Though, I don¡¯t know how many hours I would need to run each day.

    ¡¸Are you really going?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, since I¡¯m free.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, please wait a moment while I go receive confirmation from the Guild Master.¡¹

    Helen left her post and headed to the Guild Master¡¯s room, but soon returned together with him.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to fight a ck Viper?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m only going to take a look at the situation. If it seems like I can defeat it, I will. If not, I¡¯ll gather information, run away, and leave it to the adventurers Helen was talking about.¡¹

    ¡¸Helen, which adventurers?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be the rank C adventurer One-Eyed Rush and his party.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank C¡¯s One-Eyed, huh? I¡¯m worried if that¡¯s the case. If you can arrange for others to go as well, do it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then, let¡¯s go, Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Go, you say...¡¹

    ¡¸I will also be going.¡¹

    ¡¸A ck Viper subjugation requires one to be, at the minimum, rank C. We would prefer sending a rank B adventurer, but since that seems impossible, please just confirm the situation and create some time for the vigers to evacuate if you can.¡¹

    ¡¸But, how does the Guild Master n to get there?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll use my fast horse, so I should arrive in two days.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll go on ahead. With my summoned beasts, it shouldn¡¯t even take a day.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸I have two summoned beasts, so if I go while taking turns riding on them, it¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts, huh? I got it. You can go ahead, but be sure not to overexert yourself before I arrive.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    As soon as I tried to leave the guild, the boy pulled at me and stopped me.

    ¡¸Hold on, you¡¯re not taking me with you?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re a burden.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll lead the way, so we should be able to get there faster.¡¹

    I looked at the boy¡¯s physique.

    He seemed light.

    Was it still possible if the weight only increased by this much?

    ¡¸Fine, but there won¡¯t be any breaks.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s for the sake of the vige. I don¡¯t want to just wait by myself in this kind of ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, since there¡¯s no time to waste, let¡¯s go, boy.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Kai.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna. Then, let¡¯s go, Kai.¡¹

    We left the city, and I summoned Swaying Bear.

    Kai was surprised.

    ¡¸Get on quickly. Aren¡¯t you in a hurry?¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, who are you? Even though you have that kind of appearance.¡¹

    ¡¸That kind of thing doesn¡¯t matter, right? Isn¡¯t your family waiting?¡¹

    Kai nodded and got on Swaying Bear.

    I got on behind him.

    ¡¸Stay steady, look forward, and indicate the direction.¡¹

    Kai nodded.

    Swaying Bear began to run in the direction that Kai indicated.

    It was faster than a horse and had more endurance.

    I¡¯ll switch the bears after it has run for about three hours.

    At that time, I¡¯ll squeeze in a bit of time for a meal.

    ¡¸Finish eating in five minutes.¡¹

    I handed Kai bread and juice from the Bear Box.

    Kai expressed his thanks and ate the bread withrge bites.

    ¡¸How far have wee?¡¹

    ¡¸We are around halfway there.¡¹

    In that case, it would take about four more hours to arrive?

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go!¡¹

    We switched to Hugging Bear and headed out at a rapid pace.

    Although Kai had just arrived this morning on a fast horse and was probably tired, he persevered and properly guided us to the vige.

    ¡¸If the direction is correct, it will be fine for you to sleep a little.¡¹

    Kai shook his head.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, I can¡¯t sleep anyway. Also, if the direction shifts even a little, we would waste some time. At first, I thought that even if you came, it would be futile. But when I saw these summoned beasts, I thought, ¡®Isn¡¯t miss an amazing adventurer?¡¯ Even if you can¡¯t defeat the ck Viper, shouldn¡¯t you be able to at least evacuate the vigers? That¡¯s why I want to hurry and get to the vige. I think that, at the very least, my role is to ensure that we don¡¯t go in the wrong direction and shorten the distance it takes to get there.¡¹

    Kai firmly understood his situation.

    This boy was too mature.

    Fina was good, this child was good...What was going on with the children in this world?

    ¡¸In that case, please guide us reliably.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, so please save the vige, miss.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s possible, I¡¯ll do so.¡¹

    Hugging Bear ran quickly towards the vige.

    ===============================

    Why has it turned out this way?

    In actuality, it should have been an easy request, like the wolf or goblin subjugations...

    The ideas Ie up with on the spot scare me.

 Chapter 38 â€“ Bear-san Exterminates A Snake

    Chapter 38 ¨C Bear-san Exterminates A Snake

    Several hours after switching to Hugging Bear, we changed to Swaying Bear onest time.

    As the sun began to set, the vige came into sight.

    Swaying Bear gradually reduced its pace as we carefully entered the vige.

    It was quiet inside.

    There wasn¡¯t a single sound, just like a ghost town.

    Annihtion.

    That unpleasant word crossed my mind.

    ¡¸Guys, are you there!? It¡¯s me, Kai! I¡¯ve returned!¡¹

    Kai shouted at the vige.

    However, nobody came out.

    No, the door for one house suddenly opened.

    ¡¸Kai?¡¹

    A man came out of the house.

    ¡¸Pops! What about mum and all the other vigers?!¡¹

    ¡¸Your mom is safe, but greatly weakened, since she has hardly eaten anything for the past few days.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the other vigers?¡¹

    ¡¸They just won¡¯te out.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?!¡¹

    ¡¸That monster reacts to sound. The Erumina family tried to run away and were eaten. Rondo went to draw water at the well and was also eaten. That¡¯s why, nobody wants to leave their house, since they might be eaten.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, talking here is also...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s dangerous out here.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, pops-¡¹

    ¡¸But, somebody needs to do something, for Domogoru¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸Domogoru-san?¡¹

    ¡¸When I was helping you get on the horse to go call for help, Domogoru acted as a decoy and was killed.¡¹

    ¡¸Domogoru-san was...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, if you came back, I wanted to ask you about the situation in order to decide what to do from now on. That¡¯s the only thing we can do in memory of Domogoru¡¯s sacrifice.¡¹

    ¡¸Pops...¡¹

    ¡¸So, is that missy the only one who could help?¡¹

    Kai¡¯s father looked in my direction.

    As usual, I had the appearance of a bear.

    His expression suggested disappointment.

    ¡¸This big sis came first, for the sake of collecting information. The guild master willeter. They said that rank C adventurers will be dispatched after that.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, how long will it take them to arrive?¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to thisdy¡¯s summoned beasts, we took half a day to get here from the city, but the guild master said that he would take two days. I don¡¯t know when the other adventurers wille.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Missy, what are you going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll gather information first, though, if it¡¯s possible, I¡¯ll defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸That joke is neither funny nor appropriate. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s even possible to defeat that thing, much less you being able to defeat it.¡¹

    The father vehemently spat out his words.

    ¡¸That¡¯s for me to decide, not you. Any information you have about the ck Viper would be useful, so tell me.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have much information. It came to the vige to eat early in the morning. After it destroyed a house and ate all of the inhabitants, it left. Anyone who tried to escape from the vige after that was eaten. Also, those who made a lot of noise were eaten first.¡¹

    Early in the morning, huh? Was it because it was asleep at night?

    ¡¸For the time being, here¡¯s some food. Please give it to your wife to eat.¡¹

    I passed over arge amount of bread and a small barrel containing juice from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸If the other vigers will ept it, I¡¯ll give some to them as well.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to go look at the viper.¡¹

    ¡¸Thiste?¡¹

    The sun was currently setting. In another hour, the sun wouldpletely set and the sky would darken.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because it¡¯s thiste. I¡¯m going since it might be asleep. If it finds me and we start fighting, feel free to leave me as bait and run away. If you have horses, you can run away, right?¡¹

    ¡¸No, nobody would try to escape, since everyone thinks that they¡¯ll be eaten if they run. Also, there¡¯s not enough horses in the vige for everyone to use to run away.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, please wait quietly until the Guild Master and the adventurers arrive.¡¹

    I got on Swaying Bear and used detection magic.

    There was a reaction a short distance away from here.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯ll be off.¡¹

    I made Swaying Bear head in the direction of the reaction.

    We would probably arrive in a few minutes if Swaying Bear ran as fast as it could.

    It ran quickly over the t terrain.

    The ck Viper shoulde into view soon.

    As it became evening, I could see a big rock in the distance.

    No, what I had thought was a rock was actually a massive, coiled viper.

    It was huge.

    If it was sleeping, I should ensure victory by making the first move.

    I got off of Swaying Bear and desummoned it.

    When I looked at the viper again, it had already risen up, and its long tongue slithered out as it looked in my direction.

    It felt like a tall, narrow building had suddenly been built.

    It was enormous!

    The massive object started moving to attack me.

    A huge mouth came rushing towards me.

    The distance was closed in an instant.

    Fast!

    I immediately dodged by taking a step to the right.

    The massive thing grazed past my left side. The moment I thought I had dodged it, the viper twisted its body and attacked me with it. I threw up a guard using my Bear Hands and was blown backward, but there was not much of an impact.

    Was it thanks to the bear?

    There wasn¡¯t any time to think, as a second attack was on the way.

    I couldn¡¯t escape over it because of the size of its body. Instead, I ran away, dodging right and left. However, even if I avoided the attacks, its body and tail continued to attack me, one after the other, two, no, three times in a row.

    Every time it moved itsrge body, it raised a cloud of dust and reduced visibility.

    Furthermore, it was evening, and the monster¡¯s body was ck.

    It seemed like it reacted to sounds, as the viger said.

    Could it be that I made a mistake with my timing?

    I blew away the clouds of dust with wind magic.

    Every time it stopped, I drove in several magic attacks, but it seemed like I wasn¡¯t hurting it at all.

    Fire, wind, and even ice attacks were repelled by its ck scales.

    I couldn¡¯t use pitfalls either, due to its size.

    Hmm, so normal magic attacks were useless, huh?

    Bear magic might be too much though.

    I could probably defeat it if I used a fire bear, but that skin seemed like it could be used in many different ways, so I didn¡¯t really want to burn it if possible.

    In the game, you could still receive the item regardless of the subjugation method, but as expected, reality was different.

    When a sword cut something, it would leave a wound behind, and in the case of magic attacks, that part of the material would be damaged.

    I gave up on using fire magic and tried using Bear Wind Magic instead.

    Even shing was useless.

    The moment I thought that it had started bleeding, the wound immediately closed.

    Was it a Regeneration ability?

    If attacking the outside was no good, how about attacking from the inside?

    I jumped backwards and opened up a bit of distance.

    The ck Viper slithered forward to shortened the distance.

    I dodged while waiting for a chance.

    However, it only used tackles, and bites never came.

    It was pretty tight-lipped.

    If I jumped up, would it open its jaw?

    I kicked off of the ground and jumped high up.

    The ck Viper then opened its big mouth and lunged towards me, who no longer had a ce to escape to.

    At that instant, I produced dozens of palm-sized fire bears.

    The mini-fire bears assembled neatly into ranks in front of me.

    The ck Viper¡¯s mouth approached me carelessly.

    It was almost as if it was saying, ¡°Bears, please enter my mouth.¡±

    I epted its polite invitation and made the mini-fire bears rush into the ck Viper¡¯s mouth.

    The bears entered deep into the ck Viper¡¯s body, grilling its tongue along the way.

    The ck Viper began to behave like it was suffering, and its long body, which had been extended for the sake of eating me, began to curl up as it toppled to the ground.

    It began to roll around on the surface and threw its body against the ground over and over, creating a loud boom each time.

    Its movements gradually slowed before finally stopping.

    Let¡¯s keep the delicious smell of well-grilled meating from the ck Viper¡¯s mouth a secret.

    ¡¸Is it over?¡¹

    As expected, it was impossible to defeat a monster of this ss with ordinary magic.

    Was it necessary for me to think of easier to use Bear Magic?

    I approached the ck Viper and put it away in the Bear Box.

    Mission aplished.

    I summoned Hugging Bear and returned to the vige.

    When I neared the vige, I saw Kai standing outside.

    ¡¸What are you doing in this kind of ce?¡¹

    ¡¸I was waiting for you, big sis.¡¹

    ¡¸For me?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I thought that if you came back while running away, I would let myself be eaten to create time for you to run away.¡¹

    He said in a straightforward manner, with a strong gaze.

    It probably wasn¡¯t a joke.

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis brought back information on how to defeat the ck Viper, right? If we have that information, won¡¯t it be possible to defeat that thing? If that happens, the vige will survive. If Big sis died, I wouldn¡¯t be able to repay Domogoru-san, who sacrificed himself so that I could go to town.¡¹

    There sure were a lot of children with strong wills among the children in this world.

    I gently stroked Kai¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, because I defeated the ck Viper.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you call everyone from the vige over here? I¡¯ll be showing the evidence.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Iughed, and said,

    ¡¸Step back a bit.¡¹

    After I made Kai step back, I took the ck Viper¡¯s corpse out from the Bear Box, for the purpose of using it as evidence.

    Kai was surprised when he saw therge ck Viper.

    ¡¸Is it dead?¡¹

    He asked me with a voice full of doubt.

    To prove the truth of my words, I punched and kicked the corpse. The ck Viper didn¡¯t move, of course.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s really...¡¹

    Kai timidly touched the ck Viper.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go call everyone!¡¹

    Kai went running into the vige.

    After a while, the vigers left their houses and slowly made their way over here.

    ¡¸Was it really defeated?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the ck Viper!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it dead?¡¹

    There were people who burst into tears upon seeing the ck Viper.

    ¡¸T-Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis, thank you!¡¹

    Everyone from the vige expressed their thanks to me.

    Kai¡¯s father came out from the center.

    ¡¸Miss, I¡¯m sorry about earlier. Also, thank you. You saved the vige.¡¹

    He came up to me and suddenly lowered his head.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Anyone who looked at me probably would have thought that it wasn¡¯t possible for a young girl like me to defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸If there¡¯s anything you want, just tell me. If it¡¯s something I can do, I¡¯ll do it, since this is a life that you saved.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing that I particrly want. Instead, please live properly, for your son¡¯s sake.¡¹

    As Kai¡¯s father was apologizing, an elderly person came up besides him.

    One after another, who was it this time?

    ¡¸I am Nagano Zun. Thank you very much for saving the vige.¡¹

    He lowered his head.

    ¡¸However, if I had onlye earlier...¡¹

    ¡¸No, I asked Kai. When you met Kai in town and heard his story, you immediately rushed out. Considering when we expected to get help, it was more than fast enough. Even my earliest expectation of when help would arrive was after three more days. That¡¯s why, it is not necessary for you to feel guilty about the people who have already died.¡¹

    Since he had said that, I had no choice but to swallow the rest of my words.

    The elder turned around and looked at everyone from the vige.

    ¡¸Everyone hasn¡¯t eaten well either, right? Although it¡¯ste, let¡¯s have a feast.¡¹

    The vigers replied to his proposal with delight.

    There were people crying, people grieving, and people rejoicing.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t give you sufficiently extravagant hospitality, but please join us.¡¹

    The elder lowered his head and left to prepare for the feast.

    The vigers brought many ingredients out of their respective houses, and they started a bonfire in the center of the vige to begin cooking various types of food.

    We danced, made noise, and ate.

    That day, the vigers raised a great mor.

    For the sake of those who died.

    For the sake of living from now on.

    To give thanks for being alive.

    As I leisurely observed the state of the vige, vigers came to me one by one to express their gratitude while carrying food.

    Maybe my childish appearance was unusual, because the children kept touching me.

    The sight of their parents stopping them was repeated many times.

    The feast continuedte into the night, and it was decided that I would stay the night at the elder¡¯s house.

    ========================================

    I¡¯m not very good at battle scenes, so it was short.

 Chapter 39 â€“ Bear-san Finishes The Snake Extermination And Returns To Town

    Chapter 39 ¨C Bear-san Finishes The Snake Extermination And Returns To Town

    The next morning, I woke up early.

    The ceiling was different.

    I remembered that I had stayed at the vige chief¡¯s house.

    As I got up, I heard a sounding from the room next door.

    The elder had apparently already woken up.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Did I wake you up?¡¹

    ¡¸That wasn¡¯t the case.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯m making breakfast, though it will be a simple affair, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    I spaced out while waiting, until breakfast was served.

    There was bread, vegetables, and...sunny-side up eggs?

    ¡¸Please have some, it would be great if it suits your tastes.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, what¡¯s this?¡¹

    I pointed to the fried eggs.

    ¡¸These are clucker eggs. Kai¡¯s father went into the forest first thing this morning, saying that he wanted to let Yuna-san eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, thank you very much for that.¡¹

    After I thanked him, I used a knife to slice the loaf of bread, sandwiched the vegetables and eggs in between, and ate it.

    ¡¸Delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy that you think so. Kai¡¯s father will also be happy to hear that.¡¹

    Since I was nearly done with breakfast, I decided that I might as well follow up and try asking about the eggs.

    ¡¸Can clucker eggs be obtained in this vige?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. There are cluckers in the forest, so if you go first thing in the morning, you can obtain some freshlyid ones.¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of birds are they?¡¹

    ¡¸Normal birds make their nests high up in the trees, but since they aren¡¯t able to fly very high, they make their nests in thickets of grass on the ground instead. Other than that, cluckers can run away very quickly.¡¹

    Chicken?

    ¡¸Since they were caught just this morning, I think I still have some cluckers and eggs left. Do you want to bring them home?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course! You are our vige¡¯s benefactor. It¡¯s not something that we aren¡¯t able to afford, so we don¡¯t mind at all.¡¹

    Eggs and pseudo-chicken get!

    After I finished having breakfast, I started preparing to head back.

    ¡¸Are you returning today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because it¡¯s also necessary to report to the guild.¡¹

    When I left the vige chief¡¯s house, Kai came over to me.

    ¡¸Big sis, are you going back?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because the Guild Master and the group of adventurers are both heading here, not to mention that if I don¡¯t submit a report, it¡¯ll be troublesome.¡¹

    Before I started to return to town, I received about ten eggs and three cluckers from Kai¡¯s father.

    This subjugation might be the one that I¡¯m the happiest about.

    It¡¯s a bit far, but let¡¯se again.

    As the vigers all expressed their gratitude, I departed from the vige.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and we started running in the direction of the town.

    Around noon, while we were running towards town, a person appeared in front of me,ing closer.

    By any chance, was it the Guild Master?

    Swaying Bear slowed down its speed.

    ¡¸Is it Yuna?¡¹

    The Guild Master noticed me and pulled up his horse.

    ¡¸What are you doing here? Don¡¯t tell me, the vige was annihted?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s about the ck Viper, I already defeated it.¡¹

    ¡¸......haa, my bad, could you say that again?¡¹

    ¡¸I already defeated the ck Viper.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a joke, right?¡¹

    It was a pain, so I took the ck Viper out from the Bear Box.

    The ck Viper, which exceeded 10 meters in length, appeared in front of the Guild Master.

    ¡¸Did you really defeat this alone? There¡¯s no wounds on the body though.¡¹

    ¡¸I drove fire magic into its mouth and burned it to death, to avoid damaging its body.¡¹

    ¡¸From inside its mouth, to do that so easily...¡¹

    He gazed at the ck Viper.

    Was he going to check inside of its mouth?

    ¡¸Certainly, you did well to attack it from inside. Normally, you¡¯d be crushed by its jaws, so you wouldn¡¯t be able to reach all the way inside.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to tell him that the mini-me bears were the ones who walked deep inside of its body.

    ¡¸For now, I understand. If there¡¯s no point in going to the vige, I¡¯ll return to town.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and the horse began running.

    ¡¸Sorry but,pared to your summoned beast, my horse can¡¯t run that fast. Can you keep pace with me? I want to hear what happened.¡¹

    I exined what urred at the vige to the Guild Master.

    ¡¸You, don¡¯t do such an absurd thing!¡¹

    After taking frequent breaks, we finally returned to town.

    Along the way, we ran into a guild staff member who was on his way out.

    ¡¸Guild Master!¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸What about Guild Master, why are you here? What about the ck Viper you went to defeat?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s the ck Viper, this girl defeated it by herself.¡¹

    ¡¸Defeated it alone, you say...¡¹

    The guild staff member gave me a once over.

    ¡¸So then, why are you over here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, One-Eyed Rush, who we were supposed to ask to take on the ck Viper subjugation request, was injured and just came back. As a result, I was searching for other adventurers, but there aren¡¯t any others who can defeat the ck Viper. For the time being, I left the search to Helen and was on my way to let you know that the adventurers would be behind schedule, but...¡¹

    The guild staff member looked in my direction again.

    Hey, why are you looking at me?

    ¡¸I understand. For now, let¡¯s go back to town, you as well.¡¹

    Our party that was nowposed of three people moved towards the town.

    From leaving the vige to returning to town took us around two days.

    There was no reason to rush, so to relieve the burden on the horses, we slowed down our pace.

    We had just entered the guild like that when we were discovered by Helen.

    At that moment, she burst into tears.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Guild Master...why are you here...could it be...¡¹

    ¡¸Helen, it¡¯s all right.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸The ck Viper was defeated.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Thank goodness. I couldn¡¯t get a hold of any adventurers higher than rank C, so I was in quite a bind. As expected of the Guild Master.¡¹

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t me who defeated it. Yuna did it by herself.¡¹

    ¡¸Haaa...¡¹

    ¡¸I felt the same way, but it¡¯s the truth.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re really amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, Yuna, it¡¯s alreadyte today. Sorry, but could youe by tomorrow? The report for this incident has to be written down, and there¡¯s also the matter about the ck Viper¡¯s materials.¡¹

    ¡¸What time?¡¹

    ¡¸The earlier the better, but you must also be tired, right? I¡¯ll let you decide the time.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    I postponed the visit to the adventurer¡¯s guild untilter.

 Chapter 40 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Orphanage

    Chapter 40 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Orphanage

    I woke up early in the morning and greeted the day without feeling fatigue, thanks to the white bear. It was a pleasant feeling.

    I took some eggs out of the Bear Box, cooked them sunny-side up, sandwiched them between bread, and ate breakfast.

    If I could obtain rice, soy sauce, and miso next, I could have a real Japanese breakfast for the first time in quite a while.

    There was no set time for my appointment with the guild master, so I ate breakfast at a leisurely pace before leaving the house.

    When I arrived at the guild, a guild staff member immediately guided me to the guild master¡¯s room.

    ¡¸You¡¯re surprisingly early.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I immediately went to sleep yesterday. Isn¡¯t the guild master also here early?¡¹

    ¡¸I stayed overnight because of the ck Viper case from the past few days.¡¹

    ¡¸The ck Viper case?¡¹

    ¡¸After that, a lot of rumors spread about you defeating the ck viper. We received many applications for the raw materials.¡¹

    ¡¸Although I haven¡¯t decided whether I am selling them or not yet..¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. However, even if you say that, wouldn¡¯t it be annoying if traders and general storekeepers followed you around, trying to appeal to you?¡¹

    ¡¸Are people that interested in it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well you see, the skin can be used to make protective gear. It is light and strong, and it has magic resistance, too. There are a lot of adventurers who want it. Actually, all of the parts would fetch a high price. There are various uses for the fangs. Finally, if the magic stone is big enough, there is a possibility of it being a B ss magic stone. It¡¯s a material that anyone would want.¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, it¡¯s necessary for me to sell it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your choice to sell it or not. However, if you don¡¯t sell...¡¹

    ¡¸Merchants or the like will follow me?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. From the guild¡¯s perspective, I would rather you sell to the guild rather than somewhere else.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with selling or whatever, but I want part of the materials and magic stone.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, I don¡¯t mind. If we circte the skin and meat, things should calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, where can it be dismantled? It¡¯s probably impossible to do it in the warehouse.¡¹

    The guild master also recalled the size of therge ck viper and became worried.

    ¡¸There¡¯s probably no choice but to do it outside.¡¹

    ¡¸Outside?¡¹

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be a disturbance if it¡¯s outside the city, I think. Sorry for the haste, but can you bring the ck viper outside now?¡¹

    ¡¸Mmm, alright.¡¹

    The guild master and I left the room.

    ¡¸Let me gather Helen and the staff members who can dismantle. I¡¯ll leave behind the minimum number of people, so let¡¯s do this dismantling!¡¹

    Around ten people were gathered.

    Gentz and even Fina were included among those people.

    ¡¸I thought there might not be enough people, so I brought her too.¡¹

    Gentz exined.

    I walked towards the town gate together with the ten members of the guild¡¯s dismantling team.

    We arrived at a ce that was a short distance from the gate, where we wouldn¡¯t obstruct people who were entering and leaving.

    ¡¸This area is probably good.¡¹

    At the guild master¡¯s remark, I took the ck viper out of the Bear Box.

    A collective sigh leaked out from the dismantlement members.

    ¡¸It¡¯s huge!¡¹

    ¡¸Was this really defeated by Miss Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Before that, it really fit in that item bag?!¡¹

    ¡¸Can we even finish this by the end of today?¡¹

    ¡¸You guys, it won¡¯t finish itself if you just stand around and stare. As you dismantle it, carry the parts over to the refrigerated warehouse separately. The meat has transportation priority, so it¡¯s fine to leave the skin forst. These are expensive materials, so don¡¯t let it rot.¡¹

    The dismantlement members gave an affirmative response.

    ¡¸Now then, Yuna, what do you n on doing?¡¹

    ¡¸What do I n on doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going to stay here and observe? Or will you go home?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay for me to go home?¡¹

    If it was okay to go home, then I wanted to go home.

    After all, I didn¡¯t really want to watch the snake dismantlement or anything.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. First, we need to transport the dismantled raw materials to the guild. You can decide on your portion there. We¡¯ll sell the rest.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess I¡¯ll head back then. When do you think you¡¯ll finish?¡¹

    ¡¸No idea. I¡¯ll send a guild staff member to your house when it¡¯spleted.¡¹

    ¡¸Please send Fina, because she is able to enter my house.¡¹

    ¡¸Got it.¡¹

    It¡¯ll be boring just going back like this, so let¡¯s go browse the food carts.

    I arrived at the center za and searched for something delicious.

    I wanted to secure lunch and head back quickly, since if I ce it in the bear box it won¡¯t cool down.

    As I was loitering around the za, I noticed a group of ragged children in a far corner.

    I made way towards a shop selling Wolf kebabs nearby.

    ¡¸Oo, wee! Miss Bear, you¡¯re early today.¡¹

    I usually came here around noon.

    ¡¸Hey, what¡¯s with those children?¡¹

    I ordered one skewer and asked about the children.

    ¡¸Those children are from the orphanage. Theye from time to time.¡¹

    ¡¸What for?¡¹

    ¡¸To wait for leftovers from the customers.¡¹

    ¡¸Leftovers....¡¹

    ¡¸They gather the food left on the customers¡¯ tes to eat. It is something thrown away by the customers, so we can¡¯tin, but it doesn¡¯t give a good feeling.¡¹

    ¡¸Mister, give me 20 roasted kebabs please.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop it. Even if you let them eat today, what are you going to do tomorrow? If nothing can be done for them, it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸However, isn¡¯t there money given from the town since it¡¯s an orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸I wonder. Either way, I don¡¯t know that much about it. Is money not being given? Is it just too little? Well, looking at that, it¡¯s probably not a lot.¡¹

    I thought the feeling I got from meeting Cliff was one of a proper noble, but in the end he might still be a lousy noble.

    Cliff¡¯s evaluation began to drop as I made the mister grill more kebabs.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡¹

    He handed me the twenty kebabs.

    I carried them over to where the children were.

    The children stared at me silently as I carried the skewers over.

    ¡¸One per person, now eat.¡¹

    When I said so, the children turned and looked at each other¡¯s faces.

    ¡¸I can eat it?¡¹

    A girl asked me in a small voice.

    ¡¸It¡¯s hot, so eat it slowly.¡¹

    I gave her one skewer.

    The girl started to eat upon receiving the kebab.

    The other children, seeing that, also epted a skewer and began to eat.

    ¡¸Thank you, Big Sis.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you lead me to the orphanage?¡¹

    I asked a girl.

    The girl didn¡¯t seem to understand the meaning of my words as she tilted her head to one side.

    ¡¸You must be hungry. Don¡¯t you want to eat more? If so, will you guide me to the orphanage?¡¹

    The girl gave a small nod.

    ¡¸This way.¡¹

    After the girl walked forward, the other children also followed along with worried expressions, after a bit of indecisiveness.

    The children¡¯s trek seemed to have been a considerable distance. We arrived at the edge of the town.

    There was only one ramshackle house erected in a distant lot.

    To go this far, isn¡¯t it too cruel?

    There were cracks in the walls and ces with holes.

    It was more than likely that there were holes in the ceiling too.

    Cliff¡¯s evaluation dropped even further.

    I shouldn¡¯t have handed over the Goblin King¡¯s Sword.

    There are things that one should do before buying a connection to the king.

    It would have been better to spend the money from selling the sword on the orphanage.

    When I arrived at the orphanage, thanks to the children¡¯s guidance, an elderly woman came out.

    ¡¸Ara, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to? My name is Bow, the director managing this orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸I am the adventurer Yuna. I saw these children at the central za.¡¹

    ¡¸Central za...... did you all go again?¡¹

    She looked at the children.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Teacher, sorry.¡¹

    The children apologized one after another.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. It is all because I wasn¡¯t able to give everyone enough to eat. Did these children do something to you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it is because these children looked like they were starving at the za.¡¹

    ¡¸I apologize. Though it is embarrassing, but there isn¡¯t much for them to eat here.¡¹

    The director answered me with difficulty.

    ¡¸What about financial support or the like from the city?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it gradually decreased starting from a year ago, and was cut off roughly three months ago.¡¹

    ¡¸Cut off... ¡¹

    That feudal lord......

    ¡¸Yes, it was pointless to give the necessary money to us.¡¹

    ¡¸How are you dealing with meals?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, I visit restaurants, inns, grocery stores, and fruit stores to receive the edible food, which was either bruised or damaged, and thus unseble to customers, for us to eat.¡¹

    Cliff......

    My rage grew hotter bit by bit.

    ¡¸Even then, the quantity is still small, so these children go to the central za......¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Miss Director, I have ingredients with me, so please let these children eat until they are full.¡¹

    I was guided to the kitchen in the orphanage. I pulled out a lump of wolf¡¯s meat from the bear box that was dismantled.

    Since it would be an unbnced meal with only meat, I also lined up the bread and casket of oren juice I had bought up.

    ¡¸Erm, Yuna-san¡¹

    ¡¸Miss Director, please help out as well. Before that, is there anyone else besides Miss Director in this orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸There is also a girl called Liz. Right now she went out to receive food.¡¹

    This orphanage is being cared for by only two people?

    I grilled the wolf meat, prepared the bread, and poured the oren juice as I set the table.

    ¡¸There¡¯s enough for everyone, so don¡¯t rush and take your time to eat.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone, say your thanks to Yuna-san.¡¹

    At the director¡¯s signal, the children all began to eat at the same time.

    Everyone ate like they werepeting.

    Smiles appeared on their faces.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you very much. It has been a long time since I have seen these children smile.¡¹

    ¡¸There is still wolf meat left, so if there are children who are still hungry, I¡¯ll grill more.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    I headed outside the house after watching the children eat for a while.

    The few children who noticed followed me.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, where are you going?¡¹

    ¡¸I intend to repair the house. This hole-riddled house must be cold right?¡¹

    I confirmed the ces that were riddled with holes and cracks once I got outside.

    I filled the holes and cracks using earth magic.

    ¡¸Amazing, Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Can you tell me where there are other holes,?¡¹

    The children who live here should know about this in greater detail.

    I fixed the ces they told me about.

    I also climbed on top of the roof, though I didn¡¯t know the locations of the leaks so I blocked off the entire roof with a thinyer of hardened dirt.

    Next we entered the house and, while we were in the middle of repairing the interior walls, Miss Director arrived.

    ¡¸What are you doing over here?¡¹

    ¡¸As you can see, I¡¯m mending the walls. Isn¡¯t it cold when the drafts enter through the cracks?¡¹

    I closed up the walls with earth magic.

    I found a room with lots of beds.

    I wonder if everyone sleeps here together?

    For the time being though, I intended to separate the boys and girls. I put the beds in a small room.

    There was only a small towel left on the bed.

    Was this a substitute for a bed cover?

    It would be cold like this, right?

    If I remembered correctly, there should have been 23 people total in this orphanage.

    I took out 30 sheets of wolf furs and handed them over to Miss Director.

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Please hand these out to the children. It must be cold with just one towel for the bed. There¡¯s also one for Miss Director and some spares.¡¹

    I returned to each room and finished the repairs for the walls.

    Everyone had finished eating by the time I returned to the dining room.

    The wolf meat I had prepared in reserve had not decreased, however.

    ¡¸Did you not eat any?¡¹

    ¡¸With Yuna-san¡¯s permission, that will be tomorrow¡¯s portion. The children also said rather than eating it today, they would like to eat it tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry. I forgot to say it. I have prepared enough for several days, so it¡¯s fine if you eat that.¡¹

    I took out fresh wolf meat from the bear box.

    If there is just this much, they should be okay for a few days right?

    ¡¸Umm, why are you willing to go this far for us?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the adult¡¯s fault if they won¡¯t work and are unable to eat. However, if a child is unable to eat, it is not the child¡¯s fault. It is the adult¡¯s responsibility. The surrounding adults should help if there aren¡¯t any parents. That¡¯s why I¡¯m helping the children. I am a supporter of Miss Director who is trying her best for the children¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m acquainted with the feudal lord here, just a bit, so I¡¯ll go make someints.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t do that.¡¹

    ¡¸Why not?¡¹

    ¡¸Thend here is being lent to us thanks to the feudal lord-sama, but if we were to rouse his anger and were driven out as a result, any hope of a ce for us to go would disappear.¡¹

    ¡¸The feudal lord here is that terrible?¡¹

    ¡¸This ce that we live in was given to us for free, so that isn¡¯t really the case......¡¹

    ¡¸But, there¡¯s no financial support, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We are grateful to at least have a ce to live.¡¹

    Cliff is the worst huh.

    ¡¸ I¡¯ll be going back for the time being, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, umm, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear is going back?¡¹

    The children gathered around me.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯lle back again.¡¹

    I patted their heads.

    ¡¸Look, Yuna-san is also troubled. Everyone, please give her your thanks.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear, thank you!¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you!¡¹

    The children thanked me in turn.

    I left the children behind and returned to the bear house.

 Chapter 41 â€“ Bear-san Takes Action For The Sake Of The Orphanage

    Chapter 41 ¨C Bear-san Takes Action For The Sake Of The Orphanage

    I returned to the Bear House and started considering the orphanage.

    Things that were necessary for living.

    Food, clothing, and shelter. These three things.

    For clothes, it was not yet necessary to rush to get it.

    For food, it would be necessary in a few days.

    For shelter, because it was repaired, it should be okay.

    As expected, the biggest problem was probably the food.

    Like the food stall uncle said, bringing over food every day was not an option.

    I extended a helping hand, so I don¡¯t want to retract it.

    When I was troubled over what to do, I heard knocking on the door and Fina calling out.

    ¡¸Fina, is the dismantling finished?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Then, the guild master summoned Big Sis Yuna, so I came.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯te up with a solution to the matter regarding the orphanage, so I headed to the guild with Fina.

    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re here.¡¹

    The guild master himself came out to receive me.

    ¡¸So, what about the ck Viper?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s been refrigerated.¡¹

    When I entered the cold storage warehouse, there was arge quantity of skin and meat inside, and the fangs had been gathered into a big pile.

    ¡¸How much does the guild want?¡¹

    ¡¸The more the better; there still won¡¯t be enough though.¡¹

    ¡¸How about half?¡¹

    ¡¸If possible, a little more.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll take one-third.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmmm. In that case, it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    After receiving the guild master¡¯s approval, I secured my portion and stowed it away in the bear box.

    ¡¸Next, is the magic stone. I actually wanted you to sell this, too.¡¹

    Magic stones were necessary for various things I was making, so I had not been selling them recently and kept them instead.

    Although I had not yet decided on what the ck Viper¡¯s magic stone would be, I had no intention of selling it.

    ¡¸Please wait a bit more for us to gather the money, the sum is an amount that takes a bit of time to gather.¡¹

    ¡¸Anytime is fine, you know.¡¹

    The sun had begun to set by the time I left the guild.

    Today I went straight back to bear house.

    I finished the day with dinner and a bath beforeying on top of my bed.

    I tried to think about a method to help the orphanage using the ck viper materials, but couldn¡¯t think of one.

    If I sold it, it would be money, but that was it.

    I called out the status screen to check if I had gone up a level after defeating the ck Viper.

    Recently, I have not hunted monsters besides low-ranked ones like wolves and goblins, so my level hasn¡¯t gone up.

    This time, my level had risen, thanks to defeating the high-ranked ck Viper, and I had also learned a new skill.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15 years old

    Level: 20

    Skills: Different World¡¯s Spoken Language, Different World¡¯s Written Language, Bear¡¯s Dimensional Box, Bear¡¯s Eye of Observation, Bear¡¯s Sense of Danger Perception, Bear¡¯s Map, Bear¡¯s Transfer Gate

    Magic: Bear Light, Bear Body Reinforcement, Bear Fire Magic, Bear Water Magic, Bear Wind Magic, Bear Earth Magic, Bear Restoration Magic

    Equipment

    ck Bear¡¯s Hand (non-transferrable)

    White Bear¡¯s Hand (non-transferrable)

    ck Bear¡¯s Foot (non-transferrable)

    White Bear¡¯s Foot (non-transferrable)

    Bear¡¯s Clothes (non-transferrable)

    Bear¡¯s Underwear (non-transferrable)

    Bear¡¯s Transfer Gate

    After installing two gates, the user can go through one and exit at the reciprocal gate.

    When establishing three or more gates, it is possible to change the destination by picturing the location in the mind.

    The gates cannot be opened if the Bear Hands are not equipped.

    Ohh, a convenient skill hase.

    However, since it¡¯s an instation type skill, it¡¯s slightly inconvenient.

    I wanted to try it out immediately, so I hopped out of bed and installed the Bear¡¯s Transfer Gate in my room upstairs.

    On the wall, a pair of double doors with a bear-shaped outline were installed.

    Next, I went to a room on the first floor and installed another Bear Transfer Gate.

    I opened the doors, and my room on the second floor was there.

    It¡¯s convenient.

    However, I have to consider the location when installing it outside.

    Moreover, because it was an instation type, it wouldn¡¯t disappear after being used, so it was even more important to carefully consider the instation location.

    Whether I was on foot or moving around using Swaying Bear, there were a lot of unexpected inconveniences.

    It¡¯s a shame that I can¡¯t use it during battles, since it¡¯s teleportation.

    However, there was no point in talking about luxuries.

    After all, this skill¡¯s power is more than convenient enough.

    I¡¯ll think about it when Fina arrives, so for the time being, let¡¯s remove the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Unn, the ¡°Bear¡¯s Transfer Gate¡± is long for a name.

    What if I shorten the Bear Gate to ¡°Bear Door¡±?

    For an instant, a chill ran through my body.

    Did I catch a cold, I wonder? I¡¯ll think about the name next time, let¡¯s hurry and go to sleep today.

    For today¡¯s breakfast, I ate a sunny-side-up egg and a vegetable sandwich.

    The moment I bit down into the bread, the God of Ideas descended upon me.

    That¡¯s right! There¡¯s also this, isn¡¯t there?

    I bit into the bread.

    Eggs!

    If eggs could be produced and sold...

    I headed to the Commerce Guild when I finished breakfast.

    When I arrived at the Commerce Guild, it felt like there were a lot more people here than there werest time.

    No, there was definitely more.

    People overflowed from the entrance.

    Am I supposed to go into the middle of that?

    I used my small stature to slip through the gaps between people and looked around to see if Mylene-san, who took care of mest time, was there.

    There she is.

    It seemed like she was in the middle of serving customers.

    She finished helping her customer and called out to me while I was considering my less-than-attractive alternatives.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    There are others queued up. Is this okay?

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s a matter I wanted to consult Mylene-san about for a bit, but...¡¹

    I nced at the people lined up.

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll hear you out okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a problem, someone else will take my ce. Well then, Yuna-san, let me hear about your situation over here.¡¹

    The eyes of the people who were lined up were scary.

    I skipped the queue, so it can¡¯t be helped, but that¡¯s not my fault you know!

    Mylene-san exchanged ces with another staff member and took me to another room.

    ¡¸It certainly was crowded. Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are you really saying that?¡¹

    She looked at me with an amazed expression.

    ¡¸.......?¡¹

    ¡¸Haaa¡¹

    Why did you let out a sigh?

    There¡¯s no way I would know why themerce guild is crowded, right?

    ¡¸It looks like you are saying that seriously. They all came to buy the raw materials from the ck Viper that Yuna-san defeated. It¡¯s been a huge issue since yesterday! There has been a huge demand from everyone because of the limited quantity!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸The ck Viper¡¯s fangs are especially popr. There are even merchants who n on going to the capital city to sell them. It is not possible to transport the meat though.¡¹

    ¡¸So it was that popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Thanks to you, Yuna-san, we are able to make a profit.¡¹

    She bowed her head lightly.

    ¡¸So then, what is the consultation about? If it¡¯s Yuna-san¡¯s request, I¡¯ll hear it out, even if it is unreasonable to some extent.¡¹

    I appreciate that.

    I¡¯ll try asking without reserve then.

    ¡¸There is an orphanage, right?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s an orphanage located towards the edge of town, I believe.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Is it possible to sell thend near it?¡¹

    ¡¸Thend near the orphanage? I¡¯ll take a quick look, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    Mylene-san left the room and quickly came back, carrying some documents.

    She works quickly, as usual.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. It¡¯s all right. Since the orphanage is there, nobody is using thatnd.¡¹

    ¡¸If the orphanage is there, it cannot be used?¡¹

    ¡¸To put it in a bad way, it is because of the uneducated children. There is a concern that they would do something mischievous if a building were to be constructed nearby. In addition, thend is not popr because it is located at the edge of the town.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, it¡¯s fine if I buy thatnd, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, please sell me the entire region there.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse my impoliteness, but what do you n to do?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, that¡¯s a secret.¡¹

    ¡¸A secret, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Because I don¡¯t know if it is possible to do.¡¹

    I paid the quoted price and received the title deed for thend.

    Thend near the orphanage became my possession.

    I installed a transfer gate in the warehouse once I returned to the Bear House.

    I went outside the town and summoned Swaying Bear when the instation was finished.

    I should arrive before the day is over if I go now.

    I headed towards the vige where I defeated the ck Viper aboard Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I could see the vige by the time the sun had set.

    The vicinity became dark.

    Though, if I had noticed the Transfer Gate skillst time when I had defeated the ck Viper, I would not have had to spend as much effort.

    Oh well. There was no helping it, even if I said that now.

    I didn¡¯t enter the vige this time, but entered the mountains a small distance away instead.

    It was dark, so I lit up the Bear Light, and advanced through the mountains.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t there a good ce, I wonder?¡¹

    Was it good here?

    It was dark, and searching for something would be troublesome. I found a good ce under a cliff, so I¡¯ll do it here.

    If it was here, people probably wouldn¡¯t enter.

    I dug out a cave at the foot of the cliff.

    I made the entrancerge enough for Swaying Bear and its counterpart to enter, and created arge empty cavity inside.

    It was dark outside and even darker inside the cave, but I made two Bear Lights and continued working.

    I¡¯ll work out the minor detailster; for now, I covered up the entrance using Earth Magic, installed a Transfer Gate, and headed through it.

    ¡¸I¡¯m home, phew.¡¹

    I returned to the Bear House¡¯s warehouse in an instant.

    It¡¯s a convenient skill after all.

    =============================

    I wrote this without thinking about it first, so it became like this.

    In truth, when the ck Viper was defeated, I should have confirmed the status and installed a Transfer Gate in the vige at that time.

    Also, is Bear Door (kumamon) a strikeout, I wonder?

    It¡¯s not a character, so I¡¯m safe, I think.

 Chapter 42 â€“ Bear-san Raises Chickens

    Chapter 42 ¨C Bear-san Raises Chickens

    The next day, I headed to the vige first thing in the morning, using the gate I installed yesterday.

    A viger who noticed me came over when I entered the vige.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for me to meet the vige chief?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it¡¯ll be okay.¡¹

    He kindly guided me to the vige chief¡¯s house.

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-san, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. I have a small favor to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s Yuna-san¡¯s request, then I have to hear you out.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible to catch the Cluckers from the other day alive ?¡¹

    ¡¸They can be caught rtively easily if we set traps.¡¹

    ¡¸Then can you catch some for me? If possible, a hen please.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, it¡¯s the request from Yuna-san who saved the vige after all. So then, how many do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸The more the better, but too many might decrease the quantity of food for the vige. Just enough that it won¡¯t affect the vige, please.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Let¡¯s have people who are not busy go catch them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what do you n to do, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I have something to do in the mountains, so I¡¯lle back when I¡¯m finished with that.¡¹

    ¡¸I think it will be possible to catch several birds before noon.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, please do so. I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡¹

    I returned to the cave with the transfer gate.

    I erased the transfer gate after entering the cave.

    I expanded the cave some more and used earth magic to create a house.

    The first floor had the shape of a small bear cub.

    The rooms were assigned to be the kitchen, restroom, bathroom, and my room.

    I installed a light magic stone in each room.

    Finally, I installed a transfer gate next to the bear cub¡¯s front door.

    With this, base number one waspleted.

    Approximately 20 Cluckers were tied together with rope when I returned to the vige.

    They¡¯re chickens, no matter how I look at it.

    Though, they arerger than I thought.

    ¡¸Is this many okay?¡¹

    ¡¸The chicks will be born soon and grow up quickly, so it¡¯s okay. There aren¡¯t any monsters around here, so it¡¯s an easy environment for raising the birds. Please rest easy and take them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    I had the vigers tie the Cluckers to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear so they wouldn¡¯t fall off. It would have been nice to be able to ce them in the Bear Box alive, but it is impossible so it cannot be helped.

    ¡¸Are you really nning to go back now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the sooner the better.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so...we had hoped to show you some hospitality.¡¹

    I forced money for the Cluckers onto the elder, who seemed like he wasn¡¯t going to ept, and headed to the cave where the transfer gate was located.

    I moved to the Bear House using the transfer gate after blocking the entrance of the cave with earth magic.

    I left the Cluckers tied to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as we went through.

    They won¡¯t die, right?

    The bears began to move out after it became dark outside.

    They ran in the dark, through the empty streets

    Eh, would it be better to use the transfer gate?

    I just wanted to run through the middle of town with the bears.

    After passing by the orphanage, I arrived at thend I bought through the Commerce Guild.

    I dismounted Swaying Bear and checked thend.

    I wonder if around here is okay.

    I made a chicken coop using earth magic.

    Furthermore, I surrounded the chicken coop with three-or-so meter tall walls.

    They probably wouldn¡¯t run away if it was this tall, right?

    I entered the chicken coop with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I roughly loosened the ropes that tied the Cluckers.

    The Cluckers, released from their rope bindings, moved around inside the henhouse.

    I feel relieved after checking and finding that they were all alive.

    Let¡¯s end things here today and return to the Bear House.

    The next morning, after finishing breakfast, I headed to the orphanage.

    The children were gathered in front of the wall where the chicken coop was located when I arrived at the orphanage.

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear!¡¹

    The children noticed me and came over.

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear, a wall suddenly appeared when I woke up this morning!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I made it.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis did?¡¹

    The orphanage children stared at me.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go to the orphanage for now. I have something to talk to Miss Director about.¡¹

    I brought the children along toward the orphanage and met with Miss Director.

    Miss Director and a woman who looked slightly older than 20-years-old were there when I arrived at the orphanage.

    Was this Liz, the person who supposedly worked at the orphanage with Miss Director?

    ¡¸This is Yuna-san. Thank you very much for yesterday. This is the person we talked about yesterday, Liz.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Liz. Thank you very much for the food yesterday.¡¹

    Liz bowed her head.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it, it was just a whim of mine.¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of business do you have today?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to give the children some work, is that okay? I¡¯ll pay them wages, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Work for the children?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to worry, it¡¯s not dangerous work.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, what kind of work is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Have you seen the wall outside?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I woke up this morning, and the wall had appeared. The children were raising a mor.¡¹

    ¡¸I made the wallst night. I wanted the children to look after the birds within the walls.¡¹

    ¡¸Erm, you made the wall in one night?¡¹

    ¡¸To look after birds?¡¹

    Miss Director and Liz were surprised for different reasons.

    ¡¸I made the wall with magic.¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of work is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Simply gathering the eggs in the morning, cleaning the coop, and looking after the birds. The birds are not food, so please don¡¯t eat them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you n on starting an egg-selling business?¡¹

    ¡¸The value of eggs in this town seems to be high enough.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you really make enough money with just that?¡¹

    ¡¸Though there are other things I want to request, it¡¯s just this for now. What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    Miss Director looked towards the children.

    ¡¸What do you all want to do? Yuna-san seems like she wants to give you work. If you work, you¡¯ll be able to eat. If not, it will be like the situation a few days ago. There isn¡¯t any more of the food that Yuna-san brought.¡¹

    She asked a question to the children.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll do it!¡¹

    ¡¸Please let me do it!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll also do it!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ¡¸Me as well!¡¹

    The children responded in a rambunctious manner.

    ¡¸Is everyone okay with it? In that case, Yuna-san, you look after these children?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and is it okay if I borrow Liz as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I want to ask you to look after these children.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s all, I don¡¯t mind. Liz, please be mindful to reliably follow Yuna-san¡¯s directions.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Director.¡¹

    I opened the door, passed the walls, and then entered the henhouse.

    The Cluckers were asleep when we entered the henhouse.

    ¡¸The work for you guys is;

    #1, let the birds go outside if it is sunny in the mornings.

    #2, gather the eggsid in the chicken coop.

    #3, clean the chicken coop.

    #4, give the birds food and water.

    #5, return the birds back to the chicken coop.

    Can you do this?¡¹

    I asked the children.

    The children answered without any hesitation.

    ¡¸In that case, please let the birds out. The eggsid by the birds will be sold for money to allow you guys to buy food, so be gentle with them.¡¹

    The children gave affirmative responses.

    ¡¸Put the eggs in this container.¡¹

    I made an egg case from earth magic.

    The case had ten egg-shaped holes in it.

    I made about a hundred, including spares.

    The children brought the eggs back.

    Ten holes were filled up.

    Exactly one pack.

    Was that a good enough performance for twenty of them?

    There might be environmental changes to consider, too.

    ¡¸Liz-san, are there any vegetable scraps that you were able to get yesterday?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it alright if we use it to feed the birds?¡¹

    ¡¸About that...¡¹

    Even though they were vegetable scraps, it was still food that Liz acquired after bowing her head.

    There was probably a sense of perplexity at feeding that to the birds.

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, the birds willy eggs. Everything will be okay if we can sell those.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll bring the scraps.¡¹

    ¡¸I need to go back first. Once the cleaning is over, please tell the children to return the birds back to the chicken coop after a short time.¡¹

    I headed to a certain ce while carrying the eggs.

 Chapter 43 â€“ Bear-san Becomes Commerce Rank F

    Chapter 43 ¨C Bear-san Bes Commerce Rank F

    I¡¯m already exhausted.

    I¡¯m sad about my nonexistent writing ability.

    ====================

    That certain location was the Commerce Guild.

    The Commerce Guild was crowded with people, just like yesterday.

    I don¡¯t want to think that all of this is my fault.

    As I stood in the middle of the crowd, looking at the entrance, I noticed that Tirumina-san was there.

    My eyes met Tirumina-san¡¯s.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Hello, Tirumina-san. What¡¯s wrong, for you to be standing in this ce?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to the Commerce Guild to see if there was work here.¡¹

    ¡¸Work?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. In reality, I intended to return to being an adventurer, but I was stopped by my family. I thought that, in that case, since I am able to read, write, and calcte, isn¡¯t there work in that direction? So I came to the Commerce Guild to look.¡¹

    Reading and writing...

    Calcting...

    ¡¸Tirumina-san, would you like to work at my ce?¡¹

    ¡¸At Yuna-chan¡¯s ce?¡¹

    ¡¸I started a new business a bit ago, but if I had Tirumina-san¡¯s help, it would be greatly appreciated.¡¹

    I wanted a manager for the egg business, and an intermediary for the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸By the way, what kind of work?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, right, though exining it here is a bit...¡¹

    There were a lot of merchants around us.

    I didn¡¯t want to release the information about the eggs yet, so we moved to a different location.

    Though it was troublesome, we returned to the Bear House.

    ¡¸So then, what¡¯s the business?¡¹

    ¡¸I intend to sell Clucker eggs.¡¹

    I took an egg out from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸A Clucker¡¯s egg?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, I¡¯m raising Cluckers at the edge of town. That¡¯s why, I want to ask Tirumina-san to work as a manager.¡¹

    After that, I exined the situation simply to Tirumina-san.

    About raising the Cluckers at the orphanage, making themy eggs, and selling them at the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸As for the management, is it about managing the Cluckers? I¡¯ve never brought up a bird, or anything else, before.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to have the children from the orphanage handle the management of the Cluckers. Tirumina-san, please handle the sales to the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Sales?¡¹

    ¡¸After this, I intend to go to the Commerce Guild and set up the sales contract for the eggs. I want Tirumina-san to do the management and ounting for that, like confirming the number of eggs, the price, and checking the ounting books for uracy. The children from the orphanage can¡¯t do that, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand the situation. However, isn¡¯t this a considerably serious matter? Are you okay with me?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have very many acquaintances in this town, so if it¡¯s Tirumina-san, I know fairly well what kind of person you are.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll take this job then. It seems like my daughter and I will be even more indebted to Yuna-chan after this.¡¹

    I had acquired a manager for the eggs and money.

    With this, I was reducing my workload at a steady pace.

    I headed to the Commerce Guild for the second time, along with Tirumina-san.

    The Commerce Guild was still overflowing with people, even now.

    I spiritedly ventured into the crowd and looked for a receptionist.

    I searched for Mylene-san, who was in charge of me. (Self-decided)

    She wasn¡¯t at the reception desk.

    I wonder if she is taking the day off?

    ¡¸Ara, Yuna-san, what are you here for today? Also, who is that person?¡¹

    A voice called out from behind me.

    When I turned around, Mylene-san was there.

    ¡¸Why, from behind me?¡¹

    ¡¸I was on a break, so I had gone outside for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸I have something to consult with you, but...¡¹

    Mylene-san¡¯s eyes lit up.

    It¡¯s kind of scary though.

    ¡¸Yes, I understand. I¡¯ll show you to a separate room.¡¹

    I was caught by Mylene-san and taken away.

    Tirumina-san followed behind us.

    ¡¸So then, what did you want to talk about?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to sell this, but...¡¹

    I took an egg out from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Is this an egg from a Clucker?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that you can tell from just a nce.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I have worked as a receptionist for many years. So, you want to sell this? Of course, it¡¯s likely that customers who want this wille here.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you sell this regrly?¡¹

    ¡¸Regrly? Roughly how frequently?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, around ten to twenty a day, but in the future, I hope to reach around a thousand a day.¡¹

    ¡¸...Yuna-san, are you actually saying that?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡¹

    ¡¸The Clucker¡¯s habitat is far away from this town, and it also takes time to catch them. Moreover, the eggs are only edible for a few days after beingid, and it is impossible to keep them for a long period of time.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, because I n to raise Cluckers.¡¹

    ¡¸To raise them...it can¡¯t be, thend around the orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸Correct. I n to use the children from the orphanage to raise them.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t say! Such a thing-¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t believe me, as long as you properly buy the eggs. So, what¡¯s the possibility of selling eggs everyday?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. It depends on the price, but it¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll leave the pricing to you, so please take care of it.¡¹

    It¡¯s best to leave specialized things to an expert.

    ¡¸But, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸About what?¡¹

    ¡¸If the number of eggs increases, it is inevitable for the price to drop. That¡¯s why it may not be necessary to forcibly increase the supply.¡¹

    ¡¸There are many reasons though; I want normal people to be able to eat eggs. After that, the fact that the eggs are being produced at the orphanage will eventually be revealed. When that happens, arge number of cheap eggs is less likely to be stolen than a small number of expensive eggs, and the children in the orphanage will be safer as well.¡¹

    In addition, in ¡°this¡± world, there weren¡¯t many egg dishes because the value of eggs was too high.

    If it became inexpensive, the number of dishes would probably increase, I think.

    ¡¸Please pardon me. For you to have thought about this to that degree. Though I try not to, in this line of work, thoughts about how to make a profit tend toe first.¡¹

    The three of us , including Tirumina-san, discussed together and drew up a contract after that.

    Someone will go to the chicken coop at the orphanage everyday to pick up the eggs.

    The selling price will be left to the guild.

    The feed of vegetable scraps will be arranged by the guild.

    The money will be delivered once every ten days.

    Tirumina-san will oversee and carry out the delivery of the eggs.

    The acquisition method of the eggs and the people involved will be kept a secret.

    Oh, and one more thing was put in at the end of the contract.

    ¡¸Is all that for the contract?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸With that, Yuna-san, I need to do the registration for the Commerce Guild, so I¡¯ll have to ask for your guild card.¡¹

    ¡¸Registration?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you have to register, otherwise it isn¡¯t possible for you to conduct business.¡¹

    Can you please stop with the ¡°even a child knows that much¡± face?

    ¡¸Is it okay if I am the only one to register?¡¹

    ¡¸No, Tirumina-san too, please. At the time when you deliver the eggs, it will be necessary to check your guild card.¡¹

    ¡¸So, is it okay to use the card from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for the guild card?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The guild card is the same everywhere, it is just that different contents will be added to the card.¡¹

    She ced the guild card on the quartz te at the corner of the room and operated the te.

    The registration ended within a few minutes, and the guild cards were returned to us.

    ¡¸Now then, I¡¯ll exin about the Commerce Guild and the card.¡¹

    I checked my card.

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15 years old

    upation: Bear

    Adventurer Rank: D

    Commerce Rank: F

    As usual, my profession remains as a Bear.

    ¡¸Commerce rank?¡¹

    ¡¸Themerce rank is simr to the adventurer rank, and indicates the level of a merchant. When the rank is high, your credibility will rise as well. That is why, when you engage in business in a new town, there will be a lot of advantages if your rank is high.¡¹

    ¡¸Advantages?¡¹

    ¡¸Such as being givennd with good locations to rent, introductions to important people, or borrowing items. After all, a great merchant is likely to bring good benefits to the town.¡¹

    I see.

    The higher the rank, the higher the trust. It was the same with adventurers then.

    ¡¸How do I raise my rank?¡¹

    ¡¸It depends on the degree you contribute to the Commerce Guild. Or, in short, it bes a measure of how much tax you have paid.¡¹

    Somehow, it was easy to understand.

    ¡¸Other than that, it is the same in any town. You are obliged to report any ongoing transactions to the Commerce Guild. People who conduct business without permission will be punished, so please take care.¡¹

    ¡¸What about when I sell monster materials?¡¹

    ¡¸There are no problems for the portion you sell to the guild. However, please notify us if you open a shop or a street stall.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    I don¡¯t have any ns to start a store at the moment.

    ¡¸Also, simr to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, money can be entrusted to us. Just know, the money looked after by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the Commerce guild will be linked. It is possible to withdraw the entrusted money at either the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    I had received an exnation in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I wasn¡¯t using it.

    There was the Bear Box as well, but the money I brought from Japan was a huge amount.

    Even if ten billion yen became ten billion and one million yen, it didn¡¯t make much of a difference.

    ¡¸So then, Yuna-san, what will you do with the proceeds from the egg sales? Will you receive it in cash, or will you establish a recurring transfer to Tirumina-san¡¯s card?¡¹

    ¡¸To Tirumina-san¡¯s card, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Please wait a moment.¡¹

    Tirumina-san called out for us to wait.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you mean all of it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. There is the matter of Tirumina-san and the children¡¯s wages, as well as any necessary expenses. It will be troublesome for me to prepare it every time, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, you say...? Although I¡¯m happy that you trust me this much, I cannot agree to the possibility of having to manage arge amount of money.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, what about deciding on a set amount of money beforehand? Just transfer the necessary amount over to Tirumina-san¡¯s card. The rest can be entered into Yuna-san¡¯s ount?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible to do it that way?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. In situations where the merchant and the payroll manager is different, it is often done this way.¡¹

    I decided on the necessary amount of money for Tirumina-san and the children¡¯s wages, and ced the remainder onto my card.

    Having nned to this degree, we left the rest of the decisions to the Commerce Guild and left.

    It would be fine if I came back again when something else was necessary.

    I handed over the eggs I brought today as a free sample.

    It was for the sake of having regr customers.

    To ensure regr customers, you must be able to take a loss.

    After we left the Commerce Guild, Tirumina-san and I headed towards the orphanage to introduce her, as well as to hold the rest of the discussions.

    Basically, I asked the Director to continue overseeing the management of the orphanage.

    I handed over the remuneration for the children¡¯s work and asked her to take care of the food, clothing, and shelter.

    I asked Liz to help take care of the children.

    Of course, I also paid Liz a wage.

    Tirumina-san would manage the money for the eggs and be the one to deal with the Commerce Guild.

    What about me?

    I didn¡¯t do anything.

    I made the henhouse and the surrounding wall, as well as procuring the birds and establishing the contract with the Commerce Guild.

    There was no role left for me.

    If I had to name one, maybe it was that I should get more birds at regr intervals to increase the number of birds?

 Chapter 44 â€“ Cliffâ€™s Perspective (Feudal Lord)

    Chapter 44 ¨C Cliff¡¯s Perspective (Feudal Lord)

    The quantity of eggs seemed to be gradually increasing.

    When I went to the vige, I caught more birds.

    Since it was inconvenient to do it close to the vige, I went to a ce a short distance away from the vige to catch them.

    Thanks to that, the number of Cluckers had increased to almost 300, and moreover, chicks were raised from the eggs.

    On one such day, the feudal lord, Cliff, came knocking on the door to my house.

    ¡¸Wee, Cliff-sama. Is there something you need?¡¹

    For the time being, since he was a feudal lord, I greeted him politely.

    ¡¸Yuna, there is something I want to ask you.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Why won¡¯t you sell Clucker¡¯s eggs to my house?¡¹

    Cliff¡¯s Perspective

    I finished my morning¡¯s work and took a short break.

    Although it was just looking over and signing some documents, there were a lot of them, so it was a pain.

    While I was resting, the butler, Rondo, entered the office.

    ¡¸Excuse me for intruding during your break.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it, urgent business?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not serious, but I think it¡¯s advisable for you to hear it.¡¹

    If Rondo said so, it probably wasn¡¯t anything serious after all, but it was still something to be concerned about.

    ¡¸Recently, Clucker¡¯s eggs have begun to enter the town inrge quantities, but it is a bit strange.¡¹

    ¡¸What is strange about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, at first, I could not figure out where it was circting from. After that, if I gave out the name of the house Foschurose, they would not sell it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa? What is that supposed to mean?¡¹

    ¡¸Every time I asked the person in charge of stocking the ingredients, I only got vague answers, and even after spending some time to ask politely, I didn¡¯t get a response. Then, if I went to the other shops normally, I could procure it, but if I phrased it as a request from the Foschurose family, they would ¡°run out of eggs¡±, it would be impossible without a reservation, or I would simply be declined.¡¹

    ¡¸What is this about?¡¹

    ¡¸Other than that, nobody wants to sell eggs to the Foschurose family, I don¡¯t know why. Even if I inquire at the Commerce Guild, they don¡¯t seem to know anything about this. No matter what I do, I cannot get a response.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t like it was a problem if eggs specifically could not be eaten, but it didn¡¯t give a good feeling.

    ¡¸There wasn¡¯t any pressing work in the afternoon, right? Do you want to go take a look at the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    I finished my break quickly and headed to the Commerce Guild.

    Although I didn¡¯t make any appointments, I was able to meet with the guild master immediately.

    ¡¸Well, if it isn¡¯t Cliff-sama. What kind of business do you have today?¡¹

    The Commerce Guild¡¯s guild master, Mylene-san, turned a suspicious smile towards me.

    ¡¸Today, I¡¯m not here to talk about work. There is something I came to inquire about personally.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it something personal?¡¹

    ¡¸It is about the matter of the Clucker¡¯s eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸About the Clucker¡¯s eggs, is it?¡¹

    Mylene repeated the question back to me without changing her expression at all.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Why does it seem like nobody wants to sell eggs to me?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no such thing going on.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t lie. There is evidence.¡¹

    ¡¸The Clucker eggs are popr, so they were sold out and I wasn¡¯t able to buy any, due to an overflow of advance reservations.¡¹

    ¡¸A merchant selling eggs said the same thing, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, that is the case.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I¡¯m just going to go along with that?¡¹

    ¡¸Something like eggs, isn¡¯t it fine even if you don¡¯t eat it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m offended that someone I don¡¯t know is doing such a thing out there. I also want to be able to serve eggs to my daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, do you want to bring your daughter¡¯s portion home with you?¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t any for me?¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t.¡¹

    Mylene gave me a sweet smile.

    What an annoying woman.

    One of the few people capable of opposing me.

    ¡¸Do you intend to not tell me, no matter what?¡¹

    ¡¸Due to a promise, I am unable to sell eggs to Cliff-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it necessary to keep that promise, to the point of breaking down the rtionship between us?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. If the problem this time wasn¡¯t due to you being bad, I might have been your ally. However, this time I am that child¡¯s supporter, because I like that child¡¯s idea.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m the bad one?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, a lot of children have suffered this time because of you. That child is the one who saved them. It might have been the right choice for a feudal lord, but it was a mistake from a human point of view.¡¹

    ¡¸Suffering children?¡¹

    ¡¸As a merchant, I also understand your way of thinking, but I n to side with that child this time.¡¹

    ¡¸For you to get that involved is rather unusual.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because she¡¯s an interesting girl, that one. I¡¯ve seen many different kinds of people until now, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been unable to see through a child with that kind of power, action, and way of thinking.¡¹

    ¡¸For you to say so much about that person, it seems like it¡¯ll be another thing not involved with the eggs that I have to look into.¡¹

    ¡¸Though, I don¡¯t have any intentions for you to meet them.¡¹

    ¡¸Will you at least tell me what I did?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t. If I talk about it, you will understand the connection with that child.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, can you return the loan fromst time to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Loan?¡¹

    ¡¸You weren¡¯t able to prepare a tribute for the king, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you saying that now?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that the Commerce Guild¡¯s responsibility?¡¹

    ¡¸Speaking of that, has the tribute for the king already been decided?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I n to hand over a Goblin King¡¯s Sword that I received from an adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸A Goblin King¡¯s Sword?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it entered my possession when a girl with the appearance of a bear defeated the Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know her?¡¹

    ¡¸The newbie who defeated a hundred goblins, indiscriminately hunted wolves, subjugated the tiger wolves, and recently defeated a ck viper. A cute girl who looks like a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re frightfully knowledgeable about this.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because she is a promising rookie. Even though I¡¯m part of the Commerce Guild, she caught my eye, but to think that she obtained a Goblin King¡¯s sword when the group of goblins were subjugated.¡¹

    ¡¸In this way, I obtained a gift for the king. If you cannot procure a tribute for the king, can you return the loan to me?¡¹

    ¡¸How underhanded. But, to think that Cliff was also acquainted with Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸More or less. My daughter was also interested in her. It was my first time seeing such an interesting adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸But, to have been disliked by that adventurer, Yuna-chan, hmm.¡¹

    ¡¸...What did you say?¡¹

    ¡¸The one providing the eggs to the guild is Yuna-chan, you know. The one who set a condition for the guild to not sell eggs to the Fochurose family was also her.¡¹

    ¡¸So it was Yuna.¡¹

    I¡¯m being disliked by that Bear Girl.

    The moment I thought about it, a bad feeling ran through my body.

    When I met her for the first time, I thought that she was an interesting girl.

    I was even allowed to ride on one of her summoned bears.

    She was also the one who gifted me the Goblin king¡¯s sword.

    I also went to see her rumored Bear House.

    I heard the rumors about her defeating the ck Viper.

    She even saved a vige.

    This time, I had thought about meeting her and giving her a reward.

    I also had a good impression of her character.

    To be hated by that kind of Yuna...

    ¡¸Can I hear the reason?¡¹

    ¡¸Please go ask the person in question yourself, as I personally cannot say who is the bad one here.¡¹

    If I asked any more than this, I probably wouldn¡¯t get any answers.

    This woman was that kind of person.

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll go meet Yuna.¡¹

    I left the Commerce Guild and headed to the Bear House to meet Yuna.

    Before my eyes was the house that looked like a bunch of bears.

    It was a building that was bing famous in this town.

    I stood in front of the Bear House and called out to Yuna.

    ¡¸Wee, Cliff-sama. Is there something you need?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, there is something I want to ask you.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Why won¡¯t you sell the Clucker eggs to my house?¡¹

    I got straight to the point.

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    ¡¸I forced it out of Mylene, so don¡¯t get angry at her.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not particrly upset. If it¡¯s going to be an issue for the guild, it¡¯s fine for them to talk about me.¡¹

    ¡¸So, why did you set up instructions to not sell eggs to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Because the eggs are being produced at the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I decided to not sell eggs, since I was a bit resentful.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did it be that, just because the eggs are produced at the orphanage, they cannot be sold to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really saying that? You slowly reduced the amount of money allotted to the orphanage, before finally cutting it off. Certainly, the orphanage doesn¡¯t contribute to the town, but even so, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good to corner children with futures into a life-and-death situation. I like children, and it¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t a parent yourself. I don¡¯t like that you cut them off, just because you say that they aren¡¯t necessary.¡¹

    I have no idea what Yuna is talking about.

    While I was taking my time to think it over, Yuna continued her lecture.

    ¡¸The children were hungry to the point that they were scavenging for people¡¯s leftovers. The caretakers of the orphanage spent every day lowering their heads and begging for food scraps from the inns and shops. The children¡¯s clothes were the same, day after day. The house they slept in was drafty, and there were no warm covers on the beds. Why must the children, who are doing their best to look after the troublesome birds thaty the eggs, be forced to give you eggs to eat?¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t live on if you don¡¯t eat eggs, right? As the feudal lord.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what Yuna had been talking about at all.

    Was the aid money to the orphanage cut off?

    Were the children scavenging for food?

    A lifestyle that relied on food scraps?

    A house perforated with holes?

    No clothes?

    No bed covers or sheets?

    ¡¸When I heard that, I wanted to have some revenge. In the first ce, Miss Director was already grateful to you just for providing a ce for them to live.¡¹

    In other words, when Yuna saw the appearance of the children at the orphanage, who were troubled over food after I had cut off the money to the orphanage, she got angry.

    Yuna gathered the children and gave them the work with the Cluckers, and was currently selling the eggs to the Commerce Guild, huh?

    As revenge, though small, she had refused to sell any eggs to me.

    Mylene was saying that, while it might have been right as the feudal lord, it was wrong as a human.

    In other words, did she want to say that it might have been correct for the feudal lord to not uselessly spend money on things that weren¡¯t profitable like the orphanage, but to abandon the troubled children was a mistake as a human?

    Before that, the troubling thing was that the idea that I cut off funding for the orphanage seemed to have already spread.

    I did not discontinue the money for the orphanage.

    Why did it be this way?

    ¡¸Yuna, you might not believe me, but I didn¡¯t cut off the funding for the orphanage. I¡¯m going to go and confirm things now. I wille back as soon as I figure it out.¡¹

    I returned to the lord¡¯s manor in a hurry.

    I didn¡¯t walk, but ran back.

    Why was the orphanage not being given money?

    I returned to my office and called out for the butler, Rondo.

    ¡¸Have you returned, Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Rondo! Please investigate what has happened to the money that was meant for the orphanage, immediately!¡¹

    ¡¸The aid money for the orphanage, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! Search for the person who made me look like a cold-hearted feudal lord!¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    Rondo bowed and left the office.

    The afternoon work irritated me and I wasn¡¯t able to work.

    That night, Rondo came to my room.

    ¡¸Is now a good time, Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Did you find something, anything?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The person who was managing the money for the orphanage was Enzo Rnd-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Enzo, you say?¡¹

    Is that so? That fellow was in charge?

    To not have known of such a thing despite being the feudal lord makes me want to hit myself.

    ¡¸Enzo-sama seems to have been embezzling the money that was for the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸Embezzlement!¡¹

    My job was to supervise the jobs assigned to various people.

    If an application for funds for the orphanage came in, I signed off and offered a subsidy.

    Since it came every month, I had been signing it without thinking about it at all.

    In that case, it could not be helped if Yuna got angry at me.

    ¡¸Though I have not examined the specifics in detail, Enzo-sama seems to have only been moving around money to appear as if he was taking care of the work he is responsible for. In reality, it seems that he was embezzling the money. Furthermore, he seems to have some debts.¡¹

    ¡¸Why does he owe money if he¡¯s embezzling?¡¹

    ¡¸It looks like he spendsrge amounts of money to y around with women excessively, while his wife avidly buys and collects precious jewels and her favorite items at every chance. The son is just as bad as the father.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re kidding me!¡¹

    That¡¯s the town¡¯s money!

    ¡¸Making a fool of me! Rondo! Immediately! Right now! Take some soldiers and head to Enzo¡¯s house! Absolutely do not let them get away! Don¡¯t kill them though, I want you to bring that entire family in front of me!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand.¡¹

    Rondo left the room.

    An hour after that, Enzo, who had gotten fatter and bbier, and his entire family stood in front of me.

    The entire family bulged substantially in an ugly way, making me feel like throwing up.

    ¡¸I say, Cliff-sama, to even send forth soldiers to collect me, what kind of business do you have thiste at night?¡¹

    ¡¸Right now, I feel like killing your entire family, so you better answer me honestly.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸Did you embezzle the money for the orphanage?!¡¹

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t do such a thing.¡¹

    ¡¸Then why is the orphanage saying that they aren¡¯t receiving any money!¡¹

    ¡¸That is what the people from the orphanage are saying, right? They probably think if they say they are not getting the money, that more will be given to them. Filthy human trash.¡¹

    You are the ones who are human trash!

    ¡¸Most of the work I left to you seems to have been barely touched. It doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯re doing any work.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be doing it in the near future; it¡¯s just a bitte.¡¹

    ¡¸You also seem to be deep in debt, too.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just a small matter, I¡¯ll be paying it off very soon. It¡¯s not something that Cliff-sama needs to be worried about.¡¹

    It doesn¡¯t look like he has any intention of telling the truth.

    ¡¸In that case, there isn¡¯t any problem if I investigate your house, correct?¡¹

    ¡¸About that...¡¹

    ¡¸Although, I¡¯ve already examined your house.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think you can get away with doing such a thing?! I¡¯m going to tell my older brother in the royal capital!¡¹

    ¡¸This is my town. And since I¡¯ve assembled the evidence, I¡¯m going to execute you. Put these three in the dungeons!¡¹

    ¡¸Wait! Let me contact my older brother in the capital!¡¹

    ¡¸Silence this thing¡¯s mouth. I feel sick.¡¹

    The soldiers bound the three people¡¯s mouths with cloth and took them to the dungeons.

    A short whileter, Rondo, who had been examining the Rnd house, returned.

    ¡¸Did you find anything?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. All the evidence of the embezzlement was there too.¡¹

    Rondo¡¯s facialplexion was bad.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Enzo-sama¡¯s conduct was excessively atrocious, so...¡¹

    ¡¸That bad?¡¹

    ¡¸Embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, violence, murder, illegal business transactions; there were too many to count.¡¹

    ¡¸Even murder?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there were a lot of corpses in the dungeon. That was also terrible, but there were signs of people doing unspeakable things to them.¡¹

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    The story I heard from Rondo was too terrible.

    Young women came from the countryside to be hired as servants.

    It seemed that they were vited until they died, and their corpses were disposed of underground.

    Since they came from the countryside, nobody would notice if they went missing.

    If a lover or a family member came looking for the girls from the countryside, they would be invited to the mansion, imprisoned, and killed.

    Apparently, such actions were repeated over and over again.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    Enzo¡¯s wife would buy up all the jewelry she could. If there was no money, she would borrow it.

    Enzo was embezzling and misusing funds for the sake of paying off those loans.

    The son had been raping women by force in town, and had been using the power of money to cover it up.

    It wasmon for him to eat and drink without paying. If the shop defied him, he would rampage in the store and force them to shut down.

    Why wasn¡¯t I informed that this was happening?

    An obvious reason is that Enzo was probably silencing it.

    Even though he was only part of a branch family, perhaps it was due to the influence of his older brother in the royal capital?

    However, this town is my town.

    I won¡¯t let him do as he likes.

    ¡¸Execute him.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t possible for me to put up with this any longer.

    ¡¸Is that alright? There¡¯s Enzo¡¯s older brother in the royal capital...¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care. Let it be said that a robber invaded his house, and he was murdered.¡¹

    I executed the Rnd family.

    We secured the evidence of illegal actions.

    Confiscated the assets.

    Rescued the remaining survivors in the dungeon.

    For those who still had ces to return to, we made preparations for them to return after their treatment.

    After I finished everything, I headed towards Yuna¡¯s ce once again.

    ¡¸I am deeply sorry.¡¹

    I lowered my head, and exined the situation surrounding the money that was cut off from the orphanage.

    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t speak of such matters to amoner.

    However, I had a feeling that I had to tell this girl.

    ¡¸My subordinate has been embezzling the money without my notice. I will start re-sending the aid funds for the orphanage immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not needed.¡¹

    ¡¸????????¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone is already doing their best to work hard, so the aid funds aren¡¯t necessary.¡¹

    ¡¸But, in that case-¡¹

    ¡¸If the money is still there, why not use it in an effective way?¡¹

    ¡¸An effective way?¡¹

    ¡¸Like making a surveince department to ensure that such an idiot won¡¯t appear again.¡¹

    ¡¸Surveince?¡¹

    ¡¸A job to confirm whether or not money is being used ording to your directions. The orphanage, for example. You would have someone head to the orphanage to check the situation once a month. Are the necessary expenditures being used properly? For things that are being purchased, are they being charged reasonably? If there is such a person investigating, then things like embezzlement and misuse of funds would not be as easy to do, right? Of course, if the investigator is a criminal to begin with, then there¡¯s no meaning.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, what should I do?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that kind of thing already decided? If not a person that you trust, then ask someone who would be willing to stake their own life to earn your trust. Don¡¯t you have at least one person like that?¡¹

    ¡¸...Yes, I do.¡¹

    Rondo fits.

    ¡¸Is that so? That¡¯s good.¡¹

    Yuna only said that and nothing else.

    ¡¸You really are sure the orphanage will be fine?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸You saved me this time. The children weren¡¯t left to die. I¡¯ll repay this favor in the future for sure.¡¹

    I left Yuna¡¯s house, and went back to the lord¡¯s mansion.

    There was a mountain of work to do.

    I¡¯ll have Rondo act as my right hand in between his butler work in the meantime.

    Atst, the story of the orphanage that I wrote on a whim has finished.

    I started writing about it on a fancy, so I was troubled as I couldn¡¯t think of a reason for the orphanage to not have money.

    Cliff is a good feudal lord, so he would offer money to the orphanage.

    Then, what would happen to the aid money?

    I didn¡¯t set up a ¡°Cliff is evil¡± setting at the start, so,

    the candidates were Miss Director or a subordinate of the feudal lord, and I chose thetter.

    I also ended up writing the conclusion without considering the ending. This was a bad case of that.

    While I was nning about writing that situation as I was writing it, I felt considerably exhausted, but I thank you for your understanding in the future from now on as well.

 Chapter 45 â€“ Bear-san Makes Pudding

    Chapter 45 ¨C Bear-san Makes Pudding

    I wonder if I can do it? I wonder if I can do it?

    I was able to obtain a lot of eggs, so I decided to make some pudding.

    They should turn out to be cool and delicious if I seeded.

    A cool breeze brushed past my face when I opened the refrigerator door.

    Delicious-looking pudding was lined up inside.

    I picked one up and took it to the table.

    With a spoon in hand, I tried sampling it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious~¡¹

    The pudding was a sess.

    My spoon didn¡¯t stop moving.

    I ate two puddings, which I hadn¡¯t had for a long time, before I was satisfied. Then, a visitor came to the house.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, we¡¯re here!¡¹

    Fina and Shuri arrived together.

    ¡¸Sit in a chair and wait for a moment.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what did you mean by ¡°a delicious thing¡±?¡¹

    I had the two of theme be taste-testers.

    ¡¸A snack made from eggs.¡¹

    I took out the chilled pudding and ced it in front of them.

    They each grabbed a spoon and took a bite of the pudding.

    ¡¸Delicious...¡¹

    Fina murmured her impression, while next to her, Shuri was shovelling pudding into her mouth nonstop.

    ¡¸Shuri, eat more slowly.¡¹

    ¡¸But it¡¯s so delicious!¡¹

    Bright smiles rose on both their faces.

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that both of you are satisfied.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s super delicious! How can something so delicious be made from eggs?!¡¹

    ¡¸This is still just a prototype. If you have any thoughts as you are eating it, please tell me. Things such as whether it is too sweet or not.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing strange about it anywhere. It¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Un. It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Shuri was licking her spoon wistfully.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped, so I took out two more servings of pudding from the refrigerator and ced them in front of the two.

    ¡¸These are thest ones, okay?¡¹

    Their spoons started moving.

    As ast resort, I went to the refrigerator and put the remaining pudding inside the Bear Box.

    I parted from the two after they finished eating. I headed to the orphanage, to the next person I had asked to taste-test.

    The children were hard at work taking care of the birds when I arrived at the orphanage.

    I call out a greeting to the children before heading into the orphanage.

    ¡¸Well, if it isn¡¯t Yuna-san. Wee.¡¹

    Miss Director was preparing lunch with several other girls.

    ¡¸Did Ie at a bad time?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s all right. It¡¯s not an important matter. Are you going to be eating lunch with us?¡¹

    It was a rare invitation, so I decide to ept.

    The children sat in chairs in therge room and politely waited for everyone to gather for the meal.

    When all of them had arrived,

    ¡¸Thank you, Big Sis Bear! Thank you for the food!¡¹

    As soon as they finished speaking, the children started eating their meals.

    ¡¸Are you still doing that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It is thanks to Yuna-san that we can have meals like this. We must not forget this feeling of gratitude.¡¹

    The greeting for this meal,

    ¡ºThank you, Big Sis Yuna, thank you for the food!¡»

    was supposed to be like that, but, as expected, it was too embarrassing when they said my name, so I asked them to stop.

    However, the children didn¡¯t n to stop.

    ¡¸I want to show my gratitude to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸The fact that I am able to eat ¡®till my stomach is full is thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I can eat delicious food thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I can wear beautiful clothes thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I can live in a warm house thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I can sleep in a warm bed thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸............thanks to Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    The children all spoke words of gratitude from their mouths.

    However, it was embarrassing hearing my namee out whenever they ate a meal, so wepromised on Big Sis Bear.

    Even that was still plenty embarrassing though.

    The children were eating happily, even though lunch at the orphanage was just bread and vegetable soup. Seeing them like that made me d, what a mysterious feeling.

    I didn¡¯t think I would take care of them to this extent.

    I probably wouldn¡¯t have done it when I was in Japan.

    Even though I had money, I never did anything like donating.

    As I was watching the children, lunch ended.

    When I saw that they had finished eating, I took out pudding from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    A girl asked me.

    ¡¸A dessert made from the eggsid by the birds that everyone went through a lot of trouble to look after. It¡¯s delicious, you know.¡¹

    I ced the pudding in front of the children.

    Of course, there was also a portion for Miss Director.

    ¡¸What. Is. this? So delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s super delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s only one for each person, so please savor it. Okay?¡¹

    It looked like it had received a favorable reception from the children.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is really delicious.¡¹

    Liz praised the pudding.

    ¡¸This is also due to the contributions from Liz and the children, who do their best to look after the birds. This pudding was made from eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Then just selling eggs, what a waste!¡¹

    ¡¸Eggs are great, right? They can be money and such a delicious thing, yeah?¡¹

    ¡¸Though, it would be good if the number of birds and eggs would increase a bit more.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! I¡¯ll do my best!¡¹

    ¡¸If they multiply too much and it bes a problem, tell me, okay? I¡¯ll think of various things to do.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. It¡¯s still alright, since the children are working hard.¡¹

    While I was talking with Liz, the children¡¯s pudding cups were emptied.

    After I asked the children for their impressions of the pudding, I left the orphanage.

 Chapter 46 â€“ Bear-san Delivers Pudding

    Chapter 46 ¨C Bear-san Delivers Pudding

    I arrived in front of the Foucherose family manor after I left the orphanage.

    Cliff was whatever. I was here for the sake of treating his daughter Noire to pudding.

    I told the gate soldier that I would like to meet Noire.

    The gate soldier knew about me and told me to wait a moment.

    A short timeter, Noire came running over from the front door.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Pomf~

    Noire dove into my waist.

    However, it didn¡¯t hurt, thanks to the Bear Dress absorbing the impact.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Noire.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if you call me Noa, you know. So then, what did you need me for? Even if you don¡¯t have any business, I wee you from the bottom of my heart.¡¹

    ¡¸I made a dessert, so I wanted Noa to try it.¡¹

    ¡¸A dessert?! I look forward to it!¡¹

    She tugged on my hand and took me to her room.

    ¡¸So then, what kind of food is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a dessert made from a clucker¡¯s eggs.¡¹

    I produced a pudding from the Bear Box.

    Of course, I didn¡¯t forget the spoon.

    Noa took the spoon, and took a bite of pudding.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious~¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you like it.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve eaten something this delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that big a deal.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the case. This kind of melting, cold, smooth, and gentle-tasting vor is a first for me!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s a vor that women and children like, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I¡¯ve already finished eating it.¡¹

    The cup was already empty.

    She stared at me wistfully.

    ¡¸Just one more, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    When I handed over a new pudding, there was a knock on the door.

    ¡¸Noa, I¡¯ming in. I heard that Yuna came over, but...¡¹

    Noire¡¯s father, the feudal lord Cliff, came into the room.

    ¡¸Sorry to be imposing on you.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a problem. So, what are the two of you up to?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san made this... pu..ri..n dessert that I¡¯m about to eat.¡¹

    ¡¸Purin?¡¹

    Noire ate a mouthful of the new pudding she received.

    A child-like smile appeared on her face.

    Just that alone made it worthing here.

    ¡¸Is it that delicious?¡¹

    Cliff asked me, after seeing his daughter¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s super delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, sorry, but aren¡¯t you going to give me a bite too?¡¹

    ¡¸NO WAY!¡¹

    Noa tantly refuses.

    ¡¸Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸No way. This is something that I got from Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna.¡¹

    Cliff looked at me wistfully.

    Don¡¯t make such a face as an adult!

    ¡¸Haa, I understand already. Please tell me your impressions after you eat it, okay? It¡¯s still just a prototype, so I haven¡¯t adjusted the taste yet.¡¹

    ¡¸This is a prototype? It¡¯s more delicious than any other dessert you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Even though I say it¡¯s a prototype, I¡¯m only nning on adjusting the sweetnesster.¡¹

    I handed a pudding over to Cliff.

    Cliff, who received the pudding, took a bite.

    ¡¸What. Is. This?!¡¹

    Cliff¡¯s face changed.

    ¡¸I have never eaten such a delicious thing, even in the royal capital!¡¹

    I wonder if the level of desserts in this world is low?

    There might be no helping it if eggs are hard to obtain.

    Cliff¡¯s and Noa¡¯s spoons kept moving without pause.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you for the treat. It was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good. Was there any particr ce that you felt could be improved?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any particr problems with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Like, would you prefer it to be a little sweeter or a little less sweet, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it would be better if it were a little less sweet. The first bite at the beginning was delicious, but the sweetness gradually became overpowering.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? I thought it was very good.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, everyone will have different taste preferences, so I¡¯m consulting everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going to open a store?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have that intention at the moment. It¡¯s not just for the children looking after the birds, but if there are kids who want to cook certain cuisines or make certain foods and desserts, I was thinking of helping to create a path for their future.¡¹

    ¡¸You were thinking that far ahead?¡¹

    ¡¸If there is a store, then I won¡¯t have to go out of my way to make something whenever I want to eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna is a better adult than me when ites to leading the children, hmm.¡¹

    I retrieved the empty cups from the two and put them away into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸So then, did you need something?¡¹

    He purposely went out of his way to his daughter¡¯s room to meet me.

    ¡¸Ah, I have a request. Can you escort Noa to the royal capital?¡¹

    ¡¸To the royal capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I must participate in the king¡¯s 40th birthdaymemoration, but thanks to somebody, I have a mountain of work.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to somebody...surely you aren¡¯t referring to me, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m grateful to you, but it¡¯s the truth.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s fine, but why me? What about the other adventurers?¡¹

    ¡¸In case you forgot, I¡¯m also an aristocrat. There¡¯s a chance that my daughter might be targeted, in which case I want someone I trust to take care of my daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸So you¡¯re saying you trust me.¡¹

    I wanted to go to the royal capital anyway though, so it was fine.

    ¡¸So then, when are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸As early as tomorrow is fine with me, since I think Noa also wants to meet her mother as soon as possible.¡¹

    That reminded me, I had never seen her mother in this house.

    Since she had nevere out to talk to me, I thought she had passed away, but that was apparently not the case.

    ¡¸Her mother is at the royal capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she has some work at the royal capital.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, shall we depart tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    I nodded and asked Cliff about an important matter.

    ¡¸So then, am I the sole escort?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, won¡¯t it be encumbersome if there are others? You have the summoned beasts, so you¡¯ll probably be riding them if you need to escape. In addition, you have the power to defeat a ck Viper. There aren¡¯t any adventurers at your level in this town, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. In that case, I¡¯lle pick you up tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸You saved me some trouble. There are some things that I want you to take with you, but I need to prepare them, so please wait for a bit.¡¹

    Cliff left the room for a moment and came back quickly.

    ¡¸This is for Elenora, please hand it to Noa¡¯s mother.¡¹

    I received two letters and arge box.

    ¡¸This is?¡¹

    ¡¸Inside this is the Goblin King¡¯s sword that I received from you. After thinking of the worst-case scenario, I wanted to pass it to Elenora. I wrote detailed exnations in this letter, so I think she¡¯ll understand if you give it to her. Also, this letter is for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, for handling this as a nominated request, so you can receive this request at the guild.¡¹

    I stowed the letters and the Goblin King¡¯s sword away.

    In order to quickly make preparations for tomorrow, I left the feudal lord¡¯s manor.

    First of all, I needed to tell Mylene that I nned to leave town, so I headed towards the Commerce Guild.

    ==================================

    Atst, we¡¯re going to the royal capital.

    Though initially, the reason I hade up with for going to the royal capital was to be a merchant¡¯s guard.

    The story has kind of wandered off into a considerably weird direction because of the Goblin King¡¯s sword that I irresponsibly wrote about.

 Chapter 47 â€“ Bear-san Announces the Trip to the Royal Capital

    Chapter 47 ¨C Bear-san Announces the Trip to the Royal Capital

    Maybe because it was early afternoon, there weren¡¯t many people in the Commerce Guild.

    When I went to the reception desk, Mylene-san, who seemed avable, was there.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be going to the royal capital for a while, so I came to report it. So, I¡¯ll be counting on Tirumina-san for the matter regarding the eggs, okay?¡¹

    Though I said that, almost all of the matters regarding the eggs had already been left to Tirumina-san.

    I was only consulted about the price every once in awhile.

    ¡¸You n on going to the Royal Capital?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a little bit of escort work.¡¹

    ¡¸How long do you n on staying at the Royal Capital?¡¹

    ¡¸I also want to see the King¡¯s birthdaymemoration that will be going on, so I was thinking of staying until it is finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? In that case, since you¡¯re going to the Royal Capital, I¡¯ll be looking forward to some souvenirs, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, but is there something you want?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll leave it to you to decide.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the most troublesome answer, you know? Ahh, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s not a souvenir, but I¡¯ll give this to you.¡¹

    I took a pudding out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸What is this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a delicacy called pudding, made from Clucker eggs. Make sure you put it in a refrigerator, then you can eat it during your break. Also, please tell me your impression when I return, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I¡¯ll take up your offer and eat itter. It¡¯s not to thank you or anything, but please take this.¡¹

    Mylene-san wrote something on a piece of paper, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸My letter of introduction. If you run into some trouble at the Commerce Guild in the Royal Capital, please hand this over to the [Commerce Guild] there. I think they¡¯ll be a bit more amodating after that.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I gratefully epted her letter of introduction.

    I did have ns to go to the Commerce Guild there.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t forget about the pudding, and eat it while it¡¯s still cold, okay?¡¹

    I warned her about how to eat the pudding and exited the Commerce Guild.

    The three ces I needed to go to after this were Fina¡¯s house, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and the orphanage.

    I decided to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild first.

    The adventurers who had finished their requests were returning, but it looked like I had arrived just before it got crowded.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I would like you to take care of this, if possible.¡¹

    I handed over the letter Cliff had entrusted to me.

    Helen scanned over the letter she had received.

    ¡¸This is a designated request from Cliff Foschurose-sama, I see. To escort someone to the Royal Capital, is it? I¡¯ll handle the necessary processing, so if I could see your guild card, please.¡¹

    I handed over my guild card.

    ¡¸Yuna-san will be away from this town for some time because of this, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not really sure for how long though.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey Yuna, are you nning on going somewhere?¡¹

    The guild master appeared from out of nowhere.

    ¡¸Due to Cliff-sama¡¯s request, Yuna-san will be going to the Royal Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸That fellow¡¯s request, huh. Ah, is it about the King¡¯s birthdaymemoration?¡¹

    ¡¸Because Cliff can¡¯t go to the Royal Capital for a while, it¡¯s been decided that I¡¯ll be escorting just his daughter, Noa, there.¡¹

    ¡¸The Royal Capital, huh...¡¹

    The guild master looked me over slowly and carefully.

    ¡¸Yuna, wait just a sec.¡¹

    The guild master returned after a short while.

    ¡¸Here, take this.¡¹

    Yet again, another letter was handed to me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s for the sake of keeping you from rampaging at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Royal Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸What is that supposed to mean?!¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, did you forget what happened the first time you came here? In any case, you¡¯re nning on going to the Royal Capital in that getup, right?¡¹

    The bear suit had been epted in this town.

    There was already no one left who would try to fight me when I enter the guild.

    The strange looks I received when walking through the town had also decreased.

    On the contrary, children often gathered near me instead.

    I felt like I had turned into an official local mascot character...

    ¡¸If you hand over this letter, the guild should more or less look after you.¡¹

    I appreciated it.

    Knocking out idiots one by one was annoying.

    ¡¸Thank you, I¡¯m sure it will be handy.¡¹

    I expressed my thanks and epted it.

    After leaving the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I headed over to Fina¡¯s house.

    Gentz-san wasn¡¯t there, but the three girls were.

    ¡¸Oh? Wee Yuna-chan. What¡¯s up,ing here at this time of the day?¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, you came!¡¹

    Fina came down from the second floor.

    Shuri followed close behind her.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve decided to go to the Royal Capital for a while, starting from tomorrow, so I came to inform you.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, you¡¯re going to the Royal Capital?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bodyguard request, you see. I thought Tirumina-san would be fine, so I¡¯m leaving matters regarding the orphanage to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Well, it¡¯s not something that would be troublesome, so it¡¯s fine for Yuna-chan to leisurely go sightseeing at the Royal Capital. It¡¯ll be your first time there, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice, the Royal Capital...¡¹

    ¡¸Fina has never been there before?¡¹

    ¡¸Never desu.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s because of me. After my husband died, I fell sick, and I gave this child a lot of trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, do you want to go together?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, even if the targets I have to guard increases from one person to two, it¡¯s not really a problem, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay, Yuna-chan? You have your job too...¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, tomorrow, I¡¯ll ask the person I¡¯m guarding if she objects. If she approves, you can go. If not, you¡¯ll have to stay home.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that great, big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri can¡¯t go. Stay home together with mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuuuuuuu!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it unpleasant being with your mother, just the two of us?¡¹

    Shuri shook her head from side to side in denial.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not unpleasant!¡¹

    Tirumina-san embraced her daughter, Shuri.

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯lle by tomorrow morning to pick you up. Although you won¡¯t need to make travelling preparations, be sure to prepare any items you want to bring with you, so I can ce them in my item bag.¡¹

    Finally, I went to the orphanage and told the director-sensei and the children that I wouldn¡¯t being for a while, and I left behind arge quantity of wolf meat.

 Chapter 48 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 5

    Chapter 48 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 5

    Before going to the Royal Capital, it¡¯s time for Fina¡¯s perspective!

    Though I intended to write this earlier, I forgot.

    Mother was in pain when I woke up this morning.

    Her suffering was different from usual.

    She wasn¡¯t conscious.

    There was no response, no matter how much I called her.

    I tried to give her medicine, but she didn¡¯t swallow it.

    Even so, I did my best to get her to swallow it.

    However, her condition didn¡¯t improve.

    A lot of sweat was running down Mother¡¯s forehead.

    My younger sister, Shuri, was standing next to the bed with a worried expression, calling out ¡°Mother! Mother!¡±

    In this situation, it was no use.

    There was nothing we could do.

    ¡¸Shuri, please look after Mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be going to Uncle Gentz¡¯s ce, so don¡¯t worry. If it¡¯s Uncle Gentz, he should be able to do something.¡¹

    I patted my sister on her head, and then headed to Uncle Gentz¡¯s home.

    He shouldn¡¯t have gone to work yet.

    I ran.

    Few people were out and about this early, so it was easy to run.

    When I arrived at Uncle Gentz¡¯s house, I pounded on his door with all my strength.

    ¡¸Uncle! Uncle Gentz!¡¹

    Uncle appeared after I beat on the door.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter, this early in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸M-mother is!¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong with Tirumina?!¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s in a lot of pain! It¡¯s different from normal!¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t stop my tears any more.

    ¡¸Even though she drank her medicine, she didn¡¯t get better!¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go to your house.¡¹

    Uncle Gentz started running to my house.

    I also ran as if my life depended on it.

    I couldn¡¯t see Uncle Gentz¡¯s figure anywhere when I arrived at the house.

    When I entered the house, Uncle Gentz was calling out to Mother in a loud voice.

    However, there was no reaction.

    ¡¸Damn it!¡¹

    Uncle Gentz looked at Shuri and me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to go look for medicine. You two look after your Mother.¡¹

    As Uncle Gentz flew out of the house, I grasped my Mother¡¯s hand.

    Shuri held Mother¡¯s hand together with me.

    Please. Somehow, save Mother.

    If there is anything I can do, I¡¯ll do it, so-

    No matter what, please don¡¯t take Mother away from us.

    I beg of you...

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri......¡¹

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    Mother regained consciousness!

    My wish was heard.

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    Why are you apologizing?

    Mother hasn¡¯t done anything bad.

    Tears welled up in Mother¡¯s eyes.

    ¡¸Mother.¡¹

    ¡¸It might be useless already. If mother happens to die, you must rely on Gentz. If it¡¯s that person, he will surely help you.¡¹

    Mother spoke as if she was in great pain.

    Was mother going to die?

    I didn¡¯t want to think about it.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, you two. You had to put up with someone like me.¡¹

    She squeezed our hands, which were sped in hers, with a frail strength.

    How long has it been since Uncle Gentz went out?

    He hasn¡¯te back.

    It might have only been three minutes or so, but I felt like hours had already passed.

    Hurry ande back soon!

    ¡¸Uuu.¡¹

    Mother¡¯s suffering began again.

    Someone, anyone, please help.

    Shuri¡¯s small hand squeezed mine strongly.

    I cannot give up here!

    ¡¸Shuri.¡¹

    Shuri¡¯s eyes turned towards me.

    They looked anxious.

    ¡¸Hold on to Mother¡¯s hand, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis.¡¹

    ¡¸It might be useless, but if it¡¯s that person!¡¹

    I left Mother to Shuri and rushed towards Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house.

    I couldn¡¯tin that I was tired.

    I could see Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house, the Bear House.

    I opened the front door without knocking.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna was there when I entered the house.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸B-Big sis, Yuna, m-my mother has...!¡¹

    It was no good. My voice wouldn¡¯te out.

    ¡¸Calm down first.¡¹

    ¡¸My mother was in pain, and...even though she drank medicine...it was no good...I went to see Uncle Gentz, but...he went out to look for medicine and hasn¡¯te back...I-I, what should I do?¡¹

    My tears wouldn¡¯t stop, even as I looked at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s face.

    Even though I came here, Big Sis Yuna wasn¡¯t a doctor or a pharmacist.

    However, if it was Big Sis Yuna, I was sure she would be able to do something.

    Big Sis Yuna gently ced her hand on my head.

    ¡¸Un, I understand, so can you guide me to your house?¡¹

    I guided Big Sis Yuna to my house.

    After we arrived and entered, Uncle Gentz was there.

    Had he obtained medicine?!

    ¡¸Fina. Bear missy, you¡¯re also here.¡¹

    ¡¸Uncle Gentz, what about the medicine?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    He lowered his head.

    If it was such an easily obtainable medicine, then Uncle Gentz should have been able to obtain it.

    That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t get angry at Uncle Gentz.

    I approached my Mother.

    She was suffering so badly that I could barely bear to look at her.

    ¡¸Gentz...if...something...happens...to me...my daughters...please...¡¹

    ¡¸What are you doing?! Saying things like that!¡¹

    ¡¸I...sure gave you...a lot of...trouble...the medicine...and Fina...Thank you...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about that! If you sleep, you¡¯ll get better, so don¡¯t talk any more!¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri, Fina,e here, let me see your faces onest time.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Mom!¡¹¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t see Mother¡¯s face because of my tears.

    Mother embraced us with her feeble hands.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t give you anything. And, thank you, Shuri, Fina.¡¹

    She separated from us and looked at Uncle Gentz.

    ¡¸Gentz, please look after the two of them.¡¹

    ¡¸I get it, so don¡¯t say any more. Looking after these two will be troublesome for me, so you just rest and recover from your illness.¡¹

    ¡¸Gentz, thank you.¡¹

    Mother closed her eyes.

    It looked like she wasn¡¯t able to open them anymore.

    I tightly grasped Mother¡¯s hand.

    Her hand was cold.

    At this rate, she won¡¯t ever open her eyes again?

    She won¡¯t ever call my name again?

    Mother, Mother, Mother!

    Pomf pomf.

    I heard the strange sound of something being hit behind me.

    When I turned around, Big Sis Yuna was pping her hands.

    ¡¸For starters, the three of you, please calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸Big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if I can do anything, but I¡¯ll take a look, so let me through.¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna separated us from the bed.

    ¡¸Please hold on a little longer.¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna ced her Bear Hands on top of Mother¡¯s body.

    ¡¸Cure.¡¹

    Mother¡¯s body shone with light.

    That brilliance gave a pure and warm feeling, as if a god was there.

    Mother¡¯s breathing slowly settled down.

    The sound of Mother taking suffocated breaths had just died down.

    ¡¸Heal.¡¹

    A different magic was activated next.

    Mother¡¯s eyes slowly opened.

    Then, as if nothing was wrong, she got up from the bed.

    ¡¸...There¡¯s no pain.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Mom!¡¹¡¹

    I rushed up to her.

    ¡¸Looks like I seeded somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, what did you do? It was as if you were a priestess from the heavens. No, never mind that, miss, thank you.¡¹

    Uncle Gentz expressed his gratitude to Big Sis Yuna.

    That¡¯s right. I also need to thank her.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, thank you.¡¹

    After that, Uncle Gentz and Mother began to talk about repaying the favor.

    That¡¯s right. I had asked Uncle Gentz about this before.

    He had said that asking a priest to cure Mother¡¯s disease would require paying arge amount of money.

    I recalled that the amount of money was a super high amount.

    There was nowhere close to that much money in my house.

    However, she was my mother¡¯s savior.

    If I could do it, I would repay it, even if it took my whole life.

    While I was thinking that, unexpected words came out of Big Sis Yuna.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t particrly need money or anything. I only wanted to protect Fina¡¯s smile.¡¹

    I think I¡¯m going to cry again.

    I wondered if it was possible to repay all of Big Sis Yuna¡¯s kindness while I was still alive?

    ¡¸But, in that case-¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, if there¡¯s anything that I can do, please say it!¡¹

    ¡¸Once I¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll do anything!¡¹

    That¡¯s right. Even if Big Sis Yuna says that a reward isn¡¯t necessary, it¡¯s not good.

    If there was something that I could do, I would do it.

    However, the moment Uncle Gentz and Mother said ¡ºanything¡», the sides of Big Sis Yuna¡¯s lips rose up.

    ¡¸In that case, I have a favor for the two of you, one that you cannot decline.¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna started to say such things.

    The atmosphere in the room became heavy.

    I wondered what she would say.

    Big Sis Yuna looked over the room, before finally resting her gaze on Shuri and me.

    ¡¸Fina, please go with your sister to buy some delicious food, as well as something nutritious for your mother to eat.¡¹

    Having said so, she handed me money.

    Was it something that she didn¡¯t want us to hear?

    Big Sis Yuna, what do you n on saying to Mother and Uncle Gentz?

    However, what Big Sis Yuna said was correct, since Mother needs something nutritious.

    In the end, it was decided that I would go look for nourishing food, along with Shuri.

    I was anxious, but it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ==============================

    Fina ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, thank you for curing my mother.¡¹

    Yuna ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    Fina ¡¸As thanks, let me give you something important to me.¡¹

    Yuna ¡¸We¡¯re both girls, you know.¡¹

    Fina ¡¸I know. However, other than that, I don¡¯t have anything else that I could give you.¡¹

    Yuna ¡¸Fina...¡¹

    Fina ¡¸I offer my life to you, Big Sis Yuna. Please ept it!¡¹

    Yuna ¡¸That¡¯s really important in a different meaning©`!!¡¹

 Chapter 49 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 6

    Chapter 49 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 6

    When I came back from shopping, Big Sis Yuna was gone.

    She seemed to have returned home.

    I still have not thanked her enough, and I also haven¡¯t thanked her for this food, which was bought with Big Sis Yuna¡¯s money.

    I must not forget to thank her the next time I see her.

    Then, for some reason, when I looked at mother and Uncle Gentz, their faces became red.

    I wonder what happened?

    ¡¸Erm, Fina, Shuri. That is...I mean, do you want a new father?¡¹

    ¡¸Father?¡¹

    Uncle Gentz asked us a weird question.

    Father died.

    What did he mean by a new father?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even remember my father, so even if you ask me if I want a father...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t know!¡¹

    Shuri also tilted her head to the side in confusion.

    Uncle Gentz scratched his head and nced in our direction.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been decided that your mother and I will get married. Fina, Shuri, will you acknowledge us?¡¹

    Married?

    ¡¸I want to be a father to both of you, and I want to protect the three of you. Although I don¡¯t think I can be as dependable as that Bear Missy, won¡¯t you let me protect you girls?¡¹

    ¡¸Uncle Gentz?¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri, is it bad to have Gentz as a father?¡¹

    Mother asked us that.

    I didn¡¯t know if it was a good thing.

    But,

    ¡¸If it will make mother happy, then...¡¹

    Shuri was also nodding.

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯ll definitely make her happy. Of course, I¡¯ll make you two happy as well, you¡¯ll see! So, thank you, Fina. Shuri. ¡¹

    Uncle Gentz hugged us.

    Mother and Uncle Gentz seemed d.

    ///

    After that, things were seriously troublesome.

    Mother, who had be energetic again, began getting out of bed.

    Which is why I had to put my mother, who had woken up and gotten out of bed, back into bed.

    Put my mother, who had tried to prepare a meal, back into bed.

    Put her, who had tried to clean, back into bed.

    And, put my mother, who had tried to go out, back into bed.

    I had been told by Big Sis Yuna to let her quietly rest in bed for a while.

    I won¡¯t let mother suffer like that again.

    I had Shuri stand watch over mother.

    Shuri also seemed happy to spend time with mother.

    In addition, Dad seemed to have gone looking for a house where the four of us could live together.

    To that end, I should prepare for the move, bit by bit.

    ///

    A few days after mother¡¯s disease was cured, a new house was found, and it was decided that we would be moving there.

    We also received approval to let Mother move around from Big Sis Yuna.

    On the day of the move, Big Sis Yuna also decided to lend a hand.

    In reality, moving was something that would take a lot of time and money.

    Carrying luggage, borrowing a push or pull-cart, and making round trips over and over again.

    However, Big Sis Yuna¡¯s item bag was able to ept anything, no matter howrge or numerous.

    Before, when I went on the tiger wolf subjugation, her ability to take out and put away an entire house surprised me.

    That Big Sis Yuna steadily put more and more luggage in her bear paw¡¯s mouth.

    Thanks to her, all the luggage in the house, which had been prepared in advance, was was all gone before noon.

    Next, we headed to Father¡¯s house.

    It was terrible.

    There was filth everywhere.

    It waspletely messy.

    Mother was awfully angry.

    Mother asked Big Sis Yuna, Shuri, and me to go to the new house first and to tidy it up.

    We headed to the new house.

    After we arrived, I asked Shuri to clean.

    I had Big Sis Yuna take out the furniture and the beds.

    Honestly, the beds, which would have required being moved by hand from the first floor to the second floor, were easily ced, thanks to taking them out of Big Sis Yuna¡¯s bears.

    When Big Sis Yuna had finished taking out the luggage, she headed to Father¡¯s house.

    Shuri and I did our best to clean up with just the two of us.

    When the sun began to set, the three of them, including Mother, finally came over.

    Then they began to talk about meal preparations.

    However, the interior of the house had yet to be put in order, so it wasn¡¯t in a condition where we could cook food.

    Then, when Father said we should go out to eat, he was scolded for being wasteful with money by Mother.

    In the end, it was decided that we would be taken care of at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house.

    I wonder, why is Bis Sis Yuna this kind?

    After the meal was finished, we decided to stay the night at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house.

    She was going to let us sleep over and take a bath, since the move had gotten us dirty.

    The bath in Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house was so big that it was perfectly fine for even four people to enter!

    Also, hot water came out from a bear¡¯s mouth.

    The four of us girls, after excluding father, entered to take a bath together.

    Big Sis Yuna¡¯s body was slender, so thin and beautiful.

    Her raven-ck hair extended past her waist and was especially fascinating.

    If I also grew mine that long, would I be as pretty?

    When I entered the bathtub, the conversation turned towards chests.

    Big Sis Yuna said that she would eventually be like boom, kyuu, boom!

    What was ¡°boom, kyuu, boom¡± supposed to mean, I wonder?

    I think that if my breasts grow to be around Big Sis Yuna¡¯s size, it would be good.

    When I see therge breasts of an adult, I often wonder if they aren¡¯t obstructive.

    I asked mother while looking at my own chest.

    ¡¸Will mine grow bigger?¡¹

    For some reason, Big Sis Yuna nced between mother¡¯s breasts and mine.

    ¡¸You¡¯re free to continue dreaming.¡¹

    Such a thing was said.

    ¡¸Somehow, it feels like a really cruel thing was said.¡¹

    Mother got a little angry at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s words.

    Then, Mother looked in my direction.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, so don¡¯t worry about it. Fina¡¯s breasts will surely grow big.¡¹

    ¡¸I think around Big Sis Yuna¡¯s size is good.¡¹

    The moment I said that, I was hugged by Big Sis Yuna.

    For some reason, she was deeply moved.

    I really don¡¯t understand it.

    We got out of the bath, and father went to take a bath next.

    In the meantime, we dried our hair.

    Big Sis Yuna¡¯s hair is long, so drying it seems like it would be a major chore.

    While I was drying my hair with a towel, Big Sis Yuna brought over a weird-looking, cylindrical tool.

    Big Sis Yuna told me to turn around, so I obediently listened to her.

    When I did so, I felt a warm wind blowing on me from behind.

    I was so surprised that I uttered a strange cry.

    Big Sis Yuna exined that it was a tool that would blow warm air, and it seemed to be used to dry hair.

    The wind was warm andfortable, and in no time at all, my hair had been dried.

    My younger sister, Shuri, was next, then my mother, and finally, Big Sis Yuna dried her own hair.

    To have such a convenient tool, Big Sis Yuna sure is great.

    Around when everyone¡¯s hair had been dried, Father also came out of the bath, and everyone decided to go to sleep, thanks to the fatigue from the move.

    Father was by himself, while my mother, younger sister, and I would sleep together.

    At that time, Big Sis Yuna said something that I didn¡¯t understand.

    If mother and father slept together, the futon would get dirty, so they weren¡¯t allowed to sleep together. Did it not get dirty if they slept separately?

    I will try asking mother next time.

    The next day, I woke up before everyone else.

    Shuri and mother were still sleeping

    In order not to wake the two of them, I left the room and went down to the first floor.

    While I was cooking breakfast, father came downstairs.

    He ate breakfast by himself and headed to work.

    Work at the guild sure starts early.

    After father left for work, Big Sis Yuna came down and reced him, as if they were passing each other.

    Breakfast preparations were alsoplete, so I went to wake up the two people who were still sleeping.

    As the four of us were eating breakfast, Big Sis Yuna asked a weird question.

    ¡¸Where do they sell eggs?¡¹

    By eggs, did she mean the eggsid by birds?

    Such a high-ss item wouldn¡¯t be sold in a normal shop.

    When I told her that, she made a disappointed expression.

    Did she want to eat an egg that much?

    After breakfast ended, we went back to the new house in order to finish tidying up after the move.

    We arrived at the new house and divided the cleaning work between three people.

    Shuri diligently cleaned up the smaller items.

    Mother and I handled cleaning and organizing the bigger items.

    Father had work, so it could not be helped.

    The things we brought from our house were settled immediately, but the things brought from father¡¯s house were ced in the boxes haphazardly, so organizing those was a huge problem.

    However, with the cooperation of my family, the move was finally finished.

    This, too, was all thanks to Big Sis Yuna.

    I met Big Sis Yuna by chance, and everything changed.

    I can eat delicious meals.

    Mother is healthy.

    I have a new father.

    Everything is thanks to Big Sis Yuna.

 Chapter 50 â€“ Finaâ€™s Perspective 7

    Chapter 50 ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective 7

    The next chapter will be going to the Royal Capital.

    With this, it¡¯s two volumes.

    ============================

    Today, Father came back with a dark expression on his face.

    I wonder what happened.

    ording to what he told me after I asked, a ck Viper appeared, and a vige seems to have been attacked.

    The guild was in an uproar.

    Father, who was in charge of dismantling and purchasing raw materials, was able to return home, but the other staff members seemed to be alternating shifts and have not been able to leave.

    The ck Viper was a huge snake.

    I haven¡¯t seen anything like that before.

    It seemed that an adventurer party of at least C-rank was needed to defeat such a monster.

    I heard that Big Sis Yuna and the guild master, the two of them, had gone to defeat that monster alone.

    Father seemed extremely anxious.

    ¡®It¡¯s not something they can defeat,¡¯ he muttered to himself.

    The next day, the subjugation party for the ck Viper was injured and became unable to take the subjugation request.

    Father was troubled, because he couldn¡¯t go help big Sis Yuna, who he was indebted to.

    Two days after that, I heard that Big Sis Yuna and the guild master had returned safe and sound.

    Moreover, the ck Viper was apparently defeated.

    After returning home from work, Father told me that joyfully.

    Then, the day after that, I was also called in to help with dismantling the ck Viper.

    I went to the guild early in the morning.

    However, it seemed like Big Sis Yuna had yet to arrive.

    I heard that the time she¡¯d arrive was undecided, to let her relieve the fatigue from yesterday.

    To that end, I would help out the guild.

    Against all expectations, Big Sis Yuna cheerfully arrived at the guildter in the morning.

    Did she really go to and return from a ce that required a three days journey by fast horse, and also defeat a ck Viper?

    Looking at her, I got the feeling that she wasn¡¯t injured at all.

    I understood the strength of the ck Viper less and less.

    We were on standby in the refrigerated warehouse, for the sake of dismantling the ck Viper, when all the members were called outside.

    It seemed like the ck Viper was so big that the dismantling work couldn¡¯t be done inside the cold storage warehouse.

    Was it that big?

    The location for dismantling was changed to outside of the town.

    The ck Viper that Big Sis Yuna took out from bear-san¡¯s mouth was gigantic.

    Did you defeat this by yourself?

    It was unbelievable.

    In ordance to instructions from Father and everyone from the guild, the dismantling began.

    I formed a pair with Father.

    First, Father pared off the skin.

    I cut out block-shaped sections of meat, starting from the part that was stripped bare, and ced them inside an item bag.

    Will we finish this by the end of today?

    Anyway, I¡¯ll do my best.

    Several hourster, it was finally finished.

    It was finished by the end of the day.

    Thank goodness.

    I left the transporting to other people, since the guild master had asked me for a favor.

    To bring Big Sis Yuna to the guild.

    With this, the work was finished for today.

    I decided that I would go to sleep early when I returned home today.

    It was tiring, but I was d to be able to help Father.

    Lately, only pleasant things had happened.

    Mother¡¯s illness was cured, too.

    Father tried to make usugh during mealtimes, though mother told him that his jokes wereme.

    How many years had it been since the dining table overflowed withughter?

    For my little sister, Shuri, it might be the first time.

    One day, mother started saying outrageous things.

    ¡¸Should I be an adventurer and work?¡¹

    We all stopped her.

    Father, in particr, forbade her.

    ¡¸You, do you n to die and leave your children behind?! Is my ie so meager?!¡¹

    I was scared just imagining Mother fighting a ck Viper somewhere.

    However, if I imagined Big Sis Yuna fighting somewhere, I could see her defeating opponents with a calm face. Why is that, I wonder?

    Even though the only time I had seen her fighting was back when we first met.

    Shuri embraced Mother tightly as well, and shook her head side-to-side desperately.

    In the end, it was decided that, as apromise, Mother would look for mediation work at the Commerce Guild.

    ...Even so, why did she end up working at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s ce?

    Her job seemed to be rted to Clucker eggs.

    Big Sis Yuna, what in the world are you doing?

    Do you n on resigning as an adventurer and bing a merchant?

    On ater day, Big Sis Yuna told Shuri and me toe to her house the next day.

    Apparently, it was to sample a new kind of food.

    I was a little worried, but I was also looking forward to it.

    The next morning, Shuri and I went to the Bear House together after eating breakfast, where Big Sis Yuna took out a food called ¡°purin.¡±

    It was a yellow color.

    I was told that it was a dessert made from eggs.

    Was it really okay for me to eat food made with such a high-ss ingredient?

    Even so, it was made by Big Sis Yuna.

    I¡¯ll receive it gratefully.

    What is it, this delicious food?

    This soft and sweet taste, I haven¡¯t ever heard of, or eaten, such a food before.

    I finished eating it in the blink of an eye.

    Shuri¡¯s cup was also emptied.

    When we made disappointed expressions together as sisters, Big Sis Yuna made a bemused smile while taking out one more portion.

    Let¡¯s eat it slowly this time!

    Big Sis Yuna came over in the afternoon one day, when I was at home teaching Shuri her letters.

    I wonder what kind of business she had today?

    It turned out that she was going to the Royal Capital as an escort.

    Thus, she was here to ask mother to look after the orphanage.

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice, the Royal Capital...¡¹

    When I said that, it was decided that I would be taken along as well.

    Was that okay?

    However, it turned out that we would have to confirm it with the client tomorrow.

    I still don¡¯t know if I will be able to go, but I¡¯m looking forward to tomorrow!

 Chapter 51 â€“ Bear-san Departs for the Royal Capital

    Chapter 51 ¨C Bear-san Departs for the Royal Capital

    I was very sleepy yesterday.

    ==============================

    On the first day of the escort mission, I first stopped by Tirumina¡¯s house to pick up Fina.

    After that, we headed to the feudal lord¡¯s manor to meet up with Noa.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you escorting Forschurose-sama?¡¹

    Fina anxiously asked me.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t I say so?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the first I¡¯ve heard of this! To meet Foschurose-sama or the like...¡¹

    Fina¡¯splexion became rather pale.

    Was the disparity between an aristocrat and amoner in this world thatrge, like I had expected?

    ¡¸You¡¯re not going to be plucked and eaten, so it¡¯s all right. Besides, the client who is supposed to be guarded is his daughter, Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Noire-sama, is it? Even so, for someone like me...¡¹

    Oh? Even though I¡¯ve been calling her by her nickname, Noire¡¯s name came out instead.

    Were they acquainted to some extent?

    ¡¸In any case, let¡¯s go, alright? If it¡¯s no good, I wonder if I should decline the request?¡¹

    ¡¸I-I understand!¡¹

    Fina followed along reluctantly.

    When we reached the feudal lord¡¯s manor, Noa was already waiting in front of the gate, standing with her hands on her hips in an imposing stance.

    ¡¸You¡¯re slow, Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸If you thought so, wouldn¡¯t it have been fine if you waited inside the house?¡¹

    ¡¸W-Well, when I thought that I could travel with the bear-sans, I got excited with anticipation and couldn¡¯t endure it.¡¹

    She said in a mildly embarrassed tone.

    ¡¸Although I understand your reasoning, can I ask something?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I also want to take this child along. Do you have any problems with that?¡¹

    I pointed to Fina, who was being timid next to me.

    ¡¸Who is that girl?¡¹

    ¡¸The savior of my life...¡¹

    ¡¸T-That¡¯s not it! I¡¯m the one whose life was saved by Big Sis Yuna, geez!¡¹

    ¡¸So then, this girl is going to being along with us?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to get permission, just in case.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not particrly a problem. However, I won¡¯t hand over bear-san!¡¹

    I could hear the crack of a whip in my head as she resolutely thrusted her finger at Fina.

    ¡¸I was going to have the two of you ride on a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Then it cannot be helped. However, I won¡¯t give up the front!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it necessary to greet Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸It is fine. Father has given me permission to depart as soon as Yuna-san arrives.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, since permission was given, shall we depart for the Royal Capital?¡¹

    The three of us headed to the gate and left the town.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I would be riding Hugging Bear today.

    The other two got on Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸I said so earlier, but I¡¯m in front.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Noire-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸That reminds me, what¡¯s your name?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, my name is Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, my best regards until we get to the Royal Capital, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you too, Noire-sama.¡¹

    Noa got on Swaying Bear, and Fina sat behind her.

    I rode on top of Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸With that, let¡¯s depart for the Royal Capital!¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t a rushed trip this time, so we took our time heading to the Royal Capital.

    ¡¸Ufufu, Swaying Bear~ I¡¯ll be counting on you to get us to the Royal Capital.¡¹

    Noa was gently patting Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Noire-sama is acquainted with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Ehem, I was allowed to ride them on one asion, and we took a nap together afterwards. Geez, I could not help looking forward to today since yesterday.¡¹

    The two of them were getting along well and chatting.

    ¡¸So then, I asked earlier, but what kind of rtionship do the two of you have?¡¹

    ¡¸When I arrived at this town for the first time, the one who helped me when I was lost in the forest was Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸That might be the case, but since I was being attacked by wolves in the forest, I am the one who was saved by Big Sis Yuna. I only guided her to town.¡¹

    ¡¸After that, I became an adventurer but couldn¡¯t dismantle the monsters, so I ended up asking Fina for help.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am grateful to have been able to make some money as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, you can dismantle monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I have been doing it in the guild for a long time.¡¹

    ¡¸For a long time, you say; how old are you?¡¹

    ¡¸10 years old.¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you the same age as me? To be dismantling monsters...¡¹

    Noa was surprised.

    As I thought, even in this world, a 10-year-old being able to dismantle monsters was strange.

    After that, the two of them continued getting along and chatting on top of Swaying Bear.

    It¡¯s good to make a close friend.

    Their conversation was pretty lively.

    Since both of them were the same age, I hoped that they would get along, without caring about their rtionship as a noble and amoner.

    Meanwhile, the bears leisurely advanced forward on the road that lead to the Royal Capital.

    We didn¡¯t encounter any monsters or thieves, and the sky gradually darkened on our leisurely journey.

    The road to the Royal Capital continued onward.

    I checked the surroundings as I searched for the optimal spot to camp out, before I finally led the two of them a short distance away from the road.

    ¡¸Is it good enough around here?¡¹

    I stopped the bears in order to set up camp.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, could it be that you n to camp out here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. By chance, did you think that we would be staying at an inn?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think that, since I usually slept in the carriage.¡¹

    I see. You always moved around in a carriage, so you concluded that it was natural to sleep inside one?

    ¡¸It¡¯s my first time sleeping out in the open.¡¹

    ¡¸Rest assured, there¡¯s a ce to sleep properly.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    I told the two of them to back off a bit and took out the Bear House from the Bear Box.

    It had its usual appearance of a couple of bears.

    However, it was now travel-sized.

    It was about half the size of the Bear House in the city.

    Although I didn¡¯t think that the size was big enough to attract that much attention, it was still big enough to attract attention in an open area.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is?!¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear House. Though, it¡¯s a bit smaller, since it¡¯s for outings.¡¹

    ¡¸I wasn¡¯t asking for its name, I was wondering where it appeared from! Uuun, though I actually understand where it appeared from, was this even an item you could ce into an item bag?¡¹

    ¡¸I can put it inside, though even I don¡¯t really understand the size limit for the items I can ce inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that the case? Still, Fina isn¡¯t surprised, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve seen the Bear House appear out of nowhere before. Later on, I also saw the ck Viper monstere out, so...¡¹

    ¡¸This matter is a secret, so don¡¯t tell anyone, okay?¡¹

    I gave Noa a warning.

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go inside. You¡¯re probably tired from travelling all day, right?¡¹

    I unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear before entering the house.

    ¡¸Ah, sorry Noa, but please take your shoes off here, okay?¡¹

    It seemed like, in this world, it was basically a custom for middle-ss households and above to take off their shoes.

    Even in Noa¡¯s manor, they would take off their shoes and put on slipper-like footwear.

    However, lower-ss citizens like Fina lived in dirty houses, so they wore shoes even inside the house.

    Even the inn was fundamentally a ce where you were supposed to wear your shoes into your room.

    Noa, who hade inside the house, raised her voice in surprise.

    ¡¸What is with this house?!¡¹

    After taking off your shoes, the first room you encountered was the living-room-cum-dining-room.

    The interior of the room was lit up by the light magic stone installed in the ceiling.

    The size of the dining room was justrge enough to amodate roughly ten people at any one time.

    ¡¸Well, for now, properly sit in a chair and rest while I go prepare dinner.¡¹

    I headed to the kitchen, spread oil on a frying pan, andid out ground meat and eggs for making hamburger steak.

    At the same time, the preparations for sd were progressing, since vegetables were important too.

    When the hamburger steak was appropriately fried, I portioned out the soup, which the inn had cooked, as well as some bread.

    Lastly, I poured fruit juice into some cups, and with that, the preparations wereplete.

    I carried thepleted dishes to the table. The only thing left to do was to eat.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is this?¡¹

    ¡¸Dinner. If you were expecting cooking on the same level as the stuff at the manor, that¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I wasn¡¯t thinking of such a thing at all; rather, it¡¯s the opposite. It seems to give off an aroma that¡¯s even better than the dishes at home.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s so, then all¡¯s good. Let¡¯s eat while the food is still warm.¡¹

    Both Noa and Fina started to eat.

    ¡¸What is this? This food is super delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just hamburger steak though?¡¹

    ¡¸Hambagu?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t it eaten in this country?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a local food, to my knowledge. This is my first time eating this.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? This is just made from ground wolf¡¯s meat and orc¡¯s meat though.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can my family make it too?¡¹

    ¡¸You can make it, but it might be difficult to make the sauce, and it¡¯s more delicious with grated radish.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, please teach me next time. I want to let my family try it too.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa is a noble, so isn¡¯t it unnecessary for you?¡¹

    ¡¸That is the case, but it kind of feels like I¡¯m being excluded. It¡¯s an unpleasant feeling.¡¹

    ¡¸For the time being, I¡¯ll teach you after we return to town, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸This soup is delicious too!¡¹

    ¡¸That was made by the inn, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸What about this bread?¡¹

    ¡¸I found a delicious bakery, so I bought them up.¡¹

    While having such a conversation, we finished dinner.

    ¡¸Well then, after the meal, take a short break before entering the bath. We¡¯ll depart when the sun rises, so sleep early, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, understood.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re heading out that early?¡¹

    The one who rose early because of her work: Fina.

    The one who spent her mornings leisurely due to her noble status: Noa.

    Their reactions were wonderfully divided.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to let other people see this house, you see. Other travellers should sleep at night and move out when it¡¯s morning, so we will also move like that.¡¹

    ¡¸I got it already. Also, if my ears were working properly, I heard you say something about a bath?¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t hear incorrectly, there is a bath. Even if you only rode on Swaying Bear, you still sweated, right? Please go clean yourself in the bath. As for how to use the bath, Fina, please teach her.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuuu, mymon sense is crumbling.¡¹

    Fina took the dumbfounded Noa to the bath.

    I cleared the table after the meal.

    Though, it was just washing the dishes.

    After the two of them got out, I lent them the dryer and told them to dry their hair.

    I also wanted to take a bath.

    When I finished my bath, both of them were waiting for me.

    ¡¸Not going to sleep?¡¹

    ¡¸Where?¡¹

    Ah, I didn¡¯t assign rooms yet.

    On the first floor, there was the living-cum-dining room, the kitchen, the toilet, and the bath.

    The second floor had three small bedrooms.

    One of those was my room.

    The remaining two were for guests to use.

    In the guest rooms, there were two sets of bunk beds.

    All in all, each guest room was supposed to allow for four people to sleep in each room.

    After showing the two of them to a room,

    ¡¸What do you want to do?¡¹

    I tried asking them.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay either way, so I¡¯ll let Noire-sama decide.¡¹

    ¡¸I also wanted to talk before sleeping, shall we sleep together?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸Still, go to sleep soon.¡¹

    After making them heed my warning, I headed to my own room.

 Chapter 52 â€“ Bear-san Finds An Attacked Carriage.

    Chapter 52 ¨C Bear-san Finds An Attacked Carriage.

    The next morning, I got out of bed before the sun had risen.

    It was still dark outside.

    By all rights, it should probably be quite chilly, but I didn¡¯t feel cold, thanks to the Bear Clothes.

    When I went downstairs, I found Fina already up and about.

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. Where¡¯s Noa?¡¹

    ¡¸She is still sleeping. I didn¡¯t want to wake her up.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯ll be preparing breakfast, so please go wake her up.¡¹

    I asked Fina to take care of Noa and began preparing the soup and bread that we had eaten for breakfast yesterday.

    A drowsy Noa appeared in the dining room.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Sleepy.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because you¡¯re usually still sleeping at this time.¡¹

    ¡¸After we eat breakfast, we¡¯re heading out, okay?¡¹

    Today, I mounted Swaying Bear before we continued towards the Royal Capital.

    There was a vige along the way to the Royal Capital.

    We left after I purchased some fresh vegetables in the vige.

    On the third day after we left the town:

    ¡¸Stop for a moment.¡¹

    I made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear halt.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸There are people battling against monsters in front of us.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t see them from here.

    The only reason I was sure was due to the Bear¡¯s Skill.

    When I defeated the ck Viper, I went up a level. The power of the detection skill also went up, so I could now detect normal people, in addition to dangerous elements like monsters and thieves.

    Furthermore, I also became able to differentiate the type and rank of monster.

    ¡¸How does Noa want to handle this?¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    ¡¸My job is to be Noa¡¯s bodyguard, which is why I don¡¯t want to go towards dangerous ces. Leaving you behind and going ahead is also out of the question. If something dangerous appears while I¡¯m not around, I won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡¹

    ¡¸What if you leave the bears to guard us?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible for them to fight with you two riding on top.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what if we go to a ce near the monster attack together with you?¡¹

    ¡¸If the attacking monsters end up attacking you, it will be problematic for me, as your bodyguard.¡¹

    ¡¸Do the people being attacked seem like they can win?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, even I cannot be sure from here, you know. Although, I can tell when a person or monster dies from the reaction.¡¹

    In other words, do we go out after people have died, or rush in while knowing that it¡¯s dangerous?

    ¡¸......¡¹

    The 10-year-old Noa was seriously troubled.

    ¡¸That was a joke. Let¡¯s go save them. I¡¯ll scout from afar. If it looks okay, we¡¯ll leave them be, and if it looks dangerous, we¡¯ll save them. However, if they are dangerous monsters, you must run away. Is this okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Un.¡¹

    I made the bears run.

    A carriage came into view.

    Some adventurers were around it, fighting orcs.

    ¡¸One, two, three, four, five, six.¡¹

    There were six orcs.

    There were four adventurers.

    A magician adventurer had been knocked down by one of the orcs.

    A sword-wielding adventurer was fending off another orc next to the carriage.

    The remaining two people were surrounded by four orcs a short distance away.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear! Guard these two!¡¹

    I asked the bears to guard the two girls.

    I lept off of Swaying Bear and started running towards the orcs.

    I kicked off the ground and elerated even more.

    A club was swung towards the woman who was knocked down.

    This is bad.

    Using the magic power gathered in my hand, I released des of wind towards the orc that was swinging the club at the magician woman.

    The orc¡¯s eyes were entirely focused on the woman in front of it. My des of wind easily sliced through its fat neck and the orc died without noticing me at all.

    When I leveled up, did my power increase too?

    I ran past the magician and headed toward the adventurer fighting close to the carriage.

    If I used wind magic from this position, I would cut the adventurer together with the orc.

    I stopped the movement of the orc¡¯s lower body by using earth magic instead.

    ¡¸What?!¡¹

    The swordsman was surprised.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve sealed his movements, so deal with the rest by yourself somehow!¡¹

    After raising my voice, I headed towards the slightly distant location where the four orcs were battling the adventurers.

    Wind magic could not be used, just like earlier, since they were fighting while surrounded.

    Even if I used earth magic, it was possible that they would still receive an attack from the orcs¡¯ upper halves.

    I gathered magic power in my hand.

    ¡¸Shotgun.¡¹

    I fired a ball of air towards the orcs.

    Four shots at the same time.

    When they came into contact with the orcs¡¯ bodies, the orcs were blown backwards.

    As for the adventurers, who got caught up with the orcs that were being blown away, it could not be helped.

    The orcs, which fell down, stood up again.

    The adventurers were also going to stand up.

    ¡¸It¡¯s dangerous, so stay down!¡¹

    I shouted out towards the adventurers.

    I shot a giant horizontal de of wind towards the orcs, which had stood up again.

    Their bodies were neatly sliced in half, and the orcs fell down.

    It¡¯s not my fault that the adventurers who dropped to the ground have been showered in blood!

    I approached the adventurers, who had be all bloody from orc blood.

    ¡¸Are you alright?¡¹

    ¡¸You are?¡¹

    The two who had been surrounded by orcs were also female.

    In that case, maybe they were a little pitiful after bing all bloody from the orc blood.

    ¡¸Marina!¡¹

    The adventurer who had been fighting near the carriage rushed over.

    ¡¸Are you all right?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, I¡¯m alright, since this weird-looking girl helped us. What about you?¡¹

    ¡¸I, as well as Elle, were also saved by that girl, so we¡¯re okay.¡¹

    ¡¸So Elle is safe as well. Let¡¯s talk about a reward another time. Thank you for helping us.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wee. We only happened to pass by, so you don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m the leader of this party, Marina. The guy with the big sword over there is Masurika, and that one is-¡¹

    ¡¸Euri.¡¹

    The magician I had helped first seemed to be called Elle.

    We left the orcs as they were and returned to the carriage.

    Along the way, I called out for the bears.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s telepathicmunication, but I can issue instructions to the bears even if we are separated.

    ¡¸Elle, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, I¡¯m okay, though just a little longer and I would have been killed.¡¹

    Maybe it was because she had been caught, but her clothes were torn, and her fair skin could be seen.

    Although she was covering them, herrge breasts spilled out past her hands.

    An enemy!

    ¡¸Thanks to your assistance, I was able to avoid being killed. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to worry about it, since it was just a coincidence that I passed by.¡¹

    While we were having such a conversation,

    ¡¸What is that?!¡¹

    The adventurers saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had arrived, and readied their swords.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, they are my summoned beasts.¡¹

    ¡¸A summoned beast?¡¹

    Noa and Fina, who were riding on top of Hugging Bear, rushed over.

    ¡¸Yuna-san! Are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m perfectly fine, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank goodness.¡¹

    The two of them dropped down from Hugging Bear and embraced me anxiously.

    Both of them were just 10-year-old girls, so it could not be helped.

 Chapter 53 â€“ Together with Kuma-san!

    Chapter 53 ¨C Together with Kuma-san!

    This week, I went back and read it again, little by little.

    There were so many missing or wrong characters, that I cried.

    I wanted to get rid of the cked writing ability¡± and ¡°lots of errors and typos¡± parts.

    However, there are probably some this time, too.

    ===================================

    ¡¸Did youe to help us?¡¹

    When I turned and looked behind me, there was an elderly man and a small girl there.

    They weren¡¯t wearing the type of clothing thatmoners would wear.

    If I had to say, it was closer to the type of clothes Noa wore.

    ...Which meant they were nobles? Or the kind of people with lots of money.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re talking about the orcs, though that may be the case-¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? It would be bad if we didn¡¯t express our gratitude as well. We are Gran Faren Gramm. We thank you, together with our granddaughter.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer, Yuna. I only saved you because I was passing by chance, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, aren¡¯t you dressed in some strange clothing?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it.¡¹

    ¡¸However, you sure took down those orcs quite easily. Isn¡¯t that the missus from Cliff¡¯s ce over there?¡¹

    The old man who introduced himself as Gran looked over at Noa.

    ¡¸Gran-sama, it has been a long time. It is I, Noire.¡¹

    Noa gave an aristocratic curtsy and greeting.

    She called him Gran-sama. As expected, they were aristocrats.

    ¡¸I see, it was Noire after all. Has it been a year since west met? You¡¯ve sure grown up. Is Cliff not with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Father is busy with work, so he is still in town. I was told to go to the Royal Capital by myself to see mother first.¡¹

    ¡¸You came out here all by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but my bodyguard Yuna-san is here, so I am alright.¡¹

    Gran-san looked me over.

    ¡¸That fellow Cliff seems to have caught a strangely dressed, butpetent adventurer.¡¹

    I wish you would stop calling me strange over and over.

    ¡¸Misa, long time no see.¡¹

    Noa approached the girl standing beside Gran-san.

    She was a few years younger than even Noa.

    ¡¸Elder Sister Noire, it has been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa is also going to the Royal Capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Father and Mother went to the Royal Capital earlier, so I am heading there with Grandfather.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your conversation, but there are some post-battle things I want to talk about.¡¹

    Marina came over.

    ¡¸If we leave the orc corpses like this, it¡¯s likely that theirpanions, or other monsters attracted by the bodies, wille. I want to process the orcs, but what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Process them?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to divide up our share. Though you were the one who defeated them, you defeated them with a surprise attack from behind while we were engaging them. That¡¯s why we also want a part.¡¹

    Ah, so you were worried about that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll give them all to you. You can deal with them however you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you serious?! It¡¯s six orc bodies, you know!¡¹

    If it was orcs, I had a lot in the Bear Box, so it wasn¡¯t necessary to forcibly acquire more here.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to go on ahead to the Royal Capital first, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    I walked to and got on top of Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Noa, Fina, we¡¯re leaving!¡¹

    ¡¸Please wait a moment!¡¹

    Gran hailed us.

    ¡¸Since we¡¯re both headed to the same ce, why don¡¯t we travel together?¡¹

    After thinking about it for a bit,

    ¡¸There¡¯s no merit for us, so I decline.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll pay you an escort fee.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s guards, don¡¯t you have those girls? That¡¯s rather rude to them, don¡¯t you think?¡¹

    I said it loud enough for the adventurers nearby to hear.

    If we talked about employing me, it would be like telling them that they weren¡¯t trusted anymore.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t particrly trust these girls¡¯ power. Please believe me when I say that it is for my granddaughter, Misa¡¯s, sake.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa¡¯s sake?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, during the journey here, it has only been the two of us in the carriage, so Misa has been bored. Which is why I was thinking that, if her acquaintance Noire was there, our journey would be more interesting.¡¹

    Hmm. I wanted to decline somehow.

    It had absolutely no merit.

    I couldn¡¯t use the Bear House if we traveled together.

    If it became unusable, neither the bed nor the bath could be used.

    Our speed would definitely drop if we traveled together.

    However, I couldn¡¯t make a decision based on my judgement alone.

    If Cliff were here, I would just abide by his instructions.

    There was no point in naming someone who wasn¡¯t here, though.

    For now, I¡¯ll ask the person being guarded, Noa, for her opinion.

    ¡¸Noa, what do you want to do?¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    I called Noa over and whispered quietly into her ear.

    ¡¸By the way, if we travel together, the Bear House cannot be used, okay?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t have any intention of bringing out the Bear House in front of a stranger.

    Noa was mumbling ¡°a bath, a bed, a bath, a bed...¡± under her breath.

    Right now, in Noa¡¯s head, a ¡ºBed and Bath VS Misa¡»battle was probably urring.

    After a few ¡°unn, unn¡± groans, the battle seemed to havee to a conclusion.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m worried about Misa, so I was thinking of travelling together. Is that okay?¡¹

    In the Bear House vs Misa battle, Misa seemed to have been the victor.

    ¡¸If Noa has decided, then it¡¯s fine, but there are a few conditions.¡¹

    ¡¸What conditions?¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear House is a secret, of course, but if we run into an undefeatable monster, you must leave everyone behind and run away. You just have to promise me this.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I understand.¡¹

    I turned towards Gran-san.

    ¡¸Has the consultation finished?¡¹

    ¡¸It was decided that we will travel with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? You¡¯ve saved me some trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, please go help those girls with dismantling so we can depart quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    Fina ran off towards the adventurers, who were in the middle of dismantling.

    After a short while, the adventurers returned to us, having finished the dismantlement.

    ¡¸That child is really good at dismantlement. It was a big help. So, are you really okay with this, giving all the orcs to us?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Since we¡¯ll be travelling together to the Royal Capital, I¡¯ll have you listen to one of my requests in return. It¡¯s not a big deal, of course, so don¡¯t worry about it too much.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I got it.¡¹

    If our selfishness waspared to the orc¡¯s raw materials, the orcs should be heavier.

    Having decided to travel together with Gran-san¡¯s group, we departed for the Royal Capital.

    Noa rode in the carriage with Misa.

    At that time, she had made a point of pointing at Fina with her finger.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll hand over Bear-san this time, but that is my reserved seat, okay?!¡¹

    After firing off that deration, Noa climbed aboard the carriage.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear still belong to me, you know.

    Marina and the attendant, who took the reins, sat in the front of the carriage.

    There was an attendant there all along?

    Did you hide somewhere?

    It was a man in histe thirties.

    There was enough space for six people to sit in amonly seen seating arrangement.

    Elle, Masurika, and Euri sat inside the carriage, scanning to the left, right, and rear of the carriage. They sat in the spots next to Gran-san, Misa, and Noa, who had just boarded.

    The bodyguards weren¡¯t the type to walk outside?

    That¡¯s what I was thinking, but, as expected, asking them to keep up with the carriage¡¯s pace on foot for a long time, while carrying weapons and armor, was impossible.

    When I thought of having to walk for about ten hours a day, I was suddenly grateful to Swaying and Hugging Bear.

    The coachman was checking the condition of the horses pulling the carriage.

    Fortunately, the horses were safe, so we would be able to depart immediately.

    I wondered why they didn¡¯t decide to run away when the orcs attacked.

    They were going to run away at first, but the orcs showed up in front of them when the horses began to tire, catching them in a pincer attack.

    Since orcs were approaching from the rear, Marina and Euri went to engage them first, leaving only Elle and Masurika to deal with the orcs that cameter. In the end, it turned into the situation from earlier.

    We departed after having confirmed the status of the horses and the carriage.

    Fina and I followed behind the carriage.

    Clop, clop. Clop, clop.

    Umu, our pace sure is slow.

    At this rate, how long will it take to reach the Royal Capital?

    We decided to go together though, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    I left the monster detection to the bears and decided to take a nap atop Hugging Bear.

    The weather was good, and Hugging Bear¡¯s warmth was luring me to dreand.

    The carriage advanced without incident until the sun set after our departure.

    The leader, Marina, called the carriage to a halt.

    It looked like they nned to sleep outdoors, right here.

    The carriage stopped beside the empty road that lead to the Royal Capital.

    Marina directed the adventurers as they began to prepare meals and bedding.

    I wanted to take out the Bear House, but I endured.

    For now, I called out to Fina and Noa and began to prepare dinner.

    Misa looked like she would be eating over there.

    Well, even if I said preparing dinner, I took out some simple foodstuffs from the Bear Box, and finished with just that.

    The adventurers over there also took out and ate portable meals from an item bag.

    The difference was that my bread was still freshly baked, so it was soft and warm.

    I ate while enjoying just a small feeling of superiority.

    Soon, the time to sleep arrived.

    It seemed like we would be heading out when the sun rose tomorrow.

    When I started to prepare to sleep, Marina came over.

    ¡¸I want to decide on a rotation for night watch. Is that okay?¡¹

    When camping outdoors, there existed an enemy of sleep called the night-watch.

    Which is why, I would use the favor from the deal regarding the orc materials here!

    ¡¸If it¡¯s about the watch, these children are here, so it is alright.¡¹

    I gestured towards Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸If a monster or person approaches, these children will let me know.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Which is why there isn¡¯t a need for a watch. If you¡¯re still worried, can you handle it yourselves? Consider it as the exchange for the share of the orcs.¡¹

    If I bring up the point of the orc materials, the other party has no choice but to relent.

    ¡¸Can those bears really be trusted?¡¹

    ¡¸Feel free to.¡¹

    There was nothing else that I could say.

    Whether they chose to believe me or not was up to them.

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    Marina headed back towards the carriage.

    ¡¸Noa, where do you n to sleep?¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean by where?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you want to sleep together with Misa, or sleep together with the bears?¡¹

    ¡¸W-What do you mean, sleeping together with the bears?¡¹

    She asked me in a shaky voice.

    ¡¸At night, it¡¯ll be cold and dangerous, right? Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear,e here.¡¹

    I called Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear over, and had both of them sit down.

    Next, I called Fina over as an experimental subject, and wrapped her in a nket.

    Iid the wrapped Fina next to where the bears were sitting so that she was leaning against Hugging Bear¡¯s stomach, and tucked her in.

    With the left and right arms hugging Fina, yes, this work titled, ¡ºTogether with Bear-san¡», wasplete.

    ¡¸W-What is this, this wonderful way of sleeping?!¡¹

    ¡¸This way, it won¡¯t be cold, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go tell Misa that I will sleep here. Fina! That¡¯s my spot, so please vacate it, okay?¡¹

    Noa went to where Misa was, and soon returned.

    However, why did youe back with Misa?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Misa also wants to sleep together with Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸May I also sleep together with Bear-san? Today, I heard a lot about the wonderfulness of the bears from Elder Sister Noa. I also want to sleep together with Bear-san. Please!¡¹

    She gazed at me straightforwardly, with pure eyes.

    As expected, there was no way I could say no to Misa¡¯s pleas when she was even smaller than Noa.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. The two of you can use Swaying Bear. I¡¯ll sleep together with Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Misa also expressed her thanks.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, unless danger approaches, you can¡¯t wake these two up, okay? As for Hugging Bear, if a monster or person approaches, let me know. Sorry about this, Fina, but you¡¯ll be sleeping with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I might wake you up though, so sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright.¡¹

    I conceded half of Hugging Bear¡¯s stomach.

    Umu, it was warm.

    I went to sleep while hugging one of Hugging Bear¡¯s arms.

    ¡¸Fina, good night.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, good night.¡¹

 Chapter 54 â€“ Bear-san Catches The Thieves!

    Chapter 54 ¨C Bear-san Catches The Thieves!

    Late at night, Hugging Bear moved and woke me up.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear?¡¹

    I rubbed my eyes.

    Fina began to stir restlessly next to me.

    In order to avoid waking her up, I used detection magic.

    There was someone at a slightly distant location?

    I observed for a while, but there was no indication of movement.

    Hmm, it wasn¡¯t there when I went to sleep.

    Had Hugging Bear reacted to that presence?

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, if it moves, let me know.¡¹

    Since they might have just started camping out at that location, I requested Hugging Bear to watch it and went back to sleep.

    There was no reaction from Hugging Bear after that, and I didn¡¯t wake up until morning.

    When I woke up in the morning, I used detection magic, but it had not moved from that spot.

    I ate breakfast without worrying and left when the sun rose.

    I used detection magic again, for thest time.

    The stationary party had begun to move.

    If the other party were also travelers, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to move out at sunrise.

    I advanced towards the Royal Capital without worrying about it.

    The party followed behind us at a constant distance.

    When we stopped for lunch, the other party also stopped.

    If we picked up our pace a bit, the other party also sped up.

    What should I do?

    It didn¡¯t give me a good feeling when they were following us like this, and speeding up when we did.

    In conclusion, we were being targeted, right?

    If we were attacked, would it be at night?

    Evening approached while they maintained the same distance from us.

    Everyone began to prepare to camp out again.

    ¡¸Marina, can I have a moment?¡¹

    Just in case, I decided to give a report to Marina, the leader of the bodyguard mission.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good news, but we might be attacked by thieves tonight, so please be a bit more careful.¡¹

    ¡¸...Wait, what is that supposed to mean?¡¹

    ¡¸They have been following us sincest night, so I suspect that it is likely for them to attack us tonight.¡¹

    ¡¸If you had already noticed, tell me earlier!¡¹

    ¡¸Even if I told you, nothing could be done about it. It¡¯s not like we can speed up, and there¡¯s still a considerable distance to the Royal Capital. In addition, we don¡¯t know when they will attack, and I was concerned that staying alert for a long time wouldn¡¯t be possible.¡¹

    ¡¸That might be the case, but at times like this, we should head to the Royal Capital even faster.¡¹

    ¡¸We would be done for if they attacked us when the horses became exhausted. In which case, moving around as one would expect is better.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have any good ns?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if it¡¯s only thieves and such, it¡¯ll be fine, one way or another. Just, it¡¯ll be troublesome if people moved selfishly. If possible, I would like everyone to stay with the carriage.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, will it really turn out alright somehow?¡¹

    ¡¸Won¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Hey!¡¹

    ¡¸With that, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡¹

    As dinner ended, night arrived.

    Now then, shall I sleep until the thievese?

    While I was sleeping, Swaying Bear woke me up.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear?¡¹

    As my head gradually cleared, I remembered about the thieves.

    When I used detection magic;

    Oh, they¡¯re here, they¡¯re here.

    4-, no, 50 people?

    They were gathering steadily.

    In order not to wake Fina up, I slipped out from Swaying Bear¡¯s embrace.

    If the thieves doe, I¡¯ll tell them to protect everyone.

    Though, it¡¯s not like I would mind if they didn¡¯te.

    ¡¸So, they¡¯vee?¡¹

    Marina came over.

    ¡¸You were awake?¡¹

    ¡¸After you told me that thieves mighte, there was no way I could sleep.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, as for the thieves, roughly fifty of them are gathered a short distance away in this direction.¡¹

    ¡¸50 people...¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ll be going. I don¡¯t think anything should happen, but please take care of everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really going by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because I want those girls to keep sleeping, you see.¡¹

    I nced over at Fina, Noa, and Misa, who were all sleeping while being embraced by the bears.

    The three of them were sleeping quietly.

    I ran towards the thieves in the darkness, while dressed in the ck Bear Dress.

    The thieves had only gathered, and had not moved yet.

    Were they waiting for everyone to get together? I didn¡¯t really understand, even after watching them, but there was an opening while they were gathered.

    I approached stealthily.

    The Bear Shoes allowed me to run up to the thieves without making a sound.

    ¡¸What?!¡¹

    By the time they noticed, it was toote.

    I had already invoked the magic.

    ¡¸Shotgun!¡¹

    Compressed balls of air attacked the thieves.

    One person, who had been riding a horse, was dismounted and flew off backwards.

    Another person next to the horse was sted backwards, leaving the horse unharmed.

    That was because the horse wasn¡¯t bad.

    The balls of air gathered the entire group of thieves into one ce.

    I executed earth magic next, without a moment¡¯s dy.

    A countless number of earthen rods thrusted upwards from the ground, surrounding the fallen thieves.

    The thieves recovered, got up, and tried to run away, but because of the earthen rods, they couldn¡¯t get away.

    There was no way to escape; not through the front, the back, the left, or the right.

    The only way was above them.

    However, in order to cover the top, I used earth magic to cap it off.

    ¡¸Damn it! It won¡¯t break, even with a sword! Someone, use magic!¡¹

    Some of the thieves used magic, but it was reflected by the barrier of the cage; the situation inside had became quite serious, due to the reflected magic.

    ¡¸Stop using magic! We¡¯ll die!¡¹

    ¡¸Damn it! Just what the hell is happening?!¡¹

    ¡¸Someone, use light magic!¡¹

    What they could see, illuminated by the light, was arge cage imprisoning them.

    ¡¸Good evening, everyone in the thief group.¡¹

    They finally noticed my presence when I spoke to them.

    ¡¸What is it, you bitch?!¡¹

    ¡¸Let us out of here!¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think you¡¯ll get away easily, after doing such a thing to us?!¡¹

    Were these guys stupid? Or maybe fools? To not even understand their own positions, in this situation where they had been imprisoned.

    Though I caught the thieves, I could not take them out of the cage.

    For now, let¡¯s use water magic to pour water on them and shut them up.

    ¡¸The next time you open your mouths, I¡¯ll stick fire magic inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! You should know, we¡¯re the Zamon Bandit Group-¡¹

    ¡¸Fire~¡¹

    I tossed a giant ball of me into the cage.

    ¡¸Ouch! Hot! What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡¹

    A magic user inside used water to put out the fire.

    ¡¸I told you, didn¡¯t I? That if you opened your mouths, I would stick fire magic inside. Are you idiots? Morons?¡¹

    ¡¸You bitch...¡¹

    He tried to say something, but I didn¡¯t give him the chance.

    Next, I raised a 30cm tall prop in all four corners of the cage.

    I attached wheels ordingly.

    There wasn¡¯t a suspension spring or something simr for moderating vibrations.

    I wasn¡¯t really thinking of the ride quality, so it didn¡¯t really concern me that the uneven road would probably cause it to shake considerably.

    For the time being, this mobile cage had beenpleted.

    The problem was the power source needed to pull the cage.

    I had thought of using horses for power, but because of the shotgun magic, all of the horses had run away.

    Since I hadn¡¯t injured them, they would probably live.

    I considered my next n for a power source to pull the cage.

    A thought came to mind.

    However, the problem was that it stood out.

    ¡¸Come, Bear!¡¹

    I invoked earth magic and summoned a giant bear made of earth.

    It was a 3-meter tall bear golem.

    When I subjugated the tiger wolves, I had summoned me bears and water bears.

    I remembered that, at the time, I was able to move them ording to my instructions, so I was able toplete golems for each type of bear.

    I could summon bears made of me, water, earth, ice, and wind.

    ¡¸What the hell is that?!¡¹

    The thieves began to shout.

    ¡¸Shut up. The next time you open your mouths, I¡¯ll make this bear attack you, okay?¡¹

    When I said so, the thieves all fell silent.

    Since they had finally quieted down, I had the summoned earth bear golem pull the cage.

    When I returned to the carriage, everyone was already awake.

 Chapter 55 â€“ Bear-san Arrives At The Royal Capital!

    Chapter 55 ¨C Bear-san Arrives At The Royal Capital!

    A/N: It has been two months since I started writing, and I have broken through the 8000 subscriber benchmark. Thank you very much.

    =====================================

    When I returned with the cage that was being pulled by the bear golem, all of the members were already awake.

    ¡¸What, everyone was awake?¡¹

    ¡¸¡±Everyone was awake?¡± is not the right response! There¡¯s no way we can sleep while knowing that fifty thieves are headed this way, right?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. As expected, there¡¯s no way we can sleep in the middle of a probable attack by fifty thieves.¡¹

    Gran-san was also awake.

    Even though it¡¯s bad for the elderly if they don¡¯t sleep.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, in the end, even I don¡¯t think I can remain silent on this matter.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, as expected of you, this time as well...¡¹

    ¡¸Even though I caught the thieves, you¡¯re going to get angry at me?¡¹

    At my words, everyone¡¯s line of sight turned towards the bear golem and the cage of thieves. However, they were troubled about which one they should look at.

    ¡¸Erm, what would be a good starting point to retort with here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a good question. For now, shall we listen to what happened with the thieves?¡¹

    Everyone¡¯s gaze rested on me.

    ¡¸As you can see, since I caught them all, I put them in a cage.¡¹

    ¡¸How did you capture them all by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸With a bit of magic.¡¹

    ¡¸What about that cage?¡¹

    ¡¸I made it using a bit of magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Finally, what about that bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I made it with a bit of magic to pull the cage.¡¹

    The people around me had various reactions: from sighs to looking amazed, to being troubled over what to say.

    Why?

    ¡¸With each question, the number of things I want to retort to increases.¡¹

    Marina looked at me with an astonished expression.

    ¡¸So then, what are you going to do with the thieves?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, what would be good? Bring them to the Royal Capital? Kill them all here?¡¹

    The thieves reacted to myment about killing them.

    ¡¸Could it be, that those thieves are the Zamon band of thieves?¡¹

    Elle, who was looking at the thieves while standing behind Marina, asked.

    ¡¸The Zamon band of thieves?¡¹

    If I remembered correctly, the people in question had also identified themselves as such.

    ¡¸They are a band of thieves that have been rampaging in this area.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right? To have caught that Zamon band of thieves single-handedly?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it that amazing?¡¹

    ¡¸They loot and torture people to force them into emptying their item bags. I heard that they also rape any women they find. A ghastly band of thieves.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, should I kill them?¡¹

    It was a natural reaction, after hearing that they had raped women.

    ¡¸Though it¡¯s troublesome, it would be better to deliver them to the Royal Capital so that the location of their hideout can be extracted. There might be some captured women at their hideout. Normally, it would be better to go rescue them immediately, but we don¡¯t know how many are still at their hideout. Even if we questioned them now, it might take a long time and we won¡¯t even know if it¡¯s urate or not. In addition, not only are you in the middle of guarding us, but there are also the thieves you captured, which is why it is better to go to the Royal Capital instead.¡¹

    Naturally, I had no objections to Marina¡¯s exnation.

    It was troublesome, but I decided to transport the group of thieves to the Royal Capital.

    ¡¸Now then, since our future actions have been decided, let¡¯s sleep. It¡¯s still dark.¡¹

    It was stillte at night. Usually, at this time, we would be in dreand.

    ¡¸You can sleep in this situation?¡¹

    ¡¸With this many thieves nearby, I don¡¯t feel like sleeping at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Me neither.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I also cannot sleep.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    ¡¸As expected, even we are unable to sleep.¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t a single person who approved of my proposal to sleep.

    Although everyone said that they couldn¡¯t sleep, they would still end up sleeping next to these thieves tomorrow.

    In addition, even if they said they couldn¡¯t sleep, there were still many hours until daybreak.

    ¡¸In that case, should we depart instead?¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸I feel a bit sorry for the horses, but since even those like us are unable to sleep, let¡¯s have them do their best. If they get tired along the way, it will be fine to let them rest.¡¹

    At those words, everyone began packing up the camp.

    Are you all serious?

    In the end, in spite of it being in the middle of the night, we decided to depart for the Royal Capital.

    Well, I could just sleep on top of the bear, though.

    After we departed, at around sunrise, we decided to have breakfast, for the sake of also giving the horses a break.

    At that point, the thieves started to raise amotion.

    ¡¸You ought to send us food too, you bastards!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!¡¹

    ¡¸You won¡¯t die if you don¡¯t eat for a few days.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around with us!¡¹

    I sprayed water on the noisy thieves to shut them up.

    By the way, I had confiscated all of the item bags the thieves were carrying.

    Even if there had been food inside, they wouldn¡¯t be able to eat it.

    Those who were able to use magic were only able to summon water.

    The thieves gradually began to weaken.

    This was nothing though, whenpared to the terrible acts the Zamon bandit corps hadmitted.

    At noon, three days after I hunted down the thieves, we could finally see the walls surrounding the Royal Capital.

    Numerous wagons and carriages converged from the various roads that led to the Royal Capital.

    On this asion, the bear golem, summoned bears, and thieves attracted many curious looks.

    As we neared the Royal Capital¡¯s gate, several soldiers, who had been guarding the gate, rushed over.

    ¡¸Hey, what¡¯s this?¡¹

    A gate guard questioned us.

    The person who was chosen to deal with the gate guards was Gran.

    I thought that an exnation from an aristocrat, rather than an adventurer, was more likely to be epted, so Gran presented himself.

    ¡¸We are Gran Faren Gramm, the earl! This is the Zamon group of thieves. We captured them when they attacked us. That bear over there is the product of this youngdy¡¯s magic.¡¹

    Gran exined about the thieves and the bear golem.

    ¡¸Furan Gram-sama, is it? I deeply apologize for this incident. I am Zell, the vicemander of the 15th Company in the Royal Capital.¡¹

    The soldier saluted and properly introduced himself.

    As I thought, Gran was great.

    ¡¸Is it alright to hand over the thieves here?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. So these are the Zamon group of thieves? It¡¯s great that you were able to capture them.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yes. Now then, what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, pleasee this way. We will take the thieves into custody here.¡¹

    We followed Zell,pletely disregarding the long queue into the Royal Capital.

    All of the people lined up to enter were looking over at us.

    More precisely, they were looking at the thieves in the cage, the bear golem, the summoned bears, or me, since I looked like a bear.

    ¡¸What is that? That bear...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a giant bear.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear, hmm.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuma~¡¹

    The carriage was stopped near the gate.

    A lot of soldiers were gathered.

    Even if they were weakened from theck of food, it was still fifty thieves. It would probably be bad if they escaped or became violent.

    ¡¸Now then, could you open the cage?¡¹

    I detached some of the earthen rods.

    The thieves gave up, came out one at a time, and were taken away by the soldiers.

    It was probably because they were weakened from hunger, so they didn¡¯t have much strength to resist.

    When everyone had been taken out, I returned the cage and the bear golem back to the earth.

    Also, even though I wasn¡¯t sure if it would be evidence, I turned over the item bags that the thieves had been carrying.

    ¡¸Thank you for your cooperation. So then, to whom should I report to regarding the processing of the thieves?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, please report to this youngdy, because she was the one who single-handedly captured the thieves.¡¹

    ¡¸I-Is that the truth?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, the youngdy is also a bodyguard for the Foschurose family, which is why the reports should be sent to her.¡¹

    ¡¸The Foschurose family, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸You shoulde to me if there is anything you don¡¯t understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, is it fine for us to enter the Royal Capital? As expected, the long journey has left this old man exhausted.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please go ahead and enter. However, that bear...¡¹

    He looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    As expected, they weren¡¯t allowed to walk inside.

    After telling Fina and Noa to dismount from the two bears, I unsummoned them.

    We walked to the reception desk, showed our guild cards, and passed through the gate.

    ¡¸Noa, where is your house?¡¹

    ¡¸It is in the upper-ss district, so it is a considerable distance from here.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, shall we head there while leisurely sightseeing along the way?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, young misses, you should take my carriage there.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the ce we¡¯re going to...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, because we are going to disembark here. I need to sign off on thepletion of the bodyguard request, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Marina, thanks for putting up with me.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it wasn¡¯t like that at all. If Yuna wasn¡¯t there, the two of us would have died.¡¹

    ¡¸It could not be helped this time, so you don¡¯t need to be discouraged. We shall be counting on you for the return trip as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much. We were also working while anticipating the birthday festival.¡¹

    Marina¡¯s group bowed before leaving.

    ¡¸Well then, it¡¯s fine to get on board, since we¡¯re all headed to the same ce.¡¹

    Since we had no reason to refuse, we decided to take their offer to give us a lift.

    The Royal Capital as seen from the carriage was exuberant.

    ¡¸Due to the birthday festival, people have gathered here from far and wide.¡¹

    Certainly, when we entered the Royal Capital, the queue was long.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I can see it! Mother is there, in grandpa¡¯s house.¡¹

    It wasrger than the feudal lord¡¯s manor back in town.

    How many humans lived in this enormous mansion?

    ¡¸Well then, Noire. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s only while you¡¯re in the Royal Capital, but if you have time, pleasee and be Misa¡¯s ymate.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will certainlye and y.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Noa,e and y, okay? You have to!¡¹

    After we disembarked from the carriage, it raced off.

    ====================================

    It¡¯s the Royal Capital~

 Chapter 56 â€“ Bear-san Gets Involved With Noaâ€™s Big Sister!

    Chapter 56 ¨C Bear-san Gets Involved With Noa¡¯s Big Sister!

    Tatatatatatatatatata

    I heard the sound of someone running somewhere.

    Tatatatatatata

    The footsteps were graduallying closer.

    ¡¸Noa-chan!¡¹

    The person who came running over dove into Noa.

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-chan, I wanted to see you!¡¹

    A woman rubbed her cheek with Noa¡¯s.

    She had beautiful golden hair, just like Noa¡¯s.

    She only looked slightly older than 25, so she was young, especially for being Noa¡¯s mother.

    Their features looked simr too.

    The heck, at exactly what age did you give birth to Noa?

    ¡¸So then, is Cliff not here?¡¹

    The woman surveyed the surroundings.

    ¡¸Father is still working back in town. He told me toe here first, by myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? It¡¯s good that you arrived safely. So then, are you going to introduce me to that child dressed in interesting-looking clothes?¡¹

    It was the first time someone had said that I looked interesting.

    I had already been told that I looked strange in the past.

    Both had good and bad points.

    ¡¸This person who looks like a bear is the adventurer, Yuna-san. She was my escort to the Royal Capital. This person is Fina. A bear friend.¡¹

    What is that? That ¡°fellow bearpanion¡± kind of friend.

    ¡¸I am Yuna, an adventurer. Nice to meet you.¡¹

    ¡¸I am Fina. I came along with Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, what cute children. Let¡¯s not stay out here,e inside.¡¹

    ¡¸But, mother, how did you know that I was in the Royal Capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I told the gate guards to notify me if you or Cliff came, you see. That¡¯s why, when you came, I immediately dropped my work and rushed over.¡¹

    Is it really okay for you to just up and leave your work like that?

    ¡¸Now,e inside and let me hear all about your journey.¡¹

    After we entered therge and expansive mansion, we were taken to the parlor.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll show you to your roomster. For now, please take a seat.¡¹

    We sat down on the sofa and a maid brought drinks.

    I hadn¡¯t had anything to drink for a while, so I received my drink gratefully.

    Umu, it was cold and delicious.

    I sipped at my drink as I turned towards Eleanora-san once more.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, this is something that Cliff-sama entrusted me to bring.¡¹

    I took the Goblin King¡¯s Sword and the letter out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸From that person? What is it, I wonder?¡¹

    Eleanora-san opened the letter and began to read it.

    ¡¸This is a Goblin King¡¯s Sword, isn¡¯t it? He sure was able to prepare quite an unusual thing. Moreover, you were the one who provided it, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not really that great.¡¹

    ¡¸Won¡¯t you stop with that way of talking? Since you don¡¯t seem to be used to speaking that way.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s even written in the letter.¡¹

    ¡¸What exactly is written in there?¡¹

    ¡¸First, absolutely do not antagonize her.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa?¡¹

    ¡¸Next, don¡¯t make her angry, and if there¡¯s trouble, be sure to follow up.¡¹

    ¡¸Sounds like an outrageously troublesome woman, hmm?¡¹

    ¡¸But, it¡¯s also written that she¡¯s kind and an adventurer who Noa has taken a liking to.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸On top of that, he¡¯s ced a lot of trust in you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹

    ¡¸The fact that he entrusted his daughter to you, as the only bodyguard, is evidence. In the first ce, one wouldn¡¯t normally even consider assigning bodyguard duty to just one girl like that. However, to have subjugated 100 goblins, a goblin king, wolves, tiger wolves, and a ck viper by yourself, even I had thought that what was written in this letter was part of an borate joke.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-san is amazing. On the way to the Royal Capital, she also defeated six orcs and captured 50 thieves all by herself, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Guran-sama was also there at the time, so he witnessed it as well.¡¹

    Noa humorously exined what happened before our arrival at the Royal Capital.

    Was it because she was happy to have met her mother after a long time?

    ¡¸Wow, it¡¯s already thiste. Now then, Shia should be returning home at any moment, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she¡¯s my big sister. Shemutes to the royal academy.¡¹

    ¡¸So you have a big sister?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she¡¯s five years older, so we¡¯re a little separated.¡¹

    ¡¸So, in other words, she¡¯s 15 years old?¡¹

    The heck, when did you have that child?

    If you are roughly 25, judging from appearances, then it would mean that you gave birth at 10 years old.

    If assuming that you are roughly 28 years old, then it would be a child at 13 years old...just barely safe, huh?

    If it were in Japan, it would be a strike, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you thinking of something strange?¡¹

    ¡¸No, Eleanora-san looks very young, so I was wondering what age you were when you gave birth to your daughters.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, when you say I look young, how old do you think I am?¡¹

    Eleanora-san blushed and looked happy.

    ¡¸I was thinking around 25, so you would have given birth to Noa when you were 15 years old, but I didn¡¯t think that Noa would also have a sister who was five years older.¡¹

    ¡¸My my, you sure say some nice things. I don¡¯t usually give out my actual age, but I¡¯ll make an exception for Yuna-chan. I will be 33 this year.¡¹

    Lies! Even though you look this young!

    However, would that mean that you had a child when you were 18 years old, then?

    ¡¸Mother is famous for being a beauty.¡¹

    ¡¸My, if that¡¯s the case, then since you¡¯re my daughter, Noa will also be a beauty.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be happy if that happens.¡¹

    Noa looked very happy.

    At that moment, with great timing, the other side of the door became noisy.

    ¡¸Mother, I¡¯m home! Is it true that Noa came?!¡¹

    The door opened and another girl who looked exactly like an older version of Noa entered the room.

    This girl was probably Noa¡¯s older sister, Shia.

    ¡¸Shia, you¡¯re in front of a guest.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me. Eh, a bear?¡¹

    She looked surprised upon seeing me.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. You¡¯re being rude to the bear.¡¹

    You¡¯re also being rude.

    ¡¸Mother, please stop with the jokes.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯m not joking, you know. The one who looks like a bear is Yuna-chan, who escorted Noa to the Royal Capital. The girl next to her is Fina-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸These three girls came to the Royal Capital by themselves? Are you going to kid around to that extent? To say that such a small girl made the journey to the capital all the way from the town.¡¹

    ¡¸You there, won¡¯t you stand up and take off your hood?¡¹

    It¡¯s not like I intended to keep it hidden, so I took my hood off and stood up.

    My long ck hair flowed out into the open.

    ¡¸Saying that a small and cute girl like this is an adventurer is a joke, right? How old are you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m 15 years old, though.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the same age as me? Even though you¡¯re so small.¡¹

    Stop saying ¡°small, small¡± over and over!

    I¡¯ll be growing taller from now on, you see!

    Even though I was the same age as Shia, I was only half a head shorter than her.

    ¡¸Big sister, Yuna-san is strong, you know. Also, even though Yuna-san herself is amazing, her bears are even more amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸Bears?¡¹

    Shia tilted her head in confusion.

    Well, of course, even if you said that the bears were suddenly strong, nobody would understand what you meant, probably.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Then, how about a match? That way, even Shia will probably understand it.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a moment!¡¹

    I would like it if you didn¡¯t decide this without me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, please be my daughter¡¯s opponent. Ah, it¡¯s fine to let her get a little hurt. However, since she¡¯s a girl, please don¡¯t give her any big wounds, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Alright, I¡¯ll ept that challenge.¡¹

    Nobody proposed a fight, so I wish you wouldn¡¯t ept.

    The troublesome matter advanced without anyone asking for my opinion.

    In the end, it was decided that there would be a match, and everyone gathered in the courtyard.

    ¡¸That child, due to the fact that she¡¯s among the stronger people at school, she¡¯s be quite impertinent, so please take her down from her high horse.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother! I¡¯m not particrly cheeky or anything!¡¹

    ¡¸My, really? Didn¡¯t you say that there weren¡¯t any girls who were stronger than you?¡¹

    ¡¸But, that¡¯s the truth, so...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, Yuna-chan, it¡¯s fine for you to defeat this child.¡¹

    Hmm, even if you say that, I¡¯m not sure how far I should go.

    She¡¯s a noble¡¯s daughter, so even if you tell me that it¡¯s okay to hurt her a bit, it will be troublesome if she really gets injured and you bear a grudge.

    ¡¸Erm, it was Yuna-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸For you, are you specialized in swords or magic? I¡¯ll let you choose whichever you want.¡¹

    With this pattern, when I won with a sword, it would be followed up with a magic match, right?

    ¡¸In that case, with swords.¡¹

    The maid-san brought a wooden sword over to me.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m ready anytime, soe!¡¹

    ¡¸You sure?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer and go.¡¹

    I fully released the bear and rushed past Shia¡¯s guard instantly, striking the sword Shia was holding with an upward blow.

    Shia¡¯s sword danced in the air as my sword stopped in front of Shia¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Is this alright?¡¹

    I lowered my sword and separated from Shia.

    It would have been fine if everything finished with just this.

    ¡¸H-Hold on a second!¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸That just now didn¡¯t count.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? You said anything was fine so I attacked, that¡¯s it. No matter how you look at it, there¡¯s no reason to not count that just now.¡¹

    ¡¸But!¡¹

    ¡¸You, if your opponent was a monster or a thief, would you say the same thing? After having not understood the opponent¡¯s skills and lost, would you say ¡°please give me a redo¡± or something?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸If you want a do-over, please do that in school. To begin with, are you actually strong? Are you sure that it¡¯s not because you¡¯re a noble, so the people around you went easy on you?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the case at all!¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll be your opponent however many times as necessary. Bring it on!¡¹

    With people like this, it would take some time before they would acknowledge their loss.

    The type of people that cannot allow themselves to lose.

    Shia picked up her wooden sword and faced me.

    However, her movements were slow.

    I didn¡¯t have any female acquaintances around this age, so I didn¡¯t know if she was strong or weak.

    I brushed off the approaching sword, and held my sword to the back of her neck.

    The sword I had brushed off had neither speed nor power.

    Furthermore, there was no strategy.

    It didn¡¯t seem like she had considered anything, like how the opponent would defend or attack.

    If it was a game, you would have to read the attack pattern, defend, and then attack.

    I only parried and dodged Shia¡¯s sword, and then pointed my sword at her body, which was left defenseless, before the match ended.

    However, maybe she didn¡¯t want to give up or admit defeat, because she confronted me over and over again.

    It looked like it wasn¡¯t possible to make her acknowledge her defeat with just that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if you use magic, though I won¡¯t use it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll make you regret those words!¡¹

    Fire gathered in Shia¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Fireball!¡¹

    A fireball flew towards me.

    It was easy for me to evade a single ball of fire though.

    ¡¸Fireball! Fireball!¡¹

    When I evaded it, consecutive fireballs flew at me.

    Because she couldn¡¯t hit me with a sword, she repeatedly fired fireballs instead.

    What were they teaching her in school, I wonder?

    It wasn¡¯t an issue about being strong or weak anymore.

    This wasn¡¯t a way to fight.

    Even if you were capable of using both a sword and magic, there wasn¡¯t any meaning if you couldn¡¯tbine the two when attacking.

    Even a newbie gamer of only a few months knew this.

    Was it a difference in experience?

    In the game world, I had crushed numerous people in PVP.

    Or it could be said that they picked fights with me.

    If it were this world, people would fight and try to kill each other without holding back. In the game, even if you lost, you wouldn¡¯t die. You could experience sudden battles. I experienced dangerous battles many times over.

    However, in this world, such experiences were impossible.

    If you lost, you would die.

    I passed through the magic, and approached Shia, and held back as I hit her stomach with a bear punch.

    ¡¸Kuh...¡¹

    Shia bent at the waist, and dropped down to the ground on one knee.

    Did I go a little too far?

    ¡¸That¡¯s enough.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m still...¡¹

    ¡¸You should understand that I¡¯m going easy on you, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s over.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    Shia hung her head.

    ¡¸With that, let¡¯s have a meal!¡¹

    Shia obediently abided by her mother¡¯s words.

    Everyone listened to Eleanora-san¡¯s words, and headed to the dining room.

    Certainly, I felt hungry now.

    ¡¸So then, let¡¯s start the celebration for Noa¡¯s arrival to the Royal Capital, and Yuna-chan and Fina-chan¡¯s wee party.¡¹

    The weing dinner party began.

    Fina, who was next to me, remained silent ever since she entered the mansion, and during the meal, she was even nibbling at her meal with small bites.

    Was it not delicious?

    On its own, I thought that it was delicious, but when Ipared it to Japanese food, the voring felt light.

    There was a taste of sugar, salt, and spice, but from a Japanese person¡¯s perspective, it was somewhat lonely without soy sauce or miso.

    ¡¸Mother, do you think that everyone at school and the teachers are going easy on me? That I¡¯m just being conceited...¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I don¡¯t think that that¡¯s the case. Yuna-chan is out of the norm, you know. If I had to say it, she should probably be a B-ranked adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸B rank...¡¹

    Even if you said B rank, I still didn¡¯t understand what it meant.

    Since I didn¡¯t have any acquaintances who were B-rank.

    I also didn¡¯t know how strong B-rank was.

    ¡¸Mother, even if you say that, that¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸She subjugated a group of 100 goblins, a Goblin King, many orcs, a pair of Tiger Wolves, and a ck Viper. Then, it seems like she also captured the Zamon bandit group. Moreover, all by herself.¡¹

    I¡¯ll shout it out over and over again!

    Where the hell is the Personal Information Protection Law!

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, it¡¯s not something you have to get depressed over. It¡¯s just, I wanted you to know that a child of the same age, who is even stronger than you, exists.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Yuna-san, I apologize for my behavior from a while ago.¡¹

    She apologized obediently.

    Was she a good child after all?

    ¡¸But, Yuna-san can also use magic, right?¡¹

    ¡¸More or less.¡¹

    ¡¸So you¡¯re good with that too, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸In addition, Yuna-san has bear-sans, so she¡¯s even more amazing, you know!?¡¹

    ¡¸You said that earlier as well, but what do you mean by bears?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re Yuna-san¡¯s summoned beasts, and they¡¯re super cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts...you can even do something like that?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, could you show those bears to me next time as well?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine.¡¹

    After that, once the meal was over, we were guided to our rooms.

    Because of Fina¡¯s request, she stayed in the same room as me.

    ===================================

    I wrote a list of the characters as Chapter 0.

    The author is like you, so if I forget a character, please refer to it.

    As the author, I might immediately forget.

    Because it is casually written.

 Chapter 57 â€“ Bear-san Goes to the Royal Capitalâ€™s Commerce Guild

    Chapter 57 ¨C Bear-san Goes to the Royal Capital¡¯s Commerce Guild

    After we entered the room and the two of us were alone, Fina and I both let out a big sigh before sitting on the beds.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, today was tiring.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m all right, but is it really okay for someone like me to stay at an aristocrat¡¯s house?¡¹

    ¡¸I thought you were rather quiet, but you were thinking about such a thing.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because if I blurted out something strange and offended someone, it would trouble my family.¡¹

    In the end, that was how nobles seemed from amoner¡¯s point of view.

    ¡¸Well then, now that the escort request has also been dealt with, shall we look for an Inn? Fina can also calm down that way, right?¡¹

    ¡¸But, the money-¡¹

    ¡¸That much is fine. Fina doesn¡¯t need to worry about the money, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to hear any more ¡®buts¡¯. Anyway, we¡¯ll look for an inn tomorrow, so let¡¯s call it a day and go to sleep already.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    We got into our respective beds and slept to recover from the day¡¯s fatigue.

    The next morning, Fina was already awake and was sitting on the bed with a bored look on her face, having nothing to do.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning to you as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re already up.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I woke up at my usual time, but there was nothing for me to do.¡¹

    Ever since her mother had fallen ill, Fina had woken up early in the morning to do the housework and to work at the guild.

    It had probably be a habit for her to get up early in the morning.

    ¡¸Then, after I get changed, shall we head to the dining room?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it still too early?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s too early, we should go outside to eat. In that case, we can also search for an inn along the way.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really going to look for an inn? I can bear with it here, if that¡¯s what you are worried about.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not for Fina¡¯s sake. I also don¡¯t feel at ease in this house.¡¹

    The dining room was empty when we arrived.

    It seemed that a noble¡¯s morning startedte.

    For the time being, we decided to search for someone who would be able to give us permission to go out.

    When we left the dining room and entered the hallway, we found the maid from yesterday.

    ¡¸Well, if isn¡¯t Yuna-sama and Fina-sama. You¡¯re both up early.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. I¡¯d like to have a meal. Is it possible? If not, then I was thinking of heading out.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it is fine. Please wait for a short while in the dining room.¡¹

    While we were waiting in the dining room, Eleanora-san entered.

    ¡¸Ara, you¡¯re up early.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. Having a meal already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what are your ns for today?¡¹

    Since she asked about our ns, I decided to speak honestly.

    ¡¸To look for an inn.¡¹

    ¡¸An inn? Why? It¡¯s fine if you stay here until the end of the birthday festival.¡¹

    ¡¸For some reason, it seems that amoner like me cannot calm down inside an aristocrat¡¯s house.¡¹

    ¡¸However, I think that will be impossible. Thanks to the birthday festival, there is a huge influx of people here, so I think the inns will be overflowing.¡¹

    The birthday festival, huh?

    The inns are definitely impossible, huh?

    In that case, it¡¯s a little earlier than nned, but should I find a house to install a Bear Gate in?

    ¡¸That¡¯s all right, because there is still an alternative.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Still, it¡¯s fine for you to stay in this house for as long as you like. Cliff also wrote as much.¡¹

    Fina and I, who had finished eating breakfast, went outside.

    While we were in the middle of eating breakfast, the sisters, Noa and Shia, didn¡¯t wake up at all.

    For Noa, it was probably the first chance to sleep inte after a long time.

    After all, during the trip we had always departed at sunrise.

    While wandering around the Royal Capital, we visited several inns.

    I forgot while I was in the town of Crimonia, but my bear appearance is really eye-catching.

    Any person we passed turned to look at me, without fail.

    Then, without fail; ¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹ ¡¸A bear?¡¹ ¡¸Cute.¡¹ ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹ ¡¸It¡¯s a bear-san.¡¹

    Such statements were heard.

    ¡¸Fina, sorry about this, I¡¯m standing out quite a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, I¡¯m used to it.¡¹

    Smiling and telling me that you¡¯ve be used to it doesn¡¯t make me happy though.

    We explored the Royal Capital while I worried about the stares.

    As Eleanora-san had said, no matter where we looked, the inns were full.

    For the sake of carrying out the next n, I headed to the Commerce Guild.

    I didn¡¯t know where it was located, so I asked for the location at thest inn and headed in that direction.

    Inparison to the one in Crimonia, the size of the Royal Capital¡¯s Commerce Guild was unbelievably massive.

    There were a lot of people entering and leaving.

    I entered the Commerce Guild and looked for a receptionist.

    It sure is crowded in here.

    However, there was also a considerable number of receptionists.

    Erm, what should I do?

    I nced around.

    Apparently, you picked up a number ticket and went to the reception counter when your number was called.

    I lined up where they were distributing numbered tickets and received one.

    Naturally, I was also the center of attention when I lined up.

    If it were Japan, it would probably be simr to lining up in pajamas.

    I couldn¡¯t help being conspicuous.

    I received ticket number 213.

    At the moment, they were calling number 178.

    It seemed as though it would take some time for my turn to arrive, as there were only seven receptionists.

    To my surprise, it seemed that the numbers were called rather quickly.

    After we waited for 30 minutes, our number was called.

    ¡¸Wee. What kind of business brings you here today?¡¹

    The receptionist¡¯s smile disappeared for an instant upon seeing my appearance, but it returned quickly.

    As expected of the receptionists of the Royal Capital.

    They didn¡¯t judge people by their appearances.

    However, I wasn¡¯t sure what was going on inside her head.

    ¡¸I want to buynd in the Royal Capital, is it possible to do so?¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, but do you have a guild card? ¡¹

    I handed over the guild card.

    ¡¸Please wait just a moment.¡¹

    The guild card was ced on the crystal te.

    ¡¸Commerce Guild Rank F, Yuna-san, am I correct?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Incidentally, how do you n to use thend?¡¹

    ¡¸I just n to build a house normally.¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, for living in the Royal Capital, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That is still undecided. My main residence is in Crimonia, so I was simply nning on using the house in the Royal Capital as a secondary residence.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Then, let me exin the regtions regarding thend. Firstly, the area in the vicinity of the castle is the noble¡¯s district, so I cannot sell you thend there. Next,nd in the middle-ss district cannot be purchased without a letter of introduction. Thus, the only area left where I can sell yound is the lower-ss district.¡¹

    ¡¸...A letter of introduction?¡¹

    The letter of introduction that I received from Mylene-san came to mind.

    ¡¸Can this be considered a letter of introduction?¡¹

    ¡¸I will confirm it. ¡¹

    The receptionist opened the letter of introduction and examined it.

    ¡¸This is...yes, I have confirmed it.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you think?¡¹

    ¡¸I apologize. I cannot make this decision on my own, please wait a bit.¡¹

    The receptionist left her seat and went into the interior of the guild.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you buyingnd?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because I have the money, and I feel that it will be convenient in the future.¡¹

    When I¡¯m not there, it¡¯ll be an unupied house, but the Bear House can be set to disallow entry to unauthorized people, so there is no problem.

    ¡¸Oya, if it isn¡¯t the youngdy.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san? And Eleanora-san? Why are the two of you here?¡¹

    When I turned around, Gran-san and Eleanora-san were there.

    ¡¸That¡¯s my line. Why is Yuna-chan here in the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking about purchasingnd for the sake of building a house, but it seems impossible to buy it without a letter of introduction. I handed over the letter of introduction that I received from the Commerce Guild in Crimonia and am waiting for it to be inspected.¡¹

    ¡¸A letter of introduction? In that case, shall we write you one?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with writing one for you too, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸That would be a big help, but is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because this life was saved by you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because you have been taking care of Cliff and my daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸So, why are the two of you here?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, you see, after Yuna-chan left, a soldier came to the house in regards to the thieves who were caught yesterday. When I told him that Yuna-chan wasn¡¯t there, he said he would go to Gran¡¯s manor, so I apanied him. Somehow, there was a person in the barracks who wanted to exin some things, so he said that he hoped Gran woulde to the barracks. Therefore, we nned to go to the barracks, but Gran said that he had business at the Commerce Guild to tend to first. That brings us to just a few moments ago.¡¹

    ¡¸And then, young miss was here.¡¹

    I see.

    ¡¸In that case, would it be better for me to apany you to the barracks as well?¡¹

    Although it¡¯s troublesome.

    ¡¸From what I heard from the soldier, he did say that he hoped you woulde, as it¡¯s a conversation concerning the bounty.¡¹

    ¡¸The bounty?¡¹

    ¡¸When you caught the thieves, weren¡¯t they carrying a lot of weapons and tools? Those were turned over, but all of them should have fallen under young miss¡¯ ownership.¡¹

    In that case, wouldn¡¯t it be bad if I didn¡¯t go?

    Incidental ie was also appreciated.

    While I was deep in discussion with Gran-san and Eleanora-san, the receptionistdy returned.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting. Regarding thend purchase, if it¡¯s near the middle or lower ss districts, it is possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Around where?¡¹

    She opened a map of the Royal Capital and pointed out the areas to me with her finger.

    ¡¸What, isn¡¯t this near the edge of the city?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re certainly right.¡¹

    The two unrted people also peeked at the map.

    ¡¸The youngdy over there, lend us some paper. We will write a letter of introduction.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Lend me some paper as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, who are the two of you?¡¹

    ¡¸We are Gran Faren Gramm.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora Forchurose.¡¹

    ¡¸Earl Faren Gramm and Missus Earl Foschurose?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, if this fellow needs a letter of introduction, we will write one. Now, go prepare betternd than this.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-Yes! I¡¯ll prepare it immediately!¡¹

    The receptionist quickly stood up and dashed to the back room.

    Within moments, an elderly woman came out.

    ¡¸What! When she mentioned Earl Faren Gramm, I thought it was the younger one, but it was the gramps, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸What is this granny saying?¡¹

    ¡¸On top of that, the youngdy from Foschurose, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸As expected of you, even though I¡¯m no longer of the age where I can be called youngdy.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you two going to be this strangely dressed girl¡¯s guarantors?¡¹

    Strangely dressed, she said!

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right, so hurry it up.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene aside, why would you back this kind of little girl?¡¹

    ¡¸For us, it is because this youngdy saved this life of ours.¡¹

    ¡¸As for me, it is because both my husband and daughter are also indebted to this young girl.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, is that so. Well, fine. If you are going to be her guarantors, I¡¯ll prepare some suitablend. So then, little girl, you have money, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Though I don¡¯t know how much thend here will cost, even if you name a price that¡¯s a hundred times the price in Crimonia...¡¹

    ¡¸Hmph, it¡¯s great if you can joke like that.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t necessarily a joke though.

    Even a thousand-fold was no problem.

    ¡¸For now, do you have any requests?¡¹

    ¡¸If possible, a ce with good public order and low pedestrian traffic. Furthermore, as an extravagant request, I would be happy if it were close to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Quite a greedy little girl you are. Well, fine. In that case, how about around here?¡¹

    The olddy indicated a single point on the map.

    Since I wasn¡¯t familiar with the Royal Capital, I didn¡¯t really understand it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s close to the upper-ss area, so if it¡¯s around here, the public order should be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸In addition, onlyrge manors are lined up here, so other than the people who live in this neighborhood, the number of passersby will also be low.¡¹

    ¡¸If you follow along this big road, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is also nearby. Youngdy, this ce is good.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, the rest depends on the price. Well, if you don¡¯t have enough, I can also help cover it.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, since she is your acquaintance, the price should be roughly around this much.¡¹

    I looked at the offered price.

    It was an amount I could fully pay.

    It was unexpectedly cheap.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this a bit expensive? There¡¯s no building there, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say stupid things. For such a conveniently located piece ofnd in the Royal Capital, even this much is considerably cheap, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸What does Gran think?¡¹

    ¡¸For starters, can the youngdy even afford this?¡¹

    ¡¸I can pay it, but the cheaper it is, the happier I¡¯ll be.¡¹

    ¡¸Little girl, are you sure you can pay this? This isn¡¯t something a rich kid¡¯s pocket money will buy, you know. This isn¡¯t an amount that an aristocrat would be able to pay easily, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t particrly have to be in one lump sum, right?¡¹

    Eleanora sent me a lifeboat.

    ¡¸If this little girl were the daughter of an aristocrat or of a famous merchant, then that would be fine. For anyone else, anything besides a lump sum is out of the question.¡¹

    ¡¸If I pay it all at once, you¡¯ll sell it to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, even paying by card is fine, but after looking at your guild card, the amount of money in the card doesn¡¯t even amount to ten percent of the amount needed to pay for thisnd.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay if I take it out here?¡¹

    ¡¸If you have articles to show, then take them out and show me. Once you¡¯ve taken them out, I¡¯ll even consider giving you a discount.¡¹

    If you say that, then I have no choice but to take it out.

    I produced money from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸W-Wait a minute.¡¹

    I ignored her and pulled out some gold coins.

    The gold coins piled up into arge mountain on top of the counter.

    ¡¸I told you to wait! Don¡¯t put all that gold on this small counter!¡¹

    Telling me to take it out and then not to take it out, what a selfish old grandma.

    ¡¸The surrounding people will be astonished, so put it away. It¡¯s my loss. This isn¡¯t the ce for makingrge mary transactions. Let¡¯s go to another room.¡¹

    I put it away immediately, so nobody noticed me taking out arge sum of money.

    Gran-san and Eleanora-san were standing around me, and we were also in a blind spot.

    With the grandma¡¯s guidance, we headed to a separate room.

    ¡¸In ordance with my promise earlier, I¡¯ll let you have a 20% discount. As such, any more than this is impossible.¡¹

    I took out the gold coins once more.

    ¡¸At any rate, who in the world are you? The child of arge merchant or something? But, if that were the case, then you would already be in my intelligencework. Or is it that you¡¯re the illegitimate child of some noble somewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just an ordinary adventurer, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmph, so you have no intention of telling me, huh? Well, I¡¯ll understand after I investigate a bit.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t that impossible?

    No matter how much you investigated, my birth information was probably impossible to understand.

    ¡¸Well, since you have a guarantor and money this time, the Commerce Guild doesn¡¯t have a problem. Here, the contract. With this, this piece ofnd is yours.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Your gratitude ain¡¯t necessary. If you n to build a house, I¡¯ll give you some advice.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s all right, I have that covered.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then, with this, we¡¯re done.¡¹

    The grandma gave off an air of annoyance as she drove us out of the room.

    Well, once I got ahold of thend, we had no other business, so we also left the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸So then, Yuna-chan, what are you going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t I mention the summons to the barracks regarding that matter from yesterday?¡¹

    Ah, the matter with the thieves, huh?

    Though it was troublesome, there was also the incidental ie.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go. Is Fina okay with that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll alsoe along, so it shouldn¡¯t be troublesome¡¹

    The four of us headed to the barracks on Gran-san¡¯s carriage, which was waiting outside of the guild.

 Chapter 58 â€“ Bear-san Constructs a Bear House in the Royal Capital

    Chapter 58 ¨C Bear-san Constructs a Bear House in the Royal Capital

    When we arrived at the barracks, the gate guard who had been there when I turned over the bandit group was waiting.

    He was supposed to be the vicemander of hispany or something, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken.

    I had forgotten his name.

    ¡¸I apologize for any inconveniences I¡¯ve caused by calling you here today.¡¹

    The vicemander lowered his head towards Gran-san and Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸So, why did you call us here?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ve confirmed the location of the Zamon group of thieves¡¯ hideout, as well as their exact numbers. Their hideout seems to be located in a cavern in the mountains west of here. There are 20 remaining members, and there seems to be several captured women there.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, you ought to immediately head out and rescue them!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but there seems to be a bit of an issue.¡¹

    ¡¸An issue?¡¹

    ¡¸A great number of people have gathered in the Royal Capital due to the birth festival. The soldiers and guards are dealing with them, so there are no spare soldiers.¡¹

    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you just put out a request at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, since Gran-san has said as such, umm, was it Yuna-san?¡¹

    He was looking at me, so I nodded.

    ¡¸Yuna-san¡¯s permission is necessary.¡¹

    ¡¸Mine?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, is it about the right of ownership for the thieves¡¯ possessions?¡¹

    Gran-san said, as if he had just remembered it.

    For the sake of my own understanding, an exnation please!

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. Yuna-san already captured 50 of the 70 people from the Zamon band of thieves. However, their hideout has not been suppressed. Normally, when thieves are defeated, they cannot be stripped for materials, unlike monsters. Thus, there would be no merit for adventurers to defeat them, which is why there is the right to obtain the weapons, tools, and armors the thieves are carrying. That also includes the treasure gathered by the thieves.¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, if a request is ced, then the treasure that the adventurers discover would be theirs?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but this time, Yuna-san captured the group of bandits by herself, and we were able to obtain the information because of that. Due to that, we cannot send out a request to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild by ourselves. Even if we decided to send out a request, we could not do it without Yuna-san¡¯s permission, especially if you have not decided on an amount of reward money.¡¹

    ¡¸How troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that can¡¯t be helped, right? Even though this is information we obtained on our own, other people might consider it to be stealing. There is no issue if the youngdy goes on the thief extermination herself though.¡¹

    ¡¸Troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna... ¡¹

    Fina looked at me with a stunned expression.

    Please don¡¯t look at me with such eyes.

    Troublesome things are still troublesome.

    It would be better if it were just killing them, but there were also people to protect, so I couldn¡¯t use the bears, and it would also take a lot of time.

    There were no other words to describe it but troublesome.

    ¡¸In that case, shall I gather soldiers from my side?¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama?¡¹

    Eleanora, who had been listening without a word, suddenly made a suggestion.

    ¡¸Is that alright?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. The soldiers will gain some actualbat experience, and there are probably people who are tired of just guard duty as well.¡¹

    ¡¸But in that case, the defense will...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. For that, I can just make some adjustments to the paperwork.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. In that case, Eleanora-sama, we will be looking forward to your sess.¡¹

    ¡¸Like this, Yuna-chan is also fine with it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really understand it, but please do.¡¹

    ¡¸If the soldiers go on the subjugation, the right to the treasures will be shared with Yuna-chan. Well, you¡¯ll only receive a little bit, though. I¡¯ll need to dispatch the soldiers at once, so I¡¯ll be going, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, you know. Then, I¡¯ll see you again tonight.¡¹

    Eleanora-san left the barracks.

    ¡¸Also, Yuna-san, please collect the stuff here.¡¹

    When I looked, the dirty swords and armors from before, along with other misceneous items, were lined up.

    ¡¸These are the belongings of the thieves that Yuna-san caught. As I said before, the stuff here now belongs to Yuna-san.¡¹

    Erm, but each and every one of them was filthy, though.

    I really didn¡¯t have any need for such foul things.

    ¡¸Can I ask you to dispose of it all?¡¹

    That¡¯s right, I tried asking first.

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll deal with it all and make arrangements for the money received from selling them. Will sending it to Eleanora-sama¡¯s house be alright?¡¹

    Oh, it looked like there would be proceeds after disposing of everything.

    How kind.

    As I was looking over the thieves¡¯ belongings once more, something caught my eye.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹

    I pointed at a drawstring bag.

    ¡¸This? It¡¯s probably an item bag.¡¹

    This was an item bag.

    Was it an item like the Bear Box?

    If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, the amount that could be ced inside the bag wasn¡¯t normal.

    ¡¸Among these, which one has the most capacity?¡¹

    ¡¸For that, it is probably this one. Since the head of the Zamon thief corps was carrying it, it has arge capacity.¡¹

    I received the item bag.

    It was roughly the size of a handbag.

    The other item bags looked simr.

    The smallest one there could even fit in a pants pocket.

    ¡¸In the end, can I have the thieves¡¯ item bags?¡¹

    All of the item bags were handed over to me.

    Altogether, there were approximately thirty.

    I received them gratefully, and put them away in the Bear Box.

    With that, my business was finished, and I thanked Gran-san, who hade along.

    ¡¸Gran-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸No, we don¡¯t mind at all, you know. If young miss hadn¡¯t caught them all, we probably would have died.¡¹

    Gran-san seemed to have some business after this, so we parted ways here.

    After separating from Gran-san, Fina and I headed to thend I bought from the Commerce Guild.

    Although I knew the location, thanks to the map of the Royal Capital that I had purchased earlier, the Royal Capital was still way toorge.

    Inside the Royal Capital, there were carriages that looked like buses running back and forth.

    I wasn¡¯t in a hurry, so we took our time to look around while heading to the purchased property.

    ¡¸Fina, are you okay? Aren¡¯t you tired?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m okay, but there sure is an amazing amount of people here.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Should I say, as expected of the Royal Capital? Since there are many people here because of the birthday festival.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can I hold your hand to avoid getting lost?¡¹

    ¡¸My hand...¡¹

    I look at the Bear puppet.

    ¡¸Is this good enough?¡¹

    I held Fina¡¯s hand in its mouth.

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much.¡¹

    Fina made a happy expression.

    We arrived at the purchased plot ofnd.

    ¡¸This is the correct ce, right?¡¹

    I nced around andpared the map with our surroundings.

    ¡¸Yes, probably.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this ratherrge?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really big.¡¹

    Thend indicated by the map wasrge.

    The area was over four times the size of thend back in town, where I built the Bear House.

    In other words, big enough to hold four Bear Houses.

    When I nced at the neighboring houses, they were quite far away.

    For the sake of confirmation, I checked the names on the houses on both sides.

    ¡¸It¡¯s correct, it seems.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, did you really buy this wide piece ofnd?¡¹

    ¡¸Looks like it.¡¹

    For the time being, I took out the Bear House that I had made to use in the Royal Capital.

    ¡¸It¡¯s small, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    The house that I had prepared was the same size as the Bear House in town.

    It stood alone on a piece ofnd that was more than four timesrger than it.

    The size of thend and the size of the house didn¡¯t match.

    The sense of incongruity was too much.

    In addition, because it was located near the upper-ss district, the surrounding houses were alsorge.

    Well, before that, a house that looked like a bear already felt out of ce.

    Even if it bothered me now, there was nothing I could do about it, so I didn¡¯t worry about it and entered the Bear House.

    ¡¸The inside is the same, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸More or less. If it¡¯s different, I can¡¯t calm down, you see.¡¹

    Thanks to the Bear Shoes, I wasn¡¯t tired, but Fina, who had been walking around, should be tired, so I brought out some fruit juice while we rested.

    ¡¸What are we going to do after this?¡¹

    ¡¸Is Fina not tired?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just a little tired.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, shall we at least head back to Noa¡¯s house first? Since we must let them know that we will be staying in this house.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it would be good if Noire-sama doesn¡¯t get angry.¡¹

    ¡¸We did slip away quietly after all. However, she was sleeping, so it couldn¡¯t be helped, you know.¡¹

    We decided to go to Noa¡¯s house after we finished drinking the fruit juice.

    The next day, the neighboring residents would be surprised by the Bear House that suddenly appeared.

 Chapter 59 â€“ Bear-san Makes Flower Beds With Maid-san

    Chapter 59 ¨C Bear-san Makes Flower Beds With Maid-san

    ¡¸Yuna-san! Why did you go out and leave me behind?!¡¹

    When we returned to the mansion, an angry Noa was waiting.

    ¡¸Why, you ask? I ate breakfast and even waited for a while, but you didn¡¯t wake up ande downstairs.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuuuu...¡¹

    ¡¸So, when did you get up?¡¹

    ¡¸...Just slightly before noon.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, just where am I at fault?¡¹

    ¡¸You could have juste and woken me up, right?¡¹

    She said while sulking.

    ¡¸Although I did wake you up during the trip, there shouldn¡¯t be a need for that anymore, right? In addition, wasn¡¯t your body tired during the whole trip because you only slept that much?¡¹

    ¡¸Un-, I understand. So then, where did Yuna-san and Fina end up going?¡¹

    ¡¸We went out to look for an inn.¡¹

    ¡¸An inn?¡¹

    ¡¸You see, the bodyguard work is over, so it wouldn¡¯t be good for us to stay here and take advantage of your hospitality indefinitely.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though it¡¯s fine for you to stay here as long as you want?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve received Cliff¡¯s permission for that, okay? Besides, the ce we¡¯re staying at is nearby, so you cane to y at anytime.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸Noire-sama, Big Sis Yuna bought somend in the Royal Capital and built a Bear House there, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Erm, a Bear House exactly like the one back in town?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s pretty close, along the way to the middle-ss area.¡¹

    ¡¸But...Fina is also going to leave, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, since Big Sis Yuna brought me here.¡¹

    ¡¸But, if Yuna-san leaves, then the bear-sans will...¡¹

    As Noa understood, more or less, she grew depressed.

    It¡¯s not me, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that you don¡¯t want to separate from, huh.

    ¡¸In that case, do you want to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for the afternoon?¡¹

    ¡¸Really?! Then, let¡¯s go to the garden immediately!¡¹

    Noa took me to the garden.

    It was wider than the garden of the feudal lord¡¯s manor in town.

    ¡¸Noa-sama, is something wrong?¡¹

    When we arrived at the garden, we found the maid-san who was always taking care of me.

    ¡¸Suririna, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was thinking of nting flowers in this garden, with the madam¡¯s permission.¡¹

    ¡¸But, are you troubled by something?¡¹

    She certainly looked like she was worrying about something.

    ¡¸Yes, what should I call this rock...this ¡®boulder¡¯ is in the way.¡¹

    Certainly, there was a boulder several timesrger than Swaying Bear in the garden.

    ¡¸Why is there such a boulder in the estate¡¯s garden?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure, it was already here when I started serving here.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what do you n to do?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking of cing a request for its removal somewhere, but I was wondering where would be a good ce to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸Shall I do it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-sama will?¡¹

    She looked me over from top to bottom, then again from bottom to top.

    ¡¸Erm, it might be impossible, though?¡¹

    How rude.

    Didn¡¯t you learn from your parents that it¡¯s bad to judge people based on appearances?

    ¡¸Not really. If it¡¯s just removing it, then using an item bag should be fine.¡¹

    I approached the boulder and put it into the Bear Box.

    The buried boulder disappeared.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a-amazing. It¡¯s my first time seeing an item bag you can put boulders into.¡¹

    ¡¸What should I do with this boulder? If it¡¯s disposable, then I¡¯ll throw it away the next time I go outside.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if it¡¯s not too inconvenient, may I ask you to do so?¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I need to prepare for the creation of the flower beds, so please excuse me.¡¹

    Suririna-san lowered her head and headed off.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the bear-sans please!¡¹

    In response to Noa¡¯s request, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Noa and Fina started to y with them. Though I said that, they were just hugging them, riding on top of them, and running around the grounds.

    While I was watching them y, Suririna-san returned while carrying a shovel.

    Was she nning to do it alone, by any chance?

    I had thought that she was going to submit a request to some traders somewhere, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    I went over to Suririna-san.

    ¡¸Should I lend a hand?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that alright with you?¡¹

    ¡¸The two of them are like that, so I have some free time.¡¹

    ¡¸Are those Yuna-sama¡¯s bear-sans? Docile, aren¡¯t they?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, they are summoned beasts after all.¡¹

    I began to make the flower beds with Suririna-san.

    First, we filled in the hole that was created when I removed the boulder.

    ¡¸Roughly how much space will the flower beds take?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right. I was nning for it to be from here to somewhere over there.¡¹

    Unexpectedly wide.

    ¡¸In that case, please give me instructions. I¡¯ll do it using magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-sama is capable of using earth magic, hmm.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you stop with that ¡®Yuna-sama¡¯? Just Yuna is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, is ¡®Yuna-san¡¯ alright with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Un, that¡¯s fine.¡¹

    As expected, -sama didn¡¯t suit me.

    With that kind of feeling, Suririna the maid-san and I began making the flower beds.

    We lined the border of the flower beds with bricks, improved the drainage, and prepped the soil for use.

    While we were making the flower beds, it became noisy behind us.

    ¡¸Noa! What are you doing?!¡¹

    ¡¸Elder sister.¡¹

    Shia had apparently returned from school.

    ¡¸Hurry ande over here.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Why is there a bear here? What are the soldiers doing?!¡¹

    ¡¸Elder sister, it¡¯s alright. This bear-san is Yuna-san¡¯s summoned beast.¡¹

    ¡¸A summoned beast?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. That¡¯s why it¡¯s obedient and cute, you know.¡¹

    Noa wrapped her arms around Swaying Bear¡¯s neck in a hug.

    ¡¸Is it really safe?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I journeyed all the way from town to the Royal Capital on this bear-san¡¯s back, you know.¡¹

    Noa rode on Swaying Bear¡¯s back to show her.

    ¡¸These children are very smart, so they won¡¯t harm people.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Elder sister, won¡¯t you try touching it too? It¡¯s alright.¡¹

    Shia timidly touched Swaying Bear.

    When she understood that Swaying Bear was docile, she tried patting it gently.

    ¡¸It sure is soft.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is very pleasant to the touch.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s also such beautiful fur. I¡¯ve never seen fur like this before.¡¹

    Once Shia understood that the bears were safe, she also started frolicking with them.

    Suririna-san and I resumed our work on the flower beds.

    Following Suririna-san¡¯s instructions, I made them using magic.

    Magic sure was convenient.

    Doing something that I wasn¡¯t able to do before was fun.

    I lost many things aftering to this world, but I also gained a lot.

    I made the flower beds one by one with magic, but Suririna-san was unexpectedly sensitive to details with her instructions, so it took longer than I had anticipated.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you very much. I didn¡¯t think that this would be finished in one day.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have seeds?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I have prepared seeds of the flowers that the madam loves.¡¹

    ¡¸I hope it is beautiful when it blooms.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I shall do my best to raise them.¡¹

    When I looked around the garden, two bears and three girls werefortably asleep.

    ==================================

    Recently, whenever I write, ¡°Why did it turn out like this?¡± is what goes through my mind.

 Chapter 60 â€“ Bear-san Obtains Potatoes

    Chapter 60 ¨C Bear-san Obtains Potatoes

    When I went to wake the three who were still sleeping,

    ¡¸What is everyone doing in the garden?¡¹

    Eleanora-san came over.

    ¡¸Wee back, madam.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, the way those three are sleeping looks reallyfortable.¡¹

    She wore a warm expression as she watched the three of them sleep while being embraced by Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Are those bears Yuna-chan¡¯s summoned beasts?¡¹

    ¡¸The ck one is Swaying Bear, and the white one is Hugging Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸What cute names. Is it alright if I touch them?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright as long as you don¡¯t harm them.¡¹

    Eleanora-san approached and touched Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸It¡¯s warm and pleasant to touch. Like this, one couldn¡¯t help but want to sleep.¡¹

    She smiled while gazing at the three young girls.

    ¡¸What are the two of you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸I was fixing the flower beds with Yuna-san¡¯s assistance.¡¹

    Suririna-san showed off the flower beds we made together.

    ¡¸Ah, the flower beds you were talking about the other day, right? Did you do this in a single day? They¡¯re beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-san¡¯s magic was splendid, and made them ording to the image I had in mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Yuna-chan, thank you. It seems we have given you all sorts of trouble.¡¹

    She looked at the beautifullypleted flower beds and at the girls who were sleeping in the bears¡¯ embrace.

    ¡¸I really must reward you with something to show my gratitude.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not necessary, since you helped me out today.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that matter, huh. Since I dispatched the soldiers immediately, the thieves should be subjugated in a few days, so you can rest easy.¡¹

    ¡¸They won¡¯t run away?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right. If you caught all of the thieves that attacked you, then the thieves at the hideout won¡¯t know that theirrades were captured, right?¡¹

    ¡¸However, if they never return...¡¹

    ¡¸Judging from previous instances, after the thieves assault someone, they go to the nearby vige to buy food and drink. They don¡¯t normally return to the hideout immediately, so they wouldn¡¯t consider it strange if people returnedte.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that vige all right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, since the thieves won¡¯t attack the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Why is that?¡¹

    ¡¸Criminals cannot enter the Royal Capital or towns, as these ces are able to examine them and look up their criminal records. It¡¯s only in viges that they aren¡¯t examined. If they attacked viges, then they would lose a ce to buy goods, which is why the thieves won¡¯t attack the viges.¡¹

    I see, so the thieves also had rules that they followed, huh?

    ¡¸Now then, it¡¯s about time for these three to wake up.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    She looked at her mother with a sleepy face.

    ¡¸Good morning. The three of you seem to have slept well, hmm.¡¹

    When all three of them woke up and noticed that their time with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear was over, they made sad expressions.

    Why, even Fina?

    I had heard about the matter regarding the thieves from Eleanora-san and said my thanks, so I was going to leave the mansion.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you don¡¯t have a house yet, right? It¡¯s fine to stay here until then, you know.¡¹

    Ah, that¡¯s right. Eleanora-san doesn¡¯t know about the Bear House yet, huh?

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right. It¡¯s a bit small, but I¡¯ve already built a house.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a joke, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I made it using a bit of magic, simr to the magic used to create the flower beds.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha, please don¡¯t lump flower beds and houses together like that. If it was that easy to build a house, then work for carpenter-san would quickly disappear, you know!¡¹

    She said whileughing.

    ///

    The next day, I woke up in the Bear House.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine.¡¹

    It seemed like Fina had made a promise to go out together with Noa today.

    ¡¸Here, I¡¯ve put some money in there, so use it however you want.¡¹

    I handed over one of the item bags I had received as a reward for capturing the thieves.

    ¡¸The two of you are going to go to many different ces, right? Since it¡¯s Fina, you probably won¡¯t allow yourself to be treated all the time.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the long-awaited Royal Capital, you know. It would be a waste if you didn¡¯t enjoy yourself. Even with this much, if you¡¯re still worried about the money, then it¡¯s fine if you work harder with the dismantling from now on.¡¹

    ¡¸Since I¡¯m unable to do the dismantling after all,¡¹ I quietly muttered in my heart.

    Now then, since even Fina had left, I decided to go sightseeing in the Royal Capital as well.

    Though the stares of the people bothered me, the real point was that I didn¡¯t have the courage to change into casual clothes.

    I was afraid that my magic, skills, summons, and everything else would be unusable without the bear clothes.

    I thought that if I were attacked or if a dangerous situation were to ur, then, if I was wearing casual clothes, I wouldn¡¯t be able to change.

    If I was in the bear clothes, however, then even if I were to be attacked or found myself in a dangerous situation, I would be able to handle it somehow.

    Even if Fina found herself in danger, I would be able to rush over immediately.

    That is why I decided to endure the gazes and walked around the capital looking like a bear.

    Well, the gazes were mostly warm though.

    If it was only embarrassment, then it was fine if I just did my best to endure it.

    As I was walking around the Royal Capital, I ended up in arge za.

    Did peddler shops line up here, I wonder?

    Quite a number of cloths were spread on the za grounds, with various articles lined up on top.

    I took my time looking around.

    ¡¸This is...¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? Wee miss, what a cute appearance you have.¡¹

    A man in histe thirties said softly.

    ¡¸Is this possibly, a potato?¡¹

    That¡¯s right, he was selling potatoes which I hadn¡¯t seen on sale even in town.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Miss, will you buy some?¡¹

    Atst, I managed toe across potatoes.

    Which is why I said it.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take everything.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes? Miss, even if potatoes are an unpopr food, even miss cannot buy all of it with the money you¡¯re carrying.¡¹

    The man began to lose his temper a bit.

    ¡¸How much is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, that¡¯s right. Around this much. If you can pay, I¡¯ll sell it all to you.¡¹

    He gave a curt reply , but my answer to that was-

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take it!¡¹

    ¡¸Like I said...¡¹

    I paid the man more than the designated amount.

    ¡¸Are you serious?¡¹

    After seeing the money I took out, the man looked at me with a surprised expression.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ll buy them, but are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been looking for this, these potatoes. It¡¯s good steamed, in potato sd, or even as french fries!¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, have you eaten potatoes before?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that obvious? Such a delicious thing, but since it wasn¡¯t sold in the town I¡¯ve lived in up till now, I have been searching for it.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s to be expected, since it¡¯s an unpopr food after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Why is that?¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re unlucky, then you might be nauseous and get a stomachache.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, poison, right?¡¹

    ¡¸So you know about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, there is poison in the potato¡¯s eyes after all. Besides that though, as long as you don¡¯t eat the eyes, it¡¯s a delicious food, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸...is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸About the eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the truth. The poison is only in the eyes of the potatoes, did you not even know that much?¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, are you a schr-sama? There isn¡¯t anyone who would know of such a thing.¡¹

    So, because something like this wasn¡¯t widely known, potatoes weren¡¯t being sold?

    Well, as for me, I didn¡¯t know about the differences between mushrooms, so it was probably a simr feeling to that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. It¡¯s just, in the ce where I was born and raised, that much wasmon sense.¡¹

    ¡¸Common sense, huh. A ce where it¡¯s normal to be able to eat potatoes, huh. It must be a good ce.¡¹

    ¡¸But, if you tell everyone about the eyes, then wouldn¡¯t everyone be able to eat them?¡¹

    ¡¸Aah, but making the information widespread is very difficult. Still, I¡¯m grateful.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d to have been of use. So then, uncle, won¡¯t you tell me the location of your vige? Next time, I¡¯ll go there to buy more.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to hear that, but it¡¯s quite a distance.¡¹

    I took out some paper and had him draw a map.

    Could it be that it was actually located quite close to the town of Crimonia?

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, because it looks like it¡¯s close to the town of Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Miss, did youe from the town of Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if I look like this, I¡¯m an adventurer you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If miss doese and buy more, shall I transport it to the town of Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah yeah, because I wasn¡¯t able to sell them even in the Royal Capital, you see. If you do buy them, since the town of Crimonia is nearby, it¡¯ll be a big help to me as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Un, I¡¯ll buy them. With that, the next time youe to the town of Crimonia, can you transport them to the town orphanage? I¡¯ll talk to them about thister.¡¹

    ¡¸The orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸Because I have an acquaintance there. Also, here is an advanced payment.¡¹

    I handed over no more than the amount I paid a short while ago.

    ¡¸Are you sure? What if I don¡¯t go to town?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll go to the vige to collect my money.¡¹

    ¡¸That was a joke. I¡¯ll bring them properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Once a month is okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I got it. I¡¯m Zamal.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna. For the moment, I¡¯m an adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸So then, what should I do with these potatoes? If you have somece to move them to, I can help.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, I will just put them away.¡¹

    I put the giant mountain-like pile of potatoes away into the Bear Box.

    With this, I could create snack foods like potato chips.

    I was also looking forward to french fries.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen an item bag that can store so much. Miss, who the hell are you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just an adventurer. That said, I¡¯m also registered at the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    All the potatoes which had been disyed in the stall were stowed away inside the Bear Box.

    ¡¸If there¡¯s anymore, I can buy it too.¡¹

    ¡¸Those are all the potatoes I have. Besides that, I also sell vegetables, but those actually sell.¡¹

    ¡¸Other vegetables?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah yes, a fellow that came with me is selling them in another ce. Those vegetable are vegetables that are sold everywhere, so it¡¯s not something that miss would be interested in.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s being sold among the street stalls, so if it catches my eye, I¡¯ll buy it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, just do that. So then, when would be a good time for me to go to the town of Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸I n to be in the Royal Capital until the end of the birthday festival, and then, even though I¡¯m returning, it will take over three weeks, so two monthster is okay, I think?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how many potatoes would be left.

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll head there in two months.¡¹

    I parted from the potato uncle and continued inspecting the street stalls.

    There was an appetizing grilled kebab, so I bought and ate it.

    If I came across any unusual food, I would buy it and eat it.

    For ingredients, I would put them away in the Bear Box.

    If it was a never-before-seen ingredient, I would buy one as a test, and buy it inrge quantities if it was delicious.

    I had not gone around all the sections yet, but as expected, there was no soy sauce, miso, or rice.

    I also caught sight of freshwater fish, but didn¡¯t see any saltwater fish.

    Among other things, I wanted to eat sushi, but it wasn¡¯t possible to make it without rice.

    In which case, even octopus or squid was fine. I wanted to eat it grilled.

    To begin with, was the sea even nearby?

    As I was leisurely inspecting the street stalls, a considerable amount of time had passed.

    Though it was slightly early, I decided to head back.

    That¡¯s right, it was for the sake of the potatoes in the Bear Box.

    After I returned to the Bear House, without dy, I sliced some potatoes into thin slices and deep fried them in oil.

    I heard the great sound of crackling oil, and raised them when they were crispy.

    I ced them on a dish and sprinkled salt on top.

    Salty potato chipsplete!

    Though it was regrettable that other vors were not possible, this was delicious enough.

    ¡¸Delicious.¡¹

    Ah, the nostalgic taste of potato chips.

    Pori pori~

    As I was munching and crunching on potato chips, Fina returned.

    ¡¸I¡¯m home.¡¹

    ¡¸Wee home.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me for intruding.¡¹

    Un? It seems Noa is here too.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    Pori pori.

    ¡¸Noire-sama said she wanted to see the Kuma house.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing much, but you can take your time looking around.¡¹

    Pori pori.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what in the world are you eating?¡¹

    ¡¸Potato chips, you know.¡¹

    Pori pori.

    ¡¸Potetochippusu?¡¹

    Noa tilted her head.

    ¡¸Want to try some?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I have some too?¡¹

    I held out the dish before the two.

    Both stuck a potato chip into their mouths.

    Pori...

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d that you liked the taste.¡¹

    ¡¸How did you make this?¡¹

    ¡¸I only sliced potatoes into thin slices and deep-fried them in oil.¡¹

    ¡¸Po-potatoes...¡¹

    The moment they heard potatoes, their hands halted in midair.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, if you eat potatoes, you¡¯ll get sick, you know.¡¹

    The two of them began to grow flustered.

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right. The poison is in the eyes. The main body is alright. If it turns green or purple though, it is dangerous, but normally, potatoes are a delicious food, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸I was told that if I ate potatoes, I would get sick though.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, the eyes and the portions that turn purple have poison. It seems like you didn¡¯t know that though.¡¹

    I extended my hand towards the potato chips on the te, which their hands had stopped reaching for, and began to eat again.

    Well, I didn¡¯t want to force them to eat something they didn¡¯t want to eat.

    Which is why i was eating by myself.

    Pori pori.

    Bari bari.

    Ahh, delicious.

    I wanted to eat consomme-vored ones.

    As expected, reproducing that was impossible though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is it really safe?¡¹

    ¡¸What is?¡¹

    Pori pori.

    ¡¸The condition of your body isn¡¯t worsening or anything?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course it isn¡¯t.¡¹

    Pori pori.

    ¡¸Big sis Yuna, can I have a little?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, I still have a lot of potatoes after all.¡¹

    Fina reached out for the potato chips.

    ¡¸Fina, you traitor.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not particrly a betrayal or anything. Big Sis Yuna wouldn¡¯t tell a lie, and besides, the potato chips are delicious.¡¹

    Pori pori.

    Bari bari.

    The two of us ate while the amount of potato chips on the te gradually decreased.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯ll also eat it, so please!¡¹

    Because the potato chips on top of the te had all disappeared, I would make some more again another time.

    For dinner, I made french fries and this was also favorably received by Fina.

    McD*nald¡¯s french fries sure are delicious, right?

    It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s only small.

    At the time of the writing, the story about how the sale of the Medium and Large version were being suspended had popped into my mind.

 Chapter 61 â€“ Bear-san Goe

    Chapter 61 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Royal Capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild

    It was the third day since I had arrived at the Royal Capital.

    I had nned to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild today, for the sake of reporting in Noa¡¯s escort request.

    Another reason was that I wanted to see what the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Royal Capital was like.

    Which was why I decided to have Fina go out with Noa.

    It was because my appearance,bined with Fina¡¯s age, made it likely that an adventurer would pick a fight.

    If it was just me, I would be able to respond to anything, but if anything happened to Fina, there was no way I could apologize to Tirumina-san.

    For that reason, I headed to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild alone, while enveloped in a myriad of inquisitive gazes.

    ording to the exnation I received at the Commerce Guild, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was located near my house, just a short distance down the road.

    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild building of the Royal Capital was several times the size of Crimonia¡¯s.

    If the guild building was several timesrger, then the number of adventurers must also be several times higher.

    Which meant that the possibility of being involved in some kind of incident was increased several times too, right?

    Was leaving Fina behind the correct choice after all?

    Even now, an adventurer with a scary expression was entering the guild.

    So, I also had to enter that ce from now on?

    I felt like a kitten entering the cage of a wild animal.

    You¡¯re also a fierce predator, a bear, right?!...I¡¯m expecting someone to retort like that, please.

    I pulled the Bear-san hood lower, so that I wouldn¡¯t make eye-contact with anyone, and entered the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    The moment I entered, everyone¡¯s line of sight converged on me.

    Bear, short girl, alone, did I have that many conspicuous factors?

    A background chorus of whispering started.

    ¡¸A somewhat cute Bear-san has entered, it looks like.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s true, a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸A bear, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It has a cute appearance.¡¹

    ¡¸A bear has attacked, you know! Someone subjugate it! Gyahahahahaha!¡¹

    ¡¸Hey you, you shouldn¡¯t say that, even as a joke, right? What if you terrify the girl?¡¹

    ¡¸Then, should I subjugate it?¡¹

    ¡¸If you approach it, the bear will run away, you know!¡¹

    tter,

    I heard the sound of a chair falling.

    ¡¸Bloody Bear...¡¹

    A man deep inside the interior muttered.

    ¡¸It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t mess around with that bear.¡¹

    ¡¸What, you¡¯re trembling quite badly, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t get involved with that guy.¡¹

    Having said those words, the man fell silent.

    ¡¸What the hell is with him?¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, someone call out to her.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, shall I go warn her?¡¹

    A giant exceeding two meters in stature approached,ughing.

    ¡¸Yo, Bear missy. What did youe here to do, with that cute appearance? This isn¡¯t a ce for a youngdy like you toe to.¡¹

    ¡¸I came to report thepletion of a request though.¡¹

    ¡¸A request report, missy, are you an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸That is the case, though.¡¹

    Laughing voices leaked out from the surroundings.

    ¡¸Hey hey, since when were even children like her allowed to be adventurers?¡¹

    It was a temte line.

    ¡¸You¡¯re a nuisance, so can you get out of my way? I have a guild card, so I¡¯m a proper adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯ll check to see if you have power befitting an adventurer.¡¹

    The man¡¯s hand reached out for the bear hood. I caught that hand and tossed him outside the guild.

    The surrounding adventurers gaped at me with dumbfounded expressions.

    ¡¸You, what did you do?¡¹

    When one person finally recovered, the surrounding people all reacted at the same time.

    Then, for some reason, everyone swooped down upon me.

    I don¡¯t really understand why though.

    Was he arade?

    Since everyone rushed to attack me in a simr fashion, I grabbed the arms and tossed people outside like I was tossing garbage.

    I repeated this about three times.

    ¡¸Umm, it¡¯s troubling if everyone quarrels inside the guild though...¡¹

    A cute-looking guild staff member warned us with a faltering, timid tone.

    From her appearance, was she a receptionist?

    Still, why were you saying that to me?

    No matter how you looked at it, I was the victim here, right?

    ¡¸Are you talking to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m talking to you, who looks like a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸No matter how you look at this, I¡¯m a victim, right? The one who was attacked was me, right? The one who was surrounded by numerous men and assaulted was me, right? If you¡¯re going to warn someone, then shouldn¡¯t it be the guys who are copsed outside?¡¹

    ¡¸That is...¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, you¡¯re saying that instead of resisting, I should let myself be hit and vited by all these men?¡¹

    ¡¸But, fighting inside the guild is not good.¡¹

    ¡¸You, is your head alright? Do you even understand the current situation?¡¹

    I questioned the receptionist.

    ¡¸Hey, little girl, what do you think you¡¯re suddenly doing?¡¹

    The men I had thrown outside hade back inside.

    ¡¸Hey, fighting isn¡¯t good, right? Won¡¯t you stop them?¡¹

    I pointed towards the men.

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    The receptionist froze from fear of the men who came back inside, and her speech became vague.

    As I thought, it was pointless unless cockroaches were dealt with by myself.

    I sted the men who came inside back outside using wind magic.

    I passed by the receptionist and headed outside.

    There were five men who were trying to stand up.

    ¡¸If you kneel down while apologizing, I¡¯ll forgive you. So, what will you do?¡¹

    ¡¸As if that would happen!¡¹

    I invoked wind magic that started from the ground and went up towards the sky.

    The men flew up several hundred meters above the ground.

    The people who were watching us were astonished.

    From the ground, they were only about the size of a grain of rice, almost unable to be seen.

    They gradually grew bigger.

    ¡¸Gyaaaaaaaa!¡¹

    ¡¸Someone¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸Gonna die¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    Right before they hit the ground, I made a wind cushion.

    In the end, the men did not hit the ground but still ended up in a dazed state.

    ¡¸Are you going to kneel?¡¹

    The men didn¡¯t seem to be listening.

    Since it was troublesome, I left them alone.

    ¡¸Ara ara, I thought it was noisy, but to think there was a Bear-san here.¡¹

    An elf?

    A long-eared woman was looking over here while smiling.

    She was a fair-skinned beauty.

    ¡¸It was only because I was about to be assaulted, so I counterattacked, you know. The other adventurers inside the guild can testify.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that the case, Ran?¡¹

    The elf asked the receptionist who had been trying to warn me a short while ago.

    ¡¸Erm, yes. When this Bear-san entered the guild, an adventurer inside the guild approached her. After that, Bear-san threw the adventurer outside the guild. The other adventurers who saw that were then also sent flying outside the guild, one after another. I tried to stop Bear-san, but not only did she not stop, but she was going to go finish off the adventurers.¡¹

    Hey, hey.

    It was somewhat right, but also somewhat wrong.

    With that exnation, it made it sound like I was the evil one.

    ¡¸I see. You¡¯re the rumored Bear-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you are?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just the person who works as the guild master in the Royal Capital, Sanya.¡¹

    ¡¸Is Sanya-san an elf?¡¹

    Since I was interested, I tried asking.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. In truth, I was originally an adventurer, but my predecessor stepped down 50 years ago, so I became the master.¡¹

    Back when I was in town, I also happened to see an elf from time to time.

    Though, I never spoke to one before.

    ¡¸I heard about you from Gran. A girl with the appearance of a bear who single-handedly subdued the Zamon Band of Thieves. I thought that Gran was just exaggerating, but it seems to be the truth.¡¹

    She nced at the dazed adventurers.

    The adventurers, who had recovered slightly, were staggering and had to borrow the shoulders of other adventurers to stand.

    Not a single person charged at me.

    They probably didn¡¯t want to be sent flying into the sky again.

    ¡¸For now, shall we go back inside?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that alright?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. They¡¯re just idiots picking a fight with newbies, so maybe they¡¯ll stop picking fights with the new people after this.¡¹

    I entered the guild again.

    All eyes concentrated on me.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I said not to meddle with that bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you know about that bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I know how fearsome and strong she is, which is why I was telling you guys to stop.¡¹

    I overheard such a conversation.

    Was it possibly an adventurer who had been in the town of Crimonia?

    Moreover, that timid person might be an adventurer I knocked out before.

    ¡¸So then, you¡¯re at the guild to report on a request?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, can I see your guild card and your request achievement book?¡¹

    I handed over the guild card and the request achievement book that contained Eleanora-san¡¯s signature.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a request for a bodyguard from the Foschurose family, is it? Okay, here is the request fee, and here¡¯s the escort fee from Gran.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san¡¯s?¡¹

    ¡¸Gran came the other day, you see. I was asked to take care of the request fee and the request achievement when you arrive.¡¹

    Even when I met Gran-san two days ago, he didn¡¯t say anything at all.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll process Faren Gramm family¡¯s request at the same rank as the D-ranked Foschurose family¡¯s request, okay?¡¹

    Even if you say that, the D-ranked me didn¡¯t have any intention of raising my rank, so there was no meaning.

    However, my guard mission sess rate has been recorded on the guild card as 2/2.

    If these numbers increase, it will probably leave a good impression when I try to take a bodyguard request from a stranger in the future.

    Well, between 50/100 and 50/50, then 50/50 will obviously be better.

    Though I epted the bodyguard request this time, I didn¡¯t n on taking requests from people I didn¡¯t know in the future, because travelling slowly is troublesome.

    More than anything, I couldn¡¯t use the bear house, and camping outside was troublesome.

    ¡¸Also, please wait a while for the matter about the Zamon Band of Thieves. The royal family¡¯s soldiers seem to have left for the subjugation, so we will do the request achievement processing as soon as that is finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that the case?¡¹

    ¡¸You not only arrested 50 of the thieves, but information was obtained because of that, so there are more than enough qualifications. However, since the subjugation is still in progress, please wait a while more.¡¹

    With that, I finished reporting andpleted two rank D requests.

 Chapter 62 â€“ Bear-san Obtains Cheese

    Chapter 62 ¨C Bear-san Obtains Cheese

    ¡¸Also, I¡¯ve been holding onto a letter from the guild master of Crimonia.¡¹

    It was the letter meant to prevent me from running into trouble.

    Though, in the end, I still got into trouble.

    ¡¸From Rarok?¡¹

    So the guild master¡¯s name was Rarok after all.

    I just learned it.

    Though, even if I had known it, I hadn¡¯t nned on calling him that.

    Since he was known as the guild master.

    Sanya-san read the letter.

    ¡¸I understand. I want you to be careful, because it is likely for adventurers to start a fight based on your appearance. It was also written for me to lend a hand if possible, for the sake of keeping you out of trouble. It certainly would be a problem for the guild if trouble were toe up every time, so I¡¯ll pass along the message to not needlessly confront you. There were adventurers and guild staff watching your fight, so it should spread around quickly. That being said, if there are still any meddling adventurers, I¡¯ll do something about them one way or another.¡¹

    ¡¸That would be a great help, but is it fine? Normally, the guild wouldn¡¯t intervene in the quarrels between adventurers.¡¹

    ¡¸That is the rule for the guild as a whole, but it can differ depending on the policies of each guild master. If there are guild masters who are indifferent, then of course there would also be guild masters who favor particr adventurers. I have my own experiences from being an adventurer, so I understand the hardships that female adventurers go through. I am an ally of female adventurers.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll be obedient and ept. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s your gratitude you want to give, then it is fine if you take some high ranking work, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Was that your real intention?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never heard of anyone subjugating tiger wolves, let alone a ck viper, by themselves. For you to be D rank is unbelievable.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯ve only been an adventurer for two months, and I didn¡¯t take that many requests.¡¹

    ¡¸There are also C rank requests. It¡¯s fine if you take them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I¡¯ll go back for today. I¡¯m still in the middle of touring the Royal Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so? How regrettable.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go sightseeing in the Royal Capital. Are there any ces selling unusual items?¡¹

    ¡¸Unusual items?¡¹

    ¡¸Ingredients or tools, anything is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸About those. The Commerce Guild would be well-informed about that, but it should be the western district now? Various shops are lined up there.¡¹

    ¡¸The western district, right? I¡¯ll go there next time.¡¹

    I left the guild and went to the street stalls from yesterday.

    When I arrived, I bought and ate snacks while I looked around the shops.

    There were so many street stalls that if I had taken my time and looked around, I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve finished seeing them after several days.

    After I looked around for a while, I spotted the back of some familiar peoples.

    ¡¸Fina, Noa, what are you looking at?¡¹

    I called out to the two I spotted at a street stall.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I finished reporting to the guild. What are the two of you looking at?¡¹

    It was somewhat boisterous up ahead.

    ¡¸That old guy is selling some kind of strange food, so it looks like it became a bigmotion.¡¹

    ¡¸Strange food?¡¹

    ¡¸From what I understand, it seems to be food with mold on it.¡¹

    Yes? That¡¯s it?

    I moved the two of them and headed forward.

    An old man and a young man could be seen quarrelling in front of the stall.

    ¡¸What are you doing, selling such a thing? You¡¯re annoying the people around you!¡¹

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t just ordinary mold.¡¹

    ¡¸Mold is just mold!¡¹

    ¡¸Inside of this is edible food.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you really eat something produced by mold!?¡¹

    What I saw was cheese.

    It¡¯s cheese! It¡¯s cheese!

    It¡¯s good, even eaten just like that.

    It¡¯s also good sandwiched in bread.

    Above all, pizza can be made!

    I also want to eat some gratinter.

    Though, I think gratin might be impossible.

    ¡¸The two of you, that¡¯s cheese.¡¹

    ¡¸Chiizu?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I don¡¯t know about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know either.¡¹

    The two of them didn¡¯t know.

    Which is to say, this is a hard to obtain item.

    I must obtain this without fail!

    ¡¸Like I said, this is edible.¡¹

    ¡¸Nobody would eat such a thing!¡¹

    The two of them argued, but the man just one-sidedly threwints at the old man and didn¡¯t even listen to what he had to say.

    I entered in the interval between their arguments.

    ¡¸Old man, that¡¯s cheese, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, so you know about it, youngdy with a cute appearance?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it, suddenlying out from nowhere. Even if a young girl gets in the way, I won¡¯t let you off!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up already, I¡¯m in the middle of talking with the old man.¡¹

    ¡¸You bitch...¡¹

    The man tried to grab my shoulder.

    Why are all the men in this world so quick to resort to violence, I wonder?

    I caught his hand, and delivered a bear punch to the man¡¯s stomach with my other hand.

    The man¡¯s body bent into a ¤¯ character, and copsed.

    Though he lost consciousness, I made sure to hold back.

    ¡¸Fuu, with that, it has quieted down. So then, old man, this is cheese, right?¡¹

    I talked to the old man as if nothing had happened.

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s the case, but...¡¹

    The old man looked back and forth between me and the guy who had copsed.

    ¡¸So, youngdy, you know about cheese?¡¹

    ¡¸I know that it¡¯s fermented from milk. I¡¯m not familiar with the exact details though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Even though you¡¯re young, you¡¯re well-informed.¡¹

    ¡¸Old man, is it okay if I try a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, go on and try some.¡¹

    The old man cut a thin slice of cheese for me using a knife.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re going to eat it?¡¹

    Fina asked me with a worried expression.

    Well, that was obviously the case, considering I was going to eat something that mold was growing on.

    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, you know, because the mold is only on the surface.¡¹

    I put the cheese I had received in my mouth.

    The taste was slightly strong, but it was, without a doubt, cheese.

    ¡¸Old man, you¡¯re selling this, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I made this in the vige. Since I needed money, I came to the Royal Capital to sell the cheese, but nobody wanted to buy it.¡¹

    As expected, it looked like cheese had not spread out much in this world.

    Ignoring the guy from earlier, neither Fina nor Noa knew about it either.

    ¡¸Then, in other words, it¡¯s fine if I buy it all, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, you¡¯re going to buy some?¡¹

    ¡¸It depends on the price though. How much is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s actually sold by weight. A mass like this is around this much.¡¹

    I looked at the amount of money the old man was disying.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll buy it, everything you have, please.¡¹

    I bought it immediately.

    When the negotiations werepleted, it became noisy behind me.

    The patrolling soldiers seemed to havee over.

    ¡¸I heard that a quarrel was urring, but- A bear...Yuna-san.¡¹

    The person who showed up was the person who had taken care of us during the matter with the group of thieves, Ranzeru-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing in a ce like this? Besides that, I heard that a fight was happening here, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m shopping, as you can see. That man there wasining about the old man¡¯s food. It became a verbal quarrel, but when I forced myself in between them, he suddenly attacked me, so I knocked him out.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Being an ally of justice who protected the old man?¡¹

    I tilted my head to the side and looked puzzled as I answered.

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll close my eyes to this matter this time. Next time, it would be a great help if you could resolve things without violence.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I hit him because I like doing so. I only hit him because he attacked me, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s really the case, then I would have to have Yuna-sane with me to the barracks to hear more specific details. Since you¡¯re Gran-sama¡¯s and Eleanora-sama¡¯s acquaintance, I won¡¯t ask you toe with me this time, but please stop causing trouble. Even if that¡¯s not the case, there are many issues elsewhere, so it¡¯s quite a burden.¡¹

    The influence of my supporters sure was reliable.

    If they were my enemies though, it would be scary.

    ¡¸Now then, I¡¯ll be off.¡¹

    Ranzeru-san bowed and left with his subordinates, who carried the unconscious person away.

    I resumed the conversation about cheese with the old man.

    ¡¸Youngdy, I don¡¯t really understand what happened, but thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, I also wanted the cheese anyway. So, are you going to sell me everything?¡¹

    ¡¸That goes without saying, it is a big help to me too.¡¹

    ¡¸If by chance you still have some, I¡¯ll buy it.¡¹

    ¡¸The item bag I have isn¡¯t capable of carrying a lot, but I brought what I could. This is all I have, but if you go to the vige, there¡¯s still a lot there.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then tell me where the vige is, and I¡¯ll go there to buy more next time.¡¹

    ¡¸It makes me happy to hear that, but is that necessary? I think even just this is quite a considerable amount, no?¡¹

    ¡¸I also look after some children at an orphanage, to some extent. I was thinking of serving them some dishes made with this cheese.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, I understand. I¡¯ll wee you when youe to the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸No, after all, the one who should be grateful is this old man. Thank you. If I hadn¡¯t sold all this, I would have been very troubled.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then I¡¯ll pay you a little bit more.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. In return, sell it to me cheaply when I go to the vige, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, of course. To save me the trouble ofing to the Royal Capital would also be a big help.¡¹

    I learned the location of the vige from the old man and put away all the cheese that I bought into the Bear Box.

    After parting with the old man, I walked among the street stalls with Fina and Noa.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, about the cheese from just now, is it really that delicious?¡¹

    Noa asked me while making an overjoyed expression.

    ¡¸Hmm, it differs from person to person, I think? I like it when it¡¯s sandwiched in-between bread, and it¡¯s delicious when used in pizza. However, there are people who dislike the taste as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm...can you also let me have some?¡¹

    ¡¸Will you be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s like the time with the potatoes. If Yuna-san says it¡¯s tasty, I¡¯ll believe you.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, shall I head back and make pizza then? Since almost everyone likes pizza.¡¹

    ¡¸I also believed in Big Sis Yuna right from the beginning, you know!¡¹

    Fina who was listening to our conversation also approved.

    ¡¸Thank you, both of you.¡¹

    While recalling the ingredients stored in the Bear Box, we bought the ingredients needed for pizza before heading back to the Bear House.

 Chapter 63 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Castle

    Chapter 63 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Castle

    First, I started to build a stone oven in the uselessly big garden.

    I had watched how it was made on TV in the past, and now I tried making it while recalling it.

    This was when magic was really useful!

    Even if you made a mistake, you could easily remake it after all...

    It might be a product of trial and error, but here goes the Stone Oven Number One!

    While I was constructing the oven, the two girls kneaded the flour.

    When the dough was finished, I prepared the ingredients to put on the pizza.

    We chose to use potatoes, chicken meat, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese.

    They were all ced on top of the dough, which was then fed into the oven, and we waited for it to brown nicely.

    The melting cheese created a nice odor that wafted through the air.

    ¡¸It¡¯s good, I think?¡¹

    I took the baked pizza and cut it.

    ¡¸Is that a pizza?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s hot, so don¡¯t burn yourself!¡¹

    After putting the hot pizza on a te, I gave each of them a slice.

    I cut out my share too, and ate it without waiting.

    It¡¯s so good when it¡¯s hot!

    It¡¯s the nostalgic taste of home!

    If you ordered by phone, they would deliver it in less than 30 minutes. So nostalgic!

    Upon seeing me eat it with a happy face, the two of them started to eat it timidly.

    ¡¸Hot! But it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Really delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it? Why is nobody eating something so delicious?¡¹

    ¡¸The thing that is stretching is cheese, isn¡¯t it? So it bes like this when it melts...¡¹

    ¡¸The potatoes are so soft. So delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because cheese and potatoes are good together.¡¹

    I wanted to make other kinds of pizza, but I didn¡¯t have the ingredients.

    For example, a seafood pizza with toppings like squid, shrimp, or shellfish.

    Sausage or bacon would be good too...

    Well, for now, I will make do with this first one.

    Not to mention, if I made all sorts of pizzas, I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat them all.

    Even with just this onerge pizza we made, whether we could finish it all, with just the two little girls and myself, was questionable.

    ¡¸It¡¯s better when it¡¯s hot, so hurry and eat!¡¹

    While the three of us were eating pizza, I heard the sound of someone running in the distance.

    ¡¸What are you all eating?¡¹

    Shia came.

    ¡¸Big sister, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸School finished early and I got home sooner but...Noa wasn¡¯t there. I thought you would be at Yuna-san¡¯s ce. And? What are you eating?¡¹

    ¡¸Pizza.¡¹

    ¡¸Pizza?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a meal where you put various ingredients and cheese on ttened bread dough and bake it.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really delicious, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, could I have some of this pizza too, please?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I have enough ingredients after all.¡¹

    I put the rest of the pizza on a te and handed it over.

    ¡¸You eat it with your hands?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally you use your hands to eat it, yes. If you don¡¯t want to, I have prepared a fork.¡¹

    After seeing her little sister eating with her hands,

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I will eat it like this.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s hot, so be careful!¡¹

    Shia handled the hanging cheese beautifully and ate it in one bite.

    ¡¸.........It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Good! If everyone wants, I will bake some more.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat a little more.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too, please.¡¹

    Answering the requests, I baked another pizza.

    There wasn¡¯t a variety of ingredients. That was rather sad.

    I baked the same one as before.

    ¡¸Be careful and don¡¯t burn yourself.¡¹

    The three of them vigorously responded ¡ºyes¡» and began eating.

    Tworge pizzas disappeared beautifully into four bellies.

    In the end, our stomachs were nearly bursting.

    I think I will make them a little smaller next time.

    The next morning, Eleanora-san came to the Bear House.

    ¡¸Hello. What made youe here so early in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to see your house and eat the pizza I heard about from my daughters.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not really a meal you eat first thing in the morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸There may be people who do, but you normally don¡¯t.¡¹

    If you ate it in the morning, your stomach wouldn¡¯t hold.

    ¡¸Then, I will have to eat it for lunch.¡¹

    It will be two consecutive days of pizza...

    ¡¸You want to eat it that badly?¡¹

    ¡¸Yesterday, my daughters didn¡¯t eat dinner. When I cornered them with questions, they said that they ate a really delicious meal called pizza at Yuna-chan¡¯s ce. They talked about it with really happy faces...The fact that I was the only one who couldn¡¯t eat it really frustrates me.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa. Understood. Then, I will make it for lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Thank you. It¡¯s not really a thank you, but I will show you around the castle.¡¹

    ¡¸The castle?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Last time, Fina-chan said she wanted to see the interior of the castle. However, fundamentally, unauthorized people cannot enter it. If I am present though, it¡¯s another story. You will be granted ess. That¡¯s why, if I let you visit the castle now, we can eat pizza at lunch time.¡¹

    That¡¯s right. The chance to tour the interior of the castle was not an opportunity that would present itself very often.

    Also, I knew that Fina wanted to see it. I decided to ept this idea.

    ¡¸Then, I want to finish the preparations. Let¡¯s go?¡¹

    That was why we came to the castle.

    An enormous building that towered over its surroundings was right in front of me.

    Two soldiers holdingrgences stood in front of the entrance.

    Stressed, Fina held my hand.

    First of all, was it okay for me to enter with this kind of appearance?

    If they stopped me at the entrance, I would just have to go back alone.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, good morning. Who might this person be?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my guest. I wanted them to see the interior of the pce. Is that a problem?¡¹

    Eleanora-san said to the soldiers with an overpowering feeling.

    ¡¸No, not at all. It¡¯s just my job to confirm the facts. Please, enter.¡¹

    The soldier saluted and let us enter.

    Was that okay?

    ¡¸Do the two of you have something you want to see in particr?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really...¡¹

    First of all, I didn¡¯t know what was in the castle.

    ¡¸Me too. I am already satisfied.¡¹

    Fina seemed to want to go back after just passing through the gates.

    Her desire to see it and the feeling of being out of ce must be fighting in her heart.

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s just walk aimlessly.¡¹

    ¡¸But...is it really okay to not say anything to Noa beforeing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s okay for the girl who just sleeps to stay in bed. Has Cliff really been educating her diligently? The next time I see him, I will properly give him a lecture.¡¹

    That was the reason the three of us were walking around in the castle.

    If I had to use words to describe it, they would be: big, pretty, lots of people.

    Everyone who passed by us bowed to Eleanora-san. Then they saw me, tilted their heads in wonder, and left.

    That reminds me. What is Eleanora-san¡¯s job?

    The husband, Chris, was a feudal lord, so the wife, Eleanora-san, was probably an assistant of the feudal lord?

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, what is your job?¡¹

    ¡¸My job? I am the person in charge of misceneous jobs.¡¹

    ¡¸Misceneous jobs?¡¹

    ¡¸Following the knights, processing documents, advising the king, there are many things for me to do. In all honesty, I wanted to quit and go to Chris¡¯s ce, but the king, prime ministers, and knights wouldn¡¯t let me. With that in mind, I will work in the castle while my daughter, Shia, is attending school. But, when it¡¯s Noa¡¯s turn to start school, I¡¯m going to end up working at the castle again.¡¹

    Was Eleanora-san a really eminent person?

    That was why everyone bowed to her.

    Well, I can¡¯t really understand managerial positions though.

    If I asked for more details, it might be a really scary thing, so I will stop asking.

    ¡¸Then, do you want to see how the knights are doing? You have to see them practice diligently, right?¡¹

    When you leave the interior of the castle, you arrive at a small but wide area, where the knights trained.

    There were a lot of soldiers in armor there.

    When Eleanora-san appeared at the training field, one knight came over.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, what are you doing in this sort of ce? Is it possible that you came here to watch the training session?¡¹

    ¡¸I just came to check you didn¡¯t skip it, that¡¯s all. You can return to your training.¡¹

    The knight obediently returned to his training.

    ¡¸What do you think when you see it, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸What do I think?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you win against the knights?¡¹

    What are you asking, right in front of the knights?

    ¡¸I can¡¯t win.¡¹

    I¡¯ll say that for now.

    The eyes of the knights were scary.

    Let¡¯s stop this conversation.

    ¡¸We will be a hindrance to the knights, so let¡¯s go?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to see Yuna-chan fight, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I will politely reject that offer.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s sad.¡¹

    I nced back to the castle, in order to go back inside. There, a little girl was running towards us.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Bear-san!!¡¹

    The child hugged my waist with a ¡®Bofu¡¯.

    Who?

    It was a 4 or 5 year old girl.

    She was wearing beautiful western clothes.

    Was it possibly.........

    ¡¸If it isn¡¯t Princess Flora.¡¹

    I knew it.

    ¡¸Why is Bear-san in the castle?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san is in the middle of touring the castle.¡¹

    Was Eleanora-san¡¯s response.

    ¡¸Is that right?¡¹

    I nodded for now.

    ¡¸I see. Then, I will guide you to my room.¡¹

    She held my hand.

    What should I do? I looked at Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸I see. Then, thank you for your guidance.¡¹

    Heeeeeeee!?

    It¡¯s the princess, you know!

    Well, it wasn¡¯t like we could refuse.

    But...what would happen if we opposed her?

    Actually, was it even okay to go to the princess¡¯s room?

    It was the room of a royal person, you know?

    I only had knowledge from manga or novels, but it wasn¡¯t really a ce where a normal adventurer could go, right?

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, isn¡¯t it really bad? This person is the princess, you know! I am just amoner, you know!¡¹

    On the side, Fina just froze with a pale face.

    She was probably closer to losing her soul than me, and her train of thought just stopped.

    ¡¸Bear-san, you won¡¯te to my room?¡¹

    She was looking at me with moist, upturned eyes.

    I had no way to escape.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸When I was strolling around the castle, everyone said that they saw Bear-san, so I have been looking for you.¡¹

    Is it possible...that it¡¯s my fault?

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, is it okay if I go?¡¹

    ¡¸If I am with you, there is no problem. I will assume all responsibility.¡¹

    I had no choice but to go.

    I couldn¡¯t shake my Bear Hand, which was being held by the little hand, free.

    ¡¸Then, princess, could you guide me to your room?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    What would happen?

    Fina followed us, her face still pale.

    Then, we arrived at the princess¡¯s room.

    What to say. It was gorgeous.

    I said gorgeous, but it wasn¡¯t a golden room. There were no pricey jars or high ss paintings.

    There was a beautiful carpet, a bed with a canopy, a futon that seemed really soft, and a table and chairs that seemed high ss.

    It was that sort of room.

    The fact that we came to this room is okay, but what do we do after that?

    ¡¸Princess Flora, what should we do? Read a picture book?¡¹

    ¡¸Picture books are boring!¡¹

    The book Eleanora-san brought out was the story of a princess and a prince.

    It was a picture book, but the pictures were not cute.

    It was only a picture book if the pictures were drawn cutely, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡¸Princess Flora, you have to learn how to read!¡¹

    ¡¸Boring!¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, do you have some papers and something to write with?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I will draw a picture book.¡¹

    Everyone has wanted to be a Mangaka at least once.

    It¡¯s not like that was what I wanted to do, but somehow, there was a time when I drew.

    The time when I was a hikikomori was long.

    I had lots of free time.

    I also had time to draw manga.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, is this okay?¡¹

    Eleanora-san brought some paper and tools to draw with.

    I received them and started drawing.

 Chapter 64 â€“ Bear-san and The Little Girl Volume 1

    Chapter 64 ¨C Bear-san and The Little Girl Volume 1

    In a certain vige, there was a little girl. (Picture: A little girl like Fina.)

    The girl had a mother that she really loved.

    Unfortunately, her mother couldn¡¯t move and just slept, due to an illness. (Picture: A mother like Terumi-san.)

    The girl didn¡¯t have a father.

    The girl had to work to buy medicines to cure her mother¡¯s illness.

    However, there was no work for a little girl.

    There was no one who wanted to employ a child, after all.

    The girl decided to explore the forest to find the medicine herself. (Picture: A girl like Fina who is lost in the forest.)

    There were a lot of terrifying goblins in the forest.

    Even so, she had to go fetch the medicine for her beloved mother.

    She searched and searched, but couldn¡¯t find any herbs.

    It was dangerous, but she decided to go further into the forest.

    The girl lost her way, and then was surrounded by wolves.

    The girl cried: ¡¸Help me!¡¹

    Unfortunately, nobody came to help her.

    ¡¸Mother, I am sorry...¡¹ (Picture: A girl like Fina apologizing while looking towards the sky.)

    ¡¸Sorry I couldn¡¯t find your medicine...¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry...sorry...¡¹

    An apology that couldn¡¯t reach anyone.

    The moment she was going to be eaten by the wolves, she closed her eyes out of fear.

    However, no matter how much time passed, she wasn¡¯t struck down.

    When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw dead wolves.

    Why?

    She looked around her.

    There was a Bear-san. (Picture: A deformed bear.)

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹asked the Bear-san.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹responded the girl.

    ¡¸Why are you in a ce like this?¡¹asked the Bear-san.

    Since it was the bear that asked, she replied honestly.

    The Bear-san listened attentively.

    Afterwards, the Bear-san asked the girl to ride on her back.

    The girl got on Bear-san¡¯s back. (Picture: the girl on the deformed bear¡¯s back.)

    The Bear-san ran with great speed.

    The Bear-san stopped in a ce with lots of medicinal nts.

    The girl, overjoyed, thanked the Bear-san and started to gather the nts.

    ¡¸With this, I can make the medicine for mother!¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks a lot, Bear-san!¡¹

    The Bear-san gently smiled back.

    The Bear-san gave a ride to the girl¡¯s vige while defeating the approaching goblins.

    After arriving at the vige, the Bear-san stroked the girl¡¯s head. (Picture: Bear-san caressing the head of a girl like Fina.)

    After bowing for thest time, the girl started to run towards the vige, where her ill mother was.

    In the meantime, the Bear-san returned to the forest.

    After returning, the girl prepared the medicine she had brought home.

    The mother smiled while thanking her.

    That made the girl smile too. (Picture: a girl like Fina and a mother like Terumi-san smiling at each other.)

    Thank you, Bear-san.

    Author¡¯s Note

    I couldn¡¯t think of what to write.

    I thought of doing something like a big bear born from a peach, and then naming it something like Kumatarou Umashima.

    Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t imagine a bear picture book.

    Then finally, I wrote a picture book style story of the encounter of Fina and Yuna.

    With that, maybe I will write a second or a third one.

 Chapter 65 â€“ Bear-san Draws A Picture Book

    Chapter 65 ¨C Bear-san Draws A Picture Book

    Author¡¯s note:

    The reason this chapter was sote is due to house cleaning.

    I have so many books it¡¯s just scary.

    First, I had to think about the contents of the story.

    Of course, a theme with a bear would be good.

    Why is that? Because this child wouldn¡¯t leave me alone.

    But...Was there a picture book with a bear?

    I only knew Kintaro¡¯s story book.

    Ah, there was the song ¡¸The Bear-san in the forest¡¹too.

    I tried to recall my childhood, but there were just a lot of parts I couldn¡¯t remember.

    Well, I didn¡¯t think I could write any story other than the one I knew the best.

    I started sketching a little girl.

    Princess Flora, at my side, just stared at me.

    Was it strange seeing me draw? She was being silent.

    The little girl¡¯s motif was Fina.

    It was easier to sketch when there was a motif.

    ¡¸Hey, that¡¯s Fina-chan!¡¹(Eleonora)

    On the paper, I was drawing a misshapen Fina.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because it¡¯s Fina¡¯s real experience after all.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Oh? Really?¡¹(Eleonora)

    Fina, the subject, was a small distance away, nervously drinking the drink that the maid brought her.

    It was rare for a maid to serve tea to amoner, after all.

    I drew a lot of pictures to go with the story.

    Finally, I was drawing the scene where I, the bear, appeared.

    ¡¸Ara, what a cute Bear-san.¡¹(Eleonora)

    I drew a deformed bear (me).

    It was unfortunate that there were no colours, but you could draw pretty well with just ck.

    ¡¸Whaaa...¡¹(Flora)

    Princess Flora looked at the drawing with shining eyes.

    ¡¸By the way, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen such a cute sketch.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹ (Yuna)

    ¡¸I know lots of painters, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a sketch like that.¡¹(Eleonora)

    Was it possible that caricatures didn¡¯t exist in this world?

    Well, in my previous world, there were no caricatures in the past either.

    During the Edo period or the Sengoku period, if there were such cute sketches, there might not have been wars. That was the sort of stupid thing I was thinking about.

    Now I was drawing the scene where Bear-san and the girl encountered each other.

    ¡¸What happens to the girl?¡¹(Flora)

    Princess Flora asked.

    But that, I won¡¯t answer.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a surprise for when I finish drawing it.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Then, hurry and draw! Hurry and draw!¡¹(Flora)

    I started writing again.

    After that, Ipleted many drawings.

    In the end, I drew the scenes where the girl went back to the vige and Bear-san went back into the forest, whichpleted the picture book.

    ¡¸Finished...¡¹(Yuna)

    It took a few hours to finish, but I think this can be considered a masterpiece.

    I wasn¡¯t a professional artist, so something like this was good enough.

    I gave the drawings I made to Princess Flora.

    ¡¸Bear-san, you¡¯re giving it to me?¡¹(Flora)

    ¡¸I would be really happy if you read it.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Bear-san!¡¹(Flora)

    She happily took the book.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, that¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it? So that it won¡¯t scatter, we will bind it, okay?¡¹(Eleonora)

    Princess Flora happily read the picture book.

    It was great that it pleased her.

    The fact that I drew it in a few hours wasn¡¯t thanks to the Bear suit¡¯s power, but my real ability.

    I felt like it was the first time since I came to this world that my real strength served a purpose.

    When I was stretching my shoulder and back muscles, there was a knock on the door and a maid came in.

    ¡¸Princess, it¡¯s time to eat.¡¹(Maid)

    ¡¸Then, shall we go as well?¡¹(Eleonora)

    Eleonora-san got up.

    Imitating her, I also got up from my chair.

    ¡¸Bear-san, are you going back?¡¹(Flora)

    When Eleonora-san told Princess Flora we were leaving, she grabbed my clothes reluctantly.

    ¡¸Hmm, Princess Flora, I wille back again. ¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Really?¡¹(Flora)

    ¡¸I will be staying in the capital for some time, so we will be able to see each other.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Okay, understood.¡¹(Flora)

    Her little hand let go of my clothes.

    ¡¸Fina, we¡¯re going back! Don¡¯t just stay petrified!¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹(Fina)

    Fina came back to reality.

    If Fina knew the contents of the picture book, she would faint, so I won¡¯t say anything.

    We parted from Princess Flora and exited the castle.

    In the end, we just visited the knights training field and the princess¡¯s room.

    Well, we could enjoy the passageways and the aesthetics of the castle.

    We came here so Fina could see the castle, but it was questionable as to whether Fina was able to enjoy her visit.

    When we came back to the Bear House, Noa was sitting at the entrance.

    Upon seeing us, she stood up and started shouting.

    ¡¸Mother! Why did you go without saying anything?¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸But, you didn¡¯t wake up.¡¹(Eleonora)

    Eleonora-san responded without batting an eye.

    ¡¸And, mother, is it okay with your job?¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸I will start this afternoon, so it¡¯s okay, and this time I just guided them in the castle. You¡¯ve gone there plenty of times, so not going is okay, right?¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a reason to just cast me aside!¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Then wake up early.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Uhhh...I understand. But next time, properly wake me up!¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t say ¡ºJust a little more...¡»in your sleep.¡¹(Eleonora)

    Noa grew silent with a bright red face.

    ¡¸But, you did well finding me here.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Suririna said that she saw you murmuring, ¡®Pizza! Pizza!,¡¯ when you departed, but I came and you weren¡¯t here.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Well, in exchange for pizzas, it was decided that I would show them around the castle after all.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Then, it¡¯s pizza time now?¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸I will make them now. Did you eat yet, Noa?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸I was sadly waiting here alone.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t eat, right?¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸I wanted to eat pizza too, after all.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Then we will make them now. You two, help me.¡¹(Yuna)

    We went to the stone oven area and started to set everything up.

    I say that, but yesterday¡¯s ingredients were all prepared in the Bear Box.

    That was why we just had to cut the ingredients, put them on the dough and bake it.

    There are four of us today, so the same size as yesterday is fine, right?

    The preparations wereplete and the stone oven was at a good temperature, so I put in the pizza.

    The pizza was baking in the stone oven.

    ¡¸What a great smell.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸I want to eat something this delicious everyday!¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸You¡¯ll get fat.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸It makes you fat?¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸There is a lot of oil in it after all. It¡¯s okay to eat it a few times a month. But if you eat it too much, you¡¯ll get tired of the taste. In everything, moderation is the best.¡¹(Yuna)

    If there were different toppings, then it would be a different story.

    I will have to do an ingredient search in the capital again.

    In particr, rice, soy sauce, miso, and saltwater fish.

    The pizza was baked, so I took it out of the stone oven.

    I cut it into four parts and put each one onto a te.

    ¡¸Then, bon appetit.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸It¡¯s hot, so be careful!¡¹(Yuna)

    I thought it was okay, but I warned her anyway.

    ¡¸Ara, it¡¯s really delicious.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹(Noa)

    While everyone was eating, I prepared to bake a second one.

    Yesterday, two pizzas were too much for four people.

    Today there are four of us as well, but Eleonora-san is an adult, so I think it will be the perfect amount.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I will do it.¡¹(Fina)

    ¡¸Fina, you can eat, I will finish quickly.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸But...¡¹(Fina)

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Un.¡¹(Fina)

    Fina seemed to feel sorry for me.

    Even though she didn¡¯t have to.

    The preparations for the second one were finished, and I decided to eat while the second one was baking.

    While the second one was baking nicely, Eleonora-san finished eating.

    Eleonora-san could still eat, so two pizzas for the four of us was a good amount.

    ¡¸You were right. It seems oily. I would like something refreshing.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Then, to cleanse your pte, would you like some pudding?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸YES!¡¹

    Shouted Noa.

    ¡¸Pudding? What is that?¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸It¡¯s a sweet and delicious food.¡¹(Noa)

    Noa exined.

    Yeah, she was right but...

    Well, she would understand faster if she tried it, so I took it out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Is this pudding?¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸One each.¡¹(Yuna)

    I said that, but there were only four on the table.

    They were thest ones, so there was no other way.

    On the way to the capital, and in town, we ate all the other ones.

    I didn¡¯t have many more eggs.

    I use quite a lot of eggs when I cook.

    Also, beforeing to the capital, I gave away a lot of pudding.

    I think I will go back to the vige and secure some eggs.

    ¡¸What is this? The pizza was good, but this pudding thing is great too. If you opened up a shop, I am sure it would sell.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸If you open up a store, I wille to buy this everyday.¡¹(Noa)

    The mother-daughterbo was happily praising me.

    ¡¸With the current supply of eggs, I think it¡¯s impossible for now. I have to procure more of them.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, eggs are a high ss good. So if you want to open up a store, it will be difficult to obtain them.¡¹(Eleonora)

    I think the method of procuring eggs I was talking about and the method Eleonora-san was thinking about weren¡¯t the same.

    I didn¡¯t really want the matter with the eggs to be known, so I won¡¯t correct her though.

    ¡¸Then, I will go back. Yuna-chan, thanks for today.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸No problem, I got to visit the castle, after all.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t think we would see Princess Flora, and you even wrote a picture book for her.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I was in your care when I had to purchasend after all.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸But that time, I helped because you took care of Cliff and Noa, you know.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Then, the next time I have a problem, help me with it, please.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸No problem. If you have some kind of problem, don¡¯t hesitate. I can deal with it to some extent.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸Who wouldmit a crime?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Then if you want to work in the castle, I can present you with some jobs.¡¹(Eleonora)

    ¡¸I will politely decline that offer.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Fufufu. Well then, I really must go. If I am even morete, the prime minister will be really angry.¡¹(Eleonora)

    Eleonora-san went to the castle, and the rest of us decided to visit the capital.

 Chapter 66 â€“ Bear-san Does Her Best For Noa

    Chapter 66 ¨C Bear-san Does Her Best For Noa

    Some days passed after we arrived at the capital.

    Today, when Fina, Noa, and I were touring the capital, we met some running adventurers.

    After that, we met a number of them going towards the guild.

    Had something happened?

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go see what happened. What do the two of you want to do?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸I¡¯lle too.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹(Fina)

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t take a request, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    When we arrived at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, there was a crowd of noisy, worried, and anxious people.

    In the middle of all this, we heard the voice of a shouting adventurer.

    ¡¸What are we going to do!¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸For now, the guild master is in the middle of the investigation. There will be an announcement to the guild in a short moment, so please wait a little more.¡¹ (Guild Staff)

    A guild staff member said while doing his best to contain the crowd of adventurers.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, did something happen?¡¹(Fina)

    ¡¸It seems so.¡¹(Yuna)

    I decided to try to find someone that would be able to exin.

    I found Marina, the adventurer we met during our trip to the capital.

    ¡¸Marina, did something happen?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Yuna!¡¹(Marina)

    ¡¸Everyone seems so uneasy.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Ah, it seems that a group of monsters has been seen. Apparently, a lot of adventurers died when that happened. The guild dispatched an investigation team upon hearing the report. They just came back, but it doesn¡¯t look like good news.¡¹(Marina)

    ¡¸Is there any news we know of?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸A group of goblins, wolves, and orcs have been found, and some adventurers saw wyverns, too.¡¹(Marina)

    ¡¸Were there wyverns near the capital?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸How would that be possible? I have never heard of wyverns near the capital.¡¹(Marina)

    While I was listening to the story, the guild master, Ms. Sanya, came from the interior of the guild.

    The guild became even noisier with her appearance.

    ¡¸I will announce the result of the investigation, so be quiet!¡¹(Sanya)

    The guild became quiet at her words.

    ¡¸From the information the scouts came back with, there is an assembly of more than ten thousand goblins and wolves. More than that, there are 500 orcs. We couldn¡¯t confirm the number of wyverns, but they have been seen with this mobilization.¡¹(Sanya)

    After hearing her words, the adventurers became noisy again.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t say that we have to exterminate all that by ourselves, right?¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸This message is being carried to the castle as well. We will probably join forces with the soldiers to eliminate the threat.¡¹(Sanya)

    ¡¸Do we have the time to wait for them?¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸For now, there aren¡¯t any soldiers that can mobilize, but it is just a matter of time.¡¹(Sanya)

    ¡¸Why? This has never happened before!¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸No, there was a report of orcsing onto the main road and there was a report saying the number of goblins and wolves are increasing. That¡¯s why we have to stop their advance to the west.¡¹(Sanya)

    The west, that was where Crimonia was, right?

    When Noa heard it, she became pale.

    ¡¸Father will...!¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Is it possible that the ns he had were...¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Yes, I think it was going to happen very soon.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸He must have an escort with him, so as long as he isn¡¯t attacked by the horde, it will be okay.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Yes...¡¹(Noa)

    However, Noa¡¯s face was still tense.

    ¡¸Fina, I¡¯m sorry, but could you bring Noa back to her house?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸And what will you do, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹(Fina)

    ¡¸I will listen to the story for a bit longer. Maybe all adventurers will have to participate, so when I go back, I will sleep tight.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹(Fina)

    Fina took Noa and left the guild.

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible! We can¡¯t win against that many!¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸We are calling the upper ranked adventurers now.¡¹(Sanya)

    ¡¸And in the meantime?¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸That, I don¡¯t know. I will have the adventurers divided by ranks to participate in the extermination. E-ranks and D-ranks will exterminate goblins and wolves. C-ranks and higher will exterminate orcs. When that is finished, I will have them exterminate the wyverns. F-ranks will be behind, providing materials and giving treatment to the wounded. We will meet at the west gate and leave tomorrow morning. Prepare your own things. Are there any other questions?¡¹(Sanya)

    ¡¸What is the reward?¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸I will separate it by rank. After all, it would be impossible to separate it by kills.¡¹(Sanya)

    ¡¸In the case we kill any wyverns, what do we do with the materials?¡¹(Adventurer)

    ¡¸This time, the monsters will be taken by the guild. It doesn¡¯t matter how many one person kills. This is an emergency request. All other requests will be suspended for the time being. There will be a ban on leaving the capital at every gate, so don¡¯t forget that.¡¹(Sanya)

    If you didn¡¯t hurry, you wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the city, huh.

    When I got the information I wanted and exited the guild, Fina and Noa, who I asked to go back, were still there.

    ¡¸What are the two of you doing here?¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸Yuna-san, do you think my father is okay?¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Tomorrow morning, the adventurers will depart. If they join him during the travel, I think he will be okay.¡¹(Yuna)

    The problem was, when would the monsters move?

    It resembled a game event, but if you died, you wouldn¡¯t revive, right?

    ¡¸Noa, I am sorry, but I will leave Fina with you, okay? If she was alone, I would worry, after all.¡¹(Yuna)

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹(Noa)

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m counting on you, okay?¡¹(Yuna)

    Noa had her mother and the maids, but it was better if Fina wasn¡¯t alone for too long.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, don¡¯t die, okay?¡¹(Fina)

    ¡¸It¡¯s just impossible for me to die, right?¡¹(Yuna)

    I patted the two girls¡¯ heads.

    After I separated from them, I ran to the west gate. I wanted to arrive there before the guild staff.

    I showed my guild card to the guard.

    The guard didn¡¯t have a reaction.

    It seems I was in time.

    When I stepped outside, I summoned Swaying Bear.

    I would feel really bad to let an acquaintance die.

    I went towards Crimonia.

    Swaying Bear ran at top speed.

    It covered the distance faster than a horse.

    Since I became stronger, maybe my bears became stronger, too.

    No mistake, he was faster than he was the first time I summoned him.

    In a very short time, I arrived at the ce that took us five days of travel toe from while using a carriage.

    Gran¡¯s carriage had been attacked by orcs close to this ce.

    I found arge quantity of monsters by using the detection magic while running.

    It was in this forest.

    I saw a forest in the distance.

    The monsters hadn¡¯t moved yet.

    What to do?

    Do I meet with Cliff, or exterminate the monsters?

    I didn¡¯t know about the wyverns, but even if I was attacked by goblins or wolves, I wouldn¡¯t be injured, thanks to the protection of the Bear armor. Although I would be blown away if I received the orcs¡¯ attacks, that was it.

    I could counterattack afterwards.

    No choice. I will do my best just this once.

    For the sake of my peaceful life.

    I directed Swaying Bear towards the forest.

 Chapter 67 â€“ Bear-san Is Peerless

    Chapter 67 ¨C Bear-san Is Peerless

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s thest post of the year.

    Thank you very much.

    The results from the detection magic showed that the monster horde was scattered all throughout the forest.

    In the middle of the forest, goblins, wolves, and orcs were separated into different groups.

    If the number of monsters in the report was correct, there were 5000 goblins.

    However, the problem was neither their strength nor their numbers.

    The problem was that I didn¡¯t know if I had enough magic power.

    Up to now, I have never used my magic power to the point of depletion. Just how much magic power I had, or how much of it I could release, I didn¡¯t know at all.

    In the game, there was MP, magic points. In this world as well, there was a maximum magic power capacity.

    However, I didn¡¯t know how to investigate it. Maybe there was one.

    Hence, I didn¡¯t know how much magic power I had.

    Also, unlike the game, the magic power you used was not fixed.

    In the game, you would consume 10 MP when you cast a fireball. In this world, there weren¡¯t any standards regarding that.

    Even if it was the same fireball, you could charge your magic power, and like that you could infinitely increase its power. In terms of MP, you could use 5, 20 or 50.

    I didn¡¯t know how much magic power I could charge up.

    This battle wouldn¡¯t be against monsters, but against the amount of magic power I could use.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, thanks for all your work until now.¡¹

    I caressed Swaying Bear¡¯s head as reward for running from the capital without a break until now.

    Then I recalled Swaying Bear and summoned Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, from now on, we will be running nonstop through packs of monsters, so I am counting on you!¡¹

    I caressed Hugging Bear¡¯s neck.

    As I finished my preparations, I hopped on Hugging Bear and entered the forest.

    Just after I entered the forest, a small number of goblins started to approach.

    I instantly invoked wind magic and cut their heads off.

    It was auto homing magic, a magic where you locked onto a target, then fired. After that, it would automatically seek at the target.

    While using detection magic, I cut the goblins¡¯ necks.

    A white bear ran through the forest.

    At the same time, goblins¡¯ necks were cut.

    I didn¡¯t count, but I think around 1000 heads were cut.

    My magic power had not dried up yet.

    Iunched magic in the direction of a pack of goblins.

    In Hugging Bear¡¯s path, there were goblin corpses without heads lying around.

    A white shadow and wind magic ran through the forest.

    Through detection magic, I could see that packs of goblins were disappearing. Only a few of them remained.

    I didn¡¯t know how many monsters I had killed.

    I still had plenty of magic power remaining.

    In the game, I would have known how many points I would have left though.

    From my position, on the right there was a pack of wolves, on the left was a horde of orcs, andstly, in the center were wyverns.

    Since I didn¡¯t know exactly when my magic power would dry up, I decided that exterminating the orcs would be more important than the wolves.

    I postponed the extermination of the wyverns.

    I had fought them in the game, but not in this world.

    Fighting the monsters you knew you could fight first was the normal strategy in games.

    It was really troublesome if the small fries surrounded you during a tough fight.

    I brought out oren juice from the Bear Box and took a little break.

    As I drank the oren juice, I asked Hugging Bear to go where the orcs were stationed.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, I¡¯m sorry. Hang on for just a little bit longer.¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t killed even half of the monsters.

    A few minutester, I encountered the horde of orcs.

    Unlike what I had done for the goblins, I increased the magic power charge of wind magic.

    A goblin¡¯s and orc¡¯s neck strength was vastly different after all.

    ¡¸It would be great if I could cut off their heads with twice the magic power.¡¹

    I fired the wind magic towards the orcs.

    The orcs¡¯ heads were cleanly cut.

    No problem, it seemed.

    There were approximately 500 orcs.

    Unlike the goblins, the orcs had higher endurance, and their strength was on an entirely different level.

    That was why I would only kill them with ranged attacks.

    The orcs brandished their weapons and rushed towards me with an abnormal speed for giants.

    As Hugging Bear ran, some arrows came flying at us.

    Orc Archers!

    In the game as well, there were orcs that used bows and arrows.

    The projectiles were really troublesome.

    I wrapped Hugging Bear with wind magic.

    There was magicing at us as well.

    ¡¸Are there Orc Mages too?¡¹

    The Orc Archers were using bows.

    The Orc Mages were using staves.

    The Orc Lancers were using hugences.

    The rest were using swords.

    So annoying.

    Numbers were numbers. With earth magic, I created 30 Earth Bear Golems.

    At that moment, for the first time, I had the sensation of my magic being drained from me.

    Was that a little too much?

    The Bear Golems ran to the orcs and stabbed the throats of the orcs with sharp nails.

    I cut off their heads, too.

    Even if the Bear Golems were pierced by arrows, they didn¡¯t stop. They could block magic, and if they had wounds, I could use magic to repair it.

    Wherever the golems and I went, a path of orc corpses was created.

    ¡¸I still have magic power...¡¹

    I made sure I had magic power in my body.

    ¡¸Just the wolves and the wyverns are left for elimination.¡¹

    I fought this much, but thanks to the Bear suit, I didn¡¯t have much fatigue.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s persist a little more.¡¹

    The ce where the wyverns were...

    They didn¡¯t budge from the center.

    To restore a small amount of magic power, I changed to the white bear suit.

    There wasn¡¯t anybody here, right?

    When I wore the white bear suit, it made me warmer, and I could tell that my magic power was being restored.

    Now a white bear, I started fetching the corpses of the orcs and put them into the Bear Box while going back to the ce where I killed the goblins.

    I took the swords, bows, and staves as spoils of war as well.

    In the end, the only things that remained were the heads I had cut off.

    They were heads, you know? It was disgusting going near them, and it seemed that it wasn¡¯t a part you could use. I just had no need to bring them back.

    That was why the road I took turned from a path of orc corpses to a path of orc heads.

    After I finished gathering the corpses, I decided to take a short break in my white bear suit.

    When I sensed that a good part of my magic power was back, I changed to the ck bear suit.

    Now, let¡¯s go kill some wyverns!

    I hopped back onto Hugging Bear and rode to the wyverns¡¯ location.

    When I thought about it, even though I made so much noise while fighting, the wyverns hadn¡¯t budged at all.

    Was there a reason why?

    When I approached the wyvern pack, I found out why...

    ¡¸They¡¯re sleeping.¡¹

    Was it possible that somebody made them fall asleep?

    I didn¡¯t really know why, but I will kill them before they wake up.

    I approached the wyverns silently, and cut their heads off one by one.

    It ended anticlimactically.

    Even though theirpanions had their necks cut right beside them, they didn¡¯t wake up.

    When I finished killing the wyverns, I put their corpses into the Bear Box.

    Was it okay that it was so easy to collect wyvern materials?

    When I finished collecting the corpses, the earth started to tremble.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    The ground was rising.

    I jumped back.

    In the game there were monsters that came from the ground as well.

    Monsters like giant caterpirs or earthworms that opened immense holes and crawled out of them.

    I didn¡¯t notice it with detection magic.

    Did the detection magic not reach deep underground? Or could I not detect it because it was under the wyverns?

    ¡¸So disgusting.¡¹

    A worm wasing out of the ground. It was bigger than the ck Viper.

    The worm turned to face me.

    Lots of saliva was drooling from its mouth.

    The worm saw me as food.

    A really big mouth was attacking me.

    I dodged by jumping back.

    It was big, but fast.

    Even in the game, it was a monster I didn¡¯t fight because of how disgusting it was.

    It was said that when you attacked its skin, fluid scattered and a foul odor propagated.

    Immediately afterwards, the skin regenerated. A really troublesome monster.

    However, I had Bear Magic now.

    With the same strategy I used to kill the ck Viper, I can kill this worm.

    I created 10 fire bear cubs and made them run into the big open mouth.

    The worm, thinking that they were food, hungrily tried to eat them.

    The cubs, which had disappeared into the worm¡¯s mouth, didn¡¯t stop burning.

    I thought that was the best magic against a giant life form.

    Even if the exterior was strong, the interior was tender.

    The worm thrashed on the ground for some time before it stopped moving.

    ¡¸Hmm, will this sell?¡¹

    It seemed there were some ces where people eat caterpirs, but I didn¡¯t think someone would eat that...

    Even if Fina and the rest ate that, I didn¡¯t want to feed them something like this.

    For now, let¡¯s dispose of it, and I will think about itter.

    If it bes money, then it¡¯s all good.

    I ced the dead worm in the Bear Box.

    Just the wolves remained.

    I had magic power remaining, so I went to kill the wolves.

    I dispatched the wolves easily.

    The biggest task was putting the wolves inside the Bear Box.

    I made the Bear Golems transport them to me and then ced them inside the Bear Box.

    I put thest one in.

    With that, the monster hunt waspleted.

    I hopped on Hugging Bear and got out of the forest, which reeked of blood.

    The air was good.

    When I looked at the sky, the sun had gone down, and it was evening.

    I took the trip-only Bear House out and decided to stop here for a night.

    Why was it that, even if my body wasn¡¯t really tired, I felt really tired.

    It had to be something like the tiredness of the soul.

    I ate a simple dinner, and after I bathed, I went directly to my bed and drifted into the world of dreams.

 Chapter 68 â€“ Bear-san Negotiates

    Chapter 68 ¨C Bear-san Negotiates

    Author¡¯s note: Happy New Year!

    I hope for your support this year too.

    When I woke up, it was a few hours after sunrise.

    I had overslept a little, but I didn¡¯t have to rush back.

    I took my time with breakfast, and when I went out, I saw a familiar face...

    ¡¸Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it. This Bear House is Yuna¡¯s.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s my line. I¡¯m going to the capital, of course.¡¹

    When I looked around, there were six of Cliff¡¯s guards.

    They were the guards I had seen at his ce.

    They were all on horses, not using a carriage.

    This sort of forced march journey was impossible for Noa, I thought. That was probably why he entrusted her to me.

    ¡¸I came to pick you up, Cliff. But, now that it¡¯s no longer necessary, I¡¯m going back to the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Pick me up?¡¹

    ¡¸There was a horde of monsters around here, and it made Noa worried.¡¹

    ¡¸But, if it¡¯s no longer necessary, that means you killed them all, right?¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really obediently nod here.

    If this sort of thing got out, there was no doubt that it would be a real pain.

    There was a possibility that my peaceful life would crumble.

    After all, I killed more than 10,000 monsters, and I even killed a Worm.

    Yeah, what to do?

    ¡¸Well, for you, who killed a ck Viper, a monster horde is no problem, right? In reality, you already subjugated a horde of goblins, and you even got the Goblin King¡¯s sword.¡¹

    It seemed that to Cliff, the one who killed all the monsters was me.

    If I told him how many monsters there were, what kind of face would he make?

    However, if I didn¡¯t deny it now, it would be problematic when we arrived at the capital.

    Maybe it would have been better if I had left earlier.

    I wanted to say that to the past me.

    Though saying that now was just useless.

    ¡¸Cliff, can I use the debt you owe me now?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that serious expression? It¡¯s a fact that I owe you a debt, but I can¡¯t agree to your demand before hearing what you want. First let¡¯s talk about it, after that I will see.¡¹

    ¡¸Then is it okay to talk inside the house?¡¹

    I said after looking at the guards.

    ¡¸Understood. You all, you can take a break here.¡¹

    Cliff gave an order to his guards and entered the Bear House.

    After entering the Bear House, I had Cliff seated and started exining.

    The fact that in this forest there were 10,000 goblins and wolves, 500 orcs, and 50 wyverns, and the fact that the capital was preparing to deal with it.

    That Noa was on the brink of tears because Cliff was travelling towards the capital.

    Which made mee here to escort him.

    But before I could find him, I discovered the horde.

    And that I exterminated them all.

    Finally, the fact that I killed a giant Worm, which wasn¡¯t in the Guild¡¯s report.

    ¡¸Right now, I really am regretting the fact that I heard all that, but I¡¯m also really thankful. You have my gratitude.¡¹

    Cliff lowered his head slightly.

    In novels or manga, a noble lowering his head to amoner was a rare thing.

    ¡¸It was for Noa¡¯s sake, so don¡¯t worry about it. If you weren¡¯t her father, I would have abandoned you after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, I will have to thank Noa, too. Your request is for me to keep silent about you subjugating them, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to stand out after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? You could be a hero. You could have wealth and honor.¡¹

    ¡¸Not interested, and it would be too much of a bother if I was summoned. I just want to live happily and peacefully. That¡¯s why I want to end this case peacefully.¡¹

    ¡¸But 10,000 monsters, 500 Orcs, Wyverns and a giant Worm, huh? I can¡¯t believe it.¡¹

    ¡¸Then do you want to see them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, for now I will have my soldiers investigate the forest. I only have your words, after all.¡¹

    Cliff exited the house and ordered his soldiers to investigate the forest. The soldiers, tilting their heads in confusion, obeyed Cliff¡¯s orders and left to search the forest.

    ¡¸With that, nobody will see, right?¡¹

    Taking my feelings into consideration, he had all his soldiers go away.

    The moment I could no longer see his subordinates, I took out all of the wyverns.

    I took out the corpse of the Worm, too.

    Now that I looked at it again, it was grotesque.

    I hate every type of creepy-crawly.

    I, the hikikomori, hadn¡¯t touched a bug since kindergarden.

    For someone like me, it was impossible to like them.

    Cliff also looked at the Worm like he couldn¡¯t believe its size.

    ¡¸Should I take out the orcs as well?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. Put them away.¡¹

    Cliff held his head again and thought.

    ¡¸I wish it was a joke.¡¹

    ¡¸It would be preferable if you didn¡¯t talk about what happened.¡¹

    ¡¸From your story, the adventurers and soldiers from the capital areing here, right? It will surely be a problem if they don¡¯t know who killed them, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Nobody saw the worm, and if you don¡¯t talk, they won¡¯t know it was me.¡¹

    ¡¸You...¡¹

    He had a stunned expression.

    ¡¸For now, you have to at least report this to the guild master, or it won¡¯t be settled. After that, the guild master will handle the situation and stop the march of the Adventurers and Soldiers.¡¹

    The result was that we would have to discuss it with the guild master.

    After that, the die was cast.

    Cliff and I decided to go to the capital while we waited for the inspection of the forest to finish.

    I had to adjust my speed to that of a horse, so my speed was slower than when I came.

    Two dayster, we could see the party of adventurers.

    Thanks to good timing, they were taking a break.

    So that I would not surprise the adventurers, I recalled Swaying Bear, hopped on Cliff¡¯s horse and joined the adventurers.

    ¡¸Ara, isn¡¯t it the runaway Yuna-chan?¡¹

    When we found the guild master, she said this.

    It seemed that I wasbeled as a runaway.

    Well, I was in the guild with my Bear costume.

    Lots of people had to have seen me, and just after that, I had left the capital, so it was normal to think I had run away.

    ¡¸And this person is...?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while Sanya, about a year?¡¹

    ¡¸...Cliff, long time no see. I¡¯ve been in the care of your wife.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, she is doing well too, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸So, why are you here with Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it was my daughter¡¯s request, she asked her to be my escort.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, that doesn¡¯t change the fact that she ran away from the mission this time. All other quests are on hold after all.¡¹

    ¡¸However, that only applies once the guards at the gate have been informed. She left before that.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Your messenger was too slow. That¡¯s why Yuna doesn¡¯t have to be punished.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood, but from here on out, I will have Yuna-chan participate in this monster hunt. We cannot afford to let the girl that can defeat Tiger Wolves and ck Vipers alone go back to the capital like this.¡¹

    ¡¸About that, can we talk a little?¡¹

    ¡¸What is this, so suddenly?¡¹

    Cliff confirmed that there was nobody around him.

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the case. Something troublesome happened, that¡¯s why we need your power as the guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Including the wyverns, Yuna defeated the 10,000 monsters alone.¡¹

    ¡¸......Huh?¡¹

    ¡¸And there¡¯s more, there was a giant Worm.¡¹

    ¡¸...A giant Worm?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, she showed me the corpses. I didn¡¯t personally go into the forest to see the proof, but I think it¡¯s okay to believe her. She doesn¡¯t have any reason to lie, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Fame, wealth.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna said that she doesn¡¯t want it. On the contrary, she wants us to stay quiet about her defeating the monsters. She has the peculiarity of wearing this sort of clothing, and she herself said she wants to live peacefully.¡¹

    ¡¸Hum, is this a joke?¡¹

    ¡¸What is? The fact that she exterminated the monsters, or the fact that she wants to live peacefully with this sort of clothing?¡¹

    ¡¸Both.¡¹

    ¡¸Both are true it seems.¡¹

    It seems that these two were saying anything they wanted while I was calmly listening!

    ¡¸That¡¯s why we came to speak with you.¡¹

    ¡¸...Yuna-chan, exin it all in detail.¡¹

    Sanya-san turned in my direction.

    I exined what happened in the forest.

    ¡¸In other words, in the forest there are 5000 goblin corpses and 500 orc heads, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t count them all, though. I just assumed the number was the same as the amount stated in the report you gave in the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the number, but my soldiers confirmed a great amount of goblin corpses in the forest.¡¹

    Sanya held her head.

    ¡¸Is it okay to be d? Or should I be troubled? I can¡¯t decide.¡¹

    ¡¸You should be d.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, is it really okay? You could be a hero, obtain fame, honor, and wealth, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t need it.¡¹

    See, if I were to lose my freedom in exchange, I didn¡¯t want it.

    ¡¸Understood. Let¡¯s think optimistically. The extermination waspleted without anyone dying. The problem is, who did it, right? Let¡¯s prepare a script, so that we¡¯re all on the same page.¡¹

    ¡¸What do we do?¡¹

    ¡¸An A-rank adventurer party came and hunted them down. After that, they took all the materials with the exception of the goblins before departing.¡¹

    ¡¸And who will you choose from the A-ranks?¡¹

    ¡¸Anybody is fine. It just has to be an unknown A-rank.¡¹

    ¡¸What do we do with the Worm?¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to not talk about it.¡¹

    The story was made.

    Sanya-san assembled all of the adventurers and exined the situation.

    ¡¸All of you, listen! All of the 10,000 monsters and the wyverns have been killed by an A-rank adventurer!¡¹

    ¡¸An A-rank adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. All that remains are the corpses of the goblins with their magic stones and the heads of the orcs. That¡¯s why, I will have you separate into two groups. One group will return to the capital and the other will clean up the goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Are there really no more monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸None, why would I lie? The remunerations are the goblins¡¯ magic stones. However, after you finish extracting the stone, get rid of the corpse. Those who go back won¡¯t be remunerated. Feel free to decide what you will do. ¡¹

    After Sanya¡¯s exnation, almost all the adventurers with a level higher than D decided to go back.

    The lower ranks, coveting the 5000 goblin stones, decided to continue forward.

    The guild master Sanya decided to go with the dismantling force to see the actual site.

    ¡¸Cliff, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. It should be me thanking you.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will go back first.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want to go back together?¡¹

    ¡¸With my bear, I can arrive in a few hours after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, that¡¯s amazing.¡¹

    I summoned Swaying Bear and headed to the capital.

 Chapter 69 â€“ Bear-san, In The Middle Of An Incident

    Chapter 69 ¨C Bear-san, In The Middle Of An Incident

    TL note: The POV changed a lot in this chapter, I tried to do something more linear, but well...

    This is the story of a magician.

    Ten years ago, this magician had been banished from the capital.

    As a result, he swore that he would get his vengeance.

    ¡®I only used a prisoner as a sacrifice, but they banished me from the capital after cutting off one of my arms.¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t forgive the king.

    Just killing him wouldn¡¯t do.

    ¡®I¡¯ll destroy the country that he loves.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll destroy it!¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll kill all of his citizens.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll grant him despair.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll present the scene of his country¡¯s destruction to him without killing him.¡¯

    10 years have passed since he swore that.

    5000 goblins.

    5000 wolves.

    500 orcs.

    50 wyverns.

    One Worm.

    ¡®I have assembled them. I have assembled them.¡¯

    ¡®Now is the time for my vengeance.¡¯

    The man was delighted.

    ¡®I am finally at this point.¡¯

    His body was worn out, and his life force was fading from him.

    However, his mind was focused only on revenge. He was living for the sole purpose of driving the king to despair.

    The magic that controlled the monsters was one that drained his life force.

    ¡®But, I will offer this life for revenge.¡¯

    ¡®First, I will see the king¡¯s face in despair.¡¯

    The man went to the capital and snuck into the castle.

    Since the man had worked there before, he knew one or two ways to infiltrate the castle.

    Thus, he entered the office of the king without being noticed.

    ¡¸Bastard, who are you?¡¹

    ¡¸Did you forget? It¡¯s me, Gruzam, the man you banished.¡¹

    ¡¸...Gruzam.¡¹

    The king couldn¡¯t recognize the face of this withered man.

    He couldn¡¯t remember because of how different the face waspared to a decade ago, and the simple fact that this man was now in the castle.

    ¡¸Long time no see.¡¹

    ¡¸Why and how did youe here?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, I came here by infiltrating the castle. Ah, don¡¯t bother calling the guards. I just came here to talk.¡¹

    ¡¸Talk?¡¹

    ¡¸By now, a monster horde has been found near here, right? It must be so terrible.¡¹

    ¡¸Why would someone like you know of this?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I was the one who assembled them to take my revenge against you.¡¹

    ¡¸Revenge, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Revenge, grudge, spite, you can call it what you want. I just want to see your face full of despair.¡¹

    ¡¸Then you¡¯ve seen plenty already.¡¹

    The king knew about the number of monsters, but he was worried nheless.

    There would be some damage, after all.

    ¡¸No, not enough. I want to see you despair at the sight of your country being destroyed by wyverns, your citizens killed by orcs, goblins and wolves wandering on your territories, and seeing the children being ughtered.¡¹

    Gruzam was delighted just imagining it.

    ¡¸Bastard...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s useless even if you kill me, you know. It¡¯s not like I came here without any means to break out.¡¹

    The king lowered the sword in his hands.

    ¡¸If I invoke my magic now, the monsters wille to the capital. Then in a few days, the capital will be attacked by monsters, I assume. The magic will also be activated if I¡¯m killed. In any case, you will just have to watch it in silence.¡¹

    ¡¸There are adventurers, knights, and soldiers in this country. I don¡¯t think that it will be that easy to finish off the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, I don¡¯t think it will be entirely destroyed. Just half of it is okay. I will be really happy by just having the wyverns destroying the gates and have the monsters invade after that. Just with that, how many citizens will be killed, I wonder.¡¹

    A smile floated on Gruzam¡¯s face.

    ¡¸The adventurers have already left to eradicate the monsters. The soldiers are also preparing themselves. The adventurers and the soldiers may sacrifice themselves, but they will protect the citizens.¡¹

    ¡¸The adventurers won¡¯t vanquish the monsters.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸I have prepared a giant Worm. The adventurers will surely be good snacks, and the Worm will thene to the capital looking for more.¡¹

    ¡¸Bastard!¡¹

    ¡¸If they can¡¯t kill the Worm, there will be no one to kill the goblins and the wolves. This country will be destroyed. That¡¯s why I will be able to see your despairing face.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t screw with me!¡¹

    ¡¸I am not joking. It¡¯s the monsters I assembled with my life. Urgh.¡¹

    Blood sprayed from Gruzam¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸The magic to control the monsters, as you can see, isn¡¯t really convenient. It burns my magic power and my life. It¡¯s sad that I won¡¯t be able to see your bitter face to the end, but until then, I will help myself and enjoy.¡¹

    Gruzam invoked his magic.

    All of his magic power was eaten.

    Even Gruzam¡¯sst sliver of life was taken away from him.

    ¡¸Gruzam!¡¹

    ¡¸With that, the Worm shall wake up, and the wyverns and other monsters wille to the capital. I will be looking at your desperate face from somewhere, and watch the destruction of the capital too.¡¹

    Smiling painfully, Gruzam disappeared.

    ¡¸Gruzam!!!¡¹

    The scream didn¡¯t reach Gruzam.

    ¡¸What happened, Your Highness?¡¹

    Having heard the scream of the king, an imperial soldier rushed inside.

    ¡¸Call Zhang right now!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    The imperial soldier ran off after saluting.

    Not long after that, Zhang, an elder with a moustache, entered the room.

    He was the prime minister of this country.

    ¡¸Your Highness, you called me?¡¹

    ¡¸Send the knights, the soldiers, and the magicians to the monster extermination.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleonora is doing the preparation now.¡¹

    ¡¸Inform them that, among the monsters, there is a Worm. Ask them to prepare a counter n, too.¡¹

    ¡¸A Worm?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. If we don¡¯t do something, the adventurers will be all killed for no reason.¡¹

    ¡¸Your Highness, where did you hear this information?¡¹

    ¡¸There is no time. I will exin itter, so for now, hurry.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Zhang left the room while rushing.

    ¡¸Make it in time!¡¹

    He thought that, but how many deaths would be necessary to bring down a Worm?

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to figure out that Gruzam had prepared everything for the birthday party, when a lot of people had assembled in the capital.

    If it was not defeated, the damage would be astronomical!

    ¡¸Dammit, are there no other countermeasures?¡¹

    The adventurers had already departed from the capital, and the knights, soldiers, and magicians departed the next day.

    Three dayster, incredible news arrived.

    An A-rank adventurer had killed all of the monsters.

    The king¡¯s mouth was agape.

    It was a letter from the guild master that brought the news.

    It was trustworthy.

    It brought him relief, but really, who was this A-rank?

    Was it a coincidence that he was there?

    There were some questions remaining, but for now, the danger had been avoided.

    The only thing left to do was find Gruzam, who was somewhere in the capital.

    However, when the king was alone in his room, Gruzam reappeared.

    ¡¸What is the meaning of this? The adventurers and soldiers came back.¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that all the monsters that you had prepared have been killed by an A-rank adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸An A-rank adventurer? That¡¯s impossible! All the high ranking adventurers should be away. I sent them away, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t understand it either, but this was all written in a letter from the guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a lie! Urgh.¡¹

    Gruzam vomited blood.

    ¡¸Will I die before my revenge is fulfilled? All because of an unknown adventurer? My n should have been perfect...¡¹

    Gruzam looked at the king with a face full of despair.

    ¡¸Why? Why are youughing?¡¹

    ¡¸With that, it¡¯s over.¡¹

    The king took his sword and slew Gruzam.

    Gruzam had neither the strength nor the will to dodge now.

    He couldn¡¯t enact his revenge. It had been the sole thing that permitted him to stay alive.

    The king called the imperial guards to deal with Gruzam¡¯s corpse.

    ¡¸I will have to thank this adventurer.¡¹

    He protected the country, the citizens, and the lives of the adventurers and the soldiers, after all.

 Chapter 70 â€“ Bear-san, Meeting With The King

    Chapter 70 ¨C Bear-san, Meeting With The King

    I returned first and went to Noa¡¯s mansion to fetch Fina.

    The capital was still noisy.

    Well, a fast messenger woulde tomorrow and it would settle down.

    When I arrived at the residence, Suriri-san, who I made the flower bed with, took me to the living room.

    After she told me to wait a little, I heard running, and the door burst open.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Both Fina and Noa entered the room.

    ¡¸You two, were you alright?¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, are you okay, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, how is Father doing?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine! The monsters have been exterminated, and I made sure Cliff was okay. He will probably arrive within a few days, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    The smiling Noa was back.

    ¡¸Noa, thank you for looking after Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Not at all, she is my friend, so it¡¯s natural.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-sama...¡¹

    Fina seemed happy.

    The day after I got back to the capital, the messenger arrived. After that, the soldiers and adventurers gradually came back and talked about the mysterious party of adventurers.

    In the middle of this, Cliff also arrived.

    The guild master Sanya-san returned the day after that, and I was ordered to report to the guild.

    ¡¸Wee, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸So, did you need something?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is a little problem, you see.¡¹

    She continued talking while avoiding eye contact.

    ¡¸The king, you see, wants to meet with Yuna-chan, or more specifically, the imaginary A-rank adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸The king wants...I can refuse, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...He said that he wanted it at all costs, you see. He keeps asking for your name. Of course, I didn¡¯t talk about you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    The king = BIG TROUBLES.

    The form appeared in my head.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, thank you for taking care of me. I will go on a journey, so please don¡¯t search for me.¡¹

    I recited a phrase that often came out in temtes.

    ¡¸Wait a minute! If you run, there will be a wanted poster! If you run, I will tell him your name!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that a threat?¡¹

    ¡¸I am talking about finding apromise. You don¡¯t want anyone to know about what you did, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what about just talking about it with the king? I will ask his Highness to not tell anyone else!¡¹

    ¡¸You can do something like that?¡¹

    He was the king of a country.

    Didn¡¯t she understand that?

    Not to mention, an unknown adventurer wouldn¡¯t be able to see the king without guards in the room.

    ¡¸He¡¯s a man of his word, so if we can make him swear, it will be possible.¡¹

    ¡¸And if he doesn¡¯t?¡¹

    ¡¸At the worst, you will be a hero or receive a medal. Ah, you may have to do a handshake with the king during the birthday event.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, how far do I have to walk to go to another country? If possible, a country far enough away that this country won¡¯t have any influence there.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, Yuna-chan, won¡¯t you give me one day? If his Highness swears, won¡¯t you meet him? It won¡¯t be toote to run after that, right?¡¹

    She was right. I just had to run if he was about to make me a hero.

    I unwillingly epted Sanya-san¡¯s proposal and left the guild.

    Afterwards, I returned and leisurely passed time in the Bear House. Sanya-san came in the evening.

    ¡¸Sorry foring at thiste hour.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. So, did you finish talking to the king?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, his Highness will see you alone.¡¹

    ¡¸Will it really be just the king? He¡¯s the king, you know. What would happen if I was an assassin?¡¹

    ¡¸I will be present as well, just in case. His Highness also absolutely wants to meet and thank the one who killed the monsters, it seems. That¡¯s why he epted all of my requests.¡¹

    If he went to that extent, I couldn¡¯t refuse.

    ¡¸Then, when do I have to go see him?¡¹

    ¡¸Tomorrow morning, I wille and get you.¡¹

    Then, I¡¯ll ask the most important question.

    ¡¸Is it okay to go with this kind of clothing? Though, if it¡¯s impossible, I will leave the capital today.¡¹

    If I didn¡¯t have the Bear Suit, I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I asked his Highness if he wanted to see you even if you wore strange clothes, and he responded that it was no problem, after all.¡¹

    Even though my mood was still heavy, the next day came.

    I was praying that Sanya-san wouldn¡¯te, but my prayer apparently didn¡¯t reach the heavens, because she came to pick me up.

    I asked Fina to take care of the house and went to the castle with Sanya-san.

    When we entered the castle, someone I didn¡¯t want to see was standing there.

    ¡¸Ara? Yuna-chan. What are you doing here with the guild master?¡¹

    We met Eleanora-san, who was walking around in the castle.

    There was a high chance that I would see Eleanora-san, since she worked at the castle.

    However, meeting her even though the castle was so vast, what was with this bad timing?

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, good morning. Yuna-chan and I had a little business in the castle.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, is that so? Where are you going? I wille as well.¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, don¡¯t be so reserved. I have some free time, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay with your job?¡¹

    ¡¸My subordinates are excellent, so there¡¯s no problem.¡¹

    Sanya-san was troubled with those words.

    Of course, I was troubled too.

    After seeing our faces, Eleanora-san burst intoughter.

    ¡¸Fufu, sorry. Don¡¯t make such troubled faces. I heard the story about the monsters from Cliff, after all. Of course, I didn¡¯t talk about it with anyone, so don¡¯t fret. You are going to meet with the king now, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Your personality is really rotten, Eleanora-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸But, that¡¯s because Yuna-chan didn¡¯t say anything to me!¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t have any choice, Eleanora-san. You are affiliated with the castle, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a reason to muzzle Cliff, right? It was really hard to make him talk, you know?¡¹

    Cliff did his best, huh?

    With that, I wanted to be angry, but I couldn¡¯t.

    Still, how did she make him talk?

    ¡¸If you have already heard the story, Eleanora-sama, do you really want toe with us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I aming. There is the story I heard from Cliff too, after all.¡¹

    We ¨C the three of us now ¨C went to the king-sama¡¯s audience room.

    Imperial guards were standing at the entrance.

    It seemed that the guards had been informed, and when they saw the guild master, they guided us into the room.

    ¡¸You did well toe here.¡¹

    When we entered, I saw a handsome middle aged man who was past his 40s.

    This man must be the king.

    However, he didn¡¯t wear a crown.

    ¡¸Eleanora is here too?¡¹

    ¡¸The person who killed the monsters is my acquaintance, after all.¡¹

    Eleanora-san was looking at me.

    Noticing that, the king¡¯s gaze also turned to me.

    ¡¸And? I heard that you would bring an A-rank adventurer? Who is this girl wearing a Bear Suit?¡¹

    ¡¸Your Highness, pardon me! There isn¡¯t any A-rank adventurer. The one who killed all the monsters was this girl alone. I say that, but I am sure you won¡¯t trust me. The story of the A-rank adventurer is a lie.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not so free that I can listen to your jokes. When is the adventurering?¡¹

    The king was angry.

    It was a natural thing.

    After all, he was suddenly told that it wasn¡¯t an A-rank adventurer who killed the monsters, but a girl in a Bear Suit.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want you to meet her. Your Highness, this is the truth, and you just have to believe it. This is something I guarantee.¡¹

    ¡¸I guarantee it too.¡¹

    ¡¸You too?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because she saved Cliff, after all. There is no better proof than this.¡¹

    The king was looking at me.

    ¡¸Was it really you who exterminated them? Remove the hood and talk.¡¹

    I was so stressed about being in front of the king that I hadn¡¯t removed my hood.

    I took it off it and greeted him.

    ¡¸I am the adventurer Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just a child! Did you really kill more than 10,000 monsters alone?¡¹

    I may be short, but I am 15!

    ¡¸I killed them. If you want proof, I will give it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is there any?¡¹

    ¡¸I have the corpses of the Worm and Wyverns I killed.¡¹

    ¡¸This girl has a bag that is a relic from ancient times, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸She has something like that?¡¹

    ¡¸I guarantee it.¡¹

    This thing about an ancient relic was something we discussed beforeing here.

    My Bear Box was special, and normal bags wouldn¡¯t be able to hold something as big as the Worm.

    They said that the only bags that could do that were artifacts from the past.

    That was why I decided to say that my Bear Box was a relic from the past.

    ¡¸If you suddenly say that, I won¡¯t be able to believe it. However, if the two of you say that, it must be true.¡¹

    The king looked at me again.

    ¡¸I will express my gratitude. Thank you for saving the citizens of this country, and the soldiers¡¯ lives.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t thank me, killing the monsters was just something I did while I was passing by.¡¹

    ¡¸...While you were passing by?¡¹

    My real thoughts leaked out...

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. You see, Yuna-chan killed the monsters for my daughter¡¯s sake.¡¹

    Eleanora-san was talking happily, with a carefree smile.

    After that, she started to talk about the reason the monsters were defeated, which she had heard from Cliff, finding it hrious.

    ¡¸A girl was on the brink of tears, and that was your reason to defeat them?¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, isn¡¯t that enough of a reason? Fighting for the ones you want to protect.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. However, the one who nned this will turn in his grave, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸nned?¡¹¡¹

    The guild master¡¯s voice and mine ovepped.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Since you are involved, it¡¯s okay if I tell you.¡¹

    The king exined that this attempted monster attack was the scheme of a guy who nned it for revenge.

    There was a magic that could control monsters!?

    There was the possibility of taming monsters to be yourpanions in the game as well, but...

    After hearing what the king said, it didn¡¯t seem to be the same.

    I didn¡¯t know any magic that would consume your life.

    Was that some sort of forbidden magic from this world?

    I was thinking about that when it became noisy outside of the room.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t, Princess Flora. There are guests inside the room.¡¹

    The door opened a little and I heard some voices.

    ¡¸No! I will go see Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Please!¡¹

    ¡¸Nooo!¡¹

    ¡¸What is happening?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...Princess Flora wants to see the Bear-san, it seems.¡¹

    When the imperial soldier opened the door and exined it, Princess Flora used her little body to break through and enter the room.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    She approached and then hugged me.

    ¡¸We finally meet!¡¹

    She smiled happily while rubbing her head on my stomach.

    ¡¸What, you are an acquaintance of Flora?¡¹

    ¡¸Thest time I went to the castle with her, we met Princess Flora.¡¹

    Eleanora-san responded for me.

    ¡¸Is it possible that the Bear Picture Book is...¡¹

    ¡¸You saw it? Yuna-chan was the one who wrote it. It was great, right?¡¹

    ¡¸What to say. The pictures were really quite cute. When I asked who wrote it, Flora just responded that it was Bear-san, you see. Now I understand why.¡¹

    He was looking at me.

    I am a bear, got a problem?

    ¡¸Bear-san, let¡¯s y!¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, I don¡¯t know.¡¹

    I looked at all of them.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind!¡¹

    I received the king¡¯s permission.

    Guuuuuu~

    Right then, I heard the sound of a hungry little stomach.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, are you hungry?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    There was some time before lunch.

    There was pudding inside of the Bear Box.

    If it was just that, there would be no problem, I think.

    However, was it something that could be offered to a princess?

    ¡¸Umm, is it okay if I give something to eat to the princess?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    Was it really okay to give permission so easily?

    If I gave her poison, what would he do?

    ¡¸You said it¡¯s okay, but is it really? What if there is poison in it?¡¹

    ¡¸What, you¡¯ll give her poisoned things?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t, but...if you are a king, you should be a little more mistrustful, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora and Sanya are people I trust. It¡¯s not something I have to fret about.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, shall we go to your room, Princess?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to eat it here, and the strange doubt will disappear too.¡¹

    That was a sound argument, but I didn¡¯t want to take pudding out in front of the king.

    However, it was a little toote to say that I wouldn¡¯t take it out now.

    I took the pudding and a spoon out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, please take this.¡¹

    ¡¸What is that?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a cold, sweet, and delicious dessert.¡¹

    Princess Flora held the spoon in her little hand and brought it to her mouth.

    At this moment, the smile that sprouted on her face was like a blooming flower.

    Princess Flora continued scooping pudding into her mouth without stopping.

    It seemed to please her.

    ¡¸Is it good?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm...¡¹

    She nodded slightly.

    Her smile was cute.

    It made me want to pat her head, but it would mean patting the princess¡¯s head in front of the king.

    Though, there was no one who would me me.

    ¡¸What, is it that delicious?¡¹

    It seemed that seeing his daughter eat so happily pleased him.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I want to eat one more too.¡¹

    Eleanora-san was looking this way with jealousy.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, you have had experience eating it?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked.

    Her eyes were glued to the pudding.

    Oh, was it possible that she wanted it too?

    ¡¸Yes, I have had the pleasure of eating it before. It¡¯s cold, sweet, and really delicious.¡¹

    All of their gazes were alternating between the pudding and me.

    ¡¸Hmm, you want to eat some?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I will take it.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for me too?¡¹

    For now, I took out three of them.

    There were just five puddings remaining.

    Fina also really wanted to eat it, so they couldn¡¯t have more than one each.

    ¡¸What...is...this...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes~! It¡¯s really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, it¡¯s really delicious!¡¹

    It was great that it pleased the three of them.

    At that moment, I could sense a gaze.

    Princess Flora was staring at me strongly.

    She was looking at the now empty cup and at me.

    ¡¸This is thest one. After all, if you eat more, you won¡¯t be able to eat lunch.¡¹

    I warned her before taking out another one.

    ¡¸What, there is something so delicious that has been produced near the castle.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know about this either.¡¹

    ¡¸When I think about it, it¡¯s normal. It¡¯s a pastry that Yuna-chan invented, after all.¡¹

    Eleanora-san exined it for me, but it wasn¡¯t really like I invented it.

    However, I couldn¡¯t really say that it was knowledge from Earth.

    ¡¸Is that right? But it¡¯s really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸If they know the recipe, could our chefs make it too?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, they could.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to tell them.

    ¡¸No good! Yuna-chan is trying to build up a store with this food, so that the children of an orphanage will have jobs.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    Eleanora-san heard about this from Cliff, huh. She started talking about what I was doing in the town.

    The fact that I was taking care of the orphanage and the fact that I was raising Cluckers for their eggs, which was an ingredient for the pudding.

    Also the fact that I was thinking that, if there were some children who wanted to be cooks, I would help them open a restaurant.

    ¡¸Why do you know all of that in this much detail?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, it¡¯s because in each letter Cliff sent me, he was writing so much about you that it could have made me jealous. It was written in the letter you were holding too.¡¹

    Someone, make a protection of personal informationw, please!

    ¡¸In that case, I won¡¯t ask for the recipe. However, if you could bring some every so often, the princess and I would be very grateful.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if it¡¯s like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora, prepare a letter that will permit Yuna to enter the castle whenever she wants.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, understood.¡¹

    Apparently they would add an emblem to my guild card that would permit me to enter the castle as I wanted so that I could bring the pudding.

    Was it okay like this?

    Author¡¯s Note

    The monster arc that I wrote because I just thought of it is now finished.

    I didn¡¯t think of anything to write after that, so Fina¡¯s point of view is nned to be next.

    You could say that it will be something to buy time.

    I have some stories for when they return to the town, but what will I write for the birthday party?

 Chapter 71 â€“ Bear-san Goes Back To Crimonia, For Eggs

    Chapter 71 ¨C Bear-san Goes Back To Crimonia, For Eggs

    I thought of writing Fina¡¯s POV, but it turned out like this.

    There were no more eggs.

    That was a big problem.

    We couldn¡¯t eat sunny side up fried eggs or scrambled eggs.

    We couldn¡¯t make pudding or egg sandwiches.

    We had to get urgent replenishment.

    That was why:

    ¡¸Fina, I will go back to town. Do you want toe back, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Fueh?¡¹

    Fina replied strangely.

    ¡¸There are no more eggs, so I thought of going to the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna is going back?¡¹

    It was just a fast trip by transfer gate, though.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. But you can just tour around in the capital. What will you do?¡¹

    ¡¸I will go back, too. Can I just say goodbye to Noa-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s okay. We will be back today, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸......?¡¹

    Fina tilted her head a little.

    ¡¸What you are saying is we will go to town now, and will be back today?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    I don¡¯t think we are on the same page.

    ¡¸If we are fast, we will be back in the afternoon.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I would feel bad for the bears. Even if there is no more eggs, it¡¯s okay. So don¡¯t do something that will hurt the bears, please.¡¹

    ¡¸......?¡¹

    I tilted my head this time.

    ¡¸We will go by transfer gate, so we won¡¯t use the bears.¡¹

    ¡¸Transfer gate?¡¹

    It was Fina¡¯s turn to tilt her head this time.

    Ah, I had not exined it to Fina.

    ¡¸Sorry, Fina is always with me, so I wanted to tell you. We have the Bear¡¯s Transfer Gate, so we can go back to the town instantly.¡¹

    ¡¸..... Big Sis Yuna, I don¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡¹

    I thought so.

    It would be strange if someone told you that you could move a long distance in an instant using a transfer gate, right?

    If someone had said something like that to me in the real world, I would have thought something like, ¡°Is his head broken?¡±

    First of all, I didn¡¯t even know if there was magic that permitted transferring in this world. If there wasn¡¯t any, it was normal for Fina to say something like that.

    ¡¸Hmm~, Fina, I just want to ask, but...in this country, is there a type of magic that permits instant movement, or a magic to move between two ces in an instant?¡¹

    ¡¸........¡¹

    ¡¸For example, a magic that permits instant movement between the capital and the town?¡¹

    ¡¸Never heard of that.¡¹

    Of course~

    Hmmm, I thought it was okay to tell Fina about the gate.

    She was not the kind of kid to talk about those sort of things.

    Well, even if other people heard of it, I was the only one who could use the gates, and I installed all the gates in Bear Houses, so the only conclusion was that there was no problem.

    ¡¸Fina, you know I trust you.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, yes?¡¹

    She agreed while tilting her head.

    I went to the warehouse where the portal was.

    ¡¸If I remember right, the same device was in the other warehouse.¡¹

    It was in the warehouse, but I hadn¡¯t exined it to Fina.

    I wanted to exin how it worked to her.

    ¡¸This gate and the one in town are connected.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, even I won¡¯t be deceived by that. If I could go to the town where my mother is by passing through this gate, nobody would have a problem with transportation.¡¹

    Right on!

    ¡¸For now, if you go through, you will understand.¡¹

    sping Fina¡¯s hand, I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate.

    At that moment, we arrived at the warehouse of the Bear House in Crimonia.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell anyone about it, okay? Ah, and if I am not here, you won¡¯t be able to use it.¡¹

    When we went out of the warehouse, the long missed town of Crimonia came to view.

    ¡¸If it¡¯s at this hour, Terumi-san should be at the orphanage. Let¡¯s go.¡¹

    We both went to the orphanage.

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear!¡¹

    When we arrived near the orphanage, the children that were outside rushed over.

    It was the children I selfishly named the Little Kid Group.

    Well, they were less than six years old, and couldn¡¯t do any of the jobs.

    Rather than us, it was the older children who were taking care of the younger children.

    After one noticed, two or three more came rushing to me.

    The children around me were increasing.

    Was it just me, or were the children multiplying?

    ¡¸Hello everyone, nothing happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, no problem!¡¹

    ¡¸We did good with our jobs.¡¹

    I should pet their heads.

    ¡¸Is Terumi-san here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. She¡¯s with the professor.¡¹

    I went to the orphanage while watching them respond yfully and energetically.

    When I entered, the director, Terumi-san, and Rizu were drinking tea.

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    ¡¸Fina and Yuna-chan, you were back?¡¹

    ¡¸We will quickly go back to the capital. We just came back because we wanted eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸Eggs?¡¹

    ¡¸Are there any?¡¹

    ¡¸All the eggs are Yuna-chan¡¯s, so if you want eggs, there will be eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I have as many eggs as possible, but not so many that it causes trouble with the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸When are you going back to the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Today.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fast.¡¹

    ¡¸If I can get the eggs tomorrow, I don¡¯t mind leaving tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. How many do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸100, 200, as many as I can get.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, is it okay if we give them to you tomorrow? If you take them today, you can have 100, but if you wait until tomorrow, we can prepare more.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright. Fina, we will go back tomorrow, so you can go with Terumi-san today. It¡¯s okay if you want to stay here afterwards.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I will go back to the capital, too. After all, I didn¡¯t get to say goodbye to Noa-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Then we will meet each other at the orphanage tomorrow. Ah, and I have a favor to ask you all.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸If all goes well, next month, someone wille to sell potatoes, so could you please buy them for me? Take the money from the profits from selling the eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸Potatoes? If I remember correctly, your stomach will hurt if you eat them, right?¡¹

    It was the same here, huh?

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t eat the eyes or sprouts, there is no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸We will eat together next time, so can you please purchase them?¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    I received today¡¯s portion of eggs, and left the orphanage.

    When I walked around town, I noticed there wasn¡¯t as much of a reaction as there was in the capital.

    Children just sometimes said,¡¸It¡¯s Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Found you!¡¹

    The one who was in front of me, with the eyes of a hunter who had found her prey, was Mylene-san.

    ¡¸I searched for you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm~, what can I do for you?¡¹

    ¡¸What is that food called?¡¹

    ¡¸Food?¡¹

    ¡¸The one you gave me before going to the capital!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah~, the pudding.¡¹

    That¡¯s right, I remembered giving some to her.

    ¡¸Yes, that! What is that delicious food!¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, you did well, finding out that I was in town.¡¹

    ¡¸With that appearance, who wouldn¡¯t know. I looked for you after I heard somemerce guild personnel saying they saw you. Now, give me more of that food!¡¹

    She firmly grabbed my shoulders.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, your personality has changed, you know...¡¹

    ¡¸For that, changing my personality is normal!¡¹

    ¡¸I will give it to you, so please let me go!¡¹

    Only after I said that did she let me go.

    ¡¸No lies, right? If you are lying, I will curse you!¡¹

    I took out four puddings from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸These are thest ones I have.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you!¡¹

    After having received the puddings, she started beaming happily.

    Mylene-san put them in her Item Bag so she wouldn¡¯t drop them.

    ¡¸Hey, Yuna-chan, won¡¯t you open a shop? This will sell, without a doubt!¡¹

    ¡¸This uses eggs. For now, how much do they cost?¡¹

    ¡¸The price dropped quite a bit. After all, there are 200-300 of them every day.¡¹

    Then opening a shop was okay, I guess.

    There were around 500 Cluckers.

    I would have liked 1000 of them.

    I considered that, but the number of people who would look after them was a little too insufficient.

    I thought it would be impossible with just the orphanage¡¯s children.

    Well, I will take my time to think about it.

    ¡¸Then, can I ask you to make a reservation to start the shop? The ce should be near the orphanage, and make it big. I want enough space outside the shop so that, even if it gets crowded, it won¡¯t cause any problems.¡¹

    ¡¸You have lots of requests, huh...¡¹

    ¡¸If I open the shop, I n to engage the children of the orphanage. That¡¯s why it has to be close to the orphanage. And, it¡¯s just me saying this, but I think it will be popr, so it has to be big. If a crowd formed in front of the shop, it would cause problems for other people.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. I will look for the right ce.¡¹

    ¡¸I am not in a hurry, so you can take your time. I will go back to the capital tomorrow, after all.¡¹

    I parted ways with Mylene-san and went back to the Bear House.

    Just after I arrived, I started to make pudding with the 100 eggs I received today.

    The day will be finished right after that.

 Chapter 72 â€“ Bear-san, Baker GET | Part 1

    Chapter 72 ¨C Bear-san, Baker GET | Part 1

    The next day, after obtaining the eggs, I went to the capital.

    With this, it would be okay for now.

    While I was taking my time inside the Bear House, I heard a voice calling me from outside.

    When I went out, Noa stood there imposingly with puffed cheeks.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, did you go somewhere while leaving me here all alone?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I ask something too?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t understand, does Noa have nothing else to do? Aren¡¯t there any courtesy greetings or preparations that need to be done as a noble for the birthday party?¡¹

    ¡¸There aren¡¯t. It¡¯s basically because mother lives here that there is no need for greetings. The only greetings needed would be ones in the hall, during the birthday party. I will be apanied by mother and father for that; and since the leading part will be going to my big sister, I¡¯m just a bonus. More importantly, I came with Misa yesterday. She wanted to see the bears.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I had some business outside the capital.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell her that I went back to town through the transfer gate, so that was my response.

    As an apology for yesterday, I will be Noa and Misa¡¯s ymate today.

    Well, their ymates will be the bears though.

    As the days passed gradually since I came to the capital, the day of the king¡¯s birthday approached.

    Of course, as the day of the birthday party approached, Cliff and the other nobles were moving around busily.

    Noa was no longer free toe to any more outings, and the times where I would go out with just Fina started to increase.

    ¡¸Although I thought that there was a lot of people when we came to the capital, there are even more of them today.¡¹

    ¡¸This is the first time I¡¯ve seen so many people!¡¹

    ¡¸Because of that, there are a lot of gazes.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because Big Sis Yuna¡¯s suit stands out after all.¡¹

    The gazes of the people we crossed were always focused on me.

    It had been a few months since I came to this world, and I had be ustomed to these gazes being fixated on me.

    Although I would be lying if I said that it didn¡¯t bother me, but human beings learn to adapt.

    ¡¸Being bothered by it won¡¯t do anything. Let¡¯s enjoy the few days before the birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    While buying, eating, and window-shopping at the street stalls, we walked around the capital.

    The capital was too big, it was almost as if we wouldn¡¯t have enough time to visit everything if we slowly took our time.

    I even got various unusual things too.

    ¡¸Ah, what a great smell.¡¹

    There was the scent of freshly baked breading from somewhere.

    ¡¸Yes, it smells great.¡¹

    ¡¸It seems it ising from the bakery over there. It¡¯s just about time, so let¡¯s eat?¡¹

    From where I could see, there was the signboard of a bakery.

    It was a little shop, but a delicious smell wasing from there.

    Inside the shop was a crowd of people.

    All of them had been lured in by the scent just like us.

    Fina and I lined up for the bread.

    And after waiting for around ten minutes it was our turn.

    ¡¸This bread looks delicious.¡¹

    A girl around my age was at the counter.

    She seemed surprised by my suit, but she soon started talking with a smile afterwards.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I will take two pieces of bread please.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    The girl gave us two pieces of bread that had just been brought out of the oven.

    What a nice scent.

    ¡¸If it¡¯s good, I wille back!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thanks for the patronage.¡¹

    After buying the bread, we went outside to eat them.

    ¡¸This may be the best bread I have ever had.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    It was fluffy bread.

    It brought back the memories of the bread I ate back in Japan.

    With this bread...making sandwiches or cheese toast...

    Making all sort of things would be great, I bet.

    Without forgetting, I decided to buy some before going back to Crimonia.

    But...with all those customers...it would definitely be difficult to buy it...

    Maybe if I came here first thing in the morning.

    With that in mind, after taking into ount the hour at which the bakery would open, I departed on the next day.

    For now, since I didn¡¯t have rice, bread would have to be the center of my eating habit.

    If it had to be like this, I wanted to eat delicious bread.

    Thinking that, I arrived at the bakery.

    Ara, there was a lot of people in front of the bakery...

    Was I toote?

    ¡¸Please stop!¡¹

    From the opened door, a woman past her thirties was shouting.

    Next to her was the girl that was at the counter yesterday.

    They were most likely mother and daughter.

    The mother protected her daughter by shielding her and resisting with all of her strength.

    The people watching this scene didn¡¯t try to help them...

    ¡¸Hurry and get out! This shop is not your property!¡¹

    About three men were acting violently in the shop.

    Because they were acting so violently inside the shop, bread was flying everywhere.

    *Puchi*

    (TL note: it¡¯s the sound of a vein that is contracted on Yuna¡¯s head: ¡°Yuna angry!¡± feels like that...)

    ¡¸But, we had an agreement that until the birthday party¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸There are other people who want to do some business here!¡¹

    Not finished, the man stepped on the bread that fell and was rolling on the floor.

    *Puchi*

    ¡¸But, the agreement¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸Agreement, agreement...Just shut up! If you want to work here, you have to repay your husband¡¯s debt! If you want, you can repay it with your daughter¡¯s body...¡¹

    The man grabbed the arm of the girl.

    *Puchi*

    ¡¸Let go of my daughter!¡¹

    The mother grabbed the man to save her child.

    But the man hit her.

    *Puchi©`n*

    I snapped.

    I barged into the shop.

    ¡¸What is it, you bitch!¡¹

    I punched.

    ¡¸What are you doing?¡¹

    I kicked.

    ¡¸You bitch, we are¡ª¡¹

    I flung him away.

    ¡¸Who wants to die first...?¡¹

    I asked the men that were copsed on the floor.

    ¡¸You think that it will end just like that?¡¹

    The man drew the sword he had on his waist.

    ¡¸If you are drawing, I guess you don¡¯t have anyints about dying right?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t fuck with me!¡¹

    Iunched a Bear Punch into his sr plexus.

    The man copsed while holding his stomach.

    ¡¸Who¡¯s next?¡¹

    I looked at the remaining two guys.

    ¡¸You bitch, I¡¯ll remember those clothes. Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be able to leave the capital safely!¡¹

    The remaining two guys shouted while dragging the man who copsed.

    At that moment, an apuse came from the audience.

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    I approached the mother and daughter and asked.

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, that¡¯s terrible.¡¹

    All the fresh bread was scattered on the floor.

    From them drifted a really great scent, so I think I sensed even more cruelty.

    It was bad, just looking at all the bread on the floor, my anger was welling up.

    I should have punched them some more.

    ¡¸Before, I think he said something about a debt?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was a debt from when we purchased this store. But when my husband died not too long ago, they started to coerce us into repaying the debt.¡¹

    ¡¸But, with such delicious bread, you could reimburse the debt with no problem, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if we had the time, it would be possible. But there is someone who wants thisnd, and more precisely this ce.¡¹

    That¡¯s why the men started harassing them, so that they would leave this ce.

    Hmmm, what to do?

    I wanted their bread, so I needed the bakery to continue.

    Would this problem finish if I paid the debt?

    ¡¸But, before leaving this ce we wanted to earn enough money, so we could open our next bakery.¡¹

    ¡¸You will continue the bakery elsewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s the bread that my husband entrusted to me after all. I want to continue the bakery until I die.¡¹

    What a wonderful love between this husband and wife.

    I couldn¡¯t stand doing nothing.

    ¡¸Okay, I understand. Then, why don¡¯t you work at my shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Your shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was nning on opening a shop, but I am a bit troubled because I don¡¯t have enough personnel to do so.¡¹

    It was the new shop I was nning on opening in Crimonia.

    I wanted to let the children at the orphanage do it, but an adult was necessary if I wanted to entrust it to them.

    Even more so when it was a talented baker who could bake delicious bread, which was needed in my shop.

    ¡¸Is it a bakery? I can only bake bread after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, I will ask you to make some bread, but you will also have to make other things. While we are at it, the thing I want you to make is this.¡¹

    I brought out two puddings and gave it to the them.

    ¡¸What is this?¡¹

    ¡¸This is a dish named pudding.¡¹

    The two of them ate the pudding.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to sell this with the bread, but what do you think?¡¹

    I was nning on selling pizza too.

    If you have bread dough, you could make pizza.

    Killing two birds with one stone.

    ¡¸Who are you exactly?¡¹

    ¡¸I am an adventurer from Crimonia. For various reasons, I will open a shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmmm, is it okay if my daughteres too...?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I am Morin. My daughter¡¯s name is Karin.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, before those mene back, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    ¡¸But...our luggage...¡¹

    I took out 10 item bags that I previously took from the thieves.

    I haven¡¯t used them at all, so I didn¡¯t really know just how much they could hold, so I took out this much in case it wasn¡¯t sufficient.

    ¡¸This is?¡¹

    ¡¸These are item bags. You can put the little things you have in it, and the big ones will go into the item box I have on me.¡¹

    Since we didn¡¯t know when the men woulde back, we immediately began moving.

    I asked Morin-san to assemble all the utensils needed to make bread.

    Fina and I helped Karin take the household goods.

    I gathered all of the western clothes inside each closet and the books from the bookshelves and put them away.

    For the small stuff, Karin-san was taking care of them and ced them inside the item bags.

    ¡¸Excuse me, Yuna-san.¡¹

    While tidying up, Karin-san called my name in a little voice.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Will we really be able to open a store in Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it won¡¯t be just bread.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you doing so much for us?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat delicious bread.¡¹

    ¡¸Huuuh?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat delicious bread. Just that isrgely sufficient, right? Let¡¯s stop bbering, hurry and finish tidying up. We don¡¯t know when those men wille back after all.¡¹

    As if we were running away at night, we ced all of the items in the house and the bakery inside the item bags and the Bear Box before running through the back door.

    ¡¸Excuse me...where are the two of us going now?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, you can juste and live at my house. We shall see how things turn out, and we¡¯ll head to Crimonia after that.¡¹

    Without encountering those men, we arrived at the Bear House.

    ¡¸Bear?¡¹

    Seeing the house, the two of them tilted their heads.

    ¡¸Well, stop with that reaction ande inside.¡¹

    I took them inside the house.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll let you see the bedroomster. You can use the second floor.¡¹

    ¡¸Ummm, I want to thank you again.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸But, at that rate, I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened to Karin.¡¹

    ¡¸So, who were they?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, they were the subordinates of a merchant called Jorz. He¡¯s the merchant that said he would sell the ce cheaply to my husband, but it was a scam. The ce wasn¡¯t cheap, and an enormous price was written on the contract. My husband wanted to sue him, but we couldn¡¯t do anything about it since it was written in the contract. My husband, saying thatining was no good, decided that we just had to make delicious bread. And once we could finally make delicious bread, he died. At that moment, Jorz started to say that we had to repay him at the same time, and that¡¯s why they were harassing us.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t understand all of it, but what happened to the money you paid before? You purchased the bakery, so isn¡¯t it yours now?¡¹

    ¡¸The problem is that there was a term saying that if my husband died, the shop would return to Jorz, it seems.¡¹

    ¡¸Simply put, you thought you bought it cheaply, but it was really pricy, and in addition to this, if your husband died, the shop would return to the hands of the merchant Jorz...Your husband has been deceived a little too much, don¡¯t you think?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, my husband didn¡¯t know how to distrust strangers.¡¹

    ¡¸What an incredibly perfid merchant!¡¹

    ¡®As one would expect, he was a stupid husband!¡¯ I couldn¡¯t say that...

    I guided them to the rooms, and told them that I would rest for a bit.

    We ate lunch afterwards, and while I was taking my afternoon nap, it became noisy outside.

    ¡¸Get out here!¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll break the door!¡¹

    ¡¸You bear! Come out!¡¹

    It¡¯s so noisy outside...

    I will have to construct a soundproof barrier...

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, nobody can enter.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to wait here.¡¹

    When I came out, around 20 men were here.

    ¡¸You came out, Miss Bear!¡¹

    A fat man with a bulging stomach and a smiling face started talking to me.

    A creepy face.

    He had a face that made me think that even if someone told me that he had toads as rtives, I would believe it.

    ¡¸Who the hell are you?¡¹

    ¡¸I am the merchant, Jorz-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will rmend you to change your name to Jorz The Toad.¡¹

    ¡¸Bitch!¡¹

    ¡¸Stop! More importantly, I heard that you¡¯ve hurt my subordinates!¡¹

    ¡¸He started it by trying to attack me with his sword. Would you prefer that he cut me in half with it?¡¹

    ¡¸You think you can just simply oppose Jorz-sama here in the capital? You want to end up like the baker girl, and sold somewhere?¡¹

    He said that with his smug face.

    Ah, I wanted to hit his face!

    I wanted to see his face twisted with pain.

    I wanted to see his face filled with suffering.

    ¡¸But if you give me the baker mother and daughter, I will forgive you for what you¡¯ve done this time...¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, but aren¡¯t you misunderstanding the situation if you think that it¡¯ll all go as you¡¯ve nned?¡¹

    ¡¸I know that missy is an adventurer. It¡¯s impressive that you are a D©\rank while being a woman at this age, but these men here are former C and D©\rankers you know! They aren¡¯t the sort of people you can win against! Andstly, look at their numbers!¡¹

    ¡¸No more...It stinks, so please don¡¯t open your mouth anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸You bitch!¡¹

    I invoked earth magic.

    The men¡¯s footsteps disappeared instantly.

    They all fell down a pitfall, leaving the Merchant Jorz alone.

    The holes were around five meters deep, so some might¡¯ve gotten bone fractures. If they had no luck, there was a chance that they might¡¯ve died.

    ¡¸You bitch...You were a magic user?¡¹

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you say you investigated me?¡¹

    ¡¸When I investigated at the guild, your upation was that of a Bear, you know.¡¹

    So nostalgic! The time I wrote that my upation was a Bear!

    But, well, that¡¯s not a mistake...

    ¡¸There is no way an upation like that exists, you know? Now, what will you do? Will you dive into a pit too? Or will you overlook me? Which is better?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for you to do this to me? I am a man that can influence the guild master of the adventurer guild you know! I could pinch and crush an adventurer of your caliber easily!¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, was I so intimate with you?¡¹

    Sanya-san had been standing behind Jorz for some time, listening to the discussion.

    ¡¸San¨Cya-san? Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸There was a guild staff member that was attending you, and when he spilled out what he knew, he said that the infamous merchant Jorz ordered him, and so I came after you.¡¹

    ¡¸And you said that you can affect the guild master Sanya-san...What are you going to do now?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t joke with me! What is a guild master? I am intimate with the king you know? If I told the king, what could you do?¡¹

    If you¡¯ll say something once, you¡¯ll say it again.

    Wasn¡¯t there a saying like that?

    ¡¸Who are you, you bastard. I don¡¯t know someone like you!¡¹

    ¡¸W¨Cwhy is the king in a ce like this???¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯m just taking a stroll and I have a request for my best friend, the adventurer Yuna. That¡¯s why I slipped out of the castle.¡¹

    Is that really okay, your majesty???

    Also, since when did we be best friends???

    ¡¸The king? That¡¯s a lie!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your problem if you think it¡¯s a lie, but using the king¡¯s name is a criminal act. Don¡¯t think it will end smoothly. Sanya, cuff this nasty man. I will let you contact the castle.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have a choice, huh...I¡¯m the only one here who can do this.¡¹

    Sanya-san arrested Jorz and tied him up.

    ¡¸Let me go! Who do you think I am?¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up!¡¹

    Sanya-san knocked him out.

    ¡¸So, what does his Highness want?¡¹

    ¡¸What? Are you not going to let me enter?¡¹

    ¡¸You want toe inside?¡¹

    ¡¸When you see a house like this, you would want to see the inside too, right?¡¹

    The house in front of him was the Bear House.

    ¡¸Why do you know where my house is?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, it¡¯s because I heard it from Eleanora.¡¹

    ¡¸Haaa...I understand. I will hear your story inside.¡¹

    Why do I have to guide the king inside my house?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, who is this uncle?¡¹

    Fina asked because I let an unknown uncle enter the house.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the king. He wanted to request something of me, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Ummm, the king?¡¹

    She tilted her head cutely.

    ¡¸Yes, the king.¡¹

    ¡¸The most eminent person in this country?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    ¡¸W¨CWhy is someone like him here???¡¹

    ¡¸No idea. Why not try asking him directly?¡¹

    Fina shook her head furiously.

    Did they know the king¡¯s face? Morin-san and Karin-san had ghastly pale faces.

    ¡¸So what do you want?¡¹

    I enquired the king who was looking around the room.

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right. I want you to make pudding for the birthday party. If ites out for the dinner event, I am sure that all the people present will be surprised.¡¹

    What is this king thinking??

    Can I refuse?

    ¡¸By the way, is a refusal...¡¹

    ¡¸What? You want to decline a personal request from me, the king?¡¹

    I knew it...The king is someone that would just think about himself and wouldn¡¯t ept refusals from anyone.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that, but making pudding costs money.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s just that, I will pay.¡¹

    ¡¸ I need clucker eggs...¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora said that you would have plenty of them inside your item bag.¡¹

    This man...

    ¡¸By the way, how many should I make? If you require too many of them, I won¡¯t be able to do it, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re doing it, that would be 300.¡¹

    ¡¸Impossible. The exit is this way.¡¹

    I pointed at the entrance.

    ¡¸Then, how many can you produce?¡¹

    ¡¸If I do my best, the limit would be 200. If you prepare eggs, I can make more of them, though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible. Well, I understand. Then 200 of them, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmmm...When is the birthday party again?¡¹

    ¡¸Hey!¡¹

    The king retorted.

    I didn¡¯t have any interest, but there was no choice, right?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, it¡¯s in five days.¡¹

    ¡¸Then you are asking me to bring it on the morning of that day, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that would be great.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want anyone to know I am the one who made them...¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then I¡¯ll have you enter the castle secretly and put them in a room prepared for this.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t put it in a cold ce, the deliciousness would be reduced by 50% though.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I will prepare a refrigerator in the room.¡¹

    If he was ready to go that far, I didn¡¯t have any reasons to refuse him.

    Thus, pudding was added as the dessert for the king¡¯s birthday dinner party.

 Chapter 73 â€“ Bear-san, Baker GET | Part 2

    Chapter 73 ¨C Bear-san, Baker GET | Part 2

    The King went back.

    The trash outside disappeared too, and the calm of the room returned.

    However, there was a strange atmosphere...

    ¡¸Hmm...What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    It felt like their gazes towards me changed...

    ¡¸Excuse me, Yuna-san, who are you really? Are you possibly a noble?¡¹

    Morin-san timidly asked.

    Was it possible that she got scared, thinking I was a noble?

    ¡¸You are wrong. I am a normal adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸But, you seemed really close to the king...¡¹

    ¡¸It was just misfortune that led me to meeting him.¡¹

    ¡¸But for the King toe meet you in person...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s just because he wanted to eat pudding, right?¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    The two of them were really hard to convince, and even Fina began seeing me as a noble...

    The king brought unnecessary trouble.

    He suddenly appeared in front of people who had a difference in status that was like heaven and earthpared to him, and said that he knew one of the people there. It was normal for others to think that the person was someone abnormal too.

    It was the same in both worlds.

    Politicians knew many politicians.

    Doctors knew many doctor.

    Professors knew many professor acquaintances.

    A performer knew many performers.

    Authors, of course, knew many authors.

    A Hikikomori knew many hikikomori (of course, they met each other through games).

    I¡¯m sure that in all upations, people in a certain field know many people interested in the same thing.

    ¡¸Argh! I am not a noble, nor someone with links to the royal family, so treat me normally!!¡¹

    I forcefully stopped this story for now, and decided to talk about making pudding.

    ¡¸So, it¡¯s earlier than I nned, but the two of you will help me make pudding starting tomorrow, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you saying you will make us prepare a dish that will be served at the King¡¯s banquet?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible!¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸The King himself will eat it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, he will certainly eat it...¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do something so dreadful!!!!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really not like we¡¯re putting poison in it, you know...¡¹

    ¡¸If he ate it and had a stomache ache.... I can¡¯t even think about it!¡¹

    ¡¸You won¡¯t do it, no matter what?¡¹

    ¡¸Please forgive me!¡¹

    It was like...I was bullying her...

    A typicalmoner would have thought it was impossible to make a dish for the king, huh...

    Well, if you asked me to make something for the Prime Minister or representatives for other countries, I would have refused as well.

    It wasn¡¯t good to pressure them too much, so Fina and I would make them.

    ¡¸Then, Fina, the two of us will have to make them.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do it either!¡¹

    Fina shook her head vigorously.

    Fina, you too?!

    The next day, I made pudding all alone.

    I couldn¡¯t make the three of them do anything besides shaking their heads...

    They were on the side, watching me make pudding.

    I would have liked them to at least break the eggs, but they wouldn¡¯t even do that...

    My feelings didn¡¯t reach them.

    With no other choice, I broke 100 eggs alone...

    Well, I already had experience doing things alone...

    However, I really was sad that, even though there was people around, they wouldn¡¯t help me...

    In silence, I broke the eggs. In silence, I stirred the eggs.

    I did it alone until the end.

    I lined up around 100 cups of pudding in the big fridge.

    I used all of the eggs I had taken time to replenish. Although I thought it would be sad for breakfast, it was decided that Morin-san would be baking bread for me before she went to Crimonia.

    After I ate the freshly baked bread, I wanted to go out, but Ranzeru-san came to the Bear House.

    I hadn¡¯t seen him since he brought me the bonus reward for subduing the bandits.

    The country¡¯s soldiers had some trouble subduing the Zamon bandit group¡¯s camp and freeing the hostages there. The treasures that the band had assembled were there, and a major part of it became mine. He told me there were a lot of adventurers, so I abandoned my share, and asked him to distribute it to the adventurers who had suffered.

    I decided to keep the item bags, the only things that could have been of some use to me.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸I had some things to discuss about Jorz, who was captured the other day.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that Toad, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Hemitted the crime of using the King¡¯s name, but we also found a lot of other crimes. One of them was regarding the people of the bakery you saved, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Those two? I will call them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    The content of the proceeding talk was:

    The debt was erased and the bakery would go back to Morin-san.

    ¡¸Is this true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Jorz¡¯s possessions were seized, and with what we found, he will be sentenced to death.¡¹

    ¡¸Death penalty...¡¹

    ¡¸The fact is that he used the King¡¯s name, and staining the King¡¯s name is a terrible crime. Furthermore, the King saw the scene himself. He won¡¯t be able to escape from this.¡¹

    Well, it was true.

    He threatened someone, saying he was the King¡¯s acquaintance.

    I was sure it wasn¡¯t just Morin-san.

    It wouldn¡¯t be strange if he said that to lots of people, and now lots ofmoners might think that the king is apanion of criminals.

    ¡¸I will bring the official documentster, so I will excuse myself now.¡¹

    Ranzeru-san bowed and departed.

    A silence installed itself between those who remained.

    ¡¸It¡¯s great the shop your husband created has been protected!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I really wanted you toe to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸...Yuna-san, I...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it! I am sure you prefer continuing to protect your husband¡¯s shop.¡¹

    ¡¸I am so sorry! Even though you were so good to us!¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this a time to be happy about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much!¡¹

    The next day, Ranzeru-san came back and brought the official papers for the shop.

    The bakery officially became Morin-san¡¯s.

    However, for some reason, she presented the papers to me.

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸Take it, please. And take us to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Yesterday night, I talked with my daughter. Yuna-san, you have acknowledged my...my husband¡¯s bread.¡¹

    ¡¸We are not the only ones, right? The long line of customers who went to your bakery is proof, right? It¡¯s just that the bread you make is delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, everyone said it was delicious. But when we were attacked by Jorz, Yuna-san was the only one who saved us. You tried to give us a new ce to work, taught us how to make pudding that even the King himself came to ask for. After all this, even if my husband¡¯s shop is returned, I won¡¯t go back until my debt of gratitude is repaid.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t even stress yourself about it...¡¹

    ¡¸If I don¡¯t, I would be like Jorz. Yesterday was sudden, so I was delighted, but then I realized I was really rude to you. Also it¡¯s not like I¡¯m giving my husband¡¯s shop to a stranger, I¡¯m giving it to you. I am sure Yuna-san will use it for something great. I don¡¯t particrly want it to be a bakery anyways, so please, use it as you wish.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay? I really am happy, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Please take care of my daughter and me from now on.¡¹

    Both of them bowed.

    They will be formally working at my ce from now on, so they went to thank those who took care of them.

    Their departure had been decided to be the day after the King¡¯s birthday party.

    When the party finished, people would return to the ces they came from.

    Crimonia was not an exception.

    Because there would be lots of people moving together, they could travel without being attacked by monsters or bandits.

    They would both be going with the group that departed to Crimonia.

    Me?

    Of course, I would be using the Bear Transfer Gate.

 Chapter 74 â€“ Bear-san Returns To Crimonia

    Chapter 74 ¨C Bear-san Returns To Crimonia

    Author¡¯s note:

    This time, I am really tired after writing...

    Humm, this is always the case, so if I start thinking about it, I will lose.

    On the day of the birthday party, I was waiting for Eleanora-san to bring the pudding to the castle.

    As expected, it seemed that since there were a lot of people entering and exiting the castle today, I couldn¡¯t enter by myself, even if I had an entry permit.

    Therefore, it had been decided that I would go with Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Fina, you really won¡¯te?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will stay and watch the house.¡¹

    Since we met Princess Flora thest time we went to see the castle, it seems to have be a kind of trauma. Even though nothing really happened to her...as amoner, Fina must have been stressed out just by seeing royalty.

    I didn¡¯t want to force her, so I decided to go to the castle alone.

    ¡¸Okay. I will try toe back as soon as I can.¡¹

    I decided go to the castle alone.

    As I was waiting at the Bear House, Eleanora-san came.

    ¡¸Hello.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I really want to see everyone¡¯s faces when they eat the pudding!¡¹

    Eleanora-san, your wicked face is showing!

    ¡¸Seriously, don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m the one who prepared it!¡¹

    ¡¸I know! Anyway, His Majesty really thought about something interesting!¡¹

    ¡¸The people involved are troubled though...¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, that¡¯s right, but the people who are watching will have fun.¡¹

    When we arrived at the castle, we saw carriages that probably belonged to nobles entering, one after the other.

    They all had lots of pretty ornaments on them.

    After seeing them, I wanted to escape, even though I wasn¡¯t Fina.

    To exin it better, it felt like going to your best friend¡¯s wedding by train or bus, and then being surrounded by people who came in luxurious cars when you arrived...

    Well, I was just delivering the pudding and was not going to participate in the party, so it was okay.

    When we entered the castle, I was brought to an empty room.

    There was a refrigerator installed inside.

    ¡¸Put the pudding inside it, please.¡¹

    I took the cups of pudding out of the Bear Box and put them inside the fridge.

    ¡¸It seems delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t eat it!¡¹

    ¡¸Even I won¡¯t eat it this time. However, when Yuna-chan leaves, I won¡¯t be able to eat it anymore, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸When Ie back, I¡¯ll let you have a feast.¡¹

    ¡¸When my daughter has a holiday, I will return with her, so I¡¯ll count on you at that time!¡¹

    Well, the shop would definitely be open by then, so it would be great to let her go there.

    ¡¸Well then, I will go back.¡¹

    ¡¸You really won¡¯t take part? I will prepare a pretty dress for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina is lonely waiting for me, so I will go back.¡¹

    ¡¸It would have been great if Fina-chan came here too...¡¹

    ¡¸Participating in the King¡¯s birthday party is too high of a hurdle for us.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? The hero who killed all of the monsters and one of her friends is no problem!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to be a heroine, so I will politely refuse this offer.¡¹

    When I arrived at the Bear House, Fina was alone.

    ¡¸Where are the other two?¡¹

    ¡¸They went to see the parade.¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t go?¡¹

    ¡¸They invited me, but Big Sis Yuna said that you woulde back soon, so...¡¹

    She said something that made me happy.

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s go to see the parade.¡¹

    ¡¸But if we go now, the ce will be full...¡¹

    ¡¸No problem, we will have special seats.¡¹

    When we went to the main street, there was a big crowd of people, just like Fina said, so we couldn¡¯t see the parade.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, with this...¡¹

    ¡¸Won¡¯t it be okay there? There will be no problems, so hold onto me tightly.¡¹

    I hugged Fina and jumped.

    We arrived on the roof of a building.

    It was the tallest building around here.

    ¡¸We can see really well from here.¡¹

    It was brimming with people under us.

    They were all gathered to see the king.

    Was it like seeing a famous performer?

    Like a parade for a pro baseball yer¡¯s team after they won a tournament?

    ¡¸See, Fina, we can look at people like they are trash.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    She was looking at me coldly.

    While splendidly ignoring those eyes, I took out the food I bought earlier.

    After a short period of eating and drinking while viewing the capital from the roof, the parade finally arrived.

    Knights on horses were in front.

    They were stylishly holdingnces and swords.

    Musicians came after the knights.

    The king¡¯s parade sounded so beautiful that it could make flowers bloom.

    A big carriage followed the musicians, and the king and a woman were standing on it.

    Was she the queen?

    She was a beauty.

    It was thanks to her beautiful mother and father that a beautiful child like Princess Flora was born, huh.

    Their genes were really something to fear.

    The king, who was waving his hand at the citizens while approaching us, noticed me on the roof.

    He said something to the queen, and her gaze turned toward me before she started waving her hand.

    What did he say to her?

    I couldn¡¯t really ignore the two of them waving their hands, so I lightly waved my hands too.

    The king¡¯s carriage passed us without a problem.

    It seemed that the parade would make a round of the capital before finally entering the castle.

    On that day, the capital was noisyte into the night, thanks to all the people celebrating the 40th birthday of the king.

    The next day, since the birthday party had ended, Morin-san and her daughter began their trip to Crimonia.

    I went to greet the people who took care of me before going back to town.

    The first ce I went to was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸I will say it again, but thank you very much for exterminating the monsters. Yuna-chan, I will always wee you, so when youe to the capital for work, don¡¯t forget toe see me.¡¹

    Sanya-san said.

    Next, I went to the Foschurose house.

    ¡¸Yuna, I was in your care. Thank you for taking care of my daughters as well.¡¹

    Cliff said.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re going back now?¡¹

    Noa said.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, next time, I will have a rematch with you, okay?¡¹

    Shia said.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, if Cliff does something weird, tell me, okay?¡¹

    Eleanora said.

    ¡¸I will make the flowers in the garden bloom before youe back, so pleasee see it.¡¹

    Suririna said.

    Since Cliff¡¯s job in the Foschurose house was finished, it was decided that he would go back with Noa.

    He invited me too, but this time, he didn¡¯t need my help as a guard, so I refused politely.

    The next stop was Faren Gramm¡¯s house.

    ¡¸If youe to my town one day, don¡¯t hesitate toe by my house. I will wee you.¡¹

    Gran-san said.

    ¡¸I want to say bye-bye to the Bear-sans...¡¹

    Misa said.

    At her demand, I summoned the bears and she bid farewell to them.

    Thest stop was the castle.

    ¡¸I wanted you to see the faces of the nobles who ate the pudding too!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t talk about me to anyone, please.¡¹

    ¡¸It was a great uproar, with lots of people saying that they wanted the chef to be introduced.¡¹

    The king startedughing.

    ¡¸So, what do we do for the payment of the pudding?¡¹

    Ah, I forgot.

    I wasn¡¯t reallycking money.

    ¡¸Well~, it will be your reason to not talk about me to others.¡¹

    ¡¸What, you don¡¯t trust me?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t particrly need money, and if it seems like Princess Flora will talk about it, you have to skillfully deceive them.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. So, you won¡¯t go to see Flora?¡¹

    ¡¸I wille back to bring pudding. If I see her, she will probably start crying.¡¹

    I was really bad at looking at a child¡¯s crying face.

    ¡¸I see. I want to eat pudding too, so please try toe back with them quickly.¡¹

    I finished saying my farewells to all the people who took care of me, so I decided to go back to Crimonia.

    I said this, but I coulde back whenever I wanted.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Finally, the capital arc is finished.

    I started writing it without thinking, so it wasn¡¯t really good towards the end.

 Chapter 75 â€“ Bear-san Purchases A Store

    Chapter 75 ¨C Bear-san Purchases A Store

    I was finally back at the Bear House in Crimonia after a long time.

    Thest time I was here, I immediately returned to the capital after buying eggs and making pudding.

    So I really did have the impression that it had been a long time.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, it was really fun, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸I am pleased that you think so. Since I have the transfer gate, we can go there whenever we want.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but next time I want to go with all my family.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, but don¡¯t tell anyone about the gate, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Fina was going to head home, so we parted ways there.

    I left the Bear House to tell the people who had taken care of me that I was back.

    First, I headed towards the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you are back?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I got back today.¡¹

    ¡¸But wasn¡¯t the king¡¯s birthday yesterday?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, about that...¡¹

    ¡¸Your summoned beasts can move really fast, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyways, here, a souvenir.¡¹

    I bought an essory that was popr in the capital.

    ¡¸An essory? Thank you very much.¡¹

    Since I really didn¡¯t know what the fashion sense in this other world was like, I bought whatever the seller suggested, but considering her happy face, there didn¡¯t seem to be a problem.

    ¡¸Also, is the guild master around?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, one moment please.¡¹

    Helen went to call the guild master.

    When she came back, I was told to go in.

    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re back. That was fast.¡¹

    ¡¸Here, a souvenir.¡¹

    I brought out some of the food that I randomly bought.

    ¡¸Also, thank you for the introduction letter.¡¹

    ¡¸Was it helpful?¡¹

    ¡¸I encountered some trouble before giving the letter, but the guild master of the capital helped me out a lot afterwards.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if it helped you. So, what will you do now?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmmm...It will depend on themerce guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Did somethinge up?¡¹

    ¡¸I n to open a shop, so kinda.¡¹

    ¡¸A shop...but aren¡¯t you an adventurer? Or will you quit being an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸The shop will be managed by someone else. I¡¯ll be sponsoring it by providing the ingredients and money. That way, I¡¯ll be able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re opening a shop just for that?¡¹

    ¡¸I think that it¡¯s an eptable reason.¡¹

    The guild master seemed to have given up on understanding me, so I ignored him and went to themerce guild.

    When I arrived at themerce guild, Mylene-san spotted me and shouted my name from the counter.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t shout people¡¯s names with such a loud voice.¡¹

    ¡¸But I can¡¯t help it when I see you.¡¹

    ¡¸Here, a souvenir.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t the same as Helen¡¯s, but it was also an essory.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what is the current status of the shop? Was there a good ce?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there was a great ce, so I reserved it. The only thing left is the money.¡¹

    ¡¸How much is it?¡¹

    ¡¸About this much.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that expensive?¡¹

    The amount of money designated was ten times the price of the Bear House¡¯s plot ofnd.

    After I created the transfer gate, I bought the plot ofnd I was renting.

    ¡¸There is a building on it this time, and it¡¯s quite big.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I need a shop this big, though.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying! It¡¯s pudding, you know! It¡¯s no good if it¡¯s not big!¡¹

    She cried out to me from the reception with a really loud voice.

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. For now, let¡¯s go see it. You can decide after that.¡¹

    That was why we went to the shop I was considering purchasing...

    ¡¸Shop?¡¹

    From any angle I could see, it was a mansion.

    It was a small one, but it was still a mansion.

    ¡¸I asked for a shop, though...¡¹

    I was only thinking of a shop where you could buy junk food.

    Yet, what stood in front of me was a mansion.

    ¡¸So, it would be great if you renovated it to be a restaurant. It¡¯s a mansion, so ites with a kitchen. You can allow lots of people to enter, so it won¡¯t trouble anyone passing by.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Anyways, let¡¯s go inside.¡¹

    Led by Mylene-san, I entered the mansion.

    After opening the door and entering the house, there was a big stairway and arge space around it .

    ¡¸You can line up tables and chairs on this floor.¡¹

    ¡¸And on the second floor?¡¹

    ¡¸For the second floor rooms, I think you could prepare reserved seats. You could also prepare private rooms for couples, or something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸And the kitchen?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s further inside. There are a lot of rooms on the first floor, so you will have lots of space to store the ingredients.¡¹

    I did a simtion in my head.

    I could make a system where you would buy food tickets at the counter, where the money and goods would be exchanged.

    Or I could change it to a system where you paid after eating.

    If it was the former idea, I would need to make a counter near the kitchen, and the people would be able to sit wherever they wanted.

    If it was thetter, I would have to put a counter at the entrance.

    Furthermore, it would be necessary to prepare a record of what they had eaten, or a receipt.

    It would be difficult to make the children from the orphanage do it.

    Considering this, the payment in advance system would work better.

    ¡¸How is it? Though, if you think that it¡¯s too big, I could look for another ce.¡¹

    I had the money I brought from Japan, as well as the money I received for capturing the thieves.

    ¡¸I will buy it. Is it okay if I payter?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is no problem.The renovation, cleaning, tables, and chairs will also be included.¡¹

    After I parted ways with Mylene-san, I went to the orphanage.

    The children rushed over as soon as they saw me.

    It was like this every single time, what a healthy bunch of kids.

    There were some children that I didn¡¯t remember seeing before, but was it just my imagination?

    I assembled the children who were approaching and gave them the fruits that I had bought as gifts from the capital.

    They were the fruits I had not seen in this town.

    When I had tried eating one, it had a sweet and sour taste, simr to apples.

    They were all happily sharing it with each other.

    The children politely thanked me and went towards the cafeteria.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you are back?¡¹

    Since the entrance became noisy, the director came out of the room.

    ¡¸I came back today. Director, how are the children?¡¹

    ¡¸They are healthy, thanks to Yuna-san. They eat well, sleep well, and work well too.¡¹

    That was a good thing.

    ¡¸I would like to give a new job to the children, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸What sort of job?¡¹

    ¡¸I think we could call this a caf¨¦. The main food we will be selling will be bread, but there will also be wolf meat, the pudding that I made before, and pizza; but I think the menu may increaseter. That¡¯s why, if there are any children that like cooking or want to take care of guests, I would like them to be part of my caf¨¦.¡¹

    ¡¸How many of them would you need?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see, I would like around three chefs and three servers, so I think six would be a good number. Of course, we will do some rotations so they learn all of the different jobs.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. For now, I will assemble the children and ask them.¡¹

    When we went to the cafeteria, we could still see the children happily eating the fruits I had bought.

    ¡¸You can all continue eating, but listen to me.¡¹

    The children¡¯s gazes were all directed towards the director.

    They were all growing up to be good children thanks to her as well.

    ¡¸It seems that Yuna-san wants to open a caf¨¦. For this reason, she wants around six children to help her. Is there anyone who wants to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯ll we make?¡¹

    ¡¸The main thing will be food made with bread, and also pudding.¡¹

    ¡¸Here! I¡¯ll do it!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ¡¸And me!¡¹

    ¡¸I will say it now, but the puddings are something that we will be selling. You won¡¯t be able to eat it yourself, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ehhh...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s obvious, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸And I will let you look after the customers and handle money. That¡¯s why I prefer children who know how to read, write, and calcte.¡¹

    ¡¸Ehhh...¡¹

    ¡¸I know how to read, write, and calcte. I want to do it.¡¹

    ¡¸I can do it too!¡¹

    ¡¸I have some trouble with calctions, but I want to do it too.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to cook too.¡¹

    Hands were raised one after another.

    I decided to choose the first six children who raised their hands.

    There were four girls and two boys.

    The oldest one was a 13©\year©\old girl named Mill.

    I decided to have her be the manager.

    ¡¸But, the cluckers have been increasing, so is it really okay for me to take six of them?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, during the time when Yuna-san was at the capital, the number of orphans increased, I am sorry.¡¹

    The director was bowing her head.

    I see, so that was why I could see children I didn¡¯t recognize.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to worry, since you are taking care of them after all. And whenever you see orphans, you can¡¯t abandon them, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Moreover, because you are raising them properly, there aren¡¯t any selfish children.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Liz and Gaul are strict with them.¡¹

    Liz was a girl who acted like a young version of the director.

    Gaul was the oldest child, a 15©\year©\old boy.

    Liz took care of the girls and Gaul took care of the boys.

    It seemed that the two of them assigned work to the children.

    It was great that I had less work to do.

    That day, I taught the six children how to make pudding and pizza, so it was decided that we would eat pizza that evening.

 Chapter 76 â€“ Bear-san And The Shopâ€™s Reconstruction

    Chapter 76 ¨C Bear-san And The Shop¡¯s Reconstruction

    The next day, I went to the shop to prepare what was needed.

    Still, it was really big, huh.

    I had thought that if I had to make a shop, I would make something like a fast food ce, so I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how big the mansion in front of me was.

    Well, just thinking about it wouldn¡¯t resolve anything now that I had already bought it.

    The site¡¯s condition left nothing to be desired.

    It was big and near the orphanage. Even though it was a little far from the center of the town, it wasn¡¯t a distance that would stop the customers froming.

    As soon as I entered the shop, I headed towards the kitchen.

    First, I had to make the stone ovens that were vital for baking.

    I ced the things that would¡¯ve been a hindrance inside the Bear Box, so that there would be enough space in the kitchen.

    I had prepared three stone ovens for baking bread and pizza.

    I hoped that this would be good enough.

    Well, I would just have to make more if it wasn¡¯t.

    Next, I thought about what I should do for the fridge.

    I found a small storehouse next to the kitchen and entered it.

    Although I said it was a small storehouse, it was around 10 tatami mats wide.

    Was this the pantry? There weren¡¯t any windows.

    Once I pressed a switch on the wall, a light magic stone lit up the storehouse.

    There was absolutely nothing inside.

    This was probably a good spot.

    I insted the walls with my earth magic so that no heat could enter.

    Then I ced ice magic stones in different ces and transformed it into a big, refrigerated storehouse.

    Was there anything else we needed?

    I thought about it, but nothing came to mind.

    I would have to consult Morin-san about this.

    (Editor¡¯s Note: 10 tatami mats is about 16.53 meters squared or 177.91 square feet)

    Next were the shop¡¯s decorations.

    Originally, it was a noble¡¯s home, but...

    Had no one cleaned this ce for a long time? Even the carpets and wallpaper were all dirty.

    Mylene-san said that she would take care of the cleaning and renovation. Since it was included in the price, I decided to let them do it.

    I went to the second floor.

    There were rooms kept for guests, but wouldn¡¯t they be too big for couples?

    Wouldn¡¯t it be better to use them to hold events like birthday parties?

    Still, would anybody use them?

    Well, we¡¯ll think about what to do about the second floor once the shop opens.

    Then I went to the garden.

    It was quite big.

    However, it was also quite messy.

    Since no one was living here, the vegetation had grown wild.

    I wondered, did the cleaning and renovation include the garden as well?

    If it didn¡¯t, we would have to do it ourselves.

    However, could we create a caf¨¦ terrace once it was cleaned?

    Well, that would depend on the number of customers though.

    It would be great if we could make it, but it would be meaningless if no one used it.

    I decided to hold onto this idea for now.

    For a few days after this, I went to the orphanage to teach the children how to cook.

    During that time, I left the renovations to Mylene-san.

    I assembled various ingredients for the pizza and made some different types of pudding as well. I modified the taste and used different toppings to increase the menu choices.

    Making such a big menu was not necessarily a good thing, so I asked for impressions from Helen, Mylene, and Helena to narrow it down.

    As the preparations for the shop progressed steadily, Morin-san and her daughter finally arrived from the capital.

    After arriving, Morin-san went to the orphanage we promised to meet at.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, so you¡¯re already here, huh.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell them that I came back through the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡¸Yes, I arrived a little earlier than you.¡¹

    The two of them seemed to be really tired after their long trip. Their fatigue was clearly visible.

    ¡¸What will you be doing after this today?¡¹

    ¡¸We are really tired, so we were thinking of finding an inn.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I have already prepared a ce for you to stay.¡¹

    ¡¸That would help us a lot. We are exhausted after the long journey.¡¹

    I led the two of them outside of the orphanage.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, Morin-san, you can stop addressing me so formally.¡¹

    I was really unustomed to being addressed with ¡®©\san¡¯ by older people.

    ¡¸Then is it okay to call you Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please go with that instead. We are going to the ce where Morin-san will be working. There are a lot of spare rooms in the shop, so I thought about letting you live there.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem, I¡¯ve unreasonably made youe here after all.¡¹

    We arrived at the shop (?).

    Morin-san and Karin-san froze.

    (TL note: the ¡°?¡± was in the raw)

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, isn¡¯t this a mansion?¡¹

    In front of them stood a mansion that was going to be used as the shop.

    ¡¸A former one. Now, it¡¯s my shop and the ce where Morin-san and everyone else will work.¡¹

    ¡¸A shop? Are you saying that we will sell bread here?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s still in the middle of renovations, though.¡¹

    There was no signboard or name for this shop either.

    It was because I wanted to think about it with everybody.

    A caf¨¦, a tea house, a bakery, a pizzeria, or a pudding store, what would be good?

    In this situation, I couldn¡¯t decide by myself.

    ¡¸In this sort of ce, the bread...¡¹

    ¡¸I will be exining about the shop tomorrow, so please rest for today.¡¹

    I brought the two of them into the shop.

    ¡¸It¡¯s amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸Mum, will we really be selling bread here?¡¹

    The two of them looked at the already cleaned floor.

    ¡¸The first floor will be used for the shop, so please use the rooms on the second floor.¡¹

    They went to look at the second floor.

    Past the big staircase, there were plenty of rooms.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but will we really be living here?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s great because the workce is near, right?¡¹

    I took them into the farthest rooms on the second floor.

    There weren¡¯t any conspicuous ornaments that stood out, but it was a pretty room.

    Was it because it used to be the room of a noble? The window frame made the room look very stylish.

    ¡¸For now, I will bring out the luggage that I¡¯ve brought from the capital. Please let me know if you have any requests for the arrangement.¡¹

    I arranged the beds, the closets, and the drawers.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t seem to go well with the room, huh...¡¹

    The wallpapers, the floor, and the curtains were beautiful...

    However, the beds and other things that I brought out were formoners.

    The bed was small, and the closet was dirty.

    Also, the small desk stood out in the big room.

    It created a strange sense of difort.

    ¡¸Do you want me to buy some furniture meant for nobles?¡¹

    ¡¸It won¡¯t suit us.¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, will I be able to sleep in such arge room?¡¹

    Karin-san muttered with a small voice.

    ¡¸There¡¯s also a bath, so please feel free to use it. It has been cleaned, so you can use it whenever you feel like. Let me know if you need anything else.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing in particr, it¡¯s already amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll bring the children that will be helping with the shop tomorrow, so please take your time to rest today.¡¹

    The next day, I went to the orphanage and brought the six children that would be working at the shop.

    The children had alreadye to the shop several times.

    They were the ones who took care of the weeds in the garden, and trimmed the branches.

    The rooms on the second floor were also cleaned by them.

    When we arrived at the shop, the delicious scent of freshly baked bread was already drifting in the air.

    We entered the shop and went into the kitchen. There, we saw Morin-san and Karin-san already baking bread.

    If I knew that they were making it now, I wouldn¡¯t have eaten breakfast beforeing here...

    ¡¸Hello.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, good morning.¡¹

    Karin-san came to greet me.

    Morin-san was taking care of baking bread.

    ¡¸Did you sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was really tired, so I fell asleep the moment I got in bed.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great.¡¹

    Morin-san also came over.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re already making bread?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to see how to adjust the stone oven. I had some ingredients to make bread, so I practiced a little during the night.¡¹

    In the end, she examined everything as soon as I left?

    ¡¸So, how was the stone oven? If there is anything wrong with it, please let me know.¡¹

    ¡¸There are no problems. It¡¯s a great stone oven. After this, I just have to bake bread, figure out the quirks of the oven, and gain some experience.¡¹

    ¡¸The quirks of the stone oven?¡¹

    ¡¸How the heat is distributed, or how much time it takes to heat up the oven. There are lots of quirks depending on the stone oven, and it changes how the bread is baked.¡¹

    That¡¯s what a pro artisan is like.

    Compared to me, I didn¡¯t pay attention to anything when I was baking pizza.

    Everything was so random inparison.

    So that¡¯s why she could bake delicious bread.

    ¡¸So are those the children that will be helping me with the store?¡¹

    She saw the children standing behind me.

    The children went to the front and greeted them.

    ¡¸Can you teach these children how to make bread? It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no problem. You taught me how to make pudding, so I won¡¯t do something as rude as refusing to teach them.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, you¡¯ll all learn how to make bread in the mornings, and you can then take the bread you¡¯ve made back to the orphanage.¡¹

    The children energetically responded.

 Chapter 77 â€“ Bear-san Thinks Of A Name For The Shop

    Chapter 77 ¨C Bear-san Thinks Of A Name For The Shop

    The shop¡¯s preparations were graduallying to an end.

    There was just one problem.

    The shop¡¯s name had yet to be decided.

    When I discussed the issue with Morin-san, she said:

    ¡¸It¡¯s your shop, so Yuna-chan should decide.¡¹

    However, I had absolutely zero naming sense.

    It was to the point where I used my real name in games, because I had absolutely no confidence in my naming sense.

    That was why I decided to ask everyone I knew for a name.

    The next day, I assembled all the people I was indebted to and made a tasting party.

    The people who would be participating included the staff: Morin-san, Karin-san, and the six children helping the shop. Mylene-san and Helen-san. Terumi-san and Fina, the parent and child duo that had always taken care of me. Liz, who always took care of the children. Helena, from the inn. And finally Noa, who came back from the capital. These 15 people.

    I immediately asked them for a name.

    ¡¸The Bear¡¯s Bakery¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Dining Hall¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear Pizzeria¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear and Pudding¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Food Shop¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear¡¯s...¡¹

    Names with ¡®Bear¡¯ in it were suggested continuously.

    ¡¸Ummm...why do they all contain ¡®Bear¡¯?¡¹

    ¡¸Because...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Right...¡¹

    All of their gazes turned towards me.

    Hm. Right.

    Still, I wasn¡¯t the one who would be cooking, you know.

    ¡¸Ah, I thought about the uniform for the staff here, but...¡¹

    ¡¸The uniform?¡¹

    Mylene-san said something like that.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you see it in the capital? The clothes that were used by the staff.¡¹

    Ah, the thing that looked like an apron.

    When we went to a big restaurant, everyone was wearing the same clothes.

    It was certainly cute.

    There were uniforms in Japan¡¯s fast food restaurants and formal restaurants as well.

    A uniform in another world, wouldn¡¯t it be maid or butler clothes?

    I think it would suit the children.

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m okay with uniforms.¡¹

    I answered while imagining maid clothing.

    ¡¸Right?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, I made one to see if it¡¯s good.¡¹

    Mylene-san brought out a set of clothes(?) from her item bag.

    She said she would bring out a uniform, but why did she bring out a piece of fur?

    In one movement, Mylene-san spread out the fur.

    (TL note: the ? was in the raw)

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, this is Yuna-chan¡¯s shop, so it has to be a bear, right?¡¹

    It was a bear costume.

    ¡¸Mill-chan, was it? Want to try it on?¡¹

    There¡¯s no way she would want to wear something so embarrassing.

    She would definitely refuse it.

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    She said, looking happy.

    ¡¸She¡¯s so lucky.¡¹

    ¡¸No fair!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to wear it too!¡¹

    The children started to say that once they saw it.

    Having received the costume, Mill¡¯s face was filled with joy, while the other children¡¯s faces were filled with envy.

    That also included the faces of Fina and Noa, who were also there.

    Mill started to change her clothes right on the spot.

    Even if the boys were younger, a girl of her age taking off her clothes in front of people, wasn¡¯t she embarrassed? It may be because she was living in the small orphanage with people she considered as siblings.

    I had to remember to make separate changing rooms for boys and girls.

    A girl had to think about herself more.

    ¡¸How is it?¡¹

    Mill, while happily wearing the bear costume, twirled around.

    Why...why are you so happy?!

    It was certainly cute, but...

    No words of denial wereing out.

    ¡¸It suits you well.¡¹

    ¡¸So lucky.¡¹

    ¡¸Cute!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s made with wolf¡¯s fur, but it¡¯s quite a sess.¡¹

    ¡¸Will we be wearing this while doing our job£¿¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, as long as we have Yuna-chan¡¯s permission.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I want to wear it too!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ¡¸And me!¡¹

    Hmmm...The boys wanted to wear it, too?

    The children seemed to be happy, and it wasn¡¯t like I was the one who would be wearing it while working, so I epted the idea.

    ¡¸Wait, do I also have to wear one?¡¹

    Karin-san was looking at the uniform that Mill was wearing.

    ¡¸The children look cute, but I...¡¹

    ¡¸I think that it will suit Karin-san too.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san, what would you think if you were the one wearing it?¡¹

    ¡¸I am in my twenties, but Karin-san is seventeen, right? That¡¯ll be cute enough.¡¹

    So, she was older than me.

    That made me a little happy, I think.

    In Japan, a 17-year-old was equivalent to a second year high school student. I wasn¡¯t Mylene-san, but I also thought that it was safe for high schoolers.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t serve customers in those embarrassing clothes.¡¹

    Embarrassing clothes... Why did you say that in front of the ones who will be wearing it?

    ¡¸I¡¯ll make bread with mother in the kitchen.¡¹

    ¡¸We can¡¯t let the children be alone for the service, you know. That¡¯s why the floor manager will be Karin-san.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Just in case, you will do some rotations with Morin-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuuu...¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t something you had to hate so much, you know. What about me, who walked the streets of the town and the capital city with it?

    Even more so, we met at the capital city while I was wearing this costume.

    ¡¸The uniform has been decided to be a bear, so the name has to be one too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Before that, I have a question.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸The gloves will be a hindrance for the work, but won¡¯t you make the shoes?¡¹

    ¡¸You are right, huh. Let¡¯s make it. And Yuna-chan, can I ask you to sponsor the uniforms? We will give the money to make them.¡¹

    I haven¡¯t sold the wolf pelts yet, so I had lots of them. Even if I didn¡¯t have enough pelts, I still had the 5000 wolves that hadn¡¯t been dismantled from the monster horde.

    ¡¸Okay. I want a lot of them after all. Three sets per person.¡¹

    ¡¸That many?¡¹

    ¡¸If I were to increase the number of workers, they would be able to wear it, right? The children are all around the same height after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I can make as many as you want if you give me the wolf pelts, but you will have to pay for them next time.¡¹

    The uniform was not what I originally had in mind, but it had been decided. Now, I had to decide the shop¡¯s name.

    ¡¸What will we do about the shop¡¯s name?¡¹

    We all thought about the shop¡¯s name again.

    After a long discussion, it had been decided.

    ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡» was chosen.

    The waiters and waitresses would all wear bear costumes.

    The only one who was opposed to that idea, Karin-san, was ignored.

    Though, I wouldn¡¯t be working there, so it had nothing to do with me.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Recently, when I think about stories of moving, It makes me want to make the Bear fly in the sky.

    ¡¸A Bear that doesn¡¯t fly is just a Bear.¡¹is a famous saying after all.

    If the Bear won¡¯t fly, it¡®ll just be a normal Bear...

    ¡ù Regarding fur in a ce that serves food, I beg you to not think about the fur that will end up in the food, please...

 Chapter 78 â€“ Bear-san Opens The Shop

    Chapter 78 ¨C Bear-san Opens The Shop

    Mylene-san said that she would prepare the signboard at the Commerce Guild.

    Since the name of the shop was ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡», the idea of making the shop more Bear-like came up.

    Everyone suggested doing something that looked simr to the Bear House, so that the customers would understand why it was named ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    A Bear-like shop, what sort of shop was that!?

    Did I have to make the entire shop look like a bear, like the Bear House?

    Many different ideas were suggested up. In the end we decided on the shop¡¯s name and the uniform, and then the tasting party ended.

    After everyone went back, I, who stayed at the shop, started to make the shop look like a ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    First, I made two deformed bears with earth magic and put them at the entrance. They were like character figurines.

    In Japan, there were character figurines called nendoroids.

    I made the bears with those nendoroids as reference.

    I used y.

    They were one color.

    I really wanted more colors...

    I tried making them while using magic to assemble different kinds of colored earth.

    Of course, I couldn¡¯t really make beautiful colors, but it was cuter this way whenpared to being just one color.

    Magic was really convenient.

    Next, I made some bears on the second floor, where they would stand out, and some more on the roof.

    I figured the store would look good with that.

    Then I went to the garden.

    We weren¡¯t going to do a caf¨¦ terrace, but since it was visible from the interior of the shop, I decided to arrange it.

    A bear near a tree, a bear in the middle of a punch, a bear and her cub, and a sleeping bear. This would do for the decorations.

    After that, I entered the shop and put little bears striking different poses in the center of each table.

    I decorated the tables with a standing bear, a fighting bear, a sleeping bear, a running bear, bears on top of each other, a dancing bear, and a bear holding a sword.

    Once I finished the tables, I made bears climb and hang randomly on the walls and pirs.

    I decorated the interior of the shop by putting figurines here and there.

    I thought it would be fine with this.

    When I was satisfied, Karin-san came down from the second floor.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸I made it more Bear-like.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really cute. If you saw those types of bears in the forest, you wouldn¡¯t be afraid, right?¡¹

    Karin-san poked one of the table bears.

    ¡¸Will clientse here?¡¹

    She asked worriedly.

    An unknown location, a new store, a new kind of food. I guess she had those kinds of worries.

    ¡¸I think they wille. I asked people to advertise it in different ces too. Also, we have pizza, pudding, potato chips, fries, and Morin-san¡¯s bread, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸The potatoes were delicious. I didn¡¯t know that the poison was in the eyes.¡¹

    I brought them out during the taste testing, and since it was really popr, we decided that it would be sold in the shop.

    Well, you wouldn¡¯t die from the poison.

    The problem was the distribution.

    After the taste test, I was really worried about the stockpile of potatoes and cheese.

    ¡¸The hamburger was really good, too. I didn¡¯t know that putting the bread made by mother together with cheese, meat, and vegetables would be this good.¡¹

    ¡¸I am a little worried about the stock of cheese, you see. Depending on the sales rate, it is possible that we won¡¯t have enough of it...¡¹

    A lot of cheese was used for the pizza.

    ¡¸Where did you buy the cheese?¡¹

    ¡¸I bought it from a grandpa who was selling it in the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸In the capital? Then...¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t a problem. I asked him where his vige was, so when we start running out, I will go buy some.¡¹

    ¡¸And the potatoes?¡¹

    ¡¸They normally arrive next month, but if it isn¡¯t in time, I will have to go and buy them myself.¡¹

    ¡¸I hope clients wille, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸That will depend on everyone¡¯s efforts.¡¹

    The shop¡¯s opening was nned to be two days after the signboard was finished.

    The signboard was supposed to be finished in three days, so the shop would open in five days.

    Everyone¡¯s uniforms, except for Morin-san¡¯s, would be prepared for that day as well.

    The next day, Terumi-san and Fina came to help with the shop.

    When they saw the bear figurines I made yesterday, they froze.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...W...W...What are those!?¡¹

    ¡¸They are bears. Everyone said that I had to make something that is Bear-like, like the Bear House, so I made them. Is it no good?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that! It¡¯s terribly cute!¡¹

    Were they shocked because there were no figurines in this world?

    When I thought of all the statues I had seen, there were only realistic stone statues.

    ¡¸They are cute, but if it¡¯s like this, the male customers will have problems entering.¡¹

    Terumi-san gave her impressions while looking at the figurines.

    She was right.

    There would be more male customers asking for pizza and hamburgers.

    The girls would be asking for pudding and potato chips.

    ¡¸Then, do I make a more realistic bear?¡¹

    ¡¸If you do that, the girls would be the ones having a hard time entering.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what do I do?¡¹

    I knew that the answer wasn¡¯t here.

    Therefore, I went to find someone with experience in sales.

    I asked Morin-san and her daughter, who were looking at the ingredient stockpile.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I have never seen a shop this strange in the capital, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Won¡¯t it be okay if you just think about it after the shop opens? We don¡¯t know how many clients wille in, after all.¡¹

    The two of them said.

    Just in case, I had begun the advertisement yesterday.

    I left some leaflets at the Commerce Guild, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Helena¡¯s Inn, and other ces that took care of me.

    I also asked Cliff to talk about it with his acquaintances.

    With only this much, I didn¡¯t know how many customers woulde for the opening day.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. For now, we don¡¯t even know if girls wille, and it¡¯s not decided that men won¡¯te in. We will think about it after opening the shop.¡¹

    The appointed day...

    It was hell.

    People, people, people, people, people, people, people, people...

    At the beginning of the opening day, no one came.

    I wanted to help out in the background for the opening day.

    We opened the store and, after we had waited for some time, the first client was the guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Hey, I came.¡¹

    ¡¸Wee.¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, this is a strange shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Like I thought. Was it hard to enter?¡¹

    ¡¸This bear? I don¡¯t really know. I think that it might be hard to enter for some people but...a bear that¡¯s so well made, won¡¯t the client be interested and want to see the interior?¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks. That¡¯s good to know. So, what will you order?¡¹

    ¡¸What do you rmend?¡¹

    ¡¸Pizza and hamburger are the main courses. The potatoes are the side dish, and pudding is a snack. Ask your stomach.¡¹

    The method of ordering was like this: order at the counter at the back, pay, and then receive the food.

    Pizza was the only thing that had to be baked after ordering, so you had to go to your seat first. It would be brought to you a littleter, using number tes.

    ¡¸I see. Then, since I have time and someone advised me to get the pizza, so I will go with that.¡¹

    ¡¸What will you drink? The pizza is oily, so I suggest having a refreshing drink.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I will take Oren juice.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. It will take some time to bake, so take this number te and wait wherever you want.¡¹

    Immediately after Morin-san finished baking the pizza, the children brought it to the guild master.

    ¡¸So this is a pizza.¡¹

    It was a S size pizza, enough for one adult.

    (ED: S size = small size, probably. Literally written down as S in the raws.)

    ¡¸Then, thanks for the food.¡¹

    The guild master started eating a piece.

    He ate two, three pieces...

    The guild master¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop, and the whole pizza quickly disappeared. After he finished, he drank the Oren juice in one gulp.

    ¡¸It was delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I am happy that it pleased you.¡¹

    ¡¸Are the other things delicious too?¡¹

    ¡¸All I can say is that you will have to see for yourself. Everyone has different preferences, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, what do I have to do to ask for something else?¡¹

    ¡¸You have to go to the counter and pay for a new order.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    The guild master got up and went to ask for a hamburger.

    He ate it while looking happy, and then left the store satisfied.

    After some time, people started trickling in.

    They all started by timidly eating the unknown food, but when they had finished, they went back satisfied.

    However, there weren¡¯t many clients for now.

    I forced myself to make 300 servings of pudding, but at this pace, it would hold out for a few days.

    ...There was a time when I thought this.

    The people who came and ate in the morning might have talked about it.

    At lunch, male and female customers came, regardless of the bear statues.

    Did the guild master rmend us? People rted to the guild came, and people I remembered seeing in the Commerce Guild also came.

    Pizza, hamburgers, bread, and potato fries were all selling.

    None of us could take a break, and we were constantly moving around the kitchen.

    Lunchtime ended, and right when I thought that it would calm down, more customers came in, one after another.

    The customers who came in after lunch mainly ordered pudding and potato rted things.

    The people who were preparing the potatoes with oil were really going through a hard time.

    The pudding was in the fridge, so we just had to take them out.

    The price of the pudding was a little high, even if the price of eggs had dropped. Even then, the female customers didn¡¯t stop buying them.

    The 300 servings of pudding vanished.

    Thest piece of bread also disappeared, so we decided to close the shop before dinner and told the customers who came to go back.

    ¡¸So tired~¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am exhausted too.¡¹

    I kidnapped Terumi-san and Fina, who came to see how the store was doing, to make them help in the kitchen.

    ¡¸Why were there so many customers?¡¹

    ¡¸When I asked, the men said that they came after hearing about it from the guild master and Helen. The girls said that Mylene-san highly praised the pudding.¡¹

    The customers who came also talked about it afterwards.

    I couldn¡¯t thank or hate the three of them.

    ¡¸It is not looking good for tomorrow.¡¹

    Morin-san said, after seeing what happened today.

    ¡¸Morin-san, how was it in the kitchen?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see...For now, we don¡¯t have enough stone ovens for the number of pizza orders. On the other hand, after looking at the potato orders, we can do some more of them, so it¡¯s okay. However, it will be difficult to prepare everything after the shop closes. If we don¡¯t prepare well, it will have the same result as today.¡¹

    She was right.

    The ingredients we had prepared were nearly gone.

    Morin-san¡¯s bread and the pudding.

    There wasn¡¯t enough bread dough.

    ¡¸I see, then we will open the shop for lunch. We will prepare in the morning and eat our own lunch. We will close the shop before dinner.¡¹

    ¡¸You could earn money if you open for dinner, though?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked.

    ¡¸In all honesty, I don¡¯t n to make money from this shop, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s not a deficit. As it is now, it is already profitable. I am also worried about the stockpile of eggs, cheese, and potatoes.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, huh. There is a limit to the egg supply, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸In order to increase the opening hours of the store, the number of employees and ingredients will have to be increased as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Selling too much will cause troubles too, huh. I didn¡¯t know that.¡¹

    ¡¸For now, Terumi-san, can you ask Liz about the number of children who can be assembled without affecting the job of caring for the birds?¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    ¡¸And also, Terumi-san, can you work here after lunch? Of course, I will pay you for this too.¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see, the egg exchange finishes in the morning, so it won¡¯t be a problem. But, is it really okay to change the opening time all of a sudden? Considering the rate of customers we had today, won¡¯t they starting during morning?¡¹

    That was right.

    There were customers we refused due to theck of ingredients as well.

    There was a great chance that many clients woulde in the morning.

    ¡¸Morin-san, is it possible to open the shop in the morning just for tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸If we start preparing now...we could do it. But...¡¹

    I looked at Morin-san and the children.

    The children were dozing off in the chairs.

    They were probably really tired after their first day of service.

    In this world, children also worked.

    However, in every world, children were children.

    They weren¡¯t ves, so I had to let them rest.

    Hmmm, what could I do?

    After some thought, I decided to prioritize the children over the customers.

    ¡¸Like I thought, we will open at lunchtime starting from tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, we will do what we can. Terumi-san, please go to the shop where the pamphlets were disyed.¡¹

    ¡¸But, what will we do about the customers whoe first thing in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸We will ask them toe back for lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸Won¡¯t they be angry?¡¹

    ¡¸I will do something about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Something, huh...¡¹

    Terumi-san seemed worried.

    ¡¸We will also have one day off a week.¡¹

    ¡¸Day off?¡¹

    People in this world worked as much as possible, and on top of this, they didn¡¯t have any holidays.

    I had never seen inns and restaurants close, not even once.

    To counterbnce this, there were periods of free time during the day when they could do whatever they wanted.

    However, there was no free time in this shop.

    During operating hours, you had to deal with customers, and when that was over, you had to clean and prepare for the next day. There was a lot of things to do.

    ¡¸A day when we won¡¯t open. A day when it¡¯s fine to go shopping or sleep. It¡¯s a day off so that you can work well on the other days.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay to have a day off? The sales will decrease, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Truthfully, I wanted to have shifts of days off, but there isn¡¯t enough people, you see. Also, at this rate, the eggs would disappear. I prepared multiple days worth of eggs today, but there are a limited number of eggsid per day, so it¡¯s impossible to make more than what we did today.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, we can¡¯t really decrease the number of eggs we¡¯re selling to the Commerce Guild, after all.¡¹

    I had already had them lower the number of eggs that were sold to the Commerce Guild, in order to open the shop.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, with the current circumstances, we don¡¯t have to force ourselves to open the shop.¡¹

    ¡¸The new thing to think about is a method of increasing the number of eggs.¡¹

    Should we hatch the eggs? Should I go back to capture more cluckers? Those were the two possibilities.

    If we hatched the eggs, the number of eggs being sold would diminish.

    If we had to capture more cluckers, I would have to go myself.

    That was really troublesome.

    I decided to think about itter.

    ¡¸When you change the schedule, could you please mark the day off as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸After that is the store¡¯s interior. Was there anything troublesome?¡¹

    ¡¸The customers apparently wanted to take the bears.¡¹

    That¡¯s right, I saw some clients trying to take the bears on the tables.

    However, I made it so that they were fixed to the tables and you couldn¡¯t take them off.

    ¡¸There were some customers saying that they wanted us to give the bears to them.¡¹

    ¡¸I think I will put up a poster saying that they are not for sale. Was there anything else?¡¹

    I asked the group in charge of the shop¡¯s interior.

    ¡¸The people lining up at the counter...¡¹

    ¡¸There were some who were angry because they had to wait for some time.¡¹

    ¡¸Then we will make another counter for tomorrow. There were also many customers who came just for the pudding, so we will put a fridge next to the counter to buy some time.¡¹

    The opening day finished on this note.

    It seemed that Morin-san and the children had some more work to do as preparations for tomorrow.

    If the bread dough and the pudding weren¡¯t made now, they wouldn¡¯t be ready for tomorrow.

    I decided to go back, leaving everything to the pros.

    Only the stone oven was needed first thing in the morning, so I made it before going back.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Thank you for the 10,000 bookmarks.

    I am thinking of opening an impressions column.

    My mental fortitude is like tofu, so please don¡¯t make it so harsh that I will crumble.

    I will count on all of you from now on too.

 Chapter 79 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Request At The Adventurerâ€™s Guild

    Chapter 79 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Request At The Adventurer¡¯s Guild

    Author¡¯s note:

    I made some changes to the previous chapter.

    There was no talk about the opening hours after all.

    To exin it simply, it¡¯s a talk about how changing the opening hours like that would entail troubles.

    Today¡¯s story is about how they will deal with that.

    So that people would learn about the change of opening hours even a little bit, I asked Tirumina-san to edit the posted pamphlets.

    Even so, there would still be people who came without knowing about it.

    To deal with this problem, I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing here at this hour?¡¹

    I saw Helening out of the guild.

    ¡¸Helen-san, are you going back now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s closing time now, after all. What¡¯s the matter, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I came here to make a request.¡¹

    ¡¸A request?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I want to erase the troubles in advance, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Troubles?¡¹

    I exined what happened today.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I thought of changing the opening hours for tomorrow, but...There will surely be people who will not know and wille earlier. It would be great if they went back after we apologized, but...¡¹

    ¡¸And that¡¯s why you want to make a request?¡¹

    ¡¸There are only women and children working at our shop, after all. That¡¯s why I want to hire adventurers who would protect them from violent customers.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, there are children at your shop, aren¡¯t there? In that case, you have no other choice.¡¹

    ¡¸For now, I would like guards for one week, but are there adventurers who would ept this job?¡¹

    ¡¸That depends on the money you are willing to pay, I think. Adventurers are people who move for money, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Money, huh. I don¡¯t really know the market prices, so how much would I have to pay?¡¹

    Even if they were expensive, thinking about the security, it would be a small price to pay.

    If I was stingy here and the children were harmed, I wouldn¡¯t know how to face the director of the orphanage.

    In order to avoid that, I wanted to recruit some guards.

    ¡¸Hmm, that would depend on the rank of the adventurer you want to hire. The content of the request is to protect the shop. If the other party is a normal citizen, a low rank adventurer is okay, but in case a higher rank adventurer goes wild, a low rank adventurer would not be enough to face him.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think there would be such ouws, but there was the case of Deborane, who I saw at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan and Helen-san, what are you doing?¡¹

    The one who appeared was Rurina-san, who I went to kill the goblins with.

    I saw her a number of times after the goblin subjugation.

    Deborane and his party members were standing behind Rurina-san.

    Deborane, who was punched by me, the silent Gill, and the bad-mouthed Lanz were all there.

    The whole party appeared.

    Even so, why in the world was Rurina-san with those people?

    Was it possible that she had a hobby of assembling low quality products?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you thinking something rude?¡¹

    Was it possible that she had a skill to read my mind?

    ¡¸I was thinking why would a beauty like Rurina-san be in that sort of party.¡¹

    ¡¸I am not an official member, you know. Just a temporary one. As you can see, this party is an assembly of no-brain idiots.¡¹

    Yes, she was right, those three were real muscle-brains...

    ¡¸So I decided to make a party with them. It dragged on for some time, and before I knew it we were together until this day.¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s just be an official party already!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t wanna. If I had to make a party, I would like to make one with someone cute, like Yuna-chan.¡¹

    She said while embracing me.

    Ever since I princess carried Rurina-san, she liked to randomly touch the Bear clothes.

    ¡¸Anyways, what happened, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking about requesting guards to protect the shop.¡¹

    ¡¸The shop? The one from the rumors?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what the rumors say, but it¡¯s this shop. There might be some trouble tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Trouble?¡¹

    ¡¸The shop opened today, but there were some problems, so from tomorrow onwards, the opening hours will change. Because there is a possibility of intrusion from the customers tomorrow, and possibility of threats, I thought of hiring adventurers to gently turn them away.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then, want to hire us?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay? It would help me a lot, though.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t decide on your own, Rurina.¡¹

    Rurina, on the verge of epting the offer, was stopped by someone.

    ¡¸Deborane?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t do it!¡¹

    ¡¸If Deborane-san says so, I won¡¯t do it either.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    When Deborane opposed it, Lanz opposed it too.

    As always, Gill didn¡¯t open his mouth, not epting or refusing.

    ¡¸I see, then this is the end of this temporary party.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, this...¡¹

    ¡¸There is no other choice, right? If you use me when you need me, but you don¡¯t help me when I need you, I don¡¯t want to be in your party.¡¹

    After Rurina-san said so, she looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, is it okay if it¡¯s just me?¡¹

    ¡¸I will do it too.¡¹

    ¡¸Gill?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that the food was delicious. If you are going to give me some, I will help too.¡¹

    ¡¸Gill, are you betraying us?¡¹

    ¡¸She helped usst time. And, I agree with Rurina¡¯s words.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks, Gill.¡¹

    Rurina-san expressed her thanks.

    Gill was always silent, but he seemed to be someone decent.

    ¡¸Do what you want! We are going, Lanz!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Deborane-san.¡¹

    The two of them went away, leaving Rurina-san and Gill.

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. During the previous incident involving Yuna-chan, I was already thinking about leaving them, but they stopped me. I stayed until today, but it was time to end it.¡¹

    ¡¸When you stop being an adventurer,e and tell me, please. We are in need of talented people.¡¹

    ¡¸I will count on you when the timees.¡¹

    I decided to ept this as her being polite.

    However, if she really stopped being an adventurer, there were a lot of things I wanted her to help with.

    In Rurina-san¡¯s case, there were no problems when it came to personality or ability.

    ¡¸Talking about the guard request, I want to hire you for one week. Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is no problem. And for this request reward, can I also ask for meals?¡¹

    ¡¸I will properly provide food and money, no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, you two, please ept the request properly through the guild, okay?¡¹

    Helen-san¡¯s suggestion was the right thing to do.

    Entering the guild, I gave a request, and Rurina-san epted it.

    The reward was the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»¡¯s food and some silver coins.

    I had obtained some guards, so I went back to the Bear House.

    I might have not done much, but for a hikikomori like me, it was a really tiring day.

    I entered the Bear Bath, and cleansed my body and soul.

    I knew it, the cultures with baths were the best.

    I exited the Bear Bath, put on the white bear, and dived into my futon.

    The next day, when I went to the shop, the two of them were already there.

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-chan¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    The one who responded was Rurina-san.

    Gill was silent, like usual.

    ¡¸The shop is exactly as the rumors say.¡¹

    ¡¸What are they, those rumors? You talked about them yesterday too.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not something strange, you know. The fact that the new Bear adventurer made a shop is widespread, and the people say that the shop looks like a mansion, that there is a really delicious scenting from it, and that the children working here ressemble Yuna-chan...It¡¯s these sorts of rumors.¡¹

    She was right, there was nothing strange. All the things she said were true, but for some reason, I felt like I couldn¡¯t ept that.

    ¡¸So, what do we have to do?¡¹

    ¡¸I said it yesterday, but if customerse too early, I want you to say that the shop won¡¯t open before lunch. After that, it would be great if they just went back, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, Gill is here too, so there won¡¯t be any idiots who will darein.¡¹

    She hit the mass of muscles on Gill¡¯s back.

    ¡¸They are customers, so try to not be violent.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s for sure! I won¡¯t do anything to normal people. The worst case would just be threatening them.¡¹

    ¡¸If it doesn¡¯t work, call me. I will deal with them.¡¹

    I told the two of them, then entered the shop.

    When I entered, the delicious scent of baked bread reached me.

    In both worlds, a bakery started early in the morning.

    When I went to the kitchen, I could see the children and Morin-san moving around.

    Morin-san and her daughter were baking bread. Some children were watching from nearby, in order to learn the technique.

    It could be great if I took some of them to the capital after a few years.

    The other children were doing their best to prepare the dough and pudding.

    They were making tomorrow¡¯s share.

    Last night, they made enough for today, and they were now making tomorrow¡¯s share.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, good morning.¡¹

    When one of them saw me, all of the children started greeting me happily.

    But I noticed the weariness on their faces.

    Morin-san and her daughter seemed okay because they were ustomed to it, but the children were tired doing a job they were not familiar with.

    Yesterday, they made preparations for today untilte at night, too.

    Even more, they started working early today.

    They should be able to sleep tonight, so if they could bear with it today, it would be okay.

    However, it was a job that involved fire and oil, so it would be dangerous if they worked while being tired.

    I walked around the kitchen, and put the Bear Paw on the heads of the children.

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear?¡¹

    A girl tilted her head when I suddenly put the paw on her head.

    ¡ºHeal.¡»

    ¡¸Hold on a little more, okay? You will be able to rest tonight.¡¹

    I put a strength restoration spell on all of the children.

    With this, it would be okay now.

    The children, not understanding what happened, tilted their heads.

    I did ast check of the interior of the shop before going back to where Rurina-san was.

    When I went out, I saw Rurina-san exining things to a customer.

    The client went back obediently, after receiving the exnation.

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there were no problems. When we exined it to them, they all went back. Well, I think it¡¯s thanks to Gill, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I was just standing here, though.¡¹

    ¡¸With Gill just standing behind me, all the customers listened to what I had to say, so it was a big help.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    It seemed there were no normal citizens that could go against adventurers.

    ¡¸And, was it okay when adventurers came?¡¹

    ¡¸It was even less of a problem. Who do you think this shop belongs to?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, it¡¯s mine?¡¹

    ¡¸Exactly. It¡¯s Yuna-chan¡¯s shop. The adventurer who crushed more than ten adventurers on her first visit to the guild, killed the Goblin King, and, on top of that, even killed a ck Viper. There are no idiots who would want to pick a fight with you. If there were, it would be newbies or adventurers who are not from this town. If there was one, that would be Gill¡¯s job.¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks. When the shop opens, you will be able to eat whatever you want.¡¹

    Finally, I went inside the shop to help the others.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Thank you for your impressions.

 Chapter 80 â€“ Bear-san And The Second Opening Day

    Chapter 80 ¨C Bear-san And The Second Opening Day

    While I was dealing with some tasks, Rurina-san came looking troubled.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, could youe here for a second?¡¹

    ¡¸Something happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, a little. A child that neither Gill nor I can handle came.¡¹

    ¡¸Who came?¡¹

    ¡¸A noble girl.¡¹

    There was just one noble girl I could think of, though...

    First of all, I didn¡¯t even know how many nobles there were there in this town, so she might not be the one I was thinking about.

    ¡¸If it is just a normal noble, I can do something about it, but...¡¹

    We exited the kitchen, and as we went towards the entrance, we could see a blond girl charging at Gill through the ss windows.

    There was no doubt, she was the person I knew.

    ¡¸Let me enter! I have some business with Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a little. Someone just went to call Yuna.¡¹

    Gill was blocking the entrance.

    I knew it. The noble girl was Noa.

    The two were ring at each other.

    It was no good just looking at the two of them, so I decided to go out and intervene.

    ¡¸Noa, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸The two of them won¡¯t let mee inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I asked the two of them to be guards until the store opens after all. You two noticed that Noa was a noble, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw her a number of times with the feudal lord after all.¡¹

    ¡¸So, why are you here, Noa?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the problem! You didn¡¯te to see me at all, so today I decided toe and see you, but... What is this shop?!¡¹

    Noa was pointing at the bear sculptures.

    ¡¸When I came here the other day, there was nothing like this...¡¹

    Her face swelled when she got angry.

    ¡¸So, what did youe for today?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to eat pudding of course.¡¹

    It was before the opening hours, but I couldn¡¯t really tell her to go back, so I brought Noa into the shop.

    The moment Noa entered, her movement stopped.

    ¡¸Wh, wh, what is this!!!¡¹

    Noa started shouting.

    Noa approached me and grasped one of my Bear Hands.

    ¡¸Please do the same to my house!!¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff would get angry, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I will persuade him!!¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t. Calm down and have this instead.¡¹

    I made a Bear Nendoroid that was waving its hand and gave it to Noa.

    ¡¸Thank you very much! I will treasure it for life!¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to.¡¹

    I would be troubled if she cherished a doll made from earth as a lifelong treasure.

    While Noa was carefully holding the doll, she was touring the interior of the store to see other sculptures and said one phrase.

    ¡¸I want all of them.¡¹

    I ignored those words, of course.

    ¡¸While I am thinking about it, how are you doing recently?¡¹

    ¡¸Because I went to the capital, my studies were dyed, so my father assigned me a home tutor.¡¹

    Well, it wasn¡¯t wrong that we just yed while we were in the capital city.

    If you were a noble¡¯s child, you had to study.

    It was better to have intelligent nobles than idiot ones.

    ¡¸But father is horrible! He won¡¯t let me go outside at all!¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it because you werezy that it became like this?¡¹

    ¡¸I think some rxation time is needed.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I will give you a pudding, so do your best with your studies!¡¹

    For now, I guided Noa to a seat.

    If I left Noa alone she would just run around, exploring the inside of the shop without end, so I made her sit down.

    But even when seated, she was turning her head all around to see the interior of the shop.

    ¡¸It is a little early, but do you want to eat something other than pudding too?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Almost everything we serve is easy to make, so we can bring it to you rtively fast. Ah, but you can only have one pudding cup. We don¡¯t have a lot them after all.¡¹

    Noa asked for a pudding, a small pizza, and an Oren juice.

    ¡¸The shop isn¡¯t open?¡¹

    ¡¸Not yet.¡¹

    I briefly exined what happened yesterday.

    ¡¸That can¡¯t be helped. After eating it the first time, I also wanted to present it to other people.¡¹

    ¡¸But this number was really outside the expectations.¡¹

    ¡¸You are too naive, Yuna-san. You are too naive if you think so little of this pudding. I really wish you could have seen the dining hall when the pudding was brought during the king¡¯s birthday.¡¹

    She scooped a spoonful of pudding, and presented it to me before putting it in her mouth.

    ¡¸I heard a little of it from the king, like how lots of people were asking to see the chef, or something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s absolutely normal! When the pudding was brought in, all the people present tilted their heads at the new food they had never ever seen before. But, because the king rmended it, all of them tried it, and the hall became a really big mess.¡¹

    Hmm... this was more terrifying than what I heard before, but...

    ¡¸Nobody ever ate something so delicious. That¡¯s why there was a big uproar in the hall. Nobody knew the methods of preparing it or even the ingredients used. Even the nobles, who only ate high ss meals, couldn¡¯t think of what it could be.¡¹

    With just pudding, it became such an incident...

    ¡¸But the king didn¡¯t reveal the recipe or who was the one that made it. Of course, I knew it, so I was looking at them whileughing.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible that we are in a pinch?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking that if they know we are selling it here, they will pressure us to reveal the recipe...¡¹

    If that was the case, the children could be in danger.

    ¡¸I think it will be okay, you know. The king said something like this: ¡ºThe one who made this is my best friend. The food will be sold at the ce where it is made. If someone damages the store, or harms anyone who is working there, you will be punished.¡»¡¹

    That meant that the king told all of the nobles that we were best friends??

    ¡¸And the king directly ordered father to look out for Yuna-san, so if something happens, you can just go and see him.¡¹

    I had the backing of the king, huh.

    Thinking of the children¡¯s security, it was better protection.

    I¡¯ll receive the ¡°best friend¡± title with much gratitude.

    Even if I didn¡¯t need it, it was not really something I could give back.

    After talking with Noa for a while, I heard some troubles outside of the shop.

    To confirm it, I went outside and there stood a lot of people.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    I asked Rurina-san.

    ¡¸You see, when I said that the shop would open for lunch, they said that they would wait in advance.¡¹

    I see.

    There was less than 30 minutes before the opening.

    It was not strange for customers to start lining up now.

    ¡¸Rurina-san, make the customers form two beautiful lines. Make sure there are no people who disregard the lines or try to cut in line.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If they don¡¯t cause any problems, it¡¯s okay. It will cause troubles for Rurina-san, though.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I just have to arrange them in two lines, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am counting on you.¡¹

    Before the opening, we ate and left the entrance to the two guards.

    When it was opening hour, there were around 30 people lined up.

    Thanks to Rurina-san, there were no problems.

    We managed to prepare 100 puddings, so it would be one per customer only.

    After talking with Noa, I thought there would be a lot of demands for puddings, but there were more customers asking for hamburgers or pizzas. Was it because it was lunch time?

    ¡¸Good job!¡¹

    I said some words of appreciation to the two of them.

    Their job ended and they were seated at the seats prepared for them.

    ¡¸There is really a lot of people, huh.¡¹

    The customers who came this morning and the ones who knew the opening hours entered at the same time, so the shop was packed.

    ¡¸Still, it¡¯s really delicious, this pizza and this hamburger!¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    In front of Rurina-san, Gill was eating silently.

    I could just barely tell that he did not dislike it.

    ¡¸Say if you want more. It¡¯s okay for any item on the menu except for pudding.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the pudding from the rumors, huh. I heard from Helen-san that it was delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s sweet, so there might be some men that wouldn¡¯t like it, though.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Gill shared his impressions after eating one mouthful.

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s delicious. And we will be able to eat it for one week, that¡¯s great.¡¹

    ¡¸You could be employed for life, you know. I have a lot of tasks I want you to do after all, Rurina-san.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a wonderful temptation. Unfortunately, I also want to continue my job as an adventurer, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Thinking about adventurers, what is Deborane doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, him, huh. I thought about parting ways with him. After all, I was just a temporary member from the start. What will you do Gill?¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡¹

    ¡¸You can work at the shop too, Gill.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do anything else than fight.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s more than enough, you know. You could be a guard, and there are children who want to be adventurers, so I would like you to teach them how to fight as an adventurer.¡¹

    I thought that the children who wanted to be adventurers wanted to do so because of me.

    I, the one who saved the children of the orphanage, was an adventurer, so it seemed that there were children who wanted to be adventurers like me too.

    They wanted to be strong in order to protect the orphanage.

    The director said that I wouldn¡¯t have to mind it because there were no ces for the children of the orphanage to work even after they be adults, so there were a lot of them that became adventurers.

    There was a ce for them to work now though. That was why I didn¡¯t really want them to do something dangerous.

    ¡¸And I need someone to protect the children when I¡¯m not here, so I would have a lot for you to do!¡¹

    ¡¸I will think about it.¡¹

    I thought he would refuse it, so I was really surprised that he responded this way.

    I really thought he would say something like: ¡ºI am more suited to be an adventurer.¡»

    ¡¸You have time, you know. It¡¯s not a pressing matter.¡¹

    The headhunting of those two has been put aside for now, but it was not something that needed to be resolved immediately, so I didn¡¯t really mind.

    The second day finished without a problem and we closed the store.

    The customers who came toote couldn¡¯t have any pudding, and I saw their dejected faces going back home.

    The problem was, once again, the number of eggs.

    If there were some leftovers, I wanted to make some sandwiches. If I made some, the egg sandwiches were a must (I wanted to eat them). (TL note: parenthesis in the raws.)

    By the way, Noa had been dragged away by a butler.

    She escaped during her lessons after all.

    Noa asked me for help while crying, but I couldn¡¯t do anything.

    The butler was dreadful.

 Chapter 81 â€“ Bear-san Stocks Up On Food

    Chapter 81 ¨C Bear-san Stocks Up On Food

    A few days after the shop¡¯s opening.

    The shop was doing great, without any troubles.

    The only problems were the potato and cheese stocks.

    I left the shop in Morin-san¡¯s and Tirumina-san¡¯s hands and went to the viges that made cheese and produced potatoes.

    The nearest one was the vige that produced potatoes.

    I hopped on Swaying Bear and arrived there in less than half an hour.

    Swaying Bear¡¯s speed had definitely increased.

    I was right, it increased when my level increased. When I became stronger, my summoned beasts became stronger, too.

    While thinking about that, I arrived close to the vige gate and saw people going in and out. Thanks to my habit, I identally approached the gate while riding Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Who are you?!¡¹

    A man standing near the gate shouted while looking at me.

    He must have been shocked, first thinking that a bear was approaching the vige, and then, when it came closer, seeing a girl in a Bear-suit riding it.

    Even I would be shocked if I saw something like that.

    ¡¸I am Yuna, an adventurer. Is Zamal-san here?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible that you¡¯re the Bear girl who bought the potatoes in the capital?¡¹

    It seemed that he told the people of the vige about me.

    ¡¸Yeah, I am.¡¹

    ¡¸Thene on in. I have heard the story.¡¹

    The man was relieved to hear that I was the one that bought the potatoes.

    Well, that couldn¡¯t be helped with the sudden appearance of a bear.

    He brought me to a house near the center of the vige.

    ¡¸Zamal! The girl dressed like a bear came!¡¹

    Zamal-san came out of the house.

    ¡¸It has been a while.¡¹

    I greeted him as a sign of friendship, but I couldn¡¯t sense an ounce of hospitality from him.

    ¡¸Did you perhapse here to make aint because someone fell ill?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it! I don¡¯t have enough potatoes so I came to buy more!¡¹

    ¡¸Are you kidding? You bought a huge amount of them at the capital, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸The potatoes are now a popr product at my shop.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe that.¡¹

    It couldn¡¯t be helped, so I took some snacks out of the Bear Box.

    It was potato chips and fried potatoes.

    ¡¸These are the products made from potatoes.¡¹

    Zamal-san ate a slice of potato chips.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s great as a snack, right? You just have to fry them in oil and add a little salt.¡¹

    ¡¸It has a fluffy texture and is really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸This one is also made by just frying it in oil.¡¹

    ¡¸Is this really made of potatoes?¡¹

    ¡¸I also put them on pizza, so I really need a lot of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Pizza?¡¹

    It was impossible to understand if I just said the name, so I also took a pizza out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸This is pizza. Potatoes are necessary, even though they are not the main ingredient.¡¹

    Zamal-san ate the pizza.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious. Are the people in town really eating the potatoes I grew?¡¹

    Light tears were flowing down from his eyes.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t really matter if you believe me or not. Do you have potatoes?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, of course we have some.¡¹

    ¡¸I would like fresh potatoes if possible, so could you bring some to Crimonia every two weeks?¡¹

    ¡¸It takes three days to go there by carriage. I would have to stay one night in Crimonia, so it would take seven days for a round trip. It¡¯s quite a tight schedule.¡¹

    ¡¸And what if you could go by horse, without having to transport potatoes?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s like that, I wouldn¡¯t need the carriage or any other luggage, so I could reduce the time to one day and a half. But if I don¡¯t bring the potatoes, what would be the point of making the trip?¡¹

    ¡¸Here, take this.¡¹

    I gave him five of the item bags that I took from the thieves.

    ¡¸These are?¡¹

    ¡¸Item bags. I have never used them, so I don¡¯t know how much they can carry, but you can use them.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay? Giving me something like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, no problem. If Zamal-san doesn¡¯t need to use all of them, you can give some of them to other vigers. It will be more convenient to transport things with this, won¡¯t it? ¡¹

    ¡¸It will help a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸In exchange, I will count on you to deliver twice a month.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, you have my word. So how much will I have to transport each time? ¡¹

    ¡¸For now, about as much as the previous time. For the next one, you can ask Morin-san, a worker at the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».¡¹

    ¡¸So, Morin, who is working at the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»? Understood.¡¹

    ¡¸I will count on you then!¡¹

    ¡¸You are leaving already? I wanted to thank you though...¡¹

    ¡¸I still have somewhere else I need to go, after all.¡¹

    I summoned Hugging Bear and went towards the cheese vige.

    The bears would sulk if I didn¡¯t take turns summoning them after all.

    The cheese vige was surprisingly close to the potato vige.

    It took me about half an hour on Hugging Bear.

    When I approached the vige, the distinctive smelly odor of a dairy farm was drifting through the air.

    When I arrived at the farm, a man approached me.

    He was carrying ance and seemed to be on guard.

    Was he startled by Hugging Bear?

    To prove that I was not a dangerous person, I got down from Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸A Bear suit?¡¹

    The man approached.

    ¡¸Is it possible that you are the girl who bought cheese in the capital?¡¹

    He asked.

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. Is the grandpa that sold me cheese in the capital here? I came to buy more.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I heard the story, pleasee this way.¡¹

    I returned Hugging Bear and followed the man.

    ¡¸You heard about me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the vige chief said that if a girl in a Bear Suites, we have to let here in. You are the benefactor who bought all of the cheese, so he told us gate guards to treat you kindly. ¡¹

    ¡¸The security seems to be quite high, did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸Recently, goblins appeared and attacked our livestock. That¡¯s why we are patrolling.¡¹

    Goblins, huh.

    Wherever I went, they were a harmful bunch.

    There was a lot of livestock inside the vige.

    There were cows, pigs, and goats.

    The man stopped in front of a house.

    ¡¸Vige chief! The girl who bought the cheese in the capital came!¡¹

    The grandpa who I bought the cheese from came out of the house.

    So he was the vige chief, huh.

    ¡¸Oh, if it isn¡¯t the Bear missy from that time! You really came, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I told you I woulde, right? I hope you didn¡¯t forget the promise to sell the cheese cheaply if I came?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. This is not a good ce to talk, so pleasee inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Vige chief, I will resume patrolling around the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am counting on you!¡¹

    When I entered, the vige chief offered me some white liquid.

    ¡¸Here you go. It¡¯s freshly squeezed cow milk.¡¹

    I took one mouthful. It tasted a little sweet. Really delicious.

    I decided to buy some milk too, before going back.

    ¡¸You came to buy cheese today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...is it possible that you don¡¯t have a lot of it?¡¹

    ¡¸No, we have a lot of cheese. But, if things continue like this, we won¡¯t be able to make it anymore.¡¹

    Those were words I couldn¡¯t ignore.

    ¡¸Why? Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸Goblins moved into the forest near the vige. Those goblins came and attacked our livestock.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you post a request at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we posted a request using the money we got from selling the cheese to you, but...nobody came...¡¹

    I had heard that goblin subjugation requests weren¡¯t really popr, but that was really the case, huh.

    ¡¸Our vige was strong enough to drive them away, but recently the number of Goblins increased and now we can only watch as the livestock are attacked...¡¹

    At this rate, it would be a great loss for this world, not being able to obtain cheese...

    More than that, I would be troubled...

    ¡¸I will go and exterminate them.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying!? A girl like you? Wait, before that, did youe to this vige alone?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I came alone. Don¡¯t worry, I am an adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Also, I would be really troubled if the cheese disappeared. That¡¯s why there is no way I am abandoning this vige!¡¹

    I got up to go and exterminate the goblins.

    ¡¸Are you really going?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, for the cheese¡¯s sake!¡¹

    I went to the forest that the vige chief was talking about.

    When I used detection magic, I could see that there was quite a lot of goblins.

    It¡¯s been a while, but let¡¯s do it alone!

    I started running towards the goblins.

    I rapidly finished it before going back.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you are back? Did you change your mind about going there?¡¹

    When I returned, vige chief was waiting for me at the entrance of the vige, looking worried.

    ¡¸I defeated them. There are no more goblins inside the forest. And while I was at it, there were some orcs, so I killed them too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, stop joking.¡¹

    I brought out the corpses of goblins and orcs I killed.

    When I thought about it, I killed all the monsters, so there were none left in the neighbourhood.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is this!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the evidence that I killed those monsters as I said.¡¹

    ¡¸You really went and killed all of the goblins?¡¹

    Thin tears were flowing from the vige chief¡¯s eyes.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t thank you enough.¡¹

    There was a pile of goblin¡¯s corpses, and the vigers who saw it started to assemble.

    ¡¸Vige chief, what is this?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san killed them for us. There are no more goblins in the forest. That¡¯s why, we don¡¯t have to be frightened by them anymore. All of you, you also have to say your thanks to Yuna-san.¡¹

    The vige chief said something like that, so everyone started to say some words of thanks.

    ¡¸If you want the magic stones, I will give them to you, so can you disassemble the monsters yourselves?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸In return, I have something I want to ask from you.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    The vige chief asked while looking stressed.

    ¡¸Could you bring cheese to Crimonia at fixed intervals?¡¹

    ¡¸That won¡¯t be a problem, but is just this okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I will give you this, then.¡¹

    I brought out five more item bags from the Bear box.

    ¡¸Are these item bags?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be easier to transport things with them, won¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right, but...We don¡¯t have anything to thank you with, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. Letting the cheese disappear would be too great of a loss, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Saying so much about our cheese...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, I am counting on you to give us delicious cheese, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we understand. We will do our best to make it.¡¹

    After this, I went around the vige, and they showed me a lot of different livestock.

    When I asked them if they could show me how to make cheese, they agreed happily, to my surprise.

    Wasn¡¯t that the most guarded secret of this vige???

    When I asked this,

    ¡¸We have nothing to hide from our benefactor, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Was their response.

    I only killed the goblins, so having them think so much of it made me feel as if I did something bad.

    Well, just because I learned how to make cheese didn¡¯t meant that I would go and make it somewhere else.

    After that, they threw a wee party for me.

    As thanks, in order for the people to know how splendid of an ingredient cheese was, I made a stone oven, made pizza with the vige¡¯s cheese, and served it to all of them.

 Chapter 82 â€“ Bear-san And Some Free Time

    Chapter 82 ¨C Bear-san And Some Free Time

    Author¡¯s note:

    I don¡¯t know.

    It¡¯s a story linked with the trip to Shinten.

    (TL: A ce near Hiroshima.)

    The shop was now doing well even without me, so I didn¡¯t have to go there recently.

    The sales were great, Morin-san was trying to make new types of bread, and the children, who had gotten used to the work, were now doing it happily.

    We also increased the number of new dishes.

    Rurina-san and Gill also went back to their adventurer jobs.

    The two of them left Deborane¡¯s party and epted jobs alone or made temporary parties.

    They often came to the store as customers.

    I didn¡¯t have anything to do, so I decided to go to the capital using the transfer gate.

    Even though the birthday party had ended, there were still a lot of people there.

    I went to the castle to take pudding to Princess Flora.

    When I arrived at the gate, the soldiers seemed to remember me and gave a rxed greeting as I approached them.

    ¡¸I want to go inside, is that okay?¡¹

    I presented my guild card to them.

    There was a permit to enter the castle on my guild card, so that I could enter without any problems.

    When the guard asked my reason foring, I told him that I came to see Princess Flora.

    As one would expect, I couldn¡¯t just go see the princess alone, so he said that I had to wait until he called Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while indeed, Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You came to see Princess Flora?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s been awhile since I came here, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸You came from Crimonia just for that?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that I won¡¯t be able toe here for some time, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s not easy toe here all the time from Crimonia, right?¡¹

    For some reason, when we arrived to Princess Flora¡¯s room, the king was inside.

    ¡¸Your Highness, are you ditching work again?¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora, I am not you. I am just on a break.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s some bad mouthing. I am here as a duty guide for Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸I am talking about your normal behaviour.¡¹

    ¡¸My normal behaviour? I am a mass of diligence. And why is the king in Princess Flora¡¯s room?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I heard a report that Yuna wasing, of course. I knew that if she wasing, she would go to Flora¡¯s room.¡¹

    While the two of them were bickering, Princess Flora approached me.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san, you came?¡¹

    ¡¸I promised you, after all.¡¹

    I brought out the pudding from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸I brought some pudding, so let¡¯s eat them together.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    I brought out four servings of pudding and neatly lined them up on the table.

    Seeing this, Eleanora and the king approached too.

    ¡¸Thank you for what you did.¡¹

    I thanked the king for what he said during the birthday party.

    ¡¸What is it, so suddenly?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the pudding. It seems that you have protected my shop for now, so...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about that, huh. I forced you to prepare the pudding, so doing just that was absolutely no problem. If something does happen, you can ask either me or the Foschurose family¡¯s Cliff for help.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, you can work him hard, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, I will give you this.¡¹

    I gave a piece of paper to the king.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸The pudding recipe. Make some for Princess Flora, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know when I will be able toe again, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. I will thankfully ept it. To keep it confidential, I will give the recipe to only my personal cook.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t really have to keep it a secret, so don¡¯t punish him if it is leaked.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want him to be executed because of the pudding recipe.

    ¡¸Do not worry. It won¡¯t even leak to the other royal cooks.¡¹

    ¡¸But there will be people who will want to steal it.¡¹

    ¡¸If there was someone who tried to steal a royal recipe, he would receive an appropriate punishment.¡¹

    The king¡¯s smile was frightening...

    ¡¸And it¡¯s not really your fault that you can¡¯te here frequently, right? Crimonia is far, after all. I would be grateful if you just visited from time to time, so that my daughter is happy.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell them that I coulde here instantly by using the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just, I want to go to the sea, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸The sea?¡¹

    ¡¸There is a sea east of the capital, right?¡¹

    It was information I had received from the information gathering I did awhile back.

    ¡¸So, you are going to the sea, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸I want some ingredients from the sea, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸A food hunt again?¡¹

    ¡¸If you forget the happiness of eating food, you lose something really important in life!¡¹

    ¡¸You are right.¡¹

    The king ate a mouthful of pudding.

    ¡¸It would be great if there was a sea near Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸There is, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸...Huh?¡¹

    I froze when I heard the informationing out of Eleanora-san¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸Oh, you are talking about that, right?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    ¡¸You know how there is a big mountain northeast of Crimonia?¡¹

    I nodded.

    There was a big mountain that you could see from the town. You could even say that it was a mountain range.

    ¡¸If you cross that mountain, you¡¯ll be able to reach the sea, you know. But well, it¡¯s quite difficult to cross or to get around it.¡¹

    So there was a sea on the other side of the mountain, huh.

    If you were talking about distance, it was close.

    ¡¸There is even a town over there, you know. It is difficult to reach it without a boat, but, with Yuna-chan¡¯s bears, you could do it, I think?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna¡¯s bears?¡¹

    The king tilted his head.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan has bears she can summon, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸You can even do something like that?¡¹

    Eleanora-san exined everything for me.

    She exined every single detail, telling them that there were two of them, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Upon listening to this story, Princess Flora¡¯s eyes were sparkling.

    The king looked interested too, so after the talk, I was asked to summon the two of them.

    Was it really okay to summon them in the princess¡¯s room?

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    For now, since I had permission, I summoned Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    Princess Flora approached Hugging Bear.

    The king was only looking and didn¡¯t try to stop her.

    Doesn¡¯t he have any sense of crisis?

    ¡¸Who are you really?¡¹

    ¡¸I am a D-rank adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸Are there any D-rank adventurers who can exterminate more than 10,000 monsters...? ¡¹

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, Yuna-chan, you killed more than 10,000 monsters, but stayed at D-rank?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because it was an unknown A-rank party that killed all of the monsters, you see .¡¹

    ¡¸It would have been better if we just revealed your name...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t wanna.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want to stand out, even though you are wearing clothes that stand out, something like that, right?¡¹

    She said that while looking as if she had given up on the issue.

    I wanted to go back quickly after dropping off the pudding, but Princess Flora didn¡¯t want to leave Hugging Bear, so I stayed at the castle until evening.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The sea~

    (TL note: Well, what can Yuna-chan do if she goes to the sea... She can¡¯t wear a swimsuit, because she has to stay in bear mode outside.... Well, we will see, right?)

 Chapter 83 â€“ Bear-san Climbs The Mountain

    Chapter 83 ¨C Bear-san Climbs The Mountain

    ¡¸Are you really going there?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked me with a worried look .

    At the orphanage, I told Terumi-san and Fina that I would go to the sea by crossing the mountain range.

    ¡¸I want to see the sea, after all. That¡¯s why, I will leave the shop in your hands.¡¹

    Even if I didn¡¯t specifically say it, the shop was already under Terumi-san¡¯s and Morin-san¡¯s care. Even if I wasn¡¯t here, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    To prove it, I gradually reduced the number of times I went to the store.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, but Erezento¡¯s mountain range is steep, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If I really find it dangerous, I wille back here. Not to mention, with Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, and everything else, there won¡¯t be any problems.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    Fina also looked extremely worried.

    ¡¸There will be no problems. When things calm down a little on the other side of the mountain, I will contact you.¡¹

    I took two palm-sized Bear Figurines from the Bear Box and gave one to Fina.

    ¡¸This is?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a Bear Phone that can call anywhere. It¡¯s a magic tool that allows us to talk to each other, even if we are far apart .¡¹

    After I defeated more than 10,000 monsters near the capital, my level increased and I acquired two new skills.

    The first skill let me use magic to create Bear Phones formunicating with others.

    It was amunication device that used magic instead of electricity.

    The second skill transformed my summoned beasts into their cub forms.

    I got a really strange skill that just permitted me to transform my summoned beast to different sized versions.

    How could I use Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear¡¯s cub forms? Maybe I could to use them as watch dogs when I was at an inn? Or maybe as pillows?

    However, if I wanted a pillow, their bigger versions would be better, right?

    I tried the skill when I was in my house, but there was no way to make use of it.

    Was it just a skill that allowed your tired heart to recover by looking at the cubs?

    It was true that they were really cute though.

    ¡¸If something happens or if you just want to talk to me, you just have to pour magic into it and it will connect to my Bear Phone, so you will be able to talk to me.¡¹

    As I was giving the exnation, with a serious look,

    ¡¸...Big Sis Yuna. It¡¯s just impossible to talk with people who are not in the same ce. Even if you try to make me feel better by lying, I am not a young enough child to believe this.¡¹

    She showed her dissatisfaction by puffing her cheeks.

    Hmm...was it possible that she didn¡¯t trust me?

    Also, ten years old was still a child, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, there might be those sort of tools in the capital, but well, maybe just one here and there...¡¹

    Was it such a rare item?

    In the game though, there was a chat-like function.

    ¡¸You will believe me once we use it. I will use the Bear Phone now.¡¹

    I said that, but it was also my first time using it.

    I didn¡¯t have anyone to test the Bear Phones with, and doing it by myself wasn¡¯t really possible.

    I didn¡¯t know how the connection between the two bears worked.

    Was there a phone ring melody?

    We would find out by trying it, so I poured magic into the Bear Phone and prayed that it would connect to the one Fina had.

    As I did that, the Bear Phone that Fina held started ringing.

    ¡¸Kuun, Kuun, Kuun, Kuun, Kuun¡¹

    A bear¡¯s crying voice?

    That kind of calling voice?

    Wasn¡¯t it strange?

    Couldn¡¯t it be changed to a normal cellphone¡¯s melody?

    ¡¸B-Big Sis Yuna. What do I do about this!?¡¹

    Fina panicked while looking at the Bear Phone ringing in her hand.

    ¡¸Try pouring magic into it. It uses magic power instead of a switch, after all.¡¹

    When Fina poured magic into it, the cries of the Bear Phone stopped.

    ¡¸I will move away a bit, okay?¡¹

    I moved to about 10 meters away from Fina.

    ¡¸Fina, can you hear me?¡¹

    I started talking, facing the Bear Phone.

    ¡ºBig Sis Yuna?¡»

    I could hear Fina¡¯s voiceing from the Bear Phone¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸Can you hear my voice?¡¹

    ¡ºYes I can.¡»

    ¡¸Then I will distance myself a little more.¡¹

    I moved away even more.

    ¡¸Can you still hear me Fina?¡¹

    ¡ºI can hear you clearly.¡»

    ¡ºYuna-chan, is this really a magic tool that makes long distancemunication possible?¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know how far away we canmunicate, but I think we can talk even if there is quite a distance between us.¡¹

    I thought so at least.

    I had never used it before, so there was no way I could know how far away I could use it from.

    ¡¸Then, I will cut the connection for now and this time Fina will be the one to call me.¡¹

    ¡ºYes, I will try.¡»

    When I cut the connection and waited for Fina¡¯s call, the Bear Phone started ringing.

    ¡¸Kuun, Kuun, Kuun, Kuun, Kuun¡¹

    As I thought, this crying voice was really unpleasant.

    Of course, having a mechanical sound or a musical ring might be strange in this world, but if I could register voices, I would register Fina¡¯s voice.

    ¡¸Big Sis, pick up the phone. Big Sis, pick up the phone.¡¹something like this.

    I decided to try to see if it was possible to change itter.

    As I poured magic into it, the crying voice stopped.

    ¡ºHmm, Big Sis Yuna, can you hear me?¡»

    ¡¸Yes, I can.¡¹

    We confirmed that the transmission could be started from both sides.

    The next problem was the distance, but we couldn¡¯t really test that here.

    Should I go to the capital and test it from there?

    ¡¸Well, I will return to where you are now.¡¹

    I cut the conversation and went back to where Fina was.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, this Bear-san is incredible!¡¹

    She was carefully hugging the Bear Phone.

    ¡¸With this, wherever we are, we will be able to talk with each other, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Phones are great. You can talk to people that are really far away.¡¹

    ¡¸Terumi-san too, if you have something to talk about, don¡¯t hesitate to call me. If I think I will be able toe back, I will do so.¡¹

    I had the transfer gate so I coulde back quickly.

    ¡¸I understand, but is it okay to give us such an incredible magic tool?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. They would be pointless if I had both of them.¡¹

    If I had them both, I would would be like a loner ying telephone...

    ¡¸But if you have something like this, you can call your friends and family in your hometown.¡¹

    Terumi-san¡¯s words pierced my heart.

    Friends... Are they delicious?

    Family... Where are they?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what happened?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked me when I was in the orz pose..

    Mustering my strength, I got up.

    (ED: orz pose = hands and knees on the ground. o = head, r = arms, z = legs)

    ¡¸Nothing. Don¡¯t worry, and please use the magic tool. My home country is too far away, so I can¡¯t use it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Sorry.¡¹

    Terumi-san might have sensed something about my past, but she didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡¸So, Fina, take it and don¡¯t worry, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. But, Big Sis Yuna, take care of yourself, okay?¡¹

    The next day, early in the morning, I hopped on Swaying Bear and rode towards the Erezento mountain range.

    It had been a long time since I went on a trip by myself.

    I advanced in the direction of the mountain range.

    I could see the mountain range from here. Its summit was pure white. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to snow.

    The Bear Clothes protected me from the cold, so it was probably okay.

    Swaying Bear left the town and kept running on the path.

    As I looked at the nearing mountain, my map was expanding.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really big, huh.¡¹

    I arrived at the entrance to the trailhead while atop Swaying Bear.

    When I looked around, I saw a thin path.

    I heard that it was narrow, but Swaying Bear could just barely fit it.

    Then, let¡¯s go!

    Swaying Bear started ascending the mountain.

    At the foot of the mountain there were many trees and forests, but as we climbed higher, they started to thin, little by little.

    Swaying Bear steadily ascended the mountain.

    I noticed some monsters in the distance, but they didn¡¯t approach us.

    After ascending some more, we reached the snow, and our steps started to sink a little.

    Thanks to the Bear Clothes, I didn¡¯t feel the cold.

    There was more and more snow, but Swaying Bear kept running through it.

    While ascending the snowy mountain, I spotted a white wolf.

    A Snow Wolf.

    A wolf with a white pelt.

    Would a white pelt be a good souvenir for Fina?

    As I was thinking that, the Snow Wolf noticed me and ran away.

    Swaying Bear was with me, so he didn¡¯t attack.

    I kind of wanted his fur, but I wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of chasing him down.

    There were three species of monsters on the mountain range.

    Snow Wolves, Yetis, and Snow Darumas.

    The Yetis were hairy Snowmen andparatively gentle monsters. If you didn¡¯t attack them first, they wouldn¡¯t do anything.

    The problematic ones were the Snow Darumas. They had an ice magic stone and their bodies were assembled from the snow.

    Appearance wise, they looked like snowmen without arms and legs.

    They attacked slowly, trying to tackle you or blowing snow from their mouths.

    Physical attacks didn¡¯t work on them because of their characteristics.

    If Swaying Bear or I attacked them like that, they would only copse and rapidly regenerate their bodies by gathering the snow around them.

    The way to kill them was to use fire attribute magic to melt the snow, so that they couldn¡¯t assemble their form anymore.

    That was why I plunged a fireball into the first Snow Daruma I saw.

    When the fireball touched it, the snow evaporated and the ice magic crystal dropped.

    Those magic crystals could be used to make fridges or freezers.

    The crystals had a lot of uses, so I decided to store them.

    The mountain climbing was progressing nicely, until a snowstorm appeared.

    Would it be better if I stopped a little and waited for the storm to calm down?

    Swaying Bear and I were doing fine, but our vision was too restricted.

    It wasn¡¯t really a trip that required me to go as fast as I could, so I looked for a good ce to stop.

    While climbing the mountain and looking for a ce to rest, Swaying Bear reacted to something.

    Thinking that it was a monster, I used detection magic.

    The Detection magic sensed no monsters.

    Instead, it reacted to two people.

    Author¡¯s note:

    After the introduction of the important people of the story, I made a summary of Yuna¡¯s magic skills.

    There should be some people who forgot about them, so don¡¯t hesitate and take a look.

 Chapter 84 â€“ Bear-san Saves People

    Chapter 84 ¨C Bear-san Saves People

    There were people in this snowstorm.

    They were probably adventurers like me.

    Did theye all the way here to kill some monsters?

    Thinking that it would be a pain if they attacked out of surprise after seeing Swaying Bear, I decided to pass by them without making contact, but the signal from the detection magic didn¡¯t move.

    Were they camping?

    It was hard to believe that they would be moving during a snowstorm.

    It was possible that there was a cave and they were just taking a break.

    Then, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if I just continued on my way?

    In the end, after thinking deeply about what to do, I decided to continue advancing towards them .

    The storm was bing stronger and stronger.

    Using the detection magic, I finally arrived near the signal.

    There was no cavern norrge boulders in sight, nowhere you could hide. In addition to that, nobody was standing around here. Still, the detection magic was reacting.

    The only thing I could think was that they were buried under the snow.

    Wasn¡¯t that really bad?

    I concentrated my gaze on the mass of snow.

    In front of me, Swaying Bear reacted. When I turned my gaze to where he was looking, I noticed a buried bag.

    I rushed over and shove away the snow. I saw a man and a woman who had copsed while hugging each other.

    ¡¸Are you okay!?¡¹

    I blew away the snow with wind magic and shook them.

    The two of them were unconscious, but they were still breathing.

    I looked for a ce that was protected from the snow, and found a little cavern a short distance away.

    However, it was not big enough to guard against the snow.

    I just had to make it bigger then.

    I summoned Hugging Bear and asked the bears to transport the copsed people.

    I approached the little cave and carefully used magic, to avoid causing an avnche.

    When the cave became big enough, I brought out the portable Bear House that I used during my trip to the capital.

    I brought the two unconscious people inside and put them on the sofas.

    To warm them up, I brought out a nket and covered them with it.

    Just that wouldn¡¯t be enough, so I warmed the room.

    The Bear House had been made so that it wouldn¡¯t be hot or cold. A moderate temperature was always guaranteed. However, to warm up the two freezing people, I used a fire magic stone.

    After doing that, I just had to wait for them to wake up.

    While waiting, I decided to have a meal.

    I went to the kitchen and prepared a warm meal and drink. When I came back to the room, the woman¡¯s body began to move, and she opened her eyes.

    ¡¸W, where...?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you awake?¡¹

    The woman looked around the room, before finallynding on me.

    ¡¸...A bear? ...You are?¡¹

    ¡¸I am the adventurer, Yuna. I found the two of you on the snowy mountain, do you remember that?¡¹

    The woman thought for a little, then suddenly remembered something and started shouting.

    ¡¸Damon!¡¹

    ¡¸If you are referring to the man, he is sleeping there.¡¹

    I pointed to the sofa next to her.

    After seeing that the man was breathing, she started to calm down.

    ¡¸What a relief. Are you the one who saved us?¡¹

    ¡¸It was just a coincidence. I found the two of you on copsed in the snow.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. My name is Ranya,and that man is my husband, Damon.¡¹

    She lowered her head.

    She seemed to be less than 25 years old.

    I couldn¡¯t be sure though, especially considering Eleanora-san.

    I gave the warm milk to Ranya-san.

    ¡¸So, why are you in this sort of ce?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we are on a trip from Mireera to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, Mireera is the city that is just under the mountain range, right?¡¹

    It was the city by the sea.

    The city I was going to.

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. We were going to buy some food at Crimonia, on the other side of the mountain range, but we lost all of our strength.¡¹

    ¡¸Food? Why would you go past the mountain range to fetch it?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that the news didn¡¯t reach Crimonia, huh?¡¹

    Ranya-san said, looking sad.

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸One month ago, a monster appeared in the sea.¡¹

    ¡¸A monster?¡¹

    ¡¸An adventurer said that it was a Kraken. It appeared near the harbour and started attacking the boats, and now no boats can leave or enter the harbour.¡¹

    In the game, the Kraken was the boss of the sea event.

    It was a squid monster.

    It was weak to fire and lightning, but the power of fire magic was cut in half on the sea, and even though lightning magic did a lot of damage, because of the sea zone, if you made a mistake in using it, it could be a really troublesome magic for you and yourpanions.

    It was an event where warriors were useless and magicians yed a really big role.

    I participated in it too, but I remembered that it was really a troublesome enemy.

    ¡¸Thanks to that, the city can¡¯t catch fish anymore. Fishing is the foundation of our city, so not being able to catch fish has dealt great damage to us. Goods don¡¯t reach us from the outside. The only ces where we can catch fish during these troubling times are monopolised by a few people.¡¹

    ¡¸Monopolizing... Do people really ept it so readily?¡¹

    ¡¸The Commerce Guild is the center of everything in the city, so no one can oppose them. If you do oppose them, you won¡¯t be able to buy any goods from other people.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t there an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the city? Couldn¡¯t they assemble their forces and kill the Kraken or something like that?¡¹

    Ranya-san shook her head.

    ¡¸There is an Adventurer¡¯s Guild. However, there are no adventurers who can defeat the Kraken.¡¹

    In regards to the event, the Kraken was a boss ss monster after all, huh.

    In this world, how high did your rank need to be to kill it?

    While I was thinking about that, Damon, who was sleeping on the sofa, woke up.

    ¡¸Damon, are you okay?¡¹

    Ranya-san approached him, looking worried.

    ¡¸Ranya? We are...¡¹

    ¡¸The adventurer Yuna-san saved us.¡¹

    Damon sat up looked at me.

    ¡¸Bear?¡¹

    They all had the same reaction...

    ¡¸Damon, that¡¯s not polite!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry. Thank you for saving us. So, where are we?¡¹

    ¡¸In my house.¡¹

    ¡¸We have been saved, huh...¡¹

    I went back to the kitchen and warmed up some more milk to give to Damon.

    ¡¸Thanks, that¡¯s a lifesaver.¡¹

    He received it and drank it in one gulp.

    The two of them started to calm down, so we continued to talk.

    ¡¸But, why would you be in the mountain range? It may be a detour, but I heard that it is possible to travel on the coasnd.¡¹

    ¡¸Some time after the Kraken appearance, robbers appeared on the coasnd road.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if the Kraken is impossible, can¡¯t the adventurers kill those robbers?¡¹

    The two of them shook their heads.

    ¡¸The thing is, all the high ranking adventurers have been hired by the fleeing people and left the city.¡¹

    ¡¸The only adventurers remaining in town are low ranked ones...¡¹

    The Kraken couldn¡¯t be killed. They couldn¡¯t kill the thieves.

    They should have done something before all the high rank adventurers left the city...

    To summarise their story, because of the Kraken in the sea, they couldn¡¯t fish and goods from other towns couldn¡¯te in. On the only path out of the city, bandits appeared and made it impossible to pass. Not to mention, the remaining adventurers couldn¡¯t help at all.

    Finally, fish in the shores and shallows were monopolized by a few people.

    ¡¸And the mountain? The sea isn¡¯t the only option, right?¡¹

    If there were wolves on the mountain, there should be other animals too, and there were also things to harvest on the mountain.

    ¡¸Yes, we can find some things. But, they are not limitless, and if you don¡¯t have a lot of money, you won¡¯t be able to procure them.¡¹

    ¡¸Other harbours should know about the Kraken¡¯s appearance. Can¡¯t the kingdom or someone else help?¡¹

    It might not the ones from the capital, but for something like a Kraken, I thought it would not be strange for the kingdom¡¯s soldiers to help.

    ¡¸Our city does not belong to any kingdom. Because of that, there are no soldiers that would want toe to kill the Kraken.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that the city was built by people who fled during wartime, long ago.¡¹

    The adventurers were no good and the kingdoms were no good; weren¡¯t they checkmated?

    Hmm... What to do?

    Me? I wouldn¡¯t fight.

    As one would expect, a bear couldn¡¯t fight in the sea.

    ¡¸What are you going to do from now on?¡¹

    ¡¸If possible, we want to reach Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸And after that, will you be able to go back?¡¹

    They hadn¡¯t reached their destination in the first ce.

    The possibility of them going back by the same path was really low.

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸But, if we don¡¯t go, the children, father, and mother will be waiting for us with an empty stomach...¡¹

    There was no strength in their voices.

    They might have remembered their journey until now.

    They might be saying that they wanted to go, but the fact that they were buried in the snow and nearly died stayed in their minds.

    I could let them leave like this, but if they died because of that, it would leave a bad aftertaste.

    As for food, I had around 5000 wolves, and I had a lot of flour to make bread or pizza.

    I had so much food that it would rot before I ate it. (It won¡¯t rot, though.)

    (TL note: in japanese, ¡®More than someone can possibly use¡¯ is written as ¡®to the point it will rot¡¯. It¡¯s a pun.)

    (ED: ¸¯¤ë¤Û¤É vs ¸¯¤é)

    ¡¸Excuse me, onest thing, where are we?¡¹

    ¡¸In the middle of the snowy mountain, why?¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Huh?!¡¹¡¹

    The two of them seemed surprised.

    Oh right, saying that there was a house in the middle of a snowy mountain would surprise people.

    ¡¸We are in a cavern near where I found the two of you.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸If you think that I am lying, you just have to go out and check.¡¹

    The two of them left the Bear House.

    Then came back really fast.

    ¡¸Why would there be a house inside a cave?!¡¹

    ¡¸You can just think about it as something I made with magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Something like that is...¡¹

    ¡¸I came through the snowy mountain because I can do it, though.¡¹

    If I didn¡¯t have the Bear Equipment, I wouldn¡¯te to this snowy mountain.

    In the first ce I wouldn¡¯t be able to.

    The Bear Clothes, the summoned Bears, the Bear House, the Bear Box.

    The convenient Bear-san Equipement.

    ¡¸By the way, what we were talking about before, I have some food I could lend to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? If you are so kind to share some with us that would save us, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I have a request though.¡¹

    ¡¸Money? Of course we will pay. How much would you like to sell it for?¡¹

    Damon brought out a leather bag and ced the money on the table.

    Silver and copper coins were rolling on the table.

    It must be the money they had scraped up from their house.

    For me, it wasn¡¯t really a big sum.

    ¡¸It probably isn¡¯t enough, but this is everything we own. If you could sell the most you can for this sum, it would save us.¡¹

    Damon lowered his head.

    Even though he didn¡¯t have to lower his head so much to a little girl like me.

    Well, if he asked arrogantly, I would have refused, though.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need money.¡¹

    The wolves were just sitting in my Bear Box, after all.

    ¡¸What do you want then?¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to guide me around the city.¡¹

    ¡¸Is just that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, just that is plenty. I will not request something unreasonable.¡¹

    If the Kraken wasn¡¯t there, I would have asked them to introduce me to the best fish dealer they knew.

    For now, I would think about what to do when I arrived to the city.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    He even gave his thanks to a child with this strange appearance, huh.

    Surely that was proof that he has been really troubled.

    ¡¸More than that, you should be really tired after all that happened today. I will prepare something to eat, so after eating, go get some sleep. If the snowstorm stops, we will depart first thing in the morning.¡¹

    I prepared a warm meal for the two of them.

    They ate it with thin tears flowing out of their eyes.

    They might have not eaten well when they were in the city.

    In that situation, wanting to climb the mountain range was more reckless than not.

    After they finished eating, I brought them to the bedrooms on the second floor.

    I went to my own bedroom too, and to get rid of today¡¯s fatigue, I decided to plunge into my futon.

 Chapter 85 â€“ Bear-san Arrives At Mireera

    Chapter 85 ¨C Bear-san Arrives At Mireera

    When I blew away the snow that piled up in front of the cave, we were met with beautiful weather.

    The weather was so beautiful, it was as if the snowstorm was just a dream.

    It was to the point that it was almost too bright for an ex-hikikomori like me.

    I asked the two of them to leave the cave before I put away the Bear House.

    When I left the cave, the two were having problems walking on the fresh snow.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what will you do about your house?¡¹

    Since we had grown closer during yesterday¡¯s meal, they were now using ¡ºchan¡» instead of ¡ºsan¡».

    It was morefortable for me this way.

    ¡¸I made it with magic, so I can put it away with magic as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you are really a strong adventurer, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I am just a normal, rank D adventurer, you know.¡¹

    It was a really dubious phrase, if I had to say so myself.

    If there were any other adventurers wearing a Bear suit, going through the snowy mountain alone, and even bringing out a house, I would really want to meet them.

    ¡¸Then, as I exined yesterday, I will bring out my summoned beasts, so don¡¯t be surprised, okay?¡¹

    During the meal yesterday, I told them that I could summon Bears and showed them their cub forms.

    Today though, their sizes would be different from yesterday.

    ¡¸So big...¡¹

    ¡¸Damon-san, Ranya-san, please ride Swaying Bear, who I introduced to you yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸Is this really the same bear you showed us yesterday?¡¹

    Damon-san approached Swaying Bear timidly.

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t do anything bad or badmouth him, it will be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Badmouth...the humannguage...?¡¹

    ¡¸He understands it. Swaying Bear, squat to let them on.¡¹

    Hearing that, Swaying Bear lowered his body.

    Seeing that, Damon-san was at a loss for words.

    ¡¸This is...Swaying Bear...I am counting on you!¡¹

    Damon-san said so and climbed onto Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear turned his head to Damon-san and nodded.

    ¡¸Amazing, he really understands human speech.¡¹

    ¡¸Ranya-san too, get on. We will depart soon.¡¹

    Ranya-san nodded and positioned herself behind her husband. When the two of them were on, Swaying Bear rose slowly.

    Carrying two adults was probably the limit for Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t be able to fall, but hold on tight.¡¹

    I hopped on Hugging Bear and we embarked towards the city.

    We started off slowly at first, at walking speed, but as they got used to it, we gradually raised the speed.

    We were on the snowy mountain so we couldn¡¯t move as fast as we could on the nds, but it was still faster than a human¡¯s walking speed.

    ¡¸The weather on the mountain can change quickly, so we will go a little faster, okay?¡¹

    We raised the speed some more and ascended the mountain range.

    The Snow Darumas that appeared during this period were easily killed with fire magic.

    I thought that the two of them would be okay with Swaying Bear there, but it would be troublesome if they got attacked.

    ¡¸This is simply...¡¹

    ¡¸Amazing!¡¹

    It seemed that before meeting me, the two of them always hid or changed routes when encountering monsters.

    Well, a Snow Daruma couldn¡¯t be killed by normal attacks, so defeating it was impossible for normal people.

    After moving for a while, we arrived at the other side of the mountain.

    We could see the blue sea spreading out in the distance.

    Oh, it¡¯s the sea that I saw in my dreams.

    If I descend this snowy mountain, the sea is waiting for me.

    The Kraken was waiting there too, though.

    If the Kraken hadn¡¯t been there, it would have been the best...

    Even though we could see the sea from here, it didn¡¯t mean that it was close.

    We could see it, but how far was it?

    It should be around the same distance as going down from the top of Mount Fuji, I think?

    Of course, a hikikomori like me had never gone to the top of Mount Fuji. Even if I tried, I didn¡¯t think I would be able to reach the top with the strength of a hikikomori.

    The bears descended the mountain.

    The two who were on Swaying Bear were somewhat noisy since a while ago.

    They were saying something like ¡°Stop!¡± or ¡°Too fast!¡± or ¡°We will die!¡±.

    Well, we were going down the mountain, so there was nothing we could do about it.

    Was this how it felt to ride the roller coaster I saw on TV? I couldn¡¯t really tell, because I never rode one.

    Some hours passed and we arrived at the base of the mountain.

    ¡¸Are the two of you alright?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸I...I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    The two stopped screaming midway and did their best to hold on to Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Still, thinking about how much time it took us to climb this mountain, it makes me sad.¡¹

    After descending the mountain, around halfway to the city, we climbed down from the bears and started walking.

    The reason was that I didn¡¯t want to cause an uproar.

    At dusk, we finally arrived at the city.

    ¡¸We really returned in just one day.¡¹

    The two were muttering something like ¡°What was the point of our hardships...¡±

    As we arrived near the town, we felt a salty breeze blowing.

    We could feel that we wereing closer to the sea. I say this, but even in Japan, I never went to the sea.

    Still, I went there in the game.

    It was a sea packed with monsters, though...

    As we approached the city, we saw the city guards standing by the gates.

    ¡¸Damon, you are back!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, this missy saved us from near death.¡¹

    The city guard turned to look at me.

    ¡¸Huh? A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I am the adventurer Yuna.¡¹

    I brought out my guild card.

    ¡¸Rank D...¡¹

    He seemed surprised that a little girl like me was already a rank D adventurer.

    I probably seemed to be rank E at best.

    ¡¸Damon, finally. Did you manage to reach Crimonia?¡¹

    Damon-san shook his head.

    ¡¸We ran out of strength midway.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Still, it¡¯s great that you two were saved. Bear missy, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸I found them on my way here, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I believe you have heard about the city¡¯s current situation from Damon, but I wee you nheless.¡¹

    He said, before letting us enter the city.

    ¡¸What are you nning on doing now, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alreadyte today, so in order to be in shape tomorrow, I will just go to sleep. I would be saved if you introduce me to an inn.¡¹

    ¡¸An inn, huh. It is possible that you won¡¯t be able to get a meal, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I have my own food after all.¡¹

    ¡¸But, Yuna-chan, you don¡¯t have to go to an inn, you can juste to our house.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... I will pass. You didn¡¯t see your family in a long time, right? You don¡¯t have to mind me.¡¹

    ¡¸But you gave us so much food.¡¹

    Yesterday, I gave them an item bag packed with 3 wolves, wheat flour and vegetables.

    The two of them went to buy things from Crimonia without an item bag...

    Surely they decided to go together because they didn¡¯t have one.

    Still, saying that they would climb the mountain while carrying food, I could only think of them as reckless.

    That proved the extent to which they had their backs against a wall.

    ¡¸If you want to thank me, you can just guide me through the city.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. If you have something you want to see, just tell us. We will show you around tomorrow.¡¹

    Even after walking around a little, I noticed no liveliness.

    There was next to zero pedestrian traffic.

    Even in the big za, there was almost nobody to be seen.

    Well, it was good for me, because it reduced the number of gazes on me.

    ¡¸Normally, there are a lot of stalls around here.¡¹

    Ranya-san said, looking sad.

    ¡¸Because of the Kraken, we can¡¯t fish anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸And the Commerce Guild is monopolizing the spots by the shore, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Even in these circumstances, they are just thinking about making money.¡¹

    Well, my image of the Commerce Guild was something like that, though.

    They would say something like ¡°Are we making any profit?¡±, while rubbing their hands.

    ¡¸Damon!¡¹

    A voice called to Damon from behind us.

    When we looked back, a man around Damon-san¡¯s age was approaching us.

    ¡¸Juremo...¡¹

    ¡¸When did you return?¡¹

    ¡¸Just now.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I was really shocked when I heard that you would climb the mountain to go to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸We had nearly no food left after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I apologize for that.¡¹

    The man apologized when he heard Damon-san¡¯s words.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not your fault, Juremo. Yuna, this is Juremo, who is working at the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸The corrupted one?¡¹

    ¡¸He is on the good side.¡¹

    ¡¸The good side, that¡¯s not a good way to put it, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, you are better than yourrades.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe, but you didn¡¯t introduce this girl in strange clothing yet.¡¹

    ¡¸She is the adventurer Yuna. She is our saviour. She saved us on the snowy mountain when we copsed.¡¹

    ¡¸You had such a difficult time. Thank you for saving Damon.¡¹

    He thanked me.

    ¡¸So, did you procure food?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna shared the food she had on her.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. An adventurer just arrived to kill the bandits, so you will be able go through the coastal road with him, somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible. In the end, he will flee.¡¹

    ¡¸He is a rank C adventurer, so he won¡¯t do something like fleeing.¡¹

    ¡¸If he is a rank C, then....¡¹

    ¡¸The only problem would be if he epted a request from someone who wants to leave the town.¡¹

    Were rank C adventurers strong?

    Even if he couldn¡¯t kill the Kraken, it would be nice if he defeated the bandits.

    A bitter, we arrived at a crossroad and parted ways with Juremo.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, here is the inn.¡¹

    Unexpectedly, there was a big inn.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because there were a lot of people who came here from other cities by boat to buy fish. There are no peopleing now, so I am sure that there will be open rooms.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks. Then, I count on you tomorrow.¡¹

    I parted with the two of them and entered the inn.

    After entering, I saw a tanned macho sitting at the counter.

    As I stepped inside, I locked eyes with the macho.

    ¡¸Muscle?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear?¡¹

    The two of us uttered the characteristic of the other.

    ¡¸I want to stay here.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, sorry. I didn¡¯t think a client woulde, so...How many people?¡¹

    ¡¸I am alone, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear missy, you can¡¯t say such lies. You couldn¡¯t havee all the way here alone. There is a Kraken in the sea and bandits on the coastal road. The fact that there is no way toe to this city alone safely, is something well known by the people living here.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I came through the mountain range after all.¡¹

    ¡¸And that is even harder to believe. Coming through the impregnable mountain range...¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t believe me, I just want to stay here.¡¹

    ¡¸There are a lot of free rooms. But I can¡¯t make food.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need it. Uncle, do you have something to eat for yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s an inn after all. I have some preserved food. But, I have to divide it amongst the people I know. It may be bad to say this, but I do not have enough food to share with a stranger. If you give me ingredients though, I can make it for you.¡¹

    I had the bread I asked Morin-san to bake and other things to eat, but it would be troublesome if he continued to look at me with a dull expression, so I decided to give him the ingredients.

    I took out wolves, vegetables, and flour from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Then, make it with this, please.¡¹

    ¡¸This much!?¡¹

    The muscled uncle looked at the ingredients that appeared before him with surprise.

    ¡¸Well, I don¡¯t know how long I will be staying here, so if it isn¡¯t enough, just say so.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, understood. Then, I will do the preparations for the meal immediately. Honestly, I really wanted to make you a delicious fish meal, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I am Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, nice to meet you, Bear missy.¡¹

    Why didn¡¯t he use my name even though I told it to him?

    It seemed that the equation ¡ºMe = Bear missy¡» would spread to the world if it continued this way.

    Well,pared to that, ¡ºMe = Bear girl¡» was already the equation in Crimonia.

 Chapter 86 â€“ Bear-san Explores The City

    Chapter 86 ¨C Bear-san Explores The City

    After filling my belly with a delicious dinner, the uncle led me to my room.

    Since there were a lot of vacant rooms, he let me take the biggest single room for the price of a normal room.

    I plunged into therge bed, took out the Bear Phone, and called Fina in Crimonia to tell her that I had arrived in Mireera.

    Fina was relieved to hear that I arrived safely.

    I didn¡¯t want to make Fina worried, so I didn¡¯t tell her about the Kraken, or the state of the city.

    I just told her that I wouldn¡¯t be returning to town for a while.

    When I opened my eyes the next morning, I saw a big white Manjuu and a big ck Manjuu on my bed.

    Taking a better look, they were Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that were sleeping on the bed curled in a ball shape.

    I remembered that I summoned them yesterday as crime prevention.

    A 15-year-old maiden was sleeping alone. This sort of precaution was necessary.

    However, the bears were sleeping so soundly. Would they wake me up if something happened?

    I trusted them though.

    I petted the sleeping bears.

    They did a little yawn before going back to their ball shape.

    I returned them to gloves and got out of the bed.

    I changed back to the ck Bear Suit from the White Bear Suit and descended to the first floor, where the dining room was.

    ¡¸How early. Well, food is prepared.¡¹

    Macho brought out breakfast.

    The food was so delicious that you would never believe that it was a muscled macho who made it.

    At least his wife looked normal, and their children inherited her looks, not his.

    Their son, who was older than me, was helping the inn and was also a fisherman.

    It seemed that the fish offered by the inn were caught by the son, but because he couldn¡¯t go out to the sea, he was just helping the inn now.

    Their daughter was around the same age as me (she was taller than me though), and she helped her mother do the cleaning, theundry, and food preparations.

    Looking at the two of them, I really thought ¡®it was great that they are not like the Macho¡¯.

    They should thank their mother for her genes.

    While I was taking my time to eat a delicious breakfast, Ranya-san came.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, good morning. Did you sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. Thank you for taking me to this good inn, I slept really well.¡¹

    I finished eating my breakfast so I left the inn.

    ¡¸So, where should we go first?¡¹

    ¡¸The sea first, I think. If there is a ce that sells fish, I want to see that too.¡¹

    There were no marketces now, though.

    ¡¸The Commerce Guild is managing the fish sales, so if you want to buy some, you will have to go there. It will be at an incredibly absurd price though.¡¹

    Well, they were in a difficult position where they could just fish in the shallows, so it was absolutely normal for them to be pricey.

    I had money so I could buy them, but after hearing what Ranya-san said before, I instinctively didn¡¯t want to buy them from the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸And I want to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild too.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to fight with the Kraken, but I wanted some information about the bandits.

    If I could defeat the bandits, the coastal road would be essible again. If that happened, the minimum necessary goods would be able to enter the city, and there would be no more people who would try to use the mountain range.

    ¡¸By the way, where is Damon-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Damon went to distribute the food Yuna-chan gave us.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay? Will it be enough for all of you?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be okay for a while. We are exchanging the few ingredients we have amongst us, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t have enough, just tell me, okay?¡¹

    After walking for awhile, the beach came into our view.

    The sea spread infinitely from my point of view.

    The blue sea, the infinite sea, the blue sky. It was a sea so calm that it was hard to imagine that the Kraken was there.

    As I shifted my gaze to the left, I could see a lot of fishermen¡¯s boats, anchored in the port.

    I bet if the Kraken wasn¡¯t around, a lot of these boats would be out on the sea.

    ¡¸Is Ranya-san¡¯s boat here too?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is, but right now, since we don¡¯t have the approval of the Commerce Guild, we aren¡¯t able to move it.¡¹

    ¡¸Around where does the Krakene out?¡¹

    I pointed at the sea I was looking at.

    I really couldn¡¯t imagine that, in this immense sea, this calm ce, there was a Kraken.

    ¡¸Where you say? It¡¯s not only one ce. All the boats that go too far from the shore are attacked. Sometimes, even if you fish near the shore, you can be attacked, so I can¡¯t really urately say where it will appear.¡¹

    For now, I had no methods of killing the Kraken.

    I didn¡¯t have any ways to fight on the sea.

    I couldn¡¯t fly in the sky, and I couldn¡¯t dive into the sea.

    In the game, during the sea event, there was an item that enabled us to breath underwater. That was why you wouldn¡¯t die even if you fell from the boat, and you could attack as well.

    If only it woulde ontond, then I could fry it and make a giant grilled squid.

    Well, just asking for the impossible would get me nowhere.

    Even my omnipotent Bear Equipment couldn¡¯t help me fight on the sea.

    Let¡¯s just pray that a rank S adventurer or the army would do something about it.

    ¡¸But with it being this calm, it¡¯s hard to think a Kraken is there.¡¹

    We walked along the coast, looking around.

    We saw children on the nearby sandy beach.

    They might be picking up man ms.

    It made me want to eat miso soup made of man ms.

    I started to really yearn for Japanese food.

    Someone, please kill this Kraken.

    I would pay, so could a S rank adventurere, please?

    WHile thinking something like that, I continued walking.

    Next to the sandy beach, I could see a cliff.

    ¡¸After this cliff, the bandits appear, so be careful if you are going there.¡¹

    Ranya-san warned me.

    Would they attack me if I was walking on my own?

    If that was the case, it would be less troublesome, since I wouldn¡¯t have to go and look for them.

    After checking out the sea, she brought me to a secondhand shop and a weapon shop.

    Finally, I asked her to show me where the Commerce Guild and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were and parted ways with her.

    I decided to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild alone.

    I went there alone because I had learned from my past experiences.

    The same thing happened every time when I first went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. (All because of my clothes.£©

    I couldn¡¯t bring Ranya-san to a ce like this.

    For such a reason, I came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild alone.

    It was smaller than the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Crimonia.

    Preparing for a brawl with the adventurers, I entered the guild.

    As I entered, the gazes of all the adventurers...didn¡¯t turn to me.

    ¡¸Nobody is here...¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, that¡¯s not polite. I am here.¡¹

    I turned to where the voice came from, and saw an exhibitionist there.

    Emphasised breasts. Skinid bare around the waist, and a mini skirt.

    A girl was sitting on a chair, drinking alcohol.

    ¡¸Ara, why would a cute bear like youe to this Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, right?¡¹

    Had I gone to the wrong ce and entered a ce for adults?

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    It seemed that it was the right ce.

    ¡¸Then, why would an exhibitionist be in this guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, that¡¯s not nice. I am in my civilian clothes. It makes the men really happy.¡¹

    She said that while tightening her chest.

    It was a technique that the t chested me couldn¡¯t do at all.

    I will be able to do it in a few years though.

    ¡¸You say that it pleases the men, but there are no adventurers here.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Bear-san, didn¡¯t you hear about this city¡¯s affairs?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that the city is troubled by the appearance of the Kraken and bandits. I also heard that all the high rank adventurers fled the city, escorting some of the citizens, and the only adventurers that remain are low rank ones.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right for the most part. Only, the remaining adventurers are at the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Adventurers at the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if they are low ranked, they can hunt low ranked monsters or animals. And the Commerce Guild pays a lot to procure food, so the adventurers all went there.¡¹

    I see, if they didn¡¯t sell it in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild but rather in the Commerce Guild, they would make more money.

    In the end, the adventurers chose money over big breasts.

    I wouldn¡¯t say that out loud though.

    ¡¸The Adventurer¡¯s Guild doesn¡¯t buy it at the same price?¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, are you tell me to do something like those bastards did?¡¹

    The woman red at me.

    For a second, I faltered under her gaze.

    ¡¸Fufu, it was a joke. Don¡¯t be so startled. So, Bear-san, why did youe to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸I came here to get some information about the bandits who appeared on the coast and also the Kraken.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, what will you do after hearing that? Will the missy defeat them?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible for me to defeat the Kraken, but depending on the information about the bandits, I n on getting rid of them, yeah.¡¹

    When I responded like that, the woman startedughing.

    ¡¸Fufu, ahahahahaha... It has been awhile since Istughed that hard. Bear missy doing a bandit extermination? There are some people that like little girls like you in the bandit group, you know. Do you know what would happen to you if they caught you? ¡¹

    ¡¸I can do something as easy as bandit extermination, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, is that so. Then I won¡¯t say more than this. If you are caught, don¡¯t expect someone toe and save you.¡¹

    The woman said, looking annoyed.

    ¡¸Bring out your guild card, then.¡¹

    The woman went behind the counter of the guild.

    ¡¸You are?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, now that I think about it, I didn¡¯t introduce myself. I am the master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in this city, Atora.¡¹

    Unexpectedly, the guild master was an exhibitionist.

    Was there a shortage of capable people?

    I gave my guild card to Atora-san.

    ¡¸Are there no other employees?¡¹

    ¡¸With the city¡¯s situation, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is not allowed to leisurely do as we please.¡¹

    Weren¡¯t you just drinking alcohol before, looking totally free?

    ¡¸The ones who know how to fight went to the mountain range to catch some food, and the ones who are somewhat strong went to nearby towns to negotiate for a dispatch of adventurers. Thest ones went to dismantle the monsters and animals and distribute the food.¡¹

    ¡¸Distribute the food?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we have a food shortage after all. It affects a lot of the inhabitants of this city. We can¡¯t just let them die. We are helping as much as we can.¡¹

    Contrary to her appearance, she was an excellent guild master who did all she could for the sake of the residents.

    Still, that should have been the work of the mayor though.

    ¡¸What is the mayor doing?¡¹

    ¡¸He isn¡¯t doing anything. He fled after all, taking his entire wealth with him. The Commerce Guild controls the town now.¡¹

    Mayor-san, that¡¯s no good.

    Was it because his position wasn¡¯t appointed by the country, so he wouldn¡¯t be punished?

    I didn¡¯t understand how the politics of this world worked, so it was useless to think about it.

    Atora-san ced the guild card she received from me on a crystal board and operated it.

    ¡¸Rank D adventurer...¡¹

    Atora-san read out loud my guild rank.

    ¡¸This is...¡¹

    Squinting her eyes, she read the words that appeared on the crystal board.

    ¡¸Hero...¡¹

    The word leaked out from Atora-san¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸Monsters... Subjugation of... Tigers... ck... Percentage of requestpletion 100%...¡¹

    She muttered with a voice so small that I couldn¡¯t understand all of it. Fragments of what I could hear made me understand that she was looking at the list of monsters that I had subjugated.

    Atora-san froze at the sight of mypleted subjugations.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry about it. I was overwhelmed by the information I saw on your guild card.¡¹

    ¡¸The information on the guild card?¡¹

    ¡¸The hero of Erufanica, Tiger Wolf subjugation, ck Viper subjugation,pletion rate of request is 100%, rmendation of the capital¡¯s guild master. And finally, the seal of His Majesty, the King of Erufanica is stamped on the guild card.¡¹

    ¡¸What is this thing about the hero of Erufanica? The rmendation of the guild master? The stamp of the King? This is the first time I have heard of those things.¡¹

    ¡¸Those are the titles given to the person who has been recognised for their exploits by the King and the capital¡¯s guild master. Missy, what did you do?¡¹

    It seemed that they didn¡¯t write what I did.

    ¡¸I just exterminated some monsters.¡¹

    ¡¸Just exterminated some monsters... Missy, do you even know how amazing this is?¡¹

    There was no way I could. It had only been few months since I came to this world. I didn¡¯t know themon sense of this world at all.

    ¡¸And the King¡¯s stamp. What did you do for him to stamp it in?¡¹

    ¡¸What is this about the King¡¯s stamp?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the stamp the King reserves for adventurers or merchants he has the most trust in. They are given to the ones who had worked for the country and made really big achievements. Missy, you didn¡¯t lie about your age, did you?¡¹

    ¡¸I am a young girl, 15 years old.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know that they wrote something like that on my guild card. I would really like them to stop doing such things on their own ord.

    Would this make a huge racket every time I went to a new guild?

    ¡¸Is it possible to erase this?¡¹

    ¡¸Wh, what are you saying!? There¡¯s no way I would erase it, you know. It¡¯s the King¡¯s seal, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a real pain though.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Those titles can be seen only by the guild masters, so if you just use it normally no one will be able to see it. And if you encounter a problem in a guild, you just have to show your card to a guild master and they will suddenly treat you really well, I bet.¡¹

    Was it like the all important seal case used a long time ago?

    (ED: seal case = inr¨­)

    ¡¸But if the Guild Master starts talking about it to everyone, there is no meaning to it, is there?¡¹

    ¡¸The message of the capital¡¯s guild master states that it has to stay confidential, so it¡¯s okay. If they talked, they would face a big punishment.¡¹

    It seemed that they muzzled them well.

    If it helped me when I was in trouble, I would readily ept it and use it in ce of a seal case.

    ¡¸Strong adventurers are always wee! I will say this again, but wee to the city.¡¹

    She presented her hand, so I took it into my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸Then Hero-san, I want to hear it from you directly, can you kill the Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸Impossible. I have no methods of killing it. If it is in the sea, I have no means of attacking it.¡¹

    I clearly stated that it was impossible.

    ¡¸I see, as I thought, it¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    She said, looking disappointed.

    I would like you to not think that a 15 years old maiden could do a Kraken subjugation.

    ¡¸I will do something about the bandits though.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Even if it¡¯s just that, it will help us greatly.¡¹

 Chapter 87 â€“ Bear-san Gets Rid Of The Stockpiled Wolves

    Chapter 87 ¨C Bear-san Gets Rid Of The Stockpiled Wolves

    Atora-san told me that there were more than 20 bandits.

    She didn¡¯t know what they looked like because they concealed their faces.

    They didn¡¯t attack if you had guards.

    However, if you didn¡¯t have any, they would strike.

    She didn¡¯t know how strong the bandits were, because no one had ever tried to fight them.

    The bandits stalked the coastline road from the mountain.

    She only knew that their base was somewhere on the mountain. Well, I just had to use Detection magic to find them.

    ¡¸Are there any captives?¡¹

    ¡¸I think there are some women who have been caught. Only corpses of men had been found, after all.¡¹

    This statement killed my peace of mind.

    If they only took money, I would just beat them half dead, but they were killing men and kidnapping women.

    That was enough of a reason for them to be on my anger list.

    ¡¸But will you really go and try to defeat them alone? Well, after seeing your guild card, I think it should be okay.¡¹

    She said, seemingly worried.

    I was a small girl wearing a Bear Suit.

    With that appearance, I looked like a frail girl.

    ¡¸I have returned.¡¹

    While I was talking with Atora-san, a male guild staff employee entered the guild.

    ¡¸Wee back. How was the harvest?¡¹

    Atora-san asked him.

    The guild employee shook his head.

    ¡¸Just one wolf.¡¹

    ¡¸That won¡¯t be enough. And the others?¡¹

    ¡¸I think there won¡¯t be a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸You are right.¡¹

    It seemed that they were talking about the employees who went hunting on the mountain.

    As I was looking at this employee, our eyes met.

    ¡¸Master, who is this girl wearing the cute suit?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the adventurer Yuna. It seems she arrived in the city yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸An adventurer? I am Sei, employed by this Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Nice to meet you.¡¹

    This employee, despite my odd outfit, introduced himself politely.

    ¡¸You need some wolves?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, as I said before, this city is really low on food after all.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s just wolves, I can give them to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? That would save us, but don¡¯t you need them for yourself?¡¹

    Food was scarce in this city and hard to obtain.

    She was worried about that.

    ¡¸No problem. I just want you to promise to not tell anyone that I was the one who gave them to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I promise not to tell anyone. Sei, you too. Don¡¯t go and talk about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    In exchange for their silence, I would give them wolves, getting rid of some of my stockpile at the same time.

    Surprisingly, I couldn¡¯t get rid of the five thousand wolves all at once.

    I couldn¡¯t sell them unskillfully. If I sold them inrge quantities, it could crash the market prices in the city.

    If I distributed them free of charge, I would cause trouble for the low rank adventurers who made a living thanks to the wolves they sold.

    That was why they were just rotting in the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Then I can bring out around a thousand wolves, but do you have a ce to put them?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know the number of the people living in the city, but I thought bringing out a thousand would suffice.

    ¡¸...Huh? What did you say just now?¡¹

    For some reason, the two of them had their mouths open like idiots.

    ¡¸Do you have a ce to put them?¡¹

    ¡¸Not that! Didn¡¯t you say a thousand just now!?¡¹

    ¡¸I did.¡¹

    Was a thousand not enough for a city where the inhabitants were in dire need for food?

    ¡¸A thousand isn¡¯t enough? If so, I will bring out two thousand.¡¹

    ¡¸Not that! Why would you carry this many wolves with you!? More importantly, how would you store them all!?¡¹

    ¡¸I killed them, so I stored them? I have an item bag that can store a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, right, you are a hero...¡¹

    ¡¸Hero?¡¹

    Sei-san asked.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it.¡¹

    Atora-san stopped the conversation with Sei-san, so that he wouldn¡¯t pry deeper.

    ¡¸Yuna, if you really have that many, just a hundred would be more than enough. If you gave us a thousand, we wouldn¡¯t be able to dismantle them.¡¹

    She was right.

    I didn¡¯t know how many employees they had, but even dismantling a hundred would take a lot of time, I bet.

    ¡¸Will this really be enough?¡¹

    ¡¸More than enough. If we run out, I will count on you then.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of the wolves like this, though...

    ¡¸Sei, take her to the warehouse please. After that, dismantle the wolves with all the employees who have returned and start handing them out to the inhabitants. Also, don¡¯t talk about her, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. Yuna-san, this way please.¡¹

    Sei responded and showed me the way to the warehouse.

    In the warehouse, I took out a hundred wolves.

    ¡¸Thank you very much. With this, we are saved.¡¹

    ¡¸If you need more, just find me and tell me.¡¹

    ¡¯I really want to get rid of these wolves¡¯, I muttered in my heart.

    ¡¾Commerce Guild Master¡¯s point of view¡¿

    ¡¸What¡¯s happening!?¡¹

    I shouted at my subordinates, who were in front of me in the room.

    ¡¸Why do the bastards from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild have so many wolves!?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it because they killed them?¡¹

    One of the subordinates responded.

    ¡¸Are you an idiot! There is no way to kill so many wolves in one day.¡¹

    ¡¸Master, it could be the adventurers who came the other day.¡¹

    This subordinate was talking about the adventurers who arrived three days ago.

    A party of four.

    An ideal party consisting of two swordsmen and two mages.

    They were high rank adventurers. I invited them here, but they refused.

    ¡¸The bastards who refused my invitation, huh. But that¡¯s impossible. They left the city to defeat the bandits.¡¹

    ¡¸How did they get the wolves then?¡¹

    ¡¸Investigating that is your job, isn¡¯t it? Go and find why would they have so much wolf meat!¡¹

    The subordinates almost flew out of the room.

    So much hardship because of these useless subordinates.

    ¡¸Shit, in just one more month I would have been able to make enough money to leave this remote city.¡¹

    I became the guild master of this city¡¯s Commerce Guild five years ago.

    Before that, I was an employee of another town¡¯s Commerce Guild. When I heard that I could be a guild master, I epted, but when I arrived, it was in this little, remote city.

    Even so, I did my best for five years.

    Up until now, I was saving money to go back to a big city.

    However, all of it broke apart with the appearance of the Kraken.

    The idiot mayor fled, and the residents too.

    In this city, all the money belonged to me.

    I couldn¡¯t let the residents leave the town with all of their wealth.

    That was why I decided to steal the money from those who fled.

    I engaged rogue adventurers and ordered them to imitate bandits.

    When I showed them money and said that they could do whatever they wanted to the women they captured, they happily epted.

    Those adventurers might have wanted to flee the city when the Kraken appeared. They wanted to earn some money before fleeing, I bet.

    That was why they listened to my words.

    With the adventurers turning into bandits, this city was nowpletely isted.

    A Kraken was in the sea, and all the paths connected to the outside were blocked by the bandits. The only thing remaining was the dangerous mountain range. The residents had no other choice but to stay in the city.

    The residents who fled were attacked by the bandits and had their possessions taken.

    The ones who didn¡¯t flee were buying food at high prices.

    I nned on leaving the city after I squeezed everyst bit of money from all the residents of this city. Then at this point, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild started handing out free wolf meat to them.

    Thanks to that, there were some foolish customers who started asking us to lower the prices or even give out free food.

    Just a while ago, the adventurers were barely able to procure some animals, so how were they able to get their hands on that many wolves so suddenly?

    If I didn¡¯t move fast, my earnings would disappear.

    The information I was waiting for arrived on the night of the same day.

    ¡¸I think the bear is suspicious.¡¹

    The subordinate who reported this looked like a fool in my eyes.

    He actually was a fool, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸You... Are you making fun of me?¡¹

    ¡¸No, not at all. There is a girl wearing a Bear Suit.¡¹

    ¡¸Wearing a Bear Suit?¡¹

    There was someone who wore something strange like that?

    ¡¸Yes, after a thorough investigation, it seems that she arrived in the city yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸She arrived without being attacked by the bandits?¡¹

    Was there someone else who came with this bear girl?

    ¡¸The story I heard said that she crossed the mountain alone.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you an idiot? Are you saying that she crossed THIS mountain!?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard this from the gatekeeper, so I think there is no doubt. He said that she saved two residents who tried to cross the mountain. The next day, a number of people saw this bear on the beach. There were some who saw her entering the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸And just afterwards, a huge quantity of wolves appeared.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    Who the hell was this bear...

    If she was able to transport so many wolves, that meant she had a huge item bag.

    If we disregarded her clothes, the fact that she was able to cross the mountain range and had an item bag that could contain that many wolves meant that she was a high rank adventurer.

    ¡¸How old is this Bear girl?¡¹

    ¡¸She is short, around 12 or 13 years old, it seems.¡¹

    I thought that she would be at the end of her 20s or the beginning of her 30s, but she was just a brat.

    ¡¸Are you making fun of me? Are you saying that a brat like her could cross the mountain and bring that many wolves?¡¹

    A little girl who was just 12 years old? Don¡¯t joke with me.

    How could a brat like her possibly be able to cross the mountain range? Make your report after thinking a little about the contents you are babbling about. That was why I hated idiots like that.

    However, as time passed, I received more information about the bear.

    ¡¸ording to a report from the ones who were watching the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, a lot of wolf meat still remains. He even said that because of this, no one would go hunting tomorrow and would rather remain at the guild to dismantle the wolves.¡¹

    If they kept on bringing out more, my profits would really disappear.

    No one woulde to buy food from the Commerce Guild.

    The only suspicious person was a girl wearing a Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Did you find out where the Bear girl is?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she is staying at the inn.¡¹

    ¡¸This Macho¡¯s inn?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, we attack tonight. Gather four or five adventurers.¡¹

    I decided that we would attack the Bear girl¡¯s sleeping ce tonight.

    If she had the wolves, I just had to steal them from her.

    Even if she didn¡¯t have any, it didn¡¯t matter.

    I just had to hand her over to the bandits to get rid of her. With how numerous they were, I was sure there were some that would like a brat like her.

    In any case, if I didn¡¯t take action, I would have no future.

    Sadly, from the adventurers who were sent to the inn, none returned.

 Chapter 88 â€“ Bear-san Gets Attacked At The Inn

    Chapter 88 ¨C Bear-san Gets Attacked At The Inn

    After I finished handing over the wolves, I returned to the inn.

    Today¡¯s meal was Macho¡¯s cuisine again, so my belly was bulging once more.

    I was going to subjugate the bandits tomorrow, so I decided to sleep early.

    I summoned the two bears in cub form for crime prevention.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I am counting on you two.¡¹

    The two came up next to me and curled up into balls.

    I started sleeping between the two.

    *Petchi Petchi*, *Petchi Petchi*.

    Something soft was tapping my cheek.

    *Petchi Petchi*, *Petchi Petchi*.

    I brushed it off and felt soft fur.

    A nket?

    I hugged it.

    It was warm.

    As I embraced it, something covered my face.

    I couldn¡¯t brush it away.

    It became more and more difficult to breathe, so I woke up.

    ¡¸What is it!?¡¹

    When I woke up, the two bears were sticking to my face.

    ¡¸What? You two, do you have a bad sleeping habit?¡¹

    When I said that, the two bears started whining, making¡¸Kuu©`n¡¹sounds.

    ¡¸Is it possible that someone came?¡¹

    The bears started making the same ¡¸Kuu¡«n¡¹ noise a second time.

    When I used detection magic, I saw people moving around in the inn.

    There were four of them.

    They were not the four from Macho¡¯s family, since those four hadn¡¯t left their rooms.

    As far as I knew, there were no other customers resting in the inn.

    Thanks to the detection magic, I saw them slowly moving up the stairs.

    Was it possible that they were the rank C party I had heard about, and they were justing back thiste?

    That was what I thought, but the magic reaction pinpointed them stopping in front of my room.

    I had no memories of being assaulted in my life before, though.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be better to assault someone like the guild master, who had beautiful shapes at all the right ces?

    For now, to deal with the situation, I stood in the center of the room and looked at the door.

    I locked my room before going to sleep, but what would they do now?

    *Click*

    The door was unlocked really easily.

    Was there a spare key?

    Or was it magic?

    The door slowly opened.

    They were infiltrating a 15 year old maiden¡¯s room, so I didn¡¯t have to hold back right?

    The moment the door openedpletely, I dashed to the door in one step andunched a Bear Punch into the face of the one who opened the door.

    The one who had been punched hit the wall in the corridor and lost consciousness.

    Keeping the pace, I entered the dim passageway, where the other three were standing.

    In order to see their faces, I used light magic.

    They all had masks on.

    They were all robbers, without a doubt.

    ¡¸Do you need something, at this hour in the night?¡¹

    ¡¸This chick, she really has a Bear suit!¡¹

    One of the men startedughing.

    One of them was already knocked out, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind it.

    ¡¸Won¡¯t you answer my question?¡¹

    ¡¸I will answer you. There is someone who wants the wolves in your possession, you see.¡¹

    They weren¡¯t aiming for me, but the wolves, huh.

    Hmm, even when the guild employees were asked not to speak about it, the information still leaked out, huh.

    Still, to think that my existence was less important than the wolves.

    Was my woman power really that low?

    Was it because of my breasts?

    Anyway,

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any.¡¹

    I lied.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter if you have them or not. Our mission is to take you away after all. If you obediently follow us, I promise that we won¡¯t do anything violent.¡¹

    I thought for a second that I should go with them and discover who their boss was, but...I wanted to sleep...

    People were beings that really hated it when someone came and messed with their sleep, their meals, and their gaming time. That was why I decided to dispose of them quickly and go back to sleep.

    ¡¸I want to sleep, so I will defeat you guys, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that you won¡¯t understand if we don¡¯t hurt you a little...¡¹

    The man took out a knife and attacked me.

    Bear Punch, Kuma Punch, Bear Punch.

    The secret art, Bear Punch, was bursting forth. (They were just normal Bear Hand punches though.)

    The men copsed to the floor a bit loudly.

    Did I make too much noise? There was a possibility that the Macho¡¯s family would wake up.

    I started asking the men some questions before that happened.

    ¡¸Who asked you to attack me? Where did you want to take me?¡¹

    ¡¸You think we will talk?¡¹

    The only possibility I could think of was the Commerce Guild.

    I had no proof, so I wanted to hear it directly from the men.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came out of the room. I wonder if they understood my feelings?

    ¡¸Bears?¡¹

    The man looked at Swaying Bear.

    I looked at the hallway.

    I estimated that I could barely make it.

    I changed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to their normal sizes.

    ¡¸It seems that they don¡¯t want to talk, so go and eat them.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear slowly approached the copsed men.

    ¡¸Wait!¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t.¡¹

    Swaying Bear stopped above the man, pinned him down, and proceeded to lick his entire face with one stroke of the tongue.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk, so please, don¡¯t let him eat me!!¡¹

    ¡¸There are four of you, so if there is just one less, there is no problem.¡¹

    Hugging Bear also pinned down two other men, so that they wouldn¡¯t run away.

    The only lucky one was probably the first one I made fly away.

    ¡¸I beg you!¡¹

    ¡¸If you answer my question, I will stop them.¡¹

    The man started talking while trying to hold back Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸The one who asked us to do it is the guild master of the Commerce Guild. This morning, you gave a lot of wolves to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    I knew it, it was the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸How did you know it was me?¡¹

    ¡¸The only strangers who came to this city recently are you and an adventurer party that came some days ago. That adventurer party went to kill the bandits and are not in the city.¡¹

    Certainly, that made me look suspicious.

    ¡¸Also, a lot of people saw you as you were walking around the city. And of course, they saw you enter the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Just afterwards, arge quantity of wolf meat was distributed by the guild, so we could only assume that it was rted to you. The only thing left to do was capturing you and bringing you to the Commerce Guild. Even if you didn¡¯t have any wolves, the orders we received were to take away the item bag that could contain so many wolves.¡¹

    Their aim was the wolves and the item bag, huh.

    ¡¸This is enough, right? I talked. Let me go, please!¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about? You asked for¡ºDon¡¯t eat me, please!¡», didn¡¯t you? There¡¯s no way I will just let you go after you attacked me, right? It would be a pain if I had to call a guard right now, so we will do the following until morning. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, if they try to flee, you can eat them, okay?¡¹

    After giving them orders, I tried to go back inside the room.

    Macho¡¯s family didn¡¯t seem to wake up, so if I woke up early, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡¸Wait! Will we have to stay like this until morning?¡¹

    ¡¸Also, you can also eat them if they try to disturb my sleep.¡¹

    The two bears who were pinning down two adventurers each, responded with low ¡ºKuu©`n¡»cries.

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t make any noises, you won¡¯t be pet food, and I will have you delivered to the guards alive.¡¹

    I told the men.

    After hearing my words, they shut their mouths and became silent.

    I returned to the room, and entered dream world.

    The next morning.

    ¡¸Uwaaaaaaaah! Why are there bears here!?¡¹

    The corridor was really noisy.

    ¡¸Missy, are you okay? Bear missy!¡¹

    I heard a scream calling for me.

    I slowly remembered what happened yesterday.

    Ah, that¡¯s right, the bears were in the corridor.

    While rubbing my sleepy eyes, I left the room.

    ¡¸Missy, you are okay! Why are there bears in my inn?¡¹

    Macho was clenching his fists and in a defensive position.

    Was it possible that he wanted to attack my bears?

    In my opinion, he was being really reckless.

    ¡¸Those bears are my summoned beasts, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts? Missy, you can do something like that? And who are these men buried under them?¡¹

    The men were sleeping, their faces drenched with bear saliva.

    ¡¸They attacked me in the middle of the night.¡¹

    ¡¸Attacked?¡¹

    ¡¸Their aim was my food, and they said that they were following the orders of the Guild Master of the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸The master of Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸So, I want to hand them over to some soldiers.¡¹

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t do that.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Because, ever since the Mayor fled, the guards of the city are controlled by the Commerce Guild. If you want to hand them over, hand them over to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    I sent the Macho¡¯s son to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to fetch an employee.

    During that time, the Macho tied up the buried men with some rope.

    Some time after, the son returned with an employee of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Why is Atora-san here?¡¹

    She was wearing a light jacket, contrary to the exposing clothes she had worn yesterday.

    As expected, she wouldn¡¯t go out in those revealing clothes.

    More than that, she would be really cold.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because I heard that you were attacked of course. So, who are those bastards, the idiots who attacked Yuna?¡¹

    I pointed to the men who were tied with ropes.

    ¡¸Them?¡¹

    She approached the men.

    ¡¸You bastard, your name was Droy, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    She called out the name of one of the men.

    ¡¸Master...¡¹

    ¡¸You fell as low as you possibly could, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I...¡¹

    ¡¸I will hear what you have to say at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    Atora-san asked the employee she brought with her to take them away.

    ¡¸So, Yuna, are you hurt?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I have my own guards, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Guards?¡¹

    ¡¸I will introduce them to you another time.¡¹

    ¡¸So, why were you attacked?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that they were aiming for the wolves I have in my possession. They said it was the master of the Commerce Guild who asked them to do it, though.¡¹

    ¡¸It appears that the fact that we distributed the wolf meat didn¡¯t sit well with him. Still, I really didn¡¯t think he would attack you so quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸So, will you go and arrest this guild master of the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸I could do it if he confessed, but with what we know, that will be impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸If he said that they were falsely using him, that would be it.¡¹

    ¡¸In every world, you need proof, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, we will do some in-depth questioning of the adventurers that you captured. What will you do, Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡®ll go and subjugate the bandits.¡¹

    ¡¸Take care when going, okay? Don¡¯t try to do the impossible.¡¹

    She said, worrying about me.

    ¡¸Also, the White Bear suits you as well.¡¹

    She said.

    Thanks to the Macho¡¯s scream, I forgot that I had just woken up and went out like this.

    Why was it that I had this really embarrassing feeling when people saw me in my White Bear Suit?

    Was it because I had this feeling that I was using the White Bear as pajamas?

    The only difference between the White Bear and the ck Bear was their colours, though...

    ¡¸I will return to the guild then. You really must not try to do the impossible, okay?¡¹

    Atora-san left the inn.

    I then asked Macho-san to make me my day¡¯s energy source, breakfast.

 Chapter 89 â€“ Bear-san Goes To Subjugate The Bandits

    Chapter 89 ¨C Bear-san Goes To Subjugate The Bandits

    Author¡¯s note:

    Reason that this chapter iste:

    I wrote two times more than usual.

    TL note:

    Because of what is written just above, it also took me twice as much time to trante it... So sorry, but this one will count as two released chapters!!

    I decided to leave all of the things regarding the Commerce Guild to Atora-san and began preparations for the bandit subjugation.

    I said preparations, but it was just eating a meal.

    ¡¸Missy, are you really going to exterminate those bandits?¡¹

    The muscled uncle said to me, looking worried.

    He must have overheard my conversation with the Guild Master from earlier.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. But before going, I will eat your delicious cuisine first, Deiga-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I am happy to hear that, but for someone like missy to do such a subjugation, it will be dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I am an adventurer, and you already saw my summoned beasts, didn¡¯t you? I have those guys, so I will be done with this in no time.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then, when youe back, I will make you the best meal I can with the ingredients I can procure.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I have to hurry and defeat them rapidly, so I can eat it.¡¹

    When I left the city, I summoned Swaying Bear.

    Now, let¡¯s go subjugate some bandits!

    I went to the ce where the bandits were said to appear.

    I followed the coastal road at a horse¡¯s running speed.

    The salty breeze felt really great.

    If it was just a little warmer, I could go for a swim.

    I was sure that Fina had never seen the sea, so it would be great if we all came here in the summer. Still, I hadn¡¯t swam since my primary school lessons.

    More importantly, did any of my acquaintances know how to swim?

    Of all the people I knew in Crimonia, I didn¡¯t think there were any.

    Well, just ying on the sandy beach could be fun too. I decided to leave the future to the future, and concentrated on the bandit extermination.

    I didn¡¯t know when the bandits would appear, so I activated detection magic.

    The map was not filled in around here, so I would be following a ck road from here on.

    Further down the road on the ck map, I saw four signals.

    The bandits?

    An ambush?

    Would they attack an opponent riding a bear, though?

    Well, if they were bandits, I just had to capture them and ask them about the location of their base, and if they were not bandits, I would just ignore them.

    As I followed the road while not really caring about who they were, a few human silhouettes came into my view.

    I saw the forms of four people who seemed to be adventurers.

    One man and three women, so looking at it from a man¡¯s point of view, it was something to be envious of.

    Was this party one of those that society called a harem party?

    When they saw me, the adventurers drew their swords and raised their staves, preparing for a fight.

    Was it possible that they would attack?

    As I approached slowly, the man blocked the path.

    ¡¸Could you get out of the way, please?¡¹

    I could pass them on the side, but I decided to ask them to move first.

    The adventurers stared at us.

    ¡¸Why is there a bear here?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡¹

    ¡¸As long as you don¡¯t attack him suddenly, it is ok.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t have any intentions of attacking us first, we won¡¯t attack you either.¡¹

    The man lowered his sword.

    After seeing him do so, the other party members, lowered their weapons as well.

    ¡¸Let me warn you first, there are bandits whoe out a little further down the road, so it¡¯s dangerous to go there.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I am on my way to subjugate them after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you serious?¡¹

    From behind the man, a long haired woman who was holding a staff asked me, looking surprised.

    She seemed to be a mage, looking at her clothes and weapon.

    ¡¸They are not opponents who can be killed by a girl like you, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though I look like this, I am an adventurer, and I have this child, so there is no problem.¡¹

    I patted Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Still, you should abandon this subjugation. We searched for them for several days, but we didn¡¯t manage to find them. It¡¯s possible that they are already gone.¡¹

    ¡¸That would be fine by me as well. However, if they are still here, this child will find them, so I will try and search for them myself.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really tell them that I had detection magic, so I didn¡¯t talk about it.

    ¡¸So, could you let me go through, please?¡¹

    ¡¸Can this bear really find the bandits?¡¹

    The female magician asked me.

    ¡¸If you are right, and they are not here anymore, it won¡¯t be possible, but if they are still around, he will be able to find them.¡¹

    After hearing those words, the woman started thinking about something.

    ¡¸Could you let us tag along with you?¡¹

    ¡¸You guys?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if we went back without finding any clues, it won¡¯t leave a good image of us, since we said that we would exterminate those bandits.¡¹

    ¡¸Tomeia?¡¹

    After hearing her say that so suddenly, the man called the woman¡¯s name.

    ¡¸But, am I not right? We couldn¡¯t find the bandits by ourselves. However, if we are with this bear, it might be possible to find them. Isn¡¯t it our time to help?¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t know if it can really find them, right? Don¡¯t you remember how much time we spent searching for them?¡¹

    ¡¸This won¡¯t take much time, right? It¡¯s just to make us sure they are really gone.¡¹

    ¡¸Still...¡¹

    ¡¸What will the two of you do?¡¹

    Tomeia turned around and asked the remaining two members.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. We still have some food left, so I don¡¯t really mind going along with this.¡¹

    The swordswoman answered.

    ¡¸If sister Tomeia wants to go, I am okay with going as well.¡¹

    ¡¸The other two gave their approval, so what will you do, Blitz?¡¹

    ¡¸I concede. I will follow you. A man not going even if four girls are going, that¡¯s something I can¡¯t allow myself to do.¡¹

    He said, giving up.

    ¡¸So, will you allow us to apany you?¡¹

    ¡¸You would be a burden, so I refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸You say some harsh things. Despite how we look, we are rank C adventurers, so we won¡¯t be a hindrance.¡¹

    ¡¸All of you are?¡¹

    ¡¸The man and I are rank C, but the two at the back are rank D. By the way, is it okay to ask for your rank?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s rank D, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank D, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸That means I am a higher rank than you, so I don¡¯t think I will be a drag.¡¹

    It turned out to be a pain in the ass.

    I really didn¡¯t want other people to see me battle.

    While thinking about what I should do, an idea came to my mind.

    ¡¸If you deal with the aftermath, I am okay with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Deal with the aftermath?¡¹

    ¡¸I believe there should be some women who were captured, so it would be of great help if it¡¯s not me, but adults like you who will help them.¡¹

    If there were women captured, they probably went through hell.

    I had no ways to help those women, and no idea how to deal with the situation.

    ¡¸Understood. We will take the responsibility for taking care of the women.¡¹

    After they gave their approval, we started to introduce ourselves.

    The man was named Blitz, and he was supposedly the leader of the party, though it seemed that the one who was giving out directions was the female magician, Tomeia.

    Then there was the other magician, Ran. She was younger than Tomea, and seemed to be in her early twenties.

    The swordswoman, Gumoris, was around the same height as the swordsman. She had darkish skin and a somewhatrge sword.

    ¡¸Also, can I ask something?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸What are those clothes you¡¯re wearing, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    I knew they would ask.

    ¡¸I have the Divine Protection of the Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Divine Protection of the Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸When I wear these clothes, I be stronger.¡¹

    That was the new excuse I had thought of.

    It wasn¡¯t like I was lying.

    In fact, I really received this divine protection, even though I sometimes thought of it as a curse.

    ¡¸Does such divine protection really exist?¡¹

    ¡¸The fact that this child listens to me is proof, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    I pointed at Swaying Bear, who I was riding on.

    They were making strange faces, so I couldn¡¯t really tell if they believed what I said.

    This was my first time seeing something like the Divine Protection of the Bear as well, you know.

    Manga, anime, novels, games, movies. I indulged myself in a lot of fantasy things, but I had never seen something like this before.

    ¡¸Did youe to this city alone, Yuna-chan? Don¡¯t you have any other party members?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just me.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s great that you weren¡¯t attacked by the bandits then.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I climbed the mountain range from Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸That mountain range?¡¹

    They looked at the mountain range that we could see from here.

    We could see that there was a lot of white snow around the summit.

    It gave off the same impression as Mount Fuji. I didn¡¯t know high it was, but it was wide enough to stretch all the way towards us, since it was part of a mountain range.

    (ED: Original for thest part was ¡°because there were a lot of mountains stuck together¡±.)

    ¡¸By the way, this one really is a calm child. What is his name?¡¹

    She asked, looking towards Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I touch him?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure.¡¹

    After I gave her permission, she started petting Swaying Bear while walking.

    ¡¸Can I do it too?¡¹

    The other magician, Ran, wanted to pet him as well, so I gave her permission too.

    ¡¸So soft. What kind of fur is this? It feels like I am touching a high quality one!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    Blitz watched the two girls, worried.

    ¡¸As long as you don¡¯t harm me or this bear, there is no problem.¡¹

    The two female magicians were enjoying the sensation of the fur.

    When we had advanced halfway towards the mountain, my detection magic found two people.

    There were no other signals.

    Were they guards?

    It would be great if my detection magic had a wider range.

    Still, it was really useful, so I shouldn¡¯t be that greedy.

    What should I do then?

    It would be really troublesome if they ran away because we attacked sloppily, so I wanted to knock them out before they could do so.

    It was also possible that they weren¡¯t bandits.

    Should I use magic and kill them, or catch them and then ask questions, or just take into ount that they might not be bandits?

    ¡¸Something happened?¡¹

    As I was having trouble with what to do, Tomeia called out to me.

    ¡¸I found some people that seem to be lookouts, so I was thinking about what to do. Kill them, capture them, or take into ount the fact that they might be civilians.¡¹

    ¡¸Where?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t face that way, okay? They are on the right side, about halfway to the mountain.¡¹

    They all looked in that direction without moving their faces.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t see them.¡¹

    ¡¸Are they really there?¡¹

    ¡¸We will decide what to do after approaching a little more.¡¹

    We moved forward, pretending we didn¡¯t notice them.

    They weren¡¯t moving, huh.

    Did they notice us from the start?

    We slowly reduced the distance between us.

    If we entered the forest, maybe they wouldn¡¯t see us?

    ¡¸When we pass this tree, I will go and capture the hiding bandits, so could you all continue to walk past like normal?¡¹

    ¡¸Wait...¡¹

    ¡¸When you move forward for about hundred meters, you will arrive at the ce I pointed out before.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you using us as decoys?¡¹

    ¡¸Not decoys. We all have our own roles. You guys don¡¯t know the exact position of the thieves. I know it. Isn¡¯t it enough? What would you do if I left it in your hands and you let them run away?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you capture them, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I have Swaying Bear, and if a human being who could outrun us exists, then I want to see that person.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. A hundred meters is enough, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Fifty should be enough, but just in case.¡¹

    We approached the tree I had pointed out.

    Just when we arrived under the tree, Swaying Bear, with me riding on him, started climbing between the trees.

    Swaying Bear was ascending the mountain about as fast as he could run on a t road.

    Before the adventurers even reached the fifty meter mark, I had already arrived at where the detected people were.

    ¡¸Who are you!?¡¹

    The people there started shouting.

    I had no obligation to respond.

    They tried to draw their swords, but they were too slow.

    Swaying Bear mmed into their bodies, and both of them fell to the ground.

    ¡¸The two of you are with the bandits, right?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    The man seemed to be ying dumb.

    ¡¸Are you lying to me? Well, I just need one of you to hear what you have to say. Swaying Bear, you can eat the one who seems the most delicious.¡¹

    Swaying Bear opened his big mouth.

    ¡¸Stop him! Stop him, please!¡¹

    ¡¸He could also eat the two of you bit by bit, would you prefer that?¡¹

    Swaying Bear, knowing that I was threatening them, yed along.

    He opened his big mouth and let his drool spill out.

    ¡¸Should we start by eating your arms then? Your heads have to be thest part, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I beg you. Please stop him!¡¹

    ¡¸ I will ask onest time then. You two are with the bandits who are attacking the residents of the city, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸...Yes, we are.¡¹

    The man nodded, looking as if he had abandoned hope.

    ¡¸Could you tell me where your base is then? Just pointing out the direction to go to is also okay.¡¹

    ¡¸If we talk, will you let us go?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking. If you talk, you just won¡¯t be eaten by my bear. I will properly hand you over to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    The two of them thought for awhile, not saying anything.

    ¡¸Okay, I will talk.¡¹

    Just after they told me where the base was, I saw Blitz and the others ascending the mountain.

    They seemed to be having a hard time walking.

    Especially the two sword users, who were carrying their heavy swords and equipment. They had it rough.

    ¡¸Are you guys okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, no problem. So, what happened?¡¹

    ¡¸I was right, they were with the bandits. I also made them tell me where their base is, so I n to go there now.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸I feel bad about this, but can I ask for someone to stay here and keep an eye on the two of them?¡¹

    If they didn¡¯t want to do it, I would just make a hole and imprison the bandits inside.

    ¡¸I will stay.¡¹

    Gumoris said.

    ¡¸Gumoris, are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t move fast on the mountain, so I would just be a burden.¡¹

    Gumoris took a rope from her item bag and tied up the bandits.

    ¡¸I will take them down the mountain. If you guys don¡¯te back in one day, I will take them to the city.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, you should do so.¡¹

    Gumoris obediently abided by Tomeia¡¯s instructions.

    Who was the leader again?

    When you saw this happening, you couldn¡¯t really tell who it was.

    I started moving towards the the base using the information I received from the bandits, and the other three walked behind me.

    ¡¸I was kind of shocked to see that there really were lookouts.¡¹

    ¡¸I only found them thanks to this child, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I want one as well...¡¹

    Ran jealously looked at Swaying Bear.

    I wouldn¡¯t give him away though.

    After walking for awhile, the detection magic sensed dozens of signals surprisingly close by.

    ¡¸You are moving forward without any hesitation, but is that really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If the bandits lied to you, it¡¯s possible that we are going in the wrong direction, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. This child already found them.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸We are almost there, so do you need to take a break before moving forward?¡¹

    I was riding on Swaying Bear, so I didn¡¯t need it.

    ¡¸No need.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best too.¡¹

    With their agreement, we decided to continue moving forward.

    Swaying Bear ttened the nt life, and the three of them followed the path he created.

    I looked at the automated map.

    It seemed that the road we were walking on was not the official one.

    We could approach the base without being seen.

    ¡¸We are almost there, so don¡¯t make any noise.¡¹

    I warned them just in case, since we were almost at the ce with the dozens of signals.

    The three of them nodded.

    I saw a cavern that was surrounded by trees. Outside the cavern, I saw about 15 men who were drinking while being attended to by women, even though it was midday.

    I was sure these women were the ones they captured.

    There were some people inside the cavern as well.

    ¡¸So the base was here, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Shit, the captured girls are here as well!¡¹

    ¡¸What do we do?¡¹

    ¡¸I can handle them all.¡¹

    It was bing troublesome, so I said that.

    ¡¸What are you saying!?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it would be better to go back for now and ask for reinforcements.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    Were these numbers impossible for rank C adventures too?

    ¡¸I¡¯m going then, so wait here, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Wait!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t n on quarrelling with them, so I charged ahead, riding on Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸What is this?!¡¹

    ¡¸Bear!?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuma!?¡¹

    The men started shouting.

    I jumped off Swaying Bear.

    The moment Inded, I made a ten meter wide pitfall under the bandits who were far enough from the women.

    If they were out of luck, they might die, but that was thest thing on my mind.

    I would like them to thank me for the fact that they had a chance of not dying from it.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear! If there is anyone who tries to flee, I am counting on you!¡¹

    I fired air bullets at the bandits near the women, and made them fly far away from them.

    When they were far enough, I made them fall inside pitfalls as well.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! Behind you!¡¹

    As I was turning my head to look back, a fireball nearly hit me.

    I protected myself with the White Bear Hand and the fireball disappeared.

    I saw three magicians with staves in their hands.

    I fired air bullets into their faces. Thanks to the hit correction, all of them hit their targets.

    The magicians fell, unable to protect themselves.

    Using pitfalls and air bullets, I defeated all of the bandits.

    As I looked around, I noticed I was the only one still standing.

    Not even a minute had passed since the fight broke out.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you hurt anywhere!?¡¹

    Tomeia rushed over to where I was.

    ¡¸Not really.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? I saw you getting hit by a magic attack though?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing at only such a low level. More importantly, I am counting on you regarding the women.¡¹

    The women, not understanding what just happened, lost their strength on the spot.

    When the party went to help them, more men came out of the cave.

    The man standing in the middle had apletely different atmospherepared to the others.

    ¡¸What is this mess!?¡¹

    Seeing the surroundings, the man howled.

    ¡¸Did you guys do this?¡¹

    The man did not look at me, but at Blitz and the others.

    ¡¸You are Blitz, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    The man noticed Blitz and said his name.

    Did they know each other?

    ¡¸You, Borg...¡¹

    ¡¸So, you came all the way here for some bandit subjugation?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you here, you bastard?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s obvious. It¡¯s a job, just a job.¡¹

    ¡¸A job, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, Attack all the people who travel down the road, rob the money, and take the women. A really simple job.¡¹

    I asked Tomeia, who was near me, a question.

    ¡¸Who is he?¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s an adventurer we met at the town we were previously at. He is strong, but he is also violent, selfish, and thinks all of the women in his party belong to him. That¡¯s why no one wanted to party with him, and he disappeared from the town after that. I didn¡¯t expect to see him here, and that he would be a bandit.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, oi, I am no bandit. I am just doing my job as an adventurer. It¡¯s an official job I received from the Commerce Guild¡¯s Master.¡¹

    ¡¸Commerce Guild?¡¹

    I had a strange feeling that something really incredible had just been said, but...

    ¡¸Is it really okay for you to say that to us?¡¹

    Blitz stood in front of the man.

    ¡¸That doesn¡¯t really matter, does it? You bastards will die, and your girls will be mine after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Bastard!¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to fondle you for a long time now.¡¹

    The man looked at Tomeia with dirty eyes.

    The moment Blitz tried to draw his sword, the man named Borg was blown away.

    That was because I punched him, of course.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault he had a face that looked really easy to punch, and he was just standing there, not even defending, and more than that, I was really pissed off. That was enough of a reason for me.

    Since I wanted to finish him, I chased him, got on top of him, and continued punching him.

    I didn¡¯t punch him too hard of course, to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t lose consciousness.

    ¡¸You bastard!¡¹

    Bear Punch, Bear Punch, Kuma Punch.

    ¡¸Get off of me!¡¹

    He was reaching for me with his arms, but...

    Kuma Punch, Kuma Punch, Kuma Punch.

    ¡¸Stop it...¡¹

    There was no way I would stop.

    Kuma Punch, Kuma Punch, Kuma Punch.

    His face began to change.

    The hand that tried to stop me lost strength and fell to the floor.

    ¡¸Ah, that was really great. I feel so refreshed now.¡¹

    I got off of him.

    When I looked around, Blitz, the remaining bandits who came out of the cave, and the women who were captured by the bandits were all looking at me.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you even asking...¡¹

    ¡¸Did you also want to punch him? If you want to kill him, do it a bitter okay? He said something really interesting after all. I actually went easy on him, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Went easy, you say...¡¹

    He said that the Guild Master of the Commerce Guild asked him to act as a bandit.

    The adventurers who attacked me in the inn also told me that they were acting on his orders.

    Was it possible that the Kraken also had something to do with this Guild Master?

    ¡¸So, the bandits standing there, are you going to be captured nicely? Or do you want to be finished off like him?¡¹

    After hearing that, the bandits looked at Borg¡¯s face. They shook their heads and threw down their weapons.

    ¡¸Are any of your friends inside?¡¹

    ¡¸None. Just the captured women.¡¹

    The bandits responded obediently.

    We went to save the girls who were captured inside the cave and took back the money that the bandits had stored there.

    We also found horses and carriages, which we would use well.

    We tied up all of the bandits, threw them on a carriage, and headed back towards the the city.

    ¡¸We weren¡¯t able to do anything, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and she defeated Borg so easily...¡¹

    Borg was conscious, but he was unable to move.

    When he woke up, he was really noisy, so I made him do some bungee jumping without a cord.

    I propelled him into the air using wind magic and let him eat dirt dozens of times.

    I made an air cushion on the ground so that he wouldn¡¯t die, of course.

    Even when he lost consciousness, I would wake him up with water.

    After doing it for a number of times;

    ¡¸Please stop this! If you really have to do something, just kill me!¡¹

    He said something like that, but the ropeless bungee jumping continued, of course.

    I wouldn¡¯t do something like killing him just because he wanted to be freed from the pain. I would rather just crush any hope of escape.

    In the end, he asked me to kill him so he could repent for his crimes, but that was not for me to decide.

    That was for the women who were in the other carriage and the residents of the city to decide.

    The carriages kept moving forward, and we joined up with Gumoris midway.

    When we arrived at the city gate, the guards ran toward us.

    ¡¸What is this, all of you?¡¹

    ¡¸We captured all of the bandits. We want to report this to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master, is that okay?¡¹

    Blitz was talking as the representative.

    ¡¸Is this true?¡¹

    They looked at the bandits who were on the carriage.

    ¡¸I will make a report immediately!¡¹

    The guard ran off to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    We helped the captured women out of the carriage.

    They were all crying while hugging each other.

    I could only imagine what had happened to them while they were captured by the bandits, but I didn¡¯t find any words offort to share with them.

    That wasn¡¯t all. There should have been people who left the city with them.

    Husbands, parents, and possibly children.

    That¡¯s why, I, who didn¡¯t understand their pains, could only watch.

    The captured girls thanked us over and over again.

    It had been a long time since something made me remember that I was not in my world or the game one.

    After some time passed, the Guild Master arrived.

    ¡¸Yuna! You really subjugated them!?¡¹

    ¡¸These adventurers here helped me, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸You say that, but we didn¡¯t do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸You tied up the bandits, took care of the women, and led the carriages, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t take care of the women and didn¡¯t know how to lead a carriage.

    I really had no idea what would have happened if I was there alone.

    ¡¸And, the bandits you have captured, are they those bastards?¡¹

    Atora-san was looking at the bandits who were on the carriage.

    ¡¸You guys are...¡¹

    ¡¸You know them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they are adventurers from this city. They are the ones who went out as guards for the carriages and those who disappeared before I realized it. I thought that they fled because they feared the Kraken. I really didn¡¯t think that they would turn out to be the bandits.¡¹

    The former adventurers couldn¡¯t look at the Guild Master¡¯s eyes and instead faced the ground.

    ¡¸Also, we heard a really interesting story from the bandits.¡¹

    ¡¸Interesting story?¡¹

    I told her about the Commerce Guild¡¯s Master.

    ¡¸Hoo, that¡¯s really an interesting story. I also found out a lot of things here while you were away.¡¹

    An angry smile crept onto Atora-san¡¯s face.

 Chapter 90 â€“ Bear-san In The Middle Of An Incident, Second Occurrence

    Chapter 90 ¨C Bear-san In The Middle Of An Incident, Second urrence

    ¡¾Commerce Guild Master¡¯s Point of View¡¿

    What was the meaning of this?

    The adventurers I sent to attack the girl at the inn didn¡¯te back.

    When I decided to ask other people to go and check, they said the ce was really calm.

    Was it possible that they didn¡¯t attack her even though I paid them?

    I couldn¡¯t find any other reason than that.

    The next morning, one of my subordinates came to my room in the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸Master.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸The people you sent to capture the girl yesterday were arrested this morning.¡¹

    What was this bastard saying? I asked them to attack her during the night, didn¡¯t I? So why would they be arrested in the morning?

    ¡¸Are you sure that it was in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. This morning, we saw them being taken away by some Adventurer¡¯s Guild employees.¡¹

    ¡¸Those idiots, did they attack in the morning?¡¹

    If it was like this, I could understand why they didn¡¯t return yesterday night.

    That might be so, but was there anyone who would attack early in the morning?

    More than that, they were also arrested. They had to be idiots.

    This was why I hated idiots who didn¡¯t follow my orders.

    Thanks to that, people would start suspecting me, you know!

    ¡¸What will we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Let it be.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Even if they bring up my name, there¡¯s no proof. We just have to say that they are falsely using us.¡¹

    Since they had failed, we couldn¡¯t attack her ever again.

    What a bunch of useless adventurers.

    The only problem was finding out how much food the brat possessed.

    She shouldn¡¯t have much of it, but it was still troublesome.

    *Knock Knock*

    Someone knocked on the door.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    An employee entered.

    ¡¸The Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master is here.¡¹

    I knew she woulde.

    I made my men leave and told the employee,

    ¡¸Let her enter the room.¡¹

    A woman wearing clothes that emphasized her chest entered.

    It was Atora, the Guild Master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸It has been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸Yesterday night, the inn was attacked by adventurers, do you know something about it?¡¹

    Yesterday night?

    I had just heard that they were captured this morning?

    ¡¸No idea.¡¹

    I decided to say that I didn¡¯t know about it, for now.

    ¡¸The ones who attacked were adventurers who were going in and out of your Commerce Guild though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not enough of a reason for me to know about every adventurers¡¯ movements, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸However, the adventurers we captured said that they were following your orders.¡¹

    ¡¸No idea what you are talking about. Why would I want to attack an adventurer who I don¡¯t even know?¡¹

    ¡¸To take away her wolves, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you telling me that the one who gave your stupid Adventurer¡¯s Guild all those wolves was this adventurer?¡¹

    I already knew, but I pretended that I had heard about it just now.

    ¡¸Yes, she is a really cute adventurer. The fact that a girl like her was attacked makes me really angry, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Then how about executing the adventurers you arrested?¡¹

    ¡¸So, are you saying that you are not rted to this event in any way?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I don¡¯t even know when I will be attacked as well, so I would really rmend you to proceed with their execution.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. I will be back.¡¹

    ¡®You don¡¯t have toe.¡¯, I thought to myself.

    Atora went back, but I couldn¡¯t think of this matter as finished.

    I didn¡¯t really understand what that Guild Master was thinking.

    I knew that the time woulde when they would find out about me.

    If I wanted leave the city, I had to do it fast.

    I wanted to reap profits for one more month, but that couldn¡¯t be helped.

    This was the fault of my idiot subordinates, as well as that Bear Suit wearing girl.

    I assembled the three subordinates who knew about my ties to the bandits.

    There were not a lot of people who knew what I was doing in secrecy.

    That was because having less of them didn¡¯t permit any information leaks and disposing them would be simple.

    I told those three that, even though it was a little early, I would flee this city.

    I ordered to them to leave the city tonight, and meet up with Borg.

    I nned to steal the money of the Commerce Guild just before they fled, and then me the deed on those three.

    I had nned for them to be killed by the bandits when those three met up with Borg.

    If we just left the corpses on the road, then everyone would think that the bandits took the money.

    The money I stole from the Commerce Guild would safely be mine after that.

    ¡¸I will return home first. I will be fast, so go and prepare as well.¡¹

    I returned home, and put all of my valuable things inside an item bag.

    I also put inside some valuables that I stole from the fleeing residents.

    Everything from this city was mine, so there was no problem.

    Borg was an idiot who didn¡¯t want anything other than women and money, so it was easy to control him.

    Well, he probably didn¡¯t have any ways to resell the other valuables. It would be useless to exin the value of jewels to him after all.

    When I finished putting all of my valuables and food inside my item bag, I went back to the Commerce Guild.

    For some reason, the Commerce Guild was noisy.

    What could be the reason?

    Had something happened while I was away?

    When I saw the faces of the employees, they were all smiling.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    I asked an employee near me who looked delighted.

    ¡¸You see, it seems that the bandits were captured.¡¹

    What did he just say?

    ¡¸With this, this city has a way out again. Food will be able to flow too. We can say farewell to the life we had to endure until now.¡¹

    The employee said this while looking really happy.

    Don¡¯t joke with me!

    The bandits were subjugated, you said?

    If that was true, then I couldn¡¯t take care of my three subordinates.

    Still, the biggest problem was,

    ¡¸Did the bandits all die?¡¹

    If they had all died, then there was no problem.

    A dead man couldn¡¯t talk, after all.

    ¡¸It seems that they were captured. And it appears that the bandits were, for the most part, adventurers from this city. They are currently being questioned by Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master.¡¹

    They were alive!

    That was really bad.

    If they all said that it was me whomissioned them, it would be really difficult to get out of this mess.

    Were there no good ways of escaping?

    ¡¸Furthermore, it seems that the one who captured them was a girl wearing a bear suit, and I heard that she is really cute from one of my acquaintances.¡¹

    This bear again?

    Who on earth was she?

    She brought a lot of wolf meat, had an item bag that could contain all of them, captured the adventurers who attacked her in the morning, and finally, captured all of the bandits. What sort of bear was she!?

    ¡¸Guild Master. With this, we can put the idea you had into actual practice. I really felt ashamed, but now, we can finally do something about it.¡¹

    Throughout thest month, in order for the employees to keep listening to me, I fed them one lie after the other.

    First, we raised the price of the food, so that after the bandits were eliminated, we would have the money to buy a lot of it, and also be able to pay someone to kill the Kraken.

    With that, half of the employees trusted me.

    Those employees sold the food to the rich people, and I was able to earn a lot.

    However, since the food was only being sold to rich people, the other employees and the popce started showing dissent.

    Food couldn¡¯t go to poor people.

    I personally didn¡¯t care about how many poor people died, but it would be troublesome, so I gave the parts of the wolves or other animals that didn¡¯t sell well, as well as the fish that could hurt you when you ate it, to those who didn¡¯t bring any money.

    ¡¸Master?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing. For now, we have to wait for the report from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. There might still be some bandits left.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think that bastard (Borg) could have been defeated.

    ¡¸You are right. It would be really troublesome if we dispatched someone and there were some bandits left.¡¹

    The employee agreed with me, and then went away.

    I returned to my room inside the Commerce Guild.

    I couldn¡¯t think of any good ideas.

    At least, Borg wouldn¡¯t have been captured and should be waiting at the ce we agreed upon.

    Otherwise, I just had to kill those three myself.

    Still, I didn¡¯t have enough information to make my move.

    If I waited too long, the window to flee would disappear.

    Even while just taking my time to think about this, time was ticking.

    Lost in my thoughts, I heard someone knock on the door.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸The Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master came.¡¹

    She was here already?

    What a woman with lots of free time.

    ¡¸Lead her here then.¡¹

    ¡¸You see, she said she wanted you toe outside.¡¹

    ¡¸Why is that?¡¹

    ¡¸You see...¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I just have to go, right?¡¹

    When I came out, the bandits I had employed were all lined up.

    They were all tied up, and even their mouths were shut tight.

    Did she call me out so that I could see this?

    When I looked at the lined up bandits, Borg was...Borg?

    His body showed that it was really him, but his face was in a terrible condition.

    Even more than that, this Borg was quietly sitting on the floor.

    The Borg I knew should have been acting violently by now. This was a scene I couldn¡¯t even fathom.

    Atora was standing guard in their midst.

    Huh? I could see a little ck thing behind Atora.

    Bear?

    There was a little girl wearing a Bear suit.

    Was it possible that she was the Bear from the rumors? The bandits had been done in by a brat like this?

    I could onlyugh. My ns were destroyed by a strange girl like that?

    To stop myughter, I stifled a smile while asking a question as if nothing had happened.

    ¡¸Are those the bandits?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. They all said that they were employed by you.¡¹

    ¡¸I have no idea why they would say that.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really saying that again?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know.¡¹

    The bandits all red at me.

    It would have been better if they were killed right after they were caught.

    ¡¸And where are you going, carrying thisrge item bag?¡¹

    I was wondering why she changed the subject so suddenly, but now I knew.

    Was it possible that I had been monitored? Did they already know what I was doing here?

    I looked into Atora¡¯s eyes, and they were eyes filled with confidence.

    ¡¸I am just using it for work. It has nothing to do with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Hoo, I see. Could I see what is inside it then?¡¹

    ¡¸I refuse. Why would I have to show it to you?¡¹

    I was right, she already knew.

    If they had a look inside, there would be no more ways to slip out of this.

    I had a lot of stolen items.

    ¡¸I will take full responsibility! Capture Zarad!¡¹

    I tried to escape, but I couldn¡¯t escape from the former adventurers, now employees of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Stop it!¡¹

    They took my item bag and restrained me.

    ¡¸Then, let me take a look at what¡¯s inside.¡¹

    Atora pierced her sword through my item bag.

    At that moment, all of the things inside the item bag spilled down on the floor.

    The residents who saw it started making a fuss.

    ¡¾Yuna¡¯s point of view¡¿

    Atora-san forced me toe to the guild.

    I didn¡¯t think that they would need me though.

    She said she wanted to bring out all of the bandits, and that they were really docile when I was with them. Was I some wild animal trainer?

    She said that her reason for bringing the bandits was to see the other party¡¯s reaction.

    She was right, when he saw the face of Blitz¡¯s friend, his expression changed.

    Did I beat him a little too much?

    For an instant, he looked in my direction andughed a little. It was just for an instant, and then he turned towards Atora-san and started a verbal fight.

    ¡¸I will take all responsibility! Capture Zarad!¡¹

    The employees of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild started to move, and Atora-san took out her sword and pierced the item bag that the little plump man possessed.

    The bag tore immediately, and all of the items inside it scattered on the floor.

    When an item bag was torn, all of the items inside flowed out, huh.

    Well, if it didn¡¯t flow out when torn, you would be troubled, right?

    ¡¸Hey, what is with this quantity?¡¹

    A lot of things that could be sold for money dropped on the floor.

    ¡¸Huh, I saw that at Damon-san¡¯s ce!¡¹

    ¡¸And I saw that at Doju-san¡¯s!¡¹

    The residents started making noise.

    Among the things that were scattered on the floor, there was a little ring with a jewel iid. Seeing it, a woman muttered with a little voice.

    ¡¸This is my...That¡¯s the ring that the bandits stole from me when I was captured...¡¹

    The woman was one of the women who were captured by the bandits.

    She rushed over and grasped the ring tightly.

    Tears slowly dripped from her eyes.

    ¡¸Sai...¡¹

    She called out a name.

    Then she stood up and shouted.

    ¡¸Bring Sai back!¡¹

    She approached Zarad and punched him in the face.

    ¡¸Bring back Sai who you ordered the bandits to kill...¡¹

    The girl broke down crying.

    Seeing that, the anger of the residents exploded.

    Rocks were flung towards Zarad¡¯s direction.

    They pummelled his head and his body. Those rocks also hit the adventurers who were pinning him down.

    The flying rocks were not stopping.

    Blood started flowing from Zarad¡¯s face.

    Even after that, the residents didn¡¯t stop throwing the rocks.

    The employees of the Commerce Guild stood still, utterly dumbfounded.

    ¡¸Stop it!¡¹

    Atora-san shouted.

    Hearing her shout, the residents stopped throwing rocks and became silent.

    ¡¸Zarad¡¯s trial will be held as my responsibility. I assure that with my name as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild master!¡¹

    Author¡¯s note:

    I knew it, it¡¯s really boring when I write something where Yuna doesn¡¯t appear.

 Chapter 91 â€“ Bear-san And A Reason To Kill The Kraken

    Chapter 91 ¨C Bear-san And A Reason To Kill The Kraken

    The Commerce Guild Master was now captured, and all of the aplices were caught.

    After everything was finished, the sun was setting, and it was already time for supper.

    ¡¸It¡¯s finally over.¡¹

    Deiga-san apanied me back to the inn.

    ¡¸I really didn¡¯t believe you could subjugate the bandits all by yourself, you know! Now we can finally go and buy things in the next town, so let me thank you again. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to mind it. Actually, I wanted to do something about the Kraken, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Ahahahha! That¡¯s impossible, as expected! Even the children know how strong the Kraken is. All we can do is pray that it will return to the ocean.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you apologizing, missy? We are already very happy that you captured all of the bandits. And recently, there is wolf meat and flour on the market. That¡¯s also thanks to you, isn¡¯t it missy?¡¹

    I thought that the guild would keep it a secret though...

    ¡¸There is nothing you can do about the people who already know. The Guild Master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild made me promise not to say anything though. She said that you are shy, and that¡¯s why you don¡¯t want to be thanked.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just because it would be troublesome!¡¹

    I let my real thoughts out.

    I ate dinner, and when I wanted to return to my room, Deiga-san stopped me.

    ¡¸As I promised you this morning, I will make the best meal I can with what I have, soe to the dining room for lunch tomorrow. I will prepare everything tomorrow morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay? You don¡¯t have a lot of ingredients, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really mind. After all, this is the only thing I can do to thank you, missy.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡¹

    I returned to my room, and in order for my tiredness of the day to fly away, I changed into the White Bear and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, in their cub forms.

    When I summoned them, Hugging Bear seemed strange.

    He didn¡¯t look at me, showing me his back instead.

    From my past experiences, he was pouting.

    Now that I thought about it, today, I went, fought, and came back on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    That was why he was pouting.

    It would be bad if I didn¡¯t take care of him.

    Still, I was really tired now.

    I decided to embrace Hugging Bear while I slept.

    There was just one problem. If I slept embracing Hugging Bear like this, it was possible that Swaying Bear would pout.

    I forcefully embraced Hugging Bear and slid inside my Futon.

    Thanks to my tiredness and Hugging Bear¡¯s warmth, I fell asleep really fast.

    When I woke up the next day, Hugging Bear¡¯s mood seemed to have improved, and there was no sign of Swaying Bear sulking. Perfect.

    I unsummoned the two bears and changed into my ck Bear Suit.

    When I came downstairs, Blitz and his party were all there.

    The four of them were preparing to go on a journey.

    ¡¸Are you going out of the city?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but we will be back soon.¡¹

    ¡¸With the bandits gone, there are people who want to go to the next town to buy food, so we will act as their guards.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it will only take ten days for a round trip. And if all goes well, we can shorten that time even more, so we are nning on returning really fast.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I don¡¯t know if I will still be here then, so I will say this now. Thanks for everything you helped me with.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s wrong! It¡¯s us who should say thanks. Yuna-chan, if you were not here, it would have been impossible for us to subjugate the bandits.¡¹

    I still believed that they helped me, especially in dealing with the captured women.

    I didn¡¯t have a lot of life experience, so I couldn¡¯t find any words offort for the women who were captured, and couldn¡¯t take any actions to help them.

    ¡¸We will be going then.¡¹

    ¡¸Take care.¡¹

    Blitz raised his hand in response and left the inn.

    After eating breakfast, I went outside as well, in order to feel the fresh air.

    As I was walking around the city, the faces of all the residents I saw seemed a little happier.

    When they noticed me, the people lowered their heads slightly.

    The children rushed over to me as well.

    It seemed that the fact that we defeated the bandits had been spread throughout the city.

    When I stopped by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Atora-san and the employees seemed really busy.

    They told me that the shore, previously controlled by the Commerce Guild, was now temporarily under the control of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Atora-san seemed to be having a hard time.

    I remembered the time when I saw Atora-san, alone inside the guild.

    As a refreshment, I gave her a pudding.

    When you were tired, sweet things were the best.

    As I left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I bumped into Jeremo-san, the Commerce Guild¡¯s employee I met on my first day in this city.

    ¡¸Missy, huh? Thanks a lot for all of this.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸A job for the Commerce Guild. Because the Guild Master and others were captured, a lot of work was thrown onto an underling like me.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸I was able to avoid being dragged into the Guild Master¡¯s crimes because I was just an underling though.¡¹

    It seemed that the Commerce Guild Master remained silent even now.

    It was certain that he was the ringleader behind the bandits¡¯ orders.

    The residents asked for his disposal, but that was dyed for now.

    Considering the feelings of the captured women, they wanted to execute him quickly, but because this was an independent city, as well as the fact that the Mayor already fled, there was no one to judge him, so they had to wait.

    More importantly, Atora-san¡¯s job was not just investigating the criminals, including Zarad.

    There were a lot more urgent things to do.

    Since the bandits were subjugated, there were now more ces where people could fish, so they had to distribute those ces equally. The things stolen by the bandits also had to be redistributed. Some of the women were captured, but there were also a lot of people who were killed. Normally, those who subjugated the bandits received the loot, but we declined.

    We gave it away, so that it could be sold to reduce the food shortage.

    Atora-san told us that we were too naive, but she thanked us anyway.

    Blitz said that he didn¡¯t want to receive it, since he hadn¡¯t actually done anything.

    I returned to the inn just past noon, and a delicious scent drifted my way.

    ¡¸Oh, you have returned. It¡¯s almost finished, so sit and wait.¡¹

    As I sat down, a smell that stimted my appetite drifted through the air.

    After a few minutes, the meal was brought to me.

    What was ced before me was something I had never seen in this world, but still something I knew very well.

    ¡¸Rice....¡¹

    ¡¸What, you know of it already?¡¹

    What was in front of me was not white rice, but it was rice nheless.

    It was cooked together with a lot of different ingredients, and resembled Chinese fried rice.

    I ate one mouthful. It was a really nostalgic taste.

    It was rice.

    It was not white, but it was still delicious.

    Apanying this Cantonese rice was a grilled fish that had been caught in the sea.

    ¡¸This fish was caught by my son this morning.¡¹

    The bottle that was beside the fish bothered me more.

    Was it possible that you put the contents of this bottle on the fish?

    It was a somewhat ck liquid.

    I tried the fish with it. No doubt, it was soy sauce.

    I then also tried fried rice with it.

    I would prefer white rice, but I couldn¡¯t possibly say ungrateful things like that.

    ¡¸Missy, are you crying?¡¹

    Before I knew it, tears were dropping from my eyes.

    ¡¸Your meal was so good that it made me cry.¡¹

    Being seen crying was embarrassing, so I wiped away my tears and answered while smiling.

    I wasn¡¯t lying when I said that it was delicious.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I am happy that you say so, but you are not forcing yourself, are you?¡¹

    Did he think that I thought it tasted bad, and that I was forcing myself to eat it?

    ¡¸This is exactly like the food from my country. I thought that I would never be able to eat it again, you see. I am so happy.¡¹

    ¡¸This is exactly like your country¡¯s cuisine? Is it possible that youe from the country of Harmony and Peace?¡¹

    (TL note: ºÍ¤Î¹ú The oldest recorded name of Japan. ºÍ refers to Harmony/Peace.)

    ¡¸The country of Harmony and Peace?¡¹

    ¡¸Am I wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s a ce that is farther than that, a ce so distant, I won¡¯t be able to go there anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸You came from a ce that far away? Aren¡¯t you lonely?¡¹

    ¡¸There are times when something makes me remember home, but this ce is fun as well. Still, it¡¯s times like this, when I can taste my home country¡¯s taste, that makes me really happy.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I really would love to make more for you, but I don¡¯t have enough ingredients. Before the Kraken arrived, there was a boat that went to the country of Harmony and Peace once every month, but now...¡¹

    ¡¸The Kraken, huh...¡¹

    Did I really not have any ways to defeat it?

    I thanked Deiga-san and left the inn.

    I kept walking until I arrived at the ocean.

    The vast sea.

    Beyond it was a country with rice and soy sauce. It might be possible that they even have miso.

    I absolutely wanted rice.

    The Kraken, huh?

    My way of fighting was restricted.

    I could use a big war ship and, before it sank, kill the Kraken. The problem was, there were no ships like that in this city.

    I could fly in the sky and kill it from there. The problem was, I couldn¡¯t fly.

    To experiment, I went to the sandy beach and tried to freeze the sea.

    It did freeze, but the waves covered it. If we started to fight, the Kraken would act violently. If that happened, the sea would grow wild, and the waves would exceed several meters, possibly even more than ten meters. If the ice broke, I wouldn¡¯t be in a position to fight.

    So, the ice would have to be really thick, and if I had to mind my every step, I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight well.

    If it was just ake, I would be able to do it though.

    Should I try to make a big bubble of air and dive into the sea?

    I tried to make one, and entered the sea.

    I entered the sea just fine.

    Still, if I took an attack from the Kraken like this, that would be the end, wouldn¡¯t it?

    Could I even attack from inside this bubble?

    If it broke, that would be the end.

    There was also the problem of oxygen.

    Even after thinking a lot, I found no good ways for now.

    Maybe I should ride the bears to battle?

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Can you two swim?¡¹

    The two entered the sea and swam without trouble.

    They could swim.

    Well, pr bears could swim as well, right?

    If we had a problem, it would be that I was the one who had never swam in the sea before. More importantly, how many years had it been since Ist swam?

    Thinking about it, thest time was when I was in primary school, during the lessons we had inside the school¡¯s pool.

    If I fell off from the bears, I would certainly die.

    Still, when I was on the bears, even if I slept, I wouldn¡¯t fall, so there might be no problem at the sea either.

    If I rode on them, my lower half would be soaked without a doubt. When I fought, my whole body would get drenched as well.

    It also didn¡¯t change the fact that I could do nothing to it if it dove into the depths of the sea.

    I should put this n in reserve.

    Hmm, I couldn¡¯t find any ways to defeat it.

    Was there a story of people who fought inside of the sea?

    It would be the best if I could just breathe under the sea. There was no use asking for something impossible.

    Couldn¡¯t I just divide the sea, like Moses did? No, that would be impossible. That way, I couldn¡¯t chase it if it fled.

    More than that, I probably couldn¡¯t do it anyway.

    ...No good.

    ...Discarded.

    ...Rejected.

    ...Refused.

    ...Nope.

    ...Impossible.

    Finally, a good idea hit me.

    Yes, this was the idea I would go with.

    If it failed, it wouldn¡¯t hurt me.

    If it worked, I would be able to fight.

    If it didn¡¯t work, I could just fight while riding on Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The reason to fight the Kraken is rice and soy sauce.

    And this is Yuna, who tried her best to find a way to fight the Kraken.

    I think I really racked my brain hard to find this way.

    If there is anyone who has thought of it as well, please, don¡¯t say it. I implore you.

    It¡¯s nned that the Kraken will be defeated the way Yuna always does, exploiting her overpowered Bear.

    Then, I am counting on you for the next time as well.

    TL note: Of course she will use her overpowered Bear. Without it, she has nothing.

 Chapter 92 â€“ Bear-san Goes To Subjugate The Kraken

    Chapter 92 ¨C Bear-san Goes To Subjugate The Kraken

    The next day, after having thought of a way to fight, I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to get the permission to do it.

    Like the previous day, the employees of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were busy, and didn¡¯t stop moving at all.

    The fact that half of the jobs they did should have been done by the Commerce Guild was strange.

    Even though Atora-san was the one giving orders, the Commerce Guild¡¯s employees were also doing their jobs normally.

    I found Atora-san, who seemed really busy, and talked to her.

    ¡¸Yuna, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to discuss something with you. If I may, I want to ask a favour from you.¡¹

    ¡¸What would that be? If it¡¯s Yuna¡¯s request, I would do anything.¡¹

    If I were a boy and heard this ¡ºanything¡», I would surely have a reaction.

    While I was thinking about that, Atora-san approached.

    Her big chest came close to my head.

    Don¡¯t put those big things in front of me, please.

    I wasn¡¯t jealous at all, okay!

    ¡¸Is it okay if we go somewhere private?¡¹

    I looked around and asked that, so she led me to a room at the back of the guild.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bit messy, but please sit.¡¹

    There were mountains of documents.

    Were they all rted to her additional responsibilities?

    It started yesterday, right? Was it possible that Atora-san didn¡¯t sleep at all?

    ¡¸So, what¡¯s your request?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking about defeating the Kraken, so I just wanted to request a few things from you.¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    Atora-san¡¯s mouth opened wide.

    ¡¸Are you for real?¡¹

    ¡¸I now have a reason to kill it, so...¡¹

    ¡¸And what is this reason? Is it worth enough to put your life on the line?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a significant reason. It¡¯s just really personal.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really say that it was for the rice and soy sauce.

    ¡¸Haa, so your request is ¡°I want to defeat the Kraken, so help me, please¡±, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I will fight the Kraken alone, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    Atora-san approached me and put her hand on my forehead.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t seem to have a fever... You know, a Kraken is not something you can fight on your own. Just because you were able to fight the bandits, that doesn¡¯t mean you can also fight the Kraken, you know.¡¹

    Well, it was not a monster that you could fight alone in the game either.

    ¡¸If I say ¡®Trust me¡¯, would that be enough?¡¹

    ¡¸I will just ask this. What are the chances of sess?¡¹

    ¡¸If the Kraken appears at the ce I want it to, I will defeat it.¡¹

    Atora-san peered into my eyes for a long time, and then let out a little sigh.

    ¡¸......I understand. So, what do I have to do?¡¹

    ¡¸On the path where the bandits appeared, there is a big cliff facing the sea, isn¡¯t there?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to fight around there, so I don¡¯t want anyone to approach it. Also, it will get dangerous on that day, so I would like for no one to go fishing.¡¹

    ¡¸You will fight it there?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really know how big the Kraken is, but with a cliff like that, I think it will be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸And how will you make the Kraken go there?¡¹

    I exined what I would use as a bait.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if it will work though.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufufu, that¡¯s right. Nobody would ever think of baiting the Kraken, so no one has ever tried it, after all. But, even if you do manage to bait it, there is a possibility of it fleeing, isn¡¯t there?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n on letting it flee.¡¹

    When it came to the cliff, it would be in my territory.

    I would carve the fear of being hunted into this Kraken.

    ¡¸Hmm, I understand. I will need three days. Also, could you give us a bit more wolf meat?¡¹

    Atora-san thought about it for a while before epting my request.

    The three days were meant to convince the fishermen to not bring out their boats. The wolves were meant to restock, because there were none left.

    I left everything concerning the residents to Atora-san and went to the cliff for some preliminary investigations.

    As confirmed yesterday, mistakes weren¡¯t allowed when the Kraken appeared. If the Kraken didn¡¯t appear, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. If it came and I failed, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to bait and capture it with the same method ever again.

    From what I remembered, the Kraken¡¯s length could range between twenty to hundreds of meters.

    Between the depths of the sea and the highest point of the cliff, there was more than enough space.

    After that, there was just one thing left to do. Pray that it would go well.

    ¡ª-

    The next day, Atora-san came to the inn.

    ¡¸Yuna, two days from now, all boats will stay in port. I will also forbid everyone from leaving the city.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, this might be strangeing from me, who asked for this to happen, but aren¡¯t you way too fast?¡¹

    I had made the request just yesterday. She had to exin everything to the residents, and persuading them should have taken even more time.

    ¡¸I just had to convince the eldest and the most important person among the fishermen, and since the Adventurer¡¯s Guild will be the one to take care of the cliff, there should be no problems.¡¹

    ¡¸But this grampa, did he really willingly ept not going out to sea that day?¡¹

    In such a case, it would be more normal for a stubborn old man to decline it.

    ¡¸Well, in this city, no one would refuse a request thates from you.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s just...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you provided food, subjugated the bandits, and ended the oppression of the Commerce Guild. And now, you are also going to fight the Kraken for this city¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸Regarding the Commerce Guild, that was not...¡¹

    ¡¸We discovered those problems when you gave out food and subjugated the bandits. It was also thanks to Yuna, wasn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why this gramps happily agreed to prevent the boats from setting sail. He also gave me a message for you. ¡ºDon¡¯t do the impossible. We are grateful already, Bear Missy. I don¡¯t know how you will defeat this monster, but if you need some help, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡». It¡¯s really impressive that you could make that gramp say something like that, you know.¡¹

    It was bing harder and harder to admit that I was only fighting for the rice¡¯s sake though...

    The day of the fight came.

    When I woke up, I looked outside my window.

    It was a nice day to go and fight.

    Having good weather was better than having rain, of course.

    Since Atora-san had already made the preparations for the fight, I would be able do my best. I really couldn¡¯t say something like ¡®It is raining today, so I won¡¯t do it¡¯, so I was really happy that the weather was good.

    ¡¸Missy, are you going somewhere today?¡¹

    ¡¸I will go and take a walk. Why do you ask?¡¹

    Deiga-san asked me, but I couldn¡¯t really say that I was going to subjugate the Kraken like it was nothing, so I said that.

    ¡¸A walk, huh... Missy, I will make you a good breakfast, so eat well before going, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Your meals are always delicious, Deiga-san.¡¹

    I told him how I really felt.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make me cry!¡¹

    He sniffed, and I faintly saw tears in his eyes.

    ¡¸I will prepare a meal and wait for you, so you have toe back!¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I will be in your care for some more time, after all.¡¹

    He worriedly repeated that I had toe back so many times that it almost became awkwardly troublesome before I left.

    Was he worried about me not paying for my stay?

    When I arrived at the entrance of the city, I saw some employees of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Atora-san included.

    ¡¸Hello.¡¹

    I greeted them all.

    ¡¸Hello.¡¹

    After Atora-san returned the greeting, the employees did the same as well.

    ¡¸I will go then. After this, whatever happens, do not let anyone pass through.¡¹

    Atora-san gave her orders to the employees.

    Wait, ¡®I will go¡¯?

    ¡¸Is it possible that Atora-san wants toe with me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. You will win after all, won¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸If I fight it, then it¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no problem then.¡¹

    When I left the city, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Are these your summoned beasts?¡¹

    We talked about them when I was attacked at the inn and when I had to report on how I found the bandits, so there was no problem.

    ¡¸Ride the ck one, Swaying Bear, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to defeat the Kraken as soon as possible, and then take it easy, after all.¡¹

    I hopped onto Hugging Bear, and then the two bears headed towards the cliff.

    ¡¸You are going to fight here, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸If it doesn¡¯te, I won¡¯t be able to do anything, though.¡¹

    I brought out the bait that I would use to take care of the Kraken.

    What came out was a worm that was dozens of meters long. Since time was stopped inside of the Bear Box, it was a raw, freshly killed worm.

    ¡¸You really had something like that, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s from the time when that Hero title was stuck to me.¡¹

    ¡¸I can finally understand now. I am not the King, but I absolutely don¡¯t want to argue with you. Be my friend as well, please.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t try to take away what I think of as important, I don¡¯t n to be your enemy.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will be careful.¡¹

    I was working while we were having this kind of talk.

    I used ice magic to coat the lower half of the worm in ice and hung it over the cliff, right above the ocean. It looked like the worm was suspended over the water by a giant icicle.

    I set it up so that half of the worm was submerged in the sea.

    A long time ago, I saw people uservae to capture fish on TV. Worms looked likervae, didn¡¯t they? So I thought, ¡®Wouldn¡¯t that be great bait for the Kraken?¡¯.

    The key point was that the Kraken was a carnivore that ate humans.

    In that case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for it to eat a worm, right?

    The worm was huge. That made its odor spread inside the sea much easier and faster. If all went well, there was a possibility that the Kraken woulde all the way to this cliff.

    If it didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t have any choice other than fighting it on the sea while riding the bears. I didn¡¯t want to fight like that, so I prayed that it woulde.

    It had been one hour since the worm was suspended from the cliff.

    If I wasn¡¯t daydreaming, the waves were getting bigger.

    I wasn¡¯t daydreaming, they really were getting bigger.

    When I used detection magic to confirm it, I saw the Kraken approaching.

    Then, a long and narrow tentacle leapt out and coiled around the worm.

    The ice broke, and the worm plunged into the sea.

    ¡¸Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Atora-san, please move back!¡¹

    I began casting my earth magic and created an image.

    A giant bear, dozens of meters in size.

    From the depths of the sea to the center of the cliff, forming a semicircle, a lot of earth bears emerged. I had just constructed a wall of bears.

    It had been awhile since Ist used such an enormous amount of magic, and the fatigue that came with arge expenditure of magic power hit me.

    I didn¡¯t just make them big, I also made them sturdy, so that the Kraken wouldn¡¯t be able to break them. Yet, in proportion to this, I used up a lot more magic power.

    Thanks to using that much power, I could lock up the Kraken inside the wall of bears.

    The Kraken did not realize that he was imprisoned and was still eating the worm.

    It was a really big squid.

    The Kraken was a monster that represented either a big octopus or a big squid.

    In this case, it was more like a big squid.

    I made a lot of Fire Bears andunched them at the Kraken.

    The Fire Bears hit it square on and burned its flesh.

    The scent of the burnt flesh reached us, and the Kraken dove into the sea in order to put the mes out.

    The Kraken noticed me, and stretched out its tentacles. Would they reach me?

    I didn¡¯t know how long the Kraken was, but it was long enough to stretch its tentacles to the top of the cliff.

    I dodged the tentacles andunched Fire Bears at them. The tentacles were lit on fire, but the Kraken quickly plunged them underwater to put out the mes.

    I was creating Fire Bears one after another.

    The Kraken tried to flee towards the ocean, but it couldn¡¯t, thanks to the Bear Wall.

    If it came up to the surface, I attacked it.

    Even if it didn¡¯te up, I still attacked it.

    The temperature of the sea water rose, thanks to the Fire Bears.

    The Kraken suffered while continuing to struggle. Time and time again, it rammed the Bear Wall.

    I used up a lot of magic power to make that wall. If it broke that easily, it would really upset me.

    The sea water was boiling, makes lots of bubbles.

    The Kraken stretched its tentacles to climb the Bear Wall, but I wouldn¡¯t let it do that.

    With a Bear Cutter, I cut off his tentacles. They regenerated rapidly though, and the tentacles stretched out once again.

    Wasn¡¯t that an infinite food dispenser?

    It was only limited to the tentacles, though.

    The Kraken continued to stretch its tentacles without stopping.

    This was the fight between my magic power and the Kraken¡¯s strength. If my magic power dried up, the Kraken would flee.

    I should have made the Bear Wall bigger. I really didn¡¯t think that the Kraken would be this big.

    We weren¡¯t having a melee fight, so I started thinking that I should have put on the White Bear Suit to fight it. If I did that, I could have recovered my magic power while fighting it.

    If my magic power dried up, then, I would have to do a strip show to change into the White Bear Suit here, huh.

    I really didn¡¯t want to do that...

    Even though it was just Atora-san here, changing in front of people was embarrassing.

    Still, if it would be of help in killing this Kraken, I would have no choice but to do a strip show.

    Thanks to the Fire Bears, the sea was now boiling, and vapor started to rise up, making the sea look like a steam bath. The surrounding temperature also rose because of that. It was really hot, but thanks to the Bear Suit, I didn¡¯t feel hot at all.

    Because of the water¡¯s high temperature, the Kraken was now struggling desperately.

    When a part of the cliff started to crumble, I understood that it was at its limit.

    I continued to inflict more damage to the Kraken, so that it wouldn¡¯t escape.

    At that moment, I thought that it would have been great if I also made a lid.

    If I started making a lid strong enough to trap it now, I would be really worried about the magic power that would remain.

    Hmm, it was an idea that I had just recently thought about, so there were a lot of ws to my n.

    If I ever had to fight like this again, I would have to pay more attention to the details.

    This exchange of blows, where I one-sidedlyunched Fire Bears at the Kraken, continued.

    The Kraken continued to stretch out its tentacles, doing its best to flee, but I didn¡¯t let it.

    I prayed for this to finish quickly.

    The feeling of fatigue was bing worse and worse.

    I could feel my magic power starting to dry up.

    Was it time for a really fast strip show?

    The moment I thought about that, the movements of the Kraken suddenly became dull.

    It couldn¡¯t raise its tentacles nor ram into the Bear Wall anymore.

    I stopped attacking and looked at the state of things.

    The Kraken stopped moving.

    I used detection magic and checked if the Kraken¡¯s signal had really disappeared.

    It was over...

    I sat on the floor andid down.

    So tired.

    I used up too much magic power, so my body felt really sluggish.

    ¡¸Yuna!¡¹

    Atora-san rushed over.

    Streams of sweat were flowing from her face.

    It was really hot here after all.

    ¡¸Atora-san, it¡¯s over.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really dead?¡¹

    Atora-san looked at the Kraken that was currently floating on the boiling sea.

    The Kraken didn¡¯t move.

    I checked using detection magic, so there was no doubt about it.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s dead. Atora-san, can I leave the aftermath to you? As expected, I used too much magic power this time. I just can¡¯t move anymore. My movements are sluggish, and I feel sleepy.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t have the strength to even walk.

    ¡¸Yes, no problem. And really, thank you very much.¡¹

    Without revealing that it was for the rice and soy sauce, I responded with a smile.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Hugging Bear approached me and crouched down so that it would be easier for me to ride him.

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    With me riding on Hugging Bear and Atora-san riding on Swaying Bear, we returned to the city.

    When we arrived at the city entrance, a lot of people were assembled at the gate.

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    The employees ran up to us.

    ¡¸What¡¯s happening here?¡¹

    ¡¸When you were gone, there was a report of someone seeing the Kraken, so the residents started making a fuss.¡¹

    Atora-san thought about it for a bit, then opened her mouth to speak.

    ¡¸Speaking of the Kraken, this girl killed it.¡¹

    She pointed at me, who was currently copsed on Hugging Bear.

    Ah, I forgot to tell her not to make a big fuss about it.

    The current me didn¡¯t even have the strength to request that.

    I just really wanted to go back to the inn to sleep.

    ¡¸Master, is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go and see it for yourself. The dead body of the Kraken is there, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡¹

    One of the guild employees asked.

    Atora-san responded.

    ¡¸What is? There are no bandits, and no Kraken. What could possibly be dangerous?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, won¡¯t you open the way? I want to let the hero who saved this city get her sleep at the inn.¡¹

    ¡¸But letting these bears inside the city is...¡¹

    He looked at Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸There will be no danger. I guarantee it. And the least I can do is not ask the hero who saved the city by exhausting her strength against the Kraken, to get down from this bear. And I will scorn anyone who will say that as well.¡¹

    Atora-san shut the mouths of the crowd with just a look.

    The guild employees and the residents cleared a path.

    When they made way for me, Hugging Bear, who I was riding, moved forward and walked towards the inn.

    When I arrived at the inn, Deiga-san screamed.

    ¡¸Missy!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I am just tired, so I will just sleep for a while. Don¡¯t wake me up, okay?¡¹

    The big form of Hugging Bear entered the inn, and started moving upstairs by climbing the narrow stairs. Behind him, Swaying Bear also followed. When we arrived to the room, I got down from Hugging Bear and opened the door.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, thank you very much.¡¹

    I transformed Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear into their cub forms, and entered the room.

    ¡¸Even if it¡¯s the president, the prime minister, or the king, no matter who, don¡¯t wake me up please.¡¹

    It was just past noon, but I was already dead tired.

    That was because I overused my magic.

    I was so tired.

    I did my best to change into the White Bear Suit.

    I then copsed on my bed like that, and the bears snuggled up close to me. While thanking the bears, I fell asleep.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The answer to how she would kill it was to use the worm as a bait, making a big pot, and boiling it.

    Next up is a squid festival.

 Chapter 93 â€“ Bear-san Opens Her Eyes

    Chapter 93 ¨C Bear-san Opens Her Eyes

    When I opened my eyes, the bears were snuggled up next to me.

    What time was it?

    I climbed out of the bed and opened the curtains and window.

    I could see the sun rising over the sea.

    I went to sleep at lunch time, and woke up in the morning. How long had I slept for?

    From a rough calction, it was at least 16 hours.

    As expected, with this much sleep, my weariness had disappeared, and my magic power was restored. It was a bit early, but I changed back into the ck Bear and unsummoned my bodyguards.

    When I left the room and went to the first floor, I saw Deiga-san leaving the room at the back of the inn.

    ¡¸Missy, you woke up! Are you feeling okay now?¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning. I am feeling fine. I was just tired because I overused my magic power.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. So, you are okay now.¡¹

    He seemed to be relieved. He was probably worried about me.

    ¡¸Missy, you really are a great adventurer, huh. Even though you are so cute...¡¹

    ¡¸You heard of what happened with the Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸I asked Atora-san when missy returned to the inn.¡¹

    Well, I came back looking really rough, so it was natural for him to ask.

    ¡¸So, are you hungry? You haven¡¯t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, have you?¡¹

    I touched my stomach.

    It was t.

    I wasn¡¯t talking about my chest! My stomach was t.

    ¡¸It seems that I am hungry.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will prepare something right now, so please wait.¡¹

    Deiga-san moved to the kitchen.

    ¡¸You can take your time.¡¹

    While I was waiting for Deiga-san¡¯s cuisine in a daze, Atora-san entered the inn.

    ¡¸Yuna, you were awake!?¡¹

    ¡¸I just woke up.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have any injuries, or any other problems?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine. Because I went to sleep early, I recovered my magic power and am now back to normal.¡¹

    ¡¸I was really worried when I saw that you still weren¡¯t awake when nighttime arrived.¡¹

    She looked like she was really worried.

    It seemed that I troubled both Deiga-san and Atora-san.

    ¡¸Still, it¡¯s great that you are okay.¡¹

    While I was talking with Atora-san, Deiga-san came back with a meal.

    ¡¸Rice? I thought you didn¡¯t have it anymore?¡¹

    ¡¸The people from the city brought it.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Yesterday was really crazy, you know. A lot of people came and assembled at the inn to thank you, missy.¡¹

    ¡¸It was intense, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Atora-san nodded at Deiga-san¡¯s words.

    ¡¸As soon as we returned to the city, the entire town found out that the Kraken had been defeated. When they heard that Yuna had defeated it, and that you were staying at this inn, they all rushed over.¡¹

    I wondered how many people there had been.

    I didn¡¯t really want to imagine it though.

    ¡¸You were tired and asleep though. We couldn¡¯t just wake you up. So, we persuaded them to not make too much noise and go back. But even after that, there were a lot of residents who came, one after the other, from every direction, and it was just terrible.¡¹

    While I was sleeping, something that troublesome happened, huh.

    ¡¸Then, they all said that they wanted to thank you somehow. So when I said that you loved rice, all of them decided to gather the rest of the rice that they had left, and brought it here. They didn¡¯t have much individually, but when all of it was assembled, we ended up with quite a lot of rice.¡¹

    That made me really happy.

    Even though I had killed the Kraken, I didn¡¯t know where the country of Harmony and Peace was. I also didn¡¯t know when the boats woulde. Due to that, I had believed that I couldn¡¯t have any more rice for quite some time.

    ¡¸This makes me really happy, but can I really take it? That¡¯s some of your scarce and precious food, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? Since you killed the Kraken, the food shortage is not a problem anymore. There¡¯s plenty of food in the sea.¡¹

    Since it was like that, I would ept it gratefully.

    Hmm, now that I think about it, did I do something bad for Blitz and the others, who went to buy food from Crimonia?

    Well, I thought that they would buy things other than fish, so it should be okay.

    ¡¸Since the residents came to thank me, that means that everybody knows that I killed the Kraken, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸There were people who saw your fight with the Kraken. That¡¯s why the news spread out quickly.¡¹

    There had been people there?

    I had not noticed at all.

    If the fight had dragged out a little longer, I would have done a strip show in front of them.

    Well, that was not the main problem, but still an important one.

    In reality, I didn¡¯t want to make a big fuss out of it, just like in the capital, but this time, there seemed to be no choice.

    It would be impossible to say that it was an S rank adventurer who had killed it.

    ¡¸They all agreed that they won¡¯t cause any problems, but what are you so afraid of?¡¹

    ¡¸I just think that it will be really troublesome if the fact that I killed the Kraken spreads...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about that. It won¡¯t spread to ces outside this city. Other cities and towns don¡¯t really interact much with this city anyway, so there aren¡¯t a lot of people who know about the Kraken. And even if they heard about it, they wouldn¡¯t believe that it was a 15 year old girl wearing a bear suit who killed it all by herself. Even I wouldn¡¯t believe such a story if I only heard it.¡¹

    She was right. Nobody would believe that I had killed the Kraken alone.

    It was more important to ask if anyone could even kill the Kraken by themselves?

    I hadn¡¯t really seen any strong people around here.

    I really want to meet an rank S adventurer one day.

    ¡¸I will try asking them to keep quiet about it. However, you shouldn¡¯t count on it.¡¹

    Just thinking about it wouldn¡¯t solve anything.

    I could only pray that the rumors wouldn¡¯t spread.

    With the Kraken subjugated, I should just be happy that I would now be able to procure rice and soy sauce.

    After eating my fill of the rice that the citizens had collected, Atora-san and I went outside for a morning walk. Even though it was still early in the morning, there were a lot of people outside.

    They were all smiling, and conversations were blooming everywhere.

    When they saw us leaving the inn, some older women approached us.

    ¡¸You are the missy who killed the Kraken, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Such a cute girl killed that monster, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. My husband went out to sea early in the morning. That was also thanks to you, missy.¡¹

    ¡¸Mine set sail as well. He had a really gloomy face before, but after he saw the dead Kraken, he came back crying.¡¹

    ¡¸In order to show our gratitude, we are going to have a seafood festival. So please,e and participate.¡¹

    ¡¸The men were making a real fuss yesterday, but you just copsed and fell asleep after saving the city, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Atora said that you would be okaye the next day. That¡¯s why the men departed early this morning, to procure some fresh fish and make a really delicious meal.¡¹

    ¡¸We will make really delicious food, so please join us for the festival.¡¹

    While the aunties were saying whatever they wanted, I decided to take my leave.

    As we were walking through the city, many words of thanks flew my way.

    If it continued like that, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to run away, so we left the city and returned to the cliff where I had fought the Kraken.

    Atora-san told me that, because the sea was boiling, people weren¡¯t able to approach the Kraken.

    When we arrived at the cliff, we saw rising steam, as if we were at a spa town.

    ¡¸It is bing more bearable.¡¹

    When we approached the cliff, we noticed an elderly man looking at the sea.

    ¡¸Kuro-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Miss Atora, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Kuro-san, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I thought that if I stayed here, I would be able to meet the one who killed the monster, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸What about fishing, though?¡¹

    ¡¸I left that task to the young¡¯uns. I have to say my thanks to the person who did this. So, the one who killed it, is it the missy in the Bear Suit behind you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, she¡¯s the one.¡¹

    The grandpa, Kuro-san, approached me.

    ¡¸I heard the story, but to think that it really was such a little girl. I am the person in charge of the fishing industry in this city. Thank you for saving our city and the sea.¡¹

    The grandpa bowed.

    ¡ºTelling a grandpa like this that the reason I had done it was for rice would be just...¡»

    ¡¸The fact that the boats can set sail is thanks to you as well, missy.¡¹

    The grandpa looked at the sea, gazing at the boats on it.

    ¡ºFor the soy sauce...¡»

    ¡¸I thought that no one would be able to kill this monster. It¡¯s a monster that even the army might not be able to defeat. The people of this city don¡¯t understand what an incredible thing you did.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡ºThis situation makes it impossible to reveal the real reason I did my best.¡»

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to mind it that much. I just had a way to defeat it, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    Those were the only words that I could think of.

    ¡¸I see. If there¡¯s something that causes you trouble in this city, juste and tell me. For you, Missy, I will do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸So, Yuna, what do you n on doing with the Kraken?¡¹

    Atora-san asked me while looking at the Kraken that was floating in the sea.

    ¡¸Is it possible to eat the Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, it is.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the worm?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that it¡¯s a delicacy.¡¹

    That strange thing was a high quality ingredient?

    I wouldn¡¯t want eat it even if I was paid to, though...

    ¡¸I will give it to the city then.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? It¡¯s worth a fortune, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If it can be of use to the city, it¡¯s okay. There are people who had their boats destroyed by it, aren¡¯t there?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really sure about this? This will help us a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸If you really want to give me something in return, just present me with a good plot ofnd in the city.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, you will live in the city?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸I will just make it my holiday vi. And I want toe back here with my acquaintances once it¡¯s warmer.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to swim, I rmend this city¡¯s shores.¡¹

    Speaking of which, what sort of clothing did the people in this world swim in?

    Did they wear swimsuits?

    I didn¡¯t think that the people of this world would swim naked...or at least, I hoped they didn¡¯t.

    ¡¸Anyways, bringing this Kraken back it to the city would be impossible because of its size. Disassembling it on the sea is also impossible.¡¹

    (ED: The author removed some text where they mention making a swimsuit out of the Kraken, so the transition is somewhat sudden.)

    ¡¸Just wait a little.¡¹

    I used earth magic to make a stairway down the cliff, all the way to where the Kraken was.

    I descended the stairs and removed the water that was within the boundaries of the Bear Wall using Water Magic.

    After I finished, only the boiled Kraken and worm were left on the seabed.

    When I got down to the seabed, I put both of them inside the Bear Box and proceeded to return to the top of the cliff.

    ¡¸I really don¡¯t want people to know about this item bag, so please don¡¯t talk about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. Now that the water is gone, it really is a beautiful spectacle.¡¹

    With the water gone, we could now see the bears that formed the earth wall, towering over the surroundings.

    ¡¸I will make them disappear now.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a minute.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro stopped me.

    ¡¸Couldn¡¯t you leave it like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸So that we won¡¯t forget about what happened here. People are beings who forget things after time passes, including the fact that a Kraken appeared, and that missy saved us. It¡¯s so we do not forget about the people who disappeared into the sea.¡¹

    Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to leave any traces behind and wanted to make it disappear, but when this grandpa said that much, I couldn¡¯t do it.

    I epted the grandpa¡¯s request.

    ¡¸So, where do you want to dismantle it?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. It should be fine doing it on the nearby beach, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. If someone asks how we transported it, we will just say that it was thanks to Yuna¡¯s magic, and everyone will acknowledge it.¡¹

    I pulled out the Kraken and the worm onto the sandy beach near the cliff.

    They were boiled really nicely.

    ¡¸Using the seawater here, we can wash out the filth, so this will do. The ones who went out to sea should being back soon. I will call them.¡¹

    ¡¸I will also go and call the guild employees who know how to dismantle.¡¹

    I put the nervous grandpa on Swaying Bear, and returned to the city.

    I didn¡¯t know how much time it would take for him to go back if he were to walk there alone.

    ¡¸Missy, you made me experience a great thing at this age. I really didn¡¯t think that I would ever ride on a bear. I will go to the harbor then.¡¹

    ¡¸And I will head to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    The two of them went in their respective directions.

    When I was thinking about what to do now that I was left alone, Ranya-san approached me.

    ¡¸Hello, Ranya-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Hello, Yuna-chan. Thank you so much for killing the Kraken.¡¹

    ¡¸I just did it for myself.¡¹

    ¡¸We were saved by Yuna-chan so many times. On the mountain, the food shortage, the bandits, and even the Kraken. Oh right, speaking of which, what will you do about the Kraken? I went to see it yesterday, but you won¡¯t leave it like that, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Just now, the fisherman grandpa, Kuro-san, went to the harbor to fetch people to dismantle it. Atora-san went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to assemble more people as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You will dismantle it?¡¹

    ¡¸We moved it to the sandy beach, so when it¡¯s dismantled, I n on giving it to the citizens to eat.¡¹

    The worm was just a supplement.

    I wouldn¡¯t eat it though.

    ¡¸Then I have to go as well. Since Kuro-san went to the harbor, I will assemble the women. Yuna-chan, we will see each other soon.¡¹

    Ranya-san walked away.

 Chapter 94 â€“ Bear-san Participates In The Festival

    Chapter 94 ¨C Bear-san Participates In The Festival

    Now that I was alone, I decided to go back to where the Kraken was.

    The Kraken was lying on the sand.

    No matter how I looked at it, it was a giant squid.

    The question was, could we really eat it?

    Well, this world¡¯s ecosystem was different from Earth¡¯s, so it should be edible.

    Still, eating the worm, which was just lying near the Kraken, would be absolutely impossible.

    I had no interest in eating worms orrvae. Even if you said that I didn¡¯t know what it tasted like without trying it, I would never eat it.

    While I waited by myself, three carriages arrived.

    The carriages couldn¡¯t move on the sandy beach, of course, so they stopped halfway.

    Grandpa Kuro got off the carriages, together with some other men.

    ¡¸Missy, you are here already.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro approached me.

    ¡¸You gathered a lot of men.¡¹

    ¡¸We want to finish dismantling it quickly, so we can go enjoy the seafood festival.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro shouted orders to the men, so that they would start the preparations for dismantling.

    The men responded loudly, and headed towards the Kraken.

    When they moved past me, midway to the Kraken,

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    They gave their appreciation.

    It was a bit embarrassing.

    Since the Kraken was huge, the men separated into three different groups and started doing different tasks.

    Grandpa Kuro was giving out precise orders. The men listened to the orders and dismantled the monster. It seemed that grandpa Kuro really was a respected person.

    While I was watching them work, more carriages arrived.

    The people who got down from them were Atora-san and the people from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸Compared to your bears, the carriages are really slow.¡¹

    Atora-sanined while approaching me.

    Please don¡¯tpare my bears to simple horses.

    No matter how you looked at it, the bears were faster!

    That wasmon sense, you know.

    ¡¸Yuna, is it really okay for us to dismantle the worm?¡¹

    ¡¸You can sell it, eat it, or do whatever you want with it. But, you absolutely aren¡¯t allowed to put it inside my food. If you do it, even as a joke, I won¡¯t react mildly.¡¹

    ¡¸No way, I would never pull a prank that could take my life.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, is that strange thing really edible?¡¹

    ¡¸Dunno. I just heard that from other people, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Atora-san, if someone wanted to make you eat it, you wouldn¡¯t resist?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. I really can¡¯t understand the reason why Yuna-chan would hate it so much.¡¹

    So, it was food culture shock...

    Thinking about it, which side did Fina stand on?

    If possible, I would prefer it if she was on my side.

    Atora-san and the other guild employees joined in on dismantling the worm.

    Were they used to doing it? They took out their knives and started dismantling it quickly.

    After I had moved a bit further away and was watching the two groups dismantle the beasts, Ranya-san arrived, bringing the women with her.

    ¡¸I saw it yesterday, but looking at it up close, it really is huge.¡¹

    ¡¸Ranya-san, will you help with dismantling it as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I am not as good as an expert, but a Kraken is just a big squid, isn¡¯t it? Anybody raised in this city should be able to do it. Still, Ick the experience to help with this one.¡¹

    She said, while looking at the worm.

    Even though she said that, the other women joined the two dismantling parties.

    Thanks to that, the dismantling process sped up even more.

    ¡¸Miss, can I take up some of your time?¡¹

    Grampa Kuro called out to me.

    ¡¸We really can¡¯t ept this much, so take this at least.¡¹

    He gave me a beautiful blue magic stone that was taken from the Kraken.

    It was several timesrger than the ones from the wolves.

    ¡¸I have lived for many years, but this is the first time I have seen such a big magic stone. Just the stone proves how huge this monster was.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I really take it?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if we had this big magic stone in the city, it wouldn¡¯t help us at all. It will be of more use to an adventurer like you, missy,pared to just selling it.¡¹

    I epted it gratefully.

    ¡¸Then Yuna, I will also give this one to you.¡¹

    I received the worm¡¯s magic stone as well.

    Brown?

    It was an earth magic stone.

    Was it like this because it lived underground?

    This one was also many timesrger than the magic stones obtained from the wolves.

    After I received the magic stones, the disassembling work continued.

    The disassembled parts were put on a carriage, and brought to the city.

    ¡¸Missy, you can leave the dismantling to us. You should go back to the city and enjoy the festival. By now, people should be preparing the fish they caught this morning. We all really want you, missy, to enjoy it the most.¡¹

    ¡¸If the main star, you, isn¡¯t there, the festival has no meaning. I will return to the city as well, so let¡¯s go together. The Kraken and worm¡¯s meat has already been transported and should be cooking at the center za.¡¹

    When I returned to the city with Atora-san, we saw seafood being cooked everywhere.

    Was that hamaguri? Shellfish were good as well. Were there any shrimp or crabs?

    As we walked while checking out all sorts of seafood that was being cooked, I noticed that everyone was looking at me.

    (TL note: Hamaguri is a sort of m. Also known as Meretrix lusoria.)

    ¡¸You are the Bear Missy who killed the Kraken, aren¡¯t you? Take this. It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    An auntie gave me some food on a small te.

    It was a dish made of ms and shrimp.

    I ate one mouthful, and it was delicious. It made me crave some white rice.

    ¡¸Missy, this one is delicious as well, you know!¡¹

    He gave me a grilled fish.

    He put a good amount of soy sauce on it.

    If you were talking about grilled fish, it had toe with soy sauce, right?

    Ponzu would be even better, but asking for it in another world would be impossible, wouldn¡¯t it?

    (TL note: Ponzu: A mix of citrus and soy sauce.)

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    After these two dishes, more people from the city started thanking me and bringing me food.

    I couldn¡¯t hold everything when they brought so much.

    Atora-san took the dishes that I couldn¡¯t carry.

    ¡¸Everyone, if you bring too much, it will trouble Yuna.¡¹

    Atora-san stopped the residents.

    Well, even if I couldn¡¯t eat all of it, I could just put it inside the Bear Box, so it was okay.

    For now, I put all of the things they brought me inside the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Thanks. I will eat all of it properly, so really, thanks a lot everyone.¡¹

    I gave my thanks and left.

    ¡¸You are really popr!¡¹

    ¡¸I am happy that they are giving me food, but being approached by everyone is a pain.¡¹

    ¡¸Couldn¡¯t you just take off the bear then? If you did that, they wouldn¡¯t recognise you, would they?¡¹

    She was totally right.

    However, I was scared that there might be some trouble, so I couldn¡¯t really take it off.

    ¡¸This is a cursed item. I can¡¯t take it off.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Does Yuna smell bad then?¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    I took baths properly.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t take a bath while wearing it, can you?¡¹

    ¡¸That was a lie, you know.¡¹

    We ate while walking to our destination, the central za.

    The central za was crowded with people, and the Kraken was being cooked.

    Were they cooking it in order to show it to the other residents? One of the Kraken¡¯s tentacles was being used for decoration.

    It was long.

    Since they were using soy sauce, a fragrant smell drifted towards us.

    A lot of people were eating it.

    Every time the cook finished grilling a piece, it was served to the people waiting in line.

    Children and adults were all eating mountains of food.

    It was probably because it had been a long time since they were able to eat until their stomachs were full.

    As we watched the central za, the residents noticed us.

    They were only looking at me, and no one approached us.

    ¡¸They were all approaching you before, so I demanded that people don¡¯t swarm you.¡¹

    That helped me a lot, but I felt like I was a bear in a zoo when they all looked at me like that.

    A little boy and girl approached me, breaking the tension.

    ¡¸Bear-san, thank you very much for killing the monster!¡¹

    The boy bowed.

    ¡¸Mama said that we can eat now, and it is all thanks to Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san, thank you!¡¹

    I put one knee on the ground to match their gazes.

    ¡¸Are you eating a lot?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    They answered with big smiles, and I stroked their heads.

    ¡¸You have to eat a lot and help your mum as well, okay?¡¹

    The two children nodded and left.

    ¡¸You are really kind to kids, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because they didn¡¯t have any bad intentions towards me. But, if there is a child who does have bad intentions towards me, I won¡¯t show mercy.¡¹

    If they hated me, I hated them as well. I didn¡¯t even want to think about liking someone who hated me.

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    Sei, an employee from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, came up to us.

    ¡¸I was waiting for you, with food.¡¹

    There was a te with lots of food in his hands.

    ¡¸Is that from the Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no worm meat inside, right?¡¹

    ¡¸None. I wouldn¡¯t do something that could destroy this city.¡¹

    He brought us some grilled and fried squid.

    The three of us found an improvised table and ate many different kinds of squid dishes.

    During our meal, the two of them also ate some worm dishes.

    ¡¸Delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸We normally can¡¯t eat things like this after all.¡¹

    The worm was well cooked and prepared, so it would look really tasty, then distributed to the residents.

    Still, when I remembered how it looked before, I wouldn¡¯t even consider putting it inside my mouth.

    The people of this world were really brave.

    The banquet continuedte into the night, and in the middle of it, Grandpa Kuro joined us.

    Then I had to listen to stories about the sea¡¯s beauty from the drunk grandpa for a really long time.

    Atora-san was drinking as well, so it was really noisy.

    Did the fact that I didn¡¯t drink make me a loser?

    When sunset came, I returned to the inn, in order to escape from them.

    There was a drinking party at the inn as well, and the interior reeked of alcohol.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, wee back.¡¹

    Anzu, the daughter of the macho, greeted me.

    She was a healthy looking girl with a light tan.

    She was the exact opposite of the ex-hikikomori me, who had a paleplexion.

    ¡¸This got really big, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s proof that everyone was really happy that they could go out to sea again. My big bro was really happy about it as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Deiga-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Dad¡¯s dead drunk, so he¡¯s asleep in the back.¡¹

    ¡¸So that¡¯s why Anzu is here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. So, do you want to eat something, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I ate a lot outside, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, right. There are a lot of different ces with food today.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyways, what are you doing, Anzu?¡¹

    ¡¸I am tending to the store while preparing my own meal.¡¹

    ¡¸You haven¡¯t eaten yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Dad got dead drunk really early, so I had to make the food for everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you making then?¡¹

    ¡¸Sashimi. A meal where you cut the raw fish into fine slices. It originates from the country of Harmony and Peace. It¡¯s very delicious when you eat it with soy sauce.¡¹

    ¡¸You have sashimi?¡¹

    ¡¸You want to eat some?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you cook some rice as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Honestly, I already cooked your rice, Yuna-chan. I absolutely wanted to eat the sashimi with rice. I¡¯m really sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I can understand that feeling, after all. Though, if there is none left for me, I will be angry.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course there¡¯s some left for you.¡¹

    After getting my consent, Anzu prepared the fish beautifully. There was some squid and octopus mixed in as well.

    ¡¸You are really good at making it.¡¹

    ¡¸Dad taught me well. I want to open my own shop in the future after all.¡¹

    Oh! I just got some really interesting information!

    I had wanted to stockpile fish in Crimonia, but there was a possibility that I wouldn¡¯t be able to find someone who could handle it well. It would be great to have someone as talented as Anzu.

    ¡¸If I asked if you would be interested in working at my shop in Crimonia, would youe?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you have a shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I don¡¯t work there, though. I just wanted to eat some fresh seafood in Crimonia as well, so I would be really happy if Anzu came.¡¹

    ¡¸If I could, I would love to go. Crimonia is really far though, and that means that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see my family for a really long time, so I think I would be lonely.¡¹

    That meant that if it was closer, it would be okay, right?

    A smile crept onto my face.

    Anzu continued to eat her Kaisen-donburi, not understanding the reason for my smile.

    (TL note: Kaisen-donburi: Rice in a bowl, with seafood on top.)

 Chapter 95 â€“ Bear-san Makes a Tunnel

    Chapter 95 ¨C Bear-san Makes a Tunnel

    The next day, after eating breakfast, I returned to my room while remembering Anzu¡¯s words.

    If it was closer, she would agree to go to Crimonia. Yet, for now, you had to take arge detour through the coastal road to get there. The only other option was to cross the mountain range. These two possibilities were both time consuming, and not very safe.

    I wanted seafood to reach the town, though.

    When I thought about, the best option would be to make a tunnel.

    If there was a tunnel, the distance to Crimonia would be shorter, Anzu woulde back with me, and seafood would be able to reach Crimonia.

    There was a problem with making a tunnel, though.

    You couldn¡¯t make a tunnel by just digging through the mountain.

    There was a difference in altitudes.

    If I just started digging horizontally, it was possible that I would juste out in the middle of the mountain on the other side. Also, if this side was lower than the other side, I would just end up digging through the earth forever.

    If I didn¡¯t know what the difference in altitude was, I wouldn¡¯t be able to make a tunnel.

    I opened my map to check.

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    The map had changed.

    It had been a 2D map previously, but now it was a 3D one.

    When I looked around a little, I was able to find the difference in altitude.

    Had the map leveled up when I killed the Kraken?

    I checked to see if I had any new skills, but it didn¡¯t seem like it.

    I looked at the map again.

    I could see that the mountain range was very tall.

    Ranya-san was really silly to even consider going up a mountain that tall.

    It was a mountain that I absolutely wouldn¡¯t want to climb if I didn¡¯t have Swaying Bear with me.

    The 3D map was a really useful thing for making a tunnel.

    I looked for a good ce to start digging on the map.

    It had to be near the highway, as well as being close to a road that led to Crimonia.

    Just as I found two possible spots, someone knocked on the door.

    ¡¸Who is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Sei. Yuna-san, is it okay to talk with you for a bit?¡¹

    When I opened the door, Sei was standing there.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I am really sorry to bother you while you are resting. The guild master wants to speak with you, so could youe to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Why does she want to talk with me?¡¹

    I refused anything troublesome.

    ¡¸I believe she wants to talk to you about the city.¡¹

    About the city?

    I was told that I would hear all of the details from Atora-san, so it wasn¡¯t really possible to refuse the invitation. Therefore, I decided to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    When we arrived at the guild, I was led to the room in the back.

    Atora-san, Grandpa Kuro, and two other elderly men I didn¡¯t know were inside.

    ¡¸Yuna, you can sit wherever you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Huh, what do you want?¡¹

    I sat on a chair as I asked that question.

    ¡¸I wanted to request something of you.¡¹

    ¡¸A request?¡¹

    I asked.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t ask for the king, but could you be our contact with the Feudal Lord of Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸A contact?¡¹

    ¡¸A lot of things happened here recently, didn¡¯t they? The Mayor fled, there was a scandal with the Commerce Guild, and the Kraken appeared. If we leave everything as it is, we will have a lot of troubles moving onward. So, I had an idea. Would it be possible for you to go and talk with the Feudal Lord-sama of Crimonia for us?¡¹

    ¡¸That means you want to join the province, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Have the other citizens been informed of something that important?¡¹

    ¡¸They haven¡¯t. However, they have entrusted us with what will happen to the city from now on.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro responded.

    ¡¸These three are the people who have been elected. There are normally five of us, but two fled.¡¹

    ¡¸So, after talking about it, we decided to join the province. When considering the future of the children of this city, the current system is inadequate.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, when we were pondering which province would be good, we thought ¡®How about Crimonia, where Yuna came from?¡¯¡¹

    ¡¸But, there are other cities that you are trading with, aren¡¯t there? Aren¡¯t those closer?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the situation in your province, but the Feudal Lords of those cities aren¡¯t any good. They only think about their own profits. Before the bandits appeared, we asked them to kill the Kraken for us, but they asked for an astronomical amount of money to do it.¡¹

    ¡¸That was also one of the reasons we didn¡¯t try to stop the Commerce Guild. You see, they said that they were gathering money for the extermination fee, so we weren¡¯t able to say anything. If the Feudal Lords didn¡¯t ask for that much money, then maybe that bastard from the Commerce Guild wouldn¡¯t have done it.¡¹

    ¡¸This is our fault as well.¡¹

    The three old men hung their heads in shame.

    I was wondering why Grandpa Kuro would willingly ept those orders from the Commerce Guild, but this was the reason, huh.

    When they were told that it was to raise money for killing the Kraken, they had no choice but to obey, huh?

    ¡¸This is why we would like Yuna to go and talk with the Feudal Lord-sama of Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, we will pay taxes. In return, if something happens to the city, we want him to help us.¡¹

    The old men all bowed.

    ¡¸For now, I understand what you want, but I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t mind. So, can we ask you to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. If it¡¯s just talking to him, I will do it.¡¹

    ¡¸That would save us. Please give this to the Feudal Lord-sama. All the details are written inside.¡¹

    I took the letter and stood up.

    If I had to go, the faster I did it, the better.

    ¡¸Are you going back right now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it just so happens that I have something to do there as well. Ah. Don¡¯t forget about the plot ofnd I asked about, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I will arrange it before you return.¡¹

    A vi (Bear House) in a slightly elevated ce.

    That sounded great.

    I left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, went to the inn, and told Deiga-san everything that had happened today.

    ¡¸This is really sudden.¡¹

    ¡¸They asked me to do something, you see. So, I will return to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Even though I was thinking about making you a really delicious meal if any good fish had been caught...¡¹

    He looked really sad, but I, who wouldn¡¯t be able to eat it, was even more sad about it.

    ¡¸What will you do with the rice? Want me to look after it?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope. I will take it.¡¹

    He brought me to the inn¡¯s storehouse.

    There was a barrel containing rice inside.

    ¡¸Can I really take it all?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, this is what all of the residents brought for you, missy.¡¹

    I put the whole barrel inside my Bear Box.

    With this much, I would have enough for myself for quite some time.

    As I left the inn, I thought about saying goodbye to Ranya-san and everyone else, but I would be back really quickly, so I decided to leave without saying anything.

    I left the city and summoned Swaying Bear.

    I hopped on his back and brought up the map.

    I then headed towards the ce I had seen when I was at the inn.

    We ran on the highway and entered the forest at the halfway point.

    I decided that I would deal with this ceter, and headed towards the area where I had chosen to dig the tunnel.

    There was another possible one, but I finally decided on this one.

    Next, I made an improvised changing room and changed into the White Bear Suit.

    Even though I knew there was no one around, I didn¡¯t have the courage to be outside in my underwear.

    I changed into the White Bear because I would be using magic power.

    That was why I didn¡¯t forget to change this time around.

    I really didn¡¯t want to copse as a result of using too much magic power.

    I looked at the map and confirmed my destination.

    There was a difference in altitude, so I had to make the tunnel at a slight angle. If I didn¡¯t do that, carriages would have a lot of trouble passing through.

    It would be difficult to handle fine details while riding on Swaying Bear, so I decided to walk as I made the tunnel.

    Considering the size of carriages, the tunnel had to be roughly thisrge. First, I decided on the dimensions of the tunnel. After that was dealt with, I would only have to dig. When I entered the tunnel that I had started making, it was really dark, so I decided to create a Bear Light inside of the tunnel.

    I dug as I walked. I hardened them to prevent them from crumbling, and then smoothed the ground so that it wouldn¡¯t be bumpy. Surprisingly, it was a really troublesome task. It would be easy if I just had to dig a hole, but hardening the walls and ttening the ground took time.

    Well, it just took time and didn¡¯t use a lot of magic, so I was able to dig the tunnel while moving at walking speed.

    I checked the direction and difference in altitude every now and then.

    After digging for several kilometers while checking the map, I was on the brink of arriving at the opposite side of the mountain.

    After just a few more minutes, the tunnel waspleted.

    I finally got out.

    By the time I got out, the sun had already set, and it had gotten dark.

    I would have to sleep here now, huh.

    I ttened the ground by the entrance of the tunnel and brought out the Bear House I used solely for travel.

    Even though I had just made a tunnel, the White Bear was still perfectly clean.

    That was the Bear Suit for you.

    I entered the Bear House and prepared for dinner. Tonight¡¯s meal was fish with rice.

    Before I took a bath and went to bed, I contacted Fina.

    I told her that I would be returning tomorrow, and since I had souvenirs, we promised to eat lunch together at the orphanage.

    I took a bath, and because I was mentally worn out from making the tunnel, I went to bed early.

    The next morning, I went to Crimonia.

    I waved at the soldiers guarding the gate and entered the town.

    I made it in time for my appointment with Fina.

    When I arrived at the orphanage, the children ying outside cheerfully approached me.

    There were even more children I didn¡¯t remember seeing before, but I decided to ignore it.

    If they were on good terms with each other, I had nothing to say.

    When I arrived at the entrance of the orphanage, Fina and the Headmistress of the orphanage came out to see me.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, wee back.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back. Nothing happened?¡¹

    Well, if something had happened, she would have contacted me. She hadn¡¯t mentioned anything yesterday either. This calm atmosphere also told me that nothing bad had happened.

    ¡¸Yes, nothing happened. The shop is doing fine, and mom and dad are intimate with each other.¡¹

    That was a good thing.

    Fina could get a little brother or sister in the near future.

    ¡¸Headmistress, here is a souvenir. Give it to the children during lunch please.¡¹

    I brought out the enormous amount of seafood I had received during the festival.

    ¡¸Is this fish? You brought us something really unusual. It¡¯s a little early, but I will call the children, and we can have lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸I will call them for you.¡¹

    Fina left the room to call the children.

    ¡¸Headmistress, you know about fish?¡¹

    ¡¸I have only tried a bit of river fish.¡¹

    Well, river fish was something really high ss, so it was not something you could eat at an orphanage.

    Considering this, I really had to make Anzue here, by any means possible.

    After finishing my meal with the children, I headed towards the Feudal Lord¡¯s house to see Cliff.

    Author¡¯s note:

    This time, I used a new skill that made it more convenient for me to write this chapter.

    I don¡¯t really like when new skills are used immediately, but this time, I really needed this 3D map to make the tunnel, so I decided to upgrade the map skill.

    I thought about other ways to make a tunnel while considering the difference in altitude, with the skills that she already had.

    ¢Ù She would dig randomly. (bulldozing)

    ¢Ú The earth magic could also measure the difference in altitude.

    ¢Û Making the Bears stand at the entrance and the exit, and digging while taking that into ount.

    ¢Ü Using a worm made from earth magic. (I couldn¡¯t find a good idea)

    So finally, the simplest way was to use the 3D map.

    It was for my own convenience, but please, ignore it for me.

 Chapter 96 â€“ Bear-san Goes To See Cliff

    Chapter 96 ¨C Bear-san Goes To See Cliff

    When I arrived at the Feudal Lord¡¯s mansion, I told the guard, who I remembered seeing before, that I wanted to see Cliff.

    He let me pass immediately, and I was able to meet Cliff just like that.

    Did Cliff have too much free time?

    ¡¸That¡¯s rare, for you to ask for me and not Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸You see, someone requested that I give this to you.¡¹

    I gave him the letter that Grandpa Kuro gave me.

    Cliff, who epted it, looked over it immediately.

    When he finished reading the letter, he sighed.

    ¡¸Just what are you doing... Defeating a Kraken by yourself, that¡¯s just not possible, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸The fact that I killed it was included?¡¹

    Even though I asked Atora-san to keep it a secret...

    ¡¸They didn¡¯t say that you did it, but that a lone adventurer killed it. Everyone who knows you would know that you were the one who did it!¡¹

    He said, looking exasperated.

    He was right. Cliff, who knew that I had killed 10,000 monsters and a worm, would know who the message was referring to.

    Still, Grandpa Kuro... You couldn¡¯t have found a better way of concealing it?

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I killed it because I like killing things, you know. The Kraken was blocking my path, so I got rid of it, that¡¯s all there is to it.¡¹

    My path = the path to rice.

    ¡¸¡¯Blocking my way¡¯... You, what sort of a supreme ruler are you? Are you on your way to dominate the world?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t do something so troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸You are not saying that you can¡¯t do it, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible for me.¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t n on doing it.

    What was fun about controlling the world?

    I would prefer taking a nap over doing something that troublesome.

    ¡¸Well then, what worries me more than Yuna are the contents of the letter.¡¹

    ¡¸What is written inside?¡¹

    They exined things to a certain extent, but they didn¡¯t say what they would write inside the letter.

    ¡¸To summarize, they wrote about everything that happened this month, and are willing to pay taxes if they are allowed to enter our province. I really can¡¯t imagine the things you did inside of that city...¡¹

    After he said thest part, he looked into the distance.

    ¡¸Did they really write that much about me?¡¹

    ¡¸They wrote that an adventurer saved them by donating food, subjugated a bandit group with the help of four others, saved the people who were captured, and finally, that this adventurer killed the Kraken as well, yet didn¡¯t ask for any marypensation... They never wrote your name, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡¹

    What was okay about it??

    At least people who didn¡¯t know about me wouldn¡¯t be able to link all of those events to me. They would have to know me as well as Cliff did to find out.

    ¡¸Well, leaving you aside, it¡¯s more important to consider how we will speak with them. We will have to meet each other to discuss this, won¡¯t we? Yet, their city doesn¡¯t have a Mayor. For now, the ones who are tending to the matters of the city are three old men, and the Guild Master is assisting them. Making old mene here would be really terrible to do.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff, you are free right now, aren¡¯t you? Couldn¡¯t you just go there yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸You... Even if you say that, I¡¯m a Feudal Lord, you know. I have work to do as well. I can¡¯t just leave the town for a long period.¡¹

    ¡¸It will just take you half a day to go there, you know.¡¹

    After hearing my answer, Cliff retorted with,

    ¡¸...It seems that I will have to call a doctor for you.¡¹

    He looked really serious.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have a fever.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t be well, right? How could you possibly reach a city on the other side of the mountain range in half a day? Fly through the sky?¡¹

    Cliff imitated a flying bird, conveying that he thought I was out of my mind.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t fly in the sky, but I made a tunnel.¡¹

    ¡¸...Huh?¡¹

    Cliff stopped his bird performance.

    ¡¸Sorry, could you say that one more time?¡¹

    ¡¸I dug out a tunnel, so you can get there in half a day on Swaying Bear.¡¹

    Cliff held his head in his hands.

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t lying, are you?...If it¡¯s you, it¡¯s possible, huh? You really made a tunnel through the mountain range, and in just a couple of days, that is...¡¹

    One day, to be precise.

    ¡¸Did you really make it?¡¹

    ¡¸I did. I wanted to have a cirction of goods.¡¹

    ¡¸I always believed that your existence was irrational, but I didn¡¯t know that it was to this extent.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why you can get there in half a day on Swaying Bear. But, if you n on making Grandpa Kuroe here, we will have to take a carriage, and that will take some more time.¡¹

    ¡¸No. I want to see the city, so I will go.¡¹

    What a fast decision.

    It was still better than writhing in worry though.

    ¡¸I also have to check the tunnel you made.¡¹

    Check you said? It was like being marked on a test, so I didn¡¯t really like that, though...

    ¡¸When are we leaving then?¡¹

    ¡¸I have an urgent job to finish tomorrow. I also have to contact the Commerce Guild, so we can depart the day after tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸The Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸ording to what was written in the letter, it seems that the Commerce Guild Master carried out some serious crimes. I have to inform them. If possible, I would like the Guild Master to apany us, but how many people can your bears carry?¡¹

    ¡¸Two normal adults, I think. But, if it is someone like the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master, just one...¡¹

    Even if it was just one of those bundles of muscle, I would feel bad for Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine then. The Commerce Guild Master is a girl, after all. I am sorry, but if she wants toe along, could I ask you and your bears to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹

    We couldn¡¯t really let their Commerce Guild stay in such a mess. The punishment of their Guild Master hadn¡¯t been decided yet either. Asking her toe along would help Mireera a lot.

    ¡¸We will go to your house the day after tomorrow then.¡¹

    After making that promise with Cliff, I left his room just in time for Noa toe rushing towards me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san. When youe, please call on me!¡¹

    ¡¸I had some business with Cliff today, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸And are you finished now?¡¹

    ¡¸For now, yes.¡¹

    ¡¸You have some time then, right?¡¹

    She was inviting me with a really cute smile, and the person behind her was smiling at me as well. However, why was it that I felt fear from that smile?

    ¡¸Is it okay? A butler has been looking this way while smiling from the beginning though...¡¹

    Noa looked behind her and turned pale.

    I knew it, Noa had also noticed the emotions hiding behind that smile.

    ¡¸Miss Noire, you are in the middle of your studies right now.¡¹

    ¡¸I am tired. I want a break. I have to take my Bear dosage.¡¹

    What was with that response. This Bear dosage, that was the first time I had heard about such a medication.

    If such a medication really existed and I revealed it on Earth, I would definitely get the Nobel Prize.

    The butler took a look at Noa, who was ying with her fingers, and let out a slight sigh.

    ¡¸I understand. Just for a bit then. Miss Yuna, can I ask you to take care of Miss Noire for a little while, please?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹

    ¡¸I am counting on you then. I will go and prepare some drinks.¡¹

    The butler bowed and left.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go to my room then, Yuna-san.¡¹

    She held my Bear Hand tightly, and pulled me along with her.

    ¡¸So, where did Yuna-san go?¡¹

    ¡¸I went to the sea behind the Erezento mountain range.¡¹

    ¡¸You went over the mountain?¡¹

    ¡¸I have my bears, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear-sans are really impressive. The sea, huh. That¡¯s cool. I also want to go there someday.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, do you want to go there when it¡¯s warmer?¡¹

    ¡¸I would love to go, but Dad doesn¡¯t let me to go too far away.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s close now.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    Noa tilted her head, confused.

    I couldn¡¯t talk about the tunnel yet, so I decided to be vague.

    ¡¸I will persuade him when the timees.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? It¡¯s a promise then! And, Yuna-san, I have a request, but...¡¹

    She was looking at me shyly, with upturned eyes.

    It was a cute, even to a girl like me.

    If I were a lolicon man, I would have definitely epted her request.

    Well, since I was able to predict what she would ask, I would probably ept it anyway.

    ¡¸Could you bring the Bear-sans out?¡¹

    I knew that it would be this. She just asked for her Bear dosage after all.

    I decided to show her the cub forms of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, since it was a good time to do so.

    ¡¸W, W, W, What are those! Those Bear-saaaans!¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If they are of this size, it¡¯s okay to bring them inside your room, right?¡¹

    Noa approached the bears slowly.

    They wouldn¡¯t flee even if she didn¡¯t do that though...

    Then, she hugged both of them.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please give these two to me!!!¡¹

    ¡¸I will not.¡¹

    It went without saying that Noa didn¡¯t want to let go of the bears even after her break finished and really angered the butler.

 Chapter 97 â€“ Bear-san Heads To The Tunnel

    Chapter 97 ¨C Bear-san Heads To The Tunnel

    On the day of the departure, Cliff and Mylene-san came to the Bear House, where I was waiting for them.

    ¡¸We made you wait.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t wait very long. Why is Mylene-san here though?¡¹

    They were a surprisingbination. I might have thought that since it was rare to see them together, though.

    ¡¸Are you really asking why? Mylene is the Commerce Guild¡¯s master of this town, you know. If I remember correctly, you two are acquaintances, right?¡¹

    Cliff said, looking as if he just remembered something.

    This was the first time I had heard of it. Now that I thought about it, I had never met the Commerce Guild¡¯s master.

    ¡¸We know each other, but... Mylene-san, you are the guild master?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, did I forget to tell you?¡¹

    She said, ying dumb.

    She definitely didn¡¯t tell me on purpose.

    ¡¸It was a joke. I just never found the right timing to tell you. The fact that I¡¯m the guild master and not just a normal employee won¡¯t change our rtionship, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Myelene-san, are you older than you look?¡¹

    The young Mylene-san was always sitting at the counter, so I never expected her to be the guild master. The only thing that I could think was that she had a deceptive appearance, just like Eleanora.

    ¡¸That¡¯s rude. I¡¯m in my twenties, just like my appearance suggests.¡¹

    This...wasn¡¯t this age range too big?

    Personally, I really thought that there was a big difference between 20 and 29. Well, if she didn¡¯t want to say it, she was probably in thetter half.

    Though, if Mylene-san really was the guild master, then that exined a lot of things. For example, Mylene-san¡¯s judgment had been really helpful when selling the eggs.

    There was no way that a normal employee could have made my desire to not sell eggs to the Feudal Lord a reality.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care whether you are in your 20s, 30s or 40s. Staying here like this is not going to help us. We should go.¡¹

    ¡¸W, Wait! The difference between your 20s and 30s is like the difference between Heaven and Earth! And what¡¯s with the 40s!!! You¡¯ll be hated if you say that to ady, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Unlike a certain someone, I am already married and have children.¡¹

    He had such a beautiful wife and young daughters that he was probably in the winner camp. The only problem was that he didn¡¯t have a male sessor. It was possible that I just didn¡¯t know about it, though. I hadn¡¯t known about Shia before going to the capital either.

    ¡¸Are you looking for a fight?¡¹

    ¡¸I just stated the truth.¡¹

    The air between the two of them turned dangerous.

    Were they possibly like a dog and a cat?

    I didn¡¯t know which one was which, but...more importantly.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, you wille to Mireera?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. There is the Commerce Guild¡¯s scandal, and I also want to see if there really is a tunnel, because if there is, we could start trading with Mireera. Considering all of that, there will be many things that can¡¯t be dealt with if I, the Guild Master, am not there. Also, the most important part is that I will be able to ride the famous bears. I would be going even if I had to skip work for it.¡¹

    She always seemed to be working in the Commerce Guild, but was she doing her job as a Guild Master properly?

    ¡¸You go back and do your job!¡¹

    ¡¸As I said, going to Mireera is my job!¡¹

    She managed to silence Cliff with that sound argument.

    ¡¸Then, Yuna-chan, we should go and see the rumored bears.¡¹

    Mylene-san put her hand on my shoulder and started walking.

    Cliff followed us with an exasperated expression.

    When we arrived at the gate, the guard there was looking our way, confused by the strangebination. Now that I thought about it, seeing the Guild Master and the Feudal Lord together would surprise anyone. I prayed that I wasn¡¯t included in this surprising party.

    When we left the town, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸So these are the famous bears.¡¹

    I asked Cliff to ride Swaying Bear, and Mylene-san to ride Hugging Bear with me.

    Mylene-san approached Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear is the white one, right?¡¹

    She stroked Hugging Bear¡¯s neck, and he seemed to enjoy it.

    ¡¸Yes, the white one is Hugging Bear. The ck one is Swaying Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, those names are really just like you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean that, just like their appearances, those names are really cute.¡¹

    Mylene-san began smiling, as if hiding something from me.

    I didn¡¯t really know if the names ¡®Swaying Bear¡¯ and ¡®Hugging Bear¡¯ were cute, but I was already attached to those names. If I had a better naming sense, I might have found better ones, but I now thought that it was great that I had named them this way.

    The two people tried to get onto each of the bears.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how do you ride them?¡¹

    Unlike normal horses, the bears had no saddles.

    Hugging Bear crouched down to make it easier for us to get on. I hopped on first, and Mylene-san got on behind me.

    ¡¸There is no saddle, but it¡¯s reallyfortable.¡¹

    ¡¸It staysfortable, even when you ride for a long period of time.¡¹

    At first, I thought it was because I had my Bear Suit, but when I went to the capital with Fina and Noa, the two of them said that it didn¡¯t hurt at all. When I heard that, I finally understood that it was because of the bears¡¯ abilities.

    After all of us got on, the bears headed towards the tunnel.

    They started off at a light run.

    ¡¸They are running smoothly.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran side by side.

    ¡¸They are fast andfortable. Carriages are really slow after all.¡¹

    ¡¸These children will feel sad if youpare them to carriages.¡¹

    The Bears sped up, and we arrived at the foot of the Erezento mountain range at noon.

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s around here.¡¹

    We arrived at the ce where I had dug the tunnel.

    Based on the map, it should be around here.

    ¡¸Did you get lost?¡¹

    Cliff asked.

    While I was looking around, Hugging Bear began walking on his own ord.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear?¡¹

    Hugging Bear seemed to be saying ¡®Leave it to me!¡¯.

    After a few minutes, he found the tunnel, which had been hidden by trees.

    ¡¸Even though there are so many trees around, this is the only ce that doesn¡¯t have any, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I cleared them out when I decided to sleep here, since they were in the way.¡¹

    Since the area had already been cleared, we decided to take a break.

    ¡¸Still, we arrived really fast, thanks to the bears.¡¹

    ¡¸As a merchant, I would really like to have them.¡¹

    ¡¸I bet the adventurers would like them as well.¡¹

    The two of them were giving their impressions of the bears while drinking Oren juice.

    Afterwards, they stood in the front of the tunnel.

    ¡¸So this is the tunnel that Yuna made.¡¹

    The big tunnel was right in front of them.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big. It could just barely fit two carriages at once.¡¹

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be possible to have two if a big carriage wants to go through.¡¹

    ¡¸Then you should just separate it by days. If you do that, there won¡¯t be any idents inside.¡¹

    ¡¸You are right. In any case, we will need someone to manage it.¡¹

    ¡¸And we will have to set a tax.¡¹

    ¡¸How much would be appropriate?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, that would be decided by the construction cost of the tunnel, but...¡¹

    The two of them were looking at me.

    ¡¸You will be asking for money?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. What kind of an idiot would perform a service for free? It will cost money to maintain, and we will have to hire soldiers and adventurers to guard the ce.¡¹

    ¡¸If we don¡¯t, bandits or monsters could enter it, and people would have no way to escape.¡¹

    They were right. If we left it as it was, monsters could go inside. They would have to make a stationary post to prevent that from happening, one at each entrance. Since they would need to fund it, a tax was also necessary.

    ¡¸We will also have to ce magic stones to light up the tunnel.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. We will have to ce light magic lines. That alone will cost a fortune.¡¹

    Magic lines, as the name stated, were lines that transferred magic power. They were simr to electrical lines on Earth. There were some inside the Bear House too. The system was set so that, when you touched a magic stone on a wall, the magic line transferred the magic power and lit up the magic stone on the ceiling.

    ¡¸We will also need wind magic lines.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be necessary because the tunnel is so long, huh. Well, before that, just how long is this tunnel? If it¡¯s too long, we might need a rest area.¡¹

    The two of them started talking about the future of the tunnel on their own.

    I didn¡¯t mind being left out of it though, as long as seafood came to Crimonia. Still, it wasn¡¯t that easy. It was better to let the experts to do their jobs. That was why I kept my mouth shut.

    We decided to only take a short break, so we departed again.

    I created a Bear Light and put it in front of us. When I moved, the light moved as well.

    ¡¸Yuna, sorry, but can you move slowly? I want to confirm the condition and length of the tunnel.¡¹

    The bears slowed down to walk through the tunnel.

    ¡¸It¡¯s incredible that you made it by yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸If there were other provinces that wanted to dig tunnels, you would be really popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Couldn¡¯t people who can use earth magic also make one?¡¹

    ¡¸You...you really don¡¯t see how out of the ordinary you are, do you? You are correct, there may be people who could dig a tunnel, but doing it in a few days would be impossible for them. I already knew that your magic was beyond powerful, but now I can see that you have an absurd amount of the magic power as well.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t tell them that I made it while wearing my White Bear Suit, which allowed me to restore magic power faster.

    ¡¸But, we will have to report this tunnel to the capital if we want Mireera to join our province.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, they will naturally end up asking how the tunnel was made. ¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t talk about it, they won¡¯t find out.¡¹

    ¡¸They will!¡¹

    Cliff shouted.

    I really wanted him to stop shouting inside of the tunnel.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think you have to worry. If I remember correctly, there shouldn¡¯t be any tunnels in this kingdom.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure what will happen if they learn how strong Yuna is, though. But, don¡¯t worry, I will properly exin it to them.¡¹

    He said that I didn¡¯t have to worry, but royalty had a higher position than nobles, didn¡¯t they? It was impossible to not worry about it.

    ¡¸You will have Eleanora to help you with this, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡¹

    Eleanora-san... If I remembered correctly, she spoke casually with the King.

    I really wanted to ask who Eleanora-san really was. She was the most mysterious person I had met sinceing to this world.

    ¡¸There doesn¡¯t seem to be any dripping water.¡¹

    Cliff looked up at the ceiling.

    ¡¸I made it so that the water would flow outside, so there won¡¯t be any dripping water.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want it to be a limestone cavern, after all.

    ¡¸It will be easier to manage then.¡¹

    We had advanced quite a bit, but we still couldn¡¯t see the outside.

    We were only a third of the way through.

    ¡¸It would be really creepy if the light were to turn off here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, are you okay with the light?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no problem, even if it¡¯s for a few more hours.¡¹

    If it disappeared, I just had to make a new one.

    ¡¸It would be really difficult to put the light lines on the ceiling, so we will have to put them on the walls.¡¹

    ¡¸That will be better. Even if one side shuts down, there will still be light on the other side.¡¹

    We advanced as they talked, but I still couldn¡¯t see the end of the tunnel.

    ¡¸It¡¯s long.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, even though we are going straight under the mountain range, there¡¯s still a lot of distance, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Will we need a rest area?¡¹

    ¡¸I think that would be better than not having any.¡¹

    I could feel them looking at me.

    ¡¸Do you want me to make it?¡¹

    ¡¸You already made this much. Wouldn¡¯t it be okay to make just a little more? It would be better to make it halfway through, but we would have to make precise measurements for that.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the exact distance, but I know where the halfway point is.¡¹

    Thanks to the map, I roughly knew where the middle was.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸We are almost there.¡¹

    I made Swaying Bear move faster while watching the map. By the way, even if I opened the map, the people of this world weren¡¯t able to see it. I realized that when I was with Fina.

    ¡¸The halfway point is around here.¡¹

    ¡¸You even know this kind of thing?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s just an estimate, so don¡¯t rely on it too much.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, even if there¡¯s some measurement error. Can you make a wide opening around here, please?¡¹

    I used earth magic to dig out the wall as per Cliff¡¯s instructions.

    ¡¸That¡¯s incredible. A hole is being made so easily.¡¹

    After a while, I finished making a parking lot for multiple carriages.

    ¡¸If we are in the middle, we don¡¯t have to go slowly anymore. Yuna, sorry, but could you speed up the pace?¡¹

    I made the bears move faster, and we passed through the second half of the tunnel really quickly.

 Chapter 98 â€“ Bear-san Goes Back To Mireera

    Chapter 98 ¨C Bear-san Goes Back To Mireera

    When we got out of the tunnel, the sunset had already dyed the sea red.

    A salty breeze drifted towards us, and we breathed fresh air.

    ¡¸So pretty.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to the tunnel, Crimonia is now closer, so it would be great to spend holidays here.¡¹

    ¡¸I agree. Should I bring my daughter next time?¡¹

    ¡¸I really didn¡¯t think that it was possible to get to the other side of the mountain in one day, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Going around the mountain is very time consuming, after all.¡¹

    We moved towards the city while having this exchange and watching the sun.

    When we arrived at the gates, I saw the man who greeted me the first time I had arrived at this city.

    ¡¸Bear Missy! You came back.¡¹

    The man happily rushed towards me.

    ¡¸I wasn¡¯t on duty when you left, so I was really sad when I couldn¡¯t thank you, you know.¡¹

    Now that I thought about it, a different guard was by the gate when I left town, huh.

    ¡¸Allow me to thank you again. Thank you for saving the city.¡¹

    The man thanked me. Somehow, it turned out to be really embarrassing.

    ¡¸A lot of different people have thanked me, so you didn¡¯t really need to say it. I received rice from all of you as well.¡¹

    What made me the happiest was the rice they had offered.

    Though on second thought, preferring a material thing over verbal gratitude was a little...

    ¡¸So it seems. I also brought the rice that I had at my house. There wasn¡¯t much, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Thank you very much. I will cherish it as I eat it.¡¹

    When I said that, the man seemed really happy.

    ¡¸Sorry to interrupt you while you are talking, but could you please let us enter now?¡¹

    Cliff interrupted our conversation.

    ¡¸Sorry. Are you two missy¡¯s acquaintances?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that is correct.¡¹

    ¡¸May I see your cards to confirm it?¡¹

    The man returned to his job, and asked them to hand over their cards.

    Cliff and Mylene-san obediently presented them.

    The man proceeded to look at the cards, and his face gradually changed.

    ¡¸......Count and guild master.¡¹

    The man slowly handed the cards back and bowed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m deeply sorry. Pleasee inside.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. No need to be so polite.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. You don¡¯t have to bow in front of a man like him.¡¹

    Mylene-san said that as if it didn¡¯t concern her at all, but didn¡¯t her card surprise him as well?

    We entered the city, and since the sun had already set, it was bing darker and darker.

    As expected, talking today would be impossible.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alreadyte, but what do you want to do? If you want to go to the inn, I can show you the way.¡¹

    ¡¸No. I want to see the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s master first.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Without the Mayor, it¡¯s our duty to go and meet the three elected elders. It¡¯s alreadyte, though. That¡¯s why it would be better to talk to the guild master, who knows the whole story.¡¹

    Their opinions matched and we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    The people we met on the way to the guild all greeted me.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, you killed the Kraken, so it¡¯s normal for you to be appreciated.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not only that, right? I¡¯m sure that a part of ites from the cute clothes she¡¯s wearing.¡¹

    My Bear clothes?

    I wouldn¡¯t be happy if I were to be known because of this suit.

    I was really worried that at some point that, just as someone could say ¡®This ribbon is her real form¡¯ or ¡®Those sses are her real form¡¯, they would start saying ¡®This suit is her real form¡¯.

    I could already imagine how depressed I would be if the citizens just ignored me if I came to the city without wearing the suit in the future.

    I smiled when I realized what I was thinking.

    I had always thought that it was a pain when they started talking to me, but now, I also thought that I would be sad if they didn¡¯t talk to me. Was this...the aftereffect of being alone for a long time, maybe?

    For now, I just prayed that they didn¡¯t think Me = The Bear Suit. I was sure that it wasn¡¯t the case.

    When we arrived at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we saw the employees cleaning. We couldn¡¯t see any adventurers. Due to the Commerce Guild¡¯s scandal, some were in jail, and a lot of the others had decided to leave the city because they felt guilty.

    After we entered the guild, one of the employees noticed us.

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    After he said that, everybody in the guild reacted.

    ¡¸Is Atora-san here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will call her immediately.¡¹

    The employee jogged into the back room.

    The back door opened loudly and Atora-san came out.

    As always, she was wearing clothes that emphasized her breasts.

    ¡¸Yuna! You are back already?¡¹

    ¡¸Atora-san, I have returned.¡¹

    ¡¸So, how was it? What did the Feudal Lord from Crimonia say?¡¹

    She asked. Did she not see Cliff and Mylene-san?

    ¡¸Atora-san, please calm down. I will exin.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry about that. Okay, who are these two people?¡¹

    She seemed to have finally noticed the two of them.

    ¡¸This man here is Crimonia¡¯s Feudal Lord, Cliff...Fo...Fo...some noble name.¡¹

    ¡¸You, you don¡¯t even remember people¡¯s names? If you introduced other nobles like that, you wouldn¡¯t get out of it unscathed, you know. It¡¯s okay with me, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Then what¡¯s the problem?¡¹

    You see, his name was really long! I couldn¡¯t remember all of it!

    Besides, I had never tried saying it.

    ¡¸You...¡¹

    Cliff let out a sigh with an amazed expression.

    Then, Cliff looked at Atora-san.

    ¡¸I am the Feudal Lord of Crimonia, Cliff Foshurose. We have just arrived, but even though it waste, we decided toe here to say our greetings.¡¹

    Cliff made his self-introduction politely.

    ¡¸Feudal Lord of Crimonia...¡¹

    Atora-san looked at Cliff in a daze.

    ¡¸This woman here is Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild¡¯s master, Mylene-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Commerce Guild¡¯s master...¡¹

    She then looked at Mylene-san.

    ¡¸I am the one in charge of Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild. It seems that one of our people was responsible for a really big scandal over here, and I am really sorry about that.¡¹

    After Atora-san heared Mylene-san¡¯s greeting, she returned to her usual self.

    ¡¸I, I am this city¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s master, Atora. Thank you very much foring here from so far away.¡¹

    ¡¸Far away?¡¹

    ¡¸From far away?¡¹

    The two of them seemed to want to say something. When Atora-san saw the two of them like that, she tilted her head.

    ¡¸As Cliff-sama said, it¡¯s alreadyte today, so could we talk tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸So, where will you be staying today?¡¹

    Atora-san asked as if it was a difficult thing to say.

    ¡¸Normally, I would let you stay at the best ce in the city, the mayor¡¯s mansion, but we have no mayor now and...that ce is not fit to house people...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. It¡¯s my fault foring here without any prior arrangements. The inn will be sufficient.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you don¡¯t have to mind it.¡¹

    When the two of them said that, Atora-san bowed twice.

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I will ask some of our employees to meet you tomorrow morning, so please have a good rest tonight. Of course, we will pay the inn fees, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    Atora-san called Sei and asked him to escort us to the inn.

    ¡¸I already know where the inn is, so I don¡¯t really need a guide, though.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s to exin things to Deiga-san. These two are noble visitors. Although we need to be very polite around them, I don¡¯t really want to cause a fuss, so I will keep the fact that he is a noble a secret. Is that okay with you as well, Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I don¡¯t mind. I can just be Yuna¡¯s friend.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Then, I will arrange things as we have previously discussed.¡¹

    Sei, who was next to Atora-san, bowed.

    ¡¸By the way, Atora-san, the way you are speaking is strange, don¡¯t you think?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna! Who do you think this person is?¡¹

    ¡¸Crimonia¡¯s Feudal Lord?¡¹

    ¡¸Can¡¯t you understand it if you know that?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to be so polite with Cliff, though.¡¹

    ¡¸You... That¡¯s the normal attitude in front of nobles, you know. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s strange. Well, if you are too humble to me, that will trouble me. You don¡¯t have to act like Yuna does, but it would be better if you just spoke normally.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will do my best. Then, how many people came with you?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s none.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    Atora-san¡¯s eyes opened wide.

    Thinking about it now was a bitte, but a noble normally had guards, right?

    ¡¸Yuna¡¯s with me, so I didn¡¯t need an escort.¡¹

    Was it possible that he trusted me?

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and we arrived on Yuna¡¯s bears. From what I had read in the letter, I thought it would be best toe here quickly, so I decided to take the quickest way.¡¹

    ¡¸Th, thank you very much.¡¹

    Atora-san seemed to be deeply moved. Did she have that kind of personality?

    Since Atora-san was using words that weren¡¯t like her, I felt ufortable.

    ¡¸Then, just to be safe, I will provide you some guards from the guild...¡¹

    ¡¸Atora-san, it¡¯s okay. My bears and I are here, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸...But....¡¹

    ¡¸Couldn¡¯t you arrange for guards from tomorrow onwards, during the times when I won¡¯t be with them?¡¹

    ¡¸......Understood. I will count on you for tonight then.¡¹

    ¡¸As long as they are in the inn, I, or rather the bears, will guarantee their safety.¡¹

    Even if I was in a deep sleep, the bears would be there, so it was safe.

    Since it was alreadyte, we ended the conversation there and left the guild.

    ¡¸Missy! You are back?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back. Starting today, I will be in your care for some more time.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you can stay for as long as you want.¡¹

    Sei interrupted our conversation and exined the details.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t n on asking for payment in the first ce. Missy¡¯s friends are always wee! We also have a lot of vacant rooms. You can stay here for as long as you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, is it okay to trust us so much? Bad people would love to stay here all the time.¡¹

    Mylene-san said that as if she was teasing him.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way Missy¡¯s acquaintances would do such a thing. If there was someone like that, it would be an impostor who¡¯s using her name without her knowing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you are highly trusted, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t trust strangers so easily, but it¡¯s different with Missy. That¡¯s something all of the people from this city would say.¡¹

    What was that, that unfaltering,plete trust?

    It was really scary. Did I do something that important?

    I thought for a little. Yea, I did.

    I gave them food. I subjugated the bandits. I released the prisoners. I indirectly revealed the Commerce Guild¡¯s scheme. I killed the Kraken. On top of that, I gave them the Kraken¡¯s materials. When I thought about it, it really couldn¡¯t be helped that they trusted me.

    Now I had to add the tunnel to the list as well. We couldn¡¯t make that a secret, could we?

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, if it¡¯s something thates from Missy¡¯s mouth, it¡¯s worthy of our trust.¡¹

    Why did it sound like the start of a cult, though?

    I didn¡¯t n for it to be like that.

    ¡¸It was just because I wanted to do it, so don¡¯t mind it too much. I beg you, please don¡¯t mind it.¡¹

    I said strongly.

    I absolutely had to stop it now.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to thank me, could you just ept a little favor of mine?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it? This little favor?¡¹

    ¡¸I will tell you in just a bit, so wait a little.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. If it¡¯s something I can do, I will listen.¡¹

    Was it really okay? Just promising without considering like that.

    I am going to take your daughter!

    I already had her permission, the only thing Icked was the approval of her guardian, Deiga-san.

    ¡¸Then, Missy¡¯s friends, I will make you a feast, so eat till your bellies are full.¡¹

    Deiga-san ced his seafood meal on the table, and the two of them ate all they wanted.

    We all went to our own rooms, and in anticipation of tomorrow, we decided to just go to sleep.

    I didn¡¯t forget to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as guards.

    ¡¸Please warn me if there are any suspicious people approaching Cliff or Mylene-san¡¯s rooms.¡¹

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while patting their heads.

    They answered me with a soft ¡ºKuun¡».

 Chapter 99 â€“ Bear-san Is An Unwanted Child?

    Chapter 99 ¨C Bear-san Is An Unwanted Child?

    The next morning, after we had finished eating breakfast, Cliff and Mylene-san began discussing ns for the future in the dining room on the first floor.

    ¡¸Then, we will just transfer a portion of the tunnel¡¯s tax revenue to Yuna¡¯s card, through the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Procuring the magic lines will be a problem as well.¡¹

    ¡¸The light and wind magic lines, huh. Couldn¡¯t the guild do something about it?¡¹

    ¡¸We could, but I¡¯m afraid that the market prices might copse if we did.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, as we thought, the best option would be to ask for the lines the capital has in stock?¡¹

    ¡¸I believe that would be for the best.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, since it¡¯s something so important, we can¡¯t really report it with just a letter.¡¹

    ¡¸You will be able to see your wife, so isn¡¯t that good for you?¡¹

    ¡¸It would be, if I didn¡¯t have any work to do. Right now, I have work to do, you know. On top of that, I have to take care of the business with the tunnel and this city bing our territory, so my workload has increased even more. When I think about how I will have to go to the capital while I¡¯m this busy, I just be depressed.¡¹

    I pretended like I hadn¡¯t heard anything and drank my Oren juice.

    Adventurers had it easy, didn¡¯t they. They ate when they wanted to and slept when they felt like it. It was a great job to have.

    When I read fantasy manga and novels, I was really impressed that there were actually people who did something as troublesome as territory management. Personally, I couldn¡¯t do that. I thought that the protagonists who did it were really incredible.

    Well, I did prefer to take it slow, rather than y an active role like those protagonists, though.

    I drank my juice next to the two busy people, as if this was somebody else¡¯s problem, feeling happy with this way of life.

    Ah, I am so happy that I am an adventurer.

    While I was thinking about such things, their conversation continued.

    ¡¸Also, I thought about the passage through the tunnel. We don¡¯t really have to make it a one way passage all the time. We have enough space to fit two carriages side by side. Wouldn¡¯t it be possible to designate part of it to allow horses and people on foot to go through?¡¹

    ¡¸Some idiots might run or gallop through, you know. That would be dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, should we install fences?¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t have enough people to do that.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. For now, we should just make it a one way passage and see how it works.¡¹

    ¡¸That would be better for now. It won¡¯t be toote to implement it after we have a better grasp on the volume of traffic.¡¹

    These two were discussing this deeply and with zeal again. It had nothing to do with a normal person like me, so I just stared into space as I listened to them.

    Yes, Feudal Lord and guild master were both really difficult jobs.

    Sei arrived while the two were conversing.

    ¡¸Good morning, everyone. Would it be possible for you toe to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild with me?¡¹

    The two of them had no issues with it, so they epted.

    Then, what should I do while they¡¯re all talking together?

    Cliff called out to me when he saw that I hadn¡¯t stood up.

    ¡¸Yuna, what¡¯re you doing? We¡¯re leaving.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you even asking such an obvious thing?¡¹

    He said, looking amazed.

    ¡¸You are going to have a talk between the city leaders, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need me then.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? You are the central figure. You can¡¯t just not be there.¡¹

    Huh?

    When had I be the central figure?

    ¡¸Mylene-san?¡¹

    I looked at Mylene-san for help.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the only one among us who knows about the city, so we need you. Even though I doubt that they will lie, we will still need your knowledge of the city, so you need toe.¡¹

    ¡¸In negotiations, people will always say things that are advantageous for them, while avoiding things that will put them in a pickle. If you¡¯re there, however, they will have more trouble doing so.¡¹

    Was that so?

    They didn¡¯t seem to be people who would do those kind of things, though. Well, Cliff and Mylene-san didn¡¯t really know about the residents¡¯ personalities, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    I couldn¡¯t find a reason to refuse, so I reluctantly went with them.

    When we arrived at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we were brought to the same room asst time.

    When we entered the room, Atora-san and the three old men were already seated.

    One of my acquaintances was also next to them. The decent Commerce Guild employee that Damon-san had introduced to me.

    Atora-san prompted us to sit down.

    ¡¸We¡¯re really thankful that you made this trip to Mireera.¡¹

    Atora-san stood up from her seat and gave her thanks.

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t really think that Crimonia¡¯s Feudal Lord woulde here personally.¡¹

    ¡¸It was a request from this one, after all.¡¹

    Cliff looked towards me.

    I didn¡¯t remember making a request, though. I just gave him the letter and exined everything, that was it.

    ¡¸She did a really absurd thing for us, and on top of that, she did another really irrational thing. After thinking about what will happen going forward, I cannot leave matters to my subordinates.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. She has saved us a number of times as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Same here.¡¹

    Why was he saying it as if he wasining?

    ¡¸Then, before we start talking, let¡¯s introduce ourselves. I am Atora, and I work as the guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I am currently ying a supportive role in the city.¡¹

    Next, the three elders introduced themselves.

    Finally, Jeremo-san introduced himself as well.

    ¡¸I¡¯m... I am Jeremo, an employee at the Commerce Guild. I don¡¯t know why I have been called here, though?¡¹

    ¡¸You are the Commerce Guild¡¯s representative.¡¹

    ¡¸Representative?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. From now on, we want you to listen to the instructions of this person, the guild master of Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild, and work under her.¡¹

    One of the elders said.

    ¡¸Why did you choose me?¡¹

    ¡¸Because you are kind, even though you¡¯re inexperienced.¡¹

    ¡¸You stole fish and distributed it to families that needed it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It was found out, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, it¡¯s easy to figure out when you can smell roasted fish from homes that can¡¯t afford it.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, it wasn¡¯t necessarily me who did it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t underestimate our informationwork. We know when something like that happens.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, were you turning a blind eye to me?¡¹

    ¡¸We also felt guilty for only allowing rich people to get food.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why we were protecting you from the shadows.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s also why we asked for you, who thinks of the residents so much, to be the representative of the Commerce Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸As you have just heard, we would like you to give instructions to this Commerce Guild employee.¡¹

    The elderly men bowed to Cliff and Mylene-san.

    ¡¸I understand. I will put him to good use.¡¹

    Jeremo-san looked defeated after hearing those words.

    Once their side had finished making self-introductions, Mylene-san began her own.

    ¡¸I am working as Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild¡¯s master. My name is Mylene. I believe that we will have a lot to do, so I am counting on you.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best.¡¹

    Jeremo-san answered.

    ¡¸Then, I am thest one, right?¡¹

    Cliff made his introduction after he said that.

    Huh? Last?

    What about my introduction?

    Was it possible that I was an unwanted child?

    Well, they all knew me, though.

    ¡¸I am Crimonia¡¯s Feudal Lord, Cliff Foshuroze. Even so, I would like it if you didn¡¯t mind the way you speak with me. I have learned not to mind that sort of thing.¡¹

    At that moment, Cliff looked towards me.

    Why?

    ¡¸Now then, we don¡¯t have a lot of time, so we should talk about the urgent issues.¡¹

    ¡¸I read the letter, but do you really want to be part of our territory?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We would like to receive your protection in return. We want you to help us if something like the previous incident were to happen again.¡¹

    ¡¸The Kraken, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸I will say it now. It¡¯s not so easy to kill a Kraken. This bear is simply abnormal.¡¹

    Cliff pointed his finger at me.

    Hadn¡¯t anyone told him that he shouldn¡¯t point at people?

    ¡¸Yes, we already know that. I don¡¯t think a second Kraken will appear. If one does, we want you to at least promise to support us with food and other supplies.¡¹

    ¡¸Food, huh. Are you saying this even though you know the distance between Crimonia and this city?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s....¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    They all sank into silence.

    They were all thinking about the distance between Crimonia and Mireera, and had concluded that it was far.

    Bringing food would take time and effort.

    ¡¸That was a joke.¡¹

    Cliff burst intoughter. Mylene-san wasughing as well.

    Theirughter left Atora-san and the three elders bewildered.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand the food issue. If this city ever has a food shortage, we will help you. Though, if our city also has a food shortage, I can¡¯t make any definitive promises. Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. This city will have food shortages only when we can¡¯t go out to the sea. I don¡¯t think that would happen at the same time that Crimonia has a food shortage.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I think so as well. That¡¯s why, if Crimonia has a food shortage, I will make you help us in return.¡¹

    ¡¸Agreed.¡¹

    ¡¸The only problem is figuring out how to transport everything.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no problem on that front, thanks to this bear.¡¹

    Cliff looked at me.

    After Cliff said that, everyone aside from Mylene-san and I seemed to be confused.

    ¡¸Yuna, for the sake of this city, made a tunnel that leads to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait...¡¹

    I tried to cut into the conversation.

    ¡¸Is that true!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we used the tunnel toe here.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, you¡¯re not telling a joke, right?¡¹

    ¡¸When you hear it, you can only think of it as a joke, but it¡¯s true, you know. With a fast horse, you could get there in two or three days. Of course, I don¡¯t know how much time a carriage would take, but you should be able to arrive within a few days.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    ¡¸I would like to go to the tunnel to discuss its practical use, but would that be okay with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. We also want to see this tunnel.¡¹

    After that, they signed the contract papers.

    Hmm, was I really needed?

    ¡¸After that, I also want to talk about the election of this city¡¯s representative. I want to have a talk with him when he¡¯s elected. Of course, I don¡¯t mind if the representative is one of the people here.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you talking about a mayor?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. If there is no leader, we can¡¯t proceed with important discussions.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. We will choose a mayor shortly.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s all I have to say for now.¡¹

    After Cliff said what he wanted to say, it was Mylene-san¡¯s turn.

    ¡¸We will talk about the Commerce Guild¡¯s issue now. I apologize that one of our own did something terrible to you all. I have already read Atora-san¡¯s report. Something so terrible should never have happened. The Commerce Guild won¡¯t be protecting him. Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild will also subject him to punishment.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, what will be his punishment?¡¹

    ¡¸He will be put to death, of course. As the contract we signed before says, this city is now a part of my territory. If his punishment hasn¡¯t been decided yet, it would be normal for him to be punished by Crimonia¡¯sws. He did as he pleased with my city. My important residents have been killed. A man like that will certainly be executed. Above all, he would be useless even if we let him live. If we execute him, we will relieve a lot of grief. That¡¯s why, it is best if he dies.¡¹

    The grief Cliff was talking about was surely that of the people who had lost someone.

    Husbands, wives, sons, daughters, rtives, close friends, grandfathers, grandmothers...there were probably many people cursing him.

    ¡¸We will execute him with poison, in the central za of this city. Call everybody who wants to see it, then I will have them forget about this incident.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, the bandits?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. We will sentence them based on the gathered information. The ones who have killed or touched the women will be executed as well. The others will work at the mines.¡¹

    The people behind this incident had been marked for execution with just a word from Cliff.

    Nobody wanted to interfere with this decision.

    Those elders were ordinary people. Even if the bandits were a really horrible bunch, the elders didn¡¯t want to dirty their hands, I bet.

    The fact that Cliff could make a decision like that really showed that he was someone with the ability to stand above other people.

    Well, if it was during a fight, I could kill them as well, but if I was asked to execute non-resisting viins, I would have a hard time agreeing on the spot.

    I thought that Cliff was incredible because he could do it.

    ¡¸If there are any rtives who haveints, you just have to mention my name!¡¹

    ¡¸Understood. Thank you very much for everything, Cliff-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need any thanks. I do it because it is my job, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸We will talk about the future of the Commerce Guild next.¡¹

    At those words, Jeremo was filled with nervousness.

    ¡¸I want to ask you all something. Is Jeremo someone who is serious about his job? Someone who can do his job properly? I would also like to know more about his personality.¡¹

    When the elders heard all of those questions, they all tilted their heads for a moment, but answered quickly.

    ¡¸Jeremo may be inexperienced, but he¡¯s a man who does his job.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw him skip work sometimes, but the residents love him.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, during this terrible month, he stole fish and distributed it to the poor families.¡¹

    ¡¸Let me think. He¡¯s the type who will do his job properly, even though he¡¯s grumbling about it all the time.¡¹

    Mylene-san responded after she had heard everyone¡¯sments.

    ¡¸Then, I will have you be the guild master of the Commerce Guild in this city.¡¹

    ¡¸Me...My humble self bing the guild master?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, in unstable times like this, it¡¯s best to have someone who¡¯s well liked by the people. The residents will lend such a person a helping hand. If a stranger like me became the guild master, they wouldn¡¯t do anything for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, me bing the guild master is...¡¹

    ¡¸There won¡¯t be a problem. I will dispatch someone to help you. You will just have to slowly learn how to be a guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸Jeremo, I beg of you as well. You don¡¯t know how much your actions have helped us during this period...¡¹

    ¡¸And if you want to skip work, you just have to give all of the work to your subordinates, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Jeremo, I feel the same as well.¡¹

    The elders bowed.

    It wasn¡¯t good to ditch your job, you know!

    ¡¸I understand. Please raise your heads. If you¡¯re really okay with me, I will ept.¡¹

    Jeremo-san puffed up his chest as he epted the job.

    Mylene-san smiled at his answer.

    I saw Jeremo-san¡¯s cheeks turn red, and it most likely wasn¡¯t just my imagination.

    ¡¸Then, the final topic is the tunnel, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Before that, should we have a meal?¡¹

    Atora-san checked the time.

    It was indeed time for lunch.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I want to go to the tunnel after we eat. Is that okay?¡¹

    Nobody refused Cliff¡¯s idea.

 Chapter 100 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Stone Statue

    Chapter 100 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Stone Statue

    We ate the meal that Atora-san prepared.

    It was a simple fish meal, but Cliff didn¡¯tin. It was funny, seeing Atora-san¡¯s anxious face as she watched him eat it.

    ¡¸I prepared a carriage outside, so we should head towards the tunnel.¡¹

    She said after we finished eating.

    It seemed that she had prepared everything while we were eating.

    We went outside, where a roofed carriage waited for us.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, Mylene-san, it may be small, but please get on.¡¹

    She was right. It was smallpared to the carriage Gran-san used at the capital.

    However, there were no nobles in Mireera, and preparing this carriage was probably the best they could do.

    Cliff, who understood that, wouldn¡¯tin.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    The carriage could seat three people on each side, opposite of each other.

    Cliff, Mylene-san, Atora-san, and the three elders.

    Jeremo-san headed for the coach seat.

    So, where would I be?

    Perhaps, the roof?

    That wasn¡¯t the case, as it seemed that Atora-san and Jeremo-san would both sit in the coach seat.

    With Jeremo-san¡¯s lead, the carriage started to move forward.

    ¡¸Missy, thank you very much.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro, who was sitting in front of me, stated his gratitude.

    ¡¸You brought the Feudal Lord of Crimonia from so far away.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have enough words to express our thanks to you, Missy.¡¹

    ¡¸Not to mention, you made a tunnel for our sake.¡¹

    The three elders gave their thanks.

    I felt really ufortable when they said it straightforwardly like that.

    ¡¸I just made the tunnel on a whim, so you don¡¯t have to mind it that much.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you saying that it was something you did on a whim? You... People who work in that field of expertise would be angry if they heard that.¡¹

    Cliff, who was sitting next to me, retorted.

    I said that I did it on a whim, but I made it carefully. Still, it was true that I got really fed up with the monotonous task halfway through, so I started humming while working.

    The only things that I really thought about while making it were the difference in height, the strength of the walls, and the flow of groundwater. I wanted to make it so that two carriages could fit through at the same time, of course, but amusingly, I forgot that carriages could differ in size.

    The carriage slowly rattled onward, and we arrived near the tunnel.

    Cliff stopped the carriage and we got out.

    ¡¸We will walk from here on.¡¹

    For some unknown reason, Cliff took the lead.

    Even though only three of us knew the ce, it wasn¡¯t okay for a noble to take the lead inside a forest, right!?

    Well, just in case, I used detection magic to check for monsters and humans along the way.

    The tunnel wasn¡¯t too far from the road, though.

    When we arrived at the tunnel, Atora-san took a deep breath.

    ¡¸This tunnel goes to Crimonia?¡¹

    Atora-san asked as she peeked inside the tunnel.

    ¡¸To be precise, it leads to a road that takes you to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s pitch ck.¡¹

    ¡¸We n on cing light and wind magic lines inside. We will be the ones paying for it, of course, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    The moment Cliff spoke about the magic lines, the faces of the five representatives from Mireera darkened. Cliff noticed that and reassured them.

    ¡¸Is that really okay? Of course, if you asked us to pay for it, the city doesn¡¯t have enough right now, but...¡¹

    ¡¸We will be paying for it because we will be asking for a passage fee, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸A passage fee, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸Seafood can be brought to Crimonia through this tunnel, and some people will also buy things and take them back to Mireera. People will go to see the sea as well. The profit will increase if more people pass through.¡¹

    ¡¸Going to see the sea, you say?¡¹

    It seemed that the residents of Mireera didn¡¯t really understand why people would want to see the sea.

    Well, people who lived at sightseeing ces normally wouldn¡¯t understand people who came from far away to see these ces.

    ¡¸The people who were born and raised in this ce might not understand it, but...for people who have never seen the sea before, just seeing it is worth it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    The elders tilted their heads, seemingly unconvinced.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you want to see Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸I would like to go there.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same thing. That¡¯s why you should prepare, since a lot of people will be visiting Mireera. They may change this calm city into a noisy one. Some rowdy people may also being. In return for everything you will receive, you should also be prepared to lose some things. That¡¯s why I will do my best, so you won¡¯t regret choosing me, but you will have to do your best for the city as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama...¡¹

    ¡¸When this tunnel is finished, people wille. During the construction, you should increase the number of soldiers and hire adventurers to strengthen the security of the city. I will also lend you some people, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Will there really be that many people?¡¹

    ¡¸There will be! I will advertise it, after all. I would be troubled if nobody was using the tunnel, you see.¡¹

    The elders shook their heads in disbelief.

    I voted for Cliff¡¯s idea as well.

    I made this tunnel on a whim, but I just realized that it might cause problems for the city.

    ¡¸For now, I will tell you what I was thinking about yesterday. We will talk about what is or isn¡¯t possible afterwards.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    The elders nodded.

    Would it be okay?

    I became uneasy when I saw the elders acting like that.

    ¡¸First, we will expand the city so it reaches this tunnel.¡¹

    ¡¸Expanding the city?¡¹

    ¡¸The city is not far from here. We will cut down all the trees around here and make a military station. If we do that, we will be able to inspect the people whoe through the tunnel and the coastal road at the same time. Having two checkpoints near each other would be meaningless.¡¹

    ¡¸What will we make after we cut down all the trees? We aren¡¯t really in need of plots ofnd for now, though?¡¹

    ¡¸How many inns do you have in the city? If dozens or even hundreds of carriages came, do you have any ces to put them? Do you have enough ces where visitors can eat food? Are there ces to build houses if people wanted to build them? There are a lot of different ways to use those plots ofnd.¡¹

    ¡¸Will so many people reallye?¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro, how many times had you asked that now?

    ¡¸They wille! I am absolutely certain that the city will stop being peaceful. If you want to curse someone, then you should curse this person who made the tunnel.¡¹

    When he said that, he looked towards me.

    ¡¸Still, personally, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing when we consider the future.¡¹

    I was sure that inside Cliff¡¯s mind, the future of Crimonia and Mireera was already decided. I was also sure that the future he had pictured was one that would bring the two cities in a good direction.

    ¡¸You are right.¡¹

    Atora-san nodded.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. We have to change or we won¡¯t be able to move forward. Staying with our old way of thinking won¡¯t do.¡¹

    ¡¸There are good and bad parts. We should be thankful that we even have the choice.¡¹

    At that very moment, they all looked towards me.

    ¡¸Now, we should talk about the passage inside the tunnel. Two carriages can fit at once, but we should make it one way only, and change sides daily. After all, if a big carriage were to pass through, it would block the whole tunnel. You will be in charge of this as well.¡¹

    Atora-san and other representatives all nodded.

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s still in the far future. We have to ce the magic lines before anything else can be done.¡¹

    The talk continued.

    Cliff stated his ideas, one after the other. With that, the discussion, or rather, Cliff¡¯s one-sided talk finished.

    Then, Grandpa Kuro approached me, with the two other elders behind him.

    ¡¸Missy, thank you very much. We can¡¯t repay you enough for this wonderful tunnel you made.¡¹

    ¡¸You subjugated the bandits, killed the Kraken, and even made this marvelous tunnel for the sake of our city, we can¡¯t possibly be thankful enough.¡¹

    ¡¸Missy, there is no way we can repay you for everything you did.¡¹

    I made this tunnel so that seafood could be transported to where I was living, though...

    Well, I was happy, and the elders were happy. That was why, I believed there was no problem.

    ¡¸You see, we have another favor to ask of you. Could you make one of your Bear Statues at the tunnel¡¯s entrance?¡¹

    ¡¸A Bear Statue?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay if you just make the same statue you made when you killed the Kraken. With it, we won¡¯t ever forget our gratitude towards you, who made the tunnel. I won¡¯t live forever. Still, the future city mustn¡¯t forget. That¡¯s why, could you make it for us?¡¹

    Huh, that meant I had to make a bronze statue of my bear-self?

    What was with this level of shame y...

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea.¡¹

    Cliff, who must have been listening to our talk, said.

    He was grinning. He probably found it really funny.

    ¡¸I want you to make another Yuna (Bear) on the other side too. Ah, that¡¯s wrong. A Bear (Yuna), please.¡¹

    TL: Wordy about how Yuna and Kuma sound simr..

    It was because of my imagination that I heard the same thing, right?

    ¡¸That¡¯s a joke, right?¡¹

    The elders were making serious faces. It was not a mood where I was able to refuse.

    ¡¸The tunnel will need a name as well. You made it, so I will give it a befitting name.¡¹

    Cliff grinned broadly.

    I had a really bad feeling about this.

    ¡¸............¡¹

    ¡¸What do you think about Bear Tunnel?¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    I looked at him, shocked.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a good name.¡¹

    ¡¸Wonderful.¡¹

    ¡¸We can be grateful to the missy when going through it with this name.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be handed down through generations.¡¹

    ¡¸With that, the people from the town will never forget.¡¹

    Everyone wanted to keep the name.

    ¡¸Stop it!!!¡¹

    I shouted, but nobody acknowledged me.

    Thus, it was decided that I would make a statue of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the two that I considered my other half.

    What was with this humiliation?!

    I was so embarrassed that I wouldn¡¯t be able to marry anymore. Though, it wasn¡¯t like I nned to do it anyway.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Thanks to all of you, we made it to the 100th chapter.

    I thank the people who read it from the start, and the ones who just started recently. I will count on all of you from now on as well.

    Mecta(TL):

    It¡¯s not my 100th chap, I just started at the end of August, more precisely at the 63rd chapter. Still, it¡¯s really a pleasure to bring you this series from Japanese to English. My birthnguage is neither Japanese nor English, so I take a bit longer than most of the other trantors. I don¡¯t use any MTL though, just my self taught Japanese, so I think it¡¯s pretty urate, and the staffs of X&M are here to back mycking English up. I have to thank the whole staff of X&M, especially the editor Mali (who takes a lot of time for Kuma), all the proofers who check after him, Cyn who does the final check, and of course, the boss Xant, without whom, I wouldn¡¯t even have started tranting.

    Well, let¡¯s finish this banter by thanking you for reading Kuma and saying this: ¤³¤ì¤«¤é¤â¡¢¤è¤í¤·¤¯¤ªîŠ¤¤¤·¤Þ¤¹ (I count on you all from now on as well.)

 Chapter 101 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Bear House At The Sea City

    Chapter 101 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Bear House At The Sea City

    While enduring my shame, I finished making statues of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear before we headed back to the city.

    ¡¸Atora-san, any progress on the plot ofnd we talked about?¡¹

    ¡¸I found some good options, but I thought you should choose the one you like the most.¡¹

    ¡¸You see, about that, I would like to make my house between the tunnel and the city like Cliff suggested, but would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no problem, but will you make it on your own? If it¡¯s Yuna...I guess it is possible?¡¹

    Atora-san, who had watched me make the Bear Statues, seemed to think it was possible.

    ¡¸You will wear yourself out if you try to put up with herck ofmon sense, you know. She made a house that looks like a bear in less than one day in Crimonia. Everyone was making a fuss about it.¡¹

    ¡¸A house that looks like a bear?¡¹

    ¡¸All the houses that this girl makes are Bear Houses. By the way, she made a Bear House in the capital too.¡¹

    ¡¸She even has a Bear House in the capital!?¡¹

    I only made those houses so I could use the transfer gates, though.

    ¡¸Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it fine to build my house anywhere? Though, if you have a n, I will hear you out.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have one in particr. What I was talking about was just an example. I haven¡¯t decided where everything will be built yet, so you can build it wherever you want.¡¹

    I had Cliff and Atora-san¡¯s permission, so I could make the Bear House now.

    I decided not to go inside the carriage and saw them off instead.

    When we finished, I muttered, ¡ºWas there even a reason for me to apany them...¡»

    They said that they needed me because they didn¡¯t know each other¡¯s personalities.

    Even Cliff said,

    ¡¸With just your presence, we can trust the other party.¡¹

    Grandpa Kuro also said,

    ¡¸Because Missy seems to trust him, we believe we can also trust Cliff-sama.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I was really convinced by them.

    Cliff would now go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild with the elders, to talk about the tunnel some more. Mylene-san and Jeremo-san were going to the Commerce Guild to discuss the tunnel¡¯s future as well.

    I was left here alone, and I went towards the ce I had marked in order to make my home.

    I wanted to build the Bear House right next to the sandy beach.

    The view was beautiful there. A rooftop balcony would be a perfect ce to take a nap under a parasol.

    I was sure that you would even be able to clearly see the starry sky.

    When I was in Japan, I didn¡¯t really think that I would one day be able to build a house near the sea.

    In order to make the house, I first had to prepare the ground. I also wanted to make it on a somewhat elevated location, but I didn¡¯t know how much magic power I would need for that. Therefore, my first step was obvious. I made a simple changing room using earth magic and changed into the White Bear. I didn¡¯t n on using a lot of magic power, but since I would only be using magic, I would end up being less worn out if I put on the White Bear. This had been proven by the tunnel construction.

    After I changed, I began cutting down the trees that were in front of me and preparing the ground.

    I cut the trees using wind magic and removed the roots using earth magic.

    I cut off the tree branches and put the trees inside the Bear Box.

    The width and the length of the clearing were both around one hundred meters.

    ¡¸Did I make it a bit too big?¡¹

    I was a bit too excited and ended up clearing a ce as wide as a school courtyard.

    Well, I didn¡¯t really have to worry about it. It probably wouldn¡¯t be a problem, even if I didn¡¯t use all of the space.

    I put down some more soil to raise the ground. I did it because I wanted to put the Bear House on top of a hill. The house would be a bit bigger than the one in Crimonia.

    This was because I nned to bring Morin-san, Karin-san, the children who worked at the shop, the children who took care of the cluckers, and the headmistress here when summer came. In that case, it would be better if they came to the Bear House instead of staying at the inn. This way, we wouldn¡¯t bother the people staying at the inn.

    It was at that very moment that I realized something.

    How many children were there at the orphanage?

    I was under the impression that the number had increased recently.

    If I remembered correctly, there had been around thirty of them at first. I remembered giving out about thirty wolf pelt, but I didn¡¯t remember the exact number. The number of children had been increasing little by little after that, and now, I had no idea how many children there were.

    Still, it shouldn¡¯t have doubled, right?

    It was at moments like these when the Bear Phone shined.

    I used the Bear Phone and called Fina.

    ¡ºBig Sis Yuna?¡»

    ¡¸Fina, I want to ask you something. Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡ºYes, no problem.¡»

    ¡¸How many children are there at the orphanage?¡¹

    ¡ºHow many children? If I am not wrong, there should be around sixty.¡»

    What! Before I knew it, the number had doubled.

    Well, the headmistress and Liz were taking care of them, but were they okay with just the two of them?

    Not to mention, I had also asked Liz to manage the cluckers.

    Hmm, we should have a talk about increasing the number of employees the next time I stop by.

    ¡¸Thank you, Fina.¡¹

    I hung up.

    Sixty, huh. More than I had expected.

    Even if I included the rooms on the second floor, I only had room for thirty. The thought of not bringing them to the sea crossed my mind for a moment, but then I remembered that the children were doing their best at work, so that wasn¡¯t possible.

    I decided to make a big house, so I summoned Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    I made the foundation using earth magic and then, using wind magic, refined the trees I had cut down earlier. I then had Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear transport the refined wood and used them as pirs. I decided to secure them using earth magic.

    I wasn¡¯t a skilled carpenter, after all.

    My method of building this house was by using wind magic to process wood, having Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear transport the wood, and securing the wood with earth magic.

    Once the foundations were stable, I just had to make it look like I imagined by using earth magic.

    To make the image stronger, I made it look like a Bear.

    I made all of the rooms by borrowing the strength of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    (ED: I don¡¯t know why the author repeats...but it¡¯s in the raws.)

    I made a big dining room, a kitchen, and a living room on the first floor. I made the bedrooms on the second floor. I made six bedrooms that could fit six people. I made triple bunk beds so that the rooms would have more space. With that, I could amodate 36 people. It was probably okay if I split up the children into two groups, as long as the number of children didn¡¯t increase.

    Still, knowing the headmistress¡¯s character, if she found a new orphan, she would pick them up for sure. I should prepare for when the number increased.

    I made rooms for the guests and myself on the third floor. I made a big room for myself and added a balcony too. The sea that I was able to see from the balcony was beautiful. I also didn¡¯t forget to make a transfer gate inside my room.

    I made a Bear Bath on the fourth floor. I made it so that you could see the sea. I didn¡¯t forget to separate male and female baths either. After getting this far, I noticed something. This was not a house but a Ryokan, right?

    I realized thiste...

    (TN: Ryokan: Japanese style inn)

    The roomyout was nowplete, so I started installing magic stones. I used the magic lines to put light magic stones on every ceiling. I had to manually install the magic stone, so it took some time. I also installed a water and fire magic stone in the bathroom, and adjusted the water temperature.

    When I finished installing magic stones in every room, the sun was setting below the sea. The house was not totallyplete, but I decided to go back to the inn.

    When I returned to the city, the man at the entrance was acting as if he had seen something strange. I showed him my guild card and entered.

    He wasn¡¯t the one I usually saw, so was this the first time that he had seen me?

    As I was walking toward the inn, people were looking at me and acting as if something was strange. Nobody called out to me, though.

    The state of the city was strange.

    They would normally call out to me.

    Had something happened?

    I went back to the inn a bit faster.

    When I arrived at the inn, Cliff was in the middle of having his meal.

    ¡¸Cliff, the city is strange. Did something happen!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, something did happened.¡¹

    I knew it, something had happened.

    ¡¸What happened!?¡¹

    ¡¸The ck Bear became a White Bear.¡¹

    He said seriously.

    I finally noticed my clothes.

    ¡¸You also had a White Bear, huh.¡¹

    I rushed towards my room and changed back to the ck Bear.

    It was only a color change, but I became really embarrassed, as always.

    It might have been because it wasn¡¯t something that I wore in front of other people, but it still made me really embarrassed.

    The fact that the people around me had looked at me differently was also a factor. For the people in the city, it had already be ¡ºme£½ck Bear¡». Then, when they saw me in the White Bear Suit, they were all shocked.

    I came back while acting like nothing had happened and asked Cliff.

    ¡¸It¡¯s only you? Where¡¯s Mylene-san?¡¹

    ¡¸She isn¡¯t back yet. How¡¯s it going with your house?¡¹

    ¡¸Not bad. I will finish it by tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸A house isn¡¯t something that¡¯s made in one or two days, you know.¡¹

    Cliff said. I ignored his response and asked Deiga-san for a meal.

    ¡¸So, how did it go for you, Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸We will announce the tunnel tomorrow. At the same time, we will start recruiting people to tten the ground. We have already decided on the sries. After all, if the amount is too low, people won¡¯t do it, and if it¡¯s too much, it will be a financial burden.¡¹

    As expected, I didn¡¯t understand anything at all. I didn¡¯t even know the market prices in the first ce, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸But, we have the Kraken¡¯s materials, so we are okay on that end.¡¹

    ¡¸Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸You donated all of the Kraken¡¯s materials to the city, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t need them, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸You... How much do you think that many materials could be traded for?¡¹

    He said while looking upset, but there was no way I could know that.

    ¡¸The Kraken¡¯s skin is waterproof, so you can use it as a water repellent, and there¡¯s a lot of people who want it. The teeth can be sold for a high price. It¡¯s worth a fortune with that alone, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay if it can help the city¡¯s revival.¡¹

    ¡¸You really are strange.¡¹

    He sighed, but still smiled.

    As I ate the food that Deiga-san made, Mylene-san came back.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-chan, you¡¯re eating already. Cliff, will you start now?¡¹

    ¡¸I already finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? I am thest one?¡¹

    Mylene-san went to the back and asked Deiga-san for a meal.

    ¡¸So, how did it go for you?¡¹

    ¡¸From the start, it was a Commerce Guild with only a few people, but on top of that, four of them have been arrested. There¡¯s not enough people. When thinking about the future, it¡¯s really short on human resources.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the same thing for us. The mayor has not been decided yet, and we still have to choose the people who will be aiding him.¡¹

    ¡¸How about the assistants of the mayor who fled?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that they were all from his family.¡¹

    Ah, it was the thing that happened a lot when it came to family businesses.

    The first generation was excellent, but when the second or the third generation appeared, they became ipetent.

    ¡¸Also, they took all their fortune with them when they fled.¡¹

    ¡¸Your are fine, since you have some people left, but I am at a point where I have to ask the three elders.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s terrible.¡¹

    ¡¸It would be ideal for me if Atora-san became the mayor, but if that happens, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild would lose its head. We will have to talk about it at Crimonia¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it, we will really need to bring some people from Crimonia quicky.¡¹

    ¡¸At the same time, we will also have to train a capable person.¡¹

    The two of them had it really rough.

    I listened to their conversation as if it was someone else¡¯s problem while I ate my meal.

    ¡¸So, Cliff, I want to go back to Crimonia as quickly as possible, but when will you be able to go back?¡¹

    ¡¸I have something to do tomorrow, so I will go back the day after.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I will go then as well. If I don¡¯t return to Crimonia, there will be no progress in the work I have to do, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the same thing for me.¡¹

    It had been decided that we would go back the morning of the day after tomorrow.

 Chapter 102 â€“ Bear-san Does Various Things Before Going Back

    Chapter 102 ¨C Bear-san Does Various Things Before Going Back

    We were nning to go back tomorrow, so I decided to leave the inn early.

    I headed towards the harbour to look for Ranya-san and Damon-san.

    I arrived at the harbour, but no boats had returned yet.

    Was I too early?

    I had some questions about seafood. At first, I wanted to ask the elders, but I held back since they seemed really busy talking to Cliff.

    As I was walking through the harbour while looking at the sea, I saw returning boats in the distance.

    It seemed that I had good timing.

    Big and small boats were all arriving at the harbour, one after the other.

    As I watched the fishermen return, someone called out to me.

    ¡¸Bear Missy, what are you doing at the harbour this early in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸I am going back to Crimonia tomorrow, so I wanted to say goodbye to Ranya-san and Damon-san, and stock up on seafood as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re already going back...¡¹

    The fisherman seemed sad.

    ¡¸I came to this city to buy some fish after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then, to show my gratitude, you can take as much fish as you want from the ones I have caught today.¡¹

    The fisherman who called out to me said something outrageous. The fishermen who heard him also started saying that I should take the fish they had caught.

    I was happy, but was it really okay?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what is going on?¡¹

    Ranya-san and Damon-san came up from behind the fishermen.

    ¡¸I am going back to Crimonia tomorrow morning, so I came to say goodbye. I also came to stock up on seafood.¡¹

    ¡¸Then you can just take the ones I caught. I don¡¯t need any money, of course. You have saved us a number of times, after all.¡¹

    The surroundings became noisy when Damon-san said that.

    ¡¸Oi, Damon! You can¡¯t say that afteringte. We want Bear Missy to take our fish as well. You aren¡¯t the only one who has been saved, you know! We are all thankful that we can fish again. It¡¯s a chance for us to repay her at least a little, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! We don¡¯t normally get to approach her, since the elders said that it would be an annoyance, you know!¡¹

    The elders gave out an order like that, huh.

    ¡¸Still, we have been saved on the snowy mountain as well...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s irrelevant.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! You aren¡¯t the only ones who are thankful!!¡¹

    Somehow, it became a major incident.

    In this situation, I had to say something like ¡ºStop! Don¡¯t fight over me!¡», right?

    ¡¸Hmm, you should all calm down. I will properly pay for the fish.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Missy, we won¡¯t take your money.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! If we do, it won¡¯t count as repayment!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good. You have to keep your business ethics, or it will be hard for me toe and buy fish at ater date.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s Bear Missy, I don¡¯t mind if you don¡¯t pay next time either.¡¹

    ¡¸I have a food shop in Crimonia, so I would have toe back to restock on a regr basis.¡¹

    ¡¸...Understood. Next time, you will pay, but please take it for free today.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, okay. I will take it for free this time then.¡¹

    We reached apromise, and they settled down.

    ¡¸Also, if something happens, just tell us. We will listen to any request from Bear Missy.¡¹

    The surrounding fishermen nodded.

    ¡¸Then, can I ask you something?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸The feudal lord from Crimonia is discussing the future of the city with the elders right now, and I want all of you to ept it without making amotion.¡¹

    ¡¸We wouldn¡¯t go against something the elders decided on in the first ce, and if even the Missy requests it, there¡¯s no way we would. We ept your request.¡¹

    The fishermen nodded.

    With that, when the discussions with Crimonia were revealed, things should advance a bit smoother.

    I took the fish and left the harbour.

    Of course, I had them bleed the fish before I put them away, or I couldn¡¯t have put them inside the Bear Box.

    It was a bitte for this to be said, but the fact that I couldn¡¯t put the fish inside when they were still alive was quite inconvenient.

    In the worst case scenario, you could freeze the fish or squid, but I had never heard about freezing shellfish. If I wanted to store those, I wouldn¡¯t have any other choice but to open them and only take what was inside.

    Well, if I could put living things inside the Bear Box, I would be able to do some really terrible things, so there was no helping it.

    If I could put people inside, it would be like putting them to sleep and freezing their time. Also, I wouldn¡¯t need to kill the monster, but rather just put them inside the box. If I ever wanted to kill them, I would just have to push them off from the top of a mountain. If I didn¡¯t need the materials, I could just throw them inside a volcano.

    If putting living things inside the Bear Box made their hearts stop, the Bear Box would be the best weapon for subjugating demons.

    When thinking about it like that, it couldn¡¯t be helped that the Bear Box was the way it was.

    I left the harbour for my next destination, the Ryokan-style Bear House.

    I continued from where I left off yesterday.

    I decided to make a garden before I entered the house.

    First, I made a space to park several carriages. Next, I prepared to make a storehouse and a stable.

    After I decided on the size of the garden, I enclosed it with a two meter tall fence. I added an entrance door that I had made with the wood I refined using wind magic. Finally, in ce of the Okinawa lions, I put Bear Cub statues at the top of the entrance.

    This would do for the outside.

    I entered the house and resumed from where I left off yesterday. I started from the first floor. I used wind magic to make enough tables and chairs for around 40 people.

    In the kitchen, I ced tes and cups I had made using earth and fire magic on the shelves. I didn¡¯t forget about forks and spoons, of course.

    I finished with the first floor and moved onto the second floor. As for the things that I was missing, I would just have to go out to shop next time.

    There were only beds on the second floor. Since there was nothing urgent, I moved onto the third floor. My room was on this floor. Just having a bed was more than enough for this room as well. Still, I made itrger because Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would sleep here in there cub forms. I added some other things like tables and chairs for the other guest rooms.

    I moved onto the fourth floor. The bath was on this floor. I haphazardly made some stools and buckets. I also made some shelves to hold clothes in the changing room.

    It looked like a small public bath when I added those things.

    Should I paint Mount Fuji on the walls as well?

    (TL note: Okinawa lions statue is ced as a talisman against evil at entrances and on roofs).

    I finished making the minimum necessities of this Ryokan-style Bear House. I made it look like a sprawled out bear, since the house had be long and narrow. The entrance was on the bear¡¯s side.

    When seen from the front, it was clear that the bear was looking towards the sea.

    The fifth Bear House had finally beenpleted.

    The first one was in Crimonia, the second one was in a cave near the clucker vige, the third one was the one I used for travel, and the fourth one was at the capital. Thus, this one was the fifth.

    I made the houses look like Bears because that strengthened them. Also, it was because it strengthened the anti-crime system I set up using my magic. Only the people I gave permission to could enter the houses.

    Even if I wasn¡¯t there, nobody would be able to infiltrate the house. Of course, even if they did manage to enter, there was nothing to steal.

    I finished the Bear House, so I decided to go back to the inn. It was lunch time.

    When I entered the inn, Deiga-san came up to me.

    ¡¸Deiga-san, a meal please!¡¹

    I asked for food, and went to the table I always sat at during meals.

    ¡¸Missy, is it real?¡¹

    Deiga-san mmed his hands on the table.

    ¡¸What is?¡¹

    I was confused.

    I didn¡¯t understand what he was talking about.

    ¡¸All of it! I heard that you went to Crimonia and brought back the Feudal Lord and the Commerce Guild master! Even more, it seems that they were the two who stayed here.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, about that. Cliff is the Feudal Lord and Mylene-san is the Commerce Guild¡¯s master.¡¹

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you tell me before! if I knew that they were a Feudal Lord and a guild master, I would have made more delicious meals...¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff and Mylene-san said that your meals were delicious, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, they said that they came here because the elders asked them for the sake of the city... If, because of my meals...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. The meals were delicious enough.¡¹

    I said to calm him down.

    ¡¸Are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸If it was bad, we wouldn¡¯t eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, it¡¯s okay... Well, I will make a delicious meal for you, Missy.¡¹

    Deiga-san went to the kitchen, looking happy.

    A delicious smell drifted from the kitchen.

    Not too long after, warm, steaming meals were lined up on the table. They looked delicious.

    ¡¸Leaving that aside, is it true that you dug a tunnel?¡¹

    ¡¸You heard?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, just before you came back.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how it spread, but as expected, they knew it was me.

    ¡¸Missy, who managed to kill the Kraken, is also able to make tunnels?¡¹

    ¡¸It was troublesome, but I made it for Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸For Anzu?¡¹

    ¡¸I asked Anzu if she wanted toe to Crimonia before. I asked her toe and work at my shop.¡¹

    ¡¸In Crimonia...¡¹

    ¡¸She refused because it was too far. If I made a tunnel, it would be closer, right? That¡¯s why I thought that she would agree toe if I made it.¡¹

    ¡¸To sum up, this means you made the tunnel, so you could bring Anzu to Crimonia, right?¡¹

    ¡¸At first, I just wanted a route to get seafood to Crimonia, but it¡¯s true that I made it only after talking to Anzu. Incidentally, it also helped with Mireera joining Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸You say that you will make her work in Crimonia, but what will you do about the restaurant?¡¹

    ¡¸I will make it. I already have a bakery and a cafe, so I will just make Anzu¡¯s shop next to it.¡¹

    ¡¸You say you will make it so easily... How much money do you think it will take to make?¡¹

    ¡¸I will cover everything, so don¡¯t worry about it. I just want Anzu to cook. I will pay her, of course, and I will let here home whenever she wants.¡¹

    ¡¸Missy, how do you benefit from giving such good terms?¡¹

    ¡¸I will be able to eat seafood cuisine that Anzu learned from you. That¡¯s more than enough. Honestly, I would like you toe, but that would be impossible, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t joking, right?¡¹

    He asked seriously, so I answered seriously as well.

    ¡¸I am not joking. Still, I won¡¯t force her toe with me. If she doesn¡¯t want to go, I will give up.¡¹

    If she made something unwillingly, it wouldn¡¯t be delicious. If I wanted it to be done, it had to be done willingly.

    ¡¸...Anzu! Pleasee here for a second!¡¹

    He shouted towards the back room.

    ¡¸What is it, dad?¡¹

    Anzu looked out from the back room.

    ¡¸Do you want to go to Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if I wanted to go there, it¡¯s not that easy. I would be sad being separated from you and mom.¡¹

    ¡¸What if Crimonia was closer? A few days distance?¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I would like to go.¡¹

    She said something that made me really happy.

    ¡¸You see, it seems that this Missy made a tunnel that goes all the way to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Dad, what are you saying? It¡¯s impossible to make a tunnel in a few days.¡¹

    Anzuughed and pped Deiga-san¡¯s back.

    ¡¸I think so as well. Still, the old men made an official announcement about it. Also, the one who made it is the Missy.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and it seems that she made it because she wanted you toe to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not all of it. The first reason was that she wanted to eat seafood in Crimonia. The second one was that Atora-san and the elders wanted to be a part of Crimonia province. The third one was that if she made the tunnel, you would maybee to Crimonia, since the distance would be shorter.¡¹

    ¡¸I am included in those really important reasons?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s more than enough of a reason, right?¡¹

    ¡¸...Dad¡¹

    Anzu looked at Deiga-san.

    ¡¸Missy, are you really fine with my daughter? If you want, I can introduce you to other cooks.¡¹

    ¡¸If it doesn¡¯t work out with Anzu, I would like you to introduce them to me, but I love your cuisine, so it would be the best if Anzu, who learned it from you, came.¡¹

    ¡¸...Anzu, decide this by yourself. It¡¯s your own life. I know that you want your own restaurant.¡¹

    ¡¸D, dad...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to rush. Common people can¡¯t go through the tunnel for now, so even if I made youe, there would be no fish, so it would be meaningless, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I understand. Let me think about it some more.¡¹

    Anzu returned to the back room.

    ¡¸Ah, I didn¡¯t think she would leave before getting married.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not decided that she will being to Crimonia yet, right?¡¹

    ¡¸She will. That girl, she was hiding it, but she was really happy. Even if it¡¯s just one of the reasons, you said that you made the tunnel for her cooking. That¡¯s something to be happy about. If it was something that had been made for me, I would have happily gone there. That¡¯s why my daughter will do the same.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, would you like for the entire family toe? I could make an inn, and you would be able to run it as a family.¡¹

    Yeah, that was a good idea.

    ¡¸The invitation makes me happy, but I must refuse. I was born and raised here, after all. I n on staying here until I die.¡¹

    ¡¸If Anzu goes to Crimonia, doe over to have some fun, okay? I will wee you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I wille then.¡¹

    All that was left for me to do was to pray for Anzu toe.

 Chapter 103 â€“ Bear-san goes back to Crimonia

    Bear-san goes back to Crimonia

    TN: This should be next day morning leaving off from the previous chapter.

    Anzu¡¯s issue was put on hold until the tunnel was finished.

    Deiga-san told me that the chances were good, so I was looking forward to it.

    I said goodbye to Anzu and Deiga-san, and left the inn. Atora-san, Jeremo-san, and the elders came to see me off.

    ¡¸Atora-san, thank you for everything.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying! I am the one who is really grateful! You can stay longer if you want, but that can¡¯t be helped, right? Yuna, we will always wee you, so doe visit, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I built my house here, so I will return. Also, please say goodbye to Blitz¡¯s party for me.¡¹

    I thought that they would be back already, but that wasn¡¯t the case.

    Well, we did say our goodbyes when they departed.

    ¡¸Yes, I will. I¡¯m sure they will be surprised when theye back.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know if they would believe it or not, though.

    I looked for Jeremo-san and saw that he was speaking with Mylene-san. He noticed my gaze and approached me.

    ¡¸Jeremo-san, I will be counting on you about the matter, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a request from Missy. I will do everything I can to stock up.¡¹

    I asked Jeremo-san to stock up on rice and soy sauce when a boat came from the country of Harmony and Peace. I also asked him to buy rare products you normally couldn¡¯t get your hands on. It was possible that I would get my hands on some incredible things.

    I gave him money, of course.

    I really wanted to go to the country of Harmony and Peace one day.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get angry if I stock up on useless things, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t get angry. You should only use money after consulting with me first, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I am a Commerce Guild employee, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re more than just that, you¡¯re the guild master!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that. I really think it¡¯s strange for me to be the guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸You have to get it together, so you won¡¯t trouble us.¡¹

    Mylene-san, who was listening in on the conversation, encouraged him.

    ¡¸Yes, I will do my best.¡¹

    Jeremo-san bowed.

    He seemed to have some feelings for Mylene-san, but the other party was Mylene-san...

    Well, I didn¡¯t know much about love affairs, so I shouldn¡¯t butt in.

    ¡¸Also, if they tell you where the country of Harmony and Peace is, make sure to remember it.¡¹

    Yes, none of the residents knew the exact location of the country of Harmony and Peace.

    Of course, there were no sea charts orpasses in the city. It seemed that they just did some trade with the ships that came every now and then.

    If I knew when a ship woulde, I would negotiate with them personally, but since it came irregrly, there was no helping it. Not to mention, there was also the Kraken issue. Jeremo-san told me it was possible that they wouldn¡¯te anymore.

    If that turned out to be true, I would have to look for it myself.

    Would the King know about it?

    The previous guild master might know about it, but I didn¡¯t want to visit someone who would be executed soon.

    I put the case on hold, gave my goodbyes to the elders, and then we departed.

    When we got out of the city, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and we headed for the tunnel.

    As we were moving towards the tunnel, we came across a fence that surrounded the Ryokan-style Bear House.

    ¡¸When we went to see the tunnel yesterday, I was shocked to see that you had made something so big.¡¹

    It seemed that he hade across it when he went to see the tunnel with the residents.

    They must have been really shocked when they saw it.

    ¡¸I did say I would make it, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think you would make something this big!¡¹

    ¡¸I had to make it big, because I want to bring the children from the orphanage here to visit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, let me stay at your ce the next time Ie here, okay?¡¹

    Mylene-san, who was riding Swaying Bear with me, said. I epted, of course.

    Our Bear riding party arrived at the tunnel, where the Bear Statues could be seen at the entrance. It was a bitte to say this, but strangers would think that they were normal bears, right? Nobody would link the Bear Statues to me, right? Hoping that wouldn¡¯t be the case, I cast Bear Light and entered the tunnel.

    The Bear Light illuminated the tunnel, and Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear ran towards the exit.

    We encountered goblins inside, but I defeated them quickly, and we soon came out on the other side.

    ¡¸We shouldn¡¯t take too long or monsters will settle here, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸A big cave like this makes the perfect home for monsters, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸We will have to dispatch adventurers to kill the surrounding monsters first. If we don¡¯t, the workers would be in danger.¡¹

    ¡¸We will have to investigate the monsters around here before dispatching the adventurers, right?¡¹

    ¡¸If we go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we should be able to learn about them.¡¹

    He was right, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild should have information about monsters in the area.

    I burned the goblin corpses so that the other monsters wouldn¡¯t approach the tunnel. Then, right when I wanted to head to Crimonia, Cliff stopped me.

    ¡¸Wait. Yuna, you didn¡¯t forget, right?¡¹

    He had a really unpleasant smile.

    It was exactly because I didn¡¯t forget, that I wanted to leave quickly, though...

    ¡¸Make the statues before we head back to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t next time be good as well?¡¹

    ¡¸When is this next time? I bet you just don¡¯t n on making it.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not...¡¹

    I had hoped he would have forgotten about it, but he remembered it...

    ¡¸Your eyes are swimming, you know! It officially became the Bear Tunnel, so the Bear Statues are needed. Otherwise, I will just make a statue of you here, if you prefer.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you should give up. When Cliff is like this, he won¡¯t let it pass. I also want to see Yuna-chan¡¯s statue.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san...¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t able to escape when they put it like that.

    Since I had no other choice, I got down from Swaying Bear and made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear statues, one on each side of the tunnel¡¯s entrance. The only thing that somewhat relieved me was that it wasn¡¯t a sculpture of me. If Cliff made a sculpture of me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use this tunnel ever again, making me unable to go to Mireera.

    When I made the statues, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear seemed happy. Were they happy to have statues of themselves made?

    After I made the statues quickly, we once again departed towards Crimonia.

    When we arrived at the town, the two of them returned to their respective workces.

    Cliff went to the Feudal Lord¡¯s house and Mylene-san went to the Commerce Guild.

    I headed to Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop to have a meal.

    I was the only one who had no work, so I was able to take it easy. Well, I had things to do, but they weren¡¯t pressing matters, so I could start doing them tomorrow.

    I said the words that any unmotivated person would say.

    I will do it tomorrow. I will do my best tomorrow.

    They were beautiful words.

    I believed that if I could do it tomorrow, I should do it tomorrow.

    I didn¡¯t have to force myself to do it today.

    As I was walking towards Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop, I repeated those excuses to myself.

    I went to the Commerce Guild the next day.

    I was looking for Mylene-san, but I couldn¡¯t find her.

    ¡¸Excuse me, Kuma-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuma-san?¡¹

    When I looked for the source of this strange way of calling me, I saw a young female employee.

    ¡¸No, Yuna-san. Are you looking for the guild master, Mylene-san?¡¹

    She called me Kuma-san just now, right? Not like I could say anything when I had responded to it, though...

    ¡¸Yes, is she here?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s not. It seems that she¡¯s not well. She didn¡¯t go to sleep yesterday, and just locked herself in her room.¡¹

    This meant that she had been working since she came back yesterday.

    She had it rough. I was personally feeling great, since I slept well.

    ¡¸I wanted to talk to her about a plot ofnd, though.¡¹

    ¡¸A plot ofnd, is it? If you are okay with me, you can talk to me about it.¡¹

    Hmm, what should I do?

    Other employees were okay too, but...

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Guild master!?¡¹

    Mylene-san walked towards us.

    ¡¸I had a little favor to ask of you, Mylene-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Of me?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m running a shop now, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the Bear¡¯s Rest, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I would like to purchase somend in its vicinity.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, for the fishmonger, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not exactly it, but...¡¹

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, there are some vacant plots and houses, but will you really make it?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if Anzu doesn¡¯te, Deiga-san promised to introduce me to some other people, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, you can purchase it, but, Yuna-chan, do you really understand? There aren¡¯t any skilled people who would do it for free, you know.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really n on making them do it for free, though.

    I made the tunnel so I could have seafood in Crimonia, and making the restaurant was so that I could eat seafood whenever I wanted. It was all for my own sake.

    ¡¸Riana, please sell her a plot ofnd near ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡» at half price.¡¹

    Mylene-san said something unbelievable.

    ¡¸Guild Master! You sure that¡¯s all right?¡¹

    ¡¸You sure?¡¹

    The employee and I asked the same question.

    ¡¸Compared to the profits Yuna-chan brought to Crimonia this time, it¡¯s an insignificant. Yuna-chan has only eyes for seafood, but you see, Cliff and I believe that salt is the most significant thing that will be brought over.¡¹

    ¡¸Salt?¡¹

    ¡¸We stocked up on rock salt before, but now that the sea is near us, we will have ess torge quantities of salt for a cheap price. We will also be able to sell it to other towns and viges. You see, this tunnel is even more incredible than you believe, Yuna-chan. That¡¯s why, you don¡¯t have to worry about something like a simple plot ofnd. We still have to put up a front though, so we can¡¯t just give it for free.¡¹

    Mylene-san was tired, but she was still smiling.

    Certainly, salt was an important resource in any world. It was more valuable than sugar.

    I purchased salt normally, so I didn¡¯t really notice before. As expected of the Commerce Guild¡¯s master and the Feudal Lord, they had a different point of view from someone like me.

    I just did what I wanted, but the two of them took action while thinking about the town¡¯s benefits.

    ¡¸Riana, I¡¯m counting on you then.¡¹

    ¡¸What about guild master?¡¹

    ¡¸My stomach is empty, so I will eat a meal at the Bear¡¯s Rest.¡¹

    She waved her hand and left the guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this way, please.¡¹

    Riana showed me every plot ofnd around the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡» and I decided to buy all of them. Was it okay for me to buy them so cheaply?

    If it wasn¡¯t, I would give them back.

    ¡¸All of them!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s troublesome to buy them piece by piece, and I don¡¯t want other people to buy any. Also, is it possible to sell the plot where I¡¯m living right now?¡¹

    ¡¸You n on moving?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on building my home near the shop, so that it will be easier to go there.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Then, I will buy the plot ofnd where Yuna-san is living. Please move out before the end of this month.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    I bought thend and left the guild.

    I arrived near the Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop.

    Arge vacant house was right next to it. It was a bit smaller than the shop.

    I would just have to rearrange this, huh?

    On the first floor, I removed the inside walls, changing it into one room. The kitchen was a bit small, so I made it bigger. A pantry was next to the kitchen. The size should be sufficient, I think? If it wasn¡¯t, I would just have to erge itter.

    I would have to discuss about the tables and the interior design with Anzu when she came. By then, things should have also calmed down for Mylene-san, so it might be good to talk to her as well.

    I left the second floor as it was.

    Even if Anzu wouldn¡¯t live here, we could use it as a resting room.

    I left the house.

    No one had been living here, so the overgrowth was awful.

    Likest time, I cleaned it up using magic, and remade the cracked walls so that they became nice and clean. A restaurant¡¯s appearance was really important, after all.

    I was done after that, probably.

    Still, was it just my impression that it looked lonely?

    I looked at the Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop. There were Bears there.

    I looked at the restaurant. There were no Bears here.

    Anzu might hate bears.

    I had to take her wishes into ount, so I decided to not make them here.

 Chapter 104 - Bear-san Eats Pancakes

    Bear-san Eats Pancakes

    A couple of days had passed since I came back to Crimonia.

    Mylene-san and Cliff were busy. They were subjugating the monsters around the tunnel with the help of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and making a road to it. They were purchasing and installing the magic lines. Also, Cliff departed to the capital a few days back. Thest time I saw him, he was looking really tired, but it shouldn¡¯t have been because of me. I believed it was divine punishment for naming the tunnel ¡ºBear Tunnel¡».

    Well, I didn¡¯t really care about Cliff. I was hungry, so I headed towards the Bear¡¯s Rest.

    When I arrived at the shop, the two cute bear statues greeted me. Recently, this deformed bear had been a hot topic in the town. I knew it, deformed things didn¡¯t exist in this world.

    As I was looking at the shop, customers entered. It seemed that it was flourishing more than ever. Morin-san¡¯s bread was delicious, after all.

    Recently, the honey soaked pancakes Morin-san and I made together were really popr. Well, Japanese pancakes were better in terms of ingredients, but I believed that we managed to reach the point where they were quite delicious.

    My goal today was eating those pancakes.

    I entered the shop and saw little bears moving around. When they saw me, the children approached me, but I told them that they didn¡¯t have to mind me and should carry on with their tasks.

    The children nodded and returned to work.

    As I watched them leave, I deemed their swaying bear tails cute. Such clothes wouldn¡¯t suit an adult like me. They suited the children better.

    However, something troublesome had happened recently.

    A few days ago, I saw the orphans in their Bear Uniforms walking through the town like it was normal.

    When I confirmed it with Terumi-san, it seemed that some children wore them even during their days off, and the number doing so had been slowly increasing. I quickly gave them money to buy normal clothes, but they said, ¡ºIt helps advertise the shop, so isn¡¯t it okay?¡».

    It was still too early for the costumes to be popr in this world.

    I asked Terumi-san to tell them to stop, but I didn¡¯t know if it would really help.

    ¡ºThey all love you and want to imitate you. That¡¯s why you should let them do whatever they want.¡»

    Was what she said, but my instinct was telling me that it was the only line that shouldn¡¯t be crossed. If it was crossed, I could already imagine that the world would be infested with costumes.

    That was the conversation I remembered having with Terumi-san.

    As I was walking towards the kitchen in the back, I saw a person I knew well.

    ¡¸Rurina-san.¡¹

    Rurina-san was eating pancakes by herself.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Rurina-san, what about your job?¡¹

    I sat down in front of Rurina-san.

    ¡¸I just finished my job and returned yesterday. I n to rest for a while. What about you, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to eat as well.¡¹

    I caught a passing Bear Girl and ordered pancakes and fried potatoes. Normally, a person had to go to the counter, but this was my manager¡¯s privilege.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I wanted to ask you something, but is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you rted to the Bear Tunnel?¡¹

    ¡¸...Why do you think so?¡¹

    I tried to calm down.

    ¡¸You see, it is the name, and the statues in front of the tunnel are Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You saw them?¡¹

    ¡¸I told you I just finished my job, right? The job was killing the monsters around the Bear Tunnel.¡¹

    The monster subjugation Cliff was talking about, huh. Then it was normal for those statues to be seen.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t talk about them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay, but the ones who know you will find out immediately, you know.¡¹

    In the first ce, how many people knew about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?

    There should be a lot of people who had seen them from afar, but not many had seen them up close, so they wouldn¡¯t find out that those statues were Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, right?

    I prayed that it was so.

    As I was thinking that, honey soaked pancakes and fried potatoes arrived.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I thanked the girl who brought them. The girl smiled happily and went back to work.

    I lined up the freshly made fried potatoes and pancakes in front of me.

    ¡¸The food here is delicious, right?¡¹

    Rurina-san extended a hand towards my fried potatoes, but I didn¡¯t stop her. After all, I had just requested something from her a moment ago. If nothing was left, I would just have to ask for more.

    As I was eating the honey soaked pancakes and enjoying the blissful moment, Terumi-san approached me.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-chan really is here!¡¹

    Was it a problem that I was here?

    ¡¸Great, I have something I want to discuss with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the shop.¡¹

    Terumi-san looked around.

    ¡¸Is it something you can¡¯t say here?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, that¡¯s not it, but...¡¹

    She was worried about what to do.

    ¡¸Then, we should go deeper inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Rurina-san, you can have my potatoes, so go ahead and eat them.¡¹

    I left my potatoes and I only brought the half-eaten pancake to the break room. When we entered it, I heard her story.

    ¡¸It seems that we won¡¯t be able to sell the pancakes that you are eating now anymore, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    I stopped the hand that was bringing the pancake to my mouth.

    ¡¸The price of honey just jumped up.¡¹

    ¡¸Why would that be?¡¹

    Honey was a must when talking about the pancakes.

    Well, jam and other substitutes were also okay, but I wouldn¡¯t budge from the fact that you had to put honey on pancakes.

    ¡¸Well, the reason is simple. It seems that they can¡¯t procure honey anymore. That¡¯s why the price rose.¡¹

    ¡¸And the reason that they can¡¯t procure honey is?¡¹

    ¡¸The supplier said something about monsters appearing.¡¹

    Had a yellow bear appeared near the beehive?

    (TL: Dunno what the reference is. Rkkuma or Winnie the Pooh?)

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, if the prices continue to rise, we won¡¯t be able to get our hands on it, so the pancakes and all other foods using honey will disappear from the shop.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you want me to kill those monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. I am talking about the shop here. There should be a monster subjugation request at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, right? Yuna-chan, you are the owner of the shop, so you have to think about the shop¡¯s interests!¡¹

    That¡¯s why I thought it should be enough to just go and defeat the monsters to procure the honey. I normally acted without thinking, but in this situation, it would be dangerous to just rush in as usual.

    ¡¸We can either temporarily stop selling all honey rted goods or raise the prices of those goods to ount for the raised price of honey.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll sell them after raising the prices?¡¹

    ¡¸It will decrease the frequency, but it should still sell. Although, the honey goods are really popr with the children, so I don¡¯t want to raise the prices.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸I am discussing that with you!¡¹

    She was totally right.

    There was a total of three possibilities. Either we stopped selling it, sold it at same price knowing we would be losing money, or raised the prices to ount for the honey.

    ¡¸What did Morin-san say?¡¹

    ¡¸The talk about money is a bother, so she left it to me.¡¹

    What a Morin-san like reason.

    ¡¸She only wants to be informed in advance if no honey arrives, so she can change the menu.¡¹

    ¡¸How¡¯s our stock?¡¹

    ¡¸Looking at the speed it is being sold at, it should onlyst for two, three days at most, I think. That¡¯s why I¡¯m worried.¡¹

    Hmm, what should we do?

    I didn¡¯t mind losing profit for a while, so it should be okay to just buy it, but...

    ¡¸Honey goods are popr, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Everything we serve here is popr, you know. That¡¯s why, the overall sales won¡¯t change a lot even if the honey goods disappear, but there will be some sad customers, particrly children.¡¹

    Well, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem if the issue with the honey was resolved, right?

    ¡¸I understand. I will go to the Commerce Guild after I eat this.¡¹

    I put the pancake on my fork inside my mouth.

    ¡¸Is that really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I always leave everything regarding the shop to you, Terumi-san, so I should do owner-like things sometimes.¡¹

    Well, I had continued to live like a NEET ever since I came back from Mireera. I should do some work sometimes, or I would be a bad example for the younger children.

    I had to preserve my pride as an adult.

    That¡¯s why, I went to the Commerce Guild after I finished eating my pancake.

    Author¡¯s note:

    As expected, Bears are indeed a honey story material.

 Chapter 105 - Bear-san Becomes A Rank C Adventurer

    Bear-san Bes A Rank C Adventurer

    I went to the Commerce Guild, which I hadn¡¯t been to for a while.

    I took a quick look around for Mylene-san, who was always cking off, but the Guild Master wasn¡¯t sitting at the reception desk. It was possible that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see that scene for some time. I felt sad when I thought about that, but for the employees, it was probably something to be happy about.

    As I was thinking about which reception desk I should go to, since she wasn¡¯t here, I noticed Riana, who had taken care of me when I bought the plots ofnds, so I decided to go to hers.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, wee. What business might you have here today? Is there any problem with thend you bought the other day?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. I have no problems with it. On the contrary, I was thinking if it was really okay for you to sell it to me that cheaply.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem, I heard the story about Mireera from the guild master the other day. Keeping that in mind, thend was a cheap price to pay. You will have amerce rank of S in the future.¡¹

    She said something huge.

    I heard that rank S was for the major merchants, like the ones in the capital. I didn¡¯t think that I would ever be one of those, and I didn¡¯t even want to.

    ¡¸Rank S is just a dream.¡¹

    When I said that, Riana got closer to me and whispered.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not a dream. In thest meeting, I heard that it has been decided that a part of the tunnel fee will be put on Yuna-san¡¯s card. If that happens, I think it will make up quite a sum. That¡¯s why, you will definitely be one in a few years.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait... They are talking about that in the meetings?!¡¹

    Riana ced her finger on her mouth to signal me to lower my voice.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, Yuna-san, only a few people, such as the person in charge of finances and the direct subordinates of the guild master, know about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san is the guild master, right? Aren¡¯t all of you her subordinates?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a good way of putting it. Some people can substitute for the guild master. They take over her tasks, when she isn¡¯t here.¡¹

    ¡¸That means you, Riana, are her substitute?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not that important. I¡¯m just your receptionist when she isn¡¯t here.¡¹

    What was with that? Her being my personal receptionist...

    ¡¸I believe it¡¯s because I was in charge of you when you were buying the plots ofnd. That¡¯s why, please call for me when the guild master isn¡¯t here, okay? If I am unable to help you, I will ry everything to the guild master.¡¹

    Riana bowed, so I ended up bowing as well.

    ¡¸Still, why would my guild rank go up when I receive the tunnel fee?¡¹

    ¡¸The rank will go up because the profits made with the fee are taxed.¡¹

    In other words, it was like I was running a business with the tunnel.

    Commerce rank, huh. There didn¡¯t seem to be any benefits from ranking up, though.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, why did youe here today?¡¹

    Ah, I had almost forgotten.

    I asked Riana about the honey problem.

    ¡¸It seems that obtaining honey has be hard recently, so the prices were suddenly raised. Do you know the reason?¡¹

    ¡¸About that, huh. It seems monsters appeared around the bee tree.¡¹

    The bee tree?

    I must have misheard that, right?

    It¡¯s a beehive, right?

    ¡¸Monsters appeared at the beehive?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s not a beehive, it¡¯s the bee tree.¡¹

    It seemed that I had not heard it wrong.

    What¡¯s a bee tree?

    ¡¸A monster appeared at this bee tree?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s the information we received.¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, what¡¯s a bee tree?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you don¡¯t know?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, this is the first time I have heard about it.¡¹

    ¡¸The bee trees are trees where the bees that collect nectar make their nests. They¡¯re giant trees, where several tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of bees crowd together, and the whole giant tree bes a beehive.¡¹

    Hundreds of thousands of bees sounds really gross, though.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it dangerous to pick honey with so many bees around?¡¹

    ¡¸The bees are docile, so there aren¡¯t any problems if you don¡¯t attack them first. Also, the people who go to gather it are experts, so there¡¯s no danger.¡¹

    So, there were specialists who gathered the honey.

    Well, we had those in Japan as well, though.

    ¡¸So, do we know what kind of monsters appeared?¡¹

    If they were weak, I would promptly kill them.

    ¡¸Someone who went to gather the honey said that it was a goblin herd. He saw them swarming the bee tree. We already sent a request to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so I think that it will be resolved soon.¡¹

    If it was just goblins, the adventurers should be able to defeat them, so I didn¡¯t think I would have to act.

    ¡¸Thanks. I will go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to see what¡¯s happening.¡¹

    I thanked Riana and left the Commerce Guild to head to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    I saw less adventurers than normal when I entered. The adventurers who saw me took a step back for some reason. I wouldn¡¯t do anything, you know. I wasn¡¯t scary, okay?

    While thinking like that, I approached Helen-san at the reception desk.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is it?¡¹

    What is it? If you asked any adventurer why they came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, they would be troubled. Well, I haven¡¯t really beening here recently, though.

    ¡¸I have something to ask, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Something to ask, is it? Before that, Yuna-san, can I have your guild card please?¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Guild Master told me to rank you up when you came.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank up?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Cliff-sama came here just yesterday and talked about you with our guild master. I don¡¯t know exactly what they were talking about, but the guild master told me to rank you up while holding his head.¡¹

    Was it possible that they had talked about the Kraken? It made sense if that was the case.

    The Kraken was a request with a rank that had not yet been decided, so I couldn¡¯t ept it. That was why it had been put on hold.

    ¡¸Also, I have a message from the guild master. ¡ºChoose the rank you want.¡» Yuna-san, what the hell did you do? He said you could even choose to be rank A.¡¹

    Did he hear about what had happened in the capital as well?

    ¡¸Hmmm, what do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸If Yuna-san wants to be rank A, then you will be one. By the way, you can¡¯t choose rank S, okay? You can be rank S only if you have the rmendation of multiple guild masters, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind keeping the rank I have now.¡¹

    ¡¸I have an additional message from the guild master.¡ºIf you don¡¯t rank up, my reputation will go down, so you have to rank up.¡»¡¹

    ¡¸...Then I guess I will have you raise my rank by one.¡¹

    I was rank D, if I remembered correctly.

    ¡¸Is that okay? You could be rank A, you know. It¡¯s not something you can be just by saying it, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Nobody would believe me if I told them I was rank A, right? That¡¯s why a decent rank is enough.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    I nodded.

    ¡¸I understand. I will raise Yuna-san¡¯s rank by one level, and bring it up to rank C.¡¹

    She operated the crystal and raised my rank on the guild card.

    ¡¸Bing rank C in just a few months is really incredible, but really, what did you do? You could even be a rank A...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I don¡¯t really know myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Helen-san looked at me dubiously.

    She might find out about the Kraken soon, but there was no way I would tell her about the ten thousand monsters at the capital.

    ¡¸More importantly, I came here to ask you something.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... I understand. Please tell me next time, okay? So, what do you want to ask me?¡¹

    ¡¸Regarding the honey incident, I have heard that monsters appeared at the bee tree. I was wondering how the request was going.¡¹

    ¡¸Honey, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸We are selling honey products at our shop, but we are troubled by the sudden rise in honey prices.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm. Please wait for a minute.¡¹

    Helen-san operated the crystal.

    ¡¸A party epted the request the other day. They haven¡¯tpleted it yet, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Are those adventurers alright?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I think they should be. The request is goblin extermination. If there are only fifty goblins, they should be able toplete it without problems.¡¹

    It was okay then.

    I didn¡¯t know exactly when it would happen, but the honey prices should be back to normal in a few days.

    ¡¸Ah, it seems that those adventurers are back.¡¹

    Helen-san looked towards the entrance.

    A party of five people entered.

    They looked strange, though.

    From their expressions, it didn¡¯t look like they hadpleted the mission. Yet, they also didn¡¯t seem to have any injuries from failing.

    The adventurers approached the reception desk and shouted.

    ¡¸Hey! It was different from what was written in the request!¡¹

    The girl working at the reception was shocked.

    ¡¸What was the request?¡¹

    The men began to speak.

    When they arrived at the ce where there should have been a goblin herd, they came across a herd of orcs.

    The adventurers came back without fighting when they saw that.

    A herd of orcs, huh. There was a big gap between a goblin¡¯s and an orc¡¯s strength. They had no choice but to flee without fighting.

    The adventurers wanted to cancel the request.

    ¡¸Is the request be treated as a failure, then?¡¹

    ¡¸We will put that on hold. If the next party that epts the request finds orcs, it won¡¯t be treated as a failure. There was a mistake in the contents of the request, after all.¡¹

    The adventurers were stillining when they left the guild.

    Just like that, there was no one who epted the honey request. In that case, we wouldn¡¯t be able to procure it.

    ¡¸Is it okay if I ept this request?¡¹

    ¡¸ I don¡¯t mind if it is Yuna-san, but do you n on going alone?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I have to worry about you, who can kill a ck Viper, but you are still a girl, so don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. I will take care.¡¹

    I thanked her obediently.

    ¡¸I will process this now, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    I pulled out my guild card again and she registered the request.

    I asked her for the location of the bee tree and where the party saw the orcs, then left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

 Chapter 106 - Bear-san Goes To The Bee Tree

    Bear-san Goes To The Bee Tree

    I arrived at the forest where the bee tree was located by riding Swaying Bear. ording to Helen-san¡¯s story, the tree was at the center of the forest, and I would understand which tree it was when I saw it. She said that the view was breathtaking. What did she mean?

    I thought that a giant beehive was something more revolting than beautiful, though.

    I used detection magic to confirm where the monsters were before I entered the forest. There were about 15 orcs. There were also goblin reactions a bit further ahead. It seemed that neither information was false.

    I headed towards the orcs, because I thought that was where the bee tree would be.

    I rode Swaying Bear without hesitation. After I had advanced for a while, flower petals started to dance in the air around me. I continued to move forward, and when I left the forest, I was greeted by a colorful field of flowers.

    The spectacle was so beautiful that I nearly forgot to breathe. Flowers that were red, blue, yellow, orange, and many other colors were blooming all around me.

    The field expanded endlessly. The flowers were spread out everywhere. It was a scene I couldn¡¯t have believed could be found inside a forest. A giant tree was standing in the middle of this scenery.

    Was that the bee tree?

    ¡¸It¡¯s huge....¡¹

    Still, there were things destroying this beautifulndscape. The orcs were eating honey, and their ugly faces were dripping with drool.

    Those bastards, how dare they eat my honey?

    When I thought about killing them and leaving the forest, goblins rushed out from my right. They continued to run towards the orcs. The goblins, holding wooden poles and knives picked up from an unknown location, attacked the orcs.

    Was it possibly a turf war?

    Well, since I had seen both groups with my detection magic, I had intended to kill them all, so this was great, and less trouble for me.

    There were many more goblins than orcs, but the difference in power was toorge. Goblins died after receiving just one heavy blow from an orc. Still, with their numbers, many goblins could attack one orc together. The battle was surprisingly even.

    I thought of attacking when it was clear who would win, so I decided to wait and see, but I had to drop that idea after a few seconds. The orcs and goblins were crushing the flowers while they fought. The ce where I could get honey was... At this rate, all flowers in the area would be crushed by the time the battle ended.

    As I got ready to act, Swaying Bear stopped me. Two ck shapes rushed out from the forest on my left. The ck bodies were heading straight towards the orcs and goblins.

    They were, without a doubt...

    ¡¸Bears!?¡¹

    Yes, the two figures that entered the fray were bears.

    A big bear and a small one.

    The bears attacked the goblins and the orcs, who both hesitated after their attack.

    The goblins, who couldn¡¯t continue to fight after the number of enemies increased, ran away.

    When the orcs saw that the goblins had ran away, they changed their targets and started a new battle.

    There were 15 orcs and two bears. The difference in number was too big.

    When a bear attacked one orc, there was another orc that attacked the bear from the side. The orcs attacked the bears with clubs, and the bears, who couldn¡¯t defend themselves, were taking hits. I didn¡¯t really want to save the bears, but they were surrounded by the orcs.

    ¡¸Hmm, what should I do?¡¹

    In other words, there was a three way battle for the honey.

    I didn¡¯t know who was the first one here, though.

    What should I do then?

    Well, I thought it was okay for me to kill the orcs, the goblins, and the bears.

    I was a bit reluctant to kill bears, though. Not to mention, there was no way I could kill them. It would be like killing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s friends.

    As I was thinking about what to do, the bears¡¯ situation became more and more dire. They weren¡¯t losing, though. They knocked down the orcs in front of them and killed them by biting their necks.

    Those bears were strong.

    If it were one on one battles, they wouldn¡¯t lose to those orcs. There were a lot of enemies, though.

    The second the bears wanted to change targets, their movements became dull. A red orc appeared by the giant tree. It was an orc subspecies, an orc of a different color that also appeared in the game. They were several times stronger than the normal orcs, in regards to their offensive abilities and durability.

    One of the bears attacked the red orc, but he was struck down by the club the orc was holding. If the club had been a sword, it would have been a fatal strike.That still didn¡¯t mean the bears weren¡¯t in a dangerous situation.

    The second bear rammed into the orc, but the red orc didn¡¯t even budge. The red orc wanted to strike it down, right there, but at that moment, I started to move.

    I fired a long distance water bullet, like a sniper. The water bullet hit the red orc, and the orc staggered.

    The bear that was struck down shakily ran away into the forest. The other bear chased after it.

    The red orc that was left standing there alone didn¡¯t notice that the attack came from me. He attacked a fellow orc with his club, as if he was venting his anger. The orc that was hit was pulverized.

    It wasn¡¯t something that made me feelfortable, so I left, riding Swaying Bear.

    Was the bear okay?

    It had been struck by that club.

    It was strong enough to obliterate an orc.

    I became worried.

    We reached the two bears without me needing to tell Swaying Bear where to go. No, to be more urate, there were four of them. If they were a family, it meant that they were a married couple, right?

    The big one was Papa Bear, and the little one was Mama Bear.

    One of the adult bears was copsed on the ground, and the second one was looking at us and started to intimidate us.

    Swaying Bear let me down and went towards the bears.

    Could hemunicate with them?

    As I was thinking about that, the two parties were nodding, and it looked they had reached a mutual understanding.

    What did they talk about?

    Swaying Bear came back and used his nose to push my body towards the copsed bear.

    ¡¸Do you want me to heal his injuries?¡¹

    Swaying Bear let out a small cry.

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    It was Swaying Bear¡¯s request. I didn¡¯t want to refuse that. Also, I couldn¡¯t just leave an injured bear alone.

    I used healing magic on the copsed bear. When I did, the bear got up slowly, and after the other bears saw that, they happily rubbed their bodies on Papa Bear.

    After seeing that, it wasn¡¯t possible for me to kill this bear family anymore, even if it meant that I couldn¡¯t get the honey.

    Swaying Bear entered the bear circle, and they seemed to have started some sort of conversation.

    Of course, because I couldn¡¯t speak Bearnguage, I didn¡¯t understand any of it. Were the bears having a friendly conversation? Swaying Bear was the only outsider, and I would be troubled if he became timid again, so I summoned Hugging Bear as well.

    After I summoned Hugging Bear, he instantly entered the circle and joined the conversation.

    After a while, their conversation ended. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came back. They came to me while crying with cute voices, as if they wanted to request something.

    ¡¸What? What¡¯s the matter? Do you want me to kill the red orc?¡¹

    They let out [Ku~un] cries.

    It was okay for me to kill it, but the problem was what came after that. Even if I killed the monsters, I wouldn¡¯t be able to procure honey if the bears were there, right?

    The parent bears started moving again, leaving their children behind.

    Was it possible that they wanted to fight the red orc again?

    As I was thinking about what to do, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cuddled up to me.

    ¡¸I understand. I will go and think about what to do afterwards. For now, we should just kill the red orc.¡¹

    Were they happy with my answer? Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried out happily.

    We went after the parent bears, and exited the forest where the bee tree and the flowers were.

    The orcs were encamped around the giant tree. The red orc was also amongst them.

    The parent bears were slowly approaching the orcs. The orcs noticed them, picked up their weapons, and looked toward us.

    When the red orc cried out so loudly that the cry resounded in my head, the orcs started to rush toward us.

    The bears stood their ground, ready to meet the enemies.

    Hmm, the two of them seemed to want to have a go at it, but it was okay for me to just kill the orcs, right?

    I shoot a Bear Cutter and cut off the heads of the approaching orcs. When the red orc saw that, he roared with even a louder voice.

    ¡¸Shut up!¡¹

    Thanks to how loud it was, I unconsciously closed my eyes. The red orc and other orcs immediately started running.

    The parent bears, Hugging Bear, and Swaying Bear also started to move.

    Ah, are you two leaving me?

    It seemed that they didn¡¯t n to quit being my guards, though. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear properly dealt with the orcs that came towards me.

    The problem was the target that the red orc was headed towards.

    He headed for Papa Bear.

    He struck at Papa Bear with his club. From the side, Mama Bear started to run in order to tackle the orc. It turned into a free-for-all fight, so I couldn¡¯t use my magic.

    Papa Bear managed to dodge the club.

    The red orc¡¯s club scattered the flowers and was stuck in the ground. Mama Bear attacked the red orc from the side. She mmed into him, but the red orc didn¡¯t budge at all. The red orc raised his club once again. Papa Bear rushed in to attack, since the target of the club was Mama Bear. Before Papa Bear could attack, the club had already struck Mama Bear¡¯s back.

    *Puchi*

    Mama Bear cried out and copsed. At that instant, the Papa Bear attacked the red orc. The red orc used the club to hit Papa Bear from below, on his nk.

    *Puchi* *Puchi*

    The parent bears both copsed at the red orc¡¯s feet, crying.

    The red orc tried to deal a finishing blow with his club while drooling.

    I moved the moment he raised his club.

    I hammered a Bear Punch into the red orc¡¯s side. The orc rolled on the ground, crushing the flowers.

    It had been a long time since Ist snapped like this.

    My mood turned bad when I saw the bears getting hit.

    If a bear attacked a human, I would fight them. Bears were fierce, and they ate meat.

    Still, I wanted to protect these bears right now.

    It was possible that they would attack humans in the future, but right now, I wanted to protect them. I didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future. At the moment though, I was excessively driven by the urge to kill this red orc.

    The red orc got up and looked towards me.

    I would fight in ce of the bears. I would make him feel the same pain the bears felt.

    I took one step towards the red orc. The red orc swung his club towards me.

    If you want to have a battle of strength, I will ept it.

    I caught the club with the White Bear Hand. There wasn¡¯t much of a shock. I was able to stop it easily.

    This is for Mama Bear. I drove a ck Bear Kuma Punch into his unprotected nk, and he lost his grip on the club because of the pain. The club was trapped in the White Bear¡¯s mouth. I then ced it in the ck Bear¡¯s mouth.

    The red orc managed to regain his posture and red at me for the first time. He wasn¡¯t looking at me as food, but as an enemy.

    It was toote to look at me like that now.

    I will show you who¡¯s above you. You will be dead by the time you learn that.

    I raised the club over my head and struck the red orc with it. The red orc tried to catch the club like I had.

    Do you think you can do the same thing as me?

    I pulverized the red orc¡¯s arm.

    This is for Papa Bear.

    The red orc let out a soundless cry.

    You have done this to others a countless number of times.

    The red orc turned around and tried to flee.

    There¡¯s no way I will let you flee. I made a wall using earth magic, and the path to escape was closed off. The red orc finally looked at me with the eyes full of fear. The red orc had no more will to fight. In the end, I cut off his head, and the battle was over.

    When I turned around, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had almost finished the orc extermination. I approached the copsed bears and healed them. There was absolutely no way I could kill these bears now.

    The bears got up and rubbed their bodies on me, maybe to show their gratitude?

    ¡¸Hey, please don¡¯t attack the humans whoe to pick up honey, okay?¡¹

    I asked, even though I knew the words wouldn¡¯te across. I had never wanted to understand a bear¡¯s words as much as I did today.

    I had no other option but to move the bears to a safe ce, huh.

    When I was thinking about that, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached the parent bears and started their conversation.

    The bears turned around and started to push me towards the bee tree.

    ¡¸Are you asking me to go and fetch honey?¡¹

    Swaying Bear answered the question for them.

    I approached the bee tree. The bees flying around the tree didn¡¯t attack me. I took a pot out of the Bear Box and carefully collected honey.

    Author¡¯s note:

    With honey, bears appear .

 Chapter 107 - Bear-san Is Troubled About What To Do With The Bears

    Bear-san Is Troubled About What To Do With The Bears

    The bee tree had a beehive around the base of the trunk. I removed my Bear Hand and stuck a finger inside, which caused the honey to flow. I ate the honey on my finger, and it was sweet and delicious. When I looked up, I saw countless beehives within the tree branch and was a bit terrified, but the bees continued to just fly around, seemingly uninterested in attacking.

    While I was collecting honey, the two cubs came out of the forest on their little legs and approached us. I thought they were going to walk to their parents while avoiding the dead orcs, but they ignored their parents and continued forward, arrived at the bee tree, and started eating the honey.

    Cubs... If you do that, your parents will feel sad! They were really adorable when they were eating honey, though.

    After I had collected plenty of honey in my pot, I ced it inside the Bear Box and said goodbye to the bears.

    ¡¸Thanks a lot. Still, you have those children, so you shouldn¡¯t do such dangerous things.¡¹

    They wouldn¡¯t understand my words, but I still wanted to convey my feelings. The parent bears responded with a [Ku~n].

    Did they understand me?

    The cubs stopped eating. Were they full? When their parents saw that, they let out a small cry and started to move. It seemed that they were nning on returning to forest. Their cubs followed them.

    After I said goodbye to the bears, I collected the orc corpses. I also didn¡¯t forget to clean out the goblins that had fled before I left the forest.

    I was about to return to the town, but I was troubled over what to report.

    I didn¡¯t kill the Bear Family in this request. The request was just to kill the orcs and goblins. The bears weren¡¯t included in the request. Still, I should report the bears, just in case.

    I was hesitating on how to do it, though.

    I would be troubled if they posted a request to kill them when I reported it.

    Hmm, was there no other way besides moving the bears to a ce where no people went to?

    I left the forest while thinking of a solution, but sadly, I arrived at the town without finding an answer. The sun was already setting when I arrived.

    I entered the town, and as I walked towards the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I saw Helen-san waving anding towards me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, wee back. Have you already finished the request?¡¹

    ¡¸I finished it, but... What are you doing, Helen-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I finished my job as well, so I¡¯m going home now. So, you¡¯re looking really depressed. Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸I killed the orcs and goblins, but there¡¯s indeed one troublesome thing that had happened.¡¹

    ¡¸So, something did happen? If you have any troubles, I will hear you out. I don¡¯t know how much I can help, but do tell in case I can do something. I have been in your care after all, Yuna-san.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know if telling Helen-san, an employee of the guild, was a good thing, but I didn¡¯t find a solution, so I decided to tell her everything.

    ¡¸Bears, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to kill them, you see. They didn¡¯t do anything bad either.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no helping that. To Yuna-san, killing bears must be like killing yourself, right?¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t something so exaggerated.

    ¡¸Still, bears in the forest, you say? If I remember correctly, Rem-san, who gathers the honey, spoke of bears some days ago, as well. Do you think they are the same bears?¡¹

    ¡¸Rem-san?¡¹

    ¡¸The man who takes care of the bee tree. Yuna-san, didn¡¯t you see the blooming flowers?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they were beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Rem-san also takes care of those flowers. He takes care of the flowers around the bee tree and gathers honey.¡¹

    People took care of those flowers, huh. Was that the reason that those flowers were blooming so beautifully?

    So that was how they collected honey in this world, huh.

    ¡¸Still, don¡¯t other people just steal the honey? They could simply take all the honey they ever wanted.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a problem. Nobody goes there to gather it personally. It¡¯s not certain that the bees won¡¯t attack you when you take the honey, so nobody wants to take that risk. The few people who actually go there don¡¯t do much harm.¡¹

    She was right. The amount of honey I had taken was insignificant.

    ¡¸Also, the bee tree is under the protection of Cliff-sama. You need his permission to sell the honey, so even if you stole it, you wouldn¡¯t be able to sell it.¡¹

    ¡¸The bee tree belongs to Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same in every other town. Normally, since the bee tree is considered a precious object, it falls upon the town¡¯s feudal lord to take care of it. It is no different in our town. Rem-san has been put in charge of the bee tree.¡¹

    ¡¸So, this Rem-san knows about the bears?¡¹

    ¡¸I overheard him talking about bears once.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you remember the details?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t the one he was talking to, so... If it bothers you, do you want to go and see him?¡¹

    ¡¸Helen-san, you¡¯re already done for the day, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. It would be best to talk about the request with Rem-san as fast as possible, right?¡¹

    I epted Helen-san¡¯s goodwill, and we went to see Rem-san, the man who was taking care of the bee tree.

    Helen-san brought me to a ce with a honey signboard, a honey shop.

    It seemed that the shop was closed, though.

    ¡¸Rem-san!¡¹

    Helen-san knocked on the door.

    ¡¸Are you home!?¡¹

    A man in his 40s opened the door.

    ¡¸Who is it? If it¡¯s about honey, I won¡¯t be able to sell it cheaply, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Good evening, Rem-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You... If I remember correctly, you¡¯re the one from Adventurer¡¯s Guild...¡¹

    ¡¸Helen. I came to talk about the honey issue.¡¹

    ¡¸I already heard about it. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t goblins, but orcs that appeared, right? Even though I saw goblins...¡¹

    ¡¸The request was alreadypleted by the adventurer Yuna-san today.¡¹

    Rem-san looked my way.

    ¡¸The miss from the Bear¡¯s Rest killed them?¡¹

    ¡¸You know about me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, Terumi-san told me about you. You are the owner of the Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop, right?¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t strange if he knew me, since Terumi-san bought honey from his shop.

    ¡¸Also, there isn¡¯t anyone in this town who doesn¡¯t know about you, miss.¡¹

    What was he saying?

    The way he put it, made it seem as if everybody in the town knew about me, but...

    Helen-san was nodding by my side.

    Why are you nodding?

    ¡¸So, I wanted to talk about some things, but is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, of course. Come inside.¡¹

    He opened the door and let us in. When we entered, there was no merchandise lined up on the shelves. Was it because he couldn¡¯t obtain honey?

    We went further in, into a room with a table and chairs, which seemed to be the employee resting area.

    ¡¸Please take a seat. So, is it true, that you killed those monsters?¡¹

    ¡¸I did, but there¡¯s one problem.¡¹

    ¡¸What, did more monsters appear?¡¹

    Rem-san stopped smiling in an instant, and he became sad.

    ¡¸No, there aren¡¯t any monsters. You know about the bears near the bee tree, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Bears? Ah, that bear, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸You know about them?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. For the people who gather honey, that bear is a lifesabear, after all.¡¹

    (TL note: Bear because lifesaver Ãü¤Î¶÷ÈË in japanese is normally written with the Kanji Person ÈË, but is written with ¡°bear¡± here.)

    ¡¸A lifesaving bear?¡¹

    ¡¸He saved me when I was attacked by goblins. Not just once or twice. He also saved some of our employees. Is it possible that you saw him!?¡¹

    He rose from his chair and leaned towards me across the table.

    It was an unexpected reaction.

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. So he was alive. You said there were goblins and orcs, right? I was worried that he was killed. I see. He¡¯s alive, huh. What a relief.¡¹

    This uncle really seems d.

    ¡¸He fought the goblins and orcs to protect the bee tree, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? Is he alright?¡¹

    He asked, worried.

    ¡¸Including the cubs, all four of them are okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Cubs! They were born!? I have to tell this to the others.¡¹

    He was talking about the bears really happily. I also be happy when I saw his expression.

    It seemed that my fear for the bears was unnecessary.

    ¡¸Is it possible that you came here because you were worried about the bears?¡¹

    ¡¸The request was about killing the goblins and the orcs, and I came back without killing the bears, so...¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I¡¯m sorry you hade just for that. Those bears pose no problems or danger. On the contrary, their presence is of great help to us.¡¹

    ¡¸Then there¡¯s no problem if those bears stay in the forest, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, of course. Since those bears kill the monsters, we can gather honey without fear. In return, when the bears are eating honey, we won¡¯t bother them.¡¹

    To sum everything up, Rem-san was taking care of the flowers for the bees, and the bees gave him honey.

    The bears killed the monsters, and in return, they got some honey.

    ¡¸Rem-san, does Cliff-sama know about this?¡¹

    Helen-san, who was listening to our conversation, asked something she was wondering about.

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t tell him. I thought he would request someone to kill them if I did.¡¹

    ¡¸You should tell him about them.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    Rem-san hesitated. Bears were normally violent, and nobody would want to keep them alive.

    If he was told that the adventurers would exterminate them, the bear¡¯s help would disappear.

    ¡¸You can use my name. Cliff still owes me, so I think he will hear you out.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san. Saying that Cliff-sama owes you, or even just talking about him without honorifics is just... Are you aware of what an unbelievable thing you just said?¡¹

    Helen-san said, looking upset.

    She was right. It wasmon sense that it wasn¡¯t okay to talk about nobles without honorifics. However, ever since the issue with the orphanage, he had already be Cliff in my mind. Changing it now would be strange. Also, the person himself didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. If he still says that he wants to get rid them, just tell me. I will do something about the bears.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t think of something now, but if the worst case scenario came, and Cliff gave the order to kill them, I would have to move them out of that forest.

    ¡¸I will gratefully use Miss¡¯s name then.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, if you care dearly for those bears, properly talk about them with Cliff. I won¡¯t care if they were killed because you were sloppy.¡¹

    Helen-san gave a warning, and she was right. If I knew about it beforehand, I wouldn¡¯t have worried so much.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry about that. Also, Miss, thank you again for protecting the bee tree and the bears.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my job, so don¡¯t worry about it. If this bear family can live in peace, I have nothing to worry about.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we will watch over them with care.¡¹

    ¡¸If something happens to them, please tell me. I will rush over.¡¹

    ¡¸I will count on you then.¡¹

    Rem-san happily bowed.

 Chapter 108 - Bear-san Becomes A Picture Book Author?

    Bear-san Bes A Picture Book Author?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, howe your trip to the Commerce Guild ended up with you subjugating monsters?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked me while I was eating honey soaked pancakes.

    ¡¸I just went with the flow?¡¹

    Terumi-san sighed and put on an exasperated expression.

    ¡¸Thank you, though. I didn¡¯t want to stop selling honey rted goods since they are popr, so you really saved us. The children will be happy as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy that I was able to do something owner-like.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re always owner-like, Yuna-chan. Morin-san, the orphans, and I are all very thankful to you.¡¹

    I received Terumi-san¡¯s gratitude, and then ordered pancakes and each type of popr bread.

    ¡¸What will you do with all this food?¡¹

    ¡¸I will go out for a bit, so I will take it as a souvenir.¡¹

    (TN: Uses omiyage: a gift/souvenir you offer when you go and visit someone.)

    ¡¸I understand. I will forward it to the kitchen then.¡¹

    ¡¸What about you, Terumi-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Rem-san isn¡¯t here, so I will go to his ce. I want to talk to him about the price of honey.¡¹

    Terumi-san called out to the kitchen, then left the shop.

    After some time passed, the children brought the bread to me. After receiving them, I went back to the Bear House and used the Bear transfer gate to go to the capital.

    I left the Bear House in the capital and headed towards my destination, the castle.

    There were more gazes looking my waypared to Crimonia. Thinking about it now, I did feel that Crimonia had be easier to live in.

    When I arrived at the castle gates, before I even showed my guild card, a guard said ¡ºPleasee in.¡», and let me through. I thought that it was bad for the security to be thisx, but I had no reason toin, since the troublesome check was skipped.

    The only thing that concerned me was that one of the guards ran off after he saw me.

    It was clearly for THAT reason, right?

    I let out a small sigh of giving up before I headed towards my destination.

    I went through the passage I had taken a number of times before. The number of people greeting me in the castle had increased recently. The number of surprised faces had decreasedpared to outside of the castle, though. Did that mean that the Bear Suit had been epted inside the castle?

    When I arrived at my destination, I knocked on the door of a room. A girl¡¯s voice answered from inside.

    ¡¸I¡¯m the adventurer Yuna.¡¹

    The door opened after I responded.

    The person who came out was the caretaker, Anju-san.

    She was a woman in the first half of her 20s.

    ¡¸Oh my, if it isn¡¯t Yuna-sama. Wee.¡¹

    ¡¸Is Princess Flora here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she is.¡¹

    She opened the door and let me through.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    Princess Flora rushed over when she saw me.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, are you well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am!¡¹

    ¡¸Anju-san, I brought lunch, but is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there¡¯s no problem. I will tell the head chef.¡¹

    ¡¸Could you please apologize to the head chef for me?¡¹

    The head chef was normally the one in charge of preparing lunch for the royal family, including Princess Flora, of course. I was being a nuisance to the head chef, so I had to apologize.

    ¡¸I understand. I don¡¯t think he will be too angry though, especially since you gave him that recipe.¡¹

    ¡¸I hope that¡¯s the case. Give this to the head chef then. It¡¯s our new bread product.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I understood. I will go talk to the head chef then, I leave Flora-sama in your hands.¡¹

    She bowed and left the room.

    ¡¸Flora-sama, are you hungry?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a little early, but we should have lunch.¡¹

    I lined up the bread on the table. They smelled delicious, since they were freshly baked.

    ¡¸Waa, they all seem delicious!¡¹

    Flora-sama was looking at the bread with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸I can eat whichever one I want?¡¹

    ¡¸You can eat whatever you like.¡¹

    There was a knock on the door while Flora-sama was hesitating about which to take, and the door was opened without waiting for a signal from the inside.

    The ones who entered were the usual people.

    The top of this country, the king, and Eleanora-san. The queen had also starteding recently.

    I knew it, the reason that the soldier by the gate had run off was to notify them.

    ¡¸I¡¯ming in.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry for the intrusion.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wee.¡¹

    I was always thinking this, but was it really okay to leave your jobs? Still, I wouldn¡¯t retort like that.

    ¡¸You brought something delicious-looking again today.¡¹

    ¡¸I know it is meaningless to ask, but why did youe here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because you came, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no other reason.¡¹

    The king and the queen replied.

    ¡¸Is it okay for the king to eat something made by amoner?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s toote to say that. If you were serious, you could easily take my head without needing to use poison, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Still, a king should be wary at such moments, right?¡¹

    The king ate the bread I had brought without any caution.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I brought it for Flora-sama, so please don¡¯t eat it selfishly.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll have this one!¡¹

    Flora-sama took the bread covered in melted cheese.

    ¡¸That one seems delicious as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Fasher, eat?¡¹

    (TL: Her mouth is full, so she¡¯s mispronouncing ¡°Father¡±.)

    Flora-sama offered her bread to the king.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay, I will eat this one. I will eat that one next time.¡¹

    That meant I would have to bring it again, huh.

    ¡¸Should I take this one then?¡¹

    The queen took an egg sandwich.

    ¡¸ Then I will take the same one.¡¹

    Eleanora-san took the egg sandwich, just like the queen had.

    There was another knock on the door while everyone was eating their chosen sandwiches, and Anju-san entered with drinks.

    For some reason, there was enough for everyone.

    ¡¸Still, you really do some interesting things.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know what he was talking about, so I questioningly tilted my head while chewing on my bread.

    ¡¸I¡¯m talking about the tunnel and Mireera. Cliff came the other day, looking tired, and made his report.¡¹

    He said whileughing.

    ¡¸Is Cliff still in the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸He went back to Crimonia this morning, since he has a huge amount of work to do.¡¹

    Eleanora-san answered my question.

    ¡¸Being a feudal lord sure is difficult, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re saying that as if it were someone else¡¯s problem, huh.¡¹

    I meant, it WAS someone else¡¯s problem!

    ¡¸You will be the one responsible if Cliff copses from overwork.¡¹

    ¡¸Should I seal the tunnel then?¡¹

    ¡¸As the king, I can¡¯t let you do that. Cliff has no choice but to do his best.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s like that, I will have Your Highness take the responsibility, okay?¡¹

    I put a pancake in front of Flora-sama and dripped plenty of honey on it.

    ¡¸Bear-san, what is this?¡¹

    ¡¸A pancake. It¡¯s delicious, you know.¡¹

    Flora-sama grasped her fork with her little hand and ate the pancake.

    The adults were greedily looking at the pancake, so I brought some out for them as well.

    Flora-sama looked satisfied after she had finished eating, so I brought out the second present.

    ¡¸Flora-sama, please take this.¡¹

    I gave her a book.

    The title of the book was ¡ºBear-san And The Little Girl: Part 2¡».

    ¡¸Th-thank you.¡¹

    Flora-sama happily epted it. The moment Flora-sama received it, Anju-san who was restraining herself in the back, bent forward to take a peek.

    ¡¸Anju-san?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    You said it was nothing, but you still seemed to be interested.

    ¡¸Is this picture book the continuation of the previous one?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is. It seemed that Flora-sama liked it, so I decided to write a sequel.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re really talented. You¡¯re a first rate adventurer, you¡¯re also first rate with magic, you make delicious food, and you can also write picture books.¡¹

    ¡¸Writing is only a hobby, so my ability is nothing special.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, I have a request for you.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for us to copy your picture books? A lot of people want to have them, you see. People from all over have asked about them. Selling them everywhere in the kingdom would be okay as well, if you would prefer that.¡¹

    ¡¸Who wants them?¡¹

    There was only one copy of this picture book, so I really didn¡¯t think that so many people would learn of its existence.

    ¡¸It¡¯s mostly the female castle workers who have children, but recently, even the male workers who have seen the picture book have started to ask about it as well.¡¹

    Anju-san¡¯s eyes were drawn to the picture book Princess Flora was holding, as if to prove her point.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan¡¯s pictures stay on your mind for a while, right? That¡¯s why everyone wants the book. There were a lot of people who came to me to ask for this picture book as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Why does everyone know about the picture book I gave to Flora-sama, though?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Flora always walks around while carrying it.¡¹

    When I looked at Flora-sama, I saw that she was happily reading the book.

    ¡¸In that case, you are free to duplicate them.¡¹

    Anju-san, who was standing behind Flora-sama, seemed happy when she heard those words.

    ¡¸Still, make them only for the people who want them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Why? It would sell really well all over the country, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸It would be embarrassing if my work was sold all over the country, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you saying that now, when you always walk around in those embarrassing clothes?¡¹

    I knew it. These clothes really were embarrassing to wear, even in this different world?

    Everyone interacted with me normally recently, so I thought that they had epted them.

    ¡¸The clothes Yuna-chan wears are not embarrassing. They¡¯re cute.¡¹

    Eleanora-san followed up.

    ¡¸I want Bear-san¡¯s clothes as well.¡¹

    If she really wanted it, I could bring some clothes from the shop, but the faces of the king and the queen contrasted with each other. The king had a bitter face, while the queen seemed happy.

    Should I just give it to her so she could harass the king?

    ¡¸I understand. You will let me copy them, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s okay. I will also ask you for ten copies, please.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay, but why?¡¹

    ¡¸If they really make people that happy, I¡¯m thinking of giving some to the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸I can understand that. Eleanora, I am counting on you.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do it at once.¡¹

    It had been decided that my work would be sold as an area limited product (castle edition).

 Chapter 109 - Eleanora Pushes A Request Onto Bear-san

    Eleanora Pushes A Request Onto Bear-san

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I also have a request for you.¡¹

    Eleanora-san suddenly spoke up after the talk about the picture books was finished.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re free, right?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked with a smile that seemed to carry a hidden meaning behind it.

    It wouldn¡¯t be a normal request when she asked me with such a smile.

    Saying that I was free straight to my face, there was a limit to how rude could she be.

    That left me with only one response.

    ¡¸Sorry, I¡¯m busy.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good to lie like this. Cliffined to me that you seemed to be totally free, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer, so I have to work, I own a shop, and also help the orphanage, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Could you show me your guild card then, so I can see which requests you did? I also heard that you let other people manage the shop and the orphanage, but...¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    Only Cliff could give her all of that information.

    A married couple should be talking about their own daughters, not me...

    ¡¸So, about this request...¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t ept it, though...¡¹

    Even though I knew it was futile, I tried to resist.

    ¡¸Can you at least listen? Yuna-chan, I would like you to escort some academy students.¡¹

    ¡¸Escort some students?¡¹

    ¡¸The students will undergo practical training soon. I say practical training, but it really isn¡¯t anything major. They just go to a nearby vige and back.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s all?¡¹

    I thought it would be a pain, since it was Eleanora-san¡¯s request, but it ended up being something simple.

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s all. I want you to escort them. I tried requesting help from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but due to certain circumstances, I wasn¡¯t able to assemble the adventurers. All of the students are from respectable families, so I need their guards to be strong.¡¹

    ¡¸Then don¡¯t make them do something that puts them in danger...¡¹

    ¡¸Only the best students will participate, so they know some self defense. Yuna-chan, I need you to be there, just in case something bad happens.¡¹

    ¡¸They don¡¯t have any experience. This practical training is for them to learn about the dangers outside, to not make rash decisions, and the importance of guards.¡¹

    The king exined Eleanora-san¡¯s words.

    ¡¸They need to learn all the difficulties that the trip offers, the management of the horses, the terrible camping at night, the fear of monsters, the trust inrades, and the reliance on the guards. They undergo this practical training to learn at least a bit about those things.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that, but that job is under the academy¡¯s jurisdiction, right? Why is Eleanora-san assembling adventurers?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s because I¡¯m doing some odd jobs for the academy.¡¹

    Again with the odd jobs. She said something about doing odd jobs for the castle a while back as well. Just who was she, really?

    ¡¸I get what you¡¯re saying, but you still have a few days left to find someone, right? It doesn¡¯t really have to be me...¡¹

    ¡¸I would like to gather the people soon, and there aren¡¯t many people suitable to be the students¡¯ guards, you know. They must have the strength, the time, and the patience to take the abusivenguage of those kids from the noble families. In the past, some of the children said abusive things to their escort, so the adventurer got mad and decided to abandon them halfway. ¡¹

    ¡¸What happened to those students?¡¹

    ¡¸One was killed by monsters, one was gravely injured, and two others were traumatized.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m no good then. If I took abusivenguage, I would beat them close to death and throw them into a goblin¡¯s nest.¡¹

    It seemed like children from noble families were in the group, so if there were children like that guy who took the money meant for the orphanage, I would abandon them without a second thought. I didn¡¯t think I would save them.

    ¡¸You can beat them close to death, but my daughter is also inside the group, so don¡¯t throw them into a goblin¡¯s nest.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia will be there as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she will participate in the training this time around. She is more or less the child of a noble, after all. People at the top have to learn and experience a lot of things.¡¹

    ¡¸If Shia is participating, that means that the students will be of my age or older, right? Will they ept me as their guard?¡¹

    I hadpletely forgotten to mind the ages of the people I would have to guard.

    They were students, so normally, the youngest should be 12 and the oldest should be 18.

    Would the students, who considered themselves to be at the top of their generation, ept me as their guard, even though I was of the same age as them?

    Moreover, I was shorter than other people of my age.

    ¡¸I will just order them to keep silent about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I believe Eleanora telling them off will be sufficient, but if you want, should I also say something to them?¡¹

    The king said something really dangerous.

    If the king himself came to a ssroom, that would be the same as the prime ministering to a ssroom in Japan, right? He wasn¡¯t somebody they could refuse.

    ¡¸Ah, that seems interesting. Should I take part as well?¡¹

    Even the queen ended up saying such crazy things.

    ¡¸I will also say it!¡¹

    Since the parents were saying such things, even Flora-sama was trying to imitate them...

    ¡¸I will properly submit it as an Adventurer Guild¡¯s request, so you will receive a reward as well.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t really in need of money.

    Also, any ce with nobles sounded troublesome.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t necessarily need the guards to be adventurers, right? You have knights and magicians in the castle, don¡¯t you? You just have to make them do it.¡¹

    ¡¸We have a lot of knights and magicians who listen to orders, but if we just order them, students won¡¯t see their real thoughts or actions, so they¡¯re no good. We want them to go with the adventurers, who are of lower social status than them, and see how the adventurers think and act.¡¹

    The more I heard, the more troublesome I thought it was.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, Yuna-chan, please do this for me. I will properly pay you.¡¹

    ¡¸It seems troublesome, so I refuse.¡¹

    Since I didn¡¯t agree, Eleanora-san brought out another condition.

    ¡¸Then how about me owing you one? It may be strange for me to say this myself, but there¡¯s nobody I¡¯m indebted to.¡¹

    A debt from Eleanora-san, huh. That seemed interesting, but I didn¡¯t have anything to request.

    ¡¸Me owing you one is more valuable than having Cliff owe you one, you know.¡¹

    More valuable than a debt from Cliff, who was a Feudal Lord... I really wanted to ask who the heck Eleanora-san was.

    ¡¸I understand. But, just this time, okay?¡¹

    It could be interesting to use this debt to ask who Eleanora-san was.

    ¡¸So, what will my tasks be?¡¹

    ¡¸As I said before, you will guard the students. I also want you to report their actions.¡¹

    ¡¸Report their actions?¡¹

    ¡¸For example, you just have to report things like if my daughter didn¡¯t take part in the camp preparations, if she went to kill a monster alone, or if she didn¡¯t follow your orders.¡¹

    In short, I was some sort of an examiner.

    ¡¸Also, Yuna-chan, if someone says anything abusive to you, please report that as well. We will deduct points for that.¡¹

    ¡¸What should I do when a monster appears?¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to essentially watch over them, and save them if it seems dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸How many monsters can the students cope with? Is a hundred goblins still okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, only you¡¯re okay with that many goblins. They can only take on one.¡¹

    Was it like that?

    It was a bitte to say this now, but the Bear Equipment really was overpowered.

    After this exchange, Eleanora-san exined the details of the practical training to me.

    At some point during this, the king and the queen left.

    Flora-sama kept reading her book in silence, and Anju-san prepared drinks for us.

    ¡¸I just have to wait at my house on the appointed day, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I wille and get you in the morning, since you won¡¯t be able to enter the academy wearing those clothes.¡¹

    When we finished talking, Eleanora-san borrowed the picture book ¡ºBear-san And The Little Girl: Part 1¡» from Flora-sama, and left the room.

    Eleanora-san¡¯s job really consisted of many odd tasks. She was really close to the king though, so I really didn¡¯t understand who she was.

    I also decided to leave and said goodbye to Flora-sama.

    ¡¸Bear-san, thank you.¡¹

    She was embracing her new picture book with care.

    ¡¸I am happy that it pleases you. Anju-san, I will be leaving as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m grateful for what you did for Flora-sama today.¡¹

    Anju-san bowed.

    ¡¸Also, Yuna-sama, thank you very much for letting us copy the picture books.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it, Anju-san, you wanted it too.¡¹

    She had nced at Flora-sama¡¯s book a lot, so it was totally obvious.

    ¡¸Yes, the drawings are really cute, so when Flora-sama showed it to me, I wanted to show it to my daughter as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You have a daughter, huh. How old is she?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she is of the same age as Flora-sama. That¡¯s one of the reasons why I became Flora-sama¡¯s attendant.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, even though this isn¡¯t a picture book, give this to your daughter.¡¹

    I brought out a pudding and a popr type of bread.

    ¡¸Is this really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Cool the pudding before she eats it, okay? The bread should be good as it is, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    I left the castle and decided to shop for a bit in the capital before going back to Crimonia.

    I knew it, there really were a lot of gazes looking my way in the capital.

 Chapter 110 â€“ Bear-san Goes Out With The Sisters

    Chapter 110 ¨C Bear-san Goes Out With The Sisters

    Author¡¯s note:

    Before Yuna does the escort mission, she goes to Mireera to retrieve various things.

    The day after I went to the capital, I went to the orphanage in order to find Fina.

    Fina and Shuri normally went to the orphanage early in the morning, with Terumi-san. They then did all sorts of things depending on what day it was, like help taking care of the eggs and going to the shop.

    The children were collecting eggs when I arrived at the chicken coop.

    They were rinsing the gathered eggs with water, putting them in the egg cases I had created using earth magic, and carrying them over to a table. Fina and Terumi-san were counting the eggs at the table.

    ¡¸Good morning, everyone!¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Bear, good morning!¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis.¡¹

    They all answered me vigorously when I greeted them.

    It seemed that they were growing up to be good children.

    I was sure that was thanks to Headmistress and Liz.

    The children were all doing tasks they were capable of doing. They were also given new tasks after Headmistress and Liz saw what they were capable of.

    The children, who had lost their parents or were simply abandoned, had thought that no one wanted them, but now they were full of life and working. This really was the results of the Headmistress and Liz¡¯s efforts.

    As I was thinking that, Liz arrived.

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Liz-san. Are the children behaving?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re all good children, so there¡¯s no problem. They all know what they have to do if they want to fill their bellies, after all.¡¹

    Liz was definitely the one who had taught them that.

    ¡¸Please tell me if youck hands or need anything, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no need for that. Thanks to Yuna-chan, the children and I are really happy. If we were to ask for more, we would receive divine punishment.¡¹

    Liz-san was smiling, as if to prove her happiness.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that. Also, properly tell me if you need anything! It would be terrible if something happened to the Headmistress or you, after all.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t an exaggeration. The thought of the two of them not being here anymore scared me. If I didn¡¯t tell them that firmly enough, I could see them pushing themselves.

    I forcefully conveyed my feelings to Liz-san, then headed to Terumi-san. Fina and Shuri were by her side, helping her.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what happened? For you toe to the orphanage this early...¡¹

    Normally, the most I did in the mornings was going to the shop to eat my breakfast, and then sometimes going to the orphanage.

    ¡¸I wanted to borrow Fina for something.¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    Fina, who was counting the eggs and taking notes next to Terumi-san, was surprised.

    ¡¸I wanted to go somewhere, but it would be lonely if I went by myself, so I was thinking of inviting you.¡¹

    ¡¸Going somewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸So, I came here to get Terumi-san¡¯s permission to borrow Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, that¡¯s okay, of course. When you are asking, Yuna-chan, I am always willing to lend her to you.¡¹

    She agreed with a smile.

    ¡¸Then, I will gratefully borrow your noble daughter.¡¹

    I replied, smiling as well.

    ¡¸Mom! Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Sis, you are so lucky!¡¹

    Shuri was looking at us with a dissatisfied face.

    ¡¸Shuri wille with us, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I was feeling sorry for Shuri, since I was only taking Fina every time. There wouldn¡¯t be anything dangerous this time, so I had no issue taking her with us.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, is it really okay for Shuri toe too?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I will borrow them for two to three days, so it will be just you and Gentz, alone.¡¹

    It was a good thing that they had gotten married, but they couldn¡¯t really be alone with Fina and Shuri around all the time. Terumi-san had taken care of me for a long time, so I had to return some favors, or they would just keep umting.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan......¡¹

    Terumi-san¡¯s face became a bit red, and she lowered her head to hide her face.

    ¡¸So, Big Sis Yuna, where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸You two have never seen the sea, right?¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸We haven¡¯t.¡¹¡¹

    The two of them nodded.

    ¡¸I have something to do at Mireera, you see. I want to collect something around there. It would be lonely to go and collect it alone, so I thought I would bring you two with me.¡¹

    ¡¸We will be able to go to the sea!?¡¹

    ¡¸The sea...¡¹

    They both seemed to be really happy.

    ¡¸Are you really okay with taking care of them?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m the one who asked, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You two don¡¯t cause any problems for Yuna-chan, okay?¡¹

    They both happily nodded.

    Workers secured.

    Well, even though I said workers, it really was lonely to go there alone, so I just wanted them to apany me.

    So, how should we go to Mireera? As I was thinking about using the gate, even though Shuri was here,

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are we taking the Bears?¡¹

    Shuri asked with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸Do you want to ride the Bears?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    She nodded shyly.

    I already showed her the Bears, but we never took a stroll.

    ¡¸We will take Bear-sans then.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Shuri beamed with delight.

    I took the two of them and left the town.

    I summoned Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear when we passed through the gates.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the Bear-sans...¡¹

    Shuri approached Swaying Bear with little steps and hugged him. Swaying Bearid down on the ground and let Shuri do whatever she wanted.

    ¡¸Shuri, we are going, so hurry up and get on.¡¹

    Fina pushed her little sister¡¯s back to get her on, and then got on herself. When both of them were on him, Swaying Bear got up slowly.

    ¡¸Uwah, so high.¡¹

    Shuri seemed to be enjoying herself.

    ¡¸Shuri, don¡¯t move around so wildly. Don¡¯t you feel sorry for Swaying Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, I will stop. Sorry, Swaying Bear.¡¹

    Shuri said while petting Swaying Bear.

    Looking at the two sisters with a good rtionship made me feel warm inside.

    I got on Hugging Bear, and we departed towards Mireera.

    It was Shuri¡¯s first trip, so we took it slow. Shuri was very excited about her first Bear ride. Fina, who was behind her, was doing her best to tell her to calm down.

    As time passed, Shuri calmed down and began to nod off.

    The backs of the Bears were warm, like a high-ss nket, so with the monotonous swaying, it certainly made you feel sleepy.

    ¡¸Fina, we will go a bit faster, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    You wouldn¡¯t fall off even when you slept, but Fina still held Shuri tightly, so that she wouldn¡¯t fall off.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started to move faster.

    ¡¸This is...?¡¹

    Shuri looked around while rubbing her eyes.

    ¡¸We will arrive at the tunnel shortly.¡¹

    ¡¸Tunnel?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that someone created a big tunnel under the mountain, and that after you exit on the other side, you arrive at the sea.¡¹

    ¡¸The sea? We¡¯re already at the sea?¡¹

    Shuri looked around.

    ¡¸I think we¡¯re almost there.¡¹

    When we arrived near the tunnel, the forest in the area had been cut down. When I came here previously, I had to go through the forest to get to the tunnel, but now, the trees had been cut down and the ground was leveled. There was more than enough space for a carriage to go through.

    I had Hugging Bear slowly move forward and looked around.

    The ground had been leveled well, so had there been a magician involved?

    I was able to hear the sound of trees being cut far away.

    When I approached the tunnel, I saw a lot of people. Were they from Crimonia? Some people even waved at me when they saw me. The way Shuri waved back at them was really cute.

    When we arrived at the tunnel, the statues of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear on the sides of the tunnel entrance really stood out. Thendyout around the tunnel had advanced a lot.

    There were no more trees around, and some buildings had already been built.

    Were they staying there and doing their jobs?

    While I was looking at a building, a man came out of it.

    ¡¸Huh? Bear Missy, why are you here?¡¹

    The man approached me.

    ¡¸I have Cliff¡¯s permission, but is it okay for me to go through the tunnel? I would like to go to Mireera.¡¹

    Unlimited free passage through the tunnel had been added to my guild card.

    I had the Bear Gate, so I didn¡¯t think I would use it frequently, but I didn¡¯t have any reasons to refuse it, so I epted.

    ¡¸Yeah, Cliff-sama told me. We haven¡¯t finished installing the magic lines, so there are some dark ces.¡¹

    ¡¸I have magic, so it¡¯s okay, but what did Cliff tell you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m in charge of this ce for now. I was told to let you, Bear Missy, go through when youe.¡¹

    We reached the tunnel entrance.

    The tunnel was lit up by the magic lines.

    ¡¸Still, you¡¯re really incredible, Bear Missy. I thought that the story with the ck Viper was incredible, but this time, you even made a tunnel...¡¹

    ¡¸You knew I made it?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think there¡¯s anyone in Crimonia who wouldn¡¯t figure it out after looking at these statues?¡¹

    He was pointing towards where the statues of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear were standing.

    ¡¸Even more so, when the proof is right in front of my eyes.¡¹

    The man was looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who we were riding.

    It was a reasonable thing to say.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t scare the people inside when you go in. Anybody would be frightened if a bear suddenly appeared behind them, after all.¡¹

    He was right. If a bear suddenly appeared, anybody would be frightened.

    We entered the tunnel slowly, taking heed of his words.

    Inside the tunnel, the magic lines were glowing at regr intervals.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, as I expected, you¡¯re the one who made the tunnel, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I had a few reasons for why I needed to make a tunnel.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though you needed it, I didn¡¯t think you could make it this easily.¡¹

    I was crushed by themon sense of a 10-year-old girl...

    Shuri was looking at the tunnel restlessly. Was it something new for her?

    The tunnel started to turn dark as we advanced on the Bears.

    We slowed down and saw the people who were installing the magic lines.

    ¡¸Who is it!?¡¹

    One of the workers called out when he noticed us.

    ¡¸A Bear!?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s the Bear Missy.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t scare us like that......¡¹

    In a way, not knowing the person I saw, but them recognizing me was really a strange feeling.

    Was this how entertainers and celebrities felt?

    ¡¸If you keep going from here, it will get dark, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I have magic, after all.¡¹

    I created a Bear Light.

    ¡¸I see. However, please take care.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I thanked him, Fina bowed, and Shuri waved; then, we parted ways with the workers.

    Shuri returned to dreamworld. Had she gotten tired of the monotonous scenery?

    We sped up and headed for the tunnel exit.

    Soon, we could see a faint light in the distance.

    ¡¸Fina, wake Shuri up when we get to the exit. You¡¯ll be able to see the sea just after we leave the tunnel.¡¹

    Fina woke Shuri up.

    ¡¸Big Sis?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the exit. It seems that we will be able to see the sea soon, so wake up.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Shuri rubbed her eyes and looked ahead.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear kept running, and we exited the tunnel.

    April Fool¡¯s Version

 Chapter 111 - Bear-san, Workers Get!

    Bear-san, Workers Get!

    When we came out of the tunnel, the trees had been cut down, and we were able to see the blue sea in the distance. They had already finished cutting down the trees around the tunnel on this side, and there was a wide clearing. Only one building was standing in the clearing.

    ¡¸That¡¯s the sea?¡¹

    ¡¸Sea?¡¹

    They were both looking at the blue, faraway sea.

    The weather was good, and there were no clouds.

    It was great to have good weather. If the sky was pitch-ck, rain wasing down, the wind was blowing, and the waves were raging when you saw the sea for the first time, there was a chance you would be traumatized.

    As the three of us were looking at the calm sea, someone called out to me.

    ¡¸Bear Missy?¡¹

    When I looked around for the person who had called out to me, a man came out of the building.

    ¡¸Umm...¡¹

    I didn¡¯t remember him.

    ¡¸Ie from Mireera. I was shocked when I saw youing out of the tunnel all of a sudden.¡¹

    ¡¸It has been a while?¡¹

    I tilted my head.

    ¡¸I have only heard about you, so you don¡¯t have to worry about not recognizing me. So, why did youe here?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to show the sea to these two children.¡¹

    ¡¸Show them the sea, you say? Is it fun to see the sea? The Feudal Lord of Crimonia said that as well, but would people reallye from far away to see the sea? I really can¡¯t understand...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because you see it every day. It¡¯s a moving sight for people who have never seen it before.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    It seemed that the man still didn¡¯t understand it.

    You got tired of the sea if you looked at it every day, huh.

    ¡¸Do you two like the sea?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I feel like you are praising me when you say so, and that makes me happy. Thank you.¡¹

    We said goodbye to the man and slowly headed for the city.

    Fina and Shuri were continuously gazing at the sea from atop the bear.

    ¡¸Should we take a detour?¡¹

    I made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear walk along the beach.

    When we arrived at the sandy beach, Fina and Shuri got down from Swaying Bear and ran towards the sea.

    ¡¸It¡¯s huge!¡¹

    ¡¸Is this all water?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s salt water.¡¹

    ¡¸Salt?!¡¹

    The two of them slowly approached the water.

    ¡¸Take care not to get wet, okay?¡¹

    Small waves rushed towards them.

    They went just far enough to touch the waves.

    ¡¸It¡¯s cold!¡¹

    They licked the seawater on their hands.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really salty!¡¹

    ¡¸Sis, it¡¯s salty!¡¹

    They came back with their tongues sticking out, so I took some water out of the Bear Box for them to rinse out the bad taste. After drinking, they went back to the sea.

    The sun started to set while they were ying around, so I called them back.

    ¡¸We should go to the city before it gets toote.¡¹

    The two came back after responding with an ¡¸Okay!¡¹ .

    We got on Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear, and headed to the city.

    Mireera was moving forward with the tunnel development, just like Crimonia on the other side. The forest to the city had been cut down, and the soil had been prepared. I saw mountains of wood stacked everywhere. Would they use this wood to make buildings?

    As we kept moving forward, I saw the wall that I recognized.

    Seeing the wall also meant that we inevitably started to see what was on the other side.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna....¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Could that be your house?¡¹

    Fina asked when she saw the Bear Building.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a big Bear-san.¡¹

    Shuri was delighted to see the Bear House.

    ¡¸You did well, figuring that out.¡¹

    When I praised her for figuring it out, she looked at me coldly.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, will we be staying at the Bear House?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a good idea, but there¡¯s an inn with really delicious food, so I n on staying there tonight.¡¹

    We arrived at Mireera.

    I put Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back in my Bear Hands and approached the guard.

    The guard was surprised for a second, but let us inside.

    As we were walking through the city, I was greeted from all sides.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re really popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    It was really embarrassing, so I picked up the pace to reach Deiga-san¡¯s ce faster.

    When we entered the inn, it was empty as usual.

    The main road and the sea were now open, so it would be good if there were more people, though...

    ¡¸Wee. Will you be staying... Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    Anzu, who was on the first floor of the inn, was very surprised when she saw me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸To show the sea to these girls, and to get my hands on a ingredient I wanted.¡¹

    I presented the two, who were behind me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Shuri.¡¹

    The two of them gave a small bow.

    ¡¸They¡¯re really cute children.¡¹

    ¡¸We came to stay here, but is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, Yuna-san, I think you already know this, but there are a lot of people who came from Crimonia to help with the development of the tunnel area. That¡¯s why there are no free rooms. I wanted to do something for you, Yuna-san, who helped us so much though...¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    I thought the inn was empty, but they were just out doing their jobs at the moment.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, even if you don¡¯t stop by our ce, you have the Bear Residence, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted these two children to taste Deiga-san¡¯s cuisine.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, even though it¡¯s just a meal, please eat here. I will call my father.¡¹

    It was a little early for dinner, but I had no problem with eating now.

    ¡¸You two, it¡¯s a little early, but do you want to eat?¡¹

    ¡¸I have no problem with that.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll eat!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m counting on you then.¡¹

    When Anzu heard those words, she went to the kitchen where Deiga-san was. A loud voice came from there soon after.

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    Deiga-san must have been the one who shouted in the kitchen, and I heard loud footsteps as he came towards us.

    ¡¸Deiga-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s good that you came.¡¹

    ¡¸I came to eat your meal, Deiga-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You really say some things that make me happy, you know. So, who are those children?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the person who saved my life, Fina, and her little sister, Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna! Stop with this kind of introduction! You already said something like that before!¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, sorry. Still, it¡¯s a fact, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Even though I was the one who was saved...¡¹

    ¡¸Do your own introduction for now.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Fina. Big Sis Yuna saved my life a while back.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m her little sister, Shuri.¡¹

    The two of them bowed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Deiga; the owner of this inn.¡¹

    ¡¸Father, why don¡¯t you start with making their meals? They came to stay here, but since there¡¯s no vacant rooms, I thought that they could at least have a taste of your food.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. We¡¯re out of rooms, huh. I¡¯m really sorry about that.¡¹

    Deiga-san apologized even though it wasn¡¯t his fault.

    ¡¸I have a ce to stay, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I will make you something delicious aspensation, so sit and wait for it.¡¹

    ¡¸Father, I will help as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You have something to talk about with missy, haven¡¯t you? You have to talk about it on your own.¡¹

    Deiga-san left Anzu here and returned to the kitchen.

    There could only be one thing that Anzu had to talk about with me.

    ¡¸Hmm, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the shop we talkedst time. It¡¯s real, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s neither a joke nor a lie.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m thinking about epting it. That¡¯s why, Yuna-san, I might trouble you, but I will be in your care.¡¹

    Anzu bowed her head.

    ¡¸I will be in your care as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    She happily answered.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, I have one request before we go to Crimonia.¡¹

    She looked around as if it was difficult to talk about.

    ¡¸What is it? If it¡¯s something I can help you with, I will hear you out.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san. Do you remember the women who had been captured by bandits?¡¹

    I remembered. I wasn¡¯t able to say anything to those women after we rescued them. They lost their rtives and their loved ones. Even more, the women themselves had endured some terrible things.

    ¡¸Could theye to work at the shop with me? It will be difficult for me alone, and they can handle fish, since they were born in this city, so they can help out at the shop. I would be happier if I had people I knew with me, rather than just going alone...¡¹

    Her voice was bing softer and softer.

    I was sure that she was thinking that she was asking for the impossible.

    If the number of people who came to work increased, problems like wages and the like would start to pop up. Since her parents were working at an inn, she should know about it.

    However, I wasn¡¯t someone who would care about little things like that.

    ¡¸Still, why?¡¹

    ¡¸I think you know about it, Yuna-san, but they lost their families. When living in this city, they remember painful things. Even if they wanted to go to another city, they don¡¯t have any acquaintances, money, or jobs. They asked me when they heard that I would go to Crimonia.¡¹

    If it was this sort of a reason, I had no reason to refuse.

    ¡¸Okay. How many people?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I also thought that it would be difficult if Anzu came alone. Of course, I thought of finding helpers for you, but they don¡¯t know anything about seafood, so you would have to teach them from scratch. It would be a burden for you, so it would help me a lot if there were people that know how to handle seafood.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. There are six of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Six, huh.¡¹

    It was more than what I had expected.

    With that, we could even make cooking sses, huh.

    ¡¸Is it too many?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. There is just the possibility that I will ask them to do some other jobs as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Other jobs, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on having you in charge of the dishes, but I might also ask someone to be in charge of the money and ingredients. It would be difficult for you to do it all alone, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. There is also money management and ingredient stocking. My father is in charge of the money, and my brother stocks up on fish that he catches, but I will have to do it on my own from now on, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, I will help you at first, but I want you to manage everything by yourself in the end. Well, there¡¯s someone in Crimonia who knows a lot about purchasing ingredients, so if you ask them, you¡¯ll be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, if there are people who like children, I would like them to help take care of the orphans in the orphanage. I will make a rotating shift of course. If you ept these terms, I¡¯m okay with theming.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I¡¯ll tell them.¡¹

    Anzu thanked me happily.

    Soon after, as I was asking Anzu about the situation in the city, a delicious scent drifted in from the kitchen. Deiga-san was bringing the food.

    ¡¸I made you wait. It seems that Anzu has also talked to you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be taking your daughter.¡¹

    While I was saying it as a joke,

    ¡¸Yea, take her! Also, while you are at it, find her a husband who can cook.¡¹

    ¡¸F, Father!¡¹

    Anzu hit Deiga-san with a beet-red face.

    Didn¡¯t she have a lover in this city? If she did, I would feel bad for her, but judging by the exchange just now, she didn¡¯t seem to have one.

 Chapter 112 - Bear-san Goes To The Ryokan-style Bear House

    Bear-san Goes To The Ryokan-style Bear House

    Author¡¯s note:

    There¡¯s an important announcement in the afternote.

    The two children were eating Deiga-san¡¯s food happily.

    I also became happy, seeing them like this.

    While I was eating my meal and looking at the two, Anzu spoke to me.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, what ingredient did you want? Should I prepare it for you?¡¹

    Anzu asked.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something that¡¯s being sold, so you might not be able to find it.¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t being sold?¡¹

    ¡¸I have never seen it being sold anywhere, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, you can find it near this city, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I saw some on the mountain.¡¹

    ¡¸What sort of ingredient is it?¡¹

    Deiga-san, who was interested about the ingredient, entered the conversation.

    ¡¸Bamboo shoots.¡¹

    ¡¸Bamboo shoots? What are those?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know about the bamboos that grow on the mountain? It¡¯s like a green pipe.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I know about bamboos at least. How would you be able to eat something that hard?¡¹

    When I heard those words, I finally understood.

    They didn¡¯t know what bamboos were like before they grew from the earth.

    No one had ever thought about digging up the bamboos before they grew.

    Likewise, if I didn¡¯t know about it, I wouldn¡¯t think that eating it was possible just by looking at a bamboo.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. I¡¯m talking about the bamboo shoots. The bamboos before they grow.¡¹

    ¡¸You can eat such a thing?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s tasty, you know. You can cook it with rice, or just boil it as it is, or even cook it with other ingredients. There are a lot of different ways of eating it.¡¹

    My main aim was the Bamboo Shoot Rice.

    ¡¸Is it difficult to harvest bamboo shoots?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s difficult, but even children can harvest them if they do their best.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I get it. I wille too!¡¹

    Deiga-san said.

    ¡¸Father!?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s an ingredient near here that I, a chef, don¡¯t know about. If we knew about it during the time the Kraken was here, it could have be food, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸You have a point, but what will do you about the inn?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be okay even if I¡¯m not here for a day.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible! Big Bro will go to the sea, and it will be impossible to manage all the customers with just mom and me.¡¹

    ¡¸We will go to harvest it when the sun rises, so it won¡¯t take the whole day.¡¹

    ¡¸That early?¡¹

    ¡¸Bamboo shoots taste better if you harvest them in the early hours, after all.¡¹

    I told them what I vaguely remembered seeing on a TV program about bamboo shoots.

    It had said that it was better to harvest bamboo shoots early in the morning.

    It had said that both taste and fragrance were better that way. They turned bitter when the sun shone upon them, so you had to harvest them before the sun rose too high.

    ¡¸Anzu, I will help you with the morning preparations, and you will take care of breakfast on your own.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible...¡¹

    ¡¸You will open a restaurant at Missy¡¯s ce, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Anything¡¯s an experience.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, will it really be okay with just mom and me? I also want to go and harvest those bamboo shoots. What if I go with Yuna-san and Father prepares breakfast?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good. I will go. As a chef, I won¡¯t permit such a delicious ingredient near me without my knowledge.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same for me...¡¹

    ¡¸I will go this time. I won¡¯t back down even for the sake of my own daughter. Is that okay with you, Missy?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay, so please don¡¯t fight.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh. I understand. I will bear with it this time. Still, Yuna-san, please take me with you next time.¡¹

    It was decided that we would meet up with Deiga-san at the entrance of the city when the sunes up.

    ¡¸Do I need to take anything with me?¡¹

    ¡¸We will be digging them up from the ground, so it would be best if you had a hoe, I think? Though, if youe just for the sake of seeing it, I will dig them up using magic.¡¹

    ¡¸No, as I already told Anzu, I want to experience it myself, so I will dig them up on my own.¡¹

    We finished our meals, and since it was almost time for the workers to return to the in after work, we decided to go to the Ryokan-style Bear House.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, it¡¯s big.¡¹

    That was the first thing Fina said when she saw the Ryokan style Bear House.

    ¡¸I also thought so when I finished making it.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did you make it this big?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to bring the orphans here some day, so the number of bedrooms increased a lot...¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it, Big Sis Yuna, you are really kind. Actually, I was feeling a little guilty that you brought only the two of us while the children at the orphanage are still working. But you are thinking about everyone properly, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have such noble intentions, you know. Everyone is working hard, so... Well, I don¡¯t run apany, but this would still be something like an employee trip.¡¹

    ¡¸Employee trip?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, it¡¯s something to show the people working for me that I¡¯m grateful.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, why are you grateful?¡¹

    ¡¸You are working at my shop, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s wrong. Thanks to you, Big Sis Yuna, we have a ce to work, we can eat until we are full, and we have a warm ce to sleep, you know. If we weren¡¯t working at your ce, we wouldn¡¯t have those things. Mother, everyone at the orphanage, and I are all grateful to you.¡¹

    Hmm, it was difficult to exin.

    It seemed that Fina thought that giving them a job that made them money, gave them something to eat, and gave them a ce to sleep was more than enough already; and that giving them more wasn¡¯t necessary.

    So that was the difference in thinking between me, who had grown up in Japan, and Fina, who had grown up in an other world, huh.

    ¡¸Thanks, but I want to show that I am grateful too.¡¹

    I patted Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡¸You should be tired since we were moving around all day today, right? Hurry up and go in. It seems that Shuri is also tired.¡¹

    Behind Fina, Shuri seemed to be nodding off.

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    When we entered the Bear House, I showed them the rooms on the first floor.

    Shuri woke up. Was she interested in the Bear House?

    ¡¸If you want to use the toilet or drink water, they¡¯re on this floor, so use them, okay?¡¹

    We ignored the second floor, and I brought them to the bedrooms for guests.

    ¡¸You two, use this room, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s big.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll sleep here?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll take a bath first, okay?¡¹

    I made all the rooms on the 3rd floor big.

    It was only the three of us, so I had the two of them use this room.

    ¡¸We will wake up early tomorrow, so we should enter the bath now and go to sleep early.¡¹

    We headed for the bath on the 4th floor.

    I had properly separated men and women¡¯s baths.

    We went past the curtain with the word ¡ºWomen¡» written on it and entered the changing room.

    ¡¸Undress here, the bath is just over there.¡¹

    The two put their clothes in the boxes and went inside the bath.

    I also took off the Bear Suit and went after them.

    ¡¸Waa, so big! We can also see outside!¡¹

    Shuri walked around with small steps.

    ¡¸Huh, Sis Yuna, there¡¯s no hot water inside.¡¹

    I also noticed it when Shuri said that. There was no hot water in the bathtub.

    Well, that was absolutely normal. Nobody had been using it, and we just came here.

    I went to the Bear Statue that poured out water and adjusted the magic stone on the Bear¡¯s hand. When I did that, hot water came out from the Bear¡¯s mouth. The Bear on the opposite side also poured out hot water.

    How long will it take for the bath to be filled with water?

    It would be great if it was filled while we were washing our bodies.

    It wasn¡¯t good to keep standing and do nothing while naked.

    ¡¸You two, wash your body and hair carefully, okay?¡¹

    I told them.

    ¡¸Shuri, stop looking outside ande here to wash your body.¡¹

    Fina took Shuri, who was looking outside, by her hand and went toward the washing area.

    I adjusted the temperature of the water pouring out of the Bear mouth and went to the washing area.

    As I was scrubbing myself, Fina and Shuri approached me.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, your hair is so long and beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, it¡¯s beautiful.¡¹

    They touched my hair.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just long.¡¹

    ¡¸I will wash your hair.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do it too...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to, really. I can do it myself.¡¹

    ¡¸We have been in your care, Big Sis Yuna. I didn¡¯t do a lot of things to thank you, so I want to do this at least. Please tell me if it bothers you, though.¡¹

    She looked at me innocently. She was too dazzling for my impure heart. I couldn¡¯t refuse when you looked at me with those eyes.

    ¡¸Okay. Can I count on you then?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course!¡¹

    The two of them happily sat behind me and started to carefully wash my hair.

    ¡¸How many years does it take for it to be this long?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t remember when I had started to let it grow out. I had no interest in taking care of my hair, so it became like this on its own.

    ¡¸Should I grow my hair long like Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸I will grow it too...¡¹

    Fina asked while touching her own hair.

    Shuri dered while raising her hand.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a pain to take care of, you know.¡¹

    We finished washing while having this sort of conversation, and when we went to the bathtub, the hot water had filled up half of it.

    The bathtub was big, so if we stretched our legs, it should be okay, right?

    Since the three of us were small, we wouldn¡¯t have any problems even with this amount.

    I extended my legs and submerged my shoulders.

    I knew it, baths where you were able to extend your legs were great.

    Fina and Shuri also entered and seemed to enjoy it.

    Baths were the mankind¡¯s best invention.

    Shuri was ying around; looking outside and putting her hand in the Bear Statue¡¯s mouth that was pouring out hot water. Fina did her best to stop her.

    After bathing and rxing for a while, Shuri said that she wanted to go out.

    ¡¸Sis, it¡¯s hot.¡¹

    Shuri¡¯s face was bright-red.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can we go out?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. The dryer is in the changing room, so dry your hair carefully, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Fina took Shuri¡¯s hand, and they left the bath.

    After submerging myself in hot water for a while longer, I also got out.

    When I entered the changing room, Fina and Shuri were drying their hair.

    Shuri seemed really sleepy.

    ¡¸Okay, it¡¯s finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks, Sis.¡¹

    Shuri rubbed her eyes. She seemed to be barely standing.

    Fina, who was beside her, started drying her own hair.

    I wiped my body and put on the White Bear Suit. While I was drying my hair, which went below my waist, Fina came to me.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can we go to our room first?¡¹

    Shuri, who was behind Fina, was already nodding off.

    ¡¸Of course. Sleep tight. We will wake up early tomorrow, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Good night.¡¹

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, good night.¡¹

    ¡¸Good night.¡¹

    Fina took Shuri¡¯s hand, and they left the dressing room.

    I dryed my hair alone and went to my room.

    I looked outside from the veranda and saw a beautiful, starry sky.

    The hikikomori me, who had never went to the sea, only saw this scenery on the TV and the Net. In that moment, I thought it was good that I came to this world.

    It was something I would have never seen if I didn¡¯te to this world and stayed locked up inside.

    The night¡¯s wind was cooling down my body that was hot from the bath, and I decided to go to sleep since we would be going out early tomorrow.

    In my mind I wished the two, who were in the room beside me, good night, and slipped into my bed.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m sure that there are people who already know about this, but thanks to you all, my book will be published.

    I will write all the details in an information report soon.

 Chapter 113 â€“ Bear-san Goes And Digs Up Bamboo Shoots

    Chapter 113 ¨C Bear-san Goes And Digs Up Bamboo Shoots

    There was a very gentle knock on the door, as if the person knocking was hesitating.

    I woke up and opened my eyes. I opened the window even though the sun had not risen yet.

    I wasn¡¯t sleepy since I went to sleep early yesterday.

    The door slowly opened, and a certain someone entered the room.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you awake?¡¹

    Fina called out to me softly.

    ¡¸Good morning, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸What about Shuri?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s awake, since we slept early.¡¹

    Oh right, she normally woke up early with Terumi-san to help her at the orphanage; the one who had trouble waking up early was me.

    I asked Fina to leave first and followed her after I changed to the ck Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Sorry for making you wait.¡¹

    The two were already ready to head out.

    It was still dark when we left the Bear House.

    ¡¸Are you two cold?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay too.¡¹

    They had coats on, so it should be okay?

    When I was wearing the Bear Clothes, I couldn¡¯t really tell what the temperature was like.

    ¡¸Tell me if you¡¯re cold, okay?¡¹

    They nodded.

    When we arrived at the city, Deiga-san was already waiting for us, holding a big hoe in his hand.

    ¡¸Good morning, Deiga-san.¡¹

    After I greeted him, Fina and Shuri did the same.

    ¡¸Well then, shall we head out?¡¹

    Deiga-san put the hoe on his shoulder and started walking.

    The four of us headed towards the ce where the bamboos were.

    ¡¸Is the inn okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I have been making preparations sincest night, after all. The only thing that remains is the cooking, and Anzu should be able to do that on her own. If she can¡¯t, I won¡¯t let her to go to your ce, Missy, and will make her re-do her training.¡¹

    I prayed that Anzu could do it on her own.

    We arrived at the bamboo thicket soon after. There were a lot of splendid bamboos.

    ¡¸Can you really eat something like this?¡¹

    Deiga-san knocked on the hard bamboo.

    ¡¸You can eat the ones that haven¡¯te out of the ground yet.¡¹

    I looked around for ces where the earth was bulging out. Was it here? I dug up the ground using earth magic. I uncovered a big bamboo shoot. It seemed that I had picked the right spot. I skillfully harvested the bamboo shoot.

    ¡¸So, that¡¯s a bamboo shoot?¡¹

    Deiga-san took the bamboo shoot and examined it.

    ¡¸If you peel it and remove the poison, you can eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yosh, I understand. I just have to dig them up, right?¡¹

    Deiga-san went further inside the bamboo thicket with his hoe.

    Did he know where to dig them up?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, will we dig this up?¡¹

    Fina asked while looking at the bamboo shoot.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. My n was toe here and dig up the bamboo shoots with the two of you.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯ll do my best. I don¡¯t have any tools for digging, though.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I will lend Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to you.¡¹

    I summoned Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Can you two go with them and look for bamboo shoots?¡¹

    When I asked the two, they nodded.

    As expected from animals?

    ¡¸These children will dig up the bamboo shoots, so could you carry them?¡¹

    Swaying Bear was paired with Fina, and Hugging Bear with Shuri.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, I¡¯m in your care.¡¹

    Fina petted Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, we should do our best so we don¡¯t lose to Sis, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t lose either.¡¹

    They headed in different directions.

    Then, should I dig around here?

    While walking around the area, I dug up all the slightly bulging ces.

    I didn¡¯t find any shoots sometimes, but I was sessful more often than not.

    Meanwhile, Fina and Shuri were bringing bamboo shoots to me with their small bodies.

    The shoots were all sorts of sizes, big and small.

    They brought them over many times, but Deiga-san didn¡¯t bring even one.

    You just had to dig and you could find them, but he left during my exnation, so I wasn¡¯t able to tell him the trick to finding them. I became worried.

    I continued to dig while worrying about Deiga-san.

    It wasn¡¯t good to take too much, so I stopped after taking a moderate amount.

    The next time Fina and Shuri came back, I told them that we would stop.

    ¡¸I lost to Sis...¡¹

    Shuri seemed sad.

    ¡¸Shuri, you lost because you went too far.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought I would find more if I went farther, though...¡¹

    ¡¸The next time we do this, think about how far you have to carry them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh.¡¹

    Shuri puffed up her cheeks and clung to her partner, Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, I¡¯m sorry. We lost because of me.¡¹

    Hugging Bear lightly patted her head. Was he saying she shouldn¡¯t mind it?

    Deiga-san was reallyte though. How far did he go?

    I used detection magic to find him. He didn¡¯t go too far.

    ¡¸I will go to Deiga-san, so please wait here for a minute, okay?¡¹

    I left them there and headed towards Deiga-san.

    When I reached him, I saw a lot of holes. Even now, Deiga-san was digging a hole.

    ¡¸Deiga-san, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? I am digging up bamboo shoots. I¡¯m having trouble finding them though...¡¹

    I knew it. He really was digging randomly!

    ¡¸Deiga-san, there¡¯s a trick to finding bamboo shoots, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? You should have told me that earlier!¡¹

    ¡¸You went off on your own before I could tell you, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Was it so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was. You find bamboo shoots by carefully looking at the ground for ces where the earth is bulging up a bit.¡¹

    I looked around and found a ce that was bulging up.

    ¡¸Deiga-san, that ce over there bulges up, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right.¡¹

    ¡¸Please go and dig over there.¡¹

    Deiga-san went to dig where I told him to.

    ¡¸Oh! It¡¯s really here!¡¹

    ¡¸It was about to sprout soon. If it did, it would have be a bamboo.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    Deiga-san swung the hoe carefully not to break the bamboo shoot.

    As he continued to dig, the bamboo shoot was slowly being uncovered. A surprisingly big bamboo shoot was buried here.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big, huh.¡¹

    Deiga-san sessfully dug up the bamboo shoot using his muscles.

    I then told him we would go back since the sun was rising.

    ¡¸I only dug up one, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Time has run out already. If you continued to dig more, their taste would get worse, and that wouldn¡¯t be good, right?¡¹

    Deiga-san looked sad when I told him that, but he obediently agreed toe back with us.

    I was sure that he, as a chef, thought that he couldn¡¯t serve something that didn¡¯t have the best taste to his customers.

    I put the bamboo shoots inside the Bear Box, and we headed back to the inn.

    When we arrived at the inn, Anzu was copsed on the table, exhausted.

    ¡¸Anzu?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-san. Wee back.¡¹

    Anzu woke up.

    ¡¸Oh, it seems that you managed on your own, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Somehow. I don¡¯t want to do it again, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Right, right? Still, if you can¡¯t do this, you won¡¯t be be a full-fledged chef, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll do my best!¡¹

    Anzu stood up from her chair.

    ¡¸So, did you find the bamboo shoots?¡¹

    I brought out a bamboo shoot from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸So, this is a bamboo shoot?¡¹

    ¡¸Should I prepare it, so we can eat it for lunch?¡¹

    I showed them how to remove the poison, and prepared the rice.

    ¡¸I heard it from Anzu, but it seems that the people from the country of Harmony and Peace haven¡¯te yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. We¡¯re troubled, since we can¡¯t procure rice and othermodities. Still, thanks to the feudal lord of Crimonia, wheat is being transported here, and bread has be our main food.¡¹

    Fish and bread, huh. For me, who was born in Japan, it was an impossiblebination.

    Fish went best with rice.

    Wait, there were fish burgers too. Should I make some next time?

    ¡¸The tunnel isn¡¯t finished yet, right? They brought it anyway?¡¹

    The tunnel¡¯s interior was dark; the instation of magic lines wasn¡¯t finished yet.

    ¡¸Missy, even though you subjugated the bandits and the Kraken, we still have a food shortage. We used to transport the flour by boat, but it¡¯s now quicker to just get it from Crimonia, so we asked them to bring us food.¡¹

    Well, that was true. Even though they had fish now, with just seafood it was still...

    It wasn¡¯t my ce to talk here, so I kept quiet.

    I decided to make the bamboo shoots in front of me as delicious as I possibly could.

    First, preparing the bamboo shoot rice, then frying what had to be fried, and finally seasoning what had to be boiled. I made lots of different dishes using the bamboo shoots.

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, I¡¯m hungry.¡¹

    Now that I thought about it, we did work without eating breakfast, huh.

    ¡¸It¡¯s ready.¡¹

    I ced the finished dishes in front of the two children.

    ¡¸It looks delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t white today?¡¹

    Shuri asked while looking at the rice.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because the shoots that you dug up are mixed in. It¡¯s delicious, so try it.¡¹

    Shuri nodded and brought the bamboo shoot to her mouth.

    ¡¸Delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    Shuri and Fina were eating it happily.

    Seeing them eat it like that made me happy too.

    ¡¸Can I also have some?¡¹

    ¡¸I prepared enough for all of us.¡¹

    I ced all of our portions on the table.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious and really tender. So the bamboo is soft like this, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you can¡¯t eat it after it sprouts; it bes too hard.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    Shuri was eating silently.

    ¡¸Somehow, Yuna-san looks more like a chef than me.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t prepare fish, so Anzu is more of a chef than me.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    I had never prepared any, after all.

    I knew a bit about them, but I had never prepared a fish.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you seem like you can do everything.¡¹

    ¡¸I only know how to cook it, so I am counting on you, Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    Anzu seemed happy.

    ¡¸If we had rice, I would sell bamboo shoot rice in the shop, but...¡¹

    Deiga-san said while eating.

    ¡¸Bamboo shoots are delicious even when you don¡¯t eat rice with it, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. It¡¯s delicious enough to eat it with other ingredients. Although, is giving us these bamboo shoots really okay? Well, it would help us a lot if you gave some to us.¡¹

    Deiga-san managed to dig up only one.

    We were able to harvest a lot of them since I used magic while Fina and Shuri got help from the bears.

    ¡¸No problem. I harvested a lot thanks to these two. We could also go and harvest some moreter if you want. It¡¯s difficult to dig them up, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, there¡¯s a trick to finding them. I will be okay next time though. You taught me a lot, after all.¡¹

    A little whileter, after we finished eating our meals, people starteding in to eat lunch.

    Deiga-san and Anzu would be busy soon, so we left the inn to avoid bothering them.

    Author¡¯s note:

    There were a lot of questions about the web novel after the book release, so I will answer them here.

    The web version won¡¯t get erased, so please be relieved.

 Chapter 114 - Bear-san And The Two Children Take a Stroll, Part 1

    Bear-san And The Two Children Take a Stroll, Part 1

    We left the inn and were walking on the streets when we met a familiar harem party.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! You came back?¡¹

    In the front was the thoughtful Tomea-san, and behind her were the harem party leader Blitz, the tiny Ran and the female swordsman Grimos.

    ¡¸You were all still here?¡¹

    I thought that they would have left the city after they brought the food.

    ¡¸Yeah, the guild master asked us to stay and kill the monsters in the area.¡¹

    Blitz answered.

    ¡¸More importantly, is it true that you subjugated the Kraken? I can¡¯t believe it.¡¹

    ¡¸Blitz, you are too skeptical. Everyone in the city is talking about it, so it has to be true.¡¹

    ¡¸But it¡¯s the Kraken, you know. How could someone kill that monster on their own?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but Yuna-chanpletely ignoresmon sense, so wouldn¡¯t she be able to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to believe it. It¡¯s better for me if you don¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸I believe it.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, since the residents are saying so, I think you did it?¡¹

    Ran agreed with Tomea-san.

    ¡¸The residents have no reasons to lie.¡¹

    Grimos shared her thoughts as well.

    ¡¸And there¡¯s also the tunnel, right? I think that you are all strange for believing it.¡¹

    Blitz was the only one thinking logically.

    ¡¸But Blitz, you¡¯ve seen the tunnel too, haven¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I saw it, but it¡¯s also possible it was already there to begin with.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way we had such a beautiful tunnel before, right?¡¹

    She looked at Blitz as if saying: ¡®Are you an idiot?¡¯

    ¡¸Still, thinking about it logically...¡¹

    ¡¸Did Yuna-chan seem normal to you when she was arresting the bandits?¡¹

    ¡¸She didn¡¯t.¡¹

    Weren¡¯t they saying some terrible things?

    ¡¸Also, the residents are saying that she subjugated the Kraken, so wouldn¡¯t something like a tunnel be normal for her?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really normal?¡¹

    It seemed that Blitz still couldn¡¯t ept it.

    ¡¸So, what are you doing here? Didn¡¯t you go back to Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸I came here to y with these two.¡¹

    I introduced Fina and Shuri.

    They gave their greetings and bowed.

    ¡¸They¡¯re cute children.¡¹

    ¡¸So Blitz, will you guys stay here until the city¡¯s renovation is finished?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, we thought of going to Crimonia when the tunnel is opened.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Since you made the tunnel, there¡¯s no way we wouldn¡¯t use it, right?¡¹

    Tomea-san confirmed what Blitz said.

    ¡¸If youe to Crimonia, I will treat you to a meal at the very least.¡¹

    I gave them the name of the shop, and we parted ways.

    It seemed that the four of them were heading out to kill monsters.

    After we parted ways, I decided to show Fina and Shuri around the city.

    ¡¸Amazing. There are so many boats!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a boat!¡¹

    When we arrived at the harbour, they were happily looking at the boats.

    A lot of boats were anchored here.

    They didn¡¯t say it, but it seemed like they wanted to ride one.

    Still, as one would expect, I didn¡¯t have a boat, so I couldn¡¯t let them ride one.

    As we were walking through the harbour, I recognized two people.

    ¡¸Ranya-san, Damon-san. It¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, you say!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened? Do you need more fish?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope. I¡¯m showing the sea and the boats to these two.¡¹

    ¡¸You brought these two small children from Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    Damon-san seemed depressed.

    ¡¸We thought we would die on our way to Crimonia, but you brought them here just to y. That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸You can easilye here through the tunnel, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You may be right, but I just can¡¯t agree with that somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying. Yuna-chan saved us and the city. Why are youining now?¡¹

    Ranya-san smacked him.

    ¡¸So, what are you two doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, we are doing maintenance of our boat. If we didn¡¯t take care of it properly and it broke when we needed it, we would be in trouble after all.¡¹

    While we were talking, Fina and Shuri were looking at the boat as if it was something they had never seen before.

    ¡¸Hmm, youngdies, would you like to ride it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸I want to, but...¡¹

    The two said, holding back.

    A boat, huh. Now that I thought about it, I had never ridden one either.

    I rode them in MMORPG games though.

    ¡¸Then how about getting on?¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Is it okay?¡¹¡¹

    For some reason, they looked at me and not Damon-san.

    ¡¸Do you want to?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m a bit scared.¡¹

    Now that I thought about it, this was their first time riding a boat since they had never even seen the sea before. They might be interested, but they were also scared.

    ¡¸Damon-san, sail carefully, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. There¡¯s no way I would put yours friends in danger, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s safe, you two, so please ride it.¡¹

    ¡¸What about you, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll wait.¡¹

    ¡¸I want Sis Yuna toe too!¡¹

    Shuri grasped my Bear Clothes with her tiny hand and looked up at me.

    I couldn¡¯t refuse when she was like this.

    So it was decided that we would ride Damon-san¡¯s boat together.

    We got on Damon-san¡¯s boat and sailed out onto the sea.

    ¡¸If you two feel sick, tell me immediately, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    The two of them were confused.

    Since they had never been on a boat before, I didn¡¯t think that they would understand even if I told them what seasickness was, so that was all I said.

    Yet, despite my worries, they were happily enjoying their boat ride on the sea.

    It seemed that the waves weren¡¯t too high. They got excited each time the boat swayed.

    I didn¡¯t feel sick either. Was it thanks to the Bear?

    ¡¸Damon-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem, just tell me when you want a ride.¡¹

    We thanked Damon-san and left the harbour.

    ¡¸Was it fun, you two?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! It was so much fun.¡¹

    ¡¸Boat was fun!¡¹

    They really seemed like they had fun. I was sure that there were no lies in their words.

    Just as we were leaving the harbour, we found a woman wearing clothes that emphasized her chest waiting for us.

    ¡¸Atora-san?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t ask me what I am doing here. If you came to the city, why didn¡¯t youe to my ce?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, because I had nothing to do over there?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna.¡¹

    Atora-san red at me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m joking. I nned to go over there now.¡¹

    That was a lie of course. I didn¡¯t n on going there.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    She looked at me doubtfully.

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    I answered while shifting my gaze subtly.

    ¡¸Well, alright. So, Yuna, why did youe here?¡¹

    ¡¸I came here just to y.¡¹

    ¡¸To y, you say... There¡¯s nothing interesting in this city, right?¡¹

    ¡¸There are plenty of things. Fish dishes, bamboo sprouts, the sea, the boats, and the beach. You two, it was fun, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was really fun.¡¹

    ¡¸It was fun!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Somehow, there was something I don¡¯t know mixed in, but if you had fun, I¡®m happy. So, who are these children?¡¹

    ¡¸The children of someone I¡¯m indebted to in Crimonia, I could say?¡¹

    Fina would get mad if I introduced her as my life saviour, so this time I introduced them like that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s wrong! We are the ones indebted to you, Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Mom told me that we can eat delicious food thanks to Sis Yuna.¡¹

    They denied my introduction.

    ¡¸Fufu.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are youughing?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I can imagine what you did for these children. I bet you saved their family and didn¡¯t even request a reward, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Amazing. How did you know?¡¹

    Fina confirmed Atora-san¡¯s theory.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Yuna did the same thing for this city.¡¹

    ¡¸I can understand then.¡¹

    Howe they all came to an understanding from this conversation?

    Didn¡¯t that make me a simple character who could be described with just a phrase?

    I wanted to correct them, but they were happily talking about me.

    ¡¸She always says ¡ºDon¡¯t worry about it.¡», right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she says that.¡¹

    ¡¸She says...¡¹

    Why were they so excited?

    ¡¸Also, even though we are not allowed to give our thanks, for some reason, Yuna helps us even more.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand!¡¹

    ¡¸Understand!¡¹

    Did Shuri really understand it? It felt like she was just imitating her sister though.

    ¡¸Hmm, how long are you going to keep talking like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    They apologized.

    ¡¸So, what will the three of you do now?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to go and greet Atora-san, but since we already saw each other here, I thought about sightseeing the city.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really n to meet Atora-san, but I really wanted to walk around the city.

    ¡¸Then, should I apany you?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you free?¡¹

    ¡¸You could say that. Cliff-sama dispatched adventurers from Crimonia to kill all of the monsters in the area, and it¡¯s going well. Also, Blitz¡¯s party came back, and they will be staying here for a while, it seems. All of this is also thanks to you, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything. The ones who did are Cliff and Mylene-san.¡¹

    ¡¸The only one who thinks that is you.¡¹

    Atora-san said, smiling, as she took Fina and Shuri¡¯s hands and started walking.

    I didn¡¯t agree with her, but I still followed along.

 Chapter 115 - Bear-san And The Two Children Take A Stroll, Part 2

    Bear-san And The Two Children Take A Stroll, Part 2

    Atora-san took us on a seafood tour.

    At the market, a lot of seafood was lined up.

    ¡¸Uwaa, it¡¯s moving weirdly.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really gross.¡¹

    Fina and Shuri were noisily looking at an octopus.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that true?¡¹

    Octopuses were delicious grilled, boiled and as sashimi.

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, what is this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a crab. It¡¯s delicious when boiled.¡¹

    Broth made with crab was delicious. Oh, and some shrimps might be good as well.

    ¡¸All these things can be eaten?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you can eat them. They were in the dish Deiga-san made yesterday, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that true!?¡¹

    Fina and Shuri looked at the crabs.

    They slowly reached out...

    ¡¸They are dangerous, so don¡¯t touch them, okay?¡¹

    I warned them as they tried to touch the crabs. They could get hurt if they were pinched by their ws, after all.

    They quickly withdrew their hands when I warned them.

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri,e here. There¡¯s a smaller version of the Kraken Yuna had defeated.¡¹

    When Atora-san called them, they went to see the squid.

    ¡¸This is the thing Big Sis Yuna killed?¡¹

    ¡¸That one was was a lotrger though.¡¹

    ¡¸A lotrger than this one!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, a lotrger.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸Amazing!¡¹

    The two of them were praising me while looking at the squid, but I wasn¡¯t happy for some reason.

    After our brief seafood tour, we headed towards the stands.

    When we got closer, a delicious smell drifted our way.

    ¡¸It seems delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat it.¡¹

    They were looking at the stand that was grilling squid.

    ¡¸Fufu, no problem. It¡¯s my treat. You two can eat whatever you want with this.¡¹

    Atora-san offered them money, but they didn¡¯t take it.

    ¡¸Why aren¡¯t you taking it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well...¡¹

    The two of them looked at me.

    They were surely hesitating to take money from someone they had just met.

    I took some money out of the Bear Box and gave it to them.

    ¡¸This is a reward for helping me gather bamboo shoots.¡¹

    ¡¸But you brought us here...¡¹

    ¡¸You took the trouble ofing here. So, go and eat delicious things.¡¹

    Fina and Shuri looked at each other and nodded. Did theye to an agreement? They took the money from my Bear Hands.

    ¡¸Th, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    They thanked me. However, there was one sad person looking at the two.

    ¡¸Could you take my money as well?¡¹

    The sad Atora-san, who was left aside, asked them.

    Fina and Shuri looked at me again, so I nodded.

    They thanked Atora-san and took her money. They then happily held hands and ran towards the stands.

    ¡¸They are good children.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    They weren¡¯t rebellious like I was.

    Atora-san and I sat on a nearby bench.

    ¡¸Yuna, have you heard what happened in the city?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard a little from Anzu and Deiga-san.¡¹

    ¡¸About the criminals?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸Well, they wouldn¡¯t talk about it when there were little children like those two around. The previous Commerce Guild master and all the people deemed guilty of conducting serious crimes have been executed.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸It was a public execution, but not many people came to see it. The only ones who came were families who had lost someone dear to them and the elders. I believe that, with this, those families will be able to end this chapter and start a new one.¡¹

    So, that¡¯s why they wanted to go to Crimonia, huh?

    ¡¸So, has the mayor been decided yet? I think Cliff wanted you to do it, but...¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I would ept, right? I¡¯mzy most of the time, so I wouldn¡¯t ept something that troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened then?¡¹

    ¡¸The role was forced onto Grandpa Kuro¡¯s son. Nobody opposed the idea since he is from this city.¡¹

    ¡¸So, it was forced onto someone, huh. I¡¯m sure there are a lot of people who want to be mayor though.¡¹

    ¡¸They all saw the previous mayor, after all. Every day, he was told to do something about the Kraken. When he tried to get food from the nearby city, bandits appeared, and he couldn¡¯t procure food anymore. On top of that, the residents never stopped pressuring him. They saw him at that time, so nobody wants to do it anymore. That¡¯s why Grandpa Kuro pushed it onto his son.¡¹

    I felt sorry for him.

    I wished him luck even though I didn¡¯t know him.

    ¡¸Has the previous mayor returned?¡¹

    ¡¸With how he fled, there¡¯s no way he would return, right? The citizens wouldn¡¯t forgive him even if he returned.¡¹

    ¡¸In case he returns, what will happen to the mayor¡¯s position?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing. This city is now under Cliff-sama¡¯s jurisdiction, so the people who fled have nothing to say. Even if something does happen, I¡¯m sure Cliff-sama will deal with it.¡¹

    Atora-san seemed to trust Cliff, huh.

    Well, this wasn¡¯t something I needed to concern myself with; I could just leave it to Cliff if the previous mayor returned.

    ¡¸It would also be dangerous for him to return.¡¹

    ¡¸Dangerous?¡¹

    ¡¸There are a lot of people who resent him.¡¹

    Well, people who had been abandoned would hold grudges, no matter what world they were from.

    ¡¸On another note, where are you staying, Yuna? At Deiga-san¡¯s ce or at the Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸At the Bear, you say... Deiga-san¡¯s inn is full, so I¡¯m staying at my own Bear-shaped house outside the city.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it. We really have to make more inns quicky. More people wille once the tunnel ispleted, and what we have now won¡¯t be enough.¡¹

    ¡¸You haven¡¯t started building them yet?¡¹

    The wood was prepared, but no buildings have been built yet.

    ¡¸I think we will start building them soon, but we don¡¯t have enough people. Also, we have to kill the monsters in the area or the construction can¡¯t begin safely, so we postponed it.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw Blitz, but is the monster subjugation going well?¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to the adventurers, the monsters aren¡¯t seen around here anymore. I¡¯m asking the adventurers to go farther out now. When that¡¯s done with, a full scale construction will start.¡¹

    I would appreciate if they were done before the summer heat came.

    Wait, did they even have summer here? I decided to ask thatter.

    While I was still talking with Atora-san, Fina and Shuri came back looking happy.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, Atora-san. We are back.¡¹

    ¡¸We are back.¡¹

    They seemed satisfied. Did they eat something delicious?

    ¡¸I will go back to the guild; what will you be doing?¡¹

    ¡¸We will go to the Commerce Guild to check on how it¡¯s going with the country of Harmony and Peace.¡¹

    ¡¸The country of Harmony and Peace, huh? They used toe once a month, but stopped when the Kraken appeared. I hope their boat didn¡¯t sink.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I will wait patiently.¡¹

    If nothing else, I might be able to get some information at the capital.

    We parted ways with Atora-san and headed to the Commerce Guild.

    The employees seemed busy when we arrived. Not a single employee seemed free.

    ¡¸Yu, Yuna-san!¡¹

    One of the female employees noticed me.

    Everyone turned my way when they heard her.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!?¡¹

    Fina and Shuri were shocked by the reaction of the employees.

    To calm them, I put my hands on their heads.

    ¡¸Is the guild master here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Please wait a moment.¡¹

    The employee went to the room in the back to inform the guild master that I was here.

    ¡¸Bear Missy.¡¹

    Jorumo-san, who seemed worn-out, came out.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You seem well.¡¹

    ¡¸Can¡¯t say the same for you, Jorumo-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I regret epting the role of the guild master. I¡¯m just too busy. I can¡¯t even take a break. The mountains of documents aren¡¯t decreasing at all. There¡¯s too much to do. Also, the mentor who came from Crimonia keeps persecuting me.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t speak badly of other people, Jorumo-san. There wouldn¡¯t be any problems if you just learned how to do your job. I also want to return to Crimonia, so please learn faster.¡¹

    An intelligent looking woman in mid 20s appeared behind Jorumo-san.

    If she had sses, I was sure they would suit her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m teaching you because Mylene-san requested me to. I left my husband and my children in Crimonia, so get it together!¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will do my best, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Prove that with your actions please.¡¹

    Was this the person Mylene-san spoke of when she said that she would send someone to help Jorumo-san?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, nice to meet you. I have been sent here from Crimonia. My name is Annabelle.¡¹

    ¡¸Annabelle-san, you know about me, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw you in Crimonia a few times. Also, everyone at the Crimonia¡¯s Commerce Guild knows about you. So, why did youe here, Yuna-san? Did youe toin about Jorumo-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Why!? I didn¡¯t do anything, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You should do your job.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know if I should respond to their exchange, so I decided to ignore it.

    ¡¸I came here to learn about what happened to the country of Harmony and Peace.¡¹

    ¡¸About that, huh? A boat that went out onto the high seas came in contact with a ship from the country of Harmony and Peace. The fisherman told them about the what happened to the city, so I think that trade will resume soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!?¡¹

    That was good news.

    ¡¸Yes, but I don¡¯t know when they will starting again.¡¹

    Annabelle-san seemed to be an excellent person. She answered really quickly. I could understand why Mylene-san sent her. Jorumo-san might be a splendid guild master under Annabelle-san¡¯s guidance.

    ¡¸Is Jorumo-san doing okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Let me see. He is doing his best even though he tried to ditch his work a few times. Still, it¡¯s annoying when he asks for a break right after he starts working.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because you don¡¯t give me a break, right?¡¹

    ¡¸If you do your best, the residents will live happy lives. Please do your best for them without taking breaks.¡¹

    It was a business that exploited its employees.

    If I was told that I wouldn¡¯t get any breaks, I would have quit already.

    A great person once said: ¡®If you work, you lose.¡¯

    Thinking like that, I understood the evaluation the elders gave of Jorumo-san.

    He was unsteady, but he did his job. He ditched it sometimes, but he was well liked by the people. He was someone who couldn¡¯t refuse when asked to be the guild master, huh.

    ¡¸On a different note, I would like to ask you to do something for me, Yuna-san. When will you be going back to Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on going back tomorrow or the day after.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for requesting this, but could you please give my report to Mylene-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Report?¡¹

    ¡¸Every ten days, we send a report about what we need, but since this idiot, Jorumo-san, was behind with his work, we couldn¡¯t send the report the other day. It¡¯s a pressing matter, so it will be toote if we send it in the next report.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I just have to give it to her, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I will bring it now, so I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹

    I took the documents from Annabelle-san, and we left the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸Will you two eat dinner?¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m full already.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    I had only looked at them from afar, but they had indeed eaten a lot at the stands.

    ¡¸Keep mepany while I eat mine, okay?¡¹

    The two agreed quietly.

    I wouldn¡¯t force them to eat, of course.

 Chapter 116 - Bear-san Goes To The Academy

    Bear-san Goes To The Academy

    The following day, we were on our way to the inn to see Anzu.

    ¡¸Do you two really want to go back today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we had plenty of fun already.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to see mom.¡¹

    Like that, it was decided that we would be going back today.

    ¡¸We will go back to Crimonia today.¡¹

    I told Anzu when we arrived at the inn.

    ¡¸I will also head there as soon as the tunnel ispleted.¡¹

    ¡¸If I am not there when you arrive, you can go to the orphanage and ask for a woman named Terumi-san.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know when the tunnel would bepleted, and I wasn¡¯t in Crimonia everyday.

    ¡¸You might not be there, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I have a troublesome job, you see. It¡¯s possible that I won¡¯t be there when you arrive. But don¡¯t worry. Terumi-san is the mother of these children, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Anzu looked at the two.

    ¡¸Yes, mother helps out Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. The orphanage, you said?¡¹

    After I finished talking to Anzu, I said goodbye to Deiga-san, and left the city.

    I rode Swaying Bear while Fina and Shuri rode Hugging Bear.

    We went through the tunnel and arrived to Crimonia.

    First, I had to give back what I borrowed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m returning your daughters I borrowed.¡¹

    ¡¸Were they helpful?¡¹

    Fina and Shuri clung to Terumi-san, and she petted their heads.

    ¡¸They did their best.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good. Did you two have fun?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was really fun. The sea was really vast, and we even rode on a boat.¡¹

    ¡¸The food was delicious.¡¹

    They reported what had happened during the trip to Terumi-san, who listened happily.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, thank you very much for giving them such a precious experience.¡¹

    ¡¸Next time, you shoulde with us too, Terumi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Should I go with you next time?¡¹

    When we finished talking about the trip, Fina and Shuri seemed tired and went to sleep in their bedroom. Did the fatigue from the trip kick in?

    Left alone with Terumi-san, I told her about Anzu.

    ¡¸When theye, I just have to look after them?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be counting on you. You don¡¯t have to worry about money and can use it as you please, so I will leave the restaurant¡¯s interior design to you.¡¹

    Thanks to Terumi-san, I didn¡¯t have to worry even if I wasn¡¯t here.

    I said goodbye to Terumi-san and went to the orphanage.

    I should make Anzu and the other women a ce to live next to the orphanage. Should I make it like apany-style dormitory? Or more like an inn-style dormitory?

    I made the first floor as themon area. On the second and third floor, I made a number of four and a half tatamirge rooms.

    They should be okay for one person each. Inns were also like this.

    Also, with the number I made, it should be okay even if more people came.

    (TN: 4.5 tatami is about 7.5m2)

    A few dayster, I used the Bear Transfer Gate and went to the capital.

    I then waited at the Bear House for Eleanora-san toe.

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸We will go to the academy, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Am I really going?¡¹

    Dealing with people of the same generation as me wasn¡¯t something I was good at.

    Was it because I was a hikikomori?

    ¡¸You promised, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but you could have found a substitute or something.¡¹

    ¡¸Since you epted, I didn¡¯t even look for one.¡¹

    I see.

    After giving up and following Eleanora-san towards the academy, I noticed students wearing uniforms walking everywhere. I sometimes saw those uniforms when I was walking around the capital. It was a navy blue and white uniform. They all came with a navy blue mantle.

    As we walking towards the academy, the students tried to look at us discreetly.

    Then, whispers,

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹¡¸Why would a bear be at the academy?¡¹¡¸The one next to the bear is Eleanora-san, right?¡¹¡¸Why would she wear such strange clothes?¡¹¡¸It¡¯s cute, but those are really embarrassing clothes.¡¹¡¸Wow, this is the first time I have seen such interesting clothes!¡¹¡¸Are they doing a y?¡¹¡¸Isn¡¯t she embarrassed?¡¹¡¸I think it¡¯s cute.¡¹¡¸Look at her hands. Those are bears!¡¹¡¸Now that you say so, the feet are also...¡¹¡¸Where do they sell such clothes?¡¹¡¸Will we be eaten if we approach her?¡¹¡¸I want to hug her.¡¹¡¸It¡¯s a joke to walk around in those clothes, right?¡¹¡¸I saw her walking around the capital before.¡¹¡¸I also heard about her from my friend.¡¹

    came from the students.

    ¡¸Can I go back?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course you can¡¯t.¡¹

    She grabbed me by the shoulders so that I couldn¡¯t run away.

    While still hearing the whispers, we reached the academy.

    It looked like a castle from the middle ages.

    ¡¸So this is the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸Children ages 12 to 18 attend here.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s big.¡¹

    I was astonished by the size of the academy.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because a lot of children in the capital attend the academy despite the tuition fee.¡¹

    Should I make a small school at the orphanage too?

    There were a lot of children, and even though they were already learning how to read and do simple math, they weren¡¯t doing any social studies. Still, the children were also working, so they might not have enough time. I should think about this more.

    We entered the academy, and I was brought to a ce that seemed to be a staff room.

    It looked like I would meet the homeroom teacher of the students first.

    Every time I imagined being in a staff room, I became uneasy, but that might be because I never went to school.

    We entered the staff room and met a man who seemed to be in his 30s.

    ¡¸Professor Schoerg.¡¹

    ¡¸If it isn¡¯t Eleanora-sama......and a bear?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the female adventurer who will be the escort.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, is this a joke? I only see a 12 or 13 years old girl, though. Could she possibly be a girl who wants to enter the academy?¡¹

    ¡¸She is a respectable C rank adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank C...¡¹

    He looked at me doubtfully.

    If he said just one disapproving word, like he can¡¯t trust me or any other negative word, I might be able to get out of this one, but...

    Eleanora-san asked me to show him my guild card, and I, not being able to refuse her, showed it to him.

    ¡¸upation... Bear?¡¹

    What were you looking at?

    ¡¸Look at the rank.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Adventurer rank C. Really? It¡¯s not fake, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s real. I guarantee it with my, Eleanora¡¯s, name at stake.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it, but I trust you, Eleanora-sama. Your daughter is in the group this girl has to escort, and I don¡¯t think you would put her in danger.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t this the moment where he should say,¡ºI don¡¯t trust you, so I won¡¯t entrust my students to you!¡»? If he did, I would have an excuse to go back.

    Did that mean he trusted Eleanora-san so much that it wiped out the anxiety my appearance gave him?

    I took back my guild card and put it in the Bear Box.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, was it? Do you need any exnation about the practice training?¡¹

    ¡¸I was told that I just have to protect them in case of danger, and that I had to report their attitudes.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Basically, let them be independent. Even if they go the wrong way, or if their actions are bad, don¡¯t interfere. Stop them only if their actions could be dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸You are telling me to do some difficult things.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why finding someone to do this is difficult.¡¹

    I might have epted a really troublesome request.

    Also, the people I had to guard were of the same age as me. I couldn¡¯t imagine it being anything but troublesome.

    ¡¸So, how far are we going?¡¹

    It would be great if it was near.

    ¡¸You are going to a vige that is three to four days away by carriage, and you will be transporting wheat flour.¡¹

    ¡¸It will take about 10 days for the round trip.¡¹

    It was a bit far.

    Still, I would probably be able to make the round trip in one day if I used my Bears.

    ¡¸That means we will be going by carriage?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why, Yuna-chan, your bears are forbidden, okay? They would frighten the horses.¡¹

    I did remember her saying something like that before. Something about taking a long trip by a carriage and taking care of the horses.

    ¡¸That means it¡¯s okay for me to sleep in the carriage, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m joking. It¡¯s true that you will have a lot of free time since you are an escort, though. You can just protect them using your own methods, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    After listening to the journey details, we went to the ss where the people I would have to guard were.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Why is a bear here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a bear, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    There was only one student that had a different reaction.

    Of course, it was Eleanora-san¡¯s daughter, Shia.

    There were four students wearing uniforms in the ssroom; two boys and two girls.

    Were these four the ones I would have to guard?

    If I had to describe them simply, there was an intelligent looking boy with slightly long hair, a seemingly cheeky short-haired boy, a girl with blond hair fashioned into drills, and of course, Shia.

    They were all looking at me.

    ¡¸All of you, be quiet.¡¹

    ¡¸Professor, who is this bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me that she is the additional member who is supposed to go with our party?¡¹

    ¡¸She is too short, so that¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    While the other students were talking as they pleased, Shia smiled and waved at me.

    ¡¸You guys are wrong. This is Kuma... *cough* this is Yuna-san...¡¹

    Just now, he said Kuma, right?

    Their professor started to introduce me as a bear before changing it to my name.

    ¡¸She is the adventurer who is going to be your escort.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying, professor? No matter how I look at it, she is younger than us.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, professor. Stop joking please.¡¹

    The blond drills became angry.

    There really were people with this sort of hairstyle, huh.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not joking. This girl is a full-fledged C rank adventurer. She came here because I asked her to be your escort. There are no people here who would disrespect my rmendation, right?¡¹

    Eleanora-san exined to the students who were making a racket, though it looked more like a threat.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I guarantee her ability.¡¹

    If it was me, I wouldn¡¯t be able not to worry.

    I was a girl who looked younger than them.

    Even more, I was wearing strange clothes.

    Also, if I was looking at myself from their perspective, I wouldn¡¯t believe that I was an adventurer either.

    There was nothing I could relieve them with.

    If the children vetoed me out, would I be able to go home?

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, is this girl really rank C? I was taught that it was really difficult to rank up to that point, though?¡¹

    Blond drills asked.

    ¡¸Of course, it¡¯s difficult. Just with that, you should understand how impressive this girl really is, right?¡¹

    ¡¸But, Eleanora-sama, if a little girl like her became a C ranker, there is no way that I wouldn¡¯t know about it, right?¡¹

    Long-haired boy tried to show off his knowledge.

    ¡¸That¡¯spletely normal. This girl came from Crimonia, so she is not widely known in the capital. There are only few people who know about her here.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, if this bear could be a C rank, I can be a B rank.¡¹

    Short-haired boyughed.

    ¡¸It seems that there is someone who is ranked higher than me, so can I go home?¡¹

    There was no problem, right? He was stronger than me, so he doesn¡¯t need a guard, right?

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible, of course.¡¹

    Ugh, I really wanted to go home.

    I looked at Shia and listened in her conversation with the blond drills.

    ¡¸Hey, Shia-san, did you know that the academy was this stupid? They say they want a little girl like her to escort us. Honestly, won¡¯t we be the ones who will have to protect her?¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, Cattleya-san, that¡¯s not true at all. She is the best escort we could get. Even if I had the choice to go with a S ranked adventurer, I would still choose her.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, Shia-san, do you know this Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Just a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸I thought that this practice training would be boring, but I¡¯m now happy that it won¡¯t end up as such.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Personally, I don¡¯t want to go since it seems troublesome.¡¹

    Then, couldn¡¯t you refuse with a louder voice?

    ¡¸Anyway, this girl will be your escort. You have no right to refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, can we abandon this bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    You should have defended me there!

    ¡¸If it¡¯s okay even if she dies, I won¡¯t say a thing.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also fine with it. In the first ce, even without an escort adventurer, a training of this level is easy.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with it as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I am also okay with it, of course.¡¹

    They all agreed, and so it was decided I would be their escort.

 Chapter 117 - Bear-san Departs For The Practice Training

    Bear-san Departs For The Practice Training

    They all introduced themselves.

    Long-hair-kun was Timor.

    Short-hair-kun was Marcus.

    Blond drill was Cattleya.

    Eleanora-san¡¯s daughter was Shia.

    After those simple greetings, we headed to the carriage waiting for us outside.

    We parted ways with the professor and Eleanora-san here.

    This meant that, from the moment we left the ssroom, the practice training began.

    I was walking behind the group when Shia slowed down to walk next to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We haven¡¯t seen each other since the birthday party, right?¡¹

    ¡¸My mother told me that you came to the capital a few times. She said something about bringing delicious food every time.¡¹

    ¡¸I brought those for Princess Flora, but somehow, each time I brought them, Eleanora-san popped out from nowhere, and ate with us, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸My mother¡¯s informationwork is incredible, after all.¡¹

    More than incredible, it was such an impossible riddle that she could be one of the seven wonders of the world.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know that you would be our escort.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-san told me you would be in the group when I epted, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother knew, but kept it a secret, huh.¡¹

    She puffed her cheeks and pouted, annoyed by the fact.

    It was cute when such a beautiful girl did it, huh.

    Even if I did the same...... I should stop thinking about this.

    After I finished talking with Shia, we exited the academy and went to the backyard.

    Why did wee here? Was it possibly the thing that often happened in schools? You know, like being beaten up, threatened or robbed?

    I thought that, but I seemed to be wrong.

    There was a carriage there. Also, horses.

    So, it was a ce like that...

    ¡¸I knew it, we were thest ones!¡¹

    Marcus said while looking around.

    ¡¸Thest ones?¡¹

    ¡¸There are more groups like ours, but they are going to different locations. Marcus ispeting with the other boys on who wille back first.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just foolish.¡¹

    Cattleya seemed annoyed by the boys¡¯ behavior.

    I agreed with her.

    ¡¸What are you guys doing? We should hurry and go!¡¹

    Marcus, who was already at the carriage, shouted.

    It was a roofed carriage. With this, we won¡¯t get wet even if it rained, huh?

    Two horses were harnessed to the carriage. I thought that they would be enough to pull it.

    When I was passing the coach to enter the carriage, Marcus called out to me.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know why you came with us, but at least don¡¯t drag us down!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Please don¡¯t drop our score by dragging us down.¡¹

    Marcus and Timor said, as if making a fool out of me.

    I wanted to go home. If Shia wasn¡¯t here, I would have gone home without a doubt.

    ¡¸Guys, you are being rude to Yuna-san. She is our escort, so you have to speak to her politely.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t be polite to a bear! Also, we aren¡¯t so weak to need protection from a girl younger than us!¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe she is a C rank adventurer. This must be some sort of a test for us.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? If it is, does that mean we have to protect this girl?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ¡¸So troublesome. Shia, Cattleya, you should take care of this strange girl. You are all girls, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You are saying a really selfish thing, you...¡¹

    When Cattleya tried toin, Shia interrupted her.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. I will take care of Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia-san?¡¹

    ¡¸You said it. Now that you¡¯ve said it, you have to look after her properly. We won¡¯t, after all.¡¹

    The boys smiled, happy that they pushed the nuisance on others, and went to the coach.

    Shia was also smiling, but I was sure that the reason they were smiling was different.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we should board the carriage too.¡¹

    Shia took my hand, and we climbed into the carriage at the back.

    The wheat flour bags, that were to be transported to the vige, were already in the carriage.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind taking care of Bear-san, but are you really okay with this, Shia-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you also fine with this Cattleya-san? I can take care of her by myself, you know?¡¹

    Hmm, normally, I should be the one taking care of the them, right?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind since taking care of a little girl is ady¡¯s duty.¡¹

    ¡¸Cattleya-san, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry. Then, Bear-san, if you have any problems, please tell us, okay?¡¹

    That meant Cattleya-san didn¡¯t trust me to be her guard, right? Or even more, she didn¡¯t even think of me as a guard, did she?

    ¡¸I will be in your care.¡¹

    Was all I could say.

    ¡¸More importantly, didn¡¯t they have a better carriage?¡¹

    Cattleya-san grumbled while looking around the carriage¡¯s interior.

    ¡¸There is no helping it, Cattleya-san. It¡¯s a carriage to transport things, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that, but I still feel depressed, knowing I will have to stay in this carriage for the next few days.¡¹

    I totally agreed with her.

    When I traveled, I did so wrapped in first-ss fur while riding on a bear. I also slept in the Bear House, but I couldn¡¯t use either this time around.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you won¡¯t use Bear-sans?¡¹

    Shia whispered.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san prohibited them.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸She said that I can¡¯t use them, since they would scare the horses if I brought them out.¡¹

    Well, that might depend on the horses; Gran-san¡¯s and guild master¡¯s horses were perfectly fine, so I didn¡¯t believe it would have really been a problem.

    ¡¸Too bad then. Noa kept bragging about them, so I thought that it would have been great if I were also be able to ride Bear-sans.¡¹

    ¡¸Monsters don¡¯t approach when those children are present, so I don¡¯t think this could have been considered a training.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I will have to give up this time.¡¹

    ¡¸Give up what?¡¹

    ¡¸Cattleya-san, were you listening?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I only heard you say,¡ºI will have to give up.¡»with a sad face.¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t anything important, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? If it is something I can help you with, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Cattleya-san.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹

    Cattleya-san took out a cushion from her item bag and sat on it.

    She was well-prepared, huh.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you may use my cushion if you want.¡¹

    Shia offered me her cushion. She seemed to only have one. Did she want to give me her only cushion?

    ¡¸No need. I have my own, after all.¡¹

    I took a cushion out of the Bear Box. The cushion had a bear embroidered onto it.

    One of the children from the orphanage made it for me to thank me for taking care of them.

    It was a cherished item, so I had put it in the Bear Box.

    I silently thanked the child who made it, and sat on the cushion.

    ¡¸We will depart now!¡¹

    Marcus shouted to us inside the carriage.

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸We are ready to go.¡¹

    The two girls answered, and the carriage started to move.

    We moved through the capital and then passed the front gates.

    ¡¸We will drive for now, but we will switch at noon!¡¹

    The carriage slowly advanced towards the vige we were headed to.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is Noa doing well?¡¹

    ¡¸She is. She takes any chance she gets to escape the mansion ande to my shop, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that you made a thriving shop from Father the other day. I¡¯m really jealous of Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, Bear-san, you are managing a shop? Aren¡¯t you an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡®m an adventurer. I just built the shop, and someone else is managing it.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, are you rich?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, money is the only thing I have, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Father said that the food there was delicious. I really want to return to Crimonia soon.¡¹

    Shia said. Did she miss Crimonia?

    ¡¸You will have to wait until the holidays.¡¹

    ¡¸Why won¡¯t the holidayse sooner?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia-san, please take me with you when you leave, okay?¡¹

    It looked like Shia and Cattleya had a good rtionship.

    Cattleya didn¡¯t seem to believe that I was a C rank adventurer, but I still thought she was a good person. If it was like this, I thought that I would be able to bear with these few days of travel.

    While I was lost in my thoughts, the carriage moved onward without a problem.

    From time to time, I looked around using detection magic, but everything was peaceful.

    If I had toin about something, it would be that the carriage was shaking too much. If I didn¡¯t have my cushion, my butt would probably be hurting by now. Well, thanks to the Bear Clothes, it might have not, but I should still be thankful to that child from the orphanage. It might be good to buy a souvenir when Ie back to the capital.

    Some time had passed, and we took a break to eat lunch and give the horses time to rest. The students all took out bread or other easy to make things from their item bag.

    Such a sad meal.

    In my Bear Box, I had a lot of prepared meals that were still hot.

    Still, as one would expect, I couldn¡¯t just bring out a steaming meal, so I decided to eat one of the sandwiches Morin-san made for me.

    Egg sandwich, cheese sandwich, vegetable sandwich, potato-sd sandwich, meat sandwich... I had a lot of different ones.

    As expected from Morin-san; it seemed delicious.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it looks delicious.¡¹

    Shia was looking at my sandwich.

    ¡¸Want one?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I really have one?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I have a lot of them, after all. Ermm, Cattleya, was it? Do you want one as well?¡¹

    Cattleya was enviously looking my way, so I asked her too.

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    I gave a sandwich to both of them.

    ¡¸Delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸It is better than the food our chef makes.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s made by an excellent baker, after all.¡¹

    I was happy as if I was the one being praised.

    While we were happily eating our sandwiches, Marcus was looking at us from afar. When he saw that I had noticed him, he looked away.

    We finished our break, and it was the girls¡¯ turn to drive. As one would expect, I wasn¡¯t fat enough to be forced to stay with the boys inside the carriage, so Shia, Katrea, and I were all on the coach seat.

    The carriage continued to move towards our destination.

    We were still close to the capital, so we didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, and now, the first night approached.

 Chapter 118 â€“ Bear-san Finds Goblins

    Chapter 118 ¨C Bear-san Finds Goblins

    The sun was going down, so the students started setting up the campsite.

    There wasn¡¯t really much to do, though. They just had to tend to the horses and start a campfire.

    We then all ate our own food before going to sleep.

    ¡¸So, I will be first lookout, then Timor, Cattleya, and Shia. Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    They all nodded.

    He didn¡¯t list my name, so that meant I could sleep, right?

    The person on lookout also had to tend to the fire.

    The others would be sleeping in the narrow-spaced carriage.

    ¡¸Timor, are you okay?¡¹

    Cattleya called out to Timor when he left the carriage.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have the courage to sleep next to three girls. I will sleep outside with Marcus.¡¹

    ¡¸I really appreciate this. After all, I can¡¯t sleep with boys either.¡¹

    Cattleya-san thanked Timor.

    The three of us found ces to sleep inside the small carriage. Even without the boys, there was barely enough space. I was sure Timor had decided to sleep outside because he had realized that.

    We wrapped ourselves in our nkets and lied down.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Shia-san, have a good night.¡¹

    ¡¸Goodnight.¡¹

    ¡¸Night.¡¹

    I thought we would have some girl talk, but they weren¡¯t used to traveling, so they fell asleep really quickly.

    I didn¡¯t change into the White Bear either. I was sure that they would have mocked me if I had changed. I didn¡¯t use any magic and didn¡¯t do anything that would have tired me out either. If I had toin about something, it would be that I was tired mentally.

    I didn¡¯t think that being around boys of the same age as me would wear me out this much.

    This must have been the reason I stopped going to school and became a hikikomori.

    I dove deep under the nket and summoned Hugging Bear in his cub form under it.

    Hugging Bear climbed on top of my belly; he felt light thanks to the Bear Clothes.

    ¡¸Wake me up if any monsters or banditse, okay? ...Also, I don¡¯t think they will, but if the boyse to assault us, tell me, okay?¡¹

    Hugging Bear cried out softly to avoid waking the other two up.

    I used Hugging Bear as a stuffed toy recement and went to sleep.

    Hugging Bear was warm and gave me a sense of security; it wasn¡¯t long before I fell asleep.

    I opened my eyes when Cattleya moved.

    It seemed it was time for a lookout change.

    ¡¸I¡¯ming.¡¹

    She silently said to someone. ording to the lookout order, it should be Timor.

    Cattleya climbed out of the carriage.

    I hugged Hugging Bear and fell back asleep just after.

    A whileter, Cattleya returned and woke up Shia.

    Shia was thest lookout, so it would be morning soon, right?

    Shia left the carriage while Cattleya rolled up in her nket and went to sleep.

    Carefully, trying not to wake Cattleya up, I stretched and left the carriage with my nket still rolled up around me.

    I was still embracing Hugging Bear, of course.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why did you wake up?¡¹

    Shia whispered when she noticed me leaving the carriage.

    ¡¸You see, I would feel bad if I was the only one sleeping without being on the lookout duty. So, I will do it with you.¡¹

    I sat next to Shia.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Shia thanked me. She then shivered and extended her hands toward the fire.

    ¡¸Are you cold?¡¹

    ¡¸Just a little.¡¹

    The sun didn¡¯t rise yet, so it was probably chilly.

    Not like I could feel it wearing the Bear Clothes, though.

    I was also hugging something warm under my nket.

    ¡¸Shia, should I lend you something warm?¡¹

    ¡¸Something warm, you say?¡¹

    I showed her Hugging Bear from inside the nket.

    ¡¸B... Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸He is warm, you know!¡¹

    I offered Hugging Bear to her. Hugging Bear gave me a confused look, as if to say¡ºWhat is going on?¡».

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, keep Shia warm, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    Even though she said that, she was already stretching out her hand. Hugging Bear cried out softly and was then hugged by Shia.

    She brought him under her nket.

    ¡¸He is warm. Yuna-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    She seemed really happy while holding Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸But why is he small?¡¹

    ¡¸He is a summoned beast, so he can be made small. Well, even if you ask me about the specifics, I wouldn¡¯t be able to answer.¡¹

    ¡¸He is warm and feels good. It makes me sleepy.¡¹

    She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling.

    ¡¸Sleeping is no good!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but I will be able to boast to Noa about this.¡¹

    ¡¸Boast, you say...¡¹

    ¡¸Noa was boasting she had slept with the bears, you see. And she was talking about it really happily! It made me really frustrated.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t understand what those sisters werepeting about...

    After some time had passed, the sun began to rise, so we decided to wake everyone up.

    That also meant saying goodbye to Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, thank you!¡¹

    Shia said regretfully.

    When everyone woke up, we ate a simple breakfast and departed towards the vige.

    The boys drove the carriage while the girls rode in the back.

    When I was with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I didn¡¯t really notice it, but traveling was really boring, huh. There was nothing to do in a shaking carriage. Would some games help kill time? Thinking about traveling, the standard games were Poker or Othello, but would we be able to y them in the carriage?

    The carriage hit a rock and shook. ying Othello would probably be impossible if the pieces weren¡¯t maized.

    Poker might work since we would be holding the cards in our hand?

    Asking for the impossible wouldn¡¯t help my job, so I used detection magic to check our surroundings.

    Huh? I found two goblins in the direction we were moving towards.

    If we stayed on this path, we would encounter them without a doubt.

    What should I do?

    Should I tell them?

    I didn¡¯t think that just two goblins would be a problem.

    Hmmmmmmm......

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is it?¡¹

    Shia called out to me as I was still troubled over what to do.

    Would it be okay if I told her?

    Worrying didn¡¯t really help, so I decided to talk about it.

    ¡¸There seem to be two goblins not far ahead. You guys should talk about what¡¯s the best thing to do.¡¹

    ¡¸Goblins, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸You sure?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know if it was okay to tell you since this is a practice training...¡¹

    I replied honestly.

    I wasn¡¯t their teacher, so I didn¡¯t know if the goblins were considered dangerous.

    If it was a monster they couldn¡¯t defeat for sure, like an orc for example, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to tell them.

    ¡¸How do you know about the goblins?¡¹

    Cattleya asked the logical thing.

    They weren¡¯t at an age where they would unconditionally trust me like Fina.

    Fina would believe me for sure, but....

    I was troubled over how to exin it to them; it was time for my Bears to shine.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms.

    ¡¸Wh, What are those!¡¹

    ¡¸My summons. They told me about the monsters.¡¹

    ¡¸Summons...¡¹

    Cattleya was surprised by the Bears who suddenly appeared before her.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are the goblins really in front of us?¡¹

    ¡¸If we continue to move forward like this, we will encounter two goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus, stop the carriage!¡¹

    Shia shouted to Marcus who was driving. Did she trust the bears and me?

    Marcus, surprised by Shia¡¯s voice, stopped the carriage.

    ¡¸What!? Did something happen!?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that there are goblins ahead of us.¡¹

    ¡¸Haaah? What are you saying? I can¡¯t see any goblins!¡¹

    Marcus looked ahead and was annoyed by Shia¡¯s words.

    Of course he would be annoyed when he was told something like that so suddenly.

    ¡¸Yuna-san said there are two goblins in front of us...¡¹

    ¡¸Why would the Bear, who is inside the carriage and can¡¯t see the road, know that there are goblins in front of us?¡¹

    That was a totally reasonable opinion.

    ¡¸Well, Yuna-san¡¯s bears...¡¹

    ¡¸Bears? What are you talking about?¡¹

    When she said something like that so suddenly, there was no way Marcus would understand, right?

    Since she didn¡¯t know how to exin, Shia didn¡¯t respond.

    That was why I decided to exin it myself.

    ¡¸The reason I know about the goblins is thanks to these children.¡¹

    I showed him the bears.

    ¡¸What are those!?¡¹

    ¡¸They are my summons. They told me that there are monsters not far ahead.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really lie.

    I knew about the goblins thanks to my detection magic, but these children knew their location too.

    ¡¸And that¡¯s why I know there are monsters even from inside the carriage.¡¹

    ¡¸Something like that is just...¡¹

    ¡¸I know. Well, even if you don¡¯t believe me, you just have to move forward and you will see them. More importantly, what will you do about the goblins when you get there? If you can¡¯t kill them, I will do it in your ce, but...¡¹

    ¡¸D, don¡¯t joke with me. There are only two goblins. We can kill them. Timor, we should move on!¡¹

    He wasn¡¯t saying that he would fight them alone, huh.

    Marcus made the carriage move forward.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the Bear-sans had such an ability, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yeah. So, can you two kill the goblins?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸They are only goblins; we can kill them.¡¹

    They were saying some really reassuring things.

    I would just watch this time then.

    ¡¸More importantly, are these bears really your summoned beasts, Yuna-san?¡¹

    Cattleya looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸I summoned them right in front of you, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸Would it be possible for me to touch them?¡¹

    When I gave her permission, she timidly extended her hand and caressed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads.

    ¡¸They are really docile, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, they are docile as long as you don¡¯t harm them.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought that bears were scary, but they are cute, right?¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear narrowed their eyes and looked like they were really enjoying it.

    While Cattleya was still caressing Swaying Bear, a voice was heard from the coach.

    ¡¸Marcus, those are...¡¹

    When we heard Timor¡¯s voice, we all looked ahead. There were two silhouettes. After the carriage advanced some more, they realized that they were indeed goblins.

    Marcus stopped the carriage and looked at the goblins as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he saw.

    The goblins also noticed the carriage, of course. They were looking towards us while holding weapons in their hands.

    ¡¸Marcus, what should we do!?¡¹

    Shia called out, and Marcus turned towards us.

    ¡¸Timor and I will take on the right one and leave the left one to you two. Bear, you take care of the carriage, okay?¡¹

    Marcus gave us instructions and jumped down from the coach together with Timor.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m going.¡¹

    Cattleya and Shia also went towards the goblins.

    I couldn¡¯t drive a carriage, but I still took the coach reins.

    Wasn¡¯t this the most dangerous ce for me to be at, then?

    If the carriage started moving, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it. Honestly, I was more scared of a horse running wild than fighting a goblin.

    What was wrong with me? I was more stressed about being left alone with a carriage than in a herd of goblins...

    Praying for the horses not to move suddenly, I watched the battle unfold.

 Chapter 119 - Bear-san Talks About Experience

    Bear-san Talks About Experience

    Marcus took out his sword while Timor stayed in the back with his short wand.

    Shia and Cattleya were both wielding swords, trying to attract the other goblin¡¯s attention.

    Marcus rushed towards the first goblin, and, at the same time, Timor attacked the goblin with fire magic. The goblin¡¯s movements became dull for a second. Using that moment, Marcus attacked the goblin with his sword. The goblin groaned, and parried with his rusty sword.

    Timor was in the rear and used a short wand, so he was a magician, right? The power of his magic was really low, though.

    I knew that I shouldn¡¯tpare it to mine, but it was still weak.

    Was it because he was only a student?

    Or did he lower his power since Marcus was close?

    Wait, if he was able to kill it with one magic attack, there would be no need for Marcus to charge in, right?

    Marcus¡¯s sword technique was also awkward. The goblin had a lot of openings, but Marcus was still being pushed back.

    ¡¸Shit.¡¹

    Marcus clicked his tongue and moved backwards to create some distance between him and the goblin. When he moved far enough, Timorunched a spell, but it didn¡¯t hit the goblin.

    Marcus tried to hit the goblin again, but the goblin parried with its sword.

    This situation made me want tounch magic at the goblin¡¯s unprotected head.

    Hmm, I didn¡¯t know that looking at others fighting would be so frustrating and stressful.

    I shifted my gaze a little and looked to see how Shia and Cattleya were doing. They were fighting a distance away from Marcus.

    Shia kept their goblin in check while Cattleya covered her with magic.

    They also had an advantage, but they weren¡¯t able to finish it off.

    ¡¸Shia-san, I willunch stronger magic; use that chance.¡¹

    Cattleya sent several fireballs from the distance.

    They hit the goblin, but didn¡¯t deal a fatal wound. She stopped his movement, though.

    Using the opening, Shia shortened the distance between her and the goblin, thenunched the fireball she had in her hand at point nk range, pushing the goblin back. The goblin moved back one, two steps after taking that magic. Shia moved in and used her sword that was in her left hand.

    She cut the goblin¡¯s arm, then pierced its throat. With its throat pierced, the goblin crumbled to the ground.

    They managed to finish it off, but they apparently weren¡¯t able to defeat it easily.

    Cattleya¡¯s movement and magic already became dull.

    Was she really able to use stronger magic?

    ¡¸Haa, haa, we killed it. What about Marcus and Timor?¡¹

    Their fight was also finished. They had a hard fight too, but managed to defeat it thanks to theirbination.

    Hmm, was this really something they had to struggle with?

    ¡¸This was easy.¡¹

    For someone who just said that, Marcus and Timor were breathing really hard.

    With just one goblin...

    Was this normal?

    Still, they were able to kill a goblin, so that meant they had the strength of newbie E rank adventurers, right?

    Didn¡¯t that actually mean they were strong for their age?

    Well, facing a herd of goblin or orcs would still be impossible for them.

    As Eleanora-san told me, taking on a goblin was their limit, it seemed.

    From what I saw, the problem was theck of power, but there was also theck of experience.

    Just like a novice gamer, they hesitated on how to attack.

    I fought thousands, if not ten thousands of monsters and people in the game. I died a lot, lost a lot, but piled up experience. You could learn a lot from dying and losing. When you lost, you did your best to be stronger in order to win next time. What wasn¡¯t good enough? What was needed to be stronger? These children didn¡¯t have that experience. If they lost, only death awaited them, and when you died in this world, it was game over.

    They were exactly like me who had never led a horse.

    If I had experience with it, I could drive the carriage and wouldn¡¯t be this anxious. Since I had no experience with it, I wasn¡¯t able to drive the carriage, and I was really stressed out being the only one on the driver¡¯s seat.

    Experience became your strength, be it your fighting technique or just how you see the battle; experience was linked to your growth, both physically and mentally.

    Like me for an example, if I didn¡¯t have the experience from the game, I would have a lot of problems even while having my Bear Equipment.

    I wouldn¡¯t have known how to use magic, nor would I have known how dangerous fighting was. I might not have even been able to kill things with magic.

    I remembered how scared I was when I first fought a monster in the very realistic game. I was able to keep it together only after I did it a few times.

    If I came here before I yed the game, I would have probably just continued my hikikomori life here. Or I might have even been killed by the first wolf I encountered.

    All of this proved how much I really knew the importance of experience.

    I think the academy was doing this practice training for that very reason.

    The King and Eleanora-san also said that this training was to get experience.

    The difficulties of traveling, the management of the horses, the terribleness of camping at night, the fear of monsters, the trust inrades, the reliance on the guards, and many other things. I was sure fighting monsters was one of them.

    I finally understood that my role was to protect them from dangers while they were learning about them, and how difficult my job really was.

    I wanted toin to Eleanora-san when we returned to the capital.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think goblins would really be here.¡¹

    Timor looked at the goblin corpses.

    ¡¸I thought so too.¡¹

    ¡¸But with this, it is now proven that the Bear-san can detect monsters.¡¹

    Shia said happily.

    ¡¸I still can¡¯t believe it, though.¡¹

    They were all looking at the bears, who were sitting at my sides. The Bears noticed their gazes and looked back at them while tilting their heads.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it just a coincidence?¡¹

    Marcus said. He still didn¡¯t believe it?

    I looked at the Bears beside me. Yep, I wouldn¡¯t believe it either. They looked like normal bear cubs, after all. Even though I knew this was a different world, I still wouldn¡¯t believe it.

    Someone spoke up in my stead, though.

    ¡¸Bear-sans have no reason to lie, right?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right!¡¹

    Shia and Cattleya confronted Marcus and red at him.

    Marcus stepped back one, two steps.

    Shia and Cattleya moved forward one, two steps.

    ¡¸The bears proved it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if they found the goblins by chance, could you guess the distance and the number of monsters, relying just on your luck, Marcus?¡¹

    Cattleya was saying some impossible things.

    The girls advanced one more step.

    ¡¸I get it, so stop being angry, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s good if you understand.¡¹

    The two were satisfied and backed off.

    ¡¸But summoned beasts, huh. It¡¯s my first time seeing one.¡¹

    Timor stared at the bears.

    I was sure that if he had sses, the action of pushing them up on his nose would suit him.

    Well, if he did it in front of me, I would probably break his sses, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, right? How strong are these summoned beasts?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t tell you. I told you about the goblins just because Shia believed me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san......¡¹

    Shia seemed happy.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry for asking something strange.¡¹

    Timor apologised obediently.

    He was polite?

    The students then proceeded to dismantle the goblins since, more monsters woulde if we didn¡¯t dispose of the corpses. They properly dismantled the goblins. Did they learn how to do it in one of their sses?

    ¡¸We won¡¯t have any problems with this practice training since we have these bears, though.¡¹

    Cattleya came back to the carriage after dismantling the corpse, and sat on the driver seat while embracing Swaying Bear.

    I casually passed over the reins to her. Cattleya took them, not paying it any mind.

    Perfect, I could be at ease now.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to say this, but from now on I won¡¯t say anything if it¡¯s just goblins, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸It wouldn¡¯t be a practice training if I did. I now know you can at least kill the goblins. I will tell you if any dangerous monsters approach, though.¡¹

    ¡¸But, if you do that, there would be no meaning to this training, right?¡¹

    Shia butted in.

    ¡¸I mean, if it¡¯s only goblins, we can kill them, and if you told us when stronger monsters approached, the training would be pointless.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, should I not rely on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s powers?¡¹

    I brought the Bears back to Bear Hands.

    ¡¸They really disappeared.¡¹

    Cattleya seemed a little sad when the bear she was embracing disappeared.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t use the Bears¡¯ powers anymore, so you should be aware of your surroundings from now on, okay?¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t use the Bears, but I would still use the detection magic.

    I would be troubled if they died because of a sudden attack, after all.

    ¡¸We are perfectly okay even without the bears. We would have defeated the goblins even if you didn¡¯t tell us!¡¹

    Marcus shouted.

    I didn¡¯t think he should be this proud for being able to kill just one goblin, though...

    They all boarded the carriage, and we once again embarked towards the vige.

    Shia and Cattleya asked me to summon the bears again, but I refused.

    This was a moment when I had to be firm.

    Still, when they were sleeping, I secretly summoned my bears, so they could look around for any dangers.

    During our travel to the vige, the only encounter were the goblins again.

    Only two appeared this time as well, so the students were able to deal with them on their own.

    Unlike thest time, they killed them smoothly. They learned fast, huh.

    Soon enough, we reached our destination.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The book now has a more borate description.

    I would appreciate if the people interested would check it out.

 Chapter 120 - Bear-san Arrives At The Village

    Bear-san Arrives At The Vige

    A viger weed us when we arrived at the vige.

    More vigers slowly came until a few dozen vigers had gathered.

    Wasn¡¯t this too much just for fetching us?

    ¡¸Wee to the vige; we were waiting for you. I¡¯m Kabos, the vige chief.¡¹

    The chief stepped forward and greeted us.

    They must have been contacted in advance.

    Even if it was just for a short while, the nobility from the capital¡¯s academy came to visit. It was normal for this many people to gather, right?

    The chief looked at us. When his gaze reached me, it stopped for just a moment before moving on.

    Marcus stepped forward and stood in front of the chief.

    ¡¸We came from the academy. My name is Marcus. What we brought is inside the carriage.¡¹

    Marcus responded as our representative.

    Now that I thought about it, wasn¡¯t Marcus the leader of the party?

    He was the one who gave orders during the fights and also decided on who would do what.

    Sorry Shia, but it was Cattleya who seemed the mostpetent to me.

    It was also like this in the game; boys were the leaders in almost every mixed party, right?

    ¡¸Thank you very much. We will tend to the carriage right away.¡¹

    When the chief said that, Timor, who was still holding the reins, climbed down from the carriage.

    The chief then went to check what was in the carriage and tilted his head, confused.

    ¡¸Is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I just thought that there would be an adventurer inside the carriage. Is it possible that you came here by yourselves?¡¹

    Did he possibly think I was one of the students?

    I wasn¡¯t wearing the uniform, you know? I was a Bear-san, you know?

    ¡¸But I heard that you had an adventurer escorting you...¡¹

    I see. So, the chief was looking for the adventurer, huh.

    When he said that, the students all looked at me.

    ¡¸The adventurer is right here.¡¹

    Marcus looked at me with a difficult expression.

    What was with that bitter smile of yours?

    ¡¸Huh, are you saying that this missy is an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, more or less.¡¹

    When the chief heard those words, his expression crumbled.

    Not just the chief, all of the vigers also wore discouraged expressions.

    ¡¸Are there any other adventurers?¡¹

    The chief looked around.

    ¡¸Nope, only her.¡¹

    When Marcus replied as such, the chief looked at me.

    He then started to stagger as if he was about to copse.

    What!?

    Wasn¡¯t that really rude?

    Looking at me and staggering as if he had recieved a shock...

    He was shocked to hear that a girl like me was an adventurer, right?

    It didn¡¯t mean that he received a shock after seeing my face, right?

    It was rude either way, though...

    ¡¸Chief!¡¹

    The vigers rushed to the chief and supported his body.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    The chief looked at me again.

    ¡¸Miss, are you an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸I am.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    The chief thoroughly looked at me and sighed.

    ¡¸What? If you have something to say, just spit it out already.¡¹

    His attitude was really irritating me.

    Just sighing after looking at my face.

    ¡¸You seem to be acting a bit strange. Did something happen?¡¹

    Shia asked the chief.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not something we could ask the students to do.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t know that if you don¡¯t tell us what it is.¡¹

    Seeing the chief¡¯s attitude, Marcus¡¯s normal tone returned.

    ¡¸Chief, isn¡¯t it okay to tell them at least?¡¹

    One of the men supporting chief¡¯s body said.

    ¡¸But, asking the students is......¡¹

    ¡¸As he said, you won¡¯t know until you tell us.¡¹

    I agreed with Marcus and Cattleya.

    The chief was still hesitating and looked at the people around him.

    ¡¸I guess you¡¯re right. Would you at least listen to my request?¡¹

    It was decided that we would discuss it in the chief¡¯s house.

    Judging by how the vigers and the chief were acting, something that needed the help of an adventurer had happened, so they wanted to speak to one, but when they saw that I was the adventurer, they all received a shock, didn¡¯t they?

    Wasn¡¯t this the moment when they should look at my guild card or ask me how strong I was?

    Weren¡¯t they told that they shouldn¡¯t judge a person by their appearance?

    Almost everyone judged others by appearance, huh?

    I did it too, so I couldn¡¯t reallyin.

    When we arrived at his house, the chief started to talk with a dark expression.

    ¡¸Goblins have appeared close to the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Goblins?¡¹

    I was guessing some monsters had appeared, but it was just goblins?

    ¡¸Normally, the goblins stay deep inside the forest and don¡¯t appear around here.¡¹

    ¡¸And now the goblins appeared close to the vige?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. You see, silkworms live between the vige and the goblins. When the goblins try toe to the vige, they be silkworm food. The silkworms keep us safe.¡¹

    ¡¸And yet the goblins have appeared?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. That¡¯s why we wanted to ask an adventurer to kill those goblins for us. We knew that an adventurer would escort the students during their practice training, after all. I know that I¡¯m asking for too much, but if we can¡¯t enter the forest safely, it¡¯s all over for our vige.¡¹

    There was something strange about this story.

    The silkworm ate goblins? Didn¡¯t they eat tree leaves? They were carnivorous?

    More importantly, how big were they if they could eat the goblins?

    ¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹

    ¡¸A lot of vigers collect silkworm¡¯s cocoon for a living. We would all be troubled if they couldn¡¯t gather it anymore.¡¹

    Ah, that was why so many people came to wee us.

    They weren¡¯t waiting for the students, but for the adventurer, huh?

    I now understood why they all wore such desperate expressions.

    ¡¸How many goblins are there?¡¹

    ¡¸The person who saw the goblins said there was quite a few of them.They have been seen at other locations as well, so we don¡¯t really know their exact number.¡¹

    Were the goblins that we had killed on our way here possibly a part of the group?

    I could understand why they were there in that case.

    ¡¸I understand. We will go subjugate those goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus!?¡¹

    Everyone was surprised.

    ¡¸I mean, they are in trouble, right? Also, it¡¯s just goblins. We can deal with that much, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That may be so, but isn¡¯t it dangerous when we don¡¯t know their exact number? Don¡¯t you think so too, Shia, Timor?¡¹

    Cattleya asked the two who were keeping quiet.

    ¡¸Hmm, I understand Marcus¡¯s feelings, but I also see your point.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m against it. There is no need to put ourselves in danger.¡¹

    ¡¸Timor, you¡¯re against it too?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to help the vigers, but I think it¡¯s dangerous. We should leave it to experienced adventurers, who really know how to subjugate the goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸Experienced adventurers......¡¹

    Marcus and Timor looked at me.

    Yes, I was an adventurer. What about it?

    ¡¸Could you handle it?¡¹

    ¡¸...... Let me see. Vige Chief, did you ce a request at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    Would they ask other adventurers when they had an adventurer, who could easily kill those goblins, right in front of them?

    ¡¸No, we didn¡¯t. They appeared recently, and we knew that you would being soon, so we decided to ask the adventurer who came, and only ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild if he refused.¡¹

    Vige Chief looked at me.

    It would be nice if you guys stopped looking at me each time an adventurer is mentioned.

    ¡¸And it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t enter the forest until then?¡¹

    ¡¸If their adventureres soon, it should be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸So, it all depends on whether an adventurer epts the request or not, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, the adventurer would be the one to decide the reward.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild won¡¯t consider it an urgent request since no vigers have died.¡¹

    They were just students, but they all knew a lot about the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, huh.

    Was it consideredmon sense here?

    Silence settled in the room.

    ¡¸Shia, what do you think? You haven¡¯t been saying anything for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸You want my opinion? Well, I don¡¯t really mind what we chose to do. I will go with what you guys decide.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you don¡¯t mind fighting?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    Shia look at me and smiled.

    Shia knew how strong I was, so did she think that it wouldn¡¯t really be dangerous?

    ¡¸Shia, if I¡¯m against it, and Marcus still decides to go and subjugate the monster, what will you do?¡¹

    ¡¸My job is taking care of Yuna-san; if she is going to protect Marcus, I will go with her.¡¹

    ¡¸Not with me but with this girl, huh!¡¹

    Marcus suddenly became mad.

    ¡¸But, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I get it, I guess. Marcus, I will alsoe to defeat the goblins. But, I have a condition. We won¡¯t try to do the impossible. If we think that it¡¯s dangerous, we will back down. If you ept this, I don¡¯t minding with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I also don¡¯t want to die by doing the impossible, after all.¡¹

    Marcus looked at Cattleya.

    ¡¸I will help you as well.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s decided then. We¡¯ll be doing a goblin¡¯s extermination first thing tomorrow morning.¡¹

    Marcus managed to bring everyone together.

    ¡¸Is it really okay? Putting students in danger...¡¹

    ¡¸This is also a part of the practice training. We won¡¯t do the impossible. If we can¡¯t do it, we will give up.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, and please don¡¯t push yourselves too far.¡¹

    I wondered how I would mark them if I was their professor.

    They were taking action without abandoning the vige. That was a plus.

    Even though they weren¡¯t adventurers, they were doing something dangerous. That was a minus.

    Also, as their guard, should I have stopped them?

    They told me to let them do what they wanted as long as I thought that they weren¡¯t in danger. With only goblins, there should be no problem, right?

    Author¡¯s note:

    This story is such a temte, right?

 Chapter 121 - Bear-san Departs To Subjugate The Goblins

    Bear-san Departs To Subjugate The Goblins

    After listening to the vige chief¡¯s request, we went to the rooms they had prepared for us.

    The boys¡¯ and girls¡¯ rooms were separate, of course.

    We were all in the girls¡¯ room, having a meeting about tomorrow¡¯s goblin extermination.

    We sat in a circle on a soft carpet that was spread out on the floor.

    ¡¸So, we should discuss how to find and defeat the goblins. From what the vige chief told us, it seems that they don¡¯t move as a single group. The vigers mostly saw only one goblin at a time and never more than three at once.¡¹

    Timor asked for ideas for tomorrow¡¯s subjugation.

    ¡¸In that case, isn¡¯t this a good time to rely on the Bear-san¡¯s strength? This subjugation is not a part of the practice training, after all.¡¹

    Cattleya looked towards me.

    Hmm, was it really so?

    ¡°An excursion is an excursion until you return home,¡± was something that was often said...

    Wouldn¡¯t everything before going back be a part of the practice training?

    Or was this a special case?

    ¡¸I agree. The situation is different than normal. It will be dangerous. We can defeat one or two goblins at a time, but it will be difficult if there are more. We can defeat the goblins safely with the bears¡¯ detection ability, though.¡¹

    Timor and Cattleya went with the idea of relying on me.

    Marcus, who got us in situation in the first ce, spoke up.

    ¡¸Could you please lend the bears¡¯ abilities to us?¡¹

    Marcus asked me with a polite bow.

    ¡¸Can I ask you just one thing first? Why did you ept this request? You could have left it to the adventurers, right? I really don¡¯t think you had to force yourself to do it.¡¹

    This wasn¡¯t a job for students who just had to deliver wheat flour.

    Also, the goblin subjugation had nothing to do with the practice training, so there was no need to put themselves in danger.

    ¡¸I aim to be like my father and uphold his policies.¡¹

    ¡¸Like your father?¡¹

    ¡¸When there are people who are in need of help, help them. It¡¯s better to regret helping them than to regret not doing so. Still, don¡¯t do what you can¡¯t do. You need to put in a lot of effort to improve on the things you can¡¯t do so that you can do them next time.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus¡¯s father is the captain of the second knight order.¡¹

    Shia, who sat beside me, whispered to me.

    Didn¡¯t that mean he was someone incredible?

    Well, I didn¡¯t really know the ranks of the official positions.

    Still, if he was a captain, he should be someone important, right?

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, since the vige is troubled, I will help.¡¹

    ¡¸But, he told you to not do what you can¡¯t do, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We can do it; I just have to rely on myrades and your bears. That is something I grew to understand from the two battles during our journey.¡¹

    So, he thought that if we picked off goblins one by one using my detection magic, they would be able to handle it?

    ¡¸Still, you don¡¯t really have to put yourselves in danger, you know. It¡¯s not like any serious damage had been done, and the vigers just have to wait a few more days for an adventurer to arrive.¡¹

    ¡¸And what if they were attacked during that period? It¡¯s not really a problem for men, but the goblins could attack woman and children who can¡¯t defend themselves, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus really is kind to children. That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t argue with Yuna-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up!¡¹

    Shia said something incredible.

    Did that mean they considered me a child?

    I was shorter than Shia and Cattleya, so I might look younger, but...

    Treating me as a child just because I was short... I was shorter by only a bit you know!

    Was this why I was always asked to stay put in the carriage when they were fighting the goblins?

    ¡¸You also asked me to carefully protect Yuna-san...¡¹

    ¡¸Shia!¡¹

    Shia justughed when Marcus shouted at her.

    Was this for real?

    Did that mean Marcus ordered Shia to protect me?

    Well, Shia knew about my strength, so I was sure that she had no intentions of being my guard, but...the other three thought differently, right?

    ¡¸Since I¡¯m a girl, he nagged me to take care of you.¡¹

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    I never noticed such a conversation happening...

    Was he possibly a tsundere?

    I thought only girls could be one.

    It wasn¡¯t cute when a boy did it, you know.

    Also, tsunderes were allowed only in the 2D world.

    If you did it in the real world, nobody would realize, and you would just end up pissing people off.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t really have to be embarrassed, you know.¡¹

    Shia seemed to be only teasing Marcus.

    Was this something funny for those who knew about it?

    To avoid further teasing, Marcus forcefully changed the subject.

    ¡¸Anyway, if I run away from this now, I won¡¯t be able to be a first rate knight like my father. I know that with my current skill, it would be impossible for me to subjugate those goblins alone. That¡¯s why, I would like you to lend us the bears¡¯ powers.¡¹

    He said seriously.

    ¡¸What would you do if I refused?¡¹

    ¡¸I would do anything, even get on my knees and beg you. If it¡¯s to reduce the danger the vigers are in, doing that is nothing.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t an answer.

    He thought that if he kneeled and begged, I would ept?

    Was he a brainless idiot?

    Well, I was nning on epting from the start, but I wanted to hear what he was thinking, so I continued to question him.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that something you should have done before epting the subjugation? If I don¡¯t ept, all of you will face danger, you know.¡¹

    Sometimes, harsh words were needed too, right?

    ¡¸I thought that if Shia said that she woulde with me, you would use the bears.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you thought I wouldn¡¯t refuse for Shia¡¯s sake?¡¹

    Marcus nodded in an honest manner.

    He nned it in advance, huh?

    If Shia went with Marcus, I woulde too, and if I went with them, I would use the bears.

    This wasn¡¯t really something I would do just for Shia, though.

    After all, my job was to protect all of them, including Marcus.

    ¡¸So... I will ask once more. Please lend us the bears¡¯ strength.¡¹

    Marcus bowed again.

    ¡¸...Okay. I will lend them to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, you are a lifesaver. I will protect you no matter what, so you don¡¯t have worry about your safety.¡¹

    Before improving your swordsmanship, shouldn¡¯t you first improve your ability to judge people?

    The bear in front of you wasn¡¯t so weak that it would need your protection, you know!

    Next to me, Shia was looking at the floor, barely stopping herself fromughing.

    Was this party really okay...?

    ¡¸But, your practice training results might decrease, you know? I will properly report everything, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. If I couldn¡¯t save the people I wanted to because I aimed for good grades, I wouldn¡¯t be able to be a full fledged knight. I want to be a knight who can protect the people he wants to, even if my grades are affected by it.¡¹

    ¡¸A low rating, huh. There is no helping it. Marcus, when we go back, treat me to a meal, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I know a delicious restaurant. It¡¯s expensive, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We will be able to order all we want, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You guys...¡¹

    Marcus said as if he was annoyed, but there was a smile on his face.

    ¡¸But, before that, we have to defeat those goblins.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, we should think about how we will defeat them, together.¡¹

    When Cattleya said that, everyone nodded, except me.

    They then started nning on what they should do.

    I wanted to go sleep, though.

    We were in the girl¡¯s room, so I couldn¡¯t really leave.

    Also, I couldn¡¯t really say that I was sleepy when all of them were this pumped up.

    The discussion continuedte into the night.

    The next day, we got ready to head to the forest to subjugate the goblins.

    I was a bit tired; theck of sleep wasn¡¯t good for my body.

    The four of them were full of energy, though.

    Being young sure was incredible.

    I let out a small yawn.

    ¡¸We will be going now.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t try to do the impossible, okay?¡¹

    The vigers were there to see us off.

    We headed the forest by foot.

    I confirmed the surrounding with detection magic.

    There were about 12 goblins; all spread out.

    One, one, two, two, three, two, and one.

    The only problem would be the group of three goblins, huh.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, how many are there?¡¹

    ¡¸There are 12 goblins.¡¹

    I gave them the locations and the numbers of goblins.

    ¡¸You know that even without bringing the bears out?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I¡¯m linked with them, after all.¡¹

    It would be troublesome to walk while hugging the bears, so I told them that.

    ¡¸A group of three, huh. For now, we will start with the nearest goblin that is on its own.¡¹

    We moved towards the closest goblin, with Marcus at the front, then Shia, me, Cattleya, and finally Timor.

    After walking for a while, we found the goblin and approached without alerting him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m counting on you two.¡¹

    They put the n they had thought up before in action.

    If there was just one goblin, Shia and Cattleya would fire magic at it, and Marcus would use that chance to finish it off. Also, if one of the girls missed, Timor would fire his magic as well.

    Both girls hit the first goblin, and Marcus attacked as nned.

    I was reminded of the game, seeing them like that.

    The magicians attacked from the rear, then the warriors or swordsmen rushed in. It worked great especially when they had a healer as well.

    I partied a bit too, of course.

    I was a magic swordswoman, after all.

    ......It¡¯s true, you know!

    The next ce had two goblins.

    ¡¸We will split in two groups and attack at the same time!¡¹

    The other three nodded.

    Timor and Cattleya were in the back acting as supports while Shia and Marcus were up front, ready to rush the goblins.

    If they registered at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, they would be E rankers in no time.

    ¡¸That makes three of them.¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear-sans¡¯ detection ability is really incredible. To know their location so precisely...¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to them, we can defeat the goblins easily.¡¹

    They removed the magic stones and buried the corpses.

    The goblin hunting was progressing well.

    They first defeated one and now two.

    Both were surprise attacks, but they were able to kill them safely.

    ¡¸We should take a break.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, next is the group of three goblins. Timor, is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I can hold two of them off while Shia and Cattleya defeat the other one.¡¹

    ¡¸We will defeat it quickly, so do your best.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m counting on you. Unlike you guys, I¡¯m bad with fighting up close.¡¹

    We finished our break and went to where the three goblins were.

    They should be just behind this thicket.

    We reached an open field inside the forest.

    When we arrived, the three goblins were attacking a wolf.

    A wolf?

    It wasn¡¯t there a moment ago.

    Ah, it might be that I just didn¡¯t take note of it.

    I was only looking for goblins.

    ¡¸What should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸We have a good view from here, so we can see them if they approach us.¡¹

    While we were watching the fight, a ck shadow arrived and killed all the goblins.

    ¡¸What is that!?¡¹

    ¡¸Why would something like that be here?¡¹

    ¡¸This is a joke, right?¡¹

    They were looking at it as if they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. I was sure they didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it.

    What was standing in the middle of the field was bigger than Swaying Bear, a beast wrapped in a pitch ck fur.

    With a fiendish look, it was crunching a goblin with its enormous teeth.

    ¡¸......ck Tiger.¡¹

    Shia revealed the identity of the ck beast.

    Ripping the goblins apart with its sharp ws and growling from itsrge mouth, a ck Tiger was there.

    The fact that I didn¡¯t detect this monster waspletely my fault.

    Author¡¯s note:

    You can now see the illustrations on the PASH! editor blog.

    Those who are interested can go check it out.

    Next time, Yuna¡¯s peerlessness will finally be shown.

 Chapter 122 - Bear-san Fights The Black Tiger

    Bear-san Fights The ck Tiger

    I used detection magic, but I hadn¡¯t noticed the ck Tiger.

    I only looked in our vicinity, so it was my mistake.

    If I had summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they would have probably found it.

    It was aplete failure on my part.

    ¡¸Why is such a monster here?¡¹

    Marcus whispered.

    Nobody answered his question, though.

    They were all looking at the ck Tiger, which was devouring the goblins.

    ¡¸Anyway, we should run away.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus, don¡¯t move!¡¹

    The moment Marcus tried to move, the ck Tiger looked our way while sniffing the air.

    It was just a matter of time before it discovered us.

    If we didn¡¯t move, it would discover us using its sense of smell.

    If we moved, it would discover us by the sound we would make.

    Also, there was no way we could outrun it.

    ¡¸Marcus......¡¹

    Timor and Cattleya seemed worried and looked at Marcus.

    I knew it, they were leaving the decision to Marcus, their party leader.

    It was a terrible thing to do to a student who had no experience.

    After looking at everyone, Marcus swallowed his saliva and spoke up.

    ¡¸I-I will be a decoy, so you guys have to use that chance to flee!¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus!?¡¹

    They were all surprised by his words.

    I was surprised too, of course. I really didn¡¯t think he would say something like that.

    ¡¸I¡¯m the one that got us in this situation. If only I didn¡¯t promise that I would try to kill the goblins...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not a reason for you to sacrifice yourself, right?¡¹

    ¡¸If it continues like this, we will all be killed, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s......¡¹

    The ck Tiger was slowly approaching our hiding spot while smelling the air around it.

    ¡¸I will make an opening, so make sure to use it!¡¹

    ¡¸If we all attack it...¡¹

    ¡¸That would be impossible, of course. Also, someone has to inform the vige. If we all died here, who would do it? Adventurers who can kill a ck Tiger have toe from the capital. If the vigers aren¡¯t warned, they will also be killed, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Stop arguing and just go!¡¹

    It was finally my turn, right?

    My role as a guard hade.

    I tried to speak up, but Timor spoke up before me.

    ¡¸Marcus, I will also stay with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Timor......¡¹

    ¡¸We can¡¯t let the girls die, after all. With two decoys, we will give them more time. No hard feelings for which one gets eaten first, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Timor, you are saying some really cool things, but your hands are shaking, you know...¡¹

    Timor¡¯s hands, which were holding onto his staff, were indeed shaking.

    It wasn¡¯t just his hands that were shaking. His legs, which were supporting him, were also trembling.

    ¡¸Hahaha, Marcus, you¡¯re also shaking, you know.¡¹

    Marcus and Timor wereughing, but they weren¡¯t smiling.

    Still, they must have been happy after confirming their friendship.

    I had to barge into this serious scene with my Bear Clothes, right?

    It was a really difficult thing to do, though...

    I couldn¡¯t just stay put, either; the ck Tiger was still slowly approaching us.

    ¡¸When we rush in, you guys have to run, okay?¡¹

    Marcus said while looking at us, the girls.

    ¡¸Marcus, Timor......¡¹

    Cattleya hesitated a bit, then nodded.

    ¡¸Okay. We will absolutely make it out alive. Shia-san, Yuna-san, we will be going.¡¹

    With her trembling hands, Cattleya grasped ours.

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    Shia looked at me with a worried expression.

    ¡¸Timor, let¡¯s go!¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes.¡¹

    The moment they tried to leave the thicket, I grabbed their clothes.

    ¡¸What!?¡¹

    ¡¸From here on, it¡¯s my job.¡¹

    As expected, I couldn¡¯t just let them go.

    ¡¸What are you saying!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my fault that I didn¡¯t find the ck Tiger. Also, my job is to protect each and every one of you.¡¹

    I stepped in front of Marcus and left the thicket.

    I used the detection magic and saw wolvesing this way as if they were gathering under the ck Tiger.

    Even if the students were able to flee from the ck Tiger, they would be attacked by the wolves.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Protect these four, okay?¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear answered with a ¡°Kuun¡± and went to the students.

    ¡¸What are those!?¡¹

    Marcus, Timor, and Cattleya were all shocked when they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸They are Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.¡¹

    Shia told them.

    ¡¸But, their size is...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s their real size, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸The four of you have to stay near Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear. Wolves are gathering from all around here, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    Shia looked at me with a worried expression again.

    ¡¸Shia, I leave these three to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Please don¡¯t die, you hear me?¡¹

    I smiled and waved.

    ¡¸Shia, what are you saying? It¡¯s definitely impossible for her.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus. Please leave it to Yuna-san from now on.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no way I could do that!¡¹

    Shia stopped Marcus, who tried to stop me.

    ¡¸There is no problem. Yuna-san can defeat it.¡¹

    I left the other three students to Shia and went to defeat the ck Tiger by myself.

    When the ck Tiger saw me, it stopped advancing and started to circle around me, as if to see what I would do.

    It was huge. It was way bigger than the Tiger Wolf I had defeated before.

    After looking at me for a while, the ck Tiger recognized me as its prey, roared and leapt at me, reducing the distance between us in an instant, and bared its sharp fangs at me.

    I dodged by taking a big step to the right.

    It was fast.

    It was faster than the Tiger Wolves, and there was also a lot strength behind its attacks.

    I was also stronger than I was in the past, though.

    If it was just defeating it, there was no problem. I would just kill with a Fire Bear.

    The problem was that if I used fire, its beautiful fur would be burned to a crisp, and that would be a waste.

    I really wanted its fur to be a carpet in my home, if possible, in a perfect state. Fina should be able to skin it perfectly.

    If I used a sword or wind magic, there would be holes in the fur. Launching ice magic at its head wouldn¡¯t be good, either. So, that left me with drowning it with my water magic?

    I was thinking about how to defeat the ck Tiger while evading its attacks.

    I tried to stop its movements with earth magic, but it was too fast for me to catch it. It evaded all the attacks that came from the ground.

    Then, how about this?

    I made wind magic flow from the ground below him. The ck Tiger sensed somethinging from under it and tried to dodge with a big jump, but it wasn¡¯t enough, and the wind magic blew it high into the air.

    It was my famous bungee jump without a rope.

    The ck Tiger soared into the sky while spinning around.

    If it fell down from hundred meters high, it shouldn¡¯t be left unharmed.

    The ck Tiger reformed its posture in the air and dexterouslynded like a cat.

    Really?

    It fell from that height and still had no wounds? It should have fractured something, at least!

    The moment the ck Tiger hadnded, it charged at me. I quickly made an earth wall to block it. The ck Tiger jumped past the wall and attacked me from the side. Using this chance, I bestowed it with a Bear Punch in the middle of its forehead.

    The ck Tiger was blown away, tumbled on the ground as if it was gliding, and stopped after colliding with a tree. Then, it stood up as if nothing had happened.

    It dodged the very moment my punch wouldnd, avoiding a fatal wound.

    It was stronger than I had thought it would be.

    Hmm, it would probably be difficult to keep its fur undamaged while defeating it...

    It was fast, so I couldn¡¯t use golems to attack it, either.

    It would have been good if I could at least wound it with the no rope bungee jump from before...

    Marcus¡¯s POV:

    The Bear Girl had said some crazy things.

    She said she would fight it...

    Didn¡¯t she see the ck Tiger in front of her?

    Its ferocious appearance... It wasn¡¯t a monster a girl like you could fight and defeat, you know!

    I stretched my hand out to stop her, but it didn¡¯t reach her, and she left the thicket.

    Before going out to fight, the Bear Girl left her two bears to protect us.

    They were huge. Shia said that they were those cubs we saw before and that this was their real size.

    They weren¡¯t as huge as the ck Tiger was, but they were still quite big.

    I heard a few things about summoned beasts, but this was my first time seeing one.

    Bear Girl told us not to move because wolves wereing to the ck Tiger from every direction.

    Who was this girl, really...

    It seemed that Shia knew something, but...

    She said that the Bear Girl would kill the ck Tiger... There was no way I would believe something like that.

    I thought that she would die immediately, but she was fighting with the ck Tiger on equal grounds.

    The fight was really an unbelievable sight.

    ¡¸Yuna-san is incredible!¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, you knew about it?¡¹

    I asked Shia, who seemed to know more about the Bear Girl.

    ¡¸Are you talking about Yuna-san¡¯s true strength? I already fought her, so I knew.¡¹

    ¡¸You fought her?¡¹

    ¡¸Not so long ago, I didn¡¯t believe it when I heard that she was strong, so we had a match. I waspletely destroyed by Yuna-san, who was even taking it easy on me...¡¹

    ¡¸Completely defeating Shia-san...¡¹

    Cattleya didn¡¯t seem to believe it.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it, either. I knew how strong Shia was. She was the strongest girl in the academy. So, her beingpletely defeated sounded impossible.

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    ¡¸From what Father and Mother had told me, I believe she is even stronger than that.¡¹

    ¡¸From what Eleanora-sama and Cliff-sama told you?¡¹

    ¡¸I will tell you since you would find out if you just looked into it, but Yuna-san, by herself, defeated a goblin horde, a Goblin King, two Tiger Wolves, a ck Viper, and they also said that she was the one who took out Zamon¡¯s bandit group. Also, it seemed like Father and Mother were hiding some other things too...¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re lying, right?...¡¹

    ¡¸Do you really think I¡¯m lying when you see her fighting right in front of you?¡¹

    In front of us, we saw her using advanced magic to fight the ck Tiger.

    A goblin horde, a Goblin King, Tiger Wolves, ck Viper, Zamon¡¯s bandits...

    Each and every one of them sounded impossible. How could she defeat all of them all by herself?

    Still, seeing the Bear Girl fight the ck Tiger in front of me, there was no way I could call it a joke.

    I looked at their fight.

    The ck Tiger was moving around; both of their movements were fast, and all the magic sheunched was strong.

    Wh-what was with this... How could a human move so quickly,unch magic so fast, and use this many powerful spells?

    Anyone who saw this Bear Girl¡¯s movements would understand that Shia wasn¡¯t lying.

    Still, even after seeing it, we felt like we didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡¸But, Shia-san, why didn¡¯t you tell us that Yuna-san was this strong?¡¹

    ¡¸There was no reason to do it, and even if I had told you, you wouldn¡¯t have believed me, right?¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    She was right, I wouldn¡¯t have believed her.

    I wouldn¡¯t have believed that someone in those strange Bear Clothes could be this strong.

    I wouldn¡¯t have believed that a girl shorter than me could be this strong.

    I didn¡¯t believe it when they told me that she was rank C.

    I just thought that she was a student younger than me.

    I thought that this was some sort of a test, so I asked Shia to protect her.

    In reality, it was the opposite. We were the ones who were being protected.

    Before our eyes, the Bear Girl was protecting us by fighting the ck Tiger.

    ¡¸Also, I thought that there were other reasons for Mother to chose Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Other reasons, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸This is only what I think, but with Yuna-san as our escort, no one would think she is one because of her appearance. With how my mother is like, I think that she wanted to see how everyone would be treating Yuna-san.¡¹

    Considering what Eleanora-sama was like, it was possible.

    I didn¡¯t believe that the Bear Girl was really our escort. That was why I had asked Shia to protect her in case something happened.

    ¡¸Still, I don¡¯t think Mother predicted that we would have encountered a ck Tiger.¡¹

    Who could have possibly thought that such a monster would have appeared... Also, who could believe that such a small girl was fighting such a monster on equal grounds...

    I was sure that if we told this to anyone else, nobody would believe us.

    Even I would haveughed at it, mocked the people telling this story, and said that it was impossible if I wasn¡¯t here to witness it.

    Yuna¡¯s POV:

    I knew it, some scratches on the hide were unavoidable. I really wanted a beautiful ck pelt, though...

    The ck Tiger was fast, and its ability to sense magic was high.

    It was fast enough that it was difficult to even make it do a second bungee jump.

    With the second strike not working on you, which Constetion Saint Seiya Warrior were you? You were a tiger, right?

    (TN: Saint Seiya is an old Japanese manga that was also made into an anime. Saint Seiya Warriors can see through any attacks they see at least one, so the same attack can¡¯t work twice against them.)

    There was no helping it. I was afraid of the aftermath, but there was no other way than this.

    The ck Tiger was circling around me, keeping an eye on the situation. Just like my attacks against him, its attacks weren¡¯t able to fatally wound me, either.

    Did that make it irritated? Since a while ago, it had been groaning with a ¡¸Gyurururu¡¹sound. It seemed very angry with his fangs showing.

    If I didn¡¯t have my Overpowered Bear, I would have been afraid of it.

    The ck Tiger jumped the moment it came behind me. I didn¡¯t turn around on purpose, in order to draw that attack out. The moment it noticed I wasn¡¯t facing it, it tried to bite me with its strong fangs.

    I shoved my left hand, the White Bear, inside its mouth. The ck Tiger bit the White Bear.

    The ck Tiger surely thought that it had won. I thought the same for me.

    This fight was my win.

    It bit the White Bear, but I didn¡¯t feel any pain.

    That was a cheat item for you.

    The ck Tiger bit into the glove with even more strength.

    I gathered magic inside the White Bear Puppet; fire formed in the the White Bear¡¯s mouth and I released it inside the ck Tiger. It burned its mouth, throat, and brain.

    They say, ¡®Let them cut your flesh, so you can break their bones.¡¯ I broke its bones without even getting cut, though.

    The ck Tiger¡¯s jaw, that was biting me, loosened, and its big corpse copsed onto the ground.

    Author¡¯s note

    Some things about the ck Tiger:

    When you guys read ck Tiger, do you first think about the shrimp or the tiger?

    (TN: Okay, here author used katakana ¥Ö¥é¥Ã¥¯¥¿¥¤¥¬©` (Burakku Taigaa, which souds like ck tiger in english) instead of the usual kanji, ü\»¢ (kuro tora, ck tiger in japanese). For japanese people, the first thing thates to their mind when they read the katakana version is the ck tiger prawn (also known as Asian tiger shrimp), and not the real ck tiger.)

    In the previous note, I caused trouble for you guys when I talked about the illustrations.

    There is an illustration change notice on the PASH! editor¡¯s house blog.

    I would be really happy if you go see the detailed things on the PASH! Editor¡¯s house blog.

    Also, I¡¯m really sorry about this, but please refrain from giving your impressions until this calms down. Thank you for understanding.

    TN: Saint Seiya Warriors can see through any attacks they see at least one, so the same attack can¡¯t work twice against them.

 Chapter 123 - Bear-san Regrets Going To See The Silkworms

    Bear-san Regrets Going To See The Silkworms

    The ck Tiger copsed.

    Even though I went easy on it, its ability to detect magic made this a difficult fight.

    I managed to get its ck fur though, so I was going to ask Fina to dismantle it when I returned.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, did you defeat it?¡¹

    Shia came out of the thicket and asked timidly.

    ¡¸Yes, I defeated it. It just took me a while to do it.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it; you defeated a ck Tiger all by yourself...¡¹

    After Shia, Cattleya and others came out, too.

    The four of them approached the copsed ck Tiger. Aside from Shia, the other three were looking at the copsed ck Tiger as if they couldn¡¯t believe it. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came out after the students.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, thank you.¡¹

    I gently stroked their necks when they approached me.

    The wolves didn¡¯t approach the students, and that was probably thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I used detection magic to check where the wolves were, and saw them fleeing back into the forest in all directions. Did they scatter because the ck Tiger had been defeated?

    Well, they weren¡¯t a part of our job, so who cared.

    ¡¸............¡¹

    Marcus approached me as if he wanted to say something.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-you saved us. Thank you.¡¹

    Marcus thanked me while stuttering.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Yuna-san, thank you very much. You really saved us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Err, thanks.¡¹

    The girls and Timor thanked me, too.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. Protecting you guys is my job, after all.¡¹

    Marcus seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he kept his mouth shut.

    I was sure that he had someplicated feelings about being protected by someone he didn¡¯t even consider to be an adventurer.

    This should be a good lesson for him, though. You shouldn¡¯t judge a Bear Person by their appearance.

    The four of them were all poking the defeated ck Tiger. Staying here forever would be a waste of time, so I suggested that we should return to the vige.

    ¡¸With the way the things have turned out, wouldn¡¯t it be best to return to the vige for now?¡¹

    Nobody opposed my idea.

    I put the ck Tiger into the Bear Box and made arrangements to go back. Well, I did say ¡®arrangements¡¯, but it was just disposing of the goblins, which the ck Tiger cruelly massacred. We didn¡¯t forget to take the goblin magic stones as a proof of subjugation, either.

    ¡¸Well then, you guys should return to the vige first.¡¹

    ¡¸You won¡¯te with us, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸There is something I want to check out.¡¹

    ¡¸Check out?¡¹

    ¡¸The vige chief was worried about what happened to the silkworms, so I¡¯m going to take a look. Don¡¯t worry; Swaying Bear will escort you to the vige.¡¹

    I approached Swaying Bear and asked him.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, can I leave these four to you?¡¹

    Swaying Bear responded with a Kuu©`n.

    ¡¸Also, make yourself small when you approach the vige; it would be bad to scare the vigers, after all.¡¹

    He cried out again.

    ¡¸Well then, I think it should be okay with Swaying Bear, but please be careful when going back.¡¹

    I jumped onto Hugging Bear, and we ran off.

    I was going to a ce where, ording to the vige chief, the silkworms were.

    Hugging Bear ran deep inside the forest.

    It should be around here. We walked slowly so that we wouldn¡¯t miss the ce.

    Silkworms of this world really were monsters, huh? My detection magic gave me a proper reaction. If they really were monsters, I could understand why they were eating goblins.

    ...I immediately regretteding to the silkworm nest.

    Crawling on the ground was a silkworm, which was over a meter long.

    It looked absolutely disgusting.

    Just like in the game, the insect monsters here were really disgusting, too...

    A hikikomori like me, who had been living in a city and never had any contact with insects, was repulsed twice as badly by them.

    Here, these normally small worms were human-sized. If they had faces, they would have been the epitome of trauma.

    Back when I was still just ying the game, thepany released a secret event, but it was suspended in just 30 minutes.

    In this event, you had to exterminate cockroaches... Human-sized ones.

    Just after the event started, agonizing cries could be heard from everywhere. I logged out the moment I saw those cockroaches, but I still had nightmares for a few days after. It was a terrible memory.

    Nothing was more terrifying than seeing human-sized cockroaches creep around.

    It was so bad that the event had to be suspended, and we even received constion items as an apology.

    A few yers were praising them for the realistic feeling it gave, but... this was the only thing that should absolutely never have been made realistic. They were really terrifying...

    As one would expect, silkworms didn¡¯t creep around like cockroaches did, but their size was still intolerable...

    Things like these made me more aware of my hate for insects.

    The vige chief said that the silkworms of this world had a scent that attracted animals and monsters, but..., as if to prove this, a lot of goblins and wolves were entangled in the spider threads,pletely immobilized.

    I really wasn¡¯t sure if they were silkworms, spiders, or a different type of monster...

    The goblins that were entangled here were the goblins from the other side of the forest, right?

    I got it now. The ck Tiger attacked the goblin nest, and the goblins fled here. The ck Tiger then chased after them, and ran into us.

    I might get all the details if I went to the goblin nest, but that would have been troublesome, so I decided not to go. If the vigers wanted to know the details, they just had to investigate it themselves; I had no obligation to do it. I still decided to return to the vige only after I investigated the silkworm¡¯s ce a bit more.

    After looking around, I determined that there was no damage. There were no signs of an attack. It seemed that the ck Tiger didn¡¯te here. Well, even if it did, I didn¡¯t think that it ate insects. Whatever, it seemed that the silkworms weren¡¯t attacked; the vigers would surely be relieved with this.

    When there were worms, inevitably, there would be cocoons. The color of these cocoons were strange, though.

    If I remembered correctly, cocoons were yellow because of the mulberry tree leaves or something like that.

    It differed on the species of silkworms, but their cocoons were mostly white or yellow. Yet, there were some green and red cocoons mixed in here.

    It would be bad if I took these cocoons, right?

    I would like one of each, though...

    Well, even if I took them, I couldn¡¯t make clothes, so I wouldn¡¯t have any practical use for them, but they might still make a good souvenir for the children at the orphanage.

    Still, when talking about souvenirs, it would be best if I took threads, right? If I took them back like this, it would only trouble them. I decided not to take the cocoons.

    Both the students and the vigers were waiting at the entrance of the vige when I finally returned there.

    Swaying Bear was settled in Shia¡¯s arms; it seemed that he escorted them back properly.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay. I had Hugging Bear with me. So, why are you all out here?¡¹

    Shia approached me and gave me Swaying Bear, whom I then petted.

    ¡¸We were waiting for you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸For me?¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me, you are Yuna-san, right?¡¹

    The vige chief entered the conversation.

    ¡¸These children said that a ck Tiger appeared and that you defeated it. Is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the vige chief doesn¡¯t believe us.¡¹

    Shia said, displeased.

    ¡¸Well, of course, he wouldn¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸I think I wouldn¡¯t believe it either.¡¹

    ¡¸Same here.¡¹

    The other three students understood the vige chief.

    It was difficult to believe something so unrealistic even when they saw it themselves.

    ¡¸So, do you have proof?¡¹

    Oh, right.

    I brought out the ck Tiger from the Bear Box.

    All the vigers shouted in surprise when they saw the ck Tiger¡¯s corpse.

    ¡¸Did you really kill this thing?¡¹

    The vige chief said as if he couldn¡¯t believe it while switching his gaze between me and the ck Tiger.

    ¡¸Yeah, I did. I also went to the silkworm¡¯s ce after that, and it didn¡¯t seem like there was any damage.¡¹

    ¡¸You really went there?¡¹

    ¡¸You seemed worried, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, and there are wolves inside the forest, so be careful. You should properly make a request at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to deal with them.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, we will. I¡¯m really sorry that you had to go through all of that.¡¹

    The vige chief bowed.

    To thank us, the vigers made us dinner with a lot of delicious food brought out. Well, it wasn¡¯t nearly as delicious as Morin-san¡¯s cooking, but it was still quite good.

    The vigers started talking about the reward, and everyone looked at me.

    Did they want me to decide it?

    It seemed to be that way, so I asked for thread, cocoons, or cloth made out of them. I also said that I would buy them if I was asking for too much.

    The vige chief said that he would prepare them by tomorrow.

    The meal was finished, and since it was alreadyte evening, we went back to our assigned rooms.

    ¡¸The food was delicious.¡¹

    Cattleya sat on her bed, rubbing her stomach.

    In the room, there were three beds, side-by-side.

    I sat on the middle bed, and decided to eat something sweet to relieve the fatigue of this day. I took a pudding out of the Bear Box and started to eat it by myself.

    When tired, sweet things were the best!

    Cattleya was surprised to see me eat the pudding.

    ¡¸Yu-Yuna-san, th-this... Is this possibly...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s pudding. Do you know about it?¡¹

    Was it possible that she ate it before?

    I showed Cattleya the pudding I had on my spoon and then ate it.

    Still, pudding really was delicious, right?

    ¡¸It¡¯s not about knowing it or not... This is...the legendary food, which was brought out at the King¡¯s birthday party...¡¹

    Ah, she was talking about the King¡¯s birthday party.

    More importantly, what was this about? The legendary food? It was just a pudding, you know.

    Oh, but now that she said that, I did recall Noa telling me that the assembly hall exploded in an uproar when the pudding arrived. Ipletely forgot that something like that had happened.

    ¡¸Cattleya, were you present at the party?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was there and ate the pudding. I still remember the taste, even now.¡¹

    She made a happy expression when she recalled the taste.

    She was exaggerating. It was only pudding, you know!

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you were the one who made the pudding, right?¡¹

    Shia, who was sitting on thest bed, joined the conversation.

    ¡¸R-really? Yuna-san was the one who made the legendary pudding!?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know anything about this legendary thing you are talking about, but I did make the pudding...¡¹

    ¡¸Then, does that mean you were the mysterious cook, Yuna-san?¡¹

    I had been hearing things like legendary and mysterious for a while now, but were people really saying that when talking about pudding?

    It had been a long time since the party, too...

    ¡¸Shia-san, you knew about it even though the King didn¡¯t say anything, no matter who asked...¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san gave me some pudding before the party, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? I¡¯m so jealous!¡¹

    Cattleya looked at the pudding I was holding.

    I looked at Shia, and she was also looking at my pudding.

    ¡¸Hmm, do you two want some?¡¹

    I would feel bad if I was the only one eating, so I brought out a pudding for each of them.

    ¡¸May I really?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    They happily epted the pudding.

    ¡¸Ah, this taste!¡¹

    ¡¸I got to eat more pudding since Yuna-san often brought it as a souvenir.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia-san, that¡¯s unfair!¡¹

    True. Whenever I went to the capital, I gave Eleanora-san some pudding for Shia.

    ¡¸My little sister gets even more than me, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸Anyone can eat pudding at Yuna-san¡¯s shop in Crimonia. My little sister goes there to eat all the time.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t that often, though.

    She only sometimes came when she slipped out of her house; her butler got angry every time.

    ¡¸Yuna-san¡¯s shop!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san has a shop in Crimonia. The pudding there is sold at a price even normal people can afford, and it is really popr...¡¹

    ¡¸The legendary meal that was presented at the King¡¯ s birthday party is being sold in an ordinary shop......¡¹

    She was looking at me and the pudding, dumbfounded. Was she unable to find the words she wanted?

    The pudding wasn¡¯t such a high ss food, you know...

    ¡¸A shop... Yuna-san, aren¡¯t you an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer, but I also own a shop. I leave the management to someone else, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. If I went to Crimonia, I could eat all the pudding I wanted......¡¹

    Well, there was a limit to how many puddings a person could buy, so she actually couldn¡¯t eat all the pudding she wanted.

    ¡¸I really want to go back to Crimonia soon.¡¹

    *Knock, knock.*

    While ¡°we¡± were in a heated discussion about pudding, there was a knock at the door.

 Chapter 124 - Bear-san Receives An Apology

    Bear-san Receives An Apology

    Someone knocked at the door.

    ¡¸Who is it?¡¹

    Shia, who was closest to the door, asked.

    ¡¸It¡¯s me.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to talk, so could you open the door?¡¹

    Shia looked at us as if to say what should she do?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind personally.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want, I can summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸That sounds good.¡¹

    Cattleya agreed, so I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    *Pouf, pouf.*

    Theynded cutely on my bed.

    Once the bears were all settled in, Shia opened the door.

    ¡¸So, why did youe here sote at night?¡¹

    ¡¸You see...¡¹

    Marcus seemed to be having some problems saying it.

    Was this possibly... Confession time?

    The rumored event that often happened during school trips... Well, I had never went on any school trips, so I didn¡¯t know if it really happened, but... I heard many couples were made on school trips. Was this practice training possibly simr to a school trip!?

    Would Marcus confess to Shia? Or Cattleya? Which one was it?

    I started paying attention to see what he would say.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    His hesitation irritated Shia.

    ¡¸You see, I just wanted to apologize before we go back tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Apologize?¡¹

    Shia gave him a confused look.

    I was confused, too. What did this mean?

    That it wasn¡¯t confession time?

    ¡¸Did you do something to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Not you! The Bear! I came here to apologize to the one in Bear Clothes, Yuna-san!¡¹

    He said Yuna-san, right?

    Did I hear it wrong?

    Also, he wanted to apologize to me?

    ¡¸You came to apologize to Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Timor and I talked about it and came here to apologize before we leave tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸So, could you let use inside the room?¡¹

    I heard Timor¡¯s voice from the other side of the door. It seemed that both of them were here.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t really anything to apologize for, though?¡¹

    ¡¸We will just enter for now, okay?¡¹

    Timor and Marcus entered the room.

    ¡¸So, what are you two apologizing to Yuna-san for? Did you guys do something?¡¹

    Shia asked them.

    I didn¡¯t remember them doing anything in particr to me, though...

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t believe that you were an adventurer.¡¹

    Well, nobody would believe that a girl wearing a Bear Suit would be an adventurer, right?

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t believe that you were strong.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think anyone who met me for the first time thought that I was strong.

    ¡¸We were making fun out of you by saying that you were a strange girl wearing strange clothes.¡¹

    Oh right, he did say that. Well, if I met anyone wearing these clothes, I would alsough at them.

    ¡¸We decided to do something dangerous without asking for your approval.¡¹

    Well, they didn¡¯t see me as an adventurer back then.

    ¡¸We never thanked your bears.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tilted their heads.

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t properly thank you for saving us.¡¹

    You guys thanked me plenty, though...

    All these things were nothing to be upset about, you know...

    Hmm, did I get used to it?

    ¡¸You don¡¯t really have to worry about these things. I just kept my true strength a secret since Eleanora-san asked me to let you guys do what you wanted unless I considered it dangerous. So, I wouldn¡¯t have helped you if I didn¡¯t consider the situation dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸But, you were still protecting us from the shadows, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s my job, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I was prepared to die when I decided to confront the ck Tiger. You saved my life.¡¹

    ¡¸It was all my fault, but it was you, Yuna-san, who suffered the consequences of my decision. Thanks to you, we all made it back alive. I became arrogant just because I could kill some goblins. And because of my arrogance, you had to put yourself in danger.¡¹

    What was this feeling?

    Was I getting embarrassed?

    ¡¸As I said before, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. No one could have imagined that a ck Tiger would have appeared. Also, you wanted to subjugate the goblins for the sake of the vige, not yourself. Finally, nobody would have ever thought that I was an adventurer the first time they saw me in these clothes, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like you personally did something to me. For example, if you decided to pick a fight with me, I would get mad, but you didn¡¯t do something like that, so you have nothing to apologize for. That¡¯s why, you don¡¯t really have to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    Marcus and Timor seemed like they wanted to say something else while Shia and Cattleya just kept silent and listened.

    I wasn¡¯t able to stand the silence, so...

    ¡¸Want to eat something?¡¹

    The mood was getting really heavy, so I brought out potato chips, fried potatoes, sandwiches, and other snacks from the Bear Box and put them on the table.

    ¡¸Can we?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I have a lot more, so go ahead and eat.¡¹

    Marcus took a potato chip and ate it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s good.¡¹

    Timor took a potato chip too.

    ¡¸Yeah, it tastes great.¡¹

    It seemed that they liked it.

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    Shia and Cattleya were eyeing the snacks on the table.

    They obviously wanted to eat them, too.

    Cattleya was rubbing her stomach just a while back; was it really a good idea to eat more?

    ¡¸You can eat it, but don¡¯t me me if you gain weight.¡¹

    I warned them.

    They looked at their stomachs.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    ¡¸M-me too.¡¹

    Thanks to Shia and Cattleya acting like this, Marcus and Timor calmed down, and the heavy mood disappeared.

    ¡¸This bread is delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s better than the bread I eat at home.¡¹

    Well, of course. A baker I personally chose made it, after all.

    ¡¸These potato chips are delicious as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, did you two get to eat this before we came here?¡¹

    Marcus looked at them with an envious expression.

    ¡¸It was just a little! We shouldn¡¯t eat too much of Yuna-san¡¯s food while we are in the middle of the practice training.¡¹

    ¡¸Honestly, we just wanted to eat Yuna-san¡¯s food because it¡¯s better than ours.¡¹

    I noticed that the snack-pile was decreasing little by little, so I brought out all sorts of bread that Morin-san and the children from the orphanage had made, and put them on the table. With the ufortable silence from beforepletely gone, all the food I had brought out was disappearing into their stomachs.

    Guys, we ate dinner just a while ago, right? Why were you eating so much?

    Was that how the stomachs of young people worked? I wasn¡¯t able to keep up at all.

    I hugged Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear while looking at them eating happily. There was no way I could eat any more, after all.

    The next day, the four of them were rubbing their stomachs.

    They couldn¡¯t refuse the breakfast the vige chief made for us, so they had to force themselves to eat it; they ate too much yesterday night, after all.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault. They decided to eat that much themselves.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯ve put all the luggage on the carriage.¡¹

    The vige chief told Marcus.

    ¡¸Luggage?¡¹

    With a pained expression, he asked Shia, who also seemed like was she was suffering.

    ¡¸The luggage we will be transporting from the vige to the capital. If I remember correctly, it¡¯s threads and cloth.¡¹

    I see. It was a local specialty, huh.

    With those disgusting silkworms here, I somehow understood it.

    After talking to Marcus, the vige chief approached me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we are indebted to you. It would have been terrible if something had happened to the students.¡¹

    ¡¸You have thanked me more than enough yesterday, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    It seemed that the vige chief wanted to say something else, but they already thanked me way too much yesterday, so I didn¡¯t think I could stand any more gratitude.

    ¡¸Protecting the students is my job, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. Oh right, we prepared what you asked for yesterday.¡¹

    When the vige chief said that, another viger brought a big box and gave it to me.

    I looked inside and saw a lot of different colored cloth and threads.

    Were these made from silkworm cocoons?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, they look great.¡¹

    Shia, who looked a bit jealous, said after peeking inside the box.

    ¡¸These are all high ss items.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸They are really popr with the nobles.¡¹

    Well, if they were really giving it to me I would dly ept it, but was it okay?

    ¡¸Can I really take this? I¡¯m not lying that I had killed the ck Tiger, but I have no proof, either, you know.¡¹

    They couldn¡¯t really check the magic crystal without going to a town with an Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    I could have showed them a corpse from a ck Tiger I killed beforeing here, and they wouldn¡¯t have known.

    ¡¸Then I would be at me for not being able to see through your lies. And more importantly , I would be embarrassed if we didn¡¯t give you our thanks simply because we didn¡¯t believe you.¡¹

    The vige chief said strongly.

    ¡¸Thank you. I will ept it then.¡¹

    I put the box with cloth and thread inside the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Feel free to visit us any time.¡¹

    The vigers sent us out, and the carriage headed back towards the capital.

 Chapter 125 - Bear-san Goes Back To The Capital

    Bear-san Goes Back To The Capital

    For three days now, we had been traveling with the shaking carriage. We would arrive at the capital tomorrow. On our journey back, nothing had happened yet. The goblins we saw on our way to the vige probably just tried to escape the ck Tiger. With the ck Tiger dead, there was no longer a reason for them toe on the road.

    We didn¡¯t encounter any other monsters, either, so encountering those goblins was really just bad luck.

    It was a peaceful trip back home.

    Since the students already knew how strong I was, I had summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms, only for the two of them to be hugged by Shia and Cattleya. The bears had always been with me, so seeing them hugged by someone else made me a bit sad. Hmm, I would have never thought about something like this when I was still in Japan. This showed that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had really became my precious family members, unlike my real family.

    Well, this sadness would be gone tomorrow. We were about to arrive at the capital, after all.

    As the carriage peacefully rattled onward, Marcus called a break for today¡¯s lunch. Just as we were about to stop, we noticed another carriage parked by the side of the road. Some other people had already decided to stop and take a break here, it seemed.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that Jigurd?¡¹

    Marcus pointed at the other carriage.

    ¡¸Marcus, you have a really good sight.¡¹

    Timor seemed not to see him even after Marcus pointed him out.

    Shia and Cattleya looked out of the carriage.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right.¡¹

    ¡¸Jigurd and his party are here.¡¹

    The girls seemed to have a good sight, too.

    ¡¸You know these people?¡¹

    ¡¸Their party is also in the middle of the practice training.¡¹

    Did that mean there were other people like Marcus out there?

    I need to prepare myself, then. I could just stay in the carriage, right? That probably wouldn¡¯t really work...

    Marcus parked our carriage right next to theirs, and the other party approached us.

    It was two boys and two girls, just like my party.

    ¡¸I was wondering who it was, but it was just Marcus and Timor!¡¹

    ¡¸Jigurd, are you also on your way back to the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we are a running a bitte, but isn¡¯t it the same for you, Marcus?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, a few things happened, you see.¡¹

    Marcus avoided the question with augh.

    Shia and Cattleya also left the carriage to say hello to the girls of the other party.

    It would have been a pain to exin Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to them, so I returned them to the gloves them before we reached their carriage.

    ¡¸Hey, Marcus, who is this girl wearing strange clothes?¡¹

    Jigurd asked Marcus when he saw me with a smile on his face.

    His broad grin really made me want to throw a Bear Punch into his face.

    Was it okay for me to punch him? It was okay, right? It was okay as long as he didn¡¯t die, right? The Bear God was telling me that I could do it.

    As I was contemting whether I should punch him or not, Marcus took out his sword and pointed it at Jigurd. It wasn¡¯t just Marcus; Timor, who was right next to Marcus, also took out his wand.

    ¡¸M-Marcus, what are you doing?¡¹

    Jigurd was confused by their actions.

    Well, I was also confused.

    Why were they pointing their weapons at their school friend!?

    ¡¸This girl is an adventurer. She is our escort.¡¹

    ¡¸Your escort? That¡¯s a joke, right? Isn¡¯t she younger than us?¡¹

    ¡¸You can think whatever you want, but we won¡¯t let you make fun of her in front of us. We won¡¯t forgive you if you insult her.¡¹

    Shia and Cattleya, who were a little farther away, and Timor all nodded when Marcus said that.

    It seemed that they got angry for my sake.

    That made me happy, but what happened to you guys?

    ¡¸Marcus, what happened to you? Defending a strange girl like her...¡¹

    Jigurd, still totally confused, asked Marcus.

    ¡¸Nothing happened to us; we just won¡¯t ept any insults towards Yuna-san, our escort.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just as Marcus said. We will fight you if you make fun of Yuna-san.¡¹

    Shia and Cattleya nodded again.

    ¡¸I get it. We won¡¯t make fun of her anymore, so please put your weapons away.¡¹

    Jigurd, who realized that Marcus was serious, promised he wouldn¡¯t make fun of me anymore.

    Marcus put his sword away.

    ¡¸But, is this stran...cute girl wearing bear clothing really your escort?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. She also saved our lives. So, we won¡¯t forgive anyone who insults her, even if it¡¯s you!¡¹

    ¡¸I get it, so don¡¯t be this angry!¡¹

    Jigurd took a few steps back so that Marcus would calm down.

    ¡¸You guys are noisy, what is going on?¡¹

    A male and a female adventurer came out of Jigurd¡¯s carriage.

    I remembered seeing these two somewhere before, but I couldn¡¯t remember where.

    ¡¸Jade-san.¡¹

    Jigurd called out the male adventurer¡¯s name.

    Jade? I never heard that name before...

    Well, if I couldn¡¯t remember him even after hearing his name, it must have been my imagination.

    ¡¸Wait, aren¡¯t you the Bloody Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, is it possible that you are the Bear Missy? If I remember correctly, your name is Yuna-chan, right?¡¹

    Those two seemed to knew me.

    I didn¡¯t know them, though.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t strange for adventurers to know about me. I know, it was a bit strange for me to say that myself, but if there was anyone who didn¡¯t remember me after seeing my clothes, I wanted to meet them. If I met someone who was wearing a costume like I was, I would remember them even if I didn¡¯t remember their face.

    ¡¸Jade-san, do you know this strange...¡¹

    Marcus reached for his sword.

    ¡¸This cute girl wearing bear clothes?¡¹

    Oh, he corrected himself.

    ¡¸Yea, she is an adventurer from Crimonia. There aren¡¯t any adventurers from Crimonia who don¡¯t know about her.¡¹

    They were adventurers from Crimonia, it seemed. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if I had met them at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so that was probably why they seemed familiar and I had the impression of seeing them somewhere before.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Bear Missy.¡¹

    I tilted my head.

    I had no memories of ever bing that familiar with them.

    ¡¸What, you don¡¯t remember?¡¹

    Sorry, I didn¡¯t tend to remember minor characters.

    I didn¡¯t have the memory capacity to remember everyone I met just once.

    ¡¸Well, it can¡¯t be helped. We only spoke to each other for a few minutes, so it¡¯s more like we know you one sidedly.¡¹

    Spoke to each other?

    We had a conversation?

    I didn¡¯t remember it at all.

    ¡¸You see, we talked to each other in front of the request board.¡¹

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, it was the day after Yuna-chan became a rank D adventurer. Don¡¯t you remember?¡¹

    ......Ah, I remembered now.

    ¡¸I think I remember a party of four calling out to me when I was looking at the C rank requests...¡¹

    Even though I said I remembered, it was just that. I didn¡¯t remember their names or faces. I could only remember that I talked to them, and that I went to kill the Tiger Wolves after that.

    ¡¸So, you do remember. By the way, my name is Jade.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Meru.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the other two?¡¹

    ¡¸They are escorting some other students right now. On that note, are you also an escort, missy?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I am.¡¹

    ¡¸Jade-san, then it¡¯s true, that this strange... cute, girl wearing bear clothes is an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸Not just any adventurer. She is famous for doing a lot of various things.¡¹

    Various things, he said... What sort of things?

    There were too many things that came to my mind, so I didn¡¯t know which ones he was talking about.

    ¡¸Bear Missy, you¡¯re also taking a break, right? How about we spend it together?¡¹

    Just like that, it was decided that we would take our breaks together.

    We gave some food and water to the horses and prepared our own lunch.

    ¡¸Still, I wouldn¡¯t have thought that Bear Missy would be working at the Capital!¡¹

    ¡¸This girl¡¯s mother asked me to.¡¹

    I looked at Shia.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Eleanora, I wouldn¡¯t have epted such a troublesome task.

    ¡¸I see. This job is easy, and the pay is great, so it is really popr, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    I heard that there wasn¡¯t enough people, though... Was it possible that Eleanora-san fooled me?

    She did say that they made some sort of a selection, so it might not have been a lie.

    ¡¸We only have to escort the students to a nearby vige. And, there aren¡¯t really any dangerous monsters since it¡¯s near the capital.¡¹

    When my party heard those words, they smiled bitterly.

    There was no way they would believe us if we told them that we encountered a ck Tiger on our way.

    ¡¸The students don¡¯t do anything dangerous, so it really is an easy job.¡¹

    Jade-san said whileughing.

    I looked at his party, and the two boys diverted their gazes while the two girls smiled.

    ¡¸Jade-san, is this girl wearing bear clothes really an adventurer? She seems to be younger than me...¡¹

    One of the girls asked him while looking at me.

    Well, it was the same thing with Marcus; seeing a girl in a Bear Suit, you wouldn¡¯t really believe that she was an adventurer.

    ¡¸It¡¯s true. She is an adventurer stronger than me.¡¹

    Jigurd and his party made surprised expressions.

    What was this person saying...

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it.¡¹

    One of the girls murmured while still looking at me.

    Yep, nobody would believe it, right?

    If Jade-san and I were to fight, I was sure that not even one person would bet on me. They would think they would lose for sure if they did.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t. Everyone says that when they first meet her.¡¹

    Jade-san said with a smile on his face.

    ¡¸Even though she looks like this, she is actually a strong and gentle girl.¡¹

    ¡¸Jade-san, you know a lot about Yuna-san?¡¹

    Shia asked.

    ¡¸Just some rumors.¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of rumors?¡¹

    It seemed that the discussion was now going in a strange direction...

    Even though this was supposed to be a break...

    If I didn¡¯t stop them now, this would end up badly for me.

    ¡¸More importantly, Jade-san, what are you doing at the capital?¡¹

    Hidden Technique! Subject Change!

    ¡¸We usually work at the capital, you know. We sometimes go to Crimonia though, and we hear rumors about Missy there.¡¹

    ¡¸What sort of rumors?¡¹

    Huh? The conversation went back to where it was...

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see... Oh, there is a really famous story on how, the same day she had registered at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, she made a bloody mess of D and E ranked adventurers who decided to pick a fight with her.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t mess up all of them. It was only Deborane!

    The other people all copsed after taking just one punch!

    ¡¸Bloody mess, you say?¡¹

    The girl looked at me again.

    Well, Deborane really was a bloody mess, so I couldn¡¯t say it was a lie.

    Still, he was the only one, you know!

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re incredible!¡¹

    Shia seemed happy.

    ¡¸They were just weak.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what other rumors have you heard?¡¹

    Would this really continue?

    Wasn¡¯t it about time for you to stop?

    Also, Shia, you heard some of these things from Cliff, so you already knew a lot, right?

    ¡¸She became even more famous when she subjugated a Goblin King.¡¹

    ¡¸A Goblin King!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, supposedly the expression of the Goblin King she had brought back was brutal and filled with rage.¡¹

    Well, I dropped it in a hole and attacked it one sidedly, so of course it would get mad.

    ¡¸I saw that corpse, you know. At that time, I was in the guild by chance, after all. I thought that you were really brave for fighting a brutal monster like that.¡¹

    So Meru-san saw the Goblin King.

    After hearing this story, the expressions of the students were split.

    The ones who believed it, Marcus¡¯s party.

    The ones who didn¡¯t believe it, Jigurd¡¯s party.

    If you saw their expressions, you could instantly tell that they werepletely different.

    ¡¸But the thing that made Yuna-chan really famous was that subjugation, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The ck Viper?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard it from Shia, but did Yuna-san really defeat a ck Viper?¡¹

    It seemed that Timor heard it from Shia but didn¡¯t believe it.

    I didn¡¯t think about this before, but that story was really unbelievable, right? Without the corpse, I didn¡¯t think anyone would have believed it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s true. I wasn¡¯t there then, but a lot of adventurers gave their word that it was true.¡¹

    ¡¸How did it happen?¡¹

    ¡¸A vige was attacked by a ck Viper, and a little boy came by himself to Crimonia¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild to ask for help while crying. Sadly, no adventurers who could defeat a ck Viper were present. We also epted a different request and were not there. Although, even if we were there, I¡¯m not sure if we would have epted the request.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened then?¡¹

    ¡¸This Bear Missy here epted it. Without even negotiating for a request reward, she went to help the attacked vige on her own. All the adventurers who saw it thought that there was no way she would be able to defeat it. It was different from the Goblin King. The ck Viper was on an entirely different level in terms of size and strength. That¡¯s why, all the adventurers who were present thought that the Bear Missy went there to die.¡¹

    Was that true?

    I didn¡¯t think that the adventurers saw it that way.

    Well, I did leave the guild quickly while taking the child with me.

    ¡¸And yet, a few dayster, she brought back the corpse of the ck Viper as proof of its subjugation. With it, no one could doubt her.¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, she had the proof of defeating it, after all.¡¹

    Jade-san and Meru-san talked about that story.

    Just hearing it made me embarrassed...

    ¡¸Is this story true?¡¹

    The girl from Jigurd¡¯s party said. It seemed that she didn¡¯t believe it.

    Well, that was apletely normal reaction.

    ¡¸Well, you are free to believe it or not. All the adventurers from Crimonia believe it, though.¡¹

    Jade-san said while looking at me.

    ¡¸Since that happened, there are no more people in Crimonia who make fun of her, and everyone recognises her strength.¡¹

    Jigurd¡¯s party didn¡¯t believe the story Jade-san told. They thought he just made it up.

    Well, who would believe that a girl in a Bear Suit would defeat a ck Viper?

    Nobody, who didn¡¯t know me, would believe it, for sure.

    ¡¸Oh right, there is a new rumor that goes around recently, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that one... Well, they won¡¯t believe that one, either.¡¹

    After Jade-san said that, Meru-san startedughing.

    If we were talking about recently, was it about the Kraken? Or the Tunnel?

    I was sure that if they talked about those now, Jigurd¡¯s party would think that the other stories were false, too.

    It would be just another unbelievable story.

    ¡¸What is the rumor?¡¹

    ¡¸There is a rumor that says that she defeated a Kraken, but as expected, that¡¯s...¡¹

    Jade-san looked at Meru-san.

    ¡¸Of course, a Kraken is...¡¹

    The two of themughed while looking at each other.

    Everyone else looked at me, too.

    ¡¸That would be impossible, of course!¡¹

    (TN: Author used Katakana instead of Kanji here to imply that Yuna is trying to lie with a forced, almost robotic voice.)

    Was what I answered.

    When Jade-san finished telling my embarrassing, old stories, the break also ended.

 Chapter 126 - Bear-san Makes A Report Of Her Escort Mission

    Bear-san Makes A Report Of Her Escort Mission

    We arrived at the capital. With that, the practice training was now finished.

    We passed through the gates and headed towards the academy. Like usual, the guard at the gates gave me a strange look when I showed him my guild card.

    Today, I would finally be able to return to Crimonia after a long time and sleep in my house, all thanks to the Bear Transfer Gate, of course.

    The carriage soon arrived at the academy.

    A few carriages were already parked there.

    I only saw our carriage when we departed, so this meant that those were all from the other students who already came back, right?

    ¡¸My job is now finished, right?¡¹

    I got out of the carriage and stretched.

    ¡¸We still have to check in with the teachers.¡¹

    Oh right, Eleanora told me something like that.

    So troublesome.

    ¡¸Jigurd, you are also going, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we are, but please wait a minute.¡¹

    After we had joined up with Jigurd¡¯s party on the road, we came back to the capital together.

    There was no reason to split up since our destination was the same.

    Also, it was less dangerous to travel in bigger groups.

    If any monsters appeared, we would easily defeat them using our numbers.

    If bandits were nning on attacking us, they would probably reconsider, just seeing the size of our group.

    There were a lot of merits in traveling together.

    Well, there weren¡¯t any dangers like that around the capital anyway.

    We entered the academy and went to check in with the professors.

    When we got to the staff room, we were met by someone who shouldn¡¯t have been there.

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    Shia said with a surprised voice when she saw Eleanora-san next to her professor.

    ¡¸Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I told the guard at the gate to report to me immediately when you returned, of course.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t that abuse of authority?

    ¡¸I told him it was of a S rank priority, so he reported really quickly.¡¹

    This person was the worst. You shouldn¡¯t use your authority for something this trivial.

    I felt sorry for the guard who had to run to the castle all the way from the gate.

    ¡¸Your practice training is now finished. We will deal with the luggage you brought back, so you are free to leave and rest.¡¹

    The professor told the students.

    ¡¸Also, you will have to make a report on the practice training a bitter. Don¡¯t think you can lie, though. We will talk to the adventurers about what really happened, after all.¡¹

    The students started leaving the staff room.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you for being our escort.¡¹

    Shia thanked me.

    ¡¸It was a pain, but also fun.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please say goodbye to Swaying Bear-san and Hugging Bear-san for me!¡¹

    Cattleya seemed sad.

    She had asked me if I could lend them to her for a while, but I had politely refused.

    They weren¡¯t something I could have just lent out simply, and I didn¡¯t want to do it, either.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I will train a lot more and be a knight like you, who can protect people he wants.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t a knight, you know...

    ¡¸I learned something really important on this trip. Thank you.¡¹

    Timor said and bowed.

    They all thanked me on their way out.

    ¡¸Ara, they were all so polite.¡¹

    ¡¸What the hell is going on?¡¹

    The professor was tilting his head.

    I didn¡¯t know what they were like in school, but I somewhat understood his feelings.

    ¡¸Well then, Professor, I will hear the report from Yuna-san, so please hear the report from the other two adventurers.¡¹

    The professor nodded.

    I couldn¡¯t go back yet, huh.

    ¡¸Please take care of this Bear Missy, then.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and I moved away from the professor a bit.

    It seemed like the professor would hear the reports from Jade-san and Meru-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, thank you for doing this for me. So, how did it go?¡¹

    ¡¸It was exhausting. I never thought that traveling with a carriage would be this exhausting.¡¹

    This journey made me appreciate Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear all over again.

    I went ahead and reported all that happened during the practice training to Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸A ck Tiger, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be too hard on the students, okay? I¡¯m the one who was responsible for that encounter, after all.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t notice the ck Tiger even though I was using detection magic.

    ¡¸But, they undertook a goblin subjugation, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Will they lose points for doing it?¡¹

    ¡¸Considering their position in society, they should, but I believe that their decision was better than that of people who would just abandon the vigers. These children are responsible for the country¡¯s future, after all. So, I don¡¯t want them to easily choose to abandon people. If there is a life that can be saved, save it. But, you also have to give up if it¡¯s impossible. I think this will be a good lesson for them.¡¹

    Raising talented people was difficult in every world, huh.

    Everyone had a different way of thinking.

    Also, in this world, a lot of children seeded their parents¡¯ work. I honestly didn¡¯t know if that was a good or a bad thing.

    Still, the children from this world were looking up to their parents and trying their best to be like them, like Shia and Marcus did. I didn¡¯t want Shia to be like Eleanora-san, though...

    I looked at Eleanora-san who was standing before me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, thank you for protecting those children.¡¹

    ¡¸No need to thank me. It was my job, after all. I will refuse next time, though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a pity.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t really seem disappointed.

    I finished my report, so I decided to go back to Crimonia.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wait a minute.¡¹

    Eleanora-san stopped me.

    ¡¸Here, take this.¡¹

    Eleanora-san took a book out of her item bag and gave it to me.

    It was the book I wrote for Flora-sama, ¡ºBear-san And The Little Girl¡».

    It really became a book.

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    I noticed something that bugged me.

    Author¡¯s name,¡ºBear¡»?

    It was correct, but why did they use Bear?

    While I was still staring at the author¡¯s name,

    ¡¸It¡¯s better than using your real name, right?¡¹

    That was true, but it still felt weird.

    ¡¸Or would you prefer that we use your real name in the copies from now on?¡¹

    ¡¸No. Bear is fine.¡¹

    It was better than having my name spread around.

    ¡¸You asked for ten copies if I remember correctly?¡¹

    One by one, she put ten books of each volume on the table out of her item bag.

    ¡¸This picture book is quite popr, you know. It would be great if we could sell them to the whole country...¡¹

    ¡¸I absolutely have no intention of letting you do that right now, so...¡¹

    It would be a pain if they asked me to write the next volume after it became widely known throughout the whole country.

    ¡¸Please tell me if you ever want to sell it. I will make sure it sells on arge scale.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll have to politely refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? That¡¯s too bad... I will be waiting for the next volume, though. How about naming it ¡ºBear-san and Eleanora¡»or something like that?¡¹

    ¡¸Why should it have your name in it?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, you¡¯re the Bear-san, right? Then, isn¡¯t it okay for me to be in it, too?¡¹

    ¡¸If I had to add a new character, it would be Noa. If I ever added you, it would be as a viin, who deceives the Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re horrible, saying that I deceived you! I would love to read a picture book with my daughter in it, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t be writing anymore for a while, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸That means you will eventually write it. When the timees, please draw Noa and me in cutely.¡¹

    I ignored Eleanora-san and put the books into the Bear Box.

    I would leave them at the orphanage the next time I was there. I hoped they would help the children learn the letters.

    My report was finished, and Eleanora-san didn¡¯t seem to have anything else for me, so I left the academy the same time as some students came back. Didn¡¯t I have a really bad timing?

    ¡¸It¡¯s the bear from before!¡¹¡¸So, this is the rumored bear.¡¹¡¸Cute!¡¹¡¸The bear is walking on two feet.¡¹¡¸I wonder where these clothes are sold?¡¹¡¸What sort of a rtionship does she have with Eleanora-sama...¡¹¡¸I want to hug her...¡¹

    Just like thest time, the students made an uproar about my appearance.

    Being concerned with it was useless, so I just ignored them and left the academy. I thought about doing some shopping while I was here, but I decided against it.

    I coulde here whenever I wanted.

    I went back to Crimonia through my Bear Transfer Gate at the capital.

    It had been a while since I wasst at my house. To rx after a ten days long journey, I took a bath and changed into the White Bear. White Bear, I missed you. I ate a meal and dove into my bed. I knew it, sleeping on a bed was the best.

    It had been some days since Ist cuddled with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I summoned them in their cub forms on top of the bed for some skinship. They were monopolized by Shia and Cattleya for a long time, after all.

    I petted them, hugged them, and yed with them.

    Sleepiness started to assault me little by little.

    I soon ended up in dreand, with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear at my sides.

    Author¡¯s note:

    With this, the practice training is finished.

    Will the next story be the arrival of Anzu? (The plot in my mind is changing every day. w)

    (TN: ¡®w¡¯ stands for ¡®warau¡¯, which meansugh in japanese. Its english equivalent would be either ¡®lol¡¯ or ¡®haha¡¯.)

 Chapter 127 - Bear-san Brings The Picture Books To The Orphanage

    Bear-san Brings The Picture Books To The Orphanage

    When I opened my eyes, I looked left and right, only to see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sleeping, curled up like two Manjuus. After caressing them for a bit, I brought them back to my gloves.

    I changed into the ck Bear and headed to¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    It was now easier to go there since I moved my house closer.

    When I entered the shop through the back door, I was greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread.

    Inside the room, Morin-san was baking bread with the help of several children. They were doing their best to knead the dough and make pudding.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re back?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I returned yesterday.¡¹

    Morin-san called out to me when she saw me enter while continuing to bake the bread.

    Hearing her voice, the children turned my way.

    ¡¸I understand that you are all happy that Yuna-chan is here, but we still have a lot to do before we open the store, so don¡¯t stop working!¡¹

    Morin-san warned the children.

    ¡¸You guys should listen to what Morin-san says and do your jobs properly, okay?¡¹

    Being told so by Morin-san and me, the children returned to their work looking a bit sad.

    Morin-san looked at the children with an expression that was saying something like, ¡®It can¡¯t be helped.¡¯

    ¡¸Morin-san, could I have some breakfast?¡¹

    Being able to eat freshly baked bread was the employer¡¯s special privilege, right?

    I also had to ask if I could replenish my Bear Box bread reserves with some freshly made bread. It had decreased a lot because of the practice training and the students...

    ¡¸Of course. You can take whichever bread you want!¡¹

    Taking advantage of Morin-san¡¯s goodwill, I decided to take some bread, which had just came out of the oven.

    They all seemed delicious.

    While I was hesitating on which one to take, the children watched to see which one I would take.

    Was some of this bread made by the children?

    When I made my choice, some children looked really happy while some others looked sad; they were perfectly divided in two groups.

    As one would expect, I couldn¡¯t really eat all the bread the children made, but I still felt sorry for those whose bread I didn¡¯t take.

    I wanted to go to the fridge to get some juice, but Karin-san, who saw through my n, brought me one with a smile on her face.

    ¡¸Thank you, Karin-san.¡¹

    I epted the cold fruit juice.

    ¡¸You¡¯re so popr with the children!¡¹

    More than popr, it looked more like baby birds, which embraced you after you gave them food, though.

    I looked at the children while eating bread.

    ¡¸Karin-san, how has the store been doing recently?¡¹

    ¡¸As you already know, it has been very busy every day.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have enough people?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The children are working hard, after all.¡¹

    When I heard those words, I felt a bit guilty for making these children work so hard.

    In this world, it was normal for children to work, though.

    Farmer¡¯s children helped with the farm work, merchant¡¯s children helped withmerce. A lot of children were helping their parents with their work; Karin-san was a great example of that.

    ¡¸They are so hardworking that it makes me embarrassed remembering what I was like during my childhood.¡¹

    When she remembered her past andpared it to the children who were doing their best, a bitter smile came to her face.

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t help out?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. She was always ying around, after all.¡¹

    Even though I asked Karin-san, someone else answered in her ce.

    ¡¸Mom!¡¹

    Morin-san, who had been listening, joined the conversation.

    ¡¸You see, she was sort of a problem child; she didn¡¯t help at all, no matter how we asked her.¡¹

    ¡¸Mom! That was a long time ago...¡¹

    ¡¸Long time ago, you say... It was only a few years ago, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Karin, you weren¡¯t helping?¡¹

    The children innocently looked at Karin-san.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true at all! I just skipped work sometimes!¡¹

    Karin-san did her best to find an excuse.

    ¡¸You sure it was only sometimes?¡¹

    Morin-san wasughing. Was she reminiscing on what Karin-san was like when she was little?

    ¡¸Mom!¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, that was a joke. I¡¯m really happy that you do your best to help me now.¡¹

    ¡¸Even someone like me won¡¯t stay childish forever!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. You have learned your father¡¯s way of making bread properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Mom...¡¹

    The children intruded this hearty atmosphere of the mother and daugher.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m also doing my best to learn it!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too...¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    The children started to show off their work.

    ¡¸Oh dear, I¡¯m really happy to have so many students. Karin, if you don¡¯t keep improving yourself, these children will surpass you in no time, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t let them!¡¹

    Karin-san said and went back to her work.

    The children chased after her while Morin-san looked at them happily.

    After I finished my breakfast, I went to the orphanage to deliver the picture books.

    I entered the orphanage, but no one was nearby.

    Oh right, normally, at this hour, both the group that worked at the shop and the group that was in charge of the cluckers, were out. Only the youngest group should be here.

    It was a group that ranged from babies to five, six years old children. In this orphanage, the five and six years old children took care of the ones who were younger together with the headmistress.

    They were staying in a room on the other side of the orphanage.

    I went and found them there.

    ¡¸Headmistress, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you were here?¡¹

    ¡¸I just arrived.¡¹

    The children all rushed towards me with their short legs.

    I patted their heads while approaching the headmistress.

    ¡¸So, why did youe today?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to see how the children are doing and brought some souvenirs.¡¹

    ¡¸Souvenirs? What kind of souvenirs?¡¹

    One of the children who was holding my Bear Hand asked.

    ¡¸Food?¡¹

    ¡¸Delicious things?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, it¡¯s not food.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    The children looked sad.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good to be selfish! Thanks to Yuna-san, you can eat delicious food everyday!¡¹

    The headmistress scolded the children.

    It wasn¡¯t really thanks to me.

    It was thanks to the senior group that was working hard to take care of the cluckers.

    I only provided the necessary foundations. After that, the children worked hard to get to where they were now on their own.

    ¡¸Sowwy!¡¹

    The children apologised obediently.

    ¡¸I will bring some delicious food next time, okay? This time, I brought you picture books.¡¹

    ¡¸Picture books?¡¹

    I took the picture books out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸It¡¯s picture books!¡¹

    One child took a picture book from my hand.

    ¡¸Ah, not fair! I want to see it, too!¡¹

    ¡¸I want it, too...¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸For now, there are only two volumes of the same story, but please do read it to them.¡¹

    I gave the headmistress thest copies of the first and second volume books.

    ¡¸Oh, these illustrations are really cute.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want some more picture books, please talk to Terumi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m teaching these children to not be selfish.¡¹

    ¡¸Those picture books will help them learn the characters, so I wouldn¡¯t call it selfish.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Children, you have to thank Yuna-san!¡¹

    The children, who were running around and happily fighting over the books, came back and thanked me.

    ¡¸You should learn properly and not cause trouble to the headmistress, okay?¡¹

    The children agreed cheerfully.

    (TN: Another short chapter, I know... But, you might be getting a special bonus next week.)

 Chapter 128 - Bear-san Picks Up Anzu

    Bear-san Picks Up Anzu

    Author¡¯s note

    There is a change from Chapter 111; the said numbers of helpers who woulde with Anzu to help her had been eight, but I now changed it to six.

    After I returned from the capital, I took it easy for a few days.

    I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild just to see what was going on there; took Fina, Shuri and Noa for a stroll with my bears; and visited the bear family near the Honey Tree. I was really enjoying this world.

    Today, I was simplyzing around on my bed as there was nothing to do, or rather, I didn¡¯t want to do anything.

    At times like this, when I had time all to myself, I really missed browsing the or ying games.

    This world was quite enjoyable, but there weren¡¯t many fun things to do.

    Should I make a makeshift game and y it with some children from the orphanage?

    Maybe something like Othello, Shogi, Chess, Sugoroku, Cards, or some other games.

    While I was thinking about which game to pick, my stomach growled.

    Well, when you didn¡¯t eat your breakfast, your stomach would be empty even if you were only idling around on bed. I decided to go to¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    As I was about to leave my house, I ran into Cliff right in front of it.

    (TL note: Shogi is Japanese version of chess. There are two sorts of Sugoroku: Ban-sugoroku is simr to backgammon, and E-sugoroku is simr to Snakes and Ladder. Google it if you want know more.)

    ¡¸You¡¯re going out?¡¹

    Cliff, who was by himself, asked. In this world, the nobles frequently went out on their own, huh. Noa was often at my shop by herself, even the king came to my house by himself... Well, in his case, it was probably an exception, though...

    Was the town safe, or did he think that there were no dangers? Well, it was probably safe.

    The guards checked for criminals at the gates, and I also saw patrols walk by from time to time. With that, the town was probably quite safe.

    In other worlds, nobles always had guards; especially thedies, they had handsome guards with them at all times.

    Noa was a nobledy, too, but she didn¡¯t have a handsome guard, huh.

    Well, logically thinking, if you put a handsome man as a guard for ady, strange rumors would start popping up, and it would be hard to find someone to marry her.

    This was the difference between reality and fantasy, huh.

    If Noa was born in a fantasy world, would she be surrounded by handsome men?

    ¡¸I¡¯m feeling hungry and am on my way to the shop. What about you, Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸I was on my way to your house.¡¹

    ¡¸My house?¡¹

    ¡¸I had something to discuss with you. Hmm, I¡¯m hungry too, so do you mind if Ie with you?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really have a reason to refuse, so I epted his proposal. We departed from the Bear House and made the short trip to the¡ºBear-san Rxing Shop¡».

    We entered the shop, but there was no real reaction. If we were at the capital, there would have been a racket made by the people looking at me, and I would be hearing¡ºBear¡»from every direction, but in this shop, I didn¡¯t hear it at all.

    This must have been thanks to the children, who were wearing their Bear Clothes, huh.

    After we entered the shop, Cliff and I went to the counter where a girl in Bear Clothes was taking orders.

    Hmm, what should I take? Everything seemed delicious.

    After thinking about it for a while, I decided to take Morin-san¡¯s new bread, fried potatoes, and juice.

    Cliff only said,¡ºSame as always, please.¡»for his order.

    I normally paid for my food when I came here, but Cliff took out enough to pay for the both of us.

    ¡¸Is it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    We got our orders and found ourselves open seats.

    ¡¸So, what did you want from me?¡¹

    I asked Cliff and started to eat one of my fried potatoes.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I want something from you. I just came to tell you that the tunnel will be ready in a few days.¡¹

    ¡¸It will finally be finished, huh.¡¹

    I replied while munching on Morin-san¡¯s new bread.

    The Feudal Lord came to report this to me in person, huh.

    ¡¸Yeah, it took time to make it so that carriages could use it. We needed to light up the tunnel, arrange a ce for horses to take a break, amongst some other things.¡¹

    Cliff exined while eating his fried potatoes.

    Well, I had decided to leave the tunnel to the specialists.

    It wasn¡¯t something aplete amateur like me could talk about. For me, there was no problem as long as I could get my hands on seafood easily.

    ¡¸Then, it¡¯s now possible to go to Mireera through it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we have already been using it for bringing wheat and other things we needed, but from now on, everyone will be able to use it. Also, you will now be given a part of the tax through your guild card as stated by our contract. Talk to Mylene if you want the details.¡¹

    A while back, Mylene-san and Cliff came to my house with a contract.

    It was a pain, so I didn¡¯t really read it thoroughly, but I remembered something about being given a part of the tax, and the tunnel being free to use for me as well as anybody apanying me.

    ¡¸The inns are finished, too?¡¹

    ¡¸I have been told that two of them had been finished. We will have to wait and see if it will be enough. I¡¯m sure that Mireera¡¯s mayor and Commerce Guild will do something about it if it won¡¯t. I told them to contact us if they didn¡¯t have enough workers, so it should be fine.¡¹

    He was right, we wouldn¡¯t know what would happen before the tunnel really opened.

    People would go there to trade, just to see the sea, to work, or even to y. We didn¡¯t really know how many people would being and going.

    Hmm, since the tunnel was about to be finished, that meant that Anzu would being soon, right?

    The timing was perfect, then.

    Even though I had asked Terumi-san to take care of Anzu, they didn¡¯t know each other yet.

    It was a good thing I was here at the moment.

    ¡¸But I must say, the food here is really delicious.¡¹

    Cliff praised the food.

    If a noble gave us a passing mark, that meant our food must be good enough.

    Well, I already gave it to the King even though I didn¡¯t tell him it was from the shop, of course.

    This bread had been approved by the royal family and the nobles. There was no way it was bad.

    Ah, this new bread was delicious, too. I always tasted the new sorts of bread before we even started selling them, and all of them were delicious.

    After I gave Morin-san ideas on how to make the breads from my world with my half-baked knowledge of them, she started making some of her own, using her experience and knowledge as a baker.

    I believed this to be the best bakery of the kingdom.

    It was a bitte to think of this now, but she wouldn¡¯t leave me and go work for another ce, right?

    I should probably talk to her about her wage soon, so that it wouldn¡¯t happen.

    ¡¸Well then, I have some unfinished work to do, so I¡¯m going back. If you have anything you want to know, pleasee to my mansion.¡¹

    Cliff ordered some bread before leaving; was it for Noa?

    A few dayster, the tunnel¡¯spletion was officially announced.

    Most of the people already knew about it, so it didn¡¯t really cause amotion.

    Well, various information about the tunnel had already been leaked, like when the trees were cut down and when the road was made, and how the monster extermination was going.

    Merchants who went over in advance shared all sorts of information.

    So, since the tunnel had already been opened, people from Mireera should start arriving today. Anzu didn¡¯t tell me when exactly she would being, so I went to the gate to see how it was going.

    When I approached the gate, it was noisier than usual.

    As I got closer, I started hearing Mireera¡¯s dialect and saw a lot of carriages entering through the gate, one after the other.

    It seemed that some people from Mireera had already arrived.

    From one of the carriages, a man, who looked to be a merchant, was asking a guard some questions.

    Where should we park our carriages?

    Where was the Commerce Guild?

    Was there an inn you rmend?

    The guard politely answered all of his questions.

    Many others, who had already been given permission to enter the town, were leaving their carriages. Climbing down from one of them, was a girl who didn¡¯t seem to have inherited any of Deiga-san¡¯s genes, Anzu.

    I didn¡¯t think that she would havee on the first day.

    She looked around her like some sort of a country bumpkin, so I decided to sneak up on her.

    The Bear Shoes made no noise; there was no way she would hear me approaching.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Yet, she easily found me.

    The Bear Equipment was just stupid sometimes. Even though they couldn¡¯t hear your footsteps, people would still recognise you upon seeing your clothes.

    Well, in the first ce, I didn¡¯t think I could have snuck up on someone while wearing a Bear Costume, though...

    ¡¸Hi, Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸You came here to wee me?¡¹

    ¡¸More or less. I knew that some people from Mireera would be arriving today, so I came to check, but I didn¡¯t really think you woulde already.¡¹

    ¡¸You see, the Commerce Guild selected us toe first.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but in return, they asked us to work hard at Yuna-san¡¯s ce. We will do our best, so please take care of us.¡¹

    Anzu happily said and smiled.

    She was so cute. ¡°You should smile like that at boys, you know,¡± was what I said to myself.

    You would be able to find a husband in no time.

    Did Anzu never have a boyfriend until now since Deiga-san was always around?

    He asked me to find her a husband, but she might be able to find one herself, now that Deiga-san wasn¡¯t around anymore.

    ¡¸This is a really big town, though. I might get lost here.¡¹

    She was right; it was bigpared to Mireera, and there were people everywhere.

    While we were talking, I noticed some women listening to our conversation.

    Oh, I remembered seeing them before; they should be the women who were captured by bandits. One of them grabbed Anzu¡¯s shirt.

    Japanese use the same character for town and city. When Mireera was first introduced we thought it was a city with all the talk about independence, and onlyter realized it was actually smaller than Crimonia. We will continue to refer to it as a city, and Crimonia as a town.

    ¡¸Anzu-chan, didn¡¯t you forget about us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, won¡¯t you introduce us to Bear-chan?¡¹

    The other women nodded when she said that.

    ¡¸Ah, my bad. Yuna-san, these women here will help me at the shop.¡¹

    There were six of them, and they were all around twenty, twenty-five years old; that was, if they weren¡¯t like Eleanora-san, who looked younger than she actually was, of course.

    ¡¸Can we call you Yuna-chan? Hmm, you will be taking care of us, so wouldn¡¯t Yuna-san be better?¡¹

    ¡¸You can call me whatever you want.¡¹

    Still, they should refrain from Bear-chan they had used before.

    If they decided to call me that, I would use my power as their employer to stop them.

    I could deal with Bear Missy, but, I didn¡¯t really know why, I rejected Bear-chan with all my heart. Something told me that it was the only thing I shouldn¡¯t let people call me.

    ¡¸I will call you Yuna-chan, then. Well, we came here to work for you, but is it really okay? Won¡¯t we cause you trouble?¡¹

    ¡¸Our job is preparing fish and cooking, right?¡¹

    Two women, who seemed the oldest of the group, asked.

    ¡¸That will be your main job. There will also be some other jobs, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We will be working at the orphanage if I¡¯m not mistaken?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. There are about fifty children and only two people looking after them, so I was thinking of having you help them.¡¹

    ¡¸There are so many orphans?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we will talk about thister. You¡¯re all tired from the trip, right? I will take you to a ce where you can rest, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, before that, could you take us to a cheap inn?¡¹

    ¡¸Inn?¡¹

    ¡¸If we don¡¯t find one soon, other people will be taking it, after all. We were thinking about sleeping at an inn today and finding a ce for all of us to live tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸We could also sleep at the restaurant, but are there any vacant rooms inside? If there are, we would like you to lend them to us cheaply if possible.¡¹

    A woman behind Anzu asked.

    ¡¸There are some rooms, but never mind that. I already prepared a ce for all of you to stay, so you don¡¯t need to look for one yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? We are happy about that, but if it¡¯s too expensive, we won¡¯t be able to pay for it.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay. It¡¯s free, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Free?¡¹

    ¡¸You could call it an employee dormitory? For those who work at my ce, I prepare all they need to livefortably.¡¹

    When I said that, the women were all at a loss for words.

    ¡¸Shall we go, then? You¡¯re all tired, right? Also, if we continue to talk here, we will bother the people who want to enter the town.¡¹

    They nodded and agreed to follow me.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Anzu finally came!

 Kuma Short Stories 1

    First Short Story ¨C The Strange Girl Wearing A Bear Suit ¨C Gatekeeper¡¯s Perspective (Commemoration Of The Second Year Anniversary)

    Author¡¯s note:

    I wrote these three short stories as amemoration of the second year anniversary of the The Bears Bear a Bare Kuma.

    I hope you enjoy.

    My job was to guard the town.

    My job had many different shifts. My main tasks were patrolling the town, watching the entrance of the town, and listening to the townspeople¡¯s troubles at the post.

    That day, I was working at the entrance and my main task was to make sure that no criminals entered the town. Well, even though I said that, I only had to check the guild or citizen cards of the people leaving and entering the town, using the crystal te to see if it turned red or not.

    If it turned red, it meant that the person was a criminal; that almost never happened, though. To put it simply, it was an easy job with a lot of spare time, but even though it was easy and free, I still had to do it properly.

    ¡¸Youngdy, are you going out of the town?¡¹

    A ten-year-old girl wanted to leave the town, so I decided to warn her about the dangers.

    The adventurers kept the monsters in the nearby forest in check, so it was rtively safe. If you went too far, though, you were bound to encounter some monsters.

    ¡¸Yes. I¡¯m going to gather some medicinal nts.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t go too far inside the forest even if you think it is safe, okay!?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    The girl left the town with a little rucksack on her back.

    After she left, a few people entered, but no one left the town. It was a really quiet time of the day.

    I looked outside the town and saw a ck silhouette walking towards me.

    What was that?

    The little girl, who went out not long ago, was walking next to it. A person wearing strange clothes?

    As they approached, I got a better look.

    A bear?

    The identity of the ck thing was a girl wearing a bear suit. Why would she wear that?

    I spoke to the little girl.

    ¡¸Did you find any herbs, youngdy?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    I was a bit worried, but it seemed that she found herbs without encountering any danger.

    I proceeded to ask the girl, who was wearing the bear suit, what her clothes were all about. She told me to pay it no mind while looking embarrassed.

    Well, she indeed wore suspicious clothes, but I didn¡¯t sense any danger from her. If she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, I wouldn¡¯t force her, as long as she wasn¡¯t a criminal. Anyhow, I asked for her identification card. The crystal would tell me if she was a criminal or not.

    She didn¡¯t have a citizen card nor a guild card, so I had to check her magical power directly.

    Well, if she really wasn¡¯t recorded, the te wouldn¡¯t react.

    There was no reaction, so I let her enter the town.

    Hmm, I should make a report to the captain about this.

    A few days after, the Bear Missy came to the gate again. Taking a closer look, those clothes were quite cute. How should I put this... Just looking at it made you feel at ease.

    When I asked her where she was going, she told me she was going out and showed me her guild card; it seemed she managed to be an adventurer.

    Anyhow, I told her to take care and saw her off.

    When I was looking at her back, the bear¡¯s tail was swaying right and left; the suit was well made, it seemed.

    Some time had passed while I was at my post, but the Bear Missy had yet to return.

    Well, there were four gates to our town, all at key locations, so she might have used another gate. Still, I felt a bit anxious.

    My worry was all for nothing, though, as the Bear Missy soon came back safely. I unconsciously petted her head when she passed by, and she scolded me. It was difficult to handle young girls...

    Another day at my post, I heard rumors about Bear Missy.

    It seemed that the first day she went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, some other adventurers picked a fight with her; I got nervous when I heard that. Why would something like that possibly happen?

    ¡¸What happened then?¡¹

    I asked my colleagues, who were talking about it.

    I couldn¡¯t believe what they told me; it seemed that she fought about 10 adventurers.

    It was an unbelievable story, but they told me that some adventurers were really hurt.

    She didn¡¯t look strong to me at all, though.

    In the days that followed, I heard more and more rumors about Bear Missy, and they were all unbelievable things.

    I heard that she had defeated a goblin horde with a Goblin King, and there were even rumors about her defeating a ck Viper. Everything I heard was simply unbelievable, but a colleague of mine knew someone at the guild, and he said that the stories were all true.

    I still couldn¡¯t believe the rumors, though. Especially the one about the Bear House.

    What was a Bear House, even?

    ¡¸It¡¯s a house in the form of a bear, of course. You will understand when you see it.¡¹

    My coworker told me, so I decided to go and see the Bear House when I was finished with my patrol.

    I should begin with the conclusion: it was a bear. No matter how I looked at it, it was a bear.

    It wasn¡¯t a terrifying bear, though. How should I put it... It was a cute Bear House.

    When I heard the rumor, I thought that it was a terrifying Bear House, but it was a really cute Bear House; it suited Bear Missy well.

    She really was full of endless surprises.

 Chapter 129 â€“ Bear-san Takes Anzu To The Employee Dormitory

    Chapter 129 ¨C Bear-san Takes Anzu To The Employee Dormitory

    Anzu was looking around restlessly. Did she find the town strange?

    I had done the same thing when I hade here for the first time, so I couldn¡¯t really me her.

    Well, I had been looking around to determine whether or not this was the game or another world, though.

    ¡¸There are so many people.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸Will we really be working in this town?¡¹

    ¡¸Will I be able work here...¡¹

    ¡¸We all decided that we would do our best, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The people in this town are really stylish, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but......¡¹

    ¡¸No one wears it.¡¹

    They all looked at me.

    Why were they looking at me?

    ¡¸No one else is wearing the same thing as Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸There are no bears.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought that there would be a lot of people wearing clothes simr to yours in this town.¡¹

    They all nodded.

    That was what all of you were thinking!?

    I was shocked.

    There was no way people wearing Bear Suits would be walking around in town; that much wasmon sense.

    As far as I knew, the costume culture didn¡¯t even exist in this world. If there was a ce full of people wearing costumes though, I would love to see it.

    Hmm, wait a minute... Did they think that there were people wearing costumes elsewhere since they had never left Mireera before?

    Was it because they saw me wearing my Bear Suit and had no other information about Crimonia? No, that shouldn¡¯t be. There were a lot of people who traveled to Crimonia, so they should have known that I was the strange one.

    ¡¸Are there no people wearing the same clothes as you, Yuna-san?¡¹

    This question was difficult to answer...

    ¡¸Th-there aren¡¯t.¡¹

    This was the only way I could respond as no other answers were possible.

    The only ones who also wore such clothes were the children working for me.

    Also, it was their work uniform, not their casual clothes.

    As if to contradict my words, a few children wearing Bear Suits walked by.

    They were the children working at¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡», without a doubt.

    Hmm, they were walking around at this hour... What about the shop?

    It didn¡¯t take long for Anzu and the others to notice the children, too.

    ¡¸Those are!?¡¹

    They were looking at the Bear Clothes, of course.

    Soon, the children noticed me and rushed to me.

    As they got closer, I recognized the three girls.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸You guys, what are you doing here? What about the shop?¡¹

    I asked them what was on my mind.

    ¡¸It¡¯s our day off!¡¹

    Oh, I see. Today was their day off. I forgot about it since I didn¡¯t visit the shop.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, who are these children?¡¹

    ¡¸They are the orphans working at my shop. Why are you guys wearing your uniforms, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Terumi-san asked us to wear them during our days off to advertise the shop.¡¹

    That person was just......

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t like it, you don¡¯t have to wear them, okay? I will tell Terumi-san off.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay! We all love these uniforms, after all!¡¹

    The girls answered with really cute smiles. No lies could be hidden behind such smiles.

    ¡¸Terumi-san also said that we would be safe as long as we wore these.¡¹

    ¡¸Safe?¡¹

    ¡¸She said that these clothes have the divine protection of the Bear, and no one would dare to pick a fight with us or try to trick us.¡¹

    Was I the divine protection of the Bear?

    From my experience, wearing those clothes actually made you an easier target, though...

    Was it really okay... I should really talk to Terumi-san about this the next time I see her. This would have to stop if the children were put in any danger just for the sake of publicity.

    ¡¸So why are you girls here?¡¹

    ¡¸Headmistress asked us to buy some ingredients.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though it is our day off, others are still working, so this is the least we can do.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice of you.¡¹

    I patted their heads.

    I was really d that this was a world where it was okay to pet children¡¯s heads to praise them. In my world, there were some countries where it was seen as uneptable.

    ¡¸Girls, be careful while you do your shopping, okay?¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t good for me to dy their shopping for too long.

    The children happily replied and left.

    ¡¸They are all very cute children.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought that they were all problem children when I first heard about the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸They seem to all be obedient and good children.¡¹

    The women gave me their impressions of the children.

    ¡¸The headmistress, who takes care of the children, is a gentle person and loves them dearly, so they turned out to be good children.¡¹

    They really were good children.

    When I was a child, I always opposed my parents and only yed games and surfed the.

    After we parted ways with the children who rushed to buy ingredients, we once again headed to the employee dormitory.

    As we were getting close to the dorm, which was near the orphanage, we inevitably passed by one particr ce.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a bear for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that the shop?¡¹

    They were all looking at the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡». Since the ce they would all live in was near the orphanage, there was no other way but to pass by the shop.

    Two big Bear Statues were here; a bear at the entrance and a bear on the roof.

    Also, a signboard, saying ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»in big characters, was above the door.

    The women didn¡¯t move. They just stood there and looked at the bears and the shop, with their mouths wide open.

    ¡¸I saw something like this before.¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, what a coincidence. I saw it, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I saw it as well.¡¹

    After they seemed to agree on something, they all looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, this is your house, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    They were only half-right.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not my house but the shop I manage.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan¡¯s shop......¡¹

    ¡¸Will we be working here?¡¹

    Some of the women seemed anxious and worried while some others were smiling.

    ¡¸We mostly sell bread here, so I prepared another ce for you.¡¹

    ¡¸You did?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on making the new restaurant based on rice meals.¡¹

    Rice should being soon, after all.

    ¡¸That reminds me, did you hear anything about the country of Harmony and Peace?¡¹

    ¡¸One of their ships came the other day, and they reopened trade.¡¹

    That was some great news.

    I was really happy that I could eat rice again.

    ¡¸The master of the Commerce Guild said that he would send you some rice soon.¡¹

    That would be great for the restaurant, then.

    We left ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»and headed to the dorm.

    ¡¸This is the orphanage, and the big wall you see over there is the clucker¡¯s coop. Also, you will all be living in that building there.¡¹

    The dorm was the size of an inn.

    It had a lot of rooms, a bath, and even a dining room. It could easily be used as an actual inn.

    When we reached the dorm, they all stood petrified at the entrance.

    ¡¸We will be living here?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s big...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s huge...¡¹

    Well, it turned out this big because I made it with the image of an inn with a lot of rooms in mind.

    ¡¸I will exin everything inside, so please enter.¡¹

    At the entrance, I asked them to take off their shoes and put on the indoor shoes, which looked like slippers.

    They all obediently did so.

    ¡¸The interior is beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸The first floor is themon area. You have a kitchen and a bath, so you should all discuss on how you will use them.¡¹

    They wandered freely throughout the dorm.

    Anzu and a few others went to the kitchen while the others went to the storehouse and the bathroom.

    ¡¸This kitchen seems tidier than the one at my inn.¡¹

    I heard Anzu¡¯s voice from the kitchen.

    It had just been made, so of course it was.

    They would be troubled if the stuff I made for them was filthy, after all.

    ¡¸The bath is also beautiful. And guess what, there is a bear inside.¡¹

    One of the women excitedly said after she finished exploring the first floor, making all of them go to the bathroom.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear indeed.¡¹

    ¡¸A Bear-san, huh.¡¹

    Just like at the Bear House, I made it so that hot water poured out of the bear¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it would be okay even if we all entered it together.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be difficult to clean, though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why we should discuss how to keep it clean.¡¹

    There was no point staying in the bathroom, so we went to the second floor.

    ¡¸The second and third floors are bedrooms only, so you can use whichever you want.¡¹

    A woman opened a door next to her.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, could it be that it¡¯s one person per room?¡¹

    There was only one bed per room, making them all single rooms.

    ¡¸Yeah...¡¹

    ¡¸Is that really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸There are a lot of rooms, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think that we would each have our own room.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we nned to rent one house for all of us, and, since we would have looked for a cheap ce, single rooms would have been impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you aren¡¯t about to tell us that our wages will be nonexistent, right?¡¹

    One of the women said in an anxious voice.

    Oh right, we didn¡¯t discuss the wages yet.

    I would have to talk it over with Terumi-san.

    ¡¸You will receive a proper sry, of course. I just have to talk to the person in charge of finances about the amount first.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay as long as we receive something, even if it¡¯s a small amount.¡¹

    ¡¸Since we will be living in such a ce, it¡¯s logical for our wages to be small.¡¹

    I should discuss it with Terumi-san soon.

    ¡¸On a different note, this is a female dorm, so please don¡¯t bring men inside. And when you get a man, please find another ce.¡¹

    They were all at the right age, so they might have thought of bringing men over, but I would prefer for them to refrain from doing so here.

    Also, I didn¡¯t want people I didn¡¯t knowing to my property.

    ¡¸I will refrain from that for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    ¡¸With my husband recently passed away, it would be a bit...¡¹

    All of them agreed in unison except for Anzu.

    Right, all of them had lost their children and husbands, so this rule probably wasn¡¯t necessary.

    I regretted not choosing better words.

    ¡¸Anything else you want to ask me? If there is nothing, I will let you rest today.¡¹

    Night woulde in a few hours, so there wasn¡¯t enough time to show them around the town.

    Also, even though it was just a two-day trip by carriage, they should still be tired.

    ¡¸What will our jobs be?¡¹

    ¡¸I will show you the restaurant tomorrow, so I will exin it then. Any other questions?¡¹

    They looked at each other and shook their heads.

    ¡¸Oh, right. Anzu, do you have enough food for today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We prepared enough for a few days.¡¹

    ¡¸It should be fine, then. I wille here tomorrow morning, so be ready.¡¹

    After I left the dorm, I decided to go to Terumi-san¡¯s ce before returning to my house.

 Chapter 130 â€“ Bear-san Takes Anzu To The Orphanage

    Chapter 130 ¨C Bear-san Takes Anzu To The Orphanage

    The next day, I was waiting for Terumi-san at my home.

    ¡¸Good morning. Am Ite?¡¹

    ¡¸No, you are right on time. Well then, I will be counting on you today.¡¹

    Yesterday, I told Terumi-san that Anzu had came to Crimonia, and asked her to apany me today. I was worried that she would refuse because of her job, but she dly epted.

    ¡¸What about the eggs?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. My daughters are helping, and Liz is there, too. It might take them a while, but they will do it properly, so no need to worry.¡¹

    It was fine, then. I was always relying on Terumi-san for practically everything work rted.

    We went to the dorm and found all the women there, rxing on the first floor.

    ¡¸Ah, Yuna-san, good morning.¡¹

    Anzu, who was sitting on a chair and having a drink, noticed us entering.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the other girls to notice and greet us, too.

    ¡¸Did you sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I slept like a log. The bed is great and really soft.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can we really use these rooms?¡¹

    ¡¸And not be charged for using them?¡¹

    ¡¸Even though you told us we will also get a wage...¡¹

    ¡¸Are we possibly going to be doing some strange jobs or something else like that?¡¹

    They all intently looked at me.

    ¡¸I will properly pay you, and you won¡¯t be working any strange jobs. We will properly discuss your sry and what you will be doing soon, so please don¡¯t worry about it. You are also free to refuse if you don¡¯t want to do it.¡¹

    Well, there was a saying that fits this situation very well. ¡®Some things are too good to be true.¡¯ It was normal for them to be worried.

    I also didn¡¯t really know how employees were treated in this world.

    I once overheard that an apprentice was given food, clothing, and shelter, but no wages.

    It probably depended on the employer, but I would definitely pay them wages.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, who is this person?¡¹

    When Anzu asked who Terumi-san was, I told her that she was the mother of Fina and Shuri, whom she had met in Mireera, and that she helped me with the store, mainly anything rted to finance.

    I then introduced everyone else, starting from the oldest, Nifu-san, and ending with Anzu.

    With introductions out of the way, we sat down and started to talk about the future.

    ¡¸Well then, I will summarize your jobs, okay? If you have any questions, don¡¯t be afraid to ask.¡¹

    I proceeded to briefly exin their jobs.

    Anzu would be in charge of the restaurant and its menu while the others would help both at the restaurant and at the orphanage.

    Some children would be sent to help the restaurant, too.

    There would be six work days a week and one day off; the same as the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    ¡¸I¡¯m in charge......¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry; Terumi-san and I will help you, too.¡¹

    I added my name, but it would be mostly Terumi-san who would help them.

    Next to me, Terumi-san showed a bitter smile. Had she read my mind?

    ¡¸Anzu, you just have to make food the way Deiga-san does.¡¹

    ¡¸...I will do my best.¡¹

    She said with a small nod.

    ¡¸Anzu-chan, when you make the menu, you should also make a list of the ingredients and their amounts, so we can discuss the selling prices with them in mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Anzu answered with an earnest expression.

    ¡¸Hmm, I want to check out the ingredients myself, so could you tell me where the shops are?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure thing. I will take you to my rmended meat and vegetable sellers after this.¡¹

    Anzu thanked Terumi-san.

    ¡¸I just have to follow Anzu-chan¡¯s orders, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I n on leaving everything to Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, I have so much work...¡¹

    ¡¸Anzu-chan, if you need help with anything, just tell us. We will do our best to help you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Anzu happily looked at her seniors.

    After that, we moved on to the sry, and the use of the dormitory and the restaurant.

    Nobodyined about the sry Terumi-san suggested.

    On the contrary, they were even saying things like: ¡°Is it really okay to receive that much?¡±

    ¡¸Anzu, don¡¯t regret agreeing to this amountter, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Wh-why would you say such a thing?¡¹

    ¡¸Anzu, you, who inherited Deiga-san¡¯s cuisine, are more amazing than you think. You should be more aware of your skills, you know.¡¹

    She should have a lot of customers, I imagined.

    Well, on the other hand, I might be wrong, and nobody woulde.

    Still, Anzu had been taught by Deiga-san, who made very delicious meals, so I didn¡¯t think that could really happen.

    It might just take a while for the news to spread.

    ¡¸My father¡¯s cooking is delicious, indeed, but my skills aren¡¯t there yet...¡¹

    ¡¸The meals you had prepared were delicious enough, you know. You should be more confident in yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Th-thank you very much. I will do my best.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, even if it gets really busy, your sry won¡¯t increase, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I-I understand.¡¹

    I told Anzu her sry wouldn¡¯t increase, but I was still nning on increasing it if the number of customers got high. We had to increase the funds for Anzu¡¯s marriage, after all.

    It wouldn¡¯t matter whom she married since she wouldn¡¯t be troubled over money.

    After we finished discussing things about the restaurant, we went on to talk about the orphanage.

    I told them that some of the children were raising cluckers while others were helping at the bakery.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, what will we be doing at the orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸Will we help taking care of the birds?¡¹

    Nifu-san asked.

    ¡¸Well, basically, you will be taking care of the youngest children. With the number of children increasing, it has be really difficult for the headmistress to take care of them by herself. You will take care of the babies and other children up to six years old; I normally just call them the youngest group.¡¹

    ¡¸We just have to take care of the children?¡¹

    ¡¸We will have to discuss it with the headmistress and the other person in charge first, but yeah.¡¹

    It wouldn¡¯t be good if I was the only one deciding; we had to discuss it with the people who were actually working there, or we could trouble them.

    ¡¸I would also like for you to help them with their studies; reading and writing, and simple math.¡¹

    Terumi-san said.

    She was right; it was very important for the children to study.

    The children were already studying during their free time, but with their increasing numbers, there just weren¡¯t enough people to help them all.

    If they couldn¡¯t read or write, they could be tricked by some written contract.

    If they couldn¡¯t count, they could be tricked during a transaction.

    For any kind of job the orphans wanted to have in the future, they would need those basic skills.

    The conversation carried on, and we decided to all go to the orphanage to meet the headmistress and the children before going to the restaurant.

    It would soon be time for lunch. At this hour, only the headmistress and the youngest group would be at the orphanage, but soon the children taking care of the cluckers woulde back to have lunch. I wanted for us to meet before that.

    We entered the orphanage, and found the headmistress and the youngest group in the living room.

    The headmistress was surrounded by children and reading them a picture book.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, wee.¡¹

    ¡¸Headmistress, good morning.¡¹

    The children noticed me and rushed over.

    They clung to my tummy, arms, and legs.

    If I didn¡¯t have the Bear Equipement, I would have been pushed down, but thanks to it, I was able to properly catch all the children.

    Nifu-san looked at the children with a warm gaze.

    ¡¸Why do youe here today? Also, who might the people behind you be?¡¹

    I briefly introduced everyone, then told Headmistress all about the restaurant and the dormitory next door.

    ¡¸I also asked them to help at the orphanage in addition to helping at the restaurant.¡¹

    ¡¸You did?¡¹

    The headmistress¡¯s voice rose a bit in surprise.

    ¡¸Since the number of children increased, it has became difficult for you, right? Liz-san is also having a hard time just by managing the children who are taking care of the cluckers.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m thankful for your concern, but we¡¯re okay. The children are all well behaved, and since Terumi-san and Yuna-san are helping us, I don¡¯t think of it as difficult.¡¹

    Even though she said that, I was able to see that it was indeed difficult.

    The difficulties might have changed from when I first came here, but that didn¡¯t mean it had gotten any easier. Honestly, the only thing Terumi-san and I had done was give work to the children.

    ¡¸We would be troubled if you copsed, Headmistress. That¡¯s why you have no right to refuse our help!¡¹

    ¡¸The headmistress will copse?¡¹

    ¡¸Headmistress...¡¹

    The moment I mentioned Headmistress copsing, the children, who were still clinging to me, rushed to her and grabbed her clothes or clinged to her arms in worry.

    Headmistress, who was just rushed at by all the children, didn¡¯t waver a bit and received the children properly.

    She might be stronger than me, even without the Bear Clothes...

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t copse.¡¹

    The headmistress, seemingly troubled, patted their heads in order to soothe them.

    It was a really heartwarming sight, worthy of putting a smile on my face.

    ¡¸Headmistress, for the sake of the children¡¯s smiles, you mustn¡¯t copse. I will help you so that it won¡¯t happen.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san... Thank you very much.¡¹

    Headmistress epted, so I tried to leave before the clucker group came back, but the women started to talk with Headmistress and y with the children.

    Were they possibly reminiscing about their own deceased children?

    Only Anzu stayed by my side, not knowing what to do.

    It was almost lunch time, so the children in charge of cooking should being back soon; the moment I thought about that, the door opened, and Liz-san and a few children entered.

    ¡¸Yuna-san and Terumi-san?¡¹

    Liz-san looked at us, surprised.

    ¡¸Good work, Liz. How did it go?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked about their work.

    ¡¸We properly delivered the eggs to the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Why are the two of you here, though? Also, who are these people?¡¹

    The children who came looked at the women who were ying.

    I exined the same way as I exined to Headmistress.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been difficult on you and Headmistress, Liz-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s difficult, but thinking back on how it was before Yuna-san helped us, it¡¯s not really that difficult at all. Back then, it was very difficult to even live. We didn¡¯t have any food, and even though we did our best, we were hardly able to procure any at all. But it¡¯s different now. It¡¯s still difficult, but if we do our best, we can procure food and feed the children. It¡¯s all thanks to Yuna-san, that we can have a delicious meal every day. That¡¯s why we can do our best even though it¡¯s difficult.¡¹

    Liz-san¡¯s thoughts were simr to Headmistress¡¯s.

    Really, these two... It would be very troublesome if they copsed, but they didn¡¯t realize it at all.

    Well, the children were all well behaved, but there were still a lot of them, so Headmistress and Liz had a hard time taking care of them all.

    ¡¸Well then, we will go and prepare lunch. Will you eat here?¡¹

    I looked around the room.

    The women were happily ying with the children.

    We wouldn¡¯t be able to leave like this...

    ¡¸Can we?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will prepare enough for everyone.¡¹

    Liz-san started to head to the kitchen with the children.

    ¡¸Excuse me. Can I help you, too, please?.¡¹

    Anzu requested.

    ¡¸Hmm, you are?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Anzu, and I will be working at Yuna-san¡¯s ce from now on. I can¡¯t take care of children, but I can cook!¡¹

    Liz-san looked at me with a troubled expression.

    She was probably thinking something like: ¡°Is it really okay to ask a guest to cook for us? Can¡¯t I just refuse her?¡±

    ¡¸Anzu, we have a lot of people who will eat dinner, so can you please help Liz-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    When I said that, Liz-san smiled at Anzu.

    ¡¸I¡¯m counting on you then, Anzu-san.¡¹

    Anzu happily went to the kitchen with Liz-san.

    Terumi-san and I decided to stay in the living room and y with the children until the food was ready.

    The children were all full of energy. I was sure that without the Bear equipment, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with them for more than a few minutes.

    Headmistress and Liz-san were really incredible for dealing with them everyday; it would be impossible for me.

    It wasn¡¯t long before a delicious smell drifted from the kitchen and the children taking care of the cluckers returned.

    Soon, the meals prepared by Anzu were lined up on the table, and we all ate them together.

 Kuma Short Stories 2

    Third Short Story ¨C Big Sis Bear-san, Orphan¡¯s Perspective (Commemoration Of The Second Year Anniversary)

    Hello, Gentz here. I used to be an adventurer, but I was now working at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    One of the reasons I retired from adventuring was that the two members of my party married each other, but, right around that time, I also got invited to work as the guild¡¯s storehouse keeper.

    The daughter of the previously mentioned married party members was right in front of me now.

    ¡¸And that¡¯s how you cut it.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    This little girl was dismantling a wolf with a knife; her name was Fina. She was the legacy of my two party members, Terumi and the now deceased Roi. Terumi was bedridden with an illness; we went to the doctor, but it seemed that there was no other way to treat her other than to just suppress the illness using medicine.

    Since her mother couldn¡¯t work, Fina worked to take care of her mother and little sister.

    The only thing I could do for them was to give Fina a job; I tried to give them money, but Fina refused.

    She didn¡¯t want to ept it because she wouldn¡¯t be able to repay the favor and she didn¡¯t change her mind even after I told her that she didn¡¯t have to repay it at all.

    Instead, I gave Fina a job, so she could pay for the medicine herself.

    It was sadly impossible for Fina to work everyday since there were days when we had nothing she could do. I really wanted to do something to change this situation, but I wasn¡¯t able to. I couldn¡¯t protect Roi¡¯s precious daughter, nor could I save Terumi; I really was a worthless man.

    One day, Fina came to the guild apanied by a girl wearing a cute bear suit. Fina told me that this girl had saved her from the wolves, which had attacked her in the forest.

    I scolded Fina, of course. If something had happened to her, what should I say in front of Roi¡¯s grave? What should I tell Terumi, who was already depressed because of her illness? I was very grateful to the Bear Missy, who had saved Fina.

    Soon after, the Bear Missy became an adventurer, and she brought in a lot of monsters she subjugated but not dismantled. Contrary to her appearance, she seemed to be an excellent adventurer. Like, when some adventurers decided to pick a fight because of her clothes, she made short work of them.

    Fina also seemed to take a liking to her, so I decided not to talk too much about her clothes.

    Today, she had brought the monsters she had killed again. There were a lot of adventurers who dismantled the monsters on their own, but some adventurers found it a pain and left it to the guild. The missy seemed to belong to thetter group and couldn¡¯t dismantle the monsters; that was when I got a good idea.

    I would ask the Bear Missy to leave all of her dismantling work to Fina.

    The guild¡¯s profit would diminish, of course, but if it could make Fina a little happier, I didn¡¯t mind being scolded.

    Also, the more time passed, the more the Bear Missy became infamous for her strength; it would be harder and harder to make this request.

    She luckily epted my request and Fina became her exclusive dismantler. Every time I saw Fina, she was talking really happily about her work, as the Bear Missy allowed her to take some meat from the wolves she dismantled.

    The meat was nutritious, and missy also told her to buy bread and vegetables with the money she earned. I couldn¡¯t thank this missy enough.

    Although, there was a time when my heart almost stopped when I heard that Bear Missy had brought Fina with her on a Tiger Wolf subjugation. I really hoped she wouldn¡¯t take Fina to such dangerous ces ever again.

    Still, killing two Tiger Wolves... Wasn¡¯t missy a bit too strong?

    Fina was really happy when she sessfully dismantled them; it was a good experience for her.

    A few dayster, Fina came to my house in tears.

    She told me that her mother¡¯s illness had worsened, and so she came to me because she didn¡¯t know what to do. I was happy that she relied on me, but I couldn¡¯t really do anything...

    I went to see Terumi, but she was suffering and was barely able to speak. I noticed she had lost a lot of weight, too. She apologized and thanked me for taking care of them, but those words weren¡¯t the ones I wanted to hear.

    I couldn¡¯t bear with the situation anymore and rushed out of the house. I needed a doctor. Many doctors have examined her already, though. Even if I got a doctor, he would just shake his head and tell me there was nothing he could do. I was powerless and couldn¡¯t do anything for them.

    When I returned to their house, Fina wasn¡¯t there anymore, and I only saw her sister, Shuri, embracing her mother while crying. It seemed that Fina also left the house after I rushed out.

    I just held Terumi¡¯s hand and tried to keep her awake. Was there really nothing I could do!?

    As I was biting my lower lip to the point where it almost bled, Fina returned with the Bear Missy.

    Why would she bring the Bear Missy?

    Just as they approached, Terumi¡¯s consciousness cleared up a bit.

    She apologized again and even said she was entrusting her daughters to me. I couldn¡¯t keep my tears in anymore. Couldn¡¯t I have done something before the illness became this bad? Had I really done everything I could have?

    I might have only been running away from reality by just giving some assistance to her family, and believing I helped and did all I could, yet, in reality, I wasn¡¯t able to do anything. I wasn¡¯t able to save her. I was full of regrets, but it was toote to change anything now.

    As I was dwelling in self pity, Bear Missy pped her hands.

    She then said some iprehensible things and when she touched Terumi, missy¡¯s hands shone.

    It looked like the light of the great priests. Terumi was wrapped in this light and her expression softened; it was an unbelievable sight. After missy used a magic-like chant, Terumi rose up from the bed.

    I just witnessed a miracle. Terumi¡¯s illness was cured. Who would believe something unbelievable like that?

    I suddenly felt relieved and tears started to pour from my eyes.

    Terumi, who returned to her energetic self, anxiously asked how much this treatment would cost. She was right, when missy used something so mystical, of course, it would cost us a lot of money.

    The Bear Missy sent Fina and Shuri buy food, and now only the three of us remained here. Did she want us to talk in private, without Terumi¡¯s daughters?

    Bear Missy then proceeded to say that Terumi and I should live together, and we just stared at her with our mouths open.

    Well, it was true that I loved Terumi, but this was apletely different story.

    Yet, Bear Missy managed to corner us.

    She said it was for Fina¡¯s sake, that this family needed someone to support them, and also noticed the fact that I liked Terumi.

    ¡¸You like her, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    She was right on the point. If I got together with Terumi, I would be able to take care of her and her family. I felt bad for Roi, but I confessed to Terumi.

    ¡¸............¡¹

    A short silence followed, and Terumi¡¯s cheeks turned red.

    I forgot to breathe while waiting for her response.

    Terumi thanked me and epted my confession with a smile on her face.

    Today was a great day.

 Kuma Short Stories 3

    Third Short Story ¨C Big Sis Bear-san, Orphan¡¯s Perspective (Commemoration Of The Second Year Anniversary)

    Cold wind blew in through the cracks in the walls when I woke up that morning, hungry and cold.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the other children to wake up, too.

    We were in an orphanage: a ce for children without parents.

    Like everyone else here, I didn¡¯t have parents. I didn¡¯t remember the faces of my mother and father, but I still had a faint memory of being embraced.

    I had no idea how long I had been here; the first memories I had were already at the orphanage.

    At first, we had been able to eat both breakfast and dinner, but recently, we only ate dinner. When we asked the Headmistress why, she just apologized to us.

    We knew that the Headmistress and Big Sis Liz were getting us food, so we all agreed we wouldn¡¯tin. Headmistress and Big Sis Liz were the only ones who cared about us, and we didn¡¯t want them to hate us; we trembled at the thought of the two of them abandoning us.

    We were still hungry, though.

    We drank water when we woke up, but water didn¡¯t fill our bellies. We needed food, so we went to the ce where a lot of food stands were lined up. The Headmistress told us not to, but we still went there since we were really hungry.

    The owners of the stands gave us unpleasant looks when we arrived. We had no other choice but to eat the leftover food; we couldn¡¯t really be picky being this hungry.

    A delicious smell was drifting from the stands, and it made our bellies growl.

    We were all gazing at the stands and the people buying food, waiting for them to throw away the half-eaten food.

    I really hoped that at least the youngest children would be able to get some food today.

    We had promised not to steal; one of the children tried to steal food once but got caught, so Headmistress and Big Sis Liz had to go and apologize. If we did bad things, we caused trouble for our dear Headmistress and Big Sis Liz, so we promised we would behave.

    While we were gazing at the stands, a Big Sis wearing strange clothes came.

    What were those strange clothes?

    One of the children said it was a bear. Was it a Bear-san?

    It looked really fluffy and warm.

    The Big Sis, who was wearing the Bear-san, looked at us and then spoke with one of the stand owners.

    The Big Sis Bear bought a bunch of delicious looking skewers from the stand.

    As I was wondering if she would eat all of them herself, Big Sis Bear approached us and offered us the skewers.

    ¡¸Here, one for each of you.¡¹

    For a moment, I couldn¡¯tprehend what the Big Sis Bear had said.

    ¡¸We can eat them?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re hot, so eat them slowly.¡¹

    We all looked at each other and quickly reached for the skewers.

    The meat was delicious; we were all eating them like we were in a trance. Big Sis Bear told us to eat them slowly, but we paid no mind to that warning.

    When we finished eating, the Big Sis Bear told us to take her to the orphanage if we wanted to eat more.

    We hesitated, but hoping we might be able to eat our fill, we decided to take her to the orphanage.

    As we were walking, we were all staring at the Big Sis Bear, but no one dared to speak to her, so I decided to do it.

    ¡¸Ehm, thank you.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really know what to say, so I just thanked her.

    Big Sis Bear said,¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it,¡¹and patted my head.

    Her hand was really warm and soft.

    The Big Sis Bear was shocked when we reached the orphanage.

    ¡¸Living in a run-down ce like this...¡¹

    She muttered.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Headmistress to notice and approach us.

    When she heard that we went to the stands, she got angry and showed a sad expression.

    We all apologized for going there even though she told us not to.

    Big Sis Bear and Headmistress started to talk. It seemed that Big Sis Bear would give us some food.

    They headed to the kitchen, and we followed. When we got there, Big Sis Bear brought out a big chunk of meat. She cut it and then grilled it together with some vegetables, making a really delicious smell drift through the kitchen.

    Our bellies growled again, and our mouths started to drool, so Headmistress told us to sit down and wait, and we obediently did so.

    Soon, an incredible amount of food, like I had never seen before, was lined up on the tables; I even saw some bread.

    We didn¡¯t reach for the food yet, though.

    Headmistress told us to first thank Yuna-san before we start eating.

    So Big Sis Bear was actually Big Sis Yuna.

    We thanked her and started eating the food.

    It was really, really delicious. The bread wasn¡¯t hard like it usually was; it was really soft and delicious. We all ate with smiles on our faces.

    Seeing that we would be busy for a while, Big Sis Yuna asked the Headmistress for permission to check the orphanage.

    I quickly finished my food and ran after her. She left the building and sealed up the cracks on the walls with her magic.

    She was incredible; the cracks all disappeared one after the other.

    After making it all the way around the orphanage, she went back inside, and sealed up the cracks there, too.

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be cold like this, right?¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna said with a smile. She looked sad when she saw our small nkets. She brought out enough wolf furs for everyone and gave them to Headmistress. The furs seemed really warm. Headmistress received them while thanking Big Sis Yuna over and over again.

    When we returned to the dining room, all of the children had already finished eating. There was still a lot of meat left. They said they wanted to leave it for tomorrow.

    I agreed with them. We ate today, but we didn¡¯t know if we would be able to eat tomorrow.

    When they said that, Big Sis Yuna brought out even more meat and bread.

    After bringing out a few days worth of food, she left the orphanage.

    As we were about to go to sleep that night, we all thanked Big Sis Yuna while embracing our wolf furs.

    When I woke up a few dayster, I felt really warm.

    Wind didn¡¯t blow through the cracks, and the wolf fur was really warm.

    After all of us woke up, we prepared for breakfast. Thanks to Big Sis Yuna, we were able to eat breakfast today.

    With our bellies full, we went out and found a big wall next to the orphanage.

    We were all asking each other:¡¸What is that!?¡¹,¡¸What is that!?¡¹. Yet no one knew what it was.

    We called Headmistress, but she didn¡¯t know what it was either. It wasn¡¯t here yesterday, so we were really anxious.

    When we were about to go back into the orphanage, Big Sis Yuna came.

    She was the one who made this wall, it seemed.

    The wall was amazing, but why did she make it?

    She told us it was to raise some birds and said that we would have to collect their eggs, clean their living ce, and take care of them.

    Doing that, we would be able to earn money and buy food.

    ¡¸What do you want to do? Yuna-san wants to give you work. If you work, you will be able to eat. If you don¡¯t, we will return to how we were before; the food Yuna-san had brought is already gone.¡¹

    The headmistress asked us. She didn¡¯t just say,¡¸Do it.¡¹

    We all looked at each other before one of us raised his hand and said,¡¸I will do it,¡¹in a big voice. More hands soon followed.

    I also raised my hand and said,

    ¡¸I will do it too!¡¹

    Seeing us like this, Headmistress seemed really happy.

    Just like that, we started to take care of the birds.

    We first had to give them food and water, and then clean and collect their eggs. We also had to clean their coop properly, because it would be terrible if the birds were to fall ill. The eggs were important, too; we would be able to make money by selling them.

    The following day, we went to do our work and entered the coop. The bird-sans were all in a corner, not moving. When I picked up a bird-san, I found a white egg under it and took it. We collected all the eggs, rinsed them well, and put them inside the boxes Big Sis Yuna had prepared specifically for the eggs; the boxes had 10 spaces shaped to fit the eggs, so we could safely put 10 eggs in each box.

    After all the eggs were ced in the boxes, we took the bird-sans out and cleaned their coop.

    There weren¡¯t a lot of bird-sans, so we quickly finished.

    We had to leave the bird-sans outside for some time, so we took that time to y and study before taking them back into the shed. These bird-sans couldn¡¯t fly, but they ran quite fast, so it was difficult to catch them.

    It was fun chasing them around, though.

    With that, our first day of work was finished.

    The next day, we went to the shed to take care of the bird-sans again.

    Huh? There were more bird-sans... We all tilted our heads.

    ¡¸There are more bird-sans!¡¹

    We counted them, and there were 10 more than the day before.

    We did our work even though we found it strange. While we were working, Big Sis Yuna came again. We told her that the bird-sans had increased in number, and she said she brought them during the night.

    I was surprised, but I believed her. It seemed that the number would continue to increase from now on, so we had to do our best.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Thank you for reading.

    I don¡¯t know when I will write the next short story; it might be in the 5th volume release or some other event.

 Chapter 131 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Restaurant With Anzu

    Chapter 131 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Restaurant With Anzu

    After we finished our meal at the orphanage, we all headed to the restaurant they would be working at. Fina and Shuri also went with us, still smiling happily because Terumi-san had praised them.

    ¡¸Headmistress and Liz-san are really kind people.¡¹

    ¡¸The children are obedient and cute, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Some of them looked a bit egoistic, but they were all obediently listening to Headmistress, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You were right, though. Taking care of all these children with only two people seems really difficult.¡¹

    They all gave their impressions of the orphanage.

    With what they said, I guessed it should be fine for them to do both jobs.

    Nifu-san looked at me, and just as I started to wonder what she wanted, she spoke up.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I wanted to speak with you about this, but would it be possible for me to only work at the orphanage?¡¹

    Nifu-san stopped walking and looked at me seriously. We all stopped, too, and when she realized what she had just said, she turned to look at Anzu.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to work at the restaurant with you, Anzu-chan. It¡¯s just... you know... taking care of the children...¡¹

    Nifu-san was trying her best to exin, and I kind of understood what she wanted to say. She just really wanted to take care of the children. Anzu answered with a smile. Did she understand her feelings, too?

    ¡¸If Yuna-san is okay with it, I don¡¯t mind, either.¡¹

    Anzu left it to me.

    If this was Nifu-san¡¯s choice, I had no problem with her only taking care of the children.

    The other six women didn¡¯tin, either, so there was no problem.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but are the others okay with this, too?¡¹

    I said that while looking around, and the answers followed soon after.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Nifu-san was the one whom the children liked the most, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, fine by me.¡¹

    ¡¸I have no problem with it.¡¹

    All of them agreed.

    ¡¸Thank you, everyone.¡¹

    Nifu-san thanked them happily.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how many people do you need to help at the orphanage?¡¹

    Arn-san, the second oldest of the group, asked.

    ¡¸If it is just to help Headmistress and Liz-san, two people should do, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, can I also do the same as Nifu-san?¡¹

    Arn-san wanted to work at the orphanage, too.

    ¡¸If all of you want to work at the orphanage, we could also make rotating shifts......¡¹

    I looked around while saying that with a reserved voice.

    ¡¸I also want to help at the orphanage, but I will leave it to Arn-san.¡¹

    The other four nodded.

    ¡¸If we all said that we wanted to work at the orphanage, Anzu would be troubled, so I will help at the restaurant.¡¹

    Eshuna, the youngest of the group, said to calm them up a bit.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t be troubled, just sad.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s exactly the same thing.¡¹

    We allughed.

    After everyone agreed to let Nifu-san and Arn-san take care of the children, both of them decided to return to the orphanage without visiting the restaurant.

    ¡¸Thank you, everyone. I wille and help out at the restaurant when it¡¯s too busy.¡¹

    They started to walk towards the orphanage while we continued to make our way to the restaurant.

    From the six people who came, two had decided to work at the orphanage. As long as the other four all decided to work at the restaurant, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    On our way to the restaurant, we once again passed by ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    ¡¸There are a lot of people, huh.¡¹

    Even though we were still far away, we were able to see the customers, who went in and out of the restaurant.

    Checking the time, there should be a lot of people who were just leaving after eating their lunch.

    ¡¸The girls we saw wearing the Bear Clothes yesterday are working right now, right?¡¹

    They seemed to remember the children we saw yesterday. They were now intently staring at¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»; it seemed to have piqued their interest.

    ¡¸Please endure it for today. I will show it to you next time.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    So they said, but their gazes were still on ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    It was no use just staying here and staring at it, so I started walking onwards, and they followed.

    We soon arrived at the restaurant where they would be working, and now their gazes were fixated on the ex-mansion in front of them.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a mansion, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It was; I remodeled it into a restaurant.¡¹

    Even though we called it a mansion, it was still a small one. It wasn¡¯t even half the size of Cliff¡¯s mansion. It just looked like a mansion, honestly.

    When we entered it, we were met by a big open room with nothing inside. Tables would be put up here, but the arrangement had not yet been done.

    ¡¸There is nothing here, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s big, though...¡¹

    Well, I did remove most of the inner walls on the first floor and only left the kitchen and the storehouse in the back.

    ¡¸I will leave it up to you guys to decide the interior design.¡¹

    ¡¸We will be the ones to decide it?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be Anzu¡¯s restaurant, after all. You can arrange it as you wish. After you have made your decision, you can speak to Terumi-san, and she will order what you need.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know any furniture or carpentry stores, so I left it to them.

    ¡¸I knew that I would be the one to deal with it.¡¹

    Terumi-san sighed.

    I glossed it over byughing while Anzu looked apologetic about it, and the other three were all making conflicted expressions.

    ¡¸If you have any cooking utensils you need, just tell me, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I brought some things I already used at home just in case, but I don¡¯t have enough for everyone, so getting some more would help a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸Unfortunately, I don¡¯t really know much about cookware, so we should go and buy it together.¡¹

    Terumi-san said.

    We proceeded to discuss all the basic details about the restaurant and decided what each of them would be doing.

    As for today, Anzu and Terumi-san would go shopping while the other four would be guided around the town by Fina and Shuri. It would be inconvenient if they didn¡¯t at least know the basic locations in the town.

    The real work would begin tomorrow, with arranging the interior of the restaurant and deciding on the menu.

    ¡¸This should be all for now, I think?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. We have discussed everything we need for now.¡¹

    I confirmed.

    Terumi-san also seemed content, so there shouldn¡¯t be anything we forgot.

    ¡¸Well then, we should separate into two groups and go our separate ways.¡¹

    The moment when we were about to leave... the door burst open.

    ¡¸Wait a minute!¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Anzu-chan.¡¹

    When Mylene-san entered the restaurant, she greeted Anzu and approached us.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, Terumi-san, isn¡¯t there something you forgot?¡¹

    No, no, no, before saying that, why were you here?

    Did you listen in on our conversation?

    Where were you hiding?

    I didn¡¯t even know where to start.

    ¡¸Why are you here, Mylene-san? Did you listen in on our conversation?¡¹

    For now, I decided to ask what was bothering me the most.

    I looked at Anzu and the other women, who were asking Anzu, ¡°Who is this?¡±.

    ¡¸You ask me why I¡¯m here? It¡¯s because I did my best to finish my job and rush over. Also, I overheard your conversation through the gap of the door.¡¹

    I had the impression that I should retort some more, but decided to ignore it.

    ¡¸So, why did you rush here?¡¹

    ¡¸I overheard that Anzu-chan had arrived, you see. That, of course, meant that she would work at Yuna-chan¡¯s ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa, yeah, you¡¯re right.¡¹

    ¡¸And, since she would be working here, you will all need something, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We just talked it over right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you forgot something really important.¡¹

    ¡¸Something important?¡¹

    ¡¸The uniform. U?N?I?F?O?R?M. Will it be Bear Clothes as expected?¡¹

    As I was wondering what she was talking about, she brought out this trivial stuff.

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t decided yet. Also, those uniforms were something you decided on your own.¡¹

    I said that, but the people in town all believe I was the one who had decided upon the Bear Uniform used at¡ºBear-san¡¯s rxing shop¡».

    Well, if you didn¡¯t know about what had really happened, it was normal to think it had been my idea since I owned the shop.

    ¡¸A normal uniform would be just fine, wouldn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸A normal uniform is no good! Without the Bear Uniform, you can¡¯t call it Yuna-chan¡¯s restaurant anymore!¡¹

    I looked around for support.

    Terumi-san wasughing while Anzu knew that Mylene-san was the guild master of the Commerce Guild, so she was panicking, and the others had no idea what to say.

    ¡¸Does that mean that you want them to wear Bear Clothes?¡¹

    Hearing me mention Bear clothes, Anzu and the women all looked surprised.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a little... You know? Their ages are......¡¹

    Mylene-san murmured after looking at them.

    It wasn¡¯t really the polite thing to say, but I agreed with her.

    ¡¸What about using bear embroidered aprons and hats? The hat would be in the ce of the maid headband.¡¹

    The only thing that came to my mind was a toque; I already got a bad feeling just thinking about it.

    ¡¸Hmm, I will leave it to Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    I decided to flee, while, being left with the decision, Anzu was looking left and right, not knowing what to do. The other women were also showingplicated expressions.

    Before them was the woman who reestablished Mireera¡¯s Commerce Guild; they knew she did many things to help them, like arranging food and preparing the tunnel.

    How could they refuse such a person when she was right in front of them?

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, and that was probably partly the reason why the uniform at ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»turned out to be Bear Clothes. I guess, I just had to let it happen, and what happened, happened.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Without being able to stop it, the apron will inevitably have Bear embroidery, and they will wear Bear Hats.

    New illustrations have been put on the PASH! blog, now visible to the public; I exined it in detail on my activity report. For those who are interested, I would be really happy if you checked it out.

 Kuma Short Stories 4

    Fourth Short Story ¨C Going To The Capital ¨C Fina¡¯s Perspective (Commemoration Of The Fifth Volume Release)

    Author¡¯s note:

    This one is tomemorate the 5th volume release.

    It had been decided that I would be going to the capital with Big Sis Yuna; it was my first time going there. I was a bit anxious but was also looking forward to it. Yet, those feelings soon changed due to a terrible pressure.

    I was told that the one who would being to the capital with us was none other than the Daughter-san of the Feudal Lord of this town, Noire-sama.

    The moment Big Sis Yuna told me, I was assaulted by fear.

    Would I be killed if I was impolite? If I had known that Noire-sama would being with us, I would have refused from the start. Even though Big Sis Yuna said she was a good girl, I was really worried.

    We were now heading to the Feudal Lord-sama¡¯s mansion. I wanted to return to my house, but I couldn¡¯t simply run away.

    Still, even though I would feel bad for Big Sis Yuna, I would return home immediately if Noire-sama said that she didn¡¯t want to go with me.

    As we approached the Feudal Lord-sama¡¯s house, I was able to see a girl with beautiful blonde hair from far away; it was Noire-sama. She was waiting in front of the door, letting out an imposing aura.

    Was she angry because I was here?

    When we got closer, it became clear that she was indeed incredibly angry as she was looking at me with burning eyes.

    I¡¯m really sorry; I will go back now, so please forgive me.

    I hid behind Big Sis Yuna, who asked Noire-sama why she was angry. It was because I was here, of course! Or so I thought, but I seemed to be wrong; Noire-sama was really looking forward to going to the capital, so she had waited for us for a really long time.

    I thought that it wasn¡¯t Big Sis Yuna¡¯s fault, though.

    Big Sis Yuna asked Noire-sama for permission for me toe with them. After Noire-sama fixedly looked at me for a while, she epted, then pointed her hand at me and dered something that surprised me.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t hand over the Bear-san!¡¹

    It seemed that she wanted to monopolize Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, yet Big Sis Yuna asked the two of us to ride the Bear-san together. Noire-sama pointed her finger at me again.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t give up the front!¡¹

    Ugh, she was so scary.

    Without me daring to oppose her, it was decided that Noire-sama would ride in the front of Swaying Bear, and I would ride in the back.

    I tried talking to Noire-sama, and found out she actually was really kind. She didn¡¯t look down on me even though she knew that I was just amoner. We were getting along really well, talking about the Bear-sans. She happily told me about her round trip with the bears around her mansion and that she slept with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear afterwards.

    I was really worried about how it would go at first, but I now thought that it would be a really fun trip.

    Yet, it didn¡¯t feel like a trip at all since we didn¡¯t sleep outdoors.

    Thanks to Big Sis Yuna¡¯s Bear-san house, we were able to sleep safely inside warm beds. The food was also warm, like it had just been made. The most incredible thing, though, was that we were able to take baths. Being able to take baths during a trip, what sort of Noble-samas were we? Did such luxurious trips even exist, elsewhere?

    I heard a lot about trips from adventurers at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but they never mentioned afortable trip like this. They only ate simple food and had to keep guard at night. It was impossible to take baths, of course, and they didn¡¯t sleep infortable beds.

    Yet, we didn¡¯t have to keep watch at night, and we slept in warm beds; Big Sis Yuna was really amazing.

    During the day, monsters didn¡¯t attack us thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we were travelingpletely safe. If I mentioned this to adventurers, they would be jealous for sure.

    Somewhere in the middle of this fun journey, Big Sis Yuna stopped the Bear-sans and said there were people being attacked by monsters in front of us. I couldn¡¯t see them, but since Big Sis Yuna was the one saying it, I was sure it was true.

    Big Sis Yuna asked Noire-sama what we should do; should we abandon them, or should we save them?

    If we were to go and save them, we would be exposed to danger, and it seemed Big Sis Yuna was worried about that.

    Noire-sama and Big Sis Yuna talked it over and decided to save them.

    Big Sis Yuna then started to run really fast, while we stayed on Swaying Bear and slowly moved forwards to see what was happening. From far away, I saw a carriage and a monster that looked somewhat like a big man near it.

    It was an orc; a monster stronger than a goblin, a monster that should be hard to defeat...

    or not.

    When Big Sis Yuna approached the carriage, the orc copsed. Big Sis Yuna... What did you do to make him copse so easily?

    ¡¸How did Yuna-san do that?¡¹

    Noire-sama didn¡¯t seem to understand it, either.

    A few minutes after Big Sis Yuna went to help the carriage, all of the monsters were defeated. She must have defeated them all while I was still wondering what was going on; she really was incredible.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started walking towards the carriage; was it safe now?

    As we approached the carriage, an adventurer pointed her sword at us in surprise, but then put it down immediately.

    It seemed that the ones who had been attacked were a rich old man and a girl, both Noire-sama¡¯s acquaintances; Noire-sama seemed really happy to see them.

    The girl¡¯s name was Misa-sama, and the old man was Gran-sama. They were both nobles, so I became anxious again; Noire-sama was kind, but they might not be. I would have to mind how I spoke and acted; I should be okay as long as I didn¡¯t have to speak before we parted ways.

    Yet, my prayers didn¡¯t reach, as it was decided that we would travel to the capital together.

    I became even more anxious, but there was no way I could have said that I didn¡¯t want to travel with them. I really hoped they were good people...

    Traveling with them brought inconvenience, as we couldn¡¯t use Bear-san House. Big Sis Yuna said she couldn¡¯t use it in front of other people; Noire-sama and I were exceptions.

    I felt happy when she said that.

    It was unfortunate that we couldn¡¯t use the bath or the beds, but that was how trips should normally be, so I didn¡¯t say anything selfish.

    Noire-sama now rode in the carriage with Misa-sama, so I was now the only one riding Swaying Bear. My happiness must have shown on my face, because Noire-sama said,¡¸I will hand over the Bear-san this time, but that is still my reserved seat, okay!?¡¹

    I had to be more careful in the future.

    Since we had to keep pace with the the carriage, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had to walk slowly. Big Sis Yuna seemed a bit irritated by our slow pace then fell asleep on top of Hugging Bear. Oh right, sleeping on Swaying Bear felt really good. He was really fluffy and warm, and when I embraced him, I instantly became sleepy.

    As I was embracing Swaying Bear, Noire-sama jealously looked at us from the carriage; I really had to control my facial expressions better. He was so fluffy, though, and my expression was on the brink of loosening up.

    The night arrived, and since we couldn¡¯t use the Bear-san House, we had to sleep outside. I thought it would be cold sleeping outside, but I was sleeping with Big Sis Yuna and Hugging Bear, so it was not cold at all. Hugging Bear was really fluffy and warm while Big Sis Yuna was really soft andfortable; I was really happy.

    Noire-sama and Misa-sama were both sleeping with Swaying Bear, and thanks to that, Noire-sama didn¡¯t end up being jealous of me this time.

    I spoke with Misa-sama the following day, and learned that she was a kind person, too. We excitedly talked about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear; Noire-sama seemed to have already told her all about Bear-sans¡¯ greatness. Misa-sama told me that she also came to like Bear-sans when she slept with Swaying Bear.

    Big Sis Yuna overheard our conversation and warned us,¡¸If a real bear appears, you shouldn¡¯t approach it, okay?¡¹

    I had never seen any Bear-sans other than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but they were normally scary, right? Looking at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s Bear-sans, they didn¡¯t seem to be like that at all; they even allowed us to ride them. They were really gentle and good Bear-sans.

    Nothing happened after we encountered the orcs, and another day came to an end safely.

    We slept the same way as we did yesterday, but in the middle of the night, I was shaken awake by Marina-san, one of the adventurers who traveled with us.

    Had something happened?

    Big Sis Yuna, who was supposed to be sleeping next to me, wasn¡¯t there. Marina-san told me that Bandit-sans had appeared and that Big Sis Yuna had went to subjugate them on her own.

    Big Sis Yuna told her,¡¸You should let the others sleep,¡¹ but Marina-san couldn¡¯t just do that and decided to wake everyone up. She then asked us to prepare everything we needed so we could leave at any moment.

    We all put away our nkets and sorted our luggage, and were prepared to run away at anytime. Marina-san asked Gran-sama what we should do; did that mean she was thinking of abandoning Big Sis Yuna and fleeing?

    As Gran-sama thought about what to do, we heard a sound.

    As I wondered what the sound was and who made it, Marina-san and the other adventurers took their weapons out.

    A big ck shadow slowly approached us, and when it got closer, we saw that it was a giant Bear-san dragging a huge cage with Bandit-sans inside.

    Big Sis Yuna captured Bandit-sans on her own, it seemed. The fact that she captured them was incredible, but we all hesitated on what we should ask about first: the cage or the giant Bear-san.

    Big Sis Yuna simply said,¡¸I made it with a bit of magic.¡¹

    She told us that she first captured Bandit-sans with magic, and then used some more magic to make the huge Bear-san; we were all so amazed we couldn¡¯t even say a thing.

    I didn¡¯t know a lot about magic, but I thought her doing all that on her own was strange.

    While we were all still speechless, Big Sis Yuna said,

    ¡¸Well then, we should go back to sleep.¡¹

    We all had the same thought: ¡¸There is no way I can go back to sleep after this.¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna¡¯s suggestion was refused, and we departed in the middle of the night.

    There were no problems from then on, and we safely arrived at the capital.

    We were all happy, but Bandit-sans were not in that good of a shape.

    Bandit-sans were brought to the capital without even being fed once as the others believed that we could have been killed or even worse if it was not for Big Sis Yuna, and they didn¡¯t know what would have happened if Bandit-sans were full of energy because they were well fed, so they told me not to feed or approach them, even though I was feeling sorry for them.

    Bandit-sans asked me for food, but I couldn¡¯t give them any since Big Sis Yuna was the one who was carrying all the food, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to give them any even if I wanted to.

    Bandit-sans were taken away by the guards at the entrance; they should be fed now, at least.

    We got back into Gran-sama¡¯s carriage and entered the capital; I really wondered what sort of ce it was.

    Author¡¯s note:

    This was Fina¡¯s point of view of the trip to the capital.

    I would really appreciate if you all bought the 5th volume. Thank you in advance.

 Chapter 132 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Request For An Embroidery

    Chapter 132 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Request For An Embroidery

    Since Mylene-san¡¯s intrusion, all of us showed exasperated expressions.

    I felt especially sorry for Anzu and the others, but with the talk about the uniform now finished, the subject of the conversation had changed.

    Still thinking about embroidery, I suddenly recalled the girl from the orphanage who embroidered a bear onto a cushion and then gave it to me; the very cushion which had proven useful during my guard request of the academy students by making the carriage trip a bit morefortable.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, do you have a ce in mind for getting this embroidery made?¡¹

    ¡¸I was nning on asking the tailor who made the Bear Uniform for the Bear-san Rxing Shop. Why do you ask?¡¹

    ¡¸A girl from the orphanage made this for me.¡¹

    I took out the cushion, which had a deformed bear embroidered onto it, from the Bear Box. She probably used the Bears at the shop as a reference.

    ¡¸Wh-what is that!?¡¹

    Before I knew it, Mylene-san snatched the cushion from me.

    ¡¸A girl from the orphanage gave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s cute and really skillfully made.¡¹

    Mylene-san gave her impression while touching the cushion.

    The deformed bear seemed cute enough to me, too.

    ¡¸Would it be alright if I asked this girl to do the embroidery for us?¡¹

    She was good at it and was able to depict bears really well.

    If she was able to do this much with just simple embroidery, I was sure that she had a lot of talent.

    ¡¸Did Sherry-chan give you this cushion?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked while looking at the cushion that Mylene-san was still holding.

    ¡¸Yeah?¡¹

    She was right, a girl named Sherry had given it to me.

    Well, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for Terumi-san to know her as she worked at the orphanage.

    ¡¸I knew it. She is really skilled with her hands and is always sewing things. The embroideries on the curtains and the cushions at the orphanages are all done by Sherry-chan.¡¹

    I already knew that; when Sherry gave me the cushion, she also showed me a lot of her other works. Her deceased mother had taught her how to do it, and Sherry was doing it whenever she had the time ever since.

    I had even given her some of the threads I had obtained from my guard request.

    I had given it to her as thanks for the cushion; it wouldn¡¯t be fair if I had been seen giving a present to only one of the children, so I had used the cushion as an excuse.

    ¡¸Fina and Shuri, if I¡¯m not wrong, you should have one as well, right?¡¹

    Terumi-san looked at her daughters.

    ¡¸Yes, she embroidered a towel for me.¡¹

    The two of them produced a towel out of nowhere.

    There was a deformed bear on the towel, just like the one on my cushion.

    Why a bear, though?

    We all looked at the bears embroidered on the towel and the cushion.

    ¡¸They¡¯re cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Wearing an apron embroidered with that......¡¹

    ¡¸But isn¡¯t that embarrassing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, a little...¡¹

    Mylene-san smiled when she heard them.

    ¡¸Would you prefer the costume, then?¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, the apron is fine.¡¹

    Forne-san immediately answered after shepared the apron to the costume.

    ¡¸Looking at this work, it might indeed be good to ask Sherry-chan. No, we will ask Sherry-chan.¡¹

    Nobody went against Mylene-san¡¯s decision.

    With the talk about the apron finished, I thought that we were done, and I could leave, but Mylene-san brought up another subject.

    ¡¸Next would be the signboard and the outer appearance.¡¹

    She was right, we did need a signboard. If we opened the restaurant without a signboard, people would have difficulties knowing what it was.

    What about the outer appearance, though?

    I could only think about one thing.

    ¡¸Also, has the restaurant¡¯s name been decided yet?¡¹

    When Mylene-san said that, they all looked at me.

    ¡¸Since Anzu will be the manager, I will leave it to her.¡¹

    ¡¸To me?¡¹

    I had left naming the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»to other people, too. I wasn¡¯t really picky about names.

    ¡¸Yep, you can decide, Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, if I remember correctly, the other shop you have is named ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡», right? Then, how about¡ºBear-san¡¯s Diner¡»?¡¹

    I thought it was good, but Mylene-san didn¡¯t seem to like it very much.

    ¡¸Anzu-chan, that is not sophisticated enough.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, when you tell me to pick a name so suddenly, there is no way I can think of a good one. It¡¯s Yuna-san¡¯s restaurant, so Yuna-san should decide!¡¹

    It was up to me again...

    I was really bad ating up with names...

    Bear-san¡¯s Diner seemed good enough to me...

    ¡¸What was the name of Deiga-san¡¯s ce? Since you are going to manage it, couldn¡¯t we use ¡®The Second¡¯ or ¡®Crimonia Branch¡¯ for the name?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, the restaurant doesn¡¯t really have a name...¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously?¡¹

    I looked at the other women, and they all nodded.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know it, either.¡¹

    ¡¸Calling it Anzu-chan¡¯s restaurant or Deiga-san¡¯s inn was enough to know what we were talking about.¡¹

    They all nodded in agreement.

    Now that I thought about it, I remembered Atora-san had been calling it Muscle Man Inn...

    If that was its real name, I would have really pitied Deiga-san.

    Well, we were in no rush to make a signboard, so we decided to all think about it and talk it outter.

    The outer appearance was left to me, though.

    I had no special ideas and could only imagine things like bears that caught fish, wolves, or cows; and bears eating fruits, vegetables and such.

    Mylene-san epted my idea when I told her.

    It was the same for the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡». Mylene-san decided on all sorts of things, but it was still my restaurant, right?

    Even though it was my restaurant, I decided to agree to Mylene¡¯s idea without refuting it.

    I wasn¡¯t like Anzu and the rest, but I was still grateful for all the help she had given me as a Commerce guild master, one way or the other, especially with things concerning Mireera, and because of that, I couldn¡¯t really refuse her.

    Also, refusing to make bears outside was a bitte at this point. All of my houses were Bear Houses, there were bears at Morin-san¡¯s shop, I was wearing Bear Clothes...

    It was a bitte to make something that wasn¡¯t bear rted...

    With the outer appearance decided to be bear rted, the talk was finally finished, and we went our separate ways.

    Anzu and Terumi-san went shopping, as they had discussed earlier, while the others went with Fina and Shuri to tour Crimonia.

    It was also decided that Mylene-san and I would go and see Sherry at the orphanage.

    I wanted to dump everything on Terumi-san and Anzu and enjoy my free time at home at first, but Mylene-san caught me before I managed to get away and dragged me to see Sherry at the orphanage with her.

    That was how, I returned to the orphanage for the second time today.

    Sherry was in the group that was taking care of the birds, so we headed to the coop, thinking she would probably be there, but when we entered it, we saw the children ying. Did they already finish their work?

    I asked the children where Sherry was, and they told us she had already gone back to the orphanage. When we got there, we saw Nifu-san and Arn-san talking to Liz-san and Headmistress. I told them that we had some business with Sherry, and Liz-san gave us directions to Sherry¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Sherry, are you here?¡¹

    I knocked on the door and entered together with Mylene-san.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    A girl, around 12 years old and a bit tall for her age, was sewing on a bed. It was Sherry; the girl who gave me the cushion.

    Although this was a four person room, Sherry was the only one inside.

    ¡¸Can we talk with you for a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, no problem.¡¹

    With Mylene-san and meing so suddenly, an anxious expression showed on her face.

    It was surely because Mylene-san was scary.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault.

    ¡¸Were you just doing some embroidery?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I love doing it, after all.¡¹

    She was holding an unfinished embroidery in her hands.

    ¡¸Would you mind showing it to me?¡¹

    Mylene-san and I both looked at it.

    It was a bear again; a deformed bear that could be seen at the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸One of the children wanted one.¡¹

    This deformed bear seemed to be really popr.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really good at this.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    She thanked me with her cheeks dyed red.

    ¡¸So, Sherry-chan, I had something I wanted to ask you if that¡¯s fine with you?¡¹

    Mylene-san held Sherry¡¯s small hand and told her about the restaurant.

    ¡¸And you are asking me to......¡¹

    Sherry said with a surprised expression.

    ¡¸Yes, can we ask you to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸But, you know......¡¹

    Sherry lowered her head.

    If she didn¡¯t want to do it, I wouldn¡¯t force her.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t, but......¡¹

    ¡¸But what?¡¹

    She wasn¡¯t against it, so why did she waver?

    ¡¸But if my embroideries are unpopr, and nobodyes to the restaurant because of that, the orphanage might disappear...¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    How did shee to that conclusion?

    ¡¸I know that the orphanage is here thanks to all the work Big Sis Yuna did. We can eat delicious meals and sleep in warm rooms all thanks to you. That¡¯s why, if people don¡¯te to the restaurant because of me......¡¹

    She said inplete seriousness. So, this girl believed that... I knew it was not good, but I just couldn¡¯t stop smiling. I was really happy that she was thinking about the orphanage.

    ¡¸Sherry, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡¹

    I patted Sherry¡¯s head with my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸The restaurant wouldn¡¯t go out of business with just that. You know that a lot of customerse to the bakery every day, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸The eggs sell well, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a restaurant that I¡¯m making. And I¡¯m the one who is asking you to make the embroideries. Do you still think you should be worried?¡¹

    ¡¸But, for me to......¡¹

    I took the cushion I had gotten from her out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸That¡¯s......¡¹

    ¡¸I was really happy when you gave this to me. I think that it¡¯s done really well. Couldn¡¯t you make cute embroideries on the aprons like the one you did for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna......¡¹

    Sherry¡¯s head rose a little.

    I just had to give her one more push.

    ¡¸And if it fails, it will be Mylene-san¡¯s fault. She is the one who asked me to let you do it, after all. But if it works, it will be all thanks to Sherry.¡¹

    ¡¸Wai... Yuna-chan...¡¹

    Mylene-san tried to object, but I ignored her.

    ¡¸There is no reason to worry. It¡¯s really cute, after all.¡¹

    I touched the embroidery on the cushion.

    ¡¸Is it really okay for me to do it? I am an amateur, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay.¡¹

    I told her with a gentle voice.

    She bit her upper lip. She thought, she worried, and then lifted her head to give me her answer.

    ¡¸......Okay, I understand. I will do it. I will do my best for Big Sis Yuna¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I patted her head once more, and her whole face bloomed into a smile.

    Yet, there was one person who dared to break this great moment.

    ¡¸I will take Sherry-chan from now on, okay?¡¹

    Mylene-san said, instantly destroying the moment we had.

    ¡¸Awawa.¡¹

    Sherry suddenly became flustered by Mylene-san who was still holding her hand.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, where do you n on taking her!?¡¹

    ¡¸To the tailor, of course. It¡¯s necessary to discuss the apron, right? That¡¯s why I will be taking her there.¡¹

    She pulled Sherry by her hand.

    ¡¸Awawa, please wait a little! Please stop pulling me!¡¹

    Unable to resist Mylene-san¡¯s strength, Sherry was taken out of the room.

    I could hear her voice all the way until she was taken out of the orphanage.

    I was left behind, so I told Liz-san that Sherry had been taken away by Mylene-san and that she would be helping with the restaurant for a while.

    Since I was left at the orphanage, I decided to y with the children before going home.

 Chapter 133 â€“ Bear-san And The Bear-sanâ€™s Diner Opening

    Chapter 133 ¨C Bear-san And The Bear-san¡¯s Diner Opening

    A few days had passed since Sherry had been kidnapped by Mylene-san.

    The preparations for the restaurant were advancing well, and everyone was doing their best to get everything ready for the opening day.

    I was also doing my best!

    I made bears outside the restaurant, made bears inside the restaurant, made bears outside the restaurant, and made bears inside the restaurant. It was something important, so I said it twice.

    To make it look like a restaurant, I made deformed bears holding tes, forks, spoons, or chopsticks at the entrance. To point out that we would be serving fish, I also made a bear holding a fish.

    Since I was sure that we would be getting a lot of male visitors, I made the interior design different than that of the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    I carved out real bears on the pirs since it was important for the restaurant to look cool.

    I used the bears I had met at the bee tree as a reference, since they would only end up cute if I made them with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in mind.

    As for the ingredients, a lot of rice and seafood had already arrived from Mireera.

    The seafood had been kept frozen by the ice magic stones I had procured from the snow daruma at the top of the Erezento¡¯s mountain range. Sadly, normal adventurers couldn¡¯t really climb the high mountain to bring us more.

    I heard that you could easily procure some if you went north where there was snow. I had Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, though , so I was able to climb the mountain easily, the feat which was impossible for normal people like Ranya-san and Damon-san, who were crazy enough to try.

    No wonder there was no trade between Mireera and Crimonia until now.

    With the tunnel finished though, trade had finally started to pick up.

    I had given the ice magic stones I had gotten from Erezento¡¯s mountain range to the Commerce Guild at Mireera. In exchange, they had promised to give me good prices and all the fish I wanted.

    Mylene-san got angry when she heard about this deal since it put her Commerce Guild at a disadvantage, but she calmed down as soon as she heard about the tunnel.

    Even though the tunnel was more or less managed by Cliff, the Commerce Guild would also profit from it quite a bit.

    I would also be getting a part of the passage fee, but looking at the long term, those reduced prices wouldn¡¯t really mean that much as the Commerce Guild was now selling both seafood and salt. Salt transactions were overseen by Cliff, who was acting under the king¡¯smand, of course, but I was sure that the Commerce Guild also made some profit.

    I didn¡¯t know the exact method of making salt, but it was depicted as difficult in one of the fantasy novels I had read.

    That was why, when I heard them talking about the salt, I asked them to not cause too much trouble for the people of Mireera.

    If they were used under terrible conditions,

    ¡¸The tunnel might end up being destroyed by some natural urrences.¡¹

    was what I whispered in Cliff¡¯s ear.

    I didn¡¯t n running the restaurant if it caused too much trouble for the people of Mireera, and Cliff also seemed to understand what I meant since he nodded in agreement.

    The restaurant¡¯s name had finally been decided as ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Diner¡».

    It seemed that, just like me, the women from Mireera didn¡¯t have any naming sense.

    Mylene-sanined that it had no impact, but when she couldn¡¯t find a better name, the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Diner¡» was set in stone.

    ¡¸My job isn¡¯t to think of a name, but to decide from one of the names you propose, after all.¡¹

    She said as an excuse.

    I shouldn¡¯t be talking about others, of course, since I couldn¡¯t think of a better name, either. It might be more correct to say that I didn¡¯t think of a name at all, and more importantly, I honestly already thought that ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Diner¡» Anzu came up with was good enough, so I put my vote on that one.

    Anzu and the others also voted for it, of course, and since almost everyone voted for ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Diner¡», it was unanimously chosen. Mylene-san couldn¡¯t really oppose it, and the signboard was ordered.

    Sherry finished the Bear Aprons in no time. She was really good, being able to make several for everyone in such a short time.

    She didn¡¯t make the aprons only for the five people working at the restaurant; she also made aprons for Nifu-san and Arn-san, who came to encourage the restaurant team, and for the children who would help at the restaurant.

    The couple from the tailor shop was really impressed by her speed.

    Sherry didn¡¯t just do the embroidery; she also helped to make the aprons themselves.

    The couple at the tailor shop recognized her skills, and it seemed that she would be working at their ce from now on. She wouldn¡¯t only do embroidery but also learn how to make things like clothes.

    She still seemed tock confidence, though, as I often heard her mutter:¡ºFor me to...¡»

    Yet, she seemed quite happy that the things she had learned from her mother were recognized. She didn¡¯t know how far she could go, but she decided to do her best at the tailor shop for now.

    She thanked me for giving her this chance, even though I didn¡¯t really do anything. I told her that it was all thanks to her skill and the effort she had put in, and she responded with a happy smile.

    As the opening day was drawing closer, we also made sure to get some publicity with the help of Mylene-san and Terumi-san¡¯s advertisement, and a tasting party at the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡».

    Anzu prepared some fish and other sample foods while we made some onigiri, bamboo shoot rice, and a lot of other different rice meals prepared with all sorts of ingredients.

    We also made a few things with soy sauce, and even prepared a hot pot, then offered everything to the people who came to the ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop.¡»

    There was a great proverb for this situation: You must lose a fly to catch a trout.

    Even though we knew it was delicious, it was difficult to get people to pay for unknown dishes, but they were always willing to eat it for free, and when they learned it was delicious, they were sure toe to the restaurant to eat it again. Also, the customers who ate it would tell others that it was delicious, bringing in even more customers.

    As long as they tasted Anzu¡¯s food at least once, I was sure that her skills would be recognized.

    On the opening day, a lot of people came, and the restaurant was really flourishing.

    This must have been all thanks to the tasting party and the power of gossip.

    Rice was, surprisingly, the most popr dish, especially appreciated when served with other side ingredients.

    Second ce went to the soy sauce as many people ordered it because they liked the taste.

    By the end of the day, a lot of bodies were lying around; it was so busy that even though Nifu-san and Arn-san came to help, everyone was copsed on the tables.

    I helped, too, of course.

    I was stationed at the entrance, threatening anyone who might have tried to make a fuss. I wasn¡¯t alone, though. I hired Rurina-san and Gill, who previously helped me at the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡», and as thanks, they got free food for a week.

    So, with three adventurers (one not really looking like one) at the entrance, there was no trouble.

    ¡¸So tired...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to die...¡¹

    ¡¸To think that it would be this busy...¡¹

    ¡¸I want a raise...¡¹

    They all looked at me resentfully.

    It wasn¡¯t nice of them to look at me like that. I had told them that this would happen; Anzu¡¯s food was delicious, so of course it ended up being popr.

    Still, the tasting party must have helped more than I had thought, bringing in so many people.

    ¡¸If you want to be mad at something, be mad at Anzu¡¯s delicious cooking.¡¹

    The children were tired, too, but they were still talking to each other happily; it seemed that they had more stamina. They were the ones who normally took care of the cluckers and helped Liz-san cook lunch; I felt quite bad for taking five of them from Liz-san.

    At least the restaurant would eventually calm down, and Nifu-san and Arn-san would be able to go back and help the orphanage.

    ¡¸So, Anzu, do you think you can keep this up?¡¹

    ¡¸I was anxious at first, but I¡¯m really happy that so many people are enjoying my food.¡¹

    ¡¸There were so many of them that it became unbearable, though...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, people wille here from everywhere since this is something unusual for now, but the fish and rice markets will stabilise soon, so they will be able to eat them at many different ces, and when that happens, the restaurant should calm down a bit. Then, the most important thing will be the taste. You will have to show them your skills, Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best.¡¹

    Anzu answered vigorously, even though her body clearly showed exhaustion.

    As long as she stayed that way, the restaurant should be just fine.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Anzu¡¯s arc is now finished.

    To celebrate the book¡¯s release, I made the prologue of the VRMMO part of the¡ºThe Bears Bear a Bare Kuma¡».

    It¡¯s like a side story.

    Like I normally do, I wrote it without a plot and just went with the flow.

    I would be happy if you read it.

    http://mypage.syosetu/507429/

    The new arc will be about mining, and I¡¯m really sorry if I stop updating for a while.

 Chapter 134 â€“ Bear-san Tries To Dismantle The Black Tiger

    Chapter 134 ¨C Bear-san Tries To Dismantle The ck Tiger

    Anzu¡¯s restaurant was doing well now, with plenty of peopleing in every day, though it wasn¡¯t as busy as it was the first few days. Was it because other ces started selling rice and fish, too? I did hear that some people, who came from Mireera like Anzu and her group, opened their own stores and restaurants. I was quite happy that rice and fish were now popr in Crimonia.

    Still, I hoped that Anzu and the others would do their best so that our restaurant wouldn¡¯t lose to the neers. Well, I honestly didn¡¯t think that Anzu, who inherited Deiga-san¡¯s cuisine, could lose to others, but then again, life was hard, and you didn¡¯t know when your arrogance could bring about your end.

    Although Anzu was modest and never arrogant, I still hoped she would be careful not to bring about her own undoing. I hope that her colleagues and Terumi-san would do something if it was ever aboute to pass.

    There was nothing I could do to help the restaurant, so I decided to leave it be and focus on what I was nning to do today, instead.

    I called Fina to the Bear House; I nned on asking her to dismantle the ck Tiger, so that I could have its beautiful ck fur.

    It wasn¡¯t like I had forgotten about it, but when I had returned from the guard mission, I had decided to take some time off, and when I had thought it was about time to ask Fina to dismantle it, Anzu had arrived, and I became busy with all sorts of things, like arranging the restaurant and getting everything ready for its opening, so no wonder I hadpletely forgotten about the ck Tiger.

    So, now that I remembered it, I decided to finally have Fina dismantle it.

    I thought about this from time to time, but it was really bad to ask a 10-year-old girl to dismantle monsters for me...

    This wasn¡¯t something that I, who had asked her to dismantle hundreds of monsters, should be saying out loud, though.

    I idled around while waiting for Fina, and she arrived right on time.

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning, Fina.¡¹

    Her energetic greeting made me smile.

    ¡¸So, what did you want me to do?¡¹

    When I was about to ask Fina to dismantle the ck Tiger yesterday, we were surrounded by people, so I decided not to mention the ck Tiger yet, in fear of the uproar it could bring. I simply told her that I had a task for her, and that she shoulde to the Bear House this morning.

    ¡¸I have something I want you to dismantle for me.¡¹

    I took Fina to the warehouse I had built next to the Bear House, and brought out the ck Tiger there.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!?¡¹

    Fina let out a surprised voice when she saw the ck Tiger.

    I knew it; this was indeed something to be surprised about.

    ¡¸I killed a ck Tiger on mytest trip, so could I ask you to dismantle it? I will pay you, of course.¡¹

    Fina looked at the ck Tiger.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind trying to dismantle it, but it might be impossible for me.¡¹

    Fina gave a slightly troubled answer.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Even Fina couldn¡¯t dismantle it?

    It was a superior rank monster like the Tiger Wolves, so I thought that she could do it. Did I really not have any other choice other than to bring it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?

    Fina took out her knife and tried to nt it into the ck Tiger¡¯s stomach.

    She groaned, making ¡®UuUu¡¯ sounds.

    Fina let go of her knife.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, as I thought, it¡¯s impossible for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this the same thing as the Tiger Wolves?¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not the problem. The iron knife I have won¡¯t be able to dismantle a ck Tiger; its skin is so hard that the knife can¡¯t pierce it.¡¹

    That meant the problem wasn¡¯t Fina¡¯s technique, but that she needed a sharper knife, huh.

    ¡¸You could do it if you had a better knife, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe. I think it has the same structure as the Tiger wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸Should we go and buy a knife that can dismantle a ck Tiger, then?¡¹

    If you knew what had to be done, things tended to progress smoothly.

    So, if there was a need for a knife, we only had to buy it.

    ¡¸Knives that are able to dismantle ck Tigers are so pricy that I can¡¯t afford them, you know.¡¹

    Fina shook her head as if to prove it was impossible.

    ¡¸I will buy it for you, then. I always have you dismantle things for me, so take it as a thanks for all you have done.¡¹

    ¡¸But I have already received a lot of things as thanks from you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it; let¡¯s just go.¡¹

    I put the ck Tiger back inside my Bear Box, took Fina¡¯s hand, and headed to the cksmith. We went to the ce where I had brought a sword with Fina when I had first arrived at this town; a smithy that was managed by a dwarf couple.

    When we entered the shop, the wife, Nert-san, greeted us.

    ¡¸Wee. Oh, isn¡¯t it Fina and Bear Missy? Why have youe today?¡¹

    ¡¸We came to buy a dismantling knife.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened to the knife you bought before?¡¹

    ¡¸We haven¡¯te to buy one for me but a new one for Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸For Fina? But we polished hers just a few days ago, I believe...¡¹

    ¡¸We need a knife that can cut better than her iron knife.¡¹

    I told her that we couldn¡¯t dismantle it with an iron knife.

    ¡¸What the hell are you trying to dismantle? You won¡¯t tell me that you want to dismantle a dragon, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to dismantle a ck Tiger, but the iron knife that Fina has wasn¡¯t able to cut it.¡¹

    ¡¸A ck TIger, you say? In that case, iron knife is no good indeed. You need at least a mithril knife to dismantle it.¡¹

    Oh right, mithril! When you think of a rare ore from a fantasy world, it had to be mithril.

    If I remembered correctly, there were mithril swords in the game, too.

    It also existed in this world, huh.

    There were only iron sword in this shop, so I couldn¡¯t have known.

    ¡¸So, could I have two mithril knives?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really n on using it, but I still asked for one for me, too.

    Even if it was really expensive, I wanted one. If they had a mithril sword, I wanted one of those, too!

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t have any mithril right now.¡¹

    I knew it, it was a rare ore, so it was difficult to get it. I really wanted some no matter what, though...

    ¡¸Do you have any other knives that could cut the ck Tiger then? The price is not a problem.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry, but it¡¯s not just mithril; weck silver, copper and iron ores, too. So, we sadly don¡¯t have a knife that could dismantle a ck Tiger at the moment.¡¹

    ¡¸You are short on all ores?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right; my husband is only sleeping these days, not doing any work because of the shortage.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t lie; I couldn¡¯t hear the omnipresent sound of iron being struck from the back.

    ¡¸Also, it isn¡¯t just our smithery that is like this; almost all of the shops that use ores are having a shortage.¡¹

    Now that she mentioned it, I did remember Terumi-san asking me if I was okay with buying the necessary cooking tools for Anzu and the others even if the price of iron and copper rose when I told her to buy them. I also remembered vaguely answering that those tools were necessary, and that it was okay even if the price was a bit high.

    So, this must have been why she was worried, huh.

    I didn¡¯t really care when the ck Tiger would be dismantled, but if you asked me if I wanted it, I would have answered positively. It was the bad side of being a gamer.

    ¡¸Why are you short on iron ore, though?¡¹

    I heard of fantasy stories where they gather a lot of iron ore in case of war.

    Still, this country wasn¡¯t at war. Well, it might be that I only didn¡¯t know about it.

    ¡¸I heard that there was a problem at the mine, and that they can¡¯t dig anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸What is this problem?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I think the Commerce Guild should know, though.¡¹

    What should I do... Even if I knew the reason, that didn¡¯t mean that I would be able to get a mithril knife.

    Would a weapon shop at the capital sell it?

    I had a Bear Transfer Gate there, so should I go over and check?

    ¡¸Thank you. I think I will drop by the capital for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸The capital!? Ah, you are the Bear Missy, and you have your Summoned Bears, right? Wait here for a bit, please.¡¹

    Nert-san was surprised for a moment, but quickly came to a conclusion. She was a bit off , but I couldn¡¯t really tell her about the transfer gate, so I just nodded.

    Nert-san went into the back room, and we soon heard her trying to wake her husband up.

    The room was really noisy for a while before calming down again. As I was starting to wonder what was going on, Nert-san returned.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting. Here, take this with you.¡¹

    She gave me a letter.

    ¡¸What is this?¡¹

    ¡¸At the capital, there is a smithy managed by a man named Gazar. You should take a look at his ce. If you give him this letter, he might give you a better price.¡¹

    ¡¸Gazar, you said?¡¹

    ¡¸He grew up in the same vige as we did.¡¹

    That meant he was also a dwarf, huh.

    ¡¸It¡¯s possible that they have ore shortage over there, too, so don¡¯t get your hopes up too much.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Thank you, though.¡¹

    I thanked her and took the letter.

    After we left the shop, I put my hand on Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Well then, shall we go to the capital now?¡¹

    ¡¸Now!?¡¹

    ¡¸We have the Bear Transfer Gate, so there is no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Is there any problem on your side?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, you can¡¯t just go to the capital this casually, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, good for us, right? Want to go sightseeing around the capital with me?¡¹

    We went back to the Bear House and took the Bear Transfer Gate to the capital.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m sorry; this chapter iste because I was writing some side stories.

    The book version is now on sale.

    I¡¯m really thankful to all of you who brought the book.

 Chapter 135 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Capital To Look For Mithril

    Chapter 135 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Capital To Look For Mithril

    After leaving the cksmith, we set out to the capital to look for a mithril knife. Well, even though I said set out, it only took us a few minutes, thanks to the Bear Transfer Gate.

    I had actually gone to the capital just a few days prior to this; I had gone to see Princess Flora since I finally got some rice to spare.

    I made a lot of bite-sized onigiri that would suit the taste of a child and brought them to her.

    Like usual, Eleanora-san and the king managed to sniff out my presence and came to eat them, too.

    Well, Princess Flora was still a child and couldn¡¯t eat a lot of onigiri even though I made them small, so it was okay for them to have some as well.

    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since I wasst at the capital, it was different for Fina.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the capital!¡¹

    Fina said happily as we left the Bear House.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really a strange feeling, somehow. I can¡¯t believe that we were in Crimonia just a moment ago.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since youst came to the capital, so is there something you want to see? We could pass by if you want.¡¹

    There was no reason to hurry, so I asked her if she wanted to go anywhere in particr, but she shook her head.

    ¡¸Just walking around is fun enough.¡¹

    She was right, simply walking around aimlessly was a way to have fun.

    Doing some sightseeing might also be good, so we decided to have fun on our way to the smithy. I soon realized something important, though. I had no idea where the smithy was.

    I had asked Nert-san where it was, but she didn¡¯t know.

    Since I didn¡¯t know where it was, I brought out the Bear Map, which showed me the whole capital in detail.

    Yep, I had no idea where it was.

    The capital seemed just like Tokyo¡¯s metropolitan area on the map; it was impossible to find a specific shop in this mess.

    Well, it might be possible if there was some sort of search function, but sadly there was nothing like that, so I had no chance finding it using just my eyes.

    Well, it was a smithy, so the Commerce Guild should be able to tell me where it was.

    We headed to the Commerce Guild, which meant we had to go to the main avenue: a reallyrge avenue where carriages were alwaysing and going. There were other ways to get to the guild, but that would mean taking a detour, so we resigned ourselves and walked onto the main avenue.

    Even for a main avenue, there was a lot of pedestrian traffic here, and a lot of people around also meant a lot of people looking and talking about me: something I was used to by now.

    Hey, mother over there, please tell your child that it¡¯s not nice to point at people with his finger.

    Hey, the person over there, stop being so astonished just by seeing someone, please...

    You there, weren¡¯t you taught that you shouldn¡¯tugh at other people?

    Also, the person on the other side, the suit isn¡¯t on sale, so even if you go to a tailor, they won¡¯t sell it to you. So don¡¯t go to a clothing shop, please...

    The person next to the one from before, don¡¯t order one for yourself, too, please...

    Yes, I¡¯m a Bear...

    Yes, it¡¯s embarrassing. I¡¯m used to it now, though.

    You think it¡¯s cute? Thank you very much.

    You want to hug me? Please refrain from doing so.

    You¡¯re going to tell someone else that I¡¯m here? Please don¡¯t.

    ¡®I will stand guard, so go,¡¯ you say... I¡¯m not an animal, you know! Do you n on capturing me?

    Yeah, I¡¯m the rumored Bear.

    You want to touch me? That¡¯s strictly prohibited.

    I rebuked everything that was happening around me in my head, and as I continued to do so like some sort of idiot, we reached the front door of the Commerce Guild.

    As expected from the Commerce Guild of the capital, it was an immense building, and there were a lot of people going about.

    There were also a lot of people at the Commerce Guild of Crimonia, but it was still iparable to the amount of people here.

    With this many people around, even more people were staring at me, but there was no way that I wouldn¡¯t enter aftering this far.

    I took Fina¡¯s hand, and was about to enter the guild, when a voice called out from behind.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    I turned around, wondering who was it, and was met by Shia, who seemed to be out of breath.

    ¡¸Shia? Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I should be the one saying that!¡¹

    She was right; it was weirder for me to be here than her.

    She was still catching her breath. Was it because she had been running? Her hair did look a bit ruffled, and she was trying to put it back in ce. It was before lunchtime, so shouldn¡¯t she still be at school?

    ¡¸What about school, Shia?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a holiday today.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you in your uniform, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I was on my way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸.........?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand her. What did her being in her uniform have to do with going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?

    When I asked her about it,

    ¡¸This uniform and mantle are made from a special material, so their defence is rather high,¡¹

    was how she answered.

    Oh right, I might have heard of something like that during the guard mission. So, she was going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in her uniform because it had such an effect, huh.

    Why was she on her way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, though?

    ¡¸So, why are you here, Yuna-san? Oh, and Fina is here as well, I see.¡¹

    Fina bowed and greeted her a bit nervously.

    Even though they were getting along just finest time, they were still a noble and amoner, huh.

    ¡¸There should be a dwarf named Gazar running a smithy here at the capital, but I don¡¯t know where it is, so I came to the Commerce Guild to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸A smithy, you say? Gazar......¡¹

    Shia started thinking about it while tapping her forehead then pped her hands loudly.

    ¡¸Ah, I know about it and can show you the way. Why a smithy, though?¡¹

    ¡¸You know that Fina can dismantle things, right?¡¹

    Shia nodded.

    ¡¸I asked her to dismantle the ck Tiger I had killed on the guard mission, but we learned that it was impossible to dismantle it without a mithril knife. We¡¯re here since we couldn¡¯t get the knife at Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸So you came to the capital simply to get a knife!?¡¹

    Well, she didn¡¯t know about the Bear Transfer Gate, so no wonder she would be surprised.

    ¡¸Well, yeah. I had some time to spare.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you have time, is it really normal for you toe all the way to the capital just for a knife?¡¹

    ¡¸So, you said you know where the smithy is? If you do, I would like you to tell me since I really don¡¯t want to enter this ce.¡¹

    I looked at the entrance of the Commerce Guild which was packed with people entering and leaving.

    Every time someone passed through the entrance, they always turned their heads to look my way.

    I really wanted to get away from here as soon as possible.

    ¡¸I will show you the way, then.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? You¡¯re on your way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, right?¡¹

    I said even though I had no idea why Shia would go there.

    It would really save me if she showed me the way, though.

    ¡¸I have some time left, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    Taking advantage of Shia¡¯s kindness, we departed towards Gazar¡¯s smithy.

    Crimonia was quite big, but the capital was so much bigger that they couldn¡¯t even bepared to each other.

    ¡¸So, you came all the way to the capital, taking Fina along, only for a knife?¡¹

    ¡¸If I¡¯m buying a knife, I want it to fit Fina¡¯s hand well, after all. If I brought it on my own, and it was too big for her, she would have a hard time using it.¡¹

    ¡¸I can use big knives, too, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good. If you were to hurt yourself with a knife that was too big for you, I would be the one to me.¡¹

    People would confront me for making a 10-year-old girl use a knife... Wait, we weren¡¯t in Japan. This was a different world where there were 10-year-old children who were required to use a knife.

    Also, Fina had done her best dismantling many things to obtain the techniques she had now, so I didn¡¯t want to take away her job. If Finater decided that she didn¡¯t want to dismantle anymore, I would have to deal with that then.

    We passed by a stall on the way to the smithy, so I decided to buy some food, like I normally did when passing a stall, and ate it while walking.

    ¡¸We¡¯re here.¡¹

    Thanks to Shia, we arrived at the smithy, which seemed to be on the edge of some sort of industrial zone.

    Well, if they were striking iron every day in the middle of residential area, they would trouble other people, right?

    As we were walking down a gloomy street, we noticed a short dwarf sitting on a chair.

    ¡¸Ehm, excuse me.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you Gazar-san?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but who are you, wearing such crazy clothes?¡¹

    This was the first time someone had called my clothes outright crazy.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t worry about my clothes. Could you have a look at this?¡¹

    I gave him the letter I had received from Nert-san.

    ¡¸What is this?¡¹

    ¡¸Nert-san from Crimonia gave it to me? Or more exactly, it¡¯s from Gold-san, I think?¡¹

    Nert-san had went to wake up her husband and had made him write it, right?

    Gazar-san read through the letter after I mentioned the couple.

    ¡¸I understand your problem, but there¡¯s nothing I can do to help you. We are short on ores even here at the capital. The closest mine stopped supplying the ores, so we have to get them from elsewhere, but even then, not much of those ores get to me. I would love to make something specifically for you since it¡¯s on Gold¡¯s request, but it¡¯s impossible right now.¡¹

    I knew it, they were short on ores at the capital, too.

    ¡¸So, why is there a shortage in the first ce? I heard that they aren¡¯t able to mine it anymore, but...¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that a golem came out of a cave and made it impossible for them to mine the ore.¡¹

    Golem, an inanimate creature. A monster made from earth, stone, or even sometimes iron, mithril, and other ores.

    ¡¸And how is the subjugation getting along?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I heard that some adventurers went to subjugate it, but since we still aren¡¯t getting the ores, it seems that they didn¡¯t kill it yet.¡¹

    Well, that made sense. There was no way the guild wouldn¡¯t do anything.

    If a monster appeared at the mine, there was sure to be a subjugation request.

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, Mother mentioned something about this. She said that the subjugation started to go bad and that we might have to send in the knights.¡¹

    ¡¸The adventurers who were sent weren¡¯t able to defeat it?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the details, sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know, either. If you want to know more, go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. This isn¡¯t an intelligence bureau, you know...¡¹

    He was right, but did that mean that I had to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild now?

    I had the feeling that they were handing off their problems to me...

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to the same ce now, huh.¡¹

    Shia said.

    Oh right, Shia had told me something about being on the way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Hmm, what should I do? I wanted the mithril knife, not the information about the mine.

    ¡¸Hmm, I know it¡¯s strange for me to ask you this since you are a smith yourself, but does any other smithy have mithril?¡¹

    ¡¸You might be able to find one, but I don¡¯t think they would sell mithril to a stranger.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t get it at Crimonia, and I couldn¡¯t get it at the capital.

    Now that it hade to this, I had no other choice but to go to the mine, and that meant I would have to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild first.

    I thanked Gazar-san and left his shop.

    Since staying here wouldn¡¯t help me at all, I headed to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Also, if I didn¡¯t say hello to Sanya-san while I was at the capital, I had a feeling that she would end up being angry at me.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m nning on posting a side story for the next update and then return to the original story before maybe doing some more.

 Chapter 136 â€“ Bear-san Meets Marcus And His Party Again

    Chapter 136 ¨C Bear-san Meets Marcus And His Party Again

    When we reached the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we saw Marcus and the rest of his party standing near the entrance.

    The three of them noticed us and rushed over.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, why are you with Shia-san...¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, what¡¯s going on?¡¹

    Marcus, Cattleya, and Timor all started speaking at the same time.

    ¡¸Hey guys, long time no see. Are you all doing well?¡¹

    ¡¸More or less.¡¹

    ¡¸It has been a long time since Ist saw you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s been a while indeed.¡¹

    They all answered vigorously, but something was still bugging me.

    ¡¸Marcus, what¡¯s with the bruise on your face?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, this...¡¹

    Marcus pointed at a purple bruise on his right cheek.

    ¡¸My father hit me for putting everyone in danger with my selfish actions and not listening to your instructions. He got really angry. He even went as far as to ask me: ¡®Who the hell do you think you are?¡¯¡¹

    ¡¸And then he punched you...?¡¹

    Marcusughed while pointing at his cheek again.

    ¡¸He¡¯s right, so this is normal. He also praised me, though. He said that it¡¯s better to take action than to pretend not to see anything, but also told me to only take action after considering my strength, the strength of my allies, and the information we have on the enemy.¡¹

    Now that he mentioned it, Eleanora-san had also told me something like that.

    Well, all of this was partly my fault, but since Marcus had already epted his punishment, there was nothing I could really say.

    ¡¸I was really surprised the first time I saw his bruise. He came to the academy just a day after he was hit, his face still really swollen.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it really surprised me, too. It used to be a lot worsepared to now, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I was really wondering what happened when I saw him.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re saying that he used to look even worse?¡¹

    Well, quite some time had already passed since the guard mission, and for the bruise to remain until now...

    How hard did his father hit him?

    ¡¸Is it okay now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it is. It¡¯s no big deal, really.¡¹

    Marcus lightly rubbed his cheek.

    ¡¸You say that even though you made so much ruckus just when we touched it before?¡¹

    ¡¸I remember correctly, you even had tears in your eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course it hurt when you touched it the day after I had been hit.¡¹

    Shia and Cattleyaughed as they reminisced about it, but I agreed with him.

    Even though I had no experience with being hit like that, I knew that if you touched a swollen cheek, it would hurt. Honestly, even just imagining it made my cheek hurt.

    Wasn¡¯t it weird that when you saw someone else hurt, you started to feel the pain as well?

    ¡¸What about the others; was it okay for you, or did people get mad at you too?¡¹

    ¡¸Professor and Eleanora-sama did get angry.¡¹

    ¡¸My mom was mad because I didn¡¯t back you up, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸They got mad at me, too, saying irrational things like ¡®You were supposed to stop Marcus¡¯... They said it like I was his guardian or something...¡¹

    ¡¸But in the end, no one punched you guys, right?¡¹

    Marcus said sulkily, which made everyoneugh.

    Well, the way I saw it, Marcus was the leader of the party, so he had to take responsibility for the others. His father must have taken that into ount when he punched him.

    Also, this world wasn¡¯t like Japan, where they would say, ¡®He¡¯s just a child¡¯. I was sure, he must have been scolded hard.

    If his father said something like,¡ºIt¡¯s not our child¡¯s fault, the one who was in the wrong was the adventurer.¡», I would have had to use the favor I had with Eleanora-san or the King.

    ¡¸So, why are you two together then?¡¹

    ¡¸I had something to do at the Commerce Guild, and met with Shia there.¡¹

    ¡¸When I was on my way here, I saw a Bear-san in front of me, so I rushed to catch up with her.¡¹

    You didn¡¯t really have to rush...

    ¡¸At the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    I told them why I had been on my way to the Commerce Guild, and what had happened afterwards, then presented the dismantling master Fina to them.

    When I introduced her like that, Fina dismissed it by saying,¡ºI can only dismantle simple monsters,¡» and looked at me reproachfully.

    Why? Even though I only told them the truth...

    Look at me, I couldn¡¯t even dismantle a wolf...

    ¡¸Are you telling us you brought such a little child all the way to the capital just because you wanted to buy a mithril knife?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it is okay since it is Yuna-san, but just two girls traveling alone is dangerous, you know.¡¹

    Timor and Cattleya looked at Fina and me with surprise.

    Well, it was normal to think that two girls traveling from Crimonia to the capital was dangerous.

    ¡¸Yuna-san has Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so there is no need to worry.¡¹

    Marcus threw me a lifeline.

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, dismantling a ck Tiger, huh. Is it really impossible with a normal knife?¡¹

    ¡¸If they could, they wouldn¡¯t have had toe to the capital to get a mithril knife.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. If it was easy to pierce the ck Tiger with a normal knife, it wouldn¡¯t be so hard to defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus, you should stop saying stupid things and start studying.¡¹

    ¡¸I know this much, at least. I just wanted to ask!¡¹

    Marcus became sullen since they were making him look like an idiot.

    ¡¸But I didn¡¯t think that I wouldn¡¯t be able to get a mithril knife even though I came all the way to the capital!¡¹

    ¡¸Ore shortage, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, some adventurers were talking about it, weren¡¯t they?¡¹

    ¡¸I also heard about it a few days ago: something about monsters appearing at the mine.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it doesn¡¯t really affect me, so I don¡¯t know the specifics.¡¹

    ¡¸The mine is too far away, so we can¡¯t go there, either.¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, if I were to go at a ce like that, my father would punch me again.¡¹

    They allughed again when Marcus said that.

    ¡¸So you guys don¡¯t know much about it, huh.¡¹

    They all nodded.

    This meant that the information about the shortage wasn¡¯t widely spread among the citizens.

    Gazar-san said that they were getting ore from another ce, so the shortage wasn¡¯t as bad as to bring about chaos.

    ¡¸But mithril, huh. I also want a mithril sword...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s too soon for you, Marcus.¡¹

    ¡¸Yea, too soon.¡¹

    ¡¸I also think so.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you all saying that... Well, my father said the same thing too, though... Still, if I had a good weapon, I would be a bit...¡¹

    Marcus mimicked raising a sword.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good to me the sword for yourck of skill.¡¹

    They all retorted.

    ¡¸Anyway, why are you guys here?¡¹

    I had something to do at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything that would make studentse here, too.

    ¡¸We registered ourselves at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though you¡¯re nobles?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s to get some experience since we don¡¯t want something like before to happen again.¡¹

    Something like before... Did they mean the ck Tiger encounter?

    ¡¸Even if you guys did your best, I don¡¯t think you will be able to defeat a ck Tiger, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t n on fighting a monster like that... but we would like to be able to defeat low ss monster without any difficulties at least.¡¹

    ¡¸And that¡¯s why you decided toe to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I had trouble getting permission from my father, though.¡¹

    Marcus started to exin how hard it was to get his father¡¯s permission to register.

    He told us about almost getting hit again by his father, being made to fight him, and learning tactics from him.

    ¡¸The one who had it hard was me. Your father is the captain of a knight order, so you were fine, but my father is the minister of finance... He wouldn¡¯t allow his son to be an adventurer even if it was only for a short time.¡¹

    ¡¸I apologized for that many times already, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸You really had it hard, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸What about you, Shia?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t ask my father but got permission from my mother.¡¹

    Cliff... You were just pitiful... Your daughter didn¡¯t even talk to you about such things...

    ¡¸In the end, they allowed us to do it as long as we only epted requests to defeat low ss monsters from the nearby forest.¡¹

    They told me that wolves were the only monsters at the nearby forest. That¡¯s why the forest was named The Beginner Forest, and only rank F and E adventurers could enter it.

    It was meant to train the adventurers of the capital, it seemed.

    Well, it made sense. If low ss monsters were all exterminated around the capital, the new adventurers would have to leave the capital, and the capital wouldn¡¯t be able to raise capable adventurers anymore.

    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild considered everything carefully and managed it well, huh.

    I also recalled being scolded once for killing too many wolves around Crimonia.

    They asked me to refrain myself from killing everything and leave the wolves to the new adventurers. It was the same for both cities.

    So, Marcus and his party went to the nearby forest to hunt wolves when they had time now.

    There were other monsters in the forest as well, of course, so they hunted them while they were at it and...

    ¡¸You all became rank E?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s normal for us to get rank E at least .¡¹

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re younger than us, but you are already rank C, right? Even if you praise us like this......¡¹

    Just now, what did he say?

    Younger?

    It seemed that Marcus didn¡¯t only have a problem with his head but also with his eyes...

    Were there any eye doctors in this world?

    If we didn¡¯t bring him to one soon, it might be toote.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not happy that someone younger, who is already rank C, is praising me when I just became rank E...¡¹

    Huh? There was one more person with eye problems over here...

    ¡¸You¡¯re totally right. When Yuna-san, who is rank C and younger than us, says that, I can¡¯t really feel happy.¡¹

    This was strange... The people with eye problems kept increasing...

    Thest one was doing her best to contain herughter as if she already knew my age.

    ¡¸Could I have a moment?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸How old do you guys think I am?¡¹

    ¡¸13 years old, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you 13 years old?¡¹

    ¡¸Taking adventurer rules into consideration, it has to be 13 years old. It is impossible to register before that, after all.¡¹

    Shia was the only oneughing.

    ¡¸Hmm, really... from which angle can you see me as a 13-year-old?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re younger!?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible, Marcus. There is an Adventurer Guild¡¯s rule for that, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, don¡¯t tell me you lied about your age and...¡¹

    The three of them gave me doubtful looks.

    ¡¸I¡¯m 15. No matter how you look at me, I¡¯m 15, right?¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸......¡¹¡¹¡¹

    The three of them turned stiff when I said that.

    ¡¸Hmm, Yuna-san, you¡¯re the same age as us?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I got it. Yuna-san, you¡¯re an elf, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope. I¡¯m a normal human.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t from this world, though.

    Shia was stillughing next to them.

    ¡¸Shia, you knew!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, I heard it the first time we¡¯ve met after all. She showed me her guild card as well.¡¹

    ¡¸The same age as us... I can¡¯t believe it...¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t, either...¡¹

    I showed them my guild card to prove that I was 15.

    I was just a LITTLE shorter than other people, that was all, you know.

 Chapter 137 â€“ Bear-san Meets The Capitalâ€™s Deborane

    Chapter 137 ¨C Bear-san Meets The Capital¡¯s Deborane

    TL note: Well, you will understand alias during the chap

    As I parted ways with Marcus and his party, who were headed to the forest, and turned to enter the guild, I noticed Sanya-san standing at the entrance.

    ¡¸I knew it would be you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸People inside the guild were making a ruckus; all I could hear was bear, bear, and bear from everywhere, so I knew that they were talking about you.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t remember doing anything.

    She said it was noisy inside the guild... Of course there would be amotion when I entered, but I hadn¡¯t even entered yet.

    ¡¸They were making a racket about how a bear arrived and was getting involved with the rookies at the entrance.¡¹

    True, I was at the entrance, but were the rookies they were talking about Marcus and his party?

    Also, being involved meant that I was happily having a conversation with them, right?

    This was what could be called harmful rumors, right? Such rumors were really scary, weren¡¯t they?

    ¡¸There¡¯s amotion in the guild, you said?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. A person who knew you and a person who didn¡¯t had a big argument.¡¹

    ¡¸...I can¡¯t really understand what you¡¯re talking about...¡¹

    Why was there a quarrel between someone who knew me and someone who didn¡¯t?

    Could someone exin it to me using understandable Japanese, please!

    ¡¸A guild member who didn¡¯t know you was surprised by your clothes, while another who did was scared, making the one who didn¡¯t know youugh at the scared one, which made the one who wasughed at angry, so an employee had to fetch me before it became an all out fight, and I had to hear them out and mediate the situation.¡¹

    While I was talking with Marcus and his party, something like that was happening inside the guild?

    How mysterious.

    ¡¸So, why are you here, Yuna-chan? And with Fina-chan, too?¡¹

    Fina greeted her with a bow.

    ¡¸A lot happened, you see. I have something to do at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so I came here now.¡¹

    ¡¸A lot happened, huh?¡¹

    She looked at me usingly.

    ¡¸Just enter for now. If you stay here, you will cause trouble for other people.¡¹

    I would prefer if you didn¡¯t treat others as if they were a cmity, please.

    Still, I did what she said and obediently entered the guild.

    ¡¸The bear entered!¡¹

    ¡¸So this is the rumored bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Why was everyone so scared of such a cute bear?¡¹

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t believe rumors, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just a girl wearing cute bear clothes, right?¡¹

    ¡¸And she¡¯s a child?¡¹

    ¡¸She isn¡¯t just a cute girl.¡¹

    I heard from the adventurers who were sitting at the entrance, but decided to ignore them.

    ¡¸So, the bear is here. Should we go and talk to her?¡¹

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t involve yourself with her, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to fly into the sky...¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to meddle with her, do it by yourself!¡¹

    ¡¸What?... You guys are afraid as well?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know about it? The Bear Warnings?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Warnings?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s dangerous, so don¡¯t approach her.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to fly, I won¡¯t stop you, though.¡¹

    Bear Warnings he said... Which mountain warning board did he take that from!?

    This is strangeing from me, but... I think that saying a cartoon-character costume was dangerous is a bit...

    Meanwhile, on the other side:

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t involve yourself with her! An adventurer who did so before was killed!¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that he was eaten.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wrong. He was minced, wasn¡¯t he?¡¹

    ¡¸He was eaten after she minced him then?¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t the discussion bing strange, somehow?

    The worst thing I did was making them do some bungee jumping without a rope, you know!?

    Didn¡¯t they mix in a bit of Crimonia¡¯s story, too? If I remembered correctly, the first time I hade here, there had been an adventurer who had called me the Bloody Bear, right?

    Now that I thought about this, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for some of the people at the capital to know about what I had done to Deborane.

    I had punched his face until it had be all swollen, after all. That must have been how they hade to think that I had minced him, huh. Or wait, was it possible that some of the adventurers had been crushed while doing the bungee jumping?

    Still, eat them they said... I wasn¡¯t a real bear, you know...

    ¡¸You guys are being too noisy! Shut up!¡¹

    Sanya-san shouted at the adventurers, making the guild quiet down.

    ¡¸Guild Master, who is this bear girl?¡¹

    One of the adventurers asked Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Her name is Yuna. She might be wearing these kind of clothes, but she is a rank C adventurer.¡¹

    She knew that I was rank C, because I had told her when I had met her the time I had went to see Princess Flora in the castle.

    ¡¸Rank C?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a lie, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That bear is rank C......¡¹

    The guild, which had been made quiet just a second ago, became noisy again.

    Just like that, my personal information was spreading again...

    Well, it was just my rank, so it was okay, I guess.

    If my three sizes were being spread, I would kill them all, though.

    My three sizes>>>An adventurer¡¯s life.

    Its value was at least that much.

    ¡¸Guild Master, does that mean that if I win against this bear you will make me rank C?!¡¹

    A man just like Deborane stood up and said that.

    I will call this man Deborane 2.0 from now on.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I would do that. Are you an idiot?¡¹

    Sanya-san said bluntly.

    ¡¸But, there¡¯s no way I would believe that this Bear is rank C.¡¹

    More than half of the adventurers in the guild nodded in agreement.

    Deborane 2.0 saw he had others on his side, so he decided to approach me.

    ¡¸Oi! Stop!¡¹

    ¡¸Then, if I beat her too, I should be rank C as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys should really stop.¡¹

    ¡¸I will be the third one!¡¹

    ¡¸You will die...¡¹

    The opinions of the adventurers were splendidly divided in two.

    ¡¸Daju, if you take one more step towards Yuna-chan, I will be the one you will face.¡¹

    Sanya-san called Deborane 2.0 by his actual name: Daju.

    So, his name wasn¡¯t Deborane 2.0....

    ¡¸Let me have a match with her, then. It¡¯s impossible for a littless like her to be rank C when I¡¯m rank D!¡¹

    ¡¸Her strength is the real deal; you won¡¯t be able to win!¡¹

    Sanya-san raised her voice a bit.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t know that until I try!¡¹

    Deborane (Daju) responded by raising his voice, too.

    Somehow, this discussion was going in a weird direction.

    This was strange... Even though I only came here to hear about the mine... Why did it turn out like this?

    It must have been because of my clothes; I reached that conclusion instantly.

    I was getting irritated, so I spoke up.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, I ept this match.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸If I lose, make him rank C. In return, if I win, this man will have to do one thing for me.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can do something like that. There are proper rules for ranking up. If I yield here, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild will lose its credibility!¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san, if...this man can win against me, he¡¯s strong enough to be rank C.¡¹

    As long as I was wearing this Bear Cheat, I didn¡¯t think I could lose.

    ¡¸Or, do you think I could lose?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I understand what you mean. But, what will you make him do, Yuna-chan? I won¡¯t allow it if it¡¯s something unreasonable.¡¹

    ¡¸I will just use him as my shield if something like this happens again, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸Shield?¡¹

    ¡¸If other adventurers decide to involve themselves with me like this again, I will have him stand in front of me.¡¹

    When I said that, Deborane (Daju) gave me a slight smile and nodded.

    ¡¸Okay. If other adventurers pick a fight with you, I will make mincemeat out of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright. If there are people who won¡¯t be happy with the result of this match, they will be expelled from the guild. If you are okay with such conditions, I will officially ept this match as the guild master.¡¹

    Sanya-san dered while sighing.

    Deborane (Daju) nodded in agreement.

    We proceeded to the practice ground at the back of the guild, apanied by the adventurers who were inside the guild.

    Then, the match started.

    ...... A few minutester:

    ¡¸Uhaaa...¡¹¡¸Please stop...¡¹¡¸I was wrong...¡¹¡¸Ugyaaah...¡¹

    Deborane (Daju) flew into the air. It wasn¡¯t like he did it on his own ord; the moment the match started, I made him fly up by using wind magic under him.

    Deborane (Daju) let out a shriek and started to fall.

    The practice ground was so big that it was almost as if it had no roof.

    I caught Deborane (Daju) with an invisible cushion, and then, like he was on a trampoline, I made him fly up again.

    ¡¸Help me...¡¹

    Yep. I looked at Deborane (Daju) flying. What a nice weather. If it wasn¡¯t for Deborane (Daju)¡¯s screams, I might have wanted to take a nap.

    The adventurers who came to watch had their mouths wide open while looking at Deborane (Daju).

    ¡¸I beg you...¡¹

    I brought out an Oren Juice from my Bear Box and drank it. I had walked around the capital all day, after all. I wasn¡¯t tired thanks to the Bear Equipment, but I was still thirsty.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll die...¡¹

    ¡¸Want some too, Fina?¡¹

    I asked Fina who was standing on the side.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna......¡¹

    Fina looked at me with an exasperated expression.

    Why did she look at me with like that?

    ¡¸Hmm, Yuna-chan, shouldn¡¯t you stop soon?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked me while looking at Deborane (Daju).

    ¡¸Huh? Well, I mean, the match isn¡¯t concluded yet, right? You didn¡¯t say a word about victory, so I kept going.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? It¡¯s my fault!?¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at me dumbfoundedly.

    I mean, didn¡¯t a match continue until the referee said that it was finished?

    ¡¸Anyway, just stop it already. He already lost consciousness.¡¹

    When I stopped my wind magic, Deborane (Daju) fell onto the floor, motionless.

    ¡ºThere¡¯s no reaction. He¡¯s just like a corpse.¡»

    Stopping with the jokes, Iunched water magic at his face; I had to hear the words of defeat from him.

    ¡¸You woke up?¡¹

    ¡¸...You are...¡¹

    ¡¸Do you ept defeat? Or, do you want to fight me one more time?¡¹

    Deborane (Daju) looked around him, bowed his head, and dered his defeat in a whisper.

    ¡¸I lost. I won¡¯t pick a fight with you ever again. If there are people who wille to pick a fight with you, I will be your shield as best as I can.¡¹

    Deborane (Daju) stood up, his steps staggering.

    ¡¸Guys, if you don¡¯t want to end up like me, don¡¯t fight the Bear. You should understand that she was going easy on me, right? If she didn¡¯t, I would have fallen from up high and died.¡¹

    As if they understood it well, all of the adventurers nodded.

    ¡¸Well then, since this match is finished, you should all go back inside the guild.¡¹

    Sanya-san said to everyone.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, what are you saying? There were two more, right? Two more adventurers who wanted to have a match with me, I mean. They already made a reservation, so we have to let them fight me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re being somewhat scary.¡¹

    In this case, two was better than one, and three was better than two.

    It would be better if I had more shields.

    ¡¸Hmm, who was it again? The adventurer over there?¡¹

    I pointed at a random adventurer with my Bear-san Puppet.

    I didn¡¯t know which person it was, of course.

    The one I pointed shook his head with all of his strength.

    ¡¸Ahh, was it you, then?¡¹

    I pointed at another random adventurer with my Bear-san Puppet.

    Just like before, the adventurer shook his head violently.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you should stop this. Don¡¯t you see that they have already learned their lesson? You guys shouldn¡¯t go against her. It¡¯s not just Daju, I won¡¯t have mercy on you guys either, okay?¡¹

    When she said that, the adventurers fled the practice grounds.

    Deborane (Daju) approached me.

    ¡¸My name is Daju. Your magic is really incredible. If you have any trouble, just tell me.¡¹

    After saying that, Daju left the practice grounds.

    ¡¸You should excuse him for this. He¡¯s stressed because he can¡¯t raise his rank. He has already reached the strength of rank C adventurer, but he simply has no luck.¡¹

    Even if he was stressed, I was the one troubled when he came to pick a fight with me... Still, it was good publicity, so I was fine with it.

    With what happened previously and this time, I shouldn¡¯t be bothered when I came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild next time, right?

    After all, there were a lot of adventurers at the capital, so there were a lot who thought of approaching me like Daju did.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-chan, I will hear what you have to say in my room.¡¹

    We were getting to the real issue atst.

    Why was it that just because I hade here to hear about the mine, it had be something so big?

    Fina and I were led by Sanya-san to the Guild Master¡¯s room.

    Author¡¯s note:

    When I was writing this, myputer froze two times.

    You should take care and save your documents.

    You won¡¯t have to write the same thing two times relying just on your memory, after all. w

 Chapter 138 â€“ Bear-san Listens To The Talk About The Mines

    Chapter 138 ¨C Bear-san Listens To The Talk About The Mines

    Author¡¯s note:

    I rewrote almost half of this chapter and would be happy if you read it again.

    Sanya-san took Fina and me to the Guild Master¡¯s room. Before entering the room, as if she just remembered it, Sanya-san asked an employee to bring us drinks.

    This Guild Master¡¯s room was quite big. In front of the window at the back of the room, there was a big desk where Sanya-san must have worked. On both sides of the desk, there were bookshelves backed to the walls. On the desk, there were things that seemed to be documents, stored side by side.

    It honestly looked like a mayor¡¯s room.

    In the center of the room, there was a table with chairs on each side; it looked like a ce to hold meetings.

    Sanya-san didn¡¯t go to her desk, but sat on a chair on the other side of the table instead.

    Really, how did it turn out like this...

    I didn¡¯t think that getting a knife would end up being so troublesome, and that wasn¡¯t even taking into ount that I wasn¡¯t even getting the mithril knife yet, just information on the mine....

    Ugh, if I had known it would have ended up like this, I would have just taken a nap. I wanted the ck Tiger dismantled, though, and wanted the mithril knife, too.

    Maybe I should just abandon the knife for now.

    As I was thinking about what I should do after this, Sanya-san asked us to sit down.

    ¡¸Please sit wherever you want.¡¹

    Fina and I sat down in front of her, and then, with perfect timing, someone knocked on the door. The employee, whom Sanya-san had sent to get us drinks, entered and served us the drinks.

    When the employee put the drinks down, I made sure to thank him.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I have seen you a few times recently, but it has been a while, Fina-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it has been a while, Sanya-san.¡¹

    Fina greeted her with a bow.

    ¡¸So, what did you want to hear about that it made youe all the way to the guild?¡¹

    I exined to her what had happened until now and how I had ended up at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡¸A mithril knife to dismantle a ck Tiger, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to buy one at Crimonia but couldn¡¯t get it, so I came to the capital, but...¡¹

    Crimonia¡¯s cksmith ¡ú Capita l¡ú Capital¡¯s Commerce Guild ¡ú Capital¡¯s cksmith ¡ú Capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild ¡ú To be continued.

    There was no goal in sight.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s a precious metal, so it makes sense. We couldn¡¯t obtain a lot before, but now that we can¡¯t mine anymore, it¡¯s even worse. Even if someone were to sell it, it would surely be really expensive.¡¹

    Well, I didn¡¯t really care about the cost, but I didn¡¯t want to buy it at a rip-off price.

    Since mithril ore became more expensive, it made sense for the price of mithril products to increase too, but I wanted to buy it at the normal price if possible.

    ¡¸What happened at the mine, then? cksmith Gazar-san told me that a golem appeared.¡¹

    I really couldn¡¯t understand why a golem had suddenly appeared in a mine that had been active for years...

    Did things like this happen because this was a different world?

    ¡¸It¡¯s just as you said: a golem appeared at the mine. As the miners were mining, they discovered a huge cave, and it seems that the golem was sleeping in this cave.¡¹

    ¡¸The golem slept there?¡¹

    ¡¸From what the miners told us, supposedly one of them approached the golem, which suddenly woke up and attacked the man, who panicked and barely managed to get away alive.¡¹

    ¡¸And now the golem is rampaging throughout the mine?¡¹

    If there was only one golem, wouldn¡¯t the adventurers normally be able to defeat it, or...

    Was it possible that the golem had destroyed the passageway and the mine was now blocked in?

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t really like the golem is rampaging, it would be better to say that it only stayed there. It doesn¡¯t leave the mine, after all. It attacks when we enter the mine, though.¡¹

    Since it was a golem, was it protecting something?

    In novels and games, they were often used as guardians.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t adventurers go there to subjugate it by now?¡¹

    ¡¸A number of them already went to subjugate it, but...¡¹

    Sanya-san said with difficulty.

    ¡¸It seems that it¡¯s really troublesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Troublesome?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems that there isn¡¯t only one golem.¡¹

    ¡¸There are more of them?¡¹

    ¡¸We have reports of a number of subjugated golems, but for now, we aren¡¯t able to grasp how many golems are in the mine.¡¹

    Were the golems spawning infinitely?

    If this were a game, people would be happy with how much experience they could get, right?

    Still, wouldn¡¯t I know how many golems there were if I used detection magic?

    The problem was that it might not be possible for me to detect monsters inside the mine.

    I already knew that I could detect monsters in a goblin-nest-sized caverns, but would it work for something like a mine, where there were multiple levels? Was it only possible to detect on the level I was on, or was it possible to detect on multiple levels at the same time? I had never tried it out, so I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸There¡¯s another problem; when we go further inside, iron golems start to appear.¡¹

    Iron golems, she said?

    They were a troublesome bunch to fight inside a cave.

    Since it was a cave, I couldn¡¯t use fire magic. If I used earth magic, I didn¡¯t know how much damage a physical type of attack would cause. I wasn¡¯t sure if using wind magic to cut iron would work. Water was out of the question, and using ice magic would have the same effect as earth magic. When it came to things like iron golems, having a mithril sword, which could cut iron, was something I would have liked to have.

    To summarize, it would be troublesome to fight the golems inside the mine.

    ¡¸We had it as a rank D request until few days ago, but now that iron golems started to appear, I put it as a rank C or higher request.¡¹

    So, it increased from a rank D request to a rank C request, huh.

    When talking about rank D, that would be adventurers with the strength of Deborane or Deborane 2.0, right?

    I tried to recall their strength, but... I realized that I didn¡¯t know their strength since I only one-sidedly punched or used magic against them.

    The only rank C acquaintance I had was Jeid-san, who I had encountered not too long ago, but I didn¡¯t really know how strong he was.

    I didn¡¯t really understand this, but wasn¡¯t he quite strong, being at rank C?

    ¡¸So, if I go to the mine, will I be able to get mithril ore?¡¹

    What I was looking for was information about mithril ore and not golems.

    ¡¸Hmm, I don¡¯t know. That information is Commerce Guild¡¯s jurisdiction, after all.¡¹

    That meant that I had no reason to go to the mine, then.

    I might be able to get some, but the opposite was also possible.

    It would be troublesome, so should we just go home?

    I decided dropping it was better and stood up from my chair.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    I thanked Sanya-san, drank the drink that the employee had served me, and was about to leave, when there was another knock on the door.

    ¡¸Come in!¡¹

    Sanya-san called out, and somebody I knew well entered.

    ¡¸Oh? Yuna-chan and Fina-chan were here?¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-san!?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are the two of you here?¡¹

    That was what I wanted to ask.

    ¡¸I came here to get some information. What about you, Eleanora-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to speak with Sanya.¡¹

    Eleanora-san approached us and sat down next to Fina.

    ¡¸Fina-chan, are you well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Fina answered a bit nervously.

    ¡¸Is Noa doing well too?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we yed together just the other day.¡¹

    I saw the two of them together from time to time; they were obviously getting along well.

    They even came to the Bear House sometimes and asked me to summon Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Oh, is that so. May I leave that girl in your hands from now on as well?¡¹

    Fina smiled and nodded.

    ¡¸So, Eleanora-sama, what did you want to speak with me about?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked to Eleanora-san, who intruded so suddenly.

    ¡¸I came here to learn more about what happened with that case.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re talking about the mine?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if we keep being unable to procure ore, the whole country will be troubled.¡¹

    ¡¸A few days ago, two rank C parties went to the mine.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought about sending the soldiers if it proved impossible for the guild to handle this, but shouldn¡¯t it be okay with rank C adventurers? How many people did you send?¡¹

    ¡¸Four to five people in each party.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I will continue overseeing how it goes for a while longer, then. If they won¡¯t be able to deal with it, I will send out the soldiers.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    I was thinking that if they could bring out the soldiers, then they should do it sooner, so I asked about it.

    They told me that monster subjugations were adventurers¡¯ jobs. If soldiers were to take care of subjugations, adventurers would be out of work.

    Only when the adventurers couldn¡¯t handle the situation would the soldiers be sent out; this was the unspoken agreement between them.

    That was why the adventurers were sent to subjugate the golems and not the soldiers.

    This seemed like a really troublesome rtionship, but I guess they had no other choice, huh.

    If the soldiers took care of all the monsters, adventurers wouldn¡¯t have anything to do, and if a real crisis were to fall upon the country, and the soldiers were deployed hunting monsters, it could end up really bad.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-chan, why are you here?¡¹

    I proceeded to exin everything to Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Mithril, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Is the ore shortage really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸We can manage to get iron and other basic ores, but as for mithril and other more precious metals, we can only procure a small amount, so the shortage is quite bad. Their prices keep rising, and normal adventurers can¡¯t afford them anymore.¡¹

    Mithril did cost a lot as expected, huh.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, if you want mithril, would you mind listening to my request? When we procure some mithril, I will prioritize sending it to you, or, if you prefer, I could give you the mithril knife I have at home.¡¹

    ¡¸Your request... Is it the golem¡¯s subjugation?¡¹

    Listening to what she was offering, I could only see it ending up like that.

    ¡¸Yes, I think now that rank C adventurers were sent, it will be fine, but I would still prefer for it to be resolved as soon as possible.¡¹

    ¡¸I do want mithril, but you could also ask a rank B or A adventurer, not just me, right?¡¹

    I had never seen them, but I was sure that there were some high ranked adventurers at the capital.

    Yet, they smiled bitterly.

    ¡¸We do have some high ranked adventurers at the capital, but it¡¯s quite difficult to ask them.¡¹

    ¡¸............?¡¹

    I tilted my head.

    I couldn¡¯t understand why they couldn¡¯t ask them when the adventurers were here.

    ¡¸The first reason why is because high ranked adventurers often wander around. We don¡¯t know where they are or when they¡¯ll return. So, we can¡¯t ask them.¡¹

    ¡¸They go to undiscoverednds, looking for strong monsters. They don¡¯t have much to do at the capital, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸High ranking adventurers are mostly free and hard to control, and they don¡¯t like to be bound to one ce.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and Sanya-san exined to me.

    So, that was why I had never encountered high ranked adventurers before, huh.

    ¡¸Also, a lot of those high ranking adventurers are entrics, so it¡¯s quite difficult to ask them.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and Sanya-san looked at me at the same time.

    Why were they looking at me, I wondered?

    Wait, someone else was looking at me, too. Fina, why were you looking at me as well?

    I would be sad, you know.

    I wasn¡¯t an entric person.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan is not an entric person, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said, still looking at me.

    The way she said it was strange, somehow.

    ¡¸Like I said before, high ranking adventurers are all people who either love adventure, are shut in researching magic, or going on long trips looking for strong foes. They also have a lot of money, so they don¡¯t really ept many requests.¡¹

    Oh! Somehow, these adventurers were giving me a good feeling.

    I also had a lot of money, so I didn¡¯t really want to work. I also wanted to see this new world, so I did want to go on adventures. New magic research also seemed quite interesting. I didn¡¯t really want to look for strong foes, though (or maybe just a little).

    When I thought about it now, I was arade of these entrics.

    Still, it was all due to my way of thinking, and absolutely not because my clothes were entric.

    ¡¸But it¡¯s not like all of the high ranking adventurers are entrics, right?¡¹

    If that was the case, this world would end...

    ¡¸But of course. There are also some normal high ranking adventurers, but they are mostly taken by other countries.¡¹

    I see. That was why the only high ranked adventurers who remained were entrics.

    ¡¸So, it¡¯s difficult to ask high ranked adventurers, and because of that, could you please ept my request, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    It somehow seemed to me as if they were already putting me on the same level as those entrics, though.

    I wanted mithril, so it would be okay to ept, but the problem were the iron golems.

    Normal golems made from earth or rocks were fine, but I didn¡¯t know if I could subjugate iron ones.

    ¡¸You will give me enough mithril to make a knife only?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, mithril is a precious metal and is difficult to process, so it has quite the price attached to it, but if it¡¯s knives, I will give you enough for two of them.¡¹

    I nced at Fina, who was shaking her head. Was it because mithril was more expensive than she thought?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...... You don¡¯t have to push yourself so hard; I don¡¯t need a mithril knife. I think it will be fine if we just ask the guild to dismantle the ck Tiger.¡¹

    When someone said that they didn¡¯t need it, it was human¡¯s nature to do your best to obtain it for them.

    Also, thinking of the future, I had the feeling that we would need the mithril knife again.

    ¡¸Okay, I ept, but I¡¯m not sure if I can take care of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, thank you. You saved us. While you¡¯re away, I will take care of Fina-chan at my house, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Huh?¡¹¡¹

    When Eleanora-san said that, both Fina and I let out surprised sounds.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me that you nned on bringing her with you?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked in astonishment while also hugging Fina at the same time.

    I didn¡¯t n on bringing her with me, but as one would expect, I couldn¡¯t really tell them that I was nning on sending her to Crimonia using my transfer gate.

    ¡¸I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹

    I answered.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!?¡¹

    Fina gave me a surprised look, and I apologized to her in my heart.

    I learned where to find the mine, and I once again went to the Bear House, used the Bear Transfer Gate to ask Terumi-san to lend Fina to me, got her approval, and went back to the capital using the gate before finishing this troublesome task by handing Fina to Eleanora-san.

    Fina had a sad expression since she had to stay at a noble¡¯s mansion; I really hoped she wouldn¡¯t lose her soul from the stress this would cause her.

    I wille back soon, so please wait for me.

    Just like that, it came to be that I had to go to the mine on my own in order to save the imprisoned princess Fina.

    I felt that my goal had somehow changed, but I departed without paying any mind to it.

    Author¡¯s note:

    It will be difficult for me to post tomorrow even if it would be just writing a new side story...

 Chapter 139 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Mine (The Hero Goes To The Mine)

    Chapter 139 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Mine (The Hero Goes To The Mine)

    Princess Fina had been captured by the witch Eleanora, and she would surely be forced to eat delicious things, live in a beautiful room, wear gorgeous clothes, and sleep in a really soft bed.

    The witch Eleanora was trying to wreck her heart (stomach).

    Not to mention that, before the hero Yuna woulde back to save her, she would have to sightsee the capital and y with the witch¡¯s daughter, Shia. I was sure that Princess Fina was crying (smiling) when she was alone.

    The hero Yuna was on her way to the mine that held the golem materials that the witch wanted. The hero Yuna had to bring the materials to the witch in order to take Princess Fina back.

    ¡¸Princess Fina, please wait for me. I will defeat the golems without fail ande back for you.¡¹

    I have to save her as quickly as possible. Yes, that was what the hero Yuna promised in her heart before she turned her back on the witch¡¯s mansion and started walking towards the mine.

    ......Okay, enough with the jokes. After I had given Fina to Eleanora-san yesterday, I had also spent the night at the manor before going towards the mine this morning.

    From what Sanya-san had told me, the mine wasn¡¯t too far from the capital, so I decided to go to the mine using Swaying Bear.

    Still, golems, huh?

    Golems made of earth or stone were okay, but the iron ones would be really troublesome.

    I couldn¡¯t use anyrge-scale magic in the mine, so how should I deal with it...?

    Well, I still had some time to think before I reached the mine.

    I was sure Fina would be having fun, so I didn¡¯t really have to rush myself.

    I made Swaying Bear run leisurely and took a break when I was halfway there.

    ¡¸Thank you, Swaying Bear. Hugging Bear, I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹

    I pet both of their heads before embarking on another light run, this time on Hugging Bear.

    After traveling for a while, I noticed some buildings ahead of me.

    As we got closer, I climbed down from Hugging Bear and approached them on foot.

    It was a small town, and the mine was right next to it.

    The sun was already going down, so I decided to find an inn for now and start the investigation tomorrow.

    Most of the people who lived there had something to do with the mine: people who wanted to get ore and people who traded with the mine workers. When people gathered like that, shops started to pop up.

    It made sense for this town to be established next to the mine.

    Also, Sanya-san had told me that there was a proper inn here, meant for the adventurers and the merchants who came to purchase ore.

    I entered the town and, like usual, gathered attention from the surroundings.

    I decided to pay it no mind for the time being and looked for the inn.

    As I was walking through the town, someone called me from behind.

    ¡¸Is that possibly you, Yuna!?¡¹

    I turned around and saw Jade-san and his party members.

    ¡¸I knew it, it¡¯s Yuna-chan!¡¹

    Meru-san seemed really happy.

    ¡¸Who wouldn¡¯t recognize her just by seeing her?¡¹

    An expressionless girl, who seemed to be about twenty, said.

    ¡¸Oh! This brings back memories, Bear Missy.¡¹

    A man holding a sword said.

    I didn¡¯t remember him, but I was sure he was a member of Jade-san¡¯s party.

    I remembered that there had been four of them at Crimonia, but I never remembered the faces of people I had met only once and talked to for only a few seconds.

    As Jade-san approached me, I had a feeling that even more people were starting to look at me.

    Jade-san¡¯s party already stood out on its own, and a girl in a Bear Suit didn¡¯t help with that; it would be more strange if we weren¡¯t attracting attention. I would like the party to stop making a fuss, though. I didn¡¯t want to stand out even more than I already did.

    I had a feeling that I shouldn¡¯t beining about others making me stand out but decided to ignore it.

    ¡¸So, why are you here, Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, to do my job, more or less?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you here for the golems?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You¡¯re here for them too, Jade-san?¡¹

    Well, it made sense for them to be here for the golems.

    So, they were the rank C party that had been sent, huh.

    ¡¸Yea, we received the request and have been subjugating the golems for thest few days. We just came back from the mine after today¡¯s round.¡¹

    ¡¸How¡¯s it going? I will go back if it¡¯s almost finished.¡¹

    I asked without getting my hopes up even though it would be really great if it was going well.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not going that well.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    C rank adventurers were having problems, too?

    ¡¸Jade, we shouldn¡¯t talk here. How about we go back to the inn and discuss this while we eat?¡¹

    Meru-san chimed in.

    She was right. We stood out talking in the middle of the road like this, and I also wanted to reserve a room at the inn before it was toote.

    If there were no open rooms, I would have to find a ce that didn¡¯t stand out and bring out the Bear House I used for travel.

    I epted Meru-san¡¯s proposal, and we headed to the inn.

    On the way there, Jade-san¡¯s party introduced themselves.

    I already knew Jade-san and Meru-san since I met them during the guard mission, but even though I had seen the other two at the Crimonia¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I didn¡¯t remember them at all. I honestly only remembered their genders.

    The male swordsman was Toya, and the expressionless girl, who was wearing light clothing, was Senya.

    We arrived at the inn, and I managed to reserve a room, even though the inn was crowded.

    It seemed that the merchants came from all over to fight for the ores. They didn¡¯te only from the capital but also came from many other towns.

    I was actually lucky with the room I booked; the merchant that had it before had just left today.

    When I entered the inn, I was the center of attention, as expected. I ignored them all, of course, and thanks to Jade-san and his party, no one dared to pick a fight with me.

    The only thing that bothered me was, when I went to speak to the wife of the owner of the inn, she looked at me with a meek smile and then, switching her gaze to Jade-san, said:

    ¡¸Will this girl, who wears clothes that look like a bear, be staying here?¡¹

    Why was she asking Jade-san and not me?

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. Could you prepare a room, please?¡¹

    Jade-san said whileughing.

    I was thankful to Jade-san for being able to reserve a room, but... I wasn¡¯t a child; I was a proper rank C adventurer, you know...

    ¡¸Too bad... If there were no free rooms, I would have you sleep in ours...¡¹

    Meru-san said.

    ¡¸Our room only has two beds, you know.¡¹

    Senya-san chimed in.

    ¡¸Eh, isn¡¯t that okay!? If you like, I will sleep with Yuna-chan. She¡¯s small, so if she took off this bear, we would be able to sleep together.¡¹

    Nope, I wouldn¡¯t take it off.

    If I was at my home, I would be okay with it, but at a ce where I didn¡¯t know what would happen, I would never take off my Bear Equipment.

    Anyway, since my room was safely booked and it was time for dinner, we sat down at an open table and ordered some food.

    ¡¸So, how is the golem subjugation going then?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we should say that we don¡¯t really know.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though we continue defeating the golems every day, they keep replenishing, so they are back to their initial numbers the next day.¡¹

    I knew it, it was a spawnpoint.

    Hearing this information would make any gamer really happy.

    If this was a game, I would be happy too, of course.

    ¡¸We think that the first golem the miners found is the cause of all of this.¡¹

    I also thought that the first golem was suspicious.

    It was the simplest reasoning that governed in games and novels; when something was discovered, it would also trigger something else.

    ¡¸You haven¡¯t defeated that golem yet?¡¹

    If it was possibly the cause for all of this, we just had to go and defeat it. If we were wrong, we just had to think of another method.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that easy, you know. The further in we go, the stronger the golems get.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you talking about iron golems?¡¹

    ¡¸You knew about them?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that they were the reason that this became a rank C request.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t defeat them; they are just a troublesome bunch.¡¹

    I thought so as well; defeating iron golems seemed really troublesome.

    ¡¸But you can still defeat them, right? Shouldn¡¯t you be able to make progress then?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s a big opening just before the cave where the first golem was found, and five iron golems stand guard there. As you can expect, that¡¯s too much for us.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why we¡¯re now thinking about what we can do.¡¹

    I see.

    So, if we could do something about those five iron golems, it was possible to reach the cave, huh.

    It would somehow work out, then. As we continued to talk, the entrance became noisy.

    ¡¸Ah, I¡¯m tired. So tired!¡¹

    ¡¸So true! I really want to stop fighting these iron golems over and over again!¡¹

    ¡¸But we get a lot of money from them, right?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s really a lot of iron golems, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m really hungry; we should get something to eat.¡¹

    When I turned towards the noise, I saw five adventurers entering the inn.

    The moment I saw them, I knew that they were in the type of people I didn¡¯t want to involve myself with (even though this wasn¡¯t a nice thing to say).

    They seemed to be three times worse than Deborane.

    Also, what was up with those clothes?

    The one in front was wearing equipment that waspletely red, maybe to go with his bright-red hair? If a buffalo was here, he would have been attacked for sure.

    Also, for some reason, the second one was wearing blue equipment, the third wore green, while the fourth one was probably a magician wrapped in a ck mantle. Thest one was the only woman of the group? She looked about 30 years old, and she was wearing a white mantle.

    They represented the five color squadron quite well.

    If they weren¡¯t white and ck, but yellow and pink, it would have been perfect, but as expected, in this world, even though a yellow mantle would barely pass, a pink one would bepletely out of the question, so there was no helping it.

    This five color squad approached us.

    ¡¸Yo, Jade! Since when did you start keeping a bear as a pet?¡¹

    The red man dared to say while looking at me, making the other four behind himugh.

    Okay, it was decided; I would call these five the Idiot Rangers from now on.

    The Power Rangers were the superheroes who represented Japan, so it wasn¡¯t like I was making a fool out of them.

    ¡¸She¡¯s an adventurer, you know. She¡¯s the same rank as us.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking. Hey guys, he¡¯s saying that a bear is an adventurer! Stop making usugh.¡¹

    That was what you wereughing about!?

    It wasn¡¯t something you would retort about, was it?... Well, he was right, but... wouldn¡¯t you normally retort about the rank?

    ¡¸And rank C, you say? If you want to make meugh, tell me something more ridiculous. Well, her existence itself is enough to make meugh, though.¡¹

    Idiot Redughed.

    ¡¸Well, we should stop talking about the bear for now. How did it go today? We defeated three iron golems, so we are doing great.¡¹

    ¡¸We defeated two.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Well, we will defeat those five golems, so don¡¯t worry. And the prey behind them is also ours.¡¹

    ¡¸Do as you wish. But if we don¡¯t hurry, the soldiers will be sent out, it seems.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? Then we have to hurry, because if the country took this delicious prey, it would be a big loss for us.¡¹

    Idiot Red left whileughing.

    ¡¸They are adventurers who came to subjugate the golems, too. They are rank C, and even though their attitude are the worst, they are quite skilled.¡¹

    So, they were the second rank C party that came to subjugate the golems, huh.

    Like Jade had exined to me, I also noticed that they had the worst attitude, but if they were able to kill iron golems, that meant they had at least some skill.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same as usual, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, it was terrible to say that Yuna-chan is a pet! Even though she¡¯s not a pet but a mascot...¡¹

    That was also wrong, you know... I retorted silently.

    ¡¸But seeing how they were like before, they must be selling them at a good price.¡¹

    ¡¸Selling them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, they are selling the iron golem materials, and it seems like they are selling them at quite the price.¡¹

    I see. The golems were treated as monsters, so when you defeated one, its body, which was left behind, was considered yours, right?

    ¡¸You said ¡®it seems¡¯. Does that mean that you guys aren¡¯t selling them? You just said that you defeated two, though...¡¹

    ¡¸We are selling them through the normal route, so we don¡¯t get that much out of them. Well, I said that, but they are still buying them from us at a 20% increased price.¡¹

    ¡¸From what I heard, they are selling them at a 50% increased price.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how much the iron cost normally, but it seemed that they were profiting quite a bit.

    I didn¡¯t need money, but unlike in the game, if you killed the golems, their whole bodies would remain behind as they were, right?

    If I defeated one cleanly, would I be able to keep it as it was?

    If I did, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to use it as a golem decoration somewhere.

    Our meals arrived, and while we were eating, Jade-san gave me a lot information about the mine.

    ¡¸Is it okay for you to tell me this much? Normally, the information shouldn¡¯t be given away like this, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t lose anything by telling you this time. If we, the adventurers, don¡¯t figure out why the golems are replenishing, the country will move, meaning that we would all fail this request.¡¹

    ¡¸If I can deal with the golems, does that mean that you guys will alsoplete the request?¡¹

    Those Idiot Rangers as well...

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s how it works this time around. You need the magic stones from the golems you defeated to prove that you took part, of course. If you don¡¯t have any, they take it as if you didn¡¯t participate, and the request isn¡¯t marked aspleted.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, when you look at the reward for the one who personallypletes the request by defeating the final enemy, there isn¡¯t much of a difference from the reward for people who just participate.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t forget that we can make a lot of money by selling the iron golem raw materials, too. So, because of all this, we don¡¯t have any problems telling you, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸On the contrary, we would be saved if you could defeat thest golem.¡¹

    As they said, this was a special request.

    Normally, adventurers struggled to find the monsters, so they wouldn¡¯t share the information this easily.

    ¡¸Thank you for the information; it will help me a lot.¡¹

    I thanked them, finished my meal, and went to my room to sleep.

    Starting tomorrow, I would have to start exploring the mine.

 Chapter 140 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 1

    Chapter 140 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 1

    The hero arrived at the mine to obtain the materials needed to save Princess Fina, who had been captured by the witch Eleanora.

    A golem stood in front of the hero. As the golemunched its punches, countless pebbles flew through the air.

    The hero dodged, but she couldn¡¯t dodge every strike, and a few pebbles hit the hero¡¯s cheek.

    Petchi, petchi, petchi, petchi

    It didn¡¯t hurt, though. It was as if they were soft. Such weak attacks wouldn¡¯t defeat the hero.

    The hero ran at the golem while it continued tounch countless harmless pebbles.

    Such weak attacks were of no concern at all, so the hero didn¡¯t stop her assault.

    Petchi, petchi, petchi, petchi

    The pebbles continued to hit the hero¡¯s cheek, but they still didn¡¯t hurt.

    Then, the hero, who was about to slice the golem with her sword, suddenly couldn¡¯t breathe anymore.

    What sort of attack was this!?

    It felt as if something was pressing against her face.

    She was suffocating......

    ¡®So, I will die because of an unknown attack like this......¡¯

    The hero lost consciousness.

    ¡¸Uwaaaah, I can¡¯t breathe!¡¹

    Thud

    When I woke up, something fell from my face.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear?¡¹

    I saw Hugging Bear, tilting his head in front of me, and Swaying Bear next to him.

    ¡¸Is it possible that the dream I just had was your fault?¡¹

    Those soft attacks from the golem and the suffocating feeling at the end.

    I looked at the two, and they let out small ¡®Kuun¡¯ cries.

    I looked around the room and saw that the sun was shining into it; they seemed to have woken me because it was already morning.

    ¡¸Thank you, but you two should think of a way that won¡¯t make me suffocate next time, okay?¡¹

    As a protective measure, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear yesterday night.

    I was never more defenseless than when I slept, after all.

    I recalled them into their gloves, changed back into the ck Bear, and went to the dining room to have breakfast.

    I was thankful that the bears woke me up, but I would like it if they stopped jumping on my face as they did it. I almost died of suffocation. If it hadsted any longer, I might have appeared on the obituary section of a newspaper. The title would have been,¡ºA girl wearing a bear suit has died.¡»

    Well, it wouldn¡¯t have been like this at all if I just woke up when Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear were softly hitting my cheeks. People didn¡¯t easily wake up everyday, though. There were times when they wanted to wake upte, too.

    Still, I had work this time around, so Hugging Bear had to wake me up. I should be thankful and just bear with it.

    As I was thinking about Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear, Meru-san and Senya-san arrived.

    I couldn¡¯t see the two men yet.

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Meru-san greeted me, while Senya-san just lightly waved her hand.

    ¡¸Meru-san, Senya-san, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, will you go to the mine after breakfast?¡¹

    ¡¸I will just check the situation for now. I can¡¯t just stand around, after all.¡¹

    I had to save the imprisoned Princess Fina, too.

    ¡¸Then, how abouting with us?¡¹

    ¡¸With you guys?¡¹

    ¡¸We know your strength from the rumors, but... your appearance is...¡¹

    ¡¸I can only see a cute bear.¡¹

    They started petting my head when they said that.

    ¡¸We are worried, since you don¡¯t seem that strong...¡¹

    ¡¸...So, the two of us talked about it and decided we should go together.¡¹

    They disyed their worries for me quite firmly.

    It was easier for me to move around on my own, though. Well, I did want to see how strong rank C adventurers were, so...

    What should I do?

    First of all, how about they stopped petting my head?

    The two sat down next to me and ordered breakfast.

    ¡¸But won¡¯t it be a problem if you two don¡¯t ask Jade-san first?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, even if we don¡¯t talk to him.¡¹

    Meru-san said.

    No wait, Jade-san was the leader, right? This was something you were supposed to discuss with him, right?!

    While I was talking to the two of them, Jade-san and Toya-san came down from the second floor.

    ¡¸You¡¯re all early, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re justte. By the way, Yuna-chan will being with us today.¡¹

    Wait... I didn¡¯t ept it yet, you know!

    Also, she said it like it was a done deal.

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also fine with that.¡¹

    Hey, were you two really okay with this!?

    Shouldn¡¯t you normally discuss it before agreeing?

    In the end, my silent protests didn¡¯t reach anyone, and I had to go with them.

    There were many tunnels we could use to enter the mine.

    I didn¡¯t know how many decades or even hundreds of years the mine had been here, but it seemed ancient, and they made new tunnels every now and then.

    The golems had appeared in the most recent one, which they had already been digging out for a few years now.

    It seemed that there were two entrances you could take to get the first golem. It didn¡¯t matter which you took, though, since they met halfway.

    The Idiot Rangers always used the same entrance, so Jade-san¡¯s party always entered through the other one.

    It seemed that they did that so the Idiot Rangers couldn¡¯t say anything about Jade-san¡¯s party stealing their prey or the like.

    This was the correct way of dealing with the Idiot Rangers; it was better to avoid the idiots than to crush them.

    It was simr to arguing with stupid people. They were selfish, narcissistic, didn¡¯t listen to other people, altered the facts to their liking, and acted rashly. When they failed at something, they med others for their mistakes. There had been many simr idiots in the game, and I had learned that it was better to stay away from them.

    However, if an idiot came to me, I would crush them...

    The entrance to the mine was a short distance from the town, and when we arrived at the mine, it was pitch ck inside. Just as I thought that a magic light would be necessary, Jade-san stood next to the wall close to the entrance and put his hand on it, making light appear inside the tunnel.

    It seemed that it had been made like the Bear Tunnel; the light magic stones were linked by magic lines, which lit the path when the switch was hit.

    Well, it was the same lighting method used in houses.

    The tunnel wasrge enough for a carriage to pass through without a problem, but I saw no mine wagons or even rails; it seemed that they didn¡¯t use them in this mine.

    Honestly, I didn¡¯t even know if wagons existed in this world, but how were they transporting the ores without them...?

    When I asked Jade-san, he told me that they first put them into cloth bags and then ced those in item bags.

    As expected from another world. By putting the ore into an item bag, they made it easy to carry. Most likely, less people were needed to transport it whenpared to using a wagon; depending on how much you could put inside the item bag, a single person would be able to transport more than a wagon.

    Still, since big item bags were high-ss items, they probably weren¡¯t used at the mines, right?

    When we entered the tunnel, I saw that it continued for a long time; I couldn¡¯t see the end from the entrance.

    I tried using the Bear-san Map, and it showed the entrance of the tunnel.

    It seemed that I could even use it freely while underground. I wouldn¡¯t get lost with it. Sadly, only the ces I had already been to were shown, but it still automatically updated as I explored, so there was no real problem.

    I tried using detection magic next and detected several golems in front of us, but since the area they were in had not been explored yet, I only saw their dots in the dark part of the map. I didn¡¯t know if they were on our level or not.

    Well, this was a good time to test my Bear Skills.

    We moved with Jade-san in front, Meru-san and me right behind him, and Senya-san and Toya-san at the rear.

    ¡¸We will first encounter Earth and Stone Golems.¡¹

    ¡¸They are easy to defeat, but unfortunately, we can only sell their magic stones, and those don¡¯t sell for much.¡¹

    Earth Golems, huh. It might be a good idea to test them against my Bear Golems.

    Just as I thought that, an Earth Golem appeared, right where my detection magic had spotted it.

    It was about two and a half meters high and had thick limbs.

    Being hit by such thick limbs wasn¡¯t something that could just be brushed off; it would be dangerous for normal people.

    Jade-san gave instructions to the party and ran in.

    Meru-san instantly cut off the golem¡¯s arms with wind magic. Did they always do it this way? It wasn¡¯t enough to stop the golem, and it continued to advance towards us before Jade-san cut off its leg with his sword. The golem, with its limbs cut off, fell down where it stood. Senya-san jumped on golem¡¯s back, made a hole around the golem¡¯s heart with a knife, and took out its magic stone, making the golem crumble to dust.

    The party had good coordination and teamwork.

    Toya-san¡¯s role was to keep an eye on the surroundings.

    Hmm, would the golem stop moving if I broke its magic stone?

    Since I didn¡¯t care much for magic stones, it might be simpler to just destroy them.

    Anyways, now that I had seen them fight, I understood how their party worked.

    Jade-san used his big sword, Toya-san wielded a smaller one, Meru-san was a magician, and Senya-san used a short sword.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m really sorry. Myputer is in bad shape. It freezes often, and sometimes even refuses to reboot.

    I will probably bete with releases because of myputer from now on and might not be able to answer to yourments.

    I hope you can be understanding about this.

 Chapter 141 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 2

    Chapter 141 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 2

    Jade-san¡¯s party was able to easily kill the Earth Golems, and judging by what I saw, I should be able to do the same just by using wind magic.

    The golems couldn¡¯t move after their arms and legs were cut off. Well, that was true for all monsters.

    Still, what would happen if I cut off the golem¡¯s head?

    Would it stop moving, or would it keep going? I should verify it.

    It would be easier if it stopped moving after I cut off its head, like other monsters, but since Mel-san cut off its legs instead of its head, did that mean that there was no point in cutting its head off?

    I kept following Jade-san¡¯s party through the tunnel, still analyzing how they fought.

    We encountered a few more Earth Golems along the way, but Jade-san¡¯s party disposed of them without a problem.

    Was it because a rank C party was just that strong, or were the Earth Golems just that weak? I didn¡¯t know.

    Either way, I had nothing to do.

    Having it easy was great, but having nothing to do was boring.

    I decided to take a look at the map, but only the parts we had already passed through had been recorded.

    I had learned something really obvious soon after entering the mine; there were signboards at each intersection. They told which way the entrance was, or your destination if you continued down the path.

    It was written in a code like A-1 and A-2.

    A was the name of the tunnel, and the number specified which branch. For example, the tunnelbelled A-3 was the third branch of the main tunnel A, and A-3-2 was the second branch of A-3.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t really aplicated system. The path was straight for the most part, and there were big openings from time to time, proof that there had been some excavation there.

    Still, even though there were signboards, the Bear Map was still really convenient.

    Once I finished recording the path that Jade-san¡¯s party took, I would like to do the same for the Idiot Rangers¡¯ path. In games, it wasmon sense to have a 100%pleted map, after all.

    I used my detection magic again and found four Earth Golems in front of us.

    I was bored and wanted to know the Earth Golem¡¯s strength, so could you please leave one for me?

    Since Jade-san¡¯s party could easily defeat them, I didn¡¯t really get a turn... but it would be weird if I suddenlyined about that.

    Jade-san¡¯s party checked the surroundings and decided to move forward; we quickly arrived at a big open ce with three golems.

    Huh? Where was thest one?

    I checked with detection magic, and it was behind a big rock pile to our right.

    It was in our blind spot, so Jade-san¡¯s party didn¡¯t know that it was there and started to run towards the three golems in front of them. No matter if it was one, two, or even three, the golems didn¡¯t stand a chance against thebined attacks of the party. Even if there had been more golems, the party would have disposed of them in no time.

    Well, since it seemed that they didn¡¯t notice the one in the back, was it okay for me to attack it?

    They overlooked it and just went past it, so it was probably fine.

    It would be strange for me to suddenly attack an unseen golem, so I decided to attack it only once I could see it.

    Jade-san¡¯s party, after easily defeating the three golems, started to move towards the next tunnel without spotting the golem behind them, so I decided to attack it before they did.

    Still, the moment I finally saw the golem, Jade-san and Mel-san spotted it as well. Wow, they reacted the instant they saw it... or had they reacted to the sound it made? Well, that much was expected from a rank C party.

    Well, it didn¡¯t matter, since I had alreadyunched my wind magic at the Earth Golem that wasing out from behind the pile of rocks, cutting it to pieces.

    Head, arms, and legs; I cut off all five parts.

    They broke away easily, just as I had expected. Well, it made sense that Earth Golems were not that hard; they were made of earth. I didn¡¯t even need to use Bear Magic for them.

    ¡¸So there was another one!¡¹

    Jade-san shouted in surprise.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    No, you two noticed it as well, and reacted really quickly. Well, I didn¡¯t see how the other two had reacted, since they were still behind me, but if Jade-san and Mel-san reacted that quickly, Toya-san and Senya-san had probably also reacted that fast.

    ¡¸Yuna¡¯s reaction was strange, though. She was already preparing to attack before it even entered our vision.¡¹

    Senya-san, who had been watching from behind, shared what she had seen.

    She really paid attention, huh.

    ¡¸Yeah, Bear Missy reacted the moment the golem came out.¡¹

    ¡¸She was really quick indeed.¡¹

    It seemed that Toya-san also noticed.

    I couldn¡¯t really tell them how I had known that the golem had been there, so,

    ¡¸It might be a girl¡¯s intuition?¡¹

    was how I responded.

    ¡¸Girl¡¯s intuition?¡¹

    Jade-san gave me a dubious look, while Mel-san grabbed my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸So true! Girl¡¯s intuition exists, right? Jade and Toya say that it doesn¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it exists.¡¹

    Senya-san agreed with Mel-san.

    ¡¸Still, if you told me that there was a monster around the corner without any real evidence...¡¹

    Jade-san said, and Toya-san nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸And when we ask, you only say that it¡¯s a girl¡¯s intuition...¡¹

    ¡¸But there really was a golem there, right?¡¹

    The female members of the party didn¡¯t seem to ept their argument, and the male side didn¡¯t want to give in either.

    It seemed that the two simple words I uttered had divided the party in two. Well, it wasn¡¯t like they were really fighting each other, but if it continued like this, we wouldn¡¯t move on, so I decided to change the subject.

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, does a golem continue moving even if you cut off its head?¡¹

    I asked since I wasn¡¯t able to confirm it here.

    ¡¸Yes, it does. No matter how you cut a golem, it will continue moving. There are only two ways of stopping it: take away its magic stone or do enough damage to it.¡¹

    ¡¸Enough damage?¡¹

    ¡¸You know that a golem¡¯s strengthes from its magic stone, right?¡¹

    I had vaguely heard about it, but I understood, so I nodded.

    ¡¸When you damage the golem, the strength of the magic stone decreases, so if you deplete all the magic in the stone, the golem will stop moving.¡¹

    I see. So, as long as I damaged it enough, it would stop moving.

    In that case, I should be able to somehow deal with the Iron Golems as well.

    Even if magic wouldn¡¯t work on them, I could just use brute force to stop them.

    My ultimate secret technique, Change the Conversation, seemed to have worked, since they had forgotten all about our previous girl¡¯s intuition discussion.

    After taking the magic stones from the golems, we moved on to defeat some more Earth Golems before going down a gentle slope.

    I checked the Bear Map and noticed that it had changed.

    Had we arrived at a different level? The previous map was gone and had been reced by a new one.

    I see. The map changed when I went to a new level, just like it did in the game.

    Since I now knew that this was a new level, I used detection magic and found a Stone Golem reaction in front of us.

    Stone Golems would appear from this level onward, huh.

    ¡¸I think you will be okay, Yuna-chan, but please be careful. Stone Golems will start to appear from now on.¡¹

    I knew that already because of my detection magic, but I still obediently nodded.

    ¡¸Are Stone Golems strong?¡¹

    ¡¸Stone Golems are like rocks that have been reinforced with magic. You can just think of them as moving rocks.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really get it.

    What did she mean by rocks that were reinforced with magic?

    Well, I somewhat understood what she was trying to say, though.

    Basically, they were sturdier than normal rocks.

    They probably weren¡¯t strong enough to withstand my Bear Magic, but I wouldn¡¯t really know until I fought them, so I should try it out.

    We moved on for a little longer before encountering a single Stone Golem.

    The golem was made of stones and rocks that were stuck together, and it looked like it would crumble easily if I just punched it a bit.

    When the Stone Golem noticed us, it lifted one of its arms andunched a baseball sized stone at us.

    The stone flew towards Mel-san, who was in front, at 160 kilometers per hour (just my imagination here).

    Mel-san didn¡¯t dodge it, but blocked the stone by using magic to make an earth wall, big enough to protect us all.

    As the golem was preparing tounch a second stone, Jade-san jumped out of the earth wall¡¯s protection, acting as a decoy.

    Mel-san followed up and, as if to say a stone for a stone, made a baseball sized stone with magic andunched it at the golem¡¯s right leg. She didn¡¯t send just one stone though; she continued tounch stones until the leg of the golem was destroyed.

    With its leg destroyed, the golem lost its bnce and fell, giving Jade-san an opening to attack it.

    Once he hacked it enough, the golem stopped moving and crumbled, turning into a pile of rocks and stones.

    The way it fell apart was strange, though; it gave off a different feeling than the other monsters did when defeated.

    After the first Stone Golem, we continued to encounter more Stone and Earth Golems, but Jade-san¡¯s party defeated them all.

    The pattern was always the same. To dull their movements, Mel-san¡¯s magic destroyed their legs while Senya-san threw knives at their joints, and then Jade-san and Toya-san hacked them down.

    They never messed up or got confused, and everyone knew what they had to do.

    As I was watching their routine, I recalled the game.

    Using the same attack patterns was often the most efficient way to earn experience; it was something I often did myself.

    I also did it in parties, of course... but only sometimes... I wasn¡¯t a loner, and I really did party up from time to time!

    I wanted to fight a Stone Golem at least once, though.

    Just as the thought crossed my mind, five Stone Golems appeared.

    Would the party leave one for me this time around?

    ¡¸Jade, what should we do?¡¹

    Mel-san asked.

    Until now, there had never been more than two Stone Golems at once, but there was more than double that amount here.

    Jade-san looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna, would you mind taking one?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, no problem.¡¹

    Finally, my turn hade! They even asked me to do it. That meant they trusted me, right?

    I wanted to try many different things, but for now, I wanted to see how much a Stone Golem could take, so... Bear Punch?

    ¡¸Thank you, it will help as a lot. When we defeat ours, we wille and support you.¡¹

    They each picked a Stone Golem and headed their way.

    I still hadn¡¯tpletely decided which attack I should use, but the Stone Golem had already started to approach me.

    I dodged its attack, then hit it in the chest with a Bear Punch with all my strength.

    The golem flew through the air, collided with the wall, and crumbled to the ground.

    It was a beautiful three stage execution.

    Huh... it went down with just one Bear Punch?

    All members of Jade-san¡¯s party froze when they saw it.

    For the time being, I should save them, right?

    I used Bear Punch on each of the four Stone Golems that were about to attack them; they also flew, collided with the wall, and crumbled.

    So weak.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you really were strong, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Just like the rumors said.¡¹

    Meru-san and Senya-san said as they approached me.

    ¡¸So, it¡¯s true that you killed ck Tigers and Tiger Wolves on your own, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I really didn¡¯t think that Bear Missy was that strong.¡¹

    Hmm, since Stone Golems were so weak, Iron Golems would also be fine, right?

    Author¡¯s note:

    I really seemed to frighten you in myst note.

    For the time being, I¡¯m writing when my tablet andputer are doing okay.

    I also have backups, so it should be okay even if they suddenly break?

    Once again, I learned that I¡¯m really bad with battle scenes. £÷

    This probablyes from my bad habit of always skipping over the battle scenes in the novels I read, and only reading the aftermath. £÷

 Chapter 142 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 3

    Chapter 142 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 3

    After I destroyed the Stone Golems with one punch each, I noticed that the party was looking at me differently.

    ¡¸Where does all that strengthe from when you have such a small body?¡¹

    The tall Toya-san said while patting my head.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t think of her in the same way as before.¡¹

    Senya-san said and touched my arm.

    ¡¸Hmm, so soft!¡¹

    What was soft? The Bear-san? Or my arm?

    I shook the two of them off and moved forward.

    Thanks to my recent demonstration of skill, our formation had changed; for some reason, I, a frail girl, was walking in front with Jade-san.

    Mel-san said she would cover us and that I didn¡¯t have to worry, then went to the back of the group.

    While walking at the front of the group, I silently wondered if it was a good idea to change theyout of the party this suddenly.

    Well, since I could defeat the golems with a single punch, I didn¡¯t really need others to watch my back anyway.

    I decided to deal with any Stone Golems that appeared from now, but when we got to the Iron Golems, I would first see how Jade-san¡¯s party fought them.

    Since I could basically defeat the Stone Golems with a single Bear Punch, I decided just to keep going with it and not try other attacks.

    Well, I wanted to try using magic, but I was worried about the tunnel¡¯s stability. It would be bad if the tunnel copsed because I used magic poorly.

    ¡¸The tunnels were strengthened with magic, so they won¡¯t crumble from just a bit of magic, you know.¡¹

    Jade-san told me, but how much was just a bit of magic? Would a light Bear Punch or weaker magic be fine? I really had no idea when he told me like that.

    If I tested it and the tunnel copsed, we would end up being buried alive...

    Since I didn¡¯t know how much strength I could use, I decided to just keep Bear Punching the Stone Golems.

    ¡¸Our roles havepletely reversed now, huh.¡¹

    Jade-san said after I defeated another Stone Golem with a single Bear Punch.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re too strong.¡¹

    ¡¸Defeating Stone Golems with a single punch each is just unbelievable.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t make fun of you earlier.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, because if you did, you would have be like those Stone Golems, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and I would properly engrave your gravestone with, ¡ºHere lies Toya. He was mauled by a bear.¡»¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t just kill me off!¡¹

    Everyoneughed at his retort.

    We kept moving forward without a problem and arrived at the next floor, where Iron Golems would start to appear.

    Based on how the strength of the golems changed based on the floors, this kind of felt like a dungeon. There had been dungeons in the game, but were they in this world too?

    If they were, I would like to dive into one at least once.

    However, before considering a dungeon raid, I first had to deal with the Iron Golems in front of me.

    I could melt iron with Fire Bears, but doing that in a tunnel would be suicidal.

    It would be great if I could wrap their heads with water and drown them, but they wouldn¡¯t suffocate, right? Hmm, they might rust and be unable to move if I doused them in salt water, but I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sell their materials afterwards.

    Would I be able to cut them up with Bear Wind Magic? No, I would probably destroy the tunnel faster than I could defeat them.

    I could try using Earth Magic to make a Bear Golem and pin the Iron Golems down, but I didn¡¯t really want to use that in front of Jade-san¡¯s party.

    I could also make a pit to bury the golems inside, but if I dug up the floor like that everywhere, it might cause the tunnel to sink. Also, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get the iron that way.

    I wanted to give some of the Iron Golem bodies as souvenirs to Gold-san and Gazar-san, but I would also love to take some for myself and turn them into pieces of art.

    I decided to just try using a random attack for now, while also watching how Jade-san¡¯s party defeated them.

    Since the floor had changed, I could now detect several Iron Golems, including five of them far away from us.

    So, those were the five Iron Golems they had been talking about.

    Huh? From what they told me, the golem that started this all should be behind the five golems, but my detection magic didn¡¯t pick it up.

    Was it not there, or was it among those five?

    Overthinking wouldn¡¯t help, so I decided to just defeat any Iron Golems that came our way for now.

    When the first Iron Golem came into view, the party immediately moved into battle formation.

    The Iron Golem looked just like an Earth Golem, but made of iron. Its thick arms looked like giant hammers; getting hit by those would surely mean death. If the golem could understand me, I would have definitely rmended that it be a carpenter...

    ¡¸By the way, how do you defeat an Iron Golem?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, there is no other way than to just keep damaging it until it stops moving.¡¹

    ¡¸Though if we weren¡¯t in a tunnel, we could defeat it with strong magic.¡¹

    Mel-san muttered with a sigh.

    I knew it, they had it hard because we were in a mine.

    This location made it hard to use magic, which reduced the variety of usable attacks.

    Well, this didn¡¯t change what I had to do: approach the golem and hit it with a Bear Punch.

    Using the mobility of the Bear Shoes, I drew close to the Iron Golem, which swung its giant hammers towards my head.

    For an instant, I considered using the White Bear Glove to block it, but I realized that it could turn out badly and decided to avoid it instead, and the hammer-like arms hit the floor with loud bang.

    After getting past its arms, I hit its body with a ck Bear Punch.

    Normally, hitting iron would hurt, but thanks to the Bear, it didn¡¯t hurt at all.

    The golem was pushed back a few meters, but it didn¡¯t copse.

    I knew it; it was different from Stone and Earth Golems.

    This one was hard, heavy, and solid.

    Yep, it was troublesome.

    Just hitting it with enough power to take down Stone Golems wasn¡¯t enough here. I had to hit harder.

    Since I had already tested my attack, I decided to leave the rest to Jade-san¡¯s party.

    Immediately after I hit the golem with a Bear Punch, Mel-san sent an Earth Golem at it. Magicians couldpress the earth to make it harder, so the Earth Golem that Mel-san sent was able to dull the Iron Golem¡¯s movements for a moment, but it didn¡¯t seem to have dealt any damage. Toya-san used the opening to attack and knocked the golem¡¯s arms aside.

    It was like attacking an iron pir. There was no way a sword could cut it.

    When the golem turned to face Toya-san, Senya-san prepared to attack it from behind.

    She was holding her knives; was she nning on attacking it with knives!?

    Senya-san quickly closed the distance and cut its leg. Well, I said cut, but it wasn¡¯t like she actually cut it off. Still, there were visible traces where she cut it. I didn¡¯t see that wrong; she had cut it with a knife.

    ¡¸Senya is wielding mithril knives, you know.¡¹

    Mel-san exined to me when she saw that I was surprised.

    So, she had mithril knives, huh. Well, considering her rank, it wasn¡¯t that strange.

    Senya-san continued to sh at the same ce until the golems leg finally broke off.

    Amazing, she was able to cut that giant leg with just a knife.

    She showed a satisfied expression when the leg hit the ground, and Toya-san, who had been keeping the golem¡¯s attention all this time, finally got a chance to catch his breath.

    ¡¸Jade¡¯s sword is also made of mithril.¡¹

    Toya-san and Senya-san backed away from the golem, which lost its bnce after its leg were cut off, and Jade-san came in to strike the golem with his sword.

    The golem tried to use one of its arms to protect itself, but Jade-san was able to cut it off in a single strike.

    Amazing! A mithril sword was able to cut off an Iron Golem¡¯s arm?

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t just the mithril sword, you know. It¡¯s also thanks to Jade¡¯s skill.¡¹

    Mel-san exined to me as if she had read my mind.

    She was right. If anybody was able to defeat an Iron Golem with a mithril sword, they would just have to loan the swords to rank D and rank E adventurers and resolve this problem in an instant.

    It was only thanks to Jade-san¡¯s skill that he was able to cut off a golem¡¯s arm; that was why he was rank C.

    In this case, Senya-san being able to cut it with a knife was quite amazing as well.

    I wondered what my sword technique was like.

    I used a sword in the game, but I didn¡¯t know how good I was in this world.

    If I had a mithril sword, would I be able to cut it?

    It would be great if the Bear Cheat had an effect on my sword skills as well.

    The Iron Golem tried to get up but couldn¡¯t with only one leg left, so Jade-san took his time to deal with the remaining golem¡¯s arm.

    He dodged it by taking a few steps back, attacked it, and then dodged again.

    ¡¸Ah, if only I had a mithril sword myself, I could cut it as well...¡¹

    Toya-san watched Jade-san with a frustrated expression.

    ¡¸Impossible.¡¹

    Senya-san spoke a single word of denial, and when he tried to rebuke,

    ¡¸Last time Jade lent you his sword, you weren¡¯t able to cut it.¡¹

    Senya-san added, shutting him up.

    ¡¸Giving you a mithril sword would just be a waste.¡¹

    Senya-san delivered the final blow.

    Jade-san continued to carefully cut the golem, making its movements duller and duller, before it finally crumbled down into a mountain of iron.

    The remnants looked pitiful; if they couldn¡¯t be defeated more cleanly, the golems couldn¡¯t be made into artwork.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I bought a new hard drive and had to reinstall the operating system; that¡¯s why the chapter is short.

    If this solution won¡¯t work, I will have to consider buying a new PC.

    I just connected to the Inte and still have quite a few things to do, so the next chapter will also be short orte.

 Chapter 143 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 4

    Chapter 143 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 4

    Senya-san ced the whole Iron Golem inside her item bag.

    Watching their fight had made me realize that I really wanted a mithril weapon.

    I didn¡¯t know if I would be able to use it well, but I still wanted it for situations when I couldn¡¯t use magic or the monstrous strength of my Bear Suit.

    The golem would stop if I just destroyed the magic stone in its chest, but that would also render it unusable, so nobody would buy it. Well, I didn¡¯t really care about the magic stone, so destroying it was fine with me.

    If I had mithril, I could just pierce the stone and be done with it, or if I had some sort of vibration attack, I might be able to destroy only the magic stone within and leave the body intact. I had seen a lot of such attacks in manga, where they had done no harm to the exterior but had destroyed what was inside. Such unrealistic things could only be found in fantasy worlds.

    Hmm, maybe I shouldn¡¯t be saying this while being in one myself...

    Anyway, I might be able to make vibrations with magic and send them inside the golem¡¯s body.

    Well, I didn¡¯t think that it was possible right now, so I decided to put it on hold.

    After the Iron Golem¡¯s body was safely in Senya-san¡¯s item bag, we decided to take a short break to check on how everyone was doing, since we would encounter more Iron Golems from now on.

    ¡¸So, Jade, how deep are we going today?¡¹

    Toya-san asked while refreshing himself with a drink.

    ¡¸Like we usually do, we will go as far as we can without doing the impossible. Maybe those five Iron Golems won¡¯t be around this time.¡¹

    Sadly, I knew that those five were present because of my detection magic.

    I had noticed five more reactions, though. It was five people, most likely Idiot Rangers and they were near our tunnel. If we continued down this tunnel, would we cross paths?

    The map was still dark, so I didn¡¯t really know where exactly would we meet.

    Still, Idiot Rangers were closer to the five Iron Golems than we were, so if we both kept our paces, they would get to the golems before us.

    Well, that meant if all went well, the world might get to see its lucky day.

    Just as I decided to not let the others know about this, Jade-san spoke to me.

    ¡¸So, Yuna, after seeing us fight, do you think you could defeat an Iron Golem on your own?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, it might beplicated.¡¹

    ¡¸Complicated?¡¹

    ¡¸As Mel-san said, magic isn¡¯t usable inside caves, so that makes it hard. Also, if I use brute force here and miss, the mine might copse as a result. I could defeat it if we were fighting out in the open, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    Jade-san seemed a bit disappointed.

    Well, if they really wanted to get past those five Iron Golems, I could drop the golems in a pit, but we wouldn¡¯t obtain their materials that way.

    ¡¸If only I had a mithril sword...¡¹

    Toya-san joked around.

    ¡¸You should stop with this joke. It¡¯s not funny.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯sme, Toya.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not saying it as a joke!¡¹

    ¡¸Toya, you can say that only after you polish your skills a bit more, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Tch!¡¹

    His final reaction made them allugh.

    We finished our break and continued moving forward. It didn¡¯t take long for us to arrive at the passage where I had detected Idiot Rangers before.

    So, this was where the tunnels linked together. Would it be okay if I went back taking their path? I would be able toplete the map that way.

    Any time an Iron Golem appeared, Toya-san and I would block it, while Mel-san covered us with magic.

    Senya-san and Jade-san would then use the opening we made to hack it down.

    Using this tactic, we had defeated three more Iron Golems.

    ¡¸Just a bit farther.¡¹

    We were about to arrive at the ce where the five Iron Golems were, but Idiot Rangers, who were still ahead of us, should have already encountered them.

    I decided to check on them with detection magic.

    Huh?

    The signal of the five Iron Golems had disappeared.

    Thest time I had checked, they had still been there, but now they were gone.

    Did Idiot Rangers defeat them? I couldn¡¯t detect them either, though.

    Were they not on our floor?

    Wait, the five Iron Golems might have also went farther down. I finally understood why I couldn¡¯t have detected Idiot Rangers or the first golem before.

    Jade-san slowly crept forward and looked at the crevice where the five golems were supposed to be.

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸There are traces of a fight, though.¡¹

    There were indeed traces of magic and something rampaging about all over the ce.

    When we were sure that the Iron Golems weren¡¯t here anymore, we entered the wide crevice.

    ¡¸Babord¡¯s party maybe?¡¹

    Babord?

    Ah! It was Idiot Red¡¯s name.

    He would always be Idiot Red to me, though.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t think of any other reason for this.¡¹

    ¡¸So, they managed to defeat those five Iron Golems, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Their personalities are the worst, but they do have skill.¡¹

    So, it seemed that Idiot Rangers had defeated the five Iron Golems.

    The lucky day hadn¡¯te, huh.

    Ugh, how disappointing.

    ¡¸Jade, what will we do?¡¹

    Mel-san asked while keeping her eye on surroundings.

    ¡¸Babord opened a path for us, so we should keep going. Getting even a little bit more information would be great, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸We just have to make sure Babord doesn¡¯t find out.¡¹

    Senya-san agreed with Jade-san.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t like troublesome things, but as adventurers, our only choice is to keep going.¡¹

    ¡¸If theyin about it, we¡¯ll just have to go back, right?¡¹

    What? There wasn¡¯t a single mention of them fighting together.

    Well, I also didn¡¯t want to fight together with Idiot Rangers.

    We continued on our way, and as I had expected, we descended a slope.

    The map changed, and Idiot Rangers appeared again. There was another signal next to them; signal of a Mithril Golem.

    We already had difficulties dealing with Iron Golems, so wasn¡¯t it impossible to take down a Mithril Golem?

    When we reached the end of the slope, we began to hear sounds of a fight.

    ¡¸Fuck, it¡¯s so hard!¡¹

    ¡¸Magic isn¡¯t working!¡¹

    ¡¸Engai, do something!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible!¡¹

    Idiot Rangers were fighting in arge tunnel.

    Idiot Red was hacking at the Mithril Golem with his sword, but it was bouncing off.

    Idiot Blue was stabbing it with his spear, but it was bouncing off.

    Idiot Green was attacking it with a giant hammer, but it was bouncing off.

    Idiot ck wasunching earth magic at it, but it was bouncing off.

    Idiot White was using wind magic, but it was also bouncing off.

    Hmm... Yeah, it waspletely impossible.

    Even though the crevice was quiterge, fighting underground was still disadvantageous.

    How could a Mithril Golem, with its absolute defense, even be defeated?

    It wasn¡¯t like Idiot Ranger¡¯s level was low;pared to Deborane, who was rank D, they seemed to have great movements and cooperated well as a party, but they still couldn¡¯t damage it.

    Even though they knew that, Idiot Rangers continued to fight it, and after a while, Idiot Red finally noticed us.

    ¡¸What did you guys came here for!?¡¹

    ¡¸We just came to watch. We also thought that if you were done in, we would defeat it in your ce, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t joke with me! There is no way that my great self would be done in! You bastards won¡¯t get a turn. Just go back and sleep! If you stay here to watch the fight for any longer, I will have you pay the watcher¡¯s fee!¡¹

    He said while pointing his sword at us.

    ¡¸Not to mention that you came here with your pet!¡¹

    The pet he was talking about was me, right?

    Should I summon Swaying Bear and attack him from behind?

    Swaying Bear could be more terrifying than a real bear, you know?

    ¡¸Okay, we will go back. If you die, I will tell the guild about this, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t die!¡¹

    Idiot Red turned back around and rushed at the Mithril Golem.

    Personally, I would have liked to watch the fight for a bit longer, but it seemed like Idiot Red would be a pain if we did so, so we decided to leave.

    A Mithril Golem, huh?

    I wanted its materials. Was it the only one, though?

    I believed it was impossible for them to defeat it, but it would still be bad if Idiot Rangers got the kill.

    I would be able to make a dozen swords if I managed to im the whole golem.

    ¡¸They can¡¯t defeat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸What was it, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s clearly harder than an Iron Golem.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to acknowledge that there is something harder than an Iron Golem.¡¹

    ¡¸Even Babord¡¯s mithril sword didn¡¯t seem to cut it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it possible that he isn¡¯t skilled enough?¡¹

    ¡¸His personality is the worst, but he is skilled enough to wield a mithril sword.¡¹

    ¡¸Babord couldn¡¯t cut it even though he is strong.¡¹

    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it have been better if we helped him then?¡¹

    ¡¸He wouldn¡¯t ept our help, and he doesn¡¯t want to be saved.¡¹

    ¡¸Exactly. If he had asked for help, we would have helped him, but since he didn¡¯t ask, we didn¡¯t help. It¡¯s the unspoken adventurers¡¯ rule.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, splitting materials and request fees bes really troublesome when helping someone, after all. That¡¯s not the case when you save someone, whose life is in danger, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸If you saved Babord, he would onlyin about it after.¡¹

    I didn¡¯tpletely understand what they were talking about, but still somewhat got what they meant.

    Most adventurers weren¡¯t heroes, and they wouldn¡¯t save someone for free. For instance, they hadn¡¯t epted this request because people were troubled for not being able to mine anymore, but because it was a paying job. It was normal to do things for money rather than for free.

    That was why they didn¡¯t want to help Idiot Rangers, who hadn¡¯t asked for help either.

    They might have had a chance to defeat it if they had worked together, but they had thrown that opportunity away.

    The same thing had happened in the game as well. The less people in the party, the more loot for each member.

    So, if they said that there was no helping it, they were probably right.

    I also wanted to monopolize the Mithril Golem.

    In the end, we decided to leave and go back to the inn for the day, and since I wanted toplete the map, I asked Jade-san¡¯s party if we could take Idiot Rangers¡¯ path on our way back, and they agreed.

    When we came back to the inn, we first got something to eat.

    ¡¸So, Jade, what will we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Do about what?¡¹

    ¡¸This golem. It didn¡¯t seem like Babord¡¯s party could defeat it at all.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t cut it, either.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if I had a mithril sword, it would still be impossible.¡¹

    We all ignored Toya-san¡¯s remark.

    ¡¸If Babord¡¯s party somehow manages to defeat it, the request will bepleted, but if defeating it seems impossible, we should contact the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no helping it, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s frustrating, but yeah.¡¹

    A way to defeat the Mithril Golem, huh?

    I could defeat it by digging a pit under it and using brute force, but that wouldn¡¯t work in the mine, since the tunnels might copse in the process.

    Underground, I couldn¡¯t defeat it even with my Bear Cheat.

    Burying thest boss wouldn¡¯t work since it wouldn¡¯t die of suffocation, and as long as it wasn¡¯t defeated, other golems wouldn¡¯t stop spawning.

    Well, we weren¡¯t even sure if killing it would stop the other golems from spawning.

    If I defeated the Mithril Golem, but the golems kept popping up, would the witch Eleanora even return Princess Fina to me?

    As I was enjoying my tea after a day¡¯s work, the inn entrance suddenly became noisy.

    ¡¸Fuck, as if we could defeat something like that!¡¹

    ¡¸Magic didn¡¯t work at all!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s way too hard!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have a smudge of magical power left.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m hungry, so let¡¯s just eat!¡¹

    Idiot Rangers entered the inn.

    They survived, it seemed.

    ¡¸Babord, you came back alive!¡¹

    Jade-san thoughts were simr to mine.

    ¡¸As if I would die!¡¹

    ¡¸And, did you defeat it?¡¹

    Just by hearing their rant and seeing the looks on their faces, he should have known the answer, but Jade-san asked anyway.

    ¡¸Because you bastards came, I lost my concentration, so I decided to let it live this time.¡¹

    Which one let the other live, I wondered...

    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry about that. I didn¡¯t think that someone as skilled as you, Babord, would have lost his concentration just by having us arrive at your battle, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Tch!¡¹

    When someone retorted like that, you could do nothing but stay silent.

    If he had argued more, people would have thought that his rank must have been low.

    ¡¸Well, leaving the jokes aside, what really happened back there?¡¹

    ¡¸It was just impossible. Physical attack and magic didn¡¯t work at all. Well, it might have had a bit of an effect, but our stamina and magic ran out long before its magic stone depleted.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it. It was impossible, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to have go at it, you should prepare yourselves well.¡¹

    ¡¸Will you stop trying to defeat it?¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t worth it. Rather than wasting my time with it, I prefer making a profit by defeating Iron Golems. So, until the soldierse, we decided to try and earn as much as we can from Iron Golems. What about you guys? You watched our fight, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We will also pass on it. There is no way we could defeat it. I was honestly hoping that you guys would be able to defeat it, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, excuse me for disappointing you.¡¹

    Babord sat down close to us.

    ¡¸Thanks for telling us. Waitress! A beer for Babord on my tab!¡¹

    ¡¸Just one, huh!¡¹

    ¡¸If you have a way to defeat it, I will treat you to more.¡¹

    ¡¸If I had something like that, I would have gone and defeated it myself without telling you.¡¹

    Babord and Jade-san bothughed.

    I didn¡¯t really know if they were on good terms or not.

    I hadter heard that after all of this, they all drank into the night together.

    Me? I had went back to my room to sleep, of course.

    Author¡¯s note:

    As you guys expected, Mithril golem made an appearance! w

 Chapter 144 â€“ Captured Princessâ€™ Perspective

    Chapter 144 ¨C Captured Princess¡¯ Perspective

    Author¡¯s note:

    It¡¯s been a long time sincest Fina¡¯s Perspective.

    Big Sis Yuna left me behind, and I had watched Bear-san¡¯s back disappear out of sight.

    Why had it turned out like this?

    Big Sis Yuna had wanted me to dismantle a ck Tiger, but since I would have needed a mithril knife to do it, she had suggested for us to go and buy it together.

    I knew that mithril knives were expensive.

    I had told her that she could ask the guild to dismantle it, but she had said something about iting in handy at ater date and had decided to go and buy one. At ater date... Really, Big Sis Yuna, what were you nning on making me dismantle?

    Since there had been no mithril in Crimonia, we had went to the capital using the Bear-san Gate at Big Sis Yuna¡¯s Bear-san House. It had brought us there in an instant. Big Sis Yuna was incredible for having such an amazing magic tool.

    Aftering to the capital to buy a mithril knife, I ended up being captured by Eleanora-sama because she had given Big Sis Yuna a job to do, and I had to stay at Eleanora-sama¡¯s mansion while she was away.

    We couldn¡¯t have told them that I could have returned to Crimonia through the Bear-san Gate since that was a secret between Big Sis Yuna and me.

    I also couldn¡¯t go with Big Sis Yuna, who was going to fight some monsters.

    That was why, there had been no way to avoid staying at the capital.

    Still, just imagining amoner like me staying at a Noble-sama¡¯s mansion, on my own no less, made my stomach ache.

    I had asked Big Sis Yuna if I could stay at her Bear House, but they had rejected my idea.

    Ugh, even though I was fine being on my own...

    In the end, I had no other choice but to stay at Eleanora-sama¡¯s mansion.

    Yesterday, I had been with Big Sis Yuna, but now, Big Sis Yuna left me here alone and headed to the mine.

    I didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble to the people here, so I decided to stay in my room, but soon, I wasn¡¯t alone anymore...

    Eleanora-sama and her maid Suririna-san came to my room with a mountain of beautiful western styled clothes then smiled widely while browsing through the clothes.

    Who would wear them?

    Just imagining what would happen made my stomach ache. I wanted to believe they were Shia-sama¡¯s clothes, but I knew I was wrong.

    ¡¸Which one would suit her best?¡¹

    My fears of this being a really dangerous situation were confirmed when Eleanora-sama took a piece of clothing and looked at me.

    ¡¸Fina-chan, let¡¯s change clothes, okay?¡¹

    Eleanora-sama said and approached me while still smiling widely. She was scary.

    Big Sis Yuna wasn¡¯t here, so she couldn¡¯t save me. I had to refuse her myself.

    If I were to dirty those clothes... or if something else were to happen to them... just imagining it made me tremble.

    ¡¸I¡¯m already wearing western style clothes, so it¡¯s okay.¡¹

    I tried my best to refuse.

    ¡¸Ara, that¡¯s no good! You have to properly change your clothes. You already wore these yesterday, right?¡¹

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t too dirty, so...¡¹

    I took a step back, but they both took two steps forward.

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good! A girl has to keep herself clean!¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna, please save me......

    Eleanora-sama and Suririna-san came even closer.

    Shia-sama had already gone to the academy, so there was no one in the mansion who could save me.

    I tried backing away again, but there was a bed behind me, and they were too close already for me to flee.

    ¡¸Even if I tried wearing these beautiful clothes, they wouldn¡¯t fit me, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Ara, that¡¯s not true at all! I¡¯m sure you will look good in them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I also think so. Fina-san is cute, after all.¡¹

    It was no good! They cornered me and were approaching from both sides.

    ¡¸Still, if I were to dirty these high ss clothes...¡¹

    I was desperately looking for a way out.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay to dirty them. I won¡¯t be mad at you.¡¹

    ¡¸If they are stained, I will just have to wash them.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    No matter what I said, I couldn¡¯t escape.

    Big Sis Yuna, save me...

    My cry for help didn¡¯t reach her, of course.

    I had to change clothes in the end.

    They had a lot of cute frills and were made of a high grade material, that felt great against the skin.

    Suririna-san had promised me that she would take care of them if they became dirty, but what if they got torn?

    The word reimbursement crossed my mind, and my stomach ached again.

    Now that it came to this, I decided to stay still like a doll and not leave my room until Big Sis Yuna returned. As long as I did that, the clothes wouldn¡¯t tear or get dirty.

    Yep, that was a great idea.

    ¡¸Well then, Fina-chan, let¡¯s go out.¡¹

    ¡¸...Huh?¡¹

    My idea was destroyed in a few seconds.

    I wasn¡¯t done in yet, though.

    ¡¸I will stay behind and watch the house.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-san, you¡¯re a guest. You don¡¯t have to do that.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I don¡¯t know when Big Sis Yuna will return, so...¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about? Yuna-chan just left, didn¡¯t she? Even though it¡¯s her, she won¡¯t be back for a while.¡¹

    She was right, Big Sis Yuna had just left.

    In the end, I couldn¡¯t find any other excuses and was forced to go out with Eleanora-sama. We went to the castle.

    Mom, if I¡¯m put to death, please forgive me.

    No, I had to do my best so that it wouldn¡¯t happen.

    If I encountered a Noble-sama at the castle, I had to make sure to be polite.

    I would do my best to survive.

    We entered the castle, and everyone we met there greeted Eleanora-sama. As I thought, she was an incredible person, and such an important person was guiding me through the castle. Was that really okay?

    At one point, she even took me to a garden full of beautiful, blooming flowers.

    ¡¸They are beautiful...¡¹

    It was just like the castle flower beds I had seen in Big Sis Yuna¡¯s picture books.

    No wait, we were at a real castle here.

    There was a bench where we could sit and watch the flowers peacefully.

    This might be thest scenery that God had prepared for me.

    Thank you very much.

    No, no, I had to do my best to return home alive.

    Mom, Dad, and Shuri were waiting for me. I couldn¡¯t die in a ce like this.

    For now, I decided to just watch the pretty flowers to calm my heart.

    The flowers were really beautiful. Red, blue, pink, yellow. There were of all kinds of colors.

    Haa, watching them really calmed me down.

    ¡¸Eleanora, you¡¯re on a break?¡¹

    Someone spoke to Eleanora-sama while we were watching the flowers.

    It was someone of a higher position than a noble; it was the King-sama himself, whom I first met when he had visited Big Sis Yuna¡¯s house a while back.

    Wh-what should I do?

    Would I die today as I expected?

    If I did something discourteous in front of the king, I might not be the only one to die; my whole family might get executed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not working today.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you at the castle then?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m taking a stroll with this girl.¡¹

    Eleanora-sama nced at me.

    I was petrified, and my voice didn¡¯te out.

    ¡¸Huh? I have a feeling I have seen her before.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, have you seen her with Yuna-chan somewhere?¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, it¡¯s the girl that was at Yuna¡¯s house.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, my name is Fina.¡¹

    I might have been petrified, but I still did my best to politely introduce myself.

    I was about to die from the stress, though.

    ¡¸Unlike Yuna, you¡¯re really well-mannered, huh.¡¹

    King-sama patted my head.

    King-sama was this close to me, and he even patted my head.

    So, this was myst bit of good luck, huh.

    Goodbye, Mom.

    ¡¸Ara, I feel bad for Yuna-chan when you say something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸That girl, you see, has never came to me to greet me, you know. Such a thing normally wouldn¡¯t happen, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, shees here to see Flora-sama, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸When I go to Flora¡¯s room, she gives me a look that says,¡ºYou came again, huh?¡», you know!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, she is right, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t even think of me as a king!¡¹

    Big Sis Yuna, what had you done to King-sama?!

    Big Sis Yuna would be killed at this rate. I had to warn her when I see her again, so I had to survive and leave the castle.

    ¡¸Well, Yuna-chan is like that with everyone. Not too long ago, Cliff sent me a letter saying she did the exact same thing to him. You don¡¯t hate her for it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yeah, I don¡¯t. She is kind to my daughter and had helped me a lot. Most importantly, she brings delicious things every now and then.¡¹

    The King-sama was being tamed with food!

    Well, it was the same with me, though... The food Big Sis Yuna made was delicious.

    King-sama seemed to forget all about me while talking about Big Sis Yuna.

    I might be able to leave this ce without being disrespectful to the King-sama... or so I thought.

    ¡¸You said your name was Fina, right?¡¹

    The King-sama suddenly started talking to me.

    ¡¸Yesh.¡¹

    This was bad. I was so surprised that I let out a strange voice.

    I didn¡¯t think that he would just start talking to me like that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good to startle Fina-chan like that! Even without confronting her like this, your face, your dignified aura, and the fact that you are king are scary enough by themselves, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You... Didn¡¯t you say a lot of terrible things about me? Well, I didn¡¯t want to startle you, Fina. I just wanted to know about your rtionship with Yuna.¡¹

    My rtionship with Big Sis Yuna?

    Even if he asked me that, I didn¡¯t know.

    A friend? An employer?

    I will just state the one thing I knew.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna is my savior.¡¹

    That much was true for sure.

    King-sama then made me tell him the story of how I met Big Sis Yuna, and I somehow managed to talk without too much trouble while he earnestly listened to my story.

    ¡¸So, Yuna isn¡¯t here?¡¹

    ¡¸Just today, she left for the mine to do some work for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I¡¯m taking care of Fina while she¡¯s gone.¡¹

    ¡¸The mine? Ahh, it was on one of my reports. Golems appeared at the mine, and in case the adventurers won¡¯t be able to deal with them, I got a request to give permission to send out the soldiers.¡¹

    ¡¸Please look at your reports more carefully! Especially when ites to sending out soldiers.¡¹

    ¡¸But, Yuna went there, right? We don¡¯t need to send the soldiers then, do we?¡¹

    Incredible. Even the King-sama himself seemed to trust Big Sis Yuna.

    ¡¸Well, it is Yuna-chan, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Even now, I can¡¯t believe how strong she is when she is dressed like that.¡¹

    ¡¸She is cute, after all.¡¹

    I also thought that she was cute.

    ¡¸So, Eleanora, what will you two do after your stroll?¡¹

    Oh right. We should get away from here as quickly as possible. Just being near King-sama was taking a big toll on my mental health; my health bar was about to reach zero.

    It was almost noon, so we should head back to the mansion.

    I looked at Eleanora-sama hopefully.

    ¡¸Fina, are you hungry?¡¹

    She seemed to have figured out my look.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-chan gave me a few gifts for Flora-sama, so let¡¯s go to her room.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it food?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, food for lunch.¡¹

    ¡¸I wille too, then.¡¹

    What did they just say?

    Did I hear it wrong?

    I just heard that we would be going to the Princess-sama¡¯s room and eat with the King-sama, didn¡¯t I?

    Big Sis Yuna, save me...

    We went back to the mansion a few hourster.

    I couldn¡¯t really remember what happened at the castle.

    I ate lunch with Flora-sama and King-sama, but I couldn¡¯t even recall what it tasted like.

    Queen-sama also appeared halfway through, which was the final push to make my brain stop working.

    How had this happened?

    I copsed on the bed.

    Big Sis Yuna... Pleasee back soon...

    Kuun, kuun, kuun, kuun.

    I heard a weird sounding from the item bag Big Sis Yuna had given me.

    When I opened it, I saw that the Bear-san doll was crying.

    It was a magic item named Bear Phone that made it possible to talk to someone that was far away.

    I took the Bear Phone and poured magic power inside it.

    ¡ºHello, Fina, can you hear me?¡»

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!?¡¹

    ¡ºHow are you doing, Fina?¡»

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna... It¡¯s terrible! Today, Eleanora-sama made me change into beautiful clothes and go to the castle, where we ran into King-sama, and then, I even had to eat lunch with the King-sama and the Princess-sama!¡¹

    ¡ºWell, same as always, huh.¡»

    ¡¸Even if it¡¯s the same as always for you, Big Sis Yuna, it¡¯s terrible for me! Because of all of the stress it had caused me, I couldn¡¯t even taste the bread I ate!¡¹

    ¡ºBut you had fun, right?¡»

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t fun at all! Big Sis Yuna, how is your job going?¡¹

    ¡ºHmm, I just arrived today, so I can¡¯t really tell yet.¡»

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡ºDon¡¯t worry, I will do my best toe back quickly, so please enjoy the capital.¡»

    Big Sis Yuna had given me a lot of money to use as I wished while I was here.

    I had tried to give it back, but she had forced me to hold onto it, even after I had told her that I would be eating at Eleanora-sama¡¯s mansion and I wouldn¡¯t need it.

    I was also a bit scared of walking around the capital by myself, so shopping for other things was out of question as well.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, pleasee back quickly.¡¹

    ¡ºOkay, I wille back as quickly as possible.¡»

    I then couldn¡¯t hear Big Sis Yuna anymore.

    It was a mystery to me, how this thing made the conversation possible.

    I had promised to go out with Shia-sama tomorrow, so I decided to sleep early after this long day.

    The bed was really soft.

    Mom, Dad, Shuri, good night.

    I had wished goodnight to my family who was still at Crimonia.

    The day was really long, so I feel asleep right away.

 Chapter 145 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine

    Chapter 145 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 5 ¨C Iron Golem Part

    The adventurers started drinking, so I promptly fled to my room.

    There was nothing worse than drunkards.

    I couldn¡¯t talk to them normally, and they even picked fights with me, which made them really annoying.

    No matter which inn I stayed at, this happened every time.

    It was somethingmon in every world, and the only way to protect myself from drunk people was not to approach them.

    After I got to my room, I made sure I locked the door so that no drunk people could enter beforeying down and thinking what should I do now.

    Jade-san¡¯s party and Idiot Rangers seemed to have given up on subjugating the Mithril Golem and when they told the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that it was impossible for them, the soldiers would be sent out.

    They probably wouldn¡¯t move out straight away, but the Mithril Golem should be defeated as soon as possible, right?

    I really didn¡¯t want the country to take the Mithril Golem from me, so I had to somehow

    defeat the Mithril Golem myself before it was toote.

    Still, after seeing the fight between the Mithril Golem and Idiot Rangers, I couldn¡¯t think of an easy way to defeat it. I also had to take care of the Iron Golems guarding it.

    Well, I might be able to avoid fighting them, but that wouldn¡¯t really solve the problem.

    On our way back from the mine, I had brainstormed different ways of subjugating them and got a few ideas. They would be really effective if I could make them work, but I had to try them out first, so I installed a Bear Transfer Gate inside my room and went to...

    Petchi, petchi.

    Yesterday night, I had experimented different ways of defeating the golems, and it had beente when I had finally gone to sleep, so I was tired and wanted to sleep some more.

    Petchi, petchi.

    The adventures downstairs had still been noisy even after I had came back.

    Petchi, petchi.

    Had they not been tired after fighting so much during the day? Well, that much was probably expected from adventurers; they were supposed to have a lot of stamina.

    Petchi, petchi.

    Still, did C rank adventurers really have that much stamina?

    Petchi, petchi.

    ¡¸I¡¯m awake.¡¹

    I grabbed Swaying Bear¡¯s and Hugging Bear¡¯s paws. They had been tapping my face all over for a while now.

    I felt well rested thanks to the White Bear Suit, but I was a bit sleepy. Well, it would be the worst if the White Bear also took away my sleepiness since I loved sleeping. It felt so good, after all.

    Sadly, I couldn¡¯t keep sleeping today and had to wake up.

    ¡¸Good morning, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I stretched my back, then petted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads.

    I was sleepy but had to get to work. Working at the age of 15... Had this world managed to taint me atst?

    I climbed out of my bed and changed into the ck Bear Suit before going to the dining room.

    Ugh, the whole room reeked of alcohol...

    ¡¸Oh, Bear Missy, you¡¯re up early, huh.¡¹

    The innkeeper said,ing out of the kitchen.

    ¡¸Good morning. It reeks of alcohol, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹

    I said while pinching my nose with the Bear Hand.

    ¡¸Those idiots continued to drink until morning, it seems. I left my husband to deal with it and went to sleep though. He only came to bed early in the morning; he kept thempany till the end, it seems.¡¹

    ¡¸And, your husband is?¡¹

    ¡¸Sleeping. I let it go this time, but if he does this again, I will need to discipline him.¡¹

    The innkeeperughed and opened a window, allowing a pleasant wind to enter the room.

    ¡¸Fresh air wille in soon, so please endure it for a short while. To make up for this, I will make you a good breakfast on the house, so please sit down and wait a bit.¡¹

    I sat down and yawned.

    It was still early, so I was the only one in the dining room.

    Other than the adventurers, there were also merchants, who came to purchase ore, staying at the inn. However, since nobody was here yet, I could leisurely wait for breakfast without somebody trying to talk to me.

    As time passed, the air changed bit by bit, and the smell of alcohol disappeared by the time the innkeeper brought me breakfast.

    ¡¸Here you go. Sorry to keep you waiting.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸What will you be doing today? I heard that you¡¯re an adventurer, Bear Missy, but I don¡¯t believe that the others will wake up anytime soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I think I will go to the mine by myself for now.¡¹

    ¡¸...By yourself!?¡¹

    The innkeeper said loudly after being stunned for a few seconds.

    ¡¸Yep. I want to get it done quickly, so I can go back, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Get it done, you say... It¡¯s impossible even for Jade and Babord, you know!¡¹

    Right, people normally wouldn¡¯t think that a girl wearing a Bear Suit would be strong.

    Still, she was genuinely worried for me, so I didn¡¯t object.

    ¡¸As an innkeeper, you would be troubled if the mine stayed like this, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, of course. If it stays like this, merchants and miners will stoping here.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n on doing the impossible. I will run away if I think it is dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a promise, okay? Run away if you think it is impossible, alright? What has the worlde to, for such a young girl bing an adventurer¡¹

    I thanked the worried innkeeper for the abundant breakfast and headed to the mine.

    Well then, I hoped that my n, which I had sacrificed my sleep for, would work.

    Since I left early in the morning, the streets were more or less empty, and no one tried to pick a fight with me.

    I entered the tunnel, and since I was on my own this time around, I used the Bear Map so that I wouldn¡¯t get lost on my way to the Mithril Golem.

    Soon, an Earth Golem appeared, but I cut it to pieces with wind magic without even slowing down.

    Now that I was alone, the tunnel was quiet and a bit lonely without Toya-san saying idiotic things, Senya-san wielding her sharp tongue, Jade-san giving instructions, and Mel-san talking to me.

    I didn¡¯t think that the tunnel would be this quiet when I was on my own.

    Okay, since music wasn¡¯t an option, and I still wanted something that would give me a sense of security, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. With them, I wouldn¡¯t be lonely.

    I now walked with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear close to my left and right.

    This made me somewhat happy. I was thankful to God for giving me Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear as my summoned beasts.

    I continued to quickly dispose of any Earth Golems that crossed our path with Wind Magic.

    They had all respawned, huh.

    I was able to see many of them with detection magic.

    When had they resurrected, though?

    There had been no golems when we had gone back using the Idiot Rangers¡¯ path yesterday.

    I didn¡¯t know if they had respawned a few hours after they were defeated or if they all respawned at a fixed time. Well, no matter what, the miners couldn¡¯t do their jobs with them around.

    I sted through the Earth Golem Floor and descended to the Stone Golem one, where I defeated the Stone Golems that crossed my path with Bear Punches.

    While fighting, I noticed that Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear seemed like they wanted a turn.

    ¡¸Well then, I will leave the next ones to you two, okay?¡¹

    When the next batch of two Stone Golems appeared, I left them to Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear; they took on one each and defeated them using real bear punches.

    Yep, they were cute, strong, soft, warm, and useful during travels, so every household needed one.

    The Stone Golems were all defeated by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear from here on out, so I didn¡¯t get a turn anymore, but we would soon arrive at the Iron Golem floor, and I couldn¡¯t leave those to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They would probably be able to defeat them, but they would probably also make a mess out of the tunnel in the process, so I decided to face the Iron Golems myself.

    Going by the results of yesterday¡¯s secret training, I should be able to defeat the Iron Golems easily.

    Well, if I couldn¡¯t, I would just have to use brute force. I still hoped my n would work, though. I had used my precious sleeping time toe up with it, after all.

    We arrived at the Iron Golem floor and it didn¡¯t take long for us to encounter an Iron Golem.

    I told my Bears not to move and approached the golem on my own.

    Well then, would this work?

    I created an image in my head, and a pale yellow light appeared, cracking and coiling around the ck Bear Puppet. It was Lightning Magic. Electricity was the best option against iron, after all.

    I hoped that when I hit the golem, electricity would flow through it and destroy the magic stone inside.

    I didn¡¯t really know if Lightning Magic even existed in this world. It wasn¡¯t in the beginner¡¯s book I had bought before.

    Electricity probably wasn¡¯t even used in this world. They must know about lightning but most likely didn¡¯t understand where it came from or how it worked. That was why, it made sense that they didn¡¯t have Lightning Magic.

    Well, I was only guessing this, though.

    So, having thought of it, I had slipped out of the inn to practice Lightning Magicst night.

    I had trouble imagining it at first. There were a lot of games and anime where the lightning just came straight down from the sky. Protagonists would do it by creating an image in their heads and calling out things like Light¡ðing or Thunder.

    However, the magic in this world worked differently. I had to change the magic I had in me into the form I wanted and then throw it at my enemies; I couldn¡¯t just make lightning fall from the sky.

    That was why I had thought of making the lightning coil around the Bear Hand.

    It was easy to make the magic inside me transform into lightning; I just had to imagine it coiling around the Bear Hand, like a crackling discharge.

    I had tried to make this electricity fly from my hand, but I couldn¡¯t do it properly; my image seemed to be too fixated on the lightning falling from the sky.

    It was too difficult to imagine it flying away from the Bear Hand, so I couldn¡¯t do it.

    Well, I had stopped trying because it had beente at the night, and I had thought that just being able to use lightning magic was good enough in itself.

    Neither Light¡ðing nor Thunder coulde out, but I could call it a Bear Lightning Punch.

    TL note: Lightning and Thunder were written in english as a reference to HunterXHunter, hence the use of italics. Author also censores it due to copyright.

    This lightning I got with the special training was now coiling around my Bear Hand and making a crackling sound.

    I didn¡¯t really know how strong it was; it might only sting a little, or it might be stronger than a real lightning.

    I had trained until I had been able to produce electricity, but I hadn¡¯t tried it out against monsters yet.

    If this worked, it might be a practical magic I could use even in cramped areas.

    I ran at the Iron Golem and hit it with a light Bear Punch coiled with lightning. It was more of a touch than a punch since I was trying out electricity and not the strength of my Bear Punches, after all.

    My Bear Lightning Punch hit the Iron Golem with a loud creak, sending the electric current through the golem instantly.

    The Iron Golem, which was about to punch me, stopped moving, so I pushed it with a light Bear Punch, and it fell on its back.

    It didn¡¯t move, so I tried kicking it, but it still didn¡¯t move.

    My n worked, it seemed; electricity must have flowed through it well and properly destroyed the magic stone within.

    I put the whole Iron Golem inside the Bear Box and moved on to find more of them.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I wonder why...

    Even though I can properly imagine fire, water, or ice flowing from hands, but... the only image of lightning I have is the oneing down from the sky. w

    Is it because of the games I have been ying?

    Anyway, I decided to make the electricity like the Nen of Ki¡ða from Hunter¡ðHunter.

    PS: I would really be happy if you guys didn¡¯t write how you think the Mithril Golem will be defeated in thement section. If you figure it out, I, the author, will be sad. w

    Well, it isn¡¯t going to be some awesome way anyway. w

    It¡¯s just that if you guys figure it out before I write it, my motivation falls. It¡¯s just how I function as an author.

 Chapter 146 â€“ Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 6 â€“ Mithril Golem Part

    Chapter 146 ¨C Bear-san Dives Into The Mine, Part 6 ¨C Mithril Golem Part

    Since I was now able to easily defeat Iron Golems by using Lightning Magic, I moved forward without a problem.

    Anytime an Iron Golem crossed my path, a Bear Lightning Punch took care of it.

    Having it easy was great, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear seemed bored while only walking beside me and not even getting a turn.

    I was happy with them just staying here by my side, though.

    ¡¸Please help me when I¡¯m in a pinch, okay?¡¹

    There was always a chance of something going wrong in fights, so I asked them to help me, just in case.

    They suddenly seemed happier. Did they feel better because of what I had said?

    Well, they would save me even if I didn¡¯t ask them, right?

    You guys would save me, right?

    I patted their heads, and they tilted their head in confusion since this was so sudden, but still seemed to like it.

    As we kept going forward, I defeated four more Iron Golems without a hitch, so the Bears hadn¡¯t gotten an opportunity to help me.

    Now, there were only the five Irons Golem in our way to the Mithril Golem.

    Idiot Rangers had defeated them yesterday, but my detection magic confirmed that the five golems had properly respawned.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be possible for someone to obtain a permanent iron supply if they could keep defeating those five every day? Well, if they did that, miners would lose their jobs and be homeless.

    These golems had both good and bad sides to them.

    People who could defeat them would be able to earn a lot of money, but others would suffer in return.

    Also, there was more to mine than just iron here, bringing even more trouble to the miners.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t my job to think about the mining industry; that job was for nobles.

    My job was to defeat the golems that had appeared in the mine. More precisely, my job was to defeat the one we believed was responsible for all of this, the Mithril Golem.

    I would be done here if killing the Mithril Golem ended the golem troubles. If it didn¡¯t end it, I would just have to leave them to the country.

    Either way, what I had to do didn¡¯t change. Using my Bear Lightning Punches, I defeated the five Iron Golems, then descended to the lower floor to defeat the Mithril Golem.

    The map changed, and I found the Mithril Golem¡¯s signal with detection magic. I really hoped this would end after I defeated it.

    I kept moving forward until I reached the crevice where the Mithril Golem was and saw traces of fighting all around. There were a lot of crumbled rocks and shes on the walls left behind by wind magic.

    Was it from when Idiot Rangers had fought the Mithril Golem yesterday?

    They probably hadn¡¯t paid attention to the possible copse, so it was great that nothing had happened.

    In the middle of this mess, the Mithril Golem stood looking at me.

    So, it already noticed me? Well then, time to fight.

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to fall back, and faced the Mithril Golem on my own.

    Still, I shouldn¡¯t fight here. I wasn¡¯t like those Idiot Rangers and couldn¡¯t just use strong magic or Bear Punches because I feared the tunnel copsing.

    All I needed was to take this to a ce where I could use my Bear Cheats to their full potential, so I took out a Bear Transfer Gate big enough for even Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to pass through. Since the golem was about the same size as my Bears, it should also be able to use it.

    Okay then, should we go to a ce where we can fight fair and square using our full strengths? Golems usually had high defense, but since they were slow, a brute force approach should work.

    As the Mithril Golem charged at me, its feet making loud ¡®Thud¡¯, ¡®Thud¡¯ sounds, I opened the door with the Bear Hand.

    I felt as if I was waiting for a bull to charge at me, but since the golem was slow, I wasn¡¯t scared at all. If it had been as quick as the ck Tiger, then I would have been scared and might have even needed a red mantle.

    I sidestepped the approaching Mithril Golem, ducked behind its back, and used Bear Punch to send it into the Bear Transfer Gate.

    My Bears and I quickly followed through and were met by a vast coastline.

    It was open enough to fight without holding back, and all that was above us were some clouds in a blue sky. Unlike the mine, this ce couldn¡¯t crumble even if I used my Bear Cheat.

    We were close to Mireera, but far enough that nobody could see us.

    Also, this was where I had practiced Lightning Magic yesterday, so I knew I could go wild here.

    Well then, should we fight to our hearts¡¯ content?

    I faced the Mithril Golem and saw it had fallen from taking my Bear Punch.

    ¡¸With this, we can both fight without having to take care of our surroundings, right?¡¹

    I said without expecting an answer, but as if it understood me, the Mithril Golem stood up and faced me.

    Well, even though I had said we both, I nned on attacking it one-sidedly.

    Iunched a fireball at the golem and scored a direct hit, but the golem took it as if nothing had happened. Wind Magic, Earth Magic, and Ice Magic didn¡¯t work either.

    Wasn¡¯t this a bit unfair?

    I shouldn¡¯t be the one toin, though.

    How about this then?

    ¡¸Bear Cutter!¡¹

    I imagined bear ws andunched wind magic.

    The golem was sent flying from the impact, but there was no visible damage.

    No wait, when the Mithril Golem stood up, I saw three thin lines on its chest. I was able to damage it, it seemed.

    Would I be able to defeat it if I just keptunching Bear Cutters at the same ce?

    Maybe, but I had alreadyunched my next piece of magic: a Fire Bear from my Bear Hand.

    I didn¡¯t believe I could melt the golem, but I still tried throwing one at it.

    The golem grabbed the Fire Bear with its hands; doing so would have been the end for any normal monster, but the golem managed to stop the Fire Bear; the mes warped around its hands before disappearing without dealing any damage.

    As expected, it didn¡¯t work?

    Wait, now that I looked more carefully, it did seem to have melted a little bit?

    I should be able to defeat it if Iunched enough Fire Bears, but I couldn¡¯t get its mithril if I melted it, so I put that idea on hold.

    Well then, I didn¡¯t believe it would work, but how about the Lightning Magic I had learned yesterday?

    I gathered lightning around the Bear Hand and hit the slowly approaching Mithril Golem with a Bear Lightning Punch. The Mithril Golem was sent flying by the Bear Punch, but the electricity didn¡¯t seem to have effected it.

    Hmm, it really didn¡¯t work, as I had expected.

    I was attacking it one-sidedly, but could the Mithril Golem really do nothing more than try to strike me down?

    Well, I shouldn¡¯t really call being hit by those enormous arms nothing, but I could escape the moment it got close, so in a way, this felt as if I was attacking some sort of indestructible dummy that could be found in games.

    I had tested out everything I wanted, so it was about time to end this.

    I gathered magic power inside the Bear Hand and charged at the Mithril Golem. Once I was close enough, I used wind magic and hit it from underneath with a Bear Uppercut.

    Wind magicbined with a Bear Uppercut sent the Mithril Golem high into the sky.

    It went a thousand meters up... or at least that was what it seemed like to me since there was no way for me to know how high it had actually flown.

    I didn¡¯t happen to have a special power that let me know how high a ne was flying or how high a skyscraper was.

    Well, I did know that there was nothing that wouldn¡¯t break from falling from this height.

    Even though it was made of mithril, considering the golem¡¯s weight, the fall distance and speed, it shouldn¡¯te out unscathed, especially when it was also spinning while falling.

    Had that happened because I had put some rotation into my Bear Uppercut?

    The Mithril Golem crashed into the ground with a loud noise, causing a small earthquake.

    This should be enough to defeat it, right?

    Just as I thought that, the Mithril Golem tried to get up like some sort of a broken robot.

    It could still move after falling from this height, huh. How tough could it be?

    The magic stone should have been destroyed from such a shock.

    Still, even though it managed to stand up, it was in a really bad shape.

    One of its arms had been destroyed, and its head was bent at a strange angle. Its whole body was fractured in many ces from the hardnding, and I even saw the magic stone in the midst of the cracks where I had first hit it with my wind magic.

    Well then, destroying the magic stone should finish this.

    I ran at the now even slower Mithril Golem and sent a Bear Lightning Punch at its magic stone; the electricity passed through the cracks and destroyed the stone, making the golem stoppletely.

    It would be great if the golems stopped spawning at the mine now.

    With my fight finished, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached, seemingly worried about me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay.¡¹

    I petted their heads and put the Mithril Golem inside the Bear Box.

    I killed it in a really terrible fashion, but I had no other choice. Well, I wanted to make weapons and a dismantling knife from it, so there was no real problem.

    With the golem securely put away, I went back to the mine through the Bear Transfer Gate.

    I then put away the Bear Transfer Gate at the mine, but I would also have to put away the other Bear Transfer Gate even though it was at a ce nobody went to.

    I would have to go there tonight or tomorrow.

    Since I was now back in the mine, I looked around.

    In games, there was always something in the boss room...

    A treasure, or a treasure... or there might be the thing that made the golems respawn.

    There might also be a hidden room, so I inspected every wall to check.

    There was nothing.

    Even though I had been sure that there would be something...

    Well, there was no helping it, so I should just go back. When I turned around to leave, I saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear digging a hole.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    I asked and approached them.

    They were digging at the ce where the Mithril Golem had been standing before.

    I hadn¡¯t thought about this possibility. It might have been protecting something.

    I looked at the hole my Bears made and saw two dully shining stones.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹

    I asked the Bears, but they only tilted their heads.

    You two had dug it up, right? Why didn¡¯t you know then? I grumbled to myself.

    I took the stones out of the hole and noticed that they were only about the size of my fists.

    I inspected them, but since I wasn¡¯t a cksmith or an ore maniac, I had no way of knowing what the stones were. They could just be normal stones, or they could be special.

    This was where my Bear Skills could shine.

    I used the Observing Eyes of the Bear.

    Bearmonite, a mysterious ore.

    That was all that it said.

    More importantly, what was up with this name...

    Was it mocking me?

    The god that had brought me to this world must have named it like this, right?

    An ore with such a name.... It wasn¡¯t spread throughout this world, right?

    Wait, there had been something about this in the letter I had received from the god when I hade here.

    ¡ºThere are other presents, so do your best to find them, okay?¡»

    Was this ore possibly one of them?

    Still, even if this was the case, couldn¡¯t he do something about his horrible naming sense?

    Also, how was I supposed to use this mysterious ore?

    There had always been some hints in the game, you know!

    I couldn¡¯t aplish anything byining, so I thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for finding it by petting their heads.

    I wondered how many times had I petted their heads by now. Well, it was my way of thanking them, so I would keep doing it as long as I wanted or until the Bears started to dislike it.

    They looked quite happy right now, though.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I have been thinking about Bearmonite since the time I decided to discard the Goblin King¡¯s Sword.

    At first, I thought of making her find it after digging in the Dwarf Realm, but it seems like it will be a while before she goes there, so I made it appear now.

    Also, I nned on making it into a weapon before, but not so sure now.

    PS: Stories without dialogue are a pain. Authors that normally make the story advance through the conversation really have trouble when without it.

    That doesn¡¯t mean that I will make Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear talk, though. £÷

 Chapter 147 â€“ Bear-san Leaves The Mine

    Chapter 147 ¨C Bear-san Leaves The Mine

    I decided to stop thinking about the two stones I had just obtained and headed back to the upper floors.

    Bearmonite?

    There was no use in thinking about something I didn¡¯t understand, especially since it wasn¡¯t something that important.

    After going up a floor, I used detection magic to check if there were any golems remaining.

    Hmm, there were.

    They hadn¡¯t stopped moving with their boss defeated, huh. Well, it was also possible that they had no connection to the Mithril Golem at all. I would be troubled if that was the case, though.

    Even though it was troublesome, I had to defeat every golem that was here and see what happened.

    They might not respawn, after all.

    Still, doing this on my own would be really troublesome...

    Just as I thought about asking Jade-san¡¯s party to help me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear nudged me.

    ¡¸Will you two help me?¡¹

    They cried softly.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I hugged them while thanking them.

    ¡¸Well then, I will take care of the Iron Golems but leave the Stone and Earth Golems to you two, okay?¡¹

    The Bears nodded and ran down the tunnel.

    ¡¸You two get along, okay?¡¹

    I only got a kuun from the distance as a reply.

    The upper floors were going to be taken care of by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so that left only the Iron Golems to me.

    The mine didn¡¯t branch out a lot, so this shouldn¡¯t take too long.

    I still used detection magic to decide which path to take before storming off.

    I crossed paths with the Bears once, and they seemed to be properly disposing of the golems.

    When I finished dealing with the Iron Golems, I decided to help them, but all golem signals had already disappeared.

    I headed for the entrance and found Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear already waiting there for me, happily sitting side by side.

    Yep, they had dealt with them quickly.

    ¡¸Thanks for the hard work, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I thanked them and put them back into their gloves.

    As I had expected, having to clean up all of the golems after defeating the Mithril Golem had left me tired. I wanted to get back to the inn quickly and sleep.

    On my way back, I noticed some people looking at me curiously but decided to ignore them, and when I got to the inn, Idiot Rangers and Jade-san¡¯s party were already there.

    ¡¸Yuna, you¡¯rete.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought you would be fine, Yuna-chan, but you made us all worried bying back thiste.¡¹

    Well, that was because I had to clean up the mine, you know.

    ¡¸It gotte while I was defeating the golems.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s useless to defeat them since they will revive tomorrow anyway.¡¹

    Senya-san bluntly said.

    ¡¸About that, Jade-san, could I ask you to do something for me?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I defeated all the golems including the golem at the lowest floor, so could you check tomorrow if they respawn or not?¡¹

    ¡¸...I¡¯m sorry, what did you just say?¡¹

    ¡¸I defeated all the golems including the golem at the lowest floor, so...¡¹

    ¡¸...Yuna-chan, you¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I really defeated it, but I don¡¯t know if it will respawn or not.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t know until tomorrow at least.

    ¡¸Hey, you, pet over there, stop lying! You¡¯re telling us that a pet like you defeated a golem that the five of us couldn¡¯t? Don¡¯t joke around.¡¹

    Idiot Red approached us with a beer in hand. Had he listened in on our conversation?

    While I had been cleaning the mine, I had experimented with lightning magic some more, and in order to see the results of my training, I hit him with a light Bear Lightning Punch.

    ¡¸Ugya!¡¹

    Idiot Red let out a strange voice and copsed.

    ¡¸Babord!?¡¹

    Babord¡¯s friends quickly ran to his body.

    They called his name, but he didn¡¯t answer.

    He just lost consciousness and was still alive, right?

    Hmm, had I made it a bit too strong? I had to practice it some more, it seemed.

    Well, it was just the right strength for him since he kept mocking me and calling me a pet.

    I decided to try to deceive them for now.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t he just copse because he drank too much?¡¹

    I said and pointed at the beer that was now spilled over the floor.

    Luckily, he had drunk most of it, so not much damage had been done.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way Babord would be drunk with just that much...¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s sleeping, though.¡¹

    They all believed that I had done something, but they had no proof without even knowing what it was.

    Idiot Red¡¯s friends didn¡¯t say anything else and took his big body to his room, so I sat down and asked for a meal.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you really didn¡¯t do anything just now?¡¹

    I tilted my head as if I didn¡¯t understand what they were asking me.

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-chan, you didn¡¯t do anything, right? Babord only copsed because he was drunk, right?¡¹

    Mel-san was nodding to herself.

    ¡¸So, Yuna, is what you said before true?¡¹

    ¡¸Before?¡¹

    ¡¸About the golem.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, about that, huh. I defeated all the golems, including the one at the final floor, so if it doesn¡¯t respawn, we¡¯re done here. It¡¯s up to you if you believe me or not.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re telling the truth, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna was faster than us, huh.¡¹

    Faster than you, you said... You hadn¡¯t even nned on defeating it...

    ¡¸To tell the truth, we hit it off with Babord¡¯s party while drinking yesterday. We decided to defeat the golem together since it would be better to split the reward rather than let the country have it.¡¹

    ¡¸We also decided to take today off and defeat it tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸But I was the one who took the kill, huh.¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t known anything about that deal.

    Hadn¡¯t they all abandoned the idea of defeating it?

    ¡¸In any case, you did well defeating it on your own.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, there¡¯s a different method to do it, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, I wish I could have seen your fight, Yuna-chan...¡¹

    If you had been with me, I couldn¡¯t have used the transfer gate, though.

    ¡¸Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you show us the golem? You have it with you, right?¡¹

    Hmm, even if they see it up close, they wouldn¡¯t find out that it was mithril, right?

    Since I had no real choice, I went outside and took out the Mithril Golem.

    ¡¸Uhaa, it¡¯s in a terrible state.¡¹

    They reacted to the crumbled Mithril Golem.

    ¡¸How could you put the golem, which even Babord¡¯s party couldn¡¯t defeat, in such a terrible state...?¡¹

    ¡¸The bear¡¯s strength is incredible...¡¹

    ¡¸Even if its strength is incredible, could it really put it in such a terrible state?¡¹

    When Jade-san tried to inspect the golem in more detail, I heard the innkeeper calling me from the inn. My meal was ready, it seemed.

    I answered the innkeeper and put away the Mithril Golem. Since I didn¡¯t want them to inspect it too well, this was perfect timing.

    I entered the inn, happy with this oue.

    ¡¸Yuna defeating this golem might have had an effect on the other golems.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. We should check it out tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸We nned on going in with Babord¡¯s party anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸True. If any golems still appear, we can just head straight to where the Mithril Golem was, or search the tunnels if they don¡¯t.¡¹

    After the meal, I went back to my room and considered going to the ce where I had fought the Mithril Golem.

    Even though people didn¡¯t go there, I didn¡¯t really want to leave a Bear Transfer Gate there.

    I was tired and wanted to sleep, but if I go to Mireera during the day tomorrow, someone might see me, and that would be troublesome.

    I had no other choice but to go now, huh.

    I could also do it tomorrow night, but something might happen in between.

    Since I had no other choice, I installed a Bear Transfer Gate and transferred to the Bear House in Mireera. I looked outside, and it was already dark, which meant it would be easier for me to move without being seen.

    Also, it was great that my clothes were ck! It was a Bear Costume, though...

    I rushed out and disappeared into the darkness as if I was some sort of assassin.

    Like thest time, I left the city; it was really practical to have the Bear House near the city¡¯s edge in such cases. If it had been at the center, I would have had a difficult time moving undetected, even at night.

    When I was far enough from the city, I summoned Hugging Bear and rode him to the Bear Transfer Gate. I put away the gate and returned to Mireera as quickly as I could, then transferred back to the inn, changed into White Bear, and dove into bed.

    I had Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me while I slept, of course.

    The next day, Idiot Rangers and Jade-san¡¯s party went to the mines.

    I lied about still being tired from yesterday so that I could stay in.

    By the way, Idiot Red didn¡¯t remember what had happened yesterday at all. He actually believed that he had fallen asleep because he drank too much, it seemed. Yep, it was great that he was an idiot.

    I ate breakfast and went straight back to sleep.

    I had done my best yesterday, so I should take it easy today, right?

    I was sure that Fina had been enjoying the capital thest few days, so it was okay, right?

    I had asked Eleanora-san to take Fina to the castle. We hadn¡¯t been able to sightsee the castle at allst time since we had been caught by Princess Flora. I really hoped she had enjoyed the castle tour.

    Well, when I had called her with the Bear Phone, she seemed to have been having fun, wearing beautiful clothes, and sleeping in a luxurious bedroom.

    Eleanora-san had also properly showed her around the castle, and she even had the luxury of having a meal with Princess Flora and the King, so the castle tour had been a great idea.

    I had also asked Shia to show her around the capital since we had been here during the King¡¯s birthdayst time, and the normal capital gave off a different feeling, so she should be having fun.

    I had troubled Fina, after all.

    She had to fully enjoy herself.

    I woke up for lunch, and while I ate, the adventurers came back.

    ¡¸You guys came back quickly.¡¹

    I said and took a spoonful of soup.

    ¡¸Yeah, we couldn¡¯t find any golems, so we just wandered the mine for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes... There wasn¡¯t a single golem, even though there had been so many before.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know if it was due to the defeat of the Mithril Golem or the removal of the Bearmonite, but it seemed that the golems weren¡¯t respawning anymore.

    ¡¸Did this pet really defeat that golem on her own?¡¹

    Idiot Red said while looking at me.

    Should I electrocute him again?

    ¡¸You confirmed that thest golem wasn¡¯t there anymore, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but to take down the golem that the five of us couldn¡¯t defeat...¡¹

    ¡¸We told you a lot of things Yuna had done before, right?¡¹

    ¡¸How she defeated the Tiger Wolves, ck Viper, Goblin King all on her own?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, normally you wouldn¡¯t believe something like that, right?¡¹

    Mel-san seemed to agree with Idiot Red¡¯s logic.

    I looked around and saw that it wasn¡¯t just Mel-san; they were all nodding.

    Well, it didn¡¯t really matter, did it?

    ¡¸Okay, so does this mean the request ispleted?¡¹

    I would head back today it it was.

    ¡¸We have to report to the person in charge of the mine first and consult with him on what to do now.¡¹

    Oh right, there must be someone in charge of the mine. I hadpletely forgotten that they could exist.

    Still, reporting to them would probably be a pain.

    ¡¸Yuna, will youe to make a report with us?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems like it would be troublesome, so I will leave it to you, Jade-san.¡¹

    I tried asking him since I had nothing to lose.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really..., whatever, if it¡¯s just the report, we can do it. Youe too, Babord.¡¹

    Oh! I should really ask others to do things for me more!

    I was really grateful to Jade-san for this.

    ¡¸Why me too...¡¹

    ¡¸If youe with us, the report will be more credible, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You just have to take the pet that defeated it then, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Would you really believe me if I told you someone like Yunapleted the request?¡¹

    Idiot Red looked at me.

    ¡¸...I wouldn¡¯t¡¹

    ¡¸And that is why you have toe too.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no helping it, I guess.¡¹

    Were they insulting me, somehow?

    It wasn¡¯t just my imagination, right?

    Well, they were going to do the troublesome report for me, so I should forgive them this time.

    Jade-san¡¯s party and Idiot Rangers headed to the person in charge of the mine, so I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and took another nap.

    I napped for a while, and then the outside got noisy. I opened my window to check, and saw Jade-san¡¯s party and Idiot Rangers surrounded by the residents, who were thanking them.

    Jade-san¡¯s party had troubled faces while Idiot Rangers waved their hands.

    Jade-san¡¯s party then somehow managed to escape to the inn without the residents following them.

    Thinking something had happened, I went down to the dining room on the first floor.

    ¡¸Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna...¡¹

    ¡¸You see, they believe that we were the ones who defeated the golems in the mine.¡¹

    Jade-san¡¯s party then proceeded to exin.

    The residents had seen the nine of them on their way to the mine first thing this morning.

    They had seen them on their way back.

    Then, they had seen them reporting to the person in charge of the mine.

    They had even seen that person thanking them.

    The news of the golems being defeated then quickly spread...

    Yep, I understood how the story went.

    ¡¸So, that¡¯s why they now believe that we were the ones who defeated the golems.¡¹

    ¡¸Not to mention this idiot waving his hand as well...¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up, I only waved because they were thanking us!¡¹

    ¡¸We tried to exin that Yuna-chan had done it, but...¡¹

    ¡¸...No one even tried to listen.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re sorry.¡¹

    Jade-san apologized with a bow.

    Hmm, the way this turned out wasn¡¯t bad, right?

    I didn¡¯t want to be surrounded like they had been, and I didn¡¯t want to be famous either, so there wasn¡¯t really anything to apologize for.

    Although, I still wanted to be the one credited for the subjugation at the guild, so I asked them about that.

    ¡¸I will properly report it was you, of course. Babord, you¡¯re okay with this too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to take achievements from others.¡¹

    ¡¸You say that, but you were waving your hand before, weren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I waved because they were calling out my name.¡¹

    Well, the request should be finished with this, but since it waste already, I decided to go back tomorrow. Fina was waiting for me, after all.

    I shared my ns with the others.

    ¡¸About that, you see, it was decided that we should wait for a while longer.¡¹

    ¡¸......?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the first time the golems didn¡¯t revive over the night, so we don¡¯t know if it will be the same tomorrow or the day after, right?¡¹

    ¡¸So, it has been decided that we should stay here for ten more days.¡¹

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t stay here for ten days.

    ¡¸Are you kidding me?¡¹

    ¡¸You can go back, though, Yuna.¡¹

    I was relieved to hear that; I couldn¡¯t just leave Fina in Eleanora-san¡¯s care for ten days.

    ¡¸Since we will be staying here, could you please go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and make a report?¡¹

    ¡¸But what will you guys do if the golem appears again?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing. We will leave it to the country. If that golem keeps reviving even when we defeat it, our hands are off.¡¹

    Jade-san reinforced his statement by raising his hands into the air.

    ¡¸Okay, I will go back to the capital tomorrow then.¡¹

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m thinking of writing the second volume of the book soon.

    I won¡¯t stop posting, but the updates will probably being every three days rather than two. I hope you guys can understand that.

    This makes me recall when I did my best to update every two days so that you wouldn¡¯t find out about the first volume. I almost went crazy back then. w

 Chapter 148 â€“ Bear-san Goes Back To The Capital

    Chapter 148 ¨C Bear-san Goes Back To The Capital

    By alternating between riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I managed to arrive at the capital.

    There weren¡¯t a lot of people at the gate, so I was able to enter the city without having to wait long. Did I arrive at a perfect time or what?

    After getting in, I went straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to give my report and as soon as I entered, the adventurers¡¯ gazes turned my way before quickly veering away.

    I wondered why for a moment before recalling what I had done thest time I had been here.

    Well, they weren¡¯t picking a fight with me, so wasn¡¯t this okay?

    I went to an open counter and asked for the guild master, Senya-san, and the receptionist quickly rushed off to call her. Did she know who I was?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan!¡¹

    Senya-san greeted me aftering out from a door in the back.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back.¡¹

    I said and greeted her by lifting my Bear Hand.

    I wondered if we were going to talk here, but she took me to the Guild Master¡¯s room, where we sat down and were brought drinks.

    This felt as I was treated like some sort ofpany president.

    ¡¸So, how did it go?¡¹

    I proceeded to tell her that the golems hadn¡¯t respawned after I had defeated the golem on the lowest floor and that Jade-san¡¯s party had stayed behind to make sure they weren¡¯t justte to respawn.

    ¡¸You can ask Jade-san for more details.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. If the golems really stopped reviving, we won¡¯t have to send out the soldiers. You really saved us, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t know for sure yet, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Judging from what you told me, it should be okay. The golems always revived over the night, but now they didn¡¯t. I still have to wait for Jade¡¯s report, so the request won¡¯t bepleted until then. Is that fine with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Is it okay for me to return to Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡¹

    I had no problems with it, then.

    ¡¸I will be off, then.¡¹

    I had to get Fina as quickly as possible, after all.

    I tried to stand up, but Senya-san stopped me.

    ¡¸Leaving the request aside, why don¡¯t you start living at the capital rather than Crimonia, Yuna-chan? It would be great for us if you did.¡¹

    She suddenly said.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n on doing that for the time being.¡¹

    Over the time I had spent here, Crimonia had be easy to live in.

    People had stopped staring, and the adventurers had stopped picking fights with me.

    Not to mention that I had my shops there, so there was no real merit to living at the capital. On the contrary, my workload would probably increase here, and I wouldn¡¯t like that. I also had the Bear Transfer Gate, which made it easy toe to the capital, so there was really no point in moving here.

    ¡¸I see, that¡¯s really unfortunate.¡¹

    ¡¸I will stille here to y sometimes.¡¹

    ¡¸I might have a request for you when you do, so pleasee here to check, okay?¡¹

    She finally let me go after that, so I went to Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion, where I was met by Fina running to me in beautiful clothes.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    She clinged to my waist.

    I had a big belly, so I was able to properly catch her. By the way, I didn¡¯t mean that my actual belly wasrge. I meant that the costume¡¯s belly was big.

    ¡¸Fina, you really are wearing cute clothes, huh.¡¹

    The clothes suited her so well that she could only be seen as a youngdy of high status.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I don¡¯t want to hear that from you when you¡¯re wearing this cute Bear-san Suit! And it¡¯s not like I¡¯m wearing them because I want to. Eleanora-sama forced me to wear them!¡¹

    She said my Bear Suit was cute, but that was totally different than her clothes.

    There was a big difference between the cuteness of a costume and the cuteness of beautiful clothes. Any girl would be happier hearing she looked cute in beautiful clothes than when wearing a costume, you know.

    I was happy to see that Fina was well, though.

    It would have been hard to face Terumi-san if something had happened to her, after all.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wee back. You finished with the mine?¡¹

    Eleanora-san came from the mansion.

    ¡¸More or less. They just need to wait and see if there is a chance of golems still respawning, so I decided toe back.¡¹

    ¡¸You must have worked hard, right? I will prepare a delicious dinner today, so please eat with us.¡¹

    I wanted to take a bath before dinner, so I used this chance to talk with Fina as we bathed together.

    ¡¸Fina, did you enjoy the capital while I was away?¡¹

    I asked Fina while washing her back, but she didn¡¯t reply.

    Huh? Had she not enjoyed herself?

    ¡¸You went to see the castle, right? And also walked around the capital...¡¹

    ¡¸ Eleanora-sama made me wear beautiful clothes, so my stomach ached as I tried my best not to dirty them.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahhh, I see.¡¹

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t aughing matter! She even took me to the castle in those clothes, you know!¡¹

    ¡¸But you were able to sightsee the castle, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Eleanora-san showed me all around the castle; I even got to see a beautiful garden.¡¹

    Ah, now that she mentioned it, I also recalled seeing the garden; it had a lot of beautifully blooming flowers.

    ¡¸But then, King-sama came to the garden, and I don¡¯t really remember what happened after that.¡¹

    ¡¸Can¡¯t a girl get some peace while watching flowers...¡¹

    ¡¸Because of his appearance, I can¡¯t even remember the taste of the food you had prepared, Big Sis Yuna. I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I can make it again. Still, I will have to properly lecture this King...¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    Anytime I came to the castle, he always sought me out... Was he even doing his job as a king?

    ¡¸I will tell him not to get close to you anymore, so we can sightsee the castle without him ruining it next time, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that!¡¹

    Fina¡¯s voice echoed throughout the bathroom.

    Why did she get mad?

    When we left the bath, Eleanora-san and Shia, who was already back from the academy, were already waiting for us.

    ¡¸Ara, you¡¯re in your White Bear Clothes already?¡¹

    ¡¸I will go straight to bed after we eat, after all.¡¹

    I had been invited to sleep at Eleanora-san¡¯s ce tonight, so it was easier this way.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, were the golems strong?¡¹

    Shia wanted to hear about what had happened at the mine.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure if they were strong or not, but it was hard to fight them in the tunnels.¡¹

    ¡¸Because you were underground?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to copse the walls by using too much strength, after all. The other adventurers who came to subjugate them had the same problem as well.¡¹

    ¡¸So, how did you defeat them, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear helped me.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t really lying, they had helped me with the Earth and the Stone Golems.

    ¡¸Oh right, Shia, thank you for taking care of Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina is a good girl, so it wasn¡¯t a problem at all.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true, I caused you all sorts of trouble.¡¹

    Fina denied it, but Shia just showed a pleasant smile.

    Well, I was happy that they got along.

    While we ate, I briefed Eleanora-san about what had happened at the mine, mainly talking about Jade-san¡¯s party, so that I wouldn¡¯t stand out.

    I didn¡¯t mention lightning magic and the Bear Transfer Gate, of course.

    I deceived them by keeping my fights vague.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we are of the same age, but you¡¯re just incredible.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, you¡¯re a noble, so you don¡¯t really need to be strong, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because I¡¯m receiving education that I want to be strong.¡¹

    ¡¸I let you do it, but don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re only allowed to go to the nearby beginner forest.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I won¡¯t forget, mom.¡¹

    Shia obediently agreed with her mother.

    We finished the delicious meal, and when I thought of going to sleep in the room that had been given to me, Eleanora-san stopped me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, please wait a minute.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going back to Crimonia tomorrow, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I n on doing so. Fina¡¯s parents will be worried if I don¡¯t return her soon, after all.¡¹

    When I said that, Eleanora-san signaled Suririna-san, who then left the room.

    ¡¸Wh-what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I need to give you the reward for the request.¡¹

    ¡¸I will get the reward at Crimonia¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild in ten days time when they are sure it¡¯s really finished.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not talking about that. Did you forget? I promised you a mithril knife.¡¹

    She was right, she had promised it, but since I had already obtained mithril, I didn¡¯t really need it anymore.

    ¡¸Did you think that you don¡¯t need it, just now?¡¹

    Was she an esper!?

    It didn¡¯t take long for Suririna-san toe back with something wrapped in a cloth and gave it to Eleanora-san, who unfurled it to reveal an embellished tantou and presented it to me.

    (TL note: Tantou is a traditional Japanese ornamented dagger.)

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, here.¡¹

    The tantou had a very detailed engraving on it and seemed really expensive...

    My consciousness was telling me not to take it.

    ¡¸What is this? This beautiful tantou?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the knife I had promised you.¡¹

    Eleanora-san pulled the tantou out from its sheath.

    It really was beautiful.

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t something used for dismantling, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s also not used for fighting, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not, but it¡¯s made of mithril and is very sharp.¡¹

    It looked like something a woman would carry for self-defence, but I had the feeling that this was different.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want it.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? It¡¯s your reward, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸There seems to be a trick to this...¡¹

    The Bear Danger Sense was going off... even though there was no skill like that.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no trick, okay? Don¡¯t worry, you can take it.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said while showing a frightening smile.

    I couldn¡¯t lose here!

    ¡¸I will have to politely refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Jeez, your intuition is top notch...¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and pouted.

    ¡¸As I thought, there is a trick to it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not really something significant. This tantou just has the Foshuroze crest on it. You can get out of almost any bad situation by simply showing it to the other party.¡¹

    So, it was like Koumon-sama¡¯s seal.

    (TL note: In his TV show, Komon-sama is a popr judge that puts on disguises and goes out to catch bad guys together with his followers. Whenever he apprehends someone, his followers show his seal to the culprit, and the culprit cowers just by seeing it.)

    ¡¸Why... to me...¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, Yuna-chan, you get into trouble a lot, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    She was right, so I couldn¡¯t deny it.

    I got into all sorts of trouble because of this Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Is it really just because of that, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Honestly, my real motive for giving you the tantou is that I wanted to let the other nobles know that you and I are involved parties.¡¹

    ¡¸Involved parties?¡¹

    ¡¸It would be bad if people who know about your strength tried to misuse you, so the tantou is to prove that the Foschurose family stands behind you.¡¹

    She wanted to give me the tantou for my own good, it seemed.

    ¡¸You can use it all you want.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t use it.¡¹

    There was a good saying that could be used here: Nothing was free in this world.

    If I kept using the crest all the time and was then suddenly asked forpensation... That wasn¡¯t something I wanted to chance.

    ¡¸You can use it to buynd at the Commerce Guild without needing a letter of introduction, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh.¡¹

    ¡¸If you get into trouble with some idiot nobles, the crest will make them go away.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, it won¡¯t work if you show it to people who don¡¯t know of Foschuroze¡¯s Crest. It shoulde in handy in most cases, though.¡¹

    Eleanora-san offered the tantou again.

    ¡¸I could do something bad while using this tantou that represents your family, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ufufu, Yuna-chan, you really say funny things from time to time.¡¹

    ¡¸Is this really something tough at?¡¹

    ¡¸In which world would a girl, who has an orphanage under her wing, who went to kill a ck Viper on her own for the sake of a worried boy, who dug a tunnel for everyone and didn¡¯t even ask for anypensation, and who went to defeat an army of monsters just to protect a girl¡¯s father, do something bad?¡¹

    Eleanora-san said while also poking my cheek repeatedly.

    ¡¸I might be scheming in secret and waiting for the right time, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, shall I ask this girl?¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked at Fina.

    ¡¸Fina-chan, is Yuna-chan a bad person?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna is a really kind person. If she hadn¡¯t been around, my mother and I would have been dead, and the children of the orphanage wouldn¡¯t have been happy like they are now. I heard that she didn¡¯t ask forpensation when she killed the ck Viper and when she helped at Mireera either. Big Sis Yuna is strong and kind; she would never do bad things.¡¹

    Eleanora-san nodded.

    ¡¸Fina, I get it, you can stop now. I¡¯m bing embarrassed...¡¹

    ¡¸But, I haven¡¯t even said half the reasons why you¡¯re wonderful, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸You should still stop, though.¡¹

    I told Fina to stop singing praises of me.

    When you praise a hikikomori, who was not used to it, they only get troubled.

    I turned my gaze at the tantou again.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, if I take this, you won¡¯t call me your subordinate, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t.¡¹

    I took the tantou in the White Bear Hand.

    ¡¸If something happens, you can use the Foschuroze family¡¯s name, okay?¡¹

    Even though epting it was fine, I didn¡¯t n on using it for now. I could probably call it my insurance policy.

    I put the tantou straight into my Bear Box.

 Chapter 149 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Capitalâ€™s Smithy

    Chapter 149 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Capital¡¯s Smithy

    The next morning, we ate breakfast and bade farewell to Shia, who was going to the academy, and Eleanora-san, who was going to work at the castle.

    ¡¸Fina-chan,e again, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I will, Shia-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸You two can alwayse to y, okay? There are some ces at the castle I didn¡¯t get to show to Fina, so I will make sure to take you there without anyone bothering us next time, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸...Okay.¡¹

    Fina answered with a troubled expression.

    The King must have really done some bad things to her, huh. Poor thing...

    If I ever took Fina to the castle again, I had to protect her.

    Shia and Eleanora-san were about to leave, so we departed too.

    We weren¡¯t headed to Crimonia, though, but to Gazar-san¡¯s smithy.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, we¡¯re not going back?¡¹

    Fina asked me when she noticed we weren¡¯t headed towards the Bear House.

    ¡¸I n on making use of Gold-san¡¯s letter before going back, so we¡¯re headed to Gazar-san¡¯s smithy.¡¹

    Well, I could have went back without going there, but I had something to ask him and give him a souvenir. Also, I wanted to have a few mithril knives made.

    Fina held my Bear Hand as we walked. I had left her at the mansion for a while, so she might have been lonely. I should let her do what she wanted. Also, it wasn¡¯t like I had a reason to shake her off.

    We arrived at Gazar-san¡¯s smithy, still hand in hand.

    ¡¸Excuse me. Gazar-san, are you here?¡¹

    I called out when we entered the shop, and he came out from the back.

    ¡¸What... I was thinking who it was, but it was you, the one wearing those strange clothes.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Why have youe so early in the morning?¡¹

    ¡¸To tell you that the mine has been cleared, I guess? It won¡¯t take long for the ores to starting again.¡¹

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t telling me that you were the one who took care of it?¡¹

    ¡¸I helped.¡¹

    I then gave him a brief report of what had happened.

    ¡¸I see, thank you for telling me. A Mithril Golem, though? I don¡¯t believe it...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I defeated it and took its mithril, so could I ask you to make a mithril knife for me?¡¹

    ¡¸You could just ask Gold to do it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on asking him too. Making mithril weapons takes time, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, processing mithril is difficult and is not done overnight.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to have four knives made, so I nned on asking Gold-san and you to make two each.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand your reasoning, but you live at Crimonia, right? If you don¡¯t n oning back here anytime soon, it might be easier to just ask Gold to make all of them.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine since I have a way ofing here quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸If you will really being back here to receive them, it is fine by me.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. I will take out the Mithril Golem now, okay?¡¹

    I took out the crumbled Mithril Golem from the Bear Box, and it just barely fit into the shop.

    ¡¸So, this is the Mithril Golem, huh...¡¹

    Gazar-san approached the golem and examined it with a serious face, paying close attention to where the cuts were.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with this fake?¡¹

    ¡¸Fake?¡¹

    I tilted my head when I heard his unexpected words.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. It is a Mithril Golem but at the same time it isn¡¯t one.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what he was saying at all.

    ¡¸Here and also here. You can see that the color is different below the surface, right?¡¹

    He said while pointing at the cuts with his thick finger. He was right, the color behind the cuts was indeed different.

    ¡¸The interior is iron. Only the exterior is mithril.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep. You can ask Gold when you return to Crimonia if you don¡¯t believe me.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really think that he was lying, but it was still hard to believe that the interior was iron.

    Well, it made sense for him to call it a fake if that was the case.

    ¡¸There is still mithril on it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I would say that it¡¯s only one fourth of it, maybe one third at best.¡¹

    God had been really stingy, giving me a fake Mithril Golem. If mithril only covered the surface, didn¡¯t it function just as a coating? If it had been gold coated then it would have been a Gold Golem?

    I felt as if I had been scammed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s still enough to make a few knives, right?¡¹

    They were my main goal, after all.

    ¡¸Yeah, if all you want is knives, it¡¯s enough for a number of them.¡¹

    Whew. If he had said that it wasn¡¯t enough, I would have had to buy them.

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, you wanted a dismantling knife, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but might I ask you to make me two fighting knives? This request made me want a mithril weapon.¡¹

    I had started to want them when I had seen how Senya-san fought.

    I wouldn¡¯t mind a long sword, but they didn¡¯t seem easy to use while I could use knives for other things as well.

    ¡¸What about the dismantling knife?¡¹

    ¡¸I will ask Gold-san to make two of them for me.¡¹

    It was better to ask Gold-san to make the dismantling knives since he would also be the one maintaining them.

    ¡¸Okay, then. You¡¯re asking for two knives; is it one for you and one for the missy next to you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I will use them both, so one right-handed and one left-handed knife if possible.¡¹

    ¡¸You will dual wield them, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s fine by me. You want two knives, so I will make two knives. Show me your hands.¡¹

    I showed him my Bear Hands.

    ¡¸You... Are you kidding me? I asked you to show me your hands because I need to know their size, so I can make knives that fit them.¡¹

    ¡¸I will hold the knives with my gloves on, though...¡¹

    I made the Bear Hand¡¯s mouth open and close.

    ¡¸Just remove these strange gloves and show me your hands for now!¡¹

    Since he persisted, I removed my gloves and showed him my hands.

    ¡¸Such tiny hands.¡¹

    Gazar-san touched the palm of my hands, which made me a bit ticklish.

    ¡¸They are really soft too. You really fight with these hands?¡¹

    ¡¸I mostly use magic, but yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay then, but you will have to train, or you will get blisters on your hands. Well, I got your hand sizes now, so put your gloves back on now.¡¹

    I put my gloves back on, and Gazar-san held my hands again.

    ¡¸Nice fabric you¡¯re using, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸You can tell just from touching it?¡¹

    ¡¸Pretty much, yeah. Okay, I have a feel of what your hands are like, now. Do you need the knives made quickly?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really, you can take your time. How long does it normally take?¡¹

    ¡¸It takes time to process mithril, so about 10 days.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, fine by me.¡¹

    ¡¸So, which mithril type do you want? From what you told me, the magic one would be the best for you, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Mithril type?¡¹

    I tilted my head, hearing those words for the first time.

    ¡¸You¡¯re asking for a mithril weapon without even knowing about its types?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t help not knowing about it. After all, mithril weapons had no types in the game.

    Gazar-san proceeded to exin.

    ¡¸If I just rely on the pure mithril ore, I can draw out its sharpness. Such weapons are generally used by those who can¡¯t use magic. If I add a magic potion to the mithril ore, I can make a magic type mithril weapon. Wielders can then use magic to reinforce the mithril. Its sharpness is lower without magic, but with it, it can be stronger than a regr mithril weapon.¡¹

    ¡¸Doesn¡¯t everyone possess a certain amount of magic power?¡¹

    Anyone was able to light a light magic stone and make water from a water magic stone.

    ¡¸If a person doesn¡¯t have the magic power of a mage, they aren¡¯t strong enough to reinforce mithril with magic power.¡¹

    So, people without enough magic power couldn¡¯t use them, huh.

    ¡¸I somewhat get it, but which one is better in the end?¡¹

    ¡¸That depends on the user. Pure mithril weapons are generally stronger than magic ones, but with enough magic, magic mithril weapons triumph over the pure mithril weapons.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you make it a bit easier for me to understand, please?¡¹

    ¡¸Magic users use magic type. Others use pure type.¡¹

    He said as if giving up on me.

    Well, he did make it easy to understand, so I didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡¸Please make the magic type mithril knives, then.¡¹

    Gazar-san let out a sigh as if the exnation had left him tired.

    ¡¸I will take enough mithril to make two knives, then.¡¹

    Gazar-san took a part of the Mithril Golem. It should have been heavy, but he lifted it easily.

    As expected from a dwarf, huh?

    ¡¸If I will have some leftover, I will give it back to you when youe to get the knives. Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, fine by me. So, how much do I have to pay?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm. You brought the mithril, so this much should be fine.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know the market prices, but Gazar-san didn¡¯t seem like a person who would trick people, so I epted his offer.

    ¡¸You can pay when I give you the knives.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, this isn¡¯t meant to act as my payment, but do you want this?¡¹

    I put the rest of the Mithril Golem back inside the Bear Box then brought out an Iron Golem.

    I brought it out still standing up, the way I had defeated it.

    ¡¸What is this!?¡¹

    Gazar-san yelled out in surprise.

    Well, it made sense for him to be surprised when seeing a standing, undamaged Iron Golem.

    ¡¸It¡¯s an Iron Golem. I thought it might look good inside your shop. Maybe you could even put it in front of your door?¡¹

    ¡¸The clients would stoping if I did that!¡¹

    ¡¸I thought it would be a great idea, though... It could be a great advertisement if you gave it a sword and a shield and put it at the front...¡¹

    ¡¸Is it supposed to be a gatekeeper!?¡¹

    Gazar-san shouted.

    I still believed that an Iron Golem would go well with a smithy, though...

    ¡¸I can¡¯t ept something this big for free anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really need payment. I have a lot of them, after all.¡¹

    The Iron Golems were not of much use to me anyway, so I had no problem with giving one or two away.

    ¡¸A lot of them... You... Who are you, really? In his letter, Gold wrote that even with your appearance, you¡¯re an excellent adventurer, and that he wanted me to help you, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m technically a rank C adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸Rank C... I guess it makes sense if that¡¯s the case?¡¹

    Gazar-san looked at my Bear Suit with aplicated expression.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t really matter. I will take this Iron Golem as a payment for the mithril knives. I will add one maintenance free of charge, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I will pay for it properly.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to. If this Iron Golem bes a hindrance, I will just have to dispose of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Do with it as you please. I will leave it in the corner, okay?¡¹

    I dragged the Iron Golem to a corner of the shop using my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be a hindrance here, right?¡¹

    I turned around and was met by Fina and Gazar-san looking at me with their eyes wide open.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    ¡¸You... You really are strong even with those soft hands of yours.¡¹

    Ah, they were shocked because I moved the Iron Golem, huh.

    A frail maiden normally wouldn¡¯t be able to move Iron Golems around, right?

    ¡¸Oh right, Gazar-san, I wanted you to take a look at something. Would you mind?¡¹

    I changed the subject to dodge the issue.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    I took the Bearmonite out of the Bear Box and handed it to Gazar-san.

    ¡¸Do you know what this ore is?¡¹

    Gazar-san started to examine it closely.

    I made sure to hide its name, in case he didn¡¯t recognize it and I also didn¡¯t want people to think I was the one that gave it this name.

    After examining the ore from every angle, Gazar-san tilted his head.

    ¡¸I have never seen this one. Where did you find it?¡¹

    For a dwarf like Gazar-san to not know of it, what was this Bearmonite, really?

    ¡¸It was where the Mithril Golem stood guard.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that it¡¯s not a normal ore, but no more. My master might know it, though...¡¹

    ¡¸Gazar-san¡¯s master?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. He is in the dwarf country at the moment, so I can¡¯t show it to him, though.¡¹

    ¡¸The dwarf country!? There was something like that!?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you asking me something so obvious? Well, it¡¯s a small country, smaller than the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Where is it?¡¹

    Wow, a dwarf country... Which fantasy story was it from!?

    Anyway, if there really was one, I wanted to visit it either way.

    ¡¸Inside a mountain.¡¹

    ¡¸Is its location a secret?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really, anyone can enter it, but it is a bit far away from here.¡¹

    ¡¸Could you tell me where it is?¡¹

    ¡¸You want to go there?¡¹

    ¡¸Someday, yeah.¡¹

    I could visit the dwarf country. If I asked Senya-san, would she tell me where the elf country was?

    This wasn¡¯t a game, but a real world, which made me want to see them even more.

    ¡¸If you really want to go, I can write you an introduction letter for my master.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? That would be great!¡¹

    ¡¸I will give it to you when the knives are ready, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Information on the dwarf country... Obtained!

 Chapter 150 â€“ Bear-san Is Lectured By Fina

    Chapter 150 ¨C Bear-san Is Lectured By Fina

    Author¡¯s note:

    I couldn¡¯t keep a good flow of conversation in this chapter, so I¡¯m sorry if ites across a bit strange.

    After leaving Gazar-san¡¯s ce, Fina and I used the Bear Transfer Gate to transfer to Crimonia¡¯s Bear House.

    ¡¸We¡¯re finally back.¡¹

    I was finally back at my home, the Bear House.

    It should have been a one-day trip; I really didn¡¯t think that it would end up taking several days.

    This made me recall game events, though it was a bit different in that case, since the trip ended up being a pain.

    Well, I was able to obtain mithril, so I was happy with the oue.

    I had troubled Fina, though.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, what should I do today?¡¹

    Hmm, we had already bought some food at some stalls in the capital on the way to my Bear House, and it was only early afternoon.

    ¡¸Fina, you¡¯re tired, right? You should go home and take it easy today.¡¹

    A ten-year-old girl should be tired after being away from home for several days, and I also wanted a break.

    ¡¸Come tomorrow morning, and bring Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸Bring Shuri?¡¹

    Fina tilted her head.

    Had I said something strange?

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to force her toe if Terumi-san doesn¡¯t allow it, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, see you tomorrow morning then. I will make sure that Shuries too.¡¹

    ¡¸Please say hello to Terumi-san for me as well.¡¹

    Fina nodded.

    ¡¸Also, Big Sis Yuna, thank you for taking me to the capital even though a lot of terrible things happened this time.¡¹

    ¡¸You had fun, right?¡¹

    Fina showed aplicated expression.

    ¡¸It was fun, but getting to see the King was a real surprise.¡¹

    I knew it. She wasn¡¯t able to enjoy it because of the King...

    ¡¸I will make sure that we will be able to sightsee the castle without meeting the King next time, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. I want to see the garden one more time.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to show it to Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸We will all go together someday then.¡¹

    ¡¸Great. Big Sis Yuna, thank you for taking care of me.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for putting up with me. See you tomorrow.¡¹

    After saying goodbye, Fina left the Bear House.

    Since I was now left alone, I decided to just stay in today and went to my room to rest infort with my Bears.

    The next morning, Fina and Shuri arrived at the Bear House.

    They were good children and arrived on time.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Sis Yuna.¡¹

    The two sisters greeted me.

    ¡¸Good morning, you two. Shall we go then?¡¹

    I greeted them back and left the Bear House with them.

    ¡¸Terumi-san didn¡¯t mind?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she was fine with it. She wasn¡¯t worried since we would be with you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know if I should be happy for being trusted this much or if I should get angry at her being so irresponsible as a parent. I was kind of troubled by this.

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, where are we going?¡¹

    Shuri asked with Fina in one hand and me in the other.

    ¡¸We are going tomission knives at Gold-san¡¯s ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Commission knives?¡¹

    She said while tilting her head.

    Oh, I had never mentioned it to her.

    ¡¸Fina and I got an ore named mithril the other day, so we are going to ask Gold-san to make knives from it.¡¹

    I tried to exin in a way Shuri would understand.

    ¡¸Why am I going too, though?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because we will ask for a small dismantling knife that will fit your hands.¡¹

    I gripped Shuri¡¯s little hand. Gosh, it was really small.

    ¡¸But you already got me onest time, Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Recently, Shuri had been interested in a lot of things.

    Anytime Fina came to the Bear House to dismantle monsters or animals for me, she also came along to look at the process or even help.

    When we visited my shop, she grew interested in the bread and other meals that Morin-san and Anzu made, so she now sometimes visited the kitchen by herself.

    On top of that, she was also making sure to study, help Terumi-san, and even help take care of the birds at the orphanage.

    She was at an age where many different things started to interest her.

    So, since she was interested in dismantling, I had asked Gold-san to make my dismantling knife (which I had never used before), fit Shuri¡¯s little hand.

    I thought that making a seven-year-old girl do dismantling work was strange, but she wasn¡¯t against it, and Terumi-san and Gantz-san didn¡¯t say a thing either. If we had been in Japan, I would have been scolded for giving a knife to a child, but this world was okay with children handling knives when needed.

    By the way, I didn¡¯t just let her walk around with the knife. It was stored safely in the Bear Warehouse. She only used it while helping Fina.

    I had no idea what Shuri would do in the future. She might follow her father¡¯s footsteps to be an employee of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and dismantle monsters there. Having a mithril knife wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea in that case.

    ¡¸This knife will be a bit different.¡¹

    ¡¸Different?¡¹

    Shuri tilted her head again.

    Hmm, even if I exined the difference to her, I doubt she would understand.

    ¡¸This knife will cut better than the one you have right now.¡¹

    While I did my best to exin it to Shuri, Fina suddenly entered the conversation.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you nning on having a mithril knife made for Shuri too!?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹

    Even if I got a mithril dismantling knife for myself, I wouldn¡¯t use it, so it was better to get one for Shuri, who would at least sometimes use it.

    Fina, though, gave me an angry re.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, that¡¯s ridiculous! Did you hit your head or something?!¡¹

    ¡¸Why did you get so angry all of the sudden?¡¹

    It was really rare for Fina to get this loud, and even rarer for her to get angry.

    ¡¸Do you even know how much a mithril knife costs!? Even I feel anxious about getting one, so it is just ridiculous for you to consider having one made for Shuri too!¡¹

    Fina scolded me.

    I noticed even Shuri got flustered seeing how Fina got angry so suddenly.

    ¡¸Ehm, Fina-san? Why are you so angry?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really know why, but seeing Fina like this, I couldn¡¯t help but to add ¡º-san¡» to her name.

    ¡¸How many of my mother¡¯s monthly sries do you think just a single mithril knife costs?!¡¹

    Fina kept scolding me.

    I didn¡¯t really know how much the knives cost.

    Gazar-san only charged the price ofbor, so I didn¡¯t have any idea how much they cost together with materials.

    How much did Terumi-san earn anyway?

    When we had been deciding it, I had just arrived at this world and had no idea how high normal wages were, so I had to ask Mylene-san for help.

    It was me, who was living a super-irresponsible life while not caring about money, we were talking about here.

    Also, I didn¡¯t even know that mithril existed until not so long ago.

    I only knew that it had a high value.

    I wasn¡¯t from this world, so it was hard for me to answer your question, you know.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t just say that, so I threw a guess at her.

    ¡¸Hmm, about three months worth?¡¹

    Even though this could hardly be rtable, I remembered hearing that an engagement ring in Japan cost three monthly sries.

    ¡¸Wrong, that¡¯s way too low!¡¹

    She raised her voice again.

    Having a ten-year-old get angry at me at a public street was...

    ¡¸You have no sense for money, Big Sis Yuna! I kind of knew that since the day I met you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    We were getting slightly off-point here.

    Not that I could point that out with the way Fina was right now.

    She also made a point, so I couldn¡¯t really oppose her.

    All I could do was keep listening to her lecture.

    Honestly, I was surprised that even several Terumi-san¡¯s monthly sries couldn¡¯t buy a single mithril knife.

    That meant her sry was low, right? I had to give her a raise.

    Now was not the time to think about this, though.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you should think more before doing things!¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    She would just keep scolding me if I tried to refute her, so I obediently apologized.

    As I did so, I felt a tug on my arm. I looked to check, and saw Shuri looking up at me.

    ¡¸Sis Yuna, I don¡¯t need a knife, you know.¡¹

    Being startled by her big sister¡¯s sudden outburst, Shuri tried to avoid getting the knife as well.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. If I simply give it to you, your Big Sis will get angry, so I will only lend it to you.¡¹

    I petted Shuri¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸It should be okay if I¡¯m only lending it to her, right? We just need to store it at my warehouse. She can use it when she needs it, and when she doesn¡¯t, it will stay at my warehouse.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    Fina still didn¡¯t seem to agree with my reasoning.

    ¡¸Also, she will only be allowed to use it when you¡¯re present, Fina.¡¹

    That was already the case anyway, but it seemed that I finally started to sway Fina.

    ¡¸Fina, you should also consider this; do you think that even if I made a mithril knife for myself, would I be able to use it?¡¹

    I said while thrusting my chest out. (Not like the action could be seen though my suit, though.)

    I had tried dismantling once, but I hadn¡¯t been able to do it.

    I was able to cut the wolves bellies and such; I had already experienced doing that in battles.

    There was no way I could put my hands into those cuts, however.

    That was simply too much for a girl born in a Japanese city.

    I also hadn¡¯t experienced it in the game since items had been automatically sent to my item box after I had defeated the monsters.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re an adventurer, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    Yes, I was an adventurer.

    Fina looked at me exasperatedly.

    I couldn¡¯t do what I couldn¡¯t do, okay?

    Giving me a mithril dismantling knife would be like giving pearls to a kuma (buta).

    It would be great if my Bear Cheat had given me dismantling skills...

    Well, no use in asking for the impossible.

    I showed a depressed expression, and Fina started tough.

    (TL note: Kuma is japanese for bear, and buta for pig.... Yeah, she made a bad pun here...)

    ¡¸Fufu, it was a joke, Big Sis Yuna. Please don¡¯t get depressed.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸I already resigned myself to be your dismantler. I would be troubled if you could suddenly do it yourself, since dismantling is the only thing I can help you with. So, it¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t dismantle, Big Sis Yuna. If you had known how to dismantle, we might not have been as close as we are.¡¹

    Fina showed a sad expression for only a second.

    ¡¸ I will dismantle in your stead, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina...¡¹

    ¡¸I will help too.¡¹

    Shuri dered while still holding our hands.

    ¡¸Well then, next time I will defeat a dragon and will be counting on you two then, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will do my best to dismantle it.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best!¡¹

    I petted Fina¡¯s and Shuri¡¯s heads.

    They were a really cute pair of sisters.

    ¡¸You still have to fix your sense of money, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best.¡¹

    We all smiled.

    Fina finally let me off the hook, so the three of us continued on our way to Gold-san¡¯s smithy.

    Author¡¯s note:

    This makes me remember the moment when I wanted to make her learn the Bear dismantling skill... (Around the second chapter.)

    Thinking back on it, it¡¯s great that I didn¡¯t do that. £÷

    Bear Dismantling Skill: Touch the fallen monster with your Bear Hand to dismantle it and ce it into the Bear Box.

    That¡¯s what I nned on making it look like.

 Chapter 151 â€“ Bear-san Commissions Two Dismantling Knives

    Chapter 151 ¨C Bear-san Commissions Two Dismantling Knives

    Still hand in hand, Fina, Shuri, and I arrived at Gold-san¡¯s smithy.

    ¡¸Excuse me...¡¹

    I called out and entered the shop without waiting for a response.

    I thought that Nelt-san would be the one inside the shop like usual, but I was wrong.

    With a curt expression on his face, Gold-san was polishing the wares behind the counter.

    ¡¸Gold-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, Fina and Shuri. And Bear Missy as well, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s rare to see you inside the store...¡¹

    Rather than rare, it might have been the first time.

    ¡¸Nelt would literally kick me if all I did was sleep for having nothing to do, so... that¡¯s why I¡¯m now reluctantly polishing the wares.¡¹

    ¡¸And Nelt-san is?¡¹

    ¡¸She is out with one of our neighbours. So, what are you doing here? Didn¡¯t you go to the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸I went there and met Gazar-san. Your letter helped a lot, thank you very much.¡¹

    I had already thanked Nelt-san but hadn¡¯t yet gotten the chance to thank Gold-san, who had written the letter.

    ¡¸How did youe back so fast? Ah, right, you can summon those bears, can¡¯t you?¡¹

    He both asked the question and found the answer on his own, so I just ignored him.

    ¡¸Is Gazar doing well?¡¹

    ¡¸He is.¡¹

    ¡¸Good. It¡¯s been a while since west saw each other, after all. Well, I have nothing to do right now, so I might pay him a visit.¡¹

    He said, looking into the distance and stroking his long beard as if recalling some time long past.

    ¡¸So, did you manage to get a mithril knife?¡¹

    ¡¸There was a mithril shortage at the capital as well, so I couldn¡¯t obtain it, but I did manage to get my hands on some mithril in the end.¡¹

    ¡¸So, did you ask Gazar to make it for you?¡¹

    ¡¸I asked him for two fighting knives. I want you to make two dismantling knives, one for each of these two girls.¡¹

    I said while putting my hands on Fina and Shuri¡¯s heads.

    ¡¸For Fina and Shuri?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear Missy... Do you know how valuable mithril is?¡¹

    ¡¸I do.¡¹

    Fina had exined it to me on our way here.

    ¡¸Okay, it¡¯s fine as long as you do. So, I just have to make two knives, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, is it okay not to get one for yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t use it even if I had one.¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you an adventurer, missy?¡¹

    Everyone was thinking the same thing, huh?

    Did every adventurer really need to know how to dismantle?

    I didn¡¯t n on ever doing it, though.

    ¡¸Oh right, I already showed it to Gazar-san, but I think you will also like to see this.¡¹

    I took out the Fake Mithril Golem.

    ¡¸It¡¯s technically a Mithril Golem, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Did you just say Mithril Golem!?¡¹

    Gold-san didn¡¯t wait for me to finish and rushed towards the Mithril Golem.

    ¡¸What the hell is with this fake!?¡¹

    He yelled out after inspecting it for a while.

    He reacted the same way as Gazar-san had, huh.

    So, it really was a fake; he answered my question before I even asked it.

    ¡¸Mithril exterior and steel interior, huh? This is my first time seeing a Mithril Golem. It¡¯s also the first time I have heard of a twoyered golem.¡¹

    Gold-san hadn¡¯t heard of such golems either, huh.

    ¡¸There is more than enough mithril, though. I¡¯m guessing Gazar took the missing part?¡¹

    He was right; Gazar-san had taken some of it so he could make my knives.

    ¡¸Well then, I will also take my share to make the knives for you.¡¹

    Gold-san said while taking his share.

    Dwarves were really strong, huh.

    ¡¸When will you need them?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not in any real hurry. I would prefer to have Fina¡¯s made first, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. I will get that one made in three, no, four days time.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. How much will you charge me?¡¹

    The price should be differentpared to the fighting knives I hadmissioned at Gazar-san¡¯s smithy, right?

    He answered differently than I had expected, though.

    ¡¸No idea. I leave those things to Nelt.¡¹

    This dwarf was no good... Gazar-san was a craftsman, but he made sure to know his cut. On the contrary, Gold-san seemed be be a craftsman who only cared about his craft and nothing else.

    ¡¸Hmm, what should I do, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Ask Nelt!¡¹

    How could he run a store like this?

    Well, I just had toe back another day and ask Nelt-san.

    She wouldn¡¯t try to overcharge us, either.

    I probably shouldn¡¯t give the Iron Golem to Gold-san right now as it might get melted down into weapons and ironware by the time I returned.

    I hoped it to be a shop decoration, so I would only give it to them when Nelt-san was present.

    Gold-san proceeded to measure Fina and Shuri¡¯s hands and asked me what I wanted the grip to be made of.

    I had no knowledge of grips, of course, and neither did Shuri, so we left it to Fina and made a round of the shop.

    ¡¸Well then, we leave it to you.¡¹

    Fina said and bowed.

    ¡¸You done?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I think he will make great knives.¡¹

    Fina said, looking happy.

    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good to hear.¡¹

    It was a bit disturbing seeing a 10-year-old girl be happy after discussing knives.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault, though; she had already been using knives when I had met her. Gantz-san was the one who had taught her how to use it, and Gold-san was the person who had provided her the knife. It was all their fault.

    Anyway, seeing Fina happy made me happy, no matter what the reason was.

    Since the knives had now beenmissioned, we left Gold-san¡¯s smithy.

    I had nothing in particr to do, so I just apanied Fina and Shuri home.

    Even though I had Terumi-san¡¯s permission, I wanted to apologize for making Fina spend several days away from home.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, Yuna-chan. It¡¯s you, after all. You can take her anytime you want.¡¹

    She said after I apologized to her.

    I should have told her that treating her daughter like that wasn¡¯t good, but I already knew that just epting it was simpler.

    ¡¸Thank you. I will borrow her when I need her, then.¡¹

    Fina and Shuriughed at my response.

    ¡¸Oh right, I have a message from Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸From Anzu?¡¹

    I wondered what it was. Had something happened?

    ¡¸One of your acquaintances came to the restaurant and asked for you, it seems.¡¹

    ¡¸...Who?¡¹

    ¡¸She didn¡¯t say.¡¹

    Who could it be?

    The old man who sold me cheese? No, he would havee with the potato man, and they would have gone to Morin-san¡¯s shop. Also, Terumi-san would have known about it.

    No one came to my mind.

    Well, just standing here couldn¡¯t help me, so I decided to go to Anzu¡¯s restaurant.

    ¡¸I will go to Anzu¡¯s restaurant, then.¡¹

    I said goodbye and headed for Anzu¡¯s restaurant.

    The restaurant was doing well, its regrs increasing in number day by day.

    I was happy to see that rice was bing popr.

    I could already see the Bear Statue at the entrance. It really stood out, luring in those who didn¡¯t know of the restaurant.

    Well, it didn¡¯t really have much to do with the restaurant, though.

    Terumi-san had made me stay at her ce for a while before letting me leave, so it was already well past noon. There shouldn¡¯t be a lot of customers at this time, so I wouldn¡¯t bother Anzu, right?

    I entered the restaurant, and it was more or less empty since lunch time was already over.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    Enata-san, who was wearing a Bear embroidered apron, was the first to notice me.

    ¡¸Is Anzu here?¡¹

    I was sure she was, but still wanted to check just in case.

    ¡¸She is. Anzu-chan! Yuna-chan is here!¡¹

    She shouted towards the kitchen, and soon, Anzu came out.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, where have you been!?¡¹

    ¡¸I had something to do quite far away. Terumi-san told me that someone came here looking for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Blitz-san came here the other day.¡¹

    ¡¸Blitz, huh.¡¹

    Ah, Ipletely forgot about him. Yeah, I remembered now. He had told me that he woulde here once things calmed down at Mireera.

    ¡¸He asked about your whereabouts, so I went to ask Terumi-san, who told me that you went off somewhere with her daughter and said she would let you know when you return.¡¹

    ¡¸Did he say where he would be? Like the inn he would be staying at?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, he didn¡¯t say, but he did tell me that he would be working here for a while, so he might be at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I will make sure to ask him the next time hees here.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for now. I might not find him there, so please ask him if hees.¡¹

    I left the restaurant and headed for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    He might have already epted a request and was out, but I could at least ask Helen-san about him and when he would be back. If his request would be finished today, I could wait; I had all the time in the world and nothing in particr to do.

    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was quiet when I entered it. It was the time of day when not many people were here, and those who were didn¡¯t look at me unpleasantly but rather just looked away, probably thinking ¡ºThe bear, huh?¡».

    I looked around the room and didn¡¯t see Blitz and his party.

    Were they not here since they had taken a request as I had expected?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing here at this hour?¡¹

    Helen-san, who was at the reception desk, called out to me. She must have thought it made no sense for me to be here since it waste in the day already and toote to look for a request.

    ¡¸I had something I wanted to ask you, Helen-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Wanted to ask me?¡¹

    ¡¸Recently, an adventurer named Blitz should havee here. Do you know where he is now?¡¹

    ¡¸Blitz-san, you said?¡¹

    ¡¸Just because he is somewhat good looking, he has three women with him. One of the girls is beautiful, one is cute, and thest one is strong and dependable. He is a male adventurer who might be considered enemy of all men since he made something they all dream ofe true.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I think the person you are describing is standing right behind you.¡¹

    I turned around, and Blitz was there, looking at me angrily.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    I raised my Bear Hand and greeted him.

    ¡¸I know it¡¯s been a while, but what was with that description of me!?¡¹

    ¡¸I just wanted to give her an easy to understand exnation...¡¹

    ¡¸How could that be easy to understand?¡¹

    I looked at the three girls behind Blitz.

    ¡¸But, I¡¯m not wrong, right?¡¹

    They all showed ambiguous smiles.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s been a while, Tomea-san. You seem to be doing well.¡¹

    ¡¸But of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to see that you are well too, Yuna.¡¹

    Ran and Grimos both seemed well too.

    ¡¸You finished with your request?¡¹

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t take one today.¡¹

    Blitz-san answered bluntly.

    ¡¸We were sightseeing the town until now.¡¹

    ¡¸This town is big!¡¹

    Tomea-san and Ran responded since Blitz was so blunt.

    ¡¸Why are you at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild then?¡¹

    ¡¸We n on epting a request tomorrow and wanted to see what sorts of requests there are first.¡¹

    ¡¸And then, a bear came out of nowhere and started bad-mouthing me.¡¹

    ¡¸You must have a persecutionplex. I didn¡¯t badmouth you, Blitz.¡¹

    ¡¸Where did you hear of such aplex? You telling her I¡¯m somewhat good looking...¡¹

    He had been there from the beginning, huh...

    ¡¸It¡¯s apliment, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸And I have three women with me?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it a lie?¡¹

    ¡¸What about the enemy of all men thing then...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s also true, is it not? What would you think if someone else was here with three women following him?¡¹

    ¡¸Th-that¡¯s... This and that are...¡¹

    ¡¸The same thing.¡¹

    I looked at the other adventurers in the room, and when Blitz followed my gaze, the male adventurers all nodded, making Blitz fall silent.

    I decided to ignore him and continued my conversation with Tomea-san.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-chan, you came here because you spoke with Anzu-chan, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I just spoke with her today. I was away from Crimonia for a job until yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸We talked with many different people about you, Yuna-chan, and there was no one who didn¡¯t know you.¡¹

    ¡¸Taking on a ck Viper and a Goblin King on your own... It¡¯s just unbelievable.¡¹

    Tomea-san and Ran talked about their impressions on what they heard about me.

    ¡¸Also, we heard you own another shop, not just Anzu-chan¡¯s restaurant, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸And the food in both ces... is so delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, the bread we had for lunch today was so good...¡¹

    Gumoris, who normally didn¡¯t show much expressions, said with a smile.

    ¡¸You already ate it? I was nning on treating you to it, though...¡¹

    ¡¸We have no problem with eating more of it, so you can still treat us.¡¹

    Tomea-san said with a smile. C rank adventurers should have plenty of money, right?

    Well, I had offered it, so...

    ¡¸I will treat you to dinner, then. Which ce would you prefer?¡¹

    ¡¸Anzu-chan¡¯s meals are delicious, but all those breads are also delicious, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t choose...¡¹

    Tomea-san and Ran were both seriously troubled by this choice.

    ¡¸I was in your care for a while, so I will treat you to both. You won¡¯t be leaving by tomorrow, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we n on staying here for a while and enjoy the town while also taking on some requests.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, Anzu¡¯s restaurant tonight? You just ate bread for lunch, after all.¡¹

    They agreed, and even though it was a little early, we decided to go now.

    Author¡¯s note:

    With this, the mine arc is now finished.

    It will be a bit of a rxing story from here on out. Or, that is what I n at least.

 Chapter 152 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Shortcake

    Chapter 152 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Shortcake

    I had finallypleted it. The devil¡¯s food.

    Using a spoon, I scooped up a bit of this white and soft thing and tasted it.

    ¡¸So sweet!¡¹

    I finally managed to make cream, and making cream meant I could now make shortcake.

    I had seen strawberries being sold in the town, and it had made me want to eat shortcake.

    Now, after numerous attempts, I finallypleted it.

    I could even make many different vours now; all I had to do was just add various things to the cream.

    I could make cream puffs and many other cream rted sweets.

    First things first, though. I baked a sponge cake and added strawberries, covered it all with cream and topped it with more strawberries. My pseudo strawberry shortcake wasplete.

    Cream might have already existed in this world, but I had never seen any, and now, I managed to make it using my vague memories.

    I cut off a slice of the shortcake and ate it.

    It wasn¡¯t as good as those made by Japanese professionals, but it was delicious enough.

    Yep, it was totally worth going through all that trouble to make it.

    As I was enjoying my shortcake, I heard someone knock at the door of my Bear House.

    Who dared interrupt me when I was finally enjoying a cake after a long time!?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    It was Fina. It was fine, then.

    If it had been Cliff or Mylene-san who had interrupted me, I would have sent them away.

    ¡¸Fina, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸Gold-san should have finished the knife by today, so we should go and retrieve it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, now that you mention it...¡¹

    I had just shut myself inside the house thest few days, so...

    ¡¸You forgot even though it was just a few days ago!?¡¹

    She scolded me sharply.

    No, today was not a day for retrieving knives; it was the day I finally made cream.

    I should be eating my shortcake now.

    ¡¸Fina, I made something delicious. Want to eat it?¡¹

    Since it was finallyplete, I had to have Fina taste-test it for me.

    ¡¸Eat what?¡¹

    ¡¸I made a cake.¡¹

    ¡¸A pancake?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s a bit different. It¡¯s a shortcake.¡¹

    ¡¸Shortcake?¡¹

    ¡¸A strawberry shortcake, to be precise.¡¹

    Fina didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was talking about.

    It would be faster to just show it to her and make her eat it, then.

    I took Fina¡¯s hand and dragged her into the house.

    ¡¸B-Big Sis Yuna!?¡¹

    Fina called out in surprise, but I decided not to mind it and dragged her to the room where the shortcake was.

    I then made her sit down, cut off a slice of the shortcake and put it in front of her.

    I also didn¡¯t forget to add a ss of fruit juice.

    ¡¸So, this is a shortcake?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep. Eat it and tell me how it is.¡¹

    ¡¸What is this white stuff?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s cream. It¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡¹

    Fina timidly pierced a piece of the cake with the fork and brought it to her mouth.

    Was she scared of putting an unknown thing in her mouth?

    After eating a mouthful of cake, her expression changed, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    Fina said and took another mouthful.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, it¡¯s delicious. So sweet and soft.¡¹

    Fina kept eating it without stopping her hand for a single second. There was even cream around her mouth.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to see that you like it.¡¹

    The shortcake on Fina¡¯s te disappeared in an instant.

    When she was done, I used a handkerchief to wipe the cream around her mouth and put another slice of my shortcake onto her te.

    The cake was too big for me to eat it on my own, after all.

    We haven¡¯t even eaten half of it yet; I honestly didn¡¯t know if the two of us could finish it.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, is it okay for me to eat more?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, there is still a lot more.¡¹

    She looked at the cake with a happy smile on her face.

    Fina liked it as I had expected; she was a young girl, after all.

    She acted as an adult most of the time, but I was happy to see her acting her age from time to time.

    After Fina finished her second slice, she showed a satisfied expression.

    ¡¸Fina, if you think it¡¯s good, others will think so as well, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, will you add it to the menu at your shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? I don¡¯t n on doing that for now. I only made it because I wanted to eat it, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Fina seemed dejected.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I would be able to eat it anytime if it was on the menu at your shop, but it must be expensive, being this good, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that expensive. The most expensive ingredient were the eggs, I think? And since eggs are easy toe by these days...¡¹

    ¡¸Why won¡¯t you sell it at the shop, then?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that I never n on selling it. I just haven¡¯t considered it yet.¡¹

    She was right, though, wasn¡¯t she? If I added it to the menu, I could eat it just by going there and wouldn¡¯t need to make it myself.

    I should probably make another cake and present it to Morin-san and the other employees. There were quite a number of them, so I would have to make a lot of shortcake.

    Completely forgetting about the mithril knife, Fina and I started to make the cakes together and in a few hours, managed to get a few of them done.

    Yep, they all looked delicious. We didn¡¯t just use strawberries as a topping, but other fruits as well.

    Now, we just had to bring it to the shop for a taste-test, and if Morin-san and the other employees all liked them, it should be safe to add them to the menu.

    Just as I was about to head to the shop, Fina finally remembered the other important thing.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna! We still have to go to Gold-san¡¯s smithy!¡¹

    Fina suddenly said with a slight panic in her voice.

    I had been so focused on making the cakes that I hadpletely forgotten about the knife.

    So troublesome.

    The shortcake was of higher priority than the ck Tiger¡¯s pelt right now.

    There was no point in fetching the knife if we weren¡¯t going to dismantle the ck Tiger straight away. Still, I promised Nelt-san that I woulde to pick it up today, so there was no helping it.

    I suppressed the urge to go directly to the shop and decided to go fetch the knife with Fina.

    I put all the shortcakes inside the Bear Box; they wouldn¡¯t spoil or crumble in there.

    The Bear Box was really convenient; if I bought enough ingredients, I could just shut myself in if I wanted.

    I would get fat if I only ate cake, though, so I had to be careful.

    I had been going out a lot since I hade to this world, which also meant a lot of exercise.

    How did the exercise work with the Bear Equipment, though?

    Did I lose fat while I exercised (battled)?

    I didn¡¯t put up muscle, though, did I?

    My Bear Punches and other quick movements were all thanks to the Bear Suit and not my own strength.

    Anyway, I had never gotten fat even if I ate a lot since my body didn¡¯t absorb a lot of energy due to my inefficient metabolism.

    I did n on having two big lumps of fat in a few years, though.

    While I was imagining myself in a few years time, we arrived at Gold-san¡¯s smithy and saw an Iron Golem standing in front of the shop in an imposing manner. It was really cool.

    The day aftermissioning the knives, I had met with Nelt-san and had talked about the Iron Golem only to learn that she also liked the idea of it standing guard in front of the shop. We hadn¡¯t forgotten to add a sword and a shield, of course.

    ¡¸Is it really okay for us to have it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I would be happy if you put it on disy. When I offered it to Gazar-san, he said that it would only be a hindrance and customers wouldn¡¯te anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸He doesn¡¯t understand the greatness of the Iron Golems, it seems. He has a long way to go as a salesman.¡¹

    She had said while patting the golem. She really loved it.

    Also, when I had offered her the golems, she had said that it would act asbor fees for the knives just like Gazar-san had done.

    I had said that it was a gift, but Nelt-san had said that she couldn¡¯t ept thebor fees when given such a splendid gift.

    I had realized it had been meaningless to push the issue, so I had decided to just ept it.

    I looked at the Iron Golem once more before entering the shop, which was tended to by Nelt-san this time around.

    ¡¸Wee. I have been waiting for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry foring thiste.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. You already paid, after all. Comingte doesn¡¯t matter much after you paid.¡¹

    She said and gave Fina the knife.

    ¡¸How is it?¡¹

    Fina tightly gripped the knife and looked at the de.

    ¡¸It¡¯s beautiful and easy to hold.¡¹

    Fina looked at the knife with a smile on her face.

    Fina... had be a bit dangerous.

    ¡¸Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Well, she was happy and that made making the knife for her totally worth it.

    ¡¸I will have you dismantle a lot of things in return, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best.¡¹

    Fina put the knife back inside its sheath and ced it into her item bag.

    ¡¸It will take four more days to make the other knife.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re not in a hurry, so you can take your time.¡¹

    ¡¸It will still be ready in four days. If I don¡¯t make Gold work, he will just keep sleeping.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then, but no need to rush him.¡¹

    ¡¸If the knife gets dull, you cane anytime, okay?¡¹

    We thanked Nelt-san and left the shop.

    Well then, should we go back and eat one of the cakes we had made?

    Huh? The ck Tiger¡¯s dismantling?

    We could do that anytime.

    Also, I wasn¡¯t such a bad person to leave Fina to dismantling while I ate cake on my own.

    So, when we got back to my house, we both ended up eating more cake.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, is it okay for me to take some for Shuri?¡¹

    ¡¸I n on doing the taste-testing tomorrow, but having Terumi-san eat it in advance wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea.¡¹

    I said and cut a slice for both Shuri and Terumi-san before giving them to Fina.

    ¡¸I want to hear Terumi-san¡¯s opinion tomorrow, so please tell her toe over when she has time.¡¹

    I asked Fina, and then we ate what was left of the cake.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Preliminary announcement!

    I will revive a special character next chapter.

    Helena:¡¸It¡¯s finally my turn again?¡¹

    Yuna:¡¸Huh, who are you?¡¹

    Well, that¡¯s what I n on doing at least. w

    PS: I will ask you not toment about the minute details of how she made the cream, please. I might add some more, next time.

 Chapter 153 â€“ Bear-san And The Cake Taste-Test, Part 1

    Chapter 153 ¨C Bear-san And The Cake Taste-Test, Part 1

    The ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡»was closed the next day, so it was the perfect opportunity to have a taste-test there.

    Morin-san and Karin-san were already at the shop while Fina went to the orphanage to get the children, and since we didn¡¯t have enough cake for all of them, she would only bring the ones working here.

    When I got to the shop, Fina and the children were already there.

    There were also some people I hadn¡¯t invited.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, Elena-san, why are you here?¡¹

    Somehow, it seemed as if the two adults hade here with the children...

    ¡¸Why, you ask...? We saw the children going here, so we talked to them and learned that we could taste your new recipe, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    So, they came along because of that, huh.

    I looked at Fina, and she seemed troubled.

    ¡¸Should I have not invited them?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. We need someone to do the poison-test, after all.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really me it on Fina.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it isn¡¯t nice to call us your poison testers...¡¹

    Mylene-san said, but I ignored her.

    ¡¸How did you even meet the children? There is nothing between the orphanage and the shop, right?¡¹

    ¡¸A woman¡¯s intuition.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa... And Elena-san?¡¹

    It would be meaningless to keep talking to such an useless person.

    ¡¸I saw Fina-chan when I went to get the eggs for the inn. If I¡¯m bothering you, I will head back.¡¹

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t a bother, Elena-san.¡¹

    ¡¸When you say it like that, it feels as if I really am bothering you, though.¡¹

    Again with the persecutionplex...

    ¡¸Terumi-san couldn¡¯te, Fina?¡¹

    I had only noticed now that Terumi-san wasn¡¯t here.

    I had wanted her toe too, since if I were to add it to the menu, I had to talk to her about the ingredient costs and selling price, plus some other things.

    I really wanted Terumi-san to take care of all these troublesome things for me...

    Well, I could talk to her at ater time, so her not being here now wasn¡¯t a real problem.

    ¡¸She would be a bitte, she said.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!?¡¹

    ¡¸Somehow, that reaction ispletely different from the one you had with me...¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true at all. I¡¯m happy that you came, Mylene-san. What about your actual job, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you meanie.¡¹

    I believed Mylene-san was fundamentally a good person, who did her job well, but she also brought trouble with her many times. She really enjoyed sticking her nose into troublesome things. Seeing her dealing with them was fun, but being dragged into them wasn¡¯t.

    Anyway, we all entered the shop and called out to Morin-san and Karin-san.

    ¡¸What are you guys doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸I made a new cake called shortcake, so I wanted all of you to try it, if you don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    ¡¸A new cake? Of course, I want to try it. Your new recipes are always good, Yuna-chan, which is also good for my shop.¡¹

    We sat down in the dining area while Morin-san and Karin-san went to retrieve tes, forks, and a few drinks.

    The children, Mylene-san, and Elena-san all waited for them happily.

    I took time to cut the cakes into slices while Morin-san and Karin-san put them on tes.

    I had many different vors, so I made sure to divide them equally.

    ¡¸There are many different vors; I would be happy if you tried them all.¡¹

    I said that, but the only thing that was different were the fruits used.

    Well, even though it was just the fruits, the taste waspletely different.

    I proceeded to distribute the cakes to everyone at the table.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what is this white thing?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the main innovation of the day: whipped cream. It goes great with the fruits and the cake. Please try it.¡¹

    They didn¡¯t waste any time grabbing their forks to eat their cakes.

    ¡¸What is this?! This fluffiness..¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Both strawberries and cream are delicious.¡¹

    Everyone found it delicious.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, will you be adding this to the menu?¡¹

    Morin-san asked while still eating her cake.

    ¡¸I was nning to, but do you think it will sell?¡¹

    ¡¸It should sell based on how it tastes, but it still depends on the cost of ingredients and how much we sell it for.¡¹

    ¡¸It shouldn¡¯t be too expensive since the ingredients can be obtained easily.¡¹

    ¡¸So, somewhat like pudding? You sure you¡¯re willing to share the recipe with us again?¡¹

    ¡¸I see no point in hiding it; if I hadn¡¯t nned on putting it on the menu, I wouldn¡¯t have held this taste-tasting party.¡¹

    If I didn¡¯t add it to the menu, I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat it anytime I wanted. It would be really troublesome if I had to make it myself everytime. Well, I could just make a lot of them and put them inside the Bear Box, but that would also be a pain.

    ¡¸Great. Please show me how to make itter when I have some spare time, then.¡¹

    Morin-san seemed to have entered her cook mode and was already doing some calctions.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wh-what is this?¡¹

    Mylene-san said, her fork trembling in her hand, but that didn¡¯t stop her from eating quickly.

    ¡¸As I told you before, these are shortcakes. You can change their vor just by putting different fruits inside. I love the strawberry ones the most, though.¡¹

    Hmm, I should stock up on strawberries, so I could eat them whenever I wanted.

    Thank you very much, Bear Box-sama.

    ¡¸I was already wondering this when you made pudding, but what in the world are you, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸You ask me what I am... I don¡¯t know how to respond to that...¡¹

    I came from another world. There was no way I could tell them that.

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer, more or less.¡¹

    ¡¸There are no adventurers with clothes like yours.¡¹

    Mylene-san said and poked my stomach.

    Could you please not do that?

    It made me feel as if she was poking a fat belly.

    My stomach wasn¡¯t as big as the costume made it seem like, you know.

    I wasn¡¯t lying, okay?

    ¡¸Not talking about the fact that you¡¯re strong, cute, strange, and you can make delicious things like pudding. There are no other adventurers like you.¡¹

    Well, it was all thanks to the Bear (Cheat), after all.

    ¡¸I agree. Thanks to Yuna-chan, I can now make many new varieties of bread; her innovations are just incredible.¡¹

    Morin-san praised me as well.

    ¡¸So, when will you start selling it?¡¹

    ¡¸That depends on Morin-san and Terumi-san, I guess? We have to discuss the price, and I¡¯m not sure if Morin-san will have the time to make them everyday.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. We are already tight on time as it is.¡¹

    There were now even more different breads than when we had opened the shop.

    Well, the main reason was probably me telling Morin-san¡¸I want to eat a bread like that, and also a bread like this.¡¹every now and then. She kept adding those new breads to the menu, which brought us to the current problem of being low on preparation time.

    ¡¸Also, tell me which cakes did you like best, so we can decide which ones we would put on the menu when the timees.¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t be selling them all?¡¹

    I shook my head at Morin-san¡¯s question.

    She was already busy enough preparing bread every day; with the time cakes took to prepare, there was no way she could make it in time for the opening hours.

    So, without enough time, making all these different cake vors was impossible.

    Well, we might make do if we added more employees, but I would have to talk with Terumi-san and Headmistress about that first.

    ¡¸Yu-Yuna-san! Please let me work here!¡¹

    ¡¸Elena-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I will work hard and won¡¯t reveal the recipes to others, so please hire me!¡¹

    Elena-san said and bowed.

    ¡¸What has gotten into you, Elena-san?¡¹

    ¡¸For a long time now, I have been thinking I want to do a job that is worth living for.¡¹

    ¡¸Your help is more than wee, but what about the inn? Wouldn¡¯t it be difficult for your parents to manage it on their own?¡¹

    ¡¸They will be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸They will be fine, you say... They would be troubled if you suddenly left, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You see, my uncle came not long ago, and now, I don¡¯t really have to work at the inn anymore.¡¹

    Elena-san proceeded to exin that her father¡¯s older brother and his wife hade here since their job at their hometown had be unprofitable.

    With all the people that came from Mireera, more and more people stayed at the inn, so her father weed their help, and they now ran the inn together.

    ¡¸If you get more guests now, doesn¡¯t that mean you also have more work to do, Elena-san?¡¹

    ¡¸My uncle and his wife are hard workers, and they are indebted to my father for letting them work here; they took all of my workload.¡¹

    ¡¸And what about your job of rxing at the counter?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    She started to stare at me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m joking.¡¹

    ¡¸That job is taken care of by my grandmother.¡¹

    She wasn¡¯t denying it. Also, about her grandmother...

    ¡¸She lived with my uncle and his wife and came here with them. She now takes care of guiding the clients to their tables and other reception tasks.¡¹

    Elena-san could work here immediately, and that would help us a lot, so wasn¡¯t it okay?

    ¡¸So, because of that, I want to have something to do.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s busy here, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s better than having no work to do. All I do at home is go shopping from time to time, and even that, my uncle and his wife do most of the time.¡¹

    Elena-san seemed a bit sad when she said that.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay with it for now, but you have to get your parents¡¯ permission to do it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you!¡¹

    Elena-san bowed again.

    ¡¸By the way, are you a good cook?¡¹

    I asked, just in case.

    ¡¸I help at the inn from time to time, so I can do it pretty well.¡¹

    ¡¸She can also serve customers.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, I will go ask for permission at once.¡¹

    ¡¸If your parents disagree and you leave anyway, I won¡¯t hire you, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Elena-san stood up and rushed out of the shop.

    She didn¡¯t really have to hurry that much... Well, she had good parents. I wouldn¡¯t let them split up if they didn¡¯t agree with her working here.

    They were way different than mine, after all.

    Soon after Elena-san left, Terumi-san and Shuri entered through the same door.

    ¡¸Elena-san just ran out of the shop. Did something happen?¡¹

    Author¡¯s note:

    I finally found a ce for this girl from the first volume. w

    Now that I think about it, the first volume has been out for more than a month now.

    There might be a reader or two who doesn¡¯t know about the book yet, so...

    The first volume is now being sold by ¡®Shufu To Seikatsu Sha Co¡¯.

    If you happen to see it at the bookstore, it would make me really happy if you bought it.

    Kumanano.

 Chapter 154 â€“ Bear-san And The Cake Taste-Test, Part 2

    Chapter 154 ¨C Bear-san And The Cake Taste-Test, Part 2

    Terumi-san and Shuri had just arrived, passing by Elena-san on her way out.

    ¡¸Elena-san went back to the inn to ask for permission to work here.¡¹

    ¡¸Elena-chan will start working here?¡¹

    ¡¸She said she wanted to, but since her family runs an inn, I decided to make her get her parents¡¯ approval.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Well, leaving that aside for now, what was the thing you made me eat yesterday? It was really delicious...¡¹

    ¡¸A cake.¡¹

    ¡¸But, it¡¯s different from pancakes, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s like a distant rtive.¡¹

    ¡¸A distant rtive, you say... So, does this mean that I will have to stock up on the ingredients and decide on the selling price again?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹

    I knew Terumi-san would figure it out by herself.

    Well, I had asked her to do it for me numerous times, so it made sense...

    ¡¸I can¡¯t refuse when you make me eat something so delicious, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Sis Yuna?¡¹

    Shuri said while tugging on my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, no problem. Please eat it too, Terumi-san. I have many different vours, so please tell me which ones are your favourites.¡¹

    I cut two more portions and gave them to Terumi-san and Shuri.

    ¡¸Oh right, Yuna-chan, why did Fina bring us only two portions? Gentz was really sad, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸...Gentz-san?¡¹

    Oh, I had forgotten about him.

    When I thought about cake, I never considered men might like it too.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s really sweet, so I thought that Gentz might not like it...¡¹

    ¡¸Really? I gave him half of mine, and he seemed to enjoy it very much, you know.¡¹

    An old man eating cake...

    No, it wasn¡¯t good to judge people by their appearance.

    Also, I had seen old men eating cake before...

    I had trouble with being judged by my appearance as well, so old men were free to eat and wear whatever they wanted.

    ¡¸I will prepare his share, so please take it to him. Also, could you ask him which one he liked the most?¡¹

    ¡¸I will make sure to ask him.¡¹

    Hmm, maybe I should make a cake with less sugar that would suit the tastes of men.

    I would need more of them to taste it, then.

    Cliff, the guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Gill, and Gold-san. Would those four do? Ah, right, I forgot Blitz again.

    Meh, I would think more about thister.

    ¡¸Yum, it¡¯s as delicious as yesterday. I can¡¯t stop eating it.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s yummy, Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Terumi-san and Shuri both liked the cake as well, it seemed; they ate it with smiles on their faces.

    Still, the speed at which Terumi-san moved her fork was beyond quick.

    ¡¸You will get fat if you eat too much of it, you know.¡¹

    The moment I said that... a crack appeared in the world. I could almost hear it.

    I looked up and saw the women, their hands now still and their faces grimacing as if they had just seen hell.

    On the other side, the children were still stuffing their faces with angelic smiles on their faces.

    I had created a perfect rift.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan... The cake can make us fat?¡¹

    Mylene-san asked carefully.

    ¡¸Yep, your stomach will be all cute and chubby.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    She asked now trying to smile.

    ¡¸You think I¡¯m joking?¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    Mylene-san gulped.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not joking, but it¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t eat too much.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it!¡¹

    Mylene-san said and reached for another bite.

    ¡¸Still, I think that six slices are quite a lot, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan!¡¹

    Mylene-san cried out.

    Yep, six slices were just too much.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are three slices okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, three should be fine if you don¡¯t eat it every day.¡¹

    Karin-san seemed relieved.

    ¡¸Shuri, ahhh...¡¹

    Terumi-san was trying to make Shuri eat her share too now.

    ¡¸But Terumi-san, you haven¡¯t eaten yet, right? I still want to hear which one you like the most.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to be fat.¡¹

    ¡¸You won¡¯t get fat so easily, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan. It¡¯s fine when you¡¯re young, but when you be older, you can¡¯t be that careless.¡¹

    She said with a soft voice and a serious face.

    ¡¸Still, could you please taste them properly?¡¹

    I replied with a smile; I would be troubled if she didn¡¯t taste them, after all.

    Terumi-san reluctantly started to eat again.

    ¡¸Ugh... it¡¯s even harder to stop eating it since it¡¯s so delicious.¡¹

    Sheined with her fork in her mouth.

    ¡¸Mom, you aren¡¯t fat, so there is no problem.¡¹

    A certain someone said tofort her.

    Well, it seemed that everyone liked the cakes.

    There was no other problem other than the fact that it could make us fat.

    Well, it was okay as long as we didn¡¯t overeat it. Honestly, anything could make you fat if you ate too much of it. Hmm, cake did that quicker, though... Was a low calorie cake necessary? I might have to consider making one with less sugar.

    When all the tes were cleaned out, Morin-san stood up.

    ¡¸Well then, I want to try making it, so do you mind showing me?¡¹

    Morin-san said vigorously; she wanted to try making the cake immediately.

    I didn¡¯t mind, so Morin-san and Karin-san ended up helping me, while Terumi-san and the children just watched.

    As I had expected from Morin-san, who was and experienced baker, she followed my recipe and made a strawberry cake without a problem.

    However...

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be possible to add it to the menu; we don¡¯t have enough time as it is, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if we get more helping hands?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe, but it would be hard to teach and oversee them all...¡¹

    Karin-san seemed to be of the same opinion as her mother. Elena-san¡¯s help was absolutely necessary, then.

    We proceeded to eat the cake Morin-san and Karin-san made.

    ¡¸Yep, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    As expected from Morin-san, the taste was perfect.

    ¡¸It¡¯s all thanks to your instructions, Yuna-chan. As a fellow baker, I can tell that you are just incredible, being able to invent such a recipe.¡¹

    Sorry, but I hadn¡¯t invented it. It was just food from another world.

    ¡¸Anyway, we should put off adding it to the menu for now, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s a pity, though.¡¹

    Morin-san agreed with me.

    ¡¸You really won¡¯t sell it!?¡¹

    Mylene-san cried out.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have enough employees to make it, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I will lend you some people from the Commerce Guild, then.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t trust you, Mylene-san, but having people I don¡¯t know here is...¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really care if any information got out, but I just wouldn¡¯t feelfortable having strangers work for me.

    ¡¸Well, if we get Elena-san to help us, we might be able to leave it to her.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but her parents run an inn, so...¡¹

    It probably wouldn¡¯t happen. Their only daughter? She would most likely get married and seed the inn.

    ¡¸Well, I will check the prices of the ingredients, so we can add it to the menu anytime we want.¡¹

    Terumi-san interjected.

    Not a momentter, Elena-san rushed back into the shop.

    ¡¸Elena-san, what happened? Why are you so out of breath?¡¹

    She hadn¡¯t had a fight with her parents, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, they are just cruel!¡¹

    Elena-san said and hugged me.

    I would prefer if you didn¡¯t bury your face into my stomach, you know.

    ¡¸Can you please exin what happened?¡¹

    I said and forcibly pulled Elena-san off me.

    ¡¸So, why are they cruel?¡¹

    ¡¸They said that I¡¯m a scatterbrain and often cause trouble...¡¹

    ¡¸So, that means it¡¯s a no go?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I managed to persuade them, but they said that they wille here to make sure I¡¯m not just causing you trouble, Yuna-san...¡¹

    So, it would be something like the Parents¡¯ Day?

    Hmm, it should be called business inspection in this case, right? They woulde to see if their child was doing her job properly, after all.

    Wait, did that mean I was the one who had the role of a mentor here?

    On Parents¡¯ Day, the parents would have a talk with the teacher, but in this case, they would juste to see if Elena-san was doing her job well, so it had nothing to do with me, right?

    When they came, I could just leave it to Morin-san.

    Yeah, if this were a school, I would have the role of the principal, and Morin-san would be the teacher.

    ¡¸Morin-san, is it okay if I leave dealing with her parents to you when theye?¡¹

    I asked my shop manager.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind as long as they don¡¯t be a hindrance.¡¹

    Morin-san epted my proposal.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Morin-san, thank you very much.¡¹

    Elena-san thanked us and bowed.

    Well, now we just had to show Elena-san¡¯s parents that she wasn¡¯t causing trouble here...

    The next day, even though I thought that the inn should have been busy, Elena-san¡¯s parents came to thank me.

    ¡¸If she ever causes you any trouble, you can shoo her out whenever you want, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If she ever skips work, I don¡¯t mind if you kick her butt hard, okay?¡¹

    For her parents to say something like that, was Elena-san a bad worker?

    When I had been staying at the inn, I had seen her taking breaks at the counter, but she had been properly working when it had been time to serve meals.

    Elena-san¡¯s parents left soon after, saying that they woulde around to see how she was doing againter.

 Chapter 155 â€“ Bear-san Makes Preparations To Open A Pastry Shop

    Chapter 155 ¨C Bear-san Makes Preparations To Open A Pastry Shop

    With Elena-san¡¯s parents giving her their questionable approval, she would now start working at my shop.

    First things first, though, I had her learn how to make cake, and after three days...

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I can¡¯t do it anymore...¡¹

    ¡¸Keep it up, please.¡¹

    ¡¸My arms hurt! I give up...¡¹

    ¡¸You stopped moving your hands, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Morin-san! Yuna-san is bullying me!¡¹

    ¡¸Do it properly, or I will kick you out.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, okay...¡¹

    Elena-san finally started beating eggs again after Morin-san¡¯s threat.

    What would Elena-san¡¯s parents think if they saw her like this?

    The image of a crying Elena-san being dragged home crossed my mind.

    Well, cooking was tiring, difficult work.

    I almost never had to do it, so I didn¡¯t really mind, but beating a lot of eggs eventually tired your arms out.

    Hmm, I wore a Bear Suit, so I wouldn¡¯t tire just from that, right?

    ¡¸Elena-san, here, use this.¡¹

    I said and took a pseudo hand mixer out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸What is this, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we could call it a magic mixing tool. It will make beating eggs much easier.¡¹

    Gold-san had made it for me. There was a magic stone in the grip, making the tool rotate by pouring magic power into it.

    I had it made for the children who would be helping Elena-san, though...

    Elena-san didn¡¯t waste time and took it before I even exined how it worked.

    ¡¸If you had something so useful, why didn¡¯t you give it to me from the beginning...?¡¹

    Elena-san said while happily using it. If her parents were to look at her now, they would probably think she was doing her job properly.

    I took out some more of the hand mixers and gave them to the children.

    It took time to teach them, so a lot of cakes were made in the process. The children took them to the orphanage with the excuse of taste-testing them. All the children liked them, even though they were made by trainees. If they could just make the cakes a bit quicker, the problem of not having enough preparation time would go away, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can I talk to you for a minute?¡¹

    Morin-san spoke to me, just as I was thinking it was about time to leave Elena-san¡¯s training to her.

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure about adding the cakes to the menu?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I was nning on doing so. You think it isn¡¯t a good idea?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I think the shop has a lot of traffic as it is.¡¹

    ¡¸And?¡¹

    ¡¸The ce is getting crowded every day, and with these delicious cakes...¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... Do I really have to make another shop, then?¡¹

    If I made it at a different location, nobody would be able to oversee Elena-san, though...

    ¡¸You don¡¯t like the idea? I was sure that you would make one anyway, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸If I had two of you, Morin-san, I would have no problem with it, but...¡¹

    I nced at Elena-san, who was in the middle of making a cake.

    Well, Elena-san was diligent, most of the time. She did what had to be done. Yet, from time to time, she would say things like ¡ºI¡¯m tired...¡» or ¡ºMy arms hurt...¡».

    It wasn¡¯t as bad as her parents had told me it would be, but there were times when we had to kick her butt a bit. I was nning on leaving that role to Morin-san, of course, but if I made a new shop at a different location, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone to kick Elena-san¡¯s butt when she was feelingzy.

    Also, I would like to sell all the snacks like cakes, cookies, pudding, and potato chips at the same ce.

    If we were to sell them at both shops, we would only double the effort, plus it would only trouble the customers.

    So, should I just add another building to this shop?

    I could make it next to the shop and link the two kitchens, maybe?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how about using the second floor, then?¡¹

    ¡¸The second floor? Aren¡¯t you and your daughter using it?¡¹

    ¡¸There is a dormitory, right? I went there to give greetings once. We could just live over there, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The rooms there aren¡¯t as big as here, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸The rooms here are too big for us anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I think so too.¡¹

    Karin-san interjected and nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸You sure? I could also make a new house for you two.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, but the dormitory will be just fine. It¡¯s close to the orphanage, so it will be easier to teach the children how to cook this way.¡¹

    From time to time, Morin-san taught the children how to cook after closing the shop. Yeah, living at the dormitory wasn¡¯t a bad idea at all.

    I decided to go with Morin-san¡¯s idea and turn the second floor into a pastry shop. In order to remodel the shop, we decided to close the shop for a week, starting with the next week¡¯s day off.

    I didn¡¯t forget to make an announcement about it to avoid causing trouble for the customers, of course.

    We also decided that, during that week, Elena-san and the children helping her would keep practicing at the dormitory¡¯s kitchen while Morin-san and Karin-san would use the time to move.

    I took out the home furnishing from the second floor and demolished the walls while making sure to keep some pirs to carry the weight. It looked like one wide floor when I was finished.

    Since there was no third floor, the attic would be used for storage.

    I didn¡¯t forget to make stairs to the kitchen on the first floor for easy ess. I then made a kitchen on the second floor by the staircase; having the kitchens connected like this meant that I could have Morin-san supervise Elena-san.

    After I was done, I asked Mylene-san and Terumi-san to furnish the kitchen; Mylene-san managed to get all we needed, even on such a short notice. Well, that much could probably be expected from someone with the power of a Commerce Guild¡¯s master.

    She deserved a one-week-all-you-can-eat ticket for this, right?

    It would just be Mylene-san who would get fat from eating too much, anyway.

    Anyhow, after doing the basic reconstruction of the shop, I left everything else to Terumi-san; being able to rely on her when I didn¡¯t know what to do was really convenient.

    I decided to head to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to ask Rurina-san and Gil to do some bodyguard work for me; I wanted to reduce the trouble this remodeling would cause. As for their payment, it was free food, of course.

    I also didn¡¯t forget to go and retrieve Shuri¡¯s knife from Gold-san¡¯s smithy. Gazar-san should have finished my knives by now as well, but I didn¡¯t really need them at the moment, so I didn¡¯t go to the capital to fetch them yet. There was another ce I had to go right now: the home of a person who could cause trouble during the reopening of the shop. So... I went to Noa¡¯s mansion to deal with it before it happened.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it has been a while. What brings you here?¡¹

    Noa asked me after I was taken to her room by her maid, L-san.

    ¡¸I came because I wanted you to try my new dessert.¡¹

    ¡¸New dessert!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a new recipe I¡¯m nning on adding to the shop¡¯s menu.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it delicious like pudding!?¡¹

    Noa said with a sparkle in her eyes.

    ¡¸It tastes a bit different, but I think you will like it.¡¹

    I said just as there was a knock at the door.

    ¡¸Excuse me.¡¹

    L-san said while entering with drinks.

    ¡¸Would you mind trying it too, L-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    ¡¸The more people giving me feedback the better.¡¹

    ¡¸But, you see, I¡¯m working, so...¡¹

    ¡¸L-san, let¡¯s eat together!¡¹

    ¡¸But, you see, Noire-sama...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay!¡¹

    Noa tugged on L-san¡¯s hand and made her sit down.

    I took out three different cakes and cut two small slices from each of them; Mylene-san was the only one who could eat three normal-sized slices without remorse.

    ¡¸Well then, please tell me if you like them.¡¹

    I said and took a sip of the ck tea L-san had brought.

    I didn¡¯t eat the cake, or rather, I didn¡¯t want to see it for a while.

    Just looking at it made my stomach hurt. Cake was good once in a while, but it was just too much eating it everyday.

    ¡¸Delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it tastes great, Yuna-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸I will be adding it to the menu, so I hope you wille and eat it from time to time.¡¹

    ¡¸I wille to buy it for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸Are the sweetness and the texture good?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they are.¡¹

    ¡¸It makes you thirsty, though.¡¹

    She was right.

    What drinks did we sell at our shop again?

    I always tried new breads, but never cared much for drinks.

    ¡¸By the way, L-san, is this ck tea expensive?¡¹

    I asked her about the tea I was drinking.

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s the highest grade of ck tea. It¡¯s for guests with whom we we must sow the utmost courtesy to.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, am I?¡¹

    L-san glossed over it with augh.

    ¡¸Well, is it possible to buy it, then? It¡¯s okay even if it¡¯s not of the best quality. On the contrary, it would be easier to add it to the menu if it was cheaper.¡¹

    ¡¸Cheap ck tea doesn¡¯t taste that good, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess I will have to try it first, then.¡¹

    It would have been great if I could just add this good ck tea to the menu.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, there is also special techniques to pouring tea. It wouldn¡¯t taste good if an amateur were to pour it.¡¹

    Hadn¡¯t I seen that during TV intermissions before? There had been many things they had to keep in mind. Things like the water temperature and the amount of tea leaves. ck tea didn¡¯t just use tea packs, after all.

    Considering all that, it might be difficult to just add it to the menu.

    While I was still wondering what to do, a certain someone entered without knocking.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama!¡¹

    L-san quickly stood up and bowed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry for my behaviour.¡¹

    ¡¸I asked L-san to try my food, so don¡¯t get angry at her.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t get angry for such a little thing. Well, it might be different in Rondo¡¯s, our butler¡¯s, case, though. So, what are you eating?¡¹

    He asked while ncing at the leftover cake on the table.

    ¡¸Something that I will be adding to the shop¡¯s menu.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it good?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was sweet and really delicious.¡¹

    Noa and L-san both answered.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re okay with sweet stuff, do you want some?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please.¡¹

    When Cliff sat down, L-san poured him some tea. She did it so elegantly that it seemed as if she didn¡¯t waste a single movement (from an amateur¡¯s point of view, at least).

    ¡¸It¡¯s good.¡¹

    ¡¸It isn¡¯t too sweet? I was thinking of making a less sweet version in the future.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not too sweet.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I wanted to add in some ck tea for the patrons to rinse their mouths since it¡¯s sweet, but L-san told me that it¡¯s expensive and difficult to make.¡¹

    ¡¸You want to serve ck tea?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I would like to serve cheap ck tea that still tastes good.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a bit unrealistic, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s meant for all themon folk thate to my shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe you could make it a thing for rich people only since it is this good?¡¹

    ¡¸The pleasure of eating delicious things should be shared by everyone. It¡¯s more delicious to eat it with others, after all.¡¹

    A veteran Hikikomori was saying it, so that really meant something.

    ¡¸If you went to buy cake and bought it just for yourself since it was too expensive... do you think you would enjoy it without Noa eating it next to you?¡¹

    Cliff only took a second to think before shooting out an answer.

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t. I would say that I don¡¯t need any and make my daughter eat it.¡¹

    ¡¸But, that would make Noa feel bad, wouldn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right. I see what you¡¯re trying to tell me.¡¹

    I looked at Cliff, somewhat impressed.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that face?¡¹

    ¡¸I was just thinking how weird it was for you to give me a proper answer. I thought you would just say something like, ¡®I have enough money, so I would buy enough for both.¡¯¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t treat me like an idiot. I can at least understand the basis of your question and what you wanted to tell me with it. I will introduce you to the person who procures the tea for us. I can vouch for the taste, but you will have to negotiate the price on your own.¡¹

    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to talk with them to get me a good price?¡¹

    ¡¸I can try, but don¡¯t expect too much. I¡¯m not that good of a negotiator, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I thanked him and went straight in for another request.

    ¡¸Can I ask you for one more thing?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Would you mind if L-san gave some lessons on how to pour tea?¡¹

    ¡¸Me!?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if the tea leaves are of high quality, the taste can change depending on how you pour it, right? I was hoping you could teach my employees how to pour the ck tea.¡¹

    ¡¸L, huh. It¡¯s true that the tea L pours is delicious...¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama...¡¹

    L-san seemed to be deeply moved by Cliff¡¯s words.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m fine with it.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s strange for me to ask this as the one who put out the request, but won¡¯t it interfere with her working here? I don¡¯t want to do the terrible thing of increasing her workload and taking her free time?¡¹

    ¡¸I leave those matter to my butler, Rondo, so there should be no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, sounds good, then. I will be counting on you, L-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will make sure to properly teach them the right way to pour ck tea.¡¹

    I came here to ask them for a taste-test but ended up getting really lucky and obtained the tea.

    After talking about it for a while longer, we decided that L-san woulde to the shop in a few days and show my employees the right way to pour tea.

 Chapter 156 â€“ Bear-san Opens The Pastry Shop

    Chapter 156 ¨C Bear-san Opens The Pastry Shop

    Reconstruction of the shop¡¯s interior design was now finished. The furniture had been purchased, and the reopening day was steadily approaching. All that was left to do was for L-san to teach my employees how to pour tea.

    Everyone gathered for this opportunity. Elena-san, Morin-san, Karin-san, and all of the children who worked at ¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡». For some reason, Terumi-san and Fina, who had no reason to be here, also participated.

    ¡¸Why are you two here?¡¹

    I asked them.

    ¡¸Nothing wrong with learning it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it might turn out to be useful in the future.¡¹

    They told me.

    When L-san arrived and started teaching, everyone listened seriously and some even took notes. They all did their best to learn how to pour tea.

    Also, thanks to Cliff and Mylene-san, I had managed to procure medium quality tea leaves at a cheap price. Well, this much should be expected when the feudal lord and the guild master came together.

    Mylene-san took care of some other matters concerning the shop as well, and since I didn¡¯t want to be in her debt, maybe I should offer her a one-month-free-cake ticket? I was sure she would ept it.

    Hmm, in that case, should I prepare a scale to measure how much weight she gained?

    As for Cliff, he was already in my debt, so there was no problem in doing nothing for him, right?

    Anyway, back to the tea and cakes. Thanks to Morin-san kicking her butt, Elena-san managed to improve her cake-making skills. The children who helped make the cakes improved considerably too, of course, and thanks to L-san, they now knew the proper way to pour tea.

    They weren¡¯t as good as L-san, of course, but their tea was delicious enough.

    Soon, only one day remained until the reopening, which meant that Elena-san and the children in charge of helping to make the cakes were already preparing for their first day. Interrupting their hard work, Mylene-san entered the shop.

    ¡¸It was made just in time.¡¹

    Mylene-san said, holding something in her hands.

    It was that, right?

    Mylene-san approached Elena-san, who sensed danger and drew back.

    ¡¸Mylene-san, is that possibly...¡¹

    ¡¸Elena-chan¡¯s uniform!¡¹

    Mylene-san unfolded the fur in her hands, and a Bear Uniform appeared.

    ¡¸I have to wear it too!?¡¹

    ¡¸But of course. I had it made for you, after all.¡¹

    Mylene-san said while approaching Elena-san again.

    ¡¸I also wear it when I work, you know. It wouldn¡¯t be fair if you weren¡¯t wearing it, Elena-san.¡¹

    Karin-san interjected, obviously overjoyed to have made apanion.

    ¡¸But, I won¡¯t be working with the customers...¡¹

    ¡¸You will also serve after you finish making cakes, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!?¡¹

    ¡¸If nothing major happens, the cakes made in advance willst for a while, so you will have spare time to serve the customers.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re joking, right?¡¹

    When I shook my head, Elena-san tried to flee, but there was no way she could escape an adventurer like me.

    Thanks to the explosive power of the Bear¡¯s Feet, I jumped past Elena-san and caught her without a problem.

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    I delivered a pitiful Elena-san back to Mylene-san, who dragged her into the changing room. People who worked here had to wear uniforms; it was that simple.

    The children followed Elena-san and Mylene-san into the changing room, and after a few minutes, an embarrassed Elena-san and the newly employed children came out wearing Bear Uniforms.

    There was nothing to be so embarrassed about... I walked around in this world wearing a costume, even though it wasn¡¯t a uniform, you know.

    Also, I was sure I was the only one who did something like that aftering to a different world. I had never seen it in mangas, animes, or novels, after all!

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s embarrassing...¡¹

    ¡¸Are you trying to say that my clothes are embarrassing?¡¹

    They were embarrassing, though.

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t mean it like that! It changes with the person wearing it! Yuna-san, you¡¯re cute, so it¡¯s okay! But, I am...¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re cute too, Elena-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, Morin-san isn¡¯t wearing it, so I thought that these uniforms were only for the children...¡¹

    Elena-san said while ncing the children, who seemed very happy in their Bear Uniforms.

    Also, I wasn¡¯t the one who had proposed this uniform; it was the person smiling next to me.

    ¡¸Make sure to wear it to work tomorrow, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh...¡¹

    Elena-san let out in response and dropped her head.

    Finally, the day of the reopening came. At first, the number of customers seemed to be normal, most of theming for Morin-san¡¯s breads.

    Still, it didn¡¯t take long for them to notice that the second floor was now remodeled into the¡ºBear-san¡¯s Rxing Shop¡¯s Pastry Shop¡».

    I also posted some flyers at the entrance of the shop and around the tables at the first floor. Well, it wasn¡¯t as much of posting rather than making the bear statues hold the fliers, though.

    The customers who went to the second floor were met by an employee running a sampling stand right next to the stairs, where they could taste bite-sized pieces of our cakes.

    The reason we had set it on the second floor was so that it wouldn¡¯t steal Morin-san¡¯s customers away.

    Anyway, the customers who tasted the cakes were assaulting the girl who was in charge of the stand with questions, and like all of the children who had been eating the cakes for a week now, she was able to answer all their questions, which mostly concerned what fruits were used and how sweet the cakes were.

    She didn¡¯t forget to rmend our drinks as well, of course. We still served the ones from before, like fruit juice and milk, but now we also served ck tea, just the way L-san had taught us.

    The girl also rmended salty foods like potato chips.

    Cake and potato chips were the best possiblebination to eat together.

    Hmm, they were also the bestbination to make people fat...

    Well, we got money only if the customers ate our food. Maybe if I just posted a warning not to eat too much?

    Meh, I should deal with that when we get more people who ate cake like Mylene-san.

    Anyway, after the customers barraged the stand¡¯s girl, they all rushed to the second floor¡¯s counter and ordered some more cake.

    Even though we didn¡¯t advertise it in advance, the cakepletely sold out.

    Still, we didn¡¯t make any more for today but rather focused on tomorrow¡¯s share.

    It would probably be a good idea to make a few more than we had done for today, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I can¡¯t do it anymore...¡¹

    ¡¸Do your best, please.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I can¡¯t move at all...¡¹

    Elena-san whined, copsed on a chair, andid her face on the table.

    ¡¸The children can see you, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh.¡¹

    Elena-san raised her head to see that they really were looking at her.

    ¡¸Go on. Do your best!¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, fine. Well then, shall we prepare for tomorrow?¡¹

    The children all happily agreed.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s really nice be young, huh.¡¹

    Elena-sanmented on the enthusiasm of the children.

    ¡¸Elena-san, aren¡¯t you still in your teens?¡¹

    ¡¸I feel old, though...¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re old, what does that make me?¡¹

    ¡¸Morin-san!?¡¹

    Morin-san came to check on us from downstairs and was now giving Elena-san a slight re. Was it because of what Elena-san said about her age?

    ¡¸No! Morin-san, you¡¯re young! There is no way you could be considered old.¡¹

    Elena-san did her best to retract her statement.

    ¡¸If I¡¯m young, that means you are still young too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I will do my best!¡¹

    When confronted like that by Morin-san, she had no other choice but to get back to work with the same enthusiasm the children had.

    Morin-san smiled seeing her like this.

    ¡¸So, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, Karin acted just like this when she was a bit younger. She would ditch her work often and scolding her in such a way always worked.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I remember you telling me something about that before.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, when you¡¯re young, of course you want to y and fool around. Honestly, I think that the children from the orphanage are too diligent in that regard.¡¹

    True. In Japan, children of their age just went to school and yed around.

    ¡¸Headmistress told me that they do their best since they know what it is like not being able to eat.¡¹

    ¡¸There is that, and also the fact that they want to be of help to a certain someone.¡¹

    This time, Morin-san gave me a smile of a profound meaning then went to kick Elena-san¡¯s butt again.

    On the second day, a short line appeared in front of the shop from all the people spreading word, however, thanks to Rurina-san and Gil, the day went smoothly.

    On the third day, the number of customers increased again, someing for the first time and some already for the third. Mostly women, of course.

    I was happy that we had so many customers, but it wasn¡¯t good to eat cake everyday.

    I would really have to put up a big poster warning them not to eat too much by tomorrow.

    Since I wanted it to be easy to understand, I decided to draw a woman bing fat from eating too much.

    I only wanted to stop the women who wereing in everyday, so I also wrote down that once or twice per week was fine.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was thanks to my drawing of the fat woman, but the number of customersing daily decreased, so things were able to calm down a bit at the shop. We were still busy, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m exhausted!¡¹

    ¡¸Tomorrow is your day off, so you can use that time to rest.¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that there was a fixed day off here, but is it really okay for me to enjoy it too? There was no day off at the inn, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Still, there were times when you had no clients, right?¡¹

    ¡¸There were, but we had to be ready since someone could arrive at anytime.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh... So, how was your week here? Want to resign yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, it¡¯s really busy, and I have to work hard, but I don¡¯t want to quit; seeing people eating things I make and find them delicious makes me happy. Well, it¡¯s all thanks to your recipes, though. It might be difficult, but working with Morin-san and the children is also fun.¡¹

    Elena-san said with an happy expression.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I will be disabling thement section temporarily. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    (TL note: From what I can gather from skimming thement section, some readers didn¡¯t like the introduction of a strict/mean granny, so the author decided to rewrite the chapter in a way that the granny doesn¡¯t appear anymore.)

 Chapter 157 â€“ Bear-san Goes To Fetch Her Mithril Knives

    Chapter 157 ¨C Bear-san Goes To Fetch Her Mithril Knives

    Author¡¯s note:

    I¡¯m sorry for causing you trouble in the previous chapter.

    The pastry shop had more and more customers, but it was smooth sailing thanks to Rurina-san and Gil.

    If I really had to point out a problem, it was that the popr cakes disappeared in an instant. More often than not, customers couldn¡¯t buy the cakes they wanted since those cakes had already been sold out. We could just call it the customer¡¯s fault foring toote, but I would prefer if they could eat what they wanted, no matter when they came.

    ¡¸Elena-san, could you please adjust which cakes you make more of, so that we don¡¯t run out of the popr ones so quickly?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I really make that decision?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. You also have popr foods at the inn, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We make sure to stock up more ingredients for the foods that are ordered a lot. If we ran out of the ingredients, the customers would be dissatisfied. Most would probably just order something else, but some would surely decide to go to a different ce, which would end up lowering our profit.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s simr with the cakes. You should make more of the popr cakes and less of the others. If you have any questions, you can always talk to Morin-san and Terumi-san. Also, if you end up making too much of one cake, you can just tell the children to take it to the orphanage, where they will be happy to eat it.¡¹

    Over time, it would be obvious which cakes to make the most of. Even now, we could already guess it by which ones were disappearing first, and which ones were left over in the end.

    It would be great if we eventually made just the right number of each cake, and they all sold out right at the closing hour, but that might be a bit too much to hope for. Well, I would be happy if we came close to that goal at least. If we managed that, I coulde to the shop to eat any cake at any time.

    I decided to leave everything concerning the shop to Morin-san and Elena-san and went to do something I had neglected: fetching the mithril knives from the capital. While I was there, I could also bring some cake to Princess Flora.

    Like thest time, I decided to invite Fina, but...

    ¡¸Ehm, I will pass this time.¡¹

    She declined my invitation.

    This might be the first time Fina had ever refused me.

    What was it, this pain piercing my heart? It was like the disappointing feeling I got when a pet ran away after I approached it.

    I felt like crying.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Why? Did... Did I do something to make you hate me, Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-you didn¡¯t! I don¡¯t hate you, Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you want toe with me, then? Is it because of my clothes?¡¹

    Did she finally reach the age where she found it embarrassing to walk around with me in my Bear Clothes?

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, that¡¯s not it, so please calm down.¡¹

    Fina reassured me before giving me her real reason, clearly embarrassed.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t remember what happened after I met King-sama, and if I did something rude...¡¹

    Oh right, she had mentioned this before.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san was with you, and she didn¡¯t say anything about it, so shouldn¡¯t it be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Still, I don¡¯t remember it at all, so...¡¹

    ¡¸I think that the King wouldn¡¯t mind it anyway, and if he did actually have a problem with it, I will just have to knock him out.¡¹

    I said and threw a few Bear Punches into the air.

    ¡¸You will be arrested if you do something like that, Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I will punch him when nobody is looking.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just joking.¡¹

    Well, if he really did something to Fina, it wouldn¡¯t be just a joke anymore.

    After talking with Fina for a while longer, I learned that it wasn¡¯t just the king¡¯s fault that she didn¡¯t want toe with me, but also Eleanora-san¡¯s since she had treated Fina like a doll and had dressed her up in beautiful clothes, which had ended up traumatising her.

    She couldn¡¯t dirty or rip those high-ss clothes... Such thoughts still seemed to bother her young mind.

    She would recall those bad memories if she went there, so she wanted to avoid it for a while.

    Those clothes really suited Fina, though... Still, I understood her feelings. If I were forced to wear a pretty dress, I would sustain psychological damage as well. I sympathised with Fina because of that and didn¡¯t force her toe.

    She promised me that she would apany me next time, though.

    Because Fina didn¡¯te with me, I had to transfer to the capital all alone this time around.

    I had to pass by a lot of people on my way to Gazar-san¡¯s smithy, and if Fina had been with me, she would have diverted my attention from all the stares. Yet, she wasn¡¯t here, so I covered my face with the Bear Hoodie and scurried to the smithy.

    ¡¸Excuse me!¡¹

    I shouted when I entered, and soon, Gazar-san showed up from the back.

    ¡¸You finally came, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. A lot was going on, so I couldn¡¯t find the time toe here.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, really. You had toe all the way from Crimonia, right?¡¹

    Gazar-san said with an expression of: ¡®You came from far away, so there is no helping it.¡¯

    Sorry. In truth, I could havee here anytime because of my Bear Gate.

    When I wasn¡¯t at the shop, I was either napping or just ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If I really wanted toe and fetch it, I could havee much sooner. Honestly, I was postponing it just because it was troublesome. There was no way I could admit that to him, though.

    ¡¸So, did you finish it?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. How many days do you think have passed since you havemissioned them?¡¹

    Gazar-san handed me two things wrapped in cloth.

    I unwrapped one, and a knife in a beautiful sheath appeared.

    It had a splendid ck handle, and when I looked at it more carefully,

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    A bear head was carved on the handle, like some sort of a crest.

    ¡¸It was a good idea, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Did you engrave it, Gazar-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t n on doing it at first, but since you didn¡¯t show up for so long, and I had free time, I just went with it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for beingte.¡¹

    Now I was really sorry for noting to get it sooner just because it was troublesome. Sorry for myself.

    ¡¸No need to apologize. I did it because I felt like doing it. More importantly, unsheath it.¡¹

    I did as he said, and unsheathed the knife.

    I wasn¡¯t Fina, but I still knew that it had a beautiful edge. I raised the knife over my head, and it reflected the lighting in from the window.

    ¡¸So, how¡¯s the grip? The ck knife you¡¯re holding right now is for your right hand. Please hold it with the ck Bear Glove.¡¹

    ¡¸ck knife?¡¹

    ¡¸The other one has a white grip and is for your left hand. It will be easier to differentiate them since the colors are different, right?¡¹

    I unwrapped the second knife, and it was another beautiful knife, with a white handle this time. Of course, this one had a bear face carved into it as well.

    ¡¸Thank you. How much do I owe you?¡¹

    ¡¸I told you that the golem was enough, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸But, you also added this beautiful carving, so...¡¹

    ¡¸I did it just because I had time, plus the golem was more than enough to cover everything.¡¹

    Gazar-san threw a look at the Iron Golem that was still standing at the entrance.

    ¡¸You left it there, huh.¡¹

    I was sure that he would melt it down to make other things.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really popr with the customers, so I left it be.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸No one had seen an Iron Golem in such a good condition before, after all. A lot of curious peoplee just to see it. They don¡¯t buy anything, though.¡¹

    I had told him that it was okay to destroy it, but I was happy to see it still intact.

    ¡¸Well then, can I try out the knives?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and if anything doesn¡¯t feel right, just tell me. I might be able to fix it right away.¡¹

    I exited the shop and took out an Iron Golem from the Bear Box to check how well the knives cut.

    ¡¸I just have to pour some magic power inside, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, its sharpness will improve depending on how much you pour inside.¡¹

    Well, it worked like that in the game as well, so... time to try it out here. If it wouldn¡¯t work, I just had to figure it outter.

    I gripped the two knives with my Bear Hands; I had used tantous a lot in the game, so this felt nostalgic. I could move the knives very quickly since they were light; the only problem was that they didn¡¯t have a big offensive power. Well,pared to big swords at least.

    I gathered magic power in my hands just like I did when casting normal magic and then shed at the Iron Golem¡¯s right arm, which was cut off without any real resistance and fell to the ground.

    ¡¸Ohhh... This is amazing! Gazar-san, the knives are amazing! I was able to cut it without a problem!¡¹

    I was actually a little moved.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the amazing one. Normal people couldn¡¯t cut an Iron Golem so easily, even with a mithril knife.¡¹

    He praised me.

    ¡¸Still, a moving Iron Golem has a magic core which makes it sturdier than iron, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but this is still the first time I have seen someone cutting iron so easily with a mithril knife.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it because the knives you make are incredible, Gazar-san?¡¹

    I put some distance between the Iron Golem and me before charging at it and cutting it several times as quickly as I possibly could on my way past it. The Iron Golem broke into a number of pieces and crumbled down.

    This somehow made me feel like a ninja.

    It seemed that I could be a Shinobi when using my Bear Equipment.

    ¡¸Wow! I didn¡¯t even see how many times you cut it.¡¹

    Gazar-san approached what remained of the Iron Golem to inspect it and then turned to me.

    ¡¸Show me the knives.¡¹

    After I handed him the knives, he lifted them up towards the sky.

    ¡¸You cut iron, but there are no nicks on the des. That much is enough to prove your strength. Be it your talent wielding knives or the flow of your magical power, I now understand why Gold said that you were an excellent adventurer. You really make an example for the proverb: ¡®You shouldn¡¯t judge a person by their appearance.¡¯¡¹

    Nelt-san was the one who made him write it, though. What had been written in that letter, really?

    Gazar-san returned the knives to me, and I put them inside the Bear Box, happy with the purchase.

    ¡¸Well then, thank you and have a good day.¡¹

    I thanked him and tried to leave, nning to head to the caste, which Fina feared so much.

    ¡¸Wait, I will return you the leftover mithril, so just give me a minute. Also, did you n on leaving this wreckage behind?¡¹

    He pointed at the crumbled Iron Golem.

    It was scattered in so many pieces that I had thought it would be a pain to put it back inside the Bear Box, so I had nned on leaving it here and fleeing the scene, but he had managed to thwart that n.

    ¡¸Gazar-san, want me to give you a job?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it? This gives me a bad feeling, though...¡¹

    ¡¸I will give you all the iron here, so could you please separate the mithril from the iron on the fake Mithril Golem?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t quite know how much mithril I had since the golem was also made out of iron.

    Knowing how much I had might end up being useful for something at ater time.

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s what you wanted. If it¡¯s only separating the ores, you are offering me too much.¡¹

    ¡¸Emm... It¡¯s troublesome to tidy everything up, so... I¡¯m giving it to you.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re a real idiot, you know that? Even though you cut it into pieces, it¡¯s still iron... How many weapons and tools do you think can be made from all of it?¡¹

    ¡¸You make some sense, but I have no intention of using iron in this crumbled state, so...¡¹

    ¡¸Just sell it, then. You will make quite the profit.¡¹

    I looked at the iron pile again. There were just too many pieces. Putting it back into the Bear Box would be too much of a pain.

    ¡¸Like I already said, picking it up would be too much trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. I get it. I will buy it, then. It will be at a low price, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really need the money, though... If you really want to repay me, just separate the mithril and the iron from the fake Mithril Golem.¡¹

    ¡¸That doesn¡¯t work, you would be giving me too much for the work I would do, missy. I would prefer for us to be on equal terms when we do business in the future.¡¹

    When he put it like that, I had no other choice but to ept his proposal.

    ¡¸The mine is finally providing the ores for the market, so you wouldn¡¯t be getting much from selling it to someone else anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, the ores are finallying from the mine again, huh.¡¹

    Now that he mentioned it, I hadpletely forgotten to go to the guild.

    Yep, it was all because of themotion with the cakes.

    Well, I just had to go there to record the achievement on my guild card and receive the payment, so there was no need to rush; I could just postpone it for a while.

    I handed over the fake Mithril Golem to Gazar-san, and finally headed to the castle to bring the cakes to Princess Flora.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I have kind of been missing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear recently. w

 Chapter 158 â€“ Bear-san Comes Up With A Scheme, But It Fails

    Chapter 158 ¨C Bear-san Comes Up With A Scheme, But It Fails

    After leaving Gazar-san¡¯s smithy, I was finally able to go to the castle.

    Like usual, I was able to enter without even having to show my guild card, which had my castle entry permit on it. It was great being well known, or rather, being a bear. Also, one of the guards ran off when I entered. Yup, the usual treatment.

    There was no point in even having the entry permit. The only time I might need to use it would be if I took off the Bear Suit. Still, if I did take it off, it felt like something bad would happen.

    As I walked through the castle, the people I passed all greeted me with slight bows.

    Normally, if someone were to walk through a castle dressed in a Bear Suit, people would report it, not bow, right? This would beparable to walking through the Japanese Parliament building while wearing a costume, right?

    On my way to Princess Flora¡¯s room, I was approached by one of the women passing by.

    ¡¸Thank you for making the picture book; the children really enjoy reading it.¡¹

    Having said that, she bowed and left.

    I was wondering why she would approach me, but it was about the picture book, huh. Now that she mentioned it, I had allowed for it to be distributed throughout the castle.

    Still, had the fact that I was the one who had made it leaked out?

    Hmm, I had told Eleanora-san not to reveal that it was me. Maybe I shouldin to her about this?

    As I was about to reach Princess Flora¡¯s room, another woman approached me.

    ¡¸The children are very excited about the next book.¡¹

    Had my job changed to that of a picture book author?

    No, no, I wasn¡¯t a picture book author. I didn¡¯t n on making another book either.

    Eleanora-san would hear about this. She must not spread it any further.

    Still, how did people know that I was the author when I didn¡¯t even write down my name?

    People not knowing it was me was the very reason I hadn¡¯t written it down.

    Well, there was no point in thinking about things I couldn¡¯t understand. I finally got to Princess Flora¡¯s room and knocked on the door. I heard Anju-san¡¯s voice from inside, and soon, the door opened.

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-sama, wee.¡¹

    ¡¸Hello, Anju-san. Is Princess Flora here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, pleasee in.¡¹

    As I was about to enter the room to greet her, Princess Flora appeared next to Anju-san.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    Princess Flora cried out with a huge smile on her face and hugged me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Princess Flora.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s been a while, Bear-san.¡¹

    Flora-sama returned my greeting properly.

    Her cuteness made it hard to believe that she was rted to the king. Oh, she did look more like the queen, so she would surely be as pretty as her in the future.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-sama. Please enter.¡¹

    I was about to do so, but then a sudden idea stopped me in my tracks.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    Both of them asked in confusion.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, the weather is nice today; why don¡¯t we go to the garden instead?¡¹

    If we stayed in her room, the king was bound to show up; we might be able to avoid him by going to the garden.

    Yeah, since we ate in her room every time I came to visit her, he would surelye to look for me there.

    So, the solution was easy: just eat somewhere else.

    Because of the king and Eleanora-san, Fina had taken a lot of mental damage, so I wouldn¡¯t be happy until I got at least a bit of revenge.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, not being outside in a weather this nice would be a waste. Flora-sama, shall we head to the garden and eat there?¡¹

    ¡¸If Bear-san wants to go, then we should go.¡¹

    Anju-san went along with my vile n without any suspicion while Princess Flora also epted with a smile.

    A pang of guilt hit me when I saw her smile like that, but since they both agreed, we headed to the garden to execute the ¡ºKing goes to Princess Flora¡¯s room, but nobody is there.¡» n.

    I could almost imagine his troubled face, once he walked into the room, and not a single person was there.

    We could call this just a tiny bit of harassment, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, is something wrong?¡¹

    Anju-san asked, noticing the change in my behaviour.

    Oops, I must have loosened my expression while thinking of my evil deed.

    ¡¸No, everything is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure? Well then, Yuna-sama, I¡¯ll go prepare us some tea. Could I ask you to look after Flora-sama while I¡¯m gone?¡¹

    I had no reason to refuse, so Anju-san bowed and ran off to prepare the tea.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, we should head to the garden.¡¹

    I offered her my Bear Hand, and she took it, so we headed to the garden, hand in hand.

    While it would have been ideal to reach the garden without being seen by anyone, we did meet three people. I just hoped that none of them would report seeing us on our way to the garden to the king.

    When we finally arrived at the garden, we were greeted by a wide array of beautiful, blooming flowers. As expected of the royal garden. I had seen it before, but it was still breathtaking. Fina had seen this sight as well when she had visited the castle with Eleanora-san the other day.

    Usually, the only people who could see this beautiful garden were those associated with the castle. That was just a waste. Not to mention the fact that everyone here worked the whole day and couldn¡¯te to see it.

    So, it made sense that Princess Flora and I were the only ones here. Princess Flora was looking at the flowers happily, and based on that, I judged that she didn¡¯te here often either.

    Tugging at her hand, I took her to the center of the garden, so we could sit down at the table there. We could enjoy the flowers all we wanted there, while also being able to chat and eat snacks.

    There was even a roof set up over the table, so we didn¡¯t have to worry about getting wet if it rained. I could just think of all the romantic things people could do in this ce, like looking at flowers on a rainy day, but who here would do that?

    The king was absolutely out of the question, but maybe the queen spent some time here.

    When we reached the center of the garden, that very certain someone was already there.

    ¡¸Oh my, it¡¯s Flora and Yuna-chan. What are you two doing here?¡¹

    The queen was sitting at the table all by herself, looking at the garden.

    Was it really okay for the queen to be left alone?

    Well, we were inside the castle, so it should be fine?

    ¡¸We were nning on having a meal out here today. Would that bother you?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. May I join you?¡¹

    There was no way I could refuse the queen, so I agreed. Still, was it okay to just give food to the queen like this?

    Well, it was toote to think about it at this point since I had already fed Princess Flora so many different things.

    ¡¸Bear-san, what are we having today?¡¹

    Princess Flora asked while sitting down on a chair next to her mother.

    Now, everytime I came here, it was always about food. Well, I did bring her something every time I came, so it couldn¡¯t really be helped. It still felt like feeding a baby chick, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s something sweet and delicious, but wait a moment.¡¹

    I had to make it so that nobody could join us before I brought the cakes out, so I summoned my Bears in their cub forms and sat them down on the remaining chairs.

    With this, the king would have no seat even if he managed to find us.

    When I had to sit down, I could just pick one of the Bears up onto myp.

    It was a perfect n.

    Sadly, it fell apart in an instant.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a small Bear-san!¡¹

    Princess Flora jumped up from her seat to hug and pull Swaying Bear of its seat.

    Hmm, I hadn¡¯t expected this to happen.

    To make the matters even worse, the queen also stood up and took Hugging Bear into her arms.

    ¡¸My, how cute.¡¹

    I definitely couldn¡¯t tell them to let go of the bears, so we were now left with empty seats.

    ¡¸Bear-san, is this Big Bear-san¡¯s child?¡¹

    Oh, was this the first time Princess Flora had seen the bears in their cub forms?

    ¡¸No, I just made Big Bear-san smaller.¡¹

    ¡¸Amazing!¡¹

    Princess Flora said and kept hugging Swaying Bear. Somehow, this visit was no longer about cake. Well, it was fine as long as she was happy.

    Princess Flora started running around the garden together with Swaying Bear. I started to fear that she might fall, but the queen just watched her while embracing Hugging Bear.

    She was hugging it quite tightly, in fact. Hugging Bear seemed to be suffering, so I hoped she would let it go soon.

    After Princess Flora yed with Swaying Bear for a little while longer, Anju-san finally came, but not alone.

    ¡¸You¡¯re eating here today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what did you bring today?¡¹

    The king and Eleanora-san both apanied Anju-san, and with that, all the usual members had gathered. Just like that, my ¡ºKing goes to Princess Flora¡¯s room, but nobody is there.¡» n fell apart.

    ¡¸What are you two doing here?¡¹

    I asked, despite more or less knowing the reason.

    ¡¸Oh, it was reported to me that you were at the castle. I ditched my work to go to Flora¡¯s room, but I ran into Anju on the way there. That is how I learned you were nning on eating here today.¡¹

    Where should I even start?

    First, it would probably be the best to tell him not to abandon his job!

    ¡¸So, Yuna, what¡¯s with the bear that my daughter is ying with?¡¹

    The king asked, ncing at Princess Flora and Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸It¡¯s my summoned beast, Swaying Bear. I did show him to you before.¡¹

    ¡¸The size is different, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, I heard that you can make them smaller.¡¹

    Eleanora-san knew about the bears¡¯ cub forms?

    She had probably gotten the information from Cliff.

    Anything I talked to Cliff about went straight to Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear,e here.¡¹

    When I called it, Swaying Bear immediately ran to me, with Princess Flora right on his tail.

    ¡¸That bear can get this small?¡¹

    The king picked up Swaying Bear when it got to us.

    ¡¸Ooh, how soft.¡¹

    ¡¸Father, don¡¯t take him from me!¡¹

    Princess Flora said and clung onto his leg in protest.

    You shouldn¡¯t be the one to say that; Swaying Bear was my family.

    ¡¸Okay, but he¡¯s heavy, so take care.¡¹

    The king said and returned Swaying Bear back to Princess Flora.

    She was slightly bigger than Swaying Bear but still wasn¡¯t able to hold him and ended up falling on her back. She didn¡¯t care, though, and kept hugging Swaying Bear happily.

    She would give him back, right?

    The only oue I could see was Princess Flora crying after I took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear away from her.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Ah, I replenished my bear dose. w

 Chapter 159 â€“ Bear-san Eats Cake With The Royal Family

    Chapter 159 ¨C Bear-san Eats Cake With The Royal Family

    Author¡¯s note:

    I finally broke the 20,000 bookmarks barrier.

    Please continue supporting my work from now on as well.

    My n ended up failing as everybody gathered at the garden.

    Also, the number of chairs increased to five without me even noticing.

    It must have been Anju-san who had brought it, right? When had she done it, though? She sure acted quickly.

    Anyway, the people who had already sat down were: the queen, who was holding Hugging Bear in her hands; the king, who had abandoned his work; and Eleanora-san, whose actions I could never really understand.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, how about you let go of Swaying Bear for now and sit down with us?¡¹

    I said in an attempt to get Swaying Bear back.

    ¡¸No!¡¹

    Princess Flora said and kept hugging Swaying Bear, which looked quite troubled within her arms.

    I wanted to save it, but she would cry if I forcibly took it away.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, I brought some yummy food, so why don¡¯t you have some? You won¡¯t be able to eat it if you keep holding onto Swaying Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Yummy food?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s really delicious. Also, Swaying Bear is getting tired, so it said it wants to take a break.¡¹

    I nced at Swaying Bear to give it a signal, and it let out a small yawn to seem like it was tired.

    My Bears were well-known for their acting ability. They had already tricked Noa in the past and also threatened the viins who hade to attack me at the inn in Mireera by pretending to be man-eating bears.

    After seeing that Swaying Bear was getting tired, Princess Flora reluctantly let it go.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Swaying Bear. I hope we can y againter.¡¹

    What a kind child.

    Swaying Bear didn¡¯t have to act this time and let out a real, happy cry.

    Thanks for the good work, Swaying Bear.

    I patted its head to reward it for ying with Princess Flora and returned it to its glove before she changed her mind.

    Seeing Swaying Bear disappear, Princess Flora appeared to be sad, but stayed seated.

    Hmm, maybe I should ask Sherry to make her a plushie version of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear; Princess Flora would surely be happy if I presented them to her.

    I looked over at my other summoned beast, Hugging Bear, which was currently still being held by the queen. She looked like she had no intentions of letting Hugging Bear go, though.

    Ohe on, your daughter had given Swaying Bear back properly. Would you please give Hugging Bear back as well? Ignoring my silent nces, the queen continued to pet Hugging Bear while Princess Flora looked at them enviously.

    At this rate, they were going to start fighting over Hugging Bear...

    I decided to figure out how to get it backter and took out a whole shortcake out of the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Strawberries!¡¹

    Princess Flora¡¯s gaze snapped to the cake. Great, I could avoid the fight with this.

    ¡¸What is this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s simr to the pancakes you ate before.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, those? They were tasty.¡¹

    I set down enough tes for everybody then cut the cake.

    Meanwhile, Anju-san prepared ck tea on the other side of the table.

    ¡¸There are strawberries inside as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I love strawberries!¡¹

    ¡¸It looks delicious.¡¹

    Just as I finished dividing the cake, Anju-san also served the tea. Princess Flora¡¯s tea had milk added into it.

    ¡¸Bear-san, can I eat now?¡¹

    Princess Flora held her fork but still waited patiently.

    Was it because of the king? No, it was probably because Anju-san had taught her properly.

    ¡¸Sure, go ahead.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t waste time and started eating happily.

    ¡¸Yummy!¡¹

    She said with a smile, and cream on her cheeks. Others started to eat soon after.

    ¡¸This really is quite delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but I find it a little too sweet for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? I think its sweetness is perfect.¡¹

    I just drank the tea Anju-san had poured for me and didn¡¯t eat any cake. The tea was good; it tasted just like the one I had drunk at Cliff¡¯s mansion. Well, it was a tea the king drank, so it had to be of high quality. The tea I had drunk while I hade here before must have been of high quality as well, huh.

    The cake was being well-received by everyone; even Princess Flora, who had been down for having to part from Swaying Bear, now ate the cake happily.

    Yet, the queen ate the cake while still holding onto Hugging Bear, giving me no opportunity to rescue it.

    Hugging Bear, stop looking at me with those eyes. I¡¯ll save you eventually.

    ¡¸Yuna, you¡¯re not going to eat?¡¹

    The king asked me when he noticed I was only drinking tea.

    ¡¸Yes, I ate a way too much cake while taste-testing the recipes. Also, eating too much would make me fat.¡¹

    Hmm, perhaps saying that I was sick of it would be more urate? I couldn¡¯t get fat with my metabolism. Yet, one of the forks stopped moving when I mentioned getting fat.

    Oh, just one?

    It was Eleanora-san who had stopped eating.

    Princess Flora was still eating with cream all around her mouth, the king didn¡¯t seem to care, and the queen also carried on as if nothing had been said.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, this thing can make you fat?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked, her hand holding the fork now shaking.

    ¡¸Yeah, it has high sugar content. Well, that just means you get fat quickerpared to other food.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure know some strange things.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, were you trying to make me fat?!¡¹

    Eleanora-san got mad at me suddenly.

    ¡¸Of course not. Besides, a single slice won¡¯t make you fat. If you don¡¯t eat it every day, that is.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?! You aren¡¯t lying, right? I will believe you, okay? If I get fat, I¡¯ll be mad, though.¡¹

    Umm, annoying much?

    ¡¸If it bothers you that much, you don¡¯t have to eat it, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you trying to bully me, telling me not to eat something this delicious? How can you even say such a cruel thing, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡®Fat¡¯ turned out be a forbidden word amongst women after all, huh. Maybe I should be more careful with using that word in the future since it only brought trouble when it was used in the wrong context.

    Still, if she was that worried about her weight, she shouldn¡¯t eat snacks at all. She would justsh out again if I mentioned that, though, so I kept it to myself.

    On the other side of the table, the queen was eating without a care in the world. Did she not care if she got fat? I hadn¡¯t seen her put on any weight in the time I had known her, so maybe she just didn¡¯t eat much in general.

    ¡¸The queen doesn¡¯t get fat no matter how much she eats.¡¹

    Eleanora-san told me when she caught me staring at the queen.

    ¡¸She¡¯s a true enemy of all women.¡¹

    I must have been included in that group as well since I didn¡¯t get fat either.

    So, that was why I couldn¡¯t respond.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, may I have a moment?¡¹

    Anju-san asked me as I went back to watching everyone eat cake and drink tea.

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you happen to have an extra share for the head chef?¡¹

    ¡¸Head chef?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. You see, while I was preparing tea earlier, the head chef approached me. I told him that you hade to visit, and he immediately got excited.¡¹

    She exined to me with some hesitation.

    Everytime I came here with a new recipe, I had the head chef taste it. If it was something that Princess Flora liked, I even gave him the recipe.

    I cut two more slices of cake and put them on two different tes.

    ¡¸Anju-san, could you give this to the head chef?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, you can eat the other er.¡¹

    Anju-san would be able to join us if it was just Princess Flora, but with the king here, it was a bit difficult for her to be that casual.

    ¡¸Can I really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, just let me know what you thought of it the next time Ie here.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    She happily epted it and ced both tes onto her trolley.

    ¡¸Anju, we¡¯ll be fine here, so you can take that to Zelef.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really okay for me to leave?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I know he is really looking forward to Yuna¡¯s cooking.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will deliver the cake to him, then.¡¹

    Anju-san said, bowed, and left the garden.

    ¡¸Please forgive him; he enjoys your cooking very much.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. On the contrary, I always end up causing him trouble,ing here without warning and bringing my own recipes even though he is the one taking care of your meals.¡¹

    They probably noticed that this was bothering me.

    Me passing along my recipes often caused him trouble since Princess Flora liked to eat them, which put him in a bad spot. I didn¡¯t want him to think he was an inferior cook to me.

    Honestly, there was no point in evenparing us. I just happened to know a few recipes from a different world, but there was no way I could make full-course royal banquet meals the way he did.

    Every person had their own field of expertise, and it was impossible for them to be the best in everything in that whole field.

    That was why I had told them that there was no winning or losing when it came to cooking. All that mattered was making good food.

    A while after Anju-san had left the garden, I noticed that Princess Flora¡¯s te was empty while she stared at what was left of the cake, so I cut her another slice.

    ¡¸Thank you, Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a reward for being a good girl and letting Swaying Bear go.¡¹

    Unlike the person next to you...

    ¡¸Is it good?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, it¡¯s yummy.¡¹

    Good, maybe I should bring a different type of cake next time?

    A fruitcake or a cheesecake might be a good idea.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can I have another slice too?¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and timidly passed her te to me. I couldn¡¯t be held responsible if you get fat, okay?

    ¡¸Yuna, one more for me as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I would like some more too, please.¡¹

    I put another slice on each of their tes.

    It kind of felt as if I had be a maid.

    Since everybody¡¯s teacups were empty as well, I poured them tea just as L-san had taught me. Hmm, I hadn¡¯t thought I would ever have to do it myself.

    The king drank the tea I had poured him and said:

    ¡¸What is this, you can pour tea as well?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re very good at it.¡¹

    The queen praised me.

    ¡¸The maid at Cliff¡¯s ce taught me.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you mean L?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I added the cakes to the menu at my shop and wanted to serve some tea that went well with it, so I had her teach me.¡¹

    ¡¸So, I could eat this cake whenever I wanted at your shop, Yuna-chan? Maybe I should head home to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸You will get fat if you eat it every day, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t let you leave anyway, so no need to worry about getting fat.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re both so mean.¡¹

    As we were enjoying our cake-chat, I heard heavy footsteps from within the garden. I turned to look and saw Head Chef Zelef-san running towards us.

    Zelef-san was a plump old man with grease all over him. Even though he looked that way, he was a dependable person and was in charge of cooking for the entire royal family.

    Yet, this dependable person was now standing in front of us,pletely out of breath.

 Chapter 160 â€“ Bear-san Is Going To Open A Shop At The Capital?

    Chapter 160 ¨C Bear-san Is Going To Open A Shop At The Capital?

    Zelef-san managed to make it to us, even though his running speed was slow. I noticed Anju-san walking right behind him, keeping up with his speed. This had often happened in anime and manga, but it was my first time seeing it in person. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better if he just walked as well?

    ¡¸Zelef, did something happen?¡¹

    The king asked Zelef-san when he finally reached us.

    ¡¸Your Majesty, Your Highness, you¡¯re both here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m taking a breather from work.¡¹

    You did that every time I was here, ditching work to find me.

    Well, at least that was what I came to believe. Did anybody even check in on him? In this kind of a world, shouldn¡¯t there be an old man like a prime minister standing beside the king and scolding him? Probably someone who had to take stomach medicine to stop it aching from all the stress this king¡¯s actions were causing him?

    Well, if such a person had existed, he would have been here right now.

    ¡¸So, what is it? This is the first time I have seen you actually run.¡¹

    Could we even call that running? It was of the same speed as Anju-san¡¯s walking.

    See, Anju-san was already tending to the queen and Princess Flora.

    ¡¸I apologize for showing you such an embarrassing sight. I rushed here because I wanted to know more about the new recipe Yuna-dono just let me taste.¡¹

    He answered and scratched his head in embarrassment.

    ¡¸It was pretty tasty, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was, and since I wanted to know what it was, I ran here despite my old age.¡¹

    Despite his old age? He seemed to be in his thirties, no more. Also, I didn¡¯t think that his age was the reason for his slow running. He would do much better if he exercised more and got rid of his bulging stomach.

    Zelef-san looked my way, not realizing what was going through my head.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, it¡¯s been a while. As usual, I would like to thank you for letting me taste your new food.¡¹

    ¡¸How have you been, Zelef-san? Oh right, I¡¯m sorry for always giving you trouble when you are already preparing meals for the royal family.¡¹

    ¡¸I certainly did feel that way at the beginning, but now, I look forward to your cooking. As a chef, your food motivates me to improve myself. Thanks to you, I understand that cooking has no limits.¡¹

    He was exaggerating....

    Well, it was food from another world, so it might make sense for him to see it that way?

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-dono, what was the thing that you let me taste today?!¡¹

    Zelef-san asked while stepping a bit closer to me.

    Even though I shouldn¡¯t be able to feel hot because of my Bear Suit, I could sense the heating from his body. I nudged my chair away from him a bit before answering.

    ¡¸It¡¯s called cake. It¡¯s simr to the pancakes I had brought over before.¡¹

    How many times had I said this by now?

    Well, it couldn¡¯t really be helped since it was the only way I could exin it.

    ¡¸I get that part, but what was that sweet white stuff?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, whipped cream?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s called whipped cream? It was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s still in the trial stage, so it needs some more fine tuning. Also, if you mix different things with whipped cream, you can get all sorts of vors.¡¹

    Making a blueberry or a strawberry mousse might be a good idea in the future.

    What I really wanted to make was a chocte mousse, though. Even if I was able to get my hands on cacao, I wouldn¡¯t be able to make chocte. Maybe they sold chocte in some other regions?

    If I managed to procure it, the amount of sweets I could make would increase significantly. I really missed the days in Japan when I had yed games while eating chocte and drinking juice.

    ¡¸So, how did you like the cake? Was it too sweet for you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, not at all. It was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s still some left; would you like some more?¡¹

    They had already finished the one I had brought out on the table, but I had another one in my Bear Box.

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind another slice if it really isn¡¯t a problem, but I came here for another reason.¡¹

    Zelef-san sounded a bit awkward.

    ¡¸Why did youe, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I was wondering if it¡¯s possible for you to teach me how to make it. I won¡¯t reveal the recipe to anybody else, of course. As a chef, I want to know more about this mysterious texture and vor. I do realize it must have took you a lot of time to create such an amazing recipe. It¡¯s embarrassing for me to ask you to reveal it, and I understand if you don¡¯t want to share it, but...¡¹

    Well, it had taken a bit of an effort to reinvent the recipe since I hadn¡¯t known the ingredient ratios to make the right mixture.

    ¡¸Zelef, I believe you promised not to ask Yuna about her cooking methods again.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but as a chef, I just have to know it. I couldn¡¯t even imagine the concept behind something like that myself, and that makes my soul ache...¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna already showed you how to make things like pudding and pizza, didn¡¯t she?¡¹

    ¡¸She did, and I apologize, but...¡¹

    Zelef-san¡¯s voice trailed off, and he lowered his head as the king scolded him.

    Just like the king had said, I had already given Zelef-san quite a few recipes. He had been keeping them to himself without leaking them, so it should be fine to show him how to make cake as well.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind showing you how to make it.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    Zelef-san was overjoyed when he heard my reply.

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s fine. It has a lot of sugar, though, so try not to make it too often. It¡¯s okay if it¡¯s just for Eleanora-san, but I don¡¯t want to see Princess Flora getting fat because of my recipes.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan...¡¹

    Eleanora-san started to re at me, but I just ignored her.

    ¡¸Of course. It is my job to keep the royal family healthy. Even if Princess Flora tells me she wants to eat more, I promise I won¡¯t make it for her.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t tell you that!¡¹

    Princess Flora said, looking rather displeased.

    How cute.

    ¡¸Are you sure about this, Yuna? I think this every time you pass him another recipe, but shouldn¡¯t they be important to you as a chef? He promises not to leak them, but still...¡¹

    Recipes certainly should be important to chefs, no matter what world they were in. Some would even say they were more important than their own lives, especially in case of their family recipes that were passed down from generation to generation.

    Yet, my recipes had been obtained from cooking books, television, and the inte. They were just regr recipes of my world, not something special I had created.

    Besides, even though they considered me a chef, I didn¡¯t live my life as one. If anyone asked me if the recipes were important to me, I just told them no, unless it could harm my shop in Crimonia, then I had to say yes. My precious employees were giving it their all working there, after all.

    So, as long as it wasn¡¯t in Crimonia, I had no problem revealing my recipes.

    Even if a cake shop was opened at the capital, nobody from Crimonia would go that far to eat it. I also had no intentions of losing on the vor front.

    ¡¸As long as it makes Princess Flora happy, I¡¯m fine with sharing my recipes.¡¹

    ¡¸You really care about the children. I heard a lot about you and the the children of Crimonia¡¯s orphanage, you know.¡¹

    I took care of the children because they were innocent.

    Back in Japan, my parents had onlyined, and at school, there was a lot of envy, jealousy, and bullying.

    I liked the children of this world because they had pure hearts unlike those from Japan who had only been cold-hearted bullies.

    The children at the orphanage were honest and hardworking. If they were bad and stole things, I would probably have abandoned them, but I wanted good children to be happy and taken care of.

    I knew it was possible they would turn out like Eleanora-san or Mylene-san when they grew up, but I hoped most of them would end up being like Morin-san or Tirumina-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how about opening a shop at the capital then? I could help you by finding a good location, procuring the ingredients, and negotiating the price.¡¹

    ¡¸That sounds like a great idea.¡¹

    The king approved Eleanora-san¡¯s suggestion.

    I had thought about it before, but I simply hadn¡¯t seen any benefits in opening a shop at the capital.

    There had been three reasons I had opened the shop at Crimonia.

    One, so that I could eat whenever I wanted.

    Two, so that the children from the orphanage had jobs to do.

    And three, the money. Not that I really needed it.

    So, it had been mostly because of the first two reasons, rather than the third. I had the money I had brought over from Japan, the money I got from defeating monsters, and the money from the tunnel¡¯s passage fee.

    All together, it was a lot of money. I honestly didn¡¯t even know if I got more from the shop sales or the passage fee.

    So, there was no real need for me to open a shop at the capital.

    Still, what about the merits of opening it?

    One, I had to manage it. Too much work.

    Two, I had to train others. Too much work.

    Three, everything was just too much work.

    And four, the worst of all, I couldn¡¯t imagine somebody listening to orders from a girl wearing a Bear Suit.

    ¡¸You could sell pudding and other recipes as well. That way, it would be possible for your shop to be the most popr in the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the other dishes you had brought for us were delicious as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I have no interest in running the number one store in the capital since opening a shop here would just be too much of a pain.¡¹

    It had been hard enough to open a shop at Crimonia. Even just thinking about opening another one at the capital without Tirumina-san and Mylene-san helping me sounded impossible.

    So, that was why I exined to them the previously mentioned demerits of opening the shop here.

    ¡¸And here I was thinking I could eat your cooking whenever I wanted if you opened a shop here...¡¹

    ¡¸Just ask Zelef-san to prepare it for you.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to be able to eat whenever I feel like it. If Zelef is busy, he won¡¯t be able to cook it for me.¡¹

    She had the same idea as me, huh.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, why don¡¯t you open the shop, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    ¡¸I can teach you the recipes, and you manage it yourself.¡¹

    A great idea, if I could say so myself.

    If she wanted to eat whenever she wanted, she had to put in the effort herself.

    I myself had worked hard to open my shop at Crimonia.

    ¡¸How about opening a branch store in front of the castle?¡¹

    The king made an unbelievable suggestion.

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure there would be issues with management, training,bor, and disclosure of recipes. So, why don¡¯t we let the country manage it, then? Nobody would dare consider stealing recipes from a country-owned shop. If we choose our employees wisely, disclosure wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all. The country management would surely find many people. As for the training, we can just leave it to Zelef, who already knows the recipes.¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me?¡¹

    ¡¸You know Yuna¡¯s recipes the best.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I already have my job as your head chef.¡¹

    ¡¸You have a lot of spare time, don¡¯t you? I have no interest in finding a new head chef, so don¡¯t worry about that. However, I do want you to be in charge of teaching the employees and running the shop when you aren¡¯t taking care of our meals.¡¹

    ¡¸Great, that would mean I could eat whenever I wanted.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll get fat if you eat too much, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t eat that much, so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡¹

    If they were going to do it all for me, I saw no more issues with opening a shop here.

    If the castle oversaw the shop like the king proposed, recipes had no chance of leaking out. It also wouldn¡¯t affect my shop in Crimonia at all since it would only sell to the people of the capital.

    ¡¸Then, all we have to do is find employees, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You can leave that to Eleanora and Zelef. Also, I will supply the funding for the shop myself.¡¹

    ¡¸We also have to figure out the location and ingredient list.¡¹

    ¡¸And, don¡¯t forget Yuna¡¯s share of profits as well.¡¹

    ¡¸My share?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. We will be selling your food.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it only makes sense for you to get a piece of the cake.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though the shop will belong to the country, you have a right to a portion of the profits since we will be using your recipes.¡¹

    Well, I didn¡¯t mind taking what they would give me, but my ie was already high as it was.

    The three of them weren¡¯t done talking yet, though.

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to this.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m quite excited myself.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be the speciality of the capital.¡¹

    The three of them seemed to be having fun.

    At this point, I didn¡¯t think that I would regret leaving everything to them.

    Yet, if I had just came here while they were building the shop, I would have never let it have that kind of exterior.

 Chapter 161 â€“ Bear-san Holds A Cake Baking Lesson

    Chapter 161 ¨C Bear-san Holds A Cake Baking Lesson

    Eleanora-san seemed quite pleased with the fact that a shop using my recipes would be opening in the capital.

    However, in order for it to work out, I had to teach Zelef-san all of my recipes.

    I had given him my pudding recipe some time ago, but it seemed like he had only managed to make it after failing numerous times. Unlike in Japanese cookbooks, there were no pictures in this world. Also, it appeared that I hadn¡¯t ryed some parts of the recipe well enough. That was why we decided I would be personally teaching him this time around.

    ¡¸Should we start now, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that really be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸There doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem, since everybody already finished their cakes.¡¹

    As I said, all of the tes were already empty, and it was time for me to make an excuse to get away from here, so that I could save Hugging Bear from the queen. She hadn¡¯t let go of it all this time and had managed to embrace it even while eating.

    Thinking of how to rescue it, I nced at the queen, who was now elegantly drinking tea with one hand while holding onto Hugging Bear with the other. Hugging Bear looked at me dejectedly.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to save you, so wait for me,¡¹I called out to it silently.

    I then spoke up to begin the Hugging Bear Rescue n.

    ¡¸Your Highness, I¡¯m going to teach Zelef-san how to bake a cake now, so about Hugging Bear...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I will carry it.¡¹

    The queen responded and stood up with Hugging Bear still secured in her arms.

    Umm, what was fine? Why would she carry it? Could it be that she wasing with us?!

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t bother Yuna and Zelef.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t get in the way. I just want to taste-test Yuna¡¯s recipes.¡¹

    The queen wanted toe with us because she wanted to eat more... Also, taste-testing wasn¡¯t something a queen should do, right? Didn¡¯t royal families normally have a poison tester checking their food before they ate it?

    Well, that was just my own tale on royalty.

    ¡¸I will go too!¡¹

    Now even Princess Flora was saying she woulde with us.

    Was this royal family going to be okay?

    Not to mention, Princess Flora had already eaten two slices of cake. A small child shouldn¡¯t be able to eat three slices at once.

    ¡¸Well then, I will be heading back to work. Thank you for the meal, Yuna. It was delicious, as always.¡¹

    The king said before leaving the garden.

    I wanted him to talk to the queen about giving me back Hugging Bear first, though...

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m going to begin the preparations for setting up for the shop, then.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and followed the king out of the garden. I wanted to ask her, ¡¸Eleanora-san, what about your job?¡¹ but decided not to. She was the type of person who always did what they wanted.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, we should get going as well.¡¹

    The queen tapped me on the shoulder.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going. Before that though, your Highness, please return Hugging Bear to me,¡¹I protested silently.

    Before I could do anything, the queen started to walk off with Hugging Bear resting its head on her shoulder, looking at me with a sad expression. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t save you.

    Once we arrived at the kitchen, Zelef-san closed and locked the door.

    Eh, what was going on?

    ¡¸This is to prevent information from leaking.¡¹

    Zelef-san answered my unsaid question.

    There was indeed nobody else in the kitchen besides us.

    ¡¸Whenever I¡¯m making the food that you taught me, I always lock the door to prevent people from barging in.¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t there other chefs that would want toe here?¡¹

    ¡¸This is my personal kitchen, so no other chefs will being here.¡¹

    Was it like this to prevent people from poisoning the royal family¡¯s food?

    If there were a lot of people in the kitchen, it would be difficult to figure out who added the poison. They had probably made this kitchen for the head chef only in order to prevent that from happening.

    ¡¸Also, this kitchen was arranged as a ce for me to make your recipes, and only I¡¯m allowed to use it.¡¹

    Did I hear him right?

    It would make sense for this ce to be his private kitchen to make meals for the royal family, but he said this was just a ce where he could make my food? Unbelievable.

    Had they made this kitchen just to prevent the recipes from leaking? Well, that would exin why there hadn¡¯t been any leaks so far...

    Still, weren¡¯t the royal family members¡¯ lives more important than my recipes leaking out?

    Maybe I should just pretend I hadn¡¯t heard it...

    I took all the required ingredients and utensils for making a cake out of the Bear Box and started to make it while exining the process to Zelef-san, who was following along and taking notes. He asked some questions from time to time, but we progressed without much of a problem.

    I wondered if Princess Flora and the queen were enjoying themselves. After all, all they did was watch me bake.

    Partway through, Anju-san also joined in after she was done tidying up the garden.

    ¡¸I see, so this is how it¡¯s made. I have to say, you are indeed a skilled chef, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    ¡¸I am?¡¹

    ¡¸I think you¡¯re amazing, given how young you are. Even if I were topare you to my subordinates, your skills are in no way inferior to theirs.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯tpare her to your subordinate, Zelef.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do such a thing. Also, those who have gathered here are all capable of making food for the royal family and the nobles. In a way, they are all good chefs.¡¹

    When he mentioned his subordinates, I immediately imagined them to be his apprentices, but it seemed like it was different in this castle.

    Anyway, I didn¡¯t really know whether I was amazing or not, but I could understand that he was praising me for my cooking skills.

    ¡¸Bear-san is amazing?¡¹

    Princess Flora inquired.

    ¡¸Yes, she is amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸I agree, she truly is amazing.¡¹

    Zelef-san and the queen both answered her.

    ¡¸Bear-san, you¡¯re amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true at all.¡¹

    While the sponge cake was in the oven, I made some whipped cream, scooped a bit of it up with a spoon, and brought it to Princess Flora¡¯s mouth, who ate it without concern.

    ¡¸Delishus!¡¹

    As soon as the sponge cake was finished baking, I took it out of the oven,yered strawberries and whipped cream in the middle, then put some more strawberries on the top.

    ¡¸It¡¯s beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and it looks delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Yuna-dono. I learned a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸You can also try switching out the strawberries with other fruits that are in season. There are many things that go well with cream, so you should experiment a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll try out as many things as I can to see which ingredients match it the best.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, it¡¯s time to eat it, right?¡¹

    The queen said while looking at the cake longingly.

    Yep, it made sense to eat it, but could they really eat more? Well, some time had already passed since they ate at the garden, so it should be fine, right?

    I nced at Princess Flora who seemed really happy.

    ¡¸I will go prepare the tea, then.¡¹

    Anju-san said and left the kitchen.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, can you get us some tes and forks?¡¹

    I asked, and he didn¡¯t waste any time fetching them.

    ¡¸I bet Zelef¡¯s subordinates would be surprised if they were to see a bear giving orders to their head chef.¡¹

    The queen said with a smile.

    Oh right, Zelef-san was the head chef of this castle, even though he didn¡¯t look nor act like one.

    Zelef-san ignored the queen¡¯sment and brought over enough forks and tes for all of us.

    I proceeded to cut the cake and ced a slice on each of the tes. I made sure to make Princess Flora¡¯s slice smaller; she wouldn¡¯t be able to eat her dinner if she ate too much.

    ¡¸Here, Anju-san, your share.¡¹

    I told Anju-san, who had just returned after preparing tea. Good thing Zelef-san had brought a te for her as well.

    ¡¸I still have the cake you gave me before.¡¹

    She hadn¡¯t eaten it yet, huh.

    ¡¸You can give that one to the kids, so join us.¡¹

    If I remembered correctly, there were some more children of Princess Flora¡¯s age here at the castle.

    ¡¸Is that really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Anju, eat with us.¡¹

    ¡¸Anju, eat.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, please tell me what you think of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, everyone!¡¹

    After she distributed the tea (Princess Flora¡¯s had milk added in), everybody started to eat the cake.

    Now was my chance to get Hugging Bear back!

    There was only one chair in the kitchen, and Princess Flora already had it covered, so everybody else had to eat standing up. Even though there was a table, it would be difficult for the queen to eat while still holding onto Hugging Bear.

    As I had expected, the queen put Hugging Bear down on the corner of the table, so she could eat; Hugging Bear finally left her arms.

    As she started to eat, Hugging Bear looked at me. I waited a bit and then nodded.

    Hugging Bear slowly started to move and made its way to my side of the table while the queen waspletely focused on her cake. When she finally noticed, it was already toote as Hugging Bear was out her reach, so it seemed like she was sending it off instead.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I want Hugging Bear-chan back.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, your Highness, I¡¯ll hold onto him for now, so please eat your cake.¡¹

    The queen continued to eat the cake while looking at Hugging Bear disappointedly. I wasn¡¯t going to give it back even when she looked at it like that. Hugging Bear looked happy to be back in my arms. I would have tofort it tonight.

    After we finished eating, I had to answer some more of Zelef-san¡¯s questions, and the day was slowlying to an end.

    The queen eyed Hugging Bear the entire time I was chatting with Zelef-san; she must have really liked it.

    Well, Hugging Bear did feel rather nice to touch, and it was also cute.

    I wondered if it was necessary to give the queen a Hugging Bear plushie, for the sake of Hugging Bear¡¯s well-being.

    How many plushies should I ask Sherry to make for me?

 Chapter 162 â€“ Bear-san Asks For Some Plushies

    Chapter 162 ¨C Bear-san Asks For Some Plushies

    After leaving the castle and getting home via the Bear Gate, I had dinner and got ready for bed.

    Since Swaying Bear had yed with Princess Flora, and Hugging Bear had dealt with the queen, I thought of letting them recover in their Bear Gloves, but since they preferred being out, I summoned them before I went to sleep, like I always did.

    Once out on my bed, they happily came up and rubbed against me.

    ¡¸Thank you for today, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Have a nice rest tonight.¡¹

    I dove straight under the nkets after thanking them, and they both got on my sides and assumed their usual manju shapes.

    I silently wished them goodnight and soon fell asleep.

    I had no urgent matters the next day, so I spent the morning in bed. Even though I wasn¡¯t as obsessive as the queen, I did like cuddling with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They kept napping next to me as Ized around, and just like that, the morning went by.

    I couldn¡¯t really stay in bed for the entire day, so I switched back to the ck Bear and headed out to the tailor shop Sherry worked at.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if Princess Flora would want one, but just in case, I would have plushies of both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made. If she disliked it, I could just give it to the children at the orphanage or use it to decorate the shop. Heck, I could even put them in my room.

    As I walked down the streets in my usual Bear outfit, I didn¡¯t get any unpleasant nces like at the capital. Well, some people did still stare, but there wasn¡¯t a lot of them, unlike at the capital, where most of the people threw all sorts of nces at me, from scornful looks to interested expressions, shocked responses, and more.

    I had been to the tailor shop before, so I got there without a problem.

    The shop sold stuff like clothing and handkerchiefs, so there were quite a few customers checking the wares. Most of the customers were localmoners, of course.

    Ady in her thirties was running around the shop and helping the customers; it was Narl-san, Sherry¡¯s employer.

    Once she was done talking with other customers, she approached me.

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while. Did youe here to buy some clothing?¡¹

    She knew that I didn¡¯t wear any clothing other than my suit but beamed a business smile at me anyway.

    ¡¸Want me to pick out some cute outfits for you?¡¹

    ¡¸While that would be nice, I came here for a different reason. Is Sherry here?¡¹

    ¡¸Sherry? She should be making clothing in the back, together with my husband.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you guys busy?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really since we have no urgent jobs at the moment. I will go and fetch her for you, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    Narl-san headed to the back of the shop and called out Sherry¡¯s name. Soon, both of them trotted out from the back.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?!¡¹

    ¡¸Hi, Sherry. Sorry for bothering you during your working hours.¡¹

    Sherry shook her head.

    ¡¸No problem. So, why are you here? I heard that you were looking for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, there¡¯s something I want you to make for me.¡¹

    ¡¸You want me to make something for you?¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re busy with work, don¡¯t worry; it can wait.¡¹

    ¡¸As I already told you earlier, we¡¯re doing just fine, timewise. Sherry, you can take your break now, so why don¡¯t you and Yuna-chan go to the back and talk about it there?¡¹

    Narl-san came up with a timely suggestion.

    Since we got her permission, we headed to the back without arguing.

    ¡¸So, what is it that you want made?¡¹

    Sherry asked while serving us both drinks and then sitting down.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I first thanked her for the drink and took a sip.

    ¡¸I want you to make a some plushies for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Plushies?¡¹

    If I wasn¡¯t wrong, things like dolls and plushies existed in this world.

    I couldn¡¯t say for sure, though, since I had never really looked too deeply into it. I had seen a child holding some sort of plushie from a distance while walking the streets before, but I couldn¡¯t have really told what kind of animal that plushie had supposed to be, though. I had only seen the child hold onto it tightly.

    ¡¸Yeah, I want you to make plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I can make them, no problem.¡¹

    I knew Sherry could make them.

    ¡¸It would help if I could see what they look like before I start making their plushies, but I guess it¡¯s too cramped to let them out here, right?¡¹

    Sherry said and looked around the room we were in.

    It was by no means a big room; it had a table and a few chairs, plus some extra things all around, so there was no space to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their regr sizes. It was a different story if I were to summon them in their cub forms.

    ¡¸No, it will do.¡¹

    I responded and summoned Swaying Bear in its cub form.

    ¡¸Uwahhh!¡¹

    Sherry cried out when she saw Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, what is this small Bear-san?!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Swaying Bear. Since it¡¯s a summoned beast, I can make it smaller.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t make it bigger, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s cute.¡¹

    Sherrymented, grasping Swaying Bear with both her hands.

    ¡¸I want you to make some plushies about this big, would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes. It¡¯s fine. Oh, please give me just a moment.¡¹

    Sherry said and started to rummage through the drawer behind her. Once she found what she was looking for, she turned back to me.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, would it be okay if I measured it?¡¹

    Sherry said and, with a sharp movement, extended the measuring tape that was now in her hand.

    ¡¸I have no problem with that. Swaying Bear, stay still okay?¡¹

    Swaying Bear cried out softly in response.

    ¡¸Well then, Swaying Bear-chan, I¡¯ll measure you now, okay?¡¹

    Sherry said and approached Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸First, I¡¯ll measure your arm.¡¹

    She pressed the measure tape against Swaying Bear¡¯s arm and noted it down.

    ¡¸Now, I¡¯ll measure your leg. Can I measure your sole as well?¡¹

    Swaying Bear sat down and lifted up his feet, so Sherry was able to measure it more easily.

    ¡¸Ok, waist this time; make sure you don¡¯t move.¡¹

    Swaying Bear obediently stayed still and let her measure it.

    ¡¸You okay with me checking your tail now?¡¹

    Swaying Bear turned around, its cute tail now facing Sherry, who didn¡¯t waste time to measure it.

    ¡¸Andstly, your head please?¡¹

    Swaying Bear nodded, and Sherry quicky measured its head multiple times, making sure to get all of the details she could.

    I would have been scared to get measured like that. I actually feared getting all my sizes measured, or better, I feared knowing them. Well, I still had room and time for improvement, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that measurement was a scary thing.

    Heck, just the thought of it made me shiver.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸N-nope, nothing. No need to worry about me. You got all the measurements?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I got everything I need.¡¹

    She neatly recorded Swaying Bear¡¯s measurements into her notebook.

    If they had been mine, I would have torn it up and burned it to ashes.

    ¡¸Oh right, is it okay if I make Hugging Bear-chan¡¯s plushie using the same measurements?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, that¡¯s okay.¡¹

    They should have the same measurements, right?

    Well, even if there was any difference, it shouldn¡¯t be significant.

    ¡¸How long do you think it¡¯ll take you to finish them?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I do have my job I need to focus on. Maybe if I did it during the night...¡¹

    ¡¸Sherry, what are you talking about?¡¹

    A man in his early thirties suddenly barged in from the adjacent room.

    ¡¸Temoka-san.¡¹

    Temoka-san was the other owner of the tailor shop, and also took care of Sherry. He taught her how to make clothes and improve her embroidery.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s been a while indeed. I¡¯m borrowing Sherry for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s fine. The shop isn¡¯t that busy anyway. So, what seems to be the problem?¡¹

    He seemed to be a nice person.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna asked me to make plushies of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan for her.¡¹

    ¡¸And by bear, you mean that?¡¹

    He said and nudged his head towards Swaying Bear, which was still sitting on top of the table.

    ¡¸Yep, that¡¯s Swaying Bear-chan.¡¹

    Temoka-san then took some time topare the measurements Sherry had written down in her notebook to Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Hmm, interesting. In this case, you can take a break from working here for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    Sherry was perplexed by his sudden proposal.

    Well, of course she would be surprised; she was just told to take a break from work.

    ¡¸Like I said earlier, we aren¡¯t a busy shop. Narl and I did just fine on our own before you started working here. Besides, I think this will be a good practice for you, so you should try making them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you so much!¡¹

    ¡¸However, once you¡¯re done, you have toe back here. There are still many things we have to teach you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Sherry replied happily.

    From the looks of it, she was in good hands.

    For some unknown reason, this couple didn¡¯t have children of their own, so they doted on Sherry like she was their own daughter.

    Headmistress had even talked to me about them maybe adopting her.

    ¡ºThose two are both nice people. I think it¡¯ll be fine as long as they treasure Sherry.¡»

    ¡ºI agree.¡»

    ¡ºWell, we will have to see if Sherry epts them as her parents on her own, though.¡»

    That was what our conversation had been like. I wasn¡¯t sure if my opinion had been of any help to her, though.

    For now, we just waited to see how things went; if the adoption was sprung upon her suddenly, Sherry might reject it. Headmistress had probably just told them to get along with her and treat her as their daughter.

    So, that was why I just watched how things unfolded while not saying anything.

    After all, all I had done was argue with my parents, so the only advice I could give was based on mymon sense.

    ¡¸Also, feel free to use anything from the shop to make those plushies.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, since making them will be practice for you.¡¹

    Temoka-san said, gently patting Sherry¡¯s head.

    Wait, I couldn¡¯t just let him lend me Sherry and also provide all the materials.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll pay for all the material costs and thebour fees, so don¡¯t worry about making mistakes and take as much time as you need, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    I intended on paying for everything from the start, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal anyway.

    I guess the only issue was that I didn¡¯t know how muchmissioning plushies cost. Making them from scratch should be quite expensive, right?

    ¡¸Just bill me all the materials used, including those of mistakes.¡¹

    Hmm, what an admirable thing this was for me to say. Well, there was much to learn from mistakes when creating things.

    Just like in the game, if one strategy against an enemy failed, then I would use a different one to ultimately win the fight.

    She would be making bear plushies, which nobody had tried before, so there was no need for her to worry about the expenses that would build up from the mistakes.

    ¡¸Temoka-san, please don¡¯t get angry if Sherry makes a mistake and wastes the materials, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t n on scolding her to begin with, you know.¡¹

    I felt reassured knowing I could leave Sherry in his hands.

    ¡¸Then, Temoka-san, can I start working on it today?¡¹

    ¡¸If I said no while you¡¯re making such an expression, I would probably be punished by the heavens. We have no urgent jobs, so feel free to start immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Sherry expressed her thanks for receiving permission.

    In order to not get in Sherry¡¯s way, I thanked Temoka-san and left the store.

    I really looked forward to seeing the finished product.

 Chapter 163 â€“ Bear-san Gets The Prototype Plushie

    Chapter 163 ¨C Bear-san Gets The Prototype Plushie

    The day after I had asked Sherry to make the Bear plushies, I finally asked Fina to disassemble the ck Tiger, which I hadpletely forgotten about again.

    We finally had the mithril knife, which could cut open the ck Tiger, something a regr iron knife couldn¡¯t do. The fact that Fina¡¯s dismantling skills were quite high also helped a great deal, of course. I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to dismantle a ck Tiger even if I had used a mithril dismantling knife.

    While Fina was disassembling the tiger, Shuri stood right beside her, learning the process enthusiastically.

    I wondered about this a lot, but what kind of person was I to make children do dismantling for me? Well, it was a bitte to ponder this now, so we could just say it was fine because this was another world, maybe?

    Anyway, thanks to Fina, I finally got a ck Tiger rug, so in order to thank her, I gave her some of the meat and other parts as well.

    Fina tried to refuse, of course, but I forced her to take it. She tried to exin to me that it was a high ss ingredient because it wasn¡¯t a monster often encountered, but I didn¡¯t really care about that.

    If it was delicious, it should be eaten, not sold.

    Hmm, maybe I should take it to Anzu and have her prepare it for me?

    The next day, I decided to head to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    It had been over a week since I had finished the request at the mine, so it should be properly processed by now.

    When I arrived at the guild, I immediately headed to the receptionist, Helen-san, and asked her about the request I had done at the capital.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you epted a request at the capital?¡¹

    She took my guild card and checked it for me.

    ¡¸The investigation as well as the subjugation of the golems at the mine is indeed marked aspleted.¡¹

    It matched what Gazar-san had heard.

    The golems were no longer appearing in the mine, so the miners had resumed their work. That meant that the golems had indeed most likely been spawning because of either the Mithril Golem or the Bearmonite.

    I was very curious about the Bearmonite I had obtained, but the Dwarf Country was far away, so it would be too much of a pain to get it checked.

    It would be great if I had a skill that could teleport me to any location I wanted. Well, the Bear Gate did that job quite well, so I couldn¡¯t reallyin.

    Anyhow, Helen-san returned my guild card to me, and I received the payment for my achievements on the request.

    ¡¸By the way, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that you renovated your store.¡¹

    ¡¸I did. What about it?¡¹

    ¡¸The female adventurers were talking about how you started selling this food that is really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, the cake.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Is it possible to reserve one? By the time I finish my shift, it¡¯s all sold out, and it¡¯s going to be a while before I get my next vacation. I really want to try it soon since I heard of how delicious it is, though...¡¹

    All other women at the reception desk nodded when Helen-san said that.

    Well, she was right about the cakes being popr; they were indeed always sold out by the time their shifts ended.

    ¡¸I went there the other day and asked if I could reserve one, but they told me I couldn¡¯t.¡¹

    Oh right, Terumi-san had indeed told me about the requests for reservations, but she had to refuse them all because there were simply too many. I somewhat remembered ignoring the issue and asking her to take care of it.

    ¡¸So, could you please make an exception, just for me?¡¹

    Helen-san asked me while putting her hands together.

    ¡¸Helen, it¡¯s not fair if you only ask for yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, how could you possibly only ask for your own share?¡¹

    The two women sitting at the reception desk next to Helen-sanined.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna-san¡¯s friend, so I can ask her to make an exception for me.¡¹

    When had we be friends? I wanted to say that, but I managed to keep it to myself.

    Leaving aside the question of whether we were friends or not, Helen-san had indeed been taking care of me ever since I had joined the guild.

    Besides, she didn¡¯t really need to reserve a cake since I had plenty of them in my Bear Box.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think we can hold onto a cake for you, but...¡¹

    ¡¸So, it¡¯s no good, huh...¡¹

    All the women showed sad expressions. They should at least finish listening to what someone had to say to them...

    ¡¸I have some cake with me now, so everyone in the guild can have some.¡¹

    I said and brought out an entire strawberry shortcake from the Bear Box, making their expressions instantly change.

    ¡¸This is the rumoured cake?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, make sure to split it up and share with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, how much do we have to pay for it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re all friends here. It¡¯s my treat.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Helen-san yelled out, stood up, and grasped my Bear Hand tightly.

    ¡¸T-thank you so much!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, the female adventurers were all boasting about how delicious it was; it was so vexing having to listen to them and not being able to eat it myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if you find it delicious, pleasee to the shop and eat it when you get your day off.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯ll request a day off just so I cane and eat it.¡¹

    The other receptionists followed suit and thanked me as well.

    With that, I was done at Adventurer¡¯s Guild and returned home to stay in and y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They would start sulking if I didn¡¯t take care of them every now and then, after all.

    I also had to reward them for working hard at the castle the other day.

    ¡¸Come here, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Once they trotted over, I embraced the both of them. If I wasn¡¯t wearing the Bear Costume, it would have most likely been difficult to hold both of them at the same time. It would be impossible to let them ride on my shoulders, like a certain yellow mouse liked to do.

    So, that was how I spent the rest of my day,ying around and ying with my Bears.

    As I was thinking about what to do the next day, somebody knocked on the front door.

    I went to open it and found Sherry standing there with a big bag on the ground next to her.

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning. Could it be that in that big bag next to you...¡¹

    The bag looked even bigger next to the small Sherry.

    It was obvious what was inside since she was the one who came here with it.

    ¡¸Yes. The plushies are done, so I brought them here. If you will like them, I¡¯ll make more of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Great,e in.¡¹

    Sherry hoisted up the big bag and entered the Bear House. She seemed to be having trouble with the bag, so I stepped in to help her. It was amazing that she had even managed to carry it all the way to my house.

    The moment Sherry crossed the doorstep, she noticed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on the sofa.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan! Hugging Bear-chan!¡¹

    She yelled out and rushed to sit down next to them on the sofa.

    She carried such a huge bag all the way to my house, so I made sure to offer her a cold drink.

    ¡¸Are the plushies inside this big bag?¡¹

    The bag was about the size of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms, so the plushies were definitely inside as they wouldn¡¯t both fit in a bag smaller than that.

    Hmm, should I give her an item bag?

    I nned on asking her to make me five sets, after all.

    ¡¸Yes, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies are in here. It was difficult to bring them since they are quiterge.¡¹

    She was smiling while saying that, but it was indeed obvious that a bag of that size was difficult to carry around. I definitely had to give her an item bag before she headed back home.

    Sherry then opened the bag and took out the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    I took the Swaying Bear plushie into my arms.

    Oh, this was well made.

    She had managed to make it look quite cute and the size was right on the spot as well.

    Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear both curiously approached their plushies, so I ced both of the plushies next to them on the sofa. Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear both looked at their respective plushies with interest.

    ¡¸Hmm, they don¡¯t feel quite the same...¡¹

    Sherry said,paring the bears to the plushies.

    ¡¸Is that so? They look the same to me.¡¹

    Or at least close enough.

    ¡¸The faces were difficult to get right since I couldn¡¯t recall it perfectly. They do look a bit different.¡¹

    She said a bit, and it really was only a bit.

    Was Sherry a perfectionist?

    ¡¸If you would let me take the two of them back with me, I could make the plushies look better.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t lend them to you, unfortunately.¡¹

    ¡¸I figured as much...¡¹

    Sherry said and lowered her head. Was the quality of the plushies really that important to her?

    They looked good no matter how many times I checked them, though.

    I wanted to do something to cheer her up, and a good idea crossed my mind.

    If I remembered correctly, when Sherry had been taking note of Swaying Bear¡¯s data, she had scribbled a simple drawing of Swaying Bear to make it simpler to write down its measurements.

    It must have been hard to get a good image with just a simple drawing. A photo would be very useful in this situation, but getting that would be impossible in this world.

    I could just draw it, then.

    I was a (provisional) picture book artist, after all. I could draw things other than just my deformed art.

    So, that was why I fetched some paper and writing tools.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to draw a picture of Swaying Bear for you, so use that as your reference.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you can draw as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, just a bit. Did you ever look at the bear picture books at the orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah! Could it be that you are the one who drew them?! I did think that the drawing of the girl was simr to Fina-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. That¡¯s why I can draw to some extent.¡¹

    I began sketching only after lining Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear up. Since Sherry had no problem with their body shapes, I decided to draw a big picture of their facial expressions.

    As I was drawing the two of them, a thought crossed my mind. Did I need to write down which one was which?

    She wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference since the drawing was ck and white. Maybe I should have used some color... Well, even if I colored it, it would still mostly be ck and white.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re really good at drawing.¡¹

    Sherryplimented me while watching from the side.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I finished the sketch soon after and handed it over to her.

    ¡¸I can make perfect plushies of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan with this.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to make them perfect. Honestly, even the ones you brought me today are good enough.¡¹

    I said and held up the bear plushies.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not good enough. I¡¯ll make them perfect.¡¹

    Sherry¡¯s enthusiasm was amazing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to put in that much effort. I¡¯m giving them to a girl that¡¯s around four years old.¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s a present, then I definitely have to try harder.¡¹

    ¡¸Sigh. Fine, but don¡¯t push yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, can I have these plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸They are prototypes, though...¡¹

    ¡¸I think my Bears like them, though.¡¹

    After I had finished sketching them, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had started to y with their respective plushies.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d they like them. Still, I will make them look exactly the same next time I bring them over.¡¹

    Sherry then thanked me and rushed out. I didn¡¯t forget to give her an item bag before that, of course.

    As the day wasing to an end, and I was thinking about what to do for dinner, Fina arrived at my house, out of breath.

 Chapter 164 â€“ Bear-san Receives An Invitation

    Chapter 164 ¨C Bear-san Receives An Invitation

    Fina was at my door,pletely out of breath.

    ¡¸Why are you in such a hurry?!¡¹

    ¡¸Because... this.... letter...¡¹

    I had no idea what she was trying to tell me.

    Before I listened to what she had to say, I took a bottle of water out of the Bear Box and gave it to her. She drank the whole bottle in one go before catching her breath.

    ¡¸Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what happened?¡¹

    I inquired again.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you receive a letter as well, Big Sis Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸No?¡¹

    Fina was grasping what seemed to be a letter in her hand.

    Well, I didn¡¯t really check my postbox very often.

    I thought nobody in this world would be sending me letters anyway. It had been the same in Japan. I hadn¡¯t even gotten any personal emails either; the only ones I had ever received had been those from the gamepany.

    ¡¸Please go and check your postbox, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Since Fina insisted so strongly, I went to check my bear-shaped postbox.

    Oh, there really was an envelope inside.

    I took it out and immediately noticed that it was of a high quality.

    ¡¸I knew you would receive one as well, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Fina said and sighed a breath of relief.

    I had no idea who would send me this letter, though.

    I looked at the sender¡¯s name.

    Who was Misana Faren Gramm again? I faintly recalled hearing that name before.

    ¡¸Is this person your acquaintance?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? It¡¯s Misana-sama. We ran into her on our way to attend the king¡¯s birthday party. The noble, Misa-sama.¡¹

    Ah, I remembered now.

    Misa was Misana¡¯s nickname.

    Still, why would Misa send me a letter?

    I headed back into the house with Fina to hear the details.

    ¡¸Fina, did you read yours already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I have... It¡¯s an invitation to Misa-sama¡¯s birthday party...¡¹

    ¡¸An invitation to her birthday party?¡¹

    I broke the seal on my envelope, took out the letter, and quickly scanned over it. Just as Fina had said, it was an invitation to Misa¡¯s party.

    ¡¸So, leaving you aside, why did Misa-sama send an invitation to me, amoner? This is a Noble-sama¡¯s birthday party!¡¹

    Fina said while anxiously staring at her letter.

    Well, if wepared the two of us, Fina, who made friends easily, was more likely to be invited to the capital than me. If I wasn¡¯t wrong, they had met with each other a few times in the capital while I had been running errands.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, what happens if I refuse?¡¹

    There was no point in asking me that since I didn¡¯t know, either.

    Well, based on mymon sense, refusing would most likely be considered rude.

    She would probably need a good enough excuse to refuse an invitation of this sort. I honestly had no knowledge of noble etiquette, especially the one of this world. Also, this was a pain for me as well since I had never gone to any birthday parties back in my world. Not to mention, this was a party for nobles. I had nothing against Misa, but if other noble families were attending, then I didn¡¯t want to go.

    Also, attending a birthday party in a Bear Suit?

    All the girls there would be wearing beautiful dresses; I would look like some sort of aedian wearing my Bear Suit. So, for a different reason than Fina, I also wanted to refuse the invitation myself. Could we refuse it, though?

    Since neither of us knew much about nobles, we couldn¡¯te up with a good answer no matter how much we pondered about it.

    In that case, we had to ask somebody who did know.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll have to ask Cliff and Noa, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama and Noa-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸If we got the invitations, I¡¯m sure one was sent to Noa¡¯s mansion as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that makes sense.¡¹

    Since it was already gettingte, we decided to go to Cliff¡¯s mansion tomorrow morning.

    The next day, Fina came to the Bear House again, and the two of us headed to Cliff¡¯s mansion.

    We were greeted by the gatekeeper and taken to the same room as always. We sat down on the sofa to wait for Cliff when I noticed Fina seemed nervous.

    ¡¸Fina, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m okay.¡¹

    She definitely didn¡¯t look okay, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just that, knowing I¡¯m about to meet Cliff-sama is making me a little nervous.¡¹

    She had stayed at Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion and had even seen the king himself before, so there shouldn¡¯t be any reason for her to be nervous over meeting Cliff now, right?

    ¡¸Fina, you¡¯ve already met the king, so Cliff shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I just can¡¯t! Cliff-sama isn¡¯t somehow I could normally meet, and I¡¯m not of a social standing to be let into his residence. Am I even allowed to sit on this sofa? What will I do if he gets mad at me? Big Sis Yuna, would it be better if I stood instead?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay to sit. Also, if Cliff gets mad at you, I¡¯ll fight him on your behalf.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t get mad, so please don¡¯t pick a fight with me.¡¹

    Cliff said as he and Noa entered the room.

    ¡¸Were you eavesdropping?¡¹

    ¡¸We just heard thest part as we entered.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Yuna-san, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, sorry foring so early in the morning.¡¹

    ¡¸G-good morning. S-sorry for intruding.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t stand up as I greeted them while Fina jumped up and stuttered her greeting.

    ¡¸No problem, you¡¯re wee toe, no matter how early orte it is.¡¹

    Cliff and Noa sat down on the sofa across of us, so there was now a table in between us.

    ¡¸Thank you. Well then, sorry if thises out of nowhere, but mind if I ask you something?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure. It¡¯s regarding Misana, right? I was actually nning on sending someone to your ceter today.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you received a birthday party invitation as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, since the party will be hosted at Gran¡¯s ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san¡¯s ce?¡¹

    If I remembered correctly, Gran-san was the one who had helped me when I had been purchasing the plot ofnd at the capital.

    ¡¸In the letter, she also asks us to bring you two there.¡¹

    ¡¸Can we refuse it, though?¡¹

    ¡¸You n on refusing it?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, ifmoners like us go to a noble¡¯s birthday party, won¡¯t it cause trouble for Misa?¡¹

    As I said that, Fina nodded furiously in agreement.

    ¡¸I think it should be fine. The people invited are mostly her friends and family.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    Fina wanted to see Misa, but was still afraid of causing trouble by going to a noble¡¯s party.

    ¡¸Noa and I will both be going as well, so if anything happens, I will deal with it.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll be going too, Cliff?¡¹

    I realized it was the birthday party of a noble¡¯s daughter, but should Cliff, a feudal lord, really be leaving his town just to attend a birthday party?

    ¡¸Well, my daughters will be attending that one. The one I¡¯m going to is for Gran himself.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san will have a party too?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, he is celebrating his 50th birthday just before Misana hosts her own party. I¡¯ll be attending his party and since I¡¯m going there anyway, I¡¯ll just bring you all along. Normally, I don¡¯t really go to birthday parties, but it¡¯s his 50th. It will be a bit troublesome, but I don¡¯t intend on missing it. Misana¡¯s party is basically a bonus, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys should go; it¡¯ll be fun. I¡¯m sure Misa wants to see you two as well.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I¡¯m just amoner.¡¹

    Fina said and lowered her head in shame.

    ¡¸You two are both members of the Bear-san Fanclub, so it doesn¡¯t really matter that you¡¯re amoner.¡¹

    Wait a second, when had that fanclub been made?

    ¡¸Fina, don¡¯t you want to see Misa?¡¹

    ¡¸I do, it¡¯s just...¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t go, Misa will be sad. She might even cry.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh...¡¹

    ¡¸Misa went out of her way to ask me for your addresses and sent the invitations herself, you know.¡¹

    That was how it had been sent to our homes, huh.

    ¡¸I will feel sorry for her if you don¡¯t go.¡¹

    Well, it certainly made sense that she had sent the invitations because she wanted us toe.

    She surely hadn¡¯t sent them for some malicious reasons.

    ¡¸Think of it this way: wouldn¡¯t you be sad if you sent an invitation to Yuna-san, but she decided not toe?¡¹

    ¡¸I... I get it. I will go.¡¹

    When Noa put it that way, she made it impossible for Fina to refuse.

    ¡¸Since Fina will be going, you will go as well, won¡¯t you, Yuna-san?¡¹

    Fina looked at me. I couldn¡¯t possibly let Fina go by herself. If I said that I wouldn¡¯t go now, Fina would surely cry.

    Also, unlike Fina, I had no real reason to refuse the invitation; it was just that I found it troublesome.

    ¡¸I will go.¡¹

    ¡¸Yay! That means I can go on a trip with Bear-sans.¡¹

    That was his real aim, huh.

    ¡¸Well then, Fina. We should choose what we will wear for the birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Noa grabbed Fina¡¯s hand and started to drag her away.

    Fina looked at me as though she wanted me to save her, but I sent her off with a smile instead since I didn¡¯t want to get involved.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna?!¡¹

    Since Fina couldn¡¯t do anything to stop Noa, she got dragged out of the room.

    It was just picking an outfit; it wasn¡¯t like she was going to die.

    ¡¸Anyway, we will be departing from my house in the early morning five days from now.¡¹

    Cliff ignored his daughter¡¯s actions and continued our conversation.

    ¡¸Is Misa¡¯s town far from here?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. It takes about three days by horse carriage.¡¹

    In that case, my Bears would probably only take a few hours to get there.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I will have you to travel with us this time around.¡¹

    He was right; since we would be gathering at Cliff¡¯s mansion, I couldn¡¯t just go on ahead with my Bears.

    ¡¸Just so you know, I know nothing about noble¡¯s birthday parties. Is there something we must bring?¡¹

    ¡¸We will prepare the basic things you will need, but could you get a present that will make Misana happy?¡¹

    Ah, a present.

    ¡¸Can we give her jewels or clothing?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think Misana will be happy receiving those as presents.¡¹

    ¡¸You say that, but I have no idea what presents make noble girls happy.¡¹

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you give her those bear figures you decorated your shop with?¡¹

    ¡¸Would something like that really be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸If it was for our daughter, she would have been delighted.¡¹

    Well, he made sense.

    Wait, if she would be happy with the bear figurines from my shop, then wouldn¡¯t Sherry¡¯s plushies be good too?

    Giving girls plushies as a present had been a pretty standard thing back in Japan.

    ¡¸Thank you. I¡¯ll take it into consideration. So, you said we only need to prepare the present?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll be heading home, then. Can you take care of Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Yea, we¡¯ll look after her properly, so no need to worry about her.¡¹

    I was abandoning Fina...

    Cough, cough. Fina would take a while to find an outfit for the party, so it was okay for me to head home alone, right?

    A noble¡¯s birthday party, huh. I sure hoped it wouldn¡¯t turn out to be too troublesome.

    Was what I thought leaving the mansion.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I nned on starting the birthday arc after finishing up with plushies, but I just had no idea how to transition between the arcs... So, that¡¯s why the plushies arc will now continue together with the birthday arc.

 Chapter 165 â€“ Bear-san Advances To Commerce Rank E

    Chapter 165 ¨C Bear-san Advances To Commerce Rank E

    I had already decided on the present, but was that really the only thing I had to prepare?

    Since I could make cakes now, maybe I should make a birthday cake for her?

    Yeah, making a twoyered cake could be fun. I could also write ¡¸Happy birthday!¡¹on it with colored fresh cream.

    I should be writing it down on a chocte te, but I couldn¡¯t do that without chocte...

    I had all the ingredients for making the cake, so I decided to try making it the moment I got home. It would stay fresh in my Bear Box, so making it in advance wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Still, I should probably drop by Sherry¡¯s ce to see how the plushies were turning out first.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Just as I started to head towards the tailor shop, someone called out to me.

    I turned around to look, and saw it was Riana-san from the Commerce Guild. She was the one who had helped me purchase my plot ofnd here.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Riana-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are you on your way to the Commerce Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really, I don¡¯t n on going there today.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, did youe by yesterday?¡¹

    Emm, I hadn¡¯t been to the Commerce Guild for quite a while since there was no real reason for me to go there.

    Most (if not all) of the things concerning my shop were dealt with by Terumi-san, after all.

    Honestly, the only thing I had done myself had been the purchase of the plot ofnd.

    ¡¸I was sure that you would have already gone there. Did Terumi-san not mention it to you?¡¹

    ¡¸Terumi-san? I haven¡¯t really seen her the past few days. So, had something bad happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that your Commerce Guild rank went up. Yesterday, I asked Terumi-san to tell you toe to the Commerce Guild when you had time.¡¹

    ¡¸My guild rank went up, huh.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t recall doing anything, though.

    I had opened a shop, but I left everything to Morin-san, Anzu, and Terumi-san. Well, the sales must be affecting my Commerce Guild rank, so it made sense for it to go up.

    ¡¸Normally, it takes merchants a whole year to increase their rank to E, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. A new merchant starting a new trade has to work hard to bring their sales up. It takes about a year to get their business run smoothly enough to rank up. Many merchants who don¡¯t be sessful in a year¡¯s time just give up and quit.¡¹

    Unlike at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, it was difficult to get to rank E at the Commerce Guild, huh.

    ¡¸We still have to go through the procedure for increasing your rank, so if you have time right now, could youe to the guild with me?¡¹

    Hmm, now that I thought about it, even if I went to Sherry¡¯s ce now, she shouldn¡¯t have made much progress since yesterday. It should be better to go there in the afternoon and just prepare the cake tomorrow, right?

    Since I figured I was in no rush with other things, I decided to go to the Commerce Guild now.

    ¡¸By the way, why are you here, Riana-san?¡¹

    At this time, shouldn¡¯t she still be working at the guild?

    ¡¸I¡¯m here for work. It shouldn¡¯t be my job, but I was asked to do it. I could ask you the same, Yuna-san. You didn¡¯t need anything from the Commerce Guild, so why are you in the area?¡¹

    ¡¸I had some business with Cliff and was on my way back home.¡¹

    ¡¸With Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸There was something I wanted to ask him, so I went to his mansion this morning.¡¹

    Riana-san and I chatted about silly topics on our way to the Commerce Guild.

    Once we arrived, I noticed there were only a few people inside, probably because the early morning rush was already over.

    ¡¸Could you please wait a moment? I will return as soon as I finish giving my report.¡¹

    Riana-san said and headed to the back. I looked around for a ce to wait and quickly decided to sit on one of the chairs by the wall.

    Getting a different employee to rank me up would probably have been fine, but it was easier to wait for Riana-san since I knew her already.

    Hmm, I normally saw Mylene-san sitting at the reception desk, but she wasn¡¯t here today.

    Was she finally doing her actual job as the guild master properly?

    As I looked around the Commerce Guild, I noticed a few people staring at me. I still got those looks from time to time, huh.

    I covered my face with the Bear Hoodie, and kept waiting for Riana-san.

    Since I sat there quietly, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear two merchants speaking close to me.

    ¡¸You got a second?¡¹

    ¡¸What for?¡¹

    ¡¸Look, that¡¯s the child who wears the bear suit.¡¹

    ¡¸Dude, don¡¯t point at her. Don¡¯t look at her either.¡¹

    ¡¸W-why?¡¹

    ¡¸Haven¡¯t you heard about the young beardy?¡¹

    The merchant asked in surprise.

    ¡¸I only heard the rumour that the owner of the shop with the giant bear statues also wore a bear suit around town. I just wanted to ask you if that child wearing the bear suit is said owner.¡¹

    Sorry for being a child...

    I might look like this, but I was 15 years old, you know.

    ¡¸Are you new to this town?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I came from Mireera two days ago.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it. So, how much have you heard about that bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Only that a bear manages the bear shop, which was rmended to me when I asked for a shop that sells good food at the guild yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure you found its food delicious, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It was the first time I had something that delicious. And, when I asked about who ran the shop, I was told that it was a girl wearing a bear suit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, that Bear Missy over there should be the owner. Still, don¡¯t get any funny ideas, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Why? Don¡¯t merchants like to talk about making money? She could make a lot of easy profit if she just shared her cooking methods in other towns.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t even try that. You will be kicked out of the Commerce Guild for good.¡¹

    ¡¸Why would that happen?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s backed by the Foschuroze family and the Commerce Guild itself.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. That¡¯s why nobody from this town dares to even approach her. I have no idea how you nned on getting her cooking methods out of her, but she isn¡¯t someone you should pick a fight with.¡¹

    ¡¸If what you told me is true, then you¡¯re probably right...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your choice whether to believe me or not. I¡¯m just warning you as a fellow merchant.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll ept a warning from a fellow merchant and won¡¯t try to cross such a dangerous bridge, then.¡¹

    The merchant said while nodding in resignation.

    I had thought that fellow merchants would get along poorly, but it seemed like that wasn¡¯t true at all.

    Well, I had heard that merchants valued their connections, so it sort of made sense for them to get along.

    ¡¸A wise decision. As fascinating as the bear¡¯s recipes are, there isn¡¯t a single person dumb enough to pick a fight with that young beardy.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that makes sense if both the nobility and the Commerce Guild are backing her.¡¹

    ¡¸You really know nothing, huh.¡¹

    The other merchant said, amazed.

    ¡¸Why would you say that?¡¹

    ¡¸You know, that youngdy bear is also a rank C adventurer.¡¹

    So, my rank had spread, huh.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t like I was hiding it. Anyone could find out if they just looked into it.

    Although, that old guard who normally stood by the town entrance seemed very suspicious.

    ¡¸You bastard, are you making fun of me just because I¡¯m new to this town?!¡¹

    ¡¸You think I¡¯m lying to you? If you don¡¯t believe me, just ask anyone else. Every merchant from around here will tell you the same thing.¡¹

    ¡¸You must be joking...¡¹

    Yup, that was a joke, right? About everybody knowing, I meant.

    ¡¸Well, I warned you. Now, what you do is up to you.¡¹

    The other merchant said and left.

    The first merchant took another look at me then left as well.

    The rumours about me must have been spreading around again...

    ording to Noa, the Foschuroze family was backed by the royal family, and that was why things had been so peaceful till now.

    Though this was unrted to the merchants¡¯ conversation, I was sure that if anybody harmed the children working at my shop, they wouldn¡¯t be let off easily.

    This wasn¡¯t due to me being backed by the nobles, but rather, just Cliff making sure the children weren¡¯t bothered. I should probably thank him for that, but I was a bit reluctant to just genuinely admit that I was grateful for his help....

    While I was still pondering if I should openly thank him or not, Riana-san returned from the back.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Riana-san sat down at her reception desk and started the rank up procedure.

    ¡¸Here you go. Your Commerce Guild rank is now E.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I thanked her and took back my guild card.

    I had now officially became rank E, huh.

    ¡¸Normally, I should congratte you for bing a full-fledged merchant, but I feel like that doesn¡¯t really apply for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Bing rank E means bing a full-fledged merchant?¡¹

    ¡¸As I must have mentioned before, a new merchant has to pay ie taxes like any other merchant, and that makes their first year rather difficult.¡¹

    That made sense. It must take a lot of time to build a business from scratch and make sure that everything goes ording to ns. Without a good business understanding, it was hard to profit quickly.

    ¡¸You really are amazing, though. You already became rank E, even though you only joined the Commerce Guild a few months ago.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s all thanks to everyone working at my shop.¡¹

    They were all doing their best working hard for me.

    Hmm, I had to reward them somehow.

    ¡¸Well, in your case, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll also hit rank D pretty soon.¡¹

    She was probably right. I had the ie from the tunnel¡¯s toll fees, and the cake sales were going up day by day.

    Well, unlike with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild rank, there was honestly no real use in my Commerce rank going up at the moment.

    I thanked Riana-san again and left the Commerce Guild.

    Since I was hungry, I decided to go get something from the food stalls before heading home.

    When I finally reached my Bear House, a pouting Fina was waiting for me there.

 Chapter 166 â€“ Bear-san Makes A Birthday Cake

    Chapter 166 ¨C Bear-san Makes A Birthday Cake

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna! You¡¯re so mean! How could you leave without me!?¡¹

    Fina yelled at me and angrily clung onto me.

    I had thought that she was going to tackle me, but I still managed to catch her properly.

    ¡¸Sorry, but I thought choosing a dress would take a long time.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t just tell her that I ran away because I hadn¡¯t wanted to get caught up in it.

    ¡¸I look forward to seeing you in a dress, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you aren¡¯t going to wear one?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t look good in dresses anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true. I¡¯m sure that you would look beautiful in a dress.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    I knew she was just trying to tter me, but her telling me that still made me happy.

    ¡¸Oh right, Big Sis Yuna. I have something to ask you.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸What are we going to do for her birthday present? What should we get her? Well, Noa-sama said a present wasn¡¯t necessary, but don¡¯t you agree that we should bring something at the very least?¡¹

    Was Noa trying to be considerate of Fina because she was amoner?

    Well, some people were happy with people justing to their party and didn¡¯t care about the presents, and I was sure that Misa wouldn¡¯t mind not receiving a present if that meant Fina would be able toe to her party. After all, who would want to hear that someone couldn¡¯te just because they couldn¡¯t afford to bring a present?

    Fina didn¡¯t want toe empty-handed, but she most likely didn¡¯t know what sort of present would be eptable for a noble like Misa.

    Well, if I hadn¡¯t asked Cliff, I wouldn¡¯t know either.

    ¡¸There is no way I will be able to buy a present that will make Misa-sama happy.¡¹

    Fina said with a troubled expression.

    ¡¸Also, if I give her something weird¡­¡¹

    ¡¸How about we give her a present together?¡¹

    If Fina couldn¡¯t find a good present on her own, then sharing one with me wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea.

    Also, if people made fun out of it when they saw it, I would share her embarrassment.

    ¡¸Give her a present together?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, if we give her one together, you will feel less anxious, right?¡¹

    ¡¸True, but are you really okay with that?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯m thinking of baking a cake for her. What do you think?¡¹

    ¡¸A cake?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, and we can make it together.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really sure about making a cake for her?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. So, will you make one with me?¡¹

    ¡¸I will. Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Unlike her previous tackle, she now embraced me warmly.

    ¡¸I was thinking of also giving her Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies?¡¹

    Of course, she didn¡¯t understand because I had never mentioned them before.

    Rather than try to exin, I decided to show her the prototype plushies, which Sherry had brought me yesterday. Since they were now serving as my room decoration, I took Fina inside the Bear House.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna! What are these cute plushies?!¡¹

    Fina said and hugged the plushies tightly.

    ¡¸They look just like Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear!¡¹

    I thought so too, but I couldn¡¯t have managed to convince Sherry, who had the soul of a true craftsman. Her embroidery was very good as well, so maybe it was just in her nature to be a perfectionist.

    ¡¸I had Sherry make them for me. I was hoping to make Princess Flora happy with these, but I¡¯m sure Misa will like them as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she will definitely like them.¡¹

    Fina said and hugged the plushies tightly again.

    Did she maybe want them as well?

    Well, she was only ten years old. Also, she had lost her father at a young age, and her mother had been ill, so she had probably never gotten any children toys¡­ The same must have been true for Shuri.

    In that case, I should give them both some plushies as presents too. Although they were children who did dismantling work, they were still children nheless.

    Hmm, how many should I ask Sherry to make, then?

    If I asked for too many, it would end up being hard for Sherry to make them all on her own. I should probably discuss this with Temoka-san.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to Sherry¡¯s ce to ask her to make the plushies for Misa now. Did you eat lunch yet?¡¹

    I had already eaten some food from the food stands, but if she was hungry¡­

    ¡¸I ate it with Noa-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Were you fine with that?¡¹

    She must have been nervous eating with the nobles again.

    ¡¸Yes. It was only with Noa-sama, so I wasn¡¯t too nervous.¡¹

    She was okay with girls of her age, huh. Even though Noa was a noble, Fina must have felt much more at ease with her,pared to a feudal lord like Cliff. Besides, Noa wasn¡¯t like a daughter of some sort of malicious noble family that often appeared in manga or novels. She was nice to amoner like Fina.

    She did get a bit weird when it came to my Bears, but all in all, she was a good child.

    Since we had both eaten already, we decided to go straight to the tailor shop.

    Yet, just as we were about to exit the Bear House, the very person who we were going to see was standing right at the doorstep.

    Sherry looked a bit strange, though. She was swaying left and right.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, and even Fina-chan. Are you two going out?¡¹

    ¡¸We were just about to head to your ce, actually.¡¹

    ¡¸My ce?¡¹

    Sherry said and let out a small yawn.

    ¡¸I wanted to ask you for a favor, Sherry. Why did youe here, though? Did you finish the plushies already?¡¹

    It had only been one day. Wasn¡¯t that a bit too quick?

    ¡¸Yes. I made them without even taking time to sleep.¡¹

    She said and smiled.

    They weren¡¯t something I needed right away, you know. I quietly started pat her head. Why had you worked so hard? Sherry just kept smiling as I petted her head. She had eye bags like a panda¡­

    Could it be that she had gotten those panda eyes because she was making bears?

    I shivered at that thought.

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t really have to rush so much, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, but I just had too much fun making them.¡¹

    She was obviously tired, even though she was trying her best to smile.

    Hmm. I could heal her with my magic, but it was probably best to just let her sleep in this case.

    ¡¸I brought them with me, so would you mind taking a look at them?¡¹

    ¡¸Before that, I will lend you my bed, so go and catch some sleep.¡¹

    I had to get Sherry to get some sleep before I could even consider looking at the plushies.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    She definitely didn¡¯t look fine. Not only was she swaying side to side, she also kept yawning.

    ¡¸Go to sleep!¡¹

    I told her strongly this time.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy that you worked so hard to make these for me, but I didn¡¯t want you to sacrifice sleep over them.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna¡­¡¹

    ¡¸So, go get some sleep right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Sherry obediently said and nodded.

    I let Sherry into the Bear House and led her to my room. She fell asleep the moment she got into my bed.

    ¡¸Good night, Sherry-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Why were you trying so hard?¡¹

    I said as I petted her head.

    I could see that Sherry was having a lot of fun making the plushies and that she was in no way forcing herself to do it, but that didn¡¯t mean she should be sacrificing her sleep over them.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because everyone wants to be of use to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Of use to me?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re a benefactor of everyone at the orphanage.They all respect you and are all happy to be of help to you in any way they can.¡¹

    Fina exined to me.

    I understood that Sherry wanted to help me, but it still troubled me that she had stayed up all night to make the plushies for me.

    Besides, I was no benefactor, nor was I someone to be respected. I just did what I wanted to do.

    I had given the children of the orphanage a job just because I had found out about clucker eggs by some chance. I had asked them to help at the shop because we had known it would have been busy and that we had needed more people.

    Also, everybody was working for me, and that meant I had to repay them, not the other way around. There was no reason for them to thank me. To put it more bluntly, the whole thing was just give and take.

    They did their jobs, I paid them money, and got what I wanted. I had to exin this to Sherry, so that she wouldn¡¯t keep working without even taking time to sleep.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, what should we do? Sherry-chan won¡¯t be able to make the plushies like this.¡¹

    ¡¸We should bake the cake first, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    So, we began making the birthday cake.

    Well, we were just going to make a basic strawberry shortcake with the only difference being that it would have twoyers.

    I made the sponge cake for the bottomyer while Fina took care of the top one. We then split some whipped cream between ourselves and finished creating the cake together.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I¡¯m going to write it, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    I left the role of writing down¡¸Happy Birthday¡¹ to Fina.

    ¡¸Uuu, I¡¯m nervous.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay even if you mess up, so don¡¯t worry and just write it.¡¹

    ¡¸O-okay.¡¹

    Fina took a deep breath and began to write with strawberry whipped cream. She did it slowly and carefully wrote down each letter.

    ¡¸I¡­ I did it.¡¹

    Fina said, finally releasing her breath.

    ¡¸We¡¯re done, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Happy birthday¡¹ was now written in nice pink letters on the top of the cake.

    ¡¸I hope Misa-sama will like it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure she will. We worked hard to make it, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we did.¡¹

    ¡¸We should put it away before something bad happens to it.¡¹

    I said, put the cake into a container, and sealed it tightly with a lid before cing it into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, your item bag is so strange. The food you put inside doesn¡¯t spoil at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s made out of a special material, after all.¡¹

    I really did appreciate it being able to do so. I just couldn¡¯t ept the fact that all my abilities came from the Bear, though. I would be happy if at least this effect was unrted to the Bear¡­

    Well, it was better than getting thrown into another world without anything at all.

    After the cake was safely stored away, we cleaned the kitchen, and by the time we finished, Sherry came down from upstairs.

 Chapter 167 â€“ Bear-san Makes Plushies

    Chapter 167 ¨C Bear-san Makes Plushies

    Sherry walked into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes.

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis Yuna, Fina-chan.¡¹

    She looked sleepy, probably because she had just woken up. She looked a lot better now, at least.

    ¡¸Did you sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸I did. What are you two doing?¡¹

    ¡¸We just finished making a cake.¡¹

    ¡¸A cake! You two made a cake?!¡¹

    Sherry reacted strongly at the word ¡®cake¡¯, and her sleepy expression disappeared in an instant. Well, she was a girl, after all.

    ¡¸Do you want some?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I really?!¡¹

    Was it really okay for her to eat right after waking up, though?

    I looked at her face, and she seemed pretty excited, so it should probably be fine.

    ¡¸Just one slice, though. It would be a problem if you couldn¡¯t eat the dinner Headmistress and the other children prepare for you.¡¹

    I got both of the girls to sit down and took out a cake from the Bear Box. I cut three slices, one for each of us.

    ¡¸It looks delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸You okay with ck tea?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m fine with it.¡¹

    I took out the tea and poured it just like L-san had shown me. Soon, a nice fragrance started to drift around. With everything in order, we began to eat.

    ¡¸Ahh, it¡¯s so good.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Fina and Sherry both seemed to be enjoying the cake. It had been a while since Ist had some cake too. Cake was delicious, as long as I didn¡¯t eat it too often.

    ¡¸Oh right. Big Sis Yuna, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies are both finished.¡¹

    Right, the very reason Sherry hade to my house was so that she could deliver the plushies.

    Sherry took the plushies out of the item bag I had given her yesterday.

    ¡¸It... It¡¯s so cute.¡¹

    Fina reacted strongly and embraced the Swaying Bear plushie. That left the Hugging Bear plushie for me.

    Both plushies looked simr to the ones she had brought over yesterday, but these two did look a bit better.

    ¡¸Their faces were a real challenge to get right.¡¹

    Sherry said and pointed at the head of the Hugging Bear plushie.

    She then happily proceeded to exin in detail what parts were the most difficult and how she had managed to ovee them. She really liked sewing, huh.

    ¡¸By the way, Big Sis Yuna. Did you need something from me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I do. There¡¯s a girl I want to give the plushies to. Could I ask you to make some more plushies for me in five, no, four days time?¡¹

    I said then looked at the plushies in front of me.

    She had already finished them, didn¡¯t she?

    I could just give these two to Misa and have her make the ones for Princess Flora and the other childrenter.

    I happily looked at the Hugging Bear plushie again just as Sherry asked me something.

    ¡¸Bi-Big Sis Yuna. About those plushies, uhm, could you wait just a bit longer than normal?¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸Ehm, you see... when I was making the plushies at the orphanage, some of the younger children wanted to have them, but when I told them I couldn¡¯t give it to them because I was making them for you, they ended up crying, so... I promised to make them their own plushies. I will pay for the materials myself, of course. Also, I will make you new plushies within four days, I promise. That¡¯s why, you see...¡¹

    Sherry lowered her head as if this was difficult for her to say.

    Acting like this, even though she was a child as well...

    ¡¸You can give these two to the children. Also, I will still pay for the material costs of all the plushies, so you don¡¯t have worry about that at all.¡¹

    I was nning on giving some plushies to the children at the orphanage anyway. It would just be a bit earlier like this. As long as I got the plushies for Misa before we left in five days, there should be no problem.

    ¡¸Will two be enough for all the children, though?¡¹

    There were a lot of young children at the orphanage. Two plushies surely wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    If they ended up fighting over them, they could damage the plushies. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s hands and legs might even get ripped off. Even if they were plushies, that would be sad. Sherry, their maker, would surely be sad as well.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll work hard to make enough of them!¡¹

    The way she said that made me a bit worried that she would skip sleep again.

    I should really talk to Temoka-san.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t skip sleep anymore, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸...Okay.¡¹

    I was definitely worried, so I made Sherry promise me that she wouldn¡¯t start making them today.

    Since I also wanted to help her out a bit, I decided to go to the tailor shop tomorrow.

    ¡¸Get plenty of rest tonight. If you look tired tomorrow, I¡¯ll get mad at you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Sherry replied and headed back to the orphanage.

    She still seemed a bit suspicious, but I would just have to believe her for today.

    When I returned to the house after seeing off Sherry and saw that Fina was still standing there, I suddenly remembered something.

    ¡¸Oh right, I havepletely forgotten. Fina, can you tell Terumi-san that my Commerce Guild rank just went up?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, your rank went up?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, I raised it today. This is all thanks to the hard work of Morin-san, Terumi-san, Anzu, and all of the children from the orphanage.¡¹

    Thanks to the children of the orphanage looking after the cluckers, I got eggs to make things like pudding and cake.

    Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s dishes were both very popr while Terumi-san yed a big role as she was the one supervising everything. She made sure that both the shop and the Commerce Guild got enough eggs, stocked up on ingredients and regted the prices for my shop, and kept track of the sales.

    It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Terumi-san was a true manager of everything. Hmm, when I put it this way, wouldn¡¯t it be a huge problem if Terumi-san quit?

    ¡¸Fina, please tell your mother not to quit, okay?¡¹

    I asked Fina with a serious face.

    ¡¸Umm, I don¡¯t really get it, but I can just tell her that, right?¡¹

    Fina tilted her head trying to understand the meaning behind my words then left the Bear House.

    The next day, Fina and I headed to the tailor shop, and when we got there, Narl-san and Temoka-san were in the middle of setting up the shop.

    ¡¸Good morning. Is Sherry here yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she came in early. She¡¯s in the back, making plushies.¡¹

    Now I was worried if she had properly slept or not. After getting permission from Temoka-san, I headed to the back.

    ¡¸Morning, Sherry. Did you sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I did. I woke up early, though, and ended up interrupting Temoka-san and Narl-san¡¯s breakfast when I came here.¡¹

    Sheughed to y it off.

    Sherry had no panda eyes this time, so it looked like she had slept properly.

    ¡¸Did the children end up fighting over the plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems like they were about too.¡¹

    Sherry said andughed again.

    ¡¸Still, they quieted down when I told them that I would make one for everybody.¡¹

    ¡¸They are good children.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep!¡¹

    Sherry replied happily as if I just praised her actual younger siblings.

    ¡¸Okay then, is there anything we can do to help you, Sherry? We¡¯ll do anything you tell us to.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯ll help you.¡¹

    ¡¸We can¡¯t work as quickly as you, though. Even Fina and Ibined can¡¯tpare to you. We will do our best work at half your pace, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Would you mind if I joined you in that case? I think I can be half as useful as Sherry myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Temoka-san?!¡¹

    Temoka-san was now standing at the door, which I had left open on my way to the back.

    ¡¸Temoka-san, what about your job?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about that. The shop isn¡¯t busy anyway.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t something he should be saying proudly...

    Well, I had nned on asking him for help since making the plushies for all the younger children of the orphanage would take a lot of time. I didn¡¯t n on making him work for free, though.

    ¡¸Temoka-san, I will pay you for your work, then.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want money; I just want to join in on the fun.¡¹

    After saying that, Temoka-san walked over to Sherry, and listened to the instructions on how to make the plushies.

    This guy was definitely losing his battle against life.

    Still, although I had no intention of taking advantage of Temoka-san¡¯s kindness, I knew nothing about making plushies.

    Whenever I was troubled, I called for Terumi-san. Hmm....

    I whispered into Fina¡¯s ear to get Terumi-san for me, and she left the shop without objections.

    I then headed over to Sherry to help her in any way I could.

    Sherry and Temoka-san had already begun the preparations.

    ¡¸Umm, so what should I do?¡¹ I thought silently.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can I leave the tail and ears to you?¡¹

    Sherry said and proceeded to give me a few pointers to help me start out. Making the tail was probably possible, at the very least.

    Following Sherry¡¯s instructions, I managed to slowly make several tails and ears, and after a while, Fina returned, bringing Terumi-san with her.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s a rather busy morning, you know.¡¹

    Terumi-san seemed to be angry.

    Well, of course she was going to be mad; I called for her during the morning rush hour.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. There¡¯s just something I wanted to ask you to do for me, no matter what.¡¹

    ¡¸I heard from Fina. It¡¯s plushies this time, right?¡¹

    She seemed exasperated, but still smiled.

    ¡¸Well then, I will go speak to Narl-san now, so don¡¯t mind us.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Terumi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Also, I won¡¯t quit or anything, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡¹

    Terumi-san said and shed another smile my way before leaving the backroom.

    I wondered what that was all about for a while before remembering that I had asked Fina to pass on a weird message to her yesterday.

    I really needed to thank Terumi-san for everything she did for me.

 Chapter 168 â€“ Bear-san Departs For Sheelin

    Chapter 168 ¨C Bear-san Departs For Sheelin

    The plushies we would be giving Misa as a present werepleted the day before we would depart for her party. Since it would act as a present, we made sure to tie a red ribbon on each of them.

    ¡¸It¡¯s finally done.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I hope Misa-sama will like them.¡¹

    From what Noa had told me, Misa was already a part of the the Bear-san fanclub, so these plushies would definitely make her happy.

    I put the plushies into the Bear Box so that we wouldn¡¯t forget to bring them. It would have been bad if we had forgotten them.

    Sherry and Temoka-san were both resting in a corner of the room, finally done with today¡¯s work.

    ¡¸I¡¯m exhausted.¡¹

    Sherry said something unusual for her while slumping against her chair.

    ¡¸Thanks for the hard work.¡¹

    ¡¸Everybody just wants so much of them...¡¹

    Even though the children at the orphanage didn¡¯t normally show their selfish sides, the plushies were something new and rare, so most of the younger children wanted one of their own.

    Sherry had told me that the children who cried a lot stopped just by hugging a plushie. Getting the children to sleep was easier as well. Headmistress was very thankful for the plushies because of that. I was really happy to hear that the plushies were of use to them.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, how many more plushies do I have to make?¡¹

    ¡¸With the ones for the children at the orphanage...¡¹

    I had to give them to Princess Flora and the queen. Hmm, Noa would definitely want a set of her own, and I shouldn¡¯t forget about Fina and Shuri. I also wanted some spares to keep as well... So, doing a quick calction, I got to...

    ¡¸Can you make ten more sets?¡¹

    ¡¸That many?!¡¹

    ¡¸I need some spares as well. Well, I¡¯m not in a hurry with those, so take your time. If Temoka-san has other work to do, please prioritize that instead.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m getting paid for making the plushies for you, so I can¡¯t just neglect this job either, you know.¡¹

    Well, Terumi-san had helped me negotiate, so I could ask them without any reservations, right?

    The next morning, Fina and I arrived at Cliff¡¯s mansion at the arranged time.

    Cliff, Noa, and two escort guards were already waiting for us with three horses. Wait, there was no carriage?

    ¡¸You¡¯re here, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Are wete?¡¹

    ¡¸No, we just came out a minute ago.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Fina, good morning!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, you¡¯re so energetic even in the morning, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯m going on a trip with Bear-sans.¡¹

    She looked like a child on its way to the amusement park.

    She was really looking forward to going on a trip with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, huh.

    ¡¸Ready to head out?¡¹

    Cliff asked and got onto the horse.

    ¡¸We¡¯re not going by carriage?¡¹

    I asked just to make sure.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no point if nobody is going to use it, right?¡¹

    There were three horses, all already taken by Cliff and the two guards.

    So, only Noa was left over.

    ¡¸Noa said she wanted to ride your bears, so I figured bringing a carriage would bepletely unnecessary, and we will also be able to travel faster this way¡¹

    That was fine and all, but what if it rained?

    We would most likely just have to find shelter if that happened, huh.

    ¡¸Can I ask one more thing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are there only two guardsing with us?¡¹

    When he had gone to the capital previously, Cliff had brought five guards with him.

    ¡¸We will be traveling a shorter distancepared to the time I went to the capital. Also, we have you with us. I was actually nning on going without any guards, but Rondo refused to let me go without at least two guards.¡¹

    ¡¸But, you aren¡¯t paying me for escorting you, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Speak to Rondo once wee back and have him pay you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding, I don¡¯t really need payment. Still, keep it in mind for when I bother you with somethingter on.¡¹

    ¡¸I must warn you now: there are things that even I cannot do.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, if there will be anything like that I will just ask the king instead.¡¹

    The king owed me one as well, after all.

    ¡¸You say some scary things. Sadly, I know you¡¯re serious, which makes it even worse. I guess I will have to take the bait since you¡¯re indeed lending me your services. Just let me know if somethinges up.¡¹

    I seeded in getting Cliff to owe me another favor.

    He didn¡¯t realize that if I kept umting these small favors, I could turn them into a big one. I had nothing to ask of him at the moment, so I was just saving them up for now.

    Once we got out of the town, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The thought of horses being startled by them crossed my mind, but the horses just stayed still. I worried every time even though past experiences had shown me that it should be fine.

    ¡¸Looking at them again, they¡¯re just amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan! Hugging Bear-chan!¡¹

    Since Fina and Cliff already knew about my summons, they didn¡¯t react as much.

    The two guards, however, were shocked when they saw the bears getting summoned.

    One person got really excited, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san! Which one will you let me ride on?! If possible, I want to ride on them both!¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll do the same asst time then, and switch between them. Start with Swaying Bear for now, and we will switch halfway.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸Also, you should already know this, but Fina will be joining you as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Come on, Fina!¡¹

    Noa grabed Fina¡¯s hand and pulled her to Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸N-Noa-sama...¡¹

    Swaying Bear lowered its back to let the two of them climb onto it. I got onto Hugging Bear, so I wouldn¡¯t be the one to dy our departure.

    ¡¸Okay, ready to head out?¡¹

    Like actual escorts, one of the guards took the front while the other took the rear, and we headed out.

    Just a few minutes into the journey, however, I found our pace slow, and I had no trouble knowing why.

    It was because we had to match the horses¡¯ pace. I hadn¡¯t traveled with a horse in quite a while now, but were they always this slow? Once again, I had to acknowledge that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were just too quick.

    Now that I thought about it, what speed were Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear really able to travel at? I didn¡¯t have a speedometer to gauge their speed, so I couldn¡¯t really find out, but I did know that they were faster than horses at least.

    ¡¸Noa! Don¡¯t you feel like we¡¯re going a bit too slow?¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Yeah, it does feel a bit slow. I¡¯m just happy I got to ride the Bear-sans; it¡¯s been so long since thest time.¡¹

    Noa said, clinging onto Swaying Bear¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸Oh right, Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of ce is Sheelin anyway?¡¹

    Sheelin was the town Misa lived at.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not much different than Crimonia, but we will pass by another town on our way there, and that town gets a lot of traffic since it¡¯s closer to the capital. Well, thanks to you, there are more peopleing in from Mireera, so Crimonia gets more traffic these days as well.¡¹

    Well, from what I saw, we were heading in a direction a bit west from the capital. That must have been how we had met Gran-san before on our way to the capital.

    We moved towards Sheelin at a steady pace, stopping from time to time to let the horses rest. We switched Bears during these stops, of course. They would sulk for sure if I didn¡¯t treat them equally.

    Soon, the sun was already setting, and the guard in front turned back to speak to Cliff.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, I think this will be a good ce to stop for the day.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s set up camp for tonight here, then.¡¹

    Cliff told everyone after speaking with the guard.

    I thought it was still a bit early, but it was as good a time as any. The horses didn¡¯t have unlimited stamina, unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They had to rest, so they could travel tomorrow.

    ¡¸Father, we¡¯re camping here?¡¹

    We were on the main road with a dense forest on the left ahead of us.

    ¡¸Yes. Monsters mighte out from that forest ahead if we camp there. Since we didn¡¯t go by carriage, we traveled quite a distance, so we don¡¯t really have to force ourselves to keep going today.¡¹

    Cliff exined to her while getting off his horse and tying its reins to a nearby tree. The guards did the same with their horses, of course.

    I also got everyone off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to let them rx a bit.

    They weren¡¯t speed maniacs (at least I didn¡¯t think so), but having to slow down their normal speed stressed them out a bit; they had wanted to speed up countless times on our journey.

    Hmm, this probably meant that I wasn¡¯t really suited for escorting. Well, even if I ever got asked to escort someone, I would most likely refuse since it sounded boring.

    ¡¸Yuna, you can bring out your house, right?¡¹

    ¡¸My house? Oh, the Bear House, you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. You don¡¯t have worry about bringing it out in front of these two guards; their lips are sealed.¡¹

    Hmm, the Bear House, huh.

    I did want to sleep in a soft bed and take a bath.

    ¡¸At the very least, I would like my daughter to stay with you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be fine, father. I¡¯ll sleep together with the Bear-sans.¡¹

    It seemed like Noa was getting used to the fact that she could be ¡®together with Bears-sans¡¯.

    Well, the guards had seen the Bear House before when I had taken care of the ten thousand monsters, so I had no real reason to hide it.

    ¡¸Okay. Some people might pass by this area, though. Could we go to that spot there, with the three trees?¡¹

    I pointed out the spot a bit away from the road.

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡¹

    After getting Cliff¡¯s permission, I moved to that spot and took out the Bear House there, making sure to use the trees as coverage. When it got dark, nobody should be able to see it.

    Cliff and the guards also tied their horse reins to the trees.

    ¡¸Well, I knew you could store big things like the ck Viper in your item bag, but it¡¯s still surprising to see a house brought out like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, I would have been happy with camping outside.¡¹

    Noa murmured while gazing at the Bear House with a sad expression.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, Noa. I will keep Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear out to protect us, so you can still sleep together with them.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    I nodded.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I want to sleep with them as well.¡¹

    Fina interjected happily.

    ¡¸Then, how about all three of us sleep with them?¡¹

    I said and turned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into their cub forms then approached the door to the house.

    ¡¸Well then, we will keep a lookout.¡¹

    The guards said and started to feed the horses.

    I knew that they have their job as guards, but it felt a bit awkward having the two of them sleep outside while we stayed inside the house.

    ¡¸These two will know if any monsters or peoplee near, so you don¡¯t need to keep a lookout, you know.¡¹

    I said, pointing at the Bears by my feet.

    The guards looked at the Bears before looking at each other.

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    The two of them looked at Cliff in the end.

    ¡¸Yuna, are you sure? Just as they say, they are here to watch the surroundings.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no need for that at night. Instead, they should just work hard during the day.¡¹

    Traveling all day got boring, so the guards might fall asleep tomorrow if they stayed up tonight.

    ¡¸Okay then, you two can rest for the night.¡¹

    The guards both bowed to thank me.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, thank you very much.¡¹

    After that, I led everybody into the Bear House to spend the night.

 Chapter 169 â€“ Bear-san Spends The Night In Her Bear House

    Chapter 169 ¨C Bear-san Spends The Night In Her Bear House

    ¡¸Sorry for intruding...¡¹

    Although Fina and Noa had been inside the Bear House countless times before, they still entered it like any other house.

    ¡¸Thest time I came in here was when I heard that unbelievable story at the capital.¡¹

    Oh right, Cliff had been inside the Bear House before too.

    Cliff¡¯s two guards followed him in.

    ¡¸Father, you have been in this house before?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Just once though, and only for a couple of minutes.¡¹

    While Cliff exined to Noa, I noticed that the two guards had just stopped dead in their tracks, as if they weren¡¯t sure what they should do.

    ¡¸Okay, I will prepare a meal, so take a seat wherever you like.¡¹

    ¡¸I already brought along some food, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone is worn out from the journey, so I will prepare something warm to eat.¡¹

    ¡¸I will help you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    Fina and Noa both offered to help me.

    I had nned on making something that didn¡¯t require their help, though. Still, I decided to let them help me so that I would not hurt their feelings.

    ¡¸Alright then, I will ept your kindness. You two can take a rest as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Will that really be okay?¡¹

    One of the guards asked while looking around the room nervously.

    It was safer than camping outside, so I couldn¡¯t understand why they were so nervous.

    Still, if they just kept standing there with their huge bodies, they would get in the way of my cooking.

    ¡¸If you keep standing there, you will be in my way, so please sit down.¡¹

    I told them bluntly.

    ¡¸Do as she says.¡¹

    The guards looked at each other again before finally sitting down.

    Now that they were seated, I headed into the kitchen.

    ¡¸Could you two help me set the table?¡¹

    After giving some more instructions to Fina and Noa, I took out some of Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s vegetable soup from the Bear Box.

    I thanked the Bear Box for keeping the bread fresh and the soup warm, before evenly distributing the food into the bowls Fina and Noa brought me.

    ¡¸Okay, can you take these to the table?¡¹

    I handed the dishes to Fina and Noa, who didn¡¯t waste any time in taking everything to the table while I prepared some drinks.

    Would this be enough?

    I prepared seconds and then returned to the dining room.

    ¡¸Yuna, I really appreciate this.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it. Now then, I know you¡¯re all hungry, so hurry up and eat.¡¹

    They didn¡¯t waste any time and started eating.

    Morin-san¡¯s bread was delicious as always, and Anzu¡¯s soup was great as well. I felt like having rice tomorrow, so I considered making some. In that case, some meat would go very well with it, but did I have any meat dishes stocked?

    If not, I would just have to make one.

    ¡¸I never thought that I would be able to have a meal like this while traveling.¡¹

    Cliff said while I was figuring out tomorrow¡¯s menu.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is delicious.¡¹

    Noa said while eating happily.

    ¡¸There¡¯s more, so let me know if you want seconds, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Can I have some more soup, then?¡¹

    As I poured some more soup into Noa¡¯s bowl, one of the guards looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, if I may, I would like some more of this delicious bread.¡¹

    ¡¸I would like some more as well, please.¡¹

    The two guards asked timidly.

    Morin-san¡¯s bread was delicious indeed.

    I gave the guards some more bread.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can I have some more soup too?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure thing. Fina, you should eat more, or you won¡¯t grow up to be as big as me, okay?¡¹

    When I said that, the atmosphere in the room changed. Like, it got quiet. It felt strange, as if everybody was wanting to say something, but didn¡¯t know if they really should.

    Had I said something weird?

    That atmospherested until Fina finally responded.

    ¡¸Y-yeah. I will eat a lot and grow up to be big like you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Here¡¯s more bread for you, then.¡¹

    I gave her some more soup and bread.

    ¡¸Thank you, Bi-Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Does anyone else want seconds?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will have some.¡¹

    ¡¸Here, have some soup.¡¹

    The strange atmosphere finally disappeared, and everyone got a second serving.

    Once our stomachs were full, I was able to sit down and rest.

    ¡¸I¡¯m getting sleepy now that I¡¯m full.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    Fina and Noa said, both looking quite sleepy indeed.

    ¡¸Take a bath before you go to bed, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay...¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    The two of them replied sleepily.

    On our way to the capital, I had made sure that they had taken a bath, so they shouldn¡¯t find it weird taking one now. However, there were still some people here who found it strange.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a bath here?¡¹

    Cliff asked me.

    ¡¸This is a house, so isn¡¯t it normal to have a bath?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s true, but this is still different, right?¡¹

    Cliff asked and looked around to see if anybody else agreed with him.

    ¡¸Father, any house would have a bath.¡¹

    Noa disagreed with him. Fina also nodded in agreement to her statement.

    The two guards didn¡¯t look convinced, though.

    ¡¸Besides, you can¡¯t clean yourself and rx after a day¡¯s journey if you don¡¯t take a bath.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, you three will go after we girls are done.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re taking one too?!¡¹

    ¡¸Of course you are. I can¡¯t have you guys getting into my beds all sweaty.¡¹

    Who did they think was going to have to wash and dry their bed sheets...?

    ¡¸A bed...¡¹

    ¡¸This ce is next to the main road with nothing around, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but being able to have a delicious meal, take a bath, and even sleep in a bed...¡¹

    Cliff waspletely amazed hearing that he could sleep in a bed while the two guards just whispered amongst themselves.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯m going to wash the dishes, so the two of you can take a bath first.¡¹

    ¡¸Ehh... Yuna-san, aren¡¯t you going to join us?¡¹

    ¡¸I have to take care of the dishes first.¡¹

    There was no way I could take a bath knowing there were dirty dishesying around.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, can you please leave the dishes to us? We don¡¯t feel right not doing anything...¡¹

    The guards asked me.

    Well, that would help me out, plus the two of them would be happy, so I epted and decided to take a bath with Fina and Noa instead.

    ¡¸Oh right, feel free to treat yourselves to any drinks in the fridge.¡¹

    I told the men before heading to the bathroom with Fina and Noa, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear following close behind.

    Once we reached the bathroom door, I asked the Bears to keep watch for us.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think anybody will try to barge in, but if they do by any chance, stop them for me, okay?¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried out softly in reply.

    ¡¸They¡¯re noting in with us?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I need them on lookout duty.¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t think any of those three would try to peep on us, but it was better to be safe just in case.

    ¡¸I hoped they woulde with us, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that can¡¯t be helped. Should we go in, then?¡¹

    Once we entered, I took off my Bear Suit and got into the bath.

    For a Japanese person like me, the day only ended when I took a bath.

    I couldn¡¯t really enjoy the bath at my own pace since the other two were rather noisy, but it was refreshing enough.

    After we got out of the bath, we returned to Cliff first.

    ¡¸The bath is free now, so go ahead, you three.¡¹

    ¡¸Emm, what happened to your suit?¡¹

    My suit?

    Oh, he was talking about the White Bear Suit I was wearing now.

    ¡¸It¡¯s for sleeping.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re a bear even when you sleep?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the white bear outfit is cute as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Your pajamas are cute too, Noa. Yours too, of course, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    As weplimented each other, Cliff just watched us with a stunned expression.

    ¡¸What the heck is going on? We are in the middle of a trip, right? We are still next to the main road, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Father, what are you saying? Did you turn senile already?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. I was just thinking if any of this is supposed to be normal.¡¹

    That just made it sound like we weren¡¯t acting normally.

    ¡¸Oh right, Cliff, can we talk about the room assignments before you guys take a bath?¡¹

    ¡¸If there¡¯s a bath, there must be bedrooms as well, huh.¡¹

    Why was he stating something so obvious?

    ¡¸There are three bedrooms upstairs. The first room is mine, and I will sleep there together with Fina and Noa. You guys can use the other two rooms.¡¹

    ¡¸Will that really be alright?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, you can take a room for yourself or share it with the guards; you three decide on that.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. We really appreciate this.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, we would be okay sleeping here, though.¡¹

    The guards pointed at the room we had just eaten in.

    ¡¸You will get in the way if you sleep there. I have bedrooms, so use those to sleep.¡¹

    I shut them up with a single line.

    ¡¸Well then, we¡¯re going to sleep, so turn off the lights after you¡¯re done taking your bath, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. We will gratefully ept your hospitality, then.¡¹

    Cliff replied before heading to the bath.

    We also headed to my room, with Fina and Noa following behind me, carrying Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear respectively.

    The bed in my room was bigger than the ones in the other rooms so that I could sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear at my sides even if they weren¡¯t in their cub forms. Still, with Fina and Noa, the bed might feel a bit cramped.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you sure there is enough space for the five of us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we will manage.¡¹

    I put the nearby table and chair into the Bear Box then took out another bed of the same size and put it right next to mine, making a double-sized bed.

    ¡¸There is no problem now, right?¡¹

    ¡¸How wide!¡¹

    Noa copsed onto the bed while still holding Hugging Bear, and Fina did the same soon after with Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸We have to wake up early tomorrow, so go to sleep straight away, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Hugging Bear-chan, let¡¯s sleep together.¡¹

    Noa said and continued to embrace Hugging Bear.

    Fina crawled under the nket, bringing Swaying Bear with her.

    I hoped that the Bears would be fine sleeping this way. Well, Fina and Noa weren¡¯t hugging them too tightly, so Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear shouldn¡¯t feel ufortable.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m turning off the lights now.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Good night, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Good night, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Good night, you two.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t take long for them to fall asleep, with me following soon after.

 Chapter 170 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Journey To Sheelin, Day 2

    Chapter 170 ¨C Bear-san¡¯s Journey To Sheelin, Day 2

    The next morning, I managed to get up without being woken up by anyone, probably because we had gone to sleep early.

    I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window, seeing only a faint light before the sunrise.

    I let out a yawn and stretched. Only then did I notice that Fina was up as well, holding Swaying Bear between her legs.

    (Note: Raw used Å®¤Î×Ó×ù¤ê . It looks something like this. The picture doesn¡¯t link to anything.)

    ¡¸Good morning, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning. You¡¯re up early.¡¹

    ¡¸We just woke up. Right, Swaying Bear?¡¹

    Swaying Bear cried out softly in response.

    Fina didn¡¯t seem sleepy, though, so maybe she actually woke up earlier than me.

    On the other hand, the other girl of Fina¡¯s age was still sleeping soundly.

    Even though she was sleeping, she kept embracing Hugging Bear. Her long and beautiful golden hair was even covering Hugging Bear¡¯s face.

    Hugging Bear appeared to have no problem with it, but I still moved the hair off its face just in case.

    Hugging Bear, which was obediently letting Noa embrace it with its eyes closed, opened them when I petted its head.

    ¡¸Let her sleep a little longer, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear...¡¹

    Noa talked in her sleep and pulled Hugging Bear closer to her.

    After patting her head as well, I climbed out of the bed.

    ¡¸Well then, Fina, I will go prepare breakfast.¡¹

    ¡¸I will help you.¡¹

    ¡¸No need for that. Instead, could you wake up Noa for me in a few minutes?¡¹

    I said as I changed into the ck Bear, and headed down to the first floor.

    Huh? Someone was already there?

    ¡¸Cliff?¡¹

    Cliff was sitting on a chair all by himself. I looked around and didn¡¯t see the two guards.

    ¡¸Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re up early.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s because I didn¡¯t sleep that well.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, did the bedding make you ufortable? I even put on a brand new bed sheet... Could it be that you can¡¯t sleep unless you¡¯re in a high quality bed?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. I couldn¡¯t rx after seeing you take a house out in the middle of the road and being told to sleep inside it.¡¹

    What an absurd reason.

    ¡¸Cliff, you¡¯re the one who told me to take it out.¡¹

    ¡¸I did, but that¡¯s for my daughter¡¯s sake. I had no idea it would hit me this hard, though.¡¹

    I would probably have a hard time rxing if I had to camp outside, though. Heck, I would be too scared to camp outside if I didn¡¯t have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me.

    ¡¸Are the guards still sleeping?¡¹

    Cliff was the only one here, so were the guards still asleep even though their master was awake?

    ¡¸No, they¡¯re working right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Working?¡¹

    Oh, it seemed like they had woken up and were doing their jobs.

    ¡¸Rabon is taking care of the horses, and Goju is cleaning the bathtub.¡¹

    Even though he told me their names, I had no idea who was who.

    ¡¸Taking care of horses and cleaning the bathtub, you said?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Goju is cleaning the bath to thank you for yesterday¡¯s meal and being allowed to use your bath.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you didn¡¯t tell him to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸No, he asked me on his own. I hope it isn¡¯t a bother?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not, it saves me the trouble of doing it myself.¡¹

    As soon as I responded, one of the guards entered the room.

    Hmm, who was this one?

    He came from the bathroom, so...

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, I have finished cleaning the bathtub.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, I would like to thank you for yesterday. The bath and the bed were very nice.¡¹

    Unlike Cliff, this guard seemed to have slept well.

    ¡¸That¡¯s good to hear. Cliff didn¡¯t find them as appealing.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t say that. I just couldn¡¯t rx, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    How was that different from what I had just said?

    ¡¸Anyway, thanks for cleaning the bathtub.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, we would like to thank you, instead, for letting us use it.¡¹

    He straightened his back as he thanked me, and for a second, I thought he was going to salute me.

    ¡¸By the way, where¡¯s Noa? You all slept together, right?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s still sleeping. I¡¯ll let her sleep until I prepare breakfast.¡¹

    ¡¸Should I go wake her up, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I already asked Fina to do it. Well then, I¡¯m off to prepare breakfast now, so you can just wait here, Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, I will go help Rabon first.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, go ahead.¡¹

    I went to the kitchen and prepared a simple breakfast. Just as I started cing everything on the table, Fina and Noa came down from upstairs with the Bears in their arms.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Father, good morning.¡¹

    Noa greeted us.

    ¡¸Morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Noa. Fina, breakfast is ready, so can you go outside and call the guards?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Fina said and headed outside while I used the time to finish setting up the table. Fina returned with the guards right on time, and we all sat down to eat, Fina and Noa setting the Bears aside, of course.

    ¡¸Cliff, how much further to Sheelin?¡¹

    I asked since I had no idea how far away Sheelin was. My Bear Map didn¡¯t show ces I hadn¡¯t gone to yet; if I opened it, the unknown areas were just ck voids. If Sheelin was still far away, I would take a nap on top of some high quality fur for sure.

    ¡¸We traveled quite a distance yesterday. Since we could already see the forest, we might be able to reach it tonight if we push our horses a bit. Still, it will trouble Old Man Gran¡¯s family if we arrive at night, so we should take it slow and camp out once more.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff, you¡¯re being considerate of the other side, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Even though we are friends, we would cause them trouble if we arrived in the middle of the night. We have no reason to hurry, either. We just have to make it in time for Gran¡¯s birthday party.¡¹

    Okay it was settled, then. Since we would only get there tomorrow, I would take a nap on top of Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear.

    Once we finished breakfast, I put away the Bear house, and we resumed our journey to Sheelin.

    We carried on peacefully, making sure to let the horses take frequent breaks. Everytime someone passed by, they looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in shock, but not much else happened.

    It was so peaceful that my detection magic didn¡¯t even detect any monsters.

    We ate lunch, but after a while, I got hungry again, so I had some potato chips on top of Swaying Bear. Noa and Fina looked like they wanted some as well, so I shared it with them as well.

    I would feel bad for Hugging Bear if they sprinkled it with crumbs, so I asked them to eat carefully. Just in case, I looked down at Swaying Bear¡¯s back and saw a lot of crumbs. I brushed them away carefully so that it wouldn¡¯t notice, but Swaying Bear turned its head back to look at me as if asking what was wrong.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    I said, trying to fool it.

    Eating chips made me thirsty, so I took out some fruit juice, but since the cup kept shaking, I realized it would be impossible to drink it. Hmm, I should probably get some canteens.

    Cliff had some kind of a leather waterskin, which he could drink from even while riding on a horse. I never had to drink something while riding, so the thought of needing a canteen hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind. Oh, Fina and Noa both had one as well. As expected of people who lived in this world; they were always prepared.

    As we were steadily advancing towards Sheelin, the guard in front told us to stop.

    I looked to see why and saw a stopped carriage in front of us.

    ¡¸Father, that carriage is stopped there.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it is.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did it stop, though?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure. Maybe it broke down, but there¡¯s the other thing as well...¡¹

    The other thing?

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, I will take a look, so please wait here.¡¹

    ¡¸Be careful.¡¹

    The guard nodded and rode towards the carriage.

    ¡¸Cliff, why did you tell him to be careful?¡¹

    ¡¸Just taking precautions, that¡¯s all. There have been cases of thieves luring in unsuspecting people who think there was an ident, and attacking them when the get close enough.¡¹

    Such things happened in another world as well, huh. I should probably be more careful, too, because even though I could easily handle a surprise attack from things like thieves, I could still end up getting others involved.

    Anyway, when the guard reached the carriage, a man came out from behind it. A woman and a child followed him soon after. They talked for a while, then the guard returned to us.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸The wheel of the carriage is stuck in the furrow, and they can¡¯t get the carriage to move.¡¹

    It had nothing to do with thieves, it seemed.

    ¡¸If we help them, could we get it out?¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t know unless we try.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright, we should at least take a look, then.¡¹

    We all headed over to the carriage.

    As we got closer I noticed that the woman was holding a baby and the child next to her was a girl, around Princess Flora¡¯s age. They were just a regr family, no matter how I looked at it.

    ¡¸Why, if it isn¡¯t Cliff-sama. We apologize for taking up the road.¡¹

    The man and woman both bowed. The little girl grabbed onto her mother¡¯s clothes as she looked at me. When I waved at her, she hid behind her mother.

    I wasn¡¯t that scary...

    ¡¸You know who I am?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we live in Crimonia and have seen you before, Cliff-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if I heard right, one of your wheels is stuck in a furrow, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Due to this bad luck, the carriage ispletely stuck. We¡¯re sorry for causing you trouble; I hope there is enough room for you to pass by on the other side of the road.¡¹

    ¡¸Rabon! Goju!¡¹

    Cliff called out to his guards.

    The two of them got off their horses and headed to the wheel that was stuck in the furrow.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if we will be able to help, but we will try at least.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, to have you lend us help...¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have a better idea?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, no, but...¡¹

    ¡¸With four men here, I think we can make it work out somehow.¡¹

    ¡¸Please wait, Cliff-sama. Let the three of us try first.¡¹

    One of the guards proposed, not wanting Cliff, a noble, to dirty his hands with such work.

    Well, that made sense. I had never seen a noble lift a carriage, not even in manga or novels.

    ¡¸Thank you for helping us.¡¹

    The husband said with another bow, and then, together with the guards, tried to lift the carriage. The carriage didn¡¯t even budge, however.

    Could it be that this was my turn to shine?

    Wait, if I lifted something that even three grown men couldn¡¯t, wouldn¡¯t that be kind of weird?

    Pretty sure I would have been made fun of if I had told them that it was ¡®The power of the Bear¡¯.

    ¡¸I will help, too.¡¹

    ¡¸No, we can¡¯t have you helping us, Cliff-sama.¡¹

    The man tried to refuse his help.

    Well, it wasmon sense that a noble shouldn¡¯t be lifting carriages.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re citizens of my town. It¡¯s my job to help you.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama...¡¹

    The man couldn¡¯t refuse Cliff after such a kind gesture.

    Letting Cliff try seemed intriguing, but it was about time for me to step in. I felt bad for the family, after all.

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you let me try?¡¹

    ¡¸You?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup.¡¹

    I nodded and recited the spell for earth magic, making the furrow rise. Naturally, the wheel rose along with it.

    I had filled in the furrow, too, so it was like killing two birds with one stone. With this, other passing carriages wouldn¡¯t get stuck in it, either.

    Eh, why didn¡¯t I just lift it back out, you might ask me? I could use spells, so why would I do something as silly as that? Besides, everyone would have looked at me weirdly if I had done that.

    ¡¸You know, if you could do something like that, you should have said so straight away.¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to let you act like the kind feudal lord you are so you could show off your good points.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m a normal person, unlike you.¡¹

    No, he wasn¡¯t. He was a noble.

    ¡¸Um, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Bear-san.¡¹

    The little girl hiding behind her mother also thanked me. She had been staring at me the entire time.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not scary, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I know.¡¹

    ¡¸My daughter is a fan of yours.¡¹

    ¡¸A fan?¡¹

    ¡¸When she saw you in town, she kept saying ¡®Bear-san, Bear-san¡¯ happily.¡¹

    Really?

    She hid behind her mother the entire time, so I figured she must have been scared of me.

    ¡¸Why are you here, though? You don¡¯t seem like merchants to me.¡¹

    ¡¸My mother lives in Sheelin. We went to visit her to show her our newborn son. We were on our way back to Crimonia when this happened.¡¹

    The man said while gently patting the baby¡¯s head.

    ¡¸I see. I hope that he grows up to be a healthy boy. I know that raising children is difficult, so keep it up.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you for your concern.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, we will continue on our way. Be careful on your way back, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Again, thank you for helping us. You really saved us.¡¹

    ¡¸The one who saved you is this bear here.¡¹

    ¡¸It was nothing, so don¡¯t worry about it. You do have your children with you, so make sure to travel safely.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we will.¡¹

    After exchanging farewells and seeing that their carriage was moving properly, we resumed our journey to Sheelin.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It seems like I will be able to post a chapter every three days now.

 Chapter 171 â€“ Bear-san Reaches The Faren Gramm Residence

    Chapter 171 ¨C Bear-san Reaches The Faren Gramm Residence

    The day after we helped out the family with their carriage, we finally spotted Sheelin in the distance, just before lunch time.

    Its gates seemed simr to those of Crimonia.

    ¡¸Cliff, wait a moment.¡¹

    I called out to Cliff and stopped Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸There will be panic if we approach the town with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Would you mind if I unsummoned them here?¡¹

    It was my first timeing to this town, so I didn¡¯t want to do anything that would make me stand out.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. You may unsummon them here.¡¹

    Cliff said while nodding towards Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Ehh, I have to part with the bears?¡¹

    Noa protested and clung onto Swaying Bear¡¯s head. Meanwhile, Fina obediently climbed off of Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just unsummoning them for a while. I would feel bad for them if the vigers were afraid of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Just make them into baby bears, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if she summoned them in their cub forms, we would still have to put them in a cage while we¡¯re in town.¡¹

    Cliff helped me convince her.

    ¡¸Noa, do you want the bears to go into a cage?¡¹

    Noa shook her head.

    ¡¸Besides, you¡¯ll be together again when we head back home.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay...¡¹

    Noa said and obediently climbed down from Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Thank you for letting us ride you. Please take care of us on our way back as well.¡¹

    Noa patted them onest time before saying goodbye.

    I then unsummoned the Bears and started walking towards the town. It was already close, so we shouldn¡¯t have any problems getting there on foot.

    Noa and Fina both followed me withoutining.

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to reach the town gate, where I went through the usual ordeal of inquiring looks and ¡®bear¡¯ whispers. Even though I was used to this happening in every new town I entered, it still felt ufortable, so I pulled down my hood to cover my face.

    ¡¸Your identification cards, please.¡¹

    A guard at the gate asked us.

    As soon as he saw Cliff¡¯s card, though, his facial expression changed.

    ¡¸You¡¯re free to enter.¡¹

    As expected, once the guard realized Cliff was a noble, his attitude changed drastically.

    Cliff took back his card, touched the crystal board that checked if he was a criminal, and stepped ahead into the town, allowing for others to get checked as well.

    Noa and Fina had no trouble, either; all they had to do was show their citizenship cards.

    Once it got to my turn, and I showed him my guild card, though...

    ¡¸You¡¯re the adventurer Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    The guard asked,paring the card with me.

    Was he surprised that a young girl like me was an adventurer? Or, was it my rank which surprised him?

    Wait, could it be my newmerce rank, maybe? Yeah, he was probably shocked to see a merchant Bear.

    ¡¸Is there a problem?¡¹

    ¡¸No... Please touch the crystal board and head in.¡¹

    I took back my card and did as he said.

    The crystal board didn¡¯t turn red, of course, since I wasn¡¯t a criminal.

    ¡¸These people are all guests of the Faren Gramm family. No need to report their arrival to the higher ups as I will be taking responsibility for them.¡¹

    Cliff said, turning back to face the guard.

    ¡¸Yes, sir!¡¹

    The guard said after straightening his back.

    How admirable of Cliff to vouch for us.

    Anyway, we were able to head to Gran-san¡¯s residence without any additional trouble.

    A few minutester, however...

    ¡¸They are staring at us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, they are.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are they looking at us, though?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, everyone is staring at us, so...¡¹

    ¡¸......¡¹

    Cliff, the guards, Noa, and finally Fina allmented before looking at me.

    ¡¸Maybe they are staring because Cliff and Noa are nobles.¡¹

    With the guards escorting them, the two of them stood out for sure.

    If I saw nobles walking out and about, I would look at them and wonder what was going on as well.

    ¡¸No, they¡¯re all looking at you! You¡¯re wearing a bear suit, after all.¡¹

    Cliff said exasperatedly, finally remembering what must have been the reason.

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you say so in the beginning, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I had just forgotten how out of ce and weird your suit is. You corrupted me before I knew it!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san¡¯s suit is not weird but cute! People are looking at her because they think she looks cute.¡¹

    Noa didn¡¯t seem to be lying when she said that. Thank you for always having my back, Noa.

    Well, I was used to people staring at me, and I just wouldn¡¯t be able to live in this world worry free without my suit.

    ¡¸If you really don¡¯t like standing out so much, we can split up, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If we do that, I will go with Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going with Big Sis Yuna as well.¡¹

    Noa and Fina said, grabbing onto me.

    What nice children they were.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t do that. It would be too dangerous with just the three of you. Instead, we should hurry along and get to Old Man Gram¡¯s ce as quickly as we can.¡¹

    We couldn¡¯t really hurry, though, since we couldn¡¯t ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear here, so our only option was to walk.

    Cliff wanted to bring Noa up onto his horse, but...

    ¡¸I will walk together with Yuna-san.¡¹

    She rejected him, leaving him slightly hurt.

    Quickly walking down the road, while attracting more stares, we eventually arrived at arge mansion, about the same size as the Cliff¡¯s one.

    Nobles¡¯ mansions were huge no matter where I went, huh.

    There were even two guards standing in front of the main gate.

    ¡¸Good day, I¡¯m Cliff Foschuroze.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ve been waiting for you, Cliff-sama. Would you mind showing us your identification and invitation cards, so we can make sure everything is in order?¡¹

    Cliff did as they asked.

    ¡¸Thank you, everything seems to be in order. I¡¯m guessing the girl next to you is your daughter, Noire-sama? Somebody will being shortly to guide you inside, so please wait just a moment.¡¹

    One of the guards headed into the mansion while the other one looked at me curiously.

    ¡¸By the way, is this girl wearing a bear suit your attendant?¡¹

    Rather than being suspicious of how I was dressed, it felt like he was troubled by how he should interact with me.

    ¡¸No, the ones apanying me are these two guards. She is here to attend Miss Misauna¡¯s birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸Misauna-sama¡¯s party... If you have an invitation, would you please show it to me?¡¹

    Fina and I both handed over our invitations.

    The guard quickly scanned them over and thenpletely changed his attitude.

    ¡¸Please excuse my rudeness.¡¹

    He said, straightening his back.

    It seemed that as long as one had an invitation, they were treated as guests, no matter if they were amoner, an adventurer, or a bear.

    Soon after, a maid came out of the mansion.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, sorry to keep you waiting.¡¹

    The maid said and gave Cliff a polite bow.

    She looked to be about twenty years old and had brown hair. She was quite pretty, in fact.

    I had already thought about this with L-san, but did nobles choose their maids based on their looks?

    Most of them were beautiful, after all.

    ¡¸Meshun, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it has. I¡¯m d that you¡¯re doing well, Cliff-sama. Noire-sama, you¡¯ve grown so big.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I¡¯m taller now.¡¹

    They already knew this maid, it seemed.

    After the maid finished giving her greetings to Cliff and Noa, she turned to me.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting, Yuna-sama, Fina-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸You know about us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I¡¯ve heard about you from Misana-sama and Gran-sama.¡¹

    Meshun-san said and smiled.

    What had they said about us, I wondered. We hadn¡¯t spent that much time together, so it shouldn¡¯t be anything strange, right?

    ¡¸Please follow me. I¡¯ll be showing you to your rooms.¡¹

    ¡¸Would it be possible for me to see Old Man Gran first?¡¹

    Cliff asked Meshun-san as we began walking.

    ¡¸Yes, no problem, but he¡¯s greeting some other guests right now.¡¹

    ¡¸When he has time, then. Could you let him know?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    After walking through the mansion for a while, Meshun-san stopped in front of a door.

    ¡¸Cliff-sama, Noire-sama, please use this room.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, I have to be in the same room as Father?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-sama and Fina-sama will be staying in the room next to yours. The guards will stay in a room down the hall.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to be in the same room as Yuna-san and Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸There are only two beds in each room, unfortunately.¡¹

    ¡¸I can sleep together with Fina. Fina, you¡¯re okay with that, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I will just sleep on the floor, then.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t let you do that. Let¡¯s sleep together.¡¹

    ¡¸If you really are okay with that, Noa-sama...¡¹

    Meshun-san gave Cliff a troubled look.

    ¡¸Sorry about this, Meshun. I¡¯ll be fine by myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. In that case, Cliff-sama, please use the room here. Yuna-sama, Fina-sama, and Noire-sama, please use the room next to his.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Would you like to have lunch?¡¹

    ¡¸Lunch would be good. Will you prepare it for us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I will bring it to your rooms immediately.¡¹

    I wanted to take a walk through the town and eat at some food stands, though. Well, I probably shouldn¡¯t be going off on my own, right?

    ¡¸Well then, I will now show your guards to their room as well.¡¹

    Meshun-san said and took the two guards with her.

    Well, we were inside a guarded mansion, so letting them leave shouldn¡¯t be a problem at this point. Heck, Noa even took walks around Crimonia all on her own from time to time, so there should really be no reason to have them still tagging along.

    Cliff didn¡¯t seem to be concerned at all and entered his room.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, let¡¯s go into our room.¡¹

    Noa said and dragged me into our room, which really, as I immediately noticed, only had two beds.

    ¡¸Ahh, I¡¯m so tired...¡¹

    Noa said, flopping down on top of one of the beds.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, is it really okay for me to be here?¡¹

    Fina worried about what to do while standing by the door.

    ¡¸I kind of want to ask the same thing about myself....¡¹

    Amoner and an adventurer. Neither of us had the social standing to participate at a noble¡¯s party.

    We wouldn¡¯t be here if I didn¡¯t have to.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, why did your expression turn dark all of a sudden?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I was just thinking about the party, but at least the one we are going is Misa¡¯s and not Gran-san¡¯s..¡¹

    Misa¡¯s party was only for friends and family, after all.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not fair. Yuna-san and Fina should go to Grandpa Gran¡¯s party too.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have invitations, though. Also, unlike Misa¡¯s party, Gran-san¡¯s party will have many nobles attending, not just his family and friends.¡¹

    Just that fact alone was enough for me not to want to attend.

    ¡¸If I had a choice, I wouldn¡¯t want to attend either.¡¹

    Fina backed me up.

    ¡¸Uuu, even you¡¯re against me, Fina...¡¹

    Noa started pouting.

    Fina tried tofort her just as somebody knocked on the door. It was Meshun-san, bringing our food.

    ¡¸Your meal is ready.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Father?¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff-sama went to give his greetings to Gran-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for us to eat without him, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I already set his portion aside, so you don¡¯t have to wait for him.¡¹

    Cliff was giving his greetings to Gran-san, huh. Was it really okay for us not to go as well?

    Well, if we had to, Cliff would have told us to apany him. I really didn¡¯t know much about this world¡¯s etiquette, though...

    We proceeded to eat our meal and discussed what we were going to do in the three days before Gran-san¡¯s party. Then, the door swung open....

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I will be releasing once every three days for now and see how it goes.

 Chapter 172 â€“ Bear-san Explores The Town

    Chapter 172 ¨C Bear-san Explores The Town

    The door swung open, and Misa¡¯s head peeked inside before she rushed into the room.

    ¡¸Big Sister Noire!¡¹

    ¡¸Misa!¡¹

    The two of them embraced each other, excited by their reunion.

    Misa then looked at us happily.

    ¡¸Yuna-san and Fina-chan, you two came as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we did receive an invitation from you, after all.¡¹

    How could I tell her that we wanted to refuse when she was smiling like that?

    ¡¸Misa-sama, I would like to thank you...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to be so polite.¡¹

    Fina tried her best to give a formal greeting, but was interrupted by Misa.

    ¡¸Everyone whoe for grandfather¡¯s party also give their greetings to me. I¡¯m tired of them already.¡¹

    Being a noble sure seemed troublesome.

    Luckily, I was just a humble adventurer.

    Hmm, looking at Noa, though, being a noble didn¡¯t seem that difficult. Maybe it was just because Misa was having a party.

    ¡¸Could it be that you came here to escape from them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. When I heard from Meshun that Big Sister Noire arrived, I escaped from my room toe here.¡¹

    Misa said, with a big smile on her face.

    Was it really okay for her to leave her room like that?

    ¡¸Oh right, Misa. Is it okay for us to take a walk around the town?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I think it should be. Some other guests also went out.¡¹

    Well, that made sense. There was no way they could keep us in our rooms until the party. People wouldn¡¯t put up with that.

    ¡¸Okay then. Fina, want to take a walk around town with me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯d love that.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go, too.¡¹

    Noa said, raising her hand.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think you can juste with us, Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Why not?!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you need to get Cliff¡¯s permission first?¡¹

    Noa was a noble, after all.

    ¡¸Fine, I will go and get his permission then!¡¹

    Noa said, darting out of the room.

    Just a momentter, however, she returned together with Cliff.

    ¡¸I got his permission!¡¹

    That was just too fast, not to mention that she even brought Cliff back with her. Well, from what Meshun-san had told us, he had met with Gran-san, and he must have juste back from that.

    ¡¸Yuna, can you take care of Noa until the party?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. What are you going to be doing, though?¡¹

    ¡¸I have work to do. There are many people I have to meet, after all. I also have a few things to discuss with Old Man Gran. And, because of all that, I won¡¯t have much time to spend with Noa. There¡¯s no way I could make her stay in her room until the day of the party, of course, and I know I won¡¯t have to worry if she¡¯s with you.¡¹

    I was rather pleased by the fact that Cliff trusted me.

    ¡¸Noa, I¡¯m letting you go outside, but you must not wander away from Yuna, okay? If you run off and she won¡¯t be able to protect you, I won¡¯t let you go outside again.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Father. I will make sure to stay close to Yuna-san. Even if I have to cling onto her, I won¡¯t leave her side.¡¹

    She said and grabbed onto me.

    I pulled her off of me then turned to Misa.

    ¡¸Okay, we¡¯re going to take a walk around town, so could you please tell Gran-san we said hi?¡¹

    I asked her to deliver the message for us, so we could head out immediately.

    ¡¸I-I want to go, too.¡¹

    Misa said.

    I would feel bad for her if she couldn¡¯te with us, but, just like Noa, we couldn¡¯t take her without getting permission first.

    If we were to take her along, she needed permission from either Gran-san or her parents.

    Her parents? They weren¡¯t dead or anything, right?

    If my memory wasn¡¯t failing me, they should be alive. When we had met Misa on our way to the capital, she had mentioned something about her parents going there ahead of her.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind taking you with us if you get permission from your parents first.¡¹

    I would be troubled if they thought I kidnapped her, after all.

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    I saw no problem in adding another person or two to our sightseeing group.

    Besides, Noa and Misa weren¡¯t the types to wander off on me.

    I trusted Fina the most, of course, as I knew she wouldn¡¯t do anything that would cause me worry.

    ¡¸Yes, as long as they allow you to go.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. I will go ask Father and Mother, then.¡¹

    Misa said and darted for the door, just like Noa had. Just as she opened it, though...

    ¡¸Grandpa!¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s this? So, this is where you¡¯ve been, Misa?¡¹

    Gran-san walked into the room.

    ¡¸Cliff, you¡¯re here as well, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I am really sorry for leaving so suddenly.¡¹

    Cliff said and bowed apologetically.

    ¡¸Now, no need to be so formal here.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did youe here, though, Old Man Gran?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that Yuna, who had taken quite good care of me back on our way to the capital, just arrived. I figured that I woulde and greet her.¡¹

    If anything, hadn¡¯t he taken care of me by guiding me through the capital, sorting out the bandit problem and even helping me purchase a plot ofnd at the capital?

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, right? Young Bear Lady, Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yes. I¡¯m Fina.¡¹

    Suddenly hearing her name being mentioned by Gran-san, Fina acted suspiciously.

    Also, my name wasn¡¯t ¡®Young Bear Lady¡¯.

    ¡¸Thank you foring for my granddaughter¡¯s party.¡¹

    ¡¸I came because I myself wanted to see Misa as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I appreciate it.¡¹

    He proceeded to thank me for saving them from the orcs again, and then....

    ¡¸Grandpa, can I go for a walk in town with Yuna-san and the others? They said they wouldn¡¯t let me go with them if I didn¡¯t get permission.¡¹

    ¡¸For a walk in town?¡¹

    Gran-san looked at me.

    ¡¸If Young Bear Lady goes with you, I see no problem with that.¡¹

    He was leaving her to me as well?

    Well, I didn¡¯t really mind it, and Misa also seemed excited toe with us.

    After finishing our greetings, the girls and I set out to sightsee the town.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really know this town, so I nned on just walking around. Does anybody have a ce they want to go?¡¹

    I asked them.

    ¡¸Any ce is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Wherever you want to go, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸I just want to get out of the house.¡¹

    Nobody had a specific ce in mind, huh.

    ¡¸Okay, then we¡¯ll just wander around a bit. But, stay close to me, okay?¡¹

    They all obediently agreed.

    As we wandered around, many people stared at us.

    A normal girl wearing a Bear Suit and three beautiful young girls.

    We were an eye-catching group, indeed.

    Wait, all I could hear was ¡®bear, bear, and bear¡¯.

    It seemed like the girls wouldn¡¯t start catching attention till they were a bit older, huh.

    Pondering when exactly that would be, I turned to the three of them.

    ¡¸Want to eat something?¡¹

    We had eaten lunch not long before going out, but wandering the town might have made them hungry.

    ¡¸Yes, I do.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind it.¡¹

    They all approved, so I asked Misa where we could find some food stalls.

    ording to her, just like in Crimonia, quite a few of them were lined up at the za.

    Food stalls were the quickest way of finding local specialties. I honestly wanted to check out other shops as well, but that might get boring for the girls, so food stalls would have to do.

    Just as we were about to reach the za, we crossed paths with a few girls and boys dressed in beautiful clothing. They all seemed to be older than Fina but younger than me. Next to them stood a guard-like person, wearing a ck mantle. This didn¡¯t mean muching from me, but it was a suspicious-looking figure.

    Judging by how the boys and girls were dressed, they should be nobles, right?

    When they noticed us, they smirked and looked at me. No, wait, they were looking at Misa.

    When she saw them looking at her, she hid behind me.

    Was there something wrong? Well, just by looking at them, I could tell that these children had bad attitudes. Their guard had an evil look as well.

    Still smirking, the group walked over to us.

 Chapter 173 â€“ Bear-san Hears About Sheelin

    Chapter 173 ¨C Bear-san Hears About Sheelin

    I wasn¡¯t sure if Misa knew these kids, but judging by the fact that she hid behind me...

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    Noticing Misa¡¯s behavior, Fina and Noa also grabbed onto my suit. At this rate, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move if something were to happen.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you no matter what happens. That¡¯s why, just in case if something does happen, please let go of my suit for now.¡¹

    They all obediently let go of it.

    Things would have definitely gotten messy if I had tried to move around while they were grabbing onto me.

    ¡¸And here I thought I just saw some weirdly dressed person, but you were standing right next to them, Misana. Are you taking this weird bear out for a walk?¡¹

    One of the boys said, making the othersugh.

    Crap, it had been a while since I wanted to hit someone so badly.

    There would be trouble if I hit a noble, though.

    It would be okay if I was the only one who got into trouble, but Gran-san might end up being med for it as well. Also, Fina, Noa, and Misa were all here. I couldn¡¯t let them get hurt because of me.

    Stillughing, the kids came right up to us, making Misa, who was still hiding behind me, even more frightened. Was she being bullied?

    If she was frightened, I had to protect her.

    ¡¸Can you please note any closer?¡¹

    I asked them.

    ¡¸What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m the guard of these children.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s this, Misana? You have a bear as your guard?!¡¹

    The boy and hisckeysughed again.

    This mood was getting quite sickening.

    ¡¸I guess a bear is pretty strong, right?¡¹

    The boy said andughed even harder.

    I didn¡¯t care that he wasughing at me, but him frightening Misa was pissing me off.

    She was literally shaking behind me.

    I noticed that Noa and Fina were holding her hands to support her.

    What good children they were.

    Anyway, it would be best to get out of here quickly.

    ¡¸If you have no business with us, then we¡¯ll be heading off.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait. I¡¯m talking to Misana right now. Misana, I will be going to Old Man Gran¡¯s party, you know. Why don¡¯t you thank me? Tell me, ¡®Thank you very much for attending his party.¡¯¡¹

    If he was going to Gran-san¡¯s party then he was a noble for sure.

    Gran-san must have it rough if he had to invite such an uneducated brat like him.

    ¡¸If you would like, I could evene to your birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have toe.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that attitude? I¡¯m telling you that I wille.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have toe.¡¹

    Misa repeats herself, making the boy angry.

    ¡¸Are you sure you should be saying that? Your family might end up being ruined, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    ¡¸You should try to get on my good side, you know. Then, even if your family gets ruined, I might consider hiring you as my maid.¡¹

    The boyughed again while Misa just looked down in silence.

    I didn¡¯t know what the situation was between them, but this kid was annoying, and Misa was upset.

    I had to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

    ¡¸Everyone, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    I ignored the boy and tried to leave.

    ¡¸Wait. I¡¯m not done talking yet.¡¹

    The boy walked over and tried to grab Misa¡¯s arm, but I stood in front of him to prevent him from doing so.

    ¡¸What are you doing? Move! You¡¯re just a guard wearing a weird outfit, so don¡¯t get in my way!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m getting in your way because I¡¯m a guard. I will not allow any further insults from you.¡¹

    We red at each other.

    ¡¸You think you can get away with defying me in this town? Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re a big shot just because you¡¯re some weirdly-dressed guard from the Faren Gramm family. Look, this is what a real guard should look like.¡¹

    The boy pointed at the man in the ck mantle.

    He did look quite strong, especially because of those evil looking eyes of his.

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t fooling me. How could a girl wearing such a stupid outfit be a real guard? Misana, if you end up at my ce, I¡¯ll even consider lending you one of my guards.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna is strong, so there is no need for that.¡¹

    Misa said proudly to defend me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s so great about this weird girl?!¡¹

    ¡¸You know, if you can¡¯t even go outside without your wonderful guard, why don¡¯t you just go back crying to your Mommy? ¡®Mommy! I can¡¯t even go outside without my guard!¡¯¡¹

    I mocked the boy to get back at him.

    ¡¸You bitch!¡¹

    The boy immediately got angry at my provocation.

    Wow, his boiling point was pretty low.

    Nobody must have ever made fun of him till now, huh.

    The boy tried to punch me in his anger, but I stopped his fist with the Bear Hand.

    ¡¸Dammit, let go!¡¹

    The boy tried to pull away, but to no avail.

    ¡¸Will you let us pass?¡¹

    I asked in a more serious tone.

    ¡¸Shut up! Blood!¡¹

    When the boy called out, the man in the ck mantle quickly moved forward to attack. He was faster than I had expected, so I had to let the boy¡¯s hand go to evade him.

    The boy lost his bnce and fell onto his back, making the girls behind meugh.

    It must have looked funny to hisckeys, too, since they also burst outughing.

    ¡¸You bitch!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not my fault. If you have aint, tell him. He suddenly tried to strike me. Also, didn¡¯t you order him to attack me yourself?¡¹

    The man in ck tried to help the boy up, but he shook away his hand and got up on his own.

    ¡¸Blood, do something about this weird bear!¡¹

    ¡¸Randall-sama, look around you.¡¹

    The guard warned the boy.

    Because of all themotion, people began to gather around us.

    When the boy noticed them, he became frustrated.

    ¡¸Tch, we¡¯re leaving.¡¹

    He told his followers then looked at me.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be let off easily for going against me.¡¹

    He said and finally left.

    Oh, did he just threaten us like all viins did before they left!?

    What was with his group ofckeys, though? They must also be somehow rted to Misa for sure.

    As we watched them leave, I felt Misa grab my suit again.

    ¡¸They left, so everything¡¯s okay now.¡¹

    In order for her to calm down, we found a bench and rested for a while.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong with that guy? Acting all smug like that.¡¹

    ¡¸He is Randall, from the Salbert family. They are the lords of this town.¡¹

    Noa answered my question.

    I knew it, he was a noble.

    Well, if he had gotten invited to Gran-san¡¯s party, he had to be a child of someone important.

    He was the type of noble I had imagined before meeting Cliff. A cheeky and self-centered type of person. I hated people like him the most.

    Still, a son of a lord, huh.

    ¡¸I thought that the lord of this town was Gran-san.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, grandpa is also a lord.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhh, can a town have two lords?¡¹

    This was the first time I heard of a town having two lords.

    I had never heard of anything like that back in my world.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know much about it, but a long time ago, both families were awarded this territory for their contribution to the war, and since they got well together, they just split it equally. But, as time passed, their rtionship worsened, bringing us to the situation of today.¡¹

    Noa exined to me.

    A town having two lords still seemed weird to me.

    Like, who took care of maintenance? Who collected the taxes?

    There had most likely been no problems when they had been getting along, but now that their rtionship has worsened?

    They must be fighting over money for sure.

    ¡¸I¡¯m surprised they can run the town like this.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because grandpa governs the east side, while the Salbert family governs the west.¡¹

    ¡¸You mean this town is split in two parts?¡¹

    Misa nodded.

    Could they really do that?

    Well, it seemed like they could, since the town was functioning like that. What an idiotic arrangement.

    Had the king been stupid back then?

    How could he have let two families run the same town just because they had happened to get along?

    As time passed, rtionships changed. There was no guarantee that their children would get along as well, especially when session of town¡¯s assets was on the line.

    When I had first met Misa, things had already seemed to be going poorly for her family. I was d that I hadn¡¯t ended up in this town instead of Crimonia when I had first came into this world.

    Yeah, thank God I had met Fina in the forest. If I had just walked in a different direction, I might have ended up here.

    I patted Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Eh, Big Sis Yuna?!¡¹

    Fina was surprised by my sudden patting, but I ignored her and continued our conversation.

    ¡¸Just because he¡¯s the lord¡¯s son doesn¡¯t mean he can be rude to you.¡¹

    ¡¸I hate him. He always says mean things to me.¡¹

    This was the first time I heard Misa using strongnguage like that.

    Well, he was cocky enough to demand appreciation for him attending a party.

    The problem probablyid with how his parents had educated him. I shivered, knowing that such nobles existed.

    ¡¸He attacks you like this every time?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and it¡¯s gotten worsetely. As soon as he sees me, he starts insulting Father, Mother, and Grandpa.¡¹

    When he had noticed Misa earlier, he had indeed had the look of a bully noticing his target.

    I could tell that he had a bad personality just by looking at his face.

    ¡¸And a guy like that has been invited to Gran-san¡¯s party?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because he¡¯s still the son of this town¡¯s lord. Grandpa didn¡¯t like the fact he had to invite him, either.¡¹

    Rtionships between nobles were just so difficult, having to invite people they didn¡¯t wanting.

    Hmm, this wasn¡¯t limited just to the noble society, was it? When you wanted to hang out with your friends, there were times when you had to invite people you didn¡¯t want to. I had never had this problem, of course.

    The same was true in the workce, judging from what I had seen in dramas and movies.

    Even though it was important to socialize, it was was just so troublesome, having to invite people you didn¡¯t like, just to keep your connections.

    ¡¸Were the children with him nobles as well?¡¹

    The boys and girls who were following Randall alsoughed at Misa, so they must be mean as well, right?

    ¡¸I think they¡¯re the children of this town¡¯s merchants.¡¹

    ¡¸Merchant¡¯s children?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I always see them together.¡¹

    Did that mean that they were there to tter him?

    What a sad life, having to sell themselves out on ttery at such a young age. They would have to bow down to him for the rest of their lives.

    It was the same with my world, though. When you went to school, you had to bow down to your upperssmen. When you went to work, you had to bow down to your superiors. It was never any different; you had to sell yourself out by ttering those stronger than you to lead an easy life.

    I had be a hikikomori so that I hadn¡¯t needed to struggle with impressing my seniors.

    Yeah, shutting yourself in was indeed the best way to avoid dealing with those types of troublesome, hierarchical rtionships.

    I bet the parents of those merchant children did the same.

    I could almost see the gaudy merchants borrowing the power of a lord to earn money illegally.

    Conversations like ¡®What a cunning fellow you are,¡¯ followed by ¡®Oh no, not as much as you, my lord,¡¯ must be a daily urence to them.

    Anyway, back to the problem at hand. I was also curious about that inexcusable statement he had made. Something about Faren Gramm family getting ruined soon.

    I was curious, but I also hesitated to ask Misa something as delicate as that.

    At this point I honestly didn¡¯t care for food anymore. What should we do, then?

    ¡¸What do you want to do now? Want to go home for the day?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay.¡¹

    Misa said with a smile, but she couldn¡¯t deceive me. It might have just been a fight between children, but I should probably talk to Gran-san about this. Dealing with nobles should be left to nobles, after all.

    If it had been a monster, I would have taken care of it myself, but this...

    Still, if we headed back now, Misa would feel responsible for it and me herself for ruining a fun sightseeing.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go wander around some more before heading home, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Great.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    The three of them replied happily.

    In order to cheer Misa up, I decided to hit some food stalls after all.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you sure we can have these?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about the money. Uncle, give us four skewers!¡¹

    I gave a skewer to each of them.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    The three of them seemed to enjoy eating them.

    I also got us some drinks to go with our skewers. Ah, this was such a bliss. If we just hadn¡¯t ran into that noble idiot, we would have had a great time. I didn¡¯t say that out loud of course, so Misa wouldn¡¯t get sad.

    Fina and Noa didn¡¯t mention what happened, either. They really were raised well.

    Although we didn¡¯t really look around much, Misa seemed to be in a better mood, so we decided to head back.

 Chapter 174 â€“ Bear-san Talks To Gran-san

    Chapter 174 ¨C Bear-san Talks To Gran-san

    When we returned to Gran-san¡¯s mansion, Meshun-san came out to greet us.

    ¡¸Wee back. I didn¡¯t expect you to return so quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸We ran into a bit of trouble.¡¹

    Meshun-san stared at me.

    It wasn¡¯t my fault, okay.

    Well, they had noticed us because of me...

    ¡¸We ran into an annoying brat called Randall, from the Salbert family. We came back early because of him.¡¹

    We had wanted to stroll around for a while longer, but none of us had been in the mood after that encounter.

    Meshun-san¡¯s smile disappeared when I mentioned Randall.

    ¡¸Randall-sama, you say? Did he do something to you?¡¹

    ¡¸He harassed Misa.¡¹

    Meshun-san quickly turned to Misa.

    ¡¸Misana-sama, did he hurt you?¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna protected me, so I¡¯m okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Yuna-san, thank you very much for protecting Misana-sama.¡¹

    Meshun-san said with a deep bow.

    ¡¸So, the families really don¡¯t get along, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸Sadly, yes. Our rtionship has been bad for a few years now, but it got even worse recently, especially Randall-sama¡¯s remarks towards Misana-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Has nobodyined to their family about his behavior?¡¹

    ¡¸We have, but it seemed to have had little effect. Before, they always told us things like, ¡®We¡¯ll keep a better eye on him,¡¯ or ¡®We¡¯ll scold him about it.¡¯ Lately though, they just say that parents shouldn¡¯t involve themselves in their children¡¯s arguments.¡¹

    This must have been the difference between how the bully and the bullied looked at the situation, huh.

    ¡¸In that case, shouldn¡¯t we report it to Gran-san at least?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that might be a good idea. Just talking to the parents isn¡¯t doing much, but Gran-sama might have more luck with it.¡¹

    ¡¸So, can I speak with him right now?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, since it¡¯s regarding Misana-sama, I think you should be able to. He¡¯s currently having an important discussion with Cliff-sama, however, and he told me not to let anybody near his study.¡¹

    It would be best to just go and try to speak to him now, and if he said no, I could juste backter.

    I told Misa and the others to head back to their rooms while I went to meet Gran-san.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going too.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be fine on my own. It¡¯s been a while since the three of you have been together, so why don¡¯t you go y in our room?¡¹

    I managed to convince the three of them then headed to Gran-san¡¯s study with Meshun-san.

    ¡¸Gran-sama and Cliff-sama are in this room.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I knocked on the door and entered when I heard a reply from inside.

    ¡¸Excuse me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna?¡¹

    Cliff and Gran-san both look at me, surprised.

    The two of them must have been discussing something, judging by the documents spread out all over the table in front of them.

    ¡¸Is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to talk to you about Misa. I consideredingter, but this was important enough toe right away.¡¹

    ¡¸Did something happen to her?¡¹

    ¡¸We ran into an idiot named Randall, from the Salbert family.¡¹

    Their expressions changed when I mentioned his name.

    ¡¸Was everything okay?¡¹

    ¡¸No one got hurt, but he did make fun of Misa.¡¹

    Though, even verbal abuse was probably quite hurtful to a child like Misa.

    ¡¸Again...?¡¹

    Gran-san muttered, sounding annoyed.

    ¡¸I only heard a bit about this, but are your rtions with the Salbert family really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s bad, and has gotten even worsetely. This harassment began a few years ago. It was very minor at first, so nobody really knew who was doing it. That¡¯s why we have been ignoring it until recently, but now, they harass us without even trying to hide it, like Randall bullying Misa openly for instance. Iined to his parents about this, but they just told me not to interfere with mere children¡¯s quarrels.¡¹

    Gran-san told me, obviously frustrated.

    Did Randall¡¯s parents not understand that words could hurt as well?

    Some people could never recover from bullying, and a few even ended up killing themselves over it.

    ¡¸So, does that mean you are getting harassed yourself, Gran-san?¡¹

    It seemed like the conversation would get long, so I took drinks out of the Bear Box for the three of us.

    The two of them dly took their drinks and took a long sip.

    ¡¸The Commerce Guild master is now under the control of the Salbert family.¡¹

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you try to object to that?¡¹

    ¡¸We did, but without any real evidence...¡¹

    ¡¸How did you find out about it anyway, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s because more and more merchants are working for the Salbert family.¡¹

    Cliff, who had been just silently listening till now, cut into the conversation.

    ¡¸More and more goods are being supplied only to the districts owned by the Salbert family, making other people unable to buy them anywhere else but there.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and because of that, my districts began to suffer.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you try to talk to the Commerce Guild about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and the merchants said that they are free to sell their products wherever they want to.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, your residents should still be able to buy things, right? They just have to go to one of the Salbert districts.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but that hurts the merchants in the Faren Gramm districts. Some are even moving to the Salbert districts.¡¹

    ¡¸Do guild masters really have such influence?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s less about influence and more about corruption. If one of the shops here tries to purchase something from the Commerce Guild, they are offered only ridiculous prices.¡¹

    ¡¸And, that¡¯s why merchants are migrating to Salbert area, since it is now the only ce to get normal prices.¡¹

    ¡¸What a low move, makingpetitors from another area unable to buy things.¡¹

    Cliff then reacted to myment in an unexpected way.

    ¡¸Yuna, you... Did you already forget what you did to me?¡¹

    He asked with a stunned expression.

    I had done something to Cliff? I didn¡¯t recall anything, though.

    I tilted my head, not understanding what he was talking about.

    ¡¸Why you... You actually forgot? You asked Mylene not to sell any eggs to me.¡¹

    I pped my Bear Hands together.

    Ah, I had done something like that.

    If I remembered correctly, it was because I had thought that Cliff had been the one responsible for reducing the mary support to the orphanage.

    Yes, that was it. How petty of him to bring up something from so long ago.

    Well, I did understand what Cliff was trying to tell me. If you got on the guild master¡¯s good side, they were more likely to help you out.

    ¡¸Well, this is pretty much the same thing as what you did to me. Still, the scope of it here is much bigger, which makes it much worse.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, more and more influential people are starting to support the Salbert family, even further increasing the strain on my districts. Cliff and I were just discussing what could be done about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Old Man Gran, you should really have mentioned this to me earlier.¡¹

    Oh, so that was what they were talking about before I had barged in.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t want to trouble you with this.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, with the situation having degraded to this point...¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think that they would actually go all out and try to ruin us like this.¡¹

    Gran-san lowered his head towards the much younger Cliff.

    ¡¸By ruin, you mean your family, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Without our ie, our family is well on the path to ruin. We¡¯ll have to forfeit ournds to the king and be forced to give it up to somebody else.¡¹

    ¡¸It is very likely that thends will fall into the hands of the Salbert family. Just by looking at the reports on their revenue, you can see that they are doing an excellent job as lords of their area.¡¹

    Obviously, since their ie was going up, the Salbert family looked good on paper.

    Tax records didn¡¯t show what kind of illegal things they did to increase it, after all.

    ¡¸Anyway, we are trying to find a countermeasure against this. We¡¯re sending in some goods from Crimonia, but being on the bad side of the Commerce Guild is a real problem.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I¡¯ve invited many important merchants and wealthy people to my party. We cannot let the Salbert family¡¯s n go through. We cannot let his son inherit everything that is to this town.¡¹

    ¡¸We have to oppose them by winning some of the merchants over, or we are done for.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The guild master won¡¯t stay put if he learns of our n.¡¹

    So that was the purpose of this grand party.

    There was more to this than just the argument between Misa and Randall.

    From Randall¡¯s perspective, Misa¡¯s family was an opponent who they could steal the territory from. His way of speaking implied that he thought his family had already won. He had even said that he would make Misa his maid. If Misa ended up being kicked onto the streets, I would take care of her; there was no way I would let that idiot have her.

    Of course, the best way to do that was to make sure that Gran-san¡¯s family won this fight against them. From what I had heard, it seemed that Gran-san was losing in numbers, though.

    Would Cliff lending his assistance be enough to turn the tables, maybe?

    Well, if my assistance was necessary, I would make sure to help in any way I could. Not much I could do in this situation, however.

    At the very least, I should be able to help out if ites to an all out fight, but persuading merchants wasn¡¯t really my thing.

    The most I could do right now was protect Misa.

    Our conversation ended, and just as I was about to get up, there was suddenly a lot of noiseing from the hallway, and Meshun-san barged into the room without knocking.

 Chapter 175 â€“ Bear-san Does Cliff Another Favor

    Chapter 175 ¨C Bear-san Does Cliff Another Favor

    ¡¸I¡¯ve got bad news, Gran-sama!¡¹

    Meshun-san said after rushing into the room with a pale face.

    ¡¸What happened?!¡¹

    ¡¸The head chef Botts-san was attacked and is badly injured.¡¹

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    Gran-san and Cliff were both lost for words for a while.

    ¡¸How¡¯s his condition? Will he be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸His wounds are currently being treated.¡¹

    ¡¸Where is he? Take me to him.¡¹

    Gran-san left the room with Meshun-san, leaving Cliff and me behind.

    ¡¸It hase to that, huh.¡¹

    Cliff murmured to himself.

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸Like I told you earlier, many influential people have been invited to Gran-san¡¯s party so that we can try and get them on our side. Now, the head chef is injured and will most likely be unable to cook for us, meaning we won¡¯t be able to serve food at the party. We¡¯ll have to postpone the party, which will ruin Gran-san¡¯s image.¡¹

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you just call in some other chefs?¡¹

    ¡¸Botts worked as an assistant head chef at a first-ss restaurant in the capital. A regr chef is no good for such a grand party. If we cannot serve food that will convince those influential people that our side is still in power, the prestige of the Faren Gramm family will copse, and all of the people currently lending us their support will also disappear.¡¹

    Even though it was just cooking, it was still a very important part of the negotiations, huh.

    People always ate delicious food during negotiations. Politicians discussed things while eating at traditional Japanese restaurants, while bigpanies held receptions.

    It only made sense that people would get angry if they were served a simple cup ramen during an important meeting.

    Good food made people happy, which made them more open to negotiations.

    That was how important cooking really was.

    Without good food, the mood would be ruined, discussions would turn stale, and negotiations would be harder.

    ¡¸Is this the Salbert family¡¯s doing?¡¹

    ¡¸That seems to be the case. Now, it might be difficult to find another chef with enough skill in this town.¡¹

    Cliff pondered what to do next with a fist on his forehead.

    ¡¸Hmm, could I maybe ask you to bring someone for us? Who, though... with the time we have left, we really have to find someone in this town.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t really prepare all the food myself. To begin with, I didn¡¯t even know how to make food suitable for a noble¡¯s party. The most I could do was probably make a big cake.

    I could maybe use the Bear Gate to get some food from Crimonia or the capital and bring it here by using my Bear Box.

    Well, I could also bring the cooks through the Bear Gate, but I really didn¡¯t want to reveal I had it even though I felt bad for Gran-san.

    ¡¸Yuna, with your bears, maybe... No, never mind.¡¹

    Cliff was about to ask me for something but changed his mind.

    I already knew what he was going to say. He wanted me to use Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to bring him cooks from elsewhere.

    Yeah, that was the best method. This way, people wouldn¡¯t learn about the Bear Gate. The Bears were also well known in Crimonia if we were to get some cooks from there.

    A round trip to Crimonia would take the Bears two days, so it was indeed possible to get them here in time.

    Wait, they would probably need several days to prepare all the food, and it would be toote by then...

    As we were searching for a solution, Gran-san reentered the room.

    ¡¸Old Man Gran, how is he?¡¹

    ¡¸His condition isn¡¯t serious, but he isn¡¯t able to use his hands normally.¡¹

    ¡¸So, he is out of the danger?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but I don¡¯t think he will be in condition to cook in time.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, for the party...¡¹

    ¡¸Not possible...¡¹

    Gran-san said, shaking his head.

    He then sat down, leaving Cliff to mull it over. Soon, both of them drifted off in a gloomy mood.

    ¡¸Where was he when he was attacked?¡¹

    ¡¸I believe he went to inspect the ingredients that were going to be used for the party. Somebody attacked him as he was traveling down a vacant street.¡¹

    ¡¸The culprit?¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t know. I ordered my subordinates to search for witnesses, but all they could gather was that it was at a ce where not many people go to, making it harder to find possible witnesses. And, even if there were some, they most likely won¡¯te forward.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think it was someone from the Salbert family like we thought?¡¹

    Cliff suggested them as the culprit again.

    ¡¸Most likely, since nobody else has a reason to attack him.¡¹

    Gran-san agreed with Cliff.

    ¡¸What should we do then, Old Man Gran?¡¹

    ¡¸We have to find a cook that is as good as Botts, no matter how difficult it may be. We cannot cancel the party, but we have to serve good food at all costs.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have anyone in mind?¡¹

    ¡¸I can think of two people, but I don¡¯t know whether they will ept or not.¡¹

    The two of them went silent again.

    Cliff downed the tea I had brought out previously in one go and then looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna, can you look after Noa?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but could you look after Misa as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what the Salbert family is nning to do, so please stay by their side.¡¹

    ¡¸I really didn¡¯t think that they would openly attack us like this. I was naive, it seems. If anything happened to my granddaughter,dy Noire, ordy Fina, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Please protect the three of them.¡¹

    The two of them bowed to me.

    They didn¡¯t even have to ask me, though, since I would protect them regardless.

    They were my important friends and were like sisters to me.

    ¡¸If, like today, somebody approaches us, what should I do?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but please don¡¯t go outside for the time being since I don¡¯t know what might happen if you do. Of course, I know they would be safe if they¡¯re with you, but it¡¯s better not to push it. I would like you to stay put in your room until the party.¡¹

    ¡¸They will be safe inside the residence, but please stay by their side, okay?¡¹

    I would like you both not to take the hikikomori lifestyle lightly.

    I could stay holed up inside for a few days, no problem. After all, I had been a hikikomori for several years.

    Even without aputer or television, we could always find things to do since we would all be staying locked up together.

    With the four of us, we should be able to find plenty of ways to entertain ourselves.

    I left the two of them in the room, so they could continue their discussion, and headed back to my room, where the three girls were waiting for me.

    When I got there, Fina, Misa, and Noa were all standing by the entrance.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Um, we heard that Botts-san got attacked...¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you heard about it already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we overheard the maids talking about it. Also, everyone was panicking, so...¡¹

    True, everybody I had passed on my way here seemed to be in a rush.

    It would be weird for them not to notice that something was going on.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, do you know anything about it?¡¹

    ¡¸I only know that Botts-san was attacked and injured, but his life is not in danger.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good.¡¹

    Misa looked relieved.

    ¡¸However, it seems that he won¡¯t be able to cook for a while.¡¹

    I told them since there was no point in hiding it.

    ¡¸What about the party, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san and Cliff are looking for someone else to take his ce.¡¹

    It should be fine as long as they could find a new chef.

    Though, based on what I had heard so far, that seemed rather difficult.

    After some time had passed, dinner was brought to our room. It was a simple meal since the head chef was injured, but everyone ate it without aint.

    Noa went to sleep in Misa¡¯s room since she didn¡¯t want to leave her alone, leaving only Fina and me to sleep in this room.

    As usual, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms for security reasons.

    Fina sat down on the bed and hugged Swaying Bear nervously, so I took Hugging Bear into my arms and sat next to her.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, do you think everything will be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, Cliff and Gran-san will do something about it.¡¹

    The situation honestly seemed rather bad, but I told her that to reassure her.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sure Cliff-sama will be able do something.¡¹

    ¡¸And, after Gran-san¡¯s birthday party is a sess, we will be able to go to Misa¡¯s birthday party and celebrate with her.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup. I really want to give her our present. I hope it will make her happy.¡¹

    ¡¸We worked hard to make it, so I¡¯m sure she will like it.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t take much longer for Fina to start feeling sleepy and let out small yawns. I was about to turn off the lights when somebody knocked on the door, and Cliff¡¯s voice was heard behind the door.

    What was he thinking,ing to girls¡¯ room thiste. He said he had something to discuss with me, so I reluctantly let him in.

    ¡¸Sorry, I know it¡¯ste.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what is so important?¡¹

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t want to involve you in an affair between nobles, but at the rate this is going, the Faren Gramm family might end up ruined, and I don¡¯t want that to happen. Old Man Gran has been taking care of me since I was a little boy, so I want to help him and would like to borrow your strength to do so.¡¹

    Cliff said and bowed.

    A noble like Cliff was lowering his head towards me...

    The chefs they had tried to get must have been no good, huh.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, but what do you want me to do?¡¹

    ¡¸First, the party must seed without fail. We need a chef who will be able to make food that can satisfy nobles and wealthy merchants.¡¹

    That was an absurd request.

    ¡¸Cliff, do you understand what you¡¯re saying?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course I do. I know what I¡¯m saying is unreasonable. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s no person in this town who can make suchvish foods. Some had been threatened, some were bribed, while the others simply refused. There¡¯s nobody left here, so the only thing we can do now is to bring someone from another town. A horse won¡¯t be fast enough for this, however. We need your bears.¡¹

    I looked at Hugging Bear, which was still within my arms.

    It seemed like it really was our only choice at this point.

    I recalled the sad expression Misa had made when we had encountered Randall. Her birthday party wasing up, and I wanted her to enjoy it.

    ¡¸Okay, I get it, I just need to bring a cook here.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you ept my request?¡¹

    ¡¸I just don¡¯t want Misa to be sad, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. I have an invitation for a Crimonia chef here. This...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take it just in case. I might not need it, though. I have an acquaintance who is a good chef.¡¹

    I answered while taking the letter.

    ¡¸Who is it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a secret. However, I believe him to be a top-notch chef, so you don¡¯t have to worry. I just don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll ept or not, so I will keep the invitation in case he refuses. Okay then, I¡¯ll head out now.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re heading out now?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s best if I go as quickly as I can, right? So, could you just give a simple exnation to Noa and the others for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll let them know.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, I think they will be safe inside the residence, but please take care of the three girls until I return.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll have someone apany them, so please don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, I have to change, so could you leave? Also, I will pick a good time to leave, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that would be great. Alright then, please take care of this for me.¡¹

    Cliff seemed to believe me and left the room.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you leaving now?¡¹

    Fina had been listening in on our whole conversation.

    ¡¸Hmm? I¡¯m not going.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Fina looked at me, surprised.

    ¡¸I mean, I have the Bear Gate, and if I go now, it will still be in the middle of the night. So, it makes more sense for me to leave early in the morning instead.¡¹

    I had told Cliff I would be leaving now only to make him think that I was going to leave in the middle of the night with one of my Bears.

    Yet, in reality, I would just head out by using the Bear Gate in the morning.

    ¡¸I... I see. You¡¯re right, but is that really okay?¡¹

    Fina asked, tilting her head.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Come on; it¡¯s gettingte, so I¡¯ll turn off the lights now.¡¹

    I made Fina lie down before copsing onto the bed myself.

    ¡¸Oh right, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Wake me up early tomorrow, okay?¡¹

    They cried softly in response.

    Now then, how should I persuade Zelef-san tomorrow?

    Well, both Eleanora-san and the king owed me a favour, so it should work out, right?

    I could always figure out the detailster. I embraced Hugging Bear beside me and fell asleep in no time.

 Chapter 176 â€“ Bear-san Goes To The Capital To Fetch Zelef-san

    Chapter 176 ¨C Bear-san Goes To The Capital To Fetch Zelef-san

    *Petchi Petchi*, *Petchi Petchi*.

    I was sleeping nicely until something soft began tapping my face.

    As I opened my eyes, I saw Hugging Bear¡¯s paw in front of me.

    Oh right, I had to leave first thing in the morning today.

    I looked out the window and saw it was still dark.

    ¡¸Thank you, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I thanked Hugging Bear and petted its head before getting out of bed.

    Doing so, I woke up Fina, who sat up immediately.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, are you leaving now?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, did I wake you up? I¡¯m sorry, Fina. You can sleep in a bit more.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I wanted to see you off, so I asked Swaying Bear to wake me up too.¡¹

    I was pleasantly surprised by her response.

    I thanked her and changed into my usual ck Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯m leaving now. If something happens, call me using your Bear Phone, and I will return as quickly as I can. Otherwise, please wait for me here without going outside since that could be dangerous.¡¹

    I felt a bit anxious knowing I wouldn¡¯t be around for a while. Well, as long as they stayed inside the mansion, they should be fine.

    Taking some precautions, like the Bear Phone, wasn¡¯t a bad idea, though.

    ¡¸Okay. I¡¯ll call you if anything happens. Big Sis Yuna, you have to be careful as well, okay?¡¹

    I patted Fina¡¯s head, unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and headed out onto the balcony.

    Stopping just long enough for Fina to send me off, I jumped onto the roof.

    This ce should do, right?

    The center of the roof was a good blindspot, so I set up the Bear Gate there.

    Iid it down against the roof, so nobody would be able to see it.

    Checking onest time, I opened the door below me, and transferred to the Bear House at the capital.

    As soon as I passed through, though, I fell down due to the direction my body was facing.

    It felt like jumping down a hole on the other side, but since I exited through a normal door here, I ended up buckling down.

    It didn¡¯t hurt at all, but it was still rather embarrassing. I was d nobody saw me.

    I had breakfast at my Bear House then headed to the castle when the sun hit the sky.

    It was still early morning when I reached the guards at the castle gate.

    ¡¸Hello. Can I head inside?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, feel free to enter.¡¹

    Just as I was about to head inside, another guard ran over to me.

    ¡¸Please wait a moment.¡¹

    The guard told me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not here for Princess Flora today but rather want to see His Majesty and Eleanora-san. Would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh. Please wait a moment, anyway. Eleanora-sama has already arrived at the castle, but I don¡¯t know where she is right now. As for His Majesty, unless you had a prior arrangement...¡¹

    Well, it made sense for me not to be able to meet the king on such sudden notice.

    Still, they didn¡¯t know where Eleanora-san was, so I wondered what was she up to now.

    ¡¸Could I talk to Zelef-san, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have the authority to permit that either, unfortunately.¡¹

    Could it be that I only had permission to visit Princess Flora?

    Maybe it would be quicker if I just went over to her room like usual and waited for the king and Eleanora-san to show up there?

    Just as I decided to do so, I noticed Eleanora-san heading over to me.

    ¡¸I knew I saw a bear from far away. It was you after all, Yuna-chan. How rare for you toe here this early, though.¡¹

    Usually, it was a pain when Eleanora-san appeared out of nowhere, but it was rather useful today.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, I have a small favor to ask for. Is now a good time?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it? If it¡¯s okay with you, could we discuss it while walking? It¡¯s part of my daily routine to take a stroll in the morning and patrol the area.¡¹

    I epted her request, and we began walking towards the castle.

    ¡¸So, what is it? It¡¯s rare for you to ask me for a favor, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I asked you, but it¡¯s really meant for the king.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I could borrow head chef Zelef-san for a few days?¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef? May I ask why?¡¹

    I proceeded to exin about the situation at Sheelin.

    ¡¸Oh, Cliff did mention something about this in a letter to me. The Salbert family, huh. I haven¡¯t heard many good rumors about them.¡¹

    So, there really were bad rumors about them.

    ¡¸Sorry, but I can¡¯t give you permission to borrow Zelef without consulting His Majesty first.¡¹

    Well, he was the head chef of the royal family, so that made sense. I had to get permission from the king himself, then.

    ¡¸So, shall we go and see His Majesty right away?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that really be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, no problem. I have to report to him that you have arrived, anyway.¡¹

    Was that a rule around here? That everyone had to report meing here to him?

    Well, I was okay with it now, as long as I could meet him. Following Eleanora-san, we headed deeper into the castle.

    As we passed by various people, they all bowed and greeted us. Eleanora-san responded by only giving a light greeting each time. Wow, she was rather popr around here.

    Heading down a hall, we reached a door guarded by two soldiers.

    ¡¸Oh, Eleanora-sama. Could the person next to you be the rumored Bear Missy?¡¹

    What did he mean by the rumored? I wanted to question him about it but decided it was probably better to ignore it as I could already imagine the reason why.

    Weird rumors would continue to spread anyway, whether I knew about them or not.

    ¡¸Yes. We have some business with His Majesty, so can you let us pass?¡¹

    ¡¸Please wait a moment.¡¹

    The guard knocked on the door and got confirmation from within.

    ¡¸Go ahead.¡¹

    Receiving permission to enter, Eleanora-san and I walked into a spacious room, where three people were working on something. One of them was the king himself, then there was a man of simr age standing next to him, and sitting by the desk on the left was a handsome man in his mid-twenties.

    He resembled the king for some reason.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter? You came here so early in the morning, not to mention to see me.¡¹

    ¡¸I just have a small favor to ask of you. I would like to borrow Zelef-san for a couple of days.¡¹

    Talking to him was a bother, so I cut straight to the chase.

    ¡¸Zelef? What for?¡¹

    I had to exin the same thing as I had done with Eleanora-san all over again.

    ¡¸The Salbert family and Faren Gramm family, you say?¡¹

    The man standing beside the king spoke up.

    Who was he? This was the first time I had seen him; I was pretty sure of that. Well, him being here meant that he was an important person, right?

    ¡¸Splitting that territory... Grandfather really did something quite unnecessary.¡¹

    The king said, sounding annoyed, and leaned against his chair.

    ¡¸Well, it can¡¯t be helped now. It must have been the best option, given the situation at the time.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, it turned into the situation we have today because of that. What a bother.¡¹

    I wondered if he had also said that to the previous king who had decided to split the territory into two.

    Still, I agreed with how he felt. If that king hadn¡¯t split it, we wouldn¡¯t have had this problem now.

    ¡¸Did you already know what¡¯s happening there right now?¡¹

    ¡¸I have a basic understanding of it, based on the reports I have received. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Salbert family is responsible for some nasty harassment, but that is about it, as most of the small details don¡¯t reach the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸The Salbert family¡¯s revenue has gone uptely while the Faren Gramm family¡¯s has plummeted. Although the Faren Gramm family has been submitting their reports, they did not record anything specific in regards to the reason as to why that is happening.¡¹

    Well, to put it simply, the reports had made it seem as if the Faren Gramm family was failing to attract as many customers while the Salbert family was doing their best to procure as many as the could.

    That, in return, had raised question as to what the Faren Gramm family was even doing.

    ¡¸Turf wars between noble families happen everywhere. Although it is cruel to say this, the Faren Gramm family is powerless against them.¡¹

    It seemed that way to me as well.

    Could Gran have yed it out better?

    The more I heard about it, the more it felt like he had already fallen too far behind in the beginning rounds.

    ¡¸Still, there really are some bad rumors going around regarding the Salbert family.¡¹

    ¡¸Embezzlement, coercions, violence, all sorts of bad things, yet there isn¡¯t any tangible evidence of their deeds. Without it, we can¡¯t act against them.¡¹

    Well, that was how bureaucracy worked.

    Even the king himself couldn¡¯t act without any real proof. So much for justice.

    ¡¸There¡¯s also a rumor that the Salbert family is affiliated with the Bornardpany.¡¹

    The handsome blonde man, who had stayed quiet till now, cut in.

    He definitely looked simr to a certain someone.

    The king noticed me staring and realized why.

    ¡¸That reminds me, Yuna, is this your first time meeting Elnart?¡¹

    ¡¸Elnart?¡¹

    I had never heard that name before.

    When I tilted my head, the handsome manughed.

    ¡¸To think that there is somebody who oftenes in and out of the castle but does not know who I am. I am the legitimate child of King Furott, Elnart. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Yuna-san, the Bear.¡¹

    Ah, he resembled the king, or better he was the prince.

    ¡¸You know about me?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve heard about you from Father, Mother, and Flora. Not to mention that, every time youe to the castle, Father pushes all of his work onto me.¡¹

    His smile was scary for some reason.

    Was it my fault?

    I only came to see Princess Flora and never called for the king toe as well.

    I would prefer if he didn¡¯t me me for this.

    I red at the king, who cleared his throat before speaking up.

    ¡¸The Bornardpany, you say.¡¹

    Oh, he changed the conversation.

    He used one of my best techniques, the hidden move ¡®Topic Change¡¯.

    Well, I was curious about the Bornardpany, so I inquired with Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve never heard of them, Yuna-chan? The Bornardpany is the biggestpany in the capital. They employ many merchants and do business all throughout thend. Their influence is so powerful that even nobles don¡¯t dare go against them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but with all the good rumorse the bad as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that they are behind the actions of those merchants as well, then?¡¹

    ¡¸There may be somebody pulling the strings from the back, but it¡¯s also possible that they arepletely unrted.¡¹

    ¡¸Although, I heard that the Bornardpany seems to be aiming for Gran-san¡¯s territory, which could be a problem.¡¹

    Well, if they used their many merchant pieces in the right way, they could easily corner an entire town. Then they just had to keep them on defensive, until their economy ran dry.

    Did this world have an underground world of some sort as well?

    Well, if the Bornardpany and the Salbert family were indeed rted, then it would most likely be difficult for Gran-san to get those merchants and influential people he was hoping for to his side.

    The party wouldn¡¯t be able to change the oue at this point as it had already been decided.

    Still, if the party failed as well, the ruin of Faren Gramm family woulde even sooner. Well, it was possible that the Salbert family wasn¡¯t rted to the Bornardpany, but ording to the information we had, that seemed to be quite unlikely. Either way, we needed a chef for at least the party to seed.

    ¡¸Well then, are you going to lend Zelef-san to me or not?¡¹

    Even though I now knew that Bornardpany might be involved, there was nothing I could do about it.

    The one thing I could do, however, was to bring Zelef-san to Gran-san¡¯s mansion.

    ¡¸Let me think. I can¡¯t act on their chef being attacked, but since this is for the birthday party of the Old Man of the Faren Gramm family, I can permit you to borrow Zelef.¡¹

    Yeah, one chef being attacked wasn¡¯t enough for the king to be able to take action. It was just the chef of a noble family who had been attacked, not the noble family members themselves. We didn¡¯t know who was the culprit, either.

    The Salbert family was the most suspicious, of course, but they weren¡¯t found as the direct culprit.

    The king couldn¡¯t deal with every small problem other feudal lords might bring him; he didn¡¯t have time for that.

    It would be likeining to the prime minister and asking him to investigate some suspicious people just because some people got attacked in their neighborhood.

    It was Gran-san¡¯s job to find the criminal. If they were amoner, then they could be judged appropriately by him. Only if there was proof that the Salbert family was involved could Gran-san bring this matter before the king.

    ¡¸However, I will process this as a request from Eleanora. Is that okay?¡¹

    The king said, turning to Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine. Cliff will be at the party as well, so we can use that as an excuse if any noblesin.¡¹

    It would be a waste of time to stay here any longer, so I decided to head to Zelef-san¡¯s kitchen once I was excused.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The prince finally appeared (He ys only a small part in the story, though. w)

    By the way, he¡¯s already married (Since I¡¯m sure I would get some weirdments otherwise.)

 Chapter 177 â€“ Bear-san Asks Zelef-san For A Favor

    Chapter 177 ¨C Bear-san Asks Zelef-san For A Favor

    After getting permission from the king, I headed to the royal kitchen.

    For some reason, the king himself apanied me instead of Eleanora-san.

    It was because of the conversation Eleanora-san and the king had.

    ¡¸Eleanora, I¡¯ll apany her, so you can get back to work.¡¹

    ¡¸Wha-Why? I can escort her, no problem.¡¹

    ¡¸No, you should return to your work. It¡¯s better for me to tag along, so I can exin the situation to Zelef.¡¹

    ¡¸My job right now is patrolling the castle, and I can easily stop by the kitchen to exin it to him in your stead.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the matter from the other day, Eleanora-sama?¡¹

    The man next to the king asked Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Not done yet, Zangu.¡¹

    Eleanora-san averted her eyes while replying.

    ¡¸I asked you to treat it as an urgent matter, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    The man, who seemed to be named Zangu, asked her nicely but firmly.

    ¡¸Ugh, I get it. Yuna-chan, see youter. Let me know if this guy says anything weird to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Please return here as quickly as you can, Father, and don¡¯t run off like you usually do. Just like Eleanora, you have a lot of urgent business to attend to.¡¹

    The prince lectured the king.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I wille straight back. Also, don¡¯t make it sound like I skip work all the time.¡¹

    ¡¸You skip work every time this beares here!¡¹

    The prince said, looking at me.

    Why was he looking at me, though?

    It wasn¡¯t my fault that the king decided to skip work. I never asked for an audience with him; he sought me out on his own. So, could the prince please stop looking at me like it was my fault? Well, this time around it was my fault, but as for all of the other cases, I had nothing to do with it.

    For some reason, I felt like the prince hated me...

    I didn¡¯t recall ever doing anything that would make him hate me, though.

    He shouldn¡¯t me me because the king passed his work onto him, right?

    If he really wanted the king to do his job, he should just tie him to his chair.

    That way, the king would have to do his work and not pass it onto the prince. The king also wouldn¡¯t be able to bother me anymore, so it was like killing two birds with one stone. I should suggest this to him when I had the opportunity to meet with him in private. I had no problem with him hating me, but it could be a problem if he decided to cause me trouble because of it.

    Not to mention that he was Princess Flora¡¯s older brother, so I should leave a good impression, or he might try to interfere with my meetings with her.

    Anyway Eleanora-san unwillingly went off to work while the king and I headed to the royal kitchen, where we were met with several chefs in the middle of their cooking.

    ¡¸You sure have a lot of cooks.¡¹

    ¡¸They have to prepare meals for everybody working at the castle, and that¡¯s a lot of food.¡¹

    I noticed that all of the chefs were now looking at us. Well, the king himself just visited their kitchen, so it only made sense for them to look at him in surprise.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the bear.¡¹ ¡¸What is the bear doing here?¡¹ ¡¸Is she ¡®the¡¯ bear?¡¹ ¡¸Yes, she¡¯s the rumored bear!¡¹ ¡¸Wow, I can¡¯t believe that she really is a bear.¡¹ ¡¸What, is this your first time seeing her?¡¹ ¡¸Hmm, she¡¯s younger than me.¡¹ ¡¸Not to mention, she¡¯s small.¡¹ ¡¸Why does she wear that costume, though?¡¹ ¡¸Dude, she can hear you.¡¹ ¡¸The head chef will scold you if you make her mad.¡¹

    I had heard what all of them had said, so it was a bitte to warn them now.

    Wait, instead of the king, were all of their gazes directed at me?

    Wasn¡¯t that weird?

    Normally, if the most important person in the country arrived at your workce, wouldn¡¯t you notice them first?

    ¡¸Oi, somebody should go talk to the bear.¡¹ ¡¸You go.¡¹

    They all started shoving each other.

    No, no, shouldn¡¯t you be greeting the king of the country rather than me?

    They were all so weird...

    Since nobody dared to approach us, I decided to call out to them, making one of the chefs finallye to us.

    ¡¸Your Majesty, Yuna-dono, what brings the two of you here today?¡¹

    The first one to speak to us was Zelef-san, of course.

    Not to mention that he actually knew how he should greet us. First the king and then me. As expected of the royal head chef.

    ¡¸Could it be that you brought over a new recipe today?!¡¹

    Zelef-san asked me, his eyes glowing like that of an excited child.

    ¡¸No, I came here to ask you for a favor, Zelef-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You want to ask me for a favor?¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef, I want you to apany Yuna to Sheelin.¡¹

    Zelef-san was surprised by the king¡¯s sudden request.

    ¡¸Sheelin? Why would we be going there?¡¹

    ¡¸The Faren Gramm family is hosting a party. Their chef got injured, however, and he cannot prepare the required meals. That¡¯s why, Yuna came here to ask for your help.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono did?¡¹

    Zelef-san looked at me, so I spoke up.

    ¡¸Can I ask this of you? You were the only one I could think of asking since you¡¯re the only person I know who can make food suitable for noble parties.¡¹

    ¡¸If His Majesty gives his permission, then of course, I will help. Would it be okay for me to be away for a while, Your Majesty?¡¹

    Zelef-san turned back to the king.

    ¡¸Both you and I owe Yuna a favor, so make sure youplete her request properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, Your Majesty. Yuna-dono, I wille with you to Sheelin to prepare the food for the party.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Zelef-san.¡¹

    ¡¸No need to thank me. You always show me new delicious recipes, so all I¡¯m doing is returning the favor.¡¹

    It would bother the other chefs if we continued our conversation here, so we decided to head to Zelef-san¡¯s personal kitchen. Before we left, Zelef-san gave a whole lot of instructions to someone who appeared to be the assistant head chef.

    ¡¸So, what kind of party will this be? How many people will be attending? What sorts of guests areing? When is the party?¡¹

    I exined it to him the best I could.

    ¡¸Will we even make it in time?¡¹

    ¡¸We will ride my summoned beasts.¡¹

    ¡¸You will let me ride on your bears?!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, there¡¯s no way we are getting back on time if we go by horseback. With my Bears, it shouldn¡¯t take more than two days, I think.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure how much time exactly would it take since I hadn¡¯t tested it yet, but we should make it in time.

    ¡¸I see. Still, we don¡¯t have much time. Will I have time to buy all the ingredients?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if Sheelin will have all the ingredients you want, so how about we buy some here at the capital before heading out?¡¹

    Based on the conversation we had had in Sheelin, they most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to procure all the ingredients needed for a noble party, especially with the Salbert family obstructing us. Yeah, it would be best to buy everything we could at the capital before we left.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think we have any time to waste. Your Majesty, may I get permission to take ingredients from the castle instead?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I don¡¯t mind, but make sure to report how much you will be taking.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I will pay you for the ingredients. I will have Gran-san repay meter.¡¹

    There was no such thing as a free lunch, after all.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to worry about paying us.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I have to take care of the payment properly.¡¹

    Well, the one paying in the end would be Gran-san, though.

    ¡¸Alright then, I¡¯ll give you the billter.¡¹

    ¡¸Your Majesty, may I also get permission to borrow another item bag? With this amount, even my item bag won¡¯t be able to hold all of the required ingredients.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay, I can just put it all into my item bag.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, it¡¯s really huge.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s head straight to the pantry to collect the ingredients, then.¡¹

    ¡¸People will get mad at me if I don¡¯t return soon, so I leave everything to you, Zelef.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will take care of it, Your Majesty.¡¹

    Splitting ways with the king, Zelef and I headed to the pantry on our own.

    It was right next to the kitchen, most likely because it was convenient to have it nearby.

    I immediately noticed it was refrigerated when we entered.

    ¡¸I would like to pack these into boxes before storing them in your item bag. Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, sure. Also, take as much as you need. The party mustn¡¯t run out of food.¡¹

    Zelef quickly began stuffing boxes with ingredients and passing them to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, I would like to thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸...What for?¡¹

    I had no idea what he could be thanking me for.

    Heck, if anything, I should be the one thanking him for doing this for me.

    ¡¸I have been more or less stuck at the castle since the day I became the royal head chef, so I¡¯m quite happy about this trip. It¡¯s not like I dislike my current position in the castle; I like doing it and am delighted to have earned His Majesty¡¯s trust. Also, because of my current position, I was able to meet you and got to taste your delicious recipes; I¡¯m very grateful for it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d to hear that you don¡¯t think of me as a bother.¡¹

    ¡¸I could never think of you that way. I¡¯m very excited for the shop we will be opening even though I¡¯ve gotten busier because of it. Opening it will be a valuable experience.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, how is that going by the way?¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama is managing most of it at the moment, so I¡¯m not sure. I am training some chefs for it already, though. The only problem I have right now is deciding the menu...¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, thinking of what recipes to serve is fun in its own way as well.¡¹

    I was d to hear that he was enjoying the experience.

    Still, it looked like I was bothering him during a busy time even though he didn¡¯t show it. I would have to thank him by thinking of a new recipe to bring him.

    Yep, a new recipe should be a good way to thank him.

 Chapter 178 â€“ Bear-san Departs For Sheelin with Zelef-san

    Chapter 178 ¨C Bear-san Departs For Sheelin with Zelef-san

    I continued to put away all the ingredients Zelef-san was passing to me into the Bear Box.

    The amount of the ingredients he gave me was huge, but it was better to take everything we could, rather than having him panic because we didn¡¯t bring enough.

    Anyway, the Bear Box didn¡¯t get any heavier no matter how much I put inside.

    ¡¸Mind if we also drop by the wine cer? Serving wine at a noble party is a big necessity.¡¹

    Wine, huh? I didn¡¯t know much about noble parties, but from what I had read in manga and novels, it did seem that wine was always present. I could clearly imagine nobles drinking wine from fancy sses.

    Once we collected all the required ingredients from the storeroom, we headed down into the wine cer, where Zelef-san pointed out which wine I should put into the Bear Box.

    Hmm, I didn¡¯t drink alcohol, so I couldn¡¯t tell if it was of good quality or not just by looking at it.

    Well, I couldn¡¯t tell the difference even if I drank it...

    ¡¸Do we have everything now?¡¹

    I asked as I put away thest bottle.

    ¡¸I just need to grab some seasoning from my kitchen, and we are all set to go.¡¹

    We returned to his kitchen, where I had to pack away all kinds of seasoning.

    Hmm, maybe he had something I would like to use myself? I should probably ask him to show me his collection the next time I came here.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, I have everything I need now.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I want to head back as quickly as possible, so are you okay with leaving now?¡¹

    I knew we would make it in time, but I still wanted to hurry back because I was worried about the girls.

    ¡¸Yes, I don¡¯t mind if we leave right away.¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t forget anything, right? We won¡¯t be able toe back to grab something you forgot.¡¹

    ¡¸I should have everything I need. Oh, actually, please wait just a moment.¡¹

    Zelef-san trotted back into the kitchen.

    ¡¸I almost forgot my kitchen knife. I would be fine with using the knives from their kitchen, but a familiar knife is still the best, after all.¡¹

    Okay, it seemed like he had everything now.

    Hmm, he was still wearing his chef outfit, though.

    It would be hard for us to travel with him wearing that outfit, so I asked him to change clothes first.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay with what I¡¯m wearing, though.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll stand out like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Compared to your outfit, Yuna-dono, I don¡¯t think I stand out at all.¡¹

    Zelef-san said, ncing at my Bear Suit.

    I know, I know. People stared at me even if I was just walking around.

    However, the problem at hand was that I didn¡¯t want the Salbart family to find out that I brought a chef with me. Zelef-san might get attacked if they did, after all.

    ¡¸Also, I feel mostfortable wearing this outfit.¡¹

    Zelef-san said, grasping his clothes.

    True, the clothes we wore every day were the mostfortable, so Ipletely understood his feelings.

    If I had to take off my Bear Suit, I wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down.

    Still, he could get attacked if they saw him wearing the chef outfit, so I made him put arge mantle over it to hide it.

    With our preparations finally finished, we left the castle and were met by Eleanora-san standing next to a horse carriage parked by the gate. She had prepared it so that we could get out of the capital quicker.

    Eleanora-san really was amazing, taking note of even such small details. Walking all the way from the castle would have taken us quite a bit of time, so this was a lifesaver. Also, if we were to ride in some sort of an open carriage, we would stand out too much, mostly because of me.

    We thanked Eleanora-san, and climbed into the carriage. Thanks to it, we were able to leave the capital in no time, and when we put enough distance from the city walls, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Oh, they came out from your gloves!¡¹

    Zelef-san said, impressed.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think they would be this big, though.¡¹

    Had Zelef-san never seen them at their full sizes before?

    ¡¸Which one may I ride on, Yuna-dono?¡¹

    I nced at the Bears and then back at Zelef-san.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, you aren¡¯t afraid of them at all, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve already seen how docile they are as cubs, and Princess Flora always talks about how much she loves to y with them. There is no reason for me to be afraid of them.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Most people find them daunting in their adult form, though.¡¹

    ¡¸They do seem a bit frightening, but their expressions are still the same, so I¡¯m not scared of them at all.¡¹

    I was happy to hear that he thought of them this way.

    I would feel bad for my Bears if Zelef-san was afraid to ride them.

    ¡¸Okay then, Zelef-san, would you mind riding Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-dono is the white one, correct?¡¹

    Zelef-san approached Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-dono, I may be heavy, but please bear with me.¡¹

    Zelef-san bowed to Hugging Bear, which nodded in response before lowering its back so that Zelef-san could get on more easily.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Hugging Bear-dono.¡¹

    It took some time for the plump Zelef-san to climb onto Hugging Bear, which stood up only after ensuring that Zelef-san was settled on it properly.

    It seemed like Hugging Bear didn¡¯t have any problem even with Zelef-san¡¯s extra weight, so I jumped onto Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s get going then. We¡¯ll start out slowly but speed up as you get used to it.¡¹

    After traveling for a while...

    ¡¸This feels more pleasant than horseback.¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef-san, you can ride a horse?¡¹

    I kind of felt bad for asking this, but I just couldn¡¯t imagine him riding a horse.

    ¡¸I tend to avoid riding them, but I¡¯m obligated to know how to ride them in cases of emergency, so at least know how to. I¡¯m by no means good at it, though...¡¹

    He said thest part rather quietly, but I was still able to hear it.

    What was the part about there being cases of emergency? Did he mean having to ride with the army in times of war so he could cook for them?

    ¡¸Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like I will have to ride them often, though.¡¹

    Well, that made sense since the country was at peace right now.

    Maybe he would have to join the soldiers when they were sent to subjugate monsters far away?

    I couldn¡¯t see the king doing that anytime soon, though. Was he really practicing for the sake of emergency or was it something else?

    After Zelef-san got a bit more used to riding, we raised the speed and hurried of towards Sheelin. After several hours of nonstop traveling, I decided to take a short break and switch Bears.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, please ride Swaying Bear this time around.¡¹

    Hugging Bear had shown a sad expression when Zelef-san had approached it. It wasn¡¯t as if Hugging Bear didn¡¯t like Zelef-san; it just wanted me to ride it.

    ¡¸You would like me to ride on Swaying Bear-dono now? I don¡¯t mind, but is it because I did something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s just that if I only ride on one of them all the time, the other one starts sulking.¡¹

    I exined to him.

    ¡¸I see. Okay, I will ride Swaying Bear-dono this time around, then.¡¹

    Zelef-san immediately understood the problem. He thanked Hugging Bear for taking him this far, then went up to Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-dono, please bear with me as well.¡¹

    I approached Hugging Bear, and it happily rubbed against me.

    After petting its head, I jumped on, and we all continued our journey.

    We proceeded smoothly, without encountering any monsters along the way. Well, even if any monsters had appeared, they would have been low-level ones, which wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to our speed.

    The only monsters that would be able to catch us were dragons or wyverns, but luckily, those didn¡¯t appear this close to the capital.

    As some more time passed, I noticed that Zelef-san began dozing off on Swaying Bear.

    Seriously, what a fearless man with the nerves of steel. Well, it was fine since it was impossible to fall off my Bears, but that would be way too dangerous to do on horseback.

    Several hourster, the sun started to set, and the sky darkened.

    We could ride through the night with my Bears, but we should be able to make it in time even if we camped it out. The party was in two days, and if all went well, we should arrive at noon tomorrow, with more than enough time for Zelef-san to make all the preparations.

    I called out to Zelef-san and told him that we would be camping for the night.

    When we stopped, he crawled off Swaying Bear and petted him as thanks.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Swaying Bear-dono.¡¹

    Swaying Bear cried softly in response.

    I took out some firewood and started a fire before making two chairs for us to sit onfortably.

    I decided to hold back and not bring out the Bear House this time around.

    ¡¸Okay, now for some dinner...¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, let me...¡¹

    Zelef-san tried to offer to cook for us, but there was no need for that.

    I took out some of Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s soup.

    ¡¸Oh, it seems my skills aren¡¯t needed this time around.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, you will have a lot of cooking to do once we reach Sheelin.¡¹

    ¡¸I will do my best to exceed all of your expectations.¡¹

    Zelef-san said and then happily started to eat the soup and bread I offered him.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, did you make this?¡¹

    ¡¸No, both the soup and the bread are sold at shops in Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸They are both very delicious. I love them.¡¹

    ¡¸I will tell the people who made it that the head chef of the royal pceplimented their food.¡¹

    I jokingly said.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like I¡¯m just trying to tter them, though. I really do find them delicious. The people who made them really understand the basics, hence they are able to make their food taste so well.¡¹

    Zelef-san said before resuming his meal.

    ¡¸I should head to Crimonia when I have some free time.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not my ce to say this, but you¡¯re wee toe anytime.¡¹

    ¡¸Please take care of me when the timees, then.¡¹

    Once we finished eating, we justid down for a while.

    Having nothing to do, I decided to brush Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-dono and Hugging Bear-dono are really quick. What¡¯s more, they werefortable and were able to keep this pace even with me on them.¡¹

    Zelef-sanughed and rubbed his bulging stomach.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, aren¡¯t you like this because you eat too much?¡¹

    I had heard that chefs often got fat because they did a lot of taste-tests.

    ¡¸It hurts to hear that from you, you know... It¡¯s my duty to taste the dishes that my subordinates make; it¡¯s the only way I can properly critique them.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. You¡¯re training them well, instead of just having them learn by watching you do the cooking.¡¹

    ¡¸Some chefs indeed have their subordinates learn that way, but I believe it¡¯s too naive to think that they will learn well like that. My subordinates are also all skilled chefs working at the royal castle, so most of them can easily learn recipes by just seeing them once.¡¹

    It made sense for them to be that skilled if they had been hired to work in the royal kitchen.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, where did you learn how to cook?¡¹

    Hmm, that was hard to answer.

    It wasn¡¯t like somebody had taught me; I had learned on my own by finding recipes in cooking books and on the Inte. It would be difficult to just say I hadn¡¯t been taught by anybody, and I couldn¡¯t just tell him how I had actually learned it...

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s okay for you not to tell me. I was just curious since you are able to make so many mysterious dishes...¡¹

    Zelef-san noticed that I had gone quiet, so he apologized with a bow.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. It¡¯s just that I wasn¡¯t really taught by anybody specific, so I didn¡¯t know how to answer.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you created all those dishes yourself?¡¹

    I tilted my head, thinking how to exin it to him.

    ¡¸Those are all dishes from my hometown, and I learned how to make them there.¡¹

    ¡¸Your hometown, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. They are the recipes of my hometown and not my own.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? The world is a big ce, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Yes, it was a big ce indeed. I hadn¡¯t thought that the universe could have had multiple worlds. The universe really was big, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡¸I would like to visit the country you¡¯re from one day, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    I found no way to respond to that, so the silence returned.

    Zelef-san must have noticed my mood as he didn¡¯t say anything else, either.

    ¡¸Shall we head to bed?¡¹

    ¡¸I suppose we should. Who is going to keep watch, though? I don¡¯t want to boast, but I¡¯m not really good at staying awake...¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t something to boast about anyway.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll be fine. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will let me know if something dangerous approaches us.¡¹

    I said, ncing at the Bears next to me.

    ¡¸I see. Yuna-dono, your summoned beasts are simply amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Heh. Anyway, you can rx and sleepfortably. Also, if you might think of trying to attack me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will not go easy on you, either.¡¹

    I warned him with a smile.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a terrifying thought. Well, I will be fine since I don¡¯t want to die, and I have never thought of doing anything like that anyway.¡¹

    Zelef-sanughed then curled up into his nket.

    I settled myself between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and fell asleep in no time.

 Chapter 179 â€“ Bear-san Brings Zelef-san To Sheelin

    Chapter 179 ¨C Bear-san Brings Zelef-san To Sheelin

    In the early morning, the sun shone onto my eyes and woke me up. I had rested well, settled in between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Morning already, huh. Luckily, we had gone to sleep early, so I woke up easily.

    ¡¸Good morning, you two.¡¹

    I greeted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear then got up.

    Sleeping between my Bears felt nice, but snuggling up in a bed was still the best.

    Zelef-san stirred in his nket next to me, most likely woken by me.

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning. Let¡¯s eat breakfast and then head out quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    We ate a simple breakfast, packed up, and headed out in no time.

    I looked at the Bear Map and saw that we were already getting close.

    Based on the distance we had already traveled, we should arrive at noon as long as nothing happened.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, are you feeling okay? You¡¯re not too tired, are you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine. Riding on your bears isfortable unlike horseback, where I get all sore in a couple of hours. I¡¯m not feeling tired at all.¡¹

    Yeah, it seemed like everything would be fine as long as nothing bad happened.

    We had plenty of time since we headed out so soon after sunrise.

    Taking just one break this time, the gates of Sheelin were upon us before the sun had even reached its zenith.

    Hmm. While I wanted to enter as quickly as possible, having to exin the Bears to the gatekeeper could be difficult.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, I want us to walk from here on out; is that okay with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? We¡¯re going to walk from here?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s hard to exin the Bears to the guards, so it would be easier for us to get off here and walk through the gate.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I see. Okay, let¡¯s walk then; I could use a workout anyway.¡¹

    Zelef-san said and looked at his big belly.

    He couldn¡¯t lose that much weight by only walking a bit. Not to mention, this was going to be more like a stroll through the town, and with this distance, there was no way it would have any effect on his weight. Well, if he did it every day, maybe, but in just one day? No way.

    Not like I should be the one to talk, though. I never took off my suit or exercised on my own.

    My natural stamina was literally zero. I did remember taking the suit off once and trying to work out for a bit, but I quickly gave up. There was no way I could do it often enough for it to show any progress...

    Anyway, I unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and we walked to the gate.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you the bear from the other day?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Here¡¯s my guild card.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want them to start questioning us, so I presented my guild card and rushed through the gate.

    Well, they didn¡¯t ask anything about Zelef-san, so they must have recalled Cliff saying that I was in his care.

    Nobles really had a lot of influence, didn¡¯t they?

    ¡¸This is Sheelin, huh?¡¹

    Zelef-san said, his gaze passing over the town.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t Sheelin rather close to the capital? Have you really never came here before?¡¹

    ¡¸I was born and raised in the capital, so I¡¯ve rarely left. Instead, I¡¯ve spent most of my time learning how to cook.¡¹

    So, that was how it was.

    If he hadn¡¯t been learning how to cook since his childhood, he most likely wouldn¡¯t have be the royal head chef.

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to do that, since I couldn¡¯t focus on just doing that one thing. I was the type of person who tried out a lot of things but never really finished one.

    Doing new things was fun at first, but I also got bored of it soon and dropped it. Basically, I was a stereotypical, useless human being.

    On the other hand, there were a lot of people in this world who focused on one thing until they finished it.

    As we walked towards Gran-san¡¯s mansion, Zelef-san was being pulled to every food-selling ce we passed by.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, you will have time for that after the party.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸No buts. We need to hurry; the party is tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu...¡¹

    I had to keep dragging Zelef-san all the way to Gran-san¡¯s mansion. I feared we might run into Randall again, but we managed to get there safely.

    The guards at the entrance were surprised to see me return so quickly.

    ¡¸Can we enter?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We heard about the situation from Gran-sama and were told to let both you and your guest pass.¡¹

    Since they had been notified, they weren¡¯t suspicious of Zelef-san and let us enter.

    Once inside, Meshun-san rushed up to us.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back. Can we meet with Gran-san and Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. They told me to notify them as soon as you returned.¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef-san, are you tired?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be fine; no need to worry about me.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then. Meshun-san, please take us to them.¡¹

    We followed Meshun-san to Gran-san¡¯s study.

    ¡¸Gran-sama. Yuna-sama has returned.¡¹

    Meshun-san said before entering. I followed her soon after, leaving only Zelef-san outside.

    ¡¸Gran-san, Cliff, did anything happen while I was away?¡¹

    I said stepping through the door. With a quick nce around the room, I noticed someone else who I didn¡¯t recognize was inside.

    ¡¸Yuna?!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re back!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I just got back. Umm, who is this?¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I could talk about Zelef-san in front of them.

    ¡¸This is my son, Leonardo. He might be timid, but he is my son nheless.¡¹

    ¡¸Father, saying that I¡¯m timid is a bit... Anyway, I heard that my daughter and father are both indebted to you. Umm, Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸You can call me Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m sorry. My daughter and father always talk about a bear. When I saw that you really are wearing a bear costume, I ended up calling you a bear as well.¡¹

    Unlike Gran-san, Leonardo had a thin stature and seemed to have a rather timid personality. I almost doubted the fact that he was an actual noble.

    ¡¸So, Yuna, did you bring us a chef?¡¹

    Cliff asked me, recalling the reason I even left in the first ce.

    Did that mean it was okay to introduce Zelef-san in front of Gran-san¡¯s son?

    ¡¸Yep, he¡¯s here.¡¹

    As soon as I said that, Zelef-san walked into the room.

    ¡¸At Yuna-dono¡¯s request, I havee to prepare the food for your party, Gran-dono. My name is Zelef.¡¹

    Zelef-san said with a small bow.

    ¡¸Zelef... Please excuse me. Due to my age, I am having trouble remembering things, but have we met before, Zelef-dono? I feel like I¡¯ve seen you somewhere before...¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, you... When you said you knew a chef, you meant...¡¹

    While Gran-san looked at Zelef-san with a pondering expression, Cliff only showed amazement.

    Leonardo-san, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t able to say anything and just stood there with his mouth open.

    ¡¸Cliff, have you met Zelef-dono before?¡¹

    ¡¸Old Man Gran, you¡¯re still too young to forget things. You know him as well. Even Leo noticed.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ve met already? I vaguely remember seeing him before, but I cannot recall when. Zelef-dono, I apologize for not recognizing you.¡¹

    Gran-san apologized.

    Well, at least Cliff and Leonardo-san had recognized Zelef-san.

    ¡¸Oh no, please don¡¯t worry about it. This is most likely the first time we have met face to face.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸I am currently working as the royal head chef. We might have exchanged greetings at the king¡¯s birthday party, but even I am notpletely sure.¡¹

    ¡¸The royal head chef?!¡¹

    Gran-san cried out in shock.

    Meanwhile, Cliff and Leonardo-san didn¡¯t seem surprised at all.

    ¡¸Yuna, the chef you were talking about was Zelef-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, the only excellent chef I knew was Zelef-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, I am honored that you think of me so highly.¡¹

    Zelef-san said, somewhat embarrassed by my praise.

    Gran-san panicked a bit after learning who Zelef-san was, but managed to collect himself and asked us to sit down.

    ¡¸Will you really be making the food for us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono requested His Majesty for me toe with her, so I¡¯m here on his orders.¡¹

    ¡¸His Majesty¡¯s orders...¡¹

    Once the king was mentioned, the room went silent.

    Gran-san and his son were shocked, while Cliff looked flustered.

    ¡¸Yuna, how on earth did you manage to get the king to send his royal head chef here?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? I just asked him.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t just waltz up to the king and ask something like that. I have never heard of the royal head chef cooking for another noble¡¯s party.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Well, it did seem a bit weird for the king to ept my request so easily.

    ¡¸This is just...¡¹

    Cliff sighed.

    ¡¸Well, I believe we made it so that this is considered to be a request from Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸From Eleanora?¡¹

    ¡¸She said that Cliff attending Gran-san¡¯s party should be enough of a reason for the king to consider her request.¡¹

    ¡¸That means I will have to personally thank His Majesty and also write a letter to Eleanora in the near future.¡¹

    Cliff said with a tired expression while Gran-san seemed troubled. Leonardo-san had been just standing there in shock this entire time.

    ¡¸So, what were you three up to before I barged in?¡¹

    ¡¸We were discussing what to do in case you didn¡¯t make it back in time.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh... And?¡¹

    ¡¸We couldn¡¯te up with anything. There¡¯s nobody left in this town who could cook for a noble party. Or, at least nobody up to par with it. We were ready to give up, basically.¡¹

    ¡¸We couldn¡¯t dy the party because the guests have already taken time off to attend it. Ourst resort was going to be holding an alcohol-only party.¡¹

    ¡¸I thought some children were attending as well?¡¹

    ¡¸We would just serve juice for the children.¡¹

    Just hearing about it sounded boring.

    Drinks were great when you had some food to go with them, but only drinking from beginning to end seemed like a terrible party.

    ¡¸Well, now that you¡¯re here, Zelef-dono, we no longer have to worry about that oue. Thank you foring.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, please thank Yuna-dono. I too am indebted to her, so meing here is just repaying a small piece of that debt.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so... This is the second time you¡¯ve saved me, Yuna. Thank you.¡¹

    Gran-san gave me a deep bow from across the table.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. If your party got canceled, then Misa¡¯s birthday party might have gotten canceled as well, which would end up upsetting her. I did this for the girls.¡¹

    While I appreciated him thanking me, the main reason I was doing this was because I wanted the girls to be happy. Well, Gran-san had helped me out in the past, but that wasn¡¯t muchpared to those girls¡¯ smiles.

    ¡¸Okay then... Zelef-dono, the party is tomorrow. Will you have enough time to prepare everything?¡¹

    ¡¸I have already gathered all the necessary ingredients from the capital. If I manage to do all the basic preparations today, we should make it in time for the party.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear. We are counting on you, Zelef-dono.¡¹

    Once Zelef-san mentioned the ingredients, I recalled the deal I had made.

    ¡¸Oh right. About those ingredients, the king will send me a bill, which I will forward to you when I get it. ¡¹

    ¡¸A bill from His Majesty...¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, so please take care of it when I send it to you.¡¹

    ¡¸I will have to go and thank His Majesty in person. I mustn¡¯t forget to set an appointment with him.¡¹

    ¡¸No, Old Man Gran, you shouldn¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t forget His Majesty did this on Eleanora¡¯s request.¡¹

    ¡¸I should go and thank Miss Eleanora, then.¡¹

    They made this into a troublesome noble conversation...

    The nobles sure had it tough, having to hide unofficial requests under official ones in order to mind their public appearances.

    Cliff might have realized what was going through my head, so he spoke to me.

    ¡¸Yuna, you see, normally you can¡¯t just waltz in and meet the king. You have to send a letter a few days prior to secure an appointment. This is the proper way of doing it, so you are the strange one here, just casually walking in like that.¡¹

    How was I supposed to know that?

    When I visited Princess Flora, the king always showed up without me making any prior appointments. Also, this time around, I was able to meet him just fine thanks to Eleanora-san.

    Thinking of it like this, was I really the strange one?

 Chapter 180 â€“ Bear-san Learns About Zelef-sanâ€™s and Botts-sanâ€™s History

    Chapter 180 ¨C Bear-san Learns About Zelef-san¡¯s and Botts-san¡¯s History

    Since the troublesome conversation continued, I decided to just get up and leave.

    I didn¡¯t understand noble etiquette, so I found it boring.

    Zelef-san felt the same way, so we promptly told them we had to start the food preparations and rushed out.

    We then told Meshun-san we got permission to start, so she took us to the kitchen.

    I wanted to see the girls first, but since I was holding onto the ingredients, I had to go to the kitchen before that.

    ¡¸This is the kitchen. Feel free to use anything inside. I will fetch you some help now, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    Meshun-san said and left promptly.

    Zelef-san had requested for some people to help him with some basic things like fetching and washing ingredients.

    Gran-san had asked him how many people he needed, and Zelef-san had said that three people should suffice.

    I had thought that only three assistants was a bit insufficient, but he had exined to me that there wasn¡¯t that much he needed help with.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-dono, could you bring out the ingredients?¡¹

    ¡¸You want me to take them out here? I can bring them out in the refrigerated pantry as well.¡¹

    Well, that might also just give him extra work.

    ¡¸I will start the preparations immediately, so it will be easier to have them here for now. We can just put them awayter.¡¹

    I started to take out the boxes of ingredients in the corner Zelef-san had pointed out to me while he checked out the cookware.

    There would be about fifty people attending the party, mostly neighbouring nobles, merchants, and other influential people.

    That was a lot of food to prepare, especially considering that the guests had high standards.

    Just as I finished taking out all of the ingredients, the hallway in front of the kitchen got noisy.

    ¡¸Botts-san, you have to rest!¡¹

    ¡¸Move! Gran-sama asked me to do this. I can¡¯t just go back on my promise!¡¹

    ¡¸But, with your hands like that...¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can leave the cooking to some random stranger.¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re talking about the chef who was brought here today, it¡¯ll be fine. Gran-sama acknowledged that individual.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s for me to decide. Open the door!¡¹

    I hearding from the hallway.

    From what I could gather, it sounded like the head chef of this residence, Botts-san, was rather angry.

    I guess nobody had properly informed him about the situation.

    While I was thinking about what to do, Zelef-san walked to the door.

    ¡¸Zelef-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Any chef would obviously get angry knowing somebody took their job. I will exin this to him personally.¡¹

    Zelef-san opened the door, so that Meshun-san and a man with bandaged hands could enter the kitchen.

    ¡¸So, you¡¯re the chef that...¡¹

    The moment the manid his eyes on Zelef-san, however, he stopped talking.

    ¡¸...Zelef?¡¹

    ¡¸...Botts?¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef, what are you doing here?¡¹

    They seemed to know each other.

    Well, they were both high ss chefs, so it made sense that they did.

    Even more, Zelef-san was the royal head chef, so I was sure many people had at least heard of him. Well, this time around, Zelef-san also seemed to know this man.

    ¡¸What do you mean? I¡¯m the chef in charge of cooking for Gran-dono¡¯s party. You know, the one you were about toin to.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Zelef, you¡¯re the chef? Aren¡¯t you the royal head chef?¡¹

    ¡¸I am, but I came here at Yuna-dono¡¯s request after hearing that their chef got his hands injured.¡¹

    Botts-san looked at me, and then...

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸This is Yuna-dono, an adventurer. She¡¯s done a great deal for me, and that¡¯s why I agreed to help with this party.¡¹

    ¡¸An adventurer? Who has done a great deal for you? And a bear on top of that?¡¹

    He didn¡¯t have to split that sentence into three questions...

    Even I was now starting to doubt myself.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, you know this man?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we worked together at a restaurant before I began working at the castle.¡¹

    ¡¸At the time, Zelef was the head chef¡¯s assistant while I just worked as their subordinate.¡¹

    Botts-san chipped in.

    Wait, hadn¡¯t I heard that Botts-san was the assistant?

    Meeh, I couldn¡¯t recall it well enough.

    ¡¸Yes, that was why the previous royal head chef even noticed me and invited me to work at the castle.¡¹

    I see, so that was how Zelef-san came to be at the castle.

    ¡¸Still, I heard rumors that you became the assistant head chef after that, Botts. Why are you here now?¡¹

    Ah, I was right, Botts-san had been an assistant for a while.

    ¡¸I got into an argument with the head chef and got fired.¡¹

    ¡¸An argument?¡¹

    ¡¸He kept ming his own mistakes on the other chefs and harassed them. He would even sometimes hit them. Eventually, I got fed up and confronted him about it... Which didn¡¯t end well for me, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t recall head chef Morouge being that kind of person, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Morouge retired due to age and was reced by a chef named Borzak. This happened not long after you left. He is good at cooking but has a terrible personality.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you argued against him and quit?¡¹

    ¡¸I had the assistant position, so I endured for a while, but everybody has a limit...¡¹

    ¡¸And then?¡¹

    ¡¸Borzak pressured the Chef¡¯s Guild and made it impossible for me to find another job at the capital.¡¹

    Botts-san started to get irritated. Was it because he was recalling his past?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what exactly he told the Chef¡¯s Guild, but rumors about me acting violent against my superiors started to spread, and nobody was willing to hire me.¡¹

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you try to deny the rumors?¡¹

    ¡¸I did, but the difference in influence between a head chef and his assistant was just too much. Most people believed him, as he¡¯s as good at ttering people as he¡¯s at cooking.¡¹

    ¡¸And then, you came here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was depressed about not being able to get a job and ended up drinking at a bar, where Gran-sama found me and took me in.¡¹

    Wait, Gran-san at a bar? Did nobles go to bars...?

    ¡¸I need to make this party a sess to repay at least a little bit of the kindness Gran-sama showed me when he took me in.¡¹

    Zelef-san looked at Botts-san¡¯s hands, which were wrapped in arge number of bandages.

    ¡¸How are your hands?¡¹

    ¡¸They will be fine, but I won¡¯t be able to cook for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you¡¯re well enough to be able to say that.¡¹

    Zelef-san said with a smile, making Botts-sanugh.

    ¡¸Yes, but I can¡¯t repay Gran-sama like this. It¡¯s making me hate myself.¡¹

    ¡¸You were attacked, Botts-san. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡¹

    I finally said something. It wasn¡¯t Botts-san¡¯s fault that he had been injured.

    ¡¸Yes, I was attacked, but it¡¯s still my fault for going out on my own despite knowing that the Salbert family might aim for me. Gran-sama always tells me to take some guards with me when I go out, but I find that troublesome, so I normally go out on my own.¡¹

    ¡¸Botts, I didn¡¯t really hear much about the situation, but is it really true that whoever attacked you is rted to the Salbert family?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no evidence, but based on the current conflict between the two families, and the fact that whoever attacked me aimed for my hand, that appears to be the case. Well, there¡¯s always the possibility of it beingpletely unrted, but...¡¹

    Botts-san said andughed.

    Well, I was d to see that he was able tough it off like this even though he had just gotten attacked and injured so recently.

    ¡¸I understand your feelings, Botts. Please rest and leave this to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef...¡¹

    ¡¸Am I not good enough?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I can leave it to you, Zelef.¡¹

    Botts-san said, shaking his head slowly.

    ¡¸I will do my best, then.¡¹

    Zelef-san said and sent Botts-san another smile.

    ¡¸Zelef, it¡¯s been a while, so would you mind if I watched you cook?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. We used to watch each other cook to improve all the time, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸How nostalgic...¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, I will show you how much I have improved in order to not betray your trust, Botts.¡¹

    Zelef-san began to prepare the ingredients, with Botts-san watching him happily despite his injury.

    Soon after, three maids arrived to help Zelef-san with the basic preparations, and I realized it would be best for me to quietly leave the kitchen, so that I wouldn¡¯t interrupt their work.

    I went back to my room and found all three girls waiting for me inside.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back. Did anything happen while I was away?¡¹

    Well, from what I had seen so far, nothing should have happened, or I would have already heard about it.

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Oh, I was wrong. Noa seemed rather angry. Had something just happened?

    ¡¸Eh? Did that stupid noble kid do something again?!¡¹

    ¡¸No, not him. When I woke up yesterday morning, you were nowhere to be seen, and Fina looked sad and all alone by the window. I asked her what happened, and I found out that Father asked you to find him a chef.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry for leaving without saying anything; it was an emergency.¡¹

    ¡¸We know you had no other choice, but we were still lonely without you.¡¹

    ¡¸Since you¡¯re back, Big Sis Yuna, does that mean you already found a chef?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I brought an excellent chef with me. Also, it turns out he is Botts-san¡¯s acquaintance.¡¹

    ¡¸Botts-san¡¯s acquaintance?¡¹

    Misa pitched in when she heard Botts-san¡¯s name.

    ¡¸It seems that the two of them worked at the same restaurant at the capital a long time ago.¡¹

    The world was a small ce, huh.

    ¡¸If I remember correctly, Botts-san worked at a restaurant with a giant falcon stone statue in front of it.¡¹

    ¡¸That falcon statue is the restaurant¡¯s symbol. I know this because it¡¯s a famous restaurant in the capital; I went there once with my family.¡¹

    Misa and Noa then proceeded to exin that it was a high-ss restaurant, where you had to make a reservation to eat there.

    So, Zelef-san and Botts-san had worked at a famous restaurant, huh.

    No wonder they were both able to cook so well.

    Should I try going to this restaurant sometime? The head chef had a bad personality, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop me from tasting good food.

    The only thing I worried about was if they would let me dine in a such high-ss restaurant wearing a costume?

    They might just send me away at the entrance. Yeah, maybe it would be better not to go there. No reason for me to get my feelings hurt over some food.

    ¡¸So, what were you three up to while I was gone?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing, really.¡¹

    Noa answered while the other two just nodded.

    ¡¸With Botts-san getting injured and you going off to look for a chef, Father forbid us from going out by ourselves since it¡¯s dangerous to do so. That¡¯s why we had nothing interesting to do and just stayed inside this room.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that you had to stay locked up inside.¡¹

    Yeah, it would indeed be dangerous for them to leave the mansion even though we weren¡¯t sure if the person who attacked Botts-san really was from the Salbert family.

    There was no way I could force the girls to stay in the room any longer, so...

    ¡¸How about we all make some pudding, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Pudding?!¡¹

    ¡¸Pudding...¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to make pudding?¡¹

    The girls all seemed to be excited.

    Since I had prepared some for the king¡¯s birthday party, there should be no problem if I brought it out for Gran-san¡¯s party as well.

    ¡¸I thought serving some at Gran-san¡¯s party could be a good idea. What do you girls think?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s make it!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to try making it as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    The girls happily followed me to the kitchen.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Botts-san has finally appeared!

    Will he be captured by the bear, or will he be able to escape?!

    I have already thought of at least three ideas where I want to take his character, but I just can¡¯t decide. w

 Chapter 181 â€“ Bear-san Makes Pudding With The Girls

    Chapter 181 ¨C Bear-san Makes Pudding With The Girls

    The girls and I walked into the kitchen, where Zelef-san was in the middle of giving instructions to the maids while also doing some preparations himself. The boxes of ingredients I had taken out earlier were already all scattered around. Well, that most likely couldn¡¯t be helped, as they had to open them to see what was inside.

    Botts-san was sitting on a chair very close to Zelef-san, watching him intently.

    He seemed to be doing quite fine, not counting his injured hands.

    He had seemed full of energy when he had been talking to Zelef-san earlier, even though his livelihood had just so recently been targeted.

    ¡¸Please ce that box into the refrigerated pantry. I will need that box today so bring it closer...¡¹

    Zelef-san was so focused on his preparations that I was unable to find a good time to ask if we could borrow some space in the kitchen.

    As we stood there wondering how to approach him, Botts-san noticed us.

    ¡¸Misana-sama? The Bear?¡¹

    When Botts-san called out to us, Zelef-san finally looked our way as well.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, is something the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef-san, would it be okay if we borrow a corner of the kitchen? We promise we won¡¯t get in your way.¡¹

    ¡¸Out of the question.¡¹ ¡¸Yes, no problem.¡¹

    Botts-san and Zelef-san replied at the same time.

    I had asked Zelef-san, but why did Botts-san butt in as well?

    ¡¸Botts, it¡¯s okay. Yuna-dono, what do you n on making?¡¹

    ¡¸These girls are getting bored, so we decided to make some pudding together, and with your permission, we could also make some for the party tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t allow that!¡¹¡¸Oh, that sounds like a good idea.¡¹

    The two of them answered with differing opinions at the same time again.

    ¡¸What are you saying, Zelef! This is a very important party for the Faren Gramm family. We can¡¯t serve food made by a bear!¡¹

    ¡¸Botts, don¡¯t worry. The pudding Yuna-dono makes was also served at His Majesty¡¯s birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸...You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. This bear made food for a royal party?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and her cooking received much higher praises than my own. Everyone present went crazy over her pudding.¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef, you¡¯re just making fun of me, right?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s all true.¡¹

    Botts-san still didn¡¯t seem convinced.

    Well, I hadn¡¯t attended the party, either, and had also found it unbelievable.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you tell me that the bear is an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono is an excellent adventurer, an excellent merchant, and an excellent chef!¡¹

    Could he please not call me excellent over and over again. There were some girls here who would believe him wholeheartedly. Yeah, now the girls were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

    I wasn¡¯t an amazing person, you know.

    I was just a normal, costume-wearing girl you could find anywhere.

    Although I kept telling that to myself, I did realize that costume-wearing girls couldn¡¯t be found that easily.

    No wonder Botts-san didn¡¯t believe Zelef-san...

    In no ways did a girl in a Bear Suit look like a chef, an adventurer, or a merchant.

    Whether it was Japan or another world, being a Bear wasn¡¯t really an upation even though my guild card might say otherwise.

    I silently swore not to share my ¡®Bear¡¯ upation with anyone.

    Still, it would be annoying to let Botts-san keep looking at me with such suspicion as we made pudding.

    Maybe I could have him taste one?

    ¡¸Botts-san, here, this is pudding.¡¹

    I took out a pudding from the Bear Box and put it on the table next to him.

    I had quite arge stock of it in my Bear Box, after all.

    It was actually more than enough for the party on its own, but it would be more fun to make it with the girls.

    ¡¸This is pudding?¡¹

    Botts-san looked like he was going to reach for it before realizing he couldn¡¯t.

    I forgot that he couldn¡¯t eat it because his hands were hurt.

    One of the maids noticed his struggle and came over.

    ¡¸Head Chef Botts, want me to help you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but please do.¡¹

    Had she helped Botts-san eat since he had been injured?

    The maid scooped up some pudding and brought it to Botts-san¡¯s mouth, who carefully ate it.

    ¡¸What is this?!¡¹

    ¡¸Botts, it¡¯s delicious, isn¡¯t it? Both His Majesty and Her Highness enjoyed this dessert very much.¡¹

    Zelef-sanmented while the maid brought another scoop to Botts-san¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious indeed. Did that bear really make this?¡¹

    He now looked at me curiously rather than suspiciously. Wait, that didn¡¯t make much of a difference for me, did it?

    ¡¸Head Chef Botts, is it really that good?¡¹

    One of the other maids asked.

    When someone said something was delicious, it always made others want to try it.

    Making the maids share Botts-san¡¯s leftover would be rude, so I gave them one cup each.

    ¡¸Is it really okay for us to eat them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup. Eat it and do your best helping Zelef-san, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸We will.¡¹

    The three maids responded and started to eat their puddings.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, it is very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. This is the first time I¡¯ve ever had something so tasty.¡¹

    I was d to hear that they all liked it.

    ¡¸Yuna-san is amazing! She can make many other delicious things, too, not just pudding!¡¹

    Noa proudly announced for some reason, with Fina and Misa nodding next to her.

    I was happy to receive their praise, but I would have prefered it if they didn¡¯t raise the bar of expectations too high.

    ¡¸What do you think? Even if you don¡¯t allow me to serve it at Gran-san¡¯s party, I will still make it for Misa¡¯s party.¡¹

    I had no problems with simply not serving it at Gran-san¡¯s party. This idea was merely a way of killing time and lifting the girls¡¯ mood. All I wanted was for him to lend us a ce where we could cook it.

    ¡¸Alright, fine. If Zelef is okay with it, then I guess I don¡¯t mind it, either. You better not get in Zelef¡¯s way, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t. Girls, we got permission, so let¡¯s start making some pudding right away.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸Okay!¡¹¡¹¡¹

    The three of them replied energetically.

    We moved to a corner so that we wouldn¡¯t get in the way, and I took out around a hundred eggs from the Bear Box there. We could make as much pudding as we wanted since I could just keep the extra pudding in my Bear Box. Or, I could also distribute it to the people working in this mansion. There could never be too much pudding made.

    ¡¸Okay, Fina, you crack the eggs while Noa and Misa will be the ones to whip them.¡¹

    And I would do the remaining steps.

    Fina started to crack the eggs without any problems...

    ¡¸Hey, Zelef. They have a whole mountain of eggs.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course they do. Yuna-dono is raising cluckers thaty about five hundred eggs a day altogether.¡¹

    ¡¸Five hundred eggs?!¡¹

    If I wasn¡¯t wrong, Terumi-san had told me that, recently, the number was even higher.

    Yeah, Zelef-san¡¯s information was most likely outdated.

    We used eggs in more and more new recipes, not just pudding and cake. The shop itself should be going through several hundred eggs a day now.

    With such numbers, the egg price had gone down, and now, even a regr household could afford to buy them. Eggs had a nice nutritional value, so it was great to see that they were more easily essible now.

    Botts-san watched Fina cracking the eggs with an unbelievable look on his face.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe that amoner girl like her can handle eggs so easily...¡¹

    Botts-san still considered eggs to be a high-ss ingredient, while at Crimonia, we could have as many eggs as we wanted. I still recalled the day I had first told Terumi-san that she could take as many eggs home as she felt like. Also, the children of the orphanage often ate eggs these days and werepletely used to handling them. Oh, and the day when Fina had first tried to crack an egg. She had been so nervous that her hands wouldn¡¯t stopped trembling, so she had failed and apologized a lot. Just thinking about it made me smile. Now, she was able to crack them without a problem; she had grown so much.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, why are you smiling like that?¡¹

    ¡¸I was smiling?¡¹

    ¡¸You were. It reminded me of how Mother and Father often smile at me.¡¹

    I understood how Terumi-san and Gentz-san felt now. The feeling I had just now was that of watching a daughter grow up.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I want to try cracking an egg as well!¡¹

    ¡¸M-me too.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Fina, can you show them how it¡¯s done? Also, make sure to remove the shells if you mess up.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Noa and Misa happily begin cracking the eggs.

    There were a hundred eggs, so once they got a hang of it, they should be able to do it in no time.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, if you would like to use some eggs, just let me know. I got a ton of them in my Item Bag.¡¹

    ¡¸That would be great. We have some at the castle, but I decided not to bring them along.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then, I will put some in the refrigerated pantry, so feel free to use them whenever you want.¡¹

    I stuffed a bunch of eggs into therge refrigerated pantry.

    ¡¸Hey, hey. Are you serious? These are expensive, you know.¡¹

    I ignored Botts-san¡¯s remark.

    We had a lot of them, so it was fine.

    ¡¸Botts, if you keep bothering Yuna-dono like that, she won¡¯t be able to get to her cooking. Also, chefs should never reject unknown dishes, or they will never improve.¡¹

    ¡¸Just who is this bear?¡¹

    ¡¸His Majesty has forbade anyone from asking about Yuna-dono, but if that doesn¡¯t stop you, you are free to risk your life trying to find out. I won¡¯t save you.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, what do you mean by that?¡¹

    ¡¸If Yuna-dono reports that you were bothering her to His Majesty, you can say goodbye to your head.¡¹

    Zelef-sanughed and tapped his neck.

    I wouldn¡¯t do something like that. If he annoyed me, I would just Bear Punch him.

    ¡¸.........¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding, Botts. Although, Yuna-dono is indeed backed by His Majesty.¡¹

    Botts-san looked at me in disbelief.

    ¡¸Me being here should prove it to you. Do you think a regr adventurer can just stroll in, speak with the king, and ask him to borrow the royal head chef without a moment¡¯s notice? The only reason I¡¯m here to help you is because Yuna-dono requested it.¡¹

    Botts-san gulped when Zelef-san exined that to him.

    Wait a second, did I always have such an amazing position?

    Well, the king did owe me a lot of small favors. After all, I subjugated the army of over ten thousand monsters, made food for his birthday party, and even drew a picture book for his daughter. Still, those things were all just small deeds.

    Did he consider this to be aplete repayment for everything?

    Well, as long as I could still visit Princess Flora, I didn¡¯t mind. I would be sad if I couldn¡¯t see her smile anymore, though.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I¡¯m warning you now. It would be best not to bother Yuna-dono.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will stop bothering her since I don¡¯t want to die yet.¡¹

    Botts-san sounded like he still wanted to question me but chose not to do so. Thank you, Your Majesty. Or maybe Zelef-san, in this case? Now I didn¡¯t have to exin myself anymore and could focus on making the pudding.

    We managed to finish without any additional interruptions and went to ce it into the refrigerated pantry.

    Hmm, it waspletely full.

    Since I had no other choice, I took out the Bear-shaped fridge from my Bear Box, and we put the pudding inside there.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are we done?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, they¡¯ll be ready by tomorrow morning.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡¹

    ¡¸Remember, these ones are for Gran-san¡¯s party.¡¹

    ¡¸I know.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, we will eat them too, of course, even though we won¡¯t go to his birthday party!¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are you really not going to attend?¡¹

    ¡¸Nah. I only came here because you invited me to your party, Misa.¡¹

    ¡¸How about you, Fina?¡¹

    Fina shook her head when Noa asked her.

    Fina had already had a hard time deciding whether to go to Misa¡¯s party, so of course she wouldn¡¯t want to go to a party with a bunch of nobles and rich people. Even if she attended, she wouldn¡¯t have any fun as it would also stress her out so badly that she would get a stomachache.

    Still, if Fina somehow ended up going, I would have to go with her. Therefore, I mustn¡¯t let Fina attend.

    Noa and Misa looked disappointed but decided not to push the matter.

    That night, after everybody went to sleep, a Bear stealthily climbed up to the roof of the mansion.

    It was me. I had to remove the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The party will finally start in the next chapter!

 Chapter 182 â€“ Cliff Attends the Party, Cliffâ€™s Perspective

    Chapter 182 ¨C Cliff Attends the Party, Cliff¡¯s Perspective

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Since Yuna doesn¡¯t attend the party, this chapter will be written from Cliff¡¯s perspective.

    Thanks to Yuna, we were able to secure a chef for the party.

    Not to mention, she brought us the royal head chef himself. Just what was this bear thinking? I could understand if it was just a regr chef working at the castle, but bringing the most influential chef there? That would be impossible for any normal person.

    She had departed three days ago, in the middle of the night. I didn¡¯t know how fast her summoned bears could go, but even she shouldn¡¯t have been able to waltz into the castle right after arriving to the capital, right? Even though Yuna said that Eleanora had helped her get an audience with the king, I couldn¡¯t imagine her being let in that easily.

    She had been able to meet His Majesty without even a moment¡¯s notice and got permission to borrow his head chef on the spot. She had even gotten all the necessary ingredients from the castle. How effective could she be...?

    Just what had she done to make His Majesty let her get away with something like that? This was all way too baffling.

    I must ask Eleanora for the detailster.

    While the bear had brought some great news, she also brought along some trouble...

    I should be thanking her, but with the trouble she brought, I couldn¡¯t do it genuinely.

    If she had been nning on bringing such an amazing chef, she should have at least said something beforehand. Both Old Man Gran and I werepletely perplexed.

    Eleanora had gotten herself involved as well, and because of that, I would have to thank His Majesty in person. Of course, Old Man Gran nned to do the same.

    The more I thought about the aftermath of Yuna bringing us the royal head chef, the more my head hurt. Still, Yuna had indeed brought over the best chef we could possibly get.

    Right now, I should be thinking about how we could make the most out of this.

    The oue of this feud would be determined by how many people we could bring onto our side during this party.

    Old Man Gran and Leonardo had tried to make some prior arrangements with several merchants, but that had not gone favourably. Just looking at the situation in the town, they had been able to deduce that we were on the losing side.

    Still, during thest ten years, Old Man Gran had helped a lot of people. We had to bring those people in first and show them that we hadn¡¯t been beaten yet. We also needed to get as many people of neutral standing as we could.

    On the day of the party, I headed to the assembly hall early and waited until it was time to let the guests in. Today, the spotlight would be on Old Man Gran, and I had to do my best for this party to seed.

    Once the guests started to enter, I moved to a spot from where I could see the entire hall.

    The guests, who were mostly the town¡¯s nobles and merchant, slowly poured into the hall.

    As I watched these influential people enter one by one, a man with a toad-like face caught my eye. It was Gerardo Salbert, the enemy of Old Man Gran.

    Next to Gerardo was his son, Randall, who had picked a fight with the girls. Just hearing about what he had done to them made me want to hit him. It was just Gerardo and his son as his wife had passed away several years ago, or at least that was what I had heard.

    Immediately after they entered, several people approached Gerardo. They were most likely the merchants who were siding with him. They bowed to him, trying to sell him their ttery.

    Well, I wasn¡¯t afraid of idiots who openly showed that they were on the enemy side. The ones we had to be careful of were those who pretended to be on our side, only to backstab uster on.

    They could leak the information to Gerardo, while also making us think we were stronger than we actually were.

    Because of that, we had to be suspicious of everyone.

    I prayed that we wouldn¡¯t get approached by anybody with ns like those.

    As time went by, people approached Old Man Gran one by one to give him their wishes. This was just out of politeness for being invited to the party; the real fight would begin after this.

    Eventually, Gerardo himself approached Old Man Gran.

    ¡¸I wish you a Happy 50th Birthday.¡¹

    Gerardo congratted him with a wry smile.

    I was amazed that Old Man Gran had not noticed he had been dealing with a person like that all this time. I couldn¡¯t tell if Old Man Gran was just too kind or simply had no danger sense.

    ¡¸Thank you foring all this way. We have plenty of good food prepared, so I hope you enjoy your time here.¡¹

    ¡¸I look forward to the food. I heard it was made by an assistant head chef from a famous restaurant at the capital.¡¹

    I saw Old Man Gran grasping his hands tightly when Gerardo mentioned that.

    I understood his feelings, but he wasn¡¯t in any position to argue right now.

    There was still no evidence that Gerardo had been responsible for the attack on Botts.

    We hadn¡¯t been able to find any witnesses because it had been in an area where not many people passed by.

    So, no matter how suspicious they were, we couldn¡¯t use them. We could only endure their abuse. Old Man Gran must be frustrated, though.

    When it was about time for the party to officially begin, Old Man Gran and his son, Leonardo, started whispering to each other.

    ¡¸Is something wrong?¡¹

    I got concerned, so I approached them and asked.

    ¡¸There are several people who didn¡¯t show up, all of whom were siding with me.¡¹

    ¡¸They promised to attend, didn¡¯t they?¡¹

    ¡¸Is this Gerardo¡¯s doing?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ve got no proof. We also don¡¯t have time to investigate it.¡¹

    It was possible that they had been threatened or even bribed.

    We had no evidence, though; we only knew that several people on Old Man Gran¡¯s side didn¡¯t show up.

    Still, this was no time to specte about what had happened to them. We had to get the party going, so Old Man Gran told Leonardo to announce that he would address the guests.

    ¡¸I thank you for attending my birthday party from the bottom of my heart. I¡¯m sure many of you are very busy, so I really appreciate it.¡¹

    That was rather short for a speech. Old Man Gran sat back down, leaving his son to give the final words.

    ¡¸Food has been prepared for everybody, so please enjoy.¡¹

    As they finished their short greeting, food was brought out.

    It was a standing party, so food was not served individually. The maids ced the food on the tables scattered all around the hall.

    As expected of the royal head chef, all the food looked and smelled amazing.

    One of the maids brought drinks around, so I got myself a cup while the party guests all happily began to eat and chat with each other. They mostly chatted amongst themselves and their acquaintances, while some others went to speak with Old Man Gran or Gerardo.

    After some time, somebody came up to me.

    ¡¸Why, if it isn¡¯t Cliff-dono. How have you been?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m doing fine, thank you. Thest time we saw each other was at His Majesty¡¯s birthday party, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    It was one of the nobles from this town. He didn¡¯t stay to chat, though, but rather went on to greet other people.

    I normally stayed neutral in events like this, so I just observed both the Faren Gramm family and Salbert family from the distance. If we could just win over the guests, we would be fine, but it seemed like it was going to be rather difficult. The Salbert family was trying to do the same thing. At least they couldn¡¯t use bribes here out in the open, so they had to try and gain the trust of the guests the normal way.

    I nced at how Old Man Gran¡¯s side was doing and saw that Leonardo was now going around with his wife to greet the guests one by one.

    The couple appeared to be received favorably, but it could all be just a farce.

    Old Man Gran and Leonardo¡¯s negotiation skills would surely be put to the testter on.

    My job was to back up the Faren Gramm family and make sure Old Man Gran¡¯s negotiations went in his favor. I didn¡¯t know how much I could influence the situation, but it was surely better than having no support at all.

    After looking around the room for a while, my gazended on my daughter. She seemed to be having fun, eating all sorts of food together with Misana.

    Noa had promised me that she would stay by Misana¡¯s side for the entire party. Misana would surely feel better with Noa being there for her, although I didn¡¯t know how much help Noa would be if the Salbert family¡¯s stupid son tried to approach them.

    Speaking of Gerardo¡¯s son, he was strolling around with three other children and enjoying the food for now.

    This made me calm down a bit, but I still worried about what might happenter.

    Really, this was why I had wanted Yuna to be here with them, but she refused to attend the party.

    Then again, if she had attended wearing her costume, she would most likely have gotten dragged into troubles of her own.

    Now that I thought about it, had she ever taken off her bear suit?

    I honestly couldn¡¯t even imagine what she would look like without it since I had only seen her wearing it so far.

    While the idiot son was behaving at the moment, his father Gerardo was talking to quite a lot of people; more than I had expected he would be. At this rate, even those who were neutral might side with the Salbert family.

    I had been afraid of this happening, so I had told Old Man Gran to not let anyone from the Salbert family attend his party, but he had already sent out the invitations.

    I had really hoped that he would have at least given it some thought before sending them out...

    ¡¸He¡¯s a lord of this town; there¡¯s no way I can not invite him.¡¹

    Had been what he had told me. All he had to do was make up some reason not to invite him, though.

    There were many ways to do that, like saying that the party was for close friends and rtives only.

    ¡¸I had to invite you and all the town¡¯s nobles, so that means I couldn¡¯t use that reason not to invite the Salbert family.¡¹

    I understood his reasoning, but it still didn¡¯t convince me that there wasn¡¯t another way not to invite them.

    If this party failed, the bnce of power would crumblepletely.

    The neutral side would see which side was more beneficial to them throughout this party.

    With the party well underway, there was no point in contemting who Old Man Gran had invited.

    We should just look for people who would be willing to side with the Faren Gramm family.

    As the party carried on, another selection of food was brought out.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t tolerate this any longer! Just what is wrong with these dishes!?¡¹

    Gerardo raised his voice angrily.

    ¡¸How dare the Faren Gramm family serve such disgusting food at a party!¡¹

    Gerardo was so loud that the entire hall went silent.

    Considering how happily he had eaten it earlier, this was obviously a fake outburst.

    Still, things would obviously move in a bad direction if we let him continue yelling out like that.

    ¡¸Is there something wrong with the food I provided for you?¡¹

    Old Man Gran went to speak with Gerardo.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. It doesn¡¯t taste good at all. I¡¯m very disappointed, considering I heard that the food was made by the assistant head chef of a really famous restaurant at the capital. Or, did another chef make these?¡¹

    Gerardo responded with an evil grin.

    Based on his attitude, it was obvious he knew that Botts had been injured and unable to cook. Although there was still no evidence, I was now sure that Gerardo had indeed gotten somebody to attack Botts.

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, my chef was injured, so we got another chef to make the food. However, our new chef doesn¡¯t lose to Botts in terms of cooking.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, a different chef, you say? No wonder the food tastes so bad.¡¹

    Gerardo took a sip of his soup and made a disgusted expression.

    ¡¸I agree, this does taste pretty bad.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, this must have been made by some second or even third-rate chef based on how it¡¯s seasoned.¡¹

    Some other people beganining about the food as well, following Gerardo¡¯s lead.

    All of them had been happily eating the food just a moment ago! I wanted to shout at them, but I didn¡¯t want things to go the way Yuna had imagined it, so I kept my anger in check.

    Yes, this was just how Yuna had predicted it before the party.

    Either Gerardo or some his people would put trash or bugs into the food or simply im it was disgusting. Either way, she had known they would haveined about it.

    I had never heard of such pettiness happening at a noble¡¯s party.

    I had never seen this sort of thing happen. Calling perfectly good food disgusting... That would just get the one whoined odd looks.

    I could understand Gerardo finding some other thing wrong with the party, but this food was prepared by the royal head chef. I had been certain that even Gerardo wouldn¡¯t dare criticize such good food...

    Still, just in case, I had kept an eye on them to make sure they didn¡¯t try to put trash or bugs into the food. If they had tried doing that, I could have gotten some good evidence. Well, if there was only one piece of garbage, it would be difficult to prove that they had put in there on purpose.

    I figured that they wouldn¡¯t take that route anyway since there was no way a noble like Gerardo would be willing to carry around trash or bugs with them while their guards and servants couldn¡¯t attend the party. When I had exined that to Yuna, she had said:¡¸They will try to insult the food itself, then.¡¹

    I had asked her where on earth had she learned about such things, and she had told me she had read about them in stories.

    Just what kind of books had she been reading?

    Still, I was amazed that Gerardo had managed to say such delicious cooking was disgusting.

    Everybody should normally look at Gerardo strangely, but with several others following suit, and the fact that a different chef had made this food being exposed, the whole situation was now making Old Man Gran look bad.

    Gerardo was most likely trying to get Old Man Gran to stop the party.

    If he stopped it now, he would be seen as a noble who couldn¡¯t even hold a party, which would put a big dent on his image.

    He would fail as a lord, being unable to provide good service at a party.

    That was most likely why Gerardo had chosen to sabotage us using food, after all.

    There were many influential people present, so Old Man Gran would have no way to deny he had been forced to shut it down.

    Yet, this was exactly what Yuna had expected, and we had a countermeasure in ce.

    Yuna had told us that if we just had Zelef-san show up, this sabotage would end up as a failure.

    We couldn¡¯t just have him appear normally, though. We had to put up an act.

    Once we had exined this n to Zelef-san, he had said, ¡¸How interesting,¡¹and had agreed to it immediately.

    Yuna had then given him some pointers on how to act dramatically. Just where on earth had she learned those things from? She was such a mysterious bear.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe you had such a terrible chef cook food for a party. Has the Faren Gramm family really fallen this low?¡¹

    When Gerardo said that, quite a few peopleughed while others just watched from afar, not knowing how to react.

    Only after Gerardo said that did Zelef-san enter the hall.

    I was it just me or was he in a good mood?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The nobles dug their own graves. What a cliche, right? w

    Next chapter will be Zelef-san POV, I guess.

 Chapter 183 â€“ Zelef-san Gets Mad, Zelefâ€™s Perspective

    Chapter 183 ¨C Zelef-san Gets Mad, Zelef¡¯s Perspective

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I usually only write about four thousand characters per chapter, but today I wrote about seven thousand.

    One day, while I was in the middle of doing my regr kitchen duties, His Majesty and Yuna-dono entered the kitchen.

    What an unusual pairing, I thought. Well, theming to the kitchen was even weirder.

    Anyway, they were here to request me to make food for the birthday party of Sheelin¡¯s feudal lord.

    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t make food for other nobles, but this time it was on Yuna-dono¡¯s request, so we would depart for Sheelin with His Majesty¡¯s permission.

    I was sure we would go by carriage, but since there wasn¡¯t much time left before the party, Yona-dono told me that we would ride her summoned beasts.

    Summoned beasts? Oh, she was talking about her adorable bears she could summon. The ones Princess Flora often yed with. I had watched them y together just the other day.

    I had never seen the bears in their adult forms, but from what I heard, they were big enough for people to easily ride them. Knowing I would have to ride them was kind of scary, but I also looked forward to it at the same time.

    We quickly packed up all the necessary ingredients and departed immediately.

    Once outside of the capital, Yuna-dono summoned her bears from her bear-shaped gloves.

    Wow, they were quite big. Big enough for people to ride on them, indeed. They had the same gentle expressions as when they yed with Princess Flora, so I knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

    Yuna-dono asked which one I wanted to ride first, and I decided on the white one.

    If I remembered correctly, the ck bear was Swaying Bear-dono, and the white bear was Hugging Bear-dono.

    I approached Hugging Bear-dono, which cried softly, and lowered its back for me to get on.

    What a smart bear.

    Even though I was on the heavier side, Hugging Bear-dono stood up without a problem once I was on it. Yuna-dono¡¯s bears were simply amazing.

    We headed off, and I immediately noticed how quick the bears were.

    They were even increasing their speed as we went, but, holding onto Hugging Bear-dono, I somehow knew that I couldn¡¯t fall off.

    This was the power of summoned beasts, huh.

    After we traveled for a while, we took a break and switched bears.

    I asked Yuna-dono why we had to switch, and she exined that Hugging Bear-dono would start to sulk if she only rode Swaying Bear-dono all the way.

    Of course they would prefer having their master ride them rather than an old man like myself.

    Not arguing with her exnation, I rode the next part of the journey on top of Swaying Bear-dono.

    We set camp in the evening and arrived at Sheelin at noon of the next day.

    That was way too quick, considering we had departed just shy of noon the previous day.

    As expected of Yuna-dono¡¯s summoned beasts...

    We met with the star of the party, Gran-dono, and quickly asked to borrow the kitchen as I had to begin the food preparations immediately since the party was right around the corner.

    I was in the middle of setting up in the kitchen, when the residence¡¯s chef made amotion in front of the door. He sounded angry about something; I had heard that he was injured, but he seemed to be doing quite fine.

    I opened the door to speak with him and immediately recognized the person in front of me.

    It was Botts, a chef who had worked at the same restaurant as me before I had be the royal head chef.

    Even though I hadn¡¯t seen him in a long time, I would never have guessed that Botts was the working as a chef here.

    We didn¡¯t really have time to reminiscence about the past, however, so I quickly exined him why I was here.

    Botts then briefly summarized how he ended up here himself.

    Luckily, His Majesty had given me permission to take some time off from my duties, so we should be able to have long chat after the party was behind us, but right now, I had to get back to my food preparations.

    Just as I was about midway done for the day, Yuna-dono entered the kitchen and told me she wanted to make some pudding, and I naturally allowed her to do so.

    Botts, however, got mad at her. Well, he didn¡¯t know Yuna-dono, so I couldn¡¯t me him.

    The first time I had heard of Yuna-dono had been when I had been told that I hadn¡¯t needed to cook for Princess Flora because Yuna-dono had already prepared food for her. I had gotten quite mad that time myself. What a nostalgic memory.

    When I finished all the basic preparations, I decided to report back to Gran-dono. Yuna-dono had also just finished making the pudding, so we went to see Gran-dono together.

    We entered his study and found him and Cliff-dono in the middle of discussing the party.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, thank you very much for your hard work. Because of you, I can now hold my party at ease.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, you should thank Yuna-dono for that. I only came here because Yuna-dono requested it.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? You don¡¯t have to thank me. So, did you already decide on a n for tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯ve been debating on who should we approach first...¡¹

    ¡¸Not that. I meant a countermeasure against the Salbert family. Aren¡¯t they going to try and do something at the party?¡¹

    ¡¸We won¡¯t be able to stop them from getting people on their side. Many people are already siding with the Salbert family, so we will have to give up on those.¡¹

    ¡¸That still isn¡¯t what I meant...¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think they¡¯ll try to do something else? They already attacked our chef. What more can they do?¡¹

    ¡¸Like, won¡¯t they try putting bugs into the food? Maybe even some trash. Or, perhaps they¡¯ll simply try toin about it?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll do something like that!¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, when you are harassing someone, isn¡¯t this exactly what you would do?¡¹

    Yuna-dono said something outrageous.

    Putting trash into the food or simplyining about it was very poor and cruel behaviour towards the chef.

    Even though the families were in the middle of a feud, I didn¡¯t think they would go that far.

    ¡¸If they are aware that the chef has changed, then won¡¯t they say that the food tastes bad? Based on what Gran-san said, didn¡¯t all the chefs you asked turn you down?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but will they say stuff like that even after eating Zelef-dono¡¯s cooking? He is the royal head chef, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸They don¡¯t know that the new chef is Zelef-san, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    Yuna-dono continued to exin that for the people who did harass someone, this was something very basic, but I had never heard of someone putting garbage or bugs into food.

    Still, Gran-dono and Cliff-dono both agreed that it was indeed possible after Yuna-dono exined it in detail.

    If someone did something like that to my cooking, I would never be able to forgive them.

    ¡¸If they decide to just say that the food tastes bad then we will have you do some acting for us, Zelef-san.¡¹

    Yuna-dono then proceeded to exin her n.

    Her n sounded nice and all, but I couldn¡¯t quarrel with a noble.

    Yes, I had my position as royal head chef, but I wasn¡¯t a noble myself. I also didn¡¯t want to boast about the fact I had the backing of the royal family.

    I was a chef, not a noble. I exined that to Yuna-dono, but she surprised me with another crazy response.

    ¡¸You have to get mad when somebody makes fun of your cooking. It¡¯s insulting to the people who enjoy your food. If your food tasted bad, then we couldn¡¯t do anything about theirins, but you have your position because your skills were recognized, right? I don¡¯t really get how this works, but wouldn¡¯t it be really rude towards the king, the queen, and Princess Flora, who enjoy your food on a daily basis, if you let someone make fun of your cooking? ¡¹

    Yuna-dono lectured me. She was right... Making fun of my cooking, which the king himself had praised, was the same as making fun of the king¡¯s tastes.

    The previous head chef and my subordinates all also acknowledged my cooking. Letting the Salbert family insult my cooking would be disrespectful to everyone who liked the food I made.

    Yes, Yuna-dono was right. Things were different now.

    However, did nobles who would put bugs into food or im that delicious food was disgusting really exist?

    I had made food for other nobles before, but I had never had anything like that happen.

    I should keep it in mind in case it did ever happen.

    Yuna-dono then proceeded to exin how to counter such tactics.

    She really knew a lot of weird things.

    We took her warnings into ount and were prepared when the party began, with me making sure to prepare plenty of food.

    I received no messages from inside the hall yet. As soon asints against the food ured, I had to be ready to rush in there immediately.

    It seemed like Yuna-dono had worried needlessly, so I continued giving instructions to those who aided me in the kitchen. Things were proceeding slower than in the royal kitchen, but we were having no problems so far.

    As the party slowly moved towards its peak, somebody rushed into the kitchen.

    ¡¸Zelef-sama, Gerardo-sama is... severely criticizing your cooking.¡¹

    He had a hard time telling me.

    I really didn¡¯t think that what Yuna-dono had predicted woulde to happen. If we hadn¡¯t prepared for this situation beforehand, I would most likely be panicking right now.

    ¡¸I see. Got it.¡¹

    I said no more, stopped what I was doing, and headed straight for the hall.

    I peeked into the hall through the crack in the door and could see Gran-dono disputing with another man. That man must be Gerardo-dono from the Salbert family.

    I heard some other people closeby say that the food tasted bad and that it must have been made by a second or even a third-rate chef.

    I knew that they were lying, but hearing it still put me off.

    I nowpletely understood what Yuna-dono had been trying to tell me. As the royal head chef, I had to get mad for the sake of the people who acknowledged my cooking.

    ¡¸Please excuse me. My name is Zelef, and I have been given the opportunity to be in charge of cooking for the party. Is my cooking really that unsatisfactory?¡¹

    Yuna-dono had told me to act like I was mad while asking that, but I didn¡¯t really have to act as my anger was pouring out on its own already.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the one who made these?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s correct.¡¹

    ¡¸You have some nerve, serving such disgusting food.¡¹

    Gerardo-dono pointed at my food whileining.

    It was the soup I had carefully prepared. Managing to keep my anger in check, I looked at Gerardo-dono without even flinching.

    ¡¸Please exin to me what you didn¡¯t like about the dish, so I can forward it to the master I serve as a reference for future meals.¡¹

    Yuna-dono had told me that because my cooking was good, I must never apologize.

    If Yuna-dono hadn¡¯t warned me, I would have most likely apologized immediately.

    ¡¸All of it is bad! Your master doesn¡¯t know any better. How can your master be satisfied with this cooking? The Faren Gramm family has hit rock bottom, for them to leave their cooking to a chef like you!¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I will ry that message to my master, His Majesty.¡¹

    ¡¸...His Majesty?¡¹

    Gerardo-dono was shocked by my words, and everybody around us started panicking.

    ¡¸No wonder he looked so familiar. He is the royal head chef...¡¹

    It seemed like some people here had recognized me.

    Well, I often came out of the kitchen to greet the guests after the meal, so they might recognise me from one of the king¡¯s banquets.

    ¡¸The royal head chef...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. My name is Zelef, and I cook for the royal family. Now, could you please tell me what you found bad about my cooking? I must not serve bad food to His Majesty, who always tells me that my food is delicious.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t feelfortable using the king¡¯s authority like this, but if I backed down now, I would be insulting the tastes of entire royal family.

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸So? What part of it did you think was third-rate? It will be very helpful if you told me.¡¹

    I asked the men surrounding Gerardo-dono.

    ¡¸Oh, no...¡¹

    ¡¸Weren¡¯t you gentlemen surprised, eximing that the food tasted bad? If you could exin in more detail, that would be great. I must not serve low-grade dishes to His Majesty.¡¹

    I was mad that they made fun of my cooking, but knowing that they also insulted His Majesty made my anger swelled up even more.

    They decided to lie just to trick us.

    I got even angrier knowing that they might have done this to other chefs as well. If the food truly was bad, then that would be okay, but saying that good food tasted bad could ruin the chef¡¯s future. They would start to doubt themselves, and then move onto a different path in life. I didn¡¯t know how many more terrible things they might have done.

    These people were the enemies of us chefs.

    I red at the people who called my food disgusting.

    ¡¸No, you see...¡¹

    ¡¸Please tell me, so I can reference it for future dishes.¡¹

    I red at them even harder.

    ¡¸Cough, cough, Zelef-dono, I truly apologize.¡¹

    One of the men coughed and bowed.

    ¡¸Actually, I caught a cold recently, so perhaps my taste buds are a little bit off because of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Gran-sama wanted me to attend because there are some important things we must discuss, so I attended even though I caught this terrible cold. Isn¡¯t that right, Gran-sama?¡¹

    The man looked at Gran-dono, wanting him to save him.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, we had some important things to discuss, so I requested him to attend.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-sama, since I¡¯m not feeling too well, is it okay if we have our discussion earlier?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    The man bowed to me and went to Gran-dono¡¯s side.

    ¡¸Please take care of yourself.¡¹

    I responded in a way Yuna-dono had told me to.

    Yuna-dono had said that when I questioned them in this manner, they would do one of three things. Either they would shut up, run to Gran-dono, or put the me on Gerardo-dono.

    If they ran to Gran-dono, I shouldn¡¯t chase them, she had lectured me.

    I knew they were lying, but I decided to follow Yuna-dono¡¯s instructions. I wanted to question them more, but they were forced to lie by Gerardo-dono.

    Seeing the man go to Gran-dono¡¯s side, everybody else followed suit.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, you see, I haven¡¯t been feeling well either, so my taste buds are all messed up. I also came to discuss some things with Gran-sama. Is it okay if I speak to Gran-sama before I feel any worse?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, please take care of yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸I will, thank you.¡¹

    One more, then two more left.

    I never really noticed it, but the title of the royal head chef had quite the influential power behind it.

    People had acknowledged my cooking since I had been young, which was how I had gotten where I was today. I never thought about the power my position carried. I just wanted to make good food.

    By no means I thought I had greater influence than nobles.

    Still, I just could not forgive those who disrespected the people who supported me.

    The royal family and others who ate my cooking all enjoyed it.

    Yuna-dono, who was an exceptional chef herself, believed in me.

    That was why I would never forgive those who lied about my cooking.

    I took a step towards Gerardo-dono, while the others quietly disappeared, leaving only him standing in front of me.

    ¡¸Now then, you also said that my cooking is no good. Please exin, so I can reference it for future meals.¡¹

    ¡¸W-why is Zelef-dono, the royal head chef, cooking at a ce like this? Does His Majesty know about this?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course His Majesty knows that I am here. I dide for a personal reason, though. You see, the injured chef is an old friend of mine.¡¹

    Technically speaking, I hadn¡¯te here under the orders of His Majesty; we were treating it as a request from Eleanora-sama.

    ¡¸Old friend of yours?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I used to work together with Gran-dono¡¯s chef, Botts, at a restaurant in the capital called the Falcon¡¯s w.¡¹

    ¡¸...............¡¹

    ¡¸Also, Cliff-dono¡¯s wife, Eleanora-sama, requested for me toe here. Because of that, His Majesty granted me some time off, so that I coulde here to cook for this party.¡¹

    ¡¸You came running here right after their chef got injured? That¡¯s impossible, timewise...¡¹

    ¡¸Please excuse my rudeness, but were you aware that the chef Botts was injured, Gerardo-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t know. I only learned about it when Gran-dono told us earlier.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. If you know anything about it, or if you might know of any witnesses, please let us know.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t be of any help to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, he was attacked in a deserted alley, so finding a witness would be a miracle.¡¹

    People in the hall started to make a mor hearing that the chef had been attacked.

    Without a doubt, the one responsible for the attack on Botts was Gerardo-dono.

    He had injured the chef¡¯s most important asset, his hands. Botts would recover eventually, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a knife for a while.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, please don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s not that the food didn¡¯t taste good. It was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? I heard you eximing that the food tasted bad, however. Everyone else heard you say it as well, right? Of course, I have no intentions ofining if you thought so, but as a chef and the person in charge of the food for this party, I have to apologize if you really thought that the food was bad. I would also like to know what you did not like about it.¡¹

    I looked straight into Gerardo-dono¡¯s eyes.

    He tried to find a response, but to no avail.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, I must apologize. It seems that I am also feeling unwell.¡¹

    He backed away slightly, and looked at Gran-dono.

    ¡¸Gran-dono, I am feeling unwell today, so I would like to head home early. Is that alright with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯m sorry that I made youe all the way here, not realizing you were unwell. You are one of the lords of this town, so please take care of yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Well then, Zelef-dono, please excuse me.¡¹

    Gerardo-dono told me in a calm voice, but I could see that he was biting his lips harshly.

    ¡¸Please try my cooking again once you feel better and let me know what you think of it.¡¹

    Gerardo-dono called for his son.

    His son did not try to hide his irritation and red at everyone in the hall as he left with his father.

    ¡¸Everybody, I¡¯m sorry for disturbing your meal. This is a bit ahead of the schedule, but I would like you to try this dessert called pudding, which was also served at His Majesty¡¯s birthday party. I will prepare some more food meanwhile, so please enjoy it.¡¹

    Yuna-dono allowed me to decide on when to serve her pudding.

    I had wanted to serve the pudding a little bitter, but I felt that now was a good timing.

    I bowed to everybody in the hall and received a round of apuse as I exited the room.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Next chapter will be Gerardo¡¯s POV, and then we will go back to Yuna¡¯s POV.

    Sorry for writing as I please.

 Chapter 184 â€“ Gerardoâ€™s Scheme, Gerardoâ€™s Perspective

    Chapter 184 ¨C Gerardo¡¯s Scheme, Gerardo¡¯s Perspective

    I received an invitation to Gran¡¯s party.

    Huhu, he still hadn¡¯t given up even now.

    I had already bent the Commerce Guild and several influential people to my will.

    It was toote for him now, even with the party.

    Still, I should be careful.

    I had heard a rumor that his chef was the assistant head chef of a famous restaurant in the capital.

    That just wouldn¡¯t do. Should I get rid of the chef?

    Iughed just imagining Gran panicking because he wouldn¡¯t be able to serve food at his party.

    I immediately called for Blood and instructed him to, if an opportunity presented itself, make it so that Gran¡¯s chef could no longer cook.

    ¡¸Shall I kill him instead?¡¹

    ¡¸If you did, Gran would use that as an excuse to stop the party. Just hurt the chef¡¯s hands or something, so he won¡¯t be able to cook anymore. Also, do it right before the party. That way, Gran won¡¯t have enough time to get a new chef.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    Blood responded and stepped back into the shadows.

    He was a C rank adventurer I had found fighting with a fellow adventurer at the capital.

    Even though his opponent had kept apologizing and begging for forgiveness, Blood had kept hitting him.

    When I had looked into it, I had found out that Blood was quite the troublemaker.

    He was rather calm normally but lost it when he saw his own blood. He went into a fit of rage, and nobody could stop him. Even though he was strong, nobody wanted to party with him because of that.

    I wanted his skills, so I had invited Blood to work for me. He had agreed immediately.

    When I had asked him why he had epted without taking any time to think, he had told me he was sick of being an adventurer and was willing to work for me only until he was bored of it.

    Blood was very useful and followed all my instructions perfectly.

    His personality was a bit of problem, but his skills were invaluable to me.

    Just recently, I had asked him to attack some merchants who didn¡¯t listen to me, and he had done it without anybody noticing him.

    If I asked him to capture someone for me, he would do so withoutint.

    I was lucky to be able to get such an excellent pawn. When I had no further use for him, I could just get rid of him. Even though he was better than most people, there were still plenty of ways for me to kill him.

    Well, he was very useful to me at the moment, so I wouldn¡¯t need to do that anytime soon.

    Three days before the party, Blood came back to report to me. He managed to hurt the chef¡¯s hands, so the chef could no longer cook for the party.

    The party would be ruined without him; I just couldn¡¯t stopughing, imagining how Gran would be apologizing to everyone.

    Well, he still had three days, so it was possible that he would try asking another chef, but with the time left, he would not be able to ask someone from another town. His only choice was to find someone in our town.

    Before he could even start looking, I threatened and bought out all the good chefs.

    I didn¡¯t need to do that for all the chefs, of course. If he ended up with a second or a third-rate chef, there would be plenty of ways to ruin his party.

    I soon received information that Gran had indeed tried to find someone in the town, but everyone had refused him. Now his only choice was to ask a second or a third-rate chef.

    On the day of the party, we set out to Gran¡¯s mansion early.

    His ce was about the same size as mine, and I often thought that this town only needed one lord and one big residence.

    When my father had been on his deathbed, he had told me to get along with the other lord, but I found no reason to do that.

    Letting two families govern the same town was stupid. I would push Gran out and make this my town.

    I had already given lot of money to the Bornardpany and had even changed out the Commerce Guild Master.

    I had bought some merchandise from the merchants belonging to the Bornardpany as coteral for a promise not to sell their goods in the areas governed by Gran.

    It had gone so well that all goods hadpletely vanished from Gran¡¯s areas while the sales in my territory had increased considerably. As long as this continued, it was only a matter of time before the entire town would be mine.

    When I entered the party hall, there were already quite a few people gathered around.

    Some merchants who I had bribed approached me the moment they saw me.

    These merchants only knew how to sell ttery and were my precious pawns.

    I took some time to greet a few other people before making my way to Gran.

    This would be thest time he would hold a party in this mansion; might as well give him onest greeting.

    I almost broke outughing when I saw how peaceful he looked.

    What a foolish, soft-hearted person.

    Well, my father had been the same, though.

    They trusted everyone and believed anything you told them, so they were easily taken advantage of.

    After I greeted Gran, I returned back to the other side of the hall and watched him from afar.

    I wanted to see the people who approached him.

    The most problematic person here was probably the owner of Crimonia, the head of the Foschuroze family.

    Recently, due to their connection to the sea, they had began gaining a lot of power.

    I had ordered the Commerce Guild to get me information on Crimonia¡¯s merchants, and all the information I received was strange.

    Like a bear digging out a tunnel, a bear opening a shop, a bear selling pudding, a bear being dangerous to go against.

    I should probably consider doing a proper research on Crimonia after I took over this town.

    Right now, I should be more concerned about the merchants from Crimoniaing here, rather than some weird bear.

    Everything was going so well, after all, so I shouldn¡¯t let that weird little thing bother me.

    Gran then made a short speech, and food was brought into the hall.

    I wondered what kind of garbage food was going to be served, but the food that was brought in all looked and smelled rather delicious.

    Had I missed a chef from this town who could make such good food? No, I should have gotten everyone.

    I tried the food and found it delicious.

    Really, where on earth had he found a chef that could make such delicious food?

    I should have brought some trash with me...

    I had been sure that the food he would be serving would be bad, so I had thought that just insulting the food would be enough. Yet, the food actually tasted great, and I found no problems with it.

    I really needed something to throw in, so that I couldin about it.

    Was it possible that the chef¡¯s hands had already healed?

    No, that would be impossible. I had even made an underling go check on his condition. The chef should still be injured and unable to make food.

    Had the report been wrong, then? I didn¡¯t see how, but could he still make food?

    For now, I should just observe.

    I ate some more food and spoke with a few more people.

    Many approached to talk with me. Well, the smart ones knew which side was more advantageous to be on. Anyone joining Gran¡¯s side at this point was stupid.

    Discussions could wait, so I finished them up quickly. I casually nced towards the door, and noticed a man standing there, his hands wrapped in bandages.

    Based on the reports, Gran¡¯s chef was a red-haired man, so the injured man standing there was was him without a doubt, and a different chef must have made all this food.

    I didn¡¯t know who it was, but to be able to make these delicious dishes, he must be an excellent chef.

    It bothered me that someone like that would help Gran, but I just had to recruit this person to be my personal chef.

    They would regret helping Gran out today.

    Now that I confirmed the chef was indeed different, it was time for me to ruin this party. I sent a signal to those gathered around me.

    ¡¸I have had enough! Just what is with this disgusting food!¡¹

    Once I yelled that out, the hall went silent. Then, the merchants I had been speaking with earlier began to agree with me one by one, gradually making others whisper as well.

    Gran approached me, but I knew that as soon as I pointed out the problem, this party was over.

    When Iined about the food to him and asked if he had changed chefs, Gran easily admitted that a different chef had made the food. Heh, it would have been better if he had just lied or kept quiet about it.

    Shouldn¡¯t he at least try to strategize against me? What would he do if I told him to bring the chef out? Such a boring, simple man.

    As we continued ourints, a man wearing a chef¡¯s outfit entered the hall.

    Hmm? I had a feeling I had seen this man before. I couldn¡¯t recall when, though.

    Maybe I had seen him at some restaurant.

    ¡¸Please excuse me. My name is Zelef, and I have been given the opportunity to be in charge of cooking for the party. Is my cooking really that unsatisfactory?¡¹

    So, this man made it? I almost felt bad I had to crush him.

    I carried on with the n.

    I figured that he would apologize if I continued toin, but instead, he kept asking what I didn¡¯t like about the food.

    Usually, if a noble said that the food was unappetizing, then even good food bes unpleasant for others.

    It seemed like this man didn¡¯t understand the situation he was in.

    A mere chef had little powerpared to a noble.

    ¡¸All of it is bad! Your master doesn¡¯t know any better. How can your master be satisfied with this cooking? The Faren Gramm family has hit rock bottom, for them to leave their cooking to a chef like you!¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I will ry that message to my master, His Majesty.¡¹

    ¡¸...His Majesty?¡¹

    What did he just say? The king himself was his master?

    The hall started getting noisy again. Then, somebody else spoke.

    ¡¸No wonder he looked so familiar. He is the royal head chef...¡¹

    ¡¸The royal head chef...¡¹

    As I murmured to myself, the man re-introduced himself.

    ¡¸Yes. My name is Zelef, and I cook for the royal family. Now, could you please tell me what you found bad about my cooking? I must not serve bad food to His Majesty, who always tells me that my food is delicious.¡¹

    Why was the royal head chef here?

    It was strange, no, impossible.

    Since I couldn¡¯t give him an answer, the chef began asking the other people who had been insulting his food. He didn¡¯t look angry, but he had an expression that told me he would not let them off with a simple answer.

    ¡¸Weren¡¯t you gentlemen surprised, eximing that the food tasted bad? If you could exin in more detail, that would be great. I must not serve low-grade dishes to His Majesty.¡¹

    The other guests didn¡¯t know how to respond and looked at me for help.

    I didn¡¯t know what to do, either, and wanted to ask them that question myself!

    After I ignored their nces for a while, one of them started to cough.

    He then proceeded to im to have a cold and ran to Gran.

    He betrayed me, but I couldn¡¯t say anything at this point.

    Once one of them ran, the other guests also followed with the same excuse.

    Shit, why was this happening!?

    ¡¸W-why is Zelef-dono, the royal head chef, cooking at a ce like this? Does His Majesty know about this?¡¹

    It would be bad if the king knew about this. How much could he possibly know of the situation in my town?

    ¡¸Of course His Majesty knows that I am here. I dide for a personal reason, though. You see, the injured chef is an old friend of mine.¡¹

    Okay, maybe he was not here under the king¡¯s orders, then. While that was a relief, it was still a fact that I had called the royal head chef¡¯s cooking disgusting.

    He continued his exnation, and it turned out that Eleanora from the Foschuroze family was involved. So, this was all Crimonia¡¯s fault.

    It was still strange that he was here, though. Sheelin was quite the distance from the capital.

    There was no way he could have made it here in time, even if he had set off the moment he had received the report of Gran¡¯s chef getting injured.

    ¡¸You came running here right after their chef got injured? That¡¯s impossible, timewise...¡¹

    ¡¸Please excuse my rudeness, but were you aware that the chef Botts was injured, Gerardo-dono?¡¹

    Zelef heard me murmuring to myself.

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t know. I only learned about it when Gran-dono told us earlier.¡¹

    Shit, this wasn¡¯t good. They suspected me for sure.

    ¡¸I see. If you know anything about it, or if you might know of any witnesses, please let us know.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t be of any help to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, he was attacked in a deserted alley, so finding a witness would be a miracle.¡¹

    The hall got even noisier when Zelef said that.

    Since I had revealed that I knew about the chef attack earlier, some guests must be suspecting me, too.

    Shit, everything was falling apart because the royal head chef decided to show up.

    This entire situation was so vexing. My n had been ruined by a single chef.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, please don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s not that the food didn¡¯t taste good. It was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? I heard you eximing that the food tasted bad, however. Everyone else heard you say it as well, right? Of course, I have no intentions ofining if you thought so, but as a chef and the person in charge of the food for this party, I have to apologize if you really thought that the food was bad. I would also like to know what you did not like about it.¡¹

    Shit, even saying it was delicious couldn¡¯t get me out anymore.

    He even cornered me loud enough that everybody heard him. I should have investigated more beforehand...

    How had hee here so quickly all the way from the capital? No matter how I looked at it, it seemed impossible!

    I couldn¡¯t think of any other excuse to cover this up.

    I couldn¡¯t tell him that it was delicious, and I couldn¡¯t tell him that it was bad. I would be insulting the food the king and his family ate if I dared to call it disgusting.

    So, the only thing I could do was act the same way as those men who ran to Gran.

    ¡¸Zelef-dono, I must apologize. It seems that I am also feeling unwell.¡¹

    It was regrettable, but I had to pull back.

    I apologized to Gran, grabbed my son, and started to leave.

    Nobody followed us.

    I bit my lips so hard that my mouth began to bleed.

    ¡¸Father.¡¹

    My son looked at me, but I was too preupied to pay attention to him.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going home.¡¹

    ¡¸Father!¡¹

    ¡¸Silence.¡¹

    I made my son shut up.

    Why had the royal head chefe here? Why?!

    Once I returned home, I went straight to my study and began shouting all the things I couldn¡¯t say earlier.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mess with me! The royal head chef?! How did someone like him end up being here?! Also, those merchants! They were all over me earlier; how could they just run to Gran like that?!¡¹

    I got angry just thinking about it and had to sip some sweet juice to calm myself down.

    No matter how I looked at it, this must be the fault of that Cliff from the Foschuroze family. He had managed to get in my way. If he hadn¡¯t been there, I would have ruined the Faren Gramm family for good. Just thinking about that blond guy¡¯s expression made me angry again.

    Once I was done with disposing of Gran, he was next.

    ¡¸Father!¡¹

    ¡¸Randall, you¡¯re still here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the point. Why did you back down? He¡¯s just a chef.¡¹

    ¡¸He is not just a chef; he¡¯s the royal head chef. If he tells the king what happened here, His Majesty¡¯s impression of our family will be ruined.¡¹

    ¡¸It was so unlike you not to say anything back like that, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Randall. You should think about your position a bit more.¡¹

    Perhaps because nobody scolded my son, he believed that everything would go smoothly no matter what.

    I was the one who taught him that nobles were superior people, of course, but I didn¡¯t realize he was stupid enough to think that the royal head chef was just a regr chef.

    He could not tell the difference between his foes and friends. He was fourteen already, so I wished that he could understand at least that much.

    ¡¸Are you just going to leave it at that, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I will see how the situation ys out for now. The tide has changed with what has happened today. It¡¯s possible that many people will side with Gran now.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, just threaten them some more, or bribe them with more money.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do anything until Zelef leaves...¡¹

    I shouldn¡¯t try to stir trouble right now. It would be a problem if His Majesty caught wind of this.

    If he ended up doing an inspection here, it would cause us some problems.

    I told my son not to cause any trouble for a while then kicked him out from my study.

    Author¡¯s note:

    We will return to Yuna¡¯s perspective next chapter since the battle-between-nobles party is now over. w

    Gerardo believes that it¡¯s all Cliff¡¯s fault, but really, it¡¯s all due to a certain bear.

    Even if he finds out, some unbelievable thing may happen if he tries to go against her. w

 Chapter 185 â€“ Bear-san Wastes Some Time Away

    Chapter 185 ¨C Bear-san Wastes Some Time Away

    The party was well underway now.

    All the maids and other employees were very busy due to the amount of guests that had arrived.

    As much as we would like to help, both Fina and I knew nothing about noble parties.

    We just hid ourselves in our room to stay out of the way.

    If I walked around the mansion in my suit, I would only draw attention to myself, which would only end up causing amotion.

    ¡¸Fina, what should we do?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, how about some dismantling?¡¹

    She said after thinking about it for a bit.

    She came all the way here, so she should stop thinking about dismantling and just take a break.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to do that right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, how about cleaning?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to do that either.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, Big Sis Yuna. I can¡¯t calm down. I¡¯m in a Noble-sama¡¯s mansion; I just can¡¯t stay still knowing that.¡¹

    Fina couldn¡¯t stay calm even though this was her third day here already, huh.

    I had to help her feelfortable staying at mansions, somehow.

    Noa and Misa were her friends, so they were bound to call her over to y at their homes, after all.

    ¡¸Should we y a game, then?¡¹

    ¡¸A game?¡¹

    I climbed onto the bed and gestured Fina to join me.

    The table was a bit too wide for us to y a game where we had to face each other.

    I told Fina to sit on the opposite side of the bed and took out a checkerboard and two small boxes from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸What are these?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a game called Reversi.¡¹

    I passed one of the small boxes to Fina and opened mine, prompting Fina to open hers as well.

    ¡¸Uwahh. It¡¯s a ck bear on one side and a white bear on the other!¡¹

    Fina said while turning one of the t, round pieces in her hand happily.

    ¡¸How do you y this game?¡¹

    ¡¸You y by cing the pieces down on the board. Fina, do you want to be the ck bear or white bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t chose. The ck bear is Swaying Bear, right? And the white bear should be Hugging Bear. I just can¡¯t pick between them.¡¹

    I honestly couldn¡¯t choose, either, even though the drawings on the pieces weren¡¯t Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear but rather just basic deformed bears. Even so, we both felt bad having to choose a side. I had nned on having Fina choose, but since she couldn¡¯t do it, either...

    ¡¸Okay, then we¡¯ll switch sides every round.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    We would do what we always did with my Bears: just switch every so often to keep things fair.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll exin the rules now. First, you ce two of your pieces in the middle of the board like this.¡¹

    I ced two ck pieces in the middle.

    ¡¸Fina, put two of your white pieces on the two open spots in the middle.¡¹

    Fina did as I told her to.

    I then ced another ck piece down, and flipped one of Fina¡¯s white piece that was trapped between mine, changing it into a ck bear.

    ¡¸Okay Fina, now try cing a white piece in the same way to capture a ck piece of mine.¡¹

    ¡¸Can I put it anywhere?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, as long as you ce it next to one of my pieces.¡¹

    Fina ced her white piece next to one of mine. She then flipped my piece as it was in between two of her pieces.

    ¡¸We keep cing our pieces back and forth like this. Whoever has more pieces of their color in the end wins.¡¹

    ¡¸I think I get it.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to enter an all out reversi war, sessfully killing time while waiting for the party to end.

    Honestly, I had wanted to make some ying cards, but I couldn¡¯t decide on what to draw for the Kings, Queens, and Jacks. I had ended up just overthinking those trivial things, so I had decided to make reversi instead.

    Also, drawing fifty-two cards plus the Jokers would be just too much of a pain.

    I was nning on asking Mylene-san if printing artwork was possible in this world first, beforemitting to it.

    I figured I would be using His Majesty for the Kings, and Her Highness for the Queens, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything good for the Jacks, so I was thinking of maybe just putting Princess Flora on them. Cliff, Eleanora-san, or Noa could also work. As for Misa, I didn¡¯t even consider her till now.

    Drawing a bear for the Joker should be okay, and if it got too difficult to pick, I could also just draw bears on all the cards.

    When I got back to Crimonia, maybe I should discuss this with Mylene-san. It would be nice to have more games to y when I was stuck in a room with other people like this.

    As for when I was alone, I could just sleep, of course.

    We yed Reversi for a while, ate some of the pudding we made yesterday, and then also ate some pizza. We leisurely spent our time in the room.

    As wezed around on the bed after filling our bellies with pizza, Noa and Misa came into the room wearing beautiful dresses.

    Noa¡¯s dress was red, matching her glistening blonde hair, and Misa was wearing a pale blue dress, which also matched her light brown hair really well.

    Fina would be wearing a dress for Misa¡¯s party as well; I was really looking forward to that.

    ¡¸Both of you are so cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Did the party go smoothly?¡¹

    Based on their smiles, it seemed like it had ended peacefully.

    I figured that the opposing nobles would try to harass them, but maybe I was wrong?

    ¡¸Yes, it went great. Zelef-san was really cool.¡¹

    Noa and Misa then told us about the party.

    It turned out that some nobles had indeed tried toin about the food. Well, at least they hadn¡¯t put trash into it.

    The more I heard about those nobles, the more they sounded like the typical stupid nobles I had read about in stories.

    How dared they eat Zelef-san¡¯s food and then im it tasted bad. Even though they didn¡¯t know who made the food, most people wouldn¡¯t just say something tasted bad when it tasted that good.

    However, situations could change depending on the speaker.

    Some people trusted another person¡¯s judgment over their own. If the other person imed the food was third-rate, they would believe them.

    It was the same whether you were in school or working. If you ate something and thought it was good, but your upperssman or a superior said it was disgusting, and those around you also agreed with them, then you were sure to doubt your own tastes. You might even end up thinking it didn¡¯t taste good yourself.

    Even if you still thought it tasted good, you couldn¡¯t go up against a group of people who agreed with your superior.

    In this case, the nobles who had made the ims were quite influential, so going against their opinions would have been difficult.

    To fight against them, we had needed somebody who had equal or greater influence than them.

    Gran-san would have been of no help, and we didn¡¯t know how much influence Cliff had in this town. So, Zelef-san had been the best choice to go against the nobles.

    ¡¸Thanks to Zelef-san, Randall and his father left the hall. I was so happy to see them leave!¡¹

    The two girls happily told us.

    Randall... Oh, he was the shitty brat who had tried to fight us the other day.

    With someone like him at the party, of course the girls wouldn¡¯t have been able to enjoy themselves.

    Hearing about what his father had done, his spoiled attitude now made more sense.

    I looked at the girls. I must make sure they grow up to be fine people.

    ¡¸Still, Randall red at us on his way out. It was kind of scary.¡¹

    ¡¸He looked so frustrated, though.¡¹

    Maybe we should watch out for a bit.

    The next time we ran into him, he might try to pick a fight with us again.

    Misa and Noa happily talked about what had happened at the party after the Salbert family had left.

    ¡¸Afterwards, everybody ate the pudding we made. They all said it was delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸But, everybody thought Zelef-san made it...¡¹

    ¡¸...even though we were the ones who did.¡¹

    The two of them looked a bit disappointed.

    ¡¸That can¡¯t be helped. At least everybody liked it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! Everybody couldn¡¯t stop saying how good it was with each and every bite.¡¹

    I was d that the pudding had been so well-received.

    It seemed like Zelef-san¡¯s cooking had also been received well.

    Even though I really hadn¡¯t wanted to attend the party, I still wanted to taste Zelef-san¡¯s cooking when I got the chance.

    Would he be willing to cook something for me if I asked?

    ¡¸I wish Yuna-san and Fina were there.¡¹

    Both Fina and I showed a bitter smile when Noa said that.

    We definitely didn¡¯t want to go to a party full of nobles and influential people. Everybody would stare at us, and we would most likely end up not eating anything because of that.

    Also, we didn¡¯t know anything about proper etiquette of noble parties, and I surely wouldn¡¯t be allowed to attend the party wearing my Bear Suit, right?

    As we continued chatting, I realized something.

    I hadn¡¯t heard of what Zelef-san nned to do now.

    Would he be returning to the capital straight away?

    It would be a bit of a problem if he left before Misa¡¯s birthday party. Should I ask him to stay?

    I went to the kitchen to look for him, but I only found some maids in the middle of cleaning. He was nowhere to be seen.

    I decided to ask the maids, and they told me that he had apparently been summoned by Gran-san.

    Why did Gran-san want to see him?

    Hmm, what should I do...?

    Should I go to Gran-san¡¯s study to check if Zelef-san is there?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸Meshun-san?¡¹

    I turned around and was met by Meshun-san carrying the tes that had been used at the party.

    ¡¸I have something I want to ask Zelef-san. I heard Gran-san asked to speak with him?¡¹

    ¡¸Once the party was over, Gran-sama requested to speak with Zelef-sama. I think they¡¯re in Gran-sama¡¯s study.¡¹

    Since I now knew where Zelef-san was, I headed straight over to Gran-san¡¯s study.

    I knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission to do so.

    ¡¸Young Bear Lady, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    Zelef-san and Gran-san were inside the room while Cliff was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡¸I wanted to ask Zelef-san about what he ns to do now that the party is over.¡¹

    ¡¸What I n to do?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I had to know if you were nning on leaving immediately. If possible, I want you to wait until Misa¡¯s birthday party is over.¡¹

    ¡¸Is Misana-dono also having a party?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s in three days. Would it be too much to ask you to dy returning to the capital until then?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? I guess that should be fine. I received permission from His Majesty toe here, after all. I also want to have a long talk with Botts, so we can catch up.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, shall I make the food for Misana-dono¡¯s party as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Could you?¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t me, but Gran-san who popped the question.

    ¡¸Yes, of course. Botts can¡¯t make food for a while, right? Please think of it as my present to her.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Gran-san thanked him with a bow.

    Oh, now I could eat Zelef-san¡¯s food.

    That made me a bit happy.

    ¡¸I heard this from Noa and Misa earlier, but you yed a big role in today¡¯s party, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I did no such thing. I just responded to the criticism my food was getting by asking what the problem was. I acted based on what you told me, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    ¡¸Acted based on what I told you?¡¹

    ¡¸If I epted that my food was bad, it would be rude to the people who recognize and like my food, right?¡¹

    Oh, I had told him that.

    ¡¸When I thought of it that way, His Majesty and my subordinates came to my mind. I got a little bit mad, realizing that those nobles were tarnishing the tastes of those who find my cooking delicious.¡¹

    Zelef-san was expressing his thanks to me, but hadn¡¯t he just done the obvious thing?

    Still, by stating that the king liked his food, he had surely put himself out there.

    If Zelef-san were to fail and served something of poor taste, it would be the same as betraying the trust of those who believed in his cooking. Also, it was possible that if the head chef¡¯s cooking was found to be bad, his subordinates¡¯ cooking might bebeled as bad, too.

    He had put himself under a lot of pressure.

    Well, Zelef-san would never serve his failures to his guests, so this was all just a needless worry.

    Since I now figured out what Zelef-san wanted to do, I returned to my room. The girls were ying Reversi, which I had left out for them.

    Noa and Misa should have at least changed out of their dresses before ying, though.

 Chapter 186 â€“ Bear-san Is Shocked When She Finds Out About Udon

    Chapter 186 ¨C Bear-san Is Shocked When She Finds Out About Udon

    The next day, Gran-san and Cliff came to thank me while we were in the middle of breakfast.

    Noa and Gran-san exined how Zelef-san had helped save the party yesterday.

    Many merchants and influential people had agreed to listen to Gran-san, but they were mainly talking about Zelef-san.

    It made sense that if the royal head chef appeared, the people doing shady deals in the background would take notice and would have to pull back, knowing that the king might hear about what they were up to. After all, nobody was stupid enough to go against the king.

    The other people that stayed wanted to learn more about Zelef-san, of course.

    The reason given for Zelef-saning was that it was because he was acquainted with Botts-san, and because the Foschuroze family¡¯s Eleanora-san had requested him to go.

    Now nobody would know that I had actually been the one who asked Zelef-san toe.

    In the first ce, most people would question us if they found out that a Bear had brought him here.

    I always hated dealing with troublesome things, so I was happy with that exnation.

    Many people had enjoyed and talked about the pudding as well. Some of them even knew about my shop in Crimonia.

    One of them had asked Gran-san, ¡ºDo you happen to be acquainted with the bear?¡»

    To that, Gran-san had whispered back, ¡ºYes, she is my granddaughter¡¯s friend.¡»

    The person who had asked him had seemed surprised, so Gran-san had asked him why.

    Wait, why had he whispered it?

    Well, it was better than loudly eximing it so that everybody could hear.

    ¡¸Okay, Yuna. I have to help out Old Man Gran for a while, so can I ask you to take care of Noa? If she starts acting selfish, I don¡¯t mind if you shut her in her room.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to be selfish.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, that means you can hold back if you see anything bear-rted, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    Noa hesitated.

    Wait, what did they mean by that?

    ¡¸Okay, it¡¯s a promise.¡¹

    ¡¸Father, you¡¯re so mean.¡¹

    Noa showed a sour expression.

    Gran-san then asked me to take care of Misa as well.

    He told me that it was fine if I just yed with them.

    So, that was why we returned to our room after breakfast to y some more Reversi.

    ¡¸The one who loses switches out with Fina.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. I¡¯m not going to lose, though.¡¹

    How were Misa and Noa not tired of ying this game yet?

    I was alreadypletely tired of it.

    At first, it had been fun because I hadn¡¯t yed for a while, but it wasn¡¯t a game that would normally be yed for several hours straight.

    If we at least had ying cards, we could y many different games. I should seriously consider making the cards once I got back to Crimonia.

    ¡¸Do the three of you want to continue ying in the room? I¡¯m thinking of going outside.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, can I go with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, sure.¡¹

    Fina jumped off the bed, leaving the other two to continue ying Reversi on their own.

    Noa and Misa gave a quick look at each other, and then...

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go too!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    Noa and Misa eximed.

    ¡¸I just want to take a walk outside.¡¹

    ¡¸We would love that as well.¡¹

    Thus, we all ended up going outside for a walk.

    We had run into trouble thest time we went out, so I was hoping that we could stroll in peace today.

    Honestly, I wanted to go by myself so that I could go take a look at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but it seemed like I would have to postpone that.

    I wasn¡¯t nning on taking any requests; I just wanted to see what requests they had.

    If I found any interesting requests, I coulde back and take themter.

    Still, I shouldn¡¯t bring young girls to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    My Bear Suit was bound to attract trouble there.

    ¡¸Is there any ce you girls want to go?¡¹

    If I couldn¡¯t go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, then I wanted to at least see what kind of specialties were sold around here. I hoped to find some interesting ingredients. I might even be able to find something that didn¡¯t exist in my former world.

    From time to time, I saw some spicy dishes or sweet fruits that I had never seen before.

    I wanted to try something that couldn¡¯t be found in Crimonia.

    Fina would be fine with that, but I didn¡¯t think Noa and Misa would have fun searching for specialties.

    That left me with no ce to take them, though.

    I was the type who had fun exploring new ces. I had enjoyed exploring new maps each time they were released in the game.

    The three girls looked at each other.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay with going anywhere.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to visit the food stalls again...¡¹

    Misa said with a bit of difficulty.

    ¡¸The food we bought from the food stalls was really good. I mostly only eat the meals prepared by our chef, so...¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    Could a noble¡¯s daughter not go outside without permission?

    ¡¸Are you two okay with that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay, too.¡¹

    Since we now had a destination, we headed straight for the food stalls.

    ¡¸Noa, do you eat at the food stalls often?¡¹

    ¡¸I do. I often go with mother.¡¹

    True, her mother looked like the type who ate at the food stalls.

    ¡¸Even now, I sometimes go there by myself. Still,tely I always find myself going to your shop, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Oh right, I often ran into her when she came to the shop to eat by herself.

    I had always worried at the beginning, wondering if a noble¡¯s daughter was allowed to wander around town by herself. However, I soon realized that the maids or butlers who came after her weren¡¯t angry because she ran out on her own, but because she was skipping out on her studies.

    There sure were many types of nobles in this world.

    ¡¸Big Sister Noa, that¡¯s not fair. I want to go to Big Sis Yuna¡¯s shop as well!¡¹

    ¡¸Next time youe to Crimonia, I will take you there.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, that¡¯s a promise.¡¹

    We reached the za where the stalls were lined up and looked around for something that Misa would like to eat.

    As we walked past the stands, all of their owners stared at me.

    I got it, okay. This was the same treatment as thest time we came here.

    I ignored the stares and ordered some snacks.

    As we continued moving around the za, we found an udon ce.

    Wow, it existed in this world. Well, all you had to do was roll out wheat flour as thin as you could and cut it into noodles.

    I was quite happy with this find. Yet, Fina said something unbelievable when she noticed me staring at it.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you can eat those at Anzu-san¡¯s shop, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸...Fina-san, could repeat that?¡¹

    ¡¸You can eat those at Big Sis Anzu¡¯s shop.¡¹

    ¡¸...You¡¯re kidding me.¡¹

    ¡¸The soup is different, but she serves it at her shop. Didn¡¯t you know?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s because you always order rice dishes at Big Sis Anzu¡¯s shop.¡¹

    She was right, I never looked at Anzu¡¯s menu when I went there. I just always ordered a rice dish. That was what I got for leaving the menu-making to Anzu and Terumi-san, huh.

    I had looked it over once at the beginning, but I didn¡¯t recall seeing udon on the menu.

    Maybe I had just missed it?

    ¡¸Anyway, it¡¯s still a rare dish. I¡®ve never seen it in Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s mostly sold at shops, not food stalls.¡¹

    So, based on what Fina just told me, I should be able to eat udon if I just went to a different shop.

    When I had first arrived at Crimonia in this Bear Suit of mine, I had eaten my first meal at Elena-san¡¯s inn. Her food was delicious, while the snacks I could procure from the food stalls were great as well. I really didn¡¯t go to restaurants often.

    When Morin-san had opened her shop, I had started to more or less always eat there.

    Then, once Anzu had opened hers, I started going there as well, but I had never seen a udon dish before.

    Maybe it was because I always ordered takeout or simply ate in a private room.

    So, it had been a while since I hadst tried a noodle dish.

    Hmm, this udon was quite good, but the broth was a littlecking.

    Anzu most likely used soup made with seafood as stock, so hers should be better. Ah, I wanted to go home soon.

    After we finished the udon, we were quite full, so we took a break on a bench. Then, two familiar-looking people showed up.

    ¡¸They¡¯re really here.¡¹

    ¡¸They are indeed.¡¹

    Ehh, if I remembered correctly, they were Gran-san¡¯s bodyguards. Marina and the magician with the huge boobs whose name I couldn¡¯t recall.

    They had introduced themselves to me just once, and I had never seen them again after that, so it was a miracle that I even recalled Marina¡¯s name.

    Yeah, it wasn¡¯t my fault for not paying attention when they had told me their names.

    ¡¸Marina, Elle.¡¹

    Misa greeted them.

    Oh right. Her name was Elle. I silently thanked Misa for greeting them as such.

    ¡¸Misana-sama, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    The two of them returned the greeting.

    ¡¸You two knew that I came to this town?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. When we were at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we heard that there was a girl dressed as a bear in town.¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, everybody said your outfit is cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Although some people did also make fun of it.¡¹

    Elle tried to make it sound good, but Marina shot it down to the ground.

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s how we knew it was you, Yuna. By the way, why are you together with Misana-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸I was invited to Misa¡¯s birthday party.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa¡¯s birthday party?¡¹

    Marina looked at Misa.

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m turning 10 in three days.¡¹

    ¡¸My, congrattions.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going to be attending too?¡¹

    ¡¸No, please allow us to decline. Violent adventurers like us aren¡¯t suited for noble birthday parties.¡¹

    When they put it that way, where did that leave me and themoner Fina?

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind you twoing, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t mind us. Still, if something bad happens, just call for us and we will run over to help.¡¹

    Misa smiled when Marina made that promise.

    ¡¸Marina, where are you headed?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see, I was thinking of going to a field just outside of the town.¡¹

    Marina answered Misa¡¯s question.

    An adventurer going to a field?

    ¡¸It appears that some moles are causing problems over there. ¡¹

    Moles? Like, the moles that dug underground, right?

    Marina further exined that the moles ate the crops, so she was going to exterminate them.

    Did moles always eat crops?

    ¡¸They do.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, there are moles that don¡¯t eat it as well. It depends on the species.¡¹

    ¡¸There are moles this big, too.¡¹

    Marina said and spread her arms wide.

    That was way too big. I didn¡¯t think that could be considered a mole anymore.

    Well, maybe it could, in this world?

    Leaving that aside, the fact still remained that an adventurer was going to exterminate some moles. Well, of course there were odd jobs out there that weren¡¯t just monster subjugation or escorting.

    Still, how were they going to exterminate moles if they were underground? Hmm, maybe earth magic would work?

    I kind of wanted to see how moles were exterminated. I couldn¡¯t go with them though, since I had the three girls with me.

    I nced at the three girls, and two of them were looking at me with extreme curiosity. They were Noa and Misa, of course. Fina looked at me normally.

    Perhaps it was the difference between nobles andmoners?

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    Noa tugged on my suit.

    Could she not look at me with those eyes...

    ¡¸Is the field far from here?¡¹

    ¡¸You can see it as soon as you turn right at the first crossroad after exiting the town.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it dangerous?¡¹

    ¡¸Not at all. There are no monsters nearby, and it¡¯s far from the forest, so there shouldn¡¯t be any animals either. But, for some reason, moles appeared and started damaging the crops.¡¹

    ¡¸Food is important for every town, so adventurers are sent to exterminate the pests when necessary.¡¹

    There were no dangers, and the location was close by.

    ¡¸Okay, do you all want to go?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go!¡¹

    Noa and Misa happily replied while Fina just stood there with a smile on her face.

    Out of the three of them, Fina was the calmest, and sort of acted as a big sister to the other two.

    ¡¸Oi, Yuna. Are you really nning on bringing Misana-sama and the other two girls?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yep. You said it wasn¡¯t dangerous, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yea, it isn¡¯t dangerous, but it¡¯s also not interesting at all. Elle will use magic to drive the moles out of the ground, and I will dispose of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, extremely boring.¡¹

    Elle agreed with Marina.

    Yet, Misa and Noa said that it was okay, even if it wasn¡¯t interesting.

    ¡¸Misana-sama, I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s really not interesting at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I got it.¡¹

    Did she really get it, though?

    She was smiling suspiciously...

    Well, it didn¡¯t really matter since I wasn¡¯t the one who took the job. If it ended up being too boring, we would could just leave, and it wouldn¡¯t matter even if they noticed us leaving.

    Marina sighed and began leading the way.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I just wanted Marina to show up.

 Chapter 187 â€“ Bear-san Exterminates Some Moles

    Chapter 187 ¨C Bear-san Exterminates Some Moles

    As Marina started to lead the way, Misa happily darted to her side.

    She must really trust Marina, huh.

    Well, I did find her party to be quite trustworthy as well. When they had been attacked by the orcs, they stood and fought without trying to run.

    I noticed Marina was looking at Misa with a warm expression, too.

    ¡¸Marina, where is the rest of your party?¡¹

    I asked her as we approached the gate.

    When her party had been escorting Gran-san, there had been four of them. I couldn¡¯t recall their names at all, though.

    ¡¸Oh, Masurika and Euri are off doing something else. Bringing Elle here with me is more than enough for this request.¡¹

    Ah, without her, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get the moles out from underground.

    The fields came into sight a short while after we passed through the gate.

    How vast. I could see several people working on them.

    When we got close enough, Marina called out to one of the workers.

    ¡¸Excuse me. We are here because there was a request for mole extermination at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you came for that? That¡¯s great...¡¹

    The man turned around to look at Marina, but his gaze soon fixated on me instead.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you don¡¯t have to mind her.¡¹

    Marina took a nce at me before telling him to not worry.

    I wanted to thank her, but wasn¡¯t that a bit cold?

    Yet, the man got even more interested in me and kept staring at me for a while longer.

    ¡¸Alright, what about these children with you?¡¹

    The man turned to look at the girls.

    ¡¸They came here just to watch, so you don¡¯t have to mind them either. Anyway, where did the moles appear?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right. It¡¯s right over there. They have already ruined a lot of crops, so please take care of them quickly.¡¹

    The man finally stopped staring at us and pointed to where the moles were popping up.

    Marina thanked the man, and we started to walk in that direction.

    I used detection magic just to confirm that there were no monsters nearby, and it turned out that Marina was right. It was just unfortunate that it couldn¡¯t detect any moles, either.

    Detection magic could only pinpoint monsters and humans. Since moles weren¡¯t considered monsters, my detection magic didn¡¯t work on them.

    I was only able to detect the people working the fields.

    I took another look at my map and realized there were quite a few people around.

    I didn¡¯t recall passing anybody, but there was a dot behind us as well.

    I turned around to check, but couldn¡¯t see anyone.

    The dot was idling near a big nearby tree, so maybe they were resting or skipping work there?

    Farming must be hard work.

    ¡¸It must be somewhere around here. Elle, I¡¯m counting on you. Also, please step back everyone.¡¹

    Marina gave her orders when we arrived at the spot.

    ¡¸I will check the state of the area, then.¡¹

    Elle began walking around the field.

    ¡¸There sure are a lot of holes here.¡¹

    I took another closer look as well and noticed that there were indeed many hole-like shapes.

    ¡¸How are you going to find the moles?¡¹

    Misa asked curiously.

    ¡¸Maybe I could use water magic to draw them out. Well, the easiest way would be to dig them out using earth magic, but I¡¯m kind of bad with that. Okay, here we go.¡¹

    Elle put her hand near one of the holes and began using her magic.

    Water started to pour from her hand and into the hole. More and more water flowed into the hole, and just as I wondered what would happen next, the water started toe back up.

    Was she taking the water out?

    The three girls watched her inplete amazement.

    ¡¸Just letting you know, Elle is using some difficult magic.¡¹

    Marina boasted to the three girls, who looked at her with serious expressions.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Summoning water is easy, but manipting that water is rather difficult.¡¹

    Marina kindly exined to Misa.

    True, I could bring out water without a problem, but creating a golem out of it was much harder.

    Hmm, maybe it depended on the imagination of the process?

    ¡¸Marina, would you mind cutting your conversation short? They¡¯re about toe out.¡¹

    Marina turned around and readied her sword when Elle told her that.

    ¡¸Everyone, it¡¯s dangerous, so please step back a bit further.¡¹

    We took a couple of steps back and continued watching from a distance. As Elle sucked out the water, a ck thing flew out from the hole.

    ¡¸S-something came out!¡¹

    It was a mole, but it wasrger than the ones I had seen on TV.

    Marina thrusted her sword into the mole that was sucked out from the ground, killing it instantly.

    Two more moles flew out, which Marina dealt with just as swiftly as the first one.

    ¡¸Only three, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good enough. Let¡¯s go to the next hole.¡¹

    Elle walked over to another hole.

    ¡¸Misana-sama, it¡¯s really not interesting at all, right?¡¹

    Misa tilted her head.

    ¡¸Elle¡¯s magic is amazing, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for yourpliment, Misana-sama. It¡¯s not really that great at all.¡¹

    ¡¸But, Marina said that your magic is amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s hard to use, but it¡¯s still only considered middle-level magic. If I don¡¯t touch the water directly, I can¡¯t control it at all. More advanced magic users can move the water without having to touch it.¡¹

    Hm? Didn¡¯t that mean that I was doing some amazing stuff, considering I could make water golems move from afar?

    ¡¸Could you please think of me as a slightly amazing magician instead?¡¹

    Elle smiled at Misa.

    She had to bend forward slightly to meet Misa¡¯s eyes, and that emphasized her huge breasts.

    They were really big. One day, mine will be that size as well.

    In the end, I also helped with exterminating the moles.

    Well, all I did was look for holes. The extermination was Marina and Elle¡¯s job, so I didn¡¯t help with killing them directly.

    ¡¸Marina, there¡¯s another hole here.¡¹

    Misa called out to Marina from a spot quite far away.

    ¡¸Okay. We¡¯ll go over there once we finish up here. Elle, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    Elle used her magic and repeated her, by now, well-practiced process.

    Since there were several people looking for the holes, we progressed pretty quickly. Still, when we ran into the holes that were too close to each other, we sometimes ended up with some empty ones.

    The extermination was going smoothly otherwise.

    ¡¸How long will we do this for?¡¹

    They already took out a lot of moles, but it was probably impossible to take them all out.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way of knowing when we will be done, so it depends on the time and Elle¡¯s magic. If Elle¡¯s magic runs out or it gets dark, we will have to stop. Still, thanks to your help, we already reached our quota, so we just have to report back to the guild. If the damage gets worse again, they will put up another request.¡¹

    Nobody knew how many moles existed down there anyway. We could only wait and see what would happen after we exterminated lots of them.

    ¡¸Elle, are you still okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, should we keep going for a while longer? Also, what do you girls want to do?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll follow along.¡¹

    Misa answered. She must be enjoying her first mole subjugation.

    Noa wanted to stay, too, so Fina agreed as well.

    ¡¸Still, there¡¯s a lot more than I thought.¡¹

    ¡¸True. We haven¡¯t even cleared half of the holes, and we have already gotten rid of quite a few.¡¹

    Marina and Elle discussed between themselves, but it seemed like they couldn¡¯te to a conclusion as to why there were so many.

    It wasn¡¯t like anyone in our group knew how many moles were there normally, so I wasn¡¯t able to judge whether we had removed too many or too few.

    The three girls were thinking the same.

    ¡¸Are there more than usual?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there are. Usually you don¡¯t find and subjugate this many in such a short amount of time.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe... there¡¯s a Big Mole around here...¡¹

    ¡¸A Big Mole?¡¹

    Like, arge mole?

    ¡¸Yeah, that would be possible. Let¡¯s stop hunting these moles for now and look for a hole that might have a Big Mole in it.¡¹

    ¡¸Marina, what¡¯s a Big Mole?¡¹

    Misa asked the question I had on my mind.

    Nice, Misa. If it had turned out to be exactly what the name suggested, I would be terribly embarrassed from asking.

    ¡¸A Big Mole is basically the mom of the moles. We have to subjugate it before it gives birth to a bunch of baby moles, or they will finish off all the crops here.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, if that¡¯s the case, we should get other people to help us. Things will end up badly if we subjugate it toote.¡¹

    ¡¸It should be fine if we look for the hole first. Besides, we should be able to take it down ourselves.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, then let¡¯s go look for it.¡¹

    Following Elle¡¯s instructions, we began to look for a big hole.

    The hole should be about the size that a child could fit through. Just how big could these holes get?

    Just as we started looking around, a man came running up to us.

    ¡¸Excuse me!¡¹

    The man waspletely out of breath by the time he got to us.

    ¡¸Did something happen?¡¹

    The man took some time to catch his breath before replying.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a big hole over there, and all our crops have been destroyed in that area.¡¹

    ¡¸A big hole?¡¹

    ¡¸A Big Mole?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it might be so. I thought that it would be better to let you know. It will be a problem if this continues. Please do something about it.¡¹

    The man bowed.

    It seemed like the hole with a Big Mole inside had appeared.

    The man then guided us to the hole so that Marina could investigate it.

    When we got there, I noticed that the hole was indeed big; big enough for a child to fit through.

    ¡¸It is quite big, yes.¡¹

    Elle circled the hole and confirmed its surroundings.

    Most of the crops around the hole had been eaten.

    ¡¸It might indeed be a Big Mole¡¯s hole.¡¹

    I still hadn¡¯t figured out what a Big Mole was. It wasn¡¯t a monster from my understanding.

    I used my detection magic but still detected no monsters.

    The only thing that it reacted to here were humans.

    Oh, the guy who skipped out on work was still under the tree.

    ¡¸Do the honors, Elle.¡¹

    Elle chanted the same magic as before and poured water into the hole. When she reversed the flow, however, nothing came out.

    ¡¸Is it not inside?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know, maybe not.¡¹

    Elle looked around the barren field.

    ¡¸It should still be around.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe it¡¯s so big that my magic isn¡¯t strong enough to pull it out.¡¹

    Elle had sucked all the water out, but we didn¡¯t sense any molesing out.

    I hadn¡¯t nned on helping out, but it would be a problem if any more crops got ruined.

    ¡¸Want me to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸You want to do it, Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸If you can, could you? I don¡¯t think my magic is enough.¡¹

    ¡¸I know you¡¯re really good at earth magic, but you can use water magic as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I can.¡¹

    I used water magic just like Elle had, making water pour out of my Bear Hands¡¯ mouths into the big hole.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a lot of water.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s more than double the amount of mine.¡¹

    Through the water magic, I could tell what was going on underneath. I could feel that the water was touching something.

    ¡¸There¡¯s something big down there.¡¹

    ¡¸You can tell?¡¹

    ¡¸Somewhat, yeah.¡¹

    I started to suck up the water, just like how Elle had.

    Yup, I could definitely feel something huge about toe out.

    ¡¸Marina, take care of whateveres out.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, leave it to me.¡¹

    Marina readied her sword.

    It woulde out any time now.

    The thing that came out was... a mole?!

    ¡¸A Big Mole!¡¹

    Marina yelled out.

    It wasn¡¯t that big, though.

    It was about the size of a wolf, but well, that was definitely not the size of a regr mole.

    ¡¸Marina! Don¡¯t let it get away!¡¹

    ¡¸Got it!¡¹

    Marina thrusted her sword into the Big Mole once it came out. Her sword went right through its body, executing it with a single hit. The Big Mole¡¯s body then fell lifelessly to the ground.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know there were moles this big.¡¹

    I could understand Fina being fine looking at the dead mole, but it was weird to me that Misa and Noa seemed to be unfazed as well.

    When I had firste to this world, I had been disturbed by the sight of a wolf¡¯s corpse.

    The children of this world sure were strong.

    ¡¸Yuna, thank you for helping us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you so much. My magic just wasn¡¯t strong enough for it.¡¹

    The two of them thanked me.

    ¡¸The farmers would be troubled if the moles kept eating their crops, right?¡¹

    The crops they raised with love.

    I couldn¡¯t leave the farmers to fend on their own, knowing that they were suffering.

    Back in my world, I would hear news about crops the farmers put a lot of effort into getting destroyed by a typhoon or some other natural disaster.

    I might even eat food made from the crops here one day, so it was something I had to protect.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I nned to write up until their return to the mansion, but I just couldn¡¯t get to it.

 Chapter 188 â€“ Bear-san Returns To The Mansion After Subjugating The Moles

    Chapter 188 ¨C Bear-san Returns To The Mansion After Subjugating The Moles

    We managed to exterminate the Big Mole without anyone getting injured.

    ¡¸Now we don¡¯t have to worry about this ce anymore.¡¹

    ording to Marina, there shouldn¡¯t be any more Big Moles appearing.

    Big Moles went to ces with lots of food and gave birth there.

    They gave birth to many moles at once, so the damage got worse the longer people took to subjugate them.

    As expected of another world¡¯s biology. The moles here were nothing like the moles from my former world.

    We just had to finish off the leftover moles now, but it was about time we called it a day.

    The people waiting for us at the mansion might get concerned if we stayed out toote, so we decided to head back.

    ¡¸Marina, Elle, thank you for letting us tag along today.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. I¡¯m happy that I got to spend time with Misana-sama today.¡¹

    ¡¸Misana-sama, please call for us if anything happens, okay?¡¹

    The two of them decided to stay until Elle¡¯s magic ran out, so the three girls and I headed back on our own.

    We passed by the big tree where someone was taking a nap. I tried to catch a glimpse of them, but didn¡¯t see anyone. They had still been there when we were exterminating the Big Mole, though... They must have left because we were making such a bigmotion about it.

    Halfway to the mansion, I took a look at the three girls. Their clothes and faces were all dirty, which was normal after walking around a field. Their skirts were especially bad.

    I was pretty sure that people would get mad at me if I brought them home like this. Yeah, it would be awkward to go back without cleaning ourselves first.

    We couldn¡¯t do anything about the clothing, but we should at least wash our faces.

    ¡¸Okay, stay still everyone.¡¹

    I soaked a towel with water magic and wiped their faces.

    Their faces were clean now, but their clothes were still dirty... The maids would get mad about that, right?

    I thought up some excuses as we continued our way back to the mansion. When we got to the gate, we were met by someone unexpected, who was also about to enter.

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    Noa called out and ran to her mother, who turned around in surprise.

    ¡¸Noa?!¡¹

    Eleanora-san smiled when she recognized her daughter.

    ¡¸How have you been doing?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m doing well, but why are you here, Mother?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m here to see my beloved daughter, of course.¡¹

    Eleanora-san was about to reach out and hug Noa but stopped.

    ¡¸Noa, you¡¯re a bit dirty.¡¹

    Noa took a look at herself.

    Her pretty clothing was indeed covered in dirt.

    Since we had no excuses for this, Eleanora-san should get mad at me, as I was the one in charge of the girls.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, I¡¯m sorry. I took the girls to a field.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s because I said I wanted to go.¡¹

    Misa tried to take the me.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna did nothing wrong.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, I¡¯m not mad. When I was a child, I got my clothes even dirtier than this.¡¹

    Elearnora-sanughed and hugged Noa, not minding her dirty clothes at all.

    ¡¸Mother, you¡¯ll get dirty too.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no mother in the world who won¡¯t hug her own daughter even if she gets dirty in the process.¡¹

    ¡¸M-Mother!¡¹

    Noa sounded concerned, but her smile told a different story.

    ¡¸Okay, but why are you really here, Eleanora-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... It¡¯s true I came here to see my daughter. I guess it¡¯s 10 percent work, 10 percent Cliff, and 80 percent Noa.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t even know how could I begin to retort to that.

    Shouldn¡¯t she split it equally between Cliff and Noa?

    Also, wasn¡¯t the work most important here?

    ¡¸I also wanted to talk to you, Yuna-chan. I just have to greet Gran-san first, so let¡¯s head inside.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t take long for Meshun-san to approach us once we entered the mansion. As soon as she got a closer look, however...

    ¡¸Why is everyone so dirty?!¡¹

    Meshun-san cried out, seeing the three girls covered in dirt. She looked quite angry.

    ¡¸Meshun, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault.¡¹

    Misa apologized and told her about going to the fields with Marina.

    ¡¸I said I wanted to go, too, so it¡¯s not just your fault, Misa.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too, I said I wanted to go, too.¡¹

    Noa and Fina stuck up for Misa.

    Seeing them support each other like that, Meshun-san¡¯s expression softened.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not really that mad.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re not?¡¹

    Misa was happy to hear that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right; I¡¯m not angry, so could the three of you please head into the bath and clean yourselves? I cannot let you eat looking like that.¡¹

    The three girls did as they were told and headed to the bath as Meshun-san saw them off with a smile.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen Misana-sama this happy. Yuna-san, please join them, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll goter. I need to talk to Eleanora-san first.¡¹

    ¡¸...Eleanora-sama?!¡¹

    Meshun-san seemed to have only noticed how dirty the girls were and was shocked to realize Eleanora-san was there the entire time.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Meshun.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m terribly sorry, I did not notice you at all.¡¹

    Meshun-san apologized with a bow.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. I showed up unannounced, so I¡¯m partly to me. I want to see Gran-san if that is okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I think it should be fine right now. He has no more guests for the day.¡¹

    Based on their conversation this morning, Gran-san had been speaking with a lot of people.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m going to talk to Gran-san first, so you can head into the bath, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, thank you. I would just create more work for the maids if I kept walking around like this...¡¹

    Meshun-san looked at me.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, you also went to the fields, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I did.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re not as dirty as the girls. I can¡¯t tell from your ck foot, but your white foot is still clean.¡¹

    I lifted up my foot and looked at the sole.

    ¡¸This suit is made of some special material, so it doesn¡¯t get dirty.¡¹

    My Bear Suit required no cleaning. It remained clean even after I had worn it for a year, with no stain or odour.

    Even if muddy water sshed onto me, the Bear Suit still wouldn¡¯t get dirty.

    ¡¸How mysterious.¡¹

    Meshun-san tilted her head as she observed the Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, take your time in the bath. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired from having to look after the girls all day long.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think I could rx if I took a bath with them, though.

    Well, maybe it would be fine since Noa and Misa were well-educated nobles, and they wouldn¡¯t y around in the bath (the Bear Bath was a different story).

    Also, Fina was a good girl and knew how to behave herself.

    I headed towards the bath after promising Eleanora-san I would meet herter.

    Once I entered the changing room, the three girls were already undressed.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re so slow.¡¹

    ¡¸I had to talk to Meshun-san and Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go inside!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯lle after I undress, so you three should go in first.¡¹

    The three of them did as I told them to while I took my time to take off my Bear Suit before following them.

    Gran-san owned a spectacr bath, being a feudal lord and all. It was so big that all four of us could get in with plenty of space to spare.

    When I entered, Noa was already washing Misa¡¯s body.

    ¡¸Fina,e over here. I¡¯ll wash yours.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay, I can wash myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Let me do it for you anyway.¡¹

    I got Fina to sit down in front of me and washed her back and hair then proceeded to wash myself as well. The girls tried to help, but I politely refused their help and told them to get in the bathtub ahead of me.

    Noained, but I ignored her.

    After we all spent some quality time soaking in the tub, we got out together and used my hair dryer to dry our hair.

    I didn¡¯t want to have them catching a cold, after all.

    We headed to the bedroom, where the girls resumed their game of Reversi, and I just watched them from the side, taking a long earned rest.

    After a while, Eleanora-san entered the room.

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    ¡¸Wow, you¡¯re all nice and clean now. Maybe I¡¯ll borrow the bath as well.¡¹

    Eleanora-san patted her daughter¡¯s head before speaking to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I want to thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸ Cliff and Gran-san told me what happened. Things would have turned out badly if you hadn¡¯t brought Zelef-san here.¡¹

    ¡¸True, I did bring him here, but Zelef-san was the one who did his best to make the party seed.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, they told me how he got mad at Gerardo for criticizing his food. I wish I could have been here to witness that.¡¹

    She said in a disappointed tone.

    Speaking of which, I would have loved to see that stupid noble brat¡¯s disappointment as he left the party as well.

    ¡¸Oh right, about Zelef, I¡¯ll be taking him back to the capital with me, so you don¡¯t have to worry about taking him back yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸You will?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but in exchange, please take care of Cliff and Noa, okay?¡¹

    I was d that I didn¡¯t have to take a detour to the capital before going home. It would have been a pain.

    ¡¸Great, but did youe here by yourself, Eleanora-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I have a few subordinates apanying me, but they are staying at an inn until we leave.¡¹

    That made sense. As amazing as Eleanora-san was, there was no way she woulde all the way here by herself.

    ¡¸Honestly, I would havee here by myself, but His Majesty was being nosy and kept telling me to bring others with me, so I had no choice.¡¹

    She was a noble, after all. Nobles had to have escorts with traveling.

    ¡¸Mother, will you stay with us?¡¹

    ¡¸I can stay for a bit, but I still have my job to take care of.¡¹

    ¡¸Your job?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, it¡¯s an order from our mean king. I would love to to ditch this job and stay with you, though.¡¹

    Eleanora-san apologized.

    Oh right, she had mentioned that she hade here for work, even though it was just 10 percent.

    ¡¸Will you be able to finish it quickly?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I think it will take the most of the day, but I should have time to spend with you in the evening. Yuna-chan, please take care of Noa during the afternoon, okay.¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, what is this job of yours? If you can¡¯t tell me, I won¡¯t pry any further, of course.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to get involved in anything messy, after all.

    Still, if the girls were to somehow got involved instead, maybe it wouldn¡¯t be bad to hear her out.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just an inspection of this town. His Majesty nned to send a civil officer over, but I snatched the chance to, I mean, I asked to go instead.¡¹

    She just said she had ¡®snatched¡¯ it, didn¡¯t she?

    ¡¸I¡¯m surprised His Majesty allowed that.¡¹

    ¡¸I had to beg him, more or less. I told him that I wanted to see my daughter and my husband. Let me see my daughter, my daughter, oh and my husband. I just kept chanting that to His Majesty until he agreed.¡¹

    Your Majesty, she must have been really annoying, huh.

    ¡¸So, what exactly are you inspecting?¡¹

    ¡¸Not much. I will just go around town and collect information. I will hear what Gran-san and Cliff have to say before I decide on where to go, of course. Oh, and I also n to attend Misana¡¯s party since I¡¯m here.¡¹

    That was a lot of freedom for an inspection...

    ¡¸I guess I won¡¯t start a full-scale inspection until after the party. I¡¯ll have to look around town, and make sure to visit the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the Commerce Guild. I also need to see the Salbert family.¡¹

    Then, Eleanora-san noticed the Reversi board and joined in until Meshun-san called us for dinner.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    With Eleanora-san¡¯s arrival, the around the Salbert family is slowly closing in. w

 Chapter 189 â€“ Bear-san Wears A Dress!

    Chapter 189 ¨C Bear-san Wears A Dress!

    The day of the party came. I was cornered, with no way to escape.

    Never in my wildest dreams did I think it woulde to this.

    I had been betrayed by the ones I trusted most. No longer would I be able to believe in anyone.

    With my mind reeling from the shock of the betrayal, I was unable to find a way out.

    The traitors closed in on me. There was no time to think.

    ¡¸Okay, Yuna-san. We¡¯ve prepared a dress for you, so let¡¯s get you all dressed up.¡¹

    If it had been Mylene-san or Eleanora-san, I would have ran off even if I had to shake them, but it was Misa¡¯s tenth birthday today, and the one approaching me with a beautiful dress in her hands was a ten-year-old girl.

    ¡¸Noa, let¡¯s talk first. We just have to talk this out.¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear-san outfit matches you greatly, but since it¡¯s Misa¡¯s party today, you should wear a dress.¡¹

    Noa took another step toward me, with a ck and white dress in her hands.

    Apparently, Fina and Noa picked out the dress together. They said they picked it because the colors matched Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It certainly was a beautiful dress, I couldn¡¯t deny that.

    If I was back in my former world, and I had to choose between wearing a Bear Suit and a beautiful dress, I would, without a doubt, choose the dress. I was a girl, after all. Although just slightly, I wanted to try wearing that beautiful dress.

    Though, I wasn¡¯t sure if I had the courage to take off my Bear Suit at this point...

    A normal girl would be happy to wear such a pretty dress. If only I was normal...

    ¡¸Fina, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡¹

    Well, even if she had warned me in advance, I wouldn¡¯t have known how to respond.

    It would have given me some time to think about it at least, though.

    ¡¸Because you had left me and had gone home by yourself, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    She was talking about the time I had ditched her at Noa¡¯s ce when Noa had dragged her off to make her try on dresses.

    ¡¸Also, Noa-sama had told me to keep it a secret since she wanted to surprise you on the day of the party. She was sure it would make you happy.¡¹

    It was true, any normal girl would be happy to receive such a surprise.

    They didn¡¯t know how many times they would get the chance to wear a dress in their life, and I was sure they would happy to hear that they got the opportunity to wear such a pretty dress.

    However, I was so used to wearing my Bear Suit at this point that I would be embarrassed if I were to suddenly wear a pretty dress.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, won¡¯t you wear it for our sakes?¡¹

    ¡¸Try it on at least to see if it will even fit you.¡¹

    I wore my Bear Suit all the time, so they shouldn¡¯t know what my sizes were, right?

    I kept my three sizes top secret. Nobody knew them.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, L-san judged your height, and I confirmed your sizes when we were in the bath together.¡¹

    The bath? When?

    I had gone to the bath with Noa only recently.

    Ah, she was talking about the time during the king¡¯s birthday party!

    That being said, there was no way she could have known my sizes just from seeing me out of my Bear Suit that one time.

    How many months ago was that? People normally forgot such things after several months had passed.

    I was sure that I grew during that time, and my weight... must not have changed at all! Well, maybe my breasts grew a bit, but...

    ¡¸I also confirmed it during our bath yesterday, and it didn¡¯t seem like your body changed much, so it should be fine.¡¹

    Noa proudly said and smiled.

    A child¡¯s innocent deration could hurt a lot, you know.

    I just received some real emotional damage.

    If things continued like this, I was most likely going to faint before the party even began.

    ¡¸Why are you so against it? It will surely make Misa happy.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, you¡¯re very pretty, so a dress like this will match your looks perfectly.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, you also want to see her wear a dress, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Fina looked at me with eyes that were telling me,¡¸I will be wearing a dress, so please wear one, too.¡¹

    Escaping this room would be easy but doing so would make it difficult for me to attend the party.

    I had to go to Misa¡¯s party because I didn¡¯t want to be rude to her as she went through the trouble of sending me an invitation, so running away was not really an option. Ugh, there was no escape!

    ¡¸O-okay, fine. I only have one condition, though.¡¹

    As myst resort, I gave Noa my terms, who reluctantly epted them.

    Thus, we all changed into our dresses.

    Just like the other day, I again thought how cute Noa and Misa looked in their dresses, but when I looked at Fina, I realized she didn¡¯t lose to them in terms of cuteness.

    Noa wore a red dress, Misa wore blue, and Fina wore light green.

    While Noa and Misa were used to wearing dresses and walked around confidently, Fina was trying to make herself look smaller due to embarrassment.

    ¡¸Uuu, this is embarrassing.¡¹

    I was the one who should be embarrassed.

    I was wearing a ck and white dress, the sizes of which matched me perfectly. How could they have figured out my sizes just by looking at me? Not to mention, it fitting perfectly meant that I hadn¡¯t grown at all.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it matches you so well! You look very pretty!¡¹

    Noaplimented me, but I still felt awkward.

    Even in my former world, I had never worn a dress. How many girls my age had worn a party dress anyway? I was pretty sure there probably weren¡¯t any.

    I looked at the mirror and got even more embarrassed.

    Maybe it was because I saw myself wearing something I wasn¡¯t used to. I honestly didn¡¯t think that the dress fit me at all.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, your long, ck hair is pretty, so it really goes well with the white and ck dress.¡¹

    Noa¡¯s golden hair seemed much more beautiful to me, though.

    Honestly, even though Noaplimented me, I wondered what other people would think of me?

    It was difficult to judge myself.

    ¡¸Uuu, Big Sis Yuna is pretty, but I don¡¯t think such a pretty dress suits me.¡¹

    Fina was even harsher on herself than I. Well, I thought that Fina was more suited for wearing dresses, so I decided to try to make Fina feel better about herself.

    ¡¸Fina, unlike me, you¡¯re cute, so it suits you just fine.¡¹

    ¡¸No, you¡¯re the cute one, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Now both of us were even more embarrassed.

    We should just stop trying topliment each other for now.

    ¡¸Both of you look good, so don¡¯t worry. I bet Mother and Father will be surprised, too.¡¹

    Right, other people would see me wearing this, as well. Sorry, Misa, but I really wanted to go home right now, and Fina looked like she was thinking the same thing.

    I gave up, returned to where I left my Bear Suit, and put on the Bear Shoes and the Bear Gloves.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re really putting those on?¡¹

    That was the condition I had made for wearing the dress.

    I had agreed to put on the dress as long as I could wear my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.

    And, this was how I ended up wearing a ck and white dress, apanied by my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.

    I was too afraid to look myself in the mirror now. I knew, without even looking, that I must look weird.

    Ever since I hade to this world, I had worn my Bear Suit twenty-four-seven. I depended on it too much, which was why I was reluctant topletely part from it.

    Even with only the gloves and shoes on, I still couldn¡¯t stay calm.

    This was how some yers yed the game. They wielded a really strong weapon while wearing paper-thin armor. Those yers always got demolished while doing quests.

    Ipletely felt like one of them right now. I still couldn¡¯t understand why those yers liked to use that kind of build, even though they just died from taking one hit... Must be the difference between games and reality.

    I gently patted my strongest piece of equipment (the Bear Costume) before transferring it into the Bear Box.

    Once everyone was ready, we headed to the party hall.

    It was a different hall from the one where Gran-san¡¯s party had been held.

    That was because there were less attendants since the party was for friends and family only.

    It was mainly just Misa¡¯s family, the Foschuroze family, and the people who worked for Gran-san.

    By the time we entered the hall, quite a few people had already gathered inside, including Cliff and Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Oh my, Yuna-chan. You¡¯re wearing a really cute outfit today.¡¹

    Yes, and it was all thanks to her daughter.

    ¡¸Still, umm, what¡¯s with your hands and feet?¡¹

    Cliff was shocked when he noticed I was also wearing my Bear Gloves and Bear Shoes.

    I knew it looked weird; he didn¡¯t have to point it out...

    ¡¸Father, you feel the same way, huh. Yuna-san said that she would only wear the dress if she is allowed to keep her Bear-san hands and feet. She is so pretty in the dress, too; it¡¯s such a waste.¡¹

    They could say whatever they wanted, but I wasn¡¯t taking them off.

    I couldn¡¯t use magic if I didn¡¯t have the Bear Gloves equipped, and I couldn¡¯t jump around quickly without the Bear Shoes on my feet.

    The Bear Suit would protect me from any surprise attacks, but, as long as that didn¡¯t happen, the Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves were enough to deal with pretty much everything, and that was why I couldn¡¯t bear part from them.

    On the side note, I couldn¡¯t run at all without the Bear Shoes. I had never ran since elementary school, so I was pretty sure that if I didn¡¯t wear the Bear Shoes, the girls wouldpletely leave me behind in a race.

    I thought that the children at the orphanage were amazing, being able to chase the cluckers all day long.

    ¡¸Anyway, it feels really odd not seeing you in your bear suit.¡¹

    I felt the same way; I just couldn¡¯t stay calm without it.

    ¡¸Still, the dress suits you very well. I¡¯m sure that once the boys get a look at you, marriage proposals wille flying your way.¡¹

    No, they wouldn¡¯t. Also, I didn¡¯t want to receive them, either.

    ¡¸Forget about me. You shouldpliment your daughter instead.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, Noa and Fina-chan are cute, but seeing you wear a dress is more shocking.¡¹

    I sighed and looked for a ce to sit, but I wasn¡¯t sure where I could go.

    I had never been to a noble¡¯s party, so I didn¡¯t know if there were any seating arrangements. As I was in the middle of worrying about it, Meshun-san approached me.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama and Fina-sama, please take your seats over there.¡¹

    Okay, so there was a seating arrangement. Oh, now that I looked more closely, it was arranged so the families were sitting together.

    First came the Foschuroze family, then there was the Faren Gramm family, and next to them were Fina and I. Then, just a little further away, came all the people who worked at the mansion.

    Fina and I took our seats and waited for the party to officially begin.

    Hmm, dresses felt quite chilly to wear. My Bear Suit was able to adjust my body temperature, so I never had to worry about it. Not to mention, this dress was short, so it made sense for my legs to feel a bit chilly.

    I missed my Bear Suit already, even though I had just taken it off.

    After some time had passed, Gran-san, Misa¡¯s parents, and Misa herself entered the room.

    Gran-san took a look around the room, and his gaze stopped on me.

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s Yuna. I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡¹

    He should have recognized me sooner.

    I wasn¡¯t even covering myself with my Bear Hoodie.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, you¡¯re so pretty.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    I thanked Misa for her genuinepliment; children¡¯s honest opinions always made me happy.

    Now that everybody was seated, the party began.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, after 740,000 characters, we got Yuna to take off her costume and put on a dress.

    I wanted her to wear something different before we get to the rumored swimsuit event, which brings us to this chapter.

    Oh, the swimsuit event? It won¡¯te for a while longer.

 Chapter 190 â€“ Bear-san Brings Out the Birthday Cake

    Chapter 190 ¨C Bear-san Brings Out the Birthday Cake

    When the party began, Zelef-san¡¯s cooking was brought out.

    Wow, so this was the food made by the royal head chef. I had eaten some of his regr dishes before, but I had never had the chance to try his party food.

    All sorts of delicious-looking foods were lined up on the table.

    The food was arranged beautifully. It was colorful and pleasing to both the eyes and nose. It was definitely not just a regr lunch set.

    Once all the food was set down, we were told to help ourselves, so everybody engrossed themselves with eating.

    I didn¡¯t know what the proper etiquette was, but I assumed I could just eat normally.

    When I looked at Fina beside me, I saw that she also looked troubled and was looking at me. She shouldn¡¯t look at me, I had no idea how to properly eat at a noble¡¯s party, either.

    All we could do was watch how other people ate and mimic them.

    ¡¸Should we just eat like Noa?¡¹

    I offered an option.

    We were both sitting diagonally across from Noa, who was enjoying her food using a fork and a spoon.

    Looking at her eat, it became obvious to me that nobody shouldin as long as we didn¡¯t eat like total slobs. Also, they would most likely tell us what we were doing wrong, and we could just fix it then.

    Good manners or not, I wanted to taste Zelef-san¡¯s cooking now that I finally had the chance to, so I should eat carefully anyway.

    To start with, I drank some of the delicious-looking soup.

    It was different from the soup made by Anzu, but it was just as delicious.

    I should ask Zelef-san to teach me how to make party food sometime. Maybe I should also ask Anzu to show me how to make some of her dishes as well. Then I could eat it whenever I wanted.

    As time passed, my arms, legs, and neck got more and more chilly, so I couldn¡¯t sit still. The Bear Suit really was the best, since it adjusted my body temperature. All I had to do was ignore its appearance. I really missed its fluffiness.

    Also, I had to be careful to not dirty this dress, since I was just borrowing it. I had to be extra careful as food would most likely leave a permanent mark.

    I had no idea how much a dress like this cost, but I was pretty sure it was expensive. Well, it wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t pay for it.

    Noa most likely wouldn¡¯t tell me to pay even if I got the dress dirty, so I probably didn¡¯t have to worry about that anyway.

    Still, I noticed Fina was also afraid of dirtying her dress, as she was only taking small bites of her food and was barely able to eat anything.

    ¡¸So, Misa, you¡¯ve finally turned 10 years old today...¡¹

    Misa¡¯s mother said, turning to her daughter.

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m now the same age as Big Sister Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but in a couple of months, I will turn 11, so I¡¯m still your older sister.¡¹

    Noa dered that she was still the older sister, even though they were of the same age now.

    True, being born first made her the older one, so it didn¡¯t matter if they were the same age now.

    ¡¸If only I was born a year earlier. Then I would have been your older sister instead.¡¹

    Misa said, a bit dejectedly.

    That reminded me, Fina was also 10 years old. When was her birthday?

    Thinking about the environment Fina grew up in, she probably never got to celebrate her birthday. Maybe I should discuss throwing a surprise party for her with Terumi-san.

    When I first came into this world, Fina had been the one who had helped me the most.

    Yeah, that seemed like a good idea, I really should keep it in mind.

    Zelef-san and Botts-san were also attending the party. The maids who had brought out the food sat down nearby and joined in on the feast, while Botts-san held a critique session with Zelef-san.

    They were discussing things like the seasoning, whether the taste was strong or light, if other ingredients could be substituted into this dish, and so on.

    Botts-san¡¯s hands had healed enough that he could now somewhat use a spoon and fork again.

    However, everytime he raised one to his mouth, he lightly flinched in pain. Even so, he seemed to be having fun discussing the food with Zelef-san.

    It didn¡¯t seem like he could hold and use a kitchen knife yet, though. Cooking demanded a lot of precise movements, after all.

    Noa was having fun talking with Eleanora-san, who she hadn¡¯t seen in a while, and Cliff, who had been busytely as well.

    I heard Noa ask about Shia, who was at the capital, and the conversation quickly turned from what Shia had been doingtely, to what I had been like when I acted as her guard. Why had the conversation turned to me?

    Normally, wouldn¡¯t they talk about themselves, since they hadn¡¯t met for a long time?

    After some more time passed, Noa handed Misa her present. As I began to wonder what it was, Misa unveiled a ribbon.

    That was a cute present for a 10-year-old. I was d her present was appropriate for her age. The way I looked at the two noble girls would have probably changed if she had received something expensive, like gemstones or dresses.

    I had thought that it was likely to happen since they were nobles, but seeing Noa¡¯s present made me realize my worry had been for nothing.

    As I started nning the timing to give Noa my present, I noticed Fina looking at me, like she wanted to ask me if something was wrong.

    Our presents to her were the cake and two plushies.

    We were now at the midpoint of the party, with most of the food already gone.

    Maybe it was time to bring out the cake soon?

    ¡¸Misa, can I have a minute?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Fina and I have a present for you, too.¡¹

    ¡¸A present?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a dessert, and we would be happy if you ate it.¡¹

    From the Bear Box, I took out the twoyer cake Fina and I had made, and ced it right in front of Misa.

    Misa seemed very curious as she had never seen cake before.

    The cake was beautifully lined with strawberries, and Fina had even written ¡ºHappy Birthday¡» with strawberry cream in the middle.

    ¡¸What a beautiful dessert.¡¹

    Misa¡¯s mothermented on the cake.

    ¡¸Yes, it almost seems like a waste to eat this. Wait, how do we even eat it?¡¹

    It¡¯s arge twoyered cake, meaning it would be hard for one person to eat the entire thing, so I told Misa to split it up and share it with everyone.

    ¡¸We are cutting it?!¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t eat it unless you cut it and split it up.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, but that will ruin the words you wrote on top.¡¹

    Fina got embarrassed when Misa said that.

    ¡¸We will be happy as long as you don¡¯t forget the writing and taste the cake.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll remember it!¡¹

    Misa nodded and gave the words written on the cake a long stare, then gave us permission to cut it.

    As I put the knife into the cake, however, Misa quietly cried out ¡¸Ahh...¡¹in a sad voice.

    We had to cut the cake, so I really hoped this wasn¡¯t too hard on her.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Fina, did the two of you make it yourself?¡¹

    Noa asked us while I was still in the middle of cutting the cake.

    ¡¸Fina didn¡¯t know what to get you for your birthday, so I suggested we should make a cake together. Cakes are tasty, so we thought you would be happy to receive one.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, that¡¯s not fair. I wanted to make a cake with you as well.¡¹

    Noa pouted.

    ¡¸Okay, do you want to make it with us next time?¡¹

    ¡¸Really? It¡¯s a promise, okay!?¡¹

    ¡¸I... I want to join in as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, how about we all make a cake together, like when we made the pudding?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that really be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. In exchange, I will have the two of you keep the recipe a secret.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Just as we made that promise, I finished cutting the twoyered cake into eight slices, perfectly splitting the writing as well.

    The slices went to Misa, Misa¡¯s parents, Gran-san, Eleanora-san, Cliff, Noa, and Fina.

    I didn¡¯t want any, so I didn¡¯t cut a slice for myself. Fina looked at me like she wanted to ask if I was really okay with that, so...

    ¡¸I have the cake Elena-san and the children working at the shop made for me, so you don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡¹

    I took Elena-san¡¯s cake out of the Bear Box and passed it around to the others.

    It wasn¡¯t a twoyered cake like Misa¡¯s, but they both followed the same recipe, so the taste should be more or less the same.

    Once the cake was sessfully passed along to everyone, we all started to eat it together.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it really is.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve eaten one before, but this one is better.¡¹

    ¡¸I really wish you two would have let me join when you made it.¡¹

    Gran-san and Misa, who had never eaten cake before,plimented it first, followed by Noa and Cliff, who had already eaten it once.

    ¡¸Yuna, if you can make such delicious food, why don¡¯t you be a chef instead of being an adventurer?¡¹

    Gran-san asked, probably because he didn¡¯t know much about me.

    ¡¸Old Man Gran, she already owns two shops of her own, and does other types of businesses as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Her shops are so popr that even my own daughter is a regr.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, the food at Yuna-san¡¯s shop is really good.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sister Noire, that¡¯s not fair!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know about that. Either way, excitement was brewing over me even though it was Misa¡¯s birthday party.

    Noa proudly boasted about how delicious the food at my shop was while Misa enviously listened to her stories.

    She kept saying, ¡¸That¡¯s not fair.¡¹, but continued listening anyway.

    I looked over to Zelef-san and saw Botts-san and Meshun-san were in shock after tasting the cake.

    ¡¸This is delicious. I already thought about this after tasting her pudding, but just who is this youngdy? ¡¹

    ¡¸She is an adventurer, but also a chef I respect very much.¡¹

    Zelef-san answered Botts-san¡¯s question.

    I wished he would stop telling people how much he respected me...

    If the fact that the royal head chef respected me spread, it would surely be troublesome for me.

    Also, I wasn¡¯t a chef.

    ¡¸I just don¡¯t understand how something like this can be made...¡¹

    Botts-san said as he scooped up some cream with his spoon and ate it.

    ¡¸I learned how to make it from Yuna-dono, but I can¡¯t teach you.¡¹

    I felt like Zelef-san was giving off a sense of superiority there.

    Botts-san looked a bit upset by Zelef-san¡¯s attitude and turned to me instead, but I ignored him.

    I couldn¡¯t teach him how to make it, after all.

    I had only started selling it recently, and I was nning to serve it at the shop in the capital that was opening soon. If the method of making whipped cream spread in this town before I started selling it at the capital, that could be a problem for the sales there.

    I turned back to Misa, who had just finished listening to Noa boast about me. I also noticed her te was already empty.

    She looked like she still wanted more, but there was other food remaining, and a slice from a twoyered cake was double the size of a normal one, so she would get a stomachache if she ate more.

    Yeah, it would be problematic if people got stomach aches, so I decided against taking out more cake.

    If anybody wanted to eat more, I could always bring some out tomorrow. Zelef-san had made so much food for us, and it shouldn¡¯t be wasted.

    ¡¸It was really good. Thank you, Big Sis Yuna, Fina-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸We put a lot of effort into it, so hearing you say that makes me happy.¡¹

    Fina also looked quite happy when she heard Misa¡¯spliment.

    Now, we just had to give her the bear plushies.

    Author Note:

    I¡¯m sorry for cutting off a chapter in the middle of the party.

    I wanted to write until she gave the plushie, but I couldn¡¯t do it, so the chapter is a bit shorter this time.

 Chapter 191 â€“ Bear-san Presents the Bear Plushies

    Chapter 191 ¨C Bear-san Presents the Bear Plushies

    Since everybody had finished their cakes, it was time to hand over the plushies.

    Still, unlike the cake, there was a possibility that Misa wouldn¡¯t like them.

    Even if she did, she might act all grown-up and say something like, ¡ºA plushie? I¡¯m too old for things like that.¡»

    It was a bitte to consider this now, but 10 was a delicate age.

    Although there were people who liked plushies even after bing adults, there were also some children who didn¡¯t like them even while young.

    ¡¸Misa, can I ask you something? Do you like plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸Plushies...? Yes, I like them. I take good care of the dog plushie my mother bought for me.¡¹

    As soon as she said she liked them, Fina and I felt a sense of relief.

    ¡¸Okay, there¡¯s one more present we would like to give you.¡¹

    ¡¸You have more?!¡¹

    I took out the plushies from the Bear Box and handed the Swaying Bear plushie to Fina while holding onto the Hugging Bear plushie myself. This way, it would look like we were both giving Misa a plushie.

    As soon as I took out the plushies, however, somebody else chimed in.

    Wha-what-what are those!? Those plushies!?¡¹

    Noa cried out.

    ¡¸They¡¯re plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Noa jumped out of her seat and approached us, her gaze locked onto the Hugging Bear plushie in my arms.

    ¡¸They¡¯re so cute. They look just like the real thing. Yuna-san, please give them to me!¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do that. They¡¯re Misa¡¯s presents.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, no... Can¡¯t I have one of them at least?¡¹

    Noa looked back and forth between the plushies.

    ¡¸No. It¡¯s not right to split them up, and they are both meant for Misa.¡¹

    I would feel bad for separating Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear even if it was only their plushies we were talking about here.

    ¡¸Why is it not my birthday today?!¡¹

    How could I even respond to something like that? If she wanted toin, she should go to her parents.

    Noa fell to her knees, looking depressed.

    ¡¸Uuu, I really want the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.¡¹

    Noa looked really sad.

    ¡¸Um, do you want them that badly?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I really, really want them...¡¹

    She lifted up her face and appealed to me.

    ¡¸Okay, how about I make another set for youter?¡¹

    ¡¸R-really?!¡¹

    Noa got energetic again.

    ¡¸Yes, so please hold yourself back for today.¡¹

    Well, I wasn¡¯t the one making them, Sherry was. Besides, I already knew Noa would want them, so I had already asked Sherry to make a set for her.

    Hmm, how many sets would she have ready by the time we returned to Crimonia?

    Well, I knew Noa would want them, but I hadn¡¯t thought she would react to them so strongly.

    ¡¸Okay. I¡¯m sorry for being selfish. However, it¡¯s a promise, right?¡¹

    Noa apologized obediently while also reinforcing our promise.

    Fina and I then finally approached Misa, with Noa watching us jealously. I had promised her that I would give her a set of her own, so could she stop looking at us like that?

    ¡¸You can go first.¡¹

    I said and gestured Fina to give her plushie first.

    ¡¸Misa-sama, happy birthday. Even though it was just a little bit, I helped make these.¡¹

    Fina presented the Swaying Bear plushie, and Misa happily took it in her arms.

    ¡¸Thank you very much. They¡¯re so cute. Can I really have them?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, they¡¯re your birthday present, after all. I¡¯m d you like them.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d that you epted them without getting embarrassed. I was worried that you were going to say that you only liked plushies when you were younger.¡¹

    ¡¸We wouldn¡¯t have given them to you if that was the case.¡¹

    ¡¸I could have gotten them, then...¡¹

    Noa pitched in disappointedly.

    ¡¸Well then, please ept the Hugging Bear plushie as well. I would feel bad if we were to split them up, so I would be happy if you took care of both of them well.¡¹

    I said and presented her with the Hugging Bear plushie.

    As I already said, it would be unfair to the real Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear if one was picked over the other.

    Even with her small body, Misa managed to hug both plushies tightly while Noa continued to stare at her jealously.

    She couldn¡¯t hold it back even for this one day, huh.

    ¡¸I will take care of them well. Thank you very much!¡¹

    Misa said and gave off the brightest smile I had seen from her all day long.

    ¡¸Misa, you received such cute plushies. How nice!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they¡¯re really nice.¡¹

    Misa¡¯s mother smiled at her daughter.

    ¡¸Oh, but now that I got these Bear-san plushies, I can¡¯t ask you for the favor I wanted you to do for me.¡¹

    Misa suddenly said, her hands still upied with holding the plushies.

    ¡¸What did you want to ask me to do?¡¹

    ¡¸You see, I wanted to see Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan again. I was going to ask you to bring them out.¡¹

    ¡¸You were just going to ask me that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes...¡¹

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡¹

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form.

    ¡¸W-what is this?! Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are small like the plushies!¡¹

    ¡¸We made the plushies match their size.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached Misa, who scooped them up into a hug while still holding onto the plushies, so she was embracing four bears at once.

    ¡¸Misa, that¡¯s unfair!¡¹

    Noa couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and joined the hugging circle, meaning that the Bears were now all sandwiched between Misa and Noa.

    Soon after, the two of them began ying with the Bears together.

    Misa¡¯s mother looked at them with a smile then turned to Fina and me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Fina-san, thank you very much for all you did today. It¡¯s been a while since I saw my daughter this happy. Misa has been looking forward to seeing you two again ever since she sent out your invitations.¡¹

    I was d that we came to the party, too.

    I just hadn¡¯t expected to be stuck in a dress.

    ¡¸Please stay good friends with my daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸We will.¡¹

    We replied.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m happy you¡¯re making the plushies for my daughter as well, but are there none being made for Princess Flora?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked me while watching Noa y with the Bears.

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t done yet but are in the making.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, that¡¯s good. If Princess Flora saw them and found out she wasn¡¯t getting any of her own, who knows what might have happened.¡¹

    To begin with, I only made these plushies because I was giving them to Princess Flora. So, of course she was getting her own set.

    It was just that the order of who I gave them to first got kind of mixed up.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d that you¡¯ve given Misa something so nice. Perhaps I should have invited you to my party as well, Yuna. Maybe I would have gotten something nice, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san, you also want to get plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸No, no. I just wanted a surprise of some sort, wouldn¡¯t mind if it was just food. I was curious what kind of present you would give me.¡¹

    A present for Gran-san?

    I couldn¡¯t think of anything that would make someone his age happy.

    Maybe some shoulder-massage tickets? No, no, I wasn¡¯t his grandchild.

    What about some antiques, or a rare weapon? His Majesty liked those.

    Well, I guessed that nobles liked gemstones, but I, unfortunately, didn¡¯t have any.

    I couldn¡¯t think of anything a noble such as Gran-san would like.

    Wait... I might have this one thing he would like.

    ¡¸Gran-san, would you be okay with receiving a decoration?¡¹

    ¡¸A decoration?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, something cool you can put out by the entrance or at some other ce that stands out.¡¹

    ¡¸Hoho. You are going to give me a present like that?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I can. I don¡¯t need it, so let me know if you want to keep it or not before I head home.¡¹

    I walked to an open spot and took out an Iron Golem from my Bear Box.

    Yup, I picked a tough-looking one.

    ¡¸Kya!!¡¹

    ¡¸What is that?!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a golem!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, what do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡¹

    When I took out the golem, everybody freaked out.

    Some people knocked over their chairs and tried to run away while the others screamed in fright. Some of them even fell on their backs.

    Why was everyone freaking out like this?

    ¡¸Gran-san, don¡¯t you think it would be cool to decorate your ce with this?¡¹

    I said and knocked on the Iron Golem, but it made no sound as I had my Bear Hands on.

    ¡¸Yuna, isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡¹

    Gran-san asked cautiously.

    ¡¸What is?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s an Iron Golem, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah...?¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t it obvious just by looking at it? Maybe it was his first time seeing one; it had been my first time seeing them when I had done the subjugation request, too.

    Still, I felt like we weren¡¯t on the same page.

    As I tilted my head thinking what the problem was, Fina came over and exined why everybody was so scared.

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, everybody thinks that the golem will move.¡¹

    Ah, I got it now. That was why everybody was so shocked when I had brought it out.

    Because Fina exined it to me, I now knew what to say.

    ¡¸This golem won¡¯t move, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it attacking you.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Everybody was suspicious, so I knocked on it a few more times to prove it.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, could this golem be from back then?¡¹

    ¡¸Mother, what do you mean by back then?¡¹

    Eleanora-san clearly meant the time I had gone to the mine for the golem subjugation.

    ¡¸So, you subjugated this Iron Golem, huh. It¡¯s my first time seeing one in such pristine condition, though.¡¹

    Gran-san said and approached the Iron Golem.

    What had Gazar-san told me again? When subjugating it, it sometimes ended up motionless after receiving a lot of damage. In my case, I had just destroyed the magic stone inside using Lightning Magic, which rendered it immobile.

    ¡¸So, how about putting it at the entrance, Gran-san? It would look amazing, right?¡¹

    Gran-san and I began discussing where to put it.

    ¡¸It would stand out indeed, but it would also spook the guests whoe here.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want it, then?¡¹

    I really thought it would make a good present, though.

    ¡¸I will take it if you don¡¯t want it, but are you sure? I think that such an Iron Golem would fetch a good price. Even just the metal is worth quite a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m good. I¡¯ve got lots of them.¡¹

    I took out a couple more Iron Golems from my Bear Box. I had no use for them at the moment anyway.

    Cliff clutched his head in his hands while Gran-san and Eleanora-san beganughing in shock.

    Misa and Noa, seeing the golems for the first time, came over to take a closer look.

    The two of them were still holding onto Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and their plushie counterparts.

    Everybody else, including Zelef-san and Botts-san, just watched from a distance.

    Well, it made sense for people to be afraid of Iron Golems.

    When I had shown the Iron Golems to the two cksmiths, they didn¡¯t freak out this badly and didn¡¯t really seem to be that afraid at all. Hmm, maybe I should be more careful when I bring them out next time.

    ¡¸I knew youcked somemon sense, but I didn¡¯t think it was this bad.¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it already.¡¹

    ¡¸Me, too.¡¹

    Gran-san acknowledged myck ofmon sense while Cliff and Eleanora-san agreed with him. Even Zelef-san nodded.

    Wait, wasn¡¯t this a bit strange?

    Aside from the Bear Suit, I was a pretty normal girl. I looked at the three girls, hoping they would back me up, yet none of them argued against what Gran-san said.

    How could this be?!

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The Bears Bear a Bare Kuma has reached its one year anniversary.

    I would like to thank everybody for your support. I wouldn¡¯t have made it this far without you.

    Please continue supporting my work from now on as well.

    Views: 36,320,230

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    Overall Rating: 64,172 pt

    Just a memo for this anniversary.

 Chapter 192 â€“ Bear-san And The Chefs Visit Town

    Chapter 192 ¨C Bear-san And The Chefs Visit Town

    There were many people opposed to cing the Iron Golem at the entrance as Gran-san was thinking about doing.

    ¡¸Father, please don¡¯t put it at the entrance. People who see it will be scared.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that fine?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it is not. If you¡¯ll insist on putting it at the entrance, I will tell Yuna-san to take it home with her.¡¹

    As more and more people objected, Gran-san had to reluctantly give up on putting it at the entrance.

    After talking it out for a bit longer, they decided to ce the Iron Golem in the middle of the hall on the second floor.

    It was not a ce guests visited often, but if Gran-san ever wanted to show it off, he just needed to bring them there.

    Everybody agreed that this was the best solution, and for some reason, I ended up being the one who had to set it up there.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t move such a heavy object that easily.¡¹

    They told me. Since I didn¡¯t have any other choice, I put all the golems back into the Bear Box and went upstairs to the hall, where I set the tough-looking one up at a ce they pointed out to me.

    Yeah, it did look good up here in the hall.

    It was made of good quality iron, so unlike the Earth Golem, it looked elegant, and not too brittle.

    It made me want to line up a Silver Golem and Gold Golem next to it.

    There was also the Fake Mithril Golem I had, so maybe I could put it next to them as well.

    Oh, but if we were only decorating, maybe just coating the surface of iron golems would be enough, too.

    Now that the party was over, and the golem had securely been set up, I returned to my room, where I quickly took off the dress and put my Bear Suit back on.

    I definitely couldn¡¯t stay calm without my Bear Suit on. Knowing that I now thought this way made me a bit concerned, especially since I used to be so embarrassed to walk around in it.

    Perhaps the Bear Suit was cursed after all, seeing how I missed wearing it so much.

    Well, usually cursed equipment couldn¡¯t be removed. Instead, the Bear Suit spoiled me and made mepletely dependent on it.

    Now that I had changed back into the Bear Suit, I went to find Noa to ask her what I should do with the dress.

    I wanted to wash it first before returning it, but I didn¡¯t know how to wash dresses. I didn¡¯t think they hadundromats in this world, but I honestly wouldn¡¯t know of one even if they did since I never had to wash my Bear Suit.

    When I told Noa I was returning the dress to her, she replied in an unexpected way.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you can keep the dress.¡¹

    There was no way I could ept an expensive dress just like that.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t take it.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s a trade. I will trade you that dress for the Bear-san plushies. I want the full set, okay?¡¹

    Oh, she intended for it to be a trade.

    Since she already did her side of the trade, that meant I had no other choice but to really bring her a set of the Bear plushies.

    I didn¡¯t mind giving them to her, but how many chances would I get to wear this dress again?

    ¡¸I will let Fina keep her dress as well, so I hope I can get my hands on those plushies soon.¡¹

    Fina tried her best to refuse, but Noa wouldn¡¯t budge at all.

    ¡¸Even if I take the dress, I won¡¯t have any opportunities to wear it again.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, you went to Misa¡¯s party, but you aren¡¯t nning oning to mine?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸You wille, right? Then, please wear the dress to my party. If it won¡¯t fit you anymore, just let me know, and I will get it fixed.¡¹

    Fina lost all chances of getting out of it, so she epted the dress reluctantly.

    Did that mean I had to attend Noa¡¯s party as well?

    The next day, Cliff and Eleanora-san came to our room early in the morning.

    To put it simply, they wanted to talk about the ns going forward.

    Cliff nned on staying for three more days and told us to do what we want till then.

    Eleanora-san also nned to wrap up her task quickly, so she could apany us.

    ¡¸If Noa is leaving in three days, then I guess I should also finish things up by then.¡¹

    Eleanora-san, could you please do your job properly....

    In the end, it was decided that we would all be leaving in three days time.

    ¡¸Well then, I¡¯m heading out now.¡¹

    ¡¸Stay safe.¡¹

    The girls saw me as I headed out alone.

    Today, I would be doing my own thing without the girls tagging along.

    Misa had promised to show Fina and Noa her garden flower bed. She had invited me toe and see it too, but I had declined so that I could go and check out the specialities of this town.

    At the mansion entrance, I ran into Zelef-san and Botts-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, are you heading out?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I am. And you two?¡¹

    ¡¸We are going out as well. Botts is going to show me around town.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going out alone today, Young Bear Lady?¡¹

    ¡¸Misa is showing the other two girls her garden flower bed, so I decided to go out and look around town on my own.¡¹

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t we walk together then, Yuna-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, Zelef. You n on walking around with a young girl dressed like a bear?!¡¹

    I was aware that I was a bear, but... He didn¡¯t have to point it out.

    It had been a while since somebody reacted to me like that.

    ¡¸Still, why are you always dressed like this? Your outfit yesterday made you look more normal even though I can¡¯t really say the same for your personality.¡¹

    ¡¸I think you should be able to tell seeing what I could do yesterday. My Bear Suites with many useful gadgets, like the Bear Gloves, which are an item bag and a home to my Bears.¡¹

    I gave him a vague exnation.

    ¡¸True, you did bring out a massive Iron Golem yesterday. You were also able to store all of the ingredients needed for the party by yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Botts, didn¡¯t you want to do something to thank Yuna-dono? Why don¡¯t you show her around as well?¡¹

    Do something to thank me? Was there something I did that Botts-san was supposed to be thankful for?

    ¡¸Fine, I get it. Where does the Young Bear Lady want to go?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I want to taste the town¡¯s specialties, and if there¡¯s time, I also want to check out your Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Now that you mention it, are you really an adventurer? Zelef told me you are, but I still find it hard to believe. You being a chef makes more sense to me....¡¹

    Well, with my Bear Suit, I hardly looked like an adventurer.

    ¡¸Eh, whatever. It doesn¡¯t really matter. After checking out the specialties, I will also take you to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    There was no reason for him to refuse, especially since the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was close to the market area. If they didn¡¯t feel like apanying me there, we could just split up at the marketce.

    Zelef-san, Botts-san, and I. This very unusual group headed out towards the town center.

    ¡¸Young Bear Lady, I want to thank you for bringing Zelef here in our time of need. Thanks to you, the Salbert family had no other choice but to flee.¡¹

    Botts-san thanked me again. So, that was what Zelef-san was talking about when he mentioned that Botts-san wanted to thank me...

    I hadn¡¯t been there to see what happened at the party in person, but based on what everybody had told me, the Salbert family had been quite unbelievable.

    ¡¸By the way, Yuna-dono, where did you learn to cook? Zelef told me that you know how to make many delicious dishes that canpare to pudding and whipped cream.¡¹

    ¡¸Botts, you promised me not to ask Yuna-dono about that.¡¹

    ¡¸I did, but as a chef, I¡¯m still very curious about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand how you feel, but a promise is a promise.¡¹

    ¡¸Zelef, she showed you some of those recipes, didn¡¯t she?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-dono taught me many delicious recipes.¡¹

    For some reason, Zelef-san almost sounded like he was boasting.

    If Botts-san had asked me why I had taught him, I would tell him it was all for Princess Flora¡¯s sake. I wanted her to be able to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, so I had taught Zelef-san how to make some of the things she liked.

    However, Botts-san didn¡¯t seem to know about it and was quite upset with this treatment.

    As we walked towards the town center, he continued to ask me about the pudding and cake I had made.

    ¡¸You¡¯re opening a shop in the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Not many people there know about Yuna-dono¡¯s cooking, so we will be opening a shop that will serve her recipes at the capital. The shop will be supervised by me since everybody working there will be taught her precious recipes. Now that I think about it, Botts, why don¡¯t youe work at the shop as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I still owe a lot to Gran-sama. I can¡¯t leave until I have repaid his favor.¡¹

    Despite what he looked like, Botts-san was actually quite a level-headed fellow.

    ¡¸Do you want me to teach you?¡¹

    ¡¸You would?!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really mind, but you must promise me something.¡¹

    ¡¸Promise what?¡¹

    ¡¸You cannot reveal the recipes to anybody. I wouldn¡¯t mind if you wanted to open up a shop yourself, but please wait a while before doing that.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a while? How long would that be...?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe until everything calms down with the capital¡¯s shop opening? I would have to discuss it with Zelef-san first.¡¹

    ¡¸That would make Botts your second branch, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have the money to open up a shop anyway, so you don¡¯t have to worry about me opening one for my own gain. I promise I will keep the recipes a secret, too. I will even sign a contract if I have to.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need you to sign a contract, but there is one very important thing I want you to make sure to keep in mind.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s something even more important than keeping the recipes a secret?¡¹

    Don¡¯t spread the recipes, and don¡¯t make your own store. There was something even more important than those two things.

    ¡¸Ah, I know what it is. It is indeed very important, considering that you are cooking for Gran-dono¡¯s family.¡¹

    Zelef-san realized what the most important thing was, it seemed.

    ¡¸Zelef, you know what it is?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I also had to make a simr promise when she taught me.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s something that important...¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, there is. I want you to promise me this: Even if Misa wants to eat it, do not make it for her every day. Especially, in the case of things like cake, which has a lot of sugar. She can only have one per week, two at most.¡¹

    That was one promise he must not break.

    We couldn¡¯t let a cute girl like her get fat. Not to mention that eating too many sweets would be bad for her health.

    ¡¸That¡¯s such a trivial matter...¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s a very important thing for girls. If Misa can¡¯t get married because she¡¯s fat, it will be your fault, Botts-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, I guess it is quite important when you put it that way...¡¹

    ¡¸Botts-san, I don¡¯t know how long you n on working for Gran-san, but please keep an eye on everybody¡¯s eating habits. Even if Misa wants to eat something every day, make sure she eats other foods as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I also promised not to cook the same thing for Princess Flora all the time.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I promise that even if Misana-sama asks me to make something for her, I will make sure not to cook it for her every day.¡¹

    Zelef-san then told me he could teach Botts-san the recipes in my stead as he would be staying here for a while longer.

    Just as we were finished with our conversation, we reached an area that looked like a marketce and proceeded to take a look around.

    ¡¸We were getting stared at whileing here, but even more people are staring at us now that we¡¯re in a crowded area.¡¹

    True, there were many shoppers and shop owners staring at us.

    I even heard a few of them whisper ¡°Bear¡±.

    Well, as usual, I just ignored it as long as nobody approached me or tried to touch my suit, of course.

    Anyway, since Botts-san would now get to learn the recipes, he didn¡¯t try toin about it anymore. Instead, he guided us to many different shops like he didn¡¯t have a choice.

    The shops here more or less just sold the same thing that could be found in Crimonia. Hmm, Sheelin wasn¡¯t far from Crimonia, so maybe I would have to head to a ce with a different climate to get different ingredients.

    From time to time, I saw things that didn¡¯t exist in my former world, so I asked the two ingredient experts about it.

    ¡¸That fruit is sour and sweet. It can be used as a substitute for strawberries.¡¹

    ¡¸True, but it might be more suitable for adults.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that one is just very sweet, so it would go very well with your cake.¡¹

    Mhm, I could learn a lot from this.

    ¡¸Mister! Give me an entire box of that fruit!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if I can get them in Crimonia, and even if I could, this saves me the trouble of having to search for them there.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that, but aren¡¯t you buying a bit too much?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to give them to the children at the orphanage as souvenirs.¡¹

    ¡¸The orphanage?¡¹

    Oh, I had never told them about it before.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sort of a part of the orphanage¡¯s management in Crimonia, so I thought I¡¯d bring the children there some souvenirs.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re doing something like that, too?¡¹

    Botts-san said, surprised.

    ¡¸Well, things just ended up that way.¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, are you from some noble family?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m just a normal person.¡¹

    ¡¸Normal, you say...¡¹

    He said, looking at me suspiciously.

    Back in my old world, I had been a normal person, so I wasn¡¯t really lying.

    The shop owner also wore a shocked expression as I paid for the fruit. I couldn¡¯t me him for being surprised since he most likely had never had anyone buy this much of it at once.

    It was definitely not because of my outfit.

    We then continued making our way around the marketce and bought everything we wanted.

    Since Botts-san wanted to learn the cake and pudding recipes as soon as he could, I suggested they headed back first, and Zelef-san agreed.

    ¡¸What will you do now, Yuna-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll head back after dropping by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Botts-san, Zelef-san, thank you for your time. I learned a lot today.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d to hear that. Next time youe to the capital, I will take you to a few shops that sell some less-known ingredients. They sell ingredients from many different ces, so I¡¯m sure you will find something interesting there.¡¹

    Really? That would be great.

    After making the promise with Zelef-san, we parted ways, and I headed to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild on my own.

    Based on what Botts-san had told me, it should be pretty close.

    As I looked around aimlessly, something suddenly started ringing.

    ¡¸Kuun, kuun, kuun.¡¹

    It wasing from my White Bear Hand.

    It took me a couple of seconds to realize that my Bear Phone was responsible for the noise then

    I quickly took it out of the Bear Box to answer.

    ¡¸Hello?¡¹

    ¡ºB-Big Sis Yuna... Misa-sama got...¡»

    ¡¸Fina? Fina, what happened?! Respond to me!¡¹

    ¡º............¡»

    She didn¡¯t respond.

    I immediately turned around and ran back to Gran-san¡¯s mansion.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    The idiot son has made his move. w

    Well, there¡¯s no massive hidden n or plot, so things will end smoothly.

    By the way, the Bear Phone is made using God¡¯s skill; that¡¯s why she can hear it from inside the Bear Box.

 Chapter 193 â€“ Bear-san Gets Mad

    Chapter 193 ¨C Bear-san Gets Mad

    As I ran back to the mansion, I kept calling Fina over the phone, but there was no response.

    I was practically sprinting at this point and soon reached the mansion.

    Where was Fina?!

    I saw the guards posted by the gates like usual, and they were really surprised to see me appear so suddenly.

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Misa?!¡¹

    ¡¸Misana-sama?!¡¹

    The guards didn¡¯t understand what I was asking them.

    Had nothing happened here?

    However, if that was the case, where were the girls?

    They had gone to check Misa¡¯s flower bed together.

    I thought about questioning the guards further but realized it would be quicker to just look for the girls myself, so I ignored them and jumped up all the way onto the roof.

    After looking around for a bit, I spotted the flower beds on the left side of the mansion.

    ¡¸Fina!¡¹

    I jumped down from the roof andnded next to the flowerbeds, which held many beautiful, blooming flowers.

    Only then did I notice that Fina and Noa were copsed on the ground right next to one of the flowerbeds, and next to them, were the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies which we had given Misa at yesterday¡¯s party.

    ¡¸Fina! Noa!¡¹

    I rushed to Fina and held her up. She was still holding onto her Bear Phone.

    ¡¸Uuu...¡¹

    It was clear that someone had hit Fina in the face.

    Who would do that?!

    I lightly touched her face and used healing magic to make the swelling go away then went over to Noa. Luckily, she hadn¡¯t gotten hit in the face and looked like she had only lost consciousness.

    I sighed with relief before quickly realizing that Misa was nowhere to be seen. The plushies we had given her were left lying on the ground, so something really bad must have happened here!

    ¡¸Misa!¡¹

    I called for her, but there was no reply.

    I really couldn¡¯t see her anywhere.

    Had she run away after getting attacked? Or, had she been kidnapped?

    If Misa had managed to get away, others would have noticed the ruckus. Based on the guards¡¯ reaction from earlier, it seemed like nobody had noticed anything yet. Otherwise, there would be no way Fina and Noa would be left in this state.

    So, in conclusion, Misa must have been captured.

    ¡¸Yuna, what¡¯s wrong? The guards were surprised when they saw you jump onto the roof... Noa?!¡¹

    Cliff finally arrived to the scene and shouted out when he noticed Noa copsed on the ground.

    Following right behind him were the guards and Meshun-san.

    ¡¸What happened here?!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. Something bad I presume, as Fina got hit in the face.¡¹

    Cliff took Noa out of my arms, so I went back to Fina, who still hadn¡¯t regained consciousness.

    Just what on earth had happened here? Was Misa¡¯s life in danger?

    ¡¸Yuna-sama! What happened here?!¡¹

    ¡¸Somebody attacked them. Meshun-san, please report this to Gran-san and get people to start searching for Misa. She may still be within the mansion grounds.¡¹

    I knew it was most likely pointless, but I asked her to search anyway, since I had just a bit of hope that she still might be here.

    Noticing that Gran-san was already on his way over due to all themotion we were causing,

    Meshun-san quickly ordered the guards to look for Misa before approaching him.

    Just a momentter, Fina opened her eyes.

    ¡¸Fina!¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna...?¡¹

    ¡¸What happened here?!¡¹

    ¡¸Misa-sama... Misa-sama was...¡¹

    Fina kept saying Misa¡¯s name as she tightly grasped onto my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Calm down. Take a deep breath and exin what happened slowly.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa-sama brought us here to show us her flower bed. Then, as we were admiring the flowers, a man in a ck mask suddenly appeared. He grabbed Misa-sama and dashed away. We... We tried to stop him by grabbing onto the his clothes but to no avail...¡¹

    Fina said while rubbing her face. She must have gotten hit then...

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, please save Misa-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Meshun-san, take care of Fina for me.¡¹

    I gently patted Fina¡¯s head and stood up slowly.

    I was about to explode in anger.

    I had already reached my boiling point just from seeing Fina¡¯s injured face.

    After hearing that Misa was taken away, I could stay still no longer. I couldn¡¯t let this go unpunished.

    ¡¸Yuna, what are you nning on doing?¡¹

    Cliff asked.

    I picked up the plushies before answering him.

    ¡¸What am I nning on doing? I¡¯m going to rescue Misa, obviously. I don¡¯t know who the culprit is, but he took Misa while also hitting Fina and Noa in the process. Do you really need to ask any further?¡¹

    Was he stupid? Why would he even ask me such a dumb question?

    Crap, I was letting the blood get to my head.

    It was all because of Cliff¡¯s stupid question.

    I then passed the plushies to Fina.

    ¡¸You say you will save her, but do you even know where she is? ¡¹

    Gran-san said while grabbing my shoulder tightly.

    I quietly took his hand off and lifted up my arms.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear! Hugging Bear!¡¹

    I summoned the two of them.

    The people around me made a ruckus when I summoned them in their adult forms, but I didn¡¯t really care.

    ¡¸Do you two know where Misa was taken to?¡¹

    The two of them sniffed the surrounding area, and cried out¡ºKuun¡»in response.

    I jumped onto Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Yuna, wait!¡¹

    ¡¸What?! ¡¹

    Gran-san called out to me even though time was of the essence.

    ¡¸Please save Misa.¡¹

    I nodded, leapt over the fence, and rode off towards the town.

    Soon, we reached a popted road, but I didn¡¯t care about the people freaking out when they saw us.

    I didn¡¯t know who had done this, but they wouldn¡¯t escape my wrath.

    In no time, the Bears brought me to a mansion about the same size as Gran-san¡¯s.

    IDIOT SON RANDALL¡¯S PERSPECTIVE:

    We came home early from the party. Thanks to the chef who had suddenly appeared, all of our ns had fallen apart.

    I was pissed.

    What had happened back there? Even Father had pulled back so easily.

    That wasn¡¯t like him at all. He normally never gave up but rather tricked his opponent into submitting. With a chef like that, he should have made him apologize instead.

    Why hadn¡¯t he been his usual self?

    When people refused to listen to his orders, he just had to force them to obey him.

    Father had always done things that way.

    Bribery, threats, and violence. There were plenty of ways to force someone to do your bidding.

    Father even kidnapped some children and kept them in the basement. All so that their parents wouldn¡¯t attend that shitty gramps¡¯ party.

    Yeah, since the parents hadn¡¯t refused the invitation just from being threatened, so Father had just resorted to abducting their children.

    Then, I just had to do the same thing.

    I called for Blood and ordered him to kidnap Misana.

    ¡¸Are those your father¡¯s orders?¡¹

    ¡¸No, they¡¯re mine. You just have to do what I tell you to do.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but I will be taking payment for it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll pay you, don¡¯t worry. Make sure you capture her discreetly, though. We can¡¯t have them knowing that it was me, or it could get problematic.¡¹

    In order to abduct Misana directly, Blood had to take some time.

    Based on his report, Misana had gone to help out with a mole extermination, but since there had been adventurers around, he couldn¡¯t just capture her then. How carefree of her to go mole hunting. Well, she wouldn¡¯t get to enjoy herself for much longer, would she?

    I told Blood to capture her the moment he got a good chance to, but a few more days passed with nothing happening. I didn¡¯t know if it was because he was ipetent, or if he simply had no opportunities to do it.

    Also, how could Father not make a move himself when he had suffered so much humiliation?

    All I saw him do was talk to merchants.

    The parents from the children we were holding here came, but Father decided not to do anything until that chef left.

    Then, all of a sudden, I received a report that Blood had sessfully kidnapped Misana.

    When I went to get him, he was indeed carrying Misana whose eyes and mouth were covered up.

    Now the Faren Gramm family was finished!

    I told Blood to leave her in the room next door so that she couldn¡¯t hear my voice.

    ¡¸She¡¯s not aware that we are the ones responsible for her kidnapping, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I covered her eyes and mouth immediately, so it should be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, good.¡¹

    As I started to think about what I should do now, Father suddenly burst in, his expression that of deep anger.

    ¡¸Randall! You brat, did you get Blood to kidnap Misana?! ¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m just doing the same thing you usually do. With this, we just have to threaten that gramps and make him give up his lord status.¡¹

    ¡¸You fool! It¡¯s not going to go that easily! Nobles are different than merchants. They don¡¯t mind sacrificing a young girl in order to protect their status. If it was me, I would just....¡¹

    I didn¡¯t hear thest part, but I understood what he meant.

    If it happened to me, he would abandon me. I would do the same thing if Father got abducted, too. Even so, I didn¡¯t think that the naive Faren Gramm family would simply abandon one of their own.

    It was right about then that we heard a loud noiseing from the entrance.

    Yuna¡¯s perspective:

    I got off Swaying Bear and slowly walked to the entrance, with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear following closely behind me.

    ¡¸Who the heck are you?!¡¹

    The guards saw the Bears and drew their swords.

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Misa?¡¹

    I calmly asked them.

    Wow, I didn¡¯t think that I could manage to bring out such a calm voice.

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    It seemed like they didn¡¯t know what was going on, either.

    Since I was intruding anyway, I decided to just hit them with a Bear Punch each, making them copse to the ground instantly, then stepped past them to the door.

    Instead of bothering with knocking, I simply Bear Punched the door, which flew off its hinges with a loud bang. With the door out of the way, it was now easy for my Bears and me to enter.

    Besides, this residence would get demolished soon anyway, so they wouldn¡¯t be needing that door.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    The Bears immediately responded and began walking down the hallway; they were guiding me to where Misa was.

    When I started to follow them, a man with a toadface stepped out of one of the rooms, along with that brat who had picked a fight with Misa.

    So, this was their residence as I thought.

    How dumb could this family be? Why would they abduct Misa only to hide her in their own home?

    ¡¸What¡¯s going on here?!¡¹

    ¡¸I came to take Misa back home.¡¹

    ¡¸Who the hell are you?! Also, what are these bears doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Misa?¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about?¡¹

    They pretended not to know what I was talking about, so I hit the toad man with a weak Air Bullet.

    The man grabbed his stomach and fell to his knees. How could he be writhing in pain over such weak magic?

    From this point onward, he would be seeing hell.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind if you don¡¯t tell me where you hid her. I¡¯ll just go and find her myself. I don¡¯t know what I will do to you guys once I do find her, though.¡¹

    If Misa was hurt, I would not let them off easily.

    ¡¸W-what are you talking about?¡¹

    The toad man looked at me with a pained expression, but I ignored him and began to walk off.

    Just as I passed my Bears, a shadow leapt down from the stairs and shot a fireball at them.

    The bears dodged the fireball easily, however.

    ¡¸Bears can dodge such an attack?¡¹

    The shadow turned out to be the man wearing the ck mantle.

    ¡¸Ignoring your outfit and those bears, just who are you? It appears that you¡¯ve noticed I had been watching you.¡¹

    The man started to spout out nonsense.

    What was he talking about?

    ¡¸I would never have thought anyone could notice me from such a distance.¡¹

    Seriously, what was he talking about?

    ¡¸Because of you, I just couldn¡¯t find a good opportunity to do it. I was only able to abduct the girl when you left her alone with just two girls apanying her. And now, you somehow managed to find this ce this quickly. I know you were out in town, so there¡¯s no way you could possibly be notified that quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Blood! Don¡¯t talk about unnecessary things!¡¹

    ¡¸Now that this weirdly dressed missy is here, it¡¯s toote to hide it anyway.¡¹

    So, this ck-clothed man was obviously the one who had kidnapped Misa.

    That also meant the he was the one who had knocked Fina and Noa unconscious.

    Good thing I found the culprit so easily. Also, he didn¡¯t even have a shred of guilt for kidnapping a young girl. That meant I could punch him without holding back.

    ¡¸What¡¯s so funny?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just happy I found the culprit so easily.¡¹

    ¡¸Blood, this all happened because you didn¡¯t abduct her quietly without letting anybody realize. Take responsibility for your failure and dispose of this weird girl and her bears!¡¹

    The toad man¡¯s son shouted at the ck-clothed man.

    ¡¸I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Normally, that would be an extra charge, but since this was my mistake, I will do it as a bonus.¡¹

    After the man said that, he dashed towards me and fired out another fireball without hesitation. I blocked it with the White Bear Hand and shot a fireball back in exchange, but he just jumped back and dodged it.

    ¡¸You can block magic and then return fire. What an interesting bear you are. I will stop thinking of you as a child and no longer hold back.¡¹

    He looked as though he had just found his prey and licked his lips.

    Gross. He made me feel sick.

    ¡¸Blood, don¡¯t use magic so easily! Are you trying to destroy this house?!¡¹

    ¡¸You say that, but this Bear Missy is also using magic.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care, just deal with this weird bear quickly! Don¡¯t let anybody outside know what happened here. Don¡¯t you lot dare run away, either!¡¹

    The toad man shouted past us.

    I nced at the entrance and saw a few guards standing there. Did they think they were really blocking the way by just standing around like that?

    They were obviously scared of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If the Bears approached them, I was sure the guards wouldn¡¯t really pose much of a resistance.

    ¡¸I wanted to fight in an open area, but it can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡¹

    The man took out a knife and threw it at me.

    However, I was able to see the opponent¡¯s movements thanks to my Bear Suit.

    His arm movements. The knife¡¯s trajectory. I could see it all.

    I dodged the knife andunched a Bear Punch at his face, but he managed to dodge it.

    No way!

    He smiled at me. Since I was able to see my opponent¡¯s movements, I could also see their facial expressions well.

    His smile only amplified my anger.

    Now, I didn¡¯t feel like only hitting him once.

    The man brandished another knife, but he was too slow.

    I grabbed the knife with my White Bear Hand, making his expression turned to that of surprise. He then put more power into the knife, trying to push it through, but he couldn¡¯t even move it an inch.

    It was time for me to strike back, so I put some power into my ck Bear Hand and threw a Bear Punch at him but only hit air.

    He managed to dodge it again?!

    The man had let go of his knife and put some distance between us. He also shot fire magic at me as a parting gift, but I used water magic to counter it. My magic won, of course. The water quickly ate up the mes, so I decided to send it after him.

    Sadly, he only got wet and took no real damage.

    ¡¸Just who are you? Not only could you stop my knife, but I also lost to you in terms of strength even though you¡¯re just a child. And now, you¡¯re telling me I¡¯m losing in terms of magic as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not really using my full power, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s very narrow here; if we went all out, we would destroy the mansion. Still, I¡¯m frustrated that I¡¯m losing despite attacking first.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it because you only fight those weaker than you? You¡¯re only fighting me now because you thought I was weak, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. I had thought you had some ns of your own, which is why I had only acted when you hadn¡¯t been around.¡¹

    Hearing that made me remember why I was so angry.

    ¡¸Before I defeat you, let me ask you something. Why did you attack the two girls who were with Misa? For someone like you, there¡¯s no reason to attack two harmless girls.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, those two girls. They were very brave. I was going to grab the girl and run, but those two suddenly grabbed onto my arm, so I had to get a bit rough with them as they clung onto me for their dear life.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡¹

    It really was stupid of me to ask him that. It just got me more pissed off.

    Still, I could imagine how bravely Fina and Noa had acted. They had tried really hard to save their friend. I was d they hadn¡¯t just abandoned her. I didn¡¯t want them to ever face danger like this again, though.

    I would take down everybody here and bring Misa home. I would take Misa back to those two girls. It was the only thing I could do to repay them for their bravery.

    I put some more power into the ck Bear Hand.

    It would be easy to take them down from range with magic, but I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with just that. I would make sure to hit them in the face for Fina and Noa¡¯s sake. I would return the favor a hundredfold.

    I picked up the knife from earlier and threw it at the man while also kicking off the ground at the same time.

    The knife flew very quickly, but the man dodged it without much of a problem. However, I was already at the spot he dodged to. He had reacted well, but I was simply one step ahead of him. Iunched another powered up ck Bear Punch right at his face.

    I even had to shake off my arm a bit after it.

    The man hit the ground hard, and I followed up with a couple more Bear Punches while he was down.

    He didn¡¯t get up after I finished. His face was deformed and blood was pouring out of his nose and mouth. I had broken his nose and knocked out some teeth for sure.

    The man just quivered on the ground; he most likely wouldn¡¯t be getting up anytime soon.

    ¡¸Blood!¡¹

    The toad man¡¯s son shouted at him. The toad man was so shocked the ck-clothed man was defeated that he just stared at me.

    ¡¸You lot, what are you just standing there for? Do something about that weird bear!¡¹

    He then shouted at the guards. Some of them drew their swords while some other began chanting spells.

    It was to no avail, of course, as I just used wind magic to send them flying.

    ¡¸Just who are you?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Misa¡¯s friend. I don¡¯t n on interrupting a war between nobles, butying a hand on a child like Misa is off limits.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know anything about this. My son did it on his own.¡¹

    Speaking of which, that son of his was missing. He must have ran off when I attacked the guards. I used detection magic to see if anybody looked like they were running. Instead, I noticed two dots approaching us. The idiot son came back, dragging Misa with him.

    ¡¸Hey, Bear! If you resist, Misana will...¡¹

    Before he could even finish his sentence, I shot him in the face with an Air Bullet. Then, I closed the distance between us, took Misa away from him, and smashed his face in with a Bear Punch.

    Just like the ck-clothed man, he dropped to the ground, and blood started to spurt out of his nose and mouth.

    I then turned to look at Misa, who I had just rescued. Her mouth and eyes were covered up with a cloth.

    I quickly took off the cloth, only to notice that Misa had tears all over her face.

    ¡¸You¡¯re safe now.¡¹

    I reassured her with a gentle smile.

    ¡¸Bi-Big Sis Yuna...¡¹

    Misa teared up again and began crying, so I held her against me to reassure her.

    Only after some time, I noticed that the idiot son¡¯s father was ring at us.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know anything about this. My son did it on his own.¡¹

    ¡¸So you¡¯re saying you didn¡¯t do anything yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Also, do you think you can get away with doing something like this to a noble like myself? This is a crime, and I¡¯m the victim!¡¹

    Ahh, I see. It only made sense that an idiot son would have some idiotic parents as well.

    Nothing that came out of his mouth had even a sense of an apology.

    Maybe I should just hit him too, so he shuts up.

    Just as I lost my patience and decided to punch him...

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wait!¡¹

    Eleanora-san appeared by the entrance.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    This got really long.

    Still, now we are finally finished with this dumb noble family. w

    Also, I managed to finished it off with just one chapter. w

    Blood realized that Yuna was not an ordinary person, but he couldn¡¯t see her true power.

    Now we will just have to have Eleanora-san and the others take care of this mess. w

 Chapter 194 â€“ Bear-san Explains Everything to Eleanora-san

    Chapter 194 ¨C Bear-san Exins Everything to Eleanora-san

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The serious tone ended withst chapter. w

    As I swung my arm back to take my anger out on the toad man, Eleanora-san appeared at the entrance.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wait!¡¹

    Just because she told me to wait didn¡¯t mean I was going to stop.

    ¡¸Ugh!¡¹

    I sunk a Bear Punch into the toad man¡¯s stomach.

    ¡¸I was toote.¡¹

    No, she made it in time. Because she had suddenly cried out to me, I only used half the usual strength.

    As proof, the toad man didn¡¯t fly off after getting hit. His internal organs didn¡¯t burst out, either. Instead, he just passed out on the spot, foaming at the mouth.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san? Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I was on my way back from the Commerce Guild and saw you riding Swaying Bear with a crazed look on your face, so I decided to run after you. There was no way I could not follow you after seeing you in such a state.¡¹

    A crazed look? Had I really been making such a scary face?

    I thought about it for a second. Yup, I probably had been.

    The girls had just gotten attacked, so it would have been more strange for me not to look mad.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t make the elderly run so much, okay?¡¹

    She wasn¡¯t out of breath or anything, though.

    Also, what did she mean by elderly? She looked like she was in her mid-twenties. At the very least, she didn¡¯t look like she was 33 years old.

    How mysterious.

    Just about then, three more people came up to the entrance,pletely out of breath.

    Oh, I remembered seeing one of them before. It was Ranzel-san, the man who had helped us get rid of the thieves at the capital.

    I had never seen the other two before, though. Maybe they were knights like Ranzel-san?

    Still, these three knights werepletely out of breath while Eleanora-san was fine.

    Really, just who was Eleanora-san?

    ¡¸Okay, Yuna-chan. Can you please exin the situation to me?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked me while looking around.

    The door had been blown off, a part of the wall had crumbled, and there were two people with faces covered in blood lying on the ground. There was also a toad man, foaming at the mouth. Oh, and all of his servants were just standing there, shaking in fear. It was a terrible scene no matter how we looked at it.

    If I had to describe it, it looked like a wild bear had gone on a rampage.

    Still, I had no regrets. In fact, I probably hadn¡¯t rampaged enough.

    I proceeded to exin to Eleanora-san that Misa had been kidnapped and that I hade here to get her back.

    ¡¸Kidnapped?!¡¹

    Eleanora-san waspletely taken aback by what I said and turned to Misa.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, that person over there kidnapped me, and Big Sis Yuna came here to my rescue.¡¹

    Misa said and pointed at the ck-clothed man who was copsed on the ground.

    I then began to exin the situation, starting from what had happened at Gran-san¡¯s mansion.

    I included what had happened to Fina and Noa, of course.

    ¡¸Are the two of them okay?!¡¹

    ¡¸I think so. They both lost consciousness, but other than that, they were okay.¡¹

    Eleanora-san red at the toad man, who was also on the floor.

    I couldn¡¯t me her; any mother would have been mad to hear that their beloved daughter had been injured.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-chan, you got mad and went on a rampage then.¡¹

    I suppose that would be true.

    Eleanora-san was lost in thought for a bit then turned to the guards and servants.

    ¡¸My name is Eleanora Foschuroze. Under His Majesty¡¯s orders, I am putting Gerardo Salbert under arrest. We will be questioning all of you concerning this event. If you speak the truth, I promise you that your punishments will be reduced.¡¹

    The guards and servants looked at each other.

    ¡¸Is that possible?¡¹

    ¡¸As long as none of you did any inhumane things, I will see to it.¡¹

    When she said that, half of the guards looked down while the other half seemed relieved.

    The servants appeared to be conflicted as well.

    ¡¸Also, running away will just make your crime worse. If you intend to follow our orders, take out your guild and citizenship cards.¡¹

    Eleanora-san ordered them to give her their identification cards.

    Without their cards, they couldn¡¯t leave this town, so it was almost like they were stripped of their citizenships for the time being.

    They could always get a new card reissued, of course, but not if they were marked as criminals.

    The guards and servants all obediently handed over their identification cards to Ranzel-san.

    Trying to resist Eleanora-san would be pointless now.

    ¡¸Ranzel, Vorz, question every person in this residence, but do it gently. Also, even though I think it¡¯s unlikely, make sure that these three on the floor don¡¯t try to escape.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    The two of them quickly ran up to the three unconscious people and tied them up.

    ¡¸Michel, go to the Faren Gramm family and request for Cliff and Gran-san toe here. Make sure they bring their guards with them as well, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    The man named Michel quickly left the residence.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, is what I did considered a crime?¡¹

    I asked her just in case.

    I had attacked a noble family after all.

    I honestly didn¡¯t know what happened to people who attacked noble families in this world.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Yuna-chan. You saved a noble¡¯s daughter. I will exin what happened here to the king, and I¡¯m sure he will understand.¡¹

    It seemed like I had nothing to worry about.

    ¡¸Also, I should probably tell you that Misa wasn¡¯t the only one abducted. A merchant came to me and told the that their children also taken. It happened when I was at the Commerce Guild today. I actually spotted you just as I was in the middle of discussing the situation with them.¡¹

    ¡¸Where are those children then?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s possible that they are being held at a different ce.¡¹

    Still, that was close.

    If I had unleashed my wrath fully, I could have destroyed this ce and buried the children with it.

    Good thing Eleanora-san came here and stopped me from doing so.

    I really wouldn¡¯t want to hear about dead bodies of abducted children being found afterwards.

    ¡¸Well, I was nning on asking Gerardo where he kept the children, but...¡¹

    The toad man was currently passed out on the floor and still foaming at his mouth. Yep, she couldn¡¯t really interrogate him with the way he was.

    Wait, wouldn¡¯t toads wake up after getting sshed by water?

    Well, we didn¡¯t really need to wake him up though. I could just use detection magic or have my Bears sniff the children out. We could find them as long as they were in this building.

    As I was about to decide on how to go about it, Ranzel-san came back after putting the three unconscious people in a nice pile and also making sure the servants were gathered far enough away from them.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, it¡¯s been a while!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Ranzel-san, it has. I¡¯m surprised to see you¡¯ve apanied Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I was slightly rattled by it as well. As I was practicing at the castle¡¯s training grounds, Eleanora-sama suddenly approached me and said we were leaving so I had to pack up my things. Before I knew it, we were on our way to Sheelin.¡¹

    He answered with a smile.

    I could totally see that happening with Eleanora-san involved...

    ¡¸Ranzel, does Gerardo look like he will wake up anytime soon?¡¹

    ¡¸No, he doesn¡¯t. He ispletely out cold while I could say that the other two are quite close to a critical condition.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be a problem if we let them die, so please give them some first aid treatment. We do need to talk to Gerardo, however, so we should wake him up.¡¹

    Water sprayed out from Eleanora-san¡¯s hand and hit the toad man¡¯s face. So, Eleanora-san could use magic, huh. Well, since her daughter Shia could use it, I had figured Eleanora-san would be able to use it as well.

    ¡¸W-what?¡¹

    The toad man burst to consciousness.

    Yup, using water against toads worked best.

    ¡¸Why am I tied up?!¡¹

    He yelled when he noticed his predicament and started to struggle.

    ¡¸Gerardo, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸You... You¡¯re Eleanora. Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to do an inspection of Sheelin on His Majesty¡¯s orders. We¡¯ve heard some dark rumors about this town recently. We had no idea they would lead to the lord¡¯s granddaughter being kidnapped, however.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I know nothing about that. My son kidnapped her on his own. So, I didn¡¯t do anything.¡¹

    The toad man nced at his son next to him while still iming innocence.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re going to arrest someone, take him. Also, I¡¯m cutting off all ties with him. He is my son no longer; he is just a stranger now!¡¹

    ¡¸A parent is responsible for the actions of their children. He kidnapped a noble¡¯s daughter and even injured my own daughter in the process. Do you seriously think that you¡¯re going to get away with that excuse?!¡¹

    Eleanora-san¡¯s words were heavy with rage.

    ¡¸You can say what you want, but I had nothing to do with this, so hurry up and untie me! You can¡¯t treat a noble like this!¡¹

    How noisy. Maybe I should hit him again to silence him.

    Still, Eleanora-san was holding back even though she must want to hit him as well, so I had to hold back, too.

    ¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing to see someone like you call himself a noble, so can you please stop it. If Yuna-chan thinks I¡¯m just like you since we are both nobles, I would be so embarrassed that I wouldn¡¯t be able to live anymore. Besides, even if your son was the one who kidnapped Misa, didn¡¯t you kidnap a lot of merchants¡¯ children as well?¡¹

    ¡¸What? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re going to y dumb, that¡¯s fine. I honestly don¡¯t care if you end up like the two next to you.¡¹

    Did that mean I could hit him now?

    Or, was she saying she would hit him?

    ¡¸Well, even if they are here, that means I¡¯m just taking care of them. I¡¯ve got their parents to sign a contract as well, so it isn¡¯t like I kidnapped them.¡¹

    That was a crazy excuse.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you threaten the merchants to sign the contract after you kidnapped their children?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve got no evidence to back that up. I¡¯m taking care of the children with the proper approval of their parents. As proof, those children are not injured in any way.¡¹

    The tied up toad man responded with a smile.

    I didn¡¯t know what kind of contracts had been signed, but it looked like it had worked because Eleanora-san seemed to be troubled.

    In my former world, I had heard of people who signed shady contracts and ended up being extorted into giving money to the other party.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right... However, the kidnapping of Misana Faren Gramm is still a big issue, and I will have to investigate this residence. Of course, that means I will have to go through your room as well. I can¡¯t wait to see what I will find there.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said with an evil look on her face.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mess with me! I won¡¯t permit that!¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, but I have permission from His Majesty.¡¹

    ¡¸His Majesty...¡¹

    Eleanora-san took out a piece of parchment from her item bag and showed it to the toad man.

    ¡¸As you can see, I have permission toe here and investigate your belongings in the case you¡¯vemitted a crime, which you have.¡¹

    The toad man¡¯s expression changed once he saw what the parchment said.

    ¡¸But, it¡¯s my son who...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same thing. Your son kidnapped Misana Faren Gramm. Even you yourself admitted that. Therefore, we have all the reason to search through every corner of this residence.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop messing with me!¡¹

    ¡¸If you haven¡¯t done anything His Majesty wouldn¡¯t approve of then you have no reason to worry, right?¡¹

    Yep, Eleanora-san waspletely pissed off.

    ¡¸No way in hell is this fair! Somebody help me! I will pay you!¡¹

    All the servants ignored the toad man andpletely avoided making eye contact with him.

    Yeah, in this sort of situation, nobody in their right mind would even consider helping out the toad man.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I think we should be able to finish this kidnapping incident in the next chapter.

 Chapter 195 â€“ Bear-san Saves the Other Children

    Chapter 195 ¨C Bear-san Saves the Other Children

    When we asked the toad man where the other children were being held, he just told us to look for them ourselves.

    Eleanora-san was mad that he refused to cooperate, but we had plenty of ways to look for them.

    I could use detection magic or have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sniff them out. Just as I was about to tell that to Eleanora-san, a short-haired maid in her early twenties raised her hand.

    ¡¸I know where the children are.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruufa!¡¹

    The toad man scowled at the maid, but Eleanora-san just doused him with some more water to make him shut up.

    ¡¸You know where they are being held?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, because I prepare their meals for them.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruufa, you know what will happen if you betray me, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Please, stop making your crime worse. I will properly atone for mine.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you dare. Who do you think is paying off your parents¡¯ debt after they ran off and left you with it?¡¹

    ¡¸You, Gerardo-sama...¡¹

    ¡¸What do you think you are doing, then?!¡¹

    As the toad man cried out, Eleanora-san summoned a big tide of water andpletely soaked the toad man with it.

    ¡¸Ranzel, would you mind covering up his mouth with something? His breath stinks, and I can¡¯t stand it anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora, you...!¡¹

    Ranzel-san covered up the toad man¡¯s mouth with some cloth as instructed. The toad man groaned for a while but eventually went quiet.

    ¡¸Emm, Ruufa, right? Just ignore what Gerardo said. You¡¯re saying you can take us to where the children are?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I can.¡¹

    Eleanora-san took a quick nce around her before turning to Ranzel-san.

    ¡¸Ranzel, ask the servants how many of them are missing and their names. Then, once Cliff arrives, leave this ce to him and go search the residence for those remaining servants.¡¹

    Once Eleanora-san finished giving orders to Ranzel-san, she turned to me.

    ¡¸Sorry, Yuna-chan, but could youe with me?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t mind, so I nodded.

    ¡¸Also, it would be really helpful if you could leave one of your bears behind to act as a guard.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure. Swaying Bear, please stay here and make sure they don¡¯t try to escape.¡¹

    Swaying Bear cried softly in reply.

    ¡¸What about you, Misa?¡¹

    ¡¸I will go with you, Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Misa said, grabbing onto me.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, I guess... but promise me that you won¡¯t stray from Yuna-chan¡¯s side, okay?¡¹

    Eleanora-san pushed Misa onto me, but it wasn¡¯t like I really minded.

    I lifted Misa up and put her onto Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡¸You¡¯ll be safe here.¡¹

    Misa nodded and grabbed onto Hugging Bear tightly.

    ¡¸What a gentle bear.¡¹

    Ruufa-san was surprised to see Hugging Bear letting Misa ride on it, but there was clearly some fright in her expression.

    ¡¸It won¡¯t do anything as long as you don¡¯t try to harm it.¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t do something scary like that.¡¹

    Still, it was okay to be less nervous about it.

    Ruufa-san then started to lead us down a hallway.

    Both Cliff¡¯s and Gran-san¡¯s mansions were quite big, and this one was no different. There was no way all of these rooms were being used.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, is the kidnapping of these children not going to be considered a crime?¡¹

    ¡¸The problem is that their parents have signed a contract that allowed Gerardo to keep their children.¡¹

    ¡¸So, he¡¯ll be considered innocent?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, not quite. It¡¯s a difficult situation. Of course, from my point of view, hemitted a crime. However, if he really does have a contract in ce, he might legally be in the clear. Sometimes, merchants do hand over their children as coteral when they are loanedrge sums of money. Still, in this case, it¡¯s obvious that they were threatened to do it.¡¹

    ¡¸So, this should be considered as a crime, then.¡¹

    That was all I needed to know.

    ¡¸Yes, the possibility of it being considered a crime is quite high. We have yet to get a full statement from the parents. It¡¯s still possible that they indeed made an agreement with Gerardo and did pass their children to him willingly. I don¡¯t really mean this, but before you came along, it was better to side with the Salbert family rather than the Faren Gramm family. Even now, it all depends on the contents of that contract.¡¹

    She was right. If they sided with the toad man rather than Gran-san, it was possible for them to earn a lot more money; more than enough to change their minds.

    Still, what did she mean by ¡®before I came along¡¯?

    The way she put it, it sounded like I was responsible for the downfall of the toad man¡¯s noble family.

    ¡¸Your expression is telling me that you don¡¯t quite understand why. If you didn¡¯t go to the capital and bring Zelef here, Gran-san¡¯s party would have failed. Then, they wouldn¡¯t have resorted to kidnapping Misa, and you wouldn¡¯t have raided the mansion, meaning we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. Not to mention, if you didn¡¯t drop by the capital, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now. You¡¯re the cause of all of this.¡¹

    When she put it that way, it really did seem like everything had happened because of me.

    ¡¸If so, then it¡¯s all thanks to Misa for sending me an invitation to her party.¡¹

    I praised Misa, who wasfortably riding on Hugging Bear.

    If Misa hadn¡¯t sent me an invitation, I would never havee here.

    Going out in the world and meeting people had quite the impact on things. I would have never experienced something like this in my former world where I would surely still be a hikikomori.

    ¡¸Ruufa-san, why are you working here?¡¹

    Ruufa-san seemed like an upright person, so I found it weird that she would work for someone like the toad man.

    ¡¸My father left me with a big debt, and I¡¯m trying to work it off.¡¹

    ¡¸A big debt?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. My father was a merchant and needed money to run his trade. Gerardo-sama lent him the money he needed, but the business ended up failing, making him lose all the money as a result. To prevent my father from running away, Gerardo-sama took away my citizenship card and made me his hostage. My father worked as hard as he could, but it was not an amount that could easily be repaid. Then, one day, my father went to buy some things from another town and never returned. So, I had to start working for Gerardo myself in order to pay off the debt my father had left me with.¡¹

    What she just told us was inexcusable.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, couldn¡¯t she just have the card reissued?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if this was a normal case of where the card was lost or stolen, she would just have to pay a fee and get it reissued. However, her card was taken by a lord of the town, so things aren¡¯t that simple.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said with a slightly surprised expression.

    ¡¸I think you should already know this, Yuna-chan, but you need a citizenship card or guild card to go in or out of a town. If you get your card taken away by the authorities, you will be unable to leave the town you¡¯re in.¡¹

    ¡¸So, getting the card reissued is not an option for her because of her debt?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Gerardo most likely made it so that she cannot get it reissued to make her unable to flee the town without repaying it.¡¹

    ¡¸It couldn¡¯t be helped. My father borrowed money he couldn¡¯t return and then ran away, so there¡¯s no way Gerardo-sama would just let me go.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, that¡¯s not...¡¹

    ¡¸My father was just a terrible businessman.¡¹

    Ruufa-san answered bluntly, making everyone go quiet. All we could hear were the footsteps of Eleanora-san and Ruufa-san.

    My Bear Shoes made no sound, of course.

    Hmm, I couldn¡¯t hear Hugging Bear¡¯s footsteps, either. Were its feet as soft as mine?

    We headed into what appeared to be a secret garden area where Ruufa-san took us to a building that looked like a small storage shed.

    ¡¸From inside this shed, there are stairs that lead underground. The children are down there.¡¹

    Ruufa-san used a key to open the door and led us into a small room.

    There were many tools inside the room, ranging from cleaning supplies to pots as well as random things I had never seen before.

    Ruufa-san proceeded to pull a rug off the floor and revealed a hatch.

    She then opened the hatch, revealing stairs that led underground.

    ¡¸The room is underground to prevent sounds from leaking out.¡¹

    Since there was enough space for even Hugging Bear to pass through, we all went down together.

    ¡¸Is this a dungeon?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I myself have been held down here when my father was still in town.¡¹

    There was a hallway at the bottom of the stairs, with about five doors on each side.

    Ruufa-san finally stopped at one of the doors.

    ¡¸This is the room.¡¹

    She unlocked the door and opened it wide so we could see inside.

    There were three children: two boys and one girl. They all looked like they were in the early years of elementary school.

    ¡¸Ruufa-san?¡¹

    The eldest of the group, the girl, spoke up.

    ¡¸Everyone, someone is here to take you away, so you cane out now.¡¹

    ¡¸We can leave?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Is nobody going to hit us when we try to leave?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you don¡¯t have to worry about that anymore.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and I both flinched at what the children said.

    That toad man had told us that the children hadn¡¯t been harmed in any way.

    ¡¸My name is Eleanora. Your father asked me to bring all of you back home. You don¡¯t have to worry about getting hurt anymore.¡¹

    Eleanora-san kindly exined the situation to them.

    However, the children weren¡¯t looking at Eleanora-san but rather at me, who was standing behind her.

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    The children approached me but noticed Hugging Bear behind me when they reached the door.

    ¡¸...?!¡¹

    They fell on their butts in shock, but the girl didn¡¯t waste any time and stood in front to protect the boys.

    Only then did they notice Misa on top of Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a girl on top of the bear...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not scary. Hugging Bear is really nice.¡¹

    Misa tried to reassure the children and hugged Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸This bear will not harm you so you can feel at ease around it.¡¹

    Thanks to Misa and Ruufa-san, the three of them calmed down a bit.

    ¡¸Okay, you three. Please join Misa on the Bear-san and we¡¯ll get you out of here.¡¹

    I gently spoke to the children to get them to ride the Hugging Bear.

    However, four children turned out to be a bit too much for the size of its back, so we had the girl walk instead.

    The children were afraid at first but calmed down with the help of Misa. In no time, smiles appeared on their faces, and we embarked with Hugging Bear leading the way.

    Following behind everyone, I overheard Ruufa-san whisper something to Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Please check the other rooms afterwards. I believe the keys should be in Gerardo-sama¡¯s room, so please search there first. However, please, please, don¡¯t bring the children with you as you search.¡¹

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Okay, we should be able finish up with the next chapter.

    We¡¯ll just leave everything to Eleanora-san, Cliff and Gran-san. w

 Chapter 196 â€“ Bear-san Returns to Gran-sanâ€™s Mansion

    Chapter 196 ¨C Bear-san Returns to Gran-san¡¯s Mansion

    ¡¸We need a horse carriage, so go and prepare one!¡¹

    When we brought the children back above ground and to the entrance of the mansion, we saw Cliff giving orders.

    ¡¸You finally came back, huh.¡¹

    Cliff came over once he noticed us. He looked a bit fatigued.

    I helped the two boys off of Hugging Bear and asked Misa to watch over them.

    ¡¸Cliff, you¡¯re here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I arrived not too long ago.¡¹

    Cliff answered Eleanora-san then moved his gaze to Misa and eventually to me.

    ¡¸Yuna, thank you for saving Misana. This will be a great relief to the Faren Gramm family.¡¹

    ¡¸How is Noa doing?¡¹

    Fina had woken up before I ran off while Noa hadn¡¯t yet regained consciousness.

    ¡¸She¡¯s fine. She woke up right after you took off.¡¹

    Thank god, Noa was fine, too.

    If she wasn¡¯t, I might have decided to rampage a bit more.

    With this, I now had one less thing to worry about.

    ¡¸That reminds me, did Gran-san note along?¡¹

    Eleanora-san and I looked around but did not see Gran-san.

    We figured that since his granddaughter had been kidnapped, he would havee running. I hoped he wasn¡¯t wandering around this mansion looking for us.

    Cliff¡¯s answer was different from what we had expected.

    ¡¸Because of you, Yuna, Old Man Gran got held up by the townspeople.¡¹

    ¡¸Because of me?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what he meant by that. What had I done?

    Also, why would Gran-san be held up by the townspeople because of something I had done?

    ¡¸Yuna, it¡¯s because you ran through the town on top of your bear. You¡¯ve startled everyone you passed by and ended up causing quite amotion. When Old Man Gran showed up on the streets, the people all barraged him with the news of a bear appearing in town. Some even asked him to put out a request for the soldiers or adventurers to deal with it. So, that¡¯s why Old Man Gran was forced to stay behind and try to calm them down.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, seeing Yuna-chan ride a bear with that crazed look on her face would surely scare people.¡¹

    Eleanora-san immediately understood the situation.

    Had I really caused such a bigmotion?

    Did that mean I couldn¡¯t walk around town anymore?

    I was in a pinch, then.

    As I started to get depressed, Swaying Bear came over and tried to console me.

    Actually, it felt like Swaying Bear was trying to apologize to me instead.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not really your fault.¡¹

    I said and gently patted its head.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan aren¡¯t scary at all.¡¹

    Misa said and hugged Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Anyway, Old Man Gran won¡¯t be joining us for a while.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t really our fault. It was the toad man¡¯s family who had decided to kidnap Misa. If they hadn¡¯t done that, I wouldn¡¯t have had to run through town on top of Swaying Bear.

    Yes, we weren¡¯t at fault at all.

    Still, with this I most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to take a walk through Sheelin for a while.

    ¡¸By the way, Cliff, how much have you learned by now?¡¹

    ¡¸I ran into Michel along the way and then heard about the whole situation from Ranzel. Well, mainly about how Yuna went on a rampage and safely rescued Misa. He also told me that you two went to find the merchant¡¯s children.¡¹

    We threw a quick nce at Hugging Bear and the rescued children.

    ¡¸Yes, we saved the children. Now we just have to contact the Commerce Guild to find out where they live, but... I¡¯m not sure if speaking to him is the right idea.¡¹

    Rumors had it that the toad man and the Commerce Guild master were connected.

    ¡¸Okay, then we should take them to Old Man Gran¡¯s mansion for now and wait for some merchants to visit him. We should be able to get in contact with their family through them.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. We¡¯ll take them to Gran-san¡¯s mansion first.¡¹

    ¡¸I have already ordered for a horse carriage to be prepared for us; it should arrive soon.¡¹

    It seemed like the carriage we would be using belonged to the toad man¡¯s family.

    Well, that was indeed quicker than returning to Gran-san¡¯s mansion to prepare one.

    ¡¸Smart.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve prepared everything. I¡¯ve got the guards on lookout, the surrounding area has already been checked, and the carriage should arrive any moment now. Oh, and Ranzel wanted to search for the other servants in the residence, so I gave him a couple of people to speed up the process.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you contact anyone at Gran-san¡¯s mansion about Misa¡¯s rescue?¡¹

    ¡¸When I ran into Michel earlier, he was already heading there to let them know. We wanted to inform them as quickly as possible.¡¹

    As expected of a lord like Cliff, he sure knew how to get things done quickly.

    ¡¸Anyway, I think it¡¯s best to send Misa and the other children back straight away with Gran-san being held up. There were a few things I wanted to ask him as well... It¡¯s very unfortunate that he couldn¡¯te because people freaked out over some bears.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said, ncing at me for just a second.

    Like I had already told her, it wasn¡¯t my fault.

    It had been an emergency. If they hadn¡¯t kidnapped Misa, this bear scare wouldn¡¯t have happened. It was all the toad family¡¯s fault for kidnapping her.

    ¡¸Okay. I did manage to take some of his guards with me, so we should just try to do what we can.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Once we¡¯ve gathered all the servants, we can question them one by one. We also have to investigate all the rooms. It will take us a while, so we should get to it.¡¹

    ¡¸You can leave the questioning to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Good. I will investigate the rooms, then.¡¹

    When Eleanora-san dered that she would be checking the rooms, the toad man began whining, and his face turned beet red.

    It seemed like there were indeed some things he didn¡¯t want others to see.

    Eleanora-san simply ignored him and turned to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, once the horse carriage arrives, please take the children back to Gran-san¡¯s mansion. I want to get Misa back to her parents as quickly as we can.¡¹

    I agreed since there was nothing here I could help with.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the carriage to show up, and I made sure all the children were aboard it safely before climbing on myself.

    I climbed on because Cliff asked me to.

    ¡¸If people see your bears again, they will most likely freak out, so could you please put your bears away and ride the carriage as well?¡¹

    Was how he reasoned it.

    He was right of course. If I kept riding the bears through the town, Gran-san would never be let go.

    With my bears safely back in my gloves, we returned to Gran-san¡¯s mansion on a carriage. The moment we arrived, Misa¡¯s mother came out of the house, crying.

    When Misa saw her mother crying, she began to cry as well and ran to her, while her father, Leonardo-san, just looked at the two of them for a while with a happy expression on his face beforeing over to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for rescuing our daughter. If it wasn¡¯t for you...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d I made it before anything bad happened to her.¡¹

    ¡¸I cannot thank you enough. I was a bit surprised when I saw you walk in wearing that bear suit of yours, but Father told me that if anyone, you should be able to bring Misa back safe and sound.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you so much for saving our daughter.¡¹

    Misa¡¯s mother lowered her head while embracing Misa.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, really. Oh right, I have a message from Eleanora-san. She wants you to contact the parents of these children.¡¹

    ¡¸And these children are?¡¹

    ¡¸They were also kidnapped and are the children of some merchants who were ckmailed through them. I thought Gran-san or Leonardo-san would know who they were.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I think I understand. I will try to get in contact with their parents right away.¡¹

    Leonardo-san went over to the children and asked them their names.

    Since I had sessfully brought Misa and the children back, I entered the mansion and headed to the room I shared with Fina and Noa.

    I opened the door gently in case they were asleep but immediately heard Noa¡¯s voice from inside.

    ¡¸I¡¯m already better.¡¹

    ¡¸That won¡¯t do. Please rest properly. Otherwise, Cliff-sama will scold me.¡¹

    ¡¸But, Yuna-san came back, didn¡¯t she?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but I¡¯ve been told to make sure that the two of you rest. Noa-sama, please be like Fina-sama and rest obediently.¡¹

    Noa and Meshun-san were arguing by the bedside when I walked in.

    ¡¸Noa, you seem to be doing well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna!¡¹

    The two girls both jumped off the bed and ran to me.

    ¡¸Noire-sama! Fina-sama!¡¹

    Meshun-san shouted at Noa and Fina from behind.

    ¡¸Are you two okay? Don¡¯t you need to rest?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re okay.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, we¡¯re already better.¡¹

    They replied energetically.

    ¡¸Setting that aside, Yuna-san, where¡¯s Misa?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s fine. I saved her, and she isn¡¯t hurt at all.¡¹

    I actually hadn¡¯t checked her for any wounds, but I was sure she was fine, or she would have said something by now.

    ¡¸You two don¡¯t have to worry about her anymore.¡¹

    The two of them had most likely been very worried about Misa; they looked really relieved after I told them she was safe and sound.

    With perfect timing, Misa then entered the room and showed them that she waspletely fine herself.

    ¡¸Big Sister Noa, Fina-chan, sorry for making you worry. Thank you for trying to save me.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course I would try to save you; I¡¯m the elder sister, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa-sama, you¡¯re our friend, so of course we would do our best to help you.¡¹

    The girls chatted for a couple more minutes then Misa left the room; she decided to stay with her mother today to make her feel better.

    For dinner, Zelef-san cooked us some really delicious food.

    Sadly, neither Cliff, Eleanora-san, nor Gran-san were back yet to taste it.

    The following morning, we met Gran-san when we went to the dinning hall to have breakfast while Cliff and Eleanora-san were still nowhere to be seen,

    Gran-san took the opportunity to quickly express his gratitude towards me for yesterday.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you¡¯re all safe.¡¹

    Was all he said.

    We were all d that Misa was safe, so that was more than enough for me.

    ¡¸Grandfather Gran, where are my father and mother?¡¹

    Noa asked.

    We had stopped by Cliff¡¯s room on our way to the dinning hall, but there was no reply when we knocked, so we thought they might be already in the middle of breakfast.

    ¡¸They¡¯re still working.¡¹

    So, the two of them hadn¡¯te back since yesterday...

    Instead, they had sent back Gran-san since he was already old, despite his objections.

    ¡¸I can stay up for a night or two, no problem.¡¹

    He had tried to reason with them, but Misa¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t budged.

    ¡¸Oh, now that I have returned, there¡¯s something I must ask of you, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Ask of me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you please not walk around town in your bear suit for a while?¡¹

    He said out of the blue.

    Author¡¯s note:

    How about we have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear do some street performing to calm the townspeople down in the next chapter? What do you guys think?

    Anyway, because Eleanora-san and Yuna both call Gran-san and Cliff the same way, there were some passages where it got difficult to figure out who was talking. I might change how Eleanora-san addresses Gran-san in the future.

    Gran, Old Man Gran, Gran-sama, Gramps Gran, Earl Gran, Elder Gran. None of them match her. The way you address someone is very important, so I don¡¯t want to just randomly pick something.

    Well, a skilled writer should be able to write dialogue in a way that it¡¯s easy to distinguish who is talking even with the addressing problem...

 Chapter 197 â€“ Bear-san And How It Has Been Decided That She Will Do A Performance with the Bears

    Chapter 197 ¨C Bear-san And How It Has Been Decided That She Will Do A Performance with the Bears

    ¡¸Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you please not walk around town in your bear suit for a while?¡¹

    He was basically telling me not to walk outside anymore; I wouldn¡¯t feel safe going outside without my Bear Suit on.

    ¡¸Nobody will know it¡¯s you if you just wear a different outfit.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t the problem; my life would be in danger if I left my Bear Suit at home.

    There was no guarantee that someone wouldn¡¯t try to pick a fight with me on the streets.

    I also wouldn¡¯t be able to protect the girls without it. If something bad happened, I would just be a sitting duck.

    I knew that there was no point in arguing, though, as Gran-san had no idea why I had to wear my Bear Suit all the time.

    There was nothing I could do... I really didn¡¯t want to trouble Gran-san more since he was busy dealing with the toad man¡¯s family.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll just stay holed up in my room until it¡¯s time to return to Crimonia, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you n on staying in your room until you leave?¡¹

    He shouldn¡¯t underestimate a hikikomori.

    I could stay holed in for days even if I didn¡¯t have TV,puter, games, manga, or novels... At least I should be able to. Well, maybe that was impossible....

    Wait, if there was no entertainment, I could just nap to pass the time. Yeah, I should be able to do that.

    ¡¸There are only two days before we head back to Crimonia. I¡¯ll be fine staying in for that long. Still, if any of you girls want to go out, make sure you bring guards with you.¡¹

    Some new idiot might show up, so we shouldn¡¯t be too careless.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll stay in the room with Big Sis Yuna.¡¹

    Fina said happily. She was such a nice girl.

    ¡¸Okay, we will be able to nap together, then.¡¹

    We should be able to waste two days napping, right?

    I likedzing around, so I was pretty good at rolling around on a bed doing nothing. Hikikomoris really shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.

    A whole week would have been tough, of course, but two days was quite manageable.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t be heading back in two days if you n to wait for Cliff.¡¹

    Gran-san¡¯s statement obliterated my napping n. Well, it wasn¡¯t like he did it intentionally.

    Also, what did he mean by not heading back in two days?

    ¡¸With how things are going with the Salbert family, there is no way we will be done in two days. Yesterday, we found out that they had done all sorts of illegal things. So much, in fact, that even us nobles can¡¯t deal with all of them overnight.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I thought things would go smoothly with Cliff and Eleanora-san here, but it seemed like that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡¸They sent a messenger to the capital to receive instructions from His Majesty. Until theye back, Eleanora-san and Cliff can¡¯t return to Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Which means...¡¹

    ¡¸You definitely won¡¯t be able to head back in two days¡¯ time.¡¹

    Well, they were still working even now... It made sense for them to run into problems when dealing with a kidnapping caused by a noble.

    We could always head back on our own, but if I went home with how the situation was right now... Another uproar might happen when people see my Bears and me the next time I came to visit Misa. That would be really troublesome.

    Well, if I was never nning oning back here again, I could just ignore the issue and leave straight away.

    As I pondered what I should do, Noa spoke up.

    ¡¸Grandfather Gran, didn¡¯t you exin what happened to the townspeople? Shouldn¡¯t they calm down in two days time, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course I exined it to them. I told them that I know Yuna¡¯s bears to be docile and that they don¡¯t attack people, but I think my word won¡¯t be enough in this case.¡¹

    ¡¸Gran-san, aren¡¯t you the lord of this town? How could the word of their lord not convince the townspeople?¡¹

    ¡¸Think of it this way. If you saw a dragon rampaging around and then, all of the sudden, His Majesty came up and told you it was safe to go up to the dragon, would you believe him?¡¹

    Well, it made sense when he put it that way.

    People would still remain wary of dangerous beings even when their leaders told them it was safe. I myself would definitely not let anything dangerous near me without my Bear Suit on.

    Why did he use a dragon to set an example, though...?

    In any case, this still meant that I didn¡¯t know how long I would have to stay holed up for. Did I have no other choice but to stay in for more than two days?

    Maybe I really should make those ying cards I had been considering before. That way, I could y with the girls. Unlike with a Reversi board, there were plenty of games we could y with cards, meaning we could waste time easily.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear aren¡¯t scary at all. I feel sorry for them. Grandfather Gran, is there anything we can do for them?¡¹

    Noa asked Gran-san with a sad expression on her face.

    ¡¸Sorry, but I have no idea how we could resolve this situation. Bears are seen as fearsome beasts bymon people, so you can¡¯t me them for being scared.¡¹

    ¡¸We just need to show them that Yuna-san¡¯s Bear-sans aren¡¯t scary, then.¡¹

    ¡¸And, how do you propose we do that?¡¹

    It did seem like a rather difficult task. Since I was banned from going outside, simply staying holed up in my room was honestly the easiest way to deal with this for now.

    However, Noa didn¡¯t give up and tried her best to think of a solution.

    ¡¸...How about we walk the Bear-sans through town?¡¹

    ¡¸It will just end up the same as yesterday. The townspeople will just run away in fear while you might also get some adventurers running after you.¡¹

    ¡¸Old Man Gran, you just have to do something about that, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I could let the Adventurer¡¯s Guild know, but I don¡¯t think that would work out all that great...¡¹

    Gran-san rejected the idea, so Noa returned to her brainstorming.

    ¡¸Fina, do you have any good ideas? At this rate, we won¡¯t be able to go out with Yuna-san anymore.¡¹

    Noa asked Fina, who hadn¡¯t said anything yet.

    Fina thought for a bit and then made a suggestion.

    ¡¸How about we go out and y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear? If we y with them, they won¡¯t look dangerous, right?¡¹

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s it! We also get to y with Bear-sans that way. We would be killing two birds with one stone!¡¹

    Noa happily agreed with Fina¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡¸In that case, how about putting on some sort of a performance?¡¹

    Gran-san chipped in.

    ¡¸A performance?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure you and your bears can pull it off. Oh, and you can use my birthday party as an excuse to do it. This way, you will be able to prove that your bears are fully tame, and the townspeople won¡¯t see them as terrifying creatures anymore.¡¹

    Of course, a tamed bear would appear a lot less dangerous than a wild one. If people saw the Bears ying with children, it should reassure them quite a bit.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we should do a performance, then. I will help you.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Yuna, I will help you, too.¡¹

    Hmm, I didn¡¯t really want to do anything that would make me stand out. Well, it would be troublesome if the townspeople continued to be afraid of us... I wouldn¡¯t be able to visit Misa or buy things from Sheelin.

    I might even be reported to the authorities if I walked around with my Bears out... If Gran-san backed me up, they probably wouldn¡¯t try to arrest us, but I still didn¡¯t want people pointing their fingers at me.

    I was already eye-catching enough to begin with. Anyway, I would rather have people look at me warmly rather than with terrified expressions on their faces.

    ¡¸Hmm, should we do our best together, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Fina and Noa replied excitedly.

    When we returned to our room, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to discuss the performace with them but was interrupted by Misa barging in.

    ¡¸You are all being unfair. I heard about it all from Grandpa. I want in on this performance, too.¡¹

    If Misa joined in as well, we would have four people participating...

    What could we even do with so many people?

    The bnce was already bad as it was with me being the only adult... Not like I could do anything about that, though.

    We proceeded to discuss what each of us could do.

    The only performances I knew of were circus acts, while Noa and Fina did a whole ton of brainstorming, stopping only to ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear if they were okay with their ideas.

    ¡¸Then, we¡¯ll have Swaying Bear-chan do that...¡¹

    ¡¸And, we¡¯ll get Hugging Bear to...¡¹

    ¡¸Can you do this?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuuun.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, how about doing this, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuuun.¡¹

    The girls and the Bears were talking to each other. It was rather surreal. Was this what it looked like to other people when I talked to my Bears?

    A girl wearing a Bear Suit talking to some bears...

    Still, looking at the girls talk to them, I couldn¡¯t help but feel rxed.

    If people saw how well the Bears got along with these young girls, they would not be afraid of them anymore, right?

    Or wait, did I only get this feeling because I knew that the Bears were docile?

    If the girls were ying with some other scarier bears, I would most likely tell them to get away from them.

    As I was lost in thought, Noa turned to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please give us some suggestions as well. We need to make sure everybody knows that Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are harmless.¡¹

    I joined their circle and gave them my suggestions, keeping what circus acts were like in mind.

    We discussed the performance all the way until dinner time when we were interrupted by Cliff, Eleanora-san, and Misa¡¯s parents.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to hold a performance?!¡¹

    Cliff said then bursted intoughter.

    ¡¸Not me, the bears are.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re all bears, so it¡¯s the same thing.¡¹

    What part of us was the same? We werepletely different.

    Eleanora-san agreed with him andughed at me as well.

    This married couple was weird.

    ¡¸Father, Mother, I will be helping with the performance, too.¡¹

    Noa proudly informed them.

    Wasn¡¯t she embarrassed to say it?

    Thanks to my Bear Suit, I had gotten used to being in the center of attention. I could even walk throughout any town wearing it without getting embarrassed at all. Yeah, to me, embarrassment was now like... No wait, I still got embarrassed! I still hadn¡¯t gotten over the shame! It was myst shred of maidenhood, after all!

    ¡¸Oh my, in that case, we will have toe and watch.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    Noa was happy to hear that while I would honestly prefer if they didn¡¯t show up.

    They should be busy; something terrible had happened and they surely didn¡¯t have the time to do things like watching our show.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you two busy?¡¹

    ¡¸We finished everything already. We just need to wait for the dispatch toe from the capital, so we can hand over Gerardo and the evidence to them.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what did you discover about the toad man?¡¹

    ¡¸He did all sorts of evil acts; enough to ruin him for good. We just need to get him to the capital now. Obviously, we don¡¯t have the rights to judge a noble ourselves, so the king himself has to do it. All we can do is hand over the evidence we obtained and tell him about the kidnappings. Then, it¡¯s up to His Majesty to pass his judgment.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, with all the evidence we have gathered, he will most likely be stripped of his statuspletely.¡¹

    Based on the way they told me, it sounded like they had found evidence of more bad deeds than just the two kidnappings I was already aware of.

    Well, there were many manga and novels where the viin did all lot of terrible things.

    We had caused the downfall of the toad man¡¯s family, but what was going to happen to them now?

    Were they demoting his family tomoner status, or would they go to jail? Well, as long as they didn¡¯t bear a grudge against Misa, it didn¡¯t really matter to me.

    I would have to ask what the punishment would be once it was decided.

    ¡¸By the way, when will this performance of yours take ce?¡¹

    Now that they mentioned it, we hadn¡¯t decided the date or time yet.

    We would most likely be performing at the town za, though.

    ¡¸We should do it soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, how about two days from now? The townspeople should calm down a bit by then.¡¹

    ¡¸Misa, you will be performing too, right?¡¹

    Misa¡¯s mother asked her.

    ¡¸Yes, I will do my best.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll go watch it as well, then.¡¹

    Misa¡¯s parents nned oning too, huh.

    This sort of felt like parentsing to watch a school y.

    I nced at Fina; her parents weren¡¯t here, so I felt bad for her.

    ¡¸Umm, do you want me to call Terumi-san?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s too embarrassing.¡¹

    It seemed like Fina was the only one who was really embarrassed by the prospect of her parents seeing her perform.

    Both Noa and Misa were nobles, so they probably attended a lot of parties and were used to being in front of other people.

    Fina, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have much experience with that.

    In spite of the kidnapping incident that had happened just yesterday, everybody ate dinner happily and continued to chat about the performance.

    Author¡¯s note:

    I just wrote a notice for volume two of the book.

    If you¡¯re interested, I would appreciate if you took a look.

    Sorry for kind of dropping it into the middle of this plot, but I just really wanted to do a y.

 Chapter 198 â€“ Bear-san Holds a â€˜Play with Bear-sansâ€™ Event

    Chapter 198 ¨C Bear-san Holds a ¡®y with Bear-sans¡¯ Event

    Today was the day we would hold the ¡°y with Bear-sans¡± event. It was named by Noa, of course, after she decided a name was absolutely necessary if we were to hold an event, and we just went with it since it didn¡¯t sound too strange.

    We would do it at the center of the town za. I had been a bit worried about hosting it at a public space, but thanks to Gran-san¡¯s permission, we were allowed to use the central area.

    I summoned the Bears at Gran-san¡¯s mansion, and we headed out, Fina and I riding on Swaying Bear while Noa and Misa rode on Hugging Bear.

    As for their costumes, the girls were wearing my shop¡¯s bear-themed uniforms.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, don¡¯t you have any Bear-san uniforms?¡¹

    Noa asked me out of the blue the day prior.

    ¡¸A uniform? Why do you ask?¡¹

    ¡¸If you do, let¡¯s all dress up as Bear-sans.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Sis Noire, what¡¯s a bear uniform?¡¹

    Misa didn¡¯t know about my shop¡¯s uniforms, so Noa, of course, proceeded to exin her everything about my shop in full details.

    ¡¸Such a shop exists?! I want to go there too!¡¹

    Misa listened to Noa enviously.

    Still, a bear uniform, huh. Sadly, I didn¡¯t have any uniforms that would fit the girls.

    ¡¸Fina, do you have yours with you?¡¹

    Fina asionally helped out at the shop, so she had a uniform of her own.

    ¡¸Yes, I do. I even brought three sets, just in case.¡¹

    Fina then proceeded to take the three sets of shop¡¯s bear uniform out of her item bag.

    She actually brought it with her? Not to mention, three sets... I had just asked her on the off chance of her having it, but why would she have three sets?!

    ¡¸This is the Bear-san uniform?¡¹

    Misa held the bear uniform with her hands. Even though we called it a bear uniform, it was actually made from wolf pelts.

    ¡¸Still, why do you have three sets with you?!¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, I would only have two sets, with one as a spare, but sometimes Shuri helps out, so I carry hers along as well. The sizes should be fine since we¡¯re all roughly the same height, and Shuri¡¯s was too big for her anyway.¡¹

    Yeah, the size should be fine. All three girls were of simr sizes with Misa being slightly shorter than the other two.

    Thanks to Fina, all three of them were able to wear my shop¡¯s bear uniform on the day of the event, and thus, with all four of us dressed as Bears, we made our way towards the town za on top of my Bears.

    As we walked through town, people began to gather around Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, making us stand out even more, which just attracted additional people to join the parade.

    Just in case, Gran-san had sent out a public notice about the event happening, so maybe that was the reason for all this excitement.

    ¡¸Everyone¡¯s looking at us.¡¹

    Well, of course people would stare if two Bears walked through town. Not to mention, there were people wearing bear outfits riding on top of the said Bears.

    I thought I was used to standing out by now, but apparently, being stared at still somehow bothered me. Yeah, being the center of attention was still a bit embarrassing.

    On the other hand, Noa and Misa were gracefully waving at the crowd. As expected of nobles, they knew how to act in public, unlike amon girl like myself. Fina, who was sitting in front of me, was also slightly embarrassed by all the attention.

    Now that was what I would call a normal reaction.

    When we arrived at the center of the town za, we dismounted the Bears, and all the people who were following us began forming a circle around us to get ready to watch our performance.

    Gran-san had sent some guards to control the crowd, and as it grewrger, they quickly put up some rope so the audience would leave us enough room.

    The townspeople stood behind the rope, so I took some time to look around and noticed that there were several adventurers, including Marina¡¯s party, monitoring the area as well.

    ¡¸This looks like it¡¯ll be interesting.¡¹

    Marina-san said to me before returning to her duty.

    Looking around some more, I noticed that the crowd had mixed expressions, ranging all the way from worry and fear to anticipation and excitement.

    Once we were ready, Gran-san stood in front of the crowd to address them.

    ¡¸These bears caused a big scene in the town a few days ago. They came here because I had invited them to my granddaughter¡¯s birthday party. Themotion that happened was all due to me sending them out on an urgent request. As you can see, they are tame and pose no danger to people. We will show you just how docile they really are with the help of these youngdies.¡¹

    Gran-san bowed then stepped away, making room for us.

    We had decided to start off with something simple, so it was just Fina and Swaying Bear taking the spotlight first.

    ¡¸Hand.¡¹

    Fina held out her hand and Swaying Bear immediately ced its paw on top.

    The crowd mored just with that.

    ¡¸Spin around.¡¹

    Swaying Bear did as she said.

    The ruckus grew louder, and some people even began pping.

    If they were already this impressed, our show should work, right?

    Yeah, the crowd¡¯s reaction was heading in a good direction.

    When Fina and Swaying Bear were done, I used earth magic and created some small obstacles, letting Noa and Hugging Bear take the stage. Hugging Bear dashed through the obstacles with Noa on top of it. Sadly, we weren¡¯t able to prepare a, so the ssic-crawling course had to be left out.

    Yeah, this was a circus act, for sure.

    Once Hugging Bear passed all the obstacles, ending with a huge leap over a lot of them, the audience gave another round of apuse; this one even louder than the one Fina and Swaying Bear had received. I also noticed that the one who pped the loudest and longest was Eleanora-san. Was she actually a doting mother? On her side, I saw that Cliff was also enjoying the performance. Noa¡¯s parents were acting just like the parents who came to see their child¡¯s school y.

    Next, Misa did some tricks with Swaying Bear, and it was my turn after that. I didn¡¯t have anything fancy nned though, so I would just y catch with the Bears.

    I used earth magic to create a ball that was roughly the size of a ser ball and tossed it to Swaying Bear, which caught it with its forelegs and passed it to Hugging Bear, which returned the ball to me.

    Even something as simple as this was impressing the crowd. Still, this wasn¡¯t all I had nned. After some time of slowly passing the ball, I signaled the Bears, and they started to lob the ball higher and higher up the air to stir the crowd even further.

    The fear hadpletely disappeared from the crowd at this point and was reced by pure excitement.

    The children sitting at the front were all smiling and pping in joy.

    Instead of preparing the circus rings of fire for the next act, I decided to create rings of water, using my water magic, of course. Fina and Noa climbed onto Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear respectively, and hopped through the rings one after the other.

    I had ced the rings all over and even lifted some up quite high, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear continued to jump through them effortlessly. I looked to the side for just a second and noticed Misa was watching them enviously.

    At first, Fina had nned on letting the other two do this act, but Noa refused, saying it wouldn¡¯t be fair to her, so they had agreed to decide it by lottery.

    Normally, noble girls would just have ordered themoner Fina to give up her position; the fact that they hadn¡¯t done that meant that they must truly think of Fina as their friend.

    Fina and Noa held onto Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tightly while the Bears leapt through the rings and showed off their dexterity by keeping their riders from getting wet even though I told them it was okay if they did.

    The Bears ended the act by jumping through the highest ring and made a beautifulnding, inciting the loudest apuse yet.

    Misa and Swaying Bear returned to the stage to have a wrestling match. It ended with Swaying Bear letting Misa win.

    We then performed a few more acts before finishing the official part of the show.

    All the performances should have been more than enough to prove that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were safe to be around humans, but, just to make sure, I had decided to end the event on a high note.

    ¡¸Is there anybody who would like to try riding the Bears?¡¹

    I asked the audience, ncing towards the children in the front. Two young boys immediately raised their hands.

    ¡¸Would you two like to try?¡¹

    The boys nced at each other before nodding at me.

    The crowd grew a bit wary, but the boys approached the Bears without any fear. I let them pet the Bears a bit before helping them on.

    Once Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sure that the boys were securely on their backs, they startedpleting the obstacles course and jumping through the rings of water again.

    The fear disappeared from the audience once more, and they started to apud them.

    Actually, the two boys were the ones we had rescued from the toad man¡¯s home the other day. We had asked them beforehand to volunteer. In other words, this was all staged, but thanks to it, the other children also started volunteering and approaching the Bears.

    We then switched over to a simple ying event, so the bears wouldn¡¯t feel overwhelmed by having to take care of so many children at once.

    After giving the children enough time to y with the Bears, we finally announced the end of the event. Both the children ying with the Bears and the audience were disappointed while I was kind of happy that this was over with.

    That reminded me, Noa had warned me about something yesterday...

    ¡¸If we do that kind of event, there will be children who won¡¯t want to leave the Bear-sans. I¡¯m sure of it!¡¹

    Her warning turned out to be on point as there were some children who didn¡¯t want to leave.

    As a countermeasure, I quickly distributed some pudding to those children. If even one child epted it, I was sure that the other children would notice them enjoying it and would immediately want to have the pudding instead of continuing to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    My n worked wlessly, and while some children ate the pudding by themselves, others even took it to eat it with their parents. Good food makes people happy no matter which world I was in.

    Looking at the expressions the townspeople had now, this should be enough to forget about my recent rampage through the town, right?

    I would still most likely hold off from bringing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear around town for a walk for a while, though. I didn¡¯t want to cause an uproar everytime I went on a walk.

    Anyway, the ¡®y with Bear-san¡¯ event ended with a resounding sess.

    Author¡¯s note:

    The birthday party arc is finally over.

    Next chapter, we will return to Crimonia, and I will most likely continue the story a bit more leisurely now.

    I haven¡¯t thought much about what to do, however, so we will just have to see what happens, I guess.

 Chapter 199 â€“ Bear-san Returns To Crimonia

    Chapter 199 ¨C Bear-san Returns To Crimonia

    After a few leisurely days, the inspector finally arrived from the capital and released Cliff from his work. Eleanora-san and Gran-san now formally took over to resolve the issue, meaning today was the day we could finally head back to Crimonia.

    ¡¸Noa, listen to Cliff properly, okay? I will being home as soon as I get my next vacation.¡¹

    A few people had gathered to send us off, with Eleanora-san in front, making sure to say goodbye to her daughter.

    ¡¸Okay. Mother, please tell Big Sister Shia I said hi.¡¹

    Eleanora-san would be departing back to the capital tomorrow, and Gran-san intended to join her, too. They were going to take the toad man and his son along with them, of course, as well as the ck-clothed man. At the capital, they would finally be officially judged by the king.

    A few of the servants working for the toad man would also be brought along while the rest of them would be sentenced by the town instead.

    Their sentences would surely vary depending on who would be making the judgment, but I was sure they would be able to distinguish between those more guilty than others.

    The only one I was worried about was the maid who had been taking care of the abducted children. Eleanora-san had told me that she had cooperated and confessed everything, so I hoped she would only receive a light punishment. Either way, she seemed like a nice person to me, but sadly, I would get no say in her judgement.

    Eleanora-san patted her daughter¡¯s head, then turned to Fina and me.

    ¡¸Please continue to take care of my daughter. She can be a little selfish sometimes, but she¡¯s a good girl at heart.¡¹

    We nodded in reply.

    We knew that Noa was a good girl; she had be such good friends with amoner like Fina, after all.

    She did go a bit nuts over anything bear-rted from time to time, but she was usually just a simple, kind child.

    Looking to the side, I noticed that Noa looked embarrassed as if she wanted to tell her mother to stop.

    With Eleanora-san¡¯s goodbye all done, Zelef-san decided to speak up next.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, I would like to thank you for all the valuable experiences I received on this trip.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry that it got a bit out of hand.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, I¡¯m really happy that I was able to meet up with an old friend. There is nothing you need to apologize for, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    I was d that he thought of it that way.

    Zelef-san had really saved us this time around even though we had only ended up causing him a lot of trouble in return.

    ¡¸It is unfortunate, however, that I will be unable to ride on Swaying Bear-dono and Hugging Bear-dono on the trip back. I would have loved to experience that again.¡¹

    Zelef-san looked rather glum.

    Zelef-san would be taking a carriage back together with Eleanora-san, which was why he was so disappointed.

    Since Zelef-san had taken his time to help us out, I decided I would make sure to bring him a new recipe next time I visited the castle.

    After Zelef-san said goodbye to everyone else, the Faren Gramm family approach me.

    ¡¸Yuna, thank you for your help. If you weren¡¯t here, my family would most likely end up in ruin.¡¹

    Gran-san said with a bow.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ve already thanked me plenty of times.¡¹

    Gran-san and Misa¡¯s parents had thanked me so many times in these past few days that I hadpletely lost count.

    Since they wanted to show their gratitude, they kept asking me if there was anything they could do for me, but it felt wrong to receive something for simply doing what I wanted. I most certainly hadn¡¯t rescued her because I wanted a reward, so I had no intention of receiving money from them.

    If I epted it, all the anger and feelings I had felt when saving Misa would just be a lie.

    ¡¸Everybody¡¯s going home...¡¹

    Misa looked sad, but we couldn¡¯t really help it.

    Crimonia was our home, after all.

    Misa then looked at her father enviously.

    ¡¸Uuu, Father, this is unfair. I want to go, too.¡¹

    Misa¡¯s father, Leonardo-san, wasing to Crimonia with us because he wanted to apologize to Fina¡¯s parents for what had happened here. Originally, the n had been for Gran-san to go, but he was required at the capital, so it was decided for Leonardo-san to apany us instead.

    Fina had told them that it wasn¡¯t necessary, and tried to stop them from going, but to no avail.

    She had looked at me many times for support, but I didn¡¯t really have any say in that matter, either. I had to apologize to Terumi-san and Gentz-san for putting Fina in danger as well, so I understood how Gran-san and Leonardo-san must feel. That was why I had simply kept quiet.

    Still, it was because of how things had turned out that Misa was now envious of her father, who got to apany us to Crimonia.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going so that I can apologize to Fina-dono¡¯s parents. I won¡¯t be long, so be a good girl and stay at home, okay?¡¹

    Leonardo-san patted his daughter¡¯s head to soothe her.

    ¡¸Misa, you cane along next time, and I will even take you to my shop.¡¹

    On the side note, both Misa and Noa really wanted the shop¡¯s bear uniforms, so we decided to let them keep the uniforms.

    What would they use the uniforms for, though? I couldn¡¯t think of any other use for them other than pajamas...

    Anyway, when I got back to Crimonia, I would have to order two new Bear Uniforms for Fina. Luckily, I could just ask for them as I pick up the plushies.

    ¡¸Okay. I¡¯lle for sure!¡¹

    Crimonia was not that far away from here. At the very least, it was a distance we could travel fairly quickly, so we could meet whenever we wanted. Thanks to the ¡®y with Bear-sans¡¯ event, I could now safelye back to this town without having to worry about causing another Bear incident. Well, someone might still try to bother us, but that was just the usual reception I could receive at any town.

    Once everyone finally said their goodbyes, we departed for Crimonia.

    Because Leonardo-san and his guards wereing along, I decided not to use the Bear House this time around. Cliff was okay with it, but Noa seemed very disappointed. In order to cheer her up, I promised her that she would get to spend some extra time with the Bears and even snuggle to sleep with them.

    Before long, we returned to Crimonia safely. I had felt a bit homesick by this point, so it seemed like I hadn¡¯t been home in ages.

    When we entered town, I took a look up at the sky; it would be getting dark in a couple of hours. I wanted to head straight home to take a bath and cuddle up in a bed, but I had to take Fina home first. Oh, and I also had a lot to report to Terumi-san.

    We parted ways with Noa and Cliff then headed to Fina¡¯s home together with Leonardo-san.

    He had nned to apologize to Fina¡¯s family the following morning, but I told him that they would most likely be busy then, so we decided to just take him there now.

    I didn¡¯t really lie about them being busy, but it was mostly because having to go there first thing in the morning would be a pain for me, so it ended up being a good excuse.

    I had to go with them as it would be best if I exined what had happened; I was responsible for Fina on this trip, after all.

    Besides, regardless of when we would pay them a visit, I was sure they would be a bit freaked out having a noble show up at their door unannounced. I kind of felt bad for them, but I really wanted to get this over with, so that I could go home and rx.

    ¡¸Is it really necessary to speak with my parents?¡¹

    Fina tried asking again, looking really dispirited.

    She still hadn¡¯t given up even though Leonardo-san had already came all this way.

    She really didn¡¯t like the idea of having a noble like Leonardo-san visit her home, huh.

    Well, I kind of understood how she felt.

    Back in my old world, I would have felt ufortable if the mayor hade all the way to my house to apologize for something. Heck, anybody would feel troubled if someone of a higher social status came to their house.

    Not to mention that, there was arge, visible gap between themoners and the nobles in this world.

    Still, since Leonardo-san was already here, Fina might as well give up.

    ¡¸I allowed Misa¡¯s beloved friend to be put in such a dangerous situation. If I don¡¯t properly apologize, Father will scold me.¡¹

    ¡¸But, nothing really happened to me.¡¹

    ¡¸You were put in a dangerous situation; not getting hurt doesn¡¯t change that.¡¹

    Fina finally gave up when we reached her home.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go call Mother.¡¹

    Fina said and entered the house. We could hear her call out¡¸Mother! Mother!¡¹to Terumi-san. Since Fina left the door open, we heard Terumi-san¡¯s reply. ¡¸Fina, you¡¯re home?¡¹¡¸Fina, you¡¯re back!¡¹Gentz-san pitched in as well. ¡¸Mother, can youe out? There¡¯s somebody who wants to see you.¡¹

    Eventually, Fina dragged both Terumi-san and Gentz-san outside. Gentz-san must already be done with his job for the day since he was home, huh.

    ¡¸Oh my, Yuna-chan. Wee back. You¡¯re back a littleter than you¡¯ve originally nned, though. Is that why you wanted to see me?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you¡¯re both back. We¡¯ve been worried.¡¹

    They didn¡¯t look concerned in the slightest, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not me who wanted to see you, it¡¯s this person.¡¹

    Leonardo-san took a step forward.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, who is this?¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s the son of the Sheelin¡¯s feudal lord. He is Misa¡¯s father.¡¹

    ¡¸Good evening. My name is Leonardo Faren Gramm.¡¹

    Leonardo-san greeted them with a bow.

    ¡¸Feudal lord¡¯s son?! As in, a noble?! Why is he here?!¡¹

    Terumi-san and Gentz-san panicked a bit, which was a normal reaction since it was unusual for nobles to visitmoners¡¯ homes.

    ¡¸Could it be that our daughter did something rude?¡¹

    Terumi-san asked with dread in her voice. Yeah, it made sense for most people to think of that first if they had a noblee to their home.

    ¡¸No, on the contrary, I havee today to apologize for the trouble we brought upon your daughter.¡¹

    Terumi-san looked at me like she was begging me to exin what was going on.

    Just as I was about to do so, Leonardo-san exined everything himself with me simply chipping in some details from time to time.

    ¡¸When my daughter was being kidnapped, your daughter tried to save her.¡¹

    Terumi-san looked at Fina.

    ¡¸I see, that¡¯s why you came all the way from Sheelin. We apologize for the trouble.¡¹

    Terumi-san and Gentz-san were quite troubled, as they didn¡¯t know how to deal with this situation.

    They seemed conflicted on whether to invite us into the house and try to do something for the sake of hospitality, or simply stand here.

    They even looked at me a couple of times, but I didn¡¯t know what they should do either. We only had two choices: head inside or stay outside. Well, Leonardo-san had mentioned that he would head home right after apologizing...

    It was a strange sight to see Terumi-san worry, however. She always had this image of doing her work with steadfast confidence.

    Gentz-san looked even more concerned than her. He looked pitiful though he was the head of the household.

    Once Leonardo-san was done with his apology, he handed over some goods.

    ¡¸Even though such a thing urred during their trip this time, I hope that you will treat my daughter kindly the next time you meet her.¡¹

    Leonardo-san said and bowed once again. Terumi-san and Gentz-san followed suit and bowed back.

    ¡¸Well then, I will be taking my leave now.¡¹

    Leonardo-san said then turned to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you for all your help.¡¹

    ¡¸Leonardo-san, are you leaving tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Father will be heading to the capital, so I should get back to Sheelin as quickly as possible.¡¹

    He bowed at Fina¡¯s parents one final time and left. He would be staying the night at Cliff¡¯s ce and then depart early tomorrow morning. He seemed like he wanted to stay longer, but with Gran-san being absent from Sheelin due to the kidnapping incident, Leonardo-san was forced to return early.

    ¡¸Phew...¡¹

    Terumi-san sighed the moment Leonardo-san was out of sight.

    ¡¸Now this was something. I never thought a noble from Sheelin would visit our home.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah...¡¹

    ¡¸Mother, Father, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    Fina apologized.

    ¡¸You have nothing to apologize for. You tried to protect your friend, right? Just try not to make us worry too much.¡¹

    They said and gently patted Fina¡¯s head, not getting angry at all.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-chan, for taking such good care of our daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, too. I had promised I would make sure nothing happened to her Fina, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about that. We know that you care deeply for our daughter. I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re all back home safe and sound.¡¹

    Terumi-san said and pulled Fina in for a hug.

    ¡¸Mother, it hurts.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since Ist saw you, so this much should be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing.¡¹

    What a pleasant sight. Gentz-san looked like he wanted to join in, too, but held back.

    As I didn¡¯t want to bother them any longer and ruin the moment, I told them I was going to head back home.

    ¡¸Before you go, why don¡¯t you join us for dinner? There¡¯s lots I want to hear about.¡¹

    ¡¸You should spend this evening together as a family...¡¹

    I tried to talk my way out of it, but Terumi-san wouldn¡¯t budge.

    ¡¸What are you saying? Don¡¯t worry about that, we want you to join us. Come on in.¡¹

    Terumi-san grabbed my arm with one hand and Fina¡¯s hand with the other. I knew it would be meaningless to resist and let her drag me into the house.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Some new information has been released on the second volume of the novel at PASH!

    http://.pashplus.jp/blog/pash_books/2690/

 Chapter 200 â€“ Bear-san Checks Her Goods from the Country of Wa

    Chapter 200 ¨C Bear-san Checks Her Goods from the Country of Wa

    (ED Note: Country of Harmony and Peace (Cohap) is a mouthful, so it¡¯s now the Country of Wa. Wa(ºÍ) is a kanji really associated with Japan, so just think of it as isekai Japan.)

    The next day, after eating breakfast at my home, I decided to wash the bedsheets and towels we had used when staying in my Bear House on the way to Sheelin.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t like Cliff and his guards had really dirtied them, but I still wanted to always have fresh sheets in all the rooms.

    After hanging them to dry, I headed to the tailor shop to meet with Sherry.

    By the time I got there, they were already open. I greeted Narl-san and headed straight to the back, where I knocked on the door and entered, only to be met by Sherry, already in the middle of sewing.

    ¡¸Morning, Sherry. Did you finish making the plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san? Yes, they¡¯re all done. I lined them up over there.¡¹

    I looked over to where she was pointing and saw the plushies neatly lined up on the shelf. There were three sets, where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were ced alternately, showing off the ck and white contrast.

    With six of these plushies lined up, the room kind of gave off a pushie store vibe. It almost made me wonder what the shop would look like if all the shelves were stuffed with plushies.

    ¡¸I was thinking of making some more...¡¹

    Three sets were more than enough for me, though. I needed a set for Noa and a set for Princess Flora. As long as I had those two covered, I had no pressing need for more plushies.

    ¡¸That¡¯s enough for now. You can make more when you have free time.¡¹

    I then approached the shelf and took a look at the plushies. It was only then that I noticed a bunch of palm-sized Swaying Bears and Hugging Bears hidden behind.

    ¡¸Sherry, what are these?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, those? Temoka-san was going to throw away the leftover fabric, but that seemed like such a waste, so I decided to use it, figuring it would be good practice to make some smaller size plushies.¡¹

    ¡¸They are really cute.¡¹

    Maybe the children at the orphanage would be happy to receive these.

    ¡¸Thank you. The children at the orphanage really liked them.¡¹

    Oh, it looked like she had already brought some of them to the orphanage.

    Given how many plushies she had made for me, it made sense for there to be a lot of leftover fabric. I had to admit that deciding to use it rather than throw it away was a great idea.

    ¡¸Can I take these, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸How much do I have to pay you for them?¡¹

    ¡¸I made them using the leftover fabric, so there is no need to pay me. The fabric was going to be thrown away anyway, and Temoka-san told me to use it as I saw fit.¡¹

    Hmm. Even though they were made from scraps, I could see Sherry had worked hard to make them.

    I wanted to at least give her something as thanks, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything right now... I would have to think about itter.

    I ced all the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies into the Bear Box and left the shop after saying goodbye, of course.

    With the pushies now in my possession, I decided to head straight to Noa¡¯s house.

    She had given me that beautiful dress, so I had to deliver the plushies to her as soon as possible. If I didn¡¯t, Noa might even try to invade my house.

    The guards let me pass without an issue, and L-san took me to Noa¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why did youe here today?¡¹

    ¡¸I just wanted to bring you the plushies, as I promised.¡¹

    I gave Noa her set of plushies.

    ¡¸Th-thank you very much!¡¹

    She epted the plushies delightedly.

    It felt quite nice seeing her this happy.

    ¡¸You delivered them sooner than I expected you to.¡¹

    We had only returned to Crimonia yesterday, after all.

    ¡¸I asked for them to be made before we left. I just went to pick them up from the shop today.¡¹

    ¡¸A shop? Did they make a lot of them?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess you could say that. They had made a set for Misa and some for the children at the orphanage. I also figured you would want a set of your own, so I ordered it in advance.¡¹

    Now, I just had to give a set to Princess Flora, and if Fina and Shuri wanted them too, I had an extra set for them to share.

    ¡¸Really? But that means Misa and I are not the only ones with the Bear-san plushies...¡¹

    She sounded a bit disappointed there. Well, rare things had more value no matter what world we were in.

    ¡¸Wait, you just said you asked a shop to make it, right? Does that mean I can get more of them?¡¹

    Her expression brightened suddenly.

    ¡¸Why would you want to order more? I just gave you a set.¡¹

    I said, gesturing at Noa¡¯s plushies that were now sitting on top of her table.

    ¡¸What are you talking about? Obviously I need extras.¡¹

    She looked at me like I had said something weird.

    Why would anyone need more than just one set of the same plushies?

    I could understand if there were different versions of them, but there was no point in buying multiples of the same kind.

    As I told her to just give it up, Noa puffed out her cheeks in anger in response, but that only made her look more cute than angry.

    ¡¸By the way, did Leonardo-san go back home already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, he left early in the morning.¡¹

    Well, he had said he would leave as quickly as he could, but leaving so early in the morning...

    I had wanted to treat him to some food if he stayed a bit longer, but well, he had told me I should save it for when he came back with Misa.

    I had no intention of intruding on Cliff¡¯s hospitality either, so I informed Noa I would be leaving.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going home already?¡¹

    Noa tried to stop me, but I told her that I had somewhere else to go today. After sessfully managing to escape from Noa, I set my goal to Anzu¡¯s shop.

    Yesterday, when I had been eating dinner with Fina¡¯s family, Terumi-san had notified me that arge quantity of packages from Mireera had arrived for me at Anzu¡¯s shop.

    There was no way I could postpone going there. Several times now, I had heard that a ship from the Country of Harmony and Peace had docked in Mireera, but apparently, it had never carried anything other than the regr goods, like rice and soy sauce. Mireera¡¯s Commerce Guild Master, Jeremo-san, had made an order for several special goods from the Country of Harmony and Peace for me, so I hoped that those goods were finally here.

    I practically ran to Anzu¡¯s shop where I was met by the ¡®closed¡¯ sign.

    Oh right, they were closed today. Ipletely forgot about that.

    No wonder I hadn¡¯t met anybody else on my way here. People otherwise always flocked here.

    Hmm, what should I do? I could go to the dorm and get Anzu to open up the shop for me.

    I thought that would be troublesome, but on the other hand, maybe it was better to do it today when she was off work, so I didn¡¯t bother her while she was busy in the kitchen. I headed to the dorm, and as I was passing the orphanage, I spotted Anzu and Eris-san exiting it.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Anzu to notice me, and she quickly rushed up to me. She really didn¡¯t need to be in a hurry....

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re back!¡¹

    ¡¸I came back yesterday. Anzu, are you heading out?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Since today is my day off, I thought I¡¯d take a walk with Eris. Yuna-san, are you here for the orphanage?¡¹

    I tilted my head at her words.

    ¡¸No, actually, I was wondering if you could open up your shop for me.¡¹

    ¡¸The shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Yesterday, Terumi-san told me that some packages from Mireera had arrived for me.¡¹

    Anzu immediately realized what I was talking about.

    ¡¸Oh yes, I do. There were some goods that had to be refrigerated, so I decided to hold onto them until you returned.¡¹

    Since I didn¡¯t want to bother her too much, I decided to ask her for the keys, so that she wouldn¡¯t need toe with me.

    ¡¸I will bring the keys to the dorm when I¡¯m done. The two of you have somewhere to go, right?¡¹

    ¡¸No, we were just nning on taking a walk around town and don¡¯t really have any errands to run.¡¹

    Eris-san nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that you¡¯re taking walks. You¡¯re holed up in your shop when you work, so going outside and taking a breath of fresh air is a nice change of pace.¡¹

    If they knew about the lifestyle I had in my former world, they wouldugh at what I just said. It wasn¡¯t convincing to hear something like that from a hikikomori. Luckily, nobody in this world knew about my past life, so it sounded like I just gave them some advice.

    ¡¸Where is everybody else?¡¹

    ¡¸Peter went to the orphanage. Liliana and Forune went to see Morin-san to learn how to cook.¡¹

    Oh right, Morin-san now also lived at the dorm.

    I really hoped everybody was enjoying their day off.

    Still, had Peter gone to the orphanage to check on the children? Wouldn¡¯t that just make him more tired? Also, learning how to cook meant that the girls were studying. They weren¡¯t resting at all!

    That was theplete opposite of how they were supposed to take their breaks. They didn¡¯t even consider sleeping past noon. The people in this world worked way too much!

    Chatting with Anzu and Eris, we arrived at the shop, and since Anzu had alreadye all the way here, she decided to just help me out.

    ¡¸So, where are the packages?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re over there.¡¹

    She led me to a corner of therge storage where quite a few boxes were stacked up.

    ¡¸The perishable goods are in the refrigerated pantry.¡¹

    The first thing my eyesnded on was a mountain of rice bags. There was more than enough for both the shop and me.

    I would just ask now much I could taketer.

    Oh, and what was this?

    I opened a wooden box and it contained a beautiful piece of cloth. I spread it out, unveiling a kimono.

    ¡¸That¡¯s clothing from the Country of Wa.¡¹

    I expected as much. Perhaps their culture was simr to that of Japan as well?

    ¡¸As much as I would love to wear it, I just don¡¯t know how to put it on.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I can show you how. Well, a person from the Country of Wa taught me quite a while ago, so I may not be very good at it.¡¹

    Of all people, Eris somehow knew how to tie a kimono.

    Well, this was most likely my only opportunity to learn how to do it, so I made her promise to teach me when she had free time.

    Even though I was Japanese, I had never worn a kimono before. I would have never thought the first time I would wear it would be in another world.

    I took another look at the box and found a few yukatas and some kanzashis. Were they trying to tell me I should wear these too?

    Well, they could be nice if there was a chance to see some fireworks...

    Could I maybe watch some if I went to the Country of Wa?

    Well, this world had magic, so there was a chance that they might not have gunpowder.

    Could I maybe make fireworks with magic, then? I might be able to do it by shooting fire magic into the sky and then have the mes scatter. Wait, what about lightning magic?

    I should probably try it out sometime.

    (TLC note: A kanzashi (ô¢) is an ornate hairpin)

    Okay, time to check the other goodies.

    A katana?

    Wow, it really was a real katana. It looked so cool. Knives and swords were nice, but a katana was a true Japanese weapon.

    I unsheathed it, revealing a beautiful de. It wasparable to my mithril knives, so it must have been expensive. I really appreciated it.

    I opened another box, but there was nothing special inside, so I just threw it into the Bear Box.

    I could always take my time looking through it at home.

    I opened a few more boxes and found things like nori, soy beans, and azuki beans.

    Oh, with these, I could make red bean paste, which meant I could eat red bean buns.

    Should I stock up on these ingredients and serve the buns at my shop, maybe?

    I returned to the pile of rice bags before heading for the refrigerated part of the pantry.

    (TL note: Nori is seaweed, usually in a sor of paper. Azuki beans are the beans used in red bean paste)

    ¡¸Anzu, can I take some rice?¡¹

    I asked her permission first since her shop also used it.

    ¡¸The rice is yours, Yuna-san, so feel free to take as much as you want.¡¹

    I wanted to give some to Zelef-san, too, so I grabbed quite a bit.

    Hmm? Some of the bags had a different color.

    ¡¸Anzu, what¡¯s in this bag?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s nothing special, just a different type of rice. Although the shape is supposedly different, I can¡¯t really tell the difference. I believe it¡¯s called mochi rice.¡¹

    ¡¸Mochi rice?!¡¹

    Wow, I had mochi rice now. This simply couldn¡¯t get any better.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, do you know what it is?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, kind of.¡¹

    It was mochi.

    I got nori and soy sauce as well.

    I just couldn¡¯t believe I could eat mochi now.

    Since I also had azuki beans, I could make ohagi or sekihan, too.

    Before I could get to making mochi, however, I had to check out what was in the refrigerated pantry.

    (TL note: Ohagi = rice ball coated with sweetened red beans, soybean flour or sesame, Sekihan = red rice, made during special asions)

    Author¡¯s note:

    The other day marked the one year anniversary of Kuma, and now we have also reached the 200th chapter milestone.

    This was only made possible thanks to everyone who bookmarked or rated my series.

    Without you, I most likely wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep writing this far.

    I look forward to working with you all in the future.

    Hmm, now that goods from the Country of Harmony and Peace have arrived without any interferences, what should we do next?

 Chapter 201 â€“ Bear-san Makes Miso Soup

    Chapter 201 ¨C Bear-san Makes Miso Soup

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I couldn¡¯t decide whether to do anko or mochi first. w

    Once I finished checking the storage room, I headed to the refrigerated pantry.

    What goodies would I find there? They were supposedly perishable goods, so I should probably transfer them to my Bear Box as quickly as I can.

    Entering the refrigerated storage, I was met by Anzu and Eris-san already waiting inside, shaking from the cold.

    I waspletely fine, of course, thanks to the cold-resistance properties of the Bear Suit. The Bear Suit really was simply amazing if I didn¡¯t mind its appearance.

    All the vegetables and drinks Anzu¡¯s shop used were kept inside this refrigerated pantry, while the meat and the fish were stored in the even colder one next door, since they had to be kept frozen and not just cold.

    As for how this pantry came to be, I had had plenty of ice magic stones to spare. It was a simple thing, turning a normal magic stone into an ice one. That was why, extravagant pantries like these were not a problem at all. Terumi-san, on the other hand, waspletely shocked by this, as ice magic stones were normally very expensive.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, your things are on that shelf over there.¡¹

    Anzu pointed to a shelf lined with all sorts of ceramic pots.

    What surprises would I find inside of them? I took one of the tightly-sealed pots and opened it, revealing its brown and very slimy-looking contents. Could this be...

    ¡¸That¡¯s miso. We finally got some.¡¹

    Anzu answered my unasked question as she looked over my shoulder.

    Yes, this was miso indeed, which meant I could finally make miso soup.

    I could drink miso soup now!!! I was so happy that I almost wanted to cry tears of joy.

    Rice and miso soup, together with a sunny-side-up egg and nori. I could finally have my traditional Japanese breakfast.

    Ah, I wanted to drink some miso soup right now. This was even higher on the priority list than eating mochi.

    I opened another pot and it revealed a different colored miso.

    Oh, there were even different types here. I looked forward to all the miso soups I could make.

    This should havepleted my breakfast set, but for some reason, I felt like something was still missing. What could it be...? I could feel it on the tip of my tongue.

    Oh, this also reminded me that I had never seen miso in Anzu¡¯s shop before. Had I just never noticed, like how I had overlooked the udon before?

    I decided to just ask Anzu.

    ¡¸We did use it here, but we ran out, so we stopped serving it for a while. We had ordered more from Mireera¡¯s Commerce Guild, of course, but it only arrived now. We should be able to serve it as seasoning on all sorts of dishes again.¡¹

    Using it as seasoning was okay and all, but personally, I preferred to have white rice with miso soup. I wouldn¡¯t give that up for anything.

    Looking at all these miso filled pots made me giddy. Would it be okay if I took them all? Anzu told me they were all for me, so it should be fine.

    This was quite a lot of miso, but thankfully, it wouldn¡¯t spoil in the Bear Box. I quickly stashed all the miso pots inside and turned my focus to the next pot on the shelf.

    When I opened the lid, a strong sour smell immediately hit me. Saliva umted in my mouth just from the smell alone, apanied by a sense of nostalgia. This was undoubtfully umeboshi.

    (TL note: Umeboshi is dried pickled plum)

    ¡¸Umeboshi, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t like sour dishes.¡¹

    Seeing that the jar contained umeboshi, Eris-san backed away slightly while Anzu actually inched closer. So, Anzu liked umeboshi as well, huh. I was Japanese, so it was in my nature to like it. I could use it in rice balls or tea and could even make umeboshi ochazuke.

    I suddenly got an urge to just go home right away to make some rice, put umeboshi on top, and serve some miso soup and tea with it.

    (TL note: Ochazuke is a Japanese dish consisting of tea poured over a bowl of rice)

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t like these, please let me know. Don¡¯t throw them out.¡¹

    I would never do that. Umeboshi was precious; throwing it away would be a waste.

    I closed the lid and moved on. The next pot contained soy sauce set aside for me. The shop used quite a lot of it, so I had asked some for myself. There were two pots filled with soy sauce, so maybe I should give one to Zelef-san.

    With this, I reached the end of the shelf. I must say, there sure were plenty of items simr to thosemonly found in Japan. I really wanted to visit the Country of Wa someday. There were most likely even more things I would be interested in there. Still, with all the rice, soy beans, red beans, miso and umeboshi, I should have enough Japanese things to eat for a while. With this, all the hard work I had put into defeating the Kraken was finally paying of.

    After making sure I really got all the pots, I turned to Anzu and Eris-san.

    ¡¸Anzu, Eris-san, thank you for helping me on your day off.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it, we had nothing else to do anyway.¡¹

    Anzu said, and Eris-san nodded.

    I then told them I was heading home to eat lunch, but Anzu offered to whip something up for me, so I gratefully epted her offer. I asked for the udon, of course, as I had just recently learned that she could make it for me.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any udon, so I can¡¯t.¡¹

    She answered tly. She didn¡¯t have it...

    Since she couldn¡¯t prepare udon for me, I decided to just have my usual rice with meat on top dish.

    It was delicious, just like all the food Anzu made.

    After enjoying my free lunch, I parted ways with Anzu and Eris-san and went straight home where I collected the now driedundry and finished cleaning the house. Once I was done, I started with the dinner preparations a little earlier than usual. I would be making the miso soup I had been waiting for so long. As I began preparing all the ingredients necessary for the stock I realized that I only had seaweed and no tofu. I did have soybeans but I didn¡¯t know how to make tofu out of them. Could I get some if I visited the Country of Wa?

    For now, I just added some white radish and carrots to the stock and gave it a taste. It was good. Oh, it had been months since Ist tasted this vor.

    I then cooked the rice and ced a single umeboshi on top before starting to grill a fish. I prepared the grilled fish. Once the fish was done, I made sure to pour plenty of soy sauce over it, and topped the meal by brewing some hot tea.

    It was simple, but after all this time, I was finally able to make a traditional Japanese meal.

    ¡¸Itadakimasu.¡¹

    (TL note: She finally got her Japanese meal, so I think she also deserves the real Japanese phrase. For those who don¡¯t know, it literally means: ¡°I received the food; thanks to everything that brought it to me.¡±, and is said before eating a meal.)

    Finally getting to taste umeboshi and miso soup again really satisfied my Japanese cravings. It just had to be white rice with umeboshi on top, some miso soup on the side, and green tea to wash it off all together. Thebo was so delicious that I couldn¡¯t help it but to get a second serving. It should be fine as long as I didn¡¯t get fat, right?

    Even though that had been the thought that had crossed my mind while eating, as the next day came around, I just couldn¡¯t help but worry about getting fat from all the food I ate, so I ended up distracting myself by thinking of some mochi and red bean paste recipes.

    Which one should I make? With both mochi and red bean paste, I could have oshiruko. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t make them both at once as I had never made mochi nor red bean paste before. I would have to start off by learning to make one, and only then the other.

    Mochi should be easier to make, but red bean paste was also tempting since, if I was sessful, I could make anpan, meaning I could teach Morin-san a new recipe. Still, without mochi, I couldn¡¯t have oshiruko. What a dilemma...

    Personally, I just wanted to eat mochi: wrap it in nori and pour some soy sauce on top... Delicious. To make mochi, I would need arge mortar, or more like, I would actually need to prepare a whole ton of things.

    Only after pondering for a long while longer, I finally decided to try making the red bean paste first. Fortunately for me, a recipe was actually included in the box. I knew nothing about making red bean paste other than what I had learned from watching a few cooking programs on TV, so the recipe would be extremely helpful. I was sure I could do it now that I had an actual recipe to work off, and not just my vague memory.

    I wasn¡¯t too sure if Jeremo-san had been the one to prepare the recipe for me, or if it had actually been someone from the Country of Wa, generously putting it in, but I had to thank that person someday.

    (TL Note: Oshiruko is red bean soup. It has crushed boiled red beans and dango balls in it. Anpan is a bread filled with red bean)

    Still, it seemed like making red bean paste required a lot of attention. I almost felt discouraged just looking at the recipe but decided to try my best for the sake of tasting it. Making it all by myself would surely be tedious, though, so I took out my Bear Phone and called for some support.

    ¡ºYuna-oneechan?¡»

    ¡¸Fina, are you free today? If you are, can youe over to my house?¡¹

    ¡ºRight now?¡»

    ¡¸Yeah, I got some ingredients from the Country of Wa, so I¡¯m going to try to make a dish from there.¡¹

    ¡ºFood from the Country of Wa?¡»

    ¡¸Yeah, and it would be great if you could help me out. You have time?¡¹

    ¡ºSure, I guess...¡»

    Fina¡¯s voice trailed off.

    ¡ºShuri, hold on. I¡¯m talking to Yuna-oneechan.¡»

    I could hear Fina talking to Shuri in the background; although it was quite muffled, I could still hear Shuri on the other end saying she wanted to go, too. Just hearing them talk like this put a smile on my face.

    ¡ºI-is it ok if Shuries along as well, Yuna-oneechan?¡»

    ¡¸Of course she can. But, if Shuries, she has to help out too, okay? Make sure to tell her that.¡¹

    ¡ºYay~¡»

    I then heard Shuri¡¯s cheerful response over the Bear Phone.

    ¡ºOkay, we¡¯ll head over straight away.¡»

    Our call ended with me managing to get some excellent helpers. Just as I was about finished setting up everything for making the red bean paste, Fina and Shuri arrived at my house.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, what are we making?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re making something called red bean paste. If you put it on bread, it makes it taste much better.¡¹

    Even though I had said I was nning on making anpan, we were just going to make the filling. I would have liked to make some oshiruko, but just making red bean paste should be plenty for today.

    ¡¸It¡¯s yummy?!¡¹

    Shuri asked excitedly. Unlike Fina, Shuri was quite childlike. Well, it wasn¡¯t like Fina never acted like a child, but she was still very matured for her age.

    ¡¸Yeah... Okay, can you two thoroughly wash the red beans for me?¡¹

    I gave detailed instructions to Fina based on the recipe while Shuri tried her best to help. Once they were done, we put the beans into boiling water.

    Again, I tasked them both to keep an eye on the beans and make sure to skim any scum that formed. While I had seen how to make the red bean paste on TV, having a recipe meant that I didn¡¯t have to waste any ingredients through trial and error. Without it, I would surely mess up many details or even bigger steps of the making process.

    I then added sugar into the boiling water and cooked the beans till the water evaporated; with this, it should be just about be ready.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, is it ready yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it ready?¡¹

    I scooped some of it up with a spoon and tasted it, trying not to burn my tongue in the process. It was very hot, but also sweet; maybe I had added too much sugar. I would have to remember to add less sugar when I made it next time. As I tasted it, Shuri and Fina clearly looked like they wanted to try it, too.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really hot, so be careful.¡¹

    I scooped some more onto the spoon and fed it to the two of them.

    ¡¸It¡¯s sweet.¡¹

    ¡¸It tastes weird, but in a good way.¡¹

    That was because this was sweeter than normal red bean paste.

    ¡¸Okay, it¡¯s a bitte already, but shall we have it for lunch?¡¹

    I took out some bread and spread some red bean paste over it. It would do as a makeshift anpan. It was delicious, especially since I hadn¡¯t tasted it for a long time. But I shouldn¡¯t eat too much, of course. Fina and Shuri both ate two slices each, but still looked hungry, so I gave them a third piece with a different kind of bread. Next time I made this, I would have mochi, and we could finally have oshiruko.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Now that I think about it, maybe I forgot to write about the tea.

    Please continue to read the story as though I wrote about it before.

    In the meantime, I¡¯ll check it over and edit it in if it¡¯s missing.

    In the next chapter, we¡¯ll move on to mochi.

 Chapter 202 â€“ Bear-san holds a Mochi-Pounding Event

    Chapter 202 ¨C Bear-san holds a Mochi-Pounding Event

    Two days after making the red bean paste, I went to the forest to gather some wood. I had to make an usu and a kine, so that I could start making mochi.

    The question was, what type of wood should I make them out of?

    For a while, I just rode around on Swaying Bear, searching for suitable trees.

    Was there a specific tree required for making an usu? If there was, it also might not be in this world, or simply hard to find.

    It had to be wide enough that I could carve out an usu with enough space to ce a lot of mochi in while also be sturdy enough to withstand the continuous pounding that wouldmence. For now, I should probably just try looking for a big tree.

    After wandering around for a while, I finally found one that seemed to berge enough.

    Would it do?

    I got off Swaying Bear and stood in front of the grand tree. It had thick branches with many leaves lusciously growing out of them.

    Without a second thought, I casted some wind magic to cut off a thick branch, making it fall straight towards me. In a panic, I had to jump backwards to dodge it. I should have probably nned a little more before cutting it.

    After sessfully felling the rest of the tree, I began to cut the trunk up into round slices,rge enough to make an usu out of them. This should do, right? The slices reached just about reached my waist.

    Next, I needed to hollow out a hole in the middle to make room for the mochi. How should I try to do it? Cutting it was simple enough, but carving a hole inside was bound to be more difficult. Could I maybe try using some sort of spiralling magic?

    To test it out, I visualized a mini tornado and used it on the wood.

    Oh, it did drill a hole but didn¡¯t stop and pierced through the wood instead.

    After a few trial and errors, I was able to make a nice, round cavity in the wood. Although I didn¡¯t know what a real usu looked like, the one I made did look quite simr to the ones from TV. Well, it should be fine as long as it didn¡¯t break when pounding the mochi.

    I then used a ne to smooth out the exterior and it didn¡¯t look half bad. I still had the remaining slices of wood left though, along with the rest of the tree, of course.

    I couldn¡¯t just throw them away, so with a bit of effort, I made four more usus. Because of my Bear Box, carrying them all wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    Next, I needed a kine for pounding the mochi. Couldn¡¯t I just make arge wooden mallet?

    In theory, as long as I could pound mochi with it, anything would work. Would it be better if Imissioned a woodworker to make one? I should have probably discussed this with Terumi-san or Mylene-san beforehand.... For now, I would just use some more of the downed tree branches to create a makeshift kine.

    Once I was done, I gripped it tightly and swung it around a bit then tried tapping it lightly. It seemed to work just fine. Still, since I didn¡¯t want it to break on me, I had ended up making it a bitrger than a normal kine would be.

    I took off my Bear Hands to see if I could hold it up using my own strength, and, unsurprisingly, I couldn¡¯t.

    As I mmed the kine down into the usu, I realized something: who was going to flip the mochi while it was getting pounded by the kine?

    Mochi pounding wasn¡¯t a solo activity. The kine was heavy, so I was the only one who could wield it, with my Bear Hands on, of course. There was no way children could handle it, and even if they could, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it constantly.

    I looked at Swaying Bear, which was sitting down to rest while I was busy. Flipping the mochi would be impossible for Swaying Bear, despite how impressive it was. I could only imagine its fur getting all over the mochi if we tried it.

    Actually, since it was a summoned beast, maybe the fur stuck in the mochi would disappear if I unsummoned it afterwards? I didn¡¯t think its fur was dirty, but I did wonder how sanitary it would be to eat it.

    Was teaching Fina and the other children how to flip the mochi the only option I had left? I had seen children on TV do it before. As long as we didn¡¯t try to copy the speeds of the pros, we should be able to do it.

    As I racked my brain for a different solution, Swaying Bear came over and lifted up the kine.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear?¡¹

    Swaying Bear stood on its hind legs and lifted the kine up high in the air; instead of flipping the mochi, it seemed like it could do the pounding.

    ¡¸Can you do it?¡¹

    Swaying Bear look at me as if saying, ¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹, then swung the pestle down with tremendous force.

    ¡¸That looks a bit dangerous. Could you hold back your strength a bit?¡¹

    This means now I could do the flipping. I was a little scared of getting hurt, but it should be fine, right? I still had some mixed feelings, but giving it a try at least was probably the way to go.

    Just in case Swaying Bear identally broke it, I decided to use the remainder of the tree to make one kine per usu, so we had spares in case they broke.

    Once all the kines were finished, I returned to Crimonia and headed straight for the orphanage. I wanted to ask the Headmistress for permission to use the backyard to pound mochi. Also, if I were to summon Swaying Bear, it would be better to do it at the orphanage, where fewer people passed by.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but what are you nning to do?¡¹

    The Headmistress asked while also keeping her eye on the kids.

    ¡¸I¡¯m thinking of making some food.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to make it outside?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I can¡¯t make it unless I have a lot of space.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-oneechan, what are you going to make?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it delicious?¡¹

    A boy and a girl, who looked to be around five years old, came over. They held Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies in their arms respectively.

    Now that I looked at it, there were quite a few children with the Bear Plushies in their arms. One of them was even taking a nap while chewing on Swaying Bear¡¯s ear. The plushies seemed to be quite popr.

    ¡¸Hmm, I guess so. I think it¡¯s good. If I make some, will you try it for me?¡¹

    I definitely needed people to taste test the mochi.

    ¡¸Can we really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup. I would be happy if you did.¡¹

    I happily patted their heads and promised the children that they could try out the mochi.

    I then arranged a date with the Headmistress for the mochi pounding event and left the orphanage. It was decided that it would be held on the shop¡¯s next day off.

    The Headmistress said, ¡¸If you¡¯re going to make food, then please do it on a day when the children don¡¯t have work to do.¡¹

    That made sense, so I agreed. I would feel bad if the children were to finish their work only to find out that the event was already over.

    I also invited Anzu, Morin-san, Terumi-san, and some others, as well.

    As I thought about it some more, I realized that there were a lot of preparations to do.

    The next day, I asked Fina and Shuri toe over to my ce to help me with the prep work.

    I had already soaked some mochi rice in water overnight, so today we steamed it while also makingrge amounts of red bean paste.

    ¡¸We¡¯re done, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    We ced the red bean paste into the refrigerator and the freshly steamed mochi rice straight into the Bear Box. In my opinion, chilled red bean paste tasted better because the sweetness got milder. All together, we prepared enough for more than fifty people.

    On the day of the mochi pounding event, I headed to the orphanage early in the morning, and, when I got there, the younger children and the Headmistress were the only ones to greet me.

    ¡¸Where¡¯s everyone else?¡¹

    Not everyone was here yet. I didn¡¯t see Terumi-san, Fina, Anzu... Did Ie too early?

    ¡¸They went to check on the cluckers.¡¹

    ¡¸They said that if they all went together, they could finish up quickly.¡¹

    Even though the store was closed for the day, they still had to take care of the cluckers.

    It was probably smart to start setting up while waiting for everybody to arrive.

    I asked the children to stand back since it could be dangerous, and they obediently followed my instructions.

    Once they were at a safe distance, I took out all the usus and kines I had made.

    I didn¡¯t forget to also bring a bucket of warm water, which was very important when pounding mochi.

    I finished up by summoning Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and the children immediately exploded in excitement and ran to them.

    I tasked Hugging Bear to keeping them far away from the working area, since swinging the kines could get dangerous.

    With this, everything was all set up, but Terumi-san and the older children were still not back.

    Hmm, maybe they would rush back if they heard us pounding the mochi.

    Swaying Bear and I began, just like we practiced.

    I took out the steamed mochi rice from the Bear Box and put it into the usu. With steam still rising from it, I kneaded the mochi rice with the kine and gently pounded it for a bit.

    I didn¡¯t think Swaying Bear could handle such fine movements, so I did it instead. Once the mochi rice was ground enough, I handed the kine to Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Alright. I¡¯m going to flip the mochi as you pound it. Start off lightly, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuuun.¡¹

    I took off my Bear Hands and held the mochi.

    ¡¸Hot!¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-oneechan!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    The children looked at me with worried eyes. I shook the heat off my hands to reassure them.

    That was dangerous, though. It was much hotter than I had expected. I knew I was a hikikomori, but I didn¡¯t think my hands were this delicate.

    I should really be more careful.

    If I remembered correctly, on TV they would wet their hands and only lightly touched the mochi at the beginning.

    I tried again with this approach, but it was still really hot.

    I nced at the Bear Hands I had left on the ground. The Bear Hands never got dirty no matter what I used them for, so I never had to wash them.

    I put the Bear Hands back on and touched the mochi carefully.

    Oh, it didn¡¯t stick to my hands at all. What an unbelievable phenomenon.

    With my Bear Hands, I flipped the mochi. It still didn¡¯t stick to them.

    These all-purpose Bear Hands were amazing.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, can we start off again?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuun.¡¹

    ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound. ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound. ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound.

    We pounded the mochi in a smooth rhythm and I made sure to wet the mochi periodically.

    Somewhere in the middle of pounding the first round, the children in charge of the cluckers returned along with Terumi-san and Fina.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, did you start already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I thought I should try it out first.¡¹

    As I exined, we continued pounding the mochi.

    ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound. ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound.

    ¡¸Is this a new dish?¡¹

    Terumi-san looked into the usu.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a dish made from pounded mochi rice.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going to sell it at your shop?¡¹

    Terumi-san looked at me like she wanted to say, ¡¸Again?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m making this for myself, so I won¡¯t be serving it at the shop.¡¹

    Making mochi involved a whole lot of work. If I had a machine that could automatically pound the mochi, that would be fine, but obviously, something like that didn¡¯t exist here. It was very physically demanding to make mochi.

    Not to mention, most of my shop workers were children and women. It would take an entire day just to make enough for the shop, so mochi dishes were out of the question. After all, I couldn¡¯t force the women and children to dobor like that.

    Furthermore, mochi was not something to be eaten everyday.

    Once I exined that to her, Terumi-san looked quite relieved.

    ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound. ¡¸Go.¡¹ Pound.

    The individual grains of the mochi rice slowly disappeared as it transformed into a smooth texture.

    Just a bit more, and we should be done, right?

    Eventually, Morin-san, Anzu, and the other women from the dorm also came to see us.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, sorry we¡¯rete. We heard you were making a mochi rice dish, so we made some snacks.¡¹

    Anzu and Morin-san made some small dishes for us. It would have been sad to just eat mochi and red bean paste, so I was very grateful for this.

    Still, now, there were too many people here. At this rate, we wouldn¡¯t have enough mochi for everyone.

    Pounding mochi would take too much time if only Swaying Bear and I did it. Could I maybe get Terumi-san and a few others to help out?

    As I pondered on what to do, some more reinforcements arrived.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I heard you¡¯re making a new dish. Can we join you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, is there anything we can help you with?¡¹

    Rurina-san and Gil came here after hearing about this event from who knows where.

    The next to arrive was the adventurer who drove other guys mad. It was Blitz, and he was apanied by his usual harem of cute and beautiful women.

    ¡¸Let us help out, too.¡¹

    The amount of men who could help out suddenly increased, so I quickly gave out instructions on how to pound the mochi rice.

    Rurina-san paired up with Gil while Blitz rotated amongst his party members every so often.

    Then, Anzu¡¯s cooking team of women decided they wanted a go at it, too.

    To top it all off, Gentz-san swung by and paired up with Terumi-san. Fina and Shuri cheered them on from the sidelines, of course.

    Luckily, the extra usus and kines I had made came in handy here. There was one slightly smaller pair, which I made sure to give to Anzu¡¯s team.

    Now that there were a lot more people pounding the mochi, we were able to pick up the speed quite a bit.

    As it started to pile up, we distributed it to the children, apanied with small tes of soy sauce, nori, and red bean paste. We made sure to also distribute the snacks that Anzu and the other women prepared. In total, there were now more than fifty people here, but we somehow managed to make enough for everyone.

    I first tried the mochi with nori and soy sauce. It tasted delicious.

    As we slowly enjoyed out food, we also took turns in making even more mochi, which ended up being stored in my Bear Box.

    After a few hours the mochi pounding event finally ended with everyone full and happy.

    The next day, however, Noa found out about what had happened and got mad at me for not telling her about it.

    ¡¸Make sure you invite me next time!¡¹

    To appease her, I promised her I would.

    Author¡¯s note:

    This concludes the cooking arc, and a new adventure will start in the next chapter.

    I haven¡¯t really thought about it too deeply yet. w

 Chapter 203 â€“ Bear-san Gives Princess Flora the Plushies as a Present

    Chapter 203 ¨C Bear-san Gives Princess Flora the Plushies as a Present

    A few days had passed since the mochi pounding event.

    During this time, Noa kept pouting at me angrily (cutely) any time we came across each other, and I also taught Morin-san how to make red bean paste, so that we could serve anpan at our shop.

    I had been quite busyst few days...

    Hmm, maybe I should head to the capital for a quick breather?

    I still hadn¡¯t heard any news about the toad family. Maybe their trial wasn¡¯t finished yet?

    I was curious, but Cliff hadn¡¯t mentioned anything, and it was possible that he wouldn¡¯t tell me even if the results were out.

    Still, Misa¡¯s safety was depending on the toad family¡¯s verdict. Eleanora-san had said that the family¡¯s rank would most likely be stripped from them based on all the evidences collected, but I was still interested in the full verdict from the royal family.

    Even if their rank was stripped down, the toad family might return to Sheelin.

    Well, there was no point in worrying about it at this very moment. I could just ask Eleanora-san about it if I ran into her, so, for now, I decided to just go and visit Princess Flora to give her the plushies.

    As usual, I used the Bear Gate to go to the capital.

    I greeted the castle guards and headed straight to Princess Flora¡¯s room. Again, as usual, one of the soldiers ran off to give his report.

    It looked like they hadn¡¯t been given orders to stop me from entering. So, had Sheelin¡¯s mess already been taken care of?

    Well, there was no point thinking about it.

    As I walked through the castle, I realized that everytime I came here, I went directly to Princess Flora¡¯s room. Even if I ran into somebody along the way, they never stopped me. Did they not feel strange, seeing amoner entering the castle and going straight to the royal princess¡¯s bedroom?

    Pondering the issue over, I arrived at Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    I knocked on the door, and just like always, Anju-san let me in.

    As I entered, I immediately noticed Princess Flora was studying at her desk.

    ¡¸Did Ie at a bad time?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s fine. I was just thinking that it would be a good time for a break.¡¹

    Anju-san turned to Princess Flora.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, Yuna-san hase to see you.¡¹

    Anju-san called out to Princess Flora, and she immediately turned her small face to look over at us.

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    She smiled and rushed to me.

    Sometimes, just seeing her smile was enough to make me want to visit more often.

    ¡¸Are you doing well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    She replied energetically.

    ¡¸I brought a present for you, Princess Flora.¡¹

    ¡¸A present?¡¹

    I took out the Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear plushies from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Bear-sans!¡¹

    The plushies weren¡¯t big, but whenpared to Princess Flora, they seemed quite big.

    I had wondered which one she would take first, but she grabbed them both at the same time.

    The plushies slipped out of her hands, of course, but she got onto the ground and continued to hug them anyway.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, please don¡¯t y on the floor.¡¹

    Anju-san sternly reprimanded her.

    Princess Flora looked as if tears would begin to well up in her eyes, so Anju-san gently tried to persuade her.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t the Bear-sans look sad lying on the floor like that? That¡¯s why you should get up.¡¹

    Anju-san seemed to think the floor was dirty, but it looked quite clean to me.

    There was a beautiful carpetid out on the floor, and the whole room seemed quite tidy. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t be bothered about it and justzed and rolled around. However, that was indeed an inappropriate behavior for a princess.

    Anju took the plushies out of Princess Flora¡¯s hands and ced them on the table. Princess Flora quickly sat back down in her chair and resumed hugging the plushies.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, isn¡¯t there something you need to say to Yuna-san?¡¹

    Princess Flora looked back and forth between me and the plushies before standing up anding over to me again.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Please take care of them, okay?¡¹

    Princess Flora nodded happily.

    I was happy to see that Anju-san was educating her properly.

    Not just her studies, but also teaching her how to behave.

    Princess Flora returned to the table and held the Swaying Bear¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you, as always.¡¹

    I then sat down on a chair next to Princess Flora, and Anju-san served some tea.

    I quickly thanked her and took a sip. As usual, the tea the royal family drank was delicious.

    Since I had no other ns for today, I simply rxed, slowly drinking the tea, until someone knocked on the door. As Anju-san walked over to answer the door, we could hear Her Highness¡¯s voiceing from the other side. Was the king here too, perhaps?

    The door closed right after Her Highness entered, however.

    Huh?

    Only the queen came?

    ¡¸Good afternoon, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    After greeting me, the Queen noticed the plushies sitting in front of Princess Flora.

    ¡¸Oh, are those plushies of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, I got them from Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸The other day, Princess Flora got upset because she had to part from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so...¡¹

    As I began to exin, Her Highness sat down next to Princess Flora and lifted up the Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡¸How cute.¡¹

    The queen then ced Hugging Bear plushie on herp and started petting its head.

    Your Highness, I made these plushies for Princess Flora, so please don¡¯t steal them from her.

    However, Princess Flora did not seem to mind and continued hugging the Swaying Bear plushie with a happy expression on her face.

    Like mother, like daughter, I should say.

    Princess Flora didn¡¯t make a fuss, so this should be fine.

    ¡¸Good for you, Flora.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm.¡¹

    Her Highness drank the tea Anju-san prepared for her and continued to pat the Hugging Bear¡¯s head.

    The two of them looked really happy.

    As Anju-san poured me more tea, she popped up a question.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what will you be having for lunch today?¡¹

    ¡¸Lunch?¡¹

    Anju¡¯s question caught Princess Flora and Her Highness¡¯s attention.

    It was because I always brought something for them to eat when I visited that they associated my presence with food. Still, I had to inform Zelef-san if I were to treat them, or his food might go to waste.

    I had lots of food in my Bear Box, but the only new thing was the anpan I made with Morin-san as we had already eaten the mochi we had made.

    I should really make enough mochi so that I could eat it whenever I wanted.

    ¡¸I have something for you to try, but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll like it.¡¹

    I brought out anpan and some other bread with red bean paste on top, too.

    ¡¸This bread is mytest creation. It has a sweet paste called red bean paste inside, and I would like to have your opinion on it.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, let me try some of your new bread.¡¹

    ¡¸I want it, too!¡¹

    Princess Flora and Her Highness reached over to grab one each.

    ¡¸Well then, I will notify Zelef-san.¡¹

    Anju-san said and took one anpan with her to bring to Zelef-san.

    ¡¸Oh, how sweet.¡¹

    ¡¸Yummy!¡¹

    ¡¸Is this a trial product?¡¹

    ¡¸I just need to adjust the sweetness a bit. I¡¯m thinking of using less sugar.¡¹

    A more moderate amount of sugar should still keep it delicious while also making it healthier.

    ¡¸I see. I also think it¡¯s a good idea to lower the amount of sugar. It¡¯s too sweet, otherwise.¡¹

    She felt the same way, huh.

    The children at the orphanage seemed to like it as it was, though.

    While the Queen gave me her opinion, Princess Flora just ate the bread happily, while being careful not to spill any crumbs on the Swaying Bear plushie.

    ¡¸Though, the sweetnessplements the ck tea pretty well.¡¹

    The Queen took another bite of the anpan then drank some tea.

    Maybe the sweetness was just right if you ate it with tea?

    I still thought that I should decrease the amount of sugar a bit, so I was grateful for Her Highness¡¯s critique.

    As I was lost in thought, Princess Flora grabbed a different type of bread and ate it just as happily.

    I was happy to see that the red bean paste was quite well-received. There were some people who didn¡¯t like it, after all.

    Just as the two of them finished, the door suddenly opened without anyone knocking.

    Startled, we all looked at the door and saw Eleanora-san arriving together with Anju-san.

    ¡¸Did I make it in time?¡¹

    In time for what?

    Eleanora-san looked at the table, saw that there were only crumbs left, and murmured,¡¸I didn¡¯t make it.¡¹

    Ah, she was talking about the food.

    Basically, she didn¡¯te to see me, but my food.

    ¡¸I have more, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    I took out more anpan and other red bean paste breads, while Anju-san prepared some tea for Eleanora-san. She then noticed that Princess Flora started to get sleepy after eating her fill, and brought her to bed.

    Princess Flora was still grasping the Swaying Bear plushie in her arms, of course.

    After Anju-san tucked in Princess Flora, I took out some bread for her as well.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, so you came here to bring the plushies for Princess Flora, huh.¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked at the plushie the queen was holding.

    ¡¸I did promise her, after all. They were intended as a present from the beginning. I also gave a set to Noa, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. That girl... She just couldn¡¯t stop looking at the ones you gave Misana.¡¹

    Yeah, her eyes had certainly been glued to them back then.

    She had been very happy when she received her own, but she did still intend tomission more...

    I was bing a bit worried about Noa¡¯s future. I wanted to believe that I had nothing to do with her bear obsession... Yeah, I couldn¡¯t take responsibility for this.

    Anyway, without the king here, it was much quieter.

    I was sure that the soldier at the gate ran off to report that I arrived, but the king was still absent.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, is His Majesty noting today?¡¹

    I asked Eleanora-san as she was eating the anpan.

    ¡¸Today is a little busy. Since we are still dealing with ¡°that case¡±, Zangu and Prince Elnart won¡¯t let him run off.¡¹

    Eleanora-san managed to escape, though.

    ¡°That case¡± was most certainly referring to the one involving the toad family.

    Would she tell me how the case was going if I asked her?

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t just the kidnapping of Misa and the merchant¡¯s children. Gerardo Salbertmitted many other crimes. We are still investigating and questioning witnesses plus those otherwise rted. We have many issues to resolve before we can make the final judgement.¡¹

    Before I even asked, Eleanora-san exined the situation to me.

    Was it okay to tell me, though?

    ¡¸That means he¡¯s going to be found guilty, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We already have irrefutable proof against him; there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be able to talk his way out of this.¡¹

    I had figured that if noblesmitted crimes, they did so in a roundabout way and used their power to hide their connections to them, but it looked like everything was properlying out in the open now.

    He had kidnapped children; it would bother me a lot if they didn¡¯t punish him for such a vile act.

    Not to mention all the other evil crimes he hadmitted.

    ¡¸Gerardo really did as he pleased...¡¹

    Eleanora-san then proceeded to talk about his illegal dealings with merchants, the threats he made, as well as the violence hemitted.

    She was being quite vague, but it sounded like he was also a murderer.

    The maid, Ruufa-san, had mentioned something about a room in the basement, but Eleanora-san didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡¸The Salbert family will be stripped off their noble status, that much is sure.¡¹

    So it dide to that, huh. Based on all the crimes they hadmitted, would that be the only punishment?

    Anyway, he could no longer be a lord without his noble status, right?

    I decided to ask Eleanora-san about that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The Faren Gramm family will now govern all of Sheelin town.¡¹

    Gran-san must be relieved, then, as his family would no longer get harassed.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t help but worry about the toad family returning even after losing their noble status.

    I didn¡¯t know how the punishment system worked in this country, but if they returned to Sheelin, wasn¡¯t it possible they would go after Misa out of resentment?

    Eleanora-san tilted her head at my question.

    ¡¸They will be forced to forfeit all their assets. Gerardo will also receive the death penalty while his son will be taken in by rtives in the capital.¡¹

    I was shocked when I heard about the death penalty and couldn¡¯t find anything to respond to that.

    Well, he had iting.

    In this case, Misa should be rtively safe since the son would be staying in the capital, far away from her.

    I was still concerned about the spite he had against Misa. What if he tried to kidnap or harass her again, even from that distance?

    ¡¸That should be fine as Randall can never enter Sheelin for the rest of his life. Also, the people who are taking him in will be keeping a close watch on him. Even if Randall is an idiot, his rtives know that being negligent in their surveince will put themselves in trouble as well.¡¹

    That was good to hear.

    That kid would surely try something from the shadows with the terrible personality he had.

    He might try something like ordering an adventurer to attack Misa, but without any money or status, he shouldn¡¯t be able to do that.

    Now, it all depended on his rtives to keep him reined in.

    I was curious about the adventurer who kidnapped Misa, so I asked about him, too.

    ¡¸He is still under investigation since he may havemitted other crimes, too.¡¹

    That was all she knew.

    ¡¸That reminds me, has Gran-san returned home yet?¡¹

    He had to go to the capital, if I remembered correctly.

    ¡¸I should probably tell you. Lord Gran will be stepping down as lord, and his son, Leonardo, will take his ce in governing Sheelin town.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸He is holding himself responsible for everything that happened. Not only did his own grandchild get kidnapped, the merchants he worked with had suffered as well, so he decided to relinquish his position.¡¹

    ¡¸But none of that was Gran-san¡¯s fault.¡¹

    He shouldn¡¯t feel bad since the Salbert family had been the one causing all the trouble.

    Well, he should have had some countermeasure to prevent such things from happening, though..

    He and his family had almost been the one ruined, from what I had heard.

    There would always be some trouble between neighbors, but it was a big deal when it came to a conflict between two lords.

    ¡¸Even so, it was a good time to pass the position to his son. It was his decision to make, and we can only respect it.¡¹

    That was true. Cliff, who was around the same age as Leonardo, was also a lord. If Gran-san had already made his decision, there was nothing we could do about it.

    ¡¸Also, Gran-san is happy with his newfound freedom. He ns on bringing Misana over to your shop in near future.¡¹

    What an energetic grandpa he was.

    I must make sure to wee them when theye.

    I had been here for quite a while now.. Since I had already given Princess Flora her present and even found out what would happen to the toad family, I decided to head home.

    When I reached my Bear House, I noticed somebody copsed against my door.

    Wait, why would somebody pass out on my house?!

    ¡¸Are you okay?!¡¹

    When I took a closer look, I noticed that the person had very long, pointy ears. It was an elven girl with light green hair.

 Chapter 204 â€“ Bear-san Takes in an Elf Girl

    Chapter 204 ¨C Bear-san Takes in an Elf Girl

    Upon closer observation, I noticed the girl was undoubtedly an elf. She had long, light green hair and long, pointy ears. The ears were a very distinctive feature of an elf.

    She looked about my age, but was most likely older, as elves had longer life spans.

    Anyway, the girl was leaning against the wall of my house, not moving an inch.

    I really hoped she didn¡¯t die on my doorstep.

    As I took an even closer look, I found out that she was still breathing.

    Great, she was still alive.

    Thest thing I would want was toe across a dead body right outside of my household.

    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹

    I tapped her shoulder then shook her lightly.

    The girl slowly opened her eyes.

    ¡¸What are you doing here?¡¹

    The elf girl looked at me with vacant, half-opened eyes.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    The girl stared at me and tilted her head slightly.

    ¡¸Why are you sleeping here?¡¹

    ¡¸Am I dreaming? There¡¯s a girl dressed like a bear; there¡¯s no way somebody would wear a weird outfit like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, sorry for wearing such a weird outfit.¡¹

    ¡¸If I go back to sleep, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll wake up from this dream.¡¹

    The girl actually closed her eyes again. I could even hear her snoring.

    I lightly shook her again, but she wouldn¡¯t wake up.

    What should I do?!

    I considered calling the town guards, but it would be awkward to just hand them a sleeping girl.

    Also, I couldn¡¯t leave her like this while I ran off to call for them.

    Since I had no other choice, I carried the girl into the Bear House, bridal-style of course.

    I was able to carry her easily thanks to my the Bear Suit.

    I took her upstairs and into the guest bedroom, where Iid her down on the bed.

    Hmm. I just brought her into my house. Was that really okay?

    I looked at the elf girl sleeping peacefully.

    It surely was better than just leaving her outside.

    As I told myself that, I removed the girl¡¯s item bag and weapon from her back since they would get in the way of her sleeping and ced them on the table.

    The moment they were off her back, the girl turned around in her sleep. Yeah, she was lookingpletely serene now.

    Would she befortable enough with this?

    I was about to leave the room before realizing I had something else I had to do first.

    I summoned Swaying Bear in its cub form on the corner of the bed.

    ¡¸Can you please let me know when the girl wakes up?¡¹

    I said and patted Swaying Bear¡¯s head gently before leaving the room.

    I went back downstairs and sat down on the sofa then took out some potato chips and orange juice.

    Crunch crunch.

    Really, this was simply unbelievable.

    I never thought I would pick up an elf girl.

    Crunch crunch.

    For some reason, that elf girl¡¯s face looked awfully familiar, like as if I had seen her before.

    I gave it some thought but couldn¡¯t remember where I could have seen her before. Maybe I had passed by her on the street somewhere?

    Crunch crunch.

    Lazing around on the sofa and eating potato chips started to make me sleepy, so I summoned Hugging Bear in cub form and embraced it.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, wake me up if something happens, okay?¡¹

    I copsed on the sofa while hugging Hugging Bear.

    Afternoon naps were humankind¡¯s most supreme luxury.

    Cuddling Hugging Bear made me feel better, so I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

    Petchi petchi.

    It appeared that Hugging Bear was trying to wake me up.

    I got up while still holding onto it.

    ¡¸Morning, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Hmm, how long had I napped for?

    It was probably around evening since it was dark outside. Maybe I slept a bit too much.

    I stood up from the sofa and noticed Hugging Bear was now crying softly while looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡¸Did the elf girl wake up?¡¹

    Hugging Bear tilted its head while looking at me.

    Oh, was I wrong? If that wasn¡¯t the problem, what was?

    Then again, Swaying Bear would have notified me if the elf girl woke up, so it made sense that wasn¡¯t it.

    I went upstairs and found the door still closed; my Bears could open them if they transformed into their normal forms.

    I headed back downstairs because I was worried she would hear Hugging Bear if it started to cry louder.

    Hugging Bear kept looking upwards, however, so I returned upstairs again to find the source of the problem.

    Opening the door to the guest room the elf girl was sleeping in, I saw that the girl was now up, hugging Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Hnnn, so soft and warm.¡¹

    Swaying Bear was trying to get away, but the elf girl held onto it tightly, making its escape impossible.

    If Swaying Bear used more strength, it could free itself but didn¡¯t know if it should.

    Wait, the girl didn¡¯t look like she was awake... She must have grabbed Swaying Bear in her sleep.

    Swaying Bear looked at me hoping for rescue. So, Hugging Bear woke me up because Swaying Bear was asking for help.

    Still, I would feel bad if we woke the girl.

    As I was pondering on what to do, the girl slowly opened her eyes.

    Was she actually going to wake up this time?

    The first thing the girl did was look at what she was holding onto.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    Her gaze then moved towards me.

    ¡¸Another bear...? I must be dreaming, still.¡¹

    She tried to go back to sleep.

    To stop the elf girl, I lightly bonked her on the head.

    ¡¸No, this isn¡¯t a dream.¡¹

    When I told her that, her eyes opened wide.

    It would be a problem if she didn¡¯t get up soon.

    The girl instantly stood up and started looking around the room restlessly.

    ¡¸Where am I?¡¹

    She looked at me again.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹

    Hadn¡¯t she called me that enough times by now?

    ¡¸This is my house. I found you copsed outside. Don¡¯t you remember that?¡¹

    The elf girl appeared worried about something as she began to think.

    ¡¸I... I was walking in arge crowd of people for hours and got exhausted. I had nowhere to rest and didn¡¯t have any more money, so I wandered for a bit until I saw a bear-shaped house and decided to rest there. After that, I don¡¯t remember much.¡¹

    ¡¸Sigh...¡¹

    In other words, she got so tired that she copsed right in front of my house.

    ¡¸Where do you live?¡¹

    ¡¸In the Elf Vige.¡¹

    Where was the Elf Vige, though?

    It didn¡¯t help that she made it sound like it was really close by.

    ¡¸So, you have no family in the capital? Did youe here all the way from the Elf Vige all by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I came on my own.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t believe such a young girl, or better, a girl of simr size than me, would travel all by herself.

    I was impressed that she had managed to make it to the capital with no money. What were her parents thinking?

    Or, could it be that elves her age were considered adults and could travel by themselves?

    That didn¡¯t mean that there was no danger to that, however.

    Hmm, if anyone heard what I just thought, they would probably call me a hypocrite... Nevermind that.

    ¡¸Okay, so you came to the capital all by yourself...¡¹

    As I started to speak, the girl¡¯s stomach growled slightly.

    ¡¸Sigh. Alright, let¡¯s get you something to eat first. I¡¯ll make some food, so can youe downstairs?¡¹

    She most likely hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a while.

    Oh well, I could always listen to her story while we ate.

    ¡¸Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Um....¡¹

    It seemed like the girl wanted to know my name.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san. My name is Ruimin.¡¹

    ¡¸Nice to meet you, Ruimin. Now before we go, could you let go of Swaying Bear?¡¹

    Even while talking, Ruimin was still holding onto Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Is this child called Swaying Bear?¡¹

    She lifted up Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸The ck one is Swaying Bear, and this white one here is Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I introduced her to Hugging Bear, which I was holding onto.

    ¡¸They¡¯re cute.¡¹

    Ruimin then released Swaying Bear.

    After that, I took Ruimin downstairs.

    ¡¸Take a seat wherever you like.¡¹

    Ruimin sat down on a chair, and I gave her a loaf of Morin-san¡¯s bread along with some juice.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Ruimin said with a bow, and at the same time, her stomach growled again.

    With that, I urged her to eat.

    Deciding that I would also have dinner here, I took out my share and sat down.

    ¡¸This is really good. I¡¯ve never had such delicious bread before.¡¹

    Ruimin ate happily.

    I was sure that Morin-san would appreciate thepliment if she was here to hear it.

    ¡¸By the way, Yuna-san, where are your family members? I would like to greet them.¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re not here. It¡¯s just me.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Yuna-san, you live alone?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    When I told her I lived alone, she looked really surprised.

    ¡¸You¡¯re living by yourself even though you¡¯re so small?!¡¹

    Should she really call me small? She was of about the same height than me.

    Still, elves did have long life spans, so she was most likely older than me.

    How old could she be? She didn¡¯t look more than 15 years old.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not really alone. I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me.¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were my precious family members.

    Both of them came over to me when I mentioned them.

    ¡¸I know I keep asking questions, but is your outfit a trend in the capital? I only reached the city today, so I don¡¯t know much about it.¡¹

    She finally popped the question. She did seem to be intrigued by my outfit this entire time.

    Well, it made sense for people to be curious about it.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not a trend.¡¹

    If it acutally became a trend, that would be terrifying.

    ¡¸As for why I wear this... I don¡¯t want to answer that. Anyway, why did youe to the capital, Ruimin?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to tell a girl I had just met all about myself, so I tried to change the topic to why she hade here instead.

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking for somebody. Thest time we met, she told me she was working in the capital.¡¹

    So, she was searching for somebody in the capital. Was that why she was walking around for hours?

    I really hoped that wasn¡¯t the reason...

    ¡¸Do you know where they work? If so, I can take you to them.¡¹

    I asked just in case.

    It would be impossible for her to look for someone if she didn¡¯t even know the general area they would be in.

    As long as she knew the location, I could take her there, and if I didn¡¯t know either, I could just ask Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸From what I know, she was working at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, ten years ago at least.¡¹

    ¡¸Ten years ago?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, ten years ago. Is something wrong with that?¡¹

    Ruimin tilted her head.

    That long ago? As expected of the elf race, ten years for them must feel short.

    If the person she was looking for was working at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, does that mean they were an adventurer?

    ¡¸Is the person you¡¯re looking for an adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I just know she was working at the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild.¡¹

    Hmm, maybe Sanya-san would know?

    She was the guildmaster, after all.

    Not to mention, Sanya-san was also an elf....

    I looked at Ruimin¡¯s face... Wait, they looked simr?

    ¡¸Is something the matter?¡¹

    Ruimin got embarrassed from being stared at.

    ¡¸Um, what¡¯s the person¡¯s name?¡¹

    ¡¸Her name is Sanya. She¡¯s my older sister.¡¹

    No wonder she looked so familiar. It was because she was rted to Sanya-san.

    Why didn¡¯t I realize it sooner? They were both elves; I should have noticed their simrity.

    ¡¸Do you know her?¡¹

    She asked based on my reaction.

    ¡¸I do. Sanya-san is the guildmaster of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild here.¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s the guildmaster?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The guildmaster is an elf with the same hair color as you, plus her name is also Sanya. There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please take me to her, I beg of you.¡¹

    Ruimin said with a bow.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, but it¡¯s already gettingte now, so let¡¯s do it tomorrow.¡¹

    It was almost night time. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was open all day long, but right now the ce would probably be crowded with adventurers returning home. I really wanted to avoid busy times like that.

    Also, Sanya-san might have already finished up her work for the day and headed home.

    It only made sense to go there tomorrow instead.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The locations that are going to distribute the Noa short story (bonus for buying Volume 2) have been decided.

    I received the notice the other day and was asked to write a message to the stores.

    Anyway, the elf girl turned out to be Sanya-san¡¯s younger sister. w

 Chapter 205 â€“ Bear-san Wants to Go to the Elf Village

    Chapter 205 ¨C Bear-san Wants to Go to the Elf Vige

    The day after I took Ruimin in, we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. We decided to leavete in the morning, so that we could avoid the morning rush hour. Ruimin wanted to go as soon as possible, but I felt that goingter would be less troublesome.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Ruimin looked like she had something to say as she hid behind me.

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    I had a feeling that I knew what she was going to say but replied anyway.

    ¡¸Everybody is looking at you.¡¹

    Yes, I knew that. It happened all the time.

    There were even some children pointing at me, just like usual.

    ¡¸I guess your outfit is... not weird, but... not special, either... I guess, unique?¡¹

    She tried toe up with a suitable word to describe my outfit, but it didn¡¯t mean much as she mentioned everything else along the way.

    ¡¸Maybe they¡¯re looking at you. We don¡¯t really see many elves around these parts.¡¹

    ¡¸That can¡¯t be. No one has looked at me like this before.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t have to deny it so much. We all knew who everyone was really staring at. Yeah, this was just par for the course whenever I went to the capital.

    Compared to Crimonia, the capital was huge; there were a lot more people and only a handful knew who I was. It only made sense for people to keep staring at me here.

    ¡¸Ugh, this is quite embarrassing.¡¹

    Ruimin tried to keep to herself.

    They were only looking at me, so it was kind of pointless to hide behind me like this.

    If it was that bad, would it be better if she walked a distance away from me?

    She was feeling the stares because she was directly behind me, after all.

    I decided to pull the front of my Bear Hood down a bit, to block out the stares.

    In the past couple of months I had learned that the stares only bothered me if I let them get to me. I wanted to tell Ruimin that, but... it took me quite a while to reach that point.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, how much longer before we reach the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹

    ¡¸Just a bit longer.¡¹

    As we walked down the main road, a building that towered over the others came into our sight.

    ¡¸That big building over there is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    I pointed at the building with my Bear Hand. It was way way bigger than the building that housed the Crimonia¡¯s Adventurer Guild, as the number of adventurers and request was on apletely different level.

    ¡¸Big Sis is in there...¡¹

    Ruimin said, suddenly dashing towards the guild.

    ¡¸Wha... Ruimin, wait!¡¹

    I had to chase after her but she still beat me to the entrance. Once I got inside, saw Ruimin looking around restlessly.

    Suddenly, all eyes were on us.

    ¡¸Where is Big Sis?¡¹

    ¡¸Hold on a minute.¡¹

    I grabbed Ruimin¡¯s hand and lead her deeper inside. We were going to hold up traffic at the entrance if we stayed there.

    I could hear people whispering, ¡¸It¡¯s the bear¡¹, as we made our way towards the back.

    Of course, nobody dared toe close, though.

    Had the rumor of my one-sided duel at this guild becamemon knowledge?

    I was fine with it, as long as people left me alone.

    When I looked over at the receptionists¡¯ desk, the lines were empty since the morning rush had already ended. I took Ruimin to the desk.

    ¡¸Umm, can I ask you something?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, how may I help you?¡¹

    The receptionistdy answered me politely.

    Well, guild¡¯s staff must have also been informed about the incident I had caused here.

    ¡¸We want to meet with Guild Master Sanya-san. Could we speak with her now?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you have an appointment with her?¡¹

    ¡¸No, we don¡¯t, but could you tell her that Yuna wants to see her?¡¹

    Sanya-san owed me a favor, so she should agree to see me even without an appointment.

    ¡¸Please also tell her that her sister, Ruimin, hase to see her.¡¹

    The receptionist was surprised by Ruimin¡¯s statement.

    The nearby guild staff also looked at Ruimin in astonishment.

    Why was everybody so shocked to see her?

    ¡¸Please, I beg you. I really want to see Sanya-onee-chan.¡¹

    Ruimin said and took a deep bow.

    ¡¸I understand. I will notify her immediately, so please wait a moment.¡¹

    The receptionist left the desk and headed to the back.

    Would it have been better if we had made an appointment?

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t that easy to meet with the capital¡¯s guild master since she should be really busy?

    As I thought about it, the whispers of ¡¸bear¡¹ were reced by the nearby adventures¡¯ saying, ¡¸That¡¯s the guild master¡¯s sister.¡¹

    Ruimin started to panic as everyone¡¯s attention shifted to her.

    ¡¸W-what¡¯s happening?¡¹

    I really wished she stopped hiding behind me....

    ¡¸Everyone wants to know who Sanya-san¡¯s sister is, I guess.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, this is so embarrassing.¡¹

    Yeah, now that everyone was staring at her, she had to learn how to ignore it.

    As Ruimin covered her face in embarrassment, the door at the back flung open.

    ¡¸Ruimin!¡¹

    Sanya-san came out of the room in a rush.

    ¡¸Onee-chan!¡¹

    Sanya-san practically dashed over to Ruimin and embraced her.

    ¡¸How long has it been? Five years? You¡¯ve grown up so much.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan, it¡¯s been ten years.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, that long already?¡¹

    The two of themughed.

    I couldn¡¯t keep pace with these elf sisters; their perception of time waspletely different from mine.

    ¡¸Why did youe all the way to the capital, though?¡¹

    As Sanya-san asked that, she noticed all of the stares from around the hall. Both the adventurers and staff members were watching the scene unfold.

    ¡¸You lot, get back to work. Adventurers, stop wasting time and go ept some requests.¡¹

    She warned everyone around us then brought us into the guild master¡¯s office to escape from the prying eyes and ears.

    I somehow ended up entering with them. Was this okay? I didn¡¯t want to get in the way of their reunion.

    ¡¸Ruimin, it¡¯s been so long. By the way, may I ask why the two of you are together?¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at us.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because...¡¹

    Ruimin had trouble telling her.

    Well, she probably didn¡¯t want to mention the fact that she had passed out in front of my house, forcing me to take her in.

    ¡¸She got lost and ran into me, so I brought her here.¡¹

    I helped out Ruimin to save her the embarrassment.

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Sanya-san suspiciously eyed the squirming Ruimin.

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m really sorry that my little sister caused you trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸It was a coincidence, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡®I just happened to find her passed out in front of my house.¡¯ I added to myself.

    ¡¸So, why did youe to the capital? Did youe just to see me?¡¹

    ¡¸The barrier around the Elf Forest is getting weak, so the chief asked me to bring you back.¡¹

    ¡¸The barrier has gotten weaker?!¡¹

    Sanya-san raised her voice in surprise.

    The Elf Forest sounded like a forest full of mysteries, so it was understandable that a weakening barrier would be a big deal.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. There seems to be a tear in the barrier, so monsters are entering the forest. The chief wants you to help repair the barrier.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that, but I can¡¯t believe something was able to break through. It should have been fine for another hundred years or so.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you ask me, I have no idea how it happened. Either way, the barrier has gotten weaker, and more monsters are pouring in through the gap.¡¹

    I could get behind what Ruimin was saying. The barrier was supposed to hold for another hundred years, but if monsters started to flood in, that would mean the barrier must have considerably weakened.

    Still, if what Sanya-san said was true, did that mean there was a specific reason why the barrier had gotten weaker?

    In games and manga, this would be all a part of the viin¡¯s n to attack the Elf Vige. It was quitemon of have evil-doers destroy a vige¡¯s barrier and invade to steal their treasure.

    ¡¸Umm, can I ask something?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Does the barrier only let elves through?¡¹

    ¡¸No, other people can enter, too. The only thing it stops are monsters.¡¹

    Did that mean that only monsters with magic stones couldn¡¯t pass the barrier? This kind of ruined the chance of the viin breaking the barrier story.

    Still, if anybody could enter, then I could get in too, right? A forest vige full of elves was the highlight of any fantasy story. Could I apany them, maybe? This was a fantasy world, after all; I really wanted to visit the Elf Vige at least once.

    ¡¸Sigh. This is so troublesome. I have no other choice but to go.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you the only one who can fix it, Sanya-san?¡¹

    I somehow managed to hold back my urge to ask if I could tag along.

    ¡¸No, there are others that could. However, the barrier magic and the treasure used for it are passed down in the chief¡¯s family, and since the current chief is our grandfather... Not to mention that we need three people to control the barrier¡¯s power. So only our grandfather, father, and I can control it. Of course, Ruimin could do it, too, if she only had enough magical power.¡¹

    I wanted to try fixing the barrier, too, but it seemed to be a secret technique, which meant I couldn¡¯t help them.

    ¡¸Still, the Elf Vige is quite a distance from here.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it really far?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s in the neighboring country.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t understand when she just said ¡®the neighboring country¡¯. Just how far away was it?

    Well, Ruimin was able toe here by herself, but on the other hand, for her to pass out in front of my house, she must have worked very hard to make it all the way to the capital.

    ¡¸Ruimin, which inn are you staying at right now? Come stay at my house for the time being.¡¹

    ¡¸For the time being?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t leave immediately. I need to assign my tasks to the vice guild master andplete any unfinished work. I¡¯m the guild master, so I cannot cause trouble for anyone else here.¡¹

    Oh right, Sanya-san was the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild Master, so her workload must be huge, and she had to properly delegate her tasks to others before taking a leave. She was a working adult and took her responsibilities seriously.

    ¡¸So, where are you staying right now?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    Ruimin quickly nced at me.

    ¡¸Tell me honestly.¡¹

    Sanya-san began to study Ruimin with her eyes as if she already knew something was wrong.

    ¡¸I arrived at the capital yesterday, and Yuna-san let me stay at her house.¡¹

    Ruimin confessed.

    ¡¸Sigh, so that¡¯s how it is. Yuna-chan, I cannot thank you enough. This girl is aplete scatterbrain, so I was pretty worried when I heard she came her on her own. I want to do something to express my thanks, but as I said before, I have a lot of work to wrap up, so I¡¯ll give you my thanks after I return from the Elf Vige.¡¹

    Sanya-san said apologetically.

    ¡¸In that case, how about you just take me along to the Elf Vige?¡¹

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And so, we finally head off to the Elf Vige!

 Chapter 206 â€“ Bear-san is Heading to the Elf Village

    Chapter 206 ¨C Bear-san is Heading to the Elf Vige

    ¡¸Eh? Yuna-chan, you want to go to the Elf Vige?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but if outsiders aren¡¯t allowed or if I would get in the way...¡¹

    I remembered that elves were often quite territorial in games, manga, and anime. They would frequently attack any outsiders who entered theirnds. For example, if someone stepped into their forest, they would be met by an arrow shooting past their head. When they would look where it came from, they would notice an elf on top of a tree who would say something like, ¡¸Turn back now or the next arrow won¡¯t miss!¡¹If visiting the vige would cause trouble for the two of them, I would sadly have to give up.

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not the case. Elves are cautious of strangers, but it should be perfectly fine if we apany you. The problem is that the Elf Vige is quite deep in the mountains, so it¡¯s difficult for a normal person to get there.¡¹

    I had my Bear Suit, so I could walk as much as I wanted without getting tired. I also had my Bears, which had no trouble traversing through rough terrain. Yeah, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue for me.

    Hmm, hadn¡¯t I just been leaving everything to my Bearstely?

    ¡¸Also, sinceing with us won¡¯t be considered a part of an official escort request, there will be no reward, nor will it have any effect on your ranking.¡¹

    She looked quite surprised when I told her I didn¡¯t need any rewards. I only wanted to see the Elf Vige.

    ¡¸Although I¡¯m d you said that, Yuna-chan, I must tell you that there¡¯s nothing interesting to see in the vige.¡¹

    Of course an elf would think that, but to other people, an Elf Forest would surely be a mystical ce. There could be many interesting things such as hidden treasures or precious medicinal nts that could only be found there. In fantasy stories, elven viges were always depicted as important destinations, and now that I was in fantasy world myself, I just had to visit an elven vige at least once.

    Yeah, this would be my otherworldly sightseeing tour.

    Since Sanya-san gave me her permission, I wanted to immediately go and prepare for the trip. That was until Ruimin dashed my hopes.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, do you really n on bringing Yuna-san along with us?!¡¹

    Ruimin looked at Sanya-san in shock.

    So, Ruimin was against me travelling to the vige, huh.

    I really wanted her to be on board, though. She most likely just thought I would slow them down.

    ¡¸It¡¯s too far for her; she¡¯s still small.¡¹

    She shouldn¡¯t call me small when I was just about the same size as her, even in that certain area.

    Still, it seemed she was against the idea of me going since she was worried about my safety.

    ¡¸Ruimin, you do realize we are about the same height.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we may be the same size, but Yuna-san, you¡¯re not an elf. It would be too dangerous for you.¡¹

    I appreciated the fact that Ruimin was concerned about me, but she was just worrying needlessly here.

    ¡¸Too dangerous for Yuna-chan, huh.¡¹

    Sanya-san mumbled to herself and looked at me.

    Why did she look at me like that? Well, I did understand what she was implying, but still.

    For now, I needed to convince Ruimin to change her mind.

    ¡¸Ruimin, you don¡¯t have to worry so much. I¡¯m an adventurer, so I can protect myself.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re an adventurer?¡¹

    She looked at me with a doubting expression.

    It was the usual treatment; people found it hard to believe that a girl in a bear suit could be an adventurer.

    Sanya-san came to my rescue, however-

    ¡¸She may be wearing a weird outfit, but she is an excellent C rank adventurer and won¡¯t get in our way.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t argue against the ¡®weirdly dressed¡¯ part, but it still made me depressed. Couldn¡¯t she have put it a bit nicer?

    ¡¸Rank C... you¡¯re not fooling anyone, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not lying, though.¡¹

    What if I showed her my guild card?

    She might think it was fake, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the trip will be very long and full of danger. You won¡¯t be able to juste back in a few days time. Vicious monsters could attack you at any moment, plus it often rains in the mountains. And, it isn¡¯t just monsters... some humans might try to trick you along the road.¡¹

    Only now could I better understand the hardships Ruimin had gone through to get to the capital.

    I almost wanted to pat her head and tell her,¡¸You really worked hard, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    Although, I didn¡¯t see how it would be difficult for me as I could set up the Bear House for shelter from the rain and take down any monsters that came in my way. Of course, I also knew that some humans could be quite bad, but I would most likely simply outsmart them. I did notice a raise in pitch when she mentioned getting tricked by humans... Or, maybe it was just me.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re so worried, Ruimin, couldn¡¯t you protect Yuna-chan? You must have gotten stronger since west met.¡¹

    Sanya-san gave us her suggestion with a shadow of evil smile on her face.

    Ruimin just stared at me for a while, looking slightly concerned, and took her time to think before responding.

    ¡¸I understand, Onee-chan. I¡¯ll protect her, but promise me you will protect her on your way back.¡¹

    The mood had gotten kinda weird towards the end, but at least Ruimin agreed to me apanying them to the vige.

    Although I was happy Ruimin was concerned about me, I was far more worried about her. Ever since I found her passed out in front of my house, I had an inkling that she was a bit of an airhead. She was worried about me, but to me it seems that her going by herself was a much worse of an idea.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s set a date of departure, then.¡¹

    Sanya-san looked through everything she had to take care of and proposed a date.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, how do you n on getting there? Are we going by carriage?¡¹

    Carriages were a pain. Not to mention that they were slow. We should at least go by horseback, but I figured Ruimin probably suggested a carriage for my sake.

    ¡¸Ruimin, how did you get here?¡¹

    ¡¸I got partway by stagecoach then walked the rest.¡¹

    Stagecoaches were a means of travel between towns, and you had to pay a fee to travel to a specific destination.

    They would be the equivalent of trains or buses in my former world.

    Here, however, you could also pay extra for guards; I saw such requests on the guild boards sometimes. They were quite rare, though, as they were most often long term.

    ¡¸That would be an option, but... Yuna-chan, can I leave transportation to you?¡¹

    Sanya-san looked a little worried and asked me to handle it instead.

    Although she didn¡¯t say anything, she seemed to be hinting towards using Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Because I had no problem with that, I simply nodded.

    This meant the trip would be a lot faster as my Bears outstretched the carriage by miles.

    Having decided the date and transportation method, we made a promise to meet up at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild on the day of departure.

    Done with the conversation, I immediately went back to Crimonia to tell Fina and Terumi-san that I would be away for a while.

    ¡¸Be careful, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸If anything happens, contact me through your Bear Phone, okay?¡¹

    I was always worried about Fina and the others, so like usual, I told her to contact me if anything urred, so that I could immediately return using my Bear Gate.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you are very strong, and you have Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, but try to stay safe ande home soon, okay? The children get worried about you when you don¡¯t show up for a while. Also, Fina and Shuri get lonely easily.¡¹

    I promised Terumi-san that I woulde back soon.

    I didn¡¯t n on staying in the Elf Vige for long, anyway.

    I was really happy that I had people who worried about me in this world. I had never experienced this feeling in my former world.

    If there was any trouble, I would always just set up the Bear Gate at the vige and return immediately.

    The only problem was that I would have to somehow exin the door to Sanya-san and Ruimin...

    On the day of departure, I left for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild just as the sun was just beginning to rise. Ugh, I was so sleepy. I didn¡¯t think it would be necessary to leave this early, but they had told me it was so we could beat the morning rush at the gates.

    Now that I thought about it, the gates at the capital were always crowded.

    I stifled a yawn.

    Well, leaving early wasn¡¯t so bad; the streets were nearly deserted, so there weren¡¯t any people staring or point at me for being a ¡®weird, bear-suit-wearing girl¡¯.

    There were still some people walking about who got surprised upon seeing me, but I just ignored them, as usual.

    When I arrived at the front of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Sanya-san and Ruimin were already waiting for me there.

    ¡¸Goo... good morning¡¹

    I had idently yawned while greeting them.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you look sleepy.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I had to wake up so early this morning.¡¹

    Normally, I would have slept for another hour or two.

    I didn¡¯t understand why we couldn¡¯t leaveter in the day; it wasn¡¯t like we were in a rush to get there. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could travel at a really high pace, so it shouldn¡¯t take us too long to get there. Also, if we ever needed to return to the capital, I could always just pull up my Bear Gate. I could understand why someone like Fina had to wake up so early due to her dismantling job, but why did I have to?

    ¡¸You two don¡¯t seem to be sleepy at all, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re elves, so it¡¯s natural for us to wake up at sunrise.¡¹

    Ruimin immediately shut down Sanya-san¡¯s deration.

    ¡¸What are you saying, Onee-chan!? If I didn¡¯t wake you up, you would still be sleeping right now. No matter how many times I tried to get you out of bed, you just wouldn¡¯t wake up. Also, weren¡¯t you yawning just a minute ago?¡¹

    She exposed her.

    That meant I could also yawn all I wanted, right?

    I stopped holding back and let out another yawn.

    I would take a nap on top of Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear once we got out of here.

    ¡¸Today was a special asion! I had to stay upte to finish my work yesterday, so I had a hard time waking up in the morning. It¡¯s not like I normally wake up sote.¡¹

    So, she was yawning for a different reason, then.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are we traveling by horse or carriage?¡¹

    Ruimin asked me out of the blue.

    Emm, was I expected to have prepared some form of special transportation to get us out of the city?

    Both Sanya-san and I looked at Ruimin with puzzled faces.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t Onee-chan ask you to take care of transportation the other day? I had thought that you were going to arrange us a carriage or at least some horses. Could it be that I was wrong? Did you maybe get us a stagecoach instead?¡¹

    I nced at Sanya-san, I saw she was giggling to herself.

    It looked like she hadn¡¯t told Ruimin about my Bears. She must like to tease her little sister every so often.

    ¡¸Ruimin, no need to worry. Yuna-chan has a way for us to get to the Elf Vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    She said and looked at me, so I nodded.

    I did have a mode of transportation, after all.

    ¡¸Should we head out, then?¡¹

    Having nothing else to discuss, we headed to the gates.

    Ruimin didn¡¯t seem entirely convinced, though.

    Author¡¯s note:

    We finally depart in the next chapter!

 Chapter 207 â€“ Bear-san Departs for the Elf Village

    Chapter 207 ¨C Bear-san Departs for the Elf Vige

    Author¡¯s note:

    I made a mistake. (TL Note: probably a typo that has long since been fixed.)

    We passed through the gates together with some merchants and carriages. I noticed that most of the leaving people had at least some sort of transport.

    ¡¸Umm, we aren¡¯t going to walk all the way there, are we?¡¹

    Ruimin asked with concern. Well, I understood where it wasing from. She must have started to worry when we just walked out the gates without getting a ride or giving any further exnations. We walked for a while before finding a deserted spot.

    ¡¸Here should be fine, right?¡¹

    I stretched out my arms and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸W-w-what are those?!¡¹

    Ruimin shouted.

    ¡¸They¡¯re Yuna-chan¡¯s summoned beasts.¡¹

    For some reason, Sanya-san was the one who boasted about them. She did realize they were my summoned beasts right?

    ¡¸They are Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear; you¡¯ve already met them both, remember?¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan? But, they were much smaller before.¡¹

    Ruimin said while gesturing how small they were in their cub forms with her hands.

    ¡¸Those are their cub forms.¡¹

    I said and changed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into their cub forms. And then, Sanya-san was the one let out a shocked cry.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! What are these small bears?!¡¹

    Sanya-san cried out with her eyes wide-open in surprise. It seemed like she had never seen them in their cub forms before.

    ¡¸Umm, just like I said just a moment ago, they are my summoned beasts: Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Earlier, they were in their regr form, but they can also change into a cub-sized versions of themselves.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸I had no idea.¡¹

    They each picked up a Bear and held it tight. The sisters exhibited surprisingly simr behavior when I observed them closer. I got them to let my Bears go so I could return them to their normal size.

    ¡¸How mysterious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it really is.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then, can the two of you get on Swaying Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you mean we¡¯re going to ride them?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re faster than horses and way morefortable, too.¡¹

    Sanya-san and Ruimin slowly approached Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸This will be my first time riding a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, you wouldn¡¯t be able to ride one, you know.¡¹

    Swaying Bear lowered its back, letting Ruimin and Sanya-san climb onto it.

    ¡¸Umm, Swaying Bear-chan, please take care of us.¡¹

    I got on Hugging Bear, and gently patted it.

    ¡¸Thanks for doing this, like always.¡¹

    Hugging Bear cried softly in response.

    ¡¸I know you two are probably a bit nervous, but please don¡¯t do anything rash while on top of it. Ready to go?¡¹

    And so, we departed for the Elf Vige.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going really fast.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it okay for Swaying Bear-chan to run at such high speed?¡¹

    Ruimin asked, clearly worried about Swaying Bear. We were only going a little bit faster than we would on horseback, though... The bears could go even faster, but since we would be travelling for quite a while, lowering their speed should help conserve their stamina, which would also allow them to run longer than a horse. Plus, I really didn¡¯t want to burden them too much, so I told them to take it easy. Besides, I wasn¡¯t quite sure how much of my Bear¡¯s strength should I reveal.

    ¡¸We can take a break on the way if you are worried too much. Sanya-san, we¡¯re still heading to Raruuze first, right?¡¹

    We had discussed where we would head first just yesterday. I hadn¡¯t really grasped how far away the ce was, but I figured it would be fine since Sanya-san and Ruimin could guide me. I only provided the method of transportation; the rest of the journey nning was up to them.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, the city is right next to the border with Sorzonark, the country we are heading to. ¡¹

    Based on Sanya-san¡¯s additional exnation, there were quite a few small towns and viges between the capital and Raruuze, but whether we would stop at any of them during our trip would depend on the situation. I really wanted to make a map of the whole area, but if we were only going to stop by the city... Not to mention the fact, because of my Bear Suit, I couldn¡¯t just simply go sightseeing without getting bothered...

    Well, it would be fine if I was traveling by myself, but I had Sanya-san and Ruimin with me, and I really didn¡¯t want to trouble them.

    I was still quite sleepy since we headed out so early in the morning. The sky was clear, and the sunlight hitting my face felt very nice, which made it the perfect time to take a nap. I just wanted to bury my face in Hugging Bear¡¯s fur, but had to respond to the two chatting next to me.

    ¡¸Anyway, why haven¡¯t I ever hear about your bears¡¯ cub forms before?¡¹

    ¡¸And you didn¡¯t tell me they could turn big, either.¡¹

    The two of them were criticizing me, each for slightly different reason. It wasn¡¯t like I was trying to hide it from them; I just didn¡¯t like to needlessly spread the information around, and there hadn¡¯t been a good opportunity to tell them.

    ¡¸Still, they are very cute.¡¹

    Ruimin said and patted Swaying Bear¡¯s head. She didn¡¯t look afraid of it at all.

    ¡¸Now that I think about it, you weren¡¯t afraid at all when you saw the Bears in their adult forms.¡¹

    Which was a good thing, of course. Being afraid of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would have made them sad.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a cute family of bears in the Elf Forest, so that¡¯s probably why I wasn¡¯t afraid of them.¡¹

    ¡¸They don¡¯t try to attack people?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re friendly bears, so they don¡¯t attack us. And even if they did, we are strong enough to easily fend them off.¡¹

    That was a relief to hear. I was d she didn¡¯t find my bears scary, although I couldn¡¯t say the same for other bears. Normal bears were scary, honestly. My Bears were fine, of course, as I had spent so much time with them and knew they weren¡¯t scary at all.

    Our trip proceeded smoothly. Everytime we saw someone else on the road, we left the path for a while so that we wouldn¡¯t scare them or their horses, which could go out of control if they saw my Bears. We also took breaks here and there, making sure to switch Bears every time.

    ¡¸We¡¯re switching them because they would get jealous otherwise? How cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. They get very upset and even stop looking at me. Appeasing them when it happens is a real chore.¡¹

    Was what I told them, but honestly, all I had to do was cuddle up in bed overnight with them, and they would be back to normal the next morning. Still, I never wanted to upset them on purpose, so switching the Bears had bepletely natural by now. As the sun began to set, Sanya-san proposed that we should stop for the day.

    ¡¸If Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan keep going at this rate, we should be able to reach a vige today.¡¹

    ¡¸Are we going to spend the night there?¡¹

    Ruimin asked. A vige, huh? I didn¡¯t mind, but was it really a good idea?

    ¡¸There is still quite a distance, though. If you want to keep going, that¡¯s fine with me, but it might just be better to camp out around here somewhere. What do you two think?¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could easily keep running and get us to the vige. However, I was thankful that Sanya-san was being considerate of my Bears. Even though they were summoned beasts, she wouldn¡¯t force them to push themselves for us.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with camping out. I don¡¯t want to make Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan overwork themselves. We¡¯ve covered such arge distance in just one day already; they¡¯re simply amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸I agree. I didn¡¯t think we would have make it this far already. Do they ever run out of stamina?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked and looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear warmly. I honestly didn¡¯t know what they were fully capable of; it was something I could only find out if I ever pushed them that far. Of course, I had no intention of ever doing that just for the sake of testing it. That was why we always took breaks even though the Bears didn¡¯t look tired in the slightest, and why I also made sure not to make them run for long periods of time at their max speed.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you okay with camping out, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I don¡¯t mind. Could we maybe do it there?¡¹

    I said and pointed to an area off to the side of the road where several trees would block people from seeing us. Nobody would notice us as long as they explicitly didn¡¯t approach that area. I didn¡¯t know how long it would take us to reach the Elf Vige, but since we would be forced to camp out eventually, it would be better if they learn about the Bear House sooner thanter.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bit off the main road, but we would be out of sight because of the tree cover.¡¹

    They agreed without any questions as to why I wanted cover.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, Ruimin, there¡¯s something I have to tell you two.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸I want you to keep quiet about what I¡¯m about to take out.¡¹

    ¡¸Why shouldn¡¯t we tell others about it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not really sure why myself but please just don¡¯t tell anybody about it.¡¹

    Ruimin agreed immediately, so I looked over at Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Okay... I won¡¯t tell anybody.¡¹

    She said a bit more reluctantly, but that was enough for me, so I proceeded to take out the Bear House.

    ¡¸A bear?!¡¹

    ¡¸A house?¡¹

    The things they noticed were different, but they were both clearly shocked at the sight of my Bear House.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, may I ask you what this is?¡¹

    Sanya-san said and pointed at the Bear House while looking at me intensely.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a house.¡¹

    Not much else I could say.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, is it possible for the people at the capital to bring an entire house with them?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally, that¡¯s impossible, but Yuna-chan¡¯s item bag is an ancient relic. Maybe that¡¯s why it¡¯s possible for her?¡¹

    Oh, that was a setting I hadpletely forgotten about.

    ¡¸Her item bag is an ancient relic?¡¹

    Ruimin looked at Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, the Bear House, my Bear Hands, then finally at me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, just who are you?¡¹

    She popped the question which was very difficult to answer.

    ¡¸An adventurer that likes bears, I guess.¡¹

    I dodged the question with that, then urged the two of them to head inside the house. Ruimin didn¡¯t seem convinced but luckily didn¡¯t push the issue further.

    AN:

    Volume 2 of my book is already being sold in stores. If you have time, please take a look.

    Thank You.

 Chapter 208 â€“ Bear-san Takes a Bath with the Elf Sisters

    Bear-san Takes a Bath with the Elf Sisters

    As we entered the Bear House, the two elf sisters looked around restlessly.

    I made sure to have them take their shoes off before entering, of course.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re not going to take yours off?¡¹

    ¡¸They don¡¯t get dirty, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    I showed them the soles of the Bear-san Shoes.

    ¡¸Oh, they really are clean.¡¹

    ¡¸Go ahead and find a ce to sit while I prepare dinner.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll help you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, me too.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. You two feel free to rx.¡¹

    I politely declined their offers to help. Before I started to prepare the food, however, I first went to the bathroom to prepare the bath, so we could get in right after diner.

    I was looking forward to sleeping in my bed after a nice, warm bath.

    When I was done, I went to the kitchen and prepared us a simple dinner.

    It was just the usual: Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s soup. This time around, I also chopped up some vegetables to go with it.

    Rice would be quite nice, too, but taking out bread was just simpler.

    ¡¸This is delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, the soup is so nice and warm.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s plenty more, so let me know if you want seconds.¡¹

    ¡¸I never would have imagined that we would be able to eat dinner in a house when camping outside.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and looked around the room.

    ¡¸Even if it rains, we can rest without having to worry about getting wet at all.¡¹

    Ruimin said earnestly, which sadly only made me imagine her getting drenched by rain during her trip to the capital.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have to keep watch, either.¡¹

    Ruimin continued her voice sounding even happier now.

    I wouldn¡¯t want to keep watch all night, either, so I could understand how she felt.

    Heck, just thinking about it made me sleepy.

    ¡¸Even though we¡¯re in a house, we still need to keep watch. Thieves could attack while we sleep.¡¹

    Ruimin¡¯s face darkened when Sanya-san said that.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about keeping watch; these two will do it for us.¡¹

    I said and looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, curled up by my feet.

    ¡¸Those two?¡¹

    ¡¸They will alert me if there are dangers nearby.¡¹

    The Bears realized I was talking about them, so they looked up and cried out softly.

    ¡¸Wow, these summoned beasts of yours really are amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸They really are.¡¹

    The elf sisters looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with admiration, inciting another happy cry from them.

    ¡¸Anyway, because they are here, we can rest easy.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, won¡¯t we need to stop by a town or vige eventually, to get supplies?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked me.

    Well, I had plenty of food in my Bear Box, and we even had a bath here. We should have everything we needed for our trip, so there wasn¡¯t really a reason for us to purposely stop at any towns or viges.

    With our bellies full, we moved to the living room, where we just rxed for a bit. Ruimin eventually began to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while Sanya-san and I simply watched.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-chan, where can we sleep? I don¡¯t mind sleeping right here in the living room.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s a guest bedroom, so you can sleep there. Before we head of to bed, though, would you like to take a bath?¡¹

    ¡¸A bath?!¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that elves don¡¯t take baths...?¡¹

    Was my image of elves spending their time ying around in cold water wrong?

    Maybe they didn¡¯t even have to take baths?

    ¡¸We do, but a bath? Here?¡¹

    Oh, so they did take them.

    ¡¸Yeah, here. I already prepared it for you, so please take it before you head to bed.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really telling me there¡¯s a bath in this house?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes...¡¹

    Because they seemed so skeptical, I guided the elf sisters to the bathroom.

    ¡¸Feel free to use the towels over there. I have also prepared some clothes you two can wear while you sleep, so the bedsheets don¡¯t get dirty too quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Bedsheets?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, bedsheets. To go over a bed you sleep on?¡¹

    I irritably sharedmon sense with them, but Sanya-san and Ruimin still wore troubled expressions.

    ¡¸May I say something, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure...¡¹

    ¡¸You reallyckmon sense.¡¹

    Apparently, mymon senseckedmon sense.

    Wait, that made no sense at all.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, is this normal for people in the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Not in the slightest.¡¹

    It was normal... Who was reallycking themon sense here, huh?

    ¡¸Anyway, just think of the bath as a way to remove your fatigue from this trip. It¡¯srge enough for both of you to fit in at once.¡¹

    I had taken a bath together with both Fina and Noa, and we had no problems, so there should be plenty of room for the two of them.

    ¡¸Seems like even all three of us could fit easily. Why don¡¯t you join us, Yuna-chan, so we can chat?¡¹

    Sanya-san suggested after peeking into the bathing area.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take one after you two are done.¡¹

    ¡¸No, we can¡¯t have that. If we are going to take separate baths, then we should be the ones to go after you. We are the guests here, after all. You were kind enough to let us stay in this house and even cook us dinner. ¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-san¡¯s right. I¡¯ll wash your back for you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸No, you don¡¯t have to.¡¹

    Now even Ruimin was trying to convince me.

    I just wanted to bathe on my own today, but was shot down spectacrly and ended up going in with them.

    As expected of an elf, Sanya-san had a beautiful body. Her breasts were by no means huge, but she had a nice, slim figure. I could see no wrinkles on her skin, and her long, light green hair justpleted the perfect picture. She had the feel of an adult woman.

    While Ruimin¡¯s body more closely resembled that of a child, her waist was still way slimmer than mine. At least the size of her breasts were the same... Anyways, looking at how slim these elf sisters were, I wondered, was it even possible for elves to get fat? I had never seen a fat elf in any manga or games.

    I stopped myself from staring at them and undressed as well.

    I felt Ruimin¡¯s gaze on me, but I simply ignored it.

    ¡¸You have beautiful hair, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Your hair is really pretty too, Ruimin.¡¹

    Her hair was very simr to that of Sanya-san. As expected of sisters, huh.

    Putting away my clothes, I noticed that Ruimin was already ready, while Sanya-san was still taking off a bracelet from her wrist. The celete had a beautiful green gem in it. As expected of an adult woman; she wore a shining, ornate jewelry.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m heading in first.¡¹

    Ruimin said and started to rushed towards the bathing area stark naked, but was suddenly grabbed by the arm by Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Ruimin, wait a second.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Onee-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸What happened to your bracelet?¡¹

    As soon as Sanya-san asked Ruimin about her bracelet, her facial expression changed.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t notice it until now, but you haven¡¯t been wearing it.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because...¡¹

    Ruimin hesitated.

    Maybe Sanya-san was talking about a bracelet simr to the one she wore.

    ¡¸What happened to your bracelet?!¡¹

    ¡¸That hurts, onee-chan.¡¹

    The atmosphere suddenly took a serious turn.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really understand what¡¯s going on, but how about we head into the bath first?¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t feelfortable having two girls argue in the changing room, stark naked.

    Sanya-san begrudgingly epted my request and let go of Ruimin¡¯s arm.

    As we started to wash ourselves, Sanya-san kept ring at Ruimin, causing her to keep to herself as she washed up.

    She really must be angry about Ruimin not wearing the bracelet. Based on Ruimin¡¯s reaction, she probably lost it.

    ¡¸How long are you going to wash yourself for, Ruimin? Hurry up ande over here so you can exin yourself.¡¹

    Sanya-san called out to Ruimin who still hadn¡¯t entered the bathtub.

    Riumin took slowly lowered herself inside, lookingpletely terrified.

    ¡¸Alright, exin! Why aren¡¯t you wearing your bracelet?¡¹

    ¡¸Because I sold it...¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin! Do you know just how important that bracelet is for us elves?!¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    Ruimin apologized sincerely.

    ¡¸Exin to me exactly what had happened.¡¹

    Ruimin started to exin. On her way to the capital, she had run out of money.

    While she had been looking for a way to earn some, a female adventurer called out to her and offered her a job.

    ¡¸What kind of a job?¡¹

    ¡¸She said it was a job that involved handling valuable and delicate wares.¡¹

    Ruimin had identally torn a painting, and from that, I could understand how the rest of it went down.

    ¡¸I had no money to repay them for the torn painting.¡¹

    ¡¸So you had to sell your bracelet.¡¹

    Ruimin nodded and hugged her knees, which somehow randomly reminded me of having to sit out a game in a school gym.

    Sanya-san sighed.

    ¡¸Haa, I get it. Still, we need to get it back, then.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the money...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I have enough to pay for it. Leave it to your Onee-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    It looked like the whole thing would warp up nicely, and we wouldn¡¯t have to continue traveling in a hostile mood. What a relief.

    ¡¸Is that bracelet really important?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s important for our vige. That bracelet holds a very valuable gemstone, which is given to us by our parents when we be adults.¡¹

    So, it was very important...

    ¡¸The stone is imbued with the parents¡¯ magical energy all the way until their child bes an adult. ¡¹

    So, when a child was born, their parents would get a stone for them and then pass it to them once they grew up in form of a bracelet.

    From what I understood, it didn¡¯t even have to be a bracelet.

    Some chose to make it into a ne or a hairpiece.

    Males would mostly get bracelets, though.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a very important item that the parents give to their children to wish for their safety once they start their adult lives. Do you realize what you did by giving it away?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Sigh. That¡¯s enough for now, I guess... I know you didn¡¯t sell it on purpose. I just forgot how clumsy you are during the time we were apart.¡¹

    Bubble bubble.

    Ruimin submerged half her face into the water, making bubbles with her mouth.

    ¡¸I just wish you would have told me immediately instead of keeping quiet about it.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and gently put her hand on Ruimin¡¯s head.

    ¡¸I get that it has a lot of sentimental value to you elves, but how much is it even worth to others?¡¹

    From what I had heard so far, it didn¡¯t seem like it would be very valuable to someone else.

    Something that was very valuable to an individual or a family, could easily be worth nothing to other people.

    So, even if it was used aspensation, there would be no point in someone taking the bracelet if they couldn¡¯t sell it, and it would matter if the painting was just pricey, or really expensive.

    ¡¸The wearer gains divine blessing of the wind.¡¹

    ¡¸Divine blessing of the wind?¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, wearing the bracelet will strengthen one¡¯s wind magic. If they knew about that effect, then they would definitely want it.¡¹

    Oh, so it was a power up item.

    Even I kind of wanted one.

    Still, with my Bear Suit, wouldn¡¯t it be pointless?

    Yeah, my Bear Suit was strong enough as it was. I probably would have loved to get it if I were still in the game, though.

    With elf sisters now made up, we got out of the bath.

    Should I change into the White Bear? Nah. It¡¯s better to stay as the ck Bear; it would be a pain to exin White Bear to them. They had asked enough questions already.

    After we finished drying our hair, I took the two of them to their bedroom. It was the same one I had let Cliff stay in before. I had washed all the sheets and cleaned the room, so it should be like he was never here.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a bed.¡¹

    ¡¸Can we really use this room?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, enjoy.¡¹

    I said and gestured them inside.

    ¡¸Traveling on bears, which also keep guard for us, a house, warm food, a warm bath, and even beds. I really don¡¯t know who¡¯s the actual guide here.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t get to the Elf Vige on my own, though. I needed someone to guide me there.

    ¡¸If any monsters cross our path, I will definitely protect you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Sanya-san smiled as she watched Ruimin punch the air with her fists.

    Wait... Would I have to somehow get us in situation where Ruimin could keep her promise?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Only now it really feels like the elf arc has actually begun.

    The e-book being published was an addition to the announcement about the second volume, so I wanted to announce it here.

 Chapter 209 â€“ Bear-san Gets Rained On

    Chapter 209 ¨C Bear-san Gets Rained On

    Since we would be resuming ou trip early in the morning, I instructed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to wake me up so that I wouldn¡¯t oversleep.

    At least I didn¡¯t have any distractions like games or manga to keep me up all night, so I was able to go to bed early. If nothing happened, I might even be able to wake up on my own.

    The next morning, the bears woke me up by lightly tapping my face with their paws. I thanked them and went down to the first floor.

    ¡¸Morning, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Good morning, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Sanya-san and Ruimin were already waiting for me by the table.

    ¡¸You¡¯re both up early.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Ruimin woke me up. We prepared some breakfast, but it won¡¯t be as delicious as what you served us yesterday.¡¹

    They had prepared enough bread and drinks for the three of us.

    I thanked them, then joined them by the table.

    ¡¸Did you two sleep well?¡¹

    ¡¸We did. There¡¯s no way we wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep well on such afortable bed.¡¹

    ¡¸The bed was very soft and smelled nice.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d I aired it out, then.¡¹

    We then continued to chat as we ate the bread.

    The bread wasn¡¯t as good as Morin-san¡¯s, though. Well, it wasn¡¯t like it was bad, but... Morin-san¡¯s was just hard to beat.

    With our bellies full, we resumed our journey to the Elf Vige.

    Our first stop would still be Raruuze, which was also conveniently the ce where Ruimin had identally torn the painting and had to sell her bracelet to pay it off.

    ¡¸Hmm, before we talk to the merchant you sold the bracelet to, maybe we should talk to to the adventurers who gave you the job. They could offer us more info on the ruined painting.¡¹

    ¡¸Talk to the adventurers?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We might learn something that¡¯ll make it easier to negotiate with the merchant.¡¹

    Sanya-san brought up a topic midway.

    ¡¸Well, they are a female-only party, and their leader is called Miranda. They really helped me out by offering me the job when I was stuck with no money. They¡¯re all nice people.¡¹

    Ruimin talked about the adventurers with a smile on her face.

    ¡¸Still, my mistake caused them a lot of trouble...¡¹

    ¡¸What exactly was the job again?¡¹

    The only thing we knew was that she had identally destroyed a painting as Sanya-san didn¡¯t pry further.

    ¡¸I had to clean at a shop that sold things like artworks, ornate vases, jewelries, and other ornaments.¡¹

    So, it was a task that required physicalbour, but the goods also needed to be treated gently. It made sense for it only to be avable for female adventurers.

    Still, when Ruimin had been cleaning, she managed to identally ruin a painting.

    Could it be that those adventurers were working actually with the merchant and simply conned her out of her bracelet?

    Yeah, they could have noticed her bracelet beforehand and tricked her into destroying what was actually just a cheap painting. It was something that quitemonly happened in manga and light novels.

    Still, I had no evidence of this being the case while Rumin also seemed to trust the adventurers.

    It was more likely that she just sold the bracelet because she has no other way to repay them.

    While I was d that she didn¡¯t have to sell her own body, I still couldn¡¯t get rid of the feeling they might have been aiming for her bracelet from the very beginning. Sanya-san had said that those who knew how the bracelet worked should also have known about its true value, after all.

    Hmm. I really must have read too much manga and yed too many games to think like this.

    ¡¸What about the merchant, then? Did he seem like someone who would give the bracelet back if we gave him the money?¡¹

    ¡¸I think so...¡¹

    So, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues in getting it back.

    ¡¸Still, if it¡¯s such a valuable bracelet, there must be a lot of people who would want it...¡¹

    That would be a problem, especially if the merchant had already sold it.

    ¡¸We can only hope that it hasn¡¯t been sold yet.¡¹

    Right now, all we could do was hope for the best and hurry to Raruuze.

    Also, even if it had already been sold, we could still try to buy it back from whoever bought it.

    Hmm. If the merchant refused our money, would the knife which Eleanora-san had given mee in handy?

    It had the seal of the Foschuroze family on it, so if they didn¡¯t return the bracelet to us, they would have this and that happen to them. Would it be okay to use it in this situation?

    I feared that the more I used it, the more karma I¡¯d build up.

    Our journey proceeded smoothly in the following days.

    Thanks to the Bear House, we were about to avoid any dwellings. ording to Sanya-san, we would reach Raruuze within a day.

    Still, the clouds up ahead didn¡¯t look too good. They were much darker than the ones above us.

    I wasn¡¯t a weatherman, but even I could tell that there would be rain up ahead.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that we¡¯ll be able to reach the city today.¡¹

    We got this far without it ever raining, so we couldn¡¯t reallyin.

    Obviously, even my Bear Suit couldn¡¯t help me overpower nature itself and change the weather, so we would just have to deal with it.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, what should we do?¡¹

    Slowly, raindrops began to trickle down from the sky. The droplets just bounced off my Bear Suit though, so I stayed dry.

    Taking another look at the sky, I realized it would only be a matter of time before it began pouring.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can you bring out your house?¡¹

    Sanya-san requested we use the Bear House as shelter to get away from the rain.

    I agreed, of course.

    I didn¡¯t want the Bears to run through the rain and honestly didn¡¯t feel like running through it myself.

    We quickly started to look for a secluded ce to take out the Bear House before the rain got worse.

    ¡¸There. That should be a good spot.¡¹

    I took out the Bear House behind some trees, and we rushed inside.

    ¡¸Looks like we just made it.¡¹

    We managed to get inside just before it started to really pour down.

    The two elf sisters were a little wet, of course, while my Bears and I werepletely fine.

    ¡¸This house is really useful.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Normally, we¡¯d be soaked by now.¡¹

    ¡¸And, even if we found a good tree to hide under, this heavy rain would surely get through. It will also probably get windy soon, which wouldn¡¯t help.¡¹

    ¡¸I hope it stops raining soon, though.¡¹

    It was indeed now raining quite heavily outside.

    They would have been soaked if we had went in just a minuteter.

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing we can do about it. You saw how dark those clouds were, so we will probably have to stay inside for a while.¡¹

    As the elf sisters continued to chat, I decided to serve us some tea.

    With how dark the clouds overhead were, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to travel any further today.

    Hopefully, the rain would at least stop by tomorrow.

    Sanya-san said we shouldn¡¯t force ourselves to continue on in the rain but rather spend the rest of the day rxing.

    In a blink of an eye, the elf sisters sat down and then started an energetic conversation between then.

    They hadn¡¯t talked in such a long time, so they still had a lot they wanted to catch up on. It was nice they had gotten this opportunity to sit down and catch up in peace, rather than on top of my Bears. I told them I would be heading up to my room to rest and took the bears with me.

    After entering my room, I dove straight into bed, with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear following suit.

    Taking a nap with the Bears would be great, but I remembered I had something I wanted to do, and instead sat down on my chair. I then took some thick paper I had prepared earlier and started drawing ying cards.

    For the card suits, I decided to use the four elements of this world: fire, water, wind, and earth.

    The problem I had was deciding what to use for the Jack, Queen and King. I thought of using His Majesty or Cliff for the King, but that felt a bit boring and could cause issuester on, so I decided against it.

    The only other thing I could think of was ¡¸Bears¡¹.

    I would be making the cards to y with the children at the orphanage or with Fina, after all, so drawing Bears would be better than drawing real people. No matter how I looked at it, the Bears seemed like the best idea, so I started drawing; a Bear on the each side of the King, Queen, and Jack cards. This was a great way to spend a rainy day.

    For the Kings, I added a crown on top of their heads; for the Queens, I drew Bears in dresses; and for Jacks, I had the Bears hold swords.

    The Jokers would have a Bear as well, of course.

    The backs of the cards were still nk, but I decided it would be easier to print a design. I began to make a bear-print design. I was so concentrated on the work that I almost didn¡¯t notice something hit my back. It was Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    Before Swaying Bear could reply, I realized there was somebody at the door.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are you in there? Are you sleeping, perchance? I¡¯m going to open the door, okay?¡¹

    The door opened before I could respond, and Ruimin entered the room.

    ¡¸Ruimin, it there something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why didn¡¯t you respond? Didn¡¯t you hear me knocking?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I was too focused on my work and didn¡¯t notice.¡¹

    I collected the cards that were scattered on the table and put them into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸So, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    I asked her again.

    ¡¸What will we have for dinner tonight?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?! Is it already thatte?¡¹

    I looked outside and saw that it was already pitch ck. Well, that could be partly due to the heavy clouds as it was still raining, but it should be gettingte anyway. At this rate, it seemed like it would be raining until tomorrow morning.

    Ruimin and I headed downstairs, with the Bears following closely behind.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, were you asleep?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I was awake, working on something. Anyway, I¡¯m going to prepare dinner right away.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you again.¡¹

    For thest few days, I had been preparing dinner, and in exchange, Sanya-san and Ruimin had been preparing breakfast.

    I quickly threw together some simple dishes and served it to them.

    We ate, and then took some time to rest our bellies.

    After a minute of rxing, Sanya-san took a quick look at the situation outside.

    ¡¸With all this rain, even if we depart and make it to Raruuze tomorrow, we will have to wait there for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I guess I didn¡¯t mention this before: Raruuze City has arge river, and to get to the neighboring country, we need to get a boat. So, even after the rain stops, none of the boats will be able to depart for a while.¡¹

    Yeah, this was the first time hearing about it.

    A river, huh?

    Rivers could get dangerous when there were heavy downpours. The currents could get too rapid to get across, so there was nothing we could do about it.

    Sanya-san continued to tell me more about Raruuze as we drank some tea.

    Alongside therge river, there were also many canals splitting off while the river itself acted as a border that separated the two countries. So Sorzonak was directly across the river, huh. And that was why a boat was necessary to get there.

    On the opposite side of the river, there was another city, which grew thanks to trading with Raruuze.

    Just listening to Sanya-san¡¯s exnation made me all excited. It sounded like there would be many different goodies in this area.

    I decided to ce a Bear Gate somewhere around there if I found a good spot.

    ¡¸Ruimin, did you also take a boat on your way to the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I did. It was a huge boat. It was able to carry many horse carriages at once.¡¹

    It sounded like they weren¡¯t just the simple ferryboats I had imagined, but actual ships.

    I had ridden a boat out to sea before, but it was only a small one, so I looked forward to riding a big transport ship.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    We will resume the story of getting back the bracelet in the next chapter.

 Chapter 210 â€“ Bear-san Arrives at Raruuze

    Chapter 210 ¨C Bear-san Arrives at Raruuze

    The next day, I woke up to a sun shining through the window. Thepletely clear sky made yesterday¡¯s heavy rain seem like a dream. We should be able to depart easily.

    We quickly ate our breakfast and set out for Raruuze.

    Yesterday, our enemy was the rain, but today, it was the road. It was full of puddles, and some areas were even in such a poor state that a carriage couldn¡¯t pass them. Luckily, my Bears didn¡¯t have much of a problem. They walked when the road got really bad and ran the rest of the way. Over time, their feet got really dirty. Even though they would be clean again if I unsummoned them, I still felt bad for them. It looked especially bad for Hugging Bear; since its fur was mostly white, the dirt stood out even more than on Swaying Bear. During our breaks, I petted their heads to thank them for their hard work.

    ¡¸That¡¯s it. That¡¯s the city.¡¹

    I immediately looked up front when Sanya-san said that and saw the walls of a city... A massive city. It was wayrger than Crimonia, which wasn¡¯t small to begin with.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll cause amotion if we ride the Bears to the gates, so is it okay if we walk from here?¡¹

    People would surely panic if they spotted the Bears, so I asked the elf sisters if we could walk the rest of the way.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. If we ride any closer, people might spot us.¡¹

    Sanya-san agreed, so we all got off the Bears.

    ¡¸Thank you for taking us all this way.¡¹

    Ruimin thanked the Bears, with Sanya-san following suit. They both petted the Bears¡¯ heads, eliciting happy cries in reply. After thanking them myself, I returned them to their gloves.

    ¡¸Should we get going, then?¡¹

    Thus, we began our walk to Raruuze. Since the city walls were already in sight, it shouldn¡¯t take us too long. As we got closer, we saw a few people exiting the city on horses, while we were the only ones heading for it. I thought there would be a lot of traffic, especially with how the elf sisters had described the city to me. Well, maybe it was due to the rain. At least we wouldn¡¯t have to wait in line to get inside this way.

    When we reached the gates, the gatekeeper looked at me in surprise.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that outfit of yours?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just a bear suit.¡¹

    No matter how many times people asked me that, this way the only way I could respond. The answer must have been enough for the gatekeeper, as he didn¡¯t pry further, but rather simply told us to ce our guild cards on the crystal board. The board didn¡¯t turn red, of course, since none of us hadmitted any crimes. The gatekeeper then just notioned us past with a ¡¸Go ahead,¡¹and looked away. He must have dealt with all sorts of people and was skilled at ignoring people like me. Well, I was happy that he just let us past without anyints. However, the moment we entered the city, we drew all sorts of gazes.

    ¡¸We¡¯re being stared at.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we definitely are.¡¹

    I was obvious that we would be getting the looks: a girl dressed as a Bear had suddenly entered the city. It happened to me all the time. For the sisters, however, this must be the first time something like this happened to them.

    ¡¸I was thinking of heading straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but maybe you want to wait at the inn instead, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    That was probably Sanya-san¡¯s nicer way of saying ¡¸It¡¯s too embarrassing to walk next to you, so go wait at the inn instead.¡¹ Too bad for her, though, as I wanted to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, too. As a former gamer, there was no way I could just sit still and wait at an inn right after entering a new city. I was also curious about the adventurers Ruimin had gotten involved with, and we might even have to deal with the merchant afterwards. I wouldn¡¯t have cared if Ruimin was just a stranger to me, but during our journey to here, we kind of became friends, so I wanted to tag along.

    ¡¸If I won¡¯t cause you too much trouble, I would prefer toe with you. Still, if you insist, I¡¯ll stay at the inn.¡¹

    Sanya-san did not expect my answer and became slightly flustered.

    ¡¸Yuna-can, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it that way. It¡¯s just that everybody is staring at you all the time, so I thought you might prefer to stay at the inn because of that.¡¹

    Oh, it seemed like I misunderstood her intentions; she was actually worried about me.

    ¡¸This happens all the time, so I got used to it. If you two won¡¯t be too ufortable with being in the center of attention I would prefer to join you rather than stay behind.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯d feel bad about making Yuna-san wait for us by herself, so I¡¯m okay as well.¡¹

    Ruimin¡¯s kind response brought a smile to my face.

    ¡¸Alright, then we¡¯ll go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild together.¡¹

    Just a few minutes after we set out towards the adventurer¡¯s guild, however...

    ¡¸We¡¯re getting stared at.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we are.¡¹

    The two of themined again. They were right of course, as whether they were just passing by or doing something in the area, everybody took time to look at us. As usual, I pulled down my Bear-san Hood to at least hide my face.

    ¡¸We should hurry.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we should.¡¹

    The elf sisters started walking faster to escape everyone¡¯s attention quicker.

    Maybe it would be better if I distanced myself from them a bit? I slowed down to let them get ahead.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you doing? You¡¯regging behind.¡¹

    Ruimin noticed I had tried to separate myself from them, so I had no other choice but to catch up again. Once I did so, Ruimin grasped my hand and started to pull me along. She most likely missed my intentions, but it still made me happy to see Ruimin do this for me. She proceeded to pull me all the way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, which was just about the size of the one at the capital.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go greet the guild master here. Ruimin, you should go and check if those adventurers are around. As for you, Yuna-chan...¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at me and fell silent.

    Why would she...

    ¡¸Please stay out of trouble.¡¹

    Well, that was a hard request... It wasn¡¯t like I tried to get in trouble on purpose. Trouble just always found a way to get to me. Well, it was mostly due to my Bear Suit, though...

    I promised I would try my best, and Sanya-san went off to go meet the guild master. For now, I decided to just follow Ruimin around as she looked for the adventurers she had dealt with before. If it turned out that they had indeed deceived Ruimin, I would punish them ordingly. Inside the guild, the amount of attention we got was even greater than what we had gotten out on the streets.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹ ¡¸What¡¯s with her outfit?¡¹ ¡¸That¡¯s a bear, right?¡¹ ¡¸A girl?¡¹ ¡¸What¡¯s a bear doing in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹ ¡¸How cute.¡¹ ¡¸Is that Ruimin?¡¹ ¡¸There¡¯s a bear.¡¹

    Among the whispers, only one stood out. As we started to look for the person responsible, they came to us instead.

    ¡¸Miranda-san!¡¹

    ¡¸I knew it was you, Ruimin.¡¹

    A young female adventurer in her early twenties stood before us.

    ¡¸Is Ruimin really here?¡¹

    ¡¸She is.¡¹

    Two more young women approached.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Miranda-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It hasn¡¯t been that long, but you really disappeared on us so suddenly. We were all worried about you.¡¹

    Miranda said and hugged Ruimin tightly.

    ¡¸I-I can¡¯t breathe.¡¹

    Ruimin seemed like she was in pain from being hugged so tightly, but was luckily released soon after.

    ¡¸Geez, we were so worried about you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    After Ruimin apologized to Miranda, one of the other two women, who both looked like they were in their mid-twenties, spoke up.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Not to mention that you gave Dogrude-san such an important bracelet.¡¹

    She said and pinched Ruimin¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m showwy for causing you so much trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸You really shouldn¡¯t have just disappeared on us without telling us first.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m showwy.¡¹

    She was finally released from the pinching attack.

    ¡¸Anyway, I¡¯m d you¡¯re alright.¡¹

    She said and embraced Ruimin gently.

    ¡¸Did you make it to the Capital safely?¡¹

    Finally, the woman dressed like a magician spoke up.

    ¡¸Yeah, somewhat safely.¡¹

    ¡¸You know what Miranda said? She went like: ¡®We need to chase after Ruimin.¡¯¡¹

    ¡¸And you said we should hurry, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, with Ruimin involved it would have been an obvious thing to do.¡¹

    These adventurers must have been the ones who had helped Ruimin. Based on their reactions just now, they didn¡¯t seem like they had deceived her in any way. It had just been me imagining the worst case scenario.

    ¡¸By the way, Ruimin, is that girl dressed like a bear-san your acquaintance?¡¹

    Their attention suddenly turned towards me.

    ¡¸Yeah, she decided toe along with Onee-chan and me when we set out from the Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸What an interesting outfit she wears.¡¹

    Ruimin didn¡¯t evenment on that; she justughed back, instead.

    Miranda-san kept looking at me, so I decided to introduce myself.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna. As you already know, I came here with Ruimin and her sister.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Miranda. I worked with Ruimin for a short while.¡¹

    ¡¸My name¡¯s Erielle. I must say, your outfit is really cute.¡¹

    Erielle then shuffled closer to me, so I instantly took a step back.

    ¡¸Stop that, you¡¯re scaring her.¡¹

    ¡¸But her outfit is just so cute. Even if I don¡¯t hug her now, I¡¯ll hug her eventually.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t just make it worse!¡¹

    Miranda-san said and smacked Erielle-san over the head.

    ¡¸I must apologize for her. You see, Erielle really likes cute girls.¡¹

    The woman dressed like a magician apologized in her stead.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a weird person.¡¹

    Erielle said and started to approach me again, but I took another step back, regardless.

    ¡¸Uwaah, don¡¯t run away. Just let me hug you once, at least. Let me feel how soft you are.¡¹

    Suddenly someone behind the crowdughed at her persistence.

    ¡¸I thought it was getting noisy. And, of course it was because of you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    What were they trying to say? It wasn¡¯t my fault this time at all. Oh, it was Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, are you already done with your talk with the guild master?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I¡¯m guessing you are the adventurers who took care of Ruimin for me?¡¹

    Sanya-san turned her focus to the female adventurers in front of us.

    ¡¸I heard that you helped out my sister when she was in need. I thank you for that.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, we have to apologize for not being able to prevent her from losing her bracelet.¡¹

    Sanya-san and Miranda-san then started talking about what happened, and we headed to the back of the guild.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    The merchant will appear in the next chapter, I guess?

 Chapter 211 â€“ Bear-san Negotiates with the Merchant â€“ Part 1

    Chapter 211 ¨C Bear-san Negotiates with the Merchant ¨C Part 1

    Sanya-san borrowed a room in the back of the guild for us, so we entered it with Miranda-san and her party in tail to listen to their side of the story.

    Apparently, after Ruimin had identally torn the painting, she simply gave her bracelet to the merchant in order to not get Miranda-san¡¯s party into trouble and left the city without telling them anything.

    Sanya-san looked more and more exasperated as she listened to the story.

    ¡¸...........¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, it was my fault, so I couldn¡¯t drag everyone else into it.¡¹

    ¡¸You could have at least talked about it with us first.¡¹

    ¡¸..........¡¹

    Ruimin looked down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

    ¡¸If Dogrude-san knew how important the bracelet was to the elves he wouldn¡¯t have epted the bracelet.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and this all happened only because we gave you the job, so we are all responsible for it.¡¹

    The other two female adventurers spoke up as well.

    ¡¸But it was my fault. I¡¯m the one who tore the painting. It had nothing to do with you.¡¹

    ¡¸As I said, we were the ones who gave you the job, so we all share some of the responsibility for what happened.¡¹

    ¡¸That might be true, but... ¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, there was no reason for you to just disappear on us. Do you know how worried you made us?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry...¡¹

    Ruimin shrunk into her chair and apologized with a barely audible voice when the three of them disputed her reasoning.

    I also apologized to them in my head. I had doubted their intentions and was almost sure they were after Ruimin¡¯s bracelet. I thought they had just been working together with an evil merchant.

    When Ruimin had exined what happened, I first assumed that the adventurers had tricked her into giving up her bracelet. Instead, these adventurers seemed to be genuinely worried about Ruimin from the bottom of their hearts.

    They had found Ruimin wandering around in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and listened to her story about having no money to get to the capital. Then, they kindly offered her a job to earn the money she needed.

    ¡¸Based on what you said before, it sounds like the bracelet hasn¡¯t been sold yet to someone else?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you¡¯re right. After we found out that Ruimin left her bracelet and disappeared, we immediately negotiated with Dogrude-san and asked him not to sell it to anybody for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t know how long he would be willing to hold it for us, so we even discussed the prospect of buying it back ourselves before he sold it to someone.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but with us just being low-rank adventures, it would take us a while to get there... He did promise to wait for us, though.¡¹

    ¡¸All of you...¡¹

    Ruimin¡¯s eyes began to tear up and she looked back up at the people who cared about her so much.

    I could hardly believe it. They had actually intended to buy it back for her and negotiated with the merchant to hold onto it until they had the money.

    Well, that was kind of stupid of them, honestly. To them, Ruimin was aplete stranger, not even a real acquaintance. It would be very unusual for someone to try and buy back something so personal for someone they had just met.

    If I had rtives like that, I would cut ties with them immediately; I wouldn¡¯t want them meddling with my business.

    Well, I had already done something simr, too, but not to such a length. There were acts of kindness even I wouldn¡¯t do; I wasn¡¯t as naive as them.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t really say I hated people who would go to such lengths for random strangers.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t thank you enough for doing so much for my sister.¡¹

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t really thank us as we haven¡¯t been able to get the bracelet back yet.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, persuading him not to sell it; that¡¯s plenty to be thankful for, not to mention helping Ruimin by giving her the job.¡¹

    She was right. If Miranda-san hadn¡¯t negotiated ahead of time, the merchant would have probably sold it already.

    ¡¸Please let me do something to express my thanks to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, you really don¡¯t have to.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, how about you let me hug Yuna-chan just once?¡¹

    I thought I just heard some very strange request but decided to ignore it.

    Yes, I must be hearing things.

    Erielle-san looked at me, but I hid from her stare by pulling down the Bear Hood.

    After we finished our conversation, we met with the guild master of this city¡¯s Adventurer Guild.

    Since Sanya-san was the one who requested the meeting, Raruuze¡¯s guild master had no choice but to agree.

    He was certainly someone who we could go to with any trouble that maye up because of a certain Bear. Yeah, it should be okay now, even if I went on a rampage.

    After talking to them, we followed Miranda-san to the merchant¡¯s store so that we could buy back the bracelet.

    ¡¸This is Dogrude-san¡¯s shop.¡¹

    She brought us to a shop, which was situated at a quite nice of a location.

    Many people were using the road it was on, so it was definitely a good spot for a store.

    As if to prove that, arge carriage decorated with big, fancy ornaments was parked in front of the shop. Definitely a sign of a rich patron.

    Since this merchant was dealing with high value goods, it made sense for his customers to all be rich, right?

    As we gazed at the carriage, Miranda-san just passed it and headed into the shop. The rest of us then quickly followed her as we didn¡¯t want to get left behind.

    ¡¸Wee.¡¹

    Inside, a young man who appeared to be a simple employee greeted us.

    He then quickly recognized Miranda-san.

    ¡¸it¡¯s been a while, Miranda-san. What can I do for you today?¡¹

    ¡¸Is Dogrude-san in?¡¹

    ¡¸The boss? He is, but...¡¹

    The young man threw a quick nce towards the back room then apologized.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but right now, he is with a client...¡¹

    Right after he said that, the door to the back room opened, and a man came out.

    I quickly got out of the way by moving to the side.

    ¡¸You¡¯re in the way. Move.¡¹

    The man spat out some words, treating Miranda-san and everyone like trash, then left the shop.

    When I peeked through the door, I could see the man get into the carriage which was parked outside.

    ¡¸That man is always so very difficult to deal with...¡¹

    After him, a slender man in his mid-thirties came out of the back room.

    ¡¸Dogrude-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Miranda-san, why are you here today? Oh, and I see you also brought Ruimin with you!¡¹

    The man, who appeared to be Dogrude-san, noticed that Ruimin was here with her.

    Of course, he noticed me, too, but his attention quickly returned to Ruimin as she started speaking to him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m very sorry about what happened before.¡¹

    Ruimin lowered her head.

    ¡¸Dogrude-san, you haven¡¯t sold Ruimin¡¯s bracelet yet, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I kept it just in case.¡¹

    He looked at me for a second again, but Sanya-san went up to Dogrude-san and greeted him.

    ¡¸Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Sanya, and I¡¯m Ruimin¡¯s older sister. I came here today to buy back her bracelet.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin¡¯s older sister?!¡¹

    Dogrude-san looked at Ruimin, who nodded.

    ¡¸I see. Lute, I leave the shop to you. Everybody, please follow me to the back room.¡¹

    Dogrude-san guided us to the room he hade from earlier.

    It was a wide room which appeared to be Dogrude-san¡¯s meeting room as there was a long table situated in the middle with plenty of chairs ced on both sides.

    ¡¸Please take a seat.¡¹

    Dogrude-san sat down on his own chair at the end of the table, while the rest of us took a seat on the left side.

    Also, I was pretty sure that Dogrude-san kept ncing at me every now and then.

    ¡¸As I said before, I would like to buy Ruimin¡¯s bracelet back. How much will it cost me?¡¹

    When Sanya-san asked that, Dogrude-san suddenly averted his gaze then took a quick bow.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t be able to return that bracelet.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, what are you saying? Didn¡¯t you promise not to sell the bracelet to anyone?¡¹

    After she heard him say that, Miranda-san got up from her seat and angrily pounded the table.

    ¡¸I¡¯m very sorry.¡¹

    Dogrude-san apologized again.

    ¡¸Why? You did promise and now even Ruimin¡¯s older sister is here, willing to pay you for it.¡¹

    ¡¸That is...¡¹

    ¡¸Could you please exin so that we can understand?¡¹

    Sanya-san calmly asked him.

    We waited for Miranda-san to sit down again then listened to Dogrude-san¡¯s exnation.

    ¡¸You all saw that man who barged out earlier I presume? He was going to purchase the painting Ruimin-san had identally torn. When he found out he could no longer buy the painting, he left, to put it bluntly, outraged.¡¹

    Well, it madeplete sense for him to be mad.

    If I found out I couldn¡¯t buy a limited edition copy of a game which I had previously reserved, I would be outraged, too.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry for damaging it.¡¹

    Ruimin apologized for what was now probably the hundredth time.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. Things like this happen once in a while in a business like this. I must be able to push through a situation like this if I ever want to be a first rate merchant.¡¹

    ¡¸A first rate merchant wouldn¡¯t make such a mistake hiring someone like Ruimin, wouldn¡¯t they?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s all because of me.¡¹

    ¡¸Erielle!¡¹

    Miranda-san smacked Erielle-san over the head again. Miranda received a displeased re in return, but she just ignored it.

    ¡¸So, what has all this to do with not being able to return the bracelet?¡¹

    Sanya-san returned the conversation back to its original topic.

    I could already see where this was going but held myself back as this was about Ruimin.

    Dogrude-san then began to speak slowly, making sure not to cause any misunderstandings.

    ¡¸I tried to negotiate with the client, and we managed to agree on getting him a recement painting. Two days ago we sent someone to Sorzonark to fetch it, but then...¡¹

    ¡¸Heavy rain started to fall.¡¹

    Dogrude-san nodded.

    ¡¸The recement painting was to arrive from Sorzonark yesterday, but because of the heavy rainfall, the boats couldn¡¯t cross the river, and we weren¡¯t able to get the painting on time.¡¹

    So, the painting was stuck in the city across the river...

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t there anything that can be done?¡¹

    ¡¸I already checked to see how soon the boats could depart, but it appears it will be a couple of days at the earliest.¡¹

    Yeah, it seemed like there was nothing they could have done to avoid this scenario.

    It would most certainly be too dangerous to sail across the river after such heavy rain.

    ¡¸It was decided that if I do not prepare the painting by tomorrow noon, I would have to give him the bracelet.¡¹

    ¡¸How did it end up like that?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s... When Miranda-san came by the other day, that man overheard us talking about the bracelet and tried to negotiate for it. I refused, of course, but now with what happened... I lost all my bargaining chips.¡¹

    When Miranda-san finally understood, she fell silent and lowered her gaze.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not your fault, Miranda-san. I didn¡¯t take the surroundings into ount when we talked about the bracelet inside the shop. It¡¯s because of that the client has demanded that I hand it over if I cannot get the recement painting by tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Is there really nothing we can do at this point?¡¹

    ¡¸With how things turned out, I don¡¯t really see a way to salvage this.¡¹

    He shot down Sanya-san¡¯sst hope.

    Even with the influence as the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild master, she was unable to do anything in this situation.

    Well, I still had my crest, so maybe I could do something about it?

    ¡¸The client¡¯s name is Letobell and he¡¯s a very influential merchant in this city.¡¹

    ¡¸Letobell...¡¹

    ¡¸Why did it have to be him of all people.¡¹

    It sounded like he was someone well-known around these parts.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t do anything either, Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸It would be very difficult. My influence is only really effective when dealing with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Using it against a merchant of Letobell¡¯s standing, however...¡¹

    What about my crest then, would it be enough? If this guy is as influential as they were saying, maybe it wouldn¡¯t work, either.

    The room went silent again.

    Wait, wasn¡¯t there an easier way to fix this problem?

    ¡¸So, basically, things will be fine as long as someone gets the painting from the neighboring city, right?¡¹

    I broke the dead silence, actually speaking for the first time since entering the shop

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind getting it for you, so just tell me where do I need to go.¡¹

    ¡¸Boats can¡¯t cross the river, so how do you n on getting there?! Swimming would be impossible even for you and I never saw you fly.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really need to swim or fly to get there.¡¹

    The skill I had learned after finishing the golem subjugation would finally find its use here.

    Yeah, this was just the job for the Bear Water Walking skill.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    After the golem subjugation arc, many peoplemented asking whether Yuna learned any new skills from it.

    I remembered thinking one up, but because it was not a skill which could bemonly used, it only came up now. It took a while, but I finally found a use for it.

 Chapter 212 â€“ Bear-san Negotiates with the Merchant â€“ Part 2

    Chapter 212 ¨C Bear-san Negotiates with the Merchant ¨C Part 2

    Author¡¯s Note: I¡¯m sorry that the chapter is on the short side.

    The Bear Water-Walking skill.

    As the name suggested, using it gave me the ability to walk on water.

    I could also use the skill on my summoned beasts, so they could do it, too.

    I had learned the skill quite a while ago but never had the chance to use it.

    It was pretty fun when I tried using it at a river near Crimonia.

    I felt like a ninja, running across the water like that.

    Testing it further, I had summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and got them to run across the river as well.

    There was no way something like that would happen without the skill.

    If I had learned the skill before I fought the kraken, that battle would have been a whole different story. Well, I had managed to defeat it using the Bear Wall trap anyway, but it would still have been way easier with Bear Water Walking.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re kidding, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please don¡¯t do anything reckless just to get my bracelet back.¡¹

    The elf sisters were worried about me, but I didn¡¯t think I was being reckless here.

    The Water Walking skill would feel like walking on normal ground. The flowing water make the ground feel a bit uneven, that¡¯s all. Also, the river would only be a few hundred meters wide, which shouldn¡¯t take me more than a few minutes. Yeah, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem at all.

    ¡¸Have you thought of some other way to get across?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked me with a serious expression. She must know I was the only hope for this to end smoothly.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I have a n.¡¹

    I said and smiled to reassure them.

    ¡¸Okay, that¡¯s enough for me.¡¹

    Sanya-san made her decision and looked at Dogrude-san.

    ¡¸Please leave the matter of retrieving the painting to us, Dogrude-san.¡¹

    ¡¸How do you n on retrieving it? Are you saying you¡¯ll cross the river and get it? The boats can¡¯t move, and it would be impossible to swim across as well.¡¹

    ¡¸If Yuna-chan says she can do it, then I know she will find a way.¡¹

    Sanya-san stated with an unwavering conviction.

    I appreciated the fact that she believed in me, but it was embarrassing to see her act this way.

    Dogrude-san slowly moved his gaze towards me.

    ¡¸Please excuse my rudeness, but I don¡¯t see how a girl dressed like a bear could do anything about this.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t me him for thinking that way.

    This time around, it wasn¡¯t just because of my Bear Suit; with how rapid the river was, it was pretty unbelievable that anyone could cross it.

    ¡¸Well, even if we end up failing, that doesn¡¯t change much for you, does it?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, but...¡¹

    If we didn¡¯t end up bringing the painting back, that just meant the present situation wouldn¡¯t change, but if we did get the painting, then we could give it to the client and get Ruimin¡¯s bracelet back without any further problems.

    ¡¸If we fail to deliver, we will give up on negotiating with the client, which means you can give the bracelet to the client freely. That¡¯s why, could you please leave the matter of retrieving the painting to us? And, if we do manage to bring it to you by tomorrow morning, then I would like for you to let us buy back the bracelet.¡¹

    Sanya-san negotiated with Dogrude-san, while putting her full trust in me. She didn¡¯t even ask me how I nned on getting across the river.

    Dogrude-san started to ruffle his hair, deep in thought. It took him quite a while before he finally spoke up to respond.

    ¡¸Okay. I will leave the painting to you. And, if you do bring it to me by tomorrow, I will sell you the bracelet as promised.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for trusting us and being so understanding.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, could I at least check your guild cards?¡¹

    Having no real problem with that, Sanya-san and I both took out our guild cards to show him.

    The cards did show if we had gotten into any trouble or had failed any requests, so it waspletely understandable for him to want to have a look at them.

    It would be a big problem for him if I was someone bad and decided to steal the painting instead.

    Dogrude-san first took a look at Sanya-san¡¯s guild card and looked at her in surprise.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild?!¡¹

    Sanya-san seemed rather gleeful to see his shocked expression.

    ¡¸I hope you can trust me a bit more knowing this?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯m just surprised that Ruimin¡¯s sister is actually the guild master of the main Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    Miranda-san¡¯s party had also been shocked when they learned she was a guild master, and of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild, no less. They had even confronted Ruimin and asked her why she had kept quiet about it. Well, she actually hadn¡¯t even known her sister was the guild master until she reached the capital, so it wasn¡¯t really her fault.

    Next, Dogrude-san took a look at my guild card.

    He should be surprised by mine, too, as I was a rank C adventurer, which I had only recently learned was considered to be quite a high rank.

    I was really d that they hadn¡¯t raised my rank to B when I defeated the Kraken. If they had, I couldn¡¯t even imagine how shocked people would be when they saw it.

    Well... they were usually already plenty surprised by the fact that a young girl dressed as a bear was an adventurer, so maybe it wouldn¡¯t really make that much of a difference.

    As expected, Dogrude-san seemed very surprised when checking my guild card.

    ¡¸Your upation is bear?!¡¹

    Wait, that was what he was surprised about?

    For a while, he just switched between looking at me and the upation on the card before reading onward.

    ¡¸And, you¡¯re a C rank adventurer, huh.¡¹

    Shouldn¡¯t he be more surprised about that rather than my upation?!

    Well, it was a really weird upation, so it made sense to leave people puzzled, but still...

    ¡¸Eh?! You¡¯re really a C rank adventurer, Yuna-san?!¡¹

    It turned out that Ruimin didn¡¯t believe me all the way up until now. Miranda-san¡¯s party was shocked as well, while Sanya-san was simplyughing at their reactions.

    ¡¸You are really rank C?!¡¹

    ¡¸But, you¡¯re so small and cute...¡¹

    ¡¸You must be kidding, right?¡¹

    Everyone got up from their seats to look at the guild card Dogrude-san was holding.

    Didn¡¯t these people know not to judge others based on appearances?

    In games, it was impossible to tell how strong another yer was without looked at their stats or at least taking a good look at their equipment.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan may be dressed like a bear, but she is still an excellent adventurer.¡¹

    Sanya-san tried to convince them, or rather, save me from having them all look at my guild card. None of them really seemed convinced, but they did all return back to their seats, still wearing puzzled expressions.

    ¡¸I think I get it now. I don¡¯t know how you n on crossing the river, but I will leave retrieving the painting in your hands.¡¹

    Dogrude-san then proceeded to exin where the painting was and gave me a sealed letter.

    ¡¸Please take this with you. It¡¯s the contract showing that you have epted the request of bringing it here. If you show it to the shop owner, they should give you the painting without any further trouble.¡¹

    I stashed the letter into my Bear Box.

    ¡¸I just have to bring you the painting by tomorrow noon, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It should be fine as long as you make it back by noon. And, I promise that, until then, I will not hand over the bracelet.¡¹

    I thanked him and headed out of the shop. The others followed me out. It was already evening with how long everything had taken us.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, if you don¡¯t mind letting me know, how exactly are you nning on getting across?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just going to head over first thing tomorrow morning.¡¹

    Miranda-san and her party were here, so I didn¡¯t want to reveal too much. Sanya-san quickly grasped what I was trying to do and changed the topic.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go to an inn and rest for the night, then.¡¹

    We followed Miranda-san to an inn where we treated her party to a meal as thanks for everything they had done for us.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The bracelet arc should finish in the next chapter... I think.

 Chapter 213 â€“ Bear-san Crosses the River

    Chapter 213 ¨C Bear-san Crosses the River

    It was dark and rainy outside when I woke up the next morning.

    I would have kept on sleeping in my bed if I hadn¡¯t made ns to go out today.

    Even though my Bear Outfit would keep me dry, I still felt depressed just having to think about walking through this rain.

    It was only now that I could appreciate Japan¡¯s urate forecasts. It life a lot more convenient. You would know not to hang yourundry out to dry when it was going to rain, and you would know when would be a good time go on a trip. However, there was no form of weather forecasting in this world.

    I would have left yesterday if I had known it was going to rain today.

    It would really be great if I had a skill that could let me know what the weather would be like. Something like a ¡ºBear Weather Forecast¡» maybe? Having a skill like that would make nning trips so much easier.

    Hmm, but if people discovered that I could predict the weather, they might end up worshipping me as some new Bear God.

    Yeah, maybe it was better not to have such a skill.

    ¡¸It¡¯s raining, huh.¡¹

    As I was staring outside, thinking about my silly ideas, Sanya-san suddenly appeared behind toment then took a big yawn.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what will you do now?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m still going.¡¹

    There was no reason for me to put it off. Rain wouldn¡¯t stop me from crossing the river and would at most just be a bit of annoyance.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can Ie along with you? I don¡¯t know how you n to get across, but I am still worried about you.¡¹

    Sanya-san asked me, worry clearly showing in her voice.

    I hadn¡¯t told her how I nned on getting across as I knew walking on water was something abnormal. Well, maybe in this world there were some spells or magical items that could do that, but I hadn¡¯te across any of those yet.

    Hmm, what if I attributed the skill to my Bears? I could simply have them carry us across, iming that it was their natural ability.

    She already knew how special my summoned beasts were... Should I just go for that?

    ¡¸Sanya-san, you would get wet from the rain, though.¡¹

    ¡¸You will get wet as well, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    I thought about it a bit more.

    If Sanya-san came with me, she could guide me to the shop, which would save me time and energy. I could also use her influence as a guild master. Yeah, she could be really useful.

    ¡¸C-can Ie along too?¡¹

    ¡¸No, you¡¯re staying right here.¡¹

    Ruimin had listened in on our conversation and asked toe along, but Sanya-san immediately shot her down and told her to stay here.

    ¡¸Onee-chan...¡¹

    While bringing Sanya-san along would be useful, I sadly couldn¡¯t say the same for Ruimin.

    It also shouldn¡¯t take to long, so I saw no problem in her staying here.

    Most of the time would probably wasted on the shop, which was why I nned on leaving the talking to Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please be careful. If something were to happen to you or Onee-chan...¡¹

    I felt like she was exaggerating a bit, but on the other hand, she should worry about her sister, right?

    We would be crossing a rapid river, after all.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I will keep her safe.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸And we¡¯ll be back as soon as we get the painting.¡¹

    After making this promise, Sanya-san and I left the room, leaving poor Ruimin behind.

    Sanya-san covered herself with something simr to a raincoat to fend off the rain while I of course didn¡¯t need to put anything else on as my Bear Suit waspletely blocked out the rain.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, will you be okay wearing just that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine. My outfit has this special property, you know.¡¹

    I walked out into the rain to show her.

    The rain wasing down quite heavily, but thanks to my Bear Suit, the raindrops bounced right of me.

    ¡¸What kind of material is your suit made of? There are many different materials that can repel water, but I don¡¯t ever recall seeing something like that.¡¹

    Honestly, I didn¡¯t know either. It had been made by God.

    It was quite possible that this material didn¡¯t even exist in this world, and he got it from somewhere else.

    Sanya-san kept curiously ncing at my suit for a while then asked me how we would cross the river.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll ride on my Bears.¡¹

    I answered her truthfully.

    ¡¸Those cute bears of yours can cross rivers?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, they¡¯re summoned beasts, so it shouldn¡¯t be too weird to believe that, right?¡¹

    I tried giving her my prenned excuse.

    Sanya-san seemed to be lost in thought whether that made sense or not for a while, but eventually seemed convinced.

    The term ¡®summoned beasts¡¯ sure was useful from time to time. Not only could I say they were so quick and resilient because they were summoned beasts, I could also me being able to cross the river on that simple term. Thank you, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, for being my summoned beasts.

    As we were walking, Sanya-san asked if we should leave through the docks or go out the main gate and cross the river outside. Detours were annoying, and we were also short on time, so crossing directly at the docks would be great if it wasn¡¯t just for the slight problem of being seen. I didn¡¯t want to use my water-walk skill with people around, so I suggested we take the long way around because of that. However, Sanya-san told me I worried for nothing as nobody should be at the docks in this heavy rain. I trusted her judgment, so we decided to leave from the docks

    Once we got there, it waspletely deserted, just as Sanya-san predicted. Well, now that I really thought about it, it made sense for the docks to be empty. There was wasn¡¯t much work to do due to the rain, and there should be no one dumb enough to get close to a raging river, either.

    As I looked around, I noticed there was a huge boat sitting at the docks. It could easily carry several horse carriages at once.

    I really wanted to try riding on it, but I would sadly have to pass on it for now. Taking a more focused look at the river, I really had to admit it was a wide one. I could still see the city on the opposite bank, so it should be a manageable distance for my Bears.

    It took another moment to confirm nobody was around using my detection magic. People could always be hiding in areas the naked eye couldn¡¯t see, after all, so simply looking wouldn¡¯t be enough to be sure. I worried for nothing, though, since my magic didn¡¯t detect anybody nearby. Knowing the coast was clear for sure, I finally plopped my Bears into the middle of this rain.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, we¡¯ll be okay, right?¡¹

    Sanya-san mounted Swaying Bear and looked at the overflowing river with unease.

    Seeing how rapid and violent it was, I really couldn¡¯t me her for worrying.

    When I had first tried out the skill, I didn¡¯t have the courage to try it over deep water and practiced in shallow areas instead. I could understand how she felt.

    ¡¸You can still stay behind if you are too scared. What will it be?¡¹

    It would be troublesome to lose a guide, but it was better than forcing her..

    ¡¸I¡¯ll,... I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    She did not look okay in the slightest, so I tried to give her some advice to make it easier on her.

    ¡¸You can just close your eyes and tightly hug Swaying Bear; it should all be over in a couple of minutes, no more.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I can¡¯t... No! I will trust Swaying Bear. I can do it.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go before you change your mind, then.¡¹

    I gave the signal, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear both leapt towards the river.

    Sanya-san screamed in fear, but I decided to just ignore her.

    The Bears safelynded on top of the river and ran on it quite gracefully despite how rapid the current was. To them, it was like the river wasn¡¯t even flowing. There was an abundant amount of driftwood floating down the river, but the Bears leapt over them easily.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what if I fall off!?¡¹

    ¡¸You would be swept away, of course.¡¹

    Why would she ask something so obvious? She clung onto Swaying Bear even harder after hearing my reply. By now she should know that she didn¡¯t really need to cling on that tightly, as it was impossible to fall of my Bears, but she still seemed to cling on for her dear life.

    As the bears dashed through the waves, dodging driftwood left and right and taking the current head-on, I suddenly felt like we were in an obstacle course (not that I had actually participated in one of those).

    It took us a while, but we eventually reached the docks on the other side.

    I quickly used my detection magic to see if anyone was hanging around. If people saw two bears climb onto the docks from the river, it would definitely cause quite amotion.

    I would have had to go all around the city and enter through the gates if the was someone, but luckily, there wasn¡¯t, just like on the other side.

    Once safely up on the docks, I informed Sanya-san that the river-crossing was officially over.

    Looking back, my Bears really closed all this distance in no time.

    When Sanya-san got off Swaying Bear, she immediately fell on her back.

    I was sure she was bound to get even more drenched doing that. I was surprised to see that she was quite dry. Was it thanks to the raincoat she was wearing?

    I thanked the Bears and unsummoned them.

    ¡¸We really crossed the river...¡¹

    Sanya-san looked back towards the other bank in pure disbelief.

    ¡¸I had always known that your bears were amazing, but this experience truly convinced me. I have never heard of bears that could walk on water before. ¡¹

    I had never seen any, either. I hadn¡¯t even read about anything of the sort.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, we should start moving.¡¹

    We shouldn¡¯t stay out in the rain for too long, after all.

    I asked Sanya-san to lead us to the shop where the painting was at. Sanya-san had been to this city a lot of times, so she knew it quite well.

    I would have beenpletely lost if I came alone. When I had asked Dogrude-san about the location of the shop, he simply replied with, ¡¸Yeah, umm, it¡¯s just around that area.¡¹

    Sanya-san started to lead us to the shop.

    Due to the heavy rain, we didn¡¯t pass by many people, so my outfit didn¡¯t draw too much attention. Also, my Bear Hood looked kind of simr to a raincoat from a distance, so some people didn¡¯t even take notice of it. Well, even if they did notice, I would just ignore them as usual.

    When I had woken up this morning, I thought that this rain would be a bad thing, but in this situation, it proved to be quite useful. Hmm, leaving so early in the morning might also have helped.

    We reached the shop without anyone freaking out about my outfit.

    I had a sneaking suspicion that things wouldn¡¯t have gone this smoothly had I gone alone.

    ¡¸It¡¯s closed...¡¹

    We weren¡¯t sure if it was closed due to the rain or because we were here too early.

    We weren¡¯t familiar with shop hours of this area, but most people in this world tended to wake up early, eat breakfast, and then head straight to the shop to open up.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s try knocking at least.¡¹

    I was about to knock when I looked at my hands.

    The Bear Puppets were looking right back at me. Oh right... I couldn¡¯t knock.

    I looked over to Sanya-san.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll do it. I don¡¯t want you to surprise the people here, so could you please step back a bit, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    She made sense. If someone were to open the door only to be met by someone wearing a Bear Suit, they would surely be confused, maybe even startled.

    I could take off my Bear Hands and knock with bare hands, but that would be just too much of a hassle, so I stepped back and let Sanya-san do it for me. Sanya-san knocked on the door and also called out for the owners.

    Just as we were about to give up, we heard some shuffling from the other side of the door.

    ¡¸Who is it?¡¹

    A voice called out.

    ¡¸We are adventurers, here on behalf of Dogrude-san.¡¹

    We heard the sounds of a lock being undone and the door just slightly cracked open.

    Through the crack, we could see a youngdy in her mid-twenties staring at us.

    ¡¸On behalf of my husband?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry foring at such an early time.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, that¡¯s okay. The rain ising down rather hard, so please,e inside.¡¹

    Thedy started to open the door and wee us in before finally noticing me.

    ¡¸A bear?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯d tell you to ignore her outfit if I thought it would work, but she is actually an adventurer as well, here on Dogrude-san¡¯s request.¡¹

    Thedy gave me one final confused stare then let us in. Thank god I had taken Sanya-san with me.

    It was only because of her that we found the shop so easily, and that the owner wasn¡¯t too suspicious about my looks. If it was just me, I was sure that the shop owner wouldn¡¯t have believed that I was an adventurer.

    Thedy took us to a nice room and served us some warm tea.

    ¡¸So, why did my husband send you here?¡¹

    I took out Dogrude-san¡¯s letter from my Bear Box and handed it to thedy.

    ¡¸Is that an item bag?¡¹

    Thedy said in surprise when she saw me take it out of my Bear Puppet¡¯s mouth.

    Merchants must tend to notice such things, huh.

    Thedy proceeded to unseal the letter and started to read it. After nodding several times, she then looked back up and smiled at me.

    Wait, why was she smiling at me?

    ¡¸I understand the situation, but it¡¯s still hard to believe. This letter was written just yesterday, and you two managed to arrive here early in the morning, despite the heavy rain.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you doubt us?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, I have my husband¡¯s letter here in hand, so Ipletely believe you. Anyway, he wrote that I should pass over a painting to you.¡¹

    Having heard her positive reply was a huge relief to me. I was so d that we didn¡¯t get simply sent back aftering all this way. Sanya-san must have felt the same way as she looked quite relieved herself.

    ¡¸Still, I am a little curious on how you two managed to cross the river in this rain?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, that¡¯s a secret.¡¹

    Sanya-san replied to her in my stead.

    ¡¸Is it okay if I at least take a look at your guild cards to confirm your identities?¡¹

    We both took out our guild cards and handed them to her.

    She proceeded to check them and giggled a few times as she read them.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. You really do have Bearbeled as your upation. My husband actually wrote in the letter. Here: ¡®The two adventurers that wille to pick up the painting are Sanya-sama, the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurers Guild, and Yuna-sama, upation: Bear¡¯.¡¹

    She kept smiling as she threw another look at me.

    Couldn¡¯t he just have written my adventurer¡¯s rank instead of my upation?

    I would rather have merchants know that instead of thinking of me as a bear.

    ¡¸He also mentioned that you would be dressed as a bear.¡¹

    At this point, Sanya-san let out a giggle as well. Although it waspletely true, I really didn¡¯t want to be known as the Bear Girl. I asked for my guild card back and returned to enjoying my tea.

    ¡¸Okay, enough of that. Please wait for a moment while I get the painting.¡¹

    Good, at least we would get the painting without a problem.

    We quietly drank our tea as we waited for her, and after a minute or two, she returned with arge wooden box.

    Sanya-san quickly got up to help her.

    ¡¸Thank you, let¡¯s put it there.¡¹

    The two of them gently ced the box on the table.

    Thedy then opened the lid and unraveled a painting of andscape inside.

    Was this thing really that valuable?

    I didn¡¯t know much about the art of this world, so I couldn¡¯t really tell what was considered expensive.

    ¡¸Great, now we just have to take it back to Dogrude-san.¡¹

    I said and ced the wooden box into my Bear Box.

    ¡¸You¡¯ll be heading back immediately?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Dogrude-san is waiting for us, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I do not know how you n on returning, but you can stay here and rest for a while, too.¡¹

    With the Bears, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if we stayed a bit longer. Thedy seemed to assume that we would take her up on her offer as she already began serving us some snacks.

    We didn¡¯t want to refuse her generosity, especially since she had already served them, so we decided to stay for at least a short while.

    Author¡¯s note:

    Sorry, I lied. Bracelet arc continues. w

 Chapter 214 â€“ Bear-san Gets the Bracelet Back

    Chapter 214 ¨C Bear-san Gets the Bracelet Back

    ¡¸Please give my husband my regards.¡¹

    Thanking thedy for the tea and snacks, we made our way to the door.

    Thanks to the tea, my body had warmed up quite nicely.

    While we had been enjoying the snacks, thedy asked a lot of questions about my outfit, but I simply imed it was rain gear.

    When we got outside, the rain continued to pour.

    We didn¡¯t stay too long, since we didn¡¯t want the rain to stop on us. If it did, people would most likely go to the docks, so we decided to hurry and take the short way out while we still had the chance.

    Luckily, there was still no one at the docks when we got there, so I quickly summoned the Bears and had them leap onto the river as soon as we were both on them.

    This was Sanya-san¡¯s second time doing this, so she wasn¡¯t as scared.

    The Bears crossed the river just like before, not being slowed down by the rapid river at all.

    Just as we finished crossing the river, the rain began to thin out.

    Phew, that was close; if we had taken any longer it could have been dangerous.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, let¡¯s head straight back to the shop. We still have time till noon, but I think it¡¯s best if we get it there as quickly as possible.¡¹

    She was right; better sooner thanter.

    We didn¡¯t really need to bring Ruimin with us, so we went straight to Dogrude-san¡¯s shop, where that rich-looking carriage from yesterday was again.

    That merchant must be here as well then, right?

    He was the type of person I really didn¡¯t want to get acquainted with.

    Sanya-san and I carefully entered the shop and were met by the young shop clerk from yesterday cleaning the shop.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the ones who were here yesterday! I heard about the situation from the boss. Could it be that you have the painting?!¡¹

    The young man just beamed at us.

    ¡¸Yes, we do. We would like to meet with Dogrude-san straight away; would that be fine?¡¹

    Sanya-san went straight to the point.

    ¡¸Of course. Letobell-sama is already here to pick up the painting.¡¹

    I knew it, that merchant really was here.

    He seemed to have a bad attitude, so I wondered if this would end smoothly.

    The young cleck knocked on the door leading to the back.

    ¡¸Hurry up and hand over the bracelet to my master.¡¹

    ¡¸Like I said, please wait until noon. That was the agreed deadline.¡¹

    ¡¸How could anybody possibly bring back the painting in this rain? The boats can¡¯t even move, much less cross the river.¡¹

    ¡¸I asked some adventurers to fetch it for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Even adventurers can¡¯t cross such a rapid river.¡¹

    We could hear people arguing on the other side of the door.

    ¡¸Boss!¡¹

    The young clerk opened the door and called out to get their attention.

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸The people from yesterday are here. They brought the painting back with them.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    The young clerk gestured us in, so we slowly entered.

    Inside, there were three people. Dogrude-san, the merchant we had already seen yesterday, and an old man with a long beard.

    Emm... Why three people? Who was this old man?

    ¡¸Why are there an elf and a bear here?¡¹

    ¡¸They are the adventurers I mentioned. Sanya-san, is it true that you two have brought the painting?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we do have it with us.¡¹

    Sanya-san then looked at me. Oh right, I had the painting.

    I took out the wooden box from the Bear Box andid it on the table in front of everybody. Dogrude-san immediately stood up and opened the box to confirm its contents.

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s the painting. Thank you very much for getting it for me.¡¹

    ¡¸That can¡¯t be!¡¹

    The merchant also stood up and looked over the painting like he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.

    ¡¸But couldn¡¯t this be forged?!¡¹

    ¡¸The artist¡¯s signature is right here, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh...¡¹

    The man tried to call it a fraud, but Dogrude-san was quick to silence him.

    ¡¸In this case, you have no need for the bracelet anymore, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Dogrude, can¡¯t you simply sell me the bracelet instead?¡¹

    The old man finally spoke up.

    ¡¸Master, you do not need to make such a request!¡¹

    ¡¸Rodis, Dogrude-san kept his promise. The deal was for the bracelet to be given only if he failed to provide the painting until noon. It¡¯s over.¡¹

    The old man replied calmly.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Trust and contracts should be very important to all merchants. Dogrude followed through with our agreement, and delivered the painting before noon. That means he haspleted the contract. I cannot ignore that fact just because I want the bracelet. That would destroy the trust we have with each other. Therefore, the only way is to obtain a new contract to purchase the bracelet.¡¹

    The angry merchant realized there was nothing he could do and bowed at the old man before sitting back down.

    ¡¸How about it then, I wouldn¡¯t mind paying for the bracelet, no matter the price. In fact, I can easily pay double what you got it for.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, but it has already been agreed that we will be taking the bracelet.¡¹

    ¡¸What? Who do you think you are?!¡¹

    The angry merchant burst out again and gave Sanya-san an evil re.

    Well, he would have gotten the bracelet if we hadn¡¯t brought the painting, so he most likely didn¡¯t feel very fondly about us.

    ¡¸I am the older sister of the bracelet¡¯s real owner. We came here to buy it back.¡¹

    Of course, Sanya-san had no intention of stepping down from just a simple re.

    ¡¸It¡¯s your sister¡¯s bracelet, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. My sister may be trouble, but even so, I can¡¯t allow others to take her bracelet.¡¹

    The old man stroked his beard and thought for a bit, gesturing the angry merchant to sit back down.

    ¡¸So, you won¡¯t let me take it even if I pay for it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, I cannot allow anybody else to take it.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you even know who you are speaking to?! This is the great merchant, Letobell-sama.¡¹

    The younger man spoke up once more. Oh, so the older man was Letobell.

    I had been sure that it was the angry guy.

    ¡¸Rodis-san, this is Sanya-san, the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸The guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild?!¡¹

    Sanya-san took out her guild card to prove her status, immediately shutting up the angry man.

    Her title carried a lot of power even among merchants it seemed...

    ¡¸It appears that I will have to give up this time around.¡¹

    Sanya-san looked relieved when the old man said that.

    With this, the bracelet was secured.

    ¡¸Master, are you really okay with this?!¡¹

    ¡¸There is no benefit in going against someone of her status.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for being understanding. Still, I have to ask, why do you want the bracelet that badly?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that the wearer of the bracelet will receive the protection of the wind.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but if you are not blood-rted to the family, the protection is minimal.¡¹

    Oh, really?

    ¡¸I did some research about it, so I am aware of it. But it still does have a slight effect right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to give it to my granddaughter. For merchants like me, bad things may happen to my family, so I wanted to give my granddaughter at least some protection.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. As I said the protection would be minimal, so she won¡¯t be missing out on much.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand that. Well, please do tell your sister to never leave it behind again. There may be others like me who will want to get their hands on it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will lecture her about it.¡¹

    Unlike the angry man who was with him, the old man seemed like a nice person.

    Well, he did seem a little strict on the rules, though.

    ¡¸Anyways, Dogrude, what about my other request?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I couldn¡¯t procure it.¡¹

    Despite the fact that Sanya-san and I hadn¡¯t left yet, Letobell-san started talking about something else.

    We didn¡¯t get the bracelet yet, plus they didn¡¯t tell us to leave the room, so we decided to stay.

    ¡¸I tried asking about it through all of my connections, but nobody was willing to sell.¡¹

    ¡¸You couldn¡¯t do it, even by using my name?¡¹

    ¡¸What a useless fellow you are.¡¹

    The angry man mocked Dogrude-san.

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t say that. You couldn¡¯t get it either, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s true, but...¡¹

    It looked like there was still something else the old man wanted badly.

    ¡¸All the people who have one, personally received it from His Majesty, so they aren¡¯t willing to sell it.¡¹

    ¡¸What about finding the artist? If we know who the artist is, we could just ask them to draw another one.¡¹

    Oh, they seemed to be talking about another piece of art.

    This old man sure loved his art.

    ¡¸The problem is, I only know that they are a bear. Those who know the identity of the artist refused to talk about it.¡¹

    Sorry, did I hear that right just now?

    The artist was a bear?

    ¡¸Yes, we know that, too. It says so on the picture book itself, after all. That is why, you were asked to find the artist!¡¹

    The angry man yelled at Dogrude-san.

    ¡¸Rodis, lower your voice.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t possible for my connections but to think you failed as well...¡¹

    ¡¸I am very sorry to disappoint you. I tried my best.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no need to apologize. I¡¯m just sad that I can¡¯t give the bear¡¯s picture book to my granddaughter.¡¹

    Listening to the conversation, I finally realized that they were indeed talking about me.

    The bear¡¯s picture book was the one I had drawn.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, don¡¯t you think that the bear¡¯s picture book is...¡¹

    Sanya-san nudged me with her elbow and whispered to my ear.

    Yes, I also knew that by now.

    The bear¡¯s picture book that the old man was searching for must be from me.

    ¡¸An acquaintance of mine from the capital showed me the picture book. It was wonderful that I immediately asked if I could buy it off him, but he refused. Also, when I asked for the identity of the artist, I was told that His Majesty had ordered for it to be kept secret.¡¹

    It looked like His Majesty had kept his promise and adhered to my weird request.

    Amazingly, everybody followed his order, even with how weird it was

    ¡¸But wait, if the artist is a bear...¡¹

    The old man¡¯s gaze turned to me.

    ¡¸Oh right. A bear could be...¡¹

    Dogrude-san also looked at me.

    ¡¸Who else could use a weird name like ¡°Bear¡±?¡¹

    The angry man also looked at me.

    Finally, Sanya-san turned to me as well,pleting the picture of everybody staring me down.

    ¡¸Um, why is everyone looking at me like that?¡¹

    ¡¸Who are you, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know anything about the bear¡¯s picture book?¡¹

    It would be easy for me to deny it, but there was something that told me I shouldn¡¯t.

    ¡¸Do you really want the picture book that badly?¡¹

    ¡¸An acquaintance showed it to my granddaughter once. She really liked it, so it pains me to be unable to get her a copy of her own¡¹

    The old man looked really sad when he said that.

    The reason he wanted the book wasn¡¯t so that he could resell it; he wanted it so that he could give it to his granddaughter.

    Yeah, the old man didn¡¯t seem like a bad person at all. The bracelet had also been meant for his granddaughter¡¯s protection and not his own gain.

    Being sure of that was finally enough to make me decide on bringing out the picture book.

    ¡¸Do you mean this, perhaps?¡¹

    I pulled out a bear¡¯s picture book from the Bear Box.

    As soon as the old man saw the cover, he reached for it.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, this is it!¡¹

    The old man cried out after he took the book.

    ¡¸Could it be that you are the artist?¡¹

    He looked back and forth between the picture book and me.

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    I had nned on staying quiet at first, but because of his sincerity, I answered him honestly in the end.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but could you please give it to me? I will pay you, of course.¡¹

    He said he would pay for it, but I didn¡¯t have any ns on selling the book in the first ce, so I wouldn¡¯t mind just giving it to him. Not just yet, though.

    ¡¸How much are you willing to pay for it?¡¹

    I asked him, because I was curious about its value.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Nope, still not finished.

    At this point, I¡¯m honestly not sure if I can promise ending it in the next one.

    We need to get the picture book out of the way first, after all. w

 Chapter 215 â€“ Bear-san And The Picture Book Negotiation

    Chapter 215 ¨C Bear-san And The Picture Book Negotiation

    ¡¸I¡¯m willing to pay however much you want for it.¡¹

    The old man said something unbelievable. That answer was the hardest one to reply to. I didn¡¯t even need the money, so I was partly joking when I asked.

    ¡¸Letobell-sama, that¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Master, I think it¡¯s best for you to state the price. We don¡¯t know how much the seller will ask for, after all.¡¹

    Dogrude-san and Rodis-san both tried to get Letobell-san to take back what he said. If I had been a corrupt merchant, it would have been possible for me to state some insane price for it. Even so, Letobell-san refused, and wanted me to name my price.

    ¡¸I said I don¡¯t care how much it costs. How much will it take for you to sell it to me, Young Bear Lady?¡¹

    He looked straight into my eyes. The situation had been reversed as I now felt like I was the one being evaluated. Was he trying to test me? Should I give him the regr price of a picture book, or charge him a bit extra?

    ¡¸What will it be?¡¹

    Hmm, before I realized it, I had been dragged into the old man¡¯s territory. Had it been a mistake to take out the picture book? It was impossible to haggle against a merchant of his level. It felt like I would immediately lose if I just stated a price at random. If it was truly meant for his granddaughter, then I was more than happy to just give it to him for free. Still, at this point just handing it over would be annoying.

    ¡¸No matter the cost, huh. In that case, I¡¯ll receive the payment from your granddaughter.¡¹

    ¡¸Come again?¡¹

    Letobell-san was surprised by my unexpected answer. I felt a sense of aplishment at seeing his surprised expression.

    ¡¸¤³¤Î½}±¾¤Ç¤ª½ðƒ¦¤±¤ò¤·¤è¤¦¤È¤Ï¿¼¤¨¤Æ¤¤¤Þ¤»¤ó¡£×Ó¹©£¨¥Õ¥í©`¥éŠª£©¤¿¤Á¤¬Ï²¤ó¤ÇÙB¤¦¤¿¤á¤ËÃè¤¤¤¿¤ó¤Ç¤¹¡£¤À¤«¤é¡¢¤³¤Î½}±¾¤òŒOÄï¤µ¤ó¤Ë¶É¤·¤¿¤È¤­¡¢Ï²¤ó¤Ç¤â¤é¤¨¤ë¤«¤Ç›Q¤á¤µ¤»¤Æ¤â¤é¤¤¤Þ¤¹¡¹

    ¡¸¤Õ¤¶¤±¤ë¤Ê¡¢¤½¤ó¤Ê¤³¤È¤Ç½ðî~¤ò›Q¤á¤ë¤ÈÑÔ¤¦¤Î¤«£¡¡¹

    ¡¸¥í¥Ç¥£¥¹¤ÏÉÙ¤·üa¤Ã¤Æ¤ª¤ì¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    ¡¸¤â¤·¡¢ŒOÄï¤µ¤ó¤¬Ï²¤ó¤Ç¤â¤é¤¨¤Ê¤¤¤è¤¦¤À¤Ã¤¿¤é¡¢¤É¤ó¤Ê¤Ë¤ª½ð¤ò·e¤Þ¤ì¤Æ¤â¤ª¶É¤·¤·¤Þ¤»¤ó¡£¤Ç¤â¡¢×î¸ß¤ÎÐ¦î†¤òÒŠ¤»¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤¿¤é¡¢¥×¥ì¥¼¥ó¥È¤·¤Þ¤¹¡¹

    ¡¸¤Û¤©¡¢¤½¤ó¤Ê¤³¤È¤òÑÔ¤Ã¤ÆÁ¼¤¤¤Î¤«¡£¤ï¤·¤ÎŒOÄï¤ÎÐ¦î†¤Ë„Ù¤Æ¤ë¤È¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n to make money off of these books. I drew them so that the children (basically Flora-hime) will be happy reading it. Therefore, please let me decide on its price after seeing how happy your granddaughter will be after she receives the book.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid, who decides on the price of something based on that?!¡¹

    ¡¸Rodis, can you be quiet.¡¹

    ¡¸............¡¹

    ¡¸If your granddaughter¡¯s smile doesn¡¯t satisfy me, I won¡¯t give it to her no matter how much money you¡¯re willing to spend. Likewise, if she shows me a wonderful smile, I will give it to her as a present.¡¹

    ¡¸Hoh, are you sure about that? Do you think you can win against my granddaughter¡¯s smile?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n on making money off of these books. I drew them so that children (or rather, Flora-hime) would be happy reading it. That¡¯s why I ask you to let me decide on its price after seeing how happy your granddaughter is after she receives the book.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid, who decides the price of something based on that?!¡¹

    ¡¸Rodis...¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸If your granddaughter won¡¯t be happy to receive it then I won¡¯t give it to her no matter how much money you¡¯re willing to spend. Likewise, if she shows me a wonderful smile, I¡¯ll give it to her as a present.¡¹

    ¡¸Hohoho, are you sure about that? My granddaughter¡¯s smile is second to none!¡¹

    Letobell-san smirked, seemingly fascinated by my proposal. His strong appraising gaze hadpletely disappeared at this point. Even if I saw his granddaughter¡¯s smile, I had no intention of wavering if it didn¡¯t look genuine.

    ¡¸A child will never show you their true smile if you simply throw money at them.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true.¡¹

    Letobell-sanughed at myment. He then turned to me and bowed lightly.

    ¡¸I apologize. I was testing you.¡¹

    Letobell-san apologized to me. So, he really was evaluating me like I had thought.

    ¡¸I wanted to know what kind of person you were. You¡¯re acquainted with His Majesty, and you have connections to the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild. Not to mention the fact that you¡¯re an adventurer, yet you are an artist who can also draw picture books. As a merchant, I¡¯ve met many types of people, but I¡¯ve never met a girl like you.¡¹

    Well, I was probably the first one wearing a Bear Suit toe around.

    ¡¸You can tell what kind of person I am just from my answer?¡¹

    ¡¸At the very least, I could tell whether you¡¯re good or bad.¡¹

    Did he see me as a good person, then?

    ¡¸If I had named an absurdly high price, what would you have done?¡¹

    ¡¸If it was an affordable amount, I would have bought it regardless. If not, I would have simply refused. Still, your answer surprised me. It¡¯s been a while since Iughed like that. I never thought you¡¯d base the price on my granddaughter¡¯s smile.¡¹

    ¡¸It needs to be a good one, or it will be a no go.¡¹

    She had to give me a real smile.

    ¡¸My granddaughter will pay you many times over, don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    That isn¡¯t a grand doting parent, but a doting grandparent! The feeling of having to win or lose waspletely gone now, but Letobell-san probably still thought it would be his victory when his granddaughter showed me her smile. For me, it would also be a win whenever I saw someone genuinely smile when they read my picture book, and if by chance the granddaughter showed no interest in my book, I would have to consider it a loss.

    ¡¸Anyways, it seems like His Majesty is quite interested in you.¡¹

    Yes, that did seem to be the case. Though I had said it without much thought at the time, it seemed their promise not to reveal my identity had been kept. It looked like many merchants wanted to get their hands on my book, but they couldn¡¯t get it because of His Majesty¡¯s protection. Yeah, His Majesty must have sent out an order to not spread any information about me around for sure.

    ¡¸This picture book was originally made for Flora-hime, but His Majesty saw it and got it duplicated for a few more people.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, that exins why ites from the castle itself.¡¹

    Letobell-san said with a nod, finally understanding the full situation.

    ¡¸Can I ask you one thing, though?¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t you sell more? This book would surely sell. Not to mention it has the backing of the royal family.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need the money, and I don¡¯t really want the contents of the book spreading around too much.¡¹

    After hearing my exnation, Letobell-san looked me over again.

    ¡¸That¡¯s funny, considering your outfit.¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s exactly why.¡¹

    After that, I asked everyone in the room to keep quiet about the picture book, and then all agreed. It was per His Majesty¡¯s orders, so nobody wanted to oppose him. Also, if I was going to give the book to the old man¡¯s granddaughter, she would have to do the same.

    Finished with the picture book negotiations, Dogrude-san finally remembered he still had to give us the bracelet back. Sanya-san immediately took various gemstones out from her item bag and ced them on the table. I didn¡¯t know how valuable they were, but Dogrude-san picked them up one by one to examine them. ¡¸This should be enough.¡¹ he said, and took a couple, returning the rest to Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Thank you for keeping your promise.¡¹

    ¡¸With this, I also kept my promise with Miranda-san, so I¡¯m d we were able to do it this way. Promises are very important to us merchants.¡¹

    Hearing Dogrude-san¡¯s words, Letobell-sanughed out loud, probably since he had said the same thing just earlier.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-chan. Without you, we wouldn¡¯t have even made it here in time, much less be able to procure the painting.¡¹

    It was thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that we had gotten here so early. Had we gone by horse or carriage, we wouldn¡¯t even have reached the city yet.

    ¡¸Please give your thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear next time we ride them.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    Finished with our task here, we now just had to return the bracelet to Ruimin. That way she would leave no regrets behind here, and we could head straight for the Elf Vige. We thanked Dogrude-san and were about to head back to the inn when Letobell-san stopped us.

    ¡¸Well then, Young Bear Lady, could you meet with my granddaughter now?¡¹

    ¡¸Right now?¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t this a bit to quick?

    ¡¸I would like to see my granddaughter¡¯s smile as soon as possible.¡¹

    His face had ¡°Don¡¯t run¡± written all over it. Well, I guess there was nothing for me to do once I got back to the inn anyway.

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m fine with going now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san, you can return to the inn first, so Ruimin can be at ease.¡¹

    We had spent a long time out here already, so she was probably already worried at this point.

    ¡¸Will you be okay going by yourself?¡¹

    She asked, even though she should know that I can take care of myself by now. What could she possibly be worried about?

    Well, I was happy she was worried about me, though.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if someone tries to pick a fight with you, don¡¯t fight them, okay?¡¹

    Oh, that was what she was worried about, huh. I couldn¡¯t promise her that, unfortunately. It was a habit I had picked up back in my gaming days. Still, I did choose who to fight and who not to, so she didn¡¯t have to worry that much.

    I parted ways with Sanya-san, who headed straight back to the inn, and got into Letobell-san¡¯s carriage to meet with his granddaughter by myself. The sky was still cloudy, but at least the rain had stopped, so the carriage moved quite smoothly. Rodis-san sat in the coach seat while Letobell-san and I sat inside.

    ¡¸Your name is Yuna, right? Why do you wear an outfit like that?¡¹

    Everyone wondered about that, didn¡¯t they? I decided to just respond as usual.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a long story, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸I still find it hard to believe that you¡¯re an adventurer. Not to mention that you¡¯re rank C. You¡¯re stronger than most of the adventurers in this area.¡¹

    ¡¸It just happened by chance.¡¹

    I was sure he wouldn¡¯t believe me even if I had told him the truth, so I just made something up. I started thinking about it recently, but maybe it would be better if I just lived in peace so that my rank didn¡¯t go up any further? Or wait, maybe it was possible to demote my rank?

    ¡¸I won¡¯t probe too much into it if you aren¡¯t willing to share. I¡¯ll also let you know right now that you also don¡¯t want to hear about my life experiences up until now.¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t any deep reason behind not sharing it; I just didn¡¯t want to talk about it. As for his end of the story...

    ¡¸By the way, how old is your granddaughter, Letobell-san?¡¹

    Even though he asked me questions about myself, I had nothing to talk about, so I changed the topic to his granddaughter.

    ¡¸She¡¯s turning five this year. She¡¯s so cute! She looks just like her grandpa!¡¹

    Are you sure about the cute part? If she was simr to an old man, she could hardly be called cute, right? Had he said something like the bridge of her nose looks simr to his, that would be believable, but just saying she was cute and looked like him... Without me asking further, he then began to talk about just how cute his grandchild was. Hmm, I had changed the topic, but he was still annoying. If we didn¡¯t arrive at our destination soon, I would lose my mind on the way.

    As I let his boasting go in through one ear and out the other, the carriage finally stopped. Thank god, we arrived before I lost it.

    ¡¸Oh, we arrived already? There¡¯s still so much to talk about.¡¹

    It was okay, I had heard enough. We got off the carriage, and I finally noticed that we stopped in front of a tall building. It looked like it was about five storeys tall.

    ¡¸The bottom part is my shop, and the top is my home.¡¹

    In other words, the entire building belonged to Letobell-san.

    ¡¸Rodis, I leave the carriage to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    Letobell-san proceeded to lead me up the stairs into his home.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but could you wait in here? I¡¯ll bring my granddaughter over.¡¹

    Letobell-san left me in a wide room, and rushed off to fetch his granddaughter. I decided to take a look around the room while I waited for them. The room was decorated with various paintings and vases, but I couldn¡¯t tell whether they were good or bad. Maybe it would be a good idea to decorate the Bear Houses with stuff like this. Hmm, would it maybe be better if I decorated them with bear-rted things? I felt like Fina and Shuri would most likely like that better. In that case, should I draw some stuff myself to hang it up? Eh, I didn¡¯t really want to decorate my own ce with my own drawings. Maybe I could get Fina and Shuri to draw something instead? As I keep checking the room, pondering on what to do, the door opened, and Letobell-san returned.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting.¡¹

    Hiding behind Letobell-san was a small girl. I took a look at her and thought to myself: yeah, they looked nothing alike.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    At least they got back the bracelet sessfully now.

 Chapter 216 â€“ Bear-san gets a House

    Chapter 216 ¨C Bear-san gets a House

    The little girl hiding behind Letobell-san was staring at me.

    She looked to be about five years old, like Letobell-san had told me, and was easilyparable to the children from the orphanage.

    And, I couldn¡¯t stress this enough: she looked nothing like Letobell-san.

    While Letobell-san had ck hair, the little girl¡¯s hair was of a beautiful, silver color.

    He hadn¡¯t simply kidnapped her, right? I was beginning to doubt him at this point.

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    The little girl finally spoke up, looking up at my face.

    ¡¸Hello, my name is Yuna. And you are?¡¹

    I said, crouching down to make it easier to converse.

    She acted shy, though, and quickly hid behind Letobell-san again.

    ¡¸Go on, tell her your name.¡¹

    ¡¸... Aruka.¡¹

    ¡¸Aruka? What a cute name.¡¹

    Aruka finally came out from behind Letobell-san and looked at me happily then walked over to me and hugged me.

    ¡¸So soft.¡¹

    Well, it was a costume, after all.

    ¡¸Why are you here, Bear-san?¡¹

    I already introduced myself, so why was she still calling me Bear-san?

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t ever get angry over something like that anymore.

    I was a mature adult now, after all.

    ¡¸Your grandfather asked me toe.¡¹

    ¡¸Grandpa did?¡¹

    Aruka looked at Letobell-san.

    ¡¸Grandpa knows Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I just met her today so I asked her toe meet you straight away, Aruka.¡¹

    Looking at Aruka¡¯s face more closely now, I failed to see the resemnce between her and Letobell-san.

    If it turned out that they weren¡¯t actually blood rted then that would mean that this old man was dangerous. Still, based on their conversation, they had to be rted, right?

    I looked back at Aruka while deciding to ignore the potentially dangerous old man for now.

    ¡¸I brought a present for you, Aruka.¡¹

    I took out volume one of the picture book from the Bear Box and Aruka immediately smiled, recognizing it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the Bear-san¡¯s picture book!¡¹

    She took the book from the Bear-san Puppet excitedly.

    ¡¸I can have it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s a present for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Aruka was now smiling from ear to ear, and I needed no more; the book was hers.

    I nced at Letobell-san only to see he was clearly wearing an expression of a winner.

    He then whispered to me.

    ¡ºSo, what do you think? My granddaughter is adorable, right? It¡¯s myplete victory.¡»

    ¡ºAlthough, the smile is all thanks to my picture book, not your hard work.¡»

    I looked back at Aruka, and seeing her smiling face while she read the book also made me feel like I had wonpletely. She epted it happily, after all. I would have only considered it a loss if she said she didn¡¯t want it.

    ¡ºYes, but Aruka¡¯s smile is still the best, right?¡»

    I had to agree; her smile really made my heart warm up.

    Completely focused on our whispers, I suddenly felt a tug on my hand.

    I looked down and saw Aruka had grabbed onto my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸Bear-san, read it.¡¹

    She asked while looking up at me with big, excited eyes.

    I had no reason to refuse, so I took the book from her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to head downstairs for a moment. Can I ask you to take care of Aruka while I¡¯m away?¡¹

    I agreed, so Letobell-san left the room, leaving us on our own.

    Somehow, we ended up reading the book with me sitting down, and Aruka between my legs, so that she could look at the book as I read it to her.

    And then, I performed the very embarrassing act of reading out the book I had made myself.

    Just as we got to the second volume, the door opened. It wasn¡¯t Letobell-san, however, but rather a woman with silver-colored hair.

    ¡¸There really is a bear in here, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    Aruka got up and ran over to the woman, who appeared to be her mother. Unlike Letobell-san, she actually looked like her daugher. Letobell-san was most likely not rted to her, but rather the father of Aruka, judging by the stark difference.

    Well, this woman could still be his daughter if she had only inherited her mother¡¯s genes.

    ¡¸Thank you for looking after my daughter. I¡¯m Sefull, by the way.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Has my daughter made any selfish requests?¡¹

    ¡¸No, she¡¯s very cute and obedient.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good to hear. Oh, is that the picture book?¡¹

    Sefull-san said, noticing the book her daughter was holding.

    ¡¸Bear-san gave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great.¡¹

    She patted her daughter¡¯s head happily.

    ¡¸I heard the story from father-inw. Thank you for giving my daughter your picture book. Someone showed it to her while we were at the capital, and she really liked it but was sad that she couldn¡¯t get a copy of her own. Father-inw did everything he could but to no avail. He was just about to give up before he found you.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯m d he did, seeing how happy it made Asuka.¡¹

    Well, my job here was done, so it was about time for me to leave. As I stood up, however...

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, we didn¡¯t even serve you tea.¡¹

    Sefull-san hurried towards the door.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I was about to head back anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸You can stay a bit longer if you would like. Father-inw would like to thank you as well, so he asked me to keep you here a little longer if you wanted to leave.¡¹

    I had already gotten to see Aruka¡¯s smile as payment, so there was no real reason for him to thank me.

    ¡¸He¡¯ll being soon, so please have some tea while you wait.¡¹

    ¡¸He doesn¡¯t really need to thank me, though.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going home, Bear-san?¡¹

    Aruka asked me while grasping my Bear Suit.

    There was no way that I could shake off an attack like that.

    It was the same unfair tactic that Princess Flora used. I could only call it cheating.

    Knowing I couldn¡¯t run away with this, I obediently epted the tea.

    I still made sure to tell Aruka that I would have to go home soon and gently made her let go of my suit.

    As I sat down on a chair, Aruka quickly climbed onto the chair next to me and grabbed onto my costume again. My gentle request didn¡¯t work it seemed.

    ¡¸Huhu, looks like my daughter likes you very much.¡¹

    Sefull-sanughed while sitting in front of me to sip on a tea of her own.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because of this outfit of mine.¡¹

    ¡¸At first I didn¡¯t really understand what Father-inw was talking about. He told me a girl dressed like a bear gave my daughter a bear¡¯s picture book, and that this mystery bear girl was taking care of her at this moment. I was confused, and was still thrown off when I saw you and your bear suit.¡¹

    Sefull-san exined and smiled. To hide my embarrassment, I took the book from Aruka and started to read it again.

    ¡¸By the way, where is Letobell-san?¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s downstairs doing some work right now, but I think he should get here pretty soon. Sorry for making you wait.¡¹

    After I finished rereading the picture book, Letobell-san finally returned.

    ¡¸Sorry for taking so long.¡¹

    ¡¸All right, I¡¯ll be going, then.¡¹

    I tried to use my chance to escape.

    ¡¸Please wait, I haven¡¯t expressed my gratitude yet.¡¹

    ¡¸I already received my payment, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    Our deal hadpleted the moment Aruka smiled for me.

    Letobell-san just shook his head at my response, though.

    ¡¸No, that just won¡¯t do. Could you please let me give you something to show gratitude?¡¹

    Even if he said that... I really had no intentions on taking money for it.

    ¡¸I really don¡¯t need anything. We had a deal, right? Picture book for Aruka¡¯s smile. I had received generous amounts of those, so it¡¯s more than enough.¡¹

    I said and gently patted Aruka¡¯s head, who looked up at me and smiled again.

    ¡¸Yes, I do understand that you don¡¯t need the money. However, it just doesn¡¯t sit right with me to give you nothing. If there¡¯s anything you want, within the limits of my power, I will give it to you.¡¹

    I was still troubled, but since he offered it like that, I could actually think of something I would love to have.

    ¡¸Okay, can I ask you something, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Would it be possible for me to buy a house in this city?¡¹

    To use the Bear Transfer Gate to get to this city, I needed a house to put it in.

    I recalled needing a rmendation letter to purchase a plot ofnd in the capital, so I hoped he could do same for me here. That way, he could help me out, and we would both be happy.

    ¡¸Do you n to start living in this city?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really, but I do have a reason for wanting one.¡¹

    Obviously I couldn¡¯t tell him about my Bear Transfer Gate.

    This city was quite far from my previously traveled zones, so a gate here would be great.

    ¡¸I see, in that case, as long as you have the money and something to prove your status, you should have no problem buying it.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t I need a reference letter or anything of the sort?¡¹

    ¡¸Not particrly. The price of the house will differ on the location, though.¡¹

    In other words, it would be fine as long as I had the money. Which I did.

    ¡¸That means I can just head to the Commerce Guild and chose a location, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re seriously about this, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I must warn you that for a child like you even a small house most likely won¡¯te cheap.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no need to worry about that.¡¹

    I had plenty of money from my former world, not to mention all the ie from the shop and the tunnel. Hmm, I hadn¡¯t ever checked how much I had been getting, but I was told that it was quite a reasonable sum.

    ¡¸Father-inw, why don¡¯t you just sell her that house cheaply?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, you mean that house. It¡¯s quite far from the center, though.¡¹

    Further listening to their conversation I learned that they owned a small house somewhere on the edge of the city. They took it over a few years ago, but found no use for it, and because nobody was interested in buying it, it ended up just sitting there.

    I had no problem with that if I could set up my Bear Transfer Gate there.

    I also wouldn¡¯t have to buy a plot ofnd and suddenly pop out a Bear House there, so I wouldn¡¯t draw attention to myself that way.

    Not to mention that it would be troublesome to go to the Commerce Guild to purchase a house, especially with all the paperwork that went with it. Also, with all themotion I would cause just by going to the guild, having Letobell-san directly sell me a house was definitely a better idea.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re willing to sell it to me cheaply, it would be of great help.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then, let me take you there, and we can decide on the price if you are still interested after seeing it.¡¹

    Letobell-san got up from his seat, so I tried to follow him, but Aruka still hadn¡¯t let go.

    ¡¸Aruka, I¡¯m sorry but I have to go now.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san...¡¹

    She looked really sad.

    ¡¸I¡¯lle again, don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸She really likes you, Yuna-chan. Aruka is quite shy, so it¡¯s rare for her to get so attached.¡¹

    I was happy to hear that, but it also troubled me to see her sad.

    Luckily, I had just obtained something that could easily soothe any child; I took out a set of bear plushies from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Bear-sans!¡¹

    Aruka cried out when she saw them and loosened her grip on me.

    ¡¸My, how cute. They are Bear-san plushies.¡¹

    ¡¸Not only did you draw picture books, you even made plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t try to copy them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t do something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Aruka, just think of them as me.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re giving them to me?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, so take good care of them, okay?¡¹

    Aruka finally let go of me so she could hug the plushies.

    ¡¸I¡¯lle again.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Letobell-san would sell me a house, so I coulde here anytime by just using my Bear Gate.

    I parted from Aruka, who still looked at me with a sad expression even while hugging the plushies, and headed out, where a carriage was already prepared for us.

    I noticed that Rodis-san would be driving us again. I was sure he would say something toin, but surprisingly, he stayed quiet.

    The carriage set out, and quickly turned off the main road. After a while, it stopped outside a small, cute looking house with a red roof.

    ¡¸This is it. What do you think of it?¡¹

    It was away from the main road, so not many people passed by; it was a great location for me.

    ¡¸Hmm, I see no problems with it. How much would you like for it?¡¹

    Letobell-san whispered something to Rodis-san, who took out a piece of paper.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need your money; I¡¯m giving you the house.¡¹

    ¡¸Master?!¡¹

    Letobell-san shushed him and proceeded to exin.

    ¡¸You gave the picture book to my granddaughter and then even presented her with plushies. I think this should be an appropriate return gift.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that the value of what I gave to your granddaughter and this house are equal at all, though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not for you to decide. I couldn¡¯t get my hands on that picture book, no matter what I did. So, it was quite priceless to me. That¡¯s why please don¡¯t worry and ept it.¡¹

    Letobell-san handed me the piece of paper he had gotten from Rodis-san; it appeared to be the deed to the house.

    ¡¸Please, take it.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you...¡¹

    I was a bit concerned with how this turned out, but I thanked him anyway and reluctantly epted the deed to the house.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    She got a (TL note: normal) house!

 Chapter 217 â€“ Bear-san Heads For the Elf Village, For Real

    Chapter 217 ¨C Bear-san Heads For the Elf Vige, For Real

    After passing me the deed to the house, Letobell-san boarded the carriage and left me behind on my own.

    I used the keys that were inside the deed to unlock the door. When I entered, I immediately noticed a lot of dust drifting around in the air, so I decided to open some windows to air out the house.

    It really seemed like the house hadn¡¯t been upied for a long time.

    They had mentioned that the house was cleaned about once a month, so this was about what I had expected. Had it been left uncleaned for all these years, the condition would have been a lot worse.

    I then began using my wind magic to sweep the floors. Luckily, there was onlyrge furniture in the house. Had there been any small objects, my wind would have blown them all away, making my job much harder.

    As I walked through the house, I noticed that the arrangement was really basic.

    There were a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom with a tub and toilet on the first floor, and two bedrooms on the second. It kind of gave of the newlywed vibe. Not that I really cared much about that as I only nned to use it as a hideout for my Bear Gate.

    The gate would make it much easier for me whenever I wanted to travel over this border. It would have been even better if I had a ce over the river, but this should be good enough.

    Once I finished going through all the rooms, I decided to set up the Bear Gate in one of the bedrooms. I didn¡¯t n on staying in this house, but I still decided to set it up in the one I would be using, just in case if I had someone sleep over. I made sure to put it in the corner, though, so I had space to move around.

    Now I coulde to this city whenever I wanted. After cleaning up the ce a bit more, I locked the door and walked back to the inn. I wouldn¡¯t want the sisters to worry about me being kidnapped or something.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you took a while. Is everything alright?¡¹

    I must have still taken longer than expected as Sanya-san was already worried. Yeah, I should havee back sooner. If I had taken any longer, they would have likely stormed up to Letobell-san¡¯s home and broken down the door.

    ¡¸It went well. I met his granddaughter and had to read some books to her. Then, they even served me some tea when I wanted to leave.¡¹

    I exined what took me so long, leaving out the matter of the house for now.

    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good, then. Still, if they forced you to do anything, please tell me.¡¹

    After I thanked Sanya for her concern, Ruimin came over as well.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you so much for getting the bracelet back.¡¹

    Ruimin said and bowed deeply.

    I looked at her wrist and saw that the bracelet was now safely back on it.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you were able to get your bracelet back.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all thanks to you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Actually, Sanya-san was the one who paid for it.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really have any idea how much she had paid, as gemstone value was aplete mystery to me.

    Also, it was thanks to my Bears that we had been able to cross the river, so I hadn¡¯t actually done anything myself.

    Crossing the river might have been the hardest part, and the Bears were indeed my summoned beasts, but it it weren¡¯t for the God presenting me with the Water Walking skill, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible. I really didn¡¯t think I should take any credit here.

    ¡¸I heard about what happened from Onee-chan. She would have no way of getting it back without your help.¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san still did most of the work.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if she did, I must say your bears are really amazing; they can even walk on water.¡¹

    Sanya-san had told about that, huh.

    I had asked Sanya-san not to tell anybody about the summoned bears and my Water Walking skill, but I did make an exception for Ruimin when Sanya-san asked if we should keep it from her as well.

    Ruimin already knew about the Bears, I saw no problem with her learning about the skill. We might even need to use that skill again anyway.

    ¡¸Then you should thank them instead as they were the ones to work hard to get us across.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course! Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan really did their best for me, didn¡¯t they?¡¹

    We continued to chat for a while and soon Miranda-san¡¯s party entered the room, most likely wanting to know if we got the bracelet back.

    They had actually wanted toe along in the morning, but something came up, and they weren¡¯t able to.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d that everything worked out.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for causing you all so much trouble.¡¹

    Ruimin apologized to Miranda-san¡¯s party once more.

    ¡¸Still, I can¡¯t believe you actually managed to cross such a rapid river and then even got the bracelet back despite the odds. I guess this just shows the power of a guild master.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it would have been impossible for poor adventurers like us.¡¹

    Bitter smiles appeared on their faces when Miranda-san said that.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how exactly did you two cross the river?¡¹

    Erielle-san asked me, while also taking a step towards me. I made sure to also take a step back before answering.

    ¡¸Sorry, but that¡¯s a secret.¡¹

    ¡¸You can tell us.¡¹

    She said, looking quite displeased.

    While I didn¡¯t really mind telling them how we crossed, I decided to keep it to myself for now.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, how did you two cross the river?¡¹

    Since I wouldn¡¯t tell her, Miranda-san targeted Sanya-san instead.

    ¡¸Guild masters don¡¯t leak information on other adventurers, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuuu, too bad, then.¡¹

    Finally moving away from the bracelet and river crossing conversation, we jumped into discussing our current ns.

    ¡¸When do you think the boats will be able to depart?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmmm, about three days, probably? Yeah, they should be able to set sail by then.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, since the boats haven¡¯t been working for thest few days, they will probably be crowded on first few trips.¡¹

    Since Miranda-san¡¯s party was from this city, their estimates should most likely be right, and that meant that we wouldn¡¯t be able leave for next few days. Not to mention I really didn¡¯t want to ride a crowded boat... I wanted to experience afortable journey where I could rx and look at the scenery; a crowded boat would be the exact opposite of that.

    ¡¸Are you all going to Sorzanark, Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we are going to our hometown.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that something happened there? Was that why Ruimin went all the way to the capital to find you?¡¹

    How sharp. She didn¡¯t know any of the details but was still able to figure out what had happened.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing serious; the vige chief just asked me to return home.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t really heard any details, either.¡¹

    Everyone then turned to Ruimin.

    ¡¸The chief only told me to bring Onee-chan home.¡¹

    The two of them had decided to keep the barrier problem a secret.

    Well, it was a vital part of elven defenses, so it made sense to keep quiet about it.

    Hmm, they had told me, though...

    ¡¸Anyway, we n on departing tomorrow if at all possible, so I would like to thank you again for taking care of Ruimin. If you evere around to the capital please visit the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I would like to express my gratitude to you there.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t really have anything to thank us for, but I promise we will definitely stop by if we ever head that way.¡¹

    Well, they were adventurers, so it would make sense for them to stop by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild anyway.

    I could maybe also meet with them if I were at the capital at the time, but it would most likely be hard, considering I wasn¡¯t there often.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, do you live in the Capital as well?¡¹

    Erielle-san asked me. I didn¡¯t really want her to evere to my house, but Crimonia was quite a distance away, so it should be fine.

    ¡¸I live in Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸Crimonia? That¡¯s far.¡¹

    Yea, it was, so I really hoped she would nevere to visit me.

    ¡¸Well, please let us stay at your house if we evere around.¡¹

    No, that couldn¡¯t happen! I tried to justugh off her request, letting Ruimin take over.

    ¡¸Everyone, thank you so much. I¡¯m really happy I got to meet you here.¡¹

    ¡¸But, we didn¡¯t really do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not! Everyone was very nice and weing to me. I was really happy when you helped me out.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯m d to hear that. If any of you evere past here again, let¡¯s meet up and have a chat, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    We only finished chattingte in the afternoon, so Sanya-san decided to treat us all to dinner.

    After it, we finally parted from Miranda-san¡¯s party and returned to out room.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, since the boats won¡¯t be able to depart anytime soon, I was wondering if it would be okay to ride your bears again.¡¹

    Sanya-san wanted to return to the Elf Vige as quickly as possible.

    I had already set up a Bear Gate in this city, so I had no reason in sticking around, either

    The only regret I had was not being able to ride on the ferry boat.

    Well, that was only a trivial matter, so I agreed to her request.

    The next day, we left the city by the same gates we had entered.

    The weather was nice today, so we couldn¡¯t summon the Bears at the docks, much less walk across the river from there. That was why we had to walk a bit upstream this time around.

    ¡¸This spot should be good.¡¹

    We had gotten quite a distance from the city, where nobody was in sight.

    ¡¸Yay, we can finally cross the river.¡¹

    Ruimin said and immediately climbed onto Swaying Bear.

    She was was excited for this after hearing that Bears could walk on water.

    Earlier, she had kept asking stuff like, ¡¸Are we there yet?¡¹ and ¡¸This is far enough, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get too excited once we are crossing. It won¡¯t be my fault if you fall off.¡¹

    Even though weather was fine, the river was still flowing rapidly, so I warned her in case she got too excited and identally jumped off.

    Once we were all set, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear leapt onto the river and began running across.

    ¡¸This is amazing! We¡¯re really running across the river!¡¹

    Ruimin wasn¡¯t goingpletely crazy, but she was making quite a ruckus.

    ¡¸Ruimin, calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸But Onee-chan, we¡¯re running on top of a river!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I know.¡¹

    Sanya-san tried to get her sister to calm down, but it didn¡¯t really work.

    Well, the crossing only took a couple of minutes, so we should be fine.

    ¡¸The two of you are amazing!¡¹

    The moment we arrived to the other side Ruimin jumped off Swaying Bear and started stroking its fur.

    Even though the crossing was already finished, it didn¡¯t seem like she would calm down anytime soon.

    I left dealing with the hyperactive Ruimin to Sanya-san, and slowly rode forward, hopefully in the direction of the Elf Vige.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We¡¯re finally going to the Elf Vige.

 Chapter 218 â€“ Bear-san Arrives at the Elf Village

    Chapter 218 ¨C Bear-san Arrives at the Elf Vige

    Now that she had gotten her bracelet back, Ruimin was smiling a lot more often. She had often looked quite depressed before, like as if she was feeling sorry. It was good to see herugh and smile more now.

    Well, I only noticed how drastic the change was now that she was showing her natural smile; she must have been forcing herself before.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll reach the vige soon.¡¹

    Ruimin said from atop Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Yeah. I never would have thought we would get here this quickly.¡¹

    Based on what they had told me before, we should reach the vige today as the Bears were already running towards arge forested area.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if forest was the right word to describe the area; it almost seemed like a jungle.

    Anyway, the Elf Vige should be inside this forest, and it it weren¡¯t for my Bear Map recording anywhere I went, I would surely get lost in this dense forest immediately. Even from here, all I could see was a whole lot of trees and nothing else.

    In no time, the Bears reached the edge of the forest.

    The road practically disappeared here. Would we have to stride right through the forest, with no path to follow at all? That made me a bit worried.

    ¡¸From here, the road gets narrower, but still wide enough for things like horses to pass through.¡¹

    So, a carriage wouldn¡¯t be able to pass through, but there was enough space for someone riding a horse.

    Because of this, I could no longer have the Bears run on blindly, and had Sanya-san and Ruimin lead the way from atop Swaying Bear.

    As we entered, I noticed that the whole forest waspletely overgrown with all sorts of nts and vines, and only a bit of light managed to pass through the leaves.

    I was looking forward to seeing the vige, hoping there would be interesting things to be found there, or maybe some unique foods.

    Maybe someone could even teach me how to make a protective bracelet, just like the ones Ruimin and Sanya-san wore.

    First, I would have to figure out how to get a gemstone like theirs. They seemed quite precious so it might end up being an issue.

    Still, if I actually managed to make one, I would definitely give it to Fina as a souvenir when I got back.

    ¡¸This feels really nostalgic.¡¹

    ¡¸It has been ten years, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure. We elves don¡¯t really keep track of time. For me, it doesn¡¯t feel like much time has passed.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s definitely been ten years, Onee-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸You sound like you know for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I do. You will understand once we get to the vige.¡¹

    Ruimin didn¡¯t exin any further, so we rode in silence for a while, eventually reaching a small river. We could easily cross it by just walking on it, but there was no need for that as there was a bridge we could take.

    As soon as we crossed the bridge, however, something felt off to me.

    It felt like my entire body passed through something. It felt like like going through a thin membrane of magical power.

    As I looked around restlessly, trying to find the source of the feeling, Sanya-san noticed and spoke up.

    ¡¸Could it be that you felt something?¡¹

    ¡¸As soon as we crossed the bridge, I felt some weird magic-like thing pass through me.¡¹

    I answered her, telling her what it felt like. It was difficult to exin it otherwise.

    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what a magical membrane would feel like, but this sure seemed toe close to it.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, your magic is really sensitive. What you felt was most likely our barrier. Most people can¡¯t feel it when they pass through it, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. From what I gathered, members of our family had been the only ones who could sense the barrier. Our magical power is very simr to that of the barrier as we were the ones to make it, so it makes sense for us to feel it. But, in your case... it¡¯s quite weird for you too feel it, too.¡¹

    Well, that didn¡¯t really help exin much...

    ¡¸Does that mean Ruimin also felt it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but only a little.¡¹

    Well, I only felt it slightly, too. It was most likely due to the Bear Suit; if I walked through without it, I surely would have not felt a thing.

    ¡¸Still, this means that the barrier is working like it should be.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but monsters can still pass through from time to time. Grandpa said that its because the barrier must have gotten weaker.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really understand how it would get weaker so soon, but if grandpa says so, then he¡¯s most likely right.¡¹

    ¡¸By grandpa, you mean the vige elder, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. He¡¯s really kind, so I¡¯m sure he will give you a warm wee, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    We continued to trod along the narrow path, which was just wide enough for the Bears to pass.

    We traveled for quite a while longer, but the vige still wasn¡¯t in sight. Well, the Bears were forced to walk slowly because of the path, so it made sense for it to take some time.

    I decided to use detection magic to see if we were getting close enough for it to be in my range. Eh, what the...? There were four people quite close to us, two on each side.

    Not only that, they were even matching our speed. Were we being followed per chance?

    I looked over to where they were supposed to be but couldn¡¯t see anything.

    They were most likely elves, but why would they be hiding from us?

    It would have been understandable if I was traveling by myself, but both Sanya-san and Ruimin were with me.

    Yeah, there should be no need for them to hide themselves. It didn¡¯t look like they would attack us, either, as they were following us at a set distance.

    Whatever their reason was, I couldn¡¯t calm down knowing they were this close, especially once one of them moved a bit ahead and another one a bit behind, making uspletely surrounded.

    This could turn out to be problematic if they were actually enemies.

    ¡¸Sanya-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Just wanting to let you know we are being followed or better surrounded by what I believe to most likely be elves.¡¹

    Sanya-san¡¯s eyes widened when she heard me say that.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you noticed?!¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, what?!¡¹

    It seemed that Sanya-san had noticed as well while Ruimin most certainly hadn¡¯t as she started to look around restlessly.

    ¡¸You really are simply amazing, Yuna-chan. They are skilled enough to be able to conceal their presence from normal people, but it seems these ones aren¡¯t on the level to fool you yet.¡¹

    It was actually thanks to my detection magic, but I didn¡¯t really want to exin about that.

    Still, I had noticed nothing with my naked eye, so they really were very good at hiding.

    ¡¸Even I only noticed them once I focused on it.¡¹

    ¡¸Are we going to be fine?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, since we are here with you.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. So, is it really necessary for four of them to be following us, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you even know how many of them there are?!¡¹

    Oops, I shouldn¡¯t have said that.

    I identally told them how many people I detected through the skill while it seemed that even Sanya-san only knew that there were people nearby but not how many of them.

    Yeah, she looked very surprised that I was able to figure out how many people there were; I really should have kept it to myself.

    ¡¸If you know how many there are, does that mean you also know their exact locations?¡¹

    Should I really answer that truthfully? Well, I already told her I knew how many of them there were, so there wouldn¡¯t be much use of trying to lie from her on out.

    ¡¸One on each side of us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re kidding, right?! I can¡¯t see them at all.¡¹

    Ruimin frantically looked all around her but was unable to spot any of them.

    Well, I also only knew where they were because of the detection magic. Without it, I wouldn¡¯t have known, either.

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s because of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They must have been surprised to see us riding on them.¡¹

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t just going to attack us suddenly, right?¡¹

    ¡¸No, of course not. No need to worry about that, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    After she said that, Sanya-san looked towards the forest, and then,

    ¡¸Labriatt!¡¹

    She called out what was most likely a name.

    ¡¸Sanya-san?¡¹

    It seemed like I was right, and it really was somebody¡¯s name.

    After a few moments, I noticed that the tree in front of us began to sway with a few leaves even falling off. Looking up, I saw a male elf standing on top of a branch.

    ¡¸You noticed us?¡¹

    The man asked, and I noticed he had quite the handsome face.

    Was he an elf?

    He sure seemed to be, as elves were said to be beautiful, whether they were male or female. That information was most likely true as Sanya-san was quite beautiful, Ruimin very cute, and this man clearly seemed to be on the better-looking side of people.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Labriatt.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it has. Still, I¡¯m quite surprised you managed to notice us.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your job to watch the forest, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about these bears. I can guarantee that they are quite harmless as long as you don¡¯t attack them.¡¹

    ¡¸Does that include the bear on top of them?¡¹

    He said, looking at me.

    ¡¸Does she seem dangerous to you?¡¹

    ¡¸... No, she doesn¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, could you stop following us around? It¡¯s a bit ufortable.¡¹

    ¡¸... I understand. I will head to the vige to make a report in advance, then.¡¹

    He replied only after thinking for a bit.

    ¡¸Can you tell the other three the same thing?¡¹

    Labriatt¡¯s expression changed when Sanya-san said that.

    ¡¸Sanya, you noticed that much!?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s two on each side, and another one behind us.¡¹

    She told him exactly what I had told her.

    ¡¸Well, honestly, the one who noticed them was this girl, Yuna-chan. It bothers her to have you follow us around and would like you to stop.¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at me.

    ¡¸Wha...¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t said that.

    Yes, they were indeed following us around, but I had never said it was bothering me. I was only worried that we might be getting in position to attack us.

    ¡¸That bear noticed us?¡¹

    Labriatt said and looked at me again, his eyes clearly inspecting me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan may be wearing this very cute outfit, but she¡¯s quite strong so I would rmend you not to attack her.¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t do something like that. Anyway, I get it. I¡¯ll ask the three of them to pull back. That¡¯s enough, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Please do. Also, we¡¯ll all be heading to the vige like this, so please let them know so they won¡¯t be too surprised, okay?¡¹

    Sanya-san said and patted Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Okay, I will let them know.¡¹

    The man said then disappeared out into the thin air.

    Well, I was still using my detection magic, so I know he actually just left the spot he was standing at.

    Then, we heard a small sound, which reminded me of a flute, and the other three began moving away as well.

    ¡¸Okay, should we head onwards ourselves?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure. Sanya-san, who exactly was that person earlier?¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s one of the forest lookouts. He makes sure dangerous things don¡¯t enter the forest. Well, most of time he just keeps an eye on the merchants traveling through.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, since you two are with me, there really was no reason for them to follow us, right?¡¹

    ¡¸They were most likely startled by Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, and from what I gathered, also your outfit. It should be fine now, though, as they know that you guys aren¡¯t dangerous.¡¹

    Okay, that was enough for me.

    The Bears continued walking down the narrow path, and eventually the trees began to thin out and opened up to arge crop fields and a vige a small distance away. We had finally arrived at the Elf Vige.

    Author Notes:

    With this, they¡¯ve finally and safely made it to the Elf Vige.

 Chapter 219 â€“ Bear-san Reaffirms That Elves Are Indeed A Long-Living Race, Part 1

    As we moved forward, I noticed that the Elf Vige was quite arge settlement. That elf from earlier had also seemed to tell the vigers about using, because a few of them had already gathered ahead of time and were waiting for us, most likely to greet us. As we entered, I thought that they would be focusing on Sanya-san, who hadn¡¯te home in ten years, but they all seemed to stare at my Bears and me instead. Their eyes sparkled like those of excited children as they looked at my Bears. Then, an elf, who looked like a human in his forties would, stepped forward.

    ¡¸Sanya, it¡¯s been awhile.¡¹

    ¡¸It indeed has, Grandpa.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin, thank you for bringing Sanya back to the vige.¡¹

    Ruimin looked very happy when the man told her that.

    Even though Sanya-san had called him Grandpa, he didn¡¯t look that old at all. He looked more like an uncle. If their grandpa looked this young, I couldn¡¯t imagine how much younger their parents looked. What a fearsome race the elves were.

    ¡¸Sanya, Ruimin!¡¹

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    An elvendy who the elf sisters called their mother appeared from behind the crowd. She was thin and had long, beautiful hair. Did elves exist just to pick a fight with the human race? She also appeared rather young and simr enough to the elf sisters that one might assume she was actually their elder sister. It felt really weird hearing them call her mother. The same with grandpa: it would make much more sense to me if the had called him father.

    ¡¸Father-inw, wouldn¡¯t it be best if we discussed everything tomorrow? They¡¯ve only just arrived and from such a far-away ce no less.¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t mind that, but I would appreciate if they at least introduced our guests first.¡¹

    ¤ª ”¤Á¤ã¤ó£¨éL£©¤¬¤ï¤¿¤·¤È¤¯¤Þ¤æ¤ë¤¿¤Á¤òÒŠ¤ë¡£¤À¤«¤é¡¢±ØÈ»µÄ¤ËËû¤Î¥¨¥ë¥Õ¤ÎÄ¿¤â¤ï¤¿¤·¤ËÏò¤±¤é¤ì¤ë¡£

    ¤³¤ì¤Ï×Ô¼º½B½é¤ò¤·¤í¤Ã¤Æ¤³¤È¤Ê¤Î¤«¤Ê£¿

    ¤ï¤¿¤·¤¬¿Ú¤òé_¤³¤¦¤È¤·¤¿¤é¡¢ÏÈ¤Ë¤ª ”¤µ¤ó¤¬¿Ú¤òé_¤¤¤¿¡£

    The grandpa (chief) looked at me and the bears. That shifted the attention of the vigers towards us as well.

    Is this the part where I do a self-introduction?

    I was about to speak, but the grandpa spoke first.

    Their grandpa, or better in this case the vige elder, said and looked at me and my Bears, which shifted the attention of all the vigers towards us as well. Was this the part where I had to introduce myself? As I was about to do so, however, their grandpa did it first.

    ¡¸My name is Mumuroot, and the chief of this vige. You may have already heard, but I¡¯m also Ruimin and Sanya¡¯s grandfather.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna, an adventurer. I asked Sanya-san to bring me along on this trip. I will do my best not to get in your way, so please let me stay here for this short while.¡¹

    In order to make a good first impression, I gave a polite introduction. Still, I wasn¡¯t sure how well it went through since I was wearing a Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Are those your bears, youngdy?¡¹

    He said, ncing at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Yes, they¡¯re my summoned beasts.¡¹

    ¡¸Summoned beasts, you say...¡¹

    ¡¸They won¡¯t do anything to harm you, and neither will I, at least as long as you don¡¯t attack us first.¡¹

    After I exined that, I decided to unsummon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for now. The vigers let out surprised gasps, and I even heard some children saying ¡¸The Bear-sans disappeared.¡¹in sad voices.

    ¡¸I see. If you yourself feel in any danger, you may deal with it ordingly.¡¹

    So, if I understood correctly, they would let me be as long as they knew I wasn¡¯t a danger, and we were even allowed to retaliate if somebody tried to attack us.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, please look after the guests for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, right? You traveled far to get here, so we will treat you like an official guest.¡¹

    It looked like everything would be fine as nobody seemed to have any hostility towards my Bears or me. I had been worried about them driving me out, but it seemed like it was all for naught.

    ¡¸Sanya, please doe to my home tomorrow morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san then turned around and left. Some of the vigers went with him, while a few others stayed to talk to Sanya-san. Ruimin quickly used the chance and started chatting with her mother, which kind of left me to myself. I took a quick look around the area before going to join Ruimin and her mother.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is our mother.¡¹

    ¡¸Hello, my name is Talia. Thank you for taking care of my daughters.¡¹

    She was even more beautiful up close. I would have never imagined that she could be a mother of two.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna and I work as an adventurer. Sanya-san has also taken care of me a great deal.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re so polite. If I may ask, is your outfit something normal at the capital?¡¹

    Talia-san asked me immediately. I shouldn¡¯t leave her in dark and had to reveal the truth.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Everybody wears one.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san! Please don¡¯t lie to Mother like that. She has never left the vige before, so she¡¯ll believe your every word. Mother, please ignore what she just said; there¡¯s nobody else out there that dresses like her.¡¹

    I tried my best to joke about the outfit, but it got shot down instantly. It wasn¡¯t really aplete lie, though, as the workers at my shop wore simr outfits. Therefore, I wasn¡¯t the only one dressed like a bear.

    ¡¸Oh my, is that so? It looks so cute, too. I was even thinking about getting a set made for you, Ruimin. Too bad it isn¡¯t popr.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need something like that; it¡¯s too embarrassing.¡¹

    She just said she didn¡¯t need an outfit like mine and even imed it was too embarrassing to wear. So, that was how she had been looking at me this entire time.

    ¡¸It¡¯s only cute on Yuna-san.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t feel like she was actually trying to tter me.

    ¡¸Fufu, Sanya brought back such an interesting youngdy with her. Please tell me more at our home; you must be tired out from such a long journey, after all.¡¹

    Once Sanya-san was free, all four of us headed for their their home. Ruimin hadn¡¯t seen her mother in quite a while, so she was happily walking next to her. Sanya-san wasgging a bit behind even though she had already finished talking to her acquaintances. Shouldn¡¯t Sanya act more like Ruimin? Sanya had been away for longer than Ruimin had. Maybe she would be embarrassed to do so due to her age? Pondering on whether that really was the right reason, we arrived at a house, which I immediately noticed was a bit bigger than the ones around it.

    ¡¸Our house is a bit cramped, but please make yourself at home.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t saying that a bit insulting to the other houses? Compared to them, their house seemed quiterge. Well, maybe there were a lot of people living inside? Ruimin opened the door and went in first.

    ¡¸I¡¯m home!¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan?¡¹

    As we entered as well, I noticed a young elf child peeked out from one of the rooms inside. They had short hair, so I was pretty sure he was a boy and not a girl. Although, if he grew his hair out, he could easily look like a pretty girl.

    ¡¸Luca, I¡¯m home.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan!¡¹

    Luca immediately ran over to Ruimin when she called his name.

    ¡¸Did you watch over the house properly? You haven¡¯t bothered Mother with any selfish requests, have you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯ve been a good kid.¡¹

    Luca said happily and hugged Ruimin tightly, who in return patted him on the head. He looked about seven maybe eight years old. Since he called Ruimin Onee-chan, he must be her younger brother. They did look quite alike. Just as I had thought that, though, Sanya-san said something unbelievable.

    ¡¸Ruimin, who is that?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked while looking at the young elf.

    ¡¸He¡¯s our little brother, Luca.¡¹

    ¡¸He was born after you left, so it makes sense for you not to know him.¡¹

    Obviously, since Sanya-san hadn¡¯te for over ten years, she couldn¡¯t know him. She was the one in the wrong here, not returning home for so long. Although, they hadn¡¯t bothered contacting her, either...

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you tell me we got a younger brother?¡¹

    ¡¸We thought it would be okay to just tell you when you came home. Also, we didn¡¯t really know how to contact you.¡¹

    ¡¸You could have just told the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, really?¡¹

    Sanya-san sighed, seemingly having given up on them. Anyway, it really did seem that her family had gained an additional member without telling her and for several years no less. Luca let go of Ruimin and looked at me.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a Bear-san and someone I don¡¯t know. Who are they, Onee-chan?¡¹

    By Bear-san, he was referring to me, which meant he called Sanya-san a stranger. Sanya-san looked a bit hurt when he said that. Well, it was her fault for noting back for ten years even though her family really should have let her know about him.

    ¡¸The Bear-san¡¯s name is Yuna-san. That other person is our big sister. Remember when we told you we have another big sister?¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan?¡¹

    Sanya-san stepped in front of Luca, and bent down to meet his gaze.

    ¡¸Um, Luca, right? It¡¯s nice to meet you, I guess? I¡¯m Sanya, Ruimin¡¯s big sister, which makes me your big sister, too. I¡¯d be happy if you kept calling me Onee-chan from her on out.¡¹

    Luca seemed a bit troubled with the exnation, and looked at Sanya-san, embarrassed.

    ¡¸Sanya-oneechan?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Now that Luca had recognized her as his big sister, Sanya-san looked much happier. I wasn¡¯t at all jealous, though, as I had many little brothers and sisters that called me Onee-chan back in Crimonia. I sure hoped they were all doing okay. Maybe I should call Fina over the Bear Phone tonight to let her know what what I had been up to.

    Sanya-san took some time to pat Luca¡¯s head then headed deeper into the house, looking through the rooms as she walked.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think I would be getting a little brother. Luca, how old are you?

    ¡¹

    ¡¸Nine years old.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been saying you haven¡¯t been home for over ten years.¡¹

    Yeah, we had a clear proof of that here. There could be no better evidence than a 9-year-old younger brother she hadn¡¯t met before.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s great he¡¯s here now. At least we¡¯ll have a chief in the future.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, you left the vige because you didn¡¯t want to be the next chief, right, Onee-chan?¡¹

    So, that was why she had left the vige.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not really why I left; I just wanted to see the outside world.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s the case, Sanya, did you n on ever returning, considering you had been gone for thest ten years withouting back even once?¡¹

    Talia-san scolded her while cing some drinks on a tray and bringing them over. Ruimin quickly jumped to her help, and distributed cups to everybody.

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    ¡¸How about it? Have you thought about settling down and starting a family?¡¹

    ¡¸No, marriage is still too early for me. Besides, I¡¯m having fun with my job right now.¡¹

    While us humans couldn¡¯t simply wait like that, it made sense for the elves to think of it more freely, as they did indeed live longer lives.

    ¡¸Does that mean, I¡¯ll have to wait for another fifty years or so?¡¹

    Wait, fifty year was too long. Or I guess that¡¯s just the elves¡¯ sense of time.

    ¡¸Well, since Luca is now here, I don¡¯t need to have children, do I?¡¹

    ¡¸That may be true, but I¡¯d like to have some grandchildren soon. If I have to wait for Luca, that would be another hundred years.¡¹

    Like I said, that was way too long.

    ¡¸He could have kids earlier than that, no?¡¹

    ¡¸No way, I couldn¡¯t give him up to a bride so soon.¡¹

    I most likely shouldn¡¯t even bother trying to add anything to this conversation.

    ¡¸Okay, well then, you still have Ruimin.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan! Don¡¯t drag me into this!¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think she will even be able to get married?¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, Mother, you¡¯re horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll marry you, Onee-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Luca!¡¹

    Ruimin hugged her younger brother.

    ¡¸Siblings can¡¯t get married, though. So he will have to marry me instead.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother, you can¡¯t marry him, either!¡¹

    Sanya-san yelled at her mother. Without Sanya-san, there wouldn¡¯t be a straight man in this crazy family conversation. Ruimin should be on her side, but instead, she kept saying things that made it even worse...

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Volume 3 of the book is in the works.

    Chapter 57 was awful to rewrite. Yuna looked for an inn, went to the Commerce Guild, went to the barracks, and even build a Bear House with a flower bed, all in one day...

    Anyway, Sanya-san¡¯s family has finally made its appearance. Hopefully they will make it to the chief¡¯s house in the next chapter?

 Chapter 220 â€“ Bear-san Reaffirms That Elves Are Indeed A Long-Living Race, Part 2

    ¡¸So, is the barrier okay or not?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked about the barrier, which had been the reason she returned home in the first ce.

    ¡¸Monsters break through asionally, but other than that, it seems to be working just fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, that means the barrier has indeed gotten weaker.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It all started a couple of years ago if I recall correctly. Out of nowhere, monsters started to break through the barrier. At first it was just one of two of them, buttely more and more of them keep waltzing in. That¡¯s why Father-inw decided to have Ruimin find you, so that we could try to fix it.¡¹

    When I had first heard that the barrier had gotten weaker, I had thought it was something serious, but it turned out that it wasn¡¯t really an urgent situation. In that case, I should be able to explore the vige in peace.

    ¡¸So I take it no real damage has been done yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, everything¡¯s fine. Arthur and a few others are taking turns guarding the area. We did forbid the children from going out too far, though.¡¹

    Talia-san said while also throwing a nce at Luca. It made sense for children not to be allowed to wander around with monsters about. I still recalled how Fina had gotten into danger while looking for medicinal herbs on her own in a forest full of monsters. Children weren¡¯t able to protect themselves, so they had to be kept where it was safe.

    ¡¸We should still hurry and fix the barrier as soon as possible. When exactly are we nning on doing it?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll have to ask Father-inw tomorrow. I haven¡¯t heard all the details myself yet.¡¹

    Was the barrier really something that could be fixed so easily? In games and manga, protective barriers usually took a lot of effort to make and fix, but based on what I had heard so far, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case here. Was it only the matter of having three blood-rted people performing the ritual? I hoped they would allow me to observe the ritual, even though I didn¡¯t know anything about the barrer or the magic used. Since I hade all this way, I really wanted to see it. Well, they had told me that it was a secret ritual passed down in their family, so maybe I couldn¡¯t even be there to see it.

    ¡¸Oh, this reminds me. Yuna-chan, right? Thank you for helping out my daughters¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, it was nothing.¡¹

    ¡¸No no, without you, Yuna-chan, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it home as quickly, and the ride wouldn¡¯t have been as pleasant, either.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, Yuna-san¡¯s Bear-sans are really fast.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re talking about those summoned bears, right?¡¹

    From the corner of my eye I noticed that Luca, clearly lost on what we were talking about, tugged on Ruimins clothes and asked her about it.

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t understand what Labriatt meant with bears in his report at all. He just suddenly told us that Sanya and Ruimin were riding with bears back to the vige. Father-inw and I were so confused.¡¹

    It made sense for any normal person to be puzzled by it. Well, at least it looked like the elf who had stalked us had given his report like promised.

    ¡¸And, when I saw Yuna-chan riding behind you, I was even more surprised. It only then made sense why he had said with bears not on top of bears. I had expected you two to be riding them, but to learn they were Yuna-chan¡¯s summoned beasts...¡¹

    When she paused I overheard a part of Luca and Ruimin¡¯s conversation, ¡¸I wanna try riding them, too.¡¹¡¸Let¡¯s ask Yuna-santer.¡¹ Well, I saw no reason to say no if they actually asked.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really have anything I can thank you with, so please at least feel free to stay at our home.¡¹

    I appreciated the offer, but I would have preferred to find a spot where I could build a Bear House. It seemed like not many people went in and out of the vige, so I should be able to find an unnoticeable spot if they let me set one up. Then, I could simply set up a Bear Gate inside. Hmm, if I were to have a gate inside, would it maybe be better to pick a spot deeper in the forest?

    ¡¸Sanya-san, could I build a Bear House around here somewhere? Close to the vige if at all possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Build a Bear House... Well, I think it should be fine, but you¡¯ll have to at least ask Grandpa for permission.¡¹

    In other words, I needed to speak to Mumuroot-san about it. Well yeah, it made sense to speak with the Vige Elder first.

    ¡¸We can just all head to his house tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure that would be ok? Don¡¯t you have something important to talk about?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t talk about that as soon as we get there. Anyway, you can stay in my room tonight.¡¹

    ¡¸Sadly, she can¡¯t.¡¹

    Talia-san rejected Sanya-san¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we are currently using it as a storage room.¡¹

    ¡¸Why would you do that?!¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯te home for ten years. Oh, but wait, the bed is still there, so I guess it should work. I just need to put new bedding on top..¡¹

    Sanya-san stood up and went to what appeared to be her room. Soon after, a scream followed.

    ¡¸Um, it¡¯s a bit cramped, but please stay in my room tonight, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Ruimin most likely knew the state Sanya-san¡¯s room was in and decided to offer her room to me as an alternative. Sanya-san rushed back, and immediately beganining to Talia-san, who nonchntly gave her excuses.

    ¡¸If you want your room, you just have toe back once a year.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be so unreasonable.¡¹

    ¡¸Fine, then you just have to stay here for good.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    Sanya-san dropped her shoulders, showing how tired she was from dealing with her mother. Well, if she had my Bears, she coulde back whenever she liked, but with horses or other means of travel, the distance wasn¡¯t as feasible to travel back and forth every year.

    ¡¸Ruimin. Sanya.¡¹

    ¡¸Father?¡¹

    A man who looked to be around twenty years old appeared by the front door. I kind of guessed for him to be the father before Ruimin spoiled it. After all, if Luca was to be the future chief, then they shouldn¡¯t have had an elder brother.

    Now that the whole elven family had gathered, it created a very strange image as they looked more like a group of siblings than parents and their children.

    ¡¸Sanya, it¡¯s been awhile.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it has.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for bringing her home safely, Ruimin.¡¹

    ¡¸I told you I would be able to do it, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    Ruimin answered proudly, but I really wanted to mention everything that had happened to her during her trip to the capital. Just to give a few examples of things I was aware of: she had been so hungry she passed out, had gotten lost inside the capital, and had even sold off her bracelet. I was sure there had also been many other terrible things that happened to her during her trip. Well, if it was even found necessary to reveal the truth about her trip, Sanya-san could easily tell them about it all, so I decided to stay quiet. Still, watching Ruimin boast about her trip like that made me a bit worried of what coulde in the future.

    ¡¸Sanya, you haven¡¯t changed much.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to change that easily.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯m happy you at least agreed oning home to help us.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t after hearing that the barrier got weaker.¡¹

    Sanya-san¡¯s father proceeded to pat her on the head when she said that, and Sanya-san, clearly embarrassed by it, shook it of.

    Smiling, her father then turned to me.

    ¡¸By the way, youngdy dressed as a bear. It heard you noticed that Labriatt was tailing you, which made him very frustrated.¡¹

    He said andughed. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t tell them that it had only been due to my detection magic.

    ¡¸I noticed them, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Their exact positions?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that this young beardy here was able to figure out the exact count of people and the positions they were hiding at.¡¹

    Thanks to the detection magic, this issue became a big deal; all because I had spoken out about it.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan is an excellent adventurer, so it makes sense for her to stop them.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, Yuna-san is amazing.¡¹

    They didn¡¯t have to tter me so much; I was just a regr girl without my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸I only noticed because of my summoned Bears. I¡¯m not that amazing at all, really.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, I did also hear that you had summoned bears with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and those very Bears told me about the elves following us.¡¹

    For now, I simply tried to pass it off as one of the Bears¡¯ abilities, to avoid having to reveal my detection magic.

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that¡¯s why Yuna-chan¡¯s summoned beasts are also amazing.¡¹

    Sanya-san seemed topletely buy it.

    ¡¸Those kids have been getting cocky with their tailingtely, so this should be a good lesson for them.¡¹

    That guy wouldn¡¯t end up holding a grudge towards me, would he?

    Anyway, I decided to officially introduce myself to Sanya-san¡¯s father. His name was Arthur. He imed to be the father, but if they had told me he was their older brother, I would have believed thempletely.

    ¡¸Still, it surprised me to see you are really dressed like a bear. When I heard about it from Labriatt, I simplyughed at how stupid it sounded.¡¹

    Yes, I was a bear,ugh at me all you want. I could say nothing to object, though, as it was indeed true.

    ¡¸Well, we don¡¯t have much to offer, but feel free to stay at our humble home.¡¹

    I was going to sleep in Ruimin¡¯s room today, but for some reason, I also ended up helping Sanya-san clean her room. Looking around her room, everywhere other than on top of the bed seemed to be covered in piles of boxes and other misceneous things.

    ¡¸I cleaned up the stuff from the top of the bed for you.¡¹

    Talia-san said proudly. Well, the bed indeed looked quite clean, but everything else on the other hand...

    ¡¸Since you knew I wasing home, you could have at least cleaned up my room for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I did change the bedding for you.¡¹

    Talia-san said then left us to deal with all the mess.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for having you help me, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t mind. Talia-san seems to be quite the oddball, though.¡¹

    As we started cleaning her room, I figured it would be best to make a storage shed in their yard and move everything not needed there. Once Talia-san noticed, she also moved some of her own stuff into it. Well, I made it so they could store stuff, so it should be okay for her to use the chance. At this rate, the shed would probably get full quite quickly. Well, it wouldn¡¯t matter to me much as I wouldn¡¯t be staying here for that long.

    ¡¸She¡¯s always been like that. I wish she at least cared about others a bit more. Oh, that stuff belongs to me, so you can leave it here.¡¹

    Based on Saya-san¡¯s instructions, I moved some of the stuff into the Bear Box. There were a whole bunch of wooden boxes. How had they managed to stockpile such an amount? I was really curious about their contents but still ced them into the Bear Box without looking into them. I noticed there were quite a few vases rolling around the room as well. It kind of felt like they had just thrown any unnecessary things into Sanya-san¡¯s room. After putting everything Sanya-san didn¡¯t need into the Bear Box, we took it to the storage shed I had created previously.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯ll get mother to dig through it, so just throw out the stuff wherever you like.¡¹

    As she requested, I took out the all stuff and ced it randomly before returning to her room. Now that most of everything had been moved out, it appeared much more spacious.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-chan. Now I can finally sleep.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and copsed onto her bed. Even though I was nning on sleeping in Ruimin¡¯s room, I noticed that Luca had taken my spot while I was cleaning, so I instead ended up staying in Sanya-san¡¯s room.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This is thest chapter of the year; please take care of me next year as well.

    (Note: And this makes thest Post of this year for us as well.)

 Chapter 221 â€“ Bear-san Meets with the Elf Chief

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Happy New Year!

    Please treat me and the Bears kindly this year as well.

    The next day, after having a quick breakfast with Sanya-san, we headed over to where the Vige Elder, Mumuroot-san, lived.

    She was nning on getting more information on the barrier¡¯s situation while also asking for permission to ce the Bear House somewhere near the vige.

    As we were walking, a group of people noticed Sanya-san and approached us.

    ¡¸Sanya, we heard you came back yesterday. So, that¡¯s the rumored girl who is dressed like a bear, huh?¡¹

    They all looked at me, I greeted them with a small nod.

    ¡¸The bears aren¡¯t here, though?¡¹

    ¡¸They are summoned beasts, so...¡¹

    As Sanya-san continued to chat with them, we eventually made it to Mumuroot-san¡¯s house.

    It wasn¡¯t that far from Sanya-san¡¯s home and was just about the same size.

    Still, with only his wife and him living there...

    ¡¸Grandpa, we¡¯re here!¡¹

    Sanya-san entered without even knocking and yelled out to him.

    I followed her inside while wondering if entering like this was really okay.

    There was no response from anybody inside, but Sanya-san, not minding that one bit, headed straight through the house and entered a room in the back.

    I continued to follow behind her, of course, thinking this must be something standard in viges like these.

    Inside the room, Mumuroot-san was sitting on arge carpet, cross-legged. Sitting next to him, was a female elf.

    ¡¸Oh, Sanya, you¡¯re here. And I see Young Bear Lady from yesterday came along as well.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m home, Grandma.¡¹

    Sanya-san called the female elf ¡®grandma¡¯, but she looked nowhere near that age. No matter how I looked, she seemed like she was in her forties.

    The female elf smiled, and spoke up.

    ¡¸Wee home, Sanya. So, the Young Bear Lady over there is the rumored one, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Yuna.¡¹

    I greeted her with a light bow.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe that you actually are dressed like a bear. Oh, let me prepare some tea first.¡¹

    The grandma (who looked nothing like one) stood up and went to a different room.

    ¡¸By the way, Sanya, would you mind telling me why the Young Bear Lady came with you today?¡¹

    As it was concerning me, I began to exin why.

    ¡¸You want to live in this vige?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan owns a transportable house and would like permission to set it up here.¡¹

    I would at least like the permission to ce it temporarily.

    It would be difficult to give a reason for why I wanted to set it down permanently as I couldn¡¯t really say that I wanted to set a house down even though I wasn¡¯t nning to live here.

    ¡¸Is Sanya¡¯s home notfortable enough for you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, of course it is. It¡¯s just that having my house would be more convenient for me.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t find a good time to use the Bear Phone yesterday, so I hadn¡¯t contacted Fina yet.

    Also, not being able to take a bath left me really ufortable, so I would really like to bring out my Bear House while I was here at least.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter to me if it¡¯s near the vige or somewhere in the forest, but could you please let me set one up?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san scratched his chin while thinking about my request.

    I actually hoped I could set it up near the border of the barrier rather than somewhere in the vige. Especially if I was going to set it down permanently, I would prefer a ce that didn¡¯t stand out.

    Still, I shouldn¡¯t get ahead of myself. First, I needed to get permission to set down the house.

    ¡¸Grandpa, please. Yuna-chan has done a lot for us already. Also, I will take full responsibility if she causes any trouble for the vige.¡¹

    I was happy to hear that Sanya-san trusted me so much. I didn¡¯t n on causing trouble for the elves, of course. It would be best to befriend them too, so that I couldter get permission to ce a Bear House here permanently.

    ¡¸I understand. However, I will only allow it while you are staying in the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Grandpa.¡¹

    I got permission to ce it, but only while staying here.

    Even with Sanya-san asking, we could only get permission temporarily, meaning that setting one up for a long period of time would most likely be difficult.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    I thanked him as he did at least give me temporary permission.

    ¡¸So, where can I ce it?¡¹

    ¡¸As long as you don¡¯t trouble the neighbors and they are okay with it, anywhere is fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Since the conversation was now finished, I thanked Mumuroot-san again and got up to leave, but he stopped me.

    ¡¸Wait, my wife is preparing tea. I would also like to hear about what Sanya has done at the capital. It won¡¯t take long, so please stay for a while longer.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure? Don¡¯t you have to talk about some important things?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll understand those even if you listen in.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he was saying I was too stupid to understand, or if it was something only elves could understand.

    Well, he said it was okay for me to stay, so I would take up on his offer; I was quite interested in the barrier anyway.

    Sanya¡¯s (not so old-looking) grandma soon brought us some tea and fruits, so I helped myself to them while also listening in on their conversation.

    ¡¸So, how much have you heard so far, Sanya?¡¹

    ¡¸Just a few things Ruimin and Mother told me.¡¹

    Huh? It suddenly got really hard toprehend what the two were saying.

    I had properly cleaned out my ears, so that couldn¡¯t be why.

    I tried shaking my head to focus, even though that most likely wouldn¡¯t really help.

    ¡¸I see. Only a few people know about this, but there¡¯s been quite a lot of monsters breaking through the barrier recently.¡¹

    ¡¸Quite a lot you say?!¡¹

    I could understand them just fine now.

    Maybe I should clean my ears once I got home.

    Anyway, it appeared that monsters were indeed getting through the barrier.

    ¡¸Yeah, and that¡¯s why Labta and the others are on high alert. They were guarding the area until you came back.¡¹

    Oh, so it wasn¡¯t because I looked suspicious.

    I kind of felt bad for saying that their shadowing had been disturbing.

    Wait, Sanya-san had said that, not me.

    ¡¸Is the situation really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸The only monsters that are getting through are low level ones for now. Still, even though we haven¡¯t had any stronger monsterse in yet, with the barrier getting weaker, I believe it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡¹

    What sort of monsters did they mean by stronger than low level ones?

    Were they talking about orc-level or higher?

    ¡¸By the way, what exactly is causing the barrier to weaken? I thought it was going to be fine for another hundred years.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san shook his head.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s possible that something happened to the Sacred Tree.¡¹

    A Sacred Tree? What was that, something like Yggdrasil? The conversation suddenly started to sound like that of a fantasy world.

    I wanted to see it, but I would most likely not be allowed to.

    (TL note: Norse Mythology, anybody?)

    ¡¸Has anyone checked on the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    ¡¸Sadly, as you know, only those rted to us by blood can enter it. There are only me, Aruturu, Ruimin, Luca, and you. Luca is still a child and I also can¡¯t leave it to Ruimin yet. That¡¯s why I called for you.¡¹

    Did this have something to do with the thing that needed three people?

    Now that I thought about it, this barrier was rather inconvenient.

    Well, at least they had long lives and no one passed away yet. Still, what would happen if they all passed away?

    ¡¸The three of us will go check on it tomorrow, so you should prepare yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and nodded.

    ¡¸By the way, why did you bring the Young Bear Lady all the way to the vige?¡¹

    ¡¸She said she wanted to see what kind of ce the elves lived in.¡¹

    ¡¸Such a reason doesn¡¯t sound too suspicious, but you¡¯re sure she¡¯s safe, right?¡¹

    Was he still doubting my intentions?

    Well, I did look kind of suspicious with my Bear Suit and all.

    Still, people normally wouldn¡¯t talk about somebody like that when they were right in front of them...

    ¡¸Yuna-chan may look weird, but she¡¯s a really good child. She¡¯s helped me out lots, and even took care of Ruimin, too. She came here because she was genuinely interested in this ce.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. If you¡¯re going that far to defend her, I guess you must be right.¡¹

    ¡¸You can trust her, but still stay cautious, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Cautious, huh.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san¡¯s expression changed when she said that.

    What was she trying to say? Didn¡¯t that make me sound even more suspicious?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan can do very bizzare things from time to time, so try not to get too thrown off by what she does.¡¹

    Sanya-san said whileughing.

    Were the things I did really that bizarre... When I tried to think of the things I normally did... Maybe it was true?

    ¡¸Bizarre, huh. I¡¯ll keep my guard up, then.¡¹

    After saying that, Mumuroot-san looked at me.

    ¡¸Sorry for talking between ourselves for so long.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, sorry, Yuna-chan. We ended up talking between ourselves, and kind of ignored you.¡¹

    The two of them apologized.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay.¡¹

    At the very least, they should talk about me when I wasn¡¯t there next time.

    Also, was it really okay for me to listen to a conversation like that? Wouldn¡¯t I normally not be allowed to hear such things?

    Not even the other elves knew about the situation.

    Well, I didn¡¯t really care much as I didn¡¯t live here.

    ¡¸Still, were you not surprised, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸About what?¡¹

    ¡¸We were speaking in the elvennguage. Usually people get surprised by that.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    What did she say just now? The elvennguage?

    ¡¸Usually, we speak themonnguage in the vige, but when we want to speak privately we use the elvennguage.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The conversation was concerning the vige, so I apologize for leaving you out of it.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    In other words, they were speaking to each other in the elvennguage this whole time.

    That was why they had talked about me like that; it was because they thought that I wouldn¡¯t understand what they were saying.

    Did I understand them because of my Language Of The Other World skill? It must have activated for elvennguage as well.

    Oh, and that was why Mumuroot-san had said I wouldn¡¯t be able to understand their conversation.

    Normal humans couldn¡¯t understand the elvennguage.

    Hmm, I should probably pretend like I really hadn¡¯t understood a thing.

    ¡¸By the way, Young Bear Lady. I would like to hear about what Sanya did while she was in the capital. Was she working properly?¡¹

    Afterwards, I began to talk about Sanya-san¡¯s work, being interrupted by Sanya-san many times, asking me to stop it.

    I also learned that the grandma was called Vena-san mid-conversation.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I finally managed to get to this topic. w

    When I thought of the Language Of The Other World skill, I figured it should be able to trante thenguage of every race, so I wrote that here.

    It only works for standardizednguages, though, so it won¡¯t work with monsters or animals.

 Chapter 222 â€“ Bear-san Looks For a Place to Put Her Bear House

    Talking about Sanya-san¡¯s work took a long time, so I ended up being treated to lunch after it. I was served some mushroom soup and vegetable dishes, which were all delicious. The same dishes were sold in Crimonia, but they weren¡¯t nearly as tasty as these. I wondered if they would sell me the ingredients if I asked them. Then, I could make things like mushroom pizza, plus all sorts of different dishes. Still, I didn¡¯t know if the Elf Vige would ept my money. Since they mentioned merchants wereing here from time to time, I figured it should be possible, but I should probably look into it a bit more first. If they wouldn¡¯t take my money, then I could probably just trade other stuff I had for their ingredients, but to do that I would need the Bear Gate set up.

    As for the other thing I thought about during the lunch: I really hadn¡¯t thought my Language Of The Other World skill would be able to trante the elvennguage. Did this mean I would be able to understand thenguages of all other races as well? I didn¡¯t know how many foreignnguages there were in this world, but the skill sure was useful. On the other hand, I was rather d it at least didn¡¯t work on monsters and animals. If I understood what they were saying, I wouldn¡¯t be able to subjugate them. If they begged me for mercy, I would surely have buckled and let them live.

    After we ate lunch, Sanya-san kept chatting for a while, and then we finally left the house. Sanya-san said that she needed to greet some of her acquaintances, and left me on my own soon after. Well, since she hadn¡¯t returned home in ten years, that much seemed necessary.

    ¡¸I¡¯m worried about leaving you alone, so try not to disturb anyone, okay?¡¹

    Hadn¡¯t she just told the Vige Elder earlier that she believed in me? Also, I never tried to intentionally cause amotion. It was always somebody else that brought the trouble to me, and I couldn¡¯t prevent that from happening, so it wasn¡¯t really my fault. On the other hand, she could at least warn them not toe after me.

    After Sanya-san left me on my own, I simply wandered around the vige for a while. It didn¡¯t look like there were any shops around, so I couldn¡¯t even buy any elven products. Well, the people living here looked like they werepletely self-sufficient, and would only trade items if necessary, so it appeared that shops were quite unnecessary. I decided to head back to Sanya-san¡¯s house while thinking of a ce to put the Bear House. Once I got there, Ruimin and Luca were standing outside, surrounded by some elf children. I had a very bad feeling about this. Once the children noticed me, their expressions seemed to light up, but it could also just be my imagination.

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    Ruimin looked at me with a troubled expression.

    ¡¸Um, Ruimin, what¡¯s going on?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    Ruimin took a deep bow before exining the situation.

    Ruimin had been boasting about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to Luca (something about how nice their fur felt and how cute and kind they were).

    Luca had then passed that on to the other children (and somehow the exnation had got blown even more out of proportion).

    That left the children desperately wanting to meet the Bears, so they had gathered here.

    What were these siblings even doing...? Well, while it was indeed better than giving the children a negative image of the bears (like they were dangerous and scary), overpraising them was troublesome, too. Of course the children would want to meet my Bears after hearing that, and in no way could I send them away when they were looking at me like that. Well, it was probably good to leave a good impression of me and my Bears, so I pushed aside the Bear House problem for now and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I would prefer to have the impressions of adult elves improve, but having the children on my side couldn¡¯t hurt. With them on my side, the adults should be less cautious of me and could maybe even teach me how to make the bracelet or let me set up a Bear House here permanently. They may even tell me more about the Sacred Tree... Well, that much might be impossible even if they all liked me.

    As I was summoning the Bears, I gave the children a warning.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t tease or mess with them. If even one of you does so, I will never summon them for any of you ever again.¡¹

    I had no idea how elven children behaved. They could pull on the bears¡¯ fur or maybe even hit them. I would feel bad for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear if any of that were to happen.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll keep an eye on them.¡¹

    Ruimin offered to look after them, but was interrupted by screams of joy and some of the children hiding behind her as I had justpleted summoning my Bears. I wanted to leave Ruimin to deal with supervising the children while they yed with my Bears, but for some reason, a few of them came over to me instead.

    ¡¸Big Sis, why are you dressed like a bear?¡¹

    They asked with a childish innocence. Unlike adults, they had no hidden motives behind the question.

    ¡¸You see, I receive the protection of Bear-san while wearing this outfit.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t really lying.

    The Bear Suit was so great that it in a way actually ended up being more like a curse.

    ¡¸Can I get Bear-san¡¯s protection, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, that¡¯s going to be hard. You elves already have the protection of the wind, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯d rather have Bear-san¡¯s protection than the wind¡¯s.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t good. If this girl went home and told her parents, ¡¸I don¡¯t need the wind¡¯s protection, I want the Bear-san¡¯s protection instead,¡¹ I would surely get in a lot of trouble. Their impressions of me might even worsen because of that. I hadn¡¯t even aplished anything in this area yet, and I didn¡¯t want the parents to hate me. I had to convince this elf girl to change her mind.

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good. You see, for elves, it¡¯s very important that the wind protects them. You wouldn¡¯t want to be the only one not protected by the wind when everybody else is, right? Also, if you want to get the protection of Bear-san, you will have to wear an outfit like mine. What would your mother and father think if you came home wearing this, huh? Not to mention you would be the only one in the vige wearing it.¡¹

    I tried my hardest to convince her, but for some reason, it felt like my HP decreased as I did. I started to feel depressed, having made all thosements that kind of degraded me. Finally, the elf girl said, ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll do my best to get the wind¡¯s protection, then,¡¹ which really relieved me. I really hoped this was worth it, and that the vigers wouldn¡¯t hate me for showing my Bears to the children.

    In the end, I didn¡¯t decide on a ce to put the Bear House, so I stayed over in Sanya-san¡¯s room again.

    The next morning, Sanya-san and Arthur-san left the house early in the morning to head to the Sacred Tree.

    Obviously, I couldn¡¯t tell them I wanted to go with them, so I simply sent them off. I left the house soon after to look for a ce for the Bear House. Ruimin and Luca wanted to join me, but I politely declined.

    I was nning of heading outside the vige to find a ce for the house. As long as I was within the barrier, it should be safe, and it would be better because the house wouldn¡¯t stand out too much there. If it was just a regr looking house, then I would have been fine having it in the vige, but with it having the shape of a bear...

    Also, Vige Elder Mumuroot-san allowed me to build it wherever I wanted as long as I didn¡¯t bother the neighbours, and didn¡¯t specify that it had to be within the vige. That was why I ended up deciding to find a ce outside the vige bounds. As I walked, I did so as stealthily and quickly as I could since I didn¡¯t want any children to notice or I might cause another scene like yesterday. Once I managed to get out of the vige unseen, I started to stroll around leisurely. Maybe there were good spots nearby. For now, I simply walked back to where the bridge was and headed upstream. Only then did I notice that I was leaving my Bear Footprints everywhere, which could prove to be problematic. With monsters breaking through the barrier, I decided to use detection magic and immediately noticed somebody was tailing me. Wasn¡¯t the misunderstanding already cleared up? Or, was I being followed for the sake of protection? I could easily outrun the person, but if I did, it would make me look suspicious. Hmm, I really didn¡¯t know what to do here.

    Since I couldn¡¯t think of an answer, I simply continued my way up the riverside. Along the way, I found a waterfall and jumped up on the cliffside like some sort of a ninja. At the top, I was met by beautiful flowers blooming all around. Oh, I just found a very nice spot. It was a good distance from the vige, and being on top of a cliff also made it hard to see. The only problem was the elf who was still following me.

    I used detection magic again to confirm their exact location. They had also climbed up the cliff and were hiding near a tree, further in. Hmm, what should I do with them? After some worrying, I decided to simply call out to them. If I suddenly took out the Bear House now, the elf might freak out and report something weird back to the vige.

    ¡¸Hey, the elf that¡¯s hiding behind that tree over there, can youe out?¡¹

    I called out in the direction of the tree, but got no response. Didn¡¯t just calling out like that make me look stupid? A person, dressed as a bear, talking to what appeared to be thin air. It was an embarrassing sight, no matter how you looked at it.

    ¡¸Umm... Hello?¡¹

    I tried to call out to them again. I really wanted them toe out.

    After a few seconds, the elf finally came out from behind the tree.

    It seemed to be the elf from yesterday, Labriatt. Well, all the male elves looked simrly handsome to me, so I wasn¡¯t sure. Heck, the entire race was just full of pretty people. I hadn¡¯t really seen Labriatt clearly, so his face did seem familiar as he slowly walked towards me. His eyebrows were indeed slightly angled as he looked at me, so was he maybe mad at me? Labriatt had been quite angry yesterday, so this was probably him.

    ¡¸When did you notice me?¡¹

    When, huh? The moment I used detection magic the first time, but I couldn¡¯t tell him that. Previously I had told him that my summoned Bears noticed him, but this time I couldn¡¯t use that excuse. Ugh, I made a mistake. Lately, I had been making a lot of mistakes.

    ¡¸Just who are you?¡¹

    He questioned me with suspicion. To such a question, I only had one response.

    ¡¸I¡¯m an adventurer.¡¹

    Not much more I could say.

    ¡¸Okay, and what exactly are you doing here?¡¹

    I must have looked suspicious, wandering around the forest by myself.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san gave me permission to build a house, so I was looking for a good ce.¡¹

    ¡¸The chief did?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. My house is kind of special and would stand out if I built it in the vige. That¡¯s why I¡¯m looking for a ce out here.¡¹

    I answered honestly. I could have lied, but the Vige Elder had indeed given me permission, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problem. Besides, Labriatt-san and the other elves would notice it eventually and would report to Mumuroot-san.

    ¡¸I want to build my house here. Would that be okay?¡¹

    I asked him just in case. It could be that this ce was actually some very important location for the elves. There were beautiful flowers blooming here, after all, making for a beautiful scenery.

    ¡¸Yeah, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with that, but do you really want to build it here?¡¹

    ¡¸Are we still within the barrier?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then it doesn¡¯t matter whether I build it here or in the vige, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but haven¡¯t you heard about what¡¯s happened to the barrier?¡¹

    ¡¸I know that it¡¯s gotten weaker.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, so monsters have been appearing inside the barrier. I don¡¯t want our guest getting in danger because of it. If you stay in the vige, myrades will be there, so you¡¯ll be safe.¡¹

    It turned out he was actually worried about me. I felt bad for thinking he doubted my intentions.

    ¡¸My house has special properties, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    I took out the Bear House from the Bear Box, and ced it right in front of where Labriatt was standing.

    ¡¸W-what is this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my house. The reason I was looking for a ce to put it is because it would stand out too much in the vige.¡¹

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Right now, my image of the Bear House is a house in the shape of a bear sitting down with both legs out, with doors in its soles. The right side is where the rooms are and the left side is taken up by the storage.. I revised it when editing the chapters for volume three, so that it would be easier to understand.

    I also added more about the Bear House in the glossary.

 Chapter 223 â€“ Bear-san Finally Contacts Fina

    <h4>Chapter 223 ¨C Bear-san Finally Contacts Fina</h4>

    Labriatt was quite perplexed by my Bear House .

    ¡¸W-what is this?!¡¹

    ¡¸This is my house . ¡¹

    ¡¸Still, why is it shaped like a bear?¡¹

    Most people stopped asking questions after taking a look at my house and outfit . However, Labriatt was being quite frank .

    I wished I could just notment on what it looked like, honestly .

    ¡¸It has the Protection of the Bear . ¡¹

    Yesterday, I decided to use the same excuse I used with the elf girl to exin for my Bear House . What a useful phrase .

    ¡¸Protection of the Bear?¡¹

    Labriatt said, switching his gaze between the house and me . After doing so for a while, he finally seemed convinced and stopped interrogating me . While I was d that bringing out the Protection of the Bear excuse most of the time ended up being enough to convince people, I still felt weird every time I used it .

    ¡¸As you can see, it would stand out if I brought it out in the vige, so I decided to use this location instead . Not to mention it is quite close to the vige . ¡¹

    From the top of the waterfall, I could even see a bit of the vige . If I ran, I could get there in no time .

    ¡¸True, it does stand out, but that still doesn¡¯t change the fact that it¡¯s dangerous out here . ¡¹

    While Labriatt had epted my reasoning, he was still against my choice of location .

    Hmm, he was only worried about me, and it would be difficult to assure him .

    If I didn¡¯t care about how he felt, I would just ignore his opinion . Heck, I could just knock him out and be done with it . Yet, I didn¡¯t want any trouble and wanted the elves to like me, so I couldn¡¯t do that .

    After a short silence, I finally got an idea .

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing to worry about since I have these two with me . ¡¹

    I said and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, leaving Labriatt with a surprised expression .

    ¡¸Your summons, huh¡­ Are they strong?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re quite strong, and they will also alert me if any monsters approach us . So, being here won¡¯t really be that dangerous . ¡¹

    Labriatt took another look around and when he turned back to me, I could see his lips curling up into a smile .

    ¡¸Sanya sure brought home a strange person . ¡¹

    This was the first time I had seen him smile .

    ¡¸Okay, feel free to stay out here . Still, I must warn you that it will not be our responsibility if anything were to happen to you . ¡¹

    Basically, if I were to be attacked, I would have to deal with it myself . Well, I didn¡¯t n on having elves take responsibility for any damages caused by fighting anyway .

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with that . I can handle it on my own . ¡¹

    Labriatt turned his gaze to the vige, seemingly assured .

    ¡¸Oh, that reminds me, I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet . I¡¯m Labriatt, and I¡¯m in charge of guarding the barrier . If any monsters appear, please let me know, and we will take care of them . ¡¹

    I could take care of them myself but nodded in agreement .

    At that very moment, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear lifted their heads and cried out .

    Was something wrong? I looked in the direction of their gazes and saw something ck in the sky .

    Was it moving?

    Was it a bird?

    Still, if the Bears were reacting to it, it must be a monster, right?

    I used my detection magic to check and there was indeed a reaction .

    It was monster called a volcrow, a bird-type speciesrger than eagles .

    Not to mention there were ten of them flying towards us at high speeds .

    ¡¸Is something the matter?¡¹

    Labriatt asked, noticing my strange behavior .

    ¡¸There are monsters over there . ¡¹

    Labriatt followed my gaze .

    ¡¸Those are the Orrval Mountains . Could it be volcrows?!¡¹

    Labriatt shouted when he noticed the dots .

    Indeed, it appeared that the volcrows came flying from those mountains, which meant they were most likely living there .

    ¡¸What about the barrier?!¡¹

    ¡¸At this distance, they must already be inside!¡¹

    The volcrows were now at a distance where we could could see their distinctive red beaks .

    In the game, their beaks had poison in them, which caused paralysis on skin contact . That made them quite difficult to deal with .

    ¡¸Hurry up and hide!¡¹

    Labriatt instructed me while ring at the volcrows .

    ¡¸Are they going to attack us?¡¹

    It was possible that their goalid somewhere else, right?

    ¡¸They like to attack us elves, so you need to fall back . ¡¹

    Just as he said that, the volcrows began to descend upon us .

    They were diving down at very high speeds, so Labriatt already began bracing himself for theing assault, and I fell behind him to give him support .

    Now that monsters were here, I shouldn¡¯t run away and leaving him to fend for himself, but I also didn¡¯t want to get in Labriatt¡¯s way .

    Labriatt shot some wind magic at the volcrows in front, but they quickly dispersed and dodged itpletely then spread out and surrounded us .

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about me!¡¹

    I yelled at him and got ready to deal with any volcrowsing at me .

    Labrta briefly looked at me before turning back, only saying, ¡¸Okay¡¹ .

    Just like Labriatt, I also used wind magic on the four volcrows that came diving at me .

    As my Wind Cutters flew at them, the volcrows attempted to dodge, but at this range and the speed of my magic, which was considerably faster than Labriatt¡¯s, it was more or less impossible for them to do so . They were all sliced in half and dropped to the ground .

    I then looked over at Labriatt¡¯s side, and saw that he did hit three volcrows himself, but there were still three left . They circled back to the sky, so I got ready for another dive, but they just kept flying away . Labriatt tried shooting them down from a distance but sadly fell short .

    ¡¸Shit!¡¹

    Labriatt sweared and furiously red in the direction they escaped at .

    They had already left the range of my detection magic, so chasing them would be quite hard .

    Labriatt calmed himself down after a while and turned to me .

    ¡¸Thanks for helping me . It would be hard to deal with them if you didn¡¯t take four of them down like that . ¡¹

    ¡¸Still, we let some get away . ¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s okay . We have other elves patrolling the area, and they should be able to take down them down easily as long as they aren¡¯t taken by surprise . ¡¹

    Certainly, the volcrows could easily be taken down if one was capable of using magic . They were quite dangerous to those who couldn¡¯t use it, though . Well, elves generally knew how to use magic, so they should be fine .

    ¡¸I need to head back to the vige to report this . What about you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll stay here . ¡¹

    ¡¸Alright, if any trouble shows up, run towards the vige, okay?¡¹

    Labriatt told me and then quickly disappeared into the forest, leaving my Bears and me behind, next to seven dead volcrows on the ground .

    Could I maybe make some money by selling them?

    Before that, was it even okay for me to take them?

    Well, if they ever asked me to hand them over, I would, but for now, I decided to just put them into my Bear Box .

    I then turned Swaying Bear and Hugging into their cub forms before heading into the Bear House as it would be much easier to rx there .

    The moment I sat down on the sofa, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear immediately curled up by my sides: their default spots when there were no guests around .

    After simply rxing for a while, I took out the Bear Phone and called Fina .

    She should be at home right now, helping Terumi-san with housework, but she wasn¡¯t picking up .

    I did tell her not to answer if there were people over, so maybe they had some guests at their house right now

    Just as I was about to cut the connection, Fina finally picked up .

    ¡¸Hello, Fina?¡¹

    ¡ºYuna-oneechan?¡»

    Great, I managed to get to her .

    It was pretty amazing how we could stillmunicate over such arge distance .

    As expected of one of the God¡¯s cheat skills, I should say .

    Well, my former world had satellite cell phones, so it was possible to call anyone from almost anywhere, but this was still impressive for this ce .

    Hmm, now that I thought about it, how exactly did it even work?

    ¡¸Are you busy?¡¹

    ¡ºNo, I¡¯m fine right now . I¡¯ve just finished doing theundry and cleaning around the house, so I¡¯m currently resting . ¡»

    Okay, she had the time to chat, then .

    ¡¸Anything weird happened back home?¡¹

    ¡ºNo, not really . How are things on your side?¡»

    ¡¸We reached the Elf Vige safely . ¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s great, you¡¯ve reached it already . I would love to see it one day as well . ¡»

    ¡¸Do you want toe right now?¡¹

    If I used the Bear Transportation Door, she coulde straight away .

    ¡ºIf I suddenly appeared, wouldn¡¯t Sanya-san bepletely shocked?¡»

    She had a point .

    I should bring her along the next time I came here .

    Still, to do that, I would have to set up the Bear Transportation Door somewhere close by .

    Well, in the worst case, I would just have to use the one I had in Raruuze .

    ¡¸Anyway, great to hear everything is okay back home . ¡¹

    ¡ºMhm¡­ Oh!¡»

    Fina sounded like she just remembered something .

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen, after all?¡¹

    ¡ºShortly after you left, Zelef-san and Eleanora-san came to visit you . ¡»

    ¡¸Zelef-san and Eleanora-san did?¡¹

    It made sense for Eleanora-san toe since Cliff and Noa were living in Crimonia, but why would Zelef-sane around as well?

    ¡¸Could it be that they needed me for something?¡¹

    That was the only reason I could think of .

    ¡ºThey came to check out the shop, but I think they wanted to see you as well, Yuna-oneechan . ¡»

    ¡¸My shop?¡¹

    ¡ºMhm, I think they called it an inspection? They examined the shop and its food . ¡»

    Oh right, they had mentioned that they wanted to see my shop in Crimonia . That must have been why they came to visit .

    ¡¸Did theyment on it anyhow?¡¹

    ¡ºTheyplimented the food, saying that it was very delicious . ¡»

    Well, with Morin-san¡¯s bread, Elena-san doing her best at making cakes, and the children working hard every day, of course the food was always delicious .

    ¡ºAlso, when they saw the Bear-san dolls around the shop, they just couldn¡¯t stopughing . ¡»

    Rude, why did they have tough?

    I had made those because somebody said that it would be better if the shop was more bear-themed .

    They were really popr with the customers; some even asked if they could buy them to keep as decorations in their homes .

    Yeah, it wasn¡¯t really something to scoff at .

    ¡¸Anyway, was anyone surprised to see Zelef-san and Eleanora-sane all of a sudden?¡¹

    ¡ºYes, Mom was very surprised . ¡»

    ¡¸What about everyone else?¡¹

    ¡ºOnly Mom and I knew who they were . Mylene-san also came in before us but was told to keep quiet . They just wanted to take a look at the shop without making too much of amotion . ¡»

    ¡¸And you, Fina? You weren¡¯t surprised?¡¹

    ¡ºI was a bit surprised, but not as much as Mom . ¡»

    Was Fina starting to get used to nobles?

    Before, she would get so nervous she couldn¡¯t even talk to them normally .

    Well, she had been ying with Noa a lottely and even attended Misa¡¯s birthday party . It made sense for her to grow more confident .

    ¡¸Still, why would theye so suddenly? They could at least have sent a message beforehand . ¡¹

    ¡ºI think they just wanted to surprise you . ¡»

    Well, anybody would be surprised if they showed up so suddenly .

    I was d they hade to Crimonia to see me, but I would have preferred it they didn¡¯t make it a surprise visit as they missed me because of it .

    ¡ºThey were really disappointed when they found out that you weren¡¯t here . ¡»

    I could almost see Eleanora-san¡¯s displeased expression . Was she going toin to me next time wee across each other?

    ¡¸Did they leave already?¡¹

    ¡ºThey did . They were only here for two days as they supposedly had to head back to the Capital quickly . ¡»

    It seemed like they really had onlye to inspect my shop .

    ¡ºOh right, they asked me to tell you that they said hi . ¡»

    ¡¸Anything else?¡¹

    ¡ºYes, Mom was mad that you weren¡¯t here . ¡»

    This time, it was Terumi-san¡¯s angry expression which floated into my mind .

    Well, it wasn¡¯t my fault that Eleanora-san and Zelef-san hade without warning .

    Wait, but wasn¡¯t it my fault that they had evene?

    Leaving that aside, I continued to chat with Fina about some random topics before ending the call .

    I wished Fina had called me when something like that happened .

    Well, even if she had called, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything .

    It wasn¡¯t like I could have gone straight back to Crimonia . Also, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to use the Bear Phone in front of Sanya-san, and even if I could use it, I could have only instructed Fina what to do over the phone . Heck, it would have been a lot more troublesome if Eleanora-san found out about the phone, so maybe things turned out for the best in the end .

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I want to write about what happened in Crimonia as well .

 Chapter 224 â€“ Bear-san Learns More About The Sacred Tree

    After I ended my call with Fina, I unsummoned the Bears and headed back to the vige.

    I had to report about where I built my Bear House and also wanted to see if they had found out anything about the Sacred Tree.

    When I got to the vige, I headed to Sanya-san¡¯s home, where I ran into Ruimin.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, where did you go?¡¹

    Ruimin said, sounding a bit angry.

    Why would she be angry, though?

    ¡¸I told you that I was going to look for a ce to set up the Bear House, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸You did, but I looked for you all around the vige and couldn¡¯t find you. I even asked a few people, but nobody saw you.¡¹

    Well, I had sneaked out of the vige, so...

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way you walked around the vige without anybody noticing you, especially when trying to set up your house! Just where did you go?!¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, but was still getting interrogated for some reason.

    ¡¸I left the vige to look for a good spot.¡¹

    ¡¸You weren¡¯t in the vige?!¡¹

    It seemed like Ruimin had thought I was going to set up the Bear House within the vige.

    Well, I never told anyone that I was setting up the house outside the vige.

    There was a possibility that someone would try to stop me.

    ¡¸Where did you build it, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Next to the upper stream of the river, I guess? I didn¡¯t get official permission from Mumuroot-san yet, though, so I¡¯m not sure if that spot is okay.¡¹

    ¡¸By the river¡¯s source? Why there of all ces...¡¹

    ¡¸Because the Bear House stands out too much. Besides, it¡¯s closer than you think.¡¹

    If I ran from there, I would be able to get here in only a couple of minutes, thanks to my Bear Suit, of course.

    I didn¡¯t know how much it would take other people, though.

    ¡¸By the way, did Sanya-san and the otherse back yet?¡¹

    Ruimin tilted her head before answering.

    ¡¸Not yet.¡¹

    They hadn¡¯t returned yet, huh.

    I really wanted to learn more about the Sacred Tree, though.

    The barrier concerned me, so I was a bit disappointed I couldn¡¯t hear more about it.

    I guessed would have to wait to get the official permission for the Bear House location and learn more about what was going on. As I was about to head towards Sanya-san¡¯s house to wait for them there, Ruimin noticed her sister at the vige entrance.

    ¡¸Onee-san!¡¹

    They came back at a perfect timing.

    I was going to go up to chat but stopped in my tracks when I noticed they all wore grim expressions and seemed to be very worn out.

    The situation seemed to be worse than we thought.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    Ruimin also noticed something was wrong and began to worry.

    Should I even be here, in a situation like this?

    I didn¡¯t know if I should butt into their problems when I was just an outsider.

    I was also of a different race, so that could be considered needless meddling.

    Still, if I didn¡¯t at least ask, I wouldn¡¯t find out where I stood.

    If they refused, I wouldn¡¯t probe into it any further, but if they asked me for help, I would be willing to lend a hand if at all possible.

    ¡¸How bad is it, Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    She didn¡¯t even notice me until I spoke up.

    ¡¸It must have been bad, right?¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at Mumuroot-san and Arthur-san, then nodded.

    ¡¸The situation is worse than we thought; it might even be the worst we¡¯ve ever had.¡¹

    ¡¸And, did you figure out why it is happening?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-chan, but I don¡¯t know how much I should tell you. Oh, it¡¯s not because you¡¯re not an elf. We¡¯re going to tell the whole vige at some point.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and sighed.

    I was even more curious now. How bad was it exactly?

    ¡¸Ruimin, it¡¯s gettingte already, so can you keep Yuna-chanpany for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will.¡¹

    After that, Sanya-san and the other two went towards Mumuroot-san¡¯s house.

    In a situation like this, I really shouldn¡¯t bother Mumuroot-san with my Bear House permit.

    Ruimin and I were left behind, so we decided to go to Sanya-san¡¯s house and rx there.

    There I told Ruimin and Talia-san all about my Bear House I just set up and let them know I would be spending the night there instead.

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine, but have dinner with us before you go, okay?¡¹

    I epted Talia-san¡¯s generous offer, and just as she was about done cooking, Sanya-san and Aruturu-san returned, their expressions looking even more grim than before.

    ¡¸Father, Onee-san, something must have happened, right?¡¹

    Ruimin finally popped the question mid-dinner. As expected of her, she was able topletely ignore even such a bad atmosphere.

    Aruturu-san stopped eating and slowly responded.

    ¡¸We will have to tell this to the vigers sooner orter, so I guess I can tell you what we know, or better think we know.¡¹

    Everybody nodded to Aruturu-san¡¯s words.

    ¡¸Is it okay for me to hear this? If not, I¡¯ll leave the room.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, you can stay. However, what I¡¯m about to tell you must not leave the room.¡¹

    I had no intention of spreading panic, so I epted his request with a nod.

    ¡¸In short, the Sacred Tree got infected by a Parasitic Tree.¡¹

    ¡¸Parasitic Tree?¡¹

    I had seen such tree-type monsters appear in games before.

    They would infect other trees in the forest, steal all their nutrients, and eventually take their ce.

    When the process wasplete, there was no way to tell whether the tree was parasitic or not, but when those Parasitic Trees ran out of nutrients, they would start eating animals, monsters, and even people who got lost. They used long branches or vines to catch their prey, and then consume them.

    ¡¸Are the surrounding trees also parasitized?¡¹

    It would make sense if that was the case, and it would also mean the area was more dangerous than we could tell at a first nce. The trees might even attack us out of nowhere.

    ¡¸No. From what we gathered, the surrounding trees are still fine¡¹

    Arthur-san exined, and Sanya-san nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸Then, how could the Sacred Tree be parasitized?¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t know. Maybe a seed from somewhere else invaded our forest and ingrained itself upon the tree. It could have been done by a bird, but there are also countless other possibilities. Instead of trying to find out how, we have to figure out how to deal with it, and so far we got nothing.¡¹

    How could one possibly deal with something like that.

    Defeating it might work, and the best way to deal with nt-based monsters was to burn them.

    Sadly, that would also mean destroying the Sacred Tree.

    ¡¸Still, how did nobody notice it until now?¡¹

    If somebody had just noticed earlier, then there might have been a way to prevent the damage in time.

    ¡¸To enter the barrier, we needed three people with our bloodline; that¡¯s why we had decided to have to Sanyae home first. Doing that backfired, howerer. We should have taken Ruimin, or even Luca, and went to check on the tree straight away.¡¹

    Well, hindsight is 20/20, so their actions were logical at the time.

    The Sacred Tree had protected the Elf Vige and itself for more than a thousand years, so who could possibly even considered that it was infected by a Parasitic Tree, which caused its power to wane.

    The chief, Mumuroot-san, thought that it was just a case of the barrier failing and bing weaker, and based on history that conclusion made sense.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, what is going to happen to the Sacred Tree, then?¡¹

    ¡¸At this rate, the Sacred Tree will lose all of its power and the barrier will disappear.¡¹

    After that statement, no one spoke for a while.

    At least we now knew that the reason the barrier had weakened was because of the tree itself.

    ¡¸Father, is it possible to remove the parasite?¡¹

    Aruturu-san responded by shaking his head.

    ¡¸We tried all sorts of things: used magic, cut it with a sword... Yet, nothing worked. The Parasitic Tree just absorbed the Sacred Tree¡¯s magic and regenerate itself.¡¹

    If it could regenerate that easily, didn¡¯t that mean there was nothing we could do?

    ¡¸We racked our brains for a solution but couldn¡¯te up with anything practical.¡¹

    ¡¸So it¡¯s just impractical? Doesn¡¯t that mean there is at least a small chance?¡¹

    Someone famous once said: If the probability isn¡¯t zero, that means there is a chance.

    (Note: Anybody have an idea who said it? I didn¡¯t find anything on google.)

    Sanya-san shook her head, however.

    ¡¸The barrier that protects the Sacred Tree is in the way. The only ones who can enter the barrier are the chief and his blood rtives, which limits the amount of people who can even do anything to help the Sacred Tree.¡¹

    Yeah, that certiantly limited out options.

    ¡¸Also, even though the Parasitic Tree is weak to fire, us elves cannot use fire magic, so... we¡¯re out of options...¡¹

    It sure sounded like there was nothing they could do. They couldn¡¯t get outside help nor was their wind magic strong enough to deal with it on their own.

    They couldn¡¯t even exploit Parasitic Tree¡¯s weakness to fire.

    If I could somehow enter the barrier, I could burn it with my Bear Fire Magic... No, using that would surely destroy the entire Sacred Tree, so I couldn¡¯t even do that.

    ¡¸Wait, if the Sacred Tree¡¯s barrier has gotten weaker, doesn¡¯t that mean other people might be able to enter too now?¡¹

    After all, the outside barrier was letting monsters in, so maybe the inside one would let people in as well?

    ¡¸From what we¡¯ve seen, it doesn¡¯t actually look any weaker.¡¹

    ¡¸How?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, to begin with, the Sacred Tree put up a barrier to protect itself from its surroundings. We elves only borrow that power to build our own barrier. The Parasitic Tree seems to have hijacked the barrier. Grandpa and Father both say that it¡¯s possible even our family might not be able to enter it anymore.¡¹

    Things took an even more troublesome turn, huh.

    ¡¸We n on going there again tomorrow to try some other things, like ming arrows and oil.¡¹

    ming arrows sounded a bit crude, but the oil? Was the Sacred Tree going to live through this?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Hmm, this setup is a bit contrived

 Chapter 225 â€“ Bear-san Learns About the Existence of Summoned Birds

    After dinner, Sanya-san asked me if I wanted to stay in her room again, but since I found the Bear House more rxing, I politely declined her offer and decided to return there before it got dark. I took a warm bath, swapped into the White Bear Outfit, and dove straight into bed, not forgetting to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear so they could keep watch for monsters.

    Like usual, it didn¡¯t take long for me to fall asleep in the warm embrace of my bed.

    The following morning, I was awoken by the Bears taping my face. Eating a quick breakfast, I headed straight back to the vige. On the way, I ran into some more Volcrows, and quickly disposed of them since it would have been bad if they attacked the children.

    Hmm, if there were this many monsters getting through, wasn¡¯t the barrier kind of pointless now?

    Also, what exactly did the barrier getting weaker mean?

    In games and manga there were many different ways it could happen.

    If the barrier was weaved together then holes could appear in certain areas, allowing small monsters to slip through easily.

    Or, the barrier could lose its strength and not cover the whole area anymore, leaving big opening for monsters to enter.

    Well, even if I knew the details, it wasn¡¯t like I would be able to prevent it from happening. Still, being a person from modern Japan, I was quite interested in how a fantasy setup would work.

    Thinking of some other possible causes for the monsters to be able to enter now, I arrived at the vige, which seemed rather noisier than before?

    Had something happened?

    Since I was curious, I decided to listen in on people¡¯s conversations, and from what I gathered, it

    seemed that monsters were now also appearing in the vige.

    I had defeated a few on my way here but this meant there were even more.

    The barrier must have gotten considerably weaker over time, now getting to the danger zone.

    Wait, would I be fine in this situation?

    Often in stories, when an outsider appeared in some vige and cmity befell the vige, people would begin suspecting that the outsider had something to do with it.

    If they started thinking that monsters were here because of the Bear or that the barrier had gotten weaker because of the Bear, that would be a big problem for me, who wanted to befriend them.

    I continued my way through the vige worried sick about how people would now react to me, but both children and adults greeted me as usual.

    I just worried needlessly, it seemed. Still, if one person were to me me, it was likely that everybody else would agree with them and and follow suit.

    As I thought how things could turn out in novels and manga, I came across Sanya-san and Labta, seemingly headed to Mumuroot-san¡¯s house.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, good morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Morning, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    After that I also exchanged greetings with Labriatt.

    ¡¸Are you going to the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    They had mentioned they were going to try using oil and set it on fire.

    ¡¸Well, we still have to talk about what to do with it, but for now, we have some other things to take care of.¡¹

    ¡¸All the monsters that are entering the vige?¡¹

    Monsters invading the vige seemed like the obvious thing they would have to take care of.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Monsters have started to appear close to the vige now, and Grandpa called for us to talk about what our next step should be.¡¹

    ¡¸Can Ie with you?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but that would be a bit...¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    I immediately understand where Sanya-san was going but then, Labta surprised us both.

    ¡¸I think we should ask Yuna for her help, no?¡¹

    Ask me for help?

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re worried about the chief¡¯s reaction, let me handle it. I don¡¯t want to make our guest do our work, either, and understand exactly how you feel, but I believe her help will be more than wee in this situation..¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, you seem to have a better opinion of Yuna-chan now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We took down some Volcrows together yesterday, and I saw she was quite capable of handling herself. We should also ask her bears for help since they can easily detect hiding monsters. I¡¯ve seen them in action.¡¹

    Sanya-san seemed very troubled by Labta¡¯s suggestion.

    Thinking for a while, and switching her gaze between the two of us, she finally spoke up:

    ¡¸What do you want to do, Yuna-chan? You can say no if you want, but your help would be greatly appreciated.¡¹

    Sanya-san entrusted me with the decision, and my answer was obvious.

    ¡¸Of course I¡¯ll help.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Having epted their request, we all headed to Mumuroot-san¡¯s house.

    I had no problem with helping out, especially if it was just exterminating monsters like Volcrows.

    I wouldn¡¯t want to see Luca or any of the children get attacked.

    ¡¸Is the situation really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and we probably can¡¯t keep it a secret for much longer. We are currently suppressing as many of the monsters as we can, but there are still a lot more roaming around.¡¹

    ¡¸We have to deal with all of them before returning out focus to the Sacred Tree.¡¹

    Once we arrived at Mumuroot-san¡¯s house, we again entered without asking permission and headed straight to the room in the back, where Mumuroot-san and a couple other elves were already gathered. Mumuroot-san immediately took notice of me and turned to Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Why did you bring our young guest here?¡¹

    ¡¸I asked her toe.¡¹

    ¡¸You did, Labta?¡¹

    ¡¸I would like for her to help us.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san looked troubled by Labta¡¯s request.

    ¡¸This is our problem, and not something we should get an outsider involved in.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you going to do when one of the children gets attacked by the monsters? It won¡¯t be as simple to deal with as getting hurt from ying around. They might even die if we aren¡¯t careful.¡¹

    When Labta said that, silence fell upon the room.

    ¡¸I understand what you¡¯re trying to say,but is the Young Bear Lady okay with this? There isn¡¯t much we can reward you with.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need a reward. Sanya-san has done a lot for me, so consider this a form of repayment.¡¹

    I could think of some things I would like as a reward, namely permission to build my Bear House here permanently, or learning how to make the elf¡¯s bracelet, but I had decided to hold back for now.

    If he asked me again after everything was resolved then I would bring those requests up, but no sooner.

    It wasn¡¯t a dirty trick by any means, of course, just simple negotiation tactics.

    If he refused at that point then I would just give it up for good.

    ¡¸I see. Well, d to have you here, then. I already received a report from Labta yesterday that you have already proven yourself useful.¡¹

    He expressed his thanks.

    Since the chief agreed to letting me help, nobody else objected.

    ¡¸Now that everyone has gathered here, let¡¯s begin our discussion.¡¹

    The chief told everyone the urgent matter of the Parasitic Tree. Those who heard of this for the first time were quite shocked by the news.

    ¡¸We will take care of the Parasitic Tree, so I ask for everyone else here to please guard the surrounding area, including the vige.¡¹

    I was asked to summon my Bears to help protect the vige.

    Well, they more or less just wanted them to keep watch, which was what I had already nned to have them do, so I was perfectly fine with their request.

    Still, if I summoned the Bears to close to the vige, they might attract the children.

    If even one of them approached then surely more would follow, and things would end like they did thest time.

    Since I wanted to please the elves, I decided to just make sure to keep Bears out of sight, instead of refusing them.

    Just as Mumuroot-san finished giving all the instructions, we could hear someone running through the house towards us, and soon after, a young elf burst into the room in panic.

    ¡¸Ther-there¡¯s trouble! A bunch of volcrows and wolves have gathered near the vicinity of the barrier!¡¹

    ¡¸What?!¡¹

    Everybody waspletely shocked by this news.

    ¡¸Sanya! Check on the situation immediately!¡¹

    Mumuroot-san practically shouted at Sanya-san, who simply nodded and rushed over to the window, where she reached out her right arm. From her bracelet, a hawk-like bird appeared and rested on top of Sanya-san¡¯s arm.

    ¡¸Please take a look.¡¹

    Sanya-san told the bird, and it flew off.

    What had I just seen happen?! How had a bird that juste out of her bracelet?

    Was it a secret technique the elves were hiding from everybody?

    ¡¸Sanya-san, what was that just you did just now?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t hold back my curiosity.

    ¡¸Oh. It¡¯s a summoned bird. Why are you so surprised? You can summon bears.¡¹

    Sanya-san could summon a bird, huh, and she kept it a secret all the way until now.

    I wanted to inquire deeped but managed to hold myself back as now was not the time for that.

    ¡¸Sanya, what does it look like?¡¹

    ¡¸Arge flock of Volcrows is flying in from the direction of Ollboll Mountain. As for the wolves... they are still loitering around on the other side of the barrier.¡¹

    Sanya-san exined with her eyes closed.

    Was this that thing from games and manga? An observation skill where you could see through your summon¡¯s eyes?

    For some reason, it had me recall a manga where some pervert used a bird¡¯s vision to peek at girls bathing.

    Well, Sanya-san was a girl, so there was no issue with that, but if a guy had that skill, I would have to be more cautious.

    Hmm, maybe there were male elves who had the skill... I might have to investigate.

    ¡¸So, no monsters are inside yet, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Even the Volcrows now seem to be circling around on the edge.¡¹

    Sanya-san reported. What a useful summon she had.

    It would be nice if I could also look through my Bears¡¯ eyes.

    ¡¸Still, I don¡¯t get why...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, why are there so many monsters trying to enter the forest all of a sudden?!¡¹

    Oh no, was this the part where they started suspecting me?

    ¡¸What¡¯s happening?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, this could be bad...¡¹

    Sanya-san¡¯s ominous reaction made everybody turn back to her.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems like the Volcrows and wolves are trying to get to the Sacred Tree. No, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case.¡¹

    ¡¸They came here because of the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    ¡¸That makes no sense... They have never tried to do it in the past. Why now?¡¹

    ¡¸Because of the Parasitic Tree maybe?¡¹

    Thinking about it logically, that would make the most sense.

    I was just happy they didn¡¯t try to me it on me or my Bears.

    ¡¸That could be the reason, yes. Still, we need to deal with all the monsters first, and only then return our focus to the Sacred Tree. If these big groups of monsters get through the barrier, the vige will surely be in danger.¡¹

    Everybody nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸How should we proceed, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Labta, assemble the men and split them into two groups.¡¹

    ¡¸Who will protect the vige if the worstes to pass?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be fine as long as they don¡¯t get through the barrier. We first take on each group in force; we have to subjugate them all before they can enter the barrier.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, it shall be done.¡¹

    Labta and the other men all stood up to leave the room, but Sanya-san stopped them.

    ¡¸Wait, don¡¯t head out yet. There are some Tiger Wolves close to the wolves as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Even more to deal with...¡¹

    Sanya-san took a quick nce at me. Was she trying to ask me to deal with them?

    I didn¡¯t mind taking care of the Tiger Wolves, but would the elves be able to take care of both wolves and Volcrows?

    If I took them all of them down myself, I could probably keep all the loot, right?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can I leave protecting the vige to you?¡¹

    Huh? Sanya-san¡¯s request wasn¡¯t the one I had expected.

    Sanya-san knew how strong I was, so I was sure she would ask me to help with the subjugations.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but don¡¯t you need my help?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be enough if you can just protect the vige for me. Grandpa, please leave the vige to Yuna-chan, and let everybody else help with subjugations.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to leave the protection of the vige to this weird girl?¡¹

    One of the elves asked with clear unease.

    ¡¸If you think she can¡¯t handle it then just make sure not a single monster get through to the vige. Also, I should probably tell you that Yuna can easily take care of monsters like Volcrows all by herself, so there is no need to worry.¡¹

    Was it just me or did Labta suddenly grow to trust me quite a lot?

    Sanya-san and now even Labta both vouched for me, so nobody else tried to object.

    ¡¸I will also stay behind, so don¡¯t worry and make sure to subjugate all the monsters.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san cherry on the cake was finally enough to convince everybody to head out.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I had the idea for the summoned bird all the way back at the 10,000 monster subjugation arc.

    I just couldn¡¯t decide on who should have the skill.

    I remember debating with myself whether to give it to Sanya-san, the summoners from the Capital, or simply to one of the adventurers. Like, how had they even found out there was around 10,000? By using a summoned bird.

 Chapter 226 â€“ Bear-san Patrols the Village

    As everyone exited the room, only Mumuroot-san and I were left behind.

    Sanya-san had been thest to leave, wearing a very apologetic expression on her face.

    She didn¡¯t really need to feel bad about this.

    ¡¸Well then, we should get going as well.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san said and headed for the door, with me on his tail.

    ¡¸All I have to do is subjugate any monsters that get to the vige, right?¡¹

    ¡¸I will get rid of the monsters. All I need you to do is tell me if and where the monsters appear.¡¹

    Mumroot-san seemed to be doing the same thing as Sanya-san, keeping me away from harm and trouble, but that wasn¡¯t necessary. If I spotted any monsters, it would be quicker if I simply took them down myself.

    To not get in any unnecessary arguments, I kept that to myself and simply summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their regr sizes.

    Mumuroot-san brought his hand up to his chin and simply stared at the Bears for a while.

    ¡¸Let us know if monsterse our way, okay?¡¹

    I told the Bears, then used detection magic to check the nearby area.

    There weren¡¯t any monsters in the vicinity of the vige; the only reactions I got seemed to be those of the elves.

    Like Mumuroot-san instructed, the elves had split into two groups and were slowly leaving my detection range in the direction two groups of monsters were supposed to be. I wished I could tell where exactly the monsters were, but they were sadly too far away.

    I knew Labta and Sanya-san would be able to take down Wolves and Volcrows easily, but Tiger Wolves could be a problem.

    Even a single Tiger Wolf was quite a formidable opponent on its own, so if they didn¡¯t pay attention they could be in danger.

    I didn¡¯t know which group Sanya-san was in charge of, but I prayed that she would return safely.

    Mumuroot-san and I then slowly began to patrol the vige with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear walking by my sides.

    Many people greeted us as we passed, and while the adults stopped only to chat, the children immediately ran to the Bears.

    Mumuroot-san calmly informed every viger we came across that monsters mighte close to the vige and instructed them not to leave the vige at any cost.

    After doing this of a while, we eventually ran into Ruimin and Luca, who seemed to simply be walking around hand-in-hand.

    ¡¸Grandpa! Yuna-san!¡¹

    Once they spotted us they rushed over.

    ¡¸What are you two doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸We were about to head outside the vige but were stopped and told we couldn¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but you will have to stay inside the vige today.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san then proceeded to give them a brief exnation.

    Since the two of them already knew about the monstersing through the barrier, they simply nodded in understanding.

    ¡¸By the way, what are you two doing here?¡¹

    Both of them looked at me curiously.

    They probably thought it was weird to see me and Mumuroot-san walking around together.

    ¡¸The Young Bear Lady is helping me patrol the vige.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san exined and gestured toward Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    Before I realized, Luca was already patting Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Grandfather, can wee along, too? We promise not to get in your way.¡¹

    Ruimin asked, most likely because she notices that Luca looked like he really wanted to ride on top of one of the Bears.

    Mumuroot-san thought about for a bit before agreeing.

    ¡¸If something happens, make sure you follow my instructions, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    I let Luca ride on top of Hugging Bear since he seemed like he really wanted to while Ruimin got on Swaying Bear without even asking.

    We continued our patrol through a very peaceful vige, which made it seem like there was no monster problem at all.

    The Bears hadn¡¯t detected anything yet, either, so the vige appeared to be safe for now.

    Maybe the barrier, even weakened as it was, was still doing its job.

    The peace didn¡¯tst for long, however, as soon, other children saw Luca and Ruimin riding on the Bears and rushed towards us to join in.

    At first, Mumuroot-san was trying to tell them to stay in their homes, but the children were too jealous of Luca and Ruimin, making it quite difficult to convince them to go.

    After a minute or so, Mumuroot-san sighed and said, ¡¸This was a mistake,¡¹to himself but his expression lightened up soon, and I could hear him whisper, ¡¸This is better than having them run outside.¡¹

    Children tended to run off even when told them to stay at home, so having them busy with the Bears wasn¡¯t so bad.

    Mumuroot-san must have realized that and seemed much more content now.

    Since the children took over Hugging Bear, Ruimin now walked beside me.

    ¡¸Everything seems to be fine for now, doesn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Once we made a full round around the vige, we headed to the za at the center of the town.

    Even more children gathered there when they saw Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear, and I let them y with my Bears so that they would stay with us instead of heading outside.

    Ruimin made sure to watch over the children so that the Bears didn¡¯t get overwhelmed.

    I was thirsty, so I took out some juice, which prompted the children to start staring at me, clearly wanting some as well, so I was forced to take out enough for everyone.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    At least they thanked me properly. They were brought up well.

    I almost dozed off a bit as I watched the Bears y with the children.

    It was really peaceful here. Which was a good thing, of course.

    The fact that no monsters wereing this way meant that the subjugation was going well.

    As Mumuroot-san happily watched the children y, he spoke up.

    ¡¸Youngdy, your bears are very docile.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, they are only dangerous when there are enemies around. Oh, that reminds me, Sanya-san can summon a bird, right?¡¹

    Since the conversation moved in the direction of summoned beasts, I tried asking about it.

    Since Sanya-san had kept quiet about it he might not tell me the details, but it was still worth a try.

    ¡¸Well, first thing first: unlike your bears, those birds cannot sense monsters.¡¹

    Still, being able to look through the summoned bird¡¯s eyes was amazing and very useful. If I had one, I would be able to look over a mountain, or fly out to the sea to see what it was like.

    I was envious that they were able to see the scenery from the skies.

    ¡¸Do many elves have bird summons?¡¹

    ¡¸No, the only ones who have one are Sanya and Ruimin.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin has one, too?¡¹

    I looked over at Ruimin after hearing that unbelievable fact.

    Hearing her name being mentioned, Ruimin looked back.

    ¡¸Ruimin, you can summon a bird, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, yes. Somewhat...¡¹

    Ruimin admitted that she could in a quiet voice.

    ¡¸That¡¯s amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, not at all.¡¹

    For some reason, she stumbled a bit as she said it.

    ¡¸Emm, could you show it to me?¡¹

    I asked her, thinking she would most likely refuse at this point, but she nodded instead.

    She put both of her hands out and gathered magical power. After a few moment, something close to a baby chick appeared in her palms.

    ¡¸Summoned birds need magical power to grow, and since I don¡¯t have much power, this is my limit. Compared to Onee-chan¡¯s it¡¯s... ¡¹

    Even so, it was a cute baby bird.

    The little bird began walking around in Ruimin¡¯s palm, looked at Ruimin and chirped.

    It recognized her.

    ¡¸It¡¯s so cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is, but, I want it to grow up quickly, so it can be more like Onee-san¡¯s...¡¹

    When this baby chick grew up, would it look just like Sanya-san¡¯s bird?

    I thought about how it would be nice if I could make my Bears this small, but I figured it would be impossible.

    Soon after, Ruimin unsummoned her bird.

    Still, I was very interested in how one could get their hands on a summoned bird?

    Just as I was about to ask, Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear looked up and let out a cry, startling the children.

    Did a monster appear?!

    I immediately followed their gazes.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹

    One of the children said, pointing upwards.

    It was something huge.

    Since they were looking at the sky, I had thought it was going to be a Volcrow, but I was wrong.

    A bird evenrger than the Volcrows flew by.

    Using my detection magic I learned that it was a Cockatrice.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a Cockatrice...¡¹

    When I said that, everyone showed shocked expressions.

    A Cockatrice had the body and head of a bird, while its tail was long like a snake. It was a difficult monster to deal with, especially since it could fly.

    ¡¸Ruimin! Take the children and hide in a nearby house!¡¹

    Mumuroot-san quickly gave loud and clear orders.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, please take care of everybody.¡¹

    At my request, the Bears let the children ride them as they ran off to safety.

    Ruimin quickly followed along, making sure no children were left behind.

    ¡¸Youngdy, thank you telling for me about the monster before it got close to us. Now you should get to safety as well.¡¹

    Since I had noticed the Cockatrice before it rushed at us, we managed to get all the children safely away.

    Still, could he take down a Cocaktrice by himself?

    ¡¸If the Cockatrice dives at us, I will try to draw it away..¡¹

    If what Sanya-san had said was correct then the monsters goal of breaking through the barrier was to get to the Sacred Tree.

    In that case, the Cocaktrice was most likely heading there as well.

    ¡¸Can you really take it on by yourself?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san looked at the Cockatrice and gulped.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m willing to try if the worstes to pass.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll help you, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, what are you saying?! That¡¯s a Cockatrice! It¡¯s an atrocious monster!¡¹

    Yeah, I knew that, but I couldn¡¯t just abandon him either.

    Just as I was looking for a response, the Cockatrice turned its focus to us, pped its chicken-like wings and dove straight at us.

    ¡¸Are we fighting here?¡¹

    Although there was a lot of space between the buildings, we were still inside the vige.

    If we fought here, many of the houses could end up being destroyed.

    ¡¸That depends on how the Cockatrice will react. I want to at least try to lure it out of the vige.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san then proceeded tond the first strike by sending wind magic at the Cockatrice, which was approaching us fast.

    The magic hit the Cockatrice, but it managed reduce the effect by pping its wings.

    Now, the cockatrice had its eye on Mumuroot-san, acknowledging him as a threat.

    ¡¸Youngdy, run!¡¹

    Mumuroot-san said and ran towards the edge of the vige while shooting more magic at it.

    Wow, he sure was quick.

    The Cockatrice immediately began to chase after Mumuroot-san.

    Deciding on a n of my own, I ran after them.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s been awhile since ourst battle chapter.

    Thest one was the golem battle, wasn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 227 â€“ Bear-san Fights The Cockatrice, Part 1

    Mumuroot-san ran quickly as the Cockatrice followed him in the sky. From not far behind, I realized that while his attacks were effective at attracting the Cockatrice¡¯s attention, they did little to no damage.

    I thought of attacking the Cockatrice from behind, seeing how it was focused on someone else right now, but that could also backfire as it might turn towards me and back at the vige, making Mumuroot-san¡¯s efforts go to waste.

    Better to just keep following them for now.

    The Cockatrice managed to close a bit of a distance to Mumuroot-san and then pped its wings, sending a powerful wind attack against him. Without stopping even for a second, Mumuroot-san casted a windwall to block it and continued running through the vige, eventually making it to the forest.

    Mumuroot made quick use of the trees, dashing behind them to dodge the Cockatrice¡¯s attacks.

    After a while of doing so, Mumuroot stopped at a clearing with a small hill and readied to face the Cockatrice, which slowly descended.

    Certainly, this spot was spacious and suitable for such a confrontation, but without the trees to shield himself, his only option was to face it head-on.

    Well, our goal was to lure the Cockatrice away, so this should do.

    The Cockatrice again pped its wings at the now stationary Mumuroot-san, sending dozens of sharp feathers his way, but Mumuroot-san simply created another windwall while also leaping backwards to dodge any stray feathers.

    Immediately afternding, Mumuroot-san sent a wind de at the Cockatrice, but it swiftly dodged by flying back up. The wind de curved and struck the ground, leaving behind a deep graze.

    The Cockatrice then began slowly beating its wings to gather up wind, but Mumuroot-san immediately used wind magic to disrupt it.

    Wow, they were battling on equal grounds; Mumuroot-san was really cool.

    Wait, this wasn¡¯t the time for me to stand by and watch them. If they were of about the same strength, there was a chance that Mumuroot-san could lose if I didn¡¯t intervene.

    Right now, the Cockatrice had its back turned towards me, and all its focus was concentrated on Mumuroot-san.

    Thus, I gathered a small Bear Fireball and shot it directly towards the Cockatrice¡¯s defenseless back. The Cockatrice didn¡¯t notice it at all, so the small Bear Fireball managed to damage its wings.

    The Cockatrice let out an angry shriek, immediately turning around to face me.

    ¡¸Youngdy! Why are you here?!¡¹

    Mumuroot-sane called out to me, but I simply ignored him and sent another small Bear Fireball at the Cockatrice. In games, it wasmon sense to deal as much damage as you could while you still had the chance. Still, the Cockatrice wasn¡¯t going to let me continue hitting it for free. It once again beat its wings, sending red and ck feathers directly at me.

    ¡¸Youngdy!¡¹

    Copying Mumuroot-san, I created a windwall to block the feathers while Mumuroot-san took the chance to send another wind de at Cockatrices¡¯s back. Again however, the Cockatrice simply flew higher up to dodge it.

    ¡¸Why did youe here?!¡¹

    Mumuroot-san rushed up to me, clearly mad that I had disobeyed him.

    ¡¸To help you, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying?! Get out of here immediately while I distract the Cockatrice.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t get in the way. I can handle myself. This way, we can take it down together.¡¹

    The Cockatrice now circled above, waiting for us to act.

    Mumuroot-san threw a nce at it before turning back to me.

    ¡¸Fine, but promise me one thing: if it gets too dangerous, save yourself at any cost. I don¡¯t want to see any children die today.¡¹

    Children? Was that how Mumuroot-san saw me?

    ¡¸If thates to pass, I can buy enough time for you to run away, at the very least.¡¹

    So, he was just telling me ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, save yourself!¡±? No way I would do something like that. Sanya and Ruimin would be devastated if he died.

    For now, I decided to just nod in reply, so we could resume the fight.

    Together, we looked up at the Cockatrice flying in the sky. It once again slowly descended towards the ground, this time a bit away from us. Once itnded, its stomach suddenly began to puff up.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san, don¡¯t move!¡¹

    As soon as I shouted, the Cockatrice expelled a purple-colored breath, but I managed to create a wind-dome to shield us just in time.

    That breath attack was very poisonous. In the game, a Cockatrice¡¯s breath would inflict a lethal poison status effect, so we had to avoid it at all costs.

    Once the Cockatrice stopped breathing out poison, I expanded the dome to blow away all the toxic fumes from our surroundings.

    ¡¸Youngdy, you really saved me there.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san thanked me then rushed towards the Cockatrice and threw a point-nk wind de at it, slicing off a part of its wing. The Cockatrice was infuriated by this and blew arge amount of poison right at him. However, Mumuroot-san did not fall for the same trick twice. Using a strong gust of wind, he blew the breath right back at it.

    Just as Mumuroot-san tried to deal the final blow, however, the Cockatrice extended its wings and, with a wide swing, knocked Mumuroot-san away from it.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine...¡¹

    Mumuroot-san replied from the ground.

    Still, the Cockatrice wasn¡¯t going to wait for Mumuroot to get up, so I quickly shielded him with a windwall with my right hand before shooting a small Bear Fireball at the Cockatrice with my left. I knew it wouldn¡¯t hurt it, but I at least wanted to attract its attention.

    The small fireball hit its left wing, knocking the monster off bnce.

    Hmm, would arger Bear Fireball be enough to defeat it? Well, if I used such a strong me, Mumuroot-san would surely get steamed in the process.

    Was it just me or was Mumuroot-san more of a hindrance than I thought?

    Then again, I couldn¡¯t just tell him:¡¸You¡¯re in the way, so can you please just leave it to me and get out of here?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, youngdy.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t overexert yourself. Since you¡¯re hurt, I¡¯ll defeat it in your stead.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, you¡¯re simply incredible. To be able to remain so confident even when facing a Cockatrice...¡¹

    Mumuroot-sanughed as he stood up.

    I wasn¡¯t bluffing or anything; I was quite serious about this.

    The Cockatrice once again took to the sky, taking its time to observe us.

    ¡¸Okay, then. Could I borrow some of your strength, youngdy?¡¹

    ¡¸What do you want me to do?¡¹

    ¡¸When that thinges down again, could you make sure it doesn¡¯t fly back up?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure thing, I can do that, but why?¡¹

    ¡¸I am going to try casting a rather powerful spell. I don¡¯t want you to get caught in it, so make sure to keep your distance.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san stepped a small distance away from me and started collecting magic power in both of his arms. At the same time, bracelet on his right wrist began to shine brightly.

    I could tell that a tremendous amount of magic was gathering within it.

    Noticing that Mumuroot-san was attempting to do something, the Cockatrice once again shot feathers at us.

    These feathers were getting annoying. Didn¡¯t it have anything different?

    I deflected the feathers with another windwall.

    How cowardly of such a monster, only attacking from the sky. I should bring it down.

    I ran towards it, gathered some strength in my feet, and sted into the air, flying past the Cockatrice.

    Not good. I jumped too high.

    With the help of wind magic, I safely dropped to its level and threw a Bear Kick at its back, sending the Cockatrice towards the ground.

    Wow, it worked.

    As the Cockatrice attempted to raise back up, Mumuroot-san finished preparing his spell.

    ¡¸Youngdy, try not to get caught up in my attack!¡¹

    A whirlwind started to form around Mumuroot-san, who then focused it into his hands before shooting it towards the Cockatrice on the ground, easily slicing off one of its wings.

    So powerful. Good thing I used wind magic to descend slowly.

    ¡¸Youngdy, please finish it for me.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san fell down on one knee, breathing heavily. He must have exhausted all of his magical power.

    As I turned around to send a few Wind Cutters at its defenseless head, I spotted arge shadow flying towards us

    It was another Cockatrice, preparing tounch an attack at us.

    As soon as it got in range, it shot feathers at me. I ended up having to use the wind gathered within my right hand to counter its attack and was unable to finish off the damaged Cockatrice on the ground.

    ¡¸Youngdy, run!¡¹

    Mumuroot-san shouted at me, knowing he couldn¡¯t help me in this fight.

    Even though he told me to run, I couldn¡¯t just leave him behind.

    I called for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my mind then fell back to where Mumuroot-san was.

    ¡¸Can you move?¡¹

    ¡¸Go to the vige and tell everybody to escape.¡¹

    Even if I wanted to run and tell them, I could clearly feel the murderous re of the newly arrived Cockatrice. If it killed Mumuroot-san, it would most likely chase after me next. I would just be bringing it to the vige.

    The undamaged Cockatrice growled and spread its wings, a whiff of poisoning out from its beak. Yeah, it seemed to be pretty mad at us.

    It then sent another wave of feathers at us, prompting me to use a windwall to protect us. Yet, its attack was clearly stronger than that of the first Cockatrice, so my wall was not able to block all of the feathers.

    ¡¸Youngdy, don¡¯t worry about me. Please just save yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do that.¡¹

    Just as the Cockatrice spread its wings again, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came running over.

    I created arge gust of wind to protect us all then used it to blow the new Cockatrice away. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear managed to make it to us safely.

    ¡¸I am going to keep fighting.¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy?¡¹

    I then proceeded to pick Mumuroot-san up.

    Thanks to my Bear Gloves, I could easily lift heavy things, so Mumuroot-san felt very light in my arms.

    ¡¸What are you doing?¡¹

    I ced Mumuroot-san on Hugging Bear¡¯s back while he kicked up a fuss at me. Noticing he tried to climb off the moment I let go of him, I used lightning magic to paralyze him.

    ¡¸Youngdy, what...¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, take Mumuroot-san back to the vige.¡¹

    ¡¸W-what are you saying?¡¹

    ¡¸Go.¡¹

    Obeying my orders, Hugging Bear immediately ran off. Mumuroot-san had shouted a few more things at me, but I ignored him.

    It was time for the second part of our little battle.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    This Cockatrice is not the strong version told in legends, but rather a weaker version.

    P.S.: By weaker, I mean weaker than the ones you usually find in games.

    In order words, it can¡¯t turn people into stones and its poison won¡¯t kill all the trees and nts around it.

    Hmm. This almost makes it seem like I¡¯m bullying Cockatrices for no particr reason. Maybe I should let them destroy the vige a little bit. I guess I can just edit it in some other day.

 Chapter 228 â€“ Bear-san Fights the Cockatrice, Part 2

    As I was making sure Mumuroot-san had escaped, I didn¡¯t take my eyes off of the Cockatrice for one second. As it watched me, purple breath leaked out of its beak and it growled loudly.

    Judging from the previous fight, I could tell that a Cockatrice¡¯s wings were a formidable form of both attack and defense.

    I threw a short nce at the red and ck feathers stuck into the ground all around me. A small Bear Fireball could only singe its wings. Since the feathers could be used as projectile attacks, it made my opponent quite tough? If I wanted to take it down, I would have to use arger Bear Fireball.

    Still, what would happen to the Cockatrice¡¯s body if I did? If it had any useful materials, I wanted to procure them. Normally in games, even if you burned or cut up the enemy, they would drop undamaged items and materials, but things were different in reality.

    With Swaying Bear behind me, I stood directly in front of the Cockatrice as it angrily released purple breath from its beak.

    Therge Cockatrice then cried out and pped its wings, shooting red and ck feathers everywhere.

    The amount, size, and power of these Cockatrice¡¯s feathers were on apletely different level from the first one, so I created an Earth Bear Golem to act as my shield. The feathers pierced into the Bear Golem, but it stood its ground. Even though I wasn¡¯t sure if the feathers had poison on them, they meant nothing to the Bear Golem.

    I then sent the Bear Golem to rush at the Cockatrice. The Cockatrice hurled more feathers to stop it, but the golem did not even flinch from the attacks.

    Still, just as the Bear Golem was about to body m the Cockatrice, the monster took to the sky.

    I quickly followed up by sending a Wind Cutter at it, but the Cockatrice easily dodged it while also returning the attack with another volley of feathers, forcing me to jump backwards.

    Ugh, this was so annoying. Should I maybe try to take this one down with a Bear Kick as well? The fight would be a lot easier if the Bear Outfit had some type of flying skill. Hmm, did flying magic even exist in this world? I hadn¡¯t really looked into it, but so far, I hadn¡¯t heard of it. Still, a flying bear sounded way too surreal. The Bear Outfit already stood out too much as it was, but to fly in the skies while wearing it... just the thought of it frightened me. If I could somehow learn it, I would have to be very careful about flying in front of other people.

    I stopped my wild delusions and focused on the flying Cockatrice, only to notice the wounded Cockatrice on the ground was breathing out purple breath.

    It could still move even after losing a wing?

    The purple mist slowly began to umte around the grounded Cockatrice.

    It was that poison nonsense again.

    For a split second, the thought of the Bear Outfit blocking poisonous gas crossed my mind, but it would be simply too dangerous to test that out right now. Still, if the grounded Cockatrice kept letting out more poison, it would most likely spread and cause damage to the surrounding area.

    While making sure to keep an eye on the Cockatrice in the sky, I decided to first take care of the grounded one.

    Immediately, I used arge amount of magic power to create a powerful tornado, which started to collect the poison in the area. Once the poison was all gathered up, I sent the tornado into the sky to disperse it.

    I also tried my luck by directing the tornado towards Cockatrice in the sky, but it simply flew a bit higher to avoid it.

    Returning my focus to the grounded Cockatrice, I first confirmed that all the poison was really gone, before creating a Bear merger than even my Bears. The me quickly reformed into the shape of a bright red Bear, ready to charge ahead at mymand. Thanks to my Bear Suit, I could only imagine how much heat it emitted.

    Not wasting any time, I let the ming Bear loose and watched it pounce onto the grounded Cockatrice. The Cockatrice let out a pained cry and attempted to somehow get away, but the ming Bear had alreadypletely engulfed it. The creature only managed to spread out its wing onest time before copsing to the ground.

    After I dispelled the ming Bear, only a scorched body remained.

    Hmm, seeing how badly the Cockatrice was burnt, if I didn¡¯t have my Bear Outfit on, I would have likely been steamed alive. It would be too dangerous if I were to use the ming Bear with people around. If I made even a slight mistake, they could end up being burned alive.

    Now, only the Cockatrice in the sky remained. No more would appear, right? When we had grounded the first one, a second one appeared so it was possible, especially with the saying ¡®the third time¡¯s the charm¡¯.

    I immediately used my detection magic to check. Huh? Rather than another Cockatrice, several wolves were heading our way. Sanya-san¡¯s group was supposed to handle them, so either her group missed them or the wolves came from somewhere else. Regardless, it would be a pain if they showed up during my battle with the Cockatrice.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, once the wolves reach us, take care of them, okay?¡¹

    I decided to let Swaying Bear handle the wolves and returned my focus to the Cockatrice in the sky, starting to formte a n to bring it down to the ground.

    While I could try using wind magic again, it could simply negate it with its own attack or dodge it. In that case, could I maybe really try jumping into the sky and using a Bear Kick again? Still, that might have only been possible thanks to Mumuroot-san distracting it. With the Cockatricepletely focused on me, the move most likely wouldn¡¯t work.

    Also, engaging a battle in the air would leave me at a big disadvantage. Even with me being on the ground, the Cockatrice could freely shoot feathers at me or send strong wind magic at my way. I had to spend a lot of energy simply defending.

    The worst part of it all, was the fact that I had to keep looking upward at it. I had been looking up so much by now that my neck was starting to hurt. Hmm, maybe the true enemy wasn¡¯t the Cockatrice but rather my neck? I should try bringing out some new magic and end this quickly.

    Making my decision, I sent a wide gust of wind at the Cockatrice, making its stance waver to an extent that it was unable to return the attack. Using the opening, I summoned lightning into my hand.

    Some time after the Iron Golem subjugation, I had spent some time thinking of a way to make the electricity sessfully leave my hand. Only after many trials and error, I had aplished it.

    Imagining a Bear, the electricity changed into a sparkling, golden Bear. This way, I could throw it and it wouldn¡¯t disperse.

    Still, simply throwing it at the Cockatrice in the sky and hoping it would hit was no more than wishful thinking; I had tounch it at a much faster speed.

    Gathering magical power in my other hand, a small whirlwind began to swirl around in it. I then put the two hands together and sent the electric bear spinning inside the whirlwind. Using my right hand, I aimed at the Cockatrice in the sky and sent my spell flying.

    The electric Bear rocketed into the sky at a high velocity, heading straight for the Cockatrice. Since there was a chance that the Cockatrice would dodge even such a quick attack, I created more electric Bears and rapidly fired them at it.

    The Cockatrice pped its wings as strong as it could, attempting to change the trajectory of the electric Bears, but it was all for nothing, as the spinning Bears pierced through the windwall

    the Cockatrice had created and hit its wings.

    Oh, I actually managed to hit it. Was the attack stronger than I thought it to be? During the test runs, I had indeed noticed that the electric attacks seemed to get stronger when spun inside a high-speed whirlwind, but the damage caused surprised even me. The electric Bearspletely pierced through the Cockatrice¡¯s wings, leaving behing gaping holes. With thest impact, its wings were practically in tatters, and the Cockatrice plummeted to the ground.

    I was sure that all the electricity would have left the Cockatrice paralyzed, but when it hit the ground, all the electricity got grounded as well. I didn¡¯t know if the Cockatrice waspletely free of the paralysis effect, but it wasted no time in standing up, spread its tattered wings, and squawked threateningly at me.

    Yet, it left me unamused. In this state, it obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to fly anymore, making this fight much easier.

    The Cockatrice red at me while letting purple breath continuously spill from its beak. It was surprising to see it still so lively after taking such a barrage of attacks. It would make more sense for it to drop dead immediately. Anyway, with those wings, the feather and wing attacks were now impossible. I kind of felt bad for it, but I decided to finish it off quickly, since its poison was still dangerous.

    I dashed up into point-nk range and shot another electric Bear at its body, using my whirlwind technique, of course.

    The Electric Bear Whirlwind cleanly pierced through, causing the Cockatrice to drop to the ground, motionless.

    Finally...

    The fight left me more tired that I had thought it would. In fact, it had tired me out mentally. Not to mention my aching neck. I moved my neck around for a bit to try and loosen it a little, but it didn¡¯t help at all. Would I only feel better after if I slept in the White Bear Suit?

    Anyway, since I managed to defeat both Cockatrices, this area should be safe now. I called for Swaying Bear to return.

    Not a single wolf had bothered me, so I assumed Swaying Bear must have defeated them while I was focused on the second Cockatrice.

    I then used detection magic to get a read on my surrounding and noticed that Swaying Bear was with Sanya-san and a couple of elves.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    With there being no dialogue in this chapter, I again realize just how bad I am at writing description-only paragraphs. W

    Also, just to make it clear, a ming Bear Whirlwind is possible as well.

    When I recalled about the ming Bear that appeared in volume 2¡¯s illustrations, spinning as it shoots at the enemy, it seemed like a rather cool idea. w

 Chapter 229 â€“ Bear-san Returns To The Elf Village

    Since I noticed the elves were heading my way, I just waited for them to arrive. Soon, Sanya-san, Labriatt, and some of the elves all exited the forest together with Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what happened here...¡¹

    Sanya-san asked, ncing at the surrounding area.

    I took a moment to check as well.

    The ground around us was full of holes and the rest of it was covered in countless red and ck feathers. We had really gone a bit overboard, hadn¡¯t we?

    Two dead Cockatrices behind a person dressed like a bear amidst this carnage, had to be quite a sight.

    I hadn¡¯t really notice it before, but now that I looked at it from their perspective, didn¡¯t this situation look quite preposterous?

    ¡¸Why are you here, Sanya-san? Did you manage to take care of all the monsters?¡¹

    Could it be that she had rushed over after learning that there were Cockatrices here?

    She arrived a bitte, but honestly, that was a good thing.

    It would be difficult to exin the lightning magic to her.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, we¡¯ve dealt away with them without much of a problem. There were quite a lot of volcrows though, so it took us longer than I had expected.¡¹

    It seemed like they had managed to defeat all the monsters without any casualties.

    Yet, if nothing was done about the Sacred Tree, monsters would most likely continue to gather.

    The barrier which was supposed to protect the vige from monsters was now calling them here instead.

    If the situation kept escting, the elves would no longer be able to live here.

    ¡¸After we were done, we headed back to the vige, but were met by people panicking because a Cockatrice had appeared in the vige. Luckily, some of them saw Grandpa and you lead it away, so we knew the vige was in no immediate danger at least. While we were discussing what to do, Hugging Bear-chan came out of the forest with Grandpa on its back.¡¹

    So, that was why they had rushed here.

    I was d Hugging Bear had managed to bring Mumuroot-san back to the vige safely.

    I would have to give it a lot of nice pats when I got back.

    ¡¸Anyway, when we heard from Grandpa that you were fighting the Cockatrice all by yourself, so that he could safely escape to safety, we immediately headed here.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t like I had stayed behind so that Mumuroot-san could run; I had just gotten rid of him so that the fight would be less troublesome. Not because he would have been a burden or anything; I just didn¡¯t want other people to see how I fight.

    ¡¸Grandpa looked like he was about to cry, saying that you might die because of him only because he wasn¡¯t strong enough to protect the vige himself.¡¹

    I would prefer if he didn¡¯t go killing me off in his mind.

    Hmm, it seemed like he thought that I would sacrifice myself by staying behind instead of just wanting to get rid of him.

    Hell no, doing something like that in real life would actually be pretty embarrassing.

    ¡¸Well, I figured Yuna-chan wouldn¡¯t die, but we still rushed over as quickly as we could, running into Labriatt¡¯s group on the way. For some reason, Swaying Bear-chan was also with them.¡¹

    Sanya-san nced at Labriatt and Swaying Bear.

    Labriatt then exined that while they were fighting against some Tiger Wolves, several other wolves managed to pass through the weakened barrier.

    After taking down the Tiger Wolves, he chased after the wolves inside the barrier, only to find Swaying Bear already in the middle of disposing them. They proceeded to help it, and then followed it here, where they ran into Sanya-san¡¯s group on the way.

    I patted Swaying Bear to thank it for taking care of the wolves. It would have been very troublesome if they had interrupted my fight with the Cockatrice.

    ¡¸Anyway, we rushed over, but....¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at the dead Cockatrices again.

    The other elves also seemed very put off as they stared at the Cockatrices as well.

    ¡¸Did you really take down both Cockatrices?¡¹

    Labriatt asked the question they were all wondering about.

    Sanya-san had considerable knowledge of my abilities, so she would surely believe me, but the other elves seemed to have a hard time even imagining it.

    Well, how many people would actually believe that a girl dressed like a bear defeated two Cockatrices by herself?

    In my old world, it would be simr to hearing that a young girl wearing a costume killed a wild tiger with her bare hands.

    Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t believe that, either.

    ¡¸Yes, I did, believe it or not.¡¹

    Two of the elves approached the dead bodies to confirm they were really dead.

    ¡¸Well, looking at the situation, it¡¯s hard not to believe you, but...¡¹

    It seemed that they understood there was no other exnation here, but were still having a hard time epting it.

    ¡¸Well, actually, Mumuroot-san defeated one of them.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t exactly lying. Mumuroot-san dealt the fatal wound with his magic. I merely finished it off.

    I couldn¡¯t really im that I beat both of them on my own.

    ¡¸Even so, that still means you defeated the other one by yourself, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really deny it, so I simply nodded.

    ¡¸Thank you for saving Grandpa, Yuna-chan. No, thank you for saving the whole vige.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, you have my gratitude.¡¹

    After Sanya-san thanked me, Labriatt and the other elves did as well.

    I barely managed to swallow my wish to be allowed to ce a Bear House here forever as apensation.

    I was sure Mumuroot-san would try to thank meter as well. If I was going to ask for permission, I would ask the Chief, of course.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m just d that everyone is safe.¡¹

    Everyone was moved by my words.

    Uuu, I felt guilty for actually having ulterior motives behind it.

    Well, even if I were to tell Mumuroot-san what I wanted in front of everybody, they could still refuse my request.

    For now, I decided to just focus on the Cockatrices¡¯ bodies.

    ¡¸Can I put the bodies into my storage?¡¹

    We shouldn¡¯t leave the remains behind, after all.

    Also, since I was the one to take them down, I should im the loot, right?

    ¡¸You defeated it, so of course you can, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸If you want some of the materials, I don¡¯t mind splitting them up, either.¡¹

    ¡¸You can take it all. Rather, you may consider it an expression of our gratitude..¡¹

    Once I got Sanya-san¡¯s permission, I walked up to the Cockatrice I had taken down myself. Its wings were full of holes, but I could maybe still use its feathers for something?

    Even if I only plucked out the intact ones, there should still be plenty.

    While considering what I could do with them, I ced the whole body into the Bear Box.

    Sanya-san and Labriatt were not very surprised in the slightest as they both had watched me take out the Bear House before, but the other elves were shocked by my actions.

    I ignored them and approached the Cockatrice which Mumuroot-san had defeated.

    When I got home to Crimonia, I had to ask Fina to dismantle them.

    Wait, could Fina even dismantle a Cockatrice?

    To begin with, asking a ten-year-old girl to dismantle a Cockatrice felt wrong.

    Maybe I should discuss it with Gentz-san beforehand.

    ¡¸By the way, how is Mumuroot-san doing?¡¹

    After storing the other Cockatrice as well, I asked the elves about Mumuroot-san, whom I had paralyzed.

    I didn¡¯t know if Mumuroot-san was considered to be an old man since he was an elf, but either way, I might have identally paralyzed an elderly person with electricity.

    Also, he had used too much magic and was probably very fatigued.

    Had I gone overboard?

    Still, if I hadn¡¯t done it, he would have tried to continue fighting, so he left me no choice.

    ¡¸Do you know what happened to Grandpa, Yuna-chan? He can¡¯t really move well.¡¹

    ¡¸He used some amazing wind magic, so maybe that¡¯s why. His magic was able to cut off one of the Cockatrice¡¯s wings.¡¹

    I hoped that would be enough to mislead them.

    ¡¸He said something like, ¡°The youngdy touched me and then I couldn¡¯t move anymore.¡±¡¹

    Didn¡¯t that mean that when I returned to the vige, an angry Mumuroot-san would be waiting for me?

    ¡¸Grandpa was really worried about you.¡¹

    Hmm, I had done something really bad.

    Normally, when a person tried to stay behind and said, ¡°Leave it to me; save yourself,¡± the other person would refuse and they would end up butting heads, only to both die in the process.

    If I were to think about this from Mumuroot-san¡¯s perspective, as he didn¡¯t know my actual strength, it made sense for him to worry about me.

    ¡¸Trembling, Grandpa only grasped my hand and told me: ¡°Please save the youngdy!¡±¡¹

    Just imagining it made my heart hurt.

    I had to apologize to him the next time I saw him.

    I had ended up making him worry about me, after all.

    ¡¸Grandpa should still be worrying about us, so let¡¯s return to the vige quickly.¡¹

    I nodded in agreement.

    Not to mention, there was no point in staying here any longer anyway.

    As I began walking, Swaying Bear dashed ahead of me and lowered its back.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I thanked it, and got on its back, riding it all the way back to the vige.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Is it just me or did I write Mumuroot-san to sound like a tragic heroine?

    Usually, the one who stays behind is the man, while the woman cries and sends the man off. w

 Chapter 230 â€“ Bear-san Reports to Mumuroot-san

    When we returned to the vige, Hugging Bear came running up to me.

    Huh? Mumuroot-san wasn¡¯t on its back anymore? Was he no longer paralyzed? Or, was he simply resting somewhere?

    Once Hugging Bear reached me, it happily began rubbing itself against me. I got off Swaying Bear and began to pet Hugging Bear¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Thanks for carrying Mumuroot-san back to the vige for me.¡¹

    Hugging Bear happily cried ¡¸kuun¡¹, closing its eyes while enjoying the pats.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, where is Mumuroot-san now?¡¹

    ¡¸He couldn¡¯t move, so we carried him back into his house. Also, Yuna-chan, did you really not do anything to Grandpa?¡¹

    When she had asked me earlier, I had been able to divert the topic using the Cockatrices, but I was unable to do so now.

    ¡¸Well, he seemed like he nned on staying even in his worn out state, so I used a tiny bit of magic on him.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean a tiny bit...?¡¹

    Sanya-san looked at me with inquiring expression but did not pry any further when I didn¡¯t answer.

    Next to us, Labriatt exined to the vigers that the Cockatrices had been defeated then gave out orders to retrieve the bodies of the subjugated wolves and Tiger Wolves.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how many the elves took down, but he was right: the bodies shouldn¡¯t be left alone as they might attract other monsters towards the barrier. Not to mention that the wolves were a good resource of food and money, so it was quite important for the vige to collect them. I just hoped I could get some of the Tiger Wolf pelts for myself.

    ¡¸Labriatt, Yuna-chan. We should head back to Grandpa and report the situation.¡¹

    I kind of wanted to say, ¡°Me too?¡± but I knew there was no way I could avold going.

    I unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and headed towards Mumuroot-san¡¯s house together with Sanya-san and Labriatt.

    ¡¸Grandpa, we¡¯reing in.¡¹

    As always, we entered the house without even knocking or waiting for a reply.

    I sure hoped Mumuroot-san was okay. I had paralyzed him using lightning magic, so he might still be stuck in bed.

    We headed to the usual room and found Mumuroot-san lying down. The instant he noticed us, however, he sat up.

    Was he still feeling numb?

    ¡¸Youngdy! Thank god, you¡¯re okay.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san immediately began fretting over me.

    ¡¸Sorry for making you worry.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t really my fault he worried, but I still though it was right for me to apologize for making an elderly man like him worry about me.

    ¡¸I know you are quite capable, youngdy, but please don¡¯t ever do something like this again. If you had died, I would have med myself until I stepped into a grave myself.¡¹

    It seemed like he really was genuinely concerned about me. Good thing he hadn¡¯t passed away from the stress he was under; people could actually die from worrying too much.

    ¡¸Sanya, Labriatt, what happened to the Cockatrice? Is it gone?¡¹

    ¡¸Both Cockatrices are dead, Grandpa.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, that¡¯s good to hear.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san looked relieved after hearing that.

    ¡¸Good work, you two.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san must have thought that Sanya-san and Labriatt were the ones who had subjugated the Cockatrice. That was perfectly fine with me. Also, if he had assumed I had done it, then he would havee out looking like a straightforward idiot.

    ¡¸When we got there, Yuna-chan had already beaten them. We didn¡¯t really do anything.¡¹

    Labriatt exined without even blinking an eye.

    While I hadn¡¯t specifically told them to keep quiet about my victory over the Cockatrice, I would have prefered him to be able to read the atmosphere a little bit better.

    ¡¸Youngdy defeated it ... Is that true?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san¡¯s voice was filled with doubt, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask Sanya-san and Labriatt again.

    ¡¸I know it sounds unbelievable, but it¡¯s true. Yuna-chan may look like this, but she is an exceptional adventurer.¡¹

    I got the urge toment on what she said about my looks or me being exceptional but held back. It was especially hard to do for the looks part.

    ¡¸Chief, it¡¯s the truth. All of us that were there can confirm that she indeed took down the Cockatrice herself.¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, is this really true?¡¹

    I nodded since I had no other choice. People already knew I that defeated the Cockatrice, so I couldn¡¯t really deny it at this point.

    ¡¸I see, so youngdy is such an excellent adventurer. I realized you were quite strong when we fought together, but I had no idea you were strong enough to take down a Cockatrice all by yourself.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure how strong exactly he considered me now, but at the very least he believed that I was strong enough to subjugate a Cockatrice myself.

    ¡¸I was only able to take down the second Cockatrice thanks to you taking down the first one, Mumuroot-san.¡¹

    ¡¸All I did was cut off one of its wings, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but because of that, I was able to finish it off quickly and easily.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, seeing how much trouble we had with the first one, how exactly did you defeat the second one?¡¹

    As expected, he was curious about the method I had used against to defeat it on my own.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t really reveal to much as I used a secret technique.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that I was actually in your way, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. For the first Cockatrice, I only helped you, Mumuroot-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, if I wasn¡¯t there, maybe you would have been able to take them down more easily?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe, but even if I had told you that I could take them on myself, I¡¯m sure that you wouldn¡¯t have believed me. That¡¯s why worrying about that is meaningless at this point. There was also no time for us to n when the first Cockatrice suddenly appeared, so if I had somehow exined to you to leave it to me out of nowhere, would you have done so, Mumuroot-san?

    ¡¹

    ¡¸That... I would not have been able to, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, you would have ended up fighting it either way. You would have pressed on to fight it yourself Cockatrice and wouldn¡¯t run away once things got dire, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I had figured it would have been best if I cooperated with you to beat it, and in the end, we really did manage to take the first one down together. Still, we did not expect for a second one to appear, and you had already exhausted all your strength taking down the first one. The only way to defeat the newly-arrived one was for me to deal with it on my own, but how could I possibly exin all that to you? There was no time for me to even try and convince you. That¡¯s why I told Hugging Bear to forcefully take you back to safety. I was being selfish, not willing to reveal my secrets, so please stop worrying about the whole ordeal.¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy...¡¹

    ¡¸I never once thought you were in the way.¡¹

    I added, trying to put up a poker face.

    Actually, I had thought that he was a bit of a burden, but I had to keep that to myself.

    ¡¸I see... In that case, please let me thank you again. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for ying the Cockatrices and for protecting both the vige and me.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san genuinely thanked me with a bow. It was quite embarrassing to be thanked so straightforwardly.

    After we were finally done, Sanya-san and Labriatt reported about their monster subjugations.

    There turned out to be five Tiger Wolves. I was quite envious, as that meant they had gotten their hands on five beautiful pelts.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san, what would you like to do about the Cockatrices¡¯ materials? If you need them, we can split them.¡¹

    Sanya-san and the others had said it was fine for me to have them all, but it was still better to check in with the Chief, especially since he had subdued one of them himself.

    ¡¸We have no need for them, so you can keep them, not to mention you were the one who defeated the Cockatrices. As for the Volcrows, Wolves, and Tiger Wolves, we can trade their materials with merchants, so they are more than enough for us.¡¹

    The Cockatrice materials were now officially mine.

    ¡¸You can sell the Cokatrices¡¯ materials at the Capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    I had asked Sanya-san where I should go if I were to sell the materials, just in case. It wasn¡¯t about money, but if I couldn¡¯t find a way to put them to good use myself, it was better to at least sell them, rather to have them rot in my Bear Box.

    ¡¸Sanya, we will head to the Sacred Tree again tomorrow. Tell Arthur for me, okay?¡¹

    It seemed like Arthur-san was still patrolling in the vige vicinity. Well, with so many monsters having appeared today, the same thing could happen again.

    ¡¸Grandpa, is your body okay?¡¹

    I was also curious as to whether he was resting here to recover his magical power or because I had electrocuted him.

    ¡¸I will be fine. The vigers forced me to rest since I wasn¡¯t able to move earlier, but I¡¯m doing better now. My magic should recover by tomorrow as well. We really have to head to the Sacred Tree and do something about it as soon as possible.¡¹

    He said, standing up to prove his point. If he was still feeling numb, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to get up so easily, so it looked like there were no traces of paralysis left at all.

    ¡¸In the worst case scenario, we might have have to cut down the Sacred Tree. Please keep that in mind when we go there tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸Grandpa!¡¹

    ¡¸If monsters areing because of the Sacred Tree, we will no longer be able to live here either way...¡¹

    True, if the Sacred Tree had transformed into something that kept calling monsters to it, living in the vige was going to be too dangerous. Even Cockatrices were starting to appear, so it was only a matter of time before the monster problems would be too much to handle.

    I wanted to help them deal with the Sacred Tree, but I couldn¡¯t do anything if I couldn¡¯t enter the inner barrier.

    Hmm, could I maybe attack it from outside? That way, I might be able to help. Well, if something like that was usible, Mumuroot-san and the others wouldn¡¯t be so worried about dealing with the Sacred Tree. After all, that would mean the other elves could have done the same. The barrier could most likely repel all sorts of attacks. If even my Bear magic couldn¡¯t work, then there really wasn¡¯t much I could do.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san, is there any way I could help? Maybe by using magic from outside the barrier?¡¹

    If at all possible, I really wanted to help out.

    Yet, Mumuroot-san simply shook his head.

    ¡¸I appreciate your offer, youngdy, but that¡¯s not possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that because I¡¯m not allowed to be there?¡¹

    ¡¸That too, but there¡¯s another reason.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, the Sacred Tree is inside a rocky mountain. You won¡¯t be able to reach it using magic from outside the barrier.¡¹

    Yeah, even using magic from outside was impossible, as there was no way I could try a ce I couldn¡¯t even see. Hmm, maybe myst resort could be to destroy the mountain it was in? My Bear Golems should be able to level a mountain, but I probably shouldn¡¯t do that.

    In the end, it was decided that Mumuroot-san, Sanya-san, and Arthur-san will go, with Labriatt joining them as a bodyguard.

    ¡¸Can Ie along as a bodyguard, too?¡¹

    I asked, expecting them to refuse.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s possible that another Cockatrice wille after the Sacred Tree.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but it might appear at the vige, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Grandpa, isn¡¯t it fine for her toe with us?¡¹

    Just as I was sure all hope was gone, Sanya-san stepped in to help.

    Mumuroot-san was clearly surprised to see Sanya-san vouching for me like that.

    ¡¸I owe a lot to Yuna-chan and also think monsters are more likely to appear at the Sacred Tree. I think we should let here with us.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san still seemed a bit concerned and unsure but agreed in the end.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We finally got to the Sacred Tree part.

    With this, the end of the Elf Arc is in sight. For me at least. w

 Chapter 231 â€“ Bear-san Inspects the Sacred Tree

    The next day, the five of us departed for the Sacred Tree.

    Hugging Bear came along with me today. I had been with Swaying Bear for a long time yesterday while Hugging Bear returned to the vige with Mumuroot-san, so Hugging Bear ended up pouting. After I had realized that was the case, I quickly summoned Hugging Bear and it happily snuggled against me. After spending thest night with it, its overall mood had gotten much better.

    I gently patted it, asking it to stay on guard for anything dangerous. We could no longer rely on the barrier, after all.

    I had somehow managed to get permission to apany the group to the Sacred Tree, but since it was deep in a mountain range and protected by a barrier, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see it.

    I had been mulling over ways to catch a glimpse of the tree since yesterday, but I didn¡¯te up with many good ideas. Maybe, I could leap high enough to get on top of a mountain or use earth magic to raise the ground under me so that I could see the tree from higher up, how the ns would work depended on how tall the mountains were.

    If only I could summon a bird like Sanya-san¡¯s, then I could see the tree from the bird¡¯s perspective instead...

    Sadly, my summons didn¡¯t have such powers, and Hugging Bear couldn¡¯t simply fly me up there To begin with, it made no sense for bears to be able to fly, so there was nothing that could be done about that.

    Hugging Bear let out an apologetic whimper, interrupting my thoughts. Did it notice what I was thinking?

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Hugging Bear. I didn¡¯t mean to put it like that. Please don¡¯t look so sad.¡¹

    I gave Hugging Bear a hug and patted it.

    ¡¸Why did you apologize to Hugging Bear out of nowhere?¡¹

    Sanya-san, who was walking beside me, gave me a strange look.

    ¡¸I kind of said something terrible to Hugging Bear, but it began apologizing to me instead.¡¹

    ¡¸What did you say to Hugging Bear-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸I was a bit disappointed that Hugging Bear couldn¡¯t fly so that I could see the tree from above...¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, that¡¯s what you were thinking about? It¡¯s already amazing enough that Hugging Bear lets people ride on it. Not to mention how fast it can run.¡¹

    Sanya-sanughed and patted Hugging Bear as we walked.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Even though you can¡¯t fly in the sky, I¡¯m very grateful for everything you do for me.¡¹

    I was in the wrong here. I always depended on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when I needed to go somewhere. Even if I took a nap while riding on them, they always kept running onwards. When I slept in my room, they stood on guard for me.

    The moment I told Hugging Bear how grateful I was, it cheered up quite a bit.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for making you sad.¡¹

    I rubbed Hugging Bear¡¯s head and began thinking of another way to see the Sacred Tree since flying really wasn¡¯t an option.

    Currently, we were heading to our destination smoothly, not encountering any monsters.

    Though we had subjugated all the monsters in the area yesterday, we still shouldn¡¯t let down our guard.

    I had Hugging Bear on the lookout for monsters, so it should let us know if we were toe across one.

    After traveling for a while longer, we left the forest and saw the mountain range.

    This must be the mountain I had heard about yesterday: the Sacred Tree must be just beyond it. Looking at it from up close, the mountain was quite high, so jumping wouldn¡¯t be enough. Hmm, maybe I would be able to climb it instead?

    ¡¸Looks like there aren¡¯t any monsters around.¡¹

    ¡¸We still can¡¯t let our guards down.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san immediately warned Sanya-san after her carefreement. Hugging Bear didn¡¯t detect any monsters, but just in case, I used detection magic myself. With it, I might be able to detect the Parasitic Tree and figure out its exact location as well.

    Sadly, there was no reaction. Apparently my magic didn¡¯t ssify the Parasitic Tree as a monster. Maybe because it detected it as a nt? Or, was it because the barrier concealed it, and my magic couldn¡¯t prate through? Either way, I didn¡¯t detect any monsters.

    ¡¸Is the Sacred Tree up ahead?¡¹

    I asked, since my detection magic wasn¡¯t telling me much.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The entrance is right over there.¡¹

    So, it really was past this mountain range after all.

    I walked closer and spotted a cave entrance, big enough for Hugging Bear to barely squeeze through. In front of it also stood three stone monuments. Yup, this was definitely the entrance.

    ¡¸Labriatt, Young Lady, please wait for us out here.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood.¡¹

    Labriatt replied.

    So neither of us could enter no matter what? I really wanted to go in, though...

    I peeked into the cave, but I couldn¡¯t see anything inside as it was pitch dark.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you can¡¯t go inside.¡¹

    I was scolded just for looking inside.

    Ugh, I already knew that. I just hoped I could at least see something inside.

    ¡¸Okay, Arthur, Sanya, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    They approached the stone monuments and each ced a hand on one of the stones.

    Was this how they entered the cave?

    I could sense magical power flowing into the stone monuments.

    So, this must be why three people were necessary to get to the tree.

    I kept a close eye on them to see what they would do next, but the three of them simply remained still.

    ¡¸What¡¯s going on?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san asked after a while.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸After transferring magical power to the stone monuments, they should start glowing, enabling us to pass through the barrier.¡¹

    ¡¸Yet, there is not a speck of light at all.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san stepped away from his monument and tried to enter the cave but seemed like he hit an invisible wall.

    Arthur-san and Sanya-san also tried to do the same, but to no avail.

    From my point of view, they almost looked like they were acting out a pantomime. It was a very strange sight indeed.

    ¡¸Why isn¡¯t it letting us through? Arthur, Sanya, let¡¯s try again.¡¹

    The three channeled magical power into the stone monuments again, but they remained inactive.

    ¡¸We entered just fine yesterday. I don¡¯t get why today¡¯s different.¡¹

    ¡¸Perhaps the Parasitic Tree haspletely taken over the Sacred Tree... That, or the Sacred Tree won¡¯t let us in because of the Parasitic Tree¡¯s presence.¡¹

    ¡¸You must be kidding me.¡¹

    The three of them looked restless.

    The barrier barred them from passing through, even though it worked just fine yesterday, so it made sense for them to start to panic.

    The n to destroy the mountain crossed my mind again. Using Bear magic, I should be able to break through.

    The three of them tried activating the stone monuments over and over again, but nothing happened. If they attempted to enter the cave, they were always blocked by an invisible wall.

    ¡¸Sanya, check on the status of the Sacred Tree.¡¹

    Under Mumuroot-san¡¯s instructions, Sanya-san summoned her bird, and flew it towards the top of the mountain.

    So, it really was possible to see the tree from above?

    The bird soon disappeared over the mountain. Hmm, how would the barrier work on summons? If Sanya-san¡¯s summon could get past the barrier, maybe Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could, too? Maybe any kind of animal, summoned or not, was fine, and the barrier didn¡¯t distinguish between the two?

    Sanya-san closed her eyes to see the bird¡¯s view.

    Looking at her, while I do admit how very useful the summon bird¡¯s abilities were, Sanya-san was leftpletely defenseless in this state.

    ¡¸It¡¯s even worse than before.¡¹

    ¡¸As expected...¡¹

    ¡¸Father, what should we do?¡¹

    Arthur-san asked the now even more worried Mumuroot-san. Mumuroot-san stayed quiet, however, most likely not being able to think of an answer. Including Labriatt, the four of them began brainstorming for any solutions.

    I was curious about how the barrier¡¯s wall felt like, so I got close to the cave¡¯s entrance to take a look.

    It should be around here. I slowly reached out with my hand to touch it.

    Wait, this is weird. I thought the barrier was around here, but I couldn¡¯t feel anything with my hand. I stretched out further with my Bear-san Puppet, but my hand kept going.

    Because I expected to be stopped by the barrier, I ended up reaching too far, losing my bnce, and tumbling forward.

    ¡¸Uwah!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?!¡¹

    Sanya-san noticed my fall and called out to me.

    Thanks to the Bear Outfit, I was unharmed, but it was still very embarrassing, falling over nothing.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you okay?¡¹

    Sanya-san tried to approach me but then was stopped by an invisible wall.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan? How are you inside?!¡¹

    I got up and looked around. Oh, I actually reached the cave entrance.

    ¡¸Youngdy...¡¹

    Mumuroot-san looked at me with a perplexed expression.

    For now, I decided to step away from the cave and out of the barrier.

    ¡¸Youngdy, how did you manage to get past the barrier...?¡¹

    I probably should be the one asking him that.

    ¡¸Um, I just went in normally.¡¹

    Testing it, I went to the entrance again. The barrier did not stop me whatsoever, but as Mumuroot-san tried to follow me, he was blocked just like before.

    ¡¸What¡¯s going on?¡¹

    I wanted to ask him the same thing...

    If I had to guess as to why I could enter, it would probably be because of my Bear Suit. Actually, that was the only reason I could think of.

    However, as I couldn¡¯t exin to them the functions of the Bear Suit, I could only answer with:¡¸I don¡¯t know.¡¹

    ¡¸Umm, can I go and take a look at the Sacred Tree, then?¡¹

    Since I made it past the barrier, there should be no reason I shouldn¡¯t, right?

    Mumuroot-san looked troubled but didn¡¯t object.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, be careful.¡¹

    The four of them all sent me off, and I headed deeper into the cave.

    Only after taking a few steps, Hugging Bear followed me and passed the barrier just as naturally as I did.

    It looked like Hugging Bear had no problems entering, either. Still, with its big body, it almost scraped along the cave¡¯s walls. It might be better to unsummon it and only bring it out again once we were in a bigger area, but Hugging Bear ignored the narrowness of the path and continued following me.

    Well, it seemed like it was fine for now. Only if the path constricted any more, I would have to ask it to return.

    Since the cave was very dark, I created a Bear Light to light up our surroundings.

    As we delved deeper, the path kept twisting and turning, but eventually, we saw a glimpse of light ahead. That must be the exit.

    All this time I feared the path getting narrower, but it seemed like we could make it all the way to the exit. Excitedly, I rushed forward towards the light.

    Soon, we were back out in the open, in a wide clearing surrounded by mountains.

    The ce almost reminded me of a baseball stadium, the rocky mountain surrounding what could have been a ying field.

    I nced up and saw the sun brightly shining down. I could also see a flying bird, but from this distance I couldn¡¯t tell if it was Sanya-san¡¯s summon or some other bird.

    Bringing my gaze back to the ground, I noticed arge tree in the center of the area.

    That must be the Sacred Tree.

    The tree¡¯s trunk was sorge that it would take a dozen people hand-in-hand to wrap around itpletely. The leaves were very lush as well. The tree looked so grand that if someone called it a legendary tree, I would have to agree with them.

    Still, with the Parasitic Tree coiled around it, the Sacred Tree didn¡¯t have much of its majestic air left around it anymore. There were many vines curled all around it, moving around slightly in a rather disgusting way. The parasite looked like it knew I wanted to distance myself away from it, so its vines moved closer to me. It must think of me as food.

    I casted some wind magic to slice off a few vines, but while they fell off easily, they also regenerated just as quickly.

    The vines must be leeching off the Sacred Tree¡¯s magical power. This was certainly a troublesome situation. If we wanted to take it down, we would have to cut down the Sacred Tree, which served as its source of energy. However, doing so would cause trouble for all the elves. On the other hand, if we left it alone, it would slowly continue turning into a tree that attracted all sorts of monsters.

    I had to discuss the situation with Mumuroot-san first, so I left the tree and went back through the cave.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Everybody came up to me anxiously, once I left the barrier.

    I briefly exined the situation and asked how we should deal with the tree.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure that you are aware that this is our, the elves¡¯ problem. Please understand that this is something we wouldn¡¯t ask you to do if there was no other way, youngdy. As we cannot enter the cave, but for some reason, you can, I have no other choice but to ask it of you. Can you please cut down the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san said and bowed deeply.

    ¡¸Grandpa!¡¹

    ¡¸Father!¡¹

    ¡¸Chief!¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I understand how you three feel, but at this rate, monsters will continue surging through the barrier. If we dy this any longer, maybe even the youngdy won¡¯t be able to pass through the barrier anymore... I will take full responsibility for this.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san exined.

    ¡¸Youngdy, I beg you. Please cut down the Sacred Tree and the Parasitic Tree with it.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure you want me to do to this?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. As I said, I will take responsibility for your actions.¡¹

    It seemed like Mumuroot-san had been driven into a corner. The Sacred Tree had been taken over by the Parasitic Tree, and it was now calling monsters towards it. Moreover, the stone monuments wouldn¡¯t let the elves in any more. Now, the only one who could subjugate the tree was me.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m begging you, too.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I will return to protect the vige. It¡¯s easy if it¡¯s just Volcrows and wolves.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we¡¯ll be fine even if Tiger Wolves appear.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, as long as no more Cockatrices show up, right?¡¹

    Everybody agreed with the n of me taking down the Sacred Tree.

    They were acting like they were fine with it, but did they really want me to cut it down?

    I could hear a tinge of sadness in their words. They were probably forcing themselves so that I wouldn¡¯t feel burdened by the severity of cutting down the tree.

    ¡¸Are you really,pletely sure?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we are. We won¡¯t let you be med in any way. We¡¯ll make it look like I was the one who cut it down.¡¹

    ¡¸No, let¡¯s make it so that the three of us did it.¡¹

    Sanya-san said, and Arthur-san nodded in agreement too.

    ¡¸Still, if it¡¯s possible, please take it down without burning it. We would like to enshrine the wood from the Sacred Tree for protecting our vige all the way until now. I know I¡¯m being selfish here, but if you end up in danger and have to use fire, then don¡¯t hesitate.¡¹

    It would definitely be a waste to burn down the Sacred Tree. With a tree as big as the Sacred Tree, many useful things could be made out of it. It could still serve a purpose.

    ¡¸Okay, I understand. I will go cut it down immediately, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Please do.¡¹

    I headed back into the cave once again, straight towards the Sacred Tree.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Oh, we¡¯re not done yet.

    Thought I could write until Yuna subjugates it in this chapter, but I somehow couldn¡¯t make it that far.

 Chapter 232 â€“ Bear-san Takes Down the Parasitic Tree

    I stood in front of the Sacred Tree.

    This should be simple since all I had to do was to cut it down.

    Also, I didn¡¯t have to bring down the tree right this instant.

    I could use whatever method I wanted as long as I didn¡¯t burn the wood.

    It was easy to see through Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san¡¯s forced smiles; they most likely felt awful about this.

    I decided to try everything I could before having to kill the Sacred Tree.

    Before, I had used wind magic to cut some wriggling vines, but they quickly regenerated.

    The only sound exnation was the Parasitic Tree absorbing the Sacred Tree¡¯s magical power to regenerate itself.

    I had to locate the Parasitic Tree¡¯s core, then.

    Where could it possibly be, though?

    Could it have already invaded inside the Sacred Tree?

    I walked around to the right side of the Sacred Tree, where the vines didn¡¯t reach as far.

    On the other side, the vines had already reached the treetop,pletely covering up many areas.

    In this situation, all these protected areas should be suspicious. I had no other choice but to methodically check them all.

    The elves would have to tolerate me inflicting some damage on the Sacred Tree, if that meant I could save it without cutting it down.

    I started with the most suspicious part of the tree. The trunk which was more or lesspletely covered in vines. I sent a vertical wind de directly at the trunk.

    When it collided with the tree it cleanly sliced through the vines that wrapped around the tree, yet they managed to stay attached to the trunk.

    Thus, I sent another wind de, this time with more force, but the vines still stayed firmly attached.

    Hmm... I didn¡¯t see any damage on the Sacred Tree itself.

    Maybe it was sturdier than I thought?

    If so... I could probably be a bit rougher with it.

    I started to think about what I should do. The options I initially thought of all requiredrge amounts of magical power.

    In addition, my target was leeching off the Sacred Tree¡¯s magic power.

    It also had regenerative abilities. This waspletely unfair...

    I had to fight while keeping all this in mind.

    I nervously scanned the area. Hugging Bear looked at me, as if it wanted to ask what I was doing.

    I told him¡¸I¡¯m not doing anything!¡¹and quickly took off my Bear Suit.

    There was nobody around, so I wasn¡¯t too worried about being seen while changing.

    This was probably the safest ce for me to change my suit other than inside my Bear House.

    I turned my outfit inside out, changing into the White Bear.

    Hugging Bear looked happy, probably because we were now matching.

    This should increase my magic power recovery. Since my opponent also had high recovery, we should be fairly matched now, right?

    I took a stance a short distance from the Sacred Tree and began to unleash countless wind des at it.

    Using both my hands, I sent des left and right, shredding the vines.

    The vines, however, continued to regenerate without stopping, and kept coiling themselves back around the tree. As I was beginning to think that this would be a one-sided massacre until one side lost, the Parasitic Tree shot leaves at me.

    Oh, so it could also attack?

    It would have been bad if it attacked while I had been changing.

    The vines also began to stretch out at me.

    Eh! They can reach all the way here?

    I was sure I had been far enough.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear, stay behind me and protect me if necessary!¡¹

    Hugging Bear quickly dashed behind me while I kept firing wind des at the vines around the trunk. Yet, they kept regenerating just as quickly as I shot them down.

    Come on, this was practically cheating.

    I decided to block the iing leaf attacks by surrounding us with an earth dome.

    The enemy really was attacking cowardly, sending leaves down on us from above.

    Soon after, the vines started to stretch towards me again. It was kind of sad, seeing the tree have no will of its own anymore, only sending monotonous attacks at me one after the other.

    I kept attacking the vines during openings, but it seemed rather pointless as the vines kept regenerating immediately after.

    The regeneration was making this fight really annoying.

    Well, since the fast regeneration was the problem here, all I had to do was to keep attacking without giving it time to regenerate. If leaf attacks kept getting in my way then all I had to do was get rid of all the leaves.

    The Sacred Tree should be fine even if I removed its leaves as they would grow back next year.

    I started gathering some magical energy in my right hand then gestured towards the lower right side of the Sacred Tree, making wind swirl around it.

    The wind gradually grew stronger, and started to wrap around the tree, eventually bing a full-blown tornado.

    It was time to finish this.

    Would my magical power run out first?

    Would the Parasitic Tree¡¯s regeneration give out?

    Would the Sacred Tree be able to withstand this abuse?

    Would the Sacred Tree run out of magical energy, causing the Parasitic Tree to fall with it?

    One of these would eventually happen, but it would be my win as long as the Parasitic Tree ran out of power first.

    Arge tornado kept spinning around the Sacred Tree.

    It tore off the vines from the Parasitic Tree, while blowing away the leaves from the Sacred Tree.

    The moment the vines regenerated, they were torn off again.

    If I made a mistake in controlling the tornado, the Sacred Tree might sustain some damage as well, but for now, I managed to keep all the branches safe.

    It soon turned into a battle of endurance.

    Magical recovery versus regeneration.

    I had no idea which would prevail.

    The opponent surely didn¡¯t have an unlimited magical supply, so there had to be a limit to their regeneration. As for me, even though I was wearing the White Bear Suit, my magical power could only recover at a steady, slow rate.

    As the stalemate continued, my tornado continued to tear at the Parasitic Tree.

    Some branches of the Sacred Tree eventually began to snap off, but the tree itself was rtively unharmed.

    When about half of the leaves have been blown off of the Sacred Tree, I noticed a dim, green light shining through for just a moment.

    I thought I was seeing things, but I saw the glimmer once again.

    Through openings in the tornado, I was sure I could see a faint, green shine.

    I hadn¡¯t been able to see it before since it was located deep in the branches and blended in with the surrounding leaves. Now, I tried to focus on the object to see what it was.

    Was it maybe a magic stone?

    Then, what did it belong to?

    The Sacred Tree or the Parasitic Tree?

    After thinking for a bit, I decided that it should belong to the Parasitic Tree.

    Even if the Sacred Tree did have a magic stone, I didn¡¯t think a tornado of this level would have exposed it so easily.

    I strengthened my tornado, and the Sacred Tree began to sway.

    More and more leaves were sent flying while smaller branches began snapping one after the other.

    Now I could clearly see the green magic stone, encased in what looked like a giant seed.

    Now that I had managed to expose it, the seed tried to wrap itself in vines to protect itself, but to no avail, as they were immediately torn off by my tornado.

    If that really was the Parasitic Tree¡¯s magic stone, then it should die if I destroyed it.

    The only problem was that the stone was in a hard to reach spot.

    If I used my magic recklessly, I might destroy part of the Sacred Tree along with the magic stone. Well, making a small hole in the Sacred Tree should be fine.

    It was called the Sacred Tree, after all, and it could clearly withstand my current magic.

    Still, I should probably test something else out before making a hole in the tree.

    I took out a Mithril Knife, and held it in my ck Bear Hand.

    With this, I might be able to destroy the magic stone without doing too much damage to the Sacred Tree.

    I moved a bit to open up a good angle and prepared to throw the knife.

    Then, I dispelled the tornado, aimed at the magic stone, and threw my Mithril Knife with all I got.

    As the leaves slowly began to float back towards the ground, a silver glint flew straight towards the magic stone.

    The moment the tornado dispersed, however, vines began to wrap themselves back around the seed in an attempt to protect it. While that could of course stop a regr knife, the Mithril Knife I threw had been made by Gazar-san. Its sharpness was of the highest quality.

    The Mithril Knife easily pierced through the seed and destroyed the magic stone within.

    Soon, all the remaining vines wrapped around the Sacred Tree stopped regenerating and fell still.

    By changing the rules, I won this battle of endurance. Any government would surely approve of my method.

    Well, I shouldn¡¯t boast too much as my opponent was a tree, but it was a victory, nheless.

    I decided to take a closer look at the Sacred Tree.

    Its leaves were still falling down. At this rate, there wouldn¡¯t be any leaves left.

    This was because I had increased the power of the tornado near the end.

    The tree looked rather pathetic now.

    I might have defeated the Parasitic Tree, but Mururoot-san could die of shock when he saw the state I left the Sacred Tree in.

    Would it be able to recover if we gave it some time? I suddenly got a bit concerned I had gone a bit overboard.

    They would surely be thanking me for eliminating the Parasitic Tree, but I really couldn¡¯t stand proud and greet them with a smile and victory sign with this. Well, not like I could even form the sign, thanks to my Bear Puppets.

    Anyway, leaving the tree in this state, I didn¡¯t even have the tenacity to ask for a reward.

    As the leaves continued to fall, I wondered whether I could do something to its sad state.

    Maybe it would recover if I gave it some magical energy? In mangas, giving magic to something always helped it recover.

    If that didn¡¯t work, I could also try using some recovery magic.

    Moreover, if neither worked I could simply im that the tree would recover with time.

    I walked up to the tree, and ced my Bear Hands on the trunk, proceeding to focus my magic through the puppets.

    Oh, it was absorbing the magic. It kind of gave off a feeling like it was drinking it.

    Wait, wasn¡¯t it absorbing a bit too much?

    The White Bear Outfit helped me recover my magic, but the tree was absorbing it much more rapidly.

    In that case, I should probably turn my magic into something more specific. I started imagining leaves growing and used recovery magic.

    The Sacred Tree began to glow.

    Oh, this almost looked like some sort of a game event!

    It was shining so brightly that I couldn¡¯t even keep my eyes open.

    I removed my hands from the Sacred Tee to shield my eyes. Only once it stopped shining, I slowly opened them again.

    I moved away from the tree to confirm its status and saw that the leaves had all returned to being full and healthy.

    It all went well, it seemed.

    Still, I might have used too much magic.

    I staggered a bit and then fell backwards.

    Luckily, Hugging Bear was there to catch me.

    ¡¸Thanks, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Kuuun.¡¹

    I gazed at the tree in awe while Hugging Bear kept me propped up. The tree now finally looked worthy of its name.

    The leaves were all of vivid, beautiful colors. This was exactly what a Sacred Tree should look like.

    After admiring the Sacred Tree for a few minutes, I heard some noises behind me.

    ¡¸What is this?!¡¹

    When I turned around, I saw Mumuroot-san, Sanya-san, and Arthur-san all standing there, dumbfounded.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We¡¯re finally done. The only thing Yuna can probably collect from this fight are the fallen leaves and fallen branches. w

 Chapter 233 â€“ Bear-san in her Bear Panties, spotted!

    When I turned around, there were three people with stunned looks on their faces.

    They were all ncing between me and the Sacred Tree.

    ¡¸How are the three of you here? I thought you couldn¡¯t get through the barrier.¡¹

    ¡¸The monuments suddenly started glowing and we are able to pass through again.¡¹

    Things must have returned back to normal after I defeated the Parasitic Tree and renewed the Sacred Tree with my magical energy. That was the only reason I could think of.

    ¡¸Youngdy, could you exin what happened here?¡¹

    Mumuroot-san asked while gazing at the now flourishing Sacred Tree.

    Although he asked me to exin, it should be pretty obvious, right?

    ¡¸Um, I defeated the Parasitic Tree, and the Sacred Tree revitalized itself?¡¹

    I exined to him while I tilted my head. I couldn¡¯t think of a better answer.

    ¡¸Then, that tornado was your doing?¡¹

    ¡¸That tornado was simply amazing.¡¹

    I looked at the Sacred Tree. That tornado was indeed rather big.

    It wasrge enough to surround the whole tree, so it must have been quite tall too.

    Tall enough to be seen over the mountains, apparently.

    ¡¸I used the tornado to cut up the Parasitic Tree.¡¹

    ¡¸Using a tornado to fight against the Parasitic Tree... is something like that really possible?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, a lot of leaves and branches were broken off the Sacred Tree as a result, but yeah, it did work.¡¹

    When I looked around, the three of them followed suit.

    The surrounding area looked as if arge storm had passed by. There were leaves and branches scattered all over, practically covering the ground. All the leaves were still fresh, which was an unusual sight to see.

    ¡¸But, the Sacred Tree¡¯s leaves are still....¡¹

    After observing the ground, they looked back at the Sacred Tree and noticed how lush and vibrant the leaves remained.

    ¡¸Sorry, but I do not understand how this could happen.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t understand either, Father.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san and Arthur-san were both confused.

    Well, given the amount of leaves scattered around, it was a miracle that there were still leaves remaining on the tree.

    It made sense for them to have doubts.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-san, what exactly happened here? Looking through my summoned bird¡¯s eyes, I was able to see that you created a tornado, but the wind created by your tornado was too strong, so my bird wasn¡¯t able to get any closer. I wasn¡¯t able to see what happened after that at all.¡¹

    ¡¸...!¡¹

    Sorry, but what did she just say?

    She said that she had been watching through her summoned bird¡¯s eyes.

    She had seen everything up until I had created the tornado... did that mean what I thought it meant?

    I decided to confirm with Sanya-san.

    ¡¸By the way, when did you start watching?¡¹

    ¡¸I was worried, so I started watching you when you came out of the cave. I must admit, I was surprised when you began to strip.¡¹

    This Elf just said something unbelievable outright.

    That meant she had indeed seen me changing.

    She had seen me changing...

    I fell on my hands and knees in despair, with my head hanging down.

    Thank god Sanya-san was a girl, at least.

    It was partially my fault for forgetting about the summoned bird, but it was still embarrassing to know that someone saw me changing.

    Had it been Mumuroot-san or Arthur-san, I would have been so embarrassed that I would have immediately run away and hide.

    I somehow convinced myself to stand back up.

    However, what Sanya-san said next brought me back down again.

    ¡¸Ummm! D-d-don¡¯t worry, I was the only one who saw it, and the bird was still far away.

    But I didn¡¯t think that even your underwear would have a bear... ¡¹

    Sanya-san¡¯s words were a crushing blow to my sense of modesty.

    Ugh, I wanted to go home right now.

    Hugging Bear tried tofort me by rubbing his face against mine.

    Thank you, Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Ah, geez! You don¡¯t have to be that embarrassed just because I saw you changing. We¡¯ve seen each other naked in the bath before, remember? So, we should be equals there.¡¹

    Sanya-san said, seeing I was still depressed. Yes, we saw each other changing whenever we bathed together, but it was still entirely different when I was unknowingly watched while changing by myself.

    I should have made a changing room for myself.

    Who was it? Who was the one who said this was the safest ce to change besides the Bear House...oh wait, it was me. Teehee.

    If only I could tell my past self to change in a changing room.

    ¡¸By the way, why did you change, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    When Sanya-san pointed out my White Bear Suit, Mumuroot-san and Arthur-san turned to study my clothing.

    Sanya-san had already seen me wearing my White Bear Suit on our journey to the Elf Vige, but I had never exined its use, Sanya-san must have thought that they were my pajamas.

    ¡¸Wearing the White Bear Suit raises my magical power. It was necessary in the fight with the Parasitic Tree.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? So it wasn¡¯t just because you liked bears?¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t wearing this because I liked it!

    This was all God¡¯s fault: he was the one who dragged me into this world and gave me this outfit.

    I then somehow collected myself and proceeded to exin how I took down the Parasitic Tree.

    ¡¸I thought that if I could destroy the parasite before it regenerated, that would be better.¡¹

    ¡¸What a rash move...¡¹

    They looked at me with shocked expressions.

    ¡¸I got your permission to cut down the Sacred Tree if necessary, didn¡¯t I? Anyway, the Sacred Tree was a lot tougher than the Parasitic Tree, so I was able to get rid of the Parasite without harming the Sacred Tree too much.¡¹

    Well, except for its crazy regenerative power, the Parasitic Tree was not that amazing at all.

    I could easily cut its vines with a wind de, and it essentially had no good attacks.

    I was able to convince the three of them with such an exnation.

    They had seen the tornado from a distance, and the Parasitic Tree was now nowhere to be seen.

    Even if they doubted my magic, they had to ept the evidence.

    ¡¸I see. If you were able to use magic of that level, it¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve defeated the Cockatrice.¡¹

    Yes, I had also defeated the Cockatrice. That should take care of any doubts about whether I defeated the Parasitic Tree or not.

    ¡¸You haven¡¯t told us what exactly happened after, Yuna-chan. I can understand your magic scattering the leaves, but how does the Sacred Tree still have so many leaves remaining?¡¹

    Sanya-san gazed at the leaves on the ground and the radiant Sacred Tree.

    ¡¸Also, the leaves look much more lush and vibrant than before. It shouldn¡¯t have that much vitality left after all that.¡¹

    ¡¸Um, did you not see what happened after the tornado, Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸As I said earlier, the winds caused by the tornado were too strong. My summoned bird might get caught up in it, so I didn¡¯t see anything.¡¹

    So, the only things that she saw were the embarrassing sight of me changing clothes and the tornado.

    It seemed like Sanya-san hadn¡¯t been able to see me when I destroyed the Parasitic Tree¡¯s magic stone nor when I restored the Sacred Tree using my magic.

    ¡¸After using the tornado to destroy the Parasitic Tree, I noticed that the Sacred Tree did not have much magical energy remaining, so I provided it with some of mine.¡¹

    ¡¸You gave your magical energy to the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. The tree then started to glow and its leaves grew back.¡¹

    It may not have been the whole truth, but it was nothing but the truth.

    ¡¸Then that light from before was the Sacred Tree glowing?¡¹

    While the leaves had most likely regrown due to my recovery magic, I had no idea why the tree had glowed. But there was no other exnation for the glow.

    ¡¸That was a bold move, giving the Sacred Tree your own magical energy.¡¹

    I had to agree with that. My magical energy was nearly empty even now.

    Even with my White Bear Suit, it would take quite some time to recover.

    My body felt very sluggish too, so I just wanted to go home and sleep.

    ¡¸Were we possibly able to get through the barrier because she gave her magical energy to the Sacred Tree?¡¹

    It seemed to me that the reason that the three of them were able to pass through again was all due to that light the Sacred Tree had released.

    Once my interrogation was finished, the three of them thanked me again, with Mumuroot-san¡¯s eyes even watering slightly.

    This was probably due to all the tension that had been built up over thest couple of days.

    He had discovered that the Sacred Tree was invaded by a Parasitic Tree, got attacked by a Cockatrice, and was even prevented from passing through the barrier. That must have caused a lot of stress for him, the chief.

    Whether someone was a chief, a feudal lord, or a king, there would always be a lot of mental straining with the job.

    I thought it best to let others take care of the annoying things, and only did things that interested me.

    Yep, it¡¯s a typical thought by a useless human.

    ¡¸We should examine the Sacred Tree before returning to the vige.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san led the other two straight to the tree.

    I also had to pick up my Mythril Knife before I forgot.

    Since the leaves have regrown, I couldn¡¯t spot the knife from afar, so I approached the tree as well.

    ¡¸My knife is lodged up in the tree. Is it okay for me to grab it?¡¹

    I asked Mumuroot-san, who was standing by the trunk.

    I sure hoped that he wouldn¡¯t say that I wasn¡¯t allowed to climb the tree.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I can get it for you. Where is it?¡¹

    Arthur-san asked me from the other side of the trunk.

    ¡¸No need, I can get it myself.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve been staggering for a while now; I think you should rest and let us take care of it.¡¹

    I decided to listen to his advice and pointed in the general direction of where my knife should be.

    Arthur-san nodded and began climbing the Sacred Tree. A few minutester, he returned with my knife.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wee. This is trivial,pared to what you¡¯ve done for us. I found this cracked magic stone up there as well, so I¡¯ll give it to you.¡¹

    He said and handed me the stone.

    It had been split into four pieces. As it had originally been quite arge stone, each piece was still about the size of a thumb.

    I might be able to use it for something, so I dly epted it.

    Mumuroot-san continued to examine the trunk, Sanya-san examined the leaves on the ground, and Arthur-san climbed back up onto the top of the tree.

    Realizing this would still take a while, I decided to use the chance to rest and leaned against Hugging Bear, while leisurely watching the three of them do their jobs.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    As promised, I should say. w

 Chapter 234 â€“ Bear-san Returns in Triumph

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I posted this chapter a bit earlier than normal. (Ele note: Not me. I¡¯m posting thiste.)

    As I watched the three of them work, my eye caught Sanya-san picking up the fallen leaves.

    There were lots and lots of leaves blown all around us. Did the leaves of the Sacred Tree have any special value, perhaps?

    ¡¸Sanya-san, can these leaves be used for anything?¡¹

    I asked her, picking up a leaf of my own with Bear-san¡¯s Puppet mouth.

    ¡¸When made into tea and drunk, they can recover a small portion of magical power and even relieve a little fatigue.¡¹

    Oh, it could restore both, even though it was only a small amount. Its effects were simr to that of the White Bear Suit, except inferior?

    ¡¸And, what does it taste like?¡¹

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    ¡¸Normal, I guess?¡¹

    It was hard to judge from that answer... If it was good then I wanted some, but if it was bad I didn¡¯t. It should normally be one or the other.

    Then again, if it tasted good and could recover both magical power and fatigue, it would probably be very popr, which make it troublesome.

    Still, as long as it didn¡¯t taste too bad, it might make a hit if I marketed it as a tea that relieved fatigue through my stores, simplifying things.

    ¡¸Since it¡¯s from the Sacred Tree, I thought that it would surely make some high quality tea.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, everybody has different tastes. Why don¡¯t you try some when we get back to the vige?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s you, Yuna-chan. I was thinking about making some anyway.¡¹

    Sanya-san said and returned to picking up the fallen leaves.

    What she said madeplete sense.

    The elves didn¡¯t do much trading and kept the Sacred Tree a secret, so they most likely just saved it for themselves, right?

    Well, I might still be able to make a deal after I tasted it.

    After chatting with Sanya-san for a while longer, Mumuroot-san and Arthur-san came over.

    The two of them had both climbed the tree and dealt away with the leftover Parasitic Tree¡¯s vines.

    The vines and other materials from the Parasitic Tree had all been gathered in one spot.

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    ¡¸Labta is waiting for us outside. We should go meet up with him and think about what to do with all this afterwards.¡¹

    ¡¸Is the Parasitic Treepletely dealt with?¡¹

    ¡¸It should be fine for now, but we should stille in to examine it againter.¡¹

    Well, the tree was massive, so it made sense for it to be difficult to thoroughly check every part of it. We also still didn¡¯t know how the Parasitic Tree¡¯s seed had managed to find its way here, and if we didn¡¯t figure that out, it coulde back to haunt us.

    At that time, I most likely wouldn¡¯t be here to participate in its subjugation, so I hoped that their investigations would bear fruit.

    Labta rushed to us the moment we left the mountain. Given that he could only wait, he was quite concerned. Not to mention that we took our time, examining the tree. Maybe we should have let him know about what had happened before doing so... The other three most likely thought that there was no time for that, so it couldn¡¯t be helped, especially with mepletely forgetting about him.

    Now that we were back outside, Mumuroot-san, Arthur-san and Sanya-san gave him a simple exnation regarding the status of the Sacred Tree. Once my deeds were mentioned, Labta turned to me and expressed his thanks, which I humbly epted.

    After Lablta was all up to date, Mumuroot-san, Arthur-san, and Sanya-san all confirmed that they could still enter the barrier by pouring their magical power into the stone monuments, which began shining, and letting them pass.

    Then, they had Labta try to go through, but he was blocked by an invisible wall, confirming that the barrier still blocked out outsiders.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-chan. Can you try going through? I just want to make sure.¡¹

    While Sanya-san confirmed that Labta could indeed not enter, she wanted to see if I still could.

    Without touching the stone monuments, I walked straight towards the cave entrance, putting my hands in front of me as I approached the barrier. Yet, no wall blocked me, and I easily reached the entrance.

    ¡¸Why does it do that...?¡¹

    ¡¸Perhaps the youngdy is a distant rtive of the elves?¡¹

    There was no way the blood of elves would be flowing through me as I was somebody from a different world. I shook my head to Mumuroot-san¡¯s guessing.

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    ¡¸Even If Yuna-chan has elvish blood, that doesn¡¯t mean she should be able to enter.¡¹

    Sanya-san immediately refuted Mumuroot-san¡¯s suggestion.

    The reason I could enter was most likely due to this cheat-like outfit I had obtained from God.

    There was no way I could simply tell them that, though.

    ¡¸Yes, that makes sense. I can¡¯t think of any other reason, though. Well, at least we know that the youngdy has no ill will against the Sacred Tree, so there should be no problem.¡¹

    Done with our talk, Mumuroot-san, Sanya-san, and I went back to the vige first, while Labta and Arthur-san stayed behind to patrol the area aroudn the barrier.

    Getting back to the vige, we saw that the air was quite peaceful.

    The children were ying outside, and we could hear theirughtering from all directions.

    Well, almost all of them didn¡¯t even know that the Sacred Tree was in danger, nor how we(I) were going to subjugate a Parasitic Tree in order to protect it.

    Also, only a small portion of adult elves knew about the Parasitic Tree; most only knew about the barrier weakening.

    Mumuroot and the others would be able to decide whether or not to tell the others. I had no problem with that, of course, so long as he kept his promise to me.

    I had asked him not to mention anything about me defeating the Parasitic Tree if he was ever nning on revealing the parasite.

    I didn¡¯t want to be seen as a hero, nor did I want the vige to be chaotic from that information.

    As long as the children that yed with Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear were smiling, I was more than happy.

    Anyway, if they would reveal the Parasitic Tree, Mumuroot-san, Arthur-san, and Sanya-san were to take the credit of defeating it.

    Seeing the vige beingpletely peaceful, I decided to rest at my Bear House and parted ways with Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san. The two of them, however, didn¡¯t n to take it easy just yet. First, they wanted to check if Ruimin could enter the barrier as well, immediately dragging her to the Sacred Tree.

    As for me, I dove straight into bed the moment I got back to the Bear House.

    Luckily, since I was still wearing the White Bear Outfit, I didn¡¯t have to change, but as there was still a chance that somebody mighte and visit, I had Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear be on guard in their cub forms next to me.

    The bed felt sofy that I fell asleep immediately.

    I woke up only in the morning of the next day and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

    I slept too much, making it even harder for me to wake up.

    At least, other than my heavy head, my body was perfectly fine.

    Judging by the fact that the Bears hadn¡¯t woken me up, nobody hade aroundst night.

    Or wait, was that their way of them caring for me?

    After breakfast, I headed towards the vige and ran into Labta along the way. He was on his way to me, with a message for me from Mumuroot-san saying that he wanted to see me.

    The timing was perfect, so was Labta maybe actually waiting for me?

    Either way, I wondered what this was all about. If I had to guess, I would say the happenings of yesterday.

    Well, I wanted to talk to Mumuroot-san about it as well, so there wasn¡¯t really a problem.

    Once we reached Mumuroot-san¡¯s house, we like usually called out¡¸We¡¯reing in!¡¹ and headed straight inside without waiting for a reply.

    I had already be used to this, nobody responding to our voices and just barging in.

    We went to the standard room where Mumuroot-san was already waiting for us, with Sanya-san by his side. Other than them, there was nobody else in the room.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Please take a seat.¡¹

    I obliged and sat down on my knees.

    Mumuroot-san then began to exin what had happened yesterday after I had left.

    I was worried whether or not he should be exining things to an outsider like me, but they said that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, especially since I had helped save the vige and was able to pass through the Sacred Tree¡¯s barrier.

    Also, the contents of our conversation were not to be that important. First, I was told the barrier protecting the vige itself was not letting monsters through anymore. I was d to hear that the barrier was working as intended again.

    Additionally, I was told that the barrier had even expanded farther than before. Could me giving my magic power to the Sacred Tree have anything to do with that?

    Finally, I was told that Ruimin was able to activate a stone monument and pass through the barrier to the Sacred Tree, which meant that they didn¡¯t need to have Sanya-san return to the vige every time they wanted to check it out.

    ¡¸Anyway, the barrier seemed to be be functioning normally again. This is all thanks to you, youngdy, so let me express my gratitude.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san said and bowed deeply to me.

    ¡¸Well, normal other than the fact that Yuna-chan can also enter through the barrier guarding the Sacred Tree.¡¹

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    Sanya-san pointed out one of the changes to the barrier. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t tell them the real reason I was able to do so and simply ignored herment.

    ¡¸By the way, there is one thing I want to confirm with you, youngdy.¡¹

    ¡¸Which is?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really sure that we should keep quiet about the fact that you are the one who saved the vige? If so, we were considering making a stone statue of you to put next to the Sacred-¡¹

    ¡¸No thank you!¡¹

    I rejected the idea before Mumuroot-san could even finish his sentence.

    I really didn¡¯t want to be worshiped by the elves. I already had enough of that in Mireera.

    I had asked them to not spread the word too much, but from what I had seen it wasn¡¯t too perfect.

    ¡¸You saved the elves, so the least we should do is build you a statue so that future generations of our bloodline don¡¯t forget what you had done.¡¹

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    ¡¸If you make something like that, I will smash it immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸... If you¡¯re that insistent then I have no other choice but to give up on the idea.¡¹

    Seeing how serious I was, Mumuroot-san reluctantly backed down, seemingly very disappointed.

    Sanya-san was justughing to the side. She could have said something to him!

    Since they were elves, I was sure that they would keep something like that for a thousand, no, maybe even ten thousand years. I had to prevent that from happening at any cost.

    ¡¸In that case, we would like to at least give you something for all that you have done, Yuna-chan. Is there anything that you want?¡¹

    Finally! I had been waiting for those words.

    Okay, first I wanted to permanently set up a Bear House here. Then, I wanted to learn how to make the elven bracelets. Oh, I also wanted some leaves from the Sacred Tree. Maybe the branches too, there might be something I could make out of them.

    Some elvish food wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea either. This was a perfect ce to get my hands on some good mushrooms.

    I had already confirmed that their mushrooms were simr to matsutake, which were often used in high-ss meals back in my former world.

    I would love to have some Japanese-style soups and cooked rice seasoned with them. They might also be good if I grilled them over a charcoal fire as well.

    Was there anything else I wanted?

    Well, first I had to ask about the Bear House, but the problem was still how the Bear Gate functioned.

    The capital was quite far away, so if I kept going back and forth too often, they would definitely get suspicious.

    Was there anything I could do about that? Should I even ask for the Bear House or not?

    If I ended up not using the Bear Gate, then there would be no point in even having a Bear House here.

    Mumumumu...

    ¡¸What is it that you are worried about, Yuna-chan? If it¡¯s something we can do for you, you can tell us.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s something I want to ask permission for, but if news of it spreads, it would be a problem for me.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, you saved our vige, so we would never try to displease you. I can even perform a magic contract with you if you so wish.¡¹

    ¡¸A magic contract?¡¹

    ¡¸We elves use it when we swear upon something or if we are tied down by a secret.¡¹

    ¡¸When we perform a magic contract, those bound by the contract cannot go against it.¡¹

    That sounded a bit scary to be honest.

    ¡¸What happens if you go against it?¡¹

    ¡¸In the worst case scenario you die, but in general, you just feel pain trying to talk about the contract or are unable to say anything about it. The same thing happens if you try to write it out instead as well.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t that just a curse, then?

    That was way too dangerous...

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. You are fine as long as you don¡¯t talk about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is practically the same as not being able to say something you don¡¯t know about. So you just have to act like you don¡¯t know about it.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want anyone to suffer or even die, though.

    Well, that was only if they tried to mention anything about it, but judging by Sanya-san¡¯s personality, she could idently tell somebody if not for the contract...

    Just yesterday, she had admitted in front of everybody that she had seen my Bear-san Panties. If I was going to tell her about the Bear Gate, there was no other choice but to put her under that contract.

    ¡¸Is it possible to change the punishment to something that doesn¡¯t make you suffer?¡¹

    ¡¸And what would that be?¡¹

    ¡¸... Maybe like, you can¡¯t stopughing?¡¹

    I thought about it for a bit and answered.

    Laughing would be better than being in pain, right?

    ¡¸You really are a devil, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Why?¡¹

    ¡¸So, you want us tough ourselves to death?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, especially you, you meanie.¡¹

    I told her responded jokingly.

    ¡¸Yeah. Fuck you especially. You can go die in a hole and see if I care!¡¹

    I could only imagine what she would say.

    HELP! This aggregator site is making me manually copy and paste chapters! this is very! call the police!

    ¡¸It¡¯s not impossible, but are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸Being unable to stopughing is better than suffering, is it not?¡¹

    ¡¸Forcing someone tough seems kind of harsh too, though.¡¹

    Still, it would be better to suffer byughing too hard than to just be in pain.

    Either way, I wanted the person who might tell others about my Bear-san Panties tough and suffer!

    Like Mumuroot-san had said, she just had to keep quiet about it.

    ¡¸Okay, if you insist, we can prepare it for tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸You can do it that quickly?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not very difficult to do. We just have to change the mentality part of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, is it enough if you do it with just the two of us?¡¹

    Hmm, the two of them should be sufficient.

    ¡¸Yeah, I think that should be fine. The two of you can then just skillfully fool the others.¡¹

    When it came to using the Bear Gate toe, Mumuroot-san should be able to give a simple false exnation.

    When using it to get to the capital, telling Sanya-san should also be more than enough.

    ¡¸With how secretive you are, I¡¯m now very curious about your request, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Well, she would have to wait until tomorrow to hear it.

 Chapter 235 â€“ Bear-san Forms A Magical Contrac

    t

    The next day, I headed straight to Mumuroot-san¡¯s house, and was met by Ruimin waiting at the entrance.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Grandpa and Sanya are already waiting for you inside.¡¹

    ¡¸And why are you here, Ruimin?¡¹

    ¡¸They told me that they have something important to talk to you about and that I have to make sure nobody enters the house. They even kicked Grandma out.¡¹

    It seemed like they really made sure that nobody would bother us as we perform the contract.

    I headed straight to the usual room, where only Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san were waiting for me.

    ¡¸We¡¯ve been waiting for you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸All the preparations are alreadyplete.¡¹

    There was some kind of green gemstone, possibly a magic stone, in front of Mumuroot-san. It was quite big, simr to the size of the Kraken¡¯s magic stone.

    What kind of monster had they defeated to acquire a stone of this size?

    Had it been something on the level of a Kraken?

    Lost in thought, I sat down in front of Mumuroot-san.

    ¡¸This magic stone contains a magic script within. All you need to do is pour some of your magic power into it and say the contract terms out loud.¡¹

    The process was simpler than I had thought it would be.

    I would love to have such a useful magic stone for myself.

    Would it be possible if I used a magic stone of my own?

    Or, was this some secret art that was passed down by the elves?

    ¡¸So, what is your request Yuna-chan?¡¹

    Initially, I had been nning on telling them about the Bear Gate, but after having a night to think about it, I hade up with something else.

    ¡¸I want you to keep quiet about my secrets.¡¹

    ¡¸Your secrets?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s rather vague...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I do n on adding secrets in over time, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that would be okay, as long as the secrets are rted to your current ones.¡¹

    Anything was possible in a fantasy world, wasn¡¯t it?

    I shouldn¡¯t really be saying that when I could be called the embodiment of fantasy myself.

    ¡¸The only secret of yours that I know of is your Bear-san Panties.¡¹

    ¡¸That one is also going to be included, by the way.¡¹

    I said, giving Sanya-san a re.

    ¡¸Wait, Yuna-chan, if your request is only rted to your secrets, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just not tell us?¡¹

    ¡¸I have considered that, but if I don¡¯t do something about it now, it will be a problemter on.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I guess that could make sense. Anyway, we just can¡¯t tell anyone else, right?¡¹

    Well, if they tried to tell anybody, they would fall intoughing hell, so it was up to them.

    ¡¸Okay, everything seems to be in order.¡¹

    ¡¸Um, is this okay?¡¹

    I asked, pping my Bear Puppet¡¯s mouths.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never tried this with gloves on, but as long as you can put your magical energy into the stone, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems, I think.¡¹

    I ced my Bear Puppets on top of the green magic stone, followed by Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san cing their hands on top of mine.

    ¡¸Pour in your magic and say the conditions of the contract.¡¹

    I poured in a bit of my magic and stated the conditions.

    ¡¸Do not disclose my secrets to anyone else.¡¹

    The magic stone suddenly shone brightly, covering the room in a green light so blinding that it was impossible for us keep our eyes open.

    I closed my eyes but managed not to remove my hands from the stone.

    In only a moment, the light was gone. Wow, it had surprised me so much that I had almost let go of the stone.

    Was the contractplete with this, or was there something else?

    ¡¸That light was amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸I have never seen anything like it. It is said that the brightness represents the importance of the contract, and this contract gave off a light much stronger than any other I¡¯ve seen before. That shows how important your secrets are, youngdy.¡¹

    It seemed like Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san hadn¡¯t expected for the light to be that strong.

    Was this contract really that important, though? They said that the brightness depended on the significance of the contract, but...

    Then again, my secrets included me being from another world, information about God, and functionality of my Bear Suit. There were also plenty of other things I didn¡¯t n on sharing.

    All of that must have affected the contract, raising its significance.

    ¡¸Wepleted the contract safely. Now, we need to confirm it works.¡¹

    ¡¸Confirm it really works?¡¹

    ¡¸Youngdy, don¡¯t you want to make sure the contract works as intended? I must admit, I am also curious about theughing part.¡¹

    ¡¸How do we confirm it, though? Just by having you two talk to each other?¡¹

    ¡¸If we both know the contents, then it won¡¯t be considered a secret...¡¹

    Mumuroot-san said, shaking his head, and a momentter, we heard some running footsteps.

    ¡¸Grandpa! Onee-chan! What was that light just now?¡¹

    Ruimin rushed into the room.

    ¡¸I saw a strong light shining through the windows.¡¹

    Ruimin said and looked around restlessly.

    It seemed like the light from earlier could be seen from the outside.

    ¡¸Everything¡¯s okay. We justpleted a magical contract with the youngdy.¡¹

    ¡¸A magical contract with Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Yuna-chan wanted us not to reveal her secrets to anybody.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san¡¯s secrets...¡¹

    She looked at me like she wanted to know as well.

    While I was thinking yesterday, I thought about telling Ruimin some of my secrets. Just to make things easierter on.

    ¡¸Come here, Ruimin.¡¹

    Sanya-san called Ruimin over.

    ¡¸Um, what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to try and tell you one of Yuna-chan¡¯s secrets, so we need you to stay for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸It will be an important discussion, so make sure nobody else walks in.¡¹

    ¡¸That too, but the main reason is to confirm that the contract is working.¡¹

    It looked like Ruimin was going to be used to test out the contract.

    Sanya-san leaned towards Ruimin¡¯s ear and started to whisper something.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan¡¯s secret is that her pa-pa-pant-pan...¡¹

    Sanya-san seemed to be trying to tell Ruimin about my panties, but couldn¡¯t even finish the word, and startedughing.

    She kept trying to continue talking but ended upughing even harder.

    It got to the point where she was gasping for breath as betweenughs, rolling around on the floor, with tears in her eyes.

    Every time she started to say ¡¸pa¡¹another fit ofughter woulde over her, so it kind of felt like she wasughing at the fact that I was wearing Bear Panties

    Just based on how it looked, she could have been thinking about that and couldn¡¯t stopughing.

    In any case, Sanya-san appeared to be suffering despite justughing.

    Was this maybe even worse than just suffering in pain?

    She continuedughing for a few minutes straight before it finally subdued.

    ¡¸Hah, haaa. Gran-grandpa! This contract is worse than a regr one!¡¹

    While visibly out of breath, Sanya-sanined to Mumuroot-san.

    ¡¸There¡¯s nothing we can do about it. It is as it is.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san¡¯s face stiffened up after seeing Sanya-san¡¯s condition. He probably didn¡¯t realize that the consequences of breaking this contract would be so harsh.

    ¡¸Okay, your turn to test it, Grandpa.¡¹

    Sanya-san gave off an evil smile while handing a pen and a piece of paper to Mumuroot-san.

    ¡¸You¡¯re making your grandfather do something like this?¡¹

    ¡¸No, no, no. Grandpa just needs to make sure the contract is working properly, right?¡¹

    Sanya-san said, holding the pen and paper in right front of his face.

    Mumuroot-san couldn¡¯t refuse now. He took the pen and paper from Sanya-san, and began writing. He was probably going to write something about my Bear-san Panties, wasn¡¯t he?

    As Mumuroot-san began to write, he got down a few characters before his hand started shaking. A few characterster, he stopped writing, let go of the pen, crumpled up the paper, and then started going through the same punishment as Sanya-san.

    Sanya-san beganughing at him, while Ruimin looked concerned.

    Hmm, this idea of mine might have been to terrible.

    I shouldn¡¯t have suggested something I had gotten off the top of my head.

    After a few minutes, Mumuroot-san stoppedughing, sat back down onto his chair as if nothing had happened.

    ¡¸Ahem, the contract has been bound without problem.¡¹

    He cleared his throat once and looked at us.

    ¡¸I will never say anything about Yuna-chan¡¯s secrets.¡¹

    After watching Mumuroot-san go through the same thing, Sanya-san understood what she must have looked like when she had beenughing, and strongly vowed to never do so ever again.

    Surely they didn¡¯t want others to see them in this state.

    I would have hated it, too.

    ¡¸Thanks for helping us test it out, Ruimin. You can head back now.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san tried to make Ruimin leave.

    ¡¸Wait, if it¡¯s possible, I want to include Ruimin in the contract as well.¡¹

    Ruimin was shocked by what I said.

    ¡¸Me too?¡¹

    Ruimin looked reluctant, especially after seeing what happened to the other two.

    Well, anyone would be reluctant after seeing that.

    ¡¸Why? Are the two of us not enough?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, While there¡¯s nothing wrong with just the two of you knowing, I think it would be better to let Ruimin know as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Why so?¡¹

    ¡¸Because the Sacred Tree was in trouble, Ruimin had to suffer quite a bit to get to Sanya-san at the capital. I have a solution for that.¡¹

    There was that certain incident that had happened as well. When I had first met her, she was so hungry she passed out.

    ¡¸What sort of a solution?¡¹

    ¡¸If something bad happens in the Elf Vige again, there is a way for her to contact me immediately.¡¹

    I thought about giving Ruimin a Bear Phone.

    With that, she could contact me anytime she wanted.

    I could also order the materials and ingredients from the Elf Vige through her and even have her gather them for me.

    If I could use the Bear Gate to travel to and from the vige, all I had to do was ce an order and thene pick up the order a few dayster, so that the vigers wouldn¡¯t get too suspicious of me.

    That way, the other elves wouldn¡¯t notice anything weird.

    ¡¸There was such a method, huh...¡¹

    ¡¸And, if you warn me, I can easily forward it to Sanya-san as well.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to let me in on it as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, because I know how much pain Ruimin went through just to get to the Capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Ruimin, what do you think of this?¡¹

    Everyone looked at Ruimin.

    ¡¸If you tell me, I can easily contact Onee-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but you would have to go through me first.¡¹

    Ruimin thought about it then nodded.

    ¡¸Okay, please let me in on the contract, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure? If you talk about it to anybody else, what happened to us earlier will happen to you too, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan, that¡¯s no issue at all. Yuna-san is sharing her secrets with us for the sake of the vige. I would never trample over her feelings like that, so I won¡¯t have to sufferughing like that.¡¹

    Ruimin told Sanya-san with a serious look.

    ¡¸Okay, it should be fine then.¡¹

    I apologized to Ruimin in my mind. It wasn¡¯t for some cool reason like that.

    I only wanted to be able to contact her whenever I wanted food supplies or any other materials.

    Ruimin was looking at me with such respect, so I had to keep that thought hidden away, deep down in my heart, even though that innocent look was hurting the core of my soul.

    Ruimin then proceeded to bind the magic contract with me without knowing the real truth. Again the room filled with light, quickly finishing the process.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-chan, what is your request?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to set this thing up, so I need permission to build a permanent Bear House in an inconspicuous ce a distance away from the vige.¡¹

    I said and brought out the Bear Gate.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan! What is that?!¡¹

    ¡¸This is a transportation door. If you go through this, you can immediately get to my house in the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way such a thing is possible!¡¹

    To prove it, I simply opened the door.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    I want a magic stone that can create contracts myself. lol

 Chapter 236 â€“ Bear-san Shares Her Secrets

    To prove to Sanya-san that teleportation from the vige to the Capital was indeed possible, I pulled out my Bear Gate and opened it with my Bear Hand. On the other side was the storage room of my Bear House in the Capital. The three elves looked frightened by the unknown sight.

    ¡¸What is going on?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s through there...¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    Mumuroot-san, Sanya, and Ruimin¡¯s eyes were wide open as they stared through the door.

    ¡¸Is this really connected to the Capital?¡¹

    Sanya-san went to the door to look behind it, while Ruimin stared at the door but didn¡¯t attempt to go through.

    ¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s connected, so all you have to do is go through and see.¡¹

    I entered the door first, arriving in the storage room of the Bear House in the capital.

    Sanya-san was nervous but followed close behind me, prompting Ruimin and Mumuroot-san to do the same not long after.

    ¡¸Where is this?¡¹

    I never used the storage here personally, but it wasn¡¯t dusty at all. That was because Fina always cleaned up the ce nicely after finishing her dismantling jobs, keeping it tidy.

    ¡¸We¡¯re in the storage room of my house in the capital. I think Sanya-san will recognize where we are if we leave the storage.¡¹

    I led everybody out of the storage out into the open to prove that we really were in the capital. Sanya-san immediately recognized her city, while Ruimin also recognized the ce where I had found her copsed on the ground.

    As an absolute proof, not far in the distanceid thergest building in the capital, one of a kind in the whole country: the castle of the royal family.

    ¡¸This really is the capital...¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it.¡¹

    ¡¸How is it possible? Here, in an instant...?¡¹

    Sanya-san waspletely dumbfounded by our surroundings, Ruimin looked all around restlessly, and Mumuroot-san just stood there shocked, his gaze fixated on the castle.

    Then, Sanya-san started to slowly walk away, so I grabbed her arm.

    ¡¸Sanya-san, where are you going?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to check...¡¹

    ¡¸You can tell this is the capital just by looking at it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, but...¡¹

    While she knew this was the capital, her heart was unable to ept it.

    ¡¸What if somebody who knows you¡¯re not supposed to be here right now sees you? That would be a big problem.¡¹

    It could spell disaster if we just strolled around the capital when we were supposed to be in the Elf Vige, so I quickly dragged Sanya-san all the way back inside. Passing through the door, I tapped Ruimin¡¯s shoulder and called out to Mumuroot-san, then led all three of them back into the storage. Not wasting any more time, we all traveled back to Mumuroot-san¡¯s house, where I immediately closed the Bear Gate.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe it....¡¹

    Mumuroot-san sat down on the floor cross-legged, deep in thought.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what exactly is this?¡¹

    Sanya-san asked, examining the door some more.

    ¡¸It¡¯s one of the magic tools I own.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how it worked either, so I decided to just pass it off as a magic tool.

    The only other solution would be to honestly exin to them that it was an ability I had received from God, but that would justplicate things even further.

    ¡¸One of your magic tools?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup. It¡¯s a magic tool that connects doors together.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, where on earth did you get something like that...¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, but that¡¯s as much as I can tell you.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell them anything else about the Bear Gate without raising even more questions.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t tell you much about how I got it.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya!¡¹

    Sanya-san was going to pry further, but Mumuroot-san scolded her.

    ¡¸The youngdy says that she can¡¯t reveal anything else and we have to respect that. We elves also have many things we can¡¯t reveal to others. It¡¯s essentially the same thing with her. Youngdy told us what she is willing to, so we should leave it at that. I too want to know how she got such a tool, but even though she is unwilling to share that, I won¡¯t force her to do so nor will I think any differently of her because of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Grandpa...¡¹

    Sanya-san understood what Mumuroot-san was trying to tell her, and conceded the argument. It was clearly very hard for her to hold back all the questions she wanted to ask, but I just couldn¡¯t answer them without bringing up even more troublesome questions even though I knew how she felt.

    Sanya-san switched her gaze between Mumuroot-san and me for a while before letting out a small sigh, her expression showing that she gave up for now.

    ¡¸Okay, I get it. I won¡¯t ask anymore. Also, even if I did know more about it, I would most likely be so scared of it that I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep. Why did you show us something so incredible? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to keep it to yourself?¡¹

    Now, that was a reasonable question to ask.

    ¡¸The main reason is because I want to be able toe to the Elf Vige whenever I want to. Ruimin and Mumuroot-san both know that I travelled here from the Capital, and Ruimin knows how far away the capital is from here. If I were toe to the Elf Vige often, people would surely start to get suspicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it would be very suspicious.¡¹

    Ruimin nodded, recalling her struggle of traveling to the Capital.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I wanted Ruimin and Mumuroot-san to know about this door, so I cane and go anytime I want. If any of the vigers starts to suspect anything, I want you two to fool them to think otherwise.¡¹

    I had only done it because they were bound by the magic contract. Without it, there would be no way for me to reveal such a thing.

    ¡¸What about me?¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san, you¡¯re going back to the capital, right? If I didn¡¯t let you in on the secret, it would have been a problem when I headed back to the capital through the door. Also, if anything bad happens at the Elf Vige, you can use the door to rush there right away.¡¹

    I hoped nothing as bad as the Parasitic Tree would ever happen again, though.

    ¡¸Oh right, using your door would mean skipping the travel time, making everything much more convenient.¡¹

    Sanya-san appeared to be convinced.

    Instead of having to spend many days on the road, we could close the distance in an instant. Anybody would pick teleportation over regr traveling.

    ¡¸I was wondering what kind of secret Yuna-chan was going to tell us, but this is just absurd.¡¹

    Sanya-san couldn¡¯t help but sigh again.

    ¡¸Not to mention the bright light when we formed the contract...¡¹

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san, I forgot to ask this before, but if I were to tell something to one person here, and then that person tells that information to the other two under the same contract, what will happen?¡¹

    ¡¸The contract would still be in effect as the other party doesn¡¯t know about it. The only way for the contract not to be invoked is if both parties already know that specific piece of information.¡¹

    In that case, I should only tell Ruimin about the Bear Phone as there was no need to tell Mumuroot-san and Sanya-san about it. In the end, the less people who knew about my secrets the better.

    ¡¸Anyway, this door of yours is simply incredible.¡¹

    Sanya-san said then proceeded to try and open it herself.

    ¡¸Only I can open the door.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, really?¡¹

    Sanya-san pushed with all of her strength against the door, but it didn¡¯t budge an inch. She then even called Ruimin to help, but even with both of them there was no change.

    If I wanted to be more specific, only my Bear Hands could open it and since only I could use them, it was virtually the same as saying only I could open the door.

    ¡¸We really can¡¯t open it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that¡¯s why you can onlye here apanied by me, Sanya-san.¡¹

    Sanya-san finally gave up and sat back down.

    ¡¸That¡¯s too bad. If I could open it myself, I would make sure to borrow it every now and then toe back home.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t like it if anyone could use the door as they pleased, so I had to admit God did a good job setting the specifics here.

    ¡¸In that case, how exactly do I contact you, Yuna-san?¡¹

    Now that she learned she couldn¡¯t use the door herself either, Ruimin popped the question.

    She must have thought that she could contact me by using the door.

    ¡¸I will tell only youter, Ruimin.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re not going to tell us?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s still better if less people know about my secrets.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, Yuna-chan. How unkind of you, not telling us at this point. It feels like you only told us half the story... Still, if that is your choice, I can only ept it and bury my curiosity.¡¹

    As they were convinced that the Bear Gate really worked the way I had told them it would, I put it away.

    ¡¸Youngdy, I understand what you are aiming at. As the chief of this vige, I will protect your secrets. Also, don¡¯t worry, you are wee to visit us at any time.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san reassured me again.

    ¡¸Even now I can hardly believe it.¡¹

    ¡¸Thinking about all the trouble I went through just to get to the capital...¡¹

    Ruimin felt like all her hard work was a waste in the end.

    ¡¸Well, I can only teleport to ces I set up the doors at, so if I didn¡¯te here at least once, there would be nothing I could do, either, but to travel here by normal means.¡¹

    ¡¸If you say so...¡¹

    Ruimin didn¡¯t lookpletely convinced.

    ¡¸Now I finally understand how you cane to the capital often, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Please keep quiet about it, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I would never do something so stupid as betraying your trust after you saved the vige for us. Not to mention, the punishment of even trying to do so is just too harsh.¡¹

    Sanya-san shivered just recalling theughing hell she had gone through.

    ¡¸Youngdy, so your request is to just set up a permanent house here? That¡¯s not enough to show our gratitude for saving our vige. Instead, it feels more like you¡¯re doing this for us. Not to mention you also defeated the Cockatrices. If there is anything else you want, please tell us.¡¹

    In that case, I wouldn¡¯t hold back.

    ¡¸Then, I also want some of the food ingredients that can be gathered from your forest. Things like the mushrooms, especially. I would also like to obtain some Sacred Tree¡¯s leaves to make tea if possible. Oh, and some branches as well. Would that be okay? Also, if by any chance I could learn how to make an elven bracelet, that would make me very happy.¡¹

    I squeezed in everyst wish I had. I was only asking if those things were possible, of course. I wasn¡¯t forcing them.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. Most of everything you asked for is okay, but we can¡¯t teach you how to make those bracelets.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san apologized with a bow.

    I racked my brain on how to respond to such a sudden apology.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it, I knew I was asking for too much.¡¹

    ¡¸There are many reasons, but the crux of it is that it is simply impossible.¡¹

    Well, I was only thinking that if I were able to make the bracelets, I could receive a slight enhancement and also give them to Fina and the other girls as presents. Since it was considered a secret to the elves, I knew it would be hard for them to share it with me.

    Now that we had established a good rtionship, I didn¡¯t want for it to be ruined by me prying further. Not to mention that the rest of my requests had been agreed upon. I could set down a Bear House, and also get my hands on mushrooms, Sacred Tree tea leaves, and its branches.

    That was more than enough for me.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    No bracelet this time. I just wanted Yuna to finally head back to Crimonia. lol

 Chapter 237 â€“ Bear-san Gives Ruimin A Bear Phone

    Once all the details of my requests were all figured out, I led Ruimin all the way up to my Bear House on the cliff next to the waterfall.

    ¡¸This should be far enough.¡¹

    ¡¸Will I really be able to contact you even when we¡¯re far apart, Yuna-san?¡¹

    Even though Ruimin had already been introduced to the Bear Gate, she still found it hard to believe me. Well, they didn¡¯t know that things like cell phones and telmunication could possibly exist, so they were naturally skeptical in believing that magic or magic tools like the Bear Phone were a thing. I hadn¡¯t heard about anything of the like in this world, and even if it existed here, it must be rare.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll use this tomunicate easily.¡¹

    I handed over amunication device shaped like a Bear (the Bear Phone) to Ruimin.

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    Ruimin looked at the cartoonish bear in her hand, tilting her head.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a magic tool that can used to talk to people who are far away.¡¹

    ¡¸A magic tool... that¡¯s a bear?¡¹

    Ruimin said and curiously examined the magical Bear Phone in her hand.

    Well, if I didn¡¯t know it to be a magic tool, it could also seem like a bear-shaped toy...

    Pondering the concept of my creation, I proceeded to take out out my personal Bear Phone.

    ¡¸Oh, by the way, this magic tool is called a Bear Phone.¡¹

    ¡¸A Bear Phone...¡¹

    Ruimin switched her gaze between the phone and me a few times as though she wanted to say something. I didn¡¯t prompt her to speak her mind, though, and rather began exining how the Bear Phone worked.

    ¡¸As long as we both have this Bear Phone with us, we can hear each other¡¯s voices through it.¡¹

    ¡¸You can hear the other person¡¯s voice? Isn¡¯t such a thing... impossible?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to connect my Bear Phone to yours now, so don¡¯t be surprised and drop it by ident, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸O-okay.¡¹

    She suddenly looked tense.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to be that prepared.¡¹

    I smiled as I made a call to Ruimin¡¯s phone. Ruimin¡¯s phone immediately began to ring: ¡¸kuun, kuun, kuun¡¹.

    ¡¸W-what¡¯s going on?!¡¹

    Ruimin was very surprised to suddenly hear the Bear Phone suddenly making weird sounds.

    It was the same calling tone as usual, of course. It might sound more interesting than a digital ringtone, but its charm was slowly wearing off.

    ¡¸W-what am I supposed to do now?!¡¹

    Ruimin didn¡¯t know what to do with the ringing Bear Phone and panicked.

    ¡¸Just pour some magical energy into it.¡¹

    ¡¸O-okay.¡¹

    Ruimin grasped the phone with both her hands and closed her eyes.

    She just had to answer the call, but she was making it so dramatic.

    Soon after, the ringing stopped.

    ¡¸It stopped!¡¹

    She looked quite happy with just that, but there was still more toe.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s move away from each other. I¡¯ll say something first and then you can try responding through the phone.¡¹

    I walked away, about a hundred meters before lifting the Bear Phone closer to my mouth.

    ¡¸Ruimin, can you hear me?¡¹

    ¡ºY-yes, I can!¡»

    An astonished Ruimin responded.

    ¡¸With this, we can speak even when we are far away. Everything clear now?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. Still, this tool is simply amazing, Yuna-san. I can hear your voice clearly even though we¡¯re so far apart.¡»

    I looked over at Ruimin who happily waved her hand at me while also hopping into the air. I waved back as a reply.

    ¡¸Anyhow, I¡¯m going to hang up now. You can try calling me next, okay?¡¹

    ¡ºUm, how do I do that?¡»

    ¡¸Hold the Bear Phone and pour magical energy into it. It¡¯s that simple.¡¹

    ¡ºOkay, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡»

    When she said that, I immediately cut the call, and soon after, my Bear Phone began ringing.

    ¡ºUm, Yuna-san, can you hear me?¡»

    ¡¸I can hear you.¡¹

    ¡ºGreat.¡»

    I could hear the relief in her voice.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s head back now.¡¹

    I cut the call and immediately dashed towards Ruimin at a speed that could me an Olympic gold medal. Of course, participating in the Olympics while wearing a costume... would make me theughing stock of the world.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    When I got back to Ruimin, she seemed almost giddy.

    ¡¸Still, will I really be able to talk to you even when you¡¯re in the capital?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you just have to follow the same process.¡¹

    I was sure as I already knew that it was possible to talk to Fina who was even farther, in Crimonia.

    I still had to warn her, though.

    ¡¸Still, make sure you don¡¯t lose the phone. Without it, there is no way of contacting me.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand: I will take good care of it.¡¹

    Well, I should probably mention this: even if she were to lose it or someone stole it from her, the Bear Phone had recorded her magical energy into it the moment she had first used it. Only she could use it now, so even if other people took it, they could only treat it as an essory. Thus, it was her personal phone now, so the biggest thing to worry about would just be not being able to contact her if she lost it.

    ¡¸Anyway, if you have something you want to let Sanya-san know, feel free to call me, and I¡¯ll forward it to her.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Still, this thing is just incredible, letting you to talk to someone so far away...¡¹

    She grasped her Bear Phone, clearly now unwilling to part with it.

    ¡¸Just be careful when using it, alright? If somebody else sees you using the phone, aughing hell awaits you.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu... but won¡¯t it suddenly ring?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s only if I call you.¡¹

    ¡¸If it rings, I will quickly go find a secluded ce.¡¹

    Once my Bear Phone exnation to Ruimin was all finished, we parted ways and I immediately turned my attention the next order of business: I had to move my Bear House. I nned to move it into the rocky mountain where the Sacred Tree resided, and I had already gotten permission from Mumuroot-san to do so. Only a limited amount of people were able to enter that area, so nobody could identally stumble upon the Bear House there. Arthur-san was the only one who could pass the barrier and didn¡¯t know about the Bear Gate¡¯s existence, so I decided to have at least have Mumuroot-san tell him about me moving the Bear House inside.

    I did have a certain issue, though. I wanted to bring Fina to the Elf Vige sometime, but I wasn¡¯t sure how the Sacred Tree¡¯s barrier would react to that. Mumuroot-san had said that the barrier only barred things passing directly through the barrier, so it should most likely be fine. Still, as I wasn¡¯tpletely sure, the safe thing to do would be to set up another door outside of the barrier instead of putting Fina into any needless danger.

    Upon reaching the Sacred Tree, I found Mumuroot-san, Sanya-san, and Arthur-san in the middle of gathering up the fallen leaves. As there was nobody else who could help them clean up, nothing could be done about the fact that the chief of the vige and his rtives were doing a thingmoners do like cleaning leaves.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan? Are you done talking with Ruimin already?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I¡¯m done. I¡¯m here to set up my house, like I mentioned this morning.¡¹

    Looking at the busy elves, I realized that this wasn¡¯t the best time to to ce my house down. If there had been a cleaned out corner I would take it, but at this point all I would do was just get in the way of their cleaning.

    ¡¸Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-chan. After we were done talking to you, we dragged Father here to help clean up, but we¡¯re not quite done...¡¹

    ¡¸This is all because of my unreasonable request, so please don¡¯t worry about it. I will just help you pick up leaves.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I proceeded to cast wind magic to create a small tornado, which quickly gathered up the leaves. The way the leaves whirled through the air kind of reminded me of a washing machine. Once the tornado gathered up a considerable amount, I dispersed the magic in a way that left behind a mountain of leaves. I then repeated the process a couple more times before helping others stuff the leaves into jute bags. With the four of us, we were able to make progress quickly and gathered all of the fallen leaves in no time. Taking a look at the Sacred Tree, with the Parasitic Tree gone, it had made aplete recovery. Now, I just had to put down my Bear House, and we would be done here.

    ¡¸Mumuroot-san, is this spot okay?¡¹

    I asked while also ncing at Arthur-san.

    ¡¸Yes, it should be fine. Also, don¡¯t worry. I have already exined it to him.¡¹

    Receiving the permission for the specific spot, I brought out the Bear House without dy. I ced it on the right-hand side of the cave entrance as I judged it to be a good spot that wouldn¡¯t be too exposed to the sun.

    I turned around only to see both Mumuroot-san and Arthur-san looking shocked. Well, they had only heard about me bringing out a house, after all, and never saw it in person. As this was the reaction I usually got, I simply ignored them.

    Two dayster, Sanya-san and I decided it was time to head back to the capital.

    We bid our farewells to the vigers, which came to send us off. There was quite a lot of them, and some even came up to me once they realized I was leaving. Since I had let the children y with the Bears, I had be quite popr with them. Many of them looked sad, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do about that.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯lle again.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t lie to them, since I did intend toe back. I simply nodded in response to their question. Once I finished saying goodbye to all the children, Labta approached.

    ¡¸Yuna, I will never forget what you¡¯ve done for us. If you ever need help, I will lend you a hand.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯lle by again, so I might take you up on that offer if something presents itself.¡¹

    I sincerely epted his offer.

    ¡¸Good. You will always be wee here.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    As I was speaking with Labta, Sanya-san came up to us.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, sorry for making you wait. Oh, you¡¯re here too, Labta?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I was thanking her for her help.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan really did help us out a lot...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. Because you let me, I was able toe and see the Elf Vige, so I¡¯m quite happy with the end result.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, if she hadn¡¯t brought you here, we might have had to abandon the vige. There is plenty of reason to show you our gratitude.¡¹

    Labta retorted.

    ¡¸I already got many gifts from Mumuroot-san, so I think I have received enough.¡¹

    I felt kind of bad because they kept thanking me over and over again, especially since it was all thanks to the Bear Suit. It actually had nothing to do with my own ability.

    Sanya-san smiled at my response before turning to say goodbye to Labta. Out of nowhere, however, their conversation took an unexpected turn.

    ¡¸Labta, like I already told you yesterday, you don¡¯t have to wait for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    ¡¸I really don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll take.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯te back in ten years, I¡¯lle and get you instead.¡¹

    A sentimental discussion emerged between them.

    ¡¸Sanya-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh right, you didn¡¯t know. Labta is my fianc¨¦.¡¹

    She just casually dropped a bombshell.

    ¡¸Fianc¨¦?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Well, kind of...¡¹

    ¡¸Sanya-san, you already have someone like him waiting for you, but you still n on going back to be the capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild master?!¡¹

    ¡¸I like being a guild master, though. It¡¯s fun.¡¹

    Fun, huh? Well, it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t understand how she felt. I would also pursue fun over love any time.

    ¡¸I feel kind of bad for Labta.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I can easily wait another ten years.¡¹

    Uh, elves were just amazing. Still, was it really okay for him to trust her so much?

    What if she just married somebody else while she was away?

    ¡¸Anyway, if I do forget, juste get me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I definitely will.¡¹

    The two suddenly became so lovey-dovey that I could almost feel my eyes hurt.

    Even though they hadn¡¯t met for the past decade, this guy was still willing to wait another one. Elves and their longevity... Simply preposterous.

    I decided to leave this stupid couple alone and went somewhere else. Luckily, Mumuroot-san and Ruimin approached me soon after, followed by a couple of men.

    ¡¸Youngdy, you¡¯ve done so much for us. I thank you form the bottom of my heart.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, thank you for helping us.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san and Ruimin both thanked me.

    ¡¸Also, it isn¡¯t much, but here¡¯s what you asked for.¡¹

    As Mumuroot-san said that, the men next to him ced arge bag in front of me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸Inside the bag are wild nts and mushrooms gathered from the forest. We made sure to put in a lot of the mushrooms you¡¯ve asked for, youngdy.¡¹

    Oh, was he talking about the matsutake? That was so nice of him. When I got home, I should make matsutake rice and soup, and maybe even chawanmushi. I could hardly wait.

    Chawanmushi: A savoury egg custard in a bowl, one thing sumo wrestlers eat to gain weight. Wikipedia it.

    ¡¸Also, we added in some tea leaves made from the Sacred Tree leaves.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re only able to gather more thanks to you, so you don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    Since it was so, I happily epted it.

    I had tried out the tea before, and it was rather delicious. There should be no problems if I ced it on my shop¡¯s menu. I just needed to check how much we could serve and discuss it with Terumi-san and the others, especially how we should market it.

    I expressed my thanks and stashed the jute bag into the Bear Box.

    ¡¸You are wee toe back anytime.¡¹

    Mumuroot-san dered out loud, and all the vigers let out cheerful voices of agreement.

    Once our goodbyes were finally done, Mumuroot-san, Ruimin, Sanya-san and I headed to the Bear House by the Sacred Tree. We still needed three people to have Sanya-san pass through the barrier.

    As for me, I just went through it like it was nothing. It was really strange how it worked.

    ¡¸Onee-chan,e and visit us soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I n oning back sooner this time. I just have to ask Yuna-chan, and I should be able toe easily.¡¹

    Sanya-san said looked at me.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll charge you, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, even if you¡¯re going to charge me, it should still be cheaper than walking all the way here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please take care of Onee-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, I¡¯m the older one here.¡¹

    Sanya-san refuted.

    ¡¸Yes, but Yuna-san is more level-headed.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true. I¡¯m still the Adventurer¡¯s Guild guild master, you know.¡¹

    Sanya-san said sulkingly and turned away.

    When I had first met her, I thought that she had a majestic feel to her. Looking at her now, I was slightly concerned by the fact that she was a guild master. Was it because I found out that there was another side of Sanya-san during this trip?

    Iughed as I looked at the sulking Sanya-san then turned to Ruimin.

    ¡¸Ruimin, contact me when you have more tea leaves for me. I¡¯lle get them.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll contact you. Yuna-san, really, thank you so much for all your help. Meeting you in the capital was the greatest luck I ever had.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡¹

    Done with the very final goodbyes, Sanya-san and I entered the storage of the Bear House and used the Bear Gate to return to the capital.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    The Elf Arc is finally done.

    I got a bit tired out through thisst part. lol

    I was debating on where to ce the Bear House.

    I thought that cing it inside the rocky mountain where the Sacred Tree is was a no go as Fina wouldn¡¯t be able toe. Not to mention, if Ruimin ever wanted to go to the capital, she would need Mumuroot-san and Aruturu-san¡¯s help to pass through the barrier.

    After some thinking, I finally found the solution of cing the door outside of the barrier when necessary. lol

    Once Yuna gets back to Crimonia, should she continue herid-back lifestyle?

    I haven¡¯t written about Fina for three months in real life time now.

    I better write about her to heal up. lol

 Chapter 238 â€“ Bear-san Returns to Crimonia

    After teleporting to the Bear House in the capital, Sanya-san and I headed straight outside.

    ¡¸I still have a hard time believing this. We were in the vige just a moment ago.¡¹

    Sanya-san said, gazing at the scenery of the capital like it was something incredible.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t tell anybody about this.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to die fromughing, after all. Also, I probably shouldn¡¯t forget to mention this: as to return the favor for you saving the vige, you maye to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild if you run into any trouble in the capital and I will personally take care of it.¡¹

    Oh right, Sanya-san was the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer Guild. I could trust her saying she would be able to help if something were to happen. Anyway, it was always nice to have a favor from an influential person.

    ¡¸Well, Sanya-san, I¡¯m off to home now. If anything happens, just let me know.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, Yuna-chan. Mind bringing this with you?¡¹

    Sanya-san said and handed me a keychain-like item with multiple brown feathers attached to it.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸I made this out of feathers from Forgue, my summoned bird.¡¹

    After she said that, she summoned her bird.

    The eagle-like bird silently stood perched on her arm.

    ¡¸So, this is the bird that peeked on me while I was changing. Its name is Forgue, you say?¡¹

    Forgue, huh? That was a rather cool name.

    The name could rival my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Are you still holding a grudge about that? That was kind of your fault, you know. You just suddenly decided to start stripping; there wasn¡¯t much I could do.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, fine. I will drop it. So, what is this for, then?¡¹

    I asked her about the keychain.

    ¡¸You can carry it with you, or ce it near the window of your house. My bird will use it as a marker and will fly to it. If something happens, I can easily contact you through it.¡¹

    Her summoned bird seemed to be able to do the work of a carrier pigeon even though it didn¡¯t look like one at all. It could even do something like that, huh. Well, it made sense: if a pigeon could fly long distances and deliver news then a summoned bird should be able to do the same.

    Giving her a Bear Phone would work better, of course, but the summoned bird would make it a bit easier tomunicate without a phone..

    ¡¸So, I can hang it somewhere inside a room, close to the window?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that should do. My bird will sense the location of the feathers as long as you don¡¯t put it too deep in.¡¹

    That also meant I couldn¡¯t put it into my Bear Box.

    I still didn¡¯tpletely understand how the Bear Box system worked, but I was pretty sure that the summoned bird wouldn¡¯t be able toe if I put the feathers inside the box. It was best to just follow Sanya-san¡¯s instructions and hang the keychain somewhere in the house.

    ¡¸Still, if your summoned bird can to that, shouldn¡¯t you have sent it to the Elf Vige from time to time?¡¹

    From what I had gathered, Sanya-san hadn¡¯t returned to nor contacted anybody from the Elf Vige for ten years straight.

    If she had a summoned bird, the least she could have done was send a write a letter every now and then.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never tried to have it fly such a long distance, so I¡¯m not sure if Forg could get all the way to the vige. I¡¯m thinking of at least trying it now, and have Forg deliver a letter to Labta, and see what happens. If it doesn¡¯t work, I can always ask you for help, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if it¡¯s just passing a letter, it should be okay.¡¹

    Also, as long as it wasn¡¯t an everyday urrence.

    Then again, knowing Sanya-san, she would most likely send one letter per year.

    That took care of everything I needed to do in the capital, so I said bye to Sanya. I immediately headed back inside the house to use the Bear Gate to go back to Crimonia. I made sure to stop by my room and hung the feather keychain next to the window.

    Would here be okay?

    Well, Sanya-san most likely wouldn¡¯t be contacting me, and even if she was, it most likely wouldn¡¯t be something important.

    Still, if she kept contacting me for stupid reasons, I would have to go and scold her.

    Only once I reached Crimonia, I realized how long I had been away. Taking in the nostalgic scenery before me, I really felt like I had returned home. This ce had slowly but surely be my hometown.

    Although I felt like just wandering around town for a bit, I decided to rather head straight for the orphanage so that I could let Terumi-san and Fina know I had returned. I figured they would be working at the orphanage around this time of day.

    When I arrived at the orphanage, I immediately noticed a loud group of children running around outside. I had taught them how to y tag, so maybe that was what they were doing?

    Soon, the children realized I was there.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the Bear-oneechan!¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan.¡¹

    The children all ran up to me with big smiles on their faces.

    ¡¸How are you all doing? Have you been causing any trouble for the Headmistress or fighting with each other?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re great!¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re working properly, too.¡¹

    ¡¸And, we aren¡¯t arguing with each other.¡¹

    All the children replied energetically.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve all been good, then.¡¹

    I said and began patting their heads.

    I also made sure to pat them equally, so that they wouldn¡¯t get upset.

    ¡¸By the way, are Terumi-san and Fina here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they are. They¡¯re with Headmistress right now.¡¹

    So, were they done with gathering eggs at this point? I thanked the children for letting me know and headed straight for the dining hall, where I was met by Terumi-san and the Headmistress chatting while drinking tea.

    ¡¸Yu-Yuna-chan, you¡¯re back?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-chan, wee home.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m home. I just returned today.¡¹

    I said and took a seat next to them.

    ¡¸You were away for quite a long time.¡¹

    ¡¸The Elf Vige was farther than I expected.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t even imagine such a distance.¡¹

    ¡¸So, did anything special happen around here?¡¹

    ¡¸Anything special... Yeah, it did! And you not being here caused us a big problem for us.¡¹

    Terumi-san shouted as if suddenly remembering something.

    What could have happened to make her act as such?

    ¡¸The wife of Crimonia¡¯s lord, Eleanora-sama, and the Royal Head Chef Zelef-san both came here to see you. It was terrible having to greet them.¡¹

    Oh right, I had heard about that from Fina.

    So many things had happened at the Elf Vige afterwards that I hadpletely forgotten about it.

    ording to Terumi-san, Mylene-san had brought the two of them to the orphanage. She had informed Terumi-san that the lord¡¯s wife and the Royal Head Chef were here on the stop, causing her to be so shocked she couldn¡¯t even respond, freezing uppletely.

    Even so, that hadn¡¯t been my fault. There was really no reason for her to be angry at me. If she had to pick someone it should be Eleanora-san who hade without any prior notice.

    Well, I also visited the castle without ever making appointment, so maybe I didn¡¯t really have the right toin here.

    ¡¸Without Mylene-san and Fina being on my side, I don¡¯t know what I would have done. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san and Fina helped you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Mylene-san guided them here and even answered all of their questions. If she wasn¡¯t there, I would probably just embarrass us all.¡¹

    It seemed like Mylene-san was actually acting as a proper guild master for once.

    ¡¸Well, if Eleanora-san just contacted me beforeing...¡¹

    I had disappeared off to the Elf Vige too, so maybe this was indeed partly my fault.

    Also, if I had been here, I may have been able to do something to help Terumi-san regardless.

    ¡¸Based on Eleanora-san¡¯s reaction, I think she was trying to surprise you: that¡¯s why she came without any prior notice.¡¹

    I could understand if it was just Eleanora-san, but I didn¡¯t know why Zelef-san tagged along with the idea.

    Terumi-sam then exined that Eleanora-san was disappointed to find out I was away. She must have been very eager to surprise me, huh.

    ¡¸So, what exactly did the two of theme here for?¡¹

    ¡¸They said they came to inspect your shop here to use as a reference for the shop you¡¯re opening at the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸That shop won¡¯t really belong to me, though. I mean, they will be serving my recipes, like the pudding, but the castle will be managing the shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I just taught them the recipes; everything else is left to them.¡¹

    Terumi-san then proceeded to exin that, aftering to the orphanage, Eleanora-san had checked out the henhouse. She had beenpletely shocked to see the children working so hard and even seemed to enjoy speaking to them. The children didn¡¯t know that Eleanora-san was a noble, so Terumi-san had been very worried that they might act rudely and make her mad, but her worry was all for naught. After her chat with children, Eleanora-san and Zelef-san headed straight to my shop.

    ¡¸When we brought them to the shop, they caused a big ruckus over things there.¡¹

    First, they had been surprised by the stone bear statue outside of the shop, and once they walked inside, they just wandered around for a while, looking at all the bear figurines decorating the shop.

    I couldpletely see Eleanora-san waltzing around the shop as she pleased, but Zelef-san as well?

    Terumi-san continued and exined how Zelef-san had made amotion while eating the food there. Hopefully they hadn¡¯t caused too much trouble for the other guests...

    ¡¸Did they calm down after that at least?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Mylene-san and Fina managed to keep a close watch over them.¡¹

    Again, I could understand Mylene-san doing so, but Fina as well?

    ¡¸Fina was chatting with Eleanora-sama as they were walking around and eventually got her to take a seat. I was surprised to see the two of them conversing with each other so casually.¡¹

    Well, I had dragged her to many ces with plenty of nobles and royalty, as terrible as that might sound to do to amoner

    Also,tely, I heard that she had been hanging out with Noa a lot, and was even exposed to Eleanora-san for an extended period of time.

    All that forced Fina to grow more ustomed to nobles, and seemingly, all her nervousness was now gone.

    As her big sister, I was both happy and sad by this growth of hers.

    Anyway, after Eleanora-san and Zelef-san had eaten Morin-san¡¯s food, they had been pretty much done there. Just what had the two of them been thinking?

    The next day, they had gone to Anzu¡¯s shop to check it out and taste some food.

    Finally, on the third day, they had gone back to my shop right when it opened, ate more food, and took some food with them to bring home before having to rush back to the capital the same day.

    ¡¸It was very chaotic. They aren¡¯t bad people, but it was very tiring to tend to them.¡¹

    Terumi-san thought about their visit and let out a heavy sigh.

    ¡¸Thank you for the hard work...¡¹

    Just as I said that, Fina rushed into the dinning room.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Fina is finally back with the next chapter.

 Chapter 239 â€“ Bear-san, Caught Red-handed by Fina

    Fina stopped at the door, her cheeks puffed up. Shuri walked in behind her.

    Had something happened perhaps?

    I decided to first greet them before asking.

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri, I¡¯m back.¡¹

    ¡¸Wee back, Yuna-oneechan. Wait, that¡¯s not it! Yuna-oneechan, what is with this book?!¡¹

    For a single moment, Fina had broken into a smile, but she immediately puffed up her cheeks again. Behind her, Shuri replied with,¡¸Wee back, Yuna-oneechan,¡¹but her words were drowned out by Fina¡¯s angry voice.

    Fina walked over to me and loudly ced a book on top of the table. It was a copy of the picture book I had drawn for Princess Flora. It must have been one of the copies I had given to the orphanage children as a present.

    ¡¸What do you want to know about it?¡¹

    ¡¸What do I want to know about it?! This is me, isn¡¯t it?!¡¹

    She pointed at a cartoonish girl riding a bear on the book¡¯s cover. Oh right, I had used Fina as a reference when I had drawn the girl. It was a bitte toin about it now, though. I was actually more surprised that it had taken Fina so long to find out about the book.

    ¡¸The children asked me to read a picture book for them, so I did, and then... I saw the girl in the book...¡¹

    Fina seemed quite a bit angry. Still, if she didn¡¯t know anything about the picture book before this, how did she find out that I was the one who drew it? I decided to ask her before proceeding with exnation.

    ¡¸The story is obviously about the two of us.¡¹

    That was true...

    In the first volume, I told the tale of a girl (very much like Fina) meeting Bear-san, and together they searched for medicinal herbs for the girl¡¯s sick mother and brought them to her. I had changed the way we had met a bit to make the story more suitable for a picture book.

    In the next book, the girl¡¯s mother became more ill, so Bear-san searched deep in the forest for a precious flower that could heal her. Once Bear-san found the flower, she used it to cure the mother¡¯s illness.

    I couldn¡¯t have possibly written that Bear-san had actually used magic to heal her, so I had changed it to a flower that could cure any illness. Still, no matter how I looked at it, the picture book was based on Fina and me, so it made sense for it to be quite obvious to Fina. The character in the story was created with her in mind even though I had put in some effort into making sure that character wasn¡¯t a split copy of her.

    ¡¸Fina, this is a fictional story and none of these characters exist in real life. See, I wrote that down right here.¡¹

    I said and pointed out a certain part on the picture book with my puppet. There, it stated:

    ¡ºThis is a work of fiction. Any resemnce to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.¡»

    I had made sure to clearly dere it was all fictional, so I decided to try and use this as an excuse to appease Fina.

    ¡¸Still, this ribbon looks exactly like mine.¡¹

    Well, I had modeled the girl off of her, so of course it was.

    ¡¸Also, this story is clearly about me.¡¹

    I had based it on our meeting so I couldn¡¯t contradict that, either.

    ¡¸No matter how I read it, the book talks about me.¡¹

    She dered, fully convinced.

    It looked like themon legal statement from my former world had no effect on her. Also, since I had actually used her as a model for the picture book, it was hard to make up any good excuses.

    ¡¸Why did you write a picture book about me?!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I just wanted to make something for Princess Flora.¡¹

    ¡¸Princess Flora?¡¹

    After hearing Princess Flora was involved, Fina¡¯s voice faltered.

    ¡¸Okay, but why does the orphanage also have this book if you just made it for Princess Flora?¡¹

    Seeing there was no other way out of it, I exined the whole story about how the picture book got here.

    First, I had drawn the picture book for Princess Flora.

    Soon after, it had be a sensation within the castle, and many people had asked for copies, so I had agreed to have the book printed to satisfy the high demand.

    ¡¸It was a request from both His Majesty and Eleanora-san, so I couldn¡¯t refuse...¡¹

    I decided to dump all of the responsibility onto those two. Even though I was the author of the book, the ones responsible for copying and distributing it (within the castle) were His Majesty and Eleanora-san.

    As expected, Fina wavered even harder when she heard their names.

    I really was a malicious Onee-chan, wasn¡¯t I?

    ¡¸And back then, since I had seen the opportunity, I asked them to print some for me so that I could give them to the children here.¡¹

    ¡¸Does that mean there are a lot of people with this picture book?¡¹

    She asked me with concern.

    I wouldn¡¯t call it ¡°a lot of people¡±... it was only the people in the castle.

    ¡¸Only a few select people in the castle own them.¡¹

    The books might have spread, but it was still mostly families with young children who were interested in them; they weren¡¯t circting as widely as Fina thought.

    Her response, however, was not what I expected.

    ¡¸Uuu, I can¡¯t go to the castle now.¡¹

    Fina dropped down to her knees and covered her lowered face in shame.

    Would it be bad if I actually asked her, ¡¸You were nning to go there?¡¹here?

    The old Fina would be like: ¡¸Amoner like me won¡¯t ever be able to go to the castle, so this is fine.¡¹

    She must have changed so much that she even started considering visiting the castle in the future. Well, if she kept traveling to the capital with me, there was a high chance that eventually she would tag along, willingly or not.

    ¡¸It¡¯s only been distributed to families with young children, so you don¡¯t have to worry that much. Also, nobody should realize it¡¯s you even if they meet you.¡¹

    Since the artwork was very cartoonish, nobody except for people very close to Fina should be able to make the connection between her and the character. It was simr to how celebrities on TV could walk around in public without anybody recognizing them. It wasn¡¯t easy to recognize someone while casually passing them by...

    ¡¸The children were all saying,¡¸This girl looks like you, Fina-oneechan,¡¹though..¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t really help her there.

    ¡¸Fina, why don¡¯t you forgive Yuna-chan for this? She drew you so adorably, after all.¡¹

    Terumi-san had picked up the picture book to skim it after listening to our conversation and was now trying to help me out.

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    ¡¸No matter how I look at it, this is such a cute book.¡¹

    Terumi-san said as she continued to flip through the pages.

    ¡¸If the girl is Fina, then the girl¡¯s mother must be based on me, right?¡¹

    She said,ing to a stop at a certain page. I nced over and saw she was on thest page, which showed a girl and her mother smiling happily in an embrace. It was the scene just after the mother drank her medicine.

    ¡¸She drew us so cutely. Look, the girl is just as sweet as you are.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you say so, aren¡¯t you embarrassed at all, Mother?¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t like it if I was drawn weirdly, but since it¡¯s this cute, isn¡¯t it okay?¡¹

    ¡¸But still, we¡¯re in a picture book...¡¹

    ¡¸I agree that¡¯s a bit embarrassing but it¡¯s not enough to make such a fuss over.¡¹

    Terumi-san¡¯s words slowly but surely started to convince Fina.

    ¡¸Okay, but why does the girl look like me while Yuna-oneechan just looks like a bear? If you were going to draw me, you should have drawn yourself, too.¡¹

    For my character, I had simply drawn a cartoon Bear-san instead.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Princess Flora said she liked Bear-san. Fina, you do still remember that, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s because of that that I drew the main character as Bear-san instead of me.¡¹

    Fina once again fell silent with the Princess Flora excuse. She couldn¡¯t say that she disliked me using Bear-san anymore,

    ¡¸Ugh, fine. Tell me before drawing me next time, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I can draw more?¡¹

    ¡¸I really don¡¯t like it, but the children seem to enjoy your books very much. Still, please make sure that the books don¡¯t spread any further.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t spread. If His Majesty and Eleanora-san attempt to distribute the book to others, I¡¯ll stop them even if I have to use my magic on them.¡¹

    Those two were most likely to try and spread the book around more.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, just keep it within reason.¡¹

    Fina told me to hold back after hearing me say that I would use magic on the king.

    ¡¸I was just kidding. I¡¯ll properly scold them but no more than that.¡¹

    Fina was somewhat reassured hearing I wouldn¡¯t go as far as using magic. Somehow, with all of this, I even managed to get Fina¡¯s approval to write the third volume of the picture book...

    Just when I thought this conversation about the picture books was over, an attack from a different angle came flying right at me.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, Mother, this isn¡¯t fair.¡¹

    Shuri, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly spoke up.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, why am I not in the books, too? I want you to draw me as well.¡¹

    Fina looked troubled when she heard Shuri say that. I never thought that Shuri would get mad at me for not drawing her in the picture book. Well, she most likely just felt bad for being left out.

    ¡¸You want me to draw you too?¡¹

    Shuri responded with a small nod.

    I kind of understood where she wasing from. Of course it would make her feel bad, knowing that I was writing a story about her family, but she wasn¡¯t included. She probably felt like she wasn¡¯t a true part of her family in my mind. Shuri was still young, so it wasn¡¯t surprising for her to feel that way.

    ¡¸Shuri, I¡¯m sorry for leaving you out. It wasn¡¯t on purpose, I was only writing about how Fina and I met, and it turned out like that. When I draw the next book, I¡¯ll make sure to include you.¡¹

    ¡¸You will?!¡¹

    Shuri sounded really happy when she heard that.

    ¡¸Yup, and I will make sure to draw you cutely.¡¹

    Shuri was even more delighted when I made her that promise.

    For the third volume, I had originally nned on writing a story about Bear-san escorting Fina and Noa the Capital, but if I were to include Shuri, I had to change the plot.

    I could maybe try writing about the two sisters ying with the Bears. Gentz-san and Terumi-san¡¯s wedding could also be a thing. Although, in that case, Bear-san wouldn¡¯t really need to be a part of the story.

    Hmm, I could also try changing it so that Bear-san brings Shuri along with Fina and Noa to the Capital, but that would mean three people were riding on top of the bear. Should I increase the number of Bears? I had to think about this a bit more before I decided.

    With the picture book conversation finally finished, Fina also talked about Eleanora-san and Zelef-san¡¯s surprise visit for a bit, and after chatting for a while longer, I decided it was time to go out and get some fresh air.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I wrote about Yuna giving the picture books to the orphanage back in May ofst year. When I checked the date, I was surprised by how much time has passed. lol

    I was even more surprised when I realized that the only things I wrote about since then was Yuna defeating the golem, making a cake, going to a birthday party, and going to the Elf Vige. lol

 Chapter 240 â€“ Gratitude

    After she dropped by the orphanage to see Termina, the children, and the others, Yuno went to the shop. Because it¡¯d been a while since Morin and Anzust saw her, they offered her some food.

    Thanks to their earnest insistence, Yuno caved in and ate some of all the food offered, but there was just too much. It was food that the two of them made with so much effort after all, so it was hard to refuse.

    Because Anzu served first, Yuno ate as much as she could, but by the time Morin got her turn, Yuno was already full. As it¡¯ll be a waste to keep stuffing food forcibly without savoring, Yuno elected to secretly yeet it into her Bean Box, to be properly enjoyed at ater date. When Yuno left the shop, she made sure to invite them to the Bean House the next evening for dinner to return the favor.

    Her next destination was, of course, the Retailers Association. A chat with Mylene who dealt with Eleanora and Zelef in ce of her while she wasn¡¯t around was a must.

    ***

    ¡°Oh, Yuno-chan. it¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I heard Eleanora-san came by while I was out,¡± Yuno said, ignoring Mylene¡¯s greeting.

    Mylene didn¡¯t take her too seriously, only letting a small smile show through her salesperson mask, answering without batting an eye. ¡°It was quite surprising when she appeared out of nowhere so suddenly.¡±

    From Mylene¡¯s words, it seemed that Eleanora kept her trip here a secret from both Cliff and Noa as well. Though she felt kind of bad for everyone involved, Yuno was d that she wasn¡¯t around when it happened.

    ¡°I heard some stories from Termina-san, but was everything okay?¡± Yuno asked. Though she had Termina¡¯s assurances, Eleanora¡¯s tendencies to cause trouble wherever she went could not be underestimated.

    ¡°Everything was fine. It was hard to tell what her intentions were, but it went rather well since she actually listened to Fina-chan,¡± Mylene replied.

    Yuno had heard that piece from Termina as well; Fina did seem to have yed quite the role back then.

    Without any concern for Yuno¡¯s thoughts, Mylene continued her praise for Fina. ¡°Although Eleanora-sama was going at her own pace, Fina-chan guided her skillfully, so there wasn¡¯t much trouble.¡±

    But here were some discrepancies. When Yuno asked Fina about it, she had replied with ¡°I just asked her normally,¡± but to normal people, even that would be an amazing feat, let alone actually guiding Eleanora. Because Termina wasn¡¯t used to dealing with nobility, speaking with Eleanora would probably be difficult for her, thus Yuno could understand why Termina would think Fina aplished a difficult feat, but for Mylene to as well...

    ¡°Based on my conversations with Cliff, I thought that she¡¯d be familiar in dealing with nobility. But¡± Mylene revealed the reason quite easily.

    ¡°Because Eleanora-sama rarelyes home, I haven¡¯t had many chances to talk with her, so our encounter was rather...¡±

    Mylene trailed off.

    Though she has met with Cliff countless times and can converse with him quite easily, Eleanora seemed to be a whole other story.

    Since Yuno learned what she wanted, she took her leave soon after so that she wouldn¡¯t disturb Mylene¡¯s work much more. Yuno gave Mylene her thanks and once again invited her to the Bean House tomorrow night for dinner, just like with Morin and Anzu.

    ¡°My, that sounds fun. I¡¯ll be there for sure,¡± she¡¯d replied.

    With the Retailers Association people taken care of, there was just Cliff and Noa left to see.

    ***

    ¡°Yuno-san, just where had you run off to?!¡±

    When Yuno met Noa at her home, the little girl was quite angry, and she wasn¡¯t afraid to make that clear. But of course, it was Yuno who decided to run off without telling her anything, so Yuno figured that she should apologize properly now.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I went quite far away this time, so I couldn¡¯te back quickly.¡±

    Because she¡¯d already heard about the situation from Fina, Noa¡¯s anger subsided quite easily with just her apology, and the conversation turned to what happened when she was away instead.

    ¡°While you weren¡¯t here, Mother came home for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard. From what I gathered, she came to check out my shop.¡±

    Since it¡¯d been a long time since Noa had seen her mother, she had a lot to talk about, like how they¡¯d gone to various shops together and bought many things.

    ¡°Yuno-san, I heard from Mother that you¡¯ve been going in and out of Washington D.C every so often.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do that every now and then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous of you. If I could summon beasts like Swaying Bean and Hugging Bean, then I could go to Washington D.C myself as well,¡± Noa said, pouting. Her face carried just a hint of envy.

    Though it pained Yuno to lie to a child, even by omission, she didn¡¯t tell her about her easier way of travel, which was via the Bean Gate. A child like her might not be able to keep the secret after all.

    Still, Yuno offered to take her the next time she went.

    ¡°Do you want to go to Washington D.C with me next time?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course. We do need Cliff¡¯s permission first, though.¡±

    Speaking of the devil, Cliff came in during a break from his work and he greeted Yuno immediately. ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± he said.

    ¡°Yeah, I travelled quite far this time.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t been troubling other people, have you?¡±

    Cliff started with something really rude. Did he really have to say this every time he met her?

    Yuno was pretty sure that she didn¡¯t cause that much trouble... at all.

    Yes, she didn¡¯t cause trouble, it¡¯s just that trouble came to her. She wasn¡¯t ever the reason for it, right?

    ¡°Well, if you do end up causing amotion somewhere, tell me sooner rather thanter. I can give you protection if... when something happens,¡± Cliff went on, quite proudly. It was as if he was saying ¡°Go crazy and just leave the rest to me.¡±

    If he really meant that, then Yuno could go on rampages as much as she wanted and then just run off, leaving only a cool message behind, ¡°The town lord of Beijing, Cliff Forscheroze, will take responsibility for everything.¡±

    Then again, it¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t have a right to say it, since he did deal with the aftermath of quite a few things that Yuno had been involved in. She couldn¡¯t reallyin.

    After they were done chatting, Yuno invited Cliff and Noa over for dinner tomorrow, expanding the cast by two. But while Noa looked ecstatic at the invitation, Cliff seemed to be a bit unsure. Still, he wasn¡¯t so cruel as to deny his daughter what she so desperately wants.

    ¡°I might get kidnapped, so I might not be able toe. If it turns out that way, please take care of Noa for me.¡±

    When Yuno nodded in reply, the conversation ended and Cliff left his mansion.

    Having visited all the ces that she¡¯d wanted to, Yuno finally returned to the Bean House. As soon as she arrived, she plopped herself down onto the nearest sofa. ¡°Oh, I should check out that jut-e bag I got from the elves! I think it¡¯s in my Bean Box somewhere... Let¡¯s see... ¡± When she opened the bag up, she found a few petals from the Sakura Tree and an assortment of wild nts and mushrooms. ¡°Nice, I got a lot of shiitake mushrooms! Not something I would get back in Ukraine.¡± They were a delicacy, after all.

    The forest where the elves lived were not affected by the seasons, which allowed the elves to harvest the unique bounty that grew in their vige all year round. Maybe I should bring Fina along next time, Yuno thought. She nodded to herself, haooy with her idea. A feeling of gratitude towards the spirit that oversaw the nts. While thinking through her next excursion with Fina, Yuno began to organize the contents of the bag. The sheer number of nts she had received surprised her. What¡¯s more, the nts also looked freshly harvested. Yuno wondered if the vigers had pitched in to help gather up the nts. With this much shiitake, she could even make herself some especially nice chawanmushi and rice, and maybe even soup. That meant dinner for the next day was taken care of. After sorting through her reward, she realized the Sakura Tree¡¯s branches were missing. Oh well. I can always pick them up whenever I need them she thought, putting the task off toter.

    The next day, Yuno spent the whole afternoon preparing the feast she had nned. She had invited almost everyone she knew in Beijing to her home. She prepared various dishes made from the ingredients from the elves: shiitake rice, shiitake soup, stir fried vegetables with mushrooms, and finally, shiitake chawanmushi. The sheer amount of shiitake would have made a Ukrainian person from her former country jump for joy at the sight of all the delicacies, but Yuno figured her guests just thought: this girl loves her mushrooms!

    ¡°Your cooking is delicious as always,¡± Termina eximed.

    ¡°For real!¡± Fina agreed.

    ¡°Yum! I like it!¡± Shuri was no exception.

    ¡°Umm... are you sure you¡¯re fine inviting me too?¡± Gentz asked, ncing nervously at the rest of the guests.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re their family after all. Whenever I go somewhere, I¡¯m at ease knowing you are there to help Termina and Fina,¡± Yuno responded. She inwardly also told herself that it would be too mean to make him just have dinner alone while the rest of his family got to party. Yuno looked to the other side of the table to see her other guests enjoying the food just as much.

    ¡°Are these new recipes of yours?¡± Mylene asked

    ¡°Yuno, this chawanmushi thing tastes great!¡± Noa told her.

    Yuno was happy to see that they liked the chawanmushi. She decided to make different types of chawanmushi to see if they liked it just as much as the shiitake chawanmushi they were eating.

    ¡°No matter what you choose, you can¡¯t go wrong,¡± Morin sighed contentedly.

    ¡°Even the rice is yummy,¡± Karin added.

    Would shiitake bread even taste good? Yuno wondered. She had never heard of shiitake bread.

    ¡°This might even taste better than my dishes,¡± Anzu joked... or at least, Yuno assumed she was joking. Anzu enjoyed the rice and other shiitake dishes like normal, but when she came to the chawanmushi, it seemed to shock her. Yuno was delighted to see that there wasn¡¯t a single person who didn¡¯t enjoy the dishes. All of the friends she had invited could make it, barring Cliff, who was kidnapped by Regeane, and the headmistress of the orphanage, who elected to eat with the children.

    ¡°Yuno, are you nning to serve this at the shop?¡± Termina asked.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning to,¡± Yuno replied.

    ¡°Oh, really? I was sure that you were trying to get us to taste test a new dish to serve at the restaurant,¡± Termina said doubtfully.

    ¡°I said this before. I made this to show my gratitude to all of you,¡± Yuno replied in fake indignation at Termina¡¯s jesting usations.

    ¡°But all these dishes really are delicious,¡± Mylene interrupted.

    ¡°Yeah, especially the chawanmushi,¡± Anzu added.

    ¡°But that¡¯s not to say any less of the other dishes,¡± Mylene said excitedly.

    ¡°Yuno, are you really not going to sell this at your restaurant? I would eat it,¡± Noa looked at Yuno pleadingly.

    It became clear that the chawanmushi itself was more popr than the shiitake. It was too bad, Yuno thought. She had quite confidence in the shiitake dishes, too. She assumed that the Beijing just saw the shiitake as any old mushroom, rather than a Ukrainian delicacy. Either way, that left more shiitake for herself, and Yuno was fine with that.

    ¡°Unfortunately, we wouldn¡¯t have enough eggs to keep up if we decided to add it to the menu,¡± Yuno said.

    ¡°Is that so? If we increased the number of emus, it should work out. As long as we keep enough to supply the Retailers Association...¡± Termina began to consider the logistics. She truly had be an astute businesswoman.

    ¡°Hey Yuno, could you give me some of the emus?¡± Mylene asked as Termina¡¯s voice trailed off.

    ¡°Why do you ask,¡± Yuno questioned.

    ¡°It¡¯s been an idea I was discussing with Cliff, but if we got some emus that we could raise in a nearby vige, we¡¯d have another source of eggs,¡± Mylene exined.

    ¡°Sure, sounds good to me,¡± Yuno nodded.

    ¡°Really?¡± Mylene asked, surprised by how quickly Yuno agreed.

    Yuno really had no reason monopolize egg production. However, she will keep that chawanmushi recipe to herself for now.

    ¡°But it might mean that we may not be able to sell the eggs to the Retailers Association...¡± Termina¡¯s voice trailed off.

    ¡°How are our sales, Termina?¡± Yuno asked.

    ¡°Why are you asking me? Don¡¯t you read the monthly reports I send you?¡±

    Yuno remembered getting the reports, but as for the numbers, they were all a blur. She didn¡¯t know how much Norwegian Krones were being spent on operational costs, all she knew was that they weren¡¯t in the red, and that was good enough. Termina sighed, exasperated.

    ¡°Things are going well. Sometimes I wonder if it¡¯s all going too well.¡±

    ¡°So... We don¡¯t need to sell eggs to the Retailers Association anymore?¡±

    Termina nodded. That opened up their supply of eggs to the rest of Yuno¡¯s restaurants. Her employees spoke up.

    ¡°Since you have extra eggs, could we have more for our bakery?¡± That was Morin. She exined that she had been holding back on using the eggs due to the low avability. Yuno directed her to arrange things with Termina.

    ¡°W-wait a minute, Yuno! We¡¯re not ready to start producing eggs all of a sudden! Don¡¯t just cut us off so suddenly! We¡¯ll need time to prepare everything!¡± Mylene broke in.

    Yuno nodded, ¡°I was just nning for the future.¡±

    ¡°Whew, that¡¯s a relief. Nearly gave me a heart attack there. We had to be considerate of the orphanage as we made moves, so we had to seek your permission first and foremost.¡±

    That made Yuno think. ¡°Do you normally ask for people¡¯s permission like this?¡±

    Mylene shook her head. ¡°Normally, we don¡¯t. But we do make sure to do that so we don¡¯t step on the toes of influential oligarchs.¡± The description made Yuno protest the designation of oligarch.

    ¡°Well, in your case, I just wanted to keep you and everyone around you happy,¡± Mylene shed a sickeningly sweet smile towards Yuno¡¯s direction before continuing, ¡°You bring happiness to all those around you. Youe up with things that light up the faces of all those you meet. Many people, especially in this town, have been touched by your amazingness.¡±

    ¡°Oh,e on. You must be exaggerating,¡± Yuno blushed.

    ¡°The children at the orphanage, Fina¡¯s family, Morin, the girls from Mireera... You have touched each and every one of our lives,¡± Mylene told Yuno. Yuno could see that she meant every word she said.

    ¡°B-but I haven¡¯t really done much,¡± Yuno protested, looking to the others at the table for help. But she found no support.

    ¡°My life has been happier ever since I met you, Yuno.¡± Fina chimed in. [Back in Japan, I used to be just a knife spirit. But ever since I came to this world, my life has turned around. After all, nobody who buys 100 knives can be a bad person!] A voice rang in Yuno¡¯s head. But before she could process what in the world just happened,

    ¡°Me too! Yuno always makes yummy food!¡± Shuri aggreed

    ¡°Yeah, we have nobody to thank but you,¡± added Termina.

    Yuno thought she heard something strange. Fina? A knife spirit? The dots started connecting in her mind... ¥Ê(na)¥¤(i)¥Õ(fu)... ¥Õ(fu)¥£(i)¥Ê(na)... but before she could call out, the other guests continued adding their own testimonies to the mix, oblivious to the bombshell that just dropped.

    ¡°You gave me this beautiful family to take care of,¡± Gentz¡¯s voice distracted Yuno from her thoughts.

    Yuno turned to Morin and her daughter.

    ¡°You saved me and my daughter, and even gave us a home. How is that ¡®not doing much¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Mom¡¯s right. I¡¯m satisfied with how my life is right now. All thanks to you!¡±

    How about Anzu? Yuno hoped in the corner of her mind that Anzu, at the very least, would treat her normally, but knew that it would be to no avail.

    ¡°Yuno, you helped make my dreame true. I now have my own shop. I¡¯m sure I speak for everyone who came with when I say that we¡¯re d you helped us.¡±

    Yuno looked at thest guest. She didn¡¯t think she had done anything special for Noire.

    ¡°I- I am also happy I met you, Yuno. If I never met you, I¡¯d never have met Fina, nor the cute beans,¡± Noire stammered out. Her statement kind of didn¡¯t fit in with the rest, but it shared their sentiments.

    ¡°See, Yuno? You¡¯ve done so much for this town that nobody would dare step on your toes. If you so much as say that you don¡¯t want us to raise the emus, then we will immediately scrap the n,¡± Mylene wrapped it up. Yuno marvelled at the situation. Before she knew it, she had be such an amazing person in their eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. More eggs would mean more egg dishes in town. And more egg dishes in town means more yummy stuff. I leave all the details to Termina.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, Yuno,¡± Mylene thanked Yuno.

    In the end, they decided to have some of the children from the orphanage help the Retailer¡¯s Association with the emus, since they already had plenty of experience. Once the ball got rolling, there would be enough eggs for all of the shops to make egg dishes.

    The rest of the feast continued on uneventfully, and eventually, all the guests returned home.

 Chapter 241 â€“ Bear-san Draws Volume Three Of Her Picture Book

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    I finished writing early, so I submitted this chapter in advance.

    Maybe that¡¯s a good thing, considering the amount of hours I worked on it?

    Just a few days after I returned to Crimonia, Ruimin gave me a call.

    ¡ºI¡¯m d I was able to reach you, Yuna-san.¡»

    Ruimin sounded very relieved when I picked up. She had been concerned about not being able to contact me over such a long distance, so she wanted to try calling me even though it wasn¡¯t an emergency.

    I asked her how the vige was, and she told me that ever since we had left, everything was peaceful and not a single monster had passed through the barrier. They had also decided to take turns checking on the Sacred Tree once every ten days, and that n included Luca, too. Ruimin told me that when he first went through the rocky mountain to the Sacred Tree was, he was more astonished by my Bear House rather than the tree itself. Well, pretty much anyone would most likely be surprised to see the Bear House after exiting the cave leading to a mountain valley.

    ¡ºAlso, when we told him that you were going toe visit us from time to time he sounded really happy.¡»

    Rather than me, wasn¡¯t he more interested in my Bears? While that was better than him disliking me, is still made me feel a bit sad inside.

    After chatting a bit about the happenings in the vige, Ruimin promised that she would contact me when there were more Sacred Tree tea leaves avable. Of course, I told her she could call me to chat with me about other things as well.

    After ending the phone call, I rxed at home for a while. I had promised Fina and Shuri that I would be drawing a new picture book today, so I invited them over.

    Since I was using them as models for the story, I wanted them to check over the contents as I drew the book, especially since I would be using Shuri as a character for the first time. I didn¡¯t want to write something they didn¡¯t approve of and also wanted to ask their opinions. It would have been stupid if I worked on it alone and ended up writing something they didn¡¯t like, after all.

    I drank some tea as I waited, and just as I finished the cup the sisters arrived.

    ¡¸Are you really going to draw it?¡¹

    Fina asked as soon as she entered the house.

    ¡¸Princess Flora is waiting for the new volume; I kind of made her a promise I would get to it soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, you¡¯re going to draw me too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m nning on for this volume.¡¹

    While Fina seemed rather reluctant, Shuri looked forward to it very much.

    First, I made a rough sketch of what Shuri¡¯s character would look like. I would be troubled if Shuri said it didn¡¯t look like her at all after Ipleted the volume. Then, I decided to discuss what I would put into the picture book with Fina.

    ¡¸I was thinking of having the three of you go to the neighboring town. What do you think?¡¹

    ¡¸Three of us?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I also n on including Terumi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never been to the neighboring town, though.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like what I¡¯m drawing has to be true. Picture books can also include made up stories.¡¹

    Picture Book, Volume 3: Bear-san and the Girls

    The girl¡¯s motherpletely recovered from her illness and was now living a very happy life.

    Running around the house, there was the girl¡¯s energetic, younger sister. (A cartoon drawing of a girl that looked like Shuri).

    The little sister said she wanted to meet Bear-san, so the girl took her to the forest.

    They arrived at the entrance of the forest and called for Bear-san, which answered their calls and exited the forest.

    Little sister was not scared at all and happily ran up to Bear-san.

    The girl introduced the little sister, and Bear-san let the girl and the little sister ride on it, ying with her to their heart¡¯s content.

    However, after a few joyful days, the girl¡¯s family decided to move to the neighboring town where the mother¡¯s friend lived, so they could find work.

    The girl cried as she bid her farewell to Bear-san, which gently patted her girl on the head.

    The girl¡¯s family left on a carriage to the neighboring town, and Bear-san waved its hand from afar to say goodbye.

    The girl choked back her tears while the carriage crested over a hill, leaving Bear-san behind.

    The girl knew she had to do this to survive, so she tried her best to endure, not showing her sadness to others in the carriage, especially since it wasn¡¯t just her family traveling but also some other people.

    The carriage continued its trip towards the neighboring town; they moved further and further away from the forest Bear-san lived in, but they couldn¡¯t return.

    The girl slowly started to brood, and then, the carriage suddenly stopped.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    The other people riding in the carriage began to panic.

    ¡¸Monsters!¡¹

    An old man yelled out.

    The mother embraced the girl and the little sister, while a few other people got off the carriage to run away.

    ¡¸Run away, everybody! You¡¯ll get killed if you stay here!¡¹

    The old man yelled at those who stayed.

    More and more people escaped from the carriage, but when the girl¡¯s family tried to leave, they were shoved back by others as they escaped.

    Only the girl¡¯s family remained inside the carriage.

    ¡¸Mother.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    The girl¡¯s mother held her two daughters tightly, her hands shaking in fear.

    They could hear voices shouting outside, as well as the howling of the monsters. There was no way the girl¡¯s family could escape now.

    The carriage began shaking; something was hitting the carriage from the outside.

    Just as they lost all hope, everything went silent.

    The girl¡¯s family were terrified to look outside.

    ¡¸Kuuun.¡¹

    A voice came from outside the carriage.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    The girl let go of her mother¡¯s hand and jumped out the carriage, where Bear-san was waiting for her.

    The girl, with tears in her eyes, ran to Bear-san and hugged it.

    The mother and little sister were worried about the girl and climbed down from the carriage as well.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine, Bear-san saved us.¡¹

    The monsters were all defeated.

    There was nobody else around, and they didn¡¯t know what happened.

    The horses were all gone and the carriage was a mess, but they could not walk all the way to the town.

    ¡¸Kuuun!¡¹

    At Bear-san¡¯s loud cry, a ck Bear-san and white Bear-san appeared from afar.

    The mother and little sister were a bit startled, but the girl was not; she knew that Bear-san had called them.

    Bear-san, ck Bear-san, and White Bear-sanid down and offered the girl¡¯s family their back.

    ¡¸Mother, Bear-san is letting us ride on them so we can get to the neighboring town.¡¹

    The girl said to her mother, and while the girl¡¯s mother had been cautious of the Bears in the beginning, she now trusted them and climbed on one of the Bear¡¯s back.

    The girl¡¯s family rode the Bear-sans towards to the neighboring town, only getting off when they were nearby.

    ¡¸Thank you, Bear-sans.¡¹

    The girl said her thanks while her little sister refused to let go of White Bear-san; she didn¡¯t want to part from them. Of course, the girl didn¡¯t want to separate, either, but there was no other choice.

    ¡¸Bear-sans are too big, so they can¡¯t go into the town.¡¹

    The mother tried to pull the little sister away, but she clung onto White Bear-san¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸If only Bear-sans could be smaller...¡¹

    When the little girl said that, all the Bear-sans cried out and began to shrink.

    They kept getting smaller and smaller, until they became so tiny they could all fit in the girl¡¯s palm.

    Now the girl¡¯s family could carry Bear-sans into the town without having them noticed; they ced Bear-sans into their pockets and headed straight to the town¡¯s gate.

    The girl¡¯s family exined to the guards that they were attacked by monsters and then went straight to the home of the mother¡¯s friend.

    A man greeted them happily, delighted to meet his old friend, and invited them to stay with him for as long as they want.

    In no time, the girl and mother found jobs, and proceeded to live their lives in happiness.

    All was well that ended well.

    Jumping back to the beginning of the story, when the girl¡¯s little sister Shuri, appeared, I made sure to draw her in a cutish, cartoonish style.

    ¡¸A, so cute.¡¹

    Shuri was ecstatic to see herself drawn so cutely.

    ¡¸So, Father isn¡¯t in the same town as us?¡¹

    ¡¸Well I wanted to base this story on the trip Fina and I took to the capital. Since I couldn¡¯t find a good reason for the family just to travel there, I decided to put Gentz-san in a neighbouring town to make things simpler.¡¹

    ¡¸That means we will only meet Father once we reach the other town, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but don¡¯t forget, at this point, he is still only the mother¡¯s friend.¡¹

    Once I got to the point where I drew the scene of the girl bidding farewell to Bear-san, Shuri looked very sad.

    ¡¸Are they really leaving Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, Bear-san wille back at ater point in the story.¡¹

    Continuing on, I drew the page where they got on the carriage and were about to embark to the neighboring town.

    ¡¸I thought for sure that Bear-san was going to appear and offer them a ride.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t the right time yet, though.

    ¡¸They just parted from each other. Also, I don¡¯t think the mother would want to ride on Bear-san when they haven¡¯t actually met before.¡¹

    Next scene where they got attacked by the monsters was based on when Misa¡¯s carriage had been attacked on its way to the capital.

    I made sure to make everybody else run away, leaving only the girl¡¯s family behind.

    To make it more dramatic, I drew the carriage shaking, and monster soundsing from outside. Finally, it was time to have a gant figure dash over ande to the rescue. It was Bear-san, of course.

    Bear-san quickly disposed of all the monsters and saved the girl¡¯s family form the impending doom.

    ¡¸I¡¯m so very d Bear-san came.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san is so strong.¡¹

    The carriage was left damaged and couldn¡¯t be used anymore, but Bear-san couldn¡¯t carry three people all by itself. Therefore, Bear-san called its friends over.

    I worked hard to draw ck Bear-san and White Bear-san cutely.

    ¡¸These are Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, right?¡¹

    ¡¸So cute!¡¹

    Fina and Shuri were delighted when new Bear-sans made their appearance.

    ¡¸Shuri, who do you want to ride on?¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Shuri answered immediately.

    ¡¸Why Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear is white and pretty.¡¹

    She was right, Hugging Bear white fur was indeed beautiful.

    That didn¡¯t mean Swaying Bear¡¯s fur was ugly or anything, it was just a different kind of nice.

    ¡¸Okay, then the little sister will ride on White Bear-san.¡¹

    I then had the girl ride on the main Bear-san while the mother rode on ck Bear-san.

    As I moved on to drawing the three of them continuing their journey to the neighboring town, Shuri suddenly perked up with an interesting question.

    ¡¸Are the people who ran away okay?¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about people who just save themselves and leave behind women and children. Still, I didn¡¯t draw any corpses, so I will just leave it up to the reader¡¯s interpretation.¡¹

    A great thing about picture books was their ability to spark the readers¡¯ imagination and let them interpret things in their own, subjective way.

    In this case, I thought it would be best to let the parents who read the book to their children answer the question in case the children brought it up. For the sake of the way the parents raised their children, they should decide if they would exin it as people safely getting away or to have them be killed by the monsters. How they answered such a question could leave asting impression on their children, after all.

    Well, at least, that was how I exined it to Shuri. Truthfully, I just didn¡¯t want to draw corpses in a picture book. Also, if I left other people in this scene, they would kind of ruin the Bear-san¡¯s gant arrival. Sometimes, I just had to lie to people to hide my my real thoughts.

    The family safely arrived to the neighbouring town, but as the Bears couldn¡¯t enter the town, they had to part ways again. As they were about to say their farewells again, the little sister said that she didn¡¯t want to do it.

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, but this little sister in the picture book isn¡¯t really you, so she can be a bit more selfish.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸If I don¡¯t make her do that, then they will really have to part from the Bear-sans.¡¹

    It seemed like Shuri really didn¡¯t want her image in the book to appear selfish, so I was forced to to use the parting-from-Bears card.

    ¡¸Would you be okay if you had to live far, far away from Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I... I would be okay.¡¹

    I knew straight away that was aplete lie.

    Was she really that embarrassed to say something even slightly selfish?

    ¡¸Really? And here I was, thinking of giving this to you as a present.¡¹

    I said and took out a Hugging Bear plushie from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear!¡¹

    Shuri let out a big smile after seeing the Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want it?¡¹

    ¡¸I do!¡¹

    Shuri replied without hesitation.

    ¡¸I know you do. You looked like you really wanted one when you saw the children at the orphanage ying with them. I also have one for you too, Fina. I¡¯ll give you Swaying Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸We made them together, didn¡¯t we? Of course you should be allowed to keep a pair.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Fina said and embraced the Swaying Bear plushie with joy.

    ¡¸Shuri, now what would you do if I told you that you don¡¯t get your plushie? Would you just let me take it away?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want you to take it away...¡¹

    ¡¸Right? The girl in this picture book feels the same about her Hugging Bear.¡¹

    After I exined it like that, she was convinced.

    With Shuri on board, I continued drawing. In order to get the Bears into the town without trouble, I transformed them into palm-sized Bears.

    ¡¸They¡¯re even smaller than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms.¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯ll be able to stay together with the Bears from now on, right?¡¹

    Without any further interruptions, I managed to draw the family entering the town and meeting the man based on Genz-san. Once I drew the scene where the girl and the mother got jobs and the new family started their new life together, volume three of ¡®Bear-san and the Girl¡¯ was finallyplete.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, this was amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it was great. Wait, won¡¯t Noa-sama get mad at us?¡¹

    ¡¸Noa?¡¹

    Why did her namee up out of nowhere?

    ¡¸The story is based on our trip to the capital, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, loosely based. We changed many things.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what happens when Noa-sama finds out she doesn¡¯t appear on her own trip?¡¹

    She did have a point...

    ¡¸Eh, it should be fine. Fina, you were embarrassed and didn¡¯t like that you were put in the story, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sure that Noa would be embarrassed, too. Also, I don¡¯t think she knows that this story is based on us, and I¡¯m pretty sure she won¡¯t get to see this picture book, either.¡¹

    Noa shouldn¡¯t know anything about the picture books, so she shouldn¡¯t find out about this one, either.

    At the capital, only a handful of people owned one, and in Crimonia, only the orphanage had the books. The chances for Noa to see these books was be very small.

    ¡¸If she doesn¡¯t see it, it would be fine, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, you worry too much.¡¹

    I tried to reassure andughed.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Noa didn¡¯t get her chance to appear in this volume. w

    It¡¯s a bitte now, but I never got to write volume 2 of the picture book, did I?

 Chapter 242 â€“ Bear-san Rushes to the Capital

    Finished with drawing the third volume of the picture book, the next step should clearly be bringing it to Princess Flora. I drew the picture book for her, so it would be dumb to not end up giving it to her as soon as I was done with the next volume.

    It had also been a while since Ist saw Princess Flora, so she might have started to feel sad from not meeting me for so long. Still, should I maybe give the new volume to Eleanora-san first? She would probably want to print copies before I handed it to Princess Flora. If I passed it directly to the princess, Eleanora-san most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to get her hands on it for a while.

    Well, I could just discuss this with Eleanora-san once I got to the capital.

    As I started to prepare for my trip to the capital, arge birdnded by my window.

    Why on earth would a falcon appear all of a sudden?!

    Only after looking at it more closely did I realize it was actually Sanya-san¡¯s bird summon. Its name was Forg, right?

    I opened the window, and Forg flew straight into the room,nding on the back of a chair.

    If Sanya-san sent Forg over, maybe something happened over at the capital?

    I noticed that there was a letter tied to Forg¡¯s leg, so I carefully got it off .

    Sanya-san might be watching through its eyes, after all.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I said after I was done, and it cried out ¡¸Kuee!¡¹before flying off.

    I waved it goodbye and closed the window before unfurling the the letter to read its contents.

    ¡ºYuna-chan, a strange shop opened up in the capital. Do you know anything about it perchance?¡»

    Just because a weird shop had popped up, why did she immediately assume that I was involved with it?

    The only building I had constructed in the capital was my Bear House, and since the Bear House wasn¡¯t a shop, Sanya-san must be mistaken, right?

    The next sentence soon made things clear.

    ¡ºThere¡¯s giant bear statues in the front, and the store sign even says: ¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Restaurant¡¹.¡»

    I immediately connected all the dots together:

    ¡¸A strange shop¡¹,¡¸bear statues¡¹, and¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Rxation Restaurant¡¹.

    Now I understood why Eleanora-san and Zelef-san had came here to look at my shop at such a time.

    This store should clearly be the newly opened branch of my store in the Capital, which was to be built simply because they wanted to eat and share pudding. If perchance it wasn¡¯t the branch, then this would mean someone was infringing on my trademark. If that was the case, I would go and destroy it in the middle of the night when nobody was around to see me.

    ¡ºI was curious about it, so I sent Forg to deliver this letter to verify it with you. If it has nothing to do with you, then you can simply ignore the message.¡»

    I didn¡¯t waste time and just set the letter down on my table before using the Bear Gate to go directly to the Capital. I practically ran out of the Bear House and hurried straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    I hadn¡¯t asked Eleanora-san where she was nning on building the shop, so I didn¡¯t know where to find it. At this moment, I regretted not asking her earlier.

    Still, Sanya-san had seen this shop, so she should be able to tell me.

    I barged into the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in such a rush that everybody inside turned to look at me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the bear.¡¹¡¸The bear¡¯s here.¡¹¡¸Don¡¯t look her in the eye.¡¹¡¸A cute bear came in.¡¹¡¸Is that the rumored bear?¡¹¡¸Don¡¯t say anything else; you don¡¯t want to get involved with her.¡¹¡¸She really is dressed like a bear, huh.¡¹

    All sorts of conversations about me began swirling around, but I ignored them all and went straight to the receptionist.

    ¡¸How can I help you today?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to meet with Sanya-san. Would that be possible?¡¹

    ¡¸With the guild master? Do you have an appointment?¡¹

    ¡¸No, but please tell her that Yuna is here to see her. That should be enough.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will go speak with the guild master now, so please wait just a moment.¡¹

    The receptionistdy stood up from her desk and entered the back area for guild personnel.

    It seemed like Sanya-san was inside the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. She owed me a favor and had also sent me a letter like that. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t be willing to meet with me.

    However, contrary to my belief, when the receptionistdy came back, she was alone. Maybe Sanya-san was actually busy right now?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, the guild master will meet you in her office. Please head down to her room.¡¹

    I worried for nothing, huh. I thanked the receptionist and headed to the back, where guild master¡¯s room was. Oh, we passed by a ¡°Authorized Personnel Only¡± sign. That made sense if you think about it. After knocking and receiving a reply, I entered the room. Sanya-san was sitting by her desk next to the window, actually working for once.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how¡¯ve you been?¡¹

    Sanya-san wore a rather tired expression as gestured me to sit down.

    ¡¸You look kind of tired.¡¹

    ¡¸A lot of work had piled up while I was gone, so...¡¹

    She said, pointing at the mountain of paper stacked on her desk.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you leave everything to the assistant guild master?¡¹

    ¡¸I left him with regr duties, but I¡¯m the only one who can give the final approval on important matters.¡¹

    Being a guild master sure was tough.

    When I hade home from the Elf Vige, I was able to cook a meal for my friends and pass the time leisurely, even drawing a picture book. On the other hand, Sanya-san looked like she had been working long hours everyday trying to get back on track with her work.

    It sure was hard to be an adult.

    ¡¸Anyways, you sure got here quickly. I just sent the letter not that long ago, so you must have rushed here straight away.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, of course I woulde running over after reading something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸So, is the shop rted to you, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I came here to confirm it, actually. Does the shop really have giant bear statues?¡¹

    Based on what Sanya-san had written in the letter, she had seen it while taking a break from work.

    ¡¸I only briefly looked at them, but theugher it caused sure helped bring my fatigue away.¡¹

    ¡¸Youughed at them...¡¹

    Why would sheugh at bear sculptures? Was it the same reason she smiled at me whenever she saw me? At this point, did she just think that anything with a bear on it was rted to me?!

    I tightened my fist inside my Bear Hand in a menacing way and looked at Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Wa-wait, I¡¯m just kidding. Yuna-chan, please don¡¯t make such a scary face.¡¹

    Sanya-san panicked a bit, quickly making an excuse for herself.

    It seemed like my menacing expression actually worked.

    ¡¸So, why did youugh, then?¡¹

    ¡¸I onlyughed for a bit.¡¹

    So, she still didn¡¯t deny she hadughed.

    ¡¸Anyway, I was curious about the statues, so I went to take a closer look. It was then I noticed the sign above the entrance than said,¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Rxation Restaurant¡¹, and I realized it might be a new ce you opened, so I ended up writing a letter to you. Is it your shop or not?¡¹

    I proceeded to exin to her that it most likely was the the shop that His Majesty and Eleanora-san were nning to open to serve and eat my dishes, especially the pudding.

    ¡¸Ehh, you¡¯re opening a shop that will serve pudding? That sounds nice.¡¹

    Sanya-san ears immediately perked up when I mentioned pudding.

    ¡¸Still, I do wonder why they decided to use those kinds of bear statues for the store. The sign is also shaped like a bear. Maybe they just thought it was a good idea to put them up?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, maybe...¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? What did you say just now? I couldn¡¯t really hear you.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s most likely because my shop in Crimonia also has simr bear statues. Eleanora-san must have gotten the idea from them.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, your shop has those things, too?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to talk it about the reasoning behind it too much, so I gave a simple exnation about my shop in Crimonia. I also told her about how Eleanora-san and Zelef-san visited it while we had been away at the Elf Vige.

    ¡¸They must have decided to copy the style after visiting Crimonia.¡¹

    ¡¸That makes sense: they do seem like the type of people who would do such a thing. But your shop really has bear statues, huh?¡¹

    I could see a grin appear on Sanya-san¡¯s face as she reached for her bracelet and summoned Forg.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I just have to see what your shop looks like.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that bird mmable perchance?¡¹

    I said and created a fireball with my Bear-san Puppet.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just joking. Please don¡¯t use magic in my office.¡¹

    ¥Õ¥©¥ë¥°¤òËÍß€¤µ¤»¤ë¡£±¾µ±¤ËÆ£¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤Î¤«¤Ê¡£ÔªšÝ¤ËÒŠ¤¨¤ë¤ó¤À¤±¤É¡£

    She unsummoned Forg. Maybe she¡¯s really tired, although she looks like she¡¯s doing well.

    ¤ï¤¿¤·¤ÏÑ×¤òÏû¤¹¡£

    I extinguished the mes.

    She said and unsummoned Forg. I guess she really was tired. But where did that energy to tease mee from?

    I extinguished my mes as well as the danger had passed.

    ¡¸I should have taken a look when I sent you the letter...¡¹

    She sounded a bit disappointed.

    Even if I refused it now, I was sure she would still send Forg over to look. Well, it wasn¡¯t particrly troubling if she looked at the shop. It was just that she would definitelyment on something the next time we met.

    Wait, she just summoned Forg now even though I had received the letter from it only moments ago in Crimonia.

    Could it be that she could summon her bird from a huge distance? What about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear? Could I do the same with them, too? I had never tried it from a distance before. Since I had never ended up in a situation where I had to, I hadn¡¯t even considered such an option.

    ¡¸Did you check up on me when I received the letter?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t. I just ordered Ford to return as soon as it was safely in your hands.¡¹

    So she could do something like that, huh. If I gave my Bears such an order, would it work as well?

    ¡¸And what were you going to do if I wasn¡¯t home or didn¡¯t notice it?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, I would have looked for you through Forg¡¯s eyes. And, if I still couldn¡¯t get to you, I would just let Forg return home. The letter wasn¡¯t that important, anyway.¡¹

    The contents of the letter were a big deal to me, though.

    Regardless of who the owner was, be it Eleanora-san or some other random stranger, having a shop showing off bear sculptures was already a big problem on its own.

    ¡¸So, where¡¯s this shop?¡¹

    ¡¸In the central district.¡¹

    Sanya-san pulled out a map of the capital and pointed out the spot.

    ¡¸I woulde along, but I still have a lot of work to do.¡¹

    Sanya-san said, sighing as she looked over to her mountain of paperwork again.

    ¡¸Umm... Good luck with that.¡¹

    I could only give her a simple reply.

    ¡¸Thanks. You did bring us back here a couple of days earlier than I expected, so you actually helped me a lot. If I had returnedter than nned... Just thinking about it scares me.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell anybody about it, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t. Also, I¡¯ll treat you to a meal when I have time to thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, make sure you treat me to a high-ss meal.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I will.¡¹

    I thanked Sanya-san for the information and headed straight for the shop with the bear statues.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, Chekov¡¯s gun has been fired. lol

 Chapter 243 â€“ Bear-san Interrogates Eleanora-san

    .It didn¡¯t take long for me to find the shop

    I just walked the wide road towards the central district, like Sanya-san had told me to, and in no time I came up to a certainrge building. In front, there were two Bear statues, which I simply gazed at for a while. They wereparable in size with my own Bears, but what caught my eye the most were the things they were holding. One of them held arge spoon, while the other, arge fork.

    They didn¡¯t really look like actual bears but rather had cartoonish features which made them appear quite friendly instead of scary. Their faces looked very cute as well.

    The people who were strolling past the storefront all smiled when they saw the bears. For some reason, I also felt like they were ncing back and forth between the statues and me.

    ¡¸My, is that Bear mascot from the shop?¡¹¡¸It¡¯s a Bear!¡¹¡¸Are they doing an event?¡¹

    People were mistakenly thinking that I was involved with this shop because of my outfit. I couldn¡¯t really deny it yet, so I held it in.

    Looking above the entrance, I noticed that the sign indeed read¡¸Bear-san¡¯s Rxation Restaurant¡¹, just like Sanya-san had said it would. The name of the shop was very simr to mine and there was even a Bear-san drawn beside the name.

    With both the shop¡¯s name and the Bear statues sitting at the front should be enough to point out that the culprit behind this was Eleanora-san. I immediately started to n my storming inside to question her, but managed to stop myself. I didn¡¯t even know if she was actually inside or not, and I also couldn¡¯t just barge in without any warning. While I was 99% positive that Eleanora-san was indeed responsible for this, there was a slight chance that this shop belonged to aplete stranger. I should be certain before I did something so unreasonable as barging in into a stranger owned shop. Best to first head to the castle where Eleanora-san was most likely to be and go on from there.

    Just as I began making my way towards the castle, I spotted my target walking towards me.

    ¡¸Oh my, Yuna-chan? What are you doing here?¡¹

    Eleanora-san smiled as she walked over.

    What a perfect timing; my opponent came straight to me when I most needed her.

    ¡¸What I am doing here? That¡¯s not the question to be asking right now. Eleanora-san, what is this?!¡¹

    I pointed at the shop behind me with my Bear Hand.

    ¡¸What do you mean? This is your shop in the capital, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not what I meant. Why are there bear statues in front of it?!¡¹

    I again pointed, this time at the two statues at the entrance.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because this is your shop, Yuna-chan. It makes sense for them to be there¡¹

    ¡¸Since when did it be my shop?! All I did was teach you the recipes.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t hear anything about how it would be be designed to look like my store in Crimonia.

    ¡¸Oh, right... Well, it started when His Majesty was like, ¡¸How is Yuna¡¯s shop going?¡¹, and then Zelef responded ¡¸Yuna-dono¡¯s shop is going well,¡¹and Her Highness also chimed in saying ¡¸I look forward to seeing her shop here when it opens,¡¹so somehow, through that conversation, it became your shop.¡¹

    She exined what had happened with a serious expression on her face, which showed she clearly wasn¡¯t joking.

    Just because we hadn¡¯t decided on the shop¡¯s name before didn¡¯t mean I wanted for it to end up bing my shop...

    ¡¸Then, we simply continued with with the flow and went to inspect your store to make it look more like yours.¡¹

    How was I supposed to even argue with such logic? So that had been the reason they visited my shop in Crimonia? And nobody had objected to that idea, thinking there was something wrong with it without even asking me? Did all of them simplyckmon sense?

    ¡¸Well, in my case, I also wanted to use the chance to visit my home. Then, Zelef said that he also wanted toe along, so we went together. His Majesty actually wanted to go, too, but obviously we couldn¡¯t allow that to happen.¡¹

    Just what had His Majesty been thinking....

    Even simply imagining the king showing up at my shop was a frightening prospect. Even if he were to disguise himself, people like Fina, who knew what he looked like, would probably pass out from the shock when he came to Crimonia. I could also easily clearly imagine him talking to Fina in a very carefree, casual manner, which would make things even worse for her.

    I had to thank Eleanora-san for stopping His Majesty in this case.

    ¡¸Also, I wanted to see you look surprised at me dropping by so suddenly.¡¹

    Eleanora-san revealed her true intentions with a disappointed expression, which made any appreciation I had for her previously vanishpletely.

    ¡¸Only when we saw your shop sign, we realized that we still didn¡¯t decide on a name for the shop. So, I thought it would be best to use yours as a reference.¡¹

    ¡¸Was there seriously nobody against that idea? Having ¡®bear¡¯ in the name, I mean?¡¹

    ¡¸Nobody did, really. Zelef simplymented¡¸It¡¯s a fine name,¡¹and His Majesty followed up with ¡¸I don¡¯t mind it,¡¹after we returned, so we just went with it.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    Somebody should really have said something, though. The shop¡¯s name had ¡®bear¡¯ in it. This shop was being run by the country, so wasn¡¯t that just in weird?

    ¡¸Still, since the country is managing the shop, shouldn¡¯t you be calling it something like ¡¸The National Restaurant,¡¹¡¸The Royal Pce Restaurant,¡¹or ¡¸The Restaurant of the Purveyor to His Royal Majesty¡¹?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really understand thest one, but as we¡¯re not trying to make it difficult for people to enter, we decided against such names.¡¹

    ¡¸So you¡¯re saying that having ¡®bear¡¯ in the name will make it easier for people to enter?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not what I meant, but the name will surely be popr amongst the citizens, prompting more people toe in.¡¹

    This was the first time I heard of word ¡®bear¡¯ being popr among the general poption. Bears were dangerous and terrifying; they could attacked people on sight, so it was best to avoid them..

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were different, of course, but that was still what the regr bears were like.

    ¡¸We thought of the name shortly after we visited your shop. Even though bears are normally scary, the bears at your shop and in your picture books are not scary at all. They¡¯re actually quite cute. It¡¯s all in the way you portray them.¡¹

    She had a point there...

    Heck, anything scary made into a cartoonish version would most likely look cute. Even terrible monsters like goblins, orcs, and dragons, appeared much more docile and adorable in cartoons.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re aiming for the poprity with the general citizens, does that mean anybody can eat here?¡¹

    Due to theck of eggs, most of the dishes should be pretty expensive, especially if they wanted to sell all of the egg dishes.

    ¡¸Just like with your shop, we wanted anyone to be able toe and eat here. Still, it will take some time before that happens, as our costs are quite high at the moment.¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t much that could be done about that. There just weren¡¯t enough eggs avable on the market. Unlike my shop, which had the orphanage¡¯s cluckers supporting it, they had no choice but to purchase them at a high price.

    ¡¸When we manage to increase the supply of eggs, we should be able to lower the costs and in turn have prices more suited for the general poption.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, with the starting prices so high, will any customers evene?¡¹

    If nobody could afford to taste it, then it didn¡¯t matter how delicious the food was. Cooking was made for people to eat it, after all.

    ¡¸News about this ce selling pudding have already spread amongst the nobles. Thanks to that, there have been many inquiries about the shop before we even opened, so you don¡¯t have to worry about us not having any customers.¡¹

    It sounded like the shop had already began advertising itself to some degree.

    Getting the word out there was just as important as the recipes, after all. No matter how good the recipe was, if nobody knew where they could taste it, nobody could eat it.

    ¡¸We¡¯ve also been sprinkling around some rumors about how delicious your cakes are, so the shop is already beginning to establish itself a reputation.¡¹

    It looked like I didn¡¯t have to worry about them not having any customers. With nobles and other rich people visiting, there should be no way for the shop to close down before it even really started to get up and running.

    ¡¸Anyway, we n on making money off of the rich clientele first and then reinvest the profits into egg production. With the current prices, the people will be basically funding our business out of good will.¡¹

    While she said good will, the way she said it sounded more like the words of a scheming merchant...

    ¡¸Still, if the country is managing the shop, then money shouldn¡¯t be an issue, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that simple. We were given a limited budget, after all. And, with it, we had to purchase a building at a good location, secure a starting supply of eggs, and train a number chefs. All of that cost quite a lot of money and more or less burned the budget.¡¹

    When she put it that way, it did indeed seem a bit less simple. Making those Bear sculptures must have cost them a lot as well.

    ¡¸You must have had it hard, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, getting everything to fit the budget wasn¡¯t simple. That¡¯s why we n on getting money as we go and use it to improve the business, which will in turn slowly help us lower the prices.¡¹

    Was that really how business worked?

    In my case, I simply used my money to buy the shop, and then, with the help of my magic, gather cluckers and created pen houses for them. As for everything else, I just left it all to Terumi-san to deal with.

    Without money and magic, I would have been unable to open my shop.

    Maybe I had to thank God for this one, even though it was all due to my Bear Outfit, which he could have made a bit less embarrassing.

    ¡¸Okay, with this, the name makes more sense, but what about the Bear statues in front?¡¹

    Iined and pointed at the cartoonish Bears statues.

    Just because the shop name had a bear in it didn¡¯t mean they had to go all in on the Bear theme and even make the statues like I had done.

    ¡¸With the name of¡¸Bear¡¯s Rxation Restaurant,¡¹I thought it was obvious we also needed to add in the bears.¡¹

    What was with that logic? Was she stupid or something? Wouldn¡¯t the sign be more than enough? Did she really have to include the statues?

    ¡¸And I must say, the Bear-san statues came out nicely, didn¡¯t they?¡¹

    I had to admit, they were indeed nicely done. Someone with skill had clearly made them. The spoon and fork very well indicated that the store was a ce to eat at, and other differences between the statues were also a of nice touch.

    ¡¸It was hard exining what we wanted to the sculptor, though. He didn¡¯t really understand what I was asking for at first, and I was almost considering kidnapping him then dragging him to Crimonia... Almost.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m amazed you even managed to exin something like this.¡¹

    I was pretty sure nobody in this world had ever made a cartoonish Bear sculpture, so these were very well made considering the sculptor only got to follow Eleanora-san¡¯s instructions.

    ¡¸Well, showing him the picture books did the trick in the end.¡¹

    ¡¸You showed those to him?!¡¹

    ¡¸Just so that he could use them as reference. Also, I only showed him the Bear-san on the front cover. It¡¯s so difficult to just exin what your bears look like to someone who¡¯s never seen them, ya know?¡¹

    Was it really ok for someone of her age and status to use ¡°ya know¡±?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you look like you want to retort to that?¡¹

    I shook my head. In the end, it made sense for the sculptor to only make the statues after using something like my picture book as a reference.

    I looked closer at the Bear statues again. Compared to the Bear on the picture book¡¯s cover, they looked a bit different, but they did have all the important features down.

    ¡¸Anyway, there¡¯s not much point just standing here, let¡¯s go inside, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    She invited me inside the shop as I inspected the Bear statues.

    ¡¸You sure?¡¹

    Personally, I just wanted to get away from here.

    Since a while ago, I felt people staring at us, probably because the statues matched the design of my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Well, both the exterior and interior designs are alreadyplete, so feel free to enter.¡¹

    We walked past a sign indicating that the shop would open soon and entered.

    The building itself was quite spectacr already, but the inside truly gave off the atmosphere of a high ss restaurant.

    Except for a certain part: there was another Bear statue inside, and it wasn¡¯t like the small Bears I had sitting on the dining tables at my shop. There was anotherrge Bear statue sitting right in the middle of the restaurant. It had made quite the impact on me right when I entered.

    I looked around if there were any more, but luckily, it was just this one. It held both a fork and a spoon, which matched the ones outside quite well.

    ¡¸Referencing your shop, we decided to put one inside as well.¡¹

    Yes, I had decorated my interior with some Bear statues as well, but their size waspletely different.

    ¡¸As for why we just made one big statue: we¡¯ve heard that because the bears at your store are small, some customers end up wanting to take them home with them, so it was a safer bet going with just one additionalrge one.¡¹

    The Bear statues had be a true symbol of my shop, huh? How embarrassing.

    And to think that this had only happened because Mylene-san and the others said they wanted the shop to be more Bear-like...

    ¡¸By the way, Eleanora-san, why did youe here?¡¹

    Since we entered, I presumed she must havee around for work.

    ¡¸I came for a final check of the shop. Well, mostly because Zelef invited me to taste-test the dishes. Care to join me?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. The one most suitable for approving our food would be you, after all.¡¹

    As I had nothing against it when she put it that way, I followed Eleanora-san to the kitchen. If she was here for the final check, did that mean the shop would be opening soon? If so, it would be difficult for me to get rid of the Bear statues. Then again, I didn¡¯t think anybody would agree with my suggestion to remove them, and I would also feel bad for the sculptor who put in all this hard work to make them. What a dilemma.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    The branch shop is about to open.

    Using rich people, it will slowly but surely get to the level of the main shop someday.

 Chapter 244 â€“ Bear-san Does Some Taste-Testing

    Eleanora-san led me to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. Inside, Zelef-san and a few other chefs were busying themselves with cooking.

    ¡¸.Zelef, we¡¯re here¡¹

    .When Eleanora-san called out to him, everyone turned to look at us

    ¡¸Eleanora-dono, we¡¯ve been waiting for you. Oh, Yuna-dono is with you as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I just happened to run into her outside the restaurant. I would like Yuna-chan to help with the taste-testing; would that be okay?¡¹

    While it had indeed been by chance that we ran into each other at the front of the restaurant, it wasn¡¯t really a coincidence that I was here. Well, I couldn¡¯t really tell them that I rushed here because I heard about a Bear-themed shop in the capital from Sanya-san.

    ¡¸Of course. If Yuna-dono, who invented the recipes, taste-test our dishes, it would be of great help to us.¡¹

    ¡¸.Well, I¡¯m not really a taste-testing expert, but I will do my best¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t like the expert taste-testers on the TV or manga who could judge food professionally. I was just an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl with a basic taste and food knowledge.

    ¡¸Simply saying it¡¯s good or bad will be more than enough. If something doesn¡¯t taste right to you, please let us know, so we can fix it.¡¹

    .If that was all I had to do, it should be fine

    ¡¸Well then, let me introduce to you our chefs first. The three of them will be working at our restaurant and delivering your recipes to the people of the capital.¡¹

    Zelef-san gestured his apprentices forward, and the three of them immediately lined up beside him. Taking a good first look at them, I noticed that there were two guys and a girl, which surprised me.

    The guys looked like they were in their early twenties, but she appeared to be younger, most likely about eighteen years old.

    Also, was it just me, or was the girl looking at me rather respectfully? Nah, it must be just my imagination. It would be arrogant of me to think that someone older than me would look up to me.

    ¡¸These three have both high social status and good culinary skills, so I assure you they won¡¯t leak your recipes to anyone and guarantee that they will not disgrace your store¡¯s reputation in any way with bad behaviour or cooking.¡¹

    Was it okay to have such an excellent staff run a restaurant like this

    It was just a Bear shop with cute Bears standing outside of the entrance. Were the three of them really fine working at such a ce? I wanted to ask them that but held it in.

    ¡¸.Everyone, please introduce yourselves to Yuna-dono¡¹

    The two guys, as they introduced themselves, kept ncing at my outfit. Still, knowing that they had been chosen by Zelef-san to work here, their stares didn¡¯t feel ufortable like they did with others; they were most likely just using it as a reference for the restaurant, especially since from what Zelef-san had told me just earlier, they would take up the roles of the Head Chef and Assistant Head chefs in this restaurant.

    Once the solemn introductions of the two wereplete, the girl rushed to me with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸My name is Sha. I have the least skill of the three, but I am the most energetic. I really didn¡¯t think I would get to meet with Bear-san today. I am deeply moved to be able to meet you!¡¹

    She happily introduced herself while grabbing onto my Bear Hand.

    ¡¯Wait, ¡®Bear-san

    ¡¸.Umm, my name is Yuna. Nice to meet you, too¡¹

    .I emphasized my name to her

    ¡¸!Bear-san, please take care of us¡¹

    Was the ¡®Bear-san¡¯ on purpose? She was doing it on purpose, wasn¡¯t she

    I even made sure to articte my name, but shepletely ignored it. Looking at her innocent smile, it didn¡¯t seem like she was doing it to spite me, but... She wasn¡¯t trying to secretly ridicule me, was she?

    ¡¸Come on, Sha. Don¡¯t be rude towards Yuna-dono.¡¹

    Zelef-san said and lightly bonked Sha in the head.

    ¡¸.I¡¯m sorry, my dear uncle¡¹

    ¡¸?Uncle¡¹

    Did I hear that right? She called him my dear uncle, didn¡¯t she? Was there some kind of forbidden rtionship between them? Or, was I being simply too influenced by manga and novels?

    ¡¸Sha is my niece. She¡¯s good at cooking, but her personality can be a bit... troublesome.¡¹

    Zelef-san sighed as he exined.

    Oh, it turned out that was just her personality and he was her actual uncle.

    ¡¸My dear uncle, you¡¯re being mean to me.¡¹

    ¡¸I told you not to call me uncle here. How many times do I need to remind you of that?¡¹

    ¡¸.I¡¯m sorry, Head Chef¡¹

    Couldn¡¯t he tell her not to call me ¡¸Bear-san¡¹too...

    ¡¸Bear-san, I did my best to make this. Please try it.¡¹

    ¡¸?Umm, can you please call me by my name instead of Bear-san¡¹

    .At this rate, she was bound to keep calling me Bear-san

    I could excuse young children and elderly folk for calling me Bear-san and Young Bear Lady, but being called that by someone close to my age really felt like I was being ridiculed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re used to calling you the¡¸Cooking Bear¡¹between us.¡¹

    Sha seemed to realize only now and immediately bowed to apologize to me.

    Did that mean all the chefs here called me the Cooking Bear

    I also called other people by nicknames sometimes, like blondie for blonde haired girls and muscle uncle for muscr guys, so I couldn¡¯t really judge them. Not that I was particrly fine with being called Bear-san myself, though.

    ¡¸Well, that makes sense. His Majesty ordered the guards to let ¡®the Bear¡¯ into the castle as it wasn¡¯t dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and when Head Chef also said not to be surprised if we meet a girl dressed as a bear, we just grew to call you that.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and Sha helped exin as to how the nickname came to be somonly used.

    So, not only was my nickname widely spread throughout at the castle, but Eleanora-san also finally exined why I was never stopped when I came to meet with Princess Flora. Normally, if amoner (not to mention one wearing a Bear Suit) were to try and enter the castle, the guards would surely try to stop them and be suspicious of their motives. Instead, people simply bowed and stared at me when I came, letting me enter Princess Flora¡¯s room without even asking me my reason of visit.

    ¡¸His Majesty didn¡¯t want to cause you trouble when you came, and this was the simplest way to exin it to people.¡¹

    ...Eleanora-san further exined. So that was why

    Well, since that meant I could visit Princess Flora whenever I wanted, I couldn¡¯tin too much. It would have been a pain if I were stopped every time. Giving a rational response to things like¡¸Stop, you suspicious person!¡¹or ¡¸Why are you wearing such a suspicious outfit?¡¹ would be almost impossible.

    ¡¸Well then, Yuna-san, where did you learn all these recipes? Did you create them yourself? How could you possiblye up with all of these dishes? Also, why do you wear a bear costume?¡¹

    With the Bear-san issue out of the way, Sha immediately began to bombard me with questions. With each one, she also excitedly took a step towards me, so I had to keep backing away or I feared she would trample me.

    ¡¸...Sha¡¹

    Zelef-san warned and gave her head another bonk.

    ¡¸.Head Chef, that hurts¡¹

    ¡¸.Then calm yourself and I won¡¯t need to do it¡¹

    .Only then did Sha realize what she was doing and backed off

    ¡¸.Yuna-dono, I apologize. She just can¡¯t stay still, this one¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re being mean, Head Chef. I¡¯ve just been looking very forward to meeting Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸?Looking very forward¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re always bringing food to the Head Chef, right? I¡¯m jealous that only he gets to eat those dishes...¡¹

    She seemed to be implying that Zelef-san was being unfair.

    Every time I visited Princess Flora, I would pass a dish to Anju-san to give to him as an apology for ruining his meal preparations. I also sometimes asked him to try my new dishes, such as pudding, cake, and pizza. Not to mention all the different types of bread that Morin-san (and I) thought of.

    ¡¸.You¡¯ve been making those same dishes, though¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but Head Chef, you always say that the ones I make should taste better.¡¹

    ¡¸.Well, obviously. You had me eat those while you were still practicing¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯ve really wanted to talk to Yuna-san, anyway. We¡¯re both girls, and since she can make such delicious food...¡¹

    .Sha again shuffled closer to me with sparkling eyes

    .This girl was so enthusiastic that it was almost scary

    ¡¸Yes, but you must calm yourself or you will scare her away.¡¹

    Zelef-san said and bonked her head for the third time.

    ¡¸...Uuu, my head hurts¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, when you have time, please take some time off for Sha. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you to chat as you¡¯re both girls.¡¹

    For a shut-in like myself to deal with someone so energetic... it might be hard even though we were both girls.

    I would much rather talk to someone a little bit more reserved, but I couldn¡¯t really say something so selfish out loud, so I decided to just jump straight into the taste-testing, and ignore the request for now.

    On the table, there were several freshly baked cakes and breads lined up neatly. They must have timed it with Eleanora-san¡¯s arrival so that was why they had just been baked. Wasn¡¯t this a bit too much? On the other side of the room, I saw another table also neatly lined with cakes and bread. Did I have to try all of these? I was just a young girl, so I couldn¡¯t possibly eat all of it.

    ¡¸!Yuna-san, please taste this¡¹

    Oblivious of my conflicted feelings, Sha immediately served me a slice of cake.

    It was a simple strawberry shortcake. Even though I didn¡¯t know if I could finish them all, I humbly epted it.

    Eleanora-san and I taste-tested cake after cake, and slowly, my belly began to bulge. I usually liked eating cake, but I could only eat so much of it... Eating food was only enjoyable when done with moderation; cramming it all at once would bring all sorts of unpleasantries.

    ¡¸So, Yuna-san, what do you think of this cake? I thought of it myself...¡¹

    I tried a slice of the cake she offered me.

    ¡¸Mm, this mixture of sweet and sour is quite good.¡¹

    ¡¸!T-thank you very much¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, please try this as well.¡¹

    ¡¸!This too, please¡¹

    They all presented their dishes to me.

    Perhaps I made a mistake in taking part in this taste-testing... It was toote now to do anything about it, though, so I could only take my time putting each piece in my mouth, hoping I wouldn¡¯t burst.

    For each dish I stated ¡¸This is my inexperienced opinion, but I think that...¡¹and, without beating around the bush, presented them with my opinions, such as: this is delicious, the tastes don¡¯t match well, this is pretty good, it¡¯s too sweet, you skimped too much on the salt.

    The three of them busily jotted down everything I said, as if I really was some sort of food expert.

    ¡¸My, Yuna-chan, you¡¯re so popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop teasing me Eleanora-san, and help me eat.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m eating...¡¹

    Eleanora-san¡¯s te was empty, so she wasn¡¯t lying. It was very strange: both of us were always served at the same time, yet whether it was a cake or a piece of bread, she finished each one before me without any trouble. She must be the same as Mylene-san.... When they were eating something they liked, they could eat as much as they wanted, their stomachs were like bottomless wells.

    On the other hand, I was doing my best just trying to persevere.

    In conclusion, most of the dishes were delicious.

    While they had indeed prepared each dish based on my recipes, they also carefully and expertly added their personal take to it. The whipped cream decoration on the cakes was very skillfully applied as well.

    ¡¸We tried our best but couldn¡¯t draw the Bear-san on it as well as we hoped we could.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we apologize for that. If only we could see how your people in Crimonia do it...¡¹

    ¡¸It sounded like it was such a cute cake, so we had to try it, but the result...¡¹

    ¡¸?...¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what the three of them were talking about.

    Since when did the cakes from my shop have Bear-san decorations on top?

    ¡¸!?Yuna-san, could you please show us how it¡¯s done¡¹

    ¡¸?Umm, what exactly are you talking about¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama and Head Chef both told us how your store uses whipped cream to draw Bear-san on cakes. They also said those were very popr amongst the customers.¡¹

    ¡¸?...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I saw some children ordering it, and they looked really happy when they ate it.¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t know anything about such a cake.

    Was this Elena-san¡¯s doing? Where had she learned of it, though? It was very much like those ketchup drawings on omurice that could be found at maid cafes in my world, but I didn¡¯t recall ever telling her about it.

    .Actually, I did remember drawing one before

    While we had been making Misa¡¯s birthday cake, I was fooling around and drew a Bear-san on the cake, which Fina then took home to give to Shuri. Shuri couldn¡¯t have gone to Misa¡¯s birthday party, so I drew it for her, hoping that it would make her happy.

    Somehow, Elena-san must have heard about it and taught herself how to draw Bear-san on cakes? Well, it wasn¡¯t like I had intended to keep it a secret, so I didn¡¯t really have too much of a problem with it.

    ¡¸We also thought we could make children happy if we could serve something like that to them, so we tried our best, but the result is nowhere near what we wanted...¡¹

    ¡¸.I have no artistic talent myself, so I can¡¯t really teach them that¡¹

    .Zelef-san answered, slightly embarrassed

    .I looked over at Eleanora-san

    ¡¸If I could draw, I wouldn¡¯t have had to show the craftsman your picture book to have him make the sculptures.¡¹

    This restaurant had already unexpectedlymitted to the Bear-san theme, and now they even asked to draw the bears on cakes for them... It almost made me want to strangle myself.

    On the other hand, Sha was looking at me with such innocent, pleading eyes that it hurt my heart.

    If I showed them how to do it, it would feel like I was digging my grave, but if I didn¡¯t, I would be disappointing everyone who worked so hard for this shop...

    ¡¸?Does it really have to be a bear¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you nning to keep it as a special service for the children of Crimonia?¡¹

    ¡¸...Not because of that, but¡¹

    Just what had I gotten myself into... Well, it was all my fault, but still...

    ¡¸.Yuna-san, please teach us¡¹

    .Sha said while bowing deeply

    She kept her head down, while I was trying to find a way out, but the other chefs didn¡¯t offer me the chance and also bowed. Staying silent at this point was making me look like a huge bad guy.

    ¡¸.Please do it for the children¡¹

    ¡¸Alright...¡¹

    I sighed and began drawing a cute bear with whipped cream.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re really good at this.¡¹

    ¡¸!I see, that¡¯s how you do it. I must note this down¡¹

    Sha quickly took notes while I was drawing while the other chefs just watched me intently.

    It was just a drawing of a Bear, they didn¡¯t have to be so focused on the lines I drew.

    ¡¸.Thank you very much. I will go practice right away¡¹

    Sha said and started copying the bear I drew, prompting the other two to do the same.

    Did I end up making the wrong choice in the end

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Volume 3 pre-orders have already been opened at many different ces.

    For some reason, on Amazon¡¯s site, the web version has the front cover, but the hard copy doesn¡¯t. I¡¯m not sure why...

    Anyway, for this volume, I added four bonus short stories for the hard copy.

    I¡¯m still deciding which stories to give the bonus to, so this is more of a notice how it¡¯s been going rather than a full release notice. Please do wait patiently for that one.

 Chapter 245 â€“ Bear-san Gets Her Picture Book Examined

    We finished off the taste testing session with some pudding. It was very delicious and made more or less perfectly, so I had no problems with it at all. The fruit toppings also made it look quite luxurious. Hmm, ice cream would do well as a pudding topping too.

    ¡¸Yuna-dono, thank you for your help today.¡¹

    I honestly didn¡¯t know how much my critiques would help them. All I had done was give them my unprofessional opinion, after all.

    Also, since quite a few of their cakes were creative and surprising I had obtained many recipe ideas which I could share them with Elena-san to improve the cake menu at my shop.

    Not to mention all the breads I hadn¡¯t managed to eat: I could bring those to Morin-san to try out.

    ¡¸No problem; any time. Everything was very delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you! We are really happy to hear that.¡¹

    The three chefs looked delighted at my final verdict.

    I wasn¡¯t really some masterchef, so they shouldn¡¯t be that excited, though.

    Looking around, I noticed that there was a lot of leftover food as they had baked entire cakes but just the two of us ate them.

    I proceeded to ask them what they nned to do with the cakes, and they exined they were going to bring them to the castle and distribute it to the soldiers and maids.

    I wished they had told me that from the beginning... I wouldn¡¯t have tried so hard eating everything.

    I lightly rubbed my belly, deeply regretting my actions.

    Due to my full-body suit, I wasn¡¯t sure if my stomach was bulging, but it should be fine as long as it wasn¡¯t seen by others.

    Thinking about new recipe ideas I had obtained while rubbing my stomach, chawanmushi suddenly jumped into my mind.

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right. Zelef-san, this is a newly made dish of mine.¡¹

    I said and took out some chawanmushi from my Bear Box.

    Zelef-san¡¯s face brightened while suddenly whole room turned to me with darker expressions.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan... Wouldn¡¯t you also have some for me, perchance?¡¹

    Eleanora-san said something terrifying.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that she still wanted to eat even after eating all that food...

    ¡¸You can still eat more?¡¹

    I asked her, thinking she might just be joking.

    ¡¸Of course. I must try this new dish of yours, after all.¡¹

    She sounded serious enough...

    ¡¸Okay, but don¡¯t me me if you get fat.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really do anything about it, so I brought out one more serving of chawanmushi.

    Noticing Sha and the other two chefs kept looking at me, I realized they must want some as well.

    ¡¸Umm, would you like some too?¡¹

    ¡¸We can?!¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t mind giving us such a treat, then please.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure...¡¹

    I took out a serving for each of them.

    ¡¸This looks quite simr to pudding but it¡¯s warm.¡¹

    ¡¸The dish uses eggs as well, so that¡¯s why it looks simr.¡¹

    Everybody quickly grabbed a spoon and began tasting the chawanmushi.

    Most of ingredients were easy to obtain, but the matsutake weren¡¯t as popr as in my world, they were much harder toe by. If I ended up teaching this recipe to others, it would be easier to have it without matsutake included.

    ¡¸It¡¯s soft like pudding at the same time also alsopletely different.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is delicious!¡¹

    They all appeared to enjoy it.

    ¡¸There are quite a few ingredients inside.¡¹

    ¡¸This doesn¡¯t appear to be a dessert dish, though.¡¹

    Well, that was left to individuals to decide.

    For me personally, it made me want to eat it together with rice.

    ¡¸Zelef-san, here¡¯s the recipe.¡¹

    I handed Zelef-san a piece of paper with the recipe for chawanmushi noted down.

    ¡¸I do say this everytime, but are you really sure I can take it?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Just make sure you make this for Flora-hime.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, but I think you should give it directly to Flora-hime first. If I gave it to her first, she¡¯d think I thought of this recipe myself. ¡¹

    Only after I nodded did he take the recipe from my hands.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, aren¡¯t you being too kind to children? You¡¯re like that to Fina-chan and my daughter too.¡¹

    ¡¸You really think so?¡¹

    Eleanora-san immediately nodded.

    I didn¡¯t have the intention of spoiling them. They were good kids, so there was nothing wrong with being kind to them. If they were selfish, I wouldn¡¯t treat them as kindly. I would most likely just ignore and avoid them.

    ¡¸Well, Fina and Noa are both good children. Not to mention the children at the orphanage and Flora-hime as well. I wouldn¡¯t do the same if they were selfish and unbehaved, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯m happy to hear you praise my daughter as such.¡¹

    She said with a big smile, clearly pleased with myment.

    Right next to me, Sha looked over at Zelef-san holding onto the new recipe.

    ¡¸Head Chef Zelef!¡¹

    She said loudly while raising her hand vigorously.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you please teach me that recipe as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously, I can¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸No way... ¡¹

    Sha fell to her knees after Zelef-san shot her request down instantly.

    Her depressed reaction waspletely exaggerated.

    ¡¸Dear uncle, you¡¯re so unfair!¡¹

    She lifted her face, ncing at Zelef-san as she said that.

    ¡¸Call me Head Chef.¡¹

    Zelef-san corrected her again.

    Wouldn¡¯t uncle be fine too?

    Was keeping a hierarchical rtionship that important even with rtives?

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    Sha got up and looked at me, her eyes pleading me to teach her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m only telling him the recipe so that he can make it for Flora-hime.¡¹

    ¡¸I will also make it for Flora-hime!¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can leave the cooking for the royal family to you.¡¹

    Sha¡¯s strong reply was immediately shot down by Zelef-san, making her depressed.

    The other two chefs, who listened in on the conversation, also also wore disappointed expressions.

    Zelef-san, on the other hand, simply kept reading the recipe while ignoring the three of them.

    ¡¸So, this dish really uses eggs, huh.¡¹

    Lately, a lot of the recipes I had been bringing him used eggs...

    ¡¸By the way, are you doing okay on the egg front?¡¹

    He required eggs fo so many recipes, so I worried he was running low.

    ¡¸We have a ce that we can get eggs from in the neighboring vige, so we just had to increase the amount. It was a bit difficult to do so at the beginning, but that was taken care of.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m surprised they agreed.¡¹

    ¡¸I let them try some pudding and they quickly changed their minds.¡¹

    Did he just say he used pudding as a negotiation tool? I must have heard it wrong, right?

    Zelef-san smiled when he saw my bewilderment.

    ¡¸Yes. They had told me that if I produced a delicious enough dish using eggs then they might consider putting aside more eggs for us. With that, I just knew I had to make arge amount of pudding. We just needed to satisfy all of the vigers to win, after all.¡¹

    Feed all the vigers pudding didn¡¯t sound like a normal negotiation technique to me... Usually, negotiations were done through adjusting the price, amount, and length of the contract, weren¡¯t they? Could this even be considered negotiating?

    Like, they could have tried convincing the vigers by saying that all those eggs would be used and that none of them were going to waste or something, not feeding them pudding.

    Well, I also persuaded Morin-san through pudding and pizza...

    The power of pudding had be truly terrifying.

    I noticed that everybody already finished tasting the chawanmushi, so I figured it was about time to leave.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please visit our shop anytime; we¡¯ll dly serve you anything.¡¹

    Sha-san said, and the other two chefs nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸Okay, please take care of me when Ie.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we will do our best!¡¹

    Eleanora-san and I finally left the shop after that.

    Once outside, we were once again met by the giant bears standing guard by the entrance.

    I hadpletely forgotten about these...

    In the end, I couldn¡¯t convince them to get rid of them. Moreover, I even taught them how to draw bears on the cakes...

    A true Bear shop was going to open up in the capital at this rate.

    Sha had told me I coulde anytime, but it would be difficult to approach this ce while wearing my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸So what exactly did youe to the capital for, Yuna-chan? Did youe to visit Flora-hime?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell her that I had rushed here because of the Bear restaurant.

    Not to mention the fact that I had found out about it through Sanya-san¡¯s bird and then immediately teleported here by using the Bear Gate... There was no way I could possibly exin that to her.

    ¡¸Oh... Yeah, that¡¯s right. I drew a new picture book so I was on my way to bring it to Flora-hime.¡¹

    ¡¸A new picture book you say? Flora-hime will be so happy.¡¹

    Well, I wasn¡¯t really lying. I did n to give Flora-hime the picture book. I just hadn¡¯t nned to do it today.

    As we chatted, we slowly made our way towards the castle.

    ¡¸So, what should I do with this picture book?¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you going to give it to Flora-hime?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you want to duplicate it? You probably won¡¯t be able to do that if I give it to Flora-hime first.¡¹

    ¡¸You thought that far ahead? Don¡¯t worry about it. She¡¯ll let me borrow it if I ask her. You should definitely give it to her first; I think she would be happier that way.¡¹

    Just like that, it was decided that Flora-hime would get the book first, and only then would Eleanora-san duplicate it.

    ¡¸Still, I do want to read it. Can you show it to me now?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure.¡¹

    Eleanora-san¡¯s changed direction and we headed to her mansion so that she could peruse it first.

    Suririna-san came over to greet us the moment when we entered: I hadst met her when I was dealing with the Golem case but so many things had happened since then. It truly felt like it had been a long been awhile since Ist saw her.

    ¡¸ Yuna-sama, wee.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry foring unannounced, Suririna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you prepare some tea for us, Suririna?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will bring it to you immediately.¡¹

    Once we entered Elenora-san¡¯s study, I took out the third volume of the picture book and passed it to her.

    ¡¸The artwork is cute as always.¡¹

    Shemented and began flipping through the book.

    Soon, Suririna-san brought us the tea. We thanked her and both took a sip.

    ¡¸This girl is Shuri-chan, isn¡¯t she?¡¹

    Eleanora-san pointed at the girl in the picture book.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve met Shuri?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she was with Fina-chan when I visited Crimonia. She¡¯s very cute. Please doe visit me if you bring her to the capital next time.¡¹

    ¡¸Um... Sure.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t have any ns oning to the capital again in the near future, so when the asion came by, I noted in my mind that I should bring them along.

    Eleanora-san continued flipping through the pages.

    ¡¸They¡¯re parting from Bear-san...¡¹

    Flip. Flip.

    ¡¸Bear-san saved them from monsters. Bear-san is like a hero. Oh, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear appeared. A, this is really cute.¡¹

    Flip. Flip.

    ¡¸Oh my, they became small so that they can now live together. I want small bears just like them too.¡¹

    She then reached thest page but said nothing.

    ¡¸What do you think?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s great. I do have a question though.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸What happened to the other people who were riding on the carriage?¡¹

    Fina had asked me the same question. Would that part really bring up questions for the majority of readers?

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t explicitly state it, so feel free to interpret it as you will.¡¹

    ¡¸Interpret it on my own, huh. You¡¯re touching upon some heavy questions, Yuna-chan. People interpret things differently. The people either got killed after abandoning the girl¡¯s family or they sessfully escaped. People can either think it was fine for them to escape because they were in danger as well, or think that they deserved to die since they ran away and abandoned the girl¡¯s family.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I should change it?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I think it¡¯s fine the way it is. We¡¯ll have to think of an answer if Flora-hime asks about it, though. What do you think we should tell her?¡¹

    She said and returned the book to me.

    As I said, it was up to how the reader interpret it, so I couldn¡¯t give her an answer.

    If they were raised to be brave and helpful, they would most likely think that the other passengers should have stayed behind to help the girl¡¯s family.

    As for someone who was raised to make quick decisions to help themselves, like merchants for instance, they would probably think that them escaping was the right thing to do.

    They might tell their kids that it was due to indecision of the girl¡¯s family that they were unable to escape in time.

    Hmm, what would the royalty teach their kids in such a case?

    They should first secure their own safety as they were royalty, right?

    On the other hand, how could they just abandon their countrymen?

    Royal education sure must be difficult...

    As we chatted about the contents of the picture book, suddenly there was some noise in the halway and the door swung open. Looking and the culprit, it was Shia, in her school uniform.

    ¡¸Mother, is it true that Yuna-san is here?!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s true, so calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, Shia.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    She rushed up to me happily. Not long afterwards, Cattleya, Marcus, and Timor all also joined us in their uniform.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    The way Suririna-san calls Yuna has changed: I¡¯ve matched it with the published version, which is ¡¸Yuna-sama.¡¹

    Please don¡¯t let this change bother you to much.

    It¡¯s been a while since I included the group of four from the school arc.

    I forget about some people if I don¡¯t write about them in a while, so please forgive me. lol

 Chapter 246 â€“ Bear-san Learns About the School Festival

    Everybody was wearing their ...uniform Had they juste back from ?school

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why are you here in the ?capital Did youe because of ?work¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. What about you ?guys What are you up to?¡¹

    Had theye here to do homework or ?something

    I had always kept to myself, so I had never participated in a study session .before

    Well, I hadn¡¯t needed to study to begin with, so I wasn¡¯t making .excuses It was just that I had always been able to do everything by myself without a problem and hadn¡¯t needed any .help

    ¡¸We came to discuss our school festival .project¡¹

    ¡¸School festival ?project¡¹

    It seemed they weren¡¯t here just to hold a study session, after .all

    ¡¸.Yes The students of the academy have to prepare a program for the school .festival We¡¯ll all be participating, but we can¡¯t seem to decide on what to .do..¡¹

    Shia .exined

    It looked like even the schools in this world held events like school .festivals

    By the time I had entered junior high school, I had already be a shut-in, so my only knowledge of school festivals was limited to what I had seen on TV or read in .manga

    Maybe the festivals were simr in both ?worlds I grew a bit curious at the prospect of joining one .here

    ¡¸A school festival sounds .interesting¡¹

    ¡¸If you like, you cane and see .us¡¹

    ¡¸?Really¡¹

    ¡¸In general, only those who live in the capital cane, but we are also allowed to invite acquaintances from elsewhere, so there¡¯s no .problem¡¹

    Well, I did want to take a look, but would it be a good idea to go to a crowded ce with my Bear ?Suit

    Wouldn¡¯t people mistake me for a mascot, ?then Or, at least look at me ?weird

    ¡¸Anyways, did you guys at leaste up with an idea for what you want you want to ?do¡¹

    Eleanora-san, who had been listening this whole time, chimed .in

    ¡¸Yes, but our ideas are all over the ce, so we can¡¯t pick .one..¡¹

    Shia said, taking a nce at her schoolmates behind her

    ¡¸Anyway, we ended up deciding to discuss it further .here¡¹

    ¡¸At least you should have a lot of ideas, .then What are ?they¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked and looked at everybody .expectantly

    Marcus answered .first

    ¡¸I suggested that we hold a sword petition¡¹

    ¡¸A magicpetition might be nice, .too¡¹

    Cattleya added her .idea

    While sword and magicpetitions sounded typical for a fantasy world, wasn¡¯t that a bit dangerous for a school ?festival

    ¡¸I want to make something we can .sell¡¹

    Timor added .in

    ¡¸And you, ?Shia¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with doing apetition, but as we already spar during our regr lessons, I hoped we could do something that can only be done for the school .festival¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s exactly why we should do a petition It¡¯ll stand out, and we don¡¯t have to prepare .anything .Easy¡¹

    ¡¸True, but it will be almost the same as what we do in our .sses¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but people outside of the school don¡¯t get to see it, do ?they¡¹

    Did Marcus really want to show off that ?badly

    If he wanted to stand out that much, I had a great piece of advice for him: just put on a Bear .Outfit

    ¡¸How about we really open a stand and sell ?something¡¹

    ¡¸What would be sell, ?though¡¹

    ¡¸Food, ?maybe¡¹

    ¡¸Other sses are already doing food carts, .though¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯ve also overheard them bragging about how they have already gathered a lot of delicious ingredients to .use¡¹

    Marcus and Cattleya pointed out the problems with Timor¡¯s .suggestion

    ¡¸So, Marcus and Cattleya want to hold apetition, and Timor wants a .stall What about you, ?Shia What would you ?prefer¡¹

    After listening to the exnation of other three¡¯s suggestion, Eleanora-san asked Shia .again

    ¡¸If I had to pick between them, then the stall, I .guess¡¹

    ¡¸How about you two, Cattleya and .Marcus Would you be okay with a ?stall ¡¹

    ¡¸I want to stand out, so we shouldn¡¯t pick something too .normal..¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also okay with the stall idea as long as we make it .interesting I most certainly want to avoid selling the same thing as other .people¡¹

    Basically, Marcus was fine with a stand as long as it stood out from the rest, while Cattleya wanted to sell unique .things

    In that .case.. they just needed something unique that would also stand .out

    ¡¸Shia, Timor, what do you think about thepetition ?idea¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but it depends on how we gather the .contestants Usually, those who want to participate are all strong .people¡¹

    ¡¸If we¡¯re not doing a stand, then we have no other choice but to go with a petition¡¹

    ¡¸In other words, you¡¯re all okay with each other¡¯s idea to some .extent¡¹

    For some reason, Eleanora-san started to take lead of their nning even though she was an unrted .party

    Did she have an upational ?disease Eleanora-san was the type of person to throw herself into managing all things she found interesting immediately but on the other hand refused to do all troublesome .work

    ¡¸In that case, let¡¯s think over the stall option .first You canpete with other people anytime, but you don¡¯t get many chances to run a stand, after .all¡¹

    ¡¸True, but even though Timor suggested it, he didn¡¯t have any good ideas for what we should .sell¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why all of us should try to brainstorm something .together¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, if we keep acting like this, we¡¯ll never .decide We have to submit our program soon, so we don¡¯t have much time .left¡¹

    Shia looked .troubled

    ¡¸Shia, you should suggest something, .too¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s .right We don¡¯t mind doing a stand, but we need to decide what to sell if that¡¯s the .case¡¹

    A school festival, .huh I had never participated in one, but I did have some simr experiences like opening stores, performing in ys, and even making .music

    Still, as expected of a fantasy world, people here did do interesting projects involving swords and .magic There were most likely quite a few school festival programs that could only be found in this .world

    ¡¸Yuna-san, do you have any good ideas, ?perchance¡¹

    ¡¸?Me¡¹

    Suddenly, they involved me into their .discussion

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re running a shop in Crimonia, ?right Do you have something that¡¯s rare and will be popr if served at a school ?festival¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, you shouldn¡¯t ask Yuna-chan for something like .that..¡¹

    Eleanora-san scolded .Shia

    Something rare that would be popr, ?huh It should also be easy to make, ?right

    Making pudding was too time-consuming, and they could have issues with procuring enough eggs, so I immediately removed it from the .list

    They would need a stone oven if they wanted to make pizza, so if they had to run the stand indoors, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use .one What else could I offer ?them

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you don¡¯t have to think about it that .seriously This is their .problem¡¹

    Eleanora-san¡¯s warning made everybody stare at the .floor

    Well, this was starting to get quite interesting for me, so I decided to ponder for a bit .longer

    It shouldn¡¯t be somethingpletely .standard For example, it could even be things that were done for other festivals, like goldfishdling, ring toss, or target .shooting If they ran a food stall, they could serve thing like yakisoba, shaved ice, candied apple, grilled squid, grilled corn, and frankfurt !sausages Oh, I hadpletely forgotten all about .those

    Anyway, there were plenty of foods that were easy to .make If I recall, I had even made some of them some for Fina and Shuri .before Those two hadn¡¯t recognized the dishes, so maybe there weren¡¯t any regr festivals in this ?world

    Well, they had grown up in poor conditions, so that could be why they had never heard about .them Fortunately, Fina¡¯s family no longer had to worry about food ever since we had .met

    ¡¸I might have a good .idea Do you want to hear ?it¡¹

    ¡¸You ?do! Please tell !us¡¹

    Shia sounded very happy when I told her I might have something for .them

    ¡¸Well, I don¡¯t know if anybody here has heard about this .before It¡¯s very possible that all of you know already what it .is¡¹

    ¡¸What is ?it¡¹

    ¡¸There is a type of candy made from granted .sugar It¡¯s texture is like .cotton Does this country have anything ?simr ¡¹

    ¡¸Candy that¡¯s like ?cotton I¡¯ve never heard of anything like .that How about you ?guys¡¹

    Shia¡¯s school friends shook their heads, so we all turned to Eleanora-.san

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never heard of something like that, .either¡¹

    Eleanora-san didn¡¯t know what I was talking about, either, but I shouldn¡¯tpletely rely on the

    people .here There were two daughters of nobility, the son of a knight, and the son of an important financial .figure It was possible they never heard of it because it wasn¡¯t considered a high-ss .candy I should ask someone with a normal background just in .case

    Just as I was thinking of who to ask, Suririna-san came into the room with some .tea

    ¡¸Sorry for .intruding I¡¯ve brought some .tea¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, .Suririna¡¹

    Suririna ced the tea on the table and started to .leave

    ¡¸Please call me if you need anything .else¡¹

    Maids should be consideredmoners, ?right

    I could trust that her answer would more urately reflect that of themon .folks

    ¡¸Suririna-san, if you don¡¯t mind, I have a question for .you¡¹

    Just as Suririna-san was about reach the door, I stopped .her

    ¡¸A question for ?me I will try my best to answer .it¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know of a candy made from granted sugar that has texture like ?cotton¡¹

    ¡¸Candy that is like ?cotton¡¹

    Suririna-san tilted her head as she thought about .it

    So, nobody knew of cotton candy in this world, ?then

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not quite sure if I¡¯ve heard of something like that .before¡¹

    ¡¸Then maybe this idea will .work Suririna-san, I would like your opinion on this as well, so could you please join ?us¡¹

    ¡¸Madam, may ?I¡¹

    Suririna-san looked at Eleanora-.san

    ¡¸I see no problem with .it¡¹

    Having received Eleanora-san¡¯s permission, I took out a certain device from the Bear .Box

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what is ?this¡¹

    ¡¸This is called a cotton candy .machine It can make candy that looks like .cotton¡¹

    I had worked pretty hard to make this .thing

    One day, I hade across a shop that sold granted sugar and realized I could make cotton .candy I had immediately tried to make the machine, but my first try was a .disaster Only after many adjustments and hours of hard work, I had managed to make a functional cotton candy .machine

    In the end, I had used it only once even though I had gone through all that trouble of making .it Anybody would get tired of eating cotton candy very quickly, after .all

    It was something to be eaten once in awhile and most definitely not .everyday That was why I had left it to collect dust at the bottom of my Bear Box till .now

    Following the machine, I also took out some granted sugar I had bought at the shop and poured it into the circr mound in the middle of the .machine

    ¡¸That¡¯s just normal granted sugar, ?right¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you can buy these at both in Crimonia and the .capital¡¹

    I had first discovered that this sugar was sold at the capital, butter got Fina to tell me where I could get it at Crimonia as .well

    Quite a few people liked to buy it to make sweets, it .seemed

    ¡¸And we can make this cotton candy with ?this¡¹

    ¡¸.Yeah¡¹

    I ced a fire magic stone into the machine and the center began to heat .up Quickly, I began to spin the sugar, and onn the side of the center circr mound, white cotton-like threads began to pop .up

    ¡¸Yuna-!san Something weird is !appearing¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s cotton .candy¡¹

    More and more threads started to gather; oops, this wasn¡¯t the time to .stare Ipletely forgot to prepare the wooden .sticks No, not disposable chopsticks, but proper wooden .sticks

    I quickly took out a couple from the Bear Box and started to move one in a circr motion around the inside of the circr mound of the machine, causing the threads to immediately start coiling around .it

    I was a bit clumsy at first but slowly got used to .it

    The cotton candy grew bigger and bigger as I continued swirling the stick to coil more threads onto .it

    ¡¸Yuna-san, this is .amazing¡¹

    ¡¸Wow, it¡¯s getting .bigger¡¹

    Once the cotton candy seemed big enough, I stopped the machine from .spinning

    The first cotton candy was plete It looked just like the ones that could be bought at a food .carts The shape looked a bit off, but that couldn¡¯t really be helped as I didn¡¯t have much experience in making them .yet

    ¡¸Here, it¡¯s .done¡¹

    Everybody looked at me and the cotton candy in awe as I offered it to .them

    ¡¸Is anything ?wrong¡¹

    ¡¸No, .um.. it is just really strange, that¡¯s .all¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is this ?magic¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s candy made of .sugar¡¹

    I said and held out the cotton candy closer to .Shia

    ¡¸It really looks like .cotton¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it .does¡¹

    Everybody continued staring at .it

    ¡¸Yuna-san, how do you eat ?this¡¹

    Oh right, nobledies shouldn¡¯t gnaw on things, should ?they

    ¡¸You pinch off bite-size pieces with your hand and eat .it¡¹

    ¡¸With your ?hand¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, could it be that nobles shouldn¡¯t eat things using their ?hands¡¹

    ¡¸No, there¡¯s no such custom, .but..¡¹

    Shia looked at the cotton candy again, then pinched some off with her fingers and ate .it

    ¡¸It¡¯s .sweet¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it is .sugar What did you ?expect¡¹

    I didn¡¯t use any other ingredients, so of course it tasted like .sugar

    ¡¸Shia, let me try some as .well¡¹

    Shia passed the cotton candy to Eleanora-san who pinched a bit off to try .it

    ¡¸Wow, this is really .sweet¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, can you let me try some as ?well¡¹

    ¡¸I would also like .some¡¹

    ¡¸Me .also¡¹

    Cattleya, Marcus, and Timor¡¯s curiosity were .piqued

    Shia held the cotton candy out in front of them, and they all pulled off a .piece

    ¡¸It melts in your mouth .instantly¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s so .weird¡¹

    ¡¸It is, but it¡¯s so .good¡¹

    It seemed all five of them were really trying it for the first .time

    ¡¸Suririna-san, this is the candy I was talking .about Have you seen it ?before¡¹

    Shia passed the cotton candy to Suririna-san who also pinched off a piece and put it in her .mouth

    ¡¸No, I¡¯ve never heard of or tasted candy like this .before¡¹

    ¡¸Shouldn¡¯t this be a good thing for you to sell at the school festival, ?then Do you think it will sell ?well¡¹

    The students looked at each other then looked back at .me

    ¡¸It will stand out like how Marcus wants it, and it¡¯s unusual, which is what Cattleya .wants Also, it can be sold at a stall like Timor .wants I put everyone into .consideration¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we¡¯re very thankful for your idea, but are you sure it¡¯s okay to let use use your recipe like ?that¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, would it really be ?okay If we promoted it, I am certain it will sell, .but..¡¹

    Shia and Timor were worried if it was okay for them to sell this unknown .candy

    It wasn¡¯t that amazing, and it also wasn¡¯t something to be eaten .everyday It was best to only eat it during .festivals Just recalling eating cotton candy at festivals when I had been in elementary school brought a smile to my .face

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to serve this at your ?shop¡¹

    ¡¸This candy is meant for festivals, so I have no intention of selling it .there¡¹

    ¡¸Meant for ?festivals ?Really¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if it bothers you that much, just promise me to keep the method of production a .secret¡¹

    Once I said that, Eleanora-san looked at the .students

    ¡¸Can all of you keep quiet about how it¡¯s ?made If you can¡¯t promise us that, I won¡¯t give you permission to make .it¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-?san¡¹

    Why would a school event being ran by the students need Eleanora-san¡¯s ?permission Not to mention this was just cotton candy we¡¯re talking about .here

    ¡¸I want to try this, so I promise I won¡¯t tell .anybody¡¹

    ¡¸I promise as .well¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll bring the secret to my .grave¡¹

    ¡¸... I won¡¯t tell anybody .either¡¹

    Everybody agreed to Eleanora-san¡¯s .demand

    ¡¸Alright .then Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sorry, but can you please teach them how to make ?it¡¹

    Just like that, it was decided that they would sell cotton candy for the school festival, and we immediately began .practicing

    Still, why was Eleanora-san managing everything ?here

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    I apologize for the dy.

    We¡¯ve just released the information regarding the publication of Volume 3.

    I appreciate all your support.

    Also, the school festival arc officially begins!

 Chapter 247 â€“ Bear-san Accepts Shiaâ€™s Reques

    t

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I finished writing early.

    I wrote over 10,000,000 characters at this point!

    Since the students had decided to make cotton candy at the festival, they just had to practice it.

    Once I felt they got the hang of it, it was time for me to head off. I still had to give the picture book to Princess Flora, after all.

    ¡¸Alright everyone, make sure you practice everyday until the festival.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please !wait¡¹

    Just as I was about to walk through the door, Shia pulled on my arm and stopped me.

    ¡¸?Huh What is ?it¡¹

    ¡¸Um, if I were to request you as an escort, through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild of course, how much would that ?cost¡¹

    ¡¸An ?escort¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t the price something the client had to ?decide Or, could a request really be done like ?this

    If I remembered correctly, escort jobs had a minimum fee set by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and the price could increase from there depending on the job and the escort. If the client wanted someone of a higher rank, they would have to increase thepensation ordingly.

    ¡¸Shia, is there somewhere you want to ?go¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not it. If you¡¯re nning oning to the school festival, I want you to bring Noa with you. She will probably be enrolled in the academy once she is old enough, and she also mentioned to mest year that she wanted to go see it but wasn¡¯t allowed to go on her own. As youe to the capital quite often, I hoped you could bring her with you.¡¹

    True, I dide to the capital quite frequently; it was almost like just taking a walk to me. That was all thanks to the Bear Gate, though.

    ¡¸Also, you have your bears too, so I can rx if I know that you¡¯ll be with her.¡¹

    Basically, she wanted me to bring Noa to the capital and stay by her side for the duration of the festival.

    Since Shia didn¡¯t know about my Bear Gate, she probably assumed that I came to the capital via Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I couldn¡¯t me her for having that assumption as it was indeed most logical without knowledge of the Bear Gate.

    ¡¸In any case, I have a bit of money saved up, so I was wondering if you would be willing...¡¹

    What a good girl she was.

    With such a motive, there was no way I would demand anypensation. I was against the idea of taking money from Shia in the first ce. Not to mention, I didn¡¯t know what the rate for bodyguards were and couldn¡¯t remember how much I was paid thest time I had escorted them, either.

    ¡¸In that case, I¡¯ll pay for it in full, no matter the price.¡¹

    ¡¸?Mother¡¹

    Eleanora-san approved of Shia¡¯s request but decided to bear the costs on her own.

    Well, I would feel much less guilty taking money from Eleanora-san than from Shia.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, if you areing to the school festival, can you please bring Noa with ?you I will pay for all the escort fees. Oh, and could you also bring Fina-chan and Shuri-chan as ?well¡¹

    ¡¸Fina and Shuri ?too¡¹

    ¡¸When I came to visit your shop the other day, Fina-chan provided us with very good hospitality, so I want to repay her. However, if you only brought her, then I¡¯d feel bad for Shuri-chan since she¡¯d be left behind. I would like to thank them both by inviting them to stay at our home for the duration of the festival.¡¹

    Shuri would indeed stay at home by herself if I only brought Fina but she wouldn¡¯tin too much. She would most likely only say that it was unfair that only Fina got to do things but would otherwise obediently wait at home.

    However, would those two sisters ept Eleanora-san¡¯s ?invitation

    I think Shuri would be happy just knowing she could go to the capital, but Fina... Well, Fina had grown up now, so she should be okay with staying at a noble¡¯s home.

    ¡¸Still, taking care of all three of them might be too much...¡¹

    Eleanora-san pondered.

    If I used the Bear Gate, there would be no problem, but of course, I couldn¡¯t tell her that.

    Besides, since I would be bringing Noa and Shuri as well, I couldn¡¯t use the Bear Gate unless I told them about it first.

    While I didn¡¯t think those two would purposely reveal my secrets, I still believed that less people knew about it the better. It was possible that one of them would identally leak it out, after all.

    Noa especially seemed the type who might sleep talk and say something like:¡¸Yuna-san, your Bear-san Gate is amazing, mumble mumble.¡¹

    Well, at least if it was sleep talking, I could im she was just saying random stuff.

    ¡¸Will you be able to to do ?it¡¹

    ¡¸With how big Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are, two people can easily ride on one of them at a time, so there¡¯s no problem with that. We¡¯ll also be able to run away if monsters or bandits attack us with how quick my Bears are.¡¹

    I honestly wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my Bears could even outrun a dragon.

    Well, as much as I wanted to see a dragon at least once in my life, I didn¡¯t think I would be meeting one anytime soon, especially on the way between Crimonia and the capital.

    ¡¸Also, with how strong you and your bears are, we can be much more at ease than if we put them in care of a regr adventurer.¡¹

    Based on how the conversation was going, it seemed to be more or less decided that I was bringing them along. Still, the problem wasn¡¯t really taking them with me; it was picking the means of travel.

    ¡¸So, can I ask you to take care of the three of ?them¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but what if Cliff refuses to let Noa ?go Should I just bring Fina and Shuri ?then¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind if you only brought Fina-chan and Shuri-chan along as I still want to thank the two. I don¡¯t think Cliff will refuse, while knowing that you will be escorting them.¡¹

    Still, on the off chance Noa couldn¡¯t receive Cliff¡¯s permission, she would have to give up on going.

    Fina and Shuri would most likely be allowed toe. Terumi-san had said that she trusted me with taking care of them, so it should more or less just depend on what the girls themselves wanted.

    ¡¸Well... Cliff might still find a reason to not let her go... Yuna-chan, I¡¯m going to write him a letter, so can you wait here for a ?bit¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and rushed out of the room before I could even reply.

    Now that I had officially epted the request, I really had to consider how I should bring them here. At least I had only two real options to pick from.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san. I think Noa will be very happy.¡¹

    ¡¸I will bring her as long as Cliff gives his permission.¡¹

    Noa and Shia were both nobles, but they werepletely different from the idiot son of that idiotic noble family I had an encounter with at Misa¡¯s birthday party. I felt badparing the girls to him, but it was hard to believe that someone like him was of the same status as them.

    If I remembered correctly, he had been taken in by some rtives at the capital, so maybe they would be able to change him.

    I hoped I could also invite Misa to the festival, but that would most likely be hard to aplish.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, what kind of girl is Fina-chan¡¯s ?sister¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s a good girl and looks just like Fina. They get along with each other, much like you and Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, now I¡¯m looking forward to the festival even more. I will get to see Noa and Fina-chan, and also meet Fina-chan¡¯s little sister.¡¹

    She hadn¡¯t seen Noa since the king¡¯s birthday party, ?right As for Fina, thest time they had seen each other was probably the golem incident.

    ¡¸We have to practice making the cotton candies perfectly, so we won¡¯t embarrass ourselves after inviting them.¡¹

    Shia¡¯s ssmates were all taking turns practicing their cotton candy making skills. They should be able to get the hang of it in no time.

    ¡¸Ugh, this is just too sweet. I can¡¯t eat it anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸Same.¡¹

    Marcus and Timor were eating all the cotton candy they made while practicing, and it seemed like they had finally reached their limit.

    Well, cotton candy really wasn¡¯t something to be eaten in bulk. It was practically no different than simply pouring sugar into their mouths. The taste of pure sugar would be too much very quickly, unlike some other more bnced desserts.

    ¡¸Come on, you two have to keep eating, or we won¡¯t be able to know if we are improving.¡¹

    Cattleya said and handed Marcus the cotton candy she had just made.

    ¡¸You can eat it too, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll get fat if I do.¡¹

    ¡¸Why, you...¡¹

    Even though most girls loved sweets, there was still a limit to how much they could eat, especially as they tended to worry about their weight.

    I ate way too much cake and bread during the taste-testing earlier, so I understood how Cattleya felt. The boys would just have to work harder and eat her share as well.

    ¡¸You should eat something else to get rid of the sweet taste in your mouths.¡¹

    I said and took out some potato chips from the Bear Box.

    Since it was salty, it should work well for countering the sweetness.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Marcus said and immediately put one into his mouth. After crunching for a short while, he froze and turned to me.

    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t this be good to sell as ?well¡¹

    Hmm, that wasn¡¯t a bad suggestion.

    I would have never thought of selling potato chips at an event like school or street festivals as I came from a world where chips were easy toe by.

    ¡¸Yes, this is really good. It should work.¡¹

    ¡¸If we sell the two as a set, wouldn¡¯t it be really ?popr¡¹

    Both Timor and Cattleya agreed after they ate some chips as well.

    ¡¸But are there any ces that sell potatoes ?around¡¹

    ¡¸There are.¡¹

    Suririna-san answered the question in my stead.

    ¡¸Potatoes are very cheap, so usually only poor folks eat them.¡¹

    Was I the only one who didn¡¯t know ?that

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that perfect, ?then¡¹

    ¡¸Still, I think it is better if you don¡¯t sell it.¡¹

    ¡¸Why ?not It¡¯s tasty.¡¹

    Marcus asked Suririna-san while he grabbed more chips.

    ¡¸Thanks to Yuna-sama, we know why symptoms like stomach pain happened when we eat potatoes but others don¡¯t. If the customers¡¯ stomachs start to hurt and they had eaten our chips, they would put the two together and me us.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess that makes sense. I was very surprised when I heard Yuna-san say these are made from potatoes.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t serve it at the festival; it is better to avoid such trouble.¡¹

    Chips was already well epted in Crimonia, so I didn¡¯t consider such a problem could arise here. It made sense though, as many people still believed that eating potatoes might randomly cause stomach pain, and didn¡¯t know the solution of removing the eyes.

    ¡¸Yeah, I think you are right.¡¹

    ¡¸I would love to make them, but if we were to receive suchints...¡¹

    ¡¸Also, Yuna-san already taught us how to make cotton candy, so that should be enough.¡¹

    ¡¸With only the four of us, making both would be difficult anyway.¡¹

    The four of them gave up on selling the potato chips with that, and soon after Eleanora-san returned with a letter in hand.

    ¡¸Oh my, what¡¯s ?wrong Did something ?happen¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked after noticing the students¡¯ expressions.

    I proceeded to exin the potato chip idea to her.

    ¡¸I see. Yes, it¡¯s just as Suririna said. You should probably avoid selling potato chips. It might invite more trouble than you think.¡¹

    The four of them had already epted that fact, so they didn¡¯t argue back.

    ¡¸Anyway, Yuna-chan, please give this to Cliff for me.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and handed me the letter, which I immediately ced into the Bear Box for safekeeping.

    Now that there really was no reason for me to stay any longer, I confirmed with them when the festival would be held and took my leave. I still needed to visit Princess Flora, after all.

    Before going, I decided to leave a bunch of potato chips for Marcus and Timor.

    ¡¸Thank you for all your help today, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Shia thanked me, and the other three followed suit.

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to the festival. Do your best, ?okay¡¹

    I left the mansion and headed straight to the castle.

    Hmm, didn¡¯t Eleanora-san need to go back to the castle as ?well

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    I was sure someone would mention potato chips or fries in thement section, but it turns out I was wrong.

    As I expected, nobody else would think of selling potato chips at a school/street festival. w

    Anyway, I finished all the bonuses thate with the volume 3 publication.

    The version from Tobu Bookses with an illustrated postcard, so look forward to that and please check the update notifications for more information.

 Chapter 248 â€“ Bear-san is Troubled by Princess Floraâ€™s Question

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Here, a release 3 days ahead of time. Enjoy.

    On my way to the castle, I thought about what to do about the request.

    Bringing Noa and Shuri to the capital... If we rode on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, getting here should be no problem. With the four of us, two people could ride on each bear, and the journey shouldn¡¯t take too long.

    Still, maybe it would be okay to reveal the Bear Gate to those two. If I did, traveling would be much easier, and we could spend the extra time doing other things. I had to consider this carefully, though, as it was an important tool I had to keep a secret.

    I continued to ponder which to choose all the way to the castle gate. As usual, the soldier at the gate noticed me before I even came close. Well, my outfit could most likely be seen from a mile away, so that wasn¡¯t anything special.

    Just I was about to greet the soldier myself...

    ¡¸Oh, if it isn¡¯t Eleanora-sama.¡¹

    He called out and saluted at someone behind me.

    ¡¸Good work.¡¹

    Came a response.

    Turning around, I saw Eleanora-san standing right there with a big smile on her face.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san? How long have you been there?¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, Yuna-chan. I¡¯ve been walking behind you this entire time, but you never noticed. It was quite funny.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s rude to stalk someone like that, you know.¡¹

    Even thinking back, I really never noticed anybody following me.

    ¡¸Your backside is so cute, though. Especially with how your small tail sways around as you walk.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t look at people¡¯s butts!¡¹

    I rebutted and covered the tail on my outfit.

    Admittedly, I also liked looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s tail sway but only now did I realize how embarrassing it was having someone stare at my own butt.

    ¡¸It¡¯s cute, though.¡¹

    She said disappointedly as my tail disappeared from her sight.

    ¡¸Anyway, why did you follow me without saying anything?!¡¹

    ¡¸At first, I was going to catch up to you and call you, but then I noticed your tail and ended up staring at it all the way until we reached the castle.¡¹

    This person...

    ¡¸So, are you here for work, Eleanora-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, more or less. My job isn¡¯t only to take care of your shop, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re still doing your other work properly, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, don¡¯t be so mean. I always do all my work properly.¡¹

    ¡ºAlways¡»sounded a bit suspicious to me, but it did make sense for her to be here for other work. Still, whenever I saw Eleanora-san, she always appeared to be cking off...

    ¡¸Let¡¯s not just stand here and chat. Shall we go to Princess Flora¡¯s room?¡¹

    Eh, didn¡¯t shee to the castle to work? I really wanted to say that but couldn¡¯t bring myself to. I was too tired of her shenanigans, so I ignored her. Even if Eleanora-san was skipping out on her work, that was His Majesty¡¯s problem, not mine.

    Both of us were let past by the gatekeeper and headed inside.

    ¡¸By the way, I didn¡¯t know you could make candy from just sugar. How did you find out about that?¡¹

    Was she trying to fish for more information about me?

    Either way, I couldn¡¯t tell her it was something I had learned from another world.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a secret, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, too bad then. Still, you should be careful to whom you reveal your recipes. Your dishes are all very special and peculiar, so some people are surely going to be very curious about them. If something happens, just let me know. I will do anything within my power to help you.¡¹

    Was Eleanora-san concerned about the students making the cotton candy recipe public?

    ¡¸Please do take care of me if something happens.¡¹

    I epted her offer.

    ¡¸Of course. When you make something new, bring it to me right away, okay?¡¹

    Was that her real motive behind her offer?

    It was very difficult to understand what Eleanora-san was thinking. I hoped Noa and Shia didn¡¯t grow up to be like her.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, did you just think of something awfully rude?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, I thought that you were being very kind and considerate.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    She looked at me with doubt. Not like I could tell her what I actually thought just now.

    I broke eye contact, and we continued heading towards Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, can you look me in the eye properly when you talk to me?¡¹

    ¡¸If you¡¯re noting with me, I¡¯ll go by myself.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ming too!¡¹

    ¡¸What about your job?¡¹

    Even though I hadn¡¯t intended on asking, I ended up doing so anyways.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, I already did what I needed to do for today.¡¹

    Really now?

    As we walked down the familiar hall towards Princess Flora¡¯s room, we saw what looked like a Swaying Bear plushie walking on its hind legs towards us. Next to it was Anju-san.

    ¡¸Oh my, Eleanora-sama and Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san?¡¹

    When Anju-san greeted us, the Swaying Bear plushie spoke up as well.

    Since when could plushies speak...

    Magic was a scary thing...

    Okay, enough joking around.

    Princess Flora poked her face out from behind the plushie. She had been walking down the hall while hugging the plushie in front of her, so it only looked like the plushie was walking and talking on its own.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    Princess Flora noticed me and happily rushed to me with the plushie still in front of her.

    Running while hugging onto Swaying Bear like that looked awfully dangerous, though.

    Now that I thought about it, I naturally responded to being called ¡¸Bear-san¡¹. I had acknowledged it to be my name at this point...

    Would she at least stop calling me that when she got older?

    ¡¸Why are the two of you here?¡¹

    I asked Anju-san while hugging the princess and patting her on the head.

    ¡¸We were going for a stroll.¡¹

    ¡¸You were going for a walk while holding a plushie?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we were going on a stroll with Bear-san.¡¹

    Princess Flora said happily and continued hugging the bear plushie.

    I felt bad that Hugging Bear plushie wasn¡¯t here together with the Swaying Bear plushie, but I didn¡¯t think that could be helped. The princess was so small that she was barely able to hold one of them and walk at the same time.

    ¡¸Did youe to visit Princess Flora today, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I finished a new picture book, so I brought it here.¡¹

    ¡¸Picture book?!¡¹

    ¡¸A new picture book?¡¹

    Princess Flora and Anju-san both sounded very happy when I revealed my reason of visit.

    I had expected princess¡¯s reaction to be as such, but Anju-san surprised me. She didn¡¯t really have to go that far, did she?

    ¡¸Princess Flora, since Yuna-san brought you a new picture book, shall we return to your room?¡¹

    ¡¸Or, we can do it after you finish your stroll.¡¹

    ¡¸I wanna go back to my room.¡¹

    While still hugging the Swaying Bear plushie, the princess reached out her hand and tugged my outfit.

    It looked like she really wanted to see the picture book. I was really d I had decided to draw another book seeing her reaction.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s head to your room, then.¡¹

    Princess Flora grasped my Bear Hand and we walked to the room together.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯re so sweet with children.¡¹

    I thought about my actions and realized I couldn¡¯t really deny what Eleanora-san said.

    Was I being too kind to children? Still, was there anyone out there who wouldn¡¯t feel warm inside just seeing this smile?

    I was sure Eleanora-san would also spoil Princess Flora if that smile was directed at her. I also didn¡¯t think my level of kindness was anything out of the ordinary, so I decided it wasn¡¯t an issue.

    When we made it to her room, the princess released my hand and walked over to her bed.

    Sitting on the bed near a pillow was the Hugging Bear plushie. It looked like Hugging Bear had to watch the room all alone while everybody else went out for a walk.

    Princess Flora ced the Swaying Bear plushie next to the pillow, then grabbed the Hugging Bear plushie.

    Why, though?

    ¡¸When we go outside, Princess Flora brings around ck Bear-san, and when we¡¯re in her room, she switches to White Bear-san.¡¹

    Anju-san exined for me when she noticed my baffled expression.

    ¡¸Why such an arrangement?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, if we go outside, the plushies might get dirty, so if it¡¯s ck Bear-san, it won¡¯t appear as dirty, I guess...¡¹

    Anju-san had a hard time giving an exnation.

    Well, since Swaying Bear had ck fur, it was true that dirt wouldn¡¯t be as obvious on it than on the white fur of Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸And that¡¯s why she keeps White Bear-san inside the room and takes out ck Bear-san.¡¹

    While I now understood that she wasn¡¯t ditching Hugging Bear on purpose, I now felt bad for Swaying Bear.

    It didn¡¯t feel like a good reason to bring only Swaying Bear out was because its fur wouldn¡¯t get dirty, but maybe it was still better than the Hugging Bear getting dirty?

    If dropped, Hugging Bear indeed had a high chance of getting dirty, so it somewhat made sense for that to be the reason.

    Princess Flora returned to my side while holding onto the Hugging Bear plushie and looked at me expectantly.

    Without further dy, we moved to the table where we could easily read the picture book.

    ¡¸Here you go, volume three of the picture book.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Princess Flora joyfully took the picture book out of my hands and sat down on a chair.

    She then very carefully opened the cover. Anju-san stood right behind Princess Flora and looked at the book over her shoulder. She must be curious about the contents too, huh.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, are you going to need this picture book?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I n to distribute copies soon, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Anju-san said happily.

    The princess turned the pages of the book slowly.

    Anju-san, who at first looked like she was going to read it with her, went away for a moment and soon returned with freshly-brewed tea.

    I rxed next to Princess Flora while drinking the tea.

    Was His Majesty going toe find me today? I did see a guard running off earlier.

    I pondered for a while as I sipped the tea.

    ¡¸They parted from Bear-san...¡¹

    Princess Flora said sadly.

    Flip. Flip.

    She turned a few pages.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    She sounded a lot happier again. I guess she got to the part where Bear-san reappeared.

    Once she was finished reading, she immediately turned to look at us.

    ¡¸Can Bear-san really turn that small?¡¹

    For the moment, nobody answered her.

    Any regr adult would know that bears couldn¡¯t shrink. If we exined that to Fina or Shuri, they would be able to understand at their age, but what should we tell Princess Flora, who was still very young?

    ¡¸Princess Flora, Bear-san cannot be smaller in the real world.¡¹

    Anju exined in my stead.

    ¡¸But the Bear-sans turned small in the book.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    Anju-san looked over at Eleanora-san and me, conflicted on how she should exin.

    The princess was clearly treating my Bear summons like they were real bears. To begin with, it was difficult to exin the difference between them, especially to a young child like Princess Flora.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, normal bears can¡¯t turn small. Yuna-chan¡¯s bears are just special. Also, the bears in the picture books are even more special.¡¹

    ¡¸Special?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they¡¯re special bears. Real life bears aren¡¯t like them.¡¹

    Eleanora-san stepped in and took over for Anju-san.

    However, even to that, the princess simply tilted her head. Exining things to a child sure was difficult.

    For children who didn¡¯t know about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they would just read the picture book as something fictional and that would be the end of it. Yet, for Princess Flora, who knew that my bears could be small, that was not the case.

    ¡¸Bear-sans can¡¯t turn small?¡¹

    She asked and hugged her Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡¸My Bears are just special. Other bears really can¡¯t be smaller, no matter what.¡¹

    I tried to exin to her as gently as I could.

    The princess seemed to be somewhat convinced at this point but still wore a confused expression. She didn¡¯t perhaps learn about bears turning small from somewhere else too, did she?

    If she had asked about what happened to the people who escaped from the carriage in the story, I was going to push it onto Eleanora-san or His Majesty to exin it. However, this was really unexpected.

    Anyhow, Her Highness decided to finally show up soon after, which was still muchter than expected, and His Majesty came in eventer. It looked like I wasn¡¯t going to be able to escape them today, either.

    Both of them thanked me for bringing the new picture book but were also noticeably disappointed when they saw I hadn¡¯t brought any food this time around. Did they think I could just take out a new dish every time I came here?

    In the end, I had to pass around some chawanmushi, which they all ate contentedly.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Only two days left before volume 3 goes on sale.

    I look forward to your continued support.

    She finally managed to give the picture book to the princess, and then Princess Flora is more concerned with the small bears than the vigers that ran away. Lol

 Chapter 249 â€“ Bear-san Visits Noa

    After giving Princess Flora the picture book, I went straight back to Crimonia and stayed there for a couple of days.

    I soon realized I couldn¡¯te up with a solution to the means of travel on my own, and decided to bring in Fina.

    ¡¸So, what do you think we should do?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you ask me that, I¡¯m not sure, either.¡¹

    I called Fina over to my house so she could help me decide but got shot down by such a response immediately.

    I had even given her tea and snacks to wee her, so she could at least have tried to entertain me. I kind of wanted to tell her that I wouldn¡¯t give her anymore snacks if she failed to give any constructive insight, but I couldn¡¯t bear to do something like that and rather brought out even more snacks.

    ¡¸So, if I get this right, both Shuri and I areing to the Capital with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Eleanora-san wants to thank the two of you for taking care of her when she was visiting my shop.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do much, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t you guide her around and exin stuff to her?¡¹

    ¡¸I did a bit, but that was so Mother didn¡¯t have to.¡¹

    Terumi-san had really been too nervous to be of any help here, huh. I could clearly picture Fina trying her best for her mother¡¯s sake.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think you need to look into it to deeply. She just wants to thank you for being her guide. Or do you not want to go?¡¹

    ¡¸Is the school festival a festival that Shia-sama¡¯s school will be holding?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I think so. I¡¯ve never seen it before, so I¡¯m notpletely sure, either. I believe the students will run a few stands and put on a show or two.¡¹

    Having never experienced a school festival in my former world, I barely had any knowledge of it. Thus, I was basically clueless on what a fantasy world school festival would be like.

    ¡¸I want to go, but am I allowed to?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia and Eleanora-san said it was fine, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡¹

    ¡¸But we¡¯ll cause trouble for you, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    Why did she think so?

    ¡¸I never once thought of you as a bother. In fact, you will actually cause me trouble if you don¡¯te.¡¹

    Fina didn¡¯t understand what I meant by that and tilted her head in confusion.

    ¡¸If I don¡¯t bring you along, Eleanora-san will surelyin to me. ¡ºWhy didn¡¯t you make here?¡»or ¡ºDid you even ask her?¡», maybe even¡ºYou didn¡¯t tell her anything strange, did you?¡», and so on.¡¹

    Well, I didn¡¯t think that would actually happen, but she would definitely be disappointed.

    ¡¸Uuu, when you put it like that, there is no way I can decline the invitation.¡¹

    What a good girl.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding. Tell me if you really don¡¯t want to go and I won¡¯t force you. I¡¯ll also make up an excuse for Eleanora-san, so you won¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    If she really didn¡¯t want to go, I had no intention of dragging her along.

    I wanted Fina and Shuri to have fun at the school festival; if they had to force themselves, then they would surely be miserable.

    ¡¸I really won¡¯t be a bother to you?¡¹

    ¡¸As I said, I have never once thought of you being a bother. Actually, I¡¯ve dragged you around a lot, so did you think I was being a bother to you?¡¹

    ¡¸I never thought about it that way! I enjoy being able to travel to different ces with you, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm. I got to go to the capital for the first time, and then I went out to the sea. I also got to visit many different viges. Not to mention the bee tree, and Misa-sama¡¯s birthday party. I was nervous and tired many times, but I also had a lot of fun.¡¹

    I studied Fina¡¯s expression for a moment and gathered that she wasn¡¯t lying.

    ¡¸Thank you. I¡¯m happy to hear that. Then, there¡¯s no problem going this time either, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm. I¡¯m a little nervous about Eleanora-sama¡¯s invitation, but I would like to go to the school festival.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, let¡¯s enjoy it together. I¡¯d get lonely if I have to go by myself.¡¹

    I wanted to pat her head, but because she was sitting across a table from me, I couldn¡¯t reach her.

    Instead, I just sent her a smile.

    ¡¸You said Shuri ising along this time as well, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The invitation is for the both of you. You will have to get permission from Terumi-san and Gentz-san first, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I think Mother will be okay with it. I wonder if Father will allow it, though?¡¹

    ¡¸You have to ask him, no matter what. I¡¯lle with you, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡¹

    I was always taking Fina around to all sorts of ces, so getting permission for her should be easy. Still, we only brought Shuri out with us once, and even that was only staying overnight by the seaside.

    Since we were going to the capital this time, I didn¡¯t know if Gentz-san would be willing to let both of them go.

    I would be the one taking them along, so if we asked nicely, he should allow the two of them to go, right? My adventurer rank was high, after all, and he also knows I had defeated many strong monsters so far. He should trust me with them at this point.

    ¡¸Oh right, do you think it¡¯s okay for me to tell Shuri about the Bear Gate?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it should be fine. That girl keeps her promises and doesn¡¯t b about secrets. She likes traveling with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, though...¡¹

    The same should go for Noa. Just how would she react if she found out she couldn¡¯t travel with her beloved Bear-sans?

    In the end, I did at least manage to get Fina to discuss our trip with me. We couldn¡¯t settle on a good solution though, so we decided that I should go and ask Noa directly, while she should return home and inquire with her family.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, wee.¡¹

    When I arrived at Noa¡¯s mansion, L-san came out to greet me.

    ¡¸Are Cliff and Noa in? I have a letter for Cliff, from Eleanora-san. Can I meet him now?¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-sama is in her room at the moment, so that should be fine. Cliff-sama is currently working, however, so I¡¯m not sure if he is ready to meet you. I will confirm with him, so please wait inside.¡¹

    L-san brought me to a room, and as I waited, Noa barged in.

    ¡¸Yuna-san?!¡¹

    She rushed up to me with a smile.

    Looking at her closely, I could see her resemnce to Shia. When she grew up, would she look like Eleanora-san? I hope her personality wouldn¡¯t end up being simr, though.

    I really hoped she wouldn¡¯t change, and stay the way she was.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, why are you looking at me like that?¡¹

    Noa returned my stare with a troubled expression.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing. I just thought about how cute you are.¡¹

    ¡¸I think you are cuter than me!¡¹

    ¡¸Why, thank you.¡¹

    I patted Noa on the head as she sat down next to me.

    ¡¸I heard from L that Mother gave you a letter to bring to us, is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸It was addressed to Cliff, though. Actually, it is about getting permission for me to take you to the capital, upon Shia¡¯s request.¡¹

    ¡¸To the Capital?!¡¹

    ¡¸Shia wants you toe and see their school festival, and she asked me to bring you over.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama did...¡¹

    Noa looked rather happy.

    Noa and Shia really did get along just like Fina and Shuri. It filled my heart with joy simply seeing how pure their rtionship was.

    ¡¸So, do you want to go?¡¹

    ¡¸Of-of course I wanna go!¡¹

    She blurted out immediately to no surprise.

    ¡¸Okay, now we just need to get permission from Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I will convince Father myself.¡¹

    She strongly dered.

    Well, we had Eleanora-san¡¯s letter, and I also nned on asking him myself. If I remembered correctly, Cliff still owed me a favor. Even though I had caused a lot of trouble for him and it might feel like I had already been repaid, I was sure there was still a bit left.

    ¡¸This means I can travel with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan again.¡¹

    She smiled and looked at me.

    Would it be better to let Noa travel with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, after all?

    ¡¸Do you really enjoy going out with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Just hearing about the trip is getting me excited. I get Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan all to myself.¡¹

    She couldn¡¯t hog them, though. Even if Fina and Shuri somehow weren¡¯t allowed toe, I still had to ride one of them myself.

    ¡¸Actually, Fina and Shuri are bothing this time, so you can¡¯t monopolize both Bears.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina and Shuri areing too?!¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-san invited them. Would you be okay with sharing the Bears with them?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I¡¯m a little disappointed I can¡¯t have the bears all to myself, but if we can all go together, it will be really fun.¡¹

    ¡¸What will be fun?¡¹

    Cliff interjected as he entered the room.

    ¡¸Sorry for keeping you wait, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I was chatting with Noa.¡¹

    Cliff sat down in front of me, looking awfully tired.

    Was he working too much? His work as a feudal lord must be quite tiring.

    ¡¸So, I hear that you brought me a letter from Eleanora.¡¹

    At his prompt, I took out the letter from Eleanora-san and handed it over to him.

    Cliff opened it and skimmed through the contents. Did he look surprised at some point or was it just me?

    ¡¸The school festival, huh? Is it that time already?¡¹

    ¡¸Father, please. I want to go and Yuna-san will be there as my bodyguard. Can I please go?¡¹

    ¡¸I will bring her back safely, so can you please let her go?¡¹

    If I used the Bear Gate, the trip would be instantaneous and free of danger anyway.

    Even if we decided to travel by the bears, we should be safe with me and my Bears, so I really saw no reason for him to refuse.

    ¡¸I have no worries in regards to the escorting. There is no adventurer better than you for protecting Noa.¡¹

    It looked like he trusted me quite a lot.

    Why did he have such a grim expression when we asked him, then?

    ¡¸Noa, have you been studying properly?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I have.¡¹

    Cliff thought for a bit.

    ¡¸Is there something you are worried about?¡¹

    When I asked that, Cliff looked at Noa.

    ¡¸Thest time, when we went to His Majesty¡¯s birthday party, I got dragged into a lot marriage proposals talks for Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Marriage proposals for me?!¡¹

    Noa said with an ufortable look on her face.

    Well, obviously she wouldn¡¯t be fine with it. Anyone would be disturbed to suddenly hear about discussions of her own marriage like that.

    ¡¸Of course, I declined all of them, but...¡¹

    Noa looked relieved to hear that.

    I was relieved, too. It was shocking to hear that she got marriage proposals at this age.

    ¡¸Still, if we¡¯re talking about marriage, shouldn¡¯t Onee-sama be first?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia will seed my position here, so she must take a groom herself. Yet, there are many people aiming to be rted to our family and are going after Noa instead. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m handing over my daughter to those types of people.¡¹

    He must be worried about the idiots that would go after Noa if she went to the school festival.

    I understood what they were after, even though I wasn¡¯t too familiar with noble customs. The easiest way to be rted to Eleanora-san and Cliff would be marrying into the family.

    Still, this was not a conversation for a ten-year-old girl. Were they trying to get to her while she was young and couldn¡¯t decide properly on her own? Maybe this was amon way to act in this world, but I didn¡¯t think it was a good thing, though.

    ¡¸Father, you don¡¯t have to worry. I won¡¯t marry anybody.¡¹

    Noa dered with a serious expression.

    ¡¸Noa, that itself would be a problem too, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸If I really have to get married, then I will marry Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸....¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    Cliff and I looked at each other. We didn¡¯t hear that wrong, it seemed.

    ¡¸Noa, I¡¯m a girl too, you know.¡¹

    Yes, a certain part of me may be t, but she didn¡¯t think I was a guy, did she?

    We had gone into the bath together before, so that shouldn¡¯t be the case. If she considered me a guy, I was going to cry in my pillow tonight.

    ¡¸I know that, of course.¡¹

    Okay, good. She had me worried there.

    In my former world, there were some countries where people of the same sex could get married. Could it be that this world was the same, where girls could get married to each other?! What a shocking revtion.

    ¡¸If I marry Yuna-san, then I can be together with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan forever.¡¹

    It looked like she was aiming for the Bears, not me...

    That was so like her. I just hoped she wouldn¡¯t say something so misleading at first.

    ¡¸Okay, then. Yuna, please take care of Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you want me to marry Noa?!¡¹

    ¡¸No! Girls can¡¯t get married to each other anyway. I mean escorting her to the Capital. That way, she¡¯ll be fine even if weird guys try to approach her. Therefore, Yuna, please make sure to stay by Noa¡¯s side at all times during the festival.¡¹

    ¡¸I nned on doing that from the start. Still, Shia and Eleanora-san will be with us too, so we might have to separate at some point.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, just make sure there is someone always with her. If anybody tries to approach Noa, show them the Forscheroze family crest you got from Eleanora. If they still don¡¯t back down, feel free to let them feel some pain.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸If they don¡¯t back down even seeing the Forscheroze family crest, it¡¯s their own fault.¡¹

    ¡¸What if they¡¯re some bigshot?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think there will be any of those. If that were to happen, then information about that will be sent in advance to either me or Eleanora.¡¹

    That made sense. If it was somebody that could speak to Cliff or Eleanora-san, then they would probably be informed of it beforehand.

    So, from what he told me, all I had to do was show anybody that approached Noa the family crest knife, and if they didn¡¯t back away then, I could hit them.

    Easy, peasy.

    Just like that, we had permission for Noa to attend the school festival.

    I wished Cliff would have exined things properly, though. For a second there, I had thought that he was giving his daughter to me for marriage. If he wasn¡¯t more clear about his words, people could misunderstand him easily.

    I had received a shock today, thanks to them not being careful with words.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    I considered calling this chapter ¡¸Bear-san is getting married to Noa?¡¹lol

    Volume 3 is now on sale now.

    I really do appreciate your continued support.

 Chapter 250 â€“ Bear-san Persuades Cliff?

    Once our talks were all settled, Cliff massaged the corners of his eyes.

    ¡¸Cliff, you seem really tired.¡¹

    He had been doing the same thing for a while now.

    He must be even more tired than he looked.

    ¡¸Thanks to a certain someone, the amount of traffic around Crimonia has increased, so I have a lot more work to do.¡¹

    Oh right, Mylene-san had mentioned that a lot of merchants from other towns had beening to Crimonia these days to do business, and things were getting out of hand.

    Since it had nothing to do with me, I didn¡¯t look into it to much. I did wonder who the certain someone was, however.

    ¡¸Being a feudal lord sure is tough, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thanks to a certain someone.¡¹

    ¡¸You keep saying a certain someone, but who are you talking about?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you seriously asking me that?¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    Cliff looked at me in shock.

    Why would he look at me like that? I turned to Noa for an answer.

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    Noa had the same expression as Cliff.

    Did something big happen and I was the only one left in the dark?

    Until recently, I had been at the Elf Vige, so it couldn¡¯t be helped that I wasn¡¯t up to date on the happenings at home.

    ¡¸Did something happen while I was out?¡¹

    ¡¸While you were out? No, it was before that! Have you somehow forgotten that you dug a tunnel to Mireera?! Thanks to that, Crimonia had a huge increase in traffic.¡¹

    Cliff said in a higher pitch.

    ¡¸Oh right, that.¡¹

    Yup, I hadpletely forgotten that happened. Lately, I always used the Bear Gate to travel around, so the tunnel never came to my mind.

    Well, that should also be thanks to the fact I had been forced to make stone statues of my Bear-self at both ends of the tunnel and wiped out all the memories connected to it.

    ¡¸Of course, the tunnel is very beneficial to us as there are now more people passing through Crimonia. More and more people want to see the ocean, and the sea trade has also hit a big rise. Yet, thanks to that, we don¡¯t have nearly enough lodging avable. Crime is also on the rise due to the influx of people. We need more people for security, but we don¡¯t have enough personnel. This is happening in Mireera as well. We have expected this, of course, but it¡¯s happening faster than we anticipated.¡¹

    ¡¸It increased that much?¡¹

    It sounded like a big problem just hearing about it.

    His job didn¡¯t sound morous at all. I was d I hadn¡¯t reincarnated into a royal or noble family when I came to this world. If that had happened, I wouldn¡¯t have had much freedom, would I?

    ¡¸Yes, most people have never seen the ocean before, so a lot of theme through just for sightseeing, escorted by adventures of course. Merchants from everywhere are going in and out to do trading with Mireera. The sea of people is endless.¡¹

    I had had no idea that was going on.

    I wasn¡¯t staying at the inn anymore, and I hadn¡¯t been to the Commerce Guild or the Adventurer¡¯s Guild recently, so I hadn¡¯t been informed at all.

    ¡¸Sounds tough.¡¹

    Now I understood why Cliff was so busy and tired. And, I had learned so without getting in trouble for asking.

    ¡¸So, is this still someone else¡¯s problem?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it should be, why?¡¹

    While I had been the one to make the tunnel, what happened after wasn¡¯t my fault.

    It was Cliff¡¯s job to manage the traffic. I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it, as I was just amoner.

    ¡¸While it isn¡¯t your problem directly, this did only happen because you made that tunnel. How about being a little more apologetic? Thanks to you, I now have less time to spend with my daughter.¡¹

    Basically, he was mad at me for taking away his time with Noa.

    ¡¸Okay, do you want me to seal the tunnel shut, then?¡¹

    I tried joking with him. I had no intention of doing that, of course. If I did, we wouldn¡¯t be able to get any more seafood, and Anzu would surely be troubled.

    ¡¸No. If you do that, I will be ruined for good.¡¹

    He clearly didn¡¯t catch my joke, responding like that. I almost felt bad.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you can¡¯t close it. If you do that, we won¡¯t be able go to the ocean anymore.¡¹

    Even Noa missed my joke...

    ¡¸I was just kidding, you know? I wouldn¡¯t actually seal it shut.¡¹

    I tried to calm them down.

    ¡¸Well, the only thing we can do is to hold on until we have the personnel. Once I have more people I can rely on, my workload will decrease. Mylene is doing her best as well, so the situation should improve soon. Well, as long as a certain someone doesn¡¯t bring in even more trouble for us.¡¹

    He was referring to me again, wasn¡¯t he. I would prefer if he didn¡¯t talk about me like I was some anime or manga protagonist who only brought trouble with them.

    In detective dramas for instance, even more murders would trail in the footsteps of the detective or police protagonists. Or, in action movies, strong enemies would always appear to cause problems with the heroes. Just by being the protagonist of any genre, trouble would always happen nearby. So, I really didn¡¯t appreciate him putting me into that group.

    I was just a regr fifteen-year-old, costume-wearing girl, who had been dragged into this world by God. I was most certainly not a trouble bringing protagonist.

    The only problems I had bothered Cliff with were the tunnel to Mireera and the ten thousand monster army incident. Oh, and the punch-out that had happened during Misa¡¯s kidnapping.

    Actually, considering the number of days I had been here so far, maybe that was actually a lot?

    ¡¸Umm. Is there anything I can do to help?¡¹

    I asked, just in case if I could do something. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight tinge of guilt, after all.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s fine. Things just happened faster than we expected. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve said too much; it¡¯s really not your problem.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, good. Still, if you find anything I can help you with I will do my best to help.¡¹

    ¡¸You bringing Noa to the school festival while I can¡¯t is more than enough. Please let Noa have some much needed fun andpany.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. No problem.¡¹

    It looked like there was nothing I could do for him, as I had expected.

    Seeing Cliff massage the corners of his eyes, he really seemed exhausted. I could maybe use some healing magic, but that might cause even more trouble for him in the long run.

    Was there anything else I could do... Oh! I just thought of something good.

    ¡¸Cliff, here, I¡¯ll give this to you.¡¹

    I said and took out some ground up tea leaves from the Sacred Tree and passed them to Cliff.

    I didn¡¯t have much of them, so I couldn¡¯t spare too much. Once I picked up a new batch, I could bring him some more.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s tea that helps with fatigue. Get L-san to brew some for you.¡¹

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t something weird, is it?¡¹

    He held the tea leaves in his hands and looked at them suspiciously.

    ¡¸Have I ever given you anything weird?¡¹

    How rude of him for doubting me.

    I didn¡¯t recall ever giving him something weird to eat.

    ...I¡¯m pretty sure I hadn¡¯t.

    ...I hadn¡¯t, right?

    ¡¸Yes, you¡¯re right. You may bring trouble with you everywhere you go, but your food is always delicious no matter what. Sorry for doubting you; I will dly ept this.¡¹

    He answered after considering for a while and then put the leaves away.

    Had he acted badly, I would have regretted giving it to him.

    It was hard to give something out of goodwill if they didn¡¯t appreciate it, after all.

    ¡¸Oh, and can you please tell me your opinion after you drink it?¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, you haven¡¯t had this before?¡¹

    ¡¸I did, and it¡¯s good. But, I still don¡¯t know how well it actually works against fatigue so I would like to get your opinion on it.¡¹

    I was almost always wearing the Bear Outfit, so even if I ran around all day, I never got tired, and my White Bear side would alleviate all of my weariness by the following morning.

    Because of that, I hadn¡¯t been able to confirm the effects of the tea, especially since I would never go as far as to try exercising without the costume just to test some tea.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I want to try some, too.¡¹

    ¡¸You can have some as well, of course. It tastes pretty good.¡¹

    ¡¸Yay, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸ I¡¯ll get L to us brew someter, then. I¡¯m going back to work now. Please take care of Noa for me.¡¹

    Cliff then left the room, taking the tea leaves with him.

    ¡¸Noa, you can go to the school festival as well now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! And, it¡¯s all thanks to you, Yuna-san. By the way, when are we leaving?¡¹

    That was something I couldn¡¯t decide...

    ¡¸You see.... I want to discuss that with you, so can youe over to my house tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Your house? I don¡¯t mind, but why the trouble?¡¹

    ¡¸I told you how we¡¯re going with Fina and Shuri, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s something I want to speak with all three of you about.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to talk about the Bear Gate here, where someone might eavesdrop on our conversation.

    ¡¸Is that so? Okay, then. I¡¯lle visit your house tomorrow, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Then, let¡¯s eat dinner together and talk after that.¡¹

    With all said and done, I left Noa¡¯s ce and returned to the Bear House for a few hours. When it was about time for Gentz-san to be off from work, I headed to Fina¡¯s house.

    I was going to exin to him that I was nning on bringing his two daughters to the capital. Of course, I had prepared various phrases to convince Gentz-san and Terumi-san.

    Things like: ¡¸I will protect them, so please feel reassured.¡¹or¡¸I¡¯m a C rank adventurer, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹and¡¸I defeated a ck Viper before, so we¡¯ll be fine even if strong monsters attack.¡¹or even¡¸If monsters do attack us, my Bears will be able to bring them to safety.¡¹

    I readied myself and entered Fina¡¯s house.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re with them, that¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not worried if you¡¯re going with them, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    My jaws dropped.

    I didn¡¯t think they were going to give us permission that easily.

    Shuri and Fina both looked ecstatic, though.

    ¡¸Is it really okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s fine. When Fina went to the Capital, Shuri did her best to hold back. If both of them say they want to go, then who am I to stop them. Still, knowing that you will be with them fills me with ease.¡¹

    She really trusted me that much, huh. I was very grateful for that.

    ¡¸Also, there¡¯s no way they could refuse Eleanora-sama¡¯s invitation.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if they did reject her invitation, Eleanora-san shouldn¡¯t...¡¹

    She wouldn¡¯t get mad, but maybe sad?

    ¡¸We met her the other day; she is indeed a nice person. I also heard from you and Fina that she is nice and doesn¡¯t hold grudges, but even so, it is not good to refuse a noble¡¯s invitation. Of course, if it was something bad, then I would at least consider refusing. However, Eleanora-sama is inviting them out of good will, and the girls want to go, so there is no reason for me to stop them.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right! Eleanora-sama is very kind... She can be a bit of a force of nature sometimes, though.¡¹

    Fina was right. When I had been subjugating the Mithril Golem, Eleanora-san dragged Fina around and turned her into a dress-up doll. While I would love to see Fina in dresses more often, I shivered at the thought of Eleanora-san trying to do that to me.

    ¡¸Well, it would be hard for me to take my daughters to see the capital myself. It will be a good experience for both of them. I¡¯m just worried they might cause trouble for Eleanora-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t be a bother.¡¹

    ¡¸Me neither.¡¹

    Shuri pouted while Fina also followed up.

    I missed the times when Fina would freak out over nobles. As her Onee-chan, I felt a bit sad seeing her grow up like that.

    ¡¸Huhu, I know that you two are both good girls. I¡¯m just worried as your parent.¡¹

    Terumi-san said patted Shuri¡¯s head..

    ¡¸Still, Yuna-chan, will you be fine taking care of all three of them? They won¡¯t be a bother, will they?¡¹

    ¡¸They won¡¯t wander off by themselves, and they¡¯re not selfish, so it should be fine.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t take them if they were children who liked to wander off or acted selfishly. Actually, I wouldn¡¯t even consider being friends with such children, let alone taking them on a trip with me.

    Fina, Shuri and Noa all listened to me, so I could travel with them with ease. Not to mention the fact that all three were good girls who didn¡¯t make fun of my Bear Outfit. If any of them teased me about it, I didn¡¯t think I would ever even consider bringing them to the capital.

    Anyway, just like that, we easily received permission for Fina and Shuri to go to the capital as well. When I was about to head home, Terumi-san invited me for dinner, and I dly epted her offer.

    Before I left, I made sure to ask Fina and Shuri toe to my house tomorrow, of course.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Cliff will be our taste-tester for the Sacred Tree tea leaves. lol

    I wrote a post about the differences between Volume 3 and the web novel.

    There aren¡¯t any big changes, but I will continue to write based on the changes made in the publication.

    I hope you can understand that.

 Chapter 251 â€“ Bear-san Plans Her Trip to the Capital

    The following day, Fina and Shuri dropped by early, so Fina helped me prepare dinner while we waited for Noa to arrive.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯ve set the tes.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Can you prepare the tea as well?¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. Shuri, Noa-sama will be arriving soon, so don¡¯t tire yourself out too much from ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay... Let¡¯s y againter, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I listened in on their exchange while I focused on the cooking.

    While Fina was helping me set up for dinner, Shuri rather chose to y with my cub-sized Bears.

    Just as we finished all the preparations, Noa knocked on the door.

    ¡¸Wee.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that I¡¯mte?¡¹

    Noa asked after seeing that Fina and Shuri were already by the table.

    ¡¸No, you¡¯re on time. Those two came early, so I got them to help me make dinner.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so? I should havee earlier as well, then...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about that. Well, let¡¯s continue talking while we eat.¡¹

    After everyone got seated at the table, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear curled up next to me. Today¡¯s dinner was fried rice with a side of sd and soup.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to decide on our date of departure, right?¡¹

    Noa asked after she ate her first spoonful of rice.

    ¡¸Yes, but first, there¡¯s something I want to tell Noa and Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸Tell us something?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    Noa and Shuri looked at me with their spoons hanging in midair.

    ¡¸The two of you want to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on our way there, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm!¡¹

    The two replied without hesitation, as I had expected.

    ¡¸Just thinking of being with Bear-san for an entire day makes me happy.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, me too.¡¹

    Shuri nodded at Noa¡¯s words.

    Could it be that those two were actually more simr than I had thought?

    Of course, Fina liked my Bears, too. I often saw her petting them when I summoned them.

    ¡¸Riding Bear-sans to the Capital... It will be the best trip ever!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to ride Bear-sans soon.¡¹

    They have already entered Bear-san mode... The trip would take longer, but maybe it would be a better idea to keep quiet about the Bear Gate and just go to the capital with the Bears?

    It still felt like a waste of time, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Noa asked me when she noticed me ying with my spoon.

    ¡¸Hm,? Oh, nothing, I was just thinking.¡¹

    ¡¸About what?¡¹

    ¡¸I was just thinking that it would be nice to be able to get to the capital in an instant.¡¹

    ¡¸In an instant? If I could do that, I¡¯d be able to go see Mother anytime I want!¡¹

    Well, if she used the Bear Gate, she would indeed be able to meet Eleanora-san whenever she wanted... I decided to swallow those words and keep quiet for now.

    Grasping the timing to reveal a secret was unexpectedly difficult. When I had told Fina, I thought she already knew about it, so it was easy. Telling someone who I was sure didn¡¯t know was much harder, especially since it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary to do so.

    ¡¸Well, if that was possible, then what would the two of you do? Would you still want to ride all the way to the capital on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go with Bear-sans!¡¹

    Shuri replied immediately.

    ¡¸If I could get there in an instant, I would love to try it out sometime, but I also want to go on a trip with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear...¡¹

    It seems that Shuri wanted to go with Bear-san no matter what while Noa was a bit more undecided.

    ¡¸Why did you ask us something like that anyway?¡¹

    ¡¸Just as a reference.¡¹

    I understood their feelings. Even if I told them about the door, they probably wouldn¡¯t want to use it in the end, and even if they did, they would regret not going on a trip with my Bears.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, how about we travel to the capital with Bear-sans, and then, on our way back, we use that.¡¹

    Fina tried her best to be vague when she talked about the Bear Gate.

    Her idea wasn¡¯t bad; they would get to travel with the Bears, but we also wouldn¡¯t waste timeing back. Yeah, it was a good n.

    ¡¸Fina, what is that?¡¹

    ¡¸Um, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Fina kept her promise and kept the Bear Gate secret, while Noa didn¡¯t press any further and returned to eating her rice.

    ¡¸Okay then, let¡¯s all go to the capital with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    After talking for a while longer, we decided to depart a few days before the festival began.

    That way the three of them would get to enjoy the trip itself, and I could pick a different time to tell them about the door. Just like Fina had proposed, I could easily tell them about the door for our way back. Timing would also be much better, then.

    After the meal, I pulled out some pudding for us as a dessert, and after that, the three of them yed with the cub-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear until sunset. Noticing they were getting tired, I let them sleep over with Bears.

    Next morning, I began to prepare for our trip to the Capital.

    Since there would be three childrening along, I should bring something to keep them entertained. We had reversi, but that would get boring after a while, so I decided to also bring a deck of cards. It would be the main feature of our trip.

    I had worked on the cards little by little at any chance I got. For the Kings, Queens, and Jacks, I drew little Bears on the front of the cards.

    The Bears on the King cards wore crowns, the ones on the Queen cards looked like queens, and the Jacks bore swords. Of course, the Jokers were also Bears in the end.

    I nned on having chibi bears on the backside of the cards, but right now they were still nk. I wasn¡¯t confident I could draw fifty-four of the exact same thing, after all.

    I wanted to have them printed, instead.

    If I identally messed up the card while drawing, the whole card would be ruined, after all the effort I put into drawing the front.

    I had to check with the Commerce Guild to see if they could print the cards for me.

    Just as Cliff had told me, there was a ton of merchants from other towns at the Commerce Guild when I went to see Mylene-san.

    How did I know they were from other towns?

    Of course, it was because Crimonian merchants wouldn¡¯t keep staring at me, since they were already used to seeing me. On other other hand, foreign merchants would keep at it as if I were some kind of rare animal.

    Based on what Mylene had told me, there probably weren¡¯t a lot of merchants from Crimonia who didn¡¯t already know who I was.

    Information about the Bear who took down the ck Viper was a well-known secret, after all. Not to mention all the rumors about a Bear opening a shop and selling great egg dishes.

    It was due to that, that there weren¡¯t many people left in this town who looked at me with curious eyes. Only outsiders would stare at me.

    On a side note, there was a certain piece of very important information that that the Crimonian merchants still didn¡¯t care to learn. They had no idea what my actual name was and rather just called me¡¸Bear¡¹.

    How rude of them to do so after all this time...

    Once I got to the reception area, I saw a lot of female receptionists, but Mylene-san was nowhere to be found.

    She must be busy as the guild master, and couldn¡¯t just y around the receptionist desk all day long, huh.

    Riana-san, one of the other receptionists I was familiar with, was there, but she was already with another customer. I met her gaze when she looked in my direction, and she nodded to say hi.

    There was a long line and everyone was busy. I didn¡¯t really feel like waiting, so maybe I could juste back tomorrow?

    When I was about to leave, Riana called out to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    When I turned around, I saw that she was done with her customer. Technically, it wasn¡¯t my turn yet, but...

    ¡¸What did you need today?¡¹

    ¡¸I have something I want to discuss.¡¹

    When I looked behind me, there were still many people in the line.

    ¡¸Is Mylene-san busy?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s some work she has to do. If you¡¯re okay with me, I can listen to what you want to talk about.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? But there are other people still waiting in line.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. The other girls can take care of that.¡¹

    She said it pretty casually, but was it really okay?

    Riana-san then proceeded to say something to a staff member working at the back, and they took her spot.

    ¡¸Okay, we can speak back here.¡¹

    I felt like they were giving me VIP treatment, but was that really okay? I decided to inquire with Riana-san.

    ¡¸This applies to any guild, but people who contribute a lot to the guild naturally have to be treated better. It¡¯s the same treatment we give to all the important people in the town. If we make them wait too long, they might be upset, which might in turn cause trouble to the guild.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s not like I would be mad for waiting a while.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, but we think of you as someone important to the Commerce Guild, so we have to give you priority.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. With all the monster materials you sell to us, and the eggs you provide, not to mention the tax we get from the Mireera Tunnel and your shop, there¡¯s no way we can let you wait in a line.¡¹

    Riana-san was making me sound like some sort of an amazing person.

    The shop was all thanks to Morin-san and Anzu, though. The eggs were also provided because the children at the orphanage were working hard, with the support of Terumi-san and the other adults, of course.

    As for the tunnel, all I had done was dig a hole through the mountain. How hard could that be?

    Cliff did all the cleaning, put the lighting and managed everything.

    Yes, all I had done was dig a hole. And even that was all thanks to my Bear Suit. Why should I be getting this special treatment for things others did?

    Okay, the Bear Suit could be considered a power of mine, and I was technically the owner of the shop, but even using that as an excuse...

    If I let myself get carried away and took this kind of treatment for granted, I would end up bing like those stupid, arrogant merchants and nobles. I would never want for something like that to happen.

    ¡¸So what was it you wanted to discuss?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know where I could do some printing?¡¹

    ¡¸Printing?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I want to make multiple copies of the same thing. Where can I do that?¡¹

    I took out the deck of cards from the Bear Box and showed it her.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a little different from the one I¡¯m used to, but is this a card game?¡¹

    Riana-san looked at the Bear-san cards and guessed correctly.

    So there were card games in this world as well, huh. I should look into it when I had time.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I want to print more of them if possible, and also have a background for all of them copied. Is there a ce I can get it done?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is. If you don¡¯t mind, we can take care of it for you.¡¹

    That would be quite helpful. I proceeded to exin to her about the front and back sides of each card and even prepared the backside picture so it could be printed on each card.

    ¡¸The costs don¡¯t matter to me , so please make the cards out of a strong, durable material. Also, I would like a hundred sets.¡¹

    ¡¸A hundred sets?!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need that many, but I prefer not to run short and have to ask you for a reprint.¡¹

    I needed ten sets just for the people at the orphanage, and since ying cards could get damaged easily, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about it for a while if I had enough extra sets.

    ¡¸Okay, I understand. I¡¯ll put in the order for you.¡¹

    ¡¸How long do you think it¡¯ll take? I¡¯ll be going to the Capital soon, so I would like it done before I go.¡¹

    I told Riana-san our departure date.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll request to have them finish it before that date.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, I must say, these drawings of Bear-sans are really cute.¡¹

    Riana-san said while carefully examining each drawing.

    ¡¸If you decide to sell these to the public, please let us know. The Commerce Guild will be d help you with the process.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, if I do, please take care of me then.¡¹

    ¡¸When your order is done, we¡¯ll deliver it to your home.¡¹

    With the printing order all sorted out, I left the Commerce Guild and returned home.

    Author¡¯s note:

    In the end, they decided to travel by bear.

    She couldn¡¯t tell the two girls ¡¸we won¡¯t be using Bear-sans¡¹, after all. lol

 Chapter 252 â€“ Bear-san Takes a Rest Before Heading Ou

    t

    I was at home ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when I heard someone knocking at my door.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, sorry to bother you when you¡¯re busy.¡¹

    I opened the door to see L-san bowing at me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. What brings you here today? If you¡¯re looking for Noa, she¡¯s not here.¡¹

    Noa came over to y asionally, and when she did, L-san woulde to pick her up. However, Noa didn¡¯te by today.

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not here for Noire-sama today. It¡¯s about the tea leaves you gave Cliff-sama the other day.¡¹

    L-san looked a bit hesitant to continue.

    ¡¸Ah, right, the tea leaves. Could it be that he got sick from it?¡¹

    I took a guess based on how she was acting, but I really hoped that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡¸No, he didn¡¯t get sick. Actually, Cliff-sama was a bit doubtful when he first tried the tea, but now he is enjoying it quite a lot.¡¹

    Oh, I was wrong. He actually liked them.

    What was she fidgeting about, then?

    ¡¸If the tea tasted good, you must have brewed it well.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for yourpliment, but the tea only tastes delicious because the tea leaves you brought are of such high quality.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯m d he likes it. How is he doing, though? The tea is supposed to help relieve fatigue, but I¡¯m not sure about how well it works.¡¹

    I was eager to know how Cliff¡¯s body had reacted to drinking the tea.

    ¡¸After drinking it, Cliff-sama¡¯s condition improved drastically. Now he has a cup three times a day and can carry on until the night without losing energy.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Before, he had been waking up feeling exhausted, but now, for thest couple of days, he feels rested when waking up, and can do his work properly without feeling sleepy.¡¹

    Based on what I was hearing, it seemed to have effects simr to an energy drink. Still, since she didn¡¯t say he had trouble going to sleep after drinking it, maybe it was a bit different?

    I remembered how drinking energy drinks was like in my world; it definitely kept people awake at night. I could easily imagine a mangaka drinking some to fight off sleepiness so that they could stay up all night, without having to sleep.

    On the other hand, Cliff was able to go to bed without a problem, even after three cups a day.

    ¡¸So then, Cliff-sama¡¯s assistant, Rondo-san, who was also quite tiredtely, tried some, and liked it as well. Hence, both of them wanted to thank you for the tea.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d the tea has helped them.¡¹

    This proved that the tea leaves from the Sacred Tree were working as intended.

    Since I was wearing the White Bear Suit at night, drinking it had no effect on me. I simply enjoyed it for its taste.

    ¡¸So, about the tea leaves that you gave to Cliff-sama... we ran out. I came to ask if you could possibly give us some more. Of course, Cliff-sama will pay you ordingly.¡¹

    So, she came to get more tea leaves. That was why she was all fidgety, not knowing how to ask me.

    I still had some left, so I didn¡¯t mind giving them some more. Weren¡¯t they going through it too quickly, though?

    I was pretty sure it was bad to consume energy drinks at such a rate. Well, from what the elves told me, they seemed to drink it pretty often, but even so, we didn¡¯t know if it would cause harm from overconsumption. Not to mention that Cliff and the elves were of different races, so it could affect them differently. Also, I hadn¡¯t asked the elves how many times a day they drank it, so I couldn¡¯tpare.

    What should I do?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind giving you more, but can you warn them to not drink too much?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it bad for the body?¡¹

    L-san immediately looked concerned, so I quickly shook my head.

    ¡¸No, I think it should be fine.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t believe there were actually any side effects, but I wasn¡¯t a scientist nor did I know theplete properties the tea leaves had.

    Even when I used the Bear¡¯s Eyes of Observation, it only stated that it ¡°restores magical power¡± and ¡°removes fatigue¡±. It didn¡¯t mention anything else, so based on that information, there should be nothing dangerous, but I still wasn¡¯t entirely convinced. For example, eating too much sugar or salt could be harmful to the body. It was possible that the skill didn¡¯t convey such details properly.

    If the same applied to the tea, then it was important to bnce its intake. A bnced, healthy diet was important after all, no matter whether if it came to food or drinks.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just that if Cliff wants to get rid of his fatigue, then he should rest properly instead of relying on the tea.¡¹

    There might be no side effects, but if I were topare it to an energy drink then he shouldn¡¯t be drinking three cups a day.

    If not warned, it was possible he might decide to have even more than that.

    ¡¸Yes, of course. I¡¯ve also been telling Cliff-sama to rest properly.¡¹

    ¡¸If you can make him promise to only have one cup a day then I¡¯ll give him more.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I can promise you that. I¡¯ll tell Cliff-sama and only serve him one cup a day even if he asks for more.¡¹

    Since L-san promised me she wouldn¡¯t let him have too much, I gave her the same amount asst time.

    ¡¸I know I keep saying this, but only a little at a time.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand. I will make sure that he doesn¡¯t drink too much.¡¹

    L-san bowed and returned to Cliff¡¯s mansion.

    Cliff had proven the effects of the tea leaves for me, but now I was afraid that he was drinking too much. I should probably not serve this at the shop. If people found out about its properties, things might get out of hand.

    Once L-san was out of sight, I returned to ying around with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Fina and Shuri joined in after a while, and eventually Noa came as well.

    A few more days went by, and I built a few more cotton candy machines as I wanted to make some cotton candy for the children at the orphanage.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, this cloud tastes really good.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s so fluffy.¡¹

    ¡¸When it melts, it gets all sticky, though.¡¹

    ¡¸It melts in my mouth.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s so sweet and tasty.¡¹

    Seeing the children happily snack on them, I felt confident that it would work out well at the school festival.

    The days continued to pass by peacefully.

    One day, I was spending my time taking a nap on Swaying Bear¡¯s stomach, but then Swaying Bear tried to wake me up all of the sudden.

    ¡¸Let me sleep just a little bit longer...¡¹

    I mumbled and hugged Swaying Bear¡¯s arm tightly, treating it like a body pillow.

    Yet, Swaying Bear continued nudging me, and eventually even used its paws to make me stand up.

    ¡¸What?!¡¹

    I asked Swaying Bear why it was interrupting my nap before noticing someone was calling for me from outside.

    ¡¸Whoooo is it?¡¹

    I let out a small yawn and climbed off Swaying Bear¡¯s stomach. I really wanted to nap for a while longer.

    Rubbing my eyes, I walked over to the entrance to see who was bothering me and was met by Riana-san from the Commerce Guild.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, your order isplete. I brought it here for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Riana-saaawn.¡¹

    I yawned again.

    ¡¸Oh no, did I wake you up from your sleep?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I had nothing to do, so I took a nap.¡¹

    I had been bored today, so I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, yed around for a while, and then took a nap.

    ¡¸Okay, I won¡¯t fret over it then.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyway, you were saying that the ying cards are done?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Here they are.¡¹

    She said as she pulled out a small wooden box from her item bag. Taking the box out of her hands, I immediately opened the lid to have a look.

    Inside was a set of cards that had the bear drawings printed on their back sides properly. I also flipped some cards over to check if the other side was okay as well.

    They were very well made.

    ¡¸How is it?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re great. Thank you, it turned out better than I expected.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡¹

    ¡¸Riana-san, really, thank you.¡¹

    I thanked her again.

    ¡¸This is just our job, no need to thank us.¡¹

    Since it would be a hassle for her to take all the card sets out at once right here in front of the door, I invited Riana-san inside.

    ¡¸Still, was it really okay for you to deliver it yourself? What about your job?¡¹

    The Commerce Guild should still be very busy, right?

    I was sure they would send somebody else to bring the cards, so I was surprised when Riana-san came to deliver them herself.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s my day off, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸You came to deliver the cards even though it¡¯s your day off?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s not something I could ask other people to do for me.¡¹

    I felt like I caused her a lot of trouble...

    ¡¸Still, I get toe inside the rumored Yuna-san¡¯s house. That¡¯s enough of a reward for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Rumored...¡¹

    ¡¸Everybody is very interested in what your Bear-san shaped house looks like from the inside.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just a regr house as you can see.¡¹

    I brought her to the guest room and took out some drinks from the fridge.

    She delivered the cards despite it being her day off, so I felt I had to at least serve her some drinks as thanks.

    Once Riana-san sat down, she started to bring out the remaining card sets I had ordered. I sat down on a chair opposite of hers, and watched her as she neatly stacked all the sets on the table. There were quite a lot of them, so it should be the hundred I had ordered.

    ¡¸How much do they cost?¡¹

    ¡¸Here¡¯s your statement.¡¹

    She said and took out a piece of paper with ¡°Printing Fee¡± written on it.

    ¡¸Wait, what about the cost of the boxes?¡¹

    I hadpletely forgotten about the cases and hadn¡¯t ordered them. They must have made them since the cards would scatter about otherwise. I had to thank Riana-san for this.

    ¡¸Those areplimentary and free of charge.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do that, or I¡¯ll feel bad. I¡¯ll pay for them properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, in exchange, can you tell me how you can y with these cards?¡¹

    ¡¸How to y?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, everybody working at the Commerce Guild is also curious. Of course, I won¡¯t reveal it to anybody else.¡¹

    Well, since I had mentioned they were used to y games, it made sense for people to get curious.

    If I heard of a new card game, I would also want to know how it was yed.

    ¡¸Sure, I don¡¯t mind showing you. Do you want to y now?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that be alright?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I have nothing to do today, anyway.¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t have anything to do, to the point where I had even tried using Swaying Bear as a body pillow to sleep on.

    ¡¸I will be in your care, then.¡¹

    I took out a deck of cards from one of its wooden containers and put away the other sets into my Bear Box.

    Although I used to y a lot of card games on the inte, thest time I yed with a real set of cards was in elementary school.

    One by one, Iid out the cards around the table.

    ¡¸Take a look at these cards. I think you should already know, but there are 54 cards. There are four elemental suits and two special cards.¡¹

    Drawn on most of the cards on the table was one of the following symbols: fire, water, wind, and earth. Only the two joker cards were free of those symbols.

    ¡¸There are many ways to y using these, but I¡¯ll teach you one of the simplest versions first.¡¹

    I gathered the cards together back up and shuffled them. Then, I ced each card down on its own again but this time with their backs facing up.

    I was first going to show Riana-san the game called Memory.

    ¡¸This game is a test of your memorization. You flip any two cards. If the cards have the same number, you earn a point. The person with the most points at the end is the winner.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, so you must remember the numbers of the cards that your opponent flipped too.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, and if you guess a pair correctly, you can continue flipping until you miss.¡¹

    We yed against each other for a while. It turned out Riana-san¡¯s memory was quite good, so we had a fun round without me having the upper hand.

    ¡¸This is rather difficult. It will be good for the children to improve their memories, though.¡¹

    Since she had gotten the hang of Memory so easily, I decided to also teach her how to y Sevens.

    It was a game good for formting strategies.

    ¡¸In this case, having a ¡º1¡»or¡º13¡»would be disadvantageous, wouldn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that depends on your luck, too. Still, how the game turns out depends on how you y your cards.¡¹

    Next, I taught her Old Maid. This game was more fun with more people, just like Sevens, so I made sure to exin that to her.

    ¡¸I see, so thest one who still has cards loses.¡¹

    ¡¸The oue of the game depends on how well you can hide the joker when you have it.¡¹

    A good poker face was needed to dominate in Old Maid.

    Well, unlike poker, there wasn¡¯t much at stake here, but it was still fun to y the game. Also, in my case, I could just pull my Bear Hood down, so I didn¡¯t need a poker face.

    For thest game, I showed her how to y Grand Millionaire (also known as Extremely Poor).

    (TL note: Wikipedia Link)

    ¡¸This is a bit difficult.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, cards are being ced down left and right, after all.¡¹

    I ended up exining more games to her than I had nned to.

    I had left out card games like poker and ckjack which had annoying rules where it was troublesome to even remember how scoring worked.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are there more?¡¹

    ¡¸There are, but the rules get moreplicated.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. I didn¡¯t know you could y so many different games with a single deck of cards. It¡¯s also good you can y these with more than just two people.¡¹

    Riana-san began staring at the cards, deep in thought.

    ¡¸If we sell this, we would have to include an instruction sheet for the games you can y with it.¡¹

    If I were to sell these, a rule book would indeed need to be included. If people didn¡¯t know how to y, nobody would want to buy it.

    ¡¸Please let me know if you ever have ns to sell these. The Commerce Guild will dly assist you in the process.¡¹

    ¡¸Please help me when the timees, then.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how I should go about doing it anyway, so having their help would be much appreciated.

    ¡¸Thank you very much for today.¡¹

    ¡¸Likewise, thank you for bringing the cards and spending time with me.¡¹

    After chatting for a while longer, Riana-san left my house close to sunset.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    They¡¯ll depart in the next chapter.

    Maybe...

 Chapter 253 â€“ Bear-san And The Three Girls Depar

    t

    The day to head off to the capital had finally arrived. The n was to meet at my house right after breakfast.

    Yet, when I woke up, I realized the girls were already waiting for me downstairs.

    ¡¸Um, aren¡¯t you three here a bit too early?¡¹

    It was surprising to see the three girls already at my house when I was just trudging down the stairs, not even changed out of my White Bear form yet.

    I even woke up earlier than usual just so that I could eat breakfast before they got here, but for some reason, the three of them came over way ahead of my schedule.

    ¡¸Shuri, I told you we were too early.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    Fina scolded Shuri.

    Based on her reaction, Shuri must have wanted toe here as early as possible while Fina tried her best to stop her, unsessfully of course.

    I looked at the third girl, who didn¡¯t say anything and just waited patiently.

    ¡¸And, what about you, Noa?¡¹

    ¡¸I just wanted to leave with the Bear-sans as soon as possible.¡¹

    Noa answered immediately.

    Well, of course she would. Thest time we travelled to the capital, Noa had already been waiting for me outside her mansion, well before our meet-up time.

    Since we had decided to meet at my house this time, she couldn¡¯t stand waiting and rushed over instead. It was a bitte to consider this now, but maybe it would have been better if we had met at Noa¡¯s home.

    I had only chosen my house so that it would have been easier for Fina and Shuri...

    Well, now that they were here, I couldn¡¯t simply turn them away.

    ¡¸Okay, you can sit down in the living room and wait for me to get changed.¡¹

    I returned back to my room and changed into the ck Bear Outfit.

    I knew the three of them were excited, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be this eager.

    After I changed, I went back downstairs to prepare breakfast. Well, all I was doing was taking out some drinks and bread baked by Morin-san...

    Like always, Morin-san¡¯s bread tasted great. I really wanted to have rice this morning, but with the three of them waiting on me, I had settled for something quick and simple.

    As I took a bite of my bread, I noticed the three of them staring at me.

    ¡¸Um, do the three of you want something to eat?¡¹

    I asked them.

    ¡¸Yes, please!¡¹

    ¡¸Would that be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I want some, too!¡¹

    I had thought they ate beforeing over, but it seemed like they hadn¡¯t. Or maybe, they were entering their growth period?

    I took out some more bread, and they all ate it happily. Now I could eat my breakfast without rushing.

    Once our bellies were full, we left the Bear House together.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really excited.¡¹

    Noa said while happily skipping down the road.

    ¡¸I hope we get to the Capital soon.¡¹

    Shuri grasped Fina¡¯s hand firmly, with a big smile on her face, to which Fina couldn¡¯t help but smile back.

    I already knew this trip was going to be a st just seeing how happy the three of them were. I had to make sure to thank Shia and Eleanora-san for inviting us to the school festival.

    After we exited through the gates, I immediately summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, prompting Noa and Shuri to run over as soon as they appeared. Fina smiled as she watched the two of them from the side.

    ¡¸Fina, don¡¯t you want to join them?¡¹

    ¡¸I do, but I¡¯ll let the two of them have fun first.¡¹

    Fina was acting mature. She still looked like a child, but she already thought like an adult.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, hurry.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan,e on.¡¹

    The two of them called for Fina and me.

    ¡¸Shall we get going, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    I held Fina¡¯s hand, and we walked toward the other two together.

    We separated into two groups: Fina and Shuri were to ride on Hugging Bear while Noa and I would ride on Swaying Bear.

    Shuri happily grabbed onto Hugging Bear as she climbed onto its shoulder, and Fina followed suit.

    I mounted Swaying Bear, and Noa got on behind me.

    ¡¸Noa, don¡¯t you want to ride at the front?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. I want to hug you.¡¹

    Noa said and wrapped her arms around my waist.

    ¡¸Noa-neechan, that¡¯s unfair. I want to hug Yuna-neechan, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Huhu, this is the special perk you get when riding with Yuna-san.¡¹

    Noa said and snuggled her face into my shoulder.

    ¡¸Noa, you don¡¯t have to grab on that tightly.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m making sure I won¡¯t fall off.¡¹

    Shuri looked at us enviously.

    Why, though? Well, Shuri always came up and hugged me any time she could, did they really like to cuddle up to me that much?

    ¡¸We¡¯ll switch tomorrow, okay?¡¹

    If I were a guy, was this the part where I would say,¡¸Please don¡¯t fight over me,dies¡¹?

    Actually, nobody would say that in real life. If there was anyone, they were most likely a huge pain to deal with.

    When we were all securely set upon the Bears, we finally departed towards the capital.

    With the opportunity to travel far away from town for the first time, Shuri could hardly contain herself.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going so fast.¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri, don¡¯t move around so much.¡¹

    Shuri kept wiggling around, so Fina tried to calm her down, while Noa and I rode alongside them peacefully.

    The Bears ran at their regr speed; we took a break in the middle of the day for lunch before continuing on.

    Eventually, the three girls fell quiet.

    At some point, Shuri had dozed off while Fina held onto her so she wouldn¡¯t fall off.

    Noa also fell asleep while holding onto me from behind.

    ¡¸Shuri was so excited yesterday that she could barely sleep. She also woke up really early just so she could go to your house quicker.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa most likely did the same.¡¹

    The Bears ran smoothly so that they wouldn¡¯t disturb the two girls. Looking at them, they were still fine to travel since thest break. After a few more hours of steady progress, the sun eventually began to set.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear dropped their speed and got off the main road. After looking around for a bit, I spotted a rocky hill where we could stay for the night.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, will we camp out here tonight?¡¹

    Noa asked, having woken up partway through the trip.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to put a house down somewhere that¡¯s hard to see.¡¹

    I wanted to be sure that the Bear House couldn¡¯t be seen from the main road.

    We moved around to the other side of the hill, and then Noa and I got off Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Onee-chan, what are you doing?¡¹

    Shuri asked, rubbing her eyes.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to camp here tonight. You can get off Hugging Bear now.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Fina and Shuri climbed off of Hugging Bear soon after.

    Looking around for one final time, I brought out the travel-use Bear House from the Bear Box.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a Bear-san!¡¹

    Shuri yelled out in surprise.

    Oh right, Shuri had ever seen me take out a Bear House from my Bear Box before, had she?

    ¡¸We¡¯ll stay in there tonight.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    Thanks to the Bear House, Shuri¡¯s sleepiness was swept away.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s not dilly-dally and go inside.¡¹

    I transformed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into their cub forms, then took the three girls inside.

    Shuri looked around excitedly the moment she entered.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare some food. The three of you can sit down and rx.¡¹

    ¡¸I will help you.¡¹

    ¡¸Me, too!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll help as well!¡¹

    While I was grateful for their offer, I didn¡¯t really need their help. I was nning to whip up just a simple meal.

    ¡¸I can make it myself. The three of you can take a break with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I let Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear take care of the girls while I headed to the kitchen.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, tell us if you need help with anything, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will.¡¹

    The girls headed over to the sofa with the Bears while I started to prepare some hot food for us.

    Today¡¯s dinner would be rice with hamburg steak, paired up with miso soup and sd as a side. Since we had bread for breakfast, I decided to go with rice for dinner. I had gone through the trouble to obtain it, so there was no reason to keep the rice stashed away.

    Since I already prepared the rice and hamburg steak in advance, all I had to do was take them out of the Bear Box. I didn¡¯t have any sd ready though, so I had to make some. Terumi-san had asked me to have Fina and Shuri eat more vegetables, and I agreed with her. Having a bnced diet was important, after all.

    I hadn¡¯t made the miso soup yet, either, so I whipped some up while adding daikon, carrots, and potatoes. They shouldn¡¯t find miso soup strange, since they all had already tried it at Anzu¡¯s shop before.

    Once I had everything prepared, I began bringing the dishes out to the girls, who were still ying with the Bears. Fina noticed me enter and came up to me.

    ¡¸I will help you carry them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Me, too!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll also help.¡¹

    The other two didn¡¯t want to lose to Fina and offered to help as well.

    ¡¸Thank you, everyone.¡¹

    We set down all the food and began to eat.

    ¡¸This is delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, it¡¯s so good.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you can make anything.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true.¡¹

    I was being overestimated.

    ¡¸You are a chef who can make such delicious dishes, an amazing adventurer, and even a shop owner. You are amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not true. If one keeps practicing, anybody can get good at cooking. Also, the shop is doing well because Morin-san, Anzu, and Terumi-san are helping. I¡¯m not doing anything.¡¹

    Not to mention I could only fight well because of the Bear Suit. Although I was able to somewhat rely on my experience from ying the game, that wasn¡¯t enough by itself.

    Without my Bear Suit I wouldn¡¯t even be able to lift a weapon, let alone deal damage. As for magic, if I didn¡¯t have the aiming skill that was built into the outfit, I would never have been able to hit anything.

    Without my Bear Suit, I couldn¡¯t even defeat a horned rabbit.

    ¡¸When you say it like that, it really feels like I can¡¯t do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, you¡¯re only ten years old, you still have a lot ahead of you and many things to learn.¡¹

    After we finished eating, we lounged about for a while to let the food settle before heading off to take a bath.

    For some reason, Noa and Shuri brought the bears along with us.

    ¡¸Why are you bringing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with you?¡¹

    ¡¸So we can go into the bath together, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go in with Swaying Bear...¡¹

    It was fine for them to enter, but I should unsummon and resummon them beforehand. It was my little trick to getting them clean; that way, I never had to bathe them.

    Well, I did sometimes take baths with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as well, carefully washing them with feelings of gratitude, and the Bears seemed to be happy when I did that for them.

    If Noa and Shuri wanted to wash them, I should probably let them, instead of ruining their fun by cleaning them magically.

    ¡¸Make sure you clean them properly, okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸We will!¡¹

    Fina and I looked at the two with big smiles on our faces.

    Once we entered the changing room, I took off my Bear Outfit.

    I was kind of sad that I was so used to wearing the Bear Outfit, but when I thought about how I was living in a fantasy world, I would tell myself that it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    After wrapping a towel around my body, I looked at the other girls to see how they were doing. Fina was telling Shuri to fold up her clothing properly, to which Shuri obediently began folding her clothing tidily before putting them into a basket.

    Next to her, Noa was also hurriedly trying to get her clothes folded. Our eyes met.

    ¡¸I always fold up my clothes properly, you know.¡¹

    For some reason, she made an excuse.

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t said anything, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, anytime I do something good, you look at me just like how Father does when he praises me.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t even have children but it seemed like I was already making faces as if I were watching over my own offspring...

    ¡¸All three of you are really good kids...¡¹

    I said as I took the Bears over to the bathing area. Everyone first washed their body and hair, then we all helped wash the Bears together.

    Noa had a hard time cleaning Swaying Bear by herself, so I helped her. As for Hugging Bear, Fina and Shuri made a good washing team.

    Their fur foamed up with bubbles easily; in no time, Swaying Bear was all covered in white bubbles. Once we were done soaping them up, we washed them off with hot water, revealing their beautiful, shiny fur underneath.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-chan got all t.¡¹

    Well, its fur was wet now, so of course it wouldn¡¯t be as fluffy.

    After we finished washing the bears, we all stepped into the bathtub together.

    Gosh, it felt good.

    For a Japanese person, bathtubs were the best. A bathroom that only had a shower just didn¡¯t feel the same.

    I submerged myself into the bathtub, with Fina next to me. A bit further away, Shuri and Noa gazed at the water-pouring Bear Statues.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sharing the small cub-sized bathtub. They looked like they were enjoying the bath as well.

    This was so rxing. It was definitely a lot more fun than going through the Bear Gate. Yeah, it was a good choice to go on a trip with everybody like this.

    Slowly, the tiredness from the day seeped out of us, and once we were satisfied, we left the bath.

    ¡¸That felt really good.¡¹

    Noamented while wiping her body dry.

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-chan, you have to dry yourself properly, too.¡¹

    Shuri said and tried to wrap a towel around it.

    ¡¸Shuri, dry yourself before trying to dry Hugging Bear.¡¹

    Fina scolded and wrapped a towel around Shuri instead.

    Such a peaceful, wholesome sight...

    I put on the White Bear Outfit and took out milk for all of us.

    It was refreshingly cold and tasted great.

    We took turns drying each other¡¯s hair with a dryer, then finally tried to dry the Bears with it.

    I was tempted to unsummon them so their fur would dry automatically, but the girls wanted to dry the Bears, so I let them do it.

    ¡ª

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    They started out on their leisurely journey. lol

    Yeah, things are alwaysid back when the other girls are around.

 Chapter 254 â€“ Bear-san Plays Card Games

    ¡¸Okay, time to go to sleep.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸Sleep...¡¹

    ¡¸Kay~¡¹

    The three of them all replied.

    I felt like a teacher in charge of a field trip. Thankfully, the girls were all manageable. Also, if this was a school trip, I would have had to watch over thirty kids, and not all of them would be as well-behaved as these girls. Being a teacher must be a difficult job...

    Well, us adventurers risked our lives, so we both had our hardships.

    ¡¸The three of you can share a room, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to sleep with Hugging Bear-chan.¡¹

    The older two agreed to share the room, but despite having been with Hugging Bear all day, Shuri still wanted to sleep together with it.

    ¡¸Sorry, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will be sleeping in my room.¡¹

    The Bears would want to rx at night as well, so I was nning on letting them sleep in my room. Also, if anything dangerous happened, they could alert me immediately.

    ¡¸Uuu, that¡¯s not fair, Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    Shuri looked a bit upset.

    ¡¸Shuri, you shouldn¡¯t bother Yuna-oneechan. You promised Mother, remember?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay... I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    Fina scolded Shuri who immediately apologized.

    I was d she listened to her Onee-chan like that. What a good girl she was.

    ¡¸Also, you have a plushie, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    Fina pulled out the Hugging Bear plushie from her item bag and handed it to Shuri. She brought them along, huh.

    Noa gazed enviously at the Hugging Bear plushie in Shuri¡¯s hands.

    ¡¸Shuri, you brought your plushie with you? I should have brought mine, too...¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-sama, I brought the Swaying Bear plushie as well. If you want, I can lend it to you.¡¹

    Fina said and took out their Swaying Bear plushie as well.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, Fina. Thank you for the offer, but I won¡¯t betray my plushies.¡¹

    Noa dered.

    Even if all of the plushies looked the same, each owner treated their own specially, huh.

    Well, I was d she was treating her plushies well.

    ¡¸Fina, Noa, I think you should already know this, but we still have a long way to go. Don¡¯t stay up toote and go to sleep properly, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸We will!¡¹

    ¡¸¡®Kay!¡¹

    They all replied in unison and went upstairs to their room while I grabbed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and followed close behind them.

    I didn¡¯t really feel tired, but since we had to wake up early tomorrow, I decided it was best to go to sleep now rather than regret itter.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, make sure to let me know if anything dangerouses, okay?¡¹

    I requested them to keep watch as usual.

    Having aired out my nket before the trip, it felt great when I slipped under it and curled up on my bed.

    Feeling rxed, I soon dozed off to dreand.

    The next day, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear woke me up like usual.

    I peeked outside the window and saw that it was still dark. Normally, I would still be asleep at this hour, but we had to head out early, so it couldn¡¯t be helped. I felt like closing my eyes for a little bit longer, but I knew that would end badly and forced myself to get out of bed.

    With the Bears following close behind me, I headed downstairs while yawning. I didn¡¯t see the girls around this time, so they should still be sleeping.

    I began preparing breakfast for everyone so they could have something to eat when they woke up. Well, it was just the usual bread, soup, and milk. An extravagant meal this early in the morning didn¡¯t seem necessary.

    Just as I finished setting the table, the girls came down groggily.

    I immediately noticed that Shuri was still holding onto her Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡¸Good morning. We¡¯re going to head out after eating breakfast.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, sorry that we didn¡¯t help you prepare.¡¹

    ¡¸I just took the food out of my item bag, so you don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    Once we all ate our fill, I put away the Bear House, and we set out towards the capital again.

    Another day flew by as we proceeded smoothly without encountering any monsters or bandits. All I had to do was to keep everybody in a good mood.

    For some reason, I was feeling quite tired out mentally. At least the Bears would always feel better when I took turns riding them and slept with them at night.

    The three girls also changed ces, but why did they keep bickering about who would ride with me? This should only happen in the case of handsome princes on a horse. I was growing concerned with their future at this point...

    After a couple more days on the road, we were very close to our destination. As long as nothing happened, we should reach the capital today.

    Yet, as if the sky was cursing me, rain started to pour down while we were on our lunch break.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan! It¡¯s raining!¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone, grab your things and get to the Bears!¡¹

    We very quickly got onto the Bears and left the side of the road.

    I quickly searched for a good spot to bring out the Bear House and rushed the girls inside.

    ¡¸Is everyone okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯re fine.¡¹

    ¡¸We got a bit wet, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re okay.¡¹

    We managed to escape the rain before we gotpletely soaked. The Bears didn¡¯t look like they got that wet, either.

    Thank god for the Bear House; it was so useful.

    I was worried someone might catch a cold, so I handed out towels to the girls and told them to dry themselves off before heading off to prepare the bath so we could warm ourselves up.

    ¡¸It¡¯s still raining.¡¹

    When I came out of the bathroom to call the girls in, I saw Shuri peering out the window with Noa peeking from close behind.

    ¡¸We won¡¯t be able to go any further today if it doesn¡¯t die down.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have to hurry. We will still make it to the school festival in time even if we stay here for the night.¡¹

    I had reserved plenty of extra time for travel, so even if we were stuck here for another week, we would still make it in time for the festival.

    It waspletely fine to stop here and wait out the rain.

    After taking a bath, the girls looked bored as theyid around with the Bears.

    Since we were cooped up in the Bear House, there wasn¡¯t much they could do, so I decided it was time to pull out the deck of cards.

    I had nned on ying card games in the evenings, but everyday we would simply eat dinner, take a bath, and then go straight to sleep so that we could wake up early. There was never a chance to bring it out till now, especially since I didn¡¯t want to encourage the girls to stay upte at night.

    Now was the perfect opportunity to bring out the cards, though.

    We began with Memory.

    The rules were simple, so it was a good way to get them familiar with ying cards.

    ¡¸So, this is a battle of who has the better memory, is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t lose!¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-chan, let¡¯s do our best.¡¹

    Shuri told Hugging Bear, which she was hugging in front of her.

    ¡¸Shuri, you can¡¯t y together with Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how good Hugging Bear¡¯s memory was, but if the Bears joined in, I felt like they would most likely win. I had the impression that they could figure out which cards were which, even if they couldn¡¯t see the faces of the cards, and would simply paw tap their way to victory.

    Shuri let go of Hugging Bear and moved closer to the table. She looked a bit sad, but I still couldn¡¯t let the Bears participate.

    We took turns ying counterclockwise, starting with me, then Shuri, Fina, and finally Noa.

    After ying for a bit, we discovered that Shuri had a really good memory. We all got to see a new side of her.

    ¡¸This one and this one.¡¹

    Shuri flipped the cards over, revealing matching numbers.

    ¡¸Also, here and here.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, not that one!¡¹

    Noa cried out when Shuri flipped over the cards. The cards matched again, and Shuri happily took them while Noa brooded. Shuri had found three pairs by now, but I decided to let her take the lead. She was doing so well, after all.

    Fina and Noa both flipped two cards each, but they couldn¡¯t find a match. When it was my turn again, I flipped two cards, and, only by luck, they formed a pair.

    The game continued, and I barely managed to beat Shuri. Wheew, that was dangerous. I won by only one pair.

    I had sessfully defended my dignity as the oldest in the group.

    The other two who lost to someone younger than them were frustrated though, and wanted a rematch.

    After ying Memory a couple more times, we moved on to Sevens next.

    ¡¸Who has the 4 of water card?¡¹

    Noa looked back and forth at the cards she was holding and the ones on the table. She couldn¡¯t ce down any cards and passed her turn.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t put down 3, 2, or 1 of water then.¡¹

    She had all those, huh? She shouldn¡¯t be telling us, though. Holding onto key cards to use until the crucial moment was one of the important strategies to ying Sevens. When she revealed which cards she had and wanted like that, nobody would put those down as they would help her win.

    At least, that was what I had thought...

    ¡¸Oh, I have it. I¡¯ll put it down, then.¡¹

    When it was Fina¡¯s turn, she yed the water 4 card.

    No, no, no. She shouldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡¸Wait, Fina. If you do that, the game won¡¯t be interesting.¡¹

    ¡¸But, Noa-sama...¡¹

    Fina looked over at Noa apologetically.

    Was this what happened when nobles andmoners yed a card game together?

    ying well in Memory meant relying on your own memory, but with Sevens, the goal was also to stop others from ying their cards while trying to put down your own.

    As expected, Fina had a hard time purposely interfering with other people¡¯s ns. Her personality wasn¡¯t suitable for Sevens while she was fine with Memory. Even though Noa treated Fina nicely after she helped her out, it wouldn¡¯t be a fun game if it continued like this.

    ¡¸Noa, I forbid you from saying which card you want ced down!¡¹

    I scolded while pointing my Bear Puppet at her.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be a game otherwise, so y it properly.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry...¡¹

    From here on out, since we didn¡¯t know which cards Noa wanted others to ce down, Fina couldn¡¯t help her out intentionally.

    Fina started off clumsily but eventually managed to shed her cards one-by-one. Finally, we were starting to have some fun with the game. Now that it was being yed correctly, Noa was also starting to understand the point of the game.

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯ll y down the bear king of fire. Then, I can connect ¡º1¡»to it.¡¹

    Noa seemed to be enjoying it now, and the game was proceeding smoothly.

    Following her, I ced down a card, and it was Shuri¡¯s turn.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t ce down anything...¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, then I¡¯ll ce a card here.¡¹

    Shuri looked at her hand and passed while Fina ced a card down. I noticed that Noa was also steadily shedding her cards away.

    The game ended when Noa, who passed the least amount of times, yed her final card.

    ¡¸I won!¡¹

    Noa celebrated happily.

    I was d she took ying the game more seriously. If she had won while doing what she did earlier, I was sure she wouldn¡¯t be nearly as excited. Victory was sweeter when battling it out on equal terms, after all.

    Also, since they were learning the game properly, it was bound to get more interesting, even for me. It was no fun winning over beginners, after all. I only nned on trying harder once everybody became better at them.

    As they had already gotten the hang of it, I decided to add in an extra rule involving the joker card, which could be used as a substitute for any card the person wanted. If the person used the joker for someone else¡¯s card, that person would not be allowed to put it down anymore. This should make the game more interesting.

    After we yed enough of Sevens, we yed Extremely Poor until dinner time.

    Had we taken a break to look outside, we would have noticed that the rain had already stopped.

    Well, we had more than enough time to continue the trip tomorrow, so there was nothing wrong with that.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We¡¯ll begin the production of volume 4 soon.

    The chapter submission time changes frequently, but I¡¯ll continue to post every three days.

    ...If I don¡¯t, I apologize.

    Theid-back trip ising to an end.

    In the next chapter, they will arrive at the Capital.

 Chapter 255 â€“ Bear-san Arrives at the Capital

    The following day, we rode out under a bright, blue skyplemented by a few fluffy, white clouds. With such weather, we shouldn¡¯t need to worry about rain anymore. The road wasn¡¯t in bad shape, either, so the rain had most likely ended earlier than I had expected it would. We had been so focused on ying card games yesterday that we didn¡¯t even notice when it had stopped.

    Proceeding smoothly, the wall surrounding the Capital came into sight in the early afternoon.

    ¡¸So big.¡¹

    Shuri gasped in awe.

    It was her first time seeing it, so it made sense for her to be this surprised. When I had firstid my eyes upon the capital walls, I had been awed as well.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s walk from here on out. It would be problematic if the Bears caused amotion.¡¹

    I had already told everyone in advance, that once we were in sight of the walls, we would walk. I had exined the reason properly, so they all obediently climbed off the Bears.

    ¡¸Thank you, Hugging Bear-chan, Swaying Bear-chan.¡¹

    Shuri patted both Bears, and was quickly followed up by Fina and Noa, who also gave their thanks. The Bears cried happily in reply. I then proceeded to thank them myself and returned them to their gloves.

    We didn¡¯t walk for too long and soon reached the gates. Compared to thest time when we hade here for the king¡¯s birthday party, it was much less busy with way fewer people entering and leaving. Still, just like usual, the passing people stared at me weirdly.

    It was a gaze I could never get used to no matter how hard I tried. With three cute girls by my side, it was even worse this time.

    The girls tried their best to protect me from getting stared at by walking beside and in front of me, but it felt like that simply made us stand out more. This situation could easily be described as the Beauty(ies) and the Beast (Bear).

    Passing through the gates, our next problem was figuring out how we would get to Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion. We were quite the distance away, and of course, I couldn¡¯t just summon the Bears in the middle of the capital. We could hire a horse carriage or walk all the way. What should we do?

    ¡¸Oh right, Yuna-san, there¡¯s something I forgot to tell you.¡¹

    As I was deciding on which means of travel to pick, Noa suddenly spoke up.

    ¡¸In Mother¡¯s letter, she said we should go to the gatehouse after arriving at the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Gatehouse?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. There is a carriage waiting for us there. She figured we wouldn¡¯t be able to travel with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan inside the capital, so she prepared one for us.¡¹

    How thoughtful of her.

    I wished she had told me beforehand, though. I had no idea she would have carriages prepared for us; what if we had used the Bear Gate and skipped entering through the city gates, instead? That was a close call. Well, there were plenty of excuses I coulde up with, but it could still have been a pain to use them on her.

    ¡¸So, do you know where the gatehouse is?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s over here.¡¹

    As we followed Noa, a guard approached us.

    ¡¸I knew it. I heard that a girl dressed as a bear has been spotted entering the capital, so I figured it must have been you, Yuna-dono.¡¹

    Taking a closer look at him, I recognized the person in front of us.

    ¡¸Good afternoon, Ranzel-san.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it? Thank you for all your help with the Salbert family case.¡¹

    I should have been the one thanking him. When I had firste to the capital for the king¡¯s birthday celebration, he helped me out with handling the bandit case. He had also taken care of the aftermath caused by my rampage in Sheelin. Without him, Cliff, Eleanora-san, and Gran-san, I didn¡¯t know how I would have dealt with those corrupted nobles. Just thinking about that noble family made me feel sick in the stomach... With everything they had done, I kind of regretted I hadn¡¯t beat them up some more. I should have at least smacked them a hundred times more for hurting my friends and other innocent people.

    ¡¸But please, don¡¯t go too crazy from now on. Yuna-dono, you may be an adventurer, but you¡¯re still a young girl.¡¹

    Oh, it had been a while since somebody saw me as a little girl. I had been treated as a Bear far too oftentely.

    ¡¸Thanks, I will take care. By the way, why are you here, Ranzel-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama told me that you and Noire-sama would being soon and to prepare a carriage for you. I¡¯ve been waiting here at the gatehouse for the past five days.¡¹

    This was definitely an abuse of authority...

    Well, it was for Eleanora-san, so maybe he didn¡¯t mind? Good thing we hadn¡¯t used the Bear Gate, or else we would havepletely wasted five days of Ranzel-san¡¯s time.

    ¡¸Um, I think my mother has caused you a lot of trouble with her selfish orders. I apologize for her actions.¡¹

    Noa apologized in her mother¡¯s stead.

    ¡¸No, please don¡¯t worry about it. This is all a part of my job.¡¹

    ¡¸If you were waiting for us, shouldn¡¯t you at least switch out with other people?¡¹

    ¡¸She most likely asked for me because you would recognize me. With that, you could be reassured and ride the carriage in peace. I think Eleanora-sama was quite concerned about that, and didn¡¯t want to send someone you didn¡¯t know.¡¹

    That made sense. It did feel a lot morefortable knowing that I would be riding in a carriage handled by Ranzel-san rather than some stranger. I should thank Eleanora-san for her consideration when we reached her.

    ¡¸The carriage has already been prepared, so please follow me.¡¹

    Ranzel-san took the lead, and we followed.

    ¡¸Thanks, Noa. This really helps.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Noa-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Noa-neechan.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything, though. This is all thanks to Mother.¡¹

    Noa didn¡¯t want to take the credit.

    ¡¸Even so, we¡¯re still grateful that you mentioned it.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop it.¡¹

    Noa was now troubled as we all thanked her again. Wasn¡¯t this the part where she should have proudly epted it?

    Soon, we reached the carriage and boarded it then set off towards Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion with Ranzel-san leading the horses.

    Looking out the small window on the side of the carriage, I saw the capital was bustling with a lot of people as it usually did. I reminisced about the first time I hade here, and realized how many more people there had still been around during His Majesty¡¯s birthday celebration; it had been a lot of trouble to even get anywhere with how crowded the streets had been.

    ¡¸Uwah...¡¹

    Shuri¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked outside. I was really d we had brought her along.

    ¡¸Do you want to go sightseeing around the capital tomorrow?¡¹

    ¡¸Can we?¡¹

    Shuri excitedly looked at me.

    ¡¸There are still a couple of days before the festival, so we have plenty of time to look around.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san is right. We came all the way to the capital, so we should take some time to look around. I¡¯ll be your guide. Where do you want to go, Shuri?¡¹

    Noa asked, acting like an older sister would.

    ¡¸I want to go to the castle!¡¹

    Shuri said something preposterous.

    ¡¸The castle...¡¹

    Noa looked troubled when she heard Shuri¡¯s request.

    I wasn¡¯t in the position to say this, but the castle wasn¡¯t an easy ce to enter....

    Hmm, how much leeway did my permit for entering the castle grant me? Could I bring acquaintances in with me? I should probably check with Eleanora-san first. If it was okay, then we could take a tour.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t?¡¹

    Shuri looked a bit disappointed.

    ¡¸I can try asking Mother, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri. You can¡¯t trouble Noa-sama. You promised, remember?¡¹

    It seemed like Shuri had been forced to promise many things beforeing to the capital.

    ¡¸Sorry for being selfish, Noa-neechan. Anywhere is fine as long as we all go together.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    Noa hugged Shuri in gratitude. Fina looked at the two happily, and I looked at all three of them the same way.

    If Eleanora-san said I couldn¡¯t use my permit to bring Shuri to the castle, I would just have to ask the king to return a favor. I had been letting him eat all sorts of dishes and had also gifted his daughter, Princess Flora, picture books and plushies. Not to mention the time when I had subjugated all those monsters that were about to swarm the capital.

    He could at least let me bring someone on a walk through the castle in return, right?

    As the carriage rattled on, we talked about good sightseeing ces. Many suggestions were flying about when the carriage came to a stop suddenly. Looking out, we realized we had arrived.

    ¡¸So big.¡¹

    Shurimented when she stepped out of the carriage and looked up at Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion. Well, it was a noble¡¯s mansion, after all.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be taking my leave now. Please give Eleanora-sama my regards.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Ranzel-san.¡¹

    I thanked him for his service, and the girls did the same. Ranzel-san smiled at us warmly before riding off.

    Turning back to the mansion, I noticed that Suririna-san was already standing by the front door, smiling as she waited for us. The guards must have called for her while we were parting ways with Ranzel-san.

    ¡¸Noire-sama, we have been waiting for you.¡¹

    Suririna-san weed Noa before turning to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, thank you for escorting Noire-sama here today.¡¹

    ¡¸I just did my job.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-sama, I¡¯m d to see you are well.¡¹

    ¡¸Suririna-san, it¡¯s been a while. Thank you for taking care of me before.¡¹

    ¡¸And this cute girl here must be Shuri-sama.¡¹

    Shuri gripped Fina¡¯s hand tightly.

    ¡¸Come on, Shuri, your greeting?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m Shuri...¡¹

    Shuri said her name in a small voice.

    ¡¸I¡¯m one of the maids working at this mansion, Suririna.¡¹

    Suririna-san¡¯s smile helped relieve Shuri¡¯s nervousness, and she beamed her a smile in reply.

    ¡¸Everyone must be tired. Please,e inside.¡¹

    Suririna-san guided us into the mansion.

    ¡¸Suririna, are Mother and Onee-sama here right now?¡¹

    ¡¸Madam is home, and Shia-sama should be returning shortly.¡¹

    I thought that Eleanora-san woulde find us as soon as we arrived, yet Suririna-san took us to a deserted room and let us rest while she served some tea and snacks. After chatting with her for a while, Shia rushed inside, still in her uniform.

    ¡¸I heard Noa was here.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹Noa stood up to greet her.

    ¡¸Noa, you¡¯re really here. So is Yuna-san and Fina. And you must be Fina¡¯s sister, Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia-sama, it¡¯s been a while. Thank you very much for inviting us to your school festival.¡¹

    ¡¸It was Mother who invited you to stay here, but please do have fun at the festival as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we will.¡¹

    Everybody gave their greetings.

    ¡¸So, Shia, are things going well with the festival preparations?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Thanks to you, things are going great.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to Yuna-san?¡¹

    Noa tilted her head since she had no idea what her sister meant by that.

    ¡¸Yuna-san helped us out on deciding what we would be selling at the festival.¡¹

    ¡¸That reminds me, how are your cotton candy making skillsing along?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ve been practicing everyday, so we can make them properly now. Also, since we didn¡¯t want the candy we made from practice to go to waste, we¡¯ve been giving it to all the staff working at our homes. Even our families are helping us eat them.¡¹

    There was only so much cotton candy a person could eat...

    ¡¸Still, thanks to all of the practice we¡¯ve done, I dare say we are able to produce them quite skillfully now.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia-sama, that¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s so difficult to make cotton candy properly.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, it¡¯s hard.¡¹

    Shuri made a circle with her arms to gesture the shape of the cotton candy.

    When I had made the cotton candies for the orphanage the other day, Fina and Shuri had both tried making them with me. They knew it wasn¡¯t easy.

    ¡¸Um, what exactly are all of you talking about?¡¹

    Noa asked in confusion.

    Right, Noa was the only one here who didn¡¯t know what cotton candy was...

    ¡¸Noa-neechan, it¡¯s cotton candy.¡¹

    ¡¸Cotton... candy?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fluffy like a cloud and really sweet and delicious. It¡¯s a very strange candy.¡¹

    Shuri, who couldn¡¯t read the atmosphere, exined it to her.

    Noa looked at everyone after hearing about it.

    ¡¸Did everyone know about it?¡¹

    Shia and Fina both nodded.

    ¡¸Am I the only one who doesn¡¯t know about it?¡¹

    Yeah, she was the only one, here at least.

    ¡¸Did you leave me out on purpose?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not.¡¹

    We really hadn¡¯t intended to... I had just sort of happened that she was the only one who didn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸But I¡¯m the only one who doesn¡¯t know about it!¡¹

    Noa looked at us dejectedly.

    ¡¸I would make some for you right now, so you can see and taste it for yourself, but the machine is at Mariks¡¯ ce, so...¡¹

    Shia¡¯s remark made Noa brood even more.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, Noa. I brought one with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I proceeded to take out the cotton candy machine from the Bear Box and made some cotton candy for Noa.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Only Noa didn¡¯t know about cotton candy. lol

 Chapter 256 â€“ Bear-san Fights Over Fina and Shuri

    ¡¸It really looks like a cloud.¡¹

    After I whipped up some cotton candy for Noa, her mood improved.

    ¡¸It¡¯s melting in my mouth.¡¹

    I was d to see Noa happily eating the cotton candy.

    ¡¸How could you keep quiet about such a fascinating candy. Fina, Yuna-san, you are so mean.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry...¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, sorry. I let the orphanage kids try it once and they got tired of it quickly.¡¹

    Actually, Fina and Shuri had eaten it twice, but I decided it was better to keep quiet about that.

    ¡¸You could have invited me, though...¡¹

    Noa looked slightly miffed.

    ¡¸Still, it¡¯s a really strange candy. It¡¯s fluffy and melts in your mouth. It¡¯s also very sweet and delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s entirely made of sugar, so that¡¯s why.¡¹

    Shuri looked like she wanted to have some too, so I made some more for her and Fina. They both ate them happily.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, aren¡¯t you going to have some?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m good. To be honest, I can taste the sweetness just by looking at it.¡¹

    She must have eaten too much and now couldn¡¯t even look at it anymore.

    Cotton candy really wasn¡¯t something to be eaten all the time. It only tasted good when indulged in every once in a while.

    ¡¸If you serve this at the school festival, it will surely be a hit.¡¹

    ¡¸I think so, too.¡¹

    ¡¸But if that happens, then we won¡¯t be able to look around the festival together, will we?¡¹

    ¡¸No, that won¡¯t be a problem. My group will be taking turns running the stand, so we can take a stroll when I¡¯m free.¡¹

    ¡¸Yay!¡¹

    Now that Noa¡¯s mood had very much improved, our conversation about the uing school festival livened up. Suririna-san brought us some freshly brewed tea, and we spent the time leisurely chatting until Eleanora-san finally arrived.

    ¡¸Mother!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, you¡¯re finally here! Yuna-chan, thank you for bringing her.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem. It was a fun trip.¡¹

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, please pardon our intrusion.¡¹

    ¡¸Pardon our intrusion.¡¹

    Fina bowed and greeted Eleanora-san, to which Shuri quickly followed up.

    ¡¸Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, wee. Thank you for guiding me around the other day. I had a lot of fun, so I wanted to thank you by inviting you here.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much for having us.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for having us.¡¹

    The two of them thanked her for the invitation.

    ¡¸If I may ask, where will we be staying? Are we staying at Yuna-oneechan¡¯s house?¡¹

    Fina suddenly remembered that possible issue and asked.

    Since they were invited by Eleanora-san, it would stand to reason that they would be saying at her mansion. Still, Fina and Shuri probably wouldn¡¯t be able to rx while staying in the home of a noble like Eleanora-san, so I didn¡¯t mind if they wanted to crash at my ce.

    ¡¸You can decide, Fina. I don¡¯t mind if you stay at my ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, Yuna-chan. Are you trying to steal my guests?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not trying anything. I¡¯m just saying that they can sleep over at my ce if they so prefer.¡¹

    ¡¸If so, there should be no problem if they wanted to stay at my home, either.¡¹

    ¡¸If the two of them are okay with that, I don¡¯t mind.¡¹

    For some reason, what started as an innocent question transformed into a battle for Fina and Shuri. In my defense, I was concerned with how the girls would feel, having to stay at a noble¡¯s home. As long as they were okay with it, I had no reason to object.

    ¡¸I invited the two of them so I could thank them, so they should stay at my house, no?¡¹

    Saying that, Eleanora-san smiled widely as she drew closer to the two of them.

    Fina managed to only mutter ¡¸Um...¡¹as she avoided looking at Eleanora-san¡¯s eyes, while Shuri, who didn¡¯t understand what was going on, simply tilted her head.

    ¡¸Where do you two want to stay?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you ask me that..¡¹

    Fina¡¯s eyes shuffled back and forth between Eleanora-san and me. After panicking for a while for awhile, she turned to Shuri.

    ¡¸Shuri, do you want to stay the night here in Eleanora-sama¡¯s home or at Yuna-oneechan¡¯s house?¡¹

    She decided to push the decision onto Shuri.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan has a house here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s a bear-shaped house, just like the one back home.¡¹

    ¡¸I wanna see it!¡¹

    Oh, the Bear House won this one.

    ¡¸Shuri-chan, you should stay here at my ce. I¡¯m nning to serve a lot of different, delicious foods.¡¹

    It seemed that Eleanora-san refused to give up that easily andunched a counterattack to entice Shuri to her side.

    ¡¸Okay, I wanna stay.¡¹

    Eleanora-san gave me a smirk as if she won a great battle.

    ¡¸Then, I guess you¡¯ll have to seperate from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan!¡¹

    Shuri reacted strongly, again being drawn to my side.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how could you use your bears like that. That¡¯s unfair.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t she the one who began this, baiting Shuri with food? Still, I did feel bad for her with regards to her losing her guests, especially since she went through all the trouble to invite them here.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding. How about they stay at your ce for a bit, then stay at my house afterwards. How does that sound?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell if Fina¡¯s heart could handle staying here for the whole duration...

    Eleanora-san considered my proposal for a moment.

    ¡¸I guess that can¡¯t be helped. Okay, I¡¯ll agree to that.¡¹

    We shook hands in agreement.

    It was a bitte to say this now, but just what kind of match had this been? Fina did look a bit relieved now, so maybe it was a good thing?

    ¡¸Oh right, before I forget... Mother, I have a request.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to show Fina and Shuri around the castle. Can I?¡¹

    ¡¸The castle?¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri said she wanted to see the castle, so I want to take her there.¡¹

    Noa requested, her voice wavering a bit.

    ¡¸Okay, you can do that.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. It should be fine as long as Yuna-chan is with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    Everyone looked at me.

    ¡¸Oh, didn¡¯t you know? Yuna-chan has a permit to enter the castle, so she can enter whenever she wants.¡¹

    ¡¸That thing isn¡¯t limited to just me?¡¹

    I had assumed it would be a problem if I used it to bring someone in.

    ¡¸It should be alright as long as you don¡¯t bring some strange swordsman or magician inside. If you¡¯re just bringing these cute girls along, there should be no problem. Also, if anything happens while they¡¯re there, it will be your responsibility.¡¹

    Obviously, there was a world of difference between bringing along a suspicious magician or swordsman versus a few young girls. I could also agree that if anything happened while my guests were there, it would be my responsibility. That much wasmon sense. They would be my guests, after all.

    ¡¸Okay, how about we go there tomorrow, then? I will make sure to get you in.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸The three of you won¡¯t cause any trouble, right?¡¹

    When I said that, Fina looked over at her sister with concern. She had already told Shuri not to cause any trouble, but she was still afraid that her sister might end up doing something inappropriate.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    I tried to relieve Fina¡¯s concern.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re worried, I cane along as well.¡¹

    ¡¸What about your work?¡¹

    ¡¸I can take a short break. His Great Majesty is there as well.¡¹

    After pondering about it for a moment, I realized that it could be problematic if we encountered any nobles who decided to kick up a fuss, so I agreed to Eleanora-san joining us.

    ¡¸Great, let¡¯s have a wee party tonight.¡¹

    Eleanora-san celebrated our arrival with a feast at her home, and we all stayed there for the night.

    After a quick breakfast the following morning, we prepared to head out to the castle.

    ¡¸I want to go too...¡¹

    Shia, who was wearing her uniform, looked at us enviously.

    ¡¸Sadly, you have to go to the academy. Make sure you study properly. Also, don¡¯t you need to prepare for the school festival?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I know, Mother. Okay, Noa, make sure you guide everyone properly in my stead.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Shia patted Noa on the head and left for the academy.

    ¡¸Should we go then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s go!¡¹

    Shuri replied energetically.

    We passed through the capital, taking in the various sights, and soon arrived at the castle. Shuri had a big smile on her face as she looked up at it in awe.

    ¡¸It¡¯s so big...¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t be too noisy when we go inside, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Fina grabbed onto Shuri¡¯s hand tightly as if to make sure she wouldn¡¯t wander off.

    ¡¸Okay everyone, let¡¯s go inside.¡¹

    Today¡¯s teacher-in-charge of our field trip was Eleanora-san, and she led us in.

    A soldier by the castle gates spotted us approaching.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, Bear-dono, wee.¡¹

    Bear-dono?

    Suddenly, I made the connection. Even though I had received the permit to enter long ago, not once did I have to show it. That would mean he didn¡¯t know me by name, but rather by the way I dressed.

    Although, being called Bear-dono was a bit...

    ¡¸These children are my acquaintances, so please let us pass.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course. You may enter.¡¹

    The soldier straightened his back and stood aside.

    As expected of someone of Eleanora-san¡¯s status.

    ¡¸Eleanora-sama, you¡¯re so cool!¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked quite happy being praised by Shuri like that.

    ¡¸Oh, I almost forgot. You don¡¯t have to tell His Majesty that she is here, okay?¡¹

    Eleanora-san gave an order to the soldier while looking at me.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    The soldier looked at me conflicted.

    He was probably supposed to report to His Majesty whenever I arrived, but Eleanora-san was stopping him from doing so. With conflicting orders from two superior authorities, he was lost on what to do.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re just sightseeing the castle. If something happens, I¡¯ll take responsibility for it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. I will not let His Majesty know.¡¹

    The soldier decided to follow Eleanora-san¡¯s order in the end, it seemed.

    Eleanora-san made the right call, though. Even if His Majesty received the report that I had arrived, I had no ns on visiting Princess Flora in her room today, so if he were to head over as usual, he would just be wasting his time, having no other choice but to sit there and wait for someone who wouldn¡¯t even show up.

    Oh, and His Majesty would then tell Flora-sama that I hade, so she would be waiting for me as well. If that happened, I would feel bad for her. It was best if they didn¡¯t know I was here from the very beginning.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Before she knew it, it became a fight over for the sisters. lol

    And, in the end, nobody can win against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. lol

    Next chapter will be about sightseeing the castle, I guess?

 Chapter 257 â€“ Bear-san Caused Misfortune Without Realizing I

    t

    After we entered the castle without any issues to speak of, Eleanora-sanmenced our tour. We went through passage after passage, each lined beautifully with decorations. This was all familiar to me, but Shuri, who was visiting here for the first time, couldn¡¯t stop her eyes from glittering as she looked around. On the other hand, Fina, who hadn¡¯t been here in a while either, looked a bit nervous.

    I soon realized that Eleanora-san was taking us around to the same ces that I had been to when I had first visited the castle. Was there a designated sightseeing tour?

    Well, since the castle wasn¡¯t a ce wheremoners could enter freely just to take a look around, perhaps this was indeed the set route for guests.

    We visited many sights and eventually made our way to the training grounds for soldiers and knights, which caused a wave of nostalgia to sweep over me.

    This was the ce where I had met Princess Flora.

    I remembered how surprised I had been when the moment I had walked in, a little girl hade up and hugged me. I had onlyter been told that she was the princess.

    Fina was so nervous at the time that she imed she didn¡¯t remember what had happened at all. Such a beautiful memory...

    At the training grounds, arge group of knights and soldiers were practicing their swordsmanship. The sounds of metal shing rang through the air as they swung their swords at each other. As a former gamer, I enjoyed the sight, but would personally prefer to see the magic training. I really wanted to see how powerful the castle¡¯s mages were.

    ¡¸Huh? The third knight toon is training right now...¡¹

    Eleanora-san muttered as she looked at the knights training. She rolled her eyes, looking a bit displeased.

    ¡¸Okay girls, let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡¹

    We hadn¡¯t even looked at them for a few seconds when Eleanora-san already ushered us to leave. Well, this might not be something that the children should see, so I didn¡¯t object. I wasn¡¯t too interested in knights and soldiers practicing myself, either.

    ¡¸Why, if it isn¡¯t it Eleanora-dono?¡¹

    Just as we were about to leave, a bearded, forty-something-year-old man called out to Eleanora-san with a big grin on his face. The moment she saw him, her feminine face looked like it was physiologically repulsed. His eyes were disagreeable enough with me that I reflexively pulled my Bear-san Hood down. Fina and Shuri hid behind me while Noa was already behind Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Luteum...¡¹

    Eleanora-san uttered his name as she turned to face him. She looked as if she had identally chewed on a bitter bug.

    ¡¸This must be the rumored Bear. And your daughter, I see.¡¹

    The man walked up to us. He looked at Noa and me as if he was going to run his tongue all over us.

    ¡¸My daughter is timid, so could you stop looking at her?¡¹

    ¡¸My, excuse me. She reminds me of her older sister, how cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, both of them resemble me, that¡¯s why.¡¹

    Eleanora-san returned the man¡¯sment with a polite smile.

    ¡¸Anyway, are you giving them a tour of the grounds, Eleanora-dono?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We didn¡¯t want to get in the way of your practice, so we were just leaving. We¡¯ll appreciate it if you didn¡¯t mind us.¡¹

    ¡¸No, no. Please look around at your own pace. The other knights will work harder knowing that you are watching them.¡¹

    ¡¸I appreciate your offer, but we still have many other ces to visit, so please excuse us. Come on girls, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    We silently followed Eleanora-san as she began walking off. When I turned to sneak a peek at the man, I saw him ring at Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Mother, is everything okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it, Noa. I won¡¯t let himy a single finger on you.¡¹

    She ced her hand on Noa¡¯s head and smiled gently.

    That man seemed to know who I was, but I couldn¡¯t recall a pair of eyes that looked so nasty. I felt that might be a good idea to at least know who he was, so I nned to ask Eleanora-san about himter. Fina and Shuri luckily hadn¡¯t been involved, and I would like to keep it that way.

    To help brighten the mood, Eleanora-san brought us to the gardens.

    ¡¸Uwah, there¡¯s so many flowers.¡¹

    ¡¸So beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸How about we take a break here?¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri, let¡¯s go over there!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t run and trip, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Noa grabbed the two by their hands and led them further into the garden while Eleanora-san and I slowly strolled towards the center.

    ¡¸Those three look like they¡¯re having a lot of fun.¡¹

    We looked at the girls getting along and smiled.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, who was that man earlier? His attitude towards you was kind of bad.¡¹

    I asked her when the girls were out of sight.

    If that guy was a danger for the girls, I would consider him my enemy.

    ¡¸That guy hates me.¡¹

    I could tell that much. The man had scowled at Eleanora-san when we were leaving, after all.

    ¡¸Do nobles have factions or something?¡¹

    I still didn¡¯t know much about this world. I hadn¡¯t ever had to deal with these kinds of politics, since I hadn¡¯t been actively going to school nor had to learn about it in order to get a job. The only things I could presume about such politics was based on the stories of manga and novels.

    ¡¸Of course there are factions, but perhaps it is more urate to say that he bears a grudge against me.¡¹

    Could it be that Eleanora-san had given him some crazy orders to carry out? Or, maybe he was simply resentful because she kept skipping out on her work?

    ¡¸I¡¯m pretty sure what you¡¯re thinking of right now is different from the actual reason.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not thinking of anything.¡¹

    I really wished she would stop reading my thoughts.

    ¡¸His name is Count Luteum Rnd. The reason he resents me is due to Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸The two of them never got along, but there is arger reason for it. You see, a while back, there was this other guy who used to work for Cliff. His attitude was pretty bad, too, and at some point, Cliff was enraged at something that person did and had him executed. That person, however, was Luteum¡¯s rtive. The official story of his death was that he had been killed by a rival, but I think the count managed to sniff out the truth. That¡¯s why he resents Cliff and me.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t imagine Cliff ordering an execution of somebody. Since he had done so, that guy must have done something extremely awful. No wonder the count disliked Cliff and Eleanora-san so much; his rtive had been killed because of them. Still, that was just unjustified anger, wasn¡¯t it? I had a feeling that there was something even deeper as to why he hated Eleanora-san so much.

    ¡¸By the way, Yuna-chan, you¡¯re involved in this, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t remember ever getting involved with noble matters or doing anything that would cause someone not to like me.

    The only nobles I was familiar with were Cliff and Gran-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, do you remember the Salbert family from Sheelin?¡¹

    Oh right, there was also that noble family...

    I normally didn¡¯t want to recall them.

    ¡¸The Salbert family are also distant rtives of the Rnd family.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, the son from the Salbert family...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the Rnd family were the ones who took him in. That incident is also another reason why he despises me.¡¹

    ¡¸And me, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I think that depends on Gerardo¡¯s son. Before the Rnd family took him in, His Majesty had forbidden anyone who knew what had happened to disclose the contents of this case. Anybody found leaking information, even to their own family members, will not be forgiven and will be executed. That¡¯s why Gerardo¡¯s son shouldn¡¯t have said a word to anyone about you. That, and I¡¯m pretty sure he is too embarrassed to say that he got done in by a girl wearing a bear costume; as if anyone would believe him that, anyway. Also, I¡¯ve heard a rumor that Gajurdo¡¯s son had been sent to Luteum¡¯s territory as a servant. I¡¯m sure anyone there knows better than to try and dig out why a noble had been turned into a servant. Before, Luteum had been using the Salbert family as his pawn, but his powers took a blow when that family was thoroughly dismantled. Since he knows we, the Foschuroze family, were involved in their destruction, he resents us for it.¡¹

    She let out a small sigh as she finished her exnation.

    ¡¸I¡¯m, well, sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you¡¯ve done nothing wrong. You have our gratitude for saving Misa. Also, the Salbert family ended up being destroyed in the process. Compared to that, getting resented by that guy is nothing. Not to mention that he had already hated us from the beginning anyway.¡¹

    I could now understand why he hated Eleanora-san so much.

    Half of it was due to my actions in Sheelin, so I still felt bad for having caused trouble for Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸With all that, him treating me as such can¡¯t be helped. Actually, there¡¯s one more reason. Yuna-chan, do you remember that time when you subjugated a swarm of monsters near the capital to protect Cliff?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I remember that.¡¹

    I had wiped out a ten-thousand-monster army back then. I still had some remains of the defeated monsters in my Bear Box.

    ¡¸When news of a monster horde heading to the capital had been released, Luteum had taken the initiative to rally an attack force to drive back the monsters so that he could garner the achievements.¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked at me.

    Yes, and then I had butted in and subjugated everything, taking all the achievements with it.

    ¡¸When he found out that the monsters had been defeated before he could do anything, Luteum was furious that he was left with nothing. He kept bothering His Majesty about the identity of the adventurer who subjugated them. Of course, His Majesty only told him that it was a Rank A adventurer, nothing more.¡¹

    His Majesty had kept his promise not to reveal my name, huh. I needed to thank him for that.

    Maybe I should give him something delicious to eat next time I came here, without the usual cruel treatment?

    ¡¸However, he did find out that the adventurer was somewhat rted to Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸He got that idea when he learned that Cliff had gone and met with Sanya of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild right after the monsters were subjugated.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, and I was with him at the time.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you were still a rank D adventurer back then, so nobody would have imagined you were the one who subjugated all those monsters. His Majesty told him a rank A adventurer took care of them, so Luteum could never have guessed it was you. Not to mention nobody would expect a girl wearing a bear outfit was capable of such a feat.¡¹

    True, nobody would imagine a rank D adventurer would be able to subjugate ten thousand monsters all by herself. Especially a young girl dressed as a Bear.

    ¡¸What¡¯s more, his most recent business ventures had ended up failing due to bad luck... Just a while ago, monsters had appeared in the ore mine andpletely shut the ce down. Seeing that iron could no longer be mined, he quickly bought up arge amount of iron on the market to drive up the prices even higher so that he could sell them at a massive profit. However, before he sold any of it, a certain someone went and fixed the monster problem at the mine. Because iron ore could be mined again, the prices dipped immediately, and he suffered quite the loss.¡¹

    Eleanora-san gave me a devious smile.

    She must be talking about the golem incident. I couldn¡¯t be med for that one, though. I had simply taken the request from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and had defeated the monsters like normal. Also, the guild records should state that Jade¡¯s party and the Idiot Rangers party had been the ones who had taken the golems down. Good thing I hadn¡¯t imed any responsibility for it. Even if I personally told someone I had defeated the Mithril Golem now, nobody would believe me.

    Still, for everything other than Cliff executing the count¡¯s rtive, I was somewhat involved in the story. The only saving grace in all of this was the hope that the guy didn¡¯t know I was responsible for all of the troubles happening to him.

    ¡¸Fufu. You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Yuna-chan. It was his fault for trying to make easy money. It serves him right. I evenughed when I heard about what happened.¡¹

    Eleanora-san couldn¡¯t help but stifle anotherugh.

    ¡¸Anyway, I really don¡¯t think he knows you¡¯re involved in any of those cases. Still, he does believe you¡¯re rted to us, which might bring you trouble. If that guy harrasses you, both His Majesty and I will make sure to protect you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Nothing has happened at this point, so it should probably be fine.¡¹

    I had gone in and out of the castle many times by now, and I couldn¡¯t remember ever receiving any harassment. To begin with, I hadn¡¯t even known about him before today.

    Nothing would most likely happen in the future, either.

    The school festival was starting soon, and with Fina, Shuri, and Noa here, I should leave this matter aside for now.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    In this chapter, I was able to make use of a setting that I had written before on a whim. w

    Enzo Rnd is the noble who embezzled the money from the orphanage. He was then executed by Cliff. Turns out, he was Luteum Rnd¡¯s older brother. w

    By the way, Yuna does know about that, but she clearly forgot. w

    Anyway, as you¡¯ve seen in this chapter, all of the things Yuna has done, which caused misfortune for others, have been covered up. w (they were all set so we couldugh at itter)

 Chapter 258 â€“ Bear-san Gets Surrounded By Bear-sans

    As we continued to chat,Eleanora-san and I made our way to the center of the garden. We sat down by the table there and admired the flowers, with a nice cover above us blocking out the sun. It was a really pleasant ce to take a break.

    At the corner of the garden, we could see the girls ying together. It wasn¡¯t just them, though. Princess Flora, Her Highness, and Anju-san had all joined the girls there as well. I could also see the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies sitting by a table next to them. It looked like Princess Flora had brought her Swaying Bear plushie, and Shuri had ced her Hugging Bear plushie next to it. I wondered what the reason for doing so was...

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Eleanora-san and I decided to head over, and Her Highness was the first to notice us. When she called out as such, Princess Flora turned around immediately.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Good afternoon.¡¹

    I greeted the princess first, then Her Highness, and finally Anju-san. Just as I was finished, Shuri came up to Princess Flora with her Hugging Bear plushie in hand.

    Why were they ying with the plushies when they should be enjoying the flowers?

    Looking over, I noticed Fina was also holding onto the Swaying Bear plushie while looking at me nervously. I lightly petted her head, trying to reassure her.

    Noa also looked lost on what to do and looked over at her Mother for help.

    How exactly did such a situation develop?

    ¡¸Kitia-sama, Princess Flora, what brings you two here?¡¹

    ¡¸I was taking a walk with Flora, and then, these girls came by, so I invited them over for some tea.¡¹

    Laid out on the table were a few cups of tea, which Anju-san must have prepared for them. Eleanora-san took a seat next to Noa and asked for a cup of her own.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, why don¡¯t you sit down as well?¡¹

    I sat down beside Fina and took a sip of tea Anju-san served me.

    ¡¸Fina, what¡¯s going on?¡¹

    I whispered to her.

    ¡¸We were walking around, gazing at the flowers, when we suddenly ran into Her Highness and Princess Flora. Shuri noticed that Princess Flora was holding onto a Swaying Bear plushie and rushed up to her...¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri-chan called out¡¸It¡¯s Swaying Bear-chan!¡¹and ran right up to us. I was so surprised...¡¹

    Apparently our whispers weren¡¯t that quiet, so Her Majesty joined in onto the exnation, smiling as she recalled what had happened. Good thing Princess Flora and Her Highness were nice and kind... If Shuri had ran up to nobles with a bad attitude, she would have most likely gotten in trouble. I wished she was more careful...

    Well, if there were many nobles like that here at the castle, I wouldn¡¯t have feltfortable visiting so often, much less bringing the girls with me.

    ¡¸The girls introduced themselves and told us that Eleanora and you brought them here, so I invited them to join us for some tea. Also, Noire-chan and I have met a few times before, so we already know each other, don¡¯t we?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯ve met before...¡¹

    Noa replied rather timidly.

    So even a noble like Noa would be nervous in the presence of the queen, it seemed. Then again, royalty weren¡¯t people anyone could normally meet without being granted an audience, so that made sense. Noa also lived in Crimonia, so it must be rare for her to meet them. Wait, didn¡¯t that mean I was the weird one since I met the king every time I came to the castle?

    ¡¸Still, I was very surprised to see that the two girls have the same plushies as Flora.¡¹

    From further conversation, it seemed that Princess Flora had been uneasy with Shuri¡¯s sudden appearance but had rxed when Shuri had called out Swaying Bear¡¯s name. Shuri had told her ¡¸I have one, too!¡¹ and had Fina pull out the plushie to show to the princess. Princess Flora¡¯s wariness hadpletely disappeared once they had started talking about me.

    Was it normal for royalty to get along withmoners over Bear plushies in this world?

    In the fantasy stories I had read, that would definitely be impossible. Commoners wouldn¡¯t be permitted to even get this close to royalty. Normally, this would be the scene where themoners were grovelling on the ground and apologizing repeatedly.

    Thanks to the Bear plushies, though, the three of them were now sitting and chatting together.

    ¡¸Bear-sans... There are lots of Bear-sans.¡¹

    Princess Flora smiled happily at the set of plushies. On the other hand, Noa looked a bit depressed as she was the only one without a plushie. Feeling bad for her, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form and passed Swaying Bear to her.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear!¡¹

    The younger two strongly reacted to the Bears.

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll lend you Swaying Bear, Noa, so please don¡¯t look so sad.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Noa happily ced Swaying Bear on herp and hugged it tightly.

    ¡¸Noa-neechan, you¡¯re so unfair.¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear...¡¹

    ¡¸Ufufu.¡¹

    Now the two younger girls were enviously looking at Noa. I could never win...

    Their fixation soon moved from Swaying Bear to Hugging Bear, which I was holding.

    ¡¸You two have your plushies, don¡¯t you.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re mean, Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear...¡¹

    Their envious looks were nowpletely directed at me.

    ¡¸I will take care of it, so you can¡¯t argue over it any more.¡¹

    But before I knew it, Her Highness had walked over to my side and lifted up Hugging Bear from my arms.

    ¡¸Mother!!¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear!¡¹

    Her Highness held Hugging Bear cheerfully and returned to her seat.

    Um, that was my Hugging Bear, so I hoped she would return it properly.

    Looking around the table again, I suddenly realized how strange this situation had be. There were five Bears here now.

    Aside from Eleanora-san, Anju-san, and me, everybody was holding onto a Bear of their own.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sad, too. I¡¯m the only one who doesn¡¯t have a bear.¡¹

    What did she mean by only her?

    ¡¸I¡¯m not holding one, either.¡¹

    Hugging Bear had just been kidnapped by Her Highness, after all.

    ¡¸But Yuna-chan, you¡¯re a bear, too, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    It seemed that I was already considered a Bear by other people at this point...

    Well, right now, I somehow needed Eleanora-san to give up so that the amount of Bears didn¡¯t increase even further.

    ¡¸Fufu. This is indeed a unique gather-up. Far wouldn¡¯t be able to join even if he wanted to.¡¹

    By Far, Her Majesty must have meant His Majesty, Farrat. Well, he would most likely feel awkward sitting among a group of girls, so he might not even want to join in. There were a lot of children here as well.

    I was also worried that Shuri would do something rude to His Majesty, so it would really help if he didn¡¯t show up.

    ¡¸Wait, if Yuna-chan is here, maybe Far is waiting for her in Flora¡¯s room?¡¹

    ¡¸Shall I call for him?¡¹

    Anju-san asked us.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s fine. When we came, I asked the gate guard not to inform him, so His Majesty doesn¡¯t even know that Yuna-chan is here. We¡¯ve only nned on bringing the girls for some sightseeing around the castle and not stop by Princess Flora¡¯s room.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? In that case, we¡¯re not having any delicious foods today?¡¹

    Her Highness sounded very disappointed.

    Could it be that this couple thought I only came here to bring food for them?

    Granted, I did feed them every time I visited, but I was bringing food to Princess Flora, not them.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, why don¡¯t you take out some cotton candy?¡¹

    Eleanora-san, noticing Her Highness¡¯s crestfallen expression, suggested to me.

    ¡¸Cotton candy?¡¹

    ¡¸My, what is that?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a candy that feels like you are eating a cloud.¡¹

    Shuri answered while ying with the plushies.

    ¡¸A cloud?¡¹

    Princess Flora tilted her head at Shuri¡¯s exnation.

    ¡¸Like the ones in the sky, you mean?¡¹

    Her Highness looked up at the sky from underneath the cover and gazed at the white clouds floating by.

    ¡¸Mother, can you eat clouds?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, maybe. They are white and may taste delicious.¡¹

    Just what was with that answer?

    Did the people in this world not understand how clouds worked and thought it was possible to eat them?

    She must have only said that to mess with her daughter and didn¡¯t seriously believe so herself, did she? Still, it wouldn¡¯t be good if the princess really believed that, so I decided to make it clear.

    ¡¸Flora-sama, you can¡¯t eat clouds, but there¡¯s this candy, which looks simr to a cloud. Here, let me show you.¡¹

    I took out the cotton candy machine from the Bear Box, poured in some granted sugar, and turned on the switch. The middle dome began heating up and spinning at a high speed. Soon, a white thread began to spin out from the middle.

    ¡¸Something came out.¡¹

    Princess Flora leaned over the table and watched in fascination at the cotton-like threads gathering on the inner sides of the machine. I quickly took out a stick to start wrapping the cotton candy around it.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, can I do it?¡¹

    Shuri asked me just as I was about to begin.

    ¡¸Okay, but make sure you do it properly.¡¹

    I passed the stick to her, and she began carefully swirling the threads onto it. On the side, Fina looked like she was about to say something but didn¡¯t.

    Shuri continued to move the stick around, letting the white threads slowly coil around it, and the shape of a cotton ball began to emerge. She had only tried making it once before at the orphanage and was this good already... Could it be she had talent for this?

    Still, if she said she wanted to be a cotton candy maker in the future, I would have to tell her that wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a cloud!¡¹

    ¡¸My, it really looks like one. It must be very fluffy to the touch.¡¹

    As the cotton candy grew bigger and fluffier, Princess Flora became more and more excited. Encouraged by the princess¡¯s reactions, Shuri carried on until I realized it was getting too big...

    ¡¸Shuri, stop, stop, stop!¡¹

    I cried out before it waspletely toote.

    Shuri panicked for a moment but quickly stopped the machine. The cotton candy now looked like a miniature mountain sitting on top of the small stick.

    Well, even at this size it should still be considered a good final product.

    ¡¸Princess, here, take it. It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Shuri said and held out therge cotton candy to Princess Flora. As she reached for it with her small hands, I was worried she would drop it, but she managed to hold it up.

    ¡¸How do I eat it?¡¹

    ¡¸Um, you pinch off small pieces and put them in your mouth.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t tell a princess to just bite it off as she pleased, so I suggested a moredylike manner.

    ¡¸Also, your hands will get sticky, so it¡¯s best to set aside your plushie first.¡¹

    The moment I said that, Anju-san immediately moved the plushie sitting on Princess Flora¡¯sp onto the table, saving it from the impending doom.

    The princess didn¡¯t mind and pinched off a small piece of cotton candy with her little fingers before putting it in her mouth.

    ¡¸It¡¯s sweet!¡¹

    Flora-sama¡¯s expression lit up as she said that. Us girls really liked sweet stuff, huh.

    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Shuri-chan, can you make some for me as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Shuri said with a nod and turned on the machine to make another one. This time she managed to make a regr sized cotton candy and passed it to the queen, who immediately tried it out.

    Meanwhile, Princess Flora found herself unable to finish such arge cotton candy, so Shuri began helping out. Wow, they sure got along well. Was it thanks to the plushies connecting the two?

    ¡¸So, what were you talking about before we came here?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked Noa sitting next to her.

    ¡¸We talked about Yuna-san and whether Mother has been causing any problemstely.¡¹

    ¡¸How rude. I¡¯m doing my job properly, you know.¡¹

    Doing her job and causing problems were two different things, though. Or, were they all the same to Eleanora-san? Well, if she didn¡¯t do her work, that would cause other problems, so maybe that was the correct way of thinking about it for her. Still, with that kind of deration, I really wondered how much trouble Eleanora-san was causing Cliff and the king on a daily basis.

    ¡¸Fufu, don¡¯t worry about it. Far is working hard, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Kitia-sama, when you put it like that, it makes it sound like I¡¯m indeed causing problems for him.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think you aren¡¯t?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s...¡¹

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    Noa looked at her mother with an exasperated expression.

    ¡¸I¡¯m doing my work properly. If I wasn¡¯t, I would have been kicked back to Crimonia, wouldn¡¯t I?¡¹

    What she said made sense. If she really was the troublemaker she appeared to be, she would have been sent back to Crimonia long ago.

    ¡¸But wait, that might actually be a good idea. I could return to Crimonia and be with you, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama would get mad at you if she heard you say that.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you really not want me back home?¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked a bit depressed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sad that I don¡¯t get to see you very often, but if you return to Crimonia, then when I attend the academy, I¡¯ll be all alone at the capital.¡¹

    Noa said timidly.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s live together when that timees, then.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and hugged Noa tightly.

    ¡¸Fufu. So, Eleanora, you were guiding your favourite daughter around the castle, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I wanted to let the friends of my cute daughter sightsee the castle. I simply couldn¡¯t refuse her when she asked me.¡¹

    Eleanora-san¡¯s hug got even tighter.

    Noa was starting to get embarrassed and tried to escape her mother¡¯s grasp, but Eleanora-san wouldn¡¯t let her. Swaying Bear, who was currently between Eleanora-san and Noa, looked like it was suffering. I really hoped Eleanora-san would lessen her embrace soon...

    ¡¸So, why did the girlse to the Capital? They didn¡¯te just to see the castle, did they?¡¹

    ¡¸My daughter Shia invited them over for the school festival.¡¹

    ¡¸The school festival, you say? My daughter also mentioned it not too long ago.¡¹

    Her Highness said.

    Daughter? Princess Flora knew about the school festival?

    Did she want to go to the school festival as well?

    We continued to chat and admire the flowers for a while longer. Eventually, Princess Flora and Shuri fell asleep while hugging onto their plushies, and we decided that it was time for the castle sightseeing event to end.

    Also, I did manage to get Hugging Bear back from Her Highness.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I decided to name Her Highness Kitia.

    I just kind of forgot to give her a name before. w

    In case I called her by another name already, I apologize.

    Next chapter is probably going to be the start of the school festival.

 Chapter 259 â€“ Bear-san Plays with Noaâ€™s Hair

    A few days had passed since we had arrived at the Capital.

    Everyday, we would take Shuri around the Capital to sightsee many different ces. We had even visited Sanya-san and Gazar-san.

    I had also brought the girls to my Bear House, and we had cleaned it together then yed with the Bears in the yard.

    We had busied ourselves well, and in no time, the day of the festival arrived.

    ¡¸Well then, I have to go and get ready. When the festival starts, pleasee straight to the academy. I will meet you at the entrance, so please don¡¯t go running off before Ie and get you.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama, you¡¯ve told me that several times already...¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, also, did you get the money? If you forget it, you won¡¯t be able to buy anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother gave me some, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    Actually, Noa hadn¡¯t been the only one who received money from Eleanora-san. Both Fina and Shuri had also gotten an allowance. Fina had been reluctant and wanted to refuse at first but, with Eleanora-san¡¯s unwavering insistence, eventually gave up and epted it.

    Eleanora-san had tried to give me money as well, but I told her she had already paid me for my escort services and had managed to refuse.

    ¡¸Also, also...¡¹

    Shia kept pacing back and forth, trying to think if there was something else she should remind Noa about.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, I will be fine! Please hurry up and go, so you aren¡¯tte.¡¹

    Noa scolded her older sister, who should have already left a while ago.

    ¡¸Ugh, fine. Yuna-san, please take care of the girls.¡¹

    ¡¸I will. Good luck with your stand.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Okay, I¡¯m heading off now!¡¹

    Shia ran out of the room with her skirt fluttering behind her.

    ¡¸Geez. Onee-sama thinks I¡¯m still a child.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you still are, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    Now that Shia finally left for school, the room suddenly fell quiet.

    We still had some time before we had to leave, so what should we spend it on?

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right. Come here, Noa.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    She trotted over to me slowly.

    ¡¸Sit down on the chair.¡¹

    Noa did as I asked, so I moved behind her back, took out ab from the Bear Box, and started to go through her long, golden hair.

    ¡¸W-what are you doing?¡¹

    Noa asked, a bit startled.

    ¡¸Well, Cliff asked me to make sure weird, evil bugs don¡¯t get close to you at the festival.¡¹

    ¡¸You really believe what Father said?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you believe him, Noa?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not sure. Still, I don¡¯t think anyone is going to approach me unless it¡¯s at a party.¡¹

    While I understood Noa¡¯s point of view to some extent, my only knowledge of nobles came from fantasy stories. Here, I wasn¡¯t sure how or where people would approach Noa.

    It was possible that some male noble mighte up to us at the festival and ask to look around the ce together. If he was only around ten years old, I didn¡¯t think anything bad would happen, but if an older person showed up... When it came to noble marriages, it should be fairlymon for there to be an age gap, and putting the two together...

    ¡¸So, why are youbing my hair?¡¹

    ¡¸I thought we should change your hairstyle. With that, people who don¡¯t know you that well shouldn¡¯t be able to recognize you.¡¹

    The chance that somebody could recognize her from afar should be low if she looked a bit different. Usually, when searching for somebody in a crowd, a person would look for some defining characteristic. In my case, if I changed from my Bear Suit into some in clothing, nobody would recognize who I was. Changing Noa¡¯s hairstyle should most likely do the trick in her case.

    ¡¸We¡¯re doing it just in case trouble doese around. Well, if you really don¡¯t want to change your hair, we can put the idea aside.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine if you¡¯re doing it for me, Yuna-san.¡¹

    With Noa¡¯s permission, I began changing her hairstyle.

    ¡¸Tell me what looks good. Fina and Shuri, give us your opinions, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    ¡¸¡®Kay.¡¹

    Whilebing through Noa¡¯s beautiful long hair, I thought about what hairstyles would suit Noa. First, I parted her hair in half and made it into twintails simr to Shia¡¯s.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same as Shia-sama¡¯s.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Shia-neechan.¡¹

    Fina brought a mirror and ced it in front of Noa.

    ¡¸It really is the same as Onee-sama.¡¹

    Noa touched her hair with a delighted smile.

    ¡¸It suits you, but sadly, we can¡¯t do this style.¡¹

    ¡¸Why not?!¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, if you look like Shia, people will find out who you are immediately.¡¹

    I had already known beforehand that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea, but I couldn¡¯t resist wanting to see Noa with twintails. As expected of sisters: when I made her hair like that, she looked just like Shia. Shia must have looked very simr to Noa when she was younger.

    Next, I tried a ponytail, and after that, a side ponytail.

    ¡¸Noa-sama, you¡¯re so cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-neechan, you¡¯re cute.¡¹

    Whichever hairstyle I tried, they all looked cute on Noa. I was having a hard time deciding which one fit her best.

    As I continued to y with Noa¡¯s hair, Eleanora-san entered the room.

    ¡¸My, what are we doing in here?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re ying with Noa¡¯s hair.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, that¡¯s not it.¡¹

    Noa pointed out and proceeded to exin to her mother what we were actually doing. ying with her hair was a part of it, though.

    ¡¸I see. In that case, I have to join in.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother?!¡¹

    Eleanora-san took over from me, and we began toe up with more and more hairstyles. Dumpling hair, braids; there was no style we left out. We even came up with many variations, and each and every one of them looked cute on Noa.

    ¡¸Noa, which one did you like best?¡¹

    ¡¸Ugh, my head hurts. Mother, Yuna-san, aren¡¯t you two just ying with my hair?¡¹

    Yup, we were. Getting to y with such beautiful, blonde hair like Noa¡¯s was a rare opportunity that I wasn¡¯t going to let slip by. I would have yed with Fina¡¯s hair, too, but there was only so much that could be done with her short hair. Noa¡¯s longer hair was much easier to style.

    Still, if we didn¡¯t decide soon, we would have to leave for the festival without having aplished anything.

    After debating a while longer, we finally settled on a hairstyle. We gathered Noa¡¯s hair up in a ponytail and tied it with arge ribbon.

    A ribbon ponytail wasn¡¯t too special of a hairstyle, but if it stood out too much, her disguise would lose all meaning.

    As it was already time, we set off for the academy soon after. Eleanora-san wished she could go with us, but sadly, she had to go to work.

    We went by foot, and Noa happily skipped down the road with her ponytail swinging back and forth behind her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m so excited!¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, is this your first time going to a school festival?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. They don¡¯t let me go to the capital alone, after all.¡¹

    Well, of course they wouldn¡¯t let a ten-year-old girl travel to the capital all by herself. She had been nine-years-oldst year, which was even more of a reason not to let her go.

    ¡¸Shuri, you can¡¯t let go of my hand, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, I know.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, make sure you don¡¯t drop your money, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry so much.¡¹

    Next to Noa and I, an older sister was worrying about her younger sister.

    Since the academy we were going to was attended by nobles, Fina had warned Shuri not to act so casually like she had with Princess Flora the other day. Fina hadn¡¯t been able to scold her at that time, but had done so the moment we left the castle. It would be troublesome if we got involved with some strange noble, and it would cause problems for Eleanora-san as well. That was why Fina was now holding Shuri¡¯s hand tightly to make sure she couldn¡¯t run off.

    Fina noticed I was smiling at them.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? I was just wondering if this is what all siblings are like. Shia was also very concerned about Noa, so... ¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama worries too much.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, Onee-chan worries too much, too.¡¹

    Shuri agreed with Noa.

    A child never knew the extent of their parent¡¯s love, or in this case, the extent of their sister¡¯s love...

    As we got closer to the academy, we started to see more people heading in the same direction. Consequently, more and more eyes fell upon me.

    Naturally, I hadn¡¯t forgotten the fact that the more people there were, the more stares I would get, but what could I do? I heard children whispering to their parents,¡¸Bear-san?¡¹and ¡¸It¡¯s a Bear-san from the school festival.¡¹, but I could only do my best to tune out those whispers.

    By the time we arrived at the academy, we were practically drowning in stares.

    ¡¸Onee-sama hasn¡¯te to get us yet.¡¹

    We couldn¡¯t find Shia around the entrance.

    As we waited, festival attendees slowly flowed into the academy. At the gates, they all held out either their citizen or guild cards, as required by the academy to ensure no criminals could enter.

    Having nothing better to do, I watched other children running around near the entrance. Then suddenly, one of them ran up to me and hugged me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Bear-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Bear!¡¹

    One after the other, children slowly began gravitating towards me.

    ¡¸What a cute suit. Was it made specifically for the school festival?¡¹

    ¡¸What a cute Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother, I want to see Bear-san, too.¡¹

    One by one,the adults let go of their children¡¯s hands, and the crowd of children around me kept growing bigger.

    Could they please not do this? I pulled down my hood to cover my face.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan!¡¹

    The three girls called out to me in worry.

    Now wasn¡¯t the time for that. They should be helping me get away from this swarm of children. Had they been monsters or some other foes, I could have just used magic or a Bear Punch to st them all away, but I obviously couldn¡¯t do that to the children.

    ¡¸Bear-san is so soft.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san, fluffy.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, but can you let go?¡¹

    I asked the children kindly but to no avail. Eventually, I was still stranded in the sea of kids with no way out while the adults simply watched and smiled.

    Could they please stop them instead of just watching?

    ¡¸Help...¡¹

    I cried out for help.

    ¡¸Yuna-san? What is going on?!¡¹

    My lord and savior goddess, Shia, appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡¸Shia, help me!¡¹

    I called out to her. Shia took one look at all of the children around me, sighed, and began extracting me from my predicament.

    ¡¸Come on, Bear-san is troubled. Let go of her.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay...¡¹

    ¡¸¡®Kay.¡¹

    As Shia persuaded them, the children let go one by one, and I was eventually freed of their encirclement.

    ¡¸Thanks, Shia. You really saved me there.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what in the world were you doing?¡¹

    Shia looked at me with a bit confused.

    ¡¸We were waiting for you here, and then the children just kepting at me.¡¹

    All I had done was stand here. I hadn¡¯t done anything else.

    The children continued staring at me, as if I was a gigantic stuffed toy they desperately wanted to grab onto. Maybe I was being overly conscious about it, but I never thought that getting attacked by children could be this terrifying.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    When the girls came to me, the other children looked at them and started approaching me again.

    I immediately told the girls to stay where they were, and luckily, Shia quickly found a solution.

    ¡¸If we stay here, the children wille after her again, so let¡¯s head inside.¡¹

    We agreed, and Shia escorted us towards the academy. The children who were left behind looked very disappointed, but that couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸Shia, thank you so very much. I don¡¯t know what I would have done without you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re always wearing that outfit, so it makes sense you forgot what could happen. It stands out quite a lot, after all.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t like I forgot. I just didn¡¯t think the children would see me as a festival attraction.

    Could I even walk around the academy like this?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I don¡¯t think anybody remembers original Shia¡¯s hairstyle, but in the publication, I changed her hairstyle to twintails (there¡¯s an illustration of it there if you want to check it out).

    As per usual, I changed it to twintails in the web version as well.

    I really appreciate all your support, getting me this far.

 Chapter 260 â€“ Bear-san Meets a Princess

    I took out my guild card and held it above the crystal board. After I was cleared, I was given a piece of paper. Looking around, I could see that other people who were entering also received one. I took a look at the paper¡¯s contents and realized that it was a survey; it was asking me to note down which programs I thought were interesting.

    So, manga magazines were not the only ones that did this, huh? I wondered if surveys were amon thing here. Tallying all the results from different slips sounded like a pain, especially since people¡¯s honesty could always be questioned. Some might just write something quickly, not caring about how that affected results.

    Just as we entered the academy, some of the children who had surrounded me earlier also got past the check. They noticed me, and since we were all walking along a single path, I realized I had nowhere to escape to. I quickly walked over to Shia so that I wouldn¡¯t get separated.

    ¡¸If we are walking, I don¡¯t think they will try to surround you again. Anyway, let¡¯s head to our stand first.¡¹

    Everyone nodded in agreement to Shia¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡¸By the way, I¡¯ve been wondering this since the moment I spotted you, but why is Noa¡¯s hairstyle different?¡¹

    She must have been surprised to find out that Noa¡¯s hair had changed, huh. She had seen her just this morning, after all.

    ¡¸Does it not suit me?¡¹

    Noa touched her hair in worry.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s cute. Still, you made your hair just like usual this morning, so why is it different now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san took Father¡¯s words seriously.¡¹

    Noa then proceeded to exin why I had changed her hairstyle.

    ¡¸Well, Father and Yuna-san worry too much. I understand Father and Mother being concerned about the marriage thing, but those people won¡¯t directly approach Noa to discuss it.¡¹

    ¡¸Still, you never know if one of those people really fancies Noa. For example, if they saw Noa at a party, thought she was cute, and wanted to talk to her when they had the chance, then they might try to get close to her if they spot her today.¡¹

    Noa was a very cute girl. Also, she attended parties wearing beautiful dresses, so it might have been love at first sight for someone. However, Noa¡¯s reply to that was quite frank.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll reject any guy that can¡¯t bring up the courage to talk to me during a party.¡¹

    She t out rejected them before they even came up to meet her. Did she prefer guys who were more open with their words?

    Still, womanizers often behaved that way, and I didn¡¯t think she would like them, either. Although there shouldn¡¯t be any boys around her age who were like that, the thought of it being a possibility was terrifying enough.

    ¡¸Also, if they couldn¡¯t talk to me during a party, there¡¯s no way they would approach me in a crowded ce like this.¡¹

    That was true. The kind of guy I was thinking about wouldn¡¯t call out to her in a ce like this. Not to mention, we were here with her. It should be fine as long as we didn¡¯t get separated.

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s good to change your hairstyle once in a while. It¡¯s less likely that some annoying person you know wille up to you, and the hairstyle also fits you.¡¹

    Many nobles attended this academy. It was possible that some annoying person could try to chat her up. We had to proceed with caution in case someone simr to that stupid noble we had met at Misa¡¯s birthday party appeared.

    ¡¸Still, with this many people around, I don¡¯t think I would be spotted either way.¡¹

    There were already quite many people walking ahead of us, not to mention the trail of children from earlier following behind us, many of whom were around Noa¡¯s age. Trying to pick out Noa amongst this crowd should indeed be quite difficult.

    ¡¸Where is your stand, Shia?¡¹

    ¡¸We are at the Number 3 Practice Grounds.¡¹

    Shia proceeded to exin that each program had its designed location. Rted activities were grouped together so that people wouldn¡¯t have to search for them all over. With howrge the academy grounds were, I kind of wished for an information pamphlet of some sort.

    Instead, I noticed that the academy had ced signs at various areas, which disyed a map of the campus and the information on where each program was happening.

    The Number 3 Practice Grounds was one of the ces used for sword and magic training around the academy, but for the festival, it was home to Shia¡¯s cotton candy stand.

    We continued to chat about hairstyles as we followed Shia and took in the surrounding sights. After walking for a while, we reached the Number 3 Practice Grounds. In the open za, many food stands were lined up, as well as various clusters of chairs and tables. It looked like a fine ce to sit down and eat something before rushing onward to see more attractions. Since it was already approaching lunch time, the ce was starting to bustle with customers.

    ¡¸The food stands are split into various locations on campus, so it shouldn¡¯t get too crowded, I think.¡¹

    Numerous attendees were lined up at the stands and many others were already sitting or standing around while enjoying their food. Once we arrived at the cotton candy stand, I noticed that unlike the other stands, there were no customers here. Had they not begun selling yet?

    Cattleya greeted us when we arrived.

    ¡¸How is it going?¡¹

    ¡¸Everything is in order. I look forward to how much we will sell.¡¹

    Their enthusiasm was good; they clearly believed that the cotton candy would sell.

    I looked around, and while some of the other stands didn¡¯t have many customers, at least they had some. Turning back at this stand, which had no oneing to it, I was beginning to worry a bit.

    ¡¸Fufu, we will definitely be the best among the food stand groups.¡¹

    Marcus dered.

    ¡¸Food stand group?¡¹

    ¡¸The academy is giving out rewards to get us, students, all fired up. If we win, we can get many luxurious prizes. You received a survey at the entrance, right?¡¹

    Oh right, we had received something like that.

    I took a look at it again. It asked us to write down three of the programs we found interesting and liked the best. It seemed like this was how the students wouldpete for the prizes.

    ¡¸You have to write down the number of the program you want to vote on, so remember the numbers of the programs you enjoyed the most. Our food stand is number 90, so be sure to write it down.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, only if there are no better ces.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t n on being biased towards family and friends. If I had to vote, then I would do it fairly. At least, that was how I felt.

    Fina and the others, on the other hand, took out their surveys and began writing down their number, which I promptly stopped. I told them they shouldn¡¯t write down it yet when we hadn¡¯t even tried their cotton candy or looked at the other stands.

    ¡¸Shia-san, shouldn¡¯t you introduce me already?¡¹

    A girl standing behind Shia tugged on Shia¡¯s twintail.

    I had noticed that the girl had been staring at me for a while now. She wore the same uniform as Shia, so she must be a student as well. Her face looked familiar, so I might have seen her somewhere before. Well, I didn¡¯t think I would forget about such a cute girl like her, so it must have been a very brief meeting.

    ¡¸I get it, so please stop pulling my hair.¡¹

    The girl released Shia¡¯s hair, and Shia immediately fixed her hair. Hair was a girl¡¯s life, so nobody should pull on it, even lightly.

    ¡¸You guys were leaving me out of your conversation.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll introduce you, so don¡¯t pull on my hair anymore. Yuna-san, this is Tilia-sama. She is helping out with our stand.¡¹

    When Shia introduced her, the girl stepped forward.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve finally got to meet the rumored Bear-san. My name is Tilia. Nice to meet you.¡¹

    ¡¸Um, I¡¯m Yuna. Nice to meet you, too?¡¹

    The girl named Tilia extended her hands towards me, so I did the same. She immediately grabbed my puppets with both hands. It seemed she knew about me, but this was my first time actually speaking with her. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I had seen her before, though. Had I passed her by sometime I had been at the capital? When I had epted the student escort mission from Eleanora-san, I hade to the academy, so it was quite possible I had seen her there. However, what the girl said next was entirely different from what I was expecting.

    ¡¸You really do go around wearing a Bear-san outfit. Thanks for always taking care of my little sister.¡¹

    Um, her little sister?

    She had said I often took care of her little sister, so she must be the older sister of someone I knew, right?

    Out of all the girls I knew, I couldn¡¯t think of many who she could be an older sister to.

    There were Noa and Misa, and if this girl was older than she seemed, then Cattleya could also be a candidate. Going by her appearance, though, I couldn¡¯t imagine a younger version of her would look simr to any of these girls. Well, I knew there were sisters who didn¡¯t look alike, but that was quite unlikely right? Well, they might have a different mother or father, so maybe...

    My first thought turned to Cliff being a cheater and neglecting to mention that he had a daughter with another woman. That would exin why this girl didn¡¯t look like Eleanora-san at all.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of right now, but I think it¡¯s wrong.¡¹

    Shia rejected my in mind spection. I thought it was a usible story, though.

    ¡¸My sister is always saying Bear-san, Bear-san, so I thought you were someone who wears bear fur around, but I guess I was wrong. I didn¡¯t think you would be such a cute bear. Your hands and feet are also bear-shaped.¡¹

    Tilia petted my Bear-san Puppets and then even moved to my feet and torso.

    ¡¸Um, sorry, but can you stop touching me?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. Can you let me hug you at least?¡¹

    I thought saying it like that would be enough to make her jump away from me, but instead, she opened her arms for a hug. Why was this happening?!

    ¡¸You¡¯re so soft, just like my sister said.¡¹

    She squeezed me tightly as she hugged me, not even waiting for me to allow it.

    ¡¸Wa-wait, what?¡¹

    ¡¸This feeling might get addicting.¡¹

    She kept rubbing her hands all over me, and finally she pressed her face against my chest.

    ¡¸How unfair, me too!¡¹

    Shuri ran up behind me and hugged me, too. This was no different than the situation I was in earlier at the entrance.

    I grabbed Tilia by the shoulders and pushed her off of me.

    ¡¸Just what is going on here? Shuri, you let go, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. My sister would tell me how soft and good you feel when she hugs you, so I¡¯ve been wanting to hug you ever since.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, you shouldn¡¯t suddenly hug someone like that.¡¹

    Tilia apologized and finally stepped away from me.

    She kept mentioning a little sister, but really, just who was she talking about?

    No matter how hard I racked my brain, I still couldn¡¯t figure it out. If it wasn¡¯t Noa, could it maybe be Misa? They didn¡¯t look alike at all, though.

    ¡¸Father and Mother told me many stories about you as well.¡¹

    Her father and mother? I had only met Misa¡¯s parents once, and that was at her birthday party. I hadn¡¯t seen them since.

    ¡¸Especially how you always bring my sister delicious food.¡¹

    Food? I didn¡¯t recall ever bringing Misa food. The only thing I had brought her was a birthday cake.

    ¡¸Still, I don¡¯t get it why you alwayse when I¡¯m not around? When I get home, they all tell me all about how delicious the food Bear-san brought them was, and I feel very left out each time. Also, Nii-san told me that when Bear-sanes, Father always stops working, which causes him a lot of trouble. Why can¡¯t you trouble me?¡¹

    Wait, could it be?

    This person¡¯s sister called me Bear-san, and I brought her food often. Her father would ck off from work whenever I came, and her brother would be troubled by that. All the pieces of the puzzle slowly fell into ce.

    I turned to took a look at Noa, and it was clear that she was very nervous being in the presence of Tilia.

    With that, there was only one possible answer left.

    ¡¸Could it be that you¡¯re Princess Flora¡¯s older sister?¡¹

    ¡¸Correct. You didn¡¯t know?¡¹

    Of course I hadn¡¯t known!

    I hadn¡¯t even known that the king had another daughter, much less knew her name. Nobody had told me, and I hadn¡¯t thought to ask.

    I knew that his oldest son was around twenty years old, while Flora-sama was only four to five years old, so thinking about it now, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for there to be another child between those two. I took another look at Tilia and could immediately tell why she looked familiar to me; her features were very simr to Princess Flora and Her Highness.

    ¡¸So, all in all, when I heard that Shia-san knew Bear-san, and that Bear-san would being to the festival today, I asked if I could help out at her shop in exchange for introducing me to Bear-san.¡¹

    Just what had Shia been thinking?

    Making a princess help out at a food stand? Noa was also looking at Shia and Tilia like she couldn¡¯t believe what she had just heard.

    ¡¸So, Flora-sama has an older sister, huh...¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, and I wanted to thank you for taking care of for my sister so often.¡¹

    ¡¸No, tt¡¯s fine...¡¹

    ¡¸Also, I wanted to tell you that she really loves the bear plushies you gave her. Oh, and the picture books are nice, too. Everytime I heard about you from Flora, I wondered just what kind of girl you are, making all these things for her.¡¹

    I made food and drew picture books for her, but the plushies, I hadn¡¯t made those. Well, I hadn¡¯t specifically told her that, so no wonder she thought I had made them.

    ¡¸I also appreciate your willingness to teach recipes to Zelef. The pudding is really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, it¡¯s really delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to eat more of it sometime.¡¹

    When Tilia started talking about the taste of pudding, Marcus and the others also joined in.

    ¡¸If everybody works hard, I will treat you to some, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, Timor, let¡¯s do our best.¡¹

    With pudding as a reward, everybody¡¯s spirit rose. Well, giving them some pudding was nothing if that was what it took to motivate them...

    Author¡¯s Note:

    With this, Flora¡¯s older sister has finally appeared.

    I decided to make an older sister when I wrote about the eldest son, but there wasn¡¯t any good opportunity to have her appear... so I used the chance here. lol

    Next chapter will be some sightseeing, I guess.

 Chapter 261 â€“ Bear-san Advertises the Shop

    I was very surprised to find out that Princess Flora had an older sister. I never thought I would be meeting her here, at the school festival, of all ces, either.

    Not to mention, she was unexpectedly close friends with Shia, but this was most likely because His Majesty and Eleanora-san were close friends as well?

    Their families were close, while they were also of the same age. Considering how likely nobles and royalty would interact with each other, I suppose it made sense that they could be friends.

    Still, were all royalty in this world this friendly?

    Well, it was much better than having a royal family with bad intentions.

    ¡¸So, how is the stand doing? It looks like you¡¯re not selling much...¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s because we haven¡¯t had any customers yet.¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯ll starting now. Hey kids, you want to try some cotton candy?¡¹

    Marcus called out to the kids who I had noticed were staring at me. The children looked at each other, shook their heads, and ran off.

    Ah, there goes the customers.

    ¡¸Marcus, you can¡¯t ask them with such a scary face.¡¹

    ¡¸What, are you saying my face is scary?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re not smiling enough.¡¹

    Just like Shia said, Marcus¡¯ smile wasn¡¯t what we would consider the best. If a person with a smile like that approached me and asked me to try some food I had never heard of before, I would refuse too.

    I, myself, only made food for people I knew and didn¡¯t charge them for it. That was why everybody ate my cooking without running away.

    Here, everybody was a stranger, so I didn¡¯t think anybody would try out the cotton candy without knowing what it was, much less pay money for it.

    Hmm, Shia¡¯s group was in a bit of a bind. Even if the cotton candy was delicious and novel for this world, it wouldn¡¯t sell if people didn¡¯t know that.

    I turned to look at the other stands. Between each of them was a sizeable gap, probably to make use of the practice ground¡¯s wide space and give the stands an open air feel. The shop next to us was selling soup, and the one across was selling drinks.

    Had the space between each shop been smaller, the customers from the other shops would have naturally spilled over, and our stand wouldn¡¯t have such a drought. Sadly, that wasn¡¯t the case, so we had to figure something else out.

    I turned back to our stand. The first thing to check was the price of the cotton candy. If it was expensive, not many people would buy it, and it might be too much for children, who I expected to be most interested in it. Still, looking at the set price, there didn¡¯t seem to be any problem. Any child should be able to afford it with their pocket money.

    Why did I know how much pocket money the children had in this world? Because Terumi-san had warned me that I was giving Fina and Shuri too much money.

    I had been giving them that much because I wanted to thank them for all they did for me, but apparently that wasn¡¯t a good idea, especially since the two of them ended up passing the money along to Terumi-san to save it for emergencies.

    Terumi-san had given them some pocket money for the school festival from this fund; that was why they had tried to refuse Eleanora-san¡¯s money, but it had been to no avail of course.

    Next, I looked at the sign.

    The sign only stated ¡®Cotton candy¡¯ on it, and I could immediately tell that was a big problem. Our customers had no idea what cotton candy was so a simple sign stating that wasn¡¯t of much use. Without any samples, even if people were interested in what cotton candy was, they wouldn¡¯t even know what the food they would be eating looked like. No wonder people were just passing by and ignoring this stand.

    We sadly didn¡¯t have any sample holders. Also, the cotton candy didn¡¯t have a strong aroma like the other foods being sold around here, so we couldn¡¯t attract people that way.

    The problem wasn¡¯t the price, but rather the stand¡¯s appearance andck of advertising.

    I didn¡¯t think it was good for an outsider like me to intrude and help them, but knowing how much they had practiced making cotton candy and how motivated they were, it would be so sad if they didn¡¯t even sell anything. Since I was the one who had taught them how to make it, I would feel sad as their teacher as well.

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t we remodel the stand a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Remodel?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s not enough advertisement.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh. Okay sure, but we can¡¯t take up too much space.¡¹

    ¡¸I will keep that in mind.¡¹

    Right now, we definitely wanted to show everyone what cotton candy was. Although I couldn¡¯t make borate, stic food samples like the ones found in my former world, I could try something simr.

    Gathering my magical power, I used earth magic and began molding a statue. When I finished, I could hear audible gasps from those around us. It was a two meter tall Bear, sitting down next to the stand.

    Using some more earth magic, I created another statue in the shape of cotton candy and ced it in the bear¡¯s hand. With this, the Bear statue appeared to be eating the cotton candy, so anybody should be able to figure out that we were selling food.

    ¡¸Amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a Bear-san.¡¹

    ¡¸A bear made a bear.¡¹

    Who? Who just said something dumb like that?

    I looked around, but I couldn¡¯t find the culprit.

    ¡¸Well, maybe this is a little too much.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but why a bear?¡¹

    That was probably because my imagination was too influenced by Bears at this point. I would prefer to make something else of course, but ever since I came to this world, my magic attacks were in the shape of Bears, the golems I created were Bears, my restaurant statues were Bears, my summoned beasts were Bears, the picture books I drew were about Bears, and to top it all off, I myself wore a Bear Suit. Sure enough, my thoughts had be constantly filled with Bears. No matter what I tried to imagine, I would always end up back to a Bear.

    Thinking about it like this, it was possible that I had passed the point of no return, wasn¡¯t it?

    When surrounded by Bears, it was scientifically proven that anyone¡¯s head would be filled with Bears.

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t like this, I can make something else, too.¡¹

    If I tried my best, I should be able to make something else, right?

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s fine. This is cute, and you made it for us. It will help advertise our stand perfectly.¡¹

    Luckily, nobody had a problem with it.

    ¡¸Great. I made sure not to reinforce this Bear statue, so it can be broken down easily. Just break it when the festival ends. Be careful though, the whole thing should crumble at once when you do.¡¹

    ¡¸You want us to break it?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯ll get in the way after the festival ends, won¡¯t it? It¡¯s not like it will be of any additional use after the festival.¡¹

    My customer-attracting Bear (not panda for once), stood there in full glory.

    I noticed a few children were already staring at the cotton candy in the Bear¡¯s paw. I immediately recognized them as the group of children who had been at the academy entrance.

    Hmm, maybe I could get these children to help us out.

    ¡¸Marcus, make three cotton candies.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm? Okay, sure.¡¹

    The children¡¯s focus quickly shifted to Marcus as he started to make them. The white threads zooming out of the machine must have caught their attention, and when Marcus deftly coiled the threads around a wooden stick, they couldn¡¯t resist butment. ¡¸Ooh.¡¹¡¸Something weird came out.¡¹¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹¡¸Is this food?¡¹. The children werepletely captivated.

    I could easily see the results of Marcus¡¯s hard work. He had clearly practiced a lot and now weaved the candy like a true pro.

    Next, I called Fina and Shia over and whispered in their ears. Fina nodded and went over to Shia and Noa and whispered to them as well. Shia responded with ¡¸Oh, I see. Good idea,¡¹while nodding at me slightly.

    When Marcus was finished making all three cotton candies, I took out some money to pay for them. He tried to refuse, but I told him ¡¸I¡¯m a customer,¡¹and gave him the money.

    Then, I handed one candy each to Fina, Shuri and Noa.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-san.¡¹

    The three of them thanked me and began eating happily.

    ¡¸It¡¯s so good.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s tasty and sweet.¡¹

    ¡¸Yummy.¡¹

    The three of themmented on how tasty the cotton candy was as loudly as they could.

    This was what could be called the fake buyer trick. Well, anyone standing nearby should already know that the girls were helping the shop, but since the girls were enjoying the cotton candy so much, it shouldn¡¯t be enough to scare any customers away, thinking this was just a scam.

    The children couldn¡¯t help but stare at the girls eating the candy so happily.

    Many people who were about to pass by our stand stopped to take a look. First, their eyes fell onto my Bear Suit, then on the Bear statue which was eating something, and finally, on the strange food that the girls were putting into their mouths.

    ¡¸What is that?¡¹

    ¡¸Are they eating cotton?¡¹

    People were slowly starting to be interested and a crowd gathered.

    I looked over at Shia and she gave another knowing nod.

    ¡¸Alright, since we¡¯ve attracted such a crowd, we will now hold a taste-testing session. Please stay and try some. It¡¯s very sweet and delicious.¡¹

    Shia called out at the crowd.

    When Marcus heard Shia mention a taste-testing session, he immediately began making more cotton candy. Cloud-like cotton once again appeared out of the machine and he skillfully curled it around a stick. The spectators were all surprised and looked on with curiosity.

    Then, Shia took the freshly-made cotton candy and passed it around for everyone to try it.

    One after another, people pinched-off a piece and ate it, all shocked by its taste and cloudy consistency. They didn¡¯t expect for it to instantly melt their mouths nor that it would be this sweet. Some children even began asking their mother to let them try some.

    Slowly but surely, our candy was gaining traction. Some of the customers even invited other passersby to join, and I happily joined them for a while, before moving behind the stand and sitting down.

    I could leave it to the students to do the rest. I was an outsider, after all.

    After I left to the back of the shop, the children started calling ¡¸Bear-san¡¹, so I waved my hand at them. It would had been problematic for the stand if I was seen negatively. I behaved well, as if I was some sort of mascot character.

    With this, the word should spread, and we should continue to gather a crowd. The Bear statue could be easily spotted among the stands, so new customers would have an easier time finding this ce.

    I was quite happy, looking at everyone buying and eating the candy for the first time. They all seemed to enjoy it.

    ¡¸Oh right. Shia, I think you should already know this, but the candy will eventually melt, so make sure to let the customers know.¡¹

    If some customers decided to bring it home, they may be surprised that the cotton candy would eventually lose its structure. Well, even if anyints ured, they should be rather insignificant for the stand¡¯s business.

    ¡¸Okay, I will make sure to remind them.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, Shia, do your best. We¡¯re going to head off now.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama, please do your best.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I really wanted to bring you around, but...¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, we have Yuna-san with us.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s what I¡¯m most worried about.¡¹

    How rude. I didn¡¯t do anything yet, so could she not make it sound like I was the problem here.

    Well, I couldn¡¯t deny that my outfit attracted a lot of attention, but...

    ¡¸In that case, how about I guide them around?¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, you would do that?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-san, you can call me Tilia.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure that is okay? Well, then, could you please call me Yuna and not Bear-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Alright. Yuna, I¡¯ll guide everyone around so Shia won¡¯t have to worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Doesn¡¯t she have to help out with the shop?¡¹

    I asked Shia instead of Tilia.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Tilia-sama only promised to help out on the third day.¡¹

    Since it was fine to do so, we started our sightseeing tour together with the princess, Tilia.

    Fina and Noa looked worried, but they should get used to it, right?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    In the next chapter, we will get to look around the school festival. lol

 Chapter 262 â€“ Bear-san Enjoys the School Festival, Part 1

    After visiting Shia¡¯s stand, we ended up going around the school festival with Tilia.

    Everybody introduced themselves before we started our tour. Technically, Noa and Tilia already knew each other but had actually never spoken before.

    Fina very nervously introduced herself, while Shuri was simply going¡¸It¡¯s a princess...¡¹. Fina quickly scolded her to introduce herself properly. Tiliaughed and patted Shuri¡¯s head, not perturbed at all.

    ¡¸Well then, are there any ces you want to visit? Or, do you want to eat something first?¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t particrly hungry.

    ¡¸Girls, are you hungry?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not hungry, so we can go to other ces first.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine with that, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too, I¡¯m not hungry.¡¹

    Nobody was hungry yet, so it was decided that Tilia would bring us around first.

    Thanks to the mood of the school festival, everybody we passed by smiled at me. They would often utter ¡¸A bear?¡¹or ¡¸It¡¯s Bear-san!¡¹, but they didn¡¯t try to surround me.

    On the other hand, quite a few groups of students noticed Tilia was with us and approached to greet her. They would then look at me and ask¡¸Why are you with a bear?¡¹

    As Tilia guided us away from one of the groups, she spoke to me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m so happy to finally meet the rumored Bear-san. Many people in the castle have met you, but most of them don¡¯t know what kind of person you actually are. I heard from Mother that you are ¡ºan adorable Bear-san¡»while my sister told me that ¡ºBear-san is very kind.¡»Also, when I asked father, he simply said ¡ºShe¡¯s a bear.¡»¡¹

    Well, I never liked to talk about myself, and I was sure the king would keep his promise about not revealing that I had defeated the ten-thousand-monster army.

    ¡¸Still, why do you wear this bear outfit? Isn¡¯t it hot?¡¹

    She suddenly sprang the question on me.

    Luckily, I already had an answer prepared for it.

    ¡¸Um, I receive the Protection of the Bear with this.¡¹

    ¡¸Protection of the Bear? Does such a thing exist?¡¹

    Tilia looked at me suspiciously.

    Well, I wasn¡¯t exactly lying, since if I took off my Bear Suit, I would lose all of the powers it granted me, including heat and cold resistances. Likewise, if I took off my Bear Puppets, I wouldn¡¯t be able to summon my Bears, cast any magic, or even be able to lift a heavy sword. I would simply be unable to fight at all. Also, I wouldn¡¯t have ess to my item bag anymore, which was a very important tool to me. Not to mention that, without my Bear Shoes, I wouldn¡¯t be able to run quickly nor jump far.

    Really, without the protection of the Bear, I couldn¡¯t do anything.

    I could hear Shuri and Noa discussing¡¸I want the Bear-san¡¯s protection, too,¡¹on the side. I wanted to warn them that they would need to wear the Bear Suit to receive its protections, but when I thought about it, I realized those two would be more than happy to, which was a very scary prospect.

    ¡¸You wear this outfit for protection, huh. Well, it¡¯s fine since it suits you, and you¡¯re really cute in it. I think the boys would be too embarrassed to wear something like that, though.¡¹

    No, I was a girl and had also been very embarrassed wearing it. It was just that I had given up caring at this point.

    ¡¸Ah, talking about bears... Could you please show me your summoned bears next time? They should look just like Flora¡¯s plushies, right?¡¹

    She heard about my summons as well, huh. I wondered what else the royal family gossiped about me. Surely, they had other more interesting topics to discuss, no?

    ¡¸The bear plushies are very cute, but when I asked Flora if I can have one, she looked at me like she would cry and told me no. That¡¯s why I want them even more now.¡¹

    Just what was she thinking? How could she even consider taking the plushies from Princess Flora? Even I knew how important those plushies were to her. She always carried around at least one of them everywhere she went, and when she returned to her room, she would neatly ce them beside her pillow. How could anyone think of taking the plushies away from her knowing that?

    ¡¸You can¡¯t take the plushies from the princess.¡¹

    Shuri went up to Tilia and told her that. Fina instantly tried to cover Shuri¡¯s mouth, but she was toote.

    ¡¸Fufu, I know. It¡¯s just that the plushies are so cute I want them myself as well. Still, you don¡¯t have to worry. I won¡¯t take them from her. I wouldn¡¯t forcibly take something so important to her.¡¹

    Tilia faced Shuri as she promised her that.

    I was d that she didn¡¯t actually treat her little sister¡¯s belongings as her own.

    ¡¸If you really want them, I can give you a set as a present. Just leave Princess Flora¡¯s alone, please.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, not you too. I won¡¯t take them, I said. She had two, so I thought it would be okay to ask for one, but realized my mistake as soon as I saw her expression.¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan aren¡¯t supposed to be separated.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s what Flora and Mother told me as well. I thought they were simply different colored bears before.¡¹

    Yes, to someone who didn¡¯t know them well, they were simply of two different colors. Yet, I was fully confident that even if my Bears were the same color, I could still tell them apart. That was how long I had been with them, after all.

    ¡¸Anyway, Shuri-chan, do you have the plushies as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, I have the Hugging Bear-chan plushie.¡¹

    ¡¸How about everybody else?¡¹

    ¡¸I have Swaying Bear.¡¹

    ¡¸I have both.¡¹

    ¡¸So, everybody has at least one then. Yuna, please make sure you really give me at least one as well.¡¹

    I had promised to give her a set of plushies so she wouldn¡¯t be tempted to take Princess Flora¡¯s, hadn¡¯t I?

    The conversation about the plushies turned out rather lively, and before we knew it, we reached a new area.

    The academy grounds were bustling with people, so each program had at least some people enjoying it.

    ¡¸Now then, where shall we start?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, where do you want to go?¡¹

    ¡¸How about we start from the beginning?¡¹

    Since I didn¡¯t know what programs there were here, I figured the best would be to just go through from where we were.

    We entered the za, and we saw students showing off their sword and magic skills. It felt a bit weird watching students perform in their uniforms, but after reminding myself that I was in a fantasy world, I realized that shouldn¡¯t be too much of a surprise.

    ¡¸There seems to be something interesting over there.¡¹

    With Tilia taking the lead again, we reached a big crowd. Stretching our necks to see what was going on here, we saw that the people here were gathered in front of a stand where a knife throwing game was being held. There were many targets of various sizes ced all over the lengthy stand for the participants to aim at.

    The guy currently ying threw a knife and hit one of the targets. He rejoiced and received what appeared to be a prize which he then gave to a girl right after. Was that a hair ornament?

    Before I could get a closer look, another guy stepped in front of the stand. He tried to aim for a target slightly farther away but missed all three times and had to apologize to the girl he was with.

    ¡¸This looks like a ce for guys to show themselves off to their girlfriends.¡¹

    ¡¸We get a prize if we hit the target?¡¹

    Shuri was staring at the biggest and the prettiest hair ornament on disy next to the stand.

    It was a very beautiful hair ornament, and it was also the game¡¯s grand prize.

    ¡¸This is my time to shine.¡¹

    Tilia boasted. Winning at this game seemed to be pretty difficult, though. Reading the rules on a sign next to the stand, the challenger would earn points for each target hit, with more points being given depending on the distance.

    The prizes were separated into five grades, and to get the prettiest hair ornament, the challenger would have to earn the maximum number of points possible. The guy from earlier only received the prize from the third grade.

    The next person in line tried aiming for the closer targets and managed to win a small hair ornament from the lowest grade. The girl he gave it to looked pretty happy, but the crowd began booing him. In my former world, they would probably be yelling ¡°Die you normies!¡±.

    A girl stepped up to y next. Was she trying to get one for herself?

    ¡¸Does everybody want to try?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ¡¸If everybody else is doing it, then I will as well.¡¹

    Everyone looked excited to try.

    For a split second, I wondered if it was okay to let children hold knives, but then I remembered that both Fina and Shuri were experienced with using knives to dismantle beasts, so I couldn¡¯t really stop them, especially when they looked so eager. It wasn¡¯t like they would be throwing them at people.

    Hmm, since this was a festival, I should join in and have some fun as well.

    When I followed the others to step into the line, I could hear people going ¡¸Bear?¡¹¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹all around me but I simply ignored them.

    Soon, it was our turn. Tilia stepped up first. When the students running the stand saw the princess, they were all shocked.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama?!¡¹

    ¡¸Let me y, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes. Go ahead.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯ll take the prize for sure.¡¹

    The student gave Tilia three knives, and Tilia stood in front of the targeting area. Which targets would she aim for?

    Tilia readied her first knife and threw it gracefully. The knife soared through the air in a nice line andnded with a good sound, right in the middle of a target.

    Ooh, she was quite good. The crowd also cheered for her. ¡¸Tilia-sama, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹¡¸Tilia-sama, you can do it!¡¹

    Her next two throws alsonded on their targets. With herbined points, she won a third-grade flower-themed, hair ornament.

    If she had aimed and hit one of the farthest targets just once, she would have won the second-grade prize, yet she decided to y it safe.

    After collecting her prize, Tilia returned to us.

    ¡¸Princess, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Hehe, of course I am. I¡¯m good at knife throwing, after all.¡¹

    That was good and all, but for a princess to be skilled at knife throwing, wasn¡¯t there something wrong with that? Well, it might be fine if she had learned it for self-defense, but why throwing knives?

    ¡¸My turn.¡¹

    Noa confidently stepped to the targeting area and aimed for the same targets as Tilia. Her first two throws missed, but she managed to hit her third throw, so at least she got the smallest hair ornament.

    ¡¸That was close. I almost received no points. Fina, Shuri, it¡¯s better to aim for the targets closer to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    It was Fina¡¯s turn next. She followed Noa¡¯s advice and only aimed for the closest targets, earning her a small ornament as well. The closest targets were meant for children and beginners to aim at. That way, anybody could get a prize, and I noticed there was arge number of small hair ornaments prepared.

    Just as I was about to try, Shuri jumped in front of me.

    ¡¸My turn!¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure you want to try?¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan taught me how to hold a knife, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    She had taught her how to hold it, not how to throw it.

    Still, since Fina didn¡¯t say anything, I figured there was no harm in letting her try.

    When Shuri stepped to the targeting area, the spectators became rather excited. ¡¸How cute.¡¹¡¸Will she be okay?¡¹¡¸Do your best!¡¹and otherments came flying at her.

    Receiving her three knives, Shuri took aim for the closest targets just like Fina. Her first throw was too far to the right and the second was too far to the left. Her third throw managed to hit, but the knife didn¡¯t prate the target and fell to the ground.

    All around us, we could hear people saying ¡¸She tried her best.¡¹or ¡¸Give her a prize!¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu.¡¹

    Shuri returned looking very dejected. Well, that couldn¡¯t be helped. She was small and had never done it before.

    ¡¸Shuri, I¡¯ll give you mine.¡¹

    FIna tried to give Shuri the ornament she won herself, but Shuri shook her head.

    ¡¸But that¡¯s yours, Onee-chan.¡¹

    These two were such good sisters...

    ¡¸Okay, then I¡¯ll win one for you, Shuri.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, I can¡¯t really use hair ornaments with this hood of mine.¡¹

    I said and pointed at the Bear-san Hood that was covering my head. I didn¡¯t need the ornament since I was covering myself with the hood anyway, so it was better give it to Shuri instead.

    ¡¸Okay, time to show my skills.¡¹

    The crowd started to mor the moment I got up to the targeting area.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹¡¸Bear.¡¹¡¸Did she make that suit for the festival?¡¹¡¸Who¡¯s wearing the costume?¡¹It looked like people thought I was a student here.

    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹

    One of the female students passed me the knives while taking a nce at my outfit. Did these girls make the ornaments themselves?

    I took the knives and looked at the targets. Which ones should I aim for? Since all of the targets were stationary, my Bear-san Homing Skill could easily hit any one of them.

    I decided I had to do my best for Shuri.

    Grasping the knife in my Bear-san Puppet, I threw the first knife. It flew through the air and solidly hit the bullseye of one of the farthest targets. The crowd cheered. ¡¸Amazing!¡¹¡¸She hit it right in the middle, and on the farthest target.¡¹¡¸That¡¯s gotta be a fluke.¡¹

    I threw the second and the third knives, and of course, they hit dead center again, each on a different, farthest target.

    ¡¸Amazing.¡¹¡¸The bear is so cool.¡¹¡¸What is this? She hit the farthest target three times in a row.¡¹¡¸Bear-san¡¯s amazing!¡¹

    The crowd continued to cheer wildly. They were exaggerating things. I was sure any regr adventurer could do this. I wasn¡¯t a C ranked adventurer for nothing, after all.

    I walked up to the girls running the stand to receive my prize. They looked shocked and exchanged a few questioning expressions before handing me the grand prize.

    I felt a bit bad taking it like that, but, oh well, it was worth it for Shuri.

    With the beautiful hair ornament in hand, I immediately decorated Shuri¡¯s hair with it.

    ¡¸Thank you, Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    ¡¸It looks good on you.¡¹

    She beamed me a bright smile. I was d I worked hard; this smile waspletely worth it. I couldn¡¯t help that I had stood out so much, but the crowd seemed to think I was just ying a role for the program, so it should be fine... right?

    ¡¸Uuu, I¡¯m jealous.¡¹

    Noa looked enviously at Shuri.

    ¡¸Okay, how about I get one for everyone then?¡¹

    I looked over at the remaining prizes, and the girls running the stand turned stiff.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, I think you should stop here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you shouldn¡¯t clear them out.¡¹

    Fina and Tilia stopped me after seeing their expressions.

    ¡¸Okay, I will try again myself, then.¡¹

    We rejected Noa¡¯s request, and left the knife throwing stand before we brought about even more trouble for the students managing it.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    With that, the sightseeing of the school festival begins.

 Chapter 263 â€“ Bear-san Enjoys the School Festival, Part 2

    With everybody (but me) getting a hairpiece of their own, we left the knife throwing stand.

    Shuri¡¯s hair piece was huge and very pretty, so she was skipping happily as we walked around, looking for the next attraction that would catch our interest.

    ¡¸If you¡¯d have let me try once more, I would have gotten the same one as Tilia-sama¡¯s...¡¹

    Noa had missed two of her throws, so I had no idea where that confidence wasing from...

    ¡¸If I were to try again, I could have gotten a better prize as well.¡¹

    Tilia dered, clearlypeting with Noa.

    ¡¸If we¡¯re going to do it once moreter then I will give my prize to Fina next.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s unfair.¡¹

    Well, with how the girls running the stand had looked at us when I had imed the grand reward, I had a feeling they wouldn¡¯t let me try anymore. I had taken the grand prize too easily, after all, so I would surely trouble them if I were to return.

    As we chatted, we spotted another interesting attraction: a ball throwing game.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan is so cool.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, you¡¯re great at this.¡¹

    Well, I was kind of cheating.

    I hit the furthest target with the ball without much of a problem. It even had obstacles in the way, but that didn¡¯t hinder me in the slightest.

    ¡¸You were good at knife throwing too. I¡¯m amazed that you can hit targets like this, without missing even once.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that one is pretty hard to hit as well.¡¹

    The ball-throwing targets were ced from ten to twenty meters away from the challenger. The difficulty of hitting them ranged from A to E grades, where the E grade was for the closest targets and the A grade for the farthest ones. The A grade targets were also much smaller than therge E grade ones, not to mention all the obstacles littering the path towards the A grade targets.

    Simr to the knife throwing game, the challenger received three balls to throw, and the prizes were split into five categories, from A to E grade, with a prize awarded depending on the targets hit.

    Hitting targets A, B, and C earned one enough to win an A grade prize. On the other hand, hitting the E grade target three times onlyted them an E grade prize.

    Tilia had aimed her first ball at target A, but after missing, she had given up on it and went with target C next, which she had sessfully hit. With herst ball, she had aimed at target B but had sadly missed again.

    Noa had aimed all three balls at target A and had naturally missed everything. I couldn¡¯t understand why she hadn¡¯t tried for the easier targets after her first throw when she must have realized how hard it was to hit target A.

    With her first ball, Shuri had hit target E. She had then aimed for target D with the second but had missed the mark. Herst throw had managed to hit target D, though.

    Fina had done the same as Shuri and had gone for the target E first. Seeing she had hit it easily, she had gone for target D on her second throw and had scored again. She had then proceeded to try for target C with herst throw but had sadly missed.

    At first, I had been worrying over which target I should go for, before realizing this was just a game and the most important thing was to have fun.

    With that settled, I had taken a closer look at the target A. There was a board hanging above the target, so I couldn¡¯t have lobbed the ball to arc it above the obstacles. On the other hand, right in front of it were various poles a ball could bounce off of, making a forward approach quite difficult.

    Noa had aimed for it even though it was reckless to do so for a normal person.

    However, hitting it was just the perfect challenge for me.

    I had held the ball in the Bear-san Puppet¡¯s mouth and aimed straight for target A. Adding a little bit of curve to my throw, the ball had weaved in between the obstacles and mmed against the target without much trouble.

    Seeing my first ball hit its mark so easily, the girls had allplimented me, and even the crowd watching had apuded me.

    Two more ballster, I received a grade A essory without any issue while showing off once again.

    This time, I gave the prize to Noa.

    For the next attraction, we joined a rolling ball challenge. It was like an obstacle race, but with a time limit. This time around, I won a homemade bracelet, which I gave to Fina.

    We continued to participate in all sorts of games, and the number of earned prizes kept increasing.

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Fina, Shuri, and Noa now each wore many pieces of essories I had won for them. They were wearing hair pieces, nes, bracelets, and brooches. At thest game, we had even received flowers grown by the students. Only at this point did I realize that it was possible to wear too many essories.

    ¡¸We¡¯ve been invaded by all the prizes.¡¹

    Tilia shared her interesting take on the situation after also inspecting the three girls.

    Well, she was also wearing all the prizes she had won herself, so she shouldn¡¯t have been the one to talk...

    ¡¸Since Yuna keeps winning all the best prizes, the students running the stands end up looking stiff.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, they made it difficult on purpose, so it only makes me want to challenge them more.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t someone to shy away from a challenge, after all.

    ¡¸Normal people cannot clear challenges of such difficulty, though.¡¹

    Well, even I was only able to do it thanks to my Bear Skills. Without them, I wouldn¡¯t have won a single prize. Forget hitting the targets, I doubted my throws would have even reached them.

    Chatting happily, we moved on to the next attraction...

    ¡¸Hey, what¡¯s that over there?¡¹

    There was arge cloth surrounding a small area so we couldn¡¯t see what was inside.

    ¡¸I wonder what its purpose is?¡¹

    It seemed like Tilia didn¡¯t know, either. Well, it was impossible to know all the programs in every area, especially with how big the academy was.

    Anyway, judging by how the cloth surrounded the whole area, it could be a haunted house?

    Hmm, the cloth didn¡¯t cover the top, so light coulde in, which meant it couldn¡¯t be that. Maybe a maze, then?

    We walked around the enclosed area until we came across the entrance and a student standing next to it.

    ¡¸A bear...? And Tilia-sama?!¡¹

    The male student was first surprised to see my outfit but was then even more shocked when he recognized the princess.

    ¡¸What kind of attraction is inside of here?¡¹

    ¡¸This is an area where you can experience the dismantling of monsters and animals. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a ce you would like to enter, Tilia-sama.¡¹

    The student exined while pointing at the sign by the entrance.

    The sign exined that they showed the dismantling of monsters and animals, with an additional warning at the bottom: ¡°Dismantling of monsters and animals in progress. Participant discretion advised.¡±

    ¡¸There are even programs like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s because there are many students who are aiming to be knights, soldiers, or even adventurers, and they will often have to dismantle monsters they subjugate while on duty. Also, if they run out of food while on the road, they will have to hunt down and dismantle animals so they can eat. Of course, there are students who won¡¯t ever need to do something like that, but there are quite a few who would find this skill useful.¡¹

    That made sense. Knights and soldiers might indeed have to distmante animals in a pickle.

    ¡¸Does that mean we can see the dismantling process inside?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it would be of no use for us, so let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡¹

    ¡¸I wanna see it!¡¹

    Shuri said while raising her hand.

    ¡¸I want to take a look as well.¡¹

    Fina agreed with her sister. Well, Fina dismantled monsters for a living, while Shuri had often been helping hertely, so it made sense that they would want to watch other people do it and maybe learn a trick or two.

    ¡¸You two, this isn¡¯t something for children to see. Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡¹

    Tilia tried to pull on Shuri¡¯s hand, but she didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡¸I wanna go inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? It¡¯s not something pleasant to look at. You might not be able to eat meat after seeing it anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean, you¡¯ll be fine...¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia, those two will really be fine. They¡¯ve both dismantled many monsters and animals before.¡¹

    If anything, I was the one who wasn¡¯t okay here since I couldn¡¯t stomach doing such a thing myself.

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I think it will be a good learning experience, so I want to see it.¡¹

    ¡¸Uu, I guess it can¡¯t be helped, then. But, just for a bit, okay?¡¹

    Tilia relented to Fina¡¯s request but looked rather displeased in doing so. Ipletely understood how she felt since I also didn¡¯t want to enter.

    ¡¸Can we go inside?¡¹

    Tilia asked the student who looked surprised.

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t suggest entering if you¡¯re only curious.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    Shuri answered for Tilia.

    The student looked over at Tilia, a bit concerned.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take responsibility for them.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand... Still, if any of you feel sick please leave the area immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸If thates to pass, I promise I will take them outside before it¡¯s toote.¡¹

    Tilia promised the student who gave up on stopping us.

    ¡¸Okay, the showing is about to begin, so please head inside and wait for it patiently.¡¹

    When we went in, there were already about twenty people inside. Some of them were students wearing their uniforms, but there were also a few other visitors. This was just a school festival program, but for some reason it gave of a feel of a full-blown presentation. Since there were students showing off their sword and magic skills, maybe it was reasonable for there to be a disy of dismantling techniques as well?

    ¡¸There¡¯s less people than I thought.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, there aren¡¯t that many students who are into dismantling to begin with, and most of them are busy handling their own programs, so they might not get the chance toe. This seems to be a reasonable amount of people.¡¹

    When she put it that way, it made sense for there not to be that many people here.

    The center of attention was arge table, already surrounded by the small crowd. As we stood in the back waiting for the presentation to start, Shuri started to squeeze her way towards the front. I grabbed her arm right away.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan?¡¹

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t cut in like that.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I can¡¯t see anything if I don¡¯t stand in front.¡¹

    With Shuri¡¯s height, she really couldn¡¯t see a thing from here...

    Even so, she shouldn¡¯t butt in since we hade inter than others.

    ¡¸There¡¯s a tform here.¡¹

    Tilia said and pointed at a tform near us.

    The students managing this program must have ced one here so that people in the back would be able to see as well.

    We climbed onto the tform and could now see the table clearly. There was a student along with two adventurers standing in front of the table. Looking a bit more closely, I realized I knew who the adventurers were.

    ¡¸Jade-san?¡¹

    It was Jade-san and Mel-san, who had helped out with the golem subjugation in the iron mine.

    ¡¸Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸What are the two of you doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s our line. We were requested toe and assist this student¡¯s dismantling. And you?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to have fun at the school festival. And by assist you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸The student here will do all the work; we¡¯re only here to give instructions.¡¹

    The conversation that had suddenly sprung up between us, one sitting on the tform and the other standing by the table, naturally attracted attention.

    ¡¸A bear?¡¹¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹

    Thanks to Jade-san, we were now standing out. Well, nothing much I could do about that at this point...

    ¡¸Let¡¯s talkter.¡¹

    Jade-san said, noticing the attention we started to receive, and I nodded in agreement.

    Calling for everyone¡¯s attention, Jade-san began the demonstration by taking out a wolf from his item bag and cing it on the table. The student moved next to it, ready to begin.

    ¡¸Yuna, do you know that adventurer?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we worked together before.¡¹

    I never expected to see him again here of all ces. I didn¡¯t see Toya nor Senya-san anywhere, so it looked like it was just Mel-san and Jade-san while the rest of the party must be up to something else.

    The student started dismantling the wolf under Jade-san¡¯s instructions. He proceeded slowly, carefully peeling the skin off of it. Fina and Shuri leaned forward as they observed the student¡¯s motions seriously, while Tilia and Noa quickly climbed off the tform so that they could stop watching. I felt bad for leaving Fina and Shuri but I also got off the tform soon after.

    Mel-san noticed and came over, hugging me immediately.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Mel-san?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re still wearing this bear outfit of yours.¡¹

    Could she stop touching me like that, though?

    ¡¸Mel-san, aren¡¯t you going to help with the dismantling?¡¹

    ¡¸Jade¡¯s there, so it¡¯s fine. Yuna-chan, are you going around the school festival together with these girls?¡¹

    Mel-san said taking a nce at the two next to me before also looking up at the tform, where Fina and Shuri were still watching the demonstration intently. Since she wasn¡¯t surprised to see Tilia, she must not know that Tilia was a princess.

    ¡¸Yes, we received an invitation from someone attending this academy.¡¹

    ¡¸And now you¡¯re bringing a bunch of cute girls around, huh.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t deny that. Everyone with me was indeed cute, after all.

    ¡¸Still, why did youe here? Only adventurers and those who want to be soldierse check out this demonstration normally. There are plenty of better programs for young girls to look at.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we came because those two really wanted to see it.¡¹

    I said, nudging my head towards Fina and Shuri, who were so immersed in the dismantling that they didn¡¯t even notice we were talking about them.

    ¡¸Ahh, if you use the knife like that...¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t do that, there will be a hole.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, the order you are doing it in...¡¹

    ¡¸The pelt...¡¹

    ¡¸You have to cut it more neatly.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh...¡¹

    For some reason, they were criticizing how the student went about dismantling the wolf.

    They didn¡¯t speak loudly, though, so he shouldn¡¯t be able to hear them. If he could, I was sure he would have already picked a fight with them.

    ¡¸What interesting girls... That student is not very good but not bad, either. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild would be willing to buy the materials dismantled at such a level.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, the meat...¡¹

    ¡¸Such a waste.¡¹

    For some reason, it was way more interesting to watch Fina and Shuri¡¯s reactions than to watch the program.

    ¡¸The things they¡¯re saying are kind of amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸The older sister has been doing dismantling for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild since she was very young. She has gotten really good at dismantling. Her little sister has started to join in as well,tely.¡¹

    I had my monster and animal dismantling mostly done by those two now. I even got a mythril knife for Shuri.

    ¡¸So, you came here because they¡¯re interested in dismantling, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think it¡¯s helping them much, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahh, if you cut it that way...¡¹

    Fina looked like she was reaching the point where she was about fly off the tform right at the student.

    The dismantling continued for a while longer before the student finally finished, unharmed.

    Realizing the show was over, Fina and Shuri got off the tform and came back to us.

    ¡¸How was it?¡¹

    ¡¸It was no good.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, Onee-chan is way better.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really know how good or bad the student actually was, but he clearly didn¡¯t meet their expectations.

    That was just how high Fina¡¯s dismantling level had reached, huh. Gentz-san had really taught her well.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    With that, Jade-san and Mel-san show up once more even though their role is a small one.

    Next chapter should be about the dismantling master Fina? If it won¡¯t be, sorry.

 Chapter 264 â€“ Bear-san, Once Again, Learns About Finaâ€™s Real Dismantling Abilities

    Once the student had finished his dismantling, Fina and Shuri had stepped off the tform and joined us.

    ¡¸So, you didn¡¯t get to learn anything new from it, Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, Father and the workers at the guild are much better...¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯tpare students to professionals.¡¹

    The student was still learning how to do it properly. It wasn¡¯t fair topare him to the people who dismantled for a living. Fina must have dismantled hundreds or maybe even thousands of monsters already. She had much more experience than him.

    ¡¸Um, Fina-chan, right? Was it that bad?¡¹

    Mel-san asked Fina for her opinion.

    ¡¸Um....¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-chan dismantles for Yuna-chan on a regr basis, Mel. I mean, that kid wasn¡¯t good by any means, but in Fina-chan¡¯s eyes, he must have been terrible, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Um, well, how to dismantle very much depends on the method of subjugation. If the monster was stabbed to death with a sword, then it¡¯s best to start cutting from where the sword wound is. If you don¡¯t do that, there will be two cuts in the pelt, and that will drop its value. Cutting from the stomach is the mostmon way, of course, but if there is already a wound somewhere else, so I think it¡¯s not the most optimal way...¡¹

    I could understand Fina¡¯s reasoning. The less holes there were, the better the value. I had been told that at the very beginning of my adventuring days. If I had to hit a monster multiple times to subjugate it, I would ruin the pelt in the process. That was why the wolves I had defeated in one hit were worth much more.

    ¡¸Still, if the monster was defeated by magic, then cutting from the stomach should be the best option no matter what. You want to cut cleanly while preserving as much materials as possible. The quality will be end up being better if you do that, which means it will sell at a higher price.¡¹

    Mel and I were both surprised by Fina¡¯s exnation. Fina took such care when she was dismantling, huh. Was I paying her enough for her services?

    I didn¡¯t sell the things that Fina dismantled for me myself, so I didn¡¯t realize at all that she tackled it so seriously. Maybe I should really start paying her more...

    Both Terumi-san and Fina had been telling me that it was more than enough, though, and I shouldn¡¯t worry about it. What should I do...?

    Mel-san continued to listen to Fina¡¯s exnation with interest, and then, even Shuri joined in.

    ¡¸He was cutting meat too slowly. Dad said that the meat gets damaged if we¡¯re slow.¡¹

    Even Shuri was saying that he was no good. Was it because she watched Fina do it so diligently that she hade to such a conclusion?

    It was indeed important to observe others when learning, especially in craftsmanship. Shuri was only seven years old, though. To be this observant, Fina and Gentz-san¡¯s had taught her well. Well, I helped a bit, too, even though all I did was bring in monsters I subjugated.

    ¡¸Both of you are simply amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸No, this is all because I get to dismantle all the monsters that Yuna-oneechan brings me.¡¹

    So it was my fault that they were like that?

    No, that couldn¡¯t be me... Gentz-san was the one who had taught them, after all.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve dismantled hundreds of wolves at this point, and also got the chance to challenge myself with dismantling two Tiger Wolves and a ck Tiger before.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you got her to do all that for you?¡¹

    Um, yes, I had done that...

    ¡¸Could it be you dismantled the ck Viper as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I did that together with the guild workers.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s amazing. Not many people get to experience that.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all thanks to Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    Good thing I hadn¡¯t gotten her to dismantle the Cockatrice. If I had done so, it might have caused an even biggermotion.

    If I ever decided to ask her to dismantle the Cockatrice for me, would it be necessary to have her keep it a secret?

    Before that, could Fina even dismantle a Cockatrice?

    ¡¸Well then, Fina-chan, could you show how good you are in front of everyone?¡¹

    ¡¸Show everyone?¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm. They will surely be surprised to see that a cute, young girl like you can dismantle so well and will be more motivated to try and learn it themselves.¡¹

    ¡¸But... I¡¯m not really that...¡¹

    Fina was holding back and tried to refuse.

    ¡¸Sounds like a good idea to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan?!¡¹

    ¡¸I want to see your dismantling skills as well.¡¹

    Noa agreed as well.

    ¡¸Come on, the hands-on demonstration will be starting soon.¡¹

    The table had already been cleaned up, and another wolf was ced on the table.

    ¡¸Does anybody want to try? You don¡¯t need any experience: anybody is free toe up and learn.¡¹

    Jade-san began calling out to the spectators, but nobody raised their hand to volunteer. Being interested in how it was done didn¡¯t necessarily mean any of them wanted to actually try doing it themselves. It was the same for me. I had thought I would give it a try after seeing Fina do it, but I couldn¡¯t have brought myself to.

    People had things they were suited and unsuited for. I just happened to be unsuitable for dismantling.

    ¡¸Come on, Fina-chan, nobody is volunteering.¡¹

    Mel-san ced her hand against Fina¡¯s back and gave her a gentle push towards the table.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan?!¡¹

    Fina looked at me like a child being separated from her parent, pleading for help.

    I felt bad, but I wanted to see how much she had grown.

    ¡¸You can do it.¡¹

    Fina thought a bit before lightly nodding. Mel-san didn¡¯t waste any time and brought her straight to the table.

    All eyes in the room were suddenly focused on Fina.

    ¡¸Mel, who¡¯s that?¡¹

    ¡¸I think she¡¯s Yuna-chan¡¯s friend? She seems to be really good at dismantling, so I asked her to demonstrate. If she can show them she can do it as such a young age, wouldn¡¯t that be great for the audience?¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan, do your best!¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, go for it.¡¹

    Shuri and Noa cheered Fina on.

    ¡¸Yuna, can Fina-chan really dismantle monsters? She¡¯s so small...¡¹

    Tilia, who was standing beside me, looked at Fina with concern.

    ¡¸Fina has been dismantling since she was very young, so she will be fine. I can guarantee that her skills are the real deal.¡¹

    Fina stood at the table and took out an apron so she wouldn¡¯t get her clothes dirty.

    ¡¸A little girl like her is going to dismantle it?¡¹¡¸Can she do it?¡¹¡¸Normally, that would be impossible, right?¡¹¡¸Yeah, seems impossible.¡¹

    The people watching the scene were saying various things, but most of them didn¡¯t believe Fina could do it. It must be strange for a small girl like Fina to be able to dismantle monsters even in this world, huh?

    ¡¸Can you show us, then?¡¹

    Jade-san passed a knife to Fina, but she waved it away and took out the knife she had been using for years instead. It wasn¡¯t the mythril knife I had given her, but the dismantling knife she had received from Gold-san. Fina suddenly looked more motivated than usual.

    ¡¸Okay, here I go.¡¹

    She proceeded to check the wolf for wounds and inserted the knife into one of them. She started to remove the skin cleanly; there was no hesitation in her work. The people observed her with serious looks and couldn¡¯t help butment. ¡¸Amazing.¡¹¡¸She¡¯s so quick.¡¹¡¸She cut it beautifully.¡¹¡¸Who is this girl?¡¹¡¸She took off the skin already.¡¹Everybody was praising Fina. Shuri looked very happy to hear her older sister get praised. Meanwhile, Noa simply looked at Fina in shock. She knew that Fina could dismantle monsters, but this was her first time seeing it in action.

    Fina continued her dismantling work. She smoothly proceeded to cut the meat into nicely shaped pieces. She finished the whole process in half the time the student had spent. Not to mention, her work had been done much more skillfully.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really good. I didn¡¯t even have to tell you anything.¡¹

    Jade-san praised Fina and she thanked him for thepliment.

    The student who had dismantled before started to ask Fina many questions, and Fina exined it to him, a bit embarrassed by the attention she received.

    ¡¸Her exnations are way better than mine...¡¹

    Jade-san took out another wolf and asked Fina to do it again while exining the dismantling process slowly to everyone present. The student also jumped the chance and told her he would love to receive further instructions.

    Fina looked very embarrassed but agreed anyway.

    ¡¸In order to cut it cleanly, you have to use enough force when handling the knife. If you don¡¯t, you might end up damaging the meat or skin. You must not be scared and just go for it. Also, each monster has its own way of dismantling it. To get used to it, the best way is to practice by dismantling the same type of monster multiple times and making sure to remember the process. I couldn¡¯t do that well at first, and people often got mad at me because of it.¡¹

    Fina hadn¡¯t been born a master. She had practiced over and over again with the smaller monsters. It had been the only thing she could do in order to take care of her sick mother and younger sister and to thank Gentz-san for his support. It hadn¡¯t been easy for her to master the skill, but she had managed to achieve it through vigorous practice.

    As Fina continued her dismantling lesson, Shuri decided to join in, shocking the audience even more. Soon after, the observing students also came up to the table to try. They were nervous at first, but knowing that such young girls could do it, they braved through.

    Once everyone had dismantled at least one wolf, they moved on to Horned Rabbits, with Fina continuing to guide them.

    Seeing everything was going well, Jade-san decided toe over to me.

    ¡¸That girl is simply amazing. The way she teaches everybody...¡¹

    ¡¸She is most likely better than me.¡¹

    ¡¸Mel, you always have me and Toya do it, so that¡¯s obvious.¡¹

    ¡¸I just don¡¯t like to get my hands dirty, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    Senya-san was good at handling knives, so maybe she was skilled in dismantling as well?

    Although battling and dismantling were two different things, she was able to use a knife swiftly and precisely, so I could easily imagine her being a pro at dismantling.

    As Jade-san and Mel-san continued to discuss who was better, Fina finished her lecture on how to dismantle the Horned Rabbits.

    The audience gave her an apuse, and Fina blushed from embarrassment. Shuri looked very happy to see her sister receive the praise.

    The demonstration was officially over with that, so everybody slowly started to leave.

    Fina stayed behind to talk to the students running the program, however.

    ¡¸This was a good lesson for the students. They could learn so much from such a small girl like you.¡¹

    ¡¸They might be adventurers, soldiers, or even knights in the future, and your guidance should help them on their journeys.¡¹

    Jade-san and Mel-sanmented after they sent off the participants.

    They chatted for a while longer and ended up giving her a part of the meat she had dismantled. The rest were to be used as skewers and sold here at the school festival. They had sure nned things out well.

    ¡¸Okay, we should get going soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright. Thank you for all your help.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-chan, thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸No, um, it felt like I took your job away. I¡¯m so sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, you don¡¯t have to apologize for that. We asked you to do it, after all. I¡¯m sorry we can only give you a small part of the meat as thanks.¡¹

    ¡¸No, this is more than enough. Thank you very much.¡¹

    After she stored the meat in her item box, we said goodbye and left the cloth-fenced area to continue our stroll around the school festival.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The dismantling methods were based on this author¡¯s super half-hearted imagination.

    I just wanted to have Fina show off her skills. lol

    If this is your actual profession, I would appreciate it if you just ignored my exnation.

    Also, the ck Tiger was mentioned in thements quite often. It has been dismantled as of chapter 163, for those curious.

    Anyways, what should we do next?

 Chapter 265 â€“ Bear-san Realizes She Has No Fashion Sense

    With Fina¡¯s dismantling lessons finished, we returned to our school festival tour. As we walked around, looking for the next interesting attraction, someone pulled on my Bear Outfit.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, I¡¯m hungry.¡¹

    The culprit was Shuri, who looked at me expectantly while rubbing her small belly.

    ¡¸I have been getting kind of hungry, too.¡¹

    Tilia agreed with Shuri, with Noa and Fina nodding by her side.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go get something to eat, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Everybody replied enthusiastically.

    ¡¸Should we head back to the area Shia-sama is at?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, it¡¯s a bit far from here. If I remember correctly, there should be some food stands that way. Let¡¯s check them out.¡¹

    Tilia thought a bit about Fina¡¯s suggestion before deciding it was better to head to the food stands that were closer to us. It was nice to have a guide, but I wasn¡¯t sure if having a princess do something like that was actually okay...

    We arrived at some stands selling food, but the whole area was crowded.

    ¡¸Everyone must have had the same idea, huh.¡¹

    Well, it was the perfect time to have lunch, after all. Tilia looked at us, her eyes asking what we wanted to do in this situation. If we let the busy hour pass, the crowd should die down, but we had walked around a lot, and Shuri seemed to be tired after doing all that dismantling. It would be best if we could sit down and enjoy some food as quickly as possible. While we didn¡¯t see any free stands we could get food at without waiting in a line until we grew old, there were some empty tables, but I was sure that if we didn¡¯t take the chance to grab them quickly, they would be stolen from us by others.

    ¡¸Everyone, do you care about what we eat? We don¡¯t have to eat at the food stands, because I¡¯ve brought food in my item bag.¡¹

    I had preparedrge amounts of food (about enough to feed several hundred people) and stored it in my Bear Box, so we didn¡¯t necessarily have to wait in line to buy something.

    ¡¸I want to eat pizza!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, me too!¡¹

    Shuri and Noa raised their hands for pizza.

    ¡¸Are you really okay with not getting food from the stands?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep. I like your pizza, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I patted Shuri¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Fina, Tilia, would you be okay with pizza as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸I would love to try some of your pizza.¡¹

    We quickly moved to an empty table to secure our spot before it was toote. I then proceeded to bring out some pizza, some bread baked by Morin, some warm soup made by Anzu, and some cold fruit juice.

    ¡¸This is rather luxurious.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it?¡¹

    The table did really look rather luxurious with all this food piled onto it.

    ¡¸Okay everyone, feel free to eat whatever you like. There¡¯s plenty more, so let me know if you want some and we run out.¡¹

    ¡¸ ¡¸ ¡¸Let¡¯s eat! ¡¹¡¹¡¹

    Everyone grabbed whatever they fancied first.

    ¡¸Tilia, is this your first time having pizza?¡¹

    ¡¸No, Zelef has made it for me once before.¡¹

    I recalled giving Zelef a couple of cheese wheels, so maybe he used them to make the pizza?

    ¡¸Your pizza is much more delicious, though.¡¹

    She said as she ate it happily.

    ¡¸I appreciate thepliment, but please don¡¯t tell Zelef-san you said that.¡¹

    The pizza I served disappeared quickly, along with Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s soup.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t feel so good.¡¹

    ¡¸Me neither.¡¹

    Noa and Tilia had both eaten too much. Nobody had forced them to eat so much in such a short amount of time, though. Fina and Shuri, on the other hand, had shown restraint. Shuri ate her food more slowly while Fina had stopped when she had be full.

    ¡¸You will feel better after resting a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, can I have some more juice?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, but you will feel worse if you drink too much, so drink it slowly.¡¹

    I warned Noa, but I was actually happy they had eaten everything. As we waited for the two of them to feel better, we continued to each sip on a juice of our own. Personally, I wanted to get moving as quickly as possible, but I patiently waited along with the others, even though, ever since we started eating, I heard whispers around us.

    ¡¸Bear?¡¹ ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s the bear from before.¡¹ ¡¸Tilia-sama is with the bear.¡¹

    Some of them even mentioned the food we were eating.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama is eating something I¡¯ve never seen before.¡¹ ¡¸Where are they selling that?¡¹ ¡¸It looks good.¡¹ ¡¸Let¡¯s go look for it.¡¹

    A few of the students ran off to search for the non-existent pizza stand. Of course, I didn¡¯t want to bother telling them I had brought this food with me, so I just ignored them. It wasn¡¯t my fault they had run off in search for a stand which they only assumed existed.

    After resting for a while, the two bloated girls finally recovered. Since they could move again, I rushed them out of the area to continue our school festival tour.

    Shuri held hands with Tilia and me while Fina and Noa chatted a few steps behind us.

    ¡¸Ah, Fina, your clothes are dirty.¡¹

    Noa said and pointed to a part of Fina¡¯s clothing which was dirty, but I couldn¡¯t tell what the stain was.

    ¡¸I might have gotten it dirty while I was dismantling.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you want to change?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s only a small stain.¡¹

    Hmm, I didn¡¯t think it was good to wear clothing that had been stained while dismantling. She must not want to cause trouble for everybody; she really was a person who didn¡¯t want to bother other people with her problems. Still, something should be done about this.

    ¡¸Ah, I know. I just got a great idea. Let¡¯s go over there!¡¹

    Tilia suddenly thought of something while looking at Fina¡¯s clothes. Tilia didn¡¯t even exin anything and ran off while dragging Fina with her by her hand.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama!?¡¹

    ¡¸Over here. Don¡¯t fall behind everyone!¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, I wille with you, so please don¡¯t pull me along.¡¹

    Fina tired to persuade Tilia to let her go but to no avail. Fina seemed very nervous being dragged around by a princess, almost as if she could faint at any moment.

    ¡¸Tilia, where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a secret. Well, you will figure it out once we get there.¡¹

    It looked like she didn¡¯t want to tell us where she was taking us even though we would learn of it when we got there...

    Tilia proceeded to take us into one of the academy buildings. There were programs being held inside the ssrooms, which I would have loved to check out, but Tilia ignored everything and beelined straight past them. We didn¡¯t even stop to take a quick look.

    We followed Tilia in silence as it seemed pointless to say anything.

    ¡¸Just a little further; it¡¯s that ssroom over there.¡¹

    We finally stopped in front of the mentioned ssroom and peeked inside. There were various western-styled clothes lined up all around, so maybe this was a clothing shop?

    ¡¸Waah, there are so many cute clothes.¡¹

    There were all types of clothing, and a lot of customers, too.

    ¡¸These are clothes made by the students. They are very cute, so they became quite popr among the students. The students used good materials to make them, and the price is also affordable.¡¹

    I was curious as to what Tilia considered an affordable price. Usually, if a good material was used, the price would rise ordingly. Well, since the clothes are cute, maybe I should buy something for Fina and Shuri.

    ¡¸Since you showed me your brilliant dismantling skills earlier, I will buy you new clothes as a thank you present.¡¹

    It turned out Tilia beat me to the idea.

    Fina froze up at Tilia¡¯s offer. Well, as a person who didn¡¯t want to trouble anybody, of course she would be startled when a princess offered to buy clothes for her.

    ¡¸I-It¡¯s fine, I can wash my clothes. You don¡¯t have to buy me new ones.¡¹

    Fina tried to refuse, but Tilia didn¡¯t back down.

    ¡¸Fufu, you don¡¯t have to hold back. Your dismantling was really beautiful. I want to thank you for showing it to me, so pick something you like, okay? Actually, no. I will choose something that matches you myself.¡¹

    Tilia grabbed Fina¡¯s hand again and started to drag her into the ssroom.

    Fina turned to me for help, but while I understood how she felt, I also thought she shouldn¡¯t go around the festival with dirty clothes. It would indeed be best for her to get a fresh set of clothes.

    ¡¸Hmm... How about I buy it for her instead?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan?!¡¹

    Since she seemed to be against the idea of Tilia buying it for her so much, I offered to do it instead.

    ¡¸No! I will buy it so I can give it to Fina-chan as a present.¡¹

    Tilia opposed and hugged Fina so that I couldn¡¯t get her. Fina looked even more troubled now, looking back and forth between us.

    ¡¸So unfair. You¡¯re only buying it for Onee-chan. I want new clothes, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, don¡¯t worry, Shuri-chan. I¡¯ll buy them for you as well.¡¹

    Shuri looked overjoyed when she heard that she would be getting a set of her own.

    ¡¸Thank you, Princess.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe I should buy something as well.¡¹

    Noa said, gazing at the beautiful clothing.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go inside first. We might get in other people¡¯s way if we keep standing here.¡¹

    Tilia said, took Fina and Shuri by their hands, and led them into the ssroom with Noa and I following close behind. Inside, the female students quickly noticed Tilia, and came up to us.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, what brings you to our humble shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I was thinking of intruding for a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, you¡¯re not intruding at all.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear. Anyway, can you pick out something cute for these girls here?¡¹

    Tilia said and pushed Fina and Shuri in front of her.

    ¡¸Of course, Tilia-sama. We will make sure to pick something that suits them.¡¹

    ¡¸Please do.¡¹

    After two students got the gist of what Tilia was doing here, they nced at me.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, how about the girl in the bear costume over there?¡¹

    Huh? Me?

    Tilia turned to look at me as well.

    ¡¸Yuna, are you going to buy anything?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine. Just buy something for these three.¡¹

    Even if I were to buy something, I would have no opportunities to wear it, so it would just be a waste. It was pointless to buy something just to look at it, after all.

    Also, we might be ying around here, but I was technically still their bodyguard.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that, why don¡¯t you at least try something? I¡¯m sure it will look good on you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    The three girls looked at me expectantly.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about me. Come on, go pick out something for yourselves.¡¹

    I said and quickly pushed the three of them towards the students.

    At this rate, they might make me buy something. I really wanted to avoid that if possible.

    ¡¸I really wanted to see Yuna in regr clothes, though.¡¹

    Tilia looked disappointed, but I hoped she would give up for today.

    The students took the girls around the store in search for clothing that matched their sizes.

    ¡¸This looks good.¡¹ ¡¸This one is good, too.¡¹ ¡¸This is cute as well.¡¹¡¸This one would fit her perfectly.¡¹The students happily discussed between themselves and the girls. A shut-in like me couldn¡¯t possibly join in on such conversation. Fina looked confused as to what she should do, too. Meanwhile, her sister Shuri seemed to be enjoying herself. Noa was in the middle picking something out herself as well.

    Soon, Tilia joined in on the conversation and the girl power of the room shot through the roof.

    This was territory I should never enter. At least, I couldn¡¯t enter it while wearing my Bear-themed equipment. Even the overpowered attributes it provided were of no effect in this girl dominated room. The only thing I could do was watch over them from the corner while doing my best not to be dragged into it.

    Fina looked at me for help again, but since she was on her own out there, all I could do was cheer her on, whispering: ¡¸Good luck.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to change Tilia¡¯s mind at this point anyway, so I didn¡¯t even try. If they were surrounded by monsters, I would jump in immediately, but there was no reason for me to sacrifice myself when she was just surrounded by a bunch of smiling girls.

    I only hoped Fina would be able to forgive the powerless me in this situation.

    A whole hour had passed before they managed to pick out a couple of choices. All they had to do now was to try them on and chose their favorite. The three girls moved on to the changing room and the fashion show began.

    The girls came out from the changing room one by one, wearing the clothes picked out for them. Tilia and the other students would then critique their looks. Well, it was mostly things like, ¡¸That¡¯s cute,¡¹¡¸Eh, the one earlier was better,¡¹¡¸This one looks the best so far,¡¹¡¸That hair piece matches the outfit very well,¡¹and¡¸It doesn¡¯t match the essories at all.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t follow their logic, though.

    I thought all of the outfits looked good on them. I couldn¡¯t tell what was bad with any of them. I had already known this before, but my girl power was really low, wasn¡¯t it? I could cook and do the household chores, but I knew nothing about fashion. With this, I was once again able to confirm that I had absolutely zero fashion sense...

    At some point, they asked for my opinion, but when I looked at their outfits, they all looked cute to me. The only thing I could say was ¡¸All three of them look cute to me.¡¹

    If I was the one buying clothes for them, I would simply buy the whole selection and be done with it.

    The amazing thing about Tilia and the students was that they thought about the entire outfit, all the way down to the essories the girls were wearing. They coordinated the outfits based on everything the girls wore. It would be impossible for me to do so.

    If I tried to join in, I would probably go like¡¸Um, what¡¯s the difference?¡¹, ¡¸Why is that no good?¡¹, and ¡¸I thought it looked good.¡¹

    I would surely tilt my head multiple times in confusion.

    After a lot of changing into different clothes over and over again, Tilia finally decided on the outfits for Fina and Shuri. Noa also chose something for herself after getting an opinion from Tilia.

    ¡¸The three of you look very cute.¡¹

    I had said it in my mind so many times, that I wasn¡¯t sure if I actually said it out loud just now. Praises and apologies lost their value when used too often, at least that was what I believed. I kind of understood how guys felt when they were asked about their opinion on the girl¡¯s outfit.

    I could easily imagine the guy getting told ¡¸Look properly!¡¹or ¡¸Is that the only thing you can say?!¡¹

    Still, these girls wouldn¡¯tin even if what I said was simple. They were good girls, after all.

    ¡¸Umm, are you sure you will buy such cute clothes for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. It¡¯s to thank you for your dismantling demonstration, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, is it really okay to pay for mine as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I would feel bad for leaving you out if I only bought them for these two. Not to mention, Shia has helped me out quite often here at the academy.¡¹

    The three of them all thanked Tilia, and we finally left the shop.

    I was really d that the fashion show ended without me getting involved.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    They ate lunch and bought clothes made by students.

    I guess they went to a sewing club? When the club did their activities during the year, they made a bunch of clothes and then decided to sell them at the festival? So, maybe we could say that all of the clothes are one-of-a-kind?

    Hmm, maybe this would be a good spot to end day one and move on to day two?

 Chapter 266 â€“ Bear-san Gets Scolded By Shia

    Fina looked very embarrassed to walk around in her brand new clothing. We kept telling her it looked great on her, but that seemed to have only made it worse.

    At least she didn¡¯t have to worry about going around the festival in stained clothes.

    Tilia had bought the clothes for them, so I decided to buy some handkerchiefs I noticed were sold in the shop as well.

    I wanted the girls to pick for themselves, but Noa beat me to the punch by saying, ¡¸Yuna-san, please choose one for us,¡¹and the other two agreed with her. I didn¡¯t have any fashion sense, but I somehow picked out what I thought matched the three of them.

    The three of them received the handkerchiefs happily, but when I thought about theplicated outfit picking process from earlier, I worried whether they really were happy or not. Shuri¡¯s expression seemed genuine, though, so I had done just fine, right? If Shuri didn¡¯t like it, she would have surely said something like ¡¸Yuna-neechan, this is not cute at all,¡¹straight out. She had received my gift happily, so she must have found it eptable.

    ¡¸Tilia, you sure you don¡¯t want one?¡¹

    I wanted to buy one for Tilia, too, but she had refused.

    ¡¸If you really want to give me a present, then the bear plushies will do.¡¹

    Afterwards, we won a couple more prizes that Shuri and Noa wanted, and ate some food from the food stands. Time quickly went by, and before we realized, we were informed that day one of the school festival was over. All the shops began cleaning up, and the visitors slowly began to leave.

    We considered returning to Shia¡¯s stand but quickly decided against it as we might get in the way of their cleaning and disrupt the flow of people leaving the academy.

    ¡¸I will let them know, then.¡¹

    Tilia would stay at the academy for a while longer, so she returned to Shia to tell her we were leaving without her.

    ¡¸Thank you for apanying us today, Tilia.¡¹

    ¡¸I had a lot of fun today, so no biggie.¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, thank you for purchasing these clothes for us.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Princess.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Tilia-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I bought them because I wanted to.¡¹

    Tilia said, smiling at the three girls.

    ¡¸Okay, I will give you the plushies, then, just as promised.¡¹

    I took out a set of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies, and passed them to Tilia.

    ¡¸Uwah, you¡¯re really giving them to me?¡¹

    ¡¸I promised you I would, didn¡¯t I? Also, you brought us around for the entire day, so this could be considered my thanks to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I will dly take them, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and please take good care of them. I will ask Her Highness if you do.¡¹

    I would be very sad if she used them as practice targets for throwing knives or something.

    ¡¸I will take good care of them, of course. Should I ce them in the pce¡¯s treasury to keep them safe?¡¹

    ¡¸I would feel bad for the plushies, so please don¡¯t do that.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu, I¡¯m joking. I will keep them safe in my room.¡¹

    After we said our goodbyes, Tilia embraced her plushies and walked towards Shia¡¯s stand while we headed straight back to Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion.

    When we got there, Fina handed the wolf meat she had received for her dismantling to Suririna-san, so she could use it for tonight¡¯s dinner. Then, she asked where she could wash her dirty clothes, but Suririna-san took them from her.

    ¡¸If it¡¯sundry, please leave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸This is my job, so I can¡¯t let you do it. While you are at this mansion, you are our guest, Fina-sama.¡¹

    Fina still looked troubled.

    ¡¸Fina, you should let her do it. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t like it if somebody else tried to do your job, would you?¡¹

    Well, if somebody tried to do my job, I wouldn¡¯tin, but that wasn¡¯t the point here. Fina was too serious and tried to do everything herself. While that was one of her good qualities, it also made her very inflexible when it came to letting others help her.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan... Okay. Suririna-san, please wash it for me. I got blood on it, so you can wash it off with-¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-sama, you don¡¯t have to worry and leave it to me. I will clean it properly.¡¹

    Once Fina finally let go of her clothes, we returned to our guest room. We just had to ept that we would be taken care of here. Yes, we could have stayed at my Bear House, but Shuri wanted to stay here, so there was no way I could just drag her and Fina off into the sunset.

    Well, I had actually let both girls decide as I didn¡¯t really care either way, and it was Fina who had let Shuri have the final choice, hence we ended up staying at Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion.

    Back to the present:

    ¡¸Fufu, I will ce down the Ten of Water.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, then I will put down the Four of Fire.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright! Three of Fire!¡¹

    The three of them yed Sevens all the way until dinner time.

    I didn¡¯t y with them and instead copsed on the bed. My body didn¡¯t feel tired, but I was mentally exhausted from all the stares and whispers I had received.

    As we were resting, Shia came into the room.

    ¡¸Wee back.¡¹

    ¡¸Wee home, Onee-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back... Wait, that¡¯s not it. Yuna-san, what on earth did you do at the school festival?!¡¹

    For some reason I was not aware of, it seemed that Shia was mad at me?

    As I thought that, she made her way to me.

    ¡¸I just enjoyed strolling around the festival with everyone like any normal person would. Right?¡¹

    I got up from the bed and looked at the girls, prompting them to agree with me.

    I found no reason why Shia would belittle me as such.

    ¡¸Yes, we had fun checking out many attractions together.¡¹

    ¡¸And Yuna-oneechan was with us the entire time.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm.¡¹

    Everyone defended me.

    I didn¡¯t know why Shia was mad at me, but I hoped this would be enough to prove I was innocent?

    Shia looked at the girls and sighed.

    ¡¸Everyone, howe you have all these beautiful clothes, hair pieces, and essories?¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama bought the clothes for us.¡¹

    Shia was a bit surprised by this information, but the girls didn¡¯t give her a chance to inquire on it more deeply.

    ¡¸I got this hair piece from Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san won this brooch from a game.¡¹

    ¡¸And I got this bracelet from Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    The girls continued to show all the essories I had gotten for them to Shia.

    ¡¸I won this one myself. Oh, and this one is another Yuna-neechan got for me.¡¹

    ¡¸She also got us flowers.¡¹

    The three of them practically boasted about things they had won or I had won for them. They lined them all up on the table, including the handkerchiefs I had bought for them. There was quite a number of items altogether. We had worked hard, hadn¡¯t we?

    Shia nced at our loot and sighed once again.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, is something wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course there is something wrong with this! Think about it. What do you think happens when Yuna-san, in her bear costume, wins all these eye-catching prizes?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, now that you mention it, there was a bit of a mor around us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but everyone always looks at us whenever we walk with Yuna-oneechan, so it was nothing special.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone is always looking.¡¹

    Me being a focus of attention was nothing special. A bit of mor should be expected when I wore my Bear Suit in public. People always had something to say about my outfit no matter where I went. Most people had considered me a part of the festival in this instance, so such an amount of attention shouldn¡¯t have been enough to cause trouble to Shia, right?

    ¡¸Of course, Yuna-san¡¯s costume is part of it. But, those prizes she won are supposed to be the best prizes, the hardest ones to get, and yet she easily cleared all those challenges.¡¹

    Oh, that was what she had meant by causing amotion?

    It hadn¡¯t been my outfit, but rather me winning all those prizes?

    Still, I had won them all by following the rules. It hadn¡¯t said anywhere that I wasn¡¯t allowed to use my Bear Equipment to win. If there had been such a notice, I wouldn¡¯t have yed.

    ¡¸When you did the knife-throwing challenge, you hit the faraway targets dead center. When you threw the balls, they had a smooth trajectory, dodging all the obstacles with ease. When you rolled the balls, they moved as though as they were alive. I have even more of these.¡¹

    ¡¸How do you know all of this?¡¹

    It sounded almost like she had been watching me herself.

    ¡¸A few people from my ss saw you throwing knives, and it immediately became a huge topic amongst the whole ss. Then, more ssmates said they witnessed you doing the same thing in different challenges. The topic gotpletely out of hand when Tilia-sama was also brought into the conversation. Practically everyone was talking about it.¡¹

    Basically, Tilia had been the gasoline being poured into the already rampaging fire?

    Hmm, maybe it had been a bad idea to do so many things at my first school festival. Still, I couldn¡¯t possibly refuse when Shuri and Noa looked up cutely at me and requested something. I had ended up goingpletely overboard because of them.

    Also, Fina would never say she wanted something, but whenever she received a present she seemed very happy. I couldn¡¯t help but work hard to see their delighted expressions. Tomorrow, however, I had to hold back so I wouldn¡¯t cause Shia even more trouble.

    I proceeded to promise her I wouldn¡¯t do anything to stand out tomorrow.

    ¡¸By the way, how was your stall?¡¹

    We hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to check on their shop again before leaving. I was a bit curious as to how well it had done.

    ¡¸Thanks to the bear statue you made for us, people kepting and we sold more than we expected.¡¹

    It sounded like the Bear statue had sessfully attracted customers. It had been worth making it in the end.

    ¡¸The people who came because of your bear statue immediately got curious about the cotton candy, and since it¡¯s something that can be eaten while walking around, more people heard of it, and the crowd kept rushing to our stand nonstop.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good to hear.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but there was just one problem...¡¹

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸Our customers started to spread the word that our stand was called the Bear Stand, so people suddenly started to order saying ¡ºI would like the Bear¡¯s candy¡»even though our sign clearly said ¡®cotton candy¡¯...¡¹

    That... was kind of hard toment on.

    ¡¸Still, thanks to all the peopleing for the bear-rted reasons, we had way more customers than anticipated, so we can¡¯t reallyin.¡¹

    ¡¸If it starts getting in the way, you can destroy it at any time.¡¹

    ¡¸No, no, it helped us out a lot, so there¡¯s no way we can destroy it. It just became a bit hard to manage, that¡¯s all. People mostly lined up nicely, but there were some troublemakers who cut in line. Not to mention that we couldn¡¯t take breaks properly, with how busy it was. Marcus was barely able to raise his arms by the end of the day. Timor, Cattleya, and I switched him out of course, but none of us could really take it easy when we weren¡¯t managing the machine. It was awful with all the people assaulting our stand.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys had it that hard?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. We only have one cotton candy machine, so we couldn¡¯t keep up with all the orders, and the line just kept getting longer and longer.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, how about I lend you one, maybe two more of the machines so you can make more at once?¡¹

    With two or three people making the candy at the same time, the line should be more manageable, right?

    ¡¸Really? Thank you very much. That should help us solve the problem.¡¹

    I took out the machines I had used at the orphanage and passed them to her.

    I really hoped this would lessen the burden on them.

    Afterwards, we ate dinner, then Shia and the girls yed some more card games before the day finally came to an end.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Day two of the festivaling with the next chapter.

 Chapter 267 â€“ Bear-san Changes Into A Uniform

    In the early morning of day two of the school festival, a few guests arrived at the mansion.

    ¡¸Noa-oneesama, Yuna-san, Fina-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡¹

    ¡¸How have you been doing, everyone?¡¹

    Suririna-san had only told us that some guests had arrived, but who would have expected that it was Gran-san and Misa.

    ¡¸Gran-san, Misa, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸I had some things to do in the Capital. We had some free time yesterday, so we took a look around the school festival and wouldn¡¯t you know, the first thing we heard about was a girl running around wearing a bear outfit.¡¹

    ¡¸We figured Yuna-san might be here, so we came to see you.¡¹

    It seemed like the form Bear = Me was now confirmed as urate.

    Shia had mentioned that I had stood out too much yesterday, and she might have been right...

    ¡¸How did you know I was here, though?¡¹

    ¡¸We heard that the bear girl was with some other girls that were around my age, so we thought you might be visiting the capital together with Noa-oneesama and Fina-chan, so we decided toe here first.¡¹

    ¡¸Well the main reason foring is to ask a favor. If you¡¯re going to the school festival today as well, could you bring Misa along for me?¡¹

    I had no real reason to refuse, so I nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s enjoy the festival together.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Misa beamed me a big smile then went to catch up with the other girls.

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t mind, Young Lady, I would also like to thank you again for saving Misa back at her birthday party. I still shiver every time I recall what happened to her.¡¹

    ¡¸I already told you back then that you don¡¯t have to thank me so much. I only wanted to save my friend and beat up the guys who hurt Fina and Noa. You really don¡¯t have to keep thanking me.¡¹

    ¡¸Haha, yes, you did tell me that. Still, I will do everything in my power to repay you, so ask me for anything you like. Well, except for the family inheritance. That already went to my son and his wife, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t offer that anymore.¡¹

    Gran-san said andughed heartily.

    I had heard about this inheritance business from Eleanora-san before. Gran-san had already passed down the title of Mireera¡¯s Feudal Lord to his son soon after the kidnapping incident.

    ¡¸Well, thanks to them, I can now travel around much more freely. I¡¯ve been having a lot of fun, going to all sorts of ces with this newfound freedom of mine.¡¹

    He was like a grandpa having fun with his pension in his retirement, wasn¡¯t he?

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to bring Misa to Crimonia next time, so please take care of her then as well.¡¹

    After entrusting Misa to me, Gran-san didn¡¯t waste any more time and left the mansion.

    Not long after he left, we also got ready to head to the academy. Everybody was wearing the clothes that Tilia had bought for them. They also picked some small essories to go with it. At least they didn¡¯t wear the eye catching hair pieces and other essories that I had won for them.

    Once we were all set, we said goodbye to Suririna-san and made our way through the capital.

    Shia had already left earlier in the morning to set up the cotton candy machines I had given her. This time, we were nning on meeting her at their stand directly, instead of having her fetch us at the academy entrance.

    Thanks to Misa joining in, I was surrounded by four young girls today.

    ¡¸Misa, will you be at the Capital for a while?¡¹

    ¡¸Grandfather told me we¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll be leaving?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I think that¡¯s why grandfather wanted me to spend time with you today, instead of apanying him.¡¹

    I was happy to see her smile. I had heard of kidnapping victims who were too afraid to go out in public after such incidents. I had been worried that Misa might be like them and hide herself at home all the time, but it seemed like I had worried for nothing.

    Really, seeing Misa being able to smile like that made me very relieved.

    If Misa had received such trauma from that incident, I would go and beat up that stupid noble family until her trauma went away.

    Anyways, it seemed I could rx and enjoy myself with the girls. Fina and Noa were very happy to see Misa again and chatted nonstop. They also made sure to include Shuri, who had met Misa for the first time. On the other hand, I was stuck walking behind them all alone. Well, I didn¡¯t really mind. Watching the girls chatting so energetically was enough for me.

    When we reached the academy, we received another piece of paper to choose our favorite attractions. Visitors got one for each day, it seemed. Yesterday, we had voted for the shop we had bought these cute western clothes from. Tilia had told us that we could write the same number three times, so we did that as it was easier than picking two additional attractions. If we came around again next year and the shop was still there, I would make sure to buy something for the girls again. I had decided on that as I had written down their name yesterday.

    As for the ballot boxes, they were located in various areas of the academy, so we were able to submit our votes anytime we wanted.

    We made our way towards Shia¡¯s stand, and as we were walking, the passing crowd all turned to look at me like always. Howerer, the things I was hearing were different than normal.

    ¡¸Is that the rumored bear from yesterday?¡¹¡¸It¡¯s that bear from yesterday.¡¹¡¸What¡¯s with that bear?¡¹¡¸Didn¡¯t you hear? That bear was amazing.¡¹¡¸Let¡¯s follow the bear.¡¹¡¸We might be able to see something interesting.¡¹

    Many people started to trail behind us.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan...¡¹

    Fina looked very ufortable and grabbed onto my Bear Hand tightly .

    Noa, Shuri, and Misa luckily didn¡¯t notice and continued to chat happily.

    ¡¸Fufu, it does feel quite nice being called Misa-neechan.¡¹

    Misamented with a smile.

    At first, Shuri had called her Misa-sama, just like Fina did. However, Misa had soon noticed Shuri was using Noa-neechan for Noa, so she had asked Shuri to call her Misa-neechan instead.

    I had been the only one who noticed Fina¡¯s face going pale when she had heard Shuri agree to it. Well, Misa had personally requested it, so Gran-san had no reason to get angry at Shuri for being too chummy with a noble. Still, while Gran-san wouldn¡¯t be a problem, we had to make sure that Shuri understood not all nobles were as nice as Noa and Misa.

    It would be toote when she did something to offend one of the not-so-kind ones, after all.

    Anyway, back to the present. To reassure Fina, I didn¡¯t pull my hand away and let her hold it until she calmed down. The crowd only seemed to be following us around, and it didn¡¯t look like they actually wanted to interact with us. Once we got to Shia¡¯s stand, we could just waste some time standing around, and they should eventually leave us alone, right?

    Still, as we proceeded through the academy, it felt like the amount of people following us kept increasing. I really hoped I was just imagining things.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what did you do?!¡¹

    Shia looked at me angrily the moment we arrived. She clearly noticed the crowd we brought along.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you promised not to stand out today.¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t done anything yet.¡¹

    I only walked up to here. They were the ones who decided to follow me.

    ¡¸Hey, what shop is this?¡¹¡¸A bear?¡¹¡¸Is she rted to this shop?¡¹¡¸They seem to be selling something interesting.¡¹

    The crowd suddenly grew very interested in the Bear statue and cotton candy.

    Noticing this, Shia grabbed my Bear Hand and pulled me behind the stand.

    ¡¸You really didn¡¯t do anything and came here directly?¡¹

    She asked as she let go of my hand.

    I nodded in response. We hadn¡¯t even taken the time to nce at any attractions along the way.

    Shia thought for a bit before grabbing my hand again.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to borrow Yuna-san for a bit! Girls, have some cotton candy and wait for us here, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸We will be back soon. I promise.¡¹

    Shia told the girls and dragged me away.

    ¡¸Um, Shia? Shia-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, pleasee with me.¡¹

    Shia said without stopping.

    ¡¸Where are we going? What about the girls?¡¹

    ¡¸We wille back soon, so you don¡¯t have to worry about them.¡¹

    Shia was holding tightly onto my hand to ensure that I wouldn¡¯t run away.

    We entered the closest school building where Shia looked around to check our surroundings before stopping at a door.

    ¡¸This ce should do.¡¹

    Shia said as she opened the door and checked inside.

    ¡¸Great, it¡¯s empty.¡¹

    Shia continued and proceeded to drag me past the door before closing it behind us.

    ¡¸A changing room?¡¹

    No matter how I looked at it, this most certainly seemed like a changing room to me.

    Shia didn¡¯t respond but rather grabbed her item bag and took something out of it.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please wear this.¡¹

    She said as she put some clothes up to my body.

    ¡¸Um, what¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s our academy¡¯s uniform. That outfit of yours just stands out too much. I know you like it a lot, but we can¡¯t have people following you everywhere.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t that I liked it, but I simply couldn¡¯t guarantee my own safety without it. Did people really think I wore it because I liked it?

    If so, I really wished I could someday im all these cheat-like skills for myself and not have to rely on the Bear Suit. In that case, I could live in this fantasy world worry-free, without having to wear a costume all the time.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you really stand out too much in your outfit, so please, change into this.¡¹

    She said and pressed the uniform on me again.

    ¡¸This is my spare uniform, so it might be a bit big on you, but it¡¯s better than being too small.¡¹

    Size wasn¡¯t the problem; it was having to take off my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Everyone¡¯s waiting for us, so please hurry up and change.¡¹

    She said and forced the uniform upon me, leaving me absolutely no way of refusing.

    Then again, I didn¡¯t think any monsters or bandits would appear here at the academy. They also checked all of the attendees¡¯ identification cards, so criminals couldn¡¯t get inside. The worst that could happen would be some noble trying to make a pass at Noa, but we had been fine yesterday, so there wasn¡¯t much chance of that, either. If I just had my Bear Gloves and Bear Feet, I should be able to deal with most situations. If it somehow got really dangerous, I could also always summon my Bears to help me.

    Well, most importantly, I just didn¡¯t have the power to refuse Shia right now.

    ¡¸I get it. I will change, okay?¡¹

    Yep, I had no other choice but to change at this point.

    ¡¸Shia, look the other way please.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m a girl, though.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t the problem here... It was embarrassing to undress in front of anyone.

    I quickly took off my Bear Outfit and changed into the uniform.

    I would never have thought that I would be wearing a uniform ever again. I had worn it a few times when I had attended junior high school, but since I had be a shut-in shortly after, I was a bit happy to wear one again.

    That was why I had epted Shia¡¯s forceful request.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, that¡¯s wrong. This should be like this, and this goes here.¡¹

    Shia scolded and showed me how to wear the uniform properly. I had really been doing it all wrong. Once she helped me tie my necktie, it looked much better than how I first put it on. Just as Shia had predicted, the uniform was a little big for me. The waist area was a bit loose and the chest area... was tight, but I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Yes, yes. It was really tight. Other than the chest area, the uniform waspletely fine.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, looking at you now that you are dressed properly, I do have to say that you¡¯re really cute. Why do you choose to wear that costume when you¡¯re actually this cute?¡¹

    Girls often told each other they were cute, so that wasn¡¯t something that could be relied on. Hence, I treated herment asmon ttery.

    Also, I wasn¡¯t really a normal girl, so I didn¡¯t know if I could actually be considered cute or not.

    ¡¸It really is such a waste of your cute looks.¡¹

    ¡¸You can stop the ttery. I think you¡¯re much cuter than me.¡¹

    Anyway, the thing I was most worried about was the skirt. My legs were feeling quite airy... Well, there was no helping it, so I started to put my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves back on.

    ¡¸You¡¯re still going to put that on?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my item bag, and I can summon my Bears with them.¡¹

    It would be troublesome if I didn¡¯t wear at least this.

    ¡¸Well, I don¡¯t think anybody will really notice your hands and feet when looking from afar, so it should be fine.¡¹

    I threw the rest of the outfit into the Bear Box, and we began walking back to the others.

    The skirt fluttered as I walked. Wasn¡¯t it just a bit too short?

    When I looked at Shia, it didn¡¯t look that short on her. It probably felt short to me because I wasn¡¯t used to wearing it. I had been wearing that costume for the longest time, so it made sense that I couldn¡¯t rx in a skirt, now.

    Just to be safe, I decided to hold my skirt as we walked so that the wind wouldn¡¯t blow it up.

    By the time we got back to the stand, there were quite a lot of customers gathered around, waiting for the cotton candy to be ready.

    ¡¸Shia, you¡¯rete!¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry, Cattleya. I¡¯ll switch out with you, so go enjoy the festival.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really mind helping out a little longer.¡¹

    ¡¸If you say that, you won¡¯t ever be able to go. There¡¯s a ce you wanted to visit, isn¡¯t there?¡¹

    Shia went behind the stand while I went back to the girls.

    ¡¸Sorry for keeping you waiting.¡¹

    ¡¸......?¡¹Noa tilted her head.

    ¡¸......?¡¹Misa was lost in thought.

    ¡¸......?¡¹Fina was shocked.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t those Bear-san Hands...?¡¹Shuri noticed something was off.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Everyone looked at me, deep in thought.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-oneechan, what¡¯s with that outfit?¡¹

    ¡¸The Bear Outfit stands out too much, so Shia forced me to change into this. Does it look bad on me?¡¹

    I asked and took a quick look at the uniform. Maybe it really didn¡¯t suit me.

    The girls weren¡¯t used to seeing me like this, so they all wore perplexed expressions as they gazed at me.

    ¡¸No, it suits you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I patted Fina¡¯s head as a reward forplimenting me. I appreciated it, even if it was justmon ttery.

    ¡¸Could it be... Yuna-san?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    For some reason, Noa and Misa still look confused.

    ¡¸Um, yes, it¡¯s me. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t recognize me?¡¹

    I had taken a bath with Noa so many times, and she had even seen me in a dress at Misa¡¯s birthday party...

    ¡¸But, but that¡¯s...¡¹

    Noa¡¯s eyes went back and forth between my face and the uniform.

    I looked at Misa.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    She apologized to me.

    ¡¸I knew when I saw your Bear-san Hands, Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    It seemed Noa and Misa hadn¡¯t recognized me while Shuri had only been able to deduce who I was because of my Bear Hands. I was kind of shocked.

    Only Fina could tell who I was after taking off my Bear Outfit... As for the others, it had be clear to me what they focused on when they looked at me.

    Meanwhile, behind the stand, Marcus and Timor stopped making the cotton candy for a moment to watch this unfold, and Shia got mad at them.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Here we go, Yuna finally puts on a uniform. lol

    This is now the second time she has changed out of her outfit. lol

    As for what she looks like in the uniform, just imagine the in the uniform that 029-sensei drew for Shia in volume 3.

    For those curious, please dash to the bookstore. lol

 Chapter 268 â€“ Bear-san Enjoys Day Two Of The Festival

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m really sorry. I couldn¡¯t tell it was you because you weren¡¯t wearing your usual Bear-san outfit...¡¹

    Noa, that definitely wasn¡¯t something I wanted to hear. My heart broke every time someone mentioned the Bear Suit. The only one I could believe in now was Fina, so I hugged her from behind.

    ¡¸Your usual Bear-san outfit is cute, but you look good in the uniform, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan¡¯s cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the uniform suits you.¡¹

    Everybody must beplimenting me to console me now... Shia might get mad, but maybe it would be best if I just changed back into my Bear Suit and live out the rest of my life as a Bear...

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, it really does suit you, so please don¡¯t worry about it looking weird on you.¡¹

    ¡¸It really does?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, very much.¡¹

    Fina noticed me fidgeting and reassured me that they weren¡¯t just trying to console me.

    Well, this was somewhat my fault, too, since I was always wearing the Bear Suit. If I pulled my hood down, no one could even see my face unless they came up close. Heck, even if they walked right beside me, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see my face because of the hood. Because of the Bear Hood, the girls didn¡¯t get to see my face that often, so them not recognizing me in an unexpected outfit couldn¡¯t be helped, right?

    Still, if the girls couldn¡¯t recognize me, then the people who didn¡¯t know me shouldn¡¯t realize I was the same person as the Bear who had appeared yesterday, either.

    Yeah, there was no way people could recognize me as long as I put on a disguise (regr clothes), and for the school festival, that was actually perfect.

    Anyway, I shouldn¡¯t let the girls worry about me. I had to change the mood.

    ¡¸I got mad as a joke, so you don¡¯t have to take it so seriously.¡¹

    I said with a smile, and the girls immediately looked relieved. It wasn¡¯t the girls¡¯ fault. It was all because God had given me this overpowered Bear Suit. Yeah, it was God¡¯s fault that I had to suffer through this. All the bad things that happened to me were his fault.

    ¡¸The stand sure looks like it¡¯s doing well, huh.¡¹

    I found the chance to change the topic as I looked at the stand. They had just started, but there was already quite a number of customers lined up, waiting to receive their cotton candy.

    ¡¸The people who were following us all bought some before leaving, and soon after even more people arrived.¡¹

    ¡¸Where did those people who were following us go?¡¹

    ¡¸They didn¡¯t notice you getting dragged away by Onee-sama, and once they realized you were gone, they immediately ran off to look for you.¡¹

    It seemed like Shia had actually managed to get the stalkers off my back. Even if they returned to the stand now, they shouldn¡¯t recognize me in the uniform. Like this, I shouldn¡¯t cause problems for the girls I was supposed to be protecting anymore.

    ¡¸Okay, how about we get going as well, then?¡¹

    I still felt a bit ufortable wearing the uniform, but I would have to brave it out during the festival.

    ¡¸Shia, I¡¯m going to borrow your uniform for a while, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Why do I feel like you might try to start up some trouble while wearing it?¡¹

    What was she trying to say?

    Now that I wasn¡¯t wearing the Bear Suit, trouble shouldn¡¯te to me, right? Even if other people looked at me now, they should just see a normal student. I should be fine so long as none of the teachers caught me. Also, even if that happened, I could always me it on Shia.

    ¡¸Oh right, is Tiliaing today?¡¹

    I recalled her saying she would be helping out at the stand today.

    ¡¸She said that she has something to do in the morning and woulde as soon as she¡¯s finished. She also promised to do something with some of her other friends, so she probably won¡¯t be able to apany you like yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, at least thanks to you, Yuna-san, we now have three machines to make cotton candy with, which makes things much easier for us.¡¹

    Right now, Marcus and Timor were making cotton candy, while Shia was doing some other work in the back. If more people came, she could either help manage the line or jump onto the third machine.

    ¡¸Cattleya, are you going to look around the festival soon?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will. It¡¯s about time for me to take a break, but while I do want to go together with all of you, I already made ns with some of my friends.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Yesterday, Tilia brought us to a lot of areas, so we should be fine by ourselves today.¡¹

    We left the cotton candy stand and headed off to look around the festival on our own.

    ¡¸Misa, do you have anything you want to see or eat?¡¹

    I asked Misa, who was still in the midst of enjoying her cotton candy. Since it was only her, I figured the others had refused Shia¡¯s offer. Well, they had had some yesterday, and they had eaten it before that as well. It was only possible to eat so much cotton candy, after all.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t, really. It¡¯s fine as long as we can all go together.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I have a suggestion, then. I want to challenge that knife throwing game again! I have to get my revenge.¡¹

    Since Misa didn¡¯t have a ce she wanted to go to, Noa quickly raised her hand and suggested a ce of her own.

    ¡¸What about you two?¡¹

    I decided to check with Fina and Shuri as well.

    ¡¸I¡¯m good with any ce.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to try the knife throwing again.¡¹

    Shuri agreed with Noa¡¯s suggestion while the other two didn¡¯t really mind. I didn¡¯t care where we went, either, so the knife throwing stand it was.

    Still, in order to keep my promise to not stand out, I decided to tell them I wouldn¡¯t participate myself.

    ¡¸Well, going to the knife throwing stand is fine, but Shia warned me not to stand out. Even if you can¡¯t win a prize yourself, I won¡¯t win one for you this time around.¡¹

    If I ended up winning the main prizes again, what would be the point of changing clothes in the first ce? Also, I was wearing the academy¡¯s uniform, so if they asked me which ss I was from, I wouldn¡¯t be able to answer. I really had to stop standing out to avoid trouble.

    Still, if the girls looked at me with those pleading eyes of theirs, I didn¡¯t know if I could hold back. I felt like that had happened way too often yesterday.

    When the girls went for it, they should only aim for the middle level prizes. As a former gamer, doing that would feel a bit weird to me, though. When I participated in games, I always wanted to challenge the hardest stage.

    I had to do my best to hold back and only watch this time around, or a repeat of yesterday might happen.

    Once they agreed to me not participating, we headed to the knife throwing stand.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the hair pieces, but there were many couples and women around, just like yesterday.

    ¡¸Noa-oneesama, did you get your hair piece from here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but I want to win a bigger one today.¡¹

    Misa also looked at Fina¡¯s and then Shuri¡¯s hair.

    ¡¸Shuri-chan, you didn¡¯t try to get one for yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸I couldn¡¯t win one. Yuna-neechan then got me thergest one, but it stands out a lot, so they told me I can¡¯t wear it today.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to try my best and get a smaller one for myself.¡¹

    Shuri dered with conviction.

    For some reason, Shuri was just as motivated as Noa. I really hoped that she could at least hit one target this time around.

    The three of them lined up to y the game. Wait, only three?

    ¡¸Fina, aren¡¯t you going to try?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I already have one, so I¡¯ll wait here with you, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸You could try and get a better one, though?¡¹

    ¡¸This one is good enough for me.¡¹

    Fina said and touched her hair piece lightly. Considering her upbringing, her words did make sense.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s cheer on everyone else, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    We stood closer to the stand to cheer on the three girls, and not a single person looked at me and said ¡¸It¡¯s a bear.¡¹

    Earlier, I had met eyes with the students running this shop, and they hadn¡¯t noticed that I was the Bear from yesterday, either. Well, I was wearing different clothes and wasn¡¯t with the princess, Tilia, so I actually didn¡¯t stand out this time.

    It was quite nice not having everyone stare at me for once.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, look, over there.¡¹

    As I was rejoicing over my new found peace, Fina pointed at where the prizes were lined up.

    I looked up at where Fina was pointing, and saw that there was another hair piece even more extravagant than the one I had won yesterday.

    It looked like I hadn¡¯t taken everything from them.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, there¡¯s something written below it.¡¹

    ¡¸Below it?¡¹

    I looked and there really was something.

    ¡¸Prize for clearing Level Bear.¡¹

    Just what was Level Bear?

    ¡¸That¡¯s supposed to be a reference to you, isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    It sure seemed so, but why would anyone decide to call a level ¡®Bear¡¯?

    As I thought about what their reasoning behind it might be, the man in front of Noa tried to challenge this Level Bear. Next to him, a beautiful woman was cheering him on.

    Maybe it was his girlfriend? Yeah, it sure looked like this guy was challenging Level Bear to show off to his girlfriend. Would he be able to do it, though?

    When he said he would challenge Level Bear, one of the students went to the back, grabbed something and positioned himself on the right hand side of the end of the targeting range. Then, the student prepared himself and threw it up in the air. The challenger threw his knife at the moving object but sadly missed.

    Oh, so this was a moving target challenge? It was sort of like y shooting.

    Still, wasn¡¯t this something rather hard to do? Hitting a distant target was quite hard but possible if the knife was thrown correctly. A moving target, however...

    All of the guy¡¯s throws missed the target by arge margin. An obvious result, if I had to say.

    The woman who had been cheering him on looked a bit disappointed, but that couldn¡¯t be helped. It was a reckless challenge. Even adventurers had a hard time hitting flying monsters, so this wasn¡¯t something the man should have been expected to achieve.

    After the couple, Noa stepped up. She was gazing at the Level Bear prize. It was clearly impossible for her, so I really hoped she wouldn¡¯t try to challenge it and waste her shot at obtaining a different hairpiece. Noa nced at me, so I immediately began shaking my head and tried to tell her with my eyes that she couldn¡¯t do it.

    However, it seemed like my feelings didn¡¯t reach her because Noa still told the receptionist: ¡¸I want to challenge Level Bear.¡¹.

    This girl...

    The result was obvious, and she missed all of her throws.

    Meanwhile, Shuri and Misa both aimed for the closest targets, and they each got a hair piece of their own.

    Noa looked frustrated while Shuri and Misa both celebrated.

    ¡¸Hitting a flying target is impossible.¡¹

    Yes, it was obvious to see that the level was impossible just by looking at it.

    She shouldn¡¯t have challenged it at all.

    Unlike her, Shuri and Misa aimed for something they could achieve and they were now happy with their prizes.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, put it on for me.¡¹

    Shuri brought over the hair piece she had just won. I took it and ced it in her hair the same way I had done for Fina. They looked very alike now, especially since they were sisters.

    ¡¸It¡¯s very cute on you.¡¹

    Shuri looked really happy to receive my praise.

    Misa, on the other hand, requested Noa to put on the hair piece for her. With that, all the girls now had a small hair piece of their own.

    ¡¸If Yuna-oneechan wore one, too, then we would all be matching.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, do you wanna put on the big one you got for me?¡¹

    I politely refused Shuri¡¯s offer. If I did that, there would be no point in changing out of my Bear Suit at all.

    After, we set off to check the other programs. Some programs added a Level Bear to their prize pool, while some didn¡¯t.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Since all the other girls were already matching with their hairpieces, I had Misa get a hair piece as well.

    Next year, all the programs will probably have a Level Bear as the hardest challenge. lol

 Chapter 269 â€“ Bear-san Brings Some Refreshments

    When it was noon, we decided to return to Shia¡¯s stand.

    Since Shia had told us about how none of them could take a decent break from working, I thought we could help a bit if we at least brought them some snacks. The girls naturally didn¡¯t object.

    Still, having to line up for snacks was a pain, so I was nning on simply giving them Morin¡¯s bread. Shia had also mentioned that some friends wereing over to help her and I would feel bad if we didn¡¯t bring enough for everyone.

    I had plenty of Morin-san¡¯s bread stashed inside my Bear Box, so they could have as much as they wanted, no matter how many people were there. That was why we decided that simply bringing them Morin-san¡¯s bread would be the best.

    As we made our way to the stand, we saw many people walking around and eating cotton candy. I was really happy to see that all these people were enjoying it. Shia¡¯s group had worked hard to learn how to make it, so I really hoped it would continue to sell well.

    Arriving at the stand, we immediately noticed an unknown student doing their best to attract customers. Was she one of the friends Shia had mentioned?

    Unlike me, she actually had friends, huh.

    ¡¸Shia, it looks like the stall is doing well.¡¹

    I told her as she passed some cotton candy to a child.

    ¡¸Yes, my friend came over to help us, so we get a lot of customers.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, but don¡¯t forget we owe her a meal in return.¡¹

    Marcus cut in, exining the favor needed to be repaid. A meal sure sounded like something a student would ask for. Asking for money was a thing for adults. I looked around some more, but I didn¡¯t see Tilia anywhere. She had said she woulde help after she finished whatever she had to do in the morning, so she most likely wasn¡¯t done yet.

    ¡¸Shia, Tilia isn¡¯t here yet?¡¹

    I wanted to thank her for yesterday.

    ¡¸Oh, Tilia-sama is at the back.¡¹

    When we went around back, we came upon Tilia, crouching dejectedly with her back to us. She looked so gloomy I could almost imagine her just aimlessly twirling her finger in the sand.

    ¡¸Tilia, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, when we told her we didn¡¯t need her help anymore, she started acting like that.¡¹

    ¡¸You did that? Why?¡¹

    Shia proceeded to exin that when Tilia had began calling out for customers, all the students who knew her started to gather in front of her. After Tilia had happily told them that the cotton candy was delicious, all the students rushed to the stand, yelling their orders one after the other.

    Seeing such a huge crowd form up, other people had wandered over to see what themotion was all about and found out that Tilia was there. Then, word of her presence had spread further, which attracted more customers and garnered even more attention. That vicious cycle had spiraledpletely out of control, and the crowd turned into a huge problem for the stand and the surrounding area.

    Even with three people making the cotton candy, they couldn¡¯t have handled the amount of orders pouring in. Shia and the others had felt a sense of impending danger and forced Tilia to hide at the back of the stand before it was toote. Eventually, things had calmed down, and we arrived soon after. Even with Tilia out of the way, there were still more people herepared to any of the other stands around. This was, without a doubt, the effects of a famous person.

    Well, what had happened madeplete sense when thinking about it. If Tilia, a princess, called for people toe then there was bound to be many who answered the call no matter if they were students, nobles, ormoners. In this case, even those who were here for different attractions would rathere here when they heard Tilia¡¯s name being mentioned, and when a princess rmended something to them, no one would dare to say no to it. Not to mention that her beauty and smile were beyond captivating. Just a smile from her alone was enough to make men grovel at her feet. Such a technique was something I could never do...

    Looking at the results, the princess¡¯ charm had been far more effective in attracting customers than the Bear statue I had created.

    ¡¸Because of that, we were forced to ask Tilia-sama to stop helping us.¡¹

    So, that was why she had started to sulk...

    I walked up to Tilia from behind.

    ¡¸Tilia, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna? Let me tell you...¡¹

    TIlia turned around when she heard me but then began looking left and right.

    Was she looking for someone?

    ¡¸Hmm? Where¡¯s Yuna?¡¹

    I was standing right in front of her.

    ¡¸I thought I just heard Yuna¡¯s voice...¡¹

    Yes, she had, because I had just asked her something.

    Tilia¡¯s eyes stopped on me for a moment, but then continued on to the girls standing next to me.

    ¡¸Where¡¯s Yuna?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan is right in front of you.¡¹

    Fina and the others looked at me slowly, and Tilia¡¯s gaze came back to me again. Her head then tilted slightly.

    ¡¸Yuna...?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m Yuna.¡¹

    I reintroduced myself to her.

    Tilia looked at me as if she didn¡¯t believe me, though.

    What was that reaction? Was she unsatisfied that a girl like me came out of the Bear Suit?

    ¡¸Certainly, the hands and feet are like Yuna¡¯s.¡¹

    She recognized my hands and feet.

    Everybody recognized me only after seeing those parts, huh...

    ¡¸So, why are you wearing a uniform?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia said I can¡¯t wear my Bear Suit because it stands out too much. She forced me to change into her spare uniform.¡¹

    I gave a simple exnation.

    ¡¸That¡¯s true, your bear costume stood out quite a lot. Still, I didn¡¯t know you were actually such a cute girl, Yuna.¡¹

    Now that was a troublingment. Even at this point, I had trouble believing that me wearing the Bear Suit could be considered cute, and then she suddenly brought out this...

    ¡¸Yes, it was definitely unexpected for me, too. I didn¡¯t realize such a cute girl was hiding underneath that bear costume.¡¹

    ¡¸Not you too, Shia.¡¹

    Tilia looked at Shia and immediately seemed as if she just remembered something.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Listen, Yuna. Shia first asked me to call for guests and then told me to stop. I was doing my best but she said I was just causing trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because a crazy amount of people gathered because of you and we couldn¡¯t keep up with the demand. I do feel bad for making youe back here, but we had no other choice: we just aren¡¯t efficient enough to keep up with such a crowd.¡¹

    There was a limit to how many customers any food stand could handle. It depended on the size, the number of workers, and the speed at which the food was being made. It only made sense for Shia¡¯s stand to be overrun when Tilia had been attracting customers.

    ¡¸But the only reason I¡¯m helping is to thank you for introducing me to Yuna.¡¹

    Oh right, there was that, too.

    Thinking about it, wasn¡¯t it apletely unfair trade? Tilia needed to value herself a bit more. She had traded time she could have spent having fun at the festival just so she could meet me.

    ¡¸Well, you¡¯ve helped us plenty enough.¡¹

    Tilia had tried her best, but what happened couldn¡¯t be helped. Even though she was a student, the fact that she was also a princess didn¡¯t change.

    Besides, wasn¡¯t asking a princess to help out kind of unfair to the other stands? In my former world, this would be akin to having a celebrity help out as a form of advertisement. It wasplete overkill for something as simple as a school festival.

    Shia tried her best to exin to Tilia that it wasn¡¯t her fault, but Tilia wouldn¡¯t ept it. It was very likely that Tilia had actually been looking forward to helping the stand, seeing her sulk like that.

    Even I, having never experienced a school festival before this, also felt that helping out could be fun. It was why I had given them my cotton candy machines and had even made them a Bear statue. Knowing that my help was a factor in their sess made me feel happy, so I somewhat understood Tilia¡¯s feelings.

    I tried tofort Tilia, hoping to make her feel better.

    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯m fine now. I will stop being selfish.¡¹

    Just as Tilia began feeling a bit better, someone¡¯s stomach growled. We all looked around to find where the sound came from.

    ¡¸Shia, did you guys eat lunch yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Not yet. We were going to take turns in going out to eat.¡¹

    Well, seeing how crowded they were with customers earlier, they most likely didn¡¯t get the chance to go.

    ¡¸If you would like, I brought some bread for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it the same bread we had when you were escorting us before?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it is.¡¹

    ¡¸I want some!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too.¡¹

    Marcus and Timor, who were still in the middle of making cotton candy, both replied. It looked like the three of them all remembered the bread I had given them when I had acted as their bodyguard during their school outing. Well, Morin-san¡¯s bread was delicious, so that made sense.

    ¡¸I will leave some out here, so eat whatever you like.¡¹

    I took out enough so that everyone, including the female student who was helping out, could have their fill.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what will you be doing now?¡¹

    ¡¸We will go around the festival again, I guess.¡¹

    There were still many areas we hadn¡¯t visited yet.

    Up until noon, Noa and Shuri had tried to take revenge on the games they had lost at, so we ended up going to the same ces as yesterday. We nned to go to some new ces this afternoon; it would be boring to keep returning to the same areas, after all.

    ¡¸How about bringing Tilia-sama with you, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia?¡¹

    Tilia was surprised at Shia¡¯s sudden request.

    ¡¸Even if I can¡¯t call for customers, I can help you with other things.¡¹

    Shia shook her head.

    ¡¸Thanks to your advertisement, plenty of customers already came to our stand. Those customers will spread the word, so we will be fine to do other things ourselves.¡¹

    She was right. The line didn¡¯t seem to get any shorter while we were here, and I could see even more people approaching.

    ¡¸Also, if we let you help out any further, the other stands will start toin.¡¹

    Wasn¡¯t it already unfair to have a princess help out to begin with?

    ¡¸So, please enjoy the festival with Yuna-san and the girls.¡¹

    Marcus and Timor nodded to Shia¡¯s words and the female student helping out seemed to agree as well.

    ¡¸Please leave the rest to us and go enjoy the festival, Tilia-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone... Thank you.¡¹

    Tilia epted their feelings.

    After we had lunch together with a few of them who managed to switch out to eat, we left the stand with our new party member, Tilia.

    ¡¸Fufu, if I were a boy, I¡¯m sure I would look popr.¡¹

    Tilia, who had been so depressed earlier, was now happily walking between Shuri and Misa, with Fina and I tagging close behind.

    ¡¸They¡¯re all children, though.¡¹

    Except for me, who was fifteen, the girls were all only seven to ten years old.

    ¡¸They may be small, but they are all cutedies.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t deny that.

    We didn¡¯t forget to introduce Misa, and it seemed like Tilia knew who Gran-san was, but didn¡¯t know about his granddaughter till now.

    ¡¸I must say, I¡¯m really happy to see that all of you are wearing the clothes I bought for you.¡¹

    The three girls were indeed wearing the clothes Tilia had purchased for them yesterday, and she was clearly delighted to see it.

    Well, I was pretty sure anybody would be happy to see the presents they had given being used. It was better than finding out they had just been tucked away to never see the light of day again.

    ¡¸Misana, shall I buy something for you as well?¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s okay, I¡¯m...¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to hold back.¡¹

    Tilia interrupted, grabbed Misa¡¯s hand, and dragged her off to the same shop from yesterday, where we all picked out an outfit for her. Tilia tried to buy something for me again, but I managed to politely decline her offer.

    Once Misa¡¯s clothes were paid for, we left the store. Misa walked in front, spinning back and forth happily. She looked very happy that Princess Tilia had bought her something.

    ¡¸I have now gained another wife.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re a girl, you know.¡¹

    I rebuked Tilia¡¯s joke just as we were stopped in our tracks by arge crowd.

    ¡¸I wonder what¡¯s going on?¡¹

    Noa started to push her way through the crowd, and Misa followed. Shuri also tried to run off with them, but Fina tightly held her hand to stop her.

    ¡¸Onee-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸No.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu.¡¹

    We slowly made our way through the crowd and came up to something that appeared like a performance involving swords.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a sword dance.¡¹

    So, it should be something like a dance with swords?

    There were indeed six students dancing around with swords in their hands.

    They swung their swords right and left, showing off their skills. The swords seemed like they could sh any second but always managed to pass each other by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    ¡¸Amazing...¡¹

    ¡¸So beautiful...¡¹

    The girls were all mesmerized by the performance.

    I somewhat recalled watching something simr on TV, but this was the first time I had seen it in person. The students swung their swords with quite a bit of force, and it was a true spectacle watching all of them perform the same moves so perfectly in sync. I could see no blunders throughout the performance, and then suddenly everybody pointed their sword into the air. Like it was a signal, their movements suddenly became much more harsh, sharp, and quick, yet still, their swords managed not to sh. Finally, they swung their swords in a wide arc before sliding them gracefully into their scabbards, finishing their dance.

    The whole crowd erupted in loud apuse. Of course, my girls all pped as well while I attempted to p with my Bear Hands but sadly, no sound came out.

    This was the first time I had seen such a good performance.

    ording to Tilia, from time to time there were events where groups performed such sword dances together. However, only the best of the students were picked to do it.

    ¡¸Princess, can you do it, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Me? I¡¯m not good at being in sync with other people. I can perform a sword dance by myself, but for something as spectacr as this, you need several very coordinated people to perform it.¡¹

    Tilia answered Shuri¡¯s question.

    True, that dance could only be performed if everybody trusted each other. It also needed a lot of practice and was something I could never do. I was bad at working with other people to begin with, so it would be impossible for me even if I had the willpower to practice it.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    With this, Tilia joins the group again.

    Next chapter, we will enter the afternoon of the second day. I wonder what will happen to a certain character?

 Chapter 270 â€“ Bear-san Enjoys a concer

    t

    ¡¸That was amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! Thest part where they spun the swords and then sheathed them was so cool.¡¹

    Shuri spun her arms around, imitating the performers.

    The girls were all very excited seeing such a performance. I had been quite enthralled myself. I had always wanted to see something like this that just screamed ¡®fantasy world¡¯.

    ¡¸Yuna, do you think you could do something like that?¡¹

    Tilia carried Shuri¡¯s question over to me.

    ¡¸Such a performance is a result of hard work and practice, so not really. I might be able to do thest part where they arc their swords and then ce it in into the scabbard, though.¡¹

    When I had yed the game, I really enjoyed using the sword and would practice drawing and sheathing it quite often. I also recalled quite a few embarrassing moments where I would do a victory dance with my sword after defeating a monster.

    It was kind of simr to what the performers had done, so I might be able to pull it off here.

    ¡¸I would love to see that.¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe if there is an opportunity for me to try.¡¹

    I used the typical Japanese way of refusing. It wasparable to the ¡°I will go if I have time.¡± excuse. yers had often invited me to join their party in the game, and I used to tell them I would go if I had the time but then never showed up. If they hadter asked me about it, I could have excused myself with ¡¸I said I would go if I had time, didn¡¯t I?¡¹. It was a good, indirect way of refusing things.

    ¡¸You can try it here, can¡¯t you?¡¹

    It looked like it didn¡¯t work this time, though.

    To make it more obvious, I told her that I couldn¡¯t really brandish a weapon out here.

    Tilia looked a bit disappointed, but I really shouldn¡¯t be doing anything to stand out, especially now that I was wearing a uniform. It would be a big problem if one of the teachers from the academy saw me do so. Tilia was with me to get me out of trouble, but just exining ourselves would probably take a long time. Our time at the school festival was limited, so we had to treat it with care.

    ¡¸So, what do you want to do next?¡¹

    We took a break at the area where the sword dance had been held and saw that they were going to perform again. It would be nice to watch it again, but Tilia had other ideas.

    ¡¸It looks like everyone enjoyed the dance, so how about we go see something else that¡¯s just as impressive? We should make it if we leave now.¡¹

    Tilia took Noa and Misa¡¯s hands and rushed off.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸Come on everyone, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    Tilia ignored Noa¡¯s cries and continued to make her way through the crowd, so we ran after her. Eventually, we reached arge, circr building.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what purpose it served. It looked kind of like a gymnasium butrger, so maybe it was something simr to those churches from Europe?

    I took a look inside and could see both students and other festival attendees.

    ¡¸What¡¯s inside?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ll know when you enter. I think you¡¯ll enjoy it quite a bit.¡¹

    Tilia still didn¡¯t want to tell us what we were going to see. Since there were other attendees inside, it should be fine, but I felt a bit ufortable nheless.

    Tilia led us inside, and there was thisrge door to enter the main hall. The other attendees all headed through the door, but just as we were about to follow them, Tilia headed down a side corridor instead.

    ¡¸This way.¡¹

    She beckoned and led us up a flight of stairs. There were many doors lined up at the top, and Tilia walked past them without a care, only stopping in front of one of the doors in the middle of the corridor. As I noticed it was a bit bigger than the other ones,Tilia touched what looked like a magic stone next to the door, and we heard something unlock. Then, the door opened.

    ¡¸Alright then, let¡¯s head inside.¡¹

    Shuri followed her into the room first and trotted to what looked like a balcony. Fina hurried after her, while Noa and Misa carefully followed behind.

    This ce seemed to be like a theatre, and the balcony we were at should be one of the seating areas. It was in the middle of the top floor, so all the rooms that we passed by on this floor must be viewing rooms simr to this one, right?

    ¡¸Tilia, what is this ce?¡¹

    ¡¸This is the room reserved for the royal family, I guess? It¡¯s rarely used, though. We onlye here when there are good shows.¡¹

    In other words, we were in an exclusive room of the royal family.

    Looking over the balcony into the vast hall, we could see a stage on the other side. Below us were rows of chairs facing the stage, with many people already seated, waiting for the show to start.

    ¡¸Is it okay for us toe in here with you?¡¹

    When I asked that, Noa and Misa also nodded in agreement to the question. Nobles, Noa and Misa, seemed to realize the importance of this room while themoner, Shuri, only looked at the huge hall in awe.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I brought you in, and I wasn¡¯t told that I¡¯m not allowed to use this room, either, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹

    There was no way that would make us feel reassured being with her, though. Fina was already starting to look around nervously while Noa and Misa also looked troubled to be here and didn¡¯t know what to do. Only Shuri was still gazing at the hall in excitement.

    Commoners really shouldn¡¯t be allowed to use the room the royal family used, right? It might be okay for the nobles, but these splendid looking chairs were for the king and queen, weren¡¯t they?

    Even I could tell that the sofas in the room were high-ss.

    Yet, Tilia did not pay any mind and simply told us to sit wherever we liked.

    None of us dared to sit down though. Well, Shuri was about to take a seat, but Fina had grabbed her hand and refused to let go.

    I was sure that the king and the queen most likely wouldn¡¯t really mind, but none of us actually dared to sit on the same chairs the royalty used.

    Thus, everybody had politely declined to sit, only epting the offer of using the room.

    ¡¸By the way, what¡¯s going to happen here?¡¹

    An audience had gathered, and there was a stage, so there should be some sort of a performance, right?

    ¡¸It¡¯s almost time for the concert. It¡¯s a fantastic one, so I thought all of you should see it.¡¹

    Well, I most certainly looked forward to it, then.

    We all looked over the balcony and could already see students carrying instruments as they stepped onto the stage.

    Once all the students were lined up, they bowed, and the concert began.

    The sound of their instruments was very loud and was reverberating throughout the building. Their feelings reached our hearts, and while I didn¡¯t really understand music myself, I could tell that they were excellent performers. Shuri and Fina, who had never experienced a concert before, were watching with their eyes wide open. Of course, Noa and Misa seemed to be enjoying it as well.

    The students yed song after song, and we kept listening without even thinking of leaving. I had never heard any of these songs before, but they were all very touching.

    Once they were done with thest song, the students bowed, and exited the stage. Everybody, including me, sent them off with a big apuse. Well, since I was wearing my Bear Hands, I could only make some light pping noises, but it was the thought that counted, right?

    ¡¸That was amazing. This was the first time I listened to a concert.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d you enjoyed it.¡¹

    Tilia was happy to hear Fina¡¯s praise. I was also d that the girls got to listen to something good. Even though the concert was made of just students, they had still given us an amazing performance.

    ¡¸I wonder if Onee-sama can also perform like that?¡¹

    Shia ying instruments, huh. It would most likely suit her, but did she learn it? Did noble families make their children y instruments in this world?

    ¡¸Is the concert over now?¡¹

    I wanted to listen for a while longer, but the students didn¡¯t seem like they wereing back.

    ¡¸The next performance is a theatre y. Do you want to watch it?¡¹

    A theatre y, huh? I did want to watch it. If it was like a musical, then I really looked forward to it.

    ¡¸What do you girls think?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to watch it!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind watching another performance.¡¹

    Nobody said no, so we stayed to watch the y.

    As preparations on the stage were taking ce, I served everybody some drinks. Then suddenly, the door behind us opened.

    ¡¸Now that¡¯s a surprise. Somebody is here already?¡¹

    ¡¸Father?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, Tilia. What are you doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-chan?¡¹

    His Majesty and Flora-sama entered the room. Flora-sama ran up to Tilia and hugged her before I noticed Her Highness alsoing through the door.

    ¡¸Oh my, there are so many guests here.¡¹

    Her Highness looked at us and smiled.

    ¡¸Father, why are you here today?¡¹

    ¡¸Flora said she wanted to go to the school festival, and while that¡¯spletely fine, we would stand out too much if we simply walked among the crowd. That¡¯s why we came here instead.¡¹

    He was right about standing too much. With a princess, a king, and a queen all walking around together, people would surely have made a fuss. They also had bodyguards with them, making them stand out even more.

    ¡¸Fufu, what are you saying? You just wanted to ditch work and used Flora as an excuse to escape the castle, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    The queen exposed the king¡¯s real intentions, making him visibly panic.

    ¡¸It was true that Flora wanted toe, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but since we have escorts, it would be fine with just Flora and me. You could have stayed at the castle to work.¡¹

    The king tried to object but couldn¡¯t. Then, he looked at me for a moment but quickly turned his attention to Noa instead.

    ¡¸You¡¯re Eleanora¡¯s daughter, Noire right?¡¹

    He didn¡¯t wait for response, and shifted his gaze to Fina and Shuri.

    ¡¸These two are Fina-chan and Shuri-chan.¡¹

    The queen told him while Princess Flora went over to greet Shuri happily.

    ¡¸You know them?¡¹

    ¡¸Shuri-chan is Fina-chan¡¯s little sister. I told you that they came to the castle recently, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, right, it was when Eleanora kept it a secret that Yuna came to the castle. She even brought food with her and you still kept me in the dark...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and it was very sweet and delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸It was sweet and fluffy.¡¹

    They were talking about the time we had all visited the castle to sightsee. It hadn¡¯t been my fault the king hadn¡¯t been notified; Eleanora-san had ordered the guard not to let him know.

    ¡¸Fina, right? If you see Yuna, could you tell her toe to the castle and bring me some of this candy she gave to them?¡¹

    Emm, I was right here, so he didn¡¯t need to leave a message with Fina...

    Fina seemed troubled and looked at me, but having mee forward would make the situation a bit awkward, wouldn¡¯t it? Tilia wore a slight smile on her face but kept quiet while Noa and Misa didn¡¯t want to be the ones to exin it, either.

    With theck of response, the king turned to Misa. He didn¡¯t seem to know who she was yet, so she introduced herself.

    ¡¸The daughter of the Faren Gramm family? Interesting. How did you girls all get to know each other?¡¹

    ¡¸Father, you didn¡¯t introduce Yuna to me, so I got a friend to introduce her instead. That¡¯s how we all met.¡¹

    The king took another look around the room. He nced at me for a short moment before rubbing his chin in thought.

    The king had seen my face plenty of times, but maybe he was unable to connect the dots since I wasn¡¯t in my Bear Suit?

    ¡¸By the way, have we met somewhere before?¡¹

    He asked me, looking up at me again.

    Yes, we had met many times before...

    ¡¸Dear, what are you saying? She¡¯s Yuna-chan.¡¹

    The queen said with a smile.

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸¡¸¡¸...!¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹

    Everybody in the room, including me, looked shocked by how simply she put it.

    ¡¸Ah, no wonder. I knew you looked familiar to me somehow, Yuna.¡¹

    Was my face really so easily forgotten...?

    ¡¸You must have seen my face at least once in all the times I came to the castle, no?¡¹

    ¡¸It-it¡¯s not like I forgot your face. You are always wearing your bear costume, so I just couldn¡¯t tell for a second.¡¹

    Basically, he had only remembered me by my outfit.

    ¡¸Still, why are you wearing such a weird outfit?¡¹

    Did he just say the uniform looked weird on me? Just how could the uniform be considered weird? If both the Bear Outfit and uniform looked weird on me then what could I possibly wear to look normal?

    ¡¸Shia... I mean, Eleanora-san¡¯s daughter Shia said that the Bear Outfit stands out too much, so she had me change into this.¡¹

    I exined to him why I was wearing such a weird outfit, but the king just kept staring at me.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing, I just thought how you actually look like a regr girl when wearing a normal outfit.¡¹

    How rude of him to say that. Even wearing the Bear Outfit, I was still a normal girl on the inside.

    I pouted for a bit before Princess Flora came up to me.

    ¡¸You¡¯re Bear-san?¡¹

    I lowered my back and met eyes with her and pped a Bear Puppet in front of her, hoping it would be enough to convince her, but she showed no real reaction.

    Well, she did always call me Bear-san, so had she also only remembered me by my Bear Outfit?

    I absentmindedly patted her head, and she suddenly smiled at me so cutely that I could almost see flowers bloom around her face.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the same patting as Bear-san¡¯s.¡¹

    That was how she was able to recognize me?!

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan¡¯s way of head patting does feel really kind and soft to the touch.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, Yuna-neechan¡¯s head pats have a really fluffy feeling to them.¡¹

    ¡¸I get what you mean! Yuna-san¡¯s pats have a lot of love in them!¡¹

    Everybody agreed with Princess Flora on the patting front...

    I didn¡¯t really have any special way of petting them that could express kindness and love. I just petted their head when I wanted to thank them or when I just found them too cute to resist.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The royal family has all gathered now. (Well, except for the oldest son. lol)

    The queen knew it was Yuna right from the beginning. She is a carefree person, but has exceptional observation skills.

    Princess Flora could only tell from Yuna¡¯s way of head patting, though. lol

    Next chapter, things will carry on normally, maybe?

 Chapter 271 â€“ Bear-san Enjoys The Theatre

    Now that the royal family was here, maybe we should leave?

    When I suggested that, however:

    ¡¸As long as you don¡¯t make a lot of noise, we don¡¯t mind having you stay.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you really think I would kick you out after seeing Flora like that?¡¹

    The king said, looking down at my legs, which Princes Flora was very happily hugging. I petted her head again, and she seemed to enjoy it very much.

    ¡¸I wanna be with Bear-san.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t Bear-san right now, but she still called me that regardless...

    ¡¸Besides, Tilia brought you here, so we have no reason to make you leave.¡¹

    Thanks to the good will of the king and the queen, we stayed to watch the theatre.

    It was a rare experience, so we all appreciated it. However, except for Shuri, all the younger girls in our group were visibly nervous. Misa hid behind Noa, while Noa straightened her back, wanting to look like she was protecting Misa from the king.

    Fina was also grasping Shuri¡¯s hand tightly, making sure she wouldn¡¯t wander off.

    ¡¸You can sit on that sofa, if you like.¡¹

    We weren¡¯tpletely sure if the kingy was joking or not when he pointed at an expensive-looking sofa, but we all politely declined.

    Afterwards, the king kept looking at my face and muttering ¡¸Yes, that really is Yuna...¡¹.

    ¡¸I really didn¡¯t realize it was Yuna since she changed into the uniform. Kitia, how did you know it was her?¡¹

    ¡¸I can recognize a cute girl like her no matter what she wears. You should look at women more closely.¡¹

    My image of the queen just changed a bit. I had thought she was simply being nonchnt all the time, but it seemed she was actually paying attention the entire time.

    ¡¸I had no idea someone¡¯s aura could change drastically like that.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not good for a king, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I understand that... I made sure to remember her face now, so I will be able to recognize her in any strange outfit.¡¹

    Why was he still calling me strange? I was wearing a regr school uniform which should be considered apletely normal set of clothing.

    Well, the uniform was only for the school festival, so once it was over, I wouldn¡¯t have to wear it anymore. Once the festival ended, I would just go back to my usual Bear Outfit.

    I decided to forget about the uniform issue and focus on the y, which was about to start.

    We all moved over to the balcony and looked at the stage. Soon, a loud ringing sound signaled the beginning of the y. This was the first time I would see a y in real life, so I was really excited.

    The y was a love story between a knight and a princess. They loved each other deeply, but due to their status, they were forcefully torn apart.

    Yup, this was a pretty standard plotline.

    The king wanted to let his daughter do as she pleased, but then an evil minister appeared and tried to set up a political marriage between his own son and the princess.

    The king was kind to his daughter and didn¡¯t force her. Well, it was possible that the country¡¯s king woulde and watch the y (like he really did), so they couldn¡¯t do anything that could show kings in a bad light.

    The y continued, and the minister¡¯s son appeared. I had thought the son would also be evil, but it turned out he was actually a sympathetic character who was good friends with the knight. Still, due to the evil minister, the marriage between his son and the princess drew closer.

    The minister even decided to hire an assassin to kill the knight, allowing nothing to stand in the way of his ambition.

    However, his son found out and saved the knight at thest possible moment.

    Afterwards, the knight and princess faced many more challenges, set up by the evil minister, while the minister¡¯s son helped them from the shadows.

    What was this? The minister¡¯s son was a really cool guy, wasn¡¯t he?

    Could it be that the main character was actually the minister¡¯s son?

    At the end of the y, the son managed to expose all of his father¡¯s evil deeds, reporting it to the king. The minister found out, however, and got angry at his son for betraying him, going as far as to order his subordinate to kill him. The knight somehow got involved, and we got a good battle scene, where the knight saved the minister¡¯s son from harm¡¯s way.

    The minister got overthrown after that, and the knight and princess could finally marry each other in peace. The minister¡¯s son also participated in the wedding before setting a journey by himself.

    Personally, I believed the main character of this y was actually the minister¡¯s son. There were even parts, here and there, where it seemed like the son actually had romantic feelings for the princess as well. However, he gave it all up for his friend.

    Hmm, that was interesting, but it left me hoping that the minister¡¯s son would find happiness on his journey.

    In my opinion, the story would be better if the minister¡¯s son found happiness in the end. He tried his hardest for his friend¡¯s sake. He even exposed his own father¡¯s evil deeds for his friend. If only there was someone to stand by his side at the end, the ending wouldn¡¯t have left such a bad aftertaste. Maybe if there was a second princess, who was actually in love with him the entire time?

    Well, the ending was a bit disappointing, but the whole show was still quite interesting.

    As I was still lost in thought, the king suddenly said something unbelievable.

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t bad. Still, I think that Yuna¡¯s picture books are more meaningful.¡¹

    What on earth was he saying?

    Even the girls on the balcony all nodded.

    ¡¸I agree. I found the scene where Bear-san tries her best for the girl to be very moving. I think it would be very nice for the children to watch if it gets made into a y.¡¹

    Even Her Highness agreed with him.

    Then again, I had noticed Flora-sama looked a bit bored watching the y, but that might be because it was a little early for someone her age to watch this.

    Well, no matter what, I just hoped nobody would make my picture books into a y.

    Fina seemed to agree with me as well, rapidly shaking her head in dread.

    Also, even if it was made into a y, what reason would adults have to go and see it?

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s make a y based on the picture books next.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t!¡¹

    I objected strongly. That picture book was already embarrassing as it was. If they made it into a y, they would only make it even worse.

    ¡¸You sure? I think it¡¯s a really good idea, though.¡¹

    ¡¸If you make it into a show, I will never bring you food again.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, that¡¯s...¡¹

    The king had tried to tease me, but luckily, I had a hold on his weakness. As long as I bought food into the conversation, he could do nothing but give in.

    ¡¸Does that include Flora¡¯s share?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸I will still prepare Princess Flora¡¯s share, but even if you twoe to her room, you won¡¯t get any.¡¹

    If they forbid me from entering the castle, though, then that would be the end of it. The king thought about it for a bit then said:

    ¡¸I understand... I will give up on the idea.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it really is unfortunate that it has to be this way.¡¹

    It seemed like the food had won in the end. I was very surprised that it was possible to triumph by winning over someone¡¯s stomach.

    When I stopped them from going forward with their idea, Fina looked quite relieved as well. Thinking about it from her perspective, having a picture book based off of her own life made into a y would be really embarrassing, wouldn¡¯t it?

    Also, what would they do about the role of the Bear? I wouldn¡¯t y it, no matter how much they asked me to.

    The king and the queen seemed to be very disappointed, but I wouldn¡¯t ever give them permission for something like that. Even I had my limits.

    Now that I had safely prevented the picture book from bing a y, I asked Tilia what the next program was.

    ¡¸Next is a performance by the academy¡¯s singing princess.¡¹

    (TN: The Japanese word for songstress is utahime, or literally song princess.)

    It seemed like they would finish it off with a singing performance. Still, did singing princesses really exist in this world? Singing princess sounded more like someone who only appeared in manga and the like.

    ¡¸Well, she¡¯s called a singing princess, so doesn¡¯t that mean you, Tilia, a real princess should be able to sing as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I¡¯m bad at it, but this person is extraordinary.¡¹

    If Tilia was praising her like that then I should look forward to it, right?

    We looked at the stage and saw a girl in a beautiful white dress just getting on it. She was a student, right? She looked more like an adult. She bowed once and began singing what seemed to be an opera.

    Everybody¡¯s gazes were glued to her as she sang, and we all listened in ecstasy. Her song reached every corner of the hall, touching all of our hearts.

    As soon as the song finished, the hall exploded into the loudest apuse we heard all day.

    ¡¸What a beautiful voice.¡¹

    The girls were all moved while the king and the queen seemed to be quite enthralled by her

    singing as well.

    ¡¸Mhm. We got to listen to something wonderful for the end.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, what a wonderful voice she has. Tilia, you should do your best as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother, I¡¯ll be troubled if you expect me to achieve that level of singing.¡¹

    Yes, it was impossible for most people to reach such a level. Both talent and practice were required to achieve it. If anybody could pull it off without regr practice, they could only be considered a cheat like existence.

    With the final performance finished, the guests slowly began to exit the hall. The king told us they would wait for the crowd to clear before leaving. Tilia decided to stay with her family, so

    we thanked her for bringing us here and prepared to leave the room.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy to hear that you¡¯ve enjoyed it. I didn¡¯t expect my family toe here at such a time, though.¡¹

    ¡¸We didn¡¯t expect to find you girls here, either.¡¹

    ¡¸However, because of it, we got to enjoy the performances together. Thank you foring, everyone.¡¹

    The queen thanked us, so we all nervously replied back.

    We were just about to leave, when Princess Flora began to look sad, and tugged at my uniform. I promised I would see her again soon and got her to let go. It seemed like I would have to visit the castle again before heading back to Crimonia and also give the king some cotton candy while I was at it.

    We finally left, and were met by several guards waiting outside the door. They were very surprised to see use out from the room.

    Well, they must have thought that only the royal family was inside, so it must be shocking for them to see use out instead. The king quickly came out to exin the situation, so we didn¡¯t get in any trouble and left the building without any further issues.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-san...¡¹

    The second day of the festival wasing to an end, and we were going to leave the academy, when Noa spoke up.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸What was His Majesty talking about when he mentioned the picture book you drew?¡¹

    She listened in, it seemed. So, Noa didn¡¯t know about the picture book yet, huh. I thought for sure that Eleanora-san would have told her all about it.

    ¡¸I drew a picture book for Princess Flora.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve been doing things like that as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yeah. I drew it for her the first time I met her, and she enjoyed it very much. Since then, I often go to the castle and bring her food.¡¹

    ¡¸What kind of story is it? Her Highness mentioned something about a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we could call it a story where a bear tries its best to help a girl.¡¹

    The story was based on when I saved Fina, where the helping Bear had been me. I changed it around a bit, but it was still based on that encounter.

    ¡¸Uu, I want to read it now. Princess Flora is the only one who has it though, right?¡¹

    Well, it was normal to think there weren¡¯t any copies of something personally drawn for someone.

    However, this picture book had gotten copied and duplicated, and I also happened to have a copy on me, so I could easily show it to her.

    Still, Fina might not want Noa to see the contents of the picture book, because the girl was so clearly modelled off of her. Maybe I should discuss it with Fina first?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I must say, you are really talented. You¡¯re a strong adventurer, you open up shops and can cook well. Now I learn you¡¯re even drawing picture books.¡¹

    I was able to be an adventurer only thanks to my overpowered equipment, and I was only good at cooking because my parents had never been home and I had to fend for myself. The drawings were based on the practices I had done when I was young (which had really only been a few years ago).

    For the second day of the school festival, I decided to give one vote each to the sword dance, the ensemble, and the singing princess.

    The y was good as well, but the plot had a couple of bad points to it, so I decided it would be the one left out.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The second day ended without any trouble, and then Noa found out about the picture books.

    I haven¡¯t decided what to do with the picture books yet.

    We¡¯re finally reaching the third day, though!

    With it the school festival ising to an end.

 Chapter 272 â€“ Bear-san Returns To Being a Bear

    We returned to the mansion and were greeted by Suririna-san, who was quite surprised to see me wearing a uniform.

    ¡¸Yuna-sama, you look just like a regr student in the uniform.¡¹

    It had been a while since somebodyst called me normal.

    ¡¸Still, is it rude of me to think that maybe your bear costume suits you better?¡¹

    Yes, it was rude.

    I was still just a fifteen-year-old maiden, after all. I didn¡¯t think there were any girls who would be happy to hear they looked good in a Bear Suit.

    Yet, even with meining as such in my head, I still decided to change back into the Bear Suit the moment I returned to the guest room.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re going to change?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I mean, we are not at the festival anymore, are we?¡¹

    Since I was back at the mansion, I wanted to change into something I could rx in. Moreover, I couldn¡¯t simply wear the uniform forever, right?

    I took off the uniform, retrieved my Bear Suit form the Bear Box, and put it back on.

    The softness and warmth that came with it made me loosen up immediately. This was the best outfit to rx in, even though that wasn¡¯t something I should be admitting to myself. No matter how I looked at it, I did indeed feel mostfortable in my Bear Suit.

    This outfit made me feel safe, softly wrapping and protecting me from foreign entities.

    This was God¡¯s curse for sure...

    ¡¸The Bear Outfit is nice and all, but I wish you had stayed in the uniform a little while longer.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really mind wearing it that much, but I just couldn¡¯t stay calm in it. Also, I would probably have to wear it tomorrow as well, so Noa shouldn¡¯t be too disappointed. I had promised Shia not to stand out, after all, so I most likely didn¡¯t have any other choice but to wear it again.

    I had spent the whole day today wearing a uniform and nobody had called me ¡¸Bear¡¹, pointed at me, mobbed me like those children yesterday, and most importantly, didn¡¯t make fun of me.

    Still, for some reason, it had felt as if the boys were gazing at me every now and then. Perhaps I really was getting overly self-conscious after suffering so much due to the Bear Suit.

    Those gazes had most likely been directed at Tilia, who had walked next to me most of the time. That must be why it had felt like I had been getting stared at. I had been just an unknown student, while Tilia was the princess of the country. Of course people would look at her.

    Yeah, I had just been overly self-conscious, mistaking the nces meant for Tilia to be meant for myself.

    After I was finished changing, I noticed the girls were already ying cards with Misa. Gran-san woulde get Misa here once he was done, apparently.

    ¡¸Okay, I have a pair of threes.¡¹

    Fina said and ced two cards into the middle.

    It looked like they were ying Old Maid.

    ¡¸I have the Bear-san card. I should be happy that the Bear-san card came to me, but I will lose if I keep it.¡¹

    Everybody called the joker ¡®Bear-san¡¯. They also called the kings ¡®Bear King¡¯, the queens ¡®Bear Queen¡¯, and the jacks ¡®Bear Knight¡¯.

    They weren¡¯t necessarily wrong as the drawings did have Bears on them. Normal cards, however, weren¡¯t called in such a way. Still, I couldn¡¯t find a good way to exin that, so I simply let it continue without correcting them.

    After they yed for a while, the adventurer Marina came to get Misa.

    ¡¸Marina, you¡¯re here, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m here as Gran-sama¡¯s and Misana-sama¡¯s escort. Misana-sama, did you have fun today?¡¹

    After Marina greeted us, she turned to Misa to ask about her day.

    ¡¸Mhm, I had a lot of fun.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good to hear. Thank you for taking care of her today, Yuna. We would love to let Misana-sama stay here a little longer, but we have to head back tomorrow.¡¹

    Well, that couldn¡¯t be helped, since Gran-san only came to the capital because of his work. Misa already knew this and wasn¡¯t acting selfishly. She obediently went to say goodbye to the other girls.

    ¡¸Noa-oneesama, when I visit Crimonia next time, please take me around town.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯ll be waiting. I will bring you to all sorts of ces.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, let¡¯s meet again.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. If you happen toe to Crimonia, I¡¯ll bring you around as well.¡¹

    ¡¸See you soon, Misa-neechan.¡¹

    They made a promise to meet her in Crimonia.

    ¡¸Okay, I will invite you to my shop when you visit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, please. I will definitelye.¡¹

    Misa happily agreed before leaving with Marina. Shortly after she left, Shia and Eleanora-san came home.

    ¡¸Listen to this. His Majesty skipped out on work and went with Flora-sama to the school festival. Can you believe it? Thanks to that, all of his work came to me, and it was awful. I wanted to go to the school festival, too...¡¹

    Eleanora-sanined to us over dinner.

    The queen had mentioned that the king skipped out on his work, but it seemed like the receiving end hadn¡¯t been the hard-working prince, after all. It had actually been Eleanora-san who took the brunt of it.

    When Noa mentioned that we had met him on his outing, Eleanora-san pouted even harder.

    I understood how she felt but instead of saying it like Flora was being taken, shouldn¡¯t she put it in a better way, like ¡®escort¡¯?

    ¡¸Anyway... Did you girls have fun at the festival today?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we had a lot of fun. We listened to a concert, and the y after was really moving.¡¹

    ¡¸The singing princess¡¯ song was really amazing and beautiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to Tilia-sama bringing us with her, we got to watch all of it from a special area reserved for royalty.¡¹

    The three of them told Eleanora-san about their favorite parts. Fina had finally gotten used to Eleanora-san in these past couple of days. At first, she was still very nervous, but now, she could speak normally.

    Well, Eleanora-san was a kind person, so it was easy to getfortable around her. asionally, she did say and do some unbelievable things, but looking past that, she was a really nice person as a whole.

    ¡¸I see... I¡¯m d the two of you had fun. Noa, you must have had more fun than you would by yourself, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Mother. I¡¯m very grateful that you invited the two of them to the festival.¡¹

    True, if Fina and Shuri weren¡¯t here, it would have been just Noa and me. The programs were way more fun when enjoyed as a group. It was great that Fina had managed to make new friends. If it had been my old self, I would have rather gone alone, but now I preferred to go with these girls, whom I loved dearly.

    Thinking about it like this, I really had to thank Eleanora-san for inviting the two of them along.

    ¡¸By the way, how did it go on your end, Shia?¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks to the bear statue Yuna-san made for us and the help Tilia-sama gave us, customers kepting, and we sold quite a bit.¡¹

    Shia proceeded to exin to Eleanora-san about how the Bear statue and Tilia had brought in so many customers that it had be a huge problem to deal with the crowd.

    ¡¸Fufu, of course that would happen. When Tilia-sama calls for people, they are sure to gather.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think it would be that many, though.¡¹

    Yeah, even when we had just been walking around with Tilia, the people¡¯s gazes had more often than not been attracted to us.

    ¡¸Mother, do you have to work tomorrow as well?¡¹

    ¡¸I will be going to the academy with His Majesty tomorrow, so we may be able to meet up.¡¹

    So, the king would be visiting the academy tomorrow, huh. I should prepare myself for him to approach us. If he told me that I looked weird in my outfit again, I would be sad for sure. Also, the royal family would surely stand out a lot, especially if the king acted lovingly towards Flora-sama in front of everybody.

    ¡¸Well, everyone seems to be having fun, so I¡¯m not that distraught over not meeting with you today.¡¹

    We had checked out many attractions, ate plenty of delicious foods, and even visited a theatre. We had most certainly had a lot of fun.

    ¡¸Yes, but even with all the attractions, I think that the most shocking thing today was seeing Yuna-san in a uniform. She looked so cute in it.¡¹

    Noa suddenly blurted out.

    Just what was she saying?

    ¡¸Uniform?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Yuna-san wore Onee-sama¡¯s uniform today during the festival. Her usual Bear-san costume is nice and all, but the uniform suited her quite well, too.¡¹

    ¡¸Shia said my Bear Outfit stood out too much and made me change clothes...¡¹

    Well, thanks to the uniform, nobody had pointed at me or called me a Bear, so I couldn¡¯t reallyin.

    ¡¸The people passing by were all still looking at Yuna-san, though.¡¹

    ¡¸They were looking at Tilia because she¡¯s a princess, no?¡¹

    I had felt some nces on us, but I was pretty sure they were meant for Tilia, not me. There was no reason to look at me when I wasn¡¯t wearing my Bear Suit, after all.

    ¡¸I think some of them were looking at Tilia-sama as well, but I¡¯m almost certain most were focused on you.¡¹

    Noa said and looked at Fina and Shuri to see if they agreed with her.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true.¡¹

    I objected and also looked at them. There was just no reason for people to look at me.

    ¡¸Um, I think they were looking at both of you.¡¹

    ¡¸But why would they look at me? Tilia is a princess, so of course they would look at her. If I¡¯m not wearing my Bear Suit, what reason do people have to even pay attention to me? ¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s probably because you are pretty, Yuna-onechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, you sure know how to tter people already. You don¡¯t have to do it with me, though. They were probably looking at me like because they were curious about the student walking together with a princess.¡¹

    I had been wearing a uniform, after all. If they had been looking at me, they had probably thought something like¡¸Who¡¯s that student walking together with Tilia-sama?¡¹

    Still, why did both Fina and Noa look surprised when I said that, clearly not knowing how to respond?

    ¡¸Yuna-chan in a uniform, huh? I wish I could see that.¡¹

    ¡¸I will be wearing it tomorrow as well, so you can see it then.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? In that case, I will be looking forward to it.¡¹

    I was only going to wear the uniform during the time I was at the academy, so I didn¡¯t really have to tell her that, but it was likely she would see me in it anyway.

    The next day came around, and I put on the uniform I had borrowed from Shia again so that we could go to the academy. Since Shia had taught me how to put it on yesterday, I could change without any problem now. Once I was done, I didn¡¯t forget to put on the Bear Hands and Feet, of course.

    Still, not having my Bear Suit on made me nervous.

    Without it, I couldn¡¯t take attacks easily. The defense power of the suit was so high that I could even withstand attacks from the ck Viper. Hence, I didn¡¯t feelpletely safe with only my feet and gloves on, but at least I could use magic, swing a sword, and summon my Bears. Still, there should be no danger at the school festival, so I just had to stay out of trouble for the duration of it.

    ¡¸I had also thought this when I saw you wear a dress, but clothes really do change people, don¡¯t they?¡¹

    Eleanora-san gave her opinion of me wearing a uniform.

    Basically, she was saying that ¡®clothes made a person¡¯, right?

    ¡¸You can¡¯t beat my daughters, though.¡¹

    Noa and Shia were both cute, so I wished she didn¡¯tpare me to them.

    Eleanora-san, satisfied for having seen me wearing the uniform, headed off towards the castle after reminding us that she would be attending the festival with the kingter in the day. I very much hoped we wouldn¡¯t run into them...

    Author¡¯s Note:

    She managed to change back into her Bear Suit only to go back to the uniform again...

    Next chapter will be the third day of the school festival.

 Chapter 273 â€“ Bear-san Watches Students Perform Magic

    Today, Shia would be joining us in our stroll around the festival, so we headed for the academy together.

    ¡¸We get to go with Onee-sama today!¡¹

    Noa eximed as she happily walked alongside her sister. If Eleanora-san was here, they would make aplete set. After all, Eleanora-san looked younger than she was, so they would look more like three sisters standing next to each other. Nobody would think she was actually their mother and near 35 years old.

    Once we arrived at the academy, we first headed over to Shia¡¯s stand to say hello. Shia took the opportunity to help set up the stand as their friends would onlye in the middle of the day.

    ¡¸Okay, we¡¯lle back by early afternoon.¡¹

    They hadn¡¯t had a chance to look around on the first day, and it had been Cattleya¡¯s and Timor¡¯s turn to look around on the second. It was only today that Shia and Marcus got the chance of their own.

    ¡¸You can leave the stall to us, so go and have some fun.¡¹

    We saw off Marcus together then left the stand with Shia as our guide today. We wanted Shia to take us to the ces she wanted to visit, as we had already had our chance to choose the previous two days.

    ¡¸Where are we going?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking of going around the food stands first, but soon after Yuna-san came by yesterday, my friends brought over even more refreshments from the stands, so I already got my fill.¡¹

    It seemed like I hadn¡¯t been the only one to think of the refreshments idea.

    Unlike me, Shia had a lot of friends due to her being friendly and outgoing.

    It made sense for her not to crave festival food anymore, and instead, want to visit other attractions.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a bit early, but one of the friends who helped out at the stand yesterday is going to have a match against some knights from the castle, and I was thinking of going to watch. Think you would enjoy that?¡¹

    Naturally, we had no reason to reject the idea, so it was decided that we would go and see the match first.

    ¡¸It won¡¯t be much of a match with students fighting the knights, right?¡¹

    Students versus knights sounded like quite an uneven match.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a serious, all-out match. The students who are participating are all aiming to be knights in the future, so getting to practice against actual knights from the castle is a great opportunity for them. Think of it more like practice fights. Well, the students want to know how strong they are, so they will most likely try their hardest.¡¹

    So there were things like that in this world too, huh? It did sound quite interesting. Actually, I would be more interested in fighting the knights myself, but watching other people fight should be quite enjoyable as well.

    ¡¸While you might get bored watching the fight, Yuna-san, there is also a magic presentation beforehand.¡¹

    ¡¸There will be magic, Onee-sama?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Noa. You said you wanted to see some magic, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I did say that. Thank you very much , Onee-sama!¡¹

    We walked for a bit before reaching an area known as the Number 1 Practice Grounds. It was one of the three training zas in the academy. I thought about this before, but this campus sure was huge.

    ¡¸Speaking of magic, are you able to use it as well Noa?¡¹

    I had never seen or heard about her using it before, so maybe she couldn¡¯t yet?

    I knew Shia could use magic, though.

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t been taught how to use it yet, so no.¡¹

    Oh, so she wasn¡¯t taught it yet.

    ¡¸Do you have to learn magic at the academy?¡¹

    ¡¸They do teach it at the academy, but some parents will start to teach their children beforehand.¡¹

    In this fantasy world, each and every person had a certain amount of magical energy. They used it to activate magic stones and other magic appliances for their daily lives. However, only those who had a lot of magical energy could use magic to perform spells.

    ¡¸Cliff and Eleanora-san don¡¯t teach you?¡¹

    ¡¸They said they would teach me before I attend the academy, but I¡¯m not sure when that will be.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, so that¡¯s how it is. Isn¡¯t it better to teach someone from a young age, though?¡¹

    In many reincarnated-into-another-world-as-overpowered-being stories, the main characters would begin learning magic at a very young age after reincarnating and end up beingpletely overpowered by the time they grew up. They either had an unbelievable amount of magical energy or were simply able to use many different kinds of magic. With such a setting in mind, training magic at a young age should be a good idea, no?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, what are you saying? If you use magic at a young age, it will burden the body to the point where your magical capabilities will be crippled when get older.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t have used magic in my former world and was only able to use it aftering here, so I didn¡¯t know that.

    It wasn¡¯t written in the beginner¡¯s book I had bought soon aftering here, either. It had only taught me the basics of using magic, not when it was appropriate to start learning it.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why children shouldn¡¯t use magic until they¡¯re at least ten years old. It was usually best to start learning magic when you are ten to twelve years old. To be able to use magic to such an extent at your age is amazing, Yuna-san.¡¹

    Oh, so that must be why people often made fun of me for being ¡®just a brat¡¯ when I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Well, the main reason was still probably my outfit.

    This had to also be why the age requirement for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was thirteen years old, huh. In that case, there should be no such thing as genius little girls who could use magic in this world. How unfortunate for a fantasy world such as this. I was hoping I could meet some genius children gifted in magic.

    Still, I now understood why I had never seen any children use magic before. This also exined why Noa had never once asked me to teach her magic, even though I had thought it wouldn¡¯t have been weird for her to do so. It all made sense now.

    Still, I wondered why it was bad for children to use magic. Hmm, it wasn¡¯t like that could be exined using science; it was magic, after all.

    ¡¸Even if I could use magic, I have no idea how much magical energy I have.¡¹

    It was written in the beginner¡¯s book that people who didn¡¯t have enough magical energy couldn¡¯t effectively use magic, so I hoped she did have enough.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. Father, Mother, and I can all use magic, so I¡¯m sure you will be able as well, Noa.¡¹

    Shia tried to make Noa feel better. I did recall seeing Eleanora-san use magic during Misa¡¯s kidnapping case, but had no idea Cliff could use it, too.

    Was the amount of magic energy inherited, then?

    I recalled hearing about how Terumi-san had been an adventurer in the past, so did that mean she could use magic?

    ¡¸Fina, can Terumi-san use magic?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I heard that she can use it a little bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, maybe you and Shuri can both use magic as well.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted for them to be able to use magic, though.

    If they could use it, I would be troubled if they suddenly told me that they wanted to be adventurers. I didn¡¯t want for them to go for such a dangerous upation, and I was sure Fina didn¡¯t want her little sister to do something like that, either. Still, Fina was doing a lot of dismantling work for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so she was already pretty close to bing an adventurer... If any of them told me that they wanted to be an adventurer, I would get Terumi-san and Gentz-san to stop them.

    I patted Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan?¡¹

    Fina tilted her head in surprise at my sudden patting.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    I smiled back at her, making her even more bewildered.

    Thinking about Fina and Shuri¡¯s future, I looked over the za and saw two students chanting magic against the targets. A fireball and earth bullet flew from their hands, burning and breaking their targets respectively.

    ¡¸People who can¡¯t use magic don¡¯t get to see it in action very often, so this program is quite popr.¡¹

    Perhaps they were taking into ount the dangerous aspect of it, but neither of them was using particrly powerful magic. Well, it was also possible they couldn¡¯t use it.

    ¡¸I want to be able to use magic soon, too.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t until you get permission from Father and Mother.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I want to be able to use magic like you, Onee-sama, so I won¡¯t do it until it¡¯s safe.¡¹

    Next came two students who used wind and water magic respectively, so things got more exciting. Of course, neither used ice magic. Maybe it was too difficult for them, after all?

    As we continued to watch them peacefully, there was suddenly amotion quite close to us.

    ¡¸What¡¯s going on?¡¹

    We looked at where the noise wasing from, and saw that the king was on his promised walk. Next to him was Tilia in her school uniform, and two knights protecting them.

    I had looked around for Flora-sama and the queen, but I didn¡¯t see them. Had they note to the festival today?

    ¡¸...?!¡¹

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    Both Noa and I noticed Eleanora-san walking just behind the king. Eleanora-san smiled and waved at us.

    The girls all waved back, which seemed to make her very happy.

    ¡¸What a coincidence.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you escorting His Majesty?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we could say that. His Majesty wanted to witness the students¡¯ strength personally. Well, he honestly doesn¡¯t need toe to the school festival to check something like that, and we just used it as an excuse for him to be able to get out of the castle.¡¹

    Using it as an excuse to sightsee, huh?

    Sometimes this king had me worried... Well, even though his personality was a bit of a problem, at least his son was a serious person, so the next king should be fine. Still, being the son of a father like him must be tough... I felt bad for the prince, I really did.

    Hmm, thinking about it like this, it actually wasn¡¯t my fault that the king came to see me every time I was at the castle, right? It was all due to his easy-going personality.

    How could he have managed to raise such a responsible son? That must be one of the seven mysteries of the capital.

    ¡¸So, what are you girls doing here?¡¹

    ¡¸One of my friends is aiming to be a knight, so we came here to support and cheer.¡¹

    ¡¸My, that sounds quite fun... ¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked at Shia with suspicion.

    ¡¸Mother, I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something. The friend I¡¯m talking about is a girl.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so?¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked a bit disappointed.

    Well, both male and female students had helped her at the stand, so when she said that one of her friends wanted to be a knight, I also naturally assumed she had been talking about a boy.

    ¡¸By the way, is Marcus not going to be a knight? If I remember correctly, his father is one, no?¡¹

    Marcus also gave off the impression of wanting to join his father¡¯s footsteps.

    ¡¸Marcus had a hard time deciding on whether to join the practice program or not, but in the end, he chose to help us make cotton candy instead.¡¹

    Should he really be doing that?

    ¡¸Well, he said he was okay skipping it since he can practice with knights anytime by simply asking his dad.¡¹

    Well, he could always just practice against his father, couldn¡¯t he?

    ¡¸If he found out that His Majesty came here, though, I think he would regret not joining the practice. You don¡¯t get many chances to have His Majesty witness your skills, after all.¡¹

    Yeah, a king didn¡¯t get many chances to see how his subjects were doing, and that included the students of the academy. It could beparable to a chance to leave an impression on a CEO of my former world.

    It was said that an employee would have a hard time seeding in their career if they couldn¡¯t even get their superior to remember them.

    Hmm, didn¡¯t that mean that getting the royal family to remember me (as a Bear), made me somewhat amazing?

    Then again, with such a royal family, it didn¡¯t really make me overly happy that they remembered me...

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I know it¡¯s a bitte, but we finally got to talk about the possibility of Noa and Fina using magic.

    I wonder what they will be capable of in the future. lol

 Chapter 274 â€“ Bear-san Watches Practice Matches

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, don¡¯t you have to stay with His Majesty?¡¹

    Eleanora-san hadn¡¯t followed the king, but rather, sat down next to us.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. The knights are with him to keep him safe while I just apanied him to make sure he doesn¡¯t do anything reckless.¡¹

    She said reckless, but wasn¡¯t she the same way? With two people like them, wouldn¡¯t things just get even worse? Well, it should be fine as long as they kept each other in check. I was pretty sure that, in His Majesty¡¯s eyes, he believed that he was the one who came here to make sure Eleanora-san didn¡¯t do something stupid.

    It was interesting that they didn¡¯t realize they thought so simrly about each other.

    As we watched the magic practice, some of the participating students noticed the king watching them and became motivated. A few of them even tried using stronger magic, but someone who looked like a teacher immediately stepped in to stop them.

    A part of me really wanted to see the stronger magic, but I understood why it was dangerous.

    Since they put an end to using strong magic the students tried to show-off their ability to cast many spells. That lowered their uracy, so it ended with them fizzling out to a weak ending. A few students even ended up having to sit down because they ran out of magical energy.

    I don¡¯t know if they just had small amounts of magical energy to begin with, or if they used it poorly, but I felt like there was no point in trying to appeal with such magic unless they were able to do it sessfully.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, will you participate as well?¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked me as we watched the students try their best.

    ¡¸I¡¯m okay, thank you. I¡¯m not a student here anyway.¡¹

    There was no reason for me to use magic in front of other people. That would only make me stand out, so there really was no merit in it for me.

    ¡¸Nobody will know that you aren¡¯t since you are wearing the uniform.¡¹

    ¡¸I would still prefer to refuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, too bad, then...¡¹

    ¡¸By the way, how strong are theypared to the other students?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... Amongst the students, they should be slightly above average. Those with strong magic wouldn¡¯t participate in this program.¡¹

    The magic practice finished soon after, and all the students who disyed their magic today stood in front of the king and bowed. He simply responded ¡¸Continue to do your best,¡¹but the students still looked very happy as they left the area.

    They were so happy to hear words of encouragement from the king even though in reality he was just an old man who skipped out on work and wouldn¡¯t shut up about food. For those students who didn¡¯t know his true self, the king must look like a splendid ruler who had taken the time to see his subjects, though.

    Well, when I first met him, I had also thought that he was a splendid ruler, but after getting to know him better, that image had beenpletely shattered.

    After the students who had showcased magic left the stage, a new group of students wearing protective equipment came up.

    Were they the students aiming to be knights?

    Perhaps it was due to the presence of the king, but I noticed they looked quite nervous. The students all lined up in front of the king and bowed then began practice matches against each other. Instead of having them all battle at once, they showcased one fight at a time.

    I took the chance to inspect the students waiting for their turn more closely and saw that there were only three girls.

    ¡¸There really aren¡¯t many girls, huh.¡¹

    On the other hand, there were about twenty male students.

    ¡¸That¡¯s because girls usually don¡¯t aim to be knights. The male knights don¡¯t respect them, either, so only very few decide to pursue such an upation.¡¹

    ¡¸Then why are those three even aiming to do so, if it¡¯s that bad?¡¹

    Could it be that they were actually masochists?

    ¡¸You see, when Her Highness got married to His Majesty, she said she would rather have female knights guarding her than male ones. At that time, all knights were men, but due to her wishes, it is now possible for women to be knights as well and be the guards of Her Highness.¡¹

    Well, considering the issue a bit more, men were usually stronger, but I didn¡¯t know how far they would go in regards to guarding the queen. If they went so far as to closely follow her around everywhere she went, then of course they would be a nuisance. Thinking about it like that, I could kind of understand the queen¡¯s feelings.

    ¡¸Also, when Tilia-sama was born, they thought it would be nice to have women protecting her as well. Of course, when ites to battling monsters or going to war, men are the better choice, so male knights remain as therge majority, but with more females in the royal family, we still need more female knights to protect them. The three girls aiming to be knights all want to be a personal knight of Tilia-sama.¡¹

    Bing Tilia¡¯s personal knights, huh? I could somewhat understand why they might want to do that. Even though I had only met Tilia two days ago, I found her to be a bright, innocent girl who was kind even tomoners. When she had shown up at a stand, everybody there looked very happy, so it was clear they all adored her. It was only logical that the girls wanted to be one of the pirs which would support her in the future.

    ¡¸So, Shia, your friend is aiming to be one of Tilia¡¯s personal knights, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Ever since Tilia-sama called out to her, my friend has been idolizing her. She has been swinging her sword until her hands are covered with blisters, all in order to train up for this day. I honestly think she is happier to see Tilia-sama here than His Majesty himself.¡¹

    I looked over at the girls aiming to be knights. and it seemed like one of them was actually looking at Tilia rather than the king sitting right next to her.

    ¡¸By the way, Shia, can¡¯t magicians be guards as well?¡¹

    I figured there must be some guards who had be magicians instead of knights.

    ¡¸They can, of course. At first, the queen¡¯s guards were all female magicians, but those who couldn¡¯t use magic had to be knights instead. Also, if the queen were toe under attack, a sword would oftentimes be quicker to protect her than magic. Hence, she normally has both magicians and knights guarding her.¡¹

    Could Shia¡¯s friend maybe not use magic, then?

    As we were talking, the first match finished, and a female student with short hair was up next.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, that girl over there is my friend, Rinea.¡¹

    As the match began, Rinea swung her thin sword with all her might, exchanging powerful blows with the male student she was facing.

    Their swords shed countless times, but we could all see that Rinea was slowly getting pushed back.

    This was definitely due to the difference in physical ability, which should be the main reason why men were more likely to be knights and soldiers.

    Rinea lost soon after, and they moved on to the next match.

    ¡¸Why, if it isn¡¯t Eleanora-dono. You¡¯re even observing matches in this sorts of ces?¡¹

    Just as the third match ended, an armor-d man, who looked to be in his forties, called out to Eleanora-san. The moment she heard his voice, Eleanora-san¡¯s face twisted into a disgusted expression, while the man just kept up his grin.

    I clearly remembered that ugly grin; it was the man who had red at Eleanora-san and Noa when we visited the knight practice grounds at the castle.

    ¡¸Lord Rutum, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸My knights were appointed to help out these students as their mock battle opponents, you see.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t receive any information about that. It should have been the Fourth Chivalric Order.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Perhaps there was some mimunication.¡¹

    The way he smiled sure made it sound like he was lying and knew exactly what was going on.

    ¡¸So, this must be your daughter, Lady Shia, I presume?¡¹

    He asked, setting his gaze on Shia, who jumped and shivered slightly.

    ¡¸Shouldn¡¯t you be watching your knights instead of talking with us? Or, do you have some urgent business with me? ¡¹

    Eleanora-san asked while moving to shield Shia with her body.

    ¡¸I shouldn¡¯t have to say this, Eleanora-dono, but my subordinates are all excellent knights, so I have no need to watch over them. I approached you because I saw that both you and Lady Shia were here, and I wanted to bring up my request again. The betrothal for my son, I mean... ¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸¡¸...!¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹

    Something preposterous just came out of his mouth.

    By betrothal, he meant marriage, right?

    ¡¸I believe I have already rejected that offer.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I still think they make a good match.¡¹

    ¡¸Your position is not the problem, but a certain other thing.¡¹

    ¡¸And what would that be?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, you really don¡¯t know? Well, it¡¯s the fact that I hate you.¡¹

    I understood her feelings, but wasn¡¯t that a little too blunt even for her?

    ¡¸My, what a coincidence. I also hate you.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m d we feel the same way about each other.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Fu, Fu, Fu.¡¹¡¹

    They ended upughing together.

    Just what was wrong with these two?

    ¡¸Well then, fellow hater, let us move forward and leave this conversation about marriage between our children behind.¡¹

    ¡¸You know, I heard some strange rumorstely. It seems that Crimonia¡¯s lord dug a tunnel through a mountain to have a straight path to the ocean and has begun trading with the town on the other side.¡¹

    ¡¸My, where did you hear such a story?¡¹

    ¡¸I happened upon it when I researched the town that my son¡¯s fiance has her roots in, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh dear, when did my daughter be your son¡¯s fiance? We already have ns to find a good groom for Shia, so she¡¯s not up for taking anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸Just make my son her groom, then. The Rnd family will support this rtionship.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, but we aren¡¯t interested.¡¹

    I could almost see the sparks flying between the two of them.

    ¡¸Still, I must ask: how exactly did they dig a tunnel through a mountain? Also, did they really discover a cave while they were at it?¡¹

    ¡¸Who knows? I don¡¯t have to tell you.¡¹

    I was the one who had dug the tunnel, of course. I was d that Cliff¡¯s order not to reveal the fact had kept the information in check so far.

    ¡¸But aren¡¯t we on good terms with each other? Why don¡¯t you tell me?¡¹

    ¡¸My, and here I thought that our rtionship was actually bad.¡¹

    ¡¸You have taken care of my younger brother, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it ended in such an unfortunate ident.¡¹

    ¡¸An ident indeed. To think that bandits broke into his house and killed him... ¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸Fu, Fu, Fu.¡¹¡¹

    They both ended upughing again.

    I was done with trying to follow this conversation. I noticed that at this point, Shia and Noa were both hiding behind Eleanora-san while Fina and Shuri were holding on to my uniform.

    It really wasn¡¯t good for children to hear such twisted conversations between adults.

    ¡¸We should prevent such an ident from ever happening again. My son, for instance, could...¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for the offer, but Cliff has strengthened the protection of the town since then, so there¡¯s no need for you to worry about such things happening anymore.¡¹

    Their smiles started to turn scary.

    ¡¸Lady Shia, could I confirm this with you? Perhaps if you would like to take my son as your groom, then maybe we can change your mother¡¯s opinion on the matter?¡¹

    Rutum turned his scary smile at Shia, who could barely be seen from behind Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Won¡¯t you at least consider marrying my son? He has the strength of a knight, and will protect you with his life.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I humbly refuse the offer.¡¹

    Shia was clearly scared, but she managed to gather her courage and rejected his offer.

    ¡¸Now, now. You don¡¯t have to decide so soon. Why don¡¯t you take some time and meet him first?¡¹

    ¡¸Please stop what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯re scaring my daughter.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and hid Shia behind her again.

    Seeing there was nothing more he could do at the moment, Rutum¡¯s gaze returned to the matches in the za.

    ¡¸Oh, it looks like my knights are about to begin their mock battles. You might change your mind after you watch the matches.¡¹

    We turned back to the za and saw that a student was just bowing at one of the knights. Not a momentter, the first battle began.

    As the student attacked, the knight simply blocked and didn¡¯t strike back. The knight was mostly letting the student show off what he could do and would only counter-attack if the student left too obvious of an opening. The knight was able to clearly show the difference in strength and ability this way.

    As I watched the fight, I reminisced of the times I had fought against other yers in the online game. It had been very fun to adjust my fighting style depending on my opponents.

    There were those who focused everything on the strength of their attacks, costing them all their speed. In contrast, there were also those who had a great deal of speed, but little power. There were all kinds of different builds, each resulting in a unique fighting style.

    ¡¸One of the female students ising up next. I sure hope she doesn¡¯t get hurt.¡¹

    Rutum said and showed his nasty smile again.

    The match finished soon after, and Shia¡¯s friend, Rinea, was about to start her next match.

    ¡¸You... You did something, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, when I took the request to have my knights participate in the battles, I had heard that there were a few girls aiming to be female knights even though being a knight is a man¡¯s job. If women want to be guards so badly, they should stick to being magicians.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re still saying things like that? You should stop looking down on female knights.¡¹

    ¡¸Most of the female knights that we have right now are just for show. They are too weak to protect their masters. We can¡¯t continue to let people like that bear the title of a knight.¡¹

    ¡¸Female guards are required for Tilia-sama and Flora-sama as per order of His Majesty. Or, are you trying to go against this order?¡¹

    Well, I could somewhat understand the argument Rutum was trying to make, though.

    Watching the previous matches, it was clear that the boys were generally stronger; the girls simply didn¡¯t have enough strength topete with them. Still, the girls were generally quicker, and there were many ways to fight without relying on physical strength alone, hence they should be able to be knights if they tried hard enough.

    ¡¸Of course not. But, what if a female student aiming to be a knight got demolished in a match, right in front of His Majesty? Then, maybe he would change his mind?¡¹

    ¡¸Lord Rutum, what are you saying...?¡¹

    ¡¸If she ended up injured, then the other girls might no longer want to be knights, no?¡¹

    ¡¸Rinea!¡¹

    Shia shouted towards her friend in the za, as she watched her ready her sword, about to begin her match against one of the knights.

    ¡¸I really hope your friend doesn¡¯t suffer any serious injuries.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you threatening us?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. I just want His Majesty to see the reality of the situation.¡¹

    Yet again, Rutum¡¯s nasty smile spread across his face.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And there you have it, the man they met at the castle has unexpectedly re-entered the scene.

    I think the next chapter will go as one might expect from me. (Still, I do ask you not to write down your predictions in thements as some might notpletely know what to expect.)

    I notice this a lot, but when writing a story, setting the proper ¡¸conclusion¡¹to Æð³ÐÜž½Y is quite difficult. Even though I have already decided on how the plot is supposed to end, it is hard to put that ending part together.

    (TN: Kumano is talking about the ½Y, which is thest character in Æð³ÐÜž½Y. The full idiom stands for ¡°introduction, development, turn, and conclusion¡±.)

    (Releaser¡¯s note: The author¡¯s note applies to you guys too. Please don¡¯t post excessively urate predictions in yourments!

 Chapter 275 â€“ Bear-san Does Her Best for the Forscheroze Family

    Rinea and the knight were just about to cross their swords when...

    ¡¸I really hope your friend doesn¡¯t suffer any serious injuries.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you threatening us?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course not. I just want His Majesty to see the reality of the situation.¡¹

    ¡¸If the student gets hurt, you will have to take responsibility.¡¹

    ¡¸If that happens, of course I will sincerely apologize. I will tell His Majesty that, unfortunately, my knight must have been unable to hold back his strength sufficiently since she was weaker than he had expected. I will then exin that, to be a knight, a greater amount of strength is necessary and share my opinion that knights should only be men. Any women that wish to protect the royal family should aim to be magicians instead.¡¹

    As Rutum told us this, Rinea attacked her opponent, but the knight easily parried her attack and, with a nudge of his hand, ripped her sword out of her arms, sending it flying to the ground. Rinea gritted her teeth to bear the pain in her arms, and picked up her sword to continue the fight.

    ¡¸I wonder how long she will be able to hold on for.¡¹

    ¡¸You...¡¹

    ¡¸After this, she might never be able to pick up a sword again.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to stop the match!¡¹

    Shia said and started to make her way towards the stage.

    ¡¸Will you be able to get there before my knight gets in an actual attack? I wonder who¡¯s quicker.¡¹

    Shia stopped dead in her tracks.

    ¡¸If somebody tries to approach them during the match... I think you understand why that would be a bad idea.¡¹

    Rutum continued and looked at Shia with that twisted smile of his.

    I wanted to smack the smile off his face so badly. Would it be okay if I actually did it? Eleanora-san would probably get in trouble for it...

    Mu, mu, mu, mu... this was so annoying. If only I could release my anger somehow...

    I whispered to Fina and Shuri to let go of my uniform, and to stand behind me, so that I could be free to make a move at any time.

    ¡¸Why don¡¯t we make a deal? If you ept the engagement to my son, I will order the knight to stop. How about that?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I would allow such a ridiculous bargain?¡¹

    ¡¸Perhaps your daughter sees it differently?¡¹

    Eleanora-san rejected Rutum¡¯s demand outright, but Shia looked conflicted as she watched her friend in pain.

    I took a quick look back at the match. The knight looked as if he was about to be hit by Rinea¡¯s attack but then he forcefully moved his sword. His strong thrust shed against Rinea¡¯s sword, and swept it aside easily. The knight then swung his sword downwards, forcing Rinea to block his strike with her own sword. He continued to swing his sword again and again, leaving Rinea in a lot of pain as she tried her best to block it, eventually losing the grip on her sword. Not wanting to give up, she picked her sword while gritting her teeth, and stood up to face him again.

    This time, the knight didn¡¯t waste time, and used brute force to tackle her down.

    ¡¸I will fight on her behalf!¡¹

    Shia shouted at Rutum.

    ¡¸I just have to win, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Fu, fu, fu. I know that you are an excellent student, but there is no way you can win against a trained knight.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t know until I try!¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, I won¡¯t allow this!¡¹

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    Hmm...

    If Shia used magic against a melee opponent, she had a chance to win as long as she kept her distance. Still, the moment the knight reached her, she would be done for.

    ¡¸Alright, how about we agree on this? If Lady Shia wins, then I won¡¯t do anything to that girl aiming to be a knight. However, if Lady Shia loses, she will have to marry my son.¡¹

    ¡¸That...¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, and how about pairing my youngest son with your younger sister, Lady Noa? Don¡¯t you think it would be wonderful to have both sisters marry into the family?¡¹

    When Noa heard her name mentioned by Rutum, she shivered noticeably.

    This conversation was heading in a very bad direction.

    Just a bit more, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold myself back anymore.

    ¡¸If I win against that knight, will you stop trying to prevent women from bing knights?¡¹

    ¡¸Shia!¡¹

    Eleanora-san yelled at her, exasperated.

    ¡¸Sure, I can agree to that. However, if you lose, you will have to marry my son.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t do this.¡¹

    Elenora-san tried to stop Shia from going through with it.

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    ¡¸Then, how about I fight for you, instead?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san?¡¹

    At this point, I could no longer let this guy get off easily. He was trying to force both Shia and Noa into marriage, so he had to pay.

    ¡¸And, who are you, youngdy? This is a discussion between the Forscheroze and Rnd families. I would prefer for outsiders to keep out of it.¡¹

    I naturally ignored his remark.

    ¡¸In that case, what would happen if I walked down to the arena and wiped out all those precious knights of yours?¡¹

    ¡¸You have a good sense of humor, youngdy.¡¹

    I was pretty serious, though.

    ¡¸Still, we¡¯re discussing matters of potential marriages here. I don¡¯t have the time to y silly games with you. Lady Shia, if you don¡¯t hurry, the girl will lose, and at that point, the deal will be off.¡¹

    ¡¸Yu-Yuna-san. Would you really fight on my behalf?¡¹

    Shia looked at me with a serious expression.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I can win against a knight myself. However, if you fought in my ce...¡¹

    Did that mean that she wanted to let me fight, having her as the wager?

    ¡¸Please help me!¡¹

    Shia requested with a bow.

    I had no problem fighting on her behalf as long as she was okay with it.

    I couldn¡¯t even imagine Shia having to marry the child of a man like Rutum. What was more, he was even trying to drag Noa into it.

    If Shia married that man¡¯s son, Crimonia would be this man¡¯s property.

    My home was in Crimonia. My shop was in Crimonia. The orphans lived in Crimonia. I wasn¡¯t going to let a man like that do what he wanted there. Crimonia was my town!

    Still, to fight with someone¡¯s future in my hands... If it was something that could be undone then I would be fine with it, but marriage wasn¡¯t something easy to cancel.

    I looked at Eleanora-san, unsure of what to do.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t... I won¡¯t let you wager both your lives.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother...¡¹

    ¡¸What if I put something on the line instead?¡¹

    ¡¸And what might that be?¡¹

    ¡¸If Yuna-chan loses, I will step down from my position. I¡¯m sure that would please you greatly, to remove an eyesore like me from standing next to His Majesty.¡¹

    Eleanora-san put forward her own offer and surprised Rutum for the first time.

    ¡¸Do I have your word that you won¡¯t take back what you just said?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will promise you I will do it if Yuna-chan loses.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufu. Great, it¡¯s set then. Still, are you sure about betting your position on the performance of a little girl?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, even if she loses, I will just have to return to the town where my husband is. However, what will you wager if she wins? Will you agree to step down from your position, perhaps? That should make it much easier for us to raise female knights.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu! Hah, fine, I will agree to that. Make sure you keep your promise!¡¹

    ¡¸The same goes for you.¡¹

    Rutum couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter after that.

    The whole situation has be rather out of hand if I had to say.

    ¡¸Lotas!¡¹

    Rutum shouted at the knight who was still battling Rinea, and he stopped his attacks.

    Shia looked very relieved when she saw that the battle had stopped.

    ¡¸Well then, since I can¡¯t trust your verbal promise, I will ask His Majesty to be our witness.¡¹

    Rutum sent us another nasty smile before walking to the king.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sorry for dragging you into this. Rutum has a lot of influence in the court, and I didn¡¯t know what else I could do.¡¹

    Eleanora-san apologized to me the moment he was out of sight.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind it at all, but how far can I go?¡¹

    ¡¸Go as far as you would like. Even if he wins, I will just lose my job, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it too much. I will be able to return to Crimonia and help Cliff in that case.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please don¡¯t let that happen. I will be left all alone in the capital if you do.¡¹

    Shia asked with a sad expression very much in contrast to the optimistic Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸I just have to make sure I win, then.¡¹

    I said and smiled at Shia to reassure her.

    Since I had to win, I decided to take Eleanora-san¡¯s words seriously and go all out.

    ¡¸Just don¡¯t let your guard down. The knights are all very good fighters.¡¹

    Of course I would be careful. Without my Bear Suit, my defense was limited, taking away a bit of my superiority. I had no intention of letting my guard down without my Bear Suit on.

    Not to mention, Eleanora-san¡¯s job was at stake. I could not lose, no matter what.

    We followed behind Rutum and reached the king.

    ¡¸Do you need something of me?¡¹

    ¡¸We have a request, Your Majesty.¡¹

    Rutum adopted a respectful tone when speaking to the king.

    ¡¸We havee to request a match, with our positions as the wager. We would like you to be the witness of it.¡¹

    ¡¸You made a wager?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s correct. If my knight wins, Eleanora-dono will resign from her position. If my knight loses, then I will resign, instead.¡¹

    ¡¸If I lose, then I will just have to return to Cliff.¡¹

    Eleanora said in an almost hopeful tone.

    Was it just me, or did Eleanora-san actually want to return to Crimonia?

    ¡¸You can¡¯t simply decide such a thing by yourself, on a wager no less. As your king, I will not allow it.¡¹

    Well, it seemed like at least someone was thinking straight.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it our right to resign from our positions?¡¹

    Wouldn¡¯t they need an actual reason to resign?

    The king threw a quick nce at me, and it seemed as if he wanted to ask if I was going to be the one fighting, so I gave him a slight nod.

    ¡¸Alright, who will be fighting whom in this wager?¡¹

    His Majesty asked, just to confirm.

    ¡¸My knight, Figo, will fight on my behalf.¡¹

    ¡¸She will be fighting on my behalf.¡¹

    Elenora-san looked at me as she spoke.

    His Majesty turned his gaze to me without changing his expression.

    ¡¸Your Majesty, will you trust her ability to take a spot in this wager?¡¹

    Eleanora-san looked straight in the king¡¯s eyes as she asked him this.

    He looked between her and me for a while, lost in thought, then spoke up.

    ¡¸State your name.¡¹

    My name? He already knew my name, didn¡¯t he? Was he going senile?

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t state your real name.¡¹

    Eleanora-san whispered to me. Oh, I see, that was what they meant.

    Now that I understood what they wanted, I quickly started to think up a name, but it was hard to think of it so suddenly.

    ¡¸My name is Yu...Yuu...Yuuna.¡¹

    His Majesty seemed quite taken aback by my choice of a fake name. It was his fault for putting me on the spot, though. I couldn¡¯t simplye up with a fake name so quickly.

    ¡¸I see, Yuuna, is it? Are you really willing to battle a knight?¡¹

    ¡¸I am willing, for the sake of my friend, Shia-sama.¡¹

    I felt that, given my current act, it was best to add honorifics to Shia¡¯s name.

    ¡¸I see. I will agree to witness this battle, then.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    Rutum bowed his head, his devious smile spreading once again.

    Winning this match wouldn¡¯t be enough for me to feel better. I wanted to beat up Rutum, not his knight.

    ¡¸Your Majesty, may I make a request?¡¹

    My words surprised everyone.

    ¡¸And what would your request entail?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, Rutum, ehm, Rutum-sama was making fun of women, and saying that he won¡¯t let women be knights.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Only men should aim to be knights.¡¹

    Rutum immediately rebuked myment.

    ¡¸Women are weaker and hence not suitable to be knights. I think Your Majesty should also have seen this from the match earlier. It is clear that women are inferior to men. If you want to ensure the safety of Tilia-sama and Flora-sama, you should let them be protected by male knights.¡¹

    ¡¸As I already told you countless times, the girls requested for female knights themselves.¡¹

    ¡¸We can¡¯t afford to take the risk, can we?¡¹

    ¡¸Actually, if I could make a suggestion about that.¡¹

    Both His Majesty and Rutum looked at me.

    ¡¸If I am able to win against all your knights, Rutum, er, Rutum-sama...¡¹

    I really didn¡¯t like adding honorifics for a man like him, but I had to endure it.

    With His Majesty and others here, I had to be careful with mynguage.

    Still, it was a huge pain to do so as I wasn¡¯t used to it at all.

    ¡¸I would like you to drop the ¡®being knights is only for men¡¯ act. Not all women are weak. If raised well, they can be just as strong as men. It¡¯s wrong for you to give up on them from the start.¡¹

    ¡¸Unlike raising male knights, raising female knights takes more time and more effort, though. It¡¯s a waste to do it.¡¹

    Rutum still argued against my words.

    It was indeed easier to train someone with a better starting ability, no matter the upation.

    However, talent also yed a huge role. In the game, there were yers who were quick at picking things up, and yers who could never understand no matter how many times they tried the same thing. It was much better to form a party with the former example, rather than thetter.

    Still, stats were also important. It was possible triumph over someone with more talent as long as you had higher stats.

    Comparing this to the current situation, I could understand what Rutum was trying to say. Yet, simply dismissing all women for having a weaker starting point wasn¡¯t okay in my books.

    In my former world, I had been one of those who had been dismissed. My school had given up on me and my own parents had dismissed me from their minds. I had been forced to live all alone, without anyone to rely on.

    People could improve simply given the right opportunity. Some might be faster than others, but all deserved the chance. I wanted to open up an easier path for girls aiming to be knights.

    Rinea was doing her best, picking up her sword again and again, no matter how many times it was flung aside. She was putting all her effort into it, unlike me, who had gained my powers without even lifting a finger. She believed in herself, believed that she could be a knight if she just tried hard enough. It wasn¡¯t something others had forced her to do, she had chosen to do it herself. With such strong conviction, I believed that she was capable of bing a knight, given enough time.

    ¡¸I can understand your opinion, but I will ask you again, Rutum-sama. If I win, will you agree to having female knights? I¡¯m sure that with your approval, others will change their opinions as well. In addition, should you keep treating women with contempt after you¡¯ve lost, I would like for you to be punished properly if the timees.¡¹

    Everyone in the arena waspletely shocked by my request. How could amoner ask for a noble to be punished?

    Well, I just wanted to beat up all these knights, especially Rutum. I simply tried adding some extra conditions that woulde with my victory.

    ¡¸Rutum, what do you think of Yuuna¡¯s request?¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu... I apologize, but I just can¡¯t stopughing after being told something so insane. Of course I¡¯m fine with such a condition. But, what will you do if you lose?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you really n on demanding something from me, when I¡¯m clearly entering a match where I should have no hopes of winning?¡¹

    Rutum looked at His Majesty and at the surrounding crowd.

    ¡¸I guess you¡¯re right. I will respect your hopeless challenge and not demand anything in return. After all, as you said yourself: you have no hope of winning.¡¹

    He said with a crooked grin filled with the arrogant confidence of a strong person.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t go back on your words if I do somehow win, okay?¡¹

    Knowing my true strength, Eleanora-sama and His Majesty werepletely bewildered by my act while the crowd looked concerned for the little girl like me. No matter who it was, they would all be my witnesses; Rutum had no way to void my conditions.

 Chapter 276 â€“ Bear-san Prepares for Battle

    After agreeing on the conditions for winning or losing, I was about to go to Shia when she instead came to me with a lowered head.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, um, I¡¯m so sorry. Because of me, you...¡¹

    ¡¸Shia, you did nothing wrong.¡¹

    This was entirely Rutum¡¯s fault for being a grown-up who didn¡¯t care about the feelings of children.

    I noticed the rest of the girls had worried expressions just like Shia.

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    ¡¸Shia... You think of us as friends, right?¡¹

    I wanted to confirm what I was to her.

    I really hoped she wouldn¡¯t say ¡¸I don¡¯t really,¡¹ or ¡¸I can¡¯t be friends with someone who wears embarrassing bear costumes.¡¹

    ¡¸You are a person I look up to, Yuna-san.¡¹

    For some reason, I received a response I wasn¡¯t expecting.

    ¡¸You¡¯re strong, you can cook, you are knowledgeable about many things, and you always take care of me. I¡¯m very happy that you think of me as your friend.¡¹

    I was relieved to hear that she did think of me as a friend, after all.

    ¡¸In that case, just as you were trying to protect your friend, Rinea, I¡¯m now going to protect you, because you¡¯re my friend too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san... Thank you so much.¡¹

    Shia said with a warm smile.

    ¡¸Onee-sama... that¡¯s not fair. Yuna-san, I¡¯m your friend too, right?¡¹

    Noatched onto my arm and peered up at me. Even when she looked at me like that, I could only respond:

    ¡¸Umm, I think of you as my little sister, I guess?¡¹

    ¡¸Your little sister?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, like a slightly selfish but cute little sister?¡¹

    ¡¸Selfish... I don¡¯t act selfishly. Yuna-san, you¡¯re so mean.¡¹

    Noa protested, puffing her cheeks, but I could see that she was also smiling.

    Shia quickly wrapped her arms around Noa as if to prevent me from taking her away.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, Noa is my little sister. I won¡¯t hand her over to you, even if you are my friend.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama, you¡¯re hurting me.¡¹

    Both Shia and Iughed as we watched Noa struggling to escape Shia¡¯s arms.

    ¡¸Well, I may have lost Noa to you, but I still have two little sisters of my own.¡¹

    I said, hugging Fina and Shuri to me.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan!¡¹

    The two of them eximed in embarrassment as I hugged them. At least they now had smiles on their faces instead of worried expressions.

    They would look sad if I lost the uing match, so I really had to win.

    I looked towards the arena and saw Rutum already ordering all his knights except for one to return to the sidelines. The audience started making a fuss over the matches being over but were soon appeased learning there would be a special match up next. From what I gathered, they had only been told they that there would be a special match and not the contents of the wager.

    Rutum then proceeded to speak with the remaining knight. Would he be my opponent?

    ¡¸So, he really is going to be the opponent...¡¹

    Eleanora-san, who had been chatting with the king, spoke as she looked over at the knight talking to Rutum.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, is that man strong?¡¹

    ¡¸He is indeed. Among the knights in Rutum¡¯s Chivalric Order, he might be the strongest. Also, he for sure won¡¯t be holding back.¡¹

    Even with me, a small girl, as his opponent, that knight would not hold back? In that case, I didn¡¯t have to hold back, either.

    ¡¸By the way, what were you and His Majesty talking about just now?¡¹

    Eleanora-san waited for Rutum to finish his conversation and walk away before answering me.

    ¡¸Nothing much. He was simply mad at me for doing things without asking him first and wanted me to think about everyone who would be troubled if I suddenly quit!¡¹

    Of course deciding on a course of action without asking him was going to make him upset.

    Despite constantly skipping out on her duties, Eleanora-san was apparently still viewed as an important subordinate by his side, and they also seemed to get along well.

    ¡¸Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t really mind if I had to go back to Crimonia and be with Cliff. After all, if I did that, I could eat Yuna-chan¡¯s cooking more often.¡¹

    Was my cooking possibly the real reason she wanted to return to Crimonia?

    If so, I felt bad for Cliff...

    ¡¸After scolding me, His Majesty asked me if you will win the fight.¡¹

    ¡¸Who knows? I don¡¯t really know myself until I actually fight him. If that knight is stronger than a Worm or a ck Viper, then I might not be able to win.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t give her a definitive answer since I had never battled him before.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, making such aparison is a little strange.¡¹

    I wished she didn¡¯t look at me with such a shocked expression... I really didn¡¯t really know the strength of people in this world.

    Looking back at the knight who would be my opponent, I noticed that he was carrying a weapon.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, do I have to bring my own sword? Or, can I use one of the practice ones?¡¹

    I did have the steel sword that I had bought from Gold-san. I had nned to use it to practice swordy but had ended up learning magic, and focusing on that when battling, so that sword had not seen the light of day since then.

    ¡¸It should still be considered a practice match, so you can use a sword meant for that. Shia, can you get one for Yuna-chan?¡¹

    Shia nodded, and went off to get a practice sword for me. I followed her with my gaze, and saw she actually ended up asking her friend Rinea, and borrowing a sword from her.

    ¡¸Here you go, Yuna-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    I took the sword from Shia and unsheathed it. It looked to be a bit smaller than the swords the knights used, most likely because Rinea had chosen it to be her sword. Well, this size was just perfect for someone of my height.

    After inspecting it, I swung it around lightly. Right, left, down, stab. I repeated my swings several times in order to get used to it. Once I was satisfied, I returned the sword to its sheath.

    Mhm, swinging a sword really felt good. My body hadn¡¯t forgotten the movements at all. It seemed like I could still fight efficiently even though it had been a while.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan looks so cool...¡¹

    The girls all gazed at me with respect. It was a bit embarrassing to be praised for something so simple, though.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you ready? Rutum is waiting for us.¡¹

    I nodded then lightly patted each of the girls¡¯ heads.

    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    I collected myself and walked up to face the knight who was waiting for me at the center of the arena.

    As I walked onto the stage, I heard someone announce I was the representative of the girls of the academy, which prompted many people to exim in surprise and speak amongst themselves.

    ¡¸Who is that?¡¹¡¸I¡¯ve never seen that girl around before.¡¹¡¸That small girl is going to be the representative?¡¹

    They had most likely introduced me as the representative of the girls so that Rutum could use the match to lower the reputation of women. If I were to be defeated, he could easily use the chance to denounce all the girls trying to be knights. Still, I didn¡¯t think that it would be of much help to him. People must expect for a little (regr-sized) girl like me to lose this match, so the crowd shouldn¡¯t take his words too seriously.

    Of course, I had no intention of losing this fight, so Rutum¡¯s scheming would end up being wasted.

    As I stood in front of the knight, I realized that, with my height, I barely reached his chest. He was huge, and I could only see his face by looking up. Judging by his face, he should be in his mid-twenties, maybe?

    He was wearing armor and had a shield in his left arm while his sword was still kept in its sheath.

    ¡¸Hey, is that small girl really going to be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸With such a big difference in physiques, this couldn¡¯t even be called a fight, no?¡¹

    ¡¸She¡¯s not even wearing any armor.¡¹

    The students expressed their concerns.

    Well, I really wasn¡¯t wearing any armor and was rather still in Shia¡¯s spare uniform.

    The only thing I had that could be considered armor was my Bear Suit, but there was no way that I was going to be putting that on.

    ¡¸Miss, don¡¯t you have any armor?¡¹

    The knight questioned me.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t n on getting hit, so I don¡¯t really need any. Actually, I could ask you a simr question. Will you even be able to fight with such heavy armor on?¡¹

    It certainly looked very heavy, and he even wore a big shield with it. Well, he should be well protected with this sort of equipment... Should I aim for the areas that weren¡¯t covered well, or maybe his legs?

    The knight looked at my outfit and waited a bit before speaking up again.

    ¡¸What you say does make some sense. It would be a problem if you lost because I had armor on and you didn¡¯t. Let us battle under equal conditions, then.¡¹

    Everyone was shocked by his promation.

    ¡¸Figo!¡¹

    Rutum shouted at him.

    ¡¸You bastard! Do you know how important this match is?¡¹

    ¡¸Lord Rutum, I know it very well. However, if you would let me exin myself. Eleanora-dono chose this girl for such an important battle. It¡¯s very unlikely that she¡¯s weak. With her small stature, she must be very quick on her feet. In that case, it would be better for me to be more agile as well. If I were to wear armor, I might not be able to keep up with her speed.¡¹

    As the knight spoke, Rutum looked at me.

    ¡¸You might be right. Eleanora indeed decided to entrust the match to this girl instead of her own daughter. Do as you please. Just don¡¯t let your guard down.¡¹

    Having gotten permission from Rutum, the knight called over one of his fellow knights. He then took off his armor and his shield and passed them to the other knight.

    Under his armor, he was wearing casual clothing that showed off his well-trained muscles. Looking at his body, even I was almost convinced that women shouldn¡¯t aim to be knights.

    Well, battles weren¡¯t determined by strength alone.

    ¡¸I hope you don¡¯t assume that my movements are slow.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for the warning, but don¡¯t think you will be able to catch up to my speed just by removing your armor.¡¹

    I returned his warning with one of my own. The knight simply replied with an ¡°Okay.¡±.

    For some reason, this knight¡¯s whole manner seemed way more knight-like than Rutum¡¯s. He still didn¡¯t look like he would hold back, though. Maybe that was why he had suggested fighting on equal terms: so he wouldn¡¯t have to take it easy on me.

    If only he treated me more like a fool, like giving me attitude or insults. Then, I could have taken out of my stress on him during the fight. Well, I had had no intention of holding back either way.

    It was just a bit awkward now.

    ¡¸Miss, I¡¯m sorry, but Lord Rutum has ordered me not to take it easy on you. As such, I would like to ask you to forfeit before you get hurt.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks for the warning, but I don¡¯t think it will be necessary.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. In that case, I shall do my best and make you ept your defeat.¡¹

    ¡¸I look forward to going all out in this match with you.¡¹

    I was starting to remember my gaming days. I felt a bit bad for Eleanora-san, but I was almost beginning to enjoy myself.

    ¡¸You¡¯re quite strange, Miss. Normally, people are quaking in fear at this point.¡¹

    He must have noticed my excited expression...

    ¡¸There¡¯s just no way I¡¯m going to lose this, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸I could say the same.¡¹

    This was a match neither side could afford to lose.

    For me, I had to win for the sake of Eleanora-san and Shia.

    For the knight, he most likely had to uphold his honor. There was no way he could lose to a girl like me.

    ¡¸Are you two ready? As per usual, you aren¡¯t allowed to perform any lethal attacks against the face and other vulnerable areas.¡¹

    Did that mean that attacking family jewels was also out of the question? Well, I never had to worry about it, but I had heard that certain spot was the most sensitive spot for men. Hitting it should result in great pain for the bearer. As a girl, I didn¡¯t know how it felt, but... Was I allowed to hit it or not?

    ¡¸Also, if we dere the match is over, both sides must stop fighting immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸That should be all. Get into position.¡¹

    We both responded with a nod and stepped away from each other.

    The referees, Rutum and Eleanora-san, also moved a distance away. From what I gathered, both of them had been made referees in order to keep the fight fair.

    If Rutum had been the only referee, he could clearly ignore some fouls done by his knight, so Eleanora-san managed to force her way in.

    ¡¸You should stop the match before your little girl gets hurt.¡¹

    ¡¸How about this? If you agree to let girls be knights, I wouldn¡¯t mind telling her to throw the match.¡¹

    The two referees started to argue. At this rate, a fight might break out between them before we even officially started the match.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, fight carefully okay. Even if you lose, I¡¯ll just go home to Crimonia, so you don¡¯t have to feel responsible for anything. However, if you get hurt, the girls will all be worried.¡¹

    ¡¸Figo, go all out. Prove to all these people that knighthood is for men only.¡¹

    With those words of encouragement, the knight and I readied our swords.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We didn¡¯t make it to actual battle this chapter, but we will surely get to it in the next one.

    I must also apologize to you, my dear readers. Because the publication deadline for the next light novel volume is getting closer, I couldn¡¯t find the time to reply to yourments. I think I should find some time next week, so I will get to them then. I hope...

 Chapter 277 â€“ Bear-san Fights The Knigh

    t

    The moment the match bell rang, the knight dashed forward, closing the distance between us. I hadn¡¯t nned to just watch him, but his movements took me by surprise.

    Once he was close enough, he raised his sword to strike. Because of the height difference, it almost seemed like he was nning to split me from above. All I could do was block it by swinging my sword from below.

    The heavy sound of our swords shing rang out through the arena. The sound alone proved that neither of us were holding back at all.

    Okay, now I knew I could block his attacks. I could do this.

    I had actually decided to take the first blow from the start, in order to gauge his skills. Now that I knew where we were at, I didn¡¯t really have to take any more hits and could change my fighting style.

    ¡¸Miss, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡¹

    The knight looked astonished, seeing that the attack he had put all his strength into had been blocked so easily. He must have thought that single move would have been enough to finish me off.

    The knight tried to put even more power into his sword, but my sword didn¡¯t budge an inch. To return the favor, I myself put some strength into my sword to push him back, and he was forced to jump away, which prompted the crowd to erupt in cheers. All I had done was stop one attack; they didn¡¯t really have to make so much noise...

    Anyway, now my opponent also knew that his attacks could be blocked. All I had to do from here on was to avoid his attacks and slip one of mine past his defense.

    The knight approached me slowly this time around, so I decided to use the chance to go on offensive myself. I forcefully swung my sword up from below, but the knight handled it well, parrying it away. Using the force of momentum, I then twisted my body around to swing the sword in an arc around me. The knight stepped back, however, dodging my second attack without much of an issue.

    He could switch from offense to defense so quickly, huh. He sure was strong.

    ¡¸Hahahaha!¡¹

    The knight suddenly burst outughing.

    ¡¸As expected of someone chosen by Eleanora-dono. Who are you, Miss? Even though you are just a student, you were able to block my attack and force me to dodge...¡¹

    ¡¸You are not so bad yourself.¡¹

    I had thought my spin attack would have hit him, but he had managed to dodge it. His skills might be on the same level as the top yers in the game.

    ¡¸If I wore my shield and armor, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to ward off your attack, though.¡¹

    ¡¸But then, you could have just blocked it with your shield, no?¡¹

    Knights should be able to use their shields to block such simple attacks, right?

    ¡¸Figo! Why are you having such a hard time against this little girl? Hurry up and finish her off!¡¹

    ¡¸That man may be telling you to do so, but I won¡¯t let you finish me off so easily, you know.¡¹

    I said and readied my sword once again.

    ¡¸Miss, I wonder if you can block this attack, then?¡¹

    The knight said and promptly rushed at me. I tried to deal with him by jumping back, but he kept dashing towards me. I then tried to move to the right and put some distance between us that way, but he was right on my tail.

    Hmm, was he so nimble because he had taken his armor off?

    Well, if I used my Bear Feet properly, I should be able to easily put a good distance between us, but constantly running and dodging would aplish nothing. I decided to stop this game of tag and take his attacks head on instead.

    The knight stabbed his sword at me, but I sidestepped it easily. He continued throwing shes at me in quick session, but I defended myself with my sword, and when possible, tried to sneak in attacks of my own. Our back and forth match continued until we ended up locking the swords with each other and made it a contest of strength, again.

    I added a bit of my Bear Hands¡¯ strength into the sword, but it was still possible I might be blown back. If I used too much, they might suspect me of using magic, and I really didn¡¯t want to lose to a foul.

    I wanted to prove to everybody here that I could win relying on the sword. If I didn¡¯t do that, there would be no point to this battle.

    Eventually, our swords slid to the side, and as the knight tried to catch his bnce, I kicked at his leg. Yet, the knight still managed to dodge my kick by letting his body go with the flow and whirl around.

    ¡¸You must be kidding me. My swings aren¡¯t so light that they should be blocked this easily. Also, what¡¯s up with those legs of yours? To think that you could go for me when our bnce was broken.¡¹

    I could only do all of that thanks to my Bear Hands and Feet.

    Still, for him to dodge my kick in such a situation... I had been sure it would havended.

    ¡¸If my reaction was just a smidge slower, those cute shoes of yours would have gotten me.¡¹

    ¡¸Things would have ended if you had just let me kick you down.¡¹

    ¡¸So, it wasn¡¯t just me? I dodged it because I felt a sense of dooming from that kick.¡¹

    Had he realized that I had actually aimed for his crotch?

    I wanted to aim for the weak point of men, but it seemed like doing that wasn¡¯t so easy.

    For our next exchange, I decided to try and attack first.

    I dashed straight at the knight, swinging my sword up from below again, and he blocked it from above. This time, however, I pushed forward with a flurry of blows, only to have them all parried by him.

    As my barrage started to wind down, the knight counterattacked with a wide swing. I held my sword diagonally with the tip pointing towards the ground, preparing to block the attack and maybe put some distance between us.

    As our swords shed, I noticed his sword deflecting towards the ground, which gave me an opportunity to raise my sword and take a swing at his defenceless body.

    Just as I was about to go for the finishing blow, I sensed danger from his left hand. mes were engulfing it as it approached to strike me down.

    Would he make it make it before I did?

    Deciding to y it safe, I dodged his ming hand by quickly jumping back and them putting some more distance between us.

    ¡¸Did you really just dodge that?¡¹

    The knight just stood there, looking at me in disbelief.

    I was the one who couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened, though.

    ¡¸Hey, using magic isn¡¯t fair.¡¹

    Iined, my gaze shifting to Rutum.

    Wasn¡¯t it against the rules for a knight to use magic as well? Shouldn¡¯t that make it my win by default?

    Using magic in a sword match, what had he been thinking...?

    ¡¸Why would it be unfair? Truly excellent knights can use magic as well, and that knight is one of those people.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    I decided to confirm Rutum¡¯s im by looking at Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Yu-, I mean, Yuuna-chan, he is indeed correct on that point. I thought it strange that you weren¡¯t using magic...¡¹

    Eleanora-san confirmed that we really were allowed to use magic.

    ¡¸Wha... I was sure I wasn¡¯t allowed to use it. I mean, this is a sword match against a knight, not a fight between magic users, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That might be true, but if the knight is able to use magic, why shouldn¡¯t he be allowed to use it?¡¹

    Even when she said that like it wasmon sense, there was no way I could have known. I had thought that knights could only use swords, and those with the gift of magic became magicians.

    Was it weird for me to have assumed that? No, with the knowledge I had of this world, it wasn¡¯t weird at all.

    Still, now that I knew about it, hadn¡¯t it been stupid of me to have been taking this ¡®sword¡¯ fight so seriously, then?

    ¡¸I do have to praise your sword skills, Miss. Sadly, magic is just another tool us knights can use. Don¡¯t think poorly of me for using it against you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, you don¡¯t have to apologize. Now that I know I can magic, the match is over for you.¡¹

    Honestly, I still didn¡¯t want to use it as that would be unfair. After all, I had received my magic only thanks to the cheat-like Bear equipment while I had trained in the way of the sword since the start of my gaming days.

    ¡¸Miss, you can use magic as well?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, I can. If I use it, though, I can¡¯t lose anymore. Are you sure you are fine with us using magic in this fight?¡¹

    Personally, I would prefer for us to make this all about swordy. Reviving my gaming days of dancing around with my paper-thin defences gave me a thrill.

    ¡¸Figo, don¡¯t be fooled! Even if that little girl can use magic, it can¡¯t be that strong anyway. Stop ying around and defeat her already.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s as he said. I don¡¯t n on losing this match, so feel free to use your magic, Miss.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay then. Honestly, I wanted to keep it at a sword-only match for a while longer, but we do have to end this sooner orter.¡¹

    ¡¸Yu-, ehm, Yuuna-chan, please take this a little more seriously, okay?¡¹

    To appease Eleanora-san, I readjusted my stance, and waited for the referees to give us another signal.

    The moment they did, the knight shot mes from both of his hands.

    He must be testing my range, huh?

    I quickly extinguished the mes with water magic while also dodging to the right just in case.

    ¡¸Water magic?!¡¹

    Unfortunately for him, water magic wasn¡¯t all I could use. I dashed straight towards the knight.

    ¡¸Well, you won¡¯t be able to win against me with such weak water magic, though.¡¹

    The knight sent arger fireball at me, trying to limit my movements, yet I simply moved through an opening and sent my sword directly at the knight.

    ¡¸Block this or it is over.¡¹

    The knight raised his sword to block, while also preparing some more magic in his left hand, but I only continued my swing...

    ¡¸What?!¡¹

    The knight¡¯s sword was suddenly encased in an earthen wall, meaning he could no longer move it to block me... So I stopped my sword less than an inch from his chest.

    A short momentter, cheers erupted all around us.

    Being able to use magic really was too advantageous to me, who had used to be a magic swordsman.

    Using only swords would have made this match more bnced. Still, even if I wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat him with my sword skills alone, I could have simply used the power of my Bear Hands and overpowered him that way.

    ¡¸It¡¯s my win, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I have lost. To think you could use earth magic to entrap my sword. Also, just how strong did you make it?¡¹

    His sword was still stuck in the earth with my White Bear Hand resting close to it. I had put it there just in case he somehow managed to break through, so I could use its defensive capabilities. I didn¡¯t have my Bear Suit on, after all, so I had decided to y it safe.

    ¡¸I made it strong enough to hold you.¡¹

    It was just a practice sword and had no real sharpness to its de. Had he been wielding a real sword or even a mythril sword, he would have most likely broken through. Such a move probably wouldn¡¯t have worked in a real battle.

    ¡¸Figo! How dare you lose to a little girl like her? You are a disgrace!¡¹

    Rutum angrily yelled at the knight as he got up to him.

    ¡¸Do you still not understand even after watching the whole match? This girl is stronger than me. Lord Rutum, I couldn¡¯t have won.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I told you to win by all means, didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    ¡¸I went all out, used all my strength, and yet she beat me. She could easily dodge and block all my attacks, even magic ones, while her attacks were sharp and wellplemented by her magic. She overpowered me by such arge margin, that I can¡¯t even judge how strong she really is.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t lie to me!¡¹

    Rutum yelled and raised his fist, looking like he was about to punch the knight. However, I dashed behind Rutm and kicked him right it the butt before he could do so. He lost his bnce and fell head first to the floor.

    ¡¸What the...?!¡¹

    ¡¸You still remember our promise, don¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Fuck... to think I was done in by a little girl...¡¹

    He said, ring at me with resentment.

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t re at her with such a scary face. She has just won the wager, after all.¡¹

    Eleanora-san got in between us, trying to shield me from his gaze.

    ¡¸I will quit as themanding officer of this squadron... That¡¯s what you want, right?!¡¹

    Rutum shouted at Eleanora-san with frustration. But that wasn¡¯t enough for us, was it?

    ¡¸Alright, let¡¯s continue with the formalities, then.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    Rutum looked at me in confusion.

    ¡¸I said I would fight all your knights didn¡¯t I? I have to make sure you officially ept the prospect of female knights.¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸The fight includes you, Rutum-sama, so in case His Majesty tries toin, just tell him we agreed upon this on our own, okay?¡¹

    As I said that, his face went beet-red, and he seethed with anger.

    ¡¸Youngdy, you are getting too full of yourself. There is no way I will ept useless knights. Fine, I will fight you myself.¡¹

    Thest boss stood up before I even dealt with his minions.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We used the Bear Hands and Bear Feet a bit, but we managed to make a real sword fight happen. Well, she doesn¡¯t own a sword, so she will have to borrow one if she ever wants to repeat this. lol

    Also, themon sense of this world is just too umon for Yuna.

 Chapter 278 â€“ Bear-san Fights Rutum

    The match against Rutum was set to start after a short break.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want you iming you lost because you were too tired.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was his pride or maybe even kindness, but Rutum forced me to take a break.

    At first, the n had been to defeat all of his knights before facing him, but it seemed I would actually get to face him without having to take care of the small fries. Well, those knights were weaker than the knight I had just fought, so I didn¡¯t mind cutting out those unnecessary battles.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, be careful. Rutum¡¯s personality might be a bit difficult to deal with, but he really does have strength and skill to back it up.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did I fight the knight instead of him, what¡¯s his name, then? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better for him to participate himself since his job was on the line?¡¹

    I could have gotten even more out of it if that had been the case. If he was the strongest, just why had he let me beat up the knight instead of him?

    ¡¸That knight is Figo. I don¡¯t think anybody thought that he was going to lose. Figo is quite an exceptional knight, so, normally, nobody would think that Figo could possibly lose to a small girl like you. Like, how many people here do you think could win against you?¡¹

    Basically, he had believed that even the second strongest person could easily win against me.

    Hadn¡¯t anybody taught him not to judge a person by their appearance?

    As I pondered this, Figo, the knight I had battled earlier, came up to us.

    ¡¸Eleanora-dono, just who is this girl?¡¹

    ¡¸My, that¡¯s a secret, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Having my sword stopped by those small arms of hers... was simply baffling.¡¹

    Well, I had only been able to do it thanks to my Bear Hands.

    ¡¸Also, I could see that her advanced swordy must have been the result of countless hours ofbat practice. It is impossible to handle a sword like that unless you have the experience of using it in realbat.¡¹

    In my gaming days, I had used the sword against people all the time. I had faced many different gamers with many different ystyles, winning against some, and losing against the others. The experience from the game had been of great use in the match.

    ¡¸Not to mention, she can even use magic. I had nned on holding back, not using my magic to make it fair, yet she was moving so quickly that I was forced into using it. I was so shocked when she dodged it, and then, when shepletely overpowered me with her own magic...¡¹

    ¡¸I was also surprised by how fast you move, Yu-Yuuna-chan. Those dodges of yours were magnificent.¡¹

    Eleanora-san still seemed to be having trouble with my fake name.

    ¡¸With that timing, you shouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge it.¡¹

    ¡¸It was just luck.¡¹

    Actually, it was because of a habit I had developed. In the game, when yers had wielded a single-handed weapon and left the other one free, I had learned to keep an eye on the free hand. Some yers would use it to cast magic, or carry a secret poison, a paralyzing knife, or something. Other yers had been careful of that, too. I had only applied that knowledge in this battle.

    ¡¸Still, with the strength of your earth magic, if you¡¯ve used it right when the match began, I think I would have lost right away.¡¹

    Well, if I had known I had been allowed to use magic, I would have finished him off earlier...

    But it had been more fun this way since I had gotten to chance to participate in a sword fight.

    ¡¸Miss, I really enjoyed our battle, but I must warn you that you should be careful when fighting against Lord Rutum. If you can, I would rmend withdrawing instead... ¡¹

    ¡¸I have no intention of doing that.¡¹

    ¡¸I figured you would say that. I just hope you won¡¯t get hurt.¡¹

    The knight left after his warning. He actually seemed to be a kind person.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, Rutum is calling for you. Are you rested enough? If you need anything, just tell me, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine, really.¡¹

    I had barely used any magic, and thanks to my Bear Feet, my legs didn¡¯t hurt at all. I was only a bit tired mentally. It had been a while since Ist participated in a match. Still, it had been quite fun. Maybe it was because I didn¡¯t have my Bear Suit on and couldn¡¯t do anything too crazy, having to be careful of my opponent¡¯s attacks at all times. Just thinking about having to focus so hard again brought a wave of mental tiredness.

    Since there were no real problems, I started to head over. I noticed that Rutum had also taken off his armor, and only wore some light weight clothing instead. It looked like he also thought that heavy armor would be disadvantageous for him, especially after watching the previous match.

    ¡¸Are you ready, Young Lady?¡¹

    ¡¸Ready when you are.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to smack that confident smile off your face, but instead, I¡¯ll give you a handicap.¡¹

    ¡¸A handicap?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really need one. In fact, it would be more appropriate if I gave him one myself.

    ¡¸Is this your excuse for when you¡¯re going to lose?¡¹

    ¡¸No!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯d be troubled if you think I¡¯m only as strong as Figo.¡¹

    I was definitely stronger than the knight from before, right?

    I looked over at Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Yes, you are stronger than Figo, but as I mentioned before, Lord Rutum is even stronger than him. I¡¯m not sure why he¡¯s giving you a handicap, though?¡¹

    Eleanora-san nced over at Rutum with suspicion.

    ¡¸To make her understand the difference between us, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Just asking, but would your idea of this handicap be?¡¹

    I asked instead of Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸You can pick any rule you want, Young Lady. Like, you could say we couldn¡¯t use magic.¡¹

    ¡¸I mentioned this earlier, but if I can use magic, I have an advantage, you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Like the earth magic you used against Figo earlier? Why don¡¯t you try using that now?¡¹

    I created an earth wall with the same amount of magic power as earlier.

    Rutum unsheathed his sword, and it shined with a glistening silver color. He proceeded to cut my wall down without issue.

    ¡¸I can put magical energy into this sword and it will cut anything. Of course, it won¡¯t go through your body if I hit you with it, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡¹

    There was no way I wouldn¡¯t worry after hearing that.

    In that case, wouldn¡¯t I be allowed to use my mithril knives?

    Well, using knives wasn¡¯t really knight-like... Just as I thought about how to go about it, Rutum passed me a sword he had prepared for me, very simr to his own. ording to Eleanora-san, it was a weapon used for practice against magic, reserved for high-level swordsmen, especially the price of these weapons was rather high as well. As I was getting a feel for the sword, I suddenly got a good idea for the match.

    ¡¸Alright. Let¡¯s make it a two-round match.¡¹

    ¡¸A two-round match, you say?¡¹

    ¡¸The first match will allow magic. If I win that one, then we¡¯ll fight the next match without magic. If you can win either round, then you win.¡¹

    I suggested rules that were actually beneficial to Rutum.

    There really was no point in giving me a handicap, after all.

    ¡¸Youngdy, are you trying to make fun of me?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the one making fun of me. I don¡¯t need a handicap, and I won¡¯t be happy winning with one. Also, how could I possibly make you acknowledge female knights if you lost only while handicapped?¡¹

    Well, if I was beingpletely honest, he already was at a certain handicap since I had my Bear Hands and Feet on. Without them, I wouldn¡¯t be able to even lift a sword, though, so they were a must.

    ¡¸Fufufu. It¡¯s been a while since someone made fun of me like this. Fine then. Just don¡¯t start crying when you lose.¡¹

    With the match rules set, we separated from each other, ready to begin.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, are you really okay with that kind of rule?¡¹

    ¡¸There would be no point to winning in an unfair way where I get to select rules that fit me.¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you won while he¡¯s handicapped, his influence would fall greatly as he will have to quit his job.¡¹

    ¡¸But he would still remain quite influential, wouldn¡¯t he?¡¹

    ¡¸You have a point, but for such a reason... ¡¹

    If I didn¡¯t win without relying on a handicap, this person would surely try to get himself out of trouble with excuses like running out of magical energy or letting his guard down. It was better to give him a handicap myself. First, I would win using magic and then decimate himpletely with my sword.

    We readied our swords, and Eleanora-san signaled the start of the battle.

    I shot out an Air Bullet while running towards him at an angle. Rutum easily cut down the Air Bullet with his sword, so I followed up with a barrage of them, but he cut them all down as well.

    ¡¸Is that all you¡¯ve got?!¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t use my strongest magic or the surrounding area might end up being destroyed, but I really wanted to wipe away that arrogant grin of his.

    If wind magic was no good, then how about a mud balls about the size of a baseball? I shot a few of those at Rutum, but none managed to hit. He shouldn¡¯t be able to dodge everything forever, so I shot a few more, while keeping the distance between us. Just when I thought one would hit, Rutum simply cut it down with his sword, which shone with a pale hue.

    He was capable of cutting them down, huh. It seemed like I would have to try harder.

    After Rutum cut down the mud ball, he counterattacked, sending the same type of mud balls towards me. Was he trying to show off by mimicking my magic? I could y the same game.

    I poured magical energy into my sword and cut down the balls with ease.

    Rutum didn¡¯t wait for me, however, and used the chance to close the distance between us, swinging his sword at me.

    I dodged his attack without much of an issue, but he quickly followed with fast shes. I tried to dodge them all, but eventually he slipped one by and I had to block it.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really nning on taking these blows? I wonder how long you can hold on for¡¹

    As he said that, hot mes began to burn along his sword¡¯s edge.

    Although my Bear Hands were resistant to heat, I could clearly feel the heat on my face.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t be held responsible if you get burns on your face.¡¹

    Rutum added and put more magical power into the mes, but I quickly engulfed my sword with water magic to counter it.

    As the fire and water shed, a huge cloud of steam was formed and blocked our vision, so we disengaged. Not wasting time, we both used wind magic to clear out the steam.

    This reminded me of my magic swordsman gaming days, where I had been able to easily wield both sword and magic. Rutum might have a bad personality, but with this amount of skill, it made sense for him to be amanding officer.

    ¡¸You¡¯re quite capable, Young Lady!¡¹

    I felt the same way about him, but I didn¡¯t really want to say it.

    We had only cut each other¡¯s magic attacks with our swords and hadn¡¯t used any lethal attacks. I didn¡¯t know where Rutum stood on this, but I myself couldn¡¯t go all out with my strongest magic as it might damage the surrounding area, potentially hurting the audience.

    I could maybe make little Bears using my Bear Magic, but that was the most I dared to do. I also wanted to see if that sword of his was able to cut down my Bear Wall.

    Still, I had decided against using Bear Magic in this fight. It was just too strong. Not to mention, if I put on my Bear Suit and used those skills, people might find out who I was.

    Now that I had finally managed to get away from the mors about the Bear Suit, I really didn¡¯t want people to find out.

    I had plenty of ways to win, anyway, even without my Bear Magic.

    We started casting ranged magic and blocking it with our swords before Rutum got impatient and rushed towards me.

    However, I was waiting for him to do that.

    I began silently casting my magic without him noticing and he only realized something was going on below his feet toote. He tripped and fell t on his face, just like characters in manga often did.

    I stepped up to him and pointed my sword at his neck.

    ¡¸This is my win.¡¹

    ¡¸With such an underhanded trick?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the one who stumbled and fell.¡¹

    Rutum had only noticed the magic when it had been toote and by then, he had already tripped on the small earth piles I had made at his feet. He had fallen into my trappletely.

    I had only been tricking him with all the other stuff: this had been my trump card. I often used such tricks during my gaming days to have my opponents focus on other things and thenunched a surprise attack that demolished their flow and brought me to victory.

    I honestly hadn¡¯t believed such a simple trick would have worked here, though.

    Well, the trick might have looked simple, but it was still rather difficult to pull off. As magic came from our bodies, it had been quite difficult to silently shapeshift the earth so far from me, not to mention the amount of energy it had consumed.

    Eleanora-san seemed a bit troubled as she looked between the fallen Rutum and me before finally dering my victory.

    Unlike my match with the knight, nobody cheered this time. Instead, I could hear snickers andughter. Rutum stood up and red at the crowd, causing it to stop. Some of the people watching the match must have thought that Rutum had fallen on his own. Rutum then directed his re at me, clearly mad that I had turned him into aughing stock.

    It had been his own fault for not watching where he was going.

    A win was a win, no matter how underhanded.

    ¡¸Alright, magic is prohibited in the next match.¡¹

    ¡¸I may have lost to some underhanded magic, but I will say this: if you can win against me with your sword alone, I will acknowledge all female knights and even let you marry my son.¡¹

    Eh?! Didn¡¯t that mean that even if I won, I would still end up doing the punishment game?

    Usually, when one won, good things happened, not the other way around...

    I had to find a way out of this.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to marry him, though.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m allowing you, amoner, to marry a noble. You should feel honored!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t feel honored at all. Hadn¡¯t he been saying his sons would be marrying Shia and Noa?

    While I tried to find my verbal rebuke, the bell for the second match rang.

    Compared to our magic match, this one wasn¡¯t so back and forth. Instead, we just directly exchanged blows with our swords.

    Relying on the power of my Bear-san Puppets and Bear Shoes, I handled Rutum¡¯s attacks quite well. I warded off his attacks by adjusting my body and dodging the strikes instead of frontaly blocking them. This was my old, usual tactic of trying to waste my opponent¡¯s energy while saving my own.

    As a magic swordsman, I had learned that it was hard to win against a physically-attributed character in a head-on fight. It was much more efficient to dodge and ward off their attacks to wear them down first.

    ¡¸How about this, then?!¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t practiced the tactic in my match against the knight earlier, so perhaps my flow wasn¡¯t good enough, because as I dodged his sword, this time Rutum stuck out his leg out, surprising mepletely.

    Still, thanks to his warning, I had managed to block it with my left hand and even ended up knocking him off bnce.

    ¡¸I already realized this in our previous match, but I really couldn¡¯t ever imagine that such a small girl like you could be this strong.¡¹

    Rutum said with a smile. Was he going crazy from the heat of battle?

    We continued our dance of attacking, dodging, and blocking. Any time we found the chance, we used our legs or even bare hands to help us.

    Since I couldn¡¯t use magic, I decided to pick up the pace as I didn¡¯t know how long this battle would go for.

    Everybody, including Eleanora-san, just watched us in silence.

    This match continued for a while longer before finally ending in a disappointing fashion, with Rutum¡¯s legs getting entangled. He walked around swaying for a while then fell to the ground.

    I didn¡¯t know what was happening for that moment, so I just stared at him.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? Why aren¡¯t you getting up?¡¹

    After all that fighting back and forth, I didn¡¯t think we woulde to such a conclusion.

    ¡¸We aren¡¯t done yet, are we?¡¹

    ¡¸This is my loss... I can¡¯t even stand anymore.¡¹

    When I looked closely, I noticed Rutum¡¯s legs were cramping up.

    ¡¸I cannot win against my age. This is your win... ¡¹

    When Rutum dered his loss, the za erupted in cheers.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan.¡¹

    Eleanora-san approached us, seeing it really was over.

    ¡¸I must say, it was quite difficult to beat you without using magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. Just who do you think I am? I am themanding officer of a chivalric order. Oh, that¡¯s actually incorrect. I am a formermanding officer. Did you really think you could take someone like me down that easily?¡¹

    For some reason, Rutum looked like he was feeling refreshed instead of defeated.

    Just what was with that satisfied expression of his?

    ¡¸Alright, now that I won, you better keep your promise.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, letting you marry my son, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Not THAT!¡¹

    I yelled and sent a Bear Punch into his face, not caring about the fact that he was still on the ground.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I can finally see the end of the School Festival Arc.

    It shoulde in a couple of chapters, maybe?

 Chapter 279 â€“ Bear-san Gets Scolded By The King

    When I punched Rutum his body flew a couple meters before hended, twiched, and stopped movingpletely.

    My sudden action caused the cheering to stop and the audience to go silent.

    Umm, he wasn¡¯t dead, right?

    Oh, his leg still moved slightly, so he should be fine.

    I went up to Rutum and used magic to pour some water over his head.

    ¡¸What¡¯s going on?!¡¹

    I honestly thought it would have been better if he just stayed unconscious, but I had to make him keep his promise to the king.

    ¡¸What happened, really?¡¹

    Rutum scanned the area for a clue before looking at me.

    ¡¸Were... Were you holding back all along?¡¹

    He realized it?

    Well, it would have been a problem if they found out that I had won using the power of Bear Hands, so I had held back. Yet, when he had said something so stupid, I had acted before thinking and hit him with all I had.

    Could I maybe hit him again to make him forget?

    Still, if I hit him too many times, he might even end up forgetting his promise.

    ¡¸O-of course not.¡¹

    I tried to y dumb.

    ¡¸Fufufufu! So, you were holding back. No wonder Eleanora-dono was willing to stake her own position on this match. It seems that I had made an error in my judgement.¡¹

    Rutum said and looked at Eleanora-san who slowly walked over to us.

    ¡¸I knew you were strong, but this was the first time I¡¯ve actually seen you in action.¡¹

    Eleanora-san had only heard about me defeating monsters like the ck Viper, but had never been there to see me do so. She had only watched me fight Shia that one time she had challenged me. Thinking of it like that, she must really trust me, to let me fight in her stead even though she didn¡¯t even know my actual strength.

    ¡¸I want you to marry my son even more now.¡¹

    ¡¸I refuse.¡¹

    Hadn¡¯t he been aiming for Shia and Noa to begin with? Well, not like I could say that out loud, and I couldn¡¯t just push them under the bus, as I cared about their futures. It was still quite annoying having to deal with his persistent requests, though. For now, I somehow managed to reject his offer, and we headed to speak with the king.

    ¡¸That was an excellent match; it caused quite a bit of excitement amongst the students.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, that doesn¡¯t rectify the fact that I have embarrassed myself in front of you.¡¹

    Rutum said and bowed deeply in front of His Majesty.

    ¡¸Rutum.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Just as you promised, you shall step down from your position as themanding officer of the Third Chivalric Order. Following that, I will give you a new position. You are to be an instructor at this academy and focus your efforts into raising new knights.¡¹

    ¡¸Your Majesty?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand what you believe in. In general, women indeed have less brawn than men. Because of that, it may have been better to only have male knights in the past, but now that we are at peace, I believe it¡¯s fine to train a few female knights as well. Tilia and Flora will need them as their escorts, so I want you to train both men and women to be fine knights to support the royal family. ¡¹

    ¡¸Your Majesty...¡¹

    ¡¸Still, make sure not to harm any female knights like you did today, and don¡¯t even think about quitting your post.¡¹

    It looked like His Majesty had noticed Rutum¡¯s scheme.

    ¡¸I understand. I will fulfill your wishes.¡¹

    Rutum obediently epted his king¡¯s orders.

    ¡¸Good. Also, we can¡¯t let the students¡¯ matches against the knights end like that. Pleaseplete the rest of your duties as themanding officer today.¡¹

    ¡¸As youmand. Please excuse me.¡¹

    Rutum nced at me but left without saying anything else.

    His face was all swollen up but it wasn¡¯t my fault. He was the one antagonizing Shia and Noa, so I had to punch him at least once.

    Just as I tried to leave as well, His Majesty called out to me.

    ¡¸I will be returning to the castle. Eleanora, Yuuna, I¡¯ll have you bothe with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too?¡¹

    Thest day of the school festival had only just begun. There was still plenty of time to look around. Why did I have to leave together with the king?

    ¡¸Look behind you.¡¹

    I turned around and noticed a bunch of students and observers intently watching us.

    ¡¸Your Majesty, they¡¯re looking at you, are they not?¡¹

    ¡¸No, they¡¯re looking at you, Yuuna.¡¹

    They were?

    ¡¸If I let you roam free, I can easily see it causing problems. I also have quite a few things to say to you.¡¹

    He sounded kind of angry as he said that. I really didn¡¯t want to follow him, but having all these students and festival goers stare at me was quite scary as well.

    Even then, I still had my duty to fulfil.

    ¡¸I need to watch over the girls, though.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The time spent with my daughters is priceless to me.¡¹

    Eleanora-san followed up. Wait, wasn¡¯t this the part where she should have sacrificed herself and gone with the king?

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, I can watch over Noa, so you are free to go.¡¹

    I offered, already taking a step back.

    ¡¸Thanks, Yuuna-chan, but it¡¯s okay. I can stay and take care of the girls while you apany His Majesty.¡¹

    Eleanora-san said, taking two steps backwards.

    ¡¸You two...¡¹

    His Majesty seemed dumbfounded at our bickering.

    ¡¸Fufufu. You can both leave; I will watch over the girls for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia... -sama.¡¹

    Tilia, who had kept quiet until now, spoke up.

    There were still a lot of people around us, so I had to be careful with mynguage.

    ¡¸I will stay with them, so please feel reassured. The two of you can go with Father.¡¹

    ¡¸But...¡¹

    She didn¡¯t have to cut in like that.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll say this now, but the two of you have no right to refuse. I will even bring along all the girls if necessary.¡¹

    We were at a school festival, and I wanted the girls to keep enjoying themselves here... Well, I knew I could let Tilia take care of the girls so maybe it would be best to entrust them to her? I nced over at the girls who were looking back at me with worried expressions a short distance away.

    ¡¸I have to go to the castle with His Majesty for a while, so go enjoy the rest of the festival with Tilia-sama, okay?¡¹

    I said and turned to Tilia.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama, please take care of the girls.¡¹

    ¡¸I will take responsibility and watch over them carefully, so please do not worry.¡¹

    With that, Eleanora-san and I were dragged away by the king.

    I almost felt like a calf being herded away.

    We got into a nearby carriage and sat down. I could feel the king¡¯s re burning on my skin as he seated himself across from me.

    ¡¸Sigh...¡¹

    His Majesty looked between us before letting out a sigh. A short silence enveloped us three, who were the only ones in thisrge and spacious carriage. Only once the carriage started to move, did the king open his mouth again.

    ¡¸What on earth were the two of you trying to do?! Especially you, Eleanora! Do you even understand what position you are in?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but...¡¹

    His Majesty began shouting at Eleanora-san, clearly mad that he had to deal with the trouble we caused him.

    ¡¸What would you have done if Yuna lost?!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I would have kept my promise and just gone home to Cliff.¡¹

    ¡¸You only think about yourself. What about everyone else who you would leave behind?!¡¹

    ¡¸He was trying to poach my daughters for marriage, so I just...¡¹

    ¡¸Then pick someone for them already! This only happened because you haven¡¯t made a decision yet. Thanks to a certain someone next to you, Crimonia has gained ess to the ocean, and because of that, the town has gained enormous benefits, which in turn makes your family more tempting. Your daughters are going to get even more proposals from now on.¡¹

    So, this had all been due to me making the tunnel?

    And now, because of me, Shia and Noa would be getting even more marriage proposals?

    Well, the two of them were cute, so I was sure they had people chasing after them all the time anyway.

    ¡¸Cliff and I can prevent that from happening, so we¡¯re not worried about that. We will protect our daughters¡¯ happiness.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, you should have dealt with your situation without making that kind of wager.¡¹

    The king said and sighed again.

    ¡¸You as well, Yuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Me?¡¹

    Why was he getting mad at me, too?

    I was the protagonist trying to protect the heroines from evil. I hadn¡¯t done anything I should get scolded for. I had done my best even without my Bear Suit, so he should praise me instead. Well, I had enjoyed the sword match, but that wasn¡¯t really the point.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t pick a fight like that. It¡¯s dangerous.¡¹

    ¡¸But, that old guy was really annoying.¡¹

    ¡¸You...¡¹

    ¡¸He tried to make Shia marry his son and even drag Noa into it as well. He also plotted with his knights to hurt the girl doing her best to join their ranks. I have no regrets about my actions.¡¹

    ¡¸If you had just left the marriage talks to Eleanora, things would have been fine. Marriage won¡¯t happen unless both families consent to it, and regarding the female knights, what Rutum said was troubling but notpletely wrong. Even though his method of going about it wasn¡¯t good, there was no actual reason for you to fight him.¡¹

    Well, if I hadn¡¯t done anything I would have exploded from stress.

    ¡¸Moreover, you really should consider your actions more so as not to make others worry about you so much.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that you were worried about me, Your Majesty?¡¹

    ¡¸Would there be something wrong with that?¡¹

    I asked him as a joke, but he answered seriously.

    I suddenly got a bit embarrassed.

    ¡¸The girls who were with you also all looked very anxious as they watched you fight. They were clearly worried you might get hurt.¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t paid attention to their expressions during my match. If I had really made them worry, I needed to apologizeter.

    ¡¸Even Tilia seemed to be worried about you. Good thing I didn¡¯t bring Flora with me today.¡¹

    It seemed that, with my actions, I had made many people worry about me. Even the king, who should know how strong I was, most likely couldn¡¯t help but worry, having never actually seen me fight before. Perhaps it really was a good thing that Flora-sama hadn¡¯t been there to witness it. She might have cried. The king was right; I had to consider the people around me before I acted so recklessly next time.

    ¡¸Still, all in all, I do have to thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve proven to everybody present that women can be strong as well. There are many people working in the castle who, like Rutum, also believe that only men should be knights. This turn of events should help to challenge that belief.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you¡¯re saying there are a lot of people who think the same way as Rutum?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Even if things get a bit better because of your actions, noble families who produce knights every generation will most likely still disagree with the idea of female knights.¡¹

    Getting women to enter a male-centric society really was difficult...

    ¡¸Okay, but are you sure you want to let Rutum train the students to be knights then?¡¹

    I was still afraid he would act harshly towards the girls.

    ¡¸I will send an assistant to watch over him. If Rutum starts to support the female knights¡¯ faction, then the opposing factions may learn to ept it as well. Even though he has lost to you, he still wields the power of a knightmander, and it isn¡¯t easy to trample on that noble status.¡¹

    In that case, it should be fine.

    I couldn¡¯t really object anyway, so I had to trust the king here.

    ¡¸Eleanora, I have to warn you that, depending on Rutum¡¯s attitude, I might reinstate him as a knightter on down the line.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really care about that.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, itrgely depends on how he does at the academy, so this will be a conversation for the future.¡¹

    Then what was even the point of me fighting him? Any meaning behind the match was slowly disappearing into thin air.

    Well, Eleanora-san was fine with it, so there wasn¡¯t much I could say to change it.

    The king finally finished his scolding, and not a momentter, the carriage came to a stop at the castle grounds.

    ¡¸Umm, so what am I to do now?¡¹

    ¡¸I have said everything I needed to. Juste in and chat with Flora for a bit. In your usual outfit if possible.¡¹

    In my Bear Suit, he meant?

    Well, that was fine with me.

    ¡¸Well then, I guess I will join you in visiting Flora-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not done talking to you, Eleanora. Once Yuna is done changing,e find me immediately!¡¹

    ¡¸Not fair...¡¹

    Eleanora-san tried to escape with me but was immediately caught by the king.

    ¡¸Whose fault do you think it is that we had to return to the castle, huh? We aren¡¯t even close to done, so hurry up and get Yuna changed beforeing back to me.¡¹

    With that, we finally got off the carriage, and Eleanora-san brought me to an empty room.

    ¡¸I want to thank you once again, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    As I began taking off the uniform, Eleanora-san suddenly bowed and thanked me in a serious tone.

    ¡¸I¡¯m the one who got involved in your affairs after losing my cool, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but that was all for my daughters¡¯ sake, right? So I must thank you.¡¹

    I was starting to get embarrassed, receiving such serious gratitude.

    ¡¸Still, Rutum seemed to be getting quite interested in you, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you stop that, please.¡¹

    Just remembering it gave me the chills.

    ¡¸If you marry his son, you¡¯ll be a noble, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸I must politely decline.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, how about I adopt you as my daughter? I¡¯m sure Cliff would be okay with that.¡¹

    Me bing Cliff¡¯s daughter?

    I could only imagine Cliff beingpletely perplexed by that situation.

    Yup, that was a big no go as well.

 Chapter 280 â€“ Bear-san Gets Taken Away, Finaâ€™s Perspective

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Even though Yuna isn¡¯t wearing her full Bear Suit at the moment, Yuna equals Bear by this point, so ¡®Bear-san Gets Taken Away¡¯ fits as a title.

    Yuna-oneechan was going to fight an adult in a match.

    It was because a noble was trying to make Shia-sama and Noa-sama marry his sons. He even tried to threaten them by getting someone to harm Shia-sama¡¯s friend. Because of that, Eleanora-sama and Yuna-oneechan got very angry, and now Yuna-oneechan would have to fight against Knight-sama.

    I knew Yuna-oneechan was strong, but her opponent was much bigger than her and looked incredibly powerful.

    I wasn¡¯t really that worried, though, and was sure Yuna-oneechan would win. She could defeat all sorts of strong monsters easily, after all.

    The fight was amazing. Their swords shed against each other every second, and the two of them moved around at such great speed that I could barely follow.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, watch out!¡¹

    Shuri cried out beside me, so I grasped her small hand tightly.

    This was the first time Shuri ever watched Yuna-oneechan fight, so she must be full of worry. Of course, when actually watching a match this intense, even I felt the same way.

    Yuna-oneechan dodged the Knight-sama¡¯s attacks left and right. I knew it was a practice sword, but it was still scary, knowing it could hit her at any moment. Still, I noticed that Yuna-oneechan was smiling as if she was having fun. I didn¡¯t know who had the upper hand, but seeing Yuna-oneechan smile like that made me feel much morefortable.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, do your best.¡¹

    Shuri cheered as she grasped my hand.

    Yuna-oneechan should be fine. She wouldn¡¯t lose. Yet, why wasn¡¯t she using her magic? Could it be that she was for some reason unable to?

    Ah. It seemed like Yuna-oneechan didn¡¯t know she was allowed to use magic.

    At the end of the fight, Yuna-oneechan blocked Knight-sama¡¯s attack with magic, and won the battle. Thank god. Shia-sama and Noa-sama also looked very delighted by this turn of events.

    The other people around us also seemed very surprised to see Yuna-oneechan win.

    ¡¸Amazing.¡¹¡¸Who is she?¡¹¡¸Yes, just who is that pretty girl?¡¹¡¸Which ss is she from?¡¹¡¸What year?¡¹¡¸Was there always such a cute girl at this academy?¡¹¡¸She¡¯s so cool.¡¹¡¸Who said she was weak before?¡¹¡¸Her block with magic at the end was amazing.¡¹¡¸I saw her talking to His Majesty, too.¡¹¡¸Her sword skills are quite good.¡¹¡¸Her panties are white.¡¹¡¸She really knows how to use a sword.¡¹¡¸That knight must have held back.¡¹¡¸Were you even watching the match properly? There was no way he was holding back.¡¹¡¸I would have no confidence in stopping even one of those attacks.¡¹¡¸If I remember correctly, she was talking to that girl. Is she her friend?¡¹

    I could hear all sorts ofments from all around us.

    Most of them were praises towards Yuna-oneechan.

    A few people were even ncing our way, but I knew they were meant for Shia-sama.

    Just when we thought the match was over, it was announced that they were going to do another match.

    This time, the opponent would be the Noble-sama who wanted to make Shia-sama and Noa-sama marry his sons.

    From what I understood, he should be themanding officer of that Knight-sama. Didn¡¯t that mean that he was even stronger than the Knight-sama?

    I decided to put my worries aside and watch the match unfold.

    Like the match against the Knight-sama, Yuna-oneechan moved her small body around very quickly. Stepping right, stepping left, dodging backwards, and swinging her sword forwards. She also used some of her magic from time to time.

    The match ended very quickly and unexpectedly with Noble-sama stumbling and falling on his face.

    Everybody around us beganughing, but I knew it was all thanks to Yuna-oneechan¡¯s magic. Not a momentter, I overheard a conversation, which showed me that I hadn¡¯t been the only one who realized that it wasn¡¯t due to Noble-sama being clumsy.

    ¡¸That girl distracted him and then raised the ground to make him stumble. She is used to fighting with magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she waspletely leading Rutum-sama around by the nose.¡¹

    ¡¸Just who is this little girl...?¡¹

    It was the Knight-sama discussing the match with one of his friends.

    Hearing them praise Yuna-oneechan made me quite happy.

    ¡¸Huh?¡¹

    Just when I thought the match was over, they began another one.

    Eleanora-san announced the start of the next match and said that this time no magic was to be allowed.

    ¡¸WIthout magic, that girl will be at an disadvantage.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, judging by the two matches she fought, she is a really good magic user. This time, however, she will have to rely solely on her sword.¡¹

    ¡¸That means Rutum-sama will win.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there is a vast difference in the amount of experience they have, and Rutum-sama isn¡¯t ourmanding officer just for show.¡¹

    I red at the knights this time.

    There was no way that Yuna-oneechan would lose. Yes, she would definitely win.

    The knights might have noticed my re as they looked back at me, so I quickly turned away.

    The next fight was more like a normal match between two knights.

    Noble-sama swung down his sword in a dangerous fashion, but Yuna-oneechan managed to dodge the attack in time.

    ¡¸Hey now, did she just dodge Rutum-sama¡¯s attack?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she¡¯s quite amazing. Because of here excellent sidestep, Rutum-sama¡¯s offense slowed down quite a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, you¡¯re right. If she blocked or dodged it poorly, her bnce would have been broken, and then he would have been able to use a heavy blow to finish her off.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, isn¡¯t Rutum-sama having a bit of a hard time?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, her movements arepletely on point, so he can¡¯t find a chance to break her bnce.¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm... Is it because of those ck-and-white shoes of hers?¡¹

    From this distance, they were only able to see the color of Yuna-oneechan¡¯s shoes and couldn¡¯t tell that they were actually Bear-san Shoes.

    The match was even, which the Knight-samas clearly did not expect.

    In my heart I cheered Yuna-oneechan on as the match unfolded, but like everyone else, I kept quiet and watched the intense fight in silence, with only the sounds of shing swords resounding throughout the arena.

    Eventually, the Noble-sama fell to the floor, but it wasn¡¯t because of Yuna-oneechan¡¯s magic this time. Noble-sama tried to stand back up again but couldn¡¯t. Then, he announced that he had lost and it was Yuna-oneechan¡¯s win.

    ¡¸Yay!¡¹

    Shuri let go of my hand and raised both of hers in the air, happily cheering for Yuna-oneechan.

    When I looked at the knights who had imed that the Noble-sama would win, I could see that they were inplete disbelief.

    I knew that Yuna-oneechan would win from the very beginning.

    Next to me, Shia-sama and Noa-sama also started to cheer happily.

    Soon, cheers started to pick up all around us, which brought a smile to my face.

    Just at that moment, however, Yuna-oneechan suddenly punched Noble-sama while he was still down, and he flew away from the impact.

    Because of her sudden actions, the audience went dead silent.

    ¡¸...¡¹

    ¡¸...¡¹

    The nearby Knight-samas all stared at what had happened with their mouths agape.

    Then, before we could even collect ourselves, Yuna-oneechan went to Noble-sama and poured water over him with her magic. People around us gasped in shock as she did so.

    ¡¸She just dumped water on Rutum-sama... ¡¹

    ¡¸Who cares about that. She punched Rutum-sama even after he said he lost, didn¡¯t she?¡¹

    Just what was Yuna-oneechan doing?

    As we were all wondering what would happen, Noble-sama stood up and went to towards His Majesty together with Yuna-oneechan.

    They then began to discuss something.

    I quickly got a bit closer so I could hear them talk.

    ¡¸I will be returning to the castle. Eleanora, Yuuna, both of you will apany me.¡¹

    His Majesty said he would be taking Yuna-oneechan with him.

    Yuna-oneechan and Eleanora-sama both tried to protest, but it was no use. In the end, Tilia-sama said she would take care of us in their ce, and the conversation was resolved.

    Yuna-oneechan looked at us with a sad expression.

    ¡¸I have to go to the castle with His Majesty for a while. Go enjoy the rest of the festival with Tilia-sama, okay?¡¹

    Even when she told us to enjoy it, would we be able to?

    Yuna-oneechan and Eleanora-san were then taken away by His Majesty.

    Was it just me, or did they almost look like calves being herded away?

    Those Knight-samas near us began dispersing as well.

    ¡¸Yuna is simply amazing. The way she fights... ¡¹

    Tilia-sama said as she approached us who were left behind.

    Yes, Yuna-oneechan was amazing. If I tried harder, could Ie to be as amazing as her? I tried imagining it, but it felt rather impossible.

    ¡¸Shia! Just who was that girl?!¡¹

    A girl came up to Shia-sama. If I remembered correctly, she was Shia-sama¡¯s friend.

    ¡¸What the hell is with her strength, really? What is her name? Which ss is she from?¡¹

    The girl grabbed Shia-sama¡¯s shoulder and began shaking her.

    ¡¸Um, that¡¯s... ¡¹

    Shia-sama was unable to answer. More and more students began to gather around Shia-sama, all asking about Yuna-oneechan.

    ¡¸Which ss is that girl from?¡¹¡¸Was there always such a cute girl here?¡¹¡¸Shia, introduce her to us.¡¹

    So many people gathered around us that we almost couldn¡¯t see Shia-sama anymore.

    ¡¸Onee-sama.¡¹

    Noa-sama became quite concerned by this turn of events.

    I wished I could ask Yuna-oneechan and Eleanora-sama for help, but sadly, they had been taken away by His Majesty.

    Just as we were worried about what to do, Tilia-sama gestured to Noa-sama and said: ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I will handle it.¡¹

    ¡¸Everybody, you are troubling Shia. Also, the practice matches against the knights are still in progress...¡¹

    The students who were aiming to be knights looked over at the arena, where the Noble-sama was standing and waiting for them. The students quickly ran over.

    Other students also left soon after being scolded by Tilia-sama. Tilia-sama was so cool...

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Tilia-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Yuna asked me to take care of you, after all.¡¹

    With Tilia-sama shielding us from the crowd, we promptly left the area. As we walked, we decided to head back to Shia-sama¡¯s stand first, and once we got there, we were met by a line of customers waiting for their cotton candy. It seemed like business was still going well.

    ¡¸Shia, you¡¯re back already?¡¹

    Marcus-san asked when he noticed us. I managed to remember who he was since we had greeted each other several times by now.

    ¡¸Yeah, well, some things happened.¡¹

    ¡¸Was it something interesting?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, you could say that. First, can you forward a message to everyone elseter?¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸If peoplee and ask you about Yuna-san, don¡¯t say a thing, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Did Yuna-san do something again?¡¹

    We left Timor-san to make the cotton candy by himself, while Cattleya joined us as we sat down behind the stand.

    ¡¸Everyone...?¡¹

    Timor-san called out to us.

    ¡¸There aren¡¯t that many customers right now, so he¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what did Yuna-san do?¡¹

    Shia-sama gave a simplified version of how Yuna-oneechan was forced to use a fake name by His Majesty and Eleanora-sama to fight against the Knight-sama and then fought Noble-sama.

    ¡¸Yuna-san did that, huh?¡¹

    ¡¸I wish I got to see the match...¡¹

    ¡¸Still, Yuna-san is way too strong, if she can even defeat Rutum-sama. Dammit, I really wish I got to see it.¡¹

    ¡¸Anyways, if someone asks you about Yuna-san, make sure you don¡¯t tell them a thing, okay?¡¹

    Marcus-san and Cattleya-san both nodded in understanding.

    Afterwards, they switched with Timor-san, and Shia-sama gave him the same exnation.

    As we were talking, we heard a lot of noise outside.

    ¡¸Ahh, there you are, Shia!¡¹

    ¡¸Rinea?¡¹

    It was Shia-sama¡¯s friend, Rinea-san, and behind her were a bunch of other students.

    ¡¸Shia, will you please tell me who that girl was?¡¹

    ¡¸Um, you know... ¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that she saved me by taking my ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, where did you hear that from?¡¹

    ¡¸So, it¡¯s true?¡¹

    ¡¸Rutum-sama was against female knights and was trying to do something immature. So, she was only trying to help.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, so what¡¯s her name? Which ss is she from? I want to meet and thank her.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s... ¡¹

    Shia-sama was troubled. She looked at us for help, but there was nothing we could do.

    ¡¸That girl is my friend.¡¹

    ¡¸Tilia-sama?!¡¹

    ¡¸She is my friend, and doesn¡¯t attend this academy.¡¹

    ¡¸But wasn¡¯t she wearing our uniform?¡¹

    ¡¸Some things happened, so I lent it to her.¡¹

    Shia-sama jumped on Tilia-sama¡¯s exnation.

    ¡¸Then, at least tell me her name.¡¹

    ¡¸Her name is Yuuna. However, we cannot announce that in public, so don¡¯t spread this information, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuuna-chan, is it? Thank you very much, Tilia-sama. Still, this means I won¡¯t be able to thank her.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, sadly that will be the case. She¡¯s only here in the capital to attend the school festival, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸How unfortunate. In that case, can you please at least tell her that I wanted to thank her? I really wish I could show my appreciation to her as a fellow girl. Seeing how such a small girl could be so powerful has motivated me very much.¡¹

    If I worked hard, would I be able to be as strong as Yuna-oneechan?

    Well, even among the monsters that I knew of, there were many that I couldn¡¯t defeat, but could I eventually be as strong as Yuna-oneechan and take down those monsters?

    The students listened to Tilia-sama¡¯s exnation and left obediently. It was good that things didn¡¯t get out of hand.

    ¡¸Thank you so much, Tilia-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna is my friend, so of course I would help.¡¹

    Yuna-oneechan really was amazing to have even a princess call her a friend.

    To begin with, it was already quite amazing that amoner like me could meet and talk with the royal family. It was all thanks to Yuna-oneechan.

    Still, it would be a big problem if Shuri were to think that this was something normal. I would have to ask Mother to exin it to her when we returned to Crimonia.

    Afterwards, Shia-sama switched out with Marcus-san, and stayed behind at the shop.

    ¡¸Alright, where do you want to go? Yuna asked me to take care of you, so let¡¯s have some fun since it¡¯s thest day of the festival.¡¹

    We did as Yuna-oneechan told us and enjoyed the festival.

    As we walked around the academy, we could hear rumors about Yuna-oneechan on every corner, though.

    ¡¸This beautiful girl defeated all the knights, you see.¡¹No, she actually hadn¡¯t defeated them all.

    ¡¸A beautiful girl killed Rutum-san.¡¹No, she hadn¡¯t; she just hurt him a bit.

    ¡¸Powerful magic came out of the beautiful girl¡¯s lovely fingertip.¡¹Yuna-oneechan¡¯s hands were covered by Bear-sans, so that wasn¡¯t true, either.

    ¡¸That beautiful girl seems to be rted to the royal family.¡¹That was kind of true, right?

    ¡¸The young girls who were with the beautiful girl were pretty cute, too, from what I heard.¡¹Were they talking about Noa-sama and Shia-sama?

    Aside from Yuna-oneechan being a beautiful girl, most of the rumors about her were false. Just how far had the rumors gone? If Yuna-oneechan heard them, I was sure she would be very troubled.

    As we walked around, I noticed many of the people spreading rumors also took time to nce at us.

    ¡¸I think we¡¯re being stared at because of me. Do you want to go to the ce we went yesterday? We could watch the concert and y again. If we go there, we won¡¯t be seen.¡¹

    We all agreed with Tilia-sama¡¯s proposal. I did want to see the programs again.

    Both the ensemble and y were quite fantastic. I was very happy that Shuri and Noa-sama didn¡¯t object, either.

    We went to the samerge building as yesterday, so that we could watch those amazing performances again.

    Still, was it really okay for us to have fun while Yuna-oneechan got dragged away by His Majesty?

 Chapter 281 â€“ Bear-san Finds Out What Happened After She Got Taken Away

    I parted ways with Eleanora-san after changing back into the Bear Suit and went over to Princess Flora¡¯s room on my own.

    It was much more calming being in my Bear Suit.

    I had to be careful when I was wearing regr clothes, but in the Bear Suit, I could rx and not worry about surprise attacks any more.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    As I entered her room, Princess Flora rushed up to me quickly. She immediately recognized me when I was in my Bear Suit...

    I was tired out from all the things that had happened today, so I brought ouz Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to y with Princess Flora and sat down to rest. Princess Flora happily yed with the Bears in their cub forms while I watched and sipped on some tea that Anju-san brewed for me.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-sama. May I ask you something?¡¹

    Anju-san, who was also watching Princess Flora while having tea with me hesitantly inquired.

    ¡¸Um, how did you get these bear plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸The plushies?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, the plushies of Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Anju-san, do you want them, too?¡¹

    ¡¸Actually, I wanted to give them as a present to my daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I had an acquaintance of mine make them for me, so...¡¹

    They weren¡¯t up for sale, so she couldn¡¯t buy them even if she wanted to.

    ¡¸In that case, is it possible for me to request a set to be made? I will pay for it, of course.¡¹

    Hmm... Should I simply charge her the amount it costs to make them?

    Well, Anju-san always brewed tea and took care of me whenever I came over, so even that seemed unfair to me.

    ¡¸How about I give them to you as a present?¡¹

    ¡¸Would that really be okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. You¡¯re always taking care of me, so doing that much is nothing.¡¹

    Also, her daughter liked my picture books. Since she liked Bears, she should take good care of the plushies.

    ¡¸Is only one enough?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, one is fine. My daughter does not know about Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama, so it will be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Which one should we give her, then?¡¹

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-sama would be better since stains will be too obvious on Hugging Bear-sama.¡¹

    As a responsible parent, it made sense for her to worry about stains. The Hugging Bear plushie was white and could get stains easily, after all.

    I took out a Swaying Bear plushie from my Bear Box and handed it to her.

    ¡¸Thank you very much. I will make sure to thank you next time youe around.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Oh, but if it¡¯s okay with you, could you serve me another cup of tea?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course. I will prepare it right away.¡¹

    Anju-san said and happily served me another cup of tea.

    I drank the freshly brewed tea and continued to rx. Eventually, Princess Flora tired herself out and fell asleep, which Anju-san quickly noticed and carried her to her bed.

    ¡¸Thanks for your hard work, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡¹

    I thanked them for ying with Princess Flora.

    ¡¸Both Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama are so gentle.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they¡¯re good Bears.¡¹

    I boasted as if I was talking about my own children.

    Well, since I was the summoner, perhaps that wasn¡¯t too far off.

    I decided to entertain my children until Eleanora-san came to get me soon after.

    Oh, was it time already? Time sure went by quickly while I was ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸Eleanora-san, you look kind of exhausted. Are you okay?¡¹

    Rather than exhausted, it looked more as if she had lost her spirit. She seemed to have been drained of all her energy.

    ¡¸After we parted ways, not only did His Majesty continue to scold me, but even Zangu and the others lectured me. They were being so mean to me and wouldn¡¯t forgive me no matter how many times I apologized. Aren¡¯t they awful?¡¹

    So, that was why she looked so defeated.

    Well, of course other people would be angry that she wagered her job. Taking the future into consideration, scolding her now was for her own good.

    Still, considering that I had taken part in the wager, I shouldn¡¯t be the one to point that out.

    ¡¸They were just worried about you, Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Really now? They looked more like they had fun bullying me, though.¡¹

    Well, it was most likely how they always had to treat her...

    ¡¸They scolded you because that¡¯s how important they think you are to them.¡¹

    If they warned her that much, they must really care about her. If they didn¡¯t, they would have most likely just spoken to her apathetically. They wouldn¡¯t have scolded her, and would simply have ignored her selfish actions. It wouldn¡¯t have mattered to them whether she actually quit or not. For some reason, thetter scenario reminded me of myself in my former world...

    I was a bit envious that she had so many people worrying about her.

    Yet, Eleanora-san wasn¡¯t convinced by my words. Since she was the person in question, it must be harder for her to understand. People often only noticed things they had when they were gone. I can say this from true second hand experience.

    The worn-out Eleanora-san and I returned to her mansion, where she told me that she would rest in her room until dinnertime. We parted ways, and I went straight to the guest room, where the girls were already waiting for me.

    ¡¸Yuna-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan.¡¹

    The girls ran up to me the moment I entered the room.

    They had alreadye back from the festival, huh.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back, everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, was everything okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, His Majesty just scolded me a bit, nothing more.¡¹

    Unlike Eleanora-san, I was happy to find out that there were people worrying about me.

    Still, when I proceeded to exin why the king scolded me, the girls all looked at me with concerned expressions. Personally, I didn¡¯t care about the king¡¯s scolding, but the girls viewed it differently. Well, if I were to think about it in their perspective, perhaps I was supposed to dread being scolded by the most powerful man in the country?

    Maybe this could be simr to being yelled at by the CEO of thepany or the school principal? No, it should be on the level of a prime minister or even a president. Getting yelled at by those people would have been scary indeed.

    ¡¸He wasn¡¯t that angry at me, so you don¡¯t have to look so worried. He was more angry at Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸At Mother?!¡¹

    Oh, I shouldn¡¯t have said that.

    Just as I managed to get rid of their anxiousness for me, I had created more on another front. Obviously Noa hearing about her own mother getting scolded by the king would cause her to worry...

    ¡¸Well, even though Eleanora-san got scolded more than me... things should have ended up fine, I think?¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    She had been scolded for quite a while after we parted ways, so I wasn¡¯tpletely sure, but

    based on what Eleanora-san had told me, everybody seemed to have lectured her for her own sake, so she should really be fine. I patted Noa¡¯s head to calm her down and changed the topic.

    ¡¸By the way, where is Shia?¡¹

    I hadn¡¯t seen her anywhere since I returned to the mansion. Was she in her room, maybe?

    ¡¸Onee-sama still had things to do at the stand, so she stayed at the academy.¡¹

    Ah, since it was thest day, everybody must be cleaning up.

    ¡¸So, the three of you came home by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸No, Tilia-sama had one of her attendants bring us back. I tried to refuse her offer, but she said that since you had asked her to take care of us, she had to make sure we got home safely.¡¹

    I had to thank Tilia the next time I saw her.

    Would I get to see her again, though?

    I hadn¡¯t ever met Tilia at the castle before and was only able to meet her this time because I came to the school festival. Maybe if I asked Shia when the academy had a holiday...

    ¡¸So, did you girls have a good time?¡¹

    When I asked them that, they showedplicated expressions.

    Had Rutum done something to them?

    ¡¸Once Mother and you were taken away by His Majesty, things got a bit hectic.¡¹

    The three girls looked at each other before telling me about what had happened while I was gone.

    As soon as I had been taken away by the king, rumors about me began to spread everywhere.

    ¡¸She was amazing.¡¹¡¸Who is she?¡¹¡¸Yea, who is that pretty girl?¡¹¡¸Which ss is she from?¡¹¡¸What year?¡¹¡¸Was there always such a cute girl at this academy?¡¹¡¸She¡¯s so cool.¡¹¡¸Who said she was weak, huh?¡¹¡¸Her magic at the end was unbelievable.¡¹¡¸She was talking to His Majesty, too.¡¹¡¸Not to mention how skilled with the sword she is.¡¹¡¸Her panties are white.¡¹¡¸Yeah, she wields her sword well.¡¹¡¸That knight must have held back.¡¹¡¸Were you even watching the match properly? There was no way the knight was holding back.¡¹¡¸I would have no confidence in stopping even one of those attacks.¡¹

    The girls started to re-enact the conversations that had happened. Was it just me, or were there some strange conversations mixed in there?

    I could have sworn I heard something about my panties being said.

    Also, had there really been such a big fuss over me after I left?

    ¡¸That beautiful girl defeated all the knights.¡¹¡¸This cute girl killed Rutum-san.¡¹¡¸Magic came out from her lovely fingertips.¡¹¡¸She also seems to be rted to the royal family.¡¹¡¸The young girls who were with the beautiful girl were pretty cute, too, from what I heard.¡¹

    No matter what areas they had gone to, they heard more and more rumors.

    Wait, when they had been talking about a beautiful, cute, and lovely girl, were they really talking about me, perchance? No, they must have been either talking about someone else or the girls simply made it all up.

    Although I didn¡¯t want to admit it, I could understand why some people might find me cute in my Bear Suit. Yet, when I was wearing the academy¡¯s uniform, no part of me could be considered cute. There were plenty of girls wearing a uniform at the academy, so the clothing was nothing special, and all those girls should be considered way more beautiful than me.

    Thus, I ended up taking their story with a grain of salt, deciding to confirm the details with Shia and Tiliater.

    Next, the girls exined how Shia had gotten mobbed by all the students and had to be saved by Tilia.

    ¡¸Tilia-sama was very cool. With a single re from her, nobody dared to approach us.¡¹

    Well, anyone would run away when a princess red at them.

    Still, I believed Tilia might have said too much. She had dered that I was her ¡®precious friend¡¯, and that caused quite amotion.

    Just what had this dear princess been thinking?

    Because of this, rumors of me being the princess¡¯s friend started to spread.

    ¡¸Does that mean you didn¡¯t enjoy the festival?¡¹

    ¡¸No, we watched the concert and y again, so we had fun.¡¹

    Because of the bustling rumors, Tilia had suggested that they go back to the royal family¡¯s room at the theatre and watch the programs again.

    I wouldn¡¯t mind listening to the concert or the singing princess¡¯s songs again, either. If I could, I would even record them and listen to them any time I wanted.

    Hmm, did such tools exist in this world?

    If so, I really wanted to get my hands on one.

    Just as I finished listening to their story, the door to our room opened, and Shia entered, looking just as tired as Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸Onee-sama?!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m back, Noa.¡¹

    Shia said as she copsed on the sofa.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, are you okay?¡¹

    Noa took a cup of water from the table and brought it over to Shia, who drank it in one go.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what happened, Onee-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸So many people came to ask me about Yuna-san that I¡¯m just a bit tired out now...¡¹

    They had asked her about me?

    ording to Shia, things had calmed down thanks to Tilia, but soon after, some knights and her ssmates who heard about it came to interrogate her as well.

    The stand wasn¡¯t a ce toe give their thanks like a temple, so why had the the knightse?

    ¡¸Did they do anything to you?¡¹

    If they had, I would go and raid them, now with Bear Suit on.

    ¡¸No, they didn¡¯t do anything to us. They just asked about you like everybody else.¡¹

    Shia had supposedly told them to ask Eleanora-san and Tilia-san instead before running away.

    I had caused quite a bit of trouble, hadn¡¯t I?

    When I apologized to her, Shia simply shook her head.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you fought for the sake of all female knights. I really appreciate all that you¡¯ve done and would never think of it as trouble. Oh, and Rinea said she wanted to thank you, too.¡¹

    We came to the part where Tilia had dered that I was her friend, but looking at it now, saying that to get people off my back might have been for the best?

    ¡¸Still, are there really a lot of rumors about me spreading around?¡¹

    I asked her to confirm what the girls had told me earlier.

    ¡¸I think the girls were exaggerating things a bit.¡¹

    ¡¸No, they are right, Yuna-san. There were plenty of rumors about you.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t get the answer I was hoping for...

    ¡¸The rumors were mostly spot on as well. Still, things should be getting a bit out of hand at this point.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve got to be kidding me... I just wanted to fight some people.¡¹

    I only fought against two knights. It shouldn¡¯t have been that bad, right?

    However, Shia simply shook her head.

    ¡¸Half the school was talking about the mysterious, beautiful girl who defeated the knights.¡¹

    ¡¸Beautiful girl?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. They were talking about you, of course.¡¹

    I was nowhere close to being a beautiful girl, but for some reason rumors had treated me as one. If the knights who fought against me found out, they would surelyugh. ¡¸A beautiful girl? What a joke...¡¹¡¸Beautiful? Which part of her?¡¹¡¸She¡¯s not beautiful, she¡¯s just weird.¡¹I could easily imagine them saying things like that.

    This was even more depressing than being made fun of while wearing the Bear Suit.

    ¡¸Also, Yuna-san, this is a bit hard to admit, but I think your panties were showing a bit during the fight.¡¹

    ¡¸Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Tell me that¡¯s a lie!¡¹

    The girls had also mentioned that, but I was sure they had just heard it wrong.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Based on the conversations, it was only whenever you jumped or moved around intensely, and even then it was only possible to catch a glimpse of them, so nobody should have seen them clearly.¡¹

    That didn¡¯tfort me in the slightest.

    Uuu, that was embarrassing.

    I could never go near the academy again.

    I shouldn¡¯t even show my face when walking around the capital, either.

    There was no beautiful girl, only a weird human being, hiding under a Bear Suit.

    The four of them tried to console me, but they couldn¡¯t erase the fact that my panties had been seen.

    At least the people thought that a beautiful girl had defeated those knights.

    I pulled down my Bear Hood as far as I could and tried to run away from this cruel reality.

 Chapter 282 â€“ Bear-san Confines Herself Indoors

    I was so depressed that I asked Suririna-san toe find me in the guest room when dinner was ready.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-sama?¡¹

    Suririna-san asked out of concern, but I couldn¡¯t tell her about such embarrassing things as my panties being seen, or the rampaging rumors about me being a beautiful girl. Also, if I mentioned thetter, it would surely sound like I was actually iming to be a pretty girl.

    The girls had tried their best to console me, but I didn¡¯t think I could recover for a while.

    In the end, they had to drag me to the dining hall.

    ¡¸You¡¯rete.¡¹

    When we arrived at the dining hall, we were met by Eleanora-san who was in a much better mood than I was. Earlier, she had looked like a living corpse, but now she seemed to be energetic again. I was envious of how fast she was able to recover...

    ¡¸Oh my, Yuna-chan, you don¡¯t seem lively at all.¡¹

    ¡¸You look quite lively on the other hand, Eleanora-san.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I took a break. Theyined so much that I told them I would quit even though I¡¯ve won the wager, so they let me off for a while.¡¹

    In other words, she had threatened them, whiching from Eleanora-san, could be considered quite a scary prospect.

    ¡¸So, why are you so down, Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸My pure maiden heart has been broken.¡¹

    ¡¸...?¡¹

    Eleanora-san just tilted her head, confused by my reply.

    ¡¸Um, you see, Yuna-san...¡¹

    Shia and Noa went over to Eleanora-san and exined it to her.

    ¡¸Fufu, those boys who saw your panties had some really good luck.¡¹

    It was extremely bad luck for me, though.

    ¡¸I want to gouge their eyes out and hit them on the head until they forget everything.¡¹

    That might be enough for me to be able to get past it.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, don¡¯t say such scary things.¡¹

    Fina and Shuri both looked at me with worry in their eyes.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding. I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think I could bring myself to actually gouge their eyes out, but I couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that I would hit their heads until they forgot everything if I got the chance. I really wanted to take this seething embarrassment out on something. This was all that old man, Rutum¡¯s fault. If I saw him again, maybe I should send a Bear Punch at his stomach. Still, if I punched him while wearing the Bear Suit, he might find out that I was the girl he had fought with. Then again, wearing the uniform would bring about other problems.

    It seemed that I couldn¡¯t actually do anything to get rid of this ufortable feeling.

    ¡¸Oh right, Shia, there¡¯s something I wanted to ask you. When will you get to have a break from school?¡¹

    ¡¸A break?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to give Tilia my thanks before heading back to Crimonia, but whenever I go to the castle, she is at the academy, so I can¡¯t meet up with her. So, I figured I should go to the castle when she¡¯s on a holiday.¡¹

    Her encounter rate at the castle had been zero percent all this time, after all.

    ¡¸Hmm... We have to clean up and hear the results of the festival tomorrow... We get a day off after that, though.¡¹

    In that case, I should go see her the day after tomorrow.

    ¡¸So, umm, Yuna-san, could you stay behind for a bit the day after? Marcus and the others all wanted to thank you before you head home.¡¹

    They most likely wanted to thank me for lending them the cotton candy machines and advertising the shop. I didn¡¯t really need their thanks, but I would be contradicting myself if I went to thank Tilia while not epting theirs. Hence, I agreed to meet them.

    Still, should I meet with them in the morning, and then with TIlia in the afternoon, or the other way around?

    ¡¸Shia, what should I do with the uniform? Do you want me to wash it before giving it back?¡¹

    I had to return the uniform since I was only borrowing it.

    ¡¸I will give it to you as a gift since I feel like it could be of use to you at ater date.¡¹

    Just what was with that prediction? I had no ns to wear the uniform again nor let my panties be seen.

    I tried to refuse, but Shia made me keep it in the end.

    ¡¸Actually, why don¡¯t you enter the academy as a student? If you did that, then the uniform woulde in handy.¡¹

    ¡¸My, what a good idea.¡¹

    Eleanora-san agreed with Shia¡¯s suggestion, but others quickly voiced their objections.

    ¡¸Yuna-san can¡¯t attend the academy; she has toe back to Crimonia with us.¡¹

    ¡¸I will be sad if I can¡¯t meet Yuna-neechan anymore, so she can¡¯t stay.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, there are bound to be problems without Yuna-oneechan at home.¡¹

    The three girls all opposed in turn.

    It was quite nice to feel needed.

    I had no intentions of going to school from the beginning, so I politely declined Shia¡¯s suggestion.

    School was hell for a shut-in like me.

    Also, even with my Bear Gate, I would have a harder time meeting with Fina and the others back in Crimonia if I attended. Not to mention I would surely get lonely here by myself.

    Even though I epted the uniform, I vowed to myself to never wear it again.

    The next day, I simply stayed holed up inside the guest room.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, let¡¯s go outside. We will have to go back to Crimonia soon, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t feel like going outside.¡¹

    ¡¸Nobody is going to recognize you when you¡¯re wearing the Bear Suit, you know.¡¹

    Ever since my panties had been seen, I didn¡¯t have the courage to walk outside.

    Noa and Shuri both grabbed one puppet each, and tried to drag me out of the room, but I didn¡¯t budge. Nobody could physically move me while I was wearing the equipment I had received from God, after all.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, nobody is going to be able to see your panties, either.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, nobody will know it¡¯s you, Yuna-oneechan.¡¹

    People should eventually forget about it as time passed. Still, if people somehow found out that the uniformed beauty (lol) from yesterday was me, then their memories of my panties might surface in their minds right there on the spot.

    Therefore, I really shouldn¡¯t head outside today and instead wait for everyone to forget about me first.

    ¡¸All the students are at the academy, so you¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    Noa tried to pull my arm, but I still didn¡¯t budge.

    It wasn¡¯t only the students who had watched the match. There had been regr citizens, too, and I didn¡¯t know how many of them witnessed it.

    ¡¸Yuna-neechan, was it embarrassing for you? I¡¯m fine when it happens to me.¡¹

    Shuri said as she let go of my hand and tried to lift up her own skirt. Fina, who was next to her, however managed to quickly grab Shuri¡¯s hand and protect her panties from being seen.

    Well, we were all girls here, and Shuri was still young. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Fina, on the other hand, began lecturing Shuri that she shouldn¡¯t lift up her skirt, no matter where she was.

    ¡¸When you grow up, it¡¯s embarrassing to have your panties be seen by boys.¡¹

    As soon as Noa let go of my hand as well, I leapt onto the bed behind me and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in front of me.

    I had just made the invincible Bear Wall to shield me. Nobody could get past this wall, so the girls couldn¡¯t drag me out now.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, protect me! Oh, but you can¡¯t hurt them, okay?¡¹

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked quite troubled by my request, especially since the challengers had already arrived at the Bear Wall. Shuri and Noa were happily assaulting the wall, diving onto the Bears.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big Swaying Bear!¡¹

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t seen them in their big forms ever since we came here.¡¹

    The two of them grabbed onto the Bears, and after a while, Fina also joined them. The three of them then began ying with the Bears and stopped trying to get me to go outside.

    The wall had protected me, one way or another.

    The following day, Marcus, Timor, and Cattleya arrived after breakfast, just as promised.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, we would like to thank you for helping us.¡¹

    They all gave their thanks in turn.

    I was happy to see that they had cleaned up the machines before returning them; the machines always ended up being all sticky from the cotton candy and were a pain to clean. Seeing the machines reminded me that I had promised the king that I would bring him some cotton candy when I had the chance. Things might get troublesome if I were to forget and go home, so maybe I should bring some for him when I visited Tiliater today.

    ¡¸Thanks to you, Yuna-san, we won third ce in the food department.¡¹

    Shia shared the results of the school festival.

    I had almost forgotten all about the voting for the best programs.

    On the third day, the king had crashed the festival, which caused the number of votes that day to plummet.

    ¡¸I still don¡¯t get how we only ended up third, though. I really thought we were going to get first ce.¡¹

    Marcus was not convinced with the results.

    ¡¸Is third ce bad?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. All food stands did quite well, so getting third ce is pretty amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but we sold so much, there¡¯s no way we only got third.¡¹

    ¡¸Marcus, you¡¯re so persistent. Didn¡¯t you hear from our ssmates? The food was mysterious and tasted good, but it didn¡¯t fill their stomachs, so we didn¡¯t get that many votes because of it.¡¹

    Cattleya exined to the grumbling Marcus.

    ¡¸But, everybody ate it so happily...¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, they did, but it¡¯s still great that we were able to get third ce in the end.¡¹

    ¡¸Fine, I get it.¡¹

    ¡¸Also, if it weren¡¯t for those faulty ballots, we might have been able to get second ce.¡¹

    Timor¡¯sment made the three of them look grim.

    ¡¸Faulty ballots?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you see, many people wrote ¡°bear¡± instead of our shop number. We thought that people must have written it down because they saw the bear ornament that you made for us. But, that couldn¡¯t be, right...?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I heard it started from day one. And, even I could tell the difference between the before and after...¡¹Marcus said as he looked at me.

    ¡¸Yes, the rumors spread quickly, after all.¡¹Cattleya also nced at me.

    ¡¸Yep, that must be why.¡¹Timor turned to me as well.

    ¡¸Our stall became the bear¡¯s stand from day one.¡¹Shia exined in the end.

    The girls turned their gazes at me after that, too.

    Based on Shia¡¯s exnation, there had been a huge amount of people who tried to vote for ¡®bear¡¯ on the first day. Themittee in charge of the votes had decided that the ¡®bear¡¯ referred to the Bear ornament ced at Shia¡¯s stand on the second date, but by then, the ¡®bear¡¯ votes already decreased. Also, when they had looked into it more, they found out that a girl dressed as a Bear had wreaked havoc among the other stands, so they decided that the votes were actually for the girl dressed as a Bear.

    That meant people had been trying to vote for me, didn¡¯t it?

    ¡¸People probably voted for you when you were wearing the bear costume. The votingmittee had some trouble at the beginning, but when they found out that a girl wearing a bear costume stormed through the stalls and realized the votes were meant for her, they treated it as a faulty ballot. If you continued to wear your bear outfit for the second and third day, you might have received enough votes to win.¡¹

    In that case, it really was a good thing that I hadn¡¯t continued to storm through the game programs on the second day. Well, I hadn¡¯t been wearing the Bear Suit, so it would have been fine even if I did, right? Still, all in all, it had been smart of me not to stand out so much after the first day.

    ¡¸Speaking of you adding scores, there was another program that also benefited by your actions. ¡¹

    ¡¸Yep, she most certainly helped them out quite a bit.¡¹

    They all started nodding at each other, but what had I been responsible for this time?

    Well, it turned out that the program which hosted students-versus-knights practice matches had also won third ce in their group.

    ¡¸There was a huge uproar when that program managed to get ced in the rankings. From what a friend told me, there were many people who spent all three votes they had for the program.¡¹

    ¡¸That must be because of Yuna¡¯s match. I wish I got to see that...¡¹

    ¡¸Me too, I really wish I could have seen it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m so jealous of you, Shia-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I went through a lot of trouble because of that, you know.¡¹

    Apparently, many people had ended up voting for the students-versus-knights program, but it couldn¡¯t have just been because of me. Maybe something else had happened after I left that made people want to vote for it.

    ¡¸Well, someone I know who watched the match said they gave all three votes to the program.¡¹

    ¡¸One of my ssmates said they did so as well.¡¹

    ¡¸One of mine told me they told me they were moved by the pretty girl¡¯s strength, so they just had to vote for her.¡¹

    Yeah... It most likely wasn¡¯t me. Me, a pretty girl (lol).

    ¡¸During ss yesterday, Yuna-san became a huge topic for everyone.¡¹

    It was all that old man¡¯s fault.

    With this, I really could never go near the academy again.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Thank you for 30,000 bookmarks. I really appreciate your continued support.

    Unfortunately, the cotton candy shop only made it to third ce.

    The problem seemed to be because people simply can¡¯t get full from eating cotton candy.

    The Bear got many votes, instead. Had Yuna fought her matches in the Bear Suit, the Bear would have won the contest.

    Next chapter, Yuna will go to the castle.

 Chapter 283 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Picture Book Is Discovered By Noa

    Marcus and the others thanked me again before starting to discuss all the exciting events of the festival. They were quite disappointed they missed a few things, like the Bear¡¯s rampage through the game stands, Tilia helping out their stand causing chaos, and my match against the knights.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, next time, please have a match with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, when we have time.¡¹

    It sounded like it would be a pain, so I only gave a vague response.

    As we continued to chat about the school festival, the group started to discuss the friends who had helped them at their shop. They wanted to treat the friends and ssmates who had helped them to some food, but there were more people than they had expected.

    ¡¸So, which shop should we choose?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, with the number of people who came to help us...¡¹

    ¡¸Can we even find a shop that would be able to seat us all?¡¹

    Cattleya and Timor responded worriedly to Marcus¡¯s question.

    ¡¸How many people areing?¡¹

    ¡¸Sixteen, I think.¡¹

    ¡¸If we include ourselves, that makes it twenty total. That¡¯s indeed a bit much.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s because we invited some people who didn¡¯t actually help out, too.¡¹

    So many friends of their friends hade to help them. In my case, no one woulde even if I asked. I had no one to call anyway, so there was really no point inparing myself to them.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, would you also like to join?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm...¡¹

    Truthfully, I really didn¡¯t want to go to a ce full of strangers. I would also surely cause chaos if I showed up wearing my Bear Suit. Heck, even if I were to go wearing the school uniform, I would still cause an uproar in this case since the girl who wanted to be a knight should be there as one of Shia¡¯s invited friends, not to mention the other students who might have seen me.

    ¡¸Sorry, I won¡¯t join this time. I would cause trouble no matter what I wore, so go and have fun with your friends, without me.¡¹

    I also knew that there was no room for me, an outsider, to join. Not to mention that they were nning to have the party during their next break from school and, by then, we would already have left the capital. I nned to return to Crimonia in the next couple of days, after all. It would be fine if I, alone, stayed a bit longer, but Fina and Shuri certainly couldn¡¯t stay too long. Now that the school festival was over, they had to return home soon, or Tirumina-san would get worried.

    ¡¸Certainly, with this amount of people, the gathering will get quite noisy as it is...¡¹

    ¡¸How about if we went to a big restaurant where the food is good, and it is also okay to be loud?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but big restaurants that serve good food are usually quite luxurious and fancy, so wouldn¡¯t making noise there be frowned upon?¡¹

    ¡¸What should we do, then?¡¹

    Twenty students indeed meant a lot of noise. In that case, I could suggest my shop in Crimonia. There was a party room, so they could make as much noise as they want. Still, I couldn¡¯t really ask everyone toe all the way to Crimonia... Wasn¡¯t I forgetting something?

    Wasn¡¯t there a simr shop in the capital now?

    ¡¸Shia, there¡¯s a good ce for you guys to go.¡¹

    ¡¸There is, Yuna-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. They have no customers at the moment, so you won¡¯t bother anyone, and the food is also quite delicious. It is the perfect ce for you.¡¹

    The way I put it sure sounded contradictory... How could there be no customers if the food was good? Maybe I should exin further.

    ¡¸Can there really be such a shop?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it weird if that shop has no customers even though it has good food?¡¹

    Marcus immediately pointed out the problem.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because the shop isn¡¯t really open yet. They are still preparing for their grand opening.¡¹

    I proceeded to exin how Eleanora-san had made the shop under orders from the king. I also mentioned that the royal head chef Zelef-san had been actively supervising the cooks, so the food was very well made and delicious. I ended the exnation with the fact the shop hadn¡¯t officially opened yet, so they would not bother any other guests even if they were a bit loud.

    The only problem would be getting permission from Eleanora-san and Zelef-san, but I think it should be fine if I just asked Eleanora-san.

    ¡¸A shop managed by His Majesty...¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s definitely not an option.¡¹

    ¡¸We would not have nearly enough money to afford to eat there.¡¹

    The students rejected my idea.

    ¡¸What if I asked Eleanora-san for you?¡¹

    ¡¸Ask me what?¡¹

    A voice resounded from the door, and we turned around to see Eleanora-san standing there.

    ¡¸Mother?!¡¹

    All the students immediately stood up from their chairs and started to greet her.

    ¡¸Mother, why are you home? What about your work?¡¹

    ¡¸Also, how long have you been there? You kind of scared us, speaking up so suddenly.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I heard that Shia¡¯s friends wereing over, so I wanted to surprise you all.¡¹

    There it was: that one action that parents always did which only resulted in their children hating them for it. Well, this was a guest room, so I suppose do it in this case should be fine?

    As for why Eleanora-san was home early:

    ¡¸Well, I forgot to bring something with me, so I came home to get it. Then, I heard that Shia¡¯s friends hade over, so I figured I would at least say hello. Thank you all for taking care of Shia.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh no, there¡¯s no need to thank us.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re also always being taken care of by Shia.¡¹

    ¡¸We apologize foring without an invitation.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu, that¡¯s fine. Still, what were you guys talking about? I thought I heard my name being mentioned.¡¹

    ¡¸There was just something we were thinking of asking you...¡¹

    As Shia trailed off, Eleanora-san suddenly showed a dejected expression.

    ¡¸My daughter has finally reached her rebellious age...¡¹

    Eleanora-san said and pouted before ncing at Shia with a slight smirk on her face. Yeah, she was putting on an act alright.

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not it! We just wanted to treat our friends to some food since they helped us out during the school festival, but the group got toorge, so I wanted to ask you if we could go to that certain ce.¡¹

    I then proceeded to exin to Eleanora-san that I had suggested letting them eat at ¡¸The Bear¡¯s Rxation Restaurant¡¹.

    ¡¸Oh my. That sounds like a great idea.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    ¡¸But, that shop was made under His Majesty¡¯s orders, wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeash, there¡¯s no way we would be allowed to enter it.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu, if youe with the excuse of taste-testing the food, then I¡¯m sure you will be let in. Just know we will ask you for your opinions on the dishes at the end.¡¹

    The four of them considered it a bit further before requesting Eleanora-san to let them use the shop. Eleanora-san then began discussing the number of guests and amount of food to serve them. Didn¡¯t she have a job to do? In fact, didn¡¯t she juste home because she forgot something?

    I left them to their discussions and headed to the castle to visit Tilia. Noa, Fina, and Shuri also joined me so that they could thank her as well.

    When we arrived at the castle, the guards, seeing my Bear Suit, didn¡¯t ask any questions, but only checked our identification cards, just in case.

    ¡¸We came to see Tilia-sama today. Will we be able to meet her?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t mention Princess Flora today.

    ¡¸Yes, I heard about that from Eleanora-sama. She asked me to guide the bear... I mean, guide Yuna-sama, once she arrived.¡¹

    It seemed like Eleanora-san had notified the guard of our arrival beforehand. Well, that helped us out quite a bit so we didn¡¯t have to exin ourselves. This way, the guard was able to bring us straight to Tilia without having to notify her first.

    I really appreciated Eleanora-san for doing these small things for us. Perhaps she just looked like she wasn¡¯t working, but she actually was a hard, diligent worker? On second thought, recalling what had happened just earlier at her mansion, she was probably just trying to skip out on work.

    The guard guided us to Tilia¡¯s room and knocked on the door. After waiting for an answer, he told Tilia that we had arrived.

    ¡¸You can enter!¡¹

    She called out to us without opening the door. The guard bowed and left while we made our way inside, where we were met by the sight of Tilia and Flora-sama sitting together in the room.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think I would run into Flora-sama today, but here she was. Flora-sama jumped off her chair and ran straight to me.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, why are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I heard you wereing, so I couldn¡¯t possibly miss that. hence, I stayed inside my room and yed with Flora who came to me.¡¹

    Had I upset her day?

    ¡¸Were you nning to go out today?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I had no fixed ns anyway, so staying in fit me just fine.¡¹

    Okay, at least I didn¡¯t ruin her day. We hade without checking if Tilia was free or not first...

    ¡¸Tilia, thank you again for your help over the past few days. We had a lot of fun.¡¹

    ¡¸It was no problem at all. I feel the same way: I also had a lot of fun, and finally being able to meet with the rumored bear girl was great. I was happy that I got to meet Noa, Fina, and Shuri as well.¡¹

    Noa and Fina were acting quite bashful at Tilia¡¯s words, while Shuri only smiled at Tilia happily.

    ¡¸By the way, I must say I was really shocked by what happened yesterday. You so suddenly decided to fight against Rutum, and Eleanora-san agreed to to it, while Father did nothing to stop it. Can you imagine how shocked I was when I saw things unfold as such?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know how I should respond to that... I had only fought the old guy because he pissed me off, but that wasn¡¯t something I could tell a princess.

    ¡¸A girl shorter than me was going to fight against a knight. Normally, anyone would think that it would be impossible for you to win. Yet, not only did you win against the first knight, you then defeated Rutum as well. I simply couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing.¡¹

    While the king and Eleanora-san had never seen me fight before, they knew that I was quite strong. Tilia, on the other hand, had no idea.

    ¡¸Did the three of you know how strong she was?¡¹

    Tilia asked the girls.

    ¡¸Yes, but it was the first time I had actually watched her fight.¡¹

    ¡¸It was my first time, too.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve seen her fight a few times before.¡¹

    Well, there was no reason for me to drag them around me when I was fighting, especially since I didn¡¯t want to bring them to dangerous ces.

    ¡¸I was so nervous while I watched the match. Every time your opponent¡¯s sword swung at you, I barely held myself from not yelling out to stop the match, but Father noticed and kept telling me not to worry, so I somehow managed to get through.¡¹

    I seemed to have caused her quite a bit of worry...

    ¡¸Father only told me about how strong you are afterwards, and it turned out that even mother knew about it, so I was the only one kept in the dark.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s because we had never met before the festival. I actually didn¡¯t even know that His Majesty had another daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸And here I was thinking that I¡¯m pretty famous throughout the capital. To think that there are still people who don¡¯t know I even exist...¡¹

    I kind of felt sorry for saying that now; it had been pretty ignorant of me. However, when I looked over at Fina and Shuri, their expressions showed that they didn¡¯t know her, either. Well, not much we could do at this point.

    ¡¸Anyhow, I came here because I wanted to thank you, Tilia.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve already received my gift from you, though.¡¹

    Tilia said and threw a nce at her bed, where Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear plushies were seated around her pillows, just like they always were on Princess Flora¡¯s bed.

    ¡¸Well, if you¡¯re willing, I do want to ask you for another favor. Could you please summon your bears for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Summon them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Flora and Mother talk about them all the time, like how cute, soft, and fun they are. Hence, I really want to meet them as well. I heard that Flora got to y with them the other day, so I hoped you could at least show them to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Bear-sans? We yed together.¡¹

    Flora-sama said, briefly looking up from the picture book she was reading. I also noticed Noa had been eyeing the book for a while now. It looked like she was quite interested in it.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind summoning them. Is it okay for me to summon them here?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it should be no problem, since from what I heard, your bears are very docile.¡¹

    Since I received Tilia¡¯s permission, so I raised my Bear Puppets in front of me and proceeded to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, in their adult forms for now.

    ¡¸They really are bears. Can I touch them?¡¹

    Before Tilia could even finish asking, Flora-sama dropped the picture book, cried out ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹and grabbed onto Hugging Bear.

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay to do it, I assume...?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, as long as you don¡¯t hurt them.¡¹

    Tilia looked at Flora-sama before hesitantly reaching out to touch Swaying Bear.

    ¡¸Their fur is very soft.¡¹

    Tilia stroked Swaying Bear¡¯s fur once, and seeing that it didn¡¯t do anything to her, she reached around to hug it. Shuri quickly used the chance to join in as well, and grabbed onto Swaying Bear from the other side. Fina tried drag Shuri away, but Tilia said that it was fine, so Shuri quickly joined Flora-sama in ying with Hugging Bear.

    I looked over to see what Noa was doing, and I noticed that she was still standing by the table where Flora-sama had left her picture book. All three volumes of the picture books wereid out on it, and Noa seemed to be very interested in them.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, could it be that you drew these picture books?¡¹

    There was a bear and a young girl on all the covers, so she must have guessed. Noa looked quite troubled, though. She clearly wanted to look through the books but didn¡¯t dare touch a princess¡¯s possessions without permission. When Tilia saw this, she called out.

    ¡¸You can look through them. Those copies are mine.¡¹

    ¡¸Yours, Tilia?¡¹

    ¡¸I have them, too.¡¹

    Oh, didn¡¯t that mean that they had managed to print out the third volume as well?

    Noa looked at Tilia, thanked her, and reached her hand out to the picture books.

    ¡¸Yuna, can I, maybe, ride on them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you can: just make sure you don¡¯t make sudden movements while on their backs.¡¹

    I gave Tilia permission and she responded with ¡¸Of course I won¡¯t do that.¡¹before happily climbing onto Swaying Bear¡¯s back and trotting around the room with it. They had enough space to walk around as the room was quiterge. Once Flora-sama and Shuri saw her, they quickly climbed onto Hugging Bear¡¯s back and proceeded to do the same.

    Noa noticed them riding on the Bears but was still more interested in the picture books, yet a certain someone didn¡¯t seem to like that.

    ¡¸Noa-sama, instead of looking at the books, why don¡¯t you y with the bears?¡¹

    Fina attempted to distract Noa¡¯s attention from the picture books.

    ¡¸No, this is my only chance to read them.¡¹

    Noa confirmed her decision, sat down on a chair, and started looking through the books. Fina looked at me with a troubled expression, but I couldn¡¯t do anything about it, either. Even if Noa read through the books, perhaps she wouldn¡¯t notice the simrity. After all, the girl in the picture books only looked somewhat simr to Fina.

    ¡¸Who¡¯s this girl?¡¹

    Noa nced over at Fina before quickly returning her attention to the book. She flipped the page, and then nced back at Fina again. Fina had a bitter smile on her face.

    ¡¸Is it just me, or does this girl look like Fina?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just your imagination, Noa-sama.¡¹

    Fina outright denied it.

    ¡¸I see. I just thought she looked like you, Fina.¡¹

    Fina looked relieved, thinking she fooled her. However, as Noa read through volumes two and three, her eyes narrowed. She looked back over at Fina with suspicion.

    ¡¸No, this is definitely Fina. Also, this girl is Shuri.¡¹

    She pointed at the younger girl who appeared in volume three.

    ¡¸These Bear-sans should be Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan as well. Then, that means this is Yuna-san!¡¹

    Noa had guessed all the characters correctly. I could clearly see the defeat in Fina¡¯s face; she had given up on persuading Noa otherwise at this point.

    ¡¸Why did you keep quiet about this until now?¡¹

    Noa began questioning us.

    ¡¸Well, the picture book is for little kids. You were not of the age to be reading picture books any more, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That may be so, but this is a picture book that Yuna-san drew, and you appear in, so of course I would want to read it. I want a copy of my own.¡¹

    Noa demanded as she approached us.

    ¡¸Okay, fine. I¡¯ll give you the picture books as a present, so calm down.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?!¡¹

    ¡¸I have copies up to the second volume, but I might be able to also get you the third by asking Eleanora-san.¡¹

    I had to get some copies of the third volume for the orphanage, so I needed to talk to her anyway.

    ¡¸Also, I would like to appear in the book.¡¹

    Now she wanted to be a character as well...

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t decided if will write another sequel, so I can¡¯t promise anything.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s unfair! Fina got to be in it.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa-sama, it¡¯s embarrassing to be part of the book. You sure you want to go through that?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re being unfair, Fina. Not only are you the main character, but you¡¯re even drawn so cutely.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but these pictures books are distributed to quite a lot of people, so...¡¹

    Noa looked at me for confirmation.

    ¡¸I drew the first volume just for Princess Flora originally, but soon more people of the castle wanted the book, so we got the book printed and distributed.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, and that¡¯s why I think you shouldn¡¯t do it. It¡¯s embarrassing to have so many people read about you.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, that¡¯s true. Still, it¡¯s still unfair if only Fina and Shuri get to be in it. A Yuna-san-like Bear-san appeared, too...¡¹

    She now seemed to be quite conflicted about this. At least she did have a little shyness left inside her. That was good to see.

    Noa looked at the picture book, then at Fina and Shuri and then at the Bears. She finally looked over at me.

    ¡¸No, I still want you to draw me as well. I don¡¯t want to be the only one who isn¡¯t included.¡¹

    Even though she requested it, I honestly didn¡¯t know how I could add her into the story at this point. I was ying the role of the Bear in the story, so I couldn¡¯t simply ept her request to be her bodyguard. It would also be quite strange to have the Fina-basedmoner meet a noble out of nowhere. What should I do?

    I decided to tell Noa,¡¸I¡¯ll think about it,¡¹and escaped from the discussion, for the moment at least.

    We then turned to the girls riding the Bears, and their happy expressions brought smiles to our faces.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    This chapter was rather long. Perhaps twice the length of a normal one?

    Shia¡¯s group managed to secure a ce where they will host their dinner party. Yet, somebody unbelievable might appear at the shop that day! lol (Haven¡¯t decided on it yet.)

    Noa also finally found out everything about the picture book. Unbelievably, she does feel a little embarrassed about it.

 Chapter 285 â€“ Bear-san Distributes The Picture Books

    All of us had really enjoyed the school festival, but to the girls, our ride back to Crimonia was no less enjoyable.

    I dropped Fina and Shuri off first, then took Noa home.

    Now that the children were all back to their respective families, my job as an escort wasplete.

    As much as I had enjoyed the school festival, I didn¡¯t think I would go to the capital anytime soon. Rumors were said tost for seventy-five days, so I couldn¡¯t return before that.

    Well, I had no set ns to return there in the near future anyway. I nned to spend my days leisurely rxing at my home in Crimonia.

    Now that their trip was over, Fina and Shuri worked and studied hard. They also yed with the children at the orphanage from time to time. Sometimes, when Noa was supposed to be studying, she woulde to y with Fina as well.

    I spent my time making quite a few new sweets, and I always brought them to the girls and the orphanage. For a while, we spent days in peace, without anything interesting happening.

    Then, one day, Noa received a letter from Shia. The letter was addressed to me, and in it, Shia thanked me for my help at the festival and also praised my food as delicious.

    She also mentioned that the king had suddenly appeared during their meal at the capital¡¯s shop, and told me all about the trouble that ensued because of that. Just what had he been thinking...? When I had first made the pudding, he suddenly showed up at my house, too. I sometimes wished he would act more like a responsible king, but it was thanks to that attitude that I was able to see Princess Flora whenever I wanted, so maybe it was fine.

    Still, if the king suddenly wanted to act more dignified, wouldn¡¯t that mean he only wouldn¡¯t drop by any time I came to visit but continue to allow such visits?

    Anyway, him dropping by at the shop was simply bad luck for Shia and her group of friends, so they could do nothing but ept their fate.

    My n for today was to go to the orphanage and give the children volume three of the picture book.

    It wasn¡¯t because I had forgotten about it until now... It really wasn¡¯t...

    Okay, it was because I had forgotten all about it, but I was bringing it to them today, so what was the difference?

    ¡¸Thank you, Bear-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    The children carefully took the books and thanked me. I told them to read them together and line them up with the previous volumes when they were done.

    After making sure they all read the books together, I spoke with the Headmistress for a short while before checking up on the children taking care of the clucker pens. They all seemed to be working hard, which made me happy. After watching them for a few minutes, I went to Tirumina-san and Liz-san to speak about how the egg business was going.

    ¡¸Everybody is working hard.¡¹

    ¡¸We have even more cluckers now, but things are still going smoothly, thanks to the children.¡¹

    ¡¸Nif-san and Arn-san help take care of the children, so it makes things a lot easier.¡¹

    The women from Mireera were supposedly enjoying their time with the energetic children. They would scold them asionally, but that was necessary to educate the children properly.

    Still, even with the two of them helping, it should be quite difficult for four people to manage the orphanage all by themselves, no?

    When I asked them about it, Liz-san said that it was actually pretty easy. Thanks to me, they never had to worry about money and food again.

    Still, shouldn¡¯t it be exhausting having to y with so many lively children all the time? Well, they seemed quite fine to me...

    As we continued to chat, a few children entered the office room.

    ¡¸Liz-sensei, can we go drink some water?¡¹

    ¡¸Make sure you clean yourself up first, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Ever since they had started taking care of the cluckers, I had been telling the children to wash their hands and rinse their mouths so they wouldn¡¯t get sick.

    The children listened to me and made sure to do so before rushing off to the cooling water station.

    Tirumina-san had ced the station in the office room so that the working children could drink water any time they were thirsty, which I agreed was a good idea.

    The children clearly seemed to be enjoying the water, and I noticed they had sweat beads on their forehead.

    It had gotten a bit hotter recently. When I had checked up on the children working in the henhouse, I saw they were sweating a lot, too. On the other hand, although my fluffy costume looked hot, the Bear Suit was always adjusting my body temperature, so it was never an issue. Still, because of that, I more often than not failed to take note of the surrounding environment, though I was pretty sure the temperature had gone up a bit in thest few weeks.

    First thing next morning, I went to Raruuze Town to give Aruka the third volume of the picture book.

    I went through the Bear Gate in Crimonia, and arrived at the small house in Raruuze Town that Letobell-san had bestowed me.

    It felt like it had been a long while since I hade here, but it really wasn¡¯t that long ago.

    I went outside and saw a clear blue sky, much unlike the first time I hade to this city. I didn¡¯t waste time and started to walk towards Letobell-san¡¯s shop which was quite a distance away.

    The people I passed by all nced at me, whispering ¡¸Bear?¡¹or¡¸Bear-san?¡¹. It didn¡¯t surprise me as this was the usual treatment in ces I wasn¡¯t that well known.

    Since I had spent thest few days holed up in Crimonia, I hadn¡¯t gotten that many starestely, but I had been here only once, so they came in full force.

    I pulled down my Bear Hood to hide my face and quickened my pace.

    When I arrived at Letobell-san¡¯s shop, Rodis-san, who was inside, looked quite surprised when he saw me.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you the bear from before?¡¹

    ¡¸Is Letobell-san in? I brought a new picture book over for Aruka.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t have a very good impression of Rodis-san, so I only told him what I came here to do.

    ¡¸Please wait a moment. I will notify him of your arrival.¡¹

    Rodis-san responded and quickly rushed up the stairs at the back of the shop.

    I was left behind with another shop clerk, who took a few nces at me but said nothing, so I walked around the shop while waiting for Rodis-san to return.

    Various antiques and paintings decorated the ce. Maybe I could get a piece for one of my houses if I found something interesting. Well, I didn¡¯t really know if my taste in art was any good...

    I wasn¡¯t Noa, but even I thought it might be best for me to decorate my ce with bear-themed ornaments instead of risking it.

    After I walked around the shop a few times, Rodis-san finally returned from the back.

    ¡¸He¡¯s waiting for you upstairs.¡¹

    This time, he didn¡¯t speak to me so harshly and let me through easily. Did he act that way before just because he had tried to obtain Ruimin¡¯s bracelet for Letobell-san and failed?

    I thanked him and went up the stairs where Letobell-san was already waiting for me, standing in front of a door.

    ¡¸Thank you foring. Pleasee in.¡¹

    I epted his invitation and let myself in.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯vest seen each other. I heard that you brought a new picture book over. Is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I recently made a new one, so I brought a copy over.¡¹

    I said and took out volume three of the picture book from my Bear Box.

    ¡¸But, my acquaintances from the Capital haven¡¯t mentioned anything about a new picture book... ¡¹

    Eleanora-san didn¡¯t distribute the books yet?

    Did she have them made but simply forgot to distribute them, or maybe they were only just finished?

    ¡¸Is Aruka here? ¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I just asked my wife to bring her here.¡¹

    Letobell-san motioned back towards the door just as Aruka and her mother, Sefuru-san, came into the room. Aruka was clutching the Hugging Bear plushie I had given her; I was d to see that she was taking care of it properly.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    When Aruka noticed me she quickly trotted over to me.

    ¡¸How are you, Aruka? I brought you a new picture book today.¡¹

    I said and handed her the picture book with my Bear Puppet. Aruka happily epted it.

    ¡¸Come on, Aruka, say thank you.¡¹

    Sefuru-san reminded Aruka, seeing that she was beaming with happiness at the new picture book.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wee.¡¹

    Aruka then quickly jumped onto the sofa and started to read the picture book with the Hugging Bear plushie on herp.

    Sefuru-san reprimanded Aruka about her actions, but she was too absorbed in the book to listen. Giving up, Sefuru-san apologized to me and said, ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare some tea for you,¡¹then rushed out of the room.

    ¡¸I also apologize for Aruka¡¯s behavior. Aruka really likes your books and she reads them over and over again. She looked forward to your next book very much.¡¹

    Letobell-san told me. I was happy Aruka felt that way, but I also had to admit it was a bit embarrassing.

    ¡¸By the way, howe you are in the city? Was there something you needed?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to give Aruka the picture book, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸You came all this way just to deliver the picture book?¡¹

    Letobell-san seemed shocked by my reasoning.

    Well, it made sense that he was surprised that I traveled to a far-away city just to deliver a book. He didn¡¯t know I had my Bear Gate, after all, and that doing so was very easy for me.

    ¡¸I apologize for making youe all this way from the capital.¡¹

    Letobell-san said and bowed deeply.

    Soon after, Sefuru-san returned with tea.

    ¡¸Thank you for doing this for our daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸Is there something you would like in return?¡¹

    ¡¸I already received a house from you, so I think that will be more than enough.¡¹

    I had used the house to set up a Bear Gate, which made this city easily essible for me. I was pretty sure a house should be far more expensive than a few volumes of the picture books and a set of plushies, so demanding something more would be ridiculous.

    ¡¸Still, you came all this way just to deliver the book, so we have to repay you somehow.¡¹

    It might look that way to him, but it had actually taken almost no time for me toe here.

    I couldn¡¯t tell him that, though, and he soon began trying to think of a gift. I really didn¡¯t need it though...

    I didn¡¯t know what Letobell-san would think up, so I decided to ignore him for now and had some of the iced tea Sefuru-san brought. The tea was of high quality and quite delicious.

    Lately, I had been drinking a lot of high-grade tea at the castle, at Cliff¡¯s ce, and at Eleanora-san¡¯s ce. I was starting to be able to tell the difference in quality.

    ¡¸You live in the capital, right?¡¹

    Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly correct. He must have thought I lived in the capital because I was with Sanya-san, who was the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. It would be a pain to exin, though, so I just kept quiet about it.

    ¡¸Do you know the guild master of the Commerce Guild there?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s that granny, no?¡¹

    I had met her once when I went to buy the plot ofnd at the capital.

    ¡¸If you run into any trouble, go to her and tell her I referred you. I will let her know about our rtionship, so feel free to speak to her about any problems you face.¡¹

    I already had my connections from Eleanora-san and Gran-san, though, and there wasn¡¯t anything I needed the Commerce Guild¡¯s help with anyway.

    Well, if there was anything I didn¡¯t know about business endeavors, I could try asking her for help. It never hurt to have more connections.

    ¡¸In that case, I will take you up on that offer and consult with the guild if I run into any trouble.¡¹

    Letobell-san smiled when I told him that.

    I continued chatting with Letobell-san while having tea for a while longer before Aruka finished reading the picture book and came up to me.

    ¡¸Can Bear-san turn small?¡¹

    ¡¸Only the Bear-san in the picture book. Real bears can¡¯t do that.¡¹

    She asked the same question as Flora-sama, so I taught her about the real bears. I didn¡¯t want her to end up embarrassed when she turned older.

    Aruka looked disappointed when I told her that, though.

    I couldn¡¯t lie to her since this was something concerning her future, so there was nothing I could do to cheer her up.

    At least Aruka didn¡¯t know about Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear, so she was easier to convince than Princess Flora, who knew all about their cub forms.

    After confirming she was fine, I finished the tea, gave my regards, and promptly left.

    Since this was the first time I was actually taking a stroll through this city, I thought of heading to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to check out what kind of requests they had. Still, I was getting a lot of stares in this city. If I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, things might get chaotic.

    ¡¸Yuna?¡¹

    I turned around and saw Miranda-san and her party. They had helped us out when we were trying to retrieve Ruimin¡¯s bracelet.

    ¡¸I knew it. I saw you from behind, but I recognized you immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸Miranda, it¡¯s kind of obvious, considering her outfit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You could tell just by looking at her small tail.¡¹

    Miranda-san¡¯s partymented with amused expressions.

    They were right, of course. I was the only one walking around dressed as a Bear, after all.

    ¡¸Anway, what are you doing here, Yuna? Is Ruimin with you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, she isn¡¯t. I only came to visit Letobell-san.¡¹

    I thought it was best for Ruimin to not leave the vige. If she did, she would probably only get deceived by someone again. Yeah, I could already see her road of misfortune if she stepped out of her vige.

    Honestly, I was really d that she had managed to meet with Miranda-san and her party. If she hadn¡¯t, some unspeakable things could have happened to her.

    I proceeded to tell them that Ruimin had returned to the Elf Vige and that we parted ways there.

    ¡¸I see, so Ruimin returned to the Elf Vige safely. That¡¯s good.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we were all worried about her.¡¹

    ¡¸Especially given her personality...¡¹

    We all agreed that it was best for her to be at home.

    ¡¸Yuna, where are you heading to now?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I was thinking of taking a look around the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I might honestly just head home for the day.¡¹

    ¡¸Were you going to take on a contract?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸I was only curious about the kinds of requests this city has. I had no intention of taking anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? If you want to do something, we could take a job together, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe next time.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know when I was going toe here next, so making promises wouldn¡¯t be a good idea.

    ¡¸If you see Ruimin, tell her toe find us once in a while.¡¹

    After chatting with them for a while longer, I decided to head straight back to Crimonia.

 Chapter 285 â€“ Bear-san Distributes The Picture Books

    All of us had really enjoyed the school festival, but to the girls, our ride back to Crimonia was no less enjoyable.

    I dropped Fina and Shuri off first, then took Noa home.

    Now that the children were all back to their respective families, my job as an escort wasplete.

    As much as I had enjoyed the school festival, I didn¡¯t think I would go to the capital anytime soon. Rumors were said tost for seventy-five days, so I couldn¡¯t return before that.

    Well, I had no set ns to return there in the near future anyway. I nned to spend my days leisurely rxing at my home in Crimonia.

    Now that their trip was over, Fina and Shuri worked and studied hard. They also yed with the children at the orphanage from time to time. Sometimes, when Noa was supposed to be studying, she woulde to y with Fina as well.

    I spent my time making quite a few new sweets, and I always brought them to the girls and the orphanage. For a while, we spent days in peace, without anything interesting happening.

    Then, one day, Noa received a letter from Shia. The letter was addressed to me, and in it, Shia thanked me for my help at the festival and also praised my food as delicious.

    She also mentioned that the king had suddenly appeared during their meal at the capital¡¯s shop, and told me all about the trouble that ensued because of that. Just what had he been thinking...? When I had first made the pudding, he suddenly showed up at my house, too. I sometimes wished he would act more like a responsible king, but it was thanks to that attitude that I was able to see Princess Flora whenever I wanted, so maybe it was fine.

    Still, if the king suddenly wanted to act more dignified, wouldn¡¯t that mean he only wouldn¡¯t drop by any time I came to visit but continue to allow such visits?

    Anyway, him dropping by at the shop was simply bad luck for Shia and her group of friends, so they could do nothing but ept their fate.

    My n for today was to go to the orphanage and give the children volume three of the picture book.

    It wasn¡¯t because I had forgotten about it until now... It really wasn¡¯t...

    Okay, it was because I had forgotten all about it, but I was bringing it to them today, so what was the difference?

    ¡¸Thank you, Bear-oneechan.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    The children carefully took the books and thanked me. I told them to read them together and line them up with the previous volumes when they were done.

    After making sure they all read the books together, I spoke with the Headmistress for a short while before checking up on the children taking care of the clucker pens. They all seemed to be working hard, which made me happy. After watching them for a few minutes, I went to Tirumina-san and Liz-san to speak about how the egg business was going.

    ¡¸Everybody is working hard.¡¹

    ¡¸We have even more cluckers now, but things are still going smoothly, thanks to the children.¡¹

    ¡¸Nif-san and Arn-san help take care of the children, so it makes things a lot easier.¡¹

    The women from Mireera were supposedly enjoying their time with the energetic children. They would scold them asionally, but that was necessary to educate the children properly.

    Still, even with the two of them helping, it should be quite difficult for four people to manage the orphanage all by themselves, no?

    When I asked them about it, Liz-san said that it was actually pretty easy. Thanks to me, they never had to worry about money and food again.

    Still, shouldn¡¯t it be exhausting having to y with so many lively children all the time? Well, they seemed quite fine to me...

    As we continued to chat, a few children entered the office room.

    ¡¸Liz-sensei, can we go drink some water?¡¹

    ¡¸Make sure you clean yourself up first, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    Ever since they had started taking care of the cluckers, I had been telling the children to wash their hands and rinse their mouths so they wouldn¡¯t get sick.

    The children listened to me and made sure to do so before rushing off to the cooling water station.

    Tirumina-san had ced the station in the office room so that the working children could drink water any time they were thirsty, which I agreed was a good idea.

    The children clearly seemed to be enjoying the water, and I noticed they had sweat beads on their forehead.

    It had gotten a bit hotter recently. When I had checked up on the children working in the henhouse, I saw they were sweating a lot, too. On the other hand, although my fluffy costume looked hot, the Bear Suit was always adjusting my body temperature, so it was never an issue. Still, because of that, I more often than not failed to take note of the surrounding environment, though I was pretty sure the temperature had gone up a bit in thest few weeks.

    First thing next morning, I went to Raruuze Town to give Aruka the third volume of the picture book.

    I went through the Bear Gate in Crimonia, and arrived at the small house in Raruuze Town that Letobell-san had bestowed me.

    It felt like it had been a long while since I hade here, but it really wasn¡¯t that long ago.

    I went outside and saw a clear blue sky, much unlike the first time I hade to this city. I didn¡¯t waste time and started to walk towards Letobell-san¡¯s shop which was quite a distance away.

    The people I passed by all nced at me, whispering ¡¸Bear?¡¹or¡¸Bear-san?¡¹. It didn¡¯t surprise me as this was the usual treatment in ces I wasn¡¯t that well known.

    Since I had spent thest few days holed up in Crimonia, I hadn¡¯t gotten that many starestely, but I had been here only once, so they came in full force.

    I pulled down my Bear Hood to hide my face and quickened my pace.

    When I arrived at Letobell-san¡¯s shop, Rodis-san, who was inside, looked quite surprised when he saw me.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you the bear from before?¡¹

    ¡¸Is Letobell-san in? I brought a new picture book over for Aruka.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t have a very good impression of Rodis-san, so I only told him what I came here to do.

    ¡¸Please wait a moment. I will notify him of your arrival.¡¹

    Rodis-san responded and quickly rushed up the stairs at the back of the shop.

    I was left behind with another shop clerk, who took a few nces at me but said nothing, so I walked around the shop while waiting for Rodis-san to return.

    Various antiques and paintings decorated the ce. Maybe I could get a piece for one of my houses if I found something interesting. Well, I didn¡¯t really know if my taste in art was any good...

    I wasn¡¯t Noa, but even I thought it might be best for me to decorate my ce with bear-themed ornaments instead of risking it.

    After I walked around the shop a few times, Rodis-san finally returned from the back.

    ¡¸He¡¯s waiting for you upstairs.¡¹

    This time, he didn¡¯t speak to me so harshly and let me through easily. Did he act that way before just because he had tried to obtain Ruimin¡¯s bracelet for Letobell-san and failed?

    I thanked him and went up the stairs where Letobell-san was already waiting for me, standing in front of a door.

    ¡¸Thank you foring. Pleasee in.¡¹

    I epted his invitation and let myself in.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯vest seen each other. I heard that you brought a new picture book over. Is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I recently made a new one, so I brought a copy over.¡¹

    I said and took out volume three of the picture book from my Bear Box.

    ¡¸But, my acquaintances from the Capital haven¡¯t mentioned anything about a new picture book... ¡¹

    Eleanora-san didn¡¯t distribute the books yet?

    Did she have them made but simply forgot to distribute them, or maybe they were only just finished?

    ¡¸Is Aruka here? ¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I just asked my wife to bring her here.¡¹

    Letobell-san motioned back towards the door just as Aruka and her mother, Sefuru-san, came into the room. Aruka was clutching the Hugging Bear plushie I had given her; I was d to see that she was taking care of it properly.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    When Aruka noticed me she quickly trotted over to me.

    ¡¸How are you, Aruka? I brought you a new picture book today.¡¹

    I said and handed her the picture book with my Bear Puppet. Aruka happily epted it.

    ¡¸Come on, Aruka, say thank you.¡¹

    Sefuru-san reminded Aruka, seeing that she was beaming with happiness at the new picture book.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wee.¡¹

    Aruka then quickly jumped onto the sofa and started to read the picture book with the Hugging Bear plushie on herp.

    Sefuru-san reprimanded Aruka about her actions, but she was too absorbed in the book to listen. Giving up, Sefuru-san apologized to me and said, ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare some tea for you,¡¹then rushed out of the room.

    ¡¸I also apologize for Aruka¡¯s behavior. Aruka really likes your books and she reads them over and over again. She looked forward to your next book very much.¡¹

    Letobell-san told me. I was happy Aruka felt that way, but I also had to admit it was a bit embarrassing.

    ¡¸By the way, howe you are in the city? Was there something you needed?¡¹

    ¡¸I came to give Aruka the picture book, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡¸You came all this way just to deliver the picture book?¡¹

    Letobell-san seemed shocked by my reasoning.

    Well, it made sense that he was surprised that I traveled to a far-away city just to deliver a book. He didn¡¯t know I had my Bear Gate, after all, and that doing so was very easy for me.

    ¡¸I apologize for making youe all this way from the capital.¡¹

    Letobell-san said and bowed deeply.

    Soon after, Sefuru-san returned with tea.

    ¡¸Thank you for doing this for our daughter.¡¹

    ¡¸Is there something you would like in return?¡¹

    ¡¸I already received a house from you, so I think that will be more than enough.¡¹

    I had used the house to set up a Bear Gate, which made this city easily essible for me. I was pretty sure a house should be far more expensive than a few volumes of the picture books and a set of plushies, so demanding something more would be ridiculous.

    ¡¸Still, you came all this way just to deliver the book, so we have to repay you somehow.¡¹

    It might look that way to him, but it had actually taken almost no time for me toe here.

    I couldn¡¯t tell him that, though, and he soon began trying to think of a gift. I really didn¡¯t need it though...

    I didn¡¯t know what Letobell-san would think up, so I decided to ignore him for now and had some of the iced tea Sefuru-san brought. The tea was of high quality and quite delicious.

    Lately, I had been drinking a lot of high-grade tea at the castle, at Cliff¡¯s ce, and at Eleanora-san¡¯s ce. I was starting to be able to tell the difference in quality.

    ¡¸You live in the capital, right?¡¹

    Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly correct. He must have thought I lived in the capital because I was with Sanya-san, who was the guild master of the capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. It would be a pain to exin, though, so I just kept quiet about it.

    ¡¸Do you know the guild master of the Commerce Guild there?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s that granny, no?¡¹

    I had met her once when I went to buy the plot ofnd at the capital.

    ¡¸If you run into any trouble, go to her and tell her I referred you. I will let her know about our rtionship, so feel free to speak to her about any problems you face.¡¹

    I already had my connections from Eleanora-san and Gran-san, though, and there wasn¡¯t anything I needed the Commerce Guild¡¯s help with anyway.

    Well, if there was anything I didn¡¯t know about business endeavors, I could try asking her for help. It never hurt to have more connections.

    ¡¸In that case, I will take you up on that offer and consult with the guild if I run into any trouble.¡¹

    Letobell-san smiled when I told him that.

    I continued chatting with Letobell-san while having tea for a while longer before Aruka finished reading the picture book and came up to me.

    ¡¸Can Bear-san turn small?¡¹

    ¡¸Only the Bear-san in the picture book. Real bears can¡¯t do that.¡¹

    She asked the same question as Flora-sama, so I taught her about the real bears. I didn¡¯t want her to end up embarrassed when she turned older.

    Aruka looked disappointed when I told her that, though.

    I couldn¡¯t lie to her since this was something concerning her future, so there was nothing I could do to cheer her up.

    At least Aruka didn¡¯t know about Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear, so she was easier to convince than Princess Flora, who knew all about their cub forms.

    After confirming she was fine, I finished the tea, gave my regards, and promptly left.

    Since this was the first time I was actually taking a stroll through this city, I thought of heading to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to check out what kind of requests they had. Still, I was getting a lot of stares in this city. If I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, things might get chaotic.

    ¡¸Yuna?¡¹

    I turned around and saw Miranda-san and her party. They had helped us out when we were trying to retrieve Ruimin¡¯s bracelet.

    ¡¸I knew it. I saw you from behind, but I recognized you immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸Miranda, it¡¯s kind of obvious, considering her outfit.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You could tell just by looking at her small tail.¡¹

    Miranda-san¡¯s partymented with amused expressions.

    They were right, of course. I was the only one walking around dressed as a Bear, after all.

    ¡¸Anway, what are you doing here, Yuna? Is Ruimin with you?¡¹

    ¡¸No, she isn¡¯t. I only came to visit Letobell-san.¡¹

    I thought it was best for Ruimin to not leave the vige. If she did, she would probably only get deceived by someone again. Yeah, I could already see her road of misfortune if she stepped out of her vige.

    Honestly, I was really d that she had managed to meet with Miranda-san and her party. If she hadn¡¯t, some unspeakable things could have happened to her.

    I proceeded to tell them that Ruimin had returned to the Elf Vige and that we parted ways there.

    ¡¸I see, so Ruimin returned to the Elf Vige safely. That¡¯s good.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we were all worried about her.¡¹

    ¡¸Especially given her personality...¡¹

    We all agreed that it was best for her to be at home.

    ¡¸Yuna, where are you heading to now?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I was thinking of taking a look around the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I might honestly just head home for the day.¡¹

    ¡¸Were you going to take on a contract?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸I was only curious about the kinds of requests this city has. I had no intention of taking anything.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? If you want to do something, we could take a job together, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe next time.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know when I was going toe here next, so making promises wouldn¡¯t be a good idea.

    ¡¸If you see Ruimin, tell her toe find us once in a while.¡¹

    After chatting with them for a while longer, I decided to head straight back to Crimonia.

 Chapter 286 â€“ Bear-san Notices The Hea

    t

    The other day, when I had gone to Noa¡¯s ce, she said,¡¸I want to go outside,¡¹so today I dragged her, Fina, and Shuri on a pic. I had first gotten permission from Cliff, of course.

    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve gone outside of town.¡¹

    ¡¸Have you been studying properly?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I did promise Father, after all. I also don¡¯t want to know what Mother would do if I don¡¯t.¡¹

    Trying to give Noa a proper break from her studies, we headed towards a hill with a nice view near the town. We rode on Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear to get there, of course.

    ¡¸It has gotten warmer recently.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m really d that I dismantle inside the cold storage room now.¡¹

    ¡¸The cold storage is chilly.¡¹

    The meat brought to the orphanage was all dismantled by Fina and Shuri. To avoid spoiling the meat, they dismantled inside a cold storage room.

    ¡¸Really? It doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s gotten any hotter to me.¡¹

    Noa¡¯s room was on the second floor, so maybe the breeze made it better for her?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, don¡¯t you get hot wearing that outfit?¡¹

    The three of them looked at me as if I was suffering from heatstroke in the Bear Suit.

    I lightly pulled onto my outfit to readjust it. On the outside, the outfit sure did look hot and humid to be in, but in reality, it wasn¡¯t so at all.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine. In fact, it¡¯s quite cool.¡¹

    ¡¸R-really?¡¹

    The three of them looked at me in disbelief. Well, looking at my outfit, anyone should think that it was hot to wear and not something to be worn around during the summer. Yet, despite its hot appearance, it was actually veryfortable and cool. I really had to thank God that this outfit was able to adjust temperature for me. Still, if I had that ability myself, I wouldn¡¯t have to wear this outfit to begin with.

    Now, I couldn¡¯t take the Bear Suit off unless I wanted to be hot, and if it got any hotterter on, it would be even harder for me to take it off. While the outfit did keep me cool, I had mixed feelings about it because that feature forced me to wear it all the time. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be thanking God, after all.

    As I was pondering this, the Bears carried us to the top of the hill, so I quickly jumped down andid out a nket on which we could have lunch. I gestured the girls to sit down with me and took out some rice balls I had prepared this morning.

    I had used sour plum, marinated meat, and whatever other ingredients I thought would taste good. The rice itself had been freshly made this morning, so not much could go wrong. There was quite a lot of them, but if we didn¡¯t finish them all, I could always just ce the remainder into my Bear Box.

    On a side note, the rice balls were regrly shaped. I had not made them into Bears.

    The three girls often ate rice at Anzu¡¯s shop, so they were quite interested in the rice balls I had prepared for them...

    ¡¸They all look delicious.¡¹

    Sitting down, we took our deserved break while enjoying a nice, cool breeze that blew on top of the hill. I was d to see the three of them so rxed and happy.

    After we ate, Noa went over to where Hugging Bear was. She was lost in thought for a while, before speaking up.

    ¡¸Do Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan think it¡¯s hot?¡¹

    She asked as she gently grasped Hugging Bear¡¯s fur with her hand.

    ¡¸If you decide to trim their fur, could you please give some to me?¡¹

    ¡¸I want some, too!¡¹

    Shuri quickly jumped at the chance to get some fur for herself.

    Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear both cried out and ran away from Noa, hiding behind Fina and I.

    ¡¸I think they thought you were going to pluck their fur straight off.¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, I would never do that. I¡¯m just suggesting that maybe you could trim their fur when it gets hotter. They didn¡¯t have to run away like that... ¡¹

    Noa said and made her way back to Hugging Bear who didn¡¯t run away this time.

    Well, the Bears shared my heat-resistant skills, so they wouldn¡¯t get hot, either. Also, would it even be possible to trim their fur?

    Well, if their fur grew out again, we might really be able to use their fur for clothes or nkets.

    ¡¸Since it¡¯s hot, why don¡¯t we go down and swim in the river?¡¹

    I suggested, diverting the topic from my Bears¡¯ fur.

    There was a river by the fields just outside town. Of course, it wasn¡¯t as big as the river that ran through Raruuze, but it was stillrge enough to swim in.

    ¡¸Um, I¡¯ve never swum before.¡¹

    Fina mumbled, ¡¸Because back then, Mother was sick.¡¹

    Shuri then said she had never swum before, either.

    Since their mother looked so healthy now, I had forgotten about her past condition. Tirumina-san had been bedridden due to her illness, so Fina worked without ying every day so she could support her family, while Shuri couldn¡¯t go out to y by herself.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been to the river plenty of times, but I¡¯ve never gone for a swim. I just y in the water instead.¡¹

    At the back of my mind, I imagined a nobledy styled Noa, wearing a straw hat and a one piece dress, her bare feet sshing in the river water. Yeah, that seemed like a way nobles would spend their summer free time.

    Still, didn¡¯t that mean that none of them knew how to swim? Well, I had never swum in a river before, either... The closest I hade to that was swimming in the elementary school pool.

    ¡¸How about we go swimming in the sea next time we have the chance?¡¹

    ¡¸R-really?!¡¹

    Noa perked up all excited.

    ¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s much easier to get to the sea now, after all.¡¹

    All we had to do was go through a tunnel to get there; a beautiful blue sea was waiting for us to jump into.

    While they hadn¡¯t been able to go before, thanks to a certain somebody creating the tunnel, it was now easy to go and take a dip.

    ¡¸I have never swum in the sea before, so I would love to try it.¡¹

    ¡¸Fina, Shuri, you¡¯lle too, right?¡¹

    ¡¸But, I can¡¯t swim.¡¹

    ¡¸Mhm, me neither.¡¹

    Actually, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could swim, either. I only recalled swimming during my elementary school days. I wondered if my body still remembered how to do it properly.

    ¡¸Well, even if you can¡¯t swim, you can y still y in the water with waves. Also, the sea is nice and cold, so it will feel great to jump in.¡¹

    This should be enough to convince them.

    After all, they had never been to the sea during the summer (although they probably hadn¡¯t gone during other seasons either), so all they knew of it was what others told them.

    Still, wouldn¡¯t the surface of a sandy beach be rather hot in summer?

    Well, if I brought a nket along and made something to shade us from the sun, we should be fine.

    Sadly, I had no idea what it was like, either, since I had never been to the beach during the summer. Maybe it would be fine if I just asked the locals about it?

    ¡¸By the way, are there any clothes we can wear to go swimming?¡¹

    ¡¸You mean something like thin clothing? ¡¹

    Fina, who rarely went to the river, didn¡¯t know.

    ording to Noa, there were clothes one could wear to get into the water, but were they the same as swimsuits of my former world? What kind of clothing did people of this world wear while swimming?

    I decided to ask Anzu, since she was from Mireera.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any clothes like that. Do you know of any ce that sells them?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think our town sells any. But, we can get Sherry to make it for us, no?¡¹

    If I drew a design for her, would she be able to make it?

    I had to ask her before it got too hot, though.

    I continued to enjoy the pic with the girls while brainstorming for our trip to the sea.

    First, a swimsuit was indeed necessary. I also had to figure out how many people we should bring. If possible, I wanted to bring all the children from the orphanage and I was pretty sure Anzu would want to visit her home. I should invite Morin-san and the shop staff as well. They always took care of me, after all. Still, taking them all might cause problems for the shop, so maybe I should discuss it with Tirumina-san first?

    Moreover, if I were to bring all the children from the orphanage along, I would need to provide swimsuits for all of them. Was this bing more trouble than I had anticipated?

    The following day, I went to Anzu¡¯s shop to eat lunch and to ask her about swimsuits. I ordered a seafood rice bowl which had squid and octopus in it. I also poured some soy sauce on it before eating.

    ¡¸An outfit for swimming in the sea?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I was wondering what kind of outfit do you use for swimming.¡¹

    ¡¸If you ask me, I would say a thin, shirt-like outfit? It dries out fast, after all.¡¹

    Eris and the otherdies from Mireera Town all nodded in agreement.

    I had thought that kind of clothing would be see-through, but it seemed like they wrapped themselves with some kind of bleached, cotton-like clothing.

    ¡¸So, why are you asking us that?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking of taking everybody to the sea sometime in the near future, including you and your staff.¡¹

    ¡¸Us too?¡¹

    They all looked quite surprised when I mentioned that.

    ¡¸Yeah. I¡¯m sure Deiga-san is worried about you, so why don¡¯t youe with me and visit Mireera? You haven¡¯t gone home once ever since you came here, after all.¡¹

    Well, going there might bring up bad memories, so I didn¡¯t want to force them.

    ¡¸What about the shop, though?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be closed for the duration of the trip.¡¹

    That much should be obvious, no?

    ¡¸But our sales...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I won¡¯t dock it of your sries.¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about. We¡¯re receiving so much money already, so about the profits...¡¹

    ording to Tirumina-san, the sales were going well, and they certainly weren¡¯t going to go under if they skipped a few days. They were working hard to keep it up, so they deserved a good break.

    ¡¸Our living quarters are free of charge, we get regr breaks, and you let us do what we like with the shop. If I¡¯m going to take time off to go home, then I can¡¯t ept also being paid during that time.¡¹

    It seemed like they didn¡¯t understand the prospect of paid vacation in this world, and even if I tried to exin it...

    ¡¸You will have to take care of the children and guide them around town, so think of that as your job on the trip.¡¹

    The orphanage had many children, and it would be difficult for only Headmistress and Liz-san to watch over them while on a trip. It would most likely be fine if Nif-san and Arn-san came along, but if they refused, then we would be short on hands for sure. In that case, I would want to have Anzu and the others to watch over the children instead.

    I asked them to give it some thought and said that we would discuss itter.

    I finished the rice bowl and went towards the orphanage to find Tirumina-san.

    Would I find her there, though?

    In the afternoon, Tirumina-san would either have some tea with the director at the orphanage or visit the Commerce Guild to order ingredients or run other errands. If she wasn¡¯t here today, I might have a hard time finding her.

    As I was getting close to the orphanage I saw Tirumina-san, hand in hand with her daughters, walking towards me. Were they going somewhere?

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan?!¡¹

    Fina noticed me and ran to me.

    ¡¸Oh, Yuna-chan. Are you going to the orphanage?¡¹

    ¡¸I have something I wanted to talk to you about, Tirumina-san.¡¹

    ¡¸With me?¡¹

    Tirumina-san asked as she stopped in front of me with Shuri.

    ¡¸Tirumina-san, do you have some time right now?¡¹

    ¡¸I was thinking of taking my daughters to do some shopping, but it¡¯s fine if you want to talk now. Is it important? If so, we can go somewhere else.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that important, so we can talk while walking.¡¹

    I walked with them into their direction and started to discuss the trip to the sea.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Herees the swimsuit event...

    Yuna subjugated the Krakenst year in March, so it¡¯s been quite some time since then.

    Real life time sure passes quickly.

 Chapter 287 â€“ Bear-san Draws Up Some Swimsuit Designs

    Editor¡¯s note: As per request of our Kuma trantor (and thanks to our dear readers Passingbear and Spookie for letting us realize), we are changing Terumi-san to Tirumina-san from here on out to match the manga and japanese RAW better. I hope it won¡¯t confuse you too much.

    Past chapters will also be changed to reflect this.

    ¡¸What did you want to discuss?¡¹

    Tirumina-san looked at me and asked what I wanted to talk about as we walked.

    I would prefer if she didn¡¯t look at me as if I was going to do something that would bring her trouble everytime I sought her out.

    Well, I couldn¡¯t deny that what I was doing this time was indeed quite a bit of trouble...

    ¡¸I was thinking of taking everybody working for us to the sea, so I wanted to discuss it with you.¡¹

    Tirumina-san looked at me with a I-knew-she-was-going-to-say-something-strange expression.

    ¡¸Let me confirm something first. When you say everyone, exactly how many people are you thinking of?¡¹

    ¡¸When I say everyone, I mean everyone: Anzu, Morin-san, the workers at the shop, and of course, you and your family.¡¹

    Maybe I should take Noa as well?

    Tirumina-san looked at me with her mouth hanging open, clearly dumbfounded.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, how many people do you think that is? What will happen to the shop in the meantime?¡¹

    Tirumina-san immediately pointed out the problem.

    ¡¸The shop will be closed while we are away, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸What about the eggs? We have a contract to deliver fresh ones to the Commerce Guild every day.¡¹

    ¡¸About that, actually. A while ago, Mylene-san said that they were going to increase the production of eggs elsewhere, didn¡¯t she?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, she did.¡¹

    ¡¸And, based on my knowledge, she arranged for many people toe to the orphanage so you could teach them how to care for the cluckers, no?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but they aren¡¯t here right now.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t really an issue, though.

    ¡¸During that time, we will ask a few of them to help us. If there won¡¯t be enough willing people, Mylene-san can also lend us some of her staff from the Commerce Guild. Well, that¡¯s my current n, at least.¡¹

    Tirumina-san kept silent for a while to give it some thought.

    It should be a pretty good idea, no?

    ¡¸The employees from Commerce Guild will be able to take all the eggs back directly, which will make things even easier.¡¹

    The value of the eggs might drop for the duration, but that was better than wasting them.

    ¡¸That all makes sense, but do you perchance want me to arrange all that?¡¹

    ¡¸Please do, Tirumina-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan...¡¹

    It was best to leave theplicated stuff to Tirumina-san.

    Yet, she looked at me in disbelief as she often liked to do.

    ¡¸Okay, then when do you n to have this trip? I can¡¯t prepare everything immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸I want to go when it gets a bit hotter. I know there are a lot of things we need to prepare, so I decided to ask you now that we still have plenty of time. Would you be willing to discuss it with Mylene-san?¡¹

    If we failed to secure the required personnel, we would have toe up with another way to take care of things while we were gone. We could always have some people stay behind, but if we were going to take a group vacation to y, then we should all go together and not leave anyone behind, especially since we might break up some groups of friends if we did so.

    If we split them up, everybody would only have half as much fun. People usually enjoyed themselves the most while being around their friends, after all.

    I also had to prepare the swimsuits, since we couldn¡¯t have people swimming naked or in their regr clothing.

    Still, the biggest reason to dy this trip was that it just wasn¡¯t hot enough yet. There was no point in going to the sea before the summer heat reached a certain degree, after all.

    ¡¸Okay, but how will we travel there? There will be a lot of us, so it might be difficult to go as a group.¡¹

    I hadpletely forgotten about that issue. Maybe we could get carriages for everyone?

    Well, I could easily create carriages with earth magic and have Bear Golems drag them, as I had done when I captured those bandits, but were such carriagesfortable to ride?

    I had made them without thinking aboutfort, so they most likely failed in that regard. If I put some more effort into it, though, could I make them morefortable?

    Hmm, what should I do?

    ¡¸We still have time, so I will think of what to do about itter, but before that, can you check if there are people willing to take care of the birds for us?¡¹

    ¡¸Sigh... Okay, let me know when you decide on the date and time. I will go and take care of this in the meantime.¡¹

    Fina and Shuri looked quite happy seeing their mother agree to the trip.

    Since Tirumina-san had now somewhat agreed to help me, I thanked her in advance and parted ways with them.

    My next stop was the tailor shop where Sherry worked, so that I could ask her about making swimsuits for me.

    As I entered the shop, Noll-san, who was working at the counter, quickly noticed me and spoke up.

    ¡¸Wee, Yuna-chan. I see you¡¯re wearing your cute outfit today as well. Maybe I should try making it sometime.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t. If you do, I will have to destroy this shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Considering you¡¯re the one saying that, you¡¯re being serious, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    I most definitely was.

    It would be traumatic to see a bunch of people walking around dressed as me.

    ¡¸So, why are you here today? Did youe to pick up more plushies?¡¹

    I had asked Sherry to make more plushies when she had time as they became quite popr, and many people wanted them.

    ¡¸I came to ask Sherry for something else. Is it okay if I borrow her for a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, today isn¡¯t really a good day. We just got a few sudden orders today, so she¡¯s busy working on them with my husband in the back. Things should calm down by tomorrow, though. Is it urgent?¡¹

    I shook my head.

    It wasn¡¯t urgent at all, although it would be better if I got it done sooner rather thanter.

    ¡¸Tomorrow is fine, so can I borrow her then?¡¹

    ¡¸Give me a moment. I will go ask her.¡¹

    Noll-san went to the back and came out soon after.

    ¡¸She said it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, can you tell Sherry toe to my house when she¡¯s ready?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, I will let her know. At what time should she be there?¡¹

    ¡¸Anytime is fine, but the earlier the better.¡¹

    Before I left, I didn¡¯t forget to pick up some Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    The next day, I called Fina and Noa toe over, and we waited together for Sherry to arrive. Shuri couldn¡¯te because she had to do some chores with Tirumina-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, is this a swimsuit?¡¹

    Noa asked as she took a peek at the drawings of the swimsuits that wereid out on the table.

    I had drawn them up by using Fina and Noa as models; I had decided to do so as there were a lot of children at the orphanage, so the sizeparisons should fit. The drawings were a bitic-like, but that couldn¡¯t be helped.

    I had drawn them for Sherry to use as a reference, but if I was being honest, I didn¡¯t really know much about swimsuits myself; I had never bought a swimsuit before, after all. I had no need for one as I had never gone to the beach or a pool.

    Instead, I had simply based the drawings on what I had seen in manga, anime, and games. Even so, they shouldn¡¯t be too different from the real ones, right?

    Quite a few designs had been drawn using Noa as the model and the girls checked them out first.

    They were all bikini designs, or rather, what I thought of as bikini designs since I didn¡¯t know what bikinis were actually like. It had been a huge pain to draw the back sides especially. I kind of hoped Sherry would be able to make the adult ones based on these, so I wouldn¡¯t have to bother with those as well.

    On a side note, I had made sure to draw swimsuits that were safe to look at. None of them were skimpy or erotic. I designed them with the children in mind, and I didn¡¯t draw anything I wouldn¡¯t want to wear myself. The only person that would want to and enjoy wearing a skimpy swimsuit would most likely be Atora-san.

    ¡¸Um, these are kind of embarrassing. Like, isn¡¯t this fluttering skirt too short?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, these are swimsuits, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    Noa seemed to be embarrassed by the prospect of wearing this kind of swimsuit. Maybe it would have been better if I only drew the swimsuit by itself? She herself had been used as the model in the drawings, after all.

    Now that I looked at it, I had only used Noa for the bikinis. Maybe I should use Fina this time, and draw some school and other one-piece swimsuits with her in mind? I was sure they would look great on her.

    Well, Shuri would probably be the best model for the school swimsuits.

    ¡¸You¡¯re supposed to swim wearing this?¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that still embarrassing?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it would be embarrassing to walk down the streets while wearing it, but it¡¯s way easier to swim in these swimsuits. It¡¯s difficult to swim if you wear regr clothing, and the clothes might even cause you to drown instead.¡¹

    Well, based on what Anzu told me, they wrapped themselves in bleached cotton cloth here, so maybe that wasn¡¯t that much different to swimsuits.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, are there no bear versions of this?¡¹

    ¡¸Bear versions...?¡¹

    For a moment, I didn¡¯t understand what Noa meant by that. I had never heard of a Bear version of swimsuits even in my former world.

    ¡¸Yes, bear. I was sure you would have a bear-shaped swimsuit.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I don¡¯t.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t make it even if I knew how.

    ¡¸Okay, but you just have to add a tail, no?¡¹

    No, you didn¡¯t make something into a Bear just by adding a tail.

    Feet, hands, and ears all had to be bear-shaped in order to aplish that. I tried to show it to her by using an illustration using Fina as a model, adding Bear Hands, Feet, andstly a Bear Swimming Cap on her head. It looked like a regr swimsuit coupled with Bear Hands, Feet and Head. Actually, now that I thought about it, did some swimsuits with included gloves and shoes maybe exist?

    No, those would get in the way of swimming for sure, especially the Bear variant of it.

    I crumpled up the paper and threw it into the trash can.

    ¡¸Ah! Why did you throw it away?!¡¹

    ¡¸Because that¡¯s not a swimsuit.¡¹

    ¡¸But, it¡¯s such a waste to throw it away.¡¹

    To begin with, I had no intentions of making a Bear swimsuit, so I ignored Noa¡¯sints, and drew more designs based on what I remembered from my former world. Including the ones I had drawn yesterday, I now had around ten designs, which I judged to be enough. They were only rough drafts, but it was rather tiring to draw so much at once. The hardest ones were the swimsuits for boys. I had almost given up on trunks. Couldn¡¯t I just draw them with bikini bottoms?

    Anyway, I had drawn what I thought was appropriate, so it was most likely fine. Just as I put down my pen, Sherry had finally arrived.

    ¡¸Wee, Sherry. Come in.¡¹

    Sherry entered the Bear House, looking a bit nervous. She was quite surprised when she saw that Noa and Fina were here as well.

    ¡¸Fina-chan, and Noire-sama?!¡¹

    ¡¸I asked them to take a look at the clothing I want you to make.¡¹

    I proceeded to exin to Sherry all about our trip to the sea, ending with the subject of swimsuits, which I hoped she could make for me.

    ¡¸Everyone at the orphanage is going to the sea?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You are included as well, of course.¡¹

    ¡¸But, my job...¡¹

    ¡¸I will ask Noll-san for permission before we go, so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    I would feel bad leaving her out of the group, and I was pretty sure Noll-san would agree to hering along.

    With that all cleared up, I showed Sherry the swimsuit designs I had drawn.

    ¡¸Are these undergarments?¡¹

    ¡¸No, they¡¯re clothing used for swimming.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    It made sense for her to be confused as even if there were swimsuits in this world, the orphanage couldn¡¯t have purchased them for everyone, so nobody would have had the chance to wear them.

    ¡¸I wanted you to use those designs to make swimsuits for everyone at the orphanage and the shop.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone?¡¹

    She asked while looking at the designs.

    ¡¸Mhm. We¡¯re going to the sea, so even if they won¡¯t go for a swim, they can at least y around in the water.¡¹

    ¡¸Is this going to be considered work?¡¹

    Sherry really had the mindset of a working adult, huh.

    ¡¸Yup, it¡¯ll be work. I¡¯ll be asking Noll-san for permission as well. Will you be able to make them?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I should have the time. There isn¡¯t any urgent work, so I can take this up as my next contract.¡¹

    There were quite a number of swimsuits to be made, so I was really happy that she didn¡¯t refuse the job. Otherwise, I would have had to think of something else.

    ¡¸As for the fabric, could you please use something that won¡¯t be see through when wet, won¡¯t get torn easily, can dry easily, and is a bit stic if possible?¡¹

    ¡¸I wonder if such fabric exists...¡¹

    Sherry mumbled and fell into deep thought for a while.

    Well, we really couldn¡¯t use anything that would turn see through or would tear easily. It would also be nice if it could dry easily. If it was stic as well, then it would be of help if the sizing was a bit off.

    ¡¸I guess I will have to ask Temoka-san first. If there is fabric like that, it will probably be expensive, though.¡¹

    Cost was of no problem to me.

    Still, speaking of fabric, I had some, didn¡¯t I?

    ¡¸Do you think you can use this?¡¹

    I asked Sherry as I took out some thread and fabric from my Bear Box.

    ¡¸This is...?¡¹

    Sherry asked and took a closer look at the fabric I offered her.

    ¡¸W-w-what is this high quality fabric?!¡¹

    Sherry stuttered when she touched it.

    I had received this from the vige chief for defeating the ck Tiger when I was escorting Shia and her fellow students.

    Those giant silkworms were monsters that haunted my nightmares, but unlike their distasteful appearance, their silk was supposedly a high quality product. At least, that was what Shia had told me.

    ¡¸The texture is better than any fabric we have at the store.¡¹

    ¡¸I received this from a previous job of mine. Do you think it will work?¡¹

    ¡¸Can I try getting it wet?¡¹

    I agreed, and Fina brought over a cup of water.

    Sherry thanked her before dripping some water directly onto the fabric.

    She then proceeded to check check the thinness and durability of the fabric. The diligence of her actions made me think she might like to study different types of fabric as a part of her learning process. If she continued like this, she would surely be a professional tailor one day.

    ¡¸So, will it be okay or not?¡¹

    ¡¸I think it should be just fine.¡¹

    Since she confirmed it, I gave her all the thread and fabric I had on me.

    With this, the materials were covered, so the whole set should be a lot cheaper.

    ¡¸Okay, which one should I make?¡¹

    Sherry asked while looking at the designs scattered on the table.

    ¡¸I was thinking of asking you girls to pick a design for yourselves for now. I don¡¯t want everybody to have the same swimsuits, though, so try to pick something different from each other, okay?¡¹

    It would be boring if everybody wore the same thing even though there were so many options. If they really wanted the same thing, then we could just go with the school swimsuit and be done with it.

    ¡¸We can pick whichever one we like?¡¹

    Noa asked more to herself before starting to choose a swimsuit. The three of them soon fell into a discussion over which one they should pick, and I realized we would remain here for quite a while longer.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The main reason I made it so that other ces would start producing eggs was so I could write about everybody at the orphanage going to the beach.

    Since they taught other people how to take care of the chickens, those people should return the favor, no?

    Many bookstores will soon start taking reservations for volume four of the light novel version.

    They asked me to write in-store purchase bonuses, but I haven¡¯t decided which stories to distribute to which stores.

    Once I decide, I will write a notice about it.

    For now, I just wrote about Deiga-san for the e-book version. lol

 Chapter 288 â€“ Bear-sanâ€™s Top Secret Information Is Discovered By Sherry

    Sounds of happy banter filled the room as the girls began to choose their swimsuits together. Fina alternated between agreeing and disagreeing with Noa, while Sherry focused on studying the swimsuit designs in detail.

    ¡¸I guess I need to make more detailed sketches before I can sew these clothes...¡¹

    ¡¸Howe?¡¹

    As Sherry was muttering to herself, Noa leaned over to ask her to borate.

    ¡¸Well, when making clothes, you need to n it all out in detail. A detailed draft is very helpful all throughout the process. It is also quite useful whening up with other designs or simply showing it to the customers before they decide on an order. ¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve seen it before when I got new clothes made for me.¡¹

    As expected of our little nobledy Noa. Were all off her clothes made-to-order?

    I only had this high quality Bear Suit that had been given to me by God and nothing else, so I was a bit jealous...

    ¡¸This one is really cute.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but it seems a little bit embarrassing to wear.¡¹

    ¡¸It might also be hard to make. This one here is much simpler, so I should be able to make it easily.¡¹

    Noa and Fina were picking out designs based on their looks while Sherry only considered the prospect of making them.

    ¡¸Once you two decide, make sure to let Sherry measure your body sizes.¡¹

    ¡¸Our body sizes?¡¹

    ¡¸I think both Noa and Sherry should already know this, but your measurements are used to make the clothes fit you. It¡¯s especially important to know the sizes for swimsuits, because if you get them wrong, you won¡¯t be able to wear it at all.¡¹

    Swimsuits could neither be too tight nor too loose. Unlike other clothes, if a swimsuit was toorge, it could fall off.

    While Noa and Fina were of simr height, the children of the orphanage definitely required different sizes, so I hoped that Sherry could get as many measurements as possible.

    ¡¸You can use the room next door for measuring.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, can you measure me first, then?¡¹

    Noa jumped at the chance and dragged Sherry into the room next to ours.

    ¡¸Do the people of your hometown really wear these when they go swimming?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. There are even more varying designs there. Everybody wears a different one when they go to the beach.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you must have worn one of these as well, didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    Fina asked innocently as she looked at the swimsuits.

    ¡¸I guess so... but that was a long time ago.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t really tell her about how I had worn a school swimsuit when I was in elementary school, so I made sure to keep it vague.

    ¡¸Did you decide on a swimsuit yet?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, somewhat.¡¹

    She sounded a bit embarrassed.

    Just as I was going to ask her which one, Noa came back from the other room.

    ¡¸Your turn, Fina.¡¹

    Fina replied with an ¡¸Okay!¡¹ and went to the room next door.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really looking forward to going to the sea with everybody.¡¹

    ¡¸Make sure you get permission from Cliff, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I will. I¡¯m sure he will say it¡¯s fine since you¡¯reing with us, Yuna-san. Father trusts you, after all.¡¹

    If I were a guy, the implications here would bepletely different.

    I was a girl, though, so that meant Cliff trusted me in a normal way.

    Noa continued to look at the designs while waiting for Fina to return.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, you¡¯re next.¡¹

    ¡¸Me? It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not going to wear one.¡¹

    ¡¸¡¸¡¸Eh...¡¹¡¹¡¹

    Sherry, who was also standing by the door, heard me, so all three girls ended up looking at me weirdly.

    Had I said something strange just now?

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re really not going to wear one?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I have no ns to.¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t do that. If you don¡¯t wear one despite being the one suggesting them, then nobody else will wear them.¡¹

    ¡¸If you don¡¯t wear one, then I won¡¯t, either.¡¹

    Fina took Noa¡¯s side.

    ¡¸But, I can¡¯t swim... ¡¹

    ¡¸Neither can I.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, and if Yuna-san doesn¡¯t swim, no one else will, either.¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t sure she was right there. I could easily imagine everybody running straight into the water upon seeing the sea in front of them.

    ¡¸Well, no matter what, you have to wear one, too.¡¹

    Noa added as she slowly slid towards me. I quickly stood up and backed away, but something grabbed me from behind.

    ¡¸Fina?¡¹

    When did she get behind me?!

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t have to apologize, she just had to let me go.

    Of course, I could easily remove her arms by force, but I would never do such a thing to Fina.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please give up.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, Yuna-oneechan. I¡¯ll be measuring you, so please take off your clothes.¡¹

    Sherry took out her measuring tape and stretched it out with a smack.

    She then slowly edged towards me

    ¡¸Um, let¡¯s talk about this first. Yes, we should talk this out, and then everything will be fine. You shouldn¡¯t do things forcibly, you know?¡¹

    The two of them continued to approach me,pletely ignoring my pleas.

    ¡¸Yuna-oneechan, we can¡¯t get a swimsuit made for you if we don¡¯t know your sizes.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, please just give up.¡¹

    Fina was already behind me and Noa hugged me from the front in order to not let me escape.

    ¡¸Okay, I get it. I¡¯ll do it, so let go.¡¹

    I gave up as I knew there was no point in resisting any longer.

    I had been hoping that I wouldn¡¯t have to wear a swimsuit even though everyone else would, but it seemed like the girls wouldn¡¯t stand for that.

    Since I would now be forced to wear one, I knew I had to get measured as I wouldn¡¯t want the swimsuit to not fit me. Still, I feared my sizes might be a bit embarrassing.

    Hopefully, I hadn¡¯t eaten too much pizza and potato chips. I was particrly worried about my stomach area. It should be fine, right?

    I was able to fit into Shia¡¯s uniform, so it shouldn¡¯t be too bad.

    ¡¸You can¡¯t run away, okay?¡¹

    Fina believed me and let go, and Noa soon followed.

    Now that the two of them let go, I could finally escape... at least, I wanted to.

    Well, it was fine if they measured my sizes as long as they didn¡¯t go around telling them to anyone else.

    Having given up, I slowly walked into the other room, with the girls close behind me. Sherry would be doing the measurements, so I understood why she followed me in, but why were the other two here as well?

    ¡¸Um, why are you twoing along?¡¹

    ¡¸To make sure you don¡¯t run away, of course.¡¹

    Noa said happily, and Fina nodded in agreement.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t try to escape anymore.¡¹

    If I was actually going to run away, I would have simply shaken them off earlier.

    ¡¸We believe you, but just in case.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s embarrassing to have you all here, though.¡¹

    ¡¸Why? We¡¯re all girls here, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about.¡¹

    Well, I couldn¡¯t rebuke that. They were also all younger than me, so there really should be no issues in that regard. It was like changing for PE ss or pool.

    Yet, as the elder sister, letting these girls know my sizes could affect my dignityter on.

    Maybe if I... Well, even praying to god most likely wouldn¡¯t help, but if my size of that certain area was smaller than theirs, I wouldn¡¯t be able to live anymore.

    Not to mention, we also had to measure the orphanage kids¡¯ sizes. There were some younger kids who were growing well. If the girlspared my sizes to theirs, then...

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-oneechan. We won¡¯t tell anyone, so please trust us.¡¹

    Sherry seemed to have noticed my worries and tried to reassure me while also looking at that certain spot of mine.

    Why was she looking there?

    ¡¸Yeah, and Sherry is the only one who will measure your size. She will keep it to herself as top secret information. She won¡¯t even tell Noll-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, top secret! Even Noll-san won¡¯t know!¡¹

    ¡¸Ehh...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t ehh us. You can¡¯t help it since we need to get your sizes.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san, I¡¯m aiming to be like you in the future, so I think you¡¯re perfect the way you are.¡¹

    ¡¸Noa, you should aim to be like Shia, since you¡¯re sisters. Anyway, I refuse to do this. If you keep on insisting, I¡¯m going to have to use force.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to use violence?¡¹

    ¡¸No.¡¹

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and ordered them to grab onto Noa and Fina.

    Swaying Bear took down Noa while Hugging Bear wrapped its paws around Fina, rendering them both immobilized.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan, please let go.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear...¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, take care of those two for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-san...¡¹

    ¡¸Why me, too...¡¹

    I brought Sherry to another room where we could have some peace.

    ¡¸Sherry, if you tell other people my sizes, I¡¯ll... ¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t tell anyone. I promise.¡¹

    Sherry felt that the threat was real and nodded a couple of times, before I finally decided to believe her and took off my Bear Suit. Even if it was being done by a younger girl, getting my sizes measured was really embarrassing.

    This must be how my Bears must have felt when they were being measured for their plushies. If the world were to know of my sizes, I really wouldn¡¯t be able to live here anymore.

    Uuu, why did this have to happen...

    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m done.¡¹

    After suffering from this terrible disgrace, I equipped the Bear Suit as quickly as I could.

    Not only did it protect me from harm, it also covered my body. This Bear Suit was truly divine.

    Since the ordeal was over, I returned to the other room where the bears were still restraining the other two girls.

    ¡¸Swaying Bear-chan, it¡¯s really hot.¡¹

    ¡¸Hugging Bear...¡¹

    ¡¸You can let them go now.¡¹

    The Bears let go the moment I said that.

    ¡¸Yuna-san, you¡¯re terrible.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did you restrain me as well?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s all Noa¡¯s fault, honestly.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuu, I just wanted to know Yuna-san¡¯s sizes, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    That was the problem.

    She shouldn¡¯t infringe on other people¡¯s privacy.

    ¡¸Sherry, please help with the swimsuits for the children and the staff as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will.¡¹

    Sherry carefully stashed away the swimsuit designs and the secret data into her item bag. There was also quite a lot of fabric for her to take, so I also lent her one of my item bags to carry it more easily.

    ¡¸Are you going to be fine by yourself?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯ll be okay.¡¹

    ¡¸I will also be stopping at your ce tomorrow to ask Noll-san to let you join us on our vacation.¡¹

    With that, Sherry walked off, waving goodbye as she went.

    For some reason, I was quite exhausted after this encounter.

    I headed to Morin-san¡¯s shop for a break and took Fina and Noa with me since they wanted toe along.

    Albeit a bit begrudgingly, I decided to treat them to some cake for helping me today.

    I told the two of them to order whatever they wanted and headed to the kitchen on the second floor, where I immediately ran into Elena-san.

    ¡¸Yuna-san?!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯ve gotten better at baking cakes, I must say.¡¹

    ¡¸No, no, not at all. I still have a long way to go.¡¹

    Elena-san was being humble, but the cakes she made really were quite delicious, and I heard that she had been doing some research into new varieties as well.

    ¡¸So, what brings you here today?¡¹

    ¡¸I have something I wanted to discuss with you and Morin-san. Can we talk downstairs?¡¹

    She agreed, so we took the stairs down directly from the second floor kitchen to the one on the first floor.

    It had been rather inconvenient before, so they connected the two kitchens together for easier ess.

    ¡¸Yuna-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Morin-san, do you have a moment?¡¹

    Morin-san and the children were cleaning up, so I hoped she could take off a few minutes for me.

    ¡¸Yes, I do. We just finished our work for the day.¡¹

    I proceeded to exin to everyone how we would be closing the shop for a few days and go on a trip to the sea.

    ¡¸The sea?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Everybody has been working hard, so think of it as a little reward.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve never been to the sea before.¡¹

    ¡¸Me neither, I was always stuck at the capital with my mother.¡¹

    Elena-san and Karin-san looked quite excited.

    ¡¸Is it okay to close the shop, though?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, so all of you shoulde.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we could. I should see it at least once in my life, right?¡¹

    After chatting about the sea for a while longer, I told them that Sherry would be making swimming clothes for them, so she woulde here and measure their sizes.

    Worried expressions crossed the faces of Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san.

    I had finally found others who understood how I felt. As expected, the older one got, the more they didn¡¯t want to be measured.

    ¡¸Um, Yuna-san. When will we be going?¡¹

    ¡¸We haven¡¯t decided on a date yet. Probably when it gets a bit warmer.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think we will have enough time...?¡¹

    ¡¸It should be enough, Elena-san. Let¡¯s do our best, together.¡¹

    Elena-san and Karin-san both looked down at their stomachs.

    ¡¸Lately, I¡¯ve been doing a lot of taste testing for cakes...¡¹

    ¡¸Me too... ¡¹

    Ah, that was what they meant by having enough time...

    Well, I hoped they could do their best dieting.

    I stayed to chat for a while before going home. The next day, I didn¡¯t forget to stop at Noll-san¡¯s ce to talk about the swimsuits, inform her about the trip to the seaside, and request some time off for Sherry. Noll-san agreed to let her go without a problem.

    Just as all preparations for the trip were well on the way, I received an urgent message from Cliff.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, Yuna¡¯s top secret information has been revealed. lol

    Well, Sherry isn¡¯t the type of girl to spill the beans, so it should be fine.

 Chapter 289 â€“ Bear-san Gets Summoned

    While I was rxing at my home and thinking about the seaside trip, one of Cliff¡¯s servants knocked on the door,pletely out of breath. He must have run all the way here.

    Once he caught his breath, he told me toe to the mansion immediately.

    I asked him for the reason, but it turned out he didn¡¯t actually know why.

    Just what was all this about? Had I made Cliff angry or something?

    I always asked Cliff for permission before going out with Noa. The only thing I could think of was theck of the Sacred Tree¡¯s tea leaves I got from the elves, but L-san had told me just the other day that Cliff was keeping the promise of having one cup a day, so they should still have some left in their storage.

    I kept pondering it as I walked, but couldn¡¯t think of any usible reason for this emergency.

    Once I arrived at the mansion, I was promptly brought to Cliff¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re here. Sit down, please.¡¹

    I did as I was told and sat down on a chair he gestured at.

    I nced at Cliff, and he didn¡¯t seem angry, so maybe I wasn¡¯t called here because of something I did?

    Still, what else could it possibly be?

    ¡¸So, what is it that you need me for?¡¹

    I went straight to the point.

    ¡¸A letter from His Majesty just came to my residence. He asks you toe to the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Huh? So, what you are saying is that I¡¯m actually being summoned by His Majesty and not you?¡¹

    To think it was the king that was behind this abrupt interruption of my rxation time. What could he possibly need me for? This was the first time he ever summoned me, so I really had no idea. He had already lectured me about the school festival, so it clearly wasn¡¯t that.

    ¡¸There was something I wanted to confirm with you before you leave. You defeated the Kraken, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The Kraken? I thought you knew that already, Cliff. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re doubting me? Well, I don¡¯t really care if you believe me or not.¡¹

    ¡¸I just said I wanted to confirm it with you, not that I don¡¯t trust you.¡¹

    Okay, so why was he confirming it with me now?

    ¡¸Anyways, what happened with the Kraken?¡¹

    ¡¸I defeated it.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, but I heard you got the Kraken dismantled, so what happened to its water magic stone? I figured you must have kept it for yourself.¡¹

    ¡¸The Kraken¡¯s magic stone? Yes, I still have it with me. The old man who dismantled it for me said I should take it with me.¡¹

    I had first nned on giving it to Mireera to aid in its restoration, but Atora-san said that magic stones were the proof of subjugation, so they couldn¡¯t ept the stone.

    Because of that, the Kraken¡¯s magic stone had been gathering dust inside my Bear Box as I had no real use of it as of now.

    ¡¸Do you mind showing it to me?¡¹

    I took the stone out of my Bear Box and ced it on the table. The stone had a beautiful blue ocean-like shine to it.

    ¡¸So, this is the Kraken¡¯s magic stone, huh. It¡¯s quite big.¡¹

    I could barely cover the stone with both my hands, so yeah, it was quite big.

    ¡¸So, what is this all about?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you please take this and bring it to His Majesty?¡¹

    ¡¸You want me to take this magic stone to His Majesty?¡¹

    Cliff held the blue magic stone and looked at it.

    ¡¸Yes. In his letter, he wrote that if you still had the Kraken¡¯s magic stone, he needed it to be immediately brought it to him.¡¹

    Was this going to be a bigger pain than I had thought?

    Had something bad happened, for him to need the Kraken¡¯s magic stone?

    ¡¸I know you can get there quickly with your bears, so could you?¡¹

    With my Bear Gate, I could go in an instant. Of course, I couldn¡¯t tell him that, so simply nodded my head to agree.

    ¡¸Was the reason for it written down?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but he only wrote that you need to bring it to him. I guess he must have some use for it.¡¹

    Cliff went through the trouble to confirm whether I still had it, so even I could figure that out without him telling me. I just wanted to know what the king needed the magic stone for, but it seemed like that information hadn¡¯t been written down in the letter.

    I was a bit troubled that he wanted me toe immediately. While our trip to the sea was still a ways off, I had promised myself that I wasn¡¯t going to the capital for some time. I really wished to stay away for a while longer.

    ¡¸Will you take it there?¡¹

    ¡¸Not like I can refuse, can I?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. I appreciate it.¡¹

    Cliff said and bowed.

    ¡¸Why are you lowering your head at me?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously, because this is a letter from His Majesty. There is no way we can refuse his orders. If you said no, then I would have to go apologize to His Majesty personally.¡¹

    ¡¸If that happened, why not just forcibly take it from me or simply force me to go?¡¹

    ¡¸I obviously can¡¯t do that. I am still in your debt, and Noa likes you a lot. Also, if the townspeople found out that I tried to harm you, they would surelye after me.¡¹

    He was definitely exaggerating way too much there.

    Why would the townspeople get angry at Cliff for harming me? That made no sense. Well, Mylene-san mightin using her status as the Commerce Guild Master, but nobody else should go against the action of their town¡¯s lord.

    ¡¸To begin with, you subjugated the Kraken. I would much rather go apologize to His Majesty than forcibly take the stone from you. It¡¯s also better to ask something of people than to order them around.¡¹

    Well, from my point of view, Cliff had been somewhat helping me out all this time, so I didn¡¯t mind listening to his requests, as long as they weren¡¯t too crazy.

    ¡¸I guess that makes sense. You sure are lucky, though. If he had sent the letter a bitter, when it got warmer, I would have most likely said no as I n on going to the sea to y.¡¹

    ¡¸ying around is of a higher priority than His Majesty¡¯s orders?¡¹

    Cliff asked beforeughing out loudly.

    Well, if I had to choose between going to an old man or ying with children... Of course, I would pick the children.

    I had already made ns with them as well, so he couldn¡¯tin.

    Still, if this was a request from Flora-sama or Tilia, I would rush to the capital. The old man just wasn¡¯t worth it, though.

    Anyways, I still had plenty of time before the trip, so going to the capital wouldn¡¯t have been a problem if the school festival had been just a little farther behind.

    ¡¸Okay then, I¡¯ll be heading out soon.¡¹

    I put the Kraken¡¯s magic stone back into my Bear Box, before remembering that I still had to confirm something with Cliff.

    ¡¸Ahh, that¡¯s right. I want to bring Noa to the sea with us, is that okay?¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can say no given the timing. I already told her it¡¯s fine as long as she studies properly until she has to leave for the trip.¡¹

    It seemed like Noa had already asked for permission herself and Cliff had no issues with it.

    Well, if Noa decided to y around and not study, she wouldn¡¯t be able to go, but that would be her own fault.

    I left the mansion and went to tell Tirumina-san and Fina that I was off to the capital again.

    ¡¸Tirumina-san, I¡¯m going toe back as soon as I can, but if anything happens, please take care of it for me. Fina, if something bad happens, let me know using your phone, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuna-chan, you sure are busy.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m really not, thanks to you helping me look after the shop and the orphanage.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, nothing wille out of you ttering an olddy like me, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Tirumina-san, you¡¯re still quite young.¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu, thank you.¡¹

    Tirumina-san was being modest, but it really did help that she took care of things for me. I often went out on long trips, and without her, that wouldn¡¯t be possible.

    ¡¸Anway, I think you will be fine, but please take care of yourself, Yuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸I will. If anything unexpected happens, tell Fina and let me know, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, she will call you if it does.¡¹

    I returned to my Bear House, but I didn¡¯t know if I should move directly to the capital. I had only received the message today, so it would probably be better to wait out a day or two. Yes, I should stay back for two days, and teleport there after breakfast.

    Two dayster, I broke the promise I had made to myself not so long ago and visited the capital once again.

    Why on earth had the king summoned me now?

    There might be people that would recognize me here, so I tried to avoid contact with other people as much as possible and rushed to the castle.

    ¡¸Why, if it isn¡¯t Yuna-dono. His Majesty is awaiting your arrival.¡¹

    The guard at the gate greeted me. It seemed that he had already been notified that I wasing to the castle.

    The guard then proceeded to lead me to a room, where I guessed the king would meet me.

    ¡¸Please wait inside.¡¹

    I stepped inside what looked like an office. If my memory served me right, this should be the ce where I had met the king for the first time.

    However, he wasn¡¯t here right now.

    Well, the guard told me to wait, so should I just sit down?

    There was a sofa by the desk, so I made myselffortable, took out some tea from my Bear Box, and waited patiently while sipping on my drink.

    Slurp. Ah, this tea sure was tasty. I had gotten this from L-san, so it was of a good quality.

    Still, the king sure was taking his sweet time.

    After getting half through my tea, I took out the sample cake that Elena-san made for me and began eating it.

    Nom, nom, nom. The cake had a hint of sourness and was very delicious. Which fruit had she used to make it taste this way? Elena-san had been experimenting with many types of cakes, so she might have created a new type of cake that even I didn¡¯t know about. Still, I was worried about her belly size after eating so many sample cakes. She could easily get fat from too much sampling.

    Anyway, the king still hadn¡¯t shown up. It was like he had forgotten about me. For a while, I had thought that maybe Eleanora-san was going toe instead, but she didn¡¯t show up, either.

    Since I was bored I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms and started to cuddle with them and let them ride on my shoulders to show my affection.

    Their soft fur felt so nice... As I was enjoying my time with the Bears, the door suddenly opened and the king entered.

    ¡¸Sorry, I¡¯ve kept you waiting... What are you doing?¡¹

    I looked around myself when he asked that. On the table was a half-full cup of tea and a half-eaten cake. Then there was me, ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I sure had made myselffortable, hadn¡¯t I?

    ¡¸I was summoned and left here in this room, but nobody came for a while, so I got bored.¡¹

    ¡¸I do apologize for that. Still, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen somebody so rxed while waiting for me.¡¹

    I could also hear him mutter, ¡¸I may be like this, but I am still the king.¡¹

    ¡¸I think Eleanora-san is even worse than me in that aspect, no?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re quite simr to her, actually.¡¹

    That couldn¡¯t possibly be true. I wasn¡¯t nearly as evil as her.

    ¡¸So, what did you summon me here for?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    As the king was sitting down by his desk, I cleaned up the table and made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sit next to me.

    ¡¸You sure arrived to the capital quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you wrote that this was urgent, so I rushed here with my Bears.¡¹

    I tantly lied. I had spent two and a half days chilling around in my home before teleporting here via Bear Gate.

    ¡¸So, what is it? I only know you need the Kraken¡¯s magic stone for something.¡¹

    ¡¸First, could you let me check the magic stone?¡¹

    I took out the Kraken¡¯s magic stone and ced it on the table between us.

    ¡¸This is the Kraken¡¯s... it¡¯s quite big. Can I touch it?¡¹

    I nodded.

    The king picked up the stone with both of his hands, and looked it over seriously.

    It seemed like he really needed it for something.

    ¡¸Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you give this to me?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, take it.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that I¡¯m being unreasonable here, but...¡¹

    ¡¸Like I said, you can take it.¡¹

    ¡¸You sure you¡¯re okay with that...?¡¹

    The king looked a bit surprised by my immediate agreement.

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s fine. You need it, right?¡¹

    I had no use for it, so giving it to someone who needed it wasn¡¯t a problem for me.

    Whatever he needed it for, it was important enough for him to summon me from Crimonia. Also, if I ever needed such a stone in the future, I could just think of something then.

    ¡¸So, can I at least ask why you need the stone?¡¹

    He most likely wouldn¡¯t be using it tomit a crime or something, but at the very least, I deserved to know what it was going to be for.

    The king ced the magic stone back on the table and slowly began the story...

    Author¡¯s Note:

    You thought it was a summons from Cliff, but it was actually the king.

    I wonder what is going to happen now?

    I posted some information about the in-store purchase bonuses you can get with volume 4.

    I look forward to your continued support.

 Chapter 290 â€“ Bear-san Accepts the Reques

    t

    The king rested his chin on his hand and began to talk.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. You know how, down in the south, there is the Triform Kingdom, right?¡¹

    He told me like it was something obvious, but clearly, I didn¡¯t know much about other kingdoms, so I shook my head.

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s fine... If you head south from the capital, you will eventually reach arge desert, and once you cross it, you reach the Triform Kingdom.¡¹

    So, there was a country down south, huh? Still, past a desert he said. Was it more like the Sahara Desert or the Tottori Sand Dunes?

    Well, I had never been to either of those ces, so I didn¡¯t know how big they were, anyway.

    ¡¸So, I guess that country wants the Kraken¡¯s magic stone, then?¡¹

    I thought for sure that I was correct, but the king shook his head.

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not it. The ce that needs it is Deserto, a town in the middle of the desert.¡¹

    ¡¸Deserto?¡¹

    Another new name came up.

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s located in the dead center of the desert. Our Elfanica Kingdom and Triform Kingdom are trading with each other, so people naturally gathered together and created the town they now call Deserto.¡¹

    If this was the game, it would surely be one of those desert towns located next to an oasis.

    Was in the same in this world, and this town had an oasis as well?

    ¡¸Deserto has be very important for both kingdoms as a stopping point on our trade route. Yet now, I hear that the water magic stone that supplied the people of Deserto with water broke apart. With the stone broken, their water reserves are rapidly decreasing, and soon, the town might be uninhabitable. We absolutely have to prevent that, so I brainstormed for a solution and remembered that you defeated a Kraken, which is how we ended up here.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I now get why you called for me, but doesn¡¯t the castle have any such magic stones of their own to spare?¡¹

    Even though this was a big stone, a royal castle should have some to spare, no?

    ¡¸I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something: there aren¡¯t many magic stones that are the size of the one you have. That¡¯s ignoring how difficult water magic stones are to obtain. Water magic stones of this size are almost impossible to find.¡¹

    Well, when I thought about it, that made sense considering it was indeed tougher to fight a monster in the water than onnd. I very clearly recalled the amount of effort I had spent to defeat the Kraken. If I had battled it onnd, the fight would have been way easier. Using that metric, it should be difficult to fight against other water monsters as well.

    Us humans lived on thend, so of course it was easier to stick to fightingnd monsters.

    ¡¸Hence, I was hoping they could use your stone. You will be reimbursed for it, of course.¡¹

    Would they give me money in exchange? I honestly didn¡¯t need money but it would leave a bad aftertaste if I were to abandon the town just because I didn¡¯t like their reimbursement.

    Still, no matter how I looked at it, a single magic stone shouldn¡¯t be enough to support an entire town, even with how big the Kraken¡¯s magic stone was, so I decided to confirm it with the king.

    ¡¸From what I heard, its power will be amplified by the means of a magic circle. I¡¯m not really an expert in that regard, so I don¡¯t know the details of how it works.¡¹

    There was even such a thing as amplifying magic?

    Well, that was quite a normal setting considering this was a fantasy world.

    At least I now understood why they needed the Kraken¡¯s magic stone.

    ¡¸Okay, if that¡¯s how it is, I don¡¯t mind giving them my stone.¡¹

    Since it would be of a big help to the town, I saw no reason to refuse, especially since it would only continue to rot in my Bear Box otherwise.

    ¡¸Thank you. There was something else I wanted to ask you... Are you and your bears okay with the heat?¡¹

    The king asked, taking a nce at the Bears as he mentioned them.

    ¡¸If I have to choose between liking it and disliking it, I¡¯d say I dislike it. What about you two? I don¡¯t really think you care too much.¡¹

    Personally, I was bad with the heat. Air conditioning was a big necessity in the summer.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear only responded with ¡¸Kuun¡¹, and I had no way to judge what they meant by their innocent expressions.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to ask this of you, but would you be willing to go to the desert with your bears?¡¹

    ¡¸Go to the desert? I think that should be fine.¡¹

    I had my Bear Suit, so the desert heat should have no effect on me. Well, I had never tested its heat resistance to such an extent, so it might not stop the heatpletely. Same with the Bears, I had no idea how they would handle the desert heat.

    We had all been fine inside that blizzard on the snowy mountain, so a desert should most likely be okay as well. Only a volcano would probably be able to stop us.

    ¡¸In that case, I would like to make an official request to you, adventurer Yuna. Can you please bring your magic stone to the town of Deserto?¡¹

    ¡¸You want me to do it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. If you do it, the stone will get there quickly without the chance of being stolen. Your bears can coverrge distances in no time, and you are strong enough to defeat even a monster of the Kraken¡¯s tier. You will be fine with any attacks you might face on the way.¡¹

    Shouldn¡¯t he be a little more concerned for a fifteen-year-old maiden getting attacked by monsters? Well, as long as I had my Bear Suit, I should be able to do away with most of them, but that wasn¡¯t really the problem.

    Still, a town in the desert, huh. While I would love to visit such a ce, I already had my ns for the seaside trip. Well, if I only went there as a one way trip, maybe I would be able to return in time? After all, once I arrived at the town, I could just set up a Bear Gate to return home.

    ¡¸What kind of ce is Deserto?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. Like I told you before, the town was built by people who gathered there on their own. Hence, it does not belong to any country and is a neutral town.¡¹

    ¡¸Really? Since they requested the water magic stone from us, I was sure they were a part of our country.¡¹

    ¡¸Well... There were someplications between the previous generation of Elfanica and Triform kingdoms, so the town was set as a neutral ground by our signed non-aggression pact. The town most likely asked both of our kingdoms for the stone. I would like to deliver the stone before the Triform Kingdom does, so the town will be indebted to us instead of Triform Kingdom.¡¹

    Indebted? Even when concerning kingdoms, such things came into y, huh.

    Some hidden conflict must be happening between the two countries for sure.

    ¡¸Why are you making such a strange expression? You are misunderstanding something again, aren¡¯t you. Our kingdoms presently have good rtions with each other.¡¹

    ¡¸Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. As I mentioned earlier, it was our previous generation that had the conflict. We are friendly now.¡¹

    ¡¸And yet you want the town to be indebted do you...¡¹

    ¡¸You never know how long peace willst. Something may happen when the next generation takes up rule. Having more information about the areas near the borders is always useful.¡¹

    So, he was trying to invest in the future generations.

    If the town owed our country a favor, then they might be willing to sell us information when the opposing country did something suspicious.

    A king always had to act while taking the future into ount... Such a troublesome job would be impossible for me, and I would have definitely offloaded it to someone else.

    ¡¸Anyways, this will be treated as a rank B request.¡¹

    ¡¸A rank B request?!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Subjugating the Kraken would be considered harder than a normal rank B mission. Since this mission will include its stone, then of course the request rank has to reflect it.¡¹

    Certainly, a request to obtain a Kraken¡¯s magic stone and bring it somewhere would entail either subjugating a Kraken or buying the stone off of someone. Buying such a stone from someone required finding such a person and then negotiating with them.

    So, looking at it like that, maybe it being a rank B request made sense...

    ¡¸I just have to bring it there, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s it.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I ept this request.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. Just to make sure, are you going to go in that suffocating outfit?¡¹

    The king asked as he nced at my Bear Suit.

    ¡¸That¡¯s the n, why?¡¹

    Actually, there was no way I would enter a desert without it.

    With my feeble body, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to stand still at a desert for more than a few minutes before copsing from heat stroke.

    ¡¸Are you sure you¡¯re going to be fine in such an outfit?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Alright, that¡¯s fine, then. I was only worried you might copse in the middle of the desert.¡¹

    Just like Noa had already pointed out, my outfit seemed really hot to others, but the appearance couldn¡¯t be farther from the truth.

    The king reached into one of his drawers, pulled something out, and handed it to me.

    ¡¸Here is a letter for you to deliver to the lord of Deserto. He¡¯s called Balima. I wrote about you in this letter, so that you won¡¯t cause too much of amotion when you arrive.¡¹

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t intentionally do that...¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just kidding. A girl wearing a bear costume most likely won¡¯t be able to meet him, at least without a letter with the royal seal. Just show them the crest, and you should be treated properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait... Since you prepared this letter beforehand, doesn¡¯t that mean you nned for me to go in the first ce?¡¹

    ¡¸I prepared two letters, actually. One regr and one that talks about you.¡¹

    It seemed like the king had a back-up n, after all.

    He had prepared another letter in case I refused his request.

    I unsummoned my Bears, and put the Kraken¡¯s magic stone and the letter into the Bear Box. Just as I stood up from the sofa to leave, something came to my mind.

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right. I wish to go see Princess Flora today. Would that be okay?¡¹

    I wanted to bring her the cakes that Elena-san had made.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind, but I would appreciate it if you would depart for Deserto soon.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will be quick.¡¹

    Having received the king¡¯s approval, I left the office and headed to Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    The king followed me, though. Was he going back to work?

    As I was getting closer to Princess Flora¡¯s room, the king was still behind me, so I started to wonder where he could be going.

    When I stopped in front of Princess Flora¡¯s room, the king stopped right next to me. It was then when it dawned on me.

    ¡¸Um, you¡¯re following me, aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, you¡¯re bringing Flora the cake you were eating earlier, no?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, but why are you here as well?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously, I should have some as well.¡¹

    What did he mean by obviously?

    I was pretty sure that made no sense... Well, it was toote to rebuke him now, so I decided to ignore him and entered Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Flora, are you here?¡¹

    ¡¸Father?¡¹

    Princess Flora noticed us, and started to quickly trod our way. The king knelt down and spread his arms wide, but just like a scene from an anime or manga, Princess Florapletely ignored him and flew into my embrace instead.

    ¡¸Bear-san!¡¹

    I could see the king¡¯s back shiver slightly from being ignored. He had trouble figuring out what to do with his hands that were now reached out to greet only air.

    I should probably act like I saw nothing.

    ¡¸Princess Flora, I brought you some cake, so let¡¯s have some together, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Okay!¡¹

    ¡¸I will go and prepare some tea, then.¡¹

    Anju-san also decided not to mention the king¡¯s stature and quickly ran away to the other side of the room to make tea.

    I took Princess Flora¡¯s hand and led her to a table. Once she wasfortably sitting down on a chair, I brought out the newly-made cakes.

    ¡¸Anju-san, could you bring these to Zelef-san afterwards? I will ask him for his opinion on themter.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, I will do so.¡¹

    ¡¸ I also have some for you too, so please eat itter.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Yuna-sama.¡¹

    Anju-san couldn¡¯t eat together with us when the king was here, so she would have to wait until the king was gone.

    ¡¸All of you, don¡¯t just ignore me...¡¹

    The king finally managed to recover and came to sit with us.

    ¡¸Give me my share, too!¡¹

    ¡¸Father, are you mad?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re being so petty just because your daughter ignored you.¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously I¡¯m upset, losing to a bear.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, all you have to do wear a bear costume yourself, then Princess Flora will be happy with you, too.¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I could ever do that!¡¹

    Well, I actually didn¡¯t want to have the same look as the king, either, so this was fine by me.

    I gave the king a share of cake to appease him.

    ¡¸Oh right, is Eleanora-san not here today?¡¹

    At this point, she should have sniffed me out already.

    ¡¸She doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re here because I ordered everybody not to contact her unless I have a need for her personally.¡¹

    So, she wasn¡¯t here yet because the king blocked out her informants.

    Still, I was sure that if she found out about thister on, she wouldin without end, so I decided to ask Anju-san to bring Eleanora-san some cake as well.

    After we ate the cake, I yed with Princess Flora for a while then left the castle.

 Chapter 291 Bear-san, got lost..

    While I was ying with Flora-sama, the King was worried about the preparation for the trip.

    [There is a town right before the desert, but it¡¯s still better to prepare in advance.] King

    Apparently the King wants me to prepare for departure today before leaving tomorrow.

    The bear box contains arge amount of ingredients, and there are enough food in the bear house even if I shut myself for several months.

    Also I have the bear house so I didn¡¯t need to prepare camping and other stuff.

    But the king who doesn¡¯t know about the [Portable Bear House for Travel] so he is kinda worried.

    And so he¡¯s telling me to prepare.

    The king worriedly said to me, , but well I¡¯m gonna go serious starting tomorrow so it¡¯s fine.

    After ying with Flora-sama, I went back to the Bear House in the capital.

    And after getting inside my room, I immediately dive on the bed.

    While having fun ying with Flora-sama, the sun has already set.

    Well, Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear are with me so its fine even if I¡¯mte.

    In the first ce, it was impossible to leave today because it was alreadyte at night.

    While lying on my bed, I took out the bear-phone.

    I then grabbed the bear-phone and put some magic while thinking of Fina.

    After a while, it got connected with Fina¡¯s bear-phone.

    {Yuna-oneesan? } Fina

    [Are you free right now? ] Yuna

    {Yeah, Shuri is helping mom to prepare dinner, and dad hasn¡¯te home yet, so I¡¯m free. } Fina

    I asked her to make sure that there are no people when using the bear-phone. So even if she receive a call, I told her that its fine not to answer it if its not possible.

    {So, did something happened? } Fina

    [I called you because it seems that I¡¯ll be gone for quite a while. ] Yuna

    {Work? } Fina

    [Yeah, the king asked me to do a little job for him. If there are any problems with the store or with the sea, be sure to contact me. ] Yuna

    Fina, who knows about the bear gate, understood what I am saying so she quickly respond.

    {Okay I understand. I¡¯ll tell my mom as well. Oh, right. I have a request Yuna-oneesan. } Fina

    Fina voice from bear-phone sounded like she just remembered something.

    [A request? ] Yuna

    It¡¯s kinda rare for Fina to make a request.

    She usually have a hard time to say it.

    {Can we bring my dad along as well?, he¡¯s been insisting non-stop, I told my dad I haven¡¯t got Yuna-oneesan¡¯s permission, but he¡¯s still keeping at it, so can we please bring him along? } Fina

    Surely it would be a pity for Genz-san who¡¯s working alone in Crimonia, while the rest of the family went on a trip.

    I am sorry to make you feel lonely because you married Tirumina-san and made a family.

    [If the guild gives him a day off from work, then sure. ] Yuna

    {Really! Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.} Fina

    I heard Fina¡¯s cheerful voice from the bear-phone.

    Well it¡¯s not because of Gentz-san¡¯s tantrum or anything. but it could be dangerous for children to be left alone. Even if there are adults, they¡¯re mostly women.

    Even if the bear-suit is an all-purpose equipment, its still difficult to supervise all the children.

    Let¡¯s ask Lurina-san and Gil-san to work as an escort and take care of the children. The children knew about them so they shouldn¡¯t be scared.

    Gil-san is especially popr with boys. he looks strong and cool.

    Gill-san sometimes goes to the orphanage and says he is ying with the children. It¡¯s a mystery why were they on the same party Lurina-san, Gill-san, and that goblin-duo.

    [But tell him that he will take care of the children. ] Yuna

    {Yup. I¡¯ll tell my dad. } Fina

    I wanted to talk to Fina a little longer, but Gentz-san came home from work and they will be having a meal, so I decided to hang up.

    {I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-oneesan. } Fina

    [Don¡¯t worry about it.] Yuna

    {Yuna-oneesan, good luck with your work! } Fina

    When I hung the bear-phone, I decided to go to bed early and leave tomorrow.

    The next morning, I was awakened by the bears in their cub form, I got up while rubbing my eyes.

    It¡¯s still dim when I look out at the window.

    The sun has just risen.

    Bear-cub wake-ups are useful when you want to wake up in the morning, but sometimes they try to wake me up by getting on my face, I couldn¡¯t breathe and it¡¯s quite painful.

    [ Swaying bear, Hugging bear, Good morning. ] Yuna

    After saying hello to the bears, I went down and eat lightly and then left the capital.

    When I left the capital, I summoned Hugging bear. I usually summon Swaying bear first, but today I felt like summoning Hugging bear.

    Hugging bear is approaching happily.

    [Thank you, Hugging bear. ] Yuna

    I petted Hugging bear¡¯s head and then climb on it¡¯s back.

    Let¡¯s go to the unfamiliarnd of desert!

    Hugging bear begins to run south after replying with .

    However, a desert?

    I¡¯ve been there in the game world but I have no experience in the real world. I¡¯m looking forward to it a little, because I haven¡¯t gone to Tottori Sand Dunes.

    But what kind of ce is the desert?

    Basically, is there a game-like monster or is it hot in there?

    It reminds me that HP could reduce if you¡¯re not wearing a heat-resistant equipment when going to deserts and volcanoes.

    In that respect, bear equipment is safe because it has a heat-resistant effect.

    The bear costume is likely to be the strongest equipment in the game world, but whether or not it will be worn is a different story.

    Even though it¡¯s a game, bear costumes are embarrassing.

    And in the game, unlike this world, I had strong weapons and armor, so I don¡¯t have to forcibly wear it.

    Hugging bear runs on the road.

    The King said that if you follow this road, there will be a town.

    There seems to be a way to get to the desert from that town without a doubt.

    It is not disyed on the bear map, unless it has been explored, so the destination is unknown.

    If we go off the road, we may lose sight of our destination.

    I sometimes use my detection skills, to see if there is a person¡¯s reaction.

    It¡¯ll be troublesome if they panic when they see Hugging bear rushing in.

    This is different from the surroundings of Crimonia.

    If I ride the bears around Crimonia and meet some adventurers and merchants along the way, they are no longer surprised, because they already know about the bears. Some even call out asionally.

    But there are many people from other towns who might get surprised and run away when they see the bears.

    Well, in reality, if a bear appears, you should run away.

    It¡¯s useless to pretend to be dead.

    If there is a human reaction while we¡¯re running on the highway, I¡¯ll go off the road and make a detour so we won¡¯t be seen.

    But it¡¯s troublesome to do so every time there¡¯s a human reaction on the road.

    When Ie back to the road, there will be other people, so I¡¯ll have to go around and avoid them.

    Well, its a little inconvenient.

    I looked at the map, but the destination is still ck and I don¡¯t know what is there.

    It¡¯s a useful skill, but it¡¯s a little inconvenient to go to a new ce.

    But it¡¯s true that automatic mapping is easy and helpful.

    Going to a new ce is fun, but if I know all the locations on the map, It¡¯ll be boring because it¡¯ll take out half of the fun.

    I looked at the ck map.

    Then I looked at the road in front of me.

    The road turns slightly to the right.

    Looking to the right, there is a forest.

    Can I make a shortcut if I go through the forest?

    The horse-drawn carriages cannot pass, but Hugging bear can proceed without any worries.

    I¡¯ll try and make a guess as I look at the road in front of me and the ck map.

    And so, I decided to go through the forest.

    No one goes off the road and enters the forest.

    I can move at ease for now.

    But of course going off the road means, monsters will be detected.

    Well, as long as they don¡¯t attack, I can proceed peacefully.

    Taking a break along the way, and then continue after switching bears.

    we¡¯re really doing fine, aren¡¯t we?

    Predicting the way and advancing through the forest.

    I didn¡¯t realize that this was that kind of mistake they say in the past, .

    I thought it was okay because I have the bear skill map and detection magic.. but..

    I got lost.

    I was thinking that I will somehow see the road on the other side of the forest, but in reality, there will not be a road there.

    In the first ce it did not passed through the forest.

    Maybe the road had an S shape? It¡¯s a ridiculous way to trick a bear.

    For the time being, the sun is about to set.

    I decided to take out and set up the bear house, then stay overnight.

    I didn¡¯t thought that I would get lost.

    The next day, I¡¯m riding Swaying bear.

    I thought about heading back, but I decided to press forward.

    I¡¯ll go left today.

    When I was on the road, it was going straight.

    So I was hoping that the road will be on the left.

    The king only exined that I would be fine if I followed the road.

    The king would never have thought that I would stray from the road and nor do I thought that I¡¯ll press forward.

    It would¡¯ve been better if you showed me the map before leaving, you know?

    Apparently, it¡¯s my mistake when I deviated from the road.

    I can¡¯t go back now, so I¡¯ll just keep going.

    After a few breaks, I used my map and detection skills.

    After using my detection skill, I found a giant ho.

    The giant ho is a dangerous bee in my former world.

    But was it a monster? It¡¯s just a tiny insect.

    I hate insects, but I¡¯m a little worried, so I¡¯ll go see them...

    ...And I immediately regret it.

    Detecting a monster, doesn¡¯t necessarily mean seeing it.

    A bee is flying in front of me. Moreover, it¡¯s big.

    A big bee about the size of a big bird is flying in my direction.

    The detection skill written it as a giant ho.

    It is different from the giant ho that I know of.

    The giant ho I know is about the size of a thumb and not as big as a big bird.

    The big-giant-ho, though the ordinary giant ho is already terrifying.

    How big is the nest size, you asked?

    Imagining it will send chills on your spine, though I¡¯m not and expert on insects. Besides, when it¡¯s thisrge, the horror is truly exceptional.

    Flying with a nasty buzzing sound.

    Should I defeat it?

    But its too bothersome.

    When I used detection skills, there were dozens of giant hos ahead. Is there a nest somewhere?

    The giant ho flew back.

    Up ahead, there is a cave with swarms of hos outside.

    Apparently, there seems to be a nest in it.

    It was good that its not hanging on a tree or something, the nest is different from my former world.

    You might have gone crazy if you saw the nest of that size.

    The giant hos are going in and out while I was looking at the cave.

    Yeah, its gross. Let¡¯s annihte it.

    It¡¯s just a nest inside the cave, I can wipe them out using the same method I used in the goblin¡¯s cave.

    I¡¯ll make a huge fire bear then throw it into the cave very quickly so it will get noticed by the giant hos. Then, seal the cave with a huge earth bear. And that¡¯s it.

    After that, only the giant hos flying around the cave will remain.

    ......Or so I thought.

    There seems to be a hole on the side of the cave, and countless giant hos jumped out.

    Ah there is a hole in there too!?

    I got swarmed by the giant hos.

    Oh shi-, there¡¯s a lot of them. It¡¯s so noisy. It¡¯s so disgusting.

    I made a tornado around me and it swallowed the giant hos that are attacking me.

    The wings was cut off by the tornado and the giant hos falls.

    The giant hos that have lost their wings looks awkward.

    I closed the hole where they came out and the flying giant hos were defeated by wind magic.

    However, there are several giant hos flew high in the sky.

    Oh, they escaped.

    Well, maybe a few.

    But I was able to defeat a number of them with my fire bear and tornado.

    However, when I saw the giant ho flying away, Swaying bear screams cutely.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m at lost. w

    Author¡¯s Note:

    There seems to be a questionnaire of the following goods on Twitter of PASH!

    I¡¯m in charge of PASH!

    ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± release date so I would like to ask everyone!

    Yuna and Hugging bear and Swaying bear are so cute, so I want to make a kuma bear goods someday! What do you want me to make ...? It is unclear whether it will be realized ...

    1. I want to carry it. Strap type such as bust

    2, Yuna feeling !? Bear puppets and other things to wear

    3, I want to decorate! Three-dimensional objects such as figures

    4. No, no, I want to hear a voice! Drama CD

    The deadline is August 3rd and 4th? It seems too close.

    I can¡¯t put a link on it, so I¡¯d be happy if you looked up and voted.

 Chapter 292

    As Hugging Bear saw the flying giant ho, he tried to look around, but there is nothing he could do.

    [What¡¯s wrong? ] Yuna

    In addition to Hugging Bear¡¯s cry , he is pushing my back.

    [What¡¯s wrong? You want me to follow you? ] Yuna

    Hugging Bear respond to my words with , in such a cute voice.

    Maybe there¡¯s something about the giant ho that¡¯s flying?

    When I use detection skills, I found a human reaction.

    [Hu-Hugging Bear! If you noticed some people, don¡¯t just cry with such a cute voice, charge! ] Yuna

    When I jumped on Hugging Bear¡¯s back, he started chasing the giant ho that is flying towards the reaction.

    You can hear someone screaming.

    [Uwa ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡, a giant ho! ] Man

    I see them.

    Several giant hos are attacking a man.

    While screaming, the man tries to fend it off by swinging his knife randomly.

    However, the giant hos were only circling around the man and doesn¡¯t want to leave.

    I shot a Wind de towards a giant ho and split the body of the giant ho into two.

    The man doesn¡¯t seem to notice me and still swinging his knife.

    I will also defeat the remaining giant ho with magic, and then there should be no giant hos buzzing around.

    Is he okay?

    After I defeated the giant hos, I went to the man who is sitting down.

    [Are you okay? ] Yuna

    [Uwa ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡, a bear ~~~~~~] Man

    The timid voice came from a man in his 30¡¯s.

    The man screamed when he saw Hugging Bear.

    Then, while trying pull up his weight, he is swinging his knife randomly.

    [Don¡¯te near me!] Man

    Quite a noisy person he is.

    [If you don¡¯t shut up, I¡¯ll feed you to my bear.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear slowly approaches as to match with my voice.

    [U ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡, don¡¯t eat me.] Man

    [That¡¯s why I telling you to shut up, so you won¡¯t get eaten.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t eat me, I¡¯m not delicious!] Man

    He¡¯s still swinging the knife randomly without looking at me.

    Yeah, it¡¯s useless.

    He¡¯s not listening to me at all.

    I created water using Water Magic and pour it on the top of the man¡¯s head, who is still sitting down.

    [Uwa ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ¨¡ ] Man

    [Are you willing to listen now?] Yuna

    [A little girl?] Man

    He looked at me, then he looked at his surroundings, while his neck is making a sound.

    Apparently, he seems to have returned to sanity.

    He then looked at me ordingly.

    [You should be grateful because I saved you.] Yuna

    When I look at the two giant hos, the man also look at the giant hos on the ground.

    Alternating his gaze between me and the dead giant hos.

    Then finally, his gaze stops at me.

    And he¡¯s staring at me nkly.

    [Do you understand the words that arein¡¯ out of my mouth?] Yuna (TN sorry can¡¯t help it, just let this one go.)

    [..Ah ...Are you the one who defeated them Young Lady?] Man

    [Yes, I am.] Yuna

    Well, I¡¯m also the reason why the giant hos fled and came over here in the first ce.

    However, I¡¯m also the one who defeated them.

    The man stood up, but somehow it felt like he¡¯s a little stiff.

    [Uh.. The bear is...] Man

    Apparently, Hugging Bear is a bit cautious. It¡¯s so cute.

    [If you don¡¯t attack me with that knife, then he won¡¯t do anything. So, are you okay Uncle? ] Yuna

    [Oh.. Yes, thank you for the help, I was so frightened when a giant ho suddenly appeared.] Uncle

    While thanking me, he¡¯s looking at my appearance.

    But I¡¯m not going to say anything, I¡¯m not going to say anything, I¡¯m not!

    [So, why is Uncle alone in such a forest?] Yuna

    [There is a vige not far from here, but the giant hos appeared in the vige recently, so I came to investigate where it came from. ] Uncle

    Maybe it¡¯s the same ho¡¯s nest that I just burned?

    ording to the Uncle, it seems that the vigers opinions are divided on whether or not asking the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to subdue the giant hos.

    So, if the nest seems to be small, the vigers will handle it by themselves.

    But if the nest isrge, they will turn to Adventurer¡¯s Guild instead.

    That¡¯s why this Uncle came to check the giant ho¡¯s nest.

    Even though he might get attacked by a few animals, even though he is panicking, he still insisted to find the nest alone.

    However, ording to his story, it seems that the some vigers are spreading out to search for it as well.

    This uncle was just unlucky, he got attacked by the giant hos.

    [Well about the nest, I think I burned it together with the giant hos. I may look like this, but I¡¯m an adventurer, you know. ] Yuna

    [.....The Young Lady is an adventurer?] Uncle

    Again, he¡¯s staring at my appearance.

    Well, it¡¯s because of the Bear Costume right?

    That¡¯s why he can¡¯t believe it, right? RIGHT?

    [Yeah, as I was on the process of eradicating the giant ho¡¯s nest, a few of them managed to escape, so I chased after them, that¡¯s when I found Uncle being attacked.] Yuna

    [Well, if the Young Lady didn¡¯te to help, I would be in danger. I was saved, thank you.] Uncle

    Well to begin with, it was my fault for letting it escape.

    But it was all thanks to Hugging Bear.

    It might have been dangerous if Hugging Bear didn¡¯t tell me.

    If he died because of me, I might not be able to sleep.

    Thanks to Hugging Bear, for telling me.

    [Young Lady, is it true that the giant ho¡¯s nest was already burned down? Along with the other giant hos?] Uncle

    [Yeah, I burned it down with Fire Magic and cut the rest with Wind Magic.] Yuna

    It¡¯s okay because I already destroyed it.

    [I¡¯m sorry, but can you guide me to the nest? I want to see it for myself. ] Uncle

    I took the Uncle to the giant ho¡¯s nest.

    [But then again, I¡¯ve never seen a white bear before.] Uncle

    The Uncle is looking at Hugging Bear, walking next to me.

    Well, white bears do seem unusual.

    But, is it just a white bear?

    I don¡¯t know where is this world¡¯s Arctic is, but it might be the same white bear that goes to the Arctic and the snowy mountains.

    It may be a good idea to search for it next time.

    [So, why is the Young Lady in such a ce? Did youe to do a subjugation on the giant hos? ] Uncle

    [No, but I came across the giant hos by chance, so I thought it would be better to just subjugate it. ] Yuna

    The Uncle was amazed by my words.

    [Young Lady is a remarkable adventurer, despite being small.] Uncle

    [I just used a little magic.] Yuna

    [Even so, you¡¯re still amazing. I can never be an adventurer, because I am scared of monsters. ] Uncle

    In reality, I only had my MMORPG experiences.

    (TN for those who didn¡¯t know .)

    At first, I even thought this world was the game world.

    If I didn¡¯t have those experiences, I don¡¯t know if I can defeat those monsters.

    [So, the Young Lady has never been here, where are you from?] Uncle

    [The Royal Capital. From there, I was going to go to the desert in the south, but I tried to take a shortcut and got lost when I went into the forest.] Yuna

    [Trying to take a shortcut by entering the forest you say?!] Uncle

    He¡¯s looking at me with amazement.

    I get what you¡¯re trying to say.

    Normally, you can¡¯t enter the forest just because you want take a shortcut.

    It just increases the chance of getting lost.

    I won¡¯t do anything so reckless if I don¡¯t have the Map Skill.

    I didn¡¯t expect getting lost because I could see my location by looking at the map.

    I was expecting that I could join the road but...

    There is no road in the direction I was going.

    [So it seems like there is a town in front of the desert, do you know about it?] Yuna

    [Maybe, it¡¯s the town of Callus (Karusu).] Uncle

    Oh, town information, GET!

    Apparently, he knows the town.

    [Where is that town?] Yuna

    [Umm, I don¡¯t know where it is from here. But if you go near the vige, you can see it. ] Uncle

    [Really?] Yuna

    Certainly, in the forest, it may be difficult to know where you are and where you are going.

    However, if you go to the vige, just knowing it¡¯s location will help a lot.

    It seems that I can escape from being lost safely.

    [Is the vige near by?] Yuna

    [Yes, not too far from here.] Uncle

    It seems that the vige is near, I will ask him to guide meter.

    I came across a giant ho. And thanks to that, I met someone and taught me the direction of the town.

    Well then let¡¯s take the Uncle to the giant ho¡¯s nest.

    The giant hos that I defeated with Wind Magic were scattered on the ground.

    [They really are defeated.] Uncle

    [It seems that the cave was the nest of the giant hos.] Yuna

    [Hmm? A Bear?] Uncle

    When I pointed the Bear Puppet to the nest cave, the cave was blocked by a Bear Statue.

    [Don¡¯t worry about it.] Yuna

    I check the inside of the cave with my detection skill before removing the Bear Statue.

    There is no reaction from the giant hos.

    It seems that the giant hos was isted in the cave.

    After removing the Bear Statue, the hot aires out.

    It is the effect of the Fire Bear.

    [Oh, hot! hot!] Uncle

    I¡¯m fine, but the Uncle can¡¯t take it and stepped away from the cave.

    [Young Lady, what is this?] Uncle

    [I just annihted the giant hos by throwing a huge Fire Magic and closed it with the Bear Statue. If you want to confirm it, you¡¯ll have to wait for a little while. ] Yuna

    It¡¯s still very hot inside the cave.

    Its normal, that you don¡¯t want to go in.

    You have wait a little longer.

    You have to cool it down with water first.

    The Uncle tried to peek at the cave¡¯s entrance, but immediately gave up.

    He then move to the dead giant hos outside.

    [Young Lady, can I have one of these giant hos? I want to bring it back to the vige and show it to everyone.] Uncle

    [You can bring as many as you like.] Yuna

    [Do you not need it?] Uncle

    Are giant hos edible?

    I¡¯ve seen someone eating a bee on TV, but I don¡¯t think I can eat it. So even if you say you can eat it, I won¡¯t.

    But I think Fina was studying about dismantling. She was also working at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to learn dismantling.

    And in order to hone her dismantling skill, she¡¯s dismantling various kinds of monsters and animals inrge quantities.

    I don¡¯t need it, so I¡¯ll get a few giant hos for Fina to practice her dismantling skill.

    [Then, I¡¯ll take some.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re an adventurer aren¡¯t you Young Lady? Didn¡¯t you need to sell the materials? I think if you sell the needles and the wings, as well as the magic stones, you¡¯ll make a lot of money. ] Uncle

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Didn¡¯t you know about it? Is the Young Lady really an adventurer?] Uncle

    [I¡¯m not familiar with it because, I¡¯ve be an adventurer just a few months ago.] Yuna

    It wasn¡¯t a lie.

    The first year of adventuring, is treated as a rookie.

    So, I am a newbie adventurer.

    [It seems true for the Young Lady¡¯s age. So, what do you want to do? Are you going to take it back with you?] Uncle

    [As I have said a while ago, I¡¯ll just take some with me. In return, Uncle will do me a favor.] Yuna

    [I see, very well, thank you very much.] Uncle

    After choosing several beautiful giant hos, I put it into the Bear Box.

    When the Uncle picked one, he put it into the bag he had.

    At that time, Hugging Bear cried .

    At the same time, you can hear a buzzing sound.

    [What¡¯s is it?] Yuna

    I saw the wings of a big giant ho, flying towards us.

    It¡¯s way bigger than the other giant hos that I defeated. That one is about the size of Hugging Bear.

    [Awawa wa wa wa wa wa.] Uncle

    The Uncle fell on his back.

    I used detection skills.

    The disy said it¡¯s a giant ho.

    But isn¡¯t that the Queen Bee or rather the King Giant Ho?

    It will be different from the ordinary giant hos that I¡¯ve defeated so far.

    [Uncle, is that?] Yuna

    [Awawa wa wa wa wa wa.] Uncle

    It¡¯s useless.

    He was so frightened that he fell on his back.

    For the time being, it may be a Queen Bee, but to make a distinction, I shall call it King Giant Ho.

    When the King Giant Ho saw a dead giant ho, it makes its mouth tickle and vibrates its wings.

    It seems that the King Giant Ho, recognized us as the enemy.

    Yeah.. It¡¯s disgusting.. Let¡¯s kill it.

 Chapter 293 Bear-san, Arrives in Town.

    Several giant hos appeared from behind the King Giant Ho.

    I jumped from Hugging Bear.

    [Hugging Bear, protect the Uncle!] Yuna

    Since there are some giant hos, I will leave the Uncle¡¯s safety to Hugging Bear.

    [Young Lady?!] Uncle

    [Uncle, don¡¯t move from there!] Yuna

    After I advise the Uncle, I confronted the King Giant Ho in front of me. When the King Giant Ho sticks out its bottom towards me, it reveals a huge needle.

    If you got stabbed with such a huge needle, you will definitely die. I didn¡¯t even have [Trypanophobia] but I¡¯m still terrified.

    The King Giant Ho suddenly descends with its needle pointing at me. I avoid it sideways and strike a Bear Punch into the torso, the moment we pass each other.

    You can feel the soft touch like . (TN squishy soft sfx)

    The impact from the Bear Punch, vibrated throughout its body. King Giant Ho is rolling on the ground.

    But it doesn¡¯t seem to be fatal though.

    Compared to beasts and crustaceans, it seems to be softer. But there is no way I cannot defeat an opponent like that.

    However, I don¡¯t want to touch it that much.

    Moreover, I don¡¯t want to see the face of that King Giant Ho so close.

    I don¡¯t like insects and I¡¯m even more disgusted of its face. I felt trembling when I think that I would be bitten by that mouth.

    I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to be your opponent any longer than this, so I¡¯ll settle it quickly.

    The grounded King Giant Ho ticks its mouth and tries to jump up when its wings vibrate at high speed.

    To avoid the Wind Magic, the King Giant Ho jumped faster and quickly evaded.

    My reaction was dyed when I was thinking about various unpleasant things.

    When I was about to attack the flying King Giant Ho, a scream came out from behind.

    [Awawa wa wa wa. Don¡¯te over here. ] Uncle

    Looking at the source of the voice, there is a giant ho attacking the uncle. However, there is a figure of Hugging Bear protecting the Uncle, just as I told him.

    A giant ho attacks the uncle. But Hugging Bear made a real Bear Punch with perfect timing and knocked the giant ho down. And then, followed an attack on the giant ho that fell to the ground.

    Oh, Hugging Bear, you¡¯re so cool.

    I¡¯ll leave the Uncle to Hugging Bear, because he looked at me with a look.

    The King Giant Ho can easily dodge the Wind de while airborne. It can nimbly turn despite of therge frame.

    This time, I continuously cast Wind de, so that it could not be avoided. I can¡¯t hesitate right now.

    But when I thought that it hit, the Wind de disappeared.

    Hmm?

    Is it vibration?

    Or the wind generated by the wings?

    The King Giant Ho blocked my attack, then moves up and down.

    Well then, how about this?!

    I created a lump of soil.

    If it¡¯s like this, it cannot be blocked by vibration or wind.

    However, the King Giant Ho evaded it by rotating its huge body. And again, it stick out its butt and point the needle down at me.

    It¡¯s movement is quick despite of therge frame.

    In fact, if the opponent is an insect-type monster, me magic would¡¯ve been good. However you can¡¯t use it in the forest, because the trees might get burned.

    I made an Earth Bear in front of the King Giant Ho. Moreover, the strength is increased by pouring magical power.

    King Giant Ho¡¯s splendid needle couldn¡¯t pierce the Earth Bear and it broke. And the King Giant Ho fell to the ground while ticking its mouth.

    U u~u, I knew it, I don¡¯t want to look at it¡¯s face now that it got closer.

    But now its my chance to defeat it, I cut off the head of the fallen King Giant Ho with the des of Wind Magic.

    And then, the subjugation of the King Giant Ho ended safely.

    I immediately remember the Uncle and look at Hugging Bear.

    There were several giant hos on the ground, while the Uncle and Hugging Bear were getting along.

    What does that mean?

    [Oh.. Have you defeated it?] Uncle

    [Yup.] Yuna

    The Uncle and Hugging Bear were walking together.

    [Young Lady is really amazing.] Uncle

    Looking at the dead King Giant Ho, an honest impressiones out of this Uncle¡¯s mouth.

    Even so, it is huge.

    I thought that such a bee monster only exist in the game world.

    Well, it¡¯s a different world.

    [Uncle, what is this big thing?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t seen this before. However, it was terrifying to think that this big giant ho was near the vige. I really appreciate this, Young Lady. Thank you very much.] Uncle

    Well, I got there by chance and just killed it. This is also called an event.

    Moreover, insect-type monsters should only be subjugated.

    [By the way, Young Lady, what is the name of this bear? ] Uncle

    [Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Did you say Hugging Bear? It¡¯s a cute name. Hugging Bear, thank you for protecting me. ] Uncle

    The Uncle gently strokes Hugging Bear¡¯s head and thank him.

    Hugging Bear cried, so cute.

    He was very scared when he saw Hugging Bear a little while ago.

    But now, he seemed to be impressed when Hugging Bear protected him from the giant ho.

    [I never knew a bear would be so cute.] Uncle

    [My bear is special. So don¡¯t make a mistake and approach a wild bear. ] Yuna

    It is dangerous if you approach a wild bear and get attacked. Such a mistake, can get you killed.

    [I know, and if I knew that there is such a bear, I¡¯m still gonna get petrified.] Uncle

    The Uncle pet Hugging Bear¡¯s head many times.

    Stop that~. Because it¡¯s really dangerous.

    After that, I put the King Giant Ho into the Bear Box, so Fina can practice dismantling.

    I was wondering about something, while I was storing it.

    Uncle is d that Hugging Bear protected him from the giant ho, and then he thanked me many times.. Yes, me and not Hugging Bear.

    Surely I was the one who killed the King Giant Ho and the other giant hos, but Hugging Bear is the one who protected the Uncle.

    Well, it¡¯s better than being scared of Hugging Bear, but there are some things that I don¡¯t understand.

    After that, I decided to go near the Uncle¡¯s vige and asked him to teach me the way to the desert.

    [But I can¡¯t believe it with my eyes. A cute girl like you is an adventurer and can defeat a giant ho. And also being followed by such a bear.] Uncle

    [Well, yeah.¡¹Yuna

    [So, I want you toe to the vige, I would like to thank you.] Uncle

    [As I have said a while ago, you don¡¯t have to thank me. I didn¡¯t kill it for the sake of the vige. Also I¡¯m in a hurry, so if you¡¯re thankful, just tell me the way. ] Yuna

    I lost my way and wasted a lot of time on the monsters. I want to make haste even just a little.

    It would be a problem if the situation in the city was toote, because I got lost on my way.

    [Also, can I really have the giant ho?] Uncle

    [It¡¯s fine. But if a monster appears next time, its better to leave the monster subjugation to an expert, you have to ask the adventurers. ] Yuna

    I decided to give the giant ho that I killed in front of the cave to the vigers.

    I don¡¯t need it. And if Fina said she doesn¡¯t need it as well, I¡¯ll get rid of those things as soon as possible.

    Also, I don¡¯t think the vigers are just people who rely on those things like this Uncle. Just imagine the Uncle fighting against a monster.

    A monster cannot be defeated just by pulling up your waist and swinging your knife randomly.

    On that asion, it would¡¯ve been better to have funds for future subjugation.

    [That¡¯s right, I¡¯ll let you do that. I can¡¯t fight that kind of monster after all.] Uncle

    Oh.. That¡¯s good to hear.

    After walking for a while, the vige can be seen.

    [That is my vige. If you follow this road, you will reach a bigger road. If you turn left, it will take you back to the Royal Capital, but if you turn right, you will reach the town of Callus (Karusu), which is what you¡¯re aiming for.] Uncle

    So the road was this way?! I was brilliantly misdirected!

    If I kept going as I did, I¡¯ll end up to a different ce.

    Thanks to the giant hos and this Uncle. If either one of you didn¡¯t show up, my journey would¡¯ve gotten pointless.

    Without a giant ho, I would never have the chance to met the Uncle in the woods. If the Uncle is not in the woods, I would¡¯ve just defeated the giant hos and kept moving aimlessly.

    I was able to know the way because the two events ovepped.

    [Well then, if you find yourself near the vige, please stop by. My vige will always wee you. Of course, Hugging Bear is wee as well. ] Uncle

    [Thank you. I will take you on your offer next time.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear cried happily and I promise to go if Ie near the vige.

    Riding on the back of Hugging Bear, we head on the road that the Uncle told me.

    Speaking of which, I forgot to ask the Uncle¡¯s name. I didn¡¯t even told him my name and only Hugging Bear was introduced.

    Well, if I eventually go to that vige, I¡¯ll just ask him.

    [Hugging Bear, faster.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear speeds up after answering. This time, we will follow the road to avoid getting lost.

    We took breaks several times and each time, I switch between Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    [Thank you Hugging Bear, take a rest. ] Yuna

    I thank Hugging Bear for running and send him back to my Bear Puppet.

    Then, I quickly summon Swaying Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, let¡¯s go.] Yuna

    Swaying Bear ran with insane speed. As we continued, the dried terrain have begun to increase.

    It gradually bes a feeling of approaching the desert.

    So it seems. Is it even raining here?

    After running overnight, I can finally see the town, on the afternoon of the following day. The only visible area is the surrounding rocky surface.

    It¡¯s the town of Callus where the King and the Uncle who taught me the way called it.

    If you go beyond this town, it¡¯s going to be the desert.

    Riding on the back of Swaying Bear we approached the town.

    I can¡¯t get into the town as it is, so I¡¯ll return Swaying Bear to the Bear Puppets where people can¡¯t see it and walk the rest of the way to the town entrance.

    When the Guard standing at the entrance saw me, he looks at me like he¡¯s seeing something strange.

    Oh well, its just the usual.

    [Young Miss, where are you from?] Guard

    He¡¯s looking at me with a terribly suspicious look.

    Should I obediently say the Royal Capital or should I lie and say a nearby vige?

    In the first ce, it seems suspicious that a girl is walking all alone and dressed as a bear.

    At least it would be different if I was riding a carriage or a horse.

    [Is that, Yuna-chan?] Woman

    While being worried, I heard a voice calling me.

    [Oh, it really is Yuna-chan, after all.] Woman

    A woman who is familiar to me came happily.

    [Rosa-san? Why are you here?] Yuna

    The person who spoke to me was Rosa-san whom I met in the town of Mireera.

    She is one of the member of the Harem Adventurers¡¯ party, where a man named Blitz had three beautiful girls and a cute girl. (TN: Remember the Kraken?)

    But right now, Rosa-san seems to be the only one present.

    Perhaps they already disbanded and went on their own ways?

    Well then, thanks to Rosa-san, I was able to enter the town without making excuses.

    And that, is how I arrived at the town next to the desert.

 Chapter 294 Bear-san and Rosa-sanâ€™s Reunion

    [So why is Yuna-chan here?] Rosa

    [It¡¯s about work.] Yuna

    I tend to forget, but I¡¯m an adventurer too.

    So, I¡¯m also doing my job.

    Its true!.......

    [So why is Rosa-san also here? I haven¡¯t seen you around Crimonia recently. ] Yuna

    After working from the town of Mereera, Rosa-san¡¯s group moved to Crimonia and stayed there for a while.

    So, even though I asionally saw them, I didn¡¯t see her group recently. Well, I haven¡¯t visited the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that often anyway.

    [You see, Blitz told me that he wants to go to a lot of different ces. So, we traveled from ce to ce while working. This time, we came to this town for work. ] Rosa

    It seems that she didn¡¯t break up with Blitz.

    [You¡¯re not with the others today?] Yuna

    Rosa-san¡¯s party includes the leader male Swordsman Blitz, the Wizard Ran, and the female Swordsman Grimos. Since the group consists of one man and three women, I call it a Harem Party.

    It¡¯s a mystery of whether or not it¡¯s actually a harem, but from another male adventurer¡¯s perspective, it is a harem, so it¡¯s not wrong.

    [Today is a free day, so I¡¯m wandering around by myself. And then, as I was walking around the town, I thought I caught a glimpse of a girl that seems to be dressed as a Bear at the entrance to the town. But it turns out that it really was Yuna-chan, so I called out to you. ] Rosa

    Such a lovely smile.

    It¡¯s a mystery, why does this cute person, became a member of the Harem Party.

    I knew it, it¡¯s because he¡¯s handsome.

    [So, what¡¯s the job, escort? Or you¡¯re doing a delivery?] Rosa

    [A delivery job.] Yuna

    For a moment, I thought it would be fine to state the content of my work. But I don¡¯t think its good to reveal something important, as well as the client¡¯s information.

    [I knew it, so that¡¯s the case.] Rosa

    [You knew it?] Yuna

    [It seems that the number of delivery requests has increased recently.] Rosa

    Is it rted to the Water Magic Stone?

    [So what will you do now, Yuna-chan?] Rosa

    [I¡¯ll ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild about the location of the city of Dezerto and I¡¯m thinking if I can depart tomorrow?] Yuna

    It seems that people normally prepare in this town, before heading to Dezerto city. But I don¡¯t need any preparations.

    [Yuna-chan, are you going to Dezerto city?] Rosa

    [I have to deliver a package to Dezerto city.] Yuna

    [Is that so. That means, you¡¯re going to cross that desert. I can only tell you to do your best, but it¡¯s difficult, you know?] Rosa

    Somehow, Rosa-san is looking at a distant.

    Was it really a bad idea?

    [Now then, let me show you to the inn where we are staying. You¡¯re staying in this town today, right?] Rosa

    [That¡¯s right. But before that, I have to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and ask how to get to Dezerto city.] Yuna

    [But it¡¯s better to secure an inn first. There are many merchantsing in here, along with their escort adventurers, so the inns are very crowded. And the worst part is, you wouldn¡¯t want to sleep with the other people.] Rosa

    Uu~, She¡¯s right, I don¡¯t want to sleep with other people. I can¡¯t sleep peacefully in such ce.

    Well, when ites down to it, I still have the Bear House and I can set it up just outside of town. It¡¯s a hassle though, because I have to think about the ce to install it.

    So, I obediently followed Rosa-san and decided to secure an inn first.

    As we walked towards the inn, I asked her about something that caught my attention.

    [Rosa-san, what is that?] Yuna

    There are people, riding on a big lizard¡¯s back ahead of me. There is a person, holding the reins of the lizard like a coachman on a horse that is walking in the town. And also, there¡¯s a lot of them.

    [That¡¯s the Ragaroot (Ragar¨±to) ] Rosa

    [Did you just call that lizard, Ragaroot?] Yuna

    [Yeah, it¡¯s a monster, but it¡¯s docile and you use it when you travel through the desert. I was surprised as well, when I first saw it. ] Rosa

    Sure, unlike the camels, horses cannot move well in the desert. So, I thought they¡¯re using camels here in the desert.

    But it seems to be different.

    However, it looks like that lizard, can move quite well in the desert.

    But it¡¯s a monster.

    Wait, I can just use the Detection Magic to confirm!...

    ...There are countless of monster¡¯s reactions in the town, which arebeled Ragaroot.

    It really is a monster.

    If I used Detection Magic without knowing this, I don¡¯t know what might have happen.

    [Is it not dangerous?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know much about it, but it looks okay. Basically, it¡¯s a lot of fun to ride and it seems like it¡¯s been used as a way to travel in the desert for a long time. When I came to this town, I found out that it¡¯s the unique selling point of this town.] Rosa

    It¡¯s just the way in a different world, to travel through the desert with a big lizard.

    I have a little feeling that I want to ride, but I don¡¯t want to cheat on my Bears.

    [Somehow, I feel some gazes.] Rosa

    Yeah, I feel it too.

    But I just ignore it.

    People passing by are staring at us.

    At ME to be exact.

    [It¡¯s because Rosa-san is beautiful.] Yuna

    [Fufu, Thank you. But the line of sight seems to be directed at Yuna-chan. It appears that, they are looking at Yuna-chan¡¯s cute bear appearance.] Rosa

    It can be honestly said that I look strange or unusual.

    Mou~, I¡¯m already used to it.

    [But, isn¡¯t it hot to dress like that? I¡¯m feeling hot just by looking at you.] Rosa

    I don¡¯t know the outside temperature thanks to the Bear Costume, but Rosa-san is sweating on her forehead and even the palm of her hand in this heat.

    [It¡¯s not hot, because it¡¯s a special clothes.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Rosa

    [That is so!] Yuna

    I forcibly persuade her.

    Even if I say it feels cool, it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll believe it.

    Walking towards the inn while looking in its direction, a familiar girl came from the front.

    [I knew it, it¡¯s Yuna.] Ran

    I encountered the Wizard girl, one of the member of the same Harem Party as Rosa-san.

    A pretty girl, about 18 years old. This girl is also one of the victims of Blitz¡¯s poisonous fangs(selfish conceit).

    [Ran, why are you here? Didn¡¯t you go shopping? ] Rosa

    [I already did. But it¡¯s boring to go alone, so I¡¯m heading back to the inn. Then, I saw two familiar people. So now, why are Yuna and Rosa together? ] Ran

    [I just happened to meet Yuna-chan when she came into town. So we¡¯re heading to the inn where we are staying to introduce her to that inn.] Rosa

    [Well then, I will go with you.] Ran

    And so, Ran joined(the party) as we travel to the inn(Demon Blitz¡¯sir).

    [Yuna is always dressed like that. Isn¡¯t it hot? ] Ran

    I was told the same thing, so I exined to her the same thing I said to Rosa-san.

    [So why are you not together with Swaying Bear?] Ran

    I looked around while having neck sound.

    You can¡¯t take a Bear with you in an unfamiliar town.

    People might get frightened and attack, I¡¯m not trying to gather attention.

    [But you¡¯re a Bear and you¡¯re riding one as well.] Ran

    That made the Bear Puppet cringe.

    [Speaking of which, that Bear was a Summoned Beast.] Rosa

    [Uh, I want to after a long time.] Ran

    Ran said, while stuffing her face on my Bear Costume.

    [It¡¯s so soft.] Ran

    No way, my meat was never soft!

    The Bear Costume is the one that¡¯s soft!

    For the time being, I asked Rosa-san to help me pull Ran off of me.

    However, since she doesn¡¯t want to release me, I made her a good promise.

    Swaying Bear, I¡¯m sorry.

    I apologize to Swaying Bear while he¡¯s in the Bear Puppet.

    [Fufu, I can¡¯t wait to meet Swaying Bear-chan. I can do lots of .] Ran

    Ran, looks very happy.

    Then, we arrived at the inn and went inside, the first floor was like a tavern. There are a lot of gazes, but I ignored them and went straight to the counter.

    [Ara, have both of you returned?] Fluffy Aunt

    A little fluffy Aunt at the counter, called out to Rosa-san and Ran.

    [[We¡¯re back.]] Rosa and Ran

    [Ara?~ Who¡¯s that cute girl dressed up as a Bear?] Fluffy Aunt

    The Aunt is looking at me.

    [She¡¯s the same adventurer like us. I met her by chance when she came to this town for work. So I would like to introduce her to this inn.] Rosa

    [Ara~, Is this cute bear-looking girl an adventurer?] Fluffy Aunt

    Aunt looks at me with amazement.

    This is also the usual.

    [She¡¯s stronger than any adventurers out there.] Ran

    [We may not win even if we fought together.] Rosa

    [I¡¯ve seen other young adventurers like her, but she is just way too strong.] Ran

    They made an unbelievable story again.

    [It¡¯s true] Ran

    [Her rank is the same as ours.] Rosa

    [~Really?!] Fluffy Aunt

    [[It¡¯s true]] Rosa and Ran

    Everyone¡¯s gaze starting to gather, at this rate I won¡¯t be able to stay here.

    When I met them in Crimonia, I was told by the guild about the rank up, so I told them that I was raised to C rank.

    However, since the conversation is likely to continue indefinitely as it is, I will use my special skill.

    .

    [Ah.. By the way, what about the room?] Yuna

    For now, I¡±ll ask for a room and quickly get away.

    [Ara~, sorry~. Are you fine with a single room?] Fluffy Aunt

    I nodded. (TN: It¡¯s Super Effective!!)

    I was able to change the conversation wonderfully.

    [Ara~, I¡¯m terribly sorry~. There are no empty single rooms avable.] Fluffy Aunt

    [Is that so?] Rosa

    Rosa asked in my stead.

    [Ara-ra~, I don¡¯t know what I could do~.] Fluffy Aunt

    [Well, that seems to be the case.] Rosa

    [Rosa-san, I will go to another inn.] Yuna

    There should be other inns. If the worstes, I still have the Bear House.

    [No, you promised me.] Ran

    Ran grabbed my Bear Costume while I was leaving the inn.

    Well that¡¯s true, I promised her to make to Swaying Bear.

    [That¡¯s why, you should stay in our room.] Ran

    Ran just said something outrageous.

    [Your room you said... But Blitz is there right?] Yuna

    As expected, staying in a room with a man is...

    [It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll kick him out.] Ran

    [That¡¯s right. That¡¯s a good idea.] Rosa

    Rosa-san agrees with Ran¡¯s idea.

    [No, that would be bad.] Yuna

    [Fufu, I¡¯m just joking. I rent a separate room from the beginning. When we checked-in, there were only a triple room and a single room avable. Later, the quadruple room got vacant. Because it is troublesome to move, we rented the rooms as it is.] Rosa

    [But it¡¯s a triple room right?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay, Yuna is small, so you can sleep together with me.] Ran

    [Oh, I¡¯ll refrain from that, I¡¯ll just go to another inn.] Yuna

    [Then, would you like to move to a quadruple room?] Ran

    [Is the quadruple room still avable?] Rosa

    [Didn¡¯t she said there¡¯s no empty rooms avable?] Yuna

    [Ara~, The only room that is not avable are single rooms~. Quadruple room is vacant. ] Fluffy Aunt

    [Well then, we¡¯re moving to a quadruple room. So now, Yuna-chan won¡¯t have a problem with it. ] Rosa

    [Err, I can rent the quadruple room for my self, but.] Yuna

    Well, I have the money.

    Moreover, it¡¯s a lot quieter.

    [No way.. If you are not in the same room, I can¡¯t Swaying Bear-chan.] Ran

    So that¡¯s your reason?

    [Aunt. For the time being, please change our room to a quadruple room. We have the money.] Rosa

    Rosa-san asked for a room change.

    [I will pay as well.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay. Because we were indebted to Yuna-chan at that time. ] Rosa

    The same goes for me.

    There were many things that I couldn¡¯t do alone at that time.

    It was Rosa-san who spoke to the people that we rescued from the bandits and spoke gently to those who got their families killed. I couldn¡¯t do anything at that time.

    During that time, I thought it would be over if I just killed the bandits, but it was when I learned that it was not the only thing to do.

    [Then~ your room, is the room at the end of the same floor you are currently using. After you vacate the triple room, pleasee here and return the key.] Fluffy Aunt

    Then the little fluffy Aunt gave the quadruple room key to Rosa-san.

 Chapter 295 Bear-san Got Told How To Get To Dezerto City.

    [Yuna-chan, let¡¯s go.] Rosa

    After receiving the key from the inn¡¯s aunt, Rosa-san holds my bear puppet so that she could guide me to the room.

    Ran is grabbing my back from behind.

    Well, I won¡¯t run away so just let me go.

    However, my feelings were not conveyed and I am taken to the triple room that Rosa-san¡¯s group currently staying.

    When I entered the room, I saw Grimos who was taking care of her sword.

    Grimos is a woman of few words.

    As a woman, she is quite tall and carries arge sword.

    If Blitz is the leader, Rosa-san is the ruler of the shadows, and Ran is the mood maker.

    Grimos is the power house.

    [Grimos we¡¯re changing rooms, so pack up.] Rosa

    Rosa-san entered the room and suddenly told Grimos.

    For a moment, I thought there would be a problem when she suddenly said that, but Grimos said [I understand] and put the sword in the scabbard and started cleaning up other items.

    Then both Rosa-san and Ran started to clean up their luggage as well.

    Then, we left the room as if nothing happened and moved to the quadruple room.

    It feels like they¡¯re used to it.

    When we entered the room, there are four beds arranged at equal intervals. I decided to take the innermost bed.

    [Yuna, you¡¯re looking good.] Grimos

    Grimos calls out to me while cing her luggage.

    She wasn¡¯t ignoring me huh.

    She is difficult to judge, because she has few words to begin with.

    [Grimos, you¡¯re looking good as well.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s the only thing that matters.] Grimos

    Although her words are few, but she smiles happily for our meeting after a long time.

    [Well then, Yuna. Time to bring out, Swaying Bear-chan.] Ran

    Ranes to the next bed and asking me to take out Swaying Bear.

    [Sorry, I have to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild now. I¡¯ll bring him out after Ie back okay.] Yuna

    [Eh ~~~ why? Why? You promised me. ] Ran

    I made a promise, but I didn¡¯t say when.

    A yearter should be fine.

    [I want to leave tomorrow morning, so I want to ask them how to get to Dezerto city.] Yuna

    [Then I¡¯ll tell you, it¡¯ll probably much faster that way.] Ran

    It is certainly quicker to hear it from Ran.

    Moreover, I could avoid any possible trouble.

    Whenever I go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I¡¯m more likely to get entangled, ridiculed orughed at.

    In that case, it¡¯s better to hear it from Ran, rather than getting into any extra trouble.

    [Then, would you please tell me?] Yuna

    [But even if I do say I¡¯m going to teach you, I don¡¯t have much to teach.] Ran

    [If you follow the general direction, you won¡¯t get lost.] Rosa

    Rosa-san alsoes and sits next to Ran.

    Speaking of getting lost, I lost my way before I came to this town so I had no choice but to make a wryugh.

    [Anyways, if you go out of the town, you will see the pirs. So if you follow them, you can go to Dezerto city.] Ran

    [Pirs?] Yuna

    She suddenly said something strange.

    I don¡¯t know what it means to have pirs in the desert.

    [It seems that an old man made it, the pirs stand at equal intervals in the direction of Dezerto city. It seems to have been built to avoid getting lost in the desert.] Rosa

    [There is no road in the desert and there are no otherndmarks either, so the onlyndmark in the desert is the pir.] Ran

    [So, if you going to Dezerto city, aim for the pirs and you will never get lost.] Rosa

    This is mentally agonizing to hear.

    A few days ago, I was told that if I didn¡¯t deviate from the road, I would reach the city without a problem, but I like to take a shortcut while riding the Bears.

    [It¡¯s really thanks to those who built the pirs. Since there is a pir up ahead, people would able to go without uncertainty when going to Dezerto city.] Rosa

    [Rosa-san, have you ever been to Dezerto city?] Yuna

    [Only once, while doing escort request.] Rosa

    [That was hard.] Ran

    Somehow they¡¯re looking at a distant.

    [And Yuna, are you okay with Ragaroot?] Ran

    [Ragaroot? That big lizard?] Yuna

    I remembered the big lizards walking around the town.

    [Yup. Everyone heading to Dezerto city, rides on that. Ran here, is not good with Ragaroot though.] Rosa

    [It has a long tongue. You should be prepared if you¡¯re going to ride it Yuna.] Ran

    Apparently, Ran is not good with reptiles.

    Eh, what about me?

    I don¡¯t feel it as disgusting as the insects, but I like the of the Bears more.

    [I¡¯m going to ride on my bears, but I wonder if I should get on the Ragaroot instead.] Yuna

    [Are you ning to travel in the desert with a Bear?] Rosa

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Yuna

    They are surprised at my words.

    Well, nobody can imagine any bears in the desert.

    Basically, it is wrong for bears to move in the desert.

    [Poor Swaying Bear-chan.] Ran

    [That¡¯s just reckless.] Rosa

    [My Bears are summoned beasts, so it¡¯s going to be fine.] Yuna

    They¡¯re worried, but my Bears are excellent, so they should be fine in the snow and in the desert.

    [Is that so?] Rosa

    [I¡¯m jealous. I want a bear too.] Ran

    Ran looks envious, but I won¡¯t give them.

    [So, if I head to that pir, I can go to Dezerto city.] Yuna

    [Yeah. I think they will say the same thing, if you go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.] Rosa

    [There is no other way to go.] Ran

    So the only problem is dealing with the people on the road. If there are pirs in the distance, is it okay to move a little further away?

    [Also, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but it seems that the monsters are avoiding the pirs. That¡¯s what the guild told us, So I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true. But everyone traveling there, will be at the pirs when they are taking a break or camping at night.] Ran

    [But I heard a story of someone encountering a monster, even while they¡¯re on the base of the pir, so I¡¯m kinda doubtful.] Rosa

    [During our time, my daily routine was so good that the monster never appeared.] Ran

    For some reason, Ran proudly dered.

    But I think it¡¯s helpful for those who travel to avoid monsters.

    Moreover, it¡¯s difficult to move in the desert, it¡¯s hot and you don¡¯t want to fight monsters.

    [So be careful, as there are high encounter rate with monsters between the pirs.] Rosa

    This ends the exnation of Rosa-san and Ran.

    It seems to be easier to get to the destination than I expected.

    Leaving it to the Bears, the desert is not a problem.

    [Thank you. That saved me some trouble.] Yuna

    [Now, hurry up... The bears.] Ran

    When Ran approaches me, there is a knock on the door.

    [Are you guys here?] Blitz

    A man asked, from outside the door.

    It sounds familiar, I think heard it somewhere before.

    [We¡¯re here~. Come in.] Rosa

    Rosa-san responds loudly to the door without hesitation.

    The door opens and the party leader Blitz, enters.

    [I heard that you moved to a four-person room with a Bear girl, so I thought about it and knew it was Yuna.] Blitz

    Blitz enters the room and saw me.

    [So why is Yuna here and in the same room?] Blitz

    [Yuna-chan came for work. I met her by chance and introduced her to this inn, but they didn¡¯t have a single room avable. So, we all moved here together, because the quadruple room was empty.] Rosa

    [Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re frustrated, Because there¡¯s no ce for Blitz here?] Ran

    Ran looks at Blitz while grinning.

    [That¡¯s not the case, I just wanted to know why. Anyway, Liber-san asked me to quickly return the keys.] Blitz

    [Oh, I forgot.] Rosa

    Rosa-san gets up in a hurry.

    Following the flow of the story, is Liber-san the name of the Fluffy Aunt?

    [Also it¡¯s time for dinner. I want to eat before it gets crowded, but what do you guys want to do?] Blitz

    [Oh, is that time already?] Rosa

    It does look dim outside the window.

    Apparently, time seems to have passed while we¡¯re talking.

    [What about the bears? I haven¡¯t done it yet.] Ran

    [Ran, after the meal.] Rosa

    [Eeeh?~~~] Ran

    [Grimos, pick up Ran and ask for more seats.] Rosa

    [Okay.] Grimos

    Grimos casually lifts Ran.

    [Wai-, I¡¯m going, let me go!] Ran

    And they went out of the room.

    [Blitz.. Yuna, lets get going.] Rosa

    Rosa-san grabbed my arm and pulled me.

    I had no reason to refuse, so I decided to eat together with them.

    When Rosa-san gets down to the first floor, she went to the Aunt with a key.

    Me and Blitz went to Grimos who secured the seats. The table is circr, Grimos and Ran are already sitting.

    I¡¯m worried about where to sit.

    I¡¯ve heard that in a Harem party, there is a ranking.

    And the higher your ranking in the party, the closer you can sit on the man¡¯s side.

    So I will not sit next to Blitz.

    Blitz sat next to Grimos.

    Inevitably, the vacant seat next to Blitz will be Rosa-san.

    I reach a conclusion and sit next to Ran.

    [Yuna, did you sit down after thinking about something strange just now?] Blitz

    [No, I¡¯m not thinking of such things.] Yuna

    Blitz read my heart.

    [You were looking at people¡¯s faces while sitting down.] Blitz

    [That¡¯s just your imagination.] Yuna

    Your eyes are turning into a demon¡¯s.

    Blitz seems doubtful, but the goddess of salvation came.

    [Okay, I ordered the food properly.] Rosa

    Rosa-san sits in a chair between me and Blitz.

    At the same time, a man came.

    [Blitz, have you finally snapped and grabbed a child?] Man

    He¡¯s looking at me and said, who is this child?

    [You¡¯re wrong, she is an acquaintance. This is a warning though, you shouldn¡¯t make fun of that girl too much.] Blitz

    [What, I was wrong? I was just wondering if you increased the number of women again. And this one looks weird.] Man

    She is a child, said by a strange looking, rude man.

    But I became an adult when I was no longer angry at this level of insult.

    [Uh, Yuna-chan. He is an adventurer in this town, Doran. He looks like a bad guy, but he¡¯s a good person who is watching over the newbie adventurers.] Rosa

    [Blitz here, captured the beauty of three women and earning grudges of the other male adventurers, Ie to see them sometimes. Then, the number of girls increased yet again, with the addition of a girl dressed as bear, so I called out to you guys before you get into trouble.] Doran

    [People just don¡¯t listen. Yuna was invited by Rosa, I don¡¯t have anything to do with it.] Blitz

    [If you look from the outsider¡¯s perspective, it looks like you¡¯re surrounded by beauties.] Doran

    In other words, I¡¯m also seen as one of Blitz¡¯s Harem member(victim). The damage in my reputation is so great.

    [Blitz is right, we only worked with her on a previous job. That¡¯s when she took care of us in a lot of ways.] Rosa

    [She took care of you? Isn¡¯t there a mistake?] Doran

    [Normally that¡¯s what you¡¯d think. But that is wrong, she¡¯s a stronger adventurer than we are.] Blitz

    [You gotta be kidding me.] Doran

    Doranughs.

    He didn¡¯t believe them.

    [For now, I knew that the strangely dressed girl, was not your woman. So don¡¯t just take her into your room. Got it?!] Doran

    [I won¡¯t. So get moving!] Blitz

    Doran walks awayughing.

 Chapter 296 Bear-san and the Others are Relaxing with the Bears

    [Fufu, apparently, Yuna-chan seems to have been worried because she thinks she also got ensnared by Blitz¡¯s poison.] Rosa

    [That¡¯s a terrible word.] Blitz

    It¡¯s a horrible charge.

    Blitz is free to increase the number of women.

    ...Just don¡¯t put me in it.

    It¡¯s not an increase that you¡¯d want to see.

    Blitz said in a small voice that he¡¯s [not interested in a child], but I heard it.

    I want to say something, but I am also an adult.

    Let¡¯s be patient here.

    And Ran is maybe a bit taller than me, but she¡¯s small as well. (TN: chest armor.)

    [Yuna, what is it?] Ran

    When I was looking at Ran, she got a little cautious and asked.

    [I think Ran is still young.] Yuna

    [Well, I am the youngest party member.] Ran

    [Ran is 18 years old.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s right.] Ran

    Yeah, she doesn¡¯t look like an 18-year-old. (TN: chest armor.)

    I won¡¯t say it.

    After three years, when I be 18, I¡¯ll be over Ran¡¯s size and I should have be more like Rosa-san¡¯s size.

    [Ran, it¡¯s good to be proud of being young, but you¡¯ll be in your 20¡¯s in no time. ] Rosa

    [I still have two more years, so I¡¯ll be fine.] Ran

    While the two are having a small grudges, a delicious dish was brought.

    Speaking of which, how much does this food cost?

    When I asked Rosa-san, she said [Don¡¯t worry, It¡¯s my treat.]

    [That¡¯s right, don¡¯t worry about it. Anyways, I don¡¯t know how much you can eat with that small body of yours. But if Yuna can eat more than us, you¡¯ll be charged, though I don¡¯t think you could.] Ran

    [I don¡¯t eat that much.] Yuna

    I like delicious food, but my stomach is just as good as any person.

    [Well then, eat and grow big.] Rosa

    I wonder if this is what an adult says to their children.

    I am an adult as well and I don¡¯t like being small.

    [On the other hand, If you eat a lot and didn¡¯t grow, you¡¯ll end up like Ran.] Blitz

    [Hey, I¡¯m not small.] Ran

    Ran reacted to her name being called and denied it, but I think she¡¯s small.

    She¡¯s taller than me, but it shouldn¡¯t be a height difference that I couldn¡¯t catch up, you know?

    I¡¯m still 15 years old.

    There are still room for growth.

    In contrast, Ran is about to end her growth period.

    Ran tried to get up and hit Blitz.

    But, Blitz caught Ran¡¯s head.

    [U~uuu~, let go.] Ran

    [If you don¡¯t want to be like this, you should eat and grow.] Blitz

    [Maybe you¡¯re also teasing her in your room. I think the root of it is Blitz¡¯s heart is small.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not true.] Blitz

    Blitz squeezes theughing Ran¡¯s head even more.

    [Oi, it hurts.] Ran

    Everyoneughs at Ran.

    And so Ran gave up and is then released from Blitz¡¯s grip.

    Ran was angry with her cheeks puffing up, but when she started eating, she had forgotten what happened earlier, as if it never happened.

    [That¡¯s why I told Yuna, how to get to Dezerto city.] Ran

    Ran and Rosa-san briefly exined my situation.

    [Then, will Yuna leave tomorrow morning?] Blitz

    [I¡¯m in a bit of a hurry.] Yuna

    [I really wanted us to travel together with you.] Rosa

    Rosa-san looks at Ran.

    [I¡¯m not good with Ragaroot¡¯s tongue.] Ran

    [Well, Rosa doesn¡¯t like hot climates, either.] Blitz

    [The heat is...] Rosa

    [The Ragaroot is....] Ran

    Theyugh bitterly when they look at each other.

    It seems that Ran is not good with Ragaroot, and Rosa-san is not good with heat.

    [Are Blitz and Grimos okay with those?] Yuna

    [No, the heat is pretty intense and it was hard to follow that empty sand road. It doesn¡¯t suit me to go on and on endlessly, towards the pir.] Blitz

    [We have to put up with it, somehow.] Grimos

    Grimos also seemed to be weak against it, she even answered expressionless.

    Well, I want to see the desert, but I can say that because I have Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, the Bear Equipment and the Bear House.

    If I didn¡¯t then, I wouldn¡¯t want to go.

    My poor body cannot bear crossing the desert and I don¡¯t know if I can even get to this town in the first ce.

    Though I look like that, I really appreciate the Bear Equipment and my Summoned Beasts.

    [Why are you in this town then? If you don¡¯t like the heat, you can go elsewhere.] Yuna

    [This town has a lot of escort jobs, there are also some monsters around it. I¡¯ve been here so much that I¡¯m practically working while sight-seeing.] Rosa

    [But we are supposed to leave the town in a few days.] Ran

    [As expected, working in this town does not really suit us, so we will return to the capital city.] Blitz

    [Well then, will you work in the capital city after this?] Yuna

    In my question, Rosa-san shook her head.

    [We haven¡¯t decided on a home base yet. I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s good around the capital city.] Rosa

    [If we move while doing an escort job, it¡¯ll be two birds in one stone.] Ran

    [It¡¯s fun to go to different towns. Some people are sometimes troublesome though.] Blitz

    I can agree to that.

    The King, the Queen, Eleanora-san are some of the good people that I know of.

    Though, sometimes they¡¯re annoying.

    I¡¯m sure the same person is going toe up to me.

    It may be fun to go to a new ce, but there are also dangers because there are many unknown things.

    You might get lost, or there is a monster in front of you, or you go to a new ce and that happened.

    But Rosa-san is living the ideal adventurers life, like in the manga and novels that I read.

    Even when I met them for the first time, they seemed to be people who wants to get rid of the bandits themselves and if this is a manga or a novel, Blitz will be the main character.

    And the title is [I don¡¯t have a cheat, but it¡¯s a harem adventure!] like that?

    Yeah, it wouldn¡¯t sell even if I write it myself.

    I want a cheat at least.

    But will Rosa-san return to the capital?

    [Please be careful on you way.] Yuna

    [Fufu, Thank you. But we have Blitz, Ran and Grimos, so it¡¯s okay.] Rosa

    [Surely, even if a Krakenes out and we can¡¯t defeat it, we will protect our party members.] Blitz

    Blitz spat-out cool lines.

    [I trust on you.] Rosa

    Somehow, this is turning into a romance story.

    But then, I feel that I understand a little somehow.

    Well, Blitz thinks about everyone.

    And after that brief love story, I was able to somehow finished my meal and went back to the room.

    If we had had been eating for a little longer, we would have heard the full love story.

    That would have been dangerous.

    By the way, Blitz isn¡¯t in the room.

    Blitz went to his room all alone, kind of lonely in a way.

    When we return to our rooms, we wipe off our sweat with a wet towel.

    There are also baths in this town, not the inns but there seems to be a ce like a public bath.

    However today, Rosa-san and her friends seemed to just wiped their bodies with a towel.

    Well, thanks to the Bear Costume, I didn¡¯t sweat much, but I did the same thing as everyone else.

    And so, I who was refreshed decided to sleep.

    [Then I¡¯ll go to bed now and head out early tomorrow.] Yuna

    I went to the innermost bed.

    The sleeping outfit is not the white bear, but the ck bear.

    I¡¯m not in a Bear House, I¡¯m not in Crimonia, I¡¯m in an unfamiliarnd.

    When something happens, it is better to be wearing the ck bear costume.

    [Hey, Swaying Bear-chan!] Ran

    When I¡¯m about to sleep, Ran came over to me and protest.

    Unfortunately, it seems like she remembered it.

    [Hurry up, hurry up. You promised.] Ran

    Well, I was going to call him out anyway, so that¡¯s fine.

    The room looks really spacious, but if I summon a bear in it¡¯s real size, the room will get cramped.

    So, I summoned Swaying Bear in bear cub form.

    A bear appears on the bed.

    At that moment, Ran opens her eyes wide and looks at the bear with a surprise.

    [What, what is this cute bear? Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s child?] Ran

    [Nope, you¡¯re wrong. That is Swaying Bear.] Yuna

    [Eh~, it became small!] Ran

    Ran lifts Swaying Bear.

    [What, is this cute bear?] Ran

    [It¡¯s making a cry.] Ran

    Well, it¡¯s alive, so It¡¯s going to make a cry.

    Ran falls into bed while hugging Swaying Bear.

    [This is , so soft. After all, the Bear is way better than Ragaroot.] Ran

    No, wild bears are dangerous.

    It feels like, I was saying the same thing just the other day.

    I think I¡¯m gradually changing themon sense about bears in this world.

    I¡¯m afraid that someday, someone will try to pet a wild bear and get attacked.

    I really hope that they don¡¯t.

    [Ran, lend Swaying Bear-chan to me as well.] Rosa

    [I still don¡¯t have enough .] Ran

    Rosa-san looks at Ran.

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped.

    I summoned Hugging Bear from the White Bear Puppet.

    Hugging Bear that has been summoned on the bed jumped to me, because.

    [Wh-what? That white bear!?] Ran

    Ran is looking at Hugging Bear and looks like she¡¯s about to rush in to grab him.

    [Speaking of which, I¡¯ve heard rumors when I was in Crimonia. Yuna-chan has two summoned bears.] Rosa

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Yeah, I just heard what are the adventurers talking.] Rosa

    Rosa-san came to me.

    [Umm, can I hold it?] Rosa

    [Of course.] Yuna

    I summoned it for that.

    Rosa-san is happily holding Hugging Bear.

    [Fu fu, what is this? I¡¯m not Ran but it¡¯s really cute.] Rosa

    [I¡¯m good because I have Swaying Bear-chan. Right, Swaying Bear-chan?] Ran

    Ran strongly hugs Swaying Bear.

    Seeing Swaying Bear squeezed like that, seems to be painful, but he¡¯s fine, right?

    [So what is this child¡¯s name?] Rosa

    [It¡¯s Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Hugging Bear-chan, what a cute name.] Rosa

    Rosa-san also hug Hugging Bear.

    I really wanted to sleep early, but a promise is a promise, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    [Hey, Yuna. If you can make it smaller, you can make it bigger, right?] Ran

    [Yeah, I can do it.] Yuna

    [Well then, let¡¯s make it big.] Ran

    Uh, is that okay?

    [Since it¡¯s narrow on the bed, can you put them down on the floor?] Yuna

    When I ask, Ran ced Swaying Bear down on the floor.

    I returned Swaying Bear to its normal size.

    [Awesome! It really got bigger.] Ran

    Ran leap onto Swaying Bear.

    Even though the room is not thatrge, she ride on the back of Swaying Bear.

    Quit acting like a child.

    [Yuna-chan, can you do the same with Hugging Bear-chan?] Rosa

    Rosa-san, not you too

    Since it can¡¯t be helped, I made Hugging Bear bigger as well.

    Rosa-san happily hugs Hugging Bear.

    The room got extremely cramped.

    [Just like Ran said, it is better than a Ragaroot.] Rosa

    [Isn¡¯t it?!] Ran

    Don¡¯tpare my bears with lizards.

    Then, the continued until the two were satisfied.

    And then I returned the bears in cub form, the two are hugging them on their beds.

    [Uh, it¡¯s getting hot.] Ran

    Ran says that, but still holding Swaying Bear.

    The heat doubles, the bigger the size.

    However it is smaller right now, yet it is still seems to be hot.

    But Ran is drinking cold water then replenish it.

    Hugging Bear is being held alternately by Rosa-san and Grimos.

    [Well, I want to go to bed soon, can I have both of them back?] Yuna

    I want to go to bed early, so I can head out early tomorrow.

    So I ask them to return both of the bears.

    [Eh ~~ I still doesn¡¯t have enough.] Ran

    No, it¡¯s already enough.

    How long are you ning on your ?

    [Look, don¡¯t say that, give Swaying Bear-chan back to Yuna-chan.] Rosa

    Ran doesn¡¯t like it, but Rosa-san returned Hugging Bear.

    When Hugging Bear happily came to me, he climbed on myp.

    When Swaying Bear saw that, he appears to be envious.

    [Look, Swaying Bear-chan also wants to go to Yuna-chan.] Rosa

    This may be a chance.

    I made an eye contact with Swaying Bear, [Swaying Bear make a lonely cry.].

    Then Swaying Bear cried as if he wants to returned to me.

    [U~u.] Ran

    Ran looks at me and Swaying Bear alternately.

    (Swaying Bear, one more push.)

    Swaying Bear looks at me once again and cried a lonely .

    [Uh, cute... Okay I get it, but the next time I go to Crimonia, you¡¯ll let me do again.] Ran

    After being deceived by Swaying Bear¡¯s performance, Ran reluctantly returned Swaying Bear.

    When I received Swaying Bear, it hugged me.

    You can be a great actor.

    I pet Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    [Now then, I¡¯ll turn off the light.] Grimos

    Grimos who had been silent until now touches the magic stone on the wall, then the light in the room disappears.

    [Yuna, it¡¯s a promise, you hear.] Ran

    Ran¡¯s voice came from the next bed.

    Well, I wonder when will theye to Crimonia.

    When I lie down, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on my both sides, came closer and sleep as I hug them.

    (If something dangerous is about to happen, wake me up.)

    I hug the Bears that are sleeping beside me.

    [U~u, I¡¯m jealous.] Ran

    I heard a voice from the neighbor, but just ignored it and sleep.

 Chapter 297 Bear-san, Switched Swaying Bear

    Hmmm, what¡¯s this?

    Somehow it feels hard to sleep.

    I feel like my body is being held down.

    When I slowly open my eyes, Ran is cuddling and sleeping with me.

    [Mofumofu ...] Ran

    No, it ¡¯s not Mofumofu.

    But why is Ran sleeping in my bed?

    Swaying Bear is sleepingfortably while being sandwiched between us.

    I looked at the other side.

    I thought for a moment (even Rosa-san is there), but only Hugging Bear is hugging me and still sleeping soundly.

    I asked them to wake me up if there was danger.

    Apparently, for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they recognized that it wouldn¡¯t be dangerous if Ran enters my bed.

    Well, if she¡¯s just sleeping, then there is no danger.

    It just makes me sleepy.

    But there are women in this world who also like girls.

    If Ran was a member of that group, it would be dangerous.

    But Blitz is there, so that¡¯s probably not the case for Ran.

    However, if that¡¯s the case, please protect it properly.

    I pet the heads of the sleeping Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    For now, let¡¯s escape from Ran¡¯s grasp.

    I release the hand held by Ran and escape from the bed.

    And safely move Hugging Bear to the next bed where Ran originally slept.

    Next, I tried to rescue Swaying Bear from Ran, but she doesn¡¯t want to release it.

    I was thinking about what to do, but a bright idea hits me.

    All I have to do is unsummon Swaying Bear, then quickly summon it again.

    I returned Swaying Bear to the Bear Puppet and summoned it immediately.

    I was able to safely rescue Swaying Bear from Ran.

    Yeah, that was excellent.

    The moment I tried to sleep in the bed where Ran was sleeping, Ran began to sleep talk.

    [Uuh ~~~, Mofumofu~ga...] Ran

    Ran said in a sad voice and searching for something, somehow she¡¯s kinda lonely.

    [Uh ~, Swaying Bear~...] Ran

    I see, it seems that she was searching for Swaying Bear and not me.

    She¡¯s searching so hard with her hands.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll give Swaying Bear back.

    Somehow, I thought of a good substitute.

    I took the bear plushie from the Bear Box and ce it where Ran can reach.

    Then the hand that seemed to be lonely, suddenly grabbed the plushie.

    After Saying, [It¡¯s mofumofu] she got quiet.

    Yeah, it looks okay.

    Now everyone is happy.

    I will sleep again.

    Early in the morning, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear woke me up.

    Mou... It¡¯s morning already...

    I thought I slept just a few minutes ago.

    The outside is still dim, but the sun is rising.

    I¡¯m leaving early, so I¡¯m going up early.

    I raise my upper body and look at the next bed.

    Ran is sleeping soundly, hugging a bear plushie.

    Ran looks veryfortable.

    It seems that she was sleeping alone without realizing it.

    On the other side, Rosa-san and Grimos are sleeping on the bed near the door.

    For the time being, let¡¯s put Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to the Bear Puppet, so that we don¡¯t wake them up.

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re up already?] Rosa

    Rosa-san gets up from the next bed.

    Apparently, she seems to have woken up by it.

    [Good morning.] Yuna

    [Good morning... But why is Yuna-chan sleeping next to my bed?] Rosa

    I look at the bed where Ran is currently sleeping.

    Originally it was the bed that I was sleeping on.

    [Mofumofu~~...] Ran

    Ran is happily sleeping with a bear plushie.

    [Ran....] Rosa

    Rosa-san had an amazed face in the sight of sleeping Ran.

    I briefly exined what happenedst night.

    [I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-chan. That girl was so happy to meet Yuna-chan and Swaying Bear-chan after a long time. We were traveling to various ces. So that¡¯s why, she¡¯s d to meet an acquaintance. Moreover, we never thought we could meet you at a ce like this, far away from Crimonia.] Rosa

    Certainly, this is very far from Crimonia.

    It¡¯s easy for me toe because I have the Bears and the Bear Gate, but it¡¯s hard for someone else even if they¡¯re riding on a horse.

    I¡¯m sure they¡¯re happy because we met in such a distant ce.

    For some reason, I am happy to meet Rosa-san as well.

    [So, would you please forgive Ran.] Rosa

    [I don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m not angry. But I will be angry, if you wake me up in the middle of the night for no reason at all.] Yuna

    And I won¡¯t give them a plushie.

    [Fufu,.. Thank you. Let¡¯s wake everyone up and go for a meal.] Rosa

    Rosa-san woke up Grimos and I woke up Ran.

    [Swaying Bear... Good morning...?] Ran

    Ran froze while looking at the bear plushie.

    [What is this?] Ran

    [A bear plushie.] Yuna

    [A bear plushie?] Ran

    Ran touched the plushie again.

    [Its true, it¡¯s a bear plushie. Why am I holding a bear plushie? I should have been holding Swaying Bear.] Ran

    [It¡¯s Swaying Bear¡¯s substitute.] Yuna

    [Where did you got this from?] Ran

    Ran started to the plushie.

    [Yuna-chan, you have that as well?] Rosa

    [It¡¯s very popr with children.] Yuna

    [So, where is the real Swaying Bear?] Ran

    While embracing the plushie, Ran searched for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [I have already returned them to my Bear Puppets.] Yuna

    [Tha-That¡¯s ...] Ran

    Ran fell down on the floor.

    [And don¡¯t climb into my bed without permission.] Yuna

    [No no, that¡¯s because Swaying Bear called me.] Ran

    Such a lie that can be understood immediately.

    I summoned Swaying Bear in bear cub form.

    [Did you call Ranst night?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear cried and shook his head.

    [He¡¯s denying it.] Yuna

    [Uh, Swaying Bear.] Ran

    [As I thought, when I first met Swaying Bear-chan, he seems to be able to understand people¡¯s words.] Rosa

    Rosa-san, who was listening to the conversation, had a strange look.

    [Well, it¡¯s not a normal bear.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a Bear from God.

    It¡¯s a special Bear.

    It might even be a Divine Beast?

    I looked at Swaying Bear¡¯s face.

    It¡¯s a cute face.

    No, he can¡¯t be, Divine Beasts cannot be this cute.

    [And now, please return the bear plushie.] Yuna

    [Eh ~~~~~, didn¡¯t you already gave it to me?] Ran

    [I didn¡¯t gave it to you.] Yuna

    First of all, it¡¯s a stuffed toy for kids.

    I didn¡¯t asked for it to be made for Ran.

    [But you already gave it to me!] Ran

    Ran won¡¯t release the bear plushie.

    Well, I have a lot, so I can give it to her.

    [Fine then, I¡¯ll give it to you, so please take care of it.] Yuna

    [Yuna, thank you very much.] Ran

    She happily hug the bear plushie.

    [Ran, good for you.] Rosa

    Rosa-san is enviously looking at Ran.

    [Do you want one as well Rosa-san?] Yuna

    [Is that okay?] Rosa

    She seems happy with my words.

    I took out a Hugging Bear plushie and give it to Rosa-san.

    [It¡¯s Hugging Bear-chan!] Rosa

    [What about Grimos?] Yuna

    I asked her, just in case.

    [No, I¡¯m good.] Grimos

    Hmm, I guess not~.

    Now that the issue about bear plushies are over, we move down to the first floor and have breakfast.

    Blitz is not around.

    Is he still sleeping?

    None of the girls would wake him up, is that okay?

    [Speaking of which, I forgot to ask, what kind of monster appears in the desert?] Yuna

    Prior information is very important in games.

    It is necessary to prepare proper equipments in advance.

    That being said, I only have the Bear Equipment.

    But there is no loss with knowing what kind monsters there are.

    [Haven¡¯t I told you? Well, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever meet one, but there are Sand Wolves and a Sand Worms. Although, I think it¡¯ll be mostly Sand Wolves.] Ran

    Sand Wolf is a variant of Wolf. I wonder, do they have different fur?

    Sand worms are variant of Worms.

    But are there many worms that have been defeated before?

    I feel disgusted just by imagining it.

    Sorry Wolf.

    Worms are disgusting, so if I find one, I will kill them immediately.

    But is it better to bring it back as a souvenir of Fina?

    [Still, it is better to be aware of the worms as well.] Grimos

    Grimos, who was silent, opened her mouth.

    [That¡¯s right, because worms are buried deep into the ground, it bes fatal if you were toote to notice them. Well, ording to the story, if the worm moves in the sand, you would seem to notice it by the vibration, so it will be okay if you¡¯re careful.] Ran

    Well, I have my skills, I also have the Bears, so... It will be okay right?

    [And there are rumors of sightings, but I¡¯m not sure.] Rosa

    [What are the rumors?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry, I haven¡¯t heard much about it. Well, it¡¯s okay because you won¡¯t see them if you head to the pir.] Rosa

    Rosa-san, did you know? That is a g in our world?

    Oh but, gs can also be broken.

    [Well, Yuna will be fine, even if she found one.] Ran

    [Yeah, she even defeated that monster after all.] Rosa

    They¡¯re talking about the Kraken, but they didn¡¯t disclose it.

    They know that there is a hush decree in the town of Mereera, so they kept quiet about it.

    [But stay vignt.] Grimos

    Grimos is paying attention to their optimistic conversation.

    That¡¯s true.

    No matter how much powerful the Bear Equipment is, I may be beaten if I¡¯m too careless.

    [Thank you Grimos, I¡¯ll be careful.] Yuna

    After finishing the meal and acquiring the monsters¡¯ information, I decided that its time for me to go.

    [Well then, say hello to Blitz for me.] Yuna

    After all, Blitz didn¡¯t show himself.

    No way, its just as yesterday¡¯s adventurer said, he actually brought in a woman....

    [What? You¡¯re leaving already?] Blitz

    A sleepy Blitz came and sat in an empty chair.

    [Ugh, my head. If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t drink.] Blitz

    [Did you drink tilltest night?] Yuna

    [Oh, Doran told me that he wants to drink and dragged me out.] Blitz

    I see, what I was thinking didn¡¯t happen.

    [Yuna, I think you¡¯ll be fine, but just be careful.] Blitz

    [Yes, thank you. If a dangerous monster appears, I¡¯ll run away with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    If I¡¯m really a pinch, I also have a method of escape using the Bear Gate.

    [Don¡¯t get Swaying Bear hurt.] Ran

    Ran was also worried about Swaying Bear.

    Hey worry about me more!

    [We¡¯re going to Crimonia, to check if you¡¯re still alive or have gone missing.] Blitz

    [Fufu, what Blitz¡¯ trying to say is, let¡¯s meet again in Crimonia next time.] Rosa

    [I wish he could be more honest.] Ran

    [Shut it.] Blitz

    Blitz pulls Ran¡¯s cheeks who is sitting next to him.

    [It, it hurts.] Ran

    Laughter came from the crowd.

    Now that I¡¯ve greeted Blitz, I¡¯m leaving once again.

    I separated from Rosa-san¡¯s group, then I walk towards the town¡¯s gate.

    Although it may still be early in the morning, but there are already many people on lizards roaming around.

    Are they going to leave now?

    Rosa-san says that [temperature may vary], so some people try to leave before the sun rises.

    In my case, it¡¯s okay because I have my Bear Equipment, but it seems to be hard to move around during the day.

    When I arrive at the town¡¯s gate, a man guarding the gate is standing there, sleepy.

    And when the man noticed me, he woke up, his eyes are wide open and he looked at me.

    Normally, I¡¯ll just put my guild card on the crystal te and head out, but the man stopped me.

    [Youngdy, what¡¯s with that outfit?] Guard

    [I¡¯m dressed like a bear.] Yuna

    He¡¯s eyes became wide open again.

    Well, there¡¯s no other way to answer it.

    [So, why are you dressed as a bear?] Guard

    He seems to be squinting, but I tried to go on without worrying about it.

    [Little Miss. Why are you in a hurry? It¡¯s dangerous outside.] Guard

    Well, if a girl dressed as a bear tried to go outside without any ride, she wiill be stopped.

    The gate I¡¯m exiting is on the opposite direction of the gate that I came in from the direction of the royal capital.

    There seems to be only a vast desert beyond this point, there are no viges ahead.

    [Are you ning to travel on foot?] Guard

    I¡¯ll try to deceive him.

    [On foot? Alone? In such an outfit?] Guard

    Of course, he¡¯ll doubt it.

    I¡¯d like to run away.

    But since I¡¯m not a criminal, It¡¯ll be troublesome if a search party is made.

    I just don¡¯t know what to do.

    While I¡¯m in trouble, I heard a familiar voice.

    [Ah, I knew it, its good that I caught up to you.] Rosa

    [Just as I thought.] Ran

    [............] Yuna

    When I found the source of the voice, Rosa-san and Ran whom should I have left a while ago, were here.

    They are looking at me with a bright smile on their faces.

    [Rosa-san?] Yuna

    [Remember when Yuna arrived at this town, you were stopped at the entrance, so she came to see what was going on.] Ran

    Yes, I was stopped wonderfully.

    [This girl, is an adventurer so It¡¯s okay to let her through.] Rosa

    Rosa-san exins to the guard.

    [Adventurer?] Guard

    He looks at me with a dubious expression.

    [Yes, so please let her pass.] Rosa

    [Do you want to confirm?] Yuna

    I showed my guild card to the guard.

    [Rank C?] Guard

    Hepared the card with me over and over again.

    But after confirming for quite some time, I got my card back.

    [But there is only a vast desert ahead, without a Ragaroot...] Guard

    Uhhh... Do I really have to summon Swaying Bear?

    I summoned Swaying Bear.

    [A Bear!] Guard

    I briefly exined about the summoned beast and then he finally let me through.

    But now, even if Ie back here alone, I can enter the town without anyone being suspicious.

    And with that, I was able to leave the town safely, riding on Swaying Bear.

    I left for the city of Dezerto.

 Chapter 298 Bear-sanâ€™s Journey in the Deser

    Is there a good ce somewhere?

    I looked around with at the surroundings while riding Swaying Bear. (TN: neck turning sfx.)

    I have no ns at this time, but I would like to set up a Bear Gate.

    There¡¯s no limit to how much Bear Gates I can install and it will not be wasted if made it.

    But I can¡¯t buy a house or set up a Bear House in town, so I¡¯m looking for a hard-to-find ce outside of town.

    There are still many rocks in this area, so if I want to set up a Bear Gate, its better to make it in a big boulder.

    I moved away from the road and went to a big chunk of boulder.

    It seems that nobodyes around here.

    I stopped when I found a boulder that looks good enough.

    Is this a good spot?

    I magically drill a hole in the boulder where a Bear Gate will be set up.

    Then, I set up a Bear Gate a bit deeper in the hole.

    Finally, I covered the hole with Earth Magic and hid the Bear Gate.

    Is this good enough?

    Whenever I use it, the hole will be pitch ck, but I have to hide it so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Then I head back to the road.

    As I travel with Swaying Bear along the road, I saw some thin objects that were not visible from the boulder.

    Is that a pir?

    From here, it still looks like a thin stick.

    As I move closer towards the bar it gradually became thicker andrger, enough to be recognized as a pir.

    As I approach the pirs, the ground at my feet gradually turns into sand and the rocks gradually disappears.

    When I arrive at the pir, the whole area turns into sand and it seems like this is the real entrance to the desert.

    The pirs are as big as arge tree, it has the thickness of four or five people holding hands around it.

    The height is surprisingly high.

    I looked up.

    Doesn¡¯t it look like a 10-storey apartment building in the neighborhood?

    I tried to touch it, I don¡¯t know whether it was made by magic or not, but it feels sturdy.

    I want to challenge myself to make the same thing, but I don¡¯t want to surprise anyone, so I¡¯ll restrain myself.

    And when I look ahead, the second pir can be seen.

    Certainly, if aim for the pir, I won¡¯t get lost.

    No matter how much skills I have for Bear Map, I will get lost if I didn¡¯t know the destination.

    But with this, I won¡¯t get lost this time.

    I jump onto Swaying Bear and head out for the second pir.

    [Well then, Swaying Bear. Aim for that pir.]

    Swaying Bear started running after answering with .

    When I look at Swaying Bear¡¯s feet, he¡¯s running on the sand just like on a normal ground without being buried in the sand.

    As expected of the summoned beast that God gave me.

    He runs fast and has a lot of stamina.

    He can run on water, so there is no problem with sand.

    Moreover, there¡¯s a high quality of .

    It is the finest gift.

    It is a desert I¡¯ve seen for the first time, but it may be a surprisingly beautifulndscape.

    Perhaps that seems to be the impression that I have because of the Bear Equipment and the Bears.

    Without it, I might have perceived it as and of the dead and be forced to escape quickly.

    As expected, there¡¯s not much to see in the desert.

    I can see only sand.

    Everywhere I look, it¡¯s just sand, sand, sand.

    There are only hills made of sand.

    It is both beautiful and scary.

    Looking up, the sun is zing so severely.

    Maybe taking off the Bear Costume, would make the surrounding hot enough to kill me.

    My appreciation of the Bear Costume soar even further.

    [Swaying Bear, tell me if it gets too hot.]

    Swaying Bear speeds up after answering.

    Apparently, he¡¯s saying there¡¯s no problem.

    A ck bear running through the vast desert.

    I imagine it¡¯s a bit strange.

    Whether in the original world or in the fantasy world, it may be the first time for having a bear in the desert.

    If only I have a camera, I would take a picture tomemorate it.

    Thendscape is good, it will be titled [The Desert and the Bear].

    Interestingbination.

    Real photos, not synthetic. (TN: Photoshopped.)

    It is abination that you can never believe in this world or in my former world.

    Swaying Bear runsfortably in the desert.

    After a while, I arrived at the second pir.

    And I can see the third pir ahead.

    Certainly, if I head towards the pir, I will not be lost.

    Blitz¡¯s group didn¡¯t said it, but traveling in the desert seems to be monotonous.

    In other ces, like the forests or the mountains a lot of things can be seen, but there¡¯s only sand here.

    There are very little changes in the dunes.

    The rest of the scenery is simr.

    Can I leave it to Swaying Bear and sleep?

    Sleeping while moving in the desert, would look like mocking the people who are seriously traversing the desert.

    Also using the Bear House and the Bear Gate.

    Before going to the next pir, I¡¯ll switch Swaying Bear with Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear had been running since we left the town.

    He might be tired because he is running in the desert.

    These children do their best for me.

    I don¡¯t want them to keep running endlessly, even if they have infinite health and stamina.

    I have two Bears, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I just have to switch them.

    [Thank you, Swaying Bear.]

    I stroke Swaying Bear¡¯s head to show gratitude and returned him to the Bear Puppet.

    Then I summoned Hugging Bear.

    The ck bear doesn¡¯t fit in the desert, but so as the white bear.

    ck bears are in the mountains, while white bears are on the snow, that should be the image.

    [Hugging Bear, are you all right?]

    Maybe there is a possibility that the resistance is different between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Hugging Bear cried and rubs his head on me.

    He looks fine to me.

    For a moment, I thought Swaying Bear was strong in the heat and Hugging Bear was strong in the cold, but it appears that it wasn¡¯t the case.

    Well, it seems that there is no such difference, because Swaying Bear can normally run on the snowy mountain.

    But is it so hot?

    I¡¯ll try taking off my Bear Hood for a bit.

    At that moment, the hot air ps my face.

    And I can feel my face getting burned.

    [Ooh, hot!]

    I immediately put on my Bear Hood back.

    [What¡¯s this? This heat? This is not a ce where people should be! Is Hugging Bear really okay?]

    I¡¯m worried and looked at Hugging Bear.

    But Hugging Bear looks neither struggling nor stuffy.

    He just have a cute face.

    He looked at me with [What?] face.

    He really looks okay.

    I now respect the people who travel in ces like this.

    God, thank you for the Bear Equipment.

    I really wanted to say that.

    I used to have such an idea, I felt that God made me the way he wanted me to be, so I am half thankful for the Bear Equipment and I am also thankful for giving me Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Then, Hugging Bear its scorching but please.]

    I scratched the lower chin of Hugging Bear and climbed on his back.

    Later, I¡¯ll need to give thanks to Swaying Bear as well.

    If I don¡¯t, he might sulkter.

    When that happens, they will not even look at me.

    Hugging Bear ran through the vast desert.

    He ran smoothly and the scenery gets boring.

    I took out a cold drink from the Bear Box and drank it.

    Keeping the drink outside, will make it warm quickly.

    So I¡¯ll put it back in the Bear Box as soon as I¡¯m done drinking.

    I¡¯m thankful to the Bear Box as well.

    I can infinitely store things, big things like the Bear House, I can also store cold things and it will never get warm.

    I am really grateful.

    When Hugging Bear is running, he cried and slowed down.

    I thought it¡¯s a monster, but there are people traveling on a lizard ahead.

    Maybe those are the ones who started earlier than me.

    It¡¯ll be troublesome if me and Hugging Bear were seen, so I want to overtake without them noticing.

    However, it is difficult to overtake in a desert with wide visibility.

    I just need a ce to hide and overtake, but I cannot find one in this desert.

    There are only sand dunes everywhere.

    What now?

    Let¡¯s look at the map.

    If I proceed within expectations, it is very likely that I might be able to do it.

    For now, let¡¯s move without catching up.

    Surprisingly, the lizard was running fast.

    The speed was surprisingly fast, so I have to make a big detour to pass.

    While I was wondering what to do, they stopped at a third pir.

    I will make a big detour and overtake them while they¡¯re resting.

    I¡¯ll use the hills made of sand to hide and proceed carefully.

    I could see a wolf-like shadow at the end of the dune, probably because of the detour.

    Is that a Sandwolf?

    I stopped and looked at it, but it¡¯s too far to confirm.

    If it¡¯s going to attack, I¡¯ll just kill it.

    Now I¡¯m weighing myself down, just to defeat the attacking and dangerous monsters.

    Normally, a wolf will not attack alone against something like Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear.

    But asionally, they might attack if they think they can win as a pack.

    How about this time?

    I used Detection Magic.

    Sandwolves are scattered around.

    Looking at the Detection Magic, Sandwolves gradually begins to gather in one ce.

    And they slowly moves toward us.

    Apparently, they recognized us as preys.

    I can escape with Hugging Bear, however.

    If they attack, they might be a good souvenir for Fina.

    Sandwolves had a reddish brown fur.

    Normal wolf is gray, snow wolf is white, and sandwolf is reddish brown.

    I got off Hugging Bear so that I can fight at any time.

    While standing in the desert defenseless, Sandwolves slowly began to surround me and Hugging Bear.

    Their number is about 10.

    It seems they thought they could beat Hugging Bear with this number alone.

    When a Sandwolf howled, they attacked us simultaneously.

    I evade the attacking Sandwolf and hit a Bear Punch on it¡¯s torso.

    Hugging Bear also countered with a Bear Punch.

    Double Bear Punches explodes.

    In addition, I shot an Ice Arrow at the head of the attacking Sandwolf.

    Hugging Bear¡¯s sharp ws shed a Sandwolf.

    And within just a few seconds of the battle, all Sandwolves have fallen on the sand.

    It¡¯s a weak meat diet.

    If it didn¡¯t attack..., well I didn¡¯t even think it would.

    This time, the Sandwolves who attacked are the bad ones.

    For the time being, I was able to get some souvenirs for Fina.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s a Bear and Desert chapter.

 Chapter 299 Bear-san Meets Another Familiar Adventurers

    I defeated the Sandwolves and now heading to the next pir.

    Because there is nothing but sand, there is nothing to block the view.

    I did not lose sight of the pirs even if I made a little detour.

    Then, even if I find some monsters, I can go on smoothly without being attacked.

    And the desert turns red as the sun sets.

    The sight was very beautiful.

    It was so beautiful that it can calm anyone¡¯s spirit.

    The desert scene in a movie that I saw before was nothing but despair.

    The desert seen throughout the scene is beautiful, but the characters may be more happy with a cold drink on such andscape.

    But I don¡¯t have that despair, so I can enjoy the scenery that reallyes to view.

    [Hugging Bear, it¡¯s beautiful.]

    We stopped and watched the sunset as the sun goes down.

    When the sunpletely sunk, the area darkens.

    I will set up a Bear House here and stay for the night.

    Considering the possibility of merchants and adventurers moving on the cooler nighttime, I¡¯ll set up the Bear House away from the pirs.

    However, since there is nothing obstructive here, I might be noticed by the light leaking from the Bear House.

    So I made an Earth Wall on all sides surrounding the Bear House.

    The wall also has a role to protect the Bear House from monsters and from being buried by the sand.

    When I get up in the morning, its not aughing matter if the Bear House got buried in the sand.

    I entered the Bear House surrounded by Earthen Walls, then Hugging Bear followed.

    [Wai~, Hugging Bear, stop, stop.]

    In my words, Hugging Bear tilt his head to the side, like saying [What?]

    Looking at Hugging Bear¡¯s feet, sand has entered between the fur strands.

    If he enter as it is, sand will fall onto the Bear House¡¯s floor.

    I will unsummon Hugging Bear and quickly summon it again.

    And summon Swaying Bear while I¡¯m at it.

    Yeah, the summoned Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear are both in beautiful conditions with no sand.

    You may enter the room now.

    In that respect, the Bear Equipment is beautiful.

    By the way, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have be bearish.

    [Both of you, thank you for today.]

    I stroked both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads to express my gratitude.

    Then, I ate dinner and took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bath.

    A hot bath in the desert.

    A mismatchedbination.

    But I have to take a bath at the end of the day.

    I didn¡¯t go yesterday.

    Also in the hot weather today (although I was fine), Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear both worked hard, so I decided to wash their bodies as well.

    Both of them have been unsummoned once, so they¡¯re already beautifully clean, but washing their bodies, will make them feel good.

    [Today, Hugging Bear first.¡¹

    It¡¯s a pity that Swaying Bear alwayses first.

    So I¡¯ll wash Hugging Bear first today instead.

    Hugging Bear came in front of me and sat down.

    Ither soap on Hugging Bear and wash it cleanly.

    The fur is beautiful because unsummoned and re-summoned him earlier, but it¡¯s a matter of feeling.

    While Hugging Bear is being washed, he narrows his eyes and made a rxed face.

    Then I¡¯ll wash your head, feet, and all around the body.

    Finally, rinse with hot water from the head and finish.

    [Okay, I¡¯m done with you.]

    Hugging Bear goes to the bathtub after answering with .

    He climbed to the bathtub with a small body and entered the bathtub.

    And ced his head on the frame of the bathtub to make it feelfortable.

    Swaying Beares in front of me in exchange for Hugging Bear.

    And then, he turns his the back on me so it can be washed.

    I¡¯ll wash it properly.

    First, I¡¯ll pour hot water and wash the ck fur of Swaying Bear.

    Even though it¡¯s ck, it¡¯s not dirty.

    Such a ck luster.

    Then, after finishing Swaying Bear, climbed on the bathtub just like Hugging bear, and entered next to each other.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear put their faces on the bathtub frame, making themfortable.

    Their faces looks rxed.

    That¡¯s why it feels good.

    While watching these bears, I¡¯ll wash my body and enter the bathtub.

    Umu, it feels good.

    Just stretch my back and rx my body.

    However, this doesn¡¯t feel like we¡¯re in a desert.

    Outside is a world of sand.

    There are no nts, no monsters.

    It would be impossible to take a bath in such a ce.

    I rest my body while I embrace both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    After getting out of the bath, I dried my hair, using a hairdryer without brushing it back.

    That¡¯s it for today¡¯s work.

    When I returned to the room, I entered the futon.

    And ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to wake me up if something¡¯s wrong as usual.

    As I enter the futon, I fall into my dreamfortably enough to forget that this is a desert.

    The next morning, I was woken up as usual, and departed at the same time as the sunrise.

    I was able to get out of the Bear House safely without getting buried.

    I have seen the sunrise several times, but the sunrise in the desert was beautiful as ever.

    We continued to advance today, alternating Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It¡¯s pretty good and all, but we still haven¡¯t arrive yet?

    I forgot the number of pirs.

    In the first ce, it is more correct to say that I left it all to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and didn¡¯t count it because I was sleeping on their backs.

    And even now I am sleeping on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    We advanced without being attacked by monsters.

    While I was sleepingfortably on the back of Swaying Bear, he suddenly stop.

    And tried to wake me up on his back.

    [Swaying Bear, what happened? Did we arrive?]

    I rubbed my eyes and looked forward.

    Not far away, there is an adventurer who is swinging his sword.

    Is that a worm?

    A worm pops out of the sand.

    There seems to be some adventurers fighting it.

    There are those who do nothing behind the fight.

    Are those merchants?

    Just now, I was saying [seems to be] because everyone is wearing a hood like cloak, so it can¡¯t be distinguished just by appearance.

    Um, do they need help?

    I don¡¯t want to stand out if I don¡¯t need to.

    I exined to Swaying Bear that its troublesome and I didn¡¯t want to get involved.

    But from this position, I didn¡¯t know the situation.

    So I¡¯ll try to get a little closer.

    The adventurers are wearing hoods and fighting worms the size of a wolf.

    Its smaller than the worm I fought before, but a lot.

    But the worms are already rolling on the sand.

    Apparently, the adventurers are struggling on the fight.

    Are they okay?

    While watching the adventurers¡¯ battle, I somehow recognize them somewhere.

    A figure fighting with quick movements with a knife in hand.

    A swordsman who gives instructions to his friends and swinging his sword.

    A swordsman making a noise every time he attacks a monster.

    A magician who casts magic while following behind the three people.

    [Senia, you¡¯re too far ahead. Mel, you¡¯re too far away from the escort. Toya, to the right. Mel, attack if there is a chance.] Jade

    The ones fighting is Jade¡¯s party. (TN: the party she met after killing the ck Tiger.)

    The worms were killed by Jade¡¯s precise instructions.

    As expected.

    If you¡¯re struggling, I¡¯ll try to help, but Jade¡¯s group is steadily reducing the number of monsters.

    [There are so many!] Toya

    Certainly, sand worms emerge from the sand one after another.

    It¡¯s disgusting.

    If this was a big worm that I had fought before, I would have rushed in and kill it.

    I¡¯ll try using my Detection Magic to confirm.

    Well, even if I looked at it lightly, there are about 20 nearby.

    Moreover, they are moving around in the sand.

    Jade and his team are killing worms, but there are jut too many.

    It seems that they can beat them as it is, but is it good to use a sword?

    I made Swaying Bear walk.

    [Jade, a bear from behind!] Merchant

    One of the merchants noticed me and screams.

    Immediately, the merchants tried to run away from me as Ie closer.

    Jade turned around in the voice of the merchant and I met his nce.

    [Yuna?] Jade

    The merchants are puzzled by Jade¡¯s reaction.

    I¡¯m toozy to exin to the merchants so I¡¯ll ignore them.

    [Yuna-chan?] Mel

    [Little Miss?] Toya

    [Yuna?] Senia

    Senia looks at me while fighting.

    [Need a hand?] Yuna

    I can¡¯t ignore them and leave this ce, so I asked.

    [It would be helpful if you could do that. There are so many of them, it¡¯s ridiculous.] Jade

    Without a second thought, Jade answered immediately.

    [Alright then.] Yuna

    If you know me, the matter will be settled quick.

    I use my Detection Magic to find out the locations of the worm is in the sand.

    [Jade, I¡¯ll get the worm out of the sand, can you please do the clean up?] Yuna

    That seems faster.

    [That¡¯s good, but can you do it?] Jade

    I nod to that word,

    [Mel protect the merchants in the rear, after Yuna got the worms out of the sand, Touya and Senia take them out!] Jade

    I got off of Swaying Bear and told him to stay behind with Mel-san.

    Swaying Bear cries and heads for Mel-san.

    [Well then, here I go!] Yuna

    I started running.

    Then using my Detection Magic, I fired Air Bombs at the worms in the sand.

    The worms then jumps as if the fish had burst out from the sea to the hill.

    [Toya!] Senia

    [I know.] Toya

    I shoot Air Bombs into the sand one after another.

    When the worm soars into the sky, it falls to the ground and creeps.

    Yeah, it¡¯s disgusting.

    It immediately tried to get back into the sand, but Toya and Jade stab their swords and did not let them escape.

    [Senia!] Jade

    [............] Senia

    Senia chops the worm that burst out in the air before falling.

    [Hey, Little Miss, the pace is too fast.] Toya

    [Toya, move your sword before moving your mouth.] Jade

    I dug out worms one after another.

    [Yuna! The sand is rising too much.] Jade

    It is troublesome to say such a thing.

    I don¡¯t think I did too much.

    However, at that time, the wind blows off the sand that scattered in the air and erases it.

    Apparently, Mel-san removed the sand with magic.

    Jade¡¯s sight has been cleared, more and more worms are being defeated.

    [This is thest!] Yuna

    I shot an Air Bomb at thest one.

    The worm burst out of the sand.

    Toya runs toward the worm.

    [Thest one¡¯s mine...] Toya

    When Toya tried to swing his sword, countless knives flew from behind and hit the worm¡¯s vital point.

    [No, it¡¯s mine.] Senia

    There is a figure of Senia holding a knife without expression.

    She had something other than a Mithril knife.

    Toya is disappointed while watching the worm.

    [Ahhh.. I¡¯m so close.] Toya

    [Because your feet were too slow.] Senia

    [I¡¯m not slow.] Toya

    [Oh, my mistake... Your legs were too short.] Senia

    Senia-san answers while pulling out the pierced knife.

    [Hey, my legs are not short nor slow, your knives are just faster.] Toya

    [Then next time, move faster than a knife.] Senia

    No, it would not be possible.

    I might be able to do it though.

    I¡¯ll go back to Swaying Bear after confirming that there are no monsters with my Detection Magic.

    Mel-san was petting Swaying Bear next to a scared merchant.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Once again, she met another adventurers she knew.

    Characters with a fixed battle style are easy to write.

    Thanks to you, the overall rating exceeded 90,000. (TN. Just like Vegeta said [It¡¯s over 90,000!])

    Untill next time, yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

 Chapter 300 Bear-san Refuses Because It Cannot Be Dismantled.

    [Yuna-chan, it¡¯s been a long time... So this is the rumored Yuna-chan¡¯s bear.] Mel

    Mel-san touches Swaying Bear without fear.

    Speaking of which, I have never summoned Swaying Bear in front of Jade¡¯s party before, but you are petting him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

    [So the rumors were true.] Mel

    Following Mel-san, Senia-san also approaches Swaying Bear to pet it as well.

    The merchants were frightened, but these two doesn¡¯t appear to be afraid.

    This might be the difference between the adventurers and the merchants.

    While Swaying Bear is being troubled, Jade-san ising towards me while raising his hand.

    [Yuna, thank you very much, you saved us from trouble.] Jade

    He thanked me, but even if I didn¡¯t help, Jade-san¡¯s group would have been able to defeat them without suffering any damage.

    Well, with my help they saved some time.

    [So why is Yuna here?] Jade

    I asked them that as well.

    Jade-san¡¯s group mainly works in the royal capital.

    Like from that time with the golem subjugation, escorting Shea¡¯s schoolmates for their training, and the school festival.

    I¡¯ve also heard that sometimes they go to another ce to work.

    Are they the same as Blitz¡¯s group or is working in the desert a trend?

    [I¡¯m on a job. I¡¯m doing a delivery in the city of Dezerto ahead.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s the same as us.] Senia

    [We are heading to the city of Dezerto as well.] Mel

    Well, even if you want go to the next country, it seems like you first have to go through the city of Dezerto, and basically since we¡¯re traveling along the pirs, the goal is the same.

    Everybody ising from the direction I came, but the direction of movement seems the same.

    [Umm, Jade-san... That girl with the bear..] Merchant

    While me and Jade-san are talking, the merchants anxiously asked.

    But they¡¯re mostly afraid of Swaying Bear.

    [As you¡¯ve just witnessed from the battle earlier, she¡¯s an adventurer dressed like this. As long as you don¡¯t do any harm to them, the bear won¡¯t attack.] Jade

    Jade-san exined in my ce.

    But saying .

    Yet there¡¯s no way I can refute.

    The merchants stared at me with a puzzled look at Jade-san¡¯s description, but they rxed when they realized that the bear was not dangerous.

    [But, Jade-san. Is this your first time to see Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve only heard stories from fellow adventurers. And also if you¡¯re in Crimonia, you¡¯ll definitely hear stories about Yuna.] Jade

    [I heard Yuna-chan is getting out of the town, on a bear.] Mel

    Speaking of which, they knew I had defeated both Goblin King and ck Viper.

    It seems that they also knew the rumors about the Kraken, so it¡¯s no wonder they are aware about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Oi, you guys! Help me out here instead of talking. Am I going to dismantle these by my self?] Toya

    As we were talking, Toya is shouting while dismantling the worm, alone.

    [You can do it by yourself.] Senia

    [Do your best.] Mel

    [No, there¡¯s too much, please help me.] Toya

    Certainly there¡¯s too many.

    About 20 sandworms are rolled like balls on the sand.

    [If we don¡¯t do it quickly, other monsters mighte close.] Jade

    [Can¡¯t help it then.] Mel

    [Toya the blockhead.] Senia

    [Hey, why am I the bad guy here?....] Toya

    Jade-san will help with the dismantling.

    However, looking at them dismantling, it seems that only the magic stones are being taken.

    [Hey, Bear Princess too, please help.] Toya

    [Me?] Yuna

    Unexpected words came out of Toya¡¯s mouth.

    [We can finish quicker and equally share the magic stones. You have to dismantle it yourself though.] Toya

    [I don¡¯t need it.] Yuna

    In the first ce, I cannot dismantle.

    I just brought it home and asked Fina.

    If Fina doesn¡¯t want to dismantle the worms, then I will not take them home.

    [You don¡¯t want it?] Jade

    [Because I can¡¯t dismantle.] Yuna

    I firmly refuse to dismantle.

    I can¡¯t do what I can¡¯t.

    The four of them were surprised with what they heard.

    [You can¡¯t dismantle?] Senia

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re an adventurer right?] Mel

    [You were very strong, yet...] Toya

    [You gotta be kidding me.] Jade

    It seems strange.

    Because it¡¯s impossible for a normal fragile 15-year-old girl to dismantle monsters.

    Moreover, Worms likervae are impossible.

    Well, girls of about 7 to 10 year olds, are dismantling monsters in this world.

    [I don¡¯t need the reward for subjugation, so I won¡¯t dismantle it.] Yuna

    [Well, if we do the dismantling, will you burn the worms?] Jade

    Jade-san offers an alternative without forcing me to dismantle.

    [Do you burn them? I¡¯ve heard the worms were delicacy to some people.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s a different worm... Sand worms are not delicious and are not eaten.] Mel

    [Moreover, the delicacy are the big worms. Very rarely there arerge worms, that¡¯s what most likely Yuna is talking about.] Jade

    Apparently sandworms are not good.

    What¡¯s more, it seems the only delicacy is the big worm that I¡¯ve killed.

    Small worms are no good.

    I wonder if the worm that I used as bait at that time was able to fish the Kraken because it is delicious?

    I don¡¯t know the food culture of this world.

    [That¡¯s why if you take only the magic stone and leave it like that, other monsters mighte close. So it¡¯s the adventurer¡¯s rule to burn off unnecessary things.] Jade

    [Because it will bother those who will pass hereter.] Mel

    Ah, that time Sanya-san was saying that the goblin corpses must be burned when I defeated the 10,000 monsters.

    I now know the reason, so with the help of Mel-san, I decided to magically burn the sandworms, after taking the magic stones.

    Since the dismantling work was done by four people, the recovery of the magic stone was quickly done and the disposal of the sandworms was settled.

    By the way, is the dismantling skill a necessary skill for an adventurer?

    I have zero intention to learn it.

    [Alright then, if we stay here for a long time, we might see another monster, so let¡¯s get a move on.] Jade

    Jade-san gave instructions to the merchants to resume their journey.

    The merchants ride on the Ragaroot so that they can move quickly.

    [What about you, Yuna?] Jade

    [I¡¯m going ahead.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t have to go with them, so I¡¯ll go ahead with Swaying Bear.

    I turned my eyes to the ce where Swaying Bear is.

    [............£¡£¿] Yuna

    At the end of my gaze, it looks like Swaying Bear is being hugged by Mel-san and Senia-san.

    [Yuna-chan, let¡¯s go together.] Mel

    [I agree. I want to ride on his back.] Senia

    [No way.. I¡¯ll be the one riding him.] Mel

    No, no, that would be strange.

    Why is this happening?

    [Umm, can you both step away from Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    [Well then Yuna-chan. Didn¡¯t you have a white bear as well? ] Mel

    [Rumor has it that there is a ck and a white.] Senia

    Are you listening people?

    You¡¯re not listening, are you?

    But it seems that they know about Hugging Bear as well.

    [...I have.] Yuna

    [I wanna see him.] Mel

    [Well, I¡¯m in a hurry.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s right... Well then, let¡¯s move out.] Senia

    For some reason, two people are trying to ride on Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear looks at me with a troubled expression.

    [Both of you are bothering Yuna. We¡¯re moving, so get on the Ragaroot! ] Jade

    Jade-san, who was watching the two, gave them a warning.

    However, the two looked displeased at Jade-san¡¯s words.

    [I want the bear.] Mel

    [Me too.] Senia

    No, because Swaying Bear is mine.

    [Come on, hurry up!] Jade

    [Alright, I get it.] Senia

    [Jade is a meanie.] Mel

    The two reluctantly step away from Swaying Bear and move to their Ragaroot.

    [I¡¯m sorry about those two.] Jade

    Jade-san apologizes but I was saved.

    [Well then, we¡¯ll rest on the next pir. Yuna how about it, I want to split the magic stone.] Jade

    [As I said earlier, I don¡¯t need it.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not good. As an adventurer, this is another step for your future endeavors. I don¡¯t mean to give you a lot, we¡¯ll just divide it equally.] Jade

    I can¡¯t refuse if you say it like that, so I decided to go with Jade-san to the next pir.

    I¡¯m riding on Swaying Bear, we¡¯re tagging along behind.

    Jade-san escorts four merchants.

    Each of them seems to be a different merchant. In this world, merchants sometimes ask for escort when traveling together in a group.

    In some cases, the adventurer¡¯s guild¡¯s request sometimes announces that

    Jade-san¡¯s crew and the others were silent during the journey.

    It seems to reduce exhaustion.

    Well, it¡¯s surprisingly hard to talk in the hot weather.

    A Ragaroot is surprisingly a fast runner in the desert.

    Indeed, it was the vehicle of choice when traveling in the desert.

    Well, still, Swaying Bear is faster.

    After running for a while, we arrived at the pir and took some rest.

    The merchants and Jade-san got off their Ragaroot and they are now preparing for a break.

    We entered the shadow of the pir and gave water to the Ragaroot. Mel-san and Senia-san who gave water to the Ragaroot came over.

    [Yuna-chan¡¯s bear is fast.] Mel

    [It is strange that a bear is running in the desert.] Senia

    For me, the existence of arge lizard is more strange.

    Well, I gave up the thought because it¡¯s a different world with monsters.

    [So Yuna-chan, what about a white bear?] Mel

    Apparently, she remembered it.

    Well, I was going to switch Bears anyways.

    I thanked Swaying Bear and returned him back to Bear Puppets.

    Mel-san was surprised when she saw it.

    Then I summoned Hugging Bear.

    [It really is a summoned beast.] Mel

    [White bear, I¡¯ve never seen that before either.] Senia

    The two now began to touch Hugging Bear.

    [Kawaii (cute).] Mel

    [Beautiful white.] Senia

    [Don¡¯t touch him too much.] Yuna

    But they are excessively touching Hugging Bear anyways.

    Looking at the back, a merchant at a distance was surprised.

    Well, it¡¯s really amazing if a ck bear turns into a white bear.

    Can it be used as magic tricks?

    [Yuna, here¡¯s the magic stones.] Jade

    Jade-san came and gave me 4 sandworm magic stones.

    He came here and made sure can¡¯t I refuse, so I¡¯ll just dly ept it.

    [Nevertheless as the rumors said there was a white bear.] Jade

    We¡¯re watching the two people touching the white bear.

    [So, will Yuna move alone?] Jade

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan Let¡¯s go together.] Mel

    [With a bear.] Senia

    [That¡¯s right, it¡¯s safer to travel together than alone.] Jade

    [But is it necessary for Miss? She¡¯s strong while dressed like this.] Toya

    Toya said something unnecessary.

    On the contrary, if an unmanageable monsteres out, a single person can escape.

    [But going with your logic, if you think about it, it¡¯s better to be with her.] Mel

    [I think so, too.] Senia

    Nadenade. (ctrl.+F5)

    Refreshing.... (Long machine sound..)

    Nadenade. (Another ctrl.+F5)

    Refreshing.... (Short machine sound then, Beep..)

    [You just want to be with the Bears.] Toya

    Toya told them what I had in mind.

 Chapter 301 Bear-san Arrives in Dezerto City.

    [But still, you¡¯re wearing the same outfit as usual. Isn¡¯t it too hot to dress like that?] Toya

    Toya who¡¯s looking at my costume asks.

    After all, everyone thinks it¡¯s a fluffy costume in a hot desert.

    [It does look hot.] Senia

    Senia-san came and grabbed my costume.

    [But it¡¯s soft.] Senia

    (squishy sfx.)

    Don¡¯t say anything that others might misunderstood.

    I don¡¯t know how many times it is already, but I gave the same exnation every time.

    [It¡¯s okay because it¡¯s made of special materials.] Yuna

    [Special materials or not it¡¯s still such weird clothes, the Young Lady must be crazy.] Toya

    I do not fancy dressing like a bear, you know...

    That¡¯s just what God made me do.

    What changes me is God and not myself.

    [Oh, by the way, did you met Jade and Mel at the school festival?] Senia

    [Yeah, I was surprised at that time.] Yuna

    We¡¯ve met when they were doing the dismantling presentation at the school festival.

    [I was surprised as well. Moreover, I was astonished because of the little girl who was with Yuna-chan as she splendidly dismantled the wolf. But Yuna-chan can¡¯t do dismantling though.] Mel

    [That child¡¯s father works at the adventurer¡¯s guild and she¡¯s being trained by him. Also I¡¯m a rookie adventurer, so it can¡¯t be helped if I can¡¯t do dismantling.] Yuna

    I emphasize that I¡¯m a rookie.

    [A rookie huh.] Mel

    [No rookie can easily beat ck Viper or Goblin King.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-san said while being amazed.

    [Rather than that, to take down the golem that Barbord¡¯s group couldn¡¯t defeat alone.] Toya (TN: The Idiot Rangers during the mithril golem event.)

    Was there such a thing?

    Hmm.. It wasn¡¯t that a long time ago, but somehow feels nostalgic.

    After that, golems no longer appear in the mine.

    [But aren¡¯t we really d they¡¯ve been beaten?] Mel

    Though, after returning to the royal capital, the residents showed their gratitude and it became a festival.

    Looks like Babord (Idiot Red Ranger), told the residents that they struggled on the fight, as he described it.

    However, the fact that he fought was not a lie, so Jade-san didn¡¯t stop it.

    [I don¡¯t mind it.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t like standing out, so it helps.

    [But I¡¯m told by the adventurer¡¯s guild that Yuna-chan was the one who defeated it.] Mel

    [So I heard.] Yuna

    Since then, I hear stories from Sanya-san.

    [Still, I thought it was Yuna-chan who taught the little girl how to dismantle, but it was a different person.] Mel

    [I can¡¯t do it, so whenever I defeat monsters, I¡¯ll just drop it to the guild or give it to Fina.] Yuna

    [If you don¡¯t do it yourself, you won¡¯t learn it even if takes you forever.] Mel

    I know that.

    But its just impossible.

    [Even so, you¡¯re letting Toya do it.] Yuna

    [Yes, to make him learn.] Senia

    [No, I can dismantle anything, everyone just want to y hooky.] Toya

    They bothugh at Toya¡¯s words.

    Then Jade-san, who had been talking to the merchants, came and called out to Mel-san.

    [Well it¡¯s still okay, but don¡¯t forget to change the magic stone.] Jade

    [Oh, I forgot.] Mel

    [Me too.] Senia

    [I already changed it.] Toya

    What kind of change is it?

    Mel-san and Senia-san are wearing hooded coats that hides their bodies.

    They suddenly starts taking it off. ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)

    [Ooh, Hot.] Senia

    [Let¡¯s quickly change it.] Mel

    When they take out the blue water magic stone, they rece it with a magic stone attached to the inside of the hood.

    And immediately wear the hooded coat again. ( ??¦Å?? )

    Changing of magic stones?

    [Oh, cool.] Senia

    [... What was that you were doing?] Yuna

    [We¡¯re recing the magic stones. If you don¡¯t change it soon, the effect will be lost.] Mel

    [............£¿] Yuna

    I¡¯m sorry, I know you were changing the magic stones just by watching.

    But I don¡¯t know the reason why.

    [Maybe you didn¡¯t know Yuna-chan?] Mel

    Yes, I do not know.

    I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re saying.

    So, I nod obediently.

    [This coat is heat-resistant and cools down using water magic stones.] Mel

    Mel opens the front of her coat and shows the inside.

    You can see a blue line extending inside the coat.

    What is this blue line for?

    It seems to be connected to the water magic stone.

    ording to Mel, the coat is heat-resistant.

    By attaching the water magic stone and knitting the magic thread, the coldness of the water is transmitted to the magic thread and it seems able to lower the body temperature.

    The blue line I saw earlier appears to be a magic thread.

    Is it like a magic line connecting magic stones and magic threads?

    In other words, does this coat became like a heat-resistant armor in the game?

    Dealing with non-scientific methods, this truly is a different world.

    But what happens if you use ice magic stones?

    Is it more cold?

    [If you do that, your body will freeze.] Mel

    [And if it¡¯s used in a ce like this desert, it will quickly wear out.] Senia

    So the ice magic stone is useless?

    Is it like leaving the refrigerator door open?

    But I heard some good things.

    I want to attach it to the [Bear-san Work Uniforms] worn by the children at the store.

    Recently, when I went to the store, I saw the children working while drenched in sweat. You can take it off if it¡¯s hot, you know...

    That said, the kids really like the bear uniform and doesn¡¯t want to take it off.

    That¡¯s why, I was thinking about making a cooler atmosphere using ice and wind magic stones in the shop, but instead if I sew magical thread into the bear uniforms and attach water magic stones, it might be an even better solution.

    If they copse because of heat stroke, that would be very terrible, so then after I return to Crimonia, I¡¯ll have a talk to Tirumina-san and Mylene-san.

    [So generally, it¡¯s an absolute necessity when traveling in the desert, I see,] Yuna

    Mel-san is looking at me.

    I¡¯m a Bear, you got a problem with that?

    But when I met Blitz¡¯s group, why didn¡¯t they tell me even though they knew about it?

    Or they didn¡¯t told me because it ismon sense when traversing the desert?

    Well, when we talked about the Bear Costume, I told them that it doesn¡¯t feel hot, so that might be the reason why they didn¡¯t tell me.

    [Then I¡¯ll be going now.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, are you really going?] Mel

    [I am in a hurry.] Yuna

    Looking at the town in front of me, there doesn¡¯t seem to be an emergency yet, but the King has told me to get there as quick as possible.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are fast, so I was able to save a lot of time than usual, but the quicker the better.

    If it¡¯s toote, I¡¯ll be in trouble.

    I¡¯m riding on Hugging Bear.

    [Yuna-chan, do you have time after you deliver the package?] Mel

    [I¡¯m going to visit the city for a while, so yeah I have.] Yuna

    Besides, I should still be fine for the trip to the sea.

    Should I check with Fina once I got in the city? In any case, its difficult to set up a Bear Gate and go back for a moment.

    [Hey.. Let¡¯s have a meal together sometime.] Mel

    [That¡¯s right, we will treat you as a thanks.] Senia

    I promised to Jade-san¡¯s group that we will have a meal the next time.

    For now, I don¡¯t know what kind of foods are there, but it¡¯s safe to know that the worm isn¡¯t in the menu.

    But there are some foods that I didn¡¯t know in this world, so I have to be careful when eating them.

    [When that timees, please give me something delicious.] Yuna

    I separated from Jade-san¡¯s group and made Hugging Bear run.

    I traverse the desert without getting lost, because there are pirs that serve asndmarks.

    asionally I passed by some merchants and adventurers along the way.

    Well, if they areing from the opposite direction, I¡¯ll just have to wait for them to pass, so it¡¯s easier than overtaking.

    Once again, I found some merchants and adventurers, so I hid behind the dunes and wait for them to move.

    Then, I stayed in my Bear House overnight and then switch Bears.

    I saw the city the next day.

    The city that can be seen from the top of the dunes is surrounded by walls, with an oasis-likeke in the center and some trees.

    Though, judging by the size of the oasis, was there a shortage of water?

    It may look like argeke, but it might be shallow.

    Is it because the magic stone that the King mentioned was broken?

    And I can see something that looks bothering from the top of the dunes.

    [Is that a pyramid?] Yuna

    I can see something that looks like a pyramid in a distant from the city.

    I¡¯m not confidently sure because of the distance, but I think that triangr thing is a pyramid.

    I never thought I would see the pyramid in another world.

    Whether the desert or the pyramid, I¡¯ve confined myself in the original world, but I¡¯ve never seen the pyramids in Egypt.

    After I give the Kraken magic stones, shall we go to see the pyramid?

    But can I get inside the pyramid?

    Is there a mummy?

    Riding on Swaying Bear, I rushed towards the city of Dezerto.

    Then, I¡¯ll think about how to get into the city.

    They will definitely be surprised if I go there riding Swaying Bear.

    But even if I walk, I can¡¯t answer when they ask me how I got here.

    In that case, even if they are surprised, it¡¯ll be easier to exin that I¡¯m riding on a Bear, so I will head to the city while riding Swaying Bear.

    And as I arrive at the entrance to the city, as expected the gatekeepers were surprised to see me riding on Swaying bear.

    [A Bear!?] Guard1

    [Y~ Young Lass... Is that a bear?] Guard2

    The gatekeepers were taken aback.

    Yep... This is the normal reaction when seeing a bear for the first time.

    I feel a little relieved.

    The reactions of Mel-san and Senia-san were definitely strange.

    [It¡¯s my bear. If you don¡¯t do anything harmful to us you¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    [Really?] Guard2

    [Because it¡¯s a summoned beast, I can make it disappear.] Yuna

    I got off from Swaying Bear return him to the Bear Puppets to convince the guards.

    [I¡¯ve never seen a summoned beast before.] Guard1

    [I¡¯ve seen it, but it¡¯s my first to see it as a bear.] Guard2

    They¡¯re bewildered, but I want to quickly get into the city, so I tried getting into the city.

    [So.. Can Ie in?] Yuna

    [Oh, no problem.. But don¡¯t let the bears walk in the city, because the residents may get frightened.] Guard2

    I understand that much.

    First of all, is it necessary to secure an inn, I wonder?

    Should I go to the lord Balima-san after that?

    Just like in the previous town, it would be difficult to secure an inn.

    [By the way where is the inn located?] Yuna

    I asked the gatekeeper who were still amazed.

    [Oh, an inn? Of course, there are a few in here, but it¡¯s easy to see, you¡¯ll find a big inn along this street and you¡¯ll notice it immediately after a bit of walking.] Gurad1

    Then, I also asked the location of the lord¡¯s house and the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    He says that the lord¡¯s house is near the centralke and that house is big enough to spot from a distance.

    The adventurer¡¯s guild seems to be on the same street as the inn.

    I didn¡¯t need to ask anything else.

    [I don¡¯t know what came to this city, but now that this city is facing a big problem, it¡¯s better to leave early.] Guard1

    Are you saying that the magic stone is broken?

    It¡¯s a problem after all huh..

    [Yeah, I know.] Yuna

    [Oh, I see then... Thats fine and all, but Young Lass, can I ask one thing?] Guard2

    [What?] Yuna

    [What¡¯s with that outfit?] Guard2

    [I¡¯m a Bear.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t have any other answer.

    So after answering, I went into the city.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And that¡¯s how we arrive.

    And in the desert there¡¯s a pyramid.

    I want to see it once.

    And the shop uniform, I wrote it in the activity report, but in the book version it is Kuma-san uniform. (I did not use wolf fur)

    The web version will also be Kuma-san uniform in the future, so thank you.

    In volume 4, 029-san drew a cute Kuma-san uniform illustration.

 Chapter 302 Bear-san, Makes A Detour.

    This town has ake in the center and the buildings are arranged in a circle around theke.

    First thing first, I need to secure an inn.

    I was told that if you go down this main street, you¡¯ll know where it is?

    {What?}

    {A Bear?}

    {Bear-san is walking..}

    {Mom what¡¯s that?}

    As always, in the new town everyone have curious stares.

    It¡¯s normal for a little child to point at me.

    For the time being, I¡¯ll pull the Bear Hood down and search for an inn.

    I thought it was a small town because it was a town in the middle of a desert, but it was bigger than I expected and there were many people.

    It¡¯s a big disaster if they ran out of water in such a big city.

    After securing a room at an inn, I will deliver the magic stone to the lord¡¯s house.

    Um, where is the inn though?

    Although I¡¯ve been walking while looking around , I found the sign of the adventurer¡¯s guild. (TN: neck turning sfx.)

    Is that the adventurer¡¯s guild?

    The signboard says DekaDeka and Adventurers Guild. (TN: dunno what ¥Ç¥« ¥Ç¥« dekadeka means.)

    While searching for an inn, I found the adventurer¡¯s guild Instead.

    It can¡¯t be helped, that¡¯s what I found first.

    Can I look into the adventurer¡¯s guild for a moment?

    I could use a little detour.

    The monsters and quests that appear in different areas of the game are different.

    As a former gamer, I can¡¯t help but ask what kind of request they have.

    If only someone could exin it to me.

    [Pardon the intrusion...] Yuna

    I slowly enter the adventurer¡¯s guild, whispering unobtrusively.

    That¡¯s themon courtesy.

    Whenever I enter a different adventurer¡¯s guild, I¡¯m most likely get entangled into trouble.

    In the worst case, I have the royal crests on my guild card and the knife from Eleanora-san.

    I can avoid the troublesome issues by showing it to the guild master.

    However, I do not want to use the royal crest because it most likely turn into a fuss after remembering Atroa-san.

    And the question of whether Cliff House¡¯s crest can be used in this remote city in the middle of a desert.

    There is a possibility that they didn¡¯t know about it.

    When you think about it that way, both of them cannot be used so easily.

    Perhaps it would be more convenient to have a letter of introduction from Sanya-san as the Guild Master of the Royal Capital¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    The Guild Master of the Royal Capital, that would be great and I think that¡¯s enough for the other Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Next time I go to another ce, I¡¯ll have her write it for me.

    No one noticed me because of my quiet entry.

    It may also be due to the fewer number of adventurers.

    Are they outside, working at this time?

    All of the adventurers who were left didn¡¯t noticed that I came in, they were all sitting on the chair and rxing.

    As I looked around and tried to find a board with a request on it, I heard a girl¡¯s voice.

    [I beg you.. I... Please take me to...] Girl

    Yeah, what?

    Looking at the source of the voice, I saw a girl with a reddish hair color and about the same age as Fina and Noah, talking to an adventurer.

    [Please...] Girl

    The girl lowers her head deeply towards the adventurer.

    [I¡¯m sorry, ask another guy.] Adventurer

    The adventurer refused and left the girl.

    The girl immediately goes to a different adventurer and asks a simr request.

    [Please...] Girl

    [You better ask a higher-ranked adventurer.] Another Guy

    The girl goes to a different adventurer.

    But they all turned her down as well.

    I was worried about the girl, so I went to the woman at the reception who was anxiously looking at the girl.

    [What happened to that girl?] Yuna

    [£¡£¿] Receptionist

    When I called out to her, she was bewildered to see me.

    The receptionist didn¡¯t seem to realize that I entered the guild as well.

    [Um, what is it, youngdy dressed up as a bear? Did youe to make a request?] Receptionist

    Because of my height and wearing a Bear Costume, I¡¯ve been seen below my age.

    But I was treated as a child for the first time in a long time.

    [I¡¯m an adventurer, that¡¯s what.] Yuna

    [Adventurer?] Receptionist

    The woman at the reception desk opens her eyes wide and looks at me.

    Yeah, apparently it seems unbelievable.

    [So what happened to that girl? I think normally she should ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for a request.] Yuna

    I ignored the dazed face of Receptionist-san and asked about the girl.

    The girl has been asking each adventurer for a while now.

    [We received the request and posted it. But nobody wants to take the request, so she¡¯s asking each and every one of them.] Receptionist

    [Is themission fee too cheap?] Yuna

    If a child asks, then themission fee may be small.

    But the girl is dressed in a fancy dress.

    [No, it¡¯s not about the money. The request is too difficult, so no one wants to take it.] Receptionist

    [Please...] Girl

    While I am listening, the girl asked as hard as she could, but none of them is willing to lend a hand.

    The other adventurers even turned their eyes away.

    [Was it really that difficult?] Yuna

    [Taking her to the bottom of the Desert Pyramid... While it is a fairly dangerous ce... And if you¡¯re escorting a little girl, the risk enormously increases, so no one ispetent enough to take it.] Receptionist

    Was the Desert Pyramid the same pyramid I saw before entering the city?

    Is the bottomyer underground?

    I thought pyramids was supposed to be ascending.

    [But why in that ce?] Yuna

    The woman at the reception desk shakes her head.

    [Except for the request to apany her to the bottomyer, I haven¡¯t heard her reason for going there.] Receptionist

    The girl is looking down, clenching her little hand, biting her lips and trying to hold her tears.

    But the girl lifts her face with teary eyes.

    When she lift her face our eyes met.

    [Bear-san?] Girl

    The girl stares at me.

    I¡¯m a girl, so I call out to her.

    [Hey there, what¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    [No, its not like I can ask this to a talking Bear-san.] Girl

    The girl refused clearly, bowed down and went for another adventurer.

    [Sorry about that... She¡¯s not a bad child.] Receptionist

    I understand that.

    It was not an eye that¡¯s making a fool out of me.

    I guess she couldn¡¯t really do something like asking a weird looking girl like me.

    [Do you know that child?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s Karina-sama, the daughter of the lord of this city.] Receptionist

    [The Lord¡¯s daughter...] Yuna

    That¡¯s the daughter of the lord where I¡¯m suppose to go to.

    While I was unconsciously looking at the girl, several adventurers came into the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    Certainly, these are the adventurers whom I have overtaken on the way to the town.

    [This is an adventurer¡¯s guild here, its bigger than I thought.] Adventurer 1

    [It must be nice to make some money here for a while.] Adventurer 2

    [The city is big.] Adventurer 3

    From conversation, it seems that they are not adventurers from this city.

    [But it looks like it¡¯s difficult.] Adventurer 1

    [If it¡¯s too dangerous, even just going out...] Adventurer 3

    The girl who heard the conversation of the adventurers, rushed out to them.

    And talk to a leader like man carrying a big sword.

    [Excuse me... Could you please listen to my request?] Karina

    [What¡¯s up with this kid?] Adventurer Leader

    [Can you please hear me out?] Karina

    [I¡¯m tired for today. I don¡¯t have time to listen to some kid.] Adventurer Leader

    The leader-like man flicks the approaching girl lightly.

    Light for adventurers but strong for small girls.

    The girl fell on the floor.

    [Wai, please wait.] Karina

    The girl still stands up quickly and tries to stop the adventurer.

    The adventurer tries to push the girl who¡¯s trying to grab again.

    At that moment, I was already moving.

    [What?] Adventurer Leader

    I held down the man¡¯s arm.

    Specifically, the mouth of the Bear Puppet is biting the man¡¯s arm.

    [A Bear?] Adventurer Leader

    [Bear-san?] Karina

    [Even if you refuse, you shouldn¡¯t flick her, you know?] Yuna

    I looked at the man with an intense re.

    At that moment, a word leaks from one of the adventurers who was with him.

    [Bloo, Bloody Bear is here...] Adventurer 2

    The man looks at me very frightened.

    Bloody Bear, that¡¯s definitely me.

    Such a nostalgic name.

    When I looked at the man who said the word Bloody Bear, he steps down and hides behind the other adventurers.

    [It¡¯s better to stay away from that bear.] Adventurer 2

    [What? You know this weird looking little girl?] Adventurer Leader

    While asking, the leader-like man shakes his arm, trying to break free from the mouth of the Bear Puppet.

    But the Bear Puppet bite did not lose even one millimeter.

    [No, I don¡¯t.] Adventurer 2

    The man answers while turning his eyes away.

    No, no... No matter how much you deny it, you do know me.

    You clearly said Bloody Bear.

    But since he¡¯s this scared, he must be one those guys from before, right?

    [So, how long does the bearss intended to grab my arm?] Adventurer Leader

    [Until some hot headed guy rxes?] Yuna

    When I answered, the man tried to break free even stronger.

    But when I look at him calmly, the smile disappeared from the man¡¯s face.

    There¡¯s a girl behind me who is wondering what to do.

    [It¡¯s better not to be involved with that Bear.] Adventurer 2

    The guy who just said Bloody Bear told in a small voice.

    [That man said so, but what would you do?] Yuna

    The leader-like man puts his strength on thest force, but his arm does not move.

    On the contrary, I¡¯m pushing him back slowly with a little bit of force.

    The expression of the man gradually changes.

    [Shit!... let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll report the requestpletion and go grab some drink.] Adventurer Leader

    The man waved my hand and went to the reception to report thepletion of their request.

    A man who seems to know me walks by my side, he seem extremely terrified.

    As expected, he is one of those whom I beat up in the past, right?

    [Anou?] Karina

    The girl behind me calls.

    [Are you alright? You¡¯re not hurt somewhere, are you?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m okay... Thank you.] Karina

    That¡¯s good.

    Apparently she has no injury.

    [If you want to ask for a request, you better ask after looking for the right people.] Yuna

    When I advise the girl, she stares at me with reddish eyes.

    [Are you an adventurer?] Karina

    Yes, I am an adventurer.

    Though, I may not look like one.

    [More or less.] Yuna

    [Karina-sama, It would be best if you go home for today. If an adventurer appears to be receiving the request, we will contact your house.] Receptionist

    When the girl looks at me while thinking deeply, Receptionist-san calls her.

    And you said that you would contact her, but you never said something like no one would receive it, huh.

    While it feels like she¡¯s driving her out of the guild, this is so that she won¡¯t get into trouble.

    But it can¡¯t be help, you know?

    It would be a disaster if the Lord¡¯s daughter got injured.

    It is difficult to criticize.

    [Yeah, sure... Please, I¡¯m begging you...] Karina

    After a short thinking, she bowed down and left the guild.

    I followed the girl, forgetting my original purpose.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Bear-san, is sooo coool.

    But the outfit is a Bear Costume. On the hand used for grabbing are Bear Puppets w

    By the way, the man who knows about the Bear is the same person as the scared adventurer who appears in episode 61.

    The Bear will appear no matter where you run... w

    It was terrible that I couldn¡¯t go out at night for two consecutive days.

    When I looked it up, it seems like that¡¯s not the case, so I wonder if it will continue for a while?

    If this situation continues for a while, I may not be able to reply to your reactions. Please understand.

 Chapter 303 Bear-san Proves Not Being Suspicious.

    When I left the guild to chase the girl, I saw the girl walking with her head down.

    I felt sorrow crawling from my back.

    Her tiny body appears even smaller than normal.

    For now, I don¡¯t know what to do, so I¡¯ll take a note of that forter.

    Sometimes girls makes gestures with their hands in their eyes.

    Perhaps to show they¡¯re crying.

    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the necessary skills to talk to a crying girl.

    If I talk to someone like Fina while crying, I can somehow be of help, but if she refuse, then there is no way to deal with it.

    While I was being worried about how to call her, the girl suddenly stops and turns around.

    [Why are you following me?] Karina

    She noticed me!

    The Bear Shoes does not make any sound like footsteps, so I shouldn¡¯t be noticed.

    Did you perhaps felt my presence?

    The girl¡¯s eyes appears to be slightly reddish.

    She was crying after all.

    [I see, you noticed that I was behind you.] Yuna

    [Are you stupid? Take a look around you, everyone is saying bear this, bear that, anyone will notice you after hearing that.] Karina

    I looked around...

    Certainly, there are people around us looking at me and muttering the word [Bear].

    I was too focused on the girl and so I did not hear the voices around me.

    Certainly, she will obviously be aware of me.

    [So what do you want? Why are you following me?] Karina

    [Um ... yes. I came to see your father.] Yuna

    That was the first thing that came to my mind.

    But that¡¯s not wrong.

    I am to meet Balima-san, the lord of this city.

    In other words, this girl¡¯s father.

    [My father?] Karina

    [I have something I need to hand over to Balima-san as a request.] Yuna

    It¡¯s not a lie.

    [Really?] Karina

    The girl looks at me with doubtful eyes.

    She¡¯s probably wondering, why would a weird girl in a Bear Costume came to see her father?

    Appearance is really important it seems.

    [Is there anything that proves that?] Karina

    May I show her His Highness¡¯ letter?

    If I show her the Royal Crest and she said she didn¡¯t know what that is, then that would be it.

    For now, as a proof, I showed the girl the envelope I received from the King.

    The envelope has a wax seal that was used by the nobles from the manga.

    The seal was engraved with the Royal Crest of Elfanica kingdom.

    [This Crest.....] Karina

    The girl was surprised to see the wax seal of the Elfanica Kingdom¡¯s crest embedded on the envelope.

    Somehow, it was good to know that they knew about the crest.

    [Forgery of the royal crest is a felony.] Karina

    [Oi that¡¯s real!] Yuna

    [Even if it¡¯s real, I don¡¯t think the royal family will ask a woman like you dressed like a bear.] Karina

    Ugh, I can¡¯t deny that.

    Thinking about it, normally the credibility of a girl wearing a Bear Costume is low, even if she said that she¡¯s working on behalf of the country.

    This girl was even more cautious than I thought.

    Weird, there shouldn¡¯t be any elements for the Bear to watch out for.

    This may be the strongest child I have ever met.

    [What can I do for you to believe me?] Yuna

    [Show me your guild card. I¡¯ll believe it if you are a high ranking adventurer.] Karina

    [Well, how high does the rank you¡¯re looking for?] Yuna

    An A rank would be impossible.

    [I want to say B or higher, but I believe it if you¡¯re at least C rank.] Karina

    That¡¯s good.

    I took the guild card out of the Bear Box and showed it to her.

    [upation Bear...] Karina

    What part are you looking at?

    [You¡¯re looking at a different part.] Yuna

    The girl looks at the guild card again.

    [Adventurer rank C!?] Karina

    Yes, that¡¯s where you should look.

    [To forge a guild card...] Karina

    [I did not!] Yuna

    When I deny it, the girl smiles for the first time.

    [Excuse me... I was joking... I already believed that Bear-san was an adventurer, from that time when you helped me. I knew that the opponent adventurer was trying to put all of his strength. You also protected me from behind. But I can¡¯t believe that the person dressed as a bear is the messenger of Elfanica kingdom.] Karina

    [That¡¯s right, if you read the contents of that letter, I¡¯m very positive that you¡¯ll believe me.... I think.] Yuna

    I am not informed of what is written in the letter.

    But the King said that he had written it so that I could meet the lord.

    So it should be fine.

    [Okay then. I¡¯ll believe in Bear-san.] Karina

    [Thank you. But please, stop with the Bear-san. You can just call me Yuna.] Yuna

    [Yes, Yuna-san.] Karina

    Nice...

    I¡¯m a straight girl and so I sometimes ask the people not to do so, but there are still others who keep calling me Bear-san.

    Then the girl introduced herself once more.

    [As you may already know, my name is Karina, I¡¯m the daughter of the lord of the city. Thank you for your help earlier.] Karina

    She¡¯s quite polite.

    She seems to be well educated like Noa.

    Like the children in the orphanage, children in this world are clever.

    But I don¡¯t want to be suspicious in any way nor do I want to run away.

    After being trusted by Karina, I was taken to the lord, Karina¡¯s father.

    Today¡¯s event was crazy, but finding the innter is probably fine.

    [Well, why are you dressed like that though?] Karina

    [Because my upation is a Bear.] Yuna

    When I was jokingly answer what was written on the guild card, Karina smiles.

    [Fufu, Is there really such a job?] Karina

    [Isn¡¯t there?] Yuna

    I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s the case.

    I only jokingly wrote it in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild registration form, but Helen-san really applied it in the guild card.

    , is what was floating in the back of my mind at that time.

    However, this is also a story forughter, I wonder if it will be fixed.

    But then when ites to my profession, I still can¡¯t answer that properly.

    I¡¯m not a swordsman nor a wizard.

    If I need to forcefully say it then, I¡¯m a Bear.

    I feel that there is not much different from then till now.

    Well, it is going to stay this way for a while.

    [Then, is Yuna-san from the Capital City?] Karina

    [Roughly, yes. But I¡¯m living in Crimonia to be exact. It¡¯s a city that is a bit far from the Royal Capital.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Karina

    [While I was in Crimonia, I got suddenly called by the King. Then I was forced to work.] Yuna

    Though, I wanted toe to the desert too, so I¡¯m not really forced.

    [And then, you were asked directly by His Majesty the King?] Karina

    {That would be the case wasn¡¯t it?] Yuna

    Karina doesn¡¯t seem to believe in my words, but she trust the crest on the letter and guild card shown earlier.

    [Yuna-san came from such a distant ce, so far away. It¡¯s amazing considering that you didn¡¯t age in the process.] Karina

    I¡¯m not aging?

    It is a phrase that is worrying, but straight.

    [No, It¡¯s not like that.] Yuna

    Using the Bear Gate, I instantly arrive to the Royal Capital, then after that I just rode like the wind on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [How old is Yuna-san?] Karina

    [I¡¯m 15.] Yuna

    [............£¡£¿] Karina

    Is it so surprising that I look like an adult?

    [I thought it was a bit more lower.] Karina

    I guess not~.

    [How old is Karina?] Yuna

    [I am 10 years old.] Karina

    She is the same age as Fina and Noa after all.

    If she went to the same school, she might be in the same ss as Noa.

    But couldn¡¯t she go because she¡¯s not from that country?

    [Karina is smart though. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯re ten years old.] Yuna

    [I get that a lot.] Karina

    What is this feeling of defeat piercing into my chest?

    I feel like I¡¯m losing though I should be having a conversation that seems to be different.

    For the time being, lets mend my ss heart so that it does not break and thenugh it off with adult response.

    And so I went to theke near the house together with Karina while watching the cityscape.

    I thought about it when I saw theke from a distance, but it doesck water.

    [The water seems a little scarce, wasn¡¯t it?] Karina

    Karina speaks as if she noticed me looking at theke.

    [Until about 20 days ago it was a flourishingke, it was so vast that it¡¯s overflowing with water. The water was magnificent and it was also a yground for children. I often yed here with my friends. But now it¡¯s forbidden to go into theke.] Karina

    [Why is that?] Yuna

    I guess it was the cause of the broken water stone.

    But Karina is quietly looking at theke without opening her mouth.

    Then she slowly open her mouth.

    [Because of my fault.] Karina

    [What do you mean?] Yuna

    I got something different from what I was expecting.

    [............] Karina

    To my question, Karina didn¡¯t open her mouth.

    However, it seems that Karina caused something, which resulted in the currentke.

    Is that why you were seeking for adventurers?

    But what does it mean that its Karina¡¯s fault?

    I¡¯ve heard that the magic stone is broken, but I don¡¯t think magic stones will break with only the power of a child and even if you drop it, the magic stone won¡¯t easily crack.

    So I don¡¯t think it¡¯s The responsibility of Karina.

    But if it¡¯s caused by magic stone, I don¡¯t think hiring adventurers will solve this problem.

    Well, I don¡¯t really know.

    Even if I ask Karina why, she doesn¡¯t seem to answer.

    If I ask her father, Balima-san, maybe he¡¯ll tell me.

    [Yuna-san, let¡¯s go to my house quickly.] Karina

    Then silently, me and Karina went to the lord¡¯s residence.

    Walking along the shores of theke, arge mansion is visible from a distance.

    [That¡¯s my house. My father is also there.] Karina

    The appearance of the mansion doesn¡¯t seem to be so different from ones in the royal capital.

    When we arrive at the front of the mansion, a woman with brown skin around the age of 20 looks around.

    Then, started running towards us when she saw us.

    [Karina-sama!] Rasa

    The woman hugs Karina while calling her name.

    [Rasa.] Karina

    [Where have you been! I was so worried.] Rasa

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Karina

    After that, the woman embraces Karina strongly.

    [That¡¯s good. I was worried that you would have left the desert alone.] Rasa

    [I¡¯m not going to do that kind of stupid thing.] Karina

    [It¡¯s because Karina-sama can do it.] Rasa

    [I just went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.] Karina

    [Even so, you went alone. If you want to go, I¡¯ll go in your stead.] Rasa

    [Wait, this is my responsibility.] Karina

    It seems that the woman was really worried about Karina.

    The woman wipes her tears and looks at me.

    [So, who is this pretty girl?] Rasa

    [My father¡¯s guest and I met her at the Adventurers Guild.] Karina

    [I¡¯m Yuna, an adventurer.] Yuna

    I raise my hand carefully and give my greetings so as not to be suspicious.

    The hand I raised is a Bear Puppet.

    [Um, my name is Rasa. I¡¯m the caretaker for Karina-sama.] Rasa

    Rasa-san holds the Bear Puppet.

    [Is Yuna-san an adventurer?] Rasa

    [It¡¯s true, she showed me her guild card.] Karina

    Karina exined for me.

    Also, Karina exined why I¡¯m here.

    She also talked about our meeting at the guild and why I came to see Balima-san.

    [Are you the Master¡¯s guest?] Rasa

    I¡¯m being looked at with suspicion.

    [Rasa, its true. I also had the letter for my father.] Karina

    [If the youngdy says so.] Rasa

    Apparently, somehow they believed me.

    Without the King¡¯s letter, it would have been very difficult.

    [So, here we are, please head inside.] Karina

    And with that...

    I was guided into the house.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Appearance is important.

    Next time, the reason why Karina was begging for adventurers?

 Chapter 304 Bear-san Gives the Letter

    [Rasa, is father in the bedroom?] Karina

    [He¡¯s working in his office.] Rasa

    [£¡£¿] Karina

    Karina looks surprised and asks Rasa-san.

    [You didn¡¯t stop him!?] Karina

    [I did try to stop him, but he told me that he¡¯s alright.] Rasa

    Karina starts running when she heard Rasa-san¡¯s words.

    Seeing Rasa-san run after Karina, I decided to chase Karina as well.

    Karina ran up the stairs and proceeded steadily, then she forcefully opened the door of one of the rooms without knocking and entered it.

    [Father! What are you doing despite being injured?] Karina

    [Karina, knock before you enter the room.] Balima

    Inside the room is a slender man sitting on a chair and looking at some documents.

    Karina called him father, then this must be Balima-san right?

    [I¡¯m sorry. But I just heard that father is working.] Karina

    [Ah, I¡¯m fine, I just can¡¯t sleep in this situation.] Balima

    [But....] Karina

    Karina anxiously approached Balima-san.

    He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s hurt, but it might not be visible because it was hidden under his clothes.

    [Well then, how about introducing me to the cutedy over there dressed as a Bear?] Balima

    Balima-san looks at me while patting Karina¡¯s head.

    [This is Yuna-san, an adventurer. She came from the Kingdom of Elfanica to see father.] Karina

    [To see me?] Balima

    Surprised at Karina¡¯s words, he looked at me as if he¡¯s seeing something strange.

    [I¡¯m Yuna, an adventurer. I came here as a messenger for His Majesty. You are the lord of Dezerto city, Balima-san, is it correct?] Yuna

    I gave my greetings with unfamiliar speech.

    [Ah yes, I¡¯m the city¡¯s lord, Balima Ishrit.] Balima

    I walked towards him and gave the letter that I received from the King.

    [This is, a letter from His Highness.] Yuna

    It is easier to show the letter than to have me exin it in words.

    Moreover, he can¡¯t believe that I have been asked by the King.

    It has already been confirmed earlier by Karina though.

    [This letter is from the Kingdom of Elfancia... is this real?] Balima

    He¡¯s looking alternately between me and the seal on the letter.

    I get what you¡¯re trying to say.

    It¡¯s hard to believe that a girl dressed in a Bear Costume is the messenger for Elfanica Kingdom.

    [I believe the details were written in the letter.] Yuna

    It is written, right?

    If he didn¡¯t wrote it, I¡¯ll scream here in the castle.

    I don¡¯t need such kind of prank.

    Balima-san cut the seal of the envelope and took out the letter.

    Then once again, he looked between the letter and me alternately.

    You can clearly see the surprised expression of his face.

    It seems to be written properly.

    But, what is written in there, how scary~~~~~~ I¡¯m getting curious.

    [Father, what is written in the letter?] Karina

    Karina asked him what I wanted to hear.

    [Oh, it looks like there is no doubt that she is the messenger of His Highness the King of Elfanica Kingdom.] Balima

    He said that, even though he¡¯s looking at the letter with the face saying [unbelievable].

    Well, it¡¯s about the Bear isn¡¯t it?

    [It also states that she brought a recement for damaged water magic stones.] Balima

    [Father, is that true?] Karina

    [May I ask you for confirmation?] Balima

    I took out the Kraken magic stone from the Bear Box and ced it on Balima-san¡¯s desk.

    [Here you go.] Yuna

    [Huge....] Karina

    [So its true....] Balima

    Balima-san lifts Kraken¡¯s magic stone.

    [I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯ll be a recement for the broken magic stone, is that okay?] Yuna

    [Will you really hand over this magic stone to us?] Balima

    He looked astonished at the magic stone ced in front of him.

    [I think its written on the letter as well.] Yuna

    It is written, right?

    [Well, I didn¡¯t expect this big magic stone to arrive, so what else can I say but thank you.] Balima

    [Please give your thanks to His Highness instead.] Yuna

    It is my magic stone, true...

    But I don¡¯t want anything troublesome.

    Ostensibly, it is supposed to have been prepared by the King.

    [Thank you....] Balima

    I gave the Kraken¡¯s magic stone, but his expression doesn¡¯t look happy.

    As expected, there is a problem isn¡¯t there?

    [Father....] Karina

    Karina also whispers.

    Balima-san gently puts his hand on Karina¡¯s head.

    Balima-san once again alternately looked between the letter and me.

    And then, he called out to me with a determined expression.

    [Yuna-san was it?] Balima

    [Yes.] Yuna

    [The King says that if I have any trouble, I should read the other letter in this envelope.] Balima

    Balima-san takes out another envelope inside the envelope.

    Two envelopes?

    I haven¡¯t heard from the king that there is another envelope.

    [It is written that .] Balima

    [My permission?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t even understand what his saying.

    I haven¡¯t heard anything about this from the King.

    [It is also written here .] Balima

    Ah, so that¡¯s what he meant.

    He didn¡¯t write anything weird, did he?

    I want to refuse, but Balima-san seems to be troubled enough to consider getting help from a Bear.

    Normally, a sane person wouldn¡¯t ask for help from a weird girl like me, even though he¡¯s in trouble.

    [In short, is it alright?] Balima

    [To be honest, I am kinda bothered. I don¡¯t know what the King had written.] Yuna

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t normally know.

    [But the King, whom I know, is a man who does not do anything senseless.] Balima

    Is that so?

    I have never seen the King working, so I don¡¯t know.

    I only know the King who eat foods brought by me.

    Oh, but when we first met, he might had looked like a King that time.

    [I mean he¡¯s the King... That definitely makes sense.] Yuna

    I need to rify the meaning, shouldn¡¯t I?

    For the time being, Balima-san looks like he¡¯s clinging on a straw.

    Its not likely that I would refuse, so I gave my permission.

    [Well then, I shall read it.] Balima

    When I give my permission, Balima-san opens the other envelope and takes out the letter from inside.

    Then when he started reading the letter, his face turns into a surprised expression and looked at me many times.

    [Father, what did that letter say?] Karina

    Balima-san put the letter face down on the table to hide it from Karina.

    [Father?...] Karina

    [Yuna-san, is this letter true? I don¡¯t think His Highness will lie, but...] Balima

    [Hmm, let me see that letter.] Yuna

    Balima-san gave me the letter.

    Upon receiving, I looked through the letter.

    What was written in the letter was the highlight of my career.

    The source of the water magic stone was obtained from the Kraken that I had defeated alone.

    Furthermore, my subjugation of the ck Viper, the Tiger Wolf and the ck Tiger Wolf was also included.

    It didn¡¯t say anything about the 10,000 monsters, but something rtively close to it.

    They were true and were written to help him trust me, if he wanted my help.

    It also said to quietly send me back to the royal capital, should he still not believe it.

    It also states that themission will be paid by the Elfanica Kingdom.

    At the end of this letter, a warning was written so that the contents of this letter will not be exposed even to his family.

    So, when Karina tried to look into the letter, he put the letter faced down.

    But curiously after reading the letter, isn¡¯t this a bit much?

    The letter states that .

    Though at the end it was written .

    Maybe he wrote this to make him believe me, but this is a bit disturbing.

    I do hope that he won¡¯t write such a letter in the future without my permission.

    I wanted to shout out one of theints, but I do understand that it is taken into ount.

    I wonder if this anxiety is because of the King, for having me believe in him.

    Did the King knew about the current state of this city before sending me to it?

    Is that too much to think about?

    [It¡¯s all true... But would you believe me when I say that though?] Yuna

    [It may be more urate to say that I¡¯m confused. If it¡¯s a normal letter, I might say that this is a joke and tear it away. A pretty girl dressed like this, was dispatched to deliver such a big magic stone alone and she also had a lot of achievements in her career to back her up. Above all, she have the full trust of the King.] Balima

    That really seems to be confusing.

    Well, it seems to be absurd saying that a girl dressed in a Bear Costume gained the King¡¯s trust and did what was written in the letter.

    However, it also looked like his brain wasn¡¯t able to cope because of what is written in the letter, is from the King whom he trusts.

    Well, normally I wouldn¡¯t believe it as well.

    [Lastly, may I see your guild card?] Balima

    [My guild card?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯d like to confirm it if you don¡¯t mind.] Balima

    I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m going to leave the town without hearing the story, but I¡¯m worried about the reason why Karina was in the adventurer¡¯s guild crying.

    I can¡¯t just go home quietly.

    I don¡¯t know if Balima-san will ask me to do a job, but I¡¯ll show him my guild card anyway.

    When Balima-san received my guild card, he took the crystal te out of the drawer and ced the card on it.

    Then, the information of my guild card came out.

    I can¡¯t see it from here though.

    Balima-san scanned the information on the guild card and after he saw it, he returned the guild card to me.

    [Thank you very much... Yuna-san, please... Could you lend me a hand?] Balima

    Balima-san bowed down to someone like me dressed as a Bear.

    In other words, you believe in me right?

    [Father!?] Karina

    Karina was overwhelmed by Balima-san¡¯s words and actions.

    Well, it¡¯s more surprising to say that her father bows down to a girl dressed as a Bear.

    [Umm, what can I do to help?] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Balima

    I epted it, but what was Karina asking for at the adventurer¡¯s guild?

    Going to the bottom of that pyramid.

    There was no problem because I wanted to go to that pyramid and get inside anyway.

    [Then I would like to talk to you about it, I¡¯m sorry to leave you standing for too long... Please have a sit... Karina, tell Rasa to bring some tea for her.] Balima

    When Balima-san asks Karina, a woman enters the room.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I couldn¡¯t go as far as to why Karina was in the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    Next time, it is exnation time.

    I¡¯m very sorry.

    I¡¯ll be busy for a while, so I won¡¯t reply to yourments.

    TL Note:

    I swear every time I type Karina I always mistype it to Katarina..

 Chapter 305 Bear-san, Listens to the Tales of the Labyrinth.

    The woman who entered the room had her stomach swelling and I immediately understood that she was pregnant.

    [Mother!] Karina

    Karina called out at the pregnant woman and ran up to her worriedly.

    Her Mother who came into the room, really looks like Karina.

    Young... She looks about 25 years old.

    Maybe this world is slow in aging.

    So I may look young despite my age.

    That must be it, yeah.

    And the pregnant woman looks over the room and her gaze stops at me.

    [Oh, there really is a bear.] Mother

    Despite Karina¡¯s concerns, she looks rxed.

    [Ristil, why are you here? You have to take a rest.] Balima

    [Fufu, it¡¯s all right. If I locked myself in a room, it¡¯ll bad for my health. Besides it¡¯s the third one already, Ipletely understand my physical condition.] Ristil

    [If it¡¯s fine then.] Balima

    [Also Rasa told me that Karina brought a cute girl dressed as a bear, I really wanted to see her for myself.] Ristil

    I am not an animal Bear.

    I am not a part of some show.

    [But she¡¯s really cute.] Ristil

    [Mother, please sit down.] Karina

    [Oh my, you¡¯re worried about me.] Ristil

    The woman, who was called Ristil, sat on a nearby chair with the help of Karina.

    [Thank you.] Ristil

    With the appearance of Karina¡¯s mother, the serious atmosphere of the room bes brighter.

    [So, are you Karina¡¯s friend?] Ristil

    I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t have younger friends.

    There¡¯s Fina and Noa for example.

    [I don¡¯t have any friends dressed as a bear.] Karina (TN: ouch!)

    I have thought about it before...

    But now when someone told me, there¡¯s like something piercing my heart.

    We¡¯ve just met, so it¡¯s correct to say that we¡¯re not friends, but my heart still hurts.

    [I¡¯m Yuna, an Adventurer. I came today under the order of His Highness, the King of El Fanica Kingdom.] Yuna

    [The King?] Ristil

    [Yuna-san brought us such a huge water magic stone.] Karina

    Karina spreads her hands to express the size of the magic stone.

    [Is that true?] Ristil

    [Ah, yes. it¡¯s true, it¡¯s also quiterge. This would be a good recement for the broken magic stone.] Balima

    Balima-san distorts his face as he tried to stand up to show the magic stone.

    [Father!] Karina

    [I¡¯m alright. It just hurts a little.] Balima

    Nevertheless, he went to the woman to show the magic stone.

    He then ce the Kraken¡¯s magic stone on the table in front of her.

    As expected, he¡¯s been injured somewhere.

    [Are you okay?] Ristil

    [Ah, don¡¯t worry about it.] Balima

    Balima-san sat in a chair next to the woman.

    Even while sitting down, his face is slightly distorted and it looks painful.

    [She brought it from the kingdom of Elfancia all by herself.] Balima

    [Bear-san did?...] Ristil

    She¡¯s looking at me astoundingly.

    If you think about it normally, it¡¯s an impossible distance for a girl dressed as a bear, even traversing the desert, all alone.

    I wouldn¡¯t also believe it if Fina appeared in front of me, saying she hade here alone.

    Who are you with?

    I shall ask her about it.....

    [She is an adventurer whom Follout-sama trusts. She¡¯s a top-notch adventurer, contrary to her looks.] Balima

    Contrary to what she looks he said...

    But I¡¯m a Bear so I can¡¯t refute it.

    [Is that true?] Ristil

    [I saw the letter from Follout-sama, as well as her guild card, she¡¯s definitely a first ss adventurer. She doesn¡¯t look the part though, but Follout-sama¡¯s letters and the guild card proved it. Perhaps Follout-sama may already knew the current situation, so that must be the reason why he sent her.] Balima

    So, what does that mean?

    [That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to tell her everything.] Balima

    The woman was immediately surprised at Balima-san¡¯s words, but quickly regained herposure.

    [Fufu, I understand. I hope you¡¯re decided.] Ristil

    [Thank you.] Balima

    The two hug lightly.

    Somehow it¡¯s nice to see that the couple had a trusting rtionship.

    But its bad for Karina and me.

    [And so...] Yuna

    I called out to them, I¡¯m not going to let you flirt in front of me forever.

    [Yuna-san I am very sorry... Please have a seat... Karina ask Rasa for tea, then after you told Rasa, Karina stay in your room.] Balima

    [Father!] Karina

    [Karina!] Balima

    [I... I understand.] Karina

    Karina steps out of the room with her shoulders down.

    Then I sit on the chair in front of Balima-san.

    [I¡¯m Ristil, the wife of Balima. Um, can I call you Yuna-chan?] Ristil

    [Yes, no problem.] Yuna

    [Tell me if I¡¯m not mistaken, Yuna-chan, you¡¯re not used to that way of talking right?] Ristil

    [Yes, I¡¯m not.] Yuna

    That seems to be the case.

    [Fufu, I¡¯ll be casual with my words then, so Yuna-chan can be as usual.] Ristil

    [Well then, don¡¯t mind if I do.] Yuna

    Thankfully...

    Respectful and formalnguage is something I¡¯m weak at apparently.

    So, I¡¯m thankful that Ristil-san¡¯s words will be more rxed.

    [So that¡¯s how Yuna-chan normally talks. That way of talking has a nice tone, it was a bit weird because of the way I saw her a while ago, it didn¡¯t match up.] Ristil

    [Ristil, that¡¯s what a messenger should be.] Balima

    [Dear, you are too stiff.] Ristil

    [You¡¯re just toox.] Balima

    [Umm, Balima-san, I would be grateful if she continues to speak casually.] Yuna

    [...I, I understand. Me as well, I couldn¡¯t rx at all, because I was speaking in formalnguage to a girl who¡¯s dressed as a cute bear.] Balima

    I guess so~.

    You¡¯ve been talking politely to a girl dressed as a bear in the first meeting.

    Normally, you would call me , normally.

    Well, that¡¯s probably because of the King¡¯s letter, it had a great influence.

    Looking at these kinds of ces, I feel that the King is extraordinary.

    I usually only see the old maning to eat my food.

    And when I was about to start talking, there was a knock on the door and Karina came in.

    [Father, I brought the tea.] Karina

    [What happened to Rasa?] Balima

    [I was given the role of carrying the tea. Father, please let me participate in the conversation too.] Karina

    She asks Balima-san with serious eyes.

    [Father, please.] Karina

    She¡¯s looking at Balima-san with serious eyes.

    [...Ha~h, okay then. Have a seat.] Balima

    [Thank you.] Karina

    Karina dly ced tea in front of us and sat next to me.

    I thank Karina for her tea.

    It¡¯s cold and delicious.

    [Now then, how much does Yuna-san know about the current state of the city?] Balima

    [The big water magic stone was broken and people were may not be able to live in this city. So, I was told to take this water magic stone immediately.] Yuna

    [Is that so... That¡¯s notpletely wrong... Without the distribution of water by the magic stones, the city would be uninhabitable.] Balima

    [But if you have that water magic stone, you¡¯ll be fine, right?] Yuna

    He said that the size was enough.

    [But before exining any further, let¡¯s talk about this city.] Balima

    Umm~ we¡¯re starting from there?

    Well, I am kinda concerned about the connection between the desert oasis and the water magic stones, so I¡¯ll just listen obediently.

    [This city was created hundreds of years ago by an adventurer party. Have you seen the pyramid?] Balima

    [When I came here, I saw it from a distance.] Yuna

    [The pyramid was divided into loweryer and upperyer. The upperyer is abyrinth... Thebyrinth is aplex maze, with many traps. But hundreds of years ago, an adventurer party reached the deepest part of thebyrinth of the pyramid. And at the deepest part, they found a water magic stone and a magic circle. The magic circle amplifies the water and when the magic circle is activated, the water came out of the magic stone and so ake was created in the desert.] Balima

    [Is that theke in the center of this city?] Yuna

    [Yes, it is. Theke became a ce for people to take a break, it gradually gathers people and eventually a city was created.] Balima

    It¡¯s a mysterious story.

    It¡¯s a story that is likely to appear in some fantasy world.

    Even if it was a magic stone or a magic circle, it was a reward for clearing thebyrinth of the pyramid.

    Was it a relic made a long time ago?

    Or was it made by God?

    [But the broken water magic stone has reduced theke¡¯s water.] Balima

    As expected, the state of thatke was caused by the magic stones.

    [But if the water magic stone was the only thing that¡¯s broken, wasn¡¯t it okay to just simply rece it?] Yuna

    I brought the Kraken¡¯s water magic stone for that after all.

    [Yes, it should be fine... We just can¡¯t go to the deepest part of thebyrinth, though.] Balima

    [So, in other words, you have to clear thebyrinth first, that¡¯s why you can¡¯t rece it?] Yuna

    But then, it doesn¡¯t match with Karina¡¯s actions.

    Thebyrinth is in the upper part.

    But Karina says, she wants to go to the bottom.

    It seems to be a totally different matter from clearing thebyrinth and recing the water magic stone.

    [Yes, it¡¯s different.] Karina

    [............?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t need the suspense effect, hurry up and give me the answer.

    [I...] Karina

    Karina is facing down and biting her lip.

    [In the deepest part of thebyrinth, there was another thing besides the water magic stone... That is thebyrinth map.] Balima

    [Thebyrinth map?] Yuna

    [Yes, there was a map that showed the deepest part of thebyrinth. That map allows you to go to the same ce over and over again.] Balima

    Somehow, I¡¯m starting to understand the story.

    In other words, Karina lost that map didn¡¯t she?

    I turned my gaze to Karina and her head was down.

    [We used the map to regrly check for magic stones and when I checked it again, I noticed that the magic stone was broken. So I asked the kingdoms of Elfanica and Triform for magic stones. However, the water in theke was being exhausted with each passing day. I wanted to save some time, so I collected the little water magic stones and went to the pyramid again. Then I fell into a trap and dropped the map into a pitfall.] Balima

    [Wrong! Father, please don¡¯t lie. I was the one who dropped it. When I fell on the trap...] Karina

    [Karina....] Balima

    Karina speaks her words as if she is squeezing her voice.

    So, that¡¯s why you want to go to the bottom of the pyramid.

    [But, don¡¯t you have a copy of that map?] Yuna

    If you copy it, it will be safe, whether you lost it, burned, or stolen.

    Well, if its stolen, the meaning of crime prevention will be lost.

    But Balima-san shakes his head in response to my question.

    [Thebyrinth of the pyramid changes every day. It is a map that can make you proceed without getting lost, it can¡¯t be copied.] Balima

    ...So it changes every day?

    ...So as the map?

    Another mystery trick came out.

    [I don¡¯t think any map can be used if it changes every day.] Yuna

    [This map is very different from any ordinary maps. It is a crystal te and when you apply magic to it, you will see a map of the currentbyrinth.] Balima

    Oh, so there is such a special function.

    The crystal te is thin and the mapes out of it.

    Is it like a tablet map?

    (TN: Probably not Apple, because it¡¯s urate.)

    [So we can¡¯t go to the deepest part of thebyrinth, even if we have the water magic stones.] Balima

    [I¡¯m sorry, but why did you gave her such an important thing?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something that you would make a 10-year-old girl, carry such an important thing.

    [That is......] Balima

    [Dear...] Ristil

    Ristil-san nodded a little.

    [I¡¯ll take it from here.] Ristil

    [Are you sure?] Balima

    [You¡¯ve already exined so much, you can leave the rest to me. Yuna-chan, it may be difficult to ept, but it will be helpful if you do not talk about it outside this room.] Ristil

    [Is that okay?] Yuna

    [Just like Balima says, If we¡¯re going to ask Yuna-chan¡¯s help, we¡¯d better tell you everything.] Ristil

    [I understand, I won¡¯t tell anyone.] Yuna

    I made a promise.

    I¡¯m not going to talk to the King about it, even if he ask me.

    [Thank you.] Ristil

    Ristil-san gave her thanks, then she began to talk.

    [The crystal te we found in the deepest part of thebyrinth had a special function. It was my ancestor that discovered the crystal te, one of the adventurers who created this city. The crystal te could only be used by the person who poured magic to it for the first time, so no matter how much other people pour their magic, the map won¡¯t show. So the adventurer magician, who decided to stay here and became the first lord of the city... That would be my ancestor.] Ristil

    [Then that means, you can use the crystal te.] Yuna

    [Yes, I am a direct bloodline. So now, only me, Karina, my three-year-old son and the child in this stomach are the only ones who can use the crystal te.] Ristil

    [How about Balima-san?] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t use it because I¡¯m the son-inw.] Balima

    [So, because I¡¯m in this situation, I left it to Karina this time.] Ristil

    Ristil-san touches her stomach.

    [I was so happy about my first role that I didn¡¯t looked at the map properly. So I got caught in a trap and father protected me, but he got hurt and I dropped the crystal te into the trap.] Karina

    Indeed, now I understand the reason why Balima-san was injured and why there was no crystal te.

    [Umm, Ristil-san you¡¯re still so young, aren¡¯t you? Ristil-san don¡¯t you have any of your parents left?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s......] Ristil

    They look down, it seems to be a heavy topic.

    [I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think they were dead.] Yuna

    [Ah, I¡¯m very sorry. You seem to have made a mistake. My parents are still alive.] Ristil

    So what did you looked down and fell silent for?

    [They cannot leave this ce for too long, they have to watch over the pyramids and the city. So my parents left the job to me and went on a journey to see the world... Where are they now, I wonder....] Ristil

    So it seems to be a heavy topic.

    Author¡¯s Note

    With such a reason, where Karina dropped the map into the pitfall, so that¡¯s why.

    There is no excuse, because I¡¯m a little busy, the response to yourments will probably bepleted or maybe not for a while.

    I¡¯m sorry if I couldn¡¯t post next time.

 Chapter 306 Bear-san Receives the Request.

    I somehow got the gist of the story.

    The magic stone was damaged. You have to go deep inside thebyrinth to rece the magic stones. To traverse thebyrinth, you need the crystal te map. Who can use the crystal te map was already decided. The crystal te map was dropped by Karina in a pit. Karina wants to get the crystal te map beneath the pyramid.

    These details are what I understand so far.

    But whether Karina wants to go with me, remains to be seen.

    Well, the map may be a secret, but you should hire some good adventurers to go with you and get it. It¡¯s no wonder Karina feels responsible, but it doesn¡¯t change whether she¡¯sing to look for the crystal te map or not.

    On the contrary, it would be better if she doesn¡¯t set foot inside.

    [Why is Karina trying to pick up the map herself? I think you should ask an adventurer to do it.] Yuna

    [What did you say?] Balima

    Balima-san frowns at my words.

    [Well, because Karina...] Yuna

    [Yu- Yuna-san.] Karina

    Karina, who is sitting next to me tried to stop me.

    [Karina! Be silent! Yuna-san, could you exin?] Balima

    Balima-san shut Karina¡¯s mouth and urges me to continue.

    Did I perhaps do something wrong?

    [Um, Karina was in adventurer¡¯s guild, asking the adventurers there to take her to the pyramid.] Yuna

    [Karina!] Balima

    Listening to my words, Balima-san lifts his eyebrows and stares at Karina.

    At first Karina was looking down and only listening, but then she looks up and faced Balima-san.

    [Father! This is my responsibility. And I know where the crystal te fell.] Karina

    Karina made a persuasive statement.

    But does she really know where the crystal te is?

    [That¡¯s a different matter!] Balima

    Now I can¡¯t ask about the crystal te because Balima-san shouted.

    Apparently, Karina made a request to the adventurer¡¯s guild, instead of the injured Balima-san.

    Originally, the request was to recover what was in the bottomyer of the pyramid. It seems the rest of the details were to be told to the person who received the request.

    It seems that Karina took it upon herself without permission and added the escort job to the request.

    [So you went to the adventurer¡¯s guild alone.] Balima

    Balima-san asks Karina with a slightly stronger tone.

    [Dear, please don¡¯t be so angry. This child also felt responsible about it.] Ristil

    [That¡¯s why...] Balima

    [You musn¡¯t. Karina had been excitedly talking about her role since she was young, so she felt responsible for the mishap.] Ristil

    [Mother....] Karina

    Well, it¡¯s kinda difficult.

    Karina feels responsible. Her father got injured because of her and she dropped the crystal te map that had been passed down for generations.

    Moreover, it may ruin the city because of it.

    This burden may be too heavy for a 10-year-old girl to carry.

    However, it is another matter whether that action is correct.

    [So then, Balima-san is the one hiring adventurers to find the crystal te.] Yuna

    [Yes. No parents would let their daughter go to such dangerous ces.] Balima

    [But even though Karina was there, every adventurer was refusing.] Yuna

    Everyone refused.

    I think it¡¯s fine to have some adventurer parties.

    [It¡¯s probably because of the phenomenons happening in the pyramids.] Balima

    [Phenomenon?] Yuna

    [Since the water magic stone has broken, monsters have gathered around the pyramid. If you don¡¯t have the ability, you may not be able to get close to the pyramids.] Balima

    [Monsters are gathering?] Yuna

    [Maybe it¡¯s because the water magic stone was broken, since then the number of monsters around the pyramid were starting to increase.] Balima

    Ah, maybe that¡¯s what the guard trying to tell me at the entrance of the city.

    I thought he was just saying that the water magic stone was broken.

    [Well, were there monsters in the pyramids too?] Yuna

    If there is, it is troublesome in various ways.

    [The upperyer where the broken magic stone currently in is abyrinth full of traps, but there are no monsters. The loweryer however, is a cave where monsters resides.] Balima

    Abyrinth and a cave, in other words a two for one deal?

    In other words, if you got caught in a trap in thebyrinth above, you will end up to the monsters in the cave below, or something like that.

    [Are the monsters that appear in the pyramids strong?] Yuna

    [No, I¡¯ve never heard of something like strong monsters. It was a hunting ground for adventurers who were able to subdue low-ss monsters such as worms and earn money, also all the monsters in there can be found in the desert.] Balima

    [Does that mean, the number is the problem?] Yuna

    [There¡¯s a lot of monsters around the pyramid, so there may be even more of them in the pyramids.] Balima

    [Father, that¡¯s not the only reason.] Karina

    [Karina?] Yuna

    [There are rumors that there are big monsters near the pyramid. There seems to be an adventurer who saw it, but the person who saw it had gone out of the town to run away and it seems that nobody knows the details. But there¡¯s a lot of rumors among adventurers.] Karina

    [Is that so.] Yuna

    There are a lot of monsters.

    There may be big mysterious monsters as well.

    In such a situation, I think no one will ept it. If you add the escorting of the lord¡¯s daughter there, then nobody can easily take it on.

    Even so, I¡¯d like to say that all the adventurers are subjugating the monsters, but when I heard Jade-san¡¯s story, it seems that the city¡¯s adventurers are mainly escorting those who travel between cities. It is also rare to be attacked by the monsters thanks to pirs.

    To put it simply, there are adventurers who are not good at it.

    To put it worse, there are no strong adventurers here.

    Well, excellent adventurers doesn¡¯t want to stay in such a hot ce.

    If I were to be told to choose between this city or Crimonia, I would definitely choose Crimonia without hesitation.

    [Then you should ask the country, not the adventurer¡¯s guild.] Yuna

    I think the King will send out Soldiers, Knights and Wizards if he knew that this was the situation.

    With a good number of fighting force, you can easily wipe out the monsters near the pyramid, then dive under the pyramid and find the map with ease.

    The King said this city is an important city for trade, so I think he¡¯ll be able to help you if you ask.

    Although, it seems the next problem would be money.

    However, Balima-san shook his head at my suggestion.

    [I can¡¯t do that.] Balima

    [Why not?] Yuna

    [Its because ording to the treaty, each country cannot send soldiers and knights to this city. Whatever the reason may be, it would be considered as an act of aggression.] Balima

    [So that¡¯s why?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, a treaty is something that cannot be changed so easily. No matter which country, no matter what the reason may be, other countries will feel threatened when a lot of soldiers, knights and wizards, gather near the border. If something goes wrong, this city would be a battlefield. It¡¯s a treaty to prevent that from happening.] Balima

    I get what you¡¯re trying to say.

    No matter how much friendly rtionship you have with other countries, you¡¯ll never know what they are trying to pull off.

    There is no denying the possibility of surprise attack.

    I know the King of Elfancia, but not the other countries.

    And I don¡¯t know how the other country reacts about this one.

    If the kingdom dispatches it¡¯s troops, it may pose a threat to the other country. One might think that the situation of this city would be used as a reason to attack another country.

    On the other hand, if my opponent¡¯s army appears in front of me, even I would feel threatened.

    And there is no denying that soldiers may remain in the city. Because they don¡¯t take part in any country, they can be neutral and have a position immediately.

    If you think about it, in any world, whether it may be politics or treaties, its very troublesome to deal with. If it is to protect their country though, it can not be helped then.

    [Also, relying on one country means not believing in the other. If I ask for the Triform Kingdom, then Follout-sama will not feel good about it. And it goes the other way around.] Balima

    It would be best for the armies of both countries to work together, but that would just take a while.

    As expected, the only option is the adventurers.

    [Are you not asking the adventurer¡¯s guild in another city?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve issued a request. But they may not be here in time.] Balima

    [And that¡¯s why you¡¯re asking me.] Yuna

    Normally, it¡¯s not something to ask someone dressed as a Bear like me.

    [If what the content of the letter and your guild card were true, then I would very much appreciate your help.] Balima

    [Father, is Yuna really strong? I can¡¯t tell if she is, even a bit.] Karina

    [Yuna-san, can I tell my family where you got this magic stone?] Balima

    [I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to believe it though.] Yuna

    [I think its up to them.] Balima

    [That¡¯s fine then.] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Balima

    [Father, where did she got this magic stone?] Karina

    Everyone is looking at the magic stone on the table in front of them.

    [This magic stone seems to be from the Kraken that Yuna-san defeated before.] Balima

    [Isn¡¯t the Kraken a big monster in the sea?] Ristil

    [That¡¯s right. It is normally a monster that takes many adventurers, banding together just to fight and defeat it. But Yuna-san subjugated it alone.] Balima

    Karina and Ristil-san were stunned in Balima-san¡¯s words.

    [Father, is that true?] Karina

    [Believing it or not is your freedom to do so. But I believe it.] Balima

    [...Father, I understand. I¡¯ll also believe it.] Karina

    [I believe in you dear, from the beginning] Ristil

    They¡¯re happy and smiling, but family love is too dazzling for me.

    Looking at them, makes me want to see Fina, Shuri and Tirumina-san.

    Maybe I¡¯m being homesick... Nah~ I don¡¯t think so.

    [So then, I want to ask Yuna-san to get inside the pyramid and find the crystal te map. Of course, I didn¡¯t said alone. This time we¡¯ll be back with the adventurer¡¯s guild, without the matters of escorting Karina.] Balima

    [Father! I will go too.] Karina

    [Denied.] Balima

    [But if I go with her, we will know the position of the crystal te much faster.] Karina

    [Speaking of which, I asked you earlier, what¡¯s the matter?] Yuna

    [That is...] Karina

    I watch as Balima-san checks with her.

    Then, Restil-san nods and starts exining.

    [We have the feeling that our magic power is connected to the crystal te by flowing magic power on the map of the crystal te. We call this a contract. The contract gives us a rough idea of where the crystal te is, we can feel it.] Ristil

    I see, Karina was asking me to take her.

    [It¡¯s something that I have to do, I should¡¯ve been the one to go...] Ristil

    Ristil-san touches her belly. No way, you can¡¯t go where the monsters are. I guess Ristil-san still has the bitterness of not being able to go.

    [Karina, do you really know where the crystal te is?] Yuna

    [Yes, I do.. But I only know its general direction.] Karina

    That¡¯s enough.

    [I understand what you¡¯re saying. I¡¯ll take Karina with me.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san!] Balima

    Karina is pleased, but her father, Balima-san is against it.

    [Because we can find it a lot quicker.] Yuna

    [That may be so..] Balima

    [Please rest assured, I will protect her properly.] Yuna

    So I dere, but it¡¯s not really persuasive when itsing from a girl dressed like a Bear.

    [Of course, I believe that Yuna-san is strong. But, Yuna-san what will you do when you¡¯re fighting? She may be attacked by other monsters. Do you want the other adventurers to protect her? Then, the request will be the same as before, and nobody will take the request.] Balima

    Well, that¡¯s fine for me.

    But to get rid of Balima-san¡¯s anxiety, I stand up silently and move to where there is enough space in the room.

    [Yuna-san?] Balima

    [Please, don¡¯t be surprised.] Yuna

    When I raised my Bear Puppets forward, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [A Bear!] Ristil

    [A Bear......] Karina

    [A Bear! Oww!] Balima

    The three of them were surprised to see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But at the moment when Balima-san is surprised, he distorts his face with intense pain.

    [Father!] Karina

    Karina anxiously approached Balima-san.

    [Yu, Yuna-san, what¡¯re those Bears?] Balima

    [These are my summoned beast.] Yuna

    [Summoned Beast......] Balima

    [I¡¯ll let these children escort Karina. They¡¯re stronger than any monsters, so don¡¯t worry about it.] Yuna

    [Father, please.. It¡¯s my responsibility, I have to do it.] Karina

    [Karina....] Balima

    [Dear...] Ristil

    When Balima-san saw his wife and daughter, he exhales a little.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san, for escorting Karina.] Balima

    Balima-san deeply lowers his head.

 Chapter 307 Bear-san Becomes A Handsome Heroâ€™s Proxy.

    I received the request to find the crystal te map.

    Well, the appointed time to go to the sea is still far off, so it¡¯s okay if I amte for a few days. But, should I check with Fina at least?

    [Then Yuna-san. I would like to gather some adventurers. Is it okay with you?] Balima

    I¡¯ll be fine if its just for a few days. I don¡¯t want to waste time because I n to go out to the sea.

    [If it¡¯s toote, I¡¯ll go alone.] Yuna

    [Please give me 2-3 days. I will have them recruited by then.] Balima

    2-3 days, I wonder if you can do it.

    I guess I should explore the city while I wait.

    [I¡¯lle back two dayster then.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, are you going somewhere?] Balima

    [I¡¯m going to secure an inn to stay in today and explore the city tomorrow.] Yuna

    After all, as a former gamer, town exploration is a must whenever youe to a new city. Well, I always went straight to weapon shops and item shops back in the game, but in this case I¡¯ll be looking for ingredients.

    Or maybe go scout the pyramids.

    [Yuna-san, if you would like it, please stay at my house while staying in this city. Also I haven¡¯t thanked you for delivering the magic stone from the royal capital. Please feel at home during your stay.] Balima

    [Is that okay?] Yuna

    [Of course. Karina, tell Rasa to prepare the guest room.] Balima

    [I... I understand.] Karina

    Karina replies and leaves the room.

    [And please bring this water magic stone with you Yuna-san.] Balima

    The Kraken¡¯s magic stone on the table was presented to me.

    [With me?] Yuna

    [Yes, neither me nor Ristil can move, so I guess you¡¯ll have to apany Karina, if you find the crystal te map Yuna-san can rece the water magic stones.] Balima

    Ristil-san has a baby on her stomach, and Balima-san is injured. Also, reports said that monsters are gathering in the pyramid.

    I can¡¯t just let them go to that ce.

    I agreed and shoved the Kraken¡¯s magic stone into the Bear Box. It feels weird to put it back in after taking it out earlier.

    [Yuna-chan, please give my daughter my best regards. She sometimes runs away from home, but she¡¯s not bad child.] Ristil

    Ristil-san left Karina in my hands.

    I know that Karina is not a bad girl. However, I think the responsibility here is too heavy.

    Somehow, I might carry her on my back, simr to Fina when I met her.

    [I¡¯ll be borrowing Karina, but I¡¯ll return her without any injuries.] Yuna

    (TN: kinda scary if it came from a certain P.Bear-san.)

    [Fufu, thank you. Well then I¡¯ll head back to the room now.] Ristil

    When Ristil-san left the room, Karina returned as if they¡¯re switching.

    [Yuna-san I will guide you to your room.] Karina

    [Then, Balima-san. I¡¯ll be on your care for the time being.] Yuna

    [You came from somewhere far away, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired. Please have a good rest.] Balima

    When I start to walk, the Bears followed... I didn¡¯t forget them, but I¡¯m not going to leave it like this, you know?

    I will return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear now.

    [The Bears just disappeared.] Karina

    Karina opens her eyes wide in surprise.

    Well, it¡¯s a summon beast, so if you unsummon it will disappear.

    [Yuna-san, where are the Bears?] Karina

    [They¡¯re in this?] Yuna

    I shake the Bear Puppets like I¡¯m waving my hands.

    Karina looks curious and touched the Bear Puppets.

    [Those Big Bears....] Karina

    Well, I¡¯ve been wondering about it myself. It is a mystery of where the Bears are before they get summoned.

    When I left the room, or rather dragged out of the room as if being pulled by Karina.

    I was guided(taken) by Karina to the room where I¡¯ll be staying for the next few days.

    [Yuna-san, please use this room.] Karina

    Once were inside the room, the brown-skinned woman that I met earlier is inside. It seems to be Rasa-san.

    Rasa-san was preparing the room.

    [I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Please use this room freely.] Rasa

    The room is quiterge.

    You prepared an excellent room, didn¡¯t you?

    [If you need anything else, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell us.] Rasa

    [Thank you. It¡¯s enough for me if there¡¯s a ce to sleep.] Yuna

    The bed is quiterge and there is enough space to sleep together with the Bear Cubs.

    Rasa-san bowed and went out of the room.

    Me and Karina were the only ones left in the room.

    Karina changes her expression after Rasa-san left.

    [Are you not scared of receiving such request? None of the adventurers took it. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on under the pyramid and I don¡¯t even know if we¡¯ll be able to go back safely.] Karina

    Karina asks questions while feeling anxious.

    Well, I think the reason why the adventurers did not epted the request is that there are adventurers gathering in this city for the purpose of rtively safe escort work. So no adventurer would want to do something dangerous on their own.

    Many adventurers in Crimonia works for their own livelihood, and not for others. So you can¡¯t me the adventurers who refused.

    [Everyone is afraid and would not ept my request.] Karina

    [Well, I¡¯m not afraid.] Yuna

    Of course, I¡¯m scared if I don¡¯t have my Bear Equipment, and I won¡¯t be taking such a dangerous request either. In the first ce, without the Bear Equipment, I wouldn¡¯t be able to live in this world to this date.

    However, the Bear Equipment is not the only cheat item, there are also the Bear Skills, and the Summoned Beasts. If it bes really dangerous, you can even escape using the Bear Gate.

    There are many ways to deal with troublesome things.

    [Yuna-san is strong. I told my father that I¡¯ll do it, but I¡¯m still scared. I really want to escape. If there is someone who can take over, I would pass it all to that person. But it¡¯s my fault it fell to that hole and I¡¯m the only one who can do this...] Karina

    Karina clenches her little hand. You can see that she is slightly shaking.

    It¡¯s inevitable for a 10-year-old girl. Even adults were scared of monsters.

    But Karina knows her responsibilities even her roles and she will not try to run away.

    This may be a role for a handsome hero tofort a depressed girl, but Karina has to bear with a Bear.

    I squatted, then I squeezed Karina¡¯s little hands with my Bear Puppets.

    [Yuna-san?] Karina

    [Karina is not weak. You¡¯re a very strong child.] Yuna

    An ordinary girl with no cheats.

    Such a girl is going to where the monsters are.

    Her action is courageous.

    And I understand exactly how scary her action is.

    She¡¯s not trying to apany me without knowing anything. She understands the situation very well and tries to join me even though she acknowledge her fear.

    Her heart is definitely not weak.

    [But because of me, the situation became like this.] Karina

    [Everyone makes a mistake. People grow by failing.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    [Though it sucks to fail.] Yuna

    Even in the game, I have tasted failures many times, but I still aim to clear the game. If you fail in the game at least once then gave up, the conclusion would be .

    It is fun to challenge and clear the game many times. But if you die at least once in an RPG and have to start all over again at level 1, it¡¯s definitely a shitty game. It may be intense, but not fun.

    Of course, games and reality are different. Life can go wrong with one mistake, and you can die easily. And it¡¯s too early to ask such a heavy task to a 10-year-old girl. However, this time nobody died and you can start over. All we have to do is find the crystal te map and switch the damaged water magic stone with Kraken¡¯s magic stone. Children shall fail, but will also grow. They must learn from their mistakes.

    Though if you don¡¯t learn form it, you¡¯ll be in trouble.

    Some people make the same mistakes over and over again in the game. I got into trouble with that as well. At that time, I thought it wasn¡¯t a party.... (TN: maybe she got rekt?)

    [But, I lost the crystal te map and my father got hurt because of me.] Karina

    [Karina, we will find the crystal te map. And Balima-san is not dead yet.] Yuna

    [But my father got hurt.] Karina

    [His injury is a some sort of medal for protecting his daughter. If Karina got injured instead, I think Balima-san would be ming himself for failing to protect you.] Yuna

    It is clear from the conversation earlier that Balima-san values Karina. If his daughter Karina got hurt, he would definitely me himself. With that in mind, Balima-san and Karina are simr in their concerns about each other.

    [So, let¡¯s find the crystal te map together for Balima-san and go rece the water magic stone.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Karina

    Karina¡¯s downward face energetically lifts up.

    [And don¡¯t worry so much. I already made a promise with Balima-san. I¡¯ll definitely protect Karina. And they will also protect you, so don¡¯t worry about a thing.] Yuna

    When I release Karina¡¯s hand, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear once more in their Bear Cub form.

    [Bear-san ...] Karina

    Karina slowly approaches Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as they roll.

    [Yuna-san, do you have a name for these Bears?] Karina

    [The ck one is Swaying Bear and the white one is Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [So its Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan? Fufu.] Karina

    Karinaughs.

    [Why are youughing?] Yuna

    [No, I¡¯m sorry. Because it was a very cute name. Thank you, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Karina

    Karina is gently petting Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Then the Bears cried, they crawl and rubs their faces against Karina.

    Karina then began to y with the Bears while having a wonderful smile, until Rasa-san called us for dinner.

 Chapter 308 Bear-san Encounters the Long-Awaited Curry.

    I entered the dining room with Karina.

    [Yuna-san, please sit here.] Karina

    Sitting as I was told, Karina happily sits next to me.

    As soon as we sit in the chair, the door opens then Balima-san and Ristil-san enter the dining room.

    Also, there is a little boy holding Ristil-san¡¯s hand. Speaking of which, you did say that you have a 3-year-old son.

    [Mother...] Boyo

    When the boy saw me, he hid behind Ristil-san.

    He must have been surprised by the appearance of the Bear.

    Bears are scary so it can¡¯t be helped.

    [Fufu, it¡¯s all right. Because it¡¯s a cute bear. Yuna-chan, let me introduce you. This is my son Norris. C¡¯mon, say hello.] Ristil

    Risti-san pushes the boy¡¯s back in front of herself.

    [Norris.] Norris (TN Chuck?)

    After the boy says his name in a small voice, he bes flustered and hides behind Ristil-san.

    [Um, I¡¯m Yuna. Nice to meet you, too.] Yuna

    I introduced myself, but Norris just poked his face from behind her.

    [I¡¯m sorry this boy is a little shy.] Ristil

    Ristil-san takes Norris to his seat.

    Bears have a big heart so don¡¯t worry. (TN: only for lolis and probably shotas.)

    I call it indifference.

    [Karina seems to be in a good mood, did something good happened I wonder.] Ristil

    Seeing Karina sitting next to me, Ristil-san asks.

    Maybe it was because Karina¡¯s expression was so bright. Thanks to her ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the childlike smile of Karina returned.

    It seems that her stiff heart became a little soft.

    [Yes, I got along with Yuna-san¡¯s Bears. They were so fluffy andfy.] Karina

    [That¡¯s good then, thank you, Yuna-chan. She¡¯s been gloomy ever since that incident.] Ristil

    Ristil-san smiled and thanked me.

    When I first met Karina, her expression was so dark like its the end of her world. It was a good idea to let her y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so that she would get distracted.

    When everyone gets to their seats, Rasa-san carries the food on a trolley.

    A certain smell drifts from Rasa-san.

    What¡¯s that smell?

    Really?

    No way, can I really find it here?

    Rasa-san ced bread, sds and a bit of food in front of me. And she ced something simr to ochre-curry-like-soup on the te.

    At that moment, the nostalgic smell stimtes my nose.

    It¡¯s been a long time since I smelled this scent.

    ......... This is definitely ......... Curry.

    I stared at the soup that smells like curry. The color and the smell this is definitely curry. Now if the taste is different, it¡¯ll be enough to sue for fraud.

    But there are no other ingredients in it.

    It feels like its not a curry that I know of.

    When I¡¯m investigating the , Rasa-san speaks.

    [Please put it on the bread and eat it.] Rasa

    Teaching me how to eat curry, of all things.

    After all the food has been distributed to everyone, Rasa-san sits in the corner of the table. Apparently the house¡¯s servant Rasa-san, also eats with them.

    [Well then, Yuna-san, was it not to your pte?] Balima

    No, I want to eat it as soon as possible.

    Let me eat now.

    In Balima-san¡¯s words, everyone starts eating bread dipped in what appears to be curry. Imitating everyone, I grabbed the bread, then dunked the bread on what seems to be curry and ate it. The spicy and nostalgic taste explodes in my mouth.

    .........This is definitely .........Curry.

    No way, I never thought I would find it here.

    [Yuna-san, what¡¯s wrong?] Karina

    Karina asks, while I¡¯m being immersed in the excitement of encountering curry.

    [Karina, what is this?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s called curry. Did you not like it?] Karina

    [It¡¯s delicious.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s good. It is very delicious.] Karina

    Karina also eats bread with curry, she¡¯s making it looks delicious. I continue eating curry on bread. It was delicious.

    With this, I can make curry pan, curry udon and curry rice.

    Everything looks delicious.

    [Karina, do you know how to make this?] Yuna

    [Um, the curry?] Karina

    [Yeah, if you know the ingredients, I¡¯d like to go buy some.] Yuna

    Spices are sold because they are also used for cooking.

    However, curry powder is made by mixing various spices.

    I have it in my knowledge, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I can make curry from spices.

    So, if you¡¯re selling curry powder, I would like to buy some.

    [Um, I¡¯m sorry.... Rasa!] Karina

    Karina is panicking a little, she calls out to Rasa-san for help.

    Rasa-san moved away from her seat.

    [What do you need, Karina-sama?] Rasa

    [Yuna-san wants to know how make curry.] Karina

    [Curry is it?] Rasa

    [I would like to know the ingredients, are there other good spices? Where are they selling it?] Yuna

    [Well, we do sell spices, but to make this curry, we mix various spices, so they are not being sold to shops.] Rasa

    Its not being sold.......

    No way...

    You cannot buy it......

    ....But you can make it.

    [Can you tell me which spices to use?] Yuna

    [Because this spice is an important recipe taught by my mother.] Rasa

    An important recipe from her mom.

    Then maybe...

    [I¡¯m sorry to hear that.] Yuna

    [Oh, I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t get me wrong. My mother is still alive.] Rasa

    [Alive?] Yuna

    This is confusing.

    I thought she was dead.

    [Yes, she¡¯s fine. I decided to work for this mansion and then she taught me the recipe as a congrattory gift. My mother made this curry when there was a celebration in my house.] Rasa

    Though I understand that the recipe was important for Rasa-san, but...

    [Let me tell you a story, this recipe is......] Rasa

    There is a way to ask Balima-san for the reward of a request, but this is sneaky, it takes advantage of the weakness of the person and he bes the least human.

    There is no other way...

    Money?

    As a person, that would be no good.

    You can¡¯t buy people¡¯s important things with money.

    .......It¡¯s no use.

    I can¡¯t think of anything.

    But I want to know.

    Yet I don¡¯t want to force her.

    Here, depending on whether I can get a curry powder recipe, my life in another world will change.

    Uuuuuuuuuuu, what should I do!?

    [I know Rasa takes good care of this recipe, but can¡¯t you tell Yuna-san?] Karina

    While I¡¯m having a conflict in my heart, Karina sent me a rescue boat.

    [Karina-sama.....] Rasa

    [Um, can I please?] Yuna

    I have no idea what I could do to make Rasa-san agree, so I¡¯ll just ask.

    Rasa-san looks at Karina and me alternately. Then, she sigh a little.

    [......I understand.] Rasa

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    Somehow, I asked Karina to ask Rasa-san and she was forced to teach me.

    [Yes, However, there are conditions.] Rasa

    [Conditions?] Yuna

    [In exchange for teaching you the recipe, I would like you to teach me a recipe for a dish that I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d like to offer new dishes to Karina-sama.] Rasa

    [Dishes that Rasa-san doesn¡¯t know...] Yuna

    Certainly, it is a more sensible idea to exchange for a recipe than money.

    But a recipe? Hmmmm....

    [Yes, please show me a delicious dish.] Rasa

    [Isn¡¯t that difficult? Rasa is studying cooking in many ways.] Karina

    [Yes, that¡¯s an important recipe after all.] Rasa

    Karina told me about Rasa-san¡¯s diligence in cooking. It seems unlikely that Rasa-san herself will teach easily. But, conversely, if I teach a cooking recipe that convinces Rasa-san, she will tell me the curry spice recipe.

    But studying cooking doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t use ordinary ingredients.

    I have the knowledge of earth in my hand. There are many recipes that Karina doesn¡¯t know.

    However, there are many cases where it cannot be made due to problems with materials or equipment. Even though I have the knowledge of making curry, I cannot make curry without the spices.

    First of all, I do not know the type and name of the spices here.

    The problem is what food to teach.

    Something that Rasa-san, who is studying cooking, doesn¡¯t know and it needs to be delicious....

    With that, the choices became limited.

    Currently, I can make pizza, pudding, or cake.

    There is a problem with the material, but it is likely to be an equivalent exchange as the most traded.

    [Can I use sweets?] Yuna

    [Yes, it doesn¡¯t matter.] Rasa

    [Well, can I have you eat it after the meal?] Yuna

    [Um, are you going to make it now?] Rasa

    I shake my head.

    [I have something ready, and I¡¯ll give it to you after your meal. If Rasa-san doesn¡¯t know the food and if it¡¯s delicious, please teach me the curry recipe.] Yuna

    [Yes, I understand.] Rasa

    She made a firm promise.

    Everyone here is a witness.

    [Does Yuna-san knows how to cook?] Karina

    [Yeah, I made it myself.] Yuna

    I often eat Morin-san¡¯s bread and Anzu¡¯s dishes, but sometimes I make and eat my own food.

    I often cook my own dishes, especially rice.

    I also make sweets for Fina and the others.

    However, since it is troublesome to make it, I only make a small number of batches every time.

    [Yuna-san is a strange person. She looks like a Bear, a strong adventurer and can also cook. I can¡¯t do anything.] Karina

    [Well then, if my food judged by Rasa-san passed, why don¡¯t we make it together tomorrow?] Yuna

    [Are you sure?] Karina

    [If I get a passing mark, I¡¯ll have to teach it to Rasa-san.] Yuna

    I thought it was going to be just a city exploration, but it turns out I¡¯ll be getting a curry recipe.

    Exploration can be done even after the request is over. There is only curry for now.

    Rasa-san¡¯s feelings may change.

    Then I resume eating curry on bread.

    It was delicious.

    I have to get it.

    After enjoying the curry, I put a pudding and a spoon in front of everyone.

    Curry spice recipes and pudding recipes should be equivalent in value.

    However, value rises endlessly ording to people¡¯s wishes. Pudding is worth it, but it doesn¡¯t really matter to me.

    However, Rasa-san¡¯s curry spice recipe was a family¡¯s passion.

    All I have to do is let Rasa-san understands it.

    [Oh, is it okay for us as well?] Balima

    [Yes, please try it too. If it tastes good, please help me persuade Rasa-san.] Yuna

    [Well, okay sure. I¡¯ll make a fair decision.] Balima

    [Rasa-san, have you seen this food?] Yuna

    [I haven¡¯t, this is my first time seeing it.] Rasa

    Well, of course.... If you have seen it before, I¡¯ll be in trouble.

    [This is......¡¹Balima

    But Balima-san responds while examining the pudding.

    Are~... Did you perhaps know what that is?

    [Oh right! From the time of Follout-sama¡¯s birthday celebration!] Balima

    Oh, Balima-san. Did you perhaps attended the King¡¯s birthday party?

    [Dear do you know what this is?] Ristil

    [Oh, it¡¯s a dish that was served during Follout-sama¡¯s birthday celbration. It was very tasty, it made quite themotion.] Balima

    Rasa-san made a surprised expression when she learned that this dish made its appearance at the King¡¯s birthday party.

    [Why do you have this, Yuna-san?] Balima

    Hmm, what should I do?

    [I want you to keep this secret, I was the one who made it.] Yuna

    [I think I understand why Follout-sama hid the information.] Balima

    Balima-san looks at me and the pudding alternately.

    [Yuna-san, have you ever cooked for the King?] Karina

    [A few times. Well, what are you waiting for, please try it.] Yuna

    It is difficult to exin my rtionship with the King, so I urge them to eat the pudding to dodge the topic.

    [Mother, this is delicious.] Norris

    Norris, who ate the pudding before anyone else, answers with a full smile.

    Then the others started eating as well.

    [It is so delicious.] Karina

    [Ara, Dear you ate such a delicious thing before?] Ristil

    [It¡¯s a dish that was served at the birthday celebration of Follout-sama.] Balima

    [It is really delicious!] Rasa

    Popr words came out from Rasa-san.

    [I¡¯ll teach you this recipe.] Yuna

    [Are you sure? This is a dish that was served at the castle of El Fancia Kingdom, isn¡¯t it? Moreover, Follout-sama¡¯s said .] Balima

    [Well, because I¡¯m the one who made it, I am free to teach it to anyone. Besides Rasa-san won¡¯t teach it to anyone that easily.] Yuna

    [Yes, of course I will not do such a thing. I¡¯m just happy if Karina-sama is eating delicious food.] Rasa

    At that moment, the recipe trade off waspleted.

    I thank Rasa-san.

 Chapter 309 Bear-san, Spice Getto-daze!.

    The next day, Rasa-san asks how to make the pudding and I also promised Karina to make the pudding together.

    I really want to explore the city, but I¡¯ll have to make pudding for curry recipes.

    I was worried about the material of the pudding in question, but there seems to be a bird thatys a big egg, it was an ostrich-like bird?

    Are there some birds I don¡¯t know?

    Well, this is a different world so it¡¯s no wonder that an unknown bird exists.

    But if I take back a big egg as a souvenir at the orphanage, they might¡¯ve not seen it before. I can see the surprise faces of the kids right now.

    If you can get it, I want to buy it.

    And there seems to be cows here.

    It seems to be different from the cows in the vige I bought cheese from. One quarter of theke is used for agriculture and nomadism.

    However, they said that the level of water in theke is low so crops and livestock are in trouble as well.

    If the crops are growing and there are livestocks in the middle of a desert just because they have ake, then the temperature of the city would be decreasing around theke, thanks to theke or the pyramid.

    So the temperature seems to be lower inside the city than outside the city. I didn¡¯t notice it because of the Bear Equipment, but the water magic stone seems to have various effects.

    This means we have to find the crystal te map quickly, rece the water magic stone and restore theke.

    [But are you sure you want to teach it to me? It¡¯s a dish served at a royal dinner party.] Rasa

    [I told you at the dinner yesterday, the King just asked me to make it, so don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll also make it for Karina this time.] Yuna

    I suddenly remembered that the King unexpectedly came to my house, then told me to make a pudding for him, moreover Fina, Morin-san and Karin-san did not help me at all, it reminds me of the lonely pudding making... So sad.

    But that is not the case today.

    [Then Karina. Let¡¯s make it together.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯ll do my best!] Karina

    She made a small fist with her little hand at her chest and cheerfully responded.

    [Then try breaking the egg like this.] Yuna

    I took out the eggs from the Bear Box.

    I really wanted to make it with a big egg, but today was so steep that I couldn¡¯t get it.

    I wanted to see a big egg.

    Is the taste different though?

    Well, if you make it with big eggs and it¡¯s not delicious, maybe I should bring some moss. If theke recovered, we can grow moss.

    That¡¯s why today I¡¯ll make pudding with the usual eggs.

    I lightly tap the egg at the edge of the table and crack the egg to take out the contents.

    [Yuna-san is skilled.] Karina

    [Here, try it Karina.] Yuna

    I hand the egg over to the little hands of Karina.

    Karina imitates me and anxiously taps it lightly at the edge of the table.

    [It will not break unless you put a little more force.] Yuna

    [Yes, I understand.] Karina

    Now she hit it harder and managed to seed.

    Karina may have the potential for cooking to be sessful for the first time.

    Rasa-san is watching Karina with a smile.

    [Rasa, don¡¯tugh at me, you do it too Rasa.] Karina

    [Karina-sama, I¡¯m notughing.] Rasa

    [You wereughing.] Karina

    Karina bulges her cheeks.

    Rasa-san helps her make pudding with a smile.

    Heat the sugared water to make a caramel sauce. Finally, put the caramel sauce in a small cup, add the pudding and steam it. Rasa-san notes down the work, the heating steps and the ingredients.

    [The rest is to let it cool.] Yuna

    [When can I eat it?] Karina

    [You can eat it at night, I think?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Karina

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. Still this is surprisingly easy to make.] Rasa

    [That¡¯s how you Cook it.] Yuna

    However, there is a problem in obtaining the materials.

    In the afternoon I¡¯m going to buy spices with Karina.

    Rasa-san can¡¯t go with me because she has a job. By the way, there are several servants in the mansion. However, Rasa-san is the only one living there. That¡¯s why she¡¯s having her meal together with the lord¡¯s family.

    [Will you really be fine if I don¡¯te with you?] Rasa

    [It¡¯s okay because I know the store. Also you have a job Rasa.] Karina

    [That¡¯s right, however....] Rasa

    Rasa-san is worried.

    However, I got a piece of paper with the spice ingredients and the amount, so I¡¯ll just have to ask the shop owner and buy it.

    If you know the location of the shop, then there is no problem for me.

    I head for the shop selling spices with Karina.

    We¡¯re walking on the street.

    (TN: ncing sfx.)

    [Bear?] [Bear?] [Bear?] (TN: just like how the title is written in three different dialect.) (¡¸¤¯¤Þ£¿¡¹¡¸¥¯¥Þ£¿¡¹¡¸ÐÜ£¿¡¹.)

    We¡¯re walking on the street.

    [Bear?] [Bear?] [Bear?]

    Karina, who¡¯s walking with me from a while ago, is the one getting the vibes from all the gazes.

    The people we pass by are staring at us.

    I don¡¯t think Karina should care about it, because the one they¡¯re exactly looking at is me.

    It¡¯s embarrassing to walk along side me who¡¯s wearing a Bear Costume.

    [Um, Yuna-san. I know it¡¯s a bitte for me to ask this but, do you always dress like that?] Karina

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know where are the hazards wille from.

    Without my Bear Equipment, I¡¯m but a poor girl who shut herself in her house. I don¡¯t think I can beat the lively Fina.

    I may not be able to walk outside for a long time.

    [Of course, I think it¡¯s cute, but don¡¯t you care about your surroundings?] Karina

    I just steeled myself.

    But life is about giving up.

    I simply ignore all the gazes.

    If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll lose.

    However, I¡¯m a little bothered about the gazes, so I pulled down my Bear Hood a little.

    [Karina if you¡¯re worried about it, I¡¯ll keep a little distance.] Yuna

    I¡¯m used to it by now.

    But if Fina does it, I may feel depressed. And that is a one way ticket to solitary confinement in my house.

    Of course, being with Karina doesn¡¯t mean I will not get depressed, but that¡¯s the issue about the length of the rtionship.

    [I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m used to being stared at as the lord¡¯s daughter.] Karina

    Karina¡¯s face turns a little red, then she grabs my Bear Puppet.

    However, there is a difference between heaven and the earth if you can see yourself walking beside me who¡¯s dressed as a Bear and being seen as the lord¡¯s daughter.

    But Karina is happy.

    [Yuna-san, almost there. Let¡¯s go.] Karina

    Karina pulled my Bear Puppet.

    Guided by Karina, we arrive to a shop selling spices.

    [Karina do youe here to buy spices as well?] Yuna

    [Sometimes Ie with Rasa for shopping.] Karina

    We entered the store while holding hands with Karina.

    At that moment, the aroma of various spices enticed my nose.

    Looking at the shelves, you can see various types of seasonings and spices.

    But maybe it¡¯s about to be sold out, half of the shelves are empty.

    Karina is also staring at the empty shelves.

    As we look at the shelves, a man in his mid-30¡¯s who seems to be the owner of the store approaches.

    [Oh if it isn¡¯t Karina-sama, ...A Bear !?] Shop Owner

    The man greets Karina and when he looks at me he got surprised with his eyes widened.

    Don¡¯t look at me like that.

    [Um, what happened today? Rasa-san is not with you?] Shop Owner

    While he¡¯s asking Karina, I made myself busy by looking around.

    I was worried, he¡¯s going to ask,

    I don¡¯t intend to answer, though.

    [Rasa is not with me today. I came here with Yuna-san because she wants spices, so I brought her here.] Karina

    A man looks at me again.

    [But it looks like there are fewer products than when I came here before, did something happened?] Karina

    [That is......] Shop Owner

    The man was a little speechless.

    Still, the amount of items he got is so few. It has been confirmed by Karina¡¯s words that this is not normal.

    [Um, what are you buying today?] Shop Owner

    The man diverted the conversation to business talk.

    Since I just met him, I can¡¯t really ask what was that about, so I¡¯ll give him the name of the spices in Rasa-san¡¯s recipe.

    To be clear, even if the name is written, I know nothing about it.

    I know if I write curry powder, but they don¡¯t have it, so I¡¯ll ask the man.

    [Um, that would be this and this one.] Shop Owner

    He points to a jar about 30 cm high containing spices.

    [So how much do you want?] Shop Owner

    [All of them.] Yuna

    [............] Shop Owner

    [All of them.] Yuna

    [Young Miss, do you have enough money? I don¡¯t know where you came from, but the spices are reasonably priced.] Shop Owner

    Well, the price is written at the spice, so I know that.

    [I have the money, so it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    [Oh I see then, that would help.] Shop Owner

    [It would help?] Yuna

    [I was thinking of leaving this city soon.] Shop Owner

    [What do you mean?!] Karina

    Karina shouts.

    The man looks at Karina and tried close her mouth, but is already toote. The man moved his eyes left and right and made an indistinct look.

    [You are leaving the city?] Karina

    [I am very sorry. Karina-sama knows that the water in theke is decreasing, the monsters are increasing in the pyramids and the catastrophe is happening. This city might be surrounded by monsters any time. If I amte, I may not be able to leave. So, after discussing with my wife, I¡¯m thinking of leaving the city as soon as possible.] Shop Owner

    So that¡¯s why half of the shelves in the store were empty.

    [Please wait. The water in theke will return. So please wait a little longer. Father is taking care of the monsters too.] Karina

    [I¡¯m sorry, Karina-sama...] Shop Owner

    The man bows down apologetically.

    [A lot of people have the same idea. If we hire an adventurer we can manage the monsters, but theke¡¯s water depletion doesn¡¯t help anyone.] Shop Owner

    Oh, you didn¡¯t know about the water magic stone? Of course, they will be anxious.

    It¡¯s not easy for Balima-san to talk about it, in fact it¡¯s very difficult.

    If everybody knows there is arge water magic stone, someone may try to steal it.

    There was no problem if they could deal with it as soon as possible, but there are a lot of misfortunes, hence the current situation.

    [It¡¯s and where I live for a long time. Some of us doesn¡¯t want to leave, but as a parent with children...] Shop Owner

    [............] Karina

    Karina faced down to the man¡¯s words. I put my hand on Karina¡¯s head.

    [But that is still far off.] Yuna

    [Ah, we¡¯re only preparing for now.] Shop Owner

    [Then you don¡¯t have to leave the city. Within a few days, the monsters will be gone and theke water will return to its original state. Isn¡¯t that right, Karina.] Yuna

    I smiled at Karina.

    [My father is dealing with it now. I will do my best too. So please wait a little longer.] Karina

    Karina bows down deeply and asks.

    [Karina-sama, please raise your head. If it only takes a few days then...] Shop Owner

    [Yes, if we really can¡¯t do it, my father will make an announcement.] Karina

    [I would like to go out before that if possible.] Shop Owner

    The manughs and answers Karina.

    Well, if the lord told the town about it, it will definitely cause a big confusion. If that happens, there will be a massivemotion of leaving the town.

    [Well then, Little Miss. I¡¯ll give you a little service.] Shop Owner

    I left the shop after purchasing the spices.

    Karina seems a bit depressed.

    But it¡¯s inevitable to think about getting out of the town.

    It seems that the water in theke is lowering the temperature around the area.

    [Karina, it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    At worst, if I can¡¯t find the crystal te, I have the option to clear thebyrinth alone and rece the water magic stone.

    Traps are troublesome, but if I do my best, it is manageable.

    But it¡¯s a hassle, so I want to get the crystal te if I can.

    As we walk down the street, whileforting Karina, a person I knew from before is running this way.

 Chapter 310 Bear-san, Got Captured!

    [Yuna-chan, I found you!] Mel

    [Mel-san?] Yuna

    Mel-san hugged me.

    Senia-san looks at her with a stunned expression.

    If you are watching, please stop her.

    [Senia-san¡¯s group also arrived.] Yuna

    [Yup. We just arrived, then Mel told me she will go and look for Yuna.] Senia

    [Because I promised to treat her for a meal.] Mel

    I did made a promise, but I had that conversation with Jade-san. But I couldn¡¯t see Jade-san and Toya.

    [Where¡¯s Jade-san and Toya?] Yuna

    [They are reporting to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. We acted differently and searched for Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [When I asked the person who was at the gate about Yuna, he told me about an inn, so we went there. But the innkeeper said, there¡¯s no girl dressed as a Bear came there, so we walked around the city to search. Yuna¡¯s appearance is very obvious after all.] Senia

    [That¡¯s why, if we walked attentively, we will find people talking about bears, so when I heard that a girl dressed as a Bear had walked pass through here, we followed the lead by listening to the people¡¯s story.] Mel

    Well, if you heard that a girl dressed as a Bear was walking around here, there is a 100% chance that I¡¯m in this city. If this is Crimonia however, the odds are lower because the orphanage¡¯s children are wearing Bear Uniforms.

    [Ah, Yuna-san, who are they?] Karina

    [They¡¯re adventurers that I¡¯m familiar with.] Yuna

    I introduce Mel-san and Senia-san, to Karina and vice versa.

    [The lord¡¯s daughter?] Senia

    [I¡¯m Karina.] Karina

    [Cute girl.] Mel

    Mel-san praised Karina, making her shy and her cheeks became red.

    [Well then, since we are able to meet you, why don¡¯t we all have tea together? Of course, Karina-chan included.] Mel

    I can¡¯t refuse her and she¡¯s also inviting Karina. Me and Karina are being (donna-donna) around by the two.

    We were taken to an inn by Mel-san. Maybe this is the inn where I should¡¯ve been staying earlier. The first floor of the inn can be used for meals and breaks.

    The reason they chose to take us here was, this is where Mel-san and the others were staying, so even if Jade-san found me first, he will definitely take me to this inn as well.

    Mel-san ordered drinks from the clerk working at the inn.

    [By the way, where is the inn you are staying at Yuna-chan? At first I thought it was this inn.] Mel

    I was going to do that at first.

    [I¡¯m staying at Karina¡¯s house.] Yuna

    [Karina-chan¡¯s house? In other words, the house of the lord?] Senia

    [The delivery destination was Karina¡¯s house.] Yuna

    [Speaking of which, Yuna-chan did say that she was delivering something.] Mel

    [Yes, Yuna-san delivered something important. So she was asked stay at our home while she¡¯s here in the city.] Karina

    Karina exins the situation and hides the important parts.

    [So, how long will Yuna-chan nning to stay in this city?] Mel

    [Hmm, I received a job from the lord, so it¡¯s going to be quite a while.] Yuna

    [A job?] Senia

    When I talked about my job, they looked very interested.

    [The smell of money.] Senia

    I don¡¯t know if we can make a lot of money, but it¡¯s definitely a tough job.

    [Is that job, exclusively for Yuna-chan alone?] Mel

    [No, it¡¯s not like that. I think, the adventurer¡¯s guild has the same request.] Yuna

    This morning, Rasa-san told Balima-san that one of his servants had taken a letter to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Rasa-san was supposed to bring it there, but due to the pudding making session, Balima-san seems to have taken care of it and asked other servants to do so.

    [Is that right? Then, can we take it?] Mel

    [Lord¡¯s work. Surely it will be a lot of money.] Senia

    [Really?] Karina

    Karina stood up from her seat at the words of Mel-san and Senia-san.

    [Karina-chan?] Senia

    Two people are surprised at Karina who suddenly stood up.

    I calm Karina down.

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Karina

    Karina apologizes and sits down.

    [That... really, can you really help me?] Karina

    Karina asks them again.

    [Of course, it depends on the job and the reward. If Yuna-chan participates, I think it would be cheaper.] Mel

    [How much does Mel-san knows about the city?] Yuna

    [I think something about theke running low on water?] Mel

    The two exin that they didn¡¯t know there were monsters gathering in the pyramid.

    [A monster gathering in that pyramid? Perhaps the job is to defeat the monsters?] Senia

    [There¡¯s that too, but maybe finding something in the pyramid?] Karina

    [Did you lose something?] Mel

    I don¡¯t know how far I can tell them, so I can¡¯t talk more than that.

    [But it¡¯ll help if we defeat the monsters. Hey, Senia also think it¡¯s good.] Mel

    [It¡¯s good.] Senia

    [How can you decide so easily? Don¡¯t you need to talk it over to Jade-san and Toya?] Yuna

    [If they refuse, both of us will go with you.] Mel

    Senia-san nodded at Mel-san¡¯s words.

    [Are you sure? There are so many monsters gathering. No other adventurer wants to take it. It¡¯s a dangerous job, you know? ] Karina

    Karina checks over and over again.

    [Are there really so many?] Senia

    [I haven¡¯t confirmed it, but there seems to be a lot.] Yuna

    The two were anxious but I tried to give an answer immediately.

    [Well, if Yuna-chan¡¯s with us, we¡¯ll be fine.] Mel

    [We might not even have a turn.] Senia

    I don¡¯t want people to rely on me that much. But in this world, there are some jobs right after defeating the monsters.

    For example, you don¡¯t want to take the whole worm back with you.

    [Anou, is Yuna-san really amazing?] Karina

    [Umu, there are rumors that I don¡¯t usually believe in, but they all seems to be true.] Mel

    [I don¡¯t usually believe that a girl dressed as a bear is strong.] Senia

    They¡¯re just saying what they want to say, but it can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s true.

    [Both of you trust Yuna-san so much.] Karina

    [Well, we¡¯ve worked together not too long ago.] Senia

    [Can I hear the story about Yuna-san?] Karina

    Suddenly, Karina said something weird.

    On the other hand, the two are smiling unpleasantly.

    [Well then, let¡¯s talk about the legend of Yuna-chan shall we?] Mel

    [Yuna-san¡¯s legend?] Karina

    Karina¡¯s eyes are sparkling brightly on Mel¡¯s words.

    More importantly, what the heck is that?

    Yuna-chan¡¯s legend....

    I don¡¯t remember making such a legend.

    But I definitely have a bad feeling about this.

    [Etto, Karina. Don¡¯t we need to return soon? Mel-san too, I would like to thank you for epting the request.] Yuna

    If I can escape here its my win.

    I tried to get up, but Mel-san and Senia-san grabbed the Bear Puppets on the table.

    [Well, why are you grabbing me I wonder?] Yuna

    [The girl said she wants to hear Yuna-chan¡¯s story.] Mel

    [There¡¯s no escaping.] Senia

    They will not let me escape.

    I can shake it off.

    [If Yuna-san doesn¡¯t like it..... I¡¯m sorry.] Karina

    Karina looks sorry.

    You don¡¯t have to apologize for that.

    If you show me such a face, I will not be able to refuse.

    .....I gave up and sat down on the chair.

    [But if you say something weird, we¡¯ll leave.] Yuna

    Then the story of my legend by Mel-san and Senia-san begins.

    From the , to the . They didn¡¯t say anything about the ck viper as expected, but they enthusiastically talked about the .

    [She beat a rock golem with a single punch.] Senia

    [A Punch!?] Karina

    [And then.............] Mel

    Karina is delighted with the conversation between Mel-san and Senia-san.

    [And then our group and the other adventurers gave up the golem that Yuna-chan alone defeated.] Mel

    Karina looks at me with an amazed look.

    [I can¡¯t believe that a girl dressed like this cute bear has defeated it.] Senia

    [Yeah.] Mel

    Yeah, she said.....

    Well it can¡¯t be helped. There is no one who can see through the power inside of me at first nce. But when they do, they get extremely terrified.

    [Well then, I shall give the credits to you guys.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Mel

    [I just don¡¯t want to stand out.] Yuna

    [Such a cool speech but its very unconvincing.] Senia

    Senia-san cuts it.

    I know that.

    I just want to eliminate any elements that makes me stand out.

    [And there¡¯s even rumors about her defeating the Kraken.] Mel

    [We¡¯re not really there though.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-sanughed.

    [Oh, that¡¯s true...] Karina

    The moment Karina is about to say something, I closed her mouth since I¡¯m sitting next to her. (TN: Oi no loli-gagging.)

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Senia

    [Nothing... Hey, Karina.] Yuna

    I looked at Karina¡¯s eyes.

    Karina nodded a little, as she understood what I wanted to say.

    That would have been dangerous. That was close, the story about the Kraken nearly spread.

    While everyone (except me) was having a fun conversation, I saw Jade-san and Toyaing in from the entrance. Jade-san seems to have noticed us and went here.

    [You found it?] Jade

    [We captured her where she¡¯s taking a walk.] Mel

    Oi don¡¯t treat people like animals just because they were dressed as a Bear.

    [Oh right. Jade, me and Senia decided to help Yuna-chan on her job.] Mel

    [A job?] Jade

    Mel-san exins the job details.

    [Oh yeah, I saw that posted at the adventurer¡¯s guild. The guild also asked us.] Jade

    [Is that so?] Senia

    [However, as Mel said, the number of monsters were very odd. So before I went here, I took a ride on the Ragaroot to scout and saw it.] Jade

    I¡¯ve seen it as well.

    Well, it¡¯s not that clearly.

    But should I go to see it once more?

    [That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible, so I turned it down.] Jade

    [Are there really that many?] Senia

    [Yeah, I saw it from a distance, but I saw a lot of sand moving.] Jade

    [Wolves are fine, but the worms are in the sand. But if Yuna participates, would you ept?] Senia

    [If we have Yuna-chan, we can beat them just as before.] Mel

    [But then, the amount is overwhelming, can we do it like before?] Jade

    [Yuna-chan, is it okay?] Mel

    [I don¡¯t know how many are there. But it¡¯s easy to get them out of the sand.] Yuna

    [This is unusually troublesome.] Toya

    [Well then, Toya. Run to the guild and take it alone.] Senia

    [Me, alone? No way, let¡¯s go together!] Toya

    [Too troublesome.] Mel

    [Good luck.] Senia

    Negative words came out from the two.

    Toya has a sad face. Jade-san taps Toya¡¯s shoulder.

    [I¡¯m going with you.] Jade

    [Jade....] Toya

    [Well, it¡¯s the role of leader.] Jade

    [Everyone seems to trusts Yuna-san.] Karina

    When Jade-san, who was reluctant at first, heard that I would be participating, realized that he was flowing in a direction he could ept.

    [Well, I don¡¯t usually believe in a girl dressed like a Bear.] Jade

    Toya bangs his head.

    [But I probably only believe in adventurers in the town of Crimonia.] Jade

    [That¡¯s right, when wee to the desert, we worked together to kill the worms.] Mel

    [I acknowledge Yuna¡¯s strength.] Senia

    That strength is also due to the Bear Equipment.

    [Thank you everyone.] Karina

    Karina¡¯s eyes were a little teary.

    Mel was surprised to see it, but Karina immediately thanked them with a smile.

 Chapter 311 Bear-san, Contacts Fina & Departs for the Pyramid.

    Jade-san¡¯s and his group were happy to see me and Karina, then after the party they send us off.

    That night, I run my magic on the Bear Phone while holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    {Yuna-oneesan? What¡¯s up?} Fina

    I heard Fina¡¯s voice from Bear Phone for the first time in a few days. The Bear Phone is a really useful because you can talk to that person even if you are far away.

    [I was wondering what¡¯s going on there, nothing bad I hope?] Yuna

    {Yes, it¡¯s okay, but...} Fina

    The voice of Fina that I heard from the Bear Phone felt a little troubled.

    [Is something wrong?] Yuna

    {Karin-oneechan and Anzu-oneechan, doesn¡¯t like to have their bodies measured just like Yuna-oneesan...} Fina

    Is that so?

    However, Karin-san and Anzu, I know that feeling.

    Fina, will be a little more mature as well and you will feel the fear of your size being measured.

    But both Karin-san and Anzu are bigger than me, so it¡¯s okay.

    I¡¯m not one of them, regarding that... Ugh.

    [Then, what about the sizes?] Yuna

    {When Sherry-chan was about to cry, they let her measure it.} Fina

    Sherry, when did you learn to act?

    I don¡¯t want you to be a bad woman, so I have to teach her not to use it on men.

    {That¡¯s not it. It was a job that Yuna-oneesan directly asked, but she got sad when she couldn¡¯t do it.} Fina

    It seems that the voice in my heart was leaking.

    Sherry is not a bad girl, but a serious adult.

    That makes me even worried.

    [Are things okay over there?] Yuna

    {When I told everyone about going to the sea, all of them were so happy that it made it difficult for my mom and the director to calm down the noisy children.} Fina

    Fina¡¯s voice tells me how hard it is, but Fina is also a child, so I want to set it up quickly.

    But I¡¯m d they¡¯re all happy.

    And it seems she¡¯s the happiest one.

    [Is it okay for someone else to take care of the birds?] Yuna

    {My mother was talking to Mylene-oneechan. So maybe it¡¯s okay.} Fina

    That solves one of the problems.

    If they couldn¡¯t take care of the birds however, I¡¯ll have to rethink about the schedule.

    [What about the swimsuits?] Yuna

    {Somehow Sherry-chan is very motivated.} Fina

    [What do you mean?] Yuna

    {She said, She seems to be having fun thinking about colors and patterns.} Fina

    What I drew was a monochrome.

    So the color and the small details are left to Sherry.

    [Come to think of it, have you heard what happened to my swimsuit?] Yuna

    She just measured the size and I haven¡¯t decided on a swimsuit.

    It¡¯s not a good idea, but I want her to stop being weird.

    {Ah, Yuna-oneesan. I¡¯m sorry, My mother is calling me.} Fina

    [It¡¯s fine, go to her. If anything happens, please contact me. I¡¯ll use the Bear Gate, so I can get there instantly.] Yuna

    {Yes, I understand. Yuna-oneesan, pleasee back as soon as possible.} Fina

    The call was cut off.

    It seems to be going well for the sea excursion. Then I¡¯ll have to settle the problem here quickly and go home.

    And so, the day we¡¯re going to the pyramids came.

    There seems to be another party besides Jade-san¡¯s group.

    Before we leave, we are gathered at Balima-san¡¯s house to meet each other.

    I¡¯m staying at Balima-san¡¯s house so I¡¯m here first, then Jade-san¡¯s group and finally the other partyes.

    [The Bear the other day.] Adventurer

    As soon as he entered the room, the man looked at me and said that,

    Who? Have we met somewhere?

    Noticing that I¡¯m tilting my head, Karina, who was on my side, reminded me.

    [He¡¯s the adventurer that Yuna-san protected me from.] Karina

    Ah, from that time. Then, looking from behind him, there is the adventurer who shouted from that time.

    And so, the self-introduction etc. were done smoothly.

    The party of five people. The leader-like-man, his name is Uragan. I heard the names of the other members, but I kinda forgot. Well, I don¡¯t need it anyways.

    Then, the final confirmation of the contents of the request is performed by Balima-san.

    However, it seems that there was already a detailed information the day before. Today¡¯s meeting will be about the assembly of the participating members and a final confirmation of the contents of the request.

    [Then we would escort this Bear and your daughter up to the pyramid.] Uragan

    The adventurer who pushed down Karina the other day seems to be an escort to the pyramid. It seems that this happened after we talked to Balima-san yesterday.

    And Jade-san¡¯s group will follow us to the pyramid.

    [Are you sure you want to follow us to the pyramid and escort my daughter?] Balima

    [Basically, Yuna will do the protecting, we¡¯ll just do the sub-protecting.] Jade

    [Still that¡¯s going to help.] Balima

    Balima-san is really grateful.

    Well, there are only two parties who actually received it, so you¡¯ll have to thank them.

    The discussion is over and we¡¯re leaving for the pyramid.

    I¡¯m riding Swaying Bear, Karina is riding on Hugging Bear.

    Jade-san rented two Ragaroots, Jade-san and Mel-san were riding on one, Toya and Senia-san were on the other. While Uragan¡¯s party, each of them were riding on a Ragaroot.

    Uragan¡¯s party were surprised when they saw my Bears, but Jade-san gave some exnation and made a subtle face.

    Even so, while the Ragaroots resembling lizards are lined up, the (Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear line ups) feels out of ce.

    Well, even if it does, I will still ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    While getting close to the pyramid, we can see worms moving in the desert with naked eye.

    I¡¯ll try using Bear Detection Magic.

    There they are.

    Some of the worms are not moving, so they can¡¯t be seen by the naked eye.

    [Hey, the numbers are so many.] Uragan

    Uragan raised his voice, but we all know that.

    I see that you can see so many of them, but I can see more.

    [What are you going to do? Are you going to brace it and run straight to the pyramid?] Uragan

    [What will you do, Yuna?] Jade

    Jade-san asks me.

    [Why are you asking that bear?] Uragan

    [Balima-san told us to follow her instructions if possible.] Jade

    [Oi oi, what is the leader of the C-rank party saying? Do you really want to follow the instructions of such a Bear-girl?] Uragan

    Uraganughs with his nose at Jade-san¡¯s words.

    Speaking of which, did you know my rank?

    By the way, Uragan¡¯s party seems to be at D rank almost reaching C rank. Does that mean that I have also received a request for C rank?

    [We¡¯ll follow her. She¡¯s the strongest among all of us here.] Jade

    [Are you really saying that?] Uragan

    [Once you know Yuna¡¯s ability, you will be convinced.] Jade

    [I don¡¯t want to die following a bear.] Uragan

    [You just have to escape. Permission may have been issued by the client.] Jade

    Balima-san has also said that if you feel danger, you cane back.

    [That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll get away then.] Uragan

    Well, you can leave for free. I¡¯ll protect Karina.

    [Well then Yuna-chan. What are we going do now?] Mel

    Mel-san asks.

    Even if you ask me what to do.

    I¡¯ll look at my detection skills and think a bit.

    [Because it¡¯s troublesome, do you want to beat them all?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on inside the pyramid and if they chase us into the pyramid, it¡¯ll get annoying. In that case, it is safer to defeat them first and it will be easier to return home.

    [Oi oi, are you serious?] Uragan

    [We¡¯ll have to beat them anyways.] Yuna

    It will be defeated eventually. The only difference is whether it is now orter.

    [Yuna, how will you do it?] Jade

    [I don¡¯t mind doing the same as before, I hope everyone will do their best.] Yuna

    [Seriously...] Toya

    Toya is making an absurd look.

    That¡¯s the easiest and best. A worm maye to the corpse if it falls badly in the sand.

    [Hey, exin it to us.] Uragan

    I dug out the worm and other members stabbed it.

    It¡¯s an easy job.

    Jade-san exins this to Uragan on my behalf. Thanks to Jade-san for his care. He has been dealing with the feeling of being proactive, as before, to avoid any trouble.

    Speaking of which, you were good at handling Bakaranger back then. (TN: Idiot Rangers, from the golem mines.)

    Jade-san might be good at handling this kind of thing.

    [You can do that?] Uragan

    After Jade-san exined, Uragan made a surprise voice.

    [We guarantee that she can. The question is whether we can kill the worm before it dives into the sand.] Jade

    [Fufu, if Missy can really do that, we¡¯ll defeat it before it escapes.] Uragan

    ording to Jade-san, the worm alone is weak. However, the problem is the sandy area where worms live and the worms burrowed in the sand are the troublesome ones. It¡¯s the same with Uragan, so if you can defeat it, you¡¯ll feel like doing it huh.

    Well, I¡¯ll let you do it.

    [That¡¯s it. It seems that this beardy will make the worms pop out of the sand. We¡¯ll hit it. That¡¯s just the job. I don¡¯t want any of them to escape.] Uragan

    When Uragan talks to his friends, everyone replies aloud.

    That¡¯s because you can¡¯t tell the number of worms. More than everyone thinks.

    [So what about the share? Because we have more people, do we have more to share?] Uragan

    [I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯ll give it all to you guys.] Yuna

    [Of course. We¡¯ll go to the pyramid after defeat them. If you can get the monsters over there, we¡¯ll give half our share.] Jade

    [It¡¯s a deal then.] Uragan

    Uraganughs.

    Jade-sanughs as well.

    Who won the business talk?

    Uragan seems to be d to get more rewards and Jade-san seems to be d he forced him to dismantle. Is this a lot of worms and rewards such as magic stones that we should be pleased? Only Uragan can tell if he should be saddened by the amount of dismantling.

    [Karina its dangerous, so stay here with Hugging Bear. You must never leave Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Yes, Yuna-san, please be careful.] Karina

    [It¡¯ll be alright. We¡¯ll defeat them ande back. Hugging Bear, take care of Karina. You can go back to the city in case something goes wrong.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear replied with sad .

    Apparently, he doesn¡¯t want to stay behind to protect Karina, but he also don¡¯t want to leave her.

    [I¡¯m all right, when ites down to it, I¡¯ll escape at the expense of Toya.] Yuna

    [Oi!] Toya

    Did you hear that? It would be stupid as a man to eavesdrop on an important conversation between me and Hugging Bear.

    Well, I¡¯ll ignore Toya and persuade Hugging Bear.

    [Then, if you don¡¯t drop Karina, you cane and help me.] Yuna

    When I stroked the head of Hugging Bear, he cried and agreed.

    Then, I rode Swaying Bear and for some reason Mel-san got behind.

    [It would be nice to have someone who can use magic in the back.] Mel

    What¡¯s with that?

    I can only see it as she wants to ride Swaying Bear.

    [If I swing my sword, Mel might get hurt.] Jade

    I can¡¯t refuse it if Jade-san put it that way.

    [If you fool around, I¡¯ll drop you.] Yuna

    [You know, I¡¯d never do that.] Mel

    After saying that, she grabs on my clothes.

    Then Senia-san offers to escort Karina and gets on Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    No matter how I look at it, you just want to ride Hugging Bear.

    [Karina-chan, I will protect you, so don¡¯t worry.] Senia

    But if you¡¯re going to escort her then, that would help as well.

    Senia-san¡¯s handling of knives is top notch, even if she has difficulties in her personality.

    A worm would be an easy prey.

    When each preparation isplete, the worm subjugation operation is executed.

    Swaying Bear starts running.

    Jade-san and Toya, who¡¯s riding on the Ragaroot, are running along behind me on my right and Uragan¡¯s party, riding their Ragaroot behind me on my left.

    An air bullet wasunched from the Bear Puppet and a worm about the size of a wolf jumps up. Jade-san and Toya chopped it up.

    Behind them, Uragan¡¯s party were surprised. You don¡¯t have the time to be surprised.

    I ride right, left, right, right, left while shooting air bullets into the sand. And each time, a worm jumps out of the sand and falls onto the sand. The worms flops like a fish that has fallen to the ground trying to escape into the sand, but Uragan¡¯s party also attacks and doesn¡¯t let it escape. In addition, Mel-san cuts up the worm with the wind magic and knocks it down.

    It feels good.

    [Well then let¡¯s speed it up!] Yuna

    Swaying Bear increases his speed.

    [Oi!] Toya

    [Wait! Bear!] Uragan

    [Do not be silly!] Jade

    Pretending that I don¡¯t hear a thing, I was digging worms steadily in quick session.

    It was a big catch.

    It was a bunch of worms though.

    [Shit!] Toya

    [You guys, don¡¯t let them run into the sand.] Uragan

    Uragan seems to have given up as well and tries to chase it seriously.

    Well, if it seems impossible, I would also join the attack.

    When arge air bullet is driven in, they jump out altogether. There are five of them.

    I¡¯ll be a little happy if these are not worms, however I¡¯m not happy because I¡¯m not good with insects.

    I¡¯ll use my detection skills to focus on where there are many worms and attack them. After we pass here, the path of the worm¡¯s corpse party will bepleted.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And that¡¯s how we¡¯re left for the pyramid.

 Chapter 312 Bear-san, Makes Karina Cry.

    Aiming at the sands that were packed with worms, I shot my wind magic. The worms popped out of the sand and danced in the air.

    The worms then fell like a fish washed up onnd. Mel-san treats them to a magically mortal wound. Jade-san and the others stab them for the finisher.

    We repeated this many times.

    [Mel-san, don¡¯t fall.] Yuna

    Mel-san is carrying out magical bombardment with one hand on my shoulder, while her knees are on the back of Swaying Bear.

    Mel-san looks at the direction of my Bear Puppet and fatally injures the worms with precise timing. The rest is a simple coboration between Jade-san and the others.

    Thanks to Mel-san¡¯s attack, Jade-san¡¯s burden had been reduced.

    [Yuna! Are there still more?] Jade

    Out of breath, Jade-san asked me from behind. Even with Mel-san¡¯s help, the burden that they take is not zero. Their physical strength was gradually decreasing.

    Looking at the Bear Detection Magic, it¡¯s about half less than their initial number. We defeated quite a lot, but.

    We still have a long way to go.

    It looks like there were so many, quite astoundinglyrge number of worms gathered around the pyramid.

    [There¡¯s more, we¡¯re not even close to it so there¡¯s more.] Yuna

    If you look at the area where the worm¡¯s corpses are, it¡¯s obvious to see where we didn¡¯t pass yet.

    Some of which came together and recognize us as bait, but there are still a lot of worms.

    [Uragan! Are you still all right?] Jade

    [Well, we¡¯re going to be okay! Who do you think you¡¯re talking to?] Uragan

    When Jade-san checks on Uragan, he answers with a mean tone. He¡¯s like a barbarian putting up the bravado air.

    But it¡¯s better than making a weak cry.

    So then, I¡¯ll go and make you squeal, let¡¯s dig up the rest of the worms.

    [Follow me!] Mel

    Mel-san, who¡¯s riding behind me, told everyone.

    I dug out the worms one after another. However, this is a trivial work.

    I¡¯d be happy if this was something that could be eaten, like a fish. Worms aren¡¯t happy either.

    The same work continues.

    [Hey, bear!] Uragan

    Uragan is shouting in the back, but I¡¯m not listening.

    [Hey, ck one!] Uragan

    My name is not ck.

    [Are there still...] Uragan

    The voice in the back is getting smaller.

    [Yuna-chan, behind...] Mel

    [It¡¯s almost time.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m begging you... Please stop ...] Uragan

    [And that¡¯s it.] Yuna

    The final air bullet was driven and the worm around here was thest one.

    Looking at behind me, everyone is falling out of breath.

    However Uragan, who kept wielding his sword throughout the ordeal, seemed to have a lot of guts.

    But in the end, he wasining in a weak pacified tone.

    Uragan aside, his party members have stopped, due to exhaustion.

    [Damn, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve moved like that.] Party Member

    [I... I can¡¯t move.] Party Member

    Uragan¡¯s party were out of breath and were now lying on the back of the Ragaroot. However, they looked terrible and they somehow managed to follow.

    But if you really couldn¡¯t do it anymore, I would do it by myself.

    Unlike Uragan¡¯s party, Jade-san and the others thought they¡¯d be okay.

    [I don¡¯t want to do that ever again.] Toya

    Toya wasining while almost fainted on his ride.

    [But I never would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d really kill such arge amount of worms.] Jade

    Jade-san said that while watching the worms lifelessly lying around.

    Roughly, about 500 worms had been killed.

    It was certainly quite a lot. However, its still fewpared from that incident at the Royal Capital.

    With this, we were able to subdue almost all of the worms around the pyramid. Even if I confirm it using the Bear Detection Magic, there were hardly any of them left.

    I think that its fine to leave them be if its just this much.

    In the first ce, its troublesome to move around just to defeat a single monster.

    [Don¡¯t take it in the pyramid. You¡¯re gonna have to dismantle it here.] Jade

    Jade-san mercilessly said to the tired Uragan.

    [Do.. Don¡¯t be stupid! You¡¯re gonna let us do this amount alone!?] Uragan

    [You made a deal. I¡¯ll give you half of Yuna¡¯s share and half of our share, so you¡¯re going to do the dismantling.] Jade

    Jade-san looks at Uragan.

    Did you possibly knew the number of worms, Jade-san?

    Is that why you made a deal like that?

    Jade-san has to go into the pyramid with me and Karina anyway. But the worm¡¯s processing is very essential. Did you think that by giving half of your share, you can get paid without participating in the dismantling work?

    [You did said that, but...] Uragan

    Uragan saw the countless worms lying on the desert sand.

    Will they make it before the end of the day?

    Well, unlike the wolves, worms have very little usable material, so if you take out the magic stone, you¡¯ll just have to burn it to keep the other monsters from getting close.

    So it shouldn¡¯t take much time to dismantle a single worm. However, the amount isrge. Also we¡¯re in the middle of the desert.

    It¡¯s a ce where you don¡¯t want to take your sweet time doing dismantling work.

    [I think you¡¯ll be fine after doing a few minutes of work.] Jade

    [Damn, I¡¯ll do it. But we¡¯ll get a better share.] Uragan

    Certainly, in this subjugation, they seem to have earned more than a few rewards. Uragan, who noticed it, reluctantly epts Jade-san¡¯s words.

    His party did notin because their leader Uragan consented.

    Well, if you don¡¯t do your best at dismantling work, you¡¯ll be in trouble if the other monsters came.

    For the time being, I¡¯ll go back to where Karina is.

    The original purpose is to take Karina into the pyramid. However, the worms were almost exterminated, so we can proceed to the pyramid with a peace of mind.

    While we¡¯re moving towards Karina, Swaying Bear turns to the right.

    [What¡¯s wrong? ] Yuna

    The sand moves.

    A worm?

    I¡¯m looking at the Bear Detection Magic, there is indeed a worm at a distance.

    Swaying Bear cries with caution.

    [Swaying Bear, it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    If ites here, I¡¯ll kill it. You can leave it alone.

    Huh? I think, a small sand dune is getting closer and closer. The movement of the sand gradually grows. Everyone noticed that.

    [What?] Uragan

    The moment I thought that a small wave of sand had urred, the sand surged and a huge sandworm emerged from the sand.

    [What the!] Jade

    [There¡¯s such a big one?!] Uragan

    A sandworm about the size of a worm that I killed before appeared.

    So this is what made Swaying Bear wary.

    It was a big sandworm that appeared, when I thought it was just a normal sandworm. The Bear Detection Magic also only tags it as sandworm.

    As was the case with the bees the other day, I want it to be able to distinguish between ordinary worms and big worms. This is where the Detection Magic is not flexible.

    I faced the worm.

    Maybe it¡¯s a parent or something? The parent is here, because the normal worm¡¯s corpses are gathered?

    Or was it born here?

    Even so, the worm gets worse as it gets bigger. That sticky saliva was the most unpleasant.

    [Yuna-chan!] Mel

    [Shit, let¡¯s get out of here.] Uragan

    [Yuna! What are we going do now?] Jade

    Mel-san is screaming behind me.

    Uragan¡¯s party wants to run away.

    Jade-san is looking at me and Uragan alternately.

    They seem to be thinking about either fighting or fleeing.

    If you think about the future, it is better to just kill it. I will decide immediately.

    [I¡¯m going down, everyone go to Karina.] Yuna

    Here it is easier to fight alone than to fight several at once.

    I got off Swaying Bear.

    Because it is troublesome, I will end it quickly.

    I know how to killrge worms.

    [Yuna-chan, me too.] Mel

    [Mel-san wait there with Swaying Bear till Ie back.] Yuna

    If Swaying Bear is not nearby when I¡¯m finished with this, it¡¯ll be troublesome to return to Karina.

    [Yuna, are you really going to be okay?] Jade

    [I¡¯ll be alright.] Yuna

    After answering Jade-san, I started running alone towards the worm. The worm perceives me as bait and squeezes through its body, screaming from itsrge mouth.

    Did you mistake me for a bear?

    The one-sided battle between the Bear and the Sandworm begins.

    I lined up the me Bears. Countless me Bears appear before me.

    [Bears, Go!] Yuna

    Secret technique, internal destruction.

    As I swing my arms forward, the me Bears jumped out and flew towards the mouth of the big sandworm. Then, they rushed into the mouth of the approaching sandworm while shedding it.

    I can¡¯t see it, but the me Bears were moving around inside the worm, burning it. The worm struggles to match it and tossed its body around. It hit its body so many times on the sand.

    It is impossible with ordinary magic, but my me Bears do not disappear so easily. They will move if I order them, so they will go all the way.

    Monsters withrge mouths are the fastest to destroy from the inside of the body. If you have other important materials inside your body, then I can¡¯t use this secret technique.

    But right now, you don¡¯t have any other essential materials so there is no problem.

    Worms are also stupid. It became like this because you want to eat the bears. If only you slept in the sand obediently, this would have never happened.

    The giant sandworm ms its body onto the sandy ground just to suffer even more.

    At that moment, when I thought it was over, the back part of the worm bends and suddenly attacks me. I thought it could be defeated with that, thus my reaction was a little dyed.

    I tried to defend quickly with my Bear Puppet, but I got blown away from the impact.

    I was rolling around in the desert with a sound .

    Though it doesn¡¯t hurt, it¡¯s a bit eye-catching.

    When I got up, I fluctuate a little.

    There is no injury to the body. As expected of the Bear Equipment.

    But you know as they say, don¡¯t let your guard down.

    I thought I defeated it, after looking like that, I thought that took care of it.

    [Yuna-chan!] Mel

    Mel-san, who¡¯s riding on Swaying Bear is running towards me.

    [Yuna-chan, are you okay?] Mel

    [I¡¯m okay, I blocked the attack. I just briefly turn my eyes away when it happened.] Yuna

    [Just briefly turn your eyes, you say... I think it blew you off quite a distance.] Mel

    She¡¯s looking at me astoundingly.

    Well, it would have been really dangerous if I didn¡¯t have the Bear Equipment.

    Looking at the worm, it seems that thest attack was thest drop of its power, then it gradually weakened and slowly falls to the ground.

    Finally, it stops moving.

    I was careless and got hit once, but I was able to subjugate it safely.

    We approach the big sandworm and smacked it with my Bear Puppet to see if it is dead and make sure it doesn¡¯t move anymore.

    Then we went back to Jade-san and Uragan.

    [Did you really defeated it?] Uragan

    Uragan looks alternately between me and the big sandworm.

    The big worm can¡¯t be left to Uragan, so it ended up in the Bear Box.

    This time, I may be able to use it when I¡¯m fishing for another Kraken. But sandworms are different than normal worms, so how does it¡¯s taste then?

    Well, I¡¯ll try using it as a bait and if I can¡¯t catch it, should I just throw it into the sea?

    I can¡¯t leave it here, it cannot be processed.

    Then the big sandworm disappeared.

    Uragan was surprised with his eyes wide open. He tried to ask me something, but he couldn¡¯t, so I ignored it.

    When Jade-san saw such a scene, he gives an exnation or something to Uragan.

    [Suddenly, a worm... in that hand...] Uragan

    [...Just give it up.] Jade

    I heard you said give up, but what are you giving up?

    I want to ask Jade-san a little.

    ..............

    .........

    I¡¯m not convinced, but I¡¯ll head back to Karina at once.

    Upon returning, Karina was crying heavily.

    [What¡¯s wrong? ] Yuna

    Why is she cying?

    Karina rubs her eyes, jumps off of Hugging Bear and rushes to me.

    [Yuna-san!] Karina

    I got off of Swaying Bear and hugged Karina.

    Karina grabs my Bear Clothes with her little hand.

    [Maybe Senia-san did something?] Yuna

    I asked her while looking at Senia-san who¡¯s riding on Hugging Bear, Karina shakes her head.

    [I didn¡¯t do anything. It¡¯s Yuna who made her cry.] Senia

    Senia-san said something unclear. When did I made Karina cry?

    Until recently, I was just killing worms.

    I didn¡¯t made Karina cry.

    If someone made her cry, it would be Senia-san who was on her side.

    [Yu- Yuna-san.....] Karina

    Karina is crying on my chest.

    I asked Senia-san, [Why?]

    If I don¡¯t know the reason, there¡¯s no way for me tofort her.

    [Because Yuna went alone to face the big worm. So Karina here, started making noises and iling around it was so hard to stop her. She kept screaming .] Senia

    Oh, that means you were worried for me.

    [And when Yuna was blown away by the worm, she cried so hard. Karina kept saying .] Senia

    Ah, does it look like that from the outside perspective?

    If a big worm appears, everyone should flee, but...

    I went and faced a big worm alone.

    I went and got blown away by a big worm.

    The death g is rolling up.

    I am fighting, but to me it¡¯s nothing.

    [I¡¯m sorry to make you worry. But you¡¯ve already heard that I¡¯m strong. I¡¯m still okay.] Yuna

    Karina knows about the Kraken. She doesn¡¯t have to panic just because a big worm came out.

    [It¡¯s different between knowing and seeing. Going alone to face such a big monster...] Karina

    She looked up... She¡¯s looking at me.

    Her eyes are bright red.

    [I, I thought Yuna-san would get eaten.] Karina

    She¡¯s pleading with tears.

    [Fu~tsu (sniffle sfx.), when you were blown away I thought you were gone.] Karina

    Karina¡¯s tears weren¡¯t stop.

    I took out my handkerchief from the Bear Box and wiped her tears.

    You really seemed to be worried.

    [Thank you for worrying for me.] Yuna

    I stroke her head until Karina calmed down.

    For some reason, she has a strong sense of responsibility, but we cannot forget that Karina is just a 10-year-old girl.

    For Karina, the big worm is a terrifying monster. (TN: With that size, I think generally all people does...)

 Chapter 313 Bear-san, Enters the Pyramid.

    [Now then, let¡¯s go to the pyramid quickly.] Yuna

    After somehow calming down Karina, I propose to enter the pyramid.

    After taking a short break, Uragan¡¯s groupined a little and went to dismantle the worms.

    Jade-san and the rest are going into the pyramid with me. For this reason, he is resting under the shade of arge boulder, trying to recover even a little fatigue.

    [Karina, are you okay now?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m sorry I cried suddenly.] Karina

    [But now you already know that I¡¯m strong. That¡¯s why Karina should feel relieved. I¡¯ll protect you whatever happens.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Karina

    But I wasn¡¯t expecting her to be crying after I fought the big worm.

    In fact, even Fina have never seen me fighting against a big monster before. What if Fina and Noa saw me fighting big monsters?

    For Noa, It would be like [Yuna-san is amazing].

    Would Fina even be worried?

    Anyways, if I ever fight monsters in front of Fina, I¡¯ll have to be careful.

    No matter how much of a cheat gear I¡¯m wearing, I am no match against a crying child.

    [But Yuna-san, was it really nothing? You were hit by a big worm.] Karina

    Certainly, I got hit and rolling around.

    [It¡¯s okay because this prevented it. And it¡¯s magically enhanced, so that¡¯s fine.] Yuna

    [Prevented it you say, it blew you off quite far.....] Karina

    [Yeah, I¡¯ve been rolling around quite a lot, so my eyes were spinning.] Yuna

    I tried recreating what happened a little.

    Then Karinaughs.

    [Fu fu, your eyes were spinning.] Karina

    I didn¡¯t mean to make youugh though. Its kinda interesting.

    [I was really worried when Yuna-san flew and rolled quite a distance. Yet Yuna-san didn¡¯t receive any injuries.] Karina

    [That¡¯s true. What kind of body do you have?] Mel

    Mel-san, who had been resting, came to me and touched my body.

    Don¡¯t touch me that much.

    Somehow, I escaped from Mel-san¡¯s hands, because I was so disgusted.

    It is useless to look so regretfully. I readied my defense.

    [It was a Bear¡¯s Blessing? Are you sure? I can¡¯t believe there was such a thing. But when you look at Yuna-chan, it appears like its really true.] Mel

    No, its more like a curse than a blessing.

    But thanks to the blessing of that curse, I¡¯m enjoying the other world.

    [Blessings of the Bear? Can I be stronger if I have the Blessings of the Bear or can I call on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?] Karina

    [Of course not. If you do, you have to look like this.] Yuna

    I referred to my style.

    Karina gazes silently at my Bear appearance.

    [... I think it¡¯s cute.] Karina

    I wondered about that.... For a moment.

    [But if you can call the Bears, its not really troublesome.] Mel

    Mel-san wearing a Bear Costume?

    Does she like it?

    It would suit Senia-san better, because she is shorter than Mel-san.

    [Yuna-chan, did you say something?] Senia

    [Its just your imagination. Rather than that, we¡¯re leaving soon.] Yuna

    I turned my eyes and hopped on Swaying Bear.

    Mel-san wants to say something, but we were about to set off.

    Karina is riding Hugging Bear, Mel-san and Senia-san rides on the Ragaroot. They tried to ride on the bears, but they were kindly declined.

    It is not necessary this time.

    The worms were almost exterminated, so we haven¡¯t even been attacked while we approach the pyramid. We were avoiding the worm¡¯s corpses as we move.

    Um, it¡¯s ufortable to pass by something like a bigrvae. Uragan have to deal with these quickly.

    We said hello to Uragan, who is serious about dismantling a worm.

    [It was supposed to be an escort to the pyramid, but you don¡¯t need it anymore do you?] Uragan

    [Yeah, we almost killed every worm around here. It ys a big role.] Yuna

    Since the worms have been killed, we can safely go to the pyramid. That¡¯s why Uragan¡¯s party were doing a job well done.

    Karina looks down at Uragan, she bowed and thanked him.

    [Thank you very much.] Karina

    [I just agreed to it because I heard that the Bear could dig up the worms.] Uragan

    Uragan looks at me andughs with his nose.

    [Also, don¡¯t thank me. This is work. I¡¯ll get the money from your father.] Uragan

    Uragan said, [Go away, you¡¯re in my way.] Maybe he¡¯s just embarrassed.

    (TN: Tsundere = It¡¯s kinda creepy when done by a middle-age-man.)

    And even if it¡¯s work, if you do it properly, that¡¯s another reward.

    Moving on, we went to the pyramid, ignoring Uragan¡¯s words.

    We left Uragan¡¯s party.

    We are now approaching the entrance of the pyramid. A big entryway wees us.

    [Abyrinth exploration] this kinda reminds me of the game I was ying. Because it was a game, there was an automatic mapping and I was able to move around easily.

    There were traps such as...

    A monster house.

    A burning me room.

    And a ssic pitfall. How nostalgic.

    Jade-san calls me as I look at the entrance.

    Looking at Jade-san, there is a hut beside the entrance that seems to have been made with earth magic.

    [This is?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a ce to leave the Ragaroot. Father and adventurers sometimese here, so it looks like they made it. I heard that if a small worm attacks, it¡¯ll be okay because you can escape easily. But I wonder if it gets attacked by a big worm that Yuna-san defeated.] Karina

    Well, that big worm is kinda special. Indeed, it would be a big problem if there were several worms of that size.

    Jade-san and his group took their Ragaroots into the hut, prepared the water tub and food in front of the Ragaroots. I don¡¯t know how long we will spend in the pyramid. They¡¯ll need food.

    As I was watching everyone, Toya came with a rope.

    What for?

    [There¡¯s a space there. I¡¯ll tie it up.] Toya

    With that said, he tried to hang the rope around Swaying Bear. But Swaying Bear dodged lightly behind.

    Toya, with a rope, loses bnce and falls to the ground. Then, Swaying Bear steps on Toya¡¯s back.

    [Fu gyu.] Toya

    A strange voice leaks from Toya¡¯s mouth.

    [Toya, stop ying around!] Mel

    [I just wanted to tie a rope to the bear.] Toya

    [You know you don¡¯t need to tie Yuna-chan¡¯s Bear.] Mel

    Mel-san stomps on Toya¡¯s ass who¡¯s also being stepped on by Swaying Bear.

    [I¡¯m going into the pyramid, it¡¯s a bit tricky trying to light this ce up. That¡¯s why we should step on it.] Jade

    ..................

    [That¡¯s why I can¡¯t forgive the prank on hanging a rope around Swaying Bear-chan.] Mel

    Mel-san puts emphasis on her foot stepping on Toya. When Swaying Bear saw it, he imitates it and put more strength on his foot.

    [It¡¯s heavy. Heavy! Painful! It¡¯s my bad. I¡¯ll never do that again, so let me go!] Toya

    Toya flutters.

    When Mel-san saw it, she retracts her foot, Swaying Bear also steps off.

    [Dammit, it was so heavy. Did you gain wei...] Toya

    Mel-san steps on Toya as he tries to get up.

    [Fu gyu.] Toya

    A voice resounded as if a frog was crushed. I have never heard the sound of a frog being crushed before though.

    [Well then, should I tie Toya to the same ce where the Ragaroot¡¯s food is?] Mel

    When Mel-san said that, Senia-san, who was listening, raised her hand. Another troublesome person came.

    When it¡¯s about to get out of hand, Jade-san steps in.

    The rescued Toya fled to Jade-san¡¯s back.

    Hey, he¡¯s the man.

    But it really is an interesting party.

    After that, we entered the pyramid. The inside is wider than expected.

    Even if everyone is in a row, there is plenty of room. The ceiling is high and there is no feeling of oppression.

    At the front is Jade-san and Toya, behind them is Karina riding on Hugging Bear. Mel-san and Senia-san are walking on both sides. The rear part will be protected by me and Swaying Bear.

    For now, let¡¯s check the Bear Detection Magic. There is no monster reaction nearby. But I don¡¯t know what¡¯s ahead of us, so we¡¯ll have to be careful.

    A little carelessness and we¡¯ll be blown off just like the attack from the big worm. I¡¯m also worried about Karina.

    [It¡¯s bright inside.] Yuna

    [Father said that this pyramid had a mechanism that lets the lightses in. But it seems to be dark at night, I don¡¯t know because I only came here during the day.] Karina

    Hohou, such mechanism.

    In games andics, there may be torches that nobody knows who prepared them or they may be bright without any.

    Who¡¯s preparing the torches though?

    There¡¯s a memory that got stuck in my mind, that it was bright even without having any.

    Well, the light that illuminates this pyramid, whatever the mechanism is, makes you want to put in a Tsukkomi.

    Either way, bright is a good thing.

    We walked silently with . It is unexpectedly beautiful. It¡¯s a bit unscrupulous, but I¡¯m excited about this kind of ce.

    [It looks like there are no monsters here.] Jade

    [That¡¯s right. There were a lot outside, so I thought it would be the same inside.] Senia

    Isn¡¯t it a good thing?

    [So then, we should take Karina-chan deeper.] Mel

    [But why are you taking Karina there?] Toya

    [Toya, weren¡¯t you listening? Whatever she is looking for reacts to her magic and so she can find it.] Mel

    [What is the magic tool?] Toya

    [Yes, that¡¯s umm... It¡¯s a very important thing.] Karina

    [Well, if you know the direction, it will be easy to find.] Jade

    Jade-san¡¯s group only knows that its a magic tool. I feel bad lying to them, but it can¡¯t be helped.

    Well, it¡¯s not a lie though. There is no doubt that it is a magic tool.

    We follow a long passageway. The aisle seems to be gradually descending.

    After a short walk, we arrived to arge circr ce, like an arena.

    [This is?] Yuna

    [This is divided into a passage to the underground and stairs to thebyrinth of the pyramid. Can you see the top of that staircase?] Karina

    There is a staircase going up next to the passage going underground. Above it is not a grandstand, but there is a hole at the position that should be called an entrance or a hole that allows one person to pass.

    However, the problem is that the entrance is not just one or two.

    There are countless entrances surrounding the circle on the second floor.

    There may be more than 100.

    In addition, there are countless entrances on the third floor.

    [The entrance to thebyrinth.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t tell me, all of it?] Jade

    [Yes.] Karina

    Well, it¡¯s an entrance to an impossible game, it will make anyone salty. What¡¯s more, thebyrinth changes everyday.

    With no mapping.

    If I saw this in the game, I¡¯ll definitelybel this as a shitty game.

    No game is as boring as murig¨¥. (Impossibly hard game)

    This means, we definitely need to find the crystal te map.

 Chapter 314 Bear-san, is Surprised by the Name of the Person who Cleared the Labyrinth.

    [Even so, I heard the story but it really have a great number of passages.] Mel

    Mel-san looks at the countless passageways of thebyrinth.

    There certainly are many.

    If this was implemented in a game, it will surely gain a great storm ofints. There is no doubt that it will burn on the.

    [Now we know why no one wants to try thebyrinth.] Yuna

    [It seems that it was captured hundreds of years ago, so no one want¡¯s to challenge it any further. Some say that there are treasures left, but the benefits are too small. If no one can clear thebyrinth, then it¡¯s useless. There¡¯s no one stupid enough to challenge it, with such a low possibility.] Jade

    Certainly, even if you clear all thesebyrinths, its pointless if there is nothing in it. It¡¯s a waste of time and nothing to gain.

    By then, no one wants to enter thebyrinth and search for the treasure.

    However, if they knew that there was a big magic stone in there, there may have been some adventurers that will try their luck.

    But, I wonder if thebyrinth is better than the puny monster like the Kraken?

    If I am an ordinary adventurer, I would feel like neither of them areparable.

    [Yuna! We¡¯ll look around a bit, so just wait!] Jade

    Jade-san and his colleagues moved around the area to make sure its safe. I already checked it with my Bear Detection Magic, but there are no monsters anywhere.

    But when I asked Jade-san, [There may be something dangerous.] he said.

    There are things I don¡¯t understand.

    [Even so, Karina¡¯s ancestors managed to break through thebyrinth.] Yuna

    I looked up and saw the countless entrances.

    Karina¡¯s ancestors were so great. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve tried to challenge such a brutalbyrinth in a pyramid.

    If I wanted to clear it, I might have broken down the passageways and forcibly searched for a destination. (a.k.a. Bulldozer Strategy!)

    Of course, I do not guarantee the shape of the pyramid afterwards. There is a high possibility that even a trace of it would disappear.

    If I can get the treasure, then that¡¯s fine.

    We know that this pyramid has the power to amplify the water magic stone. So I can¡¯t really destroy the pyramid just to clear it.

    [I heard that an elf named Mumroot-sama, who was in the same party, helped with the clearing of thebyrinth.] Karina

    [Elf? Mumroot?] Yuna

    I¡¯ve heard it somewhere.

    ......Hmm, somehow I can¡¯t remember.

    Uh, where did I?

    [I¡¯ve also heard that the dwarf, Kodilko-sama, was the one who disarmed the traps so they could proceed. Of course, I have heard that my ancestors also helped clear thebyrinth.] Karina

    I¡¯ve never heard of the dwarf Kodilko, but I¡¯ve heard Mumroot somewhere. Uh, where did I?

    I must have heard it somewhere before.

    Mumumumu...... I am thinking while my mouth is open.

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Karina

    [Well I¡¯m trying to remember where have I heard the name Mumroot.] Yuna

    [Mumroot-sama? Is it possible that he is working in otherbyrinth?] Karina

    I don¡¯t think so.

    In the first ce, I don¡¯t know anything about the legends and stories of old adventurers. I must have heard it somewhere else.

    The elf that I know is Sanya-san.

    Then there¡¯s also Rumin.

    Her mother is Talia-san and her father...

    [........Ah! I remembered.] Yuna

    I can¡¯t p my hands but I tried anyways.

    That Grandpa!

    Sanya-san¡¯s grandfather, Mumroot-san, the vige chief of the elf vige. Finally, I remembered, its quite refreshing.

    No, I didn¡¯t forget it.

    I just did not remember it.

    Sometimes people could not remember one or maybe two names.

    Wait, for whom am I making these excuses for?

    [What did you remember?] Karina

    [Mumroot-san is an elf, right?] Yuna

    [Yes.] Karina

    [A man?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s a man.] Karina

    [He may be an elf that I know.] Yuna

    [Eh............] Karina

    Karina made an unbelievable face to my words.

    Well, it would be surprising if someone you know, suddenly said that she knows one of the party member, who cleared thisbyrinth hundreds of years ago.

    [I have an elf acquaintance who goes by the name Mumroot-san. He¡¯s the vige chief of the elven vige and he have grandchildren, so I think he¡¯s age matched the description.] Yuna

    He must be a few hundred years old.

    However, sometimes they have the same name and race. But the possibility is quite high.

    I¡¯ve also installed a Bear Gate there, so let¡¯s go and talk to him about it next time.

    If he still remember it, I might be able to listen to his story. That is, if Mumroot-san can still remember it.

    After all, it was hundreds of years ago. He may have forgotten already.

    [I¡¯ll ask him next time we meet. It¡¯ll be amazing if it¡¯s true.] Yuna

    When I said that, I felt that Karina¡¯s expression had darkened for a moment.

    But when I looked at her again, she smiled and said, [Yes, please. I¡¯d like to hear his story, too.]

    Apparently, her expression seemed to be dark because she was anxious.

    And so, Jade-san and his group who were looking around came back.

    [There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything particrly dangerous.] Jade

    [Well then, we¡¯re moving downstairs.] Yuna

    Our purpose is not to clear thebyrinth. It¡¯s about finding the crystal te map that fell underground.

    So were going to go underground.

    Of course, if I was asked if I¡¯m interested in thebyrinth above, then I¡¯ll say yes. If we found the crystal te map, we¡¯ll head there right away. So if we¡¯re going there, we¡¯d better have the map.

    We¡¯re going down the stairs in search of the crystal te map.

    After moving down the stairs, the scenery transformed from the man-made pyramid to a naturally-made cave.

    Arge space spreads out from the stairs and those things that glows pale, illuminates the cave. Apparently, there is no need for the light magic here either.

    We can see the surroundings. There are big pirs which are naturally made.

    If it breaks, will it copse?

    I have to be careful when using magic.

    [So which way are we going?] Yuna

    Everyone looks at Karina. From here on, we will be guided by Karina.

    Karina closes her eyes for a few seconds. Then slowly opens her eyes.

    [It¡¯s right over there.] Karina

    Karina points forward.

    [But, I can feel it from below.] Karina

    [In other words, we have to go down further.] Yuna

    That¡¯s what Karina said before.

    I want to dig a hole. Once I know the direction and distance, I want to make things like a tunnel, connect them to our destination in a straight line and slide on a slide.

    Well, the destination might be a monster¡¯s nest or there isva, because I do not know what things are waiting for me, this is too troublesome.

    We move in the direction in which Karina points her finger at.

    We are moving the same order as when we enter the pyramids.

    I don¡¯t know where it came from, but when I use my Bear Detection magic, there¡¯s a sandwolf. But it¡¯s not trying to get close to us.

    Well, thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, there wasn¡¯t any monsters trying to attack us.

    [Yuna-san, can you really find it?] Karina

    [If Karina tells me where it is, I¡¯ll find it.] Yuna

    I answered Karina who seemed to be uneasy. If it happens, there is a y pipe method.

    [There¡¯s no monster.] Jade

    There is. It¡¯s just noting near you.

    Due to the natural cavities followed byrge cavities, there are rocky surfaces and some small holes. It looks like the sandwolf is hiding itself in that hole.

    [But I¡¯ve heard that adventurers wereing here to hunt monsters, isn¡¯t there any?] Senia

    [There maybe some ahead of us.] Mel

    Mel looks at the paper and answers.

    [There seems to be a ce where monsters gathered ahead of us.] Mel

    [Did they fell? What do you mean?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve n¦Ï idea. I just heard it at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but because the monsters are falling down here, so it¡¯s a hunting ground.] Mel

    The destination and the ce where the monsters are falling are in the same direction, so we proceed as normal.

    [ording to the map, it¡¯s up ahead.] Mel

    When I use my Bear Detection Magic, there are certainly monsters up ahead . There is a reaction of the sandworm.

    Jade-san, who¡¯s walking at the front, stretches his arm sideways, signaling us to stop.

    [There¡¯s a worm.] Jade

    I asked Hugging Bear to protect Karina and I looked at the situation from the top of Swaying Bear.

    There are indeed worms. About ten worms are moving around.

    But the ground is not sand, so it seems like it can¡¯t burrow.

    [But what does this mean? did they fell?] Mel

    Then the moment Mel-san muttered so, something came down from above.

    ....It¡¯s a sandworm.

    The sandworm fell.

    Did it burrowed too deep into the sand and fell?

    I looked above, but the ceiling was quite high, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.

    When the worm fell to the ground, it squirmed like its nothing.

    [The worms surely are falling.] Mel

    [But the problem seems to be that this isn¡¯t just a hunting ground for adventurers.] Yuna

    There are sandwolves looking at us in the back.

    [It looks like they¡¯vee to catch their preys.] Karina

    [Karina, which one are you looking for?] Jade

    To Jade-san¡¯s question, Karina points at the sandwolves.

    [Then we¡¯ll have to beat them and move on.] Jade

    In Jade¡¯s words, all of them readied their weapons.

    [Mel. Is it okay to leave the worms to you?] Jade

    [If it doesn¡¯t dive into the sand, it¡¯s just an ornament.] Mel

    [Well, then, Senia, Toya and me will deal with the Sandwolf .] Jade

    [Uhh, me?] Yuna

    [Yuna should protect Karina. That would work. These monsters are just small fries, we¡¯re going to handle it.] Jade

    That¡¯s how Jade-san tells his friends to subdue the worms and sandwolves.

    Mel-san magically attacks and defeats the worms from a safe distance.

    And with Jade-san¡¯s ability, the wolves¡¯ subjugation ends easily. By the way, there are worms falling while Mel-san was fighting.

    Maybe this is the perfect ce to collect infinite materials.

    When we defeat the monsters, we get the back to our track.

    A little further down, we found a split path.

    Everyone looks at Karina.

    [I can feel iting from here.] Karina

    We proceed ording to Karina¡¯s instructions.

    Mel-san notes down on the map every time we took a path.

    We¡¯re going down the slope steadily.

    Jade-san¡¯s group dealt with the monsters we encounter once in a while.

    It¡¯s nice and easy.

    We¡¯re advancing while I¡¯m riding on Swaying bear.

    Jade-san, who was walking in front of us, suddenly stops.

    [The bridge is broken.] Jade

    A bridge presumably made of wood and rope is partially broken.

    Is there a cliff below?

    Mel-san looks at the broken bridge, then looks down.

    At that moment, she pulled back quickly.

    [This is truly unpleasant.] Mel

    Mel-san said that after looking below the bridge.

    I looked underneath the bridge as well, wondering what it is.

    Yeah, this was something you shouldn¡¯t see. There are worms, packed and squirming.

    The worms looks like fishing baits.

    I want to burn them with magic.

    If I shoot a me Bear, it will burn nicely.

    While I was thinking about it, another worm fell from above and joined the baits.

    So that¡¯s how it umted.

    Perhaps worms that gathered in the desert fell here?

    [It looks like the bridge got broken when it was hit by the falling worms.] Jade

    [What are we going do now?] Mel

    [I will build a bridge.] Yuna

    When I get off from Swaying Bear, I build a bridge of about 15 to 20 meters. As a bonus, it has a roof.

    When the worms falls from above, it would be dangerous if we were crossing the bridge.

    [Your magic is great as always.] Mel

    [Thanks to the Bear¡¯s Blessing.] Yuna

    I can do it using secret techniques and the Bear¡¯s Blessing.

    When the excuses are troublesome, it¡¯ll be limited to this.

    I made a bridge so I ignored the worms below and proceeded.

    [Karina, don¡¯t look down.] Yuna

    [Uh, it¡¯s slow. I can see it from above Hugging Bear-chan. The thought of falling is making me scared.] Karina

    I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll go crazy if I fell into the nest of such worms.

    I would never want to fall.

    [Two are children and they¡¯re not used to such insects. I¡¯m fine because I¡¯m a man.] Toya

    Toya who¡¯s walking in front, treats us like children.

    Can I push him?

    That¡¯ll be cool right?

    It¡¯ll be nice if I can push him a little.

    When I was thinking about that,

    [Ei.] Senia

    Senia-san hit Toya¡¯s back.

    [Uwa ¨¡ ¨¡.] Toya

    Toya is almost out of bnce.

    [Oh, I¡¯m falling.] Toya

    Somehow, he¡¯s barely keeping his bnce and does not fall off the bridge.

    The worms below opens their mouths and are waiting for Toya.

    Arrgh, so close.

    [So close.] Senia

    Senia-san¡¯s words agrees with my heart.

    [What do you mean [So close]? What will you do if I fell?!] Toya

    [Because Toya is a man, it¡¯s okay for you to fall into a swarm of worm.] Senia

    [It¡¯s not okay. If I fall, I will die.] Toya

    [I was wondering if you really like worms. I¡¯m a girl, so a fluffy bear is better than those abominations.] Senia

    Senia-san hugs Swaying Bear.

    I agree with Senia-san this time.

    Both Mel-san and Karina are nodding at Senia-san¡¯s words.

    [Jade~.] Toya

    Toya asked Jade-san, for help as the same man as him.

    [I¡¯m also good with Yuna¡¯s Bears rather than a worm.] Jade

    Toya is abandoned by Jade-san.

    We left Toya, who is being depressed.

    [Wa... Wait for me.] Toya

    Toya chased us while crying.

 Chapter 315 Bear-san Fights the Scorpion.

    As the worms swell downstairs, we crossed the bridge.

    [Even so, it¡¯s bigger than I thought.] Yuna

    This is the norm when ites to games. I wonder if it¡¯s real or not.

    If they say there are 100 floors underground, I¡¯ll just have to beat it. To do so, I will definitely dig a hole.

    [But, were almost there. We¡¯re getting closer.] Karina

    Whenever the path splits once in a while, we follow Kalina¡¯s instructions. We descended a considerable distance.

    [This is?] Yuna

    It¡¯s sandy. Even though we are deep underground, the sand is falling.

    When I look at the Bear Map, it seems like the pyramid is not right above us. It¡¯s slightly off.

    Is it falling from the desert?

    [I think there¡¯s something wrong with this.] Jade

    Jade-san looks at the sand.

    I agree with Jade-san¡¯s words. I use my Bear Detection Magic to check. Then, the name of the monster I¡¯ve seen for the first time came out.

    The name was Scorpion.

    In a word, it will be a monster like scorpion.

    [Yuna-chan, did you found something?] Mel

    Mel-san asks.

    ....Not to me exactly, but to Swaying Bear.

    She think it¡¯s because of Swaying bear, that I can find the monster.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m behaving like that, too.

    [Swaying Bear, did you find anything?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear, who is good at acting, responded so.

    I shot an air bullet to where the Scorpion¡¯s reaction is. Then, a Scorpion as big as a wolf which had a dark color, came out from the sand.

    This must be why this is a fantasy.

    Why is there such a big Scorpion?

    Jade-san quickly pulled out his weapon, but the Scorpion burrowed into the sand.

    [Yuna¡¯s Bears are really great.] Jade

    [But the Scorpion is a nuisance.] Mel

    [What are we going do now? Do you want to run?] Toya

    [No, that¡¯ll be dangerous as well.] Jade

    Jade-san shakes his head to Toya¡¯s opinion.

    The Scorpion is hiding in the sand. I don¡¯t know in this world, but the ones in games are more intelligent than worms and they often sizzle until theye close.

    When a preyes near, the predator stutters the prey with a poisonous needle on its tail, slows its movement and preys on it.

    Scorpions are fairly widespread and quite known for their detection skills.

    I can dig it like a worm, but it¡¯s a matter of how easy it is for Jade-san¡¯s group to kill it like a worm. If it takes a lot of time to kill a single monster, other Scorpions maye together.

    [Jade-san. Is it easier to kill it if I dig it up?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve only fought a Scorpion once. In the desert, it is rarely encountered because it only inhabits some other ces. Also because the shell is too hard, it can¡¯t be pierced by weapons other than Senia¡¯s Mithril Knives or my Mithril Sword, but it might be possible with Toya¡¯s sword.] Jade

    In other words, Toya has a role to y in battle.

    Toya tries to say something, decided to close his mouth.

    [Also, even if you get close to where the Senia¡¯s knife can reach, the poison sting of the tail still poses quite a threat.] Jade

    With a knife, you have to get close enough to touch it. Also, the Scorpion¡¯s tail movement on TV was fast.

    [How about Mel-san¡¯s magic?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know because I haven¡¯t used it against that.] Mel

    I need to understand Mel-san¡¯s magic. In other words, only Jade-san can fight in terms of strength.

    [But it¡¯s weakness is water.] Mel

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Oh yea, in the moment you spray it with water, it will be stunned. Attack the scorpion during that time, its one way of defeating it.] Mel

    [Also its stomach is soft.] Senia

    Senia-san adds in its weakness.

    Do I have to turn the Scorpion that crawls on the ground upside down?

    Hmm, what should I do?

    [Isn¡¯t it okay to have J¨­-chan build a bridge?] Toya

    (TN: I¡¯m gonna use Jo-chan instead of Little Miss or Miss or Little Lady.. Cause I¡¯m beingzy and its the same thing anyways.)

    [It¡¯s no use because it can shoot it¡¯s sting.] Mel

    Mel-san rejects Toya¡¯s idea.

    Then would it be good to make a bridge with side walls?

    This time, there is a considerable distance. We can make it though.

    But now that I think about it, I want to defeat it. There is a possibility that we will be caught while we¡¯re advancing in a different area.

    The characteristic of Scorpion is that it stiffens when exposed to water. Also its stomach is the soft spot.

    The Scorpion is still hiding in the sand. Shooting poison needles.

    Hmm, what should I do?

    [I¡¯ll go alone.] Yuna

    As a result of my thinking, I gave my answer to everyone.

    [Yuna-san!] Karina

    [Yuna-chan!] Mel

    [That¡¯s reckless!] Jade

    Everyone was surprised at my words.

    [It¡¯s okay to make a bridge, but it¡¯s troublesome to get attacked while I¡¯m making it.] Yuna

    [But to attack it on your own... We will help you.] Jade

    [U~n, it¡¯s not a monster we can¡¯t beat.] Senia

    [Yeah, that would be good. We¡¯re going to crush it quickly.] Mel

    I received the feelings of everyone.

    Jade-san¡¯s party.

    I can understand that you¡¯re not saying it just to look nice. But it¡¯s still dangerous.

    If you die on my watch, I¡¯ll wake you up in a very nasty way.

    [Well, easier said than done, but is it really okay?] Jade

    [I have something I want to try and if that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll try another one.] Yuna

    Honestly I can make the bridge.

    [Yuna-san, please be careful.] Karina

    Karina looks at me worriedly.

    [I¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯lle back as soon as I beat it.] Yuna

    As I step into the sand, the scorpion moves quietly.

    I can tell by my Bear Detection Magic. Its moving quietly like hunter stalking for it¡¯s prey.

    I take out a cheap iron knife I bought earlier and let the magic pass on the knife. Then, I threw it at the scorpion hiding in the sand.

    The scorpion hiding in the sandes out of the sand, with a knife sticking on it. It seems that it was not fatal with just one knife.

    I threw another knife at its face.

    The scorpion got hit on its head and died....

    [Yuna-chan, you can detect it even if you are away from Swaying Bear?] Mel

    [Because our hearts are connected.] Yuna

    When I said that, Swaying bear and Hugging Bear responded with at the same time.

    [Of course, Hugging Bear as well.] Yuna

    For the time being, it turned out that even cheap knives could pierce the hard shell with some magic.

    Water?

    Stomach?

    Weakness?

    This is this and that is that. (Sore wa sore, kore wa kore.)

    There is no problem if you can beat it.

    But when I pulled out the knife that was stuck into the scorpion, the de snapped. It is likely to be a one-time disposable item.

    Well, there is no problem because it was originally a disposable knife.

    I think it can be defeated by magic, but to one shot it would be great.

    Anything that uses a Bear Wind de will attract other scorpions, which can lead to messybat. Then Karina would be worried once again, Jade-san¡¯s party would likely join in the fight and it will be even more chaotic.

    And they¡¯re not good at using magic as proficient as possible, like preventing the poison needle with earth magic.

    So this time, I used a small knife and another small knife to reliably take down the monster.

    [Jade-san, can you use this as monster material?] Yuna

    [Oh, you can. The shell is tough so it can be used to make armor, the meat is edible and can be use as ingredient.] Jade

    You can eat it?

    Well, I¡¯ve seen videos of people eating scorpion.

    Japanese people seems to be unfamiliar with it, but I will collect them forter use. It may be delicious.

    As we continue with our little adventure, I¡¯m throwing magical knives at the scorpions that are hiding. I bought 100 knives, we should be fine with this amount.

    I take out a knife.

    Add magic power.

    Check with Bear Detection Magic.

    Throw at the Scorpion.

    And repeat.

    Generally, I can kill it with two or three shots. I just have to watch out for the scorpion¡¯s tail.

    asionally, some scorpions try to sting me with their tail, but there is no blind spot for me.

    I prepared earth magic in advance.

    It seems that I used a little more than nned.

    I have no choice but to take out the Mithril knife.

    Throw it with magic.

    The scorpion burst in a single shot. Oh, a power up.

    As expected, this is a Mithril knife made by the dwarf Gazal-san.

    There is not even one scratch after if I pulled it out. It remains a beautiful de.

    Unlike cheap knives, they have to be picked up again, but they can kill more efficiently than cheap knives.

    If this is the case, I wish I had used a Mithril knife from the beginning.

    And so, all scorpions are safely defeated. Now we can walk with Karina safely.

    I return to Jade-san and others, who were collecting Scorpions.

    [It¡¯s over.] Yuna

    When I return, Toya and Swaying Bear are rushing towards me.

    Eh? What?

    [Look out!] Toya

    I evade Toya with two or three steps sideways, who¡¯s trying to grab me.

    What¡¯s up with that?

    The question was immediately answered.

    The moment Toya ran through where I was, a scorpion fell from above.

    I was surprised and my response is dyed. However, Swaying Bear rushed to me, he stomped on Scorpion¡¯s torso with his left foot and stomped on its tail with his right foot.

    [Swaying Bear!] Yuna

    I immediately returned to my sanity, I cut the scorpion¡¯s tail with a mythril knife I took out from my Bear Puppet and stabbed into the torso.

    The Scorpion stops moving.

    I got a cold sweat.

    As expected, I¡¯m sweating badly.

    Looking at Touya, he fell and plunged his face into the sand.

    [Um, Toya. Are you okay?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m okay. Really, I¡¯m fine.] Toya

    I was worried, you know?

    Toya got up with sand on his face.

    [Um... Thank you.] Yuna

    If Toya didn¡¯t call out for me, I might have been attacked by a scorpion.

    But Swaying Bear¡¯s face is saying, quite the expression you have.

    [Swaying Bear too, thank you.] Yuna

    I pet the head of Swaying Bear who protected me.

    If I only pet Swaying Hear, Hugging Bear will get jealous, so I will also have to pet Hugging Bear.

    [Hugging Bear, thank you for protecting Karina as well.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, are you okay?] Mel

    Mel-san rushes in.

    [I¡¯m alright. Because Toya called out to me.] Yuna

    [But Toya, you noticed it well.] Jade

    [Ah, when I was watching J¨­-chan, I felt like I heard a sound above. And when I looked up, it was about to fall. I wasn¡¯t envious of j¨­-chan¡¯s Mithril Knife so I wasn¡¯t looking at it.] Toya

    And that¡¯s his whole answer, right?

    But it¡¯s true that he helped.

    [By the way, I was faster than that Bear.] Toya

    When Toya says a little happily, Swaying Bear whimpers with regret.

    That¡¯s true.

    That¡¯s really childish, though.

    The feeling of gratitude I had before, simply disappeared.

    If he did not make suchment, his recognition would¡¯ve risen.

    [Well then Yuna-chan. That knife...] Mel

    Toya may not be concerned about it, but Senia-san seems to be interested in my Mithril knife.

    [I saw Senia-san fighting with a knife before and your knife is also made of Mithril.] Yuna

    When I say that, Senia-san blushes a little and she looks happy.

    Senia-san¡¯s twin-knife style. (TN: Raw said nit¨­ry¨±, but she is a knife user.)

    It looks good.

    In fact, I was supposed to make a knife only for Fina¡¯s dismantling job. But I unexpectedly got a lot of Mithril, so I made another knife as a weapon.

    [Can I have look at it?] Senia

    I gave my Mithril Knife to Senia-san.

    Senia-san looks carefully at everything from the de to the handle.

    [Very beautiful. And a good knife as well.] Senia

    [It was made by a dwarf named Gazal-san, back in the Royal Capital. If you like it, I¡¯ll ask him to make one for Senia-san too.] Yuna

    [Gazal...] Senia

    When I give Gazal-san¡¯s name, she examines the Mithril knife as if she¡¯s looking for something.

    [......There it is.] Senia

    [What was there?] Yuna

    Senia-san points to the part of the knife near the handle with a small finger.

    Something is carved there.

    [The weapon that the cksmith Gazal-san made seriously, has a name on it. Its very famous because Gazal-san rarely carves his name onto his works. I¡¯m envious.] Senia

    Is that so. Gazal-san, I didn¡¯t know that because he didn¡¯t say a word about it. He could have told me.

    [And there¡¯s even a Bear Crest.] Senia

    [Gazal-san must have carved it because he had free time.] Yuna

    [Impossible.] Senia

    I told her that he carved it because he had free time, because I didn¡¯t go there for a long time to get it.

    [Damn it, I¡¯ll have him make me Mithril Sword in the Royal Capital when I¡¯m done with this request.] Toya

    Toya, that remark is a death g.

    Anyway, we have defeated the Scorpions so we continued.

    Karina says it¡¯s near.

 Chapter 316 Bear-san finds where currently the crystal plate map is.

    316 Bear-san finds where(currently) the crystal te map is.

    [Its just ahead. We¡¯re close.] Karina

    Karina happily announced on top of Hugging Bear.

    If we can recover it, we can safely go up thebyrinth. Then, rece the water magic stone and we¡¯re done.

    [I wondered what would happen after defeating the worms, but it was pretty easy.] Toya

    Toya, who¡¯s walking in the front was saying such thing.

    [What are you talking about? Yuna-chan built the bridge and could have killed the worms on her own.] Mel

    [It was Yuna who defeated Scorpion.] Senia

    [Because Yuna-chan is doing the hard part.] Mel

    [Sure, but we struggled as well.] Toya

    [Because Toya thinks it was an easy job. I would say it would have been hard without Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [If I had a Mithril Sword, the scorpion would be nothing.] Toya

    [Of course, it¡¯s a very unfortunate story for Toya. Now then, are you buying a Mithril Sword when we return to the Royal Capital? It will also raise the level of the party members.] Jade

    [That¡¯s right. If Toya has a Mithril Sword, Jade¡¯s burden will be reduced.] Senia

    [No objections.] Mel

    At the time of the golem subjugation, he said, [It¡¯s still too early,] but Toya seems to be growing.

    Everyone gave their permission, so I thought Toya would be happy.

    But his expression is subtle.

    [Toya, what¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    [......... No money] Toya

    [Oi!] Yuna

    I want to put a Tsukkomi on that.

    Didn¡¯t you said you¡¯ll buy it earlier.

    You didn¡¯t have the money?

    I want to ask him that for about an hour now.

    [I don¡¯t believe this.] Senia

    [Toya, is the worst.] Mel

    [That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been telling you to save up your money.] Jade

    [That¡¯s the reason I¡¯ve been telling everyone it¡¯s too early...] Toya

    Attempting to make an excuse, Jade-san ps Toya¡¯s back.

    [I¡¯ll give you a little bit.] Jade

    [Jade.] Toya (TN: ship?)

    Toya was pleased with Jade-san¡¯s words.

    Jade-san is so kind.

    Mel-san, when she looked at those two she sighed as if giving up on something.

    [Can¡¯t help it then. I¡¯ll lend you too.] Mel

    Mel-san says with an embarrassed face.

    [I¡¯ll lend you. But if you don¡¯t return it, I¡¯ll make you eat my Mithril Knife.] Senia

    Senia-san takes out the knife and flickers in front of Toya.

    [Wow, everyone, thank you.] Toya

    They¡¯re messing around with Toya for saying such thing. It¡¯s a good party.

    I have some Mithril ore surplus from when I defeated the Mithril Golem (Haribote). Should I tell Toya?

    Jade-san¡¯s party have been taking care of me during the golem subjugation and this time as well. So, I¡¯m d to give them a little mithril ore, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll need it.

    Toya is happy with everyone¡¯s words and everyone is looking at him with a smile. I will not do anything extra.

    I¡¯m not borrowing Toya¡¯s words, but if we can find the crystal te without any problem, it indeed easier than I thought.

    We¡¯re going down the slope.

    [Its just ahead.] Karina

    Karina would be rolling by now, if she wasn¡¯t riding on Hugging Bear.

    After going down the slope, a straight path continues. As we walk down the path, wee out into an open space.

    [This is........] Yuna

    Arge circr space expands. We came to a room of about the height of a 2-storey house. Intuitively, we are on the second floor of the room.

    Looking at the center of the open-space area. There was something that should not be seen.

    [What the hell¡¯s this?......] Yuna

    It is a swarm of scorpions that spreads into view.

    And what¡¯s in the center?

    It has a ck body, is covered with hard shell, has scissors that can easily pinch a human body, and itsrge tail is sharp like a needle.

    If I¡¯m not mistaken, its a Scorpion.

    There is no doubt its a Scorpion.

    But the size ispletely different.

    [What the, that¡¯s a big Scorpion.] Jade

    The scorpions that were asrge as a wolf look tiny.

    There are tens of meters in the size of the torso alone. The tail bends sharply and shakes, it also had big scissors that seem to be hard. And above all, the color is ominous. It has a pitch ck color.

    The color fuels the fear.

    [There is such a monster?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve heard about it, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen it.] Jade

    Jade-san was surprised and observed quietly so that he doesn¡¯t get noticed.

    I¡¯ll check with Bear Detection Magic.

    [Scorpion] is disyed.

    Yeah, its pointless, so I¡¯ll stop.

    Its bigger than the other scorpions, so its a big scorpion, its ck, so its a ck scorpion or a dark scorpion, etc..

    [As expected we can¡¯t beat it.] Jade

    [And the Scorpions around it are in the way. We can¡¯t fight it normally.] Mel

    [Courage and recklessness are different things.] Senia

    We look around as we hide.

    There are countless normal-sized Scorpions around arge Scorpion.

    There are roughly more than 50 of them.

    In the back, you can see a worm being eaten. This is the scorpion¡¯s nest and may be a hunting ground.

    Fighting here means fighting on the opponent¡¯s home ground.

    I personally want to fight that big scorpion. But if I fight in front of Karina, she might start to cry again.

    I wish it was one-on-one.

    I¡¯m not borrowing Mel-san¡¯s words, but the small (about a wolf¡¯s size) scorpions are in the way.

    [So Karina. The thing that we¡¯re looking for, is it here?] Jade

    Jade-san asks.

    If it fell somewhere here, we have to pick it up.

    Hopefully its not in the Scorpion.

    Karina closes her eyes and tries to find the crystal te.

    Then she slowly open her eyes.

    [.....It can¡¯t be. Is this for real?] Karina

    She muttered in a small voice.

    Karina descends from Hugging Bear and looks at the incrediblyrge scorpion.

    [This has got to be a lie... Why now, when we¡¯vee this far?] Karina

    [What happened, Karina?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    Karina looks at me with a crying eye.

    [The crystal te. It¡¯s in that big monster.] Karina

    [......You gotta be kidding me.] Jade

    [We can¡¯t beat that.] Toya

    In Karina¡¯s words, Jade-san and Toya looks at therge scorpion.

    [There¡¯s a big difference between looking at it and defeating it.] Jade

    That¡¯s exactly what Jade-san says.

    If it fell somewhere near it, I would be able to draw its attention using my and Mel-san¡¯s magic, then it pick up and dash.

    But if its inside the Scorpion¡¯s body, then I¡¯ll have to defeat it.

    [If you want to defeat it, you will need to gather more adventurers or call high-ranked adventurers.] Jade

    [Can¡¯t we defeat it with Mel-san and everyone here?] Yuna

    Mel-san thinks a bit about my question.

    [Um, it¡¯s pretty tough. If we fight with our lives on the line, we might be able to win. But in that case, we¡¯ll have to be prepared for sacrifices. If we fight it, someone may die. Even if you don¡¯t die, you¡¯ll be seriously injured.] Mel

    [But that is a condition that doesn¡¯t count those little scorpions. Those little scorpion are in the way.] Senia

    Senia-san adds battle conditions to Mel-san¡¯s words.

    Sure, that small (not for me small) scorpions are annoying. If you went for a fight, they will definitely gang at you.

    Even if you defeat the small scorpion first, you can¡¯t imagine that there are so many of it and the big scorpion doesn¡¯t look like it will stay silent.

    [It¡¯s better to turn back and ask for Balima-san¡¯s opinion.] Jade

    [That¡¯s right. As expected, we should avoid impossible fights.] Mel

    [We should head back first.] Senia

    [If only I have a Mithril Sword.] Toya

    No one responded into Toya¡¯s monolouge.

    Karina is staring at the big scorpion.

    Well, is there a way to beat it?

    If it didn¡¯t have a small scorpions around it, it would have been nice to have it as a game. (TN: a trophy.)

    The scorpions surrounding it are in the way. Should I attack the Scorpions from above and reduce the numbers first?

    When I¡¯m thinking of a way to defeat it, everyone decided on returning.

    [That¡¯s fine for Karina-chan too, right?] Mel

    [..........Yes.] Karina

    Karina bites her lips, then she replies with a small regret.

    Karina agreed, so everyone tried to back-track on the road, but I didn¡¯t move.

    [Yuna-san?] Karina

    [Karina, return with Jade-san and the others.] Yuna

    Everyone has a surprised expression in my words.

    [Yuna-chan, Are you going to fight it?] Mel

    [Scorpions are different from worms. The shell is hard and it moves fast. Its too dagerous.] Senia

    [This is not the ce to do the imposible. It will not be toote, even if we we talk to Balima-san.] Jade

    Everyone tries to stop me.

    But there is the object in front of me.

    I don¡¯t think that big scorpion can be beaten by gathering adventurers in the city. It takes time to gather strong people from the Royal Capital and other countries.

    Moreover, I have a Bear Cheat here. If I can¡¯t fight it here now, when can I fight it?

    I put my hand on Karina¡¯s head with .

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    [It¡¯ll be alright. I can retreive the crystal te.] Yuna

    Karina shakes her head many times.

    [No good. Its seriously dangerous. It¡¯s already good enough. I will report to my father. No matter how strong Yuna-san is, its still dangerous. You can¡¯t beat such a monster.] Karina

    [Nope, you¡¯re wrong, My job is to get the crystal te and go up to thebyrinth with Karina. Besides my strength has been approved by His Majesty the King.] Yuna

    [Yu- Yuna-san.....] Karina

    Karina holds onto my Bear Costume with her small hand.

    I ce my hand on Karina¡¯s head and look at her.

    [Karina, please.] Yuna

    [Are you really going to fight?] Mel

    [If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll be right behind you.] Jade

    [Mel-san and the other¡¯s job was to escort me and Karina to where we will be searching. The request has already been fulfilled. The rest is my job.] Yuna

    [If so, Yuna should return as well.] Senia

    [That¡¯s right. No matter how important it is, you don¡¯t have to fight for your life here.] Mel

    Senia-san and Mel-san tries to stop me anxiously.

    I do not intend to fight with my life on the line. I¡¯ll just fight because I have a Bear Cheat.

    Not fighting here is an embarrassing act as a former gamer.

    [If I feel that I¡¯m not going to win, it¡¯ll be fine because I¡¯ll run away.] Yuna

    [Do you really want to do it?] Karina

    [I guess Karina is the one going to take responsibility if anything happens to me.] Yuna

    I once again put my hand on Karina¡¯s head.

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    [......I got it. Karina-chan will take responsibility when we reached the top. That¡¯s why Yuna-chan shoulde back properly.] Mel

    Don¡¯t send people to their graveyard.

    Generally, this is the situation where you raised a death g and you know the person who left is going to die.

    I will not die.

    If I can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll give up and run away.

    [Hugging Bear, protect Karina.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear rubs his face against me.

    [I¡¯m going to sleep with you tonight.] Yuna

    Hugging Bear moves to Karina and sits down.

    Today, Hugging Bear is easy to figure out. When I return, I¡¯ll have to y with him a lot.

    [Really now, don¡¯t do the impossible.] Jade

    [I won¡¯t.] Yuna

    As I walked to the passage where everyone came, I made a wall with earth magic to seal the entrance.

    [Yuna-chan!] Mel

    [Yuna-san, why did you block the path!] Karina

    Karina was screaming from the other side of the wall.

    [It would be terrible if the scorpions here pass through and chase Karina and the others.] Yuna

    If they notice me, they may climb up here.

    If that happens, it will be the worst case scenario.

    Moreover, it is to prevent Karina and Jade-san¡¯s party from entering. I don¡¯t know how the battle will turn up, but the cave may copse.

    I might end up using the full extent of the cheat. If possible, I don¡¯t want to show them such appearance.

    And if Karina saw how I fight she may cry again, I don¡¯t want that.

    If I close the entrance, I will not be able to return.

    [I don¡¯t understand.] Mel

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    Even now, Karina is crying.

    That¡¯s strange. I haven¡¯t fought yet and she didn¡¯t saw any dangerous scenes.

    Was there an element that made her cry?

    [Yuna-san... please don¡¯t die.] Karina

    It¡¯s okay because I have a Bear Cheat.

    When I¡¯m in a pinch, I¡¯ll also use the Bear Gate.

    I cannot possibly use it when everyone is on this side.

    [Whether I can beat it or not. I¡¯ll be back. Jade-san, please protect Karina.] Yuna

    [Yeah, just don¡¯t overdo it Yuna.] Jade

    [I won¡¯t.] Yuna

    [J¨­-chan. When we return, let¡¯s eat together.] Toya

    [It¡¯ll be Toya¡¯s treat.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, when youe back, let me ride on Swaying bear-chan again.] Mel

    [Just a little.] Yuna

    [I want to y a knife game after this.] Senia

    [Please take care of yourselves.] Yuna

    Somehow it¡¯s like a send off party over the wall.

    Stop it.

    I¡¯lle back alive.

    [We¡¯ll be waiting for you upstairs.] Jade

    [I¡¯ll be back, so don¡¯t worry about it, just wait for me diligently.] Yuna

    Karina and the others left.

    Now then shall we fight?

 Chapter 317 Bear-san, Fights the Big Scorpion.

    I¡¯m left alone, looking at the Scorpions.

    [Now then, it¡¯s a good thing that I¡¯m the only one left, but what should I do now? Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    I asked Swaying Bear who stayed with me.

    Swaying Bear has a face that says [I don¡¯t know.]

    Yeah, of course.

    [Can I roast it with me Bear?] Yuna

    Just try to imagine...

    Even if it didn¡¯t burn the shell, the insides may get cooked with heat. If the pan is heated, the heat will reach deeper. If the heat reaches inside it, it may be able to bake its meat.

    When I look at Swaying Bear, he cries , while shaking his head a little.

    I wonder why?

    Swaying Bear, sits up and touches his stomach.

    [Do you have a stomachache?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear shakes his head.

    It¡¯s different, apparently.

    Swaying Bear moves his neck and looks at the big Scorpion.

    [Scorpion?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear¡¯s belly...

    Scorpion...

    The answer that leads to it is...

    Well... Pomf! (TN: muffled pping sfx.)

    Oh, I see.

    [Crystal te.] Yuna

    Whether my answer was right or not, Swaying Bear sounds happily.

    He touched his stomach to represented the crystal te in the Scorpion¡¯s stomach.

    Well, of course....

    I don¡¯t know how robust the crystal te is. But I don¡¯t think it can withstand the heat of the me Bears.

    The me Bear has extremely high temperature. If it gets baked by the me Bear as well, it may break.

    Electrical appliance breaks down at extreme temperatures. As for my personalputer, I left the air conditioner on during the summer.

    But then, I can¡¯t use lightning magic as well. I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll affects its body. If the electricity flows into the body and the crystal te cracks, I will not be able to be recover it.

    If I think about it that way, I can¡¯t use the internal destruction magic.

    The rest are water, ice, wind and soil, but I don¡¯t feel like they¡¯re all going to be fatally damage by it.

    Before fighting, I thought it would be easy to defeat it using the Bear Cheat, but when I think about the crystal te in its body, the attack method suddenly narrows.

    This could be a surprisingly troublesome fight.

    I pat the head of Swaying Bear and thank him for warning me.

    So, before fighting the big Scorpion, I have to deal with the small Scorpions that are getting in the way.

    I lean over from the height of about 2 or 3 floors and shoot an ice arrow towards the Scorpion that was crawling just below.

    The ice arrow stuck onto Scorpion¡¯s back. However, it kept crawling as if it was nothing.

    Did it stop halfway?

    Either the shell is too hard, or because the ice arrows were not powerful enough, it seems that they cannot be defeated by the current level of attack.

    I thought it was just a small fry and a little delicious?

    But it seems to be stronger, harder, sharper, and faster than I thought.

    The Scorpion with an ice arrow sticking on its back, raised its tail up. And it shoots it¡¯s needle above, towards me.

    I quickly lower my body and avoid it.

    I look down as I crawl. Then, the Scorpions began to gather.

    Hey, that¡¯s too fast.

    I only shot a single ice arrow.

    Look at how much coordination is taking ce right now. But if I stay here, I¡¯ll be fine.

    Then, the Scorpions climbed the wall while I was thinking of such a dumb idea.

    You must be kidding me! Moreover, their climbing speed is so fast.

    However, it seems to be the right choice to block the passage. Scorpions were no longer able to chase Karina and the others from here.

    I move directly above the climbing Scorpions.

    The Scorpions climb the wall instinctively.

    If I take a position directly above them, they will quickly identify me as an air head asking to be hit.

    I shot a hard, sharp, fast, ice arrow at the ticking chelicerae of the nearest Scorpion. The ice arrow sinks into the Scorpion¡¯s chelicerae, then falls to the ground and stops moving.

    Like any living thing, the mouth(chelicerae) is the main weakness. If you can¡¯t stop it with your teeth or anything, it¡¯ll destroy your body.

    I aim and shoot down the chelicerae of the Scorpions climbing like a shooting game. There are a lot of them, but their number will surely decrease.

    I thought I could annihte the small Scorpions with simple grinding, but the big Scorpion slowly began to move.

    And it¡¯s heading towards me.

    I caught a glimpse of it¡¯s pitch ck eyes. It¡¯s disgusting.

    The big Scorpion raises its tail high and aims the tip at me.

    I ducked andid prone on the floor. Several needles dart out of the big Scorpion¡¯s tail.

    The needles hit the wall that the small Scorpions were trying to climb, even the wall behind me. Some of the walls copsed. Thanks to that, the Scorpions, which were climbing the wall, fell to the ground.

    The size of the needle is about the size of my arm. The tip is very sharp.

    If I get hit by it, even I would be worried of whether the Bear Equipment can bear it.

    I think it can withstand the impact, but what I¡¯m really worried about was getting impaled by the sharp tip.

    Though I don¡¯t think the Bear Equipment will break, however I can¡¯t imagine when I get hit by it.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m not going to try it.

    The big Scorpion isn¡¯t stopping it¡¯s barrage. More and more needles are flying. The small Scorpions are still trying to climb the wall without giving up.

    This might be bad.

    It¡¯s a hassle to fight the small Scorpions and the big Scorpion simultaneously. I just wanted to reduce the number a little more if I could.

    I attacked the small Scorpions and called back Swaying Bear.

    It is dangerous to leave Swaying Bear like that, so it is better to return him. Of course, I don¡¯t doubt Swaying Bear¡¯s ability to fight. But he might not only get attacked by the Scorpions, he might get eaten up as well.

    Therefore, I decided to send him back because it was dangerous if there was a chance of it happening to Swaying Bear.

    However, Swaying Bear cries as if he hates it a little.

    [I¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    I pat Swaying Bear¡¯s head, but Swaying Bear doesn¡¯t like it.

    [It¡¯s dangerous, so please.] Yuna

    [Sorry. I¡¯ll call you when the fight is over.] Yuna

    I sent back the reluctant Swaying Bear.

    I¡¯m d he¡¯s worried about me. But, I¡¯m worried about Swaying Bear as well.

    If anything happens to Swaying Bear, I could not regret it even if I try to. I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are my precious family. I cannot afford to bring my precious family to danger.

    I deeply apologize to Swaying Bear within my heart.

    I¡¯ll summon youter, so forgive me.

    But I have to defeat the big Scorpion.

    [Well, then, struggle for me!] Yuna

    I decide to go wild without worrying about the surroundings. I jump from the height of about 2-3 floors.

    I squeezed the ck Swaying Bear knife and the white Hugging Bear knife in my hands.

    I named the ck-handled mithril knife, Swaying Bear knife and the white-handled mithril knife, Hugging Bear knife.

    I may have named it, but Gazal-san made it to suit the color of my Bear Puppets. Then I simply named them ording to their colors.

    Holding the knives in my hands, I rushed towards the small Scorpions.

    Then, I shoot water magic at the small Scorpions. The soaked Scorpions were stiffed for a moment. I cut the tails with Swaying Bear knife in my right hand and stabbed their heads with Hugging Bear knife.

    I just killed 2-3 small Scorpions, and the big Scorpion slowly moved its body. The direction of the tail is tracking me. Then as expected, it rapidly fired it¡¯s needles at me.

    [Wai..!] Yuna

    I put strength on my feet and evade to the side.

    While running clockwise around the big Scorpion, I stunned the small Scorpions by soaking them with water magic and killed them with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knives.

    Anyway, I¡¯m really d that Karina and the others went back.

    I don¡¯t want them to see me fighting like this.

    It may traumatize them.

    Of course, I can¡¯t show them the power of the cheats.

    Above all, the appearance of fighting monsters in a Bear Costume is too surreal.

    If I saw such a character in the game fighting some monsters, I¡¯d definitelyugh.

    Such appearance will make anyone aughingstock.

    However, themon sense of the other world is different from the original world.

    Karina doesn¡¯tugh. I just have a worried face.

    I breathe in deeply to clear my mind.

    As I run around the big Scorpion, I¡¯m killing the small Scorpions to reduce the number. In the meantime, the big Scorpion is aiming at me and shooting it¡¯s needles.

    How annoying!

    But if I don¡¯t kill the small Scorpions, my legs will get caught.

    When I defeat about a half of the small Scorpions, the big Scorpion turns around, stretches its tail and swings it with centrifugal force.

    So fast!

    The tail of the big Scorpion is approaching me.

    I jumped up.

    The big tail quickly sweeps through the ce where I was. There were small Scorpions in the ce where it passed.

    The small Scorpions got caught in the tail and sted off. Then, the sted Scorpions mmed onto the wall and got crushed.

    The remains of the Scorpions that got crushed, demonstrates the power.

    I don¡¯t think I could bear it if I receive that attack.

    Even if it doesn¡¯t hurt, I don¡¯t want it.

    But this greatly reduced the number of Scorpions. In addition, the Scorpions began to escape into the holes at side of the pit, as quick as a cockroach.

    Isn¡¯t this lucky?

    Now I can fight the big Scorpion without worrying about the surroundings.

    Now, the real game starts.

    I made a big water ball and threw it towards the big Scorpion. The Scorpion destroys the water ball with a tail spin. (TN: somehow it became a Pok¨¦mon battle.)

    The destroyed water ball sshed on the Scorpion, but it didn¡¯t stop moving.

    I shoot multiple water balls, about the size of Swaying Bear, towards the big Scorpion to check the effect.

    Some of them were knocked down by the tail, but several shots hit the body of the Scorpion.

    However, it¡¯s movement didn¡¯t became dull even if it was soaking wet.

    It seems to be different from the small-fry Scorpions.

    Water is useless.

    Then I shot a Bear Cutter.

    It was blocked by the huge pincers and only made a little scratch. As I thought, its too hard to cut.

    Next, I made a big rock, rotated and shoot it. The big Scorpion protects it¡¯s face with both pincers in front.

    The rock dents the Scorpion¡¯s shell.

    I wonder if the power approach is effective.

    However, it makes me worried whether the crystal te in the Scorpion¡¯s stomach might get crushed by the vibration or by the impact.

    By all means, I¡¯m worried about the crystal te in the Scorpion, so it is not possible to attack drastically.

    The stress gradually umtes.

    And the narrow space, makes it more difficult to fight than I imagined. It¡¯s troublesome to keep dragging this for too long.

    And it doesn¡¯t give me time to think.

    The big Scorpion is approaching. It tried to pinch me with it¡¯s right huge pincers. I evade it by moving to my left. But at that moment, the big body of the big Scorpion rotates.

    I jumped andnded on the high ground of the entrance.

    Damn, this is annoying.

    I wonder if I should go back and think about what to do.

    I take a deep breath and try to figure out how to deal with it, but it doesn¡¯t want to give me that time. When it point it¡¯s tail at me, it barrages me with it¡¯s needles.

    The wall above me copses due to the impact of the needles.

    Give me some time to think!

    Oh, I want to burn it.

    I want to electrocute it.

    I want to roast the insides of it¡¯s body.

    I want to crush it.

    The stress umtes.

    I feel like I¡¯m being attacked by a weak, feeble, fragile opponent.

    I want to smash its nose. (TN: Don¡¯t ask me, that¡¯s what the raw said.)

    I get off the ground and stand in front of the Scorpion.

    When I stood in front it, it¡¯s face gave me the chills. It¡¯s disgusting.

    As it crawls, it shakes it¡¯s huge pincers. I evade sideways and jump forward. Then, Ind on it¡¯s back, with the Scorpion¡¯s head as a base.

    A great chance to win.

    I run my magical power into Swaying Bear knife and stab it¡¯s shell. Swaying Bear knife easily pierced it.

    I cut it¡¯s back using Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knives.

    But it doesn¡¯t reach the body, nothing came out like blood or something.

    It seems that, either the shell is too thick or the knife didn¡¯t reach all the way.

    I wonder if I should use a long sword and not knives. If it¡¯s true, I want to shoot magic from where I wounded it with the knives. However, its not possible to do it if its near the crystal te.

    While I¡¯m puzzled on the back of the Scorpion, it¡¯s tail attacks me. I¡¯ll rip it off with Swaying Bear knife in a cross-side sh....

    ....The tip of the tail was cut.

    Now you can¡¯t even shoot a needle with this.

    The moment I thought so, the tip of the tail swells a new needle tipes out.

    There is such a thing?

    Am I going to have to cut it off from the base?

    I just don¡¯t know what to do anymore.

 Chapter 318 Bear-san, Makes Use of the Cheat Skills.

    The tail is attacking me, while I¡¯m standing on the Scorpion¡¯s back. I quickly jump and evade. But it was a blunder to jump halfway.

    The tail swings like a pendulum and attacks me in the air. I got blown away by the tail that has just recovered. I was blown away and rolled near the wall.

    I wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    Did I still feel like this is just a game?

    If I take damage in the game, I can use recovery items. So it¡¯s no problem to be a bit more aggressive.

    In some cases, yers were prepared to receive damage.

    But there is no such remedy in this world. (I haven¡¯t seen it yet.)

    So thinking about such things, I have to fight a little more carefully.

    When other people saw you being blown away, but then you walk it off like it¡¯s nothing, then they¡¯re going to be suspicious of you.

    Even Karina was crying when I got blown away by a big sandworm.

    From now on, I will carefully carve these words into my heart.

    Somehow, I think I heard the voice of God saying,

    Hey, even if I forget it once, I may be able to remember it if I carve it into my heart.

    I¡¯ll try to stand up with the help of the Bear Puppets by pushing myself up the ground. There is a puddle of water at the tip of my hand and the Bear Puppet enters the puddle. Apparently, I was blown away on a puddle of water.

    If this wasn¡¯t a Bear Costume that I got from God, the white belly part would be ck and dirty by now.

    But water?

    I looked around.

    There are puddles of water all around.

    It wasn¡¯t here before.

    I probably created these puddles by shooting my water magic.

    Apparently, the stratum here is bedrock. The water isn¡¯t seeping like in the soil or sand. If the drainage system is insufficient, a puddle will form.

    Something goodes to my mind.

    But I¡¯m tired of doing that magic. It is troublesome to change into a White Bear. I don¡¯t know how long it will take. But if I use that...

    Yeah, this would be possible.

    I created about five Earth Bear Golems. The Bear Golems lined up in front of me. Then, I made the Bear Golems charge toward the big Scorpion.

    Instead of making the golems attack, I made them run around the Scorpion to get it¡¯s attention.

    Meanwhile, I¡¯ll run along the wall.

    I¡¯m running along the wall while filling the holes with earth magic.

    asionally I get surprised to see a small scorpion, but I closed the holes without minding about it.

    Meanwhile, the Bear Golems were running around the Scorpion and drawing it¡¯s attention, but the Bear Golems were getting smashed by hard pincers or being destroyed by tail attacks.

    I¡¯m sealing the holes in the cave while watching the Bear Golems get destroyed.

    Then thest Bear Golem was grabbed by the pincers and got crushed.

    Even though it was just made of soil, it feels bad to to see the Bear Golems getting destroyed.

    But thanks to the Bear Golems, I was able to go around the cave room. Now I am ready to defeat the big Scorpion.

    I can work on killing the big Scorpion as it is, but that doesn¡¯t help me. To be blown away once again, it doesn¡¯t feel good. Also the Bear Golems were destroyed.

    We will return the favor along with the interest.

    Once again I created another batch of Earth Bear Golems and made it run toward the big Scorpion head-on.

    While Scorpion¡¯s attention is on the Bear Golems, I approached the Scorpion from it¡¯s blind spot. Then, I climbed on the back of the moving Scorpion.

    The Scorpion notices that I am on it¡¯s back and strikes me with it¡¯s tail, but I dodge it and move to the base of the tail.

    You can¡¯t attack me with your tail or pincers here.

    I squeeze the ck Swaying Bear knife and stab it towards the base of the Scorpion¡¯s tail. This is also too thick to cut off.

    The moment I pull out the knife and try to stab it again, the Scorpion rotates it¡¯s body and tries to shake me off.

    I immediately pierce the Swaying Bear knife in to prevent me from being thrown off.

    The big Scorpion did not stop spinning. I also stab the Hugging Bear knife in my left hand and pull the knives in front of my body.

    The base of the tail was carved deeply.

    I put my right-hand Bear Puppet in the ce where I cut with a knife. I feel ufortable but I have to endure it.

    Scorpion screams, and tries to knock me off with a reverse spin.

    (TN: I thought are goblin sounds.)

    However, I grab the base of the tail with the left-hand Bear Puppet as well so that I will not be shaken off.

    Then, I charge the right-hand Bear Puppet with magical power the and shoot a Bear Cutter.

    Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter, Bear Cutter.

    A scream-like leaks from the chelicerae of the big Scorpion.

    At the same time the rotation stops, the tail is cut off and the centrifugal forceunches me flying towards the wall along with the tail.

    The Scorpion, who¡¯s tail has been cut off, ticks it¡¯s chelicerae at a high speed and made its eyes look agitated.

    I wonder if I offended it.

    But I¡¯m simply returning the favor.

    If it is true, then this would be a good time to enter the second round.

    With the crystal te in mind, I¡¯ll put an end to this fight.

    The angry Scorpion elerates at once and approaches me at a tremendous speed.

    Focused my strength on the Bear Shoes and jumped up close to the ceiling.

    The Scorpion hits the wall.

    Well, it looks like you have blood rushing through your head.

    I created a scaffolding using earth magic at the wall near the ceiling andnd on it.

    The big Scorpion was angry with not being able to find me. It moves to destroy the remaining Bear Golem, while looking around, searching for me to see if I will try to stop it.

    Even if it can find me up here, it can¡¯t shoot it¡¯s needles at me, because I ripped it¡¯s tail off.

    Are you ready for the final act?

    I expand my foothold with earth magic. Then, I created the Bear Gate.

    Not only one, but five.

    The position of the Bear Gates A, B, C, D and E were arranged side by side.

    Then, using Bear Gate A, I went to the Bear House in the town of Mereera.

    It¡¯s been so long since thest time I was here in the city of Mereera. I left the Bear House immediately because I have no time to stay long.

    When I step outside, there are various ongoing developments and buildings are being built.

    However, the development around the Bear House has yet to progress. It¡¯s as if the structures was being constructed to avoid my Bear House.

    Are you avoiding it?

    Well, that¡¯s not important right now.

    I left the Bear House and started running for the beach. Shortly after leaving my Bear House, I will be on the road connecting the tunnel and the town of Mereera.

    I cross the road and head to the shore. Then, I move to a ce where no onees along the coast.

    Is this a good spot?

    I was seen by a few people beforeing here.

    Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not that far anyways.

    I dig a trench-like hole, about two meters deep near the coast. In the trench holes, the Bear Gates a, b, c and d are installed.

    Bear Gate e, would normally be installed in the trenches, but...

    Then, I connected the Bear Gates as follows Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, and Ee.

    I return to the cave using Bear Gate e and look down.

    You¡¯re still angry.

    This will to cool your head.

    When I return to the sea, I removed the trench wall between the Bear Gates and the sea, breaking the dam wall.

    Then, arge amount of seawater flows through the Bear Gates.

    I return to the cave using Bear Gate e.

    Huge amount of seawater flows down like a waterfall from the Bear Gates A, B, C and D. The seawater was pouring on the big Scorpion¡¯s body.

    Have you cooled your head a little?

    From where I¡¯m looking at, far from getting it¡¯s head cool, it feels like it¡¯s anger exploded even more as it screamed a very loud .

    But that¡¯s about it.

    The Scorpion will be submerged in seawater any moment now.

    Though one of my fears is that the big Scorpion would climb the wall.

    The small Scorpions was climbing the wall earlier, but the big Scorpion only moved around without climbing the wall.

    Maybe it¡¯s too heavy to climb the wall?

    If it seem like it is going to climb up, I¡¯ll shoot it down, but it looks like there¡¯s no need to worry about it.

    The water flows like a waterfall from the Bear Gates and the water level rises, though it seems to take time.

    I summoned Swaying Bear to watch it together with me.

    Then, Swaying Bear immediately rubs his head against me. I feel like he¡¯s angry at me, he¡¯sining with , , .

    [I¡¯m sorry to make you worry.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay now.] Yuna

    When I pet Swaying Bear¡¯s head and hug him, Swaying Bear finally forgives me.

    I¡¯m d you¡¯re worried about me, but I want you to understand how I feel as well.

    [Well, I¡¯ll rest for a while, so let me know if the Scorpion does anything.] Yuna

    When I ask Swaying Bear, he cries a cheerful , he seems to be happy.

    I lie on the stomach of Swaying Bear. I¡¯ll take a rest while listening to the sound of the sea water flowing like a waterfall.

    When I lie down hugging Swaying Bear, I feel better.

    The sound of water falling like a waterfall is unexpectedly not bad at all.

    Well, Swaying Bear¡¯s stomach feels good.

    For a while now, I felt like my body was being swayed between dream and reality.

    What¡¯s this?

    When I opened my eyes, Swaying Bear was shaking my body.

    [Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    There is still a sound, like a waterfall flowing down. Well, I never thought I¡¯ve slept half-way in a ce like this. I wonder if I was tired.

    [What happened?] Yuna

    I stood up and looked at the Scorpion.

    At the bottom of the cave, the Scorpion was stuck.

    Is it dead?

    I¡¯ll check with Bear Detection Magic.

    I checked the bottom of the cave and the location of the monsters with my Bear Detection Magic, but there is no reaction.

    It¡¯s over.

    I thanked Swaying Bear for waking me.

    Then, in order to stop the flow of the seawater, I went to the coast using the Bear Gate E. As I walked to the shore, I made a wall with earth magic to stop the seawater flowing through the Bear Gates.

    When the seawater was stopped, I closed the Bear Gates a, b, c, d and e and recovered all the Bear Gates in the beach.

    It¡¯s a hassle, but I¡¯ll have to go back to the Bear House in Mereera and use the Bear Gate installed there to return to the cave.

    Then, all the Bear Gates in the cave were recovered and the game finally ended.

    Now, the question was how to recover the big Scorpion, but I already figured it out.

    It takes time to drain the seawater if dig a side hole.

    And it is not possible to drain it if there is no space for the seawater to get flush somewhere. Therefore, I decided to leave the seawater as it is and only recover the Scorpion.

    I¡¯ll make an air bubble around me using wind magic.

    It¡¯s one of the ways I came up with when I was trying to kill the Kraken before.

    If I can¡¯t fight on the water, I can dive into the water for a short period of time.

    [Well, I¡¯ll be back in a minute, so wait for me.] Yuna

    I told Swaying Bear to wait here, then I dive into the seawater. I entered the water while I¡¯m inside the air bubble and slowly descend deeper, then I arrive at the remains of the big Scorpion.

    Then, I reach out to the Scorpion and put it in the Bear Box.

    With this, my mission isplete.

    By the way, the small Scorpions and the tail which I cut off earlier are also collected.

    [I¡¯m back.] Yuna

    All that¡¯s left is to go back to Karina.

    However, I notice that there is no way back. The passage where I came in was now under the seawater.

    Well, if there¡¯s no way out, all I have to do is dig the ground.

    I decide to dig while making stairs.

    I dig rocks, dig sand and move up.

    I came across some open spaces along the way, but I made stairways without worrying about it and keep digging.

    It¡¯s a hassle. But, I finally got out to the ground floor.

    Oh, it¡¯s dazzling.

    I pulled the Bear Hood to the front and cut off the light.

    I got out safely.

    I left the seawater and came back to the ground floor, it feels nice.

    Later, this seawater will be discovered by the adventurers and it¡¯ll be a hot topic among the researchers who will be studying the underground of this pyramid and the fish ecology inside it.

    ............That has nothing to do with me.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Now we¡¯re done with subjugating the Scorpions.

    It¡¯s about how to use the Bear Gates.

    It is a method which cannot be used with transfer magic alone.

    It is necessary to improve the mood of Hugging Bear because the mood of Swaying Bear is already good.

    ¡ù Yuna¡¯s belly is white.

    It would be helpful if you could check the cover of volume one for more information.

    (You can also check the shops that are selling in the Inte, housewives and lifestylepanies.)

 Chapter 319 Iâ€™m Worried About Bear-san. Karinaâ€™s Point of View.

    319 I¡¯m Worried About Bear-san. (Karina¡¯s Point of View.)

    I¡¯m staring at the wall.

    There are many monsters behind that wall. Yuna-san stayed there with Swaying Bear-chan. It is impossible even if you told me not to worry.

    It looks like she will fight those monsters alone to retrieve the crystal te.

    A mysterious girl dressed as a Bear. A very gentle, pretty and adventurer-like girl. The King asked her to deliver the Kraken¡¯s water magic stone. She was someone who reached out to me when my heart was about to copse.

    Why is Yuna-san doing that?

    Please, I¡¯m begging you...

    Yuna-san, pleasee back safely.

    Hugging Bear-chan rubs his cheeks against me, who seems to be worried as well. Are youforting me?

    I pet Hugging Bear-chan.

    Yuna-san have very gentle bears.

    [Let¡¯s go, Karina-chan.] Mel

    Mel-san called out to me while I was looking at the wall. We can¡¯t be here forever, so we have to move.

    I ride on Hugging Bear-chan.

    Hugging Bear-chan starts walking while I¡¯m holding on his hair.

    [Yuna-chan, is going to be fine.] Mel

    Mel-san is kindly speaking to me who looks very anxious.

    [But alone against such a big monster.] Karina

    I heard she defeated the Kraken and other monsters, but it doesn¡¯t matter to me. When I first heard it, I simply knew she defeated some great monsters.

    But when I saw the big monster in front of me, it seemed impossible. Can people really defeat such a big monster?

    [Yuna-chan is an adventurer who can easily kill big worms.] Mel

    [But Mel-san and Jade-san, couldn¡¯t kill it.] Karina

    That¡¯s how strong that monster is.

    [That¡¯s the case between our abilities. Yuna-chan is strong, but if it seems really impossible, she¡¯ll escape without doing anything.] Mel

    [It¡¯s okay because she¡¯s with Swaying Bear.] Senia

    Senia-san, who¡¯s walking on the other side of Mel-san, speaks. But that¡¯s right, she might be able to do it along with Swaying Bear-chan. Not just the big monster. There were also many small monsters.

    If I were to stand in that ce, I would be scared and my legs would give up and I will be frozen in ce.

    [And if Yuna-chan wants to fight, we must respect those words.] Mel

    [It¡¯s an adventurer thing.] Senia

    It¡¯s an adventurer thing?

    I can never be an adventurer.

    [But, I¡¯ve never seen such a big Scorpion before. Can she beat it alone? And the small Scorpions as well?] Toya

    Toya-san walking behind us speaks.

    But as exactly what Toya-san says.

    I think it¡¯s impossible to defeat that huge number of monsters alone.

    [Yuna-chan can easily kill the small Scorpions.] Mel

    [But there¡¯s even a bigger Scorpion in that narrow space. She may be able to beat the small Scorpions, but can she beat that thing? Earlier, she was saying while defeating the small Scorpions. If you enter that space, all of those will attack simultaneously.] Toya

    [That¡¯s right, but......] Mel

    Mel-san agrees with Toya-san¡¯s words.

    Does that mean she can¡¯t beat it?

    [But I believe there¡¯s a way to defeat it, otherwise Yuna-chan wouldn¡¯t stay behind. She¡¯s the one who took down that golem alone after all.] Mel

    [I was surprised as well at that time. The day after everyone gave up and just drank the whole night, she returned from the mine, saying she had defeated the golem.] Toya

    [She didn¡¯t mention how how she defeated it though. Maybe Swaying Bear-chan defeated it.] Mel

    [If that¡¯s the case, then this Bear may be strong, too.] Toya

    Toya-san looks at Hugging Bear-chan.

    Did Yuna-san gave me a very strong escort?

    It seems that Hugging Bear-chan knows that he is being talked about, so he cried cutely.

    [Well, that J¨­-chan is a weird girl after all.] Toya

    [Fu fu, yeah. Yuna-chan is a strange girl, all right.] Mel

    [Her strength is unknown.] Senia

    Yuna-san is a very strange person.

    As we talk, Jade-san joins in the conversation.

    [Someone told me that ever since she arrived, only a few people saw Yuna fighting. But everyone was convinced that she¡¯s the one who defeated those. As a proof, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild raised her rank. If the story of the past is true, it will be possible for her to escape if she knew that she cannot defeat it.] Jade

    Her adventurer rank was C. She is still 15 years old, which seems to be great.

    In addition to Kraken, she also defeated other monsters.

    [She have Swaying Bear-chan with her.] Mel

    Surely if she have Swaying Bear-chan, she may be able to escape.

    [But, Most adventurers have never seen Yuna fight.] Jade

    [Maybe she doesn¡¯t want to be seen by others.] Senia

    [Even if Yuna-chan could beat the worms in the desert by herself. She insisted on helping us so she can hide it.] Mel

    Senia-san agreed, can Yuna-san really beat that number of worms alone?

    [Because she can beat the Scorpions hidden in the sand. If I have such ability, I¡¯ll show it off to everyone.] Toya

    It sounds like Yuna-san is ridiculously strong.

    I think Yuna-san is strong, if she could defeat the Kraken. But even when I saw Yuna-san defeating the worms and scorpions, I was looking at her like a pretty bear.

    Certainly, she doesn¡¯t seem to fit the bill.

    [But don¡¯t you care how J¨­-chan fights? Aren¡¯t you worried about that?] Toya

    [Of course I¡¯m worried, That cute girl stayed behind.] Mel

    [Well then, should we stay behind as well?] Toya

    [I want to see how Yuna fights.] Senia

    [Then let¡¯s go see it.] Toya

    Senia-san agrees with Toya-san¡¯s words and tries to turn back.

    [Our job is to take Karina out of here. Senia don¡¯t be swayed by Toya¡¯s words.] Jade

    ording to Jade-san¡¯s words, we will return top side instead of going back to Yuna-san.

    We passed the area where Yuna-san killed the Scorpions and crossed the bridge made by Yuna-san.

    Returning on the path we came from, we can see how Yuna-san is a very amazing person.

    We got back to the ground floor of the pyramid where there are a lot ofbyrinth passages, then we went and exit the pyramid.

    When we got outside, everyone felt rxed. We may have been too tensed.

    Jade-san and his colleagues went to check the Ragaroot.

    I will stay with Hugging Bear at the entrance of the pyramid and wait for Yuna-san to return.

    [Yuna-san...] Karina

    [Are you so worried?] Mel

    When I mentioned Yuna-san¡¯s name, Mel-san and Senia-san came from behind.

    [Mel-san, Senia-san? Didn¡¯t you went to check the Ragaroots?] Karina

    [We are Karina-chan¡¯s escorts, a monster might attack.] Mel

    [Well, of course. I trust Hugging Bear-chan.] Mel

    Mel-san strokes Hugging Bear-chan¡¯s head.

    [Oh, Yuna-chan has it good. I also want a summon beast like this.] Mel

    I agree with that. I really want Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan as well.

    [In addition, this child and Yuna-chan seems to have their hearts connected, so if anything happened to Yuna-chan he¡¯ll know about it, I think.] Mel

    Certainly, she did said that.

    [Hugging Bear-chan, do you sense Yuna-san?] Karina

    I don¡¯t know what he is saying.

    But if that is true, if there is something happened to Yuna-san, he may sense it.

    While we are waiting at the entrance of the pyramid, Uragan-sanes.

    Looking around, you can see that the others are still doing the dismantling. It seems that they were still doing that.

    [Oi! You¡¯re back?] Uragan

    [More or less.] Senia

    [So did you find what you were looking for?] Uragan

    [Well, we found it, that part is correct, but we didn¡¯t get it.] Senia

    [You found it but you didn¡¯t get it?] Uragan

    We found the location of the crystal te. But we couldn¡¯t get it.

    [What do you mean by that?] Uragan

    [Something like being eaten by a monster?] Mel

    [I guess you can¡¯t beat that, so you ran away?] Uragan

    [Don¡¯t mess with me. That¡¯s the Scorpions¡¯ parent.] Jade

    Jade-san, who returned after taking care of Ragaroot, answered.

    [Scorpions¡¯ parent?] Uragan

    [You may have heard of the rumors. Sometimes giant monsters appear.] Jade

    [It was great, it was big.] Mel

    Mel-san is trying to reach out to the size of the Scorpion with her hands outstretched.

    [You gotta be kidding me.] Uragan

    [Normally that¡¯s what you¡¯ll think. But it¡¯s true.] Senia

    [Well then you gave up and came back?] Uragan

    Mel-san shakes her head.

    [Yuna-chan is fighting it alone.] Mel

    [...Hey, did you left that Bear Girl alone?] Uragan

    Uragan-san¡¯s eyes were wide open, his surprised expression appears due to Mel-san¡¯s words.

    [Yea.] Mel

    [Oi!] Uragan

    When Mel-san affirmed, Uragan-san gets angry and grabs Mel-san¡¯s cor. (TN: chest.... FBI-san, this guy!)

    But Senia-san points a knife at Uragan-san¡¯s neck.

    [Let go.] Senia

    [Shit!] Uragan

    By Senia-san¡¯s words, Uragan-san releases Mel-san steps away from her.

    Fighting is no good.

    [Still, I misjudged you. No matter how strong that Bear Girl is, you left her alone with such monster.] Uragan

    [Yuna-chan told us she would stay alone, so we couldn¡¯t help it.] Mel

    [We even tried to stop her from being reckless.] Jade

    I also wanted to stop her.

    But I couldn¡¯t.

    [Did the Bear Girl really defeated the ck Viper and Tiger Wolf alone?] Uragan

    [You know that?] Jade

    [There¡¯s one guy in my party who knows about her. I heard a little bit from him. When I first heard it, Iughed with my nose. He said, [It¡¯s dangerous to approach her.] [It¡¯s better not to be involved,] or [Let¡¯s get out of town.] And if you ask why, it will sound like a joke. So, when I got this request, I was surprised because there was the Bear Girl, and it looks like your party trusts her. Also I understand now that it¡¯s not a lie after witnessing her killing that giant worm. However, even with these eyes, I can not believe that the Bear Girl is strong.] Uragan

    [Yuna-chan said she will try to fight it, so we couldn¡¯t help it.] Mel

    [That¡¯s why you never came back for her, If you think about it, naturally she would stay behind.] Uragan

    [Fufu.] Mel

    [What¡¯s so funny?] Uragan

    [Because I didn¡¯t think that you were so worried about Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [............Humph! That¡¯s not it.] Uragan

    Everyone began tough, because of Uragan-san¡¯s funny attitude.

    That¡¯s right. When I first met him in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I thought he was scary. But he did remember me, he apologized when he met me at home.

    He might be thinking , he may be a kind person, but his face was still scary.

    [So, what¡¯s the n now?] Uragan

    [Wait for Yuna.] Jade

    [We have some free time then. Help us with the dismantling.] Uragan

    Uragan-san quickly points his thumb behind him. He is pointing at Uragan-san¡¯s party who are doing the dismantling work there.

    [I hope the magician will help us as well. Of course, we will recalcte what we dismantled as a share.] Uragan

    Jade-san and Mel-san nod when they look at each other¡¯s faces.

    [I got it. Senia take care of Karina.] Jade

    [Leave it to me.] Senia

    Senia-san responds and hugs Hugging Bear-chan.

    Mel-san looks stunned, but she took both Jade-san and Toya-san¡¯s hands, then went to the dismantling site.

    [Hugging Bear-chan. Please tell us if you noticed anything about Yuna-san.] Karina

    Yuna-san, pleasee back safely.

 Chapter 320 Bear-san Gets the Crystal Plate.

    After getting out of the ground, I looked around.

    [Um, here?] Yuna

    When I looked behind me, there was the pyramid. But there¡¯s no entrance. Apparently, I am at the backside of the pyramid.

    Is everyone at that side?

    I went through great lengths of killing the Scorpion, just to see that there¡¯s nobody here to wee me.

    Using the Bear Detection Magic, I found multiple human reactions near the entrance of the pyramid.

    I closed the hole where I climbed. I summoned Swaying Bear, climbed on his back and went to the entrance of the pyramid.

    Swaying Bear, dashes in the desert with .

    There were only 5 reactions picked-up by the Detection Magic. I can¡¯t see Uragan when I searched.

    Did he finished dismantling and returned to the city?

    While riding around the pyramid on Swaying Bear, a white thing wasing from the front with a great speed.

    It¡¯s a Bear!

    No, it¡¯s Hugging Bear.

    Hugging Bear who¡¯s carrying Karina, was dashing in the desert with sand cloud behind him. There¡¯s the figure of Karina, who¡¯s doing her best to not fall off.

    Well, you won¡¯t fall even if you don¡¯t cling to him, but it seems that Karina doesn¡¯t look so good.

    I got off Swaying Bear.

    If this keeps up, Hugging bear and Swaying Bear will collide with each other.

    [Hugging Bear. Stop, Stop! STOP!!] Yuna

    Hugging Bear slows down and stops, then he rubs his face against me.

    [Hugging Bear, I¡¯m back.] Yuna

    I stroke Hugging Bear¡¯s head and scratch his chin. Hugging Bear is very happy.

    [You¡¯ve properly protected Karina. Thank you.] Yuna

    While I was holding onto Hugging Bear, Karina looked at me while clinging onto Hugging Bear.

    [Yuna-san!?] Karina

    After she descends from Hugging Bear, Karina embraces me.

    [Yuna-san, you were safe. I was so worried.] Karina

    Hugging Bear rubs his face against me.

    In addition, Karina hugs me as well.

    [Both of you, calm down.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san!] Karina

    I can¡¯t take it anymore and fall on my back. Of course, I could push them back if I really want to, but I can¡¯t do that to Karina and Hugging Bear.

    When I fall on my back, they fall on top of me.

    Swaying Bear looks at me.

    [Swaying Bear, sa~ve me~e.] Yuna

    When I asked Swaying Bear for help, he just cried and doesn¡¯t try to help me.

    How awful.

    In the meantime, I told the two of them to get up and help me stand up.

    I seem to have caused a lot of worry.

    [I am d you¡¯re safe.] Karina

    Karina has tears in her eyes.

    While I¡¯m patting her head andforting her, Jade-san and the otherse riding on the Ragaroot.

    [Yuna!?] Jade

    [Hugging Bear-chan suddenly ran off, so I thought something must¡¯ve happened.] Mel

    [I was surprised when Hugging Bear started running.] Senia

    Jade-san, Mel-san and Senia-san came.

    However, Toya is not here.

    [Etto, I just returned.] Yuna

    [So why is Yuna here outside? We were waiting for you at the entrance.] Jade

    [It¡¯s a hassle to go back the way we came from, so I dug a hole with magic.] Yuna

    [In just a short time.] Mel

    Mel-san has an amazed expression.

    I feel that I had a simr exchange before.

    [So did you defeat the monster?] Jade

    [Yeah, I already did.] Yuna

    Everyone was surprised at my word.

    [So then, Jade-san and the others, can I ask you to dismantle it? Of course, I¡¯llpensate you for it.] Yuna

    I can¡¯t dismantle it. But, I can¡¯t take it back to Crimonia and ask Fina.

    Though once we got back to the city, I can just ask Balima-san to hire someone to dismantle it. That is, until they see the Scorpion.

    It¡¯ll be troublesome in various ways. So I should just ask Jade-san and the others who already knew about the Scorpion.

    [You don¡¯t need topensate us. It¡¯s enough to have the experience of dismantling that monster.] Jade

    [Even if we¡¯ve experienced it, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to dismantle that kind of monster again in the future.] Mel

    Jade-san and his party are willing to ept the dismantling job.

    We will move to the entrance of the pyramid to do the dismantling. When I try to ride Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear sadly cried .

    Hugging Bear doesn¡¯t want to let go of me.

    It looks like he wants me to ride him.

    [Hugging Bear-chan. It was fine if it was at the beginning, but I¡¯ll be lonely if you leave me half way.] Karina

    Today I asked Hugging Bear to escort Karina, so I didn¡¯t ride him.

    [Karina, can you ride on Swaying Bear this time?] Yuna

    [Y-yes. I understand. Swaying Bear-chan, please.] Karina

    Swaying Bear dly obeyed. Karina climbed on him.

    Yeah, I¡¯m d Swaying Bear wasn¡¯t selfish.

    Even though they both want me to ride them, I only have one body.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were also saving me from trouble. When I ride on Hugging Bear, he runs happily.

    Karina is riding on Swaying Bear.

    [Wai, please wait.] Jade

    Jade-san and the others followed.

    When we arrived at the entrance of the pyramid, Toya stood there alone.

    [You guys are so cruel. Leaving me behind.] Toya

    [Because Hugging Bear-chan suddenly started running.] Mel

    [You were sleeping.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-san gave Toya a cold treatment .

    But he was sleeping while people were fighting?

    However, I can¡¯t really say that myself because I was sleeping until a while ago.

    [I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m tired of dismantling.] Toya

    [Well, everyone feels the same.] Senia

    [Jade~.] Toya

    Toya looks at Jade-san for help.

    [Ah sorry, I forgot.] Jade

    [Jade~¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«.] Toya

    Toya¡¯s cry echoed throughout the desert.

    Well, I left Toya alone and decided to look around.

    [Um, what about Uragan and his party?] Yuna

    They didn¡¯t show in my Detection Magic earlier, so I asked them.

    [They¡¯ve finished dismantling, so they went back to the city. At first I said something like wait for Yuna-chan, but it seems like they¡¯re too tired from dismantling.] Mel

    [We helped with the dismantling as well.] Toya

    So Toya got tired and went to sleep.

    Well, before that, he might have been tired from fighting monsters or being on high alert all the time.

    When you think about it, Jade-san and the others are amazing.

    [So Yuna, where do you want to dismantle it? You have it, don¡¯t you?] Jade

    I nod to Jade-san¡¯s words. They already know that I have a high capacity item bag that can fit the ck Viper and big worm inside.

    [If we¡¯re outside, the sand will stick to it, is it better inside that pyramid?] Jade

    [That¡¯s right. We have to make sure that it¡¯s safe and wide enough.] Mel

    I don¡¯t have a problem with that.

    Nodding to Jade-san¡¯s proposal, the dismantling site was moved to the area near the entrance of thebyrinth.

    When we arrived at the entrance of thebyrinth, I took out the big Scorpion from the Bear Box.

    [You really killed it.] Jade

    [Uwah, it¡¯s so big.] Toya

    Everyone goes around the Scorpion.

    [It doesn¡¯t have a tail. Did you cut it?] Mel

    [There¡¯s a knife in it¡¯s back.] Senia

    Senia-san, who was searching the back of the Scorpion, noticed.

    But it didn¡¯t do much damage.

    [But where¡¯s the fatal wound?] Senia

    [It¡¯s the tail, isn¡¯t it?] Toya

    [If you can kill it with just cutting the tail off, no one will have a hard time.] Senia

    [Then how did she kill it?] Mel

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to me.

    [That¡¯s a little bit...] Yuna

    [[[[............]]]]

    Everyone¡¯s gaze hurts.

    I can¡¯t really say that I drowned it in seawater using the Bear Gates.

    When it entered the Bear Box, the seawater seems to have been excluded and the Scorpion was not wet either. However, there is a possibility that the seawater is in its body.

    I didn¡¯t think of it too much.

    I hope the sea water doesn¡¯te out from it.

    I prayed to God.

    The Bear God who seemed to have brought me to this world came to mind.

    Very unlikely to be reliable.

    [But Yuna-san, this really is such a big monster...] Karina

    Karina tried to touch the Scorpion with her frightened little hands.

    Looking at such figure, a mischievous mind springs up.

    I gently and quietly move behind Karina and close in at her ear, then...

    [UWAA!!!] Yuna

    [Kya!] Karina

    Karina sat down in her surprise.

    [Are you okay? ] Yuna

    [Yu- Yuna-san.....] Karina

    Karina looks at me with teary eyes.

    I think I did a little too much.

    [Sorry.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, is so terrible. I thought I was going to die.] Karina

    [Sorry, sorry. When I saw Karina, who was cautiously trying to touch it, it¡¯s so cute, I just can¡¯t help it.] Yuna

    [No, it¡¯s not funny. I was really scared. I thought I was going to die.] Karina

    [Did you wet yourself by any chance?] Yuna

    I asked in a small voice.

    Karina blushes in my words.

    [No I did not! I don¡¯t know Yuna-san anymore!] Karina

    Looks like she¡¯s really angry.

    It was just a joke, but it failed splendidly.

    [Karina, I¡¯m sorry. Karina was just so cute.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t want to be told that by Yuna-san, who¡¯s wearing such a cute outfit.] Karina

    Karina doesn¡¯t want to face me.

    It¡¯s difficult to handle a 10 year old girl.

    How was I when I was 10 years old?

    I might need a memory jog.

    Yeah, I was a pretty girl. Its true!.......

    [I want to quickly start the dismantling.] Jade

    Jade-san and his party, were looking at us with dumbfounded face.

    [[I¡¯m sorry.]] Karina & Yuna

    Me and Karina bowed down and apologized to Jade-san¡¯s group.

    [So we just need to take out what Karina is looking for?] Jade

    [I don¡¯t mind.] Yuna

    Karina looks at me.

    Certainly, the dismantling of the Scorpion is not included in this request.

    [It¡¯s fine because it¡¯ll take a lot of time. I¡¯ll do that when I return to Crimonia.] Yuna

    I really want to ask them, but.

    Even if I ask Fina, it is unlikely that she can do it alone.

    If I ask Gentz-san ??or the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, it will turn into chaos if they saw the Scorpion, so it¡¯s better to ask Jade-san and his friends.

    But it would take some time to dismantle the big Scorpion. Therefore, the crystal te takes priority today.

    [Karina. Do you know where it is?] Jade

    When asked by Jade-san, Karina approached the Scorpion.

    And she walks around it.

    [It¡¯s around here.] Karina

    She points behind the Scorpion, near the tail.

    [Here? Then we have to remove this shell. Toya help me remove the shell here.] Jade

    The Scorpion has a shell that¡¯s connected together, simr to the crayfish and shrimp, the tail is bend.

    And there were grooves at the joint.

    Jade-san was instructed to remove the second shell from the back. When Jade-san and Toya took out their knives, they stabbed it into the groove.

    [It¡¯s too hard] Toya

    [Senia and Mel we need your help.] Jade

    [Can¡¯t help it then.] Mel

    4 people worked together to take off that part of the shell.

    Again, looking at the shell, it is almost 10cm thick. It¡¯s not enough to stab it lightly with a knife.

    Jade-san dismantles as Karina directed, revealing a pale blue crystal te.

    [Th, that¡¯s it!] Karina

    Karina runs happily and receives the crystal te.

    Of course, Mel-san washed it with water before handing it over.

    It was good that the seawater did not came out.

    If it came out, the exnation will be long and troublesome.

    [This ends the request.] Jade

    [But this shell is really hard.] Toya

    Toya was banging it hard.

    [That¡¯s right. It¡¯s even lighter than iron and might be perfect for making armors.] Senia

    In the game, you can make armors with the materials of the monster you defeated. Now, what kind of armor can you make with what¡¯s in front of you?

    [Of course, I¡¯m good with a light armor.] Toya

    [It may be even lighter.] Senia

    [Then, I¡¯ll give the peeled shell to you and your party Jade-san.] Yuna

    [Are you sure?!] Toya

    Toya was the one who¡¯s pleased, not Jade-san.

    I don¡¯t need it anyways.

    [No, we can¡¯t ept this. This was defeated by Yuna.] Jade

    [Jade, J¨­-chan was about to give it to us.] Toya

    Toya was the one who want it the most.

    [Then will you please listen to me?] Yuna

    [A request? ] Jade

    [Can you not tell anyone that I have defeated this Scorpion.] Yuna

    [Why not? Don¡¯t you want to report it to the adventurer guild?] Jade

    [I won¡¯t. If I report it, it will be a hefty lot of trouble.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t get it. You should be proud of it.] Toya

    [If Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t want us to tell anyone, then we won¡¯t tell anyone. If you don¡¯t want it then go ahead and tell everyone.] Mel

    [No, I want it.] Toya

    Everyone looked at Toya.

    [I won¡¯t talk, even if I don¡¯t receive the shell.] Toya

    [............]

    I wonder about that. Unlike Jade-san, you can¡¯t trust Toya¡¯s words.

    Jade-san thinks deeply.

    [But then you have to ask Uragan and his party as well.] Jade

    [Does Uragan knew about the Scorpion?] Yuna

    [Oh, when he heard that Yuna wasn¡¯t here with us, I told him that you were left behind fighting that.] Jade

    If so, do we need to shut him up?

    [Well, let¡¯s talk about that after we return.] Yuna

    I put the Scorpion back in the Bear Box, including the shell that they removed.

    After that, we¡¯re going to use the crystal te map to rece the magic stones, but that would still be a secret.

    And besides, it¡¯s almost time for the sun to set.

    We need to temporarily return and report to Balima-san.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    She asked Jade to dismantle the Scorpion and sessfully retrieved the crystal te.

    It may be a necessary skill for adventurers.

    It seems that the reservation of 5 volumes has begun.

    The cover is white Yuna and Hugging Bear. It is a pure whitebination.

    Please wait a while for information on store benefits.

    I will report as soon as I get the news of it.

 Chapter 321 Bear-san, Reports to Balima Part 1

    When we returned to the mansion, Rasa-san weed us.

    [We¡¯re back, Rasa.] Karina

    [Karina-sama... you safely returned.] Rasa

    Rasa-san gently embraced Karina.

    Well, if you think about it normally, of course she¡¯s worried. That¡¯s because a 10-year-old girl, along with some adventurers, went to a ce crawling with monsters.

    Seeing her being hugged like this, it felt like an older sister was very worried about her.

    [Rasa, it¡¯s painful.] Karina

    [I am very sorry. I was worried and very anxious when I heard the story from the adventurers who came back a while ago.] Rasa

    The adventurers who came back?

    It¡¯s probably Uragan¡¯s party.

    [It¡¯s okay because everyone was with me.] Karina

    [But there were hundreds of worms, and there was also a big worm. I almost copse when I heard the story.] Rasa

    It¡¯s definitely Uragan¡¯s party.

    [Yup. But it¡¯s okay because Yuna-san defeated each and every of them.] Karina

    [Yes, it was okay because I heard that the adventurers cooperated and defeated them.] Rasa

    [It¡¯s mostly thanks to Yuna-chan.] Mel

    Jade-san¡¯s party members wereughing, while listening to the conversation.

    Certainly, Uragan¡¯s party worked very hard to kill the worms that I dug. And the only one in his group that kept up with me was Uragan.

    Uragan¡¯s party was also very helpful by dismantling the countless number of worms.

    [Yuna-san was really cool! She killed such a big worm all by herself.] Karina

    Karina tried to express the size of the big worm by holding her hands wide open.

    She also stretched her arms to imitate me, casting my magic.

    Do I really look like that?

    [Fufu, that¡¯s amazing.] Rasa

    [A~~, Rasa. You don¡¯t believe me? It¡¯s true! I¡¯m telling you. There was such a big worm!] Karina

    [Fufu, I believe you. I heard from the adventurers.] Rasa

    [So why are youughing!] Karina

    I think that¡¯s because Karina¡¯s expression was so cute.

    Karina puffs her cheeks to Rasa-san who¡¯s smiling.

    Jade-san, who was watching these two, called out apologetically.

    [Karina, it¡¯s about time we report to Balima-san right?] Jade

    [I am very sorry.] Rasa

    [I¡¯m sorry, Rasa, let¡¯s talkter.] Karina

    Karina and Rasa-san both apologized, after noticing that they were talking to each other for too long.

    [Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Rasa

    We were guided by Rasa-san to the room where Balima-san is.

    When we entered the room, Balima-san looked at us with a surprised look.

    [Karina!?] Balima

    [Father, I returned.] Karina

    When Karina entered the room, she was immediately approached by Balima-san.

    [Karina, were you hurt anywhere?] Balima

    Balima-san distorted his face in pain as he tried to hold his daughter while approaching her.

    [Father!] Karina

    [I¡¯m alright. The scar just hurts a little. But more importantly, I can¡¯t help but holding my precious daughter.] Balima

    [You¡¯re injured, so don¡¯t overdo it. Hold me when you¡¯re fully healed.] Karina

    [Then we have to hurry it up and heal it.] Balima

    Balima-san gave up on holding her and just pet Karina¡¯s head instead. Then, he turned his attention to us.

    [I received a report from the adventurers who returned. I heard that you all killed a swarm of worms and a big worm in the desert. You even defeated the monsters around the pyramid, which was not in the contract. I don¡¯t know how to thank you. Of course, I will add it separately from your reward, so please receive it.] Balima

    [Do.......] Yuna

    Before I open my mouth, Jade-san obediently said, [Thank you].

    Toya suddenly said [Oh yeah! I can finally afford the Mithril Sword!]. Mel-san and Senia-san were both happy as well.

    That would have been dangerous. I almost said, [Don¡¯t worry about it].

    Jade-san¡¯s response is the response of a normal adventurer. It¡¯s normal to receive a reward for what you¡¯ve done.

    If I was the only one who came here, I might have turned down the reward by saying, [Don¡¯t worry about it] or [There was only a monster in my path] or something like that.

    Anyway, I almost refused everyone¡¯s additional reward.

    [So I heard that a big scorpion appeared in the underground of the pyramid and there was something inside its body, is that true? Uragan-san and his colleagues have told me to listen to the details when you returned.] Balima

    He anxiously asked us.

    Uragan and his crew¡¯s information was only to the extent of what they heard from Jade-san¡¯s party, so he has no choice but to ask us.

    [Father, it¡¯s true. But it¡¯s okay now. The big Scorpion was defeated by Yuna-san and the crystal te was recovered.] Karina

    Karina took the crystal te out of the item bag and gave it to Balima-san. He looks very happy when he received the crystal te.

    [That¡¯s good. That is really good. Thank you everyone.] Balima

    [Even if you say that, it¡¯s Yuna-chan who defeated it alone.] Mel

    [We¡¯re not very useful in that fight.] Senia

    When Balima-san thanked everyone, Mel-san and the others answered honestly. You don¡¯t have to say that. Mel-san and the others were very helpful to me.

    Karina seemed to notice and gave her support.

    [It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s true that Yuna-san defeated the Scorpions, but Mel-san and Senia-san protected me on both sides. Toya-san protected me from behind. Jade-san defeated the monsters that appeared in the front. With everyone¡¯s help, I was able to go to the underground of the pyramid with a peace of mind.] Karina

    [Fufu, thank you Karina-chan. It made me happy when you said that.] Mel

    [It¡¯s exactly what Karina says It was because of everyone¡¯s help. I would like to thank everyone again. Thank you. We will prepare a small feast for dinner, so please eat with us.] Balima

    [Oh yeah!] Toya

    Toya is very happy.

    Mel-san elbowed Toya¡¯s side.

    [Thank you.] Mel

    Mel-san expressed gratitude on behalf of everyone.

    [Then, please take a rest before the meal.] Balima

    Jade-san and others left the room.

    [Karina....] Balima

    Finally, when Karina and I tried to leave, Balima-san stoped Karina. Then, he approached her slowly.

    [Father?] Karina

    [Karina, you should have this.] Balima

    [But this is.....] Karina

    [I¡¯m sorry Karina, but I¡¯ll need you to go to the Pyramid again.] Balima

    Well, that¡¯s true.

    Only Karina and her mother, Ristil-san, can use the crystal te. It¡¯s impossible for Ristil-san, who has a baby in her stomach. So, Karina who can use the power of the crystal te is needed.

    However, what I am concerned about is the possibility that I can also use it.

    When I remembered that time at the sacred tree of the Elven Vige, I wonder if it could be used by me. However, I can¡¯t give it a try just like that. If the crystal te reacts to me and it is found that I can use it, it will be very troublesome.

    Karina stared at the crystal te.

    Then slowly extend her hand to the crystal te.

    [Father... I understand. You can leave it to me.] Karina

    Karina received the crystal te with great care.

    [Yuna-san, I leave my daughter to you.] Balima

    Balima-san bowed a little.

    We went to the designated room until it¡¯s time for dinner.

    Uragan¡¯s party and the other adventurers were there. Each of them was either sitting on a sofa or a chair and rxing.

    One of them was kinda frightened and muttering the bear is back.

    Hey, I¡¯m not doing anything, right?

    [It looks like you¡¯re back safely.] Uragan

    [I have just reported to Balima-san. So Uragan and the others are here.] Yuna

    [When I returned to make my report, I was told to rest in this room. So I was asked to go and check on you if you didn¡¯te back.] Uragan

    Certainly, he needed insurance when his daughter didn¡¯te home.

    Uragan¡¯s party who knew the reason were quicker to ask, than going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    [So you killed the big Scorpion that Jade¡¯s party were talking about?] Uragan

    [Of course, Yuna-chan defeated it.] Mel

    Uragan asked me, but for some reason, Mel-san replied with pity in her eyes as if he had fallen to the abyss.

    Well, it¡¯s okay, though.

    [Is it just as rumored?] Uragan

    [As rumored?] Yuna

    [A story about you.] Uragan

    It¡¯s fine that you¡¯re telling stories to others, but I¡¯m really worried about the content of the rumors that you¡¯re spreading.

    Well, I¡¯m sure the rumors were just about the bears, bears, and bears.

    [Oh right. It¡¯s Yuna¡¯s request, but can you all keep the fact that Yuna killed a big Scorpion, a secret?] Jade

    Jade-san asked them for me.

    [But why?] Uragan

    [She doesn¡¯t want to stand out.] Jade

    Everyone¡¯s gaze turned to me.

    Yeah, I know what you mean. I really understand what you mean.

    However, there is a big difference between standing out because of Bear-san¡¯s appearance and standing out by killing a big monster.

    If rumor spreads, the troublesome work will surelye.

    It¡¯ll be a pain.

    It¡¯s good to stake your neck for yourself, but it¡¯ll a pain to be troubled by it.

    [Ahahahahahaha.] Uragan

    You don¡¯t have tough that much.

    Uraganughed at me. Along with that, his party members alsoughed.

    Except for one...

    Yea, that one adventurer who always gets terrified whenever he sees me.

    [Everybody, stopughing! Stop making fun of that bear!] Man

    The man tried to stopped theirughing.

    [Oh, yes, yes, of course. We¡¯ll stopughing at you as well. Even so, I wonder if you also pummeled him before... You really are one ridiculous girl. I¡¯m fine with keep silent about it.] Uragan

    [Really?] Yuna

    [Oh, just show me that Scorpion. I¡¯m an adventurer, too. I¡¯ve never seen a Scorpion so big that made Jade¡¯s party ran away.] Uragan

    [We didn¡¯t run away. we just followed Yuna-chan¡¯s words.] Mel

    [It¡¯s the same thing.] Uragan

    [.........] Mel

    [If she really defeated such a big monster, I¡¯d love to see it as an adventurer.] Uragan

    It¡¯s a subtle deal.

    If I don¡¯t show it to him, he¡¯ll go and tell others. (Well, most of them won¡¯t believe it even when he says it. But if the adventurers from Crimonia knew about it, it may be recognized as true.)

    But I think it¡¯s better to show it and make him promise to shut up than to say something like .

    When I look at Jade-san¡¯s party, they don¡¯t try to get their mouths in the way.

    This seems to be up to my judgment.

    [Fine then. I¡¯ll show you, so shut up. If you talk about this to anyone, you¡¯ll be like that guy.] Yuna

    Though I don¡¯t remember him at all, I point a finger at the adventurer who was scared of me.

    The adventurer who was scared replied, more than anyone else.

    Still, was he one of those whom I¡¯ve beaten up when I first came to Crimonia?

    To be clear, I don¡¯t remember any other faces except Deborane.

    [Oh, okay then. I promise. Everyone promised as well.] Uragan

    When Uragan replied, the other adventurers¡¯ nod as well.

    [But where can I show it?] Yuna

    The Scorpion is too big.

    And I don¡¯t want outsiders to see it.

    Then, the ce where the Scorpion will be put out is limited.

    [In that case, the backyard is wide, so it¡¯s okay.] Karina

    Karina, who was silently listening, suggested.

 Chapter 322 Bear-san, Makes A Deal.

    I was supposed to show the Scorpion to Uragan¡¯s party, so I need to get Balima-san¡¯s permission to use the backyard. Karina who¡¯s saying [I¡¯ll tell himter], but I still went to get the permission of Balima-san, the owner of this mansion.

    When we asked Balima-san, he kindly agreed, so we all headed to the backyard.

    We all gathered in the backyard with Jade-san¡¯s party and Uragan¡¯s party. Karina was together with Balima-san.

    Ristil-san didn¡¯t participate because if she saw the Scorpion, she might get terrified and it might affect her pregnancy. Karina¡¯s younger brother may also be traumatized, so he will not participate.

    [Then, I¡¯ll put it in the middle, so step back a little.] Yuna

    I took out the Scorpion from the Bear Box. Everyone is paying close attention.

    DON!

    Different from what you¡¯d expect from a normal Scorpion, a huge ck Scorpion appears in the backyard.

    Uragan¡¯s party and Balima-san, let out a big sigh.

    [So huge. Did this girl really...] Uragan

    [Amazing.] Balima

    Uragan and the rest of the adventurers were surprised. Repeating after they saw it. Even a normal Scorpion is already big for them, but a boss-ss Scorpion is at a different level of monstrosity.

    Though Jade-san¡¯s crew, who already seen it before, doesn¡¯t look as surprised as Uragan¡¯s party.

    [Father, it¡¯s really big.] Karina

    [Yeah, it¡¯s exactly as Karina said. The crystal te was inside this monster¡¯s body...] Balima

    [I was very worried because Yuna-san fought this monster alone.] Karina

    Karina began to tell Balima-san about what happened.

    [Yuna-san said she¡¯ll retrieve it, I was worried, so worried and kept waiting until shees back. But no matter how long I waited, she didn¡¯te back.] Karina

    I was sleeping on Swaying Bear¡¯s fluffy stomach.

    [And yet, Yuna-san came back like nothing happened.] Karina

    [Did you hoped that Yuna-san woulde back full of injuries?] Balima

    Balima-san gently asks Karina how worried she was.

    [No, that¡¯s not true.] Karina

    [Then you should be happy. Certainly, Karina might have been very worried. But Yuna-san defeated this big Scorpion and came back safe and sound. You should be happy with that. Think about the person who risked her life and fought against this monster.] Balima

    [Father....] Karina

    [Yuna-san was fighting while Karina was being worried. Karina if you take a closer look at this monster, the tail of the Scorpion was cut, you should understand how serious that fight was.] Balima

    [..........Yes.] Karina

    U u~u, something good is about to happen.

    I was fighting properly in the beginning, but in the end, I went to sleep while hugging Swaying Bear until The Scorpion drowned in the seawater.

    (TN: This only works one way, I don¡¯t think swaying Hugging Bear is cute or is it?.)

    Of course, that¡¯s a secret between me and Swaying Bear, so I cannot tell anyone.

    [Yuna-san was trying her best to keep Karina from worrying.] Balima

    No, that¡¯s not true. I slept while your daughter was being worried about me.

    While I listen to Balima-san¡¯s story, I started feeling ufortable.

    I felt sorry while I¡¯m listening to what he¡¯s saying, so I moved back a little.

    As I move towards Jade-san¡¯s party, Uragan¡¯s party were circling around the Scorpion.

    [This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a big Scorpion.] Uragan¡¯s party member

    [I¡¯ve heard rumors, but it¡¯s actually there.] Uragan¡¯s party member

    Uragan was touching the Scorpion.

    [Well, she could defeat such a big monster. I wouldn¡¯t believe it until I actually saw it, but when she showed me the evidence, I had no choice but to believe it. But now I know why Jade and his crew trusts the Bear Girl so much.] Uragan

    [Well, I can¡¯t help it. I don¡¯t think anyone who saw Yuna-chan for the first time, thinks that she¡¯s a strong adventurer.] Mel

    [It just feels like she¡¯s taking my authority lightly.] Uragan

    Come to think of it, when we first met, you were trying to push Karina out of the way.

    [Don¡¯t make such a scary face. I was tired when I arrived in this town. And yet, the girl there was persistent.] Uragan

    [Uu...] Karina

    Karina looks sorry, maybe she heard it.

    [Still, just because you¡¯re tired, it doesn¡¯t mean you can push the kids out of the way.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s why I apologized for that.] Uragan

    Uragan looks at Karina.

    [I don¡¯t mind, because you already apologized. It¡¯s true that I was persistent at that time.] Karina

    It¡¯s true that Karina was persistently holding on to Uragan.

    [So, why there wasn¡¯t a shell here?] Uragan

    Uragan who was looking at the Scorpion noticed the ce where the crystal te was taken out. Some of the shells were peeled off where the crystal te was taken out.

    [We dismantled it and took out what they were looking for.] Jade

    [And the tail?] Uragan

    [It looks like Yuna-chan cut it.] Mel

    Mel-san gave an additional exnation on my behalf.

    It¡¯s easier for me.

    Uragan touched the shell of the Scorpion and lightly tapped it with a sound.

    [It¡¯s still hard. Maybe we could make a good armor out of this.] Uragan

    [My thoughts exactly!] Toya

    Toya reacts to Uragan¡¯s words.

    [And the Scorpion¡¯s shell is also strong against heat. If it¡¯s the shell of the boss Scorpion, it might even be more effective.] Toya

    Come to think of it, I¡¯ve nevere across a me-based monster, but I wonder, what if I went to a volcanic zone or something?

    There might be snow dharma and snow wolf in the snow mountain, so there might be monsters of the me series as well.

    I think I¡¯ll go next time. If I have Bear Equipment, I¡¯ll be fine in the volcanic zone.

    But is there a volcano nearby?

    [J¨­-chan does not want to make armor with this material... She doesn¡¯t want it.] Toya

    When Uragan looked at me, he seemed very convinced.

    I don¡¯t have any ns to make it, but whatever your thinking is not good.

    And what¡¯s with that face? Do you want to say something? If you have something to say, why don¡¯t you say it clearly? At that point, the Bear Punches wille flying.

    (TN: Unleash the Bloody Bear!)

    [Yuna-chan is fine because she¡¯s dressed like this. It doesn¡¯t suit her if you make her an adventurer-like armor, you know?.] Mel

    Mel-san defends me, but that¡¯s not apliment. If anything, it¡¯s degrading.

    But if I didn¡¯t have the Bear Equipment, I would have made equipment out of the material of the monsters I defeated, like when I was in the game.

    [So if you¡¯re not going to report it to the Adventurers Guild, what are you going to do with this?] Uragan

    [Well, I¡¯m not thinking of anything to do about it for now, but I¡¯ll take it to an acquaintance of mine to dismantle it until then I¡¯ll put it in my item bag.] Yuna

    [Are you going to sell it or not?] Uragan

    [If I sell it, it¡¯ll stand out too much. But if I needed money, I¡¯ll sell it.] Yuna

    I have the sales from the shops and part of the usage fee to enter the tunnel as well. Above all, the money I earned in my former world was sitting in the Bear Box, too. At present, I don¡¯t have any problems with money, so I don¡¯t have to sell it either.

    [Then why don¡¯t you sell a little bit to me?] Uragan

    [You want it?] Yuna

    [If you¡¯re an adventurer, you¡¯ll want it. It¡¯s a good protective gear to protect your life. It is rare to see good material to use for armors. When you saw it, you¡¯ll regret it if you don¡¯t get it. Of course, if you don¡¯t like to sell it, then that¡¯s fine.] Uragan

    [That¡¯s right. It¡¯s even lighter and a bit tougher than iron.] Jade

    Jade-san agrees with Uragan¡¯s words.

    [Jade-san. How much would you sell it?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know. As Uragan says, it¡¯s like there¡¯s no market price for things that don¡¯t circte around.] Jade

    [Then I can¡¯t I¡¯ll sell it normally. How about twice the price of regr Scorpion?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s not going to be that cheap!] Jade

    Jade-san seemed to be astonished.

    Somehow this is getting troublesome.

    [In that case, take it as a hush-money, only this time.] Yuna

    [............] Jade¡¯s crew

    [............] Uragan¡¯s crew

    Everyone looked stunned while staring at me.

    Because it¡¯s a hassle, it can¡¯t be helped.

    If I go to the adventurers guild ormercial guild, I¡¯ll be in a very troublesome situation and I can¡¯t tell them to keep quiet about it.

    If they¡¯re adventurers I don¡¯t know, I¡¯d ignore them.

    But currently, they¡¯re the adventurers who fought together with us today. I wouldn¡¯t say this if they didn¡¯t kill the worms or if they skipped dismantling. I only said it this time because it is Uragan who seriously killed and dismantled the worms.

    [Well then, let¡¯s trade.] Uragan

    [Trade?] Yuna

    [Yeah, I¡¯m going to give this to you.] Uragan

    Uragan took out five cloth bags from the item bag.

    I wonder about that. I wonder if he got money in it.

    [Today, I got 500 of the worm¡¯s magic stone. It¡¯s the exchange for this and some of the shells. Of course, I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut that the Bear Girl defeated this Scorpion.] Uragan

    500 magic stones?

    What do you use it for?

    But if he promised not to talk about it by exchanging some of the Scorpions, then I guess I¡¯ll just have to do with the magic stones, it¡¯s not a bad deal for me.

    [Well, I don¡¯t mind. Are you sure?] Yuna

    [If you take the time, you can kill a worm. But it¡¯s not easy to get this Scorpion material. To be clear, we¡¯re getting the better deal. If we bought it in the ce where you sold it, it will be a huge amount of money.] Uragan

    [Hey, wait a minute, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. I¡¯m sure you also have our share of the magic stone.] Toya

    Toya stopped Uragan, who¡¯s trying to use the magic stone as his trading material.

    [Do you guys want this shell, too?] Uragan

    [Well, that¡¯s...] Toya

    [That¡¯s why I¡¯ll trade the shells for magic stones. Of course, there¡¯s your share, too. There are a lot of us in terms of numbers, so we get a little more, but there¡¯s no problem because we have a lot of magic stones.] Uragan

    I don¡¯t know what the percentage of magic stones will be. Uragan¡¯s crew was supposed to get more.

    Jade-san and his crew discussed it themselves.

    [Yuna are you really good with that?] Jade

    [I¡¯m fine with it. I hope you¡¯ll keep your word.] Yuna

    Personally, it¡¯s better for me to have magic stones than money.

    If I don¡¯t need it, I can just sell it.

    [Well then, we appreciate this, thank you.] Jade

    Toya was very pleased with Jade-san¡¯s words.

    [Then, I wonder if the shell that Jade-san and others dismantled was good enough.] Yuna

    I took the piece of the shell out from the Bear Box, it¡¯s the one that they peeled off to take out the crystal te.

    [Isn¡¯t it huge?] Yuna

    Even a single shell is several timesrger than my Bears.

    [Because it¡¯s a hassle, you can share it with Jade-san¡¯s crew, and if you have an excess, you can take it as well.] Yuna

    [Jade....] Uragan

    Uragan looks at Jade-san. On the other hand, Jade-san shakes his head.

    Uragan sighs.

    What¡¯s with the face those two, have they understood each other?

    They have that kind of rtionship?

    [If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s okay to return it to Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [If that¡¯s the case, Should I go to Crimonia?] Uragan

    Ah, he was amazed because I gave them a lot.

    I was wondering if we could get along with each other so that we could look at each other¡¯s eyes once more.

    [I don¡¯t really need it.] Yuna

    [Then, I really get it! All right? Even if you asked for it, I won¡¯t give it back!] Uragan

    Uragan reaffirms my words.

    [I¡¯m fine with it. But don¡¯t quarrel.] Yuna

    [Hey Jade. I¡¯ll take yours. And I will make armor in the royal capital. If there is an excess, I¡¯ll give you half of it. Got it?] Uragan

    [But I never said I got it.] Jade

    It is troublesome for merchants and adventurers toe and sell stuff.

    Jade-san puts the Scorpion shell in an item bag. Jade-san¡¯s item bag, I wonder how much it can fit?

    It seems that a considerable amount of items will be included.

    [Yuna, I don¡¯t think you knew, so let me tell you, the pincers and the tail are the most valuable. Don¡¯t sell or give it away easily.] Jade

    [If so, why don¡¯t I just give you the pincers?] Yuna

    [Hey, I¡¯m just giving you a tip and don¡¯t say that. I just gave you some advice.] Jade

    I epted Jade-san¡¯s advice obediently.

    However, even if you say that the pincers and tail are valuable, I don¡¯t need it because I have the Bear Equipment.

    Can I re-enter the pyramid next time?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I am very sorry.

    I can¡¯t give back my impressions because I don¡¯t have time for the final confirmation of the book work.

    It will resume next week.

    I have pasted the cover image ¡ý

    029 sensei drew me a very cute one.

    The white bearbination is cute.

 Chapter 323 Bear-san, Casts A Little Spell.

    The trading sessfully ended, so we returned to the room. Jade-san¡¯s group and Uragan¡¯s group were having a conversation about the Scorpion. Karina says she¡¯s tired and will take a rest in her room, so I decide to take a rest in my room.

    It was a little unnned, but if I rece the current water magic stone with the Kraken¡¯s magic stone, the request will be over at that point.

    I¡¯ve been to this town and I got the curry spices. I also want to take a big egg with me as a souvenir.

    I¡¯m sure the children will be surprised.

    Or maybe they might want to keep the big bird instead.

    But isn¡¯t it dangerous because the children we¡¯re the ones who¡¯ll take care of it?

    It would also be pointless if something bad happens to the children.

    I also have to think about where to install the Bear Gate. I have to buy a house or a plot ofnd in the city. It¡¯s okay because I have money, but it¡¯s weird to buy it because I won¡¯t live in it.

    When I was in the royal capital, I bought that plot ofnd in a hurry. But sometimes I go to the royal capital with Fina, so there is no problem. I won¡¯te to this city other than to shop for ingredients.

    Hmm, what should I do?

    Should I buy a house or set up a Bear Gate somewhere unobtrusive?

    Thinking about future ns, Rasa-san came to let me know that the meal was ready. After thinking about it, I went to the dining room.

    When I arrive at the dining room, everyone was already there and it looks like we¡¯re thest one.

    [Yuna-san, please sit down here.] Karina

    Karina pointed me to the avable seats. Of course, Karina will be sitting next to me.

    [Everything looks delicious.] Yuna

    Various dishes were lined up on the table. Everything looks delicious indeed.

    [Yes, I¡¯m hungry, so I want to eat soon.] Karina

    Karina rubs her stomach with a smile.

    It¡¯s a cute gesture.

    If I do the same, it¡¯ll only look like I¡¯m rubbing my big belly.

    And when I got to my seat, Balima-san once again gave his thanks.

    [Thank you, everyone, for taking this difficult request. Thank you for being able to finish it safely.] Balima

    [It¡¯s work, don¡¯t worry about it. We don¡¯t mind it, as long as we get paid.] Uragan

    [It¡¯s mostly thanks to Yuna-chan.] Mel

    Uragan listens to Mel-san¡¯s words and continues.

    [So, isn¡¯t our work done already?] Uragan

    [Yes, I will give it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild along with the additional reward, so please receive it.] Balima

    I¡¯ve already heard about the extra rewards, but everyone looks happy.

    I can¡¯t talk about the crystal te or water magic stones, so Jade-san and the other¡¯s work ends here.

    After all, Jade and his friends leave Dezerto city as soon as they find an escort job going to the town of Callus. (TN: Anyone got a better name? (¥«¥ë¥¹) (Karusu).)

    And Uragan said he will make Scorpion armor in the royal capital.

    Are you going to make matching armors?

    That might be a little interesting.

    Mel-san asked me to go with her, but I still have things to do in this town.

    Therefore, I declined Mel-san¡¯s invitation this time.

    [Then, let¡¯s meet next time in the capital or Crimonia.] Mel

    If we¡¯re going to meet in the royal capital, will it be in the adventurer¡¯s guild?

    But I don¡¯t want to show myself too often at the adventurer¡¯s guild royal capital branch. Unlike Crimonia, I still get the stares.

    In Crimonia, they¡¯ll look at me a little then proceeds to their own business. If possible, I would love for us to meet in Crimonia.

    While I was talking to Mel-san, Karina looks lonely. Karina smiled when she noticed that I¡¯m looking at her.

    I wonder what happened?

    When I asked, she answered, [Nothing].

    Are you worried about tomorrow?

    We¡¯re in the middle of having dinner. The dinner was luxuriously prepared and all of them were made with various spices. There was nothing wrong with the taste. However, Rasa-san made a mistake in the amount of food.

    Jade-san, Toya and Uragan¡¯s crew are gobbling at their food. They eat without any hesitation, so the amount of food was decreasing at the insane amount of speed. The more you make it, the more it disappears in a man¡¯s stomach.

    Additional food was served, but Uragan and his crew were still unsatisfied.

    Mel-san and Senia-san watched the men in disgust. Of course, neither me nor Karina was happy with the scene.

    The food wasn¡¯t scarce.

    The men ate too much.

    Please mind your manners. The other party is the feudal lord.

    Though I¡¯m not the one to talk, because I don¡¯t really care about my attitude or tone even if the King the one in front of me. If you think about it normally, I couldn¡¯t be med for being strange. However, I¡¯m not going to the castle if the King was like that.

    Then after the meal is over, Jade-san and his friends returned to the inn. Balima-san lent me a room, so I will stay in their mansion today.

    [Yuna-chan, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, let¡¯s meet again another time.] Mel

    [Yuna, let¡¯s y again next time.] Senia

    I said goodbye to Mel-san and Senia-san. And men were gathered at a little distance from us.

    [Then, let¡¯s continue at the pub.] Toya

    [It¡¯ll be a split bill.] Jade

    [Jade, aren¡¯t you supposed to be a C Rank? Shouldn¡¯t you pay for us D Rank?] Uragan

    [You¡¯re not rookie adventurers, I have no money to pay for you.] Jade

    Apparently, Jade-san¡¯s crew along with Uragan¡¯s crew are drinking at the bar. They have an amazing stomach.

    Where were they keeping all that food?

    I¡¯m so full and my stomach hurts.

    I wonder why these people are such gluttons even when they¡¯re not hungry. Meals are not something to eat together with gluttons. Whenever I look at them, I lose my appetite.

    But what is the definition of a rookie adventurer? If they be an adventurer and have only been active for less than a year, then I should also have a rookie adventurer treatment.

    I said my goodbyes to everyone and return to the room that was lent to me.

    When I sat on the bed, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form. Then, I changed into a white bear for my sleepwear.

    [Hugging Bear,e here..] Yuna

    This time I called Hugging Bear to sleep with me as I promised. When I called Hugging Bear, he happily approached me.

    When I go to bed, I will be matched with Hugging Bear.

    [I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be with you today. And thank you for protecting Karina.] Yuna

    I expressed my gratitude to Hugging Bear. I entered the bed while holding Hugging Bear on my chest.

    Swaying Bear curled into a ball beside me and did not quarrel with Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, good night.] Yuna

    I reached out to the round Swaying Bear and pat him. I went to sleep while feeling the warmth of Hugging Bear that I held on my chest.

    The next morning, there is a figure of Hugging Bear sleepingfortably on my chest. Apparently, he was wrapped in my arms all the time while he was sleeping. Or did I just not let go?

    I don¡¯t know what happened while I¡¯m sleeping. It was good because I¡¯ll feel sorry if I let go of him.

    [Then, Yuna-san please take care of me.] Karina

    After I finished my breakfast, I was asked by Balima-san to rece the magic stones.

    Me and Karina were once again headed to the pyramid with Kraken¡¯s water magic stone. It wasn¡¯t raining, so it¡¯s a fine day. Karina was wearing a coat that alleviates the heat just like yesterday and she¡¯s riding on Swaying Bear this time.

    I intend to stay with Hugging Bear today.

    It wasn¡¯t justst night.

    That¡¯s what I told to Swaying Bear.

    The desert is quiet. I can¡¯t see any worms that were there yesterday.

    Well, after all, it seems to have been caused by a big worm. But why did the big worm appeared?

    Was it a coincidence, or was the pyramid¡¯s magic stone affecting it in any way?

    I can¡¯t give an answer to something I know nothing about, like the core of a monster.

    We arrived at the pyramid without being attacked by monsters. Then, without resting, we delved into the pyramid. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear doesn¡¯t seem to be tired. And so, we arrived at the entrance to thebyrinth of the pyramid.

    Looking up, there is a myriad of entrances on the circr wall.

    [So which hole should we enter?] Yuna

    I asked Karina, while I was looking at the numerous entrances.

    Looking at it closely, there are paths that are connected to another, there are paths that extend to the back and there are also curved paths. I can¡¯t tell which is the correct answer just by looking at it.

    [Bear with me for a second.] Karina

    (TN: it actually said (Please wait for a bit) but this one is better.)

    Karina takes out the crystal te. Then she walked past the entrances. And stopped in front of an entrance.

    [This one.] Karina

    She answered without hesitation.

    [Can I take a look at that crystal te?] Yuna

    [Yes, the map is disyed in response to my magic, so anyone can see it while I¡¯m holding it. But when I let go, the map disappears. Do you want to hold it?] Karina

    Karina gave me the crystal te.

    Although I want to touch it, I suddenly remembered that what happened back at the Sacred Tree of the Elven Vige.

    If I hold it in my hand and the map suddenly disyed, it would be a big problem.

    I won¡¯t be able to make excuses to Karina and I don¡¯t want Karina to say, It may develop into Ristil-san¡¯s case.

    So I can¡¯t really touch it.

    [No, it¡¯s okay. Karina should carry the crystal te.] Yuna

    I wanted to see if my magic power reacts to it, but I¡¯ll have to decline.

    I look at the entrance once more. The entrance isrge enough for one adult to pass through.

    [I have to say goodbye to Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan here.] Karina

    Karina looks lonely.

    The width is not enough for therge Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to pass through.

    [It¡¯ll be alright. I can use magic.] Yuna

    I look towards Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Then cast the spell.

    [Turn small! Turn small!] Yuna

    I don¡¯t need a spell, though.

    Recalling the magical girl¡¯s anime I saw when I was little, I somewhat y with it.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear be smaller, ording to my words and turned into cubs.

    <>

    [They can go with us now.] Yuna

    [Yu, Yuna-san is amazing. You can do this as well?!] Karina

    [Keep it a secret to everyone.] Yuna

    Karina hugs Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, which became smaller.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. They look very cute! Yuna-san, can I also be smaller?] Karina

    [............] Yuna

    For a moment, Karina¡¯s words stunned my thoughts.

    [Can I get smaller so that I can ride on Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan?] Karina

    Apparently, Karina really thinks I can turn her smaller using magic.

    It was just a joke. It will be a huge problem if she truly believes that there was a magic that can make her small, so I rushed to correct it.

    [I¡¯m sorry my magic can¡¯t make you smaller. I can only turn Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear smaller, but not anything else. These children are special.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Karina

    Karina made a disappointed look.

    Did you want to be small that much?

    Even if you don¡¯t get smaller, you can normally ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear after we¡¯re done here.

    [And if Karina gets smaller, you won¡¯t be able to hold the crystal te.] Yuna

    [Uh, that¡¯s right.] Karina

    [But why did you decided to get smaller?] Yuna

    [I was wondering if I could ride them inside the house or in the garden. If we are small, we can run around.] Karina

    Certainly, if you are big, you can¡¯t run inside the house.

 Chapter 324 Bear-san Enters the Labyrinth.

    Karina holds on Swaying Bear as we carefully enter the passage.

    [It¡¯ll be difficult if you drop the crystal te, so let go of Swaying Bear instead.] Yuna

    [......Yes.] Karina

    Karina reluctantly put Swaying Bear down.

    Then we proceeded on entering thebyrinth. The order of entry was Karina in the front, followed by me then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are both at the back.

    The passage is narrow and it feels even more narrow due to my costume.

    [Karina, are you okay even if I¡¯m not the one in front?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m okay. There is no danger unless you make a mistake on your steps.] Karina

    On the contrary, it is dangerous if you make a mistake on where you¡¯re going. Karina being in the front is in the most dangerous position.

    [Please don¡¯t make a mistake.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯ll never make that same mistake again.] Karina

    Karina grips the crystal te tightly and repeatedly look at the crystal te map.

    I use detection magic to check if there are monsters nearby, just to be safe. I heard from Balima-san that there are no monsters on thebyrinth path, but I can¡¯t feel rxed unless I check it with my own eyes.

    There were monster reactions when I used detection magic, but not many. Well, the monster in the disy were Golems.

    Am I going to have to fight a golem if we make a wrong turn?

    But a golem huh... As I thought, Mithril Golems are rare weren¡¯t they? I wanted a Mithril Golem, but I¡¯m a little disappointed. It was horrible.

    (TN: (¥Ï¥ê¥Ü¥Æ¤À¤Ã¤¿¤±¤É¡£) can¡¯t find the meaning but it is the closest I can get.)

    As we progress, the path gradually widens.

    Wide enough to make Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear return to their normal size.

    [Karina. Doesn¡¯t the passage feels less narrow?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know because the path changes every time. But when I came before, I don¡¯t think that was the case.] Karina

    [Then, I¡¯ll return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to their normal size. Even if Karina made a wrong step, you¡¯ll be safe.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not going to repeat that same mistake!] Karina

    She puffed her cheeks.

    Why does it feel like I want to push those cheeks with my finger whenever I see her puff them? Holding down the , I cast a spell on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Turn big! Turn big!] Yuna

    Of course, I don¡¯t need to chant a spell. I did it when I made them small, but it¡¯s weird if I don¡¯t do it this time.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear returns to their original size. I made Karina ride on Swaying Bear and I climbed on Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, follow Karina¡¯s instructions.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san. Can you turn Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan even bigger?] Karina

    [No, I can¡¯t. I can only choose either cub size or normal bear size.] Yuna

    By the way, there¡¯s no middle size. I can only turn them into cubs.

    [Is that so?] Karina

    Karina looks like she¡¯s feeling down like when she found out that she can¡¯t get smaller.

    [I thought that the overgrown Swaying Bear-chan could defeat the big monsters.] Karina

    If I can make him bigger, it will be easier to fight, but when I imagine the scene of the fight, I¡¯ll end up watching a battle ofrge monsters. Above all, it¡¯s no good because I wouldn¡¯t get my turn. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will protect me.

    Swaying Bear was walking, but he stopped when he arrived at a fork-road.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, take the right.] Karina

    Swaying Bear turns right ording to Karina¡¯s instructions.

    [Come to think of it, how did youe back when you lost the crystal te map?] Yuna

    We already passed a lot of fork-roads. It would have been a disaster when they didn¡¯t have a map at that time. If they went the wrong way, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go home.

    [Because we haven¡¯t advanced that far.] Karina

    Karina said she was happy to receive the crystal te from Barlima and when she went a little further, she got on the wrong path. So that¡¯s why they were able to return.

    Karina, who took the wrong path, then triggered a pitfall trap. They said that Balima-san quickly grabbed Karina, so she would not fall. However, the crystal te seems to have slipped from Karina¡¯s hand.

    And the crystal te fell deep underground to where we found itter on.

    Karina cried because her father got injured and she dropped the crystal te that had been handed down for generations.

    But Balima-san said he¡¯s not angry.

    [My father said he was d that I was safe, but at that time, I thought he would reach out to the crystal te, and not me.] Karina

    [Don¡¯t say that. Karina was more important to Balima-san than the crystal te. It would be a pity for Balima-san to deny such feelings. Certainly, Karina may have failed. But Balima-san saved your life. The lost crystal te has been found. I¡¯m not saying there¡¯s anything wrong with that, but Karina worked hard to get it back. So we should never fail again this time.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Karina

    Karina has a very bright smile. We absolutely must rece that magic stone.

    Karina, who has be energetic, didn¡¯t make a mistake in the path, she confirmed it with the crystal te when a split path came and advanced cautiously. People learn from their mistakes and grow. Of course, there are people who never learn. But Karina is definitely the former.

    Balima-san¡¯s injury was not wasted either. It¡¯s a cheap price to pay knowing it helped your daughter grow up.

    [Karina. Can I see the crystal te for a bit?] Yuna

    [Yes, here you go.] Karina

    Karina, riding on Swaying Bear, lined up next to Hugging Bear, holding a crystal te in her hand and stretching it out so that I could see it from the side.

    The crystal te has a blue dot in the center of the map. Is this our current position?

    There is the path we just passed.

    This map doesn¡¯t seem to show the whole map. The map is disying only up the path ahead.

    The yellow path shows us where we came from and where we are going. I see so that¡¯s how we proceed. In this case, there is no problem in returning.

    However, if there is a problem, the map is zoomed in and I can¡¯t see the whole map.

    [It can¡¯t show you the whole thing?] Yuna

    [Yes, you can only see it up close.] Karina

    I used the Bear Map.

    Yeah, this is clearly disyed. I can see the way we came. When you look at it like this, the path goes up, down, left and right. There are fork-roads in ces.

    I would never want to try thisbyrinth without a map. I am confident that I will get angry and destroy it. (TN: Bloody Bear Smash!)

    There is a saying, you will not get lost in abyrinth with no walls.

    However, if I randomly destroy everything, I might destroy the water amplification magic circle, so I cannot do it this time and there is no need to do it anyway because there is a map.

    If I have to challenge it without a map, I will definitely bring Mumroot-san. The question is whether Mumroot-san remembers how to solve thebyrinth. That was hundreds of years ago after all. He must have most likely forgotten it.

    It might be a good idea to ask if Mumroot-san remembers it.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, head straight.] Karina

    Karina went straight at the crossroad.

    Then, after going through the passage, we came out in a slightly wider space. At the end of the wall, we can see the stairs. I had a bad feeling and when I looked up, there was a spiral staircase on the wall.

    It¡¯s the kind of stairs I wouldn¡¯t climb If I don¡¯t have the Bear Equipment or Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I can¡¯t climb it with my poor body. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will carry us while climbing the spiral stairs.

    There are series of entrances and passages here and there. While looking at the crystal te, Karina calmly gives instructions, so we go up the spiral stairs. Then, on the way to the spiral stairs, we pass a side passage.

    I would definitely get lost here.

    Going further along the passage, it will be a fork-road. However, it is different from any normal fork-road.

    The right side is illuminated brightly and the left side is dark like an abyss. As a normal person¡¯s psychology, I want to go to the bright side on the right. I don¡¯t want to go to the darkness on the left.

    But Karina¡¯s word says [Left.]

    [I will turn on themp now, so please wait.] Karina

    [It¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    I transfer some magical power to the Bear Puppet and create light. A light with a Bear¡¯s face appears in front of me.

    [... Bear-san.] Karina

    [Hey,e on, let¡¯s go.] Yuna

    We took the dark passage. A Bear-faced light illuminates the dark passage. Karina is gazing at the Bear-faced light floating in the air. Be careful, if you look so much, it will make your eyes worse.

    [Karina, look at the crystal te properly.] Yuna

    [Y-yes. I¡¯m sorry.] Karina

    Karina immediately shifts her line of sight to the crystal te.

    [Uh, why it isn¡¯t an ordinary light?] Karina

    [The Bear is cuter.] Yuna

    [Yes, it is!] Karina

    Karina agrees with my words.

    Of course, I can also create ordinary light balls. But if I don¡¯t pay attention to it, it will be a ball of light with the Bear¡¯s face to it. I wonder why?

    I shake the Bear Puppets like I¡¯m waving my hands.

    We advanced under the light of a bear.

    When we turn to the corner, we can finally see the light ahead. And again, a fork between a bright path and a dark path appears. This time, we took the bright path. The third time is divided into a passage going down and a passage going up.

    Below is bright and above is dark.

    After all, I want to pass under a bright light. But the destination that Karina pointed to is the dark path above.

    After going up the path, we found ourselves in a slightlyrger room.

    [Did we arrived?] Yuna

    [Not yet.] Karina

    Not yet?

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve walked for an hour, but it¡¯s a hassle to have another fork-road.

    When Karina looks at the crystal te, she walks into the room without warning.

    [Are you okay? ] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m okay. This time it¡¯s choosing an entrance.] Karina

    I looked at the room and was stunned. There are five passages on each of the four walls. That would be 20 in total. The wall we entered was one of five.

    Again, if there is a fork, there will be no adventurer who would want to try this.

    It was a great challenge for Karina¡¯s ancestors and Mumroot-san

    Karina, looking at the crystal te, walks to the fourth passage from the right on the right wall without hesitation.

    I want to see what happens if I take the wrong way, but I can¡¯t do such a dangerous thing because Karina is with me.

    Then, as we proceed, we found arge door.

    [Yuna-san, we arrived.] Karina

    In front of us, was arge door about the size of the Bear Gate.

    I get off Hugging Bear and touch the door.

    Will it open if I pushed it?

    [Please wait, Yuna-san. I will open it now.] Karina

    Karina also gets off from Swaying Bear. Then she put the crystal te in the niche next to the door and touch it.

    Then the door opens slowly.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Thebyrinth is safe, even on the door. (The crystal te map is for that)

    To tell you the truth, I wanted to write about traps and other things, but I refrained from doing it because Karina is there.

    I want to try thebyrinth someday.

    Next time is the recement of magic stones.

 Chapter 325 Bear-san Replaced the Magic Stones.

    Beyond the door, there was arge room.

    The first thing we saw after entering the room and what draws the most attention was the object in the center that looks like a silver cup. There¡¯s water flowing down from the cup. The water flows into a ce like a circr pond.

    It seems that we¡¯re in the right ce.

    We walk towards the center of the room.

    In front of the cup, there is a stairway and in front of the stairs, there is a pedestal with a height of about 1m. Looking at the pedestal, a magic stone is iid.

    Karina goes straight up the stairs and stands in front of the cup. I wondered what¡¯s going on, so I followed her.

    The size of the cup was about 1m in diameter and when you look inside, a magic stone that seems to have been broken was submerged into the bottom.

    The broken magic stone seems to be using itsst force to squeeze water.

    [We should rece this magic stone.] Yuna

    That¡¯s the reason why we came here.

    [Yes, Yuna-san. It really took us some time to get here, but now that we¡¯re here, we can finally rece it.] Karina

    [Okay, let¡¯s rece it now.] Yuna

    [Yes. Then I will stop the water, so please wait.] Karina

    Karina went down the stairs and stood in front of the pedestal, in front of the stairs. Then she ced her hand on the magic stone at the pedestal. When Karina puts in her magical power, the magic stone glows pale and when Karina releases her hand from the magic stone, the light also disappears.

    [Now we can remove the magic stone.] Karina

    Looking back at the cup, the water that had been flowing stopped.

    [You can stop the water?] Yuna

    [Yes, this is the first time I¡¯ve done it, but I received an exnation from my mother when I came here before with her. But it was really nice that the water stopped.] Karina

    Karina climbed up the stairs and returned in front of the cup. Karina rolled up her sleeves and tried to grab the pieces of the broken magic stone submerged into the bottom of the cup.

    I offered my help, but Karina stopped me.

    [Plesae let me do it. I made it this far thanks to your hard work. But I believe that this is my role in the Ishrit family.] Karina

    I¡¯ll consider Karina¡¯s feelings and watch over her.

    Karina puts her hand in the water. Then, she carefully picks up the broken pieces of the magic stone one by one. Fromrge pieces to small pieces.

    For many years, this magic stone supplied them with water. Karina picks up the broken magic stone with gratitude and put it in a cloth bag.

    The water came out of this magic stone was enough to be able to create ake. It¡¯s easy to dismiss it with a word , but it¡¯s really amazing.

    While Karina is picking up the magic stones, I decided to explore the room.

    When I look at the entrance, the door was closed. I don¡¯t remember either me or Karina closing it, so it closed automatically then.

    It looks like the crystal te is the key and you can¡¯t enter without it. If I install the Bear Gate, I can easilye here regardless, but I¡¯ll nevere here again.

    I don¡¯t think it should be the other way around. They¡¯ll never need an adventurer again.

    I went down the stairs and looked at the floor. It¡¯s what should¡¯ve been called a magic circle on the floor, but there¡¯s a groove like an image carved all over the floor. Is this the magic circle that amplifies the water magic stone?

    The magic circle was also connected to the wall and a magic circle with a meaningless figure was carved on the ceiling. It seems that the whole room was the magic circle that amplifies the water magic stone.

    If we didn¡¯t go to a normal route and instead smashed the walls as we move, the magic circle that¡¯s amplifying the water magic stone would¡¯ve been destroyed. I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t do it. If I did, theke wouldn¡¯te back even with the Kraken magic stone in ce.

    Even so, it¡¯s such amazing magic. It would have been interesting if I could use magic that can duplicate this and amplify the other ces, but it is unlikely to be possible.

    After confirming my surroundings, I walk around where the cup was in the center. The water that¡¯s falling from the cup was transparent, it¡¯s so clear.

    I wonder if this water will flow to the town. There¡¯s quite a distance, how will it go there? (TN: You¡¯re asking that now?)

    When I check behind the cup, there¡¯s a door over there.

    2 entrances?

    Shouldn¡¯t there be only one correct answer?

    There is a pedestal next to the door. There is a dent on the pedestal and there is a dent where the crystal te will most likely fit. When the crystal te was ced, will the door open just like the entrance?

    [There is an exit.] Karina

    Karina replies from the top of the stairs as I walk around in front of the door.

    [Exit?] Yuna

    [Yes, we can go home from there.] Karina

    The entrance and exit were separated. Is there any reason behind that?

    I went around the room and came back in front of the stairs.

    Karina, who had finished picking up the broken pieces of the magic stone, descended the stairs and came to me.

    [Sorry for the wait.] Karina

    When I look at Karina, I notice that her hands and clothes are wet. Well, of course, you will get wet if you put your hand in the water. I took out a towel from the Bear Box and gave it to Karina.

    [Thank you.] Karina

    Karina wipes her hands, arms, and clothes with the towel. I think it would be useful to have dry magic at such times. Even if I could actually use it, it would be unnecessary magic for me as someone wearing a costume as a Bear, ying in the water.

    But wasn¡¯t it convenient for drying long hairs?

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. I¡¯ll wash it and return it to you.] Karina

    [It¡¯s ok. It¡¯s not dirty and it¡¯ll dry quickly.] Yuna

    When I got the towel back from Karina, I put it on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    Swaying Bear looked at me like he¡¯s trying to say something. I thought that Swaying Bear¡¯s back could dry it quickly because it¡¯s warm, but it didn¡¯t seem to work.

    Well, I can dry it any time, so I put the towel back in the Bear Box.

    [Yuna-san, may I have the magic stone?] Karina

    She asked me with serious eyes. She seems to be nervous.

    I took the Kraken¡¯s magic stone out from the Bear Box and gave it to Karina.

    Karina received it with both hands and with great care as to not drop it.

    [It¡¯s heavy. To think that this magic stone has the fate of the city. It would be scary if I could rece the magic stone, but still not get water.] Karina

    Karina¡¯s hands were shaking while holding the magic stone. I touched Karina¡¯s hands while she¡¯s holding the magic stone.

    [Yuna-san......] Karina

    [It¡¯ll be alright. You did your best so far. If you ce it there, everything will be fixed.] Yuna

    Karina nods slowly went up the stairs and stopped before the cup. She exhaled a little and slowly submerged the Kraken¡¯s water magic stone into the cup.

    Karina is staring at the magic stone in the cup.

    [Karina?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Karina

    When I call out, Karina came down the stairs.

    [After that, we should be able to activate the magic team.] Karina

    Karina went in front of the pedestal. Then, with a tense atmosphere, she ced her hand on the magic stone at the pedestal.

    Karina deeply inhales, then exhales. Her hands were full of power, she cast her magic on the magic stone at the pedestal.

    Then, the magic stone at the pedestal glows pale and the magic circle on the floor also shines.

    The light spreads throughout the room and the room was surrounded by a dazzling light.

    Then, the light gradually disappears.

    When I look at Karina, I noticed something. Tears ran down on her cheek.

    [Karina....] Yuna

    I turn my eyes to the point where Karina is gazing. Beyond that, there was the sight of water flowing out of the cup.

    [Oh, that¡¯s good.] Yuna

    Karina saw the overflowing water and she¡¯s overflowing with tears.

    She¡¯s watching the water overflowing from the cup without wiping her tears.

    [It¡¯s good for the city. Thank you, Yuna-san,.] Karina

    Karina thanked me with teary eyes. I gave her a towel to wipe her crying face.

    [Hey, stop crying.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san......] Karina

    I wiped her crying face, but Karina started crying even more on my chest. I¡¯m sure she must¡¯ve been tense until now.

    The broken water magic stone, the exhaustion of the city¡¯ske, losing of crystal te map, her father¡¯s injuries, the massive monsters, and the residents leaving the town. Various misfortunes just piled up.

    Karina wasn¡¯t responsible for everything, but she felt responsible for when she dropped the crystal te.

    However, the crystal te was found and the instation of a new water magic stone waspleted. The water has also returned.

    Everything was over.

    Atst, it feels like the cargo on Karina¡¯s shoulder has been unloaded.

    As Karina cries, she keeps calling for my name. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were also worried about Karina.

    Then, Karina quietly stops crying.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan as well, thank you.] Karina

    [Are you okay now?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m sorry to cry so suddenly.] Karina

    She rubbed her reddish eyes.

    However, a big smile spreads on the face.

    Karina was delighted to see the overflowing water. The scene seems to be the best for Karina. But the water was overflowing so much.

    That was absolutely impossible with just the Kraken¡¯s magic stone alone. The magic circles in this room (which may be in other rooms as well) amplified it.

    I thought it would be interesting if this magic system could be utilized, but this is impossible for me.

    Karina was staring at the water for a while.

    [It¡¯s okay now. It won¡¯t stop.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not really sure about that, but I said it to Karina to reassure her.

    [Yes.] Karina

    [Then, let¡¯s head back and report to Balima-san.] Yuna

    We can¡¯t stay here forever. Balima-san may be worried and I have to report too.

    We went to the door behind the cup. We¡¯re going home from here.

    It feels awkward to think that we won¡¯t be going back the way we came from. I want to sleep on Hugging Bear, but I can¡¯t sleep on Hugging Bear next to Swaying Bear while Karina is looking at the map.

    Karina ced the crystal te on the pedestal near the door and pour her magical power.

    Then the door opens and I can hear the sound of something opening at the end of the door as well.

    It¡¯s not just 1 but 2.

    [Yuna-san. over here!] Karina

    Karina removed the crystal te.

    There is a staircase at the end of the door, so we went down.

    After a while, the sound of the door closing from behind can be heard. As expected, it seems to close automatically. We went down the stairs a little and into the pathway. Then down the stairs some more. We walked a little further on a passage.

    When we exit the passage, we¡¯re at the entrance to thebyrinth.

    [And we¡¯re back!] Karina

    [What¡¯s this? The return trip was so quick and simple?] Yuna

    [Yes.] Karina

    [Isn¡¯t it strange? Shouldn¡¯t we use this path when we go there?] Yuna

    (TN: A question to every Tomb Raider puzzle.)

    [As for that, I thought about it as well when I passed here for the first time.] Karina

    [I mean. It took us about an hour to get there. And it¡¯s just a few minutes to return? Isn¡¯t it strange?] Yuna

    I rocked Karina¡¯s shoulders.

    [Please stop, Yuna-san. Even if you asked me that...] Karina

    I stopped shaking her, but I¡¯m not satisfied.

    And then we left one of the myriads of entrances and after a while, we heard a sound of something moving in the hole.

    [Perhaps the path was blocked, I think.] Yuna

    Is it because they don¡¯t want us to use this road?

    But isn¡¯t this enough?

    The recement of the magic stone was sessfullypleted.

 Chapter 326 Bear-san, Reports to Balima Part 2

    After switching the magic stones, we returned to the city. However, after entering the town, while we were walking towards Balima-san¡¯s residence, the atmosphere of the town felt different.

    First, the people who pass each other are quite a few. I¡¯m not proud of it, but whenever I walked down the street, I attracted the people¡¯s line of sights.

    But it suddenly decreased.

    [What¡¯s going on?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know.] Karina

    We hurried back to the mansion so we went near theke. There was a crowd around theke. Everyone was looking at theke.

    [What the hell is that?] Resident A

    [Did you notice that the water has increased somehow?] Resident B

    [But it was lesser than this just a while ago and it increased all of a sudden? I don¡¯t think anyone was expecting that.] Resident C

    Well, that¡¯s true, if you think about it normally.

    Other than that, I can¡¯t think of any reason as to why people are gathering at theke. But even if Karina says there¡¯s more water now, I didn¡¯t expect that theke¡¯s water would¡¯ve increased enough to be noticed it so easily.

    It should¡¯ve taken a few days for someone to notice it. Even if I saw it, I¡¯m not sure what to say.

    [Bear? Karina-sama?] Resident D

    One of the residents noticed Karina.

    To be precise, he noticed Karina because he became aware of my existence. Other residents who heard Karina¡¯s name turned their eyes to us.

    [Karina-sama, what happened to the water in theke?] Resident E

    [Balima-sama told us to wait for a while, but how did this happen? Has theke returned to its original state?] Resident F

    [Karina-sama!] Resident G

    The residents approached us. I took one step forward to protect Karina.

    [I can¡¯t answer it right now. But what happened? I¡¯ve been out of town until now, so I don¡¯t know why everyone is at theke.] Karina

    [The water level, the water column came up.] Resident A

    The residents excitedly replied.

    A water column, is that a water pir? Like water spouts?

    [Everyone gathered at theke because they thought the water of theke might have returned. Some of them went to ask Balima-sama, but they told us to wait for a while.] Resident H

    Uh, the water pirs?

    If you think about it, it¡¯s rted to the switching of the magic stones, right?

    I can¡¯te up with anything else. When I looked at Karina, she¡¯s thinking a little bit.

    [I understand, I think you¡¯ll be able to hear from my father soon. Until then, please be patient and wait for a little longer.] Karina

    Karina bowed her head to the residents and began to walk quickly. I also chased her after that.

    [Karina, what¡¯s going on?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll report the details to my father first before we can talk about it. Father is waiting for our report. If we¡¯rete, the residents may rush out of their homes.] Karina

    Karina said so and ran.

    When we reached the mansion, there was a crowd.

    [There¡¯s already a lot of people here.] Karina

    [Yes, we can¡¯t go in with this.] Yuna

    I think the reason for their gathering was the same as earlier. It¡¯s like they¡¯re waiting to hear Balima-san¡¯s announcement. Unlike the residents around theke, it feels like they are angry mobs. It¡¯s dangerous if we get too close, so we can only watch them from a distance.

    [They¡¯re all quiet though.] Yuna

    The residents were not violent, only looking at the mansion.

    However, it will be difficult to sneak in, this is troublesome. For the time being, I told Karina to wear the coat hood that protects her against the heat.

    [Yuna-san, what should we do?] Karina

    I think we can go and get through them normally, but we might get surrounded. There are people surrounding the mansion even if we try to enter from the back.

    [This can¡¯t be helped.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san?] Karina

    I hold Karina in my arms.

    [Yuna-san, what are you doing?] Karina

    [Karina, hold on tightly.] Yuna

    I started running while Karina was being in my arms. And I jumped with a boost from running.

    [Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.] Karina

    Karina screams.

    The residents turned their sights to the source of the voice.

    [What was that?] Mob A

    [It¡¯s a bird?] Mob B

    [No, it¡¯s a bear!] Mob C

    [It¡¯s a bear?] Mob D

    [It¡¯s a flying bear!] Mob E

    While the residents were shouting, I jumped over the residents and over the wall, thennded on the other side of the wall.

    Thending was beautifully executed and the image that a lot of 10.0¡¯s were lined up floating on the judge¡¯s heads. If I have the Bear Equipment, it¡¯s not a dream to win multiple gold medals at the Olympics. Well, it¡¯s a foul, no matter how you look at it.

    On the other side of the wall, [The bear flew!], [Bears doesn¡¯t fly you know.], [It was absolutely a bear.], and [Bears can¡¯t fly!] can be heard.

    The faction that saw me and the faction that didn¡¯t saw me were having a big argument. Also, some people may not understand depending on the angle.

    In the first ce, I am impressed that they have found out that I am a bear in that short moment.

    I put Karina down.

    [Yuna-san, next time please tell me if you¡¯re going to fly before you actually fly. It was very scary.] Karina

    Karina was standing on the ground and her feet were shaking.

    [Did you leak?] Yuna

    [I did not leak!] Karina

    Karina is hitting me with sound. Looks fine to me.

    I apologized to Karina, then we entered the mansion.

    When we entered the mansion, Rasa-san was waiting for us, she then immediately guided us to Balima-san¡¯s office.

    [Karina....] Balima

    [Karina, wee home.] Ristil

    Balima-san along with Ristil-san and their son Norris was there.

    [Father, Mother, I¡¯m back. But, I would like to ask you something. I heard that the water column has risen, is that true?] Karina

    [Oh, but first, I want you to tell me your report before I exin it to you.] Balima

    [I... I understand.] Karina

    Karina sessfully reced the water magic stone. The water sprang up properly and it made the people started talking about having the water returned to the way it used to be.

    [I see, Karina. You¡¯ve had a lot of trouble this time.] Balima

    [No, it¡¯s because I originally dropped the crystal te map.] Karina

    [Yuna-san as well, thank you very much. If it hadn¡¯t for Yuna-saning here and bringing the Kraken magic stone to us, this city would still be in trouble.] Balima

    Balima-san deeply lowered his head.

    [So, Father. What about the water column?] Karina

    I don¡¯t know what it is, but it seems like Karina knew about it.

    [I believe Karina knows that there¡¯s a festival once a year.] Balima

    [Yes, Theke spouts like a fountain and it rains all over the city.] Karina

    [That¡¯s right! That didn¡¯t happen for a while though because the city was in a turmoil.] Balima

    [But the festival is...] Karina

    [There¡¯s a reason for that to happen.] Balima

    Balima-san said that this town has an annual festival. At that time, it seems that water always blows up like a geyser, then it rains around theke and throughout the city.

    In the past, the purpose was to clean the silver cup with gratitude.

    To clean the cup, they have to stop the magic circuit for a short time. Then, once the magic circuit was reactivated, water spouts like a geyser.

    Itter became a festival of the city and at the same time, it was to show off the power of the (Ishrit Family) as the lord.

    Well this time, the magic circuit had to be stopped to switch the magic stones and the water was ejected by restarting the magic circuit. The residents who saw it gathered at theke and the others gathered at Balima-san¡¯s house to hear the reason.

    [And now that Karina has returned, we¡¯ll make an announcement about this at the square. I¡¯m relieved to be able to announce that theke is back.] Balima

    Maybe there were variousints and discontent.

    Maybe, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s scary to imagine.

    [Father....] Karina

    Balima-san stands up to exin this incident to the residents. At the same time, the Mother, Ristil-san, also stood up.

    [I will go as well.] Ristil

    Ristil-san is pregnant.

    [However, my stomach is...] Ristil

    [It¡¯s alright. You might get injured there. I¡¯m going to make a good announcement this time, so there¡¯s no danger.] Balima

    [If so, I will go as well.] Karina

    [Me too......] Norris

    [Karina and Norris... I see. Let¡¯s go together.] Balima

    I thought of something and decided to keep an eye on it.

    Then in the city square, Balima-san announced that theke had been restored. The cityes to life. Stalls lined up in front of theke and it was a festive event everywhere.

    It¡¯s a secret to everyone but I am hiding, if I¡¯d get caught by the kids then it¡¯ll be a big problem for me.

    [Yuna-san, let¡¯s go and look around.] Karina

    [Karina, you¡¯re still energetic? Even after everything that happened today?.] Yuna

    (TN: [antxlee] [Herpiderp] [Philip] Credits to these guys.)

    [I¡¯m not tired because I was riding on Swaying Bear-chan.] Karina

    We¡¯ve been riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we¡¯re not tired.

    I was tired from all other sorts of things though.

    [And I¡¯m excited that the water is back.] Karina

    Karina grabbed me by my Bear Puppet and dragged me around.

    [Come on, Yuna-san, let¡¯s go!] Karina

    I headed to where themotion was, with Karina.

    That night, I was mentally tired, I prepared to sleep. My body isn¡¯t really tired, but Karina took me there.

    I was wearing a Bear Costume, I met Jade-san there and I was mentally tired from everything.

    I changed into a white bear and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form. As usual, it feels good. It feels like my fatigue is melting away just by holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I got my energy back by hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I entered the futon (bed).

    Then there was a knock on the door.

    [Yuna-san, are you awake?] Karina

    [Karina? Yes, I¡¯m awake.] Yuna

    After opening the door, Karinaes in with a pillow.

    [What¡¯s wrong? ] Yuna

    [Can I sleep with you?] Karina

    [Well, I don¡¯t mind.] Yuna

    Karina happily climbs on the bed. There¡¯s no way I can refuse since she even brought her own pillow.

    [Yuna-san is white.] Karina

    Karina saw my white bear version for the first time.

    [I wear this whenever I go to bed.] Yuna

    That¡¯s how I normally wear it. A white bear that takes away the fatigue is the best substitute for pajamas.

    [It¡¯s cute.] Karina

    [Karina looks pretty too.] Yuna

    Karina is also wearing a cute white sleepwear.

    Much cuter than me.

    [Yuna-san, are you going home tomorrow? Then, can I say goodbye to Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Karina

    Karina started petting Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Am I not included?

    Bear-san will cry, you know?

    [I¡¯ll miss you since I won¡¯t be able to see you.] Karina

    I¡¯m d that I was included.

    [I wille again.] Yuna

    [Really?] Karina

    [Yeah, I¡¯lle to see Karina when I¡¯m going to buy spices.] Yuna

    If I install a Bear Gate, I cane here in an instant. It¡¯s a hassle though because I have to think about the ce to install it.

    [Really? You promise? I¡¯ll be waiting for you!] Karina

    [I promise.] Yuna

    To my words, Karina, who had a dark look, suddenly turned into a flowery smile.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. Let¡¯s get together again!] Karina

    <>

    [Uh, but I¡¯ll be lonely after all.] Karina

    Karina embraced Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Then I¡¯ll give you something good.] Yuna

    [Something good?] Karina

    I took out the bear plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear from the Bear Box. When Karina saw it, her eyes widened and just kept staring at the stuffed animals.

    [Uh, what¡¯s this?] Karina

    [It¡¯s a bear plush toy. It¡¯s popr with the kids, you know.] Yuna

    Karina lifts the bear plush toy.

    [Are you giving it to me?] Karina

    [Take care of it.] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Karina

    Karina hugs the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies. Next to her, were the real Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that had been set aside. I felt sad because I have lost another set of stuffed animals.

    [But what should I do? If I hold the plushies, I can¡¯t hold Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Karina

    [In that case, why don¡¯t we hold Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tonight?] Yuna

    [Yes, let¡¯s do that!] Karina

    Karina gets out of bed and puts her stuffed animals on the table. When shees back, she hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then falls down on the bed.

    [Yuna-san, please tell me your story.] Karina

    [My story?] Yuna

    [Yes, tell me about the city where Yuna-san lives, where you went, what monsters you¡¯ve fought.] Karina

    [Hmm, that¡¯s right.........] Yuna

    I started to tell a little story.

    After talking for a while, I heard a quiet sleeping sound next to me. Apparently, she fell asleep. Karina firmly hugged Swaying Bear unconsciously. When I called Hugging Bear who looks lonely, I hugged him.

    [Good night.] Yuna

    I also went to sleep to get rid of today¡¯s fatigue.

 Chapter 327 Bear-san Asks for a Letter of Introduction.

    When I woke up in the morning, Karina was hugging me while sleeping. Swaying Bear, whom she was hugging before going to bed, was curled up and sleeping next to Karina. Whether it¡¯s d to be released or lonely, only Swaying Bear knows.

    By the way, Hugging Bear wasfortably sleeping on my arm.

    For the time being, I decided to wake everyone up.

    After finishing our breakfast, Balima-san asked me toe to the office when I was about to go out. It seems that there are many things he wants to talk about in this case.

    Karina came together with me, but she didn¡¯t get permission from Balima-san so she couldn¡¯t enter.

    [Once again, thank you, Yuna-san. I have no other words of gratitude. Karina also has a smile on her face now. This is all thanks to Yuna-san. For the past few days, Karina has been ming herself. There were also times she¡¯s crying in her room, she won¡¯te out no matter how much we called her. As a parent, it felt bad when I couldn¡¯t evenfort my own daughter or soothe her heart. But Yuna-san saved Karina¡¯s heart. I¡¯m really thankful to you.] Balima

    When I first met her, Karina felt like she had a dead expression. But Karina was trying to do her best. And I think Karina did her best with that small body.

    She didn¡¯t run away even in front of the monsters, and she didn¡¯t even whine. If you were a child in that situation, you might have said you don¡¯t want to go because you¡¯re scared. You may have acted on your own. But Karina didn¡¯t do that. She knew exactly what we were doing and didn¡¯t bother us.

    When I told her about that, she looked very happy.

    [So Yuna-san. Are you sure you want to borrow a guild card reader? If so then let me use my guild card reader.] Balima

    Mine would be treated as the King¡¯s request, but what about Jade-san and others?

    I handed my guild card to Balima-san. Balima-san, who received it, ced the guild card on the crystal te, then operated the crystal te. The process ended easily, and he returned the guild card to the mouth of my Bear Puppet.

    [Yuna-san doesn¡¯t want anyone to know about the Scorpion, so I¡¯ll put it as part of the Kraken magic stone delivery.] Balima

    [You mean, the only ones who knew were you, the guild master, and a handful of people?] Yuna

    [Yes, If there is a case where the proof of the subjugation record is asked, I and Follout-sama will handle it.] Balima

    [What about His Majesty the King?] Yuna

    [Please give this letter to Follout-sama. I¡¯ve written it here. He might want to see the Scorpion.] Balima

    In other words, the letter is about the Scorpion. I can¡¯t get Balima-san to write a false report, so it can¡¯t be helped this time.

    But the King.

    I¡¯ll definitely show it to him. The King should not say anything, so I think I can feel relieved in that part. So far, neither the story of me killing 10,000 monsters nor the story of killing Kraken has spread throughout the royal capital.

    However, it will definitely be known by Eleanora-san. In that case, it means eventually it will be known to Cliff like a chain.

    Still, will Cliff say something?

    [So, I would also like Yuna-san to give my thanks to Follout-sama.] Balima

    [Sure, I¡¯ll give it to His Majesty the King, so it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    It is nned that I¡¯ll receive money from the King. It also includes the cost of Kraken¡¯s magic stone. It¡¯s the money from the country anyways. If it¡¯s from a King, it shouldn¡¯t hurt him.

    Not even an itch.

    [No, the request was supposed to be the delivery of a magic stone. Finding the crystal te and recing the magic stones are separate matters. In addition, Yuna-san is the one who defeated the big Scorpion. I can¡¯t let you go home without properly thanking you.] Balima

    [Don¡¯t worry about it, Balima-san. You didn¡¯t even know that a big Scorpion was there. If I sell the materials, it will be money and about the recing of magic stones, I only followed Karina.] Yuna

    I almost did nothing during the switching of magic stones. I just got on top of Hugging Bear and followed Karina¡¯s instructions.

    [It¡¯s different. Yuna-san should be aware of what you did.] Balima

    I know what you¡¯re saying, but I don¡¯t like to be condescending. If he¡¯s a dirty businessman, then he¡¯s asking for it, but he¡¯s Karina¡¯s father, and he¡¯s not a bad person.

    But no matter how much I refuse, Balima-san just won¡¯t listen. Just say thank you and be done with it.

    Today I was thinking of heading to themercial guild to buy a house so I can set up a Bear Gate.

    As a result of searching for a good location to set up the Bear Gate, I decided to buy a house in the city.

    I thought the pyramid or in the middle of the desert would be a good location, but I couldn¡¯t do it considering the monsters and human perception. So it was better to buy a small house in the city and set up a Bear Gate in it.

    There I¡¯lle up with good things.

    [Then, can you write a letter of introduction to themercial guild?] Yuna

    [A letter of introduction to themercial guild?] Balima

    [Yeah, I was thinking of buying a house in this town. You see, I look like this.] Yuna

    I showed my appearance to Balima-san.

    [Bear-san, huh.] Balima

    [So, whenever I stay at an inn, people look at me with strange eyes, so I think I¡¯ll buy a house so I¡¯ll have somewhere I can stay whenever Ie to this town.] Yuna

    [Etto, can¡¯t you just look normal?.] Balima

    I usually think so too. But I answered the question immediately.

    [I won¡¯t.] Yuna

    I want to, but I don¡¯t have the courage to stay at an inn in as a normal human. If I take off Bear Costume, I¡¯ll be weaker than a normal girl. Even if I¡¯m at home, I can¡¯t do it because I¡¯m scared of being in a normal outfit.

    And I can¡¯t install a Bear Gate in the inn.

    [And even if I say I want a house, I don¡¯t know whether it looks good, I might get looked down because of how my age looks, and I do not want those strange houses in strange ces to be pushed at me.] Yuna

    I made excuses so I can set up a Bear Gate.

    Besides, until now, the purchase of a property has been done with the help of others, except in Crimonia.

    In the royal capital, there were Gran-san and Eleanora-san.

    Atora-san in the town of Mereera.

    In the city of Larouze, Letobert-san gave me a home.

    And at the Elf Vige, I got permission from Mumroot-san.

    That¡¯s why I was able to build Bear Houses or acquire houses without any problems.

    So, if I want to buy a house in this city, I should be able to buy it without any trouble if I have a letter from Balima-san.

    [Why are you buying a house, when you¡¯re not living in there?] Balima

    [It¡¯s just a small house. I promised to visit Karina as well.] Yuna

    [In that case, it doesn¡¯t matter if you stay at my house. Then my daughter will be happy too.] Balima

    If that is the case, I cannot set up a Bear Gate just like at the inn.

    [I don¡¯t know how long it will take to get to this town, which may be annoying...] Yuna

    Well, another excuse...

    [I don¡¯t think it¡¯s annoying. ......I see I understand. I¡¯ve been persistently inviting you, so I¡¯ll write a letter of introduction to themercial guild.] Balima

    Balima-san suddenly changes his mind and writes a letter of introduction to the Commercial Guild. He¡¯s probably wondering why a girl dressed as a bear didn¡¯t want to stay at his house?

    If you think about it that way, I¡¯m a little sad.

    And Balima-san gave me a letter of introduction.

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    [No, I¡¯m the one who should thank you.] Balima

    I asked Balima-san about the location of themercial guild and left the room. I decided to head to the Commercial Guild.

    Karina stood in the hallway.

    [What did you discuss with my father?] Karina

    [It¡¯s about rewards. He thanked me for defeating the Scorpion.] Yuna

    [If that¡¯s the case, I think it would have been nice if I could talk to you as well.] Karina

    [You don¡¯t want to see the adult¡¯s business, right? Perhaps I might ask Balima-san a lot.] Yuna

    Some people may call it unreasonable gratitude.

    [Yuna-san, did you make various requests to my father?!] Karina

    [No, I didn¡¯t. When I told him I didn¡¯t need it, Balima-san got angry. He should be aware of what you did. He¡¯s such a good Father.] Yuna

    When I praised Balima-san, Karina replied with a big smile, [Yes].

    Then I went to themercial guild to buy the house on schedule. Karina is walking beside me.

    [Even if you don¡¯t tag along, I won¡¯t go home without saying a word.] Yuna

    When I said I¡¯m heading out, Karina came with me. When I went out, she said, [Don¡¯t go home yet.]

    [Then where are you going?] Karina

    Karina doubtfully asks me.

    You don¡¯t trust me, do you?

    But if I said I want to buy a house, I don¡¯t want to be told [just stay at our house], like Balima-san, So I was silent, but it wasn¡¯t a situation where I could lie.

    [At themercial guild. There¡¯s something I want to buy.] Yuna

    [Something you want to buy? Like what?] Karina

    [A house. A ce to stay when Ie here. When I stay in an inn, I will be stared at, so it¡¯s very troublesome.] Yuna

    [If so, then please stay at my house.] Karina

    I can¡¯t lie, after all, thus this happened. So I got silent.

    [I would be a bother. I don¡¯t want to bother you guys whenever Ie to this town, also I¡¯ll let you stay overnight.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re not a bother. You won¡¯t be needing a house.] Karina

    [At the moment, at the moment.] Yuna

    (TN: ¡¸¤½¤Î¤È¤­¤Ï¡¢¤½¤Î¤È¤­¤À¤è¡¹)

    Isn¡¯t Karina¡¯s deception skills getting better?

    We arrived at the Commercial Guild.

    By the way, while going to themercial guild, there was a moment when I got surrounded by children. When I held Karina in a princess carry style and ran away, Karina got angry at me again.

    Why? Even though I¡¯m not jumping.

    [This is themercial guild. I wish I get a good house.] Yuna

    Themercial guild was unexpectedly close to the adventurer¡¯s guild where I first met Karina.

    [I have a letter of introduction from Balima-san so I¡¯m all set.] Yuna

    [If something happens, I will try my best.] Karina

    [Karina, don¡¯t do your best.] Yuna

    [Wha..., why?!] Karina

    With a little anger, she protested. I exined why.

    [I don¡¯t want Karina to be a child who misuses the power of her parents. Karina should not grow up as an adult who just gives orders. I want you to be an adult who¡¯s thoughtful and giving instructions.] Yuna

    [I... I understand. I will stay silent.] Karina

    Whether it¡¯s Karina or Noah, I want them to grow up without misusing the power of their parents from a young age. When they grow up, they will inherit the power of their parents.

    At a young age, they shouldn¡¯t learn much aboutmands and obeying. When they grow up, they¡¯ll losepassion for others.

    But I think it¡¯s okay if you look at Balima-san and Karina now. However, this time it¡¯ll be a problem if she used her authority in themercial guild, so I asked Karina to shut up.

    I have a letter of introduction from Balima-san and it should be enough.

 Chapter 328 Bear-san, Buys a House.

    Once we got inside themercial guild, we saw the counter was vacant, and there are only a few people in such arge room.

    I went to the reception. The receptionist is working while facing down without noticing my presence.

    [Ano~......] Yuna

    [Oh yes! I¡¯m sorry...... Bear-san!? And Karina-sama?] Receptionist

    When I called out, the receptionist raised her face and got dumbfounded. She was even more surprised to see me, than seeing Karina next to me. And she even made a stunning three-stage surprised expression.

    The receptionist is a woman in her 20¡¯s with brown hair.

    The receptionist looks at my face and Karina alternately. There¡¯s a <?> appeared, floating above the receptionist¡¯s head.

    Well, you know what I mean.

    However, I have no reason to answer that, so I will carry out my purpose ofing to the guild.

    [I have something to ask, is it okay?] Yuna

    [Um, yes. What would it be?] Receptionist

    The receptionist nods while being confused.

    I talked about wanting to purchase a small house and gave the letter of introduction I got from Balima-san. The receptionist looks at the letter of introduction that was given to her and repeatedly look at me, the letter, and Karina in a loop.

    [Karina-sama, this is...] Receptionist

    [I¡¯m sorry. I just came along with her, so I don¡¯t know the contents of my father¡¯s letter.] Karina

    Karina replies politely like the lord¡¯s daughter should be.

    [Etto, Yuna-san right?] Receptionist

    The receptionist spoke my name. Did Balima-san even mention my name in the letter?

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right, so I want a small house, but is there any avable? I think I can afford it even if it is a little expensive.] Yuna

    There is no problem even if it is small since it¡¯ll only have a Bear Gate in it. But the reply from the receptionist was very unexpected.

    [No, no payment is required.] Receptionist

    [............?] Yuna

    This time, a <?> appears on my head.

    I don¡¯t even understand what she¡¯s saying. But the receptionist answered my question immediately.

    [It says here in the letter, .] Receptionist

    What was that? I haven¡¯t heard anything like that from Balima-san.

    However, it may be possible after remembering Balima-san¡¯s face and behavior. At first, he told me to stay at his home, but when I thought he was just thinking, he suddenly agreed to write a letter of introduction and let me buy a house.

    Did I offend him because I refused his offer of gratitude?

    [Etto, Karina-sama I would like to confirm to you but is Bear... Yuna-san connected to the Ishrit family?] Receptionist

    [Yuna-san is an important guest of the Ishrit family. I can guarantee it.] Karina

    After all of that, even if there was a letter of introduction, she still can¡¯t trust it, huh?

    Just because I¡¯m a Bear!

    [I understand. Then, can you please tell me your desired home?] Receptionist

    The receptionist endured wanting to ask about my appearance and handled her job swiftly.

    Many eyes have been staring at me everywhere. Words such as [A bear], [She¡¯s a bear], and [Cute] can be heard from the merchants and guild staffs.

    Karina turns her line of sight to those people and silenced them.

    I told her not to use her authority. However, I have to thank Karina for being with me here.

    I exined to the receptionist that it would be helpful if my house was nearby a store. It¡¯s convenient if I want to go for a quick shopping if the store is just nearby.

    When I told her that, Karina cuts into the conversation.

    [I would like her house near my house.] Karina

    [Um, why?] Yuna

    [The closer you are, the better!] Karina

    Karina said strongly. I replied, [Y~yeah, sure.] as Karina pushed herself to me.

    The receptionist who saw that wasughing.

    [I¡¯ll look it up. Please wait a moment.] Receptionist

    When the receptionist checked the map, words like, , , , , and can be heard from her, then followed by a long <.........>.

    [Sorry for the wait.] Receptionist

    The receptionist spread the map and told us where Karina¡¯s house was and the nearby streets where shops were lined up. There must have been a shop where I can buy spices somewhere along these streets. That could work.

    Then she told us the locations of the candidate houses. They were all in the streets between the shops and Karina¡¯s house. I¡¯ve seen a few of the houses close to the shops on the street where I pointed my Bear Puppet.

    [Right about here would be good, I think?] Yuna

    [Right here!] Karina

    On the contrary, Karina pointed at a house close to her house. Both of our opinions were divided.

    [Why are you pointing over there?] Karina

    [Because it¡¯s closer to the store?] Yuna

    [If that¡¯s the case, this house isn¡¯t so far away either, so there¡¯s no problem!] Karina

    [But if I want to go shopping, this one is more convenient!] Yuna

    I and Karina look into each other¡¯s eyes. Neither of us backed down.

    I could back down, however... Somehow, it turned into a showdown.

    [Ano~ what about here?] Receptionist

    Watching us having a big showdown, the receptionist proposes a new option. The ce suggested by the receptionist was a house in the middle of the area that I and Karina had pointed to.

    [This house is rtively new, it¡¯s close to Karina-sama¡¯s house and close to the shops as well. I think it fits both of your requests.] Receptionist

    I and Karina looked at each other again.

    We nod at each other with a expression, face to face.

    I and Karina epted the proposal of the receptionist. Looking at us, the receptionist made a relieved expression. But, as expected, she is a staff member of themercial guild, so she is also good at mediation.

    Well, all I have to do is to check at the actual house and decide whether to buy it. If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll y at Karina¡¯s house again.

    We went to check the house together with the receptionist. Its location on the map was halfway along the street between Karina¡¯s house and the shops.

    I look at my house.

    [Yeah, it¡¯s nice.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a small house, though it¡¯s a two-story house.

    [Isn¡¯t it small?] Karina

    [It¡¯s enough because it¡¯s only me who will be staying there.] Yuna

    There are no ns toe here in arge group. It¡¯s fine even if Ie here with Fina who knew about the Bear Gate. Even so, I can just go home without staying here. So I really don¡¯t need a big house.

    [Do you want to check inside?] Receptionist

    [Yes, please.] Yuna

    The house is new and the interior is beautiful. But it¡¯s a bit dusty and it needs cleaning.

    The first floor has a kitchen, a dining room, a bath, and a toilet, also a small warehouse at the back. There are two rooms on the second floor.

    Apparently, it looks like a house for newlyweds.

    [Yeah, it¡¯s decided. I¡¯ll take it!] Yuna

    [Ah, thank you very much. Then let¡¯s head back to the guild to make the contract.] Receptionist

    We went back to the Commercial Guild.

    [So, may I have your guild card?] Receptionist

    Name: Yuna

    Age: 15 years

    upation: Bear

    Adventurer Rank: C

    Commercial Rank: E

    She looked at my guild card and said.

    [upation: Bear?] Receptionist

    As always, why would everyone look at that?

    [Yuna-san is also a member of themercial guild.] Receptionist

    [Well, I have some little businesses. So I¡¯m paying with my money.] Yuna

    [As I said earlier, it¡¯s okay because it will be covered by the Ishrit family ording to Balima-sama¡¯s letter.] Receptionist

    [I will pay half.] Yuna

    Even before I heard about it, I had no intention of having Balima-san pay all of it. But if I pay it all, I would hurt Balima-san¡¯s feelings. So I decided to pay half of it.

    The receptionist seems to be confused at my words. Balima-san¡¯s letter of the introduction states that . But I suddenly said that I¡¯ll pay half. She doesn¡¯t seem to know which of the instructions to take.

    [Yuna-san. It¡¯s gratitude from my father. Please, ept it.] Karina

    [I can¡¯t ept all of it. But I¡¯ll take half because I can¡¯t ignore Balima-san¡¯s feelings. I won¡¯t back down here even with the words of Karina and Balima-san.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san......] Karina

    I asked the receptionist about the purchase price of the house.

    [But......] Receptionist

    [I will talk to Balima-san.] Yuna

    [......I understand.] Receptionist

    The receptionist took a deep breath and epted my words. I paid half of the amount presented and bought the house.

    I can¡¯t believe how much he wanted to thank me, he even wants to pay for the house.

    Although, haven¡¯t I received a house with picture books and stuffed animals before? Well, I couldn¡¯t refuse at that time. Everything was modest.

    After sessfully paying, Karina and I went to the house that I just bought, to clean it. Although they did manage it, it¡¯s still somewhat dirty.

    [Yuna-san, you really are wealthy. That Oneesan was really surprised by you.] Karina

    She was surprised that I paid half of the price of a house, even though I only paid half.

    When I entered the house, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to help with the cleaning. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear wiped the floor with a rag.

    (TN: Whew, for a second, I thought they were the rags.)

    I want to borrow a cat¡¯s paws for cleaning, so I decided to borrow the bear¡¯s paws. Even if I say that they¡¯re helping with cleaning, it feels like they¡¯re just ying.

    Well, I¡¯ve been spending so much time with Karina, so I thought this time, I¡¯ll also be spending it with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Hey, Karina will also help with the cleaning.] Yuna

    [Yes, of course. I will not lose to Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Karina

    Back at themercial guild, I tried to say good-bye to Karina because I was about to go and clean my house, but Karina said she would also help. At her home, they have maids. So I¡¯m worried if such ady can clean properly, I¡¯ve never seen ady who can be good at cleaning.

    [............] Yuna

    And so, my worry was right on the target.

    [Karina, Swaying Bear is there!] She almost trampled Swaying Bear.

    [Karina, look out!] She hit her head against the door.

    [Karina, watch your step!] She¡¯s looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cleaning with a rag, she steps on her rag that was on the floor.

    [Karina, watch out for the bucket.] This time her clothes got stuck on a bucket of water and tripped.

    [Uu, Yuna-san, Hugging Bear-chan, I¡¯m sorry...] Karina

    Hugging Bear was splendidly soaked. The water sshed and hit Hugging Bear who¡¯s right next to her. The water was dirty because it was being used to wash the rags. The white bear became a little darker.

    Hugging Bear sadly cries .

    Karina hurriedly tried to wipe Hugging Bear with the dirty rag she had in her hand, so I quickly stopped her.

    [Hugging Bear is fine. Karina just continue to wipe the floor.] Yuna

    I unsummoned Hugging Bear and quickly summon it again. A beautiful Hugging Bear appears.

    [Hugging Bear-chan has be beautiful!] Karina

    [Karina is prohibited to clean near Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear!] Yuna

    [Uu~u, but that¡¯s...] Karina

    Karina became gloomy and depressed.

    If I don¡¯t act like an Oni here, the damage will escte even more.

    And it goes without saying that I was very tired when we finished cleaning.

 Chapter 329 Bear-san Returns to the Royal Capital.

    After the cleaning, I went back and thanked Balima-san. I also told him that I paid half of it. Balima-san was a little disappointed, but he reluctantly said, [I understand].

    I also told him that I will return to the capital in two days.

    Tomorrow would be good, but when I think about the Bear Gate, I need to adjust the time. There was also a possibility that the date may have been written in the letter or my guild card.

    The date of my departure should not be known by the King so that I can deceive him.

    I don¡¯t think the King and Balima-san would meet and talk about the date of my departure, so it¡¯ll be okay.

    The next day, I and Karina went to the ce where we can get the eggs from the big bird.

    I asked Rasa-san yesterday about where we can find the eggs. I said I wanted some, so I asked her to do me a favor. She said they would deliver the eggs to the mansion, but I wanted to see the birds, so I decided to go and get them myself.

    It is said that the bird was being managed in the agricultural area on the other side of Balima-san¡¯s residence. We walk towards the agricultural area while gazing at theke. There were still many stalls around theke.

    [Everyone seems to be having fun.] Yuna

    [This is all thanks to Yuna-san.] Karina

    I heard that there were a lot of residents who were worried about the matter of water supply.

    That¡¯s when Balima-san¡¯s announcement came and the city returned to life. Now, if the Kraken¡¯s water magic stone ran out of water again, riots may ur.

    But it¡¯ll be alright, right?

    I¡¯m a little worried, but I¡¯ll believe it¡¯s okay. We did our best.

    The Ojisan who owns the shop selling the spices, also came to the mansion to meet with Karina. It seems that he came to tell her that he will stay in the town. And he also seems to have made an apology.

    But now I can confidently purchase the curry spices. That¡¯s good.

    After walking for some time while gazing at the scenery of the city, we can finally see the agricultural area.

    [Yuna-san, over there.] Karina

    There was a hut at the ce where Karina was pointing, and there is a sight of arge bird swimming in theke beside the hut. Maybe that¡¯s the big bird? (TC: probably not this one.)

    I thought it was an ostrich at first, but it wasn¡¯t.

    It looks like amon duck swimming in theke in front of me.

    But it wasn¡¯t the size of a duck I knew. It¡¯s about the size of an ostrich.

    There are sizes that allowed children to ride on their backs. As expected, different worlds and birds are mystical.

    But do theyy eggs so much?

    In my former world, every year the ducks migrate to different ces, so it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d beying eggs that much... I¡¯ve seen it on TV.

    Well, it¡¯s a different world, with a big difference in size, and it seems like they¡¯re raising them.

    [If it¡¯s that big, Karina would be able to ride it.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯ve been on one before. If you ask, you can ride on their backs.] Karina

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Adults are not allowed, but children are fine. I used to ride one and y well.] Karina

    Oh, as an adult, I can¡¯t ride it, but if it¡¯s a child, like Fina, it should be okay. It might be nice to bring Fina next time.

    [But you must be able to swim. You can fall into theke, so the children who can¡¯t swim back to the shore are not allowed to ride on it.] Karina

    Isn¡¯t that obvious?

    If you fall, you will drown if you can¡¯t swim.

    Then, Fina who has never swim before cannot ride it. But isn¡¯t it okay since we¡¯re having a swimming practice at the sea?

    It¡¯ll depend on Fina¡¯s hard work.

    Unfortunately, I¡¯m an adult woman, so I can¡¯t ride it.

    A~, it¡¯s too bad, I¡¯m an adult.

    [Do you want to ride one now Yuna-san?] Karina

    Etto, what does that mean? I¡¯m sure she¡¯s making a mistake.

    [You can ride one Yuna-san.] Karina

    [I knew it.] Yuna

    When said that, it made my heart be sad. I may not be a big adult, but I am not a child either.

    When we arrive at the hut, we saw several men working. When they noticed us, they were surprised at how I look.

    [Bear?...... Karina-sama?] Man

    Their first line of sight was definitely on me. I¡¯m a Bear, what about it?

    Karina talked to the man who was wondering.

    [I heard you have eggs to be delivered to our house, we came to get it. Do you have it?] Karina

    Karina exined why we came here. Karina can talk better than I do, so I¡¯ll leave it to her.

    [If only you had told us earlier, we would have delivered it.] Man

    The man respectfully talked to Karina.

    After all, she¡¯s the lord¡¯s daughter so the citizens treat her politely.

    The man took us inside the hut and guided us to where the eggs were.

    [The eggs wereid yesterday.] Man

    When I went into the back of the room, there were two eggs about the size of an ostrich egg. Just like what I had seen on TV.

    How many normal eggs can fit in it?

    What about the taste?

    I¡¯m looking forward to it.

    [Can I really get both eggs?] Yuna

    [Yes, please take it. Yuna-san will return to the capital tomorrow. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get it as well after waiting for a bit.] Karina

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    I paid the price of the eggs to the man, so now, I have the eggs of the big duck.

    Karina said, , but I¡¯m the one who paid.

    If it¡¯s a souvenir, you have to buy it with your own money.

    But now I have a good souvenir for the children of the orphanage and Fina. I¡¯m looking forward to everyone¡¯s surprised faces.

    Shall I make a huge fried egg?

    Or a lot of pudding?

    What kind of food would be delicious?

    We thanked the man and left the hut.

    But that was one huge duck.

    I want it, but it¡¯s impossible since there was no ce to raise it. It¡¯s more like an ostrich. It¡¯ll be impossible to make a ce in which a duck, like that one, can live in Crimonia.

    If I want eggs, I¡¯lle and buy them here.

    Once we got the eggs, we went back to the mansion.

    We finished eating lunch. So I¡¯ll serve them a cake.

    [Delicious!] Karina

    [It¡¯s true,] Rasa

    [Mother, it¡¯s delicious!] Norris

    [Fufu, it was really good.] Ristil

    Everyone except Balima-san was eating cake inside Karina¡¯s room.

    I decided to eat a cake in Karina¡¯s room, along with Ristil-san and Norris. Then Rasa-san prepared us some tea. In the end, I became friends with Norris.

    However, he kept calling me [Bear-san].

    This was because Ristil-san introduced me as a bear. Well, if he asked me what do I look like, I have no choice but to say [Bear]. I gave up on all the small children because they all call me [Bear-san].

    By the way, Balima-san was busy working on theke. I don¡¯t know why he got more work, but he seems quite busy.

    I¡¯ll give Rasa-san some sacred tea for Balima-san. It can¡¯t magically cure injuries, but it can recover strength and energy by drinking this tea. The effect had been proven by Cliff.

    I don¡¯t want him to overdo it, but it seems that the people of this world really love their jobs so much, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    It¡¯s not something that I can think of since I am a Hikikomori at heart.

    That night, I slept with Karina just like yesterday.

    Of course, also I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I¡¯ll return to the Royal Capital tomorrow, so I won¡¯t be able to see Karina for a while.

    If I juste and go as I please, they¡¯ll get suspicious of me. So if Ie here, it would be after when the sea trip was over.

    The next morning, after we finished breakfast, I said my goodbyes.

    [Yuna-san, pleasee again.] Karina

    [Sure, I¡¯lle back.] Yuna

    I pat Karina¡¯s head.

    [Please give my regards to Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan as well.] Karina

    [Okay, but I¡¯m sure you said goodbyest night and this morning as well.] Yuna

    [Yes, but still, please tell them.] Karina

    Karina was saying goodbye to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bearst night before sleeping and in the morning when she woke up.

    [Yuna-chan, thank you so much. Yuna-chan saved the city. Thank you for saving the future of this hungry child.] Ristil

    Ristil-san touches her stomach.

    [Please give birth safely.] Yuna

    [He¡¯s the third child, so he¡¯ll be fine.] Ristil

    When the time he¡¯s born, I¡¯ll have to bring something to celebrate.

    The picture book will be too early, so I wonder if it¡¯s good to give stuffed animals instead?

    [Bear-san, are you going home?] Norris

    [Yeah, I¡¯m going now. Get along with your mom and sister.] Yuna

    [Yup.] Norris

    Norris looked lonely while holding Ristil-san¡¯s hand.

    He seems to like his mother, Ristil-san so much, but after he gets a younger brother or sister, will he be all right?

    I heard that the youngest child would hate it when a new youngest child was born because the mother will have to give all of her attention to the new youngest child. Well, it¡¯s the way the sibling thing works.

    Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s okay.

    [Thank you very much for your help this time. Thank you for the tea. Thanks to you, I¡¯m feeling a lot better now.] Balima

    Balima-san¡¯splexion was good. He must have been tired due to his mental fatigue. It seems that the sacred tree¡¯s tea helped relieve his fatigue.

    [Since you¡¯re going to have a new member soon, you should do a moderate amount of work.] Yuna

    [Yes, I cannot fall down from overworking. Also, please say hello to Follout-sama.] Balima

    I made my promise.

    Finally, I look at Rasa-san.

    [Yuna-san. Next time, please teach me a new recipe. I will also study cooking even more.] Rasa

    [Yes, I¡¯ll bring you some good food when Ie back.] Yuna

    I was sent off by everyone and left the mansion.

    Karina tried to see me off the city gate, but I politely refused. If she followed me, I won¡¯t be able to use the Bear Gate.

    I apologized to Karina in my heart, then I went to the house I bought yesterday. Of course, I made sure to check the area around it before heading inside.

    The Bear Gate was installed in the warehouse.

    And so, I opened the door and returned to Royal Capital.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    5 volumes had been released.

    I went to a bookstore. But I didn¡¯t found it.

    Was the arrival got dyed?

 Chapter 330 Bear-san, Goes to the Castle to Report.

    I used the Bear Gate to instantly return to the Bear House in the royal capital.

    Going to a faraway ce was quite difficult, but the return trip was very easy, so the Bear Gate really helped me a lot. The instantaneous movement was also good, but this one was rather convenient. It can also be used to defeat the Scorpion just like thest time.

    Well, it¡¯s nice to be back after some time, but it¡¯s also a good idea to go and meet with the King as soon as possible.

    So I¡¯ll make time adjustments here as well.

    I have many things to do. But first, I have to clean the Bear House in the royal capital that I don¡¯t use often.

    Since it was only used as a base for moving, it has umted dust. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯m going to bring an acquaintance.

    Fina might stay with me here.

    I¡¯ll spend my time cleaning, washing, etc. Then, in the afternoon, I¡¯ll head to the castle when it¡¯s time for a snack.

    While I was heading to the castle in the shape of a bear, I heard the sound of someone running from behind.

    What¡¯s that about?

    someone was shouting my name. When I looked back, a beautiful blonde girl hugged me.

    [Tilia?] Yuna

    It was Tilia in her uniform who hugged me.

    [Yuna, what are you doing here? are you perhaps heading to the castle?] Tilia

    [Yes, but did Tilia just came back from school?] Yuna

    Well, she¡¯s wearing a school uniform, so it¡¯s obvious.

    [Yup. So while I was on my way back to the castle, I ran because I saw the back of someone familiar walking in front of me.] Tilia

    It¡¯s embarrassing to be told with such a cute smile.

    [Does Tilia walk from school?] Yuna

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Tilia

    [Even though you¡¯re a princess? Don¡¯t you use a carriage or be guarded by an escort?] Yuna

    [I go by carriage to school. But I go with my friends on the way back, so I¡¯m walking back home.] Tilia

    I thought she was being protected by a strict bodyguard, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Well, there wasn¡¯t one at the school festival either.

    However, it¡¯s quite surprising that she¡¯s not using the carriage on her way home. Was it okay for the princess to be walking out here alone?

    Though I remembered one time, Tilia¡¯s father, the King himself, went to the Bear House alone.

    I get it.

    The members of the royal family were doing whatever they please. It¡¯s no use thinking about it.

    [So is Yuna going to see Flora?] Tilia

    [I am going to meet with His Majesty today.] Yuna

    [With Father?] Tilia

    [He asked me to do a job. I¡¯m going to report it because the job was done.] Yuna

    [Speaking of which, Yuna is an adventurer.] Tilia

    That¡¯s right.

    By no means, my upation and my race was a bear.

    I¡¯m a human adventurer.

    [But it¡¯s amazing that Father personally asked you to do a job.] Tilia

    [Eh?] Yuna

    [He¡¯s the King, so he won¡¯t ask you if he didn¡¯t trust you.] Tilia

    [It just kinda happened. There¡¯s something I wanted to get there. If it wasn¡¯t for that, I wouldn¡¯t do it.] Yuna

    [Is that right? Father seems to like Yuna very much.] Tilia

    Um, that King?

    I have to think about that.

    ......I wonder if that¡¯s true?

    [The food you bring were very rare.] Tilia

    [I think that¡¯s what he likes very much.] Yuna

    He just wanted to eat pudding.

    After some time while I was having a casual talk with Tilia, I can see the castle gate.

    [Tilia-sama, wee home.] Guard

    [I¡¯m home.] Tilia

    [Also, it seems that Yuna-dono is with you?] Guard

    [It just happened by chance.] Yuna

    The soldiers were used to my responses. They were hardly surprised by it.

    Though sometimes when they change shifts, there were others who were very surprised. But quite often, the soldiers who knew me were at the gate.

    [When Yuna-donoes, we were told to take her to His Majesty the King.] Guard

    [Shall I go there alone? Or with someone else?] Yuna

    [I shall take you...] Guard

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take her.] Tilia

    [Tilia-sama?] Guard

    Tilia stopped the soldiers who were trying to take me and offered to take me instead.

    [But......] Guard

    [Leave it to me. Father is in the Oval Office, isn¡¯t he? I¡¯m going with Yuna.] Tilia

    Tilia grabbed my Bear Puppet and she donna-donna me into the castle. The gate guard saw us off without saying a word.

    While we¡¯re walking, I met someone I wouldn¡¯t want to see.

    [Ara, Yuna-chan, and Tilia-sama.] Eleanora

    [Eleanora-san. Are you skipping your work again?] Yuna

    [Even Yuna-chan, is saying the same thing as His Majesty. I¡¯m just taking a break. So, why are Yuna-chan and Tilia-sama together?] Eleanora

    [Yuna is going to meet with Father, so I¡¯m taking her to his office.] Tilia

    Eleanora-san thinks a little.

    [Well then, I will also go with you.] Eleanora

    [Hey, are you really working?] I wanted to tsukkomi her, but I held back... Well, she¡¯s always like that anyway.

    [I¡¯m not going there to y. I¡¯m not giving you delicious food.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a problem if she misunderstood why I¡¯m here, so I¡¯ll just say that just in case.

    [Yuna-chan, just what do you take me for?] Eleanora

    I was right, aren¡¯t I?

    I always go to Flora-sama¡¯s room. Then you¡¯reing in from out of nowhere and eat food every time, weren¡¯t you?

    [Come on, let¡¯s go.] Eleanora

    I got sandwiched between Tilia and Eleanora, so I¡¯m being donna-donna by both of them.

    And so, we arrived at the usual office.

    [Father, I¡¯ming in.] Tilia

    She opened the door without waiting for a reply from inside and entered the room.

    [Tilia? I¡¯m working right now...... Yuna? And Eleanora?] King

    The King, who was going through the mountains of papers, looked at Tilia and noticed that I and Eleanora-san were standing next to her.

    [Yuna, you¡¯re back.] King

    [Just a moment ago.] Yuna

    That¡¯s a lie.

    [So why are you together with Tilia and Eleanora?] King

    [When I came back from school, I found Yuna swaying her pretty tail. She said she wanted to see Father, so I brought her here.] Tilia

    I¡¯m not swaying my tail. I was just walking normally.

    [When I was taking a walk, I found a cute bear, so I followed her.] Eleanora

    Eleanora imitated how cute the way Tilia talks.

    [You should be working!] King

    [I am working.] Eleanora

    Didn¡¯t you just say you were taking a walk? The King was as amazed as I am.

    [Okay. Thank you for bringing Yuna. You can both step out now.] King

    The King waved his hand and tried to drive Eleanora-san and Tilia out of the room like they were some annoyance.

    [What? What are you going to do alone with her? Yuna-chan is still a child!] Eleanora

    [Father!] Tilia [FBI-san!] Attattin

    [Shi?go?to?no?wa?na?shi?da. (It¡¯s about work.) Eleanora, you should know about that.] King

    [I¡¯m just joking. You don¡¯t have to be so mad about it.] Eleanora

    [It¡¯s because you said something stupid. Don¡¯t make stupid remarks like that because it¡¯s going to have a negative impact on my daughter.] King

    I think it¡¯s toote. She¡¯s already under her influence, she¡¯s way too deep. She always said these things in front of Tilia, that¡¯s why Tilia¡¯s remarks were like that.

    She¡¯s definitely more influenced by Eleanora-san, than the queen.

    On the other hand, Shia was a good kid because she grew up properly.

    Shia was more like Cliff in a rather serious way. Even though Noa lives far away, she resembles Eleanora-san. I wonder, was it because of the blood?

    [Then I can stay and listen to the report, right?] Eleanora

    [That¡¯s not fair. I also want to hear it.] Tilia

    [I just asked to do a delivery job.] King

    [Then it¡¯s okay if we stay and listen to the report, right?] Tilia

    Tilia looked at the King. The King looked at me.

    [What do you think?] King

    [Why are you asking me?] Yuna

    [If it¡¯s just an ordinary report, there is no problem. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you. I¡¯ll be in trouble if I get med for itter.] King

    Did he know something about the pyramid?

    [What makes you think?] Yuna

    [It took too long. I thought, with your bears, you woulde back a little sooner.] King

    Certainly, we waited a few days for the adventurers, we explored the basement of the pyramid and dived into thebyrinth. Furthermore, due to the time adjustment, I remained for two days in the city.

    If you think about it normally, I should be back much earlier.

    [But I might be doing some sightseeing in the city.] Yuna

    [In that case, there is no problem. You werete, I thought something might have happened, so I tried to get them out of the room.] King

    The King was trying to get them out for me, I see.

    Certainly, I cannot speak openly about the pyramid.

    But it¡¯s like admitting that something must¡¯ve happened to drive Tilia out of the room. But even if I don¡¯t say anything, they¡¯ll stay and listen.

    Either way, it will be the same.

    Also, it¡¯ll be a problem if Tilia talked about it at her school...

    [Tilia, this is my job as an adventurer.] Yuna

    [I knew it, something must¡¯ve happened...] King

    [Something happened.] Eleanora

    The King had a look.

    Eleanora-san looks like she¡¯s an aunt somewhere. Ah, Eleanora-san may look young, but is she an actual aunt?

    [Yuna-chan, Did you think something strange just now?] Eleanora

    [You¡¯re just imagining things.] Yuna

    Don¡¯t go and read people¡¯s hearts.

    [Okay. For now, Tilia should leave the room.] King

    [Eh?~] Tilia

    [Don¡¯t me.] King

    [Then, why can Eleanora stay?] Tilia

    [Obviously. What would I do when I hear an outrageous story by myself. It¡¯s necessary because she¡¯s in charge of Yuna. And Eleanora knows what I asked Yuna.] King

    Eh? What? The person in charge of me? Now, where have I heard that phrase before?

    [Then, I will also be in charge of Yuna.] Tilia

    That¡¯s not a good idea.

    I¡¯m not a bear from a zoo and I don¡¯t need you to feed me.

    Moreover, what¡¯s with the princess being in charge of me?

    [I also want to hear the report. It¡¯s unfair that everyone is hiding it from me.] Tilia

    [That¡¯s not it. I made a promise to Yuna. I simply protect that promise.] King

    His promise.

    The words reminded me of the hush order for the 10,000 monsters incident and the Kraken. Apparently, the King wanted to keep what I¡¯ve been doing a secret to the public.

    It¡¯s harder than I thought.

    [Then, on behalf of Tilia-sama, I shall listen to what Yuna-chan has to say.] Eleanora

    Eleanora-san¡¯s words had been approved by the King, so she sat on a chair.

    [That¡¯s cheating. I also want to hear it.] Tilia

    Tilia grabbed my clothes. It doesn¡¯t stretch, but I want you to stop pulling on it. I looked at the King to ask for help.

    [You decide.] King

    [Yuna......] Tilia

    Tilia looked at me in the eyes.

    [............] Yuna

    I sigh as if I gave up.

    [Don¡¯t tell it to anyone.] Yuna

    [Yuna, thank you very much. I won¡¯t tell anyone.] Tilia

    Even if I decline her here, she will definitely inquire about itter. Then I should give up and make her keep a promise.

    Tilia happily sat on a chair, and so I did the same.

    [Please keep quiet about it as well, Eleanora-san.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s alright. I have a tight mouth. Oh, but I have to tell about it to my dear Cliff.] Eleanora

    [No, please don¡¯t.] Yuna

    The King and I sigh at the same time. The King also seems to be having a hard time with Eleanora-san. Do men have a hard time with women in this world?

    Cliff seems to have a hard time, too.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s kinda funny because it was supposed to end on her way back to Crimonia.

    I was wondering whether to make Tilia or the crown prince, listen to Yuna¡¯s story, but I decided on Tilia.

    Also, the crown prince¡¯s turn hase a long way.

    In the activity report, I wrote the difference between the 5 volumes of the book version and the web version. In the future, the story will proceed based on the book version. It may be rted to the orphanage, so it would be helpful if you read it before the sea arc.

    I apologize for the inconvenience it caused to our dear readers, and thank you.

 Chapter 331 Bear-sanâ€™s Report Ends.

    Everyone is sitting in a chair.

    [What kind of work did Yuna do?] Tilia

    [I just asked her to deliver a package to the city of Dezerto.] King

    The King emphasizes that he just asked me to deliver a package.

    Well, that¡¯s true.

    [The city of Dezerto? It¡¯s a city where theke water has a problem, right?] Tilia

    [You know that?] King

    [Yeah, but I only heard from a child of a merchant in the school that there was a bit of a problem in the water of theke. So I don¡¯t know the details.] Tilia

    It hadn¡¯t turned into a big problem, yet It seems some rumors had already spread.

    [In order to solve the problem of theke, I asked Yuna, who happened to be in Capital city, to take the water magic stone to the city of Dezerto. Yuna¡¯s bears were fast after all.] King

    The King exined why he asked me, but did not mention it as the Kraken¡¯s magic stone. Tilia was convinced by his words and she didn¡¯t seem to doubt any of it.

    [So, were you able to safely deliver the magic stone?] King

    [I was able to deliver it safely. However, there was a problem.] Yuna

    When I said the word , the King¡¯s face suddenly change.

    [Tell me, what happened?] King

    [For the time being, I would like you to read the letter from Balima-san. If there¡¯s something you don¡¯t understand, I¡¯ll exin it.] Yuna

    It¡¯ll be faster if he read Balima-san¡¯s letter than have me exin everything from the very beginning. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s written in it, but judging from Balima-san¡¯s tone, it should be all included.

    And it¡¯s a hassle to tell something that was not written in the letter.

    I gave Balima-san¡¯s letter, bitten by the Bear Puppet, to the King. With a subtle face, the King received the letter from the Bear Puppet¡¯s mouth and carefully read the letter. Then, the King¡¯s expression gradually changes.

    And, after reading it, he put his hand on his head like he¡¯s massaging it and released a big exhale.

    Then, he looked at me.

    [Thinking of about it, I did ask you to go, but I never expected that this was the case.] King

    [What? What was written?] Eleanora

    When the King handed over the letter in silence, Eleanora-san stood up and received the letter. Then, Tilia went and peeked into the letter, even close enough to touch Eleanora-san¡¯s shoulder.

    As they read the letter, their expressions changes.

    [Ara-ra...] Eleanora

    [Is this true?] Tilia

    [I have to thank you.] King

    [It¡¯s my job to deliver the magic stone. What I did over there was my on own discretion.] Yuna

    [Maybe so, but I¡¯m the one who let you go as insurance.] King

    As expected, it was something like that.

    If it¡¯s just to deliver, it didn¡¯t have to be me.

    [If there¡¯s nothing, then there¡¯s no problem. But if something happened, it might be toote. I couldn¡¯t send knights and wizards of the country from here.] King

    I also heard it from Balima-san, there was a reason for them to consider.

    He can¡¯t send knights or wizards of this country because it will create a big issue for the neighboring country. So, he has to ask the adventurers, but depending on what he¡¯s asking to do, it¡¯ll have to be a high-rank adventurer.

    With that in mind, it was better to ask me to go.

    [Yuna-chan, are what written on this all true?] Eleanora

    [I don¡¯t know the contents of the letter. but there shouldn¡¯t be a lie mixed in it.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t think Balima-san will write a lie. though if he did, it¡¯ll be written to exaggerate things.

    [To subdue hundreds of worms... And a big worm as well.] Tilia

    [And the subjugation of arge scorpion in the underground while searching something in the pyramid...] Eleanora

    [The worms were fought by multiple adventurers, so I¡¯m not alone.] Yuna

    I just dug them up. The big (sand)worm was smaller than the big worm that appeared at 10,000 monsters incident, and I didn¡¯t feel evil from it. Unlike the worm which appeared at 10,000 which was already twice asrge, I felt something evil from it.

    The other big worm was just a normal big monster.

    Besides, I have experienced subduing the ck viper and the big worms in the past, so I could easily defeat it.

    [But you killed the big Scorpion by yourself.] Eleanora

    [Well, I thought I could handle it.] Yuna

    The three people in front of me were amazed at my words.

    But there must be someone in the kingdom who can defeat that Scorpion, right?

    [But why did you decide to explore the underground? It¡¯s not written in here.] Eleanora

    It doesn¡¯t seem he wrote about the crystal te. Then I can¡¯t talk about it either.

    [It was something necessary in order to rece the water magic stone.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Eleanora

    [There were many things happened, and in order to rece the water magic stone, I had to defeat the big Scorpion.] Yuna

    I wasn¡¯t lying. I¡¯m just not telling all of it.

    [So you managed to defeat it, and sessfully reced the magic stone.] Eleonora

    [Well, thanks to you, there¡¯s no problem if you safely reced the magic stone. Give me your guild card.] King

    I stood up from my chair and gave the King a guild card. The King ced it on the crystal board on the desk and operated it. And then, he returned it to me.

    [I put all the rewards in your guild card.] King

    [Thank you.] Tilia

    [You did so much for us.] Eleanora

    But even if I get the money, I have no use for it.

    Should I ask for something else next time?

    [And it¡¯s a cheap price for making the city of Dezerto owe us a favor.] King

    Hmm~, it felt like I was used as a bargaining chip between countries, but this time it can¡¯t be helped. The King asked me to deliver a package. Even though the King wrote about me in the letter, it was Balima-san who asked me to do it.

    I couldn¡¯t refuse it, and I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t. So I¡¯m not going toin to the King about this.

    If I went home not knowing about it and heard a tragic storyter, I might have regretted it.

    [Now then, for confirmation, can we see the Scorpion?] King

    Of course, they want to see it.

    [Balima has approved it, but he is not a lord of this country. So, I must confirm it myself.] King

    [You¡¯re saying that, but you really just want to see it.] Eleanora

    [I want to see it too!] Tilia

    Tilia raises her hand as she thrusts herself at Eleanora-san.

    However, it¡¯s impossible to show it easily even if they asked me. I can¡¯t pull out a big monster in such a conspicuous ce in the castle.

    [Besides, I¡¯ve already signed the confirmation of the subjugation of Scorpion in your guild card. You have no right to refuse.] King

    What was that?

    Did you take the initiative in case I¡¯ll be reluctant?

    [I don¡¯t want other people to see and make a fuss about it.] Yuna

    I will gently decline.

    There were a lot of people working in the castle. If they saw it, it will spread quickly like wildfire. I won¡¯t let it be widespread.

    [Then, I think it¡¯ll be okay in the back courtyard. People won¡¯t usuallye over there, and it¡¯s reasonably wide.] Eleanora

    [Surely in the courtyard, only the people involved wille in.] King

    [There is such a ce?] Yuna

    [Well, to put it simply, it¡¯s the ce where we, the royal family live. Cleaning is finished at around noon and no one will be there at this time.] Tilia

    [It¡¯s a courtyard near Flora-sama¡¯s room. You must have seen it too, right Yuna-chan?] Eleanora

    I always go to Flora-sama¡¯s room without doing a detour, so I don¡¯t remember much.

    Now then, even if they didn¡¯t get my approval, everyone stood up and donna-donna me.

    I have no choice but to show the Scorpion.

    We proceeded down the aisle. Certainly, this was the passage leading to Flora-sama¡¯s room. Along the way, we passed through a passage different from Flora-sama¡¯s room. I¡¯ve never been here before.

    Proceeding as it is, we arrive at a ce that looks like a courtyard.

    [It would be fine here.] King

    [Just a little. I don¡¯t want others to see it.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just going to confirm it.] King

    I took out an extrarge-sized Scorpion from the Bear Box.

    [Once again, you killed something outrageous.] King

    [It¡¯s amazing.] Eleanora

    [Yuna killed such a monster alone.] Tilia

    The three went around the Scorpion. They were saying things like , and .

    [This part doesn¡¯t have a shell, why is it?] King

    [I gave it to the adventurers I was with. They wanted to use it to make armor.] Yuna

    Did Jade-san and the other guys arrived in the royal capital by now and already making them?

    No, they may not arrive at the royal capital for a few more days. It may be better to return to Crimonia earlier without dallying in the royal capital.

    [So what are you going to do with this Scorpion?] King

    [I don¡¯t know. I might sell if I have trouble with money, I think?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t need armor. Its only use for me was to sell it.

    Does its meat delicious?

    [I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have any trouble with money. But if you¡¯re thinking of selling, I¡¯ll buy it.] King

    Speaking of which, the King bought the Kraken materials.

    I heard that when Cliff took over Mereera, he sold the Kraken materials to the King when the King heard the rumors about Mereera, and he asked the King to allow him to make it as part of his territory.

    So now the Kraken materials were sleeping somewhere in the castle. I heard from Cliff that it will be sold with some time gap.

    He said that if the rumor of subjugation and the time of the release of the material were different, the rumor that I subjugated it would end up with .

    Actually, Jade-san knew the rumors about the Kraken, but he didn¡¯t think it was true.

    This time, selling the Scorpion will make me stand out.

    It doesn¡¯t matter where I sell it. So it¡¯s better not to stand out.

    [I¡¯ll ask youter then. For now, we¡¯re done here.] King

    When the King told me so, I tried to put the Scorpion back in the Bear Box.

    At that moment, a voice called to me.

    [Bear-san!] Flora

    Looking at the source of the voice, there were Flora-sama and Anju-san.

    [F, Flora-sama, it¡¯s dangerous.] Anju

    Anju-san hurriedly grabbed Flora-sama and stopped her. I mmed the Scorpion into the Bear Box.

    Anju-san, who saw it, had a <?> on her head, looking around with . (sfx)

    [What monster was there just now?] Anju

    [Nothing! There is no danger. Don¡¯t worry about it.] King

    The King exined it, for me.

    [So why is Flora here?] King

    [Well, when I saw Yuna-san, I told Flora-sama about it, then Flora-sama jumped out of the room. I am very sorry.] Anju

    Anju-san apologized to the King.

    Apparently, Flora-sama came to see me.

    But how did she knew where I was?

    [Bear-san...] Flora

    When Anju-san loosened the hand that held Flora-sama, I was suddenly hugged by Flora-sama.

    Looking at Flora-sama¡¯s face, she has a big smile. She doesn¡¯t look scared.

    She wasn¡¯t scared to see a big Scorpion?

    Or maybe I made it in time?

    [Flora-sama, aren¡¯t you scared of monsters?] Yuna

    [Ma mo no?] Flora (TN: monster = mamono (¤Þ¤â¤Î) in case you didn¡¯t know.)

    Flora-sama tilts her neck, she looks cute.

    [It looks like Flora didn¡¯t saw the monster.] Tilia

    Tilia came to us and pat Flora-sama¡¯s head.

    [On¨¥chan?] Flora

    Flora-sama seems to have just noticed that Tilia was there.

    Apparently, Flora-sama didn¡¯t even have Tilia in the frame of her eyesight. Tilia, who understood that, looked sad.

    [It looks like the Bear was better than her own sister.] King

    The King approached Flora-sama whileughing.

    [O t¨­ sha ma?] Flora

    Moreover, it seems like she did not notice the King either, not until he called out.

    [It looks like she didn¡¯t saw her own Father either.] Tilia

    Tilia rebutted.

    The King, on the other hand, had a very sad face.

    Apparently, the only one whom Flora-sama could see was me. Thanks to that, she didn¡¯t saw the Scorpion either.

    I don¡¯t know if I should be happy about it, but this was also due to having the appearance of a Bear.

    After that, I went to Flora-sama¡¯s room.

 Chapter 332 Bear-san Returns to Crimonia.

    I yed with Flora-sama after getting donna-donna by her, then I decided to return to the Bear House before dinner.

    [Bear-san. See you again.] Flora

    Of course, I made a promise. But Eleanora-san caught me when I¡¯m about to go home.

    [Yuna-chan, why don¡¯t you have dinner at home?] Eleanora

    [I want to go home.] Yuna

    I declined it politely. I want to return to Crimonia as soon as possible.

    [But if you go home, you¡¯ll be lonely since you¡¯re eating alone.] Eleanora

    [I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me.] Yuna

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I hugged them as if to appeal.

    Besides, I¡¯m not lonely even if I¡¯m alone. For a hikikomori, it feels as sweet as a dessert. There is no such thing as eating alone.

    [But I think Shia will be sad if you just go home. You came to the royal capital so at least show your face to her.] Eleanora

    When she said such a thing, I could not refuse, so I went to Eleanora-san¡¯s house to meet Shia.

    [Yuna-san? You came to the royal capital?] Shia

    Shia who¡¯s wearing in clothes, not uniform, asked me.

    Well, if youe back from school, of course, you¡¯ll change your clothes when you get home. Not like me who¡¯s wearing the same clothes for 24 hours.

    [I just did a little work.] Yuna

    [And then, she tried to stealthily return to her house, so I caught and brought her here to y with you Shia.] Eleanora

    I didn¡¯t mean to run away. I just wanted to go home like a normal person.

    [You did work? What kind of work did you do?] Shia

    It seems like caught her attention. She seems to be interested. But I can¡¯t tell her everything, so as usual I simply said it¡¯s about the delivery of a package to the city of Dezerto.

    I wasn¡¯t lying. But I¡¯ll keep the crystal te a secret, and it¡¯ll be a problem if she finds out about the scorpion and ask me to show it. That¡¯s why Eleanora-san was also silent about that.

    But she¡¯s going to talk about it to Cliff.

    After that, we had dinner, and I decided to stay at Eleanora-san¡¯s house that night.

    Yeah, I knew it, I couldn¡¯t go back to Crimonia today. Things don¡¯t go ording to schedule. I went to sleep while hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form.

    The next day, we had breakfast, then I saw off Shia who¡¯s going to school, and Eleanora-san, who¡¯s going to the castle.

    [Yuna-san. Next time youe to the capital, please tell us a story about Noa.] Shia

    [Well, I want to hear about Cliff.] Eleanora

    They asked me such requests. I will note to the capital just to make a report about your family.

    But Shia wants to hear Noa¡¯s story, so I agreed.

    However, it won¡¯t be interesting if there is Cliff in it.

    [Well, I¡¯ll bring you two interesting stories next time.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a promise!] Shia

    [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Eleanora

    They waved their hands, then went to their respective destinations, the school, and the castle.

    Finally, I who was liberated returned to the Bear House in the Capital alone.

    It¡¯s been a whole day since I left the Bear House. I was so tired because of all the things that happened yesterday. It was a jam-packed day, so intense that I couldn¡¯t believe that I parted with Karina yesterday morning.

    When I returned to the Bear House in Crimonia, I head into my room and went to bed. Then, I summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, and yed with them.

    Still, in all of the Bear Houses, the Bear House in Crimonia is where I¡¯m the mostfortable with. It¡¯s the room where I¡¯ve been using to sleep for the longest time now.

    Whether it¡¯s the Bear House for travel or the Bear House in the capital or the other Bear Houses, the Bear House in Crimonia is where I¡¯m settled the most.

    I¡¯m done with my work, so I look like azy father from somewhere,ying around. I have to take a break, after all, I¡¯ve done my job seriously.

    The Bear Puppet began to cry with, while hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sprawling on the bed.

    What?

    What¡¯s that?

    I was surprised and got up from my bed. And I noticed that the Bear Phone was ringing.

    I wonder who it is?

    Only Fina and Ruimin have a Bear Phone. Sometimes I get a call from Ruimin. I hurried up, took the Bear Phone out of the Bear Box, and ran magic into it.

    {Yuna-oneesan? Can you hear me?} Fina

    The voice I heard from the Bear Phone was Fina¡¯s voice.

    [I can hear you.] Yuna

    {Oh, that¡¯s good. I was able to get through.} Fina

    I hear a relieved voice from the Bear Phone.

    [Did something happened?] Yuna

    {No, nothing. Yuna-oneesan I had something I wanted to ask. Is now a good time?} Fina

    [It¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    I¡¯m just ying in my room.

    My current objective is to spend time with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Skinship is also important.

    [So, what do you want to ask me?] Yuna

    {My mom is always asking me about when will Yuna-oneesane back. So if I knew when you¡¯reing back to Crimonia, I can tell mom.} Fina

    She¡¯s a good girl.

    [But it¡¯s rare for Tirumina-san to ask such a thing.] Yuna

    Even if I return a bitte, there was no sign of worrying from her.

    {She has a lot of things to talk about since we¡¯re going to the sea.} Fina

    That¡¯s the reason?

    [By any chance, is Triumina-san angry?] Yuna

    {She¡¯s not angry. She¡¯s just worried because she couldn¡¯t consult you and she doesn¡¯t want to trouble you right now. So, Yuna-oneesan. When will you be back?} Fina

    Well. Actually, I¡¯m already back.

    {Yuna-oneesan? Were you busy perhaps?} Fina

    [......Yeah, that ......I¡¯m at home.] Yuna

    I answered obediently.

    {Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re back?!} Fina

    Her voice from the Bear Phone sounds to be amazed, surprised, and angry at the same time. There were a lot of emotions mixed in her voice.

    [Today. Just now. It¡¯s true! You can ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they are my witnesses.] Yuna

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear defended me by crying .

    [I was tired from work, so I was resting in my room when I finally came home. I was ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear just now. ......Etto, Fina-san? Are you still there?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know what to do, but make excuses.

    {I¡¯m sorry... You¡¯re tired from work and now resting. Can I see you tomorrow?} Fina

    Fina believed my words. She¡¯s a good girl.

    [That¡¯s not it. I was thinking of going to see Fina this afternoon.] Yuna

    I was really just going to y around on the first day. Too much work is not good. But if Fina wants to see me, I can¡¯t refuse her.

    {Then, is it all right to go to Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house with my mom now?} Fina

    [It¡¯s okay. I can go there instead.] Yuna

    {No, Yuna-oneesan, please take some rest. Dad also looked tired whenever he came back from work. So I¡¯ll go there with my mom.} Fina

    The call was cut off. I put away the Bear Phone and prepared to pick up Fina and Tirumina-san.

    Cleaning?

    Snacks?

    Drinks?

    Cleaning was not needed. I have sweets, cookies, and potato chips for snacks. For the drink, I also have a cold fruit juice. It should be fine.

    So I waited for Fina along with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Fina came together with Tirumina-san and Shuri.

    [Yuna-chan, did youe back today?] Tirumina

    [Yes. So I was ying at home.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry, even though you¡¯re tired. There was a little bit something that I wanted to talk to you about.] Tirumina

    [I don¡¯t mind. For now, please sit down.] Yuna

    I put out the snacks and drinks I have prepared.

    Fina and Shuri are sitting on chairs, while hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on theirps.

    Then, they started eating the sweets that I prepared.

    [So, what do you want to talk about?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s about deciding on the schedule for the sea trip. I have to contact the people in the vige who will take care of the birds. The shop will also have to announce the holiday early. Also......] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san had a smaller voice at the end.

    [Wha, what is it?] Yuna

    [I want to make sure Genz can get a break from the Adventurers Guild.] Tirumina

    She¡¯s a little embarrassed.

    [Dad, is working without taking a break to get a long vacation.] Fina

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [He¡¯s looking forward to going to the sea.] Fina

    It seems that Genz was working hard in order to go on a family vacation. Well, it¡¯s easy to work, but it¡¯s difficult to get a long vacation. I heard stories on the news about people not getting a paid vacation. What¡¯s more, there is no way that there is a paid vacation in a different world.

    That¡¯s why Genz seems to be working hard to get a long vacation.

    Genz is married to Tirumina-san and probably hasn¡¯t gone anywhere from there. This trip may be the chance to have the long-awaited honeymoon and it¡¯s just the right timing.

    Fina and Shuri looked happy.

    [I¡¯m okay anytime. Tirumina-san can decide the schedule.] Yuna

    [By the way, how many days are we spending there? I also want to announce it before we close the shops.] Tirumina

    1 day for going, so 2 days for a round trip?

    5 days to y?

    If you think about it.

    [About 7 or 10 days?] Yuna

    [That long!?] Tirumina

    [It¡¯s still just a n.] Yuna

    Longer should be better than short. It means that big was also better than small.

    [But that would significantly reduce the store¡¯s sales.] Tirumina

    I don¡¯t really care about that.

    This is just an employee trip, and the purpose was to reward everyone for doing their best after getting a hard time.

    [We will just do our best after returning home.] Yuna

    [Then it would be hard when we get back. So what about transportation? Do you have a carriage? I have no idea what Yuna-chan was thinking, so I haven¡¯t done anything. Even if I prepare it now, it will be difficult because there are many people.] Tirumina

    Ipletely forgot about transportation. As expected, I couldn¡¯t go to the sea using the Bear Gate.

    [I~, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m thinking about it properly.] Yuna

    [Really?] Tirumina

    A gaze of suspicion is on me.

    It¡¯s not that I wasn¡¯t really thinking about it. I¡¯m thinking of a good choice. I just forgot.

    [Really......] Tirumina

    When I look back at Tirumina-san, her cold eyes are looking at me as if she was very suspicious of me, without turning away.

    [I understand. Then please prepare the carriage.] Tirumina

    I won.

    No matter what you say, I definitely won.

    [And then, I asked Fina if there is a ce to stay.] Tirumina

    [There is a big Bear House.] Shuri

    Shuri spreads her hands wide open. Shuri¡¯s hand let go of her grip, and Hugging Bear, who¡¯s on her knees, was about to fall. But Shuri hugs him right away.

    [As Shuri says, there is a ce to stay so it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    That¡¯s why I made a big Bear House.

    [I¡¯m worried about how big is that big Bear House. I wish we have enough ce to stay. We can also buy ingredients in the town, right?] Tirumina

    [It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry about it, I will bring it.] Yuna

    When ites down to it, the Bear Box contains meat, vegetables, and flour. And if the weather isn¡¯t bad, we can get fresh fish.

    [Then, let¡¯s decide the day of departure.] Tirumina

    It seems that Tirumina-san hadpiled the schedule of the shop and the vendors, so the schedule was easily decided.

    [Then, 10 days after departure, I¡¯ll tell the vendors and themercial guild.] Tirumina

    Then she made a leaflet for the holiday notice and contacted the people who will take care of the birds. Tirumina-san decided on the future n by herself.

    It was an employee trip that I decided on my own, but it seems that Tirumina-san was the one who¡¯s been annoyed.

    But she¡¯s looking forward to it, so it¡¯s okay, right?

    [Tirumina-san. Thank you as always.] Yuna

    [What? To suddenly thank me.] Tirumina

    [No, I think you have always been taking care of me.] Yuna

    Honestly, Tirumina-san has a serious expression.

    [What are you talking about? Our family is the one that¡¯s being taken care of by Yuna-chan. It¡¯s thanks to Yuna-chan that our family lives happily.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looked at me with a sweet smile at the end. I can tell that she isn¡¯t lying when I saw that expression.

    It was really nice toe to this world and meet Fina at the very beginning.

 Chapter 333 Bear-san, Makes a Vehicle.

    The day after Tirumina-san came to my home, I went outside the city with Fina and Shuri to find a way to get a carriage.

    [Where are we going, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    Fina asked me while riding on Swaying Bear.

    [I don¡¯t want people to see me, so we¡¯ll go just a little further away from the city.] Yuna

    As I exined to Fina, we came to a ce a bit far from the highway. No one should see us here because it¡¯s far from the road and there are lots of trees.

    I get off from Hugging Bear, Fina, and Shuri get off from Swaying Bear.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what are you making?] Fina

    [A ride for everyone.] Yuna

    I¡¯ll make a vehicle for them, so I¡¯ll let them watch. Originally, I brought them to check the ride¡¯sfortability.

    There are 27 children in the orphanage. Then Liz-san, the director, Tirumina-san, Fina, Shuri, and Genz-san. That¡¯s 33 people. And then Morin-san, Karin-san, Elena, and Noa, plus a group of 5 people going to Mereera. That makes a total of 42 people.

    There are a lot of people, but most of them are children, so it should be okay if I adjust the chair considering the sitting space. So in order to confirm thefortability, I asked Fina and Shuri to do an experiment.... err, do the confirmation.

    [Are we riding a carriage? But can you make a big carriage?] Fina

    [I can make it. However, I didn¡¯t know how will the ride¡¯sfort turn out, so I had both of youe to try it.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know if the ride is going to be a little ufortable because I have the Bear Equipment. This is where Fina and Shuri will do the experiment... I mean the test ride. I asked them to check the ride¡¯sfort.

    First of all, I use earth magic to make the part of the tbed on which the people will ride. It has a width and size of two carriages. In this case, it should be fine for about 40 people to ride in it. In the worst case, there is also a way to make it connected to another one.

    [Huge....] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan, isn¡¯t it too big?] Fina

    [But we have no horse. Are you nning to make Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan pull it?] Shuri

    Shuri got scared. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear appealed to me with sad eyes. They don¡¯t want to pull it.

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will not pull it.] Yuna

    To my words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily.

    Next, I made a big Bear Golem, the same one that I made when I first went to the royal capital.

    [Bear-san! ~] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan. This was the bear from that time.] Fina

    Fina seemed to remember it. The bear that pulled a mobile cage with a group of bandits in it.

    For the time being, I¡¯ll attach therge tbed to the Bear Golem.

    [Yuna-oneechan, it¡¯s too big?] Shuri

    [Yeah, it¡¯s too big after all.] Yuna

    Looking at the Shuri, she¡¯s struggling to try to climb on the loading tform.

    [Yuna-oneechan, will it move?] Shuri

    [Let¡¯s make it move for a little while.] Yuna

    [I did it~] Fina

    Shuri raised her hands and rejoiced.

    Fina was tired just by getting on the tbed.

    I jumped in and ride on it. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear followed me and jumped in as well.

    When I saw everyone was on board, I made my magic flow to the Bear Golem and ordered it to move. The Bear Golem began to walk slowly.

    [Wow, it moved.] Shuri

    Well, it works, doesn¡¯t it?

    Gatagata. (rattling sfx.)

    Gatagata.

    Let¡¯s speed it up a little.

    Gatagatagatagata.

    [It¡¯s shaking.] Yuna

    This was also one of the reasons why we moved away from the highway. Well, I¡¯ll just use my detection magic to make sure there were no people on the highway and order the Bear Golem to use the highway.

    [Yuna-oneesan. It¡¯s too big after all, isn¡¯t?] Fina

    It feels like we took more space on the road. Should I make the tbed narrower?

    Come to think of it, what¡¯s the situation in the tunnel?

    One-way alternating traffic?

    A size restriction of the carriages?

    Because I always move using the Bear Gate, I don¡¯t have any information about the surrounding area.

    Though I said that I was not interested because I had nothing to do with it.

    Above all, I don¡¯t want to go because of the bear statues. When someone I know asks me, I¡¯ll say I was asked by Cliff. Well, it¡¯s not a lie. I just didn¡¯t say all of the truth.

    For the time being, I¡¯ve never gone to the Bear Tunnel ever since it waspleted. Because of that, I don¡¯t know what kind of situation the tunnel is in. I should have asked Tirumina-san yesterday.

    [Fina. Do you know if the tunnel is a one-way alternating passage? Or if there is a carriage size limit?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t think she knows, but I¡¯ll ask Fina anyway.

    [It¡¯s a one-way alternating road. It seems to alternate every day.] Fina

    [Is that so? But how does Fina know?] Yuna

    [My mother said we can¡¯t go through the tunnel today, so the fish will being tomorrow. I remembered it because she was saying thatst night.] Fina

    I see the source of the information was Tirumina-san. But you¡¯re having that kind of conversation with your family.

    Anzu and the others are doing the purchases, but Tirumina-san is also managing it. So there¡¯s no reason for her not to know.

    In that case, it¡¯s okay for the carriage to be a little bigger. However, the carriage which takes all the width of the road is rejected after all.

    I drop them off and disassemble the carriage.

    [Are you going to erase it.] Shuri

    Shuri looks sad.

    [Yeah, I made a little mistake.] Yuna

    Also, we went far from the highway once more. Now then, I will make the vehicle design for the second n.

    That bes this, and this bes that, and this bes it.

    The Kuma-Bus waspleted.

    (TN: or maybe I¡¯ll stick with the Bear-Bus since everything was [Bear] for a long time.)

    I made it up with the motif of a famous cat bus of a certain animation. The front looks like a bear¡¯s face, it has legs instead of tires, it also has ears and a tail. The bear effect increases the defense, so it¡¯s two birds with one stone.

    Well, the distance to travel was short, and the surrounding monsters were being subdued by the adventurers. I¡¯ve never heard of bandits appearing on that route, so it doesn¡¯t make much sense to raise the defense.

    But when you think about the safety of the children, you should do your best.

    [It¡¯s a long bear!] Shuri

    Shuri happily approached the Bear-Bus.

    When I thought about the number of people, it became long. We need ten rows, even if two people sat on each side.

    It¡¯s narrower than the carriage I created earlier. Should I make it a connected chair type instead of a passage in the middle?

    Well, I¡¯ll think about thatter. Now, it¡¯s time to check the ride¡¯sfort.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Can I ride on it?] Shuri

    [Yeah, sure.] Yuna

    That¡¯s why I called you here after all.

    Shuri gets on the Bear-Bus and Fina followed her. Swaying Bear tried to ride, but the entrance was too narrow for him to enter. I turned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into bear cubs. The tiny Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear got on the Bear-Bus.

    Finally, I hopped on and went to the driver¡¯s seat, but Shuri was sitting at the driver¡¯s seat.

    [Shuri, move over.] Yuna

    I asked Shuri to move, then I sat in the driver¡¯s seat. The driver¡¯s seat was not on the right side like a real bus, but in the middle. Well, it¡¯s the same with a normal carriage. In the first ce, I¡¯m 15 years old and I¡¯ve never driven a car.

    The idea was that it was easier to drive in the middle, instead of on the right side. If it¡¯s a carriage, I¡¯ve got experience in driving one.

    I¡¯m sitting on the driver¡¯s seat, Shuri and Fina are sitting on both sides. I grabbed the steering wheel.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what¡¯s that?] Fina

    Fina asked about the steering wheel that I¡¯m holding.

    [It¡¯s the reins.] Yuna

    [The reins?] Fina

    I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll understand if I say steering wheel, so I exined it to her like that.

    I let my magic flow and moved the Bear Bus¡¯ legs.

    Don, Don, shake, shake, it shakes every time it walks.

    I¡¯ll try to make it run a little.

    Don don don don don don don don don don don don.

    The shaking intensifies.

    [Yu, Yuna, o, nee, san, my, butt, it hurts! It, hurts!] Fina

    I don¡¯t feel pain because of the Bear Costume, but bot of them seems to get hurt. Moreover, it¡¯s not possible to talk straight because it shakes violently. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also walk on four legs, but they still look and feel different.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear seems special.

    By the way, since the Bear-Bus is long, it has twice the legs, so it has a total of 8 legs.

    I sped up a little and made it jump.

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    [Oneechan!] Shuri

    Fina and Shuri screams and clings to me.

    Inded cleanly, but the bodies of Fina and Shuri bounced a little.

    [Uuu, it hurts.] Fina

    [My butt hurts.] Shuri

    The two rubs their buttocks.

    [I¡¯m sorry. I just wanted to try it.] Yuna

    Apparently, you can¡¯t make it climb mountains and jump like a certain cat bus from a certain anime. If you do that, the people inside will be in serious trouble. It seems that it was a failure to use that way of movement.

    I¡¯m fine alone. But if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s better to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Since I have a Bear Box, I don¡¯t carry any luggage. Moreover, this vehicle consumes magical power.

    It was a dream vehicle, but it¡¯s too bad.

    I obediently turn the Bear-Bus¡¯ legs into wheels. Magic is convenient.

    The result is a character bus close to a kindergarten bus. It looks like a bus with a blue SL face or a yellow mouse bus.

    [This time it¡¯s okay, to ride it.] Yuna

    The two children are looking at me with a big doubt on their faces.

    [Are you going to make it jump?] Fina

    [I will not do it. Look, this time it¡¯s wheels, not legs.] Yuna

    After looking at the wheels, they anxiously ride the Bear-Bus.

    I sat on the driver¡¯s seat once more and gripped the steering wheel. Then I let the magic flow to it. The Bear-Bus started to move slowly. When we came out on a well-maintained road, we proceededfortably.

    The speed increases when I use more magical power.

    However, the road was not paved or concrete, so when I increase the speed, we feel some rattling and vibration.

    [Are the both of you okay?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s better than before, but....] Fina

    Fina was worried about her butt.

    [Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan feels better.] Shuri

    To Shuri¡¯s words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily.

    That¡¯s true I also agree with that.

    This Bear-Bus needs to be operated. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will take me to my destination even if I¡¯m sleeping. Of course, it¡¯s limited to ces I¡¯ve been to. But if I ask, , they will take me to it.

    It¡¯s iparable with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    On the contrary, I cannot sleep while driving the Bear-Bus, and there is a difference in its ride quality. But it¡¯s faster than a horse-drawn carriage, and it swings less. The safety features are also rock-solid. Above all, if you are traveling with arge number of people, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cannot do it.

    There were various things to consider, but the transportation will be the Bear-Bus with wheels.

    After that, I asked Fina and Shuri if they could sit in the chairs, so I can decide on the intervals between the seats. I¡¯ll have the children sit in the front and the adults in the back.

    As a measure against getting butt hurt, I¡¯ll buy things like cushions.

    And with that, the Bear-Bus waspleted.

 Chapter 334 Bear-san Goes to the Adventurerâ€™s Guild.

    Yesterday, I made the Bear Bus, a vehicle that we can use safely to go to Mereera, and now I am heading to the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    That was because I thought that I needed some escorts to protect the children. I can¡¯t watch the children for 24 hours a day. I may act separately.

    To be clear, the traveling members are mostly women and children. Genz-san is the only adult man. But Genz-san would want to be with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri, so he can¡¯t afford to take care of the other women and the children.

    There are also young women such as Anzu, Elena-san, Karin-san, and Liz-san. It¡¯ll be a problem if a strange man approached them. These were my important employees who were entrusted to me by their parents and guardians. If you think so, it¡¯s not only for the children but also for the women¡¯s escorts will be needed.

    So I came up with Gil.

    I¡¯m trying to get Gil to intimidate the weird guys so they don¡¯t get near us. If Gil stood nearby, no one would make a foolish move. It¡¯s proven when I asked him to guard the shop before.

    Also, Gil knew the kids, and he¡¯s well known by the staff because hees to the shop quite often.

    I entered the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and looked around. There were several adventurers sitting in chairs chatting, but Gil and Lurina-san were nowhere to be seen.

    Are they out working?

    It¡¯s past noon, so the Adventurer¡¯s Guild seems to be free. All of the Adventurer¡¯s guilds were busy in the mornings and evenings.

    Right now, the remaining adventurers were gathering information and waiting for new requests.

    [Yuna-san, what¡¯s up?] Helen

    While I¡¯m looking around, Helen-san, who¡¯s sitting at the reception desk, calls out to me.

    [I¡¯m looking for Lurina-san and Gil.] Yuna

    [Lurina-san and Gil-san? I¡¯m sure they went out a while ago.] Helen

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    Then, it isn¡¯t possible to go to the sea together?

    [Do you have a business with them?] Helen

    [There¡¯s something I need to ask them a little.] Yuna

    [Then, when theye back, shall I inform them?] Helen

    I don¡¯t know when they¡¯reing back, so I might as well ask her to.

    If theye back by the time I left, then, please. If they don¡¯te back, you just have to say they didn¡¯te back.

    [Well, then, please.] Yuna

    I want to talk to them about going to the town of Mereera with the children of the (corn) orphanage. So I¡¯m going to ask Lurina-san and Gil to be the escorts. (TN: Sorry can¡¯t help it.)

    Though I said it¡¯s an escort job, it¡¯s actually an invitation to y with us.

    Gil is too serious when ites to working, so I feel like he¡¯s going to do his job without ying.

    [Come to think of it, Yuna-san will go to the town of Mereera with the children of the orphanage.] Helen

    [And everyone who works in the shops. But how did you know that?] Yuna

    Did you see the announcements posted in the shops?

    I¡¯m sure, Tirumina-san was saying that she would post the flyers early.

    [Genz-san wants to go to the town of Mereera, so he asked the Guild Master for a vacation. That¡¯s why Genz-san is working even on his off days to get a vacation, so every guild employee knew about it.] Helen

    I see, so it¡¯s via Genz-san.

    [Genz-san. Is he okay?] Yuna

    If he¡¯s tired, I¡¯ll let him drink the tea of the sacred tree. The tea of the sacred tree has the effect of fatigue recovery. It¡¯s terrible if he falls down due to overwork before the trip.

    [I think he¡¯s okay, he works happily every day.] Helen

    If so, then all is well.

    [I¡¯m still envious. I also want to go to the sea.] Helen

    [Then, why don¡¯t you juste with us, Helen-san?] Yuna

    When I invited Helen-san, there was a rattling sound in the back, so when I turn around, the male adventurers look away. There were also some adventurers who were whistling.

    Even though I¡¯m insensitive, I can understand them. Apparently, the adventurers seem to like Helen-san.

    Helen-san is a beautiful woman after all.

    [Helen-san, you¡¯re wee to join us.] Yuna

    There is no problem because I only need to stretch the torso of the Bear Bus even if the number of people increased by one.

    [Fufu, thank you. I appreciate your words. But please, have fun with everyone this time.] Helen

    That¡¯s too bad. I¡¯ve always been indebted to Helen-san, so I wish I could thank her somehow.

    I asked Helen-san to give a message to Lurina-san and Gil before I left the Adventurers Guild.

    Then, I went to

    Today I wanted to see how things were going, not as a customer, so I entered through the back door. When I entered the kitchen, I saw everyone was working hard. Lunchtime had passed, so there is no rush. Still, there¡¯s a lot of work to do.

    The children noticed me. They wanted to approach me, but they¡¯re being patient. The children seem to be growing up, too.

    So, I¡¯lle up to them and say, [Please do your best].

    With that kind of feeling, Morin-sanes over as she wanders around the kitchen.

    [Yuna-chan, wee. I heard from Tirumina-san, but are you sure we¡¯re going to have 10 days off?] Morin

    [Well, that¡¯s the n. Though we mighte back sooner so we¡¯ll have plenty of room for any adjustments.] Yuna

    We cane back earlier and have a rest when getting tired of ying. In the first ce, I want to take a break.

    I think I¡¯ve been doing too much worktely. I should be able to rest for a little while.

    [But if you take 10 days off, the sales will...] Morin

    Morin-san has the same worries as Tirumina-san.

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not going to reduce everyone¡¯s pay, so just have fun.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not worried about that...] Morin

    Then what are you worried about?

    [Is there any merit for Yuna-chan? If you close the shop, you won¡¯t get any money. Moreover, you¡¯re paying our sry even when we¡¯re resting. I can¡¯t understand what Yuna-chan is thinking.] Morin

    I wonder, is that¡¯s how everyone normally thinks?

    What¡¯s more, Morin-san is a craftsman who has been working all the time, so she might think so.

    [This is to thank all of you for working hard.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m grateful when I¡¯m working.] Morin

    [I¡¯m also trying to prevent Morin-san from pulling out. If you want to work somewhere else, please tell me. I will offer you better conditions than that.] Yuna

    [Fufu, there is nothing better than this.] Morin

    Morin-sanughs.

    [But Tirumina-san came here, right?] Yuna

    [She came here yesterday and she¡¯s also here right now. She said that she wanted to talk to Elena-chan, so she¡¯s probably in the break room with Elena-chan.] Morin

    [With Elena-san?] Yuna

    I was interested, so when I parted from Morin-san, I went to the break room.

    Entering the break room, as Morin-san said, there were Tirumina-san and Elena-san.

    [Yuna-chan?] Tirumina

    [What¡¯s up with you two?] Yuna

    I asked straightforwardly what they were talking about.

    [I asked Elena-chan about the inn] Tirumina

    [The inn?] Yuna

    [Like I¡¯ve told you before. Teaching the people who¡¯reing to take care of the birds was amercial guild request, and themercial guild is looking for a ce for them to stay. This time they¡¯re asking us, so I¡¯ve been telling you that we need to secure a ce to stay.] Tirumina

    Wait you did?

    Maybe you did, though I don¡¯t remember.

    But that¡¯s what Tirumina-san says.

    [So I asked Elena-chan to secure an inn.] Tirumina

    Elena-san¡¯s parents¡¯ house is an inn.

    [As I¡¯ve heard, there are four people right?] Elena

    [Yeah, themercial guild was supposed to help as well.] Tirumina

    [Then I will tell my dad when I get home today.] Elena

    [Please do.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san stands up in a hurry.

    [Now then, I¡¯m going to Anzu-chan¡¯s shop.] Tirumina

    Somehow, Tirumina-san seems to be busy. Tirumina-san greeted Morin-san and left the store. I also left the shop after Tirumina-san left. Then I chased after Tirumina-san.

    Not because I have free time. I have to talk to Anzu before we go to the town of Mereera.

    [Tirumina-san looks so busy.] Yuna

    When I said so, she turned her eyes to me. Her eyes were saying, . The message was sent without saying a word.

    [I¡¯m sorry,] Yuna

    [Fufu, what are you apologizing for?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san¡¯s expression changes into a smile.

    Because there is a saying, .

    (¡¸Ä¿¤Ï¿Ú¤Û¤É¤ËÎï¤òÑÔ¤¦¡¹)

    [It¡¯s because of me that you were inconvenienced.] Yuna

    [It certainly became difficult thanks to Yuna-chan. But it¡¯s fun to be busy.] Tirumina

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    I¡¯m happy during my free time.

    So maybe, Tirumina-san is an M?

    [As you already know. I couldn¡¯t get out of bed for a long time because of my illness. That¡¯s why I¡¯m happy to be able to move like this, and it¡¯s fun to work hard with everyone. So it¡¯s fun to help, even though Yuna-chan does stupid things sometimes.] Tirumina

    What stupid things?

    I don¡¯t remember doing any stupid things.

    [And I thought I could never see the ocean once more, so once again I¡¯m thankful for Yuna-chan. That I can be a little busy.] Tirumina

    [I don¡¯t mean to cause you trouble, but don¡¯t overdo it. Because, if you fall down, Fina and Shuri will be sad again.] Yuna

    [Fufu, right. Thank you for worrying, Yuna-chan.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san pats my head as I walk beside her.

 Chapter 335 Bear-san Heads to Anzuâ€™s shop.

    Tirumina-san and I were headed to the Anzu¡¯s shop together. It is so close that you can see it from .

    [By the way, did you make a bear carriage? I heard from Fina and Shuri, but I didn¡¯t really understand what they meant. Shuri can only say . Fina also said, . Yuna-chan, what did you make?] Tirumina

    Certainly, the exnation does not make any sense. All they know is that it¡¯s a vehicle that shaped like a bear.

    [Well, it¡¯s exactly what they said.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s pulled by a bear or a horse. Which is it after all?] Tirumina

    [Um, it¡¯s a bear.] Yuna

    [So, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are the ones pulling the carriage?] Tirumina

    Tirumina says the same thing as Shuri. Should I say like mother, like daughter?

    [They won¡¯t pull it. It will be operated with my magic.] Yuna

    [You can do that?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san was surprised by my words and stopped at a moment.

    [It¡¯s magic after all.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan is a mysterious girl, all right.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san was frightened for a moment but immediately smiled.

    [So, the bear carriage? How fast is the bear carriage?] Tirumina

    A bear carriage was a vehicle that you don¡¯t even know whether if it¡¯s being pulled by a bear or a horse.

    [How fast?] Yuna

    [We might stay and wait in front of the Bear Tunnel depending on the time we arrive.] Tirumina

    I¡¯ve been avoiding it until now, but when I heard it again from Tirumina-san¡¯s mouth, about the Bear Tunnel, I felt embarrassed.

    Damn it, this was all due to Cliff naming it Bear Tunnel.

    If I have the skill to turn back the time, I¡¯ll go back and stop him. Though unfortunately, I don¡¯t remember having such a skill at all.

    ording to Fina, the tunnel has one-way alternating traffic. Travel is prohibited at night. So the next day, the tunnel would switch the flow of traffic. In other words, if we don¡¯t arrive in the tunnel while it¡¯s avable, we¡¯ll have to spend one or two nights in front of the tunnel, as Tirumina-san said.

    I have to think properly before we leave.

    It¡¯s nice toe to Crimonia because there is a tunnel nearby connected to Mereera, but it¡¯s inconvenient to go to Mereera going around the mountain range from Crimonia.

    [So, what now? How about changing departure time and date depending on that?] Tirumina

    It feels like our speed yesterday was faster than a carriage. But it¡¯s still slower than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    To be clear, it depends on my magical power. The speed changes depending on the amount of magical power being poured.

    It was about 4-5 hours when I went to Mereera together with Fina and Shuri by riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Even on half the speed, it would take about 8-10 hours.

    But in the first ce, I don¡¯t know how many kilometers-per-hour Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can go when running on full speed, and I don¡¯t know the speed of the Bear Bus either. I don¡¯t even know half the speed of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It might be possible if I was driving a car or a motorcycle before, but I don¡¯t know because I don¡¯t have a license.

    [I don¡¯t know for sure, but if we leave at sunrise I think we¡¯ll arrive at Mereera in the evening.] Yuna

    [I wonder, will it be possible to pass through the tunnel?] Tirumina

    [We¡¯ll make it in time.] Yuna

    If I think we can¡¯t make it in time, then I¡¯ll speed it up. As ast resort, there is also the method of bing a white bear.

    [Will you be okay? ] Tirumina

    [I will do my best.] Yuna

    [Then, I¡¯ll believe in Yuna-chan, so let¡¯s depart at sunrise.] Tirumina

    The scheduled departure didn¡¯t change, it was still on the sunrise of the day when we can pass through the tunnel.

    When the topic ends, we walk towards Anzu¡¯s store.

    [Also I have a request for Yuna-chan.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looks like having a little difficult to speak.

    [What is it?] Yuna

    [Noire-sama, the daughter of the town¡¯s lord, wants to go with us.] Tirumina

    She feels a little anxious.

    [She¡¯s a good girl, so it¡¯s fine.] Yuna

    [Yes, I know that. I¡¯ve met her several times.] Tirumina

    [So what¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    [Can I ask Yuna to contact Noire-sama? It is nice that Fina can have conversations with her. But it¡¯s a bit of a trip going to that mansion.] Tirumina

    Indeed, she doesn¡¯t want to see the lord, Cliff.

    Well, from an ordinary person¡¯s view, Cliff is a lord, an aristocrat, and a great person. So an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t want to go to the lord¡¯s mansion.

    [Very well. I will tell Noa.] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Tirumina

    By the end of that topic, we arrived at Anzu¡¯s store.

    Since lunchtime was over, there were no customers here, unlike .

    , has snacks such as cakes and pancakes, so customers will not disappear even after mealtime.

    [Yuna-san and Tirumina-san?] Seno

    [Ara, it¡¯s true.] Forne

    Upon entering the shop, Seno-san and Forne-san, who were both wiping the table, noticed us.

    [Why are the two of you together?] Seno

    [I¡¯m just checking with everyone.] Yuna

    [I want to talk about the purchasing of ingredients, so can I talk to Anzu-chan?] Tirumina

    We answered their question.

    [Wait a minute, I¡¯ll go check on her.] Seno

    Seno-san dashed to the kitchen. After a while, Anzu and Petoru-san came out of the kitchen.

    [Yuna-san, Tirumina-san, I¡¯ve heard that you want to talk to me.] Anzu

    [Are you free right now? ] Yuna

    [Yes, as you can see, there are no customers at the moment.] Anzu

    [Well I guess it¡¯s fine then.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Anzu

    We gathered at a nearby table.

    The talk starts with the ever-busy Tirumina-san. Anyway, the topic is about purchasing.

    [Don¡¯t order anything other than what you can keep for a long time. Also, if Mereera delivers seafood and other ingredients, don¡¯t forget to tell them that we will be closed during the vacation.] Tirumina

    Certainly, it would be a problem to have seafood delivered even though no one was there to receive it.

    [That¡¯s right... Then, on thest day, we won¡¯t be able to serve much food.] Anzu

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s better than wasting food.

    [And if there are any leftover ingredients, I¡¯ll put them in my bag, so we can use them when we go to Mereera.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, In that case, can you also bring the ingredients from ? Themercial guild can buy the eggs, so I¡¯m not worried about it, however, the same thing cannot be said about the other ingredients.] Tirumina

    [Yeah sure. I¡¯ll also get the eggs.] Yuna

    No matter how many eggs we have, she doesn¡¯t waste them.

    [Please, I¡¯ll be counting on you.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san stood up.

    [Well then, I¡¯m going to amercial guild. How about you, Yuna-chan?] Tirumina

    [I want to talk with Anzu and the others.] Yuna

    Tirumina-san left the shop in a hurry.

    [So, what do you want to talk about, Yuna-san?] Anzu

    I looked at the three people who are helping the shop, Seno-san, Forne-san, and Petoru-san.

    [Everyone really wanted to go to Mereera. But if you don¡¯t like it, you can stay here in Crimonia. I came here to tell you that.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan......] Sona

    The three people understood what I wanted to say and looked back at me with a serious expression.

    [You three had experienced something nasty, back in Mereera. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to force you to go back to your hometown.] Yuna

    [Thank you for worrying, Yuna-chan.] Forne

    [Because the four of us have already discussed and decided, so it¡¯s okay] Petoru

    The three people who came together with Anzu nodded at each other¡¯s faces. Actually, there should be four of them who came together with Anzu, but Nifu-san is not here.

    [We¡¯re going to the town of Mereera.] Petoru

    [It¡¯s true that some bad things had happened, but it¡¯s the town where I was born and raised. I knew the people there, so I want to show them how energetic we are now.] Sona

    The three of them don¡¯t look unhappy with the idea of going home. They really seemed to be okay.

    [Just don¡¯t overdo it.] Yuna

    The three replied with , and .

    If you add Nifu-san, who¡¯s at the orphanage, the four of them will go back to the town of Mereera. There was something unpleasant about it before, but Cliff eliminated it. So it shouldn¡¯t be an unpleasant homing.

    [Even though Yuna-chan is small, she¡¯s so kind.] Sona

    Calling me small is unnecessary.

    [Usually, people doesn¡¯t care that much.] Forne

    [Sometimes, it¡¯s good to take everyone and have fun, while the shop is closed.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s usually one by one.] Anzu

    [Well, this time we¡¯re all traveling together. But isn¡¯t it more like a homing to you because that¡¯s where you all lived? Also, I made a promise to Dega-san to bring back Anzu once in a while. Though Anzu doesn¡¯t want to take a break at all.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san. It¡¯s only been a few months since I came to Crimonia. Usually, you don¡¯t go back so early. If I go back this early, they would think I ran away.] Anzu

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Normally, she shouldn¡¯t be able to go back for years because of her training. Moreover, she shouldn¡¯t be able to ask Yuna-san for a day off, you even entrusted the shop to her.] Petoru

    [And we all get a day off every six days.] Sona

    [It¡¯s a chance to rest to get rid of the fatigue. It¡¯s also a chance for Anzu to find and date a man.] Yuna

    [Date!?] Anzu

    Anzu was surprised at my words.

    [Dega-san asked me to look for a son-inw. But I can¡¯t search for it myself. So at the very least, I¡¯ll give all of you a break, so that Anzu can give her best at finding one.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t care about that!] Anzu

    [By any chance, was there someone?] Yuna

    Then I have to report to Dega-san. But is that man going to be okay?

    You¡¯re not going to kill him right? Dega-san?

    However, Anzu¡¯s response was different than what I was expecting.

    [I?ma?se?n! (I don¡¯t!)] Anzu

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    I thought I¡¯d give you a little pretty house when you got married. Well, too bad...

 Chapter 336 Bear-san Goes to the Orphanage and Noaâ€™s House

    I left Anzu¡¯s shop and now I¡¯m walking towards the orphanage.

    I haven¡¯t been in the orphanage since I came back from the desert. I have the big eggs as souvenirs, but I¡¯m thinking of making them at ater date.

    Today, the children who¡¯re working in the shop haven¡¯t seen it, and they can¡¯t cook it. So I¡¯m going to show them the big eggs as souvenirs while we¡¯re at sea or when the shop is closed. Today is purely to report my return.

    When I got near the orphanage, I saw some children running around energetically outside. Are they ying tag? I can see one chasing the others.

    When one of them noticed me, they stopped ying and came to me running.

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Child

    [I haven¡¯te here for a while, but are you doing well?] Yuna

    [Yup.] Child

    When one childes, the other children get together. Everyone was so delighted.

    [Where is the director?] Yuna

    [She¡¯s over there.] Child

    One of the children holds my Bear Puppet. Then, other children grabbed the other Bear Puppet, and they also held onto the Bear Costume. They¡¯re so happy that I can¡¯t shake them off. It¡¯s a bit hard to walk, but I¡¯m going to be patient and head into the orphanage.

    When we entered the orphanage, the children showed me to the director. Well, the ce where the director was always the same, but the children still guided me.

    It¡¯s a yroom for children. The director was frequent in this room along with the children. When we entered the room, I saw the director talking with the other children.

    [Yuna-san?] Director

    The director noticed me entered the room. And, the children who were with me, let go of me and went to the director. The director looked delighted to see such happy children.

    After all, the director seems to be above me. Even the Bear Costume can¡¯t win. To begin with, it is wrong topare it with the director and Liz-san. They had a hard time taking care of orphaned children for many years. Just like a parent and a sister. Even if I dressed as a bear, I can¡¯t beat them.

    I walked towards the director who was sitting on the floor.

    [Yuna-san, wee back. I heard from Tirumina-san that you returned yesterday, but were you injured?] Director

    [No, I¡¯m not.] Yuna

    I¡¯m covered in Bear Armor, so I¡¯ll never get injured. Maybe I would get hurt if I fought against a dragon. However, I might escape if it appears. Of course, I want to fight it, but my life is more important.

    [Yuna-san. I know you¡¯re an adventurer, but please don¡¯t overdo it. If anything happens to Yuna-san, these children will be sad.] Director

    The director said to me while patting the head of the child who¡¯s sitting on herp.

    The director who does not know my strength was worried from the bottom of her heart. She¡¯s a kind person.

    I sat next to the director

    [Did anything happened while I was away?] Yuna

    [If you look at the faces of the children, you¡¯ll see it.] Director

    The director looks at the children in the room with a warm smile.

    In the room, there are children who are enjoying themselves by reading picture books and holding the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies. There¡¯s a child who¡¯s sleepingfortably while holding Swaying Bear plushie even though it¡¯s very noisy inside the room.

    [But the director does not let the children worry.] Yuna

    The director is the type of person who makes a sad face when the children are not around, and she smiles whenever in front of children. Therefore, I cannot trust what the director just said.

    [No, It¡¯s not like that. Now I¡¯m happy to be with the children like this.] Director

    There is no problem if the director is really happy.

    [Please let me know if there¡¯s any problem.] Yuna

    It doesn¡¯t matter even if it¡¯s a tiny problem. I have connections and money. (TC: words of a big syndicate¡¯s boss.)

    There¡¯s Cliff and also the King who seems to be willing to lending me their power. Themercial guild and adventurer¡¯s guild are also more likely to help me.

    Though when I think about it, nobody will go against me now, isn¡¯t it?

    [Fufu, of course, I will.] Director

    I and the director smiled at each other.

    [By the way, Liz-san and Nifu-san are not here?] Yuna

    At this time, the bird care should¡¯ve been done. Liz-san should have free time right now. And, Nifu-san should¡¯ve been in this room with the director.

    [Tirumina-san asked us to prepare what we needed when we go to the sea, so they¡¯ve gone shopping with the other children.] Director

    The two of them were out shopping?

    Certainly, there might be some necessary things for travel. I can provide food and housing, but they have to prepare their own clothes. There may be other things we need that I¡¯m not aware of.

    In my case, most of my things are already in the Bear Box, so I don¡¯t have anything that I need to prepare.

    [But are you really going to take all the children?] Director

    [It¡¯s my way of thanking all of you for always being serious about your work.] Yuna

    [We¡¯re able to keep working because of Yuna-san, we¡¯re very grateful to you.] Director

    I hear that a lot from Fina. Still, I¡¯m grateful to them as well.

    [Well, each person has different values in life. Please enjoy it as well director.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-san.] Director

    While I and the director are talking about the sea, a girl hugging a Hugging Bear plushiees to me.

    [Yuna-oneesan. Can I bring Bear-san with me?] Child

    The girl asked me while hugging the Hugging Bear plushie. On the other hand, the director opened her mouth the moment I tried to say, .

    [No, you can¡¯t. We made a promised to keep our luggage few didn¡¯t we?] Director

    The director pays attention to the girl.

    [But Bear-san.] Child

    [Sensei... I want to bring mine too.] Child

    [Me too......] Child

    The children want to bring their Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies, so they¡¯re asking the director for permission.

    The director was surrounded by children, and her expression was floating with embarrassment.

    [We need to have less luggage. And we¡¯ll be back soon, so just be patient for a little while.] Director

    [U~u.] Children

    The children sadly hugged their plushies.

    U wa~a, the faces of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies also became sad.

    [Umm, director. It¡¯s just a plushie.] Yuna

    [But we have other luggage to take with us. It will cause trouble to Yuna-san if we bring too much.] Director

    There are quite a few plushies in the orphanage. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s one per person, but the girls and the little boys have it. If everyone were to bring their plushies with them, it would be quite a lot and it would be luggage in itself.

    [Then, please use this. The plushies can fit in it.] Yuna

    I gave an item bag to the director.

    [Are you sure?] Director

    [Please use it. I¡¯m happy that they like the plush toys that I gave them.] Yuna

    When I gave permission, the children became lively again. I¡¯m d that the gifts are being used, rather than getting shelved and forgotten somewhere. But I hope it won¡¯t get tattered, though when you see the children ying with it, it¡¯s kinda difficult to say that isn¡¯t it?

    After that, I killed some time at the orphanage for a while, but Liz-san and Nifu-san did note back, so I decided to leave.

    I left the orphanage and went to Noa¡¯s house. Tirumina-san is the one who has an appointment, but if I go and see her she¡¯ll say, or or something like that. (¡¸¤¯¤Þ¤µ¤ó³É·Ö¤¬¡«¡«¡¹)

    [Yuna-san. Give me Bear-san¡¯s essence!] Noa

    See...

    She told me that as soon as I met her.

    [Noa, are you studying properly?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m doing it. So I can also go to the sea. Sometimes I went to Yuna-san¡¯s house to refill the Bear-san¡¯s essence, but Yuna wasn¡¯t there.] Noa

    [No, Noa should have known. I went to the capital.] Yuna

    [I thought you would be back sooner since you have the bears.] Noa

    Well, I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I can go back and forth faster than any horse. But with the Bear Gate, it would be instantaneous.

    For the time being, in order to replenish the Bear essence, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form. Noah happily embraces Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [U~u, I¡¯m so happy.] Noa

    For an aristocrat, it¡¯s very cheap happiness. Though I can¡¯t help but understand that feeling. Holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear makes me happy as well.

    [So, why are you here today? Of course, Yuna-san is always wee even if you don¡¯t have anything to do here.] Noa

    [Today we decided on the schedule for the seaside trip, so I thought I should make a report?] Yuna

    [You have decided?] Noa

    I told her the schedule of departure.

    [We¡¯re leaving at sunrise, so don¡¯t bete.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll do my best not to oversleep.] Noa

    Noa holds her small hand tightly.

    Well, in Noa¡¯s case, there¡¯s the reliable maid, L-san, so it¡¯s okay.

    [But if you lend me Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I won¡¯t bete.] Noa

    [I won¡¯t lend them to you.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s too bad.] Noa

    While I¡¯m talking to Noa, Cliff came into the room.

    [Excuse me for a moment.] Cliff

    [What¡¯s wrong father?] Noa

    [I would like to greet the bear because I will leave my daughter in her hands for quite some time.] Cliff

    Cliff looks at me.

    [If my daughter does something unsightly, you can scold her. If you do that, she¡¯ll listen to you.] Cliff

    [I won¡¯t do that!] Noa

    [If so, then don¡¯tin if the bears are taken by the other children.] Cliff

    Cliff picks up Swaying Bear that Noa is holding. Noa reaches out, but Cliff moves away.

    Swaying Bear cried .

    [Father! Give him back please!] Noa

    [Does the other children say the same thing when you do that?] Cliff

    [That is......] Noa

    [You have to be careful about your position and your words. Don¡¯t forget that.] Cliff

    Cliff gave Swaying Bear back to Noa.

    [To us who are lords, the people of the city are the assets. Do not loathe them. If you hate them, it wille back to you. You are a good lord only if you are liked by the people.] Cliff

    [I know that.] Noa

    [All right, then. I know that you don¡¯t make fun of people. But when ites to bears, you must behave yourself.] Cliff

    Cliff pats Noa¡¯s head.

    [U~u.] Noa

    Noa also knew about it so she remained silent.

    [If you don¡¯t want to be hated by that girl Fina and the bears, remember to be patient.] Cliff

    [I... I understand.] Noa

    Noa is basically a good girl. But when ites to bears, she¡¯s a little......

    Still, Cliff has a good view of Noa. It reminds me of the first time Noa met Fina.

    or , or so she dered to Fina. Such a nostalgic scene.

    [So Yuna, you can scold Noa if she did something like that.] Cliff

    [Noa is fine. She¡¯s a kind girl.] Yuna

    [If the bears weren¡¯t involved, I can trust it. However...] Cliff

    Yeah... I guess so~.

    But Noa¡¯s love of bears, is it my fault?

    When I saw Noa happily petting Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, well, maybe it was my fault.

    Let¡¯s hope that someday I will be able to separate her from the bears.

 Chapter 337 Bear-san, Making Ice Cream.

    Cliff left the room, saying he still had a job to do.

    I¡¯m drinking the tea L-san served while watching Noa ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Noa holds their paws, touched their ears, touched their tail, and stroke their heads.

    This life is the best.

    Time to rx.

    [Oh right. Yuna-san, I have a request.] Noa

    [Yeah? What is it? I will not give you Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Of course, I want Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, but that¡¯s not it. Don¡¯t assume that my requests are only about Bear-san.] Noa

    Eh, I was wrong?

    But I wouldn¡¯t say it because the conversation won¡¯t progress if I do so.

    [So, what is it?] Yuna

    [Is it okay if I invite Misa to the sea? I don¡¯t think that she had ever seen the sea either. That¡¯s why I want to take her with us.] Noa

    That was an unexpected request. Certainly, it¡¯ll be a shame if I don¡¯t include Misa in the three-little girls + one Shuri.

    I was good friends with her in the royal capital and she invited me to a birthday party.

    Also, even if I add one or two more people, it doesn¡¯t change anything.

    [Sure, no problem.] Yuna

    [Really? Thank you. Then I¡¯ll write a letter now.] Noa

    Noa dly released Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and prepared a pen and a piece of paper to start writing a letter.

    But, Misa? I wonder if Gran-san will be with her because she can¡¯te alone. Her parents wouldn¡¯te after all.

    Ah, if Misaes, then I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Marina¡¯s party came along as her escorts. If so, then the female ratio would increase.

    If Gil came along, it would be like an event from harem mangas and novels.

    But what about the reality?

    If it¡¯s the opposite situation, if it¡¯s one girl and the others are men, it¡¯ll be a dangerous situation rather than a reverse harem. (TC: gang ba.. ahem)

    To be clear, it¡¯ll only be more dangerous. But are they happy because they have different genders?

    There should be no girls who attack men, right?

    ......I don¡¯t know.

    While I¡¯m praying that no other extras will tag along, I watched Noa write a letter.

    [I¡¯m done writing. I¡¯ll ask L to send it.] Noa

    Noa darted out of the room, perhaps Noa wants to send her letter as soon as possible.

    Then, after Noa handed the letter, she came back along with Cliff, they told me to .

    She asked him if we can take Misa with us, but Noa¡¯s voice seems apologetic.

    [Think about Yuna¡¯s troubles a little.] Cliff

    [But Misa also wanted to see the sea.] Noa

    [You...] Cliff

    Cliff was astounded.

    [Don¡¯t be so angry, there¡¯s no problem with it, also it¡¯s my way of thanking Misa for inviting me to the birthday party.] Yuna

    [What are you talking about? That was Old Gran and Misana¡¯s way of thanking you, so you can¡¯t thank them for that.] Cliff

    Well, there were various things, but it can¡¯t be helped.

    [Well hey, I was called to the birthday party.] Yuna

    [If you have to thank people every time they invite you to their birthday parties, there¡¯ll be no end to it.] Cliff

    He had a point. But in this case here, I had invited everyone but Misa.

    [Well, she¡¯ll love to see Fina as well, so just forgive her already.] Yuna

    Cliff seems to be convinced of what I said.

    The next day, Fina and Shuri came to my house to deliver the eggs, so I caught them. Then, the two children who have been captured were invited into the Bear House.

    [It¡¯s so hot today. Isn¡¯t it hot for you Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    Fina asked me while wiping the sweat on her forehead.

    My appearance is the usual Bear Costume that looks hot. In that regard, Fina and Shuri were dressed in light clothes and were cool and cute.

    [As I said before, it¡¯s special clothes.] Yuna

    [But Yuna-oneechan it¡¯s so cool in here.] Shuri

    If you don¡¯t open the windows, the Bear House will always keep the temperature right. So you can live in the snow or in the desert.

    [Here, have cold water.] Yuna

    I prepared cold water for the two children walking outside.

    [Thank you.] Fina

    [Thank you.] Shuri

    The two of them drank plenty of water.

    [So, are you free today?] Yuna

    [Yes, I have nothing to do. Maybe you have a dismantling job for me?] Fina

    [Oh, yes, but today is a different matter.] Yuna

    I¡¯d like to ask her to dismantle the Scorpion, but today is no good.

    [A different matter?] Fina

    Actually, I¡¯m thinking of making ice cream before going to the sea. You can eat it while riding on the Bear Bus or at the hot seashore. I want to feed it to the children.

    [I¡¯m going to make cold sweets today, so I¡¯m going to have you help me.] Yuna

    Nevertheless, I have to make a lot for everyone when we go to Mereera. If you think of it as one per person for several times, it will be a huge number. It¡¯s kinda lonely to silently make it by myself. I miss the lonely-pudding-making in the royal capital.

    But this time it¡¯s not a food for royalty, so you can get them to help me. However, Flora-sama may eat the ice cream I made.

    But let¡¯s not talk about that.

    [Is it a cold snack?] Fina

    [Yeah, when we go to the sea, I¡¯m thinking about eating it together.] Yuna

    [A shaved ice?] Fina

    [No. A type of food called ice cream.] Yuna

    I did some research (Crimonia only), there was something like a shaved ice, but no ice cream.

    [I want to eat shaved ice.] Shuri

    Shuri spoke in a small voice.

    [Shuri, do you want to eat shaved ice?] Yuna

    [......Un.] Shuri

    I can make as much shaved ice as she likes. Just shave the ice and sprinkle with syrup.

    And so I prepared tes, I made ice and used wind magic to scrape the ice. With the sound of , the finely shaved ice umted on the tes.

    Finally, sprinkle it with fruit jam, honey, and sweet syrup. There is no syrup such as lemon, melon, strawberry, or Blue-Hawaii like in my former world. So I¡¯m just sprinkling jam or sweets on it.

    After I prepared the shaved ice, they started eating it deliciously.

    [This is shaved ice!] Fina

    [Have you never eaten it?] Yuna

    [Yes, this is my first time, after... Umm... untilst year, my mom...] Fina

    So it was. They had no father, and their mother, Tirumina-san, was bedridden. And living every day back then was hard, they had no money to buy shaved ice.

    [You can eat as much as you like. I¡¯ll make as much as you want.] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Fina

    [Cold and delicious.] Shuri

    The two eat the shaved ice deliciously.

    A few minutester...

    [Yuna-oneesan, it¡¯s cold.] Fina

    [Yuna-oneechan, my stomach hurts a little.] Shuri

    The two were eating too much shaved ice, making them feel cold and getting stomachache.

    [You ate too much. Look at both of you. Here warm-up with tea.] Yuna

    [Thank you.] Fina

    [Thank you.] Shuri

    It¡¯s bad to make them eat it, but when I saw them eating it deliciously... It¡¯s my bad habit of wanting to give them more. That¡¯s why Tirumina-san said,

    Both the director and Cliff make the same expression when I¡¯m giving sweets to the children in the orphanage and being too soft to Noa.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of my long experience with solitude, but I seem to be the kind of person who dotes on whoever likes me.

    Maybe I don¡¯t want to be hated, so I think that¡¯s what happened.

    I try to analyze my own behavior so far.

    Even if I try to cure it, I couldn¡¯t. I gave up on it, thinking that this is me.

    After that, we rest until the two are in good shape.

    After resting for a while, the two got up. It¡¯s a secret, but I used a little magic.

    [So, you¡¯re ready to make cold sweets, right?] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan. Is it delicious?] Shuri

    [If you make it well, it¡¯ll be delicious. For the time being, I will make it the way how I remembered it, so let¡¯s do our best.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Understood.] Fina

    The two replied energetically.

    However, whether it is delicious depends on how well it is made.

    The task is easy to remember, but the problem is the amount. I can¡¯t remember the ratio of eggs, milk, and sugar because my memory is vague.

    If I have aputer here, I can check it in one shot, but there is no way to ask for something that is not there. I will make it using the information in my vague memory today.

    But I should be able to make it with the correct amount of sugar. It should be okay if I add milk while mixing it with eggs.

    There is no choice but to bet on the Bear¡¯s Intuition.

    First, prepare egg yolk, milk, and sugar. It¡¯ll be basic ice cream.

    Put a few egg yolks in a bowl and stir. The problem is the amount of sugar, but I don¡¯t remember it. For the time being, I, Fina, and Shuri are mixing it in varying amounts and adjusting it appropriately. Then add the milk and mix.

    Then put it in the freezer.

    [Yuna-oneesan, is this all right?] Fina

    [Once it¡¯s frozen, it¡¯ll be ready. Though, I don¡¯t remember the right proportions, so I guess we¡¯ll just have to wait and see.] Yuna

    For that purpose, the three people changed the amount while making it.

    Also, there must have been a way to make ice cream from fresh cream. I also make cakes, so it might be easier for me to make a lot of them.

    I¡¯m going to give Fina and Shuri a little bit of time to change the way they make ice cream, then adjust the amount of sugar when we make another batch of ice cream. The cooling time should have been one hour at the earliest, and up to five or six hours long.

    Well, I can check that from time to time.

    [Ahh... Shuri. Don¡¯t lick the cream.] Fina

    [I¡¯m sorry,] Shuri

    Shuri ate the cream made by me. Fina noticed it.

    [Look, there¡¯s some cream on your mouth.] Fina

    Fina took out a handkerchief and wiped Shuri¡¯s mouth. They really are good sisters.

    While watching those two, I concentrate on making ice cream.

    Then I tried some of those ice cream. There¡¯s time to set and you can¡¯t tell which one can be delicious without tasting it. For the time being, I will try to make many variations.

    [Can I mix it Yuna-oneechan?] Shuri

    [Just a little.] Yuna

    We tried adding fruit that tastes like orange, adding other fruits, trying tea that is simr to matcha, and trying different vors of ice cream. To be honest, I don¡¯t know which one will seed. The difficulty is not knowing the quantity.

    [Shuri, you¡¯re putting too much sugar!] Yuna

    For a moment, Shuri tried to add more sugar.

    I know children unconditionally love sugar, but adding too much is a no-go.

    [And don¡¯t forget to make a note of the amount of ice cream you made.] Yuna

    And while making various ice cream, the batch of ice cream we made at the beginning hardens.

    [Well, let¡¯s taste it.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Fina

    [Yehey~] Shuri

    We first tested the ice cream that I made.

    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious. It¡¯s delicious.

    [It melts in my mouth. It¡¯s strange.] Fina

    [It¡¯s delicious.] Shuri

    Both of them happily ate it.

    Next, we tried the ice cream made by Shuri.

    It¡¯s too sweet.

    [Shuri. I think you added a lot of sugar.] Yuna

    [Because the sweeter the better.] Shuri

    Well, Shuri¡¯s ice cream was too sweet, but it also tastes good. Today we had various ice cream making and tasting parties. The ice cream, which has not yet set, is to be tested tomorrow.

    And I n to make a lot of delicious ice cream from the ones I made today.

    I hope it tastes good.

 Chapter 338 Bear-san Holds Ice Cream Tasting Party.

    Credits to: valiant, Philip.

    I made a lot of ice cream yesterday. I¡¯m going to have Fina and Shurie to my house today as well, I n to sample what we couldn¡¯t do yesterday.

    And we¡¯re going to choose the most delicious ice cream from among the different batches and mass-produce it after we¡¯re done tasting.

    However, there is a figure of Tirumina-san in front of me.

    [Etto, what¡¯s going on?] Yuna

    [I heard that Yuna-chan made another weird food.] Tirumina

    What¡¯s weird about it?

    I just made ice cream.

    [Please don¡¯t start something new while we¡¯re this busy.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san begged me with a serious expression. Apparently, Tirumina-san is making a mistake.

    [Of course not. I¡¯m not trying to make another shop. I just wanted to make some cold sweets and eat them when we go to the beach.] Yuna

    [Really?] Tirumina

    She¡¯s looking at me with a lot of doubt.

    You don¡¯t trust me, do you?

    [It¡¯s true, That¡¯s why I¡¯m not bothering Tirumina-san.] Yuna

    ...... But I whispered that in my heart.

    [Well, that¡¯s fine. Fina asked me to add a lot of eggs, so I was wondering what was going on.] Tirumina

    Yesterday, I asked Fina to request Tirumina-san for more eggs. It seems that it surprised Tirumina-san so much.

    Then, Tirumina-san seems to have thought that I was doing something. What kind of person do you take me for? I don¡¯t always bring that much trouble.

    ......Only once in a while.

    [So, what did you made?] Tirumina

    [I think you¡¯ve heard it from Fina, but it¡¯s a cold candy. If Tirumina-san also has time, please try it and let us know what you think.] Yuna

    [Oh, can I eat it too?] Tirumina

    [I still have the ice cream that we tasted yesterday, so can you give me your opinion on all the tastings? Of course the delicious ones and the bad-tasting ones. If it¡¯s too sweet, or if it¡¯s better to make it a little sweeter. Please give us a fewments about the taste. Shuri made her ice cream too sweet so it has a weak evaluation.] Yuna

    [All right, I understand.] Tirumina

    Shuri whispers in a small voice, .

    Tirumina-san puts her hand on Shuri¡¯s head.

    [You have to moderate the sweetness.] Tirumina

    And so, the tasting party including Tirumina-san started like that.

    I took the ice cream out of the freezer, divide it into small pieces, and put it in bowls.

    [This is the cold candy that Fina and Shuri were talking about?] Tirumina

    [Yes, it¡¯s called ice cream.] Yuna

    Tirumina-san scoops the ice cream with a spoon and carries it to her mouth. Both Fina and Shuri did the same and carried it to their mouths.

    [Oh, it¡¯s delicious.] Tirumina

    [Yes, it¡¯s delicious.] Fina

    [Yuna-oneechan. I want to eat more.] Shuri

    Some of the ice creams that I made yesterday had frozen and turned into popsicles. But it¡¯s delicious. Well, I didn¡¯t put anything that I couldn¡¯t eat, so basically, everything is delicious.

    But as expected. Listening to everyone¡¯s words and looking at their facial expressions, the soft ice cream seems to be highly evaluated than the hard popsicle. It seems that it had a good texture that melts in your mouth. The popsicle wasn¡¯t bad either, but the rating was a bit lower than that of ice cream.

    [The tastes can be too light or too sweet, but they are all delicious.] Tirumina

    [Shuri made the sweet one. The lighter ones must be studied next time.] Yuna

    Since there is no time today, the ice cream with a low rating will be put on hold. I want to make various vors if possible.

    So the ice cream that was highly evaluated by the tasting party was selected. This will be the ice cream that we will take on the trip

    [Then you¡¯ll need a lot of eggs.] Tirumina

    [I still have some, but considering the amount that I¡¯m making, I think it will be insufficient, so please give me more.] Yuna

    The Bear Box contains a lot of eggs. But I used it a lot in practice yesterday and I n to use it for today as well. No matter how many eggs there are it won¡¯t be enough.

    And when I personally use it, I¡¯ll be in trouble if I have no stock.

    [I understand. I will bring the excess eggs to you.] Tirumina

    It¡¯s supposed to be wholesaled cheaply to themercial guild when we go on the trip.

    But basically, the excess eggs would be sent to the stores and other ces to make Morin-san¡¯s new bread and Elena-san¡¯s new cake.

    Even so, if there¡¯s still more, I will pick it up.

    [Then I¡¯m going to the orphanage for a bit.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san left Fina and Shuri and went to the orphanage. She¡¯s letting Fina and Shuri help me make ice cream.

    I asked Fina while we¡¯re making ice cream.

    [Fina I want to ask you something.] Yuna

    [Yes, what is it?] Fina

    When Fina replied, she turned to me and it looks like there was some cream on her nose.

    Both sisters are exactly the same.

    [Does Fina know the monster Scorpion?] Yuna

    [Scorpion?] Fina

    [Yeah, maybe I might ask you to dismantle it.] Yuna

    If she can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll sell it to Sanya-san, at the adventurer¡¯s guild in the royal capital. Selling it in Crimonia will cause big chaos. In the case of the royal capital, it shouldn¡¯t be that rare and if I ask Sanya-san, my existence will be hidden.

    [I¡¯ve seen Scorpion in the Monster Encyclopedia in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I don¡¯t know the details.] Fina

    [Then that means you¡¯ve never dismantled one before.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m sorry,] Fina

    She looked down and got depressed.

    [No, you don¡¯t have to apologize. Fina isn¡¯t bad.] Yuna

    Ifort Fina who got depressed. There is nothing wrong with Fina. The Scorpion itself is a rare monster in this city. It¡¯s understandable if she has no experience of dismantling it.

    [But hearing you talk about the Scorpion¡¯s dismantling, did you defeated a Scorpion?] Fina

    [Yup. While I was working in the royal capital, I happened toe across some Scorpions and beat it. I was wondering what to do with it. For the time being, I thought you could dismantle it, so I asked you if can do it.] Yuna

    The meat can be eaten, so I can give it to Anzu¡¯s shop and the orphanage.

    I can sell the shells in the royal capital when I have time.

    [If that¡¯s the case, Dad may know. My Dad used to say that he was an adventurer and went to many ces. I¡¯m sure he knows how to dismantle a Scorpion.] Fina

    I wonder if Gentz-san knows how to do it? But the dismantling of the ck viper was led by him.

    [Do you want to ask Dad?] Fina

    [Yeah. Well then, when we¡¯re done making ice cream, why don¡¯t we go and ask him for it?] Yuna

    [Yes!] Fina

    I used a handkerchief to wipe off the cream on Fina¡¯s nose, which had been bothering me.

    After a while, Tirumina-san brought me the eggs, then Tirumina-san decided to participate in making ice cream. I was worried about her work, but she said it¡¯s okay today, so I thank them for helping me.

    [So, you can make it by putting it in a mold like this?] Tirumina

    [Yes just pour it in.] Yuna

    [It looks like we can make it into a bear-shape too.] Tirumina

    [Why are you talking about bears?] Yuna

    [No, I wonder if we could make Bear-Shaped Ice Cream and sell it in the store.] Tirumina

    [Didn¡¯t you said this morning that I should stop doing such troublesome things?] Yuna

    [Well, that¡¯s one thing. But as a person who takes care of the ounting for both shops, I should think about the sales.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san is that kind of person after all.

    But still, I¡¯m leaving the money to Tirumina-san. Did that have an effect on her?

    For the time being, the talks about the ice cream in the shop were put on hold and the ice cream that we are bringing to the sea was made inrge quantities by four people.

    After making some more ice cream, I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild with Fina.

    Shuri was tired of making ice cream and she was sleepy, so she went home with Tirumina-san. After all, she¡¯s still seven years old. Working for a whole day will make her tired.

    When we arrive at the Adventurers Guild, we headed straight to the dismantling workshop. Where adventurers manage the monsters they¡¯ve defeated.

    [Excuse me.] Yuna

    When I searched for Gentz-san, I saw him talking to the Guildmaster at the wall of his room.

    [He seems to be caught up with something.] Yuna

    [Yes, he seems to be in the middle of his work.] Fina

    Since we watched until their conversation ended, the two of them noticed us.

    [Fina and Yuna? What are you doing here?] Gentz

    Fina and I went to Gentz-san.

    [There¡¯s something I wanted to ask you Gentz-san.] Yuna

    [About what?] Gentz

    I nced at the Guildmaster. I want to avoid being asked about the scorpion if I can.

    [What? You looked very annoyed when you saw I¡¯m here.] GM

    Yes, it¡¯s annoying. I want to say it out loud, but I cannot say it in front of the person in question.

    [Not really. Aren¡¯t you going back to your work?] Yuna

    [My intuition says you brought something troublesome.] GM

    [I didn¡¯t bring any trouble. I¡¯m just going to talk to Gentz-san.] Yuna

    [Then you can talk to me as well.] GM

    [............]

    There was a long silence.

    [What, if you¡¯re not going to talk, then I¡¯ll get back to work.] Gentz

    Gentz-san was caught between me and the Guildmaster and tried to escape from this ce, he couldn¡¯t stand it.

    I took advantage of Gentz-san¡¯s action.

    [Yeah. Shall we do it after work? Fina is fine with it, right?] Yuna

    [Yeah I¡¯m fine with it.] Fina

    Fina looked at me and the Guildmaster, then she answered.

    [Hey now, if there is no problem, then tell me.] GM

    I gave up, then let out a big exhale.

    Well, I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal if I don¡¯t mention the boss Scorpion.

    [Gentz-san, can you dismantle Scorpion?] Yuna

    [Scorpion? Well yeah, I can do it because I have done it before, but do you have it?] Gentz

    [Yeah, but when I asked Fina to dismantle it, she told me that she hadn¡¯t done it before, so I¡¯m here to ask Gentz-san.] Yuna

    [Well, it¡¯s a monster that¡¯s not from around here. So it can¡¯t be helped that Fina has never dismantled it.] Gentz

    So it¡¯s a monster that can only be found in the desert.

    [So it¡¯s just a dismantling of Scorpion. I thought it would be more difficult.] GM

    Said by the Guildmaster, who was listening to us. But that¡¯s just what the Guildmaster¡¯s own beliefs. I¡¯m not the bad one here.

    [I was wondering what this was going to be about, but it¡¯s just how to dismantle a scorpion, huh. I thought it¡¯d be something much more serious.] GM

    [Fina is studying dismantling. That¡¯s why I thought it would be good learning for Fina.] Yuna

    [If that¡¯s the case, do it in the guild. Some of the other staff members have never dismantled it before. It should make a good lesson.] GM

    [But if you put out a Scorpion in this town, wouldn¡¯t it cause a big ruckus?] Yuna

    [Well, it might get a little noisy, but it¡¯s fine if we handle it in the guild. Gentz is fine with it as well.] GM

    [As long as my daughter, Fina, can participate as well.] Gentz

    [That¡¯s right. So how many do you have Yuna? Is it in the Bear¡¯s Item Bag?] GM

    Can I say the truth?

    Just how many carcasses can I bring out before people start screaming, I wonder?

    By the way, there are 100 Scorpions. It¡¯s not a big deal if you think of those as 100 goblins.

    [Knowing you, you must have 10 of them, right? I¡¯ll buy them all.] GM

    Actually, I have 10 times more than that. Moreover, I also have the boss-type.

    Well, if that¡¯s what the Guildmaster thinks, then let¡¯s go with that.

    [As Guildmaster said there are about 10 of them.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s what I thought. It¡¯s hard toe by, but depending on the processing, the shell will be a small armor, so themercial guild will be pleased.] GM

    The shell of the boss-type was hard, but the normal Scorpion didn¡¯t feel that hard. But will the strength be stronger depending on the process?

    Is it boiled?

    An image of a pot with crabs and shrimpses to my mind. It looks very tasty.

    When the weather gets cold, having a hot pot sounds great. If you go to the Elf Vige, there are mushrooms, so a mushroom pot might be a good choice.

    Well, cooking a hot pot during summer like right now sounds tasty too.

    [Is the meat delicious?] Yuna

    [Oh, the meat is delicious!] GM

    [Then I¡¯ll take the meat, is that okay?] Yuna

    [How about half?] GM

    Half huh? Well, all I need to do is have it dismantled whenever I want it.

    [Yeah, sure.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a deal then. So when will you hand it over? You don¡¯t want anyone to know that you were the one who brought it, right? Though I don¡¯t understand why.] GM

    [Yes, it would be nice if the guild keeps it confidential.] Yuna

    [Well, there are some guys who¡¯re likely to speak about it. What about in the early morning tomorrow? There are few people in the early morning.] GM

    The guild is operating 24 hours a day. But that doesn¡¯t mean there are many guild staff members. There are only a few people just in case of an emergency. So there is no guild staff until morning.

    The only problem is that I have to get up early.

    I have no choice but to have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear wake me up.

    I epted and promised toe early tomorrow morning.

 Chapter 339 Bear-san, Sleeps Twice.

    Credits to: valiant

    The next day, I was woken up by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rm clocks. I don¡¯t oversleep because I have two rm clocks. However, if I don¡¯t wake up, they will not stop waking me up and try even harder until I do so.

    At first, it¡¯s just a gentle tap. If I don¡¯t wake up, the petchipetchi will gradually be stronger. If I still don¡¯t wake up, the two of them will climb on my stomach. And in the end, they will cover my face. More importantly, I want them to stop it because it is really painful.

    Today, I was able to get up when Swaying Bear dived onto my stomach.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, good morning.] Yuna

    I got up while rubbing my sleepy eyes. I¡¯m going to go to the Adventurers Guild today and give them the scorpions.

    Well, I¡¯m still sleepy. It¡¯s still dim outside. It¡¯s been a long time since I woke up this early. Some people who are early in the morning may get up and work. But it¡¯s too early for me.

    What about breakfast?

    It feels too early for it. I consulted with my stomach. Well then, I¡¯ll eat breakfast after Ie back from the Adventurers Guild. I change from a white bear to a ck bear and call on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear

    [Well then, let¡¯s go!] Yuna

    <>

    When I left the Bear House, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form followed me with tokotoko. (trotting sfx)

    Sometimes when I get up early, I take a walk with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If it¡¯s this early morning, no one will be surprised because there are no people, so no one wille near us.

    While I¡¯m on my way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild walking like so, I was greeted by an old woman whom I knew the face, yet I don¡¯t know the name. I also replied, . The old woman also greets Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear replied with .

    There are many people around my house who knew about me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, therefore, she was not surprised that I¡¯m walking in the neighborhood with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form.

    I did a small yawn with and stretched my arms a little. It feels good in the morning, though I can¡¯t help feeling sleepy. I want to make Swaying Bear bigger and get on his back.

    While thinking about it, the Adventurers Guild came into view. In front of the Adventurers Guild are Gentz-san and Fina.

    [Good morning to both of you.] Yuna

    [Good morning.] Fina

    [You came without beingte.] Gentz

    [I have these bears to wake me up.] Yuna

    I crouched down, then I pet the heads of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear next to me. They¡¯re the most powerful rm clocks.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, good morning.] Fina

    Fina rubbed the heads of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear at the same time.

    [It¡¯s not a good ce to talk right here, let¡¯s move inside. You don¡¯t want to be seen, right? That¡¯s why you¡¯re here this early in the morning.] Gentz

    Yes, that¡¯s right. It would be a problem if someone saw me.

    We went around the back of the guild and entered the dismantler¡¯s warehouse through the back door.

    [Well then, please hand it over.] Gentz

    As I promised yesterday, I took out 10 Scorpions from the Bear Box.

    [How nostalgic.] Gentz

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Oh, I¡¯ve been dismantling a lot of these when I was an adventurer, but not so much since I started working in the guild.] Gentz

    [¡°Not so much¡±, so does this mean you¡¯ve received some before?] Yuna

    [asionally, some adventurers bring it back here. So it may cause quite a bit of a fuss this time, but it shouldn¡¯t be as intense as what Jo-chan thinks.] Gentz

    Well, even if they made a fuss, I wouldn¡¯t mind as long as they didn¡¯t know I was the one who brought them all.

    [And so, we will take the shells.] Gentz

    [That¡¯s fine. I want the meat to be separated.] Yuna

    I just want to taste it. Maybe it¡¯s delicious like shrimps or crabs. It might be good to ask Anzu and Morin-san to see if they can cook it.

    [Okay. I¡¯ll bring it to your house when we¡¯re done.] Gentz

    [Although I cane backter.] Yuna

    [Then it doesn¡¯t make sense that you¡¯re hiding if you¡¯re going picking it up anyways. Do you want to hide or to be known? Make up your mind!] Gentz

    Ah, that¡¯s right. It would be suspicious if I came to pick it up.

    [Then, can I ask you to deliver it?] Yuna

    [Yeah, I don¡¯t mind.] Gentz

    As a result of our talk, the Scorpion¡¯s meat will be delivered to my home.

    [Well then, Fina. I¡¯ll tell you the basics while we¡¯re waiting for the other staffs toe, so watch carefully.] Gentz

    Gentz-san takes out the knife and approaches the scorpion.

    [Yes, Dad.] Fina

    Fina is now used to call Gentz-san her father. I miss the days when she used to call him Uncle Gentz.

    [Well then, I¡¯ll head back home.] Yuna

    [By the way, if you kill another rare monster like a scorpion, bring it to me.] Gentz

    In that case, I have a boss-type sandworm, a boss-type Scorpion, and some Wyverns. I would like to take it out of the Bear Box and look at Gentz-san¡¯s surprised face, but I don¡¯t want to cause chaos, so I restrained myself.

    I parted with Gentz-san and Fina and went back to the Bear House because I have a lot of time until my next agenda for the day.

    Today, I¡¯m going to the tailoring shop where Sherry works.

    Yesterday, I met Sherry on the way home from the Adventurers Guild. She said that when she heard from the orphanage that I had returned, she was on her way to the Bear House to see me. And the reason why she wanted to see me was that the swimsuit was finished

    Come to think of it, what happened to my swimsuit?

    I don¡¯t remember choosing a swimsuit. If she hasn¡¯t finished it, then it¡¯s fine. The secret size of my body was measured by Sherry. Sherry also said she would make it, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything she didn¡¯t make.

    If she made it from the illustrations I¡¯ve drawn, I think it¡¯ll basically be fine. I just hope it¡¯s not a school swimsuit.

    I¡¯m going to Sherry today, in addition to checking my swimsuit.

    But it¡¯s too early to go to the store. There¡¯s still time until the shop opens. So I decided to go back to the Bear House and sleep a second time. I couldn¡¯t help but yawn since a while back.

    When I came back to the Bear House, I forgot to eat breakfast and simply fell onto the bed as a ck Bear. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also curled up next to me when I get on the bed. As soon as I hugged Swaying Bear, I felt very sleepy.

    [......chan.] ??

    I feel something is shaking me.

    [...... wake up.] ??

    My body was shaking even more.

    [Yuna-oneechan, wake up.] ??

    [Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    [Nope~. ] ??

    [Hugging Bear?] Yuna

    [Nope~. It¡¯s Shuri.] Shuri

    Shuri?

    When I opened my eyes, Shuri was riding on top of me. (TC: FBI OPEN UP!!)

    [Finally.] Shuri

    When I get up, Shuries down from me.

    [Why are you here Shuri?] Yuna

    [I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild because I was done helping my mom with work. Then, my dad doesn¡¯t want to let me learn how to dismantle the , he said it was too early for me. So I came to ask Yuna-oneechan, but you¡¯re sleeping.] Shuri

    No, the Scorpion dismantling is still too early for Shuri. In the first ce, it¡¯s too early even for Fina. However, Fina has many years of dismantling experience. Shuri doesn¡¯t have it.

    [I also think it¡¯s too early for Shuri.] Yuna

    [Even Yuna-oneechan is saying that too? I can do it!] Shuri

    Shuri pouts her tiny mouth.

    [I don¡¯t think you can. Even Fina will dismantle it for the first time. So it¡¯s too early, Shuri will have to wait until you¡¯re 10 years old.] Yuna

    Even so, 10 years old is still too early. I¡¯m a 15-year-old adventurer, but I can¡¯t dismantle it. Considering that, Shuri is more amazing than me.

    [I want to grow up quickly.] Shuri

    [You don¡¯t have to hurry that much, it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    I put my hand on Shuri¡¯s head.

    [By the way, what time is it now?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s already past lunchtime.] Shuri

    What was that you said, Shuri-san?

    [I thought I heard you said it¡¯s lunchtime. I might have heard you wrong.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s after lunchtime.] Shuri

    Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

    I didn¡¯t hear it wrong.

    Apparently, I went to bed and slept until noon. I have an appointment with Sherry.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear why didn¡¯t you wake me up?] Yuna

    I saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, ying on the bed. Certainly, I didn¡¯t ask them to wake me up, but it would be great if they did. I stared at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with a slight grudge.

    Don¡¯t they know how I feel?

    They¡¯re tilting their heads and crying, .

    For the time being, I have to get ready to go out. I haven¡¯t decided when to meet Sherry. She¡¯s supposed to be waiting for me.

    [Shuri, thank you for waking me up.] Yuna

    If Shuri didn¡¯t wake me up, I¡¯d still be in the dreand.

    [Un, because the door is open, so I thought Yuna-oneechan was here, but you were sleeping.] Shuri

    If I¡¯m not here, the Bear House¡¯s doors won¡¯t open. If I¡¯m here, then Fina and Shuri coulde in without permission. Others cannot enter unless I open the door.

    So only Fina and Shuri can wake me up.

    When I get out of the bed, I took the bread out from the Bear Box and stuffed it in my mouth. Then swallowed it without chewing it.

    [Yuna-oneechan. That¡¯s bad manners.] Shuri

    I was scolded by Shuri.

    [I¡¯m in a bit of a hurry, so it¡¯s only today.] Yuna

    I made excuses and prepared to go out. I thought I would return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but Shuri is holding them.

    [I¡¯m going out. Shuri, are you staying here?] Yuna

    Then, I¡¯ll leave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as her ymates.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Are you going somewhere?] Shuri

    [I have an appointment with Sherry, so I¡¯m going to the tailoring shop. Do you want toe with me?] Yuna

    [Is that okay?] Shuri

    [Yeah, no problem. I¡¯m just going to check the swimsuits.] Yuna

    [Well then, I will go with you.] Shuri

    Shuri happily replied.

    I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the Bear Puppets and then I went to see Sherry together with Shuri.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Happy New Year!

    Thank you for supporting Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear again this year.

    The shell of the scorpion was sold to the guild. I think that it¡¯ll be good if this shell got passed to Shin, the new adventurer. But if I were to write the story in a book, when would it be?

    Next time, we¡¯re finally checking out the swimsuit.

    I was working on a book while taking a break from the web version.

    Writing down and purchasing privilege SS is allowed to refer to the request recruitment.

    Thank you very much for your request.

 Chapter 340 Bear-san Checks the Swimsuits

    Credits to: valiant, Philip.

    When I and Shuri entered the shop, Naru-san wees us.

    [Is Sherry here?] Yuna

    [She¡¯s in the back. She¡¯s waiting for you, so go on and head to the back.] Naru

    After saying my thanks, we head to the back room. When we entered the back room, we can see Sherry and Temoka-san working.

    [Sherry, sorry for beingte.] Yuna

    The rm clock didn¡¯t work. I forgot to set the timer.

    I apologized to Sherry and said hello to Temoka-san.

    [Well then, I¡¯ll be at my table, so you can rx.] Temoka

    Temoka-san went to the inside of the store and left us alone.

    [Did I disturb your work?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s ok. I told him that Yuna-oneechan wille. So he was teaching me while I was waiting.] Sherry

    [So, it¡¯s fine then.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re here with Shuri-chan today.] Sherry

    [Yeah, we came here together.] Yuna

    I was sleeping until a while ago, but I can¡¯t say she woke me up.

    [Sherry, it must have been hard to make everyone¡¯s swimwear. Thank you for the hard work.] Yuna

    [No, it wasn¡¯t that hard. Unlike ordinary cloths, it has no decorations. I just tied the cloths together.] Sherry

    Even so, it would have been difficult to make that amount of swimwear for arge number of people. I haven¡¯t made clothes in my life, so I don¡¯t know the hardships around it, but I do know that it was difficult.

    [And so, I have something to ask Yuna-oneechan.] Sherry

    [What? If my swimsuit isn¡¯t made yet, it¡¯s fine.] Yuna

    [No, I made your swimsuit properly.] Sherry

    She made it. I wish she didn¡¯t have to.

    [So, what then?] Yuna

    Sherry opens a box she got from her room and took out some swimwear. She has a ck and white swimsuit in her hand. Then Sherry ced it on the table.

    What was she ced on the table?... School swimsuit?

    For a moment, I thought it was mine, but the name of a child from the orphanage was written on the chest. A name? Why?

    [I asked Yuna-oneechan to draw various swimsuits, but this will be the swimsuits for everyone in the orphanage.] Sherry

    [Etto, can I ask why?] Yuna

    [Well you see, I was hoping I could ask everyone individually what sort of swimsuit they would like. And that¡¯s what I did during dinner once we were all gathered. But then, even though we were still eating, everyone made a ruckus while deciding on their swimsuits. They all fought over the paper with your illustrations, and it turned into a real mess. Then the director got mad. No one could tell which swimsuit each person had decided on, so the director picked one instead and asked me to go with that. With this design, I could put our names to tell which belonged to whom. So I couldn¡¯t argue with that either.] Sherry

    But it might be a good idea to unify the swimwear for the children in the orphanage. This swimsuit has a name on the chest so you won¡¯t make a mistake.

    [I¡¯m sorry, Even after I asked Yuna-oneechan to draw various swimsuit illustrations...] Sherry

    [Don¡¯t worry about it. I can understand the feelings of the director. But why ck and white?] Yuna

    I understand if it¡¯s ck, I made it ck in the illustration, but why white? I didn¡¯t draw a white school swimsuit. I don¡¯t think there is a white school swimsuit in this world.

    [It¡¯s Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan colors. At least I was allowed to do that.] Sherry

    Shelley replied as if it¡¯s nothing. She only referred it to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    There is nothing wrong with a ck swimsuit. In my former world, it was a dark blue or ck swimsuit. However, white looks and feels subtle for a white school swimsuit. There was no white school swimsuit at school.

    Perhaps this embarrassing feeling of looking at the white school swimsuit maye from what I know from the former world. But, from the children¡¯s point of view, they probably just saw it as Hugging Bear¡¯s color.

    [So for the boys?] Yuna

    At the very least, let¡¯s allow the girls to have a white school swimsuit. White swimsuits usually existed. But I¡¯ve never seen or heard of the men¡¯s white trunks, so I want you to stop.

    Sherry takes out another set of swimwear from the box. There were only ck swimming trunks there.

    I was relieved and put my hand on my chest. If I saw white swimming trunks there, I might have mmed the table.

    [It¡¯s ck.] Yuna

    [Yes. The boys chose ck.] Sherry

    It was really good. It¡¯s not white trunks.

    Though I drew the boy¡¯s swimwear illustration, she put a name on it on the far right, but it looks the same.

    [Sherry-nechan. What about me?] Shuri

    [I also made one for Shuri-chan.] Sherry

    Sherry takes out the swimsuit from a different box and hands it over to Shuri.

    [Can I wear it?] Shuri

    [You want to wear it now? You don¡¯t want to wait until you get to the sea?] Yuna

    [Can¡¯t I?] Shuri

    Isn¡¯t it embarrassing for a child?

    Well, aside from taking measurements, trying it on is also important.

    With my permission, Shuri tried to undress on the spot. I rushed to stop Shuri, but Shuri tilted her head. Since we are only girls here, usually there¡¯s no problem. Little girls are changing on the spot even in ordinary swimming pools and beaches. But this is someone else¡¯s home, so someone maye into this room. I¡¯m worried about Shuri¡¯s future if I don¡¯t tell her where to properly change.

    [Sherry, is there a ce to change clothes?] Yuna

    [Yes there is. Now Shuri-chan. Use the next room.] Sherry

    [Okay!~] Shuri

    Shuri goes to the next room with her swimsuit. I¡¯m slightly tired. I look at the door of the room where Shuri went and wait. Though I¡¯m worried because I don¡¯t know what kind of swimsuit I¡¯ll have.

    [Do you want to wear yours too Yuna-oneechan?] Sherry

    Sherry asked me as I was staring at the door.

    [You have it? Though I didn¡¯t say I wanted a swimsuit, right?] Yuna

    Although the size was measured.

    [Yes, so I made a lot of swimsuits that would look good on Yuna-oneechan.] Sherry

    [............] Yuna

    What did you say just now?

    I heard you made a lot. Though I think I might be mistaken.

    Sherry turned back and opened the lid of another box. When she came back with a lot of swimwear, she ced it on the table.

    [I did my best for Yuna-oneechan.] Sherry

    Sherry answered with a carefree smile, it¡¯s kinda troublesome because she has no malicious intent. I think she really just made it for me.

    [Etto, thank you.] Yuna

    I can feel that my face is twitching. But my words make Sherry happy. But if I change the way I see this, I might actually be lucky. I will be able to choose from different swimsuits. Though if there is a white swimsuit or a super mini-bikini in the mix, and I had no other choices, I might cry.

    [How about this?] Sherry

    Sherry spreads the swimsuit, it¡¯s a one piece. A swimsuit with ck as the main color with a mix of white trims. It¡¯s a normal swimsuit?

    Furthermore, Sherry continues to take out the other swimwear.

    There are bikinis, some of which have different upper and lower colors of white and ck, and some have the right and left with ck and white patterns. But a bikini is painful to look at if the wearer doesn¡¯t have chests. Is it okay if I put magic pads? (TC: Bear Pads?)

    There are few people who knew my bust size. Sherry took my sizes so it¡¯s unavoidable, but before that, I took a bath together with, Fina, Shuri, Tirumina-san, and Noah. The others didn¡¯t know about my chest size because of the Bear Costume. They might think I have big breasts.

    While I¡¯m being worried about that, Sherry shows me another pair of swimsuits. There was no miniature bikini in it, but there was a ck and white school swimsuit. It was dangerous. If this is what I¡¯m going to, I might have to refuse.

    [But why are they all ck and white?] Yuna

    All swimwears are mainly ck and white colors. No other colors were used.

    [I thought Yuna-oneechan likes ck and white. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are also ck and white.] Sherry

    If she says it like that, I couldn¡¯t say anything. Well, it¡¯s still better than a pink or shy red.

    There are also swimsuits with frills and bikini wrap skirts. It looks like she made all the swimsuits that look good on me from the illustrations that I drew.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Which one would you like?] Sherry

    [Did I trouble Sherry because I couldn¡¯t choose?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not true. It was fun to make swimsuits that looked good on Yuna-oneechan.] Sherry

    [But I can¡¯t wear them all.] Yuna

    [Yeah. But I¡¯d be happy if there was something that Yuna-oneechan liked.] Sherry

    There¡¯s no lie in Sherry¡¯s words. She answered with a big smile.

    [............] Yuna

    [Perhaps, there¡¯s nothing that you like?] Sherry

    When I became silent, Sherry¡¯s smile instantly turns into anxiousness.

    [That¡¯s not it. There are so many, that I just couldn¡¯t decide. Since everything is good, I can¡¯t choose right away, so can I take it home and slowly think about it?] Yuna

    [Of course. All of these are for Yuna-oneechan, so it¡¯s okay.] Sherry

    From the swimsuits that I could never wear to the cute ones, I put them all in the Bear Box. I absolutely had to choose one. But it seems that there are swimsuits that I can wear, so somehow that¡¯s good.

    While I¡¯m being worried about such things, the door at the back opened and Shuri came out.

    [............Normal?] Yuna

    Shuri came out wearing an ordinary white one-piece swimsuit with frills for children.

    [Yuna-oneechan. How do I look?] Shuri

    [Un, it looks good on you. It¡¯s cute] Yuna

    [Really?] Shuri

    Shuri dly twirls.

    ............£¿

    It looks like I saw something just now. Maybe it¡¯s just my imagination.

    [Etto, Shuri. Turn around once more, slowly.] Yuna

    I asked Shuri just to confirm.

    [Un!] Shuri

    Shuri slowly turns around on the spot.

    [Sutoppu! (stop)] Yuna

    I shout the moment Shuri turns her back on me.

    [What?] Shuri

    Even though I said to stop, Shuri moved, but it wasn¡¯t a mistake. When I approached Shuri, I look at her back... at her buttocks.

    [Etto, what is this?] Yuna

    Shuri¡¯s butt has a round white object.

    [It¡¯s the tail of Hugging Bear-chan.] Sherry

    [Why, such a thing......] Yuna

    [Ah, right. Sherry-neechan. I don¡¯t have a cap.] Shuri

    [Oh, sorry. I forgot.] Sherry

    Sherry once again puts her hand in the box, picks something up, and hands it over to Shuri.

    What did she give her?

    Shuri, who receives it, spreads it and wears it on her head.

    [............] Yuna

    I couldn¡¯t say anything, my mouth was wide open and I couldn¡¯t close it when I saw Shuri. The cap that Shuri was wearing was a swimming cap with a .

    [It¡¯s the same as Yuna-oneechan] Shuri

    Shuri is wearing a swim cap with a bear¡¯s face and she also has a bear¡¯s tail. She looks like a white bear.

    [...Sherry. What is this?] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan drew it, was there something wrong?] Sherry

    Then Sherry brought the paper from the drawer. The paper had an illustration of a school swimsuit that I drew and a swim cap is drawn in the illustration.

    I understood what Sherry wanted to say. But why a bear?

    I didn¡¯t draw a bear in the illustration on the hat, right? When I asked, why? I got the following reply:

    In the orphanage, they discussed the swimsuit. The color of the swimsuit was decided to be Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear color. It seems that they decided it to be Bear-san color. Then the younger group asked, . So it seems that she decided to attach it because the children wanted to have a bear¡¯s tail. Then there was the cap in the illustration, Sherry thought that she made a smart decision to imitate my bear hood and made a bear¡¯s swim cap.

    So this means I¡¯m the cause of it.

    In other words, when I go to the sea, I will be followed by kids wearing Bear-san¡¯s swimwear, just like Shuri.

    I suddenly feel that don¡¯t want to go to the sea. But everyone is looking forward to it, so there¡¯s no way I can do that.

    If I knew this would happen, I should have just stayed in Crimonia and supervised it instead of taking the work from the King.

    But I wouldn¡¯t know what Karina¡¯s fate would be. This must be the work of the devil.

 Chapter 341 Bear-san Holds A Solo Swimsuit Fashion Show.

    After returning from Sherry¡¯s workce, I fell to my bed.

    [I¡¯m so tired~.] Yuna

    I¡¯m mentally tired. I was surprised at the white school swimsuit, especially the bear¡¯s tail. At the very least, salvation is that the children will be the ones wearing the bear swimsuit.

    To be honest, I wanted her to stop. But I can¡¯t say it after seeing Suri¡¯s face, which seems to be very happy. I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, they¡¯re so fluffy and soft that can restore my damaged mental health. After ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear my mental health was recovered, so I lined up the swimsuits that Sherry made on the bed. I slowly ced the school swimsuit on the edge, it is not like I¡¯m wearing that swimsuit. I look at the remaining swimsuit, from the bikini and skirt to the one-piece that I drew in the illustration.

    U~n, I don¡¯t know which one is better.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Which do you think is better?] Yuna

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear which is better. But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear uninterestingly looked at the swimsuits on the bed. Then, after crying [Ku~n], they curled up on the bed.

    They don¡¯t seem to be interested in my swimsuit. Well, if they were, I wouldn¡¯t be in this trouble. Having zero interest is just sad.

    In other words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not reliable this time, so I have to decide for myself.

    I looked at my swimsuits and picked up a ck and white bikini. Then, I took off my Bear Costume and put on the bikini swimsuit.

    What¡¯s this? This feeling that the size fits perfectly? I stand in front of the mirror. Does it look good on me? Though I am concerned about a certain part, I will ignore it. I tried to pose a little, but I don¡¯t know if it suits me.

    I silently pick up my next swimsuit. I¡¯m now wearing a one-piece swimsuit that looks like a separate swimsuit ( ¥»¥Ñ¥ì©`¥È Ë®×Å), but my legs feel ufortable on all of the swimsuits. I put on a pareo, it¡¯s a little better. This time my shoulders feel cold. I want a haori. I put arge towel over my shoulder. Let¡¯s calm down a little, is it safer to cover my body with arger towel?

    (Disimer: I¡¯m not endorsing anything, it¡¯s just an example of [Haori].)

    Any more than this is impossible for me. I couldn¡¯t choose a swimsuit because I hadn¡¯t swum outside the school pool because it has a fence. Choosing a swimsuit is a task that is too high for me. You might say that I can choose my favorite swimsuit, but I can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s difficult for me who has no experience.

    If this is the swimsuits of Fina and Noa, I can judge if they are cute or if it looks good on them. But when ites to me, none of them look good.

    It might be better to raise the white g obediently and have Tirumina-san choose for me. If I ask Fina, she would simply say, .

    By the way, if I ask Suri and Noa, they¡¯ll choose some ridiculous swimsuit, so I¡¯m not going to ask them.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are sleeping. I ended my solo swimwear fashion show and don in my Bear Costume. The moment I wear my Bear Costume, I felt relieved. I may have ended not only as a girl who couldn¡¯t choose her own swimsuit but also ufortable when not wearing the Bear Costume.

    I silently put my swimsuit in the Bear Box, theny in between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. There is still time until the day ends. Let¡¯s think slowly.

    It is one way to set aside life problems and nasty things. Time can help.

    Will it be solved? I wish I could entrust it to the future.

    In the evening. Gentz-san delivered the Scorpion meat.

    Yeah, I totally forgot. I had so much mental damage today that Ipletely forgot about the Scorpion. For the time being, I received it and thanked him. Does it taste like a shrimp?

    However, I didn¡¯t have the courage to taste it, so I put it into Bear Box. Although I feel sorry for Gentz-san, I asked him to give it to Anzu and Morin-san too. I have no energy to move today.

    The next day, I forgot about my swimsuit (I decided not to think about it) and was simply sprawling in my house.

    Is there anything else we need to bring to Mereera?

    Technically, even if we forget something, there¡¯s the Bear Gate, also we can buy it in the town of Mereera. Most of the work was done by Tirumina-san, so I have nothing to do.

    I made ice cream and I got my swimsuits. Food and ingredients are being organized by Tirmina-san, so I have nothing to do. By the way, what happened to Lurina-san and Gil?

    Helen-san said she would contact me when Lurina-san and Gil came back, but I haven¡¯t heard anything bout it yet. Perhaps they might not make it in time. If that happens, there will be no one to take care of the children, but is it okay?

    I¡¯ll go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guildter and ask them.

    With that in mind, today while I¡¯m beingzy without leaving my house, I heard a knock on the door.

    [Yuna-sa~~~~n... Are you there?~~~~~] Noa

    I know who¡¯s that voice belongs to. When I open the door, Noa stood there as expected. But I didn¡¯t expect the people behind her.

    [Yuna-oneesama, it¡¯s been a while.] Misa

    [Misa, you came.] Yuna

    Behind Noa is Misa, and behind them is Marina¡¯s party.

    [Thank you for inviting me this time.] Misa

    [You don¡¯t have to be so formal. I hope you enjoy it.] Yuna

    I interrupted Mass¡¯s polite greeting. I don¡¯t need such a polite greeting.

    [But you came along, did your parents gave their permission?] Yuna

    [Yes. If I¡¯m with Yuna-oneesama, they would give their permission with a peace of mind.] Misa

    I¡¯m happy that you trust me. But it increased my responsibility.

    [But we¡¯re going with the children of the orphanage and Fina-chan¡¯s family. Is it okay for her to go with them?] Noa

    [Of course, Noah. Fina and Shuri will be happy, you¡¯ll see themter.] Yuna

    [Yes. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing Fina-chan and Shuri-chan.] Misa

    Misast met Fina only after the royal capital¡¯s school festival.

    [So did youe here alone? What about Gran-san?] Yuna

    Neither her parents nor Gran-san is here. Gran-san, who entrusted the lord¡¯s work to Misa¡¯s parents, was free, so I thought he woulde along. Only Marina¡¯s party came with her to my ce. Marina¡¯s party are looking at the Bear House since a while ago.

    [I came here with my grandfather. He¡¯s talking with Cliff-sama, so he¡¯s still in Noa-oneesama¡¯s mansion. He told me he¡¯lle to say hello to Yuna-oneesamater.] Misa

    If so, should I say hello to him? I¡¯ll take care of your granddaughter.

    Are Marina¡¯s partying with us to the sea?

    I nced at Marina¡¯s party and they¡¯re still staring at the Bear House.

    [Marina and the rest. It¡¯s been a long time.] Yuna

    I spoke to Marina, the magician Eru, swordswoman Masrika, and Itia.

    [Oh yeah, it¡¯s been a long time. What¡¯s that? Yuna¡¯s house?] Marina

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Yuna

    Marina alternates between me and the Bear-shaped House. I know what you mean, I¡¯ve seen simr reactions all the time.

    [I¡¯ve heard it from Noa-oneesama, but it¡¯s a very cute house.] Misa

    [Cute but, why a bear?] Marina

    [Don¡¯t ask because there are deep circumstances.] Yuna

    Although I just focused on safety, no other house is as safe as the Bear House. It¡¯s a necessity for a single maiden to live.

    [Yuna-oneesama, can I go inside?] Misa

    Misa approached me with her shining eyes. Her face was saying that she wants to see the interior.

    [It¡¯s okay, although the inside is just the same as a normal house.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t mind.] Misa

    Misa and the rest were very happy when they entered the Bear House. After they entered the living room, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that was curled up on the sofa raised their heads.

    [Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan!] Misa

    Misa hugs Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear who was sitting on the sofa.

    [U wa~a, as expected, you¡¯re so cute. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, were you doing well?] Misa

    <>

    [I¡¯m always jealous of Noa-oneesama who can see you anytime.] Misa

    [She doesn¡¯t alwayse to see them, only asionally.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m still envious.] Misa

    Noa sometimess to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when she is taking a break from study or when she has free time. And there are moments in which L-sanes to pick her up.

    [For the time being, I¡¯ll serve you some tea, so everyone should sit down and wait.] Yuna

    I prepared sweets and put them on the table. Swaying Bear is being held in Noa¡¯s arms while Hugging Bear is in Misa¡¯s arms.

    [...Yuna, what about those bears?] Marina

    I see. It¡¯s the first time Marina saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms.

    I briefly exin to them about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [I knew they were mysterious bears, but they can do that?] Eru

    [I thought it was those bear¡¯s cubs.] Itia

    Certainly, isn¡¯t it easier to exin it to the people who don¡¯t know?

    [Nevertheless, the house is normal.] Marina

    [Yeah it is.] Masrika

    Marina said so calmly.

    That¡¯s what I said from the very beginning.

    Marina and her party are strangely looking around the living room. The inside of the Bear House is just like a normal house. There are no bear figurines or bear-shaped objects. Though there are summoned bears, some bear plushies in my room, and bear statues in the bathroom. They kept muttering that there are no bears in the living room.

    [Anyway, Yuna is still dressed like that as usual.] Marina

    [Isn¡¯t it hot?] Masrika

    [Just looking at it makes me feel hot.] Itia

    Marina and her party were looking at me while drinking iced tea.

    [It¡¯s made of a special material, so it doesn¡¯t feel hot.] Yuna

    [Even though Yuna is fine, it¡¯s still hot when looking at it.] Eru

    I know that feeling, but I can¡¯t take it off. But it should be better than heat-resistant clothes.

    But I wish God would also prepare bear clothes for summer. In the first ce, it is wrong to attach the cheat ability to bear equipment. I wish there were a bear pendant, or a ring, or an essory.

    [Then we have to make Misa a swimsuit.] Yuna

    [Yes, I decided to ask Yuna-san about that. Will you make it now?] Noa

    I can¡¯t decide on that without consulting Sherry.

    But I think it would be okay if Temoka-san could help.

    [And we have to prepare the swimsuits for the Marina and her party.] Yuna

    [We¡¯re good. Since we¡¯re Misana-sama¡¯s escort.] Marina

    I imagine so. I feel like the appearance of watching adventurers wrapped in swords and armor watching children enjoy on the beach. In the first ce, if such a person is nearby, it will be ufortable to y with.

    [I asked Sherry to make the Marina and the other¡¯s swimsuits. If you were dressed like that in front of the children ying on the beach, I would stop the children from ying. It¡¯s mandatory to wear it. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll either be left in Crimonia or in my house at Mereera.] Yuna

    [Do we really need to wear it?] Marina

    [Just give up.] Yuna

    [So you¡¯ll wear it as well Yuna-chan?] Eru

    [.........I¡¯ll wear it.] Yuna

    Though I don¡¯t want to wear it.

    [Ho, that would be priceless.] Marina

    [Yeah. it¡¯s not every day you can see Yuna-chan¡¯s appearance other than Bear-san.] Eru

    [If that¡¯s the case, we will wear it.] Masrika

    Marina and her party are looking at me with interest. Saying that they will wear the swimsuit to protect Misa.

    [Marina said, she will always protect Misa.] Yuna

    [Misana-sama always give us a priority when making requests, so I¡¯m not going to refuse Misana-sama¡¯s request.] Marina

    Eru and the others nodded at Marina¡¯s words.

    [My father and my grandfather trust me because Marina¡¯s party is protecting me, that¡¯s why I asked them. Of course, I also trust them.] Misa

    [Misana-sama...] Marina

    Marina and her party were happy with the words of Misa.

    Even when attacked by a group of orcs, they were fighting for their lives without abandoning Misa. It wasn¡¯t strange to abandon them and run away. But without doing that, they protected the horse-drawn carriage of Misa and Gran-san.

    It¡¯s probably not one-sided. I¡¯m not sure, I think Misa and Marina¡¯s party have a long-standing rtionship.

    [Misa seems really important for Marina¡¯s party.] Yuna

    [Obviously. Misana-sama is our most important client.] Marina

    But when Marina¡¯s partyes along, I wonder if they should also think about the Bear Bus. If Gil and Lurina-san are going to participate, the capacity will be too much. Is it necessary to remodel the Bear Bus?

    [But Yuna-oneesama, you¡¯re going to have quite a lot of people. Is it okay to prepare a carriage? Shall we use the carriage we have been riding in?] Misa

    Misa asks anxiously. However, even the horse-drawn carriage that Misa was riding on would not be enough.

    [I have prepared it properly, so it is okay even if the number of people increases a little.] Yuna

    I¡¯ll just lengthen the Bear Bus. But when it gets longer, it will look strange. Should I turn it into a double-decker?

 Chapter 342 Bear-san measures Misaâ€™s sizes

    Credits to: valiant, Philip.

    [Fufu, then Marina will do her best to wear a swimsuit and protect Misana-sama.] Masrika

    Masrikaughs hysterically after saying that.

    [You¡¯re wearing it as well, Masrika.] Yuna

    It¡¯s uneptable to make only one person wear it. When I said so, Masrika shakes her head a little.

    [I also want to go with everyone. I and Itia are supposed to stay in the city with Gran-sama. Only two people, Marina and Eru, will go with Misana-sama.] Masrika

    ording to Masrika, Gran-san will remain in Crimonia. So Marina¡¯s party decided to split into two. Even though Gran-san said he didn¡¯t need escorts.

    [It¡¯s our job to escort them together.] Masrika

    Itia nodded in the words of Masrika.

    It¡¯s a pity that Masrika and Itia can¡¯t go to the sea. If you think about it as a member of society, it may be unavoidable. Apart from that, the members of Marina¡¯s party didn¡¯te with Misa and Gran-san to y. They came to do a job. I was going to y, so I thought about Marina¡¯s party participating in the y. But Marina¡¯s party came to do their job.

    As a member of society, work is important. People have to work when they have a job to do. The same goes for me when I work. And when I feelzy, I¡¯ll bezy.

    [So Marina and Eru are the only ones who need swimsuits] Masrika

    [It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t see Yuna-chan in her swimsuit. I¡¯ll just listen to Marina and Eru¡¯s storyter.] Itia

    I don¡¯t like it, but it can¡¯t be helped. There is no camera in this world, so at least the fact that no one will take pictures is a relief.

    Masrika and Itia thanked me for the tea and cake, then went out.

    By the way, Gran-san asked them to send a letter to themercial guild. But they wanted to see me as well, so they tagged along with Misa before going to themercial guild.

    Anyway, I thought that all four of them woulde, but I¡¯m a little disappointed.

    [I wish Masrika and Itia coulde with us.] Yuna

    [One of the reasons he decided to take me to Crimonia is that my grandfather had something to do in Crimonia.] Misa

    ording to Misa¡¯s story, it seems that he wants to consult Cliff about whether he can send the ingredients of Mereera to the town of Shereen. But I think those topics are under the jurisdiction of Crimonia¡¯s Commercial Guild. So does he need Cliff¡¯s permission?

    For the time being, Mereera is part of Cliff¡¯s territory. Maybe that¡¯s why he wanted to talk to him.

    [But my grandfather also said that he might go to Mereera if he had time. So I think both Masrika and Itia coulde to Mereera.] Misa

    Then I could have made them swimsuits. Knowing that they may have to wear it, they ran away.

    [Well then, Yuna-oneesama can I ask you something? Can we go and see Fina-chan and Shuri-chan?] Misa

    [Fina and Shuri? Maybe, I think it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    There is no problem if she goes to see them. The only problem is that I don¡¯t know where Fina is. Shuri is often in the orphanage with Tirumina-san.

    However, Fina is a child who goes to various ces. Sometimes she¡¯s in the orphanage with Tirumina-san, and sometimes she goes out to the store. In addition, she sometimeses to my ce. And if Scorpion¡¯s dismantling wasn¡¯t done yesterday, it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s still in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild right now. Fina is really moving around a lot and working a lot. Comparing her to myself back when I was 10 years old made me feel ashamed.

    But I can find Fina regardless of her moving a lot.

    If I don¡¯t know where she is, I¡¯ll just ask her myself.

    I stood up from my seat and move to my room on the second floor. After confirming that I am alone, I took out the Bear Phone and ran my magical power to it.

    Connect to Fina~ Connect to Fina~ I set that thought to the Bear Phone. After waiting for a while, I heard Fina¡¯s voice from the Bear Phone.

    {Yuna-oneesan?} Fina

    [Fina. Where are you now?] Yuna

    {I¡¯m in the orphanage.} Fina

    Thispletes the acquisition of Fina¡¯s whereabouts. Bear Phone is convenient. But honestly, if it has a GPS function, I can easily locate her without doing that. As expected, it does not have such a function. Well even if it does, I don¡¯t want to use it much. As a person, the act of stalking someone else¡¯s every move was unsightly. So it¡¯s best to just ask her where she is using the Bear Phone.

    [Is the dismantling of the Scorpions over?] Yuna

    {Yes, the guild staffs were very motivated so it ended in a day.} Fina

    As expected of the guild staffs. Back then, they had also dismantled the ck Viper in just a day.

    [Fina, do you have time now? Misa wanted to see both you and Shuri.] Yuna

    {Did Misa-sama arrived? Well, yes. It¡¯s okay. I will quickly finish my work.} Fina

    [Then, when you¡¯re done, wait in front of Bear-san¡¯s rest shop. We¡¯ll go and ask Sherry to make some swimsuits, then go there.] Yuna

    {Understood. I¡¯ll go together with Shuri.} Fina

    When I turn the Bear Phone off, I went back to the first floor where everyone was. I then told Misa that I had promised Fina and Shuri lunch at Bear-san¡¯s rest shop.

    I had to lie a bit. Bear Phone must be kept a secret.

    [Yuna-oneesama¡¯s shop. I¡¯m looking forward to it. I heard about it from Noa-oneesama that there are many bears there.] Misa

    Misa¡¯s eyes were shining. Even if you shower me with such sparkling eyes, there are no real bears in the store. They¡¯re just statues.

    [And the children¡¯s work clothes are also cute.] Noa

    [They look like bears, right?] Misa

    Noa and Misa started talking about the store. Marina and Eru don¡¯t understand what they mean and tilt their heads a little.

    It wouldn¡¯t make sense for someone to hear that the working children there were dressed as a bear.

    [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Misa

    About going to the bear¡¯s shop? Or meeting Fina?

    [So make sure you decide on a swimsuit as soon as possible. It¡¯s kinda sad to have Fina wait for too long.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m okay on that part. I have already decided on my swimsuit. It¡¯s the same swimsuit as Noa-oneesama.] Misa

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Yes, I decided after hearing the story from Noa-oneesama, but I think I¡¯ll try asking for a different color.] Misa

    Apparently, she was talking to Noa beforeing to my house. Then the problem now is that it¡¯ll take time for Marina and Eru to choose their swimsuits. But I think Eru¡¯s swimsuit should be a micro bikini. Those big breasts of hers are my enemy. I want to make her go Porori.

    But if we go to Sherry right now, between measuring the size of the three persons and choosing Marina¡¯s swimwear, we might make Fina wait for a long time. Besides, if I took Noa and Misa along to the sewing shop, it could inconvenience Temoka-san and Naru-san.

    If so, then since they¡¯ve already decided on their swimsuits, taking note of their sizes should be enough.

    [Marina. I have something I would like to ask, is it okay?] Yuna

    [What?] Marina

    [We¡¯re going to meet Fina, so can I ask you to go and ask for Misa¡¯s swimwear? There¡¯s a girl named Sherry working there, she¡¯ll probably make it if you tell her I requested them. Of course, I¡¯ll be responsible for Misa¡¯s safety.] Yuna

    [But...] Marina

    Marina looks at Misa.

    [Marina, please, I ask you as well. I want to see Fina-chan.] Misa

    [Misana-sama... I understand. I will ept it.] Marina

    [Then, when you go to Sherry, ask her to make swimsuits for you and the others, too.] Yuna

    With Marina¡¯s approval, I quickly measured the body size of Misa.

    [Hey, don¡¯t move.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Misa

    I measured the size of the ces where I wasst measured and wrote it on a piece of paper.

    Although Misa became 10 years old the other day, she has a smaller figure than Fina and Noa. But since she¡¯s in her growth period, Misa should grow.

    [Yep. That¡¯s it, you can wear your clothes now.] Yuna

    When I have finished writing her body size on a piece of paper, I also wrote a request to make the same swimsuit design as Noa.

    [So, what will be the color?] Yuna

    [Green, please.] Misa

    By the way, Noa¡¯s swimsuit is blue. I also wrote a request for Marina and the other¡¯s swimwear on the paper. I gave them a piece of paper with the necessary information. Finally, I taught Marina and Eru the location of the tailor shop where Sherry is working.

    [We¡¯re going now. I¡¯ll leave Misana-sama to you.] Marina

    Marina and Eru entrusted Misa to me and left the Bear House.

    We shall now head to Bear-san¡¯s rest shop to visit Fina.

    [Okay, let¡¯s go to Fina and Shuri.] Yuna

    [Yes!] Misa

    Misa energetically replied to me and tried to go out while holding Hugging Bear. I rushed to stop her.

    [Same goes for you Noa, don¡¯t take Swaying Bear!] Yuna

    [Eh~] Noa

    If they took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with them in broad daylight, the town¡¯s children will gather and it will be a big problem. When I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to the Bear Puppets, Misa and Noa looked sad, but this is the thing that I have to do.

    [Come on, let¡¯s go. Fina and Shuri are waiting.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Misa

    [Understood.] Noa

    We arrived at [Bear-san¡¯s rest shop], we¡¯re here to meet Fina and Shuri. When they look at the store, they saw the stone statue of a big bear holding bread. As usual, it is a big and prominent bear.

    [It¡¯s a bear!] Misa

    Misa became very excited when she saw a bear holding bread.

    We can see Fina and Shuri in front of the bear statue. When I look at the person waiting in front of the statue, it felt like a meeting ce with a dog statue somewhere.

    When Misa found them, she quickly ran to them. When Fina and Shuri noticed us, they started running as well.

    [Fina-chan, it¡¯s been a long time] Misa

    Misa holds Fina¡¯s hand.

    [Yes. It¡¯s been a long time.] Fina

    [Shuri-chan as well, it¡¯s been in a long time.] Misa

    [Yes, Misa-neechan.] Shuri

    When the three are happy to meet again, Noa also joined in. When I look at the four people who were happy with their reunion, I feel happy. It was a good idea to call Misa here.

    However, we can¡¯t stand here and make noise outside the store forever, so I lead the four happy people into the store.

 Chapter 343 Bear-san, eats Bear-Bread?

    Credits to: valiant

    [There are a lot of bears inside the shop.] Misa

    When Misa enters the shop, she made a very big smile. Because she saw the walls, the columns and the tables were decorated with deformed bears in various poses. A bear climbing a wall. A bear clinging to a pir. On the tables there were running bears, parent and child bears, honey licking bears, fighting bears, sleeping bears, bears holding fish, and various bears.

    Misa was looking around like a child at an amusement park. Then, Misa¡¯s gaze stops at a little employee.

    [They really look like Bear-san. Moreover, many children who¡¯re working here are the same age as me.] Misa

    There are some things that are difficult to say. All of them are the children who offered themselves to me, I¡¯m not forcing them to work. Besides, a lot of children in this world are helping their homes.

    [Still, their outfits look absolutely adorable. There are so many bears in this shop.] Misa

    Misa looked around without curbing her excitement. So I grabbed her hand and went to order bread.

    [Yuna-chan, Wee.] Karin

    Karin-san was at the bread corner.

    When Misa saw Karin-san, she whispers, . I heard it, and it seems Karin-san heard it as well.

    [Today you¡¯re with someone that I don¡¯t know about.] Karin

    Karin-san was looking at Misa.

    [I¡¯m Misana from the city of Sheleen. This time I was invited by Yuna-oneesama and Noa-oneesama to go to the town of Mereera together. Pleased to meet you.] Misa

    [...Yuna-oneesama?] Karin

    [Yes, I¡¯m calling her that.] Misa

    [Yuna-san, who is this girl?] Karin

    Karin-san whispered to me. It seems like she felt something.

    [Someone rted to Noa?] Yuna

    Karin-san seems to understand it with just my few words.

    [Don¡¯t worry. You can treat me like Fina-chan and Shuri-chan.] Misa

    Karin-san seems troubled even if Misa said so.

    [By the way, how do you call Noa-oneesama?] Misa

    [......I¡¯ve been calling her, Noire-chan.] Karin

    I¡¯ve been concerned about Noa forcing the children of the orphanage to call her . However, because her status cannot be abandoned, Karin-san and Morin-san settled with calling her as . So the children of the orphanage are also calling her as and . Though I have never seen an older boy approached and talked to her.

    By the way, only me, Fina, and Shuri were calling Noa by her nickname.

    [So please call me Misana.] Misa

    [Well then, I¡¯ll call you Misana-chan.] Karin

    [Yes.] Misa

    [Then, Misana-chan. Which bread would you like?] Karin

    [Everything looks delicious, so I¡¯m not sure.] Misa

    Misa is looking at various pieces of bread.

    Then Misa saw a certain bread.

    [It¡¯s Bear-san bread! I¡¯ll have Bear-san bread!] Misa

    Misa opened her eyes wide, switching between me and the bread.

    Yes, what Misa found was a bear-shaped bread. A round bread with a cute bear-face.

    [I would like this bear-san bread.] Misa

    [It¡¯s a popr bread in the shop and It¡¯s delicious because it¡¯s just baked.] Karin

    Karin-san puts the bread on the te.

    [What do you guys want to have?] Yuna

    [Karin-san, please give me bear-san bread.] Noa

    [Me too.] Shuri

    [If everyone is going to have bear-san bread, I will also have it.] Fina

    When Misa chose bear-san bread, Noa and Shuri followed, then finally Fina chooses bear-san bread as well.

    This bear bread was made by me and Mil, who works at the store.

    It all started when Mil was requested by the little children of the orphanage to make some. But she was troubled as she was unable to make bear bread. Seeing that, I decided to give her a hand, thinking that it was for the orphans.

    I don¡¯t think this decision was a mistake, but seeing all that bear bread lined up a few dayster brought back some sad memories.

    When I asked Mil how this happened, she told me that Karin-san wanted to put them in the store.

    Then the word spread to Morin-san and Tirumina-san, and the store ended up selling bear bread. Why? Just why didn¡¯t they consulted me first? That malice I felt behind it, was it just in my head?

    But now, bear bread had be one of our best-selling products.

    I was slightly reluctant, but I ordered another portion of it. Karin-san, on the other hand, wasughing.

    [Here¡¯s the payment.] Yuna

    I gave the payment to Karin-san.

    [Thank you very much.] Karin

    Karin-san thanked me, received the money, then she returned to the counter.

    [Yuna-oneesama, you¡¯re paying even though it¡¯s your store?] Misa

    [Whenever Ie in as a customer, I pay it in the store.] Yuna

    We put our bread on tes and sit on an empty seat.

    [Bear-san is sleeping.] Misa

    Misa enjoyably touches the deformed sleeping bear on the table. Then, when she grasped it, she tried to take it.

    [U~u, I can¡¯t take it.] Misa

    [You won¡¯t be able to take it no matter how much you pull.] Yuna

    Everyone whoes to the shop for the first time tried to take it. But the bears in the store aren¡¯t easy to remove. Misa looks disappointed. I already gave her plushies, so let¡¯s be patient.

    [Let¡¯s eat quickly before it gets cold.] Yuna

    It¡¯s freshly baked bread. It is better to eat while it¡¯s still warm.

    To my words, Fina and Noa shred the ears of bear-san bread and started eating. Shuri grabs and bites the bear-san bread as it is. Everyone is eating while Misa seems to be holding back and doesn¡¯t want to try eating it.

    [Are not you going to eat?] Yuna

    [I feel pity for it.] Misa

    [I know how you feel Misa. When I ate bear-san bread for the first time, I felt sad as well.] Noa

    [Noa-oneesama, you as well?] Misa

    [But after eating it many times, I could eat it normally now.] Noa

    Getting used to it is kinda scary.

    [By the way, when I shredded the ear of bear-san bread, Shuri seems to have a tear on her face.] Noa

    [No I did not.] Shuri

    Shuri intes her cheeks while eating the cheeks of bear-san bread with delight.

    [For now, Misa, eat your bread. It may have a bear¡¯s face, but it¡¯s delicious bread.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Misa

    Misa rips the ear of bear-san bread and puts it in her mouth.

    [It¡¯s delicious.] Misa

    After taking a bite, she started eating the other parts as well.

    By the way, I don¡¯t want to think that my face is being eaten. My face isn¡¯t a bear after all.

    After we finished eating our bread, a girl working at the storees over.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Morin-san wants to talk to you a little.] Bear-girl

    [Morin-san?] Yuna

    [Un, she told me to call Yuna-oneechan, because she wants to talk to you.] Bear-girl

    Hmm, what is it? Is it about Mereera?

    [Hey, I¡¯ll go to the kitchen for a bit, so everyone please wait for me here.] Yuna

    Leaving the four behind, I head to the kitchen in the back.

    [Morin-san, what do you need?] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, what is about? Suddenly, Gentz-san brought me Scorpion meat and asked me to cook it properly. Even if I receive the message, it¡¯s just...] Morin

    Ah, so that¡¯s what you want to ask?

    I was so tired from the swimsuit fashion show, so I asked Gentz-san for a message. I forgot about it was yesterday.

    [I got some ingredients, so I thought I¡¯d have them cooked properly. If it tastes good, we¡¯ll sell it for a limited time.] Yuna

    [If so, then please tell that properly.] Morin

    [Sorry.] Yuna

    [Still, despite saying that we would go to Mireera, you¡¯re prettyposed, Yuna-chan.] Morin

    Morin-san was astonished.

    Granted, we were going to be on a small trip during our long break, yet here I am trying toe up with a new dish, so of course, she would make a face like that.

    [So, could you use it for cooking?] Yuna

    [Yeah. It was a bit subtle for bread, but it fits pizza. I tried baking it and it was delicious.] Morin

    That¡¯s true and it seems that she already cooked some.

    [Since I¡¯ll bake it for trial, Yuna-chan should give it a try too.] Morin

    After Morin-san said that, she skillfully made the pizza dough and put the ingredients on it. Finally, she added the scorpion meat and put it in the stone oven.

    After a while, a delicious burnt smell wharfs throughout the kitchen.

    [Then, let¡¯s get Fina-chan and the others eat it as well and let us know what you think.] Morin

    Apparently, she heard that I brought Fina and others.

    I returned to the dining hall with the Scorpion pizza on a te.

    [Yuna-san, what¡¯s with that pizza?] Noa

    [Morin-san made a new one, so please ask for a tasting. Can everyone still eat?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m still fine.] Fina

    [I¡¯m still fine too.] Misa

    It was good that Fina and the other¡¯s stomachs seemed to have room for more. It¡¯s not much, but I can¡¯t eat it alone.

    I put the pizza I already cut with a knife on everyone¡¯s te.

    [Be careful because it¡¯s hot.] Yuna

    Everyone started eating before I even finished saying it. So there is a sight of everyone blowing because it is hot. I will also start eating.

    It feels normally delicious. I don¡¯t know the taste of Scorpion, but it has a crunchy texture like shrimp.

    [It¡¯s delicious.] Shuri

    [So Yuna-san. What¡¯s in it?] Noa

    Is it okay to tell them?

    [It¡¯s a scorpion.] Yuna

    [Scorpion? Speaking of which, L said she bought such meat.] Noa

    Well, I brought it to the guild yesterday, so it shouldn¡¯t be strange for it to be on the market as early as possible. Since it¡¯s the guild, they probably want to sell it quickly.

    [She said it¡¯s quite nutritious.] Noa

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    I¡¯m a little reluctant to say it¡¯s Scorpion meat, but they¡¯ll normally buy it.

    But the pizza isn¡¯t bad. As L said, do people want as much nutrition as they can?

    If so, then though I¡¯ve told Morin-san about it, we could sell off the whole stock, or maybe evenunch a limited time sale.

    [I was a bit reluctant when I heard of Scorpion, but it was delicious.] Noa

    Basically, pizza is delicious no matter what you put on it.

    (TC: Though I love it, Hawaiian haters disagree.)

    Apparently, everyone¡¯s evaluation seems to be good.

    Then, we told Morin¡¯s impression and left the shop.

 Chapter 344 Bear-san Invites Lurina-san

    Credits to: valiant

    Finally, we¡¯re leaving for Mereera in the early morning tomorrow.

    I greeted Gran-san and promised to take care of Misa. Well, Marina is there so she would be escorting her instead of me.

    Thanks to Sherry¡¯s hard work, the swimsuits for Misa, Marina, and Eru could be made in time.

    Then, when I went to the orphanage to check the situation, there¡¯s already a person who¡¯ll take care of the birds, and I saw him taking care of them with the children. I¡¯m d he came.

    If he didn¡¯te by, I would worry.

    Then, while I¡¯m on my way to Bear-san¡¯s rest shop to get the ingredients that Tirumina-san asked, I saw Anzu and the others who were about to buy souvenirs. Their store has been closed since yesterday. Tirumina-san is taking a break early because she¡¯s checking the schedule when the tunnel management changes the flow of traffic.

    When I arrive at Bear-san¡¯s rest shop, Morin-san and Karin-san were preparing breakfast and lunch for tomorrow.

    Misa is exploring the town of Crimonia together with Noa, Fina, and Shuri. They also visited my house. Their target is Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They wanted to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear all day long. Those children are really energetic.

    And so, we will leave tomorrow. I knew it, Lurina-san and Gil didn¡¯te back. The children might get lonely, but it can¡¯t be helped. Even those two are working.

    I¡¯ve decided on the number of people going to Mereera, so I went outside of the town to remodel the Bear Bus. Then after leaving the town alone, I arrived at the ce where I made the Bear Bus with Fina and Shuri from thest time.

    It should be okay here because nobody will notice me here. With that in mind, I took the Bear Bus out from the Bear Box.

    [What is this weird thing?] ???

    A voice came from behind me. When I look back, there was an unexpected person standing there.

    [Shia?] Yuna

    Shia is in front of me. Next to her is Lurina-san.

    I can¡¯t grasp the situation. Why are these two here together?

    And why are you standing behind me in the first ce?

    [Etto, why is Shia in Crimonia? Also, why are you together with Lurina-san? But before that, why were you behind me?] Yuna

    For now, let¡¯s try to sort out some questions.

    [I¡¯m here because I saw Yuna-san walking.] Shia

    [Then why are you in Crimonia?] Yuna

    [I came from the royal capital.] Shia

    [Why did youe here all the way from the royal capital?] Yuna

    [To go to the town of Mereera together with Yuna-san.] Shia

    [............] Yuna

    Shia answered my questions inly. But no one told me she would being with us to Mireera.

    [Did I make you a promise?] Yuna

    [No, you didn¡¯t.] Shia

    Yeah, I haven¡¯t done that. I don¡¯t have a memory of that.

    The other day, after giving a report for delivering the water magic stone to Dezerto, I got donna-donna by Eleanora-san. At that time, I remember talking to Noa about going to the sea. And, I remember the envious Shia, however, she never said anything about going with us.

    [Aren¡¯t you a student? What about school?] Yuna

    [The school is closed. I¡¯m on a long break. And I thought I wouldn¡¯t make it in time if I use a carriage, so I came here on horseback. But it seems that it was good timing that I saw Yuna-san leaving the gate so I followed you.] Shia

    I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t just a coincidence.

    [You didn¡¯t say anything when you saw me.] Yuna

    [I wanted to surprise Yuna-san and Noa. And my mother didn¡¯t allow me to go until thest minute of the school closing.] Shia

    [Speaking of which, is Eleanora-san with you?] Yuna

    I confirmed my surroundings.

    [She isn¡¯t. My mother is at work.] Shia

    She¡¯s not here? I¡¯m a little relieved.

    If Eleanora was here, it¡¯ll turn into a big mess.

    Well, I understand why Shia is here.

    [If you told me earlier, I would¡¯ve changed the date.] Yuna

    There¡¯s no problem with just a few days¡¯ change in the schedule. I don¡¯t need to book an inn. I¡¯m not even hiring carriages. The only ones who have problems with it are the ones who¡¯ll take care of the birds.

    [Then I can¡¯t surprise Yuna-san and Noa.] Shia

    To surprise me, huh. You don¡¯t have to do that.

    [So then, Shia and Lurina, why are you together?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s because I happened to be in the royal capital and I was asked to protect Shia-chan.] Lurina

    Lurina-san answered my question.

    ording to Lurina-san, She and Gill went to the royal capital for work. So, after finishing their work, Lurina-san and Gil were looking for a job that goes along going to Crimonia, met Shia, who came to ask for the request.

    So Lurina-san said she has been escorting Shia to Crimonia as requested.

    But Lurina-san and Gil went to the royal capital. So that¡¯s why they didn¡¯te back sooner.

    [And then, when I chatted with Lurina-san, I was surprised to hear that she was acquainted with you.] Shia

    [There¡¯s only a handful of adventurers in Crimonia who are friendly with Yuna-chan after all.] Lurina

    That, that¡¯s not true, you know?

    I¡¯m sure there are many adventurers who also happens to be close friends.

    There are adventurers like Jade-san and his party which is based in the royal capital. Blitz¡¯s party are adventurers who wander around without a fixed base. Marina and her party are adventurers based in the city of Sheleen. And the only Crimonian adventurers I get along with are Lurina-san and Gil.

    Later, four new adventurers will be added.

    After some reconsideration, I realized that I¡¯m not really close to these adventurers, because I did not form a party with them or do a request together.

    But I don¡¯t feel lonely since I don¡¯t need a party because I have my Bear Equipment, so I¡¯m used to it.

    I¡¯m not pretending to be tough.

    [While returning to Crimonia, I enjoyed listening to Yuna-san¡¯s story in a variety of ways.] Shia

    What? That¡¯s my personal information you¡¯re talking about. But if Lurina-san knew what Cliff knows, then, Eleanora-san would naturally know.

    [Yuna-san. You seem to have beaten up Lurina-san¡¯s former friend.] Shia

    I see so that¡¯s what the story is about.

    Certainly, Lurina-san knew more about what happened in the adventurer¡¯s guild and Deborane.

    [I also enjoyed talking about the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.] Lurina

    Maybe it¡¯s about the infamous Bloody Bear? Somehow I feel like she¡¯s talking about something I know nothing about.

    I have to ask Lurina-san what she saidter.

    [So Yuna-san. Is this a vehicle? Are you perhaps going to use it to go to Mereera?] Shia

    Shia has been circling around the Bear Bus for a while now, it seems she¡¯s very interested.

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Yuna

    [Isn¡¯t it too big?] Shia

    [I think so too. How many people can ride in it?] Lurina

    Is that so? Though I think that there are horse carriages of this size, like arge carriage that carries luggage on top. But you¡¯ll need many horses to pull that.

    [I¡¯ll take all the children in the orphanage along with the people who work in the shop. If it¡¯s not big enough, they won¡¯t be able to ride in it.] Yuna

    [But how will you move such a big thing?] Shia

    Shia asked that question. After that, Shia goes around the Bear Bus once more, and Lurina looks at the Bear Bus¡¯s face from the front.

    [Maybe Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are the ones going to pull it?] Shia

    I knew you would say that.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will cry when they hear that.

    [No they won¡¯t.] Yuna

    [So horses then? How many do you need?] Lurina

    [In that case, it would be better to just bring a few more carriages.] Shia

    To Lurina-san¡¯s words, Shia¡¯s words are more likemon sense. Well, if we¡¯re using the same number of horses anyway, it is easier to just use multiple normal carriages instead.

    But I don¡¯t think anybody knew that it uses magic to move.

    [It¡¯s a golem-type carriage driven by my magic.] Yuna

    [Golem carriage? And it uses Yuna-chan¡¯s magical power to move it?] Lurina

    [It¡¯s like moving an ordinary golem.] Yuna

    I made a normal earth bear golem and pour my magic power to make it move. The bear golem ran around the Bear Bus.

    [Like that. Though it uses a lot of magical power.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s usually difficult to make golems since it consumes a lot of magical power, but move such a big thing.] Lurina

    Lurina-san looks at me and the Bear Bus alternately with astonishment.

    By the way, Marina¡¯s party knows that I made a big bear golem before, but Lurina-san doesn¡¯t.

    [But as usual, Yuna-chan makes bears.] Lurina

    It can¡¯t be helped. I can easily create stuff using the image of a bear, and if I make the same thing, I can reduce the magical power consumption. Furthermore, the strength is higher just like the Bear House. There is no reason not to make it a bear because the merit of making a bear is far too great. If I put up with it, the magical power consumption will be suppressed and the children will be safe.

    [Yuna-chan, can I ride it a little?] Lurina

    [You can get on it if youe along with us to Mereera, Lurina-san.] Yuna

    [Ara, I cane along?] Lurina

    [I was going to invite Lurina-san and Gil to this trip, so I asked the adventurer¡¯s guild to tell me when you came back to Crimonia.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Lurina

    [But you never came back.] Yuna

    [Sorry.] Lurina

    I¡¯m not asking for an apology, though. I just want to say it.

    [But isn¡¯t it a trip for people involved with Yuna-chan?] Lurina

    [Lurina-san and Gil know the children so there¡¯s no problem. Besides, there are some people I haven¡¯t even invited.] Yuna

    I nced at Shia who¡¯s looking around at the Bear Bus.

    [And the kids will be happy with you two around.] Yuna

    [Fu fu, that¡¯s right. Though I¡¯m afraid Gill is more popr with boys, anyway. He¡¯s quiet, but he carefully takes care of them.] Lurina

    Gill seems to be ying with the children with an expressionless face, but he doesn¡¯t seem to dislike it.

    I don¡¯t even ask him for it, but he sometimeses to the orphanage.

    [So, you¡¯re not together with Gill?] Yuna

    [We were together. But then we said we¡¯d follow Yuna-chan, Gil said and went home to the city.] Lurina

    That¡¯s Gill alright. But I might have noticed him if Gill who has a big body followed me.

    [So Lurina-san, why don¡¯t you and Gille with us?] Yuna

    [Right. We won¡¯t be your escorts or anything, right?] Lurina

    [I won¡¯t pay any request fee, but I¡¯ll give you a ce to stay and meals.] Yuna

    [A ce to stay, is that the big Bear House?] Lurina

    [Have you seen it?] Yuna

    [Everyone knows that if you go to Mereera, you¡¯ll see it. Yeah, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯ll tell Gillter.] Lurina

    I¡¯m happy that Lurina-san is here, but I don¡¯t have a swimsuit for her. Even if I ask to make it now, it will not be on time. Though when I told her that...

    [Clothing for swimming in the sea? You mean swimsuits, right? It¡¯s okay. I have the swimsuit that I bought when I went to Yufaliast year. I¡¯m sure my figure hasn¡¯t changed.] Lurina

    Lurina-san touches her body lightly. She has an adult-like body. I would also grow up to be like her once I reach the same age, so there was no need to panic.

    Also, I was curious about her swimsuit, but she spoke the name of a ce I¡¯d never heard about.

    [Yufalia? What¡¯s that?] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, you didn¡¯t know?] Lurina

    Yes, I¡¯m from a different world so I don¡¯t know. You don¡¯t have to be so surprised, you know.

    [Yufalia is also known as the city of water. It a city with a bigke.] Lurina

    [It¡¯s a very beautiful city. Wealthy people and aristocrats go there during hot seasons.] Shia

    To sum up their story, it seems that the city was built around theke.

    [I happened to go to work therest year. At that time I bought a swimsuit.] Lurina

    However, there is such a city. I want to go there once. But I won¡¯t go because I¡¯m reluctant to wear a swimsuit.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s the arrival of Lurina-san and Gil (although they weren¡¯t together).

    It seems like we can finally go to the town of Mereera w

 Chapter 345 Bear-san Heads to the Meeting Place Day 1

    345 Bear-san Heads to the Meeting ce (Day 1)

    [What about you, Shia?] Yuna

    [About the swimsuit? I have prepared the swimsuit that I¡¯m using at school, so it¡¯s fine.] Shia

    [From school?] Yuna

    [There are only a few students at the school, but there are also swimming lessons.] Shia

    ording to Shia, she may practice swimming depending on the subject she is studying. It is said that mainly the qualified people such as nobles like Shia and those who aim to be a knight will take it. Shia and her friends learned it to protect themselves and the knights sometimes cross the river when the need arises.

    That¡¯s why she also practices swimming.

    [It¡¯s okay then if you both have your swimwears.] Yuna

    [When is the departure?] Lurina

    [Tomorrow.] Yuna

    I told them the schedule of departure.

    [So early...] Shia

    [You barely made it.] Yuna

    [U~n. Then, I wonder if this bear-san is going to be the ride. I will look forward to tomorrow.] Lurina

    [Lurina-san, let¡¯s ride on it.] Shia

    Lurina-san tried to save it for tomorrow, but Shia wants to ride it now.

    [It¡¯s better to save the fun forter. And if I don¡¯t send Shia-chan to her house, the request won¡¯t bepleted. Well then, Yuna-chan, see you tomorrow.] Lurina

    Lurina-san walks while she grabs Shia¡¯s arm. And Shia has a face of regret while getting dragged farther away.

    Now that the two of them are gone, I shall begin to modify the Bear Bus.

    Etto, this will be like this, this will be like that, and the number of people was eight? Wait, was it seven? Nine? Well, it should be a little bigger.

    Yeah, it¡¯s finished. Though I want to ask myself, will this be good enough?

    In front of me, there are two cubs following the parent bear on the front. The image is that the parent is me and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are attached to the back.

    I also thought about a double-decker bus, but it is dangerous for a double-decker when speeding up. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll fall, but when I thought about something I got this result.

    The children from the orphanage, the director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san will ride on the parent bear bus. On the bear cub bus, Morin-san, Karin-san, Tirumina-san, and Genz-san along with Anzu and the others from Anzu¡¯s shop.

    Then, on the other bear cub bus, I¡¯m going to have Noa, Shia, and Misa, then Marina and Lurina-san as well.

    Fina and Shuri are free to decide whether they want to ride together with Tirumina-san or Noa.

    And the next morning. Shortly before the sun rises, I was awakened by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Good Morning.] Yuna

    I thank them for waking me up and got out of bed.

    I¡¯m still sleepy. I slept early yesterday, but at this hour drowsiness still calls.

    After I wash my face to wake myself up, I went out of the bear house wearing my white bear costume. Then, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear who¡¯re currently in bear cub forms came along with tokotoko footsteps.

    I didn¡¯t forget to change my clothes. The Bear Bus uses a lot of magical powers. If you just move it slowly, the magic power consumption will be little. However, if you increase the speed, the magic power consumption will increase. My appearance is of a white bear, thinking about what to do considering the schedule of the tunnel.

    At the meeting ce. When I reached the entrance of the gate, some people are already there.

    [Yuna-san, what¡¯s with that look?] Shia

    [Yuna-oneesama is so cute.] Misa

    [Hugging Bear-chan¡¯s parent?] Noa

    [............] Marina? Eru?

    Noa and Misa, Shia, Marina, and Eru are surprised at my appearance. Well, it would be surprising since I always dressed as a ck bear then out of nowhere I turned into a white bear.

    [Well, for some reason, it would be helpful to me so, please don¡¯t mind it.] Yuna

    [Usually, your Swaying Bear-chan look is cute, but Hugging Bear-chan look is also cute.] Misa

    [Uh, yeah...... Thanks.] Yuna

    After all, Swaying Bear is a ck bear. If it is white, it will look like Hugging Bear.

    Then, Noa greets Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the morning.

    [So, Yuna-san, what about the carriage?] Noa

    [Un? Shia didn¡¯t tell you?] Yuna

    [Oneesama? She hasn¡¯t told me anything.] Noa

    Noa looks at Shia.

    [Because it would be a surprise, so I kept silent about it. And I can¡¯t exin it anyway.] Shia

    [What? What does oneesama know?] Noa

    Shia has an imposing smile.

    Well, I just wish I could take out the Bear Bus without causing amotion. I checked the surroundings. There are only two sleepy guards at the guardhouse watching us.

    But then, if we gather so early in the morning, they¡¯ll be curious.

    Noa will definitely make a noise if I take out the Bear Bus here. Then it will cause amotion this early in the morning.

    While I was thinking about what to do, I could hear someone speaking from behind me.

    [Ah, Yuna-oneechan. White!] Shuri

    [You¡¯re right.] Fina

    There are the figures of Shuri and Fina running towards me. When I turned around, Shuri hugged me.

    [Shuri, Fina, good morning.] Yuna

    [Good morning.] Fina

    [Why is Yuna-oneechan white?] Shuri

    [I feel like bing Hugging Bear today.] Yuna

    When I said so, Hugging Bear at my feet cried happily. Well, he may be happy because whenever I go out, I¡¯m always a ck bear.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear chan. Good morning.] Shuri

    Shuri crouches down and greets Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Shuri has been fine since morning. I thought she will be sleepy as well. But from behind Fina and the others, it looks like Tirumina-san and Gentz-san are the ones that are sleepy.

    [Tirmina-san and Gentz-san you look sleepy.] Yuna

    [Normally you¡¯d expect that they¡¯ll be sleepy since it¡¯s still early. But these girls are strangely energetic today.] Tirumina

    Gentz-san ??nodded to Tirumina-san¡¯s words while yawning. And when I look at him, it looks like he¡¯s about to say something, but held back instead.

    I appreciate the response of an adult.

    After Fina and Shuri hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they went to Noa and Misa.

    [Everyone¡¯s not here yet.] Yuna

    The only ones left are Morin-san, Karin-san, the children and the people working at the orphanage, the girls from Mereera, andstly Lurina-san and Gil.

    [Tirumina-san, can I ask you to wait for them here? When everyonees, please move outside the city. I will have the carriage outside ready.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve heard it from my daughters. It seems that you made something strange again.] Tirumina

    It seems that my reputation got worse. But I only made a Bear Bus.

    After asking Tirumina-san to wait, I put my guild card over the crystal te.

    [Are you going out with the kids so early in the morning? Well, I think it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s Bear-jo-chan, but still, be careful out there.] Gatekeeper

    I said my greetings to the worried gatekeeper, left Tirumina-san and Genz-san to wait for the others, and took the rest outside of the town.

    It¡¯s dark outside. But the sun is finally rising.

    [Does Fina and Shuri knows about the carriage that Yuna-san prepared?] Noa

    [Yeah, I know about it. It¡¯s a big bear.] Shuri

    [Bear-san? Not a carriage?] Noa

    [Well, you¡¯ll know when you see it.] Yuna

    I took out the Bear Bus after walking a little further from the gate.

    [Wha, wha... What? What is this?!] Noa

    [It¡¯s Bear-san] Misa

    Noa and Misa were both surprised.

    [Are, Yuna-oneesan. What are those little bears behind?] Fina

    Fina looks at the Bear cub bus. I made it yesterday, so neither Fina nor Shuri knew about Bear cub bus.

    [I made it because there are more people joining us. Noa and Marina and the others will get on that bear cub.] Yuna

    [The bear cub? I want to ride the parent bear, but I also want to ride the bear cub.] Misa

    [Well, if you really want to ride on the bigger one, then its fine to ride the bigger one.] Yuna

    [Really?] Misa

    [Yuna, are we riding on the same one as Missana-sama?] Marina

    [No. Marina and Eru will be riding on the bear cub. Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s nothing dangerous.] Yuna

    The road to the tunnel was being maintained by the adventurers, by subjugating the monsters in the vicinity. Besides, it is safe inside the Bear Bus. Even if a monster appears, there are five adventurers inside including myself. As long as a high-ranking monster such as a dragon does not appear, we can immediately respond.

    [Missana-sama, please let¡¯s ride here together.] Marina

    Marina began to persuade Misa. For me, it doesn¡¯t matter which one Misa gets on. Fina and the others can enjoy riding on the parent bear bus and in the bear cub bus. They¡¯re so energetic in the morning.

    After a while, the children from the orphanage came out from the gate.

    Some children are still sleepy, and others are pulling their hands to keep them walking.

    [Ah, Yuna-oneechan. She¡¯s white!]

    [It¡¯s true! She¡¯s white!]

    Children ran towards me.

    [Good morning everyone.] Yuna

    [[[[[[[[[Good morning.]]]]]]]]]

    After all, I¡¯m a white bear right now and not many people have seen me like this in public so it¡¯s gonna make a lot of noise.

    It makes me feel a little embarrassed because I remembered the feeling when I walked around the city in a bear costume for the first time.

    [That¡¯s why everyone can sit on the parent bear, so sit wherever you like. But the front and the back are no good.] Yuna

    When I said so, the children¡¯s attention shifts from me to the Bear Bus.

    [Wow, it¡¯s a big bear.]

    [So big.]

    Children started to make amotion when they saw the Bear Bus. As expected, it was a good idea to take out the Bear Bus outside of the town.

    There are children touching the Bear Bus and the children who are sleepy a while ago woke up after seeing the Bear Bus. There¡¯s also a child running around the Bear Bus.

    [Alright stop making a lot of noise and get in one at a time.] Yuna

    [Ha~a ~ i !]

    After the children replied, they started riding the Bear Bus.

    [Etto, Yuna-san, are we riding on this?] Liz

    After the children, Nifu-san appears together with Liz-san and the director.

    Liz-san who asked me has a small child is sleeping on her back and if you look closely, there is also a sleeping child on Nifu-san¡¯s back.

    [It may look like that, but it¡¯s faster and wider than a horse-drawn carriage. Liz-san would sit on the back.] Yuna

    The back is a little wider so that you can sitfortably together with the director.

    Liz and the others are anxious to get on the Bear Bus from the front entrance. After Liz-san entered, Nifu-san and the director entered as well.

    Then, when I wondered what happened to Misa, it seemed that she decided to take the bear cub bus because of Marina¡¯s persuasion. Besides, it seems that Noa and Shia decided to ride together.

    Fina and Shuri seem to have consulted with Tirumina-san and Gentz-san but have not decided yet.

    When the children decided their seats, Gentz-san and Tirumina-san enter. Behind them, there were Lurina-san and Gil, then Anzu and the girls from Mereera, Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san.

    Now then, it looks like everyone is here.

    [U~u, I¡¯m sleepy.] Seno

    Seno-san makes a big yawn.

    [I¡¯m sleepy too.] Anzu

    Anzu agrees to Seno-san¡¯s words. Apparently, the group who were former Mereera residents seems sleepy.

    On the other hand, Morin-san and Karin-san are not sleepy. Is it because the bread is made early in the morning? But the inn also operates early, right?

    However, the sleepy Mereera group woke up when they saw me.

    [Yuna-chan is white. Am I dreaming about it?] Anzu

    Their eyes look awake, but it seems like they¡¯re still half asleep.

    [I¡¯m wearing white today. I won¡¯t ept any questions about that, so please get on quickly.] Yuna

    I silenced Anzu and her group, Morin-san, Karin-san, and Lurina-san by looking at them sharply. The exnation would be troublesome.

    [So what is this? What about a carriage?] Anzu

    After seeing the Bear Bus, Anzu¡¯s group was looking around it.

    [This is the carriage. Anzu and the other¡¯s will be riding in the bear cub.] Yuna

    I refer them to the second bear cub bus. The second bear cub bus contains the 7 cooks from the two restaurants Anzu, Seno-san, Forne-san, Betoru-san, Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san. Additionally, Tirumina-san and Gentz-san.

    [Where should we ride?] Lurina

    Lurina-san who saw the Bear Bus yesterday didn¡¯t seem as surprised as everyone else. However, there is an expression that it looks like it¡¯s making her excited after getting on.

    [You can sit anywhere you like. You can ride with Shia. You can ride Tirmina-san.] Yuna

    [What should we do? Where would you want to ride Gil?] Lurina

    Gil looks at the members riding on the bear cub bus.

    [Same as Gentz-san] Gil

    Gil went to where Gentz-san is.

    [Then I¡¯ll be on the same bear as Shia. I want to deepen the fellowship between adventurers.] Lurina

    Lurina-san heads to the bear cub bus where the Marina and the other¡¯s are riding.

    And Fina and Shuri, who were unsure until the end, decided to sit next to my driver¡¯s seat.

 Chapter 346 Bear-san, Drives the Bear Bus 1st day

    <h4>Chapter 346 Bear-san, Drives the Bear Bus 1st day</h4>

    346 Bear-san, Drives the Bear Bus (1st day)

    Credits to: Philip, valiant.

    [Fina, Shuri. I¡¯ll let you have Bear-san for now, but we will take turns.] Noa

    Noa points her finger to the two.

    Somehow this feels like a d¨¨ja vu? Certainly, the same thing happened before. However, she used to say that she would not give up, Noa seems to be growing.

    Or did she want to keep her promise to Cliff? For the time being, there was nopetition for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Morin-san enters after Noa and the others got in the carriage.

    (TN: Somehow the author decided to call the Bear Bus a ¡°carriage¡±.) (¥Î¥¢¤¿¤Á¤¬ñRÜ‡¤Ë\¤êÞz¤ó¤Ç¤¤¤ë¤È¥â¥ê¥ó¤µ¤ó¤¬¤ä¤Ã¤Æ¤¯¤ë¡£)

    [Yuna-chan, here¡¯s bread for breakfast. I made it because I thought you were hungry.] Morin

    [Thank you. Is this all of it?] Yuna

    [There seem to be 3 horse-drawn carriages, so I¡¯ve divided them into 3. There¡¯s a lot of them, so please eat together with the children.] Morin

    Morin-san handed me a bag full of bread while looking strangely at the Bear Bus.

    [Yuna-san, this will be my first time at the sea, so I¡¯m really looking forward to it.] Karin

    [I¡¯ve never been there either.] Elena

    Next to Morin-san, Karin-san and Elena-san look happy. The two seem to be close in age, and I often see them making friends.

    And then, I simply gave a brief exnation to everyone who got on the bear cub bus.

    The Bear Bus has a refrigerator(minibar) with cold drinks, so they can drink it freely. I may speed up a little, but I told them not to panic. They can eat breakfast in the Bear Bus. But lunch is supposed to be eaten when we have a break. Etc. I gave a brief exnation. In case they needed to make an emergency call, they could signal it by shing the headlights.

    Since I thought that I¡¯d have to drive at night, I designed the bear¡¯s eyes so they would light up with a push of a button.

    [Yuna-chan, so how does it move? And who will drive?] Tirumina

    The parent bear bus and bear cub buses are not connected together. Tirumina-san¡¯s question has a point.

    [Because it¡¯s my golem, it moves with my magic. I¡¯ll be instructing it to follow the big bear carriage in front of it, so don¡¯t worry about it and just enjoy the ride with everyone.] Yuna

    Golems will follow simplemands/programs that will work even without me directly moving them.

    However, the operational range of the golem is not very wide. If I left it too far, the magical power will be severed and it will not move. This time, the parent bear bus and the child bear buses are not too far apart, so it¡¯s okay.

    [Magic power?! Then it will burden Yuna-chan.] Eru

    The magician Eru got worried.

    [It¡¯s just the same as when I captured the bandits in the cage before. And if we encountered a problem, I¡¯ll speed up. Though it may drain a little more of my magical power. But I won¡¯t overexert myself, so I¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    And that¡¯s the reason why I am a white bear.

    [I¡¯ve been thinking about it ever since. But I believe there¡¯s nothing Yuna-chan can¡¯t do.] Eru

    Everyone nodded at Eru¡¯s words.

    I can¡¯t deny that. And I also think they are awesome. But all of these were God¡¯s fault who gave me these strange abilities.

    [Well then, we¡¯re about to depart.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, don¡¯t do anything dangerous.] Tirumina

    [I won¡¯t. There are kids on board. But it¡¯s faster than a carriage, so it might get a bit noisy.] Yuna

    The children are likely to make noise due to excitement when we started running, but the adults are likely to make noise for another reason.

    After shoving all anxious adults into the bear cub buses. I went to the parent bus and I sat in the driver¡¯s seat. Next to me are Fina and Shuri, sitting while holding the tiny Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    When I grabbed the steering wheel, I began to pour my magical power, then the Bear Bus started to move.

    When the parent bear bus started moving, the children began to make noises.

    [Some children are still sleeping, so don¡¯t make too much noise.] Yuna

    When I say that to the back, they became quiet after replying with and . Thes kids are really disciplined.

    However, it¡¯s kinda funny to hear them whisper or , that makes me happy. It is possible that some of them have never ridden in a carriage before. If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s unavoidable that they make such noises.

    The bear cub buses are also following us from behind.

    I made the Bear Buses run slowly. Though even if I say run slowly, it¡¯s still a bit faster than a carriage.

    But Shuri who¡¯s sitting next to me doesn¡¯t seem to like it.

    [Yuna-oneechan. It¡¯s slow. Isn¡¯t it faster before?] Shuri

    [Well, I¡¯ll go slowly at first.] Yuna

    We were only doing an experiment at that time. Besides, there are many people riding this time, so I can¡¯t go crazy on the speed. However, I will gradually increase the speed while checking the time and the children.

    The sun rises gently while the Bear Buses were running. I took out the bread Morin-san made for us and handed it to Fina.

    [Morin-san made it for breakfast, so go and share it with everyone.] Yuna

    [I understand.] Fina

    [I will help too~.] Shuri

    [Okay, Shuri, there¡¯s a refrigerator over here, give everyone a drink.] Yuna

    I referred to the refrigerator behind the driver¡¯s seat. Inside the refrigerator is a water bottle made of bamboo. Just in case, I prepared it so that she would not spill it.

    [Be careful, both of you, because we are moving.] Yuna

    Fina and Shuri put Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on their chairs and went to the back to distribute the bread and drinks. I try to drive as safely as possible while the two are doing the distribution.

    I also got a piece of bread and put it in my mouth. Even so, it wasn¡¯t because of what Shuri said, but I also thought we were going too slow. The speed feels slow because my standard is Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s speed.

    I have plenty of magical power, so I wonder if I should speed up after everyone finishes their breakfast.

    And so, the children who finished eating breakfast are now sleeping because it was still early in the morning.

    Shuri, who¡¯s sitting next to me, is swaying sleepily while hugging Hugging Bear. As expected, it seems to be too early even for children. Looking at the sleeping Shuri, her drool is about to fall onto Hugging Bear¡¯s head sitting on herp.

    But Hugging Bear looks also sleeping since his eyes are closed, and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s aware of the drool that¡¯s about to fall on the top of his head.

    Hugging Bear is in a pinch.

    When I tried to wipe Shuri¡¯s drool.

    [Yuna-onesan, excuse me from the front.] Fina

    Fina, who is sitting on the opposite side of Shuri, reaches out and wipes Shuri¡¯s mouth with a handkerchief. Apparently, Hugging Bear was able to avoid the drool.

    But Fina seems to be always looking after her sister. Shuri is sleeping soundly without even realizing that her mouth has been wiped.

    Everyone was sleeping, so I sped up the Bear Buses. I used my magic to increase the rotation speed of the wheels. The speed of the Bear Buses increased. It feels good. Thanks to the white bear costume, It doesn¡¯t feel that my magical power is being drained.

    The speed of the Bear Buses is the same as a light horse that runs fast with paka- paka sound. It¡¯s faster than any carriage, so we¡¯re likely to arrive before the tunnel is fully closed.

    If I can point out a problem is that I can hear thefortable and rxed sleeping breaths on my side and behind me. I also want to sleep. Normally, I sleep on the back of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I can¡¯t make the Bear Bus run by itself while I¡¯m sleeping, because it doesn¡¯t have a self-driving function, nor can I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear drive the Bear Bus. I didn¡¯t expect to know the feelings of long-distance drivers at this age.

    I drove the Bear Bus while enduring my sleepiness. I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to detect monsters. The fact that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not reacting means that there are no monsters nearby.

    I wasn¡¯t wishing for monsters to appear so they would keep me awake, but I was bored.

    [Fina, are you sleeping. Say something.] Yuna

    [Say something, like what?] Fina

    [Anything is good.] Yuna

    Having a conversation should keep me awake.

    [Etto, my dad and mom were grateful to Yuna-oneesan. They¡¯re happy because this is a rare opportunity.] Fina

    After I troubled Fina with my request, she began talking about her parents.

    She tells me how much effort Gentz-san had to get his long holiday and that Tirumina-san told her,

    Did I do anything that was against the norm? I had no such intention, though.

    [But Mom was happy that Yuna-oneesan relied on her.] Fina

    Then Fina talks about ying with Noa and how happy the children in the orphanage were. In fact, it makes me happy to hear that the director was looking forward to it.

    I have to enjoy this as well so as not to let everyone down.

    Thanks to having talked to Fina, I lost my sleepiness and the Bear Bus proceeded smoothly. And it¡¯s about time for lunch, we¡¯re having a break.

    [Everyone, we¡¯re taking a break. Get off the bear carriage and let¡¯s have lunch. Wake up the sleeping children.] Yuna

    The awake children woke up the sleeping children. I got off the Bear Bus and stretched my back.

    I asked Fina and Shuri to tell the people on the bear cub buses that we will take a break.

    Some children who got out were running around the Bear Bus. There is a figure of Liz-san screaming at them to stop.

    It¡¯s peaceful.

    While I was resting leisurely, Lurina-san and Eru came to me.

    [Yuna-chan, are you okay?] Lurina

    [What do you mean?] Yuna

    [Your magical power. You kept moving such a big golem. Under normal circumstances, it¡¯s normal for the magical power to quickly run out.] Eru

    The magicians Eru and Lurina-san are worried about me.

    [It¡¯s okay. My magical power is higher than that of a normal person.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a gift from God.

    Actually, if I had this magical powers since I was in my former world, it would be interesting.

    [Seriously, don¡¯t overdo it.] Lurina

    [I¡¯m not.] Yuna

    [Even so, please don¡¯t overdo it.] Eru

    Since they are magicians, they seem to know that the overuse of magical power can be terrible. When I was done fighting Kraken, I remember feeling limp and sleepy.

    After that, I ate Morin-san¡¯s bread for lunch, then we finished our break.

 Chapter 347 Bear-san Arrives at the Bear Tunnel Day 1

    <h4>Chapter 347 Bear-san Arrives at the Bear Tunnel Day 1</h4>

    347 Bear-san Arrives at the Bear Tunnel (Day 1)

    After having our lunch, I told everyone before we depart.

    [I¡¯ll speed it up a little more. So don¡¯t make a lot of noise.] Yuna

    The ones sitting next to me in the driver¡¯s seat are Noa and Misa, instead of Fina and Shuri.

    This was what Noa meant when she said they¡¯re taking turns. It seems that Fina and Shuri got on the bear cub bus while Noa and Misa got on the parent bear bus.

    [Fufu, it¡¯s the front!] Noa

    [If you make a lot of noise, I¡¯ll send you back to the bear cub bus.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re so mean.] Noa

    [I don¡¯t want that.] Misa

    Noa hugs Swaying Bear while he yawns and Misa strokes the head of Hugging Bear.

    [Be quiet or it¡¯s going to be dangerous.] Yuna

    When I grabbed the steering wheel, I poured more magic to increase the speed of the Bear Bus. It feels good. The children in the back became noisy. They kept saying . Apparently, they¡¯re not scared.

    Noa and Misa who¡¯re sitting next to me are enjoying it as well. If we keep this speed up, we will be able to reach the tunnel quickly.

    However, as soon as the buses started running, the light of the bear cub buses flickers.

    I wondered what it was, so I drove the parent bear bus next to it. The adult group scolded me saying .

    Moreover, when the director who was sitting at the back asked me to slow down, I had no other choice but to obey. However, because Noa and the children gave me a lifeboat, saying that and it somehow allowed me to get permission to speed up just a little.

    [Too bad. I wanted you to make it run faster.] Noa

    Noa and Misa, who¡¯re sitting on both of my left and right sides, felt down.

    [But it¡¯s still faster than a carriage.] Yuna

    [But it¡¯s slower than Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

    You can¡¯tpare it to them. If I want to do it, we can get the same speed as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But if I do that, I will be scolded by the adult group again.

    Then, we passed a horse-drawn carriage that was going to Crimonia after we depart. The horse-drawn carriage that we passed stops in amazement when they saw my Bear Buses from the front. I also tried to slow down when I saw a carriage in front of me. I tried not to surprise their horse, as they might lose control of it. It¡¯s inevitable since we can¡¯t avoid the road, unlike when I¡¯m riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. So I¡¯ll try to slow down when needed to avoid surprising the horse.

    The people in the horse-drawn carriage were surprised when they saw the Bear Buses, but when the children waved from the parent bear bus, they waved their hands back.

    When we get back to Crimonia, I¡¯m getting worried about the rumors that will spread.

    But none of them should¡¯ve crossed the tunnel from Mereera to Crimonia today, so I thought that we wouldn¡¯t cross anyone. But in the end, we crossed several carriages and horses since our departure.

    The Bear Buses ran smoothly. We should be arriving at the tunnel soon. The sun has not set yet. It seems that we arrived earlier than I expected. In this case, it seems that it was okay not to leave at the same time as sunrise or run the bear buses like it was a race.

    Un? What¡¯s that?

    I can see a wall ahead.

    They made that?

    I dropped my speed and moved slowly. As we¡¯re following the road, I saw a gate.

    It even has a gate.

    When we arrive at the gate, there are people standing at the entrance. Then everyone has a surprised look on their faces when they saw my Bear Buses.

    [Ano~, I want to go inside, can I go in?] Yuna

    I asked the gatekeeper who has no reaction.

    [White bear?............ Bearss?] Gatekeeper

    It sounds like he knows me. Looking at my white bear, he tilted his head.

    Don¡¯t tell me that he doesn¡¯t recognize me because I¡¯m not in my ck bear costume? He¡¯s joking, right?

    [You are Bearss, right?] Gatekeeper

    Why are you checking?

    [I don¡¯t know which Bearss you are talking about.] Yuna

    [I think there is only one Bear-san.] Noa

    Noa, who was sitting next to me, said in a whisper, but I ignored it. There may be a different bear that I and Noa don¡¯t know about.

    [Aren¡¯t you the Bear Missy who¡¯s always in a ck bear outfit, built a bear bakery and a bear restaurant, and travels with children?] Gatekeeper

    The gatekeeper asked me to confirm.

    Apparently, the bear that the gatekeeper mentioned was different from me. I don¡¯t remember bringing the children around with me. So I came to the conclusion that it¡¯s a different Bear.

    (TC: As a certain P. Bear.)

    [There are children on your side and on the back.] Gatekeeper

    The gatekeeper instantly refutes the conclusions I came up with. It seems like the gatekeeper was quick on his head. I can¡¯t argue with it.

    [You¡¯re always dressed as a ck bear, so I was confused for a moment. But it looks like you also dress as a white bear.] Gatekeeper

    [I do sometimes. I have a tunnel pass permit, can I go in?] Yuna

    [I hear you, but let me just confirm.] Gatekeeper

    I offered my guild card. Cliff has given us a free tunnel permit. Once the gatekeeper confirmed, he returned the card to me immediately.

    As Cliff promised, we can go in for free. Of course, that includes everyone who is with me. It seems that you normally have to pay here before you can go inside the walled area.

    [What can we do before we can enter the tunnel?] Yuna

    [If you have time, you are free to look around, I don¡¯t mind.] Gatekeeper

    ording to Tirumina-san, the tunnel will be closed to traffic around the evening. There is still time until the road is closed.

    [Anyway, how do you make this carriage run without a horse?] Gatekeeper

    The gatekeeper strangely looks at the Bear Buses. Everyone thinks the same.

    [It¡¯s magic.] Yuna

    [Magic you say? Well Bearss was an adventurer who beat the ck Viper after all.] Gatekeeper

    Knowing the ck Viper means that this person is from Crimonia.

    I would be in trouble if they talk about Kraken here. There is a high probability that no one here knows about Kraken¡¯s subjugation. I think Anzu and the others didn¡¯t talk about it, but it¡¯s possible that Cliff told it to Noa.

    Mylene-san may also be talking about it to Tirumina-san who has no idea what it was. There are many people who do not know about it.

    [Nevertheless, you made this wall.] Yuna

    [The tunnel was a very important ce. It was made ording to Cliff-sama¡¯s instructions.] Gatekeeper

    A wall with a height of about 3m was made to surround the tunnel. In this case, monsters cannot enter the tunnel, not even bandits. You can¡¯t go through the tunnel without permission.

    Also, When I look at the entrance of the gate I can see that there are a lot of people. While thinking that there are only that many people, a building that seems to be an inn can also be seen, as well as several other buildings.

    Cliff did say that he would make something like an inn and a military station, but he built a lot more than I expected.

    U~n, I didn¡¯te here in a while, and it¡¯s already changed this much.

    [Thanks to that, I can rest assured with safety, that¡¯s why I applied to this job.] Gatekeeper

    Certainly, if there are no walls, it would be scary if there are only a few people protecting the tunnel.

    We entered the wall with the permission of the gatekeeper uncle at the guard station.

    Was it because we stood out when the Bear Buses were moving while we¡¯re looking at the surroundings? Everyone was watching the Bear Bus.

    I thought of having a short break, but should we just enter the tunnel?

    But why are there so many people?

    The inn¡¯s management and security, what about it?

    [Yuna-san, are we heading into the tunnel as it is?] Noa

    [U~n, what should we do?] Yuna

    I checked with the children, including the director, and everyone on the bear cub bus. It is a good idea to take a break and I also wanted it, so we decided to take a short one.

    I parked the Bear Buses away from the road, then we decided to explore the surroundings.

    When wee near the tunnel, there are several children.

    [That looks like Bear-san in the store.] Misa

    [But this Bear-san has a sword, not a bread.] Noa

    In front of the tunnel are stone statues of bears made on Cliff¡¯s request. It¡¯s the same as the deformed bears in the store in Crimonia. Crimonia¡¯s bears have bread, while tunnel bears have swords. I made it so it looks like they¡¯re protecting the tunnel.

    [Did you made that too?] Noa

    Noa, who¡¯s next to me asked.

    [It was made by Cliff¡¯s request.] Yuna

    [My father?] Noa

    [I said I didn¡¯t like it, but Cliff forced me...] Yuna

    I¡¯m not lying. It is a fact that he forced me to make it.

    I tried to look sad.

    [Father is so cruel!] Noa

    [You think so too, Noa?] Yuna

    [Yes! He refused when I asked for bear statues to be built in front of our house, yet he asked you to build them in a ce like this! That¡¯s just unfair!] Noa

    Etto, that¡¯s your issue?

    Strange, somehow the conversation isn¡¯t moving.

    [When I return, I will ask my father again.] Noa

    [No, don¡¯t ask him.] Yuna

    If I make it in front of the lord¡¯s mansion, the dignity of Cliff as a lord will be lost.

    It could be mistaken for my house. Even if Cliff doesn¡¯t reject it, I will.

    [Then, how about in the garden?] Noa

    [I want it in my house too.] Misa

    Noa said something stupid, so Misa started saying something even more stupid.

    They say that people are easily affected by the other people nearby, and Misa seems to be more and more like Noa, so getting I¡¯m worried about her future.

    [I won¡¯t make it.] Yuna

    [Ohe on~. Yuna-san, please make it.] Noa

    Noah grabbed my bear clothes while asking me. If I made a bear statue in Cliff¡¯s residence, I would get scolded by Cliff. So I rejected Noa¡¯s request and moved on to a different ce.

    And so, we explored the area around the tunnel and learned a few things. Inside the enclosed wall were the inn, the garrison, the stable, the warehouse, and the market stalls. They sell frozen fish here. It seems that you can purchase without paying the toll for the tunnel.

    In addition, it seems that you can leave your luggage in the warehouse on Crimonia side, then they will be transported so you can to pick it up at Mereera side and vice versa.

    This might be the reason why we crossed so many horse-drawn carriages on our way to Mereera despite the fact that they weren¡¯t supposed to use the tunnel today.

    Then, after finishing our short break, I checked the number of people properly before leaving. When we entered the tunnel, the light magic stone that was installed inside lit up, so neither the light of the Bear Buses nor my light magic was necessary.

    There are no horse-drawn carriages in front of us, so we¡¯re proceeding smoothly.

    There are few carriages heading to Mereera at this time. So today, the direction of traffic is going to Mereera, those who were staying at the inn will depart in the morning. If so, their carriages would most likely travel the whole day and exit the tunnel in the middle of the night.

    The Bear Buses go through the tunnel.

    At the beginning of the tunnel, the children were having fun, but soon became bored of the seemingly endless tunnel and no one made a noise. As expected, I also did not speed up in the tunnel. If we collide with a wall, it will be a serious problem.

    [Yuna-san, how long is this tunnel?] Noa

    [Well, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve only been riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I don¡¯t know the distance.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s true.] Noa

    [Both of you can sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up when we get there.] Yuna

    [No, I want to talk to Yuna-san, so it¡¯s okay.] Noa

    [I also want to talk to Yuna-oneesama.] Misa

    [Well then, can you tell me some story? What I¡¯m doing is kinda monotonous so I¡¯m feeling a bit sleepy.] Yuna

    The tunnel may be interesting at first, but it gets boring so quickly. Unlike the scenery outside, there is no change and the same wall pattern continues. The sleep effect is very high. That¡¯s why I¡¯m happy to have someone to talk to.

    And so, Noa and Misa, talked about the recent stories and some old tales.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    As I wrote in the postscript and activity report in the past, the bear statue in front of the Bear Tunnel is the same as the book version, so it¡¯s a deformed bear with a sword.

    The bear in the shop has bread.

 Chapter 348 Bear-san Arrives at Mereera Day 1

    <h4>Chapter 348 Bear-san Arrives at Mereera Day 1</h4>

    348 Bear-san Arrives at Mereera (Day 1)

    After driving the Bear Bus for quite some time, I can finally see the tunnel exit in front of me.

    [Everyone! We¡¯re about to exit the tunnel.] Yuna

    [Really!?]

    [The sea?]

    When I told everyone at the back, the reaction of the children, who were awake, intensified.

    Well, it couldn¡¯t helped, because we were passing through a boring tunnel.

    [Yuna-oneechan, the sea?]

    [You will see it when we exit the tunnel.] Yuna

    Noa and Misa, who were sitting next to me, leaned forward and the children showed their faces on the windows of the Bear Bus.

    [It¡¯s dangerous to show your faces like that!] Yuna

    When the Bear Bus exits the tunnel, the sea spreads far and wide within everyone¡¯s sight.

    There are no obstacles in front of us and the road continues, so everyone can see the wide ocean. Also, thanks to the sunny weather as well. After we passed through the tunnel, it fees really good that it wasn¡¯t raining.

    Last time, when I came with Fina, it was a good weather as well, we did a lot of things everyday, so maybe God have made it sunny this time too. Daily activities are important.

    [It¡¯s the sea!]

    [Its so big!]

    [Wow!]

    [U wa~a ~]

    Children made a lot of noise. The director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san told them to keep it quiet, but the children were too excited and did not listen.

    [If you don¡¯t listen to director and the others, I¡¯ll turn this back.] Yuna

    [Eh¡«¡«¡«]

    [Have you forgotten your promise when wee to the sea? You won¡¯t act on your own, right? And that you will listen to what the director and the others are saying, right?] Yuna

    [But......]

    [The sea will not go anywhere, so it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    I calmed the children down. That¡¯s what I said to the children behind me. Noa and Misa, who were sitting next to me, were slowly raising their hips.

    However, their eyes were shining while staring at the sea.

    By the way, is it okay to let the Bear Bus proceed as it is?

    When I checked the surroundings, there was a wall surrounding the tunnel on this side as well and the wall was made along the road. Looks like there are no people around.

    Shall I proceed?

    Incidentally, if you look behind us, there are also Bear Statues. Though everyone was looking ahead so they¡¯re unaware.

    As I drive the Bear Bus along the road, I can see a building from the front.

    The building is built in a ce that connects to a road that leads to other cities. They told me before that they will expand the town, so this seems to be the entrance to the town of Mereera.

    When we arrive at the building-like checkpoint, a familiar person is standing outside of it. I don¡¯t know his name, but he is the gatekeeper who greeted me when I came to Mereera for the first time. The man was not aware of the Bear Busing from the other side and he seems to be taking a break in his spare time. So the moment he saw us, his casual look turns into a surprised expression.

    I wonder if he¡¯s working properly because he don¡¯t noticed until the Bear Bus got close to him. I stopped the Bear Bus then showed my face and said hello.

    [Long time no see.] Yuna

    [...White bear...Is that you Bear Missy? It¡¯s been a long time.] Gatekeeper

    So why is it a question?

    I just changed ck to white. I don¡¯t know why everyone is so confused, even though it¡¯s so easy to understand.

    [Is this the entrance to the town now?] Yuna

    [Ah, here we can see who ising from the tunnel and who ising from the road at the same time.] Gatekeeper

    [It doesn¡¯t seem to be busy today.] Yuna

    [Right now is a slow time. But it gets busy when the tunnel is closed on this side in the morning. Then it gradually slows, so it¡¯s a rtively free time right now.] Gatekeeper

    (TN: ¡¸•régµÄ¤ËÏ¾¤Ê•rég¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¤ó¤À¤è¡£Ã¦¤·¤¤¤Î¤Ï¡¢³¯Ò»¤È¥È¥ó¥Í¥ë¤ÎÍ¨ÐÐ¤¬é]¤Þ¤ë•rég¤À¤Ê¡£¤¢¤È¤ÏÀ´¤ë¤Î¤Ï¤Þ¤Ð¤é¤À¤«¤é¡¢±ÈÝ^µÄ¤ËÏ¾¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¡¹)

    [So that¡¯s why you looked so rxed.] Yuna

    [Did you saw it?] Gatekeeper

    The man scratches his head and tried to cover-up his embarrassment.

    [So why are you a white bear today? And what is this weird vehicle? It¡¯s moving without a horse pulling it.] Gatekeeper

    [It¡¯s not weird. It¡¯s a Bear-san carriage.] Noa

    [Yes, it¡¯s not weird.] Misa

    Noa and Misa were the ones who objected instead of me. In addition, the children behind me also said, , , .

    I¡¯m happy that you support me. I don¡¯t think that the Bear Bus is strange either and even if it seems to bemon sense, there is a feeling of confusion. I¡¯m wondering if I should teach it as amon sense or keep it as it is.

    [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not saying anything wrong. I just thought it was something that the Bear Missy likes to ride. And she looks good as a white bear. It is very likely of her.] Gatekeeper

    The man denied the children¡¯s protests. I¡¯m not happy if I was told that the white bear suits me well. Even so, I¡¯m not happy if I¡¯m told that it doesn¡¯t suit me either.

    [So, are you going on this carriage as it is? If you so, it will make a fuss. Though even if it didn¡¯t, you were quite a famous person here.] Gatekeeper

    As I thought, that¡¯s the case.

    It reminds of the past events.

    The festivities on the day after subduing Kraken were tough. Everyone came up to me and each of them offered me food. But when I came to harvest bamboo shoots together with Fina and Shuri, that wasn¡¯t the case.

    Of course, I was thankful for the warning that he gave me, but I feel like it would not be a big deal.

    [Everyone is supposed to not be a nuisance to Jo-chan, but not all the resident wouldply.] Gatekeeper

    Considering that, isn¡¯t it better to just walk from here and not ride on the Bear Bus?

    It¡¯s not too far if we walk from here to the Bear House. And the kids are excited to get off the Bear Bus.

    [Would you like to walk from here?] Yuna

    [Is it okay to get off now?]

    [It¡¯s okay. Well you can¡¯t go anywhere without permission anyways. So be sure to follow the instructions of the director and the others. I know everyone wants to go to the sea. But First, we¡¯ll go to my house where we¡¯re supposed to stay during this vacation.] Yuna

    I will ask the director and the others to take care of the children, and let Noa and Misa tell Fina and the others who are on the bear cub buses.

    [What will you do with this carriage?] Gatekeeper

    [It¡¯s okay because it fits in my item bag.] Yuna

    When everyone gets off the Bear Buses, I put the Bear Buses in the Bear Box.

    [Jo-chan never ceases to surprise me.] Gatekeeper

    I asked the man for the passes, Then I gave it to everyone.

    [Yuna-chan, we will walk from here?] Tirumina

    [That carriage will stand out.] Yuna

    [But if you walk together with children like this, I don¡¯t think it will change anything.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looks around.

    Sure, it might be as you said. But I think that it¡¯s less noticeable than riding on the Bear Bus.

    Looking at the children, they are happily looking at the sea. You can hear various conversations, such as , . Rather than passing by on a Bear Bus in an instant, it is good to walk slowly while gazing at the sea.

    In this way, when I walk with the children, I feel like I have be a teacher who leads kindergarten and elementary school children. If there was a cart for children, it was definitely a kindergarten or a nursery school. If you say such a thing, the children in the upper grades of elementary school will get angry.

    The senior group holds the hand of a small children so that they wouldn¡¯t walk on their own and ease the job of the elders. We all want to run to the sea.

    [Yuna-oneechan. When are we going to the sea?]

    [U~n, for now we need to get to my house.] Yuna

    It is a delicate schedule to get to the sea in time. Even though the sun hasn¡¯t set, I don¡¯t think we have time to y. When we get to my house, I¡¯ll give them a basic exnation, and by the time the exnation is over, the sun may have set.

    [You might be able to y tomorrow, I think?] Yuna

    [[[[Ehh¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«]]]]

    The children became noisy and looks disappointed.

    [You should not bother Yuna-san.] Director

    [Yes.]

    [We¡¯re sorry.]

    The children apologize obediently after the director warns them.

    I left the children¡¯s care to the director, Liz-san, Nifu-san, and the adventurers. Then I went to Anzu.

    [What would you do with Anzu? Are you going home? Or are youing with us?] Yuna

    [Is there a room where I can stay?] Anzu

    [There is, though it¡¯s not a single room. You¡¯ll be together with Seno-san.] Yuna

    [If so, then I¡¯ll go with you.] Anzu

    Anzu answered without hesitation.

    [Is that okay?] Yuna

    [Yes. I have to cook everyone¡¯s dinner and I think they will be busy if I return at this time. So I¡¯ll go and greet them tomorrow.] Anzu

    Seno-san nodded at Anzu¡¯s words.

    And so, after walking for a while, I can finally see the big bear¡¯s face. Everyone was looking at the ocean, so they didn¡¯t notice the Bear House.

    There are things that made me worried when I saw the Bear House. The construction around the tunnel is almost over. A new building is also being built. However, there is only one ce where the trees are not touched. It¡¯s the area within my Bear House.

    I though they already cut those down when I came here thest time, but the area around my bear house hasn¡¯t been cleared, and the trees haven¡¯t been cut.

    Don¡¯t tell me, they are treating it as a restricted area?

    As I was walking while thinking about such a thing, we arrived at the path that goes to the Bear House.

    If you go straight up this slope, you will find the Bear House. When you look at the path, it is beautifully paved with cobblestones. And at the entrance of the road, there is a sign standing in front which is notifying people that it is forbidden to enter aside from those who are permitted. Of course, it would be a problem if they could juste and go to the Bear House without permission. Though I didn¡¯t know there was such a notice.

    [Everyone, over here.] Yuna

    Everyone are still looking at the sea so I stopped them since they are about to pass by it. Then everyone looks here.

    [Bear-san?]

    From here, you can see the bears on the 3rd and 4th floor. The feet are hidden by the wall.

    [That bear is the one that we will be staying at. If you get lost, ask someone.] Yuna

    If you get lost, ask for the Bear House and they will take you to it. As expected, there are no people in Mereera who do not know about the Bear House.

    Then, whether or not they¡¯ve listen my words properly, the children ran towards the Bear House. It seems like they were more interested in the Bear House than the sea.

    I¡¯m d that they¡¯re happy, but what was that about the Bear House that defeated the sea?

    Don¡¯t forget that this time our goal is the sea.

    The children ran towards the Bear House. Liz-san, Lurina-san and Gil chased them.

    [Misa! We will also go. We cannot lose as the members of Bear-san fan club!] Noa

    [Yes. Noa-oneesama.] Misa

    Noa and Misa both started running, so Marina and Eru, who were behind them gave chase.

    Somehow, I felt like I¡¯ve heard a strange word from Noa¡¯s mouth earlier. Maybe it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m kinda worried.

    [Noa-sama, she looks very happy.] Fina

    [Well, I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s having fun, but don¡¯t you want to go there too Fina?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve been there before] Fina

    I brought Fina and Shuri to the Bear House in Mereera before, that¡¯s why she knows about that Bear House.

    [I heard from my daughters. It really is a Bear House.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san said that with a lot of amazement, while walking along with Fina. And Shuri is walking while holding Gentz¡¯s hand.

    [Yuna-chan hates it when she¡¯s making bear-rted things, but she makes it anyways.] Tirumina

    [That¡¯s......] Yuna

    Tirumina-san hits it where it hurts.

    Certainly, I hated making the bear statues and I was reluctant to wear the bear costume.

    However, I¡¯m pretty much making things about bears myself.

    It might be an excuse. But it¡¯s easier to make it like that, so it can¡¯t be helped. Plus the strength is increased and various benefits are added to it. It is decided that it is better to have the benefits rather than not having anything at all.

    The idea may be as God intended to give me the power of a bear, and I can¡¯t help it but use it.

    On the way, children are waiting for me at the front of the gate.

    There is a wall around the Bear House and a gate at the entrance. This is to prevent anyone from entering without permission.

    [Yuna-oneechan, hurry up.]

    [I¡¯ll open it now.] Yuna

    When I pushed the gate, the doors opened. And immediately two bear houses wees us.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, we have arrived.

    It was long.

    The Kuma-san fan club is also written down in the three books.

    I just imagine Noa, Misa, and Fina joining in.

    The other members are undecided.

 Chapter 349 Bear-san Decides Room Allocation Day 1

    <h4>Chapter 349 Bear-san Decides Room Allocation Day 1</h4>

    349 Bear-san Decides Room Allocation (Day 1)

    Credits to: valiant

    Unlike the Bear House in Crimonia and the one in the capital or the Bear House for travel which were all shaped like a sitting bear, Mereera¡¯s Bear House was a small multi-floor building shaped like a standing bear.

    This Bear House is about the size of a four-story building and is built so that two Bear Buildings stick together. The two bear buildings are connected on each floor, but the bear on the right is for girls and the bear on the left is for men. By the way, there are small tails behind it.

    The children are looking upwards at such a huge bear building.

    [Yuna-oneechan, are we going to stay here?]

    [That¡¯s right. Now if you guys got separated from Liz-san and the director, you muste here. You can probably ask anyone for direction.] Yuna

    [Un~ understood.]

    Although they replied, I wonder if they listened properly.

    While the children are happy, the looks on the faces of the adults says otherwise.

    [Yuna-chan. Are we staying here too?] Karin

    [It¡¯s a bit embarrassing.] Seno

    [It¡¯s so cute, but it doesn¡¯t suit me.] Elena

    I heard someints from Karin-san, Elena-san, and Seno-san.

    [If so, will Elena-san and the others camp out in the garden?] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan. I¡¯m just kidding. U wa~a, I¡¯m d to stay at such a cute bear-san¡¯s house.] Elena

    So easy to read.

    Though it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know how she feels. If I were a normal girl who didn¡¯t have the bear¡¯s abilities, I might have thought the same thing. But presently, the bear¡¯s abilities were my powers that I cannot live without.

    And yet some people are eager to see such a magnificent bear building.

    [U~u, Yuna-san. What is that cute house. I want my house to be a bear. Please make it.] Noa

    [Yuna-oneesama, please make my house into a bear as well.] Misa

    Noa and Misa were looking at Bear Building when they said that. If I turn Cliff¡¯s mansion into a bear house, Cliff will surely get mad at me. And Gran-san might copse due to shock.

    That¡¯s why I told them...

    [Sure. But only if you could get the permission from Cliff and Gran-san, then I¡¯ll make it.] Yuna

    I ced a difficult condition on them. Those two won¡¯t give their permissions. Though, if I consider Eleanora-san as part of the condition, it will be dangerous since she will yfully give her permission, because she is that kind of person. But if it¡¯s Cliff, he¡¯ll never give his permission. And I hope Gran-san can stand his ground just like Cliff.

    Then, I called out to everyone who were looking at the bear building and invited them to go inside it. The entrance is between the small legs of the bear. There are two entrances on the left and right, but we entered from the right-side entrance of the Bear Building.

    On the first floor of the Bear Building, there¡¯s the kitchen and the dining hall. The inside is connected so the dining hall and the kitchen were quite spacious.

    [We will eat here, so please gather at the time of the meal.] Yuna

    I briefly exined what¡¯s on the first floor, then we went up to the second floor. On the second floor, two bear buildings are connected by the corridor.

    The right wing is for the girls and the left wing is for the boys. Each room is a one-flooryout, so it isrger than the school ssroom. Each room can easily amodate 20 people.

    [That side is the boy¡¯s room and this side is the girl¡¯s room. Is it okay for Liz-san and the director to stay with the children?] Yuna

    [Yes, it¡¯s okay.] Director

    Nifu-san also agreed on staying in the room with the children, so I will put her in this room as well.

    [Can Gill also stay with the boys?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t mind.] Gill

    The boys were happy with Gill¡¯s words, and so Gill was taken to the room.

    [Yuna-chan. What about me?] Lurina

    Lurina-san asked.

    [Is the girl¡¯s room okay with you?] Yuna

    [Yes, that¡¯s fine.] Lurina

    Lurina-san epted it without any resistance. The girls took Lurina-san to their room. Then, I exined about the closet that contains the futons.

    [You can use whatever in this room.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, are we also sleeping here?] Noa

    [Noa and the others will be staying on the third floor.] Yuna

    After finishing the exnation on the second floor, I took Noa and the rest to the upper floor.

    There are several individual rooms on the third floor. I let Fina and her family stay in one of the rooms.

    [Can our family use it?] Tirumina

    [This time, think of it as a family vacation.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-chan.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san went into the room together with her daughters and Gentz-san.

    [Noa and the others will use the next room.] Yuna

    Noa wants to share the same room with Shia, Misa, and the escorts Marina and Eru.

    Finally, the three members of Bear-san¡¯s rest shop, Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san, as well as the four members of Bear-san¡¯s restaurant, Anzu, Seno-san, Forne-san, and Petoru-san. All seven of them will be staying in the same room.

    After assigning everyone to their respected rooms, I went to my room.

    I am alone but I¡¯m not lonely. I will sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear who are walking behind me.

    I left Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear who are both tired from apanying Fina and Noa today, then I left the room. When I got down to the first floor, Morin-san, Anzu and the others were preparing dinner. I took out the ingredients and handed it over to them.

    [Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to buy the ingredients that I don¡¯t usually buy in Crimonia and cook them.] Anzu

    Surely we came to Mereera so we can eat the food here. That¡¯s why I let Anzu handle the purchasing of the ingredients. Please ask themercial guild to collect the payment.

    While talking with Anzu and the others in the kitchen, children came down.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Can we go to the sea?]

    [Right now?] Yuna

    [Un!~]

    It¡¯s still a bit early for dinner. We are still preparing it.

    The children are look at me with wide puppy-eyes. Besides, we¡¯re in the town, so there¡¯s no dangerous monsters in the vicinity. Though I¡¯m worried about letting the children go to the beach alone.

    While I was wondering what to do, Lurina-san came over.

    [Yuna-chan, I¡¯ll go with them.] Lurina

    [Is that okay?] Yuna

    [Um, the children are also dragging Gill along, saying that they want to go to the sea. They¡¯re bing restless, so it¡¯s better to take them to the sea at once.] Lurina

    I will ept Lurina-san¡¯s words. I¡¯ll leave the children who wants to go to the sea to Lurina-san and Gill. The children who remained in Bear Building are taken care of by the director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san.

    After the children got out, Noa¡¯s groupes in. And they¡¯re looking around.

    [What are you guys doing?] Yuna

    [Exploring.] Noa

    [Shia as well?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m checking out what kind of unusual things I can discover so I can tell it to Marcus and others as souvenirs.] Shia

    No, you don¡¯t have to.

    Stop exploring, I¡¯m not even living in here, so I¡¯ve left nothing unusual. You can practically call it empty.

    [Misa, Oneesama. First of all, we must search in the garden.] Noa

    Noa goes out with Misa and Shia. Marina and Eru weren¡¯t with them, so are they in the room?

    Later, I found out that Misa told them, I wanted to see Marina¡¯s face at that time.

    After seeing Noa and others, I went up to the fourth floor to prepare the bath. Last time when I came with Fina, preparation was dyed and it took time to pour hot water into the bathtub. So this time, I¡¯ll prepare it early.

    When I came to the bathroom. Fina and Shuri were there.

    [Oneechan. I¡¯ll pour hot water.] Shuri

    [Okay.] Fina

    [Both of you, what are you doing?] Yuna

    I can understand without asking. Fina has a cleaning tool, and Shuri is preparing the hot water. They seem to be preparing the bath. Though I couldn¡¯t help but ask. I didn¡¯t asked them to do that.

    [Thest time we came here, we couldn¡¯t make the bath in time, so I thought we¡¯d do it early. I tried to get permission from Yuna-oneesan, but you were talking and I thought it would be bad to disrupt you. So we went ahead and prepared it ourselves. I¡¯m sorry.] Fina

    Apparently, Fina was thinking about the same thing as me.

    [You don¡¯t have to apologize. I came here with the same idea, thank you. So, are you done with the boy¡¯s bath?] Yuna

    [Yes, I was thinking of doing it after we¡¯re done here.] Fina

    [Then I¡¯ll help, so let¡¯s do it together.] Yuna

    [Yes!] Fina

    [I will help too~.] Shuri

    The three people prepared the baths.

    [By the way, what about Tirumina-san and Gentz-san?] Yuna

    [Mom tried to help with making dinner, but it seems that Anzu-oneechan refused because she said they¡¯ll do it. So she went out to the garden with my dad.] Fina

    It should be a honeymoon for Tirumina-san and Gentz-san, so I hope they enjoy it.

    I asked them to do a quick cleaning of the men¡¯s bath and I prepared the towels and a hair dryer on the shelves in each dressing room.

    Then Fina and Shuri also finished cleaning and hot water wasing out from the mouth of the bear statue and gets collected in the bathtub.

    This will prevent them from taking a bath with little hot water.

    As we were getting out of the bathroom, someonees in.

    [So this is a bathroom.] Noa

    [Noa?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san?] Noa

    The three who came in were Noa, Shia, and Misa. It seems that they have already explored everything from the garden to every corner of the first floor and have reached the bathroom on the fourth floor.

    [If you told me I would have helped too.] Noa

    For an aristocratic girl, cleaning a bath doesn¡¯t look right.

    [Yeah. You brought me along, so I¡¯ll help you out with cleaning too.] Shia

    [Yeah. I can also help.] Misa

    Shea and Misa agreed to Noa¡¯s words.

    In that case, I will not treat them as guests, so I will have the three of them help tomorrow.

    And so, I decided to take a bath together with Fina and Shuri who cleaned the baths before dinner. Also, Noa, Shia and Misa who will help clean the bath from tomorrow, joined us too.

    [Yuna-san, can¡¯t Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan join us in the bath?] Noa

    Noa looks around.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not here because they are sleeping in my room. If I tell her about it, she will be disappointed. If I went into the bath with them, Noa and the others wouldn¡¯t be able settle with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, also Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear couldn¡¯t calm down to take a bath. In that case, it would be better for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to take a rest in the room.

    I entered the bathtub, stretched my body, and got rid of the today¡¯s worth of fatigue.

    Then Lurina-san who went to the sea, returned before dinner. The children kept their promise. At dinner, they were excited to talk about what they saw at the sea, whether the sea was wide or salty. So now, it seems like the children who hadn¡¯t gone want¡¯s to go.

    [Let¡¯s all go tomorrow.] Yuna

    After finishing the meal, the children first took a bath. So I asked Gill and Gentz-san to watch the boys. While the girls are with the director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san. The other people will have to go inter.

    Finally, I asked the adult group to turn off the magic stones in each room and let me rest early. When I said, they all agreed.

    I¡¯m not tired because I¡¯m wearing the white bear, but I¡¯m sleepy. I¡¯ve been driving the bear bus by myself since early in the morning. Therefore, I feel like I¡¯m being attacked by sleepiness.

    Iy down in the bed between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and I fell asleep.

 Chapter 350 Bear-san Goes to the Sea Day 2

    <h4>Chapter 350 Bear-san Goes to the Sea Day 2</h4>

    The next day, it¡¯s sunny outside. The weather is nice for swimming.

    As soon as the children had their breakfast, they started preparing to go to the sea. They changed their clothes in their respective rooms. If you go down the pathway in front of the Bear Building, the beach will be right in front of you. Also, the pathway seems to be exclusively for my own use, so there should be no problem with walking in a swimsuit.

    But for the time being, I told each of them to bring arge towel to the beach.

    Looking out from my room, I saw the children running along the pathway. Lurina-san, Liz-san, and Elena-san were chasing after them.

    Noa, Misa and Shia are also running towards the sea. After that, Marina and Eru followed them.

    Looks like the director was thest one to arrive.

    However, Nifu-san was not there.

    It seems that Nifu-san want¡¯s to go to the sea with the children, but the director said...

    [Some people may be worried about you. We are fine here, so go ahead and show your face to them.] Director

    That¡¯s what she told her. Elena-san said she will take care of the children in her ce. So, Nifu-san, even though ufortable, went to see her acquaintance in Mereera early in the morning. I¡¯ll be worried if Nifu-san was alone, but since Anzu and the others went with her, it should be okay.

    And Tirumina-san went to the town with Gentz-san to greet Anzu¡¯s parents. After giving their greetings, they will visit the town.

    When I asked if I should follow them, I was asked to take care of Fina and Shuri instead. That¡¯s why I, Fina, and Shuri are the only ones left in Bear Building.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Are you done yet?~] Shuri

    [No, not yet.] Yuna

    I answered Shuri who is waiting outside of my room. I was looking outside to escape from reality.

    Yes, I¡¯m wearing a swimsuit now. Speaking of what kind of swimsuit I had, I didn¡¯t have the guts to show my belly, so I chose a ck and white one piece swimwear. By no means is my stomach bloated. It has a constitution that does not make me look fat (instead, there is no flesh on some parts). I won¡¯t get fat because I¡¯m on a diet along with monster subjugation as exercise.

    However, my abdomen and upper arms are soft and squishy.

    Ah, the hurdles in wearing the swimsuit are too high.

    I will wear my bear costume on top of my swimsuit. I don¡¯t have the courage to go out wearing only a swimsuit. When I was about to slip my feet into my bear costume, Shuri, who can¡¯t wait, entered the room.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Hurry up~] Shuri

    My eyes met Shuri¡¯s eyes.

    [Why do you want to wear the Bear-san clothes?] Shuri

    [As I expected, it¡¯s embarrassing, you know?] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan. It¡¯s beautiful. You look good in it.] Shuri

    [Yes, she looks pretty. Her body is thin and her long hair is beautiful.] Fina

    Fina entered the room following Shuri. She saw my swimsuit and gave her impressions. I didn¡¯t think it was so embarrassing to beplimented for wearing a swimsuit.

    [Let¡¯s go, Yuna-oneechan. Everyone has already gone.] Shuri

    [Noa-sama also went out saying that she would go first.] Fina

    I know because I was watching from above. I was escaping reality.

    Then Shuri and Fina came to me, they grabbed my arms and prevented me from wearing my bear costume.

    [Yuna-oneechan. You¡¯re okay, so let¡¯s go quickly.] Shuri

    I don¡¯t know what she meant by okay. Shuri is pulling my arm. Right now, I wasn¡¯t wearing my bear equipment.. Furthermore, I can¡¯t resist because I¡¯m not wearing my bear shoes. Shuri is pulling me with brute force.

    Shuri, had that power all this time? Until now, I didn¡¯t noticed it because I was wearing my bear costume.

    [I get it, stop pulling so much.] Yuna

    I gave up wearing my bear costume. When Shuri and Fina let go of my arms, I quickly wore my bear shoes and put on my bear puppets. Then I put the bear costume in the bear box.

    In other words, I¡¯m wearing my swimsuit, my bear shoes as usual, and my bear puppets.

    The bear puppet is an item box, so it can¡¯t be helped. And you have to wear shoes to the beach. So there¡¯s nothing wrong with my outfit.

    In the first ce, I don¡¯t have any other shoes, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    (TC: Objection! Sand will enter the shoes and it¡¯s very annoying when it gets wet, so flops is way better.)

    Well, even so, I feel depressed. But it¡¯s nice to see the kids, Fina, and the others happy. Even though I designed it myself, the appearance of a swimsuit is somewhat embarrassing. Again, this is because I haven¡¯t been to the sea and the pool since I stayed in my house all the time. For me, swimming is an unknown battleground.

    I hung arge towel over my shoulder to hide my swimsuit. This calms me down a little. Fina and Shuri are also carrying towels ording to my instructions.

    And now that I¡¯m ready, Fina and Shuri quickly pulled me out of the room. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, silently followed us from behind.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are just there for insurance in case something unexpected happened. While I don¡¯t think a Kraken will appear, but this is a different world. So it doesn¡¯t hurt to be a little more careful. Besides, I look like this.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Hurry, hurry.] Shuri

    Shuri is about to run. Fina looks happily at it. My appearance that is looking at both of them with a tired expression ispleted.

    Upon reaching the beach, Shuri and Fina started running towards the sea.

    [Properly do your warm-up exercise~] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know if there is a concept of warm-up exercise in this world, but I had to say it.

    Looking at the beach, there are only us from Crimonia here. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a private beach. This ce is also part of the town, but the main town is a little further away. Therefore, it seems that only a few peoplee to this area.

    I look around, wondering what to do. There are children ying on the beach. All of them are wearing swimsuits and girls have names written on their chests.

    And among them are bear-shaped children. Like Shuri, who¡¯s wearing a bear-shaped swim-cap on her head. If you look at the back, you can see a round tail. It¡¯s a really well made bear tail. I didn¡¯t say the majority of them. There were about 10 children wearing bear swimwear.

    By the way, Fina doesn¡¯t wear a bear cap and she has no tail.

    She said she wanted to use the same swimsuit as Noa. A swimsuit with a bikini frill. The color seems to be white.

    They started ying on the beach.

    What should I do now?

    I don¡¯t have the energy to swim and I don¡¯t feel like joining into the circle of children.

    For the time being, I decided to secure a ce to rest. Honestly, it¡¯s best to rx on beach chairs under the beach umbres. But there are no such things here.

    So, as a second option, I took the beach house out of the bear box. The appearance of the beach house is like a normal one. There is no bear element attached to it.

    I called the director, who is resting on the beach, to take a rest in the beach house instead.

    [If the kids get tired, there are drinks in the refrigerator, so please give them something to drink and let them take a rest here.] Yuna

    There is arge refrigerator in the corner and there is a ce to rest. I took out some drink and give some to the director

    [Thank you. I was a little worried because I forgot the drinks.] Director

    [We have a lot, so please feel free to drink whenever you want.] Yuna

    While I was talking with the director, the children who were curious about the beach house came to us. And when they look at me, they tilted their heads. I heard voices such as .

    Apparently, they don¡¯t recognize me.

    I yed with the bear puppet in front of the children.

    [Yuna-oneechan?]

    [I knew it! it¡¯s Yuna-oneechan!]

    The children came closer to me with a smile.

    As expected, the kids seemed to recognize me only when I¡¯m a bear.

    The director isughing at how strange our interaction was.

    [I¡¯m sorry. It was funny, so I can¡¯t help it.] Director

    I¡¯m not really angry or anything. But haven¡¯t you beenughing too much?

    When I asked them if they wanted something to drink, they ran to the refrigerator. If you look at their backs, they have tails. While I¡¯m looking at their tails, Lurina-san came together with a child.

    [Just now, I wondered what would you take out, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be a weird house.] Lurina

    [Lurina-san, if you¡¯re tired please take a rest.] Yuna

    [Looks like you¡¯re already tired Yuna-chan.] Lurina

    I am mentally tired.

    [Nevertheless, Yuna-chan, you have that long hair and you seem to have a slender and delicate body.] Lurina

    Lurina-san was staring at and scrutinizing my body, so I hid it with a towel.

    [I can see why were the kids got confused. I wondered who was this beautiful girl. I wouldn¡¯t realized if I hadn¡¯t seen the kids interact with you.] Lurina

    [Lurina-san is also beautiful.] Yuna

    [Fufu... Thank you.] Lurina

    Puni Puni, Puni Puni. (Squishing SFX)

    I ignored Lurina-san¡¯s ttery and praised her back instead.

    Lurina-san is actually a beautiful woman. I often wondered, why such a beautiful woman was with Deborane.

    Puni Puni, Puni Puni.

    And unlike me, her figure in a swimsuit really suits her.

    Lurina-san¡¯s swimsuit was a bikini. Made of simple white fabric. However, the bikini has beautiful floral embroidery. Indeed, it may be that the uniqueness was emphasized by the embroidery instead of the design.

    When Sherry sees it, I¡¯ll be a bit worried about her making a swimsuit with bear embroidery.

    Well, she shouldn¡¯t have any more chances to make a swimsuit, so it should be okay.

    Puni Puni, Puni Puni.

    [But as I thought Yuna-chan was a cute girl, but I didn¡¯t think that the contents of that bear were these thin arms and legs. You used these thin arms to beat up male adventurers and defeat monsters, I¡¯m impressed.] Lurina

    Puni Puni, Puni Puni.

    Lurina-san has been squishing my upper arms for a while now.

    [You hit Deborane with such a soft arm. I can¡¯t believe it.] Lurina

    Puni Puni, Puni Puni.

    [Ano, can you stop what you¡¯re doing?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s soft and feels good.] Lurina

    [How about touching your own chest?] Yuna

    Though it¡¯s not as big as Eru. Lurina-san¡¯s chest is somewhat reasonable.

    [It wouldn¡¯t be fun to touch myself.] Lurina

    When I shook off Lurina-san¡¯s hand, her chest shook as well.

    My chest? It won¡¯t shake.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I want to remodel the sandy beach.

    For the time being, I built a beach house

 Chapter 351 Bear-san Realizes the Lack of Physical Strength Day 2

    <h4>Chapter 351 Bear-san Realizes the Lack of Physical Strength Day 2</h4>

    [Even though, the waves are calm. I¡¯m a little worried about the children being washed away.] Lurina

    Lurina-san looks at the sea and says something like that.

    Yes indeed. The waves on the beach here were rtively calm. It¡¯s suitable for ying.

    But even small children can drown or be swept away by the waves when the adults take their eyes off of them. Right now they¡¯re ying on the edge of the beach and Liz-san is holding the other children¡¯s hands. But not all can be seen.

    And some children can¡¯t swim, so it might be better to make a safe ce to y.

    I stood up and walk under the bright sunshine.

    Hot! My soft skin is slowly burning. I used a towel to protect my skin. Even so, the heat from the sand under my feet rises.

    I wondered what it¡¯s like to wear a swimsuit, but it¡¯s hotter than wearing a bear costume. I miss my bear costume since I don¡¯t feel the heat inside it.

    [Where are you going, Yuna-chan?] Lurina

    Lurina-san asks me when I left the beach house.

    [I want the children to feel at ease, so I¡¯ll create a ce where they can swim.] Yuna

    When I walk along the beach, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear followed me. In addition, the children followed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. And behind the children is Lurina-san with a smiling face. A strange line has been made.

    I look around to find a suitable ce to build a pool. Everywhere I look seems the same. There¡¯s a stretch of sandy beach from left to right and there are some rocks along the way. I went to a beach where there¡¯s no children ying.

    Is it okay around here?

    When I reached the shoreline, I thrust the bear puppets forward. But I warned the children behind me as if I just remembered.

    [All of you, just stay behind me.] Yuna

    I thrust the bear puppets once again and used earth magic. Then a myriad of poles sticks out from the sea like fences. The size of the fence should be about 25mterally and about 1m deep into the sea. The water level will change over time, but I will ask Lurina-san and others to be careful in that area.

    The fence will prevent children from being swept away by the waves. The waves can still enter, so they can still y normally at the beach.

    [Lurina-san, please let the children y here. If it still seems narrow, I will widen it.] Yuna

    [As usual, you used magic like it¡¯s nothing. OK, I¡¯ll invite Liz, Elena, and Gill to y here as well.] Lurina

    Lurina-san calls out to Liz-san. The children who were ying other games also gathered in the voice of Lurina-san. There are also figures of Fina and Shuri.

    When Liz-san and Elena-san arrived, they were initially surprised at the sight of the fence, but soon thanked me and started ying with the children.

    Gill alsoes with two children on his back. He¡¯s walking with no expression, but aren¡¯t they heavy? Even so, he¡¯s full of muscle.

    When I look at Gill, my eyes lined up with him.

    [............?] Gill

    But Gill, walk passed me, he sat on the sand and began watching the children.

    What was that about?

    [He just stopped thinking about it because he couldn¡¯t understand Yuna-chan.] Lurina

    Lurina-san exins about Gill¡¯s actions just now.

    I wonder if it is something that I do not know about?

    For the time being, I made a pseudo pool, so they can y with peace of mind. There is Fina watching the children y in the sea.

    [Fina you¡¯re not going to y?] Yuna

    [Ano. Yuna-oneesan, can you swim?] Fina

    Fina timidly asked.

    [Me? I think I could swim when I was little. Though I haven¡¯t been swimming in thest few years.] Yuna

    I haven¡¯t swim since elementary school. I wonder, once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you can still ride it even if you haven¡¯t been doing so for a long time. But what about swimming?

    [Can you teach me? Because I can¡¯t swim.] Fina

    [Me too~.] Shuri

    [Please teach us too.]

    When Fina asked, Shuri and other children joined in as well and it became noisy.

    As expected, Fina and Shuri couldn¡¯t swim. Even though there is a small river near Crimonia, having a sick mother would have prevented them from going out to y.

    [But if you want to learn how to swim, you could just ask Lurina-san to teach...] Yuna

    When I look at Lurina-san, there are already few children gathered around her to learn how to swim. Liz-san and Elena-san are helping her.

    Is this the only way I can teach?

    [It would be nice for me to teach you. I hope I could still swim.] Yuna

    I know how to swim. But it¡¯s weird to teach someone when I don¡¯t know if I can swim. Therefore, I will teach them once I confirm if I can still swim. Nobody wants to be taught by anyone who can¡¯t swim.

    (TN: Ó¾¤®·½¤Ï·Ö¤«¤ë¡£¤Ç¤â¡¢Ó¾¤²¤Ê¤¤¤Î¤Ë½Ì¤¨¤ë¤Î¤Ï‰ä¤À¡£¤À¤«¤é¡¢Ó¾¤²¤¿¤é½Ì¤¨¤ë¤³¤È¤Ë¤¹¤ë¡£Õl¤À¤Ã¤Æ¡¢Ó¾¤²¤Ê¤¤ÈË¤Ë¤Ï½Ì¤ï¤ê¤¿¤¯¤Ï¤Ê¤¤¤Ï¤º¤À¡£)

    Fina replied happily to my condition. Do you really want to learn? I will only teach you once I know that I can still swim.

    I didn¡¯t really intend to go into the sea, but this time it can¡¯t be helped. I wore a swimsuit because Sherry made it for me. Sherry looked happy when she saw me in my swimsuit. Looking at that face, I can¡¯t help but get on with it.

    When I took off my bear shoes and the bear puppets, I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to take care of it. Bear equipments are non-transferable and will not be stolen even if left it on the beach. It¡¯s not portable. However, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can carry the bear equipment that cannot be transferred, perhaps because they are my summon beast. So when something happens, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will bring the bear equipment.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are truly excellent summons. If I ever go back to my original world, I want to go back together with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. However, even if there is a way to return to the original world, I do not intend to take it.

    But I want to see new anime and manga.

    I gave the bears equipment to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then I walked barefoot on the beach. The sand is hot. It¡¯s so hot that the soles of my feet are getting burned. Looking at the children, they¡¯re doing fine. I wonder if there is a different way to train?

    For a hikikomori(shut-in) like me who¡¯s always in a cage. It¡¯s a clear answer for the children who moves around every day.

    Andst but not the least, I took off the towel and handed it over to Swaying Bear.

    Next, I did a light exercise before entering the sea. If you enter the sea without a warm-up exercise, your legs will get cramped. Without the bear equipment, I¡¯m no more than an ordinary person.

    After a warm-up exercise, I entered the sea. It¡¯s cold. I slowly, swam up to the depth of my chest.

    Oh, I can swim. My body still remembers it. I used to swim when I was in elementary school, but I still remember it.

    [Yuna-oneechan is amazing.] Shuri

    Shuri and others praised me, but it is embarrassing. I can only swim a little. Long-distance swimming is absolutely impossible, I can¡¯t swim while holding a drowning person, and I can only swim for a short distance.

    For the time being, I found out that I could swim, so I decided to teach Fina and the others how to swim.

    [Speaking of which, Noa¡¯s group aren¡¯t there. Fina do you know where they went?] Yuna

    [Noa-sama? I think, I saw them walking towards that rocky mountain over there.] Fina

    Fina is referring to a rocky boulders that is a little far away.

    [Marina and Eru are with them, right?] Yuna

    [Yes, they were together.] Fina

    Then there¡¯s nothing to worry about, they¡¯re okay.

    I taught Fina and the kids how to swim. But I cannot teach everyone at the same time, so once I put on the bear puppets, I took out the beat board from the bear box. Even if it is called a beat board, it¡¯s just a wooden board. But unlike ordinary boards, it is a beet board made of wood that floats on water.

    When I consulted Tirumina-san, she taught me this wood. I gave each of the children a beet board made of the wood and taught them how to use it. The kids happily started swimming with the beat boards. If I put out a big board as a y tool, everyone can ride on it and y.

    If it floats, it can also be used as a float. It is a good tool for children to y.

    Best of all, it¡¯s a bear-shaped vehicle.

    A bear made out of floating fluffy wood. I ced three of those so that there is nopetition. When the bear ridees out, the kids happily ride it.

    And that¡¯s how my swimming ss started. It will be finished soon. The limit hase to my physical strength.

    After teaching the kids how to swim, Iid down at a beach house. I remembered how to swim, but I didn¡¯t have the physical strength to keep on doing it.

    [But Yuna-chan, you¡¯re an adventurer. You¡¯re always running in the mountains and fought a lot of monsters.] Lurina

    Lurina-san seems to be shocked when she saw me.

    [You¡¯ve held me in a princess carry back then, didn¡¯t you?] Lurina

    [As I said before, it¡¯s magic. If I don¡¯t use magic, I can¡¯t evenpete against the physical strength of a child.] Yuna

    [I agree with that. Where do the children¡¯s energy to yes from?] Lurina

    But I never thought I don¡¯t have such strength.

    I rest my body while using Hugging Bear as a pillow.

    [Yuna-oneesan, are you okay?] Fina

    Fina brought me a drink.

    [Un, I¡¯ll be okay if I take a little break, so go ahead and y with the others Fina.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m a little tired, so I¡¯ll also take a rest.] Fina

    Fina sat next to me. Shuri is ying together with the children. It was fun and nice. In the pseudo pool, children and other members such as Lurina-san and Liz-san are ying happily.

    While I¡¯mying down, taking a little rest, it suddenly got noisy.

    [What is this!?] Noa

    Judging from that voice, it seems to be Noa. She wasn¡¯t here when I took out the beach house. ording to Fina, she said she was going to the rocky area. Apparently she¡¯s back.

    [What¡¯s wrong with Yuna-san?] Shia

    When they found me lying down, Noa and Shia ran up to me.

    [It¡¯s nothing. I just used up all my physical strength and I somehow copsed.] Yuna

    [Physical strength you said. Yuna-san, you¡¯re an adventurer.] Noa

    It¡¯s the same thing what Lurina-san said. Well, I understand what Noa meant. I who is usually an adventurer and known to have defeated a lot of monsters, became like this.

    But, thanks to Bear-san¡¯s cheat, my stats are below than the average person. Though I can¡¯t tell them that.

    [Noa, where have you been until now? I didn¡¯t saw you anywhere nearby.] Yuna

    [Yes, there were people fishing at the rocky mountain there, so I was watching and swimming. I was on the other side of the rocky mountain, so I did not notice that there was such a house here.] Noa

    [Did Yuna-san made it?] Shia

    [I¡¯m just thinking that everyone can take a short break.] Yuna

    I answered Shia¡¯s question. Well, I mainly use it for myself. But everyone who went out to y can take a short break. I don¡¯t know if they have a lot of energy or the sea is so much fun. Maybe both.

    [Noa and the others should take a rest when you¡¯re tired. It¡¯s not good to rest in the strong sunshine. Also, since there¡¯s a drink in the refrigerator, you can take a good amount of water.] Yuna

    [Yes. I was so thirsty that I was thinking of going back at the house.] Noa

    [So you can swim?] Yuna

    [Yes, oneesama taught me so I can swim a little.] Noa

    [So what about Misa?] Yuna

    There are only two people here, Noa and Shia. I can¡¯t see Misa, Marina, and Eru.

    [Misa is training for swimming with Marina. She wants to be able to swim because I can swim.] Noa

    [I taught her after school. It¡¯s good to practice swimming because it will make her sses easier, even before entering school.] Shia

    It¡¯s okay if she¡¯s with Marina and Eru.

    When theye back, I¡¯ll tell them about the pool.

    Noa and Shia both grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and took a break by my side.

    Noa¡¯s swimsuit is different color with the same frills as Fina. Fina is white, while Noa is blue. Shia¡¯s school swimsuit is like more suitable for swimmingpetition.

    And when I was wondering what to do for lunch, the beach became noisy once again. A lot of people came to the beach. They¡¯re mostly adults.

    What? I quickly wear my bear shoes and bear puppets.

 Chapter 352 Bear-san, was Unnoticed Day 2

    <h4>Chapter 352 Bear-san, was Unnoticed Day 2</h4>

    When I got out of the beach house, there were men and women walking on the beach carrying some luggage. I don¡¯t think they came here toin. Everyone are smiling.

    Are those fisherman¡¯s clothes? I have seen it at the port.

    [O~i, kids. I¡¯ll cook some delicious food, so look forward to it.] Man

    One of the men yells at the children at the beach. The children who were ying noticed the fuss and gathered.

    Ah, don¡¯t go to people you don¡¯t know. But I think it¡¯s okay because Gill and Lurina-san are together with them. asionally the behavior of an innocent child makes me uneasy. That¡¯s why I want them to be a little distrustful of strangers. Though I can¡¯t say that strongly because there are many good people.

    I will tell the director and Liz-san about that.

    [What is this, rice?]

    [There are a lot of fish~]

    [Oh, I¡¯m going to make delicious food right now.] Man

    The man pat the child¡¯s head lightly and began to build a stall.

    The children are happily watching the scene. For the time being, I told Gill and Lurina-san to keep their children out of the way.

    But what does this mean?

    I asked Fina, who¡¯s behind me.

    [Fina, have you heard anything from Tirumina-san?] Yuna

    [No, I haven¡¯t heard anything.] Fina

    Of course. Tirumina-san went to town early in the morning and has not returned. The same goes for Morin-san and Anzu¡¯s group. I haven¡¯t heard anything about it this morning.

    I asked the man to confirm the situation.

    [Ano, what is the meaning of this?] Yuna

    [Youngdy and the others, you¡¯re all probably acquainted with the Young Lady Bear who¡¯s always dressed as a bear.] Man

    The Young Lady Bear you said. However it may be, that person is right in front of you now. But, it¡¯s a hassle to name myself, so I¡¯ll just nod.

    [So when I heard that the Young Lady Bear wasing to the sea with many children and came to cook.] Man

    [Who did you hear that from?] Yuna

    [Everybody knows that Anzu-chan is here, too. I heard it from Anzu-chan.] Man

    Apparently, the source of the information leak was Anzu.

    [So, where is the Young Lady Bear? I¡¯d like to get permission immediately.] Man

    I¡¯m right in front of you. But if I give him my name, it¡¯s going to be a hugemotion. And if he don¡¯t believe me, the damage will be deep, so I¡¯ll keep quiet for now. Next to me, there is a figure of Fina giving her best to endure herughter.

    [Then I shall tell her about you.] Yuna

    [Is that so? I appreciate it. But first, please tell the Young Lady Bear to show her face.] Man

    I left the man.

    And so, while I was wondering about what was happening, I found the figures of the offenders, Anzu and Seno-san. Anzu came to us, looking around (kyoro-kyoro).

    I tried to talk to Anzu, but she went past me and instead, talked to Fina who¡¯s standing next to me.

    [Fina-chan. Do you know where Yuna-san is?] Anzu

    [Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    Even though I¡¯m standing next to Fina. The same reaction as the man I talked to earlier. When Anzu asked, Fina nces at me as if she was in trouble.

    [All the fishermen decided to have lunch here. I thought I¡¯d tell Yuna-san about that.] Anzu

    As expected, they were all fishermen. But I already knew the story when I asked a fisherman.

    [Hey, Yuna-san is famous, but she don¡¯t want to stand out. But all the fishermen are saying that they wanted to see Yuna-san, so I don¡¯t know what to do.] Anzu

    I can¡¯t refuse what they¡¯re doing anymore and all the fishermen are working hard on preparing the food.

    [So Fina-chan. Do you know where Yuna-san is?] Anzu

    Fina keeps ncing at me as if she¡¯s in trouble, so I decided to talk to Anzu.

    [Anzu.] Yuna

    [.........Etto, what is it?] Anzu

    Anzu tilts her head. I knew it, she doesn¡¯t seem to recognize me. I showed her the Bear-san¡¯s puppets and picked up Hugging Bear at my feet.

    [Don¡¯t tell me, Yuna-san?] Anzu

    It seems that Anzu finally realized who I was.

    [I didn¡¯t recognized you for a moment because you¡¯re not dressed as a bear.] Anzu

    No, you wouldn¡¯t know if I didn¡¯t show you Bear-san¡¯s puppets and Hugging Bear, let alone for a moment.

    That excuse doesn¡¯t work for me.

    [I think I know the situation, but can I ask you about it?] Yuna

    [When I went to buy some ingredients. I was asked if Yuna-san was here, then everyone said that I didn¡¯t need to pay, but I thought it would be bad so I refused.] Anzu

    Yeah, that¡¯s the correct reaction from Anzu.

    [Then why is this happening?] Yuna

    [. , so when I tried to refuse, the other fishermen started to participate... and that lead to this situation.] Anzu

    Anzu looked at the fishermen preparing food.

    There are more than 10 fishermen on the beach.

    [I¡¯m sorry about this.] Anzu

    Anzu, looks dejected.

    I knew this would happen. Anzu is not in the wrong either. So I¡¯m not going to get angry with Anzu.

    Also, if Ie to Mereera, sooner orter the same situation would happen. Maybe I should have gone out to the guild today and told them not to make a fuss, instead of going out to the sea.

    The fishermen are cooking the food on the sandy beach and the children are happy, so today I¡¯ll give it a try. But I don¡¯t want them to make amotion every time Ie, so I¡¯ll ask them not to do this againter.

    Looking at the preparation site, another group brought in new set of baggage. There was a familiar person among them. It looks like Damon-san whom I saved in the snowy mountains.

    Damon-san noticed me and came here.

    [Anzu-chan. Isn¡¯t the bear girl here yet? I¡¯ll be meeting her after such a long time, so I¡¯d like to say hello.] Damon

    Apparently, he came here because he saw Anzu, not me.

    Counting this one, I don¡¯t know how many times this happened today. No one realized that it was me. I kinda feel a little lonely.

    I usually don¡¯t like standing out, but I feel lonely if I don¡¯t get noticed. It¡¯splicated, but that¡¯s me.

    [Etto, Yuna-san is right in front of you.] Anzu

    When he asked, Anzu revealed my identity to Damon-san.

    [............Bear girl?] Damon

    He¡¯s looking at me with a surprised expression.

    It¡¯s like seeing something incredible.

    Do I look that bad in my swimsuit?

    [I didn¡¯t recognized you because you¡¯re not dressed as a bear, but I didn¡¯t think the bear was such a cute girl.] Damon

    Again, being stared at while in a swimsuit is embarrassing. I took a step back.

    [Even so, it¡¯s been a long time. Now that you¡¯ve built a house, why don¡¯t you stay in the town a little longer? Yuura also wanted to see you.] Damon

    [Well, I¡¯m busy with a lot of things.] Yuna

    After defeating the Kraken, I have been doing many things. Working as escorts for Shia and her ssmates, building Anzu¡¯s shop, and subjugating golems. Making a stuffed animal and going to the royal capital, making a cake and going to Misa¡¯s birthday party, going to the elven vige, going to the school festival, going to the desert, etc. I¡¯m doing various things. Am I being overworked?

    [Yuura willeter, so pleasee and see her.] Damon

    [Yeah, I wanted to see her too.] Yuna

    [Well then, we¡¯ll prepare lunch, so eat a lot.] Damon

    Damon-san went with the others.

    Then, the people who came to make lunch for us seem to be preparing the food while looking for something (Kyoro-Kyoro). They¡¯re definitely looking for me.

    The man whom I had the first conversation, Anzu, Damon-san. Moreover, Gill and the children. No one noticed me. In that case, there is no choice but to dress as someone who everyone knows so well.

    I silently return to the beach house. Then, when I enter the changing room, I don-in my bear costume. And I, wearing my bear costume, goes out of the beach house. Then everyone¡¯s eyes gathered at me.

    [Young Lady Bear, there you are!]

    [I¡¯ve been searching for you.]

    [You¡¯re still dressed like that.]

    [Where have you been?]

    [Ah, Yuna-oneechan!]

    [It¡¯s Bear-san~]

    The reaction and expression of the fishermen and the children varies.

    I was in front of them for quite sometime, while I was still dressed in a swimsuit, nobody noticed me. So now I¡¯m wearing my bear costume.

    And did the children suddenly became lively? I guess I¡¯m just overthinking it

    [I heard it from Anzu, but thank you very much.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll cook delicious food, so eat a lot.] Man

    Everyone nodded to the words of the man.

    I thought I would be surrounded and thank me for killing the Kraken, but that wasn¡¯t the case. They only call out to me from a distance and they don¡¯t selfishly approach me.

    [Maybe it¡¯s because Kuro-ojichan told everyone that it would be a nuisance for Yuna-san.] Anzu

    Anzu said it with a bitter smile. I thought that old man was influential. But it turns out, he really is.

    Didn¡¯t he said that he was one of the influential people in the town? I guess I have to thank himter, don¡¯t I?

    [Yuna-san is a very popr person here. What did you do in this town?] Shia

    Shia brought Noa and the others.

    [I just dug a tunnel leading to Crimonia.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know how much Shia and Noa heard from Cliff and Eleanora-san. So I¡¯ll will answer like that. I can¡¯t say anything nasty because Misa and Marina and Eru are also on my side.

    [So that¡¯s why there were bears in front of the tunnel.] Shia

    Shia has a slightly implied face. Didn¡¯t she hear anything about it?

    But I can¡¯t confirm how much she knows. Shia doesn¡¯t even ask about it, so I¡¯m not going to answer either.

    [But Yuna-san. You¡¯re back to your usual bear-like appearance. You look good in a swimsuit. But Yuna-san looks better as Bear-san.] Noa

    [I think so, too!] Misa

    Following Noa, Misa agreed to it.

    It seems that the form of have been concluded in everyone¡¯s mind.

    I can¡¯t take it off now that they said it like that.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    As the title says, they didn¡¯t noticed Bear-san w

    Well, the people of Mereera have only met her once or twice, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Next time, if there is no urgent correction of the book, I will post it in 3 days as per usual.

    Reservations for volume 6 have started depending on the location. The list of the distribution for the store purchase privilege SS is undecided. I will report it as soon as I understand it.

 Chapter 353 Bear-san, Avoids Sunburn Day 2

    <h4>Chapter 353 Bear-san, Avoids Sunburn Day 2</h4>

    For lunch, I decided to eat the food prepared by the fishermen.

    All are delicious, they used fresh seafood. By baking it outside and eating it, the taste was increased by 20% and it feels more delicious. Morin-san¡¯s delicious bread became even more delicious when I went on a pic with Fina and ate it. It¡¯s strange that eating outside makes it taste better than usual.

    Not only the fish, but also the vegetables are baked so that the nutrition is not biased and the children are fed with a good nutritional bnce. The children are eating with a big smile. I have to thank all the fishermen.

    Even though they cook for us as a treat, it will bother Damon-san and other fishermen if they do it again tomorrow.

    [Is it good?] Yuura

    Yuura-san, also came to prepare the meal. Yuura-san is baking the vegetables and fish she brought. Then I asked her.

    [About the boat.] Yuna

    Tomorrow, the children will be riding on a fisherman¡¯s boat.

    It all started when one of the fishermen asked a child by his side, . The child who was asked was a bit reluctant to answer, . Then the fisherman said, . Then, the children around him raised their hands and their voices increased steadily with , , and . When other fishermen heard it, they started participating in the conversation as well, and then the turmoil grows.

    I thought they would be a nuisance, so I tried to stop them. But the children look sad and the fishermen are on their side. I was about to be the bad guy there.

    There are 30 children alone. In addition, it seems like he asked Liz-san and Elena-san to ride as well. I sighed and allowed them to listen to the adults. I also ask all fishermen to be careful if the children do anything dangerous. This is the first time for children to go to the sea and their first time to ride a boat. I don¡¯t understand what kind of dangerous action they will do. There is a possibility of falling into the sea with a little bit of shaking. So I made them promise to listen to what the adults say.

    Well, Gill, Lurina-san, and Anzu¡¯s crew will apany them, so it should be okay.

    And so, in the end, the adults also went with them, so it was quite arge number.

    [You don¡¯t have to worry so much. Everyone wants to do something for Yuna-chan. Although if we do something for Yuna-chan directly, Kuro-jisan will get angry, so if we do something for the children instead of Yuna-chan it¡¯ll be fine. So we thought we should do it. And Yuna-chan, I¡¯m looking forward to take care of the children. That¡¯s why I think Yuna-chan will be happy if the children are happy.] Yuura

    Because men are simple beings. Yuura-sanughs when she added it in a whisper.

    In other words, the kids will be my substitute. However, noting to me directly, they seem to be scared of Kuro-ojisan. I really have to thank Kuro-ojisan.

    But it¡¯s not good to give children everything. If you do so, it¡¯ll be scary to think that the children will ask me just about anything.

    When I return to the Bear House, I talked to the director and Tirumina-san, and they said, , .

    I¡¯m not sweet. It¡¯s just give and take. I agreed to it just because the kids are doing their best. But in the eyes of Tirumina-san and the others, it didn¡¯t seem like that.

    It¡¯s strange.

    [But is it okay for Yuura-san to approach me? Someone else might say otherwise or something.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s okay. Because we¡¯re the ones brought Yuna-chan here. That¡¯s why we¡¯re special.] Yuura

    Maybe Yuura-san and Damon-san are the ones being grateful for bringing me to Mereera?

    [I haven¡¯t thank you enough. It¡¯s a coincidence that I met Yuna-chan. But isn¡¯t it okay to get close to Yuna-chan as long as you don¡¯tin? Even though youin too a lot.] Yuura

    Yuura-san said so whileughing.

    [But is it really okay to ride on your boat and the fishes?] Yuna

    [We¡¯re busy in the morning. When Ie back from fishing, I just need to sell the fish. Though I¡¯ll only have to leave the selling to someone else, so don¡¯t worry about too much.] Yuura

    In that case it¡¯s fine.

    Getting on a boat is also a valuable experience. Perhaps some of the children wanted to be fishermen. If there is such a child, it may be good idea to show him the work of a fisherman. I¡¯ve heard that the work of a fisherman is difficult.

    After lunch, the fishermen left after cleaning up.

    I was surprised at the sudden appearance of the fishermen, but I am d that the children seems to be excited.

    In the afternoon, the not-so-hungry children swam in the sea, y on the beach, and rode on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Noa couldn¡¯t stand it anymore so she came to ask for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. She said , so I gave permission add lent Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to them.

    Once again, I¡¯m wearing my swimsuit so I can swim and y with Fina and Shuri, but soon after I¡¯m at the limit of my strength, so I¡¯m back at the beach house. If I don¡¯t have the bear equipment, I really am weaker than a child.

    Do I need to train a little?

    But even if I do it, I can imagine that I will end up bed ridden with muscle pain.

    And the sun goes down without any injuries. At the same time, my physical strength was reaching its limit. I decide to take a bath to get rid of the day¡¯s worth of fatigue.

    It¡¯s okay because I¡¯m wearing bear shoes now, but I¡¯m so tired that I don¡¯t want to walk a step without bear shoes. I may have muscle pain tomorrow. If that happens, can it be cured by magic?

    Curing muscle pain with magic. I may be the only person who has transferred from another world to think about such things.

    For the time being, I¡¯m heading to the bath with Fina and the others to rest my body in the bath.

    [Thank you everyone.] Yuna

    Fina, Shuri, and Noa, who kept yesterday¡¯s promise, prepared the bath.

    Everyone gave me a gentle word, and let me rest. Then, as I started taking a bath, I came to the dressing room on the 4th floor.

    As I slowly undress the bear costume, Noa and the others quickly undressed and entered the bathroom.

    Then, the moment I finished taking off my bear costume and entered the bathroom, a scream echoed in the bathroom.

    [What!? What happened?] Yuna

    [It hurts. It hurts. My body hurts.] Noa

    [U~u, my body hurts.] Misa

    The voice came from Noa and Mass. The two are rubbing their bodies painfully.

    [Yuna-oneechan. My body is tingling.] Shuri

    [My body hurts.] Fina

    Both Shuri and Fina are rubbing their bodies painfully as well. Apparently, their bodies hurt because of the sunburn.

    I didn¡¯t noticed it when I was in the sea, but when I look at Noa and the others, there were traces of tanned swimsuits. ck skin and white skin are clearly separated. Of course if you y in the sun all day long, it¡¯s natural to get sunburned.

    I look at my arms and body, but it¡¯s beautifully white. Well, I¡¯m alwaysying down at the seaside house, so I can¡¯t get sunburn. I was in a bear costume during lunch and wasn¡¯t in the sun for a long time. Thanks to that, I¡¯m not tanned.

    [Everyone got sunburned beautifully. It can¡¯t be helped that it hurts.] Yuna

    [So this is what it means to get sunburned.] Noa

    Noa look at her tanned body.

    [Noa, perhaps this is the first time you got sunburned?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s also the first time I¡¯ve burned so much.] Misa

    [Now I know why L always wearing a hat so she wouldn¡¯t get sunburned.] Noa

    I can see that L-san was paying attention to Noa. Misa seems to be the same so she¡¯s nodding.

    Well, I don¡¯t think a youngdy will get sunburned so much, so I wonder if it can be helped.

    Do they walk with a parasol in the summer?

    I imagine a European-style aristocratdscape, but it doesn¡¯t look good on Noa yet. If she grow up a little more, she may look good in wearing white gloves.

    [Yuna-san, are you thinking of something rude just now?] Noa

    She¡¯s looking at me in the eyes.

    [It¡¯s just your imagination.] Yuna

    (TN:¡¸¥«¥ó¥¬¥¨¥Æ¥¤¥Ê¥¤¥è¡¹)

    I looked away from Noa and look towards Fina and Shuri instead.

    [Fina, Shuri, are you okay?] Yuna

    [It hurts a little.] Fina

    [It hurts.] Shuri

    Well, both Fina and Shuri are tanned nicely. It can¡¯t be painless.

    However, while these four are in pain, there is a figure of Shia who is pouring hot water on her body without any hesitation. Moreover, when I look at her body, it is not tanned. I¡¯m sure she was ying with Noa and the others. so why?

    [Oneesama, does your body hurt as well?] Noa

    [I¡¯m fine, because I applied the medicine I bought in the royal capital earlier.] Shia

    [What medicine!?] Noa

    Noah ask in her astonishment.

    [It¡¯s a medicine that prevents you from getting hurt when you¡¯re exposed to the sun. If you apply it to your body, it won¡¯t hurt.] Shia

    Shia proudly answered.

    So is that a sunscreen? Is there such a thing in this world?

    [If there is such a thing, why didn¡¯t you tell me!?] Noa

    [Because you have to experience it yourself. Noa and Misa have to experience sunburn at least once. But if you want to be a beautiful woman, you have to apply it.] Shia

    Shia shows her white arm to Noa.

    [Oneesama, you¡¯re so mean.] Noa

    Noa puffs her face.

    [You have to experience various things while you¡¯re still a child.] Shia

    Shia poured a tub of hot water on Noa and Misa. The two screams.

    Now I think she¡¯s really terrible.

    Noa gets angry at Shia who has poured hot water on her.

    I¡¯m tired. Let me take a bath as quietly as possible.

    Then Noa and Misa went into the lukewarm water.

    [Maybe Yuna-san also applied medicine, so she¡¯s still white?] Shia

    Shia looked at my untanned body and asked.

    In my case, I lose physical strength very quickly and just withdrew to the beach house.

    I wonder if I should be grateful for myck of physical strength this time?

    But can sunburn be cured by healing magic?

    Then the other children and adults who came after us also said that when they took a bath, they were screaming in the bathroom. Anzu and the others are applying medicine to the children who got out of the bath. It seems to be a painkiller at the same time.

    [I knew this would definitely happen.] Anzu

    [Because we used to be like this as well.] Seno

    Anzu and Seno-san areughing while apply the medicine to the children¡¯s bodies.

    Well, if you grow up in a seaside town, you¡¯ll get sunburned many times.

    Treatment magic?

    Like Shia said, getting sunburn is also an experience. You shouldn¡¯t have to worry about sunburn, it will fade in a few days.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yuna was able to avoid the sunburn safely.

    And the children were supposed to get on the boat.

 Chapter 354 Bear-san, Goes Around for Greetings Part 1 Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 354 Bear-san, Goes Around for Greetings Part 1 Day 3</h4>

    When I woke up in the morning, my body screamed in pain.

    It hurts when I raise my arm and it hurts when I bend my leg. It¡¯s full-blown muscle pain. I rubbed my legs and arms in the bath yesterday, but it seems that it didn¡¯t work. It¡¯s funny, I shouldn¡¯t have yed enough to get a sunburn yesterday, but I have muscle aches all over my body. When I move my body, I get severe pain in various ces. I can¡¯t walk as it is.

    When I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for help, they anxiously cried and snuggled up to me. But even if theye to me, the muscle pain didn¡¯t go away. I picked up my bear puppets that were on my pillow and wore it. After I put it on, I used healing magic on the part where my muscles are aching. The pain gradually relieved. It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore when I bend my arms and legs.

    Thanks to the bear magic!

    That¡¯s how the morning of the third day went.

    The children ate breakfast then went to the harbor to ride the boat. I waved my hand and saw off the children. Everyone, including Noa¡¯s group. The director said she wants to stay in the bear house, but she was taken by the children.

    Only me, Fina, and Shuri are left in the bear house.

    [Is it really okay for the both of you not to go with them?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m going with Yuna-oneechan.] Shuri

    [Don¡¯t you want to get on the boat, Shuri?] Yuna

    [Yeah, I wanted to ride the boat. But I also want to see Dega-ojichan.] Shuri

    After what happened yesterday, I decided to go around to greet everyone in Mereera. Of course, that includes Dega-san. Upon hearing me say it, Fina and Shuri said they wanted to go with me.

    [Also, we already got on the boat when we came here before.] Fina

    That¡¯s why I took Fina and Shuri to Dega-san¡¯s inn. Anzu said I don¡¯t need to say hello, but that¡¯s not the case. Greetings are necessary because I am taking care of his daughter.

    We walk leisurely from the bear house. I did not return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets.

    When we arrived at the inn and went inside, his muscles wees us.

    [Wee. Un? Bear girl?] Dega

    [Dega-san, it¡¯s been a long time.] Yuna

    When I gave my greetings, Fina and Shuri bowed down and said hello as well.

    [Oh, you all look lovely today. I was very surprised because Anzu suddenly came back yesterday.] Dega

    [Did you receive a letter?] Yuna

    [I got the letter, but it didn¡¯t say anything about hering back. She thought I would be worried if she wrote it. I just didn¡¯t expect for Anzu toe back to town so quickly.] Dega

    By the way, did she mentioned that?

    [When I heard that she was there, I thought I¡¯d go to your house, but I¡¯m too busy.] Dega

    [As expected, you¡¯re getting a lot of customers now, didn¡¯t you?] Yuna

    [Yeah, but when I told Anzu toe back here, she refused. She told me, .] Dega

    [That¡¯s not good. I¡¯ll be in trouble if Anzu doesn¡¯t return with us.] Yuna

    [No good. If you take Anzu-oneechan, we won¡¯t be able to eat delicious food.] Shuri

    I quickly tried to stop Shuri. But Fina also nods a little

    Dega-san put his big hand on top of Shuri¡¯s head.

    [Half of it was just a joke. Rest assured that I¡¯m not going to take Anzu back.] Dega

    [Really?] Shuri

    But half of it was serious.

    [I¡¯ve heard that Anzu was happily doing her own thing. If she had a hard time and was crying, I¡¯ll take her back.] Dega

    [Isn¡¯t more appropriate to say that she shouldn¡¯te back until she¡¯s a full-fledged chef?] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t say that to such a cute girl! If that is my son, I¡¯ll kick his ass and take him back.] Dega

    Apparently, fathers in every world are sweet to their daughters.

    [But don¡¯t tell her that I said that because it¡¯s embarrassing.] Dega

    Even though the muscle dad looks embarrassed, it doesn¡¯t have a MOE factor, so stop making that face.

    [But Anzu seems to be doing alright, so I¡¯m relieved.] Dega

    It seems that Dega-san heard everything about Anzu¡¯s shop from the guests staying at the inn. The seems to be famous as it is. He also heard it from the people who travel from Mereera to Crimonia and back.

    Apparently, Dega-san¡¯s information about Anzu only came from rumors and gossips.

    [Keep it a secret to Anzu.] Dega

    But doesn¡¯t that mean that Dega-san¡¯s information is also flowing to Anzu?

    Well, it¡¯s good that information flows to each other. They don¡¯t have to worry.

    Then we talked about how Anzu is doing in Crimonia and then, we went to the next ce.

    [Are we going to Atora-san next?] Fina

    [Atora-oneechan?] Shuri

    [Last time, she was very angry when I didn¡¯t show my face to her.] Yuna

    In the first ce, I don¡¯t know the reason as to why she got angry just because I didn¡¯t show up to her.

    The reason why I didn¡¯t meet with her at that time was that I don¡¯t have anything else to do. Maybe that¡¯s why I had a long life in solitude.

    (TC: Sorry can¡¯t help it.)

    Normally, do I just say hello?

    That¡¯s why we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to meet Atora-san.

    When I entered the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I got gazed at for the first time in a while.

    [Why is there a bear here?] Adventurer1

    [Don¡¯t you know? The beardy is on a trip with her store employees.] Adventurer2

    [Why do you know that?] Adventurer1

    That¡¯s right. Why do you know that?

    [I saw the leaflet about the store¡¯s holiday. I¡¯ve confirmed it. I¡¯m a regr customer of that bakery and cafeteria.] Adventurer2

    An adventurer deres proudly.

    But did the leaflet mention the reason for the holidays?

    I don¡¯t remember much about the details. However, it¡¯s possible that Anzu and the children informed them normally. Even so, I¡¯m not saying they shouldn¡¯t talk about why we¡¯re taking a break from the store.

    And as I¡¯m wandering around, a male guild employee noticed me.

    Etto, I¡¯m sure this person is.

    [Yuna-san. It¡¯s been a long time.] Sei

    [Se, Sei-san, yeah, it¡¯s been a long time.] Yuna

    Dangerous, dangerous. His name didn¡¯t pop out for a moment there.

    However, Sei-san responded with a smile, whether he noticed it or pretended not to notice it.

    [Is Atora-san here? I thought I¡¯d say hello since I¡¯m here in Mereera.] Yuna

    [Yes, she¡¯s here. Please head to the back room.] Sei

    With Sei-san¡¯s guidance, we head to the back room where Atora-san is.

    The other guild staff was bowing. I don¡¯t need that. That¡¯s why we hurried into the room.

    [What? If it¡¯s work, turn it in the afternoon.] Atora

    Atora-san said to us while facing down.

    [That¡¯s not it, Guildmaster. Yuna-san came.] Sei

    [What about Yuna?] Atora

    When Sei-san answered, Atora-san, who was doing some paperwork at the desk, looked up.

    [Yuna! And also Fina and Shuri!] Atora

    [Atora-san, it¡¯s been a while.] Yuna

    Atora-san is still dressed with a lot of exposed parts. She can do it because she is confident in her body. Well not really, but it looks like I can¡¯t do that.

    [Did you juste into town?] Atora

    Apparently, Atora-san didn¡¯t know I was here.

    Sei-san said, and left the room.

    [I¡¯m here since yesterday. And so, I came because thest time, you wereining when I didn¡¯te to say hello right away.] Yuna

    [I wasn¡¯tining about it. I just felt bad when Yuna, who took care of me didn¡¯t show up.] Atora

    That¡¯s why this time, I¡¯m showing up like this.

    [So what¡¯s up? Did youe here to y with Fina and Shuri again?] Atora

    I briefly exined why we came here.

    [So it¡¯s an employee trip with children. Yuna still does strange things.] Atora

    Was it really that strange?

    Well, even if the others think it¡¯s weird, I just do what I want to do. I¡¯m not bothering others. Yes, the moment I thought so, Tirumina-san¡¯s face came to my mind. I shook my head from side to side and shook off Tirumina-san from my head.

    Tirumina-san should be enjoying this trip as well, so there should be no problem.

    And today, she went on a boat ride with the children. Tirumina-san was asking how to catch seafood. As I have said. She¡¯s definitely enjoying it.

    [Even so, it looks like you¡¯re busy.] Yuna

    [Well, the security of the town was also given to me. So I¡¯m a little busier than usual.] Atora

    [You¡¯re also doing that?] Yuna

    [The new mayor says it¡¯s difficult to get around. There used to be a small guard, but the town was not as big as it is now. When there aren¡¯t enough people, they hire adventurers to turn it around. And because I manage the adventurer¡¯s guild, if I take over security management, they can save a lot of trouble. Besides, I ask the adventurers for matters that the guards can not handle, and the monsters around the town. The advantage is great because the information can be transmitted faster, but the disadvantage is that I get too busy.] Atora

    Atora-san said so with augh, but her expression says otherwise.

    [And now that there aren¡¯t enough people, I have to help as much as I can.] Atora

    The number of workers is increasing, but it seems that the number of jobs esctes.

    [By the way, Atora-san, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you. Why isn¡¯t the area around my house, hasn¡¯t been cleared yet?] Yuna

    The trees around my house remained uncut. The path was paved with cobblestones and surrounded by forests on the left and right, and there was a Bear House on the way. To describe the current situation, my Bear House looks like a temple or a shrine.

    [¨¡, are ne...] Atora

    Atora-san slowly diverts her gaze from me.

    [They said to leave that as it is.] Atora

    [Why?] Yuna

    [Because, since you built such a huge bear structure, no one can build a building nearby. Nobody wants to build around it, since the atmosphere is preventing people to build anything near it, so it remained as it is. ] Atora

    In other words, the bear house is bad.

    [It wouldn¡¯t stand out if there were trees surrounding it.] Atora

    Certainly, it will not be noticed immediately. However, on the contrary, it stood out because that¡¯s the only ce with forest and that beautifully paved pathway. If you pass in front of that pathway, you can see the bear¡¯s face whether you like it or not.

    Should I hide it by raising the wall?

    [Yuna, if you really don¡¯t like it, I tell the townspeople that Yuna said so.] Atora

    This person is just throwing everything out to others because it was a hassle.

    It¡¯s too troublesome for me as well. I¡¯m not going to clear the forest around my house until I persuade the residents.

    [Everyone is grateful to Yuna, they¡¯re not giving you a hateful atmosphere. So it¡¯s not harassment. Please understand that.] Atora

    I can see that by looking at the fishermen yesterday. I saw their desire to thank me and their actions to avoid bothering me.

    They really don¡¯t have to worry about the Kraken subjugation and the tunnel creation.

    The Kraken subjugation was for rice, soy sauce, and miso. The tunnel was just to secure the distribution of seafood and to get Anzu. So I don¡¯t really care about anything else.

    However, I couldn¡¯t tell the truth anymore, so I had no choice but to ept the current situation.

 Chapter 355 Bear-san goes around for greetings Part 2 Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 355 Bear-san goes around for greetings Part 2 Day 3</h4>

    After leaving the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we head to themercial guild to meet Jeremo-san, so I can thank him for having rice and seafood brought to the store on a regr basis.

    When I entered themercial guild, I got a lot of gazes.

    , , , , , , , .

    I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on. But It seems that they know I was in the sea yesterday.

    Even so, there are now more people here in themercial guild and it¡¯s quite livelier than I expected.

    When I went to the reception desk, where the guild staff was, to ask for Jeremo -san, someone else came.

    [When I thought about why it was noisy here, it appears that Yuna-san came.] Anabelle

    The one who appeared was Anabelle-san, who came from Crimonia to educate Jeremo-san to be a Guildmaster.

    She¡¯s still in Mereera.

    [Anabelle-san, it¡¯s been a long time.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve been hearing a lot about you. You came to Mereera together with the children who work for Yuna-san. Not only did you gave them jobs, but you also have apassionate heart for those who work for you. Yuna-san is kind. I want other business people to follow suit.] Anabelle

    Anabelle nced at the surroundings and those who appeared to be in business were looking away.

    [This is my way of thanking them for their hard work. Besides, taking a break from time to time is essential to work efficiently.] Yuna

    Besides, it¡¯ll be boring to repeat the same thing every day. Sometimes, people need variety. That¡¯s why I want to take a break several times a year.

    [Normally you can¡¯t, considering the profits of the store.] Anabelle

    Well, I hope the profit is not in the red. Thanks to everyone, sales are growing steadily. (Tirumina-san said.)

    So, there is nothing wrong with taking a break. With this, I hope you can refresh your feelings and work.

    [But Anabelle-san. You¡¯re still here.] Yuna

    [Yeah, I was thinking of going back to Crimonia. But, Mylene-san asked me to work in thismercial guild branch instead.] Anabelle

    [But you¡¯re married and have small children, right?] Yuna

    [Yes, that¡¯s why I called my husband and children over here.] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san nces at the staff. Then, a slender male employee in the back bows his head.

    [Could this be your husband?] Yuna

    [Yes, he said he woulde here with me, and Mylene-san also said that me working here would save a lot of trouble, so I moved here with my husband and child.] Anabelle

    He seems like a gentleman. However, it seems that behind the scenes, Anabelle-san is the one who¡¯s dominant. But it¡¯s better to live together than be apart for a long time. It¡¯s also good for her children.

    [You¡¯re husband also worked in themercial guild?] Yuna

    [We first met each other in themercial guild... Yuna-san. What are you trying to make me say!] Anabelle

    No, I never asked for that kind of information. It was Anabelle-san who spoke of it even without me asking. But I don¡¯t even want to hear her ecstatic story.

    However, her husband who came here with her seems to be nice.

    [Well, I decided to stay here because I was asked by a guild staff member.] Anabelle

    [We can¡¯t control Jeremo-san after Anabelle-san is gone.] Guild staff

    [We¡¯ll be in a lot of trouble if we don¡¯t have Anabelle-san here.] Guild staff

    The staff members who were listening joined the conversation.

    Apparently, Anabelle-san is desperately needed in Mereera¡¯smercial guild.

    [And that¡¯s why I stayed here.] Anabelle

    [Maybe Jeremo-san is useless as the Guildmaster?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not the case. He has the qualification to be a Guildmaster. However, the problem is that he has a habit of skipping. When I take my eyes off him, he tries to skip and get out of the room. But for the townspeople, he is the only hope. His face is widely known, so if they told Jeremo-san to go back to work, he will usually ept it. If he didn¡¯t have a habit of skipping, he¡¯ll be an excellent Guildmaster.] Anabelle

    Did the elders said such a thing?

    Being loved by the townspeople may be a necessary qualification for those who stand above.

    [About that, is Jeremo-san here? I came to say hello.] Yuna

    [He¡¯s working in the back room.] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san took us to the room where Jeremo-san is. But when we entered the room, I couldn¡¯t see Jeremo-san. There was a pile of documents on the desk and an open window.

    [Ano, that guy was......] Yuna

    Anabelle-san is holding her head.

    Well, in other words, he ditched his job and ran away.

    [Ha-a(sigh), Yuna-san, please sit in a chair and wait. I¡¯ll prepare some drinks now.] Anabelle

    [You¡¯re not going to look for him?] Yuna

    [He¡¯ll be back soon.] Anabelle

    That being said, Anabelle-san left the room.

    [Yuna-oneesan, are we going to wait?] Fina

    [What should we do now?] Yuna

    Anabelle-san said she would be back soon, but she might take a while since she woulde back after meeting Kuro-ojisan first. While I was wondering what to do, Shuri made a noise.

    [Oneechan! Yuna-oneechan! A strange person in the window.] Shuri

    [The window?] Yuna

    Looking at the window, Jeremo-san was about toe in.

    Our line of sight matches Jeremo-san¡¯s line of sight.

    [Why is the bear girl and co. here?] Jeremo

    [I came to say hello to you Jeremo-san. But I couldn¡¯t.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry. I was walking outside for a moment.] Jeremo

    Jeremo-san gets over the window sill and entered the room.

    [Anabelle-san was very angry.] Yuna

    [Is that true? She shouldn¡¯te to my room at this time to check my job.] Jeremo

    Did this person made such a detailed calction and getting out of it?

    [Perhaps it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m sorry. She entered the room when I asked her to guide me.] Yuna

    [No, it¡¯s not the youngdies¡¯ fault, so don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s right.......... I, I just went to the bathroom, so it¡¯s okay.] Jeremo

    [Ara, did you go to the bathroom through the window?] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san, who brought the drinks, stood at the door. Jeremo-san has a distressed expression on his face.

    [That¡¯s right, because that way gets me closer to the bathroom.] Jeremo

    [The bathroom is right outside the door.] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san answered with no expression and ced the drinks in front of us.

    [In that kind of emergency?] Anabelle

    [What I mean is, I did it outside.] Jeremo

    [You did it outside?] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san and Shuri were staring at Jeremo-san with scornful and innocent eyes respectively.

    [N... No, I didn¡¯t. That was a lie.] Jeremo

    As expected, he cannot tell a straight lie in front of Shuri and answered honestly. Why did you try to lie when you ditched your work?

    Jeremo-san racks his brain as he awkwardly sits in his chair.

    [By the way, it seems that the beardy came here to y.] Jeremo

    Apparently, he wants to change the topic.

    I also often divert the topic, so I can¡¯t say anything about him. So, this time, I¡¯ll take Jeremo-san¡¯s topic.

    [Un. I heard from Anzu that you always give priority to seafood and rice, so I came to thank you for it.] Yuna

    I heard from Anzu that the seafood sent from Mereera to Crimonia was given priority to my shop. I didn¡¯t ask for it. Anzu said that you can tell by looking at the fish.

    [That wasn¡¯t my direction. It¡¯s what the townspeople who were doing it.] Jeremo

    [By the way, I once saw some fishermen fighting for the fish to be sent to Yuna-san¡¯s shop. .] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san told us as if she just remembered it. I¡¯m d they sent me good things, but I want you to stop fighting over it.

    However, it seems that Kuro-ojisan saw the quarrel and stopped it.

    I¡¯ve really troubled Kuro-ojisan. I just hope that Kuro-ojisan will live a long and healthy life. I wonder if I could give him sacred tree tea as a gift.

    [But I want to emte the idea of ??giving a break for some guild staff. Like how Yuna-san gave a break to the children who were working for her toe here and y.] Jeremo

    Jeremo-san heard a line that seems to be familiar.

    [What about me? I¡¯ve given them a break three days ago since it was a holiday.] Yuna

    [That would need an inspection. I need to show my face there.] Jeremo

    [Jeremo-san, you just did that since you wanted to go outside. And it¡¯s also your role as a guild master to check the scene.] Anabelle

    [So that means it¡¯s a part of my work.] Jeremo

    [But you¡¯re drinking alcohol wherever you go, right?] Anabelle

    [Wh, Why. That is...] Jeremo

    [I know, but I¡¯m not angry because I think it¡¯s also a break.] Anabelle

    Certainly, if he¡¯s drinking alcohol, it may or may not because of work. The problem will depend on Jeremo-san¡¯s feelings. That¡¯s a big difference between going out to drink alcohol unwillingly and going out to drink alcohol happily.

    Sometimes I was reluctant to go out and y a game, and other times I¡¯m happy to go out.

    If you think about it like that, it¡¯ll also depend on the mood of the person you are dating.

    [Look, don¡¯t be stupid, do your job. It¡¯s about time Kuro-ojisanes, so please get the job done by then. You¡¯ve been to the bathroom for quite a while.] Anabelle

    Jeremo-san tried to derail the topic. But in the end, it was put back on track by Anabelle-san.

    But I heard a word that I became curious about.

    [Kuro-ojisan ising?] Yuna

    [We left the sea to Kuro-ojisan, so we get regr reports from him. Mainly about the seafood that we¡¯re sending to Crimonia. The type and amount of fish caught varies from day to day, so he¡¯s more familiar with it. We really need the information, so we asked hime to the guild.] Anabelle

    Apparently, Kuro-ojisan ising here.

    If so, can¡¯t I just wait for him here?

    [Fina, Shuri. I want to say hello to Kuro-ojisan, so I¡¯ll be staying here for a while? So how about both of you take a walk.] Yuna

    [Shuri, what do you want to do? Do you want to go outside?] Fina

    Fina asked Shuri. Apparently, Fina would decide after hearing Shuri¡¯s opinion.

    [I wanted to y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Shuri

    Shuri seems to be waiting for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form, then Fina and Shuri ced them on the table and started ying.

    [Are, Young Lady. Your Bears, aren¡¯t they small?] Jeremo

    [Yeah. I heard that Yuna-san¡¯s bears are big. Are those different bears?] Anabelle

    [They¡¯re the same bears. My bears are different from a normal bear, so I can make them smaller.] Yuna

    [Really, you¡¯re quite something, you know.] Jeremo

    After waiting for a while, Kuro-ojisan came.

 Chapter 356 Bear-san Learns About A Mysterious Island Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 356 Bear-san Learns About A Mysterious Ind Day 3</h4>

    Fina and Shuri are ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, squeezing their hands, and rubbing their stomachs. They also looks like they¡¯re ying with a puppy. While looking sideways at these two people, I kill time while listening to Anabelle-san and Jeremo-san about the town. And as we¡¯re having a conversation, Jeremo-san is working while looking at the materials.

    Anabelle-san watches over Jeremo-san while taking care of me. While I was talking with them, Kuro-ojisan came.

    [I heard that a bear girl came...] Kuro

    When he entered the room, he looked around the room as if he was looking for me. And as soon as he finds me, he quicklye to me.

    [I¡¯m sorry that we seemed to bother you yesterday.] Kuro

    As soon as he got close to me, Kuro-ojisan apologized.

    [I told them not to bother the bear girl, but it seems that they really wanted to thank the bear girl. so I couldn¡¯t stop them because I wasn¡¯t there either.] Kuro

    [Yeah, all the fishermen came and were able to eat delicious food, and the kids were happy, so I¡¯m not really angry. I¡¯m actually quite happy since the kids are having fun on a boat ride today.] Yuna

    [It would be helpful if you could say that, but I¡¯ve scolded them for the time being.] Kuro

    It seems that he already scolded them, without asking me.

    Even so, it is helpful to have a powerful person or a great person like Kuro-ojisan on my side. Just a word from Kuro-ojisan and all of the fishermen will listen to my request. I really grateful to Kuro-ojisan.

    [So why are you here?] Kuro

    [Yuna-san was waiting for Kuro-ojisan] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san answered before I could.

    [It¡¯s something about how you¡¯ve been taking care about me. I¡¯d like to thank you for it.] Yuna

    [It didn¡¯t seem to be very useful though.] Kuro

    It would have been even more difficult if Kuro-ojisan hadn¡¯t done anything. Kuro-ojisan has a great presence as a breakwater. I¡¯ll be in trouble if I don¡¯t have that breakwater from the fishermen. It¡¯s scary to think if the breakwater broke.

    [That¡¯s not the case. I¡¯m grateful to Kuro-ojisan and I¡¯m looking forward to your continued support.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s because I made a promise with you.] Kuro

    A promise with me. Please do not spread the matter of me subduing the Kraken. Kuro-ojisan kept his promise to prevent of any information leak rting to me.

    I put a small box of sacred tree tea leaves on the table so that Kuro-ojisan can stay healthy.

    [What¡¯s this?] Kuro

    [It¡¯s a kind of tea that can relieve fatigue. Please drink it when you¡¯re tired. The effect is guaranteed.] Yuna

    The effect has been proven by Cliff, after he tasted the sacred tree tea...... I heard that he was relieved of his tiredness and his work was progressing smoothly.

    [I want Kuro-ojisan to stay healthy forever.] Yuna

    Mainly for my sake.

    [But be careful not to drink too much. Just because you feel fine, you¡¯re still overworked and I don¡¯t want you to copse.] Yuna

    [Is it a tea that can make you feel better? Thank you. If I drink this, I can beat some more sense into those young¡¯ns.] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan happily received the small box containing the tea leaves of the sacred tree.

    Perhaps I gave him something that I shouldn¡¯t give. I apologize to the young fishermen in my heart. Please do your best and be a good fisherman.

    And Jeremo-san is looking at the small box containing the tea leaves of the sacred tree.

    [Jeremo-san, do you want some too?] Yuna

    [No, I don¡¯t need it. If I get well, I¡¯ll get more work, so I don¡¯t want it.] Jeremo

    Jeremo-san intensely shakes his head from side to side as he refuse.

    [I would rather sleep and get rid of my tiredness.] Jeremo

    I agree with Jeremo-san. It is definitely better to sleep and recover than to recover physical strength with nutritional supplements. Sleep is my identity, and rolling on the bed is justice. So even if Anabelle-san wants it for Jeremo-san, I won¡¯t give it.

    [So, it¡¯s a regr report, but has anything changed?] Anabelle

    After the conversation with me, Anabelle-san asked Kuro-ojisan who¡¯s sitting in a chair. Kuro-ojisan took out the paper from his bag and gave it to Anabelle-san.

    We missed the timing to leave the room, so I decided to join in with their talk. Shuri isn¡¯t interested in such a conversation, so she kept ying with Hugging Bear.

    Well, I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t do it in my spare time. Fina puts Swaying Bear on herp and she¡¯s stroking his head while listening to the conversation.

    [It¡¯s written on this paper, but nothing has changed. The docking is going well. The only problem is that an idiot recklessly approached the ind and broke their boat.] Kuro

    [Were they okay?!] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san was surprised by Kuro-ojisan¡¯s report.

    [Don¡¯t worry. The boat may have sank, but fortunately the whirlpools subsided so they were helped by another boat. I already told that idiot not to approach that ind so close.] Kuro

    [What are you talking about?] Yuna

    Ind, whirlpool, sinking boat.

    I can¡¯t tell what they¡¯re talking about just by using fragmentary words.

    [Ah, it can¡¯t be helped that you don¡¯t know about it. Well, I only heard about it from the fishermen who are out in the sea. It seems that an ind suddenly appeared about 5 days ago.] Kuro

    [An ind suddenly appeared?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t think inds usually appear just like that. Does that mean that an underwater volcano erupted?

    Or was it a phenomenon peculiar to other worlds?

    [I can¡¯t believe the ind just suddenly appeared.] Anabelle

    Anabelle-san seems to be disagreeing with Kuro-ojisan¡¯s story. Well, even if you think about it normally, an ind doesn¡¯t appear out of nowhere.

    [Every day, the fishermen out in the sea can never be unaware that there is an ind. I¡¯ve confirmed that myself since I¡¯ve been fishing for decades, but there wasn¡¯t an ind there before.] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan insists.

    Well, if you¡¯ve been fishing for decades, the sea is like a garden to you. You can¡¯t overlook something big like an ind.

    [Is it true that the same thing happened in the past and the fishermen were making a fuss about it?] Jeremo

    Jeremo-san, who was quietly listening to the story, opens his mouth as if he just remembered it.

    [Ah, it was three years ago. And before that, five years ago. I remember it before. Suddenly, there is a mysterious phenomenon that the ind appears and disappears after a few days.] Kuro

    It¡¯s not an ind thates out when low tide.

    ording to the story, it¡¯s offshore.

    [I checked the location of the ind, but I found out that it is a little different from thest time. I have checked the sea where the ind was in the past, but there was nothing like an ind in that area of the sea.] Kuro

    [In other words, the ind is moving?] Yuna

    [Inds don¡¯t do that.] Anabelle

    [The ind is moving?] Shuri

    Shuri, who was ying with Hugging Bear, joined the conversation. Apparently, she was interested in the moving ind.

    [I think so. Out of nowhere, the ind appears and drifting somewhere.] Kuro

    Is it a floating ind?

    I think it depends on the size, but it is a floating ind and maye near Mereera periodically. Then somehow that exins it.

    [Is that ind the same as the one that appeared before?] Yuna

    [I didn¡¯t check it when it¡¯s nearby and it was a few years ago, so don¡¯t remember the shape of the ind.] Kuro

    Well, that¡¯s right. Even I don¡¯t remember the shape of what I saw only once a few years ago.

    [There are many rock walls on the ind, and there are many whirlpools around the ind, making it difficult to get close to the ind. Some people have tried to go to the ind in the past, but all of them have their boat destroyed. Some people died when their boat sunk, so I banned them from approaching that ind, but there are always young people heading for the ind without permission. Fortunately, I¡¯m d that they were safe with the help of other boats. However, it¡¯s a problem because some people act with enthusiasm.] Kuro

    Some fishermen don¡¯t even listen to Kuro-ojisan¡¯s words.

    Even so, is there such an ind? Perhaps there might even be a treasure just sleeping there.

    [And they¡¯re so stupid using the possibility of a treasure as an excuse. How do you put a treasure in a ce that no one can approach? And if you put it on a moving ind, you¡¯ll have to go get it eventually. They¡¯re stupid so they want to approach the ind.] Kuro

    Excuse me. I also thought that there might be treasure.

    Just like what Kuro-ojisan says. Even if there are pirates and their treasure is hidden on a moving ind, it cannot be recovered and may be taken by the others. Thinking of themon sense for such an ind, you wouldn¡¯t hide your treasure there.

    [Is there a treasure?] Shuri

    Shuri eyes were shining as she asked.

    [No, there¡¯s none. If there was such a thing, it would have already been taken by another person.] Kuro

    Shuri is disappointed to Kuro-ojisan¡¯s reply. Did she want the treasure that much?

    I want it.

    [By the way, you girls didn¡¯t got on the boat ride?] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan asked Fina and Shuri, who are holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [We got it on one when we came here before.] Fina

    [I got on~] Shuri

    [We got on Damon-san¡¯s boat.] Yuna

    [Ah, that time. But it was still chilly at that time. When you go on a boat ride now, it feels different from that time.] Kuro

    [Is that so?] Fina

    [Really?] Shuri

    Shuri and Fina leaned forward.

    [Oh, it¡¯s different. Depending on the season, the sea shows a different scenery every time. Even a different time of a day, it can easily change. The sea is a mysterious ce.] Kuro

    We¡¯ve never been on a boat that much. It really conveys what Kuro-ojisan wants to say. Of course, it depends on the season, and the sunlight shining down from the sky is also different. The power of the wind is also different. Some winds will be pleasant and some can be cold.

    Sometimes the wind is strong and the waves are big, and sometimes it is calm. And depending on the time, you should see a different scenery. If you go in the morning, you can see the sunrise, and if you go in the evening, you can see the sunset. It¡¯s a seascape can change depending on the time of the day.

    Listening to Kuro-ojisan¡¯s story, the two began to get hooked on riding a boat.

    [Would you like to ask Damon-santer?] Yuna

    [Really!?] Shuri

    [Is it okay?] Fina

    They look happy with my words. After all, it seems that they wanted to get on the boat. It may have been a pity to apany me and take them around with me to greet everyone.

    I have been spoiled by the kindness of these two.

    [I¡¯ll ask him, but I¡¯m sorry if it doesn¡¯t work.] Yuna

    It¡¯s shameful to make a promise without the other person¡¯s permission and make them happy by getting their hopes up just to shoot it down when we find out it¡¯s no good.

    [Then, let¡¯s get on my boat.] Kuro

    [Kuro-ji!?] Jeremo

    It was Jeremo-san who was surprised, not me.

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll let them ride my boat. Just like when these girls ride on Damon¡¯s boat, the people around me won¡¯tin.] Kuro

    Ah, so that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to say it?

    [Can I get on Ojisan¡¯s ship?] Shuri

    [Oh, you can ride it. I¡¯m the best when ites to maneuvering.] Kuro

    [The best!] Shuri

    [The youngsters can¡¯t beat me to it!] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan puffed up his chest as he proudly dered.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And that is how a mysterious floating ind came out. I think it will be the main story of the second half of the sea edition.

    We also have to go on an adventure.

 Chapter 357 Bear-san Comes to the Harbor Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 357 Bear-san Comes to the Harbor Day 3</h4>

    [Yuna-oneechan, what are we having for lunch?] Shuri

    Shuri asks while rubbing her belly. Certainly, I¡¯m also hungry. There is a lot of food in the bear box, so you might want to eat it on the boat. Both of them don¡¯t seem to get seasick and shouldn¡¯t have any problems.

    However, Kuro-ojisan who was listening to our conversation makes another proposal.

    [Then, you should eat at the harbor. By this time, the children brought by the bear girl should be eating there as well.] Kuro

    ording to Kuro-ojisan, all the fishermen are preparing the fish they caught this morning for lunch. It seems that they even prepared meals for us after the boat ride.

    When we got near the harbor, we can smell the delicious scent. My belly rumbles a little. I look at Fina who¡¯s walking next to me.

    [I¡¯m also getting hungry.] Fina

    Apparently, she heard my rumbling belly.

    U~, that¡¯s embarrassing.

    This bear equipment. The defense is excellent, so I wish it could also block the sound of my rumbling stomach. This is a function I want as a maiden.

    When we arrive at the harbor while being invited by the scent, I saw the children and Tirumina-san eating. This seems to be a continuation from yesterday, there are fishermen grilling fish and shellfish and making miso soup containing shellfish and wakame seaweed.

    Kuro-ojisan went to the fishermen and asked them to give us a meal. The fishermen nced at me and said, . I was able to have a meal peacefully.

    [Yuna-chan. Have you finished your business?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-sanes over while watching the children eat happily. Shuri hugs Tirumina-san, who¡¯s patting Shuri¡¯s head.

    [I¡¯ve only given them some light greetings. And because of that, we¡¯re supposed to get on Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat. Tirumina-san, it seems like you and the others are already having a meal?] Yuna

    [Yes, not only did they let us ride on the boats, but they also prepared us a meal. I¡¯d feel bad if I refuse when they go this far.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looks troubled.

    I agree with Tirumina-san. Even though I¡¯m not paying for it, they let the children rode on the boat and gave them a meal. I am reluctant to receive free courtesy.

    [Hey, Yuna-chan. What did you do in this town? I know Yuna-chan created the tunnel. But there¡¯s something else, right?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san doubtfully asked me.

    [There¡¯s nothing else.] Yuna

    [Really?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san¡¯s face approached mine. She squinted her eyes while staring at my eyes. That¡¯s definitely the eyes full of suspicion. I knew I would lose if I looked away, but I couldn¡¯t stand it so I turned my eyes away.

    [So then, do you girls know what she did?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looks at her two daughters.

    [What did Yuna-oneechan do? It¡¯s a secret.] Shuri

    [It¡¯s a secret.] Fina

    Oh, Fina and Shuri are on my side against Tirumina-san. It¡¯s a moving moment. But this is not a harbinger of their rebellious phase, right?

    [Ara, can you tell your mom about it?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san hugged them yfully and began to tickle.

    [Ah, mom, please stop. Tickling me!] Fina

    [Mom, It tickles~] Shuri

    [Come on, if you don¡¯t say it, I¡¯ll tickle you more.] Tirumina

    They¡¯re quite close. A family that ys with each other. It was something they couldn¡¯t do before when Tirumina-san was ill. It makes me smile when I look at them. And, in the same way, there is Genz-san who¡¯s smiling while watching themotion. Gentz-san is also a parent. But if Gentz-san enters that circle, even though they¡¯re his family now, it will still be a crime. Perhaps he understood that as well and that¡¯s why he doesn¡¯t try to join them.

    Well, it¡¯s difficult even for a real father to get into the bonding of mother and daughters. If my father did that to me, I would definitely punch him.

    [Yu, Yuna-oneesan, please help.] Fina

    [Yuna-oneechan...] Shuri

    As I look at Fina with a smile, Fina and Shuri wereughing while reaching out for help. Tirumina-san did not let them escape. Though it only looks like they¡¯re ying with each other, but I wonder if I should help.

    [The town was attacked by a monster, so I just defeated it.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Tirumina

    I¡¯m not lying. I just blurred out the Kraken part.

    [Yes, so they¡¯re a little grateful about it.] Yuna

    As I exined it, Tirumina-san released Fina and Shuri. Fina and Shuri sat down and both were out of breath, they were tired fromughing.

    [Mom, you¡¯re terrible.] Fina

    [That¡¯s because you hid it from your mother. Well, because it¡¯s Yuna-chan, I believe that she defeated another ridiculous monster. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san didn¡¯t ask me about the blurred part. Moreover, I don¡¯t know if she will believe me even if I tell her the truth.

    [But I was convinced after seeing various things. When I was walking around the town, the bear figurines and essories are sold as amulets. Normally, you don¡¯t sell such things. They seemed to be worshiping the bear as a god. I¡¯ve never heard of such thing.] Tirumina

    [............] Yuna

    What did Tirumina-san said just now?

    I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a mistake. I must¡¯ve heard her wrong. When I get home, I have to clean my ears.

    Do I even have an ear-pick?

    [See, I bought it too.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san, took out a small bear from her pocket.

    Are my eyes were getting crazy? I rubbed my eyes and checked it again. A small bear is on the palm of Tirumina-san. It looks like it wasn¡¯t a mistake.

    The bear has a string so it looks like a bear key chain and can be attached to a bag or something.

    [Bear-san! I want it too!] Shuri

    Shuri snatched the bear key chain from Tirumina-san¡¯s hand.

    [Etto, they are selling it?] Yuna

    ording to Tirumina-san, she found it at a ce where small items are sold. It seems that it was sold as an amulet. The effect is that even if you go out to the sea, you cane back safely.

    When I heard that, I stopped thinking.

    I don¡¯t want to think about anything.

    [I¡¯m sorry, Youngdy.] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan¡¯s voice restarted my thoughts. Apparently, Kuro-ojisan was listening to us.

    [The bear is like a good luck charm for the fishermen.] Kuro

    An amulet, Tirumina-san also said such a thing.

    [Some people are still afraid of the sea and some are worried. However, the bear amulet seems to calm them down. For that reason, they can safely fish when they go out to the sea with the bear amulet. It gradually spread.] Kuro

    Amulets are made to worship a God, right? You pray for safety from the God. The bear theme is about me, right? But I¡¯m not a God.

    However, I can¡¯tin when I¡¯m asked by Kuro-ojisan who is indebted to me. Besides, it cannot be said that it is useless since I heard that they can go fishing with a peace of mind thanks to the bear amulet. If I said it¡¯s no good, they may not be able to go fishing. I understand that it is difficult to cure mental trauma.

    [Well, just don¡¯t spread it to other cities.] Yuna

    And so I asked for them to limit it.

    [Thank you.] Kuro

    I really don¡¯t want them to spread it. However, even if they sell the bear amulets, the people from other cities will justugh with their nose and not buy it.

    I look at Tirumina-san, Shuri, and Fina happily holding the bear amulet.

    Nobody will buy it, right?

    Then, while eating, I asked Tirumina-san about today¡¯s schedule.

    [When the meal is over, we n to split into three groups.] Tirumina

    ording to Tirumina-san, there will be 3 groups: The going out for fishing group, the exploring the town group, and the returning to the bear house to rest group.

    She said that the director and Nifu-san will return to the bear house in case someone get seasick, tired, or sleepy. And it seems that the members of Mereera group, led by Anzu, will guide the children who wanted to visit the town.

    Lastly, Lurina-san and other adventurers will be with us in the fishing group. By the way, Tirumina-san said she¡¯ll be with the fishing group.

    [Yuna-san!] Noa

    Noa ising. She has a te with food in her hand.

    There¡¯s also food in her mouth. Noa is an aristocraticdy, so she shouldn¡¯t talk while there¡¯s food in her mouth. I poked Noa¡¯s bulging cheeks with a bear puppet.

    [Wha- what is it?] Noa

    [You¡¯re eating quite deliciously, but I¡¯m just wondering about your not-so-noble like manner.] Yuna

    [Being a noble has nothing to do in here. I¡¯m eating together with everyone.] Noa

    That¡¯s right. When I first met her, She felt like a nobledy. Maybe if she didn¡¯t met me, she wouldn¡¯t change, would she?

    Or perhaps she had this kind of personality even before she met me. I surely hope so.

    In contrast, Misa and Shia are behaving like a real nobledy should. They¡¯re eating properly while sitting, not while walking around.

    [That¡¯s right... Yuna-san... I¡¯ll learn fishingter... I¡¯m looking forward to it because it¡¯s my first time... I¡¯ll show you a big fish that I caught...] Noa

    (TN: Noa is talking while chewing.)

    Apparently, Noa is also in the fishing group. Even so, Noa seems to be enjoying the sea so much. Maybe this is also because neither Cliff nor L-san are here.

    [Yuna-san, did you alsoe here to go fishing with us?] Noa

    [I just came here because Fina and Shuri wanted to get on the boat.] Yuna

    [Then, why don¡¯t we take Fina and Shuri along with us and go fishing together?] Noa

    She went and asked Fina and Shuri, who were quietly eating their food at a distance.

    [Do you want to go fishing?] Noa

    [We¡¯re catching the fish by ourselves?] Fina

    [Catch a fish!?] Shuri

    It seems that Shuri was very interested in fishing.

    [Why don¡¯t we y a game about who can catch a bigger fish? Misa and Oneesama will also join us.] Noa

    Fina and Shuri, who are invited, started worrying.

    I¡¯m also interested in fishing, but I also promised to ride Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat. They both looked at me as if they were in trouble.

    [You can join them if you want to. I¡¯ll be riding on Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat by myself.] Yuna

    [But...] Fina

    They seemed to be reluctant.

    Well, I¡¯ll ask Kuro-ojisan about it.

    [Then I shall tell you, because I know more than anyone else where big fishes can be caught.] Kuro

    And now, not only we¡¯re riding on Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat, but he will also teach us on how and where we can catch big fishes.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The bear seems to have be an amulet for safety and people are praying to it when going out to the sea. w

    It can¡¯t be helped because it was a bear who defeated a Kraken.

    It seems that reservations for SS benefits have begun at Seven Net.

    The content is undecided.

    I will report it as soon as I understand it.

    Please wait for a while.

 Chapter 358 Bear-san Goes Out to Sea Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 358 Bear-san Goes Out to Sea Day 3</h4>

    After we had our lunch, we acted separately, each had their own purposes. The director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san are holding the hands of the sleepy children while also carrying a sleeping child on their back. Gill, who saw it, carried the sleeping child on his back and went with them to the bear house.

    Locals Anzu and the others, guided the group who wanted to go to the town. And Lurina-san followed them.

    It seems that the fishing group will include Marina, who¡¯ll escort Noa, as well as Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san.

    [Fina, Shuri, it¡¯s game time.] Noa

    Noa made a quick deration.

    We parted once Noa and others got on a different boat from us.

    We head for Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat. There are five people riding on Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat, Fina, Shuri, Tirumina-san, and Gentz-san. I invited him to go fishing with us, thinking that he should be with his family.

    [Dad, can you catch a big fish?] Shuri

    [I went to fishing before, but that was a long time ago. And I caught a big fish that time.] Gentz

    In response to Shuri¡¯s question, Gentz-san opens his arms wide, enacting when he caught a big fish.

    [Ara, I wonder about that? I remembered himining that Roy could catch what Gentz couldn¡¯t.] Tirumina

    While Tirumina-san smiles, as she denies Gentz-san¡¯s words, which is him boasting about catching a big fish. Gentz-san was crushed by Tirumina-san¡¯s words.

    [Uh, I caught it afterwards when everyone wasn¡¯t watching.] Gentz

    Gentz-san answered while his eyes were swimming. Based on his attitude, he¡¯s lying.

    [Then, I¡¯m looking forward to see how much of your fishing skills have improved.] Tirumina

    [...However, I haven¡¯t been fishing for a long time, so my arms might got dull...] Gentz

    Somehow, this time he made an excuse. Even though he was telling Shuri about catching a big fish a while ago.

    However, regardless of that, Tirumina-san made a follow up.

    [Shuri, your dad will catch a big fish.] Tirumina

    [Really? Dad, do your best!] Shuri

    Shuri cheered Gentz-san with a pure and innocent look. Gentz-san, who cannot say that it is impossible while looking at Shuri¡¯s smile, he got driven into a corner.

    [...Ah, yeah, leave it to me. I¡¯ll catch a big fish.] Gentz

    He proudly promised.

    Oh, Gentz-san¡¯s face got cramped. He wished he could admit that he was basically a beginner. The salt on the wound spreads more and more. Perhaps he¡¯s the type that exerts power while driving himself on a corner? It doesn¡¯t look like that though.

    Tirumina-san doesn¡¯t have to bully Gentz-san so much.

    However, I can¡¯t follow u for him because Gentz-san, who¡¯s making a good impression would look bad.

    [Yuna-oneesan, have you also done the same?] Fina

    [Fishing? No, I¡¯ve never done it before.] Yuna

    I answered Fina¡¯s question without telling a lie. I don¡¯t want to show off in such a ce. Gentz-san will be the only one getting driven into a corner. Sorry.

    When I was still a hikikomori, I couldn¡¯t do things like fishing outdoors.

    [Can you catch a big fish?] Fina

    [Well, we won¡¯t know until we try it.] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t said anything that will raise her expectations. I¡¯m sorry if I can¡¯t catch it.

    We boarded Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat and go out to sea. It¡¯s a big boat. Besides Kuro-ojisan, another fisherman boarded the boat. He looks like Kuro-ojisan¡¯s youngest son. Well, it¡¯s not strange to have a few sons. By the way, his the eldest son was the one who became the mayor.

    The type of boat in the town of Mereera is a sailing boat. The boat started to move when the sail got unfolded. The only difference from the boats in my former world is that in this world, they are using wind magic stones to make the boats move. I¡¯ve heard from Damon-san before. Apprentice fishermen are the ones using magic stones to move the ship. Half-fledged fishermen uses natural wind and magic stones alternately. It seems that a full-fledged fisherman can move the boat only by the natural wind. Is it like training wheels on a bicycle?

    (TN: °ëÈËÇ°OŽŸ.)

    The boat gradually moves away from the harbor. Noa and Misa on other boat are waving. In response, Fina and Shuri also turn around and waves back.

    And when I saw the boat Noa and the others were on, I saw it. I rubbed my eyes. It¡¯s not a mistake. There was a bear-shaped thing on the top of the mast with sails. I rubbed my eyes many times to check.

    I also check the boat I¡¯m on.

    ............Is that? It¡¯s too high and hard to see, but there¡¯s a little bear on top of the mast.

    Maybe Kuro-ojisan is also using a bear as a talisman?

    Fina and the others are looking at the sea and are unaware of the bears on the mast. So I decided to pretend not to see it.

    When the boat left the harbor, I went to Kuro-ojisan because I have something to ask.

    [Where is the aforementioned ind appeared?] Yuna

    When I look at the sea, I can see some small inds, but I don¡¯t know which one is the moving one. Clearly, you can¡¯t tell unless you¡¯re a fisherman who goes out to the sea on a daily basis.

    [I can¡¯t see it from here.] Kuro

    ording to Kuro-ojisan, we can¡¯t see it unless we go further offshore.

    That is why it is known only to fishermen.

    Well, I¡¯d like to know at least the direction. If I know the direction, I can go to the ind by walking on the water with my bears.

    [Can we get closer?] Yuna

    [Is Miss interested in the ind that appeared?] Kuro

    I can¡¯t say in a loud voice.

    [Well, I¡¯m an adventurer, so I¡¯m wondering what kind of ind that is.] Yuna

    I toned down my voice a little and answered as if I am only a little interested.

    [Moreover, on one asion it¡¯s the Kraken, so if it¡¯s a dangerous ind, we¡¯ll be in trouble.] Yuna

    [There is no danger if we don¡¯t get close. It¡¯s no different from a normal small ind, except it just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Are you really going to go?] Kuro

    [I won¡¯t go. And there¡¯s a whirlpool, so we can¡¯t get close to it right? But if there¡¯s something, I wonder if I can deal with it if I know the direction of the ind.] Yuna

    I tried nning appropriate things. I can¡¯t tell them I wanted to go because there may be treasure. But then I don¡¯t want to be in the same situation as the fisherman who sank his boat. Kuro-ojisan doesn¡¯t feel good about it and may not tell me the location of the ind.

    [Well, if you¡¯re just looking at it from a distance, then that¡¯s fine.] Kuro

    Kuro-ojisan changes the destination of the boat. The boat is steadily moving away from the port.

    [The boats are getting smaller.] Shuri

    Shuri is looking at the other boats. The other boats are heading to the point where they can safely catch their fish. Only Kuro-ojisan¡¯s boat is heading in another direction.

    Fina and the others are purely enjoying the boat ride, not knowing that they are heading to the ind. After a while, Kuro-ojisan calls out.

    [Miss, that is the ind we¡¯re talking about.] Kuro

    Looking at the direction that Kuro-ojisan is pointing to. The distance is quite far. At this position, it looks like a normal islet. But you can see the green and you can see that the trees are growing.

    I used the bear map skill to check the location. The ce where the boat passed through the ck nautical chart is created as a map. The map is iplete, but if I¡¯m just going to the ind, there is no problem. There will be a mysterious ind ahead of this boat. All I have to do is pray that the ind does not move too far.

    [Even at the request of the Bear Girl, I won¡¯t get any closer. I can¡¯t break the orders that I have given.] Kuro

    For me, there is no problem since I now know the direction. When I thanked him, Kuro-ojisan turned the boat back and head for the fishing point.

    When we arrived at the fishing point, Kuro-ojisan and his son taught Fina how to fish. Not only Fina, but also Gentz-san, who (allegedly) can fish, is listening seriously.

    Everyone who was taught how to fish hanged a thread. When you look at the rod, you can see something that looks like a reel.

    Is that a magic stone?

    A magic stone is set in a ce that looks like a reel. Is it possible to wind a thread with the power of magic stones?

    [Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re not fishing?] Fina

    [I¡¯m just going to watch leisurely.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not interested in fishing. I like to rx. I don¡¯t like hanging out rods and wait. If I want to do, I¡¯ll do it. If I don¡¯t want to do it, then I won¡¯t.

    [Yuna-oneechan, you too.] Shuri

    Shuri grabs my clothes.

    [I¡¯m fine right here.] Yuna

    [Eh¡«¡«] Shuri

    [Then, I¡¯ll lend you a bear instead, so think of it as my substitute.] Yuna

    [Swaying Bear-chan?] Shuri

    I summoned a normal-sized bear. The boat didn¡¯t tilt even a little despite the fact that I summoned a bear.

    [Swaying Bear. Go fishing with Shuri.] Yuna

    When I said so, Swaying Bear responded with .

    [Can Swaying Bear-chan fish?] Shuri

    [Who knows? But I think he¡¯s more useful than me.] Yuna

    Shuri goes fishing with Swaying Bear.

    I summoned a normal-sized Hugging Bear and told him toy down. I rest there as I lean against him.

    Yeah, it feels good. I have a fluffy cushion.

    For the time being, I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to monitor the sea. I don¡¯t think a Kraken will appear. But dangerous sea creatures may still attack. It¡¯s like an insurance.

    I watched Fina and others while being rocked by the waves hitting the boat. Fina casts a thread and looks at the sea. Shuri is fishing with Swaying Bear. Although I¡¯m okay thanks to the bear equipment, doesn¡¯t Shuri feel hot while she¡¯s hugging Swaying Bear?

    Gentz-san said he¡¯ll and Tirumina-san was watching him with a smile. Looking at such scenery and listening to their voices. The boat is rocking, but I don¡¯t get seasick, maybe because of my constitution or because of the bear equipment. Leaning on the fluffy cushion called Hugging Bear makes me sleepy. As I let out a little big yawn, I suddenly fell asleep.

    [Yuna-oneesan, Shuri, get up] Fina

    Someone was shaking my body. When I opened my eyes, I saw Fina. Then, I heard a sleepy voice beside me, When I look at the person who made that voice, Shuri is hugging me while sleeping.

    [Come on, we¡¯re heading back, so get up.] Fina

    [Oneechan. Did you catch the fish?] Shuri

    Shuri yawns a little while getting up.

    Why is Shuri sleeping next to me?

    [I caught a big fish.] Fina

    [Really!] Shuri

    When Shuri got up, she rushed to see the fish.

    [Did you caught it Fina?] Yuna

    [Yes, I was able to catch a big fish because Swaying Bear-chan helped me.] Fina

    ording to their story, earlier Shuri got tired of fishing and was looking around inside the boat while looking at the sea. They said that she was already sleeping beside me before they knew it.

    As for fishing, Fina and Tirumina-san said they caught a few fish. But please don¡¯t ask Gentz-san¡¯s result.

    [I was able to catch it thanks to Swaying Bear-chan. Swaying Bear-chan brought me a rod. It was cool. At the end, he held it in his mouth and pulled it with a squeeze, and he caught such a big fish.] Fina

    Fina moves her hand to the left and right to exin how Swaying Bear caught the fishes. Swaying Bear, who¡¯s next to Fina, made a proud posture, and cried .

    Well, what are you doing Swaying Bear? How can Swaying Bear even do that?

    For the time being, I pet his head and praised him.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    ¡ùRoy is the name of Tirumina¡¯s deceased husband. (Because some of you may have forgotten about him.)

    And that¡¯s how she found out the location of the mysterious ind.

    All that is left is just going there.

 Chapter 359 Bear-san Returns from Fishing Day 3

    <h4>Chapter 359 Bear-san Returns from Fishing Day 3</h4>

    I heard from Fina that Gentz-san wasn¡¯t able to catch any fish. But Shuri, who doesn¡¯t know that, is still asking Gentz-san about it.

    I¡¯m screaming in my heart, however, my internal scream cannot reach her.

    [Which one is the fish that you caught dad?] Shuri

    Shuri peeked into the box containing the fishes and asked Gentz-san.

    [Th, that is...] Gentz

    Gentz-san has a troubled expression. Looking at Gentz-san, I can¡¯t help him myself. But then, Tirumina-san approached him there with a smile. Maybe to put more salt into the wound!?? Gentz-san¡¯s HP is already 0. I feel sorry for Gentz-san because he can¡¯t show the fish.

    [Shuri, this is the fish your dad caught.] Tirumina

    [This?] Shuri

    Tirumina-san was pointing at a fish in the box. Gentz-san was also surprised at Tirumina-san¡¯s words.

    [To be exact, your dad and I caught it. A big fish caught on my fishing rod. But, I couldn¡¯t catch it by myself. At that time, your dad helped me pull it in. Dad, is so cool!] Tirumina

    [Tirumina......] Gentz

    [Dad, is amazing!] Shuri

    Shuri rejoices and hugs Gentz-san. Gentz-san strokes Shuri¡¯s head. Then, Gentz-san looks at Tirumina-san, Tirumina-san smiles back at Gentz-san.

    [Your mother is quite gentle, isn¡¯t she?] Yuna

    [Yes!] Fina

    Fina, who was watching the situation, nodded happily.

    Apparently, her dad¡¯s dignity as a father was preserved.

    When we got back to the harbor, the other boats had already returned.

    Noa arrived earlier, so she¡¯s waiting for our boat to moor.

    Fina, Shuri did you catch any fish? I caught a big one. Show me the fish that you caught.

    Apparently Noa wants to show it quickly because she caught a big fish.

    [Well, this is the biggest fish I¡¯ve caught.] Fina

    Fina showed the fish that she and Swaying Bear caught. At that moment, Noa¡¯s expression changed.

    [U~u, it¡¯s big. What about Shuri?] Noa

    [That is... I was sleeping and not fishing.] Shuri

    Shuri exins that she was sleeping with me and Hugging Bear

    [U~u, that¡¯s why I feel like I¡¯ve lost.] Noa

    Noa¡¯s expression became even more dejected.

    The result of their little game. The biggest fish was caught by Fina and Swaying Bear. Noa became the 1st runner-up, followed by Misa and Shia, andstly Shuri who was sleeping.

    [It¡¯s unfair to have Swaying Bear-chan help you. And I envy Shuri to sleep along with Yuna-san and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

    Noa, who couldn¡¯t be the best, was jealous and puffed her cheeks, Shia interrupted her.

    [While fishing, Noa also got help from Marina, so you can¡¯t really say that to Fina-chan.] Shia

    [That¡¯s because... The fish was so big that I couldn¡¯t do it alone, so I can¡¯t help it.] Noa

    [Then Fina-chan is just the same, right?] Shia

    [U~u, ......Yes.] Noa

    Noa can¡¯t reallyin when her sister Shia tells her that. Well, fishing was their first experience, so it can¡¯t be helped. They would probably be fine if it¡¯s just a small fish, but it¡¯s impossible for them to catch a big fish alone. I think it¡¯s amazing that they caught it, even with the help of others.

    By the way, it seems that Misa and the other children also caught some fish with the help of the fishermen.

    Shia said she caught it by herself, so technically, she¡¯s the best in the fishing game.

    [I admit losing this time. Yuna-san, please lend me Swaying Bear-chan this time. Then I¡¯ll catch a bigger fish.] Noa

    Etto, then that would mean Swaying Bear caught it, right?

    I think you have to fish by yourself if you want topete in fishing. It¡¯s kinda terrible to ask a 10-year-old girl for it, isn¡¯t it?

    [Next time, I will lend you Swaying Bear when we get on the same boat together to make it fair.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s a promise.] Noa

    I made a promise. I don¡¯t know if we have a chance to do another fishing trip. I can¡¯t ask the fishermen every time. In that case, we have two choices: build our own boat or fish without riding a boat. Yesterday, Noa said that some people were fishing on the rocks, which may be more realistic.

    Then, when I look at the fish caught by Misa and Shia, the other children also show me the fishes they caught. There were also rare fishes and octopus.

    [Yuna-oneechan. I caught a big fish.]

    [Octopus-san, it felt nice]

    [They¡¯re small, but I caught a lot.]

    [Yuna-oneechan, look.]

    [Yuna-oneechan. Please eat all the fishes that I caught.]

    [Mine too.]

    [Eat mine too.]

    Everyone wants me to eat the fishes that they caught. I¡¯m happy with everyone¡¯s feelings, but I can¡¯t eat that much alone.

    [Well, thank you everyone. I¡¯ll have Anzu cook it tonight, so let¡¯s eat it together with the director and Liz-san.] Yuna

    When I said that, the children nodded obediently. If I ate all those fishes that everyone caught, I might turn into a pig instead of a bear.

    And no matter how much of a hikikomori I am, I¡¯m just a 15-year-old maiden. I still have some shame. Even if it isn¡¯t the case, I have to be careful not to overeat because I already have a punipuni(squishy) upper arm.

    I thank the fishermen for letting us ride their boats, then we returned to the bear house. The fishermen will carry the fishes everyone caughtter. I¡¯m really indebted to them.

    Upon returning to the Bear House, the children reported to the director. I heard a lot about what kind of fish they caught, how I felt ufortable when they caught an octopus, and so on. Nifu-san smiles and listens to the children¡¯s stories to the director and Liz-san.

    Looking at those three, I think Nifu-san also became close with the children. Children are naturally gathering at Nifu-san. But as expected, most children gathered at the director.

    After a while, the group exploring the town came back.

    Then, like the children in the group who were fishing, they rushed to the director. The director is really popr. Every child talks to her happily. It seems that the group who visited the town also enjoyed it.

    By the way, there was a child who came and talked to me.

    Then, the fishermen brought the fish that the children caught, so I asked Anzu to cook it, and I decided to prepare the bath before meal so that I can enter first.

    [By the way, Yuna-san. Did you know?] Noa

    While soaking in the bathtub and healing the fatigue caused by the greetings, Noa, who¡¯s holding Swaying Bear in his cub form, asked me. She was jealous that Shuri slept with me and Hugging Bear, so I lent her Swaying Bear under the pretext of washing Swaying Bear¡¯s body.

    Even though once Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were unsummoned would be beautiful again, they both liked to have their bodies washed, so I asked Noa and Misa to wash their bodies.

    However, the way they washed them was so bad that the bears became full of foam, so I stopped them in a hurry.

    [It seems that an ind suddenly appeared in the empty sea. It is strange that an ind to just suddenly appear.] Noa

    Apparently, Noa also asked the fisherman about the mysterious ind.

    [But when I asked them if we could take a look at the ind, they refused.] Noa

    [It seems to be a dangerous ce because there are whirlpools around it. Also, it seems that the boats that were trying to approach it also sank, so it can¡¯t be helped.] Yuna

    [But they said that the ind moved. Is the ind really moving?] Noa

    [There are floating inds, so if they are swept away by the ocean current, they will move, right?] Yuna

    [But if there is such a moving ind, I would like to go. I wonder if there is any way to go.] Noa

    Yeah, I know, I also want to go, but I won¡¯t say that. I don¡¯t know what kind of danger there is on the ind.

    [Noa, even if you are the daughter of the lord of Crimonia and is somehow influential, you can¡¯t force the fishermen to do it.] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t do that! Because if I do, my father will scold me!] Noa

    She puffed her cheeks after refuting my words.

    [I wish I could get on Swaying Bear-chan.] Noa

    Noa¡¯s happiness was restored by stroking the back of Swaying Bear that was chilling in the bathtub.

    Then, when I got out of the bath, Noa and Misa dried Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with a hair dryer while brushing them.

    [They became fluffy.] Misa

    The two happily hugs the fluffy Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

 Chapter 360 Bear-san Makes a Water-slide Day 4

    <h4>Chapter 360 Bear-san Makes a Water-slide Day 4</h4>

    360 Bear-san Makes a Water-slide (Day 4)

    After getting out of the bath, the seafood dishes such as fish and octopus caught in the sea lined up on the table for dinner that night.

    At the table, each child joyfully talking about today¡¯s events.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what are you going to do tomorrow?] Fina

    [We came to the sea, so we should y in the sea. You¡¯re not getting tired of it, are you?] Yuna

    [Un. It¡¯s fun.] Fina

    I can¡¯t see a lie in that smile.

    Tomorrow, I will y with them in the sea like the first day. I was thinking of going to a mysterious ind with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I got invited by Fina and Noa. So if I refused here, they might get suspicious of me, so I decided to go to the sea together with everyone.

    If I go to the sea, I might think of a good idea and make something for the children in the yground. If I create a yground, I may be able to sneak out and go to the mysterious ind while the rest are ying in the yground.

    The next day, after having breakfast, the children return to their rooms to prepare for the sea. I also tried to return to my room to change into my swimwear in order to create a yground in the sea. I already wore it once, so I¡¯ll be fine for the second or third time. Even though I have be ustomed to the bear costume after wearing them for a long time. I have less reluctance the second time I¡¯m wearing that swimsuit than when I wore it the first time.

    ......Or so I thought. But when I tried to return to my room, that idea copsed with the words Sherry gave me.

    [Yuna-san, which swimsuit will you wear today?] Sherry

    Needless to say, my brain stopped at that moment. People say that when they are surprised, they can¡¯t speak, but it may be true. At that time, I said and no more words came out. By the time I got back to myself, it was alreadyte. Sherry said, and after that, she went to the girls¡¯ room.

    Well, does that mean I have to wear a different swimsuit? What¡¯s more, do I have to wear a different swimsuit every time I go to the sea?

    If I change my swimsuit every time I go to the sea, I will have to choose my swimsuit a couple of times, including this time.

    Even if I refuse, I can¡¯t think of any excuse. I can¡¯t tell Sherry that I don¡¯t want to wear the other swimsuits. I couldn¡¯t find the words to refuse immediately. And while I was at a loss, I arrived at my room on the third floor.

    But then, there were three people standing in front of my room, Noa, Shia, and Misa, who had already changed into their swimsuits.

    [Yuna-san, lend me Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan. We¡¯ll y with the children in the orphanage, so please.] Noa

    [It¡¯s fine, but you can¡¯t hog them all to yourself.] Yuna

    [Yes, I promise.] Noa

    When I opened the door of my room, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were curled up on the bed. When we entered the room, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came to us. I told them to y with Noa and the children then I returned them to their normal size.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san.] Noa

    Noa, Misa, and Shia happily went down the stairs together with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Well, I lent them without thinking, so I may have failed my n to go to the mysterious ind. This was also because I was distracted by the swimwear and didn¡¯t think about anything. Later, I had to give a reason and have one of them returned to me.

    For the time being, I have to clear the problem in front of me.

    I lined up my swimsuit on the bed. At the very least, there are many types of salvation, and I don¡¯t have anyone forcing me to choose a swimsuit. The criterion for choosing my swimsuit is which one I don¡¯t want to wear.

    In that case, the number of swimsuits that I could wear will inevitably decrease. And the remaining swimsuit bes a separate swimsuit using white and ck colors. I can see my stomach, but I put up with it.

    I just ate breakfast, but it¡¯s okay. I touched around my abdomen. It doesn¡¯t seem to be bloated since my body shape isn¡¯t bad.

    Looking at my puyo puyo(soft as jelly) arms, I think it¡¯s better to train my body a little and build muscle. However, I¡¯ve been doing muscle training many times in the past, but I¡¯ve never had a longsting one.

    I wish I could do muscle training even with the bear costume equipped. But there is no way I could do that. I sigh a little.

    Even so, unlike a one-piece swimsuit, a two-piece swimsuit with a lot of exposed skin is embarrassing. But I keep telling myself that it¡¯s better than a bikini. The question is, however, whether there will be a third or fourth time. At worst, it might be good for Sherry to know that I decided that these two will be my favorites.

    I changed into a two-piece swimsuit and put bear equipment on my hands and feet as usual.

    I¡¯d like to wrap a big towel here to hide my body, but Sherry is waiting outside the room. Sherry came to me while I was choosing a swimsuit. I told her to go to the sea first because I¡¯m still changing my clothes, but Sherry said she will wait outside the room.

    I took a deep breath as I muster all my courage and left the room. Standing outside of the room is Sherry in a swimsuit. The name is written on the chest. When Sherry looks at me, she smiles like a blooming flower.

    Yuna-oneechan, the one-piece swimsuit you wore the day before yesterday looked good, but that two-piece swimsuit looks good too. Fina-chan and Shuri-chan think so too.

    Sherry asked Fina and Shuri that were standing behind her to confirm.

    [Yes, Yuna-oneesan, it looks good on you.] Fina

    [Yuna-oneechan is beautiful.] Shuri

    [Th, thank you.] Yuna

    I think my face may have been cramped.

    Still, the words of these three are too sweet. So I¡¯m not sure if it really suits me, but I¡¯m happy because Sherry is happy. However, Sherry looked at my swimsuit and muttered in a soft voice, Or .

    When I asked her to embroider a bear for Anzu and her group¡¯s aprons back then, she wasn¡¯t confident in herself. However, after she started working at a sewing shop, it seems to have changed her. I think it¡¯s a good thing, but I also feel nostalgic for the old Sherry.

    After the swimsuit was unveiled, I went to the sea together with Fina and Shuri, along with Sherry who they had been waiting together with.

    When we arrived at the sea, I can see the children already ying. The little ones are ying in the pool I made. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are ying around Noa. It seems that she is ying without monopolizing them as promised. Sherry also goes into Noa¡¯s circle.

    There is a figure of the director looking at the children from a distance. It is dangerous to stay outside in such strong sunlight for a long time, so I decided to take out the beach house and have her rest there.

    [Director, if a child got tired, please let them rest here.] Yuna

    Hydration is also important.

    After asking the director at the seaside house. I nned to make something.

    [What do you want us to help you with, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [I just want to ask Fina and Shuri for confirmation.] Yuna

    [Confirmation?] Fina

    Fina tilts her head a little.

    I took Fina and Shuri and move a little further away from the seaside house.

    Is it okay around here?

    There are no obstacles or people around.

    When I stand facing the sea, I created a big bear on the shore that I made when I subdued the Kraken. The bear stands on both feet as if looking toward the sea. Of course, the bear¡¯s appearance is deformed. And the reason for making it a bear is because it bes sturdier.

    [Bear-san!] Fina

    [It¡¯s big!] Shuri

    Shuri and Fina look up at the big bear.

    When I approached the bear, I made a hole in the back of the bear¡¯s leg and go inside. The inside of the bear is hollow. Since the inside is dark, I put out a ball of light.

    The ball of light with the face of a bear illuminates the inside of the bear¡¯s body.

    Brightening the inside of the bear, I built a spiral staircase up to the head. Then, climb the stairs and made a hole when I reached the position of the bear¡¯s belly. The sea spreads out in front of me. I made a slide towards the sea. Finally, I attached a water magic stone at the starting point of the slide and let the water flow from the magic stone. And there you have a water-slide.

    [Fina, try sliding onto this.] Yuna

    Back at the stairs, I asked Fina, who was watching what I was doing. Then, Shuri appears from the side of Fina.

    [Yuna-oneechan, what is this!?] Shuri

    [Etto, this is a water-slide, it¡¯s something that you can slide and y with.] Yuna

    [You can slide on it?] Shuri

    [Yeah, just sit here and slide towards the sea.] Yuna

    [Can I slide on it?] Shuri

    [I don¡¯t mind.] Yuna

    I asked Fina, but Shuri seems to want to do it, so I give her my permission.

    [Shuri, wait a minute!] Fina

    Fina tried to stop Shuri, but it¡¯s toote and Shuri began to slide on the water-slide. Fina was shouting, but Shuri slides safely andnds in the sea. If you follow the rules and y properly, there is nothing dangerous about it, so you don¡¯t have to worry too much.

    When Shuri resurfaced from the sea, she ran up the stairs at a tremendous speed.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Is it okay to slide again?] Shuri

    The soaked Shuri asked intensely, with a lively expression. There¡¯s water still running down from her hair.

    Apparently, Shuri liked it.

    [I¡¯ll make more, so wait there for a bit.] Yuna

    I go up the spiral staircase and arrive at the bear¡¯s mouth to make a hole. The height was doubled. The view is also good. I made a water-slide starting from the bear¡¯s mouth.

    This is for the advanced users so I made it curve, spiral, and slope. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to conduct their safety so that they don¡¯tunch outside of the slide.

    Lastly, I installed the water magic stone and it¡¯s done.

    [Fina,e here.] Yuna

    When I called out to Fina, she seemed to be scared to climb the stairs.

    [I want to slide!] Shuri

    Shuri vigorously raised her hand, but Fina said, .

    I have included safety, so it¡¯s not that dangerous, but she seems to be worried about her sister.

    [Now then, sit here.] Yuna

    I grabbed Fina¡¯s shoulders and let her sit down.

    [Yu, Yuna-oneesan. Pl, please, wait a minute.] Fina

    [You mustn¡¯t stand.] Yuna

    [Do, don¡¯t push!] Fina

    I gently pushed Fina¡¯s back, who seems to be scared. Fina screams while sliding down the water-slide. She slides to a curve, then around a spiral, and finallynds after a slope.

    Yeah, should feel good.

    When Fina resurfaced, she seemed to be saying something to me, but I couldn¡¯t hear it.

    [Yuna-oneechan, me too!] Shuri

    While I was looking at Fina below, Shuri was alreadying up. She¡¯s looking at me with her sparkling eyes.

    [Sit down properly.] Shuri

    [Un!] Shuri

    Unlike Fina, Shuri goes to slide by herself. Finaes up.

    [U~, Yuna-oneesan is terrible.] Fina

    [Was it boring?] Yuna

    [I was a little scared, but it was fun, but I at least wanted to be prepared.] Fina

    I made it with great effort, so I will try to slide on it once. If I don¡¯t personally check for danger, it¡¯ll be dangerous for children to use the slide.

    I put my bear shoes in the bear box and sat on the water-slide. The water hits my butt. Then, I started to slide vigorously.

    Oh, it sways from side to side and turns around in a spiral. There¡¯s a slope at the end and then Inded on the water. the salty water sshes on my face.

    It was my first experience, but it was fun. It may be I¡¯ll make one a little higher. However, there are many young children, so this time it is enough.

    When I got out of the sea, Noa and the children were gathering at the shore.

    [Yuna-san, what is this!] Noa

    [Yuna-oneechan, I want to y too.]

    [Wait a minute.] Yuna

    I called Gill and Lurina-san and taught them how to use the slide properly. Never stand. Don¡¯t run, wait for your turn. Do not slide dangerously. Wait until the person in front has finished sliding. I exined things such as sliding and asking them to supervise.

    Before the children started to y, the inside of the bear is dark, so I put up some windows to let in the outside light.

    Yeah, that¡¯s how it should be.

    The kids start ying on the water-slide, but the magicians were looking at the bear-water-slide in a daze.

    [I can¡¯t believe she used magic for this.] Eru

    [But as a fellow magician, I¡¯m quite jealous.] Lurina

    The magicians, Eru and Lurina-san, gave such an impression.

    But other adults such as Karin-san, Elena-san, Anzu, and the others, are happily ying with the children.

    The children, including Noa, started ying on the bear water-slide. When I looked around at the sandy beach, I saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, whom the children seemed to be forgotten their existence.

    It¡¯s a pity, but it seems that they were released safely. Can I go to the mysterious ind with this?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And so, a big bear was erected in the shores of Mereera w

    However, it seems that we can start exploring while the water-slide is attracting attention.

    I hope I could do it.

 Chapter 361 Bear-san Distributes the Ice Cream Day 4

    <h4>Chapter 361 Bear-san Distributes the Ice Cream Day 4</h4>

    When you look at the water-slide, you can hear the children screaming. You can also hear the screams of adult people inside. It seems Karin-san, Elena, Anzu, and Seno-san are ying as well.

    There are around 30 people including adults. There are also two slides, so even if you don¡¯t line up, your turn wille. Kindergarten-sized children y on a small slide thates out of the bear¡¯s belly, and elementary school-sized children and the older ones y on advanced water slides.

    The children are making a noise . It¡¯s peaceful to see this. I can¡¯t imagine we¡¯re in a world full of monsters.

    While everyone is distracted by the bear water-slide, I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Everyone was going crazy about the water-slide and was unaware of me.

    This is the first stage of sess. All I have to do now is observe the situation and sneak out. While thinking so, someone from the side holds my hand. When I looked sideways, I saw Shuri and Fina.

    Did they notice it?

    [Yuna-oneechan,e y with us too.] Shuri

    I don¡¯t know if it was noticed, but it seems I was called out for another reason.

    [Etto. I¡¯m fine right here.] Yuna

    If I y with them, I can¡¯t go to the mysterious ind.

    [You promised to y with us today.] Fina

    [Yeah, Yuna-oneechan. Let¡¯s y together.] Shuri

    They pulled my hand from the left and right.

    I can¡¯t refuse when Shuri and Fina are the ones whose asking me. Speaking of sweetness, I wouldn¡¯t go to a mysterious ind until they let go of my hands. But still, I cannot just forget about the ind.

    So I told them:

    [Only a little bit.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Hai!] Fina

    The two happily replied.

    But that promise backfired a little for another reason.

    Yes, I didn¡¯t consider myck of physical strength.

    Without the bear shoes, I can¡¯t go back and forth on the spiral staircase many times. A bear water-slide that is sensuously as tall as an 8 to 10-floor building. Climbing that height without an elevator. Repeat it over and over again. My legs couldn¡¯t bear such penance.

    [Yuna-oneechan, are you okay?] Shuri

    I¡¯m being pulled by Shuri.

    I can¡¯t climb the stairs anymore. My legs already hit the limit. My legs are tingling. It may be okay to use healing magic, but I decided to just go to the beach house and rest.

    In front of me, the children are climbing up the stairs full of energy. Unbelievable. I can¡¯t do that. However, while I¡¯m climbing down the stairs, Lurina-san carefully and slowly assisted my descent.

    It¡¯s terrible if we fall here and get injured.

    I wandered back to the beach house. And, just likest time, I copsed in the beach house.

    [Yuna-oneechan, are you okay?] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Yuna-san.] Noa

    [Yuna-oneesama.] Misa

    Shuri, Fina, Noa, and Misa were worried about me after seeing that I had fallen.

    Noa and the others were ying together, but they became worried when they saw me.

    [Yuna-san, where is Yuna-san who defeated the ck Tiger Wolf when you escorted me before?] Shia

    Shia looks at me strangely as I was about to fall asleep. That¡¯s true. Shia became one of the few people who had witnessed how I fight. It can¡¯t be helped that she¡¯s wondering about it after seeing my battle against the ck tiger wolf.

    As I kept saying, .

    [And where is Yuna-san who yed against Lutum-sama for me?] Shia

    (TN: ¡¸¤½¤ì¤Ë¤ï¤¿¤·¤Î¤¿¤á¤Ë¥ë¥È¥¥¥à˜”¤ÈÔ‡ºÏ¤ò¤·¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤¿¥æ¥Ê¤µ¤ó¤Ï¤É¤³¤Ë¡¹I can¡¯t remember who¡¯s that Lutum.)

    Shia looks at me as if she¡¯s disillusioned.

    U~u, don¡¯t look at me like that. Without the bear equipment, I would be powerless.

    [U~u, at that time I was strengthening my body with magical power.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Shia

    [That¡¯s why I look like this when I¡¯m ying normally.] Yuna

    This is how it looks.

    I said I¡¯ll take a break for a while and told the five to go y.

    The five people looked at each other and started worrying, but when I said, , they all went to the water-slide.

    [Fufu, Yuna-san, thank you for your hard work.] Director

    The director gives me a ss of cold water with a smile. I thank her and receive it. A small child who is tired of ying is also resting on the side of the director

    [Even so, Yuna-san is really amazing. You made such a big thing so easily.] Director

    [The director is even more amazing. It¡¯s not easy to take care of the orphaned children.] Yuna

    My power is a gift from God. But the director¡¯s actions are her own.paring it would be wrong. The wonderful director is different from me. The director would reach out to any child even if she has no strength. I only went in to help using the power that I received. If I hadn¡¯t had the bear power, I wouldn¡¯t have reached out to the orphanage. If I can¡¯t afford it, I wouldn¡¯t worry about others. Even just thinking that way, the director is more amazing.

    [Fufu, that¡¯s not the case. Without Yuna-san, the children wouldn¡¯t be smiling like that. So I¡¯m grateful to Yuna-san.] Director

    When I gotplimented again, I got embarrassed. I drank the remaining water prepared by the director at once to dispel my embarrassment.

    After that, director-sensei once again thanked me for the work in the shops and for taking everyone on a trip because they¡¯re taking good care of the birds. But every time I was thanked, I wanted to shout, .

    I¡¯m taking a break while talking with the director like that when some of the children came to drink water and rest for a bit.

    [It¡¯s hot~]

    [I¡¯m thirsty.]

    [I¡¯m tired.]

    Children drank the water from the refrigerator. They¡¯re tanned and almost ck. They have a healthy color unlike me. Children are the best. I¡¯m not a kid anymore though, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I have fair skin.

    Seeing the hot children, I remembered the ice cream. (TC: That sounds wrong.)

    I didn¡¯t forget it, okay. I just can¡¯t find the right timing to take it out. On the first day, all the fishermen came, and on the second day, they split into groups. So now, maybe just the right time.

    And the timing can¡¯t be more perfect than this. Noa and Fina came to drink water.

    [You look thirsty.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m very thirsty.] Fina

    [It looks like both of you are having fun.] Yuna

    [Yes. It¡¯s a lot of fun. We invited both Misa and Oneesama to take a break, but they said and climbed again.] Noa

    [Same with Shuri.] Fina

    The two took the water out of the refrigerator and drank it delightfully.

    [So Yuna-oneesan, are you all right now?] Fina

    [Yeah, I¡¯m okay now because I took a rest. By the way Fina, I¡¯m going to distribute ice cream to everyone, can you call them? I think they need to take a break.] Yuna

    Some children may forget to re-hydrate and continue to y around. In that case, it¡¯s better to let everyone take a break together.

    [Yes, I understand. I¡¯ll call them now.] Fina

    Fina quickly drank the water all at once and went out to call everyone.

    [Yuna-san, what is Aisu?] Noa

    [A cold candy of some sort? I knew that it would be hot at the sea so I made it with Fina earlier.] Yuna

    I took out a big freezer from the bear box and put it down in the beach house. When I opened up the freezer, I gave Noa an ice cream in a cup and a spoon.

    Noa, who received the ice cream, looked at me and the cup of ice cream alternately.

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Yuna

    I took out my ice cream and ate it in front of Noa.

    Yeah, the ice cream melts on my tongue. Noa also imitates me, she scoops the ice cream with a spoon and carries it to her mouth. At that moment, Noa¡¯s face turns into a smile.

    [!!!!!! What is it? It melts in your mouth. It¡¯s very delicious.] Noa

    Noa continuously eats the ice cream.

    I also gave ice cream to the director and the children who were resting in the beach house.

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Yuna

    The director and the children saw Noa eating ice cream with me, and when they received it, they started eating it.

    [It¡¯s really delicious]

    [I can¡¯t stop.]

    [Delicious.]

    It seems to be popr with the director and the children. They were the first ones to eat the ice cream. Then, Fina brings the children and the adults who were ying at the sea.

    [Yuna-oneesan, I brought them.] Fina

    [Everyone, you can y all you wantter, so let¡¯s take a little break for now. I¡¯ve prepared some cold sweets so let¡¯s eat them. Fina, Shuri, help me distribute them.] Yuna

    [Hai.] Fina

    [Un.] Shuri

    Fina and Shuri both prepared a cup of ice cream and a spoon, then they handed them over to everyone. When a child receives it, his expression was just like Noa.

    [Yuna-oneesama, what is this?] Misa

    [Ice cream, it¡¯s a type of sweets that you can eat when the weather is hot. It melts quickly, so hurry up and eat it.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve been thinking about pudding and cake, but the dishes that Yuna-oneesama makes are all mysterious.] Misa

    [In the first ce, I¡¯ve never eaten such delicious sweets in the royal capital.] Shia

    As nobles, Shia, and Misa were asking such a topic while eating ice cream.

    [What? The nobles don¡¯t know about the ice cream?] Yuna

    [Yes, I don¡¯t know.] Misa

    [I have never eaten something like this.] Shia

    I¡¯m not borrowing Tirumina-san¡¯s words, but it seems that it will be profitable if we sell it.

    But I¡¯m not in trouble with money. Better yet, could I just collect money when I make it at the castle? I thought about it for a moment, but I don¡¯t really need it.

    While the children are eating delightfully, the chefs are eating it from a different perspective

    [Yuna-chan, what is this?] Elena

    [It looks like you¡¯re using milk.] Anzu

    [Are you also using eggs?] Karin

    Elena, Anzu, and Karin-san asked.

    [Simply put, it¡¯s a food made from milk and eggs, I guess? I made it with Fina before we left.] Yuna

    [I helped too ~] Shuri

    When I gave only Fina¡¯s name, Shuri puffed her cheeks a little.

    [That¡¯s right. Shuri also helped me.] Yuna

    When I praised Shuri while stroking her head, another protestes from another person.

    [Why didn¡¯t you invite me when you made it!] Noa

    Noains in a small voice, .

    [When I thought about making it, Fina and Shuri came to my house, so I just got help by chance.] Yuna

    I also got help from their mother, Tirumina-san, and made it with four people.

    [Yuna-chan. Will this also be in the store?] Karin

    [I was also asked by Tirumina-san, but I have no ns to do so.] Yuna

    By the way, Tirumina-san went out with Gentz-san. Morin-san isn¡¯t here either, saying that she¡¯s going around the town alone.

    [That¡¯s right. I think it will be a big hit if you start selling it.] Anzu

    [But if we¡¯re going to make it, it¡¯ll be Elena¡¯s job.] Yuna

    [Wait, me!?] Elena

    Elena was surprised when her name was suddenly called.

    [Ice cream is a kind of dessert. You¡¯ve been making cream and icing for the cakes, so I think Elena can make it. If you want to do it, I will teach you.] Yuna

    Elena began to worry about my words.

    [Is that okay?] Elena

    [You don¡¯t have to hide it, and I think it will be only avable during the summer. You can make a lot at once but put it in a freezer. You can keep it for a long time. When you started selling it, you can reduce the amount of cake you¡¯re making.] Yuna

    [I will do my best. Please teach me.] Elena

    I decided that when we return to Crimonia, I¡¯ll teach Elena how to make ice cream.

    But if she makes it at the store, she doesn¡¯t have to make it by herself.

    Thinking about that, I saw Noa with an empty cup of ice cream.

    [Yuna-san, please give me another one!] Noa

    [You already had one, only once a day.] Yuna

    When I said that to Noa, a lot of voices emerged.

    [Eh¡«]

    [I want to eat more.]

    [I want to eat.]

    [Yuna-oneechan. Refill.]

    Apparently, one isn¡¯t enough for everyone. But right now, my heart is a demon bear.

    [Eating too much will make your stomach cold, and you¡¯ll even have a stomachache, so you can¡¯t have any more than this.] Yuna

    I heard shrieking voices after I conveyed my words. The director-sensei and Liz-san handled it.

    As expected, the children¡¯s words are more effective and honest than I am.

    And so, the children who have finished eating the ice cream went back to the water-slide. I saw off such children full of energy.

    Fufufu, now I can go to the mysterious ind without hesitation.

    Just as nned.

    (TN: Mitsuha reference ( Ó‹ËãÍ¨¤ê¤À¡£) Keikaku d¨­ri.)

 Chapter 362 Bear-san Got Noticed Day 4

    <h4>Chapter 362 Bear-san Got Noticed Day 4</h4>

    After the break, the children rushed towards the water-slide. Noa also ran together with Misa. Marina and others chase after them. Fina also went to y with Shuri. Of course, I was also invited, but I said and let them go out to y.

    The noisy beach house bes quiet. I also prepared some yground equipment. I handed out the ice cream and had my break. It is no exaggeration to say that children¡¯s interests had been diverted away from me. If I¡¯m not wearing my bear costume, I¡¯m just another person.

    Everything is going ording to n. (TN: Mitsuha¡¯s keikaku d¨­ri.)

    I touched my body to make sure my swimsuit is dry. Then, I take out the bear costume from the bear box and put it on. All I have to do is to sneak out of the beach house without being noticed.

    [Yuna-san, are you going out somewhere?] Director

    Director-sensei who also remained at the beach house called out to me.

    [I have a ce I want to go to. Please don¡¯t tell the children about me going out somewhere.] Yuna

    [Etto, please be careful.] Director

    If I have my bear equipment on, it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s a little dangerous. Along with my bear costume, I equipped the bear shoes and the bear puppets. Now I¡¯m fully armed.

    As usual, it gives me a sense of security. And since I have my bear equipment on, I can move as much as I want. When I was about ready to go, I looked at the entrance of the beach house and saw two people entering, Fina and Shuri.

    [Wh, why are you both here, Fina, Shuri? Didn¡¯t you go out with everyone?] Yuna

    I was taken aback at the appearance of the two. I¡¯ve properly confirmed that they had left the beach house. So why are they here?

    [Shuri said she wanted to go to the bathroom, so we came back.] Fina

    There is a figure of Shuri running into the bathroom.

    I¡¯m d she didn¡¯t leak it, but their timing was bad.

    [Maybe, Yuna-oneesan is going somewhere?] Fina

    I think it¡¯s okay, to tell the truth to Fina. But if Shuri hears the story, she would most likely say I should take her along. While I¡¯m wondering about what to do, a voice came from another ce.

    [Yuna-san wants to go somewhere alone.] Shia

    When I look at the source of that voice, I saw Shia drinking water in front of the refrigerator.

    [Why is Shia...?] Yuna

    [I just came here to drink because I thought it was better to re-hydrate myself before I go out to y. Then Yuna-san started to change into her bear dress.] Shia

    ......I did not notice her. I thought that there were only director-sensei and me at the beach house. In other words, she was talking about the scene where I¡¯m changing clothes and the conversation I had with director-sensei.

    [U~u.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan, are you going somewhere?] Shuri

    This time Shuri returned from the bathroom and asked me.

    U u~u, I can¡¯t lie anymore...

    I¡¯m already dressed as a bear and Shia already heard my conversation with director-sensei. I cannot deceive them anymore.

    [Yuna-oneechan, why won¡¯t you y with me?] Shuri

    Shuri looks at me with pure innocent eyes. This is the pair of eyes that made Gentz-san ate his pride. I can¡¯t lie to such pure eyes. I can¡¯t stand it anymore so I took my eyes off from Shuri. But Fina was there in front of me.

    [Perhaps you¡¯re going to that mysterious ind?] Fina

    [Wha, how did you know that!?] Yuna

    I was surprised when Fina told me that.

    [I knew it!] Fina

    I tried to quickly close my mouth, but it¡¯s already toote.

    [Because Yuna-oneesan. You were talking to Kuro-ojisan about the mysterious ind with great interest. Also, you wanted to know the location of the ind on the boat. Also, Noa-sama was talking about the ind. When she asked you about it, you tried to deceive her.] Fina

    Fina lists the reasons one after another. It seems that Fina was saying something absurd. But how much does she know?

    I thought my poker face was already good. I put down both of my bear puppets and loosen the muscles of my cheeks.

    [It¡¯s just as Fina said, I was going to see the mysterious ind for a while, but I didn¡¯t want to take any of you to the ind, so I thought I¡¯d sneak out silently. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on that ind after all.] Yuna

    If I said I would go earlier, I think Noa will also say, .

    [That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to the ind alone for a while. Keep it a secret from everyone.] Yuna

    Especially to Noa. I add in my heart.

    [It¡¯s the rumored ind that has been a hot topic among fishermen. Yuna-san, can I follow you?] Shia

    [......!?]

    [Etto, Shia? Didn¡¯t you hear what I said?] Yuna

    [Because it sounds interesting, anyone would want to go.] Shia

    Shia added . After that, Shuri inevitably said, .

    I look at Fina asking for help.

    But Fina is looking at me with an expression saying, .

    [I think Noa-sama will know if you leave Shuri behind.] Fina

    [I might tell her even if Shuri-chan didn¡¯t speak about it.] Shia

    I have no ally here.

    But it¡¯s rare for Fina to say that. Her role is usually stopping Shuri.

    [I want to y with Yuna-oneechan.] Shuri

    If you say it like that, I can¡¯t refuse anymore.

    I sighed a little.

    [...Keep it a secret to everyone.] Yuna

    [Yay!] Shuri

    [Yes!] Fina

    [I won¡¯t tell anyone.] Shia

    I sighed once more.

    The making a water-slide, directing everyone¡¯s interest to it, then sneak out strategy, ended up in failure.

    [Also, I want you to follow my instructions.] Yuna

    We have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with us and they also have detection skills. If we encountered something dangerous, I can put them on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and let the three of them escape.

    [But you can¡¯t go in that outfit, we¡¯ll go after you¡¯ve changed your clothes.] Yuna

    The three looked at their swimsuits. You can¡¯t walk anywhere else than a sandy beach when wearing your swimsuit.

    I took Fina after changing into her in clothes and left the beach house so that everyone doesn¡¯t notice.

    Now, the question is where can we go. we¡¯re going to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If we start from here, the children will notice us.

    It might be best if we go to the harbor, but there may be fishermen, and the sandy beaches near the harbor are filled with locals and travelers other than us. If we go to a ce where I¡¯m such an eyesore, I can¡¯t go on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It may be better to go out of town once in a while. I took Fina and others outside of the town.

    [Are? Yuna-san, why didn¡¯t we go to the port?] Shia

    Shia asked me since we¡¯re heading outside of the town instead of going to the harbor.

    [We¡¯re not going there. I¡¯ll get noticed by everyone. Once we¡¯re out of town, I¡¯ll take out Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to take us to the ind.] Yuna

    [Are we going to ride Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan? But that will get our clothes wet.] Shia

    [Then should we take off our clothes and change into a swimsuit? Everyone should have a swimsuit underneath. You can put your clothes in an item bag.] Fina

    In Fina¡¯s words, Shia grabs the hem of her skirt. Under her clothes is a swimsuit. We were in a hurry, so I asked everyone to put their dress on top of their swimsuit.

    It may get wet when we ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear if they are swimming, but this time I will use my skills to make them run on the sea. If they¡¯re running on the sea, our clothes will not get wet. However, I wonder if it¡¯s okay to ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to run on the sea.

    But, I know that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are summoned beasts and I also know that they can be cubs. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve been walking on watertely.

    When wee near the gate to get outside of town, I saw the usual gatekeeper.

    [Ladies, are you going outside?] Gatekeeper

    [Just for a bit.] Yuna

    [Well, I think it¡¯s okay since you¡¯re with the beardy, but please be careful out there.] Gatekeeper

    I left the town along with three people. Then I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Then, the three of you, hop on. Fina and Shia. Me and Shuri.] Yuna

    That¡¯s the best arrangement when ites to physique. I¡¯m in a costume so I¡¯m also the widest, that¡¯s why it¡¯s better to pair up with Shuri who¡¯s the smallest.

    Fina and Shia are riding on Swaying Bear, while Shuri and I are riding on Hugging Bear. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started running and left the town. Then, after a while, we can see the cliff where I defeated the Kraken.

    [Are, what is that?] Shia

    [Bear?] Fina

    [There are many Bear-san.] Shuri

    Ipletely forgot about this ce.

    Those are the stone bear statues that I made when I used it to surround the Kraken and tried not to let it escape. Kuro-ojisan asked me to keep it as it is. The three are curiously looking at the stone bear statues in the sea.

    [Ano, did Yuna-san make those groups of Bear-san as well?] Shia

    [Yeah, well. Keep it a secret from Noa as well.] Yuna

    If Noa knew about it, she¡¯ll definitely say she¡¯d want to go and see it. It¡¯ll be difficult once the other children asked to see it as well.

    [And the reason why I made it is a secret.] Yuna

    I took the initiative before anyone ask.

    Shia, who was about to ask, said, .

    And so, we came near the cliff. The three are still looking at the bear statues in the sea. However, I think somewhere around here would be a good ce to start. I can see the town in the distance, but I don¡¯t know what the people are doing. Seen from the town, we should look like sesame seeds.

    [Now then, we¡¯re heading to the ind from here.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan, if you don¡¯t take off your clothes, it will get wet.] Fina

    [It¡¯ll be okay, but I¡¯m gonna ask you to keep this a secret as well. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, if you please.] Yuna

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped out toward the sea after crying .

    [Clothes!] Fina

    [............!] Shuri

    [............!?] Shia

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear didn¡¯t dive into the sea. They started running on the sea instead.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The trio Fina, Shuri, and Shia came along.

    But with this, we can finally go to the mysterious ind.

 Chapter 363 Bear-san Lands on the Mysterious Island Day 4

    <h4>Chapter 363 Bear-san Lands on the Mysterious Ind Day 4</h4>

    Fina and the others are screaming, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear did not dive into the sea but running above the sea as they tackle the waves. Instead of stepping on a puddle with water sshing all over, they¡¯re really running on the surface tension like it¡¯s the ground.

    [Hu, Hugging Bear-chan is running on the sea!] Shuri

    Just like the first time Shuri rode on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, she was overjoyed. While Fina and Shia are dumbfounded and silent. There is nothing blocking the sea. No boats either. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are both running under the blue sky and over the blue sea.

    I don¡¯t know whether there are people looking, so I instructed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to leave thend.

    [Yuna-oneesan! Swaying Bear-chan is running on the sea! What¡¯s going on!] Fina

    Fina finally rebooted and asked me.

    [It¡¯s the ability of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Please keep this secret.] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t tell anyone, but still, it¡¯s unbelievable. They¡¯re running on the sea. I was surprised when they got smaller and now this! Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are both really amazing.] Fina

    [And if there are monsters nearby, they will warn us and they will even fight.] Shia

    Fina and Shia lined up the awesomeness of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [And they¡¯re fluffy.] Shuri

    Shuri hugs Hugging Bear.

    [Well, I¡¯m not Noa. But still, I want Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Shia

    [I want them too.] Shuri

    Shia dered and Shuri followed suit.

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are my family. I won¡¯t give them.] Yuna

    [Then, if I marry Yuna-san, I can be with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Shia

    Shia jokingly said that.

    [If I get married to Yuna-oneechan, can I stay with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan too?] Shuri

    [If I get married, that¡¯s true. But both girls can¡¯t do it.] Yuna

    To begin with, I have no desire to get married. Basically, I don¡¯t get the image of me being with a man. With that in mind, I may not be able to get married for the rest of my life. Well, there¡¯s no problem because I¡¯m fine with it.

    [But I didn¡¯t think I could have the experience of running on water. I had a good souvenir story for my mother.] Shia

    [I¡¯m telling you not to tell anyone.] Yuna

    [Is it no good even if it¡¯s my mother?] Shia

    ......I can only imagine.

    Once Eleanora-san knew of it. First, she will tell it to Cliff and the King. And then, it will be transmitted from Cliff to Noa.

    And on the King¡¯s side. He¡¯s going to talk about it to Princess Flora, Tilia, and the Queen. Though I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll tell it to his son, the crown prince.

    For the time being, it¡¯s better to prevent it from spreading.

    [If Eleanora-san knows, she¡¯ll talk about it to Cliff and the King, so please keep it secret.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s true. My mother would talk to them about it. I don¡¯t want Yuna-san to hate me, so I¡¯ll keep silent.] Shia

    [And neither Fina nor Shuri can tell anyone as well.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Fina

    [Un.] Shuri

    I also made the two make a promise. The two kept silent about Kraken even if they were tickled by Tirumina-san. Shuri is selfish, but basically, she is a good girl who keeps her promise. Besides, she can¡¯t help it because she¡¯s a child. And in the first ce, even Noa and Shia said that Fina was a good and obedient child.

    So this time, it was rare when Fina said that she wanted toe with me.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are far from thend. I check the location of the mysterious ind on the bear map. It is inconvenient that the map can only grasp a certain distance, but I can figure out the approximate direction. Well, the harbor is over there, so the ind is in this direction.

    While looking at the Bear Map, I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to head to the mysterious ind taught to me by Kuro-ojisan.

    [Ah, I can see the Bear-san made by Yuna-oneechan.] Shuri

    Shuri points towards the distant coast. The bear water-slide is there. Because it¡¯s a big bear, it can be seen well from a distance. However, the appearance of children ying on the bear water-slide cannot be seen clearly with the naked eye. It looks like something that seems to be small people moving around.

    If it is that much of a distance from here, it should be the same when looking towards here from the other side.

    [We can¡¯t see Noa and the others from here.] Yuna

    [Noa-oneechan? I can¡¯t see her.] Shuri

    [Yes, she¡¯s too small to see.] Yuna

    [As expected, you can¡¯t see them at this distance.] Shia

    I¡¯m d I couldn¡¯t see them even with my eyesight as 5.0 as in some countries. I¡¯m not sure if my eyesight is 5.0, but I wonder how far I can grasp it.

    In this world, do adventurers have that much visual acuity? But at this distance, you can¡¯t tell who you are looking at.

    We proceeded while checking the map. We kept running at this pace for a while. And so, we can now see our target, the mysterious ind. I checked the map and the direction that Kuro-ojisan taught me. That¡¯s definitely the ind.

    ording to Kuro-ojisan, it suddenly appeared and disappeared without his knowledge, so it was possible that it might¡¯ve already been gone overnight. I¡¯m d it hasn¡¯t vanished yet.

    [Is that the ind?] Shia

    [If that¡¯s the ind they taught me then there¡¯s no mistake.] Yuna

    Kuro-ojisan is old, but he¡¯s not getting dull yet. He¡¯s still sharper than the other fishermen. He shouldn¡¯t make a mistake about this.

    As we approach the ind, I instructed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to slow down.

    [Then, let¡¯s be careful when we get to the ind. If there is a danger, you will immediately return. You will not act on your own. That¡¯s right, Fina and Shuri shouldn¡¯t get off from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear except for Shia.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Fina

    [Un.] Shuri

    Both of them replied properly.

    If there is something dangerous, they can escape or be protected by riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    As wee near the ind, just like Kuro-ojisan says,rge whirlpools swells around the ind. They¡¯re unnaturally rippling around the ind.

    With this, it is impossible to go to the ind by boat. If you get caught up, it may be difficult to escape. Often, there was a fisherman who saw this whirlpool and still decided to go by boat. Even an amateur seems to understand that it is dangerous. He¡¯s either overconfident in his ship maneuvering skills or just in stupid.

    [The whirlpools are really going wild around the ind.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan. I¡¯m scared.] Shuri

    Shuri, who is sitting in front, grabs Hugging Bear tightly.

    Certainly, it may be scary to look at it up close. Just by looking at it makes me feel like I¡¯m being sucked into the whirlpools.

    [It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re riding on Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [But they can¡¯t bring us closer to the ind.] Shia

    [It¡¯s okay since we¡¯re riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. The problem is where we cannd on the ind.] Yuna

    It¡¯s impossible to do it with a boat. But we¡¯re not on a boat. We¡¯re Riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. In the past, they crossed a torrent river. Whirlpools are nothingpared to it. We go around the ind clockwise to find a ce that is easy tond on. I found some ces with low cliffs. We will try tond on the ind from there.

    [Because we will pass over the whirlpools, it may shake a little, so hold on firmly.] Yuna

    Well, they won¡¯t fall, but I said it just to be careful. Basically, when I¡¯m riding Swaying Bear it feels like I¡¯m stuck with super glue and I couldn¡¯t fall no matter what I do. However, if you feel like getting off, you may fall.

    Therefore, it is necessary to be prepared not to fall. The three hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tightly so that they don¡¯t fall.

    After confirming this, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rushed out and jump over the whirlpools as if they were bouncing. Then, theynded on the ind after a few more jumps.

    [We really crossed the whirlpools.] Shia

    [Hugging Bear-chan is amazing.] Shuri

    I used my detection skills to look around. There was no reaction from monsters within the range. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also showed no reaction to danger sense. However, there may be ordinary beasts even if there¡¯s no danger from monsters.

    I got off from Hugging Bear.

    [Both of you don¡¯t get off.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Fina

    [Un.] Shuri

    Both of them replied

    [When youe to a ce like this, it really gets you excited.] Shia

    When Shia got off Swaying Bear, she took out the sword from the item bag and hung it on her waist.

    It certainly is exciting. It¡¯s fun to go to a new ce. But that maybe because I¡¯m with Fina and the other two. It¡¯s more fun to y in multiyer than solo campaigns. (TC: I beg to differ.)

    There is no doubt that I can say I have a lot of solo gaming experience.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Is there a treasure here?] Shuri

    Shuri asks with her eyes shining. Didn¡¯t she say she wanted to go because she wanted to see treasures?

    [Well, I don¡¯t know? Does Shuri want the treasure?] Yuna

    [If I find it, I¡¯ll give it to mom and dad.] Shuri

    To Tirumina-san? Some unexpected words came out.

    I look towards Fina.

    [Etto, Fina. Are you in trouble with money so much? Is your household budget really that severe?] Yuna

    I¡¯m worried about the household budget of a 10-year-old girl, but I¡¯m curious, so I asked. She¡¯s currently my employee. If she¡¯s having a hard time, I¡¯ll have to think about it.

    However, Tirumina-san¡¯s sry should be raised as it is. Gentz-san also works in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re in trouble with money.

    Maybe Gentz-san is drowning in alcohol?

    [Etto, thanks to Yuna-san, we¡¯re not in trouble with money. Shuri, why are you giving the treasure to mom and dad?] Fina

    [They said that if you have more family members, it will cost you more money.] Shuri

    [Family!?] Yuna

    Maybe there is a baby in Tirumina-san¡¯s stomach?

    [Fina, is that so?] Yuna

    [I, I don¡¯t know.] Fina

    Apparently, Fina doesn¡¯t know. If Tirumina-san¡¯s belly really has a baby, we have to celebrate.

    But Shuri is already thinking about that.

    [We may not find treasure, but I hope we can find some souvenirs.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    First off, we will go around the seaside to check the topography of the ind. Shia and I will be in front, Fina who¡¯s riding Swaying Bear will be behind us, followed by Shuri who¡¯s riding Hugging Bear.

    I used wind magic to mow the obstructive grass. There was no evidence that people passed by for a long time. Was it hard to get to the center of the ind?

    I can cut grass, but not the trees. I hope there is a ce where we can easily go to. As we walked as if we were trotting, Fina in the back screamed.

    [Yuna-oneesan. There are Orens.] Fina

    There are many Oren fruits in a big tree in front of me. Well, it¡¯s technically oranges. I often see them in Crimonia, where I normally bought them, and ate them.

    I jumped lightly and picked the delicious Oren. Then I gave it to everyone.

    [It looks delicious.] Fina

    [Yuna-san, you can easily do great things.] Shia

    I peeled and ate the Oren fruit. I think it tastes better than the usual Oren which I always eat.

    [Hugging Bear-chan, a~n.] Shuri

    When Shuri reaches out and puts Oren in front of Hugging Bear¡¯s mouth, Hugging Bear bends his neck and eats it properly. Fina saw it, so she imitated it and fed Swaying Bear.

    If you walk a bit further, you will find a tree with apples. But, to think that there is such a tree here.

    Shuri must¡¯ve also eaten it before, so I¡¯ll pick it up just like the Oren.

    Perhaps this ind is a treasure trove of fruits?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, wended.

    With a visual acuity of 5.0, it seems that you can see quite far.

    ¡ù In the activity report, we already posted the information on the SSShort story 6th volume store purchase privilege.

    I would be happy if you check it out.

    Volume 6 will be released on 3/31. Thank you.

 Chapter 364 Bear-san is Taking A Walk on the Island (Day 4)

    <h4>Chapter 364 Bear-san is Taking A Walk on the Ind (Day 4)</h4>

    [Still, this is a really beautiful ce . ] Shia

    Walking along the coast of the ind . Surprisingly, there is little vegetation and it is easy to walk . There are also ces where you can go inside the ind . Not everything seems to be covered with vegetation .

    As Shia said, the view is good and beautiful as you look far away . However, when I look under the cliff, the whirlpools are spinning, so I feel a bit scared . But there is no sense of difort even if it is said to be the boundary between heaven and hell .

    My biggest worry is whether Fina and the others will fall . Both Fina and Shuri followed my instructions and they¡¯re riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so there is no need to worry about them .

    Looking at Shuri, I can see that one of the two apples I picked up earlier is in Hugging Bear¡¯s mouth . The other apple is being held in her small hand and she¡¯s munching on it deliciously .

    [Hugging Bear-chan it¡¯s delicious, right?] Shuri

    <kuu-n .=""></kuu-n>

    If the fruit looks this good, then it might be a good idea to set up a bear gate so I can pick it up at any time .

    And if you keep walking a little further, you will find a banana tree . I didn¡¯t think there was even a banana here . However, the banana was green and was unlikely to be eaten immediately . I want toe to pick it up next time . (TC: FYI to Yuna, there¡¯s a type of banana thates in green color even blue and it¡¯s ripe . )

    I see the vegetation growing around me again .

    Well, I thought it was strange to walk around here . But then, this ind is strange in many ways .

    [Yuna-san . Isn¡¯t there something wrong with this ind?] Shia

    [You think so too, Shia?] Yuna

    There are fruits and nts growing here regardless of region or season . That¡¯s a palm tree, isn¡¯t it? It feels like there are nts from around the world on a small ind . If the ind is moving around the world, there is a good chance that birds will carry seeds .

    But it will be a different story if it just spurts up .

    [I can¡¯t say for sure because I just saw it in the picture book back at the school, but the nts from different regions are growing on this ind . ] Shia

    [You¡¯re right . ] Yuna

    I nod to Shia¡¯s words .

    At first, I was happy to have Orens and apples, but I don¡¯t think there are bananas or palm trees as well . No matter how many ces this moving ind went to, it is impossible for the nts found in different environments to grow here .

    Did wee to a strange ind perhaps?

    For the time being, I checked it with my detection skill, but there is no reaction from any monster . Maybe I¡¯m just thinking about it too much, well that¡¯s fine .

    [Is it really that strange?] Fina

    Fina asks as if she doesn¡¯t notice what¡¯s wrong .

    [That¡¯s right . It¡¯s strange that that tree is near the apple tree . ] Yuna

    I pointed at the banana tree

    [nts grow differently depending on the area . Of course, there are things that are growing in the same environment, but there are also things that grow specifically in that area . ] Shia

    [I see . I didn¡¯t know . ] Fina

    Well, she didn¡¯t go to school and I¡¯m sure there are nts that she¡¯s seeing for the first time, so it can¡¯t be helped that she didn¡¯t know it .

    [I only knew about it at school, so you should not be ashamed . ] Shia

    Then, while checking the surroundings, we make a halfp around the ind .

    After about half ap around the ind, we reached an open area . There is no reaction from monsters so far . It seems that there are no monsters on this ind . We haven¡¯te across any animals either .

    [U wa~a, it¡¯s beautiful . ] Shia

    We¡¯re at a little elevated spot and we can see the horizon . That¡¯s pretty . The empty sea continues .

    [The sea continues forever] Fina

    Fina spreads her hands and takes a deep breath . Shuri imitates her .

    [Yuna-oneechan . What¡¯s beyond of this sea?] Shuri

    [Well, I don¡¯t know because I¡¯ve never been there . But I think there will bend if you go all the way, and I think there are strangers living there . ] Yuna

    [I wanna see it . ] Shuri

    [Me too~] Fina

    [Yeah . I also want to see it someday . ] Yuna

    Someday I want to go to another continent . I wonder if I will find the country of Harmony and Peace if I go from here .

    But it¡¯s a hassle to ride on a ship for days .

    After getting off of the hill and trying to go around the other half, Fina found something .

    [Yuna-oneesan, what¡¯s that?] Fina

    There is an unnaturallyrge stone at the spot where Fina is pointing . When Fina descends from Swaying Bear, she approaches therge stone .

    [Yuna-oneesan . There are letters written on this stone . ] Fina

    We run up to Fina after hearing her say that .

    [Is this a stone monument?] Yuna

    Letters are engraved on the stone monument that was taller than me .

    For a moment, I thought it was someone¡¯s grave, but it seems different . The stone monument may have been left unattended for a long time and it¡¯s slightly dirty . I used water magic to clean the stone monument .

    Etto, what¡¯s written on it?

    ??I say to those who came to this ind . I Pray that those who havee to know this ind are not malicious . If anyone happens toe to the ind, leave before the ind starts moving . ??

    What does it mean? Malicious people? How do you know when the ind will move?

    [¡­Kryna-Hark . ] Shia

    (TN: Anyone got a better name?¡¸¥¯¥ê¥å¥Ê£½¥Ï¥ë¥¯¡¹[Kuryuna ¨C Haruku] . Dunno the gender either . )

    When I try to read more, Shia was surprised to see the letters at the bottom .

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    [The name Kryna-Hark, right here . ] Shia

    Shia points to the ce where the name is written .

    [Who?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, you don¡¯t know!?] Shia

    Yeah, I don¡¯t know since I¡¯m from another world . Perhaps a super celebrity and it¡¯s bad that I don¡¯t know? I look towards Fina and Shuri .

    [I don¡¯t know . ] Fina

    [Dunno . ] Shuri

    That¡¯s good . I have tworades who didn¡¯t know as well .

    Apparently, it¡¯s not a very famous name . From the point of view of Shia, I thought it was a name that everyone knows . If it was a celebrity that everyone knew, I might have been suspicious .

    [Eh ~~, don¡¯t you three know? It¡¯s Kryna-Hark . Kryna-Hark!] Shia

    Even if you keep repeating that name many times, I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know . Whether it¡¯s a historical figure or a celebrity who is alive today, it¡¯s not in my knowledge for another world history of the past few months .

    [So who is this, Hark-or-whatever?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s Kryna-Hark . An A rank adventurer and very famous among adventurers . ] Shia

    Shia says with all her might, but I still don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know .

    [I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know . ] Yuna

    [Yes, I don¡¯t know . ] Fina

    [I don¡¯t know . ] Shuri

    Shia got depressed after being told by three people .

    [I thought every adventurer knew . ] Shia

    [So, is that Kryna-Hark person famous?] Yuna

    [Yes . Some adventurers are aiming for him, and it¡¯s written in school textbooks . ]

    [Some adventurers?] Yuna

    [If anything, he¡¯s famous as an adventurer . He goes to dangerous areas and ces where no one goes . He discovers nts that no one knows or defeat monsters that no one has seen before . He¡¯s a great person . Thanks to him, I¡¯ve learned a lot of new facts . ] Shia

    Shia exins with excitement .

    Kryna-Hark was such a famous person it seems .

    [In other words, this stone monument was made by an adventurer named Kruna-Hulk?] Yuna

    [If no one duped the name of Kruna-Hulk, then I think so . ] Shia

    [Well, you don¡¯t have to fool yourself on such an ind where no one is likely toe, so it¡¯s more likely to be real . ] Yuna

    I will read the continuation of the words on the stone monument .

    ??If anyone who knows about thisnd when it appears, I believe that he is in good faith . Touch the stone monument, those who have good intentions, and pour magical power into it . However, those with malicious intent are not allowed to touch it . ??

    And finally, the name is engraved . I tried to touch it and pour in my magical power, but then, (peta peta) Shia frantically touched the stone monument . Multiple times .

    [What are you doing?] Yuna

    [Etto, because it says, touch the monument those who have good intentions . But there is no reaction . ] Shia

    And then, (peta peta) Shuri is also touching it, imitating how Shia touched the stone monument .

    [Shia, looks like you¡¯re malicious, aren¡¯t you?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san that¡¯s terrible . ] Shia

    [Yuna-oneechan . I¡¯m not a bad girl ~] Shuri

    Even though only I told Shia that, Shuri also puffed her cheeks .

    [It¡¯s a joke . Aren¡¯t youcking in magical power part?] Yuna

    It was written, ??pour magical power into it?? .

    I touched the stone monument on behalf of the two . And tried to pour in my magical power . Then the stone monument began to shine .

    [It¡¯s so bright . ] Shia

    [U~u, it¡¯s too bright~] Shuri

    [Shuri!] Fina

    Everyone closed their eyes and couldn¡¯t see anything . Fina hid Shuri on her back . I also blocked my view with my bear puppet . And then, the light gradually disappears . When I opened my eyes and looked at the stone monument, a book came out of the stone monument . And then, the book slowly moves towards me, it fell on my bear puppet .

    A book from the stone monument?

    [Yuna-san, are you okay? And what¡¯s with that book?] Shia

    [It came out of the stone monument . ] Yuna

    This is definitely a different world and I am surprised by the asional unexpected event .

    [Yuna-san . Maybe it¡¯s a book of Kryna-Hark!] Shia

    [What¡¯s that?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a book about the adventures of Kryna-Hark . It¡¯s a book that is also trusted as rare knowledge . ] Shia

    It looks like a rare book that seems to appear in the game .

    [I¡¯m impressed that such a book is here . Yuna-san, please show me . ] Yuna

    She¡¯s staring at the book with a momentum that would jump at me at any moment .

    [I also want to see~] Shuri

    [I want to see it too . ] Fina

    I opened the book so that everyone can see it . Etto, <only people="" with="" good="" intentions="" can="" have="" this="" book="" .="" it="" cannot="" be="" picked="" up="" by="" those="" who="" malicious="" intent=""> .</only>

    I don¡¯t know how to judge people and when a person says that they have good intentions, it makes me cringe . Am I one of those who have good faith? I¡¯m a pile of different personalities myself . Isn¡¯t there a mistake in the criterion for good faith somewhere?

    When I try to read more, everyone came up with unexpected words .

    [It¡¯s pure white . ] Shuri

    [There¡¯s nothing written on it . ] Fina

    [Etto, isn¡¯t this supposed to be Kryna-Hark¡¯s book!] Shia

    [What are you talking about, it¡¯s written properly, you know?] Yuna

    [Well, it¡¯s pure white and there¡¯s nothing written on it . Isn¡¯t that right, Fina-chan, Shuri-chan . ] Shia

    Shia asked the two for confirmation .

    [Yes, there¡¯s nothing written . ] Fina

    [Yeah, there¡¯s nothing written . ] Shuri

    Apparently, everyone really can¡¯t see the words in the book .

    [It fits in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book . Apparently, only I can see it . ] Yuna

    Does that mean that magical power has something to do with it?

    [Is that so? U u~u, too bad I can¡¯t read Kryna-Hark¡¯s book . Yuna-san, what does the book say?] Shia

    I lightly flip the page of the book and read it .

    [Apparently, it says Kryna-Hark¡¯s exploration and investigation of the ind . ] Yuna

    Perhaps the mystery of this ind is also written here?

 Chapter 365 Bear-san Learns About the Island Day 4

    <h4>Chapter 365 Bear-san Learns About the Ind Day 4</h4>

    When I tried to read the book of Kryna-Hark, I heard a cute .

    [Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯m hungry.] Shuri

    Didn¡¯t you just ate an apple, howe you¡¯re hungry again?

    I think the apples here are quite swollenpared to normal ones. But just as Shuri said, she may already be hungry. It seems that there are no monsters anywhere and if it gets a little dangerous when an animal approached us, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will warn us. If the ind starts to move, we can jump off.

    And since we walked under the hot sun. Fina and Shuri on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear may have been hot.

    [I think it¡¯s okay because the wind was blowing.] Fina

    [Yeah, it¡¯s okay.] Shuri

    The two said that, so we decided to take a break and have a light meal.

    I ced a mat on the ground, took the bread out of the bear box, and sat down together. I read Kryna-Hark¡¯s book with a bun in my mouth.

    ??If you don¡¯t know anything about this ind, this book will tell those who got it. This ind is above Targui.?? Targui? I have never heard of it. Is that the name of this ind?

    ??If possible, you should leave the ind as soon as possible. The ind will start moving eventually. If the whirlpools are too strong to get out, there is a simr monument to the left of this monument. The escape method is written on that monument.??

    The how to get out of the ind is written in that monument. What if someone got shipwrecked and washed ashore in the first ce? I want to dig deeper into this.

    Then it was written that this book could only be read when on this ind. And it also says that when you leave the ind, it will return to the monument. What does that mean?

    Will it fly away once we got out of the ind? In that case, what happens if I put it in the bear box?

    I wanted to try it, but I¡¯ll be in trouble if I don¡¯t get it back again, so I¡¯m not going to do an experiment like that right now. But it¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t take it home. As far as I can tell from the words of Shia, Kryna-Hark¡¯s book seems to be worth a lot, so I wanted to keep it handy. Well, I can read it anytime once I install a bear gate on the ind, so that¡¯s fine.

    [Did you find out anything, Yuna-san?] Shia

    As I continued to read the book, Shia, who was eating bread, asked me.

    [Somewhat. Does Shia know anything about Targui?] Yuna

    [Targui? You mean that Targui?] Shia

    I don¡¯t know what is this Targui you¡¯re talking about. This is a name I¡¯m only hearing for the first time. Maybe Targui is famous?

    In the book of Kryna-Hark, ??This is Targui?? was suddenly written.

    [Yuna-san, you don¡¯t know about Targui?] Shia

    [Yeah, I don¡¯t know. Maybe it¡¯s as famous as the Kryna-Hark?] Yuna

    I only have several month¡¯s worths of history in another world, so there are many things I don¡¯t know. I asked Fina and Shuri for the time being, but they said and .

    [U~n. Famous, very famous. But for those who are not familiar with it, may not know about it. Targui is the name of a legendary creature in the sea.] Shia

    [Legendary......] Yuna

    Is this legendary sea creature a turtle? whale? octopus? squid? Or is it a creature that I don¡¯t know?

    But if this creature is a monster, Targui should be reacting to the detection skill. So it¡¯s not a monster, is it? Even if it is not a monster, if it¡¯s a dangerous creature, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear should be warning me already. But even if I look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they¡¯re enjoying eating bread with Fina and Shuri. There was no reaction when we¡¯re approaching the ind either.

    And hearing about legendary, a phoenix or a holy beastes to mind. But because it¡¯s the sea, is it a holy turtle or a holy whale? I tried arranging the kanji in my brain like that, but it turned out to be an unreadable kanji.

    [So, what about Targui?] Shia

    [Apparently, this ind seems to be Targui.] Yuna

    [Is that true!?] Shia

    Shia released a surprised voice.

    [If what¡¯s written in this book is true, then yes. So what is Targui?] Yuna

    [Targui has been confirmed to exist, but we do not know where it is or what form it is in. However, it seems to be veryrge.] Shia

    If this whole ind is Targui, it is certainly a big creature. When I checked the bear map, it¡¯s as good as 1km in diameter.

    [There are various tales about Targuiing out. There are stories that the ship that attacked Targui was annihted, and there is a story saying that it helped a ship that was being attacked by monsters. Furthermore, there¡¯s a story about the residents of the vige who got struck by a disaster. The story tells about how it saved the vigers by putting them on it¡¯s back, so it seems that there are somends that worship Targui as the god of salvation.] Shia

    As a god. It¡¯s just a holy beast.

    Well, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also gifts of God, so they may as well be holy beasts. When I look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they look back at me cutely and tilted their heads like saying . They have no shred of dignity of the holy beast.

    [Then there seems to be no danger.] Yuna

    [Targui is said to have lived for thousands of years, but until now it shouldn¡¯t have surfaced unless there is a big disastering.] Shia

    ording to Shia, the existence of Targui has not been confirmed in thest 100 years. If it is attacking people, it should be widespread as a dangerous entity.

    That¡¯s true. If it is an entity that attacks people, it will spread quickly because Targui is dangerous. In the first ce, Targui does not seem to appear in front of people unless the people attacked it.

    [But that story was written in a legend or a book. I haven¡¯t actually seen it, so don¡¯t count on it. Are we really on Targui in the first ce?] Shia

    That¡¯s true, though. There is no way to confirm that. The premise is that whether what is written in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book is true. There is no evidence that this ind is Targui. If there is a reaction to the detection skill, I can confidently confirm it, but why is there no reaction to the detection skill?

    Does it mean that it¡¯s dead? Then I can see why there is no reaction. But in any case, I can¡¯te up with an answer now.

    [Did Kryna-Hark¡¯s book say anything about Targui?] Shia

    Well, I hid the book in the monument. There was a possibility that something was written about Targui in it. So I lightly read the book and found a page that describes Targui.

    ??Targui is not as dangerous as the legend said. However, if you do harm to Targui, it will have no choice but to retaliate. I¡¯m saying this to the one who entered thisnd and got this book. I want you to quietly watch over Targui. And if possible, I want you to leave without telling anyone.??

    It¡¯s good to keep silent. It is impossible to leave.

    Because it¡¯s a moving ind. There are some strange foods around here. If I set up a bear transfer gate on this ind, I will be able to go back to this mysterious ind without riding a boat. The downside is that I can¡¯t tell it to go anywhere I like.

    So, I agreed with the first half but rejected the second half. And the more I read the book, the more I don¡¯t want to know about Targui. These three people also need to stop.

    [Yuna-san. Is there anything written about Targui?] Shia

    [It looks like it¡¯s okay, as long as you don¡¯t turn hostile to it. Just like Shia¡¯s story.] Yuna

    So was that the reason why it¡¯s written on the stone monument, hoping that the one whoes here wasn¡¯t malicious?

    And because the fisherman¡¯s boat did not approach with any malicious intent, so nothing happened, including in the past.

    If you approach the ind with hostility, will this ind go wild? I don¡¯t want to imagine it.

    In the first ce, was there any merit to defeat this Targui? It¡¯s an ind, an ind! If you¡¯re not hostile to it, just leave it alone. Unless this ind goes ashore and hits the city, there will be no damage if it just stays floating in the sea.

    And so, I told the feelings of Kryna-Hark to these three people.

    [So then, this is our secret.] Yuna

    [Yes, I understand.] Fina

    [Un, I won¡¯t tell anyone.] Shuri

    [............] Shia

    [Shia?] Yuna

    I look at the silent Shia.

    [Are you going to stay silent even though it¡¯s such a big discovery? It¡¯s a big discovery, you know? Don¡¯t you want to brag about it?] Shia

    [I won¡¯t do it. It¡¯s Kryna-Hark¡¯s request. It would be troublesome if this story spreads and people floods in. What if Targui starts attacking people? So, Kryna-Hark was also trying to hold back the people. As a person with good intentions, I will not talk about it because I received this book. Is Shia a good person or a bad person?] Yuna

    [Shia-oneechan. Are you a bad person?] Shuri

    [U~u, I see. I won¡¯t talk about it to anyone.] Shia

    When Shuri asked her, Shia has no choice but to reply with that.

    Well, I don¡¯t know how she feels. It¡¯s like a great discovery of the century. She can¡¯t help but want to brag about it to people. However, if people rush into Targui and it starts to rampage, it will cause a big problem. Best of all, I¡¯m thinking of making this my secret base, so I¡¯ll be troubled if this ce got known.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Are we staying on this ind?] Shuri

    Shuri, who has finished eating bread, asks.

    [I want to stay a bit more. Do you want to go back perhaps?]

    Shuri shook her head.

    [I want to bring some souvenir fruits to my mom.] Shuri

    [That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s bring some delicious fruits home.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    We get up and clean up the rug.

    [Where are we going, Yuna-san?] Shia

    [Hmm, I thought about going around the ind at first, but I¡¯m now thinking of heading to the center of the ind. When we get to the other side, we¡¯ll head back for today.] Yuna

    Of course, we will escape from the ind if there¡¯s any danger.

    And the next time Ie, I¡¯lle alone. Therefore, I would like to set up a bear gateter without being noticed by everyone.

    [But I can¡¯t believe this ind is Targui.] Shia

    [Can¡¯t you attack this ind to prove it.] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t. How do you attack it in the first ce? Even if you stab it with a sword, there is only soil on the ground.] Shia

    Shia lightly touches the sword sheath on her waist.

    That¡¯s exactly what Shia says. With a little attack, it wouldn¡¯t even think of a mosquito bite. In the first ce, the fact that trees are growing like this should mean that the soil is quite deep.

    If you stab your sword to such an opponent with thick soil on it, you will not reach its skin. If you want to attack it, should it be from under the sea? Even so, it¡¯s almost impossible. Well, no matter how much I think about it, I won¡¯t attack it.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I was one dayte. I went to the publisher for a moment to sign and talk.

    The number of stores with store benefits has increased by 5. The electronic version is being discounted at BOOK ¡î WALKER. For details, please see the activity report.

    The cover of Volume 6 has been changed to include an obi. Click to jump to the PASH! Books store and purchaser benefits page.

    The bear in the obi is from the volume where they exterminate the ck tiger, so it is in a pose to catch it with a rope. It seems that a certain story is the subject.

 Chapter 366

    Chapter 366

    <h4>366 Bear-san Finds A Flower That Blooms All Over (Day 4)</h4>

    Fina and Shia are riding on Swaying Bear, while Shuri and I are riding on Hugging Bear .

    The aim is the center of the ind . The center of the ind is a slightly elevated mountain . It¡¯s easy to climb for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and if we look at the surroundings from a high ce, we may be able to see the entire ind . After lightly checking the ind from the mountain top, we will return for today .

    [There is a way here . ] Yuna

    Proceeding from the stone monument, I don¡¯t know if it was made by Kryna-Hark or by someone who has been saved by Targui, but there is an old road .

    [Even so, Kryna-Hark uses a lot of magic . I was surprised when the book came out of the monument . Can it be used by anyone?] Yuna

    The main magic I can use is offensive magic,bining it with skills .

    [I haven¡¯t heard of that kind of magic, but it seems that Kryna-Hark is a first-ss wizard and made magic tools . Even now, the magic tools made by Kryna-Hark are traded at high prices . ] Shia

    He feels like a wise man based on her story . I can imagine him going on a wandering trip alone or living alone in the depths of the forest .

    [He seems to be an amazing person . ] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan is also amazing . ] Shuri

    [I think so too . Yuna-oneesan is very strong, kind, and always there to protect us . ] Fina

    [That¡¯s right . Moreover, Yuna-san also has Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, they¡¯re cute, and they¡¯re even better than Kryna-Hark . ] Shia

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Yes!] Fina

    I don¡¯t think it has something to do with being nice and cute . I have no ability to hide a book in a stone monument, nor to judge whether a person is good or evil . Also, my power is a gift from god . And it¡¯s not very intimidating .

    [But I¡¯m not convinced about the stone monument . Does he really know whether a person is good or bad?] Shia

    Shia seems to be hurt by the fact that the book did note out when she touched the stone monument .

    [I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a bad person Shia . It¡¯s just that you didn¡¯t have enough magical power, I think . ] Yuna

    If Shuri has a little more magical power, the book would¡¯vee out when Shuri touched it .

    I don¡¯t think Shuri is a bad child . But, there¡¯s a chance that the bad guys will get the book by letting it touched a pure child . Therefore, I think that it won¡¯t respond unless it had a certain amount of magical power .

    Besides, the book also said something like that .

    Moreover, only the person who took out the book can read it, and when he leaves the ind, the book will disappear and return to the monument . So, it seems that you have to be on this ind to read the book . It is a mystery, what kind of magic and magic tools can be used to do that .

    That¡¯s why I want to keep the Targui a secret . Well, if this ind is really a creature, it would be dangerous if it went wild .

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are going along the road . If there is a road, there must be a destination .

    Shuri is sitting in front of me . I¡¯m holding her in her arms . Then I opened Kryna-Hark¡¯s book in front of Shuri¡¯s belly . It feels like I¡¯m reading a book from behind Shuri .

    I left our journey and danger detection to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear .

    [Yuna-oneechan . Are there really letters written in it?] Shuri

    Shuri tried to look at Kryna-Hark¡¯s book in front of her from various angles . Shuri¡¯s head sways from side to side each time .

    [Shuri, I can¡¯t read the book if you keep moving your head . ] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry . ] Shuri

    She apologized . So I put a bear puppet on Shuri¡¯s head and stroke it .

    [It¡¯s all written properly . But he doesn¡¯t want many people to know it, so only I can see it ever since I got it from the monument . I¡¯ll tell you what I can teach youter . So Shuri, look around . If you find something unusual, let me know . ] Yuna

    [OK, got it . ] Shuri

    When I ask her that, Shuri looking to her left and right . Well, it can¡¯t be helped that she¡¯s moving her neck, while I read the book . This Kryna-Hark seems to have lived on this ind for quite a long time .

    U wa~a, He¡¯s the one who nted the Oren tree and the apple tree . What is this person doing?

    Is it growing fast? Will it really taste good? Certainly, the Oren here tastes sweeter than the ones you can buy at Crimonia . ording to Kryna-Hark¡¯s book, it most likely the influence of Targui .

    Well, does that mean it¡¯s growing by sucking the nutrients of Targui?

    Is that okay? ording to Kryna-Hark, it has no effect on the human body and it¡¯s just an ordinary fruit . But it¡¯s just a consideration of Kryna-Hark . Well, I guess he wrote it since he¡¯s eating it too .

    For quite a while now, the book is only mentioning about food, so I¡¯ll skip the pages .

    Anyway, even if I researched Targui, I haven¡¯t thought of living on such an empty ind . In my case, I would like toe back here using the bear gate . I don¡¯t want to live alone in a ce like this .

    Am I a weirdo?

    Targui seems to move around the world on a regr basis . It seems that its journey will end in the same ce on a regr basis . That¡¯s why it appears here once every few years . It was written that Kryna-Hark was also using it to his advantage . Other interesting things are also written here . It¡¯s going to be an ind that is worth exploring .

    I closed the book and stretched my spine .

    [Did you find anything interesting?] Shuri

    Asked Shuri who was sitting in front of me .

    [Um, nothing . Nothing but fruits . ] Yuna

    [Yeah, there are no animals either . ] Shuri

    [What about flying birds?] Yuna

    You can certainly hear the birds singing(chirping) .

    Did they fly from a nearby ind?

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear keeps walking . But are there really no dangerous animals here?

    After Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear walked along the slope, our field of visions expanded simultaneously .

    [There are flowers . ] Yuna

    Beautiful colorful flowers are blooming all over in front of us . It¡¯s a beautiful ce .

    It¡¯s a ce where a youngdy would be sitting on a hill and making a corona, it looks amazing . Such behavior may suit Shia and Fina . Shuri looks good running around it .

    But I don¡¯t look good on any of them . A girl sitting dressed as a bear and making a corona? ying around in the flowers dressed as a bear? Just imagining any of them makes me want to destroy my imagination .

    Just thinking about it makes me feel chills .

    [Yuna-oneechan, that tree is so beautiful . ] Shuri

    At the area where Shuri points, there was a big tree with cherry blossom-like flowers .

    The tree has cherry blossom-like flowers, and the petals are pink and beautifully blooming .

    Oh, you can rarely see such a big cherry tree . The cherry blossoms are in full bloom . It is blooming so beautifully that it can be said that it is the best now .

    [Yuna-oneechan, can I get off?] Shuri

    [Wait a minute . ] Yuna

    I grabbed Shuri¡¯s shoulder and checked with my detection skills to make sure there are no monsters .

    [Yep, it¡¯s okay . ] Yuna

    Shuri got off from Hugging Bear and ran away . Fina and Shia who saw it got off from Swaying Bear .

    [It¡¯s a beautiful ce . ] Fina

    [This tree is also beautiful . ] Shia

    To me, it feels like I¡¯m watching cherry blossoms in the summer, which makes me feel ufortable . It¡¯s a mysterious ind . Even if the flowers are not rted to the season, they¡¯re still blooming here .

    Fina and the others are running around happily in the flower field .

    [It¡¯s beautiful . I want to bring my mom and dad too . ] Fina

    [That¡¯s right . I also want to show it to Noa . ] Shia

    [I want to bring it, but I can¡¯te easily . The whirlpools around the ind are too strong, so it¡¯s impossible to do it by boat and I¡¯m keeping Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s abilities a secret . And even if I reveal it to them, the amount of people who can ride them is limited . So I think it is a little impossible to do . ] Yuna

    [I agree . ] Shia

    [I understand the feelings of Fina and Shia, but you have to keep it a secret . ] Yuna

    [Yes . ] Fina

    I went near the cherry tree . It¡¯s a pretty big tree . I won¡¯t doubt it if someone said that the tree is 1000 years old . Looking closer, it looks different from cherry blossoms . However, it is still a beautiful flower . I don¡¯t know what this tree is called, so I¡¯ll call it <Sakura tree> for now .

    When Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached me, they sat beside me . So I sit there while leaning against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear .

    [Ah, Yuna-oneechan . You¡¯re hogging Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan to yourself . ] Shuri

    Shuri ran then she dives on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear .

    It feels good . I¡¯m going to fall asleep like this . I will rest here for a while . It¡¯s been decided, I¡¯ll definitely put a bear gate here .

    Fina and Shia screamed as they¡¯re lying down .

    [Yuna-san!] Shia

    [Yuna-oneesan . The flowers are shining!] Fina

    Looking up, each of the sakura tree flower petals is shining .

    I left the sakura tree . When I look at the sakura tree from a distance, it was shining like Christmas lights . Even though it¡¯s daytime, the light it shines is impressive . Moreover, I don¡¯t know how beautiful it would be in the nighttime .

    [Shia . Do flowers normally shine?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know the details, but I¡¯ve heard that flowers with magical power do shine, but this is the first time I¡¯ve actually seen them . ] Shia

    [Then, are the flowers of this tree shining because of magical power?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know . Is there anything written about it in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book that Yuna-san has?] Shia

    That¡¯s right . There is a possibility that something is written about this .

    I look at the book of Kryna-Hark that I have . I flipped through the books like reading diagonally . Then found the page that I was looking for .

    A picture of a sakura tree and its petals were drawn there . Kryna-Hark was good at painting . Talented people are always talented no matter what they do .

    When I look at the book again, I found that the picture of the petals was surrounded by a circle and the word <dangerous> was written inrge red letters . And, <When this flower blooms in pink and begins to release magical power, it is rmended to run away>, was also written on it .

    What? That <dangerous> word .

    I continued reading the book .

    The flowers are normally colored blue, red, yellow, green, and white . And it is written that it turns pink once every few years, and when the flower blooms pink, it releases magical power . The released magical power illuminates a beautiful glow . However, at the same time, it was also written that it would call in monsters .

    Hey, you¡¯re not kidding, are you?

    I look at the sakura blossoms in front of me . It shines with a beautiful seven colors . Fina and the others are looking at the sakura tree shining in seven colors as if they forgot to blink .

    Certainly, this scene is so beautiful that you can¡¯t help but stare at it . But what does it mean <call in monsters>? There are no monsters on this ind, right? So isn¡¯t it okay?

    I read the book once more .

    Monsters wille from the sea and the sky . If there are no monsters around, there may be no damage . It was written that this was based on luck .

    It¡¯s okay, right?

    But we should run away .

    Even so, isn¡¯t it strange that when we get close to it, it shines at the right moment? Is it like what happens to the main character of games and manga?

    [Everyone, hurry! Get away from the tree!] Yuna

    [Eh¡«] Shia

    [Eh? What is it?] Fina

    [I want to look at it a little more . ] Shuri

    [I don¡¯t have time to exin, so get on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear right away!] Yuna

    I used my detection skills to watch my surroundings . At the same time, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried in a loud voice .

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Volume 6 is scheduled to be released on March 31st, but it seems that it has already been released .

    I will post an episode to SS on March 31st . Therefore, the main story will be closed for a while .

    Thank you .

    The main story has been developed as promised . Yuna is loved by troubles .

    At first, I wanted to make it into a flower field, but after seeing the news of the sakura blooming, I suddenly wanted to make it into a sakura blossom .

 Chapter 367

    Chapter 367

    <h4>367 Bear-san, Move 3 People to a Safe ce (Day 4)</h4>

    At the same time when I activated the detection skill, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried loudly .

    [Hugging Bear-chan?] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    [Yuna-san, are there monsters?!] Shia

    Shuri looks at Hugging Bear .

    Fina raised her voice and asked Shia, who remembered Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried when the monsters appeared during the escort . The detection skill has the reaction of Volgrass . When Volgrass enters the detection skill, it goes straight to this side . Looking up at the sky, a ckbird appears and is orbiting the sky .

    (TN: (¥ô¥©¥ë¥¬¥é¥¹) (vu~orugarasu?) Any suggestions?)

    [That is......] Yuna

    [Bird-san?] Fina

    [Maybe a Volgrass?] Shia

    Everyone is looking up at the sky like I am .

    It¡¯s as Shia mentioned, it¡¯s a Volgrass . A monster that is one sizerger than an eagle and has a red beak . There is a reaction of dozens of Volgrasses in the detection skill, and while watching the detection skill, it enters the detection skill one after another . The number of Volgrasses is increasing steadily .

    From past experience, each Volgrass is not that strong . You can deal with it without any problem . However, the number is big . In addition, there¡¯s Fina and others here, and the situation is different from when I fought back in the Elven Vige .

    That doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t take Fina and the others back to Mereera . If we escape to Mereera poorly, we may identally bring the Volgrass to the town . ording to Kryna-Hark¡¯s book, monsters are attracted to that sakura tree, but there is no guarantee that they will not chase after us . In the unlikely event that the Volgrasses were brought to Mereera and attacks the children ying in the sea, I could never forgive myself . That must absolutely be prevented .

    A few Volgrasses came down to the sakura tree and started poking at the flowers . Are they eating it?

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    Looking at where Fina was pointing, there are seven-colored shining soap bubbles that appeared from the cherry blossoms . It spreads more and more . The big soap bubbles and small soap bubbles came out from various ces .

    [Beautiful . ] Fina

    Fina and the others are fascinated by the fantastic sight, but it feels dangerous . I would like to confirm this phenomenon by looking at a book, but now I want to leave this ce soon .

    My premonition soon bes a reality . The Volgrass that was perched on a tree got wrapped in soap bubbles . The Volgrass rampages for a moment, but bes withered as if it¡¯s life force was absorbed . Did it absorb its magical power? Or its physical strength? What is that soap bubble?

    Soap bubbles captured the Volgrasses one after another . Then, when I thought that there was a noise from the hill, a soap bubble containing Volgrass was sucked into arge hole near the middle .

    Was there a hole in that ce?

    When I look at the detection skill, the reaction from the Volgrasses in the hole disappears .

    Perhaps that hole is a part of Targui¡¯s body and it¡¯s eating the Volgrasses?

    [Yuna-oneechan!?] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan . ] Fina

    Shuri, who¡¯s riding on Hugging Bear, looks uneasy .

    [Anyway, we¡¯re leaving . ] Yuna

    There are many things I would like to confirm, but now I have to take these guys to a safe ce . I escaped together with the three people riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and went back to where the monument was .

    When I checked with the detection skill, the Volgrasses are still gathering . And they keep disappears around the sakura tree . I think they were trapped by the soap bubbles I saw earlier and got sucked into the hole .

    Perhaps it is a method of predation by Targui .

    I took out a bear house from the bear box .

    [Everyone, even monsters can¡¯t easily attack inside the bear house, so get inside!] Yuna

    You will not be attacked by the Volgrass inside the bear house . It¡¯s the safest ce on the ind .

    [Are we not escaping from the ind?] Shia

    [If the monsterse to Mereera, it will endanger the whole town, so we¡¯ll wait for a while . It¡¯s okay . I¡¯ll protect the three of you, so don¡¯t worry . ] Yuna

    <<Ku u~u~n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried as if objecting to my words .

    [That¡¯s right . We will protect the three of them . ] Yuna

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear we¡¯re happy when I corrected my statement .

    [Yuna-san, me too . ] Shia

    [No . Shia will follow my instructions . I¡¯ll leave these two to you . Since you¡¯re probably the eldest . ] Yuna

    Shia nods a little when she looks at Fina and Shuri .

    [I understand . ] Shia

    When I opened the door of the bear house, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear entered the bear house while carrying three people . This is the safest ce for the time being . We will not be attacked suddenly .

    [What was that soap bubble? And the hole that sucked in that soap bubble?] Shia

    Shia asked, but no one here has the answer . But there is a book that has the answer .

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear . Tell me when the monsters are approaching . ] Yuna

    When I ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I spread Kryna-Hark¡¯s book on the table .

    What is written in the book is just a mental analysis of Kryna-Hark .

    That soap bubble was made of magical power and was presumed to be the bait of Targui . There is a suction hole around the middle . It also said that you should stay away from this hole .

    Why didn¡¯t you write about such a thing at the beginning! What if we went to that hole without knowing it?

    When the soap bubbles thate out of the flowers float, they take in the monsters around them . There is a <hypothesis> and a preface, and it was written that it was presumed to be reacting to the magic stone inside the monster¡¯s body .

    And that¡¯s the reason why the soap bubbles did note near even if Kryna-Hark was nearby . Even after he touched it, he was not taken in .

    What is this person doing while the monsters are gathering!??

    However, it¡¯s helpful that he tried it out . When I saw that, I got scared and tried to avoid touching the soap bubbles .

    In other words, ording to the book of Kryna-Hark, it seems that the monsters are called by the sakura tree and captured and eaten by the soap bubbles . The phenomenon this time seems to be the mealtime of Targui . It¡¯s a big meal . I hope it¡¯s only Volgrass . What if a big monsteres?

    What would have happened if this situation urred before I¡¯ve defeated the Kraken?

    Will I be able to see the fight between Targui vs . Kraken? I¡¯m terrified just by imagining it . Before any of that, can Targui even fight the Kraken?

    ording to Kryna-Hark¡¯s book, the mealtime willst for a certain period of time .

    Until there are no monsters around, or the magical power of the sakura tree is gone . When the light of the sakura blossoms finally stops, the monsters would seem to leave the ind .

    Doesn¡¯t that mean they¡¯re scared of Targui?

    I read the book and found out about it . Had it not been for this book, I would have been confused . I have to thank Kryna-Hark .

    The only problem left is the mealtime of Targui . That wasn¡¯t even written in the book . It would be a problem if itsted for days .

    In case of emergency, I would consider using the bear gate to escape . Life cannot be reced by it .

    [Yuna-san, have you found out anything?] Shia

    Shia asked me when I looked away from the book . Looking around, Fina is hugging Shuri .

    I will exin it to them so that their anxieties can disappear .

    [Right now, we¡¯re okay because we won¡¯t be attacked . We¡¯ll escape in the event of an emergency . ] Yuna

    Through the bear gate .

    In my exnation, the three have a look of relief on their faces .

    However, only weak monsters such as Volgrass are called in . I¡¯m really d it didn¡¯t have to be the Kraken .

    When I tried to read the continuation of Kryna-Hark¡¯s book for anything else important, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried to warn me .

    I checked with my detection skills .

    There was an unexpected monster reaction to the detection skill . Kraken? Wyvern?

    This is not a joke . No matter how sturdy the bear house is, I don¡¯t know if it can withstand the attacks of Kraken and Wyvern . I have never done such an experiment .

    [Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan . What is it?] Shia

    [Hey, some monsters just passed by, but it might be a little dangerous, so how about we move to a much safer ce . ] Yuna

    I lied a little so as not to make them uneasy . Then, I took everyone to the room where the transfer gate is located .

    [Yuna-oneechan . Perhaps . ] Shuri

    [Are you hiding something?] Fina

    Fina asked in a small voice .

    [Yuna-san, where are we?] Shia

    The room is about 4 tatami mats in size and the bear gate is installed near the wall . It feels like it¡¯s connected to the next room .

    [There is a safe room on the other side of this room in case monsterse in . We¡¯ll be hiding in that room for a while . ] Yuna

    I opened the door of the bear gate . When we entered the door, we came to a room of about 6 tatami mats .

    This will be the basement of the Crimonia Bear House . This room was created for use when I can¡¯t talk about the bear gate, or when I have no time to exin about the bear gate in an emergency .

    I don¡¯t have time to exin about the bear gate this time, so I decided to call this a safe room inside the bear house .

    This room is in the basement of Crimonia, so there are no doors or windows . So you can¡¯t even confirm the location . By the way, Fina knows about this room .

    When I made this room, I told only Fina who knew about the bear gate, but I never thought a time woulde for me to use it .

    [The room here is safe I can assure you . ] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t put much luggage in the room . There is a table in the center, and the chairs are lined up .

    [Is it really safe here?] Shia

    [I guarantee that . Even Fina knows that it¡¯s safe here . ] Yuna

    [Yes . This room is safe . No monsters can break-in . ] Fina

    Fina, who knows about this room, guarantees safety .

    [If Fina-chan says so, we¡¯re okay now, right?] Shia

    The anxious expression disappeared, perhaps because Shuri could understand it from her sister Fina¡¯s words and attitude .

    [Yuna-oneesan . Are we staying here for a while?] Fina

    [It depends on the monsters outside . We may have to stay here for quite some time . ]

    I took out the refrigerator . This room is an emergency room, and since it is not normally used, there are toilets, etc . , but no foodstuffs in here . If I left some, it will only rot .

    [Now then, I¡¯ll check what¡¯s going on outside, so everyone should stay and rx here . ] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, are you going outside?] Shia

    [If someone doesn¡¯t take a look outside, we won¡¯t be able to go home . Hugging Bear, stay with everyone . If it¡¯s dangerous, you¡¯ll tell everyone . ] Yuna

    <Ku~u~n . >

    Dangerous things would never happen here, but I told them that anyway . If Hugging Bear doesn¡¯t cry, everyone should be relieved .

    They don¡¯t need an escort in the first ce . However, the two think they¡¯re still on the ind, so they would feel at ease if Hugging Bear is with them . Besides, just looking at Hugging Bear¡¯s face will soothe your spirit .

 Chapter 368

    Chapter 368

    <h4>368 Bear-san Fights the Three Kraken Brothers (Day 4)</h4>

    Credits to:<strong> Philip, <strong>raikou837</strong></strong>

    I left Shuri and Shia to Fina, who knows the situation, so I exit the room together with Swaying Bear . Then, I closed the door of the bear gate tightly . If I don¡¯t open the door, the three can¡¯te here . At the same time, the safety of three people is guaranteed .

    I told Fina to leave the room through a hidden door if I don¡¯t return for too long . When I don¡¯te back, then it¡¯s really an emergency .

    But since I really can¡¯t deal with what would happen after that, I have to let them out of the bear gate before they escape on their own .

    When I left the bear house with Swaying Bear, I don¡¯t want it to be destroyed, so I put away the bear house . The bear house for traveling is only a minimal necessity, but it is an important house . So I don¡¯t want it to be destroyed .

    Well then, what should I do now?

    First, I used my detection skills to understand the situation . The number of volcrows has decreased considerably . Instead, the number of wyverns is increasing . After all, I wonder if they were being called by the sakura tree just like the volcrows .

    Looking up at the sky towards the cherry blossom trees, I can clearly see the Wyverns circling the sky even from here .

    A wyvern is a type of dragon . I¡¯ve never seen a real dragon so far, but in games, it¡¯s one of the smaller dragons . The strength is also rather weak among dragons . That said, I don¡¯t think ordinary people can easily fight and win against it . Volcrows aside, It¡¯s a kind of monster that shouldn¡¯t be closer to the town of Mereera .

    There were Wyverns that I defeated back from the 10,000 monsters incident, but at that time I was only able to defeat them because they were sleeping on the ground . I don¡¯t know their actual strength because I have never actually fought it before . It¡¯s moving this time and if I do fight it, it will be my first battle against it .

    And the more troublesome thing is that the Wyvern is not alone . There are already three Wyverns inside the detection skill range . If I want to fight a monster that I have never fought before, one-on-one is preferable, but the opponent doesn¡¯t care about such things .

    The question now is how will Targui deal with the Wyverns .

    If possible, it would be best for Targui to defeat the Wyverns . So far no major changes have urred .

    It¡¯s a mystery whether it will take them in with soap bubbles and suck their magical power just like Volcrows or leave them alone . In the first ce, there is also the problem of whether it can be captured with soap bubbles in the first ce .

    If Targui can¡¯t deal with the Wyverns, I have no choice but to subdue it on my own . Even though the town of Mereera is far away, the Wyverns will eventuallye to the town as soon as they fly away .

    And the problem isn¡¯t just with Wyverns . There¡¯s the existence of Krakens along the coast .

    Anyway, what¡¯s happening in the sea around here to have three Krakens? If you add in the Kraken that I defeated long ago, there would be four of them . I want to know if there¡¯s also a Kraken¡¯s nest around here .

    I think about what I should do next .

    Option 1, defeat all monsters .

    Option 2, act after observing the reaction of Targui .

    Option 3, run away .

    Option 4, cut down the sakura tree that caused it .

    Option 1, is also the best for Mereera . It will be a problem if I let them go and they eventuallye to Mereera .

    Option 2, Kryna-Hark wrote that Targui will subdue the monsters . The question is how many monsters can be defeated by it . It is possible that only small monsters appeared when Kryna-Hark was on this ind . I don¡¯t know how much it can deal with arge number of monsters .

    Option 3, is good for me personally, but considering Mereera, I can¡¯t leave it as it is .

    Andst but not the least, it¡¯s the best way to get rid of the monsters from the ind . However, there is no choice but to reject it for different reasons .

    First of all, there is the question of whether or not a magical giant tree of that size can be cut down . In addition, there is a possibility that Targui will recognize me as the enemy byunching an attack on it . If that happens, not only Wyverns and Krakens but also the Targui may be an enemy . If the angry Targuinded in the town of Mereera, then we¡¯re better off with wyverns .

    And if the Targui became hostile to me, my n to put a bear gate will disappear . Moreover, it is morally impossible for a Japanese person to cut down that sakura tree . Therefore, cutting down the sakura tree is ast resort .

    While I was thinking about such things, Swaying Bear cried <Ku~u~n> . This way of crying signals danger . When I look at my detection skills, a new set of wyvernses from the sea .

    Just how many are there gathering here?

    As the wyverns began to approach the ind, something emerged from the seaside where Kryna-Hark¡¯s stone monument was located .

    What!??

    There¡¯s a building-like thing rising from the sea .

    [......Neck?] Yuna

    What emerged from the sea was a long neck like a Plesiosaurus . The ind shakes a little because the heades out of the sea .

    [Is that, Targui?] Yuna

    Targui slowly turned to the wyverns and spewed water-jet out of its mouth like aser . The water hits a flying wyvern and falls into the sea .

    Wait, is that so easy to beat?

    Then, Targui stretches his head towards the fallen Wyvern and eats the Wyvern . Furthermore, water with strong water pressure is shot towards another flying Wyvern . The Wyvern evaded, but Targui continuously shoots water and knocks the wyvern down to the water surface .

    Then, this time, Targui turns his head and shoots water towards the Wyvern flying above the sakura tree . But this time, the wyvern sessfully dodged since there was some distance . But Targui doesn¡¯t stop attacking . Every time Targui spits water, the water(seawater) was pouring down from the sky . One wyvern begins to fly around Targui¡¯s neck and the rest hid somewhere on the ind .

    I should run away, but I won¡¯t run away . After all, the sakura tree seems to attract monsters .

    However, the battle between Targui and Wyverns has really begun . Even though it started, Targui is attacking unterally . I¡¯m unlikely to be able to join the fight .

    But it would be great if Targui could beat the Wyverns . The monsters flying in the sky are quite troublesome . I wish I could fly, but I can¡¯t fly in the sky .

    If that happens, I have to deal with the Kraken who is about tond on Targui¡¯s back . There is a possibility that Targui will handle it . However, my precious fruits could be destroyed .

    It¡¯s good to fight, but the problem is the number of Krakens . Even though I had a hard time defeating just one, there are three this time . I don¡¯t really want to fight, but I can¡¯t just let it go like the Wyverns .

    Looking at the detection skills, the Krakens were moving slowly . Are they going tond on the ind?

    When I first checked it, there was still some distance between the sea and the ind, but it seems that it was alreadynding on the ind . That seems to be the case .

    No matter how strong the Kraken is, if it goes ashore, I should be able to fight it more easily than in the previous fight .

    The problem is the number of the Krakens, but they are slightly far from each other . If this is a game, I can destroy them all at once .

    I head to the nearest Kraken . When I started running, Swaying Bear chased after me .

    I feel ufortable while running .

    That¡¯s strange .

    I¡¯m running towards where the Kraken is, but I can¡¯t see the Kraken . If it¡¯s about the size of the Kraken that I fought before, I should be able to see it right now . But I still can¡¯t see it .

    I arrive at the ce where the Kraken is supposed to be .

    Nyoro, Nyoro (Squid noises . )

    [............] Yuna

    <Kuu~n>

    Nyoro, Nyoro

    [............] Yuna

    <Kuu~n>

    I snapped back .

    My train of thoughts stopped for a moment . Swaying Bear rubbed against me and brought me back to reality .

    [Etto, is that the Kraken?] Yuna

    Ipared the reaction signal of the detection skill . No doubt . It¡¯s the Kraken . A squid of about 3m is walking on the ind in front of me .

    No matter how you look at it, it looks like a giant squid . It is moving slowly, with its long legs squeaking . Does this mean that it is also attracted to the sakura blossom trees?

    When I collected magical power on my bear puppet, I created a big bear me . Then, I threw it at the squid that seems to be a Kraken . When the Kraken was engulfed in bear mes, it tried to escape by wiggling, but it eventually stopped .

    The Kraken¡¯s reaction disappears from the detection skill . It seems that the giant squid was really a Kraken . Perhaps it was a child of that previous Kraken . When I moved to the next ce, there was a Kraken bigger than the other one . But I don¡¯t see it as a threat .

    [Bear Fire . ] Yuna

    What¡¯s with that! I want you to return my time when I was worried about fighting you a while ago! When I thought that there were three Krakens, I thought it would be a little dangerous . But I never thought I was just an offspring of that Kraken .

    Even in the game, the offspring of the Kraken never appears .

    I don¡¯t know how the monsters in this world were born . But it seems that a big Kraken doesn¡¯t pop up suddenly .

    The Kraken may also survive in thepetition for survival in the sea and the winning Kraken might be the huge Kraken that appears in the story .

    That¡¯s just my guess though .

    I move to the third Kraken .

    Oh, big . The third Kraken was big . But even though it¡¯s this big, the previous two were iparable to this one . So as it matures, it seems to grow bigger and bigger . Thanks to Targui, I may have to thank it that I can subdue it before it grows up even more .

    I threw several bear mes into Kraken, which was sluggish onnd . And so, I safely subdued the three Kraken siblings .

    The moment I thought it was over, Swaying Bear cried . When I look at Swaying Bear, he¡¯s looking up . When I look up, a Wyvern is flying towards me at tremendous speed .

    Wait, why is that Wyvern?

    The Wyvern readied its legs with sharp ws to attack me .

    I avoided the Wyvern¡¯s attack by hair¡¯s breadth . But I was sure that the Wyvern¡¯s opponent will be Targui . I confronted the Wyvern thatnded on the ground .

 Chapter 369

    Chapter 369

    <h4>369 Bear-san fights the Wyvern (Day 4)</h4>

    The wyvernnded on the ground . He opened his mouth wide and released a shriek <Guvu~a> . The wyvern should¡¯ve been the target of Targui . Besides, the sakura tree isn¡¯t near here . The wyverns should have been attracted to the sakura tree . So why is it attacking me?

    Looking at Targui, it is fighting several Wyverns . It seems that some of them havee to me . Just how many wyverns are there?

    When I look around while keeping my eyes at the Wyvern on the front, the second and third Wyverns wereing at me from both the ground and above .

    The wyverns¡¯ eyes narrowed while opening and closing their beaks, pointing towards Swaying Bear . A saliva-like liquid was flowing down from their beaks .

    Did theye to eat Swaying Bear?

    This is not a joke . I move between Swaying Bear and the wyverns .

    I won¡¯t allow you to eat Swaying Bear . I took the initiative and shoot fire magic at the nearest wyvern as if I¡¯m in a first-person shooting game . However, the wyvern closed its wings to the front to prevent the fireball . As expected, it is a dragon species, even though it¡¯s in the weaker category . I can¡¯t defeat it with this kind of magic attack .

    Then how about this? I threw a bear me at the wyvern . The wyvern spreads its wings wide and released a funny shriek <Guwa~awa~awa~a>, then it flew .

    It looks stupid how it flew . Let¡¯s take it seriously from now on .

    Even so, I didn¡¯t think the wyverns came to eat Swaying Bear . Why are you trying to eat Swaying Bear? If you want to eat, then eat the sakura tree flower .

    Well, no matter what, I will definitely protect Swaying Bear .

    When I try to return Swaying Bear to the bear puppet, Swaying Bear cried <Ku~u-n>, shook his head, and stepped back .

    [Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    [If you don¡¯t go back to the bear puppet, you¡¯ll get eaten . ] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    Swaying Bear shakes his head again .

    [Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    He usually follows my instructions, but this time he doesn¡¯t want to .

    [Maybe you want to fight together?] Yuna

    <Kuu-n!>

    Swaying Bear cried happily .

    [Understood . ] Yuna

    I sighed and put the bear puppet on his head as I approach Swaying Bear . I wonder if he understood my words, and I can¡¯t win against Swaying Bear .

    There are three wyverns . Swaying Bear is with me . Even so, I don¡¯t want to fight the opponent who thinks Swaying Bear is the bait . Still, even though, I want to send him back, Swaying is trying to fight together with me . I will obediently ept his feelings .

    If became really dangerous, I¡¯ll return him even if he doesn¡¯t like it .

    [Then, do you want to fight together with me?] Yuna

    <Kuu-n!>

    [But don¡¯t overdo it . ] Yuna

    <Kuu-n!>

    Swaying Bear and I prepare to fight .

    I shoot countless ice arrows into the sky . The wyvern tried to avoid it, it spread its wings wide, and stayed in the air . Then, it spits out a fireball at me on the ground . I offset the wyvern¡¯s me attack with wind magic . After all, since it¡¯s flying in the sky, I¡¯m at a disadvantage .

    Even so, it is troublesome to fight three wyverns at the same time .

    There is no choice but to defeat them altogether .

    I jumped up . I can¡¯t fly freely, but I can jump high .

    I jumped higher than the wyvern¡¯s altitude, spun around, and attacked with a bear kick at the wyvern¡¯s back . However, the wyvern pped its wings and dodged the bear kick .

    That¡¯s unfair!

    It cowardly changed its direction in the air, even though I can¡¯t change my direction in the air .

    The bear kick missed and Inded on the ground . One of the Wyverns tried to attack me with a sharp w . If I get caught in that ws, I can¡¯t easily escape .

    I dodged to the side . The wyvern¡¯s ws pierced the ce where I was standing, and a hole is made in the ground . If it managed to grab my bear outfit, will it tear a hole in it?

    I don¡¯t think I want to try it because it seems painful .

    The wyvern spreads its wings and tries to fly again .

    I won¡¯t let you escape .

    I¡¯m not going to let that one who came down to the ground escape .

    I used wind magic to create a tornado . The wyvern closed its wings to prevent it from getting blown away . I shot mes to the tornado anyway and the fire tornado was created . The wyvern was burning .

    As expected, that kind of damage will prate, right?

    And when the Fire Tornado disappeared, all that remained was a burnt Wyvern .

    [Was it defeated?] Yuna

    The wyvern¡¯s wings slowly open, its wings are tattered . But it seems to have endured the fire tornado .

    The defense power is really high, isn¡¯t it?

    It is said that monsters have higher defense power depending on their magical power . Isn¡¯t this too sturdy?

    I could have defeated it so easily if it had low resistance . When ites to fighting, it¡¯s a troublesome opponent .

    But with those wings, it shouldn¡¯t be able to fly anymore .

    I took the Mithril knives out of the bear box .

    The ck bear puppet on my right hand is biting a ck knife .

    And a knife with a white handle on the white bear puppet¡¯s mouth on my left hand .

    Each bear puppet is biting a knife .

    Well, can I cut it? If I can¡¯t cut it, I¡¯ll have toin to Gazar-san .

    (TN: Gazar = The Dorf in the capital who created the mithril knives . )

    I dashed and put magical power into the knives . The wyvern was being protected by the damaged wings, but the Mithril knives easily tear it apart . The wyvern¡¯s wings lost their defensive power . I just weaved behind it and tried to cut off those nasty wings . But then, at that moment, a long tail darts sideways . Even though I raised my arm to avoid it, I still got blown away .

    However, the wyvern, whose wings have been fatally damaged by the Mithril knives, cannot be used to fly anymore .

    I quickly repositioned myself then dashed towards it . I tried to finish it by stabbing it, but another wyvern spat out mes and got in the way . I offset the me with wind magic .

    I can also see the appearance of Swaying Bear with a sideways nce . Swaying Bear is also fighting a wyvern . I have to get rid of these guys quickly and rush to help . At least the salvation is that the two wyverns havee to attack me . Had Swaying Bear been attacked by two wyverns, he might have been killed .

    I have to defeat these two quickly while Swaying Bear is keeping the other one upied .

    I let the magical power flow in my legs and instantaneously raise the power . The wyvern swings its tail, but I cut it off without dodging its tail . Then, as I turn around, I cut its neck with the knife in my left hand .

    The knife leaves the sensation of cutting something directly in my hand . Unlike magic, I can directly feel the sensation of cutting something . But now it¡¯s not the case . I shed its neck again with the other knife .

    The wyvern finally fell to the ground as it spread its wings wide .

    One down . Two to go .

    When the wyvern copsed, the other wyvern in the sky released a shriek <Guvu~a> and came down . If I defeat this wyvern, I can go to Swaying Bear .

    I nced at Swaying Bear . He¡¯s still fighting the wyvern at a distance .

    The wyvern spits fire at Swaying Bear¡¯s eyes . He jumps back and dodges it .

    Swaying Bear that cannot fly and he¡¯s against a wyvern that can attack from the sky . The situation is overwhelmingly disadvantageous . However, Swaying Bear is fighting without running away .

    The big ws attacked Swaying Bear, but as the wyvern abut to catch Swaying Bear...

    [Swaying Bear!] Yuna

    <Kuu-n!>

    Swaying Bear dodged the wyvern¡¯s ws and rammed himself on the wyvern¡¯s body . The wyvern fell to the ground . Then Swaying Bearunched an attack there .

    The bright red ws of Swaying Bear cut through the wings of the wyvern . Blood was sshing out from the wings .

    Oh, Swaying Bear is so strong .

    Swaying Bear¡¯s ws turned red and the attack power increased when magical power was applied . If he hit the wyvern with it, he can do some serious damage . The wyvern flew up, even though its wings are damaged . That wyvern looks okay .

    [Swaying Bear, don¡¯t overdo it . You just have to keep it upied until I defeat this other wyvern . ] Yuna

    <Kuu-n!>

    I need to immediately defeat the other one so I can help Swaying Bear .

    I held my knife and dashed towards the wyvern . The wyvern pped its wings and creates a gust . The sand and leaves were dancing in the air .

    Still, I didn¡¯t stop . The bear hood protected my face . When I tried to cut the wyvern with my mithril knife, its long tail lunged from the side .

    I just ate it . I crouched down and dodged the wyvern¡¯s tail . The tail was shaken off and the ce where it stops was cut with my mithril knife .

    But it was shallow . The wyvern then pecked me with its beak . I threw a bear punch next to the beak . The beak turns to the side . The wyvern¡¯s neck appeared in front of me .

    Chance!

    I stabbed its neck deeply with the mithril knife . But the tail came back from the side . The tail was faster and I got blown away once again .

    I received no damage thanks to the bear armor .

    But even though it was a chance, I missed it .

    The wyvern then spread its wings and tried to escape into the sky . If I let it escape here, it will be troublesometer . When I thought so, Swaying Bear mmed the wyvern from behind . The wyvern cannot maintain its ability to fly anymore, it lost its bnce, and fell to the ground .

    [Swaying Bear!] Yuna

    The other wyvern attacked Swaying Bear from behind .

    I threw the Mithril knife in my right hand and started running . The Mithril knife stuck deep into the center of the wyvern¡¯s body . The wyvern slowed down . While I was running, I poured magical power on the bear puppet . The bear puppet I¡¯m wearing was d in electricity .

    Swaying Bear and I passed each other . Then, I jumped up and hit the wyvern that was heading towards Swaying Bear with a lightning bear punch .

    The Lightning Bear Punch caught the wyvern¡¯s torso and the wyvern became stiffed due to electric shock . The wyvern can¡¯t p its wings and fell to the ground together with me .

    The wyvern¡¯s body fell to the ground and Inded properly with my feet . I just sped the Mithril knife and shed the wyvern¡¯s neck .

    I immediately rushed to Swaying Bear .

    Swaying Bear was about to throw a bear punch on the other fallen wyvern .

    [Swaying Bear, step aside!] Yuna

    When I shouted, Swaying Bear left the wyvern . The fallen wyvern was hit by the lightning bear punch and I finished it by using my Mithril knife .

    [......It¡¯s finally over . ] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    [Thank you, Swaying Bear . ] Yuna

    I gently pet Swaying Bear and thank him .

 Chapter 370

    Chapter 370

    <h4>370 Fina Deceives Everyone in the Hidden Room (Day 4)</h4>

    Yuna-oneesan left us and exited the room .

    I can¡¯t let my worry show in my facial expression . Yuna-oneesan returned to the ind where monsters have gathered together with Swaying Bear-chan . I want to say <Don¡¯t go>, but I couldn¡¯t stop her . And when Yuna-oneesan left the room, the door closed slowly . Hugging Bear was looking at the door . I¡¯m sure he may be lonely . Shuri hugs Hugging Bear-chan . Just by hugging Hugging Bear-chan, Shuri is calm .

    [Fina-chan, are we really okay here?] Shia

    Shia-sama anxiously asked . This ce is under Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house in Crimonia . We will never be attacked by monsters . But I can¡¯t tell Shia-sama about that . Yuna-oneesan kept it a secret that this ce was in Crimonia .

    In the first ce, if we go through that bear door, I won¡¯t be able to exin that it¡¯s connected to the basement of Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house in Crimonia . I don¡¯t think they will believe me even if I said it .

    [It¡¯s okay, no monster wille to this room . ] Fina

    I can affirm that . Because we¡¯re in Crimonia .

    That door is connected to various ces, so the moment it closes, it will be disconnected from the ce where we entered . Therefore, even if the monsters hit or break the door outside, the door on this side of the room will not be affected .

    So that¡¯s why I said that this room was safe no matter what happens . However, Yuna-oneesan jokingly said, <If Crimonia was attacked by the monsters, it might be dangerous here as well>, with augh .

    But I think it¡¯s safe inside this basement .

    Shia-sama gets up from her chair and walks around the room . Then go to the bear door .

    The door is a double-door and there are bear fixtures on the left and right sides . If you open this door, you can go to various ces . It¡¯s a really mysterious door . Perhaps Yuna-oneesan used this door when she first came to Crimonia . When I asked her before where she came from, she said, <From a very distant ce> . However, it may be different because there was an atmosphere around her saying that she could never return there . But she can easily go back using this door .

    Shia-sama touches the bear door and puts her strength opening the door .

    [Are? It won¡¯t open . ] Shia

    Shia-sama did her best at pushing and pulling the door, but the door doesn¡¯t budge .

    [Shia-sama, that door can only be opened by Yuna-oneesan . ] Fina

    [Is that so?] Shia

    [Yuna-oneesan says that the door can only be opened by her . Therefore, neither monsters nor people can enter . So it¡¯s absolutely safe here . ] Fina

    Even if a thief or a scary persones, this door cannot be opened .

    [Then, how about breaking the sidewall . ] Shia

    Shia-sama continuously hit the wall next to the door and a <konkon> sound reverberated inside the room .

    [I think it won¡¯t break . ] Fina

    [This room is really sturdy, isn¡¯t it?] Shia

    It¡¯s sturdy since it¡¯s under the house of Yuna-oneesan in Crimonia . I don¡¯t think there is anything beyond that wall . Maybe there is only soil . Therefore, hitting from here will not break it . Somehow lying to Shia-sama is hurting my heart .

    [But then, because there are no windows, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on outside . Even if it¡¯s safe here, I¡¯ll be a little worried if I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on outside . ] Shia

    There are no windows in this room . Well, it can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s underground . If there is a window, everything will be revealed .

    Shia-sama gave up on opening the door and went back to her chair .

    [If anything happens, Hugging Bear-chan will tell us, so it¡¯s okay . ] Fina

    [That¡¯s right . Hugging Bear-chan will tell us when a monster approaches . ] Shia

    <Kuu~n>

    Hugging Bear-chan cried at Shia-sama¡¯s words . Are you saying <leave it to me?> I¡¯m not Yuna-oneesan, so I don¡¯t know what Hugging Bear-chan is saying .

    I¡¯m envious of Yuna-oneesan for understanding the words of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan . I also want to have a conversation with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan .

    [Even so, Yuna-san¡¯s house is full of bears . The house is also a bear and the door is also a bear . She is dressed as a bear even though she hates being ridiculed . ] Shia

    [She like bears so much, so maybe she doesn¡¯t want to be ridiculed for it . ] Fina

    [I think that¡¯s rather convincing . But I¡¯ve never seen a bear lover who loves her bears so much . So I¡¯m wondering if that¡¯s the reason she could even get bears as a summoned beast?] Shia

    Maybe . I¡¯m not sure .

    Her house is a bear, the magic tool that can talk to someone in a distant ce is in the shape of a bear, and her carriage is also a bear . I think Yuna-oneesan really loves bears .

    Shia-sama seems to have calmed down while we¡¯re having a conversation . And when I look at Shuri, she¡¯s opening the refrigerator a bit far from Hugging Bear-chan .

    [Shuri?] Fina

    [Oneechan . There are ice cream and cake in here . Can I eat it?] Shuri

    Shuri isn¡¯t scared or nervous . That¡¯s good then . In case we ever need to use this room, Yuna-oneesan asked me to calm everyone down . Apparently, I don¡¯t have to worry about that .

    [I think it¡¯s okay, but don¡¯t eat too much . ] Fina

    [Un!] Shuri

    Shuri takes out the ice cream and starts eating it on Hugging Bear-chan¡¯s back . Please don¡¯t spill it .

    Shia-sama, who saw Shuri eating ice cream, also took out the cake from the refrigerator .

    [Fina-chan, do you want to eat too?] Shia

    [Yes, please . ] Fina

    I ate the cake prepared by Shia-sama . As always, it¡¯s delicious .

    Even though Yuna-oneesan went back alone on the ind where the monsters are, is it okay for us to take it easy?

    Perhaps she¡¯s fighting alone . Since we can¡¯t fight together with her, we have to stay in this room .

    Besides, I can¡¯t say anything that would make Shia-sama and Shuri uneasy .

    [Free time, huh . ] Shia

    Shia-sama muttered .

    After we finished eating ice cream and cake, we have nothing to do .

    [Oh, there is a game . ] Shuri

    Shuri found game equipment in the box on the shelf . Shuri found Reversi and Trump ying cards . By the way, I forgot that Yuna-oneesan told me to y with this when I need to pass the time .

    She said that ying games would be a good distraction because people get stressed if they have nothing to do .

    Nice one, Shuri .

    [What is that?] Shia

    [It¡¯s something fun . Shia-oneechan, let¡¯s y together . ] Shuri

    We all decided to y Reversi .

    (Pachi, pachipachi . ) Two whites turned ck .

    (Pachi, pachipachipachipachi . ) Four cks became white .

    (TN: (pachipachi) The cking sound when the wooden pieces hit the board . )

    The ck bears turn into white bears . You can tell the oue without counting .

    [I lost again . ] Shia

    [Hugging Bear-chan, won . ] Shuri

    Shuri, who beat Shia-sama, happily hugs Hugging Bear-chan .

    [I lost to both Fina and Shuri . ] Shia

    [It can¡¯t be helped . Shia-sama yed this game for the first time . While Shuri and I often y with everyone in the orphanage, so we know how to win . ] Fina

    [This reversi is simple, but it¡¯s interesting because it needs a strategy . You have to think about which pieces you have to let the opponent take, then n on how to get it backter . Sacrificing some pieces in order to take the edge . ] Shia

    [You can¡¯t win just by taking a lot of ces . ] Fina

    [Did Yuna-san made this too?] Shia

    [Yes . For children¡¯s y equipment . I don¡¯t know, but she said it would serve as a learning experience as well . ] Fina

    [Certainly . This reminds me, if I y this game without nning ahead, I won¡¯t be able to win . So if I want to win, I¡¯ll have to think a lot . ] Shia

    Yuna-oneesan said that her brain developed by thinking from a young age . That¡¯s why she said that both Reversi and Trump ying cards are the best games to help us think .

    And the Trump ying cards seem to be about studying numbers .

    This game needs you to add and subtract numbers from the cards . Everyone wants to y, so they¡¯re trying to learn how to add and subtract real hard .

    So the children in the orphanage are able to do simple additions and subtractions .

    After that, they study letters in the picture books . But the Bear-san¡¯s picture book is embarrassing because I¡¯m included in it . Of course, there are other picture books, but Bear-san¡¯s picture books are popr .

    Yuna-oneesan, are you still going to draw the continuation of the picture book?

    [Even so, Yuna-san, she¡¯ste . Is she okay? Hugging Bear-chan, is she okay outside?] Shia

    <Kuu~n>

    Shia-sama asked Hugging Bear-chan, but Hugging Bear-chan cried with a rxed face . The face he made gave a sense of security and made us feel at ease .

    [If Hugging Bear-chan say so, I wonder if she¡¯s okay . Even though I want to go and check outside, the door won¡¯t open . ] Shia

    [Yes . Only Yuna-oneesan can open it to prevent thieves from entering . ] Fina

    [But if something happens to Yuna-san, can we get out of this room?] Shia

    We can get out through the hidden door . But I can¡¯t say that yet .

    [Yuna-oneesan is strong, so it doesn¡¯t matter what kind of monsteres at her . ] Fina

    [Yuna-san, she¡¯s so strong even though she¡¯s dressed like that . It was so amazing when she defeated the ck Tiger . She also has 100 corpses of Wolves after she subjugated those by herself . ] Shia

    She has also defeated Tiger Wolf, ck Viper, Goblin King, and Scorpion . Yuna-oneesan is really amazing .

    [If anything happens, I think Yuna-oneesan will retreat . ] Fina

    [That¡¯s right . She¡¯s strong enough to defeat the ck Tiger . But will she be okay against Volcrows?] Shia

    [Shia-sama, are Volcrows strong?] Fina

    I haven¡¯t heard much about Volcrows, so I don¡¯t know how strong they are .

    [I don¡¯t know . It¡¯s a threat to ordinary people . But I wonder if it will pose a danger to Yuna-san? Yuna-san can use swords and magic . And she¡¯s strong enough to beat the knight captain Rutum-sama, so I think a Volcrow is as good as an ordinary crow to her . ]

    Rutum-sama must be the knight that Yuna-oneesan fought at the school festival . The match at that time was amazing . Yuna-oneesan was so cool .

    [Then, let¡¯s keep ying until Yuna-san returns . I won¡¯t lose this time . ] Shia

    And so, we yed reversi and ying cards to keep ourselves busy .

    After a while, the bear door opened .

 Chapter 371

    Chapter 371

    <h4>371 Bear-san Escapes the Ind (Day 4)</h4>

    It was a little difficult, but I was able to defeat the wyverns safely . Their strength was different when I actually fought itpared to the defenseless state of sleeping . I¡¯m d they were really sleeping at that time . Had I fought those wyverns back then when they were awake, it would have been quite annoying .

    I look at the sakura tree, but there¡¯s no wyvern in-sight . Looking towards Targui¡¯s head, there¡¯s no wyvern either . On the contrary, I can¡¯t even see the long neck of Targui .

    Even if I used my detection skills to check it, there¡¯s no new monster reaction . Apparently, it¡¯s really over . Then, after collecting the wyverns, all I have to do is pick up the Fina and others .

    While I was thinking about taking some rest, Swaying Bear suddenly cried <Kuu~n> .

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear is looking at the sea .

    That¡¯s not his usual way to signal danger, but I checked my detection skill anyway . However, there¡¯s no monster reaction .

    I went to the beach that Swaying Bear was looking at . A pleasant breeze was blowing from the sea . Though looking at the sea makes me feel ufortable . Something is strange .

    When I look closely, the whirlpools have disappeared and the flow of the sea has changed . The waves seem to be flowing from left to right . It feels like a moving ship .

    I opened the bear map . There¡¯s no doubt that the ind is moving . Moreover, the speed is gradually increasing . It even feels like it¡¯s gradually sinking . I don¡¯t think it will totally submerge because there is vegetation . Just wishful thinking .

    I have to hurry and get back to Fina and the others .

    [Swaying Bear, let¡¯s go!] Yuna

    But first, there¡¯s something I have to do .

    I started to run . Swaying Bear followed . We ran at full speed and arrived at the sakura tree in a few tens of seconds . The petals of the sakura tree changed from pink to white, the mysterious light subsided, and the fantastic sight disappeared . The soap bubbles have also disappeared, and of course, there were no volcrows in-sight . Everything was probably sucked into that hole in the middle .

    I set up a bear transfer gate near the sakura tree, which was one of my purposes foring here . Then, I immediately started running and got back to Kryna-Hark¡¯s stone monument, where I set up the bear house earlier then stored it afterward .

    Once again I took the bear house out and set it up in the exact same ce .

    I left everyone alone for quite a long time . Shuri might be crying . Shia may be anxious . and Fina who knew everything could be in her wit¡¯s end . Everyone must be worried about me .

    When I entered the bear house, I headed straight to the room where the bear gate was located . Swaying Bear is behind me . And so, as I opened the door of the bear gate in the room where Fina and the others are...

    I¡¯m so sure that everyone was worried about me . But this scene is just............ .

    [Oh, my ck . Shuri-chan just took it . ] Shia

    [Yuna-oneechan said that this game would be boring if you don¡¯t take it seriously . ] Shuri

    [That¡¯s right . ] Fina

    [But Fina-chan is even better than Shuri-chan . I can¡¯t win at all . ] Shia

    [But it¡¯s been a good game . Shia-sama, it¡¯s quick to remember . ] Fina

    There were reversi and ying cards on the table, and everyone was having fun ying reversi . No one seems to be worried about me . The three seemed to be ying while I was fighting the wyverns outside . I guess it¡¯s better than being anxious . So I feel like I can¡¯t say anything .

    I was fighting against the wyverns . I had a lot of trouble . Of course, these three didn¡¯t know about the wyverns, so it can¡¯t be helped, but somehow I feel sad . Meanwhile, Hugging Bear was the first one to notice me and ran towards me .

    [Hugging Bear, I¡¯m home . ] Yuna

    <Kuu-n . >

    Hugging Bear seems to have been worried about me . Hugging Bear is healing my spirit . Of course, Swaying Bear is also healing my spirit .

    When I hug Hugging Bear, Fina and the others finally noticed me .

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    [Fina, I¡¯m back . Everyone ...looks okay . ] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re back . I was worried . She said that only Yuna-san can open the door . ] Shia

    [Because it¡¯s a safety measure to prevent anyone other than me from opening that door . ] Yuna

    That¡¯s a lie though . You can¡¯t open it unless you have the bear puppet .

    Shuri hugs me when shees to me .

    [Shuri, I¡¯m home . ] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan . Wee home . ] Shuri

    I¡¯m petting Shuri¡¯s head . Could it be that she¡¯s worried about me?

    [Yuna-oneechan . Any injuries?] Shuri

    [No I don¡¯t . ] Yuna

    [Is Swaying Bear-chan okay?] Shuri

    Ah, Shuri was asking about Swaying Bear . Swaying Bear rubs his face against Shuri to appeal that he¡¯s okay and cried <Kuu-n . >

    [I¡¯m sorry I made everyone worried . Was everyone okay here?] Yuna

    [We¡¯re okay because we were all just ying games . ] Fina

    Fina seems to have worked hard to keep everyone calm .

    [Yuna-san, please give me this game . I want to bring it home as a souvenir . ] Shia

    [Yeah, I don¡¯t mind . ] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneechan, the ice cream, and cake were delicious . ] Shuri

    There are half-eaten cakes and cups of ice cream on the table . It seems that they were spending their time rxing .

    But I just want to say a word to them . Have they forgotten the situation outside?

    [Yuna-oneesan . Is it okay to go outside?] Fina

    [That¡¯s right . Yuna-san . What about the monsters?] Shia

    Shia asked as if she just remembered .

    [It¡¯s safe outside because there are no more monsters, but the ind has begun to move, so we¡¯ll have to leave the ind quick . ] Yuna

    I told them to leave the room .

    [Wait a minute . I¡¯ll clean these up . ] Fina

    [It¡¯s okay to do thatter . If you do it now, we won¡¯t know where we¡¯ll end up to and we might not be able to return to Mereera . That¡¯s why we have to leave the ind right away . ] Yuna

    We won¡¯t get lost because I have the bear map . Though, it¡¯s true that we¡¯re in a hurry .

    The three hurriedly prepare to leave the room . It seems my words were effective . Then, when we left the room, I closed the door of the bear gate and left the bear house . When I exit the bear house, I closed the bear house¡¯s door and put it away in the bear box .

    The three who came out earlier were looking at the sea from the coast .

    [It¡¯s true . The ind is moving . ] Fina

    [Then this ind was really Targui . ] Shia

    Now that Targui¡¯s head was submerged in the sea, the existence of Targui was ambiguous to the three .

    [I¡¯ll exin thatter . We¡¯re leaving the ind now . Get on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear!] Yuna

    Fina and Shia ride on Swaying Bear, while Shuri and I ride on Swaying Bear . Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started running and they¡¯re heading to the other side of the ind . The sea in front of us is the direction we¡¯re going . It is dangerous to jump out from the front, therefore, we will escape from behind Targui .

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are running . On the way, we passed by some corpses of wyverns . The ind suddenly moved and I immediately forgot to collect those wyverns .

    [Wyverns?] Shia

    Shia and the others were surprised to see the corpses of the wyverns . There are also kraken corpses, but since they were burned to cinders, there was no identifiable part of the kraken left .

    [What happened, Yuna-san?] Shia

    [I¡¯ll exinter . Right now we have to focus on escaping from this ind . ] Yuna

    After reaching the edge of the ind, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped towards the sea . We seeded in escaping from the ind safely .

    [The ind is leaving . ] Shia

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are just standing on the sea as the big ind Targui, moves away . It maye back here after a few years .

    [Yuna-oneechan . ] Shuri

    Shuri anxiously called me .

    [Yeah?] Yuna

    [How do we get home? I can¡¯t see thend . ] Shuri

    You can see Targui and small inds . But almost 360 degrees is the horizon . I can¡¯t see thend where Mereera is .

    [Can we go home?] Shuri

    [Don¡¯t worry, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knows the way properly . ] Yuna

    When I said that, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried, <Kuu-n> and started running on the sea toward Mereera .

    [Yuna-san, about the wyverns?] Shia

    [I think it¡¯s exactly as you were expecting . The wyverns joined the fray . ] Yuna

    [Then, did Yuna defeat the wyverns?] Shia

    [I wanted to escape the ind safely, and I couldn¡¯t let the wyverns reach Mereera more than volcrows . ] Yuna

    [When we were safely ying in that room, Yuna-san was fighting outside for us . Yuna-san was always helping us . ] Shia

    [It¡¯s my job to protect you three . ] Yuna

    It would be difficult if these three to be there while I was fighting . If it bes dangerous, I will not hesitate to use the bear gate . I had some leeway this time, so I moved them from the bear house to a hidden room .

    [But it¡¯s a shame . I knew the existence of the legendary creature, Targui . But I couldn¡¯t find out anything in the end . ] Shia

    [It¡¯s actually better this way . It was written in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book that he didn¡¯t want the existence of Targui to be known . For the time being, we have to protect it like the good people mentioned in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book . So this time you have to keep it a secret . ] Yuna

    [U~u, I can¡¯t tell anyone?] Shia

    [It could have called Shia if she had a lot of magic . Or because you had the purest mind to talk gently to others . ......] Yuna

    (TN: ¡¸¥·¥¢¤âÄ§Á¦¤¬¶à¤±¤ì¤Ðºô¤Ó³ö¤»¤¿¤è¡£¤½¤ì¤È¤âËûÈË¤ËÔ’¤¹¤è¤¦¤ÊÐÄ¤Î³Ö¤ÁÖ÷¤À¤Ã¤¿¤«¤é......¡¹Not really sure about this one but probably good enough . )

    [That¡¯s not what I meant . I didn¡¯t say anything . ] Shia

    Shia denied it . Of course, she doesn¡¯t want to think of herself as a viin . Well, the contents of that book from that monument are vague .

    [Fina and Shuri . Please keep this a secret as well . ] Yuna

    [Un . ] Shuri

    [Yes, but what are we going to say about what we did during the time we weren¡¯t there at the beach? I think Noa-sama is definitely aware of it by now . ] Fina

    That certainly is quite possible . Noa can¡¯t be unaware of us for that long .

    [Then, let¡¯s just keep Kryna-Hark, Targui, and the monsters a secret . And say we only explored the nearby inds . ] Yuna

    [That . Somehow . ] Fina

    [But Yuna-san . How will you exin why you didn¡¯t take Noa?] Shia

    [I¡¯ll leave that to you as her sister, Shia . ] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t . On the contrary, she¡¯ll think that I yed with Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan, and she¡¯ll definitely ask about it . That¡¯s why I want you to help me . ] Shia

    That¡¯s because you said you wanted toe with me .

    But instead of having everyone shut up . I would have to do a lot of thinking . Besides, if I leave it to these three, another problem would pop out .

    [I see . I¡¯ll make the excuses, but everyone should keep quiet . ] Yuna

    [Yes . ] Fina

    [Un . ] Shuri

    [I understand . ] Shia

    Then, after running on the sea for a while, we can finally see thend .

    [I can see thend . ] Shuri

    Shuri looks forward as if she¡¯s sailing on Swaying Bear .

    Apparently, we were able to return safely .

 Chapter 372

    Chapter 372

    <h4>372 Bear-san Decides to Make Pressed Flowers (Day 4)</h4>

    We went back to the same beach where we left .

    Then, when we arrive at the entrance of the town while riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the gatekeeper uncle talks to me .

    [Miss, it¡¯ste in the afternoon . ] Gatekeeper

    [Yeah, we were ying and didn¡¯t notice it¡¯s already thiste . ] Yuna

    It¡¯s about 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon, which is snack time . I¡¯m d we made it before nighttime . After greeting the gatekeeper uncle and passing through the gate, we return to the beach where the children are ying . The children can be seen swimming in the sea, ying on waterslides, and ying on sandy beaches . It seems that nothing happened .

    When we reached the beach house, I saw the director, Tirumina-san, Gentz-san, and several children were resting . The children ran up to us when they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear .

    Fina and Shuri went to Tirumina-san and Gentz-san .

    [Yuna-san, wee back . ] Director

    The director calls out to me .

    [I¡¯m back . Did anything happened while I was gone?] Yuna

    [Everyone was just having fun, but Noa-sama was looking for Yuna-san and the others . ] Director

    [...Etto, did she say anything?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s right . She was a little angry . ] Director

    As I expected . But I couldn¡¯t take her because she¡¯ll exceed the capacity .

    [So, where¡¯s Noa?] Yuna

    I looked for her over my shoulder, but I could not see even her figure swimming or ying on the sandy beach . Noa¡¯s swimsuit and Misa¡¯s swimsuit are different from the children in the orphanage, so I can spot them from a distance . Though, if they¡¯re ying in the bear waterslide, I won¡¯t be able to see them from here .

    [Noa-sama went out with Misa-sama and the others . ] Director

    Is that so?

    Don¡¯t tell me they went out looking for me . Then I did something pitiful .

    [So Yuna-chan . Where did you go with my daughters? When I asked Fina and Shuri, they told me to ask Yuna-chan . ] Tirumina

    It¡¯s nice that they¡¯re keeping their promise, but I¡¯d like them to make their own excuses .

    [Yeah, we went to explore a nearby ind . ] Yuna

    [The apple was delicious . ] Shuri

    [Apple?] Tirumina

    [Un . ] Shuri

    Shuri nods .

    [Oh, that¡¯s right . Mom . I have a souvenir . it¡¯s in Oneechan¡¯s item bag . ] Shuri

    When Shuri says so, Fina takes the flowers out of the item bag .

    Was that the flower under the sakura tree that was blooming?

    Apparently, at that time, she picked the flowers and put them in the item bag that Fina had . She was nning to use the fruits as a souvenir, but it wasn¡¯t much and she couldn¡¯t get more . So she picked flowers instead .

    [Thank you, these flowers are beautiful . ] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san is happy to receive the flowers from Shuri .

    [A lot of beautiful flowers were in bloom . ] Shuri

    [I also wanted you to see it, mom . ] Fina

    That would be impossible .

    [Let¡¯s decorate the roomter . ] Tirumina

    I wonder if a vase could be a fashionable thing in my house?

    If anything, dumplings are much better than flowers . I have no girlish hobby like decorating flowers after all . Even if they do it, would it be enough to grow flowers in the flowerbed?

    Though, I might grow food instead of flowers .

    [Even though, it¡¯s a beautiful flower . It¡¯s a waste since it¡¯ll wither in a few days . ] Tirumina

    It can¡¯t be helped . Flowers don¡¯tst long . I could have taken a picture with a camera, but there is no such thing here . If I draw a picture of it, it¡¯ll no longer be a gift from Shuri and Fina .

    But after thinking a little, I came up with a good idea .

    [Then, why not make pressed flowers?] Yuna

    [Pressed flower?] Shuri

    Shuri tilts her head to the side .

    She has probably not seen pressed flowers before, hasn¡¯t she?

    But there is a different reaction from the side .

    [Oh hey, that¡¯s a good idea . I¡¯ve picked flowers, but I was wondering what to do with them . I should make it into pressed flowers . ] Shia

    Shea seems to know about pressed flowers and agrees with my idea . Perhaps pressed flowers are only used by upper-ss families?

    [Yuna-oneechan . What is a pressed flower?] Shuri

    [To put it simply, it¡¯s something like sandwiching a flower between t objects like a book? It¡¯s beautiful if you put it in a frame and decorate it . However, the drawback is that the flower bes t . ] Yuna

    I made some when I was in elementary school, but I still remember how to make it . If it¡¯s not a pressed flower that a professional made, you should be able to make it .

    [If you don¡¯t make a mistake, it shouldn¡¯t wither . The color of the flowers may change though . ] Yuna

    If you don¡¯t remove the water properly, it will be damaged . It would have been better if there was a desant applied in that area . I¡¯ve seen desants sold in this world but they¡¯re ced in damp ces .

    I¡¯ve heard that the flowers should be sealed so that it does note in contact with the moisture as much as possible to prevent discoloration . There are also some finer details, but it shouldn¡¯t be impossible to do .

    If we make a mistake, I would go to the ind to get the flowers . Though the value of the flowers I¡¯ll be picking up would be different from the flowers that Shuri picked up for Tirumina-san . It will be a gift from me to Tirumina-san just like the drawing .

    Thus, I¡¯ll never utter such words again .

    [Then, shall we make it at home? There must be tools for us to use, but will the flowers be okay until we get home . ] Tirumina

    [I¡¯ll keep the flowers in my item bag so it won¡¯t wither . ] Yuna

    [That¡¯s right, Yuna-san¡¯s item bag is special, isn¡¯t it?] Shia

    If I put it in the bear box, it will not wither .

    [Shuri, what are you going to do?] Tirumina

    [It won¡¯t die?] Shuri

    [It¡¯s okay . ] Tirumina

    [Un, I understand . Yuna-oneechan . Please keep the flowers . ] Shuri

    When Tirumina-san heard Shuri¡¯s words, she handed me the flowers . When I hold it with the bear puppet, I put it in the bear box .

    [Yuna-san, can I ask you to keep mine too?] Shia

    [Okay . Fina, if you still have flowers in your item bag give them to me and I¡¯ll keep them as well . ] Yuna

    [Thank you . ] Fina

    I also epted the flowers from Shia and Fina and put them in the bear box .

    When we return to Crimonia, we¡¯ll make the pressed flowers .

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re back . By the way, is that okay?] Lurina

    Lurina-san came over while we¡¯re resting at the beach house .

    Was there a problem?

    [Take a look at those children . ] Lurina

    Looking in the direction Lurina-san is pointing, there are several new children . They¡¯re not the children that originally came with us . They¡¯re not wearing school swimsuits, so I can spot them from a distance .

    [They have been watching the bears Yuna-chan made for a while . Maybe they want to y with them too . I was wondering what to do . Yuna-chan wasn¡¯t here to say something after all . ] Lurina

    [Did you call them out?] Yuna

    [No I didn¡¯t . I only noticed them a while ago and while I was wondering what to do, I saw Yuna-chaning back, so I thought I should consult with you . ] Lurina

    I will speak to the children in ce of Lurina-san . Rather than listening to some unfamiliar adult, it shouldn¡¯t be surprising for them to listen to me, who is reasonably famous in Mereera .

    When I stood up, I approached the children watching the bear waterslide .

    There are about 5 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 13 .

    [Hello . ] Yuna

    [Bear-san?]

    [Bear-oneechan?]

    [I¡¯m guessing you want to y?] Yuna

    [Yeah, it looks fun . ]

    [Then, may we y?]

    [Is that okay?]

    [It¡¯s okay, but you have to y together with the other kids . ] Yuna

    [Yeah . ]

    I took the children to the bear waterslide .

    [Everyone, let these kids y together with you . ] Yuna

    When I call out to the other children .

    [Yep, okay . ]

    [Okay~]

    They gleefully replied .

    The local children happily rush to the waterslide .

    [Thank you, Yuna-chan . I wish I had noticed them a little earlier and called out to them . ] Lurina

    Lurina-san thanked me and went back to the bear waterslide .

    When I return to the beach house, Shuri was sleeping on Tirumina-san¡¯sp . She¡¯s probably tired . Shia and Fina can be seen drinking . Someone called out to me as I was about to take a rest .

    [Ah, Yuna-san, you¡¯re back . ] Noa

    When I look behind me, Noa and Misa were there . Together with Marina and Eru .

    [Where did you go, Yuna-san? You¡¯re horrible that you kept quiet about it . If you¡¯re going somewhere, please take me with you . ] Noa

    Sorry . But you¡¯re an excess to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s capacity . Noa is small, so if she did her best, she might have been able to ride them, though if that¡¯s the case, she might invite Misa then Marina and Eru would follow . If that happens, the load will exceed way beyond the capacity limit .

    [I¡¯m sorry . Actually, I didn¡¯t have any ns to take Fina and the others . But they want to follow me, so I can¡¯t help it . That¡¯s why I¡¯m not despising Noa . ] Yuna

    [Is that true? It¡¯s not because I¡¯m a bother to you?] Noa

    [It¡¯s true . I forced myself to her so I can stick with her . ] Fina

    [Yes, I saw Yuna-san was about to go out by chance, so I decided to follow her . ] Shia

    Shia and Fina followed suit .

    [U~u, next time please invite us too . ] Noa

    Apparently, she¡¯s not so angry . It looks like she was just lonely . Thinking about it that way, I did something pitiful to her .

    [So where did Yuna-san and the others go?] Noa

    [We explored a nearby ind . I was just wondering if there¡¯s something interesting . ] Yuna

    [Is there anything interesting?] Noa

    [There are beautiful flowers blooming . ] Yuna

    I took out the flowers entrusted to me by Fina and others .

    [It¡¯s beautiful . I want to go too . ] Noa

    [It¡¯s no good because there were monsters . We also quickly came back because of those monsters . ] Yuna

    [Then . That is impossible . ] Noa

    The excuse that came out of my mouth was true mixed with a bit of a lie .

    Lying to her hurts my heart . I just couldn¡¯t invite her and I can¡¯t say anything about Targui either, so I can¡¯t help it .

    Therefore, there is no choice but to mud the tea with the word monsters . It¡¯s not a lie because there were actually monsters .

    [When we return to Crimonia, we will make these flowers into pressed flowers . Will you make it together with me?] Yuna

    [A pressed flower?] Noa

    [It¡¯s a flower made by drying and ttening the flower . It¡¯s beautiful if you do it properly . ] Yuna

    Noa was happy with my words .

    [It¡¯s a promise . Don¡¯t outcast me this time . ] Noa

    [Misa too, let¡¯s make it together if you have the time . ] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯d love to . I¡¯ll ask permission from my grandfather . ] Misa

    Then we decide to go back to the bear house .

    The sleeping Shuri is being carried by Gentz-san . She has a smiling face .

 Chapter 373

    Chapter 373

    <h4>373 Bear-san Returns to the Ind (Day 4)</h4>

    Author¡¯s Note:

    As I wrote in the preface a while ago, the settings of Kryna-Hark¡¯s book have changed .

    I apologize for the inconvenience it caused to my dear readers .

    Shuri is sleeping on Gentz-san¡¯s back and Fina is walking with Tirumina-san . Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are walking with their children .

    I talk to Noa who¡¯s walking next to me .

    [So where did Noa and your group go?] Yuna

    [We went to the town . It¡¯s nice to y in the sea, but seeing towns other than Crimonia is a learning experience, so I went out together with Misa and the others . ]

    [Yes, it¡¯s learning . And It¡¯s fun . ] Misa

    Misa agreed to Noa¡¯s words .

    [I was actually trying to find Yuna-san, but the director told me, <She went to a different ce> . ] Noa

    By the way, the director was there listening to our conversation . However, it seems that she kept where I went a secret .

    [That¡¯s why I decided to go and look around the town with Misa . It¡¯s nice to y at the beach, but it¡¯s also fun to see the town and then it seems that the orphaned children seem to be conscious of our presence . ] Noa

    Noa sadly said so .

    Hmmm, is that so?

    I never felt that way . Nevertheless, I wonder if themoners are ufortable with aristocrats .

    But that may be unavoidable . Orphaned children who have trouble obtaining food and have had a hard time surviving without parents . On the other hand, Noa, who was born into an aristocratic family, has no trouble eating, lives in a warm house, and wearing beautiful clothes .

    Moreover, she is the daughter of the lord and has the power .

    They probably don¡¯t know how to deal with someone like Noa, the daughter of a nobleman and lord . The old Fina was like that . Noa isn¡¯t the kind of kid who is intimidating . For those who do not know her, the words of an aristocrat and the lord¡¯s daughter may be a terrifying decree .

    [But the children who work at the store treat me normally . ] Noa

    Well, since she goes to the store regrly, they will, of course, understand Noa¡¯s personality .

    [I really want everyone to treat me the same way, but it¡¯s been difficult . ] Noa

    [The kids in the shop were okay with you, so the other kids should be okay with you as well, of course, unless Noa says something . ] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t do it! ...But I might have done it in the old days . I knew that I couldn¡¯t just say my name in order to meet Fina and make friends with her normally . That¡¯s right, so I refrain from asking as much as possible, but I will say it when I really want to . ] Noa

    Are you really 10 years old?

    I think it¡¯s usually difficult to understand that much .

    I want your sister to somewhat follow suit .

    [I want to be like my sister . ] Noa

    Apparently, Shia seems to be a good sister for Noa .

    Well, Shia seems to be excellent at school .

    And Noa seems to be growing every day .

    That night, I finished bathing and eating, and when everyone fell asleep, I moved to the bear gate in Targui .

    It was pitch ck when I opened the door . There are no street lights and it¡¯s being illuminated only by the light of the moon and the light of the stars .

    I magically created light . The light that looks like a bear illuminated the surroundings .

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, let¡¯s get going . ] Yuna

    The normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear passed through the bear gate and followed me .

    After confirming that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear passed through the gate, I closed the bear gate . I installed it in a hurry at that time, but if I can take my time to install it, I would like to install it in a proper ce .

    I look towards the sakura tree . The sakura tree is not shining . If it was shining, the shining flowers might have been beautiful in the middle of the night . It¡¯s a little disappointing . However, when that happens, the monsters will approach and it is the anticlimax of the flower viewing .

    For the time being, I will go and collect the defeated Wyverns .

    I don¡¯t know how much a Wyvern is worth, but it¡¯s a waste not to collect it because I also defeated it .

    They must have been around here . Even if I open the bear map, the map was useless because Targui was moving . So, while looking around, I will look for the ce where I fought against the Wyvern based on my memory .

    But the atmosphere changes between day and night, so I¡¯m not sure . Above all, the drawback is that you can¡¯t see far ahead .

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear . Do you know where I defeated the Wyverns?] Yuna

    <<Ku~n>>

    I will also magically cast lights on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear . the light with a bear¡¯s face floats on both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear .

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started walking . The balls of bear light were moving together with them . Moreover, both of them were walking in the same direction . Apparently, they knew more than me .

    As I silently followed them from behind, I saw a dead Wyvern .

    Since there are no other monsters or animals on this ind, it remained as it was when it was defeated . I safely recovered all Wyverns¡¯ carcasses .

    The rest were the Krakens . They were charred by the mes .

    I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to take me to the ce where the Krakens are . They¡¯re in a weird state, like a scorched mess .

    Hmmm . It¡¯s definitely unlikely to be used as a material . Back in the game, you can get the material no matter how you defeat it, but apparently, the reality is not the same .

    Well, It¡¯s my bad for attacking it with mes without thinking about it carefully .

    I don¡¯t want the Kraken looking like this to end up in the bear box . But, if I just leave it as it is, it might attract a monster . If you think about it, isn¡¯t it better to throw it away in the sea?

    [But I want the magic stones . What should I do?] Yuna

    When I muttered so, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried <Kuu-n> and rushed towards the corpses of the Krakens .

    [Swaying Bear! Hugging Bear!] Yuna

    When I called their names, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear already reached the corpse of a Kraken .

    Then, after a while, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear returned while both of them holding magic stones in their mouths .

    [...Thanks, both of you, but I¡¯ll have to send you back at once . ] Yuna

    The remains of the Kraken is sticking to the body of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear . I quickly returned them and then summoned them again .

    Yeah, the beautiful Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are back . This is really convenient . Also, it¡¯s good that there is no summons like them in the game . Depending on the game, the number of how many times I can summon them per day is fixed .

    The rest of the Kraken remains is magically thrown into the sea .

    The next destination I went to after recovering the Wyverns and the Krakens¡¯ magic stones were the Kryna-Hark¡¯s stone monolith . Now I don¡¯t have Kryna-Hark¡¯s book . It is correct to say that it disappeared . After reading thest page of Kryna-Hark¡¯s book, I put it in the bear box . And when I tried to take it out, Kryna-Hark¡¯s book had disappeared from the bear box .

    I don¡¯t know when it disappeared .

    When Ie to the stone monolith, I touch the stone monolith and poured magical power into it . Then, the stone monolith shines like thest time and a book appears .

    Honestly, just what kind of mechanism did he put in it?

    I will experiment .

    And the result of the experiment . Here¡¯s what I learned about Kryna-Hark¡¯s book:

    ¡ù The book disappears after a certain distance from the stone monolith . Therefore, if it¡¯s under that certain distance, it will not disappear even if you took it out in the sea . The stone monolith is at the top of the ind, so the book disappears when I go back to the maind .

    ¡ù When moving using the bear¡¯s transfer gate . I can keep the book while the door is open . But when I close the door, the book disappears .

    ¡ù Even if I put it in the bear box, it disappears after a certain distance .

    ¡ù It is conceivable that the stone monolith and the book are connected by something like an invisible magical power and the book disappears after a certain distance .

    ¡ù The way the book disappears it bes like small particles as if it were being breakdown into molecules . When I saw that phenomenon, I remembered my time in the game . There were weapons created by magical power . It was simr to how it disappeared .

    ¡ù Perhaps this book was created with my magical power . Therefore, a book will not appear without a certain amount of magical power . With that in mind, everything seems to fit in .

    ¡ù Well, it¡¯s just within my imagination . However, it seems that Kryna-Hark, who makes things that can do such feat, was a great person .

    Based on the above, it may be better to install the bear transfer gate near the stone monolith . I really like the front of the stone monolith . I¡¯m nning to build a bear house, but if it¡¯s near the coast, it may be visible to the boats approaching the ind .

    Therefore, I want to build a bear house on the inner side of the ind .

    However, it seems difficult to find a good ce because it is dark . Should Ie again at noon?

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear . Isn¡¯t there an inconspicuous ce near the stone monolith?] Yuna

    I gave up and asked them . They may find it, like when they searched for the Wyverns .

    However, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried <Kuu~n> and shake their heads .

    That¡¯s true . They can¡¯t tell me a ce they¡¯ve never been to . I walked towards the sakura tree . Then, I didn¡¯t notice it in the daytime, but there was a path next to it .

    Is there something here?

    Following the path, I arrived at a slightly open ce .

    Huh£¿

    I threw the ball of magic light forward . Illuminated by the bear light, a copsed house came into view .

    Did anyone live there?

    I think Kryna-Hark may have lived there .

    It¡¯s hard to see its location because it is surrounded by trees . But it¡¯s clearing is wide enough that you can see the sky . The sun shines in this area during the daytime .

    I will set up a bear house in this ce . I took the bear house for travel from the bear box next to the ruined house .

    The bear house in my inventory is running low . Next time, I have to make a batch of full-blown bear houses . Even if the exterior is easy to make, I have to buy the household items inside . Since I have to modify the bath and small parts, it is convenient to make them all at once .

    Next time, when I make the bear house, I think I¡¯ll make about 10 at a time . It may be good to make varieties ofrge, medium, and small .

    I entered the newly installed bear house and returned to the bear house in Mereera .

    It¡¯s alreadyte in the night so I¡¯ll go to bed .

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The travel arc about to end?

    But there are a lot of things I still want to write .

    ¡ùSorry, I would like to work on the book version during Golden Week, so I would like to take a little break . I will notify you again when the posting during the holidays starts .

 Chapter 374

    Chapter 374

    <h4>374 Bear-san ys with Noa (Day 5)</h4>

    The matter about Targui is over and all I have to do is take some time to explore . Fortunately, I¡¯d be happy if it could pass near some continent . It¡¯s a little disappointing that I can¡¯t go where I like, but when I think of it as a game event, I can have some more fun . I hope it goes to faraway ces .

    And a new morning begins . To start a new day also means that I have to choose a different swimsuit . The first time is a one-piece swimsuit, the second time is a separate swimsuit, and this time is the third time to choose a swimsuit .

    I also told Sherry that I only brought three swimsuits with me . But of course, it¡¯s a lie . Please spare me from any more swimsuits .

    I choose the swimwear by elimination . I chose a ck and white bikini . This is thest swimsuit to choose from . Next, if I wear a swimsuit, I will wear the one-piece swimsuit I chose first . As soon as I wear a bikini swimsuit, I¡¯ll wear the bear costume on top of it .

    Each of them is supposed to act separately today . At the breakfast stage, there are already groups that will go to town and groups that will y in the sea . Anzu and the other locals will guide them to the town just like before . Lurina-san, Gil, and other members of Crimonia will take care of the ones going to the sea .

    I would like to propose a third n, which is sleeping at home, but that wish didn¡¯te true .

    [Yuna-san, have you finished changing clothes?] Noa

    [Yeah, I am . ] Yuna

    When I replied, Noa, Misa, and Shia in swimsuits entered the room .

    [Why are you dressed as a bear?] Shia

    [She¡¯s right . You look like a bear . ] Misa

    I¡¯m supposed to y with Noa and others today . It seems that Fina and her group are with Tirumina-san and the others, so today I was thinking of staying home and rxing . But I promised to y with Noa . I went to the ind with Fina and the others yesterday without inviting Noa and Misa, so I couldn¡¯t refuse them today .

    And today, neither Marina nor Eru are near Misa .

    Misa told them that she doesn¡¯t need any escort today . Marina tried to stay by her side because she was working, but Misa refused . I think she was carefully considering Misa¡¯s feelings . That¡¯s why it was decided that I will be taking care of Misa today .

    The two who got a break from guarding Misa went out saying that they would reluctantly go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild . It seems that they won¡¯t ept any work and act separately, but instead, they went there to exchange information between adventurers . Listening to the stories of the locals should tell you a lot about the area, so it seems that it is the basic rule for adventurers to show up in the adventurer¡¯s guild when they go to a new town .

    It seems they want to know about what kind of monsters live near the town and what kind of work they have regarding it . Also, it seems that you can understand the situation of the town by looking at the job requests .

    If there are a lot of requests to subdue monsters, it can be seen that a lot of monsters are urring . You can also see if there are bandits . Along with that, if the number of escorts isrge, it turns out to be dangerous . That¡¯s why today I took the ce of Marina and Eru .

    I brought three people to the beach .

    [Today I¡¯m with Yuna-san and Bear-san . ] Misa

    Noa and Misa are riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear . Shia and I followed from behind .

    When we arrived at the beach, the children were waiting for me .

    [Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯rete ~]

    [Take it out quickly!]

    [Calm down, I¡¯ll take it out now . ] Yuna

    When Ie near the sea, I took out the bear waterslide . It¡¯ll be troublesome if the local children and strangers came and got injured in ces I don¡¯t know, so I cleaned up at the end of the day .

    [I¡¯m first . ]

    [Then, I¡¯m next . ]

    [Did you do the preparatory exercise properly?] Yuna

    [I did~]

    The children replied and entered the bear waterslide . Lurina-san, Gil, and Liz-san were the adults watching them, so they should be okay .

    Then, I will put out bear¡¯s y equipment in the simple pool with a fence . Afterward, Karin-san and Elena-san started ying with the little ones .

    [Does Noa wants to y?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, what do you want to y?] Noa

    [Me?] Yuna

    If anything is fine, I want to sleep .

    [Yuna-san, are we bothering you?] Misa

    [Ah, no that¡¯s not it . ] Yuna

    Here is a girl who can read my heart .

    [Is that true? Then Yuna-san . we¡¯re going to swim . Please take off the bear-san costume quickly . ] Noa

    I reluctantly take off the bear costume .

    Why is it embarrassing to take off the outer clothes even though I¡¯m wearing a swimsuit underneath? After all, is it because I have never been to the pool or the sea since elementary school? If my backside is satisfactory, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll take off my clothes and y without worrying about it .

    [Today is the same as my swimsuit . ] Noa

    My swimsuit is a ck and white bikini . Noa is blue and Misa is green . It¡¯s a bikini swimsuit in a different color . But my swimsuit doesn¡¯t have frills . Noa and Misa have cute frills on their bikini swimsuits .

    All of the bear equipment was stored in the bear box, leaving only the pr bear puppet . I left it to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who was stationed at the seaside house . I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to monitor the children .

    Then, in a swimsuit, Noa and Misa were pulling my hand and Shia was pushing my back .

    And so, I swam and yed with the bear waterslide . The number of local children has increased since yesterday, probably because rumors have spread about the waterslide .

    If they y nicely with the other children, I¡¯ll permit them to y .

    I yed with Noa and the others at the beach .

    [Yuna-san, here I go!] Shia

    A ball of leather flew towards me . Though I tried to hit it back but . No way, I didn¡¯t think I would y like this .

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re too slow . ] Noa

    Even if you say that, if I don¡¯t have my bear equipment, I¡¯m just a girl with no physical strength . Even if I can perceive it in my brain, my body doesn¡¯t move as I wanted to . Thanks to wearing the bear equipment, I felt it that way .

    While wearing the bear equipment, my thoughts and actions were synchronized . It works as intended . However, if I¡¯m not wearing the bear equipment, it will be a jarring movement .

    And as I move around a lot, it ends up in the usual sight .

    [Yuna-san, are you okay?] Noa

    [No, I can¡¯t move . ] Yuna

    As usual, I¡¯m weak and get easily exhausted from ying, so I¡¯m lying down at the beach house . I can¡¯t move even one step anymore . Noa, Misa, and Shia are all fine . I want them to share that physical strength with me because I don¡¯t have enough .

    In my former world, I¡¯m a hikikomori, and in another world, I¡¯m wearing an overpowered bear costume, so I¡¯m not really exercising properly . I¡¯m very weak .

    [Even though I¡¯m not Yuna-san, I¡¯m tired too . ] Misa

    [We yed that much for the first time in a long time after all . ] Noa

    Noa and Misa were sitting next to me, who¡¯s currently lying down . Shia brought us drinks from the fridge .

    [Thanks . ] Yuna

    [Oneesama, thank you . ] Noa

    [Thank you very much . ] Misa

    We received the drinks from Shia .

    The cold water is satisfying . It¡¯s been a while since I exercised and sweated that much . By the way, I got some sunscreen from Shia, so I¡¯m not worried about a sunburn . Even if I get sunburn, it¡¯s fine since I can cure it with magic just like thest time .

    [I¡¯ll be resting for a while, so the three of you can go ahead and y . ] Yuna

    [I¡¯m tired too, so I¡¯ll take a rest together with you . ] Noa

    Noa said that, so Misa and Shia had to rest together with us .

    As Iy down into the beach house, it became noisy outside .

    [What with that bear?] Cliff

    [Well, Bear Missy probably made it . ] Gran

    I heard some familiar voices .

    [This voice, is that Father?] Noa

    Noa reacted to the voice .

    Looking towards the entrance of the beach house, Cliff and Gran came in .

    [Why is Father here?] Noa

    [And grandfather too . ] Misa

    Noa and Misa ran up to them .

    [I came here to show Old Gran to Mereera and also was wondering if Noa and Shia were bothering everyone out here . ] Cliff

    [I did not . ] Noa

    [I have not . ] Shia

    [It looks like it . ] Cliff

    Cliff is looking at the children ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the sea . As a substitute to me who¡¯s currently resting, I sent Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to y with them .

    Noa is keeping her promise to Cliff not to keep Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to herself .

    [And I also had to thank Yuna for taking care of Shia . Is Yuna around here?] Cliff

    I am here . I¡¯m behind Noa .

    [If you¡¯re looking for Yuna-san, she¡¯s right there . ] Noa

    Noa looks at me who¡¯s behind her .

    [Is that you Yuna? You don¡¯t look like a bear this time . For a moment, I didn¡¯t recognize you . ] Cliff

    I don¡¯t want to hear you say the bear is a part of me .

    As expected, bear = me . I¡¯m aware of it .

    [Even so, you look like that at sea, huh . ] Cliff

    I¡¯m wearing a swimsuit and I¡¯m covering myself with arge towel over my shoulder . Cliff is looking at me, nay staring at me, so I hid under a towel .

    [Father, it¡¯s rude to stare at a girl so much . ] Noa

    Noa stood in front of me and protected me .

    Thank you, Noa .

    [Don¡¯t get me wrong . I¡¯m just looking at Yuna¡¯s appearance because it was very unusual . ] Cliff

    [Still, it¡¯s not good . ] Noa

    [I understand, don¡¯t get angry . ] Cliff

    Cliff looked away from me .

    Then I go to the next room and came back wearing my bear costume .

    Ah, let¡¯s calm down .

    [So when did father arrived?] Noa

    [Yesterday . I already talked to the mayor of this town, The Guildmaster, and so on . So now, I wanted to see your faces . ] Cliff

    Cliff talked to themercial guild about making a direct carriage service towards the city of Sheleen, where Misa lives

    There were talks about the carriage being prepared by Gran-san¡¯s town and the fare of the carriage ride . The distance is shorter there than traveling via Crimonia . It is said that the sales of seafood will be gradually increased in the city of Sheleen . If new foodes in, it will revitalize the city .

    It seems that the story had already been decided by discussing with Mylene-san in Crimonia . There is no such Mylene-san here, however . I look behind Cliff, but I can¡¯t see Mylene-san . Instead, there were Masrika and Itia . The two came along .

    [So, Bear Missy, what¡¯s that?] Gran

    Gran-san asked me while looking at the bear waterslide .

    [It¡¯s called a slide . It¡¯s a type of y equipment used to slide from a high ce then plunge into the sea or something like that?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s fun . It¡¯ll spin you around . ] Misa

    Misa happily exins to Gran-san with gestures .

    [You made something weird again . ] Cliff

    How terrible to call it weird . Even though I thought and add various things to it so that everyone could enjoy them .

    [What are you going to do with this town?] Cliff

    [What are you nning to do?] Gran

    I don¡¯t understand what they meant .

    [Are you nning to make such y equipment and gather people with it?] Gran

    [I don¡¯t intend such a thing . I just made it so the kids can y with it . ] Yuna

    It¡¯s boring just to swim . Some children cannot even swim . That¡¯s why I prepared the waterslides and y equipment that floats on the sea .

    [Then, will you get rid of it when you go home?] Cliff

    [Yeah, I will . ] Yuna

    I can¡¯t leave such objects lying outdoors . It would be terrible if someone got injured by ying with it after we got home . So I¡¯m going to get rid of it when it¡¯s time to go home .

    [Can you still say that while looking at those children?] Cliff

    Cliff points at the bear waterslide . From there, I can hear the energetic voices of the children .

    [Uwa~a~a~a!]

    [Again!]

    [Wait for me!]

    The children are ying happily on the bear waterslide . In addition to our children, there are also local children ying there .

    I somehow understood what Cliff wanted to say . Local children may be saddened by clearing up the waterslide . That said, it may be dangerous to just leave it out in the open .

    Besides, the waterslide is only useful during the summer . It only gets in the way, especially in winter .

    Hmmm, what should I do?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Cliff was able to join safely .

    However, the travel arc is likely to end after a few more episodes .

    As I saidst time, when I post next time, I will take a rest for a while to work on the books .

    I will resume at around the end of Golden Week . (It¡¯s a schedule)

    Therefore, the deadline for SS of store advantage will be until the next post .

    ¡ùThank you for bookmark 38000 . I look forward to working with you .

 Chapter 375

    Chapter 375

    <h4>375 Bear-san Makes Curry Rice (Day 7)</h4>

    After a long vacation, we will head back tomorrow . This is ourst day to have lunch here . So I will make today¡¯s lunch .

    [Fina, peel the onions and cut them like this . ] Yuna

    I took one onion and showed Fina how it¡¯s done .

    [Yes, I got it . ] Fina

    Fina peeled the onions and cut them as I told . Fina, was sharp since she always helping out at home .

    [Anzu, peel the potatoes and cut them to this size . ] Yuna

    I showed how to cut the potatoes the same way as I did with onions and indicated the size . Anzu cut the potatoes in the same fashion .

    I took the carrots, peeled them, and cut them into bite-sized pieces .

    [U~u, tears areing out of my eyes . ] Fina

    Fina is cutting the onions with tears in her eyes .

    Should I have done the onions instead?

    What we are doing right now is making curry .

    When speaking about the sea, it should be curry rice . I got some curry spices, so I decided to make curry for lunch on thest day .

    However, there are about 30 children and about 20 adults, which is quite a lot . It¡¯s hard to make all of it by myself, so I have Fina and Anzu help me as assistants .

    It¡¯s hard to always make this much meal every day . But every day, Anzu, Morin-san, and the others prepared meals for the customers . I really have to thank them for it .

    That¡¯s why I decided to make lunch on thest day .

    [Yuna-san, the potatoes are done . ] Anzu

    [U~u, this one as well . ] Fina

    Both of them brought the cut ingredients . I also finished the preparation of carrots . Fina is rubbing her eyes . Onions made her tears .

    Finally, I cut the pork and finished the preparation . It¡¯s just an ordinary curry, so I can¡¯t add any other ingredients . It takes time and effort after all .

    After preparing enough portions for the number of people, I added oil to the pan, then I added the meat and fried it . Afterward, when the meat was cooked, I added the vegetables and poured some water .

    Since the amount I¡¯m making isrge, I prepared three pots . I also did that to change the level of spiciness .

    [So Yuna-san, what are you making? Boiled vegetables?] Anzu

    Anzu asked me since she has no idea of what I¡¯m making .

    [Curry, it¡¯s a spicy dish . Last time, during my work, I got some spices I needed to make curry . I think this is the perfect food when going to the ocean . ] Yuna

    [Is curry found in the sea? I¡¯ve lived in Merera for a long time, but I¡¯ve never heard of it . ] Anzu

    [You cannot find it in the sea, but back in the ce where I lived in . Somehow, it wasmon to eat seafood curry . ] Yuna

    However, I have never been to the sea, so I don¡¯t know if curry was actually sold at the beach house . To the utmost, curry and ramen are the standard seafood in manga and anime .

    I wonder if anyone really orders curry or ramen in the hot sea . However, I can¡¯t say anything about those people because I¡¯m making curry by the influence of that world .

    [I don¡¯t know what a curry is, but I¡¯m looking forward to it because the food Yuna-san makes is always delicious . ] Anzu

    [Look forward to it because it¡¯s definitely delicious . Oh right, can you prepare the rice?] Yuna

    [Okay . I¡¯ll cook it properly . ] Anzu

    That¡¯s Anzu for you . I¡¯ll leave the rice to Anzu, so I¡¯ll skim the scum while carefully watching the three pots .

    [Yuna-oneesan . I¡¯ll help too . ] Fina

    [Alright then, I¡¯ll leave that pot to you . ] Yuna

    Stew the vegetables while removing the scum . Then, as it started to smell good, I turned off the heat and took out the curry powder from the bear box .

    [Etto, since it¡¯s this amount of portion, maybe, about this much?] Yuna

    The amount of curry spice had been calcted .

    This curry is for children, so it should be less spicy and they can add milk to it if it¡¯s still too spicy . I will not put much curry on this one . Next is a slightly spicy curry, and the third one is a dry curry . In other words, it tastes mild, medium spicy, and dry . I like medium spiciness .

    For the dry one, I prepared a few for adults . It¡¯ll be a waste if there are leftovers after all .

    [Yuna-oneesan, something is strange in the color . ] Fina

    [The color?] Yuna

    Fina told me to look at the pot, but it looks like a normal curry .

    [Don¡¯t be surprised . ] Yuna

    [It has muddy color, but it also has a unique smell . ] Anzu

    [That¡¯s right . It smells irritating to the nose . ] Fina

    After Anzu cooks the rice, she gives an impression of the smell of curry .

    It certainly has a unique curry scent that stimtes the nose . But it also stimtes the appetite .

    [This is the curry spice . It¡¯s a little spicy, but it¡¯s delicious . ] Yuna

    I put some curry on a small te and taste it .

    Yep, it¡¯s a proper curry .

    It¡¯s really best to partner it with Fukujinzuke (¸£Éñn) . But as expected, it was impossible to prepare Fukujinzuke with what I have .

    [Yuna-san, can I have a taste?] Anzu

    I put the curry on small tes and give it to Anzu and Fina so that they can taste it . The two slowly receive the small tes and put the curry in their mouth .

    [That¡¯s spicy and delicious . ] Anzu

    [I was worried because the color was strange, but it¡¯s delicious . ] Fina

    [The color is due to the spices . Right now, both of you tasted the mildly spicy-sweet curry for kids . Then, the curry next to it has a little more spiciness and it¡¯s my favorite among the three . Finally a curry for adults with a strong level of spiciness . ] Yuna

    When you look at the pot, each curry has a different color . The spicier the dish, the darker the color .

    [Would you like to taste this too?] Yuna

    I pointed to the spiciest curry pot .

    [It¡¯s spicy, isn¡¯t it?] Anzu

    [It¡¯s spicy, but this is delicious . ] Yuna

    I personally like medium spicy . I feel that mild is not enough, and dry is too spicy so I don¡¯t feel like eating those kinds of curry . So, for me, medium spicy curry is the best curry .

    Anzu and Fina challenged the dry curry . Even though it¡¯s dry, it¡¯s not so spicy that it cannot be eaten . In my opinion, it¡¯s about the same level of spiciness written on the packaging of a pouched curry at best . In the original world, I used to eat pouched curry alone . However, I wanted them to stop differentiating the level of spiciness depending on the manufacturer . Some were medium spicy, but some were as spicy as the dry ones .

    The two ate a bite of dry curry .

    [It¡¯s too spicy!] Fina

    Fina shouted . I gave her the water I have prepared . When Fina received it, she immediately drank it all at once .

    [Well, that was painful . ] Anzu

    It seems that dry curry was still too early for Fina . But Anzu seems to be fine . Are you used to salty foods? Though it¡¯s a different thing when ites to spicy foods .

    [It¡¯s spicy, but it might be delicious if you eat it with rice . ] Anzu

    [It¡¯s also delicious if you put it on bread or eat it with udon . ] Yuna

    I want to eat curry bread and curry udon now . I wonder if I should make it next time .

    But since we¡¯re in the town of Mereera, I think it¡¯s better to add shrimp, shellfish, and squid to it . Seafood curry is also good .

    The rice was cooked properly, so we¡¯re headed to the sandy beach where the children y with the finished curry and rice .

    When we arrived at the beach house, we called the children ying at the beach .

    [It¡¯s rice . ]

    [I¡¯m hungry . ]

    The children gathered .

    [Yuna-chan made it today, right?] Tirumina

    [I helped too . ] Fina

    Fina corrected Tirumina-san¡¯s words .

    [Yuna-chan, did Fina help you?] Tirumina

    [She was helpful to the point where she can get married anytime . ] Yuna

    [Oh, yeah? But if that happens, Gentz will go berserk . However, it¡¯s okay if Yuna-chan takes her in . ] Tirumina

    [Mom!] Fina

    Fina shyly hits Tirumina-san multiple times .

    Whileughing, I put a pot of curry and the cooked rice on the table .

    [So Yuna-chan, what did you make?] Tirumina

    [A dish called curry . It¡¯s a bit spicy, but it¡¯s delicious . ] Yuna

    I told them to line up so we can hand it over in an orderly fashion . Fina, who¡¯s standing next to me puts curry on the te served with rice . It¡¯s the sweet curry for children .

    [It smells weird . ]

    [My nose feels stuffy . ]

    [That¡¯s the smell of spices . Spices are good for you, so it¡¯s excellent to eat after getting tired from ying . ] Yuna

    A child received a te . Then, Anzu, who¡¯s standing next to Fina, filled the cup with water and handed it over to the child . When eating curry, you¡¯ll need water on stand-by . Just in case it¡¯s too spicy for them .

    [There are many seconds, so eat a lot . ] Yuna

    After distributing the curry to the children, it¡¯s finally Noa¡¯s turn .

    [I¡¯m looking forward to Yuna-san¡¯s home cooking, but you¡¯re mean because you didn¡¯t let me help . ] Noa

    [Because neither Noa nor Misa can cook . ] Yuna

    [That¡¯s true, but we can do as much as wash vegetables . ] Noa

    No, I don¡¯t need it .

    [You can do that?] Yuna

    [U~n, sometimes I ask Surilina to teach me, though I¡¯m not good at it, I can do it . ] Noa

    She¡¯s an aristocrat, so I thought she couldn¡¯t do even that .

    [And so, we have spicy food . There are three types to choose from, but which one would you choose?] Yuna

    [The least spicy please . ] Noa

    [Me too . ] Misa

    Noah and Misa chose the sweet curry .

    [Then I¡¯ll take it the second hottest one . ] Shia

    [Oneesama, can I try a little?] Noa

    [Then, shall we put a little on Noa¡¯s te?] Yuna

    [Is that okay?] Noa

    I gave her the sweet curry as a main, then add a little bit of the medium spicy . Next are Marina and Eru, who lined up behind Noa and others, they chose medium spicy curry .

    Then Lurina-san and Gill came next .

    [I¡¯m looking forward to Yuna-chan¡¯s new food . ] Lurina

    [Lurina-san are you okay with spicy?] Yuna

    [Of course, I love spicy food . ] Lurina

    [Then I¡¯ll leave it spicy . ] Yuna

    I sprinkled the dry curry on top of the rice . She¡¯s the first one to get the dry curry .

    [Gill are you okay with spicy?] Yuna

    [Not spicy . ] Gill

    [............] Yuna

    I stopped trying to get rid of the dry curry .

    [Gill, you have such arge figure, but you¡¯re not good with spicy . ] Lurina

    Some unexpected words came out of Lurina-san¡¯s mouth .

    [Body size doesn¡¯t matter . ] Gill

    Gill rejects the rtion between body size and spiciness .

    Well, it certainly doesn¡¯t matter . Anzu was okay with spicy . Besides, Lurina-san seems to be okay with it too . So body figure and gender does not matter .

    For the time being, I gave Gill a sweet curry .

    Then Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san chose medium spicy curry .

    [I¡¯m not good with spicy food . ] Seno

    Seno-san and Nifu-san chose sweet curry, while Forne-san and Betoru-san chose medium spicy .

    And sweet curry to the director and Liz-san . No one wants to try dry curry .

    [Gentz-san yours is dry, isn¡¯t it?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t want spicy either . ] Gentz

    Even Gentz-san chose the sweet curry for children .

    Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri also chose sweet curry . Well, it can¡¯t be helped here . Unexpectedly, few people tried dry curry . If there are leftovers, I can reduce the spiciness by adding milk, right?

    And so, everyone started eating rice all at once .

    All the voices I heard were <delicious> . Some of the children are even saying the same . It¡¯s delicious with bread, so I took the bread out of the bear box .

    Cliff came from the middle of the line, so I immediately gave him a dry curry, but he was eating it deliciously, so I was a little disappointed . Well, it¡¯s not too spicy that you can¡¯t eat it, but I wanted to see a different reaction .

    By the way, Gran-san chose sweet curry . Masrika chose medium spicy, while Itia chose dry .

    As a result of eating curry rice, it was well-received overall .

    Tirumina-san asked me, <Would you like to sell it in the store?>, But I said, <I won¡¯t sell it> . As expected, even if I increase the amount of food, the shop will have difficulties and the distribution of spices will be difficult . Even if the traders carry it on a regr basis, the price will be too high .

    It¡¯s a hassle if I buy it every time using the bear gate and it¡¯s even more troublesome if Karina finds me .

    But spices willst a long time, so should I buy them inrge quantities? Should it be okay if I sealed it and stored it in the refrigerator?

    Or I can just put it in the bear box .

 Chapter 376 - Bear-san Holds A Summer Tradition (Day 7)

    <h4>376 Bear-san Holds A Summer Tradition (Day 7)</h4>

    After eating curry rice, it will be thest afternoon to y in the sea. Yet, the children started cleaning the bear building. I don¡¯t know who said it, but it seems that everyone decided to clean the bear building before we return.

    I wanted to say, <you don¡¯t have to clean it>, but I couldn¡¯t say it since the children said, <we¡¯re grateful to Yuna-oneesan>. I will obediently ept the feelings of the children.

    The children started cleaning therge rooms, then the bathrooms, the toilets, and the backyard. Noa, a noblewoman who saw such a figure, also said, <I am grateful to Yuna-san> and started cleaning the rooms and the hallways they were using.

    Fina is also cleaning with Shuri, Tirumina-san, and Gentz-san.

    The cooking group cleans the kitchen, dining room, and the rest of the first floor. Seeing the children¡¯s energy, the adults also participate in cleaning together. I was surprised to see Lurina-san and Eru magically washing the Bear building¡¯s body.

    When I tried to help with cleaning, I was told, <Don¡¯t do it Yuna-oneechan>, <Yuna-oneechan, no!>, and <We¡¯ll do it, so Yuna-oneechan should go outside>...

    It feels awkward to be alone while everyone is working. I was kicked out of the room they were cleaning and came back to my room.

    I sleep on the bed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who have be cubs for the first time in a long time.

    For some reason, I¡¯ve been busy this month. I was fighting Scorpion in the desert just about 15 days ago. But it felt like a long time. Then, when I came back from the desert, the busy days of preparing to go to the sea began.

    Even when I came to the sea, a lot of things happened. ying in the sea, fishermen rushed in to make lunch for us, and we also boarded the boats. Above all, I was surprised at the moving ind, Targui. I didn¡¯t think there was such a creature existing to this day.

    And when I took Fina and the others to the ind, I encountered the Wyverns and they were tough. I was able to deceive Shia by putting them in a hidden room, even though I often said that if I was prepared, there¡¯s nothing to be worried about.

    And most of all, I was mentally tired because I had to wear three different swimsuits. Choosing a swimsuit was the hardest part ofing to the sea.

    We¡¯ll be returning tomorrow, although I thought some of them wouldn¡¯t like it, unexpectedly most of them seem to be eager to head home early.

    Among them, Most of them were saying that they want to go home as soon as possible because they were worried about the kokekko. The shop group also wants to go back to work as soon as possible. Many children are anxious that they are not working.

    Did I take them out for a little too long?

    Though, if you think of it as Golden Week, it¡¯s just right. For those who don¡¯t have a concept of long holidays, having a long vacation seems to be anxious. Morin-san and Karin-san said they want to return to the store, but Anzu¡¯s group wanted to go to Dega-san if they had time.

    Thinking about thest few days, I¡¯ve been sleeping and napping.

    So tonight. I will do a summer tradition, hoping that it will leave a good memory of the sea.

    I took everyone to the roof of the Bear building. Among them are Cliff and Gran-san. Some children are sleepy because it¡¯ste in the night, but please do your best.

    [Yuna-san, do you want to see the stars?] Noa

    [That¡¯s fine as well, but it¡¯s something a little different.] Yuna

    The atmosphere in the starry sky of this world is clear, so the stars look very beautiful. It¡¯s a beautiful sight especially for me who lived in Tokyo, but it¡¯s a normal sight for Noa and the others who live in this world, and it¡¯s a sight that can be seen anywhere when looking up at the night sky. But I prepared something else.

    [Cliff, enjoy it too.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re nning to do, but don¡¯t just do stupid things.] Cliff

    What ¡°stupid things¡± are you talking about? I¡¯m just doing my best to make everyone happy.

    There is also the matter about cleaning the Bear building, so I am very motivated.

    [You can have free drinks and food. I¡¯ll just prepare a little, so please wait. Oh right, focus your attention at the sea. Fina, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.] Yuna

    The only person I can ask was Fina, who knew what I¡¯m about to do. And since it¡¯s troublesome to use the stairs, I jumped off the roof of the Bear Building.

    They screamed at my actions, but Inded cleanly.

    [Yuna-oneechan is amazing.]

    [So cool.]

    They¡¯re cheering on me in the middle of the night.

    [Everyone, don¡¯t imitate that.]

    [I can¡¯t do it ~~~~~]

    [I can¡¯t do that ~~~~~]

    [Don¡¯t be surprised.]

    I can hear the voices of Noa and the children from above. I saw, children wanted to imitate, please be careful. But then, we¡¯re talking about jumping here. And the moment I jumped, the thought of some of the children seems to want to imitate it, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    After paying attention to the children, I started running toward the sea.

    Turning back the time a little. Last night (6th night). After finishing the meal, I called out to Tirumina-san and Fina who¡¯re returning to their room.

    [Can I borrow Fina tonight?] Yuna

    I asked Tirumina-san, who¡¯s the guardian, for permission to lend Fina to me.

    [Fina? Of course, it¡¯s okay.] Tirumina

    When I said that, Tirumina-san pushed Fina¡¯s back and gave her to me without asking for Fina¡¯s permission, so I¡¯m grateful.

    [Mom!] Fina

    Fina yells at Tirumina-san. Then Shuri looks at me.

    [Only oneechan?] Shuri

    [Yeah, it¡¯s going to be a littlete after all.] Yuna

    [Only oneechan, that¡¯s unfair.] Shuri

    I can tell that Shuri wants toe along.

    [It¡¯s getting a littlete. And you look sleepy. You and I cannot be a substitute for Fina. So let¡¯s sleep together, okay.] Tirumina

    I picked up a bear cub on the floor and gave it to Shuri.

    She shouldn¡¯t be lonely if she¡¯s with Hugging Bear. When Shuri looks at Hugging Bear and me alternately, she nods a little.

    [Next time, take me along too.] Shuri

    [Sure, let¡¯s go together next time.] Yuna

    Then, Gentz-san, who was listening to the story next to them, said in a small voice, <Why didn¡¯t you ask me?> After all, Tirumina-san seems to have more decision-making power. I was able to get Fina without actually getting permission from Gentz-san.

    I took Fina, whom I borrowed, and went to my room.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what are you doing with that?] Fina

    [Well, I can¡¯t do it alone, so I¡¯d like to ask Fina to help me.] Yuna

    I opened the other door in my room. There is a bear transfer gate there.

    [Are you perhaps going somewhere?] Fina

    Yes, I am. Fina, you can tell just by looking at the bear gate. It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve guessed it. I opened the door of the bear gate. I took Fina through the door. Swaying Bear, who turned into a bear cub, followed us with a trotting sound.

    Beyond that is the bear gate of the bear house in Targui. I took Fina outside the house.

    Fina looks around with <i>Kyoro Kyoro. </i>(neck turning sfx)

    [Yuna-oneesan. Where is this?] Fina

    Fina asked anxiously. Fina has a lot of questions since earlier, but I can¡¯t help it because I haven¡¯t told her anything. She doesn¡¯t know where this is because there are trees around us.

    [It¡¯s the moving ind that we went to earlier.] Yuna

    [Why are we here? A monster... And a house on top of that...] Fina

    [It¡¯s okay because it¡¯s not a monster. And this house is the one you used for evacuation.] Yuna

    Fina looks at me with a frightened face.

    [But what do you want to do on this ind? It¡¯s dark and you can¡¯t do anything.] Fina

    It¡¯s certainly dark here. I used light magic to bring out the bear light. It illuminates the area around us.

    [I¡¯m thinking of making hanabi (fireworks) with a little magic, but I don¡¯t know if it can be done properly by myself, so I¡¯d like to ask Fina to check it.] Yuna

    [...Hanabi? What is Hanabi?] Fina

    Fina tilts her head on the side.

    Of course, she doesn¡¯t know it if I suddenly say fireworks. How should I exin this?

    [Well, I¡¯m going tounch the magic of light into the sky and make flowers?] Yuna

    [You¡¯re making a flower in the sky?] Fina

    Fina again tilts her head slightly and thinks.

    <i>Uu~~~~</i>, it¡¯s difficult to exin. It¡¯splicated to exin something that the other person doesn¡¯t know or haven¡¯t even seen before.

    I picked up a fallen branch, I exined the fireworks on the ground.

    [Well, I¡¯m going tounch the light magic from the ground into the sky, so I want Fina to tell me what it looks like from a distance.] Yuna

    I drew the person who portrays as Fina on the ground, then drew the person who portrays as me at a distance. And then I drew a picture of the magic that was shot upwards.

    [Somehow I understand. Yuna-oneesan draws a picture of her casting light magic.] Fina

    Well, will that happen though?

    I turned Swaying Bear into his normal size, then Fina and I rode on Swaying Bear. We moved towards the front of Targui, where the Kryna-Hark¡¯s monolith was located.

    [Then, put out the bear phone, that¡¯s right. Look at the sky over there.] Yuna

    Using my bear puppet, I pointed to the sky. Fina takes out the bear phone as told.

    [Then, Swaying Bear. I¡¯ll leave Fina to you.] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    I ran in the direction where I pointed at and move away from where Fina is.

    Is it okay around here?

    I also take out the bear phone and talk to Fina.

    [Fina, can you hear me?] Yuna

    {Yes, I can hear you.} Fina

    [Well then, look at the sky.] Yuna

    I shoot light magic toward the sky.

    The light magic shoots up in the sky and pops in a circle.

    [How was it, Fina? Was it round?] Yuna

    {No matter how I look at it, the light spread in a horizontal line. Is this hanabi?} Fina

    Sideways?

    [Not round?] Yuna

    {<i>U~n</i>, it doesn¡¯t look like a long circle.} Fina

    That¡¯s right. Even if I¡¯m seeing a circle from below, it¡¯ll be a line or an elongated circle from Fina¡¯s point of view. I¡¯m an idiot. Instead of making it into a sphere, I made it into a ring. Moreover, it is in the state viewed from below.

    Iunched another light magic.

    {This time it¡¯s a circle! It looks like it spreads from the center.} Fina

    Fina¡¯s voice can be heard from the Bear Phone.

    Alright, it¡¯ll be the advanced versions from here on out.

    This time, I created circles in multipleyers, and when I turn around, I shot the light magic as if I were drawing a picture in the sky. Originally, the fireworks have the same shape when viewed from 360 degrees, but I¡¯m only focusing in the direction that can be seen by Fina. Because it¡¯s a hassle.

    But every time, Fina asked, <What is this?>, <You¡¯re not...>, <You¡¯re not done yet?>, <I can¡¯t see...>, and I received a lot of unclear reactions.

    ............But in the end.

    <It¡¯s beautiful>, <I can see it!>, <Yuna-oneesan is amazing!>, <It¡¯s flowing down like a river.> I heard an excited voice from the Bear Phone.

    Yeah, this looks okay. With the help of Fina, the magical soundless fireworks werepleted. But fireworks sound strange even though they don¡¯t use fire. That being said, I can¡¯t think of any other name.

    However, the bottleneck is that there is no sound. No matter how much I y with light magic, there is no sound. And there is no sound even if I mixed it with mes.

    Actually, I also wanted to use electric shock magic to make it shy, but I stopped using electric shock magic.

    Going back to the present.

    When I came to the beach, Iunched a fireworks disy into the sky.

    {Something shined!}

    {Beautiful.}

    {Uwa~a~a~!}

    {It went up again!}

    Children¡¯s voices can be heard from the bear phone. Fina is holding the bear phone and delivers real-time reaction voices from the roof of the bear building.

    Of course, I was going to cut the call if an unpleasant word came out, but it seems that there is no such tension in the air.

    Iunched continuously, jump high on my own, and fly lightly to the left and right. I¡¯m dressed as a ck bear. Even if I jump, I just blend into the darkness, and they can¡¯t see my figure from the Bear Building, so I should be fine.

    From the spreading fireworks to the fireworks that look like a meteor. From the middle, it feels like drawing a picture with light magic instead of fireworks. And I thought that the children would be happy, so I decided to make a bear firework. I thought this was the most difficult. However, when I imagined it, I couldn¡¯t do it with other animals, but I could easily do it with a bear. This may be one of the bear abilities as well as bear house and bear magic.

    The finished bear¡¯s face spreads in the night sky. From the bear phone, I can hear the happy voices of the children.

    The soundless fireworks ended with great sess.

    However, it appears that some of the residents of Mereera were watching it. It seems that they thought something was wrong, though when they saw thest bear fireworks, they knew it was me and was relieved. By the time they saw the bear and thought of me, it looks like the <I = Bear> form had been set in stone in the whole town of Mereera. I want to deny it, but I¡¯m sad because I can¡¯t.

    The next day, we prepared to return to Crimonia. Meanwhile, various people came to greet me.

    First is Jeremo-san.

    [Miss, I¡¯ll manage the waterslide properly, so don¡¯t worry about it.] Jeremo

    The result of consultation between Cliff and Jeremo-san. I decided to leave it only during the summer. He thought that if Cliff advertised it in Crimonia, he would get a lot of tolls for the tunnel, so he told Jeremo to leave it for a while. Jeremo couldn¡¯t resist Cliff and agreed.

    At that time, hemented, <I have more work now...>.

    Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean that.

    Instead, I put a door at the entrance of the bear waterslide to prevent anyone to enter without permission. It cannot be used in ces where no adults are supervising. And various conditions were set up.

    The fishermen were also trying to see me off, but they were stopped by Kuro-ojisan. Atora-san also showed up and said, <I¡¯m going to Crimonia next time>.

    Dega-san was so busy that he couldn¡¯t leave the inn, so he left me a message to Anzu. <Next time, I¡¯ll treat you to some delicious food>, he said.

    Finally, the local children saw us off. It seems that they yed together and became friends.

    [So why are Cliff and Gran-san here? Going to see us off, maybe?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m thinking of seeing the bear carriage you made.] Cliff

    Apparently, he asked Noa and the others.

    When I put out the bear bus, I thought they would be surprised, or have a stunned look on their faces.

    Instead, Cliff said he will ride the bear bus home.

    [What about your carriage?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve asked Masrika, so there¡¯s no problem.] Cliff

    In the end, Cliff and Gran-san also got on the bear bus and went home together with us. Then, among Marina¡¯s party, they have to decide who will return to Crimonia in the slow carriage on which Cliff and Gran-san are riding earlier.

    Masrika and Itia are the escorts for Cliff and Gran-san, while Marina and Eru are escorts of Misa. Then, Masrika and Itia, who had never ride the bear bus before, will get on the bear bus, and the carriage that Cliff and Gran-san have been riding will be returned by Marina and Eru.

    The two were sad, but this is also a part of their job.

    The bear bus departs from Mereera and it will arrive in Crimonia a few hourster. The employee trip waspleted sessfully.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This marks the end of the travel arc. When I wrote about the 6th day, I found out about fireworks, so it became like this.

    It will be a new arc in the next chapter. (The Dwarves.)

 Chapter 377 - Bear-san Makes Pressed Flowers

    <h4>377 Bear-san Makes Pressed Flowers</h4>

    We¡¯re back in Crimonia.

    The children sleeping in the bear bus returns while rubbing his eyes. An energetic child started running off to see the cluckers. Liz-san chases after that.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. I think the children had a lot of fun. Since I met Yuna-san, the children have more smiles on their faces. This is also thanks to Yuna-san.] Director

    The director happily looks at the children who are running about.

    The director bows a little then holds the small child¡¯s hand and returns to the orphanage. Cliff is watching such a scene.

    [I see. my failure to supervise was erasing the smiles of those kids.] Cliff

    Cliff murmured in a soft voice. I¡¯m not saying that Cliff, the highest authority in the city, isn¡¯t responsible, but it was his subordinate who was doing the embezzlement. However, I just wished he noticed it early.

    In every world, even if the top is solid, the bottom is not always excellent. I often heard stories on TV about employees spendingpany money unauthorized. But it¡¯s the job of the superiors to manage it. It¡¯s difficult to handle people.

    With that in mind, if the kids working in the store do something wrong, will it be my supervisory responsibility? Well, I don¡¯t think the kids will do such things for the sake of the director and Liz-san.

    Though if they seem to bother others, the adults have no choice but to take responsibility. I¡¯m an adult, or me. So I have to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen.

    Looking at the back of the director and the child, Nifu-sanes over.

    [Thank you, Yuna-chan. When I went back to the town and met an acquaintance, I felt like I was able to take a step forward because I was able to get what I had in my heart. This is also thanks to Yuna-chan and the director.] Nifu

    Nifu-san thanked me. It was the director who told her to go see her acquaintance. I just took her to Mereera and nothing else.

    Nifu-san bows and chases the children in a sprint-like manner.

    Anzu and the former residents of Mereera are happy to see Nifu-san in her current state. Maybe they just don¡¯t say that they want to go back to Mereera. But if they do say it, I can¡¯t stop them.

    [Then, shall we work hard from tomorrow onward?] Betoru

    [The store operations will start the day after tomorrow.] Anzu

    [Yuna-san, it was fun. Thank you.] Forne

    [Thank you, Yuna-chan.] Seno

    Anzu and her crew waved their hands and started walking towards their store.

    After that, Morin-san, Karin-san, and Elena-san also thanked me and left.

    [Then we¡¯ll go too. Yuna-chan, it was a lot of fun.] Morin

    [Thank you, Yuna-san.] Karin

    [Thank you Yuna-oneechan.] Children

    [It was fun, but from tomorrow we¡¯ll be working without a break for a while.] Morin

    Tirumina-san¡¯s family is also returning. Gentz-san was on-leave from work, so it can¡¯t be helped. Besides, Gentz-san is not the only one who will work from tomorrow onward. The children in the orphanage are taking care of the cluckers. Both Anzu and Morin-san are preparing for the opening of the store. They have to go and buy ingredients and clean the shop. There are many things to do.

    Only me and Noa are free.

    [Then, Yuna-san. I¡¯ll be waiting at home tomorrow.] Noa

    Oh, yea. I promised to make pressed flowers with Noa.

    Misa asked Gran-san to stay in Crimonia for a few days. It would be nice if I can just send it. Gran-san says he will return with Misa after a few days. Gran-san seems to have no choice but to ept his cute granddaughter¡¯s wish.

    After Noa and the others gave their thanks to me, they returned to the mansion.

    Lurina-san and Gill are going to eat with Masurika and Itia as fellow adventurers.

    Everyone went in their respectful destinations, so I¡¯m alone. I¡¯m lonely being alone... No, I¡¯ll go home with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that were currently in their bear cub form. I¡¯m not lonely because they are my family. I¡¯ll take a bath with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, sleep together with them, and get rid of the tiredness of traveling.

    The next day, I wanted to rx on the following day after returning from the trip, but since I have promised to make pressed flowers, I also brought Fina and Shuri to Noa¡¯s mansion.

    When we arrived at the mansion, L-san greeted and guided us to Noa¡¯s room. Noa, Misa, and Shia were waiting in the room.

    [Yuna-san, I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Also, Fina and Shuri wee.] Noa

    [Thank you for inviting me today.] Fina

    [Thank you.] Shuri

    When Fina greeted Noa, Shuri imitated Fina and did the same.

    [That enough for greetings, so let¡¯s make it right away.] Noa

    [Yes!] Fina

    [Yup!] Shuri

    Noa took the hands of Fina and Shuri.

    I walked behind them and came to the table. On the table, tools and flowers necessary for pressed flowers were prepared.

    [What¡¯s with these flowers?] Yuna

    [Oneesama and Fina have flowers, but Misa and I don¡¯t have any, so I bought them.] Noa

    [I already said there are more flowers with me, so you didn¡¯t have to prepare them separately.] Yuna

    [We¡¯re going to make it with great effort. So I think it¡¯s okay to have various flowers. Both Fina and Shuri can use their favorite flowers. Rather, why don¡¯t you two just use the flowers you¡¯ve picked up.] Noa

    [Yes!] Fina

    [Yep, OK.] Shuri

    The two were willing to ept Noa¡¯s proposal.

    I put out the flowers that the three picked from Targui and ced them on the table. There are also colorful flowers here.

    [It¡¯s a flower I¡¯ve never seen.] Noa

    [Is Noa familiar with flowers?] Yuna

    [No, I don¡¯t know much about flowers. Though I had never seen these ones because Lara was decorating our house with flowers every day.] Noa

    [I¡¯ve never seen it in my house either, but every flower here is beautiful.] Misa

    Misa picked up a flower.

    Haven¡¯t these two aristocrats ever seen it? Well, the flowers that bloom differs depending on the area. Moreover, it is a flower that bloomed on the moving ind called, Targui. If Targui travels around the world, it¡¯s not surprising that there are flowers that they haven¡¯t seen from around here.

    Perhaps it would be a good business if I just do a flower shop, but it was troublesome just by thinking about it, so I immediately rejected it. Above all, just thinking about me having a flower shop makes meugh. One of the dreams of elementary school students is often a flower shop, but I don¡¯t like such a cute dream.

    [What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [Hmm? Nothing.] Yuna

    I can¡¯t say Iughed when I imagined myself selling flowers and being surrounded by flowers. If it¡¯s Fina though, the flower shop may look good. I can imagine Fina taking care of the flowers. Fina, in a cute apron, taking care of the flowers. It looks dozens of times better than me in a bear costume.

    When I stare at Fina, Fina tilts her head to the side.

    [Now then, let¡¯s make pressed flowers.] Yuna

    [How do we make it, Yuna-oneechan?] Shuri

    [It¡¯s easy. Let¡¯s give it a try.] Yuna

    I picked up a small white flower and put it on the cloth. Then I used the tweezers to arrange the petals. When I felt that it¡¯s already good enough, I put a cloth on it.

    [Shia, the clothe iron please.] Yuna

    [Yes.] Shia

    When I received the iron, I pressed it over the cloth for tens of seconds. Release the iron, wait for the flower to cool, and then iron it again. After doing this several times, the pressed flower¡¯s color remains.

    Upon seeing it, Shuri puts the flower on the palm of her small hand.

    [The flowers have be t.] Shuri

    [After that, if you put it in a picture frame and decorate it like this, you can always see beautiful flowers.] Yuna

    Well, I remember that there were some more steps, but it should be like this.

    [Shia-oneechan. Is there only one iron?] Shuri

    [There are three. One for two persons.] Shia

    And so, it¡¯s divided into Noa and Misa, Fina and Shuri, then me and Shea.

    We picked up the flowers we like and made them into pressed flowers. Next, we arranged the flowers to decorate the picture frame.

    [Yuna-san, how about doing it like this?] Shia

    [Looks good.] Yuna

    Shia decorated her picture frame with yellow and red flowers. I made it back in the elementary school ss, but still, I remember it. Well, it¡¯s fine even if you make a slight mistake, just don¡¯t make a big mess.

    Everyone arranged the flowers as they wish.

    I don¡¯t know if I need a desant, but Shia has prepared it for me so I can put it in my picture frame.

    And so, everyone¡¯s pressed flower ispleted.

    [Well, after all, the one Yuna-san made is the best.] Noa

    [That¡¯s not true. The one Noa made is also good.] Yuna

    Noa¡¯s pressed flowers are mainly brightly colored ones, giving them a slightly shy feel. However, it is a pressed flower with energy. Speaking of Noa, well it¡¯s Noa. Noa decorated her room.

    On the other hand, the pressed flowers that Misa made are mainly made of thin flowers. She will give it to her grandfather who is still in the city.

    I looked towards Fina and Shuri.

    The pressed flowers of Shuri mainly consist ofrge flowers.

    [Do you think mom would be happy?] Shuri

    [Shuri made it with all her best, so she¡¯ll be happy. The one Fina made was good too.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m thinking of decorating our room with it along with Shuri¡¯s flower.] Fina

    I won¡¯t say it, so I think I¡¯ll keep it at the back of my heart the fact that no one will give anything to Gentz-san.

    [Shia, are you going to give yours to Eleanora-san?] Yuna

    [Mother will be more than happy to receive Noa¡¯s gift than me giving her pressed flower, so I¡¯ll give this to Cattleya instead.] Shia

    [Am I giving a present to mother?] Noa

    [She¡¯ll be very happy with that. And there are still flowers, so you can still make one, so just give that one to mother.] Noa

    [Okay, then I¡¯ll do that, but let¡¯s make it together Oneesama.] Noa

    Noa and Shia started making pressed flowers to give to Eleanora-san.

    The other three who saw it also created new pressed flowers.

    Even if I make it, I have no one to give it as a gift. I can decorate my room with it. Though I don¡¯t think such a girlish thing suits me. Well, it doesn¡¯t look good as it¡¯s more like at the stage of decorating a teddy bear.

    If so, would it please her if I give it to Princess Flora? But it¡¯s not a bear, so it¡¯s subtle whether Princess Flora will be happy. The castle also has beautiful flower beds, so you don¡¯t have to decorate her room with pressed flowers.

    Then shall I make a bear face with pressed flowers? I thought about it, but it seems impossible, so I¡¯ll give up. Well, I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be happy, but for the time being, I¡¯ll make a pressed flower as a gift to Princess Flora.

    Fina asked, <May I disy it in the store?> Certainly, it¡¯s a good idea to disy it in the store. The pressed flowers I made would also have a more meaningful concept than decorating them in my room.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Did you think pressed flowers of cherry blossoms would be good? I thought it would be dangerous to make them, so I gave up.

 Chapter 378 - 378 Bear-san, Helps in the Shop

    <strong>378 Bear-san, Helps in the Shop</strong>

    The pressed flowers we¡¯ve made can be disyed in our room or used as gifts. Still, the extra pressed flowers can be disyed in Morin-san¡¯s shop and Anzu¡¯s shop.

    The next day, Misa will return to Sheleen a few dayster, so I decided to treat her with bread, cakes, and pudding at Bear-san¡¯s rest shop.

    Not only Misa¡¯s group, but I will also bring Fina and Shuri.

    When we came to the store to get in the line before the store opened, there were already about 5 customers queued up. It makes me happy to think that they were looking forward to the bread and cakes in our shop.

    I took Noa and the others to the kitchen from the back door of the store. The smell of freshly baked bread drifts in the kitchen. When we greeted Morin-san and Elena-san, we got fresh bread, pudding, and cake and decided to eat at the corner of the store.

    [As expected, it¡¯s delicious. I envy Noa-oneesama and the others who can eat these at any time.] Misa

    [I agree with Misa¡¯s words.] Shia

    [But you can eat pudding and cake at the royal capital store.] Yuna

    Certainly, the store created by Eleanora-san and Zeref-san should¡¯ve been opened by now. I made bear statues there, so I try not to get close to it.

    [That shop is expensivepared to this shop, so it¡¯s not really that easy to eat there. Mother doesn¡¯t give me much pocket money either.] Shia

    Even though she is an aristocraticdy, she has a pocket money system.

    [I understand that. I can¡¯te every day because my father can¡¯t afford to casually spend money either.] Noa

    Noa also seems to be receiving pocket money. Well, it¡¯s better than having a spoiled kid who thinks she can get whatever and whenever she wants. If a child thinks he can get anything if he asks the adults, he¡¯ll grow up as someone who causes trouble to others.

    With that in mind, Cliff and Eleanora-san¡¯s education is solid.

    [That¡¯s why I ask L to get puddings and cakes here once a week.] Noa

    [Noa, that¡¯s unfair.] Shia

    [That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t eat it.] Misa

    For a moment, I thought Lara was being too sweet to her, but once a week it¡¯s eptable. It¡¯s no good if it¡¯s every day, though it¡¯s kinda cute and selfish.

    While we are having a conversation, the shop opens.

    When the shop opens, it became a big deal. The number of customers that were only about 5 people at first, increased steadily and there are no signs of stopping as the customers continue to enter the store. The seats in the store filled up quickly, and the children at work were busily moving around the store.

    [Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ll help them out.] Fina

    [Oneechan, me too.] Shuri

    Fina and Shuri volunteered to help and went behind the counter. It can¡¯t be helped then.

    [I¡¯m sorry you three, but I¡¯m going to help out, so the three of you just eat slowly.] Yuna

    When I stood up, Noa opened her mouth.

    [Yuna-san, I¡¯ll help out too.] Noa

    [Noa?] Yuna

    [Then me too.] Shia

    [If you two are helping, then so do I.] Misa

    When Noa offered to help, Misa and Shia also said so.

    Can these three aristocrats help the store?

    Thinking about it normally, I want to decline. I¡¯m happy with the feelings of the three, but I don¡¯t have time to teach work when we¡¯re this busy. If I say it badly, it will take more time and effort. I can¡¯t take care of it. And above all, these three are aristocrats. I wonder if they can get the job done properly.

    [Mill and everyone here are my friends and I yed together with them. I can¡¯t do it every day, but I want to help today.] Noa

    [As Noa-oneesama says.] Misa

    [I¡¯ll do anything, even washing the dishes.] Shia

    [Really? Then you¡¯ll really have to wash the dishes.] Yuna

    In the end, I couldn¡¯t refuse their offer, so I had these three help me with the store.

    6 children are helping the shop, 3 in the store and 3 in the kitchen.

    I¡¯ll have Misa and Shia wash dishes and cups in the kitchen. Normally, two aristocrats couldn¡¯t wash the dishes, but I only ask them that much. They told me they can wash the dishes, so I asked them to do so.

    I mean, that¡¯s the only job I have for them. They can¡¯t help making bread, and it¡¯s difficult to serve customers unless you¡¯re familiar with the store. In that case, there is no choice but to have them wash the dishes. However, they do not dislike it and they¡¯re properly washing the dishes. Besides, washing dishes is an important job in-store operation. If they were the ones washing the dishes, the children who were supposed to wash the dishes will be free, and they can help Morin-san make bread and Elena-san¡¯s cake.

    One of them prepares bread dough.

    [Morin-san, I brought the dough.] Child

    [Thank you.] Morin

    After Morin-san receives the dough, she creates a new batch of bread.

    Then another aristocrat, Noa, is making bear bread very seriously. She learned how to make bear bread from Fina before, and it seems that she sometimes makes bear bread with Lara-san at home. Bear bread requires a lot of work because you have to make the face carefully. However, Noa makes bear bread with a sense of familiarity.

    As expected, there are times when she just says,

    .

    [Noire-sama, you¡¯re good at it.] Mill

    [But I can¡¯t make various kinds of bread like Mill.] Noa

    I help Morin-san every day, so it¡¯s amazing that Noire-sama can even make bear bread.] Mill

    Noa and Mill are having a fun conversation.

    On the other hand, Misa and Shia were jealous of the situation, but we can¡¯t let those two who have no experience make it.

    Morin-san confirms the bread made by Noa and Mill, and when it is OK, she puts it in the stone oven with the bread she made. The bread is baked at the same time in three-stone ovens. Morin-san¡¯s eyes check how much the bread is baked. The children can do it just by baking, but the delicate baking condition is notparable to Morin-san¡¯s skill.

    [Yuna-chan, the bread is baked, so please go to the store.] Morin

    My job is to carry the bread. I actually wanted to make bear bread, but Noa is already making it, so my job was taken by her.

    I received the bread from Morin-san and carried it to the store. When I went inside the store, the children were moving around the store in the direction of Karin-san.

    [The fighting bear¡¯s table is empty, so clean it up! Also, the running bear¡¯s table please.] Karin

    [I¡¯ll go to the fighting bear.]

    [I¡¯ll clean up the running bear.]

    The two children who replied go to their respective tables without hesitation.

    When giving instructions for the table in the store. They are calling it with a bear figurine on the table. Both Karin-san and the children know everything about which bear figurine is on which table. So, if you say the name of the bear figurine, you will understand it immediately. When I saw it, I asked, <Do you want to number the table?> And she said <it¡¯s okay because we remembered everything>. By the way, both Fina and Shuri also know the table system.

    [Please also ask the customers at the bear holding the fish.] Karin

    Karin-san is looking around in the store and gives instructions to the children. The children move around ording to Karin-san¡¯s instructions. Fina and Shuri are also dressed as bears and helping the store.

    [<This bread and this bread?> <Would you like to eat it here?> <Thank you.>

    <It¡¯s ready.>] Fina

    Fina is confidently serving customers.

    [Fina, I brought a new batch of bread.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    Fina puts the bread I brought on the shelf. Then, when an order is received from a customer, she served the customer.

    Shuri wipes the empty tables and guides the customers. Fina and Shuri helped the store, so there was no confusion inside the store. The kitchen is also on the roll thanks to Noa and the others.

    When I saw the shop starting to settle down, I went to Anzu¡¯s shop.

    Anzu¡¯s shop is close to Bear-san¡¯s rest shop. Anzu¡¯s shop might also be in trouble. When I arrived at Anzu¡¯s shop, there was a long queue here as well. Anzu was practically screaming as I entered the shop.

    [U~u, I don¡¯t have enough rice. Forne-san, are you cooking the rice?] Anzu

    [I will be done soon, just a bit more.] Forne

    [Anzu-chan, add the grilled fish.] Nifu

    [Yes, I made the grilled fish earlier.] Anzu

    [Also, please give me a set of three kinds of rice balls and stir-fried vegetables.] Nifu

    [Forne-san, please give me the rice balls.] Anzu

    [Got it.] Forne

    In this shop, Anzu and Forne-san are in the kitchen, Seno-san and Betoru-san are in the dining area, and Nifu-san, whom they asked for help, is doing her best managing the floor.

    [Anzu, it looks busy in here, are you okay?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san? We¡¯re okay here. I¡¯m just d they¡¯ve been looking forward to my food.] Anzu

    Anzu happily answered. Anzu¡¯s shop doesn¡¯t get any help from the children. Normally, four people are enough to run this shop. Things like today are rare. Besides, Anzu¡¯s shop will calm down after lunchtime. This one seems to be okay, so I will leave Anzu¡¯s shop for now and return to Bear-san¡¯s rest shop. After lunchtime, everything calms down. The production of bread and cakes were halted.

    [Noa, Shia, Misa. Thank you. You were a great help.] Yuna

    [I only washed the dishes, though.] Shia

    [That alone was a big help.] Yuna

    [I wanted to make bread like Noa-oneesama.] Misa

    [Well, Noa was taught how to make bread by Fina, and it seems that she sometimes made some at home.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll also practice at home.] Misa

    No, I don¡¯t know if you can do it even if you practice at home, I¡¯ll have them make it at the store.

    Then, a small dinner party was held, including giving thanks to these three. The bear bread made by Noa was delicious.

    And so, after a few days, it¡¯s time for Misa and Gran-san to return to the town of Sheleen. I came to Cliff¡¯s mansion to see them off.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. It was fun. I would like to thank you again, so pleasee to the city of Sheleen. If you like it, bring Fina-chan and Shuri-chan as well.] Gran

    [Yes, we¡¯ll be in your care when that timees.] Fina

    [Misa-oneechan, see you again.] Shuri

    Misa and Gran-san returned to the city of Sheleen.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s a farewell to Misa.

    I also want to go to the city where Misa lives.

 Chapter 379 - 379 Bear-san Goes to the Royal Capital

    <strong>379 Bear-san Goes to the Royal Capital</strong>

    Misa returned, and a few dayster, Shia will also return to the royal capital. And I was responsible to be her escort.

    Shia, who learned that I would give Flora-sama a pressed flower, said, <Why don¡¯t you just go to the royal capital together with me?> I should have refused there. But if I go immediately after her return to the royal capital, it would seem that I have refused her because I don¡¯t like to go with her. Therefore, although it¡¯s a little troublesome, I decided to go to the royal capital with Shia.

    I declined the escort fee, but it was decided that I¡¯ll receive it through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    When Ie out of the town, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [If we return to the royal capital riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Cattleya will definitely be surprised.] Shia

    Cattleya was also very fond of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I haven¡¯t seen Cattleya since the school festival. It can¡¯t be helped because I have no chance to meet with her.

    [Now, which one should I ride?] Shia

    Shia asked me while stroking Swaying Bear. I¡¯ll have Shia ride on Swaying Bear, and I¡¯ll ride on Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, I¡¯ll be in your care.] Shia

    <Kuu-n>

    [Ooh, as expected, it¡¯s cute. I¡¯ve been thinking about it when we¡¯re out in the sea, but they¡¯re reallyfortable to ride. If I had Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, I coulde to Crimonia real fast.] Shia

    The horse that Shia got from the royal capital will be kept at Cliff¡¯s mansion. The horses in the royal capital and the horses in the Crimonia mansion are Cliff¡¯s horses after all, so it doesn¡¯t matter which ce they are now. Normally, it seems that she should take it with her when she goes back to the royal capital. Well, since they¡¯re aristocrats, there¡¯s no problem if they increase the number of horses by one.

    [We¡¯ll go on full speed, so try not to fall. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Please.] Yuna

    <<Ku-n >>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started running. I don¡¯t need to hide it from Shia anymore, so we¡¯ll speed up. We¡¯re faster than when I escorted Noa to the royal capital.

    [Yu, Yuna-san, isn¡¯t it too fast?] Shia

    [They can still go faster than this.] Yuna

    [Th, that¡¯s right! Swaying Bear-chan, is he okay?] Shia

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, it¡¯s fine to take a break. Just tell me when you¡¯re tired.] Yuna

    <<Ku-n>>

    For some reason, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sped up.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped off the road and now running in a road-less direction to shorten the time going to the royal capital.

    [Yuna-san, we¡¯re off the road.] Shia

    [It¡¯s okay because this is the shortcut.] Yuna

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, dashed through the grasnds, raced through the woods, and sprinted on the river without using bridges. Shia knows that they can run on water, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with it. Plus, it¡¯s time-saving.

    Then, at nighttime, I set up the bear house and stay overnight.

    Upon entering the bear house, Shia explored all the rooms. This is the second time she has entered this bear house. The first time was at Targui. At that time, she shouldn¡¯t be able to see inside the bear house in a hurry. Therefore, today should be as good as seeing the bear house for the first time.

    [I heard about it from Noa, but you really have a bath in here. And it also has bears on it.] Shia

    Shia moves around the house, found the bath, and makes a fuss.

    [I¡¯ll prepare the bath and the meal, so wait a minute.] Yuna

    [I will help you too.] Shia

    [It¡¯s okay because I¡¯ll just put hot water in the bath and take out the meal from the item bag.] Yuna

    I prepared the bath, then took some bread out of the bear box, and we had a simple dinner.

    [I¡¯ll show you the roomter, so you can go to bed after taking a bath.] Yuna

    [Usually, you cannot have a camp like this one. Also, traveling is very fast. Having Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, and an item bag that can hold even a house. Yuna-san, it¡¯s too convenient.] Shia

    Shea says such a thing while holding Swaying Bear in bear cub form.

    [Usually, I sleep under the night sky with only a nket. Of course, I can¡¯t have a bath either. If Yuna-san escorts me every time, I don¡¯t need to ask other people.] Shia

    Like the bear house, I think the bear box that can hold a bear house of this size is the most amazing. It¡¯s in a convenient bear puppet form that can also hold a huge number of monsters.

    And Shia calls out to me when she finishes her meal.

    [Yuna-san, why don¡¯t we take a bath together? The bath is very wide, so we can get in together.] Shia

    [I¡¯ll clean it up afterwards, so I¡¯ll take er.] Yuna

    I politely decline Shia¡¯s invitation.

    Taking a bath with someone of ??the same age as Shia is mentally damaging. I nced at Shia¡¯s breasts. They¡¯re definitely bigger than mine. If I try topare it, the pillows will get wet with tears.

    Although, I should be overtaking her in half a year or even a full year, so I¡¯ll be patient until then.

    [I think Swaying Bear is tired, so please get in with Swaying Bear.] Yuna

    I escape at the expense of Swaying Bear.

    [Then, you¡¯re getting in with me Swaying Bear-chan.] Shia

    Shia goes to the bath with Swaying Bear without knowing my real thoughts. After tidying up the dinner table, I guided Shia to the bedroom when she gets out of the bath.

    [We¡¯re leaving early tomorrow. Swaying Bear, if Shia oversleeps, wake her up.] Yuna

    [Swaying Bear-chan, I¡¯m counting on you.] Shia

    <Kuu-n>

    I took a bath with Hugging Bear and go to sleep with Hugging Bear.

    Petchi petchi, petchi petchi.

    The next day, Hugging Bear woke you up. I thank you and get up and go to prepare breakfast.

    [Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s way of waking someone up is terrible.] Shia

    Shiaes out while rubbing her belly. When I heard the story, it seems that she took a jumping body m.

    [That¡¯s because Shia doesn¡¯t get up properly.] Yuna

    I also heard that she was chatting with Swaying Bear untilte. You can¡¯t just keep talking with him like you¡¯re talking to your pet. Well, I can¡¯t say anything about people because I also talk to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [But isn¡¯t it too early to get up?] Shia

    [I don¡¯t want anyone to see the bear house, so we¡¯ll have to leave early.] Yuna

    Even if this is far from the highway, someone may still happen to find it.

    After eating breakfast, we left for the royal capital. We took a shortcut away from the road and arrived at the royal capital in the afternoon.

    [I can¡¯t believe it. We shouldn¡¯t be arriving this quickly.] Shia

    [Come on, let¡¯s get going.] Yuna

    After returning Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets, we entered the royal capital and I sent Shia home.

    [Well then, see you again.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, why don¡¯t youe inside and greet my mother?] Shia

    [Hmm, I¡¯m going to the castle, so I think I can meet her there.] Yuna

    If I enter the castle, there is a high probability that Eleanora-san will just pop out of nowhere.

    [Then, if you could meet my mother, could you tell her that I was back?] Shia

    [Got it.] Yuna

    After parting from Shia, I head to the castle.

    Going through the castle gate as usual. I said to the gatekeeper, <I¡¯ll be out soon, so no need to tell the king>, but he still rushes out, saying, <I can¡¯t>.

    Arriving at Flora-sama¡¯s room, knocking on the door. (Of course, with bear gloves removed.)

    Anju-san appears from inside the room.

    [It¡¯s Yuna-san, wee.] Anju

    She invited me to the room with a smile.

    When I entered the room, I saw Flora-sama holding a pen and writing something on a piece of paper.

    [Flora-sama, Yuna-san hase.] Anju

    [Bear-san!] Flora

    When she saw me, she suddenly has a big smile on her face. Seeing this smile makes me want toe to see Flora-sama more often.

    [What was Flora-sama doing?] Yuna

    [I was drawing Bear-san.] Flora

    Flora-sama lifts the paper and shows it to me.

    A picture that looked like a ck animal was drawn there. Apparently, the ck animal seems to be a bear. It¡¯s a cute childish picture.

    I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be an artist in the future, but it¡¯s good to have an artistic spirit from an early age. It fosters sensitivity.

    [This time too, you can draw Yuna-san¡¯s picture well.] Anju

    [Un!] Flora

    [Eh?] Yuna

    Wait a minute, I heard a word that I can¡¯t ignore. Perhaps, that ck animal is me? She was saying <Bear-san>. It¡¯s a ck animal from any angle. It¡¯s good enough to call it a bear with a hundred legs. But this is me?

    [Is this ck bear me?] Yuna

    [Yeah!] Flora

    Flora-sama affirms it with pure eyes.

    It¡¯s good to think that this is a picture drawn by a little girl. But I want her to at least understand how a human looks.

    Well then, I will give Flora-sama a pressed flower as a gift.

    [Thank you, Bear-san.] Flora

    [Then I¡¯ll decorate it in your room.] Anju

    When Anju-san receives the pressed flower in the frame, she hung it on the wall.

    [Bear-san, I¡¯ll give you this.] Flora

    Flora-sama presents me the picture of the ck animal she was drawing earlier with a smile. Of course, my reply has been decided.

    [Thank you. I will cherish it.] Yuna

    Flora-sama looks happy when I receive it. It¡¯s a picture drawn by Flora-sama. It might be a good idea to save it and show it to Flora-sama a few yearster.

    Then, while I was drawing with Flora-sama, Eleanora-san arrivedter than usual. However, there was only one person who entered the room. The King is nowhere to be found.

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re here. That means Shia is back?] Eleanora

    [She came back together with me.] Yuna

    [You escorted her. Thank you. I wonder if she enjoyed it too.] Eleanora

    [She had fun. Though I didn¡¯t expect that Shia wille to Crimonia.] Yuna

    I was surprised when Shia appeared with Lurina-san.

    [Since she heard about the story of the sea excursion, she insisted on going there. So what were you doing?] Eleanora

    Eleanora-san looks at the table. There are papers and a pen on the table, and a picture of a bear is drawn on the paper.

    [As usual, Yuna-chan is good at drawing.] Eleanora

    Looking at the bear picture I drew, she leaked such an impression. I was teaching Flora-sama and hoping that Flora-sama¡¯s drawing skills would improve as much as possible.

    [How about me?] Flora

    [Flora-sama is also good. This is Yuna-chan right here.] Eleanora

    She looks at the picture next to me and answers. That is the picture I got from Flora-sama earlier. Why am I only seeing the picture of the ck animal-like creature?

    Maybe I look like this to the others?

 Chapter 380 - Bear-san, Princess, and Two Other People Eat Ice Cream

    380 Bear-san, Princess, and Two Other People Eat Ice Cream

    [By the way, is the King and the Queen noting?] Yuna

    They usuallye even though I haven¡¯t called them. The gate soldier rushed inside too. It¡¯s also not strange for them toe to this room.

    [I don¡¯t know about the Queen, but His Majesty won¡¯te since he got work to do. So if you have a message for His Majesty or something delicious, then save it.] Eleanora

    Isn¡¯t that King... misunderstood that I¡¯ll bring food whenever Ie?

    Even if I do, I bring it for Flora-sama, not for that old coot.

    [What are we eating?] Flora

    Flora-sama reacted to the word food. Do you want to eat now?

    I thought for a moment and remembered that I have ice cream with me.

    [Do you want to eat cold sweets?] Yuna

    Because of the bear costume, I hardly notice the change in temperature. Whenever I noticed the heat, I¡¯ll immediately think of ice cream, but thanks to the bear costume, it didn¡¯te to my mind. Looking at Flora-sama, she¡¯s wearing thin, cute clothes.

    [Cold sweets? Is it delicious?] Flora

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Yuna

    [Then, I want to eat.] Flora

    I took out a cup of ice cream and a spoon from the bear box.

    [Ah, Yuna-chan. New food?] Eleanora

    [Since I knew that it was going to be hot when we went to the sea, I made cold sweets.] Yuna

    [Certainly. I want some too.] Eleanora

    As expected, you want to eat it too. I put Eleanora-san¡¯s portion and four other ice cream portions on the table.

    [Anju-san, this is for Anju-san, Zeref-san, the King, and the Queen. Could you please store them all in the freezer before it melts in the heat and bes unptable?] Yuna

    [Okay, then I¡¯ll hurry and put it in the freezer.] Anju

    Anju-san left the room with ice cream. I felt like I¡¯m forgotten something, but it may just be my imagination.

    [Well then, let¡¯s eat.] Yuna

    Flora-sama and Eleanora-san started eating ice cream.

    [Oh, it¡¯s cold and delicious!] Eleanora

    [Yeah, it¡¯s delicious!] Flora

    While I was watching those two, it also made me feel wanting to eat, so I took out my own portion and ate it.

    While the three of us were eating ice cream, the door opened without a knock. Perhaps I thought it was the King or the Queen, but it was different.

    [It¡¯s true! Yuna is here.] Tilia

    Entering the room was Flora-sama¡¯s sister, Tilia, the first princess of this kingdom. That¡¯s right! Ipletely forgot about her. Did I promise to call her or prepare food for her if Ie next time?

    So that¡¯s why when I took out the ice cream, I felt like I had forgotten something.

    [While I was walking in the castle, I heard <the bear came> and <there was a bear walking with>, so I thought maybe that bear went into Flora¡¯s room.] Tilia

    Tiliaes to us,ining.

    [And once again, you¡¯re outcasting me while eating something. Why doesn¡¯t Eleanora call me or even inform me!] Tilia

    I don¡¯t want to be told such a thing. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t call Eleanora-san either. And neither the king nor the queen was called. I never called anyone, you know? Everybody is justing here on their own!

    [Oneesama, are you angry?] Flora

    [I¡¯m not angry. Flora, is that delicious?] Tilia

    [Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.] Flora

    Flora-sama answered with a big smile. I could easily imagine the next words that wille out of Tilia after seeing that expression.

    [I want to eat it too.] Tilia

    The words I imagined dide out of her mouth.

    If Tilia knew that her portion was not prepared in the freezer here, she will make a big fuss the next time Ie here. I¡¯ll give Tilia an ice cream to deceive her.

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious. The shaved ice is also cold and delicious. But this is on a different level.] Tilia

    The shaved ice was just sprinkled with syrup on top of the ice. It¡¯s different from ice cream.

    [In this case, I think I want to eat this more than shaved ice.] Tilia

    [You¡¯ll upset your stomach.] Yuna

    It¡¯s not good to over-cool your stomach.

    [But whenever I came back from school, everyone was always eating such delicious food.] Tilia

    [I¡¯ll just make some corrections. I¡¯m just bringing it to Flora-sama, but then, the other people are justing here on their own. Even though I haven¡¯t called anybody.] Yuna

    [But still, you¡¯re preparing a lot for everyone, every time.] Eleanora

    [I¡¯m just making a lot and it¡¯s not for Eleanora-san.] Yuna

    [You don¡¯t have to say something mean, because everyone is looking forward to it.] Eleanora

    After that, Flora-sama had finished eating the ice cream and was still trying to eat it, but I didn¡¯t want her to get a stomachache, so I said to Anju-san who came back, <Let her eat it after tomorrow>. I then gave a generous amount of ice cream. And because of that, I had to send Anju-san back to the freezer again.

    Of course, I prepared Tilia and Eleanora-san¡¯s portions as well.

    After eating the ice cream, we began to continue drawing. Tilia, who was watching it, opened her mouth.

    [This is Yuna huh. Flora really likes Yuna. Sometimes I want Flora to draw oneesama too.] Tilia

    [Oneesama? Yeah, okay.] Flora

    And just how did you know that ck animal was me! I shouted in my heart. Is there anyone who can teach her how to draw? If you¡¯re a member of the royal family, you also have to study art, right?

    And so, I taught Flora-sama how to draw a bear. It¡¯s quite rare that the king and queen did note to this room, so I was able to spend a peaceful time with Flora-sama.

    [Now then, Flora-sama, I¡¯lle again.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Flora

    [If possible,e when I am here.] Tilia

    That¡¯s a tall order. Once school starts, there will be fewer holidays. The chances of our meeting will also be slim.

    So I answered:

    [I¡¯ll do my best.]

    That day, I thought I could go back to Crimonia, but Eleanora-san stopped me. As a thank-you for escorting Shia, I was invited to dinner and it was decided that I¡¯ll stay at her home.

    The next morning.

    [Yuna-san, please drop by at our house when youe to the royal capital next time.] Shia

    [Say hi to Noa and Cliff for me.] Eleanora

    After parting with Shia and Eleanora-san, I didn¡¯t go to the bear house and started walking in a different direction instead.

    I used the Mithril knife when I fought the Wyvern. Before that, I used it when I fought against Scorpion. Since I came to the royal capital, I went to Ghazal-san¡¯s shop for the knife¡¯s maintenance.

    As Ie to Ghazal-san¡¯s shop, I saw <it> holding a signboard with the word [bear]. As soon as you enter the store, you will be greeted by an iron golem. Standing tall without being melted properly. It¡¯s not a signboard dog, but a signboard golem.

    I lightly tap the iron golem before proceeding to the back of the store. There are no customers yet, probably because it¡¯s still early in the morning. From the back, you can hear ng, ng. The sound of iron hitting the iron.

    [Ghazal-san, are you there?] Yuna

    I called out to Ghazal-san while going to the back of the shop. Then, the sound of iron hitting the iron stops and a voice replied.

    [Give me a minute.] Ghazal

    Yeah, after his reply, the sound of iron hitting the iron starts again. And when I was wandering around the store, the sound of iron hitting the iron stopped and Ghazal-san came out.

    [Miss Bear? I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t let go of my work. So what¡¯s up for today?] Ghazal

    [It¡¯s been a while since thest time I¡¯vee to the royal capital, so I thought I¡¯d ask you for my knife¡¯s maintenance.You told me you¡¯ll do the maintenance for free after all.] Yuna

    He said that if I give him the iron golem, he will give me free maintenance for my knife. So I emphasized that.

    [I¡¯ll do the maintenance on the knife, even if you don¡¯t point that out.] Ghazal

    [By the way, are you doing all of these alone Ghazal-san?] Yuna

    I think it¡¯s hard to run this store by himself. Gordo-san has Nert-san, but Ghazal-san doesn¡¯t have anyone? Dwarven women looks younger, but men look like little uncles, and I don¡¯t know their age.

    [Well, I¡¯m alone now.] Ghazal

    Somehow, Ghazal-san is mumbling something. I won¡¯t pry deeper either. I¡¯m just normally wondering. I won¡¯t delve deeper.

    [Hey, let¡¯s get over your business, give me the knives.] Ghazal

    I take out two Mithril knives from the bear box and give them to Ghazal-san. Then Ghazal-san pulls the knife out of its scabbard and stares at it.

    [There seems to be no particr problem. It also looks like it¡¯s been properly maintained. Even so, I will maintain it for the time being. So, what in the world did you cut with it?] Ghazal

    [............] Yuna

    [Goblins, Wolves?] Ghazal

    [...Do I really have to say it?] Yuna

    You¡¯ll be surprised if I say it¡¯s Wyvern.

    [If you don¡¯t want to say it, then don¡¯t. But as a craftsman who made the weapon, I just want to know what you cut with it and got this weapon into this state. I¡¯m only wondering if you were fighting weak monsters, or rather, did you fought a monster with it? Or have been in a battle between weapons. Look at the weapons, they look practically the same then and now. So I just want to know as a craftsman who made these weapons.] Ghazal

    When he say that, I can¡¯t lie anymore, and I don¡¯t want to stay silent either.

    [Only if you make a promise that you¡¯re not telling anyone.] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t say anything to anyone. As I said, I just want to know how the weapons I made were treated, what they cut, and why they are in their current state.] Ghazal

    I honestly told him.

    [Etto, Wyvern.] Yuna

    [............] Ghazal

    [Before that, I also cut a big Scorpion, I think?] Yuna

    [............] Ghazal

    In my words, Ghazal-san looks at me and the knives he was holding alternately.

    [You¡¯re not kidding. Did you kill the Wyvern with it?...] Ghazal

    [It was so sharp that I was able to cut it quickly. The Wyvern¡¯s wings...] Yuna

    For some reason, I began to make excuses.

    [Even so, I¡¯m just surprised by the Wyvern or rather, Miss Bear¡¯s story. Also, about the big scorpion, some adventurers brought a part of its shell a while ago and it was quite amotion back then.] Ghazal

    He told me as if he remembered something unpleasant.

    Perhaps it was Jade-san¡¯s group who brought the big scorpion¡¯s shell?

    [Is that scorpion¡¯s shell rted to you?] Ghazal

    [Maybe. But did it really made that muchmotion?] Yuna

    [We dwarves mainly deal with metal, but I heard from an acquaintance about an armor made of monster skin and materials. Although it¡¯s just a part of the shell, it¡¯s quiterge and it quickly became a hot topic in the area.] Ghazal

    [U~wa, it made that kind ofmotion...] Yuna

    [Because there was only a part of it, <Where is the rest?>, <Does the adventurer have it?>, or <are there other adventurer who have it?>

    It looks like it was a big mess. I heard he even asked the adventurers, but he couldn¡¯t get any details in the end.] Ghazal

    Apparently, Jade-san and the others adventurers kept their promise about keeping my involvement.

    [No way, you were involved.] Ghazal

    [I just ended up defeating it. I didn¡¯t defeat it because I liked to. That¡¯s why the adventurer who were with me was given a hush money...] Yuna

    [So that¡¯s why the adventurer was silent about how he got it and the whereabouts of the rest of it.] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san seems to be convinced and he¡¯s nodding.

    [Even so, I¡¯m surprised about the big scorpion, but what about the wyvern?] Ghazal

    [I just ended up fighting it. I also didn¡¯t go and defeat it for myself.] Yuna

    I fought them to protect Fina and the others and prevent them from going to Mereera. I didn¡¯t go and defeat them for selfish reasons.

    [I understand the story. For the time being, I¡¯ll take care of it in the back, so please wait.] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san went to the back with the knives.

    Even so, I never thought that was the case with the scorpion. With this, it seems unlikely that the rest of the scorpion material can be easily sold.

    Well, then all I have to do is to have Cliff or the King pick it up.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Next time, the story of the new arc shoulde out?

    ¡ùPlease wait for a while to resume replying to your feedback.

 Chapter 381 - Bear-san Makes Pudding Using Big Eggs

    381 Bear-san Makes Pudding Using Big Eggs

    [It¡¯s done!] Ghazal

    The maintenance was over and the knife was returned.

    [Even though you fought against the wyvern and the big scorpion with it, it¡¯s almost pristine. It seems that the Miss Bear¡¯s handling is quite good.] Ghazal

    It makes me happy because he seems to beplimenting me. Well, if I use it badly and cause the de to bend or break, I¡¯d feel bad for Ghazal-san who made the knife.

    But weapons are also consumables. It can¡¯t be helped if it breaks and bes useless. But it will feel terrible if it breaks after a few battles.

    [Speaking of which, you said you want the ore you got at that time to be examined, but did you go to the city of dwarves?] Ghazal

    [There are so many things that happened so I haven¡¯t been able to go yet.] Yuna

    The Bearmonite is stored in the bear box.

    Since then, I¡¯ve been very busy. Going to Misa¡¯s birthday party, going to the elven forest, attending school festival, going to the desert, going to the sea. I didn¡¯t have time to go to the city of Dwarves. With that in mind, it¡¯s too much work for a hikikomori like me.

    But now I have the time, and if I go to the city of Dwarves, I want to go if I know more about the Bearmonite. But as the name suggests, Bermonite is definitely a tool item dedicated to me. Even though the dwarves are familiar with ores like it¡¯s their second nature, I have a feeling that someone will say <it¡¯s impossible>.

    And when ites to games, I simply solve mysteries and move on afterward. But since it¡¯s not a game, I¡¯m not really bothered by it if I don¡¯t know anything about Bearmonite.

    However, ever since I got it, I have a desire to analyze it. My gamer blood intensifies.

    I casually take out the Bearmonite.

    Are? Was it always in such color?

    I remember it was a strange round ore. It has be pure white. I took it out once more, it¡¯s still pure white.

    It was definitely not in this color back then.

    I checked it with my skills.

    ?Bearmonite, a mysterious ore.?

    The name and description haven¡¯t changed, but it seems that this is definitely Bearmonite.

    [It looks different than before.] Ghazal

    [Yeah, I¡¯ve never taken it out of the item bag since then, but it¡¯s the ore I got before.] Yuna

    Ghazal-san picks up Bearmonite.

    [Such a mysterious stone.] Ghazal

    I¡¯m not as surprised as Ghazal-san. Because it¡¯s Bearmonite. No matter what happens, I¡¯m not going to be surprised.

    [Don¡¯t you want to break it and check it.] Ghazal

    [Isn¡¯t breaking it supposed to be thest resort? Hey, there¡¯s something that bothers me about this stone, so you can¡¯t break it or shatter it] Yuna

    Bearmonite is a rare ore. It¡¯s more likely that I will never get another one. It¡¯ll be a problem if it gets destroyed rendering it useless.

    [That¡¯s true. In that case, we may never know. Unless it¡¯s master.] Ghazal

    [Does your master know? (About Bearmonite)] Yuna

    [He may know something about it because he travels around the world and seeing various ores. If he can¡¯t, I don¡¯t know anyone else who can.] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san seems sure with that person, it may be good to meet him at once. Even if he doesn¡¯t know about Bearmonite, if he¡¯s traveling around the world, he might hear some interesting stories.

    [If you¡¯re going there, please say hello to master for me.] Ghazal

    I thanked Ghazal-san and left the shop.

    If I go home right now, a normal round trip should take 3 days, so I will kill time before returning to Crimonia.

    Killing time means cleaning the bear house. When I returned to the royal capital¡¯s Bear House, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form. Then, I gave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear a rag each and asked them to clean the floor.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rolls around while holding a rag to wipe the floor.

    I¡¯ll leave the floor cleaning to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I¡¯ll go collect the futons. Then, using the bear gate, I¡¯ll hang it outside the bear house in the sacred tree of the elf vige. At the sacred tree, no one can see it. Only Ruimin and the others who can enter the barrier cane to the sacred tree.

    I also collected the ones we used in Mereera, the futons I used for my traveling, and dry them here. I have a bear box, so it¡¯s easy to collect those. If I didn¡¯t have a bear box, I would have to carry it one by one. So it¡¯s really convenient.

    The elf vige has good weather all year long and it¡¯s always a good day to wash. I collected theundry from all bear houses, washed it, and hung it to dry.

    After washing and cleaning, I took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bottom of the sacred tree. Then, when I return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to their original size, I took a nap on top of them instead of a bed.

    Then, in the evening, I woke up and hurriedly gathered all of my futons andundries.

    After adjusting the number of days appropriately and returning to Crimonia, I asked the members of the store group to gather at the store during the next holiday. From the morning, six members of the shop group will join Fina and Shuri¡¯s children¡¯s group.

    [Yuna-oneesan. What do you want to do now that everyone is here?] Fina

    [I got a rare egg, so let¡¯s make a pudding together.] Yuna

    [A rare egg?] Fina

    [Jajaaan!] Yuna

    I took out a big egg from the bear box along with my voice.

    [............]

    [............]

    [............]

    Are? The reaction of the children is weak.

    [Etto, maybe big eggs aren¡¯t that rare?] Yuna

    But ordinary eggs were rare, so that¡¯s not the case, right?

    [Is this really an egg?]

    [Well, that¡¯s got to be a lie. There¡¯s no such big egg.]

    [I¡¯m pretty sure that it¡¯s from a big kokekko.]

    [You don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a dragon¡¯s egg. It¡¯s a dragon¡¯s egg because the dragon is big.]

    [I¡¯ve never seen a dragon.]

    Apparently, they didn¡¯t understand the big egg, so they were having trouble reacting to it.

    The children looked at the huge spot-billed duck-sized egg and said various things like, <is it a dragon or a wyvern?>. Wait, are there vicious dragons here like in the game?

    [Yuna-oneesan. Is this really an egg?] Fina

    [It¡¯s so big.] Shuri

    Fina and Shuri also look at the mysteriously-huge spot-billed duck-sized egg and poke it with their fingers.

    [It¡¯s neither a dragon nor a big kokekko egg. But a big bird¡¯s egg swimming in ake.] Yuna

    [Big bird?] Fina

    [Hmm, about this much?] Yuna

    I opened my hands and express the size of the bird.

    [Is there such a big bird?]

    [Then, if you warm this egg, will a big bird hatch from it?]

    [Etto, isn¡¯t it impossible because the parent bird is not here? And also I think it¡¯s impossible to grow it unless there is big water like ake.] Yuna

    [May I touch Yuna-oneechan?]

    [Me too!]

    [It¡¯s okay, but be careful because it¡¯s heavy.] Yuna

    Children anxiously touched and carried the egg.

    [It¡¯s heavy and big.]

    [It¡¯s really heavy.]

    [I¡¯m next!]

    I¡¯m a bit worried about them dropping the eggs that the children are holding in their small hands.

    [You¡¯ll have your turn. Settle down, stop running. If the egg breaks, it¡¯ll be terrible so be careful.] Yuna

    Well, there are 8 people including Fina and Shuri. There are two eggs, so there isn¡¯t muchpetition. The egg returns safely.

    [And so, I¡¯ll make pudding with this egg, so can everyone help me?] Yuna

    [Yea!]

    [I¡¯ll help!]

    [But how will you break the egg? It¡¯s too hard.] Fina

    When breaking an ostrich egg, I¡¯ve seen it hit with a hard object such as a hammer to make a hole and take out the contents. Therefore, I took out the hammer that I prepared in advance from the bear box.

    [I¡¯ll use this!] Yuna

    [You¡¯ll break it with a hammer?] Fina

    [I¡¯ll only make a hole, but yeah, that¡¯s correct. I¡¯m not really familiar with it, so I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s another way to do it.] Yuna

    There may be a different way in this world, but I don¡¯t know, so I¡¯ll make a hole with this hammer.

    The mouth of the bear puppet is biting the hammer. And then I tap it lightly, but it doesn¡¯t break. When I hit it with a little more force, the egg cracked.

    [It¡¯s cracked?] Fina

    [A little more!] Yuna

    I tapped it again to open a hole.

    [Bring a bowl for the eggs.] Yuna

    [Okay.]

    When I received the bowls, I removed the contents of the egg from the hole. However, I couldn¡¯t take it out well, and the yolk was in a messy state.

    [Ah, the yolk broke.] Yuna

    The children were disappointed because the yolk got broke.

    Hmmm, it seems that it was a mistake to make the hole smaller in order to show the eggshells to other childrenter.

    This time, I made the hole bigger and take out the yolk in a clean state, the children cheered.

    [So big!]

    [This could be a big bird.]

    [Bird, I wanted to see it.]

    I want to show it to them, but I can¡¯t take it here, so it¡¯s impossible. The big bird can be brought in through the bear gate, but they cannot be raised over here, so they are only going to be used as food. I also eat kokekko, so there is no problem. Somehow it feels like it¡¯s going to be something else.

    [Alright, I¡¯m going to make pudding. I¡¯ll begin stirring it.] Yuna

    When I crushed the yolk, the words <Ah> and <She crushed it>e out.

    [Help me out here. Don¡¯t forget to prepare the tools and cups.] Yuna

    We split into two groups and started making pudding with the huge spot-billed duck-sized eggs.

    I¡¯ve heard that ostrich eggs are about 20 timesrger than chicken eggs. Since one normal-sized egg can make two puddings, the tworge eggs here can probably make 80.

    It¡¯s just a rough calction. However, even if it increases or decreases a little, the amount it can make satisfies the number to be distributed to the children of the orphanage and the people close to me.

    And with the cooperation of everyone, the pudding using huge spot-billed duck-sized eggs waspleted. I tried tasting it, but it was a vor-rich pudding with a different taste from the ones made from kokekko eggs.

    The finished pudding had huge spot-billed duck-sized eggshells together when I distributed the pudding. everyone was surprised by the taste of the pudding, but even more so, they were surprised by the size of the eggshells.

    Next time, I¡¯ll go to Karina along with kokekko.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    That¡¯s why Yuna is likely to go to the city of Dwarves. And she¡¯s making pudding with big eggs.

 Chapter 382 - Bear-san, Talks to Tirumina-san

    Chapter 382 Bear-san, Talks to Tirumina-san

    I have never gone to Targui ever since I got back to Crimonia. I may be a little worried, so today I will invite Fina to go to Targui.

    Early in the morning, I went to Fina¡¯s house and invite Fina.

    [So, It¡¯s only Oneechan today?] Shuri

    When I invited Fina to go out, Shuri speaks with a lonely expression. Certainly, I often take Fina with me and have Shuri stay at home. In Shuri¡¯s eyes, it may seem that Fina and I are always going out together.

    [I want to go with you too.] Shuri

    Don¡¯t look at me with such sad eyes. If we¡¯re going out on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I¡¯ll invite you toe along. This time I¡¯m thinking of going to the ind of Targui using the bear gate. If I bring Shuri with us, she will learn about the bear gate.

    Hmmm, what should I do?

    [Can¡¯t I?] Shuri

    Shuri looks down with a sad expression. Fina gently hugs the sad Shuri.

    [Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ll stay with Shuri today.] Fina

    [Oneechan......] Shuri

    I can¡¯t really separate the sisters who are so close to each other. And Shuri did not tell anyone about thest time we went to Targui. Shuri is not a child who breaks her promise. So I made my decision.

    [...Okay. Let¡¯s go together with Shuri, but you have to promise me one thing.] Yuna

    [A promise?] Shuri

    [Yeah, I have a secret. And I want you to keep that secret from Tirumina-san and Gentz-san.] Yuna

    To prevent her from talking about the bear gate to anyone, I need her to make a promise.

    [From mom?] Shuri

    [Yeah, keep it a secret to both of your mom and dad.] Yuna

    [Ara, that¡¯s quite an interesting topic you¡¯re discussing.] Tirumina

    [............] Yuna

    From behind, I heard the voice of a person whom I don¡¯t want to hear at this moment. Looking back slowly, I saw Tirumina-san.

    [What secret are you keeping from me?] Tirumina

    [............] Yuna

    They said humans couldn¡¯t make a voice whenever they were surprised, in my case, that seems to be true.

    [Mom, um... this is...] Fina

    Fina tried to exin, but she can¡¯t speak clearly and kept stuttering.

    [Why is Tilmina-san here? What about work?] Yuna

    [Today, I left Liz in charge so I can take care of my house¡¯s garden. Then I noticed that Yuna-chan hade to visit. And while I was listening to your conversation, you mentioned keeping something a secret from me. When I heard it, as a mother I couldn¡¯t just ignore it, so here I am.] Tirumina

    When I thought she went to work on managing the orphanage¡¯s clucker eggs, she was actually in the backyard.

    Certainly, as a mother of a little daughter, it is unavoidable to be worried when someone asked her daughter to keep a secret.

    [It¡¯s okay to go out with Yuna-chan, but as a parent, I¡¯m worried about the words you spout just now. Even though it¡¯s Yuna-chan, I¡¯m not letting my daughters do bad things.] Tirumina

    As a mother, Tirumina-san asked me with serious eyes.

    [We¡¯re not doing anything wrong.] Yuna

    [Then why do you need to keep it a secret from me and Gentz?] Tirumina

    [It meant not only to Tirumina-san and Gentz-san but everyone in general.] Yuna

    [I trust Yuna-chan, but can¡¯t you really tell me what that is?] Tirumina

    [............] Yuna

    I was thinking of telling Tirumina-san about the bear gate, but she doesn¡¯t give me time to think about it.

    [Fina, you¡¯re not doing anything wrong, are you?] Tirumina

    [Yes, I wasn¡¯t.] Fina

    [Then you can tell it to me.] Tirumina

    [That is......] Fina

    Fina got squeezed by her mother, but she¡¯s keeping her promise to me. When Fina looks at me and Tirumina-san alternately, she looks down.

    [Fina...] Tirumina

    At this rate, a fissure will be created between the parent and her child.

    [Tirumina-san, stop asking Fina. I asked Fina to keep quiet about it because it¡¯s my own secret. So Fina is just keeping her promise with me.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan¡¯s secret?...] Tirumina

    [It¡¯ll be a bit of a problem if people knew about it.] Yuna

    Tirumina-san nces at me and Fina.

    [...Haah, I get it. Fina, stop looking like that, mother was wrong. Fina just tried to keep Yuna-san¡¯s secret.] Tirumina

    [Mom......] Fina

    Tirumina-san smiled gently and ced her hand on Fina¡¯s head.

    [Yuna-chan, it¡¯s not something really bad or dangerous, right?] Tirumina

    [I swear it to the bear god.] Yuna

    But I¡¯m a bit reluctant to make Fina keep a secret from Tirumina-san anymore. So, I made up my mind.

    [Tirumina-san, will youe to my house?] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan!?] Fina

    Fina was surprised by my sudden announcement. I can¡¯t keep quiet about it anymore. I¡¯m also afraid to make Fina keep lying. Besides, it¡¯ll be difficult for me to invite Fina otherwise.

    [Is it okay? I do want to know about Yuna-chan¡¯s secret, but you can¡¯t tell it to others, right?] Tirumina

    [Thinking about the future, it¡¯s better to let Tirumina-san know about it. Also, I¡¯m reluctant to keep asking Fina to keep it a secret and I was nning to tell Shuri anyway, but please keep it a secret to others. I¡¯m begging you.] Yuna

    [If my lifesaver, Yuna-chan, asks me, then I¡¯ll keep quiet about it. But is that really okay?] Tirumina

    [It¡¯s okay, just keep it a secret.] Yuna

    [I understand. I swear to the bear god not to tell anyone.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san jokingly says and her smile was sparkly.

    I went back to Bear House with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri.

    [But do we need to go to Yuna-chan¡¯s house?] Tirumina

    [It¡¯ll be faster if I just show it and I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll believe it even if tell you anyway.] Yuna

    [Now I¡¯m getting nervous about that thing. You have too many secrets about you, Yuna-chan. So I¡¯m worried about what you¡¯re going to tell me.] Tirumina

    Do I have that many secrets?

    Family, ce of origin, bear costume, strength, money, cooking recipes, healing magic, summoned bears, bear phones, well now that I think about it I am full of secrets. Until now, I have not been asked thoroughly, but it may have been that Tirumina-san was just anxious.

    When I arrive at the bear house with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri, we entered the room where the bear gate was located.

    [It¡¯s a big door, but the door has a shape of a bear. So what¡¯s with this room?] Tirumina

    [Well then, Tirumina-san. Where do you think this door is connected if I open it?] Yuna

    [Where? The next room, isn¡¯t it?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san gives an answer usingmon-sense. No one would think that the end of this door leads to Mereera or the royal capital.

    [This door is a magical tool that connects to the ces where the same door is located, and I can use this door to go far away ces.] Yuna

    In my exnation, Tirumina-san looks at Fina once and then looks back at me with a serious expression.

    [...She¡¯s not kidding.] Fina

    I nodded.

    [I thought Yuna-chan was a really mysterious girl, but she¡¯s even more mysterious than I imagined. So where is this door connected?] Tirumina

    [I installed one in every ce I¡¯ve been to. Like the royal capital or Mereera. Would you like to go somewhere?] Yuna

    [Then, Mereera please.] Tirumina

    I opened the door while imagining the town of Mereera. Beyond the door was the room next to my room inside the Bear Building in Mereera. We moved to the next room and opened the window. The view of the blue sea spreads beyond the window.

    It¡¯s the sea where we yed during the employee trip.

    [It¡¯s the sea~!] Shuri

    Shuri shouted while looking at the sea from the window.

    [I never thought that you were lying, and now that I actually experienced it, I couldn¡¯t find the words to say. Moreover, Fina knew about this.] Tirumina

    [Yeah, I¡¯m sorry.] Fina

    [Don¡¯t be mad, because I¡¯m the one who asked her to keep quiet about this.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not mad. I¡¯m actually d she kept her promise with Yuna-chan. I¡¯ll scold her if she told your secrets to the others.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san strokes Fina¡¯s head.

    [Mom......] Fina

    Fina smiles brightly at Tirumina-san. Even families have their own secrets. But I don¡¯t want the rtionship between Fina and Tirumina-san to worsen because of me.

    [But I feel like she chose Yuna-chan over her mother, so I¡¯m a little sad. I wonder if this is the beginning of my daughter¡¯s growth and separation from her parents.] Tirumina

    [U~u ~ Mom.] Fina

    Fina got embarrassed.

    [But I¡¯m pretty convinced by this because sometimes she answered vaguely when I asked Fina,<Where have you been?>] Tirumina

    [Because I can¡¯t say we went to the royal capital.] Fina

    It seems that Fina had a lot of trouble. But with this, Fina and Tirumina-san no longer have any disputes. From now on, Fina can talk to Tirumina-san a lot of things without telling a lie.

    Then, I took everyone to the royal capital. And the first one to let her voice out was Tirumina-san.

    [The house in the royal capital is also a bear, huh.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san looks at the bear house in the royal capital. Bear houses are built in Crimonia, Mereera, the royal capital, the elf vige, Targui, and many other ces. That¡¯s because I went to many ces.

    [Mom, you can see the castle.] Fina

    In the direction where Fina was pointing, we can see the castle where the king lives.

    [I can¡¯t take any more of this. I can¡¯t tell anyone about this. Fina and Shuri, you can¡¯t tell this to anyone. Keep your promise with Yuna-chan.] Tirumina

    [Even Dad?] Shuri

    Shuri asks. That¡¯s right. There was Gentz-san. I didn¡¯t forget him. Although I sometimes forget about his existence.

    [I want you to keep it a secret.] Yuna

    [Yeah. Let¡¯s keep this a secret between girls.] Tirumina

    [Okay.] Fina

    [Un, girls!] Shuri

    It helps, but I don¡¯t know. Is it because I feel pity for Gentz-san?

    Then we went back to Crimonia after visiting the royal capital.

    And on their way home.

    [As expected, looking like a bear really stands out.] Tirumina

    She told me with a calm voice.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    In episode 382, Tirumina-san and Shuri learned about the Bear Gate.

    Yuna can now use Bear Gate with Fina and Shuri anytime.

    But only Gentz-san was left in the dark...

 Chapter 383 - Bear-san Explores Targui

    Chapter 383 Bear-san Explores Targui

    The day after Tirumina-san and Shuri learned about the bear gate. Today, using the bear gate, I went to the ind of Targui with Fina. And Shuri is also with us.

    Shuri is looking around after exiting the bear house.

    For the time being, I checked the surroundings with my detection skill, but there was no reaction from any monster. I then summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Yuna-oneechan. Isn¡¯t this the moving ind?] Shuri

    [That¡¯s right.] Yuna

    [Is it okay with all the monsters around?] Shuri

    She¡¯s a little worried and kept clinging to Hugging Bear.

    [It¡¯s okay because there are no more monsters. And if there is something dangerous, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will tell us.] Yuna

    <<Ku-n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear let out a cry like saying <leave it to me> expression. Shuri¡¯s anxiousness disappeared and she looks more relieved.

    [Then, can we pick flowers and fruits?] Shuri

    Now that she mentioned it, she did say that she wants to pick fruits back then and bring them as souvenirs, but she couldn¡¯t pick them because we were in a hurry trying to escape the ind.

    [Alright, let¡¯s bring back some fruits for Tirumina-santer.] Yuna

    [Yeah~] Shuri

    I want to bring some bananas home. I want to make a banana parfait and eat it.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what do you want to do now that we¡¯re here on this ind?] Fina

    [I¡¯m thinking of exploring it a little. Thest time I came here, I couldn¡¯t find anything because of various reasons. While I think it¡¯s okay now, I will still assign Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for guard duties.] Yuna

    We arrived at the stone monolith where the book of Kryna-Hark is. I poured magical power into the stone monument. Then stone monolith shined and the book of Kryna-Hark appeared just like before.

    [Do you want to read that book?] Fina

    [I couldn¡¯t read it thoroughly thest time, but I might need to do that. So today, I¡¯m thinking of going to the other side where I have yet to explore.] Yuna

    So if I have any questions, I¡¯ll look them up in a book. When ying the game, I feel like I¡¯m someone who feels uneasy when not reading manuals whenever it¡¯s avable. The same can be said here as well. I don¡¯t hate reading books and after ying a game, I have a habit of reading the guides/walkthroughs if there is something I don¡¯t understand. Besides, games these days have tutorials included, so there¡¯s no need for book manuals.

    And so, after getting the book, we started walking in the opposite direction of what we walkedst time.

    The area around Targui¡¯s head (the stone monolith where Kryna-Hark¡¯s book was) is a high cliff. And when you go to the back (opposite the head), the cliff bes lower. The first time we got on the ind is because the cliff behind it is low.

    [How far are we from the town of Mereera?] Fina

    Fina opens her mouth while looking at the sea.

    I look at the sea, but the horizon is wide and I can¡¯t see a single ind. All you can hear is the sound of the waves. I want to answer Fina¡¯s question, but I don¡¯t have the answer for her. Even if I use the bear map, the map is ck and only our current location is colored. The map cannot be zoomed out, so I cannot see the entire map. Therefore, it is unknown where Targui is currently heading to. I can imagine the position of the sun from the direction of travel to some extent, but I don¡¯t know the exact position.

    It may have drifted somewhere, or it may have changed its direction along the way. That¡¯s why only Targui knows where we are.

    Moreover, once you know the world map, you won¡¯t need to explore anymore. And so, one of the fun about traveling will be gone.

    In the game, it feels like a newnd/area has been unlocked. Thinking about it like that, traveling bes fun. One day I want Targui to pass by near an unfamiliarnd.

    [The wind feels good.] Fina

    Fina and Shuri¡¯s hair and skirt are fluttering in the wind. I look at myself. In my costume, my skirt and hair don¡¯t sway. I wonder what it is like to be a normal girl. But just because I¡¯m not wearing a skirt doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not a girl, however, when Ipare myself to Fina¡¯s appearance, our difference as a girl is miles apart.

    For the time being, I¡¯ll take off my bear hood to feel the wind. Certainly, a pleasant breeze blowing through my hair. But the moment I took my bear hood off, the sun was scorching. So I immediately put on my bear hood back.

    [Are you both okay? Isn¡¯t it hot?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m okay.] Fina

    [I¡¯m fine.] Shuri

    Apparently, Fina and Shuri are being raised properly, unlike me, who lived in an air-conditioned room. Sunshine is a big hurdle for a hikikomori. I can¡¯t live here without my bear equipment on.

    But I wish I had hats for Fina and Shuri to wear.

    [And it¡¯s dangerous if both of you go too far towards the sea.] Yuna

    In my words, they left the cliffside. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are on their side, so they¡¯re not in danger, but let¡¯s be careful either way.

    We enjoyed the sea and started walking towards the rear end of Targui. The scenery that is not so different from the other side continues. One side is the sea and the other is the forest. There is a small mountain in the center and the second hole of Targui.

    [Yuna-oneechan, there is a path.] Shuri

    As Shuri said, there¡¯s a path leading into the forest. But today, my goal is to go around the ind of Targui, so I won¡¯t make a detour. I¡¯ll just take out a piece of paper and make a light note of it.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what¡¯s that?] Fina

    As we go downhill, Fina points to the front. Up ahead, to where she¡¯s pointing to is a simr stone monolith where Kryna-Hark¡¯s book can be found.

    Certainly, it should be around here?

    I turned the pages of Kryna-Hark¡¯s book.

    Yeah, that¡¯s right. It was written that this is the ce where one can escape in case of emergency. This stone monolith also seems to have been left unattended for a long time and was really dirty, so I cleaned it with water magic.

    Etto, what¡¯s written in it?

    ?Emergency escape ce.?

    I knew it, this is the ce that was written in the book.

    ?How to escape from this ind, the vortex may weaken periodically. At that time, touch the stone monolith and say release. A ship will appear.?

    What does it mean a ship will appear?

    [Can I touch it, Yuna-oneechan?] Shuri

    Shri seems eager to touch the stone monolith. However, I will decline her request and not act arbitrarily.

    [Hmm, I don¡¯t know what will happen, so I¡¯ll do it. You two, stay close to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Uu, I wanted to try it.] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan, please be careful.] Fina

    Fina held Shuri¡¯s hand and moved close to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. After confirming that, I touched the stone monolith and chanted <release>. At that moment, a ship appears on the beach.

    [It¡¯s a ship~] Shuri

    What appeared was a medium-sized ship that could easily amodate about 20 people. At the same time as the ship appeared, a rope appeared on the stone monument, and the ship was fixed in ce. It seems that you can steer the ship after removing the rope.

    Apparently, it was an emergency escape ship.

    [The ship is swaying a lot.] Shuri

    As Shuri said, the ship was violently swaying with waves and whirlpools. It is fixed with a rope, but the ship will break if it¡¯s left as it is.

    If I can take it out, I should also be able to put it away. I touched the rope tied to the stone monument and thought about the ship returning to the monolith. Then the ship disappeared.

    [The ship has disappeared.] Shuri

    [It looks like it went back inside the stone monolith.] Yuna

    [Maybe it¡¯s the same as an item bag?] Fina

    I checked it in Kryna-Hark¡¯s book.

    As expected, it¡¯s the same as an item bag. By unlocking it, anyone can summon the ship. We were supposed to get on this ship and escape during an emergency.

    Kryna-Hark is like a saint. To think he would set-up these things even after he wasn¡¯t here anymore. The same can be said with this book, he left notes about Targui. But then, about the sakura tree, to ce a stone monolith nearby just to take note under the sakura tree. I knew it, he¡¯s doing more dangerous stuff than just writing a book.

    There was another stone monolith nearby, but I don¡¯t know if it was already used or the ship wasn¡¯t built yet, but nothing came out when I tried it.

    Then, we go around the ind andplete the handwritten map. It was a meaningful day as I was able to discover various interesting ces and fruits.

    Of course, I collected said various fruits. It¡¯s a treasure ind after all. I have already decided to make this ind as my own personal grocery store.

    The next day, when I came to the store, the children were making bread with bright faces.

    [Did you get your clothes?] Yuna

    [Yeah, thank you, Yuna-oneechan.]

    After we came back from the sea, the children were working with tired faces that are saying <it¡¯s hot>. Moreover, the temperature was always high because the kitchen has stone ovens. I said, <You can take off your bear hoodie so you can work while feeling refreshed>.

    [If I don¡¯t wear Bear-san¡¯s clothes, it wouldn¡¯t feel like I¡¯m working in Bear-san¡¯s rest shop.]

    [I want to work in Bear-san¡¯s clothes.]

    That was the reply that I got.

    [I¡¯m also telling you to wear somethingfortable because I don¡¯t want to stumble.] Morin

    Morin-san was also worried.

    I remembered the cloak worn by Jade and the others I met back in the desert. It¡¯s a good idea to make something simr to that cloak with a cooling function. So I asked Sherry for a spare bear hoodie and install water magic stones in it to relieve the heat. It seems that it waspleted.

    [They look rxed, aren¡¯t they?] Karin

    Karin-san is watching the children working with refreshed faces.

    [If so, does Karin-san also wear a bear hoodie?] Yuna

    [Not a chance!] Karin

    You don¡¯t have to refuse that much.

    Morin-san has been making bread for many years, so she said she¡¯s already resistant to heat, but should I equip the kitchen with a cooling system?

    I used the ice magic stones and wind magic stones and created an air-conditioner-like-thing.

    [Morin-san, please use this when it gets really hot.] Yuna

    By the way, Karin-san also asked me to put one in the store, but I rejected it because the customers will stay longer than they have to.

    [In that case, Karin-san should just wear a bear hoodie.] Yuna

    I offered her once again.

    [Uu, only during summer...] Karin

    She started worrying for the future.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Can I start with this?

 Chapter 384 - Bear-san Decides to Go to Ludnik, The City of Dwarves.

    384 <strong>Bear-san Decides to Go to Ludnik, The City of Dwarves.</strong>

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re going to Ludnik?] Nert

    I decided to go to the dwarven city of Ludnik. So I came to see the cksmiths Gordo-san and Nert-san before I left.

    [That¡¯s why, if you have a message or a letter to an acquaintance, I will deliver it.] Yuna

    [Hey, Yuna-chan is going to Ludnik!] Nert

    Gordo-san, who seemed to be in the back, came after Nert-san called him.

    [Give my regards to my master.] Gordo

    Gordo-san, after saying his piece, tried to turn back but Nert-san hit his head before he could escape.

    [Even though Yuna-chan came all the way here you¡¯re showing her such an attitude? I¡¯m sorry. We haven¡¯t returned since we left Ludnik and I¡¯m wondering what should I do with Gordo.] Nert

    [Do you send letters at least?] Yuna

    [We send letters once a year.] Nert

    In that case, they¡¯re better than Sanya-san. Dwarves are different from elves after all.

    [So, why do you want to go to Ludnik?] Nert

    [I found a rare stone, so I want to go there and have them look at it. Also, I want to go and see what the city of Dwarves looks like.] Yuna

    Aka. Killing time. What I mentioned was the Bearmonite. Though, I¡¯m not really expecting anything from the stone.

    [A rare stone?] Nert

    I took the Bearmonite out of the bear box.

    [It¡¯s a stone that I¡¯ve never seen before, and you want to go to Ludnik because you want to see the city of Dwarves?] Nert

    [I¡¯m kind of curious about that stone, and visiting a different city is my hobby.] Yuna

    It¡¯s been a long time since I visited another city in this world. There were no dwarves in my former world, so it¡¯s fun to see their livelihood.

    [Then wait a minute. I¡¯ll have Gordo write a letter now.] Nert

    Nert-san told Gordo-san to write a letter.

    [Don¡¯t you want to write one Nert-san?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t have any rtives.] Nert

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t worry. Yuna-chan, the kids you are looking after have no parents. I¡¯m the same. So when this guy, Gordo, said he was leaving the city, I went with him.] Nert

    [Looks like you¡¯re on good terms.] Yuna

    [Well, I was saved from loneliness because I have Gordo.] Nert

    Gordo-san turns his back on Nert-san¡¯s words. Are you shy?

    But it¡¯s a sweet rtionship.

    [Here are my letters. It¡¯s addressed to my master and my parents. I also wrote about my daughter. If anything, they should be able to help you.] Gordo

    After Gordo-san wrote the letters behind Nert-san with his back turned. He ced it on the table and I receive it. On the back of the letter, the words, <master> and

    were written. And if you look closely, you can see something that looks like addresses.

    [I will deliver it properly.] Yuna

    [Even though it¡¯s you, Yuna-chan, be careful out there.] Nert

    [It¡¯s okay because I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me.] Yuna

    After receiving the letter, I left the store.

    I went to Tirumina-san¡¯s residence to tell Tirumina-san and Fina that I was leaving Crimonia for a while. Tirumina-san was there, but Fina and Shuri weren¡¯t around.

    [Are you going out for a job in another city and it will take a while?] Tirumina

    [No. I¡¯m thinking of going to Gordo-san¡¯s hometown, the city of Dwarves.] Yuna

    [The city of dwarves? I¡¯ve heard about it when I was an adventurer. It must have been quite far.] Tirumina

    Of all of the bear gate I have set up, the closest one I can depart from was the elf vige.

    [It shouldn¡¯t take long because I have a bear gate near the destination.] Yuna

    If I depart starting from Crimonia by horse-drawn carriage, it will take a long time. However, if I use the bear gate, followed by riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I can save a lot of time.

    [That gate is really convenient, huh.] Tirumina

    [I have to go there at least once so I can install it, though.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s still convenient enough.] Tirumina

    I¡¯ve been indebted to the bear gate. I can go to the royal capital as if I¡¯m just walking in the neighborhood.

    [If anything happens, please contact me, I¡¯ll return quickly.] Yuna

    Fina has a bear phone so they can get in touch with me quickly.

    [Normally, even if you say that you can easilye back, you can¡¯te back. However, Yuna-chan can really do it, so I can¡¯t really say anything about it. Also, that thing, Fina¡¯s bear phone. Usually, it¡¯s difficult to keep in touch with people far away, but with it, it¡¯s easy to talk to you no matter where you are.] Tirumina

    [Please keep that a secret.] Yuna

    [But then, are you going to leave Fina? I thought you¡¯d take Fina with you. You can take her with you, you know?] Tirumina

    [You¡¯re permitting me to take your daughter that easily?] Yuna

    [Because Yuna-chan¡¯s credibility increased due to what happenedst time. Even if you faced something dangerous, you cane back by using that gate. Also, I heard from Fina that you always took good care of my daughters. And if a monster appears, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan will protect them as their escorts. However, never take them to a dangerous ce. If there is something dangerous, you have to escape through the bear gate.] Tirumina

    Is she talking about the time during Noa¡¯s escort, mining, or Targui?

    [If Yuna-chan cares so much about my daughter, you can take her with you. Also, the experience of going to various ces is not easy toe by. If Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t have a problem with taking her, and she wants to go, then by all means.] Tirumina

    [Tirumina-san...] Yuna

    [Because of my illness, I made her struggle. I want her to be free.] Tirumina

    [What about Shuri?] Yuna

    [Hmm, isn¡¯t it still too early for her? And if both Fina and Shuri are gone, Gentz will be sad.] Tirumina

    After bing a family, Gentz-san seems to have be sweet to Fina and Shuri. It seems that he is happy to be called <Dad>. Apparently, Gentz-san was a genuine doting parent.

    [Fathers are often told that they are dirty or smelly, and they are treated as an obstacle. I used to think that way too.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san thinks of the old days. I feel sorry for Gentz-san, but it seems unavoidable when his children grow up.

    Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t asked about it until now, but I wonder about Tirumina-san¡¯s mom and dad if Fina and Shuri still have grandpa and grandma. Although considering that Tirumina-san¡¯s parents weren¡¯t there when she was ill, that may not be the case.

    While Tirumina-san and I are talking, the front door opens.

    [I¡¯m home~] Fina

    [I¡¯m back~] Shuri

    The voices of Fina and Shuri came from the front door. Then they go to the room where we are.

    [Mom, I bought what you asked me.] Fina

    [I bought it ~] Shuri

    [Thanks, both of you.] Tirumina

    It seems that the two of them went out shopping at the request of Tirumina-san. There are various vegetables in the carrying bag.

    [Yuna-oneechan?] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    Both of them noticed me and moved beside me.

    [Why is Yuna-oneesan here? Are you asking mom about something?] Fina

    [I¡¯ll be leaving the city for a while, so I¡¯m leaving the shops and Kokekko to her.] Tirumina

    [Yuna-oneechan, are you going somewhere?] Shuri

    I exined to them what I told Tirumina-san.

    [Hey, remember when I picked up a stone in the mine and showed it to Ghazal-san? it seems that he didn¡¯t know anything about it, so he told me about the city of dwarves where the dwarves live.] Yuna

    [Oh, yes. I remember that. When we asked Ghazal-san for a mithril knife.] Fina

    Supposedly, it was just a little conversation, but she still remembered it.

    [Fina. If you want to go with Yuna-chan, you can go.] Tirumina

    [Mom?] Fina

    [Yuna-chan will take you if you want to go.] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san wants to leave Fina¡¯s independence to her.

    [I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s fun because it¡¯s a dwarven city. But, would you like to go with me? I also want someone to talk to along the way.] Yuna

    [... I want to go if I¡¯m not a bother to Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    Fina is a little reluctant to speak.

    [You¡¯re not bothering me. It¡¯s actually more fun than going alone.] Yuna

    [Then I will go.] Fina

    Fina smiles happily at my words.

    And so, Fina decided to go with me. That¡¯s why Fina decided to go with him. Shuri wanted to go too, but since we¡¯re going somewhere far away, she has to stay at home. And since Fina wasing with me, the role of answering the bear phone went to Shuri. Tirumina-san and Fina were worried, but if they could contact me, then that would be good enough.

    Shuri happily sped the bear phone.

    A few dayster, I took Fina to the Elven Vige using the Bear Gate. First off, I went to the elf vige by myself once, and after going out of the barrier of the sacred tree, I made a new bear gate and get Fina from there.

    I don¡¯t know what will happen to Fina inside the sacred tree¡¯s barrier. I couldn¡¯t give it a try, so I had to go through a tedious procedure.

    But then, all I have to do was install and open the bear gate outside the barrier.

    [Where are we?] Fina

    Fina, who came out of the bear gate, looks around. However, there are rock walls around us, and there is only a forest up ahead, so there is nothing to indicate the current location.

    [Well, that time, I went from the royal capital to the city of Larousse..., crossed a big river..., entered the woods that leads here?] Yuna

    I answered while trying to remember about it.

    [I don¡¯t know about that.] Fina

    That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it?

    [Simply put, a ce where elves live far away. It¡¯s an elven vige.] Yuna

    [We are in an elven vige?] Fina

    [Some time ago. I went here with Sanya-san. And, at that time, I installed a bear gate.] Yuna

    While I¡¯m exining the stuff that happened to Fina, I heard footsteps running through the forest.

    [Oh, Yuna-san is here. I¡¯m sorry. I waste.] Ruimin

    What appeared was Ruimin, an elf girl with light green hair.

    Yesterday, I contacted Ruimin with the bear phone to tell her that I will go to the Elven Vige and she said she would pick me up. Even though I said it wasn¡¯t necessary.

    [Yuna-san, is that the girl you mentioned yesterday? Fina-chan, was it?] Ruimin

    [She¡¯s Fina, my lifesaver.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan! Please stop introducing me like that!] Fina

    Fina yelled at me while hitting me with her fist making a pokopokopoko sound. But it doesn¡¯t hurt.

    [I¡¯m Ruimin. Yuna-san is my lifesaver. She helped me when I was in trouble.] Ruimin

    [Etto, I¡¯m Fina. Yuna-oneesan helped me when I was being attacked by monsters. Nice to meet you.] Fina

    Fina corrected my introduction of her and introduced herself.

    But aren¡¯t they both introducing themselves in a kinda weird way?

    Usually, I think things should go like, <I¡¯m Ruimin the Elf> or <I¡¯m Ruimin, the sister of Sanya who is the guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Royal Capital>.

    And Fina should be saying, <I¡¯m from Crimonia>.

    [[We were saved by Yuna-san/Yuna-oneesan!]] Ruimin x Fina

    [Okay then.] Yuna

    Somehow, as soon as they met each other, they immediately had a good rtionship.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It is the chance meeting between Fina and Ruimin.

    I hope they can get along well.

 Chapter 385 - Bear-san Comes to the Elf Village

    Chapter 385 Bear-san Comes to the Elf Vige

    Fina and I head to the Elven Vige with Ruimin who came to pick us up. These two, Fina and Ruimin, are walking next to me.

    [Even so, Fina knew about Bear-san¡¯s gate.] Ruimin

    [I didn¡¯t even think Ruimin-san knew about Bear-san¡¯s gate either.] Fina

    [Only Fina¡¯s family and Ruimin¡¯s family knew about it.] Yuna

    Not the whole family though, only two rtives each. Come to think of it, both of them are in a simr environment.

    [But I didn¡¯t think I would have to do theughter of hell magic contract the moment I found out about Bear-san¡¯s gate.] Ruimin

    [Magic contract?] Fina

    [Yeah, if I try to tell Yuna-san¡¯s secret to others, I will suffer an endlessugh. It¡¯s painful to the point where I can¡¯t even breathe.] Ruimin

    Ruiminughs and makes a painful expression.

    I saw Sanya-san and Mumroot-sanughing, but their expressions seemed like they swallowed a bitter bug even though they were smiling. What¡¯s so funny about that? I can think of some reasons for someone tough, likeughing when you hear a funny story,ughing when your body was being tickled, and eatingughing mushrooms, but which one was it?

    [To begin with, it wasn¡¯t me who said it, but Ruimin¡¯s grandfather who proposed to make aughter hell contract. It was a contract that will make youugh to death.] Yuna

    [But if she talked about it to anyone, it¡¯ll be aughing hell, right?] Fina

    [If she didn¡¯t, then it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    It¡¯s okay if she doesn¡¯t try to tell the secret of my bear panties to others like some elf. I have to make her take the secret of bear panties to her grave.

    [How much does Fina-chan know about Yuna-san?] Ruimin

    [Maybe Ruimin knows what Fina already knows. On the contrary, there are many things Fina knows that Ruimin doesn¡¯t.] Yuna

    [But, if I talk about it to Ruimin-san, will I experience aughing hell too?] Fina

    [Fina, you don¡¯t have a contract, so you¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s good then.] Fina

    Fina has a look of relief.

    [So then, Fina-chan knows about the bear phone too, right?] Ruimin

    Ruimin took the bear phone out of her pocket. Then, Fina followed suit and took out her bear phone in the same fashion.

    [Yuna-oneesan. Can I talk to Ruimin-san and Shuri with this bear phone?] Fina

    Fina looks at Ruimin¡¯s bear phone and her own bear phone.

    By the way, I had never experimented with it. Until recently, only Fina and Ruimin had bear phones. Moreover, they didn¡¯t know each other, so they never tried it.

    However, when I gave one to Shuri, it became three. Also, Fina and Ruimin got to know each other. Using her bear phone, Fina can actually talk to Shuri and Ruimin.

    However, talking about the bear gate is a delicate topic.

    [I haven¡¯t tried it before, so how about trying itter?] Yuna

    [Is that so? Then can I try itter? If I can connect, then I want to talk to Shuri.] Fina

    Fina dly holds her bear phone close to her chest.

    [That¡¯s fine and all, but we will arrive at the vige soon, so try itter.] Yuna

    [Then, Fina-chan. Let¡¯s try itter.] Ruimin

    [It¡¯s okay to test it, but do it without anyone around.] Yuna

    [[Yes!]]

    When we arrive at the elf vige, the passersby are greeting us, maybe they remember me. About a month ago, the barriers were weakening and they were worried about monsters, but now, they have bright expressions. It¡¯s such a peaceful sight to behold.

    [Yuna-oneesan, are all the people here elves?] Fina

    Fina is looking around strangely.

    Many people have long ears and green hair, which aremon characteristics of elves. Of course, there are elves with different colored hair, but a lot of them have green hair.

    [Is it unusual for Fina-chan to see an elf?] Ruimin

    Fina shakes her head to Ruimin¡¯s question.

    [The guild master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Royal City is an elf. I also see some in the city and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but I¡¯ve never seen this many in a single ce.] Fina

    That would be Sanya-san.

    [Sanya-san is Ruimin¡¯s older sister.] Yuna

    [Really!?] Fina

    Fina is surprised at the fact that Ruimin and Sanya-san are sisters.

    [I also just found out the other day. She knows Fina-chan and your sister.] Ruimin

    [Yes, I met her several times. She¡¯s a beautiful person, isn¡¯t she?] Fina

    Ruimin was happy when her sister Sanya-san was praised. I think Ruimin will be a beautiful woman herself in the future.

    Then, when we got to the square near the center of the vige, we can see the children ying. When the children discovered me, they ran up to me.

    [It¡¯s a bear~]

    [It¡¯s Bear-san~]

    [It¡¯s Ruimin-oneechan]

    The elven children were making a fuss and began surrounding us. Before I realized it, many children were gathered around me.

    [Everyone, don¡¯t bother Yuna-san. She won¡¯t be able to walk properly.] Ruimin

    [Eh~]

    The children were pulling my arms and clothes.

    [To grandpa... You all made a promise to him a long time ago, right?] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks like an older sister watching over the younger children. Then, after the children replied <Yes>, they left.

    I was saved because they couldn¡¯t disclose the details about me. But it seems that the words of Mumroot-san, as the chief, have a lot of weight.

    [Thank you, Ruimin, but you also do seem to be an older sister.] Yuna

    [Because I am an older sister.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks proud.

    As the children moved away from us, someone called out from elsewhere.

    [I heard amotion, but it looks like Yuna came. And you¡¯re still dressed like that, I see.] Ravirata

    Elven youth? it seems Ravirata was the one who came. (TN: (¥é¥Ó¥é¥¿ = Rabirata) formerly known as Labta, ch 218 of X&M.)

    [And you still have that sour look on your face as always.] Yuna

    [Hmph. You can stay in the vige as much as you like, but don¡¯t cause any trouble in the vige, you hear?] Ravirata

    Ravirata shed a smile and then disappeared somewhere.

    [What was that about?] Yuna

    [Fufufu, he¡¯s watching over Yuna-san who saved the vige.] Ruimin

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Maybe if I didn¡¯t stop the children, Ravirata-san would have stopped them instead, so please don¡¯t hate him.] Ruimin

    [I don¡¯t really hate him.] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t dislike what he did because I wasn¡¯t harassed. He even whispered thank you before he goes. Maybe that¡¯s his attitude towards everyone, not just me. There are those kinds of people who are awkward to everyone.

    [Now then, Yuna-san. You want to meet grandpa, right?] Ruimin

    [Yeah, I have something to ask of him.] Yuna

    I was thinking of asking Mumroot-san about Dezerto city. Was he really that same Mumroot-san, the elf who first captured that pyramid? There¡¯s a possibility that they only share the samest name, the same first name, and the same race.

    [So can I see Mumroot-san right now?] Yuna

    [Of course. If Yuna-san wants to see grandpa he will be d to, since you¡¯re our benefactor. The one who saved our vige.] Ruimin

    [A benefactor, huh. That¡¯s quite an exaggeration.] Yuna

    [She mentioned it earlier but, Yuna-oneesan, did you save this vige?] Fina

    [I just defeated a few monsters. They¡¯re just exaggerating.] Yuna

    [I wouldn¡¯t call it a few though.] Ruimin

    While Ruimin was trying to emphasize my deeds, we arrived at Mumroot-san¡¯s house. In front of the house, Mumroot-san was sitting in a long chair. Maybe he¡¯s basking in the sun?

    [Grandpa, Yuna-san is here.] Ruimin

    [Bear Missy?] Mumroot

    [Mumroot-san, it¡¯s been a while.] Yuna

    [Missy, you¡¯ve beening here quite often, you know? Did youe here to pick up the sacred tree tea leaves and mushrooms?] Mumroot

    [I want that too. However, it¡¯s a different matter today. Ruimin, I¡¯m sorry, but can you guide Fina around the vige? I have something to ask Mumroot-san.] Yuna

    [Okay, then Fina-chan, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll show you around the vige.] Ruimin

    Ruimin holds Fina¡¯s hand and starts running. Fina grabs Ruimin as she is about to fall.

    We¡¯re the only ones left here, so I¡¯ll begin the conversation with Mumroot-san.

    [So what would you like to ask, Miss?] Mumroot

    [Mumroot-san, do you know Dezerto city?] Yuna

    [Dezerto city?] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san tilts his head.

    Mumroot-san thinks real hard.

    Mumroot-san tries to remember and now touching his forehead.

    I decided to inject additional information into Mumroot-san¡¯s brain.

    [It¡¯s a city surrounding ake in the middle of a desert with a pyramid nearby.] Yuna

    [............!] Mumroot

    Pon!

    Mumroot-san makes a gesture of dropping the fist of his right hand on the palm of his left hand.

    [Oh, the desert city of Dezerto. Now that¡¯s a nostalgic story.] Mumroot

    Apparently, he finally remembered it. From his reaction, it looks like it really was the person himself.

    [Then, was it Mumroot-san who captured thebyrinth of the pyramid? Some time ago, I went to Dezerto city, and when I was talking to the lord of that city, the name of a certain elf, Mumroot-san, came out. So I got curious.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s definitely me. I¡¯m sure it was a city that I made with my fellow adventurers when I was young.] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san was talking to me while reminiscing about his past.

    ording to him, when Mumroot-san and his friends cleared thebyrinth, they went outside, the water sprang up, and theke was created. And so, they made a resting ce so that people who were traveling in the desert could enjoy their break, then pedlers gradually started gathering, followed by people who grow crops, people who raise livestock, people who build buildings as their livelihood also gathered. Eventually, the city has been created.

    He also said that Karina¡¯s ancestor was Mumroot-san¡¯s adventurerpanion who managed it.

    [We made walls when we learned that the temperature was controlled by barriers around theke.] Mumroot

    [When I told thendlord about Mumroot-san, he said he would like to meet you.] Yuna

    [Well now, you went to the town made by Quat and Cyan. Is the city they made still being protected by their offsprings?] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san speaks nostalgically.

    [Then, are you going to Dezerto city next time?] Yuna

    [I do want to see the children of those guys, but I can¡¯t do that because I can¡¯t leave the vige for too long.] Mumroot

    [Then that would be fine. I¡¯ve already set up a bear gate in Dezerto, so you can go there on a day trip.] Yuna

    [...Missy, is that okay?] Mumroot

    [It¡¯s okay, but it¡¯s a little impossible right now, so is it okay next time?] Yuna

    [I can wait for years, decades even.] Mumroot

    Oh, that¡¯s right. Elves were such a race.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    When shees back from the city of Dwarves, I would like her to take Mumroot-san to meet Karina.

    ¡ùI¡¯m so sorry. This week¡¯s post will be closed.

 Chapter 386 - Bear-san got caught by Talia-san

    Chapter 386 Bear-san got caught by Talia-san

    <Kuu-n, Kuu-n.>

    After receiving the tea leaves of the sacred tree from Mumroot-san and talked about various things, the white bear puppet on my left hand started crying.

    It¡¯s the sound of a bear phone. When the phone cried suddenly, it looked as if the bear puppet itself was the one crying. But who is it from? I only know three people who have bear phones, Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin.

    [Well then, Mumroot-san. I¡¯lle to invite you next time.] Yuna

    Mumroot-san seemed to be curious about the cry, but I left Mumroot-san and moved to a ce where there were no people around. I then, take out the bear phone that is still crying <Kuu-n, Kuu-n>.

    [Hello.] Yuna

    {Ah, I¡¯m connected.} Fina

    Fina¡¯s voicees out from the bear phone.

    [What¡¯s wrong? Did something happened?] Yuna

    {I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t connect at all when I tried to have a conversation with Ruimin-san and Shuri using bear phone. I thought it was broken so used it to connect to Yuna-oneesan.} Fina

    [So, you couldn¡¯t connect to Ruimin?] Yuna

    {Yes, I couldn¡¯t.} Fina

    Apparently, bear phone can only be used via me.

    Well, it¡¯s within my expectation. Bear equipment is non-transferable and it¡¯s exclusevely for me only, and the bear gate can only be opened by me as well. Bear phone was created with my magical power, so it may only be possible to use it via me.

    If anyone could use it, it would be a very versatile item.

    [So where are you now?] Yuna

    {Well, Ruimin-san. where is this ce?} Fina

    {We¡¯re outside of the vige.} Ruimin

    I can hear Ruimin¡¯s voice from bear phone.

    I told them to meet in front of Ruimin¡¯s house. When I came to Ruimin¡¯s house, I already saw them standing there.

    [Yuna-oneesan, it¡¯s not broken, right?] Fina

    Fina sps the bear phone and asks anxiously.

    [It¡¯s not broken. Maybe it can only connect through me. I didn¡¯t know because I hadn¡¯t used it like that before.] Yuna

    [U u~u, that¡¯s too bad then.] Fina

    [Well, I¡¯ll tell you if can do something about it.] Yuna

    [Okay.] Fina

    Fina is a little disappointed.

    And so, I said goodbye to Mumroot-san since I think it¡¯s time to leave for the city of Dwarves.

    [Ah, I knew it! Yuna-chan is here.] Talia

    Someone called out from behind. When I turned around, I found Ruimin¡¯s mother, Talia-san. As usual, I still can¡¯t believe she¡¯s a mother of three children with how young-looking she is.

    [When I was walking in the vige, I heard that a bear came, so I immediately knew that it was Yuna-chan.] Talia

    Talia-san looks happy that her reasoning is correct.

    But is it really okay for her to recognize me with just that? Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous if that person saw a real bear and trying to warn everyone by saying <A bear hase> and <A bear has appeared>. Yet the elves who heard it simply deduced that I havee?

    Well, when a real bear appears, they will be screaming, so it should be okay, right? They will, right?

    Though I¡¯m worried about the easygoing Talia-san.

    [Perhaps that child is Yuna-chan¡¯s younger sister?] Talia

    She¡¯s asking about Fina, who is next to me, like she¡¯s trying to deduce something. In the first ce, Fina and I are not simr.

    [But she¡¯s not dressed as a bear.] Talia

    Talia-san tilts her head to the side.

    Then, if she¡¯s wearing a bear costume, would that mean she¡¯s my sister?

    [No. This is Fina. My life... I am indebted to her.] Yuna

    When I looked at Fina and tried to introduce her as my lifesaver, she was ring daggers at me, so I rephrased it.

    [Fina-chan. I¡¯m Talia, Ruimin¡¯s sister. You can call me Talia-oneechan.] Talia

    Talia-san said shamelessly.

    [Then, you¡¯re Sanya-san¡¯s older sister.] Fina

    Fina doesn¡¯t doubt Talia-san¡¯s words.

    [Ah, you also know Sanya?] Talia

    [Yes.] Fina

    Talia-san and Fina are enjoying a normal conversation. Then, Ruimin stops them by getting in between them.

    [Mother! Stop it. Fina will really believe it. Fina, she¡¯s not my older sister, she¡¯s my mother.] Ruimin

    [Mother?] Fina

    Fina was surprised by Ruimin¡¯s words.

    Well, it doesn¡¯t feel strange to say that Talia-san¡¯s appearance is an older sister. Therefore, such a lie is easy to deceive anyone.

    [You don¡¯t have to expose me that quickly.] Talia

    [It¡¯s embarrassing, so please stop it!] Ruimin

    Ruimin turns her reddened face and angrily stared at Talia-san.

    [Then, I can¡¯t help it now that I got caught. Fina-chan, I apologize for telling a lie, and I have delicious fruits, so let¡¯s eat them together.] Talia

    Talia-san grabs Fina¡¯s hand and takes her inside the house.

    [Eh, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    Fina turns around and looks at me, while Talia-san pulling her hand. I shook my head like saying give up and followed Talia-san and Fina into the house. Ruimines along with a sigh.

    We were pressed into the talk time while eating the fruit that Talia-san gave us.

    Ruimin¡¯s father, Artur, is at work, and her younger brother, La, is in the woods and not here right now. So it seems that we were invited to kill time.

    [Fina-chan, eat a lot.] Talia

    [Thank you.] Fina

    We¡¯re eating sweet and sour fruits. It might be delicious to put these fruits in a cake.

    [By the way, Yuna-san. I heard from Fina-chan that you¡¯re going to the city of Dwarves.] Ruimin

    [Ara, Yuna-chan. You¡¯re going to the city of dwarves?] Talia

    Ruimin asks while eating fruit.

    [Hey, let¡¯s y a little.] Ruimin

    [Maybe after wee back to the elven vige.] Yuna

    Ruimin got a little disappointed.

    [Next time, we¡¯lle here so you can y with Fina again.] Yuna

    It seems that Fina and Ruimin became close friends in a short time.

    [It¡¯s a promise then, but I kinda miss the city of Dwarves though.] Ruimin

    [Have you been there?] Yuna

    Elves in the city of dwarves? Aren¡¯t the elves and the dwarves don¡¯t get along with each other?

    [Were you all right that time?] Yuna

    [I was with my dad, so I didn¡¯t get lost. I might have been lost if I was alone though...] Ruimin

    That¡¯s not what I want to hear.

    [Don¡¯t you guys not get along with dwarves, so I was thinking if it¡¯s okay for elves like you to go to the city of dwarves.] Yuna

    [Are elves and dwarves on bad terms?] Ruimin

    That¡¯s what I¡¯m asking, you know?

    [Am I wrong?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that. When I went to the city of Dwarves before, everyone was kind to me.] Ruimin

    Apparently, mymon sense doesn¡¯t work here. In the manga and novels I read, there are many works that elves and dwarves don¡¯t get along with each other. There are also many scenes in movies in which they are in conflict.

    [Yuna-san, can I go with you? I¡¯ll show you around the city.] Ruimin

    [Ruimin?] Yuna

    When I remember seeing Ruimin in the royal capital, I can only think of someone getting lost.

    [Ara, that¡¯s a good idea. Ruimin, please also ask for a new frying pan and pot. Also, I want a new kitchen knife. That¡¯s right. I have to ask everyone in the neighborhood too.] Talia

    [Mother?] Ruimin

    After selfishly dering so, Talia-san gets up and storms out of the room.

    We silently see her off.

    [Etto, so this means.] Yuna

    What does this mean?

    [It looks like I¡¯m going too. I¡¯m sorry about my mother.] Ruimin

    Ruimin apologizes.

    [Is it okay for you to go with me just like that? Don¡¯t you need to get permission from your father?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s okay. He can¡¯t stop mother anyways.] Ruimin

    It seems that Ruimin is also having a hard time.

    [But a frying pan and a pot?] Yuna

    When you think of dwarves, only weapons and armors usuallye to mind, but that¡¯s not really the case here.

    Gordo-san and Ghazal-san mainly make weapons and armors, so I never noticed it, but they also work on metal processing.

    [Fina, should we also buy some for Tirumina-san?] Yuna

    Of course, they¡¯re also sold in Crimonia, but if you buy it in the city of Dwarves, it¡¯ll feel like a superior quality.

    Besides, there are good things and bad things about frying pans and pots.

    Different types of materials will affect the quirks, such as weight, non-stickiness, and good thermal conductivity. There are various types of materials that they are using after all.

    It might be a good idea to look around in the city of Dwarves. Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea.

    But when I look at Fina, she opens her mouth with a little difficulty.

    [Etto, I was also asked by mom.] Fina

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [Yes, I was asked for a lot of it.] Fina

    As expected of a housewife. It seems that Fina has already been asked.

    [Then I should also buy some for the orphanage and Anzu¡¯s shop.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve been asked for that too. She said she wants a big pot for the orphanage.] Fina

    So she¡¯s already ahead of me.

    But I wonder if the orphanage needs a big pot? Well, if you¡¯re cooking for a huge crowd, a big pot will save you time.

    I wonder if I should buy some for myself. If I buy it, I will need to buy as many pots and pans as the number of bear houses. Considering the reserve, I need more. If I put it in a bear box, I can reuse it, but it¡¯s troublesome to put it away after washing it. If possible, I would like to keep it in each bear house at all times.

    Talia-sanes back as we talk while eating the fruit that Talia-san has prepared.

    [Ruimin. Here¡¯s the list.] Talia

    Talia-san gives Ruimin a few sheets of paper. When Ruimin looks at the papers, her expression changes.

    [Uh, mother, there¡¯s quite a lot.] Ruimin

    When Ruimin put the papers on the table. The names of the orderer were written at the top, and the product name and size were written in details below it, these include frying pans, pots, kitchen knives, and so on. There were so many such papers.

    [Because everyone wants it.] Talia

    Even though, she looks young and cutesy. She¡¯s actually over 100, right?

    [I borrowed an item bag from your grandfather, so it¡¯s okay. And here¡¯s the money.] Talia

    With that being said, she gave the item bag and the bag containing the money to Ruimin.

    [Grandpa wants a big pot so that everyone can eat together.] Talia

    [U u~u, even Grandpa.] Ruimin

    Ruimin dropped down on the table.

    Apparently, it¡¯s confirmed that Ruimin will go with us.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sorry, I¡¯mte.

    A bright red manuscript came and the correction was...

    For the time being, I¡¯ve calmed down, but it¡¯s undecided what will happen this month.

    If I¡¯mte, I will report it in the postscript.

    ¡ùThat¡¯s why it was decided that Ruimin will go buy cookware together.

    There are good and bad things about frying pans.

 Chapter 387 Bear-san Departs for the City of Dwarves

    <h4>Chapter 387 Bear-san Departs for the City of Dwarves</h4>

    When I exit the vige together with Fina and Ruimin, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. From here, it¡¯s Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s time to shine.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. It¡¯s been a while.] Ruimin

    Ruimin greeted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while stroking their heads. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried .

    I asked both of them to ride on Swaying Bear, while I climbed on Hugging Bear.

    The city of dwarves was just up ahead of the elven vige, and it seems that the city was built where the mines were. It¡¯s not in Solzonak country, in fact, it doesn¡¯t belong to any country.

    [Are you sure about this?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve been there once.] Ruimin

    Ruimin answered with confidence. We decided to go to the city of Dwarves under the guidance of Ruimin, instead of the direction that Ghazal-san taught us.

    Normally, to get to the city of Dwarves, you would have to return to the road leading to the city of Larousse, where a big river can be found, and from there you would have to make a long detour around the big forest where the elven vige was located, and go around the mountains.

    There is a path in the forest, but it¡¯s a little narrow for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to run at the maximum speed. Therefore, I feel that it would be faster to go out on the main road and run at full speed.

    As they say . When I went to the desert, I tried to take a shortcut and got lost. (TN: ¡¸¼±¤¬¤Ð»Ø¤ì¡¹It¡¯s just a rough trantion, but gets the job done, I guess.)

    But Ruimin said that this was the road she took with her father, Artur, and the destination was a lot closer. At first, I was reluctant, but Ruimin confidently said, , So I couldn¡¯t refuse her and simply agreed.

    As a person who knows about how this girl ended up in the royal capital, it only makes me more anxious. But with a bear map, we won¡¯t get lost, and with a bear house, we won¡¯t copse on the side road like her.

    Besides, if this is really a shortcut to get to the city of Dwarves, the advantage would be less burden to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and I do not have to worry about passersby. It¡¯s not all bad things. Therefore, it can be said that there are more merits in Ruimin¡¯s confidence.

    We don¡¯t have to hurry after all, so it might be a good idea to travel leisurely.

    For the time being, I¡¯ll believe in Ruimin¡¯s words as an elf, who deres the forest is like a garden to her and proceed through the forest.

    [Even so, that was a lot.] Fina

    Fina reminded me of what happened earlier.

    When we tried to leave Ruimin¡¯s house to leave the vige, the elven wives were gathered in front of the house. I was surprised for a moment, but it was because when Talia-san went to talk about pots and kitchenware, she also told them that I hade. So the elven wives brought me baskets full of wild nts and mushrooms from the mountains.

    I am grateful since I am not familiar with wild nts and mushrooms, so I thanked them and received the baskets. No matter how much I got, it won¡¯t be a burden because I have the bear box.

    [Yuna-san, thest time you came, you were happy that you brought a lot back home, so I think everyone was happy when you epted all of it this time as well.] Ruimin

    [So, when Yuna-oneesan brought a lot of mushrooms and edible wild nts to her house before, it all came from here.] Fina

    The wild nts and mushrooms I gotst time were divided and given to Fina¡¯s house, Anzu¡¯s store, and the rest was used for cooking when we went to the sea. As expected, it will disappear quickly if consumed by more than 40 people. So I was happy to be able to replenish it. Let¡¯s make tempura out of it.

    [Shall we have these for dinner?] Yuna

    [I will help.] Fina

    Fina was also excited to eat.

    And so, although I was worried at first, Ruimin gave instructions to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear without hesitation.

    We went through the forest, then through the river, and climb the mountains.

    Looking at the bear map, it¡¯s crooked, but we¡¯re heading in the right direction. We¡¯re not supposed to go around the same ce like a scene in some manga.

    Sometimes it¡¯s good to move leisurely.

    I¡¯ll leave the directions to Ruimin, and the dangerous monsters and animals to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Fina and Ruimin are talking with each other. Most of the words I hear are about me and Sanya-san, twomon acquaintances.

    As we proceeded while I was rxing on the way, Ruimin stopped Swaying Bear and looked around.

    [That¡¯s strange... it should have been around here.] Ruimin

    There are only cliffs around us and no roads to be seen.

    [Did you perhaps got lost?] Yuna

    [We¡¯re not lost. There should have been a bridge here.] Ruimin

    [A bridge, was it that perhaps?] Yuna

    I point the ck bear puppet towards an object. It seems that there was a simple bridge made of rope ahead of us.

    And it¡¯s broken.

    [We can¡¯t pass through here.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks at the broken bridge and feels embarrassed.

    [If we can¡¯t go through here, we have to go back the way we came from... and that would be a long detour.] Ruimin

    Ruimin held her head and began to flutter.

    I exhaled, got off Hugging Bear, and walked near the cliff.

    [Yuna-san?] Ruimin

    [Stand back a little.] Yuna

    I kneeled and let the ck bear puppet touch the ground. Then, I let my magical power flow and imagine it. Soil emerged from the cliff, and then the soil extends to the opposite side of the cliff, creating a bridge made of hardened soil.

    Since I had already made a bridge before when exploring the underground of the pyramid, I could now easily imagine it and make a bridge.

    [Yuna-san is amazing.] Ruimin

    [But why are there bears?] Fina

    The pirs that support the bridge at both ends of the bridge are bears. Because I wanted to strengthen the bridge, I just had to make it into a bear. Well, this shouldn¡¯t cause the bridge to copse.

    [Well, now we can go through.] Yuna

    We crossed the bridge and moved to the other side.

    Then, without being attacked by monsters or ferocious animals, and without Ruimin getting us lost, things go smoothly. And so, the nightes.

    [It¡¯s getting dark, so let¡¯s stay overnight around here.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, are you taking out Bear-san¡¯s house?] Ruimin

    Ruimin happily asks.

    [Bear-san¡¯s house is amazing. It¡¯s the best house to have where you don¡¯t have to camp outdoors, it has warm futons, it has a bath, and it gets rid of the fatigue of the day.] Ruimin

    Ruimin seems to have had a hard time going to the royal capital, so she really loves the bear house.

    After taking out the bear house, I turned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into cubs and head inside. Then, while heating the water in the bath, we started preparing meals. I got some edible wild nts, so I decided to make vegetable tempura, though it¡¯s a little troublesome.

    By the way, since I am wearing my bear equipment, it is okay if the oil sshes, and because I am wearing the bear puppets, my hands will not get oiled. It¡¯s a total defense.

    I cut vegetables, add flour and fry in oil. It can be fried as is, but today I have edible wild nts, so I¡¯ll add flour and fry it.

    Carrots, potatoes, peppers, and other vegetables are in the bear box. I bought a lot when I went to the vige and the royal capital, also in Crimonia. After all, it¡¯s a hassle to go buy itter, and sometimes it¡¯s out of stock. It is my principle to buy a lot at one time.

    And since we have Ruimin with us, I decided to add squid tempura that she had never eaten before. Creating the tempura of forest and seafood.

    [Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ll help out.] Fina

    [Well then, I¡¯ll do the frying, so can you put them on a te?] Yuna

    [Okay.] Fina

    Fina offered her help. Ruimin who was watching us also came to me.

    [Yuna-san, what about me?] Ruimin

    [...Just sit down.] Yuna

    I answered after thinking a bit.

    [U~u, that¡¯s mean.] Ruimin

    [It¡¯s just a joke. Even if I want to, there¡¯s just nothing I need help with.] Yuna

    It¡¯s not like we need three people to make tempura. It¡¯s just tempura after all.

    [Ruimin can help me next time, so you should just y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for now.] Yuna

    Ruimin nced at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who have turned into bear cubs.

    [Well, it¡¯s a very attractive proposal. Even so, I can¡¯t just enjoy it while you are busy making dinner...] Ruimin

    While saying such a thing, she¡¯s staring at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub-form rolling around.

    [Then, can you help me clean up after the meal?] Yuna

    [...I see, then please tell me if you need any help.] Ruimin

    That was apromise, then Ruimin started ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Then, the preparation for dinner waspleted safely, and we had a conversation while eating tempura. At first, Ruimin was surprised that the rice was different from barley rice, but she enjoyed eating it.

    [That¡¯s right. Yuna-oneesan, what did you do for the vige? No matter how much I ask Ruimin-san, she won¡¯t tell me. I¡¯m worried because Ruimin-san said Yuna-oneesan has done something for the vige but she¡¯s not telling me what it is. I¡¯m very curious.] Fina

    [Because if I talk about it, I will get aughing hell.] Ruimin

    Ruimin answered Fina¡¯s question while eating carrot tempura.

    But about what? How much can she disclose without getting theughing hell?

    The content of the contract is . In that case, contract magic may be activated if I want the contents to be kept secret. In fact, what do I think of the events in the elf vige?

    [I don¡¯t know, why don¡¯t you try it Ruimin?] Yuna

    [No thank you!] Ruimin

    Ruimin refused in a loud voice. I wanted to experiment, but it didn¡¯t seem to work.

    [Well, maybe you can say it if it¡¯s Fina.] Yuna

    Maybe my contract will not activate if they have my permission. It would be a problem if it gets activated regardless.

    [Yuna-san trusts Fina-chan, doesn¡¯t she?] Ruimin

    [Yeah, well. I know Fina isn¡¯t a kid who breaks her promise. I wholeheartedly trust her.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan...] Fina

    [That¡¯s why Fina will never tell anyone the story she¡¯ll hear from Ruimin.] Yuna

    [Okay.] Ruimin

    [Oh, but if you ask me, Fina, it might be troublesome for you, you know?] Yuna

    Talking means knowing about the cockatrice. Until now, I¡¯ve been holding myself because I thought it would surprise her. Once she knew about it, I can freely ask Fina to dismantle the cockatrice.

    [What¡¯s the big deal!?] Ruimin

    [What is it? What are you talking about?] Fina

    Fina begins to worry about the meaning behind my words.

    [...U~u, I want to hear it.] Fina

    Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. When Fina says so, Ruimin began to talk about what I did in the elven vige.

    Ruimin talks about Volgrass and Cockatrice, which she heard from Mumuruto-san. The moment Fina hears cockatrice, she stops eating.

    [...Yuna-oneesan. Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re nning to make me dismantle the cockatrice?] Fina

    Fina asks terrifyingly.

    [Because I can¡¯t do it.] Yuna

    I tried imitating Talia-san.

    [That¡¯s impossible!] Fina

    Fina practically screamed.

    That¡¯s why I warned you that it would be troublesome once you know.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    The g is broken. It¡¯s going well.

    Finally, Fina knew about cockatrice.

    However, if it¡¯s ever to be dismantled, it seems that it won¡¯t be in the near future.

 Chapter 388 Bear-san, Stays Overnight at the Bear House

    <h4>Chapter 388 Bear-san, Stays Overnight at the Bear House</h4>

    After we had our dinner, I left Ruimin to clean up, so Fina and I took a rest after having a meal while touching Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s belly. It¡¯s fluffy andfortable. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also seem to befortable, so it¡¯s a win-win situation.

    However, Fina, who is touching the belly of Swaying Bear next to her, repeatedly says, . If that¡¯s the case then, should I go to the adventurer¡¯s guild to have it dismantled? Or does Mumroot-san be able to do it? He was a former adventurer after all and has lived for a long time, so he may have experience in dismantling a cockatrice or two. Although, even if I got him to dismantle it, the adventurer¡¯s guild may still be the better choice considering the seller. But the problem is themotion that wille afterward.

    The most inconspicuous way is to sell it to the King. The King already knows a lot about what I did, so even if I add the cockatrice on the list, it won¡¯t matter much. Also, considering the buyer of the material, the King is the best option.

    As I was thinking about that while rubbing Hugging Bear¡¯s fluffy belly, the white bear puppet I left on top of the table began to cry, .

    [Yuna-oneesan, your bear glove is crying.] Fina

    [It¡¯s my bear phone. Maybe it¡¯s Shuri?] Yuna

    I put on my white bear puppet and took out the bear phone from the bear box.

    [Hello, Shuri?] Yuna

    {Yuna-oneechan?} Shuri

    [What¡¯s wrong? Did something happened?] Yuna

    {I¡¯m just checking on my sister if she¡¯s okay. Dad was a bit worried though, and he wanted to hear her voice.} Shuri

    [Dad is worried?] Fina

    Fina asks through the bear phone

    {Yeah, were you injured, or what if you were attacked by monsters? He was worried during the whole meal. Mom and I told him you have Yuna-oneechan with you, but even if we said you¡¯re okay, he kept going on with what if she got lost because she got separated from Yuna-oneechan.} Shuri

    [Dad......] Fina

    Gentz-san really seems to have be aplete doting parent. I wish I could have cute girls like Fina and Shuri. Though, overprotection is also a drawback.

    [Etto, Dad doesn¡¯t know about the bear phone, so no wonder he¡¯d worry... Shuri, please tell mom and dad about the bear phone. Also, the bear phone doesn¡¯t connect directly to me. So if anything happens, please tell Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    {OK I got it. Oneechan, be careful out there.} Shuri

    After the call is over, Ruimines in.

    [Yuna-san, I¡¯ve finished washing. Was that Fina-chan¡¯s little sister you were having a conversation with just now?] Ruimin

    [Yeah, Shuri is a cute girl who looks just like Fina.] Yuna

    They have different personalities, but they are both good girls.

    [That was Shuri-chan? I want to see her next time.] Ruimin

    Both Ruimin and Shuri knew about the bear gate, so I can go to take one of them to see the other from either side. I can take Ruimin to Crimonia or Shuri to the Elven Vige.

    [That¡¯s right. I should take either one of you next time.] Yuna

    [I want to go to the city where Yuna-san and Fina-chan live.] Ruimin

    [I want to walk around the elven vige with Shuri.] Fina

    Both seem to want to go to the ce where the other party lives.

    [Well, we have the bear gate, so you guys can go back and forth between ces. Not often though, just some other times.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-san. I¡¯m counting on you.] Ruimin

    Ruimin and Fina look happy.

    [Now then, let¡¯s take a bath and take a rest.] Yuna

    [Usually, it¡¯s a luxury to take a bath, even though you can¡¯t really take a bath while camping outdoors.] Ruimin

    [Yuna-neechan, is it okay if Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan join us in the bath? I want to wash their bodies to thank them for letting me ride them.] Fina

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?] Yuna

    I look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [What do you want to do?] Yuna

    I asked them.

    They replied with a cry and approached Fina.

    [Let¡¯s enter together.] Fina

    [Then, Yuna-san let¡¯s join in as well. It¡¯s a waste of time to bathe separately.] Ruimin

    [I¡¯ll take er] Yuna

    It is better to enter alone.

    Even then, Ruimin and Fina grabbed my wrist and pulled me in.

    [I¡¯ll wash your back.] Ruimin

    [I will wash your hair.] Fina

    Furthermore, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rubbed their bodies against me. I let out a sigh.

    [Okay. Stop pulling me. I¡¯ll head there together with you.] Yuna

    I couldn¡¯t fathom these 4 will go to the bath, yet I decided to make that 5 by partaking in it.

    The next morning, maybe they slept well, they were already awake when I woke up.

    [You¡¯re up quite early, huh.] Yuna

    [Yes, when I got into the futon, it was so fluffy andfortable, and I fell asleep immediately.] Fina

    [I actually wanted to talk to Fina-chan, but I woke up early because the futon was sofortable that I fell asleep immediately.] Ruimin

    Oh, of course, the futon was fluffy andfortable. Maybe it¡¯s because I dried the futon the other day. After drying, I returned it to the bear house and put it in the bear box, so it may have been maintained in the freshly dried state at that time.

    That¡¯s why they fell asleep as soon as they entered the futon. It looks like it since they woke up early in the morning.

    Every day, I wearfortable bear clothes and sleep surrounded by the finest fur of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If you sleepfortably, you can wake upfortably in the morning. So I understand that feeling well.

    However, if you wake up in the morning and leave yourself feelingfortable, you may go to sleep for the second time. How many times have you sleptfortably?

    [I dried the futons before we left Crimonia.] Yuna

    After breakfast, we left for the city of Ludnik.

    Ruimin goes on, saying uneasy words such as , ,

    Checking the bear map, we are moving in the right direction. But I¡¯ll leave it to her until she says we¡¯re lost.

    I enjoy the surrounding scenery while eating potato chips and ice cream while riding on Hugging Bear. Of course, I shared it with the other two.

    [If we proceed here.] Ruimin

    Swaying Bear rushes out with Ruimin and Fina riding him. Through the forest, the grasnds spread far and wide. Apparently, we passed through the forest.

    [If we keep going in this direction, we should see a road.] Ruimin

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are running on the grasnd.

    [Yuna-oneesan. There¡¯s a road.] Fina

    Just like Ruimin predicted, there was a road big enough for carriages toe and go.

    [If we go from here, we will find the dwarven city of Ludnik.] Ruimin

    Ruimin, who had been anxious until earlier, dered so with confidence.

    Apparently, Ruimin was a child who could do it if she tried really hard.

    [Ruimin, what kind of city is the city of Dwarves?] Yuna

    [Hmm, I¡¯ve only been there once, so I don¡¯t know the details, but there are a lot of dwarves.] Ruimin

    [Yeah, that should be obvious.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a Ruimin-like answer.

    [Also, adventurerse to buy weapons and armor, and merchants buying various products. Of course, not only that, but a lot of metal products are on sale.] Ruimin

    [What did you do when you went there before?] Yuna

    [We went to buy weapons to give to the young adult elves. The weapons to protect the elven vige. Male elves have a role to protect the vige, so when they get old enough, the elders will give them the weapons. I went with my dad to buy those.] Ruimin

    Oh yeah, when I came to the vige for the first time, Ravirata and his crew were looking at me cautiously while hiding in the forest.

    I can imagine that an elf can make a bow, but they can¡¯t make a sword, so they have to go out and buy it.

    And so, we went down the road and came near the city of Ludnik while avoiding people passing by so that they wouldn¡¯t be surprised by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Let¡¯s get off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and walk from here.] Yuna

    Everyone would be surprised if we kept going on while riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in an unfamiliar city. If we¡¯re in Crimonia, that¡¯s wouldn¡¯t be the case, but since we¡¯re in this city for the first time, we have to be careful.

    [But if we walk, wouldn¡¯t they think it¡¯s strange?] Ruimin

    [Ruimin, are there any towns or viges around here?] Yuna

    If there is a town or a vige nearby, it will not be suspicious even if they see us walking.

    [I don¡¯t know the area around here because I¡¯ve only been here once and we head back to the elven vige once we got what we came for.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looked at me apologetically. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. You¡¯ll never know about the surroundings of a city that you¡¯ve only visited once without doing any sightseeing.

    I hit the bear puppet with the other bear puppet as if I¡¯m trying to p. Moments like this, are embarrassing because I¡¯m not using my bare hands.

    [Everyone time for a question! Which is more suspicious? A child, an elf girl, and a bear walking into the city? Or riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to get closer to the city?] Yuna

    I pointed the bear puppet to Fina, Ruimin, and me. And finally, I look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    In my question, they look at themselves. It¡¯s suspicious after all. There is no unity. If the three of us are all elves, we wouldn¡¯t be a bit suspicious. But our ages, races, and even appearances are all different.

    Ruimin raised her hand.

    [I think it¡¯s okay if Yuna-san takes off her bear clothes!] Ruimin

    [Rejected!] Yuna

    I answered immediately.

    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ll go to that city. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in there. We may get entangled in some sort of trouble. It is also my role to protect Fina and Ruimin. But, if I take off the bear costume here, the possibility of getting in trouble is low. Wait, I don¡¯t need a tsukkomi.

    [But they¡¯ll panic if they see Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Ruimin

    We can¡¯te up with an answer, and while we were discussing what to do, Swaying Bear cried and look towards behind us. Tracing where Swaying Bear is looking, a covered wagon ising at us with a tremendous speed.

    When I try to bring Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the edge of the road, I saw a person in the carriage waving at us.

    Don¡¯t tell me... That is?

    As the carriage approaches, it slows down and stops in front of us. Why are they here?

    [I knew it! It¡¯s Yuna-chan!] Mel

    [Mel-san?] Yuna

    Mel-san, who is sitting on the coachman, is looking at me happily.

    [I knew my eyes weren¡¯t seeing things.] Mel

    [Oi Mel! Don¡¯t speed up the carriage so suddenly!] Jade

    Jade-san appears from behind the coachman¡¯s seat.

    [Why are Jade-san and Mel-san here?]

    [I am also here.] Senia

    Senia-san also shows up. Which means, there should be another person.

    [That hurts! My hips might be broken.] Toya

    Toya¡¯s voice can be heard from the back of the carriage.

    Why are these four here?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Jade-san and his friends are back.

    Well, you¡¯ll know why.

    Toya [My a...]

 Chapter 389 Bear-san Talks to Jade-san

    <h4>Chapter 389 Bear-san Talks to Jade-san</h4>

    From the carriage, Mel-san, Senia-san, Jade-san, and Toya came down in that order. Mel-san and Senia-san went straight to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and hugged them.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan, you are so cute as always!] Mel

    [So cute!] Senia

    [So why are you guys here?] Yuna

    I asked Mel-san and Senia-san, who are stroking Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [That¡¯s my line. While I was driving the carriage, I caught a glimpse of a ck bear and a white bear walking in front of me and since there¡¯s another ck one on top of it, I knew that it would be Yuna-chan even from a distance. So, why is Yuna-chan in such a ce? And you also have two girls with you.] Mel

    Mel looks at Fina and Ruimin.

    [I think that was Fina-chan. Don¡¯t you remember? From that time during the school festival?] Jade

    [Oh, I remember! You¡¯re Jade-san from that time.] Fina

    [I¡¯m d you remember me.] Jade

    Jade-san was happy with Fina¡¯s words.

    Fina first met them in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when I went out to subdue the Tiger Wolves and she met Jade-san and Mel-san once again at the school festival¡¯s monsters and animals dismantling area.

    [And this is our first time meeting with this elf child, right?] Mel

    [I¡¯m Ruimin. I¡¯m indebted to Yuna-san.] Ruimin

    Ruimin bowed lightly and introduced herself.

    [Yuna-chan, did you add new girls again?] Senia

    [This is the first time hearing about that! What¡¯s with this about me having a new girl?] Yuna

    [Because during the school festival, you¡¯re walking around with a lot of pretty girls.] Mel

    Mel-san answers as if to remind me. Certainly, I was with Fina, Shuri, Noa, and Tilia at that time. They shouldn¡¯t have seen me together with Shia and Misa, right?

    [Also, it seems like Karina-chan adores you.] Mel

    When you say it like that, I won¡¯t be able to say anything back.

    Fina said in a small voice.

    [So why is Yuna here together with these kids?] Jade

    Jade-san asked.

    [That¡¯s because......] Yuna

    I stagnated.

    I can talk about Bearmonite, but it¡¯s a pain if they ask about it in detail. Since that¡¯s the case, my response is quite limited.

    [To visit the city of Dwarves and buy pots and pans...] Yuna

    [Visit the city?] Jade

    [To buy pots and pans?] Senia

    [And you even took Fina-chan with you?] Mel

    Everyone, including Jade-san, is looking at me dumbfoundedly.

    Yeah, I know. No one travels from Crimonia to Ludnik just to tour the city or buy pots and pans. So stop looking at me like that.

    [Why is Jade and your party here? You work mainly in the royal capital, right?] Yuna

    [We are going to Ludnik to buy Toya¡¯s Mithril sword.] Jade

    By the way, when I met them in the desert, they said they would buy Toya a Mithril sword. But they can buy a Mithril sword even in the royal capital. So I don¡¯t understand why they have toe out here just to buy one.

    When I asked them about that, Toya rushed in.

    [Oh, right, that.] Mel

    [Wait, don¡¯t tell her!] Toya

    Toya tried to stop Mel from talking, but Mel began to talk oddly.

    [Etto, there¡¯s a cksmith named Ghazal-san who made a Mithril knife for Yuna-chan. Toya said to him, . Well, we were nning to ask him to make Toya¡¯s sword, so there was no problem up to that point, but Ghazal-san refused.] Mel

    [Uwa a. I told you not to say it.] Toya

    Toya is holding his head.

    [Ghazal-san? He did make my knife, but I don¡¯t think he would refuse anyone.] Yuna

    I asked for it normally, and since I brought the materials for the mithril knives, he made them for me. But I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll refuse anyone based on appearance.

    [To be exact, he was kicked out by Ghazal-san.] Senia

    [He was kicked out?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t understand what they mean. Not only Ghazal-san refused to make Toya¡¯s sword, he even kicked the guy out.

    [Toya was scared of the golem statue at the entrance of the store.] Senia

    [I wasn¡¯t scared. I was just surprised.] Toya

    [It¡¯s the same thing. Then, Toya, who was ¡°surprised¡± by the golem statue, stepped back and knocked down the weapons and armor stands behind him.] Senia

    Some people do such manga-like things in real life.

    [And so, Ghazal-san got angry and said, ] Mel

    [Even if you say that, anyone would be surprised if an iron golem stood there.] Toya

    That was definitely the iron golem that I gave him as a gift.

    When I asked Ghazal-san about it, he became popr with adventurers. Some adventurers were jumpy just like Toya.

    [Ghazal-san said that only Toya was surprised.] Senia

    [Uh, that¡¯s because I was so fascinated by the swords in the store... Then, suddenly it got into my view...] Toya

    [Adventurers need to be aware of their surroundings.] Senia

    [U~u] Toya

    [Also, Ghazal-san is famous for his excellent craftsmanship, so he may have to choose the right person.] Mel

    [I¡¯m sure the moment he saw Toya. He immediately thought he was no good.] Senia

    Mel-san tries to save Toya, but Senia-san poured salt on Toya¡¯s wound. Toya gets depressed every time he gets reminded of it.

    [But then why this bear girl is good and I¡¯m not?] Toya

    Toya points at me.

    [Toya, you should take a closer look at the reality. Yuna-chan is an excellent adventurer. While Toya¡¯s ability is just sad.] Senia

    Senia-san makes a sad expression. Apparently, she expressed Toya¡¯s ability by her sad face.

    [I¡¯m already sad. So stop making my ability even more depressing.] Toya

    I feel sorry for Toya, so I will make a little follow-up.

    [Maybe because I gave a letter of introduction from a cksmith in Crimonia to Ghazal-san.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s it! That¡¯s the difference between me and her!] Toya

    [No, that¡¯s not it.] Jade

    [No, it¡¯s not.] Mel

    [Nope.] Senia

    Even though I followed up for him, Jade-san, Mel-san, and Senia-san quickly shot him down.

    Well yeah, I also think that¡¯s not it.

    [But there are other cksmiths out there, even if it¡¯s not Ghazal-san. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to bother yourselves toe this far.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know any cksmiths other than Ghazal-san though. But since the royal capital is so huge, there¡¯s no reason why Ghazal-san¡¯s shop is the only smithy in the city.

    [Well, there are certain things to consider. It¡¯s difficult to handle mithril ore, so there aren¡¯t many craftsmen who can make mithril weapons. We could have asked another cksmith, but a merchant I knew told me that we have to buy the materials in Ludnik. So we decided to just have it made in Ludnik.] Jade

    So that¡¯s why Jade-san and his friends are here.

    [Moreover, my sword and Senia¡¯s knife were made in Ludnik.] Jade

    Jade-san taps the sword on his waist.

    As I was listening to the story from Jade-san and his friends, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried. When I checked the surroundings, I saw a carriageing towards us. Jade-san and others also noticed that.

    [It¡¯s about time to move. We have to secure an inn, we can continue talking in the city.] Jade

    [I will ride Swaying Bear-chan!] Mel

    [I will ride Hugging Bear-chan!] Senia

    [Yuna-chan and the others will ride in the carriage.] Mel

    Mel-san and Senia-san dered so and tried to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    No, that¡¯s not happening.

    [Don¡¯t worry about it Yuna.] Jade

    [That¡¯s not it.] Yuna

    I told them our discussion about whether or not we were going to ride Swaying Beart and Hugging Bear, or just continue on foot.

    [Right, you don¡¯t want to stand out.] Jade

    Jade-san looks at me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and then back to me. Apparently, he also included me in his words.

    So I told them that we were going to walk if there was a vige or a small town nearby.

    [It¡¯s true that there is a vige nearby and some people are going there. But...] Jade

    This time, Jade-san looks at Fina, Ruimin, and me. Apparently, I¡¯m in this group as well.

    Well, a 10-year-old girl, an elven girl, and a bear girl (adult). It doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯re from the same vige.

    [Then, why don¡¯t you just get on our carriage.] Jade

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    [Yeah, Yuna took good care of us.] Jade

    I am grateful that Jade-san let us on the carriage. I thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for getting us this far and sent them back to the bear puppets.

    Mel-san and Senia-san regretfully see off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Looking at the back, both Fina and Ruimin are also a little sad.

    Isn¡¯t the number of bear-loving people increasing?

    We departed before the other carriage approached us and head for the city of Ludnik.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s fun to bully Toya.

    But if you overdo it, he¡¯s kinda pitiful, so it¡¯s difficult to adjust.

    I would like to write a story about the rise of Toya¡¯s stock someday.

    ¡ùThe scheduled posting date and time may change until the beginning of next month. Please take note of that.

 Chapter 390 Bear-san Enters the City of Ludnik

    <h4>Chapter 390 Bear-san Enters the City of Ludnik</h4>

    Jade-san and Toya are sitting on the coachman¡¯s seat and drives the carriage. The other members are inside the carriage.

    [But are you really going to buy pots and pans?] Mel

    Mel-san asks Fina and Ruimin instead of me. You simply can¡¯t believe my words, can¡¯t you?

    [Yes. My mom asked me for some pots.] Fina

    [I was also asked by my mom and everyone in the vige.] Ruimin

    Fina and Ruimin validated my words. Mel-san sighed after hearing the words of the two.

    [Really? I thought it was a job to subdue a vicious monster because it was Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [If I¡¯m going to such a ce, I won¡¯t take Fina and the others with me. Moreover, what do you mean by vicious monster?] Yuna

    [Because there are ridiculous monsters anywhere Yuna-chan goes? You went to goblin subjugation and encountered a rare goblin king. Then, subjugated a ck viper.] Mel

    Mel-san answers while raising two fingers.

    [The ck viper is different.] Yuna

    [But you still did it by yourself.] Mel

    [That¡¯s, uh......] Yuna

    [Additionally, there was a golem that Babord¡¯s party couldn¡¯t beat.] Mel

    Another finger was lifted.

    For a moment, I wondered who was Babord? I thought hard, but I remembered because of the word golem. It was the baka rangers.

    [And then, there¡¯s Karina-chan.] Mel

    Mel-san seems to be talking about a giant scorpion.

    Besides, there are 10,000 monsters, Kraken, and Wyvern that Mel-san doesn¡¯t know. With that in mind, monsters do appear everywhere I go apparently.

    That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m calling them for my amusement. It was mostly from helping people.

    [Also, Yuna-chan. Thank you. I got a very nice armor.] Mel

    Mel-san seems to have remembered it from talking about Karina. She then raised her arm, rolls up her sleeve, and showed her wrists. There was some sort of a silver gauntlet on it.

    [Is that a part of the shell of Scorpion?] Yuna

    It seems that it was colored silver, so it¡¯s nearly impossible to miss it.

    [Yes, I had it processed and made to a gauntlet. It¡¯s strong but light, so it doesn¡¯t get in the way even if I use magic. Well, I don¡¯t fight in close-quarterbat, so I don¡¯t need it that much. But thinking about it, it¡¯s better to have it on in case of an unexpected situation.] Mel

    [I had it made for my wrists and feet.] Senia

    Senia-san shows her wrists and legs. Senia-san¡¯s armor is ck.

    [It¡¯s convenient for kicking Toya.] Senia

    [That is not for kicking Toya!] Toya

    Toya, who was sitting beside the coachman, shouted. Apparently, he can hear our conversation.

    [But it¡¯s lighter than the armor I¡¯ve been wearing before, so it¡¯s easier to move.] Jade

    Jade-san shows his arm from the coachman¡¯s seat. Apparently, Jade-san has the same equipment.

    [Also, I wanted an adventurer I knew to wear it, so I sold a part of the shell. But was that okay?] Mel

    [Mel-san, I¡¯ve already given that to you and your friends, so you can do whatever you want with it.] Yuna

    The big scorpion that I have was still untouched except for what I gave to Jade-san and his party. I nced at Fina. She can now dismantle the small scorpions, so can she do the big scorpion next?

    Imagine this. Fina is dismantling a scorpion that is way taller than herself.

    Yeah, it¡¯s impossible. One wrong move and she will be crushed by the crustacean.

    [Well, that gave us enough money for Toya¡¯s Mithril weapons.] Mel

    That¡¯s more than enough.

    [Now Toya has to thank Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [Uu.] Toya

    [Hey, say thank you to Yuna-chan.] Senia

    [Uuuuu.] Toya

    Even though his back is facing us, I can clearly tell that he is distressed.

    [O-okay then. I made a promise, so I¡¯ll just have to keep that promise.] Toya

    Yet, Toya opened his mouth regardless.

    [Mi-Miss. Tha-thank you.] Toya

    If you¡¯re so embarrassed by it, you don¡¯t have to say it.

    Moreover, that¡¯s part of the hush money. Besides, I also got a lot of magic stones in return, so I got a great bargain. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t need to be thanked.

    Though perhaps they sold it at a much higher price than I expected? Oh well...

    And so, the carriage arrives in the city of Ludnik.

    Ludnik is a mining town with two mountains, so the atmosphere here feels like a city at the foot of the two mountains.

    At the entrance of the city, we held our guild cards over the crystal te and entered the city. At that time, the gatekeeper dwarf who saw me, looked suspicious of me while touching his long beard, but we were able to enter the city safely.

    Is this also thanks to Jade-san and his friends?

    The carriage goes on as it enters the city center.

    When I look through the small window of the carriage, though I¡¯m not borrowing Ruimin¡¯s words, there are indeed a lot of dwarves out there. Because they are short, they are mistaken for lively children when viewed from a distance.

    It feels like I¡¯m in a different world for the first time. I thought there were many stone houses because it is a city where dwarves live, but that is not the case, and there are manymon wooden buildings.

    [Many cksmith shops are made of stone because idents may happen.] Jade

    I guess a fire or something? A cksmith is a job that uses fire. If the fire goes to the surrounding houses, it will cause a huge mess.

    We left the city center to park the carriage.

    There are ces where you can park carriages and horses in the city. It costs money, but if you leave it to them, they will take care of the horse. Some inns have stables, but due to limited space, not all inns have this kind of service.

    Therefore, businesses regarding carriage parking areas and public stables were established.

    Carriages were moving in and out of arge hut. There was a person in the entrance having a conversation with Jade-san. Then, Jade-san told everyone to get off the carriage, and when we got off, Jade-san took the carriage into the hut. After a while, Jade-san came out of the hut.

    [Now then, shall we head to the inn?] Jade

    We left the carriage parking area and walked towards the inn.

    We were supposed to stay in the same inn as Mel-san and her friends. With this, I don¡¯t have to look for an inn, so I won¡¯t refuse.

    [Is the inn far away?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t want to walk too far. After all, the dwarves who passed by us whispered [A bear?] [There¡¯s a bear?] [It¡¯s a bear?]

    Even from the dwemer point of view, bear costumes seem to be rare.

    [There¡¯s an inn nearby, but if it¡¯s not avable, we¡¯ll have to walk a bit further.] Jade

    It can¡¯t be helped then.

    The closer the inn is to the ce where you leave the carriage, the quicker it fills up. And the nearest inn has only one room avable. So we decided to go to the next inn.

    We are supposed to take three rooms. The first one is for Jade-san and Toya. The second is for Mel-san and Senia-san. And the third room is for Me, Fina, and Ruimin.

    Mel-san tried to join in the same room as us, but I politely declined.

    And so, we safely found the rooms at the next inn.

    [U~u, I wish I had the same room as Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [I want Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear toe with me.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-san look pitiful. But it was good that there were three rooms vacant by chance. I don¡¯t want them to be in the same room as us and I don¡¯t want to look for another inn.

    After we rented the three rooms, we then proceed to check the rooms.

    [Yuna-oneesan, did you really have to pay for my amodation?] Fina

    [If it¡¯s money you need, then I¡¯ll keep it a secret from my mother.] Ruimin

    These two were troubled that I paid for their amodation.

    [Don¡¯t worry about it. I brought Fina with me in the first ce, and Ruimin gave the directions.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Thank you very much, Yuna-san.] Ruimin

    In the first ce, I¡¯m not going to let them pay for amodation or meals. It is my role as an adult to pay after all.

    After checking the room, we decided to have an early dinner.

    Of course, the dwarves are the ones who¡¯re running the inn. Obviously, not all residents of this city are craftsmen. Some are farmers, while others are innkeepers.

    [Oh, I¡¯m hungry. Let¡¯s order quick.] Toya

    Everyone agrees with Toya¡¯s words, so we order some meals.

    [Yuna-chan, are you going to buy the pots and pans tomorrow?] Mel

    [I will. But I¡¯m looking for a certain cksmith.] Yuna

    [A certain cksmith?] Mel

    [I have a letter for Ghazal-san¡¯s master. I¡¯m nning to go and deliver it.] Yuna

    When Ghazal-san¡¯s name came out of my mouth, Toya had a face that looked like he remembered something nasty.

    [Who is Ghazal-san¡¯s master?] Mel

    [Etto, I¡¯m sure he said something like Rojina?] Yuna (TN: ¥í©`¥¸¥Ê)

    I answer while trying to remember it.

    [Rojina? You mean that Rojina?] Jade

    [Do you know that person, Jade-san?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know the person who is called Rojina.

    [Quite a famous person actually. One of the best three cksmiths in the city. If Ghazal-san was the disciple of Rojina-san, then I can finally understand how he got that technique.] Jade

    Apparently, Ghazal-san¡¯s teacher is very famous in this city.

    [Well then, Toya, do you want Rojina-san to make your sword?] Senia

    [No, I¡¯m going to the cksmith who made your mithril weapons. If we go suddenly, Rojina-san might not be able to make it. Probably not without a reservation. Or maybe something like crafting a single weapon per month.] Toya

    [Is that so?] Senia

    [Well, there are rumors like if the crafter is not satisfied with the final product, they will discard it.] Toya

    Where did you hear that? From the potters? In my head, a potter is the one who smashes the final product whenever they are unsatisfied with it. So on and so forth.

    Since we¡¯re talking about a cksmith, will they melt it?

    [That one was such a famous cksmith after all.] Jade

    [Maybe they will make an exception to Yuna-chan since she¡¯s acquainted with Ghazal-san?] Mel

    Well, if it¡¯s a weapon, then I don¡¯t need it because Ghazal-san already made me knives. Buttely, I¡¯m starting to wonder about having an ordinary sword. However, if I really want one, then I¡¯ll just ask Ghazal-san to make it for me.

    And I don¡¯t think that such a famous craftsman would easily make a weapon for a girl like me dressed as a bear.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We arrived safely.

    Next time, I will post in 3 days, if not then after 4 days.

 Chapter 391 Bear-san Heads to the Blacksmithing District

    <h4>Chapter 391 Bear-san Heads to the cksmithing District</h4>

    After that, we talked about our ns for tomorrow.

    I nned to meet with Ghazal-san¡¯s and Gordo-san¡¯s teacher, Rojina-san. Then, buy some pots and pans. And I¡¯m also thinking of strolling the city. But we¡¯re not going to be able to do all of that in one day. So I couldn¡¯t decide on a schedule yet, but I n to stay in the city for a few days.

    Meanwhile, Jade-san and his friends¡¯ n was to have Toya¡¯s mithril sword made. And purchase what the merchant was asking for. It seems that Jade-san and his friends will also stay here for a few days.

    The cksmith shop where Jade-san and his friends will go to is close to where Ghazal-san¡¯s master, Rojina-san¡¯s workshop, so I will go together with Jade-san and his friends tomorrow.

    It seems that Ruimin knew the area where the cksmith shops were lined up. After all, she went there with her father, Arthur, back then.

    After we had our dinner, we returned to our room and decided to go to bed early for tomorrow.

    At night, as a safety measure, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form. Then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were taken by Fina and Ruimin.

    Well, I sleep with them together every day, so I¡¯ll lend them to those two once in a while. Then, I set the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rm clock and go to sleep early.

    The next day, while I was sleeping, Fina and Ruimin who got up earlier woke me up.

    They seem to have been awakened by a cub-sized bear punch from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. It seems that the bear rm clock was activated and woke up Fina and Ruimin who were sleeping together.

    They both said it was a pleasant awakening. Apparently, they didn¡¯t jump on their stomachs or cover their faces. That sort of stuff was very painful.

    After I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets, we moved to the cafeteria on the first floor.

    Mel-san and Senia-san are already in the cafeteria. We sit at the same table and order our meals. And after a while, Toya who is still sleepyes in with Jade-san.

    After we had breakfast, we made preparations to go to the cksmith district.

    After leaving the inn, I pulled my bear hood deeply and walked while looking at the dwarven cityscape. I did it so that I could walk around the city without worrying about everyone¡¯s line of sight. Though, I¡¯m worried about the line of sight of the ones that got too close.

    [............]

    After looking around, Mel-san nced at me.

    [............]

    Senia-san is looking at me silently.

    [Everyone is watching.] Jade

    Jade-san muttered.

    [Hey, Miss, how about you take off your clothes? I know you like bears, but I don¡¯t think you have to wear them every day.] Toya

    Toya, who doesn¡¯t know about the Bear-san cheat, says that while paying attention to the gaze of the surroundings. I can¡¯t take off my bear equipment because of a number of reasons.

    [What are you talking about, Toya!? If she took off her bear clothes, she won¡¯t be Yuna-chan anymore.] Mel

    Mel-san got angry at Toya¡¯s words, and Senia-san silently kicks Toya¡¯s ass.

    I¡¯m d they protected me. But if I take off my bear clothes, I will no longer be me, and it really makes me sad thinking about it. If I remove the bear equipment, I will certainly be a normal person who has less physical strength than Fina.

    [What was that for? I¡¯m just saying, everyone is watching because it stands out.] Toya

    Certainly, in Crimonia, people rarely look at me with a bizarre look, but when I go to a new city, people look at me with different kinda look such as interest, surprise, and seeing something rare. Some dwarven children also point at me and saying <Bear-san>. Everywhere I go for the first time, I get the same reaction.

    Toya seems to be worried about the people¡¯s line of sight and their reaction.

    [Then, I¡¯ll walk a distance from you.] Yuna

    If you don¡¯t like being with me, then I don¡¯t want to be with you either. It¡¯ll be lonely, but it¡¯s better to walk alone a little away. Even though I don¡¯t like the idea of being isted.

    [What are you talking about? You can¡¯t let Yuna-chan do that. If Toya doesn¡¯t want to stand out, then you can walk alone. I¡¯m going with Yuna-chan.] Mel

    [Me too!] Senia

    [I¡¯ll also walk together with Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [I¡¯m also going with Yuna-san.] Ruimin

    [You guys......] Yuna

    Mel-san clings to my shoulder, Senia-san hugs me from behind, Fina holds my hand, and Ruimin deres so.

    Everyone¡¯s words made me happy.

    Toya flips up with the words of the girls. Toya looks at Jade-san asking for help.

    [I¡¯ll walk with Yuna too. I don¡¯t care about the surrounding people.] Jade

    [Jade ~~~~] Toya

    Betrayed by the same man he really trusts, Jade-san, so Toya decided to walk alone, a little far from the rest.

    [Isn¡¯t there a lot of people anyway?] Jade

    [Yeah. It¡¯s more than when we came here before.] Mel

    [There are so many adventurers and merchants this time.] Senia

    Jade-san, Mel-san, and Senia-san are having a conversation while looking around.

    Indeed, there were not only dwarves but also many ordinary people. I had thought that they were here for shopping.

    [Aren¡¯t they just here to buy something?] Yuna

    [Hmm, still, it seems like there are a lot of people here.] Jade

    Jade-san looks at the surroundings strangely.

    We won¡¯t be able to find the answer by just talking here, so we ended that topic and moved to the area where the cksmiths line up. It seems that cksmiths are concentrated in this area. Metal clinking sounds can be heard from various ces.

    If you hear this kind of noise in a residential area, you won¡¯t even be able to take a nap. Since I like to take a nap, I would never live near here.

    [Jade-san, is the cksmith who made your sword a famous cksmith?] Yuna

    I heard that it¡¯s difficult to make a Mithril weapon. Therefore, it may be a craftsman with a certain level of skill. But Jade-san¡¯s reply was different.

    [Well, how about it? The best in every cksmith in this city.] Jade

    [To be called the best.] ???

    Before I could answer with <Is that so?>, another person responded to Jade-san¡¯s words. Jade-san quickly looked around, and when he discovered the source of that voice, he looked surprised.

    [Xelo-san?] Jade (TN: ¥¯¥»¥í = Kusero)

    [Jade, it¡¯s been a while. And even calling me the best cksmith.] Xelo

    The dwarf with a fine beard is smiling brightly.

    [Moreover, you brought a youngdy dressed in interesting clothes.] Xelo

    A dwarf that Jade-san called Xelo looked at me.

    [When I saw it from behind, I wondered what it was. Because it looked like a bear.] Xelo

    Xelo-san kept staring at me. For the time being, I will introduce myself.

    [Etto, I¡¯m Yuna. I¡¯m indebted to Jade-san.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m Xelo. A cksmith. Contrary to Jade¡¯s point of view, I¡¯m not the best cksmith.] Xelo

    [Xelo-san... I do think you¡¯re the best.] Jade

    [Ha! Stop your ttery. I just take very good care of the swords that I made.] Xelo

    [I¡¯m using the sword you¡¯ve given me properly.] Jade

    Jade-san lightly touches the sword on his waist.

    [So do I.] Senia

    Senia-san also answers.

    [So Jade, why are you guys here in the city? And Mel, are those your daughters?] Xelo

    He said so while looking at us, but not exactly to me, right?

    [I¡¯m not that old!] Mel

    Mel-san pulls Xelo-san¡¯s beard as she denies it.

    [Fufu, I¡¯m sorry. And that elf missy is familiar.] Xelo

    [I¡¯m Ruimin. I came here with my dad before to buy a sword.] Ruimin

    [Ah, the missy who was with the elf Arthur?] Xelo

    Deducing from their conversation, it seemed that they had bought the weapon from Xelo-san¡¯s ce when they came to buy it before.

    The world seems to be wide and yet small. If Ghazal-san¡¯s teacher was Xelo-san... Nah, that would be too slim of a chance.

    [Did you perhaps came here to buy another sword?] Xelo

    [Today my mom asked me to buy some pots and pans.] Ruimin

    [...Pots, huh... I really want to make it, but I specialize in weapons.] Xelo

    That¡¯s too bad, but it can¡¯t be helped. They deal with the same metal, but in different fields. The method of making is different even if it is close.

    [Now that I know what missy wants, so why are you guys here? Work? Or did you break the sword I made?] Xelo

    [I haven¡¯t broken it. I¡¯m actually thinking of having Toya¡¯s sword made this time.] Jade

    Jade-san looks at Toya, who is watching us at a distance.

    [Toya? So why is he alone over there?] Xelo

    Xelo-san looks at Toya, who is watching us at a distance.

    If this is a certain game, a message box will pop out <Toya wants to join the group> and the choices <Make friends with him> and <Do not let him join> will appear.

    Jade-san sighs a little while looking at Toya.

    [Toya! Come over here!] Jade

    Jade-san chose the <Make friends> button.

    Toyaes happily when called by Jade-san. Apparently, he was lonely standing there alone.

    [Well, let¡¯s go to the store and talk for more details.] Xelo

    Xelo-san started walking ahead, and then we followed him.

    Xelo-san¡¯s shop isrge and made of stone. You can hear the sound of hitting iron from inside the store.

    And when we go inside, rows of swords and knives are disyed on the walls.

    Gordo-san and Ghazal-san disyed their weapons in their shops as well, but I feel that there are even more here. Is that a Mithril sword?

    [So, should I make Toya¡¯s sword?] Xelo

    [Can you please?] Toya

    [Can¡¯t you use one of the swords over there.] Xelo

    He pointed at the swords on the wall.

    [I would like to ask for a Mithril sword for him too.] Jade

    [Mithril? A few days ago, I would have refused, but since Jade is the one who¡¯s asking, I¡¯ll make it for you. But can Toya handle it? If he can¡¯t handle it, then I won¡¯t make it. You¡¯ll just have to put up with the other swords you find around here.] Xelo

    [I think Toya almost there. Though, it¡¯s up to him.] Jade

    [Almost there, huh? If Jade says so, I¡¯ll check it for the time being. Then I will decide whether to make it or not.] Xelo

    What do you do want to check for?

    Do you want to see his handling like when Ghazal-san made a mithril knife for me?

    In the manga, they sometimes judge you for how you swing a sword or how stiff the tension on your hands to the point that you get a blood vein popping out of your skin, is that how it works?

    If that is the criterion, my soft hands will never make it to the cut.

    I¡¯m d I asked Ghazal-san for my knives.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Toya happily bes a friend w

 Chapter 392 Bear-san, Watches Toyaâ€™s Test

    <h4>Chapter 392 Bear-san, Watches Toya¡¯s Test</h4>

    [Before we go any further, I have to ask Jade, have you made a contract with anyone yet? If you haven¡¯t, then how about making a contract with me?] Xelo

    [......A contract?] Jade

    Jade-san repeated Xelo-san¡¯s words. Then, Jade-san looked at the others like what he just heard didn¡¯t make any sense.

    [What? You didn¡¯t know?] Xelo

    [We just arrived here yesterday, and after staying at the inn, we immediatelye here.] Jade

    [How about the Trial Gate in this city?] Xelo

    [Trial Gate?... Oh, that?] Jade

    Jade-san seems to have remembered something.

    Trial gate? I wonder what was that? It sounds interesting though.

    [Come to think of it, there is such a thing in this city.] Jade

    [Oh, there was certainly such thing in here.] Xelo

    [I forgot.] Jade

    [Maybe that¡¯s why there are so many adventurers and merchants around?] Senia

    Jade-san and his friends seemed to understand it, they¡¯re agreeing with each other. But me, Fina, and Ruimin don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening.

    [What is the trial gate?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know about it, so I asked.

    When I asked, Jade-san and Xelo-san exined to me.

    ording to them, there¡¯s a gate in this town called the <test gate> in this city. The gate opens once a year for a few days to test the skills of the cksmiths, to see how much they have grown over the course of a year. It¡¯s said to be a ce to test the skills of apprentice craftsmen.

    [But what¡¯s with the adventurers?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s only natural. cksmiths are sword makers. Adventurers are sword users.] Jade

    At the trial gate, it seems that a cksmith who made a sword and an adventurer, a person who¡¯ll handle the sword are needed. It¡¯s true that cksmiths don¡¯t fight monsters, animals, or people. So it¡¯s the adventurer¡¯s job to handle the sword.

    [So Jade, why don¡¯t you join us with the sword I made? Think of it as a simple test sword.] Xelo

    [I don¡¯t mind participating, but since it¡¯s you, Xelo-san, there¡¯s probably an adventurer that you¡¯ve been favoring even without asking me.] Jade

    [Every year, there¡¯s an adventurer who always asking me to sign him up. I was going to ask that adventurer again this year, but I was informed that he was injured a few days ago. The other adventurers I know have already contracted with another cksmith, or they¡¯re in a ce that cannot be contacted.] Xelo

    So that¡¯s why he¡¯s asking Jade-san?

    [At first, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d have to join, but I figured I needed to make sure my skills weren¡¯t getting rusty. Also, it¡¯s good to see how far other adventurers can go with it, once in a while.] Jade

    Most of the cksmiths who have been doing this for a long time say that they hire the same person every year. The reason for this is that there is a difference between people and their abilities. Even when using the same weapon, can change depending on the person handling it.

    They check their skills at that testing gate. It is growing? Or is it declining? Worst of all, they say, some of them are thinking of retiring.

    Of course, adventurers have growth and decline and there is no end to it.

    They also exined that some cksmiths asked talented adventurers to show off their swords.

    [Don¡¯t you want to be known as the best, Xelo-san?] Mel

    [I¡¯m fine with you guys. I don¡¯t want to be bothered with making offerings or making the best swords. I¡¯ll give those jobs to whoever wants them. I¡¯ll make whatever I want, and if I make something good out of it, then I¡¯m satisfied with it.] Xelo

    Xelo-sanughingly smiling.

    Just because you can make one good sword, doesn¡¯t mean you can make a second one. If you could make top-quality weapons that quickly, then you¡¯d have nothing to worry about.

    And it¡¯s not like you can just tell the others to make it for you.

    [Well, to each his own. You can spend a lifetime making the best masterpiece you can. Or you can make one for an adventurer like you. Life is different.] Xelo

    Touching his majestic long beard as he spoke, he exuded the dignity that he had built up over the years.

    [All right then. If it¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯ll sign up with you.] Jade

    [It would be a great help.] Xelo

    The conversation was over, and now we¡¯re going to check out Toya¡¯s arm.

    Xelo-san started to walk and as we¡¯re following him, Jade-san, who was walking in front of us, looked back.

    [What about you, Yuna? If you want to go to Rojina-san¡¯s ce, I¡¯ll let Mel guide you.] Jade

    Hmmm, what should I do?

    Personally, I would like to see how Toya would be judged. If it¡¯s just a matter of looking at the hand as I imagine it to be, it should be fine here. But the fact that he started walking suggests otherwise.

    However, if there are any other criteria, I would like to know fo future reference.

    [I¡¯m curious to see if Toya will get a pass, so I¡¯ll stay and watch for a while.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not in a hurry.

    [Fina and Ruimin you¡¯re fine with it, right?] Yuna

    [Yes, I don¡¯t mind.] Fina

    [I¡¯m also curious. I¡¯d like to see it too.] Ruimin

    It seems that both Fina and Ruimin are interested as well.

    Well, aftering this far, it would be strange not to be curious. But Toya, the main character, has a face that says otherwise.

    [You don¡¯t have toe with us. I¡¯m sure you girls have a lot of ces to go.] Toya

    Toya hates the idea that we¡¯re trying to follow him. It¡¯s human nature that you want to follow someone when the person himself doesn¡¯t want to.

    [It¡¯s kinda awkward if I refuse now.] Toya

    [If you say it like that, you can¡¯t refuse anymore.] Mel

    That¡¯s a g.

    [Speaking of which, Xelo-san, have you taken on an apprentice?] Jade

    I can hear the sound of iron hitting iron from the back of the room since earlier. Jade-san asks while looking towards the direction of the sound.

    [My son. He said he wanted to be a cksmith, so I¡¯m teaching him. I¡¯ve been beating him with my knowledge like that every day, but he¡¯s not quite there yet.] Xelo

    I can hear the reverberating sound. Even if I¡¯m just listening to the sound, I can feel that he¡¯s working very hard.

    [Jade, you know where the backyard is, right? Wait for me there. I¡¯ll be there in a minute.] Xelo

    We went to the backyard while listening to the sound of iron hitting iron from the back of the building.

    [But what do you think are they going to make Toya do?] Yuna

    [If Xelo-sanes here, you¡¯ll know.] Jade

    After waiting in the backyard for a while, Xelo-san brought a few swords with him.

    [Toya. Let¡¯s begin your test.] Xelo

    [Y, yeah.] Toya

    Toya replied a little nervously.

    Xelo-san stabs one of his swords into the ground.

    [It¡¯s a sword that my son made.] Xelo

    Xelo-san held out another sword in his hand to Touya.

    [It¡¯s not as good as the sword I made for Jade, but it¡¯s still a mithril sword that I made. Try to cut it with this mithril sword. If you can do it, I¡¯ll make you a mithril sword.] Xelo

    [Okay.] Toya

    Toya took the sword offered to him. He pulled it out of the scabbard and stood in front of the sword stuck in the ground. He took a small deep breath and grasped the sword. He then swung his sword down at the sword stuck in the ground.

    The sword that was stuck in the ground did not get cut, but bounced off and rolled on the ground instead.

    They all looked at the sword that had flown away, then look back at Toya.

    [Wait. Let me do it again.] Toya

    Toya picked up the sword that had been flicked away and stabbed it into the ground again. He then took a deep breath to calm his mind. Then, he swung the sword down again. But the result was just the same as before.

    Toya stared at the sword he was holding. And everyone is looking silently at Toya¡¯s figure.

    [Old man Xelo. Isn¡¯t this a blunt sword?] Toya

    Xelo-san picked up the sword that was silently blown and stabbed it once again in the ground. Then told Toya to give the sword back.

    [Jade, you do it. Don¡¯t go easy on him. It¡¯s not good for Toya.] Xelo

    When Jade-san silently received the sword, he shed it at the sword stuck in the ground. Then, the sword stuck in the ground was cut in the middle.

    [This is the difference between you and Jade. Mithril Sword is still too early for you. Even if I make it for you, the Mithril Sword will be wasted.] Xelo

    I don¡¯t think he needed to say that much.

    [Toya...] Jade

    Jade-san, Mel-san, and Senia-san looked worried. Toya clenched his fists tightly.

    [There may be other cksmiths who can make it for you. We¡¯ll just have to look elsewhere.] Jade

    [Xelo-san...] Toya

    Jade-san tried to say something, but Toya interrupted him.

    [Old man Xelo, may I have another try?] Toya

    Toya, who had been looking down in frustration, looked up and met Xelo-san¡¯s eyes, asking with a powerful gaze.

    [Hou, if you can cut it, then I¡¯ll make it.] Xelo

    [Old man, I¡¯m gonna borrow this sword.] Toya

    Toya heads over to Jade-san and receives the mithril sword. Xelo-san looks at Toya intently.

    [I¡¯ll lend it to you. Also, you can take that sword over there.] Xelo

    He pointed to the sword, which was called a blunt sword.

    [I promise you.] Toya

    Toya left with one of the swords that seem to have been made by Xelo-san¡¯s son.

    [Toya!] Jade

    Jade-san shouted.

    [I¡¯ll go after him. Jade, Mel, both of you stay here.] Senia

    When she said that, Senia-san chased Toya.

    Fina and Ruimin looked at Toya and Senia-san who had left, then looked at Jade-san, and finally looked at me to see what I¡¯m going to do.

    [We¡¯ll let Senia handle it for now.] Jade

    As we were looking at the two who had left, Jade-san called out to us. I¡¯m a little worried about Toya, but Senia-san has gone after him, so I guess it¡¯ll be okay.

    [Xelo-san, aren¡¯t you being a little hard on Toya? You didn¡¯t even do this before.] Jade

    Speaking of strictness, he was indeed harsh. However, in some games, if you don¡¯t have enough muscle parameters, you can¡¯t equip good gear. It¡¯s probably the same here, if you don¡¯t grow inside, you can¡¯t equip a weapon with good performance.

    Xero-san turned his back on us and began to speak.

    [There¡¯s not much of a reason behind it. That¡¯s just my selfishness.] Xelo

    [Selfishness?] Mel

    [A new adventurer who used my sword just died. Because he had a good sword, he mistook it for his own ability. So he fought a strong demon and died, just like that.] Xelo

    [............]

    [It¡¯s not Xelo-san¡¯s fault.] Jade

    The new adventurer didn¡¯t know what he was capable of and was just being reckless. It¡¯s like an ordinary person got the hero¡¯s sword and said, <I¡¯m awesome!>. As Jade-san says, I don¡¯t think Xelo-san is at fault.

    [Maybe so. But I want to make a sword that matches his ability. So if Toya can¡¯t do this well, I¡¯m not going to make it. And I¡¯m going to ask another cksmith to make Toya¡¯s sword.] Xelo

    Xelo-san picked up the sword that Jade-san shed and looked at the sword.

    [You¡¯ve be stronger.] Xelo

    [Xelo-san...] Jade

    [That¡¯s all I have to say. Tell Toya that he has until the gates of the trials close.] Xelo

    [Understood.] Jade

    Now, we can only hope that he can do it, right?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Touya has been rejected. But it looks like he hasn¡¯t given up.

    Next time, I will post in 3 days if nothinges up, and in 4 days if something does.

 Chapter 393 Bear-san, Tries the Challenge.

    <h4>Chapter 393 Bear-san, Tries the Challenge.</h4>

    I looked at the sword stuck in the ground that Jade-san had shed. And then I thought. I want to try it too. I¡¯ve sliced the arm of an iron golem when I was testing out my mithril knife, but never with a sword. I¡¯m tempted to do it. Maybe if I don¡¯t slice it properly, the sword will either pop off or break like in Toya¡¯s case. If it pops off or breaks, then it¡¯s a failure.

    Hmm, I¡¯d like to try it.

    But Toya took the sword, didn¡¯t he? I wonder if he¡¯ll let me use Ghazal-san¡¯s knife.

    As I was pondering about what to do, Mel-san calls out to me.

    [Yuna-chan. What¡¯s wrong? Could it be, that you want to try it?] Mel

    She read my mind.

    Or did it show on my face?

    I used the bear puppets in my hands to massage my cheeks to prevent people from reading my facial expressions.

    [I¡¯d like to try it. But I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay for me to do it when it¡¯s Toya¡¯s test.] Yuna

    This was Toya¡¯s test, so I didn¡¯t feelfortable doing it just for the fun of it.

    [Did you really have to care about that? By the way, Yuna-chan, I¡¯ve seen you use magic and knives before, but can you handle a sword?] Mel

    [Probably......, since I¡¯ve used one a long time ago.] Yuna

    When I first came to this world, I did a little experiment with some cheap swords. As well as some knives. I was able to handle it just as well as I did in the game. So, there¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t handle. I just don¡¯t know how many of the skills I brought here.

    [I see. Well then, I¡¯d like to see Yuna-chan use a sword.] Mel

    Mel-san talks to Xelo-san.

    [Xelo-san, Yuna-chan wants to try it, is that okay?] Mel

    [What does she want to try?] Xelo

    [What Jade and Toya did.] Mel

    Mel-san turned her gaze to the sword that Jade-san had shed.

    [You look like you can¡¯t even hold a sword, miss little bear, and you want to do what Toya couldn¡¯t? Don¡¯t make meugh. It¡¯s not something you can just say you want to do and do it easily.] Xelo

    He snickered after he nced at me.

    Certainly, even I won¡¯t normally think that someone like me dressed as a bear, can do what Toya couldn¡¯t.

    But there¡¯s nothing to snicker about, is there?

    [Xelo-san, she¡¯s also a good adventurer, you know? Will you let her do it?] Jade

    [Jade...] Xelo

    Even Jade-san said it, and Xelo-san touched his long beard and thought about it a little bit.

    [She¡¯s not an amateur. She¡¯s actually a great adventurer and even stronger than me.] Jade

    [Ha~a? That strange-lookingdy an adventurer? And stronger than you, Jade?] Xelo

    Xelo-san narrowed his eyes and stared at me as if he were looking at a strange creature.

    [You don¡¯t look like a strong adventurer by a long shot. Even if you are a strong adventurer, I can understand if you are a magician. Some people have a lot of magic power. But swords are different. The skill of the sword is not something that is easy to acquire. You learn it by swinging your sword over and over again, by fighting a lot of battles.] Xelo

    Back in the game, I¡¯ve wielded many swords and fought many battles, from monsters to people. I think I have more experience than most adventurers in this world.

    [You know, Jade. I know how hard you¡¯ve worked to get where you are. But I don¡¯t feel like she¡¯s been through that much.] Xelo

    Well, ever since I came to this world, I haven¡¯t practiced as much as I should have, I¡¯m only relying on the bear cheat. As Xelo-san said, it¡¯s not something I¡¯ve acquired through hard work.

    I guess the new things I¡¯ve learned sinceing into this world are the ability to endure embarrassment and the art of ignoring passersby.

    [And even if you wanted to, your little body can¡¯t even wield a sword. A sword is not light enough for a child to handle.] Xelo

    I wanted to say, <you¡¯re short yourself, so you can¡¯t speak for others>. Xelo-san is the same height as me.

    [With Yuna-chan¡¯s power, she should be fine, you know?] Mel

    [She¡¯ll be fine.] Jade

    Both of them know that I can defeat a golem with one punch. Perhaps because of that, they immediately denied Xelo-san¡¯s words.

    By the way, the sword is heavy. Without the bear equipment, I won¡¯t be able to lift the sword, but I can handle it right now, so there¡¯s no problem. However, without the bear equipment, I¡¯m really weak.

    [Anyways, Toya took the mithril sword, so even if I wanted to, I couldn¡¯t.] Yuna

    [I wanted to see how Yuna-chan handle a sword though.] Mel

    Mel-san looked disappointed and so am I. Fina and Ruimin both want to see it too. In the meantime, Jade-san came to talk to me.

    [Would you like to use my sword then?] Jade

    Jade-san taps the sword on his waist.

    [But it might be too big for Yuna.] Jade

    Certainly, Jade-san¡¯s sword is a little longer than the one earlier. But that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve used short and long swords back in the game.

    I¡¯ll lend it to you if you want.

    Jade-san held out the sword on his hip to me. And so, I took it.

    It¡¯s bigger, and probably even heavier than the other one. I¡¯m holding it in my bear puppet, so I don¡¯t feel the weight that much.

    I slowly pull out the sword from its sheath. Oh, it¡¯s beautiful. It¡¯s been well maintained. It¡¯s not really surprising, but there are no spilled marks on the de, nor cloudiness to it. Holding it in my hands like this makes me want a sword.

    I smiled, as I hold the sword in the mouth of my bear puppet.

    [Is this a magic type?] Yuna

    [No, it¡¯s a specialized type.] Jade

    There are two types of mithril weapons: the magic type, in which magic power is poured into the weapon, and the specialized type, which maximizes the performance of the mithril. The mithril knife that I have is a magic type.

    I swung the sword a few times. I heard the sound of the wind whistling through the air in every swing. Knives are cool, but swords are nice too. But it¡¯s still a bit too long for me. Even arge sword can be carried if I stored it in the bear box. But if I¡¯m going to use a sword, I think it would be easier to use a shorter one.

    [You look so cool, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [You move faster than my dad.] Ruimin

    Fina and Ruimin praised me when they saw me wielding a sword.

    [I think it¡¯s amazing, but is she that cool?] Jade

    [I¡¯m with Jade on that one. A girl dressed up as a cute bear swinging a sword is not cool, it¡¯s rather awesome? Or even cute? It¡¯s hard to describe her.] Mel

    Just imagine. A girl in a bear costume wielding a sword. It seems like it came from aedy skit. Or like a clown in a circus. I quickly erase the image from my mind.

    [Alright, let¡¯s do it.] Xelo

    Xelo-san sticks a sword in the ground. It¡¯s a sword created by his son, but if the person who made it saw it here, he¡¯d be sad.

    I stand in front of the sword stuck in the ground. As if remembering the feeling from my gaming days, I tighten my grip on the sword and strike it downwards from the right angle.

    Nothing happened to the sword stuck in the ground.

    [Yuna-oneesan, did you fail?] Fina

    [Did she missed it?] Ruimin

    [No, she didn¡¯t miss it.] Jade

    [But she didn¡¯t cut it either.] Mel

    Everyone looks uneasy.

    I pointed Jade-san¡¯s sword at the sword stuck in the ground and gave it a little nudge. Then the middle part of the sword falls to the ground.

    [I knew it. she already cut it.] Jade

    Jade-san seemed to know what I just did.

    [Jade-san, this is a good sword.] Yuna

    [Ah, because it¡¯s a sword made by Xelo-san.] Jade

    I sheathed the sword and returned it to Jade-san.

    [Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re so amazing.] Fina

    [I thought you didn¡¯t cut it.] Ruimin

    [This is a very good sword, Jade-san. You heard what Xelo-san said. The sword that Touya and Jade-san used earlier was inferior to Jade-san¡¯s personal sword. So you can¡¯t reallypare them.] Yuna

    If it had been the sword that Toya had used, I wouldn¡¯t be able to cut it with the same result and I wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. The reason why I was able to do such a trick was because of how good the sword Jade-san had.

    [Jade, just who is that bear missy? This is not an easy thing to do.] Xelo

    Xelo-san picked up the fallen half of the sword that I cut and examined it.

    [Her name is Yuna. She¡¯s an adventurer from Crimonia. I knew she could use magic and knives. But I didn¡¯t think she could handle a sword so well either.] Jade

    Jade-san exined about me. Xelo-san looked astonished when he heard the story about me.

    Xelo-san¡¯s point of view ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤

    The girl dressed as a bear who was with Jade said something outrageous.

    She wanted to try what Toya failed at miserably.

    This is not easy to do. When cutting a sword stuck in the ground, if you try to cut a sword with another sword without any skill, the sword will just blow away on impact. If you try to slice it with only force, the sword that you¡¯re using will break. This is not an easy thing to do. It takes abination of angle, speed, power, and other factors. And this bear girl wants to try it.

    It sounded crazy, so I startedughing.

    But Jade and the others didn¡¯tugh, they said things like the bear girl can do it. I told them that I don¡¯t have a mithril sword, and to my surprise, Jade lent her his own sword.

    He may have lent it to my friends before, but I never thought he would lend it to a child. That¡¯s how much he appreciates the bear girl¡¯s ability.

    The bear girl borrowed the sword from Jade and swung it a few times to show that she¡¯s not affected by the weight.

    Where does she get the strength to wield a sword so easily? Jade¡¯s sword is big and heavy. She shouldn¡¯t be able to wield it with ease. Maybe she has muscles that I can¡¯t see underneath her clothes?

    Then, the bear girl stood in front of the sword stuck in the ground and swung it down.

    Too fast. I couldn¡¯t tell when she swung down. In that instant, I could see how great the skill of this bear girl was. It¡¯s difficult to swing the sword down from the top and stop it at the bottom unless you have the strength to do so. Beginners were often get swept away by the weight of the sword. If she swung it so hard, she could have hit the ground without being able to stop it. However, the bear girl swung the heavy sword down in a sh and stopped it properly.

    However, after she swung her sword down, the sword stuck in the ground did not crack nor got shed.

    Did she hit it?

    No, she shouldn¡¯t be able to miss it from that distance. The girl points the sword she is holding at the sword stuck in the ground and pokes it with the tip. Then, after poking it, the upper half of the sword falls to the ground.

    I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. It had been cut. Moreover, there was no immediate reaction. You can¡¯t do something like this on a whim or by ident.

    What the hell is this? What¡¯s with this bear girl?

    The beardy said without bragging, <Jade-san¡¯s sword is so good>. That made me happy because I created it. If she asked me to make her a sword, I would dly do it.

    Her appearance aside, her ability is the real deal.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yuna looked like she wanted a sword.

    Next time, we will go to Ghazal-san¡¯s master¡¯s ce.

    The post should probably be out in three days?

 Chapter 394 Bear-san Meets Rojina-san

    <h4>Chapter 394 Bear-san Meets Rojina-san</h4>

    Satisfied and contented.

    Jade-san¡¯s sword was very sharp. After all, a good sword is satisfying. However, unlike a knife, a long sword restricts the user¡¯s movement, making it difficult to use.

    The sword used at the school festival may be just right.

    Toya¡¯s discussion of the mithril sword had turned subtle, but my business here was done and so, I was about to leave the cksmith shop.

    Chirachira. (TN: ncing SFX.)

    [Xero-san, when Toya can do it, please make his sword.] Jade

    [Yeah, I keep my promises. I¡¯ll make it right then.] Xelo

    Chirachira.

    [Just make sure you tell him the deadline is until the Tribtion Gates close.] Xelo

    Chirachira.

    I have a feeling that Xelo-san has been watching me for a while now, but am I just being self-conscious?

    Or do you want toin about something? Do you want to say it¡¯s a fluke? Maybe they think it was a fluke or I did a cowardly cheat to sh the sword. Well, I can¡¯t argue with that, since I¡¯m actually using the cowardly ability of the bear cheat. I¡¯m worried about Xelo-san¡¯s gaze, so I decide to leave the shop first, taking Fina and Ruimin with me.

    [Jade-san, Mel-san. We¡¯ll be waiting for you outside.] Yuna

    [Okay. We¡¯ll be right there.] Mel

    [Ah ~] Xelo

    I thought I heard something in the background. Maybe it was my imagination.

    I decided to wait for Jade-san and Mel-san outside the shop.

    After a while, Jade-san and Mel-san came out. We are going to Ghazal-san¡¯s master, Rojina-san¡¯s store, guided by Mel-san.

    .......I was supposed to say no good.

    [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll make it up to youter.] Yuna

    [Actually, Toya and Senia were supposed to go shopping with Jade, but after what happened, she had to go after him and I had to go with Jade.] Mel

    [I¡¯m fine on my own.] Jade

    [That¡¯s not how it works.] Mel

    It seems that the two of them have to go buy something that a merchant in the royal capital has asked them to buy. But since both Toya and Senia-san were gone, Mel-san had to fill in.

    And since she wasn¡¯t able to go with us, Mel-san drew us a map to Rojina-san¡¯s store.

    [Ruimin. Do you know where it is?] Yuna

    [Yes. It¡¯s okay, I know where it is.] Ruimin

    It was decided to leave the directions to Ruimin, who had been to the city once before.

    [Even so, Xelo-san. He¡¯s been watching Yuna-chan as you walk away. While Yuna-chan ignoring him the whole time is simply amazing.] Mel

    I knew it! He was watching me. I wasn¡¯t being self-conscious after all.

    [Maybe he was just thinking that it was unusual for someone to dress up like a bear?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know. I think it started after Yuna-chan shed the sword.] Mel

    I guess he¡¯s being suspicious of me after all. Too dangerous, I have to watch out.

    I don¡¯t want to be asked where I learned my sword art.

    I split up with Jade-san and Mel-san and went to Rojina-san¡¯s ce with Fina and Ruimin. Ruimin is holding the map as she walks in front of us, while Fina and I walk diagonally one step behind her.

    [Let¡¯s see, over here......], [Then turn here......] [Straight ahead......], [Two bends ahead.......] Ruimin looked at the map and went on her way without getting lost. Then she stops.

    [Right here.] Ruimin

    Ruimin stretched out her arm and pointed at the shop.

    [Here?] Yuna

    [Yes, here.] Ruimin

    So we¡¯re here? She seems confident.

    [This isn¡¯t a weapons shop, you know?] Yuna

    The signboard was decorated with pots and pans. It didn¡¯t look like a cksmith shop that made weapons.

    [Ruimin, you got lost, didn¡¯t you?] Yuna

    [Of course not! It¡¯s here on the map. I was not wrong.] Ruimin

    Ruimin puffed out her cheeks and showed me the map.

    Indeed, Xelo-san¡¯s cksmith shop is right here, then we went through here, turned here, went straight, and turned at the second bend.

    [You¡¯re right.] Yuna

    [See? I¡¯m wasn¡¯t wrong, you know?] Ruimin

    Ruimin tried her best to make her case right.

    The only thing I can think of was that Jade-san and his friends came to this city a long time ago, so it¡¯s possible that Rojina-san moved during that time. It¡¯s also very possible that the map is wrong.

    [For now, let¡¯s go inside the store and ask.] Yuna

    Since we can¡¯t just go back, we decided to check this cksmith shop and ask the clerk. Perhaps they might know about the previous owner or about Rojina-san.

    As we entered the store, I saw pots and pans of various sizes piled up. It might be a good idea to buy the pots and the pans here.

    [This pot, is just the right size. And this one looks easy to use.] Fina

    Fina picked up the pot in front of her and began to inspect it.

    [Do you think we¡¯ll get everything here?] Ruimin

    Ruimin also began to scurry around the store, looking at the note that Talia-san had given her.

    Something has changed in our purpose. As we looked around the store, we felt someoneing from the back of the store.

    [Wee. Are you buying in pieces or in bulk?] Clerk

    We were greeted by a Dwarf girl of unknown age. She was short, so I couldn¡¯t tell her age. She could be as old as me. Or maybe she was way older than me. So I was at a loss on what to decide.

    [Bear-san?] Clerk

    The Dwarf girl looks at me in surprise. Then she smiles andes up to me and takes my hand in hers.

    [So cute.......] Clerk

    The girl circled around me.

    [Ano.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry. I mean, you¡¯re very cute. What can I get for you? Just tell me, I¡¯ll give it to you. It will take some time to make though. Also, the price will be higher than usual.] Clerk

    The dwarf girl starts talking about her business again.

    Fina was holding a pot and wondering what she should do. As for me, I want to do the shoppingter.

    [I have some things I want, but before I do, I need to ask you something, is that okay?] Yuna

    [Oh, yes. What would that be?] Clerk

    [I think someone named Rojina-san used to run a store here. I don¡¯t know if you know her. But we¡¯re here to see Rojina-san.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re here to see my father?] Clerk

    [Your father?] Yuna

    [Rojina is my father.] Clerk

    [Etto, you don¡¯t have any swords or anything in here.] Yuna

    The store does not have a single sword on disy. If you look inside the store, you will see pots and pans, tools used for cooking. Then there are tools like hammers and saws. The only knives they have on disy are kitchen knives.

    [Did you, by any chance,e to the store because you heard rumors about my father? I¡¯m sorry. But he doesn¡¯t make swords anymore.] Clerk

    The dwarf girl bows her head and apologizes.

    But I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s Rojina-san¡¯s store. But what does she mean about it?

    He¡¯s Gordo-san and Ghazal-san¡¯s master, the one who taught them to make weapons, right?

    [Etto, I know Gordo-san and Ghazal-san. Can I see Rojina-san?] Yuna

    I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on, so I¡¯m going to name two people whose master is Rojna-san, and if it¡¯s the same Rojina-san this girl is talking about, then she must know about them.

    [Gordo and Ghazal? You know them both?!] Clerk

    The girl had a surprised look on her face. If that was her reaction, then it must be the Rojina-san I¡¯m looking for. But I¡¯m starting to lose track of the situation.

    [Yeah, Gordo-san lives in the same city as I am and I¡¯m seeing Ghazal-san too. Also, I have letters from both of them for Rojina-san.] Yuna

    I took out the letters from the bear box.

    [Wait a minute, please. Mom is out. Dad!] Clerk

    When the girl saw the letters, she ran to the back of the store, calling for her father.

    [We are at Rojina-san¡¯s store after all.] Yuna

    [I wasn¡¯t wrong. See? I wasn¡¯t wrong. And you¡¯re saying I was wrong.] Ruimin

    [I¡¯m sorry. Because nobody would expect a master cksmith who¡¯s known for making weapons to be making pots and pans.] Yuna

    [But is he really Gordo-san and Ghazal-san¡¯s master?] Fina

    Fina and I thought of the same thing. Well, that¡¯s what I think, you know? I looked around the store, but there¡¯s not a single sword in sight. I wonder what¡¯s going on?

    However, the girl told me that <they don¡¯t make them anymore>. That would mean that he used to make them. It is most likely that he quit for some reason. If he was injured, he couldn¡¯t make pots either. And yet, Gordo-san and Ghazal-san had never said anything like that.

    As I was pondering about it, I heard the voices of a dwarf girl and a maning from the back.

    [What? A bear girl? What¡¯s going on here?] Rojina

    [That¡¯s what I¡¯m telling you, the bear girl knows Gordo and Ghazal and she brought you their letters!] Clerk

    [What¡¯s with the bear girl? Did you let a beare into the store?] Rojina

    [As I kept saying, she¡¯s a girl!] Clerk

    [So it¡¯s a female bear?] Rojina

    [No, she¡¯s not!] Clerk

    Their voices gradually be louder.

    The girl is grabbing the male dwarf by the arm andes back to the counter. I wonder if this dwarf is Rojina-san?

    The man who seemed to be Rojina-san stared at me as if he was astonished by my outfit.

    He only nced lightly at Fina and Ruimin, but he kept looking at me from bottom to top and top to bottom. I can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m dressed like a bear.

    [Bear?] Rojina

    [See, it¡¯s bear-san.] Clerk

    [It is a bear.] Rojina

    [And she¡¯s a girl.] Clerk

    [She is a girl.] Rojina

    They had been arguing earlier, but the moment they saw me, they agreed.

    [Are you Rojina-san?]

    [Yes, I am. But is it true that the youngdy dressed as a bear is an acquaintance of Gordo and Ghazal?] Rojina

    [Yes, I¡¯m indebted to both of them. And when I told them I wasing to this city, they asked me to deliver their letters.] Yuna

    I replied politely and presented the letter I was carrying to Rojina-san.

    [So, how are Gordo and Ghazal doing?] Clerk

    [Gordo-san is on good terms with Nert-san, and Ghazal-san has be a famous cksmith in the capital.] Yuna

    What I¡¯m saying about Ghazal-san is what Jade-san said to me. So, I don¡¯t really actually know.

    [I see, so those two are doing well.] Rojina

    [Etto, if you would, can you tell us a story about those two... and Nert, those three?] Clerk

    The girl grabs my bear puppet.

    [It¡¯s okay. But I also need to ask a question to Rojina-san.] Yuna

    One of the reasons I came here was because of the Bearmonite.

    We decided to talk about this over some tea.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Rojina-san was just making pots now.

    It¡¯s almost time for the 400th episode. It felt like I just reached 300 episodes the other day, but it¡¯s happening so fast.

 Chapter 395 Bear-san, Talks About Gordo-san and Ghazal-san

    <h4>Chapter 395 Bear-san, Talks About Gordo-san and Ghazal-san</h4>

    We were shown into a small room. Not in the guest room at home, but it¡¯s more like a work break room, or a room where we can talk about work.

    There¡¯s a table and some chairs in the middle of the room. Pots and pans areying on the shelves and hanging on the wall, perhaps this ce is some kind of a storage room. There¡¯s not a single sword in the room though.

    [Sorry, the room is a bit cramped, but please, take a seat anywhere you like.] Rojina

    [Ah, mom¡¯s not here. Do we have any tea or snacks?] Clerk

    The girl went to the other room and brought cups and tea with her when she came back.

    [I¡¯m sorry, this wasn¡¯t much.] Clerk

    [Oh, thank you. That¡¯s more than enough.] Yuna

    We drank the tea that was served. We all sat down on chairs and introduced ourselves. Rojina-san¡¯s daughter¡¯s name was Rikka. Her slightly long hair was tied up with a ribbon, making her look a little young. Well, I couldn¡¯t tell the age of Nert-san when I first saw her either. I also have fond memories of the time I suspected Gordo-san of being a pedophile. (TN: ¥ê¥Ã¥« Rikka)

    [Anyway, did you, three children came from the city where Gordo lives? The city where Gordo is currently in should be quite far from here.] Rikka

    She said, children. Does that include me? But I¡¯m the guardian of these two.

    [First off, I¡¯m an adventurer... so I came here while escorting them...] Yuna

    I emphasize the <adventurer> and the <escorting the two> parts.

    [Adventurer...?] Rikka

    Rojina-san and Rikka were surprised by my words. Whenever I tell people I¡¯m an adventurer, they have the same reaction. I know it¡¯s all because of my appearance, and I can¡¯t help it, but sometimes I wish people would simply believe me.

    [Yuna-chan, you¡¯re an adventurer? But I think it¡¯s dangerous for a newbie adventurer toe here alone. Besides, Yuna-chan is a girl, and you have two pretty girls along with you.] Rikka

    The definition of me being a new adventurer is a mystery to mankind.

    Freshmen, the first-year students who enter the school, are called new students at the beginning of the school year, but after the summer vacation, they are not called new students anymore.

    And what about the new employees? I wonder if I¡¯ll be treated as a new employee for a year or so. I don¡¯t have any social experience, so I don¡¯t know, but by the student¡¯s definition, I would no longer be a new adventurer. I wouldn¡¯t call myself a veteran adventurer, but I think it¡¯s too early to call myself a mid-level adventurer. I wonder how long it takes to be a mid-level adventurer or even a veteran adventurer. I don¡¯t want to call a rank E adventurer a veteran, no matter how old he is.

    [But how did you convinced your parents toe here with just the three of you? My mom and dad would never have allowed it.] Rikka

    [Yuna-san is strong, so she allowed me to go.] Ruimin

    [Yes. Yuna-oneesan is stronger than anyone else.] Fina

    Rikka was worried, but Fina and Ruimin affirmed my strength. However, Rikka still looked at me as if she doesn¡¯t believe their words.

    [When you said you were indebted to Gordo and Ghazal, I thought maybe they made you a pot or something but did they perhaps made you a weapon?] Rikka

    [I asked them to make my knives.] Yuna

    Gordo-san made knives for me and Fina to use for dismantling. Ghazal-san made knives for me to use in battle.

    [Bear-san uses a weapon...] Rikka

    Putting the bear part aside. If you¡¯re an adventurer, you¡¯ve got a weapon or two.

    [Gordo and Ghazal¡¯s letters mentioned that you¡¯re an excellent adventurer. Also, Gordo¡¯s letter stated that we should be careful since you might cause a scene because you dressed as a bear.] Rojina

    Gordo-san, what did you just wrote about? Me, making a scene? What? Please don¡¯t talk about people like they¡¯re troublemakers.

    In the first ce, why are you writing about me? It¡¯s been a long time since you wrote to your hometown, so why not write about yourself? Or maybe, you wrote about me because you don¡¯t want to write about yourself?

    That¡¯s quite possible for Gordo-san.

    [Let me see it.] Rikka

    Rojina-san was reading the letters while Rikka was talking to me. When Rojina-san finished reading the letters, he ced them on the table, then Rikka started reading them.

    [Yea. Also, could you please give this letter to Gordo-san¡¯s parents as well?] Yuna

    [All right. I¡¯ll give it to them.] Rojina

    Now that I¡¯ve finished what Gordo-san and Ghazal-san asked me to do. All I need is for them to listen to my query.

    [U wa~a, it says she¡¯s a really good adventurer. A very strong adventurer contrary to her looks.] Rikka

    Rikka looks at me and the letter alternately. She can¡¯t believe what¡¯s written in the letter.

    Is it just me or Am I really feeling d¨¦j¨¤-vu in those words? I remember that the same thing was written in the letter of introduction from Gordo-san to Ghazal-san. Shouldn¡¯t it be written there that the bear is strong, just as it looks?

    [What¡¯s with Gordo and Nerd? Are they fighting? Don¡¯t they get along?] Rikka

    [Nert-san may be hot on Gordo-san¡¯s ass, but they do get along great.] Yuna

    [Oh, yeah. The letter says they¡¯re doing fine. He may be lying because I don¡¯t want to worry about them. But it¡¯s reassuring to hear from someone who knows them.] Rikka

    [Fina is more familiar with the two of them than I do. She¡¯s known them longer than I have.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Rikka

    Gordo-san¡¯s store was introduced to me by Fina. She knows more about it than I do, who came to Crimonia a few months ago. It seems that she has been taking care of me for quite a long time.

    Rikka asked Fina a lot of questions and she answered it all. She told Rikka about the knife she was given for her dismantling work and Gordo-san did the maintenance work for free. She also talked about things I don¡¯t know, which was refreshing for me to hear.

    [Gordo-san and Nert-san have been very kind to me.] Fina

    [Yeah. It¡¯s so like those two.] Ra

    Ra nodded happily at each of Fina¡¯s stories.

    [But why did Gordo-san move to a faraway ce like Crimonia?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t see the need for Gordo-san and Nert-san to leave their hometown and move to Crimonia.

    [He did that so he can be independent and live with Nert. Nert¡¯s parents died early, and Gordo¡¯s family, who lived nearby, took care of her. Well, things happened, and Gordo decided to leave the city with Nelt to work as a cksmith in another city. I told him to get a store in this city, but there was no work for a new cksmith, so he left town. Perhaps, he thought that the city of Crimonia was a good ce to open a store.] Rikka

    Gordo-san, you left town to be with Nert-san. That¡¯s sweet. Well, they gave Fina a knife, they do maintenance for free, and they are a kind couple, especially Nert-san.

    [So how is Ghazal doing in the Royal Capital? You said earlier that he became famous. Is that true?] Rikka

    [I¡¯m not exactly familiar with that because I was just introduced to Ghazal-san by Gordo-san. An adventurer I knew said he was an excellent cksmith though.] Yuna

    [Is that so? It seems Gazal is doing his best.] Rikka

    I wondered if it was my imagination that Rikka looked happier than when she was talking about Gordo-san.

    [Well, was Ghazal alone?] Rikka

    Rikka looks a little ufortable asking.

    Alone?

    [I don¡¯t think he had any apprentices. He¡¯s been making weapons and serving customers in the store all by himself.] Yuna

    I think he should at least hire someone to help him. Ghazal runs the store and the workshop by himself.

    [I see. He¡¯s doing it by himself.] Rikka

    Rikka looked down and looked a little happy.

    And when I asked why Ghazal-san went to the royal capital.

    [He said he¡¯d see what he could do in a ce like the capital and left. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d end up in the capital of Erfanica Kingdom, though.] Rikka

    It¡¯s typical of Ghazal-san.

    [He doesn¡¯t have to go to the Royal Capital or another city, he could have opened a store here. I would have given him money for him to start.] Rojina

    [Dad! Ghazal left, and I miss him.] Rikka

    Are you a tsundere, perhaps?

    But it looks like he is Gordo-san and Ghazal-san¡¯s master, then why is he making pots and pans instead of making swords?

    It¡¯s hard to find the right time to ask them.

    [So, Missy, in Ghazal¡¯s letter, he wants me to take a look at the ore you have.] Rojina

    I¡¯m also curious about Rojina-san¡¯s story, but I wanted to talk to him about the Bearmonite. Ghazal-san, it seems you wrote the letter correctly.

    I pulled out the two bearmonites from the bear box and put them on the table. Rojina-san reached for one of the bearmonites. For some reason, Rikka took the other one. Well, it can¡¯t be helped since I took out two.

    When Rojina-san held it in his hand, he squinted, squeezed it, and examined it with his fingers. Rikka did the same as if imitating him. As expected of a father and daughter. They acted the same.

    [Do you know what it is?] Yuna

    Rojina-san silently left his seat and searched for something in a nearby box. When he found something, he held it in his hand, then returned to his seat. He grasped the object in his hand and used it to look at the bearmonite as if peering into it.

    A loupe, perhaps?

    [I¡¯ve seen this before. This is a spirit stone. But somehow, it¡¯s changing.] Rojina

    [A spirit stone?] Yuna

    Isn¡¯t that a bearmonite?

    [But I don¡¯t know what kind of spirit stone has it changed to.] Rojina

    [What is a spirit stone?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a stone that possesses a special power that amplifies the power of the attribute of the one who holds the spirit stone.] Rojina

    Oh, it looks like it was some kind of a power-up item.

    But by attributes, you mean, like fire, water, wind, and earth, right?

    Perhaps the bearmonite... I have an unpleasant image in my mind. I don¡¯t want to admit it, but. In other words, bearmonite is a bear-type stone.

    [Are you sure it¡¯s a spirit stone?] Yuna

    [What, are you doubting me?] Rojina

    [Not really.] Yuna

    Because looking through the bear analysis, it¡¯s a bearmonite.

    [So, what attribute is it?] Yuna

    [A spirit stone is basically a stone of nothingness. It is a stone in a state of nothingness. If the owner touches it and lets the magic flow through it, the spirit stone changes. If it¡¯s an elf girl, it will be a spirit stone of the wind attribute. If it¡¯s a dwarf, it¡¯ll often be either earth or fire.] Rojina

    That would mean that bearmonite is a spirit stone that changed into a bearmonite.

    But I don¡¯t remember pouring any magic into it. I was already a bearmonite from the moment I got it.

    I remembered when I found bearmonite.

    After I defeated the Mithril Golem. I explored the cave where the mithril golem was. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear dug a hole and found the spirit stone the Bearmonite.

    The question was, when did the change ur? Did God originally prepared it? That¡¯s the most probable. Or maybe, the point where it changed into a Bearmonite was the moment I touched it? No, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear dug into the ground and found it first. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have touched it. Could it be because of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?

    I look at the bear puppets in my hands.

    Somehow, I felt that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were crying <Kuu-n>.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Bearmonite¡¯s true identity revealed?

    ¡ùIt seems that book 7 is now avable for pre-order. Information on store specials will be avableter this week. Please wait a while longer.

 Chapter 396 Bear-san, Shows Her Knife

    <h4>Chapter 396 Bear-san, Shows Her Knife</h4>

    Information about the Bearmonite has taken a step forward.

    I never thought that it was a spirit stone that had been changed. Moreover, I didn¡¯t know that it could be changed by the owner¡¯s magical power. I thought it was something that God had prepared, but was it not?

    But if the Bearmonite is an item that strengthens the bear attribute, is it enough to just carry it as it is? Or does it need to be processed first? I looked at the round ore that Rojina-san and Rikka were holding and asked.

    [How do you use a spirit stone?] Yuna

    [You can ask the elfdy there for more information. Elves know more about spirit stones than we do.] Rojina

    Rojina-san looks at Ruimin, who is standing beside me.

    I had no idea that there was someone so close to me who knew about Bearmonite. I turned my gaze to Ruimin. But she shakes her head and hands.

    [I¡¯m sure Grandpa knows about it, but I don¡¯t.] Ruimin

    Apparently, I need to ask Mumroot-san. Well, I¡¯m not in a hurry to ask about the Bearmonite. Besides, I also have to take Ruimin to the elf vige on my way back, so I can ask Mumroot-san then.

    But I wasn¡¯t really expecting to get any information about the Bearmonite, so I¡¯m d I came to the dwarven city. I should have asked Mumroot-san from the beginning, but I didn¡¯t think he would know, so I had no choice.

    All that¡¯s left was to tour the city and buy some pots and pans, then all of our objectives will beplete.

    [Anyway, if that Ghazal doesn¡¯t know about spirit stones, he¡¯s not studying enough. We should get him back and retrain him.] Rojina

    [The only reason he doesn¡¯t know is that dad didn¡¯t teach him about it. It would be a pity if you me Ghazal for hisck of education.] Rikka

    Rikka defended Ghazal-san. Anyway, judging from the conversation between the two of them, I¡¯m certain that he was Ghazal-san and Gordo-san¡¯s master.

    [Rojina-san is Ghazal-san and Gordo-san¡¯s master cksmith, right?] Yuna

    [Yeah, for a while. I¡¯ve taught them a lot.] Rojina

    [Then why isn¡¯t there a single sword in this store? The store is lined with pots and pans, and neither Gordo-san nor Ghazal-san said anything about that. I¡¯m sorry if this is something that I should not ask.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s.......] Rojina

    Rojina-san turned his head to the side with aplicated look on his face. I knew it, it was probably something difficult to say.

    [Dad. Why don¡¯t you just tell her? You can¡¯t hide it anymore. Even if Yuna-chan leaves, the three of them will know about it eventually.] Rikka

    [Were you injured, perhaps?] Yuna

    [No. Dad was...] Rikka

    [Rikka!] Rojina

    Rojina-san tries to stop her, but Rikka didn¡¯t stop opening her mouth.

    [Dad was depressed when Gordo and Ghazal left the city. He was so attached to his apprentices, whom he had taken such good care of and raised them well. And because of that, he couldn¡¯t help it now they were gone.] Rikka

    [No, I¡¯m not depressed.] Rojina

    [What¡¯s the difference? When Gordo left with Nert, you were drinking for days. Then, when Ghazal left, you only made one sword a month and you ended up looking like an empty shell.] Rikka

    [That¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t make the sword the way I wanted.] Rojina

    [It¡¯s probably because they¡¯re already gone.] Rikka

    [That¡¯s not true.] Rojina

    Could it be that this was what Jade-san was talking about when he said Rojina-san was only making it once a month?

    I wonder what Jade-san would say if he knew about this.

    [And in the end, mom got angry with you and told you to make a pot instead if you couldn¡¯t make a sword.] Rikka

    [That being said, Rikka, you must have been sad to see Ghazal go.] Rojina

    [Wha... No, that¡¯s not the case here. I¡¯m talking about you, dad, right now.] Rikka

    Rojina-san and Rikka looked at each other while puffing their cheeks.

    Apparently, he lost his motivation after Gordo-san and Ghazal-san disappeared. Well, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t understand that feeling. Motivation is important, you know.

    But he was so depressed that he couldn¡¯t make weapons anymore, that¡¯s how much he liked the two of them.

    [That¡¯s why you should have to look for a new apprentice. That way you would have been motivated again.] Rikka

    [It¡¯s not easy to find a disciple.] Rojina

    [Dad, it¡¯s because your standards are too high. No one can be as good as Gordo or Ghazal from the start.] Rikka

    [What¡¯s the point for not having high standards?] Rojina

    The two kept arguing. They have a good parent and child rtionship since they can say what they want to say to each other. I looked at them smiling. But Fina and Ruimin were having trouble figuring out what to do. It¡¯s okay, you know? It¡¯s not a quarrel after all.

    While Rojina-san and Rikka are arguing, someone walks into the room.

    [I could hear your voices all the way to the store. No one was there, which was good. It was embarrassing, so both of you stop shouting!] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    [Mom!?] Rikka

    A female dwarf with short hair is looking at Rojina-san and Rikka. She seems to be Rikka¡¯s mother. Rikka¡¯s motheres over to us, looking around the room.

    [So what are you two arguing to make such amotion?] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    [It¡¯s dad¡¯s fault.] Rikka

    [It¡¯s Rikka.] Rojina

    The two red at each other.

    Rikka¡¯s mother gave up on those two, then she looked at us.

    [So, who are these lovely-looking girls?] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    [Yuna-chan and Fina-chan are from the same ce as Gordo and Nert. They also know about Ghazal.] Rikka

    Rikka briefly introduced us.

    [You know Gordo and Ghazal?] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    [I¡¯m indebted to both of them.] Yuna

    [Did Gordo and Ghazal, made you those clothes?] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    Rikka¡¯s mother looked at my bear suit with a surprised expression on her face.

    [I asked them to make knives for me. This outfit has nothing to do with Gordo-san and Ghazal-san.] Yuna

    [It took me by surprise, I thought those two made such pretty clothes.] Rikka¡¯s Mother

    How did you arrive at that conclusion?

    I don¡¯t even want to imagine those two bearded dwarves making a fluffy bear costume. They seem to be good at detailed work, so I¡¯m afraid they could make it well.

    Then she gave us a brief introduction. Rikka¡¯s mother¡¯s name is, Wy-san. (TN: ¥¦¥£¥ª¥é Wiora)

    [By the way, Yuna-chan, you said Gordo and Ghazal have made knives for you. Can you show us the knives? I want to know if they are working properly. If so, dad may be motivated once again.] Rikka

    [I¡¯d like to see it too.] Wy

    Rikka¡¯s words made Rojina-san wanted to say something, but Wy-san agreed with Rikka¡¯s words, so he just shut his mouth.

    [Gordo-san¡¯s knife is for dismantling, is that good enough?] Yuna

    [If you look closely at any kind of weapon, you¡¯ll see what kind of work they are using it with.] Rojina

    I asked Rikka, but it was Rojina-san who answered. Apparently, Rojina-san also wants to see the knife that those two made.

    I took out the bear knife (mithril knife) that Ghazal-san made for me from the bear box, and Fina took out the mithril knife that Gordo-san made for her from the item bag and put it on the table.

    Rojina-san picked up Gordo-san¡¯s knife that Fina had offered.

    [Is this a knife for dismantling? Then, this must be the knife made by Gordo.] Rojina

    He pulled the knife from its sheath and looked at the de.

    [...Did he used Mithril on this?] Rojina

    Just by looking at the sword¡¯s de, Rojina-san was able to tell in one nce.

    [Missy. Mind if I give this a little cutting test?] Rojina

    [Etto.] Fina

    Rojina-san asked Fina, who put the knife on the table. She looked at me. I gave a small nod in response.

    [Yes, please.] Fina

    After receiving permission from Fina, Rojina-san stood up and took out what looked like some kind of animal skin from a nearby drawer. Then, when he returned, he quickly cut the animal skin with the knife. He looked at the animal skin and the knife again and again.

    [That Gordo boy is growing up, isn¡¯t he? I was going to call him back and give him a fresh start on his training if his skills were getting rusty.] Rojina

    Even after saying that, Rojina-san¡¯s cheeks were rxed as if he was happy to see the growth of his apprentice. Rojina-san wiped the knife with a cloth and returned it back in its sheath.

    [Can I take a look at it too?] Rikka

    Rikka asked Fina and picked up the knife.

    [It looks really beautiful. I think he already surpassed dad.] Rikka

    [Sigh, not quite.] Rojina

    Rojina-san denied Rikka¡¯s words.

    [But why does a little girl like you have a mithril knife? It¡¯s not easy to buy one. Are you actually a rich girl by any chance?] Rikka

    Fina denied Rikka¡¯s words.

    [Umm... We are very poor. Yuna-oneesan bought me this knife.] Fina

    It¡¯s not like they¡¯re that poor. Gentz-san is here, and Tirumina-san is also working. Maybe she hasn¡¯t gotten over the feeling of the old times?

    She even got mad at me when I bought her a mithril knife.

    [Missy, this mithril knife....] Rojina

    [Her father works for the adventurer¡¯s guild and they do the dismantling together. That¡¯s why I asked Fina to dismantle the monsters and animals that I hunted.] Yuna

    [That doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll need a mithril knife for it.] Rojina

    [Well, she couldn¡¯t dismantle it without a mithril knife.] Yuna

    [Dismantle what?] Rojina

    [A ck tiger.] Yuna

    [............]

    A brief silence fills the room.

    [You¡¯re not lying, are you?] Rojina

    He believed in Gordo-san and Ghazal-san¡¯s letter, so he seemed to believe the ck Tiger part. However, he¡¯s also somewhat skeptical about it.

    Next, Rojina-san picked up the Swaying Bear-like knife with a ck handle. I didn¡¯t bring out the Hugging Bear knife because I didn¡¯t think it was necessary to bring out a simr one.

    [Bear?] Rojina

    Rojina-san looks at me and the bear engraved on the handle alternately.

    What? It¡¯s a bear. Ghazal-san carved it for me.

    After staring at the carved pattern for a while, Rojina-san slowly pulled the knife out of its sheath.

    [Another mithril knife. But this one¡¯s forbat.] Rojina

    Rojina-san asked me if he can do the same cutting test that he asked Fina earlier, so I gave him the same permission.

    [Can you handle this knife, Missy?] Rojina

    [In a manner of speaking. Ghazal-san has given me his approval.] Yuna

    When I gave the Iron Golem a test run, he praised me. When he praised me, it meant that he approved of me.

    [Can I test you a little, Missy?] Rojina

    [Test?] Yuna

    Rojina-san left his seat and brought out a thin iron rod.

    Etto, maybe cksmiths like to see it for themselves?

    Moreover, such a thin iron rod?

    It looked like an iron rod with a diameter of about one centimeter. I¡¯ve sliced the arm of an iron golem with a mithril knife, so this test would be a bitcking.

    [I just want to make sure Ghazal and Gordo¡¯s eyes are working properly. I won¡¯tin if you can¡¯t do it. But if Gordo and Ghazal said you¡¯re good, then you can do this. Besides, you just mentioned that thing about the ck Tiger.] Rojina

    Rojina-sanes in front of me with a stick.

    [Do you want me to sh it while you¡¯re holding it, by any chance? That¡¯s dangerous.] Yuna

    [If you have the ability, then you can do it. Besides, it¡¯s the best way to see what you¡¯re capable of. I won¡¯t put much pressure on my hands.] Rojina

    Rosina-san held the iron rod with a really light grip. It¡¯ll be easy to drop it.

    [It¡¯s out of the question that the iron rod will be blown away if you couldn¡¯t cut it, but the less vibration that¡¯s transmitted to my hand when you cut it, the better. Shall we?] Rojina

    This is also a matter of honor for Ghazal-san and Gordo-san, who have called me an excellent adventurer. So, I can¡¯t refuse. I¡¯m going to take this test.

    With a knife in hand, I stood up in front of Rojina-san.

    [Can I pour some magic into it?] Yuna

    [Yeah, that¡¯s a part of what you¡¯re good at after all.] Rojina

    Aren¡¯t you afraid, Rojina-san? If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do something like this to someone whose abilities I don¡¯t even know. Rojina-san is looking at me with serious eyes.

    I let the magic flow into the Swaying Bear knife.

    Then, I swung down diagonally toward the iron rod that Rojina-san was holding.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Fina has Gordo¡¯s knife.

    Yuna has Gazal¡¯s knife.

    This is to rify the difference between the two craftsmen.

    ¡ùIn the activity report, I posted information on the store purchase privileges for volume 7.

    ¡ùI¡¯ve added a picture of Yuna and Princess Flora for volume 7.

 Chapter 397 Bear-san, Buys Cooking Utensils

    <h4>Chapter 397 Bear-san, Buys Cooking Utensils</h4>

    When I swung the knife, a third of the iron bar fell to the floor.

    Yeah, it¡¯s a great sess.

    The rest of the iron rod was still properly held by Rojina-san¡¯s hand. I didn¡¯t send the iron rod flying, I simply cut the iron rod. Of course, Rojina-san¡¯s hand is still attached to his arm and there¡¯s no blood dripping anywhere.

    [............]

    But Rojina-san has no reaction.

    [I already cut it.] Yuna

    I called out to Rojina-san, who¡¯s holding the shortened iron rod in a daze. Rojina-san clutches the rod and smiles.

    [I barely felt the impact in my hand. And the cut is so smooth. The letter from Ghazal said you had the skill to cut iron, but I didn¡¯t expect this much.] Rojina

    Apparently, this test was due to Ghazal-san¡¯s letter.

    Rojina-san asked me to show him the knife, so I hand the Swaying Bear knife to Rojina-san.

    [No chips. There are no cut marks anywhere either. It¡¯s proof that the magic is flowing efficiently on the knife.] Rojina

    [The knife Ghazal-san made was amazing. I bet his master was even more amazing.] Yuna

    At myst words, Rojina-san made an embarrassed gesture.

    [That¡¯s only natural. Who do you think taught him? He should be able to do at least this much. It seems that Gordo and Ghazal have good eyesight. I¡¯m sorry for testing you.] Rojina

    Rojina-san happily returned the Swaying Bear knife to me. I put it back in its sheath and returned it to the bear box.

    [Anyway, Miss. You¡¯ve got such great skills. So why are you dressed like that? If you¡¯re going to im to be an adventurer, you might as well dress ordingly. Some people will think you¡¯re a joke. It¡¯s important to dress appropriately for your abilities, as well as your weapons. A lot of people judge you by your looks.] Rojina

    I think this is the first time I¡¯ve been given some real advice. People are judged by their looks first and then they start hanging out. Normally, you wouldn¡¯t want to be friends with someone who walks around town in a stuffed animal suit. Because this is a different world, it¡¯s kind of allowed.

    ......It¡¯s allowed, right?

    [It seems that neither Gordo nor Ghazal ever judged people by their looks.] Rikka

    I think it¡¯s because they¡¯ve already heard various rumors about me. In Gordo-san¡¯s case, he seems to have connections with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. In Ghazal-san¡¯s case, there is also the matter of the mithril golem, and he knows about me from Gordo-san¡¯s letter.

    [Yuna-chan, you didn¡¯t happen to be the only girl dressed as a bear, do you?] Rikka

    [It¡¯s amazing how cute you look.] Wy

    Rikka and Wy-san were touching my clothes and looking at me strangely.

    Then we talked about why we hade to the city.

    Thirty percent of the reason foring to town was to have the bearmonite examined, and the rest was to explore the city and do some shopping.

    [So you¡¯ve alle here to buy pots and pans, right?] Wy

    [Well, it was the information about the mysterious ore that I was after. The acquaintances of mine asked me to do some things for them since I was going to the dwarven city of Ludnik.] Yuna

    However, it was not me who was asked to do this, but Fina and Ruimin. Well, I¡¯m also thinking of buying some cooking utensils for the bear house anyway.

    [Then why don¡¯t you buy it from us? It¡¯s a pot made by a former excellent weapons smith.] Wy

    [The former part is unnecessary!] Rojina

    [It¡¯s true though. But, Dad. Don¡¯t you feel of wanting to make weapons now after seeing Ghazal and Gordo¡¯s knives? And after witnessing Yuna-chan¡¯s amazing skills?] Rikka

    [......Hmm.] Yuna

    Rojina-san neither confirmed nor denied Rikka¡¯s words. The fact that he didn¡¯t deny it might mean that deep inside, he wanted to make a weapon again, and if he was motivated after seeing the two knives, it might have been worth showing it to him. It would have been a waste of time if he hadn¡¯t made them again, since he had the skills to do so.

    And so, we decided to buy pots, pans, and other cooking utensils from Rojina-san¡¯s store. We moved into the store, then we each started searching for our own cooking utensils.

    [Wy-san. Do you have all of these?] Ruimin

    Ruimin soon gave up looking for it herself and showed multiple notes to Wy-san instead.

    [Ara, that¡¯s quite a lot.] Wy

    [When my mother found out I wasing to this town, she went to the neighborhood and asked everyone if they need to buy something. That¡¯s why I got so many notes.] Ruimin

    [That¡¯s great for the store.] Wy

    [But there¡¯s too many of them.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looked at the note in her hand and hanging her head down.

    Looking at Fina, I can see Rikka helping her looking for cooking utensils.

    [Rikka-san, do you have a pot a little bigger than this?] Fina

    Fina already gathered two pots, pans, and other cooking utensils that Tirumina-san asked her to get for her house. She asked Rikka what she can¡¯t find.

    [Yes, we have.] Rikka

    Rikka smoothly found a pot of the size Fina had asked for.

    [Then there¡¯s...... For the store and the orphanage.] Fina

    [That pot is quite big. We don¡¯t sell manyrge pots, so we only make them per order.] Rikka

    Rikka replied, looking at the note Fina was holding.

    [That means we¡¯ll have to go to another store.] Fina

    [How long are Fina and the others going to stay in this city?] Rikka

    Fina looked at me when Rikka asked her.

    [I haven¡¯t really decided yet. But I think we¡¯re going to stay for a few days.] Yuna

    I answered on behalf of Fina.

    I¡¯m nning on touring the city, and since I¡¯m here, I¡¯d like to see the event where the cksmiths participate in the opening of the trial gates. I¡¯d like to participate if I can, but I don¡¯t want to make a big deal out of my participation. In the first ce, I don¡¯t think any cksmiths would enlist me.

    [Then you can order it and I¡¯ll have dad make it for you by then.] Rikka

    [But it¡¯s going to cost more, isn¡¯t it?] Fina

    Certainly. When we entered a shop before, they said that there would be an extra charge if we made it to order. Unlike me, Fina is very particr about money, and she seemed to be concerned about the extra charge. If it were me, I¡¯d just order it without worrying about it. I should learn a little from her. Money is finite. We have to use it carefully.

    At Fina¡¯s words, Rikka looks at Wy-san.

    [You don¡¯t need to pay extra since you told us about Gordo and Ghazal.] Wy

    [That means we¡¯ll be fine at the regr price.] Rikka

    [Thank you. Then please do.] Fina

    [It seems that we have to make Ruimin-chan¡¯s order as well. I¡¯ll give you a little discount.] Wy

    I looked over at Ruimin and saw a pile of cookware near her. How many people, or should I say, how many households are we talking about?

    [Are? You¡¯re buying a hammer too?] Yuna

    Hammers and nails are also mixed in the pile.

    [It was mixed in with the notes. Mom sure did ask a lot of people.] Ruimin

    Well, there are no cksmiths in the elven vige, so I suppose they can only buy it at times like this.

    We can buy them in Crimonia or the Royal Capital, but I¡¯m also going to buy some pots and pans for the bear house. Of course, since I¡¯m buying a lot, I¡¯ll get a discount.

    [So, Fina-chan and the others are going to go around the city.] Rikka

    After this, I n to wander around the city.

    Rikka offered to show us around the city. I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯ll be able to guide us, but I already have Ruimin and Rikka has a job to do.

    [What about your job? Is it okay for you to leave?] Yuna

    [Mom.] Rikka

    Rikka looked at Wy-san pleadingly.

    [All right. Go ahead.] Wy

    [Thanks, Mom.] Rikka

    With Wy-san¡¯s permission, it was decided that Rikka will show us around the city.

    After all the avable pots and pans were purchased, I put them in my bear box. Rojina-san looked at the list of pots and other things he was supposed to make, and let out a sigh.

    [Dad, do your best.] Rikka

    [Didn¡¯t you try to get me back making swords again?] Rojina

    [It¡¯s pots and pans for now. Do your best to make pots and pans and earn some money.] Rikka

    Rikka told Rojina-san to make pots, pans, and other cooking utensils, and left the store with us, leaving Wy-san to look after the store.

    After a bit of walking, I heard the usual voices: <It¡¯s a bear>, <What¡¯s that outfit?>, and so on. Of course, I pretend not to hear them as I walk.

    [............]

    [............]

    Fina and Ruimin were both used to it. But there¡¯s one person that wasn¡¯t.

    [Etto, why are you dressed like that, Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    Rikka asked while looking around. At her words, Fina and Ruimin are seen gesturing, <Don¡¯t ask>. Indeed, I don¡¯t want to hear about it. Could it be that I¡¯m making you two feel ufortable?

    [Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have asked?] Rikka

    [Well, if anything, I don¡¯t want to hear it.] Yuna

    [But everyone was watching Yuna-chan, so I was curious.] Rikka

    Rikka looks around shyly. Passers-by and people in the distance are looking at us.

    [I¡¯m sure because we¡¯re a group consisting of a dwarf, an elf, a human, and a bear. We¡¯re all different species, so we seem to be a rare case.] Yuna

    With my bear puppet, I pointed to Rikka, Ruimin, Fina, and finally myself. So it¡¯s not my fault.

    [Yuna-oneesan......] Fina

    [Yuna-san, ......You called yourself a bear?!] Ruimin

    Fina and Ruimin looked at me with a frightened face.

    Because if you put me in the human race category, I feel like I¡¯ll get a tsukkomi.

    [Well, if you don¡¯t want to talk about it, that¡¯s fine with me. You stand out a lot though. Are you guys okay with that?] Rikka

    [I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m used to it.] Fina

    Fina smiled and said she¡¯s used to it. What do you mean, <used to it?> Being seen with me? Being embarrassed?

    [I can¡¯t get used to it. I feel like I¡¯m being watched.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks around while fidgeting.

    [Well, Yuna-chan¡¯s appearance is rare in this city. In the royal capital, are there many people wearing clothes like Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    At Ra¡¯s words, Fina and Ruimin looked at each other.

    [I¡¯ve only been to the royal capital once.] Ruimin

    [I¡¯ve only been there a few times.] Fina

    They both know that no one in the royal capital wears a bear costume, but they¡¯re trying to deceive her. I¡¯m fine, so just honestly tell her that there is no one else. The bear is crying lonely in the shadow.

    [Yeah, I guess so. But if there were lots of them, they¡¯d be so cute.] Rikka

    If the adventurers and residents of the royal capital were filled with people dressed in costumes like mine, just the thought of it would destroy my spirit.

    I can¡¯t say I¡¯m very happy about the new friends I¡¯ve made.

    Besides, if that were to happen, it would be the end of the history of human dress.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It looks like they will be able to purchase arge amount of cookware safely.

    ¡ùThe next post will be in 4 days due to real-life reasons.

 Chapter 398 Bear-san, Goes Shopping

    <h4>Chapter 398 Bear-san, Goes Shopping</h4>

    Rikka gave up on the gazes around her and started walking.

    I don¡¯t have the option of taking off my bear suit. I¡¯ll have to ask Rikka to just give up.

    [But there really are a lot of dwarves here.] Yuna

    I¡¯ve seen some in Crimonia and in the royal capital. But I¡¯ve never seen so many of them in one ce. Whether you look to your right or left, there are dwarves everywhere. Even the one walking in front of us is also a dwarf.

    [Because there are a lot of mines, forests, and other resources here, so it¡¯s a good ce for us dwarves to live.] Rikka

    Resources are very important in any country. Moreover, dwarves are a race that specializes in making things.

    But then again, dwarves are not very tall. Even grown men are not that tall. They are about the same height as me or a little taller. Female dwarves are the same height as me or a little shorter. By the way, Rikka is a little shorter than me.

    And then, Rikka asked us.

    [So, is there anywhere you guys want to go, anything you want to see?] Rikka

    I think I¡¯d like to check out some of the ces that are selling the city¡¯s specialties. It¡¯s a dwarven city, so they might have some unusual items.

    Also, since we came here without saying anything to Noa, she will definitelyin, <Why didn¡¯t you take me too!>, So I¡¯d like to get her a souvenir...

    [If there is anything unusual, I¡¯d like to have it as a souvenir.] Yuna

    [Is it for your boyfriend, perhaps? Is he dressed as a bear as well?] Rikka

    Rikka asks with shining eyes.

    [Do you think I HAVE one?] Yuna

    I asked back in a slightly stronger tone.

    If I ever have a boyfriend, I need to take him to the eye doctor. It¡¯s a very serious condition. It could be terminal.

    And I definitely don¡¯t want to go out with a boyfriend dressed as a bear. But then again, no man would want to go out with me dressed as a bear, either. Well, I don¡¯t n to go out with a man or even a woman, so there¡¯s no point in thinking about it.

    At my words, Rikka looked at me intently. Then, she slowly turned her gaze away.

    What, don¡¯t stare at people and then look away with a sad look in your eyes.

    Rikka looked ufortable and shifted her gaze to Fina and Ruimin.

    [Is there anything you want to see or want, Fina-chan, Ruimin-chan?] Rikka

    [Etto, I also want to buy something for my sister who stayed behind at home.] Fina

    [I think I¡¯ll buy one for my brother then.] Ruimin

    Fina¡¯s words made Ruimin say something like that, too.

    So, we decided to explore the city, looking for something to take home as a souvenir.

    [How about this ce? They sell cute little metalwork trinkets and essories.] Rikka

    It¡¯s a small general store. Rikka walked into the store without even checking with us. Once inside, we saw a variety of handcrafted essories.

    [It¡¯s beautiful.] Fina

    There are rings, nes, hair ornaments, brooches, and other essories for women. All of them are handmade and made of iron.

    I picked up a flower-patterned brooch. Will it look good on Noa? This one would look good on Fina and Shuri.

    [How about this one, Fina-chan?] Rikka

    Rikka picked up a beautiful blue-colored flower ornament and showed it to Fina.

    [It¡¯s a pretty flower. The colors are beautiful.] Fina

    [And I think red would look good with your light green hair, Ruimin. See, it looks good on you, like a flower blooming.] Rikka

    Rikka put the hair ornaments in both Fina and Ruimin¡¯s hairs and checked them.

    [Really?] Fina

    [Look, there¡¯s a mirror. Take a look.] Ruimin

    Fina, wearing a hair ornament, is shyly checking herself in front of the mirror.

    [It¡¯s beautiful, but does it look good on me?] Ruimin

    [You¡¯re so cute.] Rikka

    [Then it¡¯s my turn in the mirror.] Ruimin

    Ruimin switches with Fina and checks her hair ornaments in front of the mirror. The girls are having a pleasant conversation. But I see Fina looking at the price tag and worrying about it.

    [But it¡¯s probably a little expensive.] Fina

    [Back in the vige, we don¡¯t spend much money, so I don¡¯t have much money of my own either.] Ruimin

    Fina and Ruiminpared the prices of the items and slowly ced them back on the shelves.

    [If you both like it, I¡¯ll buy it for you.] Yuna

    [But......] Fina

    [Don¡¯t worry about it. Fina has always been a great help to me, and Ruimin gave me a lot of mushrooms and wild vegetables from everyone in the vige, so you can think of it as a thank you. In return, you can buy your own souvenirs for Shuri and La.] Yuna

    Fina and Ruimin thanked me happily for my words, and happily began to put on various hair ornaments, nes, brooches, etc., and check them in front of the mirror.

    They¡¯re both girls. And that¡¯s a feature I don¡¯t have. I don¡¯t mind choosing essories for other girls. But when ites to my own, I can¡¯t even think about what to choose.

    [Are you not buying one for yourself, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [Unlike you two, I don¡¯t look good with it.] Yuna

    No matter what hairpiece I put on my bear hood, a ne around my bear neck, a brooch on my chest, or a bracelet on my wrist, it will not look good on my bear costume.

    If any of the idiot rangers I met at the mine were here, they might say, <You need a cor for your pet>. But I don¡¯t have a cor. And if someone did say it, they would get a bear punch.

    [Yuna-oneesan has beautiful hair, so I think it would look good on you.] Fina

    [Yuna-san, your hair is long and beautiful, you know? If I were a man, I would never leave you alone.] Ruimin

    [Thank you, both of you.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not one to take their ttery for granted. And moreover, these two really adore me. I may not be able to tell if they were telling the truth. So I¡¯ll just listen to what they have to say.

    After Fina decides on hair ornaments for herself and Shuri, we decided to look for something that will go well with Noa¡¯s golden hair. Red, blue, green, and silver all seem to go well with Noa¡¯s golden hair.

    Then we each buy a hair ornament.

    I¡¯ll pay for the hair ornaments. However, Fina would pay for Shuri¡¯s hair ornament by herself. I also thought about getting one for Flora-sama, but I didn¡¯t know if it would be appropriate for royalty to wear, so I decided not to.

    Fina and Ruimin quickly put on the hair ornaments they had purchased. Fina has a hairpiece made of blue flowers, and Ruimin has a hairpiece made of red flowers.

    [You both look good.] Yuna

    [[Thank you very much.]] Fina/Ruimin

    A pretty girl looks good no matter what she wears. If I wear it, I¡¯d still look like a female bear.

    [But what should I buy for La? He won¡¯t be happy if I buy him hair ornaments or essories.] Ruimin

    [Since he¡¯s a boy, maybe a knife would be nice?] Rikka

    That¡¯s a daughter of a cksmith for you, her immediate suggestion would definitely be a knife.

    [Hmm, but dad might get mad if I give La a knife without permission.] Ruimin

    [Does your brother have anything he likes?] Yuna

    [In the vige, the part where we¡¯re running around in the forest.] Ruimin

    We explored the city, looking for things that might be a suitable souvenir of La.

    [Oh, maybe this is a good ce.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looked into the store through a small window.

    [Those are figurines.] Ruimin

    As we entered the store, we saw rows of figurines made of iron, each as tall as a can of juice or a small stic bottle.

    There are figures of armored knights and adventurers made of iron. There are many different poses. Some are standing normally, others are holding swords.

    If you put this one and this one together, it looks like they are fighting. In that case, it may be better to put a monster in the middle.

    Even so, it¡¯s well made for something out of iron.

    [It looks cool. Maybe La will like this.] Ruimin

    [It¡¯s very popr, and merchantse from all over the city to buy it. That¡¯s why you can buy them cheaper than in the royal capital or other cities.] Rikka

    [The shelves over here are lined with animals.] Fina

    There are horses, cows, pigs, birds, and animals I¡¯ve never seen before. If I bought them all, I could make a miniature zoo. There are also reptiles on the other shelves. I wonder who would want snakes and frogs?

    While I was thinking about such things, Fina and Ruimin were seriously looking at the shelves lined with animals, as if they were searching for something.

    [I don¡¯t see any bears.] Fina

    [Yeah, it¡¯s not here.] Ruimin

    Apparently, the two of them were looking for a bear. But I¡¯m pretty sure there aren¡¯t any. Maybe they don¡¯t make them because they¡¯re not popr? Although, that makes me sad.

    A female clerk approached Fina and Ruimin, who was looking so disappointed.

    [I¡¯m sorry. All of the bear figurines have recently been bought by the merchants of the Kingdom of Erfanica. I heard that the number of customers who want to buy bears is increasing. So, even though I feel bad for you bear-loving girls, I¡¯m sorry but we¡¯re sold out.] Clerk

    The store clerk told us while looking at my appearance.

    I don¡¯t dress like this just because I like bears. But the shopkeeper was looking at me with a smile.

    Oi! Don¡¯t look at me like that.

    [But I wonder why the bears are selling so well?] Rikka

    [U~u, I wanted a bear.] Ruimin

    There was no iron bear figurine, so we gave up and left the store.

    She should have bought the knight one. A knight figurine would have been cool.

    But Ruimin never gave up.

    Next, we went to a woodcarver¡¯s store, but there were no woodcarvings of bears either. As expected, a merchant from the Kingdom of Erfanica had bought it.

    [I don¡¯t think you need to be so fixated with bears.] Yuna

    [No, La likes bears too, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll like them so much.] Ruimin

    You don¡¯t have to say it like that. But still, why are the bears selling so well. I can¡¯t help but wonder.

    Then we went around to another store and got a bear figurine, which made Ruimin happy.

    And for some reason, Fina bought one too. If it had been made of y or stone statues, I would have made it for her with magic. But wouldn¡¯t that be a good souvenir?

    I also found something good. I bought it without everyone noticing and gave it to Fina and the other two.

    [Yuna-oneesan, what¡¯s this?] Fina

    [I saw a beautifully crafted little box for sale, so I bought it. You can put away the hair ornaments you just bought or the ones you bought at the royal capital¡¯s school.] Yuna

    [Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Yuna-san, me too?] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks at me and the small box alternately.

    [Because I don¡¯t want to buy only for Fina.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll treasure it forever.] Ruimin

    I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to be hundreds of years when Ruimin the elf says it.

    [But why did you also get one for me?] Rikka

    Rikka wondered while holding a small box.

    [To thank you for showing us around town.] Yuna

    [But to get it from a younger girl...] Rikka

    [I¡¯m already 15.] Yuna

    [Well, I¡¯m 18.] Rikka

    Rikka and I tilted our heads at the same time.

    [Eh~~~~! Yuna-chan, you¡¯re 15 years old? I thought you¡¯re a little younger.] Rikka

    [I thought we were about the same age.] Yuna

    Yeah, I don¡¯t know how old the dwarves and elves are.

    I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be sued for age fraud any time soon.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I thought we could go home after buying souvenirs, but Rikka was there, so we went shopping.

    The reason the bears are selling so well is the bear picture book. Also, sometimes some children see Yuna and wish for a bear.

    I started Twitter. I will be tweeting about bears sometimes.

 Chapter 399 Bear-san, Heads To The Gate Of Trials

    <h4>Chapter 399 Bear-san, Heads To The Gate Of Trials</h4>

    When I heard of Rikka¡¯s age, I wondered if I should change the way I called her. It was indeed awkward to call someone older than me without honorifics (except for Cliff and Toya), so I decided to call her Rikka-san. I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t call her Rikka-chan.

    After buying some souvenirs, we had a littlete lunch. Of course, we were the center of attention when we entered the cafeteria.

    [Thank you very much, Rikka-san. I was able to buy something nice for my brother.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks happy, but I wonder if her brother La would really be happy with a bear figurine as a souvenir. However, I don¡¯t think a knight figurine would suit an elf boy. Though, what would make an elf child happy?

    [I¡¯m d you¡¯re happy with it. Where would you like to go next after we finish eating? I¡¯ll take you anywhere you want to go.] Rikka

    There are a few I¡¯d like to visit and I haven¡¯t been to all of them yet.

    [I¡¯ve heard about the gate of trials in this city, where is it? I¡¯d like to take a look.] Yuna

    [The gate of trials? Could it be, Yuna-chan? You¡¯re going to participate?] Rikka

    [No, I¡¯m not going to participate.] Yuna

    In the first ce, there are no weaponsmiths that will ask a bear.

    [An adventurer I know is going to be participating, so I was a little curious.] Yuna

    I¡¯m interested, not just a little. It looks like a fascinating event. I¡¯d love to participate, but since I can¡¯t, I¡¯m going to be there to support Jade-san instead. I don¡¯t mind going with Jade-san and the others on the day. But before that, I¡¯d like to take a peek at the gate of trials site.

    [Is that so? Gordo, Ghazal, and dad all praised Yuna-chan¡¯s abilities, but it¡¯s a waste. If dad could make a sword, he would ask Yuna-chan to use it.] Rikka

    [Rojina-san isn¡¯t making swords anymore, isn¡¯t he?] Yuna

    [U~n, I don¡¯t know. He doesn¡¯t seem to be motivated for a while now. But when he saw Gordo and Ghazal¡¯s knives earlier, I saw dad¡¯s serious face for the first time in a long time. Maybe he¡¯ll start making one again.] Rikka

    It would be nice if that happened. It was worth it for me and Fina toe. Without her, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to show him Gordo-san¡¯s knife. If I hadn¡¯te, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to show him Ghazal-san¡¯s knife.

    It was nice to be able to show them the knives they had both made. Both Gordo-san and Ghazal-san might be sad if they find out that their master, Rojina-san, has not made a sword for some time now. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a little troubled about how to report it when I return to the royal capital and Crimonia. Will I tell them the truth or deceive them? But if he is going to make me a weapon, then I won¡¯t have to tell a lie.

    After having our lunch, we headed for the test gate event site.

    [It¡¯s going to be a long walk from here, so is everyone still okay?] Rikka

    Rikka-san said that the test gate event site is on the outskirts of the city, so it¡¯s quite far.

    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter how far away it is, I have my bear gear so I¡¯ll be fine, but...

    [I¡¯d like to see it too, so I¡¯ll go with you.] Fina

    [I¡¯lle with you too.] Ruimin

    Both of them replied energetically. It seems my worries are unnecessary.

    And so, we arrived near the test gate site.

    Rikka-san was right, it was in a remote location. Rather than saying it was somewhere around here, it might be more correct to say it was WAY beyond there.

    [What¡¯s this?] Yuna

    In front of me were stairs leading all the way up to the mountain.

    [Could it be, it¡¯s up these stairs?] Fina

    [It¡¯s up there?] Ruimin

    I look up. Just looking at it seems to hurt my thighs.

    [How many steps are there?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never counted it.] Rikka

    It¡¯s more than a thousand steps.* As a recluse, I¡¯ve never climbed or even seen such a long staircase before, so I can¡¯t imagine the actual number of steps just by looking at it. But it¡¯s definitely an incredibly long staircase.

    Well, there are no stairs I can¡¯t climb, no matter how many steps it has, I¡¯ll be fine as long as I have my bear shoes. But that¡¯s not the case with Fina and the others.

    [Well, what about you two? Do you want to stay here and wait for us?] Rikka

    [I¡¯ve been running around in the forest for a long time, so I should be fine.] Ruimin

    [I don¡¯t know if I can climb, but I¡¯ll do my best.] Fina

    If no one is around, I¡¯ll summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But that¡¯s not the case this time. Looking up the stairs, I can see a few people climbing up and down.

    [If you get tired, I¡¯ll give you a piggyback ride.] Yuna

    It¡¯s easy enough to carry Fina up the stairs on my back since I¡¯m using the bear cheat.

    [I¡¯ll do my best.] Fina

    Fina looked up and slowly walked up the stairs. Ruimin lightly runs up the stairs, skipping a few steps. Rikka-san mumbled in a small voice, <Can I sill climb it?> and started climbing the stairs.

    I followed the three of them up the mountain.

    [U~u, Ruimin-san. You¡¯re too fast.] Fina

    Ruimin is waving her hand from way up ahead. As expected of an elf who grew up in the forest. For Ruimin, this kind of stairs is just like running up a mountain.

    Fina tried to chase after Ruimin but lost her breath in the process.

    Halfway up, I started to climb at my own pace. But now, I¡¯m matching Fina¡¯s pace.

    [Tell me when you¡¯re tired.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Fina

    We climbed the stairs with Ruimin in the lead. Rikka-san, Fina, and I followed. About halfway up the stairs, Fina¡¯s foot stops.

    [Fina. Let¡¯s take a break.] Yuna

    I took out some cold water from the bear box and gave it to Fina. Fina received the ss of water and drank it in one gulp.

    [Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Yuna-chan. I need water too.] Rikka

    I gave Rikka-san the same cold water.

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Rikka

    [Yuna-san, I¡¯ll have some too.] Ruimin

    Ruimin, who was supposed to be way up the stairs, was nearby. How nice of you toe all the way back. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s the same person who was lying in front of my house. Well, that¡¯s because she hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a few days.

    I handed Ruimin a ss of water, which she also drank in one gulp.

    And after drinking my ss of water, we resumed our ascent.

    [Come on, Fina, hang in there. If you¡¯re tired, I can let you ride on my back, you know? Or would you prefer to be carried like a princess?] Yuna

    I wish I could summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but there¡¯s no way I can in this ce, so I¡¯ll offer my back or arms instead.

    [U~u, I¡¯m not a little child anymore, I¡¯ll be fine.] Fina

    Fina puffed out her cheeks a little and declined the piggyback ride and the princess carry. It wasn¡¯t that I think she was a child or anything, it was just that I thought she might be tired.

    [Aren¡¯t you tired yourself, Yuna-oneesan? When we were at the beach, you copsed back then.] Fina

    [I didn¡¯t have the bear¡¯s blessing back then. Now I have the bear¡¯s blessing, so I¡¯m fine.] Yuna

    [Wha, what¡¯s a bear¡¯s blessing?] Rikka

    An out-of-breath Rikka-san asks.

    [It¡¯s a blessing from the bear god and I¡¯m receiving that power through the bear gear. Well, in reality, I¡¯m just strengthening my body with magical power.] Yuna

    I answer with a mixture of bear blessing and magic enhancement.

    The stairs went on and on and I am too weak to climb them without my bear gear. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t take off my bear gear.

    While I¡¯m climbing the stairs while wearing such cheat armor, Fina is climbing with sweat dripping from her forehead.

    U~u, I feel so guilty.

    [Fina, my back and arms are always free.] Yuna

    I showed my back and arms to Fina.

    Fina smiled a little and replied, [It¡¯s okay].

    We finally finished climbing the long stairs and looked down. The long stairs continued far down. How did we get up from there? If I didn¡¯t have my bear gear, I¡¯d never want to climb it. But the other three who didn¡¯t have the cheat gear made it up on their own.

    [I¡¯m tired, but it feels good.] Fina

    Fina, out of breath, is looking at the city below. A panoramic view of the city unfolds. This alone was worth the climb.

    [Does everyone who attends the gate of trials event have to climb up here?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s only once a year. Besides, the cksmiths will be there to keep thempany, and it¡¯s the adventurers who will take on the trials, so it should be fine.] Rikka

    Well, the adventurers are always carrying weapons with them. Also, they are always walking in the mountains and ces with bad footholds. They should be able to climb those stairs easily. The way they train is different from normal people. If it weren¡¯t for the bear cheat, I would never have been able to be an adventurer.

    After looking at the view below, I looked towards the mountainside. There is a square tform at the top of the stairs, and a building can be seen on the mountainside at the back. Around the building, some people have climbed the stairs, gathered. They looked like adventurers and cksmiths. I wonder if they¡¯re here to check out the ce like we are.

    The adventurers who hade for a preliminary inspection were surprised to see my bear gear, but I ignored them as usual and walked up to the building. The building is white and looks like a temple. In front of the temple-like building, there is arge door that looks like a gate.

    [Is this the gate of trials?] Yuna

    [No, the gate of trials is within that gate.] Rikka

    [Can¡¯t we go inside?] Yuna

    I pounded on the door with my bear puppet.

    [The Guildmaster of the cksmith¡¯s Guild will open the door when the gate of trials opens. Until then, no one will be allowed inside.] Rikka

    [So, when will they open? They were saying something about it opening soon.] Yuna

    Toya¡¯s test willst until the gate of trials closes. I¡¯m curious about that too, so I asked her.

    [No one knows for sure. We just know that every year, at around this time, the gate of trials will open.] Rikka

    [The way you put it, Rikka-san, it sounds like the gate will open by itself.] Yuna

    [Yes. The gate of trials opens and closes on its own. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t know the exact date when the gate opens. It seems that some people tried to force the gate open a long time ago and they had to build a building in front of the gate. Nowadays, no one tries to break down the building to get inside the gate.] Rikka

    It looks like some people couldn¡¯t wait and tried to break down the gate to get in, but it seems that there are idiots everywhere who cause trouble.

    But there is no set date for the opening of the gate of trials. I hope it will open soon.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Finally, we¡¯re at episode 399. The next episode will be 400. It goes by fast, doesn¡¯t it?

    ¡ùVolume 7 will be released on July 28th. There are some changes to the story in this volume. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

    ¡ùI¡¯ve posted images of the Korean and Taiwanese versions of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear on Twitter. If you¡¯re interested, please take a look. The Bear is expanding overseas.

    ¡ùThe next post may be an SS post. If there is no post in three days, I might be taking a break and I may be posting it in six days. Thank you for your understanding.

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    *Ah, the infamous 7000 steps to High Hrothgar (Which is not really 7000 in the vani game, not even 1000). I knew we¡¯re in Tamriel.

    ¡°I envy you, you know. To climb the 7,000 Steps again... I made the pilgrimage once, did you know that? High Hrothgar is a very peaceful ce. Very... disconnected from the troubles of this world..¡±

    -Jarl Balgruuf the Greater

    ¡°M¡¯aiq once walked to High Hrothgar. So many steps, he lost count.¡±

    -M¡¯aiq the Liar

 Chapter 400 Bear-san, Jumps Off

    <h4>Chapter 400 Bear-san, Jumps Off</h4>

    When we arrived in front of the building, I walked around it to see if I could get a peek inside. But there was no ce from where I could look inside. There¡¯s a window, but it¡¯s closed, so I can¡¯t see inside.

    [What¡¯s going on in there?] Yuna

    [There¡¯s nothing else inside the building. The gate of trials is behind that door. But I¡¯ve never been in there, so I don¡¯t know the details.] Rikka

    [You¡¯ve never been in there? Are you sure you haven¡¯t seen the inside of the gate of trials?] Yuna

    If that¡¯s the case, I wouldn¡¯t be able to cheer for Jade-san. In the first ce, that would be boring because I wouldn¡¯t be able to see the trials.

    [Only the cksmiths who made the weapons and those who¡¯re handling the weapons are allowed inside the gate of trials, no one else.] Rikka

    I heard that you have to participate in the event to get inside the gate of trials. The event is there, but you can neither participate nor observe. As a former gamer, this kind of thing is killing me. It¡¯s also entertaining to watch the event.

    [From what I¡¯ve heard from my father, Gordo, and Ghazal, there¡¯s arge space behind the gate of trials. That¡¯s where get to they try out the weapons they¡¯ve made.] Rikka

    [What do you mean by trying it?] Yuna

    [My father, Gordo, and Ghazal didn¡¯t tell me the details. But it seems that the trials differ depending on the weapon used.] Rikka

    I feel like if the trials were different, I wouldn¡¯t know whose weapon was the best.

    [If so, we wouldn¡¯t know whose weapon is better.] Yuna

    [The weapon creation is already a battle in itself. Proving that the person you are now wasn¡¯t the person you were yesterday, the person you were yesterday wasn¡¯t the person you were a month ago, the person you were a month ago wasn¡¯t the person you were a year ago. Well, that¡¯s what my father used to say.] Rikka

    I think I get what he¡¯s saying.

    [Isn¡¯t this apetition though?] Yuna

    It¡¯s good to challenge yourself, but it¡¯s also important to have someone to fight with. Sometimes you write a name of a friend, but read it as a rival. That¡¯s how you grow.

    [There are knives, swords, spears, hammers, and many other types of weapons. There is no way to choose which is the best. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses.] Rikka

    Well, if you put it that way, then yeah. Am I the only one who thinks it would be nice to have divisions? But I heard that the gate of trials was not judged by people, but by the gates of trials itself, so maybe it¡¯s too much to ask for. But after hearing such stories, I be even more curious about the contents of the trials.

    All I can do now is to ask Jade-san after the trials are over.

    After that, we took a short break to enjoy the view of the city from the mountaintop before going back.

    But, going back means taking that long flight of stairs once again.

    [Fina, do you need a piggyback ride?] Yuna

    [U~u, I¡¯m okay. Why are you trying to give me a piggyback ride?] Fina

    [Because you¡¯re the youngest and you¡¯re neither an elf nor a dwarf.] Yuna

    I muttered in my mind, <not even a Bear>.

    Elves seem to be lightfooted and dwarves have their physical strength. By the way, the Bears have an image of being all-rounders. So I felt that Fina was the weakest of the three.

    Ruimin, who had been listening to the conversation between Fina and me, hugged me from my back.

    [Then I¡¯ll be the one riding on Yuna-san¡¯s back.] Ruimin

    Then I had an interesting idea, so I agreed.

    [Etto, why the front?] Ruimin

    I¡¯m carrying Ruimin in my arms like a princess. I told Ruimin to hold on tightly to my neck.

    [You¡¯ll die if you fall.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, we¡¯re just going down the stairs, right?] Ruimin

    [............] Yuna

    I slowly turned my gaze away from Ruimin.

    [Why are you looking away?] Ruimin

    Without answering her question, I stood on the side of the stairs. There was a cliff next to the stairs, which was a good ce to jump off.

    [Yu, Yuna-san, there are no stairs there.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks anxious.

    All right then, Fina, Rikka-san. We¡¯re going ahead.

    [Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    I ran and jumped off the cliff.

    A scream echoed from within my arms and Ruimin¡¯s arms tightened around my neck.

    I broke my fall by making a scaffolding on the way down, then continued my descent all the way to the bottom. I made a cleannding.

    In my arms, Ruimin is clinging to my neck tightly. If this wasn¡¯t wearing my bear gear, it would have been very painful.

    [U u~u, Yuna-san. It¡¯s terrible that you suddenly jumped off the cliff. I was so scared.] Ruimin

    Ruimin got off of my arms and sat down on the ground. There were tears in her eyes. It looks like she was really terrified by that stunt.

    [Because I thought it would be boring to just go down from there the normal way.] Yuna

    It¡¯s like a ropeless but safe bungee jumping. I thought she would enjoy it, although looking at her, I don¡¯t think she did.

    [You can¡¯t feel your legs, perhaps?] Yuna

    [And whose fault do you think it is!] Ruimin

    Ruiminined, but her legs were shaking and she couldn¡¯t stand up properly.

    Then, after a while, Fina and Rikka-san made it down.

    [Ruimin-san, are you okay?] Fina

    [U~u, I was so scared. I thought I was going to die.] Ruimin

    Ruimin hugged Fina when she came over. Apparently, she can walk now.

    [Do you want to try it next, Fina?] Yuna

    [No, thank you.] Fina

    I thought it would be fun, but she said no.

    Moving on, I needed to put Ruimin in a good mood. So we decided to have dinner together at Rikka-san and Rojina-san¡¯s house and talked about today¡¯s events, stories from Crimonia, and the royal capital.

    Then, Rikka-san wanted to hear about the elven vige, so Ruimin talked about it.

    [I also want to visit Ruimin-chan¡¯s elven vige and Fina-chan¡¯s hometown.] Rikka

    [Isn¡¯t the royal capital also a good ce to go?] Yuna

    [Of course, I would like to visit the capital and check if Ghazal is doing a good job. But it¡¯s too far away, so I can¡¯t go there easily.] Rikka

    I can easily go there because I have the bear gate. But that¡¯s not the case for a normal person, it¡¯s too far from here.

    [How did Yuna-chan and the two of you travel from such a faraway ce?] Rikka

    [I have summoned beasts.] Yuna

    [Summoned beasts?] Rikka

    I can¡¯t tell them about the bear gate, so I¡¯ll answer with that. Well, it¡¯s not a lie, because we actually rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear from the elven vige to this ce.

    [Yuna-san¡¯s summoned beasts are bears and they¡¯re very cute. They¡¯re also very fast, it took less than two days to get here from my vige.] Ruimin

    [Really? But I thought bears were scary.] Rikka

    [Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are so cute.] Fina

    [Bear Summoned Beasts...] Rikka

    Rikka-san looks at me.

    [You want to see them?] Yuna

    [They¡¯re not dangerous, right?] Rikka

    [Of course, as long as Rikka-san doesn¡¯t attack them out of the blue, they¡¯re not dangerous.] Yuna

    [I wouldn¡¯t do something so scary.] Rikka

    Rikka-san shook her head from side to side.

    I got permission from Rojina-san and Wy-san, then we move to the room where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can be summoned.

    I stretch out my arms and summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Bears!] Rikka

    Rikka-san quickly hid behind Rojina-san.

    [The ck one is Swaying Bear and the white one is Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    As I¡¯m introducing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Fina and Ruimin are already hugging them.

    [Are you sure it¡¯s safe?] Rikka

    [It¡¯s okay.] Fina

    [They¡¯re not going to do anything.] Ruimin

    After being told by Fina and Ruimin, Rikka-san slowlyes out from behind Rojina-san.

    Rojina-san and Wy-san were surprised, but they didn¡¯t seem to be afraid. Rikka-san carefully reached out and touched Swaying Bear.

    [It¡¯s soft. And it feels good.] Rikka

    Swaying Bear made a small <ku~u ~ n> cry as if it felt good. Rikka-san was relieved that Swaying Bear doesn¡¯t do anything and let her pat his head.

    [And this one is a white bear. It¡¯s white and beautiful.] Rikka

    When Rikka-san found out that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were not scary, she stroked them around. Then, when I returned them to the bear puppets, she looked dejected.

    We thanked Rojina-san and Wy-san for cooking for us and returned to the inn.

    [I¡¯m really tired ~] Ruimin

    Ruimin copses on the bed.

    [My legs are heavy.] Fina

    Fina was also sitting on the bed, massaging and rxing her feet. Well, Fina did her best to climbed up and down the stairs on her own feet.

    [Well, let¡¯s take a bath and then get some rest.] Yuna

    [But the bath is at.......] Ruimin

    [It¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    There was no bath at the inn and I heard that we had to go to a public bathhouse to take a bath. I don¡¯t want to go there now and I don¡¯t want to be unprotected in public. I locked the door to our room tightly and took out the bear gate. The only people here are the ones who know about the bear gate.

    There¡¯s no way I will not use it.

    I opened the doors of the bear gate connected to the bear house in the Elven Vige.

    [Fina, Ruimin. Just wait a moment. We¡¯re inside the sacred tree¡¯s barrier, so we don¡¯t know what will happen if Fina enters.] Yuna

    I closed the door once and move to the bear house in the sacred tree. Once outside of the sacred tree¡¯s barrier, I took out my bear house for travel from the bear box. I go into the bear house and move to the room where the bear transfer gate is set up, then open the door to the bear transfer gate at the inn where Fina and the others are. Then I take the two of them and move to the bear house for travel.

    [Now then, I¡¯ll get the bath ready and you two can just rx for a bit.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan, why did you choose the one in the elven vige? I think the one in Crimonia would be good.] Fina

    [Well, we¡¯re going to turn on the lights, but by doing so, people would notice us in Crimonia, the Royal Capital, and Mereera. Here, it¡¯s deep in the forest and far away from the elven vige, so even if the light leaks a little, it¡¯ll be hard for them to notice us.] Yuna

    Besides, the vige chief, Mumroot-san, knows about the bear gate, so it¡¯ll be easy to deceive everyone with his help if something goes wrong.

    Then we took a rxing bath to unwind our tired feet after walking all day.

    Bathing is a good culture.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We are now at 400 episodes. Thank you very much.

    At the same time, volume 7 of the book was released. I hope you enjoy it.

    To celebrate the release of volume 7, I posted a story about Karin in SS, so if there are readers who haven¡¯t read it, please read that as well.

    The publisher made a PV video of Kuma. It is written in the activity report, and I would be happy if you could watch it

    Please take care of Kuma...

 Chapter 401 Bear-san, Taking A Social Studies Tour

    <h4>Chapter 401 Bear-san, Taking A Social Studies Tour</h4>

    The next day, I was woken up by Fina and Ruimin, who were woken up by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. As usual, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were taken by the two of them. I felt lonely. So I took out my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies then went to bed.

    While we¡¯re eating breakfast in the inn¡¯s dining room, Mel-san and Senia-sane over.

    [Good morning, you three.] Mel

    Mel-san called out to us and Senia-san raised her hand in greeting. We returned the greeting.

    [Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sorry about yesterday. Did you met Rojina-san?] Mel

    [We met him.] Yuna

    Although, I was surprised that it wasn¡¯t a weapons store anymore.

    [So, Mel-san, are you guys done with your shopping?] Yuna

    [Yeah, we bought almost everything we need. We still have to go around. Since we also have a few things that need to be made.] Mel

    Then I asked about Toya.

    [U~n, even the well-behaved Toya is seriously depressed. I think it¡¯s okay to go to another cksmith. Toya is troubled because he says he doesn¡¯t want to have it made anywhere else but by Xelo-san] Mel

    [But he made that promise himself.] Senia

    Senia-san said that she would let Toya do whatever he wanted until he finished the test. If he failed the test, he promised to go to another cksmith to make it.

    I don¡¯t think his skills will improve in just a few days, but he¡¯ll be fine.

    [Toya is good at what he does. He¡¯s just not very good at the real thing, though. He usually says things like he¡¯s good with it, but that¡¯s partly to hide his true feelings. He seems to think that people don¡¯t know that.] Mel

    Oh, yeah. I thought he was just a normal uptight guy.

    [So we¡¯re going to let Toya do whatever he wants this time. It¡¯s okay to do the shopping without Toya anyway. So, Yuna-chan, what are you guys going to do today?] Mel

    [We¡¯re going to Rojina-san¡¯s ce again today.] Yuna

    [You went there yesterday, didn¡¯t you? Are you going to have them make you a weapon?] Mel

    As I thought, Mel-san didn¡¯t seem to know that Rojina-san is no longer making weapons. So I told them that Rojina-san had stopped making weapons and was now making pots and pans.

    [You¡¯re not lying or joking, are you?] Senia

    [He¡¯s making pots and pans now?] Mel

    [Somehow, I¡¯m thinking that those pots and frying pans are overpowered.] Senia

    I can¡¯t help but agree with Senia-san¡¯s words.

    [So today, we¡¯re going to visit Rojina-san¡¯s ce to watch how he makes those pots and pans.] Yuna

    Well, it¡¯s like a social studies tour.

    At dinner yesterday, Fina and Ruimin asked if they could watch him at work and Rojina-san agreed. But as for me, I wanted to see the process of sword making.

    After finishing our breakfast, we went to Rojina-san¡¯s store. When we entered the store, Rikka-san greeted us.

    [I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Dad is also expecting you. He¡¯s already working at the back, soe on in.] Rikka

    After getting Rikka-san¡¯s permission to go to the workshop at the back of the store, we heard the sound of iron getting hammereding from behind the counter.

    [U~u, it¡¯s so hot.] Fina

    [He¡¯s working in such heat.] Ruimin

    As soon as Fina and Ruimin entered the workshop, they immediately felt the heat. I don¡¯t feel the heat because I¡¯m wearing my bear costume. So I don¡¯t understand how they feel.

    [Oh, you really came? I thought you were just joking yesterday. Do you really enjoy watching me pound the iron like this?] Rojina

    Rojina-san, who was making the pot, said that as soon as we arrive.

    [Yes, it¡¯s exciting to watch how strangely the iron changes its shape.] Fina

    [There are no cksmiths in the Elven vige, so this is new to me as well.] Ruimin

    [Well, if you just want to see, then go ahead and watch. But don¡¯t touch anything in here without permission, because there are some dangerous kinds of stuff lying around here. Also, don¡¯t get too close. We don¡¯t want your soft skin to get burned now, do we?] Rojina

    After Rojina-san said his words of warning, he continued pounding on the iron.

    [Are you not going to making weapons anymore, Rojina-san?] Yuna

    [...............] Rojina

    I don¡¯t know if he heard my words or not, but he continued to hammer the iron in silence. He doesn¡¯t want to answer, so I stopped asking and silently watch him shape the iron. As Rojina-san kept striking the iron, the shape changes rapidly.

    Fina and Ruimin were watching the metalwork with sweat dripping down their foreheads.

    I told them to tell me when they were thirsty so they wouldn¡¯t get dehydrated.

    And so, after some time, the thing that used to be an iron te changed shape and became a pot. Now that¡¯s craftsmanship.

    After finishing one pot, Rojina-san takes a break in the next room. It¡¯s dangerous to work long hours in this heat after all.

    [Did you enjoy watching?] Rojina

    Rojina-san asked Fina and Ruimin, who had been watching diligently the whole time while drinking water.

    [Yes. It felt strange to watch the hard iron change its shape with each strike.] Fina

    [When iron is hot, it changes shape easily. And when it gets cold, it gets hard again.] Ruimin

    [Rojina-san¡¯s hands were like magic.] Fina

    [It¡¯s as simple as that.] Ruimin

    Rojina-san looks happy to be praised by Fina and Ruimin.

    [Which is easier, making a sword or making a pot?] Fina

    [......It¡¯s more difficult to make a sword. Swords not only need to be made strong, but also be able to stab, sh, and block. When making a sword, you have to think about the temperature of the iron, the amount of force used to strike it, and many other things. And even if you make it the same way, you won¡¯t get the same result every time. Because of that, even if you make the best sword, you will never be able to make the exact same sword.] Rojina

    Rosina-san answered Fina¡¯s question in a small voice.

    Just because pots, pans, and cooking utensils are easy doesn¡¯t mean that the craftsmen who make them are stupid. There¡¯s hard work involved in making a pot. However, there¡¯s no limit to how far a weapon can go and what is required of it. A pot can be reced after a certain time period. If you have a few weapons, you can rece them as well, but the best weapons are needed to fight the strongest enemies. If it had been a little sharper, he could¡¯ve defeated his enemy. If it had been a little sturdier, it might not have broken. If it were a little lighter, it might have been easier to use. There is no limit to the number of times a weapon can have that <little bit more>. And that <little bit more> could save the life of the wielder. The lives of those who use the weapon are in the craftsman¡¯s hands. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard to make a weapon.

    Xelo-san said something simr.

    [Well, that depends on what the cksmith is trying to do. That¡¯s just my opinion.] Rojina

    Then, after a short break, Rojina-san went back to the workshop and made a new pot.

    Fina and Ruimin couldn¡¯t stay in the hot room for a long time and left the workshop halfway.

    [Is everyone okay? The workshop must have been too hot for you.] Rikka

    Rikka-san serves us cold tea.

    [Yes, it was hot in there.] Fina

    [It was loud, too.] Ruimin

    The two of them drank the cup of tea in one gulp.

    [It¡¯s hot, it¡¯s also noisy. There used to be three of them working in there, so it was three times louder.] Rikka

    Rikka-san looks nostalgic.

    I wonder if Gordo-san and Ghazal-san will return to their homnd someday. There is no hometown for me to return to. But, I guess I could say that Crimonia is my hometown now.

    The next day, we came to the outskirts of town to bring Toya some refreshments.

    [How¡¯s Toya¡¯s training going?] Yuna

    I asked Senia-san, who came with me.

    [He¡¯s trying his best. Somehow, by chance or a miracle, he¡¯s been able to cut one out of 10 or so times.] Senia

    By chance or a miracle, huh. Let¡¯s just say he got the ability there.

    [Is that so? Then I guess he¡¯ll get a passing grade now, right?] Yuna

    [Toya is not convinced. Besides, Xelo-san told him that he has three chances. If he can¡¯t do one out of three, then Xelo-san won¡¯t make him a sword.] Senia

    [That¡¯s tough.] Yuna

    [No, not at all. It¡¯s actually a sweet deal. The object is not moving. You have time to concentrate and you can take your time to sh it. Both the monsters and opponents are moving. In fact, you have to deal with a moving enemy in actualbat. So, this test is a sweet deal.] Senia

    That¡¯s true, I¡¯ll agree with it if you ask me. In the end, all you have to do is cut a stationary object. You can step in any distance and at any moment. You can take a deep breath and calm your mind. But monsters are usually moving and they won¡¯t give you time to calm your mind. They won¡¯t give you time to prepare so that you can easily cut them. If you¡¯re too far away, your sword won¡¯t reach them. If you¡¯re too close, you can¡¯t swing your sword properly. In fact, you¡¯ll have a hard time defeating a moving monster.

    When you think about it, the test probably is a sweet deal, just like Senia-san said. And there are three chances.

    [If you can cut a stationary object, you¡¯re half a person. If you can cut a moving object, then you¡¯re a whole.] Senia

    Senia-san expressionlessly said.

    And so, we arrive at the ce where Toya is, and we see him waving his sword.

    [Toya, I brought you some food.] Senia

    [Thank God.] Toya

    Toya stopped swinging his sword and looked at us.

    [What? You girls came too?] Toya

    [How is it going?] Yuna

    [Well. I¡¯ll definitely get old man Xelo¡¯s approval and have him make that sword for me.] Toya

    Toya sheathed his sword and sat down on a nearby rock that looksfortable. Then he ate the bread we had brought him.

    [How are you doing? I heard from Senia-san that you¡¯ve been able to slice it a few times, albeit by chance or a miracle.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s not by chance or a miracle. It¡¯s my ability. It¡¯s...... just one in a few dozen.] Toya

    [That¡¯s what you call <by chance>.] Senia

    [But I think I¡¯m almost there, I can feel it. Whenever I can cut well, the sensation remains in my hand. I wish I could have that feeling whenever I want.] Toya

    Toya stared at his hands.

    [Asking Jade or Senia isn¡¯t helpful either, because they can do it just fine.] Toya

    [The difference between a genius and an ordinary person.] Senia

    [Fuun! I¡¯ll prove to you that even ordinary people can do it if they try.] Toya

    There are geniuses in this world. If you teach them, they can do anything. Some can even do it just by observing.

    [It¡¯s difficult for ordinary people when there¡¯s a genius by their side. I know that feeling too.] Yuna

    [......]

    [......]

    [......]

    [......]

    Fina, Ruimin, Senia-san, and Toya all looked at me with dumbfounded <What are you talking about?> expressions on their faces.

    [What?] Yuna

    [Miss, that¡¯s called sarcasm. You¡¯ve defeated so many powerful monsters. Your powerful magic is only a part of your talent, and you know how to use weapons, don¡¯t you?] Toya

    [Yuna is a genius. And also fluffy.] Senia

    [Yuna-oneesan is a great person.] Fina

    [I agree with you.] Ruimin

    Apparently, I was considered a genius.

    Other people think I¡¯m a genius, but in my case, I¡¯m not a genius, I¡¯m a cheater.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Toya, hang in there!

    Myputer is getting worse in the summer.

    It froze up many times and it was very difficult. I remember saying the same thingst year, though.

    Myputer is old, so it might be about time to reach the end of its life.

    (Press F for the author¡¯s PC.)

 Chapter 402 Bear-san, Slashes The Sword Once More.

    <h4>Chapter 402 Bear-san, shes The Sword Once More.</h4>

    [How did you get that strength at your age, Miss? If it¡¯s magic power, I know it¡¯s a natural talent. But you¡¯re used to fighting. Normally, people of your age would be afraid of monsters when they see them. But when you fought the worms and the scorpions, you looked like a seasoned adventurer. Could it be that you¡¯re just faking your age?] Toya

    [I¡¯m not faking my age, I¡¯m just more experienced at fighting than most people.] Yuna

    In my gaming days, I would fight hundreds of thousands of battles a day to gain experience. It can go on for days without break. That is the familiarity and experience of fighting monsters.

    I¡¯ve also experienced thousands of matches against other people (PVP). More than Toya.

    [So much experience, how long have you really been fighting?] Toya

    [That¡¯s a secret.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m really anxious to know that secret.] Toya

    [It¡¯s not nice to ask a woman about her secrets.] Senia

    Senia-san hugged me from behind and protected me from Toya.

    [But it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s between women.] Senia

    [I won¡¯t tell you either.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sad.] Senia

    I can¡¯t talk about the game, where I fought, or anything like that.

    [Miss, how about a match against me?] Toya

    [Toya, stop it. You¡¯ll just embarrass yourself.] Senia

    [I don¡¯t expect to win, but I don¡¯t intend to lose easily either.] Toya

    It was decided. Toya and I had a simple match. Of course, we¡¯re using swords made of wood.

    ??????????????

    ????????

    ????

    A few minutester, a figure of the depressed Toya can be seen.

    [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not very good at holding back. I should have made it more even.] Yuna

    Toya is crouching with his back facing me.

    Of course, I took it easy on him. Toya is not weak, but not strong either. I tried to take on as few attacks as possible. However, when his attacks were dodged, Toya started to attack unreasonably, creating a lot of openings for me to attack him.

    [How are you moving so fast when you¡¯re wearing something that looks ufortable? And what kind of power do you have, Miss?] Toya

    It may look like a difficult outfit to move in, but on the contrary, I can¡¯t move fast without this outfit.

    When Toya saw that his attack was not hitting me, he tried to overpower me instead. But I pushed him back with the power of my bear costume.

    [It¡¯s because of experience. I almost died many times (in the game). And from that, I gained a lot of experience.] Yuna

    [Almost died, she said.] Toya

    [So I¡¯m not going to be defeated easily, because getting at my current level wasn¡¯t easy either.] Yuna

    Well, I can, because my muscle strength and other things came from my bear gear. Without it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to swing my sword, step powerfully into the air, or take on Toya¡¯s sword.

    But the ability to move, act, and make decisions is a power I have personally acquired.

    [I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll easily pass old man Xelo¡¯s test, Miss.] Toya

    [Yuna borrowed Jade¡¯s sword and cleared it.] Senia

    [How did you know that, Senia-san?] Yuna

    Senia-san, you weren¡¯t here.

    [Mel told me.] Senia

    [You borrowed a sword from Jade? He rarely lends me one either.] Toya

    Toya, who had been depressed, sunk even further.

    [But, you see, Jade-san¡¯s sword is different from the one Toya used. Jade-san¡¯s sword is simply better, you know?] Yuna

    [Yeah, I know.] Toya

    Why do I have to console Toya? That¡¯s the job of Senia-san, who¡¯s from the same party, right?

    [Then, use the sword that Toya is using.] Senia

    Senia-san! Why would you say such a thing? If I seed, Toya will be even more depressed. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to fail on purpose.

    [Toya. You can learn by watching Yuna¡¯s movements and the tip of her sword. Of course, her physique and strength are different from Toya¡¯s. But you can learn from her. I¡¯m a knife user, so I can¡¯t teach you. And you don¡¯t want to rely on Jade too much either, don¡¯t you?] Senia

    I was about to refuse, but Senia-san exined the benefits to Toya in a serious tone. Toya looked up with a serious expression at Senia-san¡¯s words.

    [Watch and learn?...... I guess so. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll be able to do it at this point. Well then, Miss, can you do me a favor?] Toya

    Toya stood up and held out his mithril sword to me.

    I couldn¡¯t say no, so I epted it. After stabbing the blunt sword into the ground, I borrowed the Mithril sword from Toya. Toya stood behind me and stared at the sword as if he¡¯s concentrating.

    I gripped the sword. It doesn¡¯t feel heavy thanks to my bear gear, but it¡¯s a littlerge. I take a swing and check my spacing.

    [Now then, here I go!] Yuna

    I stood in front of the sword and swung at the sword stuck in the ground. The blunt sword was cut around the middle.

    [............]

    Toya stared at the sword I just shed as if he was frozen. It seems that he is not in a daze though. It might be better to say that he¡¯s examining it.

    [Speed, angle, power.] Toya

    Toya¡¯s thoughts leaked out of his mouth as he mumbled.

    [Miss, can you please do it again.] Toya

    Without waiting for my confirmation, Toya took out another blunt sword, tied something to it, and stabbed it in the ground. There were two red strings tied to the sword.

    [Miss, can you sh between these strings? I couldn¡¯t figure out the moment when you cut the sword because your sword line is so fast. If I knew where you¡¯re aiming, then I can see it.] Toya

    Apparently, the red string is a marking. He wanted to concentrate on one point and check the moment of slicing.

    There was only a gap of about 10cm between the strings. But if this is how Toya is going to be able to do it, I¡¯ll give it a try, at least once.

    [Alright, just once.] Yuna

    [Yeah, just once.] Toya

    [Then, I¡¯ll sh diagonally from the top string to the bottom string, so watch closely.] Yuna

    Fina and the others watched our exchange in silence. I took a deep breath, the bear puppet tightens its bite on the sword, I raised the sword up, then swung it down so that it will be diagonally cut from the upper string to the lower string.

    It is divided into an upper part and a lower part with strings.

    I hear a quiet exhale from around me.

    When he looked at Toya, he did not blink for a moment but he kept staring at the sword I had cut. I silently held out the sword to Toya, who epted it without a word.

    [I hope that helps.] Yuna

    [Oh, that was helpful enough. It¡¯s very helpful.] Toya

    Toya tightened his grip on his sword and began to swing it.

    We left Toya behind and moved away so as not to disturb him.

    And I was surprised when Touya thanked me again at dinner that night.

    He seemed to have gotten a feel for something.

    Then, two dayster. While shopping and strolling in the city, the streets became noisy.

    [I wonder what happened?] Yuna

    As I listen to the people around me, I hear a voice saying that the trial gate is open.

    [Apparently, the gates of trials are open.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Ruimin

    [Jade-san will participate, right?] Fina

    I heard that Jade-san was visiting Xelo-san to participate in the gates of trials. I wanted to participate in it too.

    [Let¡¯s all go and support Jade-san.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Ruimin

    [But we have to climb those stairs again, don¡¯t we?] Fina

    Ruimin replied happily, but Fina mentioned the long staircase as a reminder. It¡¯s not easy to climb those stairs.

    [Would you like me to give you a piggyback ride then?] Yuna

    [U~u, it¡¯s embarrassing, so I¡¯ll do my best to climb.] Fina

    Even though we are the same bears, they still prefer to ride on the back of the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, rather than on the back of my bear costume.

    When we returned to the inn for lunch, we found Jade-san and Mel-san enjoying a leisurely cup of tea. We took a seat nearby and ordered lunch.

    [Have you heard about it, Yuna-chan?] Mel

    [I heard about the gates of trials being opened. I heard about it when we were walking through the town. Has it already started?] Yuna

    [Not yet. They¡¯re going to do some announcements and preparations today, and then start tomorrow morning.] Mel

    It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to start right away.

    [When are you going to join, Jade-san? We¡¯re thinking of going to cheer on you.] Yuna

    [Thank you. It seems that the first day is traditionally reserved for apprentice weaponsmiths, so I¡¯ll be there the day after that. In the meantime, you should go there early, since you¡¯ll never know when the gates of trials will close.] Jade

    [Close? When do the gates of trials close?] Yuna

    Toya¡¯s test ends at the same time.

    As the person who helped him with the sword, I¡¯m curious. If possible, I¡¯d like to see him pass the test before the gates of trials closes.

    [I don¡¯t know the details, but ording to Xelo-san, it¡¯s different every year. In the past, it closed in just a day, but recently it¡¯s been around five days.] Jade

    That¡¯s why apprentice cksmiths are given priority on the first day to give the apprentices and new craftsmen experience before the gates of trials close. In this way, they are fostering the motivation of the craftsmen.

    [But I heard some of them were quitting as weaponsmiths because of it.] Jade

    It¡¯s the same in every profession. There are things you can¡¯t do even if you try. Only a handful of people can be professional athletes. Even weaponsmiths can¡¯t sell swords if they can¡¯t make a decent one. No one wants a sloppy sword.

    But for what reason do the gates of trials close?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s difficult to write a story about Toya and the Gates of Trials at the same time. I had a lot of trouble adjusting the time axis. At any rate, Toya has made a step forward, and the gates of trials have opened.

    ¡ùI will be taking a week-long summer break after I post the next episode. Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 403 Bear-san, Goes For House Hunting.

    <h4>Chapter 403 Bear-san, Goes For House Hunting.</h4>

    After lunch, we head to the Commercial Guild.

    When the Gate of Trials event ends, we will return. But before that, we need to find a ce to set up the bear gate. I thought about going outside the city, however, it would be too much trouble to find a ce to set it up, so I decided against it.

    I don¡¯t want to leave it there and have people find out about it without my knowledge and cause a scene. That¡¯s why I¡¯m nning to go to the Commercial Guild normally and buy a house. A bear house would make me stand out, so I¡¯m going to buy a normal house.

    [Fina, Ruimin. You could have waited for me back at the inn.] Yuna

    When I told them I was going to the Commercial Guild, they said they woulde with me.

    [Ano. We¡¯re going to look for a house to ce that bear gate. I want to see what kind of house Yuna-san will buy, but Yuna-san, are you okay with your money? Buying a house is very expensive, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s definitely not something I can afford with the money I have.] Ruimin

    Ruimin asks worriedly. Well, her money to buy pots and pans can¡¯t buy a house, that¡¯s for sure.

    Well, I¡¯m not worried about money. After all, I have the money I saved from my former world and the money I¡¯ve earned since I came to this world.

    Also, Fina doesn¡¯t know about this, but I am also receiving a cut from the tolls of the bear tunnel and such. If I want to buy a house as the one Noa lives in, it will cost a lot of money, but a small house won¡¯t cost as much.

    We went out to the main street and looked around. ording to what we heard from the innkeeper, there should be amercial guild around here.

    [Yuna-oneesan, isn¡¯t it over there?] Fina

    To the direction where Fina pointed, there¡¯s a sign for themercial guild ahead. This seemed to be the right ce. I took Fina and Ruimin and entered the building. There were fewer people inside than I expected. As far as I¡¯m concerned, the fewer people, the better.

    I looked at the receptionist and saw a normal woman sitting there. She doesn¡¯t seem to be a dwarf.

    When I went to the reception desk, the receptionist was surprised to see my outfit.

    [......Bear?] Receptionist

    It¡¯s the usual, so I went ahead and told them what I needed.

    [Etto, I¡¯m looking to buy a house.] Yuna

    [For all of you girls?] Receptionist

    She looked at me and then at Fina and Ruimin behind me You wouldn¡¯t normally think that this group of people would buy a house, would you?

    [Don¡¯t worry, I have the money.] Yuna

    When I said this, the receptionist looked at us suspiciously.

    [Etto, just to confirm, your parents are here with you, right?] Receptionist

    [They¡¯re not with us. Do you need them for something? If it¡¯s the money you¡¯re asking, I¡¯ll pay it properly.] Yuna

    [No, that¡¯s not the case...] Receptionist

    The receptionist looked at me, then Fina, and Ruimin, and then looked back at me again. After thinking for a moment, she asked us for our citizen¡¯s cards.

    [Guild cards are fine, right?] Yuna

    [Yes. As long as you can prove your identity, you¡¯re good to go.] Receptionist

    I hand her my guild card. When the receptionist received my guild card and checked it, her expression immediately changed.

    [Name: Yuna, Adventurer Rank: C, Commercial Guild Rank: E.......] Receptionist

    I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s being surprised with. I still think it¡¯s the adventurer rank.

    [upation: Bear? What¡¯s that?] Receptionist

    She was surprised by that, after all.

    [As you can see.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a pain to exin, so I¡¯ll answer with that.

    [......Okay. So, do you have a specific location for the house you¡¯re buying or a maximum purchase price?] Receptionist

    [I don¡¯t really have a limit on how much money I can spend. If possible, I¡¯d like to live somewhere away from the city center. Somewhere I cane and go without being noticed by the people. Also, preferably a small house.] Yuna

    When I mentioned the conditions for the house so I can install a bear gate, the receptionist looked at us even more suspiciously and said something outrageous.

    [Out of sight and out of mind. You guys ran away, didn¡¯t you?......] Receptionist

    [No, we did not. As you can tell from my outfit. I just don¡¯t want to make too muchmotion.] Yuna

    [Is that true?] Receptionist

    When I came to Crimonia, at first I only had to rent a plot ofnd, afterwards, I bought a plot ofnd. In the Royal Capital, I had the support of Gran-san and Eleanora-san. In Mereera, I was able to build a bear house because I defeated the Krakken, so I got permission from Atora-san. In Lalooz town, I got a house from Letobert-san. In the Elven vige, I was offered a ce to stay as thanks for killing the monsters. In the desert city of Dezerto, I had a letter of introduction from Balima-san.

    When I think about it, I¡¯ve had a lot of help from a lot of people in the past when building or buying a house.

    I guess they get suspicious when no one is there to back me up.

    This time I have no referral and there¡¯s no one I know. But I do have something simr.

    As I was reminiscing about the past, Fina called out to me.

    [Yuna-oneesan. You can show her the knife that Eleanora-sama gave you.] Fina

    I thought so too. It¡¯s definitely an effective item. But the question is whether the name of the Foshuroze family is known to this remote town.

    But it¡¯s a knife that¡¯s been given to me. So I¡¯m somewhat going to make use of it.

    From the bear box, I presented the guild receptionist with a mithril knife with a crest on it, which was given to me by Eleanora-san.

    [Is this a crest of the...... nobility?] Receptionist

    [Can you now trust me with this?] Yuna

    [One moment, please.] Receptionist

    The receptionist hurriedly got up from her seat and left.

    [What¡¯s with the knife, Yuna-san?] Ruimin

    [Simply put, it¡¯s a knife given to me by a nobleman I know, a knife that proves I¡¯m rted to this nobleman.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, you know someone in the nobility?] Ruimin

    [I just happen to know them a little. And I¡¯m indebted to them somehow.] Yuna

    While I was talking to Ruimin about the aforementioned knife, the receptionist came back along with a man of about 40 years old.

    [Sorry to keep you waiting.] Receptionist

    [She really is dressed as a bear.] Guildmaster

    [Guildmaster!] Receptionist

    [Oh, I¡¯m sorry. We were talking about a knife, weren¡¯t we?] Guildmaster

    The man seemed to be the guild master of this branch.

    [I can¡¯t confirm it, so if you please.] Receptionist

    [Let me check the knife for a moment.] Guildmaster

    The receptionist asked Guildmaster to pick up the knife and check the crest.

    [It¡¯s definitely the crest of the Foshuroze family from the Kingdom of Erfanica. Missy, are you rted to the Foshuroze family?] Guildmaster

    [I¡¯m acquainted and quite close to them. You can check it if you have to, but hopefully, I can purchase a house by the end of the day.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll need to check your guild card.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster then ced my guild card on the crystal te, then he started controlling the crystal te. And then, his face changed color.

    [Pham, there is no problem with her identity, just do as this Bear Missy wishes. And don¡¯t be rude.] Guildmaster

    [Yes, I understand.] Pham

    The Guildmaster returned the knife and the guild card to me, bowed his head, and left.

    What was that? Did he saw something that only the Guildmaster can see? What on earth is on the guild card that I don¡¯t know about?

    For now, it looks like I can buy a house without any strange suspicions like (running away from home).

    [Please wait a moment so we can find you a house that meets your needs.] Pham

    The receptionist searched for the documents.

    [Oh, by the way, Yuna-san. What is upation: Bear?] Ruimin

    [It¡¯s the profession when you register with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. If you use a sword, then you¡¯re a swordsman, and if you use magic, then you¡¯re a magician. But I didn¡¯t have a sword at the time and I didn¡¯t know if I could call myself a magician either, so...] Yuna

    So I jokingly wrote <Bear> as my upation, and Helen-san registered it as <Bear> on my guild card. And so, my upation has remained <Bear> to this day.

    [But I don¡¯t think anyone would normally write <Bear>.] Ruimin

    I want you to tell me that when I first came to the other world.

    [Thank you for your patience. There were a few houses that fit your needs. Please confirm the details.] Pham

    The receptionist handed over a document and unfolded in front of me was a map that I assume of this city.

    [Etto, first of all, I will specify candidates on the map of the city, so please confirm if it¡¯s to your liking.] Pham

    The receptionist then goes through the materials and exins them in detail, showing the size of the house, the price, and the location.

    Hmmm, the city has four entrances, east, west, north, and south, just like a normal city. Two of them have mountains and fields on either side. The other entrance is the one we came in from, and the other one has a road that seems to go to another city. The road connecting these two gates has the most buildings and the most people. The road connecting the mountains and the fields are also crowded with people. This inevitably means that the ces farther away from the main roads are less crowded.

    [Not many people live in this area and it¡¯s far from the public, but it¡¯s a good ce for you girls to live in.] Pham

    [Is it unsafe?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not the case, but no city is zero.] Pham

    [I¡¯m not going to live in this city, so it¡¯s not a problem.] Yuna

    [Is that so?] Pham

    [I¡¯ll onlye here once in a while.] Yuna

    [But you¡¯re buying a house?] Pham

    The moment she looked at me suspiciously, I heard a voice calling her name

    From behind.

    I looked behind the receptionist and saw the Guildmaster looking at us.

    [Nothing, sir. Would you like this one then?] Pham

    [Can you describe the rest of the candidates?] Yuna

    [I understand.] Pham

    Pham exined all the house candidates.

    I narrowed down my choices and decided to go see both of them.

    The first is away from the city center, where there are many people, and buildings, but not many surrounding houses. But when I use my detecting skills, the response of people is surprisingly sparse.

    Then she leads us to the next house.

    The second one is built near the wall, like the orphanage in Crimonia. There are a few houses around it, but from the looks of it, there¡¯s not much traffic. Even when I used my detection skills, there were fewer people than the other one.

    And it¡¯s newer than the house I just saw. It has a garden. It looks nice.

    [Now then, let¡¯s go and check the inside of the house.] Pham

    Pham opened the door and entered the house.

    [It¡¯s beautiful in here.] Yuna

    [Yes, the house was built and then residents immediately moved for family reasons. It hasn¡¯t been used for that long, so it hasn¡¯t been cleaned. But still, it¡¯s a long way from the stores and stalls in the city center.] Pham

    All you have to do is walk

    But even though it wasn¡¯t clean, the house was just new and hadn¡¯t been used for a few months, so it was covered in dust. But it just needs to be cleaned.

    [Yeah, I¡¯ll take this one.] Yuna

    [Thank you very much. We¡¯ll take care of the formalities once we get to the Commercial Guild.] Pham

    I started to walk, but Fina stopped me.

    [Yuna-oneesan. Can I clean it for you?] Fina

    [Hai hai, I will do it too!] Ruimin

    At Fina¡¯s words, Ruimin also raised her hand and offered to clean it up.

    I was going to clean it the next time I¡¯m free. But if they want to help, then I¡¯ll ept.

    [Can you do that for me then?] Yuna

    [Yes.] Ruimin

    [We¡¯ll take care of it.] Fina

    I took out the cleaning tools from the bear box and asked them to clean the house.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Kuma-san bought a house.

    She used Eleanora-san¡¯s knife, but I really wanted to use the name of the merchant Letobert-san, too.

    ¡ùIn the activity report, we are looking for SS requests for the store bonus of book 8. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

    ¡ùAs I wrote in thest postscript, I will be on summer vacation for about a week. Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 404 Bear-san, Goes To Watch The Trials

    <h4>Chapter 404 Bear-san, Goes To Watch The Trials</h4>

    Afterward, we return to the Commercial Guild to pay for the purchase.

    The guild receptionist was surprised when I paid the money in full, but as instructed by the Guildmaster, the procedure waspleted without any unnecessary word from her.

    Having sessfully purchased the house, I returned to Fina and Ruimin, who was cleaning the house. It¡¯s a long way to go without my bear gear, but since I¡¯m not going to live there, it¡¯s not a problem.

    When I entered the house, I saw Fina and Ruimin cleaning the house with dustpans and brooms.

    [Wee home, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Yuna-san, it¡¯s a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so it¡¯s going to be tough!] Ruimin

    [I won¡¯t live here, so you don¡¯t have to take it too seriously.] Yuna

    [But I¡¯m bothered with dust and stuff.] Ruimin

    Ruimin took a broom and swept a corner where there seemed to umte a lot and since I couldn¡¯t let the two of them do it alone, I also started cleaning.

    [Did you try upstairs?] Yuna

    [No, not yet.] Fina

    [It¡¯s already difficult enough on just this floor.] Ruimin

    [We¡¯ll go upstairs then.] Yuna

    [[We?]]

    Fina and Ruimin looked at each other.

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been transformed into bear cubs, to help me clean up. I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to clean the floor from back then. Well, they¡¯re too small to do much more than sweeping the floor.

    I opened the window and started cleaning.

    Then, the five of us split up and finished the cleaning around dusk. We were able to clean up the umted dust and ventted the ce. We couldn¡¯t finish everything in half a day, but it was enough since we weren¡¯t going to live there.

    Ie to a warehouse on the first floor. There¡¯s nothing in there yet. There are only empty shelves that were used by the previous upants.

    I will set up a bear gate at the far end of the wall.

    [With this, now you cane to this city anytime you want. But it¡¯s a pity that only Yuna-san can use it. If I could use it, I would be able toe to this town and see Fina and her sister whenever I want.] Ruimin

    I sometimes wish anyone could use it, but if anyone could use it, it would be a pain in the ass, so this is fine.

    [Yuna-oneesan, are we going to use this door on our way back?] Fina

    [Hmmm, I guess it depends on Jade-san and the others. We¡¯ll use it if we¡¯re parting with them here, but we can¡¯t use it if we¡¯re going back together.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s nice to have an easy way home, but it¡¯s also a shame we can¡¯t ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on our way back.] Ruimin

    Well, at worst, we could send Ruimin back to the elven vige and move separately. Well, it¡¯s up to Jade-san and the others.

    [Now then let¡¯s take a bath and clean ourselves up before we go home.] Yuna

    Both of them were sweating from cleaning and the heat. And even though they were wearing aprons to prevent their clothes from getting dirty, their hair and other parts of their bodies were covered with dust.

    I opened the door of the bear gate in front of me and moved to the bear house in the elf vige. Then the five of us, including Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, took a bath, washed off our sweat, and cleaned our bodies before returning to the inn.

    The next day. The official start of the Gate of Trials begins today. Jade-san doesn¡¯t n to join us today, but we decide to go and observe how it will be done.

    [But why are you going so early in the morning?] Ruimin

    The sun has just risen. Fina and Ruimin are looking sleepy.

    [That¡¯s because I want to get to the Gates of Trials before it gets too crowded.] Yuna

    It¡¯s because of my appearance.

    I don¡¯t know what the situation will be, but if people gather like at a festival, it will be a big problem. It would be dangerous if people gathered around me at the stairs.

    Besides, ording to Rojina-san, there are fewer people in the early morning. I thought there would be a lot of people who would be the first to arrive, but apparently, that¡¯s not the case. Weaponsmiths have no problem waking up and going to work right away. But as the weapons handler, the adventurers, they¡¯d be in better shape if they ate breakfast a littleter in the day. Anyone who tries to use a weapon half-asleep will find that their brain is not awake and their body will not be ready. It¡¯s almost impossible to get good results.

    So I¡¯m going to try to get to the entrance of the Gates of Trials before the crowd gathers.

    Then, after checking on the products of a few cksmiths, I n to leave.

    [But I¡¯m still sleepy.] Ruimin

    [You can go back to sleep if you want.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m going.] Ruimin

    The Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear who woke me up were sent back, then we head out for the Gate of Trials venue.

    As I had expected, there were still few people on the street. When I came to the front of the stairs, however, there were no people in sight.

    [Fina, feel free to tell me when you¡¯re tired. You won¡¯t be embarrassed if no one is watching.] Yuna

    [Yes. But I¡¯ll do my best to climb.] Fina

    [Yuna-san. Why are you not asking me that?] Ruimin

    [Because I don¡¯t think Ruimin will need it after watching you climb up so easily. But I can help you get down, if you want.] Yuna

    [No thank you!] Ruimin

    Ruimin climbed the stairs as if she was running away. She ran up the stairs the moment I told her I can help her go down. We were going to jump down the cliff after all.

    Fina and I followed Ruimin up the stairs. Fina was out of breath, but she climbed the stairs on her own, step by step. With sweat beading on her forehead, she made it to the Gates of Trials venue.

    [Good job.] Yuna

    I offered chilled water to Fina and Ruimin.

    It was still early and there was no one in sight. Are we too early?

    [There¡¯s no one here.] Ruimin

    [Yuna-oneesan, Ruimin-san. There¡¯s someone over there.] Fina

    When I looked in the direction Fina was pointing, I saw a person. Someone was staring at the building housing the Gates of Trials. That person seems familiar.

    [It¡¯s Rojina-san.] Ruimin

    Rojina-san is standing in front of the building, just as Ruimin said.

    [Rojina-san, is he participating?] Ruimin

    [Hmmm. But, Rojina-san didn¡¯t make any weapons.] Fina

    He hasn¡¯t made any weapons since we came to town. He has been making the pots and pans that we ordered. Even before that, Rikka-san told us that he wasn¡¯t making weapons anymore. Rojina-san looked as if he was having a hard time. When I missed my chance to call out to him, he looked at us.

    [Hey, girls. What¡¯s the matter? Why are you here so early? It¡¯s going to be a while before the people start gathering here.] Rojina

    [No, I just came early because I¡¯m dressed like this. How about you, Rojina-san? Are you going to participate, by any chance?] Yuna

    [No way. I haven¡¯t made any weapon in years.] Rojina

    [Then why are you here?] Yuna

    [......Perhaps, because of a loose end.] Rojina

    [A loose end?] Yuna

    [I want to make a weapon.] Rojina

    [Then, go on and make one.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s not that simple, you know. I have a desire to make weapons, but my heart became empty after Ghazal and Gordo left. I was looking forward to watching them grow up together. And grow up they did. But now that they were gone, I couldn¡¯t make weapons anymore. It¡¯s no longer fun to make weapons without them.] Rojina

    It¡¯s not like your daughter got married or your girlfriend died, you know? But I guess it¡¯s because I have a dirty mind. Besides, his apprentices will have to set up their own stores and will disappear someday. There¡¯s no end to the loneliness he would feel if he were to miss them every time. Why won¡¯t he take a new apprentice after his apprentice bes full-fledged and leave his master?

    [So, I thought that seeing an apprentice cksmith would bring out the old passion for making weapons.] Rojina

    So that¡¯s why he¡¯s here so early.

    [So you girls came to watch too?] Rojina

    [Well, sort of.] Yuna

    [People usually don¡¯te here so early if they¡¯re not a cksmith or a merchant.] Rojina

    [Isn¡¯t this the big event in town?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a big event for the cksmiths. But for the average people, they don¡¯t get to see the trials and tribtions. Plus, they have to climb this long flight of stairs.] Rojina

    That¡¯s what I thought as well. Not being able to see the trials and tribtions is the least exciting part. At least, if there was a camera or something to show what¡¯s going on inside, people could enjoy it.

    And then there¡¯s the matter of the long staircase.

    [Why is the Gate of Trials way up here? Why not make it a little lower? In the first ce, did someone build the Gates of Trials? Or has it always been there since forever?] Yuna

    [It is said that a wizard created it a long time ago. It is also said that this ce was easy for the magic to gather and create magic.] Rojina

    I wonder if it¡¯s easy for magic power to gather here, like a spiritual or dragon¡¯s vein. In games andics, there are times when people talk about ces where power can easily gather.

    But the Gate of Trials was built by a wizard. It¡¯s not like the pyramids just sprouted out of nowhere.

    [Could it be that the reason you didn¡¯t know when the Gates of Trials would open is that it¡¯s made of that magic?] Yuna

    [Correct. The Gates of Trials was being closed by magic power. And when the magic builds up, the gate opens.] Rojina

    That¡¯s why no one knows the exact date of the opening of the Gates of Trials.

    [Looks like it¡¯s about to open.] Rojina

    When I look in the same direction as Rojina-san¡¯s gaze, the door of the building opens. A dwarf emerges from inside. I don¡¯t know how old he is, but he looks to be about the same age as Rojina-san.

    [Who¡¯s that?] Yuna

    [That is Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild. Every year around this time, the officials stay in the building. And when it opens, they report to Guildmaster. I¡¯m guessing the Guildmaster who received the report stayed overnight to prepare.] Rojina

    When the Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild came out of the door, he made a small sneeze and noticed us.

    [A Bear !? And Rojina?] Guildmaster

    The Guildmaster of the cksmith Guild looks at me and Rojina-san in turn.

    [She¡¯s a friend of mine. I hope you don¡¯t mind.] Rojina

    Rojina-san followed up for me.

    [......Well, I don¡¯t mind it if you say so, but I see you know a girl who dresses pretty.] Guildmaster

    [She knows my disciples who had gone far away. She just came to this city, so I¡¯m just been taking care of her.] Rojina

    [Right. So, did youe to watch again this year? Or did youe to participate?] Guildmaster

    [No, I¡¯m just here to watch.] Rojina

    [You¡¯re still not making weapons?] Guildmaster

    [I don¡¯t know. Maybe I¡¯ll make it, maybe I won¡¯t.] Rojina

    [So, which one is it?] Guildmaster

    [I mean, I don¡¯t even know it myself.] Rojina

    [So you¡¯vee to watch it again this year. I¡¯ll serve you some tea inside, so have a drink.] Guildmaster

    [Is that okay?] Yuna

    [Until the people arrive, that is. I¡¯m sure Miss Bear and the girls are tired from climbing the stairs. I¡¯ll serve some tea if you like.] Guildmaster

    We¡¯ll take you up on your offer then. We also wanted to see the inside of the building, after all.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s been a week. I¡¯ve been working on the book at a leisurely pace.

    There are so many things I want to fix, I can¡¯t finish it on time.

    Yuna hase to the Gates of Trials. We¡¯re getting closer to the end of the arc now. Here is another request from the author. Please try to refrain from making predictions in thements section. If you do, the author will take damage.

    ¡ùThe next post may be a littlete. I¡¯ve ordered a newputer. It will be delivered shortly. I¡¯m not sure how long it will take me to set it up, so please bear with me.

    ¡ùPlease keep an eye out for SS for the book bonus of volume 8 in the activity report. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

 Chapter 405 Bear-san Talks to Guildmaster

    <h4>Chapter 405 Bear-san Talks to Guildmaster</h4>

    Guildmaster led us into the building.

    Inside, the ceiling is high and it¡¯s quite spacious. At the entrance, there was a long table with a reception sign. It seems that this is where the reception desk is located. At the end of the reception area, there were several couches like a waiting room in arge hospital. And when I looked at the far end, I could see arge double swinging door. I wonder if the Gate of Trials is behind that door. I want to take a peek.

    But Guildmaster walks in a different direction.

    [This way.] Guildmaster

    There was a door in the direction Guildmaster was walking. I suppressed my feeling of reluctance and followed Guildmaster. The room was a bitrge, with tables and chairs set up like a conference room.

    [Well then, have a seat] Guildmaster

    We did as we were told and sat down on the chairs.

    Then, Guildmaster served us tea. Dwarves have an image of drinking alcohol, but as expected, they don¡¯t drink early in the morning.

    [How can you be soid back?] Yuna

    [It happens every year. We¡¯ve been preparing for a few days now. All we have to do is wait for the guild staff and the smiths to arrive.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster prepared tea for all of us, then sat himself down on a chair.

    [You look excited.] Yuna

    [Well, you get to see an apprentice cksmith grow up. Dalton¡¯s apprentices are looking good this year. There are also a few others I¡¯m looking forward to.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster speaks happily. He¡¯s like a father who watches over his children as they grow up. He looks like he would be a good teacher at an orphanage. Then, Guildmaster turns his gaze to me.

    [Missy, you¡¯re dressed as a Bear, right?] Guildmaster

    [That¡¯s right, but...] Yuna

    I shouldn¡¯t look like anything but a bear.

    [Is that kind of style popr in other cities?] Guildmaster

    Rojina-san told me not to worry about it. He was still concerned about my outfit though. But it was too much trouble to exin, so I¡¯ll just answer appropriately.

    [It¡¯s popr.] Yuna

    [Yuna-oneesan!?] Fina

    Fina, sitting next to me, was surprised by my response. What¡¯s so surprising? Maybe it will catch on. And if it does, it will be a problem.

    [Just kidding. It¡¯s my favorite outfit, so I hope you don¡¯t mind.] Yuna

    [Well, no matter how one looks, it¡¯s different for each person.] Guildmaster

    Don¡¯t look at me like you pity me. I don¡¯t dress up as a bear because I want to. I wear it to live.

    [So, do you girls know Ghazal and Gordo?] Guildmaster

    [You know those two?] Yuna

    [Of course, I know. I know all the cksmiths in this city.] Guildmaster

    [All of them?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s only natural since he¡¯s the Guildmaster. Besides, a good new cksmith is always remembered.] Rojina

    I don¡¯t know how many people there are, but, amazingly, you know them all. I can¡¯t even remember people¡¯s names, so, weirdly, you know them all. The idea I had earlier that he was everyone¡¯s father might not be a joke.

    [How are those two doing?] Guildmaster

    [They¡¯re doing fine.] Yuna

    [Well, I was disappointed when I heard the story of them leaving the city, but I wish they were fine. So what did thediese here for? Did youe with your father?] Guildmaster

    He¡¯s asking for my father even though I wasn¡¯t a kid, but Fina is with me. What¡¯s making him worry is whether the person inside this costume is a child.

    [Surprisingly, it was just the three of them who came to town to buy some pots and pans.] Rojina

    Guildmaster looked surprised at Rojina-san¡¯s words and looked at me like some strange creature.

    Of course, he¡¯d be surprised to hear that us three girls went here on our own. Rojina-san exined that he was making our orders of pots and pans.

    [Well, the pots Rojina makes are very popr. You¡¯re in luck, girls. This entric old man won¡¯t make it unless he¡¯s in the mood.] Guildmaster

    [Because of that, you can¡¯t ignore Gordo and Ghazal¡¯s acquaintance.] Rojina

    That saved me from having to look for it in other stores. In addition, I got a discount on the price. I have to be grateful for that.

    [So, today, you girls came to see Rojina and the Gate of Trials?] Guildmaster

    [I only met Rojina-san by chance. And I was just curious, so I came to have a look.] Yuna

    [Even if you just came to take a look, you can¡¯t see it inside.] Guildmaster

    [I thought maybe I could watch it from the outside, but I guess not. I was just hoping I¡¯d get lucky and be able to join in.] Yuna

    I was wondering if there was a possibility that something might happen to the adventurers on the day of the event and some of them might not be able to participate. But even if that were to happen, no one would ask me, someone, who¡¯s dressed as a bear, right?

    [You want to participate? Are you trying to be a cksmith, Missy?] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster looked surprised. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s surprised. How do I look like I¡¯m aiming to be a cksmith?

    [No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m the one handling the weapon.] Yuna

    He looked dubious at my words.

    [Tarotoba, she may be dressed like this, but she¡¯s an adventurer.] Rojina (TN: ¥¿¥í¥È¥Ð)

    [An adventurer? This bear Missy?] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster looks at me, then he lets out a smallugh. I know, I don¡¯t look like an adventurer myself.

    [You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I¡¯d be more convinced if you said she¡¯s a street performer.] Guildmaster

    A street performer is someone who gets paid to do tricks. This reminds me of what I did at Misa¡¯s birthday party. It¡¯s true that when I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it made me look one.

    [Well, I agree with you about her outfit, but she seems to be a reasonably good adventurer. Ghazal even made a weapon just for her.] Rojina

    [I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll make one when they¡¯re asked.] Guildmaster

    [Even if it is a first-ss mithril knife? Giving this girl the best weapon he can make and not just a randomly made weapon. Guildmaster, you know what that means, right?] Rojina

    [.........] Guildmaster

    Rojina-san looks at me again and asks.

    [Missy. Are you sure you want to challenge the Gate of Trials?] Rojina

    [Yeah, I want to.] Yuna

    Because I¡¯m curious about it.

    As a former gamer, I want to participate in events that look interesting.

    [Tarotoba, do me a favor. Can you register her under my name?] Rojina

    [Register under you? You haven¡¯t made any weapons, have you? Then you can¡¯t participate.] Guildmaster

    [Missy, let me check something. When did he make that knife? Is it over a year old?] Rojina

    [Are you talking about Ghazal-san¡¯s knife? I just had it made, so it¡¯s been less than a year.] Yuna

    [Rojina. Are you sure you want to join with a knife made by Ghazal?] Guildmaster

    [It¡¯s not that I want to record it. I don¡¯t care if you pretend it never happened. But it¡¯s not only the knife that Ghazal made. I also wanted to see what she¡¯s capable of.] Rojina

    [How will you do that? You¡¯d have to be with the cksmith who made the weapon.] Guildmaster

    [There¡¯s nothing wrong with it during the Gate of Trials. Whoever uses whose weapon is free to do so. In fact, there are no such rules in the Gate of Trials. The only definition is that the weapon must have been made within a year.] Rojina

    [Is that so? Then you don¡¯t really need a cksmith on-site, do you?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a rule made by the cksmith¡¯s Guild. There was a lot of trouble a long time ago, so they decided on that.] Rojina

    He said that in the past, one was able to make many challenges by himself. Like if he had ten swords, he could challenge it ten times.

    But the Gate of Trials is tested by magic power. The number of challenges is not infinite, and the gate closes when a certain number of challenges are reached.

    If one person took the test many times, not everyone who wanted to take the test at the Gate of Trials would be able to. So the cksmith guild managed it and made the regtions.

    Rule #1: Each person can only challenge the Gate of Trials once.

    Rule #2: You must be registered with the cksmith Guild.

    Rule #3: If you want to participate, you must be with the cksmith who made the weapon.

    Rule #4: Do not participate with weapons made by others as your own. (If you are found out, you will not be allowed to participate for three years)

    Rule #5: Apprentices and new cksmiths are given priority on Day 1.

    Rule #6: The cksmith Guild does not guarantee whether the gates will close earlier than scheduled. (The following year, you will have priority)

    Rule #7: Don¡¯t tell anyone about the trials.

    I was brilliantly caught in the 3rd and 4th rule.

    [But how could you make such rules and not get anyints?] Yuna

    [Of course, it wasn¡¯t all there in the beginning. Every time there was an inconvenience, something was added, and here we are. Besides, I heard that the guild master at the time said, <There¡¯s no good cksmith who can¡¯t tell which is the best weapon he¡¯s made among the bunch>.] Guildmaster

    It¡¯s true that if you can¡¯t pick the best one out of the weapons you¡¯ve made, it¡¯s like telling yourself that you can¡¯t be a connoisseur. If you made your own sword, you should be able to tell which one is the best.

    [Well, some of them still let their apprentices carry the weapons they made, so all sorts of regtions were added.] Guildmaster

    [Besides, if he did that, his apprentice¡¯s sword would be perceived as a better sword than his own. If he admitted that his apprentice¡¯s sword was the same as his own, the other cksmiths and his customers would hate him, and everyone would lose their trust in him as a cksmith. Trust is the most important thing in business.] Rojina

    [Also, some of the apprentices have bought swords from other weapon shops and participate with them as their own creation.] Guildmaster

    [There¡¯s no point in doing that, though. Even if you¡¯re recognized as a full-fledged cksmith for that, it won¡¯tst long. Lies will eventually be discovered.] Rojina

    I guess it¡¯s true with what they say. It¡¯s true that no matter how many craftsmen make good weapons, I wouldn¡¯t want them to be made by people who tell lies. This is a weapon that I entrust with my life. I want to buy it from a weapon maker I can trust. The better the weapon, the more I trust it. If it¡¯s a cheap weapon, I think anyone can make it. I want to buy a good weapon from a cksmith I can trust.

    [No one does that anymore, though.] Rojina

    [Since I forbid the other cksmiths to participate with weapons made by others as their own creation.] Guildmaster

    [Tarotoba, I won¡¯t record this as my own. Will you do me a favor?] Rojina

    [............] Guildmaster

    After a short silence, Guildmaster slowly opens his mouth.

    [Fine then. There¡¯s no one here yet anyway. If you do this now, I¡¯ll pretend I never saw you.] Guildmaster

    [I appreciate it.] Rojina

    [I also want to know how much Ghazal has grown. But isn¡¯t the question how much of the weapon¡¯s power can be drawn out with that Bear Missy?] Guildmaster

    [Well, I also want to see that.] Rojina

    Thanks to Rojina-san, I was able to challenge the Gate of Trials.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yuna was able to participate safely.

    The end of the Dwarf Arc is in sight.

    And something I always think about. The plot I had in mind at the beginning and the finished novel are often two different things.

    ¡ùI just got over 40,000 bookmarks. Thank you very much. Thank you for your continued support.

    ¡ùMy newputer arrived today. My next post will be dyed for a few days because of the PC setup. I may not be able to reply to yourments. Thank you for your understanding.

    Now I can get rid of the fear of my PC freezing.

 Chapter 406 Bear-san, Challenges The Gate Of Trials

    <h4>Chapter 406 Bear-san, Challenges The Gate Of Trials</h4>

    I was allowed to try out the Gate of Trials before the other participants and the guild staff arrived. Since we didn¡¯t have much time, I drank the tea that Guildmaster had made for me in one gulp and left my seat. Fina and Ruimin followed suit and stood up from their chairs. But Guildmaster called out to Fina and Ruimin.

    [I¡¯m sorry girls, but you can¡¯t go inside with her, so you¡¯ll have to wait here.] Guildmaster

    Well, of course. In the first ce, only the participants are allowed in there.

    [U~u, I see. I would have liked to see Yuna-san challenge the Gate of Trials though.] Ruimin

    [Fina and Ruimin, wait for me here, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.] Yuna

    [U~u, understood.] Ruimin

    [Yuna-oneesan, good luck.] Fina

    The two of them look disappointed, but they didn¡¯t say anything selfish.

    I asked Fina and Ruimin to stay in the room, then I left with Rojina-san and Guildmaster. We walked to the opposite of the entrance of the building towards the double doors in the back.

    I knew it was the one behind that door.

    Guildmaster opens the door. From there on, the surface of the earth is bare, not artificially created. It felt like the inside of a cave. There was a light inside, making it a bit brighter. The light leads to a passage that goes on.

    [Are we inside the Gate of Trials?] Yuna

    [Oh right. Speaking of inside, from here on out, only the cksmiths and those who handle the weapons are allowed in here.] Guildmaster

    What that means was, the Gate of Trials was built to test weapons in this area. In the first ce, the entrance was inside another gate. And since they have to go through the gate, they called it the Gate of Trials. Afterwards, the guild came to manage the so-called Gate of Trials. And that leads us to the current event.

    [Etto, was it okay for Guildmaster to go inside the Gate of Trials?] Yuna

    [No problem. Technically, anyone can enter. The only rules are for the cksmiths who made the weapons and those who handle the weapons. Besides, it would be a mess if we let everyone in, so we didn¡¯t make the trials into a spectacle.] Guildmaster

    I agree with that. The weapons that they have worked so hard to create and those who handle them. Nobody wants to be looked at coldly.

    We talked while walking down a corridor, which turned into a staircase. It looks like we¡¯re going down from here. Guildmaster tells me to watch my step, but as I¡¯m wearing bear shoes, I¡¯m fine. Lead by the Guildmaster, we went down the stairs.

    [So, what does the Gate of Trials do after all?] Yuna

    [It knows how to measure the skill of the smith and the one wielding the weapon.] Guildmaster

    [Yeah, but I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do.] Yuna

    [Simply put, you¡¯re going to deal with something made up of magical power.] Rojina

    [Something made of magical power?] Yuna

    I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it. What is something made of magical power?

    [It can be a monster or an object. It depends on the weapon and it depends on the weapon¡¯s performance. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know how your trials will turn out, Missy. With a sword made by an apprentice, you might find yourself dealing with many weak monsters.] Guildmaster

    [Like Wolves, perhaps.] Rojina

    Rojina-san added a few words to Guildmaster¡¯s words.

    Surely Wolves would make a good start for beginners.

    [And as you defeat them, they be stronger and more difficult, so they can only be defeated if the performance of the weapon is matched by the ability of the person handling it.] Guildmaster

    [How many times do we have to fight then?] Yuna

    [Maximum of five times. The first one is not so difficult, as long as the weapon has a minimum performance and the person handling it has a minimum level of skill. It gets progressively harder the second time and beyond.] Guildmaster

    Well, even Wolf cannot be defeated if someone who cannot handle weapons properly uses them. For example, even if Fina and Noa had Mithril swords, I can¡¯t imagine them defeating a Wolf. In the first ce, they don¡¯t look like they can wield swords.

    [I understand what a monster is, but what about the objects?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s something hardened by magic. If you use a hammer, you¡¯ll get a boulder hardened with magic, and with a spear, you¡¯ll get a wall simrly hardened with magic. Even so, it¡¯s different every time, so it doesn¡¯t always show up as the same shape.] Guildmaster

    That¡¯s the kind of trials thates up?

    Stories like that make me want to try my hand at using a hammer or a spear. But I never really used hammers and spears in my gaming days. But I should be able to use them at least a little.

    [This time, I¡¯m going to use a knife. By the way, what kind of things (monsters) will appear against a knife user?] Yuna

    [Basically, no one wants to participate with a knife. In the first ce, if you can¡¯t make a sword, your master won¡¯t let you participate and nobody would want to participate wielding that either.] Guildmaster

    [Because if you can create a sword, you¡¯re on your way to bing full-fledged.] Rojina

    [And so, nopetent cksmith would participate with a knife.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster and Rojina-san told me the minimum standards for cksmiths to participate.

    As the skill of the cksmith increases, the more swords, spears, and other weapons he has to make. By doing so, he can make stronger and better weapons. Although, it seems that there are no cksmiths who would want to make the strongest knife.

    But even if knives are terrible, they are still proper weapons. However, even in games, knives are not the main weapon, they are sometimes the beginner¡¯s weapon or the initial equipment. I¡¯ve never seen a swordsman fight thest boss with a knife as his main weapon. Only thieves and assassins use knives. In games, swords are often used to defeat thest boss. Although, I never used a knife either.

    Even so, few people use it as their main weapon. Like Senia-san, who is a skilled knife user.

    Well, there have been a few in the past, but a knife shouldn¡¯t be much of a challenge.

    I don¡¯t want to say anything that would raise such a g. But I guess, in this case, a big challenge is more fun than a trivial one.

    [But if it¡¯s a mithril knife made by Ghazal, so you¡¯d better expect a worthy opponent.] Guildmaster

    Of course, it is. I don¡¯t mean to underestimate the trial. But everything is boring if you don¡¯t take it seriously and enjoy every second of it.

    [By the way, just to confirm, can I use magic to defeat those things (monsters)?] Yuna

    I have my bear magic and bear punch.

    At my question, Guildmaster looked at me as if I were a foolish child.

    [Of course not. We are here to test the weapons.] Guildmaster

    I knew it, but the word <monster> makes me want to defeat it with magic. I feel like my body will react on its own and use magic by itself.

    [Missy, can you use magic?] Guildmaster

    [Yeah, I can.] Yuna

    [Well, then, I guess I¡¯ll have to teach you the rules about the Gate of Trials. First of all, magic is prohibited. The moment you hit an object with magic, the ordeal will be forced to end. However, attacks with magic power added to the weapon are allowed. Some swords have magic power added into the weapon to make it more powerful.] Guildmaster

    [Can I use magic to create an earthen wall or something to block the attack?] Yuna

    [No. It ends the same way the moment the object touches it. You can think of it as the end if any magical power other than the sword touches the object. It¡¯s a test made solely for weapons and those who wield them.] Guildmaster

    The rules of the Gate of Trials are summarized as follows:

    No. 1. Neither magical attacks nor defenses are allowed. If the object gets touched by it, the trial will end.

    No. 2. Adding magical power to a weapon to attack is allowed.

    No. 3. The use of the protective gear is allowed.

    No. 4. The trial will end when you take a certain amount of damage. You will not be seriously injured during the trials.

    No. 5. The trials will be concluded after five sessions.

    But here¡¯s something that doesn¡¯t apply to me in my means of attack.

    [What about hitting it with your hand?] Yuna

    I clenched the bear puppet to make a crunching sound.

    It¡¯s the Bear Punch. Bear punch is not magic. Well, I can add magic to it if I wanted to.

    [......] Guildmaster

    [......] Rojina

    But they were disappointingly looking at my bear puppet.

    [Missy. After all the things we discussed, you should know what kind of trial this is, right?] Guildmaster

    I know, it¡¯s about the weapons. You have to attack with a weapon, right?

    [In the first ce, no one will ever want to attack any of those with their hands.] Rojina

    Yeah, that¡¯s right. Trials for weapons don¡¯t usually do bear punches, do they?

    In the end, I couldn¡¯t tell if the bear punch was out or safe. Well, I don¡¯t want to end the trial with a bear punch, so I¡¯ll seal the bear punch.

    As I walked down the stairs, talking with Rojina-san and Guildmaster, I saw a circr pattern drawn at the bottom of the stairs. It looked like something out of a game or manga. There are various shapes drawn inside the circle. It¡¯s a magic circle.

    [Weapons will be tested down here.] Guildmaster

    As I descended the stairs, arge space opened up. It seemed to be in the center of a mountain, but it was as big as a schoolyard. It was surprising to see such arge space inside the mountain.

    Looking up, I saw that the ceiling was high and there¡¯s light, so it wasn¡¯t dark. I wonder if this is also due to magical power.

    Wee near the magic circle.

    [Missy. Stick the knife into the center of the magic circle. If it¡¯s a weapon that needs magical power to be added, you can pour the magical power into the weapon when you stick it in, then it will evaluate the weapon¡¯s performance in terms of material, strength, sharpness, and magical power absorption rate. A suitable opponent will appear shortly.] Guildmaster

    It really looks like a game.

    I took out my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives from the bear box. That¡¯s when I remember that I have two knives.

    [Etto, I¡¯m using two knives.] Yuna

    I showed him the knives I¡¯m holding in both hands.

    [It doesn¡¯t matter. Just stick both knives in, so you can start the trial.] Guildmaster

    I walked to the center of the magic circle and stabbed my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives into the center of the magic circle as I was told. Then, as I clutched the knives and channeled magic power, the magic circle began to glow.

    Oh, this is just like the game¡¯s special effects. It¡¯s like the scene where thest boss appears or the treasure unveils. I get excited when the magic circle lights up. I wish I could have shown Fina and Ruimin this scene. After a while, the light of the magic circle disappears. At the same time, Rojina-san shouted.

    [Missy, look ahead!] Rojina

    When I looked in front of me as I was told, the soil began to rise and form a shape.

    [What the hell? That¡¯s.......] Guildmaster

    [......Golem.] Rojina

    [How could something like that show up on the first try?] Guildmaster

    Rojina-san and Guildmaster both shouted in surprise. You don¡¯t have to be so distressed about a mere golem.

    But I think it¡¯s bigger than the golem I killed in the mine. It¡¯s about twice in height.

    The golem hits the ground. The cave rumbles. What a destructive power.

    [Missy, don¡¯t be crazy! Run!] Rojina

    They¡¯re worried about me, but I¡¯ll be fine. I pulled out my knives.

    [I can take down that golem.] Yuna

    [Missy, that thing should be hardened by magic. If you attack it thinking that it¡¯s just a pile of dirt, it¡¯ll bounce back at you!] Guildmaster

    Still, it shouldn¡¯t be any harder than an Iron Golem. But I¡¯m not going to go easy on it from the start. Even though I have bear armor, if I take damage, it could be the end of me in one go.

    I clenched on my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives and ran towards the golem. It moved slowly. As I approached it, its arms swung up. I channeled my magic power into the knives I hold on either side of me, I then sliced it several times, and cut off the golem¡¯s arms and legs.

    [Hmm, is it like this at the beginning?] Yuna

    [Missy?] Rojina

    [......] Guildmaster

    The two old men looked at me dumbfoundedly. At any rate, I shed the golem¡¯s body and chopped off its head to put an end to it.

    [How can you move that fast in that kind of outfit?] Guildmaster

    It may look like that, but it¡¯s a cheat armor.

    [And to y a golem so easily?] Rojina

    I¡¯ve already defeated them in the past and I¡¯m not in a hurry. In addition, I¡¯m using the mithril knives that Ghazal-san made for me, which I didn¡¯t have thest time. Even though it was strengthened by magic, it didn¡¯t seem to be any harder than the Iron Golem.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And it started.

    I think I can see the punch line at this moment. w

    My newputer is 80% finished. The new keyboard is kinda hard to use. I¡¯m used to the old keyboard and it¡¯s easy to use, but I¡¯ve been using it for more than eight years, so the letters are disappearing. I am wondering if I should use the letter-lost keyboard or use the new keyboard until I get used to it.

    ¡ùMy next post may be dyed by a day or so due to real-life circumstances. I¡¯m sorry for the dy.

    Also, I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t reply to your feedback. I have corrected the typos and errors you reported though.

 Chapter 407 Bear-sanâ€™s Trials, Witnessed By Rojina-san.

    <h4>Chapter 407 Bear-san¡¯s Trials, Witnessed By Rojina-san.</h4>

    Rojina-san¡¯s POV

    The Bear-girl thrust the two knives that Ghazal had made into the center of the magic circle and poured her magic power into it.

    [What¡¯s that?] Rojina

    The magic circle shines dazzlingly. I¡¯ve never seen a weapon made it glow like this before even with my creations. I nced at Guildmaster next to me, who¡¯s just as surprised as I am.

    While we were distracted by the light of the magic circle, I saw the ground rising up in front of the Bear-girl.

    [Missy. Look ahead!] Rojina

    When I warned her, she immediately pulled the knives out of the magic circle.

    The soil creates a form, a humanoid form with arge body and it transformed into... A golem?

    How could such an opponente out on the first round against a knife! Though it¡¯s true, the knife that Ghazal made was a good one. While the Bear-girl¡¯s ability is good, it should only be the performance of the knives that would be judged. It is said that the magic circle examines the strength, weight, and sharpness of the weapons. And the amount of magic power added to the knives. From there, an analysis will be made and it will prepare a suitable test subject.

    A golem is not the kind of trial that shows up on the first try, especially with the knives. When the golem swung its arm down to the ground, the ground quaked and the shock vibrated.

    I told her to run away, but the Bear-girl doesn¡¯t want to. So I have no choice but to advise her.

    [Missy, that thing should be hardened by magic. If you attack it thinking that it¡¯s just a pile of dirt, it¡¯ll bounce back at you!] Rojina

    The opponents that appear here areposed of magic power that has been stored for a year. The hardness is proportional to the magic power used.

    I¡¯m not sure if she heeded my advice, but she clenched her knife and started running towards the golem. She¡¯s fast in that hard-to-move bear outfit. In an instant, she closes the distance between her and the golem. The golem iled its arms around, but she dodged those with ease.

    Amazing. She¡¯s not scared? Even a grown man would be afraid to approach a golem. Moreover, to have the courage to get close to a golem wielding such a brutally, rugged arm? And yet, she¡¯s able to see right through it and dodge it effortlessly.

    Normally, it would be terrifying just trying to approach that.

    The Bear-girl dodged the golem¡¯s attack then shed it several times with her knives. Her arms were moving so fast, I couldn¡¯t tell how many times she shed it. When she stopped moving, the golem¡¯s arms and legs fell off. It¡¯s hardened by magic, you know! So it should not be soft enough to be cut so easily.

    Then the bear-girl went behind the golem, which had lost one of its legs, then cut off its head. And just like that, the first trial was over.

    [...Rojina, those knives were made by Ghazal, right?] Guildmaster

    [Yeah, there¡¯s no doubt about it. But putting the knives¡¯ sharpness aside, it¡¯s that girl¡¯s ability which defeated the golem.] Rojina

    If you ask me if I can do the same, there¡¯s no way that I can.

    [I get that. Missy, she¡¯s making the most out of her knives.] Guildmaster

    Even if you have the ability, a dull knife couldn¡¯t cut that golem. And even if you have a sharp knife, you can¡¯t cut that golem either if you don¡¯t know how to use it. It¡¯s no good if either the weaponsmith or the user iscking the skill.

    While we¡¯re talking, the next trial is about to begin. A newyer of soil rises up at a distance from the Bear-girl. It forms a shape of...

    [......Armored Knight.] Rojina

    It wears armor, it has a sword in its right hand and a shield in its left. She has to deal with them with two knives that have a short reach. Moreover, five of them appeared.

    There¡¯s no way she can win.

    It¡¯s like fighting against five knights. The body is hardened by magic power, so it¡¯s harder than real armor.

    Even one-on-one is already a disadvantage, but there are five of them. Normally, this would be impossible.

    There¡¯s something different about this trial from the ones I¡¯ve known. It¡¯s as if they¡¯re trying to measure the Bear-girl¡¯s ability.

    Even though she was surrounded by armored knights, she was able to dodge their attacks with that hard-to-move outfit. Not only does she dodge, but she also uses one of her knives to catch the heavy sword that is being swung down. It¡¯s a smooth evasion. A sword and a knife are not only different in size but also weight. You have to have a lot of skill to be able to catch it. Normally, the knife would have been flung away.

    [Oi oi. How can she move so lightly? And she¡¯s parrying that armored knight¡¯s sword with her knife.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster is looking at her in amazement.

    I had her slice a steel rod for a test, but her ability was unimaginable in contrast to her appearance.

    The Bear-girl dodged the armored knight¡¯s attack by waving the knives in her hands as if she was dancing. And then, she attacked. She made sure to hit the joint of the armored knight¡¯s weak point. Then, one by one, the armored knights fell. It was an unbelievable sight to see.

    And the Bear-girl defeated five armored knights.

    The Bear-girl takes a deep breath and exhales a little, but she wasn¡¯t short of breath after moving so much.

    [Missy, are you alright?] Rojina

    Even though she was able to parry the attacks, she couldn¡¯t parry all of them. That alone must have put a strain on her arms and wrists. But despite my worries, the girl smiles back at me and says, <I¡¯m fine>.

    I could understand what Ghazal meant when he said she was an excellent adventurer. Indeed, she¡¯s an excellent adventurer in the true sense of the word.

    And it¡¯s not just her ability. The knives were made by Ghazal. She can sh against the armor knights with ease. You can¡¯t do that with a blunt knife.

    I wonder what it is? A feeling of envy for Ghazal, welling up from deep within me? I look at the knives that the Bear-girl is holding. I wonder if I could make a better knife than the one Ghazal made. And if so, I wonder if a more difficult trial would have appeared.

    Why am I not hammering a sword? Why is the weapon that the Bear-girl is carrying not mine? When I think about what I¡¯ve been doing for the past few years, I start to feel miserable. I clenched my fists tightly.

    [You¡¯re one hell of a girl, Missy. And Ghazal, you made a very good knife.] Guildmaster

    I am both happy and jealous of the praise my disciple received from Guildmaster.

    Then, shortly after the Bear-girl defeated the armored knights and catch her breath, the next opponent started to appear.

    What appeared was arge lizard monster. It was over 10 meters long from head to tail. I had seen it in a monster encyclopedia. I¡¯ve also heard stories ofrge monsters appearing in trials. But it must have been at the fifth trial for most of them.

    A long tail and hard scales. If it¡¯s anything like the monsters I know, those scales are not going to be easy to breakthrough.

    The lizard¡¯s tail has hard scales and each scale oveps with the other. Moreover, each scale is like a sharpened de.

    [Rojina, are you sure you don¡¯t want to stop the trial? That one is impossible. She may not be seriously injured, but she can still be hurt.] Guildmaster

    Comparing the Bear-girl and the monitor lizard.

    The monitor lizard is over 10 meters long and a girl dressed as a cute bear facing off each other. It looks like food is being ced in front of the monitor lizard.

    If she gets hit by that big tail, it would end in a single blow.

    But she didn¡¯t even try to escape. She started fighting instead.

    ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D

    Yuna¡¯s POV

    A huge lizard appeared in front of me.

    I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, so I¡¯ll use my detection skills.

    But there was no response to the detection skill. Apparently, the monsters at the Gate of Trials don¡¯t respond to the detection skill.

    I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, so I¡¯ll call it a monitor lizard.

    The battle with the monitor lizards begins.

    And I¡¯ve been trying to get closer to it for a while now, but I can¡¯t. It moves fast for its huge body. When I approached it from behind, it swung its long tail. When I tried to approach it from the left or right side, itsrge ws attacked me. And a huge mouth awaited me in front.

    Hmmm, what a pain.

    Each strike of the tail is heavy and sharp. When it swings horizontally, it makes a sound like cutting the air, and if it drops it vertically, the ground trembles. Even more annoying is the fact that each of its scales is a sharp de. If I catch it normally, I will receive damage.

    Its tail swings so fast that I can barely keep my knife in ce, let alone stab it.

    If the knife were just a little bit longer, I could reach it. I can¡¯t get close to it subtly.

    On the bright side, at the very least, the scales are not flying towards me.

    If I could use my bear puppet, I would hold it down or hit it, but I can¡¯t do that. If I do so, the trial might end abruptly. I want to avoid the possibility of the trial ends.

    So, what do I do now?

    [Missy! If you can¡¯t defeat that, just go back to the magic circle, stick the knife in, and the trial will end.] Rojina

    You should have told me that before we started. I¡¯m not going to give up, though.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been to an event this exciting. I have to enjoy it.

    I ran in a clockwise direction. The monitor lizard spun its huge body and swung its long tail around. Oh no. I was in the wrong ce at the wrong time. The tail extended quickly. So I hastily crossed my knives to block it.

    [Missy!] Rojina

    I was blown away, but I twisted my body andnded on my feet with my bear shoes. If I hadn¡¯t been wearing bear gear, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch it with my knives, nor would I have been able tond safely, and I would have simply hit the ground hard. I don¡¯t know how the damage is calcted here, but I have to make sure I don¡¯t take unnecessary damage.

    But can I really take this thing down with just a couple of knives?

    I calmed myself down, clenched my knives, and observed the monitor lizard.

    As expected, its weak point is its back. On the front, arge mouth awaits, and on either side are limbs with sharp ws. The back has a tail with sharp de-like scales. The effective range of the tail is 180 degrees to the left and right. It can only bend upward about 90 degrees. It cannot reach the back. Unlike the Big Scorpion, there¡¯s no threat on that part. The only drawback is that I can¡¯t use magic against it.

    Well, just because I can¡¯t use magic doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t use the bear cheat.

    I kept my distance from the monitor lizard. Then, I ran towards the monitor lizard. The monitor lizard crawled towards me. I¡¯m not very good with reptiles, so I¡¯ll settle this quickly.

    I timed my jump at the oing monitor lizard.

    The monitor lizard raised its head and tried to eat me, but it could not reach me as I flew higher than it can reach. Inded on its back and thrusted the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives, both of which were filled with magical power, into its back.

    The back was not as hard as the tail, so the knives dug deep into it.

    At that moment, the monitor lizard vanished, it probably admitted its defeat.

    Hmmm, the victory condition is not very clear. If it¡¯s a normal monster, it wouldn¡¯t be defeated like that. Well, if it¡¯s a win, then I¡¯ll take it as a win.

    When I looked at Rojina-san, I saw him and Guildmaster looking at me dumbfoundedly.

    Oh, I was so excited to be able to participate in the event, that I forgot to hide my abilities.

    Author¡¯s Notes:

    Rojina-san began to feel conflicted. I¡¯ll be d to see him back as a weaponsmith.

    But Yuna is still the same as ever.

    I¡¯m back to normal work this time, as my real-life circumstances are over.

    I¡¯ve been reading the feedback and correcting the typos.

    Thank you very much.

    I¡¯ve changed back to the old keyboard. The new keyboard was no good because of the many typos and it¡¯s so useless, that it¡¯s stressing me out. I think an old but familiar keyboard is the best.

    #

 Chapter 408 Bear-san, Fights Pseudo Bear

    <h4>Chapter 408 Bear-san, Fights Pseudo Bear</h4>

    The third trial is over.

    I forgot the existence of Rojina-san and Guildmaster and simply fought normally.

    I stood out, but I had no choice. It wasn¡¯t an opponent that I could take easy, and Rojina-san had let me challenge the trials. I can¡¯t help but let lose since I can¡¯t use magic and I can¡¯t afford to lose.

    The problem is the fourth and fifth rounds. If they get any stronger, I¡¯ll have to exert myself even more than I already had.

    I guess I¡¯ll just have to ask them to keep it a secret for me after this is over.

    For now, I¡¯ll just enjoy this trial. So, what¡¯s next?

    As I waited for the next trial, the soil rose up and stretched vertically.

    It was smaller than I expected. I was expecting arger monster to appear. The soil gradually took shape.

    ......Humanoid?

    It seemed as tall as I am. It stood on two legs and have two arms. Its head was covered with a strange hood. That looked strangely familiar. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

    First, the feet. It was wearing big shoes that I had seen before somewhere. Ipared them to my own feet. They looked awfully simr. Then, I raised my eyes and looked at its torso. A fat, chubby belly. I put my hand to my stomach and rubbed it. It¡¯s dreadfully simr.

    Next, I looked at its shoulder that extended from the torso to its hands. Both its left and right hands have a familiar animal face. I looked at my own hands. My bear puppets have the same face. Its bear puppets also have a knife in each mouth, just like my bear puppets.

    Finally, I turned my gaze above. Its head has a hood. And on the hood, is a cute little bear face.

    In conclusion, no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s me, isn¡¯t it?

    [Rojina-san, Am I going to fight myself now?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s my first time seeing it, too. Guildmaster probably knows more about it.] Rojina

    [I don¡¯t know either. I have neither seen nor heard of anyone fighting against themselves in the trials.] Guildmaster

    Rojina-san and Guildmaster don¡¯t seem to know about it either.

    Even though it¡¯s made of soil and magic, it doesn¡¯t feel good to have another me. And when it¡¯s finished, it will look just like me. Even the color would be exactly the same. I don¡¯t like the idea of fighting against myself.

    asionally, there is a tough challenge in a game or manga that the main character needs to surpass. They have to fight an opponent who looks exactly like them and win against it. Fighting against yourself can make you grow, I guess. Just saying.

    In the first ce, how much of me did it copied? My armor was God-tier cheat armor. I don¡¯t think it can copy it as it is. After all, it¡¯s a God-tier armor. In addition, it has been enhanced with magic power. So it¡¯s not easy topletely imitate it.

    If it copied all of my powers, it would be the strongest and worst opponent I¡¯ll ever have.

    When I look at my copy, it started to move slowly. I feel ufortable even calling it a copy of me in my head. I¡¯m going to name it <Fake>.

    Fake-me slowly holds up the knife that its bear puppet is biting. The moment I thought it would make its move, Fake-me started running towards me.

    First, let me find out how much it¡¯s imitating me.

    It moves fast. It closed the gap between us in an instant. Fake-me thrusts out the knife in its right hand. I dodged to the right. As soon as I do that, the knife in its left handes at me. I blocked it with Swaying Bear Knife and jumped backwards.

    Surprisingly, it might be troublesome to deal with a dual-wielding opponent.

    If it has one weapon, I only have to watch out for just one weapon. But since it has two weapons, I have to watch out for two, that¡¯s when things get messy.

    Then, in order to measure my strength, we shed and strike at each other several times. We swung our knives at each other. We evaded each other¡¯s attack. We were dressed in such a way that it looks difficult for us to move, but we were dodging each other¡¯s attacks at thest second.

    How can you move like that? Was it your footwork, your knife handling, your bear costume?

    Although I feel that if Iin about Fake-me, it wille back to me like a boomerang, so I will moderate the bad words that I throw at Fake-me.

    But this might be the most troublesome opponent I¡¯ve ever fought.

    I wonder if it¡¯s imitating my movements. I¡¯ve never actually seen my own movements, so I don¡¯t know how I look when I¡¯m fighting. But if it¡¯s copying my movements, then it¡¯s going to be a pain in the ass.

    It may have gathered information on my movements from the past three trials. The magic circle is analyzing my body, perhaps.

    I hope it doesn¡¯t know my weight or my three sizes.

    The battle between me and Fake-me continues.

    Stab, dodge. sh, dodge. When I avoided Fake-me¡¯s knife, it attacked me in an unexpected way. A bear¡¯s hind paw flew at me from the side.

    [Cho!] Yuna

    I dodged at thest second before I get hit in the stomach. Then, I stepped back to escape.

    [Hey, isn¡¯t kicking a foul!] Yuna

    I shouted at Fake-me. Of course, I got no response. So, I changed who Iined to.

    [Rojina-san, Guildmaster. Why can¡¯t I use kick but they can?] Yuna

    [Even if you ask me that.] Guildmaster

    [If it¡¯s a humanoid, then it will kick, I see.] Rojina

    [Isn¡¯t it unfair that it¡¯s fine if it¡¯s them but not me?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s no good. I just don¡¯t know. It¡¯s supposed to be a test for the weapons after all.] Guildmaster

    I know it is to test the weapons. Still, I think it¡¯s unfair that my copy can use the kick and I can¡¯t. Or is it okay for me to use it all this time? But I don¡¯t want it to end the moment I use it. It¡¯s not fair.

    But is it too much to ask for a handicap against a copy of yourself?

    If I were to use magic, it would be beyond unfair, it would be a foul. But fortunately, I have not used any magic so far.

    As I¡¯m thinking about what to do, Fake-me raised its right arm. Then it swung its arm down.

    I quickly dodged to the right. But it threw a knife at me.

    [Cho!] Yuna

    When I tried toin, I saw a new knife in Fake-me¡¯s right hand.

    Isn¡¯t that a foul y?

    Fake-me threw a bunch of knives left and right. While throwing knives is not cowardly, the fact that they regenerate is cheating. I only got two. And if I threw them, that would be the end it.

    The more distance I make between us, the more disadvantageous it bes for me who have only two knives. So I¡¯ve been trying to dodge the knives while closing the distance between me and Fake-me.

    Then we exchanged a few close-range blows.

    I blocked, parried, and shed the knives. Sometimes, I stabbed it. Fighting against myself is trickier than I thought it would be. It feels as if my movements are being read and even when I think I¡¯vended a hit, It gets blocked.

    Fake-me swung down its knife. I caught its arm with my right arm before it can fully be swung down. I got an opening on its torso. So I thrust the bear knife in my other hand. But Fake-me dodged even that.

    On the contrary, Fake-me shed at me with the knife in its left hand. This time, it was me who dodged it.

    Then we distanced ourselves from each other.

    [Fu ~] Yuna

    I exhaled quietly. Fake-me is expressionless. Could it be that it has unlimited energy? That¡¯s right. It¡¯s moving with magic power, right? I¡¯m not sure if that means It¡¯ll keep moving until its magic power runs out.

    I looked at Fake-me.

    Yeah, I got the gist of it.

    I didn¡¯t know fighting myself could be so frustrating.

    After the fight, I found out that Fake-me copied my power from the three trials. It seems that it can¡¯t show more power than that. Still, it was enough of a threat.

    But I¡¯m done ying around. I strengthened my body and poured as much magic power as I can into my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives.

    I put all my strength into my legs. Then, with the fastest movement in these four trials, I quickly closed the gap between me and Fake-me. Fake-me timed it just right and tried to swing its knife down. I caught it with my Hugging Bear Knife and I swung my Swaying Bear Knife sideways. Fake-me tried to catch it with its own knife, but its knife got cut. Originally it¡¯s just soil hardened by magic power. So if I sh it with my Swaying Bear Knife that has more magic power than that, my knife will win.

    Then, moving faster than Fake-me, I shed Fake-me¡¯s chubby belly.

    It doesn¡¯t feel so good to sh something that looks exactly like you.

    Fake-me was shed with my knife and then it crumbled.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    End of the fourth battle.

    Fake-Yuna has been copied based on thest three fights by the magic circle.

    It looks like the trials will end next time.

    #

 Chapter 409 Bear-san, Doing The Best To Save Fina.

    <h4>Chapter 409 Bear-san, Doing The Best To Save Fina.</h4>

    I never thought I¡¯d have to fight myself.

    The first match was a one-on-one match against a golem hardened by magic.

    The second battle was against the five armored knights. A battle against multiple opponents.

    The third battle was with a monitor lizard. Arge monster.

    The fourth one was unexpectedly against a copy of myself based on the first three fights.

    But what is the final trial? I can¡¯t imagine, but I hope it¡¯s not going to be another big monster. And I don¡¯t want another Fake-me to appear. If a red bear, a blue bear, a yellow bear, a green bear, a ck bear, a white bear, or some kind of Bear Rangers appear, then I might use magic and go on a rampage.

    [Missy, are you okay?] Rojina

    As I¡¯m imagining strange things, Rojina-san calls out to me.

    [Yeah, I¡¯m okay. Thatst one seems like a copy of me from thest three trials or something, so if I beat it with more power than that, there would be no problem.] Yuna

    [Does that mean you weren¡¯t even serious when you killed that big lizard?] Rojina

    [Well, I mean.......] Yuna

    While I was having a hard time exining it, the ground in the back of the room started to glow. It seems the fifth and final battle is about to begin. There seemed to be another magic circle on the ground, it was glowing in a circr shape, then a pale white wall appeared. Is this white wall the next trial?

    It¡¯s a wall that looks like it was made by magic. I touch it with my bear puppet. I can¡¯t tell how thin or thick the wall is. But my body can¡¯t get through.

    As I touch the wall, I go around it to check its size. The wall is about the size of a four and a half tatami mat. When I took a closer look at the wall, I can see a wall beyond the pale white wall, and there¡¯s another wall behind it.

    One, two, three, four, five. I don¡¯t know for sure. Maybe there are five walls. It¡¯s a fiveyered barrier, I think.

    Do I have to break down these five walls?

    [Rojina-san, do I have to break this?] Yuna

    [Yeah, break it down with the weapon you¡¯re holding and you¡¯re done. But remember, it¡¯s not just a wall. You¡¯ll have to use all of your power, and the power of that knife you¡¯re holding, to cut it down.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster answered instead of Rojina-san. The final trial seems to be easy. I was expecting a much more vicious opponent, but it was a much easier trial than I expected.

    Is this purely a test of the weapon and my power?

    Well, as long as the Bear Rangers doesn¡¯t appear, I¡¯ll take it.

    I was about to move away from the wall, within range of the knife, the ground inside the wall moved. When I looked closely, it looks like a person has fallen. That person was moving slowly.

    [......Where am I?]

    A familiar voicees from within the walls.

    I approached the thin, glowing, white wall. I can¡¯t make it out clearly because of the pale wall of magical power, but it¡¯s an outline I know very well and a voice I know too well.

    [Fina?] Yuna

    Fina is inside the wall.

    [Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    I knew it! It¡¯s Fina!

    [Yuna-oneechan! Where am I? And what is this wall?] Fina

    [We¡¯re inside the Gate of Trials. Do you know how you got there, Fina?] Yuna

    [Well, I was with Ruimin-san a while ago...... and then, ugh, I can¡¯t remember.] Fina

    Fina is holding her head in her hands. She doesn¡¯t seem to know why she is here.

    But how did Fina got here? And what about Ruimin who was with her, is she okay?

    The only thing I can think of is magic, forced transference, but how is that even possible?

    It might be possible that I could do it with a year¡¯s worth of magic training.

    [Yuna-oneesan. Why am I here?] Fina

    [I think, maybe, you got involved in my trial.] Yuna

    [The trial?.....] Fina

    Fina, who is inside the wall, stood up and touched the wall.

    Her voice sounded anxious.

    [Yeah, Fina showed up during thest trial.] Yuna

    [I see... But how do I get out of here?] Fina

    Fina wandered around while touching the wall, looking for a way out, but she didn¡¯t seem to find one. I, too, circled the wall, but could not find a way out. The only thing I can think of is that this is a test and I¡¯m supposed to break down the magical wall to save Fina.

    I look at the wall made of magical power.

    The wall seemed to be a pale white wall and Fina¡¯s figure could be seen faintly behind the wall.

    There is an easy way to rescue Fina.

    [Rojina-san, if I use magic, the trial will end, right?] Yuna

    [Yeah, the trial will end, but you won¡¯t clear it. You are free to decide what you want to do, Missy. So as long as there is no danger, you are free to try whatever you want.] Rojina

    [Is this a trial, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [It looks like the point of the trial is to save Fina from this wall. But magic is forbidden, so as soon as I hit the wall with my magic, the trial will end and the wall will be gone.] Yuna

    That is the fastest way to get Fina out of there.

    I don¡¯t have to go along with this iprehensible farce.

    [Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ll be okay, so try your best. Yuna-oneesan, you can do it!] Fina

    [Fina.......] Yuna

    [It doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any danger and I don¡¯t want to get in your way. Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯m happy to help.] Fina

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    [Yes, I believe in you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    I thought about it and decided to ept Fina¡¯s feelings gratefully.

    [Okay. I¡¯ll get through the trials and help Fina out. Just give me a minute.] Yuna

    [Yes!] Fina

    [Well then, step a little further away from the wall.] Yuna

    After making sure that Fina was far from the wall, I grabbed my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives. Then I swung them left and right with magic power. The first wall broke. I took a step closer to Fina.

    [Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get you out there soon.] Yuna

    I said softly so as not to make Fina uneasy.

    Quickly, I¡¯ll hastily break down this wall,plete the trials, and rescue Fina as well.

    I¡¯ve also cut down the second wall.

    Then, I quickly swung my knife down at the third wall. But it was bounced by the magical powered wall.

    [Don¡¯t panic, Missy. There¡¯s still time. Calm down.] Rojina

    Rojina-san, advised me when I¡¯m about to panic.

    I may indeed have been too focused on getting Fina out of there as quickly as possible and may have been careless with my knives. I stepped back to check the distance between us and swung down my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives alternately. The third wall also disappears.

    Two more to go. The wall seems to be getting tougher and tougher, but if I stay calm and keep trying, I should be okay.

    When I regained myposure, Fina, who was inside the wall, panicked.

    [Eh? What? Water?] Fina

    [Fina, what¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    [There¡¯s watering out of the ground.] Fina

    When I looked down, I could see something like water that was gushing out from the bottom of the pale white wall.

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    This is no longer a trial.

    Fina may drown if the water increases. If the water went up to the ceiling, which was about two meters high, Fina would be in danger.

    This trial is over. Fina doesn¡¯t have to go through with this.

    I¡¯ll use my magic to help you in a minute.

    [Yuna-oneesan. I¡¯m still okay. So, do your best.] Fina

    The water level reached up to her knees, but Fina urged me to continue the trial. She cares about others more than herself. But Fina is more important to me than any trials.

    [Yuna-oneesan......] Fina

    I don¡¯t want to waste time thinking about it, so I gather magic power into my bear puppet. I don¡¯t want to scare Fina any more than what she¡¯s experiencing in the trials. I used the magic power I¡¯ve collected in the bear puppet to shoot a fireball. With this, the trial ends. I couldn¡¯t clear it, though. That¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t want Fina to experience any more terrible things.

    When the fireball was about to hit the wall, something unexpected happened. The fireball went through the wall and passed by Fina.

    [Fina!] Yuna

    [I, I¡¯m fine.] Fina

    I was relieved. Then, I asked Fina to move to the right side of the wall. I shot the wind de at Fina on the left side of the wall so as not to endanger her. But the wind de also passed through.

    Magic just passed through, yet the walls didn¡¯t brake and the trials didn¡¯t end.

    I thought if you used magic, you¡¯d be disqualified and the trials would be over!

    The same might happen if I use bear magic. But if I used the ming bear, it could burn Fina to death.

    [Rojina-san! Guildmaster!] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know.] Guildmaster

    [Missy, if magic doesn¡¯t work, sh it with your knives. You can do it, Missy!] Rojina

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    That¡¯s right! Since it¡¯s about testing weapons, I have to destroy them with weapons!

    I grabbed my knives. Then, I put my magic power into it and break the fourth wall.

    Okay, just one more.

    I spared no time and shed at the fifth and final wall. But the fifth wall bounced off my Swaying Bear Knife. So I also swung down my Hugging Bear Knife on my left, but it was bounced back as well.

    It¡¯s hard? No, it¡¯s not hard, rather, it¡¯s more like bouncing off a rubber-like wall.

    I swung my knives down again and again.

    Why can¡¯t I cut it? Why can¡¯t I break it?

    The wall turns white, as if amplified by more magic, I can¡¯t even see Fina in the wall anymore. But I can see that the water is increasing.

    [Missy, calm down. If you wield the knives with such a disturbed heart, you will not be able to cut anything.] Rojina

    Even if you say that... Fina.

    [There¡¯s still time. Take a deep breath, calm down, and trust the knives that Ghazal made. Believe in your knife handling. You can¡¯t do it without either of them.] Rojina

    I rxed my body. Then I took a deep breath.

    The water level is steadily increasing. But it¡¯s still okay.

    Fina. I¡¯ming to get you.

    I poured magic power into Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear Knives I held on both hands. I put more strength into my legs. I clenched the knives in the bear puppet¡¯s mouths with all the strength I have. I held the knives up. With the strength in my foot to step, the power in my arms to swing the knife, the rotation of my waist, and the angle of the knives, I finally swung the knives down towards the wall. It was the best attack I ever did. An ¡°X¡± mark was engraved on the wall.

    I don¡¯t feel any rebound from it. I cleanly sliced through the wall.

    The wall breaks.

    [Fina! ......eh?] Yuna

    The wall crumbled, the water disappeared, along with the thing I thought was Fina. There was nothing beyond the wall.

    What does this mean?

    Could it be, I¡¯ve been tricked?

    Wait, if I think about it calmly, I could have just stabbed knives in the magic circle and it would have ended.

    I feel like I¡¯ve been deceived in so many ways.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯mte.

    I was a little tired and fell asleep.

    The fifth trial was about saving the fake Fina.

    It¡¯s a kind of trial that tests how calm your mind is and how well you handle your weapon.

    Drawing out the maximum ability of the weapon, as well as the power that you have, and finally, the mind.

    Yuna¡¯s mind is most disturbed when ites to Fina.

    #

 Chapter 410 Bear-san, Gets A Prize.

    <h4>Chapter 410 Bear-san, Gets A Prize.</h4>

    In the end, Fina was nowhere to be found after I broke the wall.

    At first, I¡¯m relieved, but then slowly I start to get angry for being deceived.

    [Rojina-san! What was that trial just now! Was it just to piss me off?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t know even if you ask me. I didn¡¯t know there was such a trial in the first ce. I¡¯ve seen trials where you have to break down walls with weapons, but not something to the extent where people are trapped inside like that. Though it seems that Guildmaster Tarotova knows about it.] Rojina

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    I shifted my gaze from Rojina-san to Guildmaster.

    [Ah, there have been simr trials in the past.] Guildmaster

    [If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t you tell me? Then I wouldn¡¯t have been in such a hurry.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a trial, it would be pointless if I told you about it beforehand. It¡¯s supposed to test the performance of the weapon, the skill of the wielder, and finally, theposure of the one that handles the weapon. If any of them iscking, you will not be able toplete it. That¡¯s why if I told you, the trial will be meaningless.] Guildmaster

    [That¡¯s true, but... Wasn¡¯t that just terrible?] Yuna

    Taking Fina hostage is the worst kind of trial for me.

    Just thinking about it makes me furious. I wonder where I could shift this anger.

    [It will not show up to everyone. When a superior weapon, carried by a superior user appears, then it will test the mind of the user. I¡¯ve seen it happen twice in all my years. You¡¯ve been epted by the Gate of Trials. You should be happy about it.] Guildmaster

    Who would be happy about that? If someone you care about is being held hostage, so you do your best to save them, only to discover that [It was a lie], there¡¯s no other choice but to get angry.

    My mood is terrible right now. I feel like raging.

    [There¡¯s a chance that your loved ones may be captured just like that. The question IS whether you can deal with it calmly. Even if your weapon is good, but if your mind is disturbed, you will not be able to use it to its full potential. That¡¯s the point of this trial.] Guildmaster

    Isn¡¯t it unavoidable for anyone to panic if their loved one got captured?

    People are not that strong. If someone you love is about to die in front of you, you will panic. What kind of ascetic would expect us to be calm? It¡¯s impossible for a normal person. I thought the trial would end if I used magic, but it didn¡¯t. I was upset about many things.

    [Even so, that girl back there is quite important to you, isn¡¯t she? Usually, it¡¯s a family member or a lover that shows up.] Guildmaster

    [Fina is like a dear sister to me.] Yuna

    I¡¯ve never thought of my parents as important and I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend in my entire life. So, none of them will appear. If they did, it would probably be my grandfather, who understood me. I only feel bad for my grandfather that I came to this world.

    Fina has indeed be an important part of my life. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, Noa, and Shuri are also important to me. When I think about it, I think that the number of acquaintances that I care about has increased since I came to this world. The people I¡¯ve met are all kind and I want to protect them. Above all, they are living their lives to the fullest. They are not like my parents, who are always begging their daughter for money.

    [It¡¯s good to have someone to care about, even if someone like a sister to you. It makes you stronger. Many people neglect their own lives when they work in dangerous jobs like adventuring. It¡¯s important to have someone you care about when youe home.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster¡¯s words carried weight. Perhaps Guildmaster has seen many weaponsmiths and adventurers.

    A ce toe back to...... When I think about it, the ce where I can call home is the ce where Fina is.

    [By the way, what happened to the person who went through the same trial as me?] Yuna

    I wonder if he was as angry as I was. Normally, one would be angry about that illusion.

    [Of course, it¡¯s a secret. You don¡¯t want anyone else to know about you either, right?] Guildmaster

    Ugh, sure. I want to hear it, but I don¡¯t want him to talk about me to others. If that happens, I won¡¯t be able toe to this town ever again.

    [And ording to the rules, I¡¯m not allowed to talk about it.] Guildmaster

    Come to think of it, was there such a rule about that?

    [If the content of the trials were known in advance, it would not be a trial anymore. That¡¯s why they made the rule that you can¡¯t tell anyone about the trials.] Guildmaster

    Well, if the content of the trial was known in advance, we could take countermeasures and it wouldn¡¯t be a challenge. If you know the answer to a quiz in advance, then it¡¯s not a quiz at all.

    That¡¯s why Rojina-san, Ghazal-san, and Gordo-san didn¡¯t disclose any of it, and that¡¯s why Ra-san has no idea of what¡¯s happening here.

    [So, Missy, do not tell anyone what happened in here.] Guildmaster

    [Even to Fina and Ruimin upstairs?] Yuna

    I will not tell anyone, but I want to tell Fina and Ruimin who are waiting upstairs.

    [That¡¯s right. Because when those girls grow up, they might be adventurers and challenge the Gate of Trials in the future.] Guildmaster

    Fina, as an adventurer huh.

    I tried to imagine it, but it doesn¡¯t suit her. She looks better staying at home. But she does have excellent dismantling skills, doesn¡¯t she? Even if she can¡¯t wield a weapon, she could use magic to be an adventurer. Still, I can¡¯t imagine Fina fighting monsters.

    Well, it looks like I¡¯m not supposed to talk to anyone who might be taking the trials.

    [Tarotova, that¡¯s enough talk. It¡¯s about time for the prize.] Rojina

    [Prize?] Yuna

    Rojina-san rubbed his thumb to his other finger. When I look at the tip of Rojina-san¡¯s thumb, I saw the magic circle glowing. The magic circle is in a different ce now.

    A magic circle to check the weapons. A magic circle where the opponentse out. Finally, there¡¯s a glowing magic circle in front of me.

    [Am I getting prizes?] Yuna

    I wish they told me at the beginning that I was going to get a prize. If so, I would have tried my best toplete the time attack or something. I would be very frustrated if the prizes were rted to the time it took toplete the trials.

    But I guess it¡¯s just me being a gamer, it makes me happy whenever I hear about prizes.

    [You¡¯re not going to get much no matter how happy you look.] Rojina

    Is that so?

    Well, I don¡¯t want anything rare or legendary grade, I¡¯ll be happy if it¡¯s something I can use.

    [Now then, the prize will be...... Iron. It¡¯s meant to remind you to use that iron and do your best for the next trial.] Guildmaster

    What~? Iron? If it¡¯s iron, I don¡¯t need it since I have a stock of Iron Golems. Even if I receive it, I have no use for it.

    Why don¡¯t we make it a souvenir for Ghazal-san? After all, I participated with Ghazal-san¡¯s knives.

    [Could it be a special iron?] Yuna

    [No. It¡¯s just ordinary iron. Although it has no impurities, so it can be processed quickly.] Rojina

    Don¡¯t they give Mithril to those who participate with Mithril?

    When I mentioned it, they said such a thing never urred. That¡¯s too bad.

    I walked to the glowing magic circle. The light slowly faded and an unexpected object appeared in the center of the magic circle.

    [What the hell was that?] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster squinted while looking at the object that appeared.

    I rubbed my eyes.

    I guess my eyesight has been getting worsetely. Even though I don¡¯t watch TV, y video games, or read manga or novels at night anymore. I even go to bed early, wake up early, and live a regr life. Sometimes Ize around all day. So basically, I don¡¯t do anything that would damage my eyes.

    We approached the center of the magic circle where there was a mysterious object.

    [It¡¯s a bear.] Guildmaster

    [Yeah, it¡¯s a bear.] Rojina

    As both of them said, there was a bear figurine in the center of the magic circle. It was grayish-silver. It¡¯s the color of pure iron.

    Rojina-san and Guildmaster touched the bear figurine.

    [It¡¯s iron.] Guildmaster

    [It¡¯s definitely an iron.] Rojina

    A bear made of iron.

    For some reason, the shape is a deformed bear. It¡¯s in the shape of the bear sculptures I made at the rest shop.

    The only thing I can think of is that it probably read my memories? But then, with how well it read my memories of Fina, like how she looked so much like her that I got fooled by it. Perhaps it could easily recreate the bear figurines from my memory. Still, why a bear though?

    [Could it be the shape of the iron is different for everyone?] Yuna

    [Basically, the shape is different for everyone. But while theye in irregr shapes and sizes, I¡¯ve never seen anything with such a distinct shape.] Guildmaster

    [And this one is huge. I¡¯ve never seen a prize this big before.] Rojina

    The size of the iron bear is about the size of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their normal form.

    [That¡¯s why your trial was so special, Missy.] Rojina

    [Well, that was quite an ordeal.] Yuna

    [But how are we going to move this thing? If we don¡¯t move it, we won¡¯t be able to start the next trial.] Guildmaster

    Rojina-san and Guildmaster, both dwarves, tried to move it, but the iron bear didn¡¯t budge.

    Well, moving something like that is very simple for me.

    [It¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    When I touched the iron bear, it disappeared into my bear box.

    The bear box is versatile.

    [Is that weird glove an item bag?] Guildmaster

    It¡¯s weird, it¡¯s strange, it¡¯s a bear. Well, I thought it was strange the first time I used it too. But I want to deny it when someone else says it.

    As I was about toin, the light around me gradually dimmed.

    Guildmaster looks around and shouts.

    [No way! The Gate of Trials is closing! But it¡¯s only one challenger!] Guildmaster

    [So that¡¯s how intense her fight was. It even drained the gate¡¯s magic power.] Rojina

    [Why are you talking about it as if it were someone else¡¯s problem? Dozens of weaponsmiths areing here today to challenge the Gate of Trials. What are we going to do!] Guildmaster

    [Even if you say that, I don¡¯t know.] Rojina

    [You¡¯re the one who brought Missy here.] Guildmaster

    [And I¡¯ve got your permission.] Rojina

    [Yeah, but how would I know that she¡¯s such an amazing girl? I mean, she¡¯s dressed as a bear, she¡¯s a small girl, and her weapon of choice are knives.] Guildmaster

    I¡¯m a bear, but I¡¯m not small.

    [Damn it, Rojina,e up with something! You only have until we get back to the upper room.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster walks off, holding his head. Rojina-san and I follow after him.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It took me a long time to rewrite a lot of things.

    The prize is an iron bear. And it¡¯s a big one.

    I guess she can use it for something?

    Also, as you might have guessed, the magic power of the Gate of Trials ran out.

    Guildmaster is in trouble.

    As for Yuna`s grandfather, I`m thinking about the setting a little bit, but I¡¯m not too worried about it, just think of him as having a typical doting grandfather.

    #

 Chapter 411 Bear-san, Puts In Magical Power

    <h4>Chapter 411 Bear-san, Puts In Magical Power</h4>

    [But if you¡¯re asking me to give you an idea, you¡¯ll have to be honest with them.] Rojina

    [You¡¯re asking me to tell them that when the Bear-girl challenged the Gate of Trials, it closed after one challenge? They¡¯ll think I¡¯m crazy if I tell them that.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster and Rojina-san turned around and looked at me who¡¯s walking behind them.

    [I agree with you on that. Just once and it lost its magical power right away.] Rojina

    [It can¡¯t be helped, no one has ever seen a girl dressed as a bear fight a golem before. After that, she fought several armored knights. In the third battle, she fought a huge monitor lizard. Then afterwards, she fought a copy of herself and broke the magic wall. No one would believe us if we say that the magical power of the Gate of Trials has run out.] Guildmaster

    These guys are just saying whatever they want. I don¡¯t like it when people talk about me. But if I were toe out and say that I had ovee a tremendous trial and used up all the magical power of the Gate of Trials, no one who don¡¯t know me would believe me.

    I always think that appearance is important.

    [And they will also wonder who made the weapon.] Rojina

    [Can¡¯t you just say that Rojina-san...... Oh right, you can¡¯t, can you?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s well known that Rojina doesn¡¯t make weapons anymore. So it¡¯s impossible to make him the one who created the weapon.] Guildmaster

    [So, if you can¡¯t tell the truth, what else can you do but lie?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s the problem. How to do it in a way that makes sense to everyone and doesn¡¯te back to bite me.] Guildmaster

    He¡¯s going to run away. Well, it¡¯s not Guildmaster¡¯s fault. Of course, it¡¯s neither Rojina-san nor my fault as well. No one would think that the magic power of the Gate of Trials would run out that quick. The only one to me is the person who created the magic-draining function in the Gate of Trials.

    But how to do it in a way that everyone can agree on and doesn¡¯t cause a problem to Guildmaster? Is there such a good way to resolve this?

    Moreover, there¡¯s not much time to think about it.

    [Can we get out once the Gate of Trials closed?] Yuna

    [It doesn¡¯t close right away. Although, I don¡¯t know how long we have until it does. Normally, we try to get out as soon as the signal ending the trials started. We don¡¯t want to get locked in after all.] Guildmaster

    That¡¯s right. No one is stupid enough to stay when the Gate of Trials is closing. They¡¯ll leave as quickly as they can.

    [So, if we say a high-ranked adventurer challenged it, can you announce that it ran out of magic power because of it?] Yuna

    [Normally, a high-ranked adventurer wouldn¡¯t use the weapon of an apprentice cksmith to participate. Besides, if there were such adventurers, they would be the talk of the town. I can¡¯t answer any questions about it.] Guildmaster

    I thought about it real hard, but all I got was denial.

    Then I thought about pretending that a strong monster had appeared, but it would only attract adventurers to defeat it. Many adventurers will challenge the Gate of Trials. And we can¡¯t exin why the gates won¡¯t open.

    [Well, why don¡¯t we just pretend that the cave copsed? If we say that the cave has copsed and we can¡¯t get through, nobody can get in. If you want, I can destroy it with my magic.] Yuna with crazy eyes

    [Please don¡¯t.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster gave me a really nasty look.

    [I¡¯m not really going to destroy it. Just a little bit, just enough to be visible from the entrance.] Yuna with crazy eyes

    I don¡¯t know when the Gate of Trials will closepletely, but if a few people can see it, the news should spread quickly.

    [Besides, if we start repairing the copsed cave, it will be discovered immediately.] Guildmaster

    Right, if the cave is blocked, it needs to be repaired. A fake copse is easy to spot.

    [Tell them <I, the Guildmaster, will fix it alone>.] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s possible. Besides, if the gates got closed, there¡¯s no reason to open it.] Rojina

    [And I¡¯ll be in boiling water until next year.] Guildmaster

    Both Guildmaster and Rojina-san denied my idea. Even though people are thinking hard about it.

    [What are you going to do then? I¡¯m going back home after this.] Yuna

    There¡¯s nothing we can do.

    Guildmaster and Rojina-san pondered as they climbed the stairs.

    I wonder if these uncles really thinking. Whether it¡¯s Guildmaster or Rojina-san, they don¡¯t seem to be very good at this kind of deception. Or maybe I¡¯m the bad one here?

    [Then can¡¯t you just pour magic power into it? This whole trial is powered by magic after all, right? If you want, I can pour my magic into it.] Yuna

    It seems that I still have a lot of magic power, so if it¡¯s just an apprentice cksmith¡¯s trial, I might be able to do it a few times. Well, the Gates of Trials are going close because of my trial, so it won¡¯t be a problem if I just pour my magic power into it.

    [......]

    [......]

    Guildmaster and Rojina-san looked at each other at my words.

    [What? Did I say something weird?] Yuna

    [We¡¯ve been gathering magic power in this terrain for a year using the big magic circle. There¡¯s no way a single person pouring magic power into it can help.] Guildmaster

    [Well, that¡¯s true. But I have a little confidence in my magic, so I thought I could do a few trials for the apprentice cksmiths. If I can do it for a few people, I think I can fool them with it......] Yuna

    [Surely, you could fool them with having a few trials. Like there wasn¡¯t enough magic this year.] Guildmaster

    [Besides, it closed within just a day before.] Rojina

    Rojina-san and Guildmaster pondered over my new idea.

    [How do you replenish its magic in the first ce?] Rojina

    [I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never done that before.] Guildmaster

    He doesn¡¯t know. If you¡¯ve never done it before, of course, you wouldn¡¯t know.

    Well, there¡¯s a difference between the people who made the games, the people who managed them, and the people who tested them. As well as the people who published games, the people who sold games, and the people who yed games. There may be a difference between them. I don¡¯t even know what kind of game system this is.

    But I wonder who made this magic circle. I wonder if I can make a magic circle too. It would be useful if I had the skill to make magic circles, but I can¡¯t remember.

    [But really, Missy. Do you have any magic power left? You poured so much magic power into the knife when you broke the walls.] Guildmaster

    I try to gather the magic power into my hands.

    Yep, I have it. I indeed poured magic power into the knives, but I can¡¯t put it all into the knives. There¡¯s a limit, you know. I can¡¯t put all of my magic power into the knives.

    [It¡¯s okay. I still have some left. Besides, this happened because of my trial.] Yuna

    [No no, the bad one is the old man there.] Rojina

    Guildmaster nced at Rojina-san.

    [He had seen more adventurers than I have, yet he didn¡¯t even know what you were capable of, Missy.] Rojina

    [How would I know? From all appearances, the Bear-girl doesn¡¯t look very strong.] Guildmaster

    The two red at each other grinding their teeth.

    I guess dwarves are stubborn people.

    I exhaled a small sigh.

    [So, is there somewhere I can pour in my magical power?] Yuna

    [Yeah, there¡¯s a ce like that. It¡¯s worth checking out.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster quickens his pace a little and walks up the stairs. At the same time, it was getting darker and darker. It looks like the magic is really wearing off. I have to hurry.

    We walked up the stairs and down the corridor to find a door in front of us. This is the door we came in through. It is also the entrance to the Gate of Trials.

    But Guildmaster turned left.

    [This way.] Guildmaster

    After a short walk, there is a door in the rock wall.

    [Rojina, you wait here. In fact, I¡¯m the only one with ess to this ce. You¡¯re special case this time, Missy.] Guildmaster

    [Got it.] Rojina

    Rojina-san stood in front of the door, while me and Guildmaster entered the room. It looked like a hole had been dug in a cave and the walls showed the rough rocky surface. The room was about the size of arge room. The ceiling was twice as high as mine.

    [Missy, are you sure you¡¯re okay?] Guildmaster

    [I think.] Yuna

    [In that case,e over here.] Guildmaster

    As I was called by Guildmaster toe to the center of the room, I found a magic circle with a magic stone fitted in the center. In addition, there are also various magic stones all over the magic circle, bothrge and small.

    The magic stone in the center was the biggest one, not as big as the Kraken¡¯s magic stone that I defeated, but still, a big one. The magic stone was colorless, unlike the blue-colored Kraken¡¯s magic stone.

    Guildmaster crouched and checked the magic stone.

    [I knew it. It¡¯s losing its magic power.] Guildmaster

    The darker the color of the magic stone, the more magic it has, and the lighter it is, the less magic it has.

    In the case of a colorless magic stone, when it has magic power, it bes a clear and beautiful color. But when the magic power is gone, it bes like frosted ss. The magic stone in front of me is like frosted ss.

    [Then we just need to put magic power into this magic stone, right?] Yuna

    [Yeah, but can you do that?] Guildmaster

    I ced both of my bear puppets on top of the magic stone. I gathered magic power into the bear puppets in my hands and poured the magic power into the magic stone. Gradually, the cloudiness of the magic stone disappears and the light returned as if it were crystal clear.

    In exchange, the magic power was being drained from my body. It took more magic power than I expected.

    On top of that, I fought against a lower-ranked version of myself and the wall made up of magical power was thick. So I may have used up more magic power than I thought.

    Maybe I should have changed into a white bear. But I couldn¡¯t change my clothes in front of Guildmaster and Rojina-san. Even if I look like this, I¡¯m still a 15-year-old maiden. Even if I made a simple changing room, I wouldn¡¯t want to change my outfit.

    So I hope that somehow the current magic power will be enough.

    As I pour my magic power into it, the dimly lit room began to lighten up. Could it be that my magic is being used at this very moment?

    But the fact that it¡¯s being used means that it¡¯s properly infused with the magical power of the Gate of Trials.

    I continue pouring magic power into it. I¡¯m putting a lot of magic power into it. Is there an end to this?

    I¡¯m getting a little, wobbly.

    [Missy! You¡¯ve poured enough magic power into it! If you put in any more than this, you¡¯ll copse!] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster raised his voice. I pulled my hand from the magic stone in response to that voice. Then, I took a small deep breath. I may have put a little too much magic power into it.

    [You okay, Missy?] Guildmaster

    [I¡¯m fine. It just took a little bit more magic power than I expected.] Yuna

    The magic stone has lost its dull glow like frosted ss and has be clear and colorless. I don¡¯t know to what extent this has been replenished, but it seems to be enough.

    [But we¡¯re saved. Now the trials should hold for a bit. You¡¯re so amazing, Missy. I never thought it would recover this much magical power.] Guildmaster

    [That¡¯s good to know.] Yuna

    Guildmaste¡¯s POV

    Thanks to Bear-girl, the Gate of Trials was sessfully held.

    On the first day, apprentice cksmiths and low-ranked adventurerse to test their skills. I¡¯m d we were able to resume our work safely. In some cases, the trials may be used for them to be a full-fledged cksmith.

    And I apany them, following along, and watching their trials. The more I watched, the more I had to think about it. Each time, a bear would appear in the content of the trials.

    It was supposed to be a Wolf, but instead, it was a Bear about the size of a Wolf, then arger Bear when it was supposed to be a Tiger Wolf. There¡¯s even an image of a Bear on the wall for some reason. I can only assume that this is due to the magical influence of that Bear-girl.

    The adventurers who took the trials and the cksmiths who watched over them may think it¡¯s a little strange, but they epted it as such. Fortunately, the contents of the trials within the Gate of Trials are not to be divulged, so the fact that the trials turned out to be full of bears did not spread.

    I vowed to keep it in the back of my mind.

    But why is it so heartbreaking to see the Bears being attacked?

    I can only pray that there will be no bears next year.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It seems that when Yuna poured her magic power into magic stone, the trials became full of bears!

    Well, it`s Yuna after all.

    I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to take a break for a while. I¡¯ll try to post as soon as I can.

    #

 Chapter 412 Bear-san, Returns To The Inn

    <h4>Chapter 412 Bear-san, Returns To The Inn</h4>

    After sessfully replenishing the magic power, Guildmaster and I left the room. Then Rojina-san greeted us outside the door.

    [Well, it looks like it worked.] Rojina

    Rojina-san said as he looked around at the brighter surroundings. The surroundings are now brighter than when we first entered the room. It seems that the magic power is being used properly.

    [I think we can trick them somehow with this. The only question is, how long will itst?] Yuna

    [Well, I guess we¡¯ll see.] Guildmaster

    In the worst-case scenario, I can add magic power to it. Although, it¡¯s troublesome, so I¡¯d rather not.

    [I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got a lot of magic power in you. But if you had that much magic power, you would normally live as a wizard, so you shouldn¡¯t be that much proficient with knives.] Rojina

    [Indeed. Just the fact of having a lot of magic power gives one an advantage using magic. That¡¯s why those with a lot of magic power often fight with magic at a safe distance instead of the dangerously closebat with melee weapons.] Guildmaster

    Of course, if you attack from a distance, you¡¯ll be safe, though if you want to use magic, you¡¯ll need some practice first. If you have time to practice with weapons, then use it to practice magic instead. I also know a new adventurer girl who practices magic every day. There¡¯s even a saying, <He who chases two rabbits will never catch a rabbit>.

    If you practice handling weapons, you will neglect your magic, and vice-versa. That¡¯s why those with more magic power are less likely to handle weapons.

    The same can be said for the game world. Wizards don¡¯t fight with swords. Only magic swordsmen use magic and weapons.

    [Moreover, at your age, it shouldn¡¯t be easy to acquire that kind of skill.] Rojina

    I learned it by ying games.

    Unlike in this world, you can practice fighting 24 hours a day if you want to. If you go outside the city, there are monsters, and if you go to the battlefield, there are NPCs (non-yer characters) and yers. In the real world, if you run out of energy or get injured, you won¡¯t be able to practice. But in a game, you can recover your strength and heal your injuries by using recovery medicine. You can y as many games as you want.

    Even in just one year, I have fought a dozen times, almost a hundred times more than the inhabitants of this world. How many people in this world have defeated tens of thousands of monsters? And how many people in this world have fought as many people with different professions as I have?

    Above all, no one in this world died as many times as I have. Most people cannot learn from death. But I have died so many times that I¡¯d lost count, and there are many things I have learned from my death. That¡¯s the difference between me and the people in this world.

    More importantly, I can¡¯t use that technology or power without the bear equipment. This is really harassment, isn¡¯t it?

    I look down and sigh when I see my fluffy figure. It would have been nice if I had at least been wearing something cool.

    We opened the outer gate and went back to the building where Fina and Ruimin were. Then Fina and Ruimin came running up to us. It seems that they were waiting for us at the door.

    [Yuna-oneesan!] Fina

    Fina came in front of me. I stared at her.

    [Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [You¡¯re the real one, right?] Yuna

    [The real one?] Fina

    Fina tilted her head slightly.

    Looks like she¡¯s the real deal. Of course, I¡¯m skeptical after what just happened. After all, I was fooled by the silhouette on the magic wall and the voice at that time. But I¡¯m sure, it¡¯s definitely Fina in front of me.

    I lightly tap Fina on the head with my bear puppet. Fina looks puzzled at my iprehensible action.

    [Nothing happened to either of you, right?] Yuna

    Have you ever had anything strange happen to you, like your memory suddenly being copied?

    [Etto, the guild staff is here.] Fina

    I looked behind Fina and saw two girls in guild uniforms doing their work. When the guilddies noticed us, they ran up to Guildmaster.

    [Guildmaster! Where have you been! When I came here, you were not around. There were only two girls here and they said you went inside the Gate of Trials.] Guild Worker 1

    [Hey, I was just checking the inside of the Gate of Trials.] Guildmaster

    [Together with the cksmith Rojina-san and the bear girl?] Guild Worker 1

    She looked at Rojina-san and then at me.

    [That¡¯s.......] Guildmaster

    [I¡¯m sorry, I was the one who forced him to do it. An acquaintance from far away wanted to see the inside of the Gate of Trials.] Rojina

    When Guildmaster was faltering, Rojina-san came to his rescue. Then he nced at me. I see, he can¡¯t tell her that I challenged the Gate of Trials, so he¡¯s going to pretend that it was his selfish request and went inside. But isn¡¯t this my fault?

    [Guildmaster, is that true?] Guild Worker 2

    The other guilddy sharply asked Guildmaster.

    [...I¡¯m sorry.] Guildmaster

    [The guild staffs are not allowed to go in without Guildmaster¡¯s permission, so you can¡¯t just let a girl go in just because Rojina-san asked you!] Guild Worker 2

    Guildmaster flinched at the angry expression on the Guilddy¡¯s face.

    [Now, now, it¡¯s not like I showed her the trials itself.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster said as if to make an excuse. He doesn¡¯t seem to have the dignity of a Guildmaster. Or maybe the guilddy is the resolute one?

    [However, rules are rules. And you have to follow them.] Guild Worker 2

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Guildmaster

    [I apologize as well.] Rojina

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Yuna

    Following Guildmaster, Rojina-san apologizes, so I apologize as well.

    The guilddies let out a small sigh.

    [Young Lady. Only those who are challenging the Gate of Trials are allowed in here, except for Guildmaster. We can¡¯t enter either. Don¡¯t be selfish just because you want to see what¡¯s inside, okay.] Guild Worker 1

    I guess I looked childish, so the guilddy forgave me.

    Well, no one wouldn¡¯t think that I already challenged the Gate of Trials, you know?

    [And Guildmaster, just because she¡¯s a little girl, that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t have to follow the rules.] Guild Worker 1

    [Yes, I understand.] Guildmaster

    [Now, can we then begin the reception for the cksmiths and adventurers waiting outside?] Guild Worker 1

    [Yes, please.] Guildmaster

    The receptionist opened the door. Then several pairs of cksmiths and what appeared to be adventurers entered the building.

    One of the receptionists will be at the counter and the other one will be outside.

    [Somehow, we got this thing started on time.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster is happy to see the weaponsmiths and the adventurers. Both are young, possibly apprentice cksmiths and new adventurers. Then the first group arrives at the reception.

    [Tarotoba, you¡¯ve been a great help this time.] Rojina

    [Okay sure. Now, make your own weapons and participate next year. Then I won¡¯tin.] Guildmaster

    [I know. I¡¯ll be there with my best weapon.] Rojina

    Rojina-san said he¡¯d participate with his best weapon. Does this mean?

    [However, if the Bear-girl wants to participate, it should be on thest day. It¡¯s the only thing that¡¯s non-negotiable.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster seemed happy at Rojina-san¡¯s words and walked behind the door with the first group to challenge the Gate of Trials.

    Well, even if Guildmaster said that. I¡¯m not going to participate anymore. I don¡¯t want to get into trouble again. Besides, I already had my fill of the trials at the Gate of Trials.

    [Rojina-san, I¡¯m also going now.] Yuna

    A little more time and people will start to gather. I want to leave before that happens.

    [Oh, you¡¯ve shown me something good, Missy. I appreciate it. I¡¯ll be done with what you¡¯ve ordered by tomorrow, soe and pick it up by then.] Rojina

    Rojina-san said he would stay behind for a while and watch the cksmiths who came to challenge the Gate of Trials.

    I called Fina and Ruimin and went back.

    [Yuna-oneesan, how did the trials at the Gate of Trials go?] Fina

    Fina asked as she climb down the stairs.

    Ruimin is going down the stairs alone as if she¡¯s running away from me. I asked her if she wanted toe down with me, but she ran away.

    [Well, it was... It was a test of the weapon¡¯s performance, the weapon¡¯s wielder, and the wielder¡¯s mind.] Yuna

    [That sounds difficult. So, did Yuna-oneesanpleted the trials at the Gate of Trials?] Fina

    Fina, who was a few steps down from me, looked back and asked.

    [I cleared it for the time being.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re amazing, Yuna-oneesan. But you can¡¯t talk about the details, can you?] Fina

    [Well, that¡¯s the rule.] Yuna

    Besides, I¡¯m embarrassed to talk about fake Fina. And it¡¯s the same with my own copy. It¡¯s also embarrassing to imagine a battle between a bear costume vs. a bear costume.

    I use the rules as a shield and set the details aside.

    [But I wanted to see you fight, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

    [Me too.] Ruimin

    Perhaps hearing Fina¡¯s voice, Ruimin, who was a few steps below Fina, agreed.

    [Oh, right. Yuna-oneesan, please listen to me. Ruimin-san tried to enter the Gate of Trials without permission. I told her not to do that.] Fina

    [Ah, oi, Fina-chan. You don¡¯t have to tell her. I didn¡¯t go inside anyway.] Ruimin

    Ruimin, who¡¯s a few steps below, runs up and tries to cover Fina¡¯s mouth.

    [You were saying, just a little bit.] Fina

    [Fina-cha ~ n] Ruimin

    [In the end, she couldn¡¯t do it because someone from the guild came. If they hadn¡¯te, she definitely would have sneaked in. It was hard to stop her.] Fina

    [Because I¡¯m so curious.] Ruimin

    Ruimin makes excuses, but I can¡¯t me her since I also know that feeling, I was curious too. That¡¯s why I climbed the long stairs to the Gate of Trials. I even took the challenge with Rojina-san¡¯s suggestion. So, I can¡¯t me Ruimin.

    Then we descended the infamous long flight of stairs. While doing so, we passed several pairs of cksmiths and their adventurer partners. Each time they looked at me, but I simply passed them by and went down the stairs.

    I¡¯m curious to see what kind of trials they will go through. I hope they will do their best and challenge the trials head-on.

    [What are you two going to do now? I think I¡¯ll go back to the inn and get some rest.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll go back with you.] Fina

    [What am I going to do?] Ruimin

    Ruimin began to worry alone.

    [We¡¯re going to leave after we get the pots, pans, and the other stuff from Rojina-san, so you can do whatever you want until then.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve already had my fill though.] Fina

    [That¡¯s right. It¡¯s still early in the morning. I think I¡¯ll go back and sleep as well.] Ruimin

    When Ruimin gave a small sigh, Fina and I followed suit.

    Certainly, it was still early in the morning. Besides, I had used up a lot of my magic power after all. I should go to bed after returning to the inn.

    When we returned to the inn, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form, and tried to sleep with them in my arms like stuffed animals. But they were taken away by Fina and Ruimin, and I had to sleep by myself, all alone.

    ......I¡¯m lonely now.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This is the end of the Gate of Trials (Bear Edition).

    Toya? I haven¡¯t forgotten him.

    #

 Chapter 413 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 413 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 1</h4>

    ATTATTIN: Let¡¯s get this out of the way, 3 chapters of Toya¡¯s desperation. So we can move on to the main story.

    I wake up before Jade does. For the past few days, I¡¯ve been going back to the drawing board and swinging my sword. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been this serious with my sword. This is one of the reasons why I sleep so well at night.

    Jade wakes up as I get out of bed and get ready for the day.

    [You¡¯re early.] Jade

    [Oh, the Gate of Trials has begun. Moreover, I don¡¯t have much time before the deadline.] Toya

    The deadline is until the end of the Gate of Trials. By then, I have to pass the test of old man Xelo.

    [Can you do it?] Jade

    [It¡¯s not, <Can you do it?> but <You¡¯re going to do it>.] Toya

    [That¡¯s right. Because if the adventurer gives up, that¡¯s where it ends.] Jade

    [It¡¯s nothingpared to being surrounded by monsters and not being able to escape. If you want, I can take over your challenge of the Gate of Trials once I pass the test.] Toya

    Jade was asked by the old man Xelo to challenge the Gate of Trials. He was also recognized by the cksmith himself. I feel a little frustrated.

    [That¡¯s right. If Toya can pass Xelo-san¡¯s test, I¡¯ll ask him for it. But you¡¯ll have to pass it by today or tomorrow.] Jade

    It¡¯s rare for Jade to make a joke.

    Or maybe he¡¯s just saying that to motivate me.

    [Are you sure you want to say that? I¡¯ll y an active role and you won¡¯t have your turn, Jade.] Toya

    [That would make things a lot easier for me.] Jade

    [Don¡¯t forget what you just said.] Toya

    Damn it, I¡¯m definitely going to pass old man Xelo¡¯s test and earn Jade¡¯s respect.

    When I went downstairs, I saw Mel and Senia already eating breakfast.

    [Good morning, both of you.] Jade

    [You¡¯re already eating?] Toya

    We sat down at the same table as Mel and Senia and ordered breakfast.

    [Are you training today, Toya?] Mel

    [Yeah, ¡¯cause I think I know a few things now, thanks to Missy. I want to swing my sword before I forget those things.] Toya

    [She¡¯s really are amazing, isn¡¯t she? That Yuna-chan, she¡¯s so good with magic and weapons for someone with such a small body.] Mel

    [She¡¯s incredible.] Senia

    Mel and Senia were right, she is an incredible girl. I¡¯ve met a lot of adventurers in my life. Even the best wizards need to practice their magic. Mel also said that she was still a beginner when she was at the Bear Missy¡¯s age. At that age, she can use so much magic and is skilled with weapons. I can only say that¡¯s amazing. When I was her age, I don¡¯t remember practicing earnestly. But I¡¯ve been wielding a sword since I decided to be an adventurer. Still, I¡¯m nowhere near the Bear Missy. If I could see the old me, I¡¯d tell him to practice diligently.

    [Maybe she¡¯s just a genius of a girl.] Toya

    [It¡¯s not just that. Yuna is ustomed to fighting real battles. From what I¡¯ve seen of her fighting, she¡¯s had quite a few real battles.] Jade

    Jade answers my little monologue.

    ]That¡¯s right. Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t seem to be afraid of monsters, even when she fights them up close and personal. Generally, people get scared of monsters when they encounter them. When I was Yuna-chan¡¯s age, I used to be afraid of monsters when I saw them.] Mel

    [But it¡¯s not that long since Yuna became an adventurer, right?] Senia

    When we first met Missy, she had just be Rank D. A few days before that, she hade to town and ughtered an adventurer who picked a fight with her, which led to rumors among the adventurers about the Bear Missy.

    At first, I thought it was a joke andughed about it. But then, I kept hearing rumors about the Bear Missy. Rumors of her ying goblins, orcs, and tiger wolves even with her small figure.

    And when I heard the story of how she finally defeated the ck Viper by herself, I couldn¡¯t believe it. But I passed it off as something like because she had a lot of magical power and talent. However, Missy, she¡¯s also excellent at handling knives and swords. And at her age, she was way better than me.

    [Where and what did Yuna-chan do before she became an adventurer? She definitely had to learn how to handle magic and weapons somewhere at some point, right?] Mel

    [Maybe she¡¯s from thend of the bears.] Senia

    Senia said something stupid. What¡¯s and of the bears? When I thought of it, I imagined all of the people living there were dressed up as bears like Missy. I definitely don¡¯t want to go to such a ce.

    [So, Jade will be at Xero-san¡¯s ce again today, right?] Mel

    [Yeah, I have a few things to ask about the Gate of Trials.] Jade

    After breakfast, Jade and Mel head to the old man Xelo¡¯s ce. While Senia and I went out of the city.

    [You don¡¯t have to follow me, you know.] Toya

    [Jade and Mel told me to keep an eye on Toya to make sure he doesn¡¯t do anything stupid.] Senia

    Senia is foolishly following me due to the words of Jade and Mel.

    [So, where are you going today?] Senia

    [To the river in the nearby forest.] Toya

    I asked the adventurer¡¯s guild about the terrain in the area, hoping to find a good ce to practice. Then I found out that there was an area with a small river.

    Senia and I walked up to the river. There are trees and shade all around us. There are no people around, and it¡¯s a good ce to swing a sword.

    I pulled the sword out of its scabbard and started swinging it. When I swung it as I want, the sword felt lighter. It¡¯s a subtle sensation, but it¡¯s there. The sensation of swinging through is different. Before I forget the feeling, I picked up a couple of thick branches that has fallen nearby and stuck them between the stones. I prepare several of them. I took a deep breath, walked between the wooden sticks, and swung my sword.

    The first stick was cut cleanly, and the second one was cut as well, but the third and fourth sticks bounced off each other. This is because I am not good at backswings. The angle of the de is bad.

    To do a proper sh, not only power but also speed and angle are important. In terms of power and speed, it could bepared to Jade and Senia. If that¡¯s the case, then the angle is bad? It¡¯s not a problem if I just want to cut one, but to cut all of it, I¡¯ll need to figure it out.

    And it should be done while actively moving. But it¡¯s no good if I fail while moving. Jade, Senia, and Bear Missy can do that as normal as breathing. They can damage the opponent in any situation. If I can¡¯t do that much, then I can¡¯t handle a Mithril sword.

    I wielded my sword in silence, I set up the wooden sticks and practiced shing.

    As I silently swinging my sword, Senia calls out to me.

    [Toya, it¡¯s lunchtime. I¡¯m hungry.] Senia

    [Is it that time already?] Toya

    [It¡¯s ready. Come and eat.] Senia

    While I was swinging my sword, Senia was preparing lunch for us. I wet my towel in the river and wiped my face and body. The water was cool and refreshing. After wiping off the sweat, I head towards Senia. Then I saw Senia already eating a piece of bread by herself.

    [And you¡¯re already eating. You could have waited a bit.] Toya

    [You¡¯re too slow, I¡¯ll eat your portion if you don¡¯t hurry, Toya.] Senia

    I sat down in front of Senia and grabbed a piece of bread. I am famished and it was delicious.

    [It¡¯s not fun to watch, right? You can go back.] Toya

    [It¡¯s okay, I was sleeping.] Senia

    [You were sleeping?!] Toya

    I¡¯ve known Senia for a long time, but sometimes I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking. However, the trees shade her from the sun¡¯s rays. This might be the best ce to take a nap while listening to the sound of the river.

    After I finished my lunch, I resumed my practice. Then I heard the sound of happy children¡¯s voices. The voices gradually get closer and closer. I heard the sound of stepping on a nearby branch, and three dwarven brats appeared from behind a tree.

    [Hey, niichan, what are you doing here?] Dwarven Kid 1

    [As you can see, I¡¯m practicing with my sword. What are you guys doing here?] Toya

    [There are no monsters here, so it¡¯s our yground. While we were ying, we heard someone over here, so we came to check it out and found you and neechan over there.] Dwarven Kid 1

    [Niichan, are you an adventurer?] Dwarven Kid 2

    [Yeah, I am an adventurer.] Toya

    When I said that, the dwarven kids looked happy.

    [That¡¯s cool.] Dwarven Kid 3

    [Have you ever defeated a monster before?] Dwarven Kid 2

    [Yeah, of course.] Toya

    [Wow.] Dwarven Kid 3

    [Let me see your sword.] Dwarven Kid 1

    [Me too.] Dwarven Kid 3

    One of the kids tries to touch the sword I¡¯m holding. I quickly lift my sword.

    [It¡¯s dangerous to try and touch it so suddenly.] Toya

    [I¡¯m sorry.] Dwarven Kid 3

    The kid apologized honestly. I lowered the sword that I had raised above my head and held it out to the kid, who looked like he wanted to see it.

    [Can I?] Dwarven Kid 3

    [Only for a bit. It¡¯s heavy, so be careful.] Toya

    He grasped the sword that I presented to him with both hands.

    [Oh, it¡¯s so cool. I¡¯d like to make a sword like that someday.] Dwarven Kid 1

    That¡¯s a child of the dwarves for you. They desire to make, not use.

    [Are you guys aiming to be cksmiths?] Toya

    [Yes! That¡¯s right. I¡¯m going to be a great cksmith and make a lot of cool swords.] Dwarven Kid 1

    [Yeah, good luck with that.] Toya

    [If I ever make a cool sword, niichan, buy one from me.] Dwarven Kid 2

    [My sword, too!] Dwarven Kid 3

    [What¡¯s this? Is it because I¡¯m cool?] Toya

    Apparently, to a kid, I look cool. A cool-looking guy deserves a cool-looking sword.

    [No, it¡¯s not. My father told me to take good care of my customers. He said a cksmith who runs away from his customers is a third-rate cksmith.] Dwarven Kid 2

    [Oh, I see. Then I¡¯ll have to be a good cksmith so that my customers won¡¯t run away.] Dwarven Kid 3

    No adventurer wants to buy a weapon from a third-rate cksmith. If you¡¯re going to trust your life to them, then buy a weapon from a good cksmith.

    [Niichan, do you mind if I watch you practice?] Dwarven Kid 1

    [It¡¯s okay, but it¡¯s not interesting.] Toya

    [It¡¯s fine.] Dwarven Kid 1

    The kids went to Senia¡¯s side.

    I made sure the kids were away, then I swung my sword. Over and over again. Each time, I hear the happy voices of the kids. And when I cut down a branch, they cheered for me.

    [Niichan, that¡¯s awesome.] Dwarven Kid 1

    [The weapon is good.] Dwarven Kid 2

    [I think that¡¯s where you say my skill is good.] Toya

    [Eh?~] Dwarven Kid 3

    Damn it, I gave them permission to watch, but it¡¯s hard to train like this.

    But I¡¯m slowly getting a feel for it. I thrust the blunt sword, made by old man Xelo¡¯s son, into the ground.

    Taking a deep breath, I readied my Mithril sword.

    At that moment, Senia shouts!

    [Toya! Behind you!] Senia

    I turned around and saw arge beast there.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Funny, it didn¡¯t end in one episode.

    But the next one should be the end of the Toya chapter, I think?

    ¡ùIt`s great that myputer doesn`t freeze up. I miss the days when myputer used to freeze several times a day.

    #

 Chapter 414 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 414 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 2</h4>

    At Senia¡¯s words, I turned around and saw a big boar. It¡¯s a big boar. It¡¯s as big as a Bear Missy¡¯s bears. Its legs are faster than my legs, let alone the legs of a kid, we can¡¯t escape. It also has a horn on its forehead as long as a knife.

    I¡¯m trying to figure out what to do. Jade is not here right now to give me orders. And Mel is not here to give me an opinion.

    What do I do?

    There¡¯s me, Senia, and three other kids here that I need to protect.

    It¡¯s not an opponent Senia can defeat alone. Big Boar is characterized by its powerful charge and the sharp horns on its head. And even if you run away, it will chase you everywhere. Carefully observing it, dodge, and attack, so it¡¯s not that difficult to defeat.

    However, if I dodged it and it charged straight at those kids, then it¡¯s over. I¡¯m not confident that I can do the strategy of taking it down with one blow. But with Senia, I can.

    But then, as I¡¯m about to call out to Senia, a second Big Boar appears from behind the trees in the back.

    Are you kidding me?

    I can¡¯t beat two of them with a single blow each.

    Think! What should I do?

    Fufu... I¡¯ve known the answer to that question from the beginning.

    If someone stays behind to draw their attention, then the kids can escape.

    [Senia, take the kids and run!] Toya

    I shouted loudly to tell Senia and to grab the Big Boars¡¯ attention.

    [Toya...... I will stay. It would be better if it¡¯s Me than Toya.] Senia

    [Senia, you¡¯re stronger than me, that¡¯s for sure. But I¡¯m also a man and I¡¯m not going to leave a woman behind. Besides, Big Boars¡¯ attention is on me now. If Senia moves, the attention will shift to the kids. Besides, I¡¯ll be fine as long as I¡¯m not slowed down!] Toya

    [......Toya.] Senia

    [Besides, I¡¯ve got the best training partners to handle the Mithril sword. Don¡¯t try to kill steal.] Toya

    I told Senia while looking at the big boars. It looks like they¡¯re about to attack me. They¡¯re grunting and carefully looking at me.

    [Toya, you¡¯re thinking of something stupid, aren¡¯t you?] Senia

    [You may call it stupid. But, those horns would be great for practice.] Toya

    I look at the Big Boars¡¯ white horns.

    [Toya, don¡¯t do it. It¡¯s too dangerous.] Senia

    When a Big Boar attacks, its horn gathers magic power and turns red. In this state, the horn is strong enough to pierce iron armor whenbined with the Big Boar¡¯s charge. If you cut off the horn while it¡¯s still gathering magic power, the horn will remain red and can be used as a valuable material or decorated with ornaments and can be traded at a high price.

    [Besides, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s only one Big Boar here. I can¡¯t take the kids and run away with them. But I¡¯m sure you can, Senia.] Toya

    I¡¯m not the one who can run away to the city while protecting those trembling kids. But Senia should be able to handle that.

    Senia looked at me and the trembling kids alternately. Then she said, [All right.] Senia started to move with the trembling kids. I kicked a stone lying on the ground at the two Big Boars to get their attention and shouted.

    [Senia, go!] Toya

    Senia started moving slowly with the kids.

    [Over here!] Toya

    I shouted, grabbing attention away from Senia and the kids until they were out of sight.

    [Guryururu]

    The Big Boars let out a thundering roar and their horns turn red. One of the Big Boars charged at me. I dodged to the right and swung my Mithril sword down at the red horn. But it bounced back.

    Moreover, the second one attacked me. I managed to dodge its charge. When I look at Senia, she¡¯s gone. All I can do now is hope that the Big Boars won¡¯t go in the direction Senia ran off to.

    ==========

    -Yuna POV-

    I¡¯m outside the city with Fina and Ruimin.

    After we woke up and while we¡¯re eating our lunch, Jade-san and Mel-san came over and told us that Toya and Senia-san had gone to practice Toya¡¯s sword technique outside the city.

    He said he had gotten the hang of it thanks to me. It seems that shing his sword the other day helped him. The deadline for Xelo-san¡¯s test was until the end of the trials at the Gate of Trials. If I pour magic into it every day, it could be extended. But I don¡¯t want to do that.

    I didn¡¯t have any ns today, so I decided to go check on Toya while I¡¯m still awake. Fina and Ruimin said they would follow me, so they came with me outside the city.

    When we left the city, the gatekeeper was surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop us, so we were able to go outside. When we got a little further away from the gate, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I climbed on Swaying Bear, while Fina and Ruimin rode on Hugging Bear. It¡¯s faster to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when traveling.

    We came to a nearby forest and decided to use my detection skills to find out where Toya and Senia-san were.

    If there¡¯s a reaction from two people, then it¡¯s most likely Toya and Senia-san.

    When I use my detection skills, I get sparse reactions. It looks like there are people in the forest. I tried to find the location of the two people, but I found a reaction of four people moving towards us.

    Toya and Senia-san, there¡¯re only two of them. They might get startled if they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we moved away from the road and tried to let them pass by. But then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried, <Kuuun!> [What¡¯s wrong?] I tried to ask, but Fina and Ruimin opened their mouths.

    [Isn¡¯t that Senia-san?] Fina

    [You¡¯re right. She¡¯s running with some kids.] Ruimin

    Indeed, Senia-san and three children are running. asionally they turn around and look back.

    [What happened?] Yuna

    We went over to Senia-san¡¯s side.

    As we emerged from the outskirts of the road, Senia-san held up a knife at us.

    [Yuna?] Senia

    [[[Kuma!]]]

    Senia-san lowered her knife with a look of relief.

    The dwarven children were startled by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and hid behind Senia-san.

    [These bears are not dangerous. So it¡¯s okay.] Senia

    Senia-san calmed the children down.

    [Senia-san, what happened? You looked like you were in a hurry.] Yuna

    And Toya, who was supposed to be with her, was nowhere to be found.

    And the kids look worried. At least not after seeing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Big Boars showed up and Toya was fighting them alone.] Senia

    [Big Boars?] Yuna

    Is a big boar a big wild boar?

    I listened to Senia-san¡¯s story.

    Toya was in the middle of his practice when two Big Boars appeared. Senia-san tried to fight along with him, but the children were there, so she left Toya and came running at us. However, my detection skills don¡¯t show any sign of any monsters. It seems to be a little further away.

    [Yuna, please take care of these kids.] Senia

    [Are you going to help him, by any chance?] Yuna

    Senia-san gave a small nod, but the children did not want to leave her.

    The children anxiously grabbed Senia-san¡¯s hand as she tried to leave. Senia-san looked at the children and gave them a troubled look.

    [Well then, I¡¯ll go instead.] Yuna

    [Yuna?] Senia

    [I¡¯ll go and help Toya. Swaying Bear is with me, so I¡¯ll be able to get there quickly.] Yuna

    It seems that the monsters are currently in a remote location. Then, I¡¯m faster who is riding on Swaying Bear than Senia-san on foot.

    [Okay, then......] Senia

    I was asked to do one thing by Senia-san.

    Toya is fighting Big Boars. She said that he¡¯s trying to fight them recklessly. The Big Boar¡¯s horn bes hard when it¡¯s filled with magic power. It seems that Toya might be trying to cut the horn with his Mithril sword.

    Senia-san asked me to stop Toya if he tried to do something stupid.

    [Yuna, please.] Yuna

    [All right, leave it to me. Fina and Ruimin, go back to the inn with Senia-san. Hugging Bear, drop everyone off near the city, and then join me afterwards.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    [Please be careful.] Fina

    [Yuna-san, please don¡¯t go crazy.] Ruimin

    I was seen off by everyone and I directed Swaying Bear towards the ce where Senia-san had told me where Toya was.

    Then, in less than a minute after parting from Senia-san, the are reaction of two monsters and a person near each other. Those are probably the Big Bores. So, does that mean it¡¯s Toya?

    I made Swaying Bear run at top speed to where Toya was.

    I heard from Jade-san that there are no monsters around this town, but the monsters suddenly appeared to the unlucky Toya.

    ==========

    -Toya POV-

    I¡¯m dealing with two Big Boars. They charged at me from left to right, front to back, using their big bodies. It¡¯s a monotonous attack, but because they¡¯re big and fast, I¡¯m having a hard time getting the right timing.

    I wonder if Senia was able to escape. I hope she didn¡¯t run into any other Big Boar. Senia is strong, but it¡¯s very difficult to fight while protecting the three children even for her.

    Right now I want to take my time shing the red horns in front of me, but I also want to take them down quickly and go after Senia.

    I¡¯m trapped from front and back. I sidestepped one of the Big Boar¡¯s lunges. As I dodged further, another onees at me.

    Damn, they¡¯re so fast and big that I can¡¯t move to attack if I dodge too far. The best thing to do is to dodge and attack with the least amount of movement, but it doesn¡¯t work for me.

    When you¡¯re alone, you¡¯ll know how much you appreciate your party members even more. Using Mel¡¯s magic to draw attention andunch an attack. When Jade was fighting from the front, I attacked from the side and behind. Now that I think about it, I realize that I was attacking from naive ces. Or maybe they didn¡¯t let me y the role of attracting the monsters because they were worried about my abilities.

    Stop kidding me! I¡¯ll be strong!

    I¡¯ll make Jade let me take care of the front.

    So what do I do to beat two Big Boars?

    The Big Boar once again gathered magic power in its horn and it turned red. Then it lunged at me. I minimally dodged and was about to swing my Mithril sword down at the horn when I saw another oneing from a small blind spot. I quickly twisted my body to dodge it, but the Big Boar¡¯s body threw me off. I felt an intense pain in my body. So much shock just from a mere scratch.

    Damn it, I can handle one of them, but not two!

    As I try to sit up, I heard somethinging from behind, cutting through the grass.

    There¡¯s still more?!

    It didn¡¯t go to Senia at least. So I still think it¡¯s better.

    Come if you will!

    Two boars, three boars, it¡¯s all the same!

    What appeared was a girl dressed as a bear riding a ck bear.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I lied about finishing Toya¡¯s chapter in two episodes.

    I¡¯ll make an excuse that I wasn¡¯t nning to include Yuna¡¯s point of view.

    The Big Boar should be a wild boar with horns and about the size of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in normal form.

    #

 Chapter 415 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 3

    <h4>Chapter 415 Toya, Do Your Best. Part 3</h4>

    -Toya POV-

    What appeared was Bear Missy riding on her ck bear.

    [Why are you here?] Toya

    [Senia-san told me you were here, so I came to help.] Yuna

    [Where¡¯s Senia?] Toya

    [She went back to the city with the others and being escorted by Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    I feel relieved to hear that.

    She went back to the city safe and sound. That¡¯s why Bear Missy came to check on me.

    [So, do you need any help?] Yuna

    Missy looks at the Big Boars.

    The Big Boars turned to Missy and grunted menacingly.

    [I feel like they want to fight me.] Yuna

    No, not to you, but to the bear that you are riding.

    Missy tries to move.

    [Missy, can you wait for a minute? Let me take care of these guys.] Toya

    [Both of them?] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Toya

    I moved and attacked from behind one of the Big Boars, who¡¯s snarling at the girl. I thrust my sword into Big Boar¡¯s body. The flesh was thick. I pushed the sword in as hard as I can. The Big Boar started to il. I pulled out my sword and swung it down at Big Boar¡¯s body.

    It may not be fair, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t take down both of them head-on at the same time. It¡¯s the Big Boar¡¯s fault for getting distracted by me. This is a fight for life and death. I¡¯m not strong enough, nor am I kind enough, to show mercy to my opponent.

    The Big Boar¡¯srge body copsed after being shed by the sword.

    There¡¯s only one left.

    I looked at her with an expression saying, <Leave the rest to me>. Missy has a look of disappointment.

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Toya

    [I just thought that if you were going to beat it normally, you would go and cut the red horns.] Yuna

    Don¡¯t ask me to cut the horn as if it¡¯s so easy. If Missy had easily cut the red horn in front of her, I may not be able to recover mentally. I would definitely judge, <Oh, I¡¯m no match for a genius>. That¡¯s how different you and I are.

    Jade, Mel, and Senia are all excellent adventurers. I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s ordinary. I must have a strong heart.

    [Sorry, sorry about that, don¡¯t feel so bad Missy, but I¡¯m going to take down that Big Boar over there, too.] Toya

    I turn my gaze to the remaining Big Boar. The Big Boar snarled at me, probably because its friend was killed, and its red horns turned even redder. I need to have at least one more experience right now. And if it¡¯s just one, it can be my practice partner. So I can¡¯t give it up to you, Missy.

    But then, something unexpectedes out of Missy¡¯s mouth.

    [I¡¯m going to go kill the other Big Boras. I¡¯m going to leave Swaying Bear with you, so if anything happens, please call for help. And Swaying Bear, if Toya is in danger, please help him.] Yuna

    Wait a minute. What did you just say, Missy?

    I turned my gaze from the Big Boar to Bear Missy.

    [Hey! What do you mean, by <other>?] Toya

    Are you still there?

    [I don¡¯t think this is the time to be talking to me. If you don¡¯t look at them, they¡¯lle at you from behind like the Big Boar you just beat.] Yuna

    I quickly turn my attention back to the Big Boar at her words, and the Big Boar is running towards me.

    I dodged it at thest second.

    The next time I looked at Missy, all I saw was the ck bear.

    What the hell? There¡¯s still more? And you¡¯re saying you¡¯re going to beat them so easily when people around you were struggling?

    But thanks to you, Missy, I have a one-on-one match. Besides, I feel safer when I think of the bear left by Bear Missy. I can¡¯t call myself a man if I can¡¯t sh a red horn under such circumstances.

    The Big Boar lunged at me. I pulled myself to the edge, dodged to the side, and swung my Mithril sword at the magic-filled red horn, but the sword keeps bouncing back every time. It was hard. The horn is redder than before.

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Don¡¯t sound so worried. It¡¯s just a training partner your master gave me. It¡¯s not your turn yet. Just stay there and watch over me.

    I look at the bear, who looked mildly concerned, and smiled.

    I remember when I shed the sword, I shed it several times, even by chance.

    I remember the feeling.

    I repeatedly dodged the Big Boar¡¯s thrusts and timed them well.

    I tried to dodge Big Boar¡¯s attack in thest second, but Big Boar¡¯s body moved slightly in the direction I dodged.

    It¡¯s unavoidable.

    My body bounced multiple times. Oh no. Unlike before, the impact was too strong. I fall to the ground. I try to get up quickly, but the pain is so intense that I can¡¯t get up right away.

    Come on, get up or you¡¯ll get crushed by that.

    I put strength into my arms and legs.

    Get up!

    Dodge!

    Imanded my body.

    I put all my strength into my body and stood up. As I look the Big Boar rushing towards me, I knew I can¡¯t avoid that. And while I¡¯m thinking of that, a ck object hits Big Boar.

    The bear that Missy left me hit the Big Boar from the side. He saved me. The Big Boar was hit by the ck bear and fell over on its side. The ck bear cried <ku~u ~ n> and looked at me.

    [You saved me. Thank you.] Toya

    I thanked Missy¡¯s bear.

    I didn¡¯t think that he would really help me when I was in a pinch. It feels strange to think that a bear was watching over me, but it indeed saved my life.

    I feel frustrated at myck of ability. Why am I so weak?

    It¡¯s impossible for me to cut the horn of a moving Big Boar right now. But what if I cut the horn of a fallen Big Boar?

    I forced myself to move my body, which was in agonizing pain and approached the fallen Big Boar. The Big Boar tried to get up, but it¡¯s too sluggish due to itsrge size. I stepped forward forcefully, put strength into my hands, pictured the sword line in my mind, and swung the Mithril sword down at the red horn.

    The horn was shed, but I kept going, cutting all the way to the back, and plunging my sword deep into the Big Boar¡¯s neck.

    The Big Boar stopped moving.

    ......It¡¯s over.

    I picked up the red horn.

    ......It was cleanly cut. It made meugh. It was the best sh I¡¯ve ever done. But I can¡¯t do it while moving, so it¡¯s no wonder I¡¯m considered a half-wit. I need to work harder.

    I turn my gaze to Bear Missy¡¯s bear who was watching over me.

    [Swaying Bear, right? Thanks.] Toya

    When I thanked it, it cried a happy, <ku~u ~ n>.

    Damn it, it sounds so cute, I can see why Senia and Mel love it so much.

    I pat it on the head and thanked it. What is this? This softness. It feels good.

    No one¡¯s watching, right?

    I checked my surroundings. I buried my face in Swaying Bear¡¯s body, after making sure that no one is around.

    Oh, it feels so good. What is this fluffy feeling? My body is tired, so I feel even morefortable. If I fall asleep like this, I might feel good. I gave in to this temptation and closed my eyes.

    [Toya, what are you doing?] Senia

    I quickly opened my eyes and looked away from Swaying Bear. Then I looked in the direction of the voice. Senia was there, riding a white bear.

    [Why are you here, Senia?] Toya

    [I was worried, so I came to help you out. But then, I saw Toya hugging Swaying Bear.] Senia

    Senia looks at me and Swaying Bear alternately.

    [No, that¡¯s not it.] Toya

    When I move away from Swaying Bear, it sadly cries <ku~u ~ n>.

    [No, that¡¯s not it.] Toya

    I also told Swaying Bear that it¡¯s not it.

    [What¡¯s not it?] Senia

    <Ku~u ~ n>?

    I look at Senia and Swaying Bear alternately.

    [That¡¯s not it. ¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«!] Toya

    My cry echoed throughout the forest.

    Then the white bear that had brought Senia to me went to the Bear Missy¡¯s side. Senia asked it to bring her to me after all.

    Whether it¡¯s the ck bear Swaying Bear or the white bear Hugging Bear, they understand humannguage, they obey their master¡¯s orders, and they can detect if their master is in danger. It makes me wonder if they are really bears. The best part is howfortable they are to the touch. It¡¯s like being wrapped in the finest fur. I want to sleep wrapped in that fur.

    But it was not good that Senia saw me hugging Swaying Bear.

    [Senia, that was just a bear supporting me, I was badly hurt after all.] Toya

    I exin to Senia, who is tending to me, as an excuse.

    [You were hugging Swaying Bear happily.] Senia

    [It¡¯s just your imagination.] Toya

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    I feel like Swaying Bear is looking at me with a <Is that so?> face. It¡¯s bad because it can understand people¡¯s words. I can¡¯t even say hurtful words.

    Senia smiles. As she looks at my hand.

    [Did you cut the horn?] Senia

    I¡¯m holding the red horn of the Big Boar in my hand.

    [Yeah, but it¡¯s all thanks to Bear Missy and Swaying Bear.] Toya

    [Swaying Bear?] Senia

    When I said Swaying Bear¡®s name, she lunges at me.

    [That Bear Missy, she has two bears. So I was just making a distinction between them.] Toya

    [You usually just say a ck bear and a white bear, though.] Senia

    You remember all the details?

    [It¡¯s just your imagination.] Toya

    I looked at Swaying Bear.

    [Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go to your master? I¡¯m safe now.] Toya

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    It replied, but it doesn¡¯t move. I can¡¯t tell from its expression if it thinks it doesn¡¯t have to go because the white bear is on its way to its master, or if it¡¯s following its master¡¯s word and stayed by my side.

    [What happened to Yuna?] Senia

    [There are other Big Boars out there, so she went to take them down.] Toya

    [Then we have to go help her.] Yuna

    After Senia heard what I said, she stood up.

    Just then, I thought I heard a sound of rustling grass and trees, the Bear Missy appeared riding on a white bear.

    [Miss, you¡¯re safe.] Toya

    [Toya, are you all right?] Yuna

    She tilted her head while looking at me, who was being tended to by Senia.

    [Oh, thanks for the bear you left for me, Missy.] Toya

    When I looked at Swaying Bear, it happily ran up to its master, Bear Missy. She gets off the white bear and pets Swaying Bear on the head.

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear looked happy when it was praised by its master, Bear Missy.

    It was at that moment that I once again realized Swaying Bear had saved me, not because it was trying to save me on its own, but because it had been ordered to do so by its master, Bear Missy.

    Damn it, I¡¯m not gonna miss you Swaying Bear.

    [So what happened to the other Big Boars?] Senia

    [Yeah, there were three of them in the vicinity, so I took them out.] Yuna

    She said it as if she simply defeated some Wolf. Then, Missy took out the Big Boar from her bear-faced glove, and in her hand were three red horns.

    I had a hard time getting it, but she gets it so easily. She must have shed the horns of the moving Big Boars. I shed the one that Swaying Bear had knocked down.

    This is the difference between a genius and an ordinary person. It¡¯s difficult to close this gap.

    Before I can do that, I have to be able to stand next to Jade, Senia, and Mel. It¡¯s going to be a long road. I look at the single red horn in my hand. This is the first step.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    One more bear lover!

    Now Toya is also captivated by the bear.

    It seems that Toya was able to grow up with the help of Swaying Bear.

    #

 Chapter 416 Bear-san, Comes Back

    <h4>Chapter 416 Bear-san, Comes Back</h4>

    I noticed the reactions of a few Big Boars in the forest.

    I¡¯m worried about Toya, but it¡¯s not good if the Big Boars attacked anyone else. I really want to quickly take out the Big Boar in front of Toya and then go after the other Big Boars, but Toya told me that I don¡¯t need to do anything and he will take care of it.

    Even in games, it¡¯s rude to attack a monster that another yer is fighting. If they ask for help, I¡¯ll join in the fight, but if they refuse, then I won¡¯t attack it. However, I¡¯ve been asked by Senia-san to take care of Toya. If something happened to Toya, that would be a problem. Even though I want to keep an eye on him, I can¡¯t leave the other Big Boars alone.

    After thinking about it, I asked Swaying Bear to take care of Toya. Then Swaying Bear cried <ku~u ~ n> as if saying leave it to me. I left Toya in the hands of Swaying Bear and went off to defeat the other Big Boars by myself.

    Using my detection skills, I found a Big Boar and got in front of it. I could have attacked it from behind like Toya, but I was interested in the red horns. I stepped in front of the Big Boar and used light magic to provoke it. The Big Boar roared and its horn turned red. The magic builds up and it gets harder.

    I took out my bear knife from the bear box. I dodged to the side as the Big Boar rushed towards me, then swung the bear knife down at the red horn. The red horn got cut off and rolled to the ground. The Big Boar stopped and looked back as he ran past me. It let out an angry snarl from its mouth. It made a kicking gesture with its legs like a bull and rushed towards me. But it¡¯s not as powerful as before. I felt sorry for it, as I unleashed my magic to stop it. I can¡¯t leave a rampaging monster unattended.

    I picked up the red horn and went for the next Big Boar. After that, I went on to defeat the rest of the big boars in the same manner. Of course, I got their red horns. It¡¯s my motto to take what I can get.

    At first, I thought I could use it as a souvenir for Tirumina-san. But then I realized, I don¡¯t need to do that, do I?

    The Meat on the other hand would be more appreciated.

    I used my detection skills to confirm that there¡¯re no other Big Boars around and returned to Toya. There, I saw Senia-san, whom I thought I parted ways with, tending to Toya.

    [Oh, Missy, you¡¯re safe!] Toya

    [Toya, are you okay?] Yuna

    Looks like he got more injuries than when we split up.

    [Yeah, thanks to the bear you left for me, Missy.] Toya

    Swaying Bear came to me. He seemed to have done what I asked him to do. I pat Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    [So, what happened to the other Big Boars?] Toya

    [There were three of them lurking around, so I took them out.] Yuna

    I took out the Big Boars from the bear box and I also showed him the red horns of the Big Boars. Toya then looked at the red horn he was holding. It looks like Toya was able to get his hands on a red horn.

    [Were there only three of them?] Senia

    [At least, as far as I can tell.] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t take down anything outside of my detection skills, so I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s more.

    [Do bears know where the monsters are?] Toya

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    [I¡¯m not talking about you.] Toya

    As soon as Swaying Bear cried, Toya quickly denied it.

    [Now then, we¡¯d better report this to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.] Senia

    Normally, it seems that no monsters are roaming around near the city. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a yground for children, Senia-san told me. She also said that it¡¯s the role of the adventurers to report any monster sightings.

    How nostalgic, I have fond memories of Helen-san getting angry with me for not reporting on that adventurer¡¯s role.

    [Even so, you¡¯re still a wreck.] Senia

    Toya is being bandaged up by Senia-san.

    [Hey, I just made a little mistake and got blown away.] Toya

    [A little, you say?] Senia

    Senia-san poked at the bandaged area with her finger, and Toya squirmed in pain.

    [...A little, huh.] Yuna

    He¡¯s so skinny that everyone can see it. Senia-san said he¡¯s only bruised.

    [Your body is quite sturdy. How envious.] Senia

    Senia-san poked and prodded with her fingers over the bandage. Every time she did this, Toya clenched his teeth and tried to repress the pain. If it hurts, then why don¡¯t you just say it hurts without holding back?

    [Did you took the Big Boar down with Senia-san?] Yuna

    [I took it down by myself.] Toya

    <Ku~u ~ n?>

    [...With some help.] Toya

    When Swaying Bear cried, Toya immediately rephrased it.

    I wonder why?

    [I got a little help from your Bear.] Toya

    It seems that thanks to Swaying Bear, he was able to cut the red horn.

    [Toya, was hugging Swaying Bear.] Senia

    [Se, Senia !?] Toya

    [You were hugging Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m not giving you Swaying Bear.] Senia

    Senia-san hugs Swaying Bear.

    [No one¡¯s going to take it.] Toya

    Swaying Bear cried <Kuu-n> as if in trouble.

    [In the first ce, Swaying Bear is my Swaying Bear.] Yuna

    When I announced that, Swaying Bear cried happily and Hugging Bear cried sadly. When I said, <Of course, Hugging Bear is mine too>, Hugging Bear also became happy.

    Then, after Senia-san finished treating Toya, I got on Hugging Bear and Senia-san got on Swaying Bear as we return to town. I asked Toya if he wanted to ride too, since he was injured and all. But he got an annoyed face and said, <I¡¯m fine. I can walk by myself>.

    But while we were going to the city, he kept ncing at Senia-san.

    I wonder why?

    When we got back to the city, we saw Jade-san and Mel-san running towards us.

    [Toya, are you okay?] Jade

    [Why do you look so worried?] Toya

    [Because Fina-chan and Ruimin-chan told us about you.] Mel

    Apparently, they heard about it from Fina and Ruimin and rushed over to us.

    [I can handle a big boar.] Toya

    [And you got hurt from that.] Senia

    [Toya, are you all right?] Jade

    [I just got blown away, that¡¯s all. Besides, I had help from my Bear Missy¡¯s, Swaying Bear.] Toya

    [[Swaying Bear?]] Jade/Mel

    Jade-san and Mel-san tilted their heads to the side.

    Yes, it was certainly strange. Toya was calling out Swaying Bear¡¯s name.

    Everyone looks at Toya.

    [Missy¡¯s ck bear! Senia, let¡¯s go and report to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.] Toya

    As if to cover up something, Toya walks towards the adventurer¡¯s guild with Senia-san.

    They¡¯re going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to report about the Big Boars. I wondered if I needed to go with them. But Toya and Senia-san said that they would also report the Big Boars that I defeated on my behalf.

    Toya said, <No one would believe that a girl dressed as a bear, defeated a group of big boars by herself.>

    And Senia-san said, <On the contrary, it¡¯s troublesome to exin about Yuna.>

    I was told that they would handle it. It¡¯s nice and all not having to go and report it myself, but there¡¯s something sad about it.

    Iter heard that the area had been investigated by the adventurers. The cause was unknown, but Senia-san said that it might have been a herd looking for food.

    When I came back to the inn, I was greeted by Fina and Ruimin, who ran up to me as if they were relieved to see me.

    [I know Yuna-oneesan is strong, but I¡¯m still worried about you.] Fina

    [Even with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, fighting monsters is still dangerous.] Ruimin

    I guess I worried you both.

    I came back and decided to rest in my room. I told Fina and Ruimin that it was okay for them to go out, but they were ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form.

    While I was rxing in my room, somebody knocked at the door. When I opened the door, I found Toya holding a jar. It seems he had returned from reporting to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    [What is it?] Yuna

    You¡¯re not going to ask me to join you in taking down a Big Boar, are you?

    I think I¡¯ve checked the area around the city. Even if there are some of them left, we¡¯ll need to go far away from the city. It would be too troublesome for me so I wanted to refuse. But the words that came out of Toya¡¯s mouth were different.

    [It¡¯s honey. Give it to that bear. It¡¯s my thanks for today.] Toya

    Toya held out the jar in his hand to me.

    Apparently, he brought honey for Swaying Bear.

    [To Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    [And the white bear too. He¡¯s the one who brought Senia to me. And it would be a pity to have only one of them is eating this. Tell them they¡¯ve been a big help today.] Toya

    That¡¯s all Toya said. Then went back to his room.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, Toya said thank you.] Yuna

    I called out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, who were ying with Fina and Ruimin on the bed. As I approached the bed with a jar of honey, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came up to me.

    [What did Toya-san bring?] Fina

    [It¡¯s honey. It¡¯s like a thank you gift to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, do you want some?] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    They said they want to eat it, so I took out a spoon and put the honey in Swaying Bear¡¯s mouth.

    [Is it good?] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n!>

    It looks like it¡¯s delicious.

    Next, I scoop the honey with a spoon and carry it to the mouth of Hugging Bear.

    Hugging Bear also eats it deliciously.

    [Oh, Yuna-san, I want to do it too.] Ruimin

    [Me too.] Fina

    When Fina and Ruimin saw me giving honey to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they wanted to do the same.

    [Then we¡¯ll do it on the table so that you don¡¯t spill anything on the bed.] Yuna

    [[Yes!]]

    Fina took Swaying Bear and Ruimin took Hugging Bear and went to the table. I put the jar on the table, took out another spoon, and handed it to Fina and Ruimin.

    They hold Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in theirps and feed them honey as if they were feeding a chick.

    [It¡¯s soothing.] Fina

    [Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are cute.] Ruimin

    [Don¡¯t feed them too much.] Yuna

    Well, I think it¡¯ll be okay, but just be careful.

    When they finished eating, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s mouths were in serious trouble. I thought of returning them to the bear puppets, but instead, I decided to wash them in the bath to thank them for today.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Looks like Toya wants to ride Swaying Bear.

    In the WEB version, is this the first time we see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear eating together?

    #

 Chapter 417

    <h4>Chapter 417</h4>

    417 Bear-san, A Wild Bear (Horse) Appeared!

    The next day, Toya said he¡¯s going to go to cksmith Xelo-san¡¯s ce to challenge the test, so we decided to follow along with him.

    [You don¡¯t have toe with me.] Toya

    Toya, who was walking at the front, looked back.

    [I¡¯m bored.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m bored.] Mel

    [Bored.] Senia

    [I¡¯ll go wherever Yuna-oneesan goes.] Fina

    [Wherever Yuna-san goes...] Ruimin

    [I¡¯m the party leader, you know.] Jade

    Well, after all, we¡¯re all just spectators with time to kill. Besides, I¡¯m supposed to be leaving soon, so I want to soothe my worries.

    Toya let out a small sigh at our words and kept walking, seemingly giving up.

    Our group arrived at Xelo-san¡¯s cksmith shop early in the morning.

    [There you are.] Xelo

    [I¡¯m here to take the test.] Toya

    Toya has three chances to pass the test. If he can cut the iron sword made by Xelo-san¡¯s son with his mithril sword at least one out of the three chances, he will pass. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a sweet or a hard line to pass. If it were baseball, he must be a first-ss batter, but I don¡¯t know.

    [So, you think you can do it now?] Xelo

    [Take a look at this.] Toya

    Toya took out his sword that he shed and the red horn of a Big Boar.

    I¡¯ve heard that he can sessfully sh a sword once every few times. The question is how high is the sess rate.

    [There was a bit of a rumor going around about a group of Big Boars, was it you?] Xelo

    [Who knows...] Toya

    [Liar, it was Yuna who worked hard.] Senia

    Toya¡¯s words were immediately destroyed by Senia-san.

    [Hey, I did my best too. I killed two of them.] Toya

    [Yesterday, I heard him say he attacked it from behind while it was distracted by Yuna.] Senia

    [Well, that¡¯s...] Toya

    [Swaying Bear helped you with the other one.] Senia

    [U~u...] Toya

    [Yuna took out the rest of the Big Boars.] Senia

    [...But I indeed cut the red horn of the Big Boar.] Toya

    Toya sticks out the red horn of the Big Boar to Senia-san.

    [Yuna cut three.] Senia

    [U~u...] Toya

    Toya drops his shoulders at Senia-san¡¯s words.

    [Look, I don¡¯t have time for any of this. Are you going to do it or not?] Xelo

    [Of course, I¡¯m gonna do it.] Toya

    Toya begins to prepare...

    ......And the results of the test.

    [Wait a minute. Something is wrong.] Toya

    He failed the test three times in a row.

    [Let me try one more time, just one more time. Yeah, I¡¯m sure the de was chipped.] Toya

    [Life is a beautiful thing.] Mel

    [Toya. You took care of that yourself yesterday, didn¡¯t you?] Jade

    Jade-san, who¡¯s Toya¡¯s roommate, ascertained.

    [Old man Xelo, please. Give him one more chance.] Jade

    Toya sped his hands together and asked Xelo-san for a chance.

    [All right. One time only.] Xelo

    Xelo-san agreed as if he had no choice.

    And the result is a fail for the fourth time as well.

    Then Toya redoes many times. And on the tenth time he seeded, so he was able to pass the test.

    You¡¯re epting this?

    The sess rate is somewhere around: 30% per 3 minutes and 10% per 3 minutes. Even in a baseball game, there is a heaven and earth difference between a 10% batter and a 30% batter. 10% will never make it to the first-ss team.*

    [I¡¯ll give you a pass for that Big Boar¡¯s red horn. Jade, take good care of this guy.] Xelo

    [Yeah, understood.] Jade

    Apparently, Toya got spared by the Big Boar¡¯s red horns and Jade-san¡¯s presence.

    Then, Xelo-san called out to Jade-san again.

    [Jade, are you physically conditioned? If you¡¯re ready, we¡¯re going to the Gate of Trials. I have to make a sword for him afterwards, so I want to finish early. You guys won¡¯t be in the city for too long after all.] Xelo

    Oh right,e to think of it, they were asked by a merchant in the royal capital toe here to buy something.

    [It¡¯s okay, we still have some time. We¡¯re going to work here at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild until the sword is ready.] Jade

    [Still, the sooner the better.] Xelo

    It seems that they are now going to challenge the Gate of Trials, so we decide to follow along with them. Well, I¡¯m curious to see if the trials are going well.

    And so, here we are at the infamous long flight of stairs.

    [Spare me from this long staircase.] Mel

    [Yeah, whoever built the Gate of Trials on top of this is an idiot.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-san looked up the stairs exasperated.

    Well, it seems there were some problems with the terrain and all, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Though I agree that it¡¯s a hassle.

    [You can rest at the inn, Toya. I know you¡¯re still in pain.] Mel

    [It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not that badly hurt. Why do you have to worry about me? I¡¯ve passed the test after all.] Toya

    [Because somebody exaggerated a bonus round, you extra.**] Senia

    Apparently, if Toya passed Xelo-san¡¯s test, Jade-san told Xelo-san that he will take the trials.

    [What kind of selfish promises are you making?] Toya

    [Sorry. I was just hoping Toya would pass the test.] Jade

    [Well, if Toya could make ten out of ten, I¡¯d even bow down myself.] Mel

    If he¡¯s that good, that is.

    [But it¡¯s just one.] Senia

    [Don¡¯t say just one. Sess is a sess.] Toya

    [But when you¡¯re fighting a monster, you don¡¯t get ten chances. It¡¯ll take you down before that happens.] Mel

    [And if we have that kind of chance, then so do they.] Senia

    It¡¯s not a turn-based game, so it¡¯s hard to say. But if you¡¯re equal in power, you¡¯re not the only one who has a chance. If you are a lower-ranked yer, it might be your turn every time. If you are equal in strength, or if your opponent is better, your opponent has more chances to attack you. More chances mean more danger.

    So when you have a chance to attack, you have to take it as soon as possible. If you don¡¯t take your chances quick enough, you put not only yourself but also your friends in danger.

    We climbed up a long flight of stairs and came to a building, housing the Gate of trials.

    Adventurers and cksmiths are crowding the ce. It seems that the second day has arrived without incident. With this, I should no longer be responsible.

    But I still have to say. I can¡¯t watch the trials, so I¡¯m only one of the crowd.

    Well, it seems they don¡¯t like to climb long stairs, do they? If I didn¡¯t have my bear equipment, I definitely would not want to climb it either. In the first ce, my physical strength would not allow me to climb without my bear equipment. I wish they would install esctors, elevators, or cable cars.

    [I¡¯m off then.] Jade

    [Don¡¯te back anytime soon.] Toya

    At Toya¡¯s words, Jade-san replied, <Yeah> and walked into the building with Xelo-san.

    [Yeah, I wish I could have tried it too.] Toya

    [If we look for an apprentice cksmith, would you do it?] Mel

    Well, Toya is also a C-ranked adventurer, after all.

    [I can¡¯t do that.] Toya

    [You don¡¯t want to use a weapon made by an apprentice cksmith?] Mel

    [If I use it, I will exert more power than the sword is capable of. That wouldn¡¯t be good for the apprentice cksmith.] Toya

    [............]

    Where do youe up with such bullsh*t?

    But that¡¯s just like him. Perhaps this undaunted attitude is one of Toya¡¯s strong points.

    While I¡¯m listening to Toya and the others having a silly conversation, Jade-sanes back.

    [Jade, how did it go?] Mel

    [......Oh, well, I, I mean, what the hell? In its own way.] Jade

    He was stuttering. Maybe it didn¡¯t go well?

    And when Jade-san came to me, he put his hand on my head for some reason.

    What?

    [How¡¯d it go, old man Xelo?] Toya

    [Hmm, this year¡¯s trial was different than usual. Guildmaster was holding his head every time an opponent came out.] Xelo

    Since they couldn¡¯t talk about the contents, they answered vaguely.

    I wonder what happened. I¡¯m really curious about it.

    -Jade¡¯s POV-

    Xelo-san and I went through the gate of trial with Gilmas and went down the stairs. I had challenged the Gate of Trials only once before. Nothing has changed since then.

    As we descend the stairs, we can see a magic circle at the center, and by thrusting my weapon into it, the trial begins.

    When I stabbed Xelo-san¡¯s sword into the magic circle, the magic circle glowed and the soil in front of it rose up. And what appeared was a figure of arge bear. The bear was sitting down and it looks like it won¡¯t resist.

    [............]

    Why a bear though?

    Xelo-san is expressionless and Guildmaster is letting out a deep sigh.

    Do I have to y this bear that¡¯s sitting there and not resisting?

    It¡¯s just a lump of dirt, I know, a statue hardened by magic. This is a trial, one that tests the sharpness of the sword and the skill of the wielder.

    I approached the bear statue and put all my strength into the handle of the sword that I¡¯m gripping. Then, I swung my sword down at the bear statue, which was hardened by magic power. The bear¡¯s body was shed diagonally from the right shoulder.

    The bear statue crumbled and the first trial was over.

    I feel a tremendous sense of guilt. I feel like I¡¯ve cut something that I shouldn¡¯t have. I keep telling myself that this is a trial.

    Then the next trial begins...

    For the second trial, many small bears appeared. I know it¡¯s a test to see if you can urately sh a moving object, but...

    My mind is in turmoil. I may or may not be able to cut these bears. Thest time I did this, it was wolves. But why is it bears now?!

    I¡¯m out of breath from cutting down all the bear cubs.

    It feels like I¡¯ve be the bad guy. It¡¯s like I¡¯m being forced to do something bad myself, and even though I know it¡¯s not wrong, I feel guilty for doing it. Such a feeling shakes me to the core.

    This may be one of the trials, but it¡¯s the worst one. And I don¡¯t want to do it again if I can help it.

    The third trial is a big bear. I feel as if I¡¯m facing Yuna¡¯s bear. I try to calm myself down. Why does it have to be this way? Maybe it¡¯s reading my mind and pitting me against her bears.

    If a violent wild bear appears, will I be able to y it? I¡¯ll have to harden my heart to fight the bear.

    I¡¯m mentally exhausted and the tip of my sword got dull, but somehow I manage toplete the third trial.

    I silently wished in my heart. Please, don¡¯t let it be another bear.

    I thought my wish was granted, but it was rejected.

    The opponent in the fourth trial was a girl dressed as a bear. That¡¯s definitely Yuna dressed as a bear. What? Why would Yuna show up here?

    Maybe it was created by the jealousy I had for Yuna in my heart. I lowered my sword and announced to Xelo-san that I am aborting the trial. Xelo-san replied with a single word, <Understood>. I stabbed my sword into the magic circle. Then the trial is now over.

    [Xelo¡¯s adventurer. Do you know the girl dressed as a bear?] Guildmaster

    As I sheathe my sword, Guildmaster spoke to me.

    [Yeah, I know her.] Jade

    From the way Guildmaster was talking, it seemed that Guildmaster knew about Yuna.

    [Is that why you quit?] Guildmaster

    [That¡¯s part of it, but maybe I was simply afraid to fight her, even though I know that one just now was fake. She¡¯s strong. If I fought her for real and lost, I¡¯d be depressed.] Jade

    [You¡¯re a rank C, aren¡¯t you? From your point of view, is that girl that strong?] Guildmaster

    [She¡¯s strong. I didn¡¯t get a clear look at her weaponry, but I can see that she¡¯s familiar with it. She is also highly skilled in magic. Above all, she has a strong heart. It¡¯s scary for even big men to fight some kinds of monsters, yet she fights those alone without a care in the world. She seems to be a fierce fighter who¡¯s used to it.] Jade

    By herself. I don¡¯t know how she go and fought the ck Viper by herself. Moreover, she defeated the Big Sandworm without breaking a sweat. She even defeated a Big Scorpion. If I were alone, I¡¯d run away. I don¡¯t want to fight those things. I¡¯m able to fight those now because I have friends. Since when I¡¯m fighting, my friends are there to back me up. Friends who call out to me when they¡¯re in danger. I can fight strong monsters because I have such reliable friends. But Yuna is strong enough to fight by herself.

    But by simply judging her from that bear outfit of hers, nobody will imagine she¡¯s strong.

    Thenes the iron, the prize of the trials. It was a small bear figurine.

    The fact that Guildmaster knows about Yuna means that Yuna is definitely involved in the Gate of Trials. But I¡¯m afraid to ask how Yuna got involved, so I¡¯ll keep quiet about it.

    I picked up the iron bear. Then the room dims.

    [I guess this year¡¯s trials is over.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster looked somewhat relieved.

    [Isn¡¯t it too early this year?] Xelo

    [There have been times in the past when it¡¯s only one day. It happened some years ago. Come on, let¡¯s go back upstairs.] Guildmaster

    Guildmaster pats us on the back.

    When Guildmaster returned and reported that the trials this year were over, the next cksmith who was waiting for his turn looked frustrated.

    I guess no one thought it would end on the second day. It seems they were expecting that it would be up for at least three to four days.

    Xelo-san and I go outside the building. When we got to the ce where everyone was waiting, I saw Yuna looking at me. I kind of reflexively put my hand on top of her head.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Toya¡¯s test was sessfullypleted.

    It was Jade-san who challenged the Gate of Trials. I thought about Toya participating, but it would be a pity to harass him too much, so I asked Jade-san to do his best. Even so, Jade-san is in agony as he fights the bears.

    Now, all that¡¯s left is to go back home.

    Next time, I may bete posting for a day or two. I will use the time to work on the book.

    #

 Chapter 418 - Bear-san, Got Asked By Rikka-san

    <h4>Chapter 418 - Bear-san, Got Asked By Rikka-san</h4>

    418 Bear-san, Got Asked By Rikka-san

    Afterpleting the trials, Jade-san said he was going to search for some Big Boars, so we parted ways. Apparently, the adventurer¡¯s guild has asked him to search the area around the city. I¡¯ve already defeated the Big Boars that were within my detection skills yesterday. There¡¯s a possibility that a new Big Boar group has wandered in the vicinity of the city. But even if a new Big Boar group appears, the four of them will be fine.

    So I took Fina and Ruimin to Rojina-san¡¯s cksmith shop.

    [Once you get what you asked for from Rojina-san, you¡¯ll leave, right?] Shuri

    [Yeah, we¡¯ve been here for quite a while, we should probably head back soon.] Fina

    Fina is using the bear phone to talk to Shuri so that Shuri and Tirumina-san don¡¯t have to worry about her. However, It feels like I¡¯m connected to Shuri and Fina while they¡¯re speaking to each other. It¡¯s a bit of a hassle, but if I don¡¯t do it this way, the Bearphone won¡¯t work, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Ruimin wanted to use it, but since Ruimin was the only one in the elven vige with a Bearphone, she couldn¡¯t contact me since I¡¯m with her.

    When we entered the store, we were greeted by Rikka-san, who was working as a storekeeper.

    [Wee, everyone.] Rikka

    [Where¡¯s Rojina-san? I was told that everything we asked for will be ready today.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s ready. It¡¯s in the backroom,e on in.] Rikka

    We followed Rikka-san to the backroom. When we entered the backroom, we found pots, pans, and other cooking utensils stacked on top of each other, as we had ordered them.

    [These are for Yuna-chan, these are for Fina-chan, and the one with the most item is what Ruimin-chan asked for. Can you check them for me?] Rikka

    The one who has the least item is Fina, mine is a little bit more, and the one with a lot of items is Ruimin.

    Fina ordered items for the store and her home. I bought a lot of things as spare utensils for the bear houses. I also ordered some big pots and pans that I don¡¯t n to use. Ruimin got the most because her neighbors asked for them.

    [Fina. Let me know when you¡¯re done checking and I¡¯ll put it in my bear bag.] Yuna

    [Ok.] Fina

    Fina checks the items while looking at her notes. Ruimin is checking her items while looking at many notes. I also check briefly. Pots, pans, and other cooking utensils...... That¡¯s probably everything I ordered. I don¡¯t remember, because I ordered it randomly. I¡¯m not going to be using it anytime soon anyway, so that¡¯s not a problem.

    [I¡¯m good.] Fina

    [I¡¯m also good.] Yuna

    [Ah, wait, give me a minute.] Ruimin

    Fina and I finished checking our items, but Ruimin haven¡¯t finished yet because there were too many.

    [It¡¯s okay, take your time. Then, Yuna-chan and Fina-chan, please confirm the payment and sign here if you¡¯re okay with the items.] Rikka

    Fina and I checked the receipt for payment and signed it.

    [Do you have enough money, Fina? If not, I¡¯ll pay for it.] Yuna

    It¡¯s for store use. So there¡¯s no problem if I pay for it.

    [It¡¯s okay. I have the money from mom.] Fina

    Fina takes out money from her item bag. I also took out some money and put the cooking tools in the bear box.

    [I¡¯m done with my checks. It was fine.] Ruimin

    Ruimin, holding many notes, finished checking her items. Then she checked the price and paid.

    [Ruimin, are you okay with the money?] Yuna

    Because the quantity of her item was thergest, the money she had to pay would be also huge.

    [Yes, everyone has prepared more money than they should have. And I even got a discount, so I¡¯m fine.] Ruimin

    [Rikka-san, are you sure about giving a discount?] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t worry. We calcte the cost of materials properly, so we still make a small profit. Though, it¡¯s not enough to buy alcohol for my father.] Rikka

    Rikka-san dered with a smile. Wouldn¡¯t that be a matter of life and death for the dwarves though?

    Dwarves have an image of drinking a lot of alcohol. I muttered to Rosina in my mind, <I¡¯m sorry for your loss>.

    After we had paid and put our cooking tools in the bear bag, the door opened and Rojina-san came in.

    [Oh hey, girls, you¡¯re here?] Rojina

    Rojina-san called to us while yawning.

    [Everyone, listen to me! After my Dad finished making what everyone ordered, he suddenly started hammering a sword!] Rikka

    [Well, when I saw Ghazal and Gordo¡¯s knives and witnessed Missy¡¯s fight, I just felt wanting to hammer one.] Rojina

    [So you¡¯re going back to being a weaponsmith then?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s not going to be easy getting back to my prime. But I¡¯ve decided to be patient as I hit the pots and pans. Then, I¡¯m going to make a weapon that can beat Ghazal and Gordo¡¯s masterpiece.] Rojina

    [Dad.] Rikka

    Rikka-san looks happy.

    [You girls are going back to the Royal Capital, right?] Rojina

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    We¡¯re not really going back to the royal capital though.

    I¡¯m nning to use the bear gate in the house I bought in the city to get to the elven forest, send Ruimin back, and then go straight back to Crimonia.

    But Rojina-san, who doesn¡¯t know that, thinks we¡¯re going to the royal capital.

    [Well then, Missy, I have a little favor to ask you.] Rojina

    Rojina-san nced at Rikka-san for a moment, and then he looked at me.

    [What?] Yuna

    [Can you take Rikka to Ghazal?] Rojina

    [Dad!] Rikka

    Rikka-san shouted at Rojina-san¡¯s words.

    [You can¡¯t dwell on Ghazal¡¯s disappearance forever. I know you like Ghazal. Go and see him already.] Rojina

    [......] Rikka

    [I¡¯ll take care of the store. Besides, if you get rejected, juste back home.] Rojina

    [Dad. But what about Mom?] Rikka

    [I¡¯ve already given my permission.] Wy

    Wyes out from behind Rojina-san.

    [Go ahead, Rikka. The store will be fine with just the two of us, and if we need more people, we can just hire some.] Wy

    [But...] Rikka

    [Besides, you¡¯re already an adult. So do what you want. Yuna-chan, who is Ghazal¡¯s acquaintance, is here for a reason.] Wy

    [Moreover, she¡¯s stronger than most adventurers, so I can leave you in good hands. And since you¡¯re all girls, you¡¯ll feelfortable during travel.] Rojina

    Well, if it¡¯s a mixed party like Jade-san¡¯s group. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll feel safe leaving their precious daughter in the hands of male adventurers.

    [But, even if you say something like that out of the blue. Yuna-chan will be troubled, right?] Rikka

    The only problem is that I can¡¯t use the bear gate. But Rojina-san has been a great help to me, and he¡¯s a mentor to Ghazal-san and Gordo-san. I don¡¯t want to refuse him.

    [I don¡¯t mind. But what will you do if Rikka-san got rejected?] Yuna

    I understand how you feel, Rikka-san. But I don¡¯t know how Ghazal feels. Maybe there is a woman that he is dating that I don¡¯t know about. If Rikka-san were to be rejected, that would be the worst thing that could happen to her. I have never been in love before, so I can¡¯tfort her.

    [Yuna-chan! Why do you say that?] Rikka

    Rikka-san pped my body. It doesn¡¯t hurt, but I¡¯m the one who¡¯d be in trouble if it came to that. I¡¯ve neverforted a woman who¡¯s been rejected by a man. I can¡¯t ask Fina to do that either, can I?

    I nced at Fina. She¡¯s only ten years old. You¡¯ve never been in love before, have you?

    [Well, it might be a hassle then, but please bring her back safely. I¡¯ll make sure to pay you for the escort.] Rojina

    I don¡¯t want to just imagineing back with a depressed Rikka-san. If that happens, it might be a good idea to use the bear gate to bring her back quickly.

    [U~u, why are you talking about me getting dumped? I thought you were going to send your daughter away?] Rikka

    [I know that Ghazal cared about Rikka. But I also know that he saw her as a sister.] Rojina

    [U~u] Rikka

    [I¡¯m sure he still cares about you. I have no doubt that he still cherishes you. Now it¡¯s all up to you, Rikka.] Rojina

    [Dad.......] Rikka

    [Now go.] Rojina

    [Dad, Mom, are you sure about this?] Rikka

    [Have a nice trip.] Wy

    [Go before I change my mind.] Rojina

    [Thank you.] Rikka

    Rikka hugged her parents.

    [Go on, you don¡¯t have to work today, just go get ready.] Wy

    [Yes!] Rikka

    Rikka-san left the room.

    [Missy, I¡¯m sorry about this, but please take care of my daughter.] Rojina

    Rojina-san bows his head deeply.

    [Also, if Ghazal dumps Rikka, please hit him for me.] Rojina

    [In that case, could you also give my share as well.] Wy

    Rojina-san and Wy-san asked me to give two servings of knuckle sandwiches to Ghazal-san. But if I hit him as hard as I could, I¡¯d be in big trouble, wouldn¡¯t I?

    Then we helped Rikka get ready.

    [U~u, that¡¯s a lot of stuff to take with me. But it will cost a lot of money to buy it in the capital. But if Ghazal has a girlfriend, it will be useless.] Rikka

    [I¡¯ll carry your luggage in my item bag, so you won¡¯t have to worry about being rejected by Ghazal-san.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan, please tell me it¡¯s going to be okay because I won¡¯t be rejected there.] Rikka

    I don¡¯t know how Ghazal-san feels about you, so I can¡¯t say that.

    Rikka-san prepares her luggage, mainly clothes. I put them in the bear box.

    [Are you sure you don¡¯t want to tell anyone you know that you¡¯re going to the royal capital? If you want, we can dy our departure a little longer.] Yuna

    [But then, if Ghazal rejects you, it will be difficult for you to return. So send me a letter if you decide to stay in the royal capital.] Rojina

    That¡¯s true. If I said I was going to a guy in the royal capital and came back rejected, I¡¯d be too embarrassed toe back to my home city.

    Then, after Rikka-san finished preparing for her departure, she invited us to dinner, but I refrained because she might not be able to have dinner with just her family for a while.

    I promised Rikka-san that I would meet her at the inn tomorrow morning and we parted ways.

    By the way, I politely declined the offer of an escort fee.

    The reason for this is that I was given an iron bear. Normally, the iron thates out of the Gate of Trials belongs to the cksmith. But it was given to me, I¡¯m getting too much.

    Therefore, the escort fee is no longer required.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    All that was left was to go home.

    The Dwarf Arc ising to an end.

    #

 Chapter 419 - Bear-san, Returns to the Elf Village

    <h4>Chapter 419 - Bear-san, Returns to the Elf Vige</h4>

    419 Bear-san, Returns to the Elf Vige

    The next day, Rikka-sanes to the inn early in the morning. Her luggage is already in my bear box, so she¡¯s dressed lightly, carrying only a small bag.

    [Rikka-san, you¡¯re early.] Yuna

    [My dad kept saying, <If you get rejected,e back,> and <once you got rejected, I¡¯ll find you a good man.>] Rikka

    [You know, they¡¯re just worried about you, Rikka-san.] Yuna

    [I thought they were cool yesterday.] Rikka

    Well, I guess they already missed her just the very next day. That¡¯s how much they love her. Some parents and children don¡¯t talk to each other, just like anywhere else. Considering that, I guess her family rtionship is a good thing.

    When Rikka-san arrived, we prepared to leave.

    [You guys didn¡¯t forget anything, did you?] Yuna

    [Yes.] Fina

    [I¡¯m good.] Ruimin

    We left the room where we had been staying for a week and went downstairs to see Jade-san and his friends.

    Looks like they¡¯re going to see us off.

    Jade-san and his friends will stay in the city for a while because of Toya¡¯s sword.

    [Thank you for your help, Missy. Give my regards to the bears.] Toya

    [The honey was so good.] Yuna

    [I see.] Toya

    Toya looked a little pleased.

    [U~u, I wanted to ride Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan too.] Mel

    [Fufu, I got to ride one. It was very soft.] Senia

    Senia-san looked triumphant at Mel-san¡¯s words.

    [But I didn¡¯t know Rojina-san had such a lovely daughter.] Mel

    [And she¡¯s Ghazal-san¡¯s girlfriend.] Jade

    Rikka-san looks a little embarrassed when she¡¯s called a girlfriend, but she doesn¡¯t deny it.

    [So you all know Ghazal too.] Rikka

    [He¡¯s a pretty famous cksmith in the royal capital. A lot of adventurers know him.] Jade

    It seems that Ghazal-san being praised makes Rikka-san happy.

    [If you¡¯re going to the royal capital, Rikka-san, we can meet there.] Jade

    [Well, okay. I¡¯ll look forward to it when that timees.] Rikka

    Well, that is if Rikka-san decides to live in the royal capital. There is also the case of returning dejectedly to this city.

    [U~u, but Yuna-chan, you¡¯re going home first.] Mel

    [I want to ride Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan again.] Senia

    Mel-san and Senia-san looked disappointed.

    Unfortunately, even if they went home with us together, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would be over capacity. There is no space for Mel-san and Senia-san to ride.

    [Oh right, we can leave Toya behind and go back with Yuna.] Senia

    [That¡¯s it!] Mel

    [That¡¯s it! My ass!] Toya

    Toya reacted to Senia-san and Mel-san¡¯s words.

    [Mel, Senia, hold that thought. Yuna, you took care of Toya¡¯s matter this time. Once we go back to Crimonia next time...] Yuna

    [Yeah, at that time, I¡¯ll eat as much as I can.] Yuna

    We parted ways with Jade-san and the others and left the city.

    [Etto, are we really going on a bear ride?] Rikka

    [That¡¯s right. Carriages are slow after all.] Yuna

    There¡¯s also a way to get home via a bear bus, but it uses magic power and more importantly, I have to drive it, which is a hassle. However, if you are riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they will run even if you fell asleep.

    When we got some distance away from the city, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Summoning is really strange, isn¡¯t it? To simply appear out of thin air...] Rikka

    [Etto, for starters, Fina and I will be riding on Swaying Bear, then Ruimin and Rikka will ride on Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [For starters?] Rikka

    Rikka-san tilted her head at my words.

    [We¡¯ll switch bears on the way. If we don¡¯t, Hugging Bear will get moody.] Yuna

    [Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan loves Yuna-oneesan so much that if she keeps riding only one of them, the other one will get sad.] Fina

    Fina added to my words.

    [A sad bear. It¡¯s kinda...... cute.] Rikka

    Rikka-san approached Hugging Bear.

    [I know I¡¯m not Yuna-chan, but please.] Rikka

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear replied and sat down, making it easier for Rikka-san to get on.

    [Thank you.] Rikka

    [Ah, me too.] Ruimin

    Rikka-san got on Hugging Bear and Ruimin rode behind her. Fina and I also got on Swaying Bear and set off. Our goal is to get to the elf vige and Ruimin¡¯s house.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are carrying us, started running.

    [Rikka-san, we¡¯re going to speed things up, but if you get scared, just let me know.] Yuna

    [Yeah, okay.] Rikka

    We increased the speed, but Rikka-san held on tightly to his Hugging Bear to prevent her from falling.

    [You don¡¯t need to hold that tight. You won¡¯t fall off even if you ride casually.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Rikka

    Rikka-san rxes her grip and casually rides Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are carrying us, ran along the road, crossed the grasnd, and entered the forest. We made our way through the forest without getting lost.

    [Yuna-chan. Howe they can run through the forest without getting lost?] Rikka

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear remembered the way.] Yuna

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear remembered the route they took once. Therefore, they can take you to your destination without giving them any instructions nor directions.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran without hesitation, even though they were going slowly by vague memories of Ruimin when we first left the elven vige.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are carrying us, crossed a bridge deep in the mountains. This is the bridge I built when we were on our way to the dwarven city.

    [Mou. We¡¯re already got this far back.] Ruimin

    The speed is different between going to and returning from. Besides, if you already know where you¡¯re going, you¡¯ll go faster.

    The journey should take a night or two, but with this speed, we will be near the elven vige by nightfall. However, it is dark in the forest. We can use the bear¡¯s light to continue, but I don¡¯t want to force ourselves to reach the elf vige today. If we arrived at the vige in the middle of the night, it would be troublesome.

    [Well then, let¡¯s camp around here today and go to the vige in the morning.] Yuna

    [We¡¯re almost there though.] Ruimin

    [We would be a nuisance if we arrive at midnight. So we¡¯d better go to the vige in the morning.] Yuna

    [If it¡¯s mom and dad, it¡¯s fine.] Ruimin

    [I don¡¯t want to do it. Ruimin, do you want to go alone?] Yuna

    If she walked alone, she would be walking alone in the dark forest. And without Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, there was a risk of getting lost. Even if you know the way, you still can get lost in the dark.

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re so mean.] Rikka

    Even if she say that, I¡¯m not brazen enough to go to someone¡¯s house in the middle of the night. If I go there, I¡¯ll have to rent a ce to sleep. Even if I don¡¯t rent a room, I can use the bear house, but it¡¯s no different from camping here in the wild. If I¡¯m going to go through all the trouble, it¡¯s better to stay here for the night. Above all, we can sleep morefortably in the bear house.

    [U~u, I get it.] Ruimin

    [So we¡¯ll be camping out here then?] Rikka

    Rikka-san looks around.

    We are in the forest. It was dimly lit by the moonlight and there¡¯s a chance the monsters might approach us.

    [Isn¡¯t it dangerous?] Rikka

    [I¡¯m taking out the house. It¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    [The house?] Rikka

    I looked around, moved to arger area, and pulled out the bear house from the bear box.

    Rikka-san was surprised, but the dumbfounded Rikka-san still went into the bear house. Then I prepared a meal, we took a bath afterwards, and rest for the night.

    The next day, we leave for the elven vige.

    We were close to the vige anyway, so we would arrive soon.

    [I want to go to Mumroot-san¡¯s ce first, is that okay?] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯ll report to him, too.] Ruimin

    [Who¡¯s Mumroot-san?] Rikka

    [He¡¯s my grandfather, the head of the vige.] Ruimin

    [Oh, I see.] Rikka

    When we arrived at the entrance of the vige, I unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If I left them summoned, they would be surrounded by children.

    And yet...

    [It¡¯s bear-oneesan~.]

    It¡¯s kinda funny. Even though Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not here, I¡¯m being surrounded by children.

    [Alright everyone, move away from Yuna-san.] Ruimin

    [Eh~]

    [Grandpa-, I mean the Chief told you that you mustn¡¯t bother Yuna-san when shees.] Ruimin

    [U~u]

    The children looked sad.

    If these are adults, I would give them a bear punch, but I can¡¯t do that to children.

    [Then, let¡¯s go to Mumroot-san¡¯s house together.] Yuna

    It¡¯s a short distance, but the children are happy to hear my words.

    [U~u, Yuna-san. I¡¯m sorry about this.] Ruimin

    [Yuna-chan is very popr.] Rikka

    Rikka-san was looking at me, being surrounded by children.

    [Well, it¡¯s because I¡¯m dressed like this.] Yuna

    The children would leave when they came to Mumroot-san¡¯s house as promised.

    [Missy, Ruimin has been in your care.] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san looks a little apologetic.

    [Grandpa, it¡¯s not my fault, but my mom.] Ruimin

    [Yeah, that¡¯s true though.] Yuna

    [So what about that youngdy?] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san looks at Rikka-san.

    [I¡¯m Rikka. I¡¯m going to the royal capital, so I¡¯m tagging along with them.] Rikka

    Rikka-san gave her greetings.

    Well, let¡¯s move to the main subject.

    [Mumroot-san, I need a little favor.] Yuna

    [What is it?] Mumroot

    [Can you send us to the royal capital?] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    Rikka-san tilted her head at my words.

    In fact, I sneaked over to Mumroot-san¡¯s housest night using the bear gate. At that time, I asked him for a little favor. I want to use the bear gate to go to the capital, but I don¡¯t want Rikka-san to know about the bear gate. So I asked him to make it look like we had been moved to the capital with the help of Mumroot-san, the chief of the elves.

    Mumroot-san was gracious enough to ept my request.

    By the way, I¡¯ve already exined this to Fina and Ruimin, and I made sure that they¡¯re on the same page.

    [Actually, the chief, Mumroot-san, has a mysterious power that allows him to get to the capital easily.] Yuna

    [What, you can do that?] Rikka

    Rikka-san looked surprised. Well, of course, you¡¯d be surprised if someone told you that you could easily go to the royal capital.

    [Mumuroot-san, can you please?] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t refuse the girl who saved our vige when she ask me to do something. It¡¯s just... It¡¯s also a secret for us elves. The bear girl already knew about it, so we can¡¯t let you girls see it. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to cover your eyes if that¡¯s okay with you.] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san moved the flow of the storyline as nned. Since I don¡¯t want people to see the bear gate, we¡¯re supposed to blindfold them and use the bear gate.

    [Wait, does that mean we¡¯ll be seeing Ghazal soon? I¡¯m not really ready for that yet.] Rikka

    Rikka-san is confused by the suddenness of the situation. She seemed to think that there was still time to get to the royal capital, so her thoughts were all over the ce.

    Normally, one would be suspicious, but not her.

    [Well then,e over to this room.] Mumroot

    We moved to the next room, taking the confused Rikka-san with us.

    [This is...?] Rikka

    As we entered the room, we saw a magic circle on the floor, which I guessed Mumroot-san had prepared in advance.

    I didn¡¯t expect that Mumroot-san had prepared this much gimmick.

    [Now then, time to put a blindfold on you.] Yuna

    I took out the cloth and present it to Rikka-san.

    [Wha- Wait a minute.] Rikka

    [Okay, I¡¯m going to count to ten, one, two, three.......] Yuna

    [Short! That¡¯s too short!] Rikka

    [If you¡¯re ready, we¡¯ll be leaving the town before you know it, five, six seven...] Yuna

    [What about Fina-chan?] Rikka

    [Yeah, Fina, too, nine, ten.] Yuna

    [Yes, I¡¯m blindfolded.] Fina

    I presented the cloth again.

    Rikka-san stared at the cloth, then took a deep breath and grabbed it. She then looked at Mumroot-san.

    [Can you really take us to the royal capital?] Rikka

    [Ah, I can promise you that.] Mumroot

    [Then, I¡¯ll be counting on you.] Rikka

    Rikka-san made up her mind and bowed to Mumroot-san.

    [Good luck, Rikka-san. You¡¯re cute, Rikka-san. You¡¯ll be fine.] Ruimin

    [Thank you, Ruimin-chan.] Rikka

    Rikka-san covered her eyes with the cloth that I handed to her.

    I tried waving my hands in front of her, but there was no response. It seems she can¡¯t see me properly. After confirming that she can¡¯t see, I took out the bear gate.

    [Okay, let¡¯s go.] Yuna

    Mumroot-san utters something spell-like.

    I opened the door of the bear gate.

    [We¡¯re going to walk a bit, so hold my hand tight.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Rikka

    Rikka-san took my hand and we slowly entered the bear gate.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I was able to get Mumroot-san to perform and return them to the royal capital safely.

    Next time, it will be a reunion.

    ¡ùI realized two days ago that next week, October 13th, is the third anniversary of Kuma ughs).

    I was so busy working on the book that I didn¡¯t notice at all.

    I just thought it was the second anniversary, but it was early.

    I didn¡¯t think that it wouldst three years and exceed 400 episodes.

    This is because of the bookmarks, ratings,ments, PV, and unique ess. If I hadn¡¯t been read, I wouldn¡¯t have been motivated to keep going this far. Thank you very much. I hope you will continue to support ¡°Kuma¡± in the future.

    #

 Chapter 420 - Bear-san, Becomes A Bear Cupid. Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 420 - Bear-san, Bes A Bear Cupid. Part 2</h4>

    Bear-san, Bes A Bear Cupid. Part 2

    I walked a little further with Rikka-san¡¯s hand in mine, passed through the bear gate, and moved to the bear house in the royal capital. Fina follows behind me.

    I let go of Rikka-san¡¯s hand to hide the bear gate.

    [Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    [Hold on a second.] Yuna

    I closed the bear gate and stored it in the bear box.

    [You can take the blindfold off now.] Yuna

    When I said that, Rikka-san took off her blindfold.

    [Where are we?] Rikka

    [We¡¯re in my house in the royal capital.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan¡¯s house in the royal capital? Then is this really the royal capital?] Rikka

    She scurries around the room. It¡¯s different from the room in Mumroot-san¡¯s house, but it seems she still isn¡¯t feeling it.

    [You¡¯ll see when we get out there.] Yuna

    We left the bear house. And as we shifted our gaze slightly, we can see therge, towering castle.

    [A castle...... This really is the royal capital then.] Rikka

    [Don¡¯t tell anyone about that method of travel, because it will cause trouble for Mumroot-san. Really, not even Ghazal-san or Rojina-san.] Yuna

    [Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.] Rikka

    After Rikka-san made her promise, she looked around curiously almost turning around in circles multiple times. As she did so, something inevitably caught her eyes.

    [A bear?] Rikka

    Rikka-san¡¯s gaze stops in front of the bear house.

    [You really like bears, don¡¯t you, Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    If I deny it here, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are going to cry, so I can¡¯t refute it. Besides, I don¡¯t hate bears. Bears have be a part of my life. It¡¯s not something I can disprove now.

    But I¡¯m too embarrassed to talk about it, so I decided to run away without confirming or denying it.

    [Well, enough about me, we¡¯re heading to Ghazal-san¡¯s ce right now.] Yuna

    [Yeah.] Rikka

    We went to Ghazal-san¡¯s store.

    I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t run away aftering this far, but Fina is holding Rikka-san¡¯s hand. Well as expected, Rikka-san won¡¯t just shake off Fina and run away.

    Also, it doubles as a purpose of making sure she doesn¡¯t get lost.

    And as I walked through the capital, as usual, all eyes would be on me and I would hear the words <kuma>, <kuma>, <kuma>, and <bear>.

    [Yuna-chan, can I ask you something?] Rikka

    [What is it?] Yuna

    I know what she¡¯s going to say, but I¡¯ll ask her anyway.

    [Is there anyone in the royal capital who dresses like Yuna-chan?] Rikka

    [............]

    As I closed my mouth, Rikka-san turned her gaze to Fina.

    [Etto... None.] Fina

    Fina replied with difficulty.

    [Oh, is that so. I thought there might be someone dressed like Yuna-chan, but I guess not. Still, it¡¯s embarrassing to be seen by so many people, huh.] Rikka

    Of course, I¡¯m embarrassed and I can¡¯t do anything about it, so it can¡¯t be helped. But it may be more correct to say that I gave up. If they just look at me from a distance, I¡¯ll ignore them, and if they try to get involved with me, then I¡¯ll deal with them.

    [Doesn¡¯t it bother you, Fina-chan?] Rikka

    [I¡¯m used to it. Besides, her outfit is cute.] Fina

    [Well yeah, she¡¯s cute, but...] Rikka

    At any rate, we made our way to Ghazal-san¡¯s cksmith shop, while taking in the stares.

    [So this is where Ghazal is.] Rikka

    [He¡¯s here.] Yuna

    I opened the door and shouted into the store.

    [Ghazal-san!] Yuna

    [Yu, Yuna-chan!?] Rikka

    I suddenly called out Ghazal-san¡¯s name, which made Rikka-san panic.

    [He won¡¯te out unless I call him, you know?] Yuna

    [My heart is not ready for this.] Rikka

    [Isn¡¯t this what youe for in the royal capital?] Yuna

    [But......] Rikka

    [Who is it?!] Ghazal

    I hear Ghazal-san¡¯s voiceing from inside the store and hees out.

    [Rikka-oneechan, where are you going?] Fina

    [Fina-chan, please let me go.] Rikka

    [No can do.] Fina

    When Rikka-san heard Ghazal-san¡¯s voice, she tried to run away, but Fina grabbed her tightly and wouldn¡¯t let her go. It was a good decision to ask Fina to keep an eye on Rikka-san.

    [What do you want?! Oh, Bear Missy. What can I do for you today?] Ghazal

    [There¡¯s someone who wants to see you Ghazal-san, so I¡¯ve brought her here.] Yuna

    [To see me?] Ghazal

    [Fina-chan, let me go. Please.] Rikka

    [Wait, that voice is?] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san left the store. Ahead of him, he saw Rikka-san trying to escape and Fina grabbing her hand.

    [Rikka?] Ghazal

    [Ghazal!] Rikka

    [What are you doing here, Rikka?] Ghazal

    [She¡¯s here to see you, Ghazal-san.] Yuna

    I answered on behalf of Rikka-san, who was trying to escape.

    [Etto, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m a little worried about you, Ghazal. Also, Yuna-chan said she was going back to the capital, so I just followed her.] Rikka

    Etto, tsundere?

    You¡¯vee this far and that¡¯s your reaction? This girl is too troublesome.

    The tsundere you see in anime and manga look cute, but when you see them in real life, they just look annoying.

    I guess tsundere should only be limited in 2D.

    [So, you came all the way to the royal capital for that reason?] Ghazal

    [Can¡¯t I?] Rikka

    [I¡¯m not saying that you couldn¡¯t.] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san looks a little troubled.

    [Ghazal, looks like you¡¯re having a hard time here that you can¡¯te back to Ludnik. You shoulde back once in a while.] Rikka

    [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been busy with work.] Ghazal

    That¡¯s a line, men typically say.

    But we¡¯re not making any progress here.

    [Rikka-san.] Yuna

    I appealed with my eyes for her to proceed to the main topic.

    [Wha-, I know.] Rikka

    Rikka-san took a small deep breath and approached Ghazal-san.

    [You run the store by yourself, right?] Rikka

    [Yeah...] Ghazal

    [Aren¡¯t you going to hire someone?] Rikka

    [I don¡¯t have any ns for that at the moment.] Ghazal

    Yeah, this is really getting troublesome.

    [Ghazal-san. Rikka-san can¡¯t go back to the dwarven city, so she wants to work here with you.] Yuna

    [Yuna-chan!?] Rikka

    Since the conversation is not going anywhere, I gave a push on Rikka-san from behind.

    [What do you mean by that?] Ghazal

    [In other words, Rikka-san came here to see Ghazal-san. That¡¯s all you need to know.] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t say that she¡¯s here for a permanent job, but you can tell what I¡¯m saying so far, right?

    [Rikka......] Ghazal

    [Is it not good?] Rikka

    [That¡¯s.......] Ghazal

    Shu shu, straight.

    [Or is my presence a distraction?] Rikka

    Shu shu, uppercut.

    [That¡¯s.......] Ghazal

    Shu shu, shu. Left, left, right.

    [Is it not good?] Rikka

    Shu shu.

    [Can I check one thing first?] Ghazal

    [What is it?] Rikka

    Shu shu, shu shu.

    [No, not you Rikka. Bear Missy, why are you swinging your fists behind Rikka¡¯s back?] Ghazal

    [Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m just practicing my punches for when Ghazal-san dumps Rikka-san.] Yuna

    Shu shu, straight.

    My straight punches cut through the wind.

    [Why would you do that?] Ghazal

    [I¡¯ve gotten permission from Rojina-san.] Yuna

    [From Master?] Ghazal

    [If you dump his daughter, he wanted me to hit you once, also since Wy-san asked me too, then I¡¯m gonna have to hit you twice. And if you don¡¯t mind including mine, I¡¯ll give you three.] Yuna

    Shu shu, shu shu.

    [Mom and Dad? When did this happen?] Rikka

    I repeatedly punch the air with my bear puppet with fast movements, like shadowboxing. Every bear puppet punch slices the air.

    [Wait, that doesn¡¯t sound right. Why do also you have one for me, Missy?] Ghazal

    [No, I just thought that I had a hard time bringing her here from a distant ce.] Yuna

    Actually, we just rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and used the bear gate. Within two days and one night even. But Ghazal-san doesn¡¯t need to know about that.

    But considering what happens after he dumps her, then I should be really hitting him at least once.

    [Missy. You know that¡¯s called ckmail, right?] Ghazal

    [Does that mean you feel threatened?] Yuna

    I punched as hard as I can with a straight and cut the air.

    Ghazal-san scratched his head and thought about it.

    [Rikka, are you sure about this? Working here means you won¡¯t be able to see Master as easily.] Ghazal

    [Yes. As long as Ghazal is with me.] Rikka

    Rikka-san didn¡¯t even bother to think about it and answered immediately.

    [......Okay, I get it.] Ghazal

    Ghazal-san¡¯s words brought a big smile to Rikka-san¡¯s face.

    My fists didn¡¯t seem to have a chance.

    [Ghazal-san.] Yuna

    [Wha-, what?] Ghazal

    [I have one more message for you. Rojina-san said toe back at least once in a while. At thetest, before you have children together.] Ghazal

    [Da-, Dad!] Rikka

    Rikka-san shouts in embarrassment.

    [Ghazal, it¡¯s a joke from my father. It¡¯s just a joke.] Rikka

    [I see. Do you want to go home together after a while?] Ghazal

    [......Ghazal.] Rikka

    Apparently, we¡¯vee full circle.

    I took the luggage Rikka-san had given me out of the bear box and left the store.

    I wanted to tell him about Rojina-san and the trial gate, but I¡¯ll leave those two alone for now.

    [I¡¯m d you¡¯re happy, Rikka-oneechan.] Fina

    Fina looks as happy as Rikka-san is.

    Well, I¡¯m happy too. It¡¯s never fun to see someone you know get rejected.

    But I wonder if that means she¡¯s getting married. Maybe I¡¯ll bring her something to celebrate next time.

    [What are you going to do now, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    [I have to drop you off, Fina, so we¡¯re heading back to Crimonia.] Yuna

    I can¡¯t let Fina stay away from home for too long.

    When we returned to the bear house, I set up the bear gate again that I removed so that Rikka-san could not see it. Then I opened the door to the bear gate and moved to the crimonia.

    [It¡¯s only been about ten days, but it felt like a long time because of everything that¡¯s happened.] Fina

    For Fina, it was the Elven vige and her encounter with Ruimin. Then, a reunion with Jade-san. In the dwarven town, she met Rojina-san and Rikka-san, and explored the town. In addition, she apanied me on a tour of the Gate of Trials, Toya¡¯s mithril sword. We had a full-packed ten days.

    I¡¯d like to take it easy for a while.

    But I have to go back to Mumroot-san¡¯s ce at least once to ask him about the bearmonite.

    Above all, I can¡¯t leave the bear gate in Mumroot-san¡¯s room.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Did Ghazal-san and Rikka-san have sessfully tied the knot?

    This will be the end of the dwarf chapter. (TN: Not really. We still have 2 chappies left for the dwarven arc.)

    From here on, I¡¯ll start a new chapter after writing a story about bearmonites and something a little more rxing.

    I hope you enjoy it.

    The title ¡°Part 2¡± was chosen because there is a story about Cupid in the SS.

    It will be a story about Tirumina-san and Gentz-san. If you haven¡¯t read it, you can jump to it by clicking on ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Short Story¡± at ¡ý.

    The Bear Cupid 1

    #

 Chapter 421 - Bear-san, Asks About Bearmonite.

    <h4>Chapter 421 - Bear-san, Asks About Bearmonite.</h4>

    Bear-san, Asks About Bearmonite.

    Fina and I returned to Crimonia.

    Yesterday, when I told Tirumina-san that we¡¯re heading home, she said she would wait for us at the orphanage, so we went to the orphanage.

    When we came near the orphanage, I saw the children of the orphanage ying. One of them is Shuri.

    [Oneechan!] Shuri

    [We¡¯re back.] Fina

    Shuri ran towards Fina, then Fina hugged Shuri.

    Then, I asked Shuri and the children where Tirumina-san was, they said she was at the Director¡¯s office.

    We were led by the children into the orphanage and went to where the director was.

    In the room, there is the Director, Tirumina-san, and a young child. The young child is holding a stuffed bear. Thanks to the stuffed bear, she gradually cries less. I¡¯m d it seems to be helping.

    [Tirumina-san, we¡¯re back.] Yuna

    [Mom, we¡¯re back.] Fina

    Fina ran up to Tirumina-san.

    [Wee back. Yuna-chan, did Fina give you any trouble?] Tirumina

    Tirumina-san asks while petting her daughter¡¯s head.

    [She¡¯s still a good girl as ever.] Yuna

    I briefly recount the events in the dwarven city. Then, when I took out the cooking utensils for the orphanage that Tirumina-san asked Fina for from the bear box, the Director thanked me.

    [Thank you, Yuna-chan. This will make cooking a lot easier.] Director

    [If you want to say thanks, please give it to Tirumina-san and Fina. I¡¯m just bringing it here.] Yuna

    [Oh, that¡¯s right. Tirumina-san, Fina-chan. Thank you as well.] Director

    [I was just asked by my mom.] Fina

    Fina looks embarrassed.

    [Well, it¡¯s dangerous to use old ones and it¡¯s hard to use a bunch of small pots and pans.] Tirumina

    [Director. If you find anythingcking besides the cooking utensils, please let me know.] Yuna

    The director doesn¡¯t often tell me what she needs. So I don¡¯t know what inconveniences they may be having. However, Tirumina-san, who has been staying with them more and more, has been checking on the orphanage and buying things that are missing. This time, pots and pans and other cooking utensils are part of them.

    Then Liz-san and Nifu-san came over and were overjoyed to see the new pots, pans, and all of the cooking utensils.

    Next, I head to Anzu¡¯s store together with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri.

    [I¡¯ve been making a lot of soup and I didn¡¯t have enough big pots. I am also very happy with my new frying pan. Thank you, Yuna-san.] Anzu

    Anzu looked happily at the big pots I had bought.

    [If you¡¯re going to thank someone, thank Tirumina-san.] Yuna

    [Yes, of course, thank you, Tirumina-san.] Anzu

    [It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been wanting one of these for a while.] Tirumina

    I also left the pots and knives for frying use. If I wanted to buy a knife to handle fish, I should have bought one in the town of Mereera, but I already bought knives from elsewhere.

    After leaving Anzu¡¯s store, we went to Morin-san¡¯s store next.

    Morin-san¡¯s store also uses pots for frying potato chips, French fries, and other fried foods. Then I put down the small cooking utensils and other items.

    [I¡¯m saved. Yuna-chan, Tirumina-san. Thank you.] Morin

    [If you need anything else, please don¡¯t hesitate to let me know.] Yuna

    [Thank you. I¡¯ll ask for you then.] Morin

    After leaving the Bear¡¯s Rest Shop, we went to Tirumina-san¡¯s house. I took out the cooking utensils from the bear box to use at her house.

    [The one I¡¯ve been using for years was getting damaged, so now I can cook with peace of mind. Fina wouldn¡¯t let me buy one because she said it would be a waste.] Tirumina

    [Because we¡¯ve been using it for a long time.] Fina

    [But the old ones are hazardous because the handles are easilying loose. There¡¯s a limit to how much you can repair them.] Tirumina

    It¡¯s just like Fina to say that. She doesn¡¯t buy things on a whim just because she has the money. I have to learn a little from her because I buy things as soon as I have money.

    However, I¡¯ve always bought what I want. Even if I look back on my actions before I came to another world up to now, this personality is unlikely to be easily corrected.

    You have to spend money to make the economy go around. I kept telling myself that.

    After delivering my purchases, I returned to the bear house alone.

    Oh, by the way, I tried to give Tirumina-san the red horns of Big Boars as souvenirs, but she said she didn¡¯t want such.

    [We have no taste for such expensive horns. We¡¯re more interested in things like food.] Tirumina

    So I promised to bring her some Big Boar meat next time. Of course, it would be Fina¡¯s job to dismantle it. Shuri also said she would do it, so I decided to ask the two of them to do it next time.

    Now that I¡¯m back at the bear house, I¡¯d like to just dive into the bed and rx. But I¡¯m worried about the bear gate I set up at Mumroot-san¡¯s house though, so Ie back to Mumrut¡¯s house.

    I checked the room, but there was no one in the room where the bear gate was ced. Well, of course, time would pass since I went to the royal capital, returned to Crimonia, dropped by the orphanage, the shops, and Fina¡¯s house.

    I retrieved the bear gate, then I moved to the room where Mumroot-san was and thanked him.

    [Missy, you¡¯re back?] Mumroot

    [Thank you, Mumroot-san. That was a big help. But I didn¡¯t expect you to have a magic circle ready for me.] Yuna

    [I heard about itst night, so I prepared it.] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san smiled a little.

    But partly because of that, Rikka-san never doubted the words I said. She thought that she easily got to the royal capital thanks to Mumroot-san. Well, the mysterious powers of the elves were more convincing than the power of me dressed in a bear suit.

    [Is Ruimin not here?] Yuna

    The only person in the room was Mumroot-san.

    [Ruimin-san went to hand out what she¡¯d bought.] Mumroot

    Oh, that¡¯s right.

    I think I¡¯ll go see Ruiminter. But before that, I¡¯ll ask Mumroot-san something first.

    [Oh yeah, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like you to look at, Mumroot-san.] Yuna

    I have a couple of round ores. I took out two bearmonites and showed them to Mumroot-san. He then received the bearmonites and checked them.

    [Are these spirit stones?] Mumroot

    It¡¯s just as Rojina-san said.

    [Where did you get these?] Mumroot

    [Well, I got those while I was doing some stuff. And when I asked some certain people to look at those they said the elves knew more about it.] Yuna

    [Indeed, we elves know so much about spirit stones.] Mumroot

    [So will these stones really strengthen whoever has it?] Yuna

    Well, it¡¯s a standard piece of equipment in the game.

    [Each spirit stone has its own attributes, so if you have a wind spirit stone, you need to be good at wind magic, and if you have a fire spirit stone, you need to be good at fire magic. So, if you don¡¯t have the right spirit stone for your attribute, it¡¯ll be useless. Even if we, who are good at wind magic, have a fire spirit stone, it will have no effect.] Mumroot

    Well, even in games, the equipment has its own affinities to be able to be equipped or not.

    [However, these spirit stones have already changed, moreover, I¡¯ve never seen it like this before. Wind would make it green, fire would make it red. But these ones are ck.] Mumroot

    Normally, it would be a dark attribute, but in this case, it¡¯s a bear.

    Is there such a thing as dark magic in the first ce? It seems like it could be done, though, since magic power changes with images. I wonder if it¡¯s possible to create darkness with light and vice versa. I¡¯ll give it a try next time.

    [Etto, that seems to be a bear spirit stone.] Yuna

    [Bear?] Mumroot

    At my words, Mumroot-san looked alternately at the bearmonite and me.

    Lying won¡¯t help with the story, so I¡¯ll tell Mumroot-san what I know.

    About Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear touched them first. And that I¡¯ve been holding on to them.

    When I exined, Mumroot-san seemed to be convinced. It¡¯s a good thing he didn¡¯t dig into it deeper.

    [So, if I wear these, I¡¯ll be enhanced?] Yuna

    This is like saying to myself, <I¡¯m a bear, so I can equip a bear spirit stone>. Well, to begin with, bearmonite is my personal item.

    But why wasn¡¯t it called a bear spirit stone? That¡¯s the only part I don¡¯t understand.

    [That¡¯s the short answer, but it¡¯s not half as effective as it could be.] Mumroot

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    [We call this the Rite of Covenant. We, the elves, make a pact with the stone that gives us this power and draws from it.] Mumroot

    [Um, how does that contract work?] Yuna

    I thought it would be a good thing to have, but he just told me that the effect would be halved. If I¡¯m going to equip it anyway, I¡¯d rather have a stronger effect.

    [I¡¯m not supposed to tell you this, but I don¡¯t mind it since you¡¯re the vige benefactor.] Mumroot

    [Okay?] Yuna

    [I trust that you¡¯re not the kind of person that will talk about it to anyone.] Mumroot

    When someone says something like that, I have no choice but to keep quiet. And I trust Mumroot-san to keep quiet about the bear gate too, so it¡¯s mutual.

    [May we go back to the room we were in then?] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san stood up and moved to the room with the magic circle.

    [I see you¡¯ve cleared the door.] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san crouched down, picked up the edge of the carpet on the floor, and spun it around to roll up the carpet that had the magic circle on it. He then puts it away on a shelf near the wall. There are many rolled-up carpets on the shelf.

    [Now which one was it?] Mumroot

    Mumroot-san is looking at the many carpets and searching for them.

    [Could it be that these carpets have a magic circle on them like the one I just saw?] Yuna

    [Yes, the carpets here have various magic circles on them. One of these magic circles was the one that contracts with the power of the spirit stones. Now which one was it?] Mumroot

    Mumuroot-san is looking for a certain carpet while talking.

    [Then, was the magic circle just like the other one?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s a magic circle that heals fatigue.] Mumroot

    So there¡¯s also a magic circle like that. That makes me curious about the rest of the carpets here. I wonder what kind of magic circle those have?

    If I ask him to tell me, will he do it?

    This kind of thing makes my blood boil as a former gamer.

    [These magic circles, are they drawn on the carpet?] Yuna

    [I sewed it with thread soaked with magic power. It will improve the flow of magic and can be reused again and again.] Mumroot

    Certainly, it¡¯s a pain to draw aplicated magic circle every time. Even if I saw a magic circle, it would be tooplicated for me to memorize. It¡¯s a pain to draw them on paper, even more so when drawing them on the ground. But if you weave it into a carpet, you can just spread it out and use it, as long as you don¡¯t cut it.

    [Oh, here it is. This one right here.] Mumroot

    While I was paying attention to the carpets, Mumroot-san took out one of them. He then rolled out the carpet on the floor. On it, there was a magic circle with a different pattern than the one that healed my fatigue.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Today marks the third anniversary of Kuma. Thank you very much.

    I¡¯ll be taking a break from posting next time, and will post one in SS in three days to celebrate the third anniversary. Thank you for your understanding.

    I have to reflect a little that I was a bitx in setting up the bearmonite.

    This is because I had a lot of trouble deciding whether to make it a weapon or a piece of equipment.

    As for Mumroot-san¡¯s tone, I wrote him in an old-fashioned tone when he reappearedst time.

    Many people pointed out that it was different, and it has been corrected. I apologize for the inconvenience.

    Amazon¡¯s electronic version, Kindle 5th Anniversary Campaign (until October 19, 2017), is currently selling the first volume of Kuma for 75% off at 324 yen.

    I hope you enjoy it.

    Three-year anniversary memo

    PV 150 million (one year ago, PV 92.44 million)

    Unique 17.29 million (1 year ago, 11.37 million)

    Bookmarks 41,091 (1 year ago, 32,923)

    Overall rating 119,898 pts (1 year ago, 94,851 pts)

    Characters, 1,787,020 (1 year ago, no record)

    Comments, 10,862 (1 year ago, no record)

    Reviews, 10 (one year ago, no record)

    It¡¯s interesting to see how much we¡¯ve grownpared to a year ago.

    We look forward to your continued support of bears.

    #

 Chapter 422 - Bear-san, Equips Bearmonite

    <h4>Chapter 422 - Bear-san, Equips Bearmonite</h4>

    Bear-san, Equips Bearmonite

    Mumroot-san stood in front of the carpet with a magic circle drawn on it.

    [Well then, Missy. Could you ce the spirit stones in the middle of the circle and touch the circle on the far right to let the magic flow.] Mumroot

    The magic circle has a circle in the center andplicated patterns are drawn after that.

    I look at the two bearmonites in my hands.

    [......Missy?] Mumroot

    [Just to confirm, the contractor doesn¡¯t have to be with me, does it?] Yuna

    [Those are bear spirit stones, aren¡¯t they? Who else would be fit for it, Missy?] Mumroot

    If you think about it, I¡¯m the only person in the world who can make a contract with a bearmonite (if there are others, I¡¯d like to see them).

    I don¡¯t think there¡¯s another person who has magical powers with bear attributes.

    I summoned the normal size Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. It¡¯s a big room, but when I summon normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it feels smaller.

    [Do you think those contracts will work for these kids?] Yuna

    The Bearmonite strengthens those who have it. Thanks to my bear gear, I have high defense and attack power.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also stronger than other bears. They can¡¯t be defeated by other monsters. But when I think about the time I fought a wyvern in Targui, I feel uneasy. I¡¯m still afraid when I think of the time when we were attacked by a wyvern. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tried to protect me. If something were to happen to them, I would not be able to bear it.

    In addition, I often ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to guard Fina and the others. It is better for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to be stronger than I am.

    Even in games, it is important to strengthen the summoned beast.

    [Even so, I have never seen an animal doing the contract, but since Missy¡¯s bears have magical power and their attribute is bear, then maybe...] Mumroot

    They have magical power and their attribute is definitely Bear.

    [Then please contract the bearmonite spirit stones with these kids instead.......] Yuna

    [If that¡¯s what you want, that¡¯s fine with me.] Mumroot

    I put a bearmonite in the middle of the magic circle.

    [Then you¡¯ll go first, Swaying Bear. Let the magic flow there.] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    Swaying Bear started walking and put his paw in the ce ording to Mumroot-san¡¯s instructions. Then, when Swaying Bear poured magical power into the magic circle, the magic circle shined and gathered at the bearmonite, which was at the center of the magical power. It¡¯s as if Swaying Bear¡¯s magical power has entered the Bearmonite. The light of the magic circle disappears.

    [Is that it?] Yuna

    Mumroot-san said it¡¯s done, so I picked up the bearmonite and ced another one to rece it.

    [Then, next is Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    Hugging Bear moves in front of the magic circle so as to rece Swaying Bear.

    Then, just like Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear ced his white paw on the magic circle and let his magic flow. The magic circle glows and the contract between Hugging Bear and the Bearmonite ended.

    I have two bearmonites in my hand. One of them has changed its color. Hugging Bear¡¯s bearmonite is white. Is it because he¡¯s a pr bear?

    [Am I to understand that if they wear this, they will receive a blessing?] Yuna

    [Yes.] Mumroot

    I took out arge dark blue cloth from the bear box, put a bearmonite inside the cloth, and tied it around Swaying Bear¡¯s neck like a ribbon.

    Then just like Swaying Bear, I took out a red cloth, put in the white bearmonite, and tied it around Hugging Bear¡¯s neck.

    [They¡¯re both cute] Yuna

    <<Kuuu-n>>

    [Does it make you stronger?] Yuna

    <<Ku-n?>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tilted their heads.

    Did they not get stronger?

    Well, you can¡¯t tell just by equipping it. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m getting stronger just by wearing my bear suit. Whenever I use magic, while fighting, or running, I can see the strength of my bear suit. But if I just wear it without doing anything, I wouldn¡¯t know how strong it is.

    [Thank you, Mumroot-san.] Yuna

    I thank Mumroot-san and send Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to the bear puppets.

    When I left Mumroot-san¡¯s house, a tired-looking Ruimin was justing over.

    [Oh, Yuna-san. You were back.] Ruimin

    [Yeah, just a while ago. You look tired though, Ruimin.] Yuna

    [I was tired of going door to door delivering all the things I¡¯ve bought.] Ruimin

    Do you use magic circles to get rid of tiredness in such cases?

    I¡¯m wondering how effective that magic circle is.

    [But everyone was happy, so that made me happy.] Ruimin

    Ruimin smiled at me in a way that blew away my fatigue. If I were a man, I would have fallen in love with her. But s, I am a woman.

    But pots and pans are appreciated everywhere, aren¡¯t they? While the ones I¡¯ve used for years are easy to use and I love them, I¡¯m also happy with new ones.

    I was happy when I bought a newputer.

    That reminds me, what happened to myputer back in my former world?

    Well, I only have games on myputer. When God asked me what was important to me, could I have brought myputer into this world if I had said &ltputer>?

    Well, thanks to what I said about money, I have been able to enjoy the other world without any difficulty. I¡¯m grateful for that. Besides, even if I had aputer, I couldn¡¯t use it since the power supply would be a problem.

    [So Yuna-san. How was Rikka-san? I¡¯m kinda curious.] Ruimin

    [For the time being, she decided to work at Ghazal-san¡¯s shop in the royal capital.] Yuna

    [Then, did they end up dating!? What about marriage?] Ruimin

    [Hmm, I¡¯m not sure about that yet. I guess we¡¯ll have to wait and see.] Yuna

    [I see.] Ruimin

    Ruimin looked a little disappointed, but while Ghazal-san¡¯s initial expression was troubled, in the end, he seemed happy.

    I feel like it¡¯s only a matter of time.

    [But I¡¯m d that Rikka-san didn¡¯t get rejected.] Ruimin

    I agree with you on that. I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t have to take the rejected Rikka-san to Rojina-san¡¯s ce. If that had happened, I would have blindfolded her and thrown her into the bear gate.

    [And did you leave Fina-chan?] Ruimin

    Ruimin looks behind me, but Fina¡¯s not behind me, no matter how big my body is. By the way, having arge volume does not mean that I¡¯m fat.

    [I couldn¡¯t keep her separated from her family forever, so I sent Fina home first.] Yuna

    [I wonder if I should have gone to the capital with her. If I had, I would have been able to see my sister for the first time in a long time. And I wanted to go to Yuna-san and Fina-chan¡¯s town as well.] Ruimin

    [I¡¯m going home for today. I¡¯ll see youter in Crimonia.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a promise. Please take me with you next time.] Ruimin

    I left the vige after parting with Ruimin, who goes to return the item bag to Mumroot-san.

    On the way back, I was able to leave the vige without being surrounded by children.

    After leaving the elf vige, I returned to Crimonia using the bear gate in the Bear House near the sacred tree in the depths of the forest.

    After arriving in Crimonia, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, then dove into bed.

    Apparently, when they¡¯re in their cub form, the things their equipping also became smaller. Incidentally, when I removed it, it became bigger.

    After a few days of rxing, It¡¯s time to dismantle the Big Boars in order to keep my promise to Tirumina-san. Of course, it was Fina and Shuri who did the dismantling. I¡¯m just observing.

    [So, why are you here, Gentz-san?] Yuna

    I asked Fina to dismantle it, but somehow Gentz-san is also here.

    [I heard you were going to dismantle the Big Boars. Since it¡¯s rare, I decided to help. Besides, it¡¯s Fina¡¯s first time to dismantle those, so she might not understand some things.] Gentz

    By the way, when I asked Fina if she needed help, she said that she had dismantled a wild boar before, so she was okay with it.

    [Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s my day off at work.] Gentz

    I don¡¯t know what to be relieved about. But Gentz-san looks very proud.

    Well, there are three Big Boars, so that¡¯s fine. Besides, it¡¯s helpful that the dismantling can bepleted early. The dismantling work will bepleted by noon and a yakiniku party would be held at the orphanage. Therefore, it is great for Gentz-san to help.

    [Then, please.] Yuna

    I brought out three big boars from the bear box.

    [They¡¯re huge.] Gentz-san

    [So big.] Shuri

    [Yuna-oneesan, you killed such big beasts.] Fina

    Gentz-san, Shuri, and Fina are surprised at the size of the Big boars.

    [I guess we¡¯ll be finished by noon then. Let¡¯s get on with it. Fina, Shuri. Both of you, watch what your father ???? is doing.] Yuna

    Maybe he just wanted to be with his daughters because he was off work. Besides, he had been away from Fina for quite a while. Tirumina-san and Shuri had been talking on their bearphones, but only Gentz-san hadn¡¯t, so maybe he was lonely.

    Or does he want to show off to his daughters, like what a typical father would do?

    Fina and Shuri are saying <yes> and <okay>, though. I wonder if in a few years they will say things like, <Dad, you stink> or <Dad, stay away from me>.

    [What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?] Fina

    I was staring at Fina, so she asked me.

    [It¡¯s nothing. I just thought Fina would be better off the way you are.] Yuna

    [............?] Fina

    Fina tilts her head slightly.

    Thanks to Gentz-san, we were able to finish the dismantling work in the morning. Then we took the dismantled meat to the orphanage.

    At the orphanage, Anzu and Morin-san, whose stores were closed, had prepared a meal for us. The cooking was done by the members of the respective stores.

    The bread that Morin-san baked for us was delicious with the meat, and the meat dishes that Anzu seasoned were also delicious.

    I¡¯m d we had the yakiniku party because the kids enjoyed the food.

    Oh, I guess I should have called Ruimin, huh?

    Author¡¯s Note:

    By the way, the ¡°bear¡± in this title does not refer to Yuna, but Kumayuru and Kumakyuu (Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear).

    I tried to match the ribbon to the illustration (cover).

    If I were to equip Kumayuru and Kumakyuu, I had been thinking of making them neck ribbons for a while.

    Since there is an illustration (on the cover), I could have put it in the neck ribbon as usual, but please don¡¯t go into that.

    ¡ùMy next post will probably be on the third night. I may not be able to reply to yourments this time due to time constraints. Thank you for your understanding.

    #

 Chapter 423 - 423 Bear-san, Goes Out With Shuri

    <h4>Chapter 423 - 423 Bear-san, Goes Out With Shuri</h4>

    423 Bear-san, Goes Out With Shuri

    -Yuna¡¯s POV-

    The day after the barbecue party, Shuri and I were alone on the moving ind of Targui.

    While they were dismantling the Big Boars at the bear house, Shuri told me that it¡¯s not fair. She said, <I want to go somewhere too>, so I decided to do her a small favor.

    Shuri¡¯s small request was <I want to go to that ind where there are fruits>. So this time, Shuri and I went to Targui together.

    Fina, on the other hand, is with Tirumina-san. And she¡¯s currently being spoiled by her mother.

    Well, Fina is only a ten-year-old girl. That¡¯s why it¡¯s just me and Shuri today.

    When we arrived at the ind of Targui, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and gave a warning to Shuri, who wanted to run towards them right now.

    [Stay close to Swaying Bear, okay?] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [If Swaying Bear says you can¡¯t go, then you can¡¯t go.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Don¡¯t pick or eat any food you don¡¯t know. Ask Swaying Bear first!] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [And if anything happens, call me on my bear phone.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Also......] Yuna

    Also... Was there anything else I should be aware of?

    [U~u, Yuna-oneechan. You¡¯re acting like my older sister. I¡¯m with Swaying Bear-chan and I¡¯ll listen to Swaying Bear-chan. Right, Swaying Bear-chan?] Shuri

    Shuri hugs Swaying Bear. Then, Swaying Bear cried <ku~u ~ n>.

    [Swaying Bear, take care of Shuri.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    I asked Swaying Bear to take care of Shuri.

    [Come on, Swaying Bear-chan, let¡¯s go!] Shuri

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    With a happy Shuri on board, Swaying Bear ran off.

    I set off with Hugging Bear, chasing after Shuri from behind.

    As we trudged along the path, we immediately saw Shuri picking orens with Swaying Bear.

    She¡¯s on the back of Swaying Bear and trying her best to stretch her arm. It made me smile at the fact that she even took off her shoes.

    Shuri puts the Orens she took into a regr bag. Fruits are supposed to be put away in the item bag after a certain number has passed.

    [Swaying Bear-chan. Move to the right.] Shuri

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear followed Shuri¡¯s instructions and moved to the right. Shuri was bncing well on top of Swaying Bear.

    [Ah, that¡¯s too much.] Shuri

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear goes back a little.

    Shuri reaches out her hand.

    [I got it.] Shuri

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    It was a delightful sight.

    I left oren-picking to Shuri and Swaying Bear, while Me and Hugging Bear move on.

    We¡¯re getting mangoes and bananas. There are not only fruits but vegetables as well. There are so many different kinds of nt-based food growing out here. There¡¯s not enough to sell at a store, but there¡¯s enough for us to enjoy.

    But is it okay if the quantity is limited?

    -Shuri¡¯s POV-

    Today I¡¯m on an ind full of fruits with Yuna-oneechan.

    We came to this ind by opening the bear-shaped door in Yuna-oneechan¡¯s house.

    It¡¯s very mysterious.

    I¡¯m going to ride on Swaying Bear-chan and look for fruit.

    I got on Swaying Bear-chan and looked around to find Orens. I stood on Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s back and picked what looked good.

    Then, as I was looking for other fruits, I saw Yuna-oneesan with Hugging Bear-chan picking fruits.

    I won¡¯t lose to you, Yuna-oneesan.

    Is there anything that looks good?

    Oh, there¡¯s a ck fruit over there.

    [Swaying Bear-chan. Can I eat that?] Shuri

    <Kuu ~ n>

    Yuna-oneechan told me to ask Swaying Bear-chan about the things I haven¡¯t seen before.

    Swaying Bear-chan shook his head.

    Apparently, I can¡¯t eat that one.

    [How about that one?] Shuri

    This time I found some green and yellow fruits. It looks a little like Orens. But the fruits are smaller than Orens and the tree is different. I¡¯ve never seen those before, but I wonder if I can eat that one.

    Well, just in case, I¡¯ll ask Swaying Bear-chan.

    [Swaying Bear-chan. How about this?] Shuri

    <Swaying Bear-chan made a <kuun> sound, then raised and lowered his head.

    It seems to be okay.

    The tree was not that tall, so I reached out and picked the yellow fruit.

    Does this taste good?

    I tried to cut the yellow fruit in half with a knife. The color was different, but it had a lot of juice, just like orens. I took a bite.

    [U ~u~u~u~u~u~u~u~u~] Shuri

    I threw away the fruit I was carrying on the ground.

    It¡¯s very sour.

    [U~u, Swaying Bear-chan is a liar. You told me I could eat it.] Shuri

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear-chan makes a sad face. But it was Swaying Bear-chan who lied to me.

    My mouth is very sour. I was deceived by Swaying Bear-chan.

    [What¡¯s wrong?] Yuna

    As I was getting angry with Swaying Bear-chan, Yuna-oneechan came to us riding on Hugging Bear-chan.

    [Swaying Bear-chan lied to me!] Shuri

    When I said this, Yuna-oneechan looked around and saw the tree in front of her.

    [Did you, by any chance, eat a lemon?] Yuna

    [It was very sour. And yet, Swaying Bear-chan said I can eat it.] Shuri

    [Well, he doesn¡¯t mean eat them as they are. It¡¯s a fruit that¡¯s usually used to season meat and vegetables. So it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t eat it.] Yuna

    [Really?] Shuri

    [I think that¡¯s why Swaying Bear told you that you can eat it. So,e on, forgive Swaying Bear already.] Yuna

    I looked at the yellow fruit and Swaying Bear-chan alternately.

    Swaying Bear-chan didn¡¯t lie to me.

    [...Swaying Bear-chan. I¡¯m sorry, I got mad at you.] Shuri

    I gently stroked Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s head.

    Swaying Bear-chan cried <Kuu-n> and rubbed his head against me.

    He seemed to have forgiven me.

    But this time, I¡¯ll ask what I can eat normally.

    -Yuna¡¯s POV-

    I picked some of the lemons Shuri had found for cooking. We can also make lemon juice or lemon tea with these.

    I¡¯ve also heard that they are candied and eaten, but I¡¯ve never tried one before. I wonder if it tastes good? I think I¡¯ll try making it next time.

    Then, I decided to go with Shuri to avoid mistakes like this one. Well, even if we were to go together, I wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize any food that I don¡¯t know.

    While the four of us were exploring the ind of Targui, we found corn growing on the ground.

    Hmm? It looks like there are different kinds on the left and right.

    One of them is fresh and looks good enough to eat raw. But the other one is withered. Do they die on Targui Ind?

    I hold a piece of withered corn in my hand. Could this be it?

    I remember seeing on TV a long time ago that there are different varieties of corn that can be used to make popcorn, and the corn that makes popcorn is harvested after waiting until it is so dry that it withers. After harvesting, are the kernels left to dry for a while and are supposed to be popcorn?

    It¡¯s a vague memory, but that¡¯s how it was, I think.

    If it were a different variety, it wouldn¡¯t be popcorn.

    But it¡¯s worth checking out. I only ate popcorn in elementary school when we went to the movies. I haven¡¯t had popcorn in years because I¡¯ve been cooped up at home since I became a junior high school student. It would be nice if I could eat it while watching a movie, but unfortunately, there are no movie theaters or TV sets in this world. But I thought there was a theater in the royal capital.

    Do they even allow people to eat while watching the y?

    Well, even if I never get a chance to eat it, I want to show Fina and Shuri how to make popcorn. It explodes with a popping sound, and the hard seeds turn into soft white fluffy food. That stuff is amazing the first time you see it, you¡¯ll understand.

    I¡¯ll take the withered corn.

    [Yuna-oneechan, I don¡¯t think you can eat that withered one because it¡¯s too hard. This one seems softer.] Shuri

    Shuripared the withered corn and the green, ready-to-eat corn.

    [I¡¯ve got something I¡¯d like to try. I need some withered corn for that.] Yuna

    [Something you want to try?] Shuri

    [I¡¯m not sure if I can eat it though.] Yuna

    [Are you going to eat it?] Shuri

    Suri looks at the withered corn and seems a little confused.

    Well, I don¡¯t think I want to eat something that looks this hard either.

    [Shuri and Swaying Bear, help me pick up the corn over there. Hugging Bear, help me with this one.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    Shuri and I split up to harvest fresh corn and withered corn.

    The cotton candy we made at the student festival was good, but popcorn would have been better.

    Well, I didn¡¯t have any popcorn seeds at that time. I don¡¯t even know if this will turn into popcorn either.

    [Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯m starving.] Shuri

    While we were picking corn, Shuri said something like that. Indeed, it was almost lunchtime.

    [Let¡¯s eat some corn, then.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    I took out the pot I bought from Rojina-san¡¯s ce, filled it with water, and put it on the fire to boil.

    In the meantime, we continued to pick corn.

    After a while, the boiled corn came up nicely.

    [Be careful, it¡¯s hot.] Yuna

    I wrapped it in a handkerchief so it wouldn¡¯t burn Shuri, then I gave it to her.

    Shuri eats corn while blowing at it <fu ~ fu ~>.

    [Ah, it¡¯s hot.] Shuri

    [Eat carefully.] Yuna

    [But it¡¯s delicious.] Shuri

    [It¡¯s freshly picked after all.] Yuna

    I gave some to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were both sitting on the floor.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear skillfully held the corn with both paws and began to eat it.

    Since corn was not enough, I cut up some fruit I picked earlier and put it on a te.

    [Mmm, they¡¯re all delicious. I wish oneechan hade too.] Shuri

    Fina is probably being spoiled by Tirumina-san right now. I tried to imagine it, but I can only imagine her working rather than getting spoiled. But I¡¯m sure she¡¯s happy about it.

    [Then, let¡¯s get some more for Fina and Tirumina-san as souvenirs.] Yuna

    [Un!] Shuri

    [Also, for Gentz-san.] Yuna

    I¡¯d feel sorry for Gentz-san if you forgot about him.

    After eating the corn, we continued to pick fruits and vegetables to bring to Fina and the orphanage.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I think this is probably the first time Shuri and Yuna have done this together.

    It was fun to write, and I finished it surprisingly quickly.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m posting this in the morning.

    #

 Chapter 424 - Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 424 - Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 1</h4>

    424 Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 1

    [Yuna-san, where have you been!] Noa

    While I was rxing at home, Noa came over.

    [You haven¡¯t been home for the past few days, and whenever I asked the people at the store, they¡¯ll just say you¡¯re out with Fina. It¡¯s not fair that she¡¯s always the only one. I want to go out with you too.] Noa

    After Shuri, even Noa said that to me.

    But I want to rx right now.

    [Yuna-san? Yuna-san!] Noa

    Noa grabbed my body and shook me from side to side. I wish she would stop shaking me.

    [So, where do you want to go?] Yuna

    [The royal capital!] Noa

    [Rejected!] Yuna

    [U~u, Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. Yuna-san is mean ~] Noa

    Noa let go of my clothes, then hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub-form, while pping her feet on the couch.

    [Don¡¯t p your legs so much, Noa, you¡¯re a youngdy, you know.] Yuna

    [U~u, then please take me somewhere.] Noa

    Noa puffed her cheeks.

    I¡¯d like to take her somewhere, but unlike Fina and Shuri, I can¡¯t take the daughter of a nobleman around. Besides, I¡¯d need Cliff¡¯s permission.

    Moreover, the bear gate is a secret and quite aplicated one at that.

    [I¡¯m going to go out for a bit, are you going to stay here, Noa?] Yuna

    [Eh, you¡¯re going somewhere? I¡¯ming too!] Noa

    [I¡¯m just going to buy some honey for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [Eh~~~~] Noa

    Noa and I held Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear in their cub form respectively and headed to a store that sold honey.

    Noa, who¡¯s walking next to me, puffed out her cheeks while carrying Hugging Bear.

    [Look, I took you to the beach before, right?] Yuna

    [But after that, you went out with Fina.] Noa

    [Why don¡¯t you ask Cliff to take you there instead?] Yuna

    [I want to be with Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

    Noa hugged Hugging Bear tightly in her arms.

    Hmmm, maybe a pic outside the city would be okay?

    =====

    While I was thinking about this, we arrived at the store that sells honey.

    [So this is where they¡¯re selling honey.] Noa

    When I entered the store, I saw Rem-san and the other shopkeepers. At that moment, Rem-san immediately noticed me.

    [Bear Girl-chan. Another honey for the bears today.] Rem

    [Yes, please.] Yuna

    I pulled the empty jar out from the bear box and ced it on the counter.

    [Thanks as always.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t sweat it. It¡¯s because I¡¯m a big fan of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Rem

    Sometimes, Ie here to buy honey for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to eat. The honey Toya gave me the other day was already finished, so I had to replenish it.

    [As always, your bears are adorable.] Rem

    Rem-san pet the head of Swaying Bear that I am holding. Then, when he tried to pet Hugging Bear¡¯s head, he noticed Noa who¡¯s holding Hugging Bear.

    [Etto. Are you Noire-sama, by any chance?] Rem

    [It¡¯s been a while.] Noa

    Noa greeted him with Hugging Bear in her arms.

    [Noa. You know Rem-san?] Yuna

    [Yes. I saw him talking to father, and I said hello to him at that time.] Noa

    As I recall, Cliff and Rem know each other from work, so it¡¯s not surprising that Noa also knows him.

    Rem-san looked at me and Noa who¡¯re holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [So, you two know each other?] Rem

    [Yes. I¡¯m indebted to Yuna-san. I came here today with Yuna-san to buy honey for Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

    Just a moment ago, she was puffing out her cheeks in a <What, we¡¯re just shopping?> kind of way, but she was polite and engaged in conversation. Is this the education of an aristocrat?

    [Oh right, the honey.] Rem

    Rem-san took the empty jar and ced it near arger jar with the honey in it. He then poured the honey into the jar that I brought with me. Of course, if you bring your own jar, you can buy it at a discount.

    [Here, this is for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. It¡¯s my treat.] Rem

    Rem-san said and dripped honey on a te and ced it in front of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Is it really okay for you to always do this?] Yuna

    [This is only possible because of Bear Girl-chan and your bears.] Rem

    Noa and I let go of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then they started licking the honey.

    [Yuna-san, what did you do?] Noa

    [I just defeated the monsters that settled in the bee tree a while ago.] Yuna

    [You really saved me at that time.] Rem

    [It¡¯s my job. Don¡¯t worry so much about it.] Yuna

    [Oh, by the way, Bear Girl-chan. Are you free tomorrow?] Rem

    [I don¡¯t have any ns, but what about it?] Yuna

    While I am an adventurer and I own stores, I don¡¯t have any adventurer-rted job right now, and Tirumina-san, Morin-san, and Anzu are in charge of the stores, so I don¡¯t have to meddle with the operations. In fact, while I was in the city of Ludnik, I left the stores in their hands. Even if I¡¯m not there, there¡¯s basically no problem.

    So, every day is Sunday for me. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a neat freak, though.

    [In that case, why don¡¯t youe with me tomorrow to pick some honey?] Rem

    [Honey?] Yuna

    [And I¡¯m sure you wanted to see the bears there as well.] Rem

    Since defeating the monsters that appeared in the bee tree, I went to see the bears several times. One of those times was when I went with Rem-san.

    At that time, Rem-san recalled that I was happily touching the bear.

    If he¡¯s asking me out, does that mean he wanted to see the bears up close? Until then, he had only been watching from afar.

    [Anou, what bears are you talking about?] Noa

    [There¡¯s a bear family near a tree that produces honey.] Yuna

    [Isn¡¯t that bear dangerous?] Noa

    [No, they¡¯re very gentle bears. If it¡¯s a low-level monster, they can handle it. They¡¯re the keeper of the bee tree.] Rem

    Rem-san answered Noa¡¯s question with bragging rights. Noa¡¯s face gradually changes to Rem-san¡¯s answer. I could predict the next words will be.

    [I also want to see the bears.] Noa

    The words came out just as I imagined they would.

    [Etto, that¡¯s...] Rem

    It¡¯s not me, but Rem-san who was troubled by Noa¡¯s words.

    That¡¯s true though. We can¡¯t take the daughter of a nobleman to a ce with wild bears.

    It would be a problem if she suddenly said that she wanted to go.

    [Yuna-san...] Noa

    Noa looked at me with a slightly sad expression.

    I feel like I should take her somewhere. Certainly, I haven¡¯t been paying attention to Noa since I went to the dwarven city.

    [......Okay, I get it. But on one condition.] Yuna

    [What¡¯s the condition?] Noa

    [Get Cliff¡¯s permission. If Cliff says it¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll take you.] Yuna

    As expected, I can¡¯t take her out without permission, this is the so-called minimum requirement after all.

    [M, my father¡¯s...] Noa

    [I can¡¯t take you there without Cliff¡¯s permission. And I¡¯m going to check with Cliff before we leave, just in case. You can¡¯t lie to me, you know.] Yuna

    [Okay, I¡¯ll definitely get father¡¯s permission.] Noa

    Noa clenched her small hands tightly.

    After purchasing the honey, we left the store. Noa went home to ask Cliff for permission.

    =====

    The next day, I went to Noa¡¯s house before my appointment with Rem-san. I wanted to make sure that Cliff gave his permission.

    When I arrived at Noa¡¯s house, a happy Noa was waiting for me.

    [Yuna-san, I got permission from my father.] Noa

    Noa replies with a big smile on her face.

    I asked Cliff for confirmation.

    [Ah, it¡¯s fine.] Cliff

    He told me as soon as our eyes met.

    [Etto, did Noa tell you everything? We¡¯re going to see the bears in the wild.] Yuna

    [I know. You¡¯re with her after all.] Cliff

    [Certainly, but...] Yuna

    [Then there¡¯s no problem. After defeating so many monsters, there¡¯s no need to panic over wild bears.] Cliff

    [......]

    [Also, Rem reported that they¡¯re docile bears.] Cliff

    [......]

    [It will be a good learning experience for Noa to see the bee tree. I¡¯d be worried if it was just Rem, but as long as you¡¯re with them, there¡¯s no problem.] Cliff

    So, with Cliff¡¯s permission, Noa and I met up with Rem-san and set off to see the bee tree and the bears.

    =====

    Rem-san rides in a carriage, I¡¯m riding on Swaying Bear, and Noa is riding on Hugging Bear. Rem-san¡¯s carriage has manyrge jars on it.

    [Yuna-san. What kind of bears are they?] Noa

    [They are a family of four with two cubs. The cubs were just born a few months ago, so they¡¯re still pretty small, aren¡¯t they?] Yuna

    [U~u, I can¡¯t wait to see it.] Noa

    [But don¡¯t forget to look at the bee tree.] Yuna

    [Of course. If I don¡¯t report to my father properly, he will be angry with me. And if that happened, he¡¯ll make me spend all my time studying.] Noa

    I guess that¡¯s what you¡¯d call aristocratic culture. They are well educated.

    Wee close to the forest. Rem-san¡¯s carriage took a straight path and we followed behind it.

    After a while, we came to a ce where beautiful flowers were blooming all over the ce.

    [It¡¯s beautiful.] Noa

    [I¡¯m d to hear you say that.] Rem

    Rem-san thanked Noa with a smile.

    [Rem-san and his friends take care of these flowers so that they can produce delicious honey.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve heard so much about it, but I never expected it to be this beautiful.] Noa

    [Yes, it is. It¡¯s beautiful indeed.] Yuna

    It reminds me of the sight of flowers on the ind of Targui. Are there no bee trees on Targui?

    [Is that the bee tree?] Noa

    Noa looks ahead to where the flowers are blooming. There is arge tree and many bees are flying around.

    [That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t go near it, it¡¯s dangerous.] Yuna

    Unless you¡¯re an expert like Rem-san, it¡¯s not safe to go near it.

    [Bear Girl-chan. Can I get some honey first before we meet the bears?] Rem

    [I¡¯ll help you then. Noa, you stay here and observe with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    [I understand. But please make it quick.] Noa

    I put the empty jars on the wagon in the bear box.

    Then go to the side of the bee tree and pull out the jar.

    [Bear Girl-chan. Thanks, you¡¯re a big help.] Rem

    Rem-san put the honey into the jar so as not to anger the bees. Then he put the jar full of honey into the bear box. He repeated this process, and when all the jars were filled with honey, he went back to the carriage and ced them on the tbed of the carriage.

    [Thanks to you, Bear Girl-chan, I finished early. I think I just bought this jar yesterday, here take it with you.] Rem

    Rem-san offered a jar of honey.

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    [Of course, thanks for your help.] Rem

    I got a small jar of honey.

    When I looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they were looking at the jar greedily.

    [When we return.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    You don¡¯t have to make a sad cry. Besides, you ate honey yesterday, didn¡¯t you?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It was supposed to be one story, but it didn¡¯t.

    It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve seen those wild bears.

    #

 Chapter 425 - 425 Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 425 - 425 Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 2</h4>

    425 Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 2

    [So, Yuna-san. Where are the bear-sans?] Noa

    Noa, who had been holding Swaying Bear since a while ago, asked me as if she couldn¡¯t wait to see them.

    If it¡¯s a bear you¡¯re looking for, Noa, you¡¯re already holding one. I wanted to make such ament, but I stopped myself.

    Well, she¡¯s never seen a bear other than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I guess she¡¯s in for a treat.

    [I don¡¯t know where they are, but I¡¯ll have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear call them. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    After Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear responded, they made a loud <<Kuu¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«n>> sound.

    [Wha- what was that?] Noa

    [I asked them to call the bears.] Yuna

    My detection skills won¡¯t tell me where the bears are. So we had to call them.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also bears, after all. They can talk to each other, and they can call each other.

    [So, are the bear-sansing?] Noa

    Noa scurried around to look at the surroundings.

    As she was wondering where they wereing from, she saw a couple of bears and their cub emerge from the trees on her right. Two big bears and two cubs.

    [Yuna-san, bear-san! It¡¯s bear-san! Bear-san parent and child!] Noa

    Excited, Noa grabbed my arm and shook it.

    I know you¡¯re happy, but stop shaking me.

    [Yes, I can see them. Don¡¯t get too excited and startle the bears.] Yuna

    It would be dangerous if the bears were startled and attacked Noa. They¡¯re docile bears, but still wild bears.

    [I know. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll stroke them gently.] Noa

    She¡¯s going to pet it.

    [Remember, unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, these are wild bears. So, don¡¯t touch them until I say it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    She¡¯s about to start running, I have to be careful.

    [I, I understand.] Noa

    Noa¡¯s face tightened up at my advice.

    And when the bear parent and child slowly came to us, the bears (wild, summoned) rubbed their bodies against each other.

    Apparently, they hadn¡¯t forgotten about us.

    <Kuu ~ n>

    Two bear cubs came to me. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cub forms are cute. These little bears are cute too. I think they¡¯ve grown up a little since then. After all, the smaller the bear, the cuter it is.

    [Yuna-san, can I touch them too?] Noa

    While I was stroking the bear cubs, Noa was about to reach out to the bear cubs, but she kept her promise with me and put up with it.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Noa is going to touch these kids, so can you tell them they¡¯re not in danger?] Yuna

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are on good terms with the parent bears.

    Then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started talking to the parent bears.

    <Ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n> <ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n>

    I¡¯m not sure what they¡¯re saying, but they¡¯re having a conversation.

    At times like this, I wish I had bearnguage skills. But if I could hear the true feelings of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I would be scared. I think it would be better if I didn¡¯t have any bearnguage skills.

    Then, when the conversation between the bears is over, Swaying Beares to Noa. Swaying Bear goes behind Noa and pushes her back.

    [Swaying Bear-chan?] Noa

    [He said you could touch the bears.] Yuna

    [Really?] Noa

    Noa was a little scared, but she slowly reached out and touched the bear cub in my arms.

    [The texture is different from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. The fur is a little stiff.] Noa

    [Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are taking baths, you know. They are differentpared to the bears in the wild.] Yuna

    Furthermore, whenever I summoned them, theye out in a beautiful state. They¡¯re always fluffy and soft.

    [But they¡¯re fluffy.] Noa

    Yeah, they¡¯re fluffy. I also stroke the back of the bear cub.

    [And this bear has a cool face.] Noa

    <<Kuu ~ n>>

    Noa¡¯s words made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear a little frustrated.

    [I¡¯m sorry. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, you¡¯re cuter rather than cool.] Noa

    [So, Bear Girl-chan. Is it okay for me to touch them too?] Rem

    Rem-san, who had been watching us in silence for a while now, was behind Noa, looking like he wanted to touch the bear cub as well.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Rem-san wants to touch them too.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n> <ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n>

    This time, Hugging Bear came around behind Rem-san and pushed him back.

    [It feels good.] Rem

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    Rem-san touched the parent bear and the bear cub. Rem-san has a satisfied look.

    After all, Rem-san also wanted to touch the bear.

    [Thank you for always protecting the bee tree. But please don¡¯t do anything too dangerous.] Rem

    Although he couldn¡¯t understand the bear¡¯snguage, Rem-san spoke to the bear gently.

    [So the bear-san is the guardian of the bee tree?] Noa

    [Yeah, they fought the monsters before.] Rem

    But isn¡¯t that what they¡¯re fighting for, to protect their territory?

    As for me, if I had to choose between goblins, orcs, and bears, I would support the bears.

    [But there¡¯s no guarantee that the bear will be able to defeat the next monster that appears. If a monster takes up residence, all we have to do is ask the adventurer¡¯s guild. So the bears won¡¯t be overwhelmed.] Rem

    [I¡¯ll take care of it when that happens.] Yuna

    [Yeah, I¡¯d feel a lot better if Bear Girl-chan takes care of it.] Rem

    I don¡¯t want the adventurer and the bears to run into each other and end up fighting.

    [Well, it¡¯s not only monsters that are dangerous, though. If the adventurerse to kill the bear, they must run away.] Yuna

    That¡¯s a possibility. People may be more dangerous than monsters.

    [But are there any adventurers in that town who¡¯lle to subjugate the bear-san?] Noa

    Noa looks at me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear, then Rem-san looks at us in response.

    [If there¡¯s a request at adventurer¡¯s guild, they mighte to subjugate the bears, but I don¡¯t think anyone woulde to take down a bear that¡¯s not rampaging.] Rem

    I¡¯m afraid of hearing what he¡¯s going to say and I don¡¯t think my heart can take it, so I didn¡¯t listen to him.

    [But I don¡¯t think any adventurer who knows Yuna-san would mess with a bear.] Noa

    [You¡¯re right.] Rem

    Rem-san nodded to Noa¡¯s words.

    After all this time, I wonder what the other adventurers think of me. I don¡¯t think they have a very good image of me after all.

    Before that, why is Rem-san nodding?

    I¡¯m also curious about the image of me in Rem-san¡¯s mind.

    =====

    After spending some time with the bears, they cried <ku~u n> and got up to walk towards the bee tree.

    Apparently, it¡¯s time to eat.

    [Ah, I wish I could go with them.] Noa

    [It¡¯s not safe, so we¡¯ll just observe them from a distance.] Yuna

    [U~u, I know.] Noa

    Noa regretfully sees off the parent bears and cubs.

    When the parent bears and cubse to the bee tree, they began to eat the honey.

    Rem-san and Cliff allowed them to eat honey, but if you think about it normally, they¡¯re supposed to be subdued. After all, they¡¯re pests who eat the precious honey.

    If there is any talk of subjugating them, it might be a good idea to let them escape to the ind of Targui.

    As I was watching the bears eating honey, I heard a small <ku~> sound from the side.

    Looking to the side, I can see Noa holding her stomach.

    [Tha-, that¡¯s not the sound of my stomach!] Noa

    Noa blushes a little and denies it.

    [I didn¡¯t say anything though.] Yuna

    [U ~u~u] Noa

    Noa looks embarrassed.

    Well, it was lunchtime. So, it¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s hungry.

    [Then we¡¯ll have lunch here, too.] Yuna

    [We¡¯re having lunch here?] Noa

    [Well, we¡¯vee all this way, and the flowers are beautiful. Besides, there¡¯s something you want to discuss with Rem-san, right?] Yuna

    Iid out a carpet-like sheet on the ground from the bear box and took out a basket of bread.

    [Rem-san, please sit down and eat.] Yuna

    [Is that okay? I appreciate it.] Rem

    Rem-san and Noa sat on the sheet.

    I prepared small jugs and a cup.

    [There¡¯s fruit juice and milk to drink, take what you like.] Yuna

    [Thank you very much. I¡¯ll have the milk.] Noa

    [I¡¯ll have the juice.] Rem

    I poured the drinks as ordered into the two cups.

    [Also, you were touching a wild bear, so wipe your hands with this before you pick up the bread.] Yuna

    I handed them both wet towels.

    It is dangerous to eat bread with hands that have touched a wild bear. Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, wild bears don¡¯t take a bath.

    [I¡¯m sorry about that.] Rem

    [Yuna-san. You¡¯re like L.] Noa

    They wiped their hands with wet towels and reached for the bread.

    [Ah, it¡¯s a bear bread.] Noa

    Noa finds bear bread (Kuma pan) in the basket.

    I thought Noa would like it, so I brought it.

    [Is this the rumored bear-faced bread?] Rem

    Rem-san also takes a bear bread.

    [Rem-san, you know bout this?] Yuna

    [Ah, it was a hot topic among the people working in the store.] Rem

    After saying that, Rem-san eats bear bread.

    But I wonder what it would be like to eat bear bread while looking at a bear.

    I picked up a sandwich instead of a bear bread and ate it.

    [Yes, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear too.] Yuna

    I put the sandwich in Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s mouth.

    [Ah, I wanna do it too.] Noa

    Noah also gives bread to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Then, as we ate our bread, Rem-san¡¯s ss began.

    [So, you change the flowers ordingly with the seasons?] Noa

    [The flowers bloom in different seasons. In winter, bees stop their activities, so we ask them to collect nectar until then. Of course, there are times when they are active and times when they breed, so it¡¯s hard to say for sure, but if there are flowers, they will collect nectar, so as much as possible, I try to keep them blooming.] Rem

    [I see.] Noa

    Noa listens to Rem-san¡¯s lecture earnestly.

    =====

    After Rem-san¡¯s ss ended, the bears were done eating and began to move away from the bee tree.

    [Ah, the bear-sans are going away.] Noa

    The bear family disappears into the forest.

    [Don¡¯t chase after them.] Yuna

    [I wanted to take that little bear home with me.] Noa

    [If you do that, they¡¯ll get angry.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m kidding. It¡¯s just a joke. I would never do that. I would never split up a family that was so close. But still, there was a part of me that wanted to take them home.] Noa

    Well, bear cubs are cute. But the bigger they get, the scarier they be.

    Did they read my mind? Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are rubbing up against me.

    [You two may be big, but you¡¯re not scary.] Yuna

    [Bear Girl-chan. Thanks for the food. I¡¯m going to go check on the flowers around the perimeter, so please wait a bit.] Rem

    Rem-san stood up.

    [I will go too. Yuna-san, is that okay?] Noa

    [It¡¯s okay, but don¡¯t get in Rem-san¡¯s way.] Yuna

    [Of course, I won¡¯t. I¡¯m just going to see what kind of flowers are blooming.] Noa

    Noa went after Rem-san.

    As I rest my back on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I decided to wait for Noa and Rem-san with my eyes closed.

    From my ears, I could hear Rem-san describing the flowers on the wind, and Noa asking various questions.

    It seems that she is listening to Rem-san and studying with him.

    It¡¯s nice to get out and rx like this once in a while.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We were able to meet the bears safely.

    Noa also seemed to be learning a lot from Rem.

    #

 Chapter 426 - 426 Bear-san Gets Caught By The Student Group

    <h4>Chapter 426 - 426 Bear-san Gets Caught By The Student Group</h4>

    426 Bear-san Gets Caught By The Student Group

    Since Noa and I got back after seeing the bears, I¡¯ve been taking it easy and living in seclusion.

    But the istion won¡¯tst long in a room with no TV, no games, noputer, no manga, no novels, or any form of entertainment.

    I decided to go out and end my reclusive life early. I didn¡¯t evenst more than three days. But I wondered if being isted for three days would be a good thing.

    I made some things in the kitchen and put them in the bear box.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I¡¯m going out.] Yuna

    I called out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who lookedzier than I was. They say they take after their owners, but they didn¡¯t take after me, did they?

    I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the bear puppets and moved to the room with the bear gate. I opened the door and moved to the bear house in the royal capital.

    =====

    I was wondering what¡¯s happening to Rikka-san and Ghazal-san right now, but today I¡¯m heading to the castle to see Flora-san.

    [Yuna-dono, you¡¯re here. It¡¯s been a long time. Have youe to meet Princess Flora?] Gatekeeper

    I was approached by the gatekeeper. At first, he was surprised for a moment, but then he started calling me by name. I don¡¯t know his name, though.

    [That¡¯s right. Is it okay to go see her?] Yuna

    [Yes, that¡¯s fine. I think Flora-sama is also waiting for you. After all, she¡¯s always carrying a stuffed ck bear with her all the time.] Gatekeeper

    A ck stuffed bear, which means it¡¯s a Swaying Bear plushie. ording to Anju-san, whenever she goes out, she carries her ck bear plushie, so that she doesn¡¯t need to worry about it getting dirty. And in her room, she hugs her Hugging Bear plushie on the bed.

    I¡¯m d to know that she¡¯s using the stuffed animals I gave her. If the stuffed animals got dirty, they can just wash them, and when they get tattered, I can give her new ones.

    Rather than being left on disy and neglected, the stuffed animals will be happier if they are hugged until they fall apart.

    But please don¡¯t throw it around, or take its arms or legs apart, or swing it around.

    Only once in the orphanage did I see the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies flying in the sky.

    That was sad.

    Then, after greeting the gatekeepers and entering the castle, one of the gatekeepers runs off.

    Yeah, it¡¯s the usual scene.

    As expected, It¡¯s a good thing I have prepared the King¡¯s portion as well. I¡¯ve given up resisting in that area.

    =====

    [Yuna!]

    As I was heading towards Flora-sama¡¯s room, taking in the scenery around me. From somewhere, a girl¡¯s voice called my name. I looked for the person who had called my name, and I was able to find her immediately. Someone was running towards me, with her long hair swaying.

    [Yuna, you came to the castle.] Tilia

    The one who stopped me was the first princess of this country. She¡¯s the King¡¯s daughter, Princess Tilia. She¡¯s Flora-sama¡¯s older sister.

    But it was rare to see Tilia at the castle.

    [Did youe to see me, by any chance?] Tilia

    [It¡¯s Flora-sama.] Yuna

    [Isn¡¯t that the part where you lie and say you¡¯re here to see Tilia?] Tilia

    What kind of pick-up guy do you think I am? I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be happy to hear me say something unconvincing.

    As I was talking with Tilia, someone came running from behind her.

    [Tilia-sama! Please don¡¯t start running so suddenly.] Marcus

    Two familiar faces came over.

    [I mean, if you see a bear walking through the castle, wouldn¡¯t you normally chase it?] Tilia

    [I know how happy you are whenever you find Yuna-san. But that doesn¡¯t mean you should suddenly run.] Shia

    [And you¡¯re even calling her out loud.] Marcus

    [I¡¯m sorry, both of you.] Tilia

    The two people who came after Tilia were Shia and Marcus.

    There¡¯s a chance I might see Tilia at the castle. But it¡¯s rare to see Shia and Marcus.

    [But why are you in the royal capital, Yuna-san?] Shia

    [And at the castle on top of that.] Marcus

    They¡¯re asking me the same questions Tilia was asking me.

    [I¡¯m just here to see Flora-sama.] Yuna

    [Yuna always brings something delicious whenever she visits Flora, or something that she thinks will make her happy.] Tilia

    Well, even if I didn¡¯t have any souvenirs, I¡¯m sure Flora-sama would be happy to meet Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Somehow, I¡¯ve gotten into the habit of bringing souvenirs whenever Ie to the castle.

    Perhaps it was a certain group of adults that caused this.

    [She even gave me stuffed animals as a gift at the school festival.] Tilia

    When I met Tilia at the school festival, she asked for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies, so I gave them to her.

    [By stuffed animals, do you mean stuffed Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan?] Shia

    Shia reacted to the words stuffed animals.

    [Yeah, Yuna gave it to me.] Tilia

    [How nice. I saw those in Noa¡¯s room the other day when I went back to Crimonia¡¯s house. Yuna, I want stuffed animals too.] Shia

    [I don¡¯t mind. Do you really want those?] Yuna

    I¡¯m not one to talk about age. But Shia seems to be in her delicate age.

    Well, I have them disyed in my room, too.

    [You¡¯re giving it to me?] Shia

    [Which one do you want, by the way?] Yuna

    [What, you¡¯re not going to give me both?] Shia

    Shia was surprised by my question.

    [I¡¯m just kidding. I was just wondering if Shia likes Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear better.] Yuna

    [They¡¯re both so cute, so it¡¯ll be hard to choose.] Shia

    Well, I can¡¯t choose either. Choosing one over the other is the ultimate decision in my life.

    If I could only save one of them, which one would I save, you say? That¡¯s the question. If both are important to you, you can¡¯t choose.

    I took out the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies from the bear box and handed them to Shia.

    [Thank you, Yuna-san.] Shia

    Shia happily hugged the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    [So, how did Shia and Marcus end up in the castle?] Yuna

    [I came with my mother. Then I met Tilia-sama.] Shia

    [I wasn¡¯t busy, so I invited her to have tea.] Tilia

    [I came here to ask my dad to let me join the soldiers¡¯ training, but the two of them caught me.] Marcus

    [He¡¯s bad at listening to people. So he couldn¡¯t participate in the practice and he looks bored, so I thought kinda invited him.] Tilia

    I was told that the practice was canceled because the unit of soldiers who were supposed to participate in the practice had to go to work.

    But if all three of them are here, does that mean the school is closed?

    When I look at these three, Marcus was staring at me.

    [What?] Yuna

    When I asked him about it, Marcus opened his mouth, looking a little ufortable.

    [......Yuna-san. If you¡¯re not too busy, will you be my sword opponent?] Marcus

    [Sword opponent?] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re strong. You also had a match with Rutum-sama, didn¡¯t you? Shia and the others saw the match, but sadly I didn¡¯t.] Marcus

    [Only Tilia-sama and I saw it. Timor and Cataleya didn¡¯t.] Shia

    [Yeah, but... a friend of mine who also saw that match excitedly told me about it, so it must have been a great match. Yuna-san, please.] Marcus

    Marcus puts his hands together and asks, but there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand.

    [I have something to ask before that, but who is that Rutum fellow?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t remember having a match with anyone with that name in my brain.

    But at my words, the three of them looked at me as if I were an idiot. I¡¯m not an idiot, I¡¯ll have you know.

    [Yuna-san, are you really saying that?] Shia

    [You had a match with Rutum-sama, right?] Marcus

    [So, who is this guy named Rutum?] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know.

    [Are you sure you¡¯re not confusing me with someone else?] Yuna

    [Apparently, she¡¯s serious about it.] Tilia

    [Unbelievable.] Marcus

    [Yuna-san, that was the captain of the knights who fought you at the school festival.] Shia

    ............Pon.

    I spread the mouth of one of the bear puppets and hit it with the other one.

    [Oh, you mean that annoying crazy uncle?] Yuna

    Just as Shia said, it was apparently the name of the opponent who had a match with me at the school festival.

    I couldn¡¯t remember right away, so he¡¯s called Rutum or something.

    [Yuna-san, did you really forget about it?] Shia

    [I don¡¯t remember the name of that old man.] Yuna

    If you had told me he¡¯s the one I fought at the school festival, I would have recognized him right away. But if you just told me his name, there¡¯s no way I would have remembered him.

    [Old Man......] Marcus

    [Only Yuna-san would call Rutum-sama an old man.] Shia

    Marcus was taken aback, but Shia seems to beughing at it.

    [But you¡¯re having a match with Yuna-san, right?... Do you have a death wish, Marcus? Even Rutum-sama can¡¯t win against her, you know.] Shia

    [There¡¯s no way I can defeat Yuna-san, who subjugated the ck Tiger. Even in my dreams. I just thought I¡¯d ask her to give me a hand. Well, if she had the time, that is. It¡¯s a good learning experience to fight someone strong.] Marcus

    Marcus looked at me with a respectful gaze.

    People really do change, don¡¯t they? I wish I had a recording of our first meeting so I could show it to Marcus.

    [Hmmm, a match with Yuna-san? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll ask her too.] Shia

    Following Marcus, Shia also started to say such things.

    [But weren¡¯t you just about to have tea with Tilia?] Yuna

    It¡¯s just a hassle, so I tried to find a way out.

    [I was thinking of having tea with you too, but I also think I¡¯d like to see you fight.] Tilia

    Following Marcus and Shia, Tilia joined the mor.

    I just stopped being a neet and came to see Flora-sama.

    [I have to go see Flora-sama. Besides, I don¡¯t want to stand out too much in the presence of other people.] Yuna

    I told them as tried I run away.

    When ites to a match, the ce is limited.

    There might be soldiers or knights practicing. I don¡¯t want to fight in such a situation.

    [In that case, the indoor training area in the back should be fine since it should not be in use right now.] Tilia

    I was trying to escape, but Tilia blocked my way.

    [Tilia-sama, are you sure?] Marcus

    [No problem. I¡¯ll get the permission. Now, I¡¯m going to borrow the key to the indoor training area. You know where it is, right?] Tilia

    The story goes on and on.

    I reiterate my purpose foring here.

    [I¡¯m going to see Flora-sama.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t worry about that either. I¡¯ll go get Flora. That¡¯s fine, right? I¡¯ll borrow the key to the room and take Flora with me, while Shia and Marcus will go to the training grounds with Yuna.] Tilia

    After saying that, Tilia ran off without listening to my reply.

    I was left behind to go to the training ground with Marcus and Shia.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    When I came to see Flora-sama, I was caught by Tilia, Shia, and Marcus. It¡¯s been a long time since it appeared.

    ¡ù I¡¯ve confirmed it, but I feel bad that Shia hasn¡¯t got a stuffed animal yet.

    ¡ù Books will be avable from this weekend to next week. Therefore, I think I will take off next week. Also, please understand that I may not be able to reply to your feedback.

    The next post should be okay.

    #

 Chapter 427 - Bear-san, Reunites With A Knight

    <h4>Chapter 427 - Bear-san, Reunites With A Knight</h4>

    427 Bear-san, Reunites With A Knight

    [By the way, Yuna-san. You really alwayse to the capital casually, don¡¯t you?] Marcus

    [Well, with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it¡¯s easy toe here.] Yuna

    Yes, the usual lie.

    I¡¯ve lied so many times that the words naturally flow out of me.

    Well, I can¡¯t help it, since my existence was also a lie.

    [I wish I had Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan so I could easily go back and forth to Crimonia. Then I could even go to the sea.] Shia

    [You¡¯ll have to settle for the stuffed animals.] Yuna

    I stroked the head of the stuffed animal that Shia was holding in her arms.

    [I can¡¯t stand on it, much more ride on it.] Shia

    Shiaughed.

    [But I had fun at the beach. I want to go again.] Shia

    [Yeah, let¡¯s go again next time.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s a promise.] Shia

    While Shia and I were talking happily, Marcus looked a little envious and opened his mouth.

    [I wish I was there too.] Marcus

    [Fufu. It was so much fun. Riding on Yuna-san¡¯s bear golem, all of us got there pretty quick. The house we stayed at was a huge bear house and the yground had bear slides. We even got on boats and caught some fish.] Shia

    Shia speaks happily of her trip to the sea.

    I also remembered that there was an ind called Targui, and the small incident happened on the said ind.

    [Invite me too.] Marcus

    [I can¡¯t invite Marcus to my home. Father will misunderstand it.] Shia

    Certainly, if she brought a guy home to her parent¡¯s house, Cliff might go crazy.

    [Well, then, if Timor and Cataleya are with us, that would be fine, right?] Marcus

    I wonder if it¡¯s okay if they¡¯re just friends from school?

    I don¡¯t know where the aristocracy draws the line in this area though.

    [But at that time, we had to leave right away, so I didn¡¯t have time to contact everyone.] Shia

    It was true that Shia came the day before we left for the beach. If she had been even a dayte, she would have missed the bear bus.

    If she¡¯s a couple of dayste, then we¡¯ll be halfway done, and if eventer than that, it¡¯ll be time toe home.

    [Next year, you should invite everyone.] Marcus

    [If I remember it.] Yuna

    We walked up to the indoor training area, talking about our trip to the sea.

    =====

    We arrived at a big building. The gate was also huge. I didn¡¯t know there was such arge indoor training hall inside the castle.

    [We¡¯ll wait for Tilia to get here, right?] Yuna

    I want to hurry it up. I have to get to Flora-sama before it¡¯s toote.

    [But thanks to Lady Tyria, I¡¯m d we were able to borrow this ce.] Marcus

    [No one else will see Marcus get beaten to a pulp here.] Shia

    [If anyoneughs at me after watching Yuna-san¡¯s match, I would doubt his eyes.] Marcus

    [Well, that¡¯s right. But if you don¡¯t do your best to some extent, you can¡¯t bring out Yuna-san¡¯s ability.] Shia

    [I¡¯ll do my best.] Marcus

    Marcus casually puts his hand on the door, then the door opens.

    [Hey, it¡¯s open.] Marcus

    Marcus opened the doorpletely and tried to get inside.

    [Hey, you can¡¯t just walk in there without permission!] Shia

    [Perhaps Tilia-sama could have opened it ahead of us.] Marcus

    I don¡¯t know where the key is, but if Tilia runs ahead and left Flora-sama to Anju-san, it may be possible she¡¯ll arrive here first.

    As we entered the training grounds with Marcus in the lead, I saw a single knight wielding a sword. Of course, there was no sign of Tilia anywhere.

    [Tilia-sama is not here. What are we going to do?] Shia

    Shia asks while looking at the training grounds.

    In the training area, a lone man is swinging his sword repeatedly.

    Now, where have I seen that guy before?

    It¡¯s vaguely stuck in a corner of my memory, but I can¡¯t remember. We may have passed by each other at some point.

    [What¡¯s wrong Yuna-san?] Shia

    [No, I have a strange feeling of seeing that knight somewhere before, I just can¡¯t remember. Maybe we passed each other somewhere in the castle, I dunno.] Yuna

    [By that knight, you mean Vice-Captain Figo?] Marcus

    [Marcus, do you know him?] Yuna

    [Yeah, he¡¯s the second-inmand of the knights.] Marcus

    Marcus¡¯ father is a knight, and Marcus himself is aiming to be a knight. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s not surprising that he knows the face of the vice-captain of the knights.

    [......Figo. Oh, that guy.] Shia

    Shia seems to remember something upon hearing Marcus¡¯ words.

    But I can¡¯t recall anything.

    [It¡¯s the knight who fought you, Yuna-san, before your match with Rutum-sama.] Shia

    Now that she exined it so well, I remember now.

    [Ah, at that time.] Yuna

    That¡¯s right. I remembered that I had a match with a knight before that old man who was making a ruckus.

    [By the way, Yuna-san, you had a match with Figo-san as well, didn¡¯t you?] Marcus

    Marcus seemed to know about that, too.

    Well, if he listened to what his friend told him back then, he should know who I had a match with.

    =====

    As we were talking, the man Marcus called Figo looked at us.

    [You guys, what are you doing here !?] Figo

    [Excuse us. We¡¯re about to have a practice here too.] Marcus

    [You¡¯re students, aren¡¯t you? This is not a ce for students.] Figo

    [No, we have permission from Tilia-sama.] Marcus

    [Tilia-sama?] Figo

    [Yes. we¡¯re going to practice a little bit somewhere, but then Tilia-sama said we could use the training grounds here. She¡¯sing over right now, so you can check with her to confirm.] Marcus

    Marcus nervously answered.

    [Oh, I see. I thought no one would be using it today, so I used it myself. It¡¯s quiet when no one¡¯s around.] Figo

    Figo puts the sword back in its sheath.

    I moved behind Marcus and Shia to hide.

    [And the girl dressed as a bear too?...] Figo

    I hid, but I was still found.

    [Is that the girl who shows up at the castle every once in a while?] Figo

    [You know about her?] Marcus

    [Just the rumors.] Figo

    Shia smiles at Figo¡¯s words and Marcus looks interested.

    I¡¯m curious to know what those rumors are, but I don¡¯t want to open my mouth because I don¡¯t want to talk to him and have him find out that I was his opponent back then.

    Besides, I know from experience that hearing rumors about me can be damaging.

    Figo looked at me and then at Shia.

    [I would like to ask Shia-sama, whom I had the pleasure of meeting here, if I may?] Figo

    [You mean me?] Shia

    Shia, not expecting to be approached, muttered in a small voice, <he remembered me>.

    [I asked the people that I knew at the school, but they said no one knew the girl named Yuuna whom I had a match with at the school festival. I couldn¡¯t even ask His Majesty the King or Eleanora-sama about it.] Figo

    [Etto...] Siha

    Shia nced at me, her eyes were swimming, but I shook my head.

    Apparently, he didn¡¯t notice me, the one who beat him.

    But for a moment, who is Yuuna? I thought, but then I remembered that I was using a fake name back then.

    [May I ask why you¡¯re asking?] Shia

    [I thought I¡¯d like to try my hand at it again. She was really strong. I was really disappointed to lose, though. I wanted to give her a proper fight this time.] Figo

    Shia looked at me for a moment, unsure of what to say.

    [I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s a friend of mine who lives in Crimonia. She just happened to be visiting during the school festival at that time.] Shia

    [She wasn¡¯t a student at the school. That¡¯s a shame then.] Figo

    He looked really disappointed. Did he really want to have a match with me that badly?

    But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going toe forward and say it¡¯s me.

    Feeling a little guilty, the door opens once again.

    =====

    [Oh, the door really is open.] Tilia

    [Is bear-san really here?] Flora

    It was Tilia and Flora-sama who came into the training area.

    When Flora-sama saw me, she immediately ran to me.

    I caught Flora-sama with my stomach.

    [I apologize, Tilia-sama, I was borrowing the training ground.] Figo

    [Oh, it¡¯s Figo?] Tilia

    Figo apologized to Tilia, even though he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong.

    [Did we, by any chance, interrupt your practice?] Tilia

    [No, It¡¯s fine, I was just about to call it a day.] Figo

    [Really? Are you sure we¡¯re not just making you feel ufortable? I don¡¯t mind if you keep practicing though.] Tilia

    [No, It¡¯s about time for me to head back to my post.] Figo

    Figo handed the door key to Tilia, bowed, and walked out of the training area.

    [Shia, thank you for not telling him about me.] Yuna

    I thanked Shia for not telling him about me. If she did, I would have gotten into trouble.

    [Yuna-san, you always say you don¡¯t want to stand out.] Shia

    [Even though you¡¯re dressed as such a prominent bear.] Tilia

    [But did we get in the way of his practice?] Yuna

    [Hmmm, I guess not. Figo is a hard man. Father told me that Figo was supposed to be the captain instead of Rutum. But he refused, saying that he was weak. It seems that after losing to Yuna, he had some things to think about. Even if Rutum had ordered him to do so, he seemed to regret the match with Yuna. Well, if it¡¯s themander¡¯s order, he has no choice but to obey.] Tilia

    [Is that so? If he doesn¡¯t like it, he can just say no.] Marcus

    Marcus gives a childish opinion.

    [That would make it impossible to form a unit. Marcus, when you be a knight, yourmander¡¯s orders are absolute. I don¡¯t mean to sound harsh, but a knight who can¡¯t follow orders vites the knight¡¯s code.] Tilia

    Tilia replied a little more seriously.

    [Even if you know it¡¯s wrong?] Marcus

    [That¡¯s right.] Tilia

    [............]

    What Tilia is saying is correct in the military.

    But it¡¯s not hard to understand how Marcus feels.

    But what Tilia said can be said for any society, not just the military.

    Regr employees have to listen to the orders of section chiefs, department heads, and the president. Teachers can¡¯t disobey the grade head or the principal. Of course, they can disobey, but they will be ostracized by society.

    Given that, I don¡¯t want to be a member of society. Well, even in the original world, I didn¡¯t mean to be a member of society. The stock market is enough to keep me alive.

    If I¡¯m going to live that kind of life back there, I¡¯m rather grateful that I was sent to another world.

    What¡¯s more, I¡¯m enjoying the different world.

    [Marcus. If you don¡¯t want to do that, then you should be amander yourself. But even if you do, you¡¯ll still have to obey the orders of the king above you.] Shia

    If you defy the king, you¡¯re done for.

    [But you can rest assured. I don¡¯t think Father or elder brother will give you any strange orders. But in Rutum¡¯s case, being a nobleman, he probably couldn¡¯t disobey even more.] Tilia

    Originally, it should have been Rutum¡¯s fault, but I¡¯m starting to feel a little guilty.

    Even so, I couldn¡¯t lose that match for the sake of Shia¡¯s future. Even if it would have ruined Figo¡¯s life. But if his boss is no longer an idiot after that, then I guess you could say I saved him.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    When I was writing the story of Rutum, I wanted to write the story of the other knight, so he made a brief appearance.

    It would have been nice to have a rematch with Yuna, but that would have taken the story to another ce, so the rematch will have to wait for another time.

    Do you think there will be a rematch? If there is, it will be a long time before it happens.

    ¡ùAs for the next post, if there is no post in three days, please consider me absent for a week or so.

    =====

    #

 Chapter 428 - 428 Bear-san, Participates In A Match

    <h4>Chapter 428 - 428 Bear-san, Participates In A Match</h4>

    428 Bear-san, Participates In A Match

    [Well then, Yuna-san. Can you grant me my request?] Marcus

    [Fine, but are we going to have a match as is?] Yuna

    Marcus is wearing ordinary civilian clothes. It¡¯s not safe to have a match like this.

    I don¡¯t intend to attack him seriously, but depending on how unexpected Marcus¡¯ moves are, I might hit him hard. So, even if it¡¯s just for practice, it¡¯s better to have protective gear.

    [I¡¯ve got my armor. I¡¯m just going to go change.] Marcus

    Marcus went to change clothes.

    [What about Shia?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t have it today, so I guess I¡¯ll just go as I am. I didn¡¯t have protective gear when I had my first match with Yuna-san after all.] Shia

    Indeed, she didn¡¯t have protective gear at that time because I suddenly had to fight with Shia.

    However, there is a difference in the level of danger between having no protective gear and having it.

    When Shia deres to do so without armor, Tiliaes over.

    [Don¡¯t worry, Shia. I knew you didn¡¯t have your armor with you, so I brought you mine.] Tilia

    Tilia pulled out some kind of girl¡¯s armor from her item bag.

    [Tilia-sama, are you sure?] Shia

    [In return, I¡¯m going to enjoy your match with Yuna.] Tilia

    [......I¡¯m borrowing this then.] Shia

    Shia thought for a moment, then picked up the armor and went to the changing room.

    =====

    [Bear-san, what are you doing?] Flora

    As we were talking, Flora-sama, who was holding onto my bear suit, asked me about it. I ced the bear puppet on top of her head and exin.

    [Just a little game, I think? It won¡¯t take long, so Flora-sama can wait with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

    I summoned the normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear-chan! Hugging Bear-chan!] Flora

    Flora tried to run to the bears happily, but Tilia hugged Swaying Bear before she could.

    [It¡¯s not fair, On¨¥shama.] Flora (TN: Oneesama ¨C Elder sister)

    And then, Flora-sama hugged Hugging Bear.

    [Just stay here and be quiet.] Yuna

    I lifted Flora-sama¡¯s body and ced her on Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    Tilia is riding on the back of Swaying Bear by climbing by herself.

    [Yuna, can I ride around?] Tilia

    [Okay, but don¡¯t overdo it.] Yuna

    [Alright, we¡¯re going to run, Swaying Bear. Your master has given her permission.] Tilia

    <Kuu ~ n>

    Swaying Bear looks at me as if to confirm.

    [Run around for a little while. But don¡¯t go too fast.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear runs out of the training area.

    [U~u, On¨¥shama, that¡¯s not fair. Hugging Bear, me too.] Flora

    Flora-sama sways her body back and forth on Hugging Bear.

    [Hugging Bear, run slowly.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear started running slowly with Flora-sama on board.

    [So fast, so fast.] Flora

    Flora-sama is enjoying herself on Hugging Bear.

    Tiliaes from behind Flora-sama, riding Swaying Bear. Then, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear run side by side, they¡¯re going around with each other along the wall of the training ground.

    [Swaying Bear. Faster.] Tilia

    [Hugging Bear-chan, you too. Faster.] Flora

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, don¡¯t speed up!] Yuna

    They tried to speed up, but I instructed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear not to speed up.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear followed my instructions and didn¡¯t increase their speed.

    [Yuna ~] Tilia

    [Why ~] Flora

    The twoined amicably.

    As expected, they are sisters. They look and act the same. I wonder if Flora-sama will be like Tilia when she grows up?

    [Tilia and Flora-sama, if you¡¯re too selfish, I¡¯ll have to ask you to get down from the bears.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll get hurt, but I don¡¯t want Flora-sama to be a speed freak.

    [U~u, that¡¯s...] Tilia

    [I¡¯m so sorry.] Flora

    They obeyed my words. Then they run around the training grounds at a moderate speed.

    =====

    As I watched Tilia and Flora-sama riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Marcus and Shia arrived, looking like they¡¯re ready for the match.

    [Yuna-san, what weapon should we use? Is a sword okay?] Marcus

    [Marcus, Shia. What do you usually use?] Yuna

    [We use regr practice swords.] Shia

    She¡¯s holding a sword that seems to be blunt.

    [I brought Yuna-san¡¯s sword, as well.] Shia

    I received the sword that Shia was holding.

    I don¡¯t mind whether it¡¯s a real sword or not. Since it¡¯s a long-awaited match, I¡¯ll go along with what the two of them want.

    [Then, Marcus and Shia, I¡¯ll give you a match with the weapon of your choice.] Yuna

    [......?] Marcus

    [What do you mean by that?] Shia

    [If you want a sword match, then I¡¯ll use a sword. If you want a knife match, I¡¯ll take out my knives. If you want a spear match, I¡¯ll go get a spear. And if you don¡¯t want to use a weapon, I¡¯ll y with you with my hands.] Yuna

    [Yuna-san, are you that good with weapons?] Marcus

    [Not everything. Just the weapons anyone can generally use.] Yuna

    In fact, I¡¯ve never used a mace or any kind of hammer-type weapon, though I¡¯m sure

    I¡¯d smash those if I did.

    [But isn¡¯t it ridiculous to be weaponless?] Marcus

    [As long as you don¡¯t get hit, you¡¯ll be fine, and if you want to see how it¡¯s done, the gloves will suffice.] Yuna

    I made the bear puppet crunch.

    Well, it¡¯s thanks to the bear equipment that I can do such tricks.

    [I¡¯d rather not go against someone without a weapon, so please use a sword.] Marcus

    Marcus wants a sword match, so I¡¯ll use a sword as a weapon and deal with him.

    I grabbed my practice sword and distanced myself from Marcus.

    Shia has moved away. Tilia and Flora-sama have stopped moving and are now watching us.

    =====

    Just as the match was about to begin, I heard a voice in the training hall that was not supposed to be there.

    [What? Are you going to start the match now?] King

    [Ara, Marcus, and Shia are having a match against Yuna-chan.] Eleanora

    When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw the King and Eleanora-san walking towards us.

    When Marcus and Shia saw them, they looked at each other in surprise.

    [Father.] Tilia

    [Ot¨­shama.] Flora

    Tilia on Swaying Bear and Flora-sama on Hugging Bear are on their way to His Majesty the King.

    If people who don¡¯t know anything about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear see this, it may look like a scene where a couple of bears are about to attack the King.

    Well, that didn¡¯t actually happen, rather, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped in front of the king.

    [Father, Eleanora, why are you here?] Tilia

    Tilia asks them what everyone in the room is thinking.

    Well, I have some idea. I remember seeing the gate guards running. But I can¡¯t see the queen.

    [I was informed that Yuna had arrived and went to Flora¡¯s room. So I went to the room. But when I got there, neither Flora nor Yuna was there. I asked Anju, who was still in the room, and she said that Flora and Tilia had gone to the training grounds.] King

    [Same here.] Eleanora

    I kept thinking about this, but are they really doing their job properly?

    Well, the crown prince and his men will do their best, won¡¯t they?

    [Why would His Majesty the Kinge to see Yuna-san?] Marcus

    [I don¡¯t know.] Shia

    Marcus and Shia are talking in low voices, but they¡¯re speaking so close to me that I can hear them.

    [So, are you going to have a match?] King

    [Yeah, with these two.] Yuna

    I looked at Marcus and Shia.

    [I¡¯m Marcus.]

    [I¡¯m Shia.]

    The two of them nervously said their names.

    [Shia was Eleanora¡¯s daughter, wasn¡¯t she?] King

    [She¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t she? Just like me~.] Eleanora

    [......] King

    The King goes through Eleanora-san¡¯s words. If he admits that Shia is cute, he is indirectly saying that Eleanora-san is cute as well. But he can¡¯t lie and say that Shia is not cute. He has such a conflicting expression on his face.

    But the King seems to know about Shia because of what happenedst time. He doesn¡¯t seem to know about Marcus.

    Marcus¡¯ father is a knight and a captain at that, isn¡¯t he?

    [We¡¯ll be watching the match, so good luck to both of you.] Eleanora

    Eleanora-san said and moved to the wall with the king. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with Tilia and Flora-san on board, also move to the side of the wall.

    [Does this means we¡¯re going to have a match in front of His Majesty the King?] Marcus

    [Looks like it.] Shia

    Marcus and Shia looked troubled.

    I know how you feel.

    In apany, it would be like the presidenting to see a new employee at work.

    I can¡¯t ask the King not to watch, so I¡¯ll just start the match with Marcus.

    =====

    [Well then, you can start anytime.] Yuna

    As I said that, Marcus tightened his grip on his sword and stepped in. I parried Marcus¡¯ sword. Marcus lost his bnce, but he quickly adjusted his stance, and with a swipe, he swung the sword once more. I blocked it with my sword.

    Marcusunches strike after strike, but I try not to attack too much.

    [It¡¯s not working.] Marcus

    After ying with Marcus for a while, he gradually started to get out of breath.

    He looks very tired after swinging his sword so many times. You can¡¯t keep swinging your sword over and over again.

    The more the swords sh with each other, the more you¡¯ll lose your grip.

    It¡¯s like holding a hard stick and hitting a hard object with all one¡¯s might.

    Thanks to my bear puppet, My hands don¡¯t get numb and I don¡¯t lose my grip.

    If it weren¡¯t for the bear puppet, I¡¯m sure my sword would have flown and bounced off the ground after just one strike.

    [Damn it, Yuna-san. You¡¯re too strong.] Marcus

    Marcus drops to his knees.

    [Boy, is that all you got?] King

    The King speaks to Marcus.

    [No, not yet. I can still do it.] Marcus

    Marcus was out of breath, but he couldn¡¯t say he¡¯s giving up in front of the king. He stood up.

    Then, until Marcus copsed, I fought with only a knife and gave him a handicap, so I did not move within a 1m radius.

    As expected, he refused when I tried to fight him unarmed.

    Marcus had reached his limit and fell to the ground, and the first body(corpse) had rolled to the ground.

    Now that the first opponent, Marcus, was finished, it was Shia¡¯s turn next.

    [Aren¡¯t you tired, Yuna-san?] Shia

    Shia asked when she saw Marcus lying on his back. Marcus was like a fish gasping for air.

    [Haah, haah. I¡¯m not gasping for air.] Marcus

    Oh, Marcus seems to be alive.

    [I¡¯m fine. We can start right away.] Yuna

    [You look like you¡¯re having trouble moving right at the end.] Shia

    Well, thanks to this hard-to-move-looking outfit, I can y with Marcus and Shia.

    [So, what kind of match do you want to have, Shia?] Yuna

    [Same as Marcus, please.] Shia

    Shia readies her sword.

    As it was an indoor training ground, we couldn¡¯t use magic. Even if we could use it to some extent, it would be a disaster if we hit a wall and broke it, so magic is prohibited.

    [Good luck, Shia.] Eleanora

    Eleanora waved her hand and cheered for Shia.

    [U~u, this is embarrassing.] Shia

    I don¡¯t know if it exists in this world, but for Shia, it¡¯s like a parent visiting school day.

    [Come on, Shia, show us something cool.] Tilia

    Tilia also cheered for Shia.

    Everyone thought of cheering for Shia, but Flora-sama cheered me on, saying, <Bear-san, do your best.>

    I¡¯m feeling a little more motivated.

    Shia and I began our practice match.

    She¡¯s not as strong as Marcus, but she attacks with precision.

    If she couldn¡¯t defeat me by force, then maybe by pinpoint uracy and speed.

    I handled Shia¡¯s attacks and blocked her sword. I let her attack as much as she wanted, and when there was an opening, I would lightly thrust my sword to show her that there was an opening.

    Every time I do this, Shia looks either surprised or frustrated.

    Then, a few shester, a second body rolled around the training grounds.

    [I¡¯m not dead yet!] Shia

    The fallen Shia read my mind and responded.

    She can read my mind, apparently.

    [No, I can hear what you¡¯re saying.] Shia

    Shia replied in amazement.

    Apparently, I was talking in a small voice.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I apologize for the inconvenience.

    I¡¯m going to be absent for a while (about a week?) from this post.

    I¡¯m sorry if it took a long time.

    Please understand that I will not be able to reply to your feedback.

    #

 Chapter 429 - 429 Bear-san, Ends The Match

    <h4>Chapter 429 - 429 Bear-san, Ends The Match</h4>

    429 Bear-san, Ends The Match

    [U~u, I¡¯m exhausted.] Shia

    Shia was gasping for air as she fell to the ground.

    She¡¯s wearing a skirt underneath, that¡¯s dangerous. There¡¯s a dangerous creature called Marcus nearby.

    I told her to get up and gave her a ss of water. She thanked me and drank the water.

    [Yuna-san, you had a match with me and Marcus, why are you still so rxed?] Shia

    [Even though I look like this, I¡¯m still an adventurer, so I¡¯m still training whenever I can.] Yuna

    Yeah, that¡¯s a lie.

    Inside this costume is a poor body that doesn¡¯t go on exercise. I¡¯m not fat, but I don¡¯t have muscle either. My upper arm is bby. If I took off my bear gear, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move like Marcus or Shia.

    [I¡¯ve been training hard, though.] Marcus

    [I thought I was training hard enough, too.] Shia

    Shia agreed with Marcus¡¯ murmur.

    But back in my gaming days, I was training to level up and stuff. So it can¡¯t all be a lie, you know?

    [I knew Yuna-san was strong, but I don¡¯t expect such a difference.] Marcus

    [Such swordsmanship, such skills. And she can even use magic.] Shia

    [Just the thought of having a match with her using magic scares the hell out of me.] Marcus

    [I¡¯ve challenged her with magic before. Now I that think about it, I was being so reckless at that time.] Shia

    But you were simply protecting your sister, Noa. The first time you saw me, you didn¡¯t feel good about it. Maybe she was angry at Cliff for putting someone like me in charge of guarding her sister.

    After the match, I gave them my impressions briefly.

    This is just my subjective opinion, but I will tell them the good and bad points of them both.

    [Marcus¡¯ attacks are powerful, but your strikes are very one-dimensional. You move the same way quite a lot. Also, you¡¯re only thinking about attacking, so there are too many gaps. Just because I¡¯m using a knife, you thought you can flick it off my hands. I can pass a knife through your defense.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not how it normally works.] Marcus

    Well, normally speaking, if a swordsman and a knife user fight head-on, the swordsman has the advantage over the knife user, unless there is a difference in their abilities.

    [But if you can evade the attacks, you can still take the sword down with a knife.] Yuna

    A knife is faster than a sword. I guess it¡¯s more about how you move your body than how you handle the weapon in this area.

    [On the other hand, Shia moves better than Marcus, but I think the sword is too heavy for her. She was being swung around by the sword. You might want to choose a lighter one.] Yuna

    [Yes, it was a little heavy. I should have chosen a lighter one. But Yuna-san is using the same sword, right?] Shia

    Well, thanks to my bear puppets, I can handle a heavy sword as if it were a wooden sword. Without the bear puppets, I wouldn¡¯t be able to wield a sword properly.

    [As expected, you¡¯re really strong, Yuna-chan.] Eleanora

    [But I¡¯m sure both Marcus and Shia are reasonably good students.] King

    Oh, the King is praising these two.

    But the two of them don¡¯t look too happy about it.

    [You two, the King isplimenting you, you know.] Yuna

    [Even if you say it¡¯s apliment, I couldn¡¯t hold a candle against Yuna-san.] Marcus

    [She even held back, and I¡¯m still in this condition. And I couldn¡¯t even get her to run out of breath.] Shia

    It seems that the two of them can¡¯t honestly rejoice when they are praised by the king for such reasons. I¡¯m also strong thanks to my cheat equipment, so I can¡¯t honestly be happy about it either.

    [Well, even Rutum lost to her. I think both of you did well.] Tilia

    [Bear-san, is amazing.] Flora

    Tilia riding on Swaying Bearforts them, and Flora praises me on top of Hugging Bear.

    Marcus and Shia were convinced by Tilia¡¯s words.

    [Damn it, it¡¯s hot in this.] Marcus

    Marcus begins to take off his armor.

    [I¡¯m sweating like crazy, too.] Shia

    It¡¯s still a hot season. So, if you move around a lot, you will be covered in sweat.

    [Yuna-san, what your wearing looks like it¡¯s hot inside, but are you okay?] Shia

    [As I have told you before, these clothes control the temperature inside, so it¡¯s cool andfy inside.] Yuna

    It¡¯s made of the best material for clothing. It will be cool in summer and warm in winter. The only drawback is that it¡¯s a stuffy bear costume. I always wish this was a cool-looking piece of equipment.

    I used to have a lot of cool armor made from rare materials that I got back in the gaming days. Now, all I have is the bear costume. I clenched the bear puppet.

    [Well, I¡¯ve made something cold for you guys. Shia, Marcus, would you like some?] Yuna

    [Something cold?] Marcus

    [I originally brought it for Flora-sama, but there¡¯s enough for everyone.] Yuna

    [Ara, Yuna-chan. Of course, you have some for me too, right?] Eleanora

    Eleanora-san reacted when I talked about food.

    [I hope you got some for me as well.] King

    And even the King reacted to it.

    [Yuna, I know you have some for me too.] Tilia

    It¡¯s contagious, even to Tilia.

    I¡¯ve made a lot for Flora-sama, including the share of the king and Eleanora-san, so adding Marcus, Shia, and Tilia is not a problem.

    [I¡¯ve made more than enough for everyone.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m d. It¡¯s unfair since it was always Father, Mother, and Flora.] Tilia

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t know about Tilia¡¯s existence until the school festival. Considering the king¡¯s age, I figured he must have a child around Tilia¡¯s age, but I didn¡¯t even try to find out. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t even know she exists until I met her.

    However, I don¡¯t think I would have prepared food for someone I had never met, even if I knew they existed.

    [Bear-san, is it delicious?] Flora

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Yuna

    Flora-sama asked me, so I answered softly, and she looked very happy.

    [You are really sweet to Flora.] Tilia

    When you say that, I can¡¯t say anything.

    Perhaps I am vulnerable to the innocence that I, myself, do not possess. My heart is dirty.

    [But it¡¯s cold food. Yuna-chan¡¯s food is delicious, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Eleanora

    [Well then, I shall be grateful. The garden will be fine. You two,e over after you wipe off your sweat.] King

    His Majesty the King says to Shia and Marcus, who are sitting down.

    [I¡¯ll go ahead and get things ready then.] Eleanora

    The King and Eleanora-san said such things and left the training grounds.

    =====

    At His Majesty, the King¡¯s words, both Shia and Marcus puckered their mouths, looked at each other, and hurriedly started to move.

    Marcus and Shia wiped off their sweat and put away their armor and weapons. Their movements were fast.

    Meanwhile, I decided to persuade Tilia and Flora-sama to get off of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear so I can return them to the bear puppets.

    After all, they tried to go to the garden riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [If you leave like that, the others will be startled. Let¡¯s just walk from here.] Yuna

    Flora-sama is clinging to Hugging Bear and refuses to let go. That¡¯s why I gave her a stuffed animal as a gift, but it seems the fake ones can¡¯t beat the real ones.

    [U~u] Flora

    [If Hugging Bear was seen as a danger and the soldiers attacked, we would be in trouble.] Yuna

    Well, if Flora-sama and Tilia were actually riding on top of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I don¡¯t think they would get attacked, but there might be some idiots who would try to save her and attack in the name of idiocy.

    [You wouldn¡¯t like it if Hugging Bear gets stabbed with a sword, would you?] Yuna

    [...... Un] Flora

    Alright, I sessfully convinced her.

    But just when I thought that Flora-sama¡¯s persuasion was sessful, Tilia started to say something unnecessary.

    [Why don¡¯t you make them smaller, then? Then I think it¡¯ll be fine.] Tilia

    That would just be procrastination.

    [Small bear-san? Yeah! Small bear-san is fine.] Flora

    Ah, Flora-sama is starting to wish for a smaller bear. If this happens, it¡¯s going to be impossible to get them to return.

    Well, since I rarelye to the royal capital, I¡¯m going to let her stay with Hugging Bear a little longer today.

    [Well then, Flora-san. Will you promise me? That you¡¯ll let him go when it¡¯s time for me to go back.] Yuna

    [Yeah, It¡¯s a promise.] Flora

    After making Flora-sama make a promise, I made Hugging Bear smaller. Flora-sama hugged Hugging Bear cub.

    And inevitably, I have to turn Swaying Bear that Tilia was holding had to a bear cub.

    [Big bears are cute, but little bears are even cuter.] Tilia

    After Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turned into cubs, Marcus and Shia will return.

    When they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form, they were not surprised by it and simply stroked their heads.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan, I haven¡¯t seen you like this since the seaside trip.] Shia

    [Thank you for that time.] Marcus

    Shiast saw them in their cub form back when she went to Mereera, but Marcus might not have seen Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear like this since that time I was escorting them.

    =====

    After cleaning up, we head for the garden.

    Swaying Bear is being held by Tilia, and Hugging Bear is walking beside Flora-sama.

    In the meantime, I heard Marcus and Shia talking.

    [We¡¯re going to be dining with His Majesty the King now, right?] Marcus

    [Looks that way.] Shia

    [A meal with His Majesty the King...] Marcus

    [I¡¯m nervous.] Shia

    [Me too.] Marcus

    Marcus held his stomach.

    Apparently, they¡¯re nervous about having a meal with His Majesty the King. It¡¯s something I kinda miss.

    [Yuna-san, what are youughing at?] Shia

    When I remembered the old days, I unknowingly smiled.

    [Seeing you two act like that reminded me of Fina when she was told we will be having a meal with His Majesty the King.] Yuna

    [Is it true that Fina-chan was taken to the castle by mother and had a meal with His Majesty the King?] Shia

    [Fina is the little girl that I saw with Yuna-san during the school festival, right? Is she an aristocrat?] Marcus

    [No. She¡¯s just a normal girl.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t do devilish things, Eleanora-sama. Bringing amoner child to have a meal with His Majesty the King? I would¡¯ve been beyond nervous if I was her.] Marcus

    [So do I.] Shia

    [Even Shia gets nervous by this?] Yuna

    [Of course. He¡¯s the king. He¡¯s the most important person in the kingdom. It¡¯s funny that you¡¯re having a casual conversation with him without any hesitation.] Shia

    I was also nervous the first time, but I¡¯ve gotten used to it.

    [But you¡¯re fine with Tilia, right?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve spent a lot of time with Tilia-sama at the academy, and she¡¯s easy to get along with.] Shia

    [Shia, is that apliment?] Tilia

    Tilia, who¡¯s walking in front of us, looked back.

    Apparently, she was listening.

    [Of course, I¡¯mplimenting you.] Shia

    Well, when the first time we met, she asked me to call her by her name. Maybe that¡¯s what makes her so friendly and approachable.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I¡¯m sorry for the dy.

    And I have to check the book again this weekend, so I think I¡¯ll be postingte again.

    If I don¡¯t have to do any major revisions, I might be okay.

    I¡¯ll refrain from replying to feedback until things settle down.

    #

 Chapter 430 - 430 Bear-san, Serves Fruit Parfait

    <h4>Chapter 430 - 430 Bear-san, Serves Fruit Parfait</h4>

    430 Bear-san, Serves Fruit Parfait

    We arrived at the garden.

    As usual, the royal garden was filled with colorful flowers. The flowers on the targui and bee trees were quite exquisite, but the flowers in the castle were also beautiful. In the midst of all this, Marcus and Shia were walking nervously.

    As we walked along looking at the flowers, we saw the King, Eleanora-san, and the Queen. When Flora-sama spotted the Queen, she ran up to her happily. Behind her, a Hugging Bear cub chased after her. The Queen pats the head of Flora-sama as shees over.

    [Marcus, the Queen is here, too.] Shia

    [Four royalty...] Marcus

    [So this is where we¡¯ll be eating.] Shia

    Marcus pressed his stomach.

    Right, if you think about it from a normal person¡¯s perspective, there are four members of the royal family gathered here, so this is an unbelievable situation to be in.

    [Yuna-san, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.] Anju

    Anju-san, Flora-sama¡¯s personal maid, arrives.

    [Hello, Anju-san.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s been a while. Please take your seats here.] Anju

    Anju-san showed us to our seats.

    His Majesty the King, the Queen, and Flora-sama are seated at arge circr table, and Tilia is seated on the other side of the King.

    I sat next to Flora-sama, and then Eleanora-san, Shia, and Marcus took their seats.

    Next to Marcus is Tilia.

    When Flora-sama sat down in her chair, the Queen noticed Hugging Bear, and Hugging Bear backed away.

    Seeing Hugging Bear, the Queen smiled and held out her hand towards Hugging Bear. When Kumakyuu didn¡¯t move, the Queen left her seat and took Hugging Bear in her arms.

    The time when the Queen wouldn¡¯t let go of Hugging Bear came back to my mind.

    [Cute child.] Queen

    [Un. Bear-san is cute.] Flora

    [That¡¯s right.] Queen

    The queen strokes Hugging Bear¡¯s head and lets go of him.

    Are?

    I thought she wouldn¡¯t let go of him just likest time, but my expectations were wrong. Hugging Bear also tilted his head, along with a <kuu ~ n>.

    By the way, Swaying Bear is sitting on Tilia¡¯sp.

    =====

    [So, Yuna. What¡¯s this something cold and tasty?] King

    The King eagerly asked.

    [Don¡¯t forget that I brought this for Flora-sama, just so you know.] Yuna

    After all this time, why would I have to prepare something for the King?

    Well, it¡¯s really toote now, so I pulled out the bear-shaped freezer from the bear box and took out what I¡¯ve made.

    Pudding, topped with ice cream and whipped cream in a clear ss, with various fruits along with what Shuri picked from the ind of Targui on top.

    What I brought was a fruit parfait. I didn¡¯t have a vertical bowl-like ss I used to have in my former world, so I used a ball-shaped ss bowl.

    If I wanted to put pudding, ice cream, whipped cream, and various fruits on it, I would have preferred this.

    [Ara, that¡¯s a beautiful looking food.] Eleanora

    [Yuna-san, is this ice cream?] Shia

    [And there¡¯s pudding and fruit on it.] Eleanora

    Shia, who had eaten ice cream before and Eleanora-san, looked at the fruit parfait and gave their impressions.

    When it¡¯s hot, ice cream is the best. Then pudding and whipped cream. The fruits are also cold, so it¡¯s delicious.

    The ice cream alone wasn¡¯t good enough, so I decided to make a fruit parfait this time.

    [Oh, maybe it¡¯s from the time when I was too busy working to get out.] King

    The King seemed to have remembered something.

    I remembered that thest time I brought the ice cream, the King and Queen were not there, so I left some for them.

    [That was cold and delicious. I remember Zeref making a lot of noise about it.] King

    [But it used to be so in and not so gorgeous.] Queen

    Before, there was just ice cream in a cup. This time there¡¯s ice cream, pudding, and various chilled fruits on top.

    One fruit parfait attracted everyone¡¯s attention and they all wanted to grab it, so I took out a fruit parfait for everyone from the freezer.

    [Yuna-san, I¡¯ll help you.] Anju

    Anju-sanes over and offers to help.

    As I took it out of the freezer, Anju-san brought it to everyone. She also carried the portions of the King, Queen, and Tilia.

    Then, when Anju-san tried to put Flora-sama¡¯s portion in front of her.

    [Anju-san, there¡¯s a separate one for Flora-sama, so please send that one to someone else.] Yuna

    [Understood.] Anju

    The fruit parfaits were distributed to everyone except Flora-sama.

    And finally, I put a special fruit parfait in front of Flora-sama.

    [It¡¯s Bear-san!] Flora

    Yes, the fruit parfait ced in front of Flora-sama has ice cream in the shape of a bear¡¯s face. It¡¯s decorated with cookies and fruits.

    [Ara, I see you made a special one for Flora-sama.] Eleanora

    Eleanora-sanpares her fruit parfait with the fruit parfait in front of Flora-sama. She seems to be wanting the same thing.

    [It¡¯s too much trouble to make the same for everyone, so it¡¯s only Flora-sama.] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t made the same for everyone because it was indeed a lot of work.

    Besides, it would be pictorially problematic for the King to eat a fruit parfait in the shape of a bear.

    So, the bear-shaped fruit parfait will only be for Flora-sama.

    Finally, I prepared a spoon and fork. When Flora-sama takes the fork, she looks up at me.

    [Can I eat it?] Flora

    [It¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    When I gave my permission, Flora-sama pondered a bit, then stuck her fork into the fruit and brought it to her mouth.

    [It¡¯s cold and delicious.] Flora

    The fruit is also chilled. I think I¡¯ll make sorbet next time.

    [Some of these fruits I¡¯ve never seen before.] King

    Then the King took a mouthful of sliced banana.

    Do you not get bananas around here?

    [It¡¯s delicious.] Tilia

    [That¡¯s true.] Marcus

    [Where did you get all these fruits from?] King

    [Hmmm, from different ces?] Yuna

    I can¡¯t say anything about Targui, so I¡¯ll try to trick them.

    [Why the question form?] King

    [Because it¡¯s a maiden¡¯s secret.] Yuna

    [A maiden, she said.] King

    There¡¯s a damsel dressed as a bear in front of you. Do you have bad eyesight?

    [All the fruits are delicious, and so is the pudding. There is more than one vor, so you can enjoy it endlessly. It looks gorgeous with all the colorful fruits on it. It would stand out at a royal party.] King

    The fruit parfait is garnished with bananas, oranges, peaches, strawberries, cherries, and grapes

    [Yuna-chan, you have great taste in decorations.] Eleanora

    [You have no taste in clothes, though.] King

    The King looks at my outfit while Eleanora-sanpliments me.

    It¡¯s not that I chose to wear it. It was God who made me wear the bear suit.

    [What are you talking about? It¡¯s so cute, isn¡¯t it?] Eleanora

    [There¡¯s a difference between being pretty and wanting to wear it. Do you want to wear it?] King

    [Hmmm, I wish I could dress my daughters like that.] Eleanora

    At Eleanora-san¡¯s words, except Flora-sama and the Queen, everyone looked at Shia.

    [No, thank you.] Shia

    Shia politely declined her mother¡¯s wishes.

    [Ara~ Marcus, don¡¯t you think Shia would look good in it, too?] Eleanora

    [Etto, that would be...] Marcus

    Marcus began to feel troubled speaking when he was asked suddenly.

    Marcus looked at Eleanora-san and Shia before opening his mouth.

    [I think it¡¯s best not to force her anything she doesn¡¯t want to.] Marcus

    After putting so much thought into it, he answered defensively for Shia.

    But is wearing a bear suit something to despise that much?

    Well, if I were in Shia¡¯s position, I would feel the same way, so I can¡¯t me her.

    [Oh, That was mean of you to turn down your mother¡¯s request. Well, maybe I¡¯ll ask Noa instead.] Eleanora

    I think Noa would be happy to wear it. She even wanted to wear the uniform of the Bear¡¯s Rest Shop.

    Eleanora-san said this as she ate her fruit parfait.

    [Flora-sama, is it good?] Yuna

    [Un, it¡¯s delicious.] Flora

    She answers with a big smile.

    Apparently, there was no fruit that she didn¡¯t like.

    Flora-sama eats fruit and pudding with cream on it. She has cream on her mouth, so I wipe it off with my handkerchief.

    [Bear-san, it¡¯s so delicious, but it¡¯s almost gone now.] Flora

    Flora-sama ate the bear ice cream. At first, she was hesitant to eat it, but after taking a bite, the bear ice cream soon disappeared.

    [The fruits are delicious, but the pudding and cream go well together. And this cold food, ice cream is it? It¡¯s so delicious.] Eleanora

    Eleanora-san puts the ice cream in her mouth and she looks delighted.

    The King and Queen both looked pleased as well.

    [It¡¯s good for hot weather.] Queen

    [Just to confirm, is this kind of food eaten outside the castle?] King

    [Hmmm, I haven¡¯t seen it sold anywhere.] Eleanora

    The King turns his gaze from Eleanora-san to Marix and finally Shia.

    [I don¡¯t know either.] Marcus

    [I got it from Yuna-san.] Shia

    The King looked at me after the two answered.

    [Don¡¯t tell me, again?] King

    [What do you mean again?] Yuna

    [I mean, is it a food no one knows about?] King

    [Some people already know about it.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not the first one who thought of it.

    [From where did you really...] King

    The King looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth.

    [If you want seconds, I still have some left.] Yuna

    [Oh, yes. Please.] King

    =====

    The fruit parfait was well received by everyone. And after eating, Flora-sama and Tilia were ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. The Queen was watching them smiling.

    Eleanora-san is still trying to make Shia dress up in a stuffed animal costume, but we¡¯re watching how she desperately refuses.

    His Majesty the King is talking about knights. Marcus is listening to him nervously.

    I took the rest of the fruit parfaits out of the bear freezer, and Anju-san took them to the freezer in the castle. Of course, there were also parfaits for Zeref-san and Anju-san.

    Then the King and Eleanora-san went back to work, and at the same time, Marcus and Shia left.

    [Yuna-san. Thank you for today. I feel like I¡¯ve learned a little.] Marcus

    [Yuna-san, it was a good match, but the fruit parfait was even better. Please let me have it again next time.] Shia

    And since I was leaving too, it was time for Flora-sama and Hugging Bear to say goodbye.

    [Just like you promised me.] Yuna

    [U, un] Flora

    Flora-sama sadly pulls away from Hugging Bear. Hugging Beares to me after crying <Kuu-n>. When Tilia sees this, she also silently leaves Swaying Bear.

    Surprisingly, as an older sister, she doesn¡¯t seem to be selfish.

    [Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. See youter.] Flora

    Flora-sama waved her small hand.

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also responded with a cry.

    I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets.

    Flora-sama looks sad, but Anju-san appears with a stuffed bear and hands the stuffed bear to Flora-sama.

    Flora-sama hugs her stuffed bear.

    It seems the stuffed animals are useful.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I was actually going to write this chapter from Marcus¡¯ point of view, where he¡¯s nervous because he¡¯s surrounded by royalty, but I couldn¡¯t write the story of the fruit parfait without Yuna¡¯s point of view, so I gave up this time.

    If I have time, I¡¯d like to write it in SS.

    I¡¯ll start the new arc in the next post.

    I hope you will look forward to it.

    Thank you for your continued support.

    If nothing happens, the next post will be made in three days as usual.

    #

 Chapter 431 - 431 Bear-san, Discovers A New Land

    <h4>Chapter 431 - 431 Bear-san, Discovers A New Land</h4>

    431 Bear-san, Discovers A New Land

    Fina and Shuri are helping Tirumina, so I¡¯m on my own on the ind of Targui.

    When I pull up the bear map, the ind is moving, albeit slowly. Where are we heading now, I wonder?

    I can¡¯t see how far we are from Mereera because the whole map doesn¡¯t show up, and I don¡¯t know what direction we¡¯re going. What¡¯s more, the map ispletely ck, which is a problem.

    So I¡¯m thinking of taking it easy today and making a Targui map.

    I don¡¯t know everything about the ind of Targui. I somewhat knew the paths and perimeters that people may have used in the past.

    For now, I¡¯m thinking of writing down which fruits and vegetables are avable and their locations on a piece of paper. If I write it down on a piece of paper, I can go there without getting lost the next time I want to get something. I¡¯ll need a map, but maybe I¡¯ll also make a sign.

    But first, should I pave the road? The road was unused for a long time, so it was bumpy. It might be a good idea to make a new one. It¡¯s easier to do with magic than to build a tunnel.

    I drew an oval map on a piece of paper and marked the location of the bear house. Then I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to help me make a targui map.

    We start off in a clockwise direction from what we think is the head of Targui. Along the way, I mark the paths and ces where fruits and vegetables are growing on the map.

    [There are Orens around here.] Yuna

    I drew a picture of Oren on the map and started walking towards the next destination.

    We took a leisurely walk around Targui and into the trails. We didn¡¯t go all the way around, but there¡¯s quite a variety of food.

    There are bananas, apples, oranges, peaches, and a variety of fruits. I wonder if there are any melons?

    There are no monsters or animals around, so it won¡¯t get eaten.

    It looks like there are birds.

    As we walked back to the head of Targui, looking at the Targui map, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear walking beside me stopped and raised their heads.

    [What is it?] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    When I look toward where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are looking, they are both looking at the ocean.

    Could it be a monster!?

    I turned my gaze toward where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were looking and saw a ship in the distance.

    Is that an ind? A continent? I can seend.

    Maybe there are people over there?

    I pulled out the bear map again and checked the direction Targui was moving. Unless it suddenly changes direction, the course it¡¯s currently on won¡¯t take us any closer to thend.

    Hmmm... What do we do now?

    Option 1 is tond.

    Option 2 is just to pass through.

    We¡¯re moving, so the option to goter doesn¡¯t exist.

    So, my choice was obvious.

    Even if we can¡¯t catch up to the ind of Targui, we can still go back by setting up a bear gate. I can¡¯t call myself a gamer if I don¡¯t explore a new map whenever it¡¯s implemented.

    I put the Targui map in my bear box.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Let¡¯s go.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    I rode on Swaying Bear, dodged the whirlpools of Targui, and leaped out into the surging sea. Behind me, the Hugging Bear chases after me.

    We were running across the sea, trying to reachnd. Looking back, the ind of Targui is getting further and further away.

    If it weren¡¯t for the bear gate, which can be ced anywhere, I would be too scared to jump out. I¡¯m really grateful for the bear gate.

    =====

    I aim fornd while checking the ships around me. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll notice me because I¡¯m so far away, but I don¡¯t want to get in trouble if they see me, so I stay away from the boats.

    Gradually, thend came into clear view. There seemed to be a harbor, and I could see a ship docked there. Beyond that, I can see some buildings.

    Oh, I knew there were people living here.

    I wonder what country it is. I¡¯m looking forward to it a bit, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get a lot of attention walking around dressed as a bear. I¡¯ve given up on that part whenever I¡¯m going to a new city.

    If I continued to ride Swaying Bear and approached the beach, I might get noticed, so I descended onto the sea and thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for giving me a ride here and sent them back.

    It¡¯s weird for a person to walk on the ocean, but it¡¯s also weird for a bear to run on the ocean as well.

    Now that I¡¯m alone, I ran over the sea. Even so, I didn¡¯t think I would be able to run on the sea.

    I used my sight and detection skills to find a ce where no one was around and jumped ashore without being noticed. The ce where Inded was a little far from the port, but it seemed to be in the city.

    I started to walk towards the buildings. Gradually, I can see the city.

    Could this be?

    I walk a little faster to the building.

    There are buildings, which means there are people. Whenever I walk as I usually do, I attract attention, but there are many things in front of me that are more interesting, so I could ignore the attention I¡¯m getting. I look at the buildings on the streets and the people walking by.

    Buildings with tiled roofs are lined up, and the people walking are wearing clothes simr to Japanese kimono.

    Could this be the Land of Harmony? (TN: ºÍ¤Î¹ú )

    Some of them are wearing familiar clothes, like Fina and the others, but most of them are wearing Japanese clothes.

    Hmmm...mixed cultures?

    However, this is definitely the Land of Harmony or something close to it at least.

    So, what do I do now?

    Should I look for a ce to set up a bear gate or find an inn?

    I wonder if there¡¯s amercial guild here? I¡¯m also wondering if there is an adventurer¡¯s guild. Are the monsters the same? Or are they different? I¡¯m curious about a lot of things.

    =====

    As I walked along, ignoring the stares directed at me, I discovered a magnificent building. It is a wooden building with a tiled roof. The building is surrounded by a wall. At the entrance to the building, I found a sign that said Sakura Ryokan.

    Oh, I found the inn!

    Just the fact that it says <Ryokan> gives it a Japanese feel.

    It¡¯s already telling me to stay in this one, isn¡¯t it? So I might as well stay a few days and explore the city. That way I can find a ce to set up the bear gate and it¡¯s not toote to set one up.

    I walked towards the door of the inn to see if I could stay.

    I slide the door to the side with a rattling sound and enter the inn.

    [Wee.] Girl

    As I entered the inn, a girl about my age greeted me. She was dressed in a kimono suitable for the ryokan. Her hair is tied up with a kind of hairpin.

    When the girl saw my outfit, she looked at me in surprise.

    [Bear-san!?] Girl

    The girl was having trouble dealing with me as she stared at me.

    [Anou, can I stay here?] Yuna

    [Ah, yes. It¡¯s okay.] Girl

    The girl came to her senses when I spoke to her.

    It looks like there are rooms avable for now. If that¡¯s the case, it might be a good idea to stay for a few days.

    [But first, may I have a confirmation?] Girl

    [What? If you¡¯re asking about this outfit, I¡¯m not answering.] Yuna

    [No, although, I¡¯m curious about that too.] Girl

    She¡¯s still curious about it.

    [There is no bed in this inn. There are some people from other countries who do not like to sleep on the floor. In that case, we will refuse and refer you to another inn.] Girl

    There¡¯s only one possible exnation for theck of a bed.

    [Could it be the tatami?] Yuna

    A ryokan is a Japanese-style room. In other words, tatami mats.

    [Yes, so you know of it. In this inn, we sleep on tatami mats. There are some people who stay here without knowing that andin afterwards, so I have to check.] Girl

    [Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    I had a Japanese-style room in my apartment. I didn¡¯t feel anything at the time, but I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m Japanese that I get happy when I hear the word <tatami>.

    [So before I show you to your room, which room would you like?] Girl

    [Are there different kinds?] Yuna

    [Yes, the size of the room, with a bath attached, etc.] Girl

    [Could it be, the baths are hot springs!] Yuna

    [Yes, there is argemon bath, but some guests prefer to take a bath privately, so we have a bath in their room. But of course, the price of the room is higher.] Girl

    [I¡¯d like a room with a bath.] Yuna

    If there is a hot spring, I want to go there. But I don¡¯t want to use a public bath. So, if there is a room with a hot spring, I will choose that room.

    [Well, the room isrger and more expensive.] Girl

    The girl looks at me as if she¡¯s having a hard time saying it while looking at my appearance.

    Apparently, they are worried about whether I have the money.

    Well, they don¡¯t think a girl dressed like a bear like this has a lot of money.

    [I have no problem with it. Oh, right. Can I use this money?] Yuna

    This is a different country. The currency they have may not be the same as the other. I show her my money.

    [It¡¯s okay.] Girl

    I¡¯m d the currency that I have seems to be epted here.

    I pay the specified amount for three days. Breakfast and dinner are included in the price. If I didn¡¯t want them, the price would be a little lower, but I asked.

    [I¡¯m Konoha, the daughter of the innkeeper. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.] Konoha

    [My name is Yuna. I won¡¯t answer anything regarding this outfit, so please take care of me.] Yuna

    [Y, yes.] Konoha

    The girl looked like she wanted to say something, but closed her mouth instead.

    Do you really want to ask me about it that much?

    The girl led me to my room.

    [Where did youe from, dear guest?] Konoha

    [Hmmm, do you know the town of Mereera?] Yuna

    I told her the name of a town that has a connection to the Land of Harmony.

    [Yes, I know of it. I heard that there was a big monster in the sea for a while, so they couldn¡¯t go there.] Konoha

    Ah, the Kraken.

    That happened, didn¡¯t it?

    [ording to the story, it was defeated by an adventurer, but I guess there are really great adventurers out there who can defeat a big monster in the ocean.] Konoha

    [That¡¯s true.] Yuna

    [Does our dear guest know what kind of person took it down?] Konoha

    That¡¯s the person you¡¯re talking to right now, the bear. I can¡¯t say that, and even if I did, she wouldn¡¯t believe it. So, my answer is obvious.

    [I don¡¯t really know.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry to hear that. If such a strong adventurer would stay at our inn, we could ask him how he defeated it, but it¡¯s a pity.] Konoha

    That person is going to stay with you right now.

    I feel like I¡¯m lying to the girl and I feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong.

    #

 Chapter 432 - 432 Bear-san, Enters The Hot Spring

    <h4>Chapter 432 - 432 Bear-san, Enters The Hot Spring</h4>

    432 Bear-san, Enters The Hot Spring

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 1:

    ¡ùIn the previous story, I forgot to correct Konoha¡¯s age due tock of confirmation and posted it.

    Konoha¡¯s age.

    Before the correction, she¡¯s about Fina¡¯s age.

    After correction, she is about the same age as me (Yuna).

    I¡¯ve already corrected it.

    =====

    I will be staying at a ryokan, and Konoha is showing me to my room.

    The ryokan isrge and we head to the back of the building. The room was a sort of remote part of the inn.

    When I entered the room, I saw that it was asrge as Konoha had said it would be and definitely not a room for one person to stay in. Well, I¡¯m not alone either.

    There¡¯s Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as well.

    [No other guests will pass by this room, so you can stay here quietly.] Konoha

    The room is indeed separated from the rest of the house, so no other guests will pass by. This room is more and more suitable for me.

    I looked around the room and saw a nostalgic Japanese room with tatami mats covering the entire floor. It¡¯s true what they say, you don¡¯t know what¡¯s important until it¡¯s gone.

    As I quickly tried to climb up on the tatami.

    [I¡¯m sorry, please take off your shoes when you enter the room.] Konoha

    When I tried to enter with my bear shoes on, I was stopped.

    My bear shoes don¡¯t get dirty, even with mud. So I don¡¯t mind walking on the bed. But it¡¯s too much trouble to exin here, so I¡¯m going to take off my bear shoes before entering the room.

    Oh, it feels good to walk on tatami with bare feet. I feel nostalgic for a feeling I haven¡¯t had in a long time.

    At the time, I never paid any attention to the existence of a Japanese-style room in my apartment. But now that it¡¯s gone for quite a while, I¡¯m d to see its existence again.

    Maybe I can make a Japanese-style room in the bear house. I think I¡¯ll buy tatami matster.

    [You look happy, dear guest.] Konoha

    [It felt a little, nostalgic.] Yuna

    [Nostalgic, you say?] Konoha

    [Yeah, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve felt this sensation.] Yuna

    [I see. That¡¯s why it¡¯s okay for you to sleep on tatami mats, isn¡¯t it?] Konoha

    While I was immersing myself in the nostalgic feel of the tatami on my feet, Konoha started walking to the next room, and I followed her.

    [This is the hot spring. You can enter at any time, so please feel free to do so.] Konoha

    When she opened the door, there¡¯s a changing room, and when she opened the door further, there¡¯s a hinoki bath with steam rising from it. The bath wasrge enough for a family. It looks like I can take a bath with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Then she briefed me on how to use the washroom. And things like, I have to say a word when I want to go out, or when I want to have a meal.

    [Your meal will be brought to you when it¡¯s time, or would you like to go out today?] Konoha

    Well, what should I do? Even if I go out now, the sun will be setting soon. But I also feel like going out.

    Hmmm, what should I do?

    I thought about it and decided to start exploring the city in the morning. First, I decided to enjoy the Japanese-style room and the hot spring. I also had to contact Fina.

    [I think I¡¯ll take the rest of the day off.] Yuna

    [All right. So, would you like bread or rice for your meal?] Konoha

    [Do I get to choose?] Yuna

    [Yes, we have guests from other countries staying here after all.] Konoha

    [I¡¯ll have some rice, then.] Yuna

    After all, I came to a Japanese-like country, so I should eat Japanese-like food.

    But they don¡¯t serve locusts and caterpirs and other insect dishes, do they?

    [Well, we can¡¯t exchange the food that you don¡¯t eat food, but...] Konoha

    [Like a bug maybe?] Yuna

    I¡¯ve never eaten one, but I¡¯m not a fan of bugs. I don¡¯t dare to put them in my mouth, even if they are food. Even if I¡¯m told to eat it, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll do it.

    [No, it will be rice, soup with miso, vegetable stew, seafood with crab, etc.] Konoha

    I¡¯m d.

    But it¡¯s crabs. Crabs! I¡¯m looking forward to it.

    [Is everything okay?] Konoha

    [Yeah, I¡¯m fine.] Yuna

    [Then I¡¯ll bring it to you when it¡¯s time to eat.] Konoha

    Konoha bowed and walked out of the room.

    =====

    I had seafood in Mi, too. But crab and other seafood, I¡¯m looking forward to this one.

    As soon as Konoha left the room, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, it¡¯s Tatami!] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear walked on the tatami mat.

    I decided to enjoy the tatami mats and the hot spring together with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Besides, it would be boring to enjoy it alone. It might be a good idea to bring Fina along.

    Yeah, it¡¯s easy enough to bring them in if I set up a bear gate.

    When I looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they were running around therge tatami room.

    [Both of you, don¡¯t scratch the tatami, okay? Be careful with your ws. Also, tell me when someonees. After that, hide so that no one can find you.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    I gave them all the warnings.

    They would be surprised if a bear was in the room, and it would be like bringing in a hidden pet. In the meantime, I am aware of this, so I asked them to hide. If pushes to shove, I can return them to the bear puppets.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started lounging around on the tatami.

    =====

    As I watched them, I took out my bear phone and called Fina.

    ?Yuna-oneesan?? Fina

    [Fina, I¡¯ll be gone for a while, so take care of things there.] Yuna

    ?Are you going there?? Fina

    [Don¡¯t tell anyone where I¡¯m going.] Yuna

    From the time I could seend from Targui, I told her I wasing to thatnd.

    ?Are you sure about this? Isn¡¯t it dangerous?? Fina

    [It¡¯s okay. Apparently, it¡¯s the Land of Harmony.] Yuna

    ?The Land of Harmony?? Fina

    [Yes, the country where rice and soy sauce came from.] Yuna

    ?Isn¡¯t that far away?? Fina

    [With that being said, I¡¯ll be staying here for a while, so call me if you need anything.] Yuna

    ?I understand.? Fina

    [Fina, do you want toe too?] Yuna

    ?I¡¯d love to go, but my dad would be sad if I was gone too long.? Fina

    ......Gentz-san.

    Well, he was separated from Fina when we went to the dwarven city.

    Not too many days have passed since then.

    [If you get the permission, give me a call anytime.] Yuna

    ?Yes, I understand. Please be careful, Yuna-oneesan.? Fina

    After turning off the bear phone, I decided to enjoy the hot spring until dinner.

    =====

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going to the hot spring.] Yuna

    When I called out, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were lounging on the tatami, came over. Apparently, they liked the tatami mat too. I¡¯m going to have to buy some tatamiter.

    I took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and moved to the changing room.

    I took off my stuffy bear costume in the changing room and plunged into the hot spring.

    The steam was amazing. The hot spring water wasing out of what looked like a tube.

    I put my hand into the cypress bathtub to check the temperature.

    [It¡¯s hot!] Yuna

    The temperature seemed to be high.

    But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear goes into the hot spring like it¡¯s normal.

    As expected, they are strong in both cold and hot conditions.

    I poured hot water over myself and slowly entered the bath, feet first.

    It¡¯s hot, but if I go in slowly, I¡¯ll be fine.

    Then, I soak up to my shoulders.

    [Ha~a ~] Yuna

    That feels good.

    Hot springs are the ultimate luxury.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear put their heads on the frame of the cypress bath and lookedfortable.

    I want to see the scenery outside, but I can¡¯t since it¡¯s not an open-air bath.

    Is there an outdoor bath somewhere?

    However, I would like to have a hot spring in the bath of the Crimonia bear house.

    But we don¡¯t have hot springs in Crimonia, do we?

    After enjoying the hot spring, I left the bathroom.

    I wiped myself thoroughly, then wiped Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s bodies as well, and dried them with a hairdryer.

    I¡¯ve changed into a pr bear and entered the rxed mode.

    =====

    As I was brushing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s fur, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried and looked at the door.

    Looks like someone¡¯s here.

    There is a knock at the door.

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to hide and opened the door. There was Konoha, who showed me to my room.

    [I brought you your diner.] Konoha

    [You brought it yourself?] Yuna

    [Would my mother have been a better choice?] Konoha

    [Not at all. I just don¡¯t want people to see me like this.] Yuna

    She looked at my pr bear outfit.

    [You¡¯re a white bear now.] Konoha

    [And by the way, I have nothing to say about this outfit either.] Yuna

    When I made the first move, she didn¡¯t ask me anything about clothes.

    Instead, Konoha asked something else as sheid out the food.

    [How was the hot spring?] Konoha

    [That felt really good.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s good to hear.] Konoha

    [Did youe alone, dear guest? Are your family members not with you?] Konoha

    [It¡¯s just me.] Yuna

    [How did you get all the way out here by yourself?] Konoha

    [Even though I look like this, I¡¯m still an adventurer. I can handle a little danger.] Yuna

    [An adventurer......?] Konoha

    Konoha stopped her hand and looked at me.

    She has doubtful eyes.

    Well, even if she, believe me, it¡¯ll be difficult to ept.

    [Yuna-san, you¡¯re an adventurer, you say? Are you able to use amazing magic by any chance?] Konoha

    [Well, maybe a little.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s amazing. Then even a girl like Yuna-san cane to a ce like this by herself.] Konoha

    Apparently, she believed me because she thought I¡¯m a mage.

    [Is there an adventurer¡¯s guild in this city?] Yuna

    [Yes, there is.] Konoha

    I knew there¡¯s one here, I¡¯m just not sure about it.

    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild of the Land of Harmony, maybe I¡¯ll take a peek tomorrow.

    Do they use weapons like a sword? Do they have magicians?

    Konoha finished arranging the food and left the room.

    I called out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were hiding.

    Dinner was a sumptuous meal of rice, miso soup, boiled vegetables, and boiled crab.

    Ooh, that looks delicious.

    [Itadakimasu!] Yuna

    I took my bowl and chopsticks and ate my food.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 2:

    This is a hot spring episode.

    Animals are not allowed on tatami mats, right?

    But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are fine.

    She¡¯s been summoning Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear at the inn every time, but will she have to pay extra if they find out?

    Do you think they will kick her out when that happens?

    #

 Chapter 433 - 433 Bear-san, Buys Tatami Mats

    <h4>Chapter 433 - 433 Bear-san, Buys Tatami Mats</h4>

    433 Bear-san, Buys Tatami Mats

    The next morning, I woke up on a futonid out on the tatami floor.

    It¡¯s morning already?

    Yesterday, after finishing the meal. I went to the hot spring once again and fell asleep while my body was still warm.

    When I got up, the cub-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been sleeping curled up on either side of me, also got up.

    [Good morning, both of you.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    After putting away the futon and changing into my ck bear, I thought about my ns for the day.

    I want to buy tatami mats if I can and visit the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I¡¯d also like to buy some other souvenirs for Fina and the others if there are any. Finally, I¡¯d like to discover some unusual things.

    As I was thinking about my ns for the day, there was a knock at the door.

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to hide. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear trudged off to the next room to hide.

    When I opened the door, I saw Konoha.

    [Good morning. I¡¯ve brought you breakfast.] Konoha

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    [Did you sleep well?] Konoha

    [Yeah, the hot springs were nice too.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m d to hear that.] Konoha

    Breakfast was simple, grilled fish, miso soup, seaweed, and pickles.

    Speaking of which, I¡¯ll have to eat lunch outside, but I wonder if there¡¯s anything good to eat out there.

    =====

    After breakfast, I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets, then left the room.

    Then I see Konoha near the entrance of the inn.

    [Are you going out?] Konoha

    [Yeah, I have a question though, is there a ce that sells tatami?] Yuna

    [Tatami?] Konoha

    [Yeah, I like it so much. I think I¡¯ll buy some and set it up back in my home.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m d you like it. You can find the store selling tatami mats by walking for a while along the road to the right after leaving the inn. But can you take it home with you?] Konoha

    [I have an item bag, so it¡¯s okay.] Yuna

    I also asked for the location of themercial guild, the adventurer¡¯s guild, and the city¡¯s tourist attractions, and wrote them down on a piece of paper.

    [Thanks.] Yuna

    I thanked her and left the inn.

    =====

    I¡¯ll head to the tatami mat shop first.

    As I walked along the streets, people who saw me shouted in surprise.

    <Bear?> <What¡¯s that?> <A Bear?> <Where is she from?>

    The bear costume stands out wherever I go.

    I pulled my bear hood to cover my face.

    When a few kids came up close and started to go around me saying <It¡¯s a bear!> and <You look weird!> I wanted to kick them, but I put up with it.

    As soon as I shouted a loud <Waa>, they left.

    You people are not doing a very good job of educating these kids. You should learn from the kids in the orphanage and Fina and the others.

    Still, these are Japanese-style houses lined up. The roof tiles alone are enough to make a difference. If there were no roof tiles, the houses might have been ordinary wooden structures.

    I wonder if they have castles in this country?

    Is there a castle, like the ones in Japan?

    If they have it, I¡¯d like to see it. I¡¯ll ask Konoha about it when I get back to the inn.

    =====

    I walked up to the tatami mat shop while suffering from being repeatedly pointed at as they shout <bear>.

    [I think it¡¯s somewhere around here.] Yuna

    As I looked at the map on the paper and looked around, I saw a signboard with a picture of tatami mats on it.

    Here it is.

    [Pardon the intrusion~] Yuna

    I called out as I entered the store.

    [Yes~.] Clerk

    A woman wearing an aprones running towards me.

    [Sorry to keep you waiting-...... bear?] Clerk

    The woman froze when she saw me.

    Well, it¡¯s always the same, so I talked to her, ignoring the word <bear>.

    [I want to buy tatami mats.] Yuna

    [Etto, tatami?] Clerk

    What else do they sell at tatami shops?

    [I heard I could get it here.] Yuna

    [Ah, yes. Tatami mat. You can buy it here.] Clerk

    The woman seemed to be concerned about my outfit, but I immediately asked her about the tatami mats.

    [Well then, Sweetie. How many tatami mats do you need? Where is your house? Are you asking for recements? Do you need it in a rush?] Clerk

    The woman asked me a lot of questions.

    Well, she would normally think that I¡¯m asking for tatami mat recements.

    I kind of imagine that no one takes tatami mats home with them.

    [My house isn¡¯t in this city, so I just need the tatami mats.] Yuna

    [Is that so? Sweetie, did youe here by yourself?] Clerk

    [I¡¯m on my own.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t want her to treat me like a child, but I guess I look like a child in this outfit.

    After all, it¡¯s the first time she¡¯s seen this kind of outfit. I always wonder if this outfit looks childish, especially for those who¡¯s seeing it for the first time.

    If so, being called strange might be better.

    [Etto, Sweetie. Take a look at what I¡¯m talking about. Tatami mats are big and heavy. So you can¡¯t carry them home by yourself......] Clerk

    The woman showed me the tatami mats in the store.

    A sheet of tatami isrge and heavy. If I didn¡¯t have my bear gear, I wouldn¡¯t be able to lift it.

    [Did youe in a carriage, by any chance?] Clerk

    The woman nced outside.

    [I have an item bag. So I¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    [Item bag? Would that work? So how many do you need?] Clerk

    The woman seemed convinced and proceeded with the transaction.

    She asked me again how many tatami mats I wanted to buy.

    Four and a half tatami mats? Six Tatami? Eight Tatami?

    Is six tatami mats enough?

    I can change the bear house in the royal capital, the top room of the bear building in Mereera town, or one of the bear houses for travel.

    And I can imagine the children in the orphanage lounging around on the floor. Maybe tatami mats would be better than carpets.

    I did a simple calction and answered the woman.

    [About sixty, I think.] Yuna

    When I look around at the room in the store, I see tatami mats piled up. That¡¯s about right, isn¡¯t it?

    [...Etto, Sweetie. Tatami is not cheap. And isn¡¯t that a lot? You might want to get confirmation from your parents first.] Clerk

    The woman says gently, confirming.

    Well, if a girl like me asked for 60 tatami mats, of course, she would have this reaction, wouldn¡¯t she

    [You don¡¯t have to worry about the money.] Yuna

    [And no matter how many item bags you have, you can¡¯t possibly fit that many in there, can you?] Clerk

    This woman is so worrywart, she¡¯s worried about a lot of things, whether for herself or me.

    Well, I suppose it¡¯s both.

    I checked the price of the tatami mats and paid for 60 of them.

    The woman was surprised when she saw the money, but she seemed convinced.

    [So, what kind of tatami do you want?] Clerk

    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t possess the knowledge of what makes a good and bad tatami in my head.

    So, I¡¯ll buy a good quality tatami for my room, and the rest are regr tatami.

    She gave me a small discount.

    When I put the tatami in the bear box, the woman looked at me with surprise.

    [Ah, thank you very much.] Clerk

    The woman bows her head to me as I leave the store.

    I¡¯m really d I could use the currency that I have. It¡¯s not always easy to spend money in different countries.

    But with this, I can now make a Japanese-style room when I get home.

    Having sessfully purchased tatami mats, I went on to purchase Japanese-style chests and furniture.

    It is a bad habit of mine to buy things when I want them, regardless of whether I will use them or not.

    If Fina finds out about this, she¡¯ll be very upset.

    I¡¯ll buy a wooden frog sculpture and a hand mirror to put Fina in a good mood. I thought it would be counterproductive, but I couldn¡¯t think of any other way to make her happy, so I had no choice.

    Would she have preferred food?

    I thought about such things as I ate some dumplings for lunch.

    =====

    Then, after wandering around, shopping here and there, I came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    The guild has a tiled roof too.

    When I took a peek, I saw ordinary adventurers as well as samurai-like adventurers.

    When I entered, as usual, I attracted a lot of attention.

    <Kuma?> <Kuma?> <Kuma?> <Bloody Bear!>

    What was thatst one?

    Did I hear it wrong?

    I looked around the room and saw one frightened adventurer looking at me.

    Do you know me by any chance?

    But why are you freaking out?

    At any rate, they didn¡¯t talk to me, so I went through them.

    There are several adventurers in the room, watching me, but no one calls out to me. I don¡¯t seem to get tangled up in anything this time.

    I looked around the room and then at the receptionist.

    At the reception desk, a woman of about 20 years old was sitting there, dressed in a Japanese kimono. The woman¡¯s hair is done up with an ornamental hairpin. It¡¯s Japanese-style.

    The receptionist is looking at me intently.

    [Anou, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask.] Yuna

    [Y, yes, what is it?] Receptionist

    Receptionist-san looks at me as if she is observing me.

    I know you¡¯re curious, but I¡¯m going to ask you about the guild.

    [Does the Adventurer¡¯s Guild ept guild cards from other countries?] Yuna

    [Yes, you can use it.] Receptionist

    ording to the receptionist, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was spread by someone who came from another country. That¡¯s why you can use any adventurer¡¯s card from anywhere.

    It seems that the guild that started in country A spread to neighboring country B, then to neighboring country C, then to neighboring country D, and E, then to neighboring country G, then finally to the Land of Harmony.

    So, since the system is the same, they can read the contents of the guild card.

    [Etto, are you an adventurer?] Receptionist

    [That¡¯s right.] Yuna

    When I told them I was an adventurer, the room became noisy.

    When I looked at the adventurers, the receptionist stood up and opened her mouth to the crowd of adventurers.

    [Everyone, if you don¡¯t want to work, please go home. This is not the ce to kill time.] Receptionist

    [We¡¯re just exchanging info.] Adventurer 1

    [Yeah, that¡¯s right.] Adventurer 2

    [Because exchanging information is important.] Adventurer 3

    [You say that every day. Do your work once in a while.] Receptionist

    The receptionist was dismayed.

    Perhaps because they came toote, other than the adventurer I mentioned earlier, the one who said Bloody Bear, there were only a few others.

    After hearing what I need from the receptionist, I was about to move away from her to check the request board when a man dressed in kimono walked in and went to the receptionist.

    [I made a request yesterday, has anyone epted yet?] Man

    [Itsuki-san, was it? The request has not been epted yet.] Receptionist

    [That¡¯s not good. Our livestock, cattle, and birds are being attacked. If no one took it out, it¡¯s a matter of life and death.] Itsuki

    [It is up to the adventurer to decide whether or not to ept the request. In a manner of speaking, you can ask an adventurer directly, but when ites to Kamaitachi, they need to be good adventurers to defeat it.] Receptionist

    The receptionist nced at the remaining adventurers.

    The adventurers looked away.

    [It has to be a pretty good adventurer to do that.] Receptionist

    The receptionist said it for the second time and looked at the man.

    Apparently, the remaining adventurers here are of low rank.

    [Please do something about it. The vige is in danger.] Itsuki

    The man bows his head and ces it on the receptionist¡¯s table.

    [Please raise your head.] Receptionist

    Kamaitachi is a kind of monster that cuts with the de of the wind, I think?

    Is that a kind of monster here?

    [Please...] Itsuki

    The Man didn¡¯t lift his head.

    [Do you want me to take care of it?] Yuna

    I was curious about that monster too, so I called out to the man.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    She bought tatami mats and came over to the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    There aren¡¯t many Japanese monsters that are close to demons.

    Anyway, herees the Kamaitachi.

    I beg your pardon. I¡¯m in the final stages of revising my SS, so my next post may be dyed a day or two. Thank you for your understanding.

    #

 Chapter 434 - 434 Bear-san, Receives A Request.

    <h4>Chapter 434 - 434 Bear-san, Receives A Request.</h4>

    434 Bear-san, Receives A Request.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 1:

    I finished writing this in the middle of the night, so I¡¯ll post it in the morning.

    =====

    The man looked up at my words and looked at me.

    [Bear?] Itsuki

    Apparently, he hadn¡¯t noticed me.

    [Shall I defeat the monster?] Yuna

    [Are you kidding me, Missy?] Itsuki

    [Etto. The Kamaitachi is a nasty monster that moves fast and shoots wind des from a distance, so it¡¯s not easy to subdue it. And ording to Itsuki-san, there are several of them, so it¡¯s not a good idea to let beginners handle it. In the request...] Receptionist

    The guild receptionist is having a hard time exining details about the Kamaitachi.

    Apparently, she thought I was a novice adventurer.

    [Moreover, as soon as they think they are at a disadvantage, they hide in the nearby forest. They are not easy to defeat.] Itsuki

    The man added to the receptionist¡¯s words in an irritated manner.

    I can¡¯t lose in speed. Even if they hide, I can find those monsters with my bear detection skills.

    [I¡¯ve never fought one before, I just arrived at this city after all, but I think I can handle it. I just saw that you were in trouble, so I called out to you.] Yuna

    I¡¯m not forcing myself to get the request.

    It¡¯s just that I was curious about Kamaitachi, and he seemed to be in trouble.

    The man looked at me and pondered.

    [Just so I understand, Missy, you¡¯re an adventurer, right? I¡¯m sorry for asking, but what¡¯s your rank?] Itsuki

    [I¡¯m an adventurer. My rank is C.] Yuna

    The man and the receptionist were surprised by my words.

    [Rank C? Are you sure you can defeat the Kamaitachi, Missy?] Itsuki

    [I¡¯ve never fought one, but I think I know how to beat them.] Yuna

    The man ponders further.

    He still seemed skeptical even when I told him I was a rank C adventurer.

    Well, I¡¯m a bear. So, it can¡¯t be helped.

    =====

    [In that case, would you like me to go with you?]

    Out of nowhere, someone spoke to me.

    [Shinobu-san!] Receptionist

    The receptionist raised her voice in surprise.

    The girl who appeared was not so different from me.

    The girl was dressed in a dark blue kimono outfit, but a little different from the rest. It looked like the kind of ninja costumes you see in anime and manga, I think?

    [If you¡¯re that worried about Bear-san¡¯s abilities, I¡¯ll go with her.] Shinobu

    [If Shinobu-san is with you, then it¡¯s okay.] Receptionist

    The receptionist says reassuringly.

    [Itsuki-san. She can defeat a Kamaitachi without any problem. Her ability is guaranteed by the guild.] Receptionist

    [Is that true?] Itsuki

    [She¡¯s an excellent adventurer.] Receptionist

    Apparently, I¡¯m no longer needed.

    It¡¯s a pity that I couldn¡¯t see the kamaitachi, but if I stay in this country, there should be a chance to see them.

    [Well, I¡¯m going home then.] Yuna

    If she gets a request, then I¡¯m not needed.

    [That¡¯s no good. I¡¯m just helping and escorting you. So if Bear-san doesn¡¯t take it, I won¡¯t take it either.] Shinobu

    The girl called Shinobu stopped me as I tried to leave the guild.

    [Why? If you can beat them, why do you need me?] Yuna

    [That makes no sense.] Shinobu

    I don¡¯t understand. If she¡¯s an adventurer that can defeat the kamaitachi, then she wouldn¡¯t need me. If she took on the job with me, the reward will be halved.

    [Shinobu-san. Please wait. Itsuki-san, you¡¯re in a hurry, aren¡¯t you? If we don¡¯t ask her now, I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll get another one.] Receptionist

    The receptionist asks the man.

    The man looks at us both, troubled.

    One is dressed as a bear. The other is a ninja-like girl that nobody knows what she¡¯s thinking.

    [This girl, can she really take them down?] Itsuki

    [Yes, she¡¯s defeated the Kamaitachi before.] Receptionist

    The man looked at the ninja-like girl and the guild girl nodded.

    [And the Young Lady over there, you¡¯ll take care of it if the Bear Girl is with you?] Itsuki

    The man checks with the girl called Shinobu.

    [As long as I¡¯m with bear-san, I¡¯m good.] Shinobu

    [All right. I¡¯ll ask you two to take down the Kamaitachi.] Itsuki

    The man bowed to us.

    Does this mean that I¡¯m going as well?

    [I¡¯ll register the request then, is that okay with you too, Young Miss?] Receptionist

    The receptionist checks with me onest time.

    As expected, I was supposed to participate as well. In addition, I¡¯m going there as an extra.

    But if I don¡¯t ept it, then why would she not ept it as well?

    [Then register both of you for this request, may I have your guild cards?] Receptionist

    The girl called Shinobu and I took out our guild cards. When the receptionist saw my guild card, she looked at me in surprise.

    [......She really is Rank C, just like Shinobu-san.] Receptionist

    I looked at Shinobu¡¯s guild card next to me, which also had a rank of C on it.

    She¡¯s not that much older than me, and she¡¯s a rank C. I can see why they say she can beat Kamaitachi.

    But really, who is she?

    [Yuna-san, was it? My name is Shinobu. It¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯ll call you Yuna, so you can call me Shinobu.] Shinobu

    Shinobu looked at the guild card and introduced herself.

    Even so, she¡¯s getting overly familiar with me. This is the kind of person I¡¯m not good at. I don¡¯t want to get too close to her.

    [But still, rank C, you¡¯re quite strong, aren¡¯t you?] Shinobu

    [You¡¯re a rank C, yourself.] Yuna

    [It was just a coincidence.] Shinobu

    She denied it with a smile.

    Suspicious.

    I can¡¯t speak for others, but there¡¯s something about her that smells fishy.

    [You don¡¯t have to be so suspicious. So, Itsuki-san, is it okay if we leave first thing tomorrow morning?] Shinobu

    [I would like to leave now if we could.] Itsuki

    [I agree. But I have some preparations to make, so please go back to the vige first, Itsuki-san. Yuna and I will be leaving first thing in the morning.] Shinobu

    Shinobu let the story proceed on her own.

    Well, it¡¯s certainly better to leave tomorrow morning than now. And I¡¯ve already paid for the inn.

    [All right. I¡¯m heading back to the vige first, do you know where it is?] Itsuki

    [I just checked the request board.] Shinobu

    [I don¡¯t know, so if you could tell me, that would be great.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll guide you. You¡¯re in a foreignnd, that¡¯s why you¡¯re not familiar with the area.] Shinobu

    I would have preferred to be alone, but Shinobu pushed herself to me too hard.

    The man went back to the vige first, and Shinobu and I will leave tomorrow morning.

    He said that the vige where the man lived was about half a day away by carriage.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would probably be there in less than an hour.

    =====

    [So, why are you following me?] Yuna

    When I left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Shinobu followed me.

    [I thought it would be better if we stayed at the same inn.] Shinobu

    [Are we staying at the same inn, by any chance?] Yuna

    [I¡¯d like to hear about Yuna¡¯s story.] Shinobu

    [There¡¯s nothing to talk about.] Yuna

    [Stingy.] Shinobu

    I may have gotten involved with a troublesome person.

    Maybe I should have taken it by myself or said no.

    I came back to the inn with Shinobu. I said that she followed me on her own.

    [You¡¯re staying in such a nice ce.] Shinobu

    Shinobu looked at therge inn in front of her.

    I knew it was a good inn.

    When I enter the inn, I see Konoha.

    [Wee back.] Konoha

    [I¡¯m back.] Yuna

    [Etto. And that person is?] Konoha

    Konoha looks at Shinobu, who is behind me.

    [She¡¯s a stranger. I¡¯m going to go back to my room, I would like to have a meal.] Yuna

    [U~u, we¡¯re not strangers, we¡¯re working together.] Shinobu

    [Just so you know, if youe to my room, I¡¯ll kick you out.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re so mean, Yuna. Then we¡¯ll meet at the entrance of the inn tomorrow morning.] Shinobu

    I left Shinobu to start a conversation with Konoha and head back to my room.

    What is she really about?

    Her character is full of smiles andughter.

    I also wondered about her adventurer rank. I can¡¯t speak for others, but she¡¯s the same rank as me at her age, a rank C. In my case, it¡¯s thanks to my bear equipment. If her power is enough to get her a rank C, then she must be pretty good.

    And if she could do it alone, she wouldn¡¯t have to take it on with me. When I tried to refuse the request, she said it was meaningless. I don¡¯t understand.

    For now, I¡¯ll be careful around her.

    To do this, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form and asked them to tell me when people wereing.

    After that, there was no attack from Shinobu, and Konoha brought the food.

    [Anou, what about the girl who was with me?] Yuna

    [Yes, she¡¯s staying here.] Konoha

    She really did stay.

    [If anyone asks about me, please don¡¯t say anything.] Yuna

    [Yes, it¡¯s okay. We are not supposed to talk about our customers, since it would be a credibility problem for us if we do.] Konoha

    I¡¯m relieved that they seem to be properly trained.

    I¡¯m d I stayed at this inn.

    [Thank you.] Yuna

    [No need to thank me, I¡¯ll be back to collect the dishester, so please enjoy your meal.] Konoha

    I took her words and ate my meal.

    Then, I finished my meal, and now minding my own business, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked toward the door and cried <ku~u ~ n>.

    When I used my detection skill, there¡¯s a human reaction near the room. And the reaction stops in front of the door and doesn¡¯t move. Konoha would not stop at the door. Besides, she had just cleaned up the dishes after eating.

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to hide and slowly opened the door without making a sound.

    [U wa~a.] Shinobu

    It was Shinobu at the door.

    [What do you want?] Yuna

    [Well, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow.] Shinobu

    She replied with augh.

    No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s a lie.

    [You don¡¯t need my advice. Shinobu, you can defeat the Kamaitachi by yourself, right? If ites down to it, I¡¯ll leave it to you.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re leaving it up to me?] Shinobu

    [I mean, you¡¯re strong, right?] Yuna

    [No, no, that¡¯s not true. It¡¯s just that Sumire-san is exaggerating. I¡¯m weak.] Shinobu

    Sumire? Do you mean the guild receptionist?

    Maybe I should have asked the receptionist a little more about Shinobu.

    [But how did you know I was in front of the room?] Shinobu

    [Because your footsteps were loud, you know?] Yuna

    I said something appropriate.

    [My footsteps?] Shinobu

    I¡¯m not going to tell you the truth.

    [That¡¯s impossible......] Shinobu

    Shinobu muttered in a small voice.

    [Did you say something?] Yuna

    [No, no, I¡¯m just talking to myself, don¡¯t worry about it.] Shinobu

    Suspicious.

    [By the way, are you alone, Yuna?] Shinobu

    [That¡¯s right.] Yuna

    She tries to check the room to see what¡¯s going on, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are hidden.

    [Then don¡¯t bete tomorrow morning.] Shinobu

    Shinobu left.

    What did shee here for, really?

    I then asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to tell me if anyone came when I went to the hot springs or when I went to bed. Then I went to sleep.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 2:

    A suspicious girl appeared.

    They decided to go together to defeat the Kamaitachi.

    #

 Chapter 435 - 435 Bear-san, Heads To The Village

    <h4>Chapter 435 - 435 Bear-san, Heads To The Vige</h4>

    435 Bear-san, Heads To The Vige

    In the morning, the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rm clocks wake me up. If I didn¡¯t get woken up by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear earlier than that, it means that no one came.

    When I got up, I thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and went to the hot spring since there was still time before breakfast.

    Then I ate the breakfast that Konoha had brought me, and when I went to the door, I saw Konoha and Shinobu.

    [Are you going out?] Konoha

    [I¡¯ll try to get back by evening. But if not, then I don¡¯t need dinner.] Yuna

    I¡¯ve paid for three days, so I¡¯m good until tomorrow.

    [Understood.] Konoha

    [So, what were you two talking about?] Yuna

    [Just a small talk, like how cute a girl dressed as a bear is. That kind of talk.] Shinobu

    In other words, they were talking about me.

    [Let¡¯s go, then.] Yuna

    Shinobu and I left the inn.

    =====

    [So, how do you n to get to the vige, Shinobu? Do you have a carriage ready or something?] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t tell you until we get out of town.] Shinobu

    Shinobu said with a face like a childing up with a prank.

    What is she hiding?

    [Even so, Yuna¡¯s appearance is cute, but it looks hard to move in. Are you really going to subjugate Kamaitachi in that appearance?] Shinobu

    [If you¡¯re worried about me, you can leave me behind.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t say that. Come with me.] Shinobu

    She hugged me familiarly, so I pushed her away.

    [Well then, the next time you ask about my outfit, I¡¯ll leave.] Yuna

    [I, I understand. I won¡¯t ask about it anymore.] Shinobu

    =====

    Wee to the outskirts of the city.

    [Thank you for your help.] Yuna

    I thanked her for the time being.

    [No, no, I¡¯m d I could help.] Shinobu

    When we left the city, I was seen as suspicious by the gatekeeper and tried to arrest me. But Shinobu talked to him, so we were able to get out of the city safely.

    In other ces, even if I was seen as suspicious, nobody tried to arrest me. I wonder if it was because of the bear costume?

    [So, now that we¡¯re out of the city, what now?] Yuna

    [Well then.......] Shinobu

    Shinobu put her fingers together and made a gesture as if she were making a seal, magic power gathered in her hands and a horse appeared in front of her.

    [......Summoning?] Yuna

    [He¡¯s Hayatemaru. My partner.] Shinobu

    Then, Shinobu pats the horse¡¯s neck.

    This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a summoning other than Sanya-san¡¯s summoning bird.

    I just want to say one thing to Shinobu.

    [Not a frog, a snake, or a slug?] Yuna

    [What are you talking about? What are you going to do by summoning such things? You can¡¯t ride on those.] Shinobu

    Well, that¡¯s true, but the most famous ninja summons are frogs, snakes, and slugs.

    When talking about what they¡¯re riding, the big frogs, big snakes, big slugses first to mind. Just thinking about it makes me sick.

    Considering that, I¡¯m happy to have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Now then, let¡¯s get on shall we?] Shinobu

    Shinobu looked at my outfit and then at the horse.

    [Why don¡¯t you change your clothes? Looking at it again, I don¡¯t think we can ride together in that outfit.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m not changing. And I¡¯m good.] Yuna

    Since this is troublesome, I extended my right arm and summoned Swaying Bear.

    [Bear! A bear has appeared! Is it a summon?] Shinobu

    [It¡¯s also a summon.] Yuna

    Shinobu was a little surprised, but not blown by it.

    [It¡¯s more like a cute bear than a strong one.] Shinobu

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear¡¯s face tightened at Shinobu¡¯s words.

    Apparently, Swaying Bear is trying to look tough.

    But on the other hand, is it my imagination, or does he look even cuter?

    [What¡¯s its name?] Shinobu

    [It¡¯s Swaying Bear.] Yuna

    [Swaying Bear? That¡¯s a cute name. Can I touch it?] Shinobu

    Before I could give my permission, Shinobu already started touching Swaying Bear.

    [U wa~a, what¡¯s with the softness? It¡¯s so fluffy. Can I ride it? I want to ride it.] Shinobu

    [Hayatemaru is looking sad, are you sure about it?] Yuna

    I looked at the horse and saw Hayatemaru lowering its head sadly.

    [Uwa ¨¡ a, Hayatemaru, I¡¯m sorry. Hayatemaru is the best.] Shinobu

    When Shinobu saw how Hayatemaru was doing, she moved away from Swaying Bear and apologized to Hayatemaru.

    It¡¯s the same everywhere. If its master rides another horse, or rather, bear, It¡¯ll sulk.

    [It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t ride on Swaying Bear, but let¡¯s go.] Shinobu

    Shinobu jumped on Hayatemaru, and I got on Swaying Bear.

    Then we head to the vige where the Kamaitachi appeared.

    =====

    Shinobu¡¯s Hayatemaru and my Swaying Bear ran side by side.

    [So, Kamaitachi is a monster that uses wind magic, right?] Yuna

    [Yes, that¡¯s right. Depending on how powerful it is, it can take your arm off with it, so be careful. However, if you use iron armor, you won¡¯t be able to keep up with Kamaitachi¡¯s movements.] Shinobu

    Apparently, it can¡¯t cut iron or other hard materials. But if you use heavy metals to defend against them, you can¡¯t keep up with the fast-moving Kamaitachi, so they can¡¯t be defeated by such a method. On the other hand, if a magician wants to defeat them with magic, he needs to be extremely good at it.

    The closer you get, the higher your hit rate, but at the same time, you¡¯re more likely to be hit by a kamaitachi.

    Magician¡¯s equipment is geared for easy movement but also has low defense. So, the Magicians need to be urate with magic attacks even at a distance.

    With that in mind, it may be tough for beginners.

    [So, how do you n to defeat it, Yuna? You said you have a way to defeat it.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯ll just fight it normally.] Yuna

    All I have to do is use detection skills to see where they are, and then, unleash a barrage of magic.

    I can avoid or prevent the wind magic of Kamaitachi. If I have my bear equipment, I can do it easily.

    [And you, Shinobu? How would you defeat it?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s the same as Yuna. I¡¯ll just fight normally.] Shinobu

    She answers with a smile. I really don¡¯t understand this girl.

    =====

    We arrived in the vige without taking a rest.

    [Swaying Bear is fast, isn¡¯t he?] Shinobu

    [Hayatemaru was also fast.] Yuna

    An hour or so after leaving the city, we arrived at the vige.

    At the entrance to the vige stood the man who hade to the adventurer¡¯s guild yesterday.

    [That¡¯s Itsuki-san, isn¡¯t it? It looks like he¡¯s been waiting for us.] Yuna

    We went to the man.

    [What¡¯s that? What¡¯s with the bear?] Itsuki

    The man was surprised to see me riding on Swaying Bear.

    [That bear is her bear, so it¡¯s safe.] Shinobu

    Before I could say anything, Shinobu exined it to him.

    [Oh, is that so?] Itsuki

    [If you don¡¯t attack it, it won¡¯t do anything.] Yuna

    [Is that true?] Itsuki

    The man stares at Swaying Bear. And Swaying Bear stays still.

    The man looked at me and Swaying Bear alternately and seemed to be convinced of something.

    [I got it. Anyway, thanks foring.] Itsuki

    The man invites us into the vige. Shinobu and I dismounted our mounts and went into the vige.

    Many of the houses in the vige are made of wood. Some of the houses have tiled roofs. The clothing in the vige looks like something you might have seen in an old Japanese movie. Everyone was surprised to see Swaying Bear, but the man assured the vigers that it was okay.

    The other vigers looked at us from a distance but don¡¯t approach us. Could it be that they are afraid of Swaying Bear?

    [So what¡¯s the situation?] Shinobu

    [When I came back yesterday, three more cows had been killed. The least we can do is to make sure that none of the vigers are hurt. Are you sure you and your friend here are capable of defeating the monsters? We don¡¯t want to cause any more damage.] Itsuki

    The man confirms it again.

    Even if he asks for a new adventurer now, the more days it takes, the greater the damage they will receive.

    Moreover, if we can¡¯t defeat them, the damage will be tremendous.

    [We can take them down, but the issue is their numbers. Don¡¯t you know how many there are?] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m sorry. Whenever the monsters show up, they strike and hide quickly.] Itsuki

    It is indeed reckless for someone who is not strong enough to fight those monsters. He will be helplessly hunted down like a cow.

    =====

    The man lead us to a ce that looked like a farm. A vast pasture spread out before us. There were cows eating grass.

    [Well, then, Yuna. What should we do now? Do you want me to keep an eye on things?] Shinobu

    [What¡¯s your n, Shinobu?] Yuna

    [Me? If they show up, I¡¯ll take them down.] Shinobu

    She¡¯s probably a musclehead, isn¡¯t she?

    [Do you know where they¡¯reing from?] Yuna

    [They probably came from that forest, I think.] Itsuki

    The man pointed to the forest beyond the pasture.

    [Then that cow over there is in danger.] Shinobu

    There is a cow near the forest.

    The man seemed to find it difficult to respond to my words.

    [That cow is a sacrifice. So that other cows and us can escape.] Itsuki

    If they¡¯re all gathered in one ce, all cows and other animals will be killed.

    That¡¯s why they have them spread out.

    Out of the ten, they¡¯re sacrificing one to protect the nine. It¡¯s a disgusting way of thinking, but they probably have no choice.

    [So if we go into that forest, we¡¯ll find the monsters?] Yuna

    Then we should take them down before they attack us.

    [Are you going to fight in the forest, by any chance?] Shinobu

    [That¡¯s like going to your death.] Itsuki

    Shinobu and the man were surprised by my words.

    They say that in the forest, where there are many blind spots, it¡¯s dangerous because the des of wind can fly at you from anywhere.

    Indeed, that is scary.

    But it¡¯s not in my nature to wait for the monsters toe.

    And I have detection skills.

    [Don¡¯t worry. If there¡¯s a monster nearby, he¡¯ll tell me. I¡¯ll kill it quickly ande back.] Yun

    I pat the head of Swaying Bear next to me.

    [I can¡¯t wait to get back to the inn and soak in the hot spring. You can stay here, Shinobu. Swaying Bear and I will go into the forest and kill the monsters.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ming with you.] Shinobu

    [You don¡¯t have to.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m Yuna¡¯s assistant, so I can at least help.] Shinobu

    I don¡¯t want to show too much of my abilities. But I¡¯m also curious about how Shinobu fights.

    At that moment, Swaying Bear reacted and looked towards the forest.

    I understood immediately by the reaction of the Swaying Bear. When I use my detection skills, I get a reaction from kamaitachi. And it¡¯s not just one. They are moving at a very fast pace.

    [Kamaitachi, iing!] Yuna

    [Really!?] Itsuki

    [Where are they?] Shinobu

    [Swaying Bear, stay here and protect Itsuki-san.] Yuna

    I gave instructions to Swaying Bear, and I started running towards the monsters.

    The cow I¡¯m heading to is rampaging and trying to run away from something. Then the cow copses.

    I was toote.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Shinobu summoned a horse.

    It wasn¡¯t a frog.

    ¡ùI have an announcement to make.

    This time, it has been decided to make Kuma Kuma Kuma Bearicalized.

    I can¡¯t tell you the details yet, but I¡¯ve put a link to the publisher¡¯s announcement in the activity report. Please look forward to it.

    #

 Chapter 436 - 436 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 436 - 436 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 1</h4>

    436 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 1

    There¡¯s a considerable distance between the Kamaitachi and me.

    I rushed in.

    The cow falls once more as it runs away.

    I can see them.

    They¡¯re moving on the ground in fast motion.

    Are those things Kamaitachi?

    They were moving so fast that I couldn¡¯t recognize it clearly, but I was pretty sure it was a small animal like a weasel.

    There are about three, four, five, or maybe even more of them.

    As I ran, I shot an ice arrow. Even though I have uracy correction, the Kamaitachi avoided it.

    They¡¯re quick.

    The Kamaitachi waved their sickle-like arms then the wind des flew from them. The wind des came at me while cutting the grass of the pasture. I use magic to create an earth wall to block the wind des.

    The wind des were not powerful enough to break the wall and simply disappeared.

    I walked through the side of the wall and tried to attack the monsters, but they split off to the left and right.

    [I¡¯ll take the right one!] Shinobu

    As I pondered for a moment, Shinobu called out from behind me and ran off to the right. I went to the left. There, the wind de of Kamaitachies flying at me again.

    What a pain!

    I imagined the bear¡¯s ws and let the wind magic: bear w fly; the three w-like des cut through the Kamaitachi¡¯s wind des and went through the caster.

    First one.

    When I was about to attack the next one, it ran across the ground at great speed and fled towards the forest.

    I thought about chasing after it but decided not to pursue it too deeply.

    =====

    These guys might be a more troublesome opponent than I thought. If they attack me, I¡¯ll just have to fight them back. I don¡¯t know their exact numbers, they move fast, and when they¡¯re at a disadvantage, they escape.

    No enemy is difficult to fight than one that runs away.

    Just when you think they¡¯ve fled elsewhere, they¡¯ll show up a few dayster. They¡¯re exhausting monsters to deal with.

    [They got away.] Shinobu

    I looked at Shinobu and saw three kunai-like objects stuck into the Kamaitachi lying on the ground. It looked like Shinobu had killed one too.

    Shinobu pulls out the kunai stuck in Kamaitachi, wipes it with a cloth, and puts it away in her chest.

    She really looks like a ninja.

    By the way, her breasts are not big, so that¡¯s the only thing I can rte to.

    [Yuna moves fast and your magic is very powerful.] Shinobu

    The remnants of my bear magic were still on the ground. I think it was more of an attack than defense. The bear magic prevents the opponent¡¯s attack and at the same time, attacks the opponent. Killing two birds with one stone.

    If I really wanted to, I would attack like that and kill all the Kamaitachi.

    When he sees that our battle is over, the manes.

    [Did you beat them?] Itsuki

    [Me and Yuna got one each. The others escaped into the forest.] Shinobu

    Shinobu exined as she looked at the Kamaitachi lying on the ground.

    [I see. But thank God. If it hadn¡¯t been for you two, there would have been more damage.] Itsuki

    The man turns his gaze to the fallen cow.

    [But how did you know that the Kamaitachi were here?] Itsuki

    [That¡¯s because Swaying Bear told me.] Yuna

    I stroked the head of Swaying Bear that came with the man.

    [Swaying Bear knows that?] Shinobu

    [He¡¯ll tell me if a monster is nearby.] Yuna

    [Perhaps even a sign of someone as well.] Shinobu

    [I suppose.] Yuna

    [So, did you summon him to your room at the inn, too?] Shinobu

    [Who knows.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t want Konoha to hear about it, so I cover it up.

    [I feel so much better now.] Shinobu

    Shinobu seemed convinced and nodded to herself.

    At any rate, I put away the Kamaitachi that I defeated in the bear box.

    [Are you not going to dismantle it?] Shinobu

    [Not now. I¡¯ll chase after them and defeat them first.] Yuna

    It¡¯s too much trouble to leave things like this or to wait.

    [Are you sure you want to go?] Shinobu

    Shinobu confirms.

    [We¡¯re wasting our time waiting for the Kamaitachi here, right?] Yuna

    If I know when it will appear, I can wait for it. But I don¡¯t like to wait for something that I have no idea when will ite. It¡¯s a waste of time.

    I¡¯m more of an attacker than a defender.

    And I¡¯m not being reckless. I have detection skills, so I¡¯m not going to be attacked from a blind spot, and I can prepare myself.

    Besides, they¡¯ve just entered the forest. The Kamaitachi might not have gone that deep into the forest

    [Please stay behind, Shinobu. In case the Kamaitachie to the vige while I¡¯m gone.] Yuna

    [No, I¡¯ming with you. Since I received the request to apany you, I¡¯ll go with you.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯ve got Swaying Bear to keep mepany.] Yuna

    I turned my gaze to Swaying Bear.

    Speaking of a bear as apanion in Japanese folklore, I imagined Kintaro carrying a masakari(broad axe). If I think about it, I¡¯m ying as Kintaro. I don¡¯t like that.

    What is it, Swaying Bear? Why are you looking at me with that expression?

    I pat Swaying Bear on the head and said, <It¡¯s nothing>, and kept it to myself.

    =====

    In the end, I decided to let Shinobue along with us. And so, Swaying Bear, Shinobu, and I areing to the forest.

    The man looked worried, but he said, <I beg you, please>.

    By the way, Hayatemaru is not here because he was unsummoned.

    [Swaying Bear, if you find any monster, let me know.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    I can tell with my detection skills, but I¡¯ll ask Swaying Bear to help me since Shinobu is also here with us.

    [One more thing.] Shinobu

    [What?] Yuna

    [Yuna, do you understand what Swaying Bear is saying?] Shinobu

    [I know what he¡¯s trying to tell me.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s amazing.] Shinobu

    [We¡¯ll we¡¯ve been together for a long time.] Yuna

    I¡¯ve only known Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for a few months, but I feel as if I¡¯ve been with them for years. Now, I can¡¯t imagine my life without Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Checking with the detection skill, there is a response from the Kamaitachi. Apparently, they had not escaped deep into the forest. If they had escaped at that speed, they would have easily gone outside the detection skill.

    Did they feel safe when they entered the forest?

    There¡¯s a narrow path, so we continued on.

    I¡¯m in the lead, and Swaying Bear is behind me. Shinobu is walking at the rear.

    [I¡¯ll protect your back, Yuna.] Shinobu

    [It¡¯s okay, Swaying Bear already got my back.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear replies, with <Leave it to me> cry.

    [U~u, that¡¯s so cold. I want you to tell me that you¡¯re leaving that to me too.] Shinobu

    There was no way I could trust my back to someone I had just met.

    And more importantly, she was an overly suspicious ninja. A ninja will do her best for her master, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll risk her life for me, whom she¡¯s only known for a few days. In the first ce, if I don¡¯t know what Shinobu is capable of, I can¡¯t trust her.

    The only ones I can trust my behind to are Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    =====

    While I¡¯m checking my detection skills, I slowly close the distance between me and the Kamaitachi.

    Two of them are nearby.

    Swaying Bear makes a small <ku~u ~ n> sound.

    [Are they nearby, perhaps?] Shinobu

    Shinobu asked in a quiet voice as Swaying Bear cried.

    [They¡¯re here.] Yuna

    They are in a position with some vegetation a little further ahead.

    I used my detection skills to check the distance and direction, then shot two ice arrows in the direction of the Kamaitachi¡¯s reaction. Then the reaction of the Kamaitachi disappears from my detection skill.

    It seems that I hit them safely. If they cannot see it, they can¡¯t avoid it, so it¡¯ll hit.

    I went to retrieve the defeated monsters.

    [Did you kill it, by any chance?] Shinobu

    [Just two of them. But it looks like some of them are still out there. I¡¯m going to move carefully so they won¡¯t notice me. Don¡¯t make a sound.] Yuna

    If they move that fast through the forest, it will be troublesome in many ways. The best thing to do is to defeat it before it can move.

    [I¡¯m good at moving quietly, so I¡¯ll be fine.] Shinobu

    Being good at sneaking around is scary since you can be a stalker. But then again, ninjas are in the business of gathering information, so maybe they are a kind of stalker in a sense.

    Once I collected the Kamaitachi I¡¯ve killed with the ice arrow, I head to the next one.

    =====

    Every time Swaying Bear makes a small <ku~u ~ n> cry, I defeat the Kamaitachi.

    We proceeded through the forest, while defeating the Kamaitachi, and had already killed about ten of them.

    [I don¡¯t have a turn.] Shinobu

    I wanted to see what Shinobu could do, but I didn¡¯t want Kamaitachi to notice us and run away.

    After sessfully defeating them, I fired an ice arrow at the next one, which caused the vegetation to rustle, so the Kamaitachi moved.

    It was avoided for the first time in a while!

    They came out of the vegetation, and their fur has a different color.

    [Silver?] Yuna

    What jumped out of the vegetation was a silver-haired Kamaitachi.

    [Is that a silver kamaitachi? That¡¯s a troublesome one.] Shinobu

    Shinobu has an annoyed look on her face.

    [What do you mean by that?] Yuna

    [Think of it as an incredibly strong variant. They move fast and have keen senses, so it¡¯s hard to hit them. Also, that Kamaitachi¡¯s attacks can even cut through a cheap iron armor.] Shinobu

    That sound¡¯s pretty bad.

    But the detection skill onlybeled it as Kamaitachi. Couldn¡¯t that be a Kamaitachi subspecies or a Silver Kamaitachi?

    [It looks like there are two of them.] Yuna

    Coming out of the grass, there were two silver Kamaitachi.

    [Can I trust you with the other one?] Yuna

    I¡¯ll ask Shinobu to work a little. If she refuses or runs away, that¡¯s fine. That¡¯s just how far she¡¯se.

    [I¡¯d like to decline, but I can¡¯t, can I?] Shinobu

    [You said you¡¯re going to assist me, didn¡¯t you?] Yuna

    [......Roger that.] Shinobu

    Shinobu didn¡¯t say no but smiled and epted. Maybe she was confident that she could defeat it.

    [Don¡¯t worry about me, I can take it down.] Yuna

    [Do your best.] Shinobu

    [Swaying Bear said one of them was around that tree.] Yuna

    I used my detection skills to see which direction they ran off in and let her know.

    [Thanks.] Shinobu

    Shinobu pats Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    [Swaying Bear, do you want to return?] Yuna

    I showed him the bear puppet.

    Swaying Bear cried <Kuu-n> and shook his head.

    [Then, can you handle the other kamaitachi?] Yuna

    There¡¯s another reaction from Kamaitachi a short distance away.

    It would be troublesome if they showed up in the middle of fighting the silver kamaitachi.

    Swaying Bear cried and looked happy at my request. It seems that he is happy to be relied on by me.

    But I¡¯m worried about him alone, so I decide to have Hugging Bear summoned as well.

    I didn¡¯t want to summon him because of Shinobu, but I have to reduce the danger to Swaying Bear.

    I summoned Hugging Bear from the white bear puppet in my left hand.

    [A white bear?] Shinobu

    [Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, please take care of the other Kamaitachi around us. But if there are any silver dwarfs, I¡¯ll take them down, so steer clear from them.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    Hugging Bear, just like Swaying Bear, has a <leave it to me> expression.

    [All right, let¡¯s go.] Yuna

    [Are you ignoring my questions?......] Shinobu

    I knew that Shinobu had been looking like she wanted to ask about Hugging Bear earlier. But now was not the time to exin.

    As soon as I start moving, everyone followed suit.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Shinobu and I are going to fight Kamaitachi together.

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Volume 8 will be released on December 22.

    I¡¯m sorry for the dy, but I¡¯ve written the book information for volume 8 in the activity report.

    You can also click on the image of the volume 8 book to go to the publisher¡¯s book information website.

    Thank you very much for your cooperation.

    #

 Chapter 437 - 437 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 437 - 437 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 2</h4>

    437 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 2

    I ran toward the silver-furred Kamaitachi and sent ice arrows at it. But the silver-furred Kamaitachi dodged.

    The silver Kamaitachi moved quickly, hiding behind the vegetation as it moved.

    As I turned my attention to my detection skill to check, the grass on my right side rustled, and a de of wind approached me. I made an earth wall.

    But the earth wall has been cut!

    I immediately thrust my white bear puppet forward to block the wind de.

    The wind de of the normal Kamaitachi could be blocked by the earth wall, but not the wind de of the silver Kamaitachi.

    It seems that Shinobu was not lying when she said that it could even cut iron.

    When I turned my attention to Shinobu, she seemed to be struggling as well. A little further away, I heard the sound of a tree falling.

    I¡¯m also worried about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But they are together, and also I told them not to fight the silver Kamaitachi, so they should be fine.

    I shot my own wind de in the direction of the sound of rustling grass. It cut the grass and attacked the silver Kamaitachi, but it dodged it.

    As expected, it might have been a disadvantage to fight in a forest where dense grass and trees were growing.

    It was naive of me to think that I would be okay because of my detection skills. No, I hadn¡¯t heard that there was a higher species of Kamaitachi in the first ce.

    The silver kamaitachi is definitely a superior species of kamaitachi. Their speed and attack power is several orders of magnitude higher. The most annoying thing about them is that they have keen senses. Even if you attack them, they can evade it easily. I can now understand what Shinobu meant when she said that their senses are so sharp that you can¡¯t hit them.

    It¡¯s such a pain since they¡¯re small and quick on their feet.

    Furthermore, the ce we¡¯re fighting them is also troublesome. The tall grass obstructs the view, but the trees are the most annoying.

    They are in the way and cutting them down will only create more hiding ces for the Kamaitachi. In fact, several trees have already fallen and the Kamaitachi is using the fallen trees to move around.

    The geographical advantage ispletely on their side.

    If this was a ce with a clear view, I could have fought all I¡¯ve got, but I couldn¡¯t ask a monster to do that, can I?

    The silver-furred Kamaitachi moved around and shot wind des at me. I used my bear¡¯s wind de to block them.

    As the wind des collided with each other, the wind des got deflected and the grass was cut.

    So annoying!

    My vision got blocked. I nced at my detection skill, confirmed the Kamaitachi¡¯s location, and shot my wind de. A tree fell.

    At this rate, deforestation will escte.

    I can¡¯t just burn them with mes either.

    I took a deep breath and think.

    ......I think I¡¯ll try that one.

    If the opponent is small, I¡¯ll have topete with that.

    I created some earthen bear golems the size of puppies, and more than ten of these little bears lined up on the ground. I put magic power into the little bear golems and locked on to the silver Kamaitachi.

    [Chibi bears, go!] Yuna

    As I waved my arm, the little bears began to move.

    New magic, <Chibi Bear Army.>

    Because of their small size, they have no offensive power and cannot contain much magic power. But I can make a lot of them.

    The chibi bears ran across the ground and headed for the silver kamaitachi. The silver kamaitachi ran away, but the chibi bears chased after it like hounds.

    The silver kamaitachi shot wind des at the chibi bears. But the chibi bears dodged the wind des.

    The targets were small and there were a lot of them, so their opponent¡¯s hit rate will decrease. Even if one of them got hit and knocked down, the next one will attack.

    The silver kamaitachi ran through the grass, but the chibi bears caught up with it and got it surrounded. The silver Kamaitachi climbed a tree to escape. Then one of the chibi bears jumped up and hugged it.

    It caught it!

    The weight of the earthen bear golem slowed down the movement of the silver kamaitachi. Another chibi bear jumped on the encumbered silver kamaitachi and they fell from the tree.

    All that was left was for the chibi bears to pounce on the silver kamaitachi when they touched the ground.

    Then, the fallen silver kamaitachi was unable to move. The chibi bearspletely subdued the silver kamaitachi.

    I walked up to them and stopped the silver kamaitachi from squirming.

    [Fu ~u] Yuna

    It was harder than I expected.

    What about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear? And Shinobu?

    When I looked around, I heard a sound at a distance. I used my detection skill to check where they at.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s reactions were quite far away. I¡¯m also worried about Shinobu, but I dashed toward Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    =====

    I ran. Then, I was surprised at the terrible situation around me.

    The grass was cut, and the trees were ravaged.

    What happened?

    The silver kamaitachi, perhaps?

    When I rushed over to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they were fighting the silver kamaitachi.

    Why are they fighting it?

    The silver kamaitachi shot a wind de and attacked Swaying Bear. Swaying Bear dodged it with quick movements. The Kamaitachi shot its wind des in rapid session. Swaying Bear swung his arm and smashed the wind des.

    Amazing.

    If you look closely, the ribbon around Swaying Bear¡¯s neck appears to be glowing.

    Could it be the bearmonite?

    Swaying Bear caught up with the silver kamaitachi. The silver kamaitachi tried to run away. But Hugging Bear was waiting for it.

    The ribbon on Hugging Bear¡¯s neck is also shining.

    I knew it, it¡¯s the bearmonite, right?

    Hugging Bear¡¯s ws attacked the silver Kamaitachi. The attack hit and it rolled on the ground. However, it can still move and it tried to escape. But Swaying Bear held it down and defeated it.

    =====

    After the battle, I approached Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I said I¡¯ll handle the silver kamaitachi! Why are you fighting it?] Yuna

    <<Kuu ~ n>>

    When I scolded Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear a little sternly, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear hung down their heads.

    But when you have to scold someone, you have to scold them properly.

    If anything happens to them, I¡¯ll regret it my whole life.

    [Why did you do it? Why were you so reckless? I told you, didn¡¯t I? I told you to leave the silver kamaitachi to me, and I only let Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear defeat the normal ones.] Yuna

    <<Kuu ~ n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear couldn¡¯t answer.

    [That¡¯s because... It¡¯s because there was another silver kamaitachi approaching Yuna.] Shinobu

    I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Shinobu¡¯s figure.

    [Swaying Bear and the other one attacked to keep the silver kamaitachi away from Yuna.] Shinobu

    [Is that so?] Yuna

    I checked with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear based on Shinobu¡¯s words.

    <<Ku~u ~ n>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear gave small nods.

    The summoned beasts refused to obey my orders to protect me. I am happy about the feelings of these two.

    Now that I know the reason, I can¡¯t scold them anymore.

    [Ha~a] Yuna

    I let out a sigh and gently stroked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads.

    [Thank you. But don¡¯t do anything dangerous.] Yuna

    <<Ku~u ~ n !>>

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily.

    However, it felt that the two of them moved quicker than usual, but is it really because of bearmonite?

    When I looked at the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s ribbons, they were not glowing anymore.

    I don¡¯t know how it works, but I¡¯m d it helped.

    =====

    [So, what about Shinobu?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve defeated it.] Shinobu

    Shinobu replied with a smile.

    But when I looked closer, I saw that some of her clothes were torned off.

    [Your clothes got torned, are you hurt?] Yuna

    [Ah, I¡¯m okay. I dodged it just in time.] Shinobu

    Shinobu spread out the area where her clothes were torn to show me, but there was really no injury to her skin.

    Maybe this is what they call a paper cut.

    [My clothes were ruined. I want to ask for extra money. Well, it¡¯s all right since I defeated the silver kamaitachi.] Shinobu

    The silver kamaitachi seems to be worth something.

    But was Shinobu watching me while fighting against the silver kamaitachi?

    I asked her what she knew about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s behavior.

    [It was just a coincidence.] Shinobu

    Still trying to deceive me.

    Who is Shinobu, really?

    =====

    [Is this all the Kamaitachi around here?] Shinobu

    [Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear?] Yuna

    I pretended to ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and used my detection skill to check my surroundings instead.

    There were none left. It seemed that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have also defeated the regr Kamaitachi.

    [There don¡¯t seem to be any of them around.] Yuna

    [I see. I¡¯m d. Those silver kamaitachi were too much trouble. I¡¯m thankful for Yuna, Swaying Bear, and the white bear over there.] Shinobu

    <Kuu ~ n>

    Hugging Bear cried in protest to Shinobu and pressed his body against hers.

    [What is it?] Shinobu

    [Hugging Bear is simply mad at you for not calling his name.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m sorry about that. Etto, Hugging Bear?] Shinobu

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear looks happy to hear his name called.

    [Hugging Bear is a cute name too.] Shinobu

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear looks even happier when he¡¯s praised for his name.

    I didn¡¯t think too much about both their names, but I¡¯m d that they like it.

    Then we left the forest after collecting the kamaitachi that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had killed.

    The forest is in a bit of a mess.

    Is everything going to be okay?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yuna had a hard time with a difficult ce to fight and a fast-moving opponent, but she was able to defeat it.

    ¡ùYuna tin badges will now be avable for purchase. The details are written in the activity report, so please take a look.

    #

 Chapter 438 - 438 Bear-san, Eats Wagy?? Beef

    <h4>Chapter 438 - 438 Bear-san, Eats Wagy?? Beef</h4>

    438 Bear-san, Eats Wagy¨± Beef

    When I returned to the vige, I asked

    Hugging Bear to go back into the bear puppet.

    [I¡¯m sorry, Hugging Bear. I¡¯ll stay with you when I get back.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear looks a little sad, but I pat him on the head and then return him to the bear puppet.

    [I feel sorry for him. Hugging Bear looked so sad.] Shinobu

    [Yeah, but they¡¯d be surprised if they saw there were more bears.] Yuna

    [Yeah, but...] Shinobu

    [So I¡¯ll report as soon as I can then quickly go back to the town.] Yuna

    Let¡¯s go back to the inn as soon as possible, take a hot spring bath with Hugging Bear, and sleep with him at night.

    =====

    When we returned to the vige, we found several men waiting for us.

    [Good. You¡¯re back safe and sound.] Itsuki

    [There really is a bear. And she¡¯s really dressed like a bear.] Man 1

    [Is this bear-dressed girl going to defeat Kamaitachi?] Man 2

    The men¡¯s eyes were drawn to Swaying Bear and me, who¡¯s dressed as a bear.

    Well, the reaction is the same everywhere.

    Next to me, Shinobu muttered in a small voice, <I¡¯m here too, you know>.

    [So, girls. Where¡¯s the Kamaitachi?] Itsuki

    [We¡¯ve beaten them.] Yuna

    To prove it, we took the monsters we had defeated out from our respective item bags. Most of them were defeated by me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear.

    When the men saw the Kamaitachi, they were surprised andpared us to them.

    Like Shinobu, he probably didn¡¯t think a girl like me could defeat the Kamaitachi.

    [They really took down Kamaitachi.] Man 1

    [Now we can live in peace.] Man 2

    [You girls are amazing.] Man 1

    [See, I told you, I saw them take down the Kamaitachi, so it¡¯s okay.] Itsuki

    Itsuki-san, who went to the adventurer¡¯s guild yesterday, said to the other men with a bit of pride.

    [What are you saying? You said yesterday that you asked a weird girl dressed as a bear.] Man 1

    [Yes, but then the Adventurer¡¯s Guild introduced me to another adventurer, so I told you It¡¯ll be fine.] Itsuki

    [But even then, you were anxious since you were introduced to only one girl.] Man 2

    Unsurprisingly, female adventurers make people anxious, don¡¯t they?

    But then, it could be because of our age. Both Shinobu and I are youngpared to the other adventurers. If we had grown up a little more, things might have been different.

    [Most of the monsters were defeated by Yuna, so she didn¡¯t really need me toe.] Shinobu

    The men¡¯s expressions became even more surprised at her words. Perhaps they thought that Shinobu had defeated them.

    Of course, I could have defeated them by myself. But if I hadn¡¯t heard about the silver Kamaitachi from Shinobu, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat it easily. There¡¯s a big difference between having information and not having it.

    It¡¯s like the difference between looking at a game strategy site and charging at the area boss blind.

    [With this, the cows and other animals won¡¯t be attacked, right?] Man 1

    The vigers looked happy.

    But there is one thing that bothers me.

    [Sorry to burst your bubbles, but we only defeated the monsters around the vige. They might stille from deep in the forest.] Yuna

    [Based on my experience, Kamaitachi moves in packs. But there¡¯s no problem in assuming that you¡¯ve defeated all of them since there were so many of them in one ce. And Swaying Bear confirmed it, didn¡¯t he?] Shinobu

    Shinobu looked at me and Swaying Bear as if to confirm.

    [Yeah, there aren¡¯t any in that area.] Yuna

    I answered on behalf of Swaying Bear.

    [If Swaying Bear can guarantee it, then it¡¯s even safer.] Shinobu

    Apparently, we don¡¯t have to worry about what happens after we leave.

    One of the men is looking at the Kamaitachi. Then he changes his expression.

    [Isn¡¯t this a silver Kamaitachi?] Man 2

    [It¡¯s true. There are three of them.] Man 1

    The men looked at the silver Kamaitachi in surprise.

    [Me, Yuna, and Swaying Bear here have defeated one each.] Shinobu

    [The bear too?] Man 2

    The men are surprised with the bear, but which of the bears surprised them? There are two bears right here.

    [I had a hard time defeating it. They moved too fast and my clothes got torned.] Shinobu

    Shinobu shows the arm part of the clothes that were ripped. The part of her clothes that were torn was around her arm and her abdomen. As expected, she hid the abdomen part.

    When I saw it earlier, it was tighter than my stomach.

    I¡¯ve always thought that I should exercise too, but I just don¡¯t bother.

    [Are you injured!?] Itsuki

    The man asks with concern.

    [I¡¯m okay. It¡¯s just my clothes. I don¡¯t think you mind if I charge you extra for it, right?] Shinobu

    Wait, you¡¯re really saying that?

    Shinobu looks at the torn clothes and the vigers.

    [...I will pay an additional amount.] Itsuki

    Shinobu looks happy with the man¡¯s words.

    Well, I guess that¡¯s normal for an adventurer, huh?

    If you killed a different monster than you were requested, there should be an additional reward for it.

    [How about littledy over there dressed as a bear? Are you okay?] Itsuki

    [I¡¯m fine too.] Yuna

    [That bear over there is awesome too. I can¡¯t believe it defeated a silver Kamaitachi.] Man 1

    [That¡¯s not all. Swaying Bear knows where the Kamaitachi are. That¡¯s why we were able to defeat the Kamaitachi that were hiding.] Shinobu

    For some reason, Shinobu exined while boasting about Swaying Bear.

    My Swaying Bear is amazing. And that¡¯s a fact.

    [When I fought the silver Kamaitachi, some of the trees were cut.] Yuna

    I exined the devastation of the forest. I exined that I have cut down several trees.

    [That¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll use it in the vige.] Itsuki

    Apparently, the woods will not be wasted, which was good.

    [I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired from fighting the Kamaitachi. I¡¯ve prepared a room for you, so you can get some rest.] Itsuki

    [Is that so? Well then, thank you for letting us rest.] Shinobu

    Shinobu epts the man¡¯s generous offer.

    [Well, I¡¯m going back first.] Yuna

    [Eh? You don¡¯t want to stay and get some rest?] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m not tired.] Yuna

    If I¡¯m going to rest, I¡¯d rather stay at an inn with a hot spring. I want toze around on the tatami mats with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    [Now don¡¯t say that. I¡¯ll prepare lunch.] Itsuki

    [The beef in this vige is delicious, you know.] Shinobu

    Maybe it¡¯s Wagyu beef because it¡¯s a country of harmony?

    My heart was shaken.

    You can eat cow meat even in Crimonia.

    But when people say it¡¯s good meat, then I want to eat it.

    I¡¯d like to eat it. However, after seeing the cow earlier, I thought it would be too much for me... But now I¡¯m not so sure.

    I¡¯ve eaten wolf meat, I¡¯ve eaten the birds they raise at the orphanage, and I¡¯ve even seen them butchered. In the past, I might have refused, but now that I¡¯m in another world, my heart seems to have grown stronger. Well, I still can¡¯t dismantle it.

    After much thought, I decided to treat myself to some quality meat.

    =====

    We were led into a house.

    Shinobu is in the lead, followed by me, then Swaying Bear.

    As we¡¯re about to enter the house, the man opened his mouth, a bit reluctantly told me.

    [Ano, that bear.......] Itsuki

    <Kuu-n?>

    That bear? I wonder which one? I look at Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear tilted his head slightly as if saying, <What?>

    [I¡¯d like it to stay outside if possible.] Itsuki

    [Is it really uneptable?] Yuna

    [Because it¡¯s too big.] Itsuki

    Should I ask swaying Bear to wait outside or return him like Hugging Bear? Or should I just say no and go home?

    As I pondered, Shinobu beside me opened her mouth.

    [This bear also contributed to defeating the Kamaitachi. We were able to defeat all the Kamaitachi without missing a single one thanks to Swaying Bear, and he also defeated the silver Kamaitachi. Yet you want him to stay out here?] Shinobu

    Well, a bear is an animal, and there¡¯s probably no way around that.

    Then, the man looked at Swaying Bear at Shinobu¡¯s words, then thought, growled, he opened his mouth and said, <Okay, fine. That bear too>.

    [Good for you, Swaying Bear. Let¡¯s eat meat together.] Shinobu

    Shinobu pats Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear looks pleased.

    Swaying Bear is starting to get used to Shinobu.

    Could it be the ninjutsu? I¡¯ve heard that kunoichi use color tricks to extract information out of people.

    Is she trying to get information out of Swaying Bear? I thought it¡¯s something stupid since there was no way she could understand Swaying Bear¡¯s words. She just seems to like Swaying Bear in general. The expression on Swaying Bear¡¯s face is getting happier as she pets him.

    =====

    Then we walked into the room with Swaying Bear.

    [Just give me a minute, okay?] Itsuki

    The man left the room.

    [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear also looks happy.

    [So, why did Shinobue along with this request?] Yuna

    Swaying Bear is in the room, but we¡¯re alone, so I ask Shinobu.

    [What do you mean?] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m asking, why did you take this job?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s because I was afraid he¡¯d say no if Yuna is alone.] Shinobu

    [But wouldn¡¯t matter to you, Shinobu, even if I refused.] Yuna

    That¡¯s what work is all about.

    I can understand that much.

    Even if I¡¯m not part of the workforce back in my former world, I do in this one.

    [......That is.] Shinobu

    [That is?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s because the cute bear was in trouble. And what girl wouldn¡¯t want to talk to a cute girl?] Shinobu

    [That¡¯s a man¡¯s line, you know?] Yuna

    Even though, I¡¯ve never been approached by a man.

    [No, no, even girls talk to pretty girls.] Shinobu

    I looked at Shinobu with suspicion.

    [Oh c¡¯mon, don¡¯t look at me like that. Oh, the meat is here. Let¡¯s eat.] Shinobu

    Shinobu looks at the door deceptively, and a man returns to the room with charcoal and meat.

    [Sorry to keep you waiting.] Itsuki

    The man lights the charcoal. I wanted to ask Shinobu a few more questions, but I gave up because of the bad timing.

    Then, when the coals are hot enough, the meat is ced on the.

    The meat made a sizzling sound while getting seared.

    Looks delicious.

    There is a sauce that looks like soy sauce, which is extremely tasty when eaten.

    I think I¡¯ll buy some as a souvenir.

    It might be a good idea to buy a lot of them and keep them in the bear box. Then I can eat wagyu anytime I want.

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Swaying Bear is looking at it like he wants to eat it now.

    I put the roasted meat in Swaying Bear¡¯s mouth.

    He¡¯s not a bear cub right now, but a full-grown bear, so he has a big mouth. Still, Swaying Bear eats deliciously.

    [Swaying Bear, do you want some of my meat?] Shinobu

    Shinobu puts her own grilled meat in Swaying Bear¡¯s mouth.

    [I want a big piece of meat.] Shinobu

    When Shinobu said this, the man brought some meat for Swaying Bear.

    This was going to cost a lot of money, so I refused the request for an additional serving. Then, Shinobu also refused.

    [It¡¯s okay because I¡¯ll sell the Kamaitachi.] Itsuki

    That¡¯s the case, it seems.

    Then, I bought extra meat for Hugging Bear, who was the only one who could not eat.

    I could easily imagine the tormented Hugging Bear when I summon himter.

    So it¡¯s better to have as many bribes as possible to put him in a good mood.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    So the request is now over.

    And Hugging Bear is pitiful for the first time in a long time......

    The next post may be a dayte, but please understand.

    In the activity report, we¡¯re looking for requests for SS and new writing for volume 9.

    Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

    #

 Chapter 439 - 439 Bear-san, Listens To Shinobua??s Story

    <h4>Chapter 439 - 439 Bear-san, Listens To Shinobua??s Story</h4>

    439 Bear-san, Listens To Shinobu¡¯s Story

    We thanked them for the meal and headed back to town. When we left the vige, a lot of people saw us off.

    [Swaying Bear was very popr.] Shinobu

    The children would quietly gather around Swaying Bear.

    The meat was delicious, as one would expect from high-grade meat.

    I rode Swaying Bear back to town. Shinobu, riding Hayatemaru, runs beside me.

    [Yuna, I need to talk to you about something when we get back.] Shinobu

    [Talk about what?] Yuna

    [I want you to hear my story.] Shinobu

    [Could it possibly have something to do with this request?] Yuna

    [Well, that¡¯s a part of it.] Shinobu

    She tried to deceive me earlier, so what does she mean by that?

    Or was it something she couldn¡¯t talk about back there?

    [I don¡¯t want any trouble.] Yuna

    I¡¯m here as a tourist. I don¡¯t want to be bothered.

    [U~u, don¡¯t say that.] Shinobu

    [That means it¡¯s troublesome, isn¡¯t it?] Yuna

    [...It¡¯s troublesome.] Shinobu

    Shinobu answered honestly.

    [If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t want to hear it.] Yuna

    [Don¡¯t say that, please listen to me! I¡¯m begging you.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯ll only listen to you if you tell me everything without hiding anything from me.] Yuna

    I want to know why Shinobu is following me around.

    I don¡¯t understand why Shinobu epted the request. She said something like it was meaningless unless she was with me. I can¡¯t quite figure out the true meaning of Shinobu¡¯s actions and words.

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to let it bother me.

    If it¡¯s too much pain to listen, I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t hear it.

    [All right. I¡¯ll tell you when we get back to town.] Shinobu

    =====

    When Shinobu and I got back to the town, we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to report our sess.

    [We¡¯re back.] Shinobu

    Shinobu walks into the Adventurer¡¯s Guild as if she were back home. The fact that Shinobu shouted out like that as she entered drew a lot of attention.

    But Shinobu didn¡¯t seem to mind and casually went to the reception desk.

    [We¡¯ve finished the request.] Shinobu

    Shinobu took out the request form and her guild card, so I took out my guild card as well.

    The receptionist checks the request form.

    The request form is signed by Itsuki-san, certifying that the request has been fulfilled.

    [Thank you for your hard work. So, what do you want to do about the Kamaitachi? Do you want to sell them?] Receptionist

    [Yes, please. My clothes got torn because of the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

    Shinobu showed the receptionist where the torn part was.

    [Ara, that¡¯s unusual, Shinobu.] Receptionist

    [That¡¯s because of the silver kamaitachi. There are three of them.] Shinobu

    [Is that so? Well then, where is it, Shinobu-san?] Receptionist

    [I have one. And Yuna has two.] Shinobu

    [When you say Yuna, you mean.......] Receptionist

    The receptionist looked at me.

    [Is that true?] Receptionist

    She¡¯s looking at me in disbelief.

    [It¡¯s true. Yuna defeated most of the Kamaitachi by herself.] Shinobu

    Well, actually, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are the ones who defeated it.

    [What about your Kamaitachi, Yuna?] Receptionist

    I don¡¯t know what to do. Should I sell it?

    Or should I ask Fina to dismantle it?

    She doesn¡¯t have that much dismantle work, but I bought her a mithril knife, so it¡¯s decided.

    I¡¯m going to ask Fina to do it. If she can¡¯t do it, I can ask Gentz-san.

    [No, I¡¯m good.] Yuna

    [It may turn bad.] Receptionist

    [My item bag is special, so it¡¯ll be fine.] Yuna

    Then I crunch the bear puppet.

    =====

    [Then I¡¯ll hand over the reward, please split it between yourselves.] Receptionist

    The receptionist puts the money on the table. Then Shinobu grabs about ten percent of the money.

    [My share would be about this.] Shinobu

    [Half is fine.] Yuna

    [I can¡¯t do that. I only defeated a few of them. That¡¯s why the rest is Yuna¡¯s share.] Shinobu

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    Certainly so, based on the number we¡¯ve defeated, but Shinobu has given me information about the Kamaitachi. That information is well worth the money.

    [It¡¯s a fair share. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. Instead, I¡¯ll ask Yuna to hear me out.] Shinobu

    [Are you perhaps trying to give me some money so I can¡¯t refuse?] Yuna

    They say <nothing is more expensive than free of charge>.

    [Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m naive.] Yuna

    After much deliberation, I decided to ept it. If ites down to it, I¡¯ll just refuse.

    [I¡¯ll take that as a yes then, thank you.] Shinobu

    I put the money away in the bear box.

    Now that I had my guild card back and had finished reporting my request, all I had to do was return to the inn and rx.

    But first, I need to hear what Shinobu has to say.

    [So, where do you want to talk?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t want anyone to hear us, so can we go back to the inn?] Shinobu

    [Okay, then...] Yuna

    I¡¯ll listen to Shinobu¡¯s story in my room at the inn.

    So we returned to the inn.

    =====

    [Yuna-sama, Shinobu-sama, wee back.] Konoha

    Konoha wees us.

    [I¡¯m back. I¡¯d like to have dinner when it¡¯s ready.] Yuna

    [I¡¯m also staying here, so I¡¯ll need a room.] Shinobu

    [Yes, thank you.] Konoha

    Afterpleting the amodation formalities, Shinobu went to the room where I was staying.

    [It¡¯s a nice room.] Shinobu

    Shinobu scurried around the room.

    I sat down on a cushion in my room.

    [So, what¡¯s the story?] Yuna

    Shinobu also sat on the opposite side of the table on a cushion.

    [I¡¯m actually looking for this guy.] Shinobu

    Shinobu pulled out something from her chest. It was a sheet of paper, folded in four, and when she unfolded it, I saw a sketch of a man with a bad physiognomy.

    He had bad eyesight and his left eye was covered with an eye patch.

    It looks like a wanted poster.

    [Who is this picture of a bad guy with a bad attitude?] Yuna

    He¡¯s definitely not the type of person you want to have anything to do with.

    [He¡¯s the man who killed my parents.] Shinobu

    [......]

    A silence flows.

    A sudden heavy word came out of her mouth.

    I began to regret having asked. When I read manga and novels, I find that revenge stories rarely have a happy ending. Most of them make me sad as well.

    [Are you going to ask Swaying Bear to find him? If so, then I can¡¯t do it.] Yuna

    What Swaying Bear can do is the same as the detection skill. It also seems to be able to find out about people that I know like Fina and the others. So, I can¡¯t search for someone I¡¯ve never met before.

    [No, I¡¯m not. Although, it would be helpful if you could, of course. I think he¡¯s in town.] Shinobu

    This town is huge. It¡¯s not easy to find a single person in here.

    [What then?] Yuna

    [Yuna, you¡¯re stronger than me, aren¡¯t you?] Shinobu

    [Shinobu might be stronger.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s not true. Yuna is stronger than me.] Shinobu

    Did you follow me to see how strong I am?

    But when you first meet me, you don¡¯t think I¡¯m strong, do you? Everyone thought I¡¯m just a girl in a strange outfit after all.

    I feel like the order of what she¡¯s saying and what she¡¯s doing is not quite right.

    [So you want me to beat up this guy?] Yuna

    [I¡¯m simply asking you just in case.] Shinobu

    [Just in case?] Yuna

    I thought she was going to ask me to help her avenge her parents, but that¡¯s not it.

    [I¡¯ll get this man. So, I want you to watch over me in case I fail. Of course, I¡¯m not asking you for free. I¡¯ll pay you.] Shinobu

    Shinobu said and pulled out a drawstring bag from the item bag. When she opened the bag, I saw some money in it.

    It¡¯s a fair amount of money. You can probably buy a small house with it.

    [This is all of my money. If I die, I want you to catch that man.] Shinobu

    She looks at me with a serious expression.

    [There¡¯s no point in having money when you¡¯re dead. That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving it to Yuna. Oh, but if I seed, I¡¯ll take my money back.] Shinobu

    Shinobu said such words with a smile on her face.

    [I may run away with money, you know.] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve been watching Yuna for the past two days. I knew you wouldn¡¯t do something like that, that¡¯s why I asked you. Moreover, Yuna approached Itsuki-san, who was in trouble.] Shinobu

    I just wanted to see Kamaitachi at that time.

    [When the cows got attacked, you reacted faster than anyone else.] Shinobu

    We¡¯re there to defeat them, so it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯ll move at a moment¡¯s notice.

    [The vigers were in trouble, so you went into the dangerous forest to kill the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

    I simply didn¡¯t want to spend too much time hunting it.

    [You didn¡¯t brag or negotiate for a higher fee even though you defeated the Silver Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

    That was Shinobu¡¯s way of saying negotiation, or something like that.

    [Moreover, you refused the additional request fee because you were treated to a meal.] Shinobu

    I just refused that because Swaying Bear ate a lot of meat.

    [Is that why you refuse the payment this time?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s a fair share.] Shinobu

    [But why me? Aren¡¯t there other strong adventurers out there? Isn¡¯t it strange that you would ask me, a person you just met, to help you?] Yuna

    If you think about it, no one would normally ask someone like me who¡¯s wearing a bear costume.

    [It¡¯s a woman¡¯s intuition. When I first saw you, I was so curious that I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off you.] Shinobu

    Maybe you couldn¡¯t just take your eyes off me because you were curious about my outfit.

    [So, when I saw how good you are, I decided to ask for your help.] Shinobu

    Hmmm, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s lying, but I feel like she¡¯s hiding her true intentions.

    [Is that man that strong?] Yuna

    Shinobu is a rank C adventurer. She was trusted by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Her rank is not just a name. She had also defeated the silver Kamaitachi that I had struggled with.

    [He¡¯s strong. It will probably be a close fight. I don¡¯t intend to lose, but I can¡¯t say that I can definitely win. That¡¯s why I want to ask you, Yuna, to back me up.] Shinobu

    Shinobu bowed her head.

    I don¡¯t think I should have listened to it, but it¡¯s a subtle story.

    [You¡¯re not trying to defeat him, but to simply capture him.] Yuna

    [He has various criminal records.] Shinobu

    [Then why don¡¯t you go to a certain ce and ask them to get him?] Yuna

    [There¡¯s no evidence. So I¡¯m going to catch him and make him talk.] Shinobu

    That makes it quite difficult. The stronger the opponent, the harder it is to catch them. The closer the power difference is, the harder it will be. The slightest mistake can kill you.

    So that¡¯s what Shinobu means when she asked me <just in case>.

    All I could do was sigh.

    After all, Shinobu and I have already been on the same page, taking requests together, fighting Kamaitachi together, and eating the same food together.

    I can only imagine how bad I would feel if Shinobu died without my knowledge because of my refusal.

    <If I had been there, she might not have died.>

    I let out a deep sigh.

    [All right, all right. I¡¯ll do it. But there¡¯s one condition.] Yuna

    [What is it? Are you asking for my body? If it¡¯s you, Yuna, then...] Shinobu

    Shinobu tried to take off her clothes starting from her shoulders.

    [No! I don¡¯t want that!] Yuna

    [Oh, that¡¯s terrible. To say such a thing to my body.] Shinobu

    Shinobu squirmed and mimicked crying.

    You¡¯re saying you might die, but you can still fool around like that, I see.

    [If I think Shinobu is in danger, I¡¯ll take action.] Yuna

    [Does that mean you¡¯re going to get in the way of taking out my enemy?] Shinobu

    [No, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s synonymous that when Shinobu loses, you¡¯re as good as dead. So before that happens, I¡¯ll do something about it. I won¡¯t keep my promise if you die, Shinobu.] Yuna

    This is the only thing I can¡¯tpromise.

    If someone I know were to die or get seriously injured in front of me, I would have severe PTSD.

    [I can¡¯t say no if you look at me that seriously. I¡¯ll leave that to your judgment.] Shinobu

    I decided to ept Shinobu¡¯s request.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I still don¡¯t know what Shinobu¡¯s true intentions are, but I¡¯m going to help her catch the guy.

    Volume 8 of Kuma will be released tomorrow, December 22. I signed it the other day, so if any readers are interested in it, please do so. If you click on the cover of volume 8 below, you will be taken to the publisher¡¯s special offers page.

    And then, volume 9 will also be released.

    The release date is scheduled for March, three months after the release of volume 8. Please note that the web version will be closed at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year for this reason.

    Also, we are looking for SS and new writings in the activity report.

    Theicalization is also progressing well. But I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t say anything more about it.

    #

 Chapter 440 - 440 Bear-san, Improves Hugging Beara??s Mood

    <h4>Chapter 440 - 440 Bear-san, Improves Hugging Beara??s Mood</h4>

    440 Bear-san, Improves Hugging Bear¡¯s Mood

    [Does this man have a name?] Yuna

    [Jubei. I call him that because he has a cross-shaped scar on his cheek.] Shinobu

    Looking at the sketch, it is true that there is a cross-shaped scar on the right cheek.

    But since it¡¯s cross, it¡¯s easy to say Juubei. I thought it was Jubei because of the eye patch.

    Well, if they had given him that reason, he would have had trouble with it. For the same reason, even Masamune might have had trouble reacting to it.

    [So, is there any way to find this guy? We¡¯re not going to be together for too long, you know.] Yuna

    I told Shinobu I¡¯d go with her, but I can¡¯t do it for too long. I have my own reasons.

    I want to explore thend of harmony, I want to go to other ces, and I have to go back to Crimonia at some point.

    [I know where he¡¯sst known location, so I¡¯m going to look for him there. That¡¯s why I want you to stay with me for three days. If you don¡¯t find him, I¡¯ll give up this time.] Shinobu

    I would also like to settle this matter within three days if possible. I don¡¯t want to hear that Shinobu is dead the next time Ie to the Land of Harmony.

    [Oh, and please return the money to me at that time too.] Shinobu

    Yeah, I¡¯m going to return the money, but when you say that, you¡¯re making me sound like one of those people who don¡¯t return the money. Well, I don¡¯t want you to follow me around, so I will return the money.

    [But I¡¯ll take a three-day escort fee.] Yuna

    I should be able to get that much.

    =====

    While I was talking with Shinobu about money, there was a knock on the door, then Konoha came into the room.

    Apparently, she has brought us dinner.

    Oh, right, it¡¯s already that time. It seems we¡¯ve been talking for quite a while now.

    Shinobu folded the paper with the portrait on the table and put it away in her chest.

    Konoha arranged the food on the empty table.

    As I watch her do her work, I notice something strange.

    [Why do you have enough for both of us?] Yuna

    The table was lined with dishes for two people.

    [That¡¯s because I¡¯m having dinner with Yuna.] Shinobu

    [I haven¡¯t heard anything about that.] Yuna

    [I didn¡¯t know when the conversation would end, so I asked her for it.] Shinobu

    That¡¯s true, though.

    But I think it would be nice if someone told me first.

    [Wait, you¡¯re not going to tell me we¡¯re sharing a room, are you?] Yuna

    [Would you like to sleep with me, by any chance? Unfortunately, we have separate rooms. But you really wanted to sleep on the same futon, though.] Shinobu

    I may ept the request, but I wouldn¡¯t sleep in a room with a suspicious ninja.

    [If you had said we were sleeping together, I would have kicked you out.] Yuna

    [Oh, that made me feel lonely.] Shinobu

    =====

    During such a conversation, Konoha finished arranging dishes.

    There is something strange with those dishes that areid out.

    Shinobu seemed to have noticed that as well.

    [Isn¡¯t there a big discrepancy here?] Shinobu

    Yes, there¡¯s a clear difference between the food in front of me and the one in front of Shinobu. The food lined up in front of me is gorgeous. The food in front of me was avish seafood course of crab, shrimp, and all kinds of fine food.

    But the food in front of Shinobu was a simple grilled fish, boiled vegetables, and so on. They were ordinary dishes.

    [The room where Yuna is staying is more expensive than a regr room, so the food is special.] Konoha

    Konoha answers Shinobu¡¯s question.

    I see. That¡¯s why the food was so gorgeous. I¡¯m d I stayed in a nice room, even if it was a little expensive. There is a hot spring in the room, it¡¯s a separate room so it¡¯s quiet, and the food is delicious.

    When she mentioned the room, it reminded me of something.

    [Oh, right. I¡¯d like to stay in this room for a while longer, is that okay?] Yuna

    I¡¯ll have to leave tomorrow, otherwise.

    I had to go out with Shinobu, so I had to stay in this city for a while.

    [Yes, that¡¯s fine. So, how long will you be staying?] Konoha

    [Another three days, please.] Yuna

    [Yuna, you¡¯re rich, aren¡¯t you? I can¡¯t stay in such a big room.] Shinobu

    [I just had some extra cash.] Yuna

    [Oi, that¡¯s my money, you know.] Shinobu

    Well, I¡¯m going to give it back to her eventually. But I¡¯m keeping it for now.

    [Speaking of which, where¡¯s the money for Shinobu¡¯s lodging?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve already paid.] Shinobu

    I have Shinobu¡¯s money. I think she gave me all of it, but she paid for her lodgings earlier.

    =====

    Then, after I paid for my extension, we started eating our own contrasting dishes.

    Shinobu wanted to eat my meal, but I wouldn¡¯t share it with her.

    [So, how strong is that guy?] Yuna

    I asked while eating a crab, ignoring Shinobu¡¯s gaze.

    I never knew crab would be this delicious.

    This steamed rice is also delicious. Even the tempura is delicious too.

    [U~u, that¡¯s right. He¡¯s a top-notch swordsman.] Shinobu

    Shinobu began to talk while eating the fish.

    Well, from the looks of it, it is what it is.

    It feels like he¡¯s a samurai.

    [And he can also use magic. The tip of the sword sends out des of wind. It¡¯s even more dangerous than Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

    As soon as magic was mentioned, it all bes fantasy.

    Well, it¡¯s a world with magic, so what can you do? I don¡¯t like the idea of warriors and samurai using magic, though.

    But I¡¯m sure the inhabitants of the other world don¡¯t want to be told that I¡¯m wearing a bear suit either.

    [Even so, It looks like you¡¯re very familiar with that man, but have you ever fought him before?] Yuna

    [I was watching my father fighting him.] Shinobu

    [I see......] Yuna

    Does that mean you saw your father get killed?

    It¡¯s kinda hard for me to listen to you when you say that.

    [But it¡¯s not going to be easy if he uses magic.] Yuna

    [I won¡¯t let him use it in closebat.] Shinobu

    I listened to Shinobu¡¯s information until I finished my meal.

    [You ate it all. In the end, Yuna didn¡¯t share any with me.] Shinobu

    [Because it¡¯s mine.] Yuna

    It was delicious. I¡¯d like to bring Fina along next time. The food and hot springs alone are worth the stay.

    [Well then, I¡¯m going back to my room.] Shinobu

    I was expecting her to say something like, <Let¡¯s take a hot spring bath>.

    [I really wanted to go to the hot springs with Yuna, but I¡¯m taking a break today.] Shinobu

    Oh...

    Shinobu obediently left the room.

    Then, in ce of Shinobu, Konoha came to clean up the dishes andid out the futon for me, and then she left.

    =====

    In the empty room, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form.

    If I don¡¯t get Hugging Bear in a good mood quickly, he¡¯ll be grumpy.

    ......However, I was toote.

    Hugging Bear¡¯s back is turned from me. A sorrowful feeling is emanating from his back.

    This is very bad. Hugging Bear ispletely in bad mood.

    [Hugging Bear? Hugging Bear-chan?] Yuna

    <Kuu-n>

    He turned his back and cried.

    Wow, he¡¯s really in apletely bad mood.

    [I¡¯m sorry, Hugging Bear. I didn¡¯t mean to neglect you.] Yuna

    I hugged Hugging Bear from behind.

    I summoned mainly Swaying Bear today. I also ate with only Swaying Bear and did not summon Hugging Bear. I did buy some meat for Hugging Bear, though.

    [Ah, I have the meat, but can we cook it in the room? It can¡¯t be helped.] Yuna

    At my words, Hugging Bear whimpered even more sadly.

    It¡¯s an inn. I can¡¯t just grill over charcoal without permission.

    What am I going to do? Think, me.

    [I¡¯ll take a bath with you and we¡¯ll sleep together, okay?] Yuna

    But Hugging Bear still would not look at me.

    [Did you want meat that badly?] Yuna

    Hugging Bear shakes his head a little.

    Then why?

    When I was troubled, Swaying Bear came in front of Hugging Bear and started what seemed like a conversation, saying <Ku-n>, <Kun>, <Ku-n>, and <Kun>.

    And when the conversation is over, Swaying Bear walks away and curls up in a corner of the room.

    Etto, what does that supposed to mean?

    I don¡¯t know what to do anymore, but then Hugging Bear would look at me. And then he rubs up against me as if he were spoiling me.

    Could it be, Swaying Bear concedes to Hugging Bear?

    [Swaying Bear?] Yuna

    I called out to Swaying Bear in the corner of the room, but he didn¡¯t respond.

    Apparently, there is no doubt about it.

    It seems to mean that he doesn¡¯t want to keep me to himself, he wants me to be with Hugging Bear.

    I¡¯m going to take advantage of Swaying Bear¡¯s generosity.

    [Then, Hugging Bear. Shall we take a bath together?] Yuna

    <Ku~u ~ n>

    Hugging Bear squealed happily.

    I have to thank Swaying Bear for this.

    I took Hugging Bear into the bath with me, washed his clean white body, and soaked in the water with him.

    Then I set up a bear gate in the room to eat the meat I had for lunch with Swaying Bear. If we can¡¯t eat it here, we can eat it elsewhere.

    [Hugging Bear. Shall we both have some meat then?] Yuna

    When I opened the door toward the ind of Targui, Hugging Bear cried <ku~u ~ n> at Swaying Bear. Then, the curled-up Swaying Bear moves.

    Then, as another mysterious conversation begins, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear start walking together ande to the bear gate.

    Apparently, this time, he invited Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to join.

    Those two are really close.

    =====

    Then we moved to the Bear House in Targui, where I cooked and ate wagyu beef with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, even though I had already eaten dinner.

    Because Hugging Bear wanted to eat with me.

    However, eating together with Hugging Bear put him in a better mood, but at the cost of my stomach. I rubbed my swollen belly.

    I can¡¯t eat anymore.

    =====

    When I returned to the inn with a full stomach, I copsed on the futon.

    [I can¡¯t move anymore.] Yuna

    Then, holding Hugging Bear in my arms, I fell asleep.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Merry Christmas. (TN: Not in my trantion, though.)

    Episode 440 is my gift to you.

    I wanted to write a story about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I made Hugging Bear a little unhappy.

    But I¡¯m d that Hugging Bear¡¯s mood has improved.

    This year is almost over. (TN: It¡¯s already way past New Year)

    Also, I¡¯m going to take a break after posting once this year. Please understand.

    I¡¯ll resume, but it¡¯ll depend on the bookwork. Still, I will resume as soon as possible.

    Volume 8 has been sessfully released.

    If you see it at a bookstore, I¡¯d be happy if you could pick it up.

    #

 Chapter 441 - 441 Bear-san, Buying Candy Crafts

    <h4>Chapter 441 - 441 Bear-san, Buying Candy Crafts</h4>

    441 Bear-san, Buying Candy Crafts

    The next morning, I was gently woken up by Hugging Bear. Hugging Bear¡¯s mood hadpletely improved.

    That¡¯s good. I¡¯m d.

    By the way, Swaying Bear was curled up at my feet, as if he was being careful this time.

    After eating breakfast, I am walking around the city with Shinobu, looking for a man with an eye patch and a scar on his cheek.

    [They¡¯re watching us.] Shinobu

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    [They¡¯re pointing fingers at us.] Shinobu

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    [They¡¯re whispering something.] Shinobu

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    [All I can hear are <bear>.] Shinobu

    [Yeah.] Yuna

    Yesterday, we left early in the morning when there were still few people around, so we didn¡¯t attract as much attention.

    But today, the sun was up, and as time goes by, the number of passersby increased.

    I ignored them as I walked, but Shinobu seemed to be restless.

    Well, ninjas are supposed to act inconspicuously, so does that bother her?

    [I¡¯m embarrassed to be seen like this. Why don¡¯t you change your clothes, Yuna?] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m not changing. Do you have a problem with my Ichizora?*] Yuna

    I ask in a slightly stronger tone.

    This bear costume is my everyday wear, and it¡¯s also my Ichizora.

    [No, I don¡¯t. I was just wondering if you weren¡¯t embarrassed by it.] Shinobu

    Of course, it¡¯s embarrassing. But I can¡¯t help it, because I can¡¯t take it off. Besides, we¡¯re going to catch a criminal. I can¡¯t just take off my bear gear.

    [If you don¡¯t want to, we can just pretend this never happened, you know?] Yuna

    [...I¡¯ll put up with it.] Shinobu

    Shinobu gave up and just kept walking.

    People have to give up at some point, you know.

    =====

    We looked around and searched for the man based on Shinobu¡¯s information.

    [Hmmm, it¡¯s not easy to find him.] Yuna

    [If he was that easy to find, we wouldn¡¯t have a hard time searching for him.] Shinobu

    Well, she¡¯s right.

    If he had been easy to find, I wouldn¡¯t have attracted so much attention.

    [I¡¯m getting hungry. Is there anything you want to eat, Yuna? You can use my money, and I¡¯ll treat you.] Shinobu

    [Are you sure?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s fine.] Shinobu

    [Well, I guess I¡¯ll take you up on your offer then.] Yuna

    I took Shinobu¡¯s word for it and headed to the restaurant I was interested in.

    [Here?] Shinobu

    From the front of the restaurant, we could smell the delicious scent.

    [Eels?] Shinobu

    Yes, I found it when I was looking for the guy. Eel. Unaju**. We might be fighting soon, so it¡¯s important to nourish ourselves.

    [This ce looks expensive.] Shinobu

    It sounds like Shinobu doesn¡¯t want to enter.

    The store¡¯s exterior certainly looks expensive, giving it a luxurious look.

    But I¡¯m in a mood for eel right now.

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m not going to enter.

    [I don¡¯t even need to worry about money, it¡¯s Shinobu¡¯s money, so no problem.] Yuna

    [Yuna¡¯s a demon.] Shinobu

    Well, whatever, I went inside the restaurant to eat eel.

    =====

    [Wee? Bear?] Lady

    The female shopkeeper froze when she saw me. Well, it¡¯s just the usual reaction. I talked to the female shopkeeper.

    [There¡¯s two of us.] Yuna

    [Ah, yes. There are two of you. Please take this seat.] Lady

    The female shopkeeper nced at me as if she was looking at something strange.

    Of course, I ignored those stares of her.

    But still, it smells good.

    I can¡¯t wait to try it.

    We were shown to our seats and looked at the menu.

    [Which one do you want, Yuna?] Shinobu

    There was one that caught my attention.

    Golden Special Unaju. And the most expensive at that.

    [Golden Special Unaju.] Yuna

    Given that I¡¯m a posh person, it¡¯s essential to order the most expensive one.

    [Golden Special Unaju? let¡¯s get something cheaper.] Shinobu

    [Golden Special Unaju.] Yuna

    I repeated the same words again.

    [U~u, then, we¡¯ll have the Golden Special Unaju and this ordinary unaju, please.] Shinobu

    Shinobu gave the shopkeeper our order.

    With a subtle expression, the shopkeeper said <Certainly, maam>, then took off with our order.

    [But what is golden eel?] Yuna

    [Did you order it without knowing? It¡¯s called golden eel because it looks golden when reflected in the light, unlike ordinary eel. The taste is also different from regr eel, it¡¯s fatty and delicious.] Shinobu

    If it¡¯s that good, I¡¯ll have to order extra.

    And after a short wait, the Golden Special Unajues.

    Ooh, that looks delicious.

    Obviously, it was different from the eel in front of Shinobu.

    I grabbed my chopsticks and started eating the unaju. It was soft. I cut the eel with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth along with the rice.

    [Delicious.] Yuna

    The sauce is also delicious.

    [That¡¯s right. That¡¯s a Golden Special Unaju.] Shinobu

    After saying that, Shinobu also began to eat her unaju.

    [Is Yuna some kind of nobledy somewhere? You¡¯re staying in an expensive room, and you don¡¯t mind ordering expensive things.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯m just an ordinary adventurer.] Yuna

    [No normal adventurer would stay at such an expensive inn by themself, or order an expensive Golden Special Unaju.] Shinobu

    [Is that so? Shinobu, you earn money, don¡¯t you? That also means you have to spend your money too.] Yuna

    [I like to save up instead.] Shinobu

    It¡¯s important to save money, but if you¡¯re earning it, you need to spend it too. If everyone saved their money, the economy would be in trouble.

    Well, putting Shinobu aside, this unaju, can I take this unaju home with me?

    I want Fina to try it. It might also be a good idea to take it to Zeref-san.

    [What¡¯s the matter?] Shinobu

    [I was wondering if I could take some home as a souvenir.] Yuna

    [The eels?] Shinobu

    [It¡¯s delicious. I just thought I¡¯d feed it to some kids I know.] Yuna

    Even if I bring the eel home, I can¡¯t cook it this good, and I don¡¯t have the sauce. At least, with how good the eels are cooked here, it might be a good idea to buy them.

    [Eels taste best when they¡¯re freshly cooked. If I take it home like so, it won¡¯t taste as good.] Yuna

    [I agree.] Shinobu

    Since I can¡¯t buy eel now, I¡¯ll ask if I can get some to go next time.

    I finished eating my unaju.

    Yeah, it was delicious. Satisfying, savory.

    And then pay for our meal.

    Of course, not with Shinobu¡¯s money, but with my own.

    [You¡¯re not going to spend the money I gave you?] Shinobu

    [I¡¯ll use it after you¡¯re dead, Shinobu.] Yuna

    [Yuna...] Shinobu

    [Oh, but pay for yourself.] Yuna

    [......Uh, yeah, sure.] Shinobu

    Shinobu paid for her unaju with a subtle look on her face.

    I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s Fina and the others, but there¡¯s no reason to buy a meal for Shinobu, a fellow adventurer.

    =====

    With our stomachs full, we walked to a ce where we thought he might stop by to look for him.

    We¡¯ve been walking around all morning, but we can¡¯t find any man who fits the bill.

    [Are you sure he¡¯s around here?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ve got a tip that he was seen here.] Shinobu

    [And you trust that information?] Yuna

    [I don¡¯t have any other information.] Shinobu

    If that¡¯s the case, it can¡¯t be helped. On the other hand, I don¡¯t want to have a lot of information about where he¡¯sst seen. In the end, we had to rely on the information, walk steadily, and look for the man.

    I look around. But all I see are stares as if they were looking at something strange.

    I ignore the stares and kept looking around. In the midst of my gaze, a stall on the side of the road catches my eye.

    [Oh, what¡¯s that?] Yuna

    I started to run.

    [Yuna, where are you going? Did you find him?] Shinobu

    Shinobu calls out behind me, but I head straight for the stall.

    [What the heck? Bear?] Uncle

    The man at the stall was surprised by my sudden appearance.

    I ignored him and looked at the food on disy.

    The food stall was lined with many candy crafts.

    [What is it? Candy? You¡¯re a kid too, aren¡¯t you?] Shinobu

    Shinobues over to me, looking uninterested.

    I¡¯ve seen it on TV, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen it personally, so I¡¯m interested.

    Animals such as rabbits, birds, horses, dogs, cats, cows, pigs, foxes, roons, and fruits such as apples, oranges, and strawberries. Goldfish, fish, squid, and octopus. There are also various colorful flowers, beautiful butterflies, bird chicks, andrge birds. They all look like works of art.

    While there are many animals, there are no bears. Are bears not popr here?

    Well, if I ate them, it would be cannibalism. But personally, I¡¯m sad that there are no bears.

    [What? Bear girl, you buying or something?] Uncle

    The man at the stall was surprised by my appearance, but he approached me while I was looking at the candy crafts.

    [All of it...] Yuna

    I¡¯m sure the kids would love it if I bought it for them. Personally, I was disappointed that there were no bears. Although, if there had been bears, they might fight for it.

    Recently, perhaps because of my influence, more and more children are starting to like bears.

    [......Little girl. It¡¯s not that expensive, but do you have any money? If you¡¯re joking, go away.] Uncle

    The uncle raised his eyebrows a little.

    Apparently, he thinks I¡¯m fooling around for saying I wanted it all.

    [I¡¯ll pay for it. I¡¯ve never seen such beautiful Amezaiku*** before, so I thought you¡¯d like it if I brought it home as a souvenir.] Yuna

    [I see. I¡¯m sorry for doubting you. I¡¯m d you said that. But do you really have that kind of money?] Uncle

    The man looks a little uneasy.

    [I do.] Yuna

    [You¡¯re not talking about my money, are you!?] Shinobu

    [Of course, not.] Yuna

    You¡¯re worrying too much. I paid for my own eel, after all.

    But do you really intend to give me the money?

    Well, I don¡¯t n to use it because I felt it¡¯s bad luck since if I touched Shinobu¡¯s money even a little, Shinobu might really die.

    So I¡¯ll buy what I want with my own money.

    I calcted the total amount and paid for all the candy crafts that were lined up.

    [I think this will be enough.] Yuna

    [Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry I doubted you.] Uncle

    The man makes an honest apology.

    [But how are you going to bring it home?] Uncle

    [I¡¯ll put it in a box, then I¡¯ll put it in the item bag.] Yuna

    I took out a box and put away all the candy crafts that I had bought as souvenirs.

    [I¡¯m going to have to make a new batch.] Uncle

    [Uncle, are you not making bears? There are so many animals, but I didn¡¯t find bears.] Yuna

    [What? You want bears too, little girl? Well, from the way you¡¯re dressed, I can tell you like bears.] Uncle

    [Me too?] Yuna

    [The bears have been popr for two days now, and every time I make them they sell out. Bears sold fast.] Uncle

    Two days ago? Could that mean?

    [I¡¯ve never sold so many bears in my life.] Uncle

    The uncle looks at me strangely.

    [Moreover, some kids even said the bear doesn¡¯t look like this, and I don¡¯t think he knows what a bear looks like.] Uncle

    [Could that be about you, Yuna?] Shinobu

    I arrived three days ago, and I¡¯ve been walking around the town for two days.

    At Shinobu¡¯s words, the man nced at me.

    [I see. They said something about a cute little bear.] Uncle

    Stop looking at people and telling them they¡¯re cute.

    Well, I understand that it¡¯s not about me, it¡¯s about the cute bear outfit, not me.

    I¡¯m not that conceited.

    As the uncle began to heat the candy, he began to cut and stretch the shapeless candy with what looked like scissors to create a shape. It was like an art form, like a magic hand, creating the shape of the candy.

    And the finished product was an Amezaiku of a girl dressed in a stuffed bear costume.

    [It¡¯s amazing, Uncle.] Yuna

    Yes, it¡¯s amazing, but why am I the model?

    [Here you go, little girl.] Uncle

    For some reason, the man offers it to me.

    [Thanks to you. I¡¯ve just finished a new piece of Amezaiku.] Uncle

    Are you selling it, by any chance?

    I can only imagine how bad it will go.

    Then, he said he would take my request, so I had him make me some regr bear candy crafts.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This is the food episode.

    As the story is about to start, there seemed to be no time to write about it, so I decided to slide it in this time.

    And as I saidst time, I¡¯m going to take a break for a while.

    I can¡¯t promise the next post, but I hope to resume around January 8.

    After that, I will start working on the book in earnest, so I will not be able to ept requests for the SS and new writing for volume 9 until the end of this year.

    So thank you for your patience this year.

    Until next year, yoroshikuonegaiitashimasu.

    A little early, but have a happy new year.

    (TN: Not really in this trantion.)

    #

 Chapter 442 - 442 Bear-san, Finds The Man.

    <h4>Chapter 442 - 442 Bear-san, Finds The Man.</h4>

    We walked around the city for a day, but we couldn¡¯t find the man with the eye patch and the cross-shaped scar on his cheek. It was just me, being seen by passersby.

    [Yuna, you¡¯re only looking at the stores, not the guy that we¡¯re looking for.] Shinobu

    I entered the tourist mode halfway through.

    It¡¯s because it¡¯s more fun to look at the town¡¯s scenery, rather than looking for that person.

    [I thought that my presence would make me stand out, and they would notice me.] Yuna

    [No one would think that a girl dressed as a bear is looking for them.] Shinobu

    Well, I certainly stood out, but you wouldn¡¯t expect a girl dressed as a bear you¡¯ve never met in your life to be looking for you, would you?

    [But if I stand out, doesn¡¯t that mean that Shinobu, who¡¯s I¡¯m with, stands out too?] Yuna

    [That¡¯s¡­] Shinobu

    [Besides, isn¡¯t it a bit too much to look for one person in a town this big? Can¡¯t you get someone to help you?] Yuna

    Two people, rather than one. Three people rather than two. The more people who¡¯re searching, the bigger the chance you¡¯d find him.

    [I don¡¯t want to search with too many people because I don¡¯t know where the information will leak out. If they find out we¡¯re looking for them and they hide or flee the town, we¡¯ll have to start all over again.] Shinobu

    That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s a tough call. The more people who¡¯re searching, the higher the chance of finding him, but also the higher the risk of information leaking out. It¡¯s hard to say which is better.

    I honestly hope we can find him within the next three days. Yeah, I can only hope.

    After a long day, I took a bath in the hot spring and hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to rx after a long day.

    =====

    The second day of exploration begins.

    I walk around the city as I did yesterday.

    [Shinobu, don¡¯t you want to kill that man?] Yuna

    My parents were outrageous. So if they got killed, I would not want to kill or catch the culprit. If they get killed, it is most likely my parents¡¯ fault.

    [That¡¯s true. But if I kill him, then that would be the end of it. I want to catch him and get him to confess to a lot of things he did.] Shinobu

    [Just to confirm, half-dead is fine, right?] Yuna

    [What kind of horrible things are you nning to ¡°half-kill¡± him?] Shinobu

    I¡¯m thinking about it.

    [You know, like soaking him up in fear from the bottom of his heart?] Yuna

    If you instill fear in someone so deep that they can never do anything bad again, they won¡¯t do it again. Before they try to do something bad, would they feel like it¡¯s a death sentence?

    But before that, why did they kill Shinobu¡¯s father?

    If it was a random murder, it wouldn¡¯t have been a big deal.

    It¡¯s possible that Shinobu¡¯s father did something wrong and was killed.

    Hmm, but then there would be no reason to capture him. If Shinobu¡¯s father was evil and the man with the scars was righteous, then he would be innocent even if we captured him.

    Then again, maybe Shinobu was right, and the man was the evil one?

    [Why did that man kill your father, Shinobu?] Yuna

    [¡­¡­I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s why I want to capture him and find out about that too.] Shinobu

    So, is it possible that Shinobu¡¯s father is a bad guy?

    But she said he killed other people. Are those people bad people too?

    The guy¡¯s portrait looks like he¡¯s a viin.

    There is a possibility that the person who drew the portrait has mixed in personal feelings about the guy, and we should not judge people by their looks. I¡¯ve had trouble with people judging me by my appearance many times.

    The more I think about it, the less I know. I¡¯m going to have to be very calm about this when I find a guy.

    =====

    And today as well, the sun begins to set without finding a man.

    [Let¡¯s look around some more and then we¡¯ll have dinner.] Yuna

    I called out to Shinobu, who is standing next to me. But there was no reply. I looked at Shinobu and saw that she had stopped walking.

    [Shinobu?] Yuna

    [There he is.] Shinobu

    Shinobu¡¯s gaze was fixed on a single point. When I turned my sight to where Shinobu was looking, I saw a tall man dressed like a samurai.

    That¡¯s the guy?

    The man had juste out of the dumpling shop.

    When the man was about to leave the store and start walking, he immediately changed direction and started walking away from us, so I couldn¡¯t see his face clearly, and I couldn¡¯t see the cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

    But I could see that he was wearing an eye patch over his left eye.

    [Let¡¯s follow him.] Shinobu

    [Aren¡¯t you going to catch him?] Yuna

    [Not here. There are still people around. If we create amotion and cause damage, we¡¯ll be in trouble. If possible, we should move to a deserted ce or find out which inn he¡¯s staying.] Shinobu

    What Shinobu said was true, so we had to follow the man.

    Personally, I¡¯d like to end it by unleashing magic from behind, but if the guy is innocent and it was only a backhanded attack by Shinobu, I¡¯d be the criminal.

    U~u, it¡¯s too much troublesome. It¡¯s such a pain.

    [Let¡¯s go, Yuna.] Shinobu

    We kept our distance from the man a little so that he wouldn¡¯t notice us and tailed him.

    [Are you sure about this?] Yuna

    [There is no doubt. That appearance, I will not make a mistake about it.] Shinobu

    She replied strongly.

    The man is walking alone, unaware that he is being followed.

    I wonder where he¡¯s going. If possible, I would like him to go somewhere less crowded.

    The man walking in front didn¡¯t notice us, but as usual, people passing in front of me kept looking at me.

    As expected, my outfit is not suitable for tailing, I guess?

    If I¡¯m just looking for someone, then yeah, but it¡¯s impossible to do so in a bear suit.

    [Shinobu, don¡¯t you think I should leave?] Yuna

    [It¡¯s okay because we¡¯re keeping a distance.] Shinobu

    Shinobu and I kept our distance from the man and continued to tail him.

    The man moved away from the main street and entered into a small alley.

    Gradually the streets be less crowded.

    [Are you sure you don¡¯t want my help?] Yuna

    [I¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll be fine.] Shinobu

    Then I will not lose sight of him, and I will not let him escape. I don¡¯t want to go through the trouble of looking for him again. The man did not look back but continued on to the outskirts of town.

    =====

    The surrounding area is lined with old houses, many of which are surrounded by wooden walls. The streets arepletely empty of people.

    It¡¯s a good time to strike or talk.

    [Shinobu.] Yuna

    The man stopped, then he started to speak to Shinobu.

    [I think this ce is good enough.] Jubei

    The man turned around.

    As the sun was setting, the man¡¯s face appeared in front of us under the sunlight.

    He had an eye patch over his left eye and a scar on his cheek. It was definitely the man from the sketch that Shinobu had.

    [Did you notice us?] Shinobu

    Shinobu didn¡¯t even try to hide as we followed him.

    [I kept hearing <bear, bear,=""> anyone will notice that.] Jubei</bear,>

    It seems that it was my fault. That¡¯s why I told her I¡¯m not good at tailing someone.

    But the man didn¡¯t seem to notice me. He didn¡¯t even turn around once. So how could he have realized that he was being followed by a bear?

    Then the man looked at me and smiled.

    [So you came to this deserted ce knowing that you were being followed?] Shinobu

    [You don¡¯t want to make a scene when we confront each other, do you?] Jubei

    It seems the man has his own reasons for not wanting to make a scene.

    [So, why were you following me?] Jubei

    [Have you forgotten about me?] Shinobu

    As soon as Shinobu said that, she waved her arm. At the same time, the man pulled out the sword at his waist. There was a <kink> sound as metal shed with metal, and something fell to the ground.</kink>

    It¡¯s a kunai! Shinobu threw a kunai! And the man blocked it with his sword!

    I couldn¡¯t tell because I was right behind Shinobu. Shinobu¡¯s movements were lean and fast. But the man prevented it.

    It was a momentary attack, but the level was high.

    [Oh, you¡¯re the daughter of the man from that time? In other words, you¡¯re avenging your father¡¯s death, aren¡¯t you?] Jubei

    [You quickly remembered, well that will make things easier.] Shinobu

    Shinobu pulled out a small dagger from her pocket.

    [I won¡¯t kill you. But if I win, you will tell me everything.] Shinobu

    [Then you should have attacked me from behind when you found me.] Jubei

    The man held his sword up.

    [I won¡¯t do anything cowardly like that. I¡¯ll beat you with my own strength.] Shinobu

    [Fufu, interesting. I¡¯ll be your partner then. So, the cute littledy dressed as a bear over there, are you just going to watch, or are you going to help?] Jubei

    The man pointed the tip of his sword at me.

    I feel like the tip of his sword is telling me that if I go to help her, he will attack me as well.

    [I want you to stay out of this as you promised, and watch me. If anything should happen to me, I¡¯m leaving everything to you.] Shinobu

    So she¡¯s basically telling me not to help and just watch.

    [I also promised that if you¡¯re about to be killed, I¡¯ll step in.] Yuna

    [That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying if something happens.] Shinobu

    There is a chance that Shinobu will be defeated before I can do anything about it.

    If there seems to be a huge power gap,

    I¡¯m going to make a move sooner rather thanter.

    Besides, I¡¯ll find out if the man is a good or bad guy by his fight with Shinobu.

    Shinobu runs, and the man waits for her.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Happy New Year to you all.

    I¡¯m sorry for the dy.

    I was worried that the bookwork did not proceed as much as I expected.

    My next post will be in three or four days, if possible.

    This year as well, yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

 Chapter 443 - 443 Bear-san, Watches The Battle.

    <h4>Chapter 443 - 443 Bear-san, Watches The Battle.</h4>

    The battle between Shinobu and the man began on a deserted street.

    Shinobu rushed in. At the same time, she throws a kunai. The man dodged the kunai by shifting his body slightly to the side. In that short movement, Shinobu closed the distance to the man and swung her short katana(Ð¡µ¶) in her left hand at him. The man dodged easily and swung his katana(µ¶) at Shinobu.

    Shinobu dodged by shifting her weight to her left and moved to the man¡¯s left before attacking him.

    Obviously, she was going to attack from the eye-patched side of the man. Shinobu attacked while moving to the left side of the man.

    [Do you perhaps think you can attack me from my blind spot?] Jubei

    [Weaknesses should be exploited.] Shinobu

    [I thought you said you don¡¯t fight cowardly?] Jubei

    [It¡¯s called a tactic.] Shinobu

    Swinging a short katana and a katana at each other while conversing. Their katanas cut the air.

    Shinobu, who has a shorter reach, is at a disadvantage, but she uses his blind spot and fast movements to make the fight even. The man is dodging Shinobu¡¯s short katana even in his blindside.

    The two sides continue to attack and defend.

    It¡¯s amazing.

    They dodged each other by a paper-thin margin as if they both knew what attack wasing.

    The man dodges Shinobu¡¯s short katana and swings his katana in a wide horizontal sh. Shinobu jumps backwards to dodge.

    [Fu ~u] Jubei

    The man exhaled and smiled happily.

    [As expected of that man¡¯s daughter, you¡¯re very strong.] Jubei

    He said that, but the man seemed to be rxed. I can¡¯t see any room on Shinobu¡¯s side.

    Even with half a vision, the man seemed to have the advantage in closebat.

    [Do you not use magic because you think I¡¯m not worth it?] Shinobu

    [If I use it in a ce like this, it will be a nuisance to everyone around me. Besides, you¡¯re not using it either.] Jubei

    Wooden houses lined up on either side.

    She said her opponent uses wind magic, but I wonder if Shinobu can use magic.

    But this is not the same battle of warriors and samurai in my former world. In this world, there is a magic that surpasses the skill of handling weapons. With magic alone, one can even surpass swordsmanship.

    However, since magic requires imagery, that momentary thought is a weakness. Technology imbibed in the body is faster than the activation of magic.

    It is difficult to use magic in a closebat situation. That¡¯s why wizards use it in the rear.

    Besides, if her opponent started using magic without paying attention to the surroundings, Shinobu would be at a disadvantage.

    But then, if Shinobu couldn¡¯t use magic, she would still be at a disadvantage. Even if she could use it, she wouldn¡¯t be able to use strong magic because of her surroundings.

    [That¡¯s not the case.] Shinobu

    The wind swirled around Shinobu¡¯s right hand that held a short katana.

    [I¡¯ll just use it in a way that doesn¡¯t bother others.] Shinobu

    With a quick movement, Shinobu closed the gap between her and the man. Again, from the left side of the man¡¯s blind spot.

    Shinobu swung her short katana sideways.

    At that distance, the short katana cannot reach. But a de of wind shot out from the short katana. But even that wind attack was cut off by the man with his katana. Shinobu stepped in further to close the distance pulled back her swinging arm and swung it straight at the man. The man flicked it with his katana.

    The momentum of being flipped threw Shinobu off bnce. The man¡¯s leg kick hit her.

    Shinobu got kicked away and fell far backwards.

    [Shinobu!] Yuna

    [I¡¯m okay.] Shinobu

    Apparently, she jumped backwards to break away.

    The man was more aware of his surroundings than Shinobu because his leg was outstretched. That¡¯s how much room he has.

    I still don¡¯t know what the man¡¯s true intentions were in killing Shinobu¡¯s father, but I¡¯m pretty sure that Shinobu was going to lose this fight.

    Should I take over?

    [He¡¯s strong.] Shinobu

    Shinobu exhaled a small breath and regted her breathing.

    [Shall I take over?] Yuna

    Looking at Shinobu now, you can see that she has no intention of backing down. But I asked just in case.

    [It¡¯s okay. I want Yuna to watch us fight and learn the moves of that man.] Shinobu

    Does that mean she wants me to observe their fight, analyze how that man fights, and prepare for battle?

    That would mean she doesn¡¯t think she can win.

    [But if you¡¯re really in trouble, call out to me.] Yuna

    Without confirming or denying my words, Shinobu smiled. Then she gripped her short katana in her hand and ran towards the man.

    Shinobu used magic to attack, but the man dodged. Shinobu increased the number of her attacks. I¡¯d like to think here we go, but the man still didn¡¯t use magic. He also raised his cheeks every once in a while and seemed to be smiling.

    Shinobu¡¯s movements became even faster.

    She¡¯s cornering the man. Gradually, Shinobu¡¯s speed surpassed the man¡¯s.

    Shinobu¡¯s wind de and short katana attacked the man.

    He¡¯s cornered.

    As I was thinking of that, the man¡¯s katana increased in speed and repelled Shinobu¡¯s attack. Shinobu¡¯s attack stopped, and the man stepped back significantly to get some distance.

    [You¡¯re stronger than I thought. It looks like I¡¯m going to have to get a little serious about this.] Jubei

    [So, you¡¯re using magic now?] Shinobu

    [No, I¡¯ll just do this.] Jubei

    The man then put his hand over his left eye and removed the eye patch. A closed eye appeared from under the eye patch. I wondered if there was a scar, but there was none. Then, the closed left eye opened.

    [Can you see with it, by any chance?] Shinobu

    [Yes, I can see you clearly.] Jubei

    [Were you just mocking me?] Shinobu

    [No, I was simply holding myself back. But I only took it off out of respect for your strength.] Jubei

    That meant that he was not only handicapping himself by not using magic but also handicapping himself by not using one of his eyes.

    The man opened both of his eyes and held up his katana. Shinobu shot a small wind de and ran towards the man. The man¡¯s movements be faster. He easily dodged Shinobu¡¯s attacks. Shinobu threw another kunai at him. The man flicked it with his katana and then shed his katana again.

    The man, who now has two functioning eyes, no longer had a blind spot, and Shinobu could no longer fight to her advantage.

    Shinobu can¡¯t handle him anymore, and the number of times she received his attack with her short katana increased. The man was clearly superior in terms of the weight of the attack, the power of the attack, and the speed of the attack.

    Shinobu still kept her distance and fought back with her wind magic, but it didn¡¯t hit the man, probably because she was suppressing its power out of concern for her surroundings.

    Her legs seemed to be moving even slower. Shinobu was moving around, but the man was just fending off Shinobu¡¯s attacks, so he¡¯s moving his body less than Shinobu.

    [Ku~] Shinobu

    =====

    Shinobu¡¯s movements were getting dull, and she couldn¡¯t attack nor go backwards.

    [You seem to have reached your limit. I¡¯ll end it now.] Jubei

    The man sat down and held his katana out as if thrusting it.

    Wait, that¡¯s!??

    [Shinobu! Run!] Yuna

    At the moment I shouted, the man stepped forward. The distance between me and Shinobu was suddenly narrowed.

    Too fast.

    Shinobu jumped backwards, throwing some kunai. The man flicked off the kunai with a thrust. I thought the attack would stop there, but it did not. The man pulled back his arm and thrust his katana out again.

    Shinobu blocked it with her short katana. Even so, the man¡¯s momentum did not stop. He pulled his arm further and thrust his katana out.

    Three-step thrust? ( Èý¶ÎÍ»¤­£¿)

    The man¡¯s katana struck Shinobu, causing her body to tumble to the ground.

    [Shinobu!] Yuna

    When I tried to run to her, Shinobu¡¯s body moved. She supported her body from the ground as she tried to get up with her trembling arms.

    [I, I¡¯m okay.] Shinobu

    Shinobu stood up, a bit dizzy, and holding her stomach.

    [Are you sure you¡¯re okay?] Yuna

    Shinobu flipped the clothes on her stomach area.

    Chainmail? ( æi¤«¤¿¤Ó¤é£¿)

    [It¡¯s made of mithril. I also jumped backwards and somehow avoided a direct hit.] Shinobu

    I felt relieved.

    Oh, good. I thought she had been stabbed.

    [Did you dodge that thrust? Well then, do you still want to fight?] Jubei

    [Of course.] Shinobu

    [Then I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯ll go through next time.] Jubei

    The man moved to a thrusting stance as if to do a follow-up. Shinobu held up her short katana with her weak hand. At the same time, I made my move.

    =====

    The man stepped forward from his thrusting stance. The distance between him and Shinobu closed in an instant. I stepped in between the two of them and flicked the man¡¯s katana with my Swaying Bear knife.

    I flicked it hard. I won¡¯t let him do the three-step thrust.

    I stood in front of Shinobu as if to protect her, and the man jumped back.

    [Yuna?] Shinobu

    [It¡¯s time to switch.] Yuna

    I don¡¯t know why the man killed Shinobu¡¯s father. We don¡¯t even know what kind of man he is.

    Maybe he¡¯s just a battle junkie.

    Maybe Shinobu¡¯s father was the same.

    Maybe they fought because they wanted to fight each other. Maybe that¡¯s why her father died. Whatever the reason, there is one thing I do know.

    [I don¡¯t want to see Shinobu get killed, so you¡¯ll have to switch ces with me. I¡¯ll deal with him from this point on.] Yuna

    I said to Shinobu, who looked like she¡¯s in pain.

    If I defeat this man, everything will be revealed, and this bewildering feeling will be cleared up.

    [¡­¡­Yuna, he¡¯s strong.] Shinobu

    [I¡¯ve been watching your fight, so I understand that.] Yuna

    In addition to his strength, he has a trump card, magic.

    Even though Shinobu had a magic restriction on him, she still couldn¡¯t defeat him even with her magic.

    On top of that, her opponent fought while giving her a handicap.

    [Take it easy, Shinobu. Get some rest.] Yuna

    I let Shinobu move to the back, then I confronted the man. The man waited, not attacking, while Shinobu and I were talking.

    [I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll be your opponent from here on out. Don¡¯t let my appearance catch you off guard.] Yuna

    [No, I won¡¯t. Not with the speed in which youe between us, the skill with which you parried my thrusts urately. Above all, a girl who can walk in front of my katana without fear is no ordinary girl.] Jubei

    Apparently, it¡¯s unlikely that he¡¯ll be fooled by the appearance of a bear. He doesn¡¯t seem to cut corners.

    I was both disappointed and happy.

    [If so, don¡¯t wear that eye patch nor preserve your magic, and I¡¯ll let you taste the full experience.] Yuna

    I point my Swaying Bear knife at the man and dere.

    [Then I won¡¯t go easy on you, either. Also, I don¡¯t care if you die.] Jubei

    The man held up his katana.

    [I¡¯m not going to die, but if I win, you¡¯ll have to tell me everything.] Yuna

    [It¡¯s all right. If you can beat me, I¡¯ll tell you everything.] Jubei

    [We had a deal then.] Yuna

    I also held up my Swaying Bear knife.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    So, Yuna will be the one fighting next.

    For a while, I will be posting in 3-4 days.

 Chapter 444 - Bear-san, fights.

    <h4>Chapter 444 - Bear-san, fights.</h4>

    The man and I faced off each other.

    The road we were fighting on was only wide enough for two carriages to pass, making it difficult to make any significant movements.

    Furthermore, like Shinobu, I cannot use big magic. If I use wind magic, I will destroy buildings, and if I use fire, I will burn everything. Even water magic and earth magic would cause damage to buildings. More importantly, using bear magic would be on the level of disaster.

    Then the fight would be centered mostly on de shes and weakened magic.

    If possible, I would like to fight freely in arger ce.

    The man made his move, and when he closed the gap, the man swung his katana.

    I parried it with my Swaying Bear knife.

    I can see it.

    Thanks to the bear gear, I can see the man¡¯s movements clearly. Right, left, backsh, and upthrust. Then he pulled his katana back, and another thrust came.

    I blocked all the attacks and dodged thest thrust as if I was spinning. Then I spun my body and did a spinning kick.

    If this hits you, you¡¯ll be blown away.

    But the man stepped back a little and dodged my kick.

    It was a girl¡¯s kick, you know! You should have at least caught it! Although, if you had, I would have blown your guard off.

    [Still, you¡¯re so fast for someone wearing such a hard-to-move outfit.] Jubei

    [It¡¯s not good to me your opponent for your slow movements, you know.] Yuna

    [In that case. Can you avoid this, then?] Jubei

    The man lowered his hips and made a thrusting stance.

    It¡¯s the three-step thrust.

    I prepared myself.

    The man stepped in. At the same time when the man moved, I made an earth wall in between us.

    But the man broke through the wall and came at me.

    I had expected this, but I guess the wall I built on the spur of the moment wasn¡¯t enough. I parried the man¡¯s katana with my Swaying Bear knife in the same manner as before. By flicking it wide, I made him lose his bnce and prevented him from striking the third thrust.

    But the man forced his katana back and with a powerful step, he thrust again.

    I punched the side of his katana with the white bear puppet in my left hand.

    The sword flew out of the man¡¯s hand as if he hadn¡¯t expected it. That¡¯s when an opportunity arises. I punched the man, who¡¯s now defenseless, with a ck bear punch.

    All right, got him!

    I thought so, but it was blocked.

    The man held his arms out in front of him, blocking my bear punch.

    The man got sent flying backwards a few meters, but he¡¯s still standing on the ground.

    I can¡¯t believe he can defend himself at that moment, his reflexes are so fast.

    [I didn¡¯t expect a girl dressed as a bear to take it easy on me.] Jubei

    [I¡¯m taking it easy, you say?] Yuna

    I didn¡¯t mean to go easy on you, though.

    [You just hit me with a ck glove, even though you have a knife. That¡¯s called holding back, you know.] Jubei

    Certainly, the ck bear puppet has a Swaying Bear knife in its mouth. But I used the bear puppet to hit him. I could have stabbed him with my knife if I wanted to, but that would have been a fatal blow.

    [I promised Shinobu I¡¯d beat you to a pulp without killing you.] Yuna

    The goal is to defeat him, not to kill.

    [So I¡¯m not going easy on you.] Yuna

    [Fufu] Jubei

    The man chuckled.

    [I¡¯d still call it holding back. But even if you attacked me with a knife, I will be able to defend myself with my mithril gauntlet, just like that girl over there.] Jubei

    Mithril Gauntlet?

    Even Shinobu has it. You must be a wealthy person to afford Mithril armor and yet¡­ I want to tell Toya about it.

    [So, there¡¯s no need to go easy on me.] Jubei

    But mithril knives and mithril gauntlets.

    It may not be the strongest spike and the strongest handguard in the world, but which one is stronger?

    I guess it alles down to the skill of the user.

    [Also, I¡¯m going to make it impossible for you to take it easy on me.] Jubei

    The man picked up his katana that was lying a short distance away, and he also touched his Wakizashi( Ã|²î ).

    Dual-wielding?

    What kind of samurai are you, with your three-step thrust?

    [If you go easy on me, you¡¯ll die easily.] Jubei

    [Well, you can tell me that after you hit me.] Yuna

    I took my Hugging Bear knife out from my bear box and held up two knives. If my opponent was a Dual-wielder, I¡¯ll use two knives against him.

    I¡¯ll beat him at his own game.

    I hold a knife in both hands and the man smiles. The man and I rush in.

    =====

    The four des intersected.

    The speed of the man¡¯s swordy increased, and he¡¯s attacking with two katanas.

    Two swords were more effective than one.

    And they are fast. He attacked me with the right, left, right, left, and more thrusts, right, right, left, and more irregrly. I blocked them with my Swaying Bear knife and Hugging Bear knife.

    The man¡¯s attack continued.

    Because of the difference in reach, my attacks would not reach him.

    But I¡¯m less worn out than he is.

    Thanks to the bear puppet, my hands don¡¯t get numb from prolonged fighting, and I have more strength than him. My legs don¡¯t get tired from moving around.

    On the other hand, the man was fighting Shinobu earlier. In an endurance battle, I have the advantage.

    The man increased his speed, but I was able to catch all of his attacks.

    The man looks at me incredulously.

    [How much more do you have? You can use magic, right? Why don¡¯t we move to a ce where magic is easy to use?] Jubei

    But if we move there, I¡¯ll have the advantage.

    Can you keep up with me, though?

    [How about it? Would you like to change the location?] Jubei

    Are you sure?

    The man said and swung his arm down. At the same time, smoke came out of the ground.

    Smokeball?

    You¡¯re a ninja all this time?!!!

    Just when I was thinking he was about to attack, the man on the other side of the smoke ran in the opposite direction.

    Is he trying to escape?

    [Yuna!] Shinobu

    I heard Shinobu¡¯s voice behind me.

    I summoned Swaying Bear.

    [Swaying Bear, take care of Shinobu.] Yuna

    I asked Swaying Bear to take care of Shinobu and I ran as soon as I used my detection skill. I don¡¯t look away from the reaction of the person I¡¯m chasing.

    =====

    He¡¯s fast.

    He¡¯s running away at a tremendous speed.

    You won¡¯t escape.

    I headed straight for the fleeing man and ran after him on the roof.

    I can see you.

    Then the man stopped moving and turned around.

    [You¡¯ve kept up with me, did you now?] Jubei

    [Don¡¯t think you can get away from me that easily.] Yuna

    [I ran as fast as I could, you know.] Jubei

    [Were you tired from running, by any chance?] Yuna

    I knew he didn¡¯t want me to say that, but I still said it sarcastically.

    Although, without my bear gear, I doubt I could run 100m with all of my strength.

    I¡¯m even confident that I will lose to Fina.

    [Well then, shall we continue our match here?] Jubei

    The man held up his katana.

    We are on the outskirts of the city, with no houses or buildings.

    I can use magic without worrying about my surroundings. I have the advantage.

    I looked at the man and saw that his sword had wind magic flowing on it.

    [You don¡¯t think that if youe to a wide area, you¡¯ll have the advantage of being able to use magic, do you?] Jubei

    [Who knows, how about finding it yourself?] Yuna

    From a distance, the man swung his katana horizontally, and the de of the wind flew towards me.

    I offset it with the same wind magic.

    The man once again swung his katana and sent wind des flying at me. I shoot them all away with my wind de. A tremendous whirlwind rose between us, and sand and leaves flew about.

    In the midst of this, the man moved, and the battle between me and him using magic has begun.

    =====

    A number of magic and weapon attacks urred, and both sides kept their distance.

    [Fu ~u] Jubei

    The man slowly inhales and exhales, then he set up his katana and swung it down.

    At the same time, a de of wind flew from him.

    It¡¯s faster than before.

    Moreover, the men moved at the same time.

    I dodged the de of wind and intercepted the man.

    The katana and knife collided. At that moment, a de of wind was released from the katana.

    It¡¯s a magic attack from very close range.

    I twisted my body to dodge the wind de. However, the man¡¯s katana immediately came at me. I created an air bullet and shoot it at the man.

    The air bullet hit the man in the stomach and sent him flying backwards.

    But it¡¯s not fatal.

    I chased after the man.

    Using the same method I used to capture Kamaitachi, I created dozens of chibi bears with earth magic and shot them at the man.

    The chibi bears head for the man. But before they could hug the man, the chibi bears got cut down.

    Even though they were made of y, it doesn¡¯t feel good to see the chibi bears getting cut down.

    I pulled the chibi bear back altogether and conjured up a wind spell from under the man.

    I¡¯ll make him do a ropeless bungee jump, and it will be over.

    The wind gathered beneath the man, and his clothes were fluttering in the wind. As I was attempting to make the man fly up into the sky, the man pointed his katana down and swung it in a circr motion.

    Then, a wind arose at the man¡¯s feet, and my wind magic disappeared.

    Did he offset it?

    Apparently, he¡¯s not going to let me beat him up so easily.

    =====

    [Did you perhaps think that was the end?] Jubei

    [You¡¯re going to wish you hadn¡¯t done that.] Yuna

    [Will you entertain me further then?] Jubei

    [You¡¯re not going to enjoy it, though.] Yuna

    I¡¯m a little upset because my chibi bears got cut down and the wind magic I used to scare him was interrupted.

    [Let me tell you something first. I¡¯m holding back because of my promise to Shinobu.] Yuna

    [You can¡¯t beat me unless you intend to kill me.] Jubei

    [Then, I¡¯ll defeat you with a single blow.] Yuna

    While I was talking to the man, Shinobu came riding on Swaying Bear.

    [That¡¯s the spirit! But what would you do if I did this, though?] Jubei

    The man nced at Swaying Bear and Shinobu. At that moment, he shoots a de of wind at Swaying Bear.

    [Swaying Bear!] Yuna

    The moment I looked away from the man, he attacked me.

    He caught me off guard, didn¡¯t he?

    The man instantly closed the gap between us, and his katana was closing in on me.

    I put back the Hugging Bear knife I was holding into the bear box. I caught the man¡¯s katana with the mouth of my white bear puppet. The man was startled, but I kicked him in the face

    The man let go of his katana and jumped away backwards.

    I looked at Swaying Bear. He seems to be fine. I¡¯m d.

    [Do you know what you just did?] Yuna

    [¡­¡­]

    [You just did something you shouldn¡¯t have.] Yuna

    [¡­¡­]

    [When people go easy on you, you should be d.] Yuna

    [¡­¡­]

    [Shinobu. I won¡¯t hold back anymore.] Yuna

    [¡­¡­Yuna.] Shinobu

    [You attacked Swaying Bear, so you must be prepared for that.] Yuna

    [Yuna, don¡¯t do it!] Shinobu

    At the sound of Shinobu¡¯s voice, my anger subsided a little.

    [Half-dead, would be fine.] Yuna

    I¡¯m going to finish this.

    I will not let Swaying Bear get attacked again.

    I threw away the katana that the white bear puppet holding in its mouth.

    I won¡¯t forgive you, even if you apologize now.

    I made arge wall of bears to keep him from escaping.

    This was the same bear enclosure I built when I cooked the Kraken. It¡¯s not as big as that one, but it¡¯s enough to keep the man from escaping.

    =====

    Several stone statues of bears formed a wall, and the man got surrounded by them. The only way out was behind me.

    The man fired his wind de at the bear statues, but it couldn¡¯t cut them.

    [As I said, you won¡¯t escape.] Yuna

    [Yuna, I need you to wait!] Shinobu

    Shinobu was saying something, but I couldn¡¯t hear her.

    I dashed.

    The man held up his katana. The man swung his remaining wakizashi and sent a wind de flying at me. I crushed the wind de with my white bear puppet. I head straight for the man.

    Ie in front of the man. The man timed it right and swung his wakizashi down at me. I parried it with my Swaying Bear knife, and the man¡¯s body became defenseless.

    There, I swung my white bear puppet in my left hand.

    My fastest punch. A punch filled with rage hits the man.

 Chapter 445 - Bear-san, Listens To Shinobuâ€™s Story. [Part 1]

    <h4>Chapter 445 - Bear-san, Listens To Shinobu¡¯s Story. [Part 1]</h4>

    My bear punch struck the man¡¯s body, causing his face to contort in pain. I swung out my arm, and the man flew into the wall of stone bear statues behind him, colliding with them before he copsed.

    The man tried to stand up.

    You can still move?

    I¡¯m going to end this.

    I sent the chibi bears towards the man, whose movements have slowed down. The man seemed to be on the verge of standing up, and when the chibi bears grabbed him, he couldn¡¯t bear the weight and folded his knees, falling face first to the ground.

    I slowly approached the fallen man.

    ¡°I won, didn¡¯t I? Now, can you tell me everything?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°If you won¡¯t talk to me, then I¡¯ll ask Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    I changed my view from the man to Shinobu.

    Shinobu was expressing concern for the man. It¡¯s not a look of joy that she was able to capture him.

    When I looked at Swaying Bear then turned my gaze at Shinobu again, the expression on the face of Shinobu, who was on top of Swaying Bear, was still concerned for the man.

    ¡°Shinobu. What kind of rtionship do you have with this man? You know him, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was all an act to confirm Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    When Shinobu came in front of me, she sat upright, put her hands on the ground, and bowed her head. [Notes: In other words, Dogeza.]

    ¡°An act? What do you mean to ¡®confirm¡¯ me?¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu looked up and met my eyes.

    ¡°Yuna, you¡¯re scaring me.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m angry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu shrunk back when I red at her.

    ¡°That man is my master.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Master? So why does that master and his disciple need to confirm me, Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s to see if Yuna has the power to save this country.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    I was speechless at Shinobu¡¯s sudden words. Suddenly, when I was told that I had the power to save the country, my thoughts stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to save a country.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Sakura-sama told me that you are the light that will save this country.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Sakura-sama?¡± (Yuna)

    A new person¡¯s name came up.

    ¡°Shinobu, if you want people to believe you, you need to tell them everything without hiding anything.¡± (Jubei)

    The man being restrained by the chibi bears told Shinobu.

    ¡°Master ¡­ Yuna, I¡¯ll exin from the beginning, so please listen.¡± (Shinobu)

    Since I wanted to know the reason, I decided to listen to her.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    =====

    Shinobu picked up a twig in front of her and began to draw on the ground.

    She drew a circle-like shape, then square-like shape on the top, bottom, left, and right.

    ¡°This is thend of harmony where we live.¡± (Shinobu)

    What do you mean by the Land of Harmony there? There are four big inds? Are those continents? So this world was made up of fourrge inds, or rather, continents?

    Then, Shinobu drew a small circle in the center of each of the four inds.

    ¡°There is an ind in the center of thend of harmony, an ind that is considered sacred and isted from the rest of the world. An ind where people cannot enter because of the barriers. And this ind is sealed because of monsters.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Could it be that the seal has been breached and you want me to defeat the monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s an overused trope that is standard for games.

    ¡°Well, the seal hasn¡¯t been broken yet.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Does that mean the seal is about to break?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sakura-sama foretold that the seal would be breached soon and the monsters would then be resurrected.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Foretold?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Only a few people know about this, so please don¡¯t tell anyone, but Sakura-sama can see the future in her dreams.¡± (Shinobu)

    Does that mean she has the power of premonition?

    ¡°Sakura-sama foresaw a month and a half ago that the monsters¡¯ seal was breached, the monsters went on a rampage, and many people died. Everyone was skeptical at first, but after that, She had a series of dreams afterwards. So we inspected the ind and found that some of the seals had indeed been weakened.¡± Shinobu

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you just strengthen the seal or make a new one?¡± (Yuna)

    You just have to make a double barrier.

    But Shinobu just shook her head.

    ¡°We can¡¯t easily do that. There are people who are redoing the seal right now. But to create a new one, the power of the sealed monsters has to be weakened first.¡± (Shinobu)

    So you¡¯re saying that you want me to weaken the monsters¡¯ power?

    ¡°But why me? There are strong people in the Land of Harmony, aren¡¯t there? Even Shinobu¡¯s master is strong, isn¡¯t he?¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my gaze to the man whose body is pinned down by the chibi bears.

    ¡°There are, but it¡¯s impossible. It is said that monsters grow by feeding on negative emotions. So, in order to prevent negative emotions from entering the barrier, people are forbidden to enter and only a handful of people are allowed inside the barrier.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that I¡¯m not one of those handful of people?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s all right. A pure maiden can freely enter.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡­¡­Ha~a?¡± (Yuna)

    A pure maiden? You mean¡­

    I felt my face turn red.

    But I quickly kept myposure and tried not to let Shinobu and the man notice my embarrassment.

    ¡°That¡¯s why masters and ¡°talented¡± people can¡¯t enter the ind because of the barriers. It is also difficult to find a pure maiden who has the strength to fight the monsters.¡± Shinobu

    So it¡¯s me, then?

    Hmm? This is where the questions arise.

    How did she know about me?

    How did she know where I was?

    How did she know about my abilities?

    How did she know that I¡¯m a pure maiden?

    A lot of new mysteries emerged. ording to Shinobu, she knew about me from the beginning and approached me.

    ¡°Why me? Did you know anything about me?¡± (Yuna)

    I thought it was about the kraken, but the words that came out of Shinobu¡¯s mouth were different.

    ¡°Sakura-sama had a dream. In which she saw a small but extremely bright, beautiful, warm lighte out in that dream. Sakura-sama said that it was the light of hope.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°And I meant to be that light, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± (Yuna)

    That doesn¡¯t necessarily mean me.

    No one wouldn¡¯t think that a girl in a bear suit would be a ray of hope in the first ce.

    ¡°The light appeared from the southern sea, riding on something like a beast.¡± (Shinobu)

    I rode the beast from the sea.

    Was that supposed to be me on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?

    Shinobu pointed with a twig to a spot on the map of the Land of Harmony that she had just drawn on the ground.

    ¡°When the king heard this, he gathered his soldiers at the port to greet them.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Soldiers?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°When I heard that someone who could deal with the sealed monsters riding on a beast would appear, I took action. I didn¡¯t know what kind of scary things to expect.¡± (Shinobu)

    Am I a monster?

    ¡°But the day after I did it, the light went away from Sakura-sama¡¯s dream.¡±

    If that light had been me, and the port was full of soldiers, I might have pulled back, thinking it would be troublesome.

    ¡°She has a lot of visions, but nothing definitive. However, it was safe to assume that when the messenger was to meet alone, the light woulde closer. But depending on who was the messenger, the light would sometimes go out. Then, an idea came that if I was to meet the light on the beast, the light would not disappear.¡± (Shinobu)

    So that¡¯s why Shinobu approached me.

    ¡°So, a few days ago, I was looking through a telescope at the sea from a hill overlooking the harbor, when I saw a bear running over the sea. I was surprised at that time. I was really surprised because there was a person riding on top of a beast that appeared from the sea. And riding on top of the bear was a girl dressed as a cute bear. I was so confused. I had imagined a very strong woman.¡± Shinobu

    ¡°Well, sorry to disappoint.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So, I couldn¡¯t decide if the light of hope that Sakura-sama was referring to was really Yuna. Still, I had to make sure somehow, so I observed you. Then I noticed that Yuna was buying food and tatami mats inrge quantities. You didn¡¯t look like a ray of hope.¡± (Shinobu)

    She¡¯s been watching my every move.

    ¡°And the adventurer¡¯s guild as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I thought it would be a good chance to know Yuna¡¯s abilities since you epted the request. However, the client seemed to refuse the request, so I decided to participate. I¡¯m a well known adventurer, so I knew he wouldn¡¯t refuse if I was there with you.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why when I tried to give it to Shinobu, you said it wouldn¡¯t make sense without me.¡± (Yuna)

    I remembered the conversation we had prior.

    ¡°Indeed. I wanted to know how good you are, after all.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I kind of get the story. But why did you put on this act? Why didn¡¯t you just ask me like a normal person?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, that was my initial intention, but there were some people who objected. ¡®Is this stranger really capable?¡¯. ¡®How can we trust a stranger?¡¯. ¡®Can we let this person into the sacrednd?¡¯. There were many opinions. Even though this was not the time to be talking about such things, I couldn¡¯t proceed if I didn¡¯t know what kind of person you were. So, in order to find out what you are capable of, they decided to have a preliminary match, but the light disappeared from Sakura-sama¡¯s vision.¡± (Shinobu)

    Yeah, I can imagine myself saying no if I was asked to have a match that would test people like that out of nowhere.

    ¡°So, after much consideration. It was decided that a skilled master in the country would fight to test your skills. But in order to know your power, they needed you to be serious. So they discussed how to do it naturally. Then they decided to put on this act.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then, the part where Shinobu¡¯s father was killed¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s a lie. But it¡¯s true that he fought and lost a long time ago. I just improvised the story from there.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But then, why not avenge him? Why capture?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The light vanished when the word ¡°kill¡± was added. That¡¯s why ¡°capture¡± was decided to be used.¡± (Shinobu)

    I certainly don¡¯t want to help a stranger take down an enemy. And I certainly don¡¯t want to help kill them.

    There¡¯s a good chance I would turn her down. No, I¡¯m pretty sure that I would have turn her down.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t Shinobu and your master fight for real?¡± (Yuna)

    The fight between the two didn¡¯t seem theatrical.

    Shinobu was really hurt, and she was really about to be killed.

    ¡°I was serious. It was a fight for my life. It was a way to keep the light alive. The result of that battle. Both my master or I could have died. But Sakura-sama said that the light was getting closer and there was no time to explore other ideas, so this was the only method.¡± Shinobu

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean a master should try to kill his apprentice.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my gaze towards the man.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be angry with Master. I also fought with the intention of killing him, and my master was prepared to be killed by Yuna so that he could bring out your strength. Both my master and I were prepared to die. If we can save this country, it¡¯s a small price to pay.¡± Shinobu

    ¡°Ha~a~¡± (Yuna)

    I could only sigh.

    ¡°Did you really think I¡¯d listen to this after Shinobu died and help you?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m sure I¡¯d feel appalled and go back to Crimonia.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but my master and I are still alive. And Yuna is listening to us right now. I want you to meet Sakura-sama and the king and listen to what they have to say.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu puts her hands on the ground and bows her head.

    The man next to her bowed his head along.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t forgive you for attacking Swaying Bear just to get me to take you seriously.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was my intention to block that. But Swaying Bear avoided it easily.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear, who¡¯s next to me, has a proud face saying, ¡®It was easy¡¯.

    I¡¯m worried about you, and I¡¯m angry for you. What¡¯s with that smug face?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    That was a life-threatening act.

    I think I will exin in detail about the dreams of precognition after meeting Sakura.

 Chapter 446 - Bear-san, Listens To Shinobuâ€™s Story â€œPart 2â€

    <h4>Chapter 446 - Bear-san, Listens To Shinobu¡¯s Story ¡°Part 2¡±</h4>

    I got the gist of it.

    In a prophetic dream, a woman named Sakura-sama saw a beacon of hope riding on a beast. That would be me. So, she contacted me, the aforementioned beacon of hope.

    ¡°I now understand that it¡¯s an act. Possibly everything from when we met.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I had already decided before I met Yuna. That¡¯s why I was so confused at first, because Yuna is such a pretty girl.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, cute or not, I looked like a stuffed bear, so no wonder she¡¯s confused.

    ¡°And why does Shinobu have to fight your master? Why didn¡¯t you just ask me from the beginning?¡± (Yuna)

    Then Shinobu wouldn¡¯t have gotten hurt.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t actually sufficient. I needed to make you believe that I was very serious about capturing my father¡¯s killer in order to increase the probability of you cing your trust in me.¡± (Shinobu)

    Hmmm, would I say no to that?

    I tried to imagine what it would be like if Shinobu asked me to help her avenge her father.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Yeah, I think I¡¯ll turn it down because it smelled fishy.

    After all, the Shinobu I met for the first time was suspicious.

    But when I saw how intense the two of them were fighting, I knew they were serious. I didn¡¯t want Shinobu to die. That¡¯s why I decided to step in.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about all of this Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    Besides, I wonder if she had the option to honestly ask for my help.

    She wants me to save the country. She wants me to meet the king. She wants me to meet Sakura-sama just because somebody made a prophecy revealing that I am their beacon of hope.

    I might refuse any of that. Or rather, it¡¯s highly possible that I¡¯ll run away instead so as not to get involved because it will be annoying.

    Come to think of it, my strategic route is unlikely to be easy to find.

    In the first ce, I think it was a mistake on their part when they thought about confirming my battle abilities.

    But I understand that you can¡¯t ask someone without knowing how good they are. A match is out of the question. That¡¯s why they staged this borate act.

    I understand why, but it doesn¡¯t feel good to be at the receiving end.

    ¡°So, who is this Sakura-sama, you¡¯re talking about?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sakura-sama is the shrine maiden of this country.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Could it be that all shrine maidens have special powers?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Only Sakura-sama has special powers.¡±

    The precognitive dream. There are people with such abilities, aren¡¯t there?

    I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for that Sakura-sama.

    Even though it¡¯s just a dream, it¡¯s heartbreaking to watch people die over and over again. Maybe even witnessing someone she knew or loved die over and over again. If it was a scene from the future, it must have been a nightmare. It would not be strange if her mind goes crazy at some point.

    If I had a dream where I saw Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Fina die over and over again, I might go crazy. And she¡¯s been experiencing it for almost a month now. I can only feel sympathy for her.

    If there is a glimmer of hope in the midst of all this, I can understand the desire totch on to that one ray of hope.

    But I wonder if she could have done anything more.

    ¡°So, will you meet Sakura-sama and the king?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Do you really believe I can fight those monsters, Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sakura-sama said that you¡¯re the beacon of hope. Even though it¡¯s virtually impossible, you did parry Master¡¯s attacks with just a knife and even used powerful magic. No one willin. I won¡¯t let them!¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at me seriously.

    ¡°No matter how many times you and the others say it, Shinobu, I don¡¯t think anyone will believe that a girl dressed as a bear like me is ¡®strong¡¯ to them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s fine. There was someone else who was witnessing our battle somewhere out there. If that person reports back, no one will dare to raise aint. It¡¯s part of the agreedpromise.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Someone else was witnessing the battle?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are three of them in fact.¡± (Shinobu)

    They were watching us.

    If it¡¯s true, then I want to adamantly refuse.

    However, it is difficult to refuse when she said that the fate of the country is at stake.

    I looked at Shinobu, who¡¯s now badly injured.

    Her body is a wreck. Her face is dirty, her clothes are torn, and she hascerations and abrasions all over. Even the parts that can¡¯t be seen must have suffered some form of damage. She was risking her life in this act. When I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t ignore it.

    ¡°Ha~a¡± Yuna

    I can only sigh.

    =====

    ¡°All right, fine. I¡¯ll go and see this Sakura-sama person, but I can¡¯t promise that I¡¯ll take it.¡± (Yuna)

    Let¡¯s start by just listening.

    I can¡¯t proceed with negotiations without hearing the full details, besides, I can¡¯t get rid of my unsorted bewildered feelings.

    It will all start when I meet the one named Sakura-sama.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu stood up and hugged me.

    ¡°All right, all right, now get away from me. I need to tend to your wounds.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu obediently let go of me.

    I prepared a wet towel and wiped Shinobu¡¯s face with it.

    ¡°How are your wounds?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. As I said before, I was wearing a mithril chainmail, so I wasn¡¯t fatally wounded.¡± (Shinobu)

    Still, there arecerations in ces where she¡¯s not covered by protective gear.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t wear that during the hunt for the Kamaitachi, did you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t prepared at that time. But if I¡¯m going to fight for my life against my master, I need to be fully prepared.¡± (Shinobu)

    When Shinobu looked at the man, the man opened his mouth apologetically.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, but I think it¡¯s time for you to remove these bears.¡± (Jubei)

    Oh, Ipletely forgot about the guy.

    I removed the chibi bears that were still piling up on that man, who happened to be Shinobu¡¯s master.

    The man stood up after feeling lighter.

    ¡°I want to thank you again. Thank you for saving Shinobu. You stopped me from stabbing Shinobu.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°I think you could have done more with the way you¡¯re acting.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We couldn¡¯t have taken the wrong step like Shinobu said earlier. There might have been another way. Yes, there may have been another way, but we couldn¡¯t find it in time. I deeply apologize for making you ufortable, young miss.¡± (Jubei)

    The man bowed his head deeply as he said that.

    Perhaps he was weighing between the future of his country and Shinobu¡¯s life. Normally, no one would want to kill a girl who¡¯s also his disciple.

    ¡°And I apologize for attacking your precious bear, young miss. If you haven¡¯t hit me hard enough, then please, hit me. If you want to cut off my arm, go ahead and do it. If you desire my life, I shall give it to you. So¡­¡­¡± (Jubei)

    The man has a stern expression on his face. He¡¯s not joking, He¡¯s extremely serious about it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need such a thing. Like I said, I¡¯ll meet this Sakura-sama person, but whether or not I ept the request is another story altogether.¡± (Yuna)

    I have sympathy for Sakura-sama, but if she¡¯s someone who doesn¡¯t think of people as people, I¡¯m not going to take her request even if Shinobu asked me to. If I just want to escape, I can do so by setting up a bear gate.

    Moreover, it¡¯s very easy to escape by running on the sea.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ll patch you up.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± (Jubei)

    The man also seemed to have equipped a chainmail, so he was able to withstand the bear punches because of it.

    ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯re going to the trouble of telling me that your chainmail was also made of mithril.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I was instructed to get you tounch a real attack, after all.¡± (Jubei)

    Shinobu started to take care of her master, while I demolished the bear statue with destruction magic. I can¡¯t leave it like that, you know.

    =====

    Then, after cleaning up, we had to head to the adventurer¡¯s guild to prove the identity of the man and Shinobu.

    The man¡¯s name was Jubei. It was his real name, apparently.

    ¡°Ara, Jubei-san, Shinobu-san. What makes youe to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild? And the beardy is also with you too.¡± Receptionist

    The guilddy casually talks to the duo.

    She¡¯s the same guilddy from the other day.

    ¡°But, Jubei-san and Shinobu-san, aren¡¯t you guys dirty? And you even have battle damage all over.¡± Receptionist

    By the way, the bear gear can¡¯t get dirty, so I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s clean.

    ¡°We¡¯re just finishing up some work.¡± Shinobu

    Shinobu replied with a deceptiveughter.

    Well, she¡¯s not lying though.

    It was my job to fight Jubei-san.

    ¡°But it¡¯s rare for Jubei-san toe here. Don¡¯t tell me, Shinobu-san, did you do something wrong?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°That¡¯s so terrible of you. I didn¡¯t do anything like that. I¡¯m just working properly.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is that so? Don¡¯t trouble Jubei-san too much.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist struck up a friendly conversation.

    Now that I think about it, she probably didn¡¯t show the sketch to anyone else because Jubei-san was a well known figure.

    If I had known that, I wonder what would I have done?

    ¡°So what¡¯s the deal?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°No, I just need you to exin about me and Shinobu to this beardy.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°An exnation, you say? Ah, I knew it, Shinobu-san, you did something after all, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s why Jubei-san was so angry as your guardian.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°N, no, that¡¯s not it!¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Really!¡± (Shinobu)

    The receptionist looked at Shinobu with suspicion.

    ¡°So, do you want me to rify the identity for both of you?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Jubei)

    Jubei-san bowed to the receptionist.

    ¡°Jubei-san is the warlord of this country.¡± (Receptionist)

    A warlord. He seems to have a very high-ranking position.

    ¡°Shinobu-san is an adventurer, but she¡¯s also Jubei-san¡¯s apprentice? A subordinate? Something like that?¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist tilted her head slightly.

    ¡°Both are correct, though.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You really were Shinobu¡¯s master, weren¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    But she looks morefortable with being a subordinate than an apprentice.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t believe us, it seems.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°Because your way of fighting seemspletely different.¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu fights with a short katana like a ninja, while Jubei-san is a warlord and handles different weapons.

    ¡°My father taught me the basics, but I learned how to fight from my master.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Because the base was already properly molded and solidified, so there was no need to change it.¡± (Jubei)

    Jubei-san added.

    So her father¡¯s a ninja then?

    Then, after inspecting the guild card and so on, Jubei-san proved his identity.

    That night, we finished our conversation.

    The next day, I went to where Sakura-sama is? Omiyako?(Íõ¶¼) Miyako Miyako?(¶¼¤ß¤ä¤³) The royal capital.

    ***

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Next time, we will get to see Sakura-sama.

 Chapter 447 - Bear-san, Meets Sakura-sama

    <h4>Chapter 447 - Bear-san, Meets Sakura-sama</h4>

    The next day, I left the inn to meet Sakura-sama and the king of this country.

    ¡°The hot springs were nice and the food was delicious.¡± (Yuna)

    I thanked Konoha for taking care of me for the past few days.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you said that.¡± (Konoha)

    Then Konoha said, ¡°Pleasee again¡±.

    Yeah, I¡¯ll visit here with Fina next time in the future.

    Then, Shinobu and Jubei-san rode their horses, while I rode Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Hugging Bear today.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    I only summoned Swaying Bear for the duration of the battle after all, so when I summoned both of themst night, Hugging Bear was sulking.

    I couldn¡¯t leave Shinobu behind at that time, and the reason I summoned Swaying Bear was because Shinobu was more familiar with him. Besides, I was also worried because Swaying Bear had been attacked.

    But for Hugging Bear, he felt left out. So today, I summoned only Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Even so, Yuna, it seems like you¡¯re a celebrity.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Actually, I heard a little story from an adventurer who knows you, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    I didn¡¯t think there was any adventurer in town who knew me, but then, it reminded me of the first time I came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    There was a man who looked at me and muttered, ¡°Bloody Bear¡±.

    ¡°He said he came from another continent. It seems Yuna has defeated some monsters there.¡± (Shinobu)

    Maybe that guy knew me for a different matter?

    In the first ce, it depends on how much an adventurer knows about me.

    If it¡¯s just Crimonia, there¡¯s only the Tiger Wolves and the ck Viper. The Kraken isn¡¯t known, is it? And there¡¯s no chance of finding out about the big Scorpion.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, it would have been better if you just allowed us to inspect your guild card.¡± (Shinobu)

    Even if that¡¯s the case, I would have politely declined because I didn¡¯t want anyone to know the contents of my guild card. Even if someone suddenly asked me to show them the contents of my guild card, I would never let them see it due to my personality. Especially if it was Shinobu, who was a hundred times more suspicious. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t show it to anyone else either, even if they asked me to.

    When you think about it, isn¡¯t it still difficult to capture me?

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Jubei-san. Are you still wearing that eye patch all the time?¡± (Yuna)

    Jubei-san is still wearing an eye patch. But judging by the way he looked yesterday, his eye didn¡¯t seem to be injured.

    ¡°This is a good way for me to train myself, and it¡¯s also a good way for me to gauge my opponent¡¯s strength, so I basically wear it for that reason.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°I heard that it¡¯s a good way for measuring the ability of subordinates and apprentices. That¡¯s why the first goal of a subordinate or an apprentice is to remove their master¡¯s eye patch. After that, they need to be able to dodge the master¡¯s three-step thrusts, then dual wield swords, use magic on top of all that, all in the process to be stronger and stronger.¡± (Shinobu)

    The gradual power increase, like some kind of battle manga.

    ¡°I really wanted to pull off my master¡¯s dual wield technique and show it to you, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But if you want to see how good I am, what¡¯s the point of showing me Jubei-san¡¯s fighting style?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I would have given up if you had run away when you saw my master¡¯s fighting prowess, Yuna. I had a standard for judging that a person who cannot save a single person cannot save a country. But you, Yuna, you saved me.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked pleased.

    ¡°And I wanted to show you our fight to see how you could handle it. Young Miss, you handled it beautifully.¡± (Jubei)

    Apparently, every action was a test in itself.

    By the way, the tone of his voice at that time was like mocking me, but now, Jubei-san¡¯s tone seems to be his true self here. I think he has the talent to be an actor.

    I really thought he was just a battle junkie.

    =====

    Then, we rode our horses and a bear, and before noon we saw walls as high as Crimonia¡¯s. It was the royal capital.

    ¡°Sakura-sama and the king are over there.¡± (Shinobu)

    Within those walls, there¡¯s the shrine maiden who can use precognition, the root of all of this mess. And the king.

    Now, what kind of person is she?

    ¡°Speaking of which, let me first warn you. If that shrine maiden and the kingughs at me, I¡¯ll immediately leave.¡± (Yuna)

    I will nail them to a wall.

    If they¡¯re going to ask me to do something, they should at least have some manners.

    Shinobu nced at Jubei-san.

    ¡°I¡¯ll contact the kingter.¡± (Jubei)

    Is that supposed to be said out loud?

    Moreover, in front of me.

    ¡°Sakura-sama is probably fine.¡± (Shinobu)

    In other words, the King will probablyugh, but Sakura-sama may be fine with me.

    After a Short while, the gates came into view.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay to go in there as is?¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my gaze to Hugging Bear. Then the other two looked at Hugging Bear and then me.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay with me, but we might cause amotion.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°But either way, Yuna¡¯s outfit stands out. She¡¯s the center of attention whenever she¡¯s walking down the street.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu seemed to be referring to the time when we were looking for Jubei-san together.

    Well, the residents were watching me back then, too.

    ¡°Then will you ride with me on my Hayatemaru?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu stroked Hayatemaru¡¯s neck.

    Surely a bear on a horse would still be inconspicuous, wouldn¡¯t it?

    As I was thinking about such things, Hugging Bear made a lonely [ku~uu~n] sound.

    Don¡¯t be so sad.

    And then I thought about it.

    I asked Hugging Bear to turn himself into a cub.

    ¡°Yuna¡¯s bear became smaller!?¡± (Shinobu)

    After weighing up whether to have him return or to ask him to turn into a cub, Hugging Bear¡¯s mood improved, so I decided to stay with the Hugging Bear in bear cub form.

    Shinobu and Juubei-san looked at Hugging Bear, who had turned into a bear cub, with surprised faces.

    ¡°My bears are special bears.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are they really holy beasts, by any chance?¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, they were given to me by God, so they might be more correctly ssified as divine beasts.

    Oh well, either way, I¡¯m not going to tell Shinobu about it.

    I picked up Hugging Bear and asked Hayatemaru to carry us, while Shinobu rode behind me.

    I¡¯ve ridden in a carriage before, but this might be my first time riding a horse.

    And so, Hayatemaru, carrying us, started trodding towards the gate.

    ¡°Yuna¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re soft, it feels good.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu is hugging my body.

    I turned around and stared at Shinobu.

    ¡°If you do anything weird, I¡¯ll hit you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with the silence?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, I understand. I don¡¯t want you to stare at me so intensely. I won¡¯t do anything else.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked disappointed.

    Then the guards inspected our guild cards and let us pass through the gate.

    Of course, the gatekeepers looked at me as if they were surprised, but since I was with Jubei-san, they didn¡¯t call out to me or stop me.

    =====

    ¡°Yuna. Wee to Tessera.¡± (Shinobu) (¥Æ¥Ã¥»¥é)

    We have arrived to Tessera, the capital city of thend of harmony, or should I say the royal capital, or the Miyako* capital?

    It¡¯s not Edo or Ky¨­to, apparently.

    Then, a Japanese style scene spreads out in my field of vision, like the capital of Ky¨­to. Beyond that, I can see a castle that is different from the Western-style castle where Flora-sama lives. It looks more like a Japanese castle.

    I have never been inside a castle in Japan, even when I was in my former world. I didn¡¯t go to castles in elementary school trips, and I was a hikikomori** in junior high school, and I don¡¯t have a hobby of visiting castles alone. I¡¯ve only seen those on TV or the Inte.

    ¡°Is Sakura-sama in that castle?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She¡¯s not here. Sakura-sama is somewhere else.¡± (Shinobu)

    I¡¯m a little disappointed. I would have liked to go inside the castle.

    ¡°But the king is there.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, of course, he is. So does that mean I can go inside the castle when I meet the king?

    ¡°But they¡¯re watching us, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re watching us.¡± (Jubei)

    Shinobu and Juubei-san looked around.

    The people around us are looking at me. Not at Hugging Bear that has turned into a cub. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s drawing all the attention, after all.

    ¡°Shinobu. I¡¯m going to report to the castle. You should guide her to Sakura-sama first.¡± (Jubei)

    Jubei-san said, kicking the horse lightly in the side, and the horse galloped towards the castle.

    ¡°Ah, Master, that¡¯s not fair!¡± (Shinobu)

    Jubei-san¡¯s figure disappeared, ignoring Shinobu¡¯s voice.

    We were left behind.

    ¡°He said he needed to report, but he just ran away, didn¡¯t he?¡± (Yuna)

    Isn¡¯t it like saying he didn¡¯t want to be with me, the center of attention?

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go to Sakura-sama too.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu lightly kicked Hayatemaru in the side and headed for where Sakura-sama was.

    I looked around from the top of Hayatemaru. There were more people and more buildings than in the city near the sea.

    ¡°Is it so unusual?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yes, it is. It¡¯s so different from where I live.¡± (Yuna)

    Even in my former world, there are apartments and buildings. But there were no such Japanese style buildings in my neighborhood.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯d like to go to the continent where Yuna lives someday.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, I don¡¯t know how far away it is, but it¡¯s not easy to get back and forth.

    Hayatemaru kept on going.

    ¡°So, are we near to where this Sakura-sama is yet?¡± (Yuna)

    Gradually, the streets be less and less crowded.

    Since a while ago, we¡¯ve been traveling beside a long wall.

    ¡°We¡¯re already here, but the entrance is still further ahead.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is it perhaps on the other side of this wall?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Shinobu)

    I looked up at the wall.

    Apparently, she lives in a house on a huge plot ofnd.

    =====

    After a while, I saw the entrance to this wall. Two gatekeepers with spears were standing at the entrance.

    The gatekeeper nced at me, but then quickly looked at Shinobu.

    ¡°Shinobu-dono, we¡¯ve been expecting you. Sakura-sama is waiting for you.¡± Gatekeeper

    ¡°I understand. Yuna, we¡¯ll be walking from here.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu and I got off of Hayatemaru.

    ¡°Another premonition perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    I ask Shinobu in a whisper.

    It¡¯s like they knew we wereing.

    ¡°No. I contacted them yesterday.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu unsummoned Hayatemaru and went through the gate.

    The gatekeeper looked at me as if he was looking at something strange, but I was able to pass through without being told anything.

    Once inside the gates, I found arge garden and arge building at the end of the walk.

    We went straight into the building. We walked down the aisle and Shinobu stopped in front of one of the sliding doors.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, we¡¯re here.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu opened the sliding door and I saw a person wrapped in a white shrine maiden costume sitting at the back of arge tatami room.

    Is that Sakura-sama?

    Looking at her closely, she¡¯s small.

    Could she be a child?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sakura-sama was a child, it seems.

    Postscript.

    ¡ù I¡¯m working on the book, so my next post will be dyed. Thank you for your understanding.

    =====

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    *( ¶¼ ) ( ¤ß¤ä¤³ ) Miyako: I¡¯m not sure what pun Yuna is making since both of these Miyako means (capital, metropolis).

    ** ( Òý¤­¤³¤â¤ê ) Hikikomori: Soclly withdrawn, a shut-in.

    #

 Chapter 448 - Bear-san, Talks To Sakura-sama.

    <h4>Chapter 448 - Bear-san, Talks To Sakura-sama.</h4>

    At the far end of therge room, a girl dressed in a white miko* costume sat alone.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, I¡¯m back.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Shinobu. What about your injury?¡± (Sakura)

    The girl dressed in a white miko costume stood up worriedly about Shinobu.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu did some forward somersaults and backflips on the spot.

    She¡¯s really agile like a ninja.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± (Sakura)

    The girl sat back down, seemingly relieved.

    Shinobu and I walked up to the girl. There was a cushion in front of the girl, and she asked me to sit down.

    ¡°Yuna. I¡¯ll introduce you. This is Sakura-sama.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°My name is Sakura.¡±

    Sakura greeted me with a serious look on her face, different from the age-appropriate expression of concern she had just shown for Shinobu.

    Her age doesn¡¯t look much different from Fina¡¯s.

    The expression she had shown to Shinobu earlier was gone, and she was looking at me with her beautiful face and dignified bearing, her back straight and clean.

    She is a mysterious girl with long ck hair that hangs over her white miko costume.

    But I didn¡¯t think that the miko who had the prophetic dream was such a little girl.

    ¡°As you probably know, I¡¯m Yuna, and this is Hugging Bear.¡±

    I also introduced Hugging Bear which I am holding.

    ¡°I apologize for making you feel ufortable, Yuna-sama. I¡¯m sorry for calling you out like this.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura apologized in a tone unusual for a child, thrust her hands in front of her, and bowed her head so deeply that her head touched the tatami.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Please raise your head.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t want to look like I¡¯m making a child get down on her knees. Sakura slowly raised her head at my words.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to ept your request just yet. I just came to talk to you because Shinobu risked her life for you.¡± (Yuna)

    Also, I was curious about the prediction.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m grateful to Shinobu for taking on this dreadful role.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Compared to Sakura-sama¡¯s hardship, mine was nothing.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Thank you, Shinobu.¡± (sakura)

    Sakura smiled at Shinobu.

    When Sakura looked at me, she had a nervous expression on her face. I wonder if I¡¯m that nervous. I¡¯m not a mascot, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m nervous about what I wear.

    Sakura lets out a small breath and opens her mouth as if she has made up her mind about something.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, may I hold your hand?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°My hand?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to make my bear puppet crunch. But Sakura¡¯s reaction doesn¡¯t change from her serious expression. It seems that she doesn¡¯t want to just touch my bear puppet.

    ¡°Yes, if it¡¯s not too much trouble, please.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura bowed her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be weird, is it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll not be strange. I promise you that.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    When I gave her permission, Sakura stood up and came over to me. She sat back down in front of me, grasped the bear puppet I offered her with a nervous expression, and slowly closed her eyes.

    Sakura, holding my bear puppet, did not move. She¡¯s quietly holding my bear puppet.

    After a minute or so, Sakura didn¡¯t move, and just as I was about to call out to her, tears spilled from her eyes.

    ¡°Wha-, what happened!?¡± (Yuna)

    I panicked. I didn¡¯t expect her to cry when she held my hand.

    ¡°Warm magical power. Beautiful magical power. It¡¯s definitely the same light I felt in my dream. Finally, I am able to grasp it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura¡¯s hand, holding my bear puppet, grasped it stronger. Her hand was small and weak. But I can feel that she doesn¡¯t want to let go of my hand.

    ¡°Finally. Finally.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura didn¡¯t even try to wipe her tears away, but firmly held my hand to keep it from escaping.

    I didn¡¯t know what to do, so I looked at Sakura, and her eyes slowly opened.

    Her expression changed from tears to a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, because it was what I was looking for, but I couldn¡¯t grab it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura let go of my hand and wiped her tears.

    ¡±I was worried until I got confirmation. But Yuna-sama is definitely the light of hope in my dreams.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°How do you know all that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s the light I dreamt about so many times, the light I tried to grasp so many times. I felt the same thing from Yuna-sama. I¡¯m sure of it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura replied strongly.

    Then she smiled happily.

    Sakura thanked me, moved away from me, and sat back down to her seat.

    ¡°So you can really see premonitions in your dreams? And you can see everything?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I can only see what concerns me. Also, I can¡¯t see everything. What I can see are just glimpses, I can¡¯t do it freely even if I want to. On the contrary, I can see things even if I don¡¯t want to.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Can you only see your future?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I think I can see a future in which I am involved.¡± (Sakura)

    Apparently, she can¡¯t see other people¡¯s future.

    I don¡¯t think I can ask her to look into my future.

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, if I can answer.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What will the future hold if I don¡¯t help?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The seals will be broken, the monsters will be resurrected, and many people will be killed before my eyes.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What happens to the monsters after they¡¯re resurrected?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I also died at that moment. After that, they may have been defeated. There may have been more damage. But since I¡¯m dead, I won¡¯t know what will happen in the future after that.¡± (Sakura)

    Does that mean you¡¯ve seen yourself die many times?

    You didn¡¯t run away? Or rather you didn¡¯t escape?

    This girl had experienced her own death, over and over and over again. But in the midst of it all, she found a light of hope, which happened to be me. A light that she could not grasp for a long time no matter how desperately she searched for. I felt like I understood the reason for her tears earlier.

    ¡°But in that desperate dream, I found a light. The light was far away, but I felt a warm glow. The light wavered, and when I looked closely at it, I saw that it was in the shape of a beast, with a person on it.¡± (Sakura)

    Then she looked at Hugging Bear.

    I was riding Swaying Bear, though.

    ¡°I decided to call the light of hope, but I didn¡¯t know how to. The light wavered and moved freely. I tried my best to catch it, but I could not. But one day, I realized that it wasing from the direction of the sea.¡± (Sakura)

    That¡¯s the same as what Shinobu told me earlier.

    ¡°His Majesty the King has deployed his army to greet the person riding the beasting from the sea. But the glimmer of hope vanished. He immediately pulled out his soldiers.¡± (Shinobu)

    Sakura repeated to me the story that Shinobu earlier narrated to me.

    Eventually, Shinobu came into contact with me, the one riding the beast.

    ¡°How do you know that the visions in your dream have changed?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know how Sakura was able to see changes in the predicted path.

    ¡°It depends on the will of one who has great power.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s like the power of the king. If the king moves, the country moves. First, I knew that the light would appear from the sea riding on a beast. So, not knowing how dangerous the beast would be, the king prepared his army to deal with it. But in my dream that night, the light went away and disappeared. Even though I cannot change the future by myself, it can change if someone with power makes a move.¡± (Sakura)

    If you find out that a group of monsters will be attacking you, the future won¡¯t change even if Sakura, who doesn¡¯t have the power to defeat the monsters, confronts them personally. But if the king moves his army, the future will change, it seems.

    ¡°I heard from Shinobu that I had to fight Jubei-san to measure my strength. Didn¡¯t the king believe the words of Sakura¡¯s hope?¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura shook her head.

    ¡°Not the king, but the nobles and the keepers of the old lore. They don¡¯t like strangers entering ournd. Some of them did not like the idea of asking for help from something they did not understand. His Majesty the King could not listen to my words alone¡­¡­¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura bowed her head as if it were difficult to say.

    So that¡¯s how it got so messy.

    It¡¯s true that only Sakura knows what a ray of hope was. But for the rest of them, if they were told that a beast wasing from the sea, they would, of course, be suspicious.

    And they don¡¯t even know what that person was capable of.

    Then came along a girl dressed as a bear riding a bear.

    ¡°After that, this power of mine was kept secret and only a few people knew about it, which made approaching Yuna-sama difficult.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looks apologetic.

    ¡°So, just to be sure, are you really going to ask me, someone dressed like this, such an important task? Aren¡¯t there other people who are going toin?¡± (Yuna)

    My outfit is a bear costume. Generally, I don¡¯t look like I can defeat a monster let alone a group.

    ¡°You¡¯ve defeated Jubei in a serious fight. I won¡¯t let anyonein. If they still doubt Yuna-sama¡¯s power, then they¡¯re just a fool who doesn¡¯t understand the importance of the nation.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura tightened her grip on the small hand on herp.

    I don¡¯t think she really wanted us to fight each other.

    This was evident in the expression on Shinobu¡¯s face when she walked into the room.

    Now I want to help the girl in front of me.

    If they were going to ask me to do it, they should have had Sakura approach me from the very beginning.

    The first time was a mistake. She told the king, and that¡¯s why it turned into such a big mess.

    If Sakura hade to see me in person, I may have listened to her.

    And if she had spoken to me in such a serious way, I think I may have taken the job if I could.

    But when I think about it, my strategy guides were children?

    Like with Fina, the ck Viper, the problem of the orphanage, Noa¡¯s request involving 10,000 monsters, Misa¡¯s birthday party, Karina in the desert. Everything involves children.

    Apparently, I have a soft spot for children.

    ***

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I apologize for the dy in posting.

    The reason is the red text in the bookwork.

    If there is a sudden dy in the future, I will write about it in the activity report.

    If you put it in your favorite user, it will be easier to understand.

    ¡ùSo that¡¯s how Sakura cried in Yuna¡¯s arm.

 Chapter 449 Sakuraâ€™s POV: The Light of Hope

    <h4>Chapter 449 Sakura¡¯s POV: The Light of Hope</h4>

    Author¡¯s Note 1:

    I apologize.

    I have corrected some parts of the previous story.

    I have to remove the part about seeing the future.

    Because the future Sakura sees is inconsistent with the discovery of the light.

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers.

    -Kumanano

    ***

    One day, I started dreaming about the future.

    Dreamse when the night falls.

    At first I didn¡¯t think it was the future. I thought it was just a normal dream. But now it¡¯s real. At first I thought it was amazing. And yet, it was scary at the same time as I gained such great power.

    Being able to see the future is not only a good thing. Yet sometimes it can also be a bringer of sad tidings.

    When I saw first hand how my birthday would be celebrated ahead of it, I felt less happy. Above all, I don¡¯t want to see someone close to me die.

    This ability was not all-powerful. It doesn¡¯t show me what I want to see. The precognitiones on its own and shows me things on its own.

    Furthermore, the only thing I can see is what I am involved in.

    The number of times I see them is few, only a few times a year. So there are times when I don¡¯t even realize it¡¯s just a normal dream, and more often than not, I don¡¯t even notice.

    Then, about a month and a half ago, I had a dream. I dreamed that the ind of Reenes, in the center of the country, was covered with a ck fog, and the fog attacked the city, killing people. In the dream, soldiers were dying to protect me. In the end, it was a dream in which I died without being able to do anything.

    When I woke up in the morning, I thought I just had a bad dream.

    But I had the same dream three days in a row.

    It¡¯s definitely a future event.

    The ind of Reenes is a ce where monsters were sealed away in the past. The ck mist may be a hint of monsters escaping.

    The sight cannot see everything. It only shows some fragmented parts of the event.

    I told His Majesty of the prophecy I had seen, and when he had examined the ind of Reenes, we found that part of the seal had been weakened.

    We have to do something about it. We must never let that dream be a reality.

    Within the ind of Reenes, there sealed a certain monster. The monster was said to absorb negative emotions, so it¡¯s basically forbidden for people to enter.

    The barriers were designed to reject men and only allow selected women to enter. So, if we wanted to deal with the ind of Reeness, only women can fight against the monsters. If the barriers were to be lifted and men were allowed in, the monsters would bepletely revived, so the barriers should not be undone.

    In addition, it seems that the sealed monsters must be weakened once again before the barriers can be re-erected.

    His Majesty the King was trying to gather strong women, but he couldn¡¯t get as many as he wanted. It seemed that they need to be strong and pure women.

    Does that mean the other¡¯s minds were dirty?

    =====

    The days passed by without finding a way to deal with it. In my dreams, every day, people die in the ckness.

    I died a lot. I¡¯ve been afraid to go to sleep since then. But I have to find some way to deal with it. There must be a clue.

    And then, I found a small light in the darkness, in the midst of despair. The light was warm and gentle.

    I reached out my hand as if to seek the light. But the light was too far away for my tiny hands to reach.

    Please. Come closer.

    I reached out, but I couldn¡¯t grab it.

    Then, I woke up. I didn¡¯t know what that light was, but it was very warm.

    I dreamed again the following night. In the darkness, I searched for the light

    There it is. It was glowing in the distance. It¡¯s far away, but I can feel its warmth.

    It¡¯s definitely a beacon of hope.

    The light appears to be from the south.

    There¡¯s the city of Jubel over there. No, farther, even further. The ocean?

    I screamed at the top of my lungs, ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Help!¡± again and again and again so many times.

    The light approached and I could see the figure.

    The light was in the shape of an animal. It wasn¡¯t a horse, but arger, more rabid-looking beast. And someone was riding on top of the beast.

    Who is this person?

    The beast was scary, but I could feel the warmth from the light.

    No doubt about it. This light will save me.

    Please! Come here!

    I know I can¡¯t reach it, but I still tried to.

    The beast of light wavered and moved away.

    I reached out my hand, but I couldn¡¯t reach the light.

    Wait! Please! Don¡¯t go!

    I woke up, unable to grasp the light.

    As I¡¯m about to tell the king about my dream, I immediately made preparations to wee the person riding the Beast of Light. But the moment the king heard about the beast¡¯s arrival, he sensed danger, and he lined up the soldiers at the port.

    His Majesty the King believed me. But he said he was just being careful because he didn¡¯t know whether the Beast of Light would save the country. I couldn¡¯t argue with those words.

    That night, I dreamed of a world where the light of hope disappeared and only darkness surrounded me.

    After hearing my story, His Majesty the King gave the order to withdraw the troops.

    I don¡¯t know if the soldiers and the light fought. What we do know was that the light disappeared. It was the wrong choice, that¡¯s for sure.

    We¡¯re already running out of time.

    The warlord went to see him. No good.

    The minister went to see him. No good.

    In the end, a proposal was made for His Majesty the King to go meet him, but it was still no good.

    No matter how we try, the light never gets closer.

    Time passed, and the tears in the barrier became wider, and wider.

    The light wavers. It does note within my reach.

    How can I make youe closer?

    It¡¯s so difficult.

    It was already difficult enough in my dreams, but it¡¯s even more difficult in reality.

    Some believe in my words, others don¡¯t.

    ¡°Is he really the beacon of hope?¡± ¡°You would let a stranger into Reenes?¡± ¡°Can he defeat the monsters in Reenes?¡±

    Some of them don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to let anyone we don¡¯t know into the ind of Reenes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t beasts attack people?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s riding on the beast, is it dangerous?¡± ¡°Can we trust the beast that he¡¯s riding on?¡±

    =====

    And when the light of hope really appeared, it was decided to confirm the ability of that person. The words that made me feel warm couldn¡¯t reassure them.

    Those who have not seen the dreams cannot feel the enveloping warmth of that light.

    It¡¯s a light of hope. It¡¯s the light that can save our country. So why?

    That¡¯s the kind of thought that would chase the light away.

    Wait, don¡¯t go. Please.

    Regardless of my feelings, the light keeps going away. There is nothing but despair.

    But time is not going to wait. The tears in the barrier are spreading, and it¡¯s only a matter of time before the barrier is lifted. Time is already running out.

    I can see that the day when the light of hope ising is approaching.

    The time is running out

    Please, don¡¯t interfere.

    But in the midst of all this, Shinobu, a woman with great ability, was chosen as the one to meet the light of hope.

    The light drew closer.

    However, he has to show his ability.

    He had to show that he can fight and win against Jubei who was the most skillful in this country.

    Jubei was strong. It makes me uneasy. But they said that if he doesn¡¯t show that kind of strength, he won¡¯t be recognized as the beacon of hope.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll tire out Master, even if only a little. If I do that, he¡¯ll have a better chance of winning.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But you¡¯re going to fight for real, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Sakura)

    Those two will fight for real, won¡¯t they? Just hearing about it makes me scared.

    ¡°Otherwise, the light will disappear, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± (Sakura)

    I can¡¯t help but to worry.

    The light wille closer when Jubei and Shinobu fight for real.

    The night I decided to let the light of hope fight Jubei, the light went out.

    That¡¯s why they came up with the idea of doing an act where Jubei and Shinobu would fight each other.

    It makes me wonder if this was really the right thing to do. Why do we have to go through all of this just to get help?

    However, when those two seriously fought, the light didn¡¯t go out, it even got a little closer.

    Is this correct? It isn¡¯t wrong, is it?

    There was no time left. I had no choice but to watch as things unfold.

    Everything depended on Shinobu now.

    =====

    A few days had passed since Shinobu went to monitor the southern ocean when the message came.

    I received a report that a girl dressed as a bear had arrived, riding on top of a bear running on the sea.

    The age is between 4 to 13 years old.*

    Was she really that small?

    I had an image of a strong person riding a beast. A grown woman on top of a big beast with a big sword and the ability to use magic. The report said she was a girl, but I didn¡¯t think she was this small.

    Was the light a mistake? Or was it the wrong person? I don¡¯t know.

    And the girl on the bear came from the sea. Did the bear really run on the sea? I don¡¯t understand it, Shinobu. Please make your report clear and proper.

    I read the rest of the report.

    She said the girl from the sea did something to the bear and it disappeared.

    Shinobu wrote that the bear was a summoned beast and seemed to be capable of being unsummoned. Summoned beast bear. Is that the true identity of that beast-shaped light?

    Also, what I don¡¯t understand was the girl¡¯s outfit. What is a bear¡¯s outfit?

    Does that mean she¡¯s wearing a bear¡¯s fur?

    It¡¯s a little scary to imagine.

    Then it was written that she followed the girl and observed her that day, but could not judge her as a ray of hope in the present situation.

    I didn¡¯t have any dreams that night.

    I don¡¯t know how it turned out. I¡¯d like to think it was a step in the right direction.

    The night after the girl on the bear appeared, a new report arrived.

    It seems that the contact was sessful. The name of the girl dressed as a bear is Yuna.

    And it seems that Shinobu and the girl have decided to take the job of defeating the Kamaitachi together. Apparently, Shinobu is going to watch the girl fight the monsters and see what she can do.

    It was written that it would be judged whether she was the beacon of hope.

    I woke up in the morning. I didn¡¯t have any dreams today either.

    Did I just not see it? Has something changed?

    It makes me anxious to see it, but it also makes me anxious not seeing it.

    That evening, a new report arrived.

    The report excitedly stated that the girl had summoned a ck and white bear summoned beasts.

    Two bears?

    Their names were written as Swaying Bear for the ck bear and Hugging Bear for the white bear.

    Those are lovely names.

    And it said that the girl used wind and earth magic to defeat the Kamaitachi.

    Instead of fighting with weapons, she seemed to fight with magic.

    And when Shinobu asked the girl to fight Jubei to avenge her parents, she agreed. I¡¯m worried about Shinobu fighting Jubei, but I¡¯m also worried about whether the girl can beat Jubei. If she can¡¯t beat Jubei, then I don¡¯t think she can beat the sealed monster.

    I didn¡¯t dream again the next day.

    And I was waiting to hear from Shinobu. I¡¯m filled with anxiety. Jubei and Shinobu were going to fight for real. And Jubei is going to fight the girl who seems to be a ray of hope.

    I want all of them toe back safely. And I hope that the girl is really the beacon of hope.

    A report arrivedte at night. It said that the girl had defeated Jubei.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The report said that the girl had intervened and prevented Jubei¡¯s three-step thrust directed at Shinobu, and the girl fought against the dual wielding Jubei with two knives.

    I thought they were going to have a magical fight.

    ording to the report, she handled two knives and fought against, or rather, even better than, Jubei in serious mode.

    They moved to arger area to further gauge her magical abilities.

    She fought Juubei with magic and got the upper hand.

    In the end, he attacked the bear to piss the girl off and gauged the biggest attack she could.

    Did he really need to go that far?

    It¡¯s true that we need to make her show off her ability. If herpetence was half-hearted, there will be those who will criticize her.

    I gulped and looked over the next report.

    She said that the angry girl then used magic to make arge wall appear and nearly beat Jubei to death.

    Did she really beat Jubei?

    I had seen him had a sparring match with Shinobu. Jubei was very strong.

    Undoubtedly, the girl is the light of hope.

    Tears fell from my eyes.

    I can¡¯t wait to meet you, Yuna-sama.

    ****

    Author¡¯s Note 2:

    That¡¯s why when Sakura met Yuna, she cried.

 Chapter 450 - Bear-san, Meets The King

    <h4>Chapter 450 - Bear-san, Meets The King</h4>

    ¡°Yuna-sama, may I ask you a question?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that Lord Yuna has a ck and white bear that¡¯s big enough to carry a person. Their names seem identical to that one, though.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looks at Hugging Bear that I¡¯m holding.

    She seemed to have received reports about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but no reports about them turning into bear cubs when we entered the city.

    ¡°It seems that Yuna¡¯s bears can be turned into smaller orrger form at will.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu exined before I answer.

    You forgot to keep your mouth shut, didn¡¯t you?

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura stares at Hugging Bear. Her eyes turn into the eyes of a child of her age.

    ¡°If you want, I can make it bigger.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure?!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura¡¯s eyes were sparkling.

    I put Hugging Bear to the side and returned him to his original size.

    ¡°He¡¯s really be big! Your name is Hugging Bear-sama, right?¡± (Sakura)

    Hugging Bear-sama, she said. She also called me Yuna-sama.

    It¡¯s kind of embarrassing. I¡¯m not a great enough person to bebeled as such. I¡¯m a former shut-in, a gamer.

    ¡°Yuna-sama. If it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯d be happy to take a look at your ck bear, Swaying Bear-sama¡­¡­¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asks a bit reservedly.

    Since she already received a report about Swaying Bear, I summoned him since I have nothing to hide.

    ¡°Here¡¯s Swaying Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear turned to Sakura and greeted her.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-sama, Hugging Bear-sama. Such divinity.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked as if she was about to sp her hands together in worship.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    When Sakura said that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tilted their heads as if to say, ¡°Really?¡±

    Do Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear really look divine?

    ¡°Shinobu, we should take Sakura to the doctor.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, she¡¯s not sick. That¡¯s just how Sakura-sama is.¡± (Shinobu)

    In other words, she¡¯s not like Shinobu.

    ¡°Can you see the divineness in their faces, Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked at Shinobu.

    Shinobu looked back at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Etto, I mean, somehow, I can see it.¡± (Shinobu)

    Yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure you can¡¯t see it. I can¡¯t see it either.

    Their faces are cute, but definitely not divine.

    Or maybe because they¡¯re the bears given to me by God and maybe that¡¯s how it looks to Sakura?

    ¡°These are the Beasts of Light. Yuna-sama, may I touch them?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you touch them.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think Sakura will do anything strange, so I gave her permission.

    Sakura holds Hugging Bear¡¯s paw.

    ¡°I feel the same power as Yuna-sama flowing inside you. And it feels nice and soft.¡± (Sakura)

    She then grabbed Swaying Bear¡¯s paw and gave the same reaction.

    =====

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura sat back down, seemingly satisfied.

    And so, I decided to ask Sakura.

    Even if I ept this request, there are things I need to enquire on. There are things I can do and things I can¡¯t. After all, if it¡¯s a monster like Targui, it¡¯s impossible for me to defeat it.

    ¡°Can you tell me about the monsters? Or should I ask the king or someone else?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll tell you what I know, everything that I can.¡± (Sakura)

    With that said, Sakura exined the situation to me.

    The monster was sealed on the ind of Reenes over a hundred years ago, and that seal was gradually weakening. The monster must be weakened again before it can be resealed. No men were allowed inside the barrier. Only a limited number of women can enter. If they allow men to enter, the sealed monster will bepletely revived.

    So it was ideal to fight while the monster was still weakened in its barrier.

    Some of it I didn¡¯t know, but most of it was the same as what Shinobu had told me.

    ¡°So, what kind of monster is this said monster?¡± (Yuna)

    But I¡¯m not asking about the lore. This was the most important information I needed.

    ¡°It is said to be a giant serpent ¡®Orochi¡¯ with four heads.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°A big snake¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It can spit mes from its mouth, incinerate people. Create wind, chopping people. Spit water, to submerge people, and unearth soil that can crush people.¡± (Sakura)

    A giant snake, like in Japan, the very famous Yamata-no-Orochi, arge snake-like monster with eight heads. Will it be this kind of monster this time?

    Is it different from the ck Viper? Or is it more like a Hydra?

    I¡¯m not quite sure how big it was. But if it was about the size of the ck Viper and had four heads, it would be possible to defeat it.

    ¡°The people of the time worked together to weaken the serpent and seal it away in that ce. It is said that the serpent sucked the evil spirits out of people, so they forbade the general public toe near it. However, there were some rare nts that grew in the area, and there was no end to the number of people who tried to steal them. It is also said that when they did, it absorbed the evil spirits of people and the seal was almost broken. So men were forbidden to enter the ind of Reenes, and only some women were allowed.¡± (Sakura)

    Only in a fantasy world can people create such a convenient barrier.

    Well, when there¡¯s already magic in the fantasy world, anything is possible.

    But stealing? There are people who steal precious flowers and nts?

    While I also want something rare, if it¡¯s about medicinal herbs, then I don¡¯t want it.

    ¡°So, this time, before the seal ispletely broken, we will weaken it and reseal it. And we need your help with that.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Could it be, I¡¯m the only one fighting?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, Yuna-sama will not be alone, a handful of warriors will join you. However, I don¡¯t think they are that strong. Moreover, the dream of being enveloped in darkness has not disappeared.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m one of the participants, by the way.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu, who was listening to the conversation, intruded.

    ¡°You, Shinobu? Even though you can¡¯t beat Jubei-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m still on the stronger side. Yuna, who can beat my Master, is the strange one. What¡¯s with that weapon? I¡¯ve never seen anyone who can parry my Master¡¯s sword so easily. And what¡¯s with the big bear wall?¡± (Shinobu)

    Bear magic is my inner art, my special skill, my ultimate magic.

    That drains a considerable amount of magic power.

    I¡¯d prefer wearing my white bear if I could attack one-sidedly as I did with the Kraken, but that¡¯s not going to happen.

    ¡°Yuna-sama. Can you please lend us a hand?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura bowed her head deeply.

    A giant snake with four heads. I don¡¯t know if I can defeat it. But I can¡¯t forget the look on Sakura¡¯s face when she grabbed my hand and cried. She had dreams of people she knew, people she cared about, and herself dying over and over again. This little girl was experiencing it. Even in her dreams, she must be in pain. And if I don¡¯t help her, it may be a fact.

    ¡°I might not be able to beat it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I believe in my dreams, so I believe in you, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at me with straight eyes.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll run.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that will be fine.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura didn¡¯t bother to think about it and answered immediately.

    Sakura is not as old as she looks.

    She looks like a kid, but her mind seems mature, I see?

    ¡°How old are you, Sakura?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, I¡¯m 10 years old.¡± (Sakura)

    She was just as she looked.

    ¡°All right. I don¡¯t know how much I can do, but I¡¯ll help you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura¡¯s expression changed from a serious one to a cute girl¡¯s smile appropriate for her age.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I believe in you.¡± (Sakura)

    It¡¯s heavy. Sakura¡¯s trust is too heavy.

    I don¡¯t want to betray the feelings of a pure girl, but I really don¡¯t know what will happen.

    =====

    ¡°Now then, I think we¡¯re done here. I¡¯ll call the person who¡¯s been waiting outside the room.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu stood up and opened the sliding door through which we had entered.

    There was a man wearing hakama and to his side was Jubeo-san.

    ¡°Finally, you¡¯re done talking.¡±

    The man said and walked into the room.

    He¡¯s about 40 years old. He has a beard and arge build.

    ¡°You really are dressed like a bear, aren¡¯t you? Also, a ck bear and a white bear, just as reported.¡±

    The man looked at me and then turned his attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    He didn¡¯t look scared.

    ¡°Sakura, are you sure it¡¯s her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, no doubt. She¡¯s the light of hope.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see. So what happened?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked her to lend a hand.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°All right. Everyone, turn around and cover your ears!¡±

    When the man said this, Shinobu, Juubei-san, and Sakura turned around and covered their ears.

    What¡¯s going on?

    When the man came in front of me, he sat upright with a dignified movement.

    ¡°I am Suou, the king of thisnd. I apologize for the disrespect I have shown you. And I thank you for your assistance.¡± (King) (¥¹¥ª¥¦)

    The man bowed deeply.

    ¡°¡­¡­King?¡± (Yuna)

    The man raised his head.

    ¡°Because of my position as king, I can¡¯t apologize in front of my subjects, so I did it here.¡± (King)

    In front of his vassals, even though they turned their backs and covered their ears, Jubei-san, Shinobu, and Sakura were still here. Was it okay for the king to bow to a girl in a bear suit?

    ¡°You can all turn around now.¡± (King)

    As soon as the king said this, the three who had turned around and covered their ears turned back to us as if nothing had happened.

    Is there no one going to say anything about it?

    You had your ears ¡°really¡± covered, right?

    You heard him, didn¡¯t you?

    You heard him, so you turned around immediately, right?

    Is that okay?

    No, I¡¯m not going to ask about it.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Herees the king. I was very worried about the name.

    I¡¯m always having trouble naming people.

    =====

    #

 Chapter 451 Bear-san, Protects Hugging Bear

    <h4>Chapter 451 Bear-san, Protects Hugging Bear</h4>

    ¡°Your Majesty, how is the castle?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked as if nothing had happened.

    What¡¯s this, straight-face-jutsu?

    The others didn¡¯t seem to mind either.

    I¡¯ll do the same and go along with it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve silenced them. No matter what she looks like, even if she¡¯s young, she¡¯s still a strong girl who has defeated Jubei. And I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve all received their own reports. I won¡¯t let themin.¡± (King)

    The king said so and looked at me.

    He can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m a bear, no matter how he looked at me.

    ¡°While I¡¯ve read the reports, I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a small girl. If it wasn¡¯t for Sakura¡¯s words, I¡¯d doubt it.¡± (King)

    No, I¡¯m not small. You¡¯re just big, king.

    But he believes in Sakura¡¯s words.

    ¡°Jubei, you really lost, didn¡¯t you?¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes. Contrary to her appearance, she is stronger than any warlord. I swear the truth on this life.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°I see. I guess there are small but strong people in foreignnds.¡± (King)

    No, I don¡¯t think there is.

    So far, I have not met anyone who I think was stronger than me.

    That¡¯s because of the bear gear that God gave me. Without the bear gear, I would just be a girl with no power.

    ¡°And these are the beasts of hope Sakura was talking about? I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re fierce, but what can I say, they¡¯re not scary bears.¡± (King

    ¡°¡±Ku~u ~ n¡±¡±

    At the king¡¯s words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried in denial.

    They have cool fighting faces, but right now, they have their rxed faces on, so I can¡¯t argue with the king¡¯s words.

    If they had always looked so fierce, I think the kids would have been scared to go near them.

    ¡°Is it okay to touch them?¡± (King)

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t hurt them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. Now then, let me touch you.¡± (King)

    The king touches Hugging Bear¡¯s body.

    ¡°Ooh, it feels good on my skin. It feels good to touch. It¡¯s also white and beautiful. I wish I had this kind of fur.¡± (King)

    As soon as the king said that, Hugging Bear moved quickly away from the king and hid behind me.

    ¡°Kuu ~ n¡±

    My body can¡¯t hide a body that big.

    Of course, I would protect him from the king if he tried to do that again.

    The king sees the escaped Hugging Bear.

    When I was about to ask him ¡°don¡¯t even joke about it¡±, Sakura opened her mouth first.

    ¡°Uncle! Please be careful with your words. Do you know how hard Shinobu and the others worked to bring Yuna-sama and Hugging Bear-sama here? What will you do if Yuna-sama gets angry at your words and leaves?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura got angry at the king.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not saying I¡¯ll take your fur. I just wanted to express how good it felt.¡± (King)

    The king apologized honestly.

    But just now, did she just exposed that the king was her uncle?

    ¡°I understand that, but there are good and bad things to say. Take responsibility for your own words.¡± (Sakura)

    The king was being reprimanded.

    ¡°I get it, don¡¯t be mad. And Sakura. Call me the king here.¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Sakura)

    This time, it was Sakura¡¯s turn to apologize.

    ¡°Uncle? What¡¯s the connection between you two?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sakura is my sister¡¯s daughter.¡± (King)

    ¡°So, Sakura is royalty?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No. My mother married my father, so she¡¯s not royalty anymore.¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯ve heard stories that if you marry an ordinary person, you¡¯ll no longer be royalty.

    ¡°So I¡¯m just an ordinary Miko.¡± (Sakura)

    I don¡¯t think an ordinary Miko was capable of having prophetic dreams.

    But I think I understand now why the king believed Sakura¡¯s words. It was more like the people around him were in denial.

    ¡°So the king believed Sakura¡¯s words because of that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, because my sister also possessed magical powers, too.¡± (King)

    The king looked as if he missed something. Sakura and the other three fell silent at his words.

    In the midst of all this, Sakura opened her mouth.

    ¡°My mother and father died when I was very young.¡± (Sakura)

    Her mother and father, so they¡¯re both dead then?

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m acting as her father. But because of my position, I had to make her address me as the King in public.¡± (King)

    So, that¡¯s what he meant that she should be calling him king earlier.

    I feel sorry for a 10 year old orphan. But I know many children who have lost their parents or been abandoned. The faces of the children in the orphanage came to mind. They are smaller than Sakura. Yet, they are not sad and are doing well. Children can grow up without parents, but they need help from adults. That¡¯s why the director and Liz-san are there.

    Besides, Sakura has the king and Shinobu, and her personality is growing straight, so she doesn¡¯t seem to have anything to worry about.

    I hope she grows up not having a twisted personality like mine.

    ¡°Then you¡¯re just like me. I won¡¯t be able to see my parents anymore either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You too, Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯m not lying, though.

    There¡¯s no way for me to return to my former world. Therefore, the possibility of meeting them was close to zero. And if you ask me if I want to go back, I have a conflicting feeling about that.

    If I could go back and forth, I would. But if I can nevere back here again, I think I¡¯ll choose to stay here. I¡¯ve found people whom I care about in this world.

    ¡°Yes. But I have my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me, so I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s right. My family, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily.

    ¡°I have my uncle and the others, too, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura replied with a smile.

    Her face showed no sign of loneliness.

    =====

    ¡°Now then, you said your name was Yuna, right? What do you want when this is all over? I can grant you a wish within my power. Money? Status?¡± (King)

    Both of them are unnecessary for me.

    If you were to ask me what I would dare to have, I would say a ce to set up a bear gate. I can¡¯t return to Crimonia without setting up a bear gate. If possible, I¡¯d like a ce where I can go in and out without being noticed. But I can buy a house, so something not so easy to get would be nice.

    So I answered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want money or status. I was asked to seal the serpent safely, so please judge me by my contribution. Ask me at that time and I shall tell you.¡± (Yuna)

    That means I¡¯ll ask for it when it¡¯s done.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll make sure you get your wish then.¡± (King)

    The king promised me.

    If I seed in sealing it, maybe I can ask for a house with a hot spring?

    =====

    Now then, let¡¯s talk about the future ns.

    ¡°Then tomorrow I will take you to the ind of Reenes.¡± (Shinobu)

    Instead of fighting it suddenly, we¡¯re going to meet with someone named Kagali, who¡¯s in charge of the seal, and ask about it.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, who controls the barriers on the ind of Reenes, knows the condition of the barriers the best.¡± (Sakura)

    I was told that she has been in charge of the barrier for many years and knows a lot about the sealed serpent, so it¡¯s decided that we should talk to this Kagali-sama.

    ¡°We prepared a room for you today, so please take it easy and get some rest.¡± (Sakura)

    The king and Jubei-san leave, and I am shown to my room. By the way, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have been turned into bear cubs. They were my guards in case something happened.

    ¡°So, why are both of you here together?¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura and Shinobu are in the room.

    ¡°I wish I could talk a little more with Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Then she looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It seems that her target was not me, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I¡¯m in charge of Yuna. Please ask me anything.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Oh right. Shinobu, I¡¯ll give this back to you.¡± (Yuna)

    I pulled out the bag containing the money that Shinobu had given me.

    I was reminded of this earlier when I was talking to the king about rewards.

    Shinobu told me that if she died, it was my duty to defeat Jubei-san, and be her parents¡¯ avenger in her stead. However, Shinobu didn¡¯t die, and I defeated Jubei-san. Since Shinobu lived, I would need to give it back to her. But still, it was me who defeated Jubei-san.

    Above all, it was all an act, and the parental revenge was a lie.

    So the promise was also invalid.

    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡± (Shinobu)

    When Shinobu saw the bag of money, she tried to reach for it, but quickly pulled her hand back.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t receive it¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Let me check with you. Is this money from the country?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s my personal money. At that time, I really needed Yuna to fight against my master. And I wanted you to fight against my master so badly even if I had to pay for it.¡± (Shinobu)

    The money seemed to be at Shinobu¡¯s discretion.

    ¡°And then Yuna fought my master and won. You kept your promise to me, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    If this money came from the government, I would have taken it. But if this money was Shinobu¡¯s personal money, it was a different story. I know how hard it is to make money.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give it back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Because the promise was that I would ONLY get it if Shinobu died.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but Yuna defeated my master. The promise was that Yuna would avenge me and my parents, even if it was an act, Yuna kept her promise. If I received that, It¡¯ll feel like everything was a lie. At that time, I was prepared to die in the fight. That feeling was not a lie.¡± (Shinobu)

    I know. The look on Shinobu¡¯s face at the time made me think she was serious, so I took the job.

    But Shinobu doesn¡¯t seem to want to ept it. The same can be said for me.

    That¡¯s why I often try to imitate certain scenes from manga and anime.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take this much.¡± (Yuna)

    I took one gold coin from the bag of money.

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡®This would mean that I got the money, and at the same time I¡¯ve fulfilled my promise to return it if Shinobu was still alive. That way we¡¯ve kept our promise to each other, right?¡± (Yuna)

    At my words, Shinobu looked at me with a stunned expression.

    ¡°Yuna, you¡¯re very graceful, just like when you fought my master. When you saved me from Master¡¯s three-step thrust, I almost fell in love with you. And if you do this to me, I¡¯ll fall in love with you even more.¡± (Shinobu)

    I pulled away from Shinobu.

    ¡°Why are you leaving me?¡± (Shinobu)

    I¡¯m not interested in men, but I don¡¯t have that kind of hobby either.

    ***

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Next time, we will go to the ind.

    #

 Chapter 452 - Bear-san, Heads To The Island Of Reenes

    <h4>Chapter 452 - Bear-san, Heads To The Ind Of Reenes</h4>

    Bear-san, Heads To The Ind Of Reenes

    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for a ship, then.¡± (Shinobu)

    We had to go to the ind by boat.

    But Sakura seems to want to say something.

    ¡°Anou, Yuna-sama. May I ask you something?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I heard that Yuna-sama came to this country by crossing the sea on Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama, is that true?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu saw me and nodded since there was no point in fooling her if she had already reported it to Sakura.

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s possible, then¡­¡­¡± (Sakura)

    It was a small voice that seemed about to disappear.

    ¡°Do you want a ride, perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    The look on Sakura¡¯s face, it¡¯s quite aplicated expression.

    She wants to ride, but she also feels like she shouldn¡¯t be selfish.

    ¡°Etto, anou, that, umm.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked down and reluctantly gave a small nod.

    ¡°When I heard about it, I thought it was a dreame true to run on the sea. I mean, if it¡¯s not too much trouble.¡± (Sakura)

    I nced at Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But I can¡¯t give you a ride in public. I don¡¯t want people to be surprised if a bear shows up, and I don¡¯t want them to see us running on the ocean.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then there¡¯s a good ce for that. I just happen to know of a ce where we can go out to sea without being seen.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu said there¡¯s a ce where Sakura can ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and no one will ever notice.

    ¡°Thank you, Shinobu.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No problem. I want to ride it too after all.¡± (Shinobu)

    It seems that was her aim all along.

    Are you sure It¡¯s a good idea when you have your summoned horse, Hayatemaru with you?

    Anyways, we decided to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the ind of Reenes.

    ¡°Come to think of it, does everyone know about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked. I was curious to know how far Sinobu had reported.

    ¡°The only people I¡¯ve reported to are the King and Sakura-sama. If the King and Sakura-sama hadn¡¯t told anyone, then only the two of them would have known.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t told anyone.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What about the ones monitoring us other than Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t. No one would wait for someone whom they¡¯re not sure when they wille from the sea. Only when you were fighting my master did they watch. I guarantee that.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Well then, in the meantime, can you tell the king to keep his mouth shut?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know how far this request will be fulfilled, but I¡¯ll still ask.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect Sakura to go with us to the ind.¡± (Yuna)

    I thought that Shinobu was going to show me around.

    ¡°If I don¡¯t go, Kagali-sama won¡¯t listen to Yuna-sama¡¯s words. Besides, Yuna-sama¡¯s outfit is, well, it¡¯s like a bear.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura said with some difficulty.

    It is true that if I, dressed as a bear, were to say, ¡°I am the light of hope that Sakura was talking about,¡± people would not trust me. If Sakura herself says it, however, there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯ll trust her. In the first ce, I¡¯m too embarrassed to call myself the light of hope for the people.

    ¡°And Kagali-sama is someone who has her likes and dislikes clearly defined. It is said that that is why she created a barrier that prohibits men from entering and leaving.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I thought it was because the monsters release miasma.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s also true. But the majority of the crew in the ship were men, so most of the thieves were also men.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What does the barrier like, anyway? Will they die if they go in?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that scary. It¡¯s more like sapping physical strength. Your body will getzy and you won¡¯t be able to move.¡± (Sakura)

    I asked, and that¡¯s what Sakura answered.

    Such barriers exist. If they were to go to war, they would be invincible if they made them as a defensive formation.

    ¡°So that means you can approach the ind by boat, but you can¡¯tnd on it. If you do, then don¡¯t steal anything, so you won¡¯t die.¡± (Shinobu)

    It¡¯s a safe and secure setting.

    Then, after the talk was over, we ate dinner, and the time came to go to bed.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked while hugging the bear cub Hugging Bear.

    Sakura seemed to enjoy being with Hugging Bear, and Hugging Bear didn¡¯t seem to mind. So, I suggested that they sleep together. By the way, she¡¯s not hugging me, but Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Just for today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much. Hugging Bear-sama, please take care of me this evening.¡± (Sakura)

    Iid out the futon, I slept with Swaying Bear, and Sakura slept with Hugging Bear.

    By the way, Shinobu left to prepare for tomorrow. I wondered wasn¡¯t she was supposed to be my caretaker? Still, I don¡¯t need her when I go to bed, so I didn¡¯t pursue her.

    =====

    The next morning, I woke up to find Sakura hugging the bear cub Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Mornin¡¯.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Good morning.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura¡¯s expression seemed to indicate that something was wrong.

    ¡°Did you have a dream, by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a dream where Hugging Bear-sama protects me.¡±

    ¡°Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. As I cried in the darkness, Hugging Bear-sama gently wrapped me in his arms. He was warm and filled me with a sense of security as if my anxiety was disappearing. He shone a bright light on the oing darkness and protected me from it. His appearance was very dignified and cool. It¡¯s been a long time since I slept so peacefully. Thank you, Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡®Kuu ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear disagreed. He cried with an expression that said, ¡°No I did not¡±.

    ¡°Does that mean the serpent¡¯s sealing seeded then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it¡¯s just a dream, not a premonition. I think Hugging Bear-sama helped me with the dream that my anxiety showed.¡± (Sakura)

    Well, when Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are together, I can sleep in peace. They give me peace of mind. Maybe Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have such power.

    After breakfast, we were to take a carriage to the beach. From there, we would ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the ind of Reenes.

    I looked at the carriage that was being prepared and saw that Hayatemaru was tethered to the carriage.

    ¡°Hurry up and get in.¡± (Shinobu)

    Apparently, Shinobu would be the one driving the carriage.

    Well, if it¡¯s another person, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would not be able to run on the ocean.

    Sakura and I, carrying Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form, rode in the carriage, and Shinobu sat on the coach box.

    When Shinobu saw that we were in the carriage, she started to move the carriage.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, you seem to have taken a liking to Hugging Bear.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu, who is on the coach box, speaks to us.

    Sakura is holding Hugging Bear cub on herp as if she¡¯s holding something precious. It¡¯s a little different from the way Fina and Noa adore him.

    By the way, I have Swaying Bear cub on myp.

    ¡°I feel safe when I¡¯m with Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I understand that feeling. It¡¯s soft andfortable.¡± (Shinobu)

    I agree with that statement. When I hug Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it feels amazing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little different from that. Of course it feels good, but it also calms my anxious mind.¡± (Sakura)

    It seems to be thanks in part to Hugging Bear¡¯s presence, who also appeared in her dream.

    ¡°Also, in thend of harmony, white is revered as a symbol that brings happiness and is undefiled. Maybe that¡¯s why I feel that way even more.¡± (Sakura)

    `Kuu ~ n¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s not that Swaying Bear-sama is tainted or depressing, so please don¡¯t look like that.¡± (Sakura)

    When Sakura saw Swaying Bear¡¯s slightly sad expression, she responded to him and reached out to pat Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    Certainly, there are stories about white birds, white snakes, and white cats that bring good luck and happiness. There¡¯s even a white rabbit that also brings good luck. When you think about it, it is no wonder that the colour white is said to bring good fortune.

    ck, on the other hand, has more of a bad image.

    But that doesn¡¯t matter to me.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, you¡¯re both bears that bring me happiness.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily at my words.

    Well, actually, I do. I enjoy having Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and I can¡¯t imagine life without them.

    =====

    After a while, we arrived to a ce away from the city.

    ¡°You can¡¯t see it from here. But be careful of the boats out in the ocean.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, if we keep our distance, they shouldn¡¯t notice us.

    Shinobu unsummoned Hayatemaru. The rest of the carriage was put away in my bear box. I¡¯ve already been seen putting away dozens of tatami mats, so it¡¯s toote to hold back now.

    And in order to cross the ocean, I will need to return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear from their cub form to their normal size.

    ¡°Okay then, Sakura and Shinobu, you will ride on Hugging Bear. Hugging Bear, is that okay with you?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    After I confirmed this, Hugging Bear sat down in front of Sakura.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura gets on the Hugging Bear with excitement. She almost lost her bnce, but Hugging Bear followed up.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    [It¡¯s so soft and fluffy. It¡¯s veryfortable.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura has an expression befitting her age.

    ¡°Well then, me too please.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu rode behind Sakura as if hugging her, and I rode on Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be running on the ocean, but it¡¯ll be fine, so don¡¯t freak out.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ye-, yes.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m getting nervous.¡± (Shinobu)

    Swaying Bear, with me on board, and Hugging Bear, with Sakura and Shinobu on board, ran on the sea.

    ¡°We¡¯re really running on the ocean.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s like a dream.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura is riding Hugging Bear with a big smile on her face. It¡¯s the kind of smile a child would have at an amusement park. Unlike the other children, Sakura is a mature child. Her tone of voice is polite, and I wish Shinobu would learn a little from her.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Shinobu)

    It seems that Shinobu noticed that I was looking at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Now, hold on tight as we pick up speed.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sped up towards the ind of Reenes.

    The ind of Reenes was visible from the harbor, even from here. Even though we could see it, it was still quite a distance away.

    As we proceed, we see the size of the ind. About the same size as Targui?

    I can¡¯t tell for sure, but it looks about that big.

    And when I look over the ind, I see what looks like a ckbird flying around. It looks a little ominous.

    Without taking too long, we arrived at the beach on the ind of Reenes.

    ¡°We¡¯ve really crossed the ocean.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are really amazing.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Thank you very much, Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It was a valuable experience for me too. Thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    When they thanked him, Hugging Bear became happy.

    ¡°And thank you too, Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    =====

    After arriving at the ind of Reenes, we rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to a ce, where the person named Kagali lives.

    The ind was covered in forest. In the middle of the forest that spreads out on both sides, there¡¯s a single road that has been cleared.

    ¡°Does this Kagali-sama live here all by herself?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Normally, she¡¯s alone most of the time, but sometimes her caretakeres over.¡± (Sakura)

    But that means she¡¯s basically alone.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it pitiful to be alone in such a ce?¡± (Yuna)

    Even as a former hikikomori, I don¡¯t want to live alone on an ind.

    ¡°She sometimes goes to the capital or the city, so I think she¡¯s okay.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t move away for a long time, but it¡¯s okay because it¡¯s not like what Yuna-sama thinks.¡± (Sakura)

    That¡¯s fine, then. I¡¯d feel sorry for her if it seemed like she was sacrificed and locked up though.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, proceeded along the road. The road was heading towards the center of the ind.

    ¡°I think we¡¯ll see it soon.¡± (Sakura)

    After a while, I saw a building that looked like a shrine.

    It was a magnificent building.

    We got off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and entered a shrine-like building.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, are you there?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura called out into the room.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s Sakura¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯re here again? Didn¡¯t I tell you to run to another country?¡± (Kagali)

    A beautiful woman in her early twenties appeared from the back of the room. Her long, golden hair swayed as she came towards us. The woman was wearing a brightly colored kimono and her golden hair was beautiful.

    But the woman was wearing a kimono that was so loose that herrge bosoms could peek out at any moment.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re dressed like that again, please put your clothes on properly.¡± (Sakura)

    Even as a woman, I find it hard to look at them.

    However, her figure looks bewitching and sexy.

    Above all, what stood out was the swelling of her breasts. They are so huge, I can see my future in them.*

    ¡°Shut up. It¡¯s not like anyone¡¯s going to see us.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We are here watching you.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°We¡¯re all women. I don¡¯t see the problem.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, you have to wear it properly. I¡¯ve brought a guest with me. Shinobu, please help me.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Roger that.¡± (Shinobu)

    Sakura and Shinobu approached the woman they had called Kagali and dressed her with a practiced hand.

    This blonde, disheveled beauty is the Kagali-sama who manages the barrier?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sakura loves Hugging Bear.

    White brings good luck.

    On the contrary, ck is¡­¡­

    But for Yuna, it doesn¡¯t matter. They are both bears that bring you good luck.

    ¡ù My next post may be a dayte. Please understand that I may be a dayte with my next post.

    =====

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    * (¤Ê¤Ë¤è¤ê¡¢Ä¿Á¢¤Ä¤Î¤ÏÐØ¤ÎÅò¤é¤ß¤À¡£´ó¤­¤¤¡£Î´À´¤Î¤ï¤¿¤·¤Î´ó¤­¤µ¤°¤é¤¤¤¢¤ë¡£) Not really sure what she meant by ¡°her future¡±.

    Editor¡¯s note: I think her ¡°bleak¡± physical future.

    =====

    #

 Chapter 453 - Bear-san, Talks to Kagali-sama.

    <strong>Bear-san, Talks to Kagali-sama.</strong>

    Thanks to Sakura and Shinobu, the woman called Kagali who looked disheveled earlier and was now nicely dressed. However, the woman was sitting like how a man crossed his legs, which ruined her beauty. But Sakura let out a small sigh as if it was a usual thing.

    ¡°Sakura, I thought I told you to get out of this country.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave Kagali-sama behind and run away.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that.¡± (Kagali)*

    ¡°Kagali-sama ...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Besides, I promised to your mother, Sakura, that I would protect you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°My mother.......¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, she asked me to do it before she died. That¡¯s why I have to protect you. Even at the cost of my own life.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama. But I...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t know what will happen if the serpent returns. But many people will surely die. I don¡¯t want you to be among them.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said gently to Sakura. Her face expressed a sincere concern.

    ¡°And so, who¡¯s this strange-lookingdy? With a bear and everything.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I told you the other day. This is Yuna-sama, the light of hope I saw in my vision. And the white one is Hugging Bear-sama, and the ck one is Swaying Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura then looked at us

    It¡¯s kinda irritating to be called the light of hope. Even if I denied it, it was difficult to do so since in Sakura¡¯s dream I was glowing with light.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, this is Kagali-sama, who controls the barriers on this ind.¡± (Sakura)

    We got introduced to each other, then we looked squarely at each other.

    ¡°Sakura, I know that you can foresee. But to you, does this bear look like the light of hope?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at me suspiciously.

    ¡°Yes, I saw it.¡± (Sakura)

    But Sakura replied clearly to Kagali-san¡¯s questioning.

    ¡°Oh, my great one, have you lost your power of prediction? What makes you think that this weirdly dressed girl will be able to defeat the giant snake?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I think. No, I¡¯m sure she will be able to save us, Kagali-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san looked at me with straight eyes.

    ¡°Yuna, I believe that was what she said. Do you really think you can defeat the serpent after hearing her story? Did you get swayed by Sakura¡¯s words and think that you can defeat it? If you are thinking like that, you are either a big idiot or a big idiot who is not afraid of death.¡± (Kagali)

    They¡¯re still both big idiots, you know?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can defeat a giant snake I¡¯ve never seen before. If I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll run away. However, I do want to respond to Sakura¡¯s feelings.¡± (Yuna)

    I won¡¯t know until I actually fight it. But if you ask me if I would risk my life, I would definitely say NO.

    But I¡¯d defeat it for Sakura if I could.

    ¡°The other day, others brought people to fight the serpent, but none of them are strong enough to fight it. If you fight it, you will only lose your life. I will not let you lose your life at such a young age either. I won¡¯t say anything bad, but I suggest you also get out of the country as soon as possible.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama! Yuna-sama is truly the light of hope. She is also very talented.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No matter how correct Sakura¡¯s words are, I¡¯m already tired of it. There is no hope. Only I know the strength of that giant snake. And only those who have fought it can understand its strength.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes, but...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It was over a hundred years ago when you fought it, right? Kagali-san? You don¡¯t look that old.¡± (Yuna)

    No matter how you look at her, she¡¯s in her twenties. Even if she made herself look younger, like some Eleanora-san from somewhere, she¡¯s still in her thirties. So howe she fought the giant snake over a hundred years ago?

    I looked at her ears, thinking she was an elf, but they were not long.

    ¡°Sakura, have you told her about me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want her to think I¡¯m lying and not ept my offer.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at me apologetically.

    ¡°Besides, only a few people know about Kagali-sama. It¡¯s not a subtle topic after all.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I know that Sakura does not talk about me to anyone on a whim. Sakura, in your eyes, can you trust this little girl?¡± (Kagali)

    Sakura looked at me carefully.

    ¡°I do believe her¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see. All right, then.¡± (Kagali)

    After Kagali-san said this, long brown ears appeared from her head. In addition, as the bottom of her kimono squirmed, what looked like brown fur could be seen.

    Animal ears and tail?

    ¡°I am a fox who has lived for hundreds of years. And I fought a giant snake a hundred years or so ago. So I know how terrifying it is.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Fox.......¡± (Yuna)

    Does that mean she¡¯s a demon fox?

    ¡°Yes, I am a fox monster. Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± (Kagali)

    Her tail, visible under her kimono, swayed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a world inhabited by monsters. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was a fox that could turn into a human.

    ¡°Ain¡¯t you a boring one. I was expecting you to call me a liar. But now you know that I¡¯ve been alive for hundreds of years.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, this is a world where there are elves, so it¡¯s not surprising that there would be monster foxes that have lived for hundreds of years.

    ¡°Now you know the weight of the words of someone who has fought that monster. I¡¯m not saying it can¡¯t be defeated. Even before, I was able to weaken it and seal it up. But the damage was still great. Above all, the difference is that none of the people I fought with back then are here anymore.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san has an expression like looking into the distance.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama can defeat it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯re overestimating me. The current me is already giving everything to maintain the barriers, I have no strength left to fight.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°How long will the barriersst?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of time.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama, then with the help of Yuna-sama¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san looked at Sakura intently.

    ¡°You believe in that funny-looking girl, don¡¯t you?...... Okay then.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura was happy to have seeded in getting Kagali-san to nod her head.

    ¡°Then, if you really are a light of hope, why don¡¯t you show me some of that hope.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Show you? Am I supposed to fight you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I want you to bring me the person I want the most at this moment. If you can do that, I will recognize you as the light of hope.¡± (Kagali)

    She suddenly became unreasonable.

    I don¡¯t have any acquaintances in thend of harmony.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± (Yuna)

    I will confirm for the time being.

    ¡°In those days, I fought alongside someone when the serpent rampaged.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama, that¡¯s.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Fufu, I know. It¡¯s absolutely impossible. That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying it¡¯s impossible if such a miracle doesn¡¯t happen. But that¡¯s what I want.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for someone to revive the dead.¡± (Yuna)

    You can¡¯t bring someone from hundreds of years ago back to life, you know.

    ¡°He is alive.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°He¡¯s alive? Perhaps, a fox, like you?¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san shook her head.

    ¡°He¡¯s an elf, and if he wasn¡¯t killed yet, he¡¯d still be alive somewhere.¡± (Kagali)

    Elf......

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is now. He is the one who created the wards that sealed the serpent. So, if hees, we can manage it. Now, if you are Sakura¡¯s light of hope, show that light to me as well. Let me meet Mumuroot again! If you can¡¯t, then leave.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked sad.

    But Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and I, slightly reacted to the name that Kagali-san mentioned.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, no matter how much you want to, that¡¯s not possible.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I know. I know I¡¯m just telling that to myself even if it¡¯s just a dream. I know it¡¯s impossible, I don¡¯t know where he is, or he could be dead. I just wish that Mumuroot was here, I thought over and over again. If only that man were here, he could do something about it. But he¡¯s not here. It¡¯s impossible to bring him back.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s voice bes smaller.

    But Mumuroot-san? You mean that, Mumuroot-san?

    ¡°Has this Mumuroot-san ever been to this country?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, when I was still young.¡± (Kagali)

    In terms of appearance, she¡¯s still young though.

    ¡°When the serpent appeared and we were in trouble, these adventurers came. Mumuroot, iming to be an elven mystic, set up a sealing formation on this ind and seeded in sealing the weakened serpent. I remained here to guard the barriers.¡± (Kagali)

    Is that really the Mumuroot-san I know of?

    ¡°Now then, if you really say you are the light of hope, bring Mumuroot to me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°............¡±

    Sakura and Shinobu were unable to say anything and fell silent.

    Because they both know it¡¯s impossible.

    But I do know a certain Mumuroot-san of the same name and race.

    And I can bring him here.

    ¡°Can we win if we bring this Mumuroot-san with us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen. But it will increase our chances of winning. And if you can bring Mumuroot to me, I will fully trust you as a beacon of hope. Fufu, such a miracle would be impossible even if the heavens and earth were turned upside down.¡± (Kagali)

    Now, what to do?

    First of all, if the Mumuroot-san that Kagali-san is talking about is the very same Mumuroot-san that I know, then I can bring him here. But to do that, I¡¯d have to tell them about the bear gate. And then there¡¯s the question of what to do if he¡¯s the wrong one. Still, Mumuroot-san is familiar with wards and magic circles. I¡¯m almost certain of it.

    ¡°So just give up and go home.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What about you Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is the will of those who control the wards. I¡¯ll just have to deal with them first.¡± (Kagali)

    Does that mean you¡¯re nning to die?

    ¡°Kagali-sama. Please believe in Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura bowed her head.

    ¡°You should leave the country quickly. Bear-dressed girl. If you are Sakura¡¯s light of hope, I ask that you let Sakura escape.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san bowed deeply to me.

    It¡¯s not like she doesn¡¯t trust me or anything. She¡¯s just really worried about Sakura¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Kagali-sama...¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura fell silent at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°......I get it. I guess I should bring that Mumuroot-san with me here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°......What are you talking about? I don¡¯t even know where he is. And you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll bring him here?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san stood up as if she sensed something.

    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san stood up and grabbed me by both of my shoulders.

    ¡°I do know an elf named Mumuroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Where, where is Mumuroot!¡± (Kagali)

    The force of her shaking my shoulders bes stronger.

    ¡°Do you really know him, Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°He has the same name and race, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any mistake. But I¡¯d have to check just to be sure.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Can you get confirmation? No. Can you bring him here?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°However, I¡¯ll need everyone here to keep my secret if I¡¯m going to bring him here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-sama¡¯s secret?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s the king, or your master.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at the three people in front of me.

    ¡°I will not tell anyone. I will obey Yuna-sama¡¯s words.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Of course, I do too. As long as I can meet Mumuroot, I¡¯ll keep any promises I make.¡± (Kagali)

    Everyone looks at Shinobu.

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone either.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You can¡¯t even write it in a letter either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t!¡± (Shinobu)

    Do I need to make contract magic with Shinobu?

    She¡¯s a ninja after all.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yes, Kagali is a fox. She¡¯s not an enemy, but a friend.

    And the name of Mumuroot-san was unexpectedly mentioned.

    I wonder what he was doing when he was young. ¦Ø

    =====

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    * (æª) ¨C (warawa) = Kagali has a weird way of calling herself which could also be interpreted as (æª) (sobame, mekake = Mistress, Concubine).

 Chapter 454 - Bear-san, Makes A Promise

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Makes A Promise</b></h4>

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll check it out. Just give me a minute.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to leave the room.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to check with Mumuroot-san¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How can we be sure? Are we going to head to Mumuroot¡¯s ce now?¡± (Kagali)

    Hmmm, I¡¯m going to check it on my bearphone, but I¡¯m curious how people normally do it.

    ¡°Not really, but the way we contact each other is confidential too, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t trust us? We¡¯ll keep your secret.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Right, I promised.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Shimasu¡± (Shinobu)<b>*</b>

    Is it my imagination, or does Shinobu seem to be the only one who speaks casually?

    But it¡¯s a hassle to be pursuedter or asked a lot of questions, so I also keep in mind the contract magic.

    I took out my bearphone and called Ruimin. After a while, I heard Ruimin¡¯s voiceing from the bearphone.

    ¡®Yuna-san?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Do you have a minute?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yes, it¡¯s okay. What¡¯s up?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked in azy voice from the bearphone.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see Mumuroot-san, is it okay if I go now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®My grandpa? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine. We¡¯re fishing right now.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    So they¡¯re out fishing somewhere.

    ¡®Oh right, do you eat fish too, Yuna-san? I just caught a big fish.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    While the members over here were worried anxiously about the giant snake ¡®Orochi¡¯, I could hear the joyful voice of Ruimin from the bearphone. Ruimin has always been so cheerful and happy.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, too. Then can you tell Mumuroot-san that I¡¯ming to see him now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yes, I understand. we¡¯ll go home now.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Sorry. But, if you could, could you tell him toe over to the sacred tree?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®The sacred tree?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Also, sorry about this, but there was some contract magic that you and Mumuroot-san had before, right? Can you ask Mumuroot-san to prepare that for me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®The contract magic?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, the one where if someone tells my secret, they will ¡®die¡¯.¡± (Yuna)

    I emphasized the word ¡°die¡± and nced at Shinobu.

    ¡®Oh, it¡¯s the contract that would make someone die of pain if they told anyone about Yuna-san, that one? Do you want to make a contract with someone?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, I have to tell them my secret, but there may be one person here who might tattle.¡± (Yuna)

    I nced at Shinobu again.

    ¡°So, can you prepare a contract spell that makes someone ¡®die¡¯ if they b?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Okay. I¡¯ll tell Grandpa and have him prepare it right away.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    The sound of Ruimin¡¯s voiceing from the bearphone was still cheerful. Even though she was talking about someone going to die.

    ¡°Sorry to disturb you on your fishing day.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®I can go fishing anytime I want. I¡¯m more than happy to hear from you, Yuna-san.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± (Yuna)

    I hung up the bearphone.

    Now, all we have to do is get to where Mumuroot-san is and we¡¯re set.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious about the fact that you were looking at me while saying something disturbing, but what was the voiceing from that strange tool?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It was a pretty girl¡¯s voice.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be talking to Mumuroot?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The voice you just heard just now is from Mumuroot-san¡¯s granddaughter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He¡¯s married and has a granddaughter?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°He has three grandchildren. But I don¡¯t know how many kids he has.¡± (Yuna)

    If he had other offspring, he would have even more grandchildren.

    ¡°Other than that, I¡¯ll ask what everyone wants to know? What is that bear-shaped thing?¡± (Shinobu)

    Everyone¡¯s eyes are drawn to the bearphone on my hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s a cute bear.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Foxes are prettier.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡® ¡®Ku~u ~ n¡¯ ¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed in rebuttal to Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°I love bears.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked happy at my words.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s that?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu went back to the topic and stared at my bearphone.

    ¡°It¡¯s a magical device that allows you to talk to people at a very far distance.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You have such a magic tool? Then, that means I can report immediately wherever I am? I want it too.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu tried to reach for the bearphone, so I put it away in the bear box to hide it.

    ¡°Aw ~¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m the only one who can use it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so? U~u, if I had such a useful magic tool, my work would be a lot easier.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked sad, but even if I gave one to Shinobu as a gift, she could only talk to me.

    But still, as expected, it¡¯s all about work for a ninja, right?

    ¡°But, Yuna-sama. You said earlier that you were going to meet him, but how are you going to meet Mumuroot-sama? Could it be that he is in a ce close to here?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What is that Mumuroot around here somewhere?!¡± (Kagali)

    Sakura¡¯s words cause Kagali-san to get up.

    ¡°He¡¯s not here. He¡¯s somewhere far away, I think.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know how far Targui traveled, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯re anywhere near the elven vige.

    ¡°So how do you propose we go see him?¡± (Sakura)

    By the bear gate. But first, I need to check something.

    ¡°I just want to make sure that it¡¯s okay to bring Mumuroot-san to the ind. Men lose their strength and can¡¯t move when they enter, right?¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a barrier on this ind that prohibits men from entering. There¡¯s no point in bringing Mumuroot-san here if he can¡¯t move.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, that is, if that Mumuroot that you know is the same as the Mumuroot in my story. As I said before, it was Mumuroot who created the ward that sealed the serpent, and that ward contains Mumuroot¡¯s magic power. While the wards are filled with Mumuroot¡¯s magic power, I simply ovepped a magic circle to ward off men. If it¡¯s the same person as the magic contained in the warding, it won¡¯t affect him. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get in. I have been waiting for more than a hundred years for Mumuroot toe.¡± (Kagali)

    Over a hundred years ago, was it possible to hold such romantic feelings that long?

    Kagali-san has good proportions, just like me in the future. It would not be surprising if something happened between her and Mumuroot-san.

    But Mumuroot-san has a wife, children, and grandchildren. But I guess it¡¯s safe to say that it happened before he got married?

    ¡°So it¡¯s okay to bring Mumuroot-san along then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah, no problem. Anyone who worked on that ward can enter, including Mumuroot. But I think Mumuroot is the only one who¡¯s still alive.¡± (Kagali)

    People can¡¯t live as long as elves. That¡¯s why the only person who can enter the wards will be Mumuroot-san.

    ¡°So, Yuna-sama, how will you bring Mumuroot-sama here?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°This one is my true secret. Since this time, many people¡¯s lives are at stake, and if Mumuroot-san is here, there is a chance that we can manage, right? So I¡¯ll tell you this secret too, but as I said before, please don¡¯t tell anyone. If you¡¯re true to your words, I want you to do contract magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you saying that if I tell anyone about Yuna-sama¡¯s secret, I will die?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯ll turn into a much bigger problem when certain people find out.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As I said earlier, I will not tell anyone. But if that¡¯s what assures you, then I will ept the contract magic.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Me too, I¡¯ll make any kind of deal if you can bring Mumuroot to me.¡± (Kagali)

    Sakura and Kagali-san did not even bother to think about it and agreed to the contract magic that I said would make them ¡®die¡¯.

    ¡°Are you sure about this? I¡¯m telling you, you could die.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not going to tell anyone in the first ce, so I won¡¯t die.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I am not a woman with such a loose mouth.¡± (Kagali)

    They¡¯re not afraid of the contract because they both feel that they will never speak of it.

    Then everyone¡¯s gaze turned to Shinobu who kept remaining silent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it. Yuna saved my life. Yuna is the one who will save this country. So if you want me to shut up, I won¡¯t tell anyone, no matter who asks. If they want me to talk, I¡¯ll die first.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My life belongs to you, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu held her heart with her right hand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want your life. I just want you to shut up.¡± (Yuna)

    After making everyone a promise, I pulled out the bear gate.

    ¡°A door came out.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Bear¡± (Shinobu)

    The three of them looked at the bear gate and gave out their impression.

    ¡°Opening this gate will lead you to the vige where Mumuroot-san lives.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then Mumuroot is behind this door.......¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san tried to open the gate.

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can open that door.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s the same with the magic tool that lets you talk to people from far away, but it can only be used by me.¡± (Yuna)

    While we were having that conversation, the bear phone stored in the bear box made a ¡®kuun¡¯, ¡®kuun¡¯, ¡®kuun¡¯ sound.

    I took out my bearphone.

    ¡®Yuna-san, we¡¯re near the entrance of the sacred tree.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m on my way, then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yes, we¡¯ll be waiting.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    I hung up the call again

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go, but make sure no one elsees. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, keep an eye on Shinobu, make sure she doesn¡¯t behave suspiciously.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡® ¡®Ku~u ~ n¡¯ ¡¯

    ¡°Why only me?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°......Just kidding.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible. How can you joke like that when I¡¯ve given my life to you to make you believe in me, Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked sad. I think I teased her a little too much.

    Anyway, I left the three of them to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and used the bear gate to get to the bear house in the sacred tree.

    =====

    Beyond the door is the bear house within the sacred tree area. After passing through the door is another room, and the three of them look surprised when they peek inside the door.

    ¡°Mumuroot is just up ahead.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san tried to move, but I stopped her.

    ¡°Because we¡¯re in an elven barrier and you might not be able to get in.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Wait for me there. I¡¯ll go get him.¡± (Yuna)

    I entered the bear gate and went to the bear house of the sacred tree.

    Then I went outside the sacred tree. Since the three people cannot enter inside the perimeter of the sacred tree, I went to pick up Ruimin and Mumuroot-san.

    When I walked outside of the sacred tree area, I saw Ruimin and Mumuroot-san.

    =====

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Ruimin looks like she¡¯s always having fun. w

    Next time, we will go see Mumuroot-san.

    ¡ù The next post will be dyed. Maybe......

    =====

    <b>Trantor¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>*</b>¡¸¤ª¼sÊø¤·¤Þ¤¹¡¹[o yakusoku shimasu] = Shinobu only copied <b>(¤·¤Þ¤¹)</b> of what Sakura said.

    =====

 Chapter 455 - Bear-san, Explains To Mumroot-san

    Bear-san, Exins To Mumroot-san

    .

    When I came out of the hole which was the entrance to the sacred tree, Ruimin came running up to me, looking happy. If she had a tail like Kagali-san, hers would be wagging like an excited puppy.

    ¡°Yuna-san, do you have time to eat today? I caught a big fish.¡± (Ruimin)

    She was so happy to have caught a big fish, she had a big smile on her face.

    ¡°Umu, I think it¡¯s a little impossible today. Sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    I want to have a meal together with her. But since Sakura and the others already knew about the bear gate, and considering the situation in the Land of Harmony, I need to weigh my priorities.

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s too bad.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin¡¯s expression darkens a little. If she had beast ears, they would have drooped.

    I saw Kagali-san¡¯s ears and tail not too long ago, so I can¡¯t help but think about that.

    ¡°Give me a call sometime and I¡¯lle by for a treat. Let me know if you catch anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a promise then.¡± (Ruimin)

    Oh, her ears and tail perked up. (In my image)

    After making a promise to Ruimin, I called out to Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Thank you foring, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, we¡¯re in your debt, please don¡¯t worry about it. So, contract magic is it? Is there someone you need to tell your secrets to, Missy?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Also, there¡¯s someone who wants to meet you, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To meet me?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot-san. Have you ever been to the Land of Harmony to help seal a demon called the Giant Serpent Orochi in the past? And do you know a fox woman named Kagali?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The Land of Harmony...... Orochi...... Seal ...... Kagali...... Fox woman......¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san pondered my words. It was hundreds of years ago, after all, so he can¡¯t seem to remember it easily. But gradually, his memory seems to being back, and his expression changes.

    ¡°Ah Orochi, now that brings back memories. There was such a thing.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san made a nostalgic voice.

    I guess it was him after all.

    ¡°But how did you know about it, Missy?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Well, I just came from the Land of Harmony, got information that Orochi was about to return, and got asked to defeat it? Reseal it? Then a fox woman named Kagali-san told me that an elf named Mumroot-san, who was an adventurer at the time, helped her seal the serpent, and I thought that Mumroot-san might be the same Mumroot-san I know of, so I contacted Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    I briefly told him the situation in the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°I see.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa, you did that?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That was when I was young. But still, the seal of Orochi will be released, you say? Kagali has protected the seal all this time, hasn¡¯t she?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So, I¡¯d like you toe with me to the Land of Harmony, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How far away is the Land of Harmony?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked.

    I wonder about that? I don¡¯t know the distance. While I was at a loss for an answer, Mumroot-san answered for me.

    ¡°It¡¯s far. Even back then, I just happened to stop by during my journey.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You¡¯ve been to such a faraway ce, Yuna-san. I¡¯d like to go there too.¡± (Ruimin)

    I happened to seend from Targui, so I stopped by and it just so happened to be the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°But how did you get involved in all that, Missy?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I had only dropped by the Land of Harmony for a while. Then my abilities were tested, a girl called me as the light of hope, and then, I ended up meeting a woman named Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    And now, we¡¯re in the current situation.

    Now that I think about it, I, the light of hope that Sakura saw, may have been a light of hope to bring Mumroot-san to them.

    Perhaps I¡¯m the only one who can bring Mumroot to them.

    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s easy to just ¡®drop by¡¯ there.¡± (Mumroot)

    It¡¯s abo of Targui and bear gate.

    ¡°Yea, I set up a bear gate on a moving ind, and it passed by the Land of Harmony, so that¡¯s how I just dropped by.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, is the ind really moving?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin seemed to be interested in the moving ind.

    ¡°There¡¯s an ind in the ocean that moves.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. The ocean, I¡¯d like to see it.¡± (Ruimin)

    I wondered if Ruimin had never seen the ocean before, so she was convinced by my words.

    I feel like I¡¯m tricking a pure girl.

    Ruimin knows about the bear gate and the bear¡¯s water walking skill. I can take her to Targui. It might be a good idea to take her and Fina next time.

    ¡°So, Missy. Just a little confirmation, is it possible toe and go from here?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yea, it¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    You can go back and forth as many times as you want.

    ¡°I really want to prepare various things, but first I have to hear from Kagali.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°All right, then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s one of my unfinished business. But it¡¯s better to solve it while I¡¯m still alive so I can spend the rest of my life without worry.¡± (Mumroot)

    Live the rest of your life without worry, you forgot about that, didn¡¯t you? And how long is the rest of your life? Even if I die, you¡¯ll still be alive, won¡¯t you, Mumroot-san?

    I wanted to say something in retort, but I held back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go meet Kagali.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san agreed toe to the Land of Harmony. Then, Ruimin opened her mouth.

    ¡°Yuna-san, can Ie with you?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have a serious fight, I think. So Ruimin should stay.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, having Ruimin around wouldn¡¯t help.

    ¡°I may not be able to do anything, but I want to help you and Grandpa.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin ...¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And I¡¯m more interested in that Kagali-san. Is she your old girlfriend, grandpa?¡± (Ruimin)

    Was that your real intention, perhaps?

    ¡°What are you talking about, Ruimin?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°My mother used to say when a man puts his life on the line, it¡¯s for the woman he loves.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Sh-, she¡¯s not my old lover. She was in trouble, so I helped her.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re stuttering.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That¡¯s what would happen to anyone if their grandchild said that to them. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d feel the same way, right? Missy?¡± (Mumroot)

    Don¡¯t ask me to agree with you. I don¡¯t have any children, let alone grandchildren. But I do understand what you mean.

    ¡°So it¡¯s okay for me to see Kagali-san, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°......Well, yeah, I guess.¡± (Mumroot)

    In the end, Mumroot-san looked like breaking the ice, and Ruimin decided toe with us.

    If a fight breaks out, I can send them home. We can also have Sakura temporarily taken to the elf vige and leave her in their care for a while. There should be enough time for that.

    I brought out a bear gate and opened the door to the bear gate where Kagali-san and the others were.

    =====

    When I opened the door, I saw Shinobu in front of me, being held down by Swaying Bear.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, I need help.¡± (Shinobu)

    I looked at Sakura and asked with my eyes, ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯

    ¡°Etto, after Yuna-sama entered the door, Shinobu, who was wondering, began to look into the door. I stopped her, but Shinobu said, ¡®just a little¡¯.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura imitated Shinobu¡¯s quips. She looks a little cute.

    ¡°So Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama stepped in to stop her, and this is what happened.¡± (Sakura)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made expressions of asking for praise.

    ¡°Thank you, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroked the heads of Swaying Bear, who was holding down Shinobu, and Hugging Bear, who was nearby.

    ¡°It¡¯s so heavy. Save me quickly.¡± (Shinobu)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re not heavy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s heavy. It¡¯s a bear. There¡¯s a bear on top of me. And you sound like you¡¯re worried about weight, is Swaying Bear a maiden?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Who knows?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know the genders of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But even men get upset if someone calls them fat. No one wants to bebeled as fat.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, you can let her go now.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear got off the top of Shinobu.

    ¡°It was heavy.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s Shinobu¡¯s fault.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura reprimanded her softly.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m curious. When she opens the door, she can go to other ces. It¡¯s mysterious.¡± (Shinobu)

    I can¡¯t help but understand that feeling. I was also impressed when I first saw and used magic.

    ¡°Missy, can wee in now?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Ah, sorry. You cane in.¡± (Yuna)

    Mumroot-san and Ruimin, who were at the other side of the bear gate, entered the bear gate.

    ¡°Mumroot?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali?¡± (Mumroot)

    Kagali-san slowly approaches Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Is it really you, Mumuroot?¡± (Kagali)

    She checked once more.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Do you know how many hundreds of years I¡¯ve been waiting for you? You fool!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s fist struck Mumroot-san on the chest. It¡¯s been hundreds of years since they¡¯ve seen each other. Maybe it¡¯s not the same as my idea of a reunion, but I can¡¯t even imagine what it feels like to see someone again after hundreds of years.

    ¡°Mumroot, Mumroot¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Mumroot)

    Kagali-san cried in Mumroot-san¡¯s chest.

    We waited quietly so as not to disturb their reunion.

    ¡°Have you calmed down?¡± (Mumroot)

    After a while, Kagali-san withdrew from Mumroot-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sakura and Shinobu, please forget about what just happened.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Shinobu)

    The two pretended not to see.

    They¡¯re both very kind people.

    ¡°So, is that pretty girl over there the granddaughter of Mumroot you were talking about earlier?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at Ruimin.

    ¡°Etto, yes. I¡¯m Ruimin.¡±

    Ruimin bowed a little and gave her name.

    ¡°You have a lovely granddaughter, she¡¯s just like you, Mumroot. My name is Kagali, and I was once taken care of by Mumroot a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°My name is Sakura. Ruimin-sama, pleased to meet you.¡±

    Kagali-san introduced herself, then Sakura also introduced herself after Kagali-san.

    ¡°Eh? -sama? Please, just Ruimin is fine.¡±

    Ruimin waved her hands broadly side to side, declining the honorifics.

    ¡°But you are the granddaughter of the one who helped us seal the serpent in the past. That¡¯s why I have to add it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m not great enough to be called that, so please don¡¯t call me that.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I see. Then may I call you Ruimin-san?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, then, in return, can I call you Sakura-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looks happy. Maybe she was happy to be called Sakura-chan.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shinobu. Ruimin, nice to meet you.¡±

    That greeting was light. But Ruimin didn¡¯t seem bothered by it.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to meet you. Shinobu-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    The introduction of everyone is now over.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Mumroot-san and Kagali-san have reunited.

    I feel at ease with Ruimin. w

 Chapter 456 - Bear-san, Listens To The Story Of The Past

    Chapter 456

    <strong>Bear-san, Listens To The Story Of The Past</strong>

    ¡°Even so, Mumroot. You¡¯ve gotten old.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since then. Generations of people havee and gone. If that much time had passed, even elves would physically age. You, on the other hand, have not changed at all.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Because I am young.¡± (Kagali)

    Herrge breasts jiggled like pudding.

    ¡°Anou, Kagali-san, you¡¯re not an elf, are you?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked.

    ¡°I am a fox.¡± (Kagali)

    After saying that, Kagali-san moves her ears and tail. Ruimin looked at it mysteriously.

    ¡°May I touch it?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let anyone touch it easily, but you¡¯re Mumroot¡¯s granddaughter, so you have special permission to touch them.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looked happy, but Sakura and Shinobu looked surprised.

    Unaware of their expressions, Ruimin started touching Kagali-san¡¯s fox ears and tail.

    ¡°It¡¯s so soft, fluffy, andfortable.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Because I¡¯m taking good care of it.¡± (Kagali)

    I want to touch them too.

    As if they noticed my feelings, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came rubbing themselves up against me from both sides.

    Just as I want to touch her, they want me to feel them.

    I took off the bear puppet and touched their bodies. They¡¯re soft, fluffy, andfortable.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin was satisfied and left Kagali-san¡¯s side.

    ¡°Ruimin-san is amazing. To ask such a thing from Kagari-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not a big deal?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case, but I¡¯m afraid that no one would ask Kagali-sama for that.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°In the past, Sakura would have begged me to touch it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That was when I was a little girl when I didn¡¯t even know Kagali-sama very well.¡± (Sakura)

    Am I the only one who still treats her as a child?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know anything about it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Fufu, I don¡¯t mind¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san smiled gently.

    ¡°Anyway, Mumroot. Put your face forward.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san put his face forward as Kagali-san told him to.

    Kagali-san caressed his face, gently touching it.

    Somehow it looks sensual.

    But just as I thought of that, I heard a pping sound in the room. It was Kagali-san pping Mumroot-san on the cheek.

    For a moment, Mumroot-san looked as if he didn¡¯t know what had happened.

    ¡°How dare you leave the country without me? Do you know how difficult it was for me after that incident? No one else but me was honored as a hero for sealing the serpent.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say goodbye to you?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You said, the night before I got the words of gratitude from the king, you wouldn¡¯t run away. I wasn¡¯t supposed to go alone there.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We were whimsical adventurers back then. We consulted with everyone and decided to run away. So it¡¯s not just me.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you take me with you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali is a native of thisnd. Besides, you had something to protect here, didn¡¯t you? So, after discussing it with everyone, we decided to slip away by ourselves. Even if we asked you, you would have refused anyway.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°......Yeah, but I wanted you to invite me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san puts his hand on Kagali-san¡¯s head, who¡¯s looking down and muttering.

    ¡°But since you¡¯re here, I forgive you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I also wanted to see you.¡± (Mumroot)

    The two looked at each other¡¯s faces and smiled.

    I will keep the fact that Mumroot-san forgot all about Kagali-san in the back of my mind. If I say such a thing, Kagali-san¡¯s thunder will strike. I am a woman who can read the atmosphere. However, some women couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Are? Grandpa. You forgot about that earlier.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin, I know you don¡¯t mean to offend, but please read the atmosphere.

    I couldn¡¯t make a follow-up, so Mumroot-san was beaten up by Kagali-san.

    =====

    ¡°So, Kagali. I heard from Missy that Orochi will be resurrected soon, is that true?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san asked while rubbing his reddened cheeks.

    ¡°Yeah, it is true, the magic circle you used for the seal is weakening, and soon the seal will be broken, and the serpent will return. You¡¯ve helped us before, but I will trouble you again.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san bowed her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. You¡¯re one of us. We fought together. Since you¡¯re in a ce where no one can¡¯t reach out, it can¡¯t be helped. But thanks to Missy here, I can reach out to you like this.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san takes Kagali-san¡¯s hand.

    ¡°So that means you¡¯ll help me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And with Missy here, we can make it.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looked at me.

    ¡°Who is that girl dressed as a bear, by the way? This door, Sakura¡¯s the light of hope, and she had brought you here when I thought I would never see you again.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°She saved my home, the elven vige. I know nothing about the door, and I couldn¡¯t tell anyone about it. That was my promise to her.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Well, then I shall not ask about the details. Let¡¯s think of it as a miracle.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°A miracle, indeed. I never thought I¡¯d see you again.¡± (Mumroot)

    They both looked at me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the matter about the serpent forter and start with my promise, Missy. So, Mumroot, let¡¯s perform the magic contract, shall we?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s a magic contract with Missy.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san unrolled a carpet from his item bag. A magic circle was drawn on it.

    The magic circle on the carpet was convenient.

    ¡°Etto, will I die if I tell anyone about Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s so painful; you¡¯ll dieughing.¡± (Ruimin)

    Shinobu asked Mumroot-san, who was getting things ready, but Ruimin, who was beside her, answered.

    ¡°Death byughter?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yes, you will die ofughter. If you try to tell others about Yuna-san¡¯s secret, you willugh so hard like there¡¯s no tomorrow, and if you still try, you will die.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin exined the word ¡°die¡± in a cheerful voice, just like she did when I called her earlier.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nasty way to die.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Were you going to tell anyone, by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Shinobu suspiciously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, so I won¡¯t talk about it. But isughter so painful?¡± (Shinobu)

    That can only be understood by those who have experienced and witnessed it.

    ¡°Well, Ruimin. Try telling my secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna.¡± (Ruimin)

    When I asked her to do so, she refused without hesitation.

    ¡°Etto, Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wholeheartedly refuse. After seeing my sister in such pain, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll try it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Certainly, when Sanya-san tried to talk in the experiment, she was in extreme pain.

    ¡°Etto, is it that painful?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°My sister was in great pain when she tried to talk. No one would try to talk after seeing that.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That much?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That much.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin imitates Shinobu¡¯s tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Shinobu. Just don¡¯t talk to anyone about it, and you¡¯re good.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, as long as you don¡¯t talk, there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± (Shinobu)

    At Sakura and Kagali-san¡¯s insistence, Shinobu promised to do the same.

    ¡°If so, there is no problem.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°...That¡¯s right.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°By the way, you can¡¯t write it down on paper or try tomunicate it in any way at all.¡± (Yuna)

    I gave her my advice.

    Then, three contracts were made by Mumroot-san.

    =====

    ¡°Now then, Mumroot. It¡¯ll be faster if you look at the seal yourself, and I¡¯ll also exin it to you as we walk. Follow me.¡± (Kagali)

    We walked out of the building.

    ¡°Are we in the forest?¡± (Yuna)

    Once we left the building, the immediate area around the building was cleared, but trees grew normally as we went further, making it look like a forest.

    ¡°This is the ind where you sealed the serpent.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, then I guess we can minimize the damage if we use this ce as a starting point and fight inrge numbers.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But that¡¯s not possible anymore.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san exined that she had put up a ward to prevent men from entering.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve put up a new ward on top of the seal you made, so when you break the ward, the seal you put up will be broken along with it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But if we¡¯re going to fight, either way, why not just undo both wards?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Because after the seal is lifted, the effect of men repellent will remain for a few days. If the serpent moves during that time, we will not be able to fight it here. If it heads for the city, the damage will be unimaginable.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So then why did you make such ward...¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, it is because of the thieves whoe to this ind.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Thieves? Just for that?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looked at Kagali-san for confirmation.

    ¡°......Shinobu, cover Sakura¡¯s ears and move away for a little.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Haissu¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Eh? Kagali-sama? Shinobu, what are you doing?¡± (Sakura)

    Shinobu pulled Sakura¡¯s hand, moved away, and covered her ears as Kagali-san told her. After confirming this, Kagali-san opened her mouth.

    ¡°At the time, many people knew that I was on this ind. And they thought she must be a gorgeous woman.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san strikes a sexy pose.

    Indeed, Kagali-san is a beautiful woman. She¡¯s well proportioned and has a lot of curves. That¡¯s me in a few years, by the way.

    ¡°There was a constant stream of theming to the indte at night anding to my bed.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You should have an escort.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Of course, I was given an escort, but if that escort also join in the assault, you wouldn¡¯t know who to trust.¡± (Kagali)

    I remembered how she was dressed when I met Kagali-san for the first time. If she were to go out in front of a man in that disheveled outfit, it would seem as if she was trying to seduce him.

    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t allowed at the time to keep men from entering the ind for that reason alone.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, if you think about it, she needs a man.

    ¡°But one thing led to another, and I got permission to put up the wards.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And that is?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°In the past, the king¡¯s younger brother hadmitted treason. He was an unpopr and helpless man, but he had a strong ambition. He tried to kill his brother and made many other ns, but they failed.¡± (Kagali)

    Oh, I knew that kind of history, such things can happen.

    ¡°So the stupid younger brother was guilty of treason and was sentenced to death. But what did he expect? The stupid younger brother tried to unseal the serpent and attempted to kill his brother along with the country¡¯s destruction. But the men who agreed with his absurd n arrived on the ind and it was all messed up at that time.¡± (Kagali)

    She talked about it as if it were a dark history.

    Desperation, I guess. It¡¯s the most troublesome aspect.

    He¡¯s probably saying, ¡°If I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m taking you down together with me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I got permission from the king to build wards on the ind to keep men out. In case the wards were broken, I made sure that they would remain in effect until I could re-erect them again.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But can only men do such things?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Men and women have different magical powers, so that¡¯s the judgment. Although, sometimes women have magical powers close to those of men, it doesn¡¯t matter if they don¡¯t enter this ind.¡± (Kagali)

    Indeed, if nobody enters the ind, she won¡¯t have any trouble in her life.

    In the first ce, Sakura said that Kagali-san¡¯s caretakers onlye to this ind asionally.

    ¡°So, what about the one that says only pure women can enter?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s appropriate, I just prevented adults from entering. That¡¯s why the age varies, but basically, you can¡¯t enter when you reach the age of 20.¡± (Kagali)

    And that¡¯s how her exnation about wards and seals goes.

    ¡°Is it okay to stop covering her ears now?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Ah, yeah, it¡¯s okay, because it wasn¡¯t something I could tell to the children.¡± (Kagali)

    With Kagali-san¡¯s permission, Shinobu removed her hand from Sakura¡¯s ear.

    ¡°U~u, what was that about? Why do you keep leaving me out?¡± (Sakura)

    Well, you can¡¯t talk to kids about night crawling.

    If she asked, ¡°What is night crawling?¡± There¡¯s no way I¡¯m exining it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you¡¯re older, so forgive me for now.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is Yuna-sama okay for adult stuff?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well, these three are just adults though.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said while looking away slightly.

    ¡°U~u, that¡¯s not fair.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura pouted her mouth and made a disappointed expression.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This time, Sakura¡¯s ears were properly covered, so she couldn¡¯t hear what was being said.

    At that time, Mumroot-san did not be a hero because he escaped.

    He might be simr to Yuna in that regard.

    =====

 Chapter 457 - Bear-san, Checks The Seal.

    <h4>Chapter 457</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Checks The Seal.</b></h4>

    Sakura didn¡¯t seem to be convinced by what Kagali-san said, but she made Kagali-san promise her, ¡°Please tell it to me when I grow up.¡±

    We walked along a paved path, surrounded by forest. No one was around, so it was quiet.

    Sakura is riding on Swaying Bear, and I am riding on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°So, where are we going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s the ce where the head of the serpent is sealed.¡± (Kagali)

    She said there are five locations of the seal, the four heads, and the body. We¡¯re heading for one of the sealed heads.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Kagali-san was the one who¡¯s managing the seal, right? Didn¡¯t you notice that the seal was weakening until Sakura noticed?¡± (Yuna)

    ording to my memory, Sakura¡¯s prediction said she noticed the seal weakening.

    ¡±That¡¯s.......¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was sleeping.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You were sleeping?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, Kagali-sama can go asleep for several days straight.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I am a fox, not a human. When I sleep, I sleep for days. And on the other hand, I can also stay awake for days. And this time, I drank too much and slept for a month.¡± (Kagali)

    A month?! Isn¡¯t that too much sleep? Also, getting dead drunk while on duty monitoring the giant snake.

    ¡°When we came to wake her up, she said, ¡®One more month¡¯.¡± (Sakura)

    One more month, she said. How much longer do you want to sleep?

    And she said that she had slept for several years in the past.

    So, are you really overseeing the condition of the seals?

    ¡°I can¡¯t say about the others, but I¡¯ve had my moments of peace too.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, if nothing happened for a few hundred years, that might be the case.

    <b>=====</b>

    After walking for a while, we saw a temple-like building simr to where Kagali-san stayed.

    ¡°In here.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san opened the door and went inside. Inside the building, there¡¯s an ample space and a staircase in the center. Kagali-san touched the magic stone on the wall, and the stairs lit up.

    ¡°Sakura and Shinobu......¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said their names, thought for a moment, and then looked at Ruimin.

    ¡°...And Ruimin, you three wait here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why? You didn¡¯t say that when I was here before.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Things have changed. It may not be pleasant to look at this time. In which case, bear girl, I don¡¯t think you should see it either, but if you really want to fight the serpent, you should look at it.¡± (Kagali)

    If it¡¯s disgusting, I don¡¯t want to see it either.

    ¡°Shinobu, keep an eye on Sakura and Ruimin to make sure they don¡¯t move from that spot.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please keep an eye on Sakura and Ruimin too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Well, I don¡¯t think the seal will suddenly be lifted, but just in case.

    Leaving the three behind, Mumroot-san and I descended the stairs with Kagali-san in the lead. As we descended the stairs, we found anotherrge space.

    ¡°That¡¯s the hole you guys dug.¡± (Kagali)

    Mumroot-san looked nostalgic. Perhaps it was a hole made by a fellow adventurer from those days.

    Kagali-san walked to the center and touched something that looked like a magic stone buried in the ground. Then arge magic circle appeared in the basement. The magic circle was several tens of meters in size. Then the magic circle glowed reddish-ck and started to sh slowly. The red-ck color looked disgusting.

    It¡¯s definitely not something I¡¯mfortable looking at.

    As I looked at the magic circle, I felt as if it had moved.

    Do magic circles move?

    I thought I imagined it, but I wasn¡¯t.

    Arge, ck, circr object inside the magic circle moved.

    I stood my ground.

    ¡°Is there something...?¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san immediately answered my question.

    ¡°It¡¯s the eye of the serpent. It res at you when youe near it.¡± (Kagali)

    The Eye of the Serpent?

    Their eyes glimmered and seemed to be watching us.

    The fact that she can tell those were eyes made me feel even worse. Surely I shouldn¡¯t let Sakura and the others see those. They might not be able to go to the bathroom at night alone.

    Its eyes scanned the area and stopped at a point. If I wasn¡¯t hallucinating, I am sure it¡¯s staring at Mumroot-san.

    But when Kagali-san touched the magic stone and channeled the magic power, the serpent¡¯s eyes slowly closed.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time to reach the limit. For now, I put my magic into it every day to hold it in ce, but the seal could be broken at any moment.¡± (Kagali)

    But if that¡¯s the eye now, how big is that giant snake?

    ¡°I¡¯ll look it up a little.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san walks toward the magic circle.

    ¡°Try not to provoke it.¡± (Kagali)

    Mumroot-san walked over the magic circle while checking it and asionally put his hand on it. He repeated that many times.

    ¡°It¡¯s a terrible situation. It seems I couldn¡¯t seal itpletely.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that we¡¯ve been able to seal it for hundreds of years. It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve lived in peace for so long that we haven¡¯t thought about what to do if something goes wrong, and now the bill hase due¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Remembering it gives me a headache. We¡¯re living in a barrier. And we were saved by Missy.¡± (Mumroot)

    In the case of Mumroot-san, the monster that had been sealed up was not revived. It¡¯s just that the monster got into a ce that people can¡¯t get into. And I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any way to deal with that.

    ¡°Peace cannot be maintained without doing anything. Samurai and soldiers keep security and protect against the threat of monsters. That way peace is maintained.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think a big threat like Orochi would be easy to deal with, would it?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°There was plenty of time to think. Yet, I and the people of the Land of Harmony, did not do so.¡± (Kagali)

    Indeed a few hundred years is plenty of time to think.

    ¡°But at the same time, a few hundred years is plenty of time to forget. As generations pass, the memory of those days fades and the sense of urgency disappears.¡± (Mumroot)

    I also don¡¯t understand what people mean when they talk about the war in the past. I know it¡¯s not good, but I don¡¯t know how much fear and suffering people felt back then, or how desperate they were.

    When ites to the Warring States period, I only know them like in a movie or in a story.

    ¡°I, who put up the wards to keep the men out, was one of those who didn¡¯t think anything of it. Because of that, we are losing our strength even before the fight. Mumroot, my desire to have you on the ind led me to put the seal and wards on top of each other.¡± (Kagali)

    Perhaps it was impossible to keep those she thought mighte to see her by entering the ward.

    Even if I parted from Fina, I would use it if there was a way to meet.

    ¡°The peaceful people of the Land of Harmony and my selfishness have brought us to today¡¯s situation. I¡¯m sorry you had to go through all this trouble yourself. I wish you would let me give you some advice. ¡®Don¡¯t do anything stupid¡¯.¡± (Kagali)

    If I had the same problem as Kagali-san, I would at least try to avoid people. The bear house was simr to that in a sense.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s important to protect yourself. But did you ever think of living in a castle or something?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°No matter how heroic I am, I¡¯m still just a fox who has lived for hundreds of years. I can¡¯t stay in the same ce. Only a few people knew about me. If I stay in the castle, some people will think I¡¯m crazy. Besides, I feel morefortable alone.¡± (Kagali)

    In other words, you¡¯re a hikikomori just like me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I¡¯ve caused Mumroot. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I don¡¯t mind if you rely on me, And I¡¯ll help you as much as I can.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I appreciate it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san smiled happily.

    Hey, I¡¯m here too. Do you think it would be wrong if I told her that?

    ¡°So, Mumroot-san. Are we going to be able to manage?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Mumroot-san, who¡¯s examining the magic circle while listening to Kagali-san¡¯s story.

    ¡°As Kagali said, the seals and wards are intricately intertwined. If we break one ward, all the connected seals will be broken.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot, can¡¯t we break the seals one at a time? If it¡¯s one at a time, I think we can manage with less effort.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There is a way, but we¡¯ll have to wait and check the other seals before we know if it¡¯s possible.¡± (Mumroot)

    <b>=====</b>

    We walked up the stairs and came back to where Sakura and the others were.

    The three of them were resting, leaning against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Then we went to the second and third magic circles in the basement where the big snake was sealed.

    ¡°One more head, then the body.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So, Mumroot-sama. Do you think we can manage?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If we do anything to it, there is a good chance we¡¯ll break the seal. The only way to reseal it is to weaken Orochi¡¯s power once and for all. So I¡¯m talking to Kagali, and we¡¯re trying to figure out a way to deal with it one head at a time.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Is it possible?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°We think we can get by with temporarily strengthening the wards at the other sealing points. However, in the meantime, we need to weaken one of the heads and seal it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°How much time do we have?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°We don¡¯t know how much power Orochi has umted, so we don¡¯t know how much time we have. It¡¯s a race against time. The only question is the strength of the force. Is it just me and Missy after all......¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°They¡¯ve been collecting them at the castle, but I can¡¯t count on them because of the wards.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If the seal is broken. Soldiers are supposed to gather near the harbor. Also...¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at Sakura with some difficulty.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s been suggested that we put a wizard on the ship to guide the serpent away from thend.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Does that mean they¡¯ll fight from the ship?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s just a way to lure it away from the country.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then the ship is.......¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They won¡¯t make it back alive. If the serpent attacks, the ship will sink.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then, that means.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a suicidal move.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t know anything about that.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It was done in secret to keep Sakura-sama from worrying. But, ording to Sakura-sama¡¯s prediction, nothing has changed after that. That¡¯s why the king thinks it will fail. But the others are going ahead with it as ast resort.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it that way.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If we fail here, the serpent will turn towards the Land of Harmony anyway.¡± (Shinobu)

    If Sakura¡¯s prediction was correct, there was little hope of sess.

    ¡°And in doing so, it could go to another country. I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re forcing the disaster of our country on another country.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how Sakura feels, but the higher-ups have to think about protecting their people first, before other countries. If Suou makes such a decision, you can¡¯t me him.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°............¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯ll do my best not to let them do that.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san puts her hand on Sakura¡¯s depressed head.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked up and replied.

    I don¡¯t want it toe to the town of Mereera, so I want to subdue it here.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    After confirming the seal, the battle with Orochi is about to begin soon.

    <b>¡ù</b> The next post will be posted 4 dayster.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 458 - Bear-san, Sensing The Signs Of The Serpentâ€™s Resurrection

    <h4>Chapter 458</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Sensing The Signs Of The Serpent¡¯s Resurrection</b></h4>

    We finished checking the fifth seal. Considering the distance between each seal, the serpent is gigantic.

    Might as well think that it has the size to match a Kraken.

    ¡°Now then, Mumuroot, is it possible to temporarily strengthen the seal?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san asks Mumuroot-san who had finished checking all the seals.

    ¡°If we can set up a magic circle and have the magic stones needed for it, we can temporarily strengthen it. But as I said earlier, I don¡¯t know how much time we can buy.¡± (Mumuroot)

    ¡°Fufu, if we can extend it even by one or two, we¡¯ll be happy. I simply hope it won¡¯t be zero.¡± (Kagali)

    Certainly, at zero, the possibility of defeating it will be on the lower side. But if we can gain even a little time to seal it, the chances of defeating it will increase.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to go back to the vige and make some preparations if you don¡¯t mind.¡± (Mumuroot)

    I pulled out a bear gate and opened the door to the elven vige.

    ¡°I¡¯m off, then.¡± (Mumuroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I will also help grandpa.¡± (Ruimin)

    As Ruimin tried to follow Mumuroot-san, Sakura called out to her.

    ¡°Ruimin-san. I¡¯m d to meet you. Will youe again?¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin nced at me.

    ¡°Sure, why not. After dealing with the giant snake, I¡¯ll bring Ruimin here again.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura looked happy at my words.

    ¡°Ruimin. I¡¯ll close the door after you pass through. Call me when you¡¯re ready.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin entered the bear gate with Mumuroot-san leading the way. Ruimin gave a slight wave to Sakura, who waved back. After confirming that the two of them were done giving farewells, I closed the door and put away the bear gate.

    <b>=====</b>

    ¡°It¡¯s a really mysterious door.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Indeed, if I could open that door, I would not hesitate to do so¡±. (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can open it.¡± (Yuna)

    To be precise, it can only be opened by my bear puppet.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just leave it open then?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave it open because it consumes magical power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, all this must be quite draining on your magical power.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Too bad.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, in reality, it¡¯s not a significant drain on my magical power, but I really can¡¯t leave it open indefinitely.

    ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s get into action, shall we? Shinobu. You take Sakura and head back. Report to Suou about this. Go!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Roger. But what about the content of the report? I¡¯ll exin to His Majesty the King that Mumroot-san will set up a reinforced barrier, right? But the door that can take you anywhere is a secret, right? I can¡¯t exin why or how Mumroot-san got here. If I tell him about the door, I¡¯ll die.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks at the ce where the bear gate was earlier.

    Certainly, if Mumroot-san is going to set up reinforced barriers, she will have to report to the king. When will we fight? What should we do with our forces? We cannot decide how the fight will go by ourselves.

    It¡¯s a major battle for the whole country.

    The only question is how much of an asset they will be in the fight against the giant snake.

    As far as I¡¯m concerned, I don¡¯t mind as long as they¡¯re going to be an asset, but if they¡¯re going to be a liability, they might as well not be there.

    I don¡¯t want to see people die in front of me. But that doesn¡¯t mean I will let them fight by themselves.

    In the worst-case scenario, they might really have to lead it by ship and move away from the country. Maybe they will go to an uncharted ind where no one lives.

    ¡°For the time being, let¡¯s just pretend that Mumroot came by ident.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said something eptable as if she had be too tired to think.

    As a matter of fact, it¡¯s hard to exin Mumroot-san¡¯s presence because of the contract magic.

    ¡°That bear girl must havee to this country by chance as well. There¡¯s nothing wrong with a coincidence of that magnitude. Or tell them that he wanted to see his beautiful lover for the first time in hundreds of years.¡± (Kagali)

    Sure, Kagali-san is beautiful, but it¡¯s pretty impressive that she can say that for herself. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s been told this many times by many people. Well, it¡¯s a story of a world far from me.

    Ipared my chests with Kagali-san¡¯s.

    As expected, men do like big breasts after all.

    ¡°Then, if you are asked, Kagali-sama, please give a proper exnation.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°For now, just tell Suou about Mumuroot. If you tell him it¡¯s from me, we can do anything. I know about 100 or 200 of his weaknesses, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Kagali)

    That sounds reassuring, doesn¡¯t it?

    And about 100 or 200 of your weaknesses, King, you¡¯re too vulnerable.

    But if she knew the king since he was a little boy, that much might not be surprising.

    Leaving such anxiety behind, Shinobu and Sakura had to leave.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send you back then.¡± (Yuna)

    We came here on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I have to take them back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble.¡± (Sakura)

    There¡¯s still some time before Mumuroot-san returns. I won¡¯t bete to return to the ind after getting contacted by them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send Sakura off then, but I¡¯ll be right back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re a mysterious girl, really. On top of it, you¡¯re dressed so strangely.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-san is also dressed like a fox, so we both know what to wear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am a real fox!¡± (Kagali)

    Her ears perked up.

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed as if trying topete with her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re real bears either!¡± (Kagali)

    Laughter broke out from the surroundings.

    No one would look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and think they¡¯re not bears, right?

    ¡°Fufu, let¡¯s go then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you halfway.¡± (Kagali)

    Sakura and Shinobu ride on Hugging Bear, while Kagari and I ride on Swaying Bear.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite a nice ride, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°What?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s a given, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re a cheeky bear, you know that? Well you¡¯re fluffy, I¡¯ll give you that, but you can¡¯t beat my tail.¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°What did you say?¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°Mine is better than yours!¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    We headed along the coast while listening to Swaying Bear and Kagali-san arguing.

    <b>=====</b>

    When the coast came into view, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear raised their heads and cried, ¡°ku~u ~~~ n¡±!

    ¡°What is it!?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura, who¡¯s riding Hugging Bear, was surprised. I saw the reaction of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s reaction and immediately used my detection skills.

    Volss?

    My detection skills caught a Volss flying around. There¡¯s even a reaction of a wyvern, although it¡¯s still further away.

    It¡¯s like when I was on Targui. How many wyverns were there in this world?

    And more than just Wyvern¡¯s reaction, I was surprised by another thing on the disy.

    What¡¯s that?

    The reaction of the giant snake is blinking slowly with ¡®Chika... Chika... Chika¡¯ sound. It continuously appears and disappears on the disy.

    Was it because the seal was about to break? Or was the seal already broken?

    Which one is it?

    I don¡¯t have the information to make a decision right now, and I don¡¯t have the time to think about it.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-sama, Hugging Bear-sama, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Monsters are approaching¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What did you say?¡± (Kagali)

    They aren¡¯ting towards us, but I get the feeling that they are gathering somewhere.

    ¡°This direction is.......¡± (Yuna)

    The ce where the giant snake is sealed?

    I look in the direction where the monsters are gathering. It¡¯s definitely the ce where the giant snake is sealed.

    ¡°Kagali-san, just to confirm. At that time, when the giant snake appeared, did other monsters gather there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m sure, other monsters showed up, too. It was as if they were drawn to the serpent. The serpent was eating the monsters that came to it.¡± (Kagali)

    Could it be that it¡¯s attracting monsters as its meal?

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Monsters are gathering in the area where the giant snake¡¯s seal is.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± (Kagali)

    And not just in one ce.

    I have a bad feeling about this.

    We should head out to defeat the monsters right now.

    But I can¡¯t just leave Sakura here.

    I could ask Hugging Bear to carry them to the other side, but if they were to be attacked at sea, it would be too dangerous to fight back while carrying them.

    Needless to say, the other safest ce right now is at the other side of the bear gate.

    ¡°Sakura, use the door to get to Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    I once again brought out the bear gate and opened the door to the elven vige.

    ¡°Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura was puzzled by the suddenness of the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get back to you once the monsters are defeated and it¡¯s safe to proceed. Just get in for now.¡± (Yuna)

    I pushed Sakura into the bear gate.

    ¡°What about you Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you too. Based on what you said, Yuna, you¡¯re heading to the sealed area, right? Then you should have as many hands as possible.¡± (Shinobu)

    Only Sakura was able to go beyond the bear gate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send Ruimin to pick you up, so don¡¯t move from there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I, I understand. Please be careful, everyone.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura also knew that she would be a liability here, so she didn¡¯t say anything stupid, like staying.

    <b>=====</b>

    I closed the door, took out my bearphone, and called Ruimin. I could hear her voice immediately.

    ¡®Yuna-san?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin, I sent Sakura over there. Go pick her up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®What happened?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Monsters have gathered. I sent Sakura over there to keep her safe until we can defeat those things.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Monsters!?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a sign that the seal is about to be broken, so have Mumuroot-san hurry up with the preparations.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®I understand.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    I hung up the bearphone call.

    <b>=====</b>

    ¡°So, bear girl. Do you know what¡¯s going on with the monsters?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°They seem to be gathering near the first seal we went to.¡± (Yuna)

    Some are gathering at other locations, but that¡¯s where the most concentration is.

    ¡°Then we¡¯d better get moving.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san and I rode out on the Swaying Bear, and Shinobu rode out on the Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Damn it, just when I thought Mumuroot was going toe and take care of things, the monsters started gathering.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But thanks to Yuna¡¯s detection, we were able to spot the monsters immediately. We were able to get Sakura-sama to a safe ce. All we have to do is prevent the monsters from attacking. If we do that, Mumroot-san will strengthen the seal for us.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. All we have to do is defeat the monsters as quickly as possible.¡± (Kagali)

    Our goal is to defeat the monsters.

    Then, have Mumroot-san reinforce the seal, and then all that¡¯s left would be defeating the heads of the giant snake one by one.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    And with that, the Great Serpent Arc ising to an end.

    Reservations for 9 volumes of books (scheduled to be released on March 30) are now avable for pre-order.

    The covers are Yuna and Ruimin. 029 sensei¡¯s drawing of Ruimin is very cute.

    I also wrote four SS for the bonus content.

    Please wait a little longer for the contents.

    I¡¯ll let you know as soon as I decide where to distribute them.

    The next post will be 3-4 dayster.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 459 - Bear-san, Protects The Seal

    <h4>Chapter 459</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Protects The Seal</b></h4>

    As we were running towards the ce where the seal was, Kagali-san, riding on Swaying Bear, looked up and shouted.

    ¡°Is that a wyvern?!¡± (Kagali)

    A wyvern was circling in the sky as if looking for something.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that one.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m getting ten reactions just barely within the detection skill range.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s that little ck bird-like creature?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s a Volss!¡± (Kagali)

    It looks like a ck crow-like avian flying in the distance to the naked eye, but Kagali-san¡¯s eyes seem to be able to recognize the Volss. Is it because foxes have good eyesight? Or is it because she is Kagali-san?

    ¡°There¡¯s too many of them.¡± (Kagali)

    Wherever they came from, swarms of Volss are gathering on the ind. My detection skills are getting several times more responses than the wyverns.

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re fighting against the wyverns.¡± (Yuna)

    In the sky, wyverns and Volss seem to be domineering each other as if in a turf war. The wyverns and Volss are fighting and moving to the ce where the serpent was sealed

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped.

    ¡°What are the bears saying?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The monsters are gathering at the locations of each seal, so which way do we go first?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°All 5 ces!?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but it seems only where the heads are sealed.¡± (Yuna)

    I checked with my detection skills again, but they weren¡¯t gathering around where the body was sealed.

    ¡°Is it perhaps because of food?¡± (Shinobu)

    That¡¯s what I thought too.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s food, it can¡¯t eat if it¡¯s sealed.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Perhaps the seal may be about to be broken.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we still have a few more days?¡± (Kagali)

    It was close to when the seal would be broken, but when I came, somehow the unsealing was elerated.

    It¡¯s not my fault, is it?

    But the words that came out of Kagali-san¡¯s mouth were different.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s Mumroot¡¯s fault. I had a feeling the serpent¡¯s eyes were fixated on Mumroot when he checked the seal.¡± (Kagali)

    Those creepy eyes. Thinking back, I¡¯m pretty sure it was reacting to Mumroot-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that the serpent reacted to his magic. The same magic that sealed it away for so many years hase. Maybe it¡¯s angry inside the seal. The seal weakened further, and it summoned the monsters.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said one of the possibilities of why the monsters havee to the ind.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying if Mumroot-san hadn¡¯te, the monsters wouldn¡¯t havee either?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but sooner orter, the seal was supposed to be broken. It just happened a bit earlier.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s the easy answer, but we¡¯re not preparing for anything like this.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If Mumroot hadn¡¯te here, there wouldn¡¯t have been any talk of strengthening the seal. It doesn¡¯t matter either way. In any case, all we have to do is defeat the monsters thate, protect the seal, and hold on until Mumrootes back to strengthen the seal.¡± (Kagali)

    To put it simply, it¡¯s exactly what Kagali-san says.

    Without Mumroot-san, we wouldn¡¯t be talking about strengthening the seal and we would have just waited for the seal to break with no n whatsoever.

    But thanks to Mumroot-san, we can now temporarily strengthen the seal.

    There were some disadvantages, but overall, the advantages were more significant.

    However, to do so, we here alone must defeat the gathering wyverns and Volss and protect the seal.

    ¡°But four ces, it would be troublesome. There are only three of us.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at me and Shinobu.

    She doesn¡¯t even know what I¡¯m capable of, but I¡¯m one of the best in the world.

    Did she believe what Sakura and Mumroot-san said?

    ¡°Perhaps we¡¯ll fight Wyvern and Volss by ourselves?¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu gave a troubled look.

    ¡°If we do not fight, the seal will be broken and the serpent will return.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes, but what are we going to do with four locations? Even if each of us protects one, what about the fourth one?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re in a pinch. But there is no time to think about it. Those of us who have finished in our area will have to rush into thest one.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed at Shinobu and Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°What?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°They said they¡¯re also here.¡± (Yuna)

    If we consider Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as one fighting force, we can protect four locations simultaneously. The monsters were Volss and Wyverns. Swaying Bear had fought them before. It¡¯s not an opponent they can¡¯t beat.

    I¡¯m anxious to leave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I have to stop the giant snake froming back for now.

    ¡°The two on the right will be taken by me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    If they¡¯re nearby, I can run over to them right away.

    ¡°You¡¯re letting the bears fight?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If it¡¯s just a normal monster, there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Normal monsters? Those are wyverns, you know.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°They¡¯ve fought wyverns in the past, so they¡¯ll be fine. And I¡¯ll back them up as soon as I¡¯m done with mine.¡± (Yuna)

    I have to defeat those monsters quickly and join Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Well, if these bears can fight, we¡¯ll just have to leave it to them. We don¡¯t have time toe up with something else.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. No matter how hard we think about it, the number of people won¡¯t increase. Now we should defeat the monsters as soon as possible. Then, I¡¯ll go to the leftmost side.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu jumped off Hugging Bear and ran very fast.

    She looks like a ninja.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take the second from the left. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. If I get rid of those things sooner, I¡¯ll rush to your side, so don¡¯t overdo it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san called out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear then started running.

    Her tail wagged from under the clothes on her back.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Those are Volss and Wyvern, but be careful of the poison in the Volss¡¯ beak and the Wyvern¡¯s sharp ws. The wyvern¡¯s ws are also sharp, so the two of you must work together to fight them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    ¡°Well then.......¡± (Yuna)

    As I worried about them, the ribbons on the necks of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started to glow.

    Bearmonites?

    They both seem to be saying, ¡°We have bearmonites, so we¡¯ll be fine¡±.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re getting stronger, but you still have to be careful.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squeal like they want to tell me they know what they¡¯re doing.

    It¡¯s the way parents worry about their children.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I¡¯m done with my side.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear replied and ran off together.

    Finally, I, thest one on the team, also head to the ce of the seal I¡¯m in charge of.

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that I would rush to them as soon as I could, but my location had thergest concentration of monsters. I could¡¯ve chosen the ce with the least number of monsters by using my detection skills, but I didn¡¯t know the full extent of the abilities of Shinobu and Kagali-san, so I couldn¡¯t push it to them. That¡¯s why I took it for myself.

    =====

    When I came to the seal location, I saw Volss and Wyverns flying around, swarming the building.

    Even though I chose it myself, it¡¯s still a bad pick.

    When I appeared, the Volss opened their characteristic red beaks and began to shriek.

    Dozens of Volss shrieked in unison, it¡¯s so damn noisy.

    I made a de of wind fly to silence them.

    That was the signal for the battle to begin.

    The Volss recognized me as an enemy and attacked me. Even the wyverns joined in. There were four wyverns. My side has the most wyverns than the others, counting in the Volss as well.

    But two of the wyverns were just flying overhead, so they could probably go elsewhere.

    I really want to attract them all to me, but I hope the wyverns in the sky won¡¯t go anywhere.

    I made sure that the Volss and wyverns near the ground did not get too close to the building, so I used my wind de to kill them.

    It¡¯s a bit of a messy fight because I have to avoid hitting the building.

    If something happened to the building and the seal broke, it would be a big problem.

    I slew the Volss while being careful of the building containing the seal. asionally, I would attack a nearby wyvern, drawing it to me.

    However, neither Volss nor Wyvern wanted to leave the building as I expected.

    Even if I pull them away from the building, the other Volss and Wyverns will start a turf war for the building.

    If I didn¡¯t have to worry about the building, I¡¯d wipe them out with wide-area magic.

    As I summoned the wind de to deal with the Volss gathering around the building, a wyvern pped its wings behind the Volss and blew the wind de.

    Both Volss and wyvern attacked me.

    I put up a wall of earth to block it. At the other side of the wall, where I couldn¡¯t see, I heard the sound of a wyvern¡¯s attack causing a Volss to fall to the ground. I grabbed my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knives and jumped out from this side of the wall.

    The wyvern came out and fired wind des at me. I swung my body from side to side to dodge the wind des. The wind des left marks on the ground.

    I closed the gap with the wyvern in one fell swoop and shed it with my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knives.

    That¡¯s one.

    Just when I thought that another Volss and a wyvern fought near the building, the wyvern¡¯s attack hit the building, destroying a part of it.

    ¡°Wha-.¡± (Yuna)

    I quickly fired an air bullet to dislodge the wyvern from the building, but another wyvern took out the Volss and stood on the roof of the building.

    It shrieked loudly as if to say that this ce belongs to it.

    I don¡¯t want to wreck the building any more than that since I don¡¯t know what effect the seal will have. However, I want to defeat the monsters and get to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as soon as possible.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Can everyone keep the seal of the serpent? (Please refrain from making predictions in thement section (dryugh)) <b>(TN:</b> That¡¯s the author, not me. I actually want to know your predictions.<b>)</b>

    <b>¡ù</b> It is only two weeks before the book is released andicalized. I¡¯m looking forward toicalize.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 460 - Swaying Bear and Hugging Bearâ€™s Battle

    <h4>Chapter 460</h4> <h4><b>Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s Battle</b></h4>

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 1:</b>

    This is a battle of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Feel free to convert the `Ku~u ~ n¡¯ in your brain ughs).

    <b>=====</b>

    By the time Yuna reached the seal of the serpent, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had also arrived at the location of the seal.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried at the same time. Apparently, for their master, Yuna, they werepeting to see who would arrive first.

    But unfortunately, there was no one here to witness the match, so nobody could tell who had arrived first. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rubbed each other¡¯s bodies and admitted they were tied.

    Besides, this isn¡¯t the time to be fighting about it. In front of them, there was a wyvern eating a Volss. Looking up, a wyvern can be seen threatening another Volss.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tighten their faces.

    The instructions from their master, Yuna, were to protect the seal in the building from the Volss and the Wyverns, and not to be reckless. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear know that if they get hurt, their master, Yuna, will be sad, so they will try to achieve their goals without getting hurt.

    When Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear appeared in front of the feasting wyvern, the wyvern raised its head and growled. The wyvern raises its head and growls, seemingly angry at being interrupted from eating.

    However, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear showed no signs of fear and countered with a `Ku~u ~ n¡¯ roar.

    The wyvern swallowed the flesh of the Volss and took a step towards Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, opening its mouth as if it had found its next prey.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear put strength into their paws and get into a fighting stance.

    The wyvern pped its wings and flew into the sky. The wyvern then circled above Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, glided over them in one motion, and attacked them with its sharp-wed talon. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear split off to the left and right to dodge the wyvern¡¯s attack.

    After dodging the attack, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear attacked the wyvern that hade down to the ground. However, the wyvern quickly pped its wings and dodged the attacks of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear looked frustrated.

    Since they¡¯re on the ground, they¡¯re helpless to do anything about the flying wyverns. A few Volss also attacked Swaying Bear.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear waved his arms and opened his mouth wide to intimidate the clinging Volss.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear called for Hugging Bear, but Hugging Bear was also under attack from another wyvern.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear put all his energy into it. Then, the bearmonite in the ribbon on his chest glowed. Then, he swung his arm down, and a de of wind flew out from the tip of his w, slicing Volss to pieces.

    Then, when he tried to go to Hugging Bear¡¯s side to help him, the fleeing wyvern attacked Swaying Bear.

    The bears have created a tag-team style one on one formation against the wyverns.

    But there are still some Volss, though not many.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear deal with the wyverns while wary about the Volss.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear then joined forces, fighting the wyverns.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turned their butts to each other and protected their backs.

    The two wyverns start circling above Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They seem to be trying to time their attack.

    As Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were waiting to see what would happen, a wyvern attacked them from above.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear positioned themselves so that the wyverns woulde from the front.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s ribbons glow. Under the influence of the bearmonite, their physical abilities increased. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started running towards the oing wyvern.

    When they crossed with each other, the sharp ws of the wyvern attacked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear used their bear ws to attack the wyvern.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s ws slightly graze the wyvern, and blood flows from the wyvern¡¯s body. The wyvern lets out an angry shriek `gyagya¡¯.

    While Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were fighting to gain the upper hand against the wyverns, the Volss tried to destroy part of the building. In addition, other Volss were gathering on top of the building.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear needed to protect the building that houses the seal.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear discussed with each other.

    Their master, Yuna, asked them to protect the building where the seal was located. So they need to defeat the monsters.

    They set their priorities.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear finished their discussion. It was decided that Swaying Bear would deal with the wyverns and Hugging Bear would protect the building.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    After squealing at each other, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran off.

    Hugging Bear knocked down Volss trying to enter the building, then jumped and climbed up to the roof of the building to attack another Volss. The Volss flew away into the sky.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    After escaping from Hugging Bear, Volss flew through the air and began to circle around the building. Hugging Bear stood, waved his arms, and sent a de of wind flying from his ws, ying Volss to the ground.

    While Hugging Bear was protecting the building from Volss, the battle between Swaying Bear and the Wyverns had begun.

    The wyverns attacked from above them while Swaying Bear waited below.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear roared at the wyvern.

    Then the wyvern pped its wings and sent a gust of wind. Swaying Bear ran on the ground. The wyvern chased the fleeing Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear flipped and jumped towards the oing wyvern. Swaying Bear swung his ws down at the wyvern.

    The wyvern pped its wings and flew upward, dodging Swaying Bear¡¯s ws that it thought would hit it. At thest moment, Swaying Bear¡¯s attack failed to connect.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bearnded on the ground and looked frustrated.

    He put magic power into his body and swung his arm toward the hovering wyvern, and a de of wind flew from his ws.

    But the wyvern dodged it. Swaying Bear didn¡¯t care and kept firing the wind des one after the other.

    As the wyvern tried to flee from Swaying Bear¡¯s wind de, there was something white attacking from behind it.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear had attacked the wyvern from the top of the building. Hugging Bear¡¯s sharp ws tore at the wyvern¡¯s wings. The wind de that Swaying Bear had been firing non-stop had guided the wyvern towards the building. There, Hugging Bear attacked it from the top of the building. Since the attack was from behind, the wyvern could not notice and was struck by Hugging Bear¡¯s attacks.

    The wyvern was also hit by Swaying Bear¡¯s attack and was knocked to the ground. The wyvern tried to get up and run away, but Hugging Bear buried his ws into the wyvern¡¯s neck.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    The tag team of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear defeated the wyvern.

    All that remained was a single wyvern and a few Volss. But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had aplete advantage.

    <b>=====</b>

    By the time Yuna, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear arrived at the building where their respective seals were located, Kagali had also arrived at her assigned building.

    I have to finish this quickly and get to the bears.

    I¡¯m worried about Shinobu and the bear girl, but I¡¯m most concerned about the bears. Mumroot is counting on that bear girl to be a force to be reckoned with. Her power is unknown. She may look strange, but even Shinobu and Sakura approve of her.

    And I know Shinobu. She¡¯s a bit goofy, but she¡¯s a serious girl at heart. She is a pupil of Jubei, and she is a girl of some ability. But if you ask me if she¡¯s a top-notch fighter, I¡¯d say she¡¯s not. However, considering her age, she is strong enough. She can handle a wyvern. The question is, how many wyverns can she take? If there are more of them, the situation could get worse.

    The same can be said for the Bear Girl and her bears. Every ce has its own concerns. I must defeat those monsters quickly and rush to the other ces.

    The Volss were flying around the building, and two wyverns flew above it.

    ¡°Firstly, the Volss are in the way.¡± (Kagali)

    One of the Volss ising towards me.

    ¡°Bonfire! ze!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali used the magic power she had gathered in her hands to spew a ball of me, a bonfire. Surrounded by the bonfire, Volss fell to the ground, screeching.

    The other Volss reacted to the screech and turned their heads to Kagali.

    ¡°I¡¯ll roast you, soe on.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali roasted the attacking Volss.

    It would be nice if they could leave the building ande to me. I can¡¯t use the bonfire if they¡¯re in the building.

    And as she was steadily baking the Volss, arge bird came down from the sky with great speed and started eating the Volss that Kagali had baked. Two wyvernsnded on the ground.

    I¡¯m grateful that you¡¯reing to me.

    ¡°Bonfire!¡± (Kagali)

    She shot a bonfire at the wyvern that was eating Volss, but its wings prevent it.

    Disturbed from its meal, the wyvern growls and turns its face towards Kagali.

    It got annoyed that its meal was interrupted.

    Well, even Kagali would be angry if she was interrupted while she was having a drink.

    The wyvern stopped eating. Spreading its wings, it pped them.

    The pping wings shot a de of wind at Kagali. Kagali dodged by turning herself around. At the same time, she retaliated by shooting a bonfire, but it was blocked by the hard leather wings.

    As expected, it¡¯s not as effective against the Volss.

    I don¡¯t want to use too much power, taking into ount the serpent in mind.

    If the building got destroyed or the seal was broken, it would be a disaster.

    Besides, defeating the monsters here won¡¯t be the end of it.

    The bear girl, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Shinobu are fighting elsewhere. If the seal is broken in any one ce, it¡¯s over.

    Kagali put more energy into her body. The clothes around her hips flutter. A new tail emerged from beneath her clothes, forming two tails.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve done this, and it¡¯s exhausting.¡± (Kagali)

    She wagged her tail to make sure everything was okay.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get on with it, shall we?¡± (Kagali)

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 2:</b>

    The battle began in their respective ces.

    After all, it¡¯s better to have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear together than separately.

    Kagali¡¯s tail has increased.

    It looks like there will be more toe!

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 461 - Shinobu and Sakuraâ€™s Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 461</h4> <h4><b>Shinobu and Sakura¡¯s Thoughts</b></h4>

    =====

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 1:</b>

    I¡¯m sorry for the dy.

    This will be from Shinobu and Sakura¡¯s point of view.

    =====

    <b>-Shinobu¡¯s POV-</b>

    After parting ways with Yuna, I ran.

    I didn¡¯t expect this to happen when we came to the ind.

    We crossed the sea on Yuna¡¯s bear.

    I had promised not to tell anyone about how we crossed the ocean riding on bears, so I only told the king, who¡¯s the only one who knew that the bears could walk on the sea, that we¡¯reing to the ind.

    I wonder if anyone has informed the castle about the monsters.

    Perhaps someone who has seen the monsters flying over the sea has reported it to the castle. Even so, they wouldn¡¯t know about the seal, either.

    I stopped running, took out a piece of paper and something to write on from my pocket, and wrote a short sentence: ¡°Monsters are attacking the ind, and there¡¯s a fear that the seal will be broken.¡±

    I then summoned a small bird ¡®p¨©suke¡¯ from my hand and put the paper in a tube inside a small tube at its neck.

    ¡°Watch out for monsters.¡± (Shinobu)

    Pisuke flew away after letting out a chirp ¡®pii¡¯.

    I summoned Hayatemaru to make up for the dy in writing the letter.

    =====

    When I came to the seal¡¯s location, I saw a Volss flying over the building where the seal was located. It looked as if it was looking for a ce to enter the building.

    I looked for any Wyvern around, but none was to be seen.

    I don¡¯t see any wyverns.

    I wondered why there¡¯s no Wyvern to be found. But I don¡¯t need to think about it; I can only think of Yuna.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear discovered the monster attack.

    Also, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Yunamunicated with each other. If Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear even knew the number of monsters, it would exin why no Wyverns are here.

    Yuna took on the ce with the most monsters. So we can assume that¡¯s why she took on the two sites on the right.

    Now that I think about it, there were more of them flying in the direction Yuna was headed to when we first spotted the wyverns.

    ¡°Ha~a¡±

    I can only sigh.

    It¡¯s a crisis in another country. No one wouldin if she fled. I can¡¯t believe that Yuna was willing to take on such a dangerous task.

    When I first saw Yuna, I was surprised. Especially on her appearance. Moreover, the bears were running on the ocean. At first, I couldn¡¯t decide if Yuna was the hope that could defeat the legendary serpent.

    But the girl dressed as a cute bear was powerful. She defeated my master, whom I was no match.

    I¡¯ve been training since I was a little girl. People told me that I had a talent forbat. I thought I was strong. But there were people above me. I have never been able to beat my master. There were indeed others who were stronger than me. Even so, I was confident that I would not lose to a girl of my age.

    But when I saw the fight between Yuna and my master, I realized that I was weak.

    Yuna was strong. She was far superior to me in weapons mastery and magic firepower.

    Yuna had seen the battle between my master and me. In other words, Yuna knew what I was capable of. And because she knew my ability, she took on the ce with the most monsters.

    And she didn¡¯t even tell anyone about it. She chose it as a matter of course.

    A mysterious girl dressed as a cute bear.

    Yuna revealed her secrets to defeat the giant snake.

    A magical device that lets youmunicate to people from far away?

    A magical tool that can take you to distant ces in an instant?

    Such secrets one cannot easily reveal.

    That was why she made us do contract magic. What was she going to do if I refused or ran away before she could make the contract?

    Sakura-sama is a kind person; she¡¯s the kind of person who won¡¯t sell you out even if she doesn¡¯t do the contract.

    Kagali-sama is not the kind of person who would turn her back from the gratitude she owed to Yuna since she was able to meet Mumroot-san.

    And me?

    I¡¯ve done the worst things.

    I¡¯ve investigated Yuna, tested her, tricked her, and forced our wishes on her. And yet, Yuna was not angry. I would never betray Yuna¡¯s feelings anymore.

    I unsummoned Hayatemaru.

    I reached into my pocket and pulled out a dagger. I took a deep breath, and then ran towards the Volss.

    Just because I¡¯m in the easiest spot doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll take it easy. I must defeat the monsters as soon as possible and head for other ces.

    And I¡¯m going to help Yuna.

    I used the fence around the building to jump up to the roof of the building. When I reached the top of the building, the Volss reacted.

    Let¡¯s get this over with.

    I put magic power into the dagger and swung it out. From the dagger that I swung out, a de of wind headed towards Volss.

    The de of wind was easier to imagine and sharper when ites from a weapon or other object rather than from your hand.

    That¡¯s why I thought it was amazing when I saw Yuna pull it out of her hand. It was also sharper and stronger than the magic I used.

    Such a difference in talent.

    Such an unreachable realm.

    There are geniuses out there, aren¡¯t there?

    I can¡¯t help but be jealous of what I don¡¯t have.

    I have to fight with what I have.

    I shot a wind de from my dagger and defeated the Volss.

    And I finished killing all the Volss.

    It was a close battle, so I got bloodstains on my body.

    ¡°I¡¯m done here.¡± (Shinobu)

    Now then, I wonder if I should defend this ce or head elsewhere as reinforcement.

    Initially, I nned to defeat them and then head elsewhere. But even while I¡¯m fighting one, the number of Volss suddenly increases. There was a possibility that new monsters woulde.

    I climbed up a tall tree nearby and checked my surroundings.

    When I looked in the direction Yuna had taken, I saw a wyvern flying. As I thought, Yuna¡¯s ce has the most wyverns. I can also see wyverns flying over to Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Kagali-sama¡¯s ce.

    I wonder if I should go somewhere else or stay here and prepare for the monsters.

    But my worries quickly vanished.

    I saw three wyverns flying towards me from the sea.

    They won¡¯t make it easy for us.

    Wyverns came flying through the sky. In my mind, I wondered if they would pass me by.

    I¡¯m pretty filthy.

    But if they pass by, I¡¯ll have no choice, do I?

    I stood at the highest point on the roof of the building.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they found me or if they were summoned by the serpent¡¯s seal like the other monsters, but the wyverns descended towards me.

    ¡°Is that all of them...¡± (Shinobu)

    The wyverns are enormous when you see them up close.

    This may be dangerous.

    Can someone pleasee here?

    I know it¡¯s impossible considering the situation I¡¯ve seen from the top of the tree.

    I will protect the seal even at the cost of my life.

    I clenched my dagger.

    =====

    <b>-Sakura¡¯s POV-</b>

    Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama cried.

    They said that the monsters were approaching the ind and heading for where the serpent was sealed.

    Since I was in danger, I had to use Yuna-sama¡¯s mysterious door to get to where Ruimin-san was.

    Yuna smiled and told me not to worry, and the door in front of me slowly closed.

    I fled alone to a safer ce. I knew that I would only be a liability if I stayed on the ind.

    So I swallowed the words, ¡°I want to stay.¡±

    Even if I stay, I can¡¯t do anything.

    I waited for Ruimin-san at the door.

    If I wait here, Ruimin-san wille for me.

    The door was surrounded by a forest and some high rocky mountains.

    This is where Ruimin-san, Mumroot-sama, and the other elves live.

    As I was looking around, I heard a sound of a horse running towards me.

    ¡°Sakura-chan!¡±

    ¡°Ruimin-san!¡±

    Ruimin-san appeared on a horse. She got off her horse and came over to me.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, are you okay?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. I got here before the monsters arrived.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see. But you¡¯re safe now. You¡¯ll be safe here.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°But they all stayed behind to protect the seal of the serpent. I was the only one who escaped.¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯m frustrated at the fact that I can¡¯t do anything.

    ¡°Just leave the fighting to Yuna-san, and you¡¯ll be fine. Yuna-san, she may look so cute, but she¡¯s powerful.¡± (Ruimin)

    As I looked down, Ruimin-san called out to me gently.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But I wish I could fight. It¡¯s hard for me to stay in a safe ce and let everyone else fight.¡± (Sakura)

    Because I am a helpless child, I could have fought with everyone if I were an adult. I¡¯m frustrated that I don¡¯t have any power.

    When I was apprehensive, Ruimin-san asked me with narrowed eyes.

    ¡°Well, Sakura-chan. You¡¯re as old as you look, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    What does that mean?

    ¡°I¡¯ll be ten this year.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°What about it?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura-chan, you don¡¯t act like a child, so I was wondering if you¡¯re older than me.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I don¡¯t act like a child?¡± (Sakura)

    People always say that I¡¯m a child.

    ¡°Yes. Because you think like an adult, Sakura-chan, I think it¡¯s okay for children to rely on adults. My grandpa always says that it is the role of adults to protect children. But I don¡¯t know if Yuna-san is an adult, though.¡±(Ruimin)

    ¡°In that case, the same can be said for Shinobu.¡± (Sakura)

    I don¡¯t think Shinobu and Yuna-sama were adults, but I don¡¯t believe they are children either.

    But unlike me, they can protect themselves.

    ¡°I want to have the strength to fight too.¡± (Sakura)

    But even if I had the strength to fight, I don¡¯t know if I would be able to fight monsters.

    I may be too shaken to move.

    Yuna-sama and Shinobu, were they not afraid to fight?

    ¡°That¡¯s the same for me. My vige had a big problem before. I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. I couldn¡¯t fight along with Yuna-san. That¡¯s why I decided to help my grandpa. You should also do what you can, Sakura-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san...¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin-san reached out.

    I grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    I can¡¯t fight.

    I don¡¯t know how much I can help, but I¡¯ve decided to help Mumroot-sama.

    ¡°Okay, we need to hurry back, so hold on tight.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    I got on the horse and held on tightly to Ruimin-san.

    Ruimin-san steered the horse.

    =====

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 2:</b>

    The battle has started in each ce.

    The difference between Yuna and Shinobu¡¯s heat is intense. w

    <b>¡ù </b>Volume 9 of Kuma will be released on March 30.

    Yuna and Ruimin are on the cover.

    I also wrote four SS for the store bonus and a new one.

    The content is written in the activity report, so I would be grateful if you read it.

    If you click on the cover of volume 9 below, you can jump to the publisher¡¯s book information.

    (TN: Link not included.)

    There is no mention of the new book, so please check the activity report.

    -Kumanano

    =====

 Chapter 462

    Chapter 462

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 1:

    It¡¯s a bit short.

    =====

    Ruimin steered the horse.

    I hugged Ruimin-san firmly so as not to be shaken off.

    After a short ride, we entered the vige and stopped in front of a house.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±(Ruimin)

    I slowly dismount from the horse.

    I feel a little wobbly.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± (Sakura)

    So this is the vige where Ruimin-san lives. It¡¯s very different from our town. The people in the vige are looking at us.

    When I saw the different buildings and clothes, I was reminded that I was really in a different ce.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, over here.¡± (Ruimin)

    As I look around, Ruimin-san calls out to me.

    Ruimin-san is standing at the entrance of the house in front of me.

    I¡¯m going to go to Ruimin-san¡¯s ce.

    ¡°This house?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s Grandpa¡¯s house. Grandpa¡¯s over here. Come in.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-san went inside the house. I followed her.

    ¡°Pardon the intrusion.¡± (Sakura)

    I gave my greetings and entered the house.

    It¡¯s different from the house we lived in. It¡¯s a strange feeling.

    I followed Ruimin-san down the corridor, and I saw two staircases, one going up the second floor and one for the basement. Ruimin-san went down the lower stairs.

    There was arge room at the bottom of the stairs where Mumroot-sama was inside.

    ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m back.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Sorry for bothering you.¡± (Sakura)

    Mumroot-sama looks at us as we enter the room.

    ¡°So I heard about the monstersing, is that true?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes. When Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama noticed the approaching monsters, Yuna-sama, and the others stayed behind to fight it, while they sent me here because it was too dangerous.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see. If monsters havee, sending you here is a much better option. The less anxiety the girls have, the better their condition is to fight.¡± (Sakura)

    It pains me whenever I¡¯m the cause of people¡¯s anxiety.

    I am a helpless being who can do nothing.

    ¡°Grandpa, you don¡¯t have to say it like that.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to fight while protecting someone. Even if you remain in the safest spot on the ind, they will still be worried about you in the back of their minds since the monsters may attack you at any given moment. That¡¯s what fighting monsters are all about.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but...¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ruimin-san. I understand, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± (Sakura)

    It would be nice to reduce everyone¡¯s burden even a little. That¡¯s all I can do at the moment.

    ¡°Sakura-chan...¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°But the demons are gathering on the ind....... We¡¯ll have to hurry.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot-sama. Is this a sign that the seal will be broken?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s a possibility. On the other hand, I don¡¯t know why monsters are gathering for other reasons.¡± (Mumroot)

    I feel that the resurrection of the serpent is getting closer to reality with your words, Mumroot-sama.

    I¡¯m scared.

    I¡¯m afraid of dying, but I don¡¯t want to see everyone else die either. I don¡¯t want that sad dream to be a reality.

    ¡°Grandpa. Should I check the situation with Yuna-san?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°The girls are probably fighting monsters right now. We¡¯ll just get in the way. If anything happens, she will contact us. So, in the meantime, we have to prepare to strengthen the seal quickly.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-sama is right.

    We should not interfere with Yuna-sama¡¯s fight by contacting her.

    ¡°Is there anything I can help, Mumroot-sama? I want to return as soon as possible. If there¡¯s anything I can do, I¡¯ll do it, just let me know.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well then, youngdy, I need you to put away the carpets over there.¡± (Mumroot)

    There were many carpets where Mumroot-sama pointed.

    It has a beautiful patterned image on it.

    ¡°I was looking for a carpet with a magic circle on it that will strengthen the seal.¡± (Mumroot)

    The pattern on the carpet here is said to be a magic circle.

    There are so many of them, aren¡¯t there?

    And it seems he is looking for it from this.

    This will be a lot of work.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, if you¡¯re putting away the carpets. Roll it up like this, then please put it on that empty shelf over there.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Got it.¡± (Sakura)

    I followed Ruimin-san¡¯s instructions to roll up the beautifully patterned carpets and put them away on the shelves.

    Small carpets were put away alone, andrge carpets were put away with Ruimin-san.

    ¡°Grandpa, you still can¡¯t find it?¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot-sama would unroll a new carpet, saying, ¡°No,¡± or ¡°Not this one¡±.

    ¡°I used it a long time ago.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Well, this wouldn¡¯t have happened if you had organized it properly.¡± (Ruimin)

    The room has lots of shelves and plenty of carpets.

    Indeed, I don¡¯t know what kind of magic carpet it is, since it doesn¡¯t have a name on it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t usually use that magic circle. I can¡¯t help but forget where I ended up putting it.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s why you should have organized it properly. It would have been easier if you wrote the name of the magic circle on the carpets.¡± (Ruimin)

    Indeed, looking at the current situation, I think Ruimin-san is right. Any moment now, the serpent maye back to life. I¡¯m inclined to want them to hurry up.

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m thinking of doing it someday.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That, you already said that to grandma, and yet, you wouldn¡¯t do it no matter how many times she told you to.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I was thinking of doing it in a few years.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you clean it up this time, so let¡¯s find it quickly.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Okay. I get it . But now it¡¯s better to look for the magic circle to strengthen the seal. We don¡¯t have time for anything else.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa......¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-sanined and put the carpet away.

    ¡°In a few years? ......¡± (Sakura)

    I thought about the next few years that I heard from Mumroot-sama¡¯s mouth.

    What is going on with the serpent? What is happening to the country? And I... If something happens to Yuna-sama, I cannot return to the country.

    The thought of that makes me nervous.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-san noticed that my hand had stopped and asked.

    ¡°No, I just wondered what the country would be like in a few years if we hadn¡¯t been able to reseal the serpent.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, because Yuna-san is there.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-san cheered me up.

    ¡°Ruimin-san, you believe in Yuna-sama, don¡¯t you?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, because Yuna-san is so strong that she can beat the giant snake.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-san seems to believe in Yuna-sama.

    I also believe in Yuna-sama.

    ¡°Besides, Grandpa will take care of it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I will do everything I can. I¡¯m not telling you that to be reassured. But you must have hope.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± (Sakura)

    I moved my hand, which had stopped.

    Then Ruimin-san asked me.

    ¡°What do you want to do in the future, Sakura-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°The future?¡± (Sakura)

    Will I continue to live as a priestess?

    However, in this short time, I met Yuna-sama, met Ruimin-san, went through the mysterious door, and had many experiences.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when it will be, but I¡¯d like to travel the world.¡± (Sakura)

    Such are my thoughts.

    But I have to be strong. And that is the main problem.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t fight, so it may not be possible.¡± (Sakura)

    I am only ten years old. If I learn a lot from Shinobu, will I be stronger?

    ¡°Then I¡¯lle with you.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I will do my best to protect you, Sakura-chan, as you grow up and be stronger.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to practice my magic.¡± (Sakura)

    I would have to have some magical talent for that, though.

    It seems that my father couldn¡¯t use magic, but my mother could. I¡¯m sure my mother¡¯s blood was flowing within me, and I could use magic.

    Besides, my uncle told me that I look like my mother.

    So maybe I can use magic too. Then, it might be nice to go around the world with Ruimin-san.

    But will that be in 5 years at the earliest?

    ¡°Ruimin-san, can you wait for me for about five years?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll wait 10 or 100 years.¡± (Ruimin)

    No, I¡¯ll be dead within 100 years.

    ¡°To do that, we need to defeat the giant serpent first, though.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes¡± (Sakura)

    We must do the best we can now in hopes of that future.

    Shortly after that, we were able to find the magic circle that could reinforce the seal.

    However, another problem has arisen.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note 2:

    This is the end of the story on Mumroot-san¡¯s side.

    We will continue with the story of Yuna and the others who remained on the ind.

    =====

 Chapter 463 - Bear-san and Shinobuâ€™s respective battles

    Chapter 463

    Bear-san and Shinobu¡¯s respective battles

    -Yuna¡¯s POV-

    I will undoubtedly defeat Volss and the wyverns.

    asionally, I use detection skills to check other locations as well.

    It¡¯s essential to understand the situation. After everything that happened, I probably should have given everyone a bearphone since we did the contract magic.

    That way, if something happened, we could contact each other immediately.

    With the appearance of monsters, my mind was so preupied with protecting the seal and defeating monsters that I was not thinking that far ahead.

    Checking the situation with detection skills, the number of Volss and wyverns steadily decreased at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sides.

    Were they fighting well?

    It makes me a little nervous, but they¡¯re not the kind of kids who will quarrel with each another during a fight, so I think they will be fine.

    But still, I¡¯m a little worried, so I want to wrap everything up here and rush over there as soon as possible.

    The location of the seal that Kagali-san went to, the number of monsters was also diminishing.

    As expected of someone who once fought against the giant snake with Mumroot-san long ago.

    I haven¡¯t seen many fights of strong people. I wanted to see how Kagali-san fights.

    And one more ce. The ce where Shinobu headed.

    The ce where Shinobu went had a lot of Volss, but there were no wyverns. So when Shinobu chose a spot on the other side of us, I said nothing.

    But, when I checked again with my detection skill, there was a reaction from a Wyvern.

    I saw Shinobu¡¯s ability in the battle with Jubei-san. She¡¯s stronger than Debo-something adventurer who has quarreled with me in Crimonia.

    But I don¡¯t know if she can fight the wyverns.

    However, looking at how Shinobu reacted when she saw the wyvern, it looked like she could fight it. She didn¡¯t say anything weak when she saw the wyvern, so I think she can probably fight.

    Now, let¡¯s believe in Shinobu¡¯s ability to protect the building where the seal was located.

    But still, can you please stop sticking to the building?

    I used air bullets to blow off the Volss that was about to enter the building and used bear magic to defeat it at a distance from the building.

    asionally, an air bullet would hit the building, and the building would be damaged, but we can¡¯t help it, you know?

    =====

    -Shinobu¡¯s POV-

    ¡®Ha~a, ha~a¡¯

    The building was already half-destroyed, and one wyvern wing was shed off and knocked to the ground. I wanted to finish it off, but the other wyverns got in the way.

    One was flying in the sky, and the other one was blinded by me, snarling as it red back at me.

    This is tough.

    I was confident that I could fight at least one of them. But when I had to deal with three wyverns simultaneously and even a Volss, it would be tough for me to do it alone.

    I¡¯m avoiding their attacks, so there¡¯s no fatal injury, but still, blood was flowing from all over my body.

    It¡¯s hopeless to get help, isn¡¯t it?

    At first, I wondered if Kagali-sama or Yuna woulde to my rescue, but considering that they¡¯re fighting in other ces as well, it might be difficult.

    Initially, I evaded the wyvern¡¯s attacks.

    However, since I¡¯m running as many times as I can and jumping as high as possible, I exert more body movements.

    I want to take a break, but they won¡¯t let me.

    Moreover, adding to my body fatigue, my magical power was also considerably depleted as I also used magic to attack and defend.

    I should have done a little more training.

    It¡¯s no use regretting it now. If I survive, I¡¯ll decide to do some serious training. To do that, I have to defeat these monsters here and protect the seal.

    I¡¯ll have to work a bit harder.

    I clutched my bloodied tant¨­(¶Ìµ¶) and took on the furious one-eyed wyvern. The wyvern looked at me and snarled.

    Please don¡¯t be so angry.

    Well, if I were blinded in such a fashion, I would either get angry or run away.

    If possible, I wish Wyvern had chosen thetter.

    I pulled out a few kunai from my pocket and put some magic power into them. Then, I started running toward the wyvern¡¯s blind spot.

    From my experience fighting against my master, attacking from the blind spot was the most effective.

    I threw the kunai towards the wyvern. The wyvern pped its wings and dropped several kunai, but it couldn¡¯t block all of them, and several kunai were lodged in its body. However, the wyvern didn¡¯t stop moving.

    Just drop dead, will you?

    As I was dealing with the one-eyed wyvern, I received a shock from behind by shooting wind magic and being kept in check.

    What!??

    I felt severe pain in my left shoulder and immediately understood what had happened to me.

    The other wyvern flying in the sky had attacked me from behind.

    I was so focused on the wyvern in front of me that I ignored the wyvern flying in the sky. I want to punch myself in the head for forgetting about the other wyvern, even if only temporarily.

    My body, whose shoulder was grabbed by the Wyvern, floated.

    This is bad.

    I tried to move my body, but Wyvern¡¯s ws were digging into my shoulder, and I couldn¡¯t escape. Moreover, when I moved my body, I felt severe pain in my left shoulder where I was held. Thanks to the chainmail I¡¯m wearing, at least it¡¯s not digging too deep into my shoulder, but it still hurts.

    Moreover, the force was to the wyvern¡¯s ws. I could only grit my teeth and endure it.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t grab a girl¡¯s soft shoulders so tightly. If you do that, she won¡¯t like you. You should hold a girl¡¯s shoulder gently.¡± (Shinobu)

    I don¡¯t know if this Wyvern is a male or female, but I still say that.

    With the tant¨­ in my right hand, I shed the wyvern¡¯s leg that was clutching my shoulder.

    As Wyvern shrieked, the ws on my shoulders loosened. I almost fell off, but I grabbed the Wyvern¡¯s leg and extended my arm to slice through its lower belly.

    The wyvern violently failed and shook me off.

    The height was higher than the building.

    When I fell to the ground, I used wind magic tond so that the magic lessened the impact sessfully. However, thending impact caused pain in my left shoulder.

    ¡®U~u¡¯

    Ouch.

    I looked up and saw a wyvern with its leg and belly cut off fleeing.

    All that remained was an angry wyvern with one eye and one wing missing.

    The one-winged wyvern would dash as if it had found its prey and tried to hold me by the shoulders to keep me still.

    I¡¯d like to get some rest.

    It put strength into its heavy legs, and so I readied my tant¨­.

    Wyvern stretched its long neck and opened its mouth.

    I dodged at thest second and shed its throat with my tant¨­.

    I was able to cut the wyvern¡¯s head off, but the wyvern¡¯s momentum did not stop, and it bounced off and rolled on the ground.

    My body hurts.

    But now, there is only one left.

    I tried to stand up to fight, but my legs, my arms, I can¡¯t move them, I have no strength left.

    My legs trembled. I tapped my foot with my arm, which has no strength, to stop my leg from shaking.

    I need to move a little more.

    Once again, I stood up on my feet.

    Somehow, I could stand up, but my legs were not strong enough.

    When I hit my knee, it started to move a little.

    And I think I can move some more.

    I wiped the blood from my forehead and looked up at the other one-eyed wyvern circling in the sky.

    It would be nice to go somewhere, but it doesn¡¯t look like they will.

    It¡¯s circling the top of the building.

    After all, the seal was what they were after, wasn¡¯t it?

    At the very least, I would like them to stay in the air until someonees here.

    Such a wish was not heeded. The wyvern descended towards the building.

    I have to move my screaming body and run.

    I won¡¯t let you break the seal.

    I shot a de of wind with magic power flowing into my tant¨­. It¡¯s not powerful, but it hits the wyvern.

    The wyvern that was hit by the wind de changed the target into me, not the building.

    Only a fool would call in a wyvern himself and put himself in danger.

    I have no magic power left in me.

    I lowered my posture and held up my tant¨­.

    This is thest one.

    I took a direct hit from the wyvern¡¯s charge.

    At the same time, I thrust my tant¨­ into its other eye. With this, I crushed both of its eyes.

    The rampaging wyvern sloppily opened its mouth and tried to bite my arm.

    Gathering my remaining magical power into my tant¨­, I shed at the wyvern¡¯s mouth.

    This would be a fatal wound.

    ......It fell.

    But the wyvern¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t stop as it came down from the air. It bounced off and rolled on the ground.

    I¡¯ve fallen on my back on the ground.

    The sky is blue.

    I can¡¯t move anymore.

    But I kept the seal intact.

    I can take a break now, right?

    As I was about to close my eyes to take a rest, a ck shadow passed by.

    A Wyvern.

    I wanted it to be a dream. I wanted to close my eyes and pretend I hadn¡¯t seen it.

    But it doesn¡¯t work that way.

    If the seal gets broken here, it¡¯s over.

    With the arrival of Yuna and Mumroot-san, we now have a means of defeating the serpent. I saw hope.

    To do that, we have to keep the seal safe until Mumroot-sanes back.

    Everyone else was fighting to defend the seal.

    I tried to get up.

    Every part of my body screams in pain.

    The hand holding the tant¨­ alsocked strength.

    I did a half-turn on my body, got down on my face, put some pressure on my arms, and stood up.

    The wyverns were descending.

    One was heading for me, and the other was going to the building with the seal.

    But now, all I could do was stand. I had no strength left to fight the wyvern.

    All I could do was watch as one of them tore down the building and entered it.

    As that other wyvern that wasing at me.

    I couldn¡¯t defend the seal. This was as far as I could go, wasn¡¯t it?

    It was a short life, but it was fun.

    My only regret was that I couldn¡¯t defend the seal to the end.

    Sakura-sama, I¡¯m sorry.

    The wyvern was closing in.

    I closed my eyes to take it all in.

    At that moment, there was a loud bump.

    I opened my eyes to see what had happened, and there was a girl dressed as a cute bear in front of me.

    ¡°Shinobu, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna called out to me.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Depending on the region, today is the release date for volume 9.

    Some bookstores have already released it. (ording to Twitter)

    If you find it in a bookstore, we would be happy if you could pick it up.

    And finally, theicalization of the book has started.

    The link is in the activity report, so it would be helpful if you could check it there.

    I will add the link at the bottom soon.

    At the same time, we have two giveaway campaigns.

    One is April 5, so watch out for it. Please check back soon to see if there are any other offers that you would like to see.

    Please check the activity report for details.

    Thank you for your continued support of Kuma.

    =====

 Chapter 464 - Bear-san, Heads To The Buildings With Seals.

    Chapter 464

    Bear-san, Heads To The Buildings With Seals.

    ¡®Fu ~u¡¯

    I guess that¡¯s it.

    I defeated thest wyvern by releasing the bear magic, wind magic.

    If you keep them away from the building, they¡¯re not an opponent you can¡¯t beat. It¡¯s troublesome to fight them while protecting the seal inside the building. While dealing with wyverns, Volss tried to enter the building. It would have been easier at times like this if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had been here.

    Then I defeated the remaining Volss and all the other monsters.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± (Yuna)

    I look at the building again.

    Various parts are broken.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault, right?¡± (Yuna)

    Although some of the ces were damaged by my magic, the Volss and Wyvern inflicted the most damage to the battle site.

    In a battle, some sacrifices would be inevitable.

    The seal of the giant snake was kept intact, so that¡¯s a good oue.

    After confirming that there were no monsters around, I headed for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    That side has one wyvern, and a few Volss left. The number was steadily decreasing. If I rush in, I should be able to take them out in no time.

    Are they getting along well?

    When I ran to the area where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were guarding, I found that both of them were in the process of catching up with the wyvern.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    The wyvern that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear chased pped its wings and tried to escape.

    Hugging Bearunched an attack, but the wyvern avoided it in time. However, Swaying Bear ran up to the building and used the building to fly towards the wyvern. Swaying Bear¡¯s attack hit the wyvern and knocked it to the ground.

    Hugging Bear stopped the wyvern by digging his ws to the wyvern when it fell to the ground. The wyvern gasped for air and copsed.

    After defeating the wyvern, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rubbed their bodies together to honor each other.

    Yeah, they seemed to be fighting well together. It makes me happy to see them getting along with each other.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to them, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear noticed me and came running up to me.

    ¡°You both did a great job. Are you hurt?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    They cried like saying, ¡°We¡¯re okay.¡±

    Apparently, they were not hurt. That¡¯s good.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked like they wanted me to pet their heads, so I did.

    But the battle wasn¡¯t over yet.

    ¡°Volss are still here. I¡¯ll help you. We¡¯ll take them down together.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    In my words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear went to defeat Volss as ifpeting between themselves.

    Are? They were fighting nicely just now, weren¡¯t they?

    I followed them and helped them defeat Volss.

    After defeating all the monsters, I asked Swaying Bear to head for the building I was in charge of. Hugging Bear will stay here.

    There were no monsters, so just Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear should be fine.

    Besides, it¡¯s not that far away, so if something happens, I can rush in immediately if something significant happens.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m going to ask you both to do me a favor. But don¡¯t push yourselves too hard.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear replied, then Swaying Bear ran to the building that I was in charge of. Hugging Bear took up a position on the roof of the building. He looks very motivated.

    Leaving the buildings to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I went for the next nearest ce, Kagali-san¡¯s ce.

    It didn¡¯t take long for me to get to the building that Kagali-san was in charge of.

    `Hore, k¨­re, k¨­re¡¯ (¡¸¤Û¤ì¡¢ƒö¤ì¡¢ƒö¤ì¡¹)

    Something like a blizzard was blowing out of Kagali-san¡¯s hands, attacking the Wyvern. On the other hand, the wyvern closed its wings in front of its body to block it.

    ¡°Well then, how about this?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san shot a ball of me at the wyvern. The mes entangled the wyvern and burned its wings. The wyvern pped its wings and tried to extinguish it, but like a sticky me, it did not go out easily.

    Is it different from my magic?

    The wyvern still pped its wings and extinguished the mes.

    But Kagali-san wouldn¡¯t let it. Sheunched me after me.

    Wyvern¡¯s strong wings cracked.

    I see; it¡¯s an attack by temperature difference.

    Did the wyvern skin contract by being cooled by the blizzard and expanded by the heat of the mes?

    The wyvern can no longer hold out and attempts to escape by spreading its wings wide.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you go.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san raised her hands above her head and created arge me. Sheunched it towards the wyvern. The wyvern was engulfed in mes and fell, screeching.

    Strong.

    Kagali-san¡¯s me could be as powerful as my bear me.

    As I watched, Kagali-san noticed me.

    ¡°What? Have you been watching me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, for a little while now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If so, you could have helped me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I thought I didn¡¯t have to interfere.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Considering the fight with the serpent, I want to reduce the consumption of magical power as much as possible.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s the same with me.

    After we deal with these monsters, I should change into my white bear and get some rest.

    I think I¡¯m okay because my magical power isn¡¯t exhausted that much. Besides, if Shinobu sees my pr bear form, she willugh at me.

    ¡°So, if you¡¯re here, little girl, you¡¯ve taken care of things on your side?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and they took care of my side.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That only leaves Shinobu¡¯s ce.¡± (Kagali)

    I use my detection skill to check the direction where Shinobu was currently in.

    There¡¯s still the reaction of monsters. It looks like she¡¯s having trouble with them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, then, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And Kagali-san, I need you to rush in when something happens to the seal that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are watching.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I don¡¯t know if a monster has arrived there. Well, it may be possible if I climb a tree and check.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ll confirm it, so it¡¯ll be okay. And I need you to take this, Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out a bearphone.

    ¡°That bear, I believe, it¡¯s a magical tool that lets you speak to those far away.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If anything happens, I¡¯ll call you with this, so can you hold it for me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Now, with this, Mumuroot...¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°By the way, you can only talk to me with this magic tool.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks disappointed.

    Did you want to talk to Mumuroot-san that badly?

    I exined to Kagali-san how to use the bearphone.

    ¡°Also, if there is any problem on your side, please let me know.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll dly use it. I¡¯ll take care of your bears. If anything happens to them, I wille running.¡± (Kagali)

    Oh right, I have something to ask before heading to Shinobu.

    ¡°Kagali-san, haven¡¯t your tail increased?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve been curious since I saw Kagali-san. As far as I can see, she has three tails now.

    ¡°It¡¯s one of my secrets. You are not the only one with a secret, you know? By the way, this is a maiden¡¯s secret, so I won¡¯t tell you.¡± (Kagali)

    Perhaps she¡¯ll have more power the more the number of tails increases?

    Will it increase to nine?

    The great y¨­kai, the nine-tailed fox,es to mind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, just get to Shinobu. I¡¯m worried about her.¡± (Kagali)

    She¡¯s right.

    I asked Kagali-san to take care of this ce and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s area. After that, I headed straight for Shinobu¡¯s location.

    I¡¯m running while checking my detection skills.

    There¡¯s still a response for wyvern. More wyverns wereing. At this rate, the wyverns will get to the area before I do. This could be messy.

    I dashed.

    It¡¯s not that far, so it only took a few tens of seconds.

    When I arrived, Shinobu just got up, wobbling. And two wyverns wereing down from the sky.

    One was heading towards the building and the other towards Shinobu.

    But both of them will not make it in time.

    I made my move even before I thought about it.

    I kick the ground.

    Then, I did a bear kick towards the Wyvern that¡¯s descending towards Shinobu.

    Also known as a flying kick.

    The wyvern flung back with a bear kick.

    ¡°Sinobu, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m supporting Shinobu¡¯s body as she is about to fall.

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m d I made it in time.¡± (Yuna)

    I hugged Shinobu¡¯s shoulder to keep her from falling.

    ¡°A Wyvern is in the building.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I know.¡± (Yuna)

    I was watching it head to the building.

    ¡°Perhaps Yuna was more concerned about me than the seal?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°............¡±

    I kicked the wyvern that tried to attack Shinobu rather than the wyvern that was heading for the building.

    I could not do anything at that moment because Sinobu was about to be attacked by a wyvern right in front of my eyes.

    ¡°But Yuna, you made the wrong choice. It¡¯s better to save the seal than my life.¡± (Shinobu)

    Certainly, a king or someone from higher-ups might choose to protect the seal to save many lives instead of just one.

    But I am not a king.

    ¡°I am free to do whatever I want.¡± (Yuna)

    The wyvern that had entered the building was running amok inside the building by now. Better deal with it right away, but it¡¯s probably toote.

    And the wyvern I¡¯ve kicked away was trying to get up.

    If I leave Shinobu here, she will definitely be attacked.

    There¡¯s no time to think about it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡± (Yuna)

    I spoke gently to reassure her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry...... Please don¡¯t worry about me, just fight to your heart¡¯s content.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu closed her eyes, and her head dropped.

    ¡°Shi, Shinobu !?¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to her, but she didn¡¯t respond.

    She¡¯s breathing. Apparently, she just fainted. Don¡¯t scare me like that. I thought she was dead.

    The condition of Shinobu was terrible. It doesn¡¯t seem to be fatal, but she¡¯s injured all over her body. In particr, her left shoulder was soaked with blood. A part of Shinobu¡¯s left shoulder was stained with blood.

    She¡¯s a girl, yet she also has scars on her face.

    I wish I could fix her right away, but the wyvern that was kicked away by me was looking at me and snarling.

    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you now, so could you chill down for a moment?¡± (Yuna)

    My words couldn¡¯t reach the wyvern, and the wyvern spread its wings wide and shot wind des at me.

    I made a dirt wall to block it.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go beat it now, take a rest.¡± (Yuna)

    I slowlyid down the unconscious Shinobu on the ground.

    Then, I used bear magic and my mithril knife at the snarling wyvern, killing it instantly.

    I don¡¯t have time to y with you.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Last time, I thought I¡¯d write this story first, but when the story of Shinobu cameter, it lost some of its realism, so I went back a little and turn it into the story of Yuna.

    ¡ù Follow and retweet our Twitter campaign to win two autographed copies of Volume 9 until April 5. You could win the book for free, so go ahead and enter the contest. For details, please use the activity report and Twitter of the PASH! Books editorial section.

 Chapter 465

    <h4>Chapter 465</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Contacts Mumroot-san</strong></h4> <h4><strong>-Sakura¡¯s POV-</strong></h4>

    A carpet with a magic circle to seal and a magic circle to strengthen the seal has been prepared.

    ¡°Can you really do it with something like this?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s a simplified version, but it¡¯s okay. The only problem is that you have to keep pouring magic power into it.¡± (Mumroot)

    In any case, they have to keep putting magic power into it to keep activating the magic circle.

    But Mumroot-sama said that we would be fine if we gathered several wizards. Depending on the amount of magic, we can buy time.

    I can gather the wizards if I tell my uncle. If we can temporarily strengthen the seal, we could defeat the heads of the serpents one by one, and we will save the country. I am now hopeful.

    ¡°But there¡¯s a problem.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°A problem?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°There are only three magic circles to strengthen the seal.¡± (Mumroot)

    The serpent has five sealed ces, including the body. But since there are four heads, is it okay to just have three?

    However, Mumroot-sama says that the most crucial part is the body that has been sealed.

    He says that they can restore the head seals. The magical power will go back to the torso, and it will then be transmitted to other heads and fixed in a chain reaction.

    We have to restrain the torso while also suppressing the other heads.

    If so, we will be fighting two heads of a giant snake at worst. But that would be better than fighting four heads simultaneously, including the body.

    ¡°Sakura. You said you were the king¡¯s niece, right?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a Miko now, though.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. As long as you can talk to the king, there is no problem.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I can talk to him.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Then, I shall exin how to use this magic circle in case something goes wrong.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°To me !?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You want to do something, right? If anything happens to me, someone has to tell your country about this.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°......¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If anything happens¡±. When I heard that word, I remembered what I had in my dream¡ªthe sight of everyone dying.

    That¡¯s right. It has not yet been decided that anyone can defeat the serpent. We still don¡¯t know what will happen.

    ¡°I understand. Mumroot-sama, please tell me how to use the magic circle.¡± (Sakura)

    When Mumroot-sama unfolded the carpet with a magic circle in it, he put a magic stone on it and taught me how to use the magic circle.

    ¡°Such a big magic stone¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯ll charge it to youter, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, I will tell the King, so please request itter.¡± (Sakura)

    I intend to return the favor, even if it means giving away all the property my parents left me.

    When I respond seriously, Mumroot-sama startsughing.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. You don¡¯t have to.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m just doing what I left behind in the past, so don¡¯t worry. Moreover, I¡¯m grateful to see Kagali.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°... Mumroot-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Now then, we don¡¯t have much time. You only get one shot at this, so make sure you learn it well.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    I learned how to handle the magic circle from Mumroot-sama.

    Then we put away the magic circle carpet in the item bag. Now, all we have to do is go back.

    When we left the house, the cute bear-shaped doll held by Ruimin-san started to make a ¡°ku~n, ku~n¡± sound. It¡¯s a magic tool that allows you to talk to people far away.

    Ruimin-san panicked for a moment but quickly put it in the palm of her hand.

    Then I heard Yuna-sama¡¯s voice.

    <strong>-Yuna¡¯s POV-</strong>

    After defeating the wyvern, I turned my attention to the building where the other wyvern was located.

    The building with the seal that Shinobu risked her life to protect had copsed, and a wyvern was rampaging inside the building.

    I may not make it in time, but I can¡¯t leave it like this.

    ¡°Just a little longer.¡± (Yuna)

    After saying that to the unconscious Shinobu, I ran toward the building. I entered the crumbling building. The floor had copsed, and there was the wyvern in the basement.

    The wyvern was iling about on the magic circle as if attracted to it.

    The magic circle was shing red and ck.

    As I expected, the seal was broken.

    But that magic circle was the one that Shinobu risked her life to protect. It¡¯s not a good idea to rampage near the magic circle.

    I jumped down to the basement and used bear magic and my mithril knife to defeat the rampaging wyvern. The wyvern fell on top of the magic circle, blood flowing and soaking into the ground.

    Part of the magic circle got broken, shing red and ck, and something like an eye moved. It¡¯s waking up, even though Kagali-san suppressed it until now.

    I couldn¡¯t protect it.

    When I understood this, the ground shook.

    Will it be resurrected? I thought, but the shaking subsided immediately.

    Do we still have a grace period?

    But then the ground started shaking again, and the building came crashing down to the basement.

    I have to get out of the basement immediately.

    There¡¯s no doubt that this was a sign that the huge snake wasing back to life. Just how much time do we have?

    What about the other ces? What about your side, Mumroot-san?

    I took out my bearphone to check with them, but the bearphone started ringing. I channeled my magic power into the bearphone, and soon I heard Kagali-san¡¯s voice.

    ¡®Hey, bear girl! What¡¯s going on? What was that shaking just now? Don¡¯t tell me the serpent has returned?¡¯ (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t make it. Maybe it will resurrect.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®What did you say?¡¯ (Kagali)

    It was my fault for taking too long.

    It could have been prevented if I had not given a bearphone to Kagali-san and immediately gone to Shinobu¡¯s ce instead.

    Or having a leisurely conversation with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    If only I had defeated the monsters in my assigned area quicker.

    No, if I had given the bearphone to Shinobu and Kagali-san initially, this would not have happened.

    I should have acted more thoughtfully. It waspletely my fault.

    ¡®What happened to Mumroot? Hasn¡¯t hee back yet?¡¯ (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to check it out now.¡± (Yuna)

    I hang up with Kagali-san and call Ruimin¡¯s bearphone.

    ¡®Yuna-san?¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin, what¡¯s going on over there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®We¡¯ve just finished getting ready and are on our way over there.¡¯ (Ruimin)

    ¡°Then,e here quickly! Wyvern broke one of the seals. The snake is about to revive.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®............!¡¯ (Ruimin)

    To my brief exnation, although I can¡¯t hear her voice through the bearphone, I can sense her surprise.

    ¡®Yuna-sama! Is everyone okay!¡¯ (Sakura)

    I heard the voice of Sakura who seemed to have been listening to the conversation.

    ¡°Shinobu fought against the Wyverns and fainted. But she¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Shinobu is...¡¯ (Sakura)

    ¡®Missy. Is it only one seal that got broken?¡¯ (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Then I¡¯ll buy you some time. I¡¯m on my way, so keep the door open.¡¯ (Mumroot)

    ¡°I understand. Hurry up ande.¡± (Yuna)

    I hung up the bearphone call.

    The ground shakes again. This time it¡¯s bigger. The ground cracks.

    I took Shinobu in my arms and left the ce.

    Just wait a little longer for your resurrection.

    Please.

    The shaking stops as if my wish has been granted.

    When I came a little further away, I put Shinobu on the ground and took out the bear gate. Then, I opened the door to the elf forest and waited for Mumroot-san.

    In the meantime, I will treat the wounded Shinobu until Mumroot-san arrives. I ced the bear puppet on her wounded face, healed the abrasions, and wiped away the blood. Her face became clean.

    Next, I cut the clothes on her left shoulder with a knife, which was soaked with blood. A chainmail came out from under the clothes. Apparently, thanks to the chainmail, her wound was not fatal.

    From the top of the chainmail, I closed the wound on her left shoulder. The bleeding has now stopped. She shouldn¡¯t die from bleeding with this. I also treated the other areas where blood was flowing.

    Shinobu wasn¡¯t a cheat or anything; she was just an ordinary girl.

    Shinobu got hurt but defeated the Wyverns. I think it¡¯s incredible to defeat the Wyvern at her age. If she grows stronger like this, she will be quite capable.

    Shinobu would probably be referred to as a genius.

    Then, when Shinobu¡¯s treatment was over, I thought I heard the voices of Mumroot-san, Ruimin, and Sakura from the door, and so the three arrived.

    Sakura noticed Shinobu lying on the ground.

    ¡°Shinobu!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura rushed over to her.

    ¡°As I said earlier, but she just fainted.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But there¡¯s so much blood.¡± (Sakura)

    She got upset when she saw the bloodied, torn clothes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done the first aid; she¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura held Shinobu¡¯s hand and gave a relieved face.

    At that moment, the ground shakes again, loudly.

    ¡°It¡¯s shaking.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin loses her bnce.

    Then I saw Kagali-saning, with her tail wagging.

    ¡°What? Mumroot. Did you juste back?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I just got here.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So what about strengthening the barrier?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We¡¯ve been preparing. We¡¯re ready, but there¡¯s a problem. We¡¯ve only got three magic circles that can reinforce the seals.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Just for three ces?¡± (Kagali)

    The huge snake has five locations, including the body.

    But if we can only hold down three heads...

    ¡°Etto, it has four heads, so are we going to hold three?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We have to hold the body down. If one head is resurrected, the other heads will be resurrected by following through the body. The torso is the only one that absolutely has to be reinforced to seal. If I had more time, I could have done the rest by hand.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°There¡¯s no time! Worst case scenario, we have to fight two heads.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Even so, I didn¡¯t expect the seal to break so quickly.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s all my fault.

    I could have done more.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. We were running out of time to begin with.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And there¡¯s another problem.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°What?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough mages to activate the magic circle. I thought there was still time before the resurrection, so I was going to ask the mages from this country to help me.¡± (Mumroot)

    There were only three people here who could do it, Me, Kagali-san, and Mumroot-san.

    ¡°There is no time. I will have to do it myself.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No. To activate the magic circle, you have to keep pouring in magic power. What if the serpent revives, Kagali!? Only you and Missy here are the only ones who can fight it.¡± (Mumroot)

    As Mumroot-san said, we will also need someone to fight the snake. Of course, myself, Kagali-san, and preferably Mumroot-san. No one can activate the magic circle to strengthen the seal.

    ¡°It¡¯s such an unusable magic circle. Why did you prepare it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I told you it was temporary. I thought we could do even that with a few mages in this country.¡± (Mumroot)

    Just a few more days. No, even a day would have been enough to talk to the king and gather the mages.

    But we don¡¯t have time for that now.

    The ground is shaking even as we speak. Gradually, the shaking gets louder and louder.

    It could be revived at any time.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura, who had been listening quietly, looked at us with serious eyes.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Mumroot-san and the others are back.

    ¡ù Comicalized 2 episodes are now avable for your viewing pleasure. Click on theicalization below (or theicalization cover) to go to the link of theicalization.

    ¡ù Thank you for submitting your autograph books. Thank you. The application for the autograph book has been closed, but the bear-san coinpurse(¥¯¥Þ¤Î¤¬¤Þ¿Ú) are still avable, thank you very much.

    ¡ùI¡¯m sorry. The 3rd post will be from 3 to 4 days.

    I have to start working on 10 volumes of books, and the huge snake edition has entered the final stage, and it is a little difficult to put together.

    I may or may not be able to reply to your feedback.

    But I will still look at your feedback, so please feel free to write to me as usual.

    Thank you very much.

    Kumanano

 Chapter 466

    <h4>Chapter 466</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Watching Over</strong></h4>

    ¡°Sakura?¡± (Yuna)

    At Sakura¡¯s words, everyone looks at her.

    ¡°I know how to use the magic circle because Mumroot-sama taught me how to use it. Even with my magical power, I should be able to activate it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Wait, I exined to you that you have to keep pouring in the magic. If a child, such as yourself, continues to pour in magic, you may not be able to use it in the future.¡± (Mumroot)

    I¡¯ve heard from Noa that if a child uses a little bit of magic, there¡¯s no problem, but if a child uses a lot of magic or magic power, it will affect them when they grow up. That¡¯s why there were no child mages in this world.

    But Sakura shakes her head slowly at Mumroot-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°If my country can be saved simply by me not being able to use magic, I don¡¯t mind. If I have to choose between my country and magic, I will choose my country without hesitation.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura answered Mumroot-san with serious eyes.

    But Mumroot-san can¡¯t nod his head at the decision of a girl he just met.

    If I, Kagali-san, and Mumroot-san go to strengthen the seal, there will be no one left to fight the resurrected snake. So I understand what Sakura was saying. However, I also don¡¯t want her to do anything dangerous.

    I have a way to get mages from elsewhere, but the fastest one was to get the elven inhabitants. But I don¡¯t know what will happen to Mumroot-san and Ruimin when I exin about the bear gate. Furthermore, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to put the elves, who are not involved, in danger.

    Perhaps Mumroot-san wouldn¡¯t let me either.

    And who would immediately nod their heads after hearing the exnation about the giant snake? Even if they nodded their heads, people around them might stop them. I don¡¯t have time to persuade those people. I don¡¯t want Mumroot-san to leave me now.

    When Mumroot-san could not answer, Kagali-san, who was standing next to him, stared at Sakura intently and opened her mouth.

    ¡°Sakura, are you sure? It may kill you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes. I cannot run away to a safe ce when I know there is something I can do. While I don¡¯t have the strength to fight the serpent, I can at least dy the resurrection of the serpent.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura...¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If I am in danger, don¡¯te to my aid. I will not be a hindrance to you. I will prolong the seal as long as possible. Therefore, I ask you to take care of the serpent.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura bowed her head.

    Seeing Sakura like this, Kagali-san bit her lip hard.

    She¡¯s going to a ce where the snake maye back to life. There¡¯s still a possibility that not only the snake but also monsters wille.

    But Kagali-san understood everything and opened her mouth.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll leave one of the seals to Sakura.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama...¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san, who knew Sakura the best of all these people, made the decision. So I can¡¯t interject.

    I don¡¯t know how to answer that either.

    Besides, the ground has been shaking since a while ago, albeit small. It could revive at any moment. We are running out of time.

    ¡°Ruimin-san. I don¡¯t think I can keep that promise, but if I survive and can use magic, please invite me again.¡± (Sakura)

    I don¡¯t know what kind of promise she made, but Sakura smiles as she says that to Ruimin.

    Ruimin, on the other hand, has nothing to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to meet you, Ruimin-san.¡±

    ¡°Sakura-chan...¡±

    Ruimin couldn¡¯t say anything to Sakura¡¯s words.

    She tried to say something out loud, but struggled with what words to use.

    In the midst of all this, Kagali-san opened her mouth.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time. Let¡¯s split up and reinforce the seal. Worst case scenario, we can hold out until backup arrives. Mumroot, quickly teach me how to use the magic circle, quickly.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin raised her voice. Everyone looked at Ruimin. Ruimin¡¯s face had a look of determination on it.

    ¡°What? We don¡¯t have much time. Missy, you can go back to your house. This will be a battleground soon.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll help out too. Right now, we need magical power, even if it¡¯s just one person more.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san!¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What are you talking about!?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san was surprised by Ruimin¡¯s words.

    Of course, so did I. I was going to ask Ruimin to return.

    ¡°Grandpa. You don¡¯t have time to exin the magic circle to Kagali-san. But I know it because I saw you exining it to Sakura earlier. So, I¡¯ll go for the other seal.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin...¡± (Mumroot)

    Ruimin is not a recement for Sakura. So she said she¡¯s going for the other seal.

    What we arecking right now is someone to pour magic power into the magic circle. Ruimin understands this.

    ¡°Ruimin-san, no. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If we sealed the two together, Yuna-san and Kagali-san would be able to fight. That way, we have a better chance of winning.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Grandpa, please. Let me help out too!¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot-san nced at Ruimin for a moment.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re going home.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa! At first, I just came because I thought I could help Yuna-san. But Sakura-chan, who I met, is in trouble. I can¡¯t escape alone. ¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin grabbed Mumroot-san¡¯s clothes and tried to persuade him.

    ¡°Ruimin...¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa wouldn¡¯t go home even if Kagali-san and Yuna-san told you to go home either, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°But...¡± (Mumroot)

    The ground shakes.

    It¡¯s gradually getting bigger and bigger.

    Discussion time is running out.

    ¡°Grandpa, please. Let me help out too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Mumroot, we don¡¯t have time to argue. It may be harsh, but you must decide soon. If you want to ask me what I think, it would be helpful if she stays.¡± (Kagali)

    The ground shakes even louder.

    This is the biggest tremor I¡¯ve ever felt so far.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot-san made an agonizing decision.

    ¡°Ruimin, you must promise me. If you find it dangerous, run away immediately.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°......Grandpa. Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll run away if I think it¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Ruimin)

    Indeed, this is the best way to go in the current situation.

    If Ruimin and Sakura have decided to do this, I will only support them.

    I call out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You have to put even your granddaughter in danger.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ruimin decided for herself. You both have your item bags, right?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Un.¡± (Sakura)

    Mumroot-san handed them both a carpet and a pouch from the item bag each. When they received it from Mumroot-san, they put it in their item bags.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading to the center, to the body. I¡¯m leaving the heads to you.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Got it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Un.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Ruimin and Sakura will leave the door open for you, so if worsees to worst, you can escape there. The snake shouldn¡¯t be able to get inside the door.¡± (Yuna)

    It has a huge body. So it should not be able to pass through the bear gate.

    ¡°Got it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Un.¡± (Sakura)

    The two nodded.

    Our eyes fell on Shinobu, whoid unconscious on the ground as we all tried to move.

    It¡¯s not safe to let her sleep here.

    ¡°Should we lie her down at the otherside of that door?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I have a trusted child to take care of her.¡± (Yuna)

    I take out my bearphone.

    Shortly after the other party left.

    ¡®Yuna-oneesan?¡¯ (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to go to my house right now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Eh? What happened?¡¯ (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have time to exin. I put a person sleeping in front of the bear gate, can you see it? The clothes are bloody, but she¡¯s just fainted, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yuna-oneesan?¡¯ (Fina)

    ¡°Call me if something happens.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yuna-oneesan!¡¯ (Fina)

    Fina was trying to say something, but I didn¡¯t have time to exin.

    I closed the door of the bear gate once and connected it to the bear house in Crimonia.

    Then, I went through the bear gate with the Shinobu in a princess carry andid the unconscious Shinobu down. Then, I made sure Fina could get into the bear house since Fina couldn¡¯t get in at this moment.

    Fina would take care of the rest.

    I closed the bear gate, opened it again, and connected it to the elven forest.<strong>*</strong>

    ¡°Who were you talking to, Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°The most trustworthy girl I¡¯ve ever met. You don¡¯t have to worry about Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Sakura)

    I don¡¯t want her to worry about Shinobu, so I told Sakura to reassure her.

    When we¡¯re finally ready, the ground shook the strongest so far.

    The shaking did not stop.

    Earlier, the tremors would have stopped immediately.

    But this time, the quaking doesn¡¯t stop.

    The shaking gradually increased.

    Ruimin and Sakura began to lose their bnce and almost fell over.

    At that time, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came and supported them.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan!¡±

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan!¡±

    They hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to keep themselves from falling over.

    However, the shaking kept on going.

    The ground quaked and loud noises echoed. It felt like something was rising from the basement.

    I checked my detection skills.

    A part of the snake was disyed.

    Gogogogogogo, it¡¯s the sound of the ground rumbling.

    We can hear the sound of trees falling in the distance.

    It¡¯sing out of the ground.

    And something big rose up. It¡¯s recognizable even from here at a distance.

    ¡°Orochi...¡±

    A towering, building-like thing is wriggling.

    It¡¯s so BIG!<strong>**</strong>

    ¡°So that¡¯s the giant snake......¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s huge.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I never wanted to see that again.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I agree with that.¡± (Mumroot)

    Nobody would want to see that thing.

    ¡°Neither of you can back down now.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Un.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura and Ruimin replied while looking at the giant snake.

    I can imagine their hands are shaking right now.

    We are going to the ce where that giant snake¡¯s heads are sealed. How could they not be afraid?

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Take care of Ruimin and Sakura. If something happens, take them and run inside the bear gate.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    In case they could not escape by themselves, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would pull them back even if they were forced to do so. Besides, they will protect those two even if monsterse close to them.

    Ruimin rides on Swaying Bear and Sakura rides on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re off then!¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°We¡¯re going.¡± (Sakura)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, carrying the two, started running.

    ¡°I¡¯m also going, just take it easy, both of you.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Leave it to me, I¡¯ll weaken it splendidly.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t mind taking them down, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re making it sound like it¡¯s the easiest thing in the world. When you¡¯re the one saying it, Missy, it sounds like you¡¯re really going to do it.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-sanughs and starts running.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± (Kagali)

    We ran towards the head of the newly resurrected giant snake.

    =====

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    I don¡¯t have much time, but I have a lot of things to talk about.

    I want to be able to write around that area a little better.

    <strong>¡ù </strong>In the activity report, the store bonus for volume 10 and a newly written SS short story is still avable.

    Until next time.

    =====

    <strong>Trantor¡¯s Note:</strong>

    <strong>*( </strong>¤ï¤¿¤·¤Ïìé¤òé]¤¸¡¢ÔÙ¶È¥¨¥ë¥Õ¤ÎÉ­¤Ø¤Èìé¤òé_¤±¤ë¡£<strong>) </strong>= Not so sure about this one going to the elven forest.

    <strong>**</strong> That¡¯s what she said (^^)

 Chapter 467

    <h4>Chapter 467</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, The Battle With Orochi Begins</strong></h4>

    ¡°We should keep its head away from the other seals and destroy the serpent¡¯s heads quickly. Remember, we must aim for the head, not the torso.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why not the torso?¡± (Yuna)

    Of course, I understand that the head is the weak point. But I think the torso shouldn¡¯t havee out of the ground yet, so it¡¯s like an all-you-can-attack buffet.

    Think of it as a giant snake whose body is stuck in a hole.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. The skin of the serpent is naturally thick. In addition to it, it is hardened by magic power. You can damage it a little, but its skin is so thick that the serpent can repair its own skin with its enormous amount of magical power.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Even a mithril weapon can¡¯t damage it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if you can pierce it, its skin is so thick it makes it difficult to prate deeply. Plus, if you miss the timing, the skin will repair itself on the spot, and the weapon will get stuck.¡± (Kagali)

    What¡¯s with that?

    That¡¯s a cheat. I always thought recovery was the biggest cheat of all. Especially in games, if it¡¯s on your side, it¡¯s reliable, but when the enemy uses it, it¡¯s the worst. The moment you¡¯re almost ready to give them the fatal strike, they will simply recover and shrug off the damage. It¡¯s just too much. There¡¯s no more stressful moment than that. I don¡¯t think enemies should use recovery.

    ¡°So, how did you defeat it before?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s not a bad thing to refer to past battles.

    ¡°We pushed through with numbers. Many people work together to damage and attack even if it is repaired. We attacked it repeatedly. Even a giant serpent has a limited amount of magical power. If you keep hitting the same area, the repair speed of the giant serpent will slow down. Then, Mumroot and other adventurers seeded in sealing one of their heads after sessfully weakening it. Then, the second head, the third, the fourth head, and then finally, the body. The number of victims at that time was innumerable. I wouldn¡¯t know what would have happened without Mumroot. ¡± (Kagali)

    Mumroot-san and his friends must have been fantastic.

    They also conquered the pyramid in the desert. He doesn¡¯t look like such a great guy now, though.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t thank Mumroot enough.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But if you had it cornered that far, you should have taken it down.¡± (Yuna)

    If they had done so, this would never have happened.

    ¡°Everyone at that time was at their limits. Many had died and few were left to fight. We could barely seal it up.¡± (Kagali)

    I guess that means it was a slim victory.

    You cannot really me those who fought for their lives. Only those who have experienced it at that time can understand it.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we should attack the head and reduce the snake¡¯s magical power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I will make this easy for you, but it¡¯s the most dangerous ce you¡¯ll ever be. And it will attack you with its mouths. If it eats you, you¡¯re finished. All of its attacks are very powerful. One blow, and you¡¯re done for.¡± (Kagali)

    I don¡¯t want to be cannon fodder, but I think I can brace myself for it with my bear equipment. I think I¡¯ll be fine.

    ¡°By the way, what kind of attacks do those heads do? Fire, water, wind, or earth?¡± (Yuna)

    The snake breathed fire, spit water, sent wind, and sent clumps of rocks flying, ording to the story. I am sure that Kagali-san, one of the people who sealed the head, would know which head in which ce has which attribute.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was hundreds of years ago. I don¡¯t remember.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said apologetically.

    Did they not keep it as folklore?

    While talking with Kagali-san, wee close to the heads of the giant snake.

    The serpent¡¯s head coiled itself up, then it stretched upwards, and it¡¯s not moving from there.

    The serpent wasrger than the ck viper I had defeated before. This was a giant monster with four heads.

    It¡¯s a nasty monster. It¡¯s like four ck vipers packed together.

    But if Mumroot-san and the other two can keep the other heads from reviving, it should not be an impossible opponent to defeat.

    And I know how to defeat the ck viper and generally giant monsters by heart.

    Big monsters can be roasted from inside the body. Any living giant monster that gets cooked from inside cannot live.

    So if I take down the heads one at a time, The giant serpent won¡¯t be considered an impossible opponent to defeat.

    ¡°It¡¯s not moving. Do we have to wait until it does?¡± (Yuna)

    If not, then I would like to attack them preemptively.

    But Mumroot-san and the other two should be making preparations to strengthen the seal right now.

    If we attack it and it goes on a rampage, even the other seals will be broken, what Mumroot-san and the other two were doing will be in vain.

    ¡°Yes, it has just awakened, and its movements seem to be sluggish. But still, Mumroot and the others will need time to strengthen the seal.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san and I seem to be on the same page.

    But things change quickly, and so do our thoughts.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we have that much time, though.¡± (Yuna)

    The head of the snake descended. Then it moves slowly as if trying to crawl.

    Trees were falling down.

    ¡°What? That direction? Bear Girl, this is bad. We¡¯re heading for the sealed area. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going there first.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said so and ran off.

    Fast.

    I also ran after her, and when I got next to her, Kagali-san noticed me and looked surprised.

    She didn¡¯t expect me to catch up, did she?

    The head of the snake slowly extended its head to the building that Kagali-san protected.

    It¡¯s long. The torso, or rather the neck, is long.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to attack it and grab it¡¯s attention.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san then shot a ball of me toward the snake¡¯s head.

    The me hits the side of the mouth of the snake.

    The power was weak, but the snake stopped its movement.

    ¡°Look over here!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san shots a ball of me in session. The snake opens its mouth and swallows those balls of me.

    ¡°It ate it all?¡± (Yuna)

    The ck body of the snake turns red and mes burst from its mouth.

    ¡°Is that the fire-type snake head? Did the one you hate the moste back first?¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san had an unpleasant look on her face.

    The fire-type was the nastiest among fire, water, wind, and earth elements.

    That special move of mine may not work on this one.

    ¡°If you get too close to it, it¡¯ll burn you with its heat. Be careful.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san changes her method of attack from me to water.

    Fire¡¯s weakness is water. Water¡¯s weakness is earth. Earth¡¯s weakness is wind. And the weakness of wind is fire.

    Well, I don¡¯t think that applies to everything, but water is definitely the weakness of fire.

    ¡°Bear girl, how is your magic?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I can use any element.¡± (Yuna)

    Fire, water, wind, or earth. And I can also use electric magic.

    ¡°That¡¯s encouraging. Here ites.¡± (Kagali)

    The snake raised its head and looked at Kagali-san and me.

    Those eyes were the same thing that moved back then when they were sealed earlier.

    The serpent dropped its posture towards us to strike us with its head.

    Kagali-san and I dodged.

    The head of the serpent made a loud thud on the spot where we were.

    Kagali-san shot a ball of water, and I shot an arrow of ice.

    Each attack hits, but it did not feel like it did any damage.

    I ran in front of the snake. The snake opened its mouth and tried to eat me.

    I created an army of me bears with that timing.

    If the outside is not good, then I¡¯ll get it from the inside.

    ¡°Go!¡± (Yuna)

    The me bears entered the mouth of the fire-type snake head. The snake closed its mouth. The snake opened its mouth again and attacked. I thought it would burn the inside of its mouth.

    The giant serpent devoured the me bears.

    I can only say that this was a really bad matchup.

    If this wasn¡¯t a fire-type snake head, it would have already been destroyed by now.

    Of all its heads, the resurrected one was a fire-type snake head. It can even eat an army of ming bears.

    <strong>-Sakura¡¯s POV-</strong>

    I¡¯m riding Hugging Bear-sama to the ce where the seal was located.

    I parted ways with Ruimin-san on the way.

    I even got Ruimin-san, who has nothing to do with it, involved. I¡¯m very sorry.

    Yuna-sama, Mumuruto-sama, and Ruimin-san. Also, Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama. People who have nothing to do with this country.

    These people were risking their lives to help us defeat the serpent.

    Now, if His Majesty the King would notice the serpent and bring the mages to the ind, we would have a chance to win. If Shinobu had been there, she could have contacted His Majesty the King, but she could not do so under the circumstances. Shinobu was wounded and had fainted.

    Looking back, I can see the giant serpent.

    Those who could see it from the sea should¡¯ve noticed it and reported it.

    But then, given the time it takes to get ready ande to the ind, we may not make it.

    No, we will make it until then, even if it means using all of my magical power. Even if I can¡¯t use magic for the rest of my life.

    Thanks to Hugging Bear-sama, we reached the building where the seal is located in no time.

    The building is a little broken.

    There are still battle scars in various ces.

    All of them fought to protect this ce.

    I looked above the building and saw a ck bird, a Volss, flying overhead. I got off Hugging Bear-sama, opened the door, and rushed in to escape.

    However, Hugging Bear-sama did note in.

    ¡°Come on, Hugging Bear-sama, hurry.¡± (Sakura)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear-sama cried and ran off in a different direction from the door.

    Where are you going!?

    When I chased Hugging Bear-sama and went outside, I saw him heading for Volss.

    I immediately understood.

    Hugging Bear-sama went to defeat Volss.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-sama......¡± (Sakura)

    Hugging Bear-sama is following Yuna-sama¡¯s instructions.

    I also must do what I have to do.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-sama, thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    I left the monsters to Hugging Bear-sama and hurried to the basement where the magic circle was located.

    When I reached the basement, I saw arge magic circle.

    I have seen this several times in the past.

    I stood in front of the magic circle.

    Something moved.

    ¡°What was that?¡± (Sakura)

    I braced myself.

    Looking at it closely, I could see what looked like a gigantic eye in the magic circle.

    Perhaps the eye of the giant serpent...

    I¡¯m scared.

    That must be why Kagali-sama did not let me in so as not to scare me.

    If the serpent revives here, it will eat me.

    My legs are trembling.

    However, both Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama are fighting the giant serpent. Shinobu also tried to defend the seal even after she was injured.

    I am afraid here, but I cannot run away. I said to myself. I moved to the center of the magic circle. There was a magic stone embedded in the center. I ced the carpet that Mumroot-sama gave me to cover it.

    I matched the magic stone to the magic circle on the carpet.

    I prepared myself, remembering what Mumroot-sama taught me.

    All the while, the eyes were still staring at me.

    I¡¯m scared.

    But I can do what I have to do.

    I pped my cheeks with both hands to get my spirit back.

    For the sake of Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama who were fighting the serpent, I will protect this seal.

    I ced the magic stone entrusted to me by Mumroot-sama on the carpet.

    ¡°Here, and here, then here¡± (Sakura)

    This should be okay.

    I lined up the magic stones on the carpet.

    ¡°Su~u...... ha~a...¡± (Sakura)

    I took a deep breath and ced my hands on the magic circle on the carpet.

    Please. Work.

    I let my magical power flow into the circle.

    I can see the magic flowing from my body to the magic circle.

    The magic circle and magic stones on the carpet began to glow.

    I poured magical power little by little.

    ording to Mumroot-sama, it¡¯s necessary to keep the magic flowing, and it¡¯s meaningless to pour the magic all at once. However, when the seal was about to be broken, Mumroot-sama told me that I needed to put in a lot of magical power.

    What I thought was an eye behind the barrier has disappeared.

    Apparently, the magic circle reinforcement went well.

    Now all I could pray was that Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama would have enough magic power to defeat the serpent.

    =====

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    The battle against the serpent has just begun, but we will be taking a break for a while.

    We are having a hard time rewriting the book of volume 10, and the web version needs more time than usual to think about the final scene, so we are having to neglect both.

    We will resume work on the book as soon as we have a certain amount of time to work on it.

    I hope to resume in about 10 days.

    If the continuation gets dyed, I will report it in the activity report.

    Also, look out for bonus stories for the store perks and a newly written short story in the activity report.

    Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

    <strong>-Kumanano</strong>

    ¡ùThe third episode of theicalization has been released. Please have a look. It¡¯s (Kuma-san pantsu) episode. w

 Chapter 468

    <h4>Chapter 468</h4> <h4><strong>The King Makes His Move</strong></h4>

    Yesterday, I met a girl dressed as a bear that Sakura said she saw in a dream.

    When I first received the report, I had no idea what it meant, but it turned out to be a girl dressed as a bear.

    ording to the reports, she is about 15 years old. Not much different from my daughter.

    Just by looking at her, I don¡¯t think she is strong enough to beat Jubei. I don¡¯t know how Shinobu could recognize that girl dressed as a bear as the beacon of hope that Sakura is talking about.

    If there had been no reports of the battle with Jubei, I don¡¯t think I would have believed Sakura¡¯s words about that girl being the beacon of hope alone.

    A girl dressed as a bear fought Jubei and defeated him. Jubei is one of the strongest in the country. There are very few who can win against him.

    Even if Jubei took it easy on her because his opponent was a child, he wouldn¡¯t lose easily.

    But the reports say the result was that the girl dressed as a bear won.

    Still, it¡¯s a happy miscalction. This proves Sakura¡¯s words. Even those who had objected to the decision had no choice but to shut up when they saw the result. No one would dare to speak out after what had just happened.

    I apologized to the bear girl for testing her. One wrong move, and we would have lost the beacon of hope.

    But the bear girl epted my apology and agreed to fight Orochi.

    I never thought I would entrust the future of my country to such a girl.

    The bear girl has reported from Shinobu that the three of them are going to the ind of Reenes today to meet Kagali.

    A report arrived saying the girls would cross over the ocean on top of the bears.

    And the report I received from Shinobu said that they were going to the ind on that ck and white bear. Apparently, the report we received at the very beginning was not wrong.

    It said that a girl dressed as a bear came from the sea on a bear. At first, I only thought that she came on a boat riding a bear at that time.

    But, true to Sakura¡¯s words, the bear came, running over the ocean.

    Still, Bears running on the ocean?

    We can¡¯t help it. No one would believe a report of a bear running over the ocean.

    But it was true. Today I heard that Sakura¡¯s wish was to go to the ind on top of the bear.

    At that time, Shinobu told me not to tell anyone about the bear running over the sea.

    Who am I going to tell?

    If I were to tell my subjects that a bear had crossed over the ocean, they would think I was crazy.

    When I hear the words ¡°the bears are running over the sea,¡± I don¡¯t think anyone would believe what I, myself, couldn¡¯t believe in the first ce.

    So there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to say it in the first ce.

    Besides, if the girl dressed as a bear wants me to keep it a secret, I shall do so.

    If Sakura is right and the girl dressed as a bear is the beacon of hope, she will not be in a bad mood.

    If the bear girl can save the country, I will hang on to every sliver of hope. Like no matter how small that beacon of hope may be.

    Still, I would have liked to see the bears run on the ocean.

    Kagali, on the ind of Reenes, has been the guardian of this country for many years. She has saved the country every time it has been in danger. Kagali is a fox that has lived for hundreds of years. Her appearance has not changed since ancient times.

    Only a limited number of people know about Kagali. This is because she is constantly in trouble for her longevity and good looks.

    I¡¯ve known her since I was little, so she¡¯s like a sister and mother figure to me. Therefore, she knows many things about me, which is troublesome. That¡¯s why I often have a hard time keeping my head above water when ites to Kagali.

    As I work to figure out what to do in the future, I got a report.

    I heard that monsters had appeared on the street.

    At first, I wondered why they would report such a thing to me, but apparently, there were too many of them. So, apparently, the Adventurers Guild contacted me asking me to send out soldiers.

    I gave the order to send out a squad of soldiers. I ordered the unitmander to be in charge of the field.

    After receiving a report of monsters¡¯ rampage and working for a while, a small white bird enters through an open window.

    The little white bird flew round and round in the room and perched on my hand when I held it out.

    It is a messenger bird of Shinobu. A small tube is attached to the neck of the little bird.

    What¡¯s going on? Shinobu should be with Sakura and the girl dressed as a bear to visit Kagali. So what¡¯s wrong? For a moment, the thought urs to me that Kagali may have done something outrageous to the girl dressed as a bear.

    I hastily remove the tube¡¯s lid and take out a piece of paper from inside. It was written in short sentences, ¡°There are monsters attacking on the ind, and the seal is feared to been broken.¡±.

    It was different.

    It was even the worst situation.

    Monsters were gathering. I am reminded of the report I just received.

    Only one thing thates to mind.

    That¡¯s what caused it!

    I stood up from my seat and instructed the ministers to gather immediately.

    At that moment, a messenger came and received a call for reinforcements from the troopmander who had left earlier to defeat the monsters.

    It seems that the number of monsters is increasing.

    Someone pulled out a map and checked it against reports about the monsters.

    I knew it; they were all moving to the vicinity of the ind of Reenes.

    It¡¯s possible that simr things were happening on other parts of the ind.

    No, it¡¯s definitely happening.

    ¡°The ce closest to the ind of Reenes is the most dangerous.¡± (King)

    ¡°What do you mean, your majesty?¡± (Minister)

    ¡°I got a message from Shinobu earlier, who¡¯s on the ind of Reenes. It seems that monsters are gathering on the ind.¡± (King)

    ¡°No way.¡± (Minister)

    It seems the others had an idea of what I was talking about.

    ¡°It is said that in the past, when Orochi appeared, many monsters were also present. I believe this is a sign of that.¡± (King)

    Everyone became noisy with my words.

    ¡°Check the ind immediately. And hurry up the preparation of the troops.¡± (King)

    I gave instructions for defending the entrances to the city and securing the city roads.

    Some were moving on the streets. They must be protected with the highest priority.

    Then, I told them not to leave each town or vige.

    ¡°Then send the women you have gathered to fight Orochi to the ind of Reenes.¡± (King)

    If the Orochi had indeed been resurrected, I don¡¯t know how useful it would be, but since men are not allowed on the ind, we have to rely only on women.

    At the very worst, we will have to get Sakura back. Sakura is a memento of myte sister.

    ¡°What about the mages?¡± (Minister)

    ¡°Orochi has not yet revived. The priority now is to protect the people from the monsters. Send them to defeat it.¡± (King)

    Damn it. I thought we still had a few more days.

    I was going to consider our course of action in the future based on Kagali¡¯s assessment of Bear Missy. Kagali¡¯s opinion would be the most important in this matter. So, depending on Kagali¡¯s evaluation, how to treat Bear Missy would change.

    Kagali. In your eyes, did Bear Missy be the beacon of hope? Or did you feel nothing?

    Even if I wanted to ask her that, It¡¯s not possible right now.

    We have to defeat the monsters that are gathering right away.

    Then, I told them that I¡¯m leaving the castle and royal capital to others and going to the harbor.

    ¡°The King should stay in the castle.¡± (Minister)

    ¡°As for the monsters, I¡¯m sure you guys will be fine. But if Orochi were to resurrect, the scene would be in chaos. What should I do if I don¡¯t step forward!¡± (King)

    ¡°But...¡± (Minister)

    ¡°I know. I will not do anything dangerous. If something happens, I will just give you instructions. Save your soldiers and mages as much as possible. However, if the residents are in danger, you must spare no expense. As for the monsters, I¡¯ll leave it to you. If there is an emergency, send a messenger to the port.¡± (King)

    ¡°I, I understand. As you wish, Your Highness.¡± (Minister)

    After giving instructions to the respective ministers, I head for the port.

    ¡°As soon as the ship is ready, we will depart.¡± (Captain)

    At the port, preparations are being made for the ship¡¯s departure.

    Soon after, the ship is ready, and we board it.

    The ind is visible, but the situation is not clear from here.

    The ship gradually approaches the ind.

    ¡°Your Majesty! The ind.¡± (Soldier)

    A soldier observing the ind reported while panicking. He¡¯s in a hurry beyond words.

    I looked at the ind through my telescope.

    There¡¯s smoke rising from the ind. I can see pirs of fire.

    And there¡¯s another big thing moving around.

    What......?

    ......The giant serpent, Orochi has returned.

    There¡¯s four people on that ind. Kagali, Shinobu, Sakura, and the girl dressed as a bear.

    What¡¯s going on over there? Was Sakura safe?

    ¡°Get the ship closer to the ind.¡± (King)

    ¡°But Your Majesty!¡± (Captain)

    ¡°I just want to check something.¡± (King)

    As the ship approaches the ind, the situation bes more apparent.

    That¡¯s a giant serpent, one big red serpent head. And there¡¯s something small moving around it.

    That¡¯s Kagali and the bear!

    Maybe they¡¯re fighting!?

    What about Shinobu and Sakura?

    The only thing I can think of was that Kagali and Yuna were fighting, while Shinobu was running away with Sakura.

    But was there a safe ce on the ind now that the giant serpent has been resurrected?

    Still, I can only see one head.

    If it¡¯s just one head, we can still manage.

    Ahead, we can see a boat carrying the women who were supposed to fight Orochi. But it¡¯s not heading for the shore.

    What are they doing!

    If they don¡¯t hurry, Sakura will die.

    I saw a little bird fly by.

    The messenger received it and confirmed the message.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± (Soldier)

    ¡°What!?¡± (King)

    ¡°It says here that the women who saw Orochi were so frightened that they wouldn¡¯t go to the ind.¡± (Soldier)

    ¡°What are you talking about now!¡± (King)

    At my outcry, the messenger¡¯s face bes tense and he looks troubled.

    I know he¡¯s just reading it out loud, but I still tell that to the messenger.

    Moreover, after all my grumbling and collecting so much stress, this might result from it?

    The girl dressed as a bear that Sakura said was a beacon of hope is fighting.

    ¡°Messenger! Have the mages gather at the port.¡± (King)

    Worst case scenario, we¡¯ll lure Orochi away from the country!

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note: </strong>

    Sorry for the dy.

    But I think my next post will bete as well.

    Please understand.

    I hope to settle down around the end of Golden Week.

    If there are any readers who have purchased volume 9, please enter the giveaway.

    For details on how to enter, please refer to the obi of volume 9 or click on ¡°Comicalization¡± below to see the details from Pash Comic.

    Thank you in advance.

 Chapter 469

    <h4>Chapter 469</h4>

    <strong>Bear-san, Fights The Orochi, Part 1</strong>

    One of Orochi¡¯s heads burned bright red, burning the nearby vegetation.

    ¡°Damn it, and it¡¯s hot.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san magically created arge body of water and diffused it over her head. Kagali-san covered her head with water.

    Her clothes be transparent and look a little sexy. I guess this sexiness was probably due to her breasts. I looked at my breasts. After a few hundred years, they should grow simr to Kagali-san¡¯s.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you feeling hot, Bear Missy!?¡± (Kagali)

    Thanks to my bear equipment, it¡¯s not hot. As a matter of fact, I am feeling veryfortable.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. Well, that¡¯s good and all. But I¡¯m the one feeling the heat just by looking at you.¡± (Kagali)

    That doesn¡¯t mean I can just take them off.

    ¡°So, Kagali-san. How do we fight it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If possible, I want to knock it down to the sea.¡± (Kagali)

    You can¡¯t do that without moving its main body.

    ¡°If so, do you want to revive the other Orochi heads too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯m kidding. We will be in more trouble than we are right now if we do that. If the water serpent were to revive and go to the sea, it would be even more difficult than it is now. I cannot fight on the sea. If the water serpent attacks, it can sink the ship with a single blow. Sadly, I¡¯m weak on the sea.¡± (Kagali)

    A single wave can rock a ship, and a big wave can sink it. Fighting monsters at sea makes it even more dangerous.

    Given this, the king¡¯s proposal to use mages to keep the serpent away from the country was a dangerous move.

    Once out to sea, you have nowhere to run especially if you¡¯re attracting the attention of a giant snake.

    The mages and sailors who would take on the roles of being the decoy would undoubtedly die.

    I don¡¯t think the king should use that method with that in mind.

    ¡°So I guess that means we¡¯ll just have to take it down here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, if we defeat it here, everything will be fine.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san and I smiled.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san and I ran off.

    I leaped high and rose to the vicinity of the Fire Orochi head. Then I shot a water ball at it.

    The water ball evaporates the moment it hits the head of the Fire Orochi head.

    It¡¯s like spraying water droplets into a hot frying pan.

    Kagali-san also shot water spray like a stream from both hands, but the water spray did no damage.

    Fire¡¯s weakness should be water. But why was the Fire Orochi head taking only a little bit of damage? It doesn¡¯t appear to be doing any damage.

    I tried to test something out; I shot a bear wind de. The mes on the Fire Orochi head burned much more intensely.

    This time, I created arge rock and shot it. It hit the head, but it just bounced off.

    Hmmm, is the physics malfunctioning?

    I shot a block of ice, but just like the rock, it just bounced off. However, it¡¯s more effective than rock because the me somehow weakened at the point where it hit.

    ¡°It¡¯s being reinforced by magic. Aim for the eyes and maw, those areas!¡± (Kagali)

    After Kagali-san said that, I aimed at the eyes and maw. But the head kept moving, so I couldn¡¯t hit it. Also, it¡¯s more than several dozen meters high, so I have to keep jumping.

    We attacked when the head hit the ground, but it was difficult to time the attack because the head kept moving.

    Even more troublesome was when its head crawled on the ground; it attacked with something like a wave using the surrounding trees, which made it difficult to fight.

    Still, we timed our attacks.

    I created and released a bear water ball about the size of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    When the bear water hit the Fire Orochi head right square in the face, the bear water began to boil, and the bear water¡¯s form could not be maintained, so it finally diffused as if to burst.

    The me became less vigorous where it hit. It seemed that the water ball had done a significant amount of damage. The Fire Orochi head shook in disgust. However, it did not seem to be a fatal wound.

    Also, the only thing that would likely do damage would be electric-type magic.

    I¡¯m in front of Kagali-san, but it doesn¡¯t matter now. I¡¯ll give it a try.

    I gathered magic power and created an electric bear. It made a crackling sound. The wind clung to the electric bear, and then I fired the electric bear. The electric bear hit the neck of the Fire Orochi head.

    Some of the Fire Orochi head¡¯s skin peeled off.

    However, the missing skin restored itself when it covered itself with mes.

    Ah, c¡¯mon, it regenerates too fast.

    And even electric-type magic is useless?

    Just how tough is it? No, perhaps it also has high magic resistance.

    Just like in the game, there were enemies for whom magic was ineffective. But this time, even a physical attack cannot damage it.

    Isn¡¯t this impossible?

    ¡°Bear Missy, you use such weird magic, don¡¯t you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It will be helpful if you don¡¯t mind how it looks.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As long as we can beat it, I don¡¯t care.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°By the way, Kagali-san, do you have any other secret techniques?¡± (Yuna)

    She¡¯s a great fox that has lived for hundreds of years. It¡¯s not surprising that she has a special move or two, like the tail that grows. Currently, three tails are visible.

    ¡°...I have, but I can¡¯t use it now. If I use it, I won¡¯t be able to move.¡± (Kagali)

    Was that some kind of special move?

    If I use up all my magic, I, too, will be lethargic and unable to move.

    It reminds me of when I defeated the Kraken.

    Moreover, Orochi has four heads. If she used it to defeat one, there would still be three more left.

    I wish I could promise that I alone could defeat three of them. The fire elemental head of Orochi alone is already a nuisance.

    Now then, how do we proceed from here?

    For the time being, it¡¯s pointless to try to destroy the head with mes.

    Fire is best doused in a body of water like the sea, but it is impossible to drop just the Fire Orochi head in such a fashion.

    Then there¡¯s only one way.

    ¡°Kagali-san, I¡¯m going to use a big one, so move back a little.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Got it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san stepped backward.

    I¡¯m d that she believed me and even did what I said. It simply meant she trusted me.

    I ran towards the Fire Orochi head while gathering magic power in my bear puppet.

    ¡°Bear Missy!¡± (Kagali)

    The hot air assaulted me, but it did not affect me in my bear costume.

    I thrust out my bear puppet, charged with magic power. The bear puppet released arge amount of water. The water became a stream and rose to wrap around the Fire Orochi head.

    And the water flow swirled.

    Water Tornado.

    The water spun like a tornado made of water, rising from the burning neck of the Fire Orochi head.

    Although, I didn¡¯t want to use it if I could because it drains a lot of magic power. When I used arge tornado of wind during the Sacred Tree incident, it also drained my magic considerably.

    But for a short time, my magic power should suppress it.

    The water tornado kept enveloping the Fire Orochi head and extinguished its mes.

    Alright, it¡¯s gone.

    The Fire Orochi head copsed, and the water tornado disappeared.

    ¡°Bear Missy! You did it!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, who was behind me, overtook me and started running towards the Fire Orochi head. And when she was about tond an attack, the Fire Orochi head began to reignite.

    ¡°Wha...¡± (Kagali)

    Hey, some people went to so much trouble to erase your me, and now it¡¯s back!?

    The Water Tornado spell extinguished the mes in the Fire Orochi head but only temporarily, and soon the snake¡¯s head began to burn again. The Fire Orochi head raised itself and shook sideways before continuing to raise havoc.

    It¡¯s not just the thrashing. There were even big burning treesing at us. Even if we run to the side, it¡¯s too long and wide to evade. Kagali-san and I jumped high.

    ¡°Your tail will burn.¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san shot water at it while doing evasion movements, but it was like spraying water droplets on a red hot stone.

    ¡°It seems it has umted more magic than I thought.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You mean those mes are made of magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told you in the beginning, didn¡¯t I? Its body is covered with magic power.¡± (Kagali)

    That¡¯s right. She told me that it¡¯s hardening its skin with magic.

    ¡°Orochi¡¯s body and neck are covered with magic to harden its skin, but what about its mes?.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s the same with the other serpent heads, you know?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    This fight may be more trouble than it seems.

    The Fire Orochi head raised its head and became furious, opening its maw to spit out loads of me wherever it turned. We avoided it, but the trees around us burst into mes.

    ¡°This is bad, over there too!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san shouted.

    A mass of me released by the snakehead was heading for the building where Mumroot and Kagali¡¯s old party once sealed the other Orochi head.

    The me ball struck the building, and the building started to burn.

    It¡¯s the building nearby. Ruimin or Sakura shouldn¡¯t be in that building.

    It would have been dangerous if those two were there.

    ¡°Bear Missy! Take care of Orochi. I¡¯ll head for the building.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san ran off.

    Even if she asked me that, what can I do?.

    I released another water tornado to suppress it.

    The water tornado assaulted the Fire Orochi head once again.

    And once again, the mes in the neck disappeared momentarily, and the attack abruptly halted.

    However, it¡¯s just too strong.

    How did they beat this thing in the past?

    The inability to destroy it from inside the body was unexpected. I was naive to think that anyone could defeat anyrge monster by destroying its body from the inside.

    The Fire Orochi head rubbed its neck against the ground to remove the residue of the water tornado.

    At the same time, the ground shook.

    Could this shaking be due to the building being destroyed by the mes earlier?

    The ground shook even more.

    Was there another Orochi heading back to life!?

    At this rate, we¡¯ll be dealing with two gigantic Orochi heads simultaneously.

    We don¡¯t have much time!

    Also, how long would it take to revive!?

    When the Fire Orochi head got resurrected, there was still some time between the shakings.

    What do we do now?

    How do we beat them?

    The Fire Orochi head alone was too tough to handle. We couldn¡¯t destroy it from inside the body. Rocks cannot damage it even if they hit it. Wind does not work. Water magic was only at a level of harassment.

    So then, electric magic?

    I let my thoughts run wild.

    Meanwhile, the ground shook.

    The fire serpent breathed out fire. I kept thinking while avoiding it.

    Where do I destroy it to take it down?

    The heart? The magic stone? Where was it? In the torso?

    As I was thinking about it, the earth tremors grew louder, the ground cracked, and a second head slowly emerged from the ground.

    ......The second Orochi head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t prevent its revival.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanes over apologetically.

    It¡¯s not Kagali-san¡¯s fault.

    When the Fire Orochi head¡¯s me balls struck the building, the other Orochi head got resurrected. I should¡¯ve prevented that fire attack.

    You¡¯ve just revived, so I¡¯d like you to be quiet for a while.

    When I was thinking about that, the wind started to pick up.

    What now?

    I immediately found out the reason.

    It¡¯s because the wind was clinging to the neck of the newly resurrected Orochi head.

    ¡°So the next serpent is the wind-type. It¡¯s the worst matchup for us. If it had been a water-type, it would have been a good element to eliminate the fire-type.¡± (Kagali)

    Then remember which Orochi head was sealed where. I was tempted to refute that to her.

    The two Orochi heads tower above.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Sorry for the dy.

    It will be irregr until after Golden Week.

    Thank you for your understanding.

    <strong>¡ù</strong>And now, a request. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from writing your prediction on how to defeat the orochi in thements section. Well, it¡¯s not a great method, but if it hits......, the author will be severely damaged. <strong>(</strong>TN: Again, it¡¯s the author talking. Not me.<strong>)</strong>

    <strong>¡ù</strong>I will not be able to reply to yourments for a while. I should be able to do so after the Golden Week. Although, I am looking forward to seeing your feedback.

    <strong>¡ù</strong>Episode 5 of theic is now avable. It¡¯s the Deborane defeat episode. w

    <strong>¡ù</strong>The deadline for the 9-volume purchase bonus, bear gama-guchi gift, is 4/30. Please apply for it. See the obi of volume 9 for details.

 Chapter 470

    <h4>Chapter 470</h4>

    ~ Edited

    <h4><strong>Bear-san, Fights The Orochi, Part 2</strong></h4>

    The fire raged with the Fire and Wind Orochi heads, and the wind gusts. The zing mes on the Fire Orochi head¡¯s were getting stoked more and more by the feeding of the wind.

    The wind appeared to have intensified the mes that enveloped the neck of the Fire Orochi head.

    But still, having the ability to have different attributes means Orochi has more than one magic stone in its body.

    Monsters usually only have single attributes. A fire-type monster has a fire attribute, A wind-type monster has a wind attribute, and a non-elemental-type monster has a non-elemental attribute. In other words, this snake has four magic stones in its body.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to revive the body and destroy the magic stone directly?¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t help but think so.

    If the magic stone gets destroyed, the source of its magic will be gone, and it shouldn¡¯t regenerate anymore.

    ¡°The magic stones are not in the body, but they are embedded in the heads.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said something unexpectedly.

    ¡°Its magic stones are in its heads? Not in its body?¡± (Yuna)

    Magic stones are usually inside the body near the heart. That being said, I was made aware of this fact ever since I came to this world. You can harvest them with other materials when you defeat monsters in games. I¡¯ve never thought about knowing the location of the magic stone, nor did I need to.

    But as far as I could tell from watching Fina dismantling the monsters, the magic stone was definitely inside the body.

    ¡°How did you know the magic stones are in the heads?¡± (Yuna)

    Perhaps she has defeated one of the Orochi¡¯s elemental heads before?

    ¡°This is what I have deduced from our previous battles. From the flow of magic and the magic of the attributes, Mumroot and I at that time determined that each Orochi head had a magic stone with specific elemental attributes.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So there are four magic stones in total?¡± (Yuna)

    If there is a creature with fourrge magic stones in its body, that alone would make it very strong. If those magic stones were the same size as the Kraken, it¡¯d be like us engaging four Krakens simultaneously if you think of it that way, no wonder this giant snake has an insane regenerative ability.

    I recalled that the Kraken also regenerated after I cut off its tentacles.

    ¡°No, I expect that there¡¯s also a magic stone in the main body of the serpent. So, there should be a total of five magic stones.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°......Five?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Mumroot sealed it by suppressing the power of the magic stone inside its body. That¡¯s why I had five seals to monitor. He was able to seal it, so that incident proved his theory correct. So I believe that there¡¯s a magic stone in each of its heads.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then, if we can destroy the magic stone in its head...¡± (Yuna)

    We should still be able to defeat it.

    ¡°Mumroot is suppressing its body right now, so it should not be possible for it to supply magic from other sources. Therefore, if we can break the magic stone in each of its heads, we can defeat it.¡± (Kagali)

    Oh, a wild hope came out.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that smile?¡± (Kagali)

    Apparently, I was grinning.

    ¡°Because if we destroy the magic stone inside the head, that means we can defeat it, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That is easier said than done. You can¡¯t get close to the head because of the mes that envelope it. If you get too close, you will burn to death. The same is true with Orochi¡¯s Wind attributed head. If you get too close, you won¡¯t only get hurt; you will get cut into pieces! Even you¡¯ve already seen it! Even if you do some damage, the wound will heal quickly.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I have a way to do it.¡± (Yuna)

    After observing its attack pattern, I have learned a few things. I can defeat it if I attack the weak point, or rather, that¡¯s where I¡¯m attacking. The problem was that I was not sure if I could use the same method on Orochi¡¯s wind attributed head. But we should be able to defeat the Fire Orochi head.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go and y a giant snake.¡± (Yuna)

    I stretch my body, bend it, then rx.

    ¡°Are you a total idiot? You¡¯re risking your life for some other country. No one willin if you run away, you know?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ummm, that¡¯s true, but... even though we only got to know each other. I understand how Shinobu and Sakura feel, and now, how you feel, Kagali-san, so I can¡¯t just run away.¡± (Yuna)

    And with my arrival here, Mumroot-san and even Ruimin were in danger.

    If I had note to the Land of Harmony, Mumroot-san would not have known about it.

    But then, if I had note, there would have been no hope of defeating the snake. Since we havee this far, we¡¯re all in this together. I can only ask Mumroot-san to do his best. Ruimin said she would stay by herself, so I would say that her safety was her own responsibility, but it was still my fault. I also contacted Ruimin with my bearphone and made her meet Sakura.

    ¡°Besides, I have that door, so I can always escape.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. So, in case of an emergency, let me escape as well.¡± (Kagali)

    Even if she said that, I don¡¯t think Kagali-san would run away from it until the end.

    If she were going to run away, she would have done so long ago.

    ¡°So, Bear Missy. How are you going to beat him? You have an idea, don¡¯t you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I have something I want to try. I¡¯ll destroy the Fire Orochi head, so Kagali-san, I would like you to attract the Wind Orochi head.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± (Kagali)

    She epted it without me having to exin.

    Then Kagali-san presented her fist to me.

    ¡°C¡¯mon now, make a fist bump. That¡¯s what you do when you make a promise, right?¡± (Kagali)

    So, there¡¯s such a thing here too.

    I also made a fist with my bear puppet and bumped it into Kagali-san¡¯s fist.

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I wonder who thought of such a thing?¡± (Kagali)

    We charged toward the two Orochi heads. I ran towards the burning Fire Orochi head, and Kagali-san ran towards the raging Wind Orochi head.

    It would be scorching without my bear equipment, but it¡¯s prettyfortable since I¡¯m wearing it.

    However, it doesn¡¯t feel nice to see the vegetation and trees burned. If you do so for daily necessity, then it¡¯s fine, but burning it simply for destruction wasn¡¯t a good thing at all.

    I lured it by circling the fire-type snakehead in a clockwise direction.

    With a light nce in Kagali-san¡¯s direction, I can see that she¡¯s attacking the wind-type head, but she seems to be having some trouble because of the Fire Orochi head¡¯s interference. The wind pockets around the neck of the Wind Orochi head kept interrupting her attack patterns.

    Kagali-san was moving in the opposite direction from me to draw its attention. But not too far, there¡¯s a building with either Ruimin or Sakura in that direction.

    I don¡¯t have much time to spend on the Fire Orochi head.

    I released a water bear to draw the Fire Orochi head¡¯s attention to me as I ran.

    Look over here!

    I pressed the water bear to the face of the Fire Orochi head. It reacted in disgust and red at me.

    The Fire Orochi head tried to bite me.

    Its head turned towards me.

    I timed my jump to the front of the Fire Orochi head.

    ¡°Bear Missy!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san shouts.

    Can she afford to look at me? While thinking so. I approached the head of the Fire Orochi.

    I would have been roasted without the bear gear now that I had gotten this close.

    When the Fire Orochi head opened its maw wide, magic power began to gather. The magical power was about to morph into a bright red me. But there¡¯s no way I would let it.

    I stretch out my arm to create a big rock bear in its wide-open maw. If you saw a ce where mes were being created, just to block it off.

    The rock bear stood in the Fire Orochi¡¯s open maw, blocking the ce where magic was being gathered.

    Magic could only be used when magic power was collected sessfully.

    If it¡¯s in hand, the magic will be concentrated in the hand. The same can be said with umted magic via the feet.

    The Fire Orochi head was releasing magic power from its entire neck and mes wereing out of its body. And another ce where it collected magic power was in the maw when it breathed out mes.

    Some monsters created fire somewhere in their bodies and spit it out. There were even items called fire bags, water bags, and lightning bags in video games. The rarest items were the me pouch, the explosion pouch, the water stream pouch, and the torrent pouch.

    However, this Orochi head was not creating mes inside its body. Rather, it¡¯s converting magic power into mes by umting magic power inside its maw, and then it breathes out the fire from its maw. Therefore, if I blocked its maw, the Fire Orochi head wouldn¡¯t be able to produce mes in its maw.

    The Fire Orochi head tried to close its maw, but the rock bear was in the way.

    It shook and thrashed its head from side to side, trying to get the rock bear out in its maw. I grabbed onto the rock bear so that I wouldn¡¯t be shaken off. But then, the Fire Orochi head was about to m its head into the ground to try to destroy the rock bear in its maw. I moved away before Orochi¡¯s head hit the ground.

    The Fire Orochi head repeatedly mmed itself into the ground in agony, but the rock bear did not dislodge or shatter.

    It opened its maw even wider and tried to swallow the rock bear whole, but it couldn¡¯t swallow the standing rock bear.

    It tried to chew it up, but it couldn¡¯t chew through the rock bear either.

    I plunged into the head of the burning serpent to put a stop to it. I¡¯m not afraid of its mes since I have already proven that it¡¯s not hot.

    I touched the rock bear still lodged in Fire Orochi¡¯s maw and poured magic power into it.

    The rock bear grewrger, and the maw of the Fire Orochi, which seemed to be opened to the maximum, expanded even more.

    The Fire Orochi head began to shake in pain. I grabbed onto the rock bear to prevent myself from being flung off.

    The mes that enveloped the neck of the Fire Orochi erupted even more intensely. But I poured my magic power into the rock bear and made it grow bigger. A groaning voice leaked from the crevice of the rock bear.

    But I¡¯m not stopping.

    Part of the Fire Orochi¡¯s maw was split open. Still, the rock bear¡¯s gigantic size did not stop growing. Finally, it destroyed the Fire Orochi¡¯s maws.

    Ugh, it¡¯s nastier than I thought.

    The Fire Orochi head crashed with a loud thud to the ground with its maws destroyed. At that moment, the rock bear also rolled over.

    I was about to say I¡¯m d I got it, but the jaws of Fire Orochi continued to be engulfed in mes and began to regenerate.

    Wait, you¡¯re going to y your resurrection card again?

    But there¡¯s no way I would let it.

    I shot a water bear to extinguish the mes. That halted the regeneration. It seemed that it was being regenerated by the magic power of the fire after all. By extinguishing the fire at the ce where it regenerates, the regeneration would not ur.

    I shot an electric bear at the already dead Fire Orochi¡¯s head. That gigantic carcass that had lost its regenerative ability got destroyed, and arge red object popped out.

    At the same time, the fire-type snakehead¡¯s movements slowed, fell to the ground, and became motionless.

    When I approached and checked the red object, I found out it was a magic stone.

    The fire Orochi head, which had lost the fire magic stone, the source of its magic power, could not regenerate. Moreover, it may have been thanks to Mumroot-san suppressing its main body and cutting off the supply of magic power from other sources.

    Anyway, I defeated the Fire Orochi head.

    The first one is down.

    I collected the fire magic stone harvested from the Fire Orochi head and stored it in the bear box so that it wouldn¡¯t regenerate the carcass anymore.

    If I didn¡¯t retrieve it, the scattered pieces of flesh might re-absorb on this magic stone and start to regenerate itself.

    Did I read too much anime and manga, you say?

    Well, it¡¯s better than wishing that I should¡¯ve collected it, should the worst-case scenario happen.

    ¡°Bear Missy!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san was shouting as she dealt with the Wind Orochi head.

    ¡°You really beat it!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, I defeated it!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at the destroyed Fire Orochi head carcass and the rock bear.

    ¡°Did you defeat it, not weaken it?¡± (Kagali)

    But the immediate problem now was the Wind Orochi neck.

    Gales of wind raged around its head, or rather, around its entire neck.

    Well, if I get close to it, I may not be cut since I¡¯m wearing my bear gear, but I may be blown away, right?

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Sorry for the dy.

    The first Orochi head was defeated.

    After everything that happened, finally, here¡¯s the exnation of magic.

    When making magic appear with magical power. Space is needed there.

    Suppose you have a small box. If you put magic power into it and change it into a rock, you cannot make the rock bigger than the box.

    Therefore, you cannot create a rockrger than the snake¡¯s maw. But you can put magic power into that rock to make it bigger.

    <strong>¡ù</strong>Episode 6 of theic book series is now avable. It¡¯s a magic practice episode. Thank you for your cooperation.

    <strong>¡ù</strong>I will be a littlete in posting the next one.

    <strong>¡ù</strong>Thank you very much for your requests for the SS. I will refer to it.

    <strong>=====</strong>

 Chapter 471

    <h4>Chapter 471</h4>

    ~Edited

    Bear-san, Learns Kagali-san¡¯s secret

    ¡°I was wondering if you were hurt when you jumped into those mes! Any burns?¡± (kagali)

    Kagali-san touched my face with concern. Then herrge breasts dangled in front of me.

    ¡°These clothes are made of a special fabric that will protect me even from that inferno, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even with that much me? What kind of fabric is that?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san is now touching my body. Each time she does, tworge pieces of fruit are swaying in front of me.

    ¡°I was surprised when you jumped into Orochi¡¯s mes.¡± (Kagali)

    I¡¯ve made her worry.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d defeat it. Now there are only three left. So, let me ask you, is there any way to defeat the Wind Orochi?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks at the Wind Orochi head.

    The Wind Orochi head has stopped moving, perhaps because it lost sight of Kagali-san or sensed that somebody had defeated its fire elemental head.

    The problem was the raging gales around its neck that continued to rage like a miniature storm. That wind caused the vegetation and trees set ame by the Fire Orochi head to burn even more.

    I wondered if the building where Ruimin and Sakura were had caught fire, but if it had, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear should¡¯ve evacuated them.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it unless I get close to it, so I don¡¯t think I can defeat it because of the wind clinging to Orochi¡¯s head.¡± (Yuna)

    The bear gear was mainly for defense, but it does not mean that it¡¯s not impervious to attack. Just not transmitting the impact directly to my body, the bearsuit doesn¡¯t disperse the impact force. I would still be blown away if the bear gear received a hit.

    ¡°I wish there was a way to stop the wind¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Looking at how Kagali-san attacked, a half-hearted attack would only be repelled by the wind.

    It¡¯s a question of what would happen if I shot big magic. I hope I could set it on fire, and it would fall burning. If it turns into a fire tornado or something, that would be bad. It would be nice if I could defeat it with that, but if that¡¯s possible, they should have done it before.

    ¡°I see. Then how about the Earth Orochi head or the Water Orochi head?¡± (Kagali)

    I imagine engaging the Earth Orochi head was just hard. I think it would be possible to defeat it in the same way how I defeated the Fire Orochi head, and I also think it would be possible to destroy the Earth Orochi head from its insides. Electric-type magic seemed to be effective against the Water Orochi head, or maybe we can just roast the Earth Orochi head with bear fire. Unlike the Fire Orochi head and the Wind Orochi heads, I have a method to defeat them.

    ¡°¡­I think I¡¯m okay with those two.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, if you say you can defeat those Orochi heads, I can¡¯t help butugh.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding, though.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to Kagali-san, who was stillughing.

    ¡°I can tell by looking at your battle with Fire Orochi head. If you say you can defeat them, then I¡¯ll believe it. And if you say you have no way to defeat the Wind Orochi head, I will defeat it instead. So, may I leave the rest to you? Although, I may not be able to continue to fight any longer after defeating it.¡± (Kagali)

    Does that mean she will show off the secret technique she mentioned at the beginning?

    I would like to see it.

    Great magic? A transformation? I hope it was a transformation into a fox.

    It may be a different kind of mofumofu from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I would be useless as a fighting force. I cannot be used as a decoy, nor can I attract the enemy after this. You must assume that I¡¯m not here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What do you mean not here? Does that mean you¡¯re going to die? Is that it?¡± (Yuna)

    If she¡¯s going to die, I can¡¯t let her do it.

    We may not have a way to beat it yet, but we might be able to do something about it.

    I don¡¯t like stories of self-sacrifice. Of course, they can be moving and make me cry. But I just don¡¯t want those characters to die. Even if it¡¯s a story with no redemption. I still prefer happy endings.

    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯ll be fine. I will not die. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ll be powerless to move for a while, so if the other Orochi heads go on a rampage, I might die.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to die, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I promise you. I will not die.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked me in the eye and said it clearly.

    ¡°If you defeat the other Orochi heads, then I will not die.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I understand. Then, after Kagali-san defeats the Wind Orochi head, I will defeat the remaining two.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet everything on you, then. If you can¡¯t beat them, rest assured that I will follow you after I recover.¡± (Kagali)

    Doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯ll die first?

    If it¡¯s impossible, I¡¯ll run away, you know?

    Regardless of my thoughts, Kagali-san began to gather strength into her body.

    ¡°Stand back a little and don¡¯te near me.¡± (Kagali)

    Something swelled around Kagali-san¡¯s buttocks, something twitched, and a new tail came out from under her clothes.

    Oh, she powers up whenever the number of tails increases!?

    The number of tails increasing was not one or two.

    ¡°Bear Missy. If possible, I¡¯m hoping you¡¯re not afraid of me when you see me like this.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san loosened her belt, took off her clothes, and threw them at me.

    Kagali-san¡¯s body glowed gold, and her body transformed.

    Her face became pointy, her arms and legs became animal feet, and golden fur covered her body.

    ¡°¡­¡­Fox.¡± (Yuna)

    The Nine-Tailed Fox.

    Just as I thought.

    Nine-tailed, golden fox. Such a beautiful body.

    Kagali-san¡¯s body turned into a giant fox.

    Her size wasrger than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Her current size is as big as one of Orochi¡¯s heads.

    Ah, so her ultimate secret technique was transforming into a fox.

    It¡¯s a little impressive.

    After Kagali-san turned into a great fox, she flew up into the sky as if running mid-air.

    When the Wind Orochi head found the great fox Kagari-san, it shot a wind de. The great fox, Kagali-san, changed the direction she was running in the sky and dodged.

    ¡­¡­She¡¯s flying in the sky.

    I was surprised that she became a great fox, but I was even more surprised that she started flying in the sky.

    She can fly¡­

    The great fox Kagali-san flew around the Wind Orochi head, observing it while dodging its attacks.

    She spat out a ball of me from her mouth. The mes bursted when they hit Wind Orochi¡¯s wind attacks.

    I knew that gale attacks was nasty.

    The great fox Kagali-san was still circling Wind Orochi head.

    If I could fly too, it would make the battle easier. But it would be too surreal to see someone flying in a bear suit.

    The great fox, Kagali-san, kept spitting mes and gradually moved closer to Wind Orochi head.

    The Wind Orochi head opened itsrge maw and extended its neck to attempt to bite the great fox, Kagali-san, but she escaped. Then, as if timing it, she mauled the head of the giant wind-type snake.

    The Wind Orochi head shook tried to shake her off. But Kagali-san, who has transformed into a great fox, won¡¯t budge.

    She mauled even deeper.

    The raging wind that surrounded the Wind Orochi head injures the great fox Kagali-san.

    The great fox Kagali-san raised her ws and shed them at the Wind Orochi head.

    She bit off more than she could chew at the end.

    The great fox flew through the sky and attacked further. She bit it more than once. The Wind Orochi head tried to regenerate its damaged flesh, but the great fox Kagali-san¡¯s continuous attacks were faster and stronger.

    So strong.

    I thought that with Kagali-san, her current transformed form would be enough to beat all the other Orochi heads, but then I remembered what Kagali-san said. Maybe there¡¯s a time limit.

    Whenever the great fox Kagali-san bit, mes came out of her mouth. It ovepped with the wind des spewed by Wind Orochi head,bining together tobust, damaging the body of the great fox Kagali-san.

    But the great fox didn¡¯t care, as she spit even more mes from her mouth.

    She spat out mes into the wounded parts of Wind Orochi head.

    The wind-type snake head looked like it was suffering, shaking its head repeatedly, trying to shake off the great fox Kagali-san.

    But the great fox Kagali-san, bit firmly on the snake and did not let go.

    ¡°Gru~u ~u~u~u~¡± (Kagali)

    The great fox Kagali-san kept biting while growling.

    In addition, she plunged a paw inside the partially chewed-off part of Wind Orochi head. Then, when the great fox Kagali-san pulled out the paw, arge green magic stone popped out.

    At the same time, the raging wind that cloaked the Wind Orochi head disappeared.

    Then, the great fox Kagali-san ensured that it did not regenerate; she began spitting more and more mes on the mauled area.

    The magic stone-less Wind Orochi head thrashed rampaged, and with itsst ounce of strength, it tried to shake off the great fox Kagali-san, but the great fox Kagali-san flew off through the air.

    The Wind Orochi head, which had lost its magic stone and badly burnt, copsed with a sound like a toy whose battery had run out.

    Kagali-sama had defeated the Wind Orochi head.

    I head for the carcass¡¯ magic stone before it could regenerate as I did with the Fire Orochi head. I put it in the bear box so that I won¡¯t end up just like some ¡ð¡ð¡ð main character from somewhere.

    Kagali-san came up next to me in her great fox form when I retrieved the magic stone.

    Her face and body were injured.

    ¡°Kagali-san, are you okay!?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± (Kagali)

    I don¡¯t know how badly she¡¯s hurt because she¡¯s in fox form, but she looks ok.

    ¡°Kagali-san, you can change into a fox.¡± (Yuna)

    I want to touch her tails. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have cute round tails, but the great fox Kagali-san¡¯s tails were long and different from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s tails.

    But for now, I¡¯ll be patient because that¡¯s not important right now.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I can. But fighting in this form drains a lot of magic power. I am sorry, but I have no more magic power.¡± (Kagali)

    As Kagali-san said so, the great fox began to shrink until her size was simr to a little vixen, and then she morphed into a shape of a girl about six years old.

    Her nine tails have been reduced to only one small tail.

    Her other tails had disappeared.

    Kagali-san¡¯s face, now in a child form, was bleeding.

    I touched it lightly and healed the wound. Then I took out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood. Her face was now clean of blood.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Kagali)

    Apparently, she¡¯s unaware of my healing magic.

    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry, but can I have my clothes back?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, now in human form, was buck naked. I gave her back her clothes and began to put them on her.

    Kagali-san was dressed, but it was too loose and not the right size.

    Well, when a woman with a pair of suchrge dangling fruits turns into a child, it¡¯s only natural that her clothes won¡¯t fit.

    ¡°Will you ever go back to normal?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Give me some time and I will be back to normal. But without magic, I can¡¯t fight.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san(chan) looked apologetic.

    Certainly, she can¡¯t fight in her current appearance.

    Looking at her, it felt more appropriate to address her as ¡°Kagali-chan¡± instead of ¡°Kagali-san¡±.

    Perhaps that chest of hers represented her magical power capacity.

    In other words, the more her magic power increases, the bigger it gets.

    ¡°Where have you been looking at for quite a while now?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked away from Kagali-san.

    ¡°Anyway, I cannot fight in this condition. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Leave the Earth, and Wind Orochi heads to me to deal with.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s not an opponent that we cannot beat based on an image.

    Even so, this was a weird oue. She was a beautiful woman with big breasts not so long ago, but now she¡¯s a pretty little girl. She looks cute even when she¡¯s small, isn¡¯t she?

    I casually put my hand on top of Kagali-san¡¯s head.

    ¡°Why are you putting your hand on my head?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Somehow?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I may look like this, but I¡¯m older than you.¡± (Kagali)

    Yeah, I know, but looks are more important to me.

    Such a line. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve said it to myself.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll take down the rest of Orochi¡¯s heads. Please find somewhere safe for now, Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. In my current appearance, I will just be a liability to you. I can¡¯t even run like this. I¡¯m going to Mumroot¡¯s side.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san then pulled up her baggy clothes and headed towards the building where Mumroot-san was, looking like she was having difficulty walking.

    I head for the nearest building, the one that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear defended.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sorry for the dy.

    Posting will be irregr for a while.

    Please wait a little longer to reply to myments. (I¡¯m looking at it.)

    Kagali-san has transformed into a fox.

    And then she became a little girl. w

    =====

 Chapter 472

    <h4>Chapter 472</h4> <h4><strong>Sakura, Crying</strong></h4>

    I rode on Hugging Bear-sama¡¯s back and came to the building where Mumroot and Kagali¡¯s old party once sealed one of Orochi¡¯s heads.

    There were monsters outside the building, and Hugging Bear-sama was fighting them. I am trying to keep the serpent from reviving by using the magic circle that Mumroot-sama taught me so that the serpent¡¯s seal would not be broken.

    Every time the ground shook, the reddish-ck eyes opened and closed.

    I¡¯m scared.

    The ground shook again.

    When I tried to go outside, I shuddered at what it would have been like if everyone had died.

    Also, the ground kept shaking.

    Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama were out there fighting.

    Orochi¡¯s opened once again.

    Please. Don¡¯t wake up yet.

    I poured my magic into the circle.

    I can¡¯t just pour it all at once. I must regte the flow steadily for a long time and without interruption.

    Of course, it¡¯s good to have a lot of magical power flowing. But if I do that now, I will soon run out of magic power. The important thing was to keep the magic flowing. So, when it¡¯s about to wake up, I temporarily increased the flow of magic power.

    A short time after I began to reinforce the seal, the ground shook violently. It was not just once or twice. I was terrified, and anxiety was overtaking me.

    I¡¯m scared.

    The ground shook even louder, and I heard something popping out from the earth.

    I don¡¯t like to imagine it, but I think Orochi¡¯s main body may have resurrected its other heads in a ce where no one could go to because there were not enough people and magic circles to stop it.

    This awful giant serpent that has killed many people in the past.

    Against such a monster, Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama have to fight against two heads of Orochi with only the two of them.

    If they both die, there¡¯s nothing but despair in the future.

    That nightmare will be a reality.

    I¡¯m scared. I hate seeing people die.

    Yuna-sama, Kagali-sama¡­¡­

    The ground shook as the sounds of something gigantic mmed into the ground repeatedly. Orochi was rampaging.

    If they were both struck by that gigantic body, Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama would die.

    Yuna-sama, Kagali-sama, please don¡¯t die.

    I can only wish for such a thing.

    As I was regting my magical power while making a wish, I thought I heard a loud thump, and the Orochi¡¯s eyes opened wide, and the magic circle was shing reddish-ck.

    It can¡¯t be.

    I began to pour more magic into the magic circle.

    Orochi¡¯s eyes seemed to express suffering and fury.

    What happened!?

    A possible exnation would be the effect of Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama fighting Orochi. Since it was a single body, every sensation should be connected. The pain from the attack may have transmitted to the other heads.

    I put more magic power into the circle.

    Please. Be quiet.

    My magic power was being sucked out. If I put in any more, I will have no more magic power left, and I will no longer be able to suppress it.

    But if it¡¯s revived now, only despair wille.

    Please, don¡¯t wake up yet.

    Its eyes were slowly closing as if the giant snake had granted my wish.

    My magic would notst long, given this feeling of weakness.

    I wish I were a little more mature. I would like to have someone else standing beside me right now.

    I took a deep breath and kept a constant flow of magical power.

    What in the world was going on out there?

    Gradually, the feeling of fatigue spread through the body.

    If Orochi were to revive here, I might get trapped and die.

    Yuna-sama told me to run behind the door, but I probably couldn¡¯t.

    The ground shook. Were Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama still fighting? Or perhaps my uncle wasing to my rescue.

    I could hear the sound of something repeatedly hitting the ground.

    Each time this happened, the magic circle reacted to it.

    Still, it¡¯s not good.

    Please. Stop rampaging.

    My wish for the Orochi to stop rampaging outside wasn¡¯t heard.

    There was an even louder sound, and the ground shook violently.

    The Orochi¡¯s eyes opened.

    ¡°No good!¡± (Sakura)

    I poured more magic power into the circle. I kept pouring more and more that I almost fainted. But I can¡¯t stop here. I poured in magic power as if I were squeezing out the veryst drop.

    Please. Stop!

    The Orochi¡¯s eyes slowly close.

    I felt relieved and woozy at the same time.

    I hit a wall and clumsily fell when I was about to stumble sideways.

    I don¡¯t remember there being any walls next to me.

    I should have been in the middle of the room, to begin with.

    I looked to the side with blurry eyes and saw a fluffy white wall.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°Hugging Bear-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    It was Hugging Bear-sama who supported me. Hugging Bear-sama was very, very warm andfortable.

    I feel very relieved.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    I leaned on Hugging Bear-sama and kept the magic power flowing.

    I could feel warmth flowing in from Hugging Bear-sama¡¯s body. Thanks to Hugging Bear-sama, I will be able to work a little harder.

    I have lost track of how much time has passed since I started pouring magic power. If it weren¡¯t for Hugging Bear-sama, I might have gone crazy.

    I could still hear the sound of the ground being pounded. Amid the chaos, there was a loud noise, the earth trembled many times, and there was an audible tremor. This time the quake felt the closest I have ever been. I have a terrible feeling.

    In the beginning, the sound wasing from a short distance away. Then it came closer, and this time the sound was very close.

    The ground quaked, and the building shook.

    Perhaps one of Orochi¡¯s heads sealed at Ruimin-san¡¯s area had been unsealed.

    Ruimin-san¡­

    I got Ruimin-san involved, who had nothing to do with this.

    Please be safe. I don¡¯t care what happens to me, so, please.

    I made such a wish.

    Then there was the sound of something repeatedly hitting the ground nearby. And each time, the building shook.

    It might break.

    But I can¡¯t leave this ce. It¡¯s my role to keep the serpent sealed.

    The wards repeatedly shed red and ck, and Orochi¡¯s eyes opened again.

    My consciousness was fading, but Hugging Bear-sama gently hugged me and supported me.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°I, I¡¯m okay.¡± (Sakura)

    I managed to remain conscious.

    Nearby, the loud thumping quieted down. The sound of the ground-pounding a few moments earlier was no longer audible.

    Hugging Bear-sama gently made a small ¡°ku~n¡± cry.

    Hugging Bear-sama, what¡¯s wrong?

    I cannot ask. I could only lean on Hugging Bear-sama while I continued to ce my hands on the magic circle as I continued to squeeze out my remaining magic power.

    At that time, there was a person who approached me.

    ¡°Are you okay, Sakura?¡± (Yuna)

    With half-closed eyes, I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yuna-sama rushing toward me from the stairs and Ruimin-san riding Swaying Bear-sama.

    ¡°Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    Yuna-sama rushed over to me.

    ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte. It¡¯s okay now.¡± (Yuna)

    What does she mean by okay?

    ¡°Sakura. You can let go now.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama touched my hand and took it away from the magic circle.

    She cut the flow of magical power from my body to the circle.

    I exhaled a little. Then, I asked Yuna-sama.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, what do you mean it¡¯s okay?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s just as I said. The other heads of Orochi have been defeated, so this one is thest.¡± (Yuna)

    Defeated? Thest one?

    I couldn¡¯tprehend what Yuna-sama said.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, Those big snakes, Yuna-san killed them. It¡¯s all right now.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin-san told me in a cheerful voice.

    Gradually, I began to understand what both of them were saying.

    ¡°Is that true? Did you defeat the other heads of Orochi?¡± (Sakura)

    I asked in a small voice.

    ¡°See for yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama lifted me and ced me on Hugging Bear-sama¡¯s back.

    ¡°Now then, you guys go outside. I¡¯m going to kill this snake.¡± (Yuna)

    Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama, with Ruimin and I onboard followed Yuna-sama¡¯s words and started walking. At the top of the stairs, Yuna-sama released a spell toward the magic circle.

    At the same time, we ran away.

    We came outside the building.

    The ground shook. I have experienced this shaking many times in this short time. The earth quaked, and it rose.

    A towering serpent appeared.

    It¡¯s so huge.

    It then released a shriek that sounded like an angry cry. It¡¯s d with water on its body and spitting out the water.

    ¡°It seems I don¡¯t have to put out the fire on the vegetation and treester. This is quite nice.¡± (Yuna)

    The Water Orochi head was angrily spraying out loads of waterjet.

    I¡¯m scared.

    But Yuna-sama looked at the water serpent without any sign of fear.

    ¡°Ah, but the water is too strong, so the trees will fall, so it¡¯s no good.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama gave such an impression when she saw the Water Orochi head.

    This was not the time to say that.

    There¡¯s a gigantic serpent in front of me.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be fine with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but you need to stay away from here. You can stay with Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I want to watch Yuna-san fight.¡± (Ruimin)

    Unlike me, who wants to escape, Ruimin-san answered.

    I want to watch Yuna-sama fight, even if I am scared too.

    ¡°I¡¯m staying, too.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t ever get off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, if they try to act selfishly, take them to Mumroot-san even if you have to do it by force.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama replied to Yuna-sama¡¯s words.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll take it down.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama was heading toward the giant serpent as if she were going for a walk.

    The rest was like a dream.

    Yuna-sama put something golden in her ck bear¡¯s mouth on her hand and released it on the water serpent, making tremendous noise and stopping the serpent¡¯s movement.

    Moreover, manyrge mes in the shape of bears were created and clung to the water serpent.

    I was surprised when the water d to Water Orochi head began to boil.

    And finally, before I even realized it, she ced a sizeable bear-shaped rock in the mouth of the water serpent, then the serpent¡¯s mouth split open.

    I don¡¯t understand what is going on anymore.

    No one would believe me if I told them about the battle between Yuna-sama and the serpent.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama called out lightly as if she had just returned from an everyday walk.

    Then, Ruimin-san, who was next to me, called out to Yuna-sama loudly.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re awesome!¡± (Ruimin)

    As I was watching them, Yuna-sama looked at me.

    ¡°Sa, Sakura, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sakura-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    They looked at me with surprised expressions.

    What do they mean by that?

    ¡°Were you hurt somewhere? Are you in pain?¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama looks worried.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not hurt or anything.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Then why are you crying?¡± (Yuna)

    When I put my hand over my eyes, my hand got wet.

    I seemed to be crying.

    When I realized that I was crying, I could no longer stop.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    I got off Hugging Bear-sama and tried to run to Yuna-sama, but my legs wobbled. Just as I was about to fall, Yuna-sama ran up and hugged me.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u~u~u, Yuna-sama¡­¡­¡± (Sakura)

    I can¡¯t stop crying anymore.

    That fearsome Orochi has indeed been defeated.

    ¡°Look, you¡¯re ruining your pretty face if you cry.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna-sama pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face.

    ¡°U ~u~u, thank you.¡± (Sakura)

    I cannot bear the tears.

    Still, Yuna-sama smiled and wiped it off.

    Yuna-sama gently patted me and said, ¡°You did your best¡±.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go to Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Sakura)

 Chapter 473

    <h4>Chapter 473</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Defeats The Orochi</strong></h4>

    The fight was over. The torso was all that was left, but we¡¯ve destroyed all the heads, so it¡¯s over.

    Without a head, no organism can continue to operate.

    (Spirit-san: But trantor, did you know that roaches............................)

    (*pped by Attattin*)

    However, even if we destroyed a part of Orochi¡¯s head, it would still regenerate. So the possibility of regeneration remains. But all the magic stones that were inside Orochi¡¯s many heads, which were the source of the magic power needed for regeneration, had been stored in the bear box.

    Well, I won¡¯t find the answer by simply thinking about it. The only way to find out was to talk to Mumroot-san and Kagali-san. I rode on Hugging Bear with Sakura and headed to where Mumroot-san and Kagali-san were.

    ¡°Ruimin-san, are you alright? Are you hurt or anything?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked Ruimin, who was riding on Swaying Bear next to us.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan protected me, so I¡¯m fine.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin reached out in front and pet Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cried happily.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-sama protected me too.¡± (Sakura)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear also cried happily.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear seemed to have protected them well.

    ¡°Thank you, both of you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    ¡°But Ruimin, Sakura. Both of you overdid it. If you knew you were in danger, you just had to run away.¡± (Yuna)

    The story was like this. After Kagali-san defeated the wind-type snakehead, I headed for the nearest sealed building. But, there was no building in sight. Seeing such a scene, even I would panic.

    I rushed in and was relieved when I saw Ruimin and Swaying Bear in the basement of the ruined building, but I wondered what they were doing continuing to be in that ruin.

    ¡°Because Kagali-san is also fighting out there, I thought I shouldn¡¯t run away.¡± (Ruimin)

    Wind Orochi head¡¯s wind-based attacks blew away the original building.

    Thanks to the strong winds, the debris from the building did not fall into the basement where Ruimin and Swaying Bear were located. Thus Ruimin did not escape and continued to reinforce the seal. The wind kept blowing, but Swaying Bear continued to protect Ruimin.

    I tried to scold Swaying Bear when I heard this story, but Ruimin said, ¡°I asked for a little more time. So, Swaying Bear is not to me.¡± Ruimin defended Swaying Bear, so I couldn¡¯t bring myself to reprimand Swaying Bear in the end.

    So, I instead pulled Ruimin¡¯s cheeks from both sides, scolded her lightly, then finally said, ¡°Good job¡±.

    Then I told Swaying Bear, ¡°Thank you for protecting Ruimin.¡±

    The building had copsed, and the seal had reached its limits.

    Ruimin¡¯s magic had reached its limit as well. When Ruimin let go of her hand, the ground began to shake, and the Earth Orochi head resurfaced.

    So after defeating the Earth Orochi head, I headed straight for the building where Sakura was.

    When I came to Sakura, I found that she was nearly drained of magic power. She gave her all for it.

    Let¡¯s value life a little more, shall we?

    ¡°By the way, Yuna-sama. I don¡¯t see Kagali-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura, listening quietly to Ruimin¡¯s story, looked at me, riding in the back.

    ¡°That¡¯s......¡± (Yuna)

    I looked away from Sakura.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to talk about the great fox or even the fact that she forcefully transformed into a little girl after using her ultimate move.

    Ruimin saw the great fox, so I exined it to her, but Sakura didn¡¯t see it. I don¡¯t know what she would think if she knew Kagali-san could change into a great fox.

    She might think it¡¯s just another monster. But still, I have to exin that she became a little girl.

    I don¡¯t know how much I can tell her.

    When I kept being silent, Sakura shouted.

    ¡°Is, is it possible that something bad had happened to Kagali-sama!?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what to tell you.¡± (Yuna)

    When I responded, tears began to form in Sakura¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    I was surprised to see Sakura suddenly start sobbing.

    Why did she start crying?

    ¡°I loved Kagali-sama like a sister or even as my mother, but...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding, I guess? Kagali-san is alive.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura raised her face as if she was surprised at my words.

    ¡°Really!? Then Kagali-sama is alive!?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura wiped away her tears and looked relieved.

    ¡°Because Yuna-sama, you said you can¡¯t say it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You thought she was dead?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°......Yes¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°She¡¯s fine. She wasn¡¯t seriously hurt.¡± (Yuna)

    She just morphed into a little girl, though.

    ¡°I¡¯m d. Then why can¡¯t you tell me that?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sorry, you just have to see it for yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°......Okay, I understand.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked like she wanted to ask about it, but she obediently nodded instead.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    We arrived at the ce where Mumroot-san was guarding the seal. When the building came into view, we saw a little girl standing there.

    ¡°Yuna-san, there¡¯s a little girl over there.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°A little girl? Here? How did she get to the ind?¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin and Sakura were tilting their heads at the little girl, Kagali-san.

    We got off of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and went to the little girl, Kagali-san¡¯s side.

    ¡°Bear Missy. You¡¯ve done well.¡± (Kagali)

    The little girl, Kagali-san, ran up to me. It feels weird when a little girl calls me Missy. Her clothes were still loose and baggy. Well, I guess they don¡¯t have clothes for little girls lying around, so I can¡¯t me her.

    ¡°It looks like Sakura and Ruimin are safe too. I¡¯m d.¡± (Kagali)

    The little girl, Kagali-san, examined the bodies of the two.

    Both of them were visibly confused about the actions of such a little girl.

    After all, Sakura had never seen Kagali-san in this state before.

    ¡°Etto, Are you perhaps, Kagali-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san looks at herself again.

    ¡°There is a reason why I look like this.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m just d you¡¯re okay.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura hugs Kagali-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay, too.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san put her hands behind Sakura¡¯s back and also hugged her. If Kagali-san were in her adult form, the scene would be lighthearted, like a parent and child, but it felt like a slightly different atmosphere because of her child form. But I guess it doesn¡¯t matter to both of them.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go and check on Mumroot.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked like she was having trouble walking, so I put her on Swaying Bear. We entered the building and headed to Mumroot-san in the basement. Mumroot-san had his hand on the magic circle and poured his magic power, just like everyone else.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin called out and ran up to him. That¡¯s when he noticed us.

    ¡°Did you defeat them all, Missy? Orochi¡¯s reaction has weakened.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Thanks to the hard work of Ruimin and Sakura, we were able to beat them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was the same with the Sacred Tree, but you are amazing, Missy. The wards that would be used to seal it would be meaningless now, though.¡± (Mumroot)

    Apparently, he had also prepared a stronger ward to seal it away permanently.

    ¡°Ano, Yuna-sama defeated the heads of the giant serpent. This is the end, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked Mumroot-san, who still hadn¡¯t taken his hand off the magic circle.

    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly over yet.¡± (Mumroot)

    Sakura was surprised by his words.

    ¡°There are two options. One is to seal Orochi as it is.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But Yuna-sama has defeated all of Orochi¡¯s heads.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Ah, Missy only has defeated the heads of the serpent. But the main body is still alive. If we break the seal, there is a chance it will move.¡± (Mumroot)

    I thought I had beaten it because I destroyed its heads, but it seems it wasn¡¯t as easy. But still, I hoped it would die because we destroyed all of Orochi¡¯s heads.

    ¡°And? What¡¯s the other option?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Obviously, break the seal and destroy the main body.¡± (Mumroot)

    I know, right? The most obvious choice is destroying the main body to end the problem.

    ¡°Sure, why not.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-sama !?¡± (Sakura)

    When I chose to engage the main body, Sakura looked at me surprisedly.

    ¡°Yuna-sama. Are you still going to fight it?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If I defeat it, the people of this country will feel at ease, and Mumroot-san will be able to return to his vige without worries.¡± (Yuna)

    Mumroot-san came here for that reason. But he seemed to have forgotten about it until I told him. I¡¯m not mentioning that, though.

    ¡°True, but I don¡¯t want to make you fight any more than this, Yuna-sama......¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Besides, I don¡¯t want to leave things half done.¡± (Yuna)

    At this point, I might as well finish the job and be done with it.

    ¡°Then, we¡¯re going to break the seal on Orochi¡¯s main body. Are you okay with that?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looked at us as if to confirm.

    ¡°I, who cannot fight, cannot decide on that.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to Yuna-san¡¯s judgment.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°...Yuna-sama, we¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± (Sakura)

    I decided to put a stop to the giant snake.

    ¡°Missy, do you need a break? I can keep this up for a while longer so you can get some rest.¡± (Mumroot)

    Unlike Ruimin and Sakura, he seemed to have quite an enormous capacity for magic.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s just get this over with so we can all go home.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, it would be troublesome if we stayed too long and others arrived. Since we¡¯vee this far, I should quickly dispose of it.

    ¡°What about you, Kagali, and little Sakura? If you want to get off the ind, you still have time.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°How could I run away aftering this far? I will stay here with Bear Missy.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m staying, too. I will see it through to the end.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m staying, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    The three answered Mumroot-san¡¯s question.

    ¡°Since all three of you can¡¯t fight, you absolutely must not leave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I reminded them, just in case.

    Ruimin got on Swaying Bear, then Sakura and Kagali-san got on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll let go of it.¡± (Mumroot)

    When Mumroot-san removed his hand from the carpet on which he drew the magic circle, the magic circle of the ward began to sh red and ck.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time we have, but we gotta get out of here fast.¡± (Mumroot)

    We left the building and moved further away. After a while, the ground shook continuously.

    The ground cracked, and arge, serpent-like body rose from the ground. The body of arge coiled snake began to move.

    Then, when I looked up, I saw that Orochi had restored the four heads.

    ¡°This must be a lie. I thought Yuna-sama already defeated those......¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at the serpent with a face of despair. The magic stone in the main body. That¡¯s the only one I can think of. I didn¡¯t know it would regenerate all of its four heads. But the difference now was that Orochi did not imbue each head with any specific elemental attribute magic. It looks like I did the right thing to remove the magic stones.

    This seems to be okay.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot-san, stay here together with these three. You¡¯ve exhausted a considerate amount of your magical power, haven¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you in the same boat then?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Not really. Besides, I can handle that oversized snake all by myself.¡± (Yuna)

    I rushed in. I used the body of the coiled Orochi as steps to run upwards. There were no mes, no wind or water around it. It¡¯s just a regr oversized snake with many heads at this point. I jumped up near the heads of the snake, and Orochi¡¯s fou heads turned towards me.

    If you want to eat a bear so badly, I shall feed it to you. I created an army of me bears and matched the movement of the snake¡¯s maws. Then, the me bears entered the maws.

    The me bear army charged through the snake¡¯s body, which looked like a winding maze.

    Orochi began to suffer. Nevertheless, the me bear army continued to move through Orochi¡¯s body. As the me bear army passed through, it can be seen from the outside that parts of the snake¡¯s body were shining bright red.

    It might regenerate, so I shoot two to three me bears into each maw. The four headed giant snake continued to wriggle in suffering. Its body mmed into the ground repeatedly.Perhaps its regeneration can¡¯t keep up, and Orochi gradually stopped moving.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    This is the end of the great orochi¡¯s defeat.

    The rest will be a POV of each of them.

 Chapter 474 - Fina, Taking Care Of Shinobu

    Chapter 474

    Fina, Taking Care Of Shinobu

    I was at home when the bearphone started to ring. The one calling was, of course, Yuna-oneesan. Of all things, I was asked to take care of a person who abruptly fainted in front of the door that could take you anywhere, which was located in Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house. I hurried to Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house. I couldn¡¯t understand the situation. I tried to get some further exnation, but Yuna-oneesan¡¯s voice sounded like she was in a hurry, and I couldn¡¯t understand why.

    I arrived at Yuna-oneesan¡¯s bear-shaped house. I caught my breath and opened the door. I thought I heard Yuna-onesaan saying that there is a person in front of the door that can take you anywhere. I went to the room where the door was located. When I opened the door, I saw a woman wearing clothes I had never seen before lying on the floor.

    I rushed over to her. There¡¯s blood on her clothes. And the left shoulder area looked bad. There¡¯s a cut mark on the clothes.

    What should I do!? Should I call a doctor? But Yuna-oneesan said that only people she has permitted to enter her house. She said there was such magic. No one can go to call them either. I have no choice but to watch over her.

    I took a deep breath and rolled up the torn clothes on her left shoulder, where the blood was concentrated the most. Underneath the clothes, I found a garment made of knitted iron. Was she wearing something this heavy? I looked underneath the iron weaving. There should have been bleeding, but it wasn¡¯t. I remembered what Yuna-oneesan said.

    Yuna-oneesan did say that there was blood on her clothes but no injuries. She¡¯s just unconscious. Thank goodness. It looks like I don¡¯t need to call for a doctor. But she¡¯s indeed unconscious. In the meantime, I need to do something about this woman.

    I want to carry her to the bed, but I can¡¯t do it myself. Still, I can¡¯t leave her like this.

    I left the room and brought a pillow for head support, a tub of water, and a towel to wipe her dirty face.

    I¡¯m borrowing this, Yuna-oneesan. I¡¯ll properly wash it before returning it to you. I put a pillow under the woman¡¯s head to have her rx. The woman looked like she was suffering slightly.

    I loosened the woman¡¯s clothes. I want to take off this iron weaving, but it seems impossible. But still, I have never seen these clothes before. Where did shee from?

    When I loosened the clothes, there were abrasions, blood, dirt, and grime on various parts of her body.

    I wet the towel I brought with me with water and wiped her face, arms, and hands. I was surprised to find her clothes in tatters and had blood stains on them, but I was d the wounds were not too severe. There were only minor bruises and small scratches.

    After wiping her body and face, I covered her with a nket. I¡¯m starting to wonder what happened to her. Was Yuna-oneesan with this woman? This woman was in such a sorry state may mean that Yuna-oneesan was also in danger. I know that Yuna-oneesan was strong, but this woman¡¯s condition made me uneasy.

    I want to contact her now.

    But when I saw how panicked Yuna-oneesan was when I received her call and the condition of the unconscious woman, I don¡¯t think I could easily contact her.

    If she¡¯s fighting something dangerous right now, my attempts to contact her will only be getting in the way.

    ¡°U~u, Sakura-sama......¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman looked like she was having a nightmare. Sweat appeared on her forehead.

    I wet the towel with water and ced it on her forehead.

    Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re doing fine, right?

    Then time passed without knowing what to do. asionally, the woman¡¯s body moves.

    =====

    ¡°Ugh, where am I?¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman woke up. Then she tried to get up.

    ¡°You might want to stay in bed a little longer.¡± (Fina)

    When I called out to her, she stood up abruptly and adopted a fighting stance at a distance from me. She was swift.

    ¡°Etto, who might you be, Missy?¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman was looking at the room without taking her eyes off of me.

    ¡°I am Fina. Yuna-oneesan asked me to watch over you.¡± (Fina)

    The woman looked at the ce where she wasying earlier. I prepared a nket, a pillow, and a tub of water.

    ¡°Do you know Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yes¡± (Fina)

    When I said that, she rxed her posture. I¡¯m d she believed me.

    ¡°So where is Yuna? Where is this ce?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°This is Yuna-oneesan¡¯s house. I don¡¯t know where she is, though.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna¡¯s house?¡±(Shinobu)

    Ummm, should I? Could I tell her about the door? The door that can take you anywhere is a secret. But the woman is looking at the door.

    ¡°This door. Could it be that I¡¯ve been sent here?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Do you know about that door?¡± (Fina)

    The woman nodded.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details because I made a contract with Yuna, but from the way you talk, you know about it too, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan called me and told me that a woman is lying in front of the door and that I should take a look at her.¡± (Fina)

    In my words, the woman touched herself as if she remembered something.

    ¡°U~u, it hurts a little, but I don¡¯t have any injury.¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman looked at her left shoulder and her blood-stained clothing.

    ¡°What happened to this?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You were in that state when I found you.¡± (Fina)

    Maybe it was Yuna-oneesan. The woman put on her clothes that were dirty with blood and dirt.

    ¡°Did Yuna mention what happened to Sakura-sama, and Kagali-sama?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening.¡± (Fina)

    I shook my head. This was the first time I had heard those names.

    ¡°I see. You said your name was Fina, right? Can you open this door, Fina?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± (Fina)

    Only Yuna-oneesan can open the door.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to make one more confirmation. You said that Yuna contacted you earlier, right? If that¡¯s the case, that means you can contact her too, right? Can you get in touch with Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    She asked in a roundabout way. If she knew about the door, shouldn¡¯t she also know about the bearphone?

    ¡°That¡¯s......¡± (Fina)

    What should I do?

    ¡°I beg you, please. Please get in touch with Yuna. I have to go back immediately.¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman sat upright, hands on the floor, head bowed deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Eh, please raise your head.¡± (Fina)

    The woman didn¡¯t raise her head. She¡¯s serious. This woman seems to have a reason to go back even if she¡¯s injured. Yuna-oneesan also said I could contact her if I needed anything.

    ¡°I understand. I will contact her.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    The woman raised her head once and then lowered it again.

    ¡°Etto, may I ask your name?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m Shinobu.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then, Shinobu-san. Please drink some water and wait for me here.¡± (Fina)

    I pointed at the jug and the ss filled with water.

    ¡°That helps a lot.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to Yuna-oneesan. Please do not leave this room.¡± (Fina)

    I don¡¯t know how much I could tell her, so I asked her not to leave the room.

    Shinobu-san said, ¡°All right,¡± and started drinking water. She was so thirsty that she filled a ss of water and drank it in one gulp. I walked out of the room and took out my bearphone. Then, holding the bearphone and thinking of Yuna-oneesan, I poured magic into it.

    Yuna-oneesan, Yuna-oneesan......

    After a while, a voice from the bearphone said, ¡°Hello?¡± I can clearly hear the other side. It¡¯s the voice of Yuna-oneesan.

    ¡°It¡¯s Fina.¡±

    ¡°Fina? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    A bright, carefree voice came from the bearphone. Did she perhaps forget about Shinobu?

    ¡°Well, the woman named Shinobu-san woke up.¡±

    ¡®......Ah.¡¯

    She just said, ¡°Ah¡±.

    She definitely forgot about it. I feel like an idiot for worrying about her. But I¡¯m d to hear that nothing happened to her.

    ¡°So, is Shinobu okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she seems to be okay. She wants to go back there, Yuna-oneesan.¡±

    ¡®Ah~, yeah. Got it. I¡¯ll open the door in a bit, so inform her to wait a bit longer.¡¯

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    I put away my bearphone and return to the room where Shinobu-san is.

    ¡°How did it go?¡± (Shinobu)

    She asked as soon as I entered the room.

    ¡°She said she would open the door in a little while.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Is that so? I am d to hear that. Did Yuna say anything?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°She didn¡¯t say anything.¡± (Fina)

    I will keep quiet about the fact that she forgot Shinobu-san.

    When I looked at the jug, it was empty inside. It looks like she drank it all.

    ¡°I guess we still have some time left, so I¡¯ll go get some more water.¡± (Fina)

    Shinobu-san also drank all the water I had just brought.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It was Fina and Shinobu¡¯s story.

    5/23 The 7th episode of theicalization will be published. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

 Chapter 475 - Bear-san Pushing Credit To Others

    Chapter 475

    Bear-san Pushing Credit To Others

    Orochi has fallen.

    I think it¡¯s dead, but I should retrieve the magic stone to be sure. We couldn¡¯t be too careful when its life force was this strong.

    ¡°Mumroot-san, do you know the position of the giant snake¡¯s magic stone?¡± (Yuna)

    When I asked Mumroot-san, Kagali-san, who was riding on Swaying Bear, approached the fallen snake.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, a little more to the right, please.¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Kagali-san, who was riding on Swaying Bear, gave instructions to Swaying Bear, and Swaying Bear moved ordingly.

    ¡°Around here, I think?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It seems so.¡± (Mumroot)

    The two tried to confirm as they touched various parts of the giant snake¡¯s body. Then, Mumroot-san, perhaps having found the ce where the magic stone was, pulled out a knife and sliced through the snake.

    ¡°Damn it. It¡¯s noting off.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Come on, do your best!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there and watch.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°While looking like this? That would be impossible. Come on, you can do it!.¡± (Kagali)

    Two joyful voices can be hearding from the giant snake. As I waited and watched this exchange, Mumroot-san and Kagali-san returned. In Mumroot-san¡¯s hand was arge, colorless magic stone. It may be a little bigger than the magic stones I got earlier.

    ¡°Now we can rest easy.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You¡¯ve defeated it.¡± (Sakura )

    Sakura looked at the magic stone and again expressed relief.

    ¡°No need to cry anymore.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-sama, you say mean things, don¡¯t you?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel good when I see you are crying. As much as possible, I want you to be happy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura had a few tears in her eyes, but she smiled happily. The bad premonition has been averted, and she should not dream of dying anymore. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it when I thought I had saved a girl.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve done my job now. Ruimin, let¡¯s go home.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san called out to Ruimin and handed the magic stone in his hand over to Kagali-san. Should I also give the magical stone I have to her?

    ¡°Hold it, are you going to run away again this time?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It would be strange if there were people who weren¡¯t supposed to be here.¡± (Mumroot)

    Indeed, it is strange for Mumroot-san to be here.

    ¡°But, Mumroot-sama. I haven¡¯t even thanked you yet. I can¡¯t just let you leave like this.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I only bought time by dying Orochi¡¯s revival. She¡¯s the one who killed it.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°No, if it weren¡¯t for Mumroot-sama and Ruimin-san, we might not have been able to defeat the giant serpent.¡± (Sakura)

    Indeed, if the serpent had fully revived, I may not be able to defeat it. The damage might have been much worse. There was no doubt that we could have fought Orochi¡¯s multiple heads individually. Thanks to Mumroot-san¡¯s seal reinforcement, we could engage each head individually.

    But in this case, I¡¯m not sure which side to take.

    Of course, I understand Sakura¡¯s feelings. It would be awkward to let those who risked their lives fighting to go home without thanking them. But I also appreciate Mumroot-san¡¯s desire not to get involved in any trouble more than anyone else. If I were in Sakura¡¯s shoes, I would keep him from leaving, and if I were in Mumroot-san¡¯s shoes, I would want to leave ASAP.

    ¡°But...¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t help because I wanted to be thanked for it. I was just doing something I had left undone in the past. So don¡¯t even think about thanking me.¡± (Mumroot)

    If he said that, Sakura would not be able to say anything.

    Mumroot-san, you¡¯re leaving, aren¡¯t you?

    ¡°Well then, I think I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Wait a minute. Why are you even trying to leave?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Because if I stay, it¡¯s going to be a pain in the ass, you know?¡± (Mumroot)

    It was indeed important when it came to defeating Orochi. I helped defeat the monstrosity upon Sakura¡¯s request, but I don¡¯t want to take credit for it.

    ¡°Still, Mumroot. I¡¯m not going to let you get away this time. Do you know how hard it was for me to stay behind that time?¡± (Kagali)

    So maybe that¡¯s why he wanted to leave.

    ¡°As I said before, all you have to do, Mumroot, is pretend that you happened to stop by the country. Without you, I can¡¯t exin how we defeated it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to exin the enhanced sealing to you, do I?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san seems to be troublesome.

    ¡°I think it would be best to pretend that Kagali-san is the one who defeated it. You see, we can say that you turned into a great fox and pretend you beat it...¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait! You¡¯re going to force it all on me too!? You won¡¯t get away with this.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san grabbed me and Mumroot-san¡¯s clothes. It seems that she won¡¯t let us go home. But that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t shake off her little hand. She used to be bigger than me, but it¡¯ll be hard to deal with us now that she¡¯s smaller.

    As I was wondering what to do, a ¡°ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n, ku~n¡± starts to sound from the white bear puppet.

    It¡¯s the bearphone.

    I took the bearphone out of the bear box.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡®It¡¯s Fina.¡¯

    ¡°Fina? What happened?¡±

    I¡¯m in the middle of something. If it¡¯s nothing important, I¡¯ll call her backter. But what Fina said was unexpected.

    ¡®Well, the woman named Shinobu woke up.¡¯

    ¡°......Ah¡±

    Ipletely forgot.

    When I heard the name ¡°Shinobu¡± from the Bearphone, it reminded everyone here of Shinobu. I was not the only one who had forgotten about her.

    Because since then, the snake has revived, and things have been very hectic. After defeating the giant snake, we talked about the future, forgetting about Shinobu.

    ¡°So, is Shinobu okay?¡±

    I asked Fina, trying not to let her know I had forgotten about Shinobu.

    ¡®Yes, she seems to be alright. She wants to go back there, Yuna-oneesan.¡¯

    Of course, if she woke up and found herself lying in a strange ce, she¡¯d be worried about us. And since Shinobu was unconscious the whole time, she had no idea what was going on.

    Do you generally want to go back to where the giant snake might be? Was she thinking of the country or Sakura? I think it¡¯s thetter.

    ¡°Ah~, yeah. Got it. I¡¯ll open the door in a bit, so inform Shinobu to wait a bit longer.¡±

    ¡®Understood.¡¯

    After talking with Fina, I put away my bearphone.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to pick up Shinobu now, so can we move to the door?¡± (Yuna)

    I could pull out a new bear gate, but I don¡¯t want to pull out too many, so we move to the one earlier. I¡¯m also retrieving that bear gate anyway. On top of Swaying Bear was Kagali-san, who has be a young girl, and Sakura. Then on Hugging Bear were Ruimin and me. And Mumroot-san was walking.

    ¡°Ipletely forgot about Shinobu.¡± (Kagali)

    Not a single person refuted Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Shinobu, is she angry?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s angry. I just moved her to a safe ce because she fainted.¡± (Yuna)

    Even when I heard from Fina, I could not sense that Shinobu was angry.

    She didn¡¯t know what the situation was. She may feel like it can¡¯t be helped.

    =====

    We came to the ce where the bear gate was located. The bear gate was left open to allow escaping into the elven forest. Mumroot-san took Ruimin and tried to pass through the door silently. Kagali-san jumped down from Swaying Bear and blocked them in front of the bear gate.

    ¡°Hold it right there. So why are you trying to leave? Bear Missy, close the door so that Mumroot doesn¡¯t escape.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Even though it¡¯s connected, it won¡¯t close by itself.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Well then, you guys stay there in the middle. I¡¯ll be going in first. I have to connect to Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who needs to stay here, Missy.¡± (Mumroot)

    Apparently, they won¡¯t let me go that easily.

    ¡°Let¡¯s bring Shinobu over here, for now. I¡¯m sure that Shinobu will be waiting for us at the door.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Mumroot)

    I closed the door that was connected to the elven forest. Then I opened the door to the bear gate at my house in Crimonia, and there was Shinobu, as if she had been waiting for me, and standing next to her was Fina.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, are you okay?¡± (Shinobu)

    When the door opens, Shinobu walks through the door andes to Sakura.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. What about you, Shinobu?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, too. I should have been injured, but I have healed apparently.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at her torn clothes with bloodstains.

    I fixed her up, didn¡¯t I?

    ¡°More importantly, what happened? Where are the wyverns? And what about Orochi?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Shinobu, calm down and listen to me. It¡¯s all over.¡± (Sakura)

    Shinobu looked at Sakura with her mouth open like a foolish child at Sakura¡¯s words.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, what do you mean?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Mumroot-sama reinforced the seal. Meanwhile, Yuna-sama and Kagali-sama defeated the serpent.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°...Is that true?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at the little Kagali-san and me. Then she finally noticed the presence of Kagali-san.

    ¡°Etto, Kagali-sama?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Kagali)

    Shinobu squatted down and looked at the little Kagali-san.

    ¡°So cute. Why do you look like that?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°This appearance is due to the excessive use of magic power in the battle with Orochi. So, don¡¯t say anything more.¡± (Kagali)

    Shinobu hugged the little Kagali-san.

    ¡°Ah, Shinobu. That¡¯s not fair. I was holding back, and now you¡¯re hugging Kagali-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Apparently, Sakura was holding back. Sakura also hugged the little Kagali-san.

    ¡°Hey! Ohe on, you two. I am older than you. Don¡¯t treat me like a child.¡± (Kagali)

    Little Kagali-san annoyedly pushed them away in a desperate manner.

    But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s unreasonable to tell people not to treat Kagali-san as a child when she looked like a little girl. Appearances were important. No matter how strong you were, no one would think you were strong if you were in a bear suit. If you¡¯re short, you don¡¯t look your age. Those who have been there will tell you.

    So it¡¯s no wonder the two of them treat Kagali-san like a child.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    As I was watching the three of them, Fina came to me.

    Apparently, Fina also came to this side through the bear gate. Well, the door was left open. I had asked her for Shinobu¡¯s care. Of course, she would like to know what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, who is she?¡± (Sakura)

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Fina.

    ¡°She¡¯s Fina, my lifesaver.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Lifesaver...¡± (Sakura)

    Everyone¡¯s facial expressions turned into a surprised one in my words.

    ¡°Are you strong, by any chance?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan! I told you to stop introducing me that way. I am not strong.¡± (Fina)

    Yeah, I remember that.

    It¡¯s just easy to forget.

    Fina hits my body repeatedly while making a pomf pomf sound.

    Yeah, it doesn¡¯t hurt.

    Then Fina introduced herself.

    ¡°I¡¯m Fina. I live in the same city as Yuna-oneesan. Yuna-oneesan is my lifesaver.¡± (Fina)

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s a push of the credit for subjugation. w

    Shinobu and Fina joined in!

    =====

 Chapter 476 - Bear-san, Explains To Fina and Shinobu.

    Chapter 476

    Bear-san, Exins To Fina and Shinobu.

    With the help of Kagali-san, and Sakura, I exined to Fina, then further exined what Shinobu doesn¡¯t know.

    That we were here to defeat a gigantic monster called Orochi in this country. At that time, a wyvern suddenly appeared, and Shinobu got injured in the battle. Then I told them how we defeated the giant snake with the help of Mumroot-san and Ruimin.

    ¡°Then the battle was over while I was sleeping, wasn¡¯t it? Moreover, I let Sakura-sama and Ruimin do something dangerous. I¡¯m ashamed of myself for sleeping through the ordeal.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked a little depressed.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I know how hard Shinobu is working. Thank you, Shinobu, for everything.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°... Sakura-sama¡± (Shinobu)

    Fina, who was watching their exchange, asked in a whisper.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Are Shinobu-san and Sakura-chan...?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Etto. I¡¯m not sure if you know the word shrine priestess. But, let¡¯s see, right, I think Sakura¡¯s mother is a former royalty, and Shinobu is serving her?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know where Shinobu stands, but that¡¯s what it looks like to me.

    ¡°Royalty...¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at Sakura in surprise. Sakura noticed the look and came toward us.

    ¡°Thank you, Fina-sama, for taking such good care of Shinobu. Thanks to you; we were able to fight the serpent with peace of mind.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura held Fina¡¯s hand and thanked her.

    In contrast, Fina was flustered when Sakura suddenly called her name with honorifics.

    ¡°Fi, Fina is fine. I¡¯m not that great of a person, so please call me Fina.¡± (Fina)

    Fina waved her hand in a hurry and asked her to change how Sakura called her name.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you Fina. Please call me Sakura too.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Etto, Sakura-sama?¡± (Fina)

    I exined earlier that her mother was a former royalty, so Fina called Sakura¡¯s name with honorifics.

    ¡°A friend of Yuna-sama. If possible, please call me Sakura.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Etto, that¡¯s...¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at me as if asking for help. She looked troubled as if she couldn¡¯t call someone rted to the royal family without honorifics, albeit a former one.

    ¡°It seems that Fina can¡¯t call Sakura, a former royalty, by her first name, so I¡¯m wondering if she can call you something else?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My uncle is the king, but I am not a royalty. I am an ordinary person just like Fina.¡± (Sakura)

    I don¡¯t know the details, but you will be a civilian depending on who you marry. As a matter of fact, Sakura lives as a shrine maiden.

    But to Fina, she¡¯s no different than royalty.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t feelfortable addressing her without honorifics, then ¡°Sakura-chan¡± is fine, right? That¡¯s what Ruimin calls her, anyway.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s what Ruimin calls Sakura whenever she calls her.

    It¡¯s not a formal honorific address. But it may be easier for them to call each other with ¡°chan¡± than to simply call one by their first names. Besides, they¡¯re still children. I don¡¯t think anyone should overthink it.

    ¡°Are you Sakura-chan? If so, then may I call you Sakura-chan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°If Fina is okay with that, please call me that.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura seemed a little happy.

    Then Shinobu wanted to check on the giant snake, so I reluctantly packed up the bear gate, then we came back to the ce where the snake was.

    Mumroot-san and I missed the timing to escape.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it even when I¡¯m seeing it with my own eyes. I can¡¯t believe that the legendary serpent has been in.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s huge! Did Yuna-oneesan and Ruimin-san fight such a big monster?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked up at the serpent carcass that was no longer moving.

    ¡°It just kind of happened.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t fight. I was just helping by channeling magic power into the magic circle made by grandpa.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin said it like it was nothing, but Ruimin¡¯s location was the closest to the Wind Orochi Head during the whole ordeal. It was affected by the battle, that giant snake smashed the building into smithereens, and she was exposed to various dangers.

    ¡°No, the battle would have turned into aplicated mess if Ruimin-san had not helped us. Thank you for keeping the magic flowing despite the danger.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura, who was thinking the same thing as I was, opened her mouth.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I was just letting the magic flow to the magic circle.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I understand how it felt. The ground shook many times, loud noises echoed outside, and I was scared and anxious to keep the magic flowing alone. If Hugging Bear-sama had not been there, I would have been crushed by fear and anxiety. It may just be that I have a weak heart.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I was able to do my best because Swaying Bear-chan was with me. So I understand how you feel, Sakura-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried a happy ¡°ku~n¡± at their words.

    It seems that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have supported both of them. I¡¯ll have to give them a pat on the head when we get back.

    I would bathe with them, wash them, and feed them some honey.

    Shinobu approached the snake to check it out.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to move, is it?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. The magic stone has been removed, and the energy supply has been cut. It will not revive.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But Yuna, Kagali-sama, how could you two defeat such a huge monster? Was it weak in reality?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Of course, it was strong. The giant serpent burned the trees with the fire and the wind that the serpent whipped up and cut the trees. The Earth Orochi head spits out rocks from its maw, and Orochi¡¯s Water head spits out water, causing the trees to fall. If you take stock of the situation on the ind, the damage is considerable.¡± (Kagali)

    Thanks to Orochi¡¯s water head¡¯s antics, the mes on the burning trees were extinguished, but Orochi still did considerable damage to the environment. The ces where Orochi¡¯s head and main body were and where it attacked looked terrible.

    ¡°It was with her power that made it possible for us to defeat it. At first, I thought she¡¯s just a little girl, so how can she be a beacon of hope? But it turns out she was the beacon of hope.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-sama is the beacon of hope.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°U~u, I wish I could have seen Yuna fight.¡± (Shinobu)

    She was out cold, so she had no choice.

    Looking toward Fina, I saw her staring at Orochi¡¯s carcass. Maybe she wanted to dismantle it?

    ¡°Fina. Do you want to dismantle it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh, dismantling?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You¡¯ve never dismantled a giant snake on your own, have you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No. Also, dad isn¡¯t here. Besides, I can¡¯t dismantle something this big by myself.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°First off, has anyone else dismantled a giant snake before? Anyone?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a big world. It¡¯s not surprising that there would be several giant snakes around.

    Or will it be revived somewhere after defeating it? I hate to even think about it.

    However, i looks simr to a ck viper if you think of it as a single snake.

    ¡°If you want it, Fina, I¡¯ll ask for it and take it back.¡± (Yuna)

    If I ask for it, I might get at least one head.

    But Fina¡¯s response was, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to¡±.

    Apparently, she doesn¡¯t want it as a souvenir.

    I don¡¯t want a snake either, so I¡¯ll leave it there. I would have liked it if it had soft fur, like Kagali-san¡¯s tail.

    ¡°Why are you looking at my buttocks?¡± (Kagali)

    Apparently, she realized I was looking at her.

    ¡°So can we go home? It¡¯s almost time for dinner.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Oh, I have to help my mom.¡± (Ruimin)

    Somehow, I hear some kind of tension-free conversation.

    I don¡¯t think either of them has told anyone that they were going to battle a giant four headed snake. That may be why they need to go home.

    ¡°Then Fina. Let¡¯s go home too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t go home. If you leave, I will be in trouble. I won¡¯t let you go. If you insist on leaving, I will go with you.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san got angry. She looks like a child throwing a tantrum.

    I thought it would be a natural excuse to go home, but I guess not.

    ¡°That¡¯s not good. What am I going to do if even Kagali-san is gone too?¡± (Sakura)

    Indeed, it would be pitiful to push it to Sakura.

    ¡°Then, would you like to go with me, Sakura?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said it as if she had a good idea.

    ¡°What in the world are you guys talking about?¡± (Shinobu)

    One? No. If you include Fina, there are two people who don¡¯t understand our conversation.

    I told Shinobu that Mumroot-san and I wanted to go home.

    ¡°Oi! I¡¯ll be in trouble if you guys leave. His Majesty the King will be angry with me. Mainly on me.¡± (Shinobu)

    The only one, the king, could scold might be Shinobu of all these people.

    ¡°Oh right. Why don¡¯t we just pretend that Shinobu defeated it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait, why would you do that?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You¡¯ll be a hero, Shinobu. You can be popr. I¡¯ll even give you the materials of the giant snake.¡± (Yuna)

    I said it like a salesman.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it! I don¡¯t want to be a hero. I am the shadow of the Lord. I must not stand out.¡± (Shinobu)

    She spat out some kind of ninja-like line. After all the prominence I had given her, it was a littlete for that.

    ¡°Certainly. If we pretend that Shinobu beat it, we wouldn¡¯t need to exin the magic circle.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san was on board with my idea.

    ¡°Even you, Kagali-sama? What are you saying? I was unconscious, and when I woke up, everything was over. There¡¯s no way I can exin how we defeated it!¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You just have to talk your way out of it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t like it! I wholeheartedly refuse!¡± (Shinobu)

    Some people in the world would take credit for other people¡¯s work as if it were their own, but Shinobu seems to be different.

    Well, of course, you can¡¯t handle an enormous credit if it¡¯s beyond your capabilities.

    ¡°Well, then. I guess I¡¯ll have to let Suou do his contract magic and tell him everything.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°A contract magic for His Majesty the King?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Fufu, I have his weakness in my grasp. I can do that much. Yuna and Mumroot, you are fine with that, right? I¡¯ll make them promise not to make a fuss. So, hang out with me a little longer.¡± (Kagali)

    Contract magic for the king. Indeed, if she can, we can keep many things quiet. But he is the king. I don¡¯t think he would do contract magic, which might be dangerous.

    ¡°But what if the king refuses?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Then I will leave the country and go with you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama!¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°There is no longer any reason for me to remain in this country.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No way.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So it¡¯s all up to Suou. Now, Shinobu. Call him.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Please wait. Actually, I sent Pisuke to contact His Majesty the King before fighting the demons, so I can¡¯t do it right away.¡±

    Shinobu took something out of her pocket.

    She put it in her mouth, then blew on it.

    A whistle?

    ¡°Now p¨©suke will be back in a moment. Then I can contact His Majesty the King.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Who¡¯s p¨©suke?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s the name of Shinobu¡¯s bird.¡± (Yuna)

    Apparently, it was a bird whistle.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I also failed to push it to Shinobu.

    Next time, it will be the King¡¯s turn.

    ¡ù The next post may be dyed a little. Please understand.

    ¡ù Comicalization of Kuma will be on the second, and fourth Wednesday next month. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

    ¡ù In addition, the next post will be from 6/4 to 6/5.

    =====

 Chapter 477 - The King, Heads For The Island

    <h4><b>The King, Heads For The Ind</b></h4>

    Is Sakura all right!?

    I heard she crossed the ocean on a bear. Did she escape in time?

    Shinobu, at least send me a regr report!

    But perhaps the situation is such that it¡¯s not possible.

    On a ship above the raging sea, I looked at the ind of Reenes.

    I could see the bear and Kagali fighting with the fire-d Orochi. But now the forest was burning with the Orochi¡¯s mes, so the bear and Kagali were obscured, partly because of the smoke. When the ship moved near the ind as we tried to check the Orochi, the ship rocked.

    ¡°What happened!¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s the wind from the ind!¡± (Captain)

    I clutched the telescope in one hand on the rocking ship and looked through it.

    There was a figure of a new serpent head next to the fire-d Orochi in the telescope. The new Orochi¡¯s head was d in what looked like the raging wind.

    ¡°The Wind Orochi?¡± (King)

    After the Fire Orochi, now the Wind Orochi!?

    Even the seal of the Wind Orochi has been broken? It¡¯s only a matter of time before the seals on the other heads are also broken. If all of theme back to life, it will be the end.

    ¡°Are the mages not ready yet!¡± (King)

    They¡¯re hurrying, but the ship with the mages on board was not embarking yet.

    No wonder. The monsters appeared on the maind as well, and I sent those mages to defeat them. There¡¯s no easy way to bring them back.

    Looking through the telescope, I can sometimes see the figures of the bear and Kagali, although they were obscured by the burning mes and smoke.

    I am relieved that they were safe, but I couldn¡¯t do anything while Bear Missy and Kagali were fighting just the two of them. I am a powerless person. A king, only in name.

    ¡°Get the ship closer.¡± (King)

    ¡°We can¡¯t go any further. The waves are so fierce that we can¡¯t move the boat the way we want.¡± (Captain)

    The ship was rocking intensely.

    Damn it, what the hell¡¯s going on.

    It¡¯s not just the wind. It felt like something was moving around in the ocean.

    ¡°Bring the ship closer as much as you can.¡± (King)

    The ship was moved to a location where the ind of Reenes could be seen, but the ship kept rocking and the telescope in my hand was shaking. The ind was on fire, there was a lot of smoke and the bear and Kagali were no longer visible.

    An unpleasant imagination popped into my head, but I quickly erased it.

    There¡¯s no way that Kagali will be easily defeated. Besides, the Bear Missy was the beacon of hope that Sakura found, and she¡¯s strong enough to easily beat Jubei.

    So, it¡¯s all right.

    The boat rocked violently, I lost my bnce, so I clung to the pirs.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± (Captain)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± (King)

    I waited for the ship to settle down and looked through the telescope once more.

    Where¡¯s the Fire Orochi!?

    What happened?

    I looked through the telescope to search for it.

    What¡¯s that!?

    A huge fox was flying around the Wind Orochi.

    Was that Kagali, perhaps!?

    Kagali used to be a fox monster. I knew that Kagali can transform into a fox. I was relieved that I had confirmed the presence of Kagali, but I cannot see the bear.

    Kagali, now a fox, flew over the head of the Wind Orochi. Kagali moved so fast that I couldn¡¯t chase her with the telescope. Moreover, the ship was rocking, so I cannot see Kagali¡¯s fight.

    Furthermore, a strong gust-like wind was blowing from the ind from time to time.

    Is this how far the battle between the Wind Orochi and Kagali hase?

    ¡°Go around the ind, move to a ce less affected by the wind!¡± (King)

    The ship moved to a location where the wind from the ind was weaker.

    When I checked the ind through my telescope, the Wind Orochi and Kagali disappeared.

    What happened? Did Kagali defeat it?

    Or were they fighting on the ground?

    The Fire Orochi was also not visible for a while now. I felt frustrated that I couldn¡¯tnd on the ind.

    At that moment, a loud noise came from the ind. It sounds like something big hitting the ground. I immediately realized it was a huge rock.

    One of therge rocks flew into the sea.

    It fell a bit far from the ship and made a big ssh.

    It¡¯s the Rock Orochi.

    I don¡¯t understand the situation. The Fire Orochi disappeared, and so did the Wind Orochi. But the Rock Orochi appeared to rece them. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore.

    ¡°Your Majesty! It¡¯s dangerous. We¡¯re moving away from the ind!¡± (Captain)

    If a rock like that hit the ship directly, the ship would sink. But that doesn¡¯t mean we can just leave.

    ¡°Maintain the current distance. If the Orochi doesn¡¯te out to sea, it won¡¯t reach this far.¡± (King)

    I don¡¯t know that. It¡¯s all just talk.

    The rocks might fly further. Who knows what we have never seen or experienced. But we can¡¯t move away from the ind more than this.

    Then, after a while, the sound stopped. Parts of the ind were still burning, and smoke continued to rise. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.

    Since then, the FireOrochi and the Wind Orochi have disappeared from sight. The Rock Orochi that appeared earlier also disappeared.

    What the hell is going on?

    Just as I was thinking that the Rock Orochi had vanished, I saw a water-d Orochi head. In the end, all the heads of the Orochi came back to life.

    The water spat out by the Water Orochi extinguished the fire that lit up the forest. The force of that water was that strong, though.

    An attack like that would have been too much.

    No, should any of Orochi¡¯s attacksnd on the popce, it will cause a massive death toll.

    You¡¯ll burn if you get caught by the mes that the Fire Orochi breathed.

    You¡¯ll get diced if you get caught by the wind that the Wind Orochi produced.

    You¡¯ll be crushed if you get caught by the rock spewed out by the Rock Orochi.

    You¡¯ll be sted and drowned if you get exposed to the water spewed out by the Water Orochi.

    I haven¡¯t seen Kagali even once since I saw her fighting the Wind Orochi.

    I can only imagine unpleasant things now.

    Sakura, my sister¡¯s forgotten keepsake. Shinobu, who adores Sakura. Kagali, who protected the country for a long time. And Bear Missy, who had nothing to do with this country but got herself involved.

    Bear Missy. As Sakura says, if you are the beacon of hope, please do something.

    A short timeter, the sound faded from the ind, and the Water Orochi disappeared.

    What happened?

    I searched for the Water Orochi with my telescope, but I could not find it.

    Why can¡¯t I see the Orochi?

    Time passes by without understanding the situation.

    Did they defeat it, by any chance?

    Such an unlikely thought.

    I looked through the telescope to search for it.

    Kagali, Sakura, Shinobu, Bear Missy, just show yourself for a moment.

    Such wishes crumbled. Fourrge Orochi heads grew simultaneously.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Orochi!¡± (Crew)

    The lookout shouted.

    The Orochi has wholly revived.

    In other words, Kagali and Bear Missy lost.

    I hope they¡¯re alive, at least.

    I gripped the telescope tightly.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please give the order to evacuate. If the Orochi attacks this ship, we will not be able to escape. If we flee to the maind and they¡¯ll chase us, we will be inviting the Orochi into the country. Please give the order to evacuate before it notices us.¡± (Captain)

    I can understand what he¡¯s saying. If this ship gets spotted, we will not be able to return to our country.

    The idea of sacrificing this ship to lure it ines to mind, but that¡¯s not possible. They won¡¯t let me die here.

    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s move away from the ind.¡± (King)

    I gave the evacuation order.

    Please be safe.

    The ship returned to the docks. Not a single ship was out to sea. This was so as not to attract the Orochi to the country.

    Even if we wanted to go save Kagali and the others, we could notunch a ship. Even if we save them, the country would be in danger if the Orochi chased the ship.

    The women we had gathered to fight were useless.

    The only thing left to do was to gather the mages and, at their expense, attract the Orochi and keep it away from the country.

    As we were discussing future measures, a messenger soldier came to us.

    ¡°The team seeded in defeating the monsters that emerged from the forest. The rest of the monsters returned to the forest as if to escape.¡± (Messenger)

    ¡°I see.¡± (King)

    When the magese back, all I have to do is order the mages and the sailors on the ship to ¡°die for their country¡±.

    I already told them a few days ago, but still, I am notfortable giving orders to my men to die. However, I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t have to let my child give such an order.

    A bird flew over my head as I waited for the mages toe and get the ship ready.

    Isn¡¯t that Shinobu¡¯s bird?

    Shinobu, she¡¯s alive?

    I stretched out my arm.

    Then quickly, I stopped it.

    The bird flew over my head in circles and stopped at my hand.

    I put my finger on the tube¡¯s lid attached to the bird¡¯s neck.

    I quickly opened it.

    The lid opened, and a small roll of paper came out of the tube.

    I hurriedly unfolded the curled-up paper as if in a panic.

    ¡°............ Ha~a?¡± (King)

    I let out a weird voice.

    People around me react to my voice.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what is the matter?¡± (Minister)

    ¡°We¡¯re heading to the ship once again. We¡¯re sailing.¡± (King)

    ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡± (Minister)

    ¡°It should be fine¡± (King)

    I gave my instructions and looked over the paper again.

    ¡®The subjugation of the Orochi isplete. Kagali-san and Yuna have an important message for His Majesty regarding the defeat of the Orochi, so pleasee to the pier on the ind of Reenes. If you don¡¯te, I¡¯ll be in trouble!¡¯

    She said they defeated the Orochi?

    That Orochi?

    Is that true?

    I don¡¯t doubt it, but I just couldn¡¯t believe it.

    But that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to find on the ind of Reenes.

    I¡¯ll have my soldiers stand by and give them instructions not tounch the ship when the mages arrive, and I¡¯ll embark on the ship.

    But what do they want to talk about?

    If they want to talk, can¡¯t they do it in the castle.

    Still, what the hell is thatst sentence?

    I don¡¯t really understand what Shinobu meant by her being in trouble.

    The sea was calm as if the rough seas of earlier were a lie. The ship quickly arrived at the pier on the ind of Reenes. The Orochi was nowhere to be seen. Instead, something strange was built.

    Is that a bear?

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    There¡¯s a strange bear-shaped object near the pier.

    I don¡¯t recall seeing anything like that. If there was something like that before, I¡¯d notice it.

    In front of that bear is a familiar figure.

    ¡°Is that Shinobu?¡± (Minister)

    ¡°You guys stay on the ship. I¡¯m going alone.¡± (King)

    ¡°But for a man...¡± (Minister)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably fine now, I think.¡± (King)

    I get off the ship alone, and Shinobu rushes over to me.

    ¡°Your Majesty, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Are Sakura and Kagali safe?¡± (King)

    ¡°They¡¯re both safe.¡± (Shinobu)

    I felt relieved to hear that.

    The one thing I was worried about was resolved.

    ¡°So is it true that you guys defeated the Orochi?¡± (King)

    ¡°We¡¯ll exin it all in the house.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s a house?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s Yuna¡¯s house. Please follow me.¡± (Shinobu)

    I walked after Shinobu and moved to the bear. Shinobu opened the door and walked into the bear-shaped house. I followed Shinobu and entered the bear.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    The next episode will be posted as usual, unless there is bookwork to be done.

    And that¡¯s how the King entered the bear house.

    They will have a discussion next time.

    Postscript.

    <b>¡ù </b>Kuma, theicalized 8th episode, will be up next Wednesday. Our apologies.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 478 - Bear-san, Puts Out A Bear House

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Puts Out A Bear House</b></h4>

    After a while, a small yellowish-green bird flew in. Shinobu stretched out her hand, and the little bird perched on it.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to have you back.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu gently strokes the little bird¡¯s head with her fingers.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute.¡± (Fina)

    Fina watched the little bird perched on Shinobu¡¯s finger.

    ¡°Do you want to touch it?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is that ok?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I am grateful to you, Fina, for all you have done for me. I will write a letter, so please hold on to it for me.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu held out her hand towards Fina, and the little bird jumped into her hand. Fina strokes the little bird¡¯s head with her tiny fingertips, and the bird closes its eyes pleasantly. Fina looked happy.

    At that moment, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached Fina. It looked like they wanted some attention too.

    You don¡¯t have topete with that little bird. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are much prettier.

    ¡°So, are you sure you want to bring His Majesty the King to this ind?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu checked with us while holding a small piece of paper and a pen.

    ¡°Yeah, if we go to the castle as is, we might cause amotion. I think it would be better if hees to the pier on the ind instead.¡± (Kagali)

    Shinobu writes on a small piece of paper precisely as Kagali-san said.

    ¡°But will the Kinge to the ind?¡± (Yuna)

    He¡¯s the King of a country.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that easy to ask him toe.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t show up, we¡¯ll flee the country and leave everything in Shinobu¡¯s hands.¡± (Kagali)

    At Kagali-san¡¯s words, Shinobu moved her hand again after she finished writing to add something more.

    She then rolled the paper around and put it inside the tube hanging on the little bird¡¯s neck, perched on Fina¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Shinobu)

    The little bird flew away from Fina¡¯s hand when Shinobu said. Fina watched the little bird as it flew past by.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s going to fly to the King¡¯s ce?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If the King has the magic stone, it will reach him.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Magic stone?¡± (Yuna)

    She said that the tube attached to the little bird had a small magic stone attached to it and that the King had a piece of the same magic stone.

    It seems that the little bird would fly while following the magic of that same magic stone.

    ¡°So, if you change the tube around P¨©suke¡¯s neck, you can make it go to different ces.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I also have one.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura pulled the ne hanging from her neck out from under her clothes and showed it to me. At the end of the ne was a small magic stone.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy, you know? From the time they are chicks, you have to find the chicks that respond to magic power and train them.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°How far can it travel?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It can¡¯t go too far. But from here to the castle would still be fine.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, of course. I think it¡¯s impossible from here to Crimonia. Based on that, I believe Sanya-san¡¯s summoned bird was more impressive.

    In the first ce, the size was different. Sanya-san has a hawk-like bird. Compared to that, Shinobu¡¯s P¨©suke looked pitiful.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s head for the pier.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san rode on Swaying Bear, Sakura hung on Hugging Bear, and the rest moved on foot.

    Then we arrived at the pier.

    ¡°Are we going to talk here?¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s nothing but the pier. The view looks great, though.

    ¡°Even if my male-repelling wards are broken, it will remain in effect for a few days. Therefore, since Suou cannote to my house, there is no other ce where we can talk to him. Besides, here, no one can eavesdrop on us.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, perhaps no one can eavesdrop, but the people on the ship will still see you.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if they can¡¯t hear the conversation, we¡¯re in full view.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, though......¡± (Kagali)

    That doesn¡¯t seem to make sense.

    Everyone fell silent. In the midst of it all, one person spoke.

    ¡°Yuna-san, how about taking out your house? If we talk in your house, I don¡¯t think the others will know who or what we are talking about.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin spoke up as if she had a brilliant idea.

    ¡°Yuna-sama¡¯s house?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura tilted her head slightly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear-shaped house. It¡¯s so cute.¡± (Ruimin)

    With Ruimin¡¯s exnation, Sakura tilted her head further.

    ¡°Does Fina know about this too?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Etto, yes. It¡¯s a charming bear house.¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s the same answer as Ruimin.

    But of course, there¡¯s no other way to exin it.

    ¡°Bear-san¡¯s house... Yuna-sama, I want to see it too.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked a little reservedly.

    If possible, I¡¯d like to have a proper meeting ce with the King and not in the bear house.

    ¡°What, you even have a house like that? If so, I won¡¯t be seen by anyone else.¡± (Kagali)

    Perhaps there¡¯s a trend to invite Kings into the bear house?

    That being said, it¡¯s rather annoying that other people can see us talking to the King at an empty pier.

    After some pondering, I decided to put up a bear house.

    ¡°If youugh, I¡¯ll be mad.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Shinobu.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Because you¡¯re most likely tough.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯tugh. Do I not have any credibility?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°None.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡± (Shinobu)

    The fox looked like she wanted tough at Shinobu, but she held it.

    I moved to a ce near the pier.

    ¡°Will it be fine around here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Kagali)

    I checked with Kagali-san, and then I set up the bear house for travel.

    And each of them reacted differently.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at the bear house with her eyes sparkling.

    ¡°A bear, huh? A fox would be prettier.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear protested before I could say anything.

    ¡°Of course, the bears are cute. But the fox is cuter. The bear is only second.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear seemed to be saying that ¡°bears are the best¡±. But Kagali-san won¡¯t budge.

    I¡¯ll leave the three of them alone arguing.

    ¡°No, no, no, the shape of the house is one thing, but I¡¯m wondering more about Yuna¡¯s Item Bag, how big is the capacity? For a big house like this toe out.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s Yuna-sama. It shoulde as no surprise to you now. Shinobu has learned Yuna-sama¡¯s secret, too. It¡¯s just another thing to add to it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Really? Am I the odd one?¡± (Shinobu)

    No one denied nor affirmed that.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go inside and rest until Suou gets here.¡± (Kagali)

    I expected Kagali-san wouldugh, but she didn¡¯t and simply headed for the bear house.

    I took everyone into the bear house.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little small, but it¡¯s a nice room.¡± (Kagali)

    Compared to the building where Kagali-san was, that can¡¯t help but feel small.

    ¡°Yuna, P¨©suke mighte back, so can I open the window?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°His Majesty, will hee?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°If it¡¯s that guy, he¡¯ll surelye.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Also, Yuna. Will you lend me a room?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°A room?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to change my clothes. I can¡¯t appear in front of His Majesty dressed like this.¡± (Yuna)

    Indeed, Shinobu¡¯s outfit was in a terrible state because her clothes were covered with blood, and I cut her clothes with a knife to heal her wounds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll care about that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, yeah, but the fight is over, and I want to getfortable.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Sure. The bathroom is in the back, so if you just want to change your clothes, you can do it there. Fina, show her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That helps. I¡¯ll borrow a little water.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu said that and went to the bathroom. Fina guided her.

    ¡°Now then we¡¯ll rest until Suou arrives.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Sit there. I¡¯ll make you some tea.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a table in the room with sofas on all four sides that can seat three people. Kagali-san jumps and sits on one of them, and Sakura sits next to her. Mumroot-san and Ruimin sit on the sofa together.

    I go to the kitchen and prepare some sacred tree tea.

    Everyone aside from Fina was exhausted and depleted of magical energy.

    For that, the sacred tree tea would be the best.

    I think cold tea would be better than hot tea, so I put ice in it and brought it to everyone.

    ¡°Is this the tea from the sacred tree?¡± (Mumroot)

    After taking a sip, Mumroot-san noticed it immediately.

    ¡°Everyone is tired, after all.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Certainly. This is the best when you¡¯re tired.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san drank his tea in one gulp.

    Everyone was thirsty, so they all did the same.

    I refilled their cups.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe we were fighting the Orochi just a few minutes ago.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura, are you alright? If you¡¯re tired, you can rest in bed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. If I go to bed, I feel like I may not want to get upter. I¡¯ll wait until my unclees.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    Each of them seems relieved of their tension, and everyone really looks tired.

    Kagali-san is buried on the sofa, holding a cup of tea in her tiny hands and sipping it. Next to her, Sakura sits upright on the sofa, drinking tea.

    ¡°If you¡¯re hungry, I¡¯ll give you something to eat.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I am tired, but I¡¯m more sleepy than hungry.¡± (Kagali)

    Apparently, they¡¯re all of the same opinions.

    After a while, Shinobu, having changed her clothes, returned with Fina.

    Her clothes might look the same, but Shinobu was dressed in fresh, clean clothes.

    ¡°I need to ask you something, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What have you done to me? The wounds where the wyvern hits me have healed.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a big scratch to begin with.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to deceive her.

    ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t want to talk about it? If so, that¡¯s fine. But I¡¯ll just say I appreciate it. Thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything, so you don¡¯t have to thank me.¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu did not pursue my words any further.

    Then, a short timeter, the little bird of Shinobu came back. It¡¯s carrying a letter with one word written, ing¡±.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside. Everyone else, please take a rest.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu said so and offered to wait outside, even though she must be tired. I offered her a cup of cold tea.

    Shinobu drank her tea in one gulp and then walked out.

    And we¡¯ll be waiting for the King while drinKing tea.

    ¡°The ship has arrived.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobues in front of the door and tells us.

    ¡°I was surprised at how fast they were. Perhaps they were already in the vicinity.¡± (Yuna)

    Looking out through the window, I saw a ship.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    That¡¯s how the bear house came into y.

    Next time, a talk with King Suou.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 479 - Bear-san, Talks To The King, Part 1

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Talks To The King, Part 1</b></h4>

    King Suou, the ruler of the Land of Harmony, entered the bear house with Shinobu.

    King Suou scurried into the room and looked around curiously. Kagali-san, who saw his actions, asked him to sit down.

    ¡°Stop it, you look silly. Sit down.¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou did as Kagali-san asked and sat down on the sofa in front of Kagali-san.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you about the Orochi, but first, can you exin something to me?¡± (King)

    King Suou looked at everyone. That¡¯s true. If there was an unfamiliar face in the room, he would be concerned. King Suou looked at Kagali-san curiously.

    ¡°Are you Kagali?¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯m cute when I¡¯m smaller, aren¡¯t I?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, dressed in her oversized clothes, smiled. In response, King Suou sighed.

    ¡°I used too much magic power in the battle against Orochi. That¡¯s all. Orochi was strong.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I see. And it seems there are some strangers here as well.¡± (King)

    King Suou looked at Mumroot-san, Ruimin, and then at Fina. The look in his eyes caused Fina to shrink.

    ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t look at Fina with such frightening eyes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my intention to scare her. I apologize if it seemed that way.¡± (King)

    ¡°N, no. I, it¡¯s okay.¡± (Fina)

    However, Fina hid behind me.

    ¡°So can you exin this situation?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you if you want an exnation or not.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s up to me, you say?¡± (King)

    ¡°First of all, we¡¯re asking you to perform contractual magic with Bear Missy as a prerequisite. The content of the contract is to protect her secret. If you don¡¯t do that, I can¡¯t tell you anything.¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou looked at me suspiciously.

    ¡°Bear Missy¡¯s secret is far too great. I can¡¯t exin why these people are here, or how we defeated the Orochi.¡± (Kagali)

    After a quick nce at Mumroot-san and Ruimin, she returned her gaze to King Suou.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± (King)

    ¡°All of us, including me, have made a contractual magic to protect her secret. If we try to talk about even a fraction of it, we will die.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked lightly at Mumroot-san and Ruimin.

    ¡°So I can only exin it to those who have performed the contractual magic. If you don¡¯t want me to go into detail, I can tell you what happened. But do expect that I can¡¯t tell you most of it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°......Die? You mean, Sakura and Shinobu also made that contract too?¡± (King)

    The eyes of King Suou widened.

    ¡°Yes, I made a contract.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Kagali! You let Sakura do contracted magic that could kill her? What if something went wrong!¡± (King)

    King Suou got angry at Kagali-san.

    ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t be mad. If I do not speak about it, I will not die. And when they say you will die, it does not mean you will die immediately. If you try to talk, magic that will make you startughing will activate. And if you try to force yourself to keep talking, you will die.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So it¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to die anytime soon?¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes, as long as I don¡¯t try to tell Yuna-sama¡¯s secret. And if I try to say it by mistake, I won¡¯t die right away.¡± (Sakura)

    King Suou¡¯s anger subsided at Sakura¡¯s words.

    Well, suppose Sakura, whom he loves and cherishes like his biological daughter, doing contract magic that could kill her, would make him worry. In that case, it¡¯s normal for him to be angry.

    Fina was the only one who looked confused. Come to think of it, Fina was the only one who didn¡¯t understand what they were saying because she doesn¡¯t do contract magic.

    ¡°Is it really that big of a secret?¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think it should be known. I made a contract with her because I was convinced. But all of us who did contract magic cannot talk about it to you, uncle.¡± (Sakura)

    No one but Fina and me can talk about the bear¡¯s gate due to contract magic.

    ¡°Can you ask her to release it?¡± (King)

    Sakura shook her head.

    ¡°Yuna-sama told me her secret to defeat the Orochi. I have no intention of betraying that favor. Besides, I consider this as my connection with Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°She did so much for all of us. It is too selfish to ask her to cancel the contract just because she killed Orochi. As Sakura says, if you don¡¯t talk about it, there will be no problem.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yuna saved my life. I cannot betray her.¡± (Shinobu)

    King Suou looked at the three of them, and the three of them returned the gesture to King Suou. No one was looking away.

    ¡°Let me get this straight. As long as I don¡¯t tell Yuna¡¯s secret, I won¡¯t die, right?¡± (King)

    ¡°I guarantee it.¡± (Mumuroot)

    Mumuroot-san answers instead of Kagali-san.

    ¡°Did you really defeat the Orochi? Not seal it.¡± (King)

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve defeated it. In a few days, the effect of the wards against men will disappear. You can see for yourself.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°... Very well. I¡¯ll do the contract too.¡± (King)

    King Suou replied.

    ¡°Mumroot. I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to get the contractual magic ready.¡± (Kagali)

    Mumroot-san did as Kagali-san asked and spread the carpet on the floor.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me about that elf guy, too, right?¡± (King)

    ¡°Of course.¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou followed Mumroot-san¡¯s instructions and ced his hand on the carpet with the magic circle of contract magic.

    ¡°You¡¯re fine with it, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been with you since I was born. If you think it¡¯s necessary, then it must be. Let¡¯s be done with this quickly.¡± (King)

    I, like King Suou, ced my hand on the carpet and performed contract magic.

    ¡°Keep my secrets.¡± (Yuna)

    The magic circle emitted a dazzling light, and the contract waspleted.

    ¡°Now then, where do I begin?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°All of it. Tell me everything.¡± (King)

    Kagali-san exined in order.

    From the time the adventurer elf who helped her seal the Orochi hundreds of years ago was an acquaintance of mine. And that I had called Mumroot-san to the ind to ask for his help.

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t get it. You mean he was that elf who sealed the Orochi hundreds of years ago?¡± (King)

    King Suou looked at Mumroot-san.

    ¡°I told you that there was a group of adventurers who helped me seal the Orochi, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been hearing about it since I was a kid.¡± (King)

    ¡°One of the adventurers who lent a hand at that time was Mumroot over there.¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou looks at Mr. Mumroot-san in disbelief.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that Bear Missy was acquainted with the hero from hundreds of years ago. How did you bring him here? Everything happened so quickly, so you won¡¯t have that time. Besides, I haven¡¯t received any reports of elves arriving at the ind.¡± (King)

    King Suou looks at Shinobu.

    ¡°No, no one else came with her. Only Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin why the hero, Mumroot, is here now.¡± (King)

    Kagali-san looked at me.

    King Suou did the contract magic for me. So I, too shall keep my promise.

    ¡°This too must remain a secret, so please don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out a bear gate.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (King)

    ¡°This is a magical tool that connects one door to another. Simply put the other one in a different ce, and you can get to that ce through this.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Such a magic tool exists?¡± (King)

    Interrupting King Suou¡¯s words, I opened the bear gate. The bear gate in the elven forest opened, and beyond the door, we could see the forest.

    King Suou looked beyond the door in disbelief.

    ¡°She brought Mumroot through there. That girl is Mumroot¡¯s granddaughter. She followed along and helped us postpone the resurrection of the Orochi.¡± (Kagali)

    Suddenly, Ruimin looked at the king, and she slightly bowed her head.

    ¡°Then, with the help of Mumroot, we strengthened the wards and revived the heads of Orochi one by one, and Bear Missy and I defeated them one at a time. However, I only defeated the Wind Orochi. While the Fire, Rock, and Water Orochi, was defeated by her alone.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Wait, you said it was in one at a time? I certainly saw that the fire, wind, rock, and water disappeared in that order individually, but at the end, I saw all four heads of the Orochi resurrected.¡± (King)

    Oh, right. But if I may say one thing. Thest one to revive was a mere snake, d in neither fire nor wind nor any element. A giant snake that only looked like Orochi.

    ¡°You saw that, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°From the ship¡¯s deck. I also saw you as a fox fighting the Wind Orochi.¡± (King)

    Kagali-san exins the Orochi that King Suou saw.

    When I defeated the heads of Orochi d in fire, wind, rock, and water elements, and when we finally broke the wards sealing the main body, all of Orochi¡¯s heads regenerated and revived. But she told him that the newly resurrected Orochi was defeated by me.

    King Suou listened in disbelief.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the magic stone of Orochi.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san ced a colorless magic stone stripped from the body of the Orochi on the table to prove it.

    Do I have to show these too?

    ¡°In addition, I got these from each head.¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san looked at me, so I had no choice but to present the four magic stones taken from Orochi¡¯s heads.

    King Suou looked at me and the Orochi¡¯s magic stones in disbelief.

    ¡°Was the Orochi weak?¡± (King)

    ¡°Are you trying to say that a monster with a magic stone of this size was weak? Are you saying it was weak when so many people died trying to seal that monster in the past?¡± (Kagali)

    There¡¯s a hint of anger in Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    If someone who has not even fought the Orochi, which took us so much effort to defeat, were to call it weak, even I would be angry.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was just too unbelievable. But how did you defeat the Orochi?¡± (King)

    King Suoh looked at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter how she defeated it, as long as it won¡¯t resurrect ever again.¡± (Kagali)

    Actually, the Orochi that I defeated at the end was the weakest of all. However, I don¡¯t want a second or third giant snake appearing again.

    Wait, that¡¯s a g, so don¡¯t even think about it.

    ¡°I understand.¡± (King)

    King Suou said that as he leaned back on the sofa.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The magic contract was done. Next time, Part 2.

    Pre-orders for Kuma Volume 10 (July 27) have begun in some ces.

    We will post in the activity report when we have decided where to distribute the store bonus SS.

    Also, the first volume of theic book will be released at the same time, so please support us here as well.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 480 - Bear-san, Talks To The King, Part 2

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Talks To The King, Part 2</b></h4>

    King Suou looked around the room again and turned to Fina, who was standing beside me.

    ¡°Who is that girl? She doesn¡¯t seem to be an elf.¡± (King)

    ¡°This girl is Fina. Before the Orochi came back to life, wyverns and volss attacked. Then Shinobu was wounded in the battle and fainted. She¡¯s the one who took care of her.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined about Fina.

    ¡°...I¡¯m Fina.¡±

    Fina bowed a little.

    King Suou looked at Fina slightly and then turned his gaze to Shinobu.

    ¡°Shinobu, are you injured?¡± (King)

    Shinobu has changed her clothes and did not appear to be injured by looking at her appearance alone. The wounds on her shoulder and face have healed, but not the other injuries.

    ¡°I was injured when I fought the wyvern, and it still hurts a little, but I¡¯m fine now. Also, my clothes were torn to shreds during the fight, so I changed them.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu grabbed her clothes.

    ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t a serious injury. I¡¯ve always given you trouble.¡± (King)

    She was seriously injured, though.

    ¡°It¡¯s just, I didn¡¯t have the strength.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But did you fight the wyverns before you fought the Orochi?¡± (King)

    ¡°As if drawn by the resurrection of the Orochi, the Volss and wyverns gathered. We had to split up to fight, but there was no one else who could fight at that time, so we had to let Shinobu fight alone.¡± (Kagali)

    We didn¡¯t have enough people and had to include Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°So the wyverns and the volss were gathered on the ind as if summoned by the Orochi? I knew it.¡± (King)

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou told us that a horde of monsters appeared out of nowhere and was about to head for the ind.

    ¡°Because of that, it dyed our initial response and prevented us from gathering the mages.¡± (King)

    ¡°By the way, what happened to those women who were supposed to fight the Orochi? They didn¡¯te to the ind. If they hade, it might have made the battle a little easier.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s words reminded me of something. He mentioned that they were gathering women to fight the Orochi, didn¡¯t he?

    King Suou looked like he was having trouble saying anything, but he opened his mouth.

    ¡°......The women fled.¡± (King)

    ¡°......Ha~a?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Once they were near the ind, when they saw the Orochi, they lost their will to fight and refused to disembark on the ind.¡± (King)

    In other words, it seems that it was a useless n after all.

    But as for me, I would have preferred them not to be there. I would have been traumatized if they had died in front of me.

    ¡°Well, only a fool would look at the Orochi and think of fighting it.¡± (Kagali)

    Are you talking about me?

    ¡°Or someone who knows they¡¯re strong enough to defeat it.¡± (Kagali)

    Then Kagali-san looks at me.

    I seem to be the strong one, not the fool.

    ¡°I never thought you would go that far, Kagali.¡± (King)

    ¡°Even I can¡¯t believe it after seeing it with my own eyes. You don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like not to have seen her fight.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I wish I could have seen it myself.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu fainted and stayed in my house until the fight with the Orochi was over, so she did not see the battle.

    ¡°The more I hear about it, the more it bes unbelievable.¡± (King)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, even I can¡¯t believe what I saw with my own eyes. So, I have a favor to ask of you, please do not disclose that we were involved in defeating the Orochi this time.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why? If you really defeated the Orochi, why would you need to hide it?¡± (King)

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to make a fuss, we don¡¯t want to stand out. There are many ways to put it, but that¡¯s the way it is. All of us just want to rx. This is the feeling of everyone here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But, is it possible to convince them without telling them about Yuna-sama, Kagali-sama, and Mumroot-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°If it¡¯s not possible, just pretend that Shinobu defeated it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So why did ite back to that? I don¡¯t want it!¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu shouted at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°That¡¯s easy enough.¡± (King)

    ¡°¡±¡±............!¡±¡±¡±

    Everyone was surprised at King Suou¡¯s words.

    ¡°What do you mean? Some of them may wonder who killed Orochi.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, because of me, some people are already aware of Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, surely some of them know about Sakura¡¯s prediction. So they should also know about Yuna.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I kept quiet about Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°In that case.¡± (King)

    ¡°In what case?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°All we have to do is keep quiet about her.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You say it like it¡¯s the easiest thing in the world, but who¡¯s going to pretend to be the one who defeated it? From what you said, the resurrection of the Orochi is already known. Do you intend to let those men do contract magic too!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I would go to such troublesome lengths. We could just pretend that the women who gathered to y the Orochi were the ones who defeated it.¡± (King)

    ¡°But you said it yourself, those women ran away without a fight.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, they did. So whoever gathered those women owes me. That¡¯s why we can make a deal. Don¡¯t tell the truth. We don¡¯t want it to get out that the women you¡¯ve gathered were useless. Besides, who would believe them if they told others that a young girl dressed as a bear had killed Orochi? In the first ce, there¡¯s no advantage for them to say such things.¡± (King)

    They didn¡¯t believe what Sakura said, so they gathered the women. That certainly won¡¯t know anything about me. That would be much better than saying they were useless.

    ¡°But are you going to let them take credit for it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. We¡¯ll pretend that the women gathered by those who believed in my and Sakura¡¯s words were the main ones who defeated them. In fact, they supported Yuna, whom Sakura said was a beacon of hope. Yuna is a woman. So there¡¯s no lie in there. The women gathered yed a supporting role.¡± (King)

    So, in other words, we were the women who defeated the Orochi, and the women who fled yed a supporting role in defeating Orochi. Indeed, it would be better to say that they fought against the Orochi even in a supporting role, rather than spreading the word that they escaped.

    ¡°But some of them know that the women ran away, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We could just say, it was another group of women from the other ind.¡± (King)

    There are four smaller inds around this ind. It seems that no one knows about those inds.

    ¡°Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter if they can¡¯t ept that exnation.¡± (King

    It¡¯s not good either way.

    ¡°If they refuse, we can insist that by the women we¡¯ve gathered. Although, I¡¯ll have to tell them some parts about Yuna and Kagali. You¡¯ll have to at least allow me to do that.¡± (King)

    I guess that much can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t turn out to be a big deal.¡± (Kagali)

    I hope I¡¯m not seen as the bear who defeated the Orochi in the city.

    Thest thing I need is for the general popce to find out about it, like in Mereera.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that much either. They probably know who I am anyway.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But are you sure you guys are okay with that? You saved the country. You did something so amazing that they would build a statue of you.¡± (King)

    Suddenly, he said the most outrageous things.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that. Absolutely.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I decline.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that.¡± (Kagali)

    Me, Mumroot-san, and Kagali-san immediately refused.

    Ruimin also shook her head and hands to the side and said, ¡°I have nothing to do with it¡±.

    ¡°I see, as expected... It would be a statue of Shinobu then.......¡± (King)

    ¡°Please stop! If they make something like that, I won¡¯t be able to do my job!¡± (Shinobu)

    We all refused it, but if someone saved a country, it would automatically mean building a statue, wouldn¡¯t it?

    ¡°But still, I must thank you. I¡¯ll get you the reward money, so you have to give me some time. I have a lot of work to do, and it will take time.¡± (King)

    Well, he can¡¯t just give it to us out in the open if he¡¯s going to keep quiet about us, can he?

    ¡°I don¡¯t need money. I just want to live a carefree life. Oh, but I want free booze.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, knowing you, you just want to drink. So, Mumroot. I want to thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for us in the past. If there¡¯s anything I can do, please let me know.¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯m just doing what I left undone in the past. And it wasn¡¯t me who defeated it. But if you want to thank me if ever this girl goes to visit Sakura, please allow it.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san put his hand on the head of Ruimin, who was sitting next to him.

    ¡°Uncle, I too would like to continue to see Ruimin-san.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Of course, although it may not be easy to see her since you¡¯ll need her door to get here.¡± (King)

    ¡°When I have time, sure.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yuna san, thank you.¡± (Ruimin)

    Well, it only takes a few minutes to open the door. As long as I¡¯m not too busy.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll grant you my permission.¡± (King)

    Ruimin and Sakura are happy with King Suou¡¯s words.

    ¡°So, Yuna. When we met yesterday, you told me that you don¡¯t need money or status after defeating the Orochi, but that you will ask me again for a favor instead.¡± (King)

    Oh, that reminds me.

    I was thinking of asking for a house with a hot spring.

    ¡°What kind of favor should I fulfill? What can I do for someone who doesn¡¯t need money or status?¡± (King)

    ¡°Etto, a piece ofnd on which I can build a house?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Land, you say?¡± (King)

    ¡°Setting aside what Mumroot-san said earlier, I want to build a house where I can install this door.¡± (Yuna)

    Bear gate. My primary purpose was to install this.

    Preferably somece with a hot spring.

    ¡°A house? You don¡¯t mean this bear looking house?¡± (King)

    ¡°So I¡¯d like a discreet ce. Or we could go with a regr house, and I¡¯d prefer one that has a hot spring.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A piece ofnd on which you¡¯re building this bear looking house, or a house with hot springs in it. Okay. I¡¯ll check if there is a good ce.¡± (King)

    Maybe I can get a house with a private hot spring.

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± (King)

    ¡°I am happy enough that you have done the contract magic for me. If I evere through the door, just keep quiet.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand. If there¡¯s anything you¡¯d ask me to do afterward, just let me know.¡± (King)

    As long as he keeps his mouth shut about the bear gate, that¡¯s good enough for me. We can go and see Sakura. Conversely, I can take Sakura to the elf vige.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    If she getsnd or a house with a hot spring. This will allow her toe to the Land of Harmony anytime.

    Sorry if my next post iste or if I can¡¯t reply to your feedback.

    The 8th episode of theicalized version is now avable. Thank you for your support.

    Gil and Lurina-san will be appearing.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 481 - Bear-san Returns To Crimonia

    <h4><b>Bear-san Returns To Crimonia</b></h4>

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 1:</b>

    It¡¯s a little longer than usual.

    <b>=====</b>

    ¡°Ano, Yuna-san. What is a hot spring?¡± (Ruimin)

    While I was thinking about something, Ruimin asked me. Apparently, Ruimin has never been to a hot spring before.

    ¡°Hot springs are the hot water thates out of the ground.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hot water from under the ground? Isn¡¯t that just water?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s hot water. It¡¯s a natural bath. It takes away your fatigue and is good for your health.¡± (Yuna)

    I sometimes heard a voice saying, ¡°If you¡¯re tired, you can just wear the pr bear costume,¡± but baths are different. It¡¯s the bath! The hot spring! The thing that takes away the fatigue of the mind.

    ¡°Hot water from underground¡­¡­¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin starts to think. She¡¯s interested in hot springs.

    ¡°Well then, the next time youe here, how abouting over for a hot spring bath?¡± (Yuna)

    We could stay at the inn where Konoha-san is. If King Suou gives me a house with a hot spring, I can stay there.

    ¡°Really?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah. Of course, Fina too.¡± (Yuna)

    Ruimin and Fina looked happy at my words.

    ¡°It seems that was settled then. It¡¯s about time we go home. Missy, can you open the door?¡± (Mumroot)

    When Mumroot-san stood up, Ruimin did the same.

    ¡°Thank you, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be thanking you. I¡¯m d I was able to tie up some loose ends I left a long time ago.¡± (Mumroot)

    You forgot about it, though.

    ¡°Ruimin-san. Pleasee visit us anytime. You are wee.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯lle.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I hope you will tell me stories about the elven vige then.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I too would like to know about your country, Sakura-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s talk about it next time.¡± (Sakura)

    They smiled at each other.

    ¡°Mumroot, you¡¯ve been a big help.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Besides, it was Bear Missy who yed a leading role this time. What I did was nothingparable.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°She really is one hell of a girl, isn¡¯t she?. You almost killed Orochi all by yourself.¡± (Kagali)

    It was not by my strength alone. If it had been a fully revived Orochi from the beginning, I would not have been able to defeat it so easily. Just imagining it, it¡¯s a nasty opponent. Mumroot-san and the others suppressed the resurrection, and Kagali-san defeated the Wind Orochi, which I had no countermeasure against.

    ¡°Also, like your granddaughter, you should show your face once in a while. Or perhaps it would be good if I went there myself. And when I do, be sure to have some sake ready.¡± (Kagali)

    That means through my bear gate, right?

    Well, if I¡¯m not busy, that¡¯s fine.

    I opened the door to the bear gate, and Mumroot¨Csan entered first, while Ruimin entered the bear gate, waving her hand. Sakura and Fina also wave back.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to clean it upter, so don¡¯t worry about the door.¡± (Yuna)

    I closed the bear gate.

    ¡°Well then Fina. Let¡¯s go home too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? You¡¯re leaving too?¡± (King)

    ¡°Of course, because I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to get caught up in something troublesome if I stay here. Besides, don¡¯t you all have a lot of work to do cleaning up after what happened with the Orochi?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°About that, can I keep these magic stones?¡± (King)

    King Suou turned his attention to the Orochi¡¯s huge magic stones on the table.

    ¡°At present, only women would be recognized as the yers of the Orochi. So I would like to borrow these magic stones as a proof of defeating the Orochi. If possible, I would like you to give it to me. Of course, I will pay for it ordingly.¡± (King)

    The green magic stone belongs to Kagali-san. But the other magic stones were obtained by me after defeating the Orochi.

    Even so, I also understand King Suou¡¯s feelings. Orochi was a monster that tried to destroy the Land of Harmony in the past. Kagali-san guarded it for many years. It¡¯s the magic stone of such a monster. The country would want it.

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to decide now. If you don¡¯t want to give it away, Missy, I¡¯ll return it. But I would like your permission to borrow it.¡± (King)

    ¡°Sure. You can have it.¡± (Yuna)

    Everyone was surprised at my words.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, are you sure you want to do this? Yuna-sama, these are the proofs that you¡¯ve defeated the Orochi.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to spread the word that I killed the serpent anyway, so that¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    However, as a former gamer, I wanted those magic stones that seemed valuable. But still, I think this country should have the magic stone of the Orochi, not me.

    ¡°That would help us a lot.¡± (King)

    Simrly, we talked about the material of the Orochi, but I received some of it.

    Well, as for me, I just need to get some of the materials of the Orochi.

    ¡°So when will Yuna be back here? I want to finish my preparations by then. I¡¯d like to have a few days if possible.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I know you¡¯re going to be busy. I¡¯lle back when everything has calmed down.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if you say when everything calms down, how do we contact you? Our birds can¡¯t fly that far, you know?¡± (Kagali)

    It would be pitiful to have that little bird fly all the way to Crimonia.

    I think for a moment and look at Sakura.

    ¡°Sakura, here.¡± (Yuna)

    I handed a Bearphone to Sakura.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t talk to Ruimin directly, but I can connect you to her. Also, call me if you need anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura happily clutches her Bearphone in her tiny hands.

    ¡°What is that bear?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s a magical tool that lets you talk to people far away. When the matter of the Orochi is settled, tell Sakura and I¡¯lle back.¡± (Yuna)

    I maye back before then, though.

    ¡°Such a magic tool exists!?¡± (King)

    King Suou tried to reach for the Bearphone Sakura was holding, but Sakura held the Bearphone to her chest as if to protect it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it from Sakura.¡± (Yuna)

    I warned him and then taught Sakura how to handle the Bearphone, and I also mentioned to King Suou that the Bearphone was also a secret.

    ¡°So, Kagali-san. Is there a ce on this ind where this door would not be easily noticed? I¡¯d like to ce it temporarily.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked, looking at the bear gate ced in the room.

    ¡°Then, how about going back to my house? The only people who woulde in there would be my caretakers. With all themotion, no one wille in for a while. Suou, just in case, tell them that they don¡¯t need to take care of me for a while.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What? You¡¯re staying on the ind?¡± (King)

    ¡°If I go over there now, it might cause a scene.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well then, Sakura wille back with me on the ship, but what about you?¡± (King)

    King Suou confirms to Shinobu.

    ¡°You¡¯ll send the first team to the indter, right? Then I have to stay, don¡¯t I?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That would be the case, but how about taking a break?¡± (King)

    ¡°Of course, I want to take a rest, but Kagari-sama is so cute and they¡¯ll need a guide.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I appreciate that you¡¯re staying.¡± (King)

    ¡°Oh~, but please give me a long vacation when this is over. I need a vacation.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I get it. Take a rest as long as you like.¡± (King)

    ¡°That¡¯s a promise then.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked happy to get the promise of a vacation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going. Yuna, thank you for your help. I don¡¯t have any words except gratitude. As the king of the country, I can¡¯t thank you enough. Really, thank you.¡± (King)

    King Suou looked straight at me and thanked me.

    ¡°Thank you so much, Yuna-san. You¡¯ll always be a beacon of hope. I am very happy to have met you.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried as if to ask Sakura, ¡°What about us?¡±

    Sakura hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, as if she understood what Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were trying to say.

    ¡°Of course, Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama, you are also beacons of hope for me. Thank you very much.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    King Suou and Sakura left the bear house. I waited through the window for the boat to leave the ind.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to put away the house.¡± (Yuna)

    I took everyone outside and stored the bear house.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to check on Orochi one more time before the ship arrives. Yuna, thank you so much. Thank you for saving Sakura-sama.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu bowed her head deeply.

    I¡¯m d I was able to erase Sakura¡¯s nightmare.

    Maybe she can sleep peacefully without having nightmares today.

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you. Also, thank you, Fina.¡± (Shinou)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just d Shinobu-san¡¯s injuries were not too serious.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Also, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, you have been a big help too.¡±

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily.

    Kagali-san rode on Swaying Bear, while Fina and I rode on Hugging Bear and we moved towards Kagali-san¡¯s house.

    ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why is my house destroyed?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s house was devastated.

    Well, there was a great battle against Orochi on the ind. Orochi breathed fire, created wind, spit out rocks, and spewed water. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if one of them hit Kagali-san¡¯s house.

    Kagali-san¡¯s house has a tree stuck in it. This feels like a tree that was cut and blown away by the Wind Orochi.

    I should say that it was lucky because it didn¡¯t get burned in the mes.

    ¡°My house¡­¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san got depressed.

    Well, of course, anyone would be depressed if their house were destroyed.

    ¡°This¡­ I have to ask Suou to rebuild my house.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-san, do you want to live here even though the Orochi is gone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±

    Kagali-san looked surprised at my words.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lived here for so long, so I didn¡¯t think anything of it. Surely, there is no need for me to be here.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said so while looking at her half-destroyed house.

    How about living with Sakura?

    ¡°But with this, there is no ce to put the bear gate. Is there any other ce?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In this case, why don¡¯t we just put the bear house? I¡¯ve already told him not to let anyonee here.¡± (Kagali)

    Hmmm¡­what to do?

    People will being to the ind soon, but will it be okay?

    I was tired and wanted to go home anyway, so I decided to put up a bear house here.

    ¡°Well then, Kagali-san. We¡¯re going home, so get off from Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to Kagali-san who¡¯s on top of Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Are you nning to leave me, a little girl, in a ce like this?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san hugged Swaying Bear and would note down.

    She looked like a little girl, but inside she¡¯s an adult who has lived for hundreds of years. I won¡¯t be deceived.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just call Shinobu and ask her toe and get you? Or better yet, you can get on a ship that wille to check on the Orochi. Then you could go to the castle or Sakura¡¯s ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How could I go to the castle looking like this? There are people who know me. I guess I¡¯ll have to stay here at your house.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°How did ite to that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you abandoning me, someone who fought alongside you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then I can call Sakura for you.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out my bearphone.

    ¡°She¡¯s probably sleeping on the boat right now. Are you going to wake her up?¡± (Kagali)

    Indeed, Sakura looked sleepy as she was taken by King Suou.

    When I remembered the appearance of Sakura, it became difficult to contact her.

    ¡°And on the ship, she might not be able to use that magic tool. She can¡¯t let anyone know, right?¡± (Kagali)

    I¡¯m being driven to the corner here.

    ¡°If a monsteres, I might die here.¡± (Kagali)

    Certainly Kagali-san is helpless right now.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. I feel sorry for Kagali-chan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina tugs at my bear costume.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity to leave such a small child in a ce like this.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oh, Fina, was it? You¡¯re so kind.¡± (Kagali)

    Come to think of it, Fina didn¡¯t know what Kagali-san really looked like. From Fina¡¯s point of view, it may have looked like I was leaving a helpless child behind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be deceived, Fina, Kagali-san may look like a child right now, but she¡¯s an adult.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Adult?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at Kagali-san and tilted her head.

    Well, if you think about it normally, no adult would look like a little child.

    In terms of age, she¡¯s very old.

    But what about in this case?

    If she¡¯s been alive for 10,000 years, then a hundred years would be a childpared to her.

    Although, some animals could be adults in a year.

    When you think about it, it¡¯s difficult to judge between adults and children.

    Still, remembering those breasts, I am sure they do not belong to a child.

    ¡°I may have been an adult before, but now I¡¯m a powerless child. I can only cry.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san mimics a crying motion.

    I let out a sigh. I am tired, and I want to return to Crimonia and rest as soon as possible.

    ¡°Just for a while.¡± (Yuna)

    I entered the bear house with Kagali-san and Fina, who were riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and used the bear gate to return to Crimonia.

    ¡°Etto,Yuna-oneesan. Can I go home now?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, thank you for today. You¡¯re a big help.¡± (Yuna)

    When I patted her head, she looked happy.

    ¡°Well then, Kagari-chan. See you again.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Thanks for your help.¡± (Kagali)

    Fina goes home.

    ¡°So, Yuna. I need a ce to sleep. Actually, I¡¯m tired and sleepy, too.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked sleepy on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    Kagali-san must have been tired.

    Well, She fought the wyvern, she fought the Wind Orochi, and she even used her power to change into a great fox back then. It¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s tired.

    I guidec Kagali-san to the guest room.

    ¡°Here we are, get off from Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I carried Kagali-san to the bed and put her down. At the same time, I immediately hear her snoring in her sleep.

    It seems that she really was at her limit and not just being selfish.

    Swaying Bear and I quietly left the room.

    Then, when I returned to my room for the first time in a long time, I changed into a white bear costume, and when I embraced Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms, I fell asleep.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note 2:</b>

    Thank you very much.

    This concludes the main part of the Land of Harmony arc.

    The rest of the story will be about cleaning up after the Orochi, but it will be a slow story. (tentative).

    Next time, I may bete in posting. Thank you very much for your understanding.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 482 - Bear-san, Takes A Break.

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Takes A Break.</b></h4>

    After returning from the Land of Harmony, I had a good night¡¯s sleep for the first time in a long time. It seemed that the same was true for Kagali-san, who slept even more than I did.

    Perhaps, like Sakura, she had not been sleeping much since she learned that the Orochi¡¯s resurrection was near. And she was alone, guarding a ce where the Orochi could revive at any moment. Perhaps she was more nervous and tired than I thought she would be.

    I got up from the futon when the sun was just above the horizon. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sleepingfortably on the bed. As I was getting up, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear tried to do the same.

    ¡°You can go back to sleep if you¡¯re still sleepy.¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to them, Swaying Bear and Hugging got up. Apparently, they want to follow me.

    Then I checked on Kagali-san, who was sleeping in the next room, and she was still asleep. I felt sorry to wake her up, so I ate ate breakfast/early lunch by myself. I gave Swaying Bear and Hugging bread with lots of honey on it.

    Having finished eating, I retrieved the bear gate in the elven forest. I thought about calling Ruimin, but she might be exhausted from using excessive magic, too. I¡¯lle back next time.

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m starving.¡± (Kagali)

    When I returned after retrieving the bear gate, Kagali-san, dressed in an oversized kimono, came into the room, dragging the hem. Do I need to get some clothes for herter?

    Do I have to go out and buy some? Or should I contact Sakura and ask her to prepare clothes for her in the Land of Harmony?

    I had asked Jeremo in the town of Mereera before to buy some kimono from the Land of Harmony before, but they didn¡¯t have any Kagali-san¡¯s current size.

    Kagali-san sat in a chair, not seeming to mind her oversized clothes.

    ¡°Are you fine with bread, or you want rice?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Inari.?<b>(</b>¤ª·RºÉ<b>)</b>¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re not well prepared.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Do you want to leave? I¡¯ll open the door.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just kidding. I¡¯d like to eat rice if possible.¡± (Kagali)

    I took out the rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and pickles from the bear box.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s quick.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san ate the breakfast (lunch)id out on the table.

    ¡°The rice is delicious, and so is the miso soup.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you liked it.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m not copying Kagali-san, or anything. But, maybe next time I can make Inari and give it to Fina and the others.

    ¡°Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°When will you return to your original form?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe today, tomorrow, a year, or a hundred years?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I used up all my strength. It ced a great toll on my body. So I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to return to my normal form.¡± (Kagali)

    It seems that the burden on her body was greater than I thought.

    ¡°But why are you asking that? Could it be you¡¯re trying to get rid of me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s also that. But the clothes you¡¯re wearing right now are too big. Isn¡¯t it difficult to move?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly hard to move, but if I¡¯m riding on top of Swaying Bear, there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cub, who¡¯s sleeping on the couch, made a cry of denial.

    ¡°What¡¯s that, Swaying Bear¡¯s cub? It¡¯s small and cute. Though not as cute as the fox.¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Again, Swaying Bear voiced his denial.

    ¡°That¡¯s not Swaying Bear¡¯s cub. That¡¯s Swaying Bear himself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Isn¡¯t Swaying Bear a big bear?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°He can get smaller, just like Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    What do you mean? You¡¯re saying this little bear is that big bear?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°My bears are special.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But if they can turn big, there¡¯s no problem. When I need to move, I¡¯ll just have to ride on the back of Swaying Bear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°In Kagali-san¡¯s country, are bears allowed to walk through the streets?¡± (Yuna)

    In Crimonia, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were gradually bing known, so it¡¯s okay. But in other cities, it¡¯ll be impossible because they¡¯ll freak out if they see a big bear approaching.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then I reject the idea of riding on Swaying Bear around town. I¡¯m going to ask Sakura for some clothes, or do you prefer to wear something from here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you telling me, a fox, to wear bear clothes?¡± (Kagali)

    Does she perhaps think the bear costume I¡¯m wearing was typical here?

    She even saw Fina¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°You saw a girl named Fina yesterday, right? It¡¯ll be like that. My outfit is special¡­ and only a few dressed up as bears.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are people who dress like you!?¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s not a lie, because the kids in the shop are wearing them.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you dress up as a fox?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear voiced their disagreement.

    ¡°What, the fox is cuter, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s the fox!¡± (Kagali)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s the fox!¡± (Kagali)

    They¡¯re not really going anywhere with their conversation, aren¡¯t they?

    <b>=====</b>

    And so, I decided to ask Sakura for some clothes for Kagali-san. After all, she wants to wear clothes she¡¯sfortable in.

    ¡®I understand. I¡¯ll have them prepare it and have Shinobu bring it to you.¡¯

    ¡°Please, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±

    ¡®As expected, Kagali-sama went to Yuna-sama. I was contacted by Shinobu and heard that Kagali-sama¡¯s house was broken. She said that Kagali-sama was nowhere to be found and there was only Yuna-sama¡¯s house instead. She called out to Yuna-sama¡¯s bear¡¯s house. But nobody came out, so she said Kagali-sama might have gone with Yuna-sama.¡¯

    ¡°It looks like Kagali-san was very tired too. She¡¯s been sleeping until now.¡±

    ¡®I see. Please take care of Kagali-sama.¡¯

    Well, I¡¯m fine with it until she recovers.

    She¡¯s mostly just sleeping anyway.

    ¡°So, how¡¯s it going over there?¡±

    ¡®Yesterday, I heard from Shinobu that the women were recognized. I haven¡¯t heard about the rest, so I don¡¯t know. Actually, I was sleeping until a while ago.¡¯

    I could hear an apologetic voice from Bearphone.

    ¡®But it was thanks to Yuna-sama that I was able to sleep sofortably. Thank you very much.¡¯

    ¡°Sakura, can I say one thing?¡±

    ¡®Yes, what is it?¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say thank you anymore. I¡¯ve heard it a thousand times.¡±

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry. I can only say thank you.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that way. What I¡¯m saying is that I understand Sakura¡¯s feelings well, and that everything will be fine.¡±

    ¡®Yuna-sama¡­¡¯

    ¡°So there is no need to thank me for what I have done for you regarding the Orochi. I¡¯ve already received enough. Besides, if you say thank you too many times, the value of your thanks will diminish.¡±

    ¡®¡­Is my value of gratitude going down?¡¯

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you always say thank you, people will think you¡¯re one who gives shallow gratitude.¡±

    ¡®I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡­¡¯

    ¡°Yeah, I know that you don¡¯t mean it that way. But if you keep thanking me for the same thing repeatedly, you will get into the habit of thanking me every time you see me.¡±

    If this keeps up, I will be thanked every time we meet.

    ¡®Wha, I, I understand. I won¡¯t thank you anymore for the Orochi. But it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s about something else, right?¡¯

    ¡°Well, if it was something different, then yeah.¡±

    It can¡¯t be helped if she¡¯s thanking me for something new. On the other hand, I don¡¯t want people taking for granted something I did for them and not giving an ounce of gratitude for it.

    After that, we talked about other things.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯m counting on you for Kagali-san¡¯s clothes.¡±

    ¡®Yes, I understand.¡¯

    After finishing the conversation, I put away my bearphone.

    <b>=====</b>

    Well, what should I do for today? I can¡¯t go to the Land of Harmony yet, so I think I¡¯ll take it easy today, too.

    After finishing her meal, Kagali-san returned to her room, dragging the hem of her clothes along with her.

    Thanks to the white bear costume, I got rid of my tiredness, but I feel that my mind is still tired.

    I will follow Kagali-san¡¯s example and rest with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The next day, I received a call from Sakura. She said that Shinobu had left Kagali-san¡¯s clothes in front of the bear house on the ind.

    I thanked her and went to the bear house in the Land of Harmony.

    When I opened the door, I saw something wrapped in a?furoshiki?(wrapping cloth) ced in front of me.

    Apparently, these were Kagali-san¡¯s clothes.

    I pick up the?furoshiki?<b>(</b>ïL…Î·ó<b>)</b>?and return to Crimonia.

    After rxing for a while, Kagali-san came down.

    ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san came over and slumped down on the table.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go and prepare it now. But first, I got some clothes from Sakura, so get dressed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine as is.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san lifted the hem of her oversized clothes.

    ¡°Something might happen to you, change your clothes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± (Kagali)

    Apparently, my feelings were not conveyed properly.

    Perhaps only me in my former world would understand.

    ¡°Get changed for now. If you don¡¯t, I won¡¯t prepare any more meals.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay! I get it! I¡¯ll change my clothes. You¡¯re a ridiculous girl, you know that? To threaten someone with food. You have a terrible person as a master.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sitting on the sofa.

    ¡°I would never do that to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡±

    I have a soft spot for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I may forgive them no matter what they do. In the first ce, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear wouldn¡¯t do anything wrong. They would follow my instructions. Even if it¡¯s something they don¡¯t want to do. I will tease themter.

    Kagali-san put on the kimono that Sakura had prepared for her. It seemed to be the right size and it wasn¡¯t out of ce.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little tight.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Did you get fat?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How could I be fat?!¡± (Kagali)

    I think it was simply due to the fact that she was always dressed loosely and scandalously, but now she was adequately dressed.

    ¡°Is that your nightwear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, it seems that they prepared various things.¡± (Kagali)

    She¡¯s wearing a yukata like those found in Japanese inns. The color was white.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± (Kagali)

    After finishing her meal, Kagali-san said so and returned to her room. The only time Kagali-san stayed awake was to eat. Like an animal, she¡¯ll wake up, eat, sleep, and repeat. This may be the fastest way for her to recover.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Yuna returned to Crimonia and spent some time rxing.

    Maybe we¡¯re going back to the Land of Harmony next time?

    <b>¡ù</b>?The next post may bete. Also, I may not be able to reply to your feedback. Thank you for understanding.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 483 - Bear-san, Returns To The Land Of Harmony

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Returns To The Land Of Harmony</b></h4>

    It had been a few days since my return to Crimonia.

    Kagali-san, as usual, continued the sleep and eat cycle.

    At first, I thought she might make a fuss in Crimonia, but surprisingly, she¡¯s quiet. She also says she¡¯s hungry when she wakes up, and when I prepare a meal for her, she eats it withoutint. Then she falls asleep. And then, the cycle repeats.

    While Kagali-san sleeps, I visit the store, the orphanage, and Tirumina-san.

    When I said ¡°I¡¯m back¡± to Tirumina-san, she said, ¡°Did you go somewhere?¡±

    Yeah, for about a week, actually.

    Finding the Land of Harmony via Targui and bathing in hot springs.

    I even bought tatami mats and went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, where I received requests to defeat the Kamaitachi.

    Then, after listening to Shinobu¡¯s story, I fought Jubei-san, who was supposed to be an adversary.

    After that, I met Sakura, met Kagali-san, and fought Orochi.

    It was an intense few days.

    While I was working hard in Land of Harmony, the stores were still going about their everyday daily routines. In the store, children worked as bears, and in the orphanage, children took care of?Kokekko.

    Peace is the best, after all.

    And thanks to defeating the Orochi, my level has increased for the first time in a long time, and the bearphone skill has been upgraded.

    The bearphone became like a string phone.?<b>(</b>ôéëŠÔ’<b>)</b>

    <b>(Trantor¡¯s note:?</b><b>kanji says string phone¡­ it may change tondline after a few chapters depending on the exnations from author)</b>

    It looks like a downgraded version, but now people with bearphones can directly talk to each other.

    In other words, me in Crimonia, Ruimin in the elven vige, and Sakura in the Land of Harmony can now talk to each simultaneously.

    It seems that I act as a sort of ry antenna, so they can talk to each other. In the end, they could not have a conversation without me, and it felt meaningless, but now, since they canmunicate directly with each other, they could happily have their conversation.

    I also learned a new skill that I don¡¯t know when would it be useful

    Bear underwater swimming.

    I haven¡¯t checked it out yet, but it looks like I could swim underwater wearing my bear costume.

    This doesn¡¯t mean there would be underwater battles in the future, does it?

    In the meantime, I would stay away from the waterfront. gs were meant to be taken down.

    But I would like to check it at least once.

    A few dayster, Sakura contacted me toe to the Land of Harmony.

    When I asked Kagali-san what she would do, she said, ¡°I slept and ate, so I should be fine,¡± but she still remained a little girl.

    Kagali-san really wanted Mumroot-san toe, but Mumroot-san refused. Sakura was looking forward to seeing Ruimin, but this time Ruimin also declined. But they had promised to go out and y some other time.

    The day after that, I returned to the Land of Harmony with Kagali-san.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe we are already in the Land of Harmony just by walking through a door. I can¡¯t help but think that perhaps we are in the Land of Harmony all along.¡± (Kagali)

    For the past few days, Kagali-san had not been out of the house once in order to focus on recovering her body. But as she looked out the window, she at least understood that she was not in the Land of Harmony.

    When we walked out of the bear house, we saw Sakura.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Sakura)

    Not only Sakura, but also Shinobu, and King Suou.

    Sakura¡¯splexion had gotten better. In contrast, Shinobu and King Suou looked pale.

    ¡°I see that Kagali-sama has not recovered yet.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at the tiny Kagali-san.

    ¡°My magic and strength have returned, but for some reason, my body hasn¡¯t. Maybe it¡¯s a bear¡¯s curse. No, It must be the bear¡¯s curse.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t turn people¡¯s kindness into a curse without consent.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No one said it was your curse. Do you perhaps consider yourself a bear?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±

    For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

    I subconsciously identified myself as a bear. I don¡¯t want to deny it, but I don¡¯t want to affirm it either.

    I said back to her.

    ¡°So if you put it that way, it must be the curse of the fox. You became a great fox, and then you turned into a child.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Kagali)

    On the other hand, this time Kagali-san became speechless.

    Gaining strength has side effects. I gained strength in exchange for wearing the bear costume. At the same time, I had to give up my sense of shame. No, I didn¡¯t give up all of it. There should be some left. There must be some left, right?

    Although, it¡¯s also true that it¡¯s not as embarrassing as it used to be.

    This may be bad.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. I¡¯ve left the escort on the ship, so I can¡¯t stay long. I¡¯d like to talk to you if possible.¡± (King)

    King Suou interrupted us to end our conversation.

    He said he had left his escort on the ship to meet me.

    ¡°That being the case, I was supposed to serve as Sakura-sama¡¯s escort. But King Suou asked me to do the same for him, and so I was red at by his escort.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You¡¯re the only one who knows about Yuna, so it can¡¯t be helped. I can¡¯te alone to the ind where the Orochi was.¡± (King)

    Apparently, I had pushed him too hard.

    Sakura visited me to ask where we would have our talk. I was told that they could prepare it at either the castle or at the mansion where Sakura lives, but after much thought, we decided to have the talk at the bear house on the ind.

    That¡¯s normally how it should be. There¡¯s no way they would let the King of a country go alone to an ind where the Orochi was.

    Time was running short, so I invited everyone into the bear house to listen to what he has to say.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As I¡¯ve told you before, the Orochi was supposed to have been defeated by the women we gathered. There¡¯s no one to spread the word about Yuna. Even if they do, no one would believe them. Besides, as I saidst time, there¡¯s no merit to it. So even if people knew that Yuna was involved in the subjugation, it wouldn¡¯t spread.¡± (King)

    Thank God. Now, whenever I walk around the Land of Harmony, I won¡¯t be weed as a hero who slew the Orochi.

    In the town of Mereera, everyone knows about it, and that¡¯s bing a problem.

    ¡°However, there is a bit of a story spreading about Kagali.¡± (King)

    ¡°What the hell?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Quite a few people know that Kagali is on this ind.¡± (King)

    Well, if you¡¯ve been around for hundreds of years, you¡¯ll be quite famous.

    You even erected a barrier to keep the men out.

    ¡°So, basically, it was the women, led by Kagali, who defeated the Orochi.¡± (King)

    ¡°The only thing I had done was to y the Wind Orochi. It was Bear Missy who defeated all of it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I know. But when ites to defeating a giant monster known as Orochi, a hero would emerge.¡± (King)

    ¡°And they said it was me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Kagali was said to be the guardian deity who guarded the seal of Orochi. Nobody would believe that Bear Missy was actually the one who defeated it. Even if it¡¯s my word.¡± (King)

    Yeah, I can see that.

    ¡°People know Kagali-san, and she is considered a hero. They would not consider a girl in a bear costume from who-knows-where a hero. And even if King Suou took me to the crowd and said, ¡°This is the one who killed the Orochi,¡± No one would believe him.¡± (Yuna)

    But Kagali-san was different.

    A person considered a legend would be famous, and the general public might know about it too, at least to the extent of rumors.

    The ind was actually barred from men, but there were people who were taking care of her who also went on the ind. When they do, they use a ship. And if they use a ship, they will be known to the sailors. Even if they don¡¯t know Kagali-san¡¯s face, her existence would be known.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So I¡¯m asking you, Kagali.¡± (King)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I want you to decide if you¡¯re going to be the hero who saved the country as is or pretend that you died in the battle?¡± (King)

    ¡°Pretend that I died?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kick you out of the country just because you¡¯re ¡°dead¡±. Kagali has protected our country for generations. I will continue to protect Kagali. But I also know that you want to settle down. You can have a room in the castle. Or we can prepare a house elsewhere. It could be here on this ind, but if the ships could freelye and go, Kagali¡¯s existence might be known. All I can do is create the future you want. If you want to be a hero, I¡¯ll make you a hero. If you want to live in peace, then a peaceful life shall be.¡± (King)

    King Suouid out the options to Kagali-san with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to think about it. Tell them I¡¯m dead. Thanks to Bear Missy, the Orochi is gone. My existence is no longer needed. Besides, no one will know that I have be like this in the battle with the Orochi. In this outfit, they won¡¯t even know I¡¯m here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What about Suzuran?<b>(</b>¥¹¥º¥é¥ó<b>)</b>? The one who has taken care of you?¡± (King)

    ¡°I can tell the truth to Suzuran. I have been indebted to her and her children. There is no need to make her sad. Besides, I haven¡¯t talked to her for a while now.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I understand. But please meet with her and reassure her. It would feel like I¡¯m deceiving her if I tell her about your safety, Kagali.¡± (King)

    ¡°I get it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So, we¡¯ll pretend that you¡¯re dead, but where will you live?¡± (King)

    ¡°No need to hurry now. I¡¯m being taken care of at her ce. I¡¯ll take my time and think it over.¡± (Kagali)

    Does that mean you¡¯re staying with me for a while?

    Kagali-san was known as someone who defeated the Orochi on my behalf. Moreover, even to the point of faking her death. I can¡¯tin strongly to Kagali-san, and I can¡¯t kick her out now.

    ¡°Now then, Yuna. I have something to ask you. The Orochi would be known to be subdued mainly by Kagali, but what is that bear? It seems that strange rumors are starting to spread because of that bear. I have to give a gag order as a result.¡± (King)

    ¡°What bear?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s talking about.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bear-shaped rock lying where the Orochi was in. What was that?¡± (King)

    ¡°Bear-shaped rock¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I gradually remembered.

    ¡°Aaaaa ~a~a ~a~a~~~~~~~~~~~~~¡± (Yuna)

    I remembered. It¡¯s the rock bear I made when I destroyed the heads of Orochi.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    After a few days of rest, Yuna and Kagali-san have returned to the Land of Harmony.

    And for the first time in a long time, she gained new skills and a version upgrade(?) of a skill.

    As for Yuna¡¯s level, it will be a secret.

    ¡ù I think I will be able to post the next one in three days, but I may not be able to reply to your feedback. Thank you for understanding.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 484 - Bear-san, Gets A Mysterious Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 484</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Gets A Mysterious Crystal</b></h4>

    Ipletely forgot to put the rock bear away.

    ¡°There¡¯s a little confusion because of that bear. It was rumored that there was a fox-sama on this ind. But when they came to the ind, they found a bear-shaped rock lying near the head of a giant snake. Some suggest that it was actually a bear god-sama residing on this ind.¡± (King)

    ¡°What are you saying? I am a fox.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san red at King Suou.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably because you¡¯ve kept people off the ind for so many years that it became an ind of mystery. That would exin why a first-time visitor to the ind, seeing a stone statue of a bear, would mistakenly think so, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (King)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stand out, but I also don¡¯t want to be mistaken for a bear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot to put it away. I¡¯ll get it now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s toote for that. If it were to disappear, that would cause a problem. So I¡¯m thinking of making a fox statue instead.¡± (King)

    ¡°Would making it change anything now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Better to have it than not. Kagali, can you make a fox statue?¡± (King)

    ¡°There is nothing I can¡¯t make, but do I really have to make it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°At this rate, you will not be revered as a fox, but a bear and your existence will turn into a bear.¡± (King)

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that.¡± (Kagali)

    Eventually, a stone statue of a fox was made.

    They don¡¯t spread the rumors of the existence of a fox and bear God grandly, but they pretend that fox-sama and bear-sama are good friends.

    I could tell a story about a fox and a bear fighting together. Wouldn¡¯t it be interesting to make it into a picture book?

    ¡°So where do you want me to build it? At the Wind Orochi?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I would like to see it built in various ces. First of all, let¡¯s start with the front of this house. You used to live here after all.¡± (King)

    We left the bear house to make a stone statue of a fox.

    ¡°Kagali-san, are your magical powers okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve recovered that much. The only question is whether I can do it well.¡± (Kagali)

    With that said, Kagali-san created a stone statue of a fox in the broken part of her house.

    ¡°This is¡­¡­.¡± (King)

    The fox statue that was made didn¡¯t look like a real fox, but a deformed fox statue.

    It¡¯s cute.

    ¡°I made it to match your bear.¡± (Kagali)

    She made it look effortlessly, even though she should have only seen it once.

    ¡°As expected, the fox is cuter.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cubs cried.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been quiet until now, wanted to protest that much.

    Of course, I¡¯ll vote for the bears if ites down to which one was cuter.

    ¡°With long ears and a long tail, it¡¯s way better than a bear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear argued once more.

    Their small, round ears and small, round tails were much cuter.

    ¡°Both Sakura and Shinobu think the fox is cuter as well, right?¡± (Kagali)

    Sakura and Shinobu¡¯s eyes were also sparkling.

    Sakura and Shinobu look troubledparing Kagali-san¡¯s fox to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Eto~, I think both are cute.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s a difficult question. There¡¯s no way you canpare them.¡± (Shinobu)

    Kagali-san, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear shouted in response.

    ¡°You traitors!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n!!¡±

    ¡°Even if you say that we can¡¯t choose because both the fox and the bear are cute.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Kagali-sama is also an adult, so please don¡¯t argue with the bear cubs. Please act like a grown-up.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m currently a child! Besides, they are also adults.¡± (Kagali)

    The unanswerable struggle continues.

    And for some reason, even though Kagali-san kept arguing with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Kagali-san still rode on top of Swaying Bear and Sakura rode on top of Hugging Bear¡¯s back when moving to another ce.

    ¡°But I may have lost the rideable category.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said regretfully as shey on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    On the other hand, Swaying Bear cried ¡°Kuu-n¡± as if he was proud of his victory.

    I¡¯m not sure if they get along or not.

    You couldn¡¯t generally ride on a fox in the first ce, could you? I think I could ride on that great fox, though. I would love to take a walk in the sky if I could.

    Stone statues of foxes were then built at the ce where the Wind Serpent was defeated, and deformed stone statues of foxes were built at other ces on the ind. If there were stone statues of foxes in various ces, it would be a fox ind.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve finished dismantling the Orochi.¡± (Yuna)

    There were still battle scars and remnants of the Orochi¡¯s presence, but there was no sign of Orochi itself.

    ¡°Yeah, we finished it. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll revive anymore, but just in case.¡± (King)

    ¡°What kind of material can be used from the Orochi?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The skin would be the most useful. Because it is leather, it¡¯s lighter than steel. Above all, it¡¯s strong, so there are many ways to use it.¡± (King)

    ¡°What about the meat?¡± (King)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It may be poisonous. It¡¯s still being investigated.¡± (King)

    Certainly, they didn¡¯t have any past experience with Orochi¡¯s material. They¡¯re going to look into other materials.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough. I¡¯m tired.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sannguished on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like you to see, Kagali, so even though you¡¯re tired, I¡¯ll ask you to stay with me a little longer.¡± (King)

    ¡°What do you want to show me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I can¡¯t exin it. It¡¯ll be faster to see it.¡± (King)

    With that said, King Suou began to walk.

    We were brought to the ce where Mumroot-san reinforced the seal on the body of the Orochi. The building was crumbling because of its revival.

    ¡°Over here.¡± (King)

    King Suou moved a little to the back of the building. The ground has copsed, leaving arge hole. King Suou went down into the hole.

    ¡°Sakura, just hold on tight to Hugging Bear, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    We followed King Suou down the hole in the ground.

    ¡°Kagali, take a look at this. Do you know what this is?¡± (King)

    King Suou pointed to a person¡¯s head-sized rainbow-colored haze? Cloud? Smoke? Mini aurora? That was drifting in the air.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wonder what that is? But it¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san got down from Swaying Bear and approached that rainbow-colored cloud.

    ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± (King)

    ¡°Did you touch it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I touched it a couple of times to make sure, but nothing happened.¡± (King)

    Kagali-san also touched the rainbow-colored cloud, but nothing happened.

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel anything. What kind of magic is this?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We haven¡¯t confirmed it. I thought I would check with Kagali first, so I didn¡¯t let anyone touch it.¡± (King)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Kagali)

    Gathering magic power in her hand, Kagali-san created a small wind and released it towards the cloud. But the rainbow-colored clouds did not waver and remained drifting.

    ¡°I have no idea. It looks like a lump of magical power.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s a really mysterious phenomenon.

    ¡°Can I touch it too?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s dangerous, but be careful.¡± (Kagali)

    Even if it¡¯s dangerous, I¡¯ll be fine with my bear puppet.

    I put my ck bear puppet in the rainbow-colored cloud, and the rainbow-colored cloud began to glow. The rainbow-colored clouds seemed to converge and gather around the bear puppet. When the convergence was over, the rainbow-colored clouds disappeared, and the ck bear puppet held a ball about the size of a baseball in its mouth.

    ¡°What? What did you do?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I just put my hand in it.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t really do anything. I just put my bear puppet in the rainbow-colored cloud. I didn¡¯t use magic or anything.

    I showed everyone the ball in the ck bear puppet¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°A crystal? Let me borrow it.¡± (Kagali)

    As Kagali-san held out her hand, I passed it to her as if I were cing it in her tiny hand¡¯s palm. The crystal ball left the bear puppet and fell on the palm of Kagali-san¡¯s hand. The ball, which I thought would be ced in the palm of Kagali-san¡¯s hand, fell to the ground without being ced in the palm of Kagali-san¡¯s hand.

    Kagali-san and I froze.

    I thought it looked like it had just slipped through Kagali-san¡¯s hand. And it seemed to be the same for Kagali-san, who looked curiously at her hand and the crystal ball that fell to the ground.

    Kagali-san crouched down, reached for the fallen crystal ball, and tried to grab it, but she couldn¡¯t. Her hand just passed through the crystal ball.

    ¡°What the hell is this? I can¡¯t grab it.¡± (Kagali)

    Since it might be dangerous, King Suou and Sakura were not allowed to touch it, so they had Shinobu touch it, but just like Kagali-san, her hand just passed through and couldn¡¯t touch the crystal ball.

    But when I touched it, I could grab it.

    ¡°Why is it that only you can touch it?¡± (Kagali)

    The only thing I could think of was my bear puppet.

    I was curious about this crystal ball, so I used the bear observation eye.

    ¡®Bear Trail.

    The use is unknown.¡¯

    ¡­¡­Bear Trail it said. This was definitely an item that was exclusively for me.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Missy?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, nothing. Can I have this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you know what it is?¡± (King)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think I¡¯ll need it.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s even called ¡°Bear Trail¡±.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, go ahead and take it.¡± (King)

    ¡°You sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Given that you¡¯re the only one who can touch it, even if others wanted it, they would not be able to. If you want it, then you could take it.¡± (King)

    ¡°Well, yes, I suppose. Whatever the reason, if only you can have it, then what¡¯s the point?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just put it in a bag and carry it?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu took out a drawstring bag, loosened the string, and opened the entrance. I put the Bear Trail in the drawstring bag.

    The Bear Trail went through the drawstring bag and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at the drawstring bag curiously.

    ¡°Now you know that only Yuna can have it. Whatever it is, if only Yuna can have it, then that ball must be rted to Yuna.¡± (King)

    I picked up the Bear Trail, then put it in my bear box.

    But what is the bear trail?

    It¡¯s called a bear trail, so does that mean it will lead me somewhere?

    I¡¯d like to say no to the hassle, but that¡¯s not possible it seems.

    But wasn¡¯t this the area where the tail of the Orochi was located?

    If it was the tail of Yamata-no-Orochi, I would have found a sword. I would rather have a sword than this iprehensible thing.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Stone statues of bears and foxes littered the ind.

    And what she got by defeating the Orochi was the ¡°Bear Trail¡±.

    <b>¡ù</b>?Today, the 9th episode of theicalization has been released. Thank you for your continued support.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 485 - Bear-san, Gets A Thank You

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Gets A Thank You</b></h4>

    ¡°Well then, Yuna. As I have promised, I have prepared something good. Can you confirm it for me? If you don¡¯t like it, you can refuse.¡± (King)

    ¡°Have you got it ready?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But of course, I don¡¯t want people to think I¡¯m a king who can¡¯t give my gratitude.¡± (King)

    I didn¡¯t expect him to get it ready while they were cleaning up after Orochi.

    I¡¯m sure he¡¯s swamped with the cleanup work.

    ¡°What about my booze?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ll have it ready when you return to your original form. I have told you many times that I will not let you drink while in that form.¡± (King)

    ¡°Wait, when will that be? And even though I look like this, I¡¯m still older than you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of appearance. Besides, how am I supposed to know when you will grow, Kagali?¡± (King)

    ¡°Mumu.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san puffed her cheeks.

    She looked like a child acting spoiled.

    After all, appearance was important.

    I kinda agree with it whenever I look at Kagali-san.

    ¡°Your bears can run over the ocean, right?¡± (King)

    King Suou slightly looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    King Suou, who had already received the report from Shinobu, nodded as he confirmed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, if I take Yuna and the others on the ship with me, it¡¯s going to be a hassle to exin. I¡¯m sorry, but could you meet us over there instead?¡± (King)

    Certainly, it was King Suou, Sakura, and Shinobu who disembarked on the ind. Even if I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it would still be strange if Kagali-san (a young girl) and I (a bear) appeared together. And moreover, this was the ce where the Orochi had appeared. It would be strange if we were in such a ce.

    ¡°Fine. I should pick up this house too, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s better over there than here.¡± (King)

    We parted when we decided where to meet.

    King Suou, Shinobu, and Sakura went to the pier. After putting away the bear house,? Kagali-san and I rode on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on the sea.

    They can really run on the ocean, can¡¯t they?¡± (Kagali)

    But you can fly, can¡¯t you, Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    Personally, I would have preferred a flying skill more than the newly learned underwater swimming.

    ¡°I can¡¯t fly in this form.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can only fly when I¡¯m in great fox form.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just turn in that form?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t be as big as when I fought the Orochi, but I can be a fox.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s figure on top of Swaying Bear disappeared when she said that, leaving her clothes behind. I hurriedly stopped Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to her, Kagali-san¡¯s clothes wriggled, and a fox cub peeked out from under her clothes.

    ¡°Fuu, just about this size now.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you don¡¯t have much magic powers because you made stone statues earlier?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it has nothing to do with that. It could be a physical problem. Or it could be the bear¡¯s curse.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exist, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    The tiny fox, Kagali-san, tried to float on top of Swaying Bear.

    ¡°I can fly, but only about this much.¡± (Kagali)

    The tiny fox, Kagali-san,nded on top of Swaying Bear and then slipped into her clothes, reverting back to her original little girl form.

    But I envy her just for being able to fly.

    I think that since she can use magic, she should be able to fly.

    I¡¯m not very flexible in that area.

    And when Kagali-san and I reached the meeting ce, we waited for King Suou.

    It¡¯s a street a short distance away from the royal capital where the castle was. Kagali-san was lyingfortably on Swaying Bear. But I wonder if she¡¯s still tired. She can¡¯t go back to her original form after all.

    After waiting for a while, we saw Shinobu and Sakura on a horse (probably Hayatemaru) and King Suou on another horse. Also, Jubei-san wasing toward us.

    ¡°We¡¯ve kept you waiting~.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yuna-sama, sorry for beingte.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura also came.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, if it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯ll show you around.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m not bothered. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura replied happily on top of Hayatemaru that she and Shinobu were riding. Behind her, King Suou and Jubei-san were watching me.

    ¡°Jubei-san, you also came.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°King Suou has entrusted me with his protection.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave the city with only Shinobu as an escort. I had no choice but to ask Jubei because Jubei knows Yuna as well.¡± (King)

    Jubei-san dismounted from his horse and came to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re still in the country. I was worried because when I asked King Suou and Shinobu about Yuna, they didn¡¯t tell me anything.¡± (Jubei)

    Well, they can¡¯t say that I already left the country and just came back because they did contract magic for the bear gate.

    ¡°Master, you were worried about Yuna, but I couldn¡¯t tell you anything because King Suou had told me not to.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I had to keep Yuna¡¯s existence a secret.¡± (King)

    For the time being, I am a secret.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re not hurt. I was worried because King Suou didn¡¯t let me see you. Let me thank you. Thank you for saving our country. Thank you.¡± (Jubei)

    Of course, Jubei-san knew that I fought and defeated the Orochi.

    I got down from Hugging Bear and said a few words back to Jubei-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m just d we defeated it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I saw the Orochi, and I was astonished that a girl like Missy could defeat such a big monster. No wonder I lost to you.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°It would have been easier if Jubei-san had been there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I could only slow it down at best.¡± (Jubei)

    Jubei-san was strong. I wasn¡¯t sure how he would fare against Orochi, but I wished he had been there when fighting wyverns and volss. If he had been there, Shinobu would not have gotten herself injured, and Sakura would not have had to do anything dangerous.

    ¡°Also, thank you for saving Shinobu and Sakura-sama.¡± (Jubei)

    Jubei-san bows his head lightly.

    I don¡¯t like it when people thank me in earnest because it makes me itch.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I was able to protect them.¡± (Yuna)

    Jubei-san smiled and returned to King Suou¡¯s side.

    Then we set off for the hot springs. As we departed, Sakura looked at Hugging Bear for a moment and said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go¡±.

    Perhaps she wanted to ride Hugging Bear?

    But maybe she felt sorry for Hayatemaru if she switched. I¡¯ll probably make time for her to spend with Hugging Bearter.

    ¡°So where are we going? I thought it was in the city.¡± (Yuna)

    We¡¯re moving away from the royal capital where the castle was located.

    ¡°Outside of the city, but not that far.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be surprised when you see it, Yuna.¡± (King)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu says something meaningful and doesn¡¯t tell me the destination. He looks at Sakura and says, ¡°It¡¯s a secret¡±.

    ¡°Do you know about it, Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How could I, who has been with you all this time, know anything about it?¡± (Kagali)

    That¡¯s for sure. We¡¯ve been together for the past few days, and we came here together. There was no way that Kagali-san could have known.

    Where in the world were they taking us?

    After a short distance, a forest came into view.

    Was it perhaps in the forest?

    Sure, in the forest, the bear house would be inconspicuous. Perhaps, I¡¯m a Bear, and I must be in the forest?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to give that to Missy?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san uttered such words as if she knew where were headed to.

    ¡°Kagali-san. Perhaps you know something?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If I am not mistaken¡­¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ah, Kagali-sama. Please keep quiet.¡± (Shinobu)

    Kagali-san was about to tell me, but Shinobu stopped her.

    From the way Kagali-san talks, it sounded like a fantastic thing.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time you tell me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°A secret.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, I shall have it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Kagali-san said something strange, but apparently, they won¡¯t tell me until we arrived.

    Well, if they say you¡¯ll know when you get there, then go. But if you don¡¯t want to, you can simply say no.

    We entered the forest.

    The path was properly paved, and it continued through the forest. Earlier, I glimpsed a sign that read ¡°No Entry Beyond This Point¡±. There was also what looked like a royal coat of arms below it.

    There¡¯s something ahead, that¡¯s for sure.

    As we continued down the road, I saw arge mansion.

    We passed through the gate and arrived at the front of the mansion.

    ¡°I knew it. It¡¯s this ce.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at the mansion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to give me this mansion as a gift?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t like this mansion? You could at least check the inside.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s too huge.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s about the size of Cliff¡¯s mansion.

    It¡¯s a three-story Japanese-style mansion.

    ¡°You saved the country from the Orochi. No one died. There was no damage to the country, and you even gave us the Orochi¡¯s magic stone and materials. If you consider the damage that would have been done if the Orochi hade to our country, even this wouldn¡¯t be a sufficient reward.¡± (King)

    ¡°When I heard of this, I was surprised at first. But Yuna-sama defeated the Orochi and saved the country. Considering that, I don¡¯t think it is strange either.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right indeed. It¡¯s a small price to pay for avoiding the destruction of the country.¡± (Jubei)

    The three said it as a matter of course.

    Certainly, it¡¯s enough for the price of Orochi¡¯s magic stone and materials. And considering the damage when the Orochi came to the country, one mansion would be a cheap price.

    But it seems toorge for me.

    Because it¡¯s a big mansion.

    ¡°But why is there a mansion like this in the middle of the forest?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I had it built so I can rest. People won¡¯te here since this part is on the royal grounds. And as you wished, the bath is a hot spring.¡± (King)

    ¡­¡­Arge mansion with a hot spring and without peopleing.

    What¡¯s that? Sounds like prime real estate.

    ¡°With Yuna¡¯s bears, it should be easy to get to and from town, so getting around shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± (King)

    With Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it¡®s easy to get to the city. Even if Ie by the bear gate, I will not be seen by anyone.

    People would be surprised if a girl dressed as a bear came out of a house they thought no one was using. But I feel safe here.

    Isn¡¯t there a hot spring in the city?

    ¡°Perhaps you had the mansion built here just for the hot springs? I don¡¯t know if the capital doesn¡¯t have hot springs, but don¡¯t they have it in the next town?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-sama, you¡¯ll understand that once you get inside.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura implied.

    Was there something more?

    We entered the mansion.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    A mansion with a hot spring was provided.

    Next time, the mansion interiors.

    <b>¡ù</b>?Sorry once again. The next post will be dyed. Please understand.

 Chapter 486 - Bear-san, Enters The Mansion

    <h4>Chapter 486</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Enters The Mansion</b></h4>

    We opened the big doors and entered the mansion.

    Upon entering, the room was a bit spacious, with aisles on either side and a staircase visible in front.

    As expected of a big mansion, it¡®s so vast.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been here.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked around nostalgically.

    ¡°Kagali-san, you seem to know about this mansion. Have you been here before?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been here a few times. Suou told me the hot springs here are nice.¡± (Kagali)

    I wonder what the effects of hot springs were.

    Even though I said that I don¡¯t think we can do a scientific analysis, so I don¡¯t know what the benefits were.I hear that it¡¯s good for your beautiful skin, joint pains, illnesses, and so on.

    None of these things matter to me right now, but I hope it¡¯ll make me feel better and less tired.

    ¡­¡­Maybe it has the same effect as a white bear?

    No, no, hot springs were different. The bathing in them was soothing.

    ¡°She wasn¡¯t on that ind all the time, you know.¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been out of the house, I¡¯ve been all over the ce. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be asleep for years.¡± (Kagali)

    Sleeping for years, does she mean hibernation?

    But foxes don¡¯t hibernate, do they?

    If anything, it¡¯s the bears that hibernate.

    ¡°Kagali asionallye to the city for a drink.¡± (King)

    ¡°You don¡¯t bring me much to drink, after all.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You just drink too much, Kagali.¡± (King)

    From what I have heard, Kagali-san seems to drink a lot of liquor. As for me, I don¡¯t need alcohol, but I do miss juice and c. Thebo of potato chips and Coke was great. I can make potato chips, but I can¡¯t make Coke.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, pleasee here.¡± (Sakura)

    While I was thinking about Coke, Sakura called me from the stairs.

    ¡°Jubei. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to stay here.¡± (King)

    ¡°But then¡­¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°We¡¯re in the mansion, so we¡¯ll be fine. Besides, Yuna, the one who defeated the Orochi, is here. Or are you saying Yuna will attack me?¡± (King)

    Jubei-san looked at me. Then he turned back to King Suou.

    ¡°¡­¡­I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Jubei)

    ¡°Then stay here and keep watch.¡± (King)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Jubei)

    Perhaps there¡¯s something he doesn¡¯t want Jubei-san to hear? It was a bit aggressive to let Jubei-san stay behind. Since he¡¯s his escort, it would be better to let him stay by his side.

    Leaving Jubei-san behind, we head for the stairs where King Suou, Sakura, and Shinobu were.

    By the way, Kagali-san was still on top of Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, this way.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura was waving happily from the top of the stairs. Looking at the cheery Sakura, King Suou opened his mouth.

    ¡°The smile is back on Sakura¡¯s face. I really appreciate it.¡± (King)

    King Suou, who was walking beside me, thanked me.

    ¡°I¡¯m d she¡¯s feeling better too.¡± (Yuna)

    The first time I met Sakura, she had a mature tone, a sad face, and was caught up in the moment. When she learned that I had defeated the Orochi, she cried. I was happy to see her smiling now.

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad you¡¯re not a man, Yuna. I would have married Sakura to you otherwise.¡± (King)

    King Suou made an outrageous statement.

    ¡°You have that kind of thought in mind?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You would normally think. Sakura is opening up so much to someone she just met. Do you think she would easily do such a thing to the other strangers?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably too early to say who Sakura is going to marry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to find her a solid marriage partner to take the ce of myte sister, you know? I want Sakura to be happy. It¡¯s good for her to decide on a partner early.¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t force it on her. Let her choose her partner properly.¡± (Yuna)

    A daughter of a former royal mother. Her mother died and was indirectly taken care of by King Suou. I don¡¯t know how much freedom she has in terms of love, but I want the girl I know to be happy. I know King Suou has that feeling too, so I don¡¯t think he will force her to do so. The question may be whether Sakura can say no. Sakura would likely say ¡°I understand¡± to the man that King Suou brought to her. I hope Sakura will choose her own partner.

    Still, marriage, huh? Fina, Shuri, and Noa will all get married when they grow up. That makes me a little sad. But before that, Anzu and Karin-san woulde first.

    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I said I wish Yuna was a man.¡± (King)

    Unfortunately, I am a girl. I can¡¯t marry Sakura. Moreover, I am not even interested in boys at present. I have a sad image of the future me growing old alone in my mind.

    At that time, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried ¡°ku~n¡±. Could it be that they sensed my feelings?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have the two of you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Kagali-san, who was riding on Swaying Bear, tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand my words in response to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who suddenly cried.

    Sakura and Shinobu lead the way up the stairs to the third floor. Sakura and Shinobu continued walking and opened the door opposite where we entered.

    ¡°This is it, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Apparently, she wanted to show me something.

    I went towards Sakura, who was calling me.

    ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Beyond the door was a blueke in deep green. Theke was in the middle of arge forest, and it was a beautiful sight.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, the view from here is beautiful, isn¡¯t it?.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s breathtaking.¡± (Yuna)

    As a?hikikomori, I have never seen ake in the real world. I have seen views ofkes on TV and onputer monitors, but they were different from the scenery I have seen before. When I took off my bear hood, the wind blowing around me felt good.

    Shinobu and Sakura looked at me as if they were dumbfounded.

    ¡°I thought Yuna was cute, but she is actually a beautiful woman.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°What was that, so sudden? ttery will get you nowhere.¡± (Yuna)

    Perhaps it¡¯s a spirit of ttery and a desire to be allowed to use this mansion?

    You don¡¯t have to tter me. I don¡¯t mind at all if you use it. Of course, I will ask you to clean up after using it.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re beautiful, too.¡± (Sakura)

    Shinobu was ttering me that even Sakura learned how to use ttery.

    ¡°When you grow up, you will be more beautiful than I am, Sakura, because you¡¯re already so cute.¡± (Yuna)

    I am sure Sakura will be beautiful when she grows up. Unlike me, she will probably have no trouble finding someone to marry. Just don¡¯t be fooled by strange men.

    I put on my bear hood because they¡¯re both fussing about my beauty.

    ¡°But then again, the scenery here is always beautiful.¡± (Sakura)

    A beautifulndscape spreads out before me.

    Certainly, I have seen and experienced many things in this world.

    Every once in a while, I like to travel to other ces in this world because of these things. And with the bear gate, it¡¯s easy to get back home.

    ¡°How is it? Do you like it?¡± (King)

    ¡°If you asked me if I liked it, then yeah, I like it.¡± (Yuna)

    I haven¡¯t seen the hot springs or other rooms yet, though.

    ¡°The previous king loved the view of thiske.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at the scenery from the top of Swaying Bear with nostalgia. This was a ce full of memories for Kagali-san, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can take such a mansion. I have my bear house, so it would be enough if you let me borrow a corner of it. Even if I were given such a splendid mansion, I would only use it asionally.¡± (Yuna)

    Personally, I wish they would let me put a bear house in the corner.

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be much of a thank you, wouldn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t you realize how much you¡¯ve done?¡± (King)

    ¡°Of course. I just got rid of Sakura¡¯s nightmare.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No. You saved the country.¡± (King)

    I said it half-jokingly, but The King seriously rebutted it.

    But seriously, I took the job primarily because I felt sorry for Sakura. If she had been a girl with a bad character or the king was arrogant, I would have just put on a nk face and gone back to Crimonia.

    The rest was for rice and Japanese food. It would be a loss to the world if it were to disappear.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll live here myself.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, someone has to live here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is there no one else here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is a hot spring here, so there is no problem.¡± (Kagali)

    I would be relieved if Kagali-san would live here.

    ¡°We¡¯re close enough to go to town. It would be easier for Suzuran toe here than on the ind.¡± (Kagali)

    Suzuran was the one who took care of Kagali-san, right?

    Would it be safe if it¡¯s that person who took care of Kagali-san?

    But then, all I had to do was not cross paths with that person when he or she was there.

    ¡°If you want to live here, Kagali-san, It¡¯ll help a lot, but do you want to live here alone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been on that ind for over a hundred years, and I feel more at home when I¡¯m alone.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said so, but was that okay?

    ¡°I wille to visit you, Kagali-sama. So that you won¡¯t be lonely. It will be easier for me toe here because I won¡¯t have to use a boat after all.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura raised her voice.

    Certainly, it would be easier toe by horse and carriage than to take a boat when ites to transportation.

    ¡°Oh, and when you do, bring me some booze.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t make Sakura carry liquor!¡± (King)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring it, so I can stay here.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You are wee to bring booze, but you have to ask Yuna if you can stay.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to clean it afterwards it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You mean, by myself?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You can live here if you want.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it, I don¡¯t want to live in a ce like this, where there is nothing else here. I would only visit asionally.¡± (Shinobu)

    I agree with her. It¡¯s a nice ce to visit once in a while, but it¡¯s not a ce where I want to live.

    Besides, I¡¯m notfortable living in such a big mansion. I¡¯m used to living in a bear house after all. Moreover, considering security, it can¡¯t bepared to the bear house.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It looks like Kagali-san will be living in the mansion.

    Next post, about 3-4 days.

 Chapter 487 - Bear-san, Looks Around The Room

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Looks Around The Room</b></h4>

    ¡°So, then, do you want to live here, Kagali?¡± (King)

    ¡°Sure, if Yuna is willing.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡± (Yuna)

    Someone has to live in the mansion.

    Besides, Kagali-san knew about the bear gate, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. I just have a gut feeling that there will be barrels of sake rolling around the room the next time Ie back here.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll let Suzuran know that you will stay here.¡± (King)

    I think it would be okay if someone woulde to take care of Kagali-san.

    But I have to watch out for Suzuran-san when shees.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯ll present this to you, Yuna.¡± (King)

    King Suou offered me a card, which I dly epted. My name was written on the front of the card, and something like a family crest was drawn.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s like a guild card. With it, any card bearer can freely enter the city without being questioned, no matter what kind of outfit they¡¯re wearing.¡± (King)

    King Suou was looking at a different ce, not at my face.

    ¡°Why are you saying that while looking at my outfit?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, here.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu immediately held a hand mirror in front of me.

    ¡°Why are you holding a mirror in front of me?¡± (Yuna)

    I pushed back the hand mirror that Shinobu held out to me. I don¡¯t need to look in the mirror to know that I am dressed as a bear.

    ¡°I have received a report from Shinobu. I hope you will not feel bad abouting to this country in the future. This card is the royal family¡¯s endorsement of your identity, so it would serve you well if anything should happen in this country.¡± (King)

    Indeed, every time I enter a town, I get strange looks and questions about my outfit. A stuffed bear stands out wherever I go.

    ¡°By the way, I have one myself.¡± (Shinobu)

    With that said, Shinobu showed me her card.

    Was it necessary because she¡¯s a ninja?

    ¡°I¡¯ve given it to Shinobu because I sometimes ask her to go to different ces.¡± (King)

    She truly is a ninja.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll dly take it.¡± (Yuna)

    State authority is powerful, so it¡¯s better than nothing.

    However, I¡¯ll have to be careful not to use it too much, because it could get me in trouble.

    ¡°Well, then, lightly pour some magic onto the card, and it will register you.¡± (King)

    I did as I was told and let the magic flow into the hand that was holding the card.

    ¡°Now then, that card belongs to Yuna. You can treat it like a guild card. Also, please give this card to that Ruimin girl.¡± (King)

    King Suou presented another card. The name of Ruimin was written there.

    ¡°Can I ask you to prepare one for someone else?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why?¡± (King)

    ¡°I might be bringing a girl you met the other day named Fina, so I thought I might need one for her, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If she¡¯s with you, Yuna, it¡¯ll be fine. While dozens of people would be a problem, a few can go through it together with you. Besides, she¡¯s dressed normally, so there¡¯s no need for her to be stopped. They won¡¯t perform an inspection on her name unless it¡¯s a rare asion.¡± (King)

    ¡°What about Ruimin¡¯s then?¡± (Yuna)

    Then Ruimin wouldn¡¯t even need the card. She couldn¡¯te in this ce without me opening the bear gate anyway.

    ¡°I made a promise with Mumroot. Think of it as proof that that elf girl can always meet Sakura.¡± (King)

    Oh right, Mumroot did mention that he wanted Ruimin to be able to see Sakura, didn¡¯t he?

    ¡°Show them that card and they¡¯ll let her see Sakura. With that card, she shouldn¡¯t be turned away in front of Sakura¡¯s house.¡± (King)

    ¡°Uncle!?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura looked at King Suou in surprise.

    ¡°Now you can see her when shees.¡± (King)

    Sakura¡¯s house was a mansion with shrine maidens.

    It¡¯s not a typical house, so it¡¯s not like you can suddenly ask to see Sakura. Given that, this card may be necessary.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got some business to attend to, so I¡¯ll be heading back. Honestly, I would have asked you toe to the castle and have dinner with me.¡± (King)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m sure you are busy, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (King)

    King Suoh apologized and looked at Kagali-san.

    ¡°Kagali, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. I¡¯ll have Suzurane tomorrow, but what about food?¡± (King)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine if I don¡¯t eat for a day or so. And I will go to the city if I have to.¡± (Kagali)

    King Suou then looked at Sakura.

    ¡°Sakura, you want toe home with me?¡± (King)

    ¡°If possible, I would like to talk with Yuna-sama a little longer.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see. Shinobu, take care of Sakura.¡± (King)

    ¡°I understand. I will responsibly send her home.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Well then, if youe to the castle next time, I will show you around.¡± (King)

    When King Suou said so, he went down the stairs alone, so we saw him off.

    ¡°But did I really deserve such a big mansion?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. In fact, you did that much. Take it. Even though you won¡¯t use it all the time, I will make sure I will be using it thoroughly, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the part where you refuse.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If you use it, I¡¯ll be relieved. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to break things or anything, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t do that, but I won¡¯t clean it either.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave that up to Shinobu, so it¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why me? Well, I guess it¡¯s fine once in a while.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you too then.¡±(Sakura)

    Sakura said it with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to do some exploring then. I¡¯d like to install the bear gate somewhere.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll show you around.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura then pulled my bear puppet and started walking.

    The rooms on the third floor all have tatami mats on them, making them feel like a?ryokan?(Japanese-style inn). The rooms were spacious and looked like rooms you would see on a school trip in aic book or anime. Perhaps it was the king¡¯s room?

    But it¡¯s an empty room.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in here.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san gave the same impression as I do.

    The room feels empty. It was like moving into an empty house.

    I thought there might be hanging scrolls or vases, but there was nothing to be seen.

    ¡°They have cleaned out everything you don¡¯t need. This?fusuma?sliding door had the royal family crest on it, but they reced it.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This ce is to be given to Yuna. So they¡¯ve cleared out everything that pertains to the royal family.¡± (Shinobu)

    So not only was there nothing here but to think that they even changed the sliding doors.

    ¡°But why do you know that Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, I know everything, but the reason why I know it is a secret¡± (Shinobu)

    She said it in a way that makes it sound like a waste of time.

    She¡¯s a ninja, so it¡¯s natural for her to know everything. I am really d I did contract magic with Shinobu as well. The ability of ninjas to gather information was terrific. I hear that they were doing espionage activities in enemy countries even in actual history.

    ¡°Shinobu knows because she came with me the other day.¡± (Sakura)

    However, Sakura easily exposed her.

    ¡°Why did you reveal it? My mysterious atmosphere is ruined.¡± (Shinobu)

    The truth was trivial.

    But it helps to have no stuff in the room. When there were things that belonged to people who used to live there, it¡¯ll be difficult to simply throw them away. And even more so when it belongs to someone you know.

    If there¡¯s a weird ornament, it will be difficult to handle it. Also, the futon used by Sakura would be okay, but I would like to refrain from using the futon used by the king.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± (Sakura)

    While I was thinking about this, Sakura tilted her head and asked me.

    ¡°I figured since there¡¯s nothing in here, I had to have some things in ce.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, I won¡¯t live here, so the bare minimum would be enough. Besides, everything I needed was in the bear box.

    We headed toward the back of the room while looking around the room.

    Around here maybe?

    There was a sign in front of the entryway, with ¡°Yu¡± written on it.

    ¡°A bath maybe?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a hot spring.¡± (Sakura)

    When I opened the door and entered, I found a changing room. The back of the changing room was a wall.

    ¡°Please wait for a while.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura trotted to the front wall.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you, too.¡± (Shinobu)

    Both of them started doing something on the front wall. Then, what I thought was a wall turned out to be a sliding door. The sliding door opened to the left and right, revealing an open-air bath. There was a hot spring in the stone surroundings, and steam rose from the hot spring.

    ¡°A big bath as usual.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The scenery you see while bathing in the hot spring is beautiful.¡± (Sakura)

    Indeed, it would be nice to take a hot spring bath while looking at the night sky. The view was beautiful even in the daytime. When I went near the hot springs, I could see ake surrounded by forests.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to go in there with a drink.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We don¡¯t have liquor, but we do have hot springs.¡± (Yuna)

    Hot spring water wasing out of a bamboo tube. Was it a free-flowing hot spring?

    ¡°I¡¯m not ready. But maybe I¡¯lle inter.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well then, after we look around the mansion, shall we all go in?¡± (Yuna)

    I also want to enter.

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t mind if I do too, do you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In that case, I would like to invite Ruimin-san to join us.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to call Fina, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    We decided to go to the hot springs after checking the other ces.

    If I don¡¯t ce the bear gate, I can¡¯t call either Ruimin or Fina. I can ce it temporarily, but only after we have checked all of the rooms in the mansion.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Onsen Getto.

    <b>¡ù</b>?The covers of the book volume 10 and theicalized book volume 1 are now avable. For more information, please visit the activity report and the author¡¯s Twitter.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 488 - Bear-san, Calls Fina And Friends

    <h4>Chapter 488</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Calls Fina And Friends</b></h4>

    For now, we left the hot springs forter and decided on where to ce the bear gate.

    After checking the third floor, we went down to the second floor.

    ¡°The second floor will be the servants¡¯ quarters.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°The cooks and guards will stay in this room. I¡¯ll be staying here.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But the view is as good as on the third floor.¡± (Sakura)

    It looked like Sakura maye too, but which one would she stay in? Would she be on the third floor, given King Suou¡¯s attitude? Speaking of which, what¡¯s going on with King Suou¡¯s family?

    The rooms on the second floor were not as spacious as those on the third floor, but there were more rooms, many of which were about six tatami mats in size.

    After looking around upstairs, we went downstairs. There was no sign of Jubei-san or King Suou. It seems that they have gone back.

    On the ground floor, there¡¯s the cooking area and a warehouse. Naturally, the warehouse was empty. On the other hand, it would be a problem if there were a lot of stuff in there.

    Also, there was a smaller hot spring on the first floor that was properly installed for the use of the servants. I knew that the hot spring upstairs was for the exclusive use of the royal family.

    Afterpleting a tour of the building, I decided on the room I would use and ced the bear gate there.

    I thought about the warehouse, but it would be more convenient to have it on the third floor if I wanted to go to the hot springs.

    ¡°Then I think I¡¯ll take this room as my room.¡± (Yuna)

    I decided on one of the rooms on the third floor.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t thergest room, you know? I thought you were going to take that one.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s big enough for me.¡± (Yuna)

    The room size was more than ten tatami mats, enough for one person, and I have no ns to live here anyway.

    ¡°You can use thergest room, Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    It may have been King Suou¡¯s room after all.

    ¡°You sure it¡¯s okay? Then, I will be very grateful to use that room.¡± (Kagali)

    I installed a bear gate by the wall.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange to think that there¡¯s another ce connected to this door.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san uttered such a thing while looking at the bear gate.

    ¡°I remember that Kagali-sama was at Yuna-sama¡¯s house over there. What kind of town was that ce?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura casually asked. But Kagali-san couldn¡¯t answer immediately.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t actually seen it¡­¡­.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san replied in a small voice.

    ¡°Kagali-san was so exhausted after the battle against Orochi that she was asleep for a long time.¡± (Yuna)

    I felt a little sorry for her, so I helped her out. She was trying to focus on recovering her body, eating, and sleeping like an animal.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. I exhausted my magic power and physical strength, and my mind was also tired. No amount of sleep was enough. And it was also because, for the first time in a long time, I could sleep peacefully. Moreover, I felt warm and safe in that house for some reason.¡± (Kagali)

    Did she feel the magical power of the bear house?

    ¡°So, are you feeling better now?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanughed so as not to worry Sakura.

    There is no problem, except that she can¡¯t return to her original adult form.

    ¡°Next time, let¡¯s take our time and see the sights.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see it, too.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll give you a tour next time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really? I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Sakura)

    While Sakura was smiling happily, Shinobu was looking at us. I slowly averted my eyes from her gaze.

    ¡°Why are you turning away from me?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m not turning away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Lies. You cannot deceive my eyes. I saw Yuna look away with my very own eyes.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I won¡¯t take Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wha, why?¡± (Shinou)

    ¡°Because you¡¯re going to do something, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible. It¡¯s bullying. It¡¯s cruelty. It¡¯s discrimination.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu made a crying imitation, but I went through with it.

    I don¡¯t mind taking her with me, but I can already imagine seeing Shinobuughing if I take her to my restaurant. So I¡¯d rather not take her there.

    While I was thinking about this, Kagali-san opened her mouth.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m hungry.¡± (Kagali)

    Didn¡¯t she say something earlier about not having to eat for a day or so?

    Well, there¡¯s plenty of food in the bear box. There¡¯s also a kitchen, so we can cook.

    Oh, but there¡¯s ake in front of us.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s have a barbecue at thatke, shall we?¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the window and looked at theke.

    I wanted to see theke up close. I was going to go and check itter. But then I thought, barbecue by theke.

    As a former?hikikomori, I have changed, and I¡¯ll be barbecuing outside now. I guess it¡¯s because I came to this world and traveled around a lot.

    ¡°A barbecue?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We¡¯ll be grilling meat and vegetables outside and eating them together.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, that sound¡¯s good.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But what about the ingredients?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well, we can have Shinobu go to town and get some. Now go.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Eh? By myself? Then why not have Yuna use her gate? It¡¯s faster that way.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I already have the ingredients.¡± (Yuna)

    I have everything from ingredients to cooking utensils.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to invite Ruimin-san and Fina-chan to join us. It would be a good idea to call them over before the meal.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll invite Ruimin and Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out my bearphone and let magical power flow and called Ruimin.

    After a while, Ruimin¡¯s voice could be heard over the bearphone.

    ¡®Yuna-san?¡¯

    ¡°Ruimin, have you had lunch?¡±

    ¡®Not yet, but why are you asking?¡¯

    ¡°Then we¡¯re all having a meal together over here now, do you want toe over?¡±

    ¡®Over there? Didn¡¯t you go to the Land of Harmony to meet the King, Yuna-san? Well, I¡¯d like to meet Sakura-chan, but I¡¯m not having a meal with the king.¡¯

    Oh yeah, I did mention that when I told Ruimin that I would see King Suou. Did she just refuse?

    ¡°Ruimin-san, it¡¯s okay. The talk with my uncle is over. We are the only ones to eat. So can youe?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura turned her face to the bearphone I was holding and spoke to Ruimin.

    ¡®Sakura-chan!??¡¯

    ¡°I would also like to talk to you. I n to call Fina-chan, too.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡®Fina-chan, too¡­¡­ I understand. I¡¯m on my way.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, and when youe, please bring mushrooms.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Mushrooms?¡¯

    ¡°Yes, the best ones please.¡± (Yuna)

    We need mushrooms for the barbecue. Since Ruimin ising here, I¡¯ll ask her to bring some.

    ¡®Understood.¡¯

    ¡°If youe near the bear gate, contact me.¡± (Yuna)

    I hung up the call.

    Next, I connected to Fina¡¯s bearphone

    ¡®Yuna-oneesan?¡¯?(Fina)

    ¡°Is now a good time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡¯?(Fina)

    ¡®Yuna-oneechan?¡¯?(Shuri)

    I also heard Shuri¡¯s voice from the background. Apparently, they¡¯re together.

    ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®No, not yet.¡¯?(Fina)

    ¡°Then, can youe to my house now? I would like to eat together here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Ara, Yuna-chan, you¡¯re taking my daughter out again?¡¯?(Tirumina)

    This time, I could hear Tirumina-san¡¯s voice in the background.

    ¡°Tirumina-san? Yeah, I was thinking of having a meal with Fina. Can¡¯t I?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Fufu, that¡¯s not the case. Of course, it¡¯s okay.¡¯?(Tirumina)

    ¡®I want to go too!¡¯?(Shuri)

    I also hear Shuri¡¯s voice.

    I took my face away from the bearphone and asked everyone.

    ¡°Can Fina¡¯s sistere?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but does she know about your door?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, she knows.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with it, then I don¡¯t have a problem with it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine with it too.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Me too.¡± (Shinobu)

    I brought my face closer to the bearphone.

    ¡°Shuri is also good. By the way, Tirumina-san. They might bete to return today or they might stay at my house tonight, is that okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®It¡¯s okay with me, I feel relieved if they¡¯re with you, Yuna-chan. Of course, if my daughter bes damaged goods, I¡¯ll have you take responsibility.¡¯ ¡®Mom!¡¯

    I can hear a faint popping and tapping sounds from the other side of the bearphone call.

    Perhaps Fina is hitting Tirumina-san.

    ¡®Fufu. Well then, Yuna-chan, take care of them both.¡¯?(Tirumina)

    ¡®U~u, Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ming.¡¯?(Fina)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be waiting. By the way, can you do me a favor and go to Anzu¡¯s shop and get me some big ms, like turban shells. Enough for 7 people.¡± (Fina)

    Since we¡¯re here, we decided to grill and eat turban shells.

    Okay, now we¡¯re ready to go.

    Then we weed Ruimin, who arrived first.

    ¡°Oh, Ruimin, take off your shoes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sorry~¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin hastily took off her shoes.

    By the way, wearing shoes was strictly forbidden in this mansion.

    ¡°Ano, so where are we?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looked around the room, while holding her shoes.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mansion that I got from the Land of Harmony¡¯s King.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You got a mansion, Yuna-san?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Well, it was his back-up n because I refused his main reward. This is also to thank you too, Ruimin, so please enjoy your stay.¡± (Yuna)

    Shortly after that, the bearphone rang and Fina arrived.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, where are we?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°This is a ce called Land of Harmony. It¡¯s a faraway country.¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri was scurrying and looking around at the room and then at Kagali-san and the others.

    ¡°Are you Fina¡¯s sister?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re a cute one.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You look like Fina-chan.¡± (Sakura)

    Shuri hid behind Fina.

    ¡°Who?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I am Kagali. Yuna is a friend of mine, and we fought against monsters together.¡±

    Kagali-san introduces herself while puffing her chest out.

    She¡¯s not wrong, though. Shuri was surprised to hear that Kagali-san, who (is currently physically more petite than her), fought monsters.

    ¡°My name is Sakura. Yuna-sama saved my life.¡±

    Sakura introduced herself politely, with her hands together in front of her, like a light bow.

    ¡°I¡¯m Ruimin. I¡¯m Yuna-san and Fina-chan¡¯s friend.¡±

    Ruimin introduced herself cheerfully and energetically.

    Come to think of it, this was the first time Ruimin and Shuri have met, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°I¡¯m Shinobu. Yuna¡¯s ve.¡±

    In any case, I hit her.

    ¡°That hurts~!¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Shinobu is just an acquaintance, so don¡¯t worry about her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So terrible.¡± (Shinobu)

    Who¡¯s terrible?

    ¡°Shuri, say hello.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri. I¡¯m sister¡¯s sister.¡± (Shuri)

    She introduced herself while holding Fina¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan¡­¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked at me with a troubled expression.

    Apparently, they were trying to figure out her rtionship with me, but they had no idea. Indeed, it was difficult to exin the rtionship between Shuri and me. From my point of view, her older sister saved my life?

    But if I say that, Fina will get angry, so I won¡¯t say it.

    ¡°So Yuna-oneesan. Are we eating here?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°We¡¯re going to eat over there.¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed out the window.

    ¡°U wa~a ~~¡±?(Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± (Fina)

    The two looked out the window as they leaned out to see the expansive view.

    ¡°Are we eating over there?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it? Well, now that we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    We left the mansion and walked about 10 minutes towards theke.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The hot spring scene would likely be a little further.

    First, there will be a barbecue party at theke.

    <b>¡ù</b>?Episode 10 of theicalize book series has been released. It is a story from Fina¡¯s point of view.

    You can go to it by clicking ¡°Kuma Comicalization is released on the second, fourth, and Wednesday¡± below.

    <b>====</b>

 Chapter 489 - Bear-san, Having A Barbecue Party

    <h4>Chapter 489</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Having A Barbecue Party</b></h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s ake!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri started running toward theke.

    ¡°Stop running, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± (Fina)

    Fina chased after Shuri.

    ¡°Children are so energetic. They are dazzling to an elderly.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°They¡¯re really lively.¡± (Sakura)

    A little girl on Swaying Bear and a girl on Hugging Bear watched Shuri and Fina while smiling.

    Ironically, in terms of physical appearance, Kagali-san looked the most child-like. And Sakura was still technically a child, too.

    However, looking at Shuri and Fina, I agreed that Shuri and Fina (as children) are lively.

    When we got to theke, Shuri and Fina were already standing on the pier.

    There¡¯s even a pier. It looks like we could do some fishing. But I don¡¯t have that kind of hobby, so I won¡¯t do it.

    ¡°So pretty.¡± (Sakura)

    Theke wasrge, and the surface seemed to be glowing with reflections from the sunlight. It would be nice to watch the bears swimming in the water here. But it would cause amotion if we did it now, so maybe next time.

    ¡°Even so, the sun is strong.¡± (Kagali)

    Certainly, the sun is shining strong and bright.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s move to that shade.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura looks a little hot too. Apparently, the temperature was high. Well, I¡¯m wearing my bear costume, so I¡¯m not feeling the effects of the weather like others. Anyway, we moved under the shade of a big tree near theke.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get the barbecue ready, you guys can go and y.¡± (Yuna)

    I told everyone, set out arge table, and arranged the food.

    ¡°I will help you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina came back from the pier.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you too.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Same here. If there is anything I can do, I will help.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Me too!¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯ll help too~.¡± (Shuri)

    Shinobu, Sakura, Ruimin, and Shuri offered to help.

    ¡°Well then, I will waitfortably on top of Swaying Bear.¡± (Kagali)

    Only one person (or rather, fox) who was unwilling to help.

    Kagali-san was sprawling on Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s divide the task.¡± (Yuna)

    I left Kagali-san to Swaying Bear and looked at the ingredients on the table.

    ¡°Well, then, Fina, can you cut the meat to about this size?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked her to cut arge chunk of meat into bite-sized pieces. When ites to cutting meat, Fina was the master. I prepared a variety of meats, including pork, chicken, beef, and wolf, and let Fina do her magic.

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Fina)

    Fina cut the meat with a knife skillfully.

    ¡°Shinobu, make a fire.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Ruimin, did you bring the mushrooms?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin took out a bag containing mushrooms from her item bag.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the mushrooms to you, Ruimin. When you¡¯re done, help me with this one.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Ruimin)

    After I gave my instructions to the three, Sakura and Shuri were waiting for my instructions.

    ¡°Etto, Sakura and Shuri¡­ just watch for now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh?~¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I will help too~¡± (Shuri)

    The two protested.

    I don¡¯t want to have these two do such dangerous things. Personally, I want them to y.

    But they both seem to want to help, so I¡¯ll think about something.

    ¡°Then Shuri put the meat that Fina cut on a te and put it on the table over here, and Sakura take the vegetables that I cut to Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    Somehow, I thought of a job that they can do.

    I cut vegetables like carrots, squash, corn, cabbage, leeks, bamboo shoots, and eggnt. It¡¯s convenient to keep them in the bear box because I can buy and store them regardless of the season.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, you¡¯re good at it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura was impressed as she watched Fina cut up the meat and me cut the vegetables.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that. I have never held a knife before.¡± (Sakura)

    Well, Sakura was still a child, moreover, a daughter of former royalty.

    Shuri may still be small. But she¡¯s already better at dismantling than I am.

    Finna, Ruimin, and I continued to process the ingredients and finish the preparations.

    ¡°Even so, there are so many different ingredients.¡±

    Shinobu, who was watching over the fire, gave such impressions.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to enjoy a variety of things. Meat alone is not good for your nutritional needs.¡± (Yuna)

    After preparing the ingredients, we started grilling.

    I first ce the vegetables on the iron te. And finally, I grilled the meat.

    ¡°It looks delicious.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san was waiting with a te and chopsticks in hand.

    ¡°For seasoning, there¡¯s salt and soy sauce, but use whatever you like.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fu fu, I have something like this, just in case something like this happens.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu took out a white vial from her item bag in her inner pocket.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Treasure sauce. Sauce when I ate meat with Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)?<b>(</b>ÃØÊi¤Î¥¿¥ì¤Ã¤¹<b>)</b>

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, I bought it.¡± (Shinobu)

    I was nning to buy arge quantity of that next time, but I haven¡¯t done so because of various things that have happened up to now. I¡¯ll go buy some next time when I have some free time.

    We each took a te and ate our grilled vegetables and meat.

    ¡°Every meat is delicious!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san only ate meat and did not touch the vegetables.

    ¡°You won¡¯t grow up unless you eat vegetables and not only meat.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m bigger than you, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s not convincing when Kagali-san, in her small state, says so. But when I think of Kagali-san in her original form, she¡¯s undoubtedly taller and has bigger breasts than me.

    Well, I¡¯m overtaking her in a few years.

    But, Kagali-san¡¯s words aside, the food was all delicious. The scenery was beautiful and the air was refreshing. Was it because we were eating outside together that it tasted so good?

    ¡°How was it everyone, is it good?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s delicious.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°This is also thanks to the sauce I brought.¡± (Shinobu)

    Certainly, Shinobu¡¯s sauce was sweet, spicy, and delicious.

    ¡°The mushrooms that Ruimin-san brought are also delicious.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m d if you like it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Looking toward Fina and Shuri¡¯s side, Shuri was chewing corn like a squirrel.

    She was surprised at the corn at first, but she seemed to like it. Shall we make popcorn next time?

    ¡°Ah, Shuri, your mouth is dirty.¡± (Fina)

    Fina wiped Shuri¡¯s mouth with a handkerchief.

    It¡¯s a heartwarming sight.

    The barbecue seemed to be well received. I am d we did it.

    I put the roasted vegetables and meat on a te and went to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, be careful it¡¯s hot.¡± (Yuna)

    I put the roasted vegetables and meat in their mouths. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear eat them happily.

    Fina, Shuri, and Sakura, who were watching it, started feeding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Should I turn them into cubs?

    Even if they¡¯re only feeding them, it would be different if they were cubs. I turned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into cubs.

    ¡°Yuna, you know Fina and Suri quite well, don¡¯t you?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu came to the side and asked, looking at Fina and Shuri, who were feeding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°You see, Fina. She saved my life, and I¡¯ve been indebted to her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, Yuna-oneesan! It was Yuna-oneesan who saved my life. And I¡¯m really indebted to her. I¡¯m always being helped by Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    When I first came to this world, it was Fina who guided me to town when I was lost in the woods and taught me much about this world. If not for her, I might have gotten into more trouble. So, not only was I indebted to Fina, but I am also grateful to her.

    Then, we grilled turban shells, and other shellfish brought by Fina and ate them with soy sauce.

    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.

    Everyone looked satisfied. The barbecue ended sessfully.

    After finishing our meal, we put away our cooking utensils and tes. Our bellies were all swollen, and Kagali-san and Shuri, who can no longer move, were lying on the carpet that had beenid out in ce of a sheet.

    ¡°I¡¯m already full.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s painful.¡± (Shuri)

    They¡¯re currently suffering, since they overate. But after a bit of rest and they¡¯ll be fine.

    Then, as we took an after-dinner break, Shuri, who was holding Hugging Bear, asked.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan. It¡¯s so hot, can I go swimming with Hugging Bear-chan in theke?¡± (Shuri)

    I thought she felt hot because she was holding Hugging Bear, but everyone else looked hot too.

    Thanks to my bear costume that regtes my body temperature, I had forgotten about it, but summer was not over yet.

    It¡¯s not hard to sleep at night, and because I wear it almost 24 hours a day, I tend to forget about the temperature.

    ¡°Is thiske dangerous?¡± (Yuna)

    I checked with my detection skill, but there were no monsters in theke. However, there may be something dangerous in theke other than monsters, so I asked Sakura and Shinobu.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all right. I swam there too. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t swum this year.¡± (Sakura)

    There¡¯s a danger of drowning, but with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear together with them, I think they will be fine.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan. Can I swim?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Sure. But you don¡¯t have your swimsuit. Do you want to go back to your house and get it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh that, I have the swimsuits.¡± (Fina)

    When I mentioned the swimsuit, Fina said she has it.

    ¡°You have it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have an item bag that Yuna-oneesan gave me, and it holds a lot, so I keep a lot of things in it.¡± (Fina)

    The item bag I gave to Fina was a reward for defeating the bandits. Even if it¡¯s not as big as my bear box, I¡¯m sure she can easily fit their swimsuits there.

    Fina took Shuri and her swimsuit out.

    ¡°Well, then, I¡¯m taking out of the house, so you can go and get dressed.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the bear house.

    As you can imagine, I can¡¯t let the girls change outside, even if it¡¯s us just girls here.

    ¡°Then, Sakura-sama. Are we going to swim too?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But my swimwear.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I was expecting this might happen. I¡¯ve brought it.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu put her hand on her chest and pulled out what looked like a bathing suit. I know that there¡¯s an item bag inside Shinobu¡¯s clothes. When I took it out, it looked like she had a swimwear hidden in her clothes, which was disturbing.

    The ocean was nearby, so it¡¯s only natural that there was swimwear in the Land of Harmony.

    Sakura and Shinobu also entered the bear house to change into their swimwear.

    Me? Of course, I¡¯m not going to swim, so I won¡¯t change.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The story will continue to beid-back for a while.

    Please wait a while for the next adventure.

    <b>¡ù?</b>Book volume 10 andic volume 1 will be released on July 27. Thank you for your cooperation. It seems that the distribution of the store bonus SS will change a little. We will report when we know more details.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 490 - Bear-san, Plays In The Lake

    <h4>Chapter 490</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, ys In The Lake</b></h4>

    Five peoplee out of the bear house dressed in swimwear.

    Shuri is wearing a white one-piece swimsuit with ruffles that she wore thest time she went to the beach. Fina is also wearing the same white bikini swimsuit with ruffles that she wore at the beach.

    Ruimin is wearing a ck and white bikini that I lent her.

    Sakura is wearing a neat white bathing suit. The area covered by fabric is quiterge.

    Shinobu¡¯s swimwear is a¡­¡­?sarashi??<b>(</b>¤µ¤é¤·<b>)</b>

    There¡¯s some kind of?sarashi?wrapped around her chest.

    I don¡¯t know if you can call a?sarashi?a swimwear, but it just so happens that everyone is wearing white swimwear. Well, at least one has a mix of ck.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, please make Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan bigger.¡± (Shuri)

    Once Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were back to their original sizes, Shuri got on Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°Ano, Shuri. May I have a ride with Hugging Bear-sama as well?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± (Shuri)

    Sakura rode behind Shuri.

    Apparently, both Sakura and Shuri belong to the Hugging Bear faction. Shuri said she preferred the white bear when I drew the picture book. She seemed to like Hugging Bear better. Sakura also seemed to prefer Hugging Bear. Hugging Bear was very popr.

    Fina and Ruimin got on Swaying Bear.

    With the four passengers on board, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped into theke and began to y.

    I hope no one would drown while apanied by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Shinobu was also watching by my side, so I didn¡¯t have to worry.

    Incidentally, I was also invited, but I politely declined. I¡¯m still not used to wearing a swimsuit.

    ¡°The kids are so energetic.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san was sitting in a chair watching Fina and the others having fun in theke.

    Sakura and Shuri on Hugging Bear, and Fina and Ruimin on Swaying Bear looked happy.

    ¡°I guess so. The young ones are so energetic.¡± (Yuna)

    Even to my eyes, the bright appearance of Fina and her friends was dazzling.

    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re still a kid yourself.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, Kagali-san, who literally looks like a child.¡± (Yuna)

    In terms of appearance alone, Kagali-san looked more like a child.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, because I¡¯m an adult at heart.¡± (Kagali)

    Kinda simr to the guy whose ¡°brain was an adult, but in the body of a child¡± from a particr detective animation.

    But in Kagali-san¡¯s case, I think she¡¯s more of a senile grandma? Of course, I won¡¯t tell it to her face, I¡¯ll keep it to myself, because I don¡¯t know what she will do to meter.

    ¡°Perhaps your appearance is an illusion? Are you actually the same age as me? If so, no wonder you are so skilled in magic.¡± (Kagali)

    What did you say, you little girl (grandma)?

    ¡°I¡¯ve only lived for 15 years. Don¡¯tpare me with a certain fox.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I thought I was closer to your secret, but I wasn¡¯t? Still, 15 years old? Aren¡¯t you a bit too small for that age?¡± (Kagali)

    Now, where were you looking while saying that?

    She shouldn¡¯t be able to tell the size of a specific part of the body because of the bear costume, so she¡¯s talking about height, right?

    But in a few years they¡¯ll be as big as supermodels.

    A drenched Shinobu arrived as I watched the children ying energetically with Kagali-san.

    ¡°Really~, everyone is so active.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu drank a ss of water all at once.

    ¡°Yuna, can I ask you a question?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not weird.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not weird. But what¡¯s the tail on Shuri¡¯s butt?¡± (Shinobu)

    Oh yeah. Certainly, there was a round white thing on Shuri¡¯s buttocks. It¡¯s a bear¡¯s tail apparently.

    ¡°Noment.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh~, c¡¯mon, tell me.¡± (Shinobu)

    She¡¯s asking with a nasty smile on her face. I definitely know what you¡¯re asking.

    I ignored Shinobu and looked at Shuri and the others.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, run on the water.¡± (Shuri)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    When Shuri found out that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can run on water, she asked a few times. At the request of Shuri, Hugging Bear ran on the water.

    On the other hand, Fina and Ruimin were swimming leisurely with Swaying Bear.

    ¡°I can¡¯t lose to Hugging Bear now, can I?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu said that, started running toward the pier, and continued running on theke.

    I could not believe what I¡¯m seeing.

    Shinobu was running on water.

    ¡°How about this? I can do this much, too. I won¡¯t lose to Hugging Bear.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu ran alongside Hugging Bear on theke.

    ¡°Shinobu-neechan, you¡¯re amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shinobu, you could do that too?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Secret art!¡± (Shinobu)

    Isn¡¯t that ninjutsu?

    ¡°The trick is to move both of your feet quickly. Lift your feet before they sink.¡± (Shinobu)

    Moving your legs quickly, I think I¡¯ve seen stories like that in manga and anime. But there¡¯s no way you could do it in reality.

    Normally, you just take one step into the water and you¡¯ll sink like a brick.

    But Shinobu was actually running on theke¡¯s surface.

    Was it magical power or magic or something?

    ¡°So, when you stop¡­¡± (Shinobu)

    The moment Shinobu stopped, she fell into the water with a loud sshing sound.

    Was it really not magic?

    I thought perhaps she was storing magic power in her legs to get some kind of buoyancy or something.

    If running on water was something that was generally not possible, then what Shinobu did was amazing.

    If it¡¯s about the width of a river, she can cross it.

    I honestly think that, unlike my cheat¡¯s power, the power that Shinobu has obtained on her own was incredible.

    And after ying for a while, it¡¯s time for a nap in the shade under the trees, leaning against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Everyone was sleepingfortably.

    Shinobu and I covered Fina and the others with towels so they wouldn¡¯t catch a cold.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired, Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯mpletely fine with just this. Compared to work, it¡¯s easier.¡± (Shinobu)

    As expected of a ninja.

    ¡°By the way, even though you¡¯re in theke, are your injuries okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The big wounds are fine because someone did something about them. The other minor wounds have healed because I put medicine on them.¡± (Shinobu)

    That¡¯s good to know. From the looks of it, I don¡¯t see any injuries that would leave scars. The only thing I healed was her shoulder and face, but she looked fine. I was surprised to see her bloodstained clothes.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Out of the blue. For what?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Sakura-sama looking so happy. Fina and Shuri are both good kids.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu was smilingly looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and Sakura who¡¯s leaning against Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Sakura is with Fina and Shuri who are good, hard-working kids.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Fina, who was sleeping, leaning against Swaying Bear.

    With Fina by my side, she¡¯s having a lot of fun. I am d that she genuinely adores me. Whenever I saw her working hard, I wanted to help her.

    Of course, Ruimin was also a good kid.

    After dinner, Shuri and Ruimin were rolling around on the tatami mats.

    Well, I understand the feeling of wanting to sprawl around with tatami mats.

    ¡°Can we really stay here?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who¡¯s sitting on the cushion, asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s no one here but us, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve already told Tirumina that the girls might stay the night here, so it¡¯s okay. Besides, the main hot spring was just around the corner.

    After lunch, we took a break, and Shuri, who would usually be sleepy, was in good spirits after her nap.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go to the hot springs.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-onechan, what is a hot spring?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asked while lying on the tatami mat.

    ¡°Simply put, a bath using hot watering out from underground?¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri was tilting her head because she didn¡¯t understand my exnation.

    ¡°Ummm, does the hot water reallye from under the ground?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin still can¡¯t believe it either.

    ¡°Usually it¡¯s cold water, but in some ces, there¡¯s hot watering out of the ground.¡± (Yuna)

    They may not understand if I exin the topography, the magma of the volcano, or the water flowing underground, so I briefly exined, keeping it as simple as possible.

    But Shuri and Ruimin looked at me as if they understood it.

    ¡°You know a lot about hot springs, don¡¯t you? Most people who don¡¯t know about hot springs don¡¯t believe it when they hear that hot wateres out of the ground.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, there was one in my old ce.¡± (Yuna)

    I remember going there with my family when I was in elementary school.

    And since there¡¯s no ce with a hot water spring nearby, they don¡¯t need to know about it. There¡¯s no TV or Inte here, so they can¡¯t get the information.

    Even I do not know information about other countries in my current situation. I don¡¯t know what kind of climate they have, what kind of food they have, what kind of clothes they wear, what kind of races they have, what kind of monsters inhabit them, and so on.

    If you¡¯ve never seen a hot spring before, it¡¯s no wonder you don¡¯t know anything about them.

    We head to the hot spring on the third floor. We passed through the ¡± Yu ¡± entryway and entered the changing room.

    ¡°Where is the bath?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯ll open it now.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu opened the sliding door.

    ¡°U wa~a, that¡¯s amazing. There¡¯s a bath outside.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri shouted in front of the sliding door. Fina and Ruimin responded to her voice and came to the sliding door.

    ¡°It¡¯s really amazing.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s a big bath.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t enter unless you take off your clothes.¡± (Yuna)

    In my words, Shuri hurriedly took off her clothes. Following her, Ruimin, Fina, Sakura, Shinobu, and Kagali-san took off their clothes. I took my bear costume off, too.

    ¡°Still, Yuna has long hair and it¡¯s lovely. It¡¯s a shame that she¡¯s dressed like that.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yuna-sama is beautiful.¡± (Sakura)

    Shinobu and Sakura ttered me.

    Maybe Shinobu¡¯s eyes were rotten and Sakura only appreciates me 20-30% more because I defeated Orochi. In the future, Sakura will be a beautiful woman and Shinobu will be one of the most beautiful women.

    ¡°If you dress normally, you will be popr.¡± (Shinobu)

    In other words, I¡¯m not popr if I dress up as a bear. That¡¯s good to know.

    To begin with, I can¡¯t imagine myself wearing beautiful clothes and going on a date with a guy, nor do I need to.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Shinobu will be more popr than I am.¡± (Yuna)

    Unlike me, Shinobu¡¯s body was toned. I grabbed Shinobu¡¯s arms and squeezed them. I can see that she has been working out. My arms, on the other hand, were very soft. Shinobu¡¯s abdominal muscles were also well-developed. It¡¯s a big difference from mine.

    This was the difference between me, a?hikikomori, and Shinobu, who has been working out.

    ¡°What are you so depressed about after grabbing my arm out of the blue?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the fact that Shinobu has a beautiful face and body.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if such a person said I¡¯m beautiful, it only sounded like apliment.

    If I had my bear puppet, I¡¯ll put out a mirror in front of Shinobu.

    ¡°Yuna, your body is also beautiful, but you don¡¯t work out. And yet, you¡¯re so strong. It¡¯s a mystery.¡± (Shinobu)

    I wish you¡¯d stop staring at me so hard. I covered my body with a towel.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t do anything stupid, let¡¯s get going.¡± (Kagali)

    In Kagali-san¡¯s words, everyone knew that preparations were finished.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, hurry up!¡± (Shuri)

    We went out of the changing room to the outside where the hot spring was located.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Funny, it was supposed to be a hot spring episode.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 491 - Bear-san Enters The Hot Spring

    <h4>Chapter 491</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san Enters The Hot Spring</b></h4>

    After taking off our clothes, we move from the changing room to the washing area with Shuri in the lead.

    As we saw earlier, the washing area was spacious. There was plenty of room for all of us.

    Shuri was about to get into the hot springs. But then, Fina grabbed Shuri¡¯s arm.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to wash you first,e here.¡± (Fina)

    Fina took Shuri to the washing area. Ruimin saw them and called out to Sakura.

    ¡°Then I will wash Sakura-chan¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°Then, in return, I will wash Ruimin-san¡¯s body.¡±

    Sakura and Ruimin went together.

    ¡°Hmm, in that case, I¡¯ll wash Kagali-sama¡¯s body.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu put her hands under Kagali-san¡¯s armpits, lifted her up, and moved her around.

    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t treat me as a child!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t do that, so don¡¯t go wild.¡± (Shinobu)

    Inevitably, I was left alone.

    I, the unsold one, was alone and lonely and thought I would wash by myself. But then again, I was not alone. In their cub form, swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were cuddling up to me at my feet.

    That¡¯s right. I had Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I took Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the washing area. I decided to wash their bodies. They were as fluffy as ever, and when I washed them with soap, theythered up to an amusing degree. Shuri and Sakura, who were watching the scene, shouted.

    ¡°Oh, I also wash Hugging Bear-chan!¡± (Shuri

    ¡°Hugging Bear-sama has carried me on his back many times. Please let me wash his back in return.¡± (Sakura)

    But the two were stopped by Fina and Ruimin.

    ¡°Shuri, you need to wash up first.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Sakura-chan too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°U~u, oneechan, hurry up.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ruimin-san.¡± (Sakura)

    After the two got washed, they washed Fina and Ruimin¡¯s backs in return beforeing over.

    Then they started washing Hugging Bear beside me. I had already washed him, but he had to endure being washed again. Hugging Bear did not resist and simply let them wash him.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, you¡¯re so soft and fluffy~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear-sama, for always letting me ride on your back.¡± (Sakura)

    The two happily washed Hugging Bear.

    Then, while Swaying Bear was rxing, Ruimin arrived.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to wash Swaying Bear-chan now. Thank you for letting me ride on your back today. It was fun. And thank you for the time you spent with me in the elf vige.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin also thanked him and began to wash Swaying Bear¡¯s body. Swaying Bear was also washed for the second time.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ll wash your back.¡± (Fina)

    As I was washing by myself, Fina came up from behind me.

    Sakura and the others saw this and said, ¡°I will wash Yuna-sama¡¯s back, too.¡± ¡°Me too!~¡± ¡°Then, I will also wash your back.¡±

    People begin to gather around me, who was a loner just a while ago. Besides, I have only one body, even if people gather around me.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, so go wash Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Also, if you don¡¯t go to the hot springs quickly, you¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± (Yuna)

    I used Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as bait and tried to send everyone in their way.

    I felt lonely when I was alone, but it makes me want to be alone when people gather around me.

    Then, having finished washing Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Shuri, Sakura, and Ruimin headed for the hots spring with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Incidentally, Kagali-san also washed Swaying Bear for a bit.

    Was that a thank you?

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, it¡¯s not a bear!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri heads for the bathtub and raises her voice.

    I looked at Shuri to see what she was talking about, and she was looking at the bamboo tube from which the hot water wasing out.

    Oh, the hot water in the baths at my house and at the orphanagees out of the bear¡¯s mouth. So that¡¯s why she¡¯s saying it¡¯s not a bear.

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t make it.¡± (Yuna)

    All I had to do was make a bear and put the bamboo tube part in its mouth. It¡¯s easy to make with magic, so I¡¯ll make it next time. I don¡¯t have my bear equipment at the moment, so I can¡¯t use magic. It¡¯s a little inconvenient not to be able to use magic in such a situation.

    Shuri dipped put her hand in hot water, trying to get near the bamboo tube from which the hot spring wasing out.

    ¡°It¡¯s hot, I can¡¯t get in this.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri, you can get into the bathtub at the far end because it¡¯s cooler.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura pointed to the farthest away from where the hot water wasing from the bamboo tube. Shuri moved to the ce where Sakura told her to and put her hand in hot water.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s not hot.¡± (Shuri)

    Apparently, Sakura was right about the temperature being low.

    Shuri entered the hot spring. Sakura, Ruimin, and Fina followed her.

    ¡°Fufu¡­you are all still children.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked at Shuri and the others who were in a ce where the temperature was lukewarm and smiled. Then, as if to show that she¡¯s an adult, she entered the area with hot watering out of a bamboo tube at a higher temperature.

    ¡°Shinobu-neechan, don¡¯t you feel hot?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I can handle this much. I¡¯ve been working out a lot.¡± (Shinobu)

    Whether she was just toughing it out or she could really handle it, Shinobu looked unconcerned as she soaked in the hot water.

    Besides, what does she mean by working out a lot in the first ce? Like, if you build muscle, you can tolerate higher temperatures? Or does she just mean that she¡¯s just used to hot springs in general?

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll go to the lukewarm side.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanpared the scene with Shinobu¡¯s side and Shuri and the others¡¯ side, then went toward the area where Shuri and the others were in.

    ¡°Kagali-sama is also a child.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m not good with hot water.¡± (Kagali)

    Me? Of course I¡¯ll take the cooler side. I¡¯m not a fan of hot baths, and personally, I¡¯m the type of person who takes a long time in a cold bath.

    When I entered the colder side, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear inevitably came with me.

    Everyone except Shinobu entered the hot spring with the lower temperature.

    ¡°U~u, I¡¯m lonely.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°This is the children¡¯s bath. Adults should note over here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So terrible!¡± (Shinobu)

    She seemed to be rooting for the fact that she was ridiculed as a child earlier.

    Everyone smiled as Shinobu puffed her cheeks.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful starry sky, by the way.¡± (Kagali)

    The night sky seen from the open-air bath was full of stars.

    Good thing the weather was nice.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s very beautiful. Sakura-chan, thank you for calling me over.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you like it.¡± (Sakura)

    The night view in the city was beautiful, but you couldn¡¯t clearly see the stars there. But here, there was not a single light on the ground, so the starry sky looked beautiful. And just like on earth, we can see the moon. The reflection of the moon on theke was also fantastic and breathtaking.

    Everyone was leaning against the edge of the bath, looking upwards.

    It¡¯s so luxurious to see the starry sky while taking a hot spring bath. It might be a good idea toe here when taking a bath.

    Everyone was stretching their legs and looking at the starry sky.

    ¡°Oh, shooting stars!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura eximed.

    All of us were looking at the night sky, so we all could see the shooting stars.

    ¡°In our country, there is a legend that seeing a shooting star brings good luck.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, but my good fortune had alreadye. I have met Yuna-sama and everyone.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura said it without being embarrassed.

    ¡°Yeah, I could meet Yuna-san too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, I also met Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Me too~¡± (Shuri)

    Ruimin, Fina, and Shuri followed up on what Sakura said.

    ¡°Yeah, if it weren¡¯t for you, I would never have met Mumroot again. If I hadn¡¯t met you, I don¡¯t know what would have happened. We are lucky indeed.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. What would have happened to this country had we not met Yuna?¡± (Shinobu)

    And here I am, can¡¯t even say the line, ¡°My good fortune is that I got to meet you all¡±. Because it was too embarrassing. So there was no way I could say that.

    ¡°Fufu, it seems that being able to meet Yuna-sama, rather than a shooting star, brings good luck.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Lucky bear!¡±

    Shuri blurted.

    ¡°She¡¯s certainly a lucky bear.¡± (Sakura)

    Everyone startedughing.

    ¡°By the way, the fox is also lucky!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san eximed as to not be outdone.

    It is true that even in the original world,?Inari?was worshiped as the god of grain and agriculture. To put it bluntly, foxes were better than bears. In fact, I have never heard of anyone worshiping a bear in the first ce.

    I was wondering if there was such a thing as a bear god in this world. I reflexively looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear soaking in the hot springfortably. I wonder if they were¡­ gods.

    Then we left the hot spring after enjoying the starry sky while bathing in the hot spring.

    I wrap arge towel around my body and take out two hairdryers from my bear puppet and hand one to Fina.

    Then I took one of the two chairs provided and sat down. Then I turned my attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Who will be first today?¡± (Yuna)

    Whenever I dried the fur of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I dried them alternately.

    When I asked that, Swaying Bear came up to me.

    ¡°So today is Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I sat Swaying Bear on the other chair, wiped him with a towel, took out the hairdryer, and dried him off.

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°It¡¯s a magical tool to dry your hair using a fire magic stone and a wind magic stone.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned the warm air that I was blowing on Swaying Bear toward Shinobu.

    ¡°So warm.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s how I dry my hair.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned the dryer back toward Swaying Bear and dried his fur. Swaying Bear looked rxed.

    ¡°It looks useful. Lend it to me.¡± (Kagali)

    I took out another hairdryer.

    ¡°There are only three of those, so use it alternately.¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu took it and dried Sakura and Kagali-san¡¯s hair. Sakura has long ck hair. Kagali-san¡¯s hair was long and golden. Shinobu¡¯s hair was just tied up in a bundle, but when she untied it, it was long. It seemed to take a long time to dry it.

    Fina and Shuri¡¯s hair were short, just around their necks. Ruimin¡¯s light green hair was long.

    Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin alternately dried each other¡¯s hair.

    I dried Swaying Bear¡¯s fur while keeping an eye on everyone.

    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re done. It¡¯s your turn now Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I removed Swaying Bear from the chair, ced Hugging Bear on the chair, and dried Hugging Bear¡¯s fur.

    Both Shuri and Sakura looked like they wanted to do it, but they had to finish drying their hair before anything else.

    Then finally, I dried my hair and put on my bear costume.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, what are you wearing?¡± (Sakura)

    I noticed when Sakura asked me.

    I changed into a white bear as a habit.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same white bear as Hugging Bear-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    Somehow, she said something with a warm look in her eyes.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It¡¯s the hot spring episode. Hugging Bear is very popr.

    <b>¡ù</b>?In the activity report, I have posted information about the book volume 10 and theic volume 1, which will be released on July 27. There will be a short story again, so I hope you will read it.

    With the release of theic book, the currenticalized version of the bears will be released around July 24, leaving only one or two episodes and thetest episode, and the rest will be unavable. I hope you at least take a look.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 492 - Bear-san, Goes To Bed

    <h4>Chapter 492</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To Bed</b></h4>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It¡¯s a little short because of the bad break.

    <b>=====</b>

    After leaving the hot spring, we returned to our room.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯lly out the futon.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You have futons?¡± (Yuna)

    I was thinking of taking them out of the bear box.

    /

    ¡°They¡¯ve cleared most of it, but there are some left on the assumption that if you like the mansion, Yuna, then you might stay there. And if you bring Ruimin, Fina, and Mumroot-san, who were there on the ind with you, then Kagali-sama and Sakura-sama mighte as well. That¡¯s why we have enough futons for everyone here.¡± (Shinobu)

    I¡¯m d they were that attentive. It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t refuse. Otherwise, I would have betrayed King Suou¡¯s feelings. I will gratefully ept his feelings.

    By the way, there¡¯s no futon personally used by the King here, right?

    We allid out the futons.

    Although I¡¯ve never been in one, sleeping together in a room with futonsid out on the floor was like a school trip.

    ¡°What about you Kagali-sama? Do you want to sleep alone in that room?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind being over here with you guys for at least today.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Are you lonely, by any chance?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu asks with a nasty smile. Maybe it¡¯s payback for the bath?

    ¡°Well, unlike you, I have no concept of loneliness. But I haven¡¯t seen Sakura in a long time, so I¡¯m just going to be with her. If you want to sleep in that room, you can use it alone.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m refraining. I¡¯m already lonely back at the hot spring.¡± (Shinobu)

    I knew it. She was lonely.

    When we finishedying out the futons, Shuri and Ruimin looked sleepy. Shuri was the youngest, and Ruimin was an elf living in the forest. The night doese early.

    There¡¯s a light magic stone in ce of electricity, and we took a long bath after the sun had set and it was alreadyte. It¡¯s time to sleep now.

    ¡°Oneechan, take out Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asked Fina while yawning a little.

    Hugging Bear, who was next to me, tilted his head when I called his name. He looked at me as if to say, ¡°I am here¡±.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± (Fina)

    Fina understood what Shuri was saying, and when she picked up the item bag, she took something white out of the item bag.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan...¡± (Shuri)

    What she took out was a Hugging Bear plushie.

    Shuri hugged her Hugging Bear plushie and jumped straight onto the futon. Then, she fell asleep. She¡¯s fast asleep. She fell asleep in an instant. It seemed she couldn¡¯t stay awake any longer.

    Fina put a quilt over Shuri to keep her from catching a cold.

    ¡°Stuffed animals, you brought them as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. In case you are nning a sleepover. Shuri seemed to sleep better with this by her side.¡± (Fina)

    After saying so, Fina took out a Swaying Bear plushie from her item bag and put it beside her pillow. It seems that she had brought her own Swaying Bear plushie as well.

    They both seemed to be taking good care of it.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, what are those Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama that Shuri and Fina are holding?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°They look just like Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin and Sakura¡¯s sleepy eyes opened wide and they asked.

    ¡°A stuffed bear? Or should I say a bear plushie?¡± (Yuna)

    Stuffed animals may not make sense to them. But it was properly conveyed by automatic trantion, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Those are stuffed animals? They¡¯re adorable.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura was looking at the Hugging Bear plushie that Shuri was holding. I have seen these eyes many times.

    ¡°You want one?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, well, yes.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura replied, looking down in embarrassment.

    Smiling, I took out a pair of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies from the bear box and presented it to Sakura.

    ¡°You¡¯re giving it to me?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah. But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are a pair. Even if they are stuffed animals, it would be a pity if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear got separated from each other.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura likes Hugging Bear. But the plushies were better together.

    Sakura reached out and hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    ¡°So soft. They¡¯re cute.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Take good care of them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I will. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.¡± (Sakura)

    She happily hugged them again. She¡¯s d that I gave them to her as a gift and made her happy.

    Sakura was stroking the head of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies on herp. Someone was looking at Sakura with envy.

    ¡°Yuna-san. That¡¯s not fair. I want a Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushie too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin too? You also want plushies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t have plushies?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± (Yuna)

    If the stuffed bears exist in that elf vige, won¡¯t they be enshrined?

    ¡°If so, I want it too.¡± (Ruimin)

    I took out another set of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies from the bear box and handed them to Ruimin.

    ¡°Wa~a. Thank you. I will take good care of it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin also happily embraced the stuffed bears.

    ¡°It looked just like Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama. Did Yuna-sama make them?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I had an acquaintance who made these.¡± (Yuna)

    It was made by Sherry, an orphaned girl who was good at sewing.

    ¡°Both look good. I want it too.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I won¡¯t give it to Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But why!?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Somehow, I have a feeling that you¡¯ll treat them as target practice for knives or kunai.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t do that. Yuna, what do you take me for!?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°......Someone who smells fishy?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You.. you¡¯re terrible!¡± (Shinobu)

    She seemed shocked, but was it just my imagination that she also seemed smiling?

    ¡°Everyone is making a fuss about bears, bears, bears.¡± (Kagali)

    While we were having fun with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies, Kagali-san¡¯s cheeks were puffed out.

    ¡°The fox is prettier than the bear. And its ears and tail are longer and fluffier than the bear.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san put out her fox¡¯s ears and tail that she had hidden until now.

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turn their butts toward Kagali-san topete.

    ¡°Fufu, I won¡¯t lose to such small tails.¡± (Kagali)

    Then, Kagali-san started topete with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I think they¡¯re all cute.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, foxes are cute, too. Let¡¯s make a cute stuffed fox next time.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a great idea.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°We need to find a good craftsman.¡± (Sakura)

    I wonder if Sherry can make it?

    But wasn¡¯t it difficult without a sample?

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t want you to make another me!¡± (Kagali)

    Contrary to Kagali-san¡¯s words, her tail was wagging.

    Apparently, she was happy. She seemed to be a tsundere fox.

    ¡°And yet you¡¯re trying to show off how pretty you are?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t!¡± (Kagali)

    What was this little girl saying?

    ¡°Because, like the way you dress. Your house. And now, you even made this stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m just wearing this because of the blessing of the bear. Aren¡¯t you also blessed by the fox, Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but can you perhaps also turn into a bear?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said so, Kagali-san looked disappointed.

    Why, though?

    Perhaps she thought we were in the same boat?

    Who was Kagali-san in the first ce?

    Then the stuffed bear-holding members started to look sleepy, so I turned off the light in the room and went to bed. Once the light was turned off, everyone fell asleep without talking, perhaps because they were tired of ying or the hot spring bath felt good. In such a quiet room, I could only hear Shuri¡¯s cute sleeping voice once in a while. I also fall asleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cubs.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Finally, I was able to give Sakura a stuffed bear. Also, I would also like to give her the picture books, but the way the story is going, I think I will have to put it on hold this time.

    <b>¡ù</b> The release date is 7/27, but looking at Twitter and other ces, it seems that some bookstores have already released book volume 10 andic volume 1. There are also autographed books and store bonus SS. Please see the activity report for details.

    <b>¡ù</b> Additional note:

    Episode 11 of theic book series is now avable. It is a continuation of the goblin subjugation. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 493 - Bear-san, Heads To The City

    <h4>Chapter 493</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Heads To The City</b></h4>

    I woke up to the sound of voices. I opened my eyes and got up to see Sakura and Ruimin talking.

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Good morning. Both of you are early.¡± (Yuna)

    I rubbed my eyes and greeted them.

    ¡°I¡¯m always early in the morning.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Because everyone wakes up in the elf vige at this time.¡± (Ruimin)

    It seems customary for Sakura, and Ruimin, the elf who lives in the forest, to wake up early in the morning.

    When I looked toward the futon, I noticed Shuri was still sleeping while cuddling her bear plushie. Kagali-san was sleeping with a pillow in her arms.

    ¡°Are? What about Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear was not here either. Sakura was holding Hugging Bear in her arms.

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for Fina, she went for a walk outside.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Is she alone, perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about her because she has Shinobu with her. And there¡¯s no danger around here in the first ce. Besides, Swaying Bear-sama is with them.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Swaying Bear went with them?¡± (Yuna)

    I was worried since Swaying Bear wasn¡¯t here, but it looks like he followed Fina.

    ¡°As I was wondering what conversation did Hugging Bear-sama and Swaying Bear-sama have because suddenly Swaying Bear-sama started followed them.¡± (Sakura)

    Perhaps he went along as Fina¡¯s escort because I always asked them to do so? Moreover, I wanted to see such a rare situation of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear talking to each other.

    ¡°Sakura, Ruimin, you didn¡¯t go with them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I stayed because I knew you would be worried if both Fina and I were not here when you woke up.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I was still half-asleep when they left.¡± (Ruimin)

    Indeed, I would have been worried if Fina and the others had not been there when I woke up. I might have thought that Shinobu had kidnapped them or something.

    ¡°Fina, who was awake, asked me if it would be all right if she could walk around the house, and I replied yes. But Shinobu, who was also awake, offered to go walk with her.¡± (Sakura)

    Shinobu also gets up early.

    ¡°I see, Yuna-sama is concerned about Fina.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well, because she¡¯s the daughter of someone I know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I envy Fina, who Yuna-sama worries about.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I also care about you, Sakura. I felt sorry for you since you kept seeing the Orochi, so I decided to help you.¡± (Yuna)

    Sakura looked surprised at my words.

    ¡°¡­¡­Yuna-sama is so cool.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m dressed like this, you know? I¡¯m a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I grabbed my pr bear outfit and showed it to her. Sakura seemed to have bad eyesight, thinking such bears looked cool. I wonder if the healing magic would cure her?

    ¡°Fufu, actions, words and deeds. It means Yuna-sama has a cool heart. Yuna-sama, if you were a man, I would have married you.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m a girl, so that¡¯s a no.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s just too bad.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura was smiling, though I¡¯m not sure how serious she was.

    Then I changed into a ck bear and woke Shuri and Kagali-san up.

    Shuri went back to sleep and said ¡°Oneechan, a little more¡± and Kagali-san said ¡°another year¡±, but they both eventually woke up.

    When I finished putting away the futons, Fina returned with Swaying Bear in her arms along with Shinobu.

    ¡°Wee back. How was your walk?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was nice to be in the forest. Also, theke was beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    Apparently, they took a walk at theke.

    ¡°Oneechan, no fair! I wanted to go too.¡± ((Shuri)

    Shuri puffed her cheeks out as she was left behind by Fina, who was talking about her walk.

    I feel the same way. If you were going for a walk, you should have woken me up as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I woke up early and looked outside and it seemed nice. Shinobu-san said she would keep mepany.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°She¡¯s an important guest. Besides, Swaying Bear came to escort us.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Thank you, Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroked Swaying Bear¡¯s head that Fina was holding.

    ¡°So what about breakfast? I¡¯ll prepare bread if you¡¯re okay with it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but how about we go to town and have a meal instead? I¡¯ll buy you a drink this time.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re on a roll.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I got a reward after all.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Alright Shinobu, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A normal person would ept it. Yuna and Kagali-sama are the weird ones for refusing it.¡± (Shinobu)

    I got the mansion instead of money, so I think mine was more extravagant in terms of value. I don¡¯t mind having money, but I prefer a house with a hot spring.

    After discussing it for a while, we decided to go to town for breakfast, but Kagali-san wanted to stay at the mansion.

    ¡°Today, Suzuran will being. It would be pitiful if we missed each other. Besides, I would also like to sleep a little longer. So, you can go on by yourselves.¡± (Kagali)

    We left Kagali-san behind and went to the city.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Since we¡¯re going to the city, I have to give this to Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the card that looked like a guild card, which King Suou had given me.

    ¡°Is that a guild card?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s something simr. King Suou said it¡¯s a substitute for a passport. With this, you can go into the city with no problem, and it seems you can even meet Sakura in her mansion.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am sure that if you show it to the gatekeepers of my house, they will let you through. This is a promise made to Mumroot-sama. Ruimin-san, you cane and see me anytime.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll go and visit you.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin poured her magic power into the card and it became Ruimin¡¯s personal card.

    Shuri, who was watching me, grabbed my clothes.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, what about me? Can I enter the city without that card?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asked me anxiously.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have one, Shuri, but you¡¯ll be fine if you¡¯re with me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s good then.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°So don¡¯t you leave my side.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un!¡± (Shuri)

    Ruimin and I are riding Swaying Bear, while Shuri, Fina, and Sakura are riding Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, are you okay carrying three people?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    It¡¯s okay. That¡¯s what he replied.

    Two normal adults can ride on him, so three children would be nothing for him.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear replied, but not to me.

    Sakura is riding in the front, Shuri behind her, and Fina in the back. Hugging Bear stood up on all his four legs as if to say he¡¯s fine with the three of them riding on his back.

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re off.¡± (Shinobu)

    We then departed for the city where the castle was located, led by Shinobu riding Hayatemaru.

    ¡°But I wanted to have dinner with Sakura-chan, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have to go back once. But I have time this afternoon so I can stay with you.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we all just have breakfast together at your home?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t want to dampen the excitement everyone was having.¡± (Sakura)

    While we were leaving and moving on, I heard from Sakura that we could not have breakfast together.

    She said she had something to do. I guess she was just trying to be considerate, but it was a little disappointing. It seems that Shinobu did not know about it either. She would not have insisted on breakfast in town if she had known.

    But she said she could stay with us this afternoon, so that¡¯s good.

    After a while, the entrance to the cityes into view.

    ¡°Shinobu, is it safe to go on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with that card?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I think if you show them your card, they¡¯ll let you through without saying a word, but they¡¯ll be surprised.¡± (Shinobu)

    It¡¯s going to be a hassle unless I show them my card.

    ¡°Should we just walk from here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to cause any unnecessary trouble, that would be for the best.¡± (Shinobu)

    As usual, I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear before the gate and decided to walk away.

    And we were approaching the gate. There were six girls with nobody else with them. And one of them was dressed as a bear. The gatekeepers¡¯ eyes were fixed on me as I approached. Rather than being suspicious, they looked at me as if they wondered, ¡°What¡¯s with that outfit?¡± Instead, they were looking at me as if they were looking at something mysterious.

    I put the card given to me by King Suou into the mouth of my bear puppet. As we approached the gate, the gatekeepers looked at us. I silently showed him my card. One of the gatekeepers looked surprised momentarily and then looked at me and the card alternately. But he didn¡¯t say anything, just like Shinobu said.

    ¡°Please, go through.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    Ruimin also showed her card, and just like with me, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Am I okay to go?¡± (Shuri)

    Both Shuri and Fina looked worried but were able to enter without incident.

    Shuri and Fina scurried around as they entered the city. Everything seemed new to them. The buildings and clothes were different from those in Crimonia.

    Shuri¡¯s eyes stopped as she scurried around.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, what¡¯s that?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri pointed at the castle.

    ¡°It¡¯s a castle.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Uh, no. That¡¯s not a castle.¡± (Shuri)

    The castles that Shuri knew were castles in the country where she lives or castles depicted in books. Therefore, it seemed that the Japanese-style castle in front of us did not look like a castle to Shuri¡¯s eyes. It may just be a strange building in Shuri¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s a castle, too. Castles are different in different countries.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Look, the houses around you and the clothes they wear are different from the ones in Crimonia, right?¡± (Yuna)

    She looked at thendscape in front of her. It was different from Crimonia in every way.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s different.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Do you understand what the culture means? The path that people living in that area have taken. Hmm, can you tell me?¡± (Yuna)

    While I¡¯m at a loss for how to exin it, Fina opened her mouth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, Shuri. Yuna-oneesan, Ruimin-san, and Sakura-chan. We all dress differently, don¡¯t we? Each of us is different since we live in different ces. You don¡¯t see dresses like that in Crimonia, right?¡± (Fina)

    You may see someone dressed like Ruimin, but you will never see me and Sakura dressed like Ruimin.

    ¡°So, in other words, it¡¯s different in every country or city, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    Each country has its own culture that it has walked in its path.

    It seems that Shuri also understood, and nodded.

    But I would like to correct one thing. Even in my hometown, there were no people walking around in animal costumes. If they do, it¡¯s only in pajamas. Or, only those who wear them to some events. There was no one who generally lives wearing in an animal costume.

    However, the exnation would beplicated if I deny it now, so I swallowed the words.

    ¡°I understand how you feel. I was also surprised when I saw the town and castle for the first time because they are different from the elven vige. But I guess it¡¯s different in every country.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Is it really that different?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°The castles and buildings I know are different. And no one is dressed like Sakura-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Sakura looked at the kimono she was wearing. You won¡¯t see them in Crimonia or in Royal Capital.

    ¡°A lot of adventurers and merchants wear a variety of clothing.¡± (Fina)

    Most of them must be from other countries in that area.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Yuna and her friends are going to the city. It¡¯s going to be a tour of the country of harmony.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 494 - Bear-san, Goes To Eat Breakfast

    <h4>Chapter 494</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To Eat Breakfast</b></h4>

    We took Sakura home.

    ¡°Well then, everyone, please enjoy yourself.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I wish Sakura-chan could havee with us.¡± (Ruimin)

    Sakura looked apologetic at Ruimin¡¯s words.

    ¡°But I can stay with you this afternoon. I¡¯lle to Yuna-sama¡¯s mansionter. Shinobu, please take good care of everyone.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I understand. I will take care of them properly.¡± (Shinobu)

    After parting with Sakura, we headed for breakfast.

    By the way, I¡¯ve been getting a lot of stares from residents since I entered the town. It¡¯s still ongoing.

    ¡°Sakura-neechan¡¯s house was big.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That¡¯s not just Sakura¡¯s house. It¡¯s a ce where all the?Miko?gather.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Miko?¡± (Shuri)??<b>(</b>¡¸Î×Å®?¡¹<b>)</b>

    Shuri tilted her head at the word?miko. She doesn¡¯t seem to understand the phrase?miko. Even here, cultural differences are apparent.

    It¡¯s difficult to exin the culture of each country. Even I don¡¯t know some things that weremon knowledge in other countries. Something difficult to exin will also be difficult to understand.

    ¡°Etto¡­?Sakura¡¯s house is also her workce, I think? They live there besides Sakura.¡± (Yuna)

    So I briefly exined that it¡¯s also a ce of work and that they live there along with Sakura.

    With such an exnation, Shuri seemed to understand somewhat and nodded her head.

    ¡°So where are we going to eat?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going to my favorite restaurant for a light meal. Then we walk around the city, and then eat and drink as we go.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t want to eat weird food.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to call it something strange. Sakura-sama eats it too, so it¡¯s not weird.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Just because Sakura eats it, I refuse to eat insects.¡± (Yuna)

    They eat locusts and such, but I¡¯d rather not. While I have never eaten locusts, I reject them because they¡¯re insects. It¡¯s not a question of whether it tastes good or not, It¡¯s still the fact that it¡¯s an insect.

    ¡°You like insects?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Are you listening to people? If you take us to a store like that, they will go berserk. The store will be destroyed. And Shinobu will die.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t kill me! It¡¯s okay because they don¡¯t serve insects.¡± (Shinobu)

    Looking at the expression on Shinobu¡¯s face just now, It¡¯s still suspicious, so I can¡¯t drop my guard.

    ¡°You guys, there¡¯s nothing you don¡¯t like, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat insects.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, me too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Me too~¡± (Shuri)

    Not only me, but also Shuri, Fina, and Ruimin disagreed. I am d I have good friends.

    Since we all agreed on the same thing, Shinobu would not take us to a strange restaurant.

    We arrived at a restaurant that looked like a?teishoku-ya. We entered the restaurant with Shinobu in the lead. The inside of the restaurant was muchrger than I expected. There were about 10 tables and counter seats.?<b>(</b>¶¨Ê³ÎÝ<b>)</b>

    However, there were no customers. It¡¯s not possible to judge whether it¡¯s a little-known, unpopr spot or apletely popr joint.

    ¡°Good timing. It¡¯s empty.¡± (Shinbu)

    ¡°Ara, Shinobu-chan. Wee.¡± (Lady)

    As I was worrying, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron and a triangr cap came out from behind the counter. The fact that she called out Shinobu¡¯s name suggests that this was indeed her favorite restaurant.

    ¡°By the way, the reason there are no customers is that everyone has gone to work.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°Oh, you heard that?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m all ears when a customeres in. So, you¡¯ve brought some pretty girls with you today. I wonder if they are Shinobu-chan¡¯s girlfriends? Shinobu-chan is popr with girls, after all.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. They are my friends. We just came to have breakfast together.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is that so? Even so, these children are wearing unusual clothes.¡± (Lady)

    A woman looks at us and her gaze stops at me.

    ¡°And a bear? I¡¯ve never seen a child dressed like that before.¡± (Lady)

    If you¡¯ve seen it before, that will be a problem.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t pursue her about her outfit.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is there a reason?¡± (Lady)

    ¡°There is a reason.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it at that. Sit down and rx.¡± (Lady)

    We took our seats at a table in the back.

    ¡°Is Shinobu-neechan popr with girls?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, who¡¯s sitting in a chair, asked with an innocent look.

    ¡°I¡¯m not popr. Auntie just likes to make jokes.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡±

    The woman listening to the story denied Shinobu¡¯s words.

    ¡°Shinobu-chan is stronger and more dependable than most adventurers out there, so even girls like her. If a man is harassing a girl, Shinobu will help that poordy out, so many girls look up to her. Many girls even say they wish she were a boy.¡± (Lady)

    I¡¯ve heard that line somewhere before.

    ¡°Auntie, stop saying strange things to everyone. We¡¯re here to eat. If you keep talking about strange things, we¡¯ll go somewhere else.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu forcibly broke off the conversation.

    Too bad, I thought I would get some material to make fun of her.

    ¡°Well then, before you leave, let me ask you what you want to order. What would you like?¡± (Lady)

    Before I can ask, ¡°What do you have?¡± Shinobu answered.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have the usual breakfast set.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°OK. Then, please wait a minute.¡± (Lady)

    The woman took Shinobu¡¯s order and went behind the counter.

    It shouldn¡¯t be anything strange if it¡¯s called a breakfast set, right?

    ¡°Do you alwayse here, Shinobu?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ie here because it¡¯s cheap, fast, and delicious.¡± (Shinobu)

    As Shinobu said, cooking began in the kitchen. There¡¯s a middle-aged man. Was he the husband of the woman who just came in?

    And without much of a wait, the couple ced the food on the table. Indeed, it was quick.

    Rice, miso soup, nori, natto, and grilled fish.

    The fish was salmon, and the miso soup was simple, with wakame seaweed and tofu. It was indeed an ordinary breakfast typical of a Japanese country.

    ¡°Well then,?itadakussu.¡± (Shinobu)??<b>(</b>¤¤¤¿¤À¤¯¤Ã¤¹<b>)</b>

    ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Itadakimasu¡¯¡±¡±¡±¡±

    I pour soy sauce over natto and stir it.

    It bes nice and sticky. It has been a long time since I ate natto. Yes, it looks delicious. But the reaction of the people around me was different.

    ¡°U~u, it¡¯s sticky and gross.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, who was stirring it to imitate me, stopped her hand.

    ¡°And it stinks.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin put her face close to the natto and made a funny face, the two of them moved the bowl of natto away from them. Fina held the bowl and was in trouble.

    ¡°Etto, Shinobu-san. Isn¡¯t this bean rotten? It¡¯s sticky and stinky.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked with some difficulty, looking at the natto.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s rotten.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡±¡°It¡¯s rotten!?¡±¡±¡±

    The three were startled by Shinobu¡¯s words and turned away from the natto.

    ¡°But you can eat it, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu said so, but the three of them were anxious. Indeed, if she said it¡¯s rotten, then, of course, they would be nervous.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you three. It¡¯s not exactly rotten. They¡¯re just fermented, so you can eat it.¡± (Yuna)

    I ate natto on rice to prove it.

    It¡¯s the first natto I had in a long time. It¡¯s so delicious.

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, are you okay?¡± (Shuri)

    The three of them looked at me with concern.

    ¡°Oh right, I¡¯ve heard that you don¡¯t eat natto in other countries. Anyway, many people are not good at it.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say they don¡¯t eat it, or rather, they don¡¯t have it. So people who see it for the first time may be surprised.¡± (Yuna)

    I have never seen it outside of the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Ipletely forgot about it. Go ahead and eat it, please.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu apologized.

    Well, she might not think that they would hate what she usually eats.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take one, too, because it¡¯s one too many.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That helps, but Yuna, are you okay with it?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m okay. I used to have it in my hometown, too. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had it, so I¡¯m thrilled.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m d that you said that.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looked happy. I felt sorry for her if I didn¡¯t eat at least another one.

    I received a bowl of natto from Shuri.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, is it really that good?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Some people like it, some don¡¯t. But you don¡¯t have to force yourself to eat it.¡± (Yuna)

    I have heard that people in Kansai don¡¯t like it. If the food culture was different, anyone would be afraid to eat them. I, too, would like to refrain from eating insects.

    We grew up in different environments. It is what it is.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take Ruimin¡¯s share, then.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Shinobu-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin offered a bowl of natto to Shinobu.

    ¡°What about you, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll try it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, because you can¡¯t take the food for granted.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯ll eat it, so it won¡¯t go to waste.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina was looking at the natto. She looked a little disgusted. I guess she can smell it after all?

    ¡°Well then, just take a bite, and if you don¡¯t like it, give it to me.¡± (Yuna)

    In my words, Fina put a bite-sized piece of natto on top of the rice, held her breath and put it in her mouth. Then, she moved her mouth with a mawkish movement. Finally, she swallows it with a gulp.

    ¡°So?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oneechan?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    Me, Shuri, and Ruimin looked on anxiously.

    ¡°The beans were soft and mixed with the soy sauce, it tasted magical.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°How¡¯s the taste?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± (Fina)

    Shinobu was relieved to hear that. Of course, so was I.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the rest.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll eat it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± (Fina)

    With that said, Fina began to eat the rest of the natto on top of the rice. Shuri watched her.

    ¡°I will try it too.¡± (Shuri)

    I put the bowl of natto that was left on my side back to her. Then she stirred the natto and poured it over the rice. She imitated Fina and put it in her mouth.

    ¡°Delicious,¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not bad.¡± (Ruimin)

    The impressions of Shuri and Ruimin were not bad.

    ¡°But it stinks.¡± (Shuri)

    Well, that can¡¯t be helped. I have never eaten?kusaya, but I hear it tastes good even though it smells bad. It¡¯s the same thing. I wonder if there were?kusaya?in the Land of Harmony??<b>?(</b>¤¯¤µ¤ä<b>)</b>

    Well, I don¡¯t think I would eat it myself.

    In the end, we ended up eating natto, all of us, and we could finish the meal without incident.

    ¡°The fish was delicious, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you said that.¡± (Shinobu)

    Do they sell natto anywhere?

    I think I¡¯ll buy some for myself next time whenever I have a craving for natto now and then.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I used one chapter just to talk about natto¡­¡­

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 495

    <h4>Chapter 495</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Strolls Around The City With Fina and The Others</b></h4>

    After breakfast, we headed out to explore the city.

    ¡°I see Shinobu is popr with girls.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. Yuna, you don¡¯t have a guy, do you?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Do you think there is one?¡± (Yuna)

    I showed my figure to Shinobu.

    When Shinobu saw my appearance, she immediately understood.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But I think you will be popr if you wear normal clothes, Yuna. I think everyone else thinks so, too, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-oneesan, I think you¡¯re beautiful and I think you¡¯ll be popr with men.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, Yuna-oneechan is cute.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure men will flock to you because you¡¯re more beautiful than my sister.¡± (Ruimin)

    I knew it was ttery, but Ruimin¡¯s words at the end solidified it. How could I be more beautiful than Sanya-san, with that well-defined face and style?

    And not once have I been approached by any man. I¡¯ve been tangled up in something troublesome before, though.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy with your ttery. But you three are prettier than I am, and you¡¯re going to be more beautiful in the future.¡± (Yuna)

    I am sure they will be more popr than I am.

    I ended the topic and just proceeded to stroll through the city.

    Every time Shuri found something unusual, she would run around and the scene would continue with Fina calling her out. Now she¡¯s holding her hand to keep her from running off on her own. It made me smile to see them holding hands.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, what¡¯s that?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked ahead and saw a streamer with a picture of a dango. <b>(</b>‡â×Ó<b>)</b>

    ¡°It¡¯s a dumpling shop.¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri looked like she wanted to eat, so we decided to have dumplings. We just had breakfast, but one for each would be fine. I tried to pay for it, but Shinobu spent instead. This time, I¡¯ll ept it.

    ¡°It¡¯s soft.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°The colors are beautiful.¡± (Ruimin)

    Three-color dango of pink, white, and green.

    ¡°They all taste different.¡± (Fina)

    I vaguely remember it, but I think pink was plum <b>(</b>Ã·<b>)</b>, white was sweet mochi <b>(</b>¤¹¤¢¤Þ<b>)</b>, and green was mugwort <b>(</b>¤è¤â¤®¤À¤Ã¤±<b>)</b>.

    If I¡¯m wrong or it¡¯s different in this world, it would be embarrassing, so I will not go through the trouble of exining it. As long as it tastes good, there¡¯s no problem.

    After leaving the dango shop, we decided to eat shaved ice because Shuri said it was too hot.

    ¡°Cold and yummy.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°So you shave the ice and eat it?¡± (Ruimin)

    Maybe it¡¯s the first time Ruimin has shaved ice as a snack?

    Merchants also sold shaved ice at Crimonia. I heard they put honey on it.

    Over here it¡¯s matcha, sweet honey (or maybe, syrup?)...

    ¡°Is it delicious, you three?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yep.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°But, Shinobu-san. Are you sure?¡± (Fina)

    This time as well, Shinobu also paid for the shaved ice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Fina, Ruimin, you guys helped me out big time. Please think of it as my thanks.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything...¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri¡¯s hand, which had been happily eating shaved ice, stopped at Shinobu¡¯s response. Shuri¡¯s sad expression flustered Shinobu.

    ¡°Shu, Shuri is Fina¡¯s younger sister. And you¡¯re also an important friend of Sakura-sama. So, please don¡¯t worry about it and eat.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t worry about it Shuri, you can eat all you want. Shinobu is so kind, she¡¯ll buy you anything.¡± (Yuna)

    I nced at Shinobu.

    ¡°Of course. Please eat as much as you like.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. If Shinobu doesn¡¯t pay, I¡¯ll pay for it. Shuri has always been very kind to me.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroke Shuri¡¯s head with my bear puppet.

    ¡°Yeah, thank you, Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri resumed eating shaved ice.

    ¡°Yuna, it¡¯s not fair to take all the good parts.¡± (Shinobu)

    That was Shinobu¡¯s punishment for thanking only Fina and Ruimin and excluding Shuri. She has to choose her words a little more carefully when she speaks.

    Even after finishing the shaved ice, they continue to visit other stores.

    ¡°These clothes are all beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    Fina divulged her impressions of the kimono.

    I would love to see Fina and the other two in kimonos. I said I would buy it for them, but Fina shook her head when she saw how expensive it was. So I couldn¡¯t buy it for Shuri or Ruimin either.

    I¡¯m not Eleanora-san, but I¡¯m tempted to dress up Fina like she¡¯s a doll.

    As we were walking while taking in the sights and sounds of the city, I heard a Chiri ~ n, Chiri ~ n out of nowhere. Fina seemed to hear it too, and uttered such words...

    ¡°It sounds beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Where is it?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯sing from over there.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin pointed to a stall with wind chimes hanging from it.

    There¡¯s a food stall in front of us with many wind chimes hanging from the stall. Whenever the wind blows, it brings the sound of wind chimes to us.

    ¡°Those are wind chimes(ssu).¡±

    My and Shinobu¡¯s words ovepped.

    ¡°Wind chimes?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s made of ss, and it ys the tone with the wind.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, why are you so familiar with it? You also know natto, you even ate it without any worries. Are you perhaps from this country?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s a country simr to this country. There¡¯s a country far away that is simr to this country.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A country simr to the Land of Harmony? I would like to go there.¡± (Shinobu)

    I could not respond to her words.

    Shinobu and I went to the three. The three were looking at the beautiful colors and listening to the sounds of the wind chimes.

    ¡°Hey there, pretty girls. What do you think, wanna buy some? I¡¯ll be here for a while, so why don¡¯t you ask your parents?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri wants it. But Fina was in trouble. She¡¯s someone who¡¯s tight on her pocket.

    ¡°How about that cute bear girl, for your sister?¡± (Man)

    To sell it to me without worrying about my outfit, that¡¯s what I¡¯d expect from a businessman. By the way, Fina and Shuri were not my sisters. Shuri, who people often mistook to be my sister, was looking at me.

    I can¡¯t say no here.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked happy. I can¡¯t win against that smile. Fina, who was standing next to Shuri, was looking at me.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Don¡¯t spoil Shuri too much...¡± (Fina)

    I know I¡¯m sweet to her, but Fina and Shuri were such good girls that I¡¯m tempted to buy them each.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for Shuri. It¡¯s a souvenir for Tirumina-san. I am always indebted to her, so this is my way of thanking her.¡± (Yuna)

    Put it this way; Fina should have no resistance.

    Fina happily said, ¡°I understand,¡± and began to select wind chimes with Shuri.

    ¡°Ruimin, you can also choose which wind chime to disy at Mumroot-san¡¯s and your house.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I owe a lot to Mumroot-san and Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    I was the one who created the reason for getting them involved. I¡¯m grateful to Mumroot-san, but the fact that Ruimin was in danger remains the same. Well, I don¡¯t think Mumroot-san will refuse a thank you when I¡¯m the one saying it. However, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any problem if I give them wind chimes as souvenirs.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll pay for it. Fina also helped me a lot, but I haven¡¯t said my thanks to Mumroot-san.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Grandpa told me I could go see Sakura-chan, but not to ept any gratuities.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin, who was listening to what Shinobu was saying, waved her hand in gesture and declined Shinobu¡¯s offer.

    I think it¡¯s okay for at least a wind chime, but there¡¯s a chance that they may be offended if she brought it home.

    ¡°Shinobu already treated us to a meal, so this time, I¡¯ll pay for the souvenirs.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, I would not be able to give them the items paid for by Shinobu as a souvenir from me. Therefore, this time it was to be paid by me.

    ¡°Shuri, isn¡¯t this good?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Eh~, I like this one better.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s nice too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s one here?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Is there a bear? I want a bear.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri said such a thing.

    No, there shouldn¡¯t be one in there. Most wind chimes have beautiful patterns, light blue, green, and cool shades. There were animals, too, but unfortunately, there were no wind chimes with bear designs painted on them.

    ¡°Fina, choose different patterns to decorate the orphanage and the shops.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Fina to get souvenirs for the orphanage and the shops, and I will choose souvenirs for Noa and Princess Flora. Also, it might be a good idea to buy one for Kagali-san, who was home sitting. I look at the wind chimes. There were so many different colors of wind chimes. It¡¯s hard to decide which one to choose.

    Which one would be better?

    I choose wind chimes with Fina and the others.

    ¡°Are these good enough?¡± (Yuna)

    For Princess Flora, I chose a wind chime with a red flower painted on clear ss, and for Noa, a wind chime with a blue fish on it.

    For Kagali-san was a wind chime with a picture of a fox on it. From the moment I saw it, I knew it was the only one.

    They don¡¯t have bears, but they do have foxes.

    Then, Fina and the other two also finished selecting their wind chimes.

    The wind chime Ruimin chose was a wind chime made of green ss. It has a beautiful wavy pattern. It seemed to go well with the elven vige. It seemed that she chose two of the same design.

    The souvenir that Fina and Shuri chose for Tirumina-san was a wind chime made entirely of pale blue ss. It has a pattern on it.

    The wind chime for the Bear-san Rest Shop was painted with a picture of a bird. From the conversation I had with her about her choice, it seemed to be connected to kokekko.

    For Anzu¡¯s Bear-san Diner, it had a picture of a goldfish on it. They chose it because it seemed to be connected to the fish dishes. I didn¡¯t know they had goldfish here.

    For the orphanage, they chose wind chimes with flowers on them. The orphanage was enormous, so it was decided that it would be better to have a girls¡¯ and a boys¡¯ side.

    We finished selecting all the wind chimes.

    ¡°Thank you very much, youngdy. So, do you want to put the wind chime in a box? By the way, there¡¯s an extra cost for the box.¡± (Man)

    I guess he thought I don¡¯t live in this country and that I¡¯m in a hurry. It¡¯s normal to put it in a box. So my response was obvious.

    ¡°Put everything in the box.¡± (Yuna)

    Putting them in a box makes them less likely to break and more convenient to put away. It¡¯s also better to have it in a box when giving it as a gift.

    One by one, the uncle carefully ced them in a small wooden box.

    ¡°Well then, here¡¯s the payment.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you. Cute beardy.¡± (Man)

    Uncle took the money and looked happy.

    Put the wind chimes in the bear box.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    They bought some souvenirs and nned to meet up with Sakurater.

 Chapter 496

    <h4>Chapter 496</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Wears Kimono</b></h4>

    We bought wind chimes, took a peek at a street performance, and returned to the front of the mansion where we left Sakura. A gatekeeper stood at the entrance of the mansion.

    ¡°Yuna-san, if I show them this card, I can meet Sakura-chan, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I think so.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s what King Suou imed earlier on.

    ¡°This time, I¡¯m here with you, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°So, does that mean I didn¡¯t need it this time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary, but it¡¯s still a good idea to show it. The influence would be different between the guest I brought and the holder of the card given by King Suou. Even if you do something rude, you won¡¯t be scrutinized. Besides, they won¡¯t ask any unnecessary questions.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you have that card, it means you¡¯re one of the kingdom¡¯s officials. No one would want to incur the displeasure of such a person.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°On the other hand, doesn¡¯t that mean some strange people might approach me for this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say it won¡¯t happen, but as long as you don¡¯t show it off too much, you should be fine.¡± (Shinobu)

    We came to the gate.

    ¡°Thanks for your hard work.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Good work, Shinobu-dono. Are they guests of Sakura-sama?¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. All of them are Sakura-sama¡¯s friends.¡± (Shinobu)

    The gatekeeper looked at us.

    ¡°The bear from the other day?¡± (Gatekeeper)

    Apparently, he knows me.

    I don¡¯t remember his face, but he looks like the gatekeeper who was there when I was first brought here by Shinobu.

    ¡°Are you listening?¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°I hear ya.¡± (Yuna)

    Then, after he said that, he looked at Ruimin and me.

    Perhaps he¡¯s piecing together the connection between my bear outfit and an elf girl.

    ¡°Both of you, please show them your cards.¡± (Shinobu)

    Ruimin and I showed our cards to the gatekeeper.

    ¡°Please,e in.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    The gatekeeper let us through without saying anything else. We entered the building and went to Sakura¡¯s room.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, I¡¯m back.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Pleasee in.¡± (Sakura)

    When I entered the room, Sakura was sitting on a cushion by the wall, writing. Then she turned around.

    ¡°Are you working perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s all right. Did you all enjoy the city?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, I had a lot of things I hadn¡¯t seen before, and it was fun.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin answered with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that. Now, I would like to visit the ces where you live.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I will invite you next time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± (Sakura)

    Yeah, I¡¯d like to take Sakura to Crimonia and the elf vige.

    ¡°So which ces did you visit?¡± (Sakura)

    We talked about what we saw and what we ate.

    ¡°It stunk so bad.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fufu, natto was it? It certainly has a peculiar smell. It may be difficult for the first-timers.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura, do you eat it too?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, I eat it.¡± (Sakura)

    Well, if you grew up in a culture with natto in your diet, you would naturally eat it.

    Then Ruimin and Shuri happily talked about the city. Fina was sitting next to me, smiling.

    ¡°Also, Yuna-san bought me something that makes beautiful sounds.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Makes beautiful sounds?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura tilted her head slightly without being able to understand what Ruimin was saying.

    ¡°Wind chimes. They don¡¯t sell wind chimes in our country.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t buy Sakura-chan¡¯s wind chimes.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin¡¯s expression darkened as she remembered.

    ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t worry. I have a wind chime. When I heard your story, I suddenly had the urge of wanting to hear the sound of the wind chime. I¡¯ll put it outter.¡± (Sakura)

    After that, they happily continued to talk about eating shaved ice or seeing something. Sakura enthusiastically listened to their stories.

    She really was a mature girl. She¡¯s an adult-like child with a different type of spirit than Fina.

    ¡°You¡¯ve all been to a lot of different ces.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°We also looked at the clothes. Clothes in this country are beautiful, but they look hard to move in.¡± (Fina)

    Indeed, it was inconvenient to move around in a kimono because it goes down to the feet. The cuffs of the arms were also wide, so it was inconvenient to swing the arms around. Also, I have an image that the obi was tight. If the stomach swelled up, it would be painful.

    ¡°Did you want to wear one?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I told her I would buy it for her. But Fina said no.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Fina.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ask you to buy me something that expensive. And even if you did, I would never wear it so that it would be a waste of money.¡± (Fina)

    Well, I know the feeling. Neither Fina nor I have ever worn the dress Noa gave us for Misa¡¯s birthday party. Even if I had bought them kimonos, they would never have had a chance to wear them. It¡¯s no wonder she thought it was a waste of money.

    ¡°I¡¯m not copying Fina-chan. But I don¡¯t want you to buy me such an expensive item.¡±(Ruimin)

    ¡°I prefer food over clothes.¡± (Shuri)

    Such wordsing out of Ruimin and Shuri.

    ¡°But I would like to see you guys in kimonos.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I want to see it too.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura agreed with me. Then Sakura looked at Fina and the others.

    ¡°If it¡¯s my clothes, Fina can wear them. If it¡¯s the clothes I wore when I was little, Shuri can wear them. Ruimin is a little bigger than me, but we don¡¯t have anything she can¡¯t wear.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura nodded as if to confirm.

    Perhaps she¡¯s trying to get them to wear a kimono?

    I agree with her, but I would like to refrain from wearing one.

    ¡°Fufu, Yuna-sama, I¡¯ll prepare your clothes too, so it¡¯ll be okay.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura says with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good...¡±(Yuna)

    ¡°Shinobu, please help me prepare kimonos for everyone.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Roger that.¡± (Shinobu)

    Sakura and Shinobu got up and left the room without listening to my words.

    Will I have to wear one too?

    After a while, a wicker clothes hamper was brought into the room.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura opened the lid, which was as big as her body.

    ¡°Now, which one would suit you?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura happily checked the inside of the hamper.

    ¡°Let me know if you guys have any favorite colors.¡± (Sakura)

    They couldn¡¯t escape from Sakura and became her dress-up dolls at that moment.

    Me? I tried to escape, but I couldn¡¯t. In the first ce, there was nowhere to run, and I couldn¡¯t leave Fina and the others behind. So, I decided to join the others and wear a kimono. Unlike the party when I was wearing a dress, I wasn¡¯t going out in public, so I didn¡¯t feel as much rejection as I did then. I would have resisted if I had to walk around town in a kimono.

    ¡°I think Yuna-sama would look good on this.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura showed me a ck kimono with a bright white and red flower pattern.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try it onter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If Yuna-oneesan changes clothes, I will change my clothes too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I want to see Yuna-oneechan change her clothes.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I will change my clothes when Yuna-san changes clothes.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Look, everyone is saying the same. Please take off your bear clothes.¡± (Sakura)

    I gave up, summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and then undressed.

    Then, I was dressed as Sakura told me. Sakura tied up my long hair, and a hairpin was attached.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, you¡¯re beautiful.¡± (Sakura)

    I stood in front of the full-length mirror and looked at myself.

    It¡¯s not a matter of looking good or not, but it¡¯s somewhat embarrassing.

    Why was it embarrassing in a different sense from the bear costume?

    What kind of clothes were not embarrassing in the first ce?

    I was embarrassed to wear a dress before, and I still feel embarrassed to wear clothes from this world.

    Then, with Sakura¡¯s help, everyone finished changing into their kimonos.

    Fina and Shuri were wearing red kimonos. They both have the same color as sisters. Ruimin was wearing a light green patterned kimono, perhaps to match her hair. Shinobu was made to change from her ninja uniform into a navy blue kimono, and she looked even more embarrassed than I was.

    Sakura also changed into a cherry blossom kimono. (TN: pun intended.)

    ¡°Everyone looks pretty.¡± (Sakura)

    Yeah, everyone looks beautiful, including Sakura. If I have a camera, I¡¯ll take a photo. But I don¡¯t have a camera, digital, or smartphone.

    At times like this, I wanted skills like bear telepathy or something. Like being able to capture what you see and transfer it on paper. If I had such a skill, I could have left an image of Fina and the others right now. Then I could have shown it to Tirumina-san, how lovely the girls were, but God was not so flexible after all.

    But if I can¡¯t take a picture, I can draw one.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri. Come over here and sit on that cushion.¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed at the cushion in front of me.

    ¡°Etto, yes?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un~¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri, dressed in kimonos, sat on the cushions. I took out paper and something to write with from the bear box.

    ¡°Stay still for a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you perhaps going to draw us!?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You will draw a picture?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yeah, now don¡¯t move.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, please stop!¡± (Fina)

    I told her not to move, but Fina reached for the paper I was holding.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t move! I¡¯m going to show this to Tirumina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    I push Fina back and sit her down on the cushion.

    ¡°Shuri, hold Fina¡¯s hand so she can¡¯t run away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un, oneechan, don¡¯t move.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri grabbed Fina¡¯s hand. Fina did not shake off Shuri¡¯s hand.

    I started drawing while Fina was not moving.

    ¡°U~u~, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± (Fina)

    Fina turned over, her cheeks flushed red.

    ¡°Fina, don¡¯t move, raise your face.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked up, embarrassed.

    After all, it¡¯s nice to have a good subject. They were close sisters.

    But kimonos were challenging to draw. Well, it¡¯s easier because it¡¯s all ck and white. I don¡¯t need to add colors.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, are you drawing a picture?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s a keepsake.¡± (Yuna)

    I wish Fina would wear it all the time, but it doesn¡¯t look like she will.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, you¡¯re so good at it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So Yuna can also draw pictures.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°U wa~a, you¡¯re really good at it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Behind me, Shinobu, Sakura, and Ruimin were looking at the picture.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, would you draw us next?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Okay, sure.¡± (Yuna)

    I drew a picture of Fina with an embarrassed expression on her face, then Sakura and Ruimin. After that, I drew Sakura and Shuri with Hugging Bear, Fina, and Ruimin with Swaying Bear, and Shinobu and Sakura together.

    And finally, I drew Fina, Shuri, Ruimin, Sakura, Shinobu, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear together.

    It had been a long time since I drew portraits, but I enjoyed it.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    They all changed into kimonos.

    It¡¯s been a long time since Yuna changed clothes.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 497

    <h4>Chapter 497</h4> <h4><b>Suzuran</b></h4>

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    This is the story of Suzuran. The one taking care of Kagali-san.

    <b>=====</b>

    My name is Suzuran, and I am the one tasked with taking care of Kagali-sama.

    Kagali-sama is a gorgeous woman with long golden hair. Her beauty had not diminished ever since I met her for the first time when I was a child. When I heard that she had lived for hundreds of years, I could not believe it.

    Legend has it that a giant serpent, known as Orochi, was sealed on the ind of Reenes. Legends said that the Orochi brought disasters to the country, and many people died. Legends told that the Orochi was sealed and that the fox-sama guards the seal.

    I grew up hearing the story as if it were a tale. I thought the fox was a deity of sorts.

    However, there really was a fox-sama on the ind which has been guarding the seal of the Orochi for many years. That was Kagali-sama.

    I was surprised when I first heard about it, but I began to believe it when I saw Kagali-sama¡¯s fox ears and tail.

    I crossed over to the ind of Reenes and took care of Kagali-sama.

    However, one day, Kagali-sama was acting strangely. Even when I talked to her, she seemed to be in a nk state of mind.

    I spoke to Kagali-sama several times, and she told me not toe to the ind for a while. I was surprised by her words. I asked her why. If you have anyints about me, please tell me. If there is something wrong with me, I will fix it.

    But what Kagali-sama said exceeded my expectations.

    She doesn¡¯t want me to go near the ind because the seal of the Orochi may break anytime soon.

    I thought she was kidding because she said it while drinking, but her face was not her usual mischievous or joking expression.

    I felt those words were true.

    A few days after I was not allowed to meet Kagali-sama, while working at the castle, I heard a story about many monsters appearing outside the city, and the soldiers were in a hurry to sortie. With that many soldiers, how many monsters were there?

    But I am sure they will be fine. I always see the training after all.

    A short time after the soldiers left, I overheard some of them talking. I heard the words, ¡°The Orochi has returned¡± in that conversation.

    I tried to listen in, but there seemed to be a gag order in ce, and the soldiers were warned by their superiors to keep their mouths shut immediately.

    The Orochi has returned. Those words repeat themselves over and over in my head.

    Kagali-sama!

    Before I knew it, I was already running towards the harbor.

    I almost fell down several times, but I ran to the harbor as fast as I could. There was amotion in the city about the monsters, but not about the Orochi. It was not untilter that I realized that I should have taken a carriage on the way.

    When I arrived at the harbor, it was noisy.

    I looked around. There were not many soldiers. I wonder if they went somewhere else because the monsters have appeared outside of the city.

    I came to the harbor, but as I was walking around, not knowing what to do, I saw King Suou and Sakura-sama.

    ¡°Sakura-sama!¡± (Suzuran)

    I approached Sakura-sama.

    ¡°Is it true that the Orochi has returned!?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Suzuran, your voice is too loud.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. So is it true?¡± (Suzuran)

    I asked in a small voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, but it¡¯s okay. The Orochi has been defeated.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So, what about Kagali-sama!?¡± (Suzuran)

    When I asked, Sakura-sama looked troubled and turned her gaze toward King Suou.

    ¡°We have no information about Kagali. We are going to form a survey team to explore the ind.¡± (King)

    ¡°Then, please let me join the investigation team.¡± (Suzuran)

    Only women were allowed on the ind. She has been there many times and knows more about it than anyone else. However, I did not get permission to go to the ind.

    ¡°There may still be monsters out there. We can¡¯t take people who can¡¯t protect themselves. I will tell you as soon as I know more about Kagali.¡± (King)

    These were the words of King Suou. I cannot disobey.

    ¡°I understand....... Please take care of Kagali-sama for me.¡± (Suzuran)

    I bowed my head.

    Kagali-sama, I hope you¡¯re safe.

    Several days passed with no word on the whereabouts of Kagali-sama.

    Hearing that the dismantling of the Orochi had begun, I asked King Suou to allow me to go to the ind, but he did not grant me the permission to do so.

    Even if I asked about Kagali-sama, he said her whereabouts were still being confirmed.

    What was being confirmed?

    Was it a confirmation of her life or death? Or was it not possible for King Suou to confirm it?

    So I asked Sakura-sama, who seemed to know something.

    ¡°Sakura-sama, is there anything you know about Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°That¡¯s... I think my uncle would tell you about it personally. Could you please wait a little longer?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura-sama seems to know something. But she couldn¡¯t tell me.

    I may have to consider the possibility that Kagali-sama was dead. They would¡¯ve told me if she was injured but still alive. But they¡¯re not telling me anything.

    A few more days passed, and then King Suou summoned me.

    I hope it¡¯s about Kagali-sama.

    I will be strong mentally, even if it¡¯s not possible.

    I took a deep breath to calm my mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s Suzuran.¡±

    With King Suou¡¯s permission, I entered the room. There¡¯s only King Suou in the room. Did he dismiss the other people in the room?

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes, was I called because of Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (King)

    ¡°Then, how was Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    I clenched my hands and suppressed the urge to scream as I asked.

    ¡°Long story short, she¡¯s safe.¡± (King)

    ¡°Kagali-sama is alive!?¡± (Suzuran)

    I asked while leaning forward at the words of King Suou.

    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s alive.¡± (King)

    ¡°I, I¡¯m d.¡± (Suzuran)

    I was so relieved to hear that Kagali-sama was safe that my body rxed.

    I had already given up on the idea that Kagali-sama was alive. I thought that today was finally the report of her death. However, I was wrong. But then, why just now? One possible exnation might be that she suffered severe injuries in the fight with the Orochi.

    ¡°Was she injured?¡± (Suzuran)

    King Suou looked a little troubled by my question.

    ¡°......No, she¡¯s not injured, not at all. But I can¡¯t exin Kagali¡¯s situation. If you want to know more, meet with Kagali and ask her yourself.¡± (King)

    King Suou said so with difficulty.

    ¡°I understand. So where is Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    I can¡¯t wait to see her.

    ¡°In the mansion at Lake Towa. You¡¯ve been to Lake Towa before, have you?¡± (King)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been with Kagali-sama when she went there before.¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Kagali is over there.¡± (King)

    ¡°I¡¯ll head there immediately.¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Wait, if you¡¯re going, do it tomorrow.¡± (King)

    He stopped me from jumping out.

    ¡°Could I ask the reason?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°That¡¯s what Kagali asked me to do. Do some preparations today and go tomorrow.¡± (King)

    ¡°I understand. So what would you like me to prepare?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Just think that there¡¯s nothing in that mansion.¡± (King)

    In other words, I have to prepare everything.

    I thanked him and left the room.

    I am happy to know that Kagali-sama is still alive. I prepare things to take to Kagali-sama. She may be hungry, so she may need food, alcohol, and clothes. I think about what else she needs in my mind.

    I would like to see Kagali-sama right away, but there were so many things to prepare, as King Suou said, so my departure will likely be tomorrow.

    The next day, I put what I had prepared for Kagali-sama on the carriage and set off. On the way, I thought I passed some children riding on something that looked like bears, but it must have been my imagination.

    I drove the horse-drawn carriage and arrived at the mansion on theke of Towa.

    Kagali-sama is here.

    I put my hand on the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s open.¡± (Suzuran)

    When I opened the door and entered the building, it was quiet inside.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, are you there?¡± (Suzuran)

    I asked in a quiet voice from the doorway.

    Where is she?

    The first floor has the kitchen, warehouse, etc., so she should not be on this floor.

    I went upstairs. There were several rooms upstairs. She might be in one of these rooms.

    When I thought so, I heard a voice from above saying, ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡±

    That was Kagali-sama¡¯s voice.

    I ran up the stairs.

    ¡°I should have gone with them. When is Suzuraning?¡± (Kagali)

    I can hear iting from that room. It seems that the voice was leaking out because the door was open.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, I apologize for the dy.¡± (Suzuran)

    When I entered the room, Kagali-sama was not there....... What was there was a little girl with golden hair.

    ¡°Suzuran?¡± (Kagali)

    The little girl said my name.

    How did she know my name?

    I approached the little girl.

    She¡¯s a very beautiful girl. But I feel like I have seen her somewhere before.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you, Suzuran. Make me something.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You know who I am?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Kagali)

    The girl looked at me curiously.

    I looked at the girl carefully. This beautiful golden hair, this face. Could it be?

    ¡°Could it be you are Kagali-sama¡¯s daughter?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°......!¡±

    The girl looked surprised.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know Kagali-sama had such a lovely daughter.¡± (Suzuran)

    Why didn¡¯t they tell me?

    I lift up the girl.

    The girl I lifted up is light. She¡¯s so cute.

    ¡°Etto, what¡¯s your name? Where is your mother? I came to see her.¡± (Suzuran)

    I asked the girl, and she raised her arm and smacked me on the head with a pop.

    ¡°What are you talking about? I am Kagali. Are your eyes blind?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°... Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    I look again at the girl in my arms.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Kagali. I used up too much magic power in the battle with the Orochi and ended up like this.¡± (Kagali)

    I cannot believe it. I¡¯ve never heard of someone taking on the form of a child because they¡¯ve used too much magic.

    ¡°Are you really Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°What, you want me to tell you something that only I know? Like, about how you failed at cooking, or how you got lost in the woods and cried?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You know that?!¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°Of course.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then is it really you, Kagali-sama?¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling you for a while now.¡± (Kagali)

    Tears streamed down my eyes.

    The moment I recognized that Kagali-sama was in front of me, I burst into tears.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you were alive.¡± (Suzuran)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have worried you.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sama puts her hand on my head with her small hand.

    ¡°Kagali-sama.¡± (Suzuran)

    I hold Kagali-sama, who had somehow regressed into the body of a child.

    She¡¯s really alive. As I hugged Kagali-sama, her stomach made a small ¡°kruu¡± sound.

    When that happened, Kagali-sama and I saw each other¡¯s faces, and we smiled.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to cook now.¡± (Suzuran)

    Let¡¯s make Inari, which Kagali-sama loves so much.

    But can she wait until then?

    I went outside to the carriage.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    While Yuna and her friends were in town, Kagali-san and Suzuran met safely.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 498

    <h4>Chapter 498</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Returns To Crimonia</b></h4>

    The kimonos were hard to move in, and they were also warm, so we returned to wearing our original clothes.

    After all, I would feel calmer in my bear suit. Thefort, texture, and temperature control don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m wearing a bear costume. I stop thinking about that much.

    ¡­¡­Etto, am I finally settling in for the bear costume?

    I may never be able to return to the pure-hearted me of those days¡­¡­

    I plopped down to my knees.

    I embodied the letters ¡®orz¡¯.

    (editor¡¯s note: the infamous ¡®dogeza¡¯-like pose of ¡°I just realized that I¡¯m a loser¡± emote, but in some other sub-cultures, ¡®orz¡¯ is also used as ¡°bow and kneel to respect¡±, which has been superseded by ¡°press F for respect¡±)

    ¡°What happened, Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    Summoning all my strength, I quickly stood up.

    The bear suit is authentic top-quality clothing if you don¡¯t mind how it looks.

    (editor¡¯s note: instant resurrection)

    After I finished changing my clothes, I presented each of the girls with a picture I had drawn.

    ¡°Thank you. I will cherish it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to hang it in my room. (Ruimin)

    Sakura and Ruimin were happily looking at the picture I drew for them. They were in different poses, but they were drawn together. Well, it would be embarrassing to hang a picture of only yourselves in your room, but a picture of you with your friends shouldn¡¯t be embarrassing at all.

    If they were pleased with it, it was worth drawing.

    ¡°I wish I could also draw well.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura muttered while looking at her picture.

    ¡°If you keep practicing drawing over and over, you¡¯ll get better at it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s what people who are good at what they do always say. Some people can¡¯t do it well no matter how much effort they pour in even if they try.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°But, you know, Sakura is still young, and she¡¯s just getting started. People grow up.¡± (Yuna)

    Her height and body would grow without doing anything special. But knowledge does not increase without learning, and skills do not grow without constant polishing. However, what Shinobu was saying was also correct. People have different strengths and weaknesses and develop at different rates. Some people advance more in less time, while others take twice as long.

    It¡¯s a matter of motivation.

    ¡°Even Shinobu wasn¡¯t that strong from the beginning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°True, but I feel like Yuna can do just about anything.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do everything. Even I was not good at the beginning.¡± (Yuna)

    Everyone is a beginner at what they do for the first time. But only a handful of people can do it well from the beginning. In the case of drawing, I was the former, and what I am not good at takes time. What I do know, however, is that if you don¡¯t do it, you won¡¯t improve.

    ¡°I agree. If you give up and say you can¡¯t do something without even trying, you won¡¯t be able to do anything.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura, you have worked hard to save your country, so you can do it if you feel up to it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best at drawing.¡± (Sakura)

    Just when I thought the story wasing together nicely here, Shuri dropped a bomb.

    ¡°When you get good at drawing, I want you to draw a picture book like Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°A picture book?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s bear-san¡¯s picture book.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina hurriedly tried to close Shuri¡¯s mouth, but it was toote.

    ¡°Is it a picture book drawn by Yuna-sama? Yuna-sama, are you also drawing picture books?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Etto, I drew it for the kids.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to see it!¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I want to see it too.¡± (Shinobu)

    I knew this would happen.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s a picture book for children. It might not be fun for Sakura to look at.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am a child, though.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura said it a bit sulkily.

    ¡­¡­Well, she¡¯s right, isn¡¯t she?

    ¡°Yuna-san, I would like to see it too. My sister told me about it, but I haven¡¯t seen it.¡± (Ruimin)

    In Ruimin¡¯s case, I gave the picture book to Retbel-san in exchange for her bracelet. So I thought Ruimin might know about the picture book, but I don¡¯t remember showing it to her.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, I would like to see the picture book. Would you please show it to me?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked with puppy eyes.

    I¡¯m okay with it, but Fina might get embarrassed. When I looked at Fina, she was still covering Shuri¡¯s mouth and had a troubled look on her face.

    ¡°Etto, I don¡¯t have it with me¡­¡± (Yuna)

    For now, I¡¯m going to pretend I don¡¯t have it and try to work through the situation.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have it with you, you can get it right away if you use that door, right?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu blocked my way out. There¡¯s no escape from the inevitable. Fina seemed to have given up and removed her hand from Shuri¡¯s mouth. Seeing this, I took out the picture books from the bear box and handed them to Sakura.

    ¡°It¡¯s an adorable little girl and a bear.¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin and Shinobu sat next to Sakura and peeked into the picture book. The three then began to read the picture book.

    ¡°I feel sorry for the girl.¡± ¡°The girl is attacked by the Wolf.¡± ¡°Oh, herees the bear.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d she got the herbs.¡± ¡°Oh no, the bear can¡¯t enter the city.¡± ¡°She has to say goodbye to the bear.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m d she got the herbs for her mother.¡±

    Even though I¡¯m not Fina, it¡¯s somewhat embarrassing to have your picture book read before you.

    When Sakura finished reading the first volume, she read the second and third volumes. She would give her impressions of the book each time, which was awkward and embarrassing for Fina and me.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, isn¡¯t there a continuation?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I have only drawn up to three volumes, so no.¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t give you something that hasn¡¯t been made.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just wondering what happened to the girl in the new city.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Even so, I thought it was going to be a sad story at first, but I¡¯m d the bear showing up made the girl happy.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Also, I was wondering, are these sisters Fina and Shuri?¡± (Shinobu)

    I knew from the start that she would notice the minute details.

    ¡°Oh, so you noticed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because the characteristics are simr. Yuna, you¡¯re good at capturing and drawing the characteristics of people. Also, unlike the pictures that drew us earlier, these were cute images.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Because it¡¯s a picture book for children.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a cute picture book before.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura takes the picture book and doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll return it.

    ¡°Do you want it, by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yes. I want it. The girl is trying hard to live, and the bear helps her. I can see myself in her.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura touched the bear in the picture book and looked at me.

    It seems she also noticed that the bear was me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you that picture book then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, but don¡¯t show it to others too much. Fina will be embarrassed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone that the girl is me.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Even if she told anyone the truth, nobody knows that it is you.¡± (Shinobu)

    That¡¯s for sure. In the Land of Harmony, no one would recognize a girl named Fina even if someone told them she was the model for the girl in the picture book.

    ¡°But it¡¯s still embarrassing.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t tell anyone. I promise.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura made a promise.

    I gave the picture books to Sakura. Ruimin, who was reading it, also seemed to want it, so I gave it to Ruimin as well.

    ¡°Thank you. I will take good care of it.¡± (Ruimin)

    The bear¡¯s picture book has finally reached the Land of Harmony and the elven vige. I felt like I was strangling myself¡­ or was it just my imagination?

    But it¡¯s nice to know that people were pleased with the picture books I have drawn.

    ¡°Can you give it to me as well?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°If I give it to Shinobu, it feels like it would multiply without me even knowing it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± (Shinobu)

    Since I gave it to Sakura, she could see it anytime. Even in the orphanage, everybody can see it, so it¡¯s enough that only Sakura had it.

    In the meantime, I told them not to make copies.

    Then I nced outside, and the sun was setting, so I told them we¡¯re leaving.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to leave? You can stay a little longer.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°We can¡¯t. If we stay here for too long, their parents would worry.¡± (Yuna)

    But even when I took Fina to the royal capital or to the dwarven city, they didn¡¯t worry that much. Moreover, Tirumina-san was even merrily sending her off. If anyone were actually concerned for the girls, it would be Gentz-san.

    Also, in Ruimin¡¯s case, we cannot fool Mumroot-san and say that it took us several days to return since he already knew about the bear gate¡¯s existence.

    ¡°So we have to go home today.¡± (Yuna)

    When I got up from the cushion, the pr bear puppet started crying `ku~u ~ n, ku~u ~ n¡®. The bearphone was ringing.

    Who?

    I thought everyone who had a bearphone should all be here¡­¡­, but then I remembered there was one more person.

    I took out the bearphone from the bear box and lightly poured magic power into it.

    ¡®Ah, Yuna?¡¯

    As expected, the voice that I heard from the bearphone was from Kagali-san.

    Oh right, when I was fighting the Orochi, I gave it to her in case something happened. I never got it back, so it¡¯s still with her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kagali-san?¡±

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but can youe back tomorrow?¡¯

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡®Suzuran came, but she said she would stay here today. It will be troublesome if you guys meet. She promised to return tomorrow morning. I¡¯m sorry, but stay there for today. If you need money, tell Suou. Suzuran is back. I¡¯ll end the call.¡®

    Kagali-san spoke one-sidedly and then hung up the call.

    ¡°That¡¯s what she said, but Fina, do you think you can handle another day?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay, but maybe dad would get worried¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What about you, Ruimin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Grandpa may think I¡¯m lying.¡± (Ruimin)

    Right.

    That¡¯s exactly what I thought.

    And as a result of the discussion, the three had to return.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Sakura-chan, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± (Ruimin)

    As if remembering something, Ruimin pulled out a cloth bag that she was holding with both hands from her item bag.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Saura)

    ¡°It¡¯s tea leaves from the elf vige.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Could it be from the sacred tree?¡± (Yuna)

    Ruimin nodded when I asked. And she looked towards Sakura.

    ¡°Sakura-chan, you forced yourself to exert your magical power to protect the Orochi¡¯s seal.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t regret it.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura may not be able to use any magic in the future. Only a handful of people can use magic, to begin with. But even that possibility may have been rendered useless for her because she used up hers to reinforce the Orochi¡¯s seal forcefully.

    ¡°Grandpa said you may be able to use magic again if you keep drinking this.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Is that true?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know if it really works. But this tea is made from the magical tree that has protected the elven vige for many years. This tea has the effect of restoring magic power. So, you may be able to use magic again.¡± (Ruimin)

    When she heard that story, tears welled up in Sakura¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You promised. Someday, we¡¯re going on a trip, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, I promised.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So try it, it might work. Even if it doesn¡¯t, I will protect you as I promised before.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san¡­¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°But I have to be strong for that too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I will drink it properly.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°But don¡¯t drink too much.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin and Sakura made a promise.

    I don¡¯t know how the sacred tree will work, but I hope it does. Oh well, whatever the oue was, the two girls should be fine.

    Ruimin went through the bear gate.

    ¡°Ruimin. Pleasee back again.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯lle. Fina, Shuri, see you again. Shinobu-san, thank you for everything.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°You are always wee.¡± (Shinobu)

    Everyone said goodbye to Ruimin. I couldn¡¯t keep the door open forever, so I closed it.

    I have to remember that I have to retrieve the bear gate that Ruimin went throughter.

    After closing the door, I connected it to Crimonia next and opened it.

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need me to take you home?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯re fine. Thank you for inviting us, Yuna-oneesan. It was fun.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, it was fun¡± (Shuri)

    I handed over the pictures of Fina and Shuri in kimonos.

    ¡°I knew it. You want to show it to mom?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I drew it with so much effort after all.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m sure Tirumina would love to see her daughters looking so pretty.

    In the drawing, Fina looked shy, and Shuri looked happy. Looking at their hands, they were holding hands amicably. Actually, Shuri was holding Fina¡¯s hand to prevent her from running away, but they seemed to be holding hands in a friendly manner.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, Sakura-chan and Shinobu-san, for everything.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Pleasee again.¡± (Sakura)

    Fina and Suri also returned to Crimonia through the bear gate.

    ¡°What about you, Yuna-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay the night and return tomorrow. I can¡¯t leave the bear gate in Sakura¡¯s room.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then please stay here.¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯ll take her word for it.

    At night, I let Sakura sleep with Hugging Bear.

    I left Sakura and Shinobu the next day and returned to the mansion with the hot spring.

    ¡°Kagali-san, I¡¯m back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san had a futonid out in arge room and was dexterously drinking her drink while lying down.

    Near the futon was a small wooden cask that even a woman could carry.

    ¡°Did Suzuran-san go back?¡± (Yuna)

    Well, just in case, I checked with my detection skills before entering the house. If Suzuran-san were still there, it would be troublesome to exin, so I checked before entering.

    ¡°Yeah, she wanted to stay for a while, but I sent her home because she needed to do something.¡± (Kagali)

    She must have been very worried about Kagali-san.

    ¡°I wonder how it went. I had her carry my luggage because I had a lot of it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san drank her sake while looking at the distance.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going home, but were you going to miss me, perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about? I have lived longer than anyone else. I have been separated from someone so many times. How can I be lonely now?¡± (Kagali)

    Perhaps she chose to be alone because it¡¯s hard to say goodbye. She remained alone on the ind and did not even try to stay in the castle.

    Maybe she has parted with many people in her lifetime, and perhaps she has been sad all along. I cannot understand that feeling. But I do understand the sense of loneliness.

    ¡°If you want to live in the elven vige, let me know. I think you can live there Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Kagali-san looked at me with a surprised expression.

    Unlike us humans, elves live long. If she lived with them together, I think it would make her happier to be with people of the same longevity.

    ¡°¡­I appreciate your kind words. But there are some here who will miss me.¡± (Kagali)

    She¡¯s looking out the open window with her eyes looking into the distance.

    I put the souvenir wind chimes that Fina and the others picked out for me in the window and returned to Crimonia.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    This is the end of the Land of Harmony arc, including the epilogue.

    I feel that I have rambled on a bit, but the more characters there are, the more stories I want to write.

    And now that the break is just right, I will begin work on volume 11 in earnest.

    I hope to have about two weeks off from the 10th.

    Please take care of yourself during these hot days.

    <b>-Kumanano</b>

    <b>Postscript 2018/08/18</b>

    I added the story of the tea leaves of the sacred tree.

    I was thinking of writing it and forgot.

    My apologies.

    <b>-Kumanano.</b>

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 499

    <h4>Chapter 499</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Draws The Picture Book¡¯s 4th Volume.</b></h4>

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note</b>

    <b>[</b>Caution<b>]?</b>This is the 4th volume of the picture book, but please read the following items:

    As noted in the changes in?<b>[</b>0 Differences between the web version and the book version<b>]</b>.

    In the LN version, the 3rd volume of the picture book. When they entered the town, the bear became [hand-held], but I decided to change it into [bear cub].

    I apologize to the readers, but please think of it as a normal bear cub.

    I have also revised volume 3 of the web version of the picture book from [hand-held bear] to [bear cub].

    I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

    <b>-Kumanano</b>

    <b>=====</b>

    After returning from the Land of Harmony, I went to see Tirumina-san about the matter of taking Fina along. It was more like calling Fina out of the blue, so I included an apology.

    But Tirumina-san did not seem angry and even said, ¡°I trust Yuna-chan, so it¡¯s okay¡±. However, since both of his daughters were away, Gentz-san said he missed them.

    ¡°And thank you for the lovely picture.¡± (Tirumina)

    The picture I drew of Fina and Shuri wearing kimonos were well received by their parents.

    Gentz-san said he was disappointed that he didn¡¯t get to see how cute they were personally. It can¡¯t be helped since Fina and the others, who were actually wearing kimonos, were actually prettier in person than what was depicted in my drawings.

    Incidentally, my excuse to Gentz-san was that I made his daughters wear clothes that were lent to us by the Land of Harmony.

    Then I asked Tirumina-san for permission to borrow Fina again the next day.

    Tirumina-san told me that Fina was free to go anywhere as usual.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, are you drawing a picture book?¡± (Fina)

    The papers and something to draw with was on the table.

    The other day, when I gave Sakura the picture book, I felt like drawing for the first time in a while. Besides, Princess Flora might be waiting for it, so I have to start drawing quickly.

    If I don¡¯t feel like drawing, I¡¯ll getzy and never do it.

    Thest time I drew a picture book was before we went to the school festival. Then I went to the desert, traveled with everyone to the town of Mereera, went to the city of dwarves and the Land of Harmony, and I didn¡¯t draw any picture books in that period.

    So I decided to draw a picture book for the first time in a long time and called Fina to my house.

    ¡°What happens after the girls enter the city?¡± (Fina)

    The picture book ended with the girl visiting a new town with her mother, who had been cured of her illness, and her sister.

    The illustration should start where the girl¡¯s new life is about to begin.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking something like this, though.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined to Fina the brief contents of the book and began to draw.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Picture book: Bear-san and the Girl, Vol. 4</b>

    The girl came to a new town with her family.

    In the girl¡¯s arms was Bear-san.

    ¡°Mom, where are we going?¡±

    The girl felt uneasy in the new town.

    She applied more strength to the arms that were embracing Bear-san.

    Her mother said she was going to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a ce where you get paid for helping the residents by defeating monsters and using magic.

    For the girl, the Adventurers Guild was a scary ce. It was a ce full of scary-looking adults.

    The girls came to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    It¡¯s a gigantic building.

    Adventurers with swords were continuously entering and exiting the building.

    The girl and her sister looked anxious. Their mother smiled at them. The smile made the girl and her sister feel a little less nervous.

    The girls entered the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    Inside the building, there were many scary-looking people with swords and other types of weapons. The eyes of these adventurers were drawn to the girls.

    ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Bear?¡±?<b>(</b>TN:¡¸¤¯¤Þ?¡¹¡¸¥¯¥Þ?¡¹¡¸ÐÜ?¡¹¡¸¥Ù¥¢©`?¡¹title drop.<b>)</b>

    The eyes were drawn to Bear-san, held by the girl.

    Her little sister was scared and hid behind her mother. But the girl hugged Bear-san tightly, enduring the lingering gazes, and stood in front of her mother to protect her and her sister.

    The mother ced her hand on the girl¡¯s head and smiled gently, saying, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±.

    The mother went to the receptionist, and she asked her to call someone¡¯s name.

    The woman at the reception desk was surprised by Bear-san that the girl was holding, but she went to call the person the mother requested.

    After a while, arge man appeared in front of the girls, happy to see them again with their now healthy mother.

    Therge man took the girls to the back of the room.

    The man was the guildmaster, and he had the highest position in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The guildmaster looked at the girl holding Bear-san, her sister, and her mother.

    ¡°Is that a bear?¡±

    She wanted to live with it together with my family.

    Bear-san saved her life.

    The guildmaster pondered.

    ¡°And it seems that you cherish that bear.¡±

    The guildmaster reached out to pet the head of Bear-san the girl was holding. Bear-san then opened its mouth.

    ¡°I was surprised to see that that whiny adventurer turned out to be the guildmaster.¡±

    The guildmaster was surprised because Bear-san had spoken.

    ¡°¡­Are you the bear at that time?¡±

    ¡°Long time no see. Pee-wee adventurer.¡±

    The moment Bear-san said this, the guildmaster¡¯s face turned blue.

    ¡°Have you recovered from leaking?¡±

    The guildmaster tried to cover Bear-san¡¯s mouth, but he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°I knew it. You are the bear in the forest, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Bear-san and the guildmaster seemed to know each other.

    Thanks in part to this, the girl was now able to live with Bear-san.

    ¡°Even so, you¡¯re cute.¡±

    The guildmaster tried to pet Bear-san on the head.

    Bear-san tried to bite into his hand, but the guildmaster was able to avoid it.

    The guildmasterughed and Bear-san looked frustrated.

    The girl thought it was funny and smiled.

    And the girl¡¯s mother was now able to work in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    The mother started working at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and the girl and her sister started ying in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°You guys are not to mess with these girls and their bears from now on. If you do, your adventurer card will be revoked.¡±

    The guildmaster dered this when he introduced the girls, whom he was taking care of.

    The adventurers were surprised for a moment, but nodded in acknowledgment.

    There¡¯s a ck bear with her mother, a white bear with her sister, and Bear-san with the girl.

    And to help her mother, who was not yet able to work long hours, the girl was assigned to help dismantle monsters and animals.

    In time, she became known as ¡°the girl with a bear¡± in the adventurers¡¯ guild.

    One day, the girl decided to go for a walk in a nearby forest because Bear-san wanted to go there.

    Bear-san ran across the meadows and through the forest with the girl.

    Bear-san runs very fast.

    Then, as they passed through the forest and ran along the highway, Bear-san stopped.

    ¡°There are monsters.¡±

    Bear-san¡¯s words made the girl nervous.

    Bear-san moved slowly and cautiously.

    Even from the girl¡¯s position she could see several wolves.

    ¡°There are people.¡±

    There was a wagon that stopped near the monsters.

    Near the wagon, a man was swinging a stick as if to protect it.

    ¡°Stay away!¡±

    The man swung his stick towards the wolf.

    Upon closer inspection, a figure of what appeared to be a mother protecting her child by covering her near the wagon.

    The wolves growled and tried to attack the family.

    The child was being hugged tightly by the mother.

    To the girl, the figure of the mother covering and protecting her child when they got attacked by the monsters on their way to town, was all she could see.

    The girl wanted to protect that family.

    But the girl had no strength nor power.

    ¡°Bear-san, please help them.¡±

    The girl begged Bear-san.

    She would be putting Bear-san at risk.

    But the girl could only ask Bear-san and nobody else.

    Bear-san epted the girl¡¯s feelings and started running toward the wagon. Bear-san growled at the wolves.

    The wolves tried to attack Bear-san. Bear-san growled more menacingly, and the wolves finally fled in all directions.

    The girl looked relieved.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    The girl spoke to the family.

    ¡°A bear!¡±

    The father pointed the stick at Bear-san.

    The girl exined that Bear-san was not dangerous.

    The man dropped his stick when he found out that Bear-san was not dangerous. He then thanked the girl.

    It seems the family was in the process of transporting fruit produce to town. That¡¯s when the wagon wheels got stuck in a ditch and wolves surrounded them, and they were unable to escape the predicament.

    The father looked at the wheel and made a troubled face.

    The horse put all its strength into pulling the wagon, but the wheel that was stuck in the ditch would not move.

    ¡°Bear-san¡­¡±

    When the girl asked Bear-san to do something, Bear-san moved to the back of the carriage. Then, when Bear-san pushed the carriage from behind, the wagon wheels moved out of the ditch and started to rotate.

    The wagon can now move freely once more.

    The father thanked the girl and Bear-san and gave them a piece of fruit as a reward.

    The girl was delighted to have a souvenir for her mother and sister.

    Later, the word spread to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that the girl and Bear-san had saved a family. And that saved family came to town and asked about Bear-san.

    Many peopleter in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild came to learn about the incident, which came from the mouth of the guildmaster, that Bear-san could change its size, so the Adventurers¡¯ Guild immediately notified the girls.

    The mother was angry at the girl for doing something dangerous.

    A few dayster, the girl was summoned by the guildmaster.

    A request came to the girl.

    The girl made a curious face while holding Bear-san.

    The girl was not an adventurer. So she should not be receiving any requests.

    But the girl was surprised when she heard what the guildmaster said.

    The person who made the request was the most important person in the town.

    But the guildmaster said it¡¯s okay and she can go.

    She was then told to go together with Bear-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡±

    It would be safe if Bear-san was with her.

    The guildmaster tried to get his hands on Bear-san, but Bear-san tried to bite him. And again, he avoided it.

    The girl¡¯s mother was worried when she heard the story but decided to let the girl go, partly because of the guildmaster¡¯s reassurance.

    The girl went with Bear-san to the house of the lord of this town.

    The lord¡¯s house was sorge that the girl was left in awe.

    ¡°Huge.¡±

    As the girl felt the urge to leave, the gate opened, and a little girl emerged.

    ¡°Bear!?¡±

    A girl with golden hair in beautiful clothes came out of the gate. In the girl¡¯s eyes, she looked like a princess.

    The girl with golden hair talked to her.

    ¡°The Adventurer Bear?¡±

    For a moment the girl did not understand what the golden-haired girl was talking about.

    As the story goes, it sounded like the girl was supposed to have teamed up with Bear-san to defeat the monsters.

    The girl exined that she was not an adventurer and that she was just taking a walk and saw someone being attacked by monsters, so she asked Bear-san to help her get rid of them.

    The girl told the golden-haired girl, she did not do anything.

    Then the girl told the story of how she was called to this mansion.

    Then, the golden-haired girl said that she was the one who had called the girl.

    The golden-haired girl wanted to meet the girl with the rumored Bear-san.

    The girl was invited to the mansion, and they talked a lot about Bear-san.

    The girl and the golden-haired girl had a good time.

    The girl became friends with the golden-haired girl.

    <b>Bear-san and the Girl, vol. 4, the end.</b>

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    I skipped bookwork in July, which was a big deal ughs).

    (Laughs) Like homework during summer vacation, you have to do it little by little in advance.

    I have finished about 80% of the bookwork, but I still have some new writing to do, so I will not be able to post until the 3rd or 4th.

    <b>¡ù</b>?I will also take a break from replying to feedback for a while.

    Also, the official PASH!

    You can read a sample of ¡°Kuma¡± and see the color illustrations by 029-sensei.

    It will make you feel a little better.

    Please take a look at the site.

    From now on, the information will be avable here.

 Chapter 500

    <h4>Chapter 500</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Finishes Drawing The Picture Book.</b></h4>

    I started to draw the picture book.

    The girl¡¯s family relied on the guildmaster of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°I thought Dad was the acquaintance?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked if she knew who was supposed to be representing the guildmaster.

    ¡°I figured since the girl wanted permission to be with Bear-san, it might as well be the guy with the highest position.¡± (Yuna)

    It would not be fun to draw a story about Bear-san being persecuted here, and it would be better to have someone with influence in this area. Sorry, Gentz-san, but you¡¯re not influential enough.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly impossible for Dad, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Fina)

    I kinda feel sorry for Gentz-san since you were the one saying that.

    But I thought so too, which was the reason why I used the guildmaster, so that no one could argue with him.

    I also considered the fact that Tirumina-san was a former adventurer to solidify the guildmaster being an acquaintance.

    ¡°But Bear-san and the guildmaster know each other? Moreover, he peed his pants?¡± (Fina)

    Fina smiled at Bear-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to make him acquainted with Bear-san so they can get help from the guildmaster. Peeing is for his weakness, to differentiate him from an actual guildmaster.¡± (Yuna)

    In case you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯ll say this in the Guildmaster¡¯s honor. I don¡¯t know anything about the Guildmaster¡¯s past.

    And so, the girls¡¯ family was safely taken care of by the guildmaster.

    ¡°Wait. Mom works for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°After all, there¡¯s no orphanage, and no kokekko.¡± (Yuna)

    At one point, I thought about a story about raising kokekko in the forest, guided by Bear-san, but I decided against it because it would have to involve ¡°themerce guild harassing the girl who started a business without permission¡±. It would not be fun to draw such a story.

    Besides, if the story was too far removed from real-life events, it would be troublesome to think about future developments.

    If I could somehow incorporate the orphanage and kokekko into the picture book, then only I would draw it.

    ¡°As expected, the girl does dismantling work.¡± (Fina)

    The mother started working in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and the girl also started helping out in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and learning to dismantle things.

    ¡°The girl is based on Fina after all.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked embarrassed, but there was no way around it. The girl was Fina and Bear-san was me.

    So, the girl should be able to dismantle things, just like Fina.

    ¡°The girl is taking a walk?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of having the girl meet Noa after this. So I¡¯m going to have Bear-san y an active role.¡± (Yuna)

    In reality, I had already subjugated various monsters before Noa heard about it. She then called me afterward. That was how I met Noa.

    In the meantime, in order to make the girl in the picture book meet the lord¡¯s daughter, I will have the girl and Bear-san fight a few monsters so that the lord¡¯s daughter would hear about the girl and Bear-san.

    ¡°The girl won¡¯t be an adventurer like Yuna-oneesan, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Because she¡¯s too young and doesn¡¯t have the power.¡± (Yuna)

    In reality it¡¯s the same with me, a girl with no power. Without the bear equipment, I wouldn¡¯t have the power to fight. The girl in the picture book has no power to fight without Bear-san.

    However, at first, as a bear-user girl, I thought about making her an adventurer. But I felt that her mother would not allow it, so I decided not to make her an adventurer under the current circumstances.

    Besides, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m actually doing anything that would be typical of an adventurer.

    The picture book then became a ssic scene where a wagon was attacked.

    ¡°Could it be that this family in the wagon are the people you met when you went to Misa-sama¡¯s birthday party?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You got it.¡± (Yuna)

    I drew the story from my own experiences. It¡¯s easier for me toe up with the content of the picture book that way.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the wheel got stuck in a pothole and stopped at the same ce.¡± (Fina)

    Fina was with me at the time, so she understood it. No one else would know if they read it.

    The girl and Bear-san then helped the family that was being attacked by monsters.

    ¡°The girl didn¡¯t run away, did she?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I want the children who read this book to be inspired to help others in need.¡± (Yuna)

    I was hoping the children who read the picture book and saw that the girl helped the family, would also reach out to others who were in the same situation.

    A girl, who her mother was protecting, was saved by Bear-san when monsters attacked the wagon.

    It should inspire readers that if you fell down and someone gave you a hand, when you see a child who fell down, give them a hand in return to y it forward.

    If you help me, I will help you. Or something like that.

    If someone¡¯s in need, it¡¯s important to help them without looking away.

    Within your limits, of course. Don¡¯t do anything that you cannot handle. Even if an adventurer saves you from monsters, you can¡¯t defeat monsters the same way adventurers do.

    It¡¯s important not to abandon someone but to call for help.

    So the girl in the picture book understood that she could not help and instead asked Bear-san.

    Then word spreads that the girl and Bear-san defeated (drove away) the monsters, and the daughter of the lord, yed by Noa, heard about it.

    ¡°Ah, Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°She asked me to make an appearance.¡± (Yuna)

    Sometimeter, the girl and Bear-san were asked by the guildmaster to go to the lord¡¯s house.

    This was also in my experience anyway.

    I remember I didn¡¯t like it at the time because it was a summon from the nobility. If I hadn¡¯t gone, I wouldn¡¯t have met Noa.

    It¡¯s kinda nostalgic.

    That encounter with me was the beginning of Noa¡¯s love for bears. Now that I think about it, did I make one person¡¯s life crazy?

    I want to think it¡¯s not bad.

    And a girl who yed Noa appeared. She was a girl with long golden hair.

    ¡°Fufu, Noa-sama¡¯s picture is cute.¡± (Fina)

    Cliff was there at the time, but I¡¯ll cut his appearance in the picture book because he¡¯s a pain in the ass. The problem was, Eleanora-san, I feel like she could live in the mansion with her, but I¡¯ll only have the girl who yed Noa make an appearance this time.

    And the girl became friends with the noble girl through Bear-san.

    This story also wants to express the hope that ordinary people and aristocrats, like Fina and Noa, would get along with each other regardless of their status.

    ¡°I want themoner girl to get along with the nobles, like Fina and Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (FIna)

    The final picture ended with two girls having fun with Bear-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing.¡± (Fina)

    After finishing up the final drawing, the picture book waspleted.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired~¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± (Fina)

    Fina offered me a cup of tea.

    ¡°Delicious.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked happy at my words.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re really good at drawing.¡± (Fina)

    She said that while looking at the picture I drew.

    ¡°Just like what I told Sakura, it just takes practice. Even Fina learned dismantling by doing it over and over again, right? It¡¯s the same thing.¡± (Yuna)

    No one can do it well from the beginning.

    ¡°But, Yuna-oneesan. You¡¯re an amazing adventurer, you can cook, and you can draw. If someone is in trouble, you help them. You are awesome, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m a little more mature than Fina. I¡¯ve been cooking since I was a kid, and I used to draw whenever I was free.¡± (Yuna)

    The magical power was given by God, but I learned my fighting technique from the game.

    And I don¡¯t help everyone who¡¯s in need. But only those within my reach. So I am not as great as Fina says.

    I just had more money than others, more culinary knowledge, more magic, and more fighting skills.

    I may have more ways to save people than others.

    But the royalty and nobility can save more people than I do.

    I was saved by meeting Fina. If I had not met such a kind girl like Fina, I might have be twisted when I came to this world. I reached out my hand and pet Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡°Fina, you¡¯re also an amazing girl.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why are you patting me on the head all of a sudden!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°For some reason?¡± (Yuna)

    I just had a lot on my mind and simply pet her head.

    Fina, who doesn¡¯t understand my intention, has a ¡°?¡± mark floating on her head.

    After finishing the picture book, I asked Fina to stay a little longer.

    To check out the ¡°Bear Trail¡±.??<b>(</b>¡º¥¯¥Þ¤ÎµÀ¤·¤ë¤Ù¡»<b>)</b>

    After obtaining the ¡°Bear Trail¡±, I returned to Crimonia. I was curious about the name of the skill, which seemed to bring trouble. Still, I was curious, so I looked into it. But I couldn¡¯t find anything.

    Will it show itself when the timees? Would I have to go somewhere? I have no idea. They should have given me more information. If this was a game, then it¡¯s a shitty one.

    For the time being, I will confirm again that no one could not touch it except me.

    I put out the ¡°Bear Trail¡± on the table.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯ve got an unusual item, I think I¡¯m the only one who can touch it. But can you try to touch it too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, okay.¡± (Fina)

    Fina slowly reached out and tried to touch the ¡°Bear Trail¡±, but as expected, she couldn¡¯t touch it.

    ¡°¡­¡­My hand slips through.¡± (Fina)

    Fina curiously repeatedly tried to touch the ¡°Bear Trail¡± but was unable to do so.

    Next, I took out a piece of cloth, grabbed the ¡°Bear Trail¡± and put it on the top of the cloth.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, the cloth can touch it.¡± (Fina)

    I grabbed the four corners of the cloth and lifted it up like a cloth bag. Of course, without any resistance, the cloth bag containing the ¡°Bear Trail¡± was lifted up.

    ¡°Fina, hold it.¡± (Yuna)

    I gave the cloth bag to Fina.

    The moment Fina received the cloth, the ¡°Bear Trail¡± slipped off the cloth and the ¡°Bear Trail¡± rolled on the floor.

    ¡°Uwa ¨¡, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    Fina rushed to pick it up, but her hand just slipped through and she couldn¡¯t pick it up.

    I picked it up.

    I knew it was a bad idea.

    Next, I put it on a te, but the result was the same.

    Finally, the ¡°Bear Trail¡± on the table fell under the table when Fina moved the table just a little bit.

    Apparently, when others try to move it, it will pass through as if it¡¯s trying to escape.

    By the way, when I ced it on the ground in the garden and dug the ground, only the soil was dug up.

    Maybe this can be used as a magic trick?

    ¡°There are no tricks or gimmicks,¡± or ¡°Oh, mysteriously, the ball has passed through.¡± I just thought of something stupid.

    And finally, I did onest experiment.

    Whether or not Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can touch it.

    Surprisingly, they can touch it. But in the end, I took away ¡°Bear Trail¡± because Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started ying with it.

    I wondered if bears like to y with round things too. Were they the same as cats or dogs?

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Congrattions, we have reached 500 episodes.

    Thank you for reading this far.

    I will start a new story after chilling in Crimonia for a while.

    Please continue to support Kuma Kuma Bear Bear from now on.

    <b>[</b>Notice 1<b>]</b>?Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (anime) will start on 9/13 (scheduled) in Nico Nico Douga¡¯s Nico Nico Seiga (manga).

    The first episode will be released weekly, so if you missed it or want to see it again, you will be able to see it on Nico Nico Seiga (manga).

    <b>[</b>Notice 2<b>]</b>?I will not be able to reply to yourments for a while. Thank you for understanding.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Trantor¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>[</b>Notice 3<b>]</b>?Easter egg for degenerates: -369829-

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 501 - Bear-san, Brings Souvenirs From The Land Of Harmony

    <h4>Chapter 501</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Brings Souvenirs From The Land Of Harmony</b></h4>

    After investigating the bear signpost, I gave Fina a candy art<b>*</b> that I bought from Land of Harmony as a thank-you gift.

    Well, I was going to give it to her anyway, even if not as a thank-you gift.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful. Are these all candies?¡± (Fina)

    Fina was amazed to see the candy art in the stacked boxes.

    ¡°There are fish, fruit, animals, and even birds. I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re all candies.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you try one? Fina, you took care of Shinobu, helped me with the picture book today, and helped me investigate the ball earlier, so you can eat one here. But don¡¯t tell everyone.¡± (Yuna)

    I n to give one each to everyone.

    ¡°Then, this one.¡± (Fina)

    Fina chose a yellow chick. I thought she would pick a bear, but no. Fina licked the chick¡¯s candy art.

    ¡°It¡¯s really sweet.¡± (Fina)

    Fina began to lick it deliciously, and the shape changed more and more. After a while, the chick¡¯s shape disappeared.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, but it makes me sad.¡± (Fina)

    I agree with that, but it is what it is. Any food will disappear if you eat it. You should eat it while thanking the person who made it. If you think the candy art is beautiful, the uncle who made it will be happy.

    Then I¡¯ll ask Fina to choose one for Tirumina-san and the others.

    ¡°You can pick whichever you want. So choose one each for Shuri, Tirumina-san, and Gentz-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to choose, but I think Shuri would like a bear.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, shouldn¡¯t you choose a bear for yourself? I had more bears made because I thought people would want them.¡± (Yuna)

    While feeling embarrassed, I, dressed as a bear, asked the uncle who makes candy art to make me bear-shaped candy arts. How could I not be embarrassed?

    But Fina had chosen a chick a while ago.

    Fina looked flustered at my words.

    ¡°...Etto, I like bears too.¡± (Fina)

    Fina picked up a bear candy art for herself.

    She then chose apple and strawberry candy art for Tirumina-san and Gentz-san.

    Then, the next day when the store was closed. I decided to bring the souvenirs to the store.

    Morin-san and Karin-san live on the second floor of Bear-san¡¯s Rest Shop. Morin-san seemed to be at the market early in the morning, and Karin-san was the only one in the store.

    ¡°Karin-san, here¡¯s a souvenir.¡± (Yuna)

    I hand over a small box containing a wind chime.

    Karin-san received the small box and opened the lid. Inside was a wind chime with a picture of a bird chosen by Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°So beautiful.¡± (Karin)

    Karin-san took out the wind chime from the small box, making a slight tinkling sound.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Karin)

    ¡°A wind chime, it¡¯s something you enjoy the sound of, in a way?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯ll be faster to have them listen to it than me exining it.

    I asked Karin-san to hold the wind chime for me, and lightly used wind magic to create a breeze. The wind chime made a beautiful sound.

    ¡°It sounds beautiful.¡± (Karin)

    ¡°It makes a sound when it flutters in the wind, so you might want to put it somewhere near a window.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan. I¡¯ll use it to decorate.¡± (Karin)

    Karin-san was happily looking at the wind chime. I¡¯m d she liked it.

    Then, I gave her another souvenir.

    ¡°Next, choose the one you like from here.¡± (Yuna)

    Various types of candy arts were ced in the heavy box.

    ¡°These are also beautiful, but are these decorations too?¡± (Karin)

    ¡°These are candy art, candies that you can lick. It¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You can eat these?¡± (Karin)

    Karin-san looked at the candy arts curiously.

    Karin-san picked up a fish-shaped candy stuck on a stick.

    ¡°Can I try it?¡± (Karin)

    ¡°Only one for each person, because I n to bring it to the children in the orphanage.¡± (Yuna)

    When I gave my permission, Karin-san licked the candy art.

    ¡°Sweet!¡± (Karin)

    Karin-san licked it several times.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could make sweets like this. Did you make these, Yuna-chan? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re going to sell this in the store, perhaps?......¡± (Karin)

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    Karin-san was relieved by my words.

    This was originally a bakery, but it has expanded to include pizza, potato chips, and even cakes. As a quintessential baker, even I don¡¯t think of doing business in candy-making.

    ¡°I bought them because they were selling them at the ce we went to. I thought it was an unusual candy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it in the royal capital.¡± (Karin)

    Then, I asked her to pick one for Morin-san.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m off to Anzu¡¯s shop. Give my regards to Morin-san.¡± (Yuna)

    After leaving Bear-san¡¯s Rest Shop, I went to Bear-san¡¯s Dinner and entered through the back door.

    ¡°Oh, Yuna-san. Is it breakfast? Do you want me to make you something?¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu, who greeted me, said that as soon as I arrived.

    Am I that much of a foodie? I make my own food or eat bread from the bear box, so that shouldn¡¯t be the case, right?

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I just brought you some souvenirs. Where are the others?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m here. I think Forne-san is rxing in her room, and I think Seno-san is still sleeping.¡± (Anzu)

    I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s early, but isn¡¯t it time to get up?

    ¡°Seno-san¡¯s favorite thing to do these days seems to be sleeping longer.¡± (Anzu)

    I also like to sleep twice as long as usual, but was it a good idea to do it on your day off? Seno-san, you¡¯re still young, so I think you have many things to do on your days off, like hanging out somewhere or going on a date.

    Well, it¡¯s her day off, so she can sleep longer.

    Putting Seno-san aside, was there anyone who would be a suitable date for Anzu?

    ¡°Wha, what is it?¡± (Anzu)

    I was staring at her face, so she asked me what I was curious about.

    ¡°Anzu, do you ever go out somewhere on your days off?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, I do go out. It¡¯s fun to walk around town because, unlike the town of Mereera, there are so many different foods to choose from.¡± (Anzu)

    She said with her eyes twinkling.

    Yeah, this isn¡¯t good.

    Dega-san, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever find a suitable marriage partner for Anzu.

    I¡¯ll be patient and wait to see who she marries. But then, I don¡¯t want Anzu to quit the restaurant after getting married.

    ¡°So should I call everyone?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. You can just give it to them.¡± (Yuna)

    I offered her a small box containing a wind chime, and she epted it.

    ¡°May I open it?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Yuna)

    Anzu opened the small box, revealing a wind chime with a picture of a goldfish on it.

    ¡°This is a wind chime.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°You know about it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s from the Land of Harmony. I¡¯ve seen merchants sell it. Did you buy it in Mereera?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Well, I got it from that ce...¡± (Yuna)

    I answered lightly while averting my eyes.

    I can¡¯t say that I went to the Land of Harmony and bought it.

    ¡°It makes a beautiful sound, but I couldn¡¯t buy it because it was too expensive. Is it okay if I get something this expensive?¡± (Anzu)

    It was cheap because I bought it in the Land of Harmony where it was made. But I cannot say that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just a token of gratitude for all the hard work you guys always put in.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll take it gratefully, then.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu happily stared at the wind chime.

    ¡°And I got these along with it.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the candy arts.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Anzu)

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t know about candy art.

    ¡°They¡¯re candies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Candies? There¡¯s fish. And even fruits.¡± (Anzu)

    She looked at me in surprise.

    It seems that even in the quintessential town of Mereera, there were no candies for sale.

    Just like Karin-san, I made her choose which shape of candy art she liked.

    Anzu¡¯s choices were all fish, including those for Seno-san and Forne-san.

    That¡¯s just like Anzu.

    After leaving the Bear-san Dinner, I headed for the orphanage.

    By this time, the children should be taking care of the kokekko.

    I entered the orphanage without getting in the way and headed to the director¡¯s room.

    ¡°Yuna-san, wee.¡± (Director)

    The Director was taking care of the young children. The children were sleeping like they were snuggled up to the Director. I wonder if they feel safe around the Director.

    ¡°So what can I do for you today?¡± (Director)

    ¡°I was out of town for a while, so I brought you a souvenir.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much. Yuna-san has always been a great help to us.¡± (Director)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Director-sensei takes good care of the kids, and those kids work very hard.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And all of that was all thanks to you, Yuna-san.¡± (Director)

    I¡¯m embarrassed, so I broke off the conversation and took out a small box containing a wind chime from the bear box. Then, I open the small box and show it to the Director.

    Please hang it by the window. When the wind blows, it¡¯ll make a beautiful sound. When you listen to it when it¡¯s hot, it will calm you down.

    In my mind, I added maybe.

    In fact, I have heard the sound of wind chimes on TV and other media but never had them in my house. I have never experienced wind chimes, so I only know about it on TV and other information.

    I took out the wind chime from a small box and rang it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful sound.¡± (Director)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you like them. I have several of them, so please hang them up.¡± (Yuna)

    I bought a lot for the orphanage, unlike the others.

    ¡°The children will be delighted. Thank you.¡± (Director)

    I put the wind chimes back in the small boxes and gave them to the Director.

    Then I left candy arts enough for the number of children and the Director, Liz-san, and Nifu-san.

    I asked the director to divide them. Some of the children were finishing their work, and some were sleeping, so she waited for them.

    After all, the director should be able to give it to them so that they don¡¯t have to fight.

    Incidentally, the director was looking at the candy arts curiously.

    After all, it seems that she didn¡¯t think it was food.

    After leaving the orphanage, I headed for Noa¡¯s ce.

    Upon arrival at Noa¡¯s mansion, the maid, L-san, guided me to Noa¡¯s room.

    ¡°Yuna-san, wee!¡± (Noa)

    When I entered the room, Noa rushed happily.

    The room was decorated with teddy bears. A picture book was ced next to it.

    It looked like a bear goods corner.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to be for today?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I was out of town for a while, so I brought you souvenirs.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Souvenirs?¡± (Noa)

    I gave Noa a small box containing a wind chime.

    ¡°Thank you. May I open it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Sure, I hope you like it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Anything from Yuna-san would make me happy.¡± (Noa)

    But after a few tens of seconds...

    ¡°Why not a picture of a bear!¡± (Noa)

    The picture of the wind chime presented to Noa was a wind chime with a picture of a blue fish.

    ¡°I liked the bear more. Yuna, please draw it!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask for the impossible.¡± (Yuna)

    That being said, but if I had a wind chime with nothing painted on it, could I do it?

    It should not be impossible to paint on ss.

    ¡°I see, Noa doesn¡¯t like it if it¡¯s not a bear, so you don¡¯t want it then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it. I¡¯m sorry for being selfish.¡± (Noa)

    When I tried to take it away from her, she held it in his chest to prevent me from taking it away.

    ¡°L, could you hang this in the window.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (L)

    L-san brought a tform and stepped on it to attach the wind chime to the top of the window.

    Then a breeze blew in through the window and made a beautiful chir¨©n, chir¨©n sound.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful sound.¡± (L)

    ¡°It would have been great if it had been a bear.¡± (Noa)

    After all, I¡¯m the reason why Noa loved bears so much.

    But she became happy because there was a bear in the candy art.

    ¡°Eat it properly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t eat it because it¡¯ll be a waste.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it back then.¡± (Yuna)

    It would be a problem if it was ced in that bear goods corner.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re so mean.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that to be mean. It¡¯s a candy, you have to eat it.¡± (Yuna)

    I waited until Noa ate the bear candy.

    ¡°It was delicious, but the bear was gone.¡± (Noa)

    She looks disappointed, but it¡¯s food so it is what it is.

    ¡°Also, I drew a picture book, and I¡¯m going to have Noa take a look at it.¡± (Yuna)

    She had asked me to put herself in the picture book before, so I showed it to her.

    ¡°A picture book?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t give it to you. I¡¯m giving it to Princess Flora. I¡¯m just going to have you look at it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, but you¡¯re also making copies of the new picture book, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m going to ask Eleanora-san because I¡¯m going to give some copies to the orphanage.

    ¡°Then, please give me a copy.¡± (Noa)

    Well, you didn¡¯t even have to ask me that.

    I promised to give Noa the picture book I drew with Fina the other day.

    Noa flipped through the picture book.

    And her hand stopped when the noble girl came out.

    ¡°Is this girl me?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You said you wanted me to put you in the picture book. Was it not good?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy. Thank you, Yuna-san. So I made friends with the girl.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Even in real life, Fina (the girl) and Noa (the noble girl) are good friends.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked happy at my words.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It¡¯s souvenir time!

    It¡¯s difficult to say what it is because it feels the same.

    <b>¡ù</b> Sorry about that. As mentioned in the difference between the book volume 6 and the web version, the employee dormitory is gone in the book version. Therefore, Karin-san and Morin-san are still living on the second floor of the store.

    I am sorry that I started to adapt to the book version in the middle of the book.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Trantor¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>*</b><b>(</b>ï¼š¹¤<b>)</b><b>Ame-zaiku</b> = I may have tranted this as (candy work) but something doesn¡¯t sit right, so I¡¯m changing it to (candy art).

    -228588-

 Chapter 502

    <h4><b>Bear-san, Makes Popcorn</b></h4>

    Now then, can I do it?

    I looked at the dried corn. What I have now is corn from the ind of Targui. The corn was hard and dry to the touch.

    Well, I¡¯ll be lucky if I can make popcorn out of these, as I pondered while making preparations.

    I prepared a frying pan, started a fire, added oil, and added dried corn kernels. At first, I used only a small amount of corn kernels, as this was an experiment.

    I lightly rolled the corn kernels in the pan.

    This should hopefully explode and produce popcorn.

    Now, all we have to do is wait.

    I looked at the corn kernels on the frying pan and noticed something.

    ¡­¡­Oops, no time to look. I almost forgot to put the lid on. I put the lid on the pan in a hurry. If I hadn¡¯t put the lid on, I would have been in trouble. The moment the popcorn was ready, it popped. If I didn¡¯t put the lid on, it would have definitely popped out of the pan.

    But it¡¯s a shame that the lid made it impossible to see the popping moment.

    Would that work if I build an enclosure to keep them from popping out, as I¡¯ve seen in food stalls back on earth?

    I heard a ¡°pop!¡± in the pan as I thought about this. When one pops, another pop, and another, and another. ¡°Pop!¡± It kept going on and on.

    Oh, the popcorn seems to be done sessfully.

    I held back from opening the lid to check it out. Obviously, opening the lid too early will cause unnecessary problems.

    I waited for the popping to stop as I rocked the frying pan to stir the inside.

    After a while, the popping stops

    Is it ready?

    I slowly opened the lid and peeked through the crevice.

    Oh, it¡¯s done.

    It wasn¡¯t grains, but white popcorn!

    I opened the lid and sprinkled some salt.

    When the popcorn was salted, I turned off the heat and ced it on a te.

    Now then, how does it taste?

    I grabbed the popcorn with my bear puppet and put it in my mouth.

    ¡°Hot!¡±

    I didn¡¯t realize how hot the popcorn was when I grabbed it because of the bear puppet, but the popcorn was piping hot because it had just been made.

    But the popcorn in my mouth was the popcorn I knew so well.

    I put it in my mouth carefully this time. Yes, it tastes nostalgic. After potato chips, I now have more snacks.

    Now if only there was ice-cold C and a TV, it would have been perfect. I could have spent an elegant day watching anime. It¡¯s a shame, though, because at least a manga or novel would have brought me back to my?hikikomori?days.

    But I¡¯m d it turned out well. I threw popcorn in my mouth.

    I think I could also make curry and cheese vors, not just salt. And since I have soy sauce, maybe a soy butter vor would be nice. I pondered over my snack pack.

    I still have some corn kernels left, so I might make some.

    Thinking so, I decided to summon Fina as a taste tester.

    I took out my summoning tool, the mighty bearphone.

    ¡°Ah, Fina. Are you free right now? Yeah, I¡¯m waiting, soe over right away.¡±

    The bearphone was a very convenient tool.

    In my original world, I had a smartphone but I rarely used the call function. Coming to this world, I reaffirm that long-distancemunication was, in fact, convenient.

    I decided to make more popcorn before Fina arrived.

    While I was leisurely making popcorn, an out-of-breath Fina came in.

    ¡°Yu, Yuna-oneesan, what is that?¡± (Fina)

    She didn¡¯t have to run that would take her out of breath. I took out a towel for Fina, whose forehead was sweating bullets.

    ¡°I made some snacks and thought you might want a taste.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, then just say so. Asking me out of the blue if I am free right now. And when I said yes, you suddenly told me toe right away.¡± (Fina)

    Did I say that? I think I did. Well anyway, I let Fina sit in the chair and served her cold fruit juice. After Fina drank the fruit juice and settled down, I ced the popcorn on a te in front of Fina.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at the popcorn and asked. It can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s the first time she saw it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a snack called popcorn. I tried making various vors, so go ahead and try it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, what about the spoon?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Spoon?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Or a fork.¡± (Fina)

    I never thought anyone would ask for a spoon or fork to eat popcorn.

    Indeed, without any knowledge, it may be tempting to think it was necessary.

    Popcorn was just as sticky on fingers as potato chips. Some people eat it with chopsticks to keep their hands clean, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone using a spoon and fork.

    ¡°You can eat them with your hands like potato chips.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked at her hand, then grabbed the popcorn with her hand and put it in her mouth.

    ¡°So?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s salty.¡± (Fina)

    Isn¡¯t it~

    Basically, popcorn itself doesn¡¯t have a taste.

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s soft and mysterious. But there¡¯s also a hardness to it.¡± (Fina)

    Oh, it¡¯s the grainy part, yeah it¡¯s hard.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seasoned it in all kinds of vors, so go ahead and try it.¡± (Yuna)

    Curry, soy sauce, and cheese vors were also avable.

    ¡°Everything is delicious!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How did you make this?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s corn. You ate it before.¡± (Yuna)

    I put the corn on the table that we picked on our previous visit to Targui together with Shuri. (See chapter 423.)

    ¡°Yes, it was delicious when boiled.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well, that one was slightly different. I made this after drying the grains.¡± (Yuna)

    I showed her the dried corn kernels.

    ¡°It¡¯s very hard. How can this be that soft white stuff?¡± (Fina)

    Evidence was always better than conceptualization. I made popcorn in front of Fina.

    I put oil in the frying pan over heat and added dried corn kernels. Then ced the lid.

    After a while, Fina was surprised by the ¡°Pon!¡± sound. Fina was further surprised when she heard the series of ¡°pon, pon, pon¡± popping sounds.

    Seeing Fina¡¯s surprised face makes me smile.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, it¡¯s making a lot of noise. Is that okay?!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. But if you take the lid off now, you¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    I really wanted to show her how popcorn was made. If only I had a ss lid.

    Well, if it¡¯s just to show her, I may only need one grain.

    When the popping calmed down, I opened the lid, and the kernels of corn disappeared and were reced by fluffy white popcorn.

    Fina looked curiously into the pan.

    ¡°Now, watch, I¡¯m going to put some in, and see what happens.¡± (Yuna)

    I transferred the popcorn to a te and put about three pieces of corn kernels in the pan.

    Now I¡¯ll make popcorn without the lid.

    Then, after a moment, we heard a popping sound, and the popcorn bounced off of the pan.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s going to be like this, so that¡¯s why we need the lid.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s strange that those hard grains would be like this.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at the popcorn curiously.

    Then, the popcorn I just made will be taken home as a souvenir for Shuri, who could note. Of course, Tirumina-san and Gentz-san can eat it as well.

    I just want to say one thing to Fina.

    ¡°Tell Tirumina-san that I don¡¯t n on putting it in the store.¡± (Yuna)

    Whenever Tirumina-san saw a new food, she always asked me to tell her because she was worried about serving it in the store.

    If we add more workload to the store, the kids would be in trouble and the bakery will go crazy. Perhaps at a school festival or a food stall, if I ever put it out, perhaps?

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The food story continues, but I couldn¡¯t write it for a while unless I dealt with the story of popcorn first, so here it is.

    I think it¡¯s time to start a new arc.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?Starting today, aic book version of the story has been started on Nico Nico Douga¡¯s Nico Nico Seiga.

    I will put the link below, so please take a look if you like.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?13 episodes have been posted in the originalic PASH !. Please check it out at Comic PASH!

    -403815-

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 503

    <h4>Chapter 503</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To The Royal Capital</b></h4>

    The next day, I used the bear gate to go to the royal capital to give Princess Flora the picture book and souvenirs from the Land of Harmony.

    I came to the royal capital before I went to the Land of Harmony, so it shouldn¡¯t have been that long, but I feel nostalgic for some reason.

    Still, just like I felt when I returned to Crimonia, the buildings and clothes differed in different cultures. In the Land of Harmony, it was like being in Kyoto, but over here, it had a? more like a western-style fantasy game vibe to it.

    But both the Land of Harmony and the royal capital have something inmon. It was,? ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Bear?¡± Yep, the voices. It seems that the bear costume wasmonly known as rare to see. It had be somewhat universal at this point.

    I put on my bear hood and head for the castle, ignoring the stares of those around me.

    Come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t visit the castle in the Land of Harmony. Although, if I went to the castle, I would get into troublesome situations, wouldn¡¯t I? I think it would be okay if I took off my bear suit, but that makes me nervous. Even so, I would like to visit the castle in the Land of Harmony someday.

    As usual, when I arrived at the castle gate, a soldier called out to me.

    ¡°I came to see Princess Flora. Is that okay?¡±

    After receiving confirmation from the soldiers, one of them ran off.

    It¡¯s the usual sight.

    I have candy art, which was good as souvenirs, but what would happen if I had no food with me?

    With that in mind, I head straight to Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    Arriving at the room with a slight bow to those I pass by, I knocked on the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Yuna. May Ie in?¡±

    ¡°Yuna?¡±

    There was a sound of someone running in the room. Then the door opens with a bang.

    It was neither Princess Flora nor Anju-san who appeared from the door.

    ¡°Tilia?¡±

    It was Tilia who came out of the door.

    ¡°Yuna, wee.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Why are you here, Tilia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I came to y with my sister. So Yuna, are you here to see Flora?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Yeah, I brought some souvenirs.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, you have a soft spot for Flora, don¡¯t you?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    I denied her words and entered the room.

    ¡°Bear-san!¡±

    When I entered the room, Princess Flora saw me and rushed to me. She then hugged my soft belly.

    Correction, she hugged the soft belly of the bear costume I¡¯m wearing.

    There¡¯s a heaven and earth difference between my stomach and the bear costume¡¯s belly. I stroke Princess Flora¡¯s head.

    ¡°Have you been good?¡± (Yuna)

    Well it¡¯s been about two weeks, I think?

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora replied cheerfully. Princess Flora has a stuffed bear in her arms. It¡¯s nice to see it being used properly like this.

    ¡°Yuna-sama, wee back.¡±

    Anju-san greeted me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course not, you are always wee here, as Flora-sama will be delighted to see you. Then I will prepare some tea and take good care of Flora-sama.¡± (Anju)

    Anju-san lightly bowed her head and went to prepare tea.

    I moved to the chair with Princess Flora. Tilia followed me.

    ¡°Flora seems to really like you. Flora, do you like Yuna?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Yes, I love bear-san.¡± (Flora)

    It¡¯s a little embarrassing when she says it so clearly.

    But I guess they wouldn¡¯t say the same thing if I took off my bear costume.

    Maybe she likes the character and not the one inside of it. That might be depressing to think about.

    ¡°So what did you bring today?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°The continuation of the picture book, and I got something a little unusual when I went somewhere.¡± (Yuna)

    Apart from the picture book, I intend to give them candy arts and wind chimes that I got in the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°A Picture book!?¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora responded. I knew she was looking forward to the picture book.

    ¡°Did you go somewhere far away?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Well, sort of.¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t exin the Land of Harmony, so I¡¯ll make it vague.

    ¡°Ah, by the way, Tilia, how are you doing? How¡¯s school?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯re on a holiday.¡± (Tilia)

    That¡¯s why she¡¯s wearing in clothes.

    I saw Tilia in her in clothes, she¡¯s not dressed like a princess, but in something like Noa and the others would wear.

    Well, just because she¡¯s a princess, it doesn¡¯t mean that she¡¯d wear a dress all the time.

    I was going to give the picture book first, but I would be sad if she concentrated on the picture book and wouldn¡¯t be interested in the wind chime, so I decided to give the wind chime first.

    I took out a small box containing a wind chime from the bear box. Princess Flora tilted her head slightly and asked.

    ¡°Is there a picture book in it?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°There¡¯s no picture book in it.¡± (Yuna)

    I open the lid of the small box. A wind chime with a red flower painted on the clear ss appeared.

    Princess Flora stretched her little body and looked into the box.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°It¡¯s called a wind chime, and when the wind blows, it¡¯ll shake and make a sound.¡± (Yuna)

    I took the wind chime out of the box and shook it lightly to make a sound.

    ¡°Beautiful, sound.¡± (Flora)

    ¡°When disyed near a window, it will sway in the wind and make a sound.¡± (Yuna)

    I shake it again.

    ¡°It¡¯s really a beautiful sound. Do I also have one?¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia looked at me with a greedy expression

    ¡°¡­No, you don¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    I answered while looking away.

    I didn¡¯t think about Tilia¡¯s piece, so I had no choice.

    ¡°As expected, Yuna has a soft spot only for Flora.¡± (Tilia)

    I ignored Tilia¡¯s words and talked to Anju-san, who had brought the tea.

    ¡°Anju-san, can you hang it by the window in the roomter? If it makes too much noise, you can take it down.¡± (Yuna)

    When it¡¯s windy, the sound of wind chimes bes irritating. A gentle breeze makes a beautiful sound.

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Anju)

    I asked her to do itter, but Anju-san get right into it

    When Anju-san carried the chair to the window, she stood on the chair and attached the wind chime to the window. Since it was attached on the inside, it would only make a sound when the window was open.

    Everyone looked at the window where the wind chime was hanging.

    The wind chimes sway in the wind and make a?chir¨©n, chir¨©n?sound.

    It feels like summer. I didn¡¯t have wind chimes at home, but when I hear the sound of wind chimes, I feel like it was summer.

    Princess Flora also looked happy whenever the wind blew and the chime went?chir¨©n, chir¨©n.

    We listened to the sound of wind chimes as we sip tea made by Anju-san.

    Then, I took out another souvenir from the bear box that I bought in the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°It¡¯s candy.¡± (Yuna)

    I answered Tilia¡¯s question.

    ¡°Fufu, I can finally eat Yuna¡¯s souvenir, because you alwayse when I¡¯m not there.¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia was still a student. Whenever Ie to visit her sister, she¡¯s usually at school, so it was inevitable that I cannot see her.

    I opened the lid of the heavy box containing the candy arts, and inside were variously shaped candies. I had given most of them away to the children at the orphanage, but I had bought all the candy arts from the stall, so there was still some left.

    Tilia and Princess Flora looked inside the heavy box.

    ¡°So pretty.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Uwa~a, a flower, and Bird-san!¡± (Flora)

    ¡°There are fruits and fish. Are these foods?¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Those are candies made of sugar, I think? Well, it¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡± (Yuna)

    I picked up a piece of candy from the heavy box.

    It¡¯s a candy art made in the shape of a stuffed bear. It was made by an old man who makes candy crafts, and he made it with me as the motif. I am a little embarrassed, but I offered it to Princess Flora.

    ¡°It¡¯s Bear-san!¡± (Flora)

    ¡°It¡¯s in the shape of Yuna.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Well, I had it made with me as the motif.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Good for you, Flora.¡± (Tilia)

    But Princess Flora was staring at the bear shaped candy art in her hand.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are we going to eat Bear-san?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°Because it¡¯s candy.¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe she is the same as Noa?

    ¡°If I eat it, will it disappear?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°Yeah, if you eat it, it will disappear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, I don¡¯t want to eat it!¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora gave back the candy art of me in a bear costume.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll eat it.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat it!¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora called out to Tilia, who reached for the candy art of me in a bear costume.

    ¡°All right, stop shouting, I won¡¯t eat it.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°I swear.¡± (Tilia)

    With that said, Tilia grabbed a flower candy art.

    ¡°Then, Princess Flora, choose which one you like.¡± (Yuna)

    I held the heavy box in front of Princess Flora.

    Princess Flora grabbed the same flower candy art as Tilia while nervously letting out an ¡°U~u, u~u¡± voice. Does she want to be like her sister?

    Princess Flora put it straight into her mouth.

    ¡°Sweet!¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora has a big smile on her face.

    ¡°But it¡¯s really beautiful. It¡¯s a waste to eat them.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°It¡¯s food, so it would be wasteful not to eat it.¡± (Yuna)

    While these candies were works of art, they were still food. If you don¡¯t eat it, it would be rude to the person who made it.

    Tilia puts the candy art in her mouth and has the same reaction as Princess Flora. They¡¯re sisters after all, aren¡¯t they?

    ¡°Anju-san, please have some.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Anju)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t feel like eating it now, you can have itter. If you like, you can also take one home for your child.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Anju)

    Anju-san was apologetic and happy at the same time.

    Then, I will also ask her to give Zeref-san¡¯s portion of the candy art. By the way, I¡¯ll also ask her to tell him that I don¡¯t have the recipe for it.

    I didn¡¯t make it, so I don¡¯t have a recipe. I don¡¯t want him to ask meter.

    As I was eating a piece of candy in my hand, the door opened without anyone knocking. It was the promised appearance of His Majesty the King. Next to him was the queen.

    I¡¯m starting to wonder if this country is really safe.

    And the wind chime goes?chir¨©n, chir¨©n.

    ¡°What is this sound?¡± (Queen)

    ¡°It¡¯s a souvenir from Yuna.¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia looked in the direction of the wind chime hanging on the window. The wind blows, and the chime goes?chir¨©n, chir¨©n

    ¡°It sounds pretty.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°It¡¯s enjoyable listening to the sound.¡± (King)

    While listening to the wind chime sound, His Majesty the King and the Queen sat on the chairs. Then, they looked at the heavy box on the table.

    ¡°I see, we made it in time, huh?¡± (King)

    The moment the king looked into the heavy box, he frowned.

    ¡°What is this? Flowers and fish? Animals and fruits?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s a confection called candy art. Would it be better to call it sugar candy, perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    I gave the King the same exnation I gave earler to Tilia. That¡¯s the only exnation I can give.

    ¡°It¡¯s very, very sweet and delicious.¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora told the King with a big smile.

    ¡°You can choose which one you like. There are many shapes and colors, but the taste is basically simr.¡± (Yuna)

    His Majesty the King and the Queen were troubled and each took a candy art in their hands.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s candy? You¡¯re not tricking me, right?¡± (King)

    ¡°Once you eat it, you¡¯ll then understand.¡± (Yuna)

    The king looked curiously at the bird-shaped candy.

    ¡°Ara, it¡¯s delicious. It¡¯s really sweet like sugar candy.¡± (Queen)

    Next to the puzzled King, the queen was putting the candy in her mouth.

    His Majesty the King who saw it also started eating.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?Episode 15 of theicalization is now avable on the official website. Introducing Hugging Bear. Thank you for your continued support.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?Episode 7 is now avable on Nico Nico Manga. Please check it out.

    -384181-

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 504

    <h4>Chapter 504</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To See Shia</b></h4>

    His Majesty the King, the Queen, and Tilia did not hesitate to reach for the second candy art.

    It¡¯s fine, though, since there was still some left, but too much sugar wasn¡¯t good, so I put away the candies¡¯ heavy box.

    His Majesty the King was disappointed, but he had to be careful with his sweets as an adult.

    I watched Princess Flora finish her candy first, and then I took out the picture book from the bear box.

    ¡°It¡¯s a new picture book.¡± (Yuna)

    When I gave her the picture book, Princess Flora dly received it.

    ...

    ¡°Thank you, Bear-san.¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora put on a big smile and started reading the picture book.

    ¡°A new picture book?¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia got up from her chair and moved over to Princess Flora.

    ¡°Flora, let me read it for a little bit.¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia tried to reach for the picture book.

    However, Princess Flora stretched her body and tried to protect the picture book.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it!¡± (Flora)

    ¡°Just a little.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°No!¡± (Flora)

    ¡°Then let¡¯s have a look at it together, that¡¯ll do, right?¡± (Tilia)

    Princess Flora alternately looked between the picture book and Tilia when Tilia asked.

    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± (Flora)

    Tilia stroked Princess Flora¡¯s head and carried a chair next to Princess Flora to sit down.

    These sisters get along well.

    ¡°Anju-san, please have Eleanora-san copy itter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll let her knowter.¡± (Anju)

    Anju-san, who was making a new batch of tea, looked happy at my words. Anju-san also wanted a copy of the picture book.

    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Eleanora-san?¡± (Yuna)

    Usually, she barges together with His Majesty the King. But today, she didn¡¯te.

    ¡°She¡¯s working. She¡¯s supposed to be out today.¡± (King)

    She¡¯s working. Now that¡¯s rare. Maybe today it will rain pigs.

    (Editor¡¯s note: basically something unbelievably impossible [for the circumstances] happened)

    But if she¡¯s noting, should I prepare a candy art for Eleanora-san? I don¡¯t want her tointer.

    After eating his candy, His Majesty the King returned to his work, and the Queen had some business to attend to, so she also left the room.

    Ange took the candy art and went to Zeref-san¡¯s ce.

    At the request of Princess Flora and Tilia, I summoned the normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The sisters hugged the bears.

    ¡°Soft. Happiness.¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia buried her face in Swaying Bear¡¯s belly.

    Mimicking her, Princess Flora also hugged Hugging Bear¡¯s belly.

    It¡¯s nice to have a big room where I can summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I want to take a walk in the castle on Swaying Bear.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that. It would cause a scene.¡± (Yuna)

    I rejected Tilia¡¯s monologue.

    ¡°U~u, I certainly wouldn¡¯t want the knights to attack Swaying Bear when they see him.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Are they going to attack Bear-san?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that it might happen when you take them for a walk out of the room.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Bear-san, don¡¯t go outside.¡± (Flora)

    When Princess Flora heard Tilia¡¯s words, she hugged Hugging Bear and didn¡¯t let him go outside.

    Hugging Bear cried ¡®ku~u ~ n¡® and gently ced his paw on Princess Flora¡¯s head, which was hugging his stomach.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing to see a bear so friendly, but a bear that can understandnguage is even more unbelievable. Swaying Bear, will you let me on your back?¡± (Tilia)

    When Tilia asked, Swaying Bear sat down, making it easier for her to ride on it back.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Tilia)

    Tilia thanked him and got on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°Oneechan, that¡¯s not fair. I want to ride too.¡± (Flora)

    Hearing Princess Flora¡¯s words, Hugging Bear sat down. Princess Flora tried to get on, but it was still too high for her to ride even when Hugging Bear was sitting down.

    I grabbed Princess Flora¡¯s waist, lifted her up, and put her on Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°Thank you, Bear-san.¡± (Flora)

    Then they rode around the room on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I have no particr ns today, so I spent the day rxing with Princess Flora and Tilia. After a while, Princess Flora, tired of ying, fell asleepfortably on the top of Hugging Bear.

    Anju-san, who came back, gently lifted Princess Flora and put her on the bed.

    ¡°Bear-san¡­¡± (Flora)

    She¡¯s talking in her sleep. By ¡°Bear-san,¡± does she mean me? Or does she mean Hugging Bear, who was with her just a while ago?

    Princess Flora, who wasid on the bed, unconsciously hugged the cuddly plushie ced next to her by Anju-san.

    Her face looked happy.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll get going.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna,e again when I¡¯m here.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°Well, when the timing is right. Tell Princess Flora I¡¯lle back again.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If Yuna, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear weren¡¯t there when she woke up, she¡¯d probably cry.¡± (Tilia)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. The plushies should suffice.¡± (Yuna)

    I parted from Tilia and left the castle.

    There¡¯s still time. If the school was still closed, there¡¯s a possibility that Shia was at home if she hadn¡¯t gone out. I have some candy arts left, so I decided to go see her.

    If she¡¯s not there, I¡¯ll just give them to the maid, Sulirina-san. Besides, if I give Eleanora-san¡¯s share, she won¡¯tin about itter.

    When I arrive at Eleanora-san¡¯s mansion, I am greeted by her maid, Sulirina-san.

    ¡°Is Shia here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s at the flowerbed right now.¡± (Sulirina)

    Guided by Sulirina-san, I went to the garden.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re here.¡± (Shia)

    Shia, who noticed me, turned around happily.

    Her face was covered with dirt.

    ¡°What were you doing?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was cleaning the flowerbed.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I was going to do it on my own, but Shia-sama offered to help me.¡± (Sulirina)

    ¡°I was helping out because the school was closed.¡± (Shia)

    The girls handled weeds neatly and beautiful flowers were in bloom on the flowerbed.

    ¡°Is this the flower bed we made before?¡± (Yuna)

    When I came for the King¡¯s birthday celebration, I helped Sulirina-san make a flower bed. The flowers were blooming in the flowerbed from that time.

    ¡°Yes, thanks to you, Yuna-san, we have beautiful flowers.¡± (Sulirina)

    Sulirina-san looked happy.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Sulirina-san worked so hard raising them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She was taking good care of them every day after all.¡± (Shia)

    Sulirina-san looked a little shy with Shia¡¯s words.

    ¡°Now then, let us go into the house so I can prepare the tea. But before you go to your room, Shia-sama, please wash your face.¡± (Sulirina)

    Shia ran her hand over her cheek, and a thinyer of dirt across it.

    Seeing this, Sulirina-san and I both smile.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m tired.¡± (Shia)

    Shia, having washed her face, leaned back in her chair.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Shia-sama. Thanks to you, we finished early.¡± (Sulirina)

    Sulirina-san brought me a cup of tea. I thanked her and epted it.

    ¡°Tea tastes good after work, doesn¡¯t it? So, what¡¯s up, Yuna? Do you have some errands to run? Of course, even if you don¡¯t have one, you are always wee toe by.¡± (Shia)

    A simr line was once said to me by Noa. They were sisters, after all.

    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Shia, Noa said the same thing to me. I brought souvenirs today. Earlier, I went to the castle, but I didn¡¯t see Eleanora-san, so I thought I¡¯d give her share to you too.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the heavy box containing the candy arts from the bear box.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°You look tired, and these are just the right snacks.¡± (Yuna)

    When you¡¯re tired, it¡¯s sweets.

    I opened the heavy box. There were fewer of them, but there were still some.

    ¡°Sweets?¡± (Shia)

    Shia reacted the same way as those who had seen the candy art.

    ¡°They¡¯re sweet and tasty. They taste the same, so pick which one you like.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia looked curiously at the candy arts and held up a rabbit-shaped candy art.

    ?t¡¯s beautiful, but it¡¯s such a waste to eat it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Sulirina-san, you too.¡± (Yuna)

    I invited Sulirina-san to join.

    ¡°I will dly take your word for it then.¡± (Sulirina)

    Sulirina-san also sat in a chair, had the same look as Noa, and held a red flower candy bar.

    Then Shia and Sulirina-san put the candy bar in their mouths.

    ¡°Delicious!¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s sweet and delicious.¡± (Sulirina)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you like sweets too, don¡¯t you?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m really that much into sweets though.

    ¡°Because you taught me cotton candy at the school festival, also the pudding and cake you make are both sweet treats.¡± (Shia)

    That being said, I made many sweets.

    But I also made potato chips and popcorn.

    I¡¯ll serve her popcorn to make my point.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Popcorn, it¡¯s a snack. It¡¯s not sweet.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, do I just grab it with my hands and eat it?¡± (Shia)

    That¡¯s right. Shia was a noblewoman. Basically, no eating by hand.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s something you grab and eat with your hands, but it may be a little sticky afterward?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Shia-sama, may I get you a spoon?¡± (Sulirina)

    ¡°I will eat it as it is.¡± (Shia)

    Shia reached out for popcorn, grabbed a few, and put it in her mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s salty. It¡¯s soft. Yuna-san, did you make this too?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°The candy art you just saw was sold in a store somewhere quite far away, but I made this one.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are so many foods from far away that I don¡¯t know about.¡± (Shia)

    Shia looked alternately between popcorn and candy art.

    Apparently, she liked both of them.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?The release of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 11.5 (tentative)¡± has been set for 1/25 (tentative). The content will be a collection of SS for the store bonus. We will be epting requests for extra SS. For more details, please check our activity report.

 Chapter 505

    <h4>Chapter 505</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Asks Shia About The Exchange Meet.</b></h4>

    <b>=====</b>

    In the swimsuit conversation with Lurina-san in episode 344, we changed the name from <b>[</b>Wallsour<b>]</b>, the city with theke, to the city of <b>[</b>Euphalia<b>]</b>. <b>(</b>TN: In my case, it¡¯s <b>[</b>Yufalia<b>] </b>changing to <b>[</b>Euphalia<b>]</b>.<b>)</b>

    I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause the readers.

    -Kumanano

    <b>=====</b>

    ¡°But if you hade next week, I wouldn¡¯t be here, so I¡¯m d Yuna-san came today.¡± (Shia)

    She said the same thing as Tilia while happily eating candy art and popcorn.

    ...

    I just felt like going to the royal capital, and it happened that the school was closed. It¡¯s dependent on my mood of the day. But what about next week?

    ¡°What¡¯s happening next week?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t be in the royal capital because I¡¯m going to the city of Euphalia.¡± (Shia)

    The city of Euphalia? It seems to be subtly familiar, or maybe not.

    It¡¯s stuck somewhere in my head.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re heading for the city of Euphalia next week, Shia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This time, a magical exchange meeting will be held within the school in the city of Euphalia. Something like showing the magical ability of the students of each other¡¯s school? Well, to put it simply, the purpose is for students from both schools to show off their magical abilities andpete with each other. If we lose, we will try to win next year. If we win, then they will try to win next year. That¡¯s the kind of social gathering that takes ce. And I¡¯m going to be a part of it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that the school chose you for it, Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m one of a few¡± (Shia)

    ¡°But still, the school chose you. It¡¯s impressive.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s partly due to my status as an aristocrat.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I know how much you were practicing. You¡¯re outstanding.¡± (Sulirina)

    Sulirina-san denied Shia¡¯s words.

    ¡°And if Yuna-san had attended the academy, she would definitely have been chosen.¡± (Shia)

    Unfortunately, I do not attend the academy.

    ¡°But still, Euphalia. Now where have I heard that?¡± (Yuna)

    Somehow, it¡¯s stuck in the corner of my head.

    ¡°Maybe from that time?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That time?¡± (Yuna)

    When was that time?

    I tilted my head.

    ¡°Look, Yuna-san. We all once went to the beach in the town of Mereera, didn¡¯t we?¡± (Shia)

    I went to the town of Mereera with Fina, Noa, the children from the orphanage, and then Shia from the royal capital.

    But what does that have anything to do with the city of Euphalia?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? When Yuna-san was inviting Lurina-san, you talked about swimsuits, and Lurina-san said she had a swimsuit because she had been to Euphalia.¡± (Shia)

    ......Pon.

    I hit my bear puppet.

    Yeah, I remember having that conversation. I was worried about what to do with Lurina-san¡¯s swimsuit, and she said she had one because there was a city with ake, and she bought it there.

    The city Lurina-san told me about was Euphalia. So that¡¯s why it sounded faintly familiar.

    ¡°Shia, you remembered it well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was because of Yuna-san¡¯s bear golem ride, and I had a strong impression at that time, and for some reason, I clearly remember the conversation between Yuna-san and Lurina-san.¡± (Shia)

    Shia replied with a chuckle.

    Her memory was good.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t know there was such a social event. Sounds interesting.¡± (Yuna)

    If this were a manga, it¡¯d be a school battle. Or an athletic meet where each clubpetes with each other?

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to going to the city of Euphalia, but the social event is not fun for me because I have to carry the feelings of everyone at the academy on my back. In that case, would you like to join us, Yuna-san?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m not a student.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You can wear the uniform I gave you.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°The other students and teachers will get mad at me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, if you disy your ability, you¡¯ll convince them.¡± (Shia)

    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t my ability. It was the power of the bear cheat. Without my bear equipment, I could not use magic.

    ¡°I respectfully decline.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame. If Yuna-sanes, we would have won without a doubt.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Shia, you should do your best there.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia made a bitter smile at my words.

    Does she really hate it that much?

    ¡°Shall I go cheer you on?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re cheering for us?¡± (Shia)

    I don¡¯t expect to find many students as good as Shinobu, but it¡¯s an excellent opportunity to see what kind of magic power students of my age have.

    Whether it¡¯s the academy in the Royal Capital or the academy in the city of Euphalia, it¡¯s not a bad idea to check it. I saw them use magic at the school festival, but it wasn¡¯t at full strength, and it wasn¡¯t apetition.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Shall I take Noa with me? That would motivate you, Shia, wouldn¡¯t it? But first things first, am I even allowed to watch?¡± (Yuna)

    It would be normal to refuse everyone except the rtives if it were a school athletic meet or something like that. It would be meaningless if Noa could see it, but I couldn¡¯t. However, if it¡¯s open to the general public as a school festival, I can watch it too.

    .

    ¡°Students and rtives are fine.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll take Noa with me, then, won¡¯t I?¡± (Yuna)

    Lately, I¡¯ve been taking only Fina around with me. I don¡¯t get a chance to take Noa with me unless it¡¯s a time like this.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it difficult to bring Noa, all the way from Crimonia?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard. I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and Noa, she may be a little selfish, but she¡¯s a good kid.¡± (Yuna)

    If I said no, she would listen, even though she puffed out her cheeks. She won¡¯t throw a fit.

    But when ites to the bears, she¡¯ll go crazy.

    ¡°Then, if Noa ising, tell her not to forget her bathing suit.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Can we swim there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, you should still be able to swim. Every year, after the exchange meeting, I hear they always go for a swim.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Is this perhaps your first time there, Shia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯m nervous.¡± (Shia)

    Well, I think only a few don¡¯t get nervous atpetitions.

    Most people get nervous unless they are ustomed to being there.

    ¡°I feel sorry for Father, but would you like me to make a request to Mother?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Hmm, this time it¡¯s my suggestion, so I¡¯m going to do it myself instead of asking her. Besides, if I owe Eleanora-san a favor, it might be troublesometer.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, I can¡¯t deny that. Well then, I will write a letter to Father, will you give it to him?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Cliff may be happier with Shia¡¯s letter than Eleanora-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Fathers love their cute daughters, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    Mine was different, but fathers generally have a soft spot for their daughters.

    ¡°Even at the school festival, she was worried about some guying up to Noa. So, as long as you write sweet words, Shia, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    If Eleanora-san were the whip, Shia would be the candy.

    ¡°I understand. Then I will go to my room to write a letter, please wait for a moment. Sulirina, tell Yuna-san where Euphalia is.¡± (Shia)

    Shia asked Sririna to help me and left the room.

    I asked Sririna to show me the location of the city of Euphalia.

    ¡°So it¡¯s on the other side of Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    The city of Euphalia is opposite from Crimonia, when viewed from the royal capital.

    I don¡¯t know how urate this map is. The map looks like the distance from the royal capital to Crimonia is not so different.

    ¡°Yes, so it may take some time.¡± (Sulirina)

    ¡°I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me, so we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course. Yuna-sama has been to the Royal Capital many times like this.¡± (Sulirina)

    Well, in reality, it¡¯s via the bear gate.

    It would be easier if I could tell Noa about the bear gate. I think she will be pleased to be able to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear again.

    After talking with Sulirina-san for a while, Shiaes back.

    ¡°Thank you for waiting, Yuna-san. Please give this to my father. I don¡¯t know how much help it will be, though.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Pleasee and cheer for us then, even if it¡¯s just you, Yuna-san. I will be happy just to have youe.¡± (Shia)

    Maybe I¡¯ll take Fina with me then?

    But since I brought Fina around to the country of harmony, should I not take her for a while?

    Then, I checked the schedule of the exchange meeting.

    ¡°I wish Yuna-san coulde with us from the Royal Capital so I could have ridden Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan again, but that¡¯s too bad.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°You have other students with you, don¡¯t you? I¡¯ll refrain from going with your group, because they may be surprised when they see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear together.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia offered the idea of meeting up in the Royal Capital and going with her, but I declined.

    It¡¯s bothersome and annoying if they make amotion.

    Besides, I would like to refrain from acting with people I don¡¯t know, even if it¡¯s only Shia. I can¡¯t even use the bear house, which is exhausting.

    Now then, I heard about the city of Euphalia and confirmed the meeting ce.

    ¡°Well then, Yuna-san, I¡¯ll look forward to seeing you with Noa when we arrive there.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to convince Cliff.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, if Noa¡¯s daily activities were good, I think Cliff would give permission.

    Now let¡¯s hope Shia¡¯s letter will do the rest.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> I have some bookworking up, so my next post may be dyed. I may not be able to reply to yourments ordingly. Please understand.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>] </b>The first half of episode 8 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Nico Nico Manga. Thank you for your cooperation.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> We didn¡¯t notice itst time, but as of October 13th, we celebrated our 4th anniversary. Please continue to support Kuma in the future.

    Commemorative note:

    13 reviews

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    <b>-388664-</b>

 Chapter 506

    <h4>Chapter 506</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To See Noa</b></h4>

    The day after returning from the royal capital, I went to see Noa.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, Yuna-san? Did youe to visit me? Do you want to go outside? It would be nice to go out on Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looks happy that I came.

    ¡°Are you okay with your studies and all?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m doing it properly, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s great. I have a present, or rather, an invitation for you, Noa, for being good. A few days from now, there will be an exchange meet topete for magic between the royal capital¡¯s school and the city of Euphalia¡¯s school. It seems that Shia will participate in it. So do you want toe and watch it with me, Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll go! I want to go.¡± (Noa)

    Noa responded loudly, not even bothering to ask for more details.

    ¡°Then all we have to do now is get Cliff¡¯s permission.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll also ask my father.¡± (Noa)

    Noa immediately tried to get to Cliff.

    ¡°Is he working? Is it okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, should I go with you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you also want toe with me and ask him together?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because I¡¯m the one who invited you.¡± (Yuna)

    I told Shia that I would bring Noa with me. Besides, Shia had also written a letter for Cliff, and it would be easier for the conversation to move forward if I went with Noa.

    Noa and I went to the office where Cliff was.

    Noa knocked on the door, asked permission to enter, and entered the room.

    ¡°Yuna, why are you here?¡± (Cliff)

    When he saw my face, he looked anxious.

    Why would that be, I wonder?

    ¡°Because we have something to ask.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Father, may I go with Yuna-san to support Oneesama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Supporting Shia?¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff looked as if he had no idea why.

    I told Cliff about the magical exchange meeting.

    ¡°Oh, that.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Father, I want to go and watch. I want to go to support Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°For now, I have a letter of request from Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°From Shia? Not from Eleanora?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°This time, it¡¯s a request from Shia and me.¡± (Yuna)

    I give Cliff the letter that Shia entrusted to me. Cliff epted the letter and looked it over.

    His eyes be kinder as he reads the letter. As expected, he¡¯s happy to receive a letter from his daughter.

    ¡°I get it. Okay.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Shia will be more motivated if Noa is there.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Thank you, Father!¡± (Noa)

    Noa has a big smile on her face.

    ¡°The road to the city of Euphalia is not an easy one to take. It would be good if you take Noa with you to Euphalia.¡± (Cliff)

    Euphoria is located in the opposite direction of Crimonia from the royal capital. If you live in the Royal Capital, you can go there directly, but from Crimonia, it may take longer even by horse-drawn carriage or other means.

    ¡°Is the city of Euphalia, a city ofkes?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You know about it?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°A little bit. Also, Shia told me to remind Noa not to forget her bathing suit.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s good to y, but don¡¯t forget to see the city.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And don¡¯t forget to support Shia.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Of course!¡± (Yuna)

    With Cliff¡¯s permission, we return to Noa¡¯s room and set a date for our departure.

    ¡°Would you like to meet up with Eleanora-san in the royal capital?¡± (Yuna)

    That would change the date of departure.

    ¡°My mother?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If we leave early, I think we can make time to meet her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, why don¡¯t we go see her on our way home? If so, we can meet her without worrying about time; we can even talk to Oneesama about the exchange meet.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I guess so. Then, we¡¯ll head directly to the city of Euphalia without going at the royal capital on the way there, and we¡¯ll stop by the royal capital on the way back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    It takes time just to get into the royal capitalm, as well as departing from it. If we stay in the Bear House, we can save a lot of time.

    ¡°But is it okay to depart sote?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If it¡¯s Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to Noa like how we did when we went to the royal capitalst time.

    And since it¡¯s just Noa and me this time, we can move faster than that time.

    ¡°I can go leisurely with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s fine and all, but shortening travel time is a fundamental part of any trip.¡± (Yuna)

    Honestly, I would have liked to go to the royal capital through the bear gate. But since I am with Noa, who knows nothing about the bear gate, we¡¯re going to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear once again.

    Incidentally, this time, since it¡¯s about Noa and Shia, I would like to tell them that I am not taking Fina with me. I thought it would be a waste of time and energy to bother them both.

    When I said that to Noa.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But I took Fina with me thest time I went souvenir shopping.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined, and she puffed out her cheeks.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! Then, this time, I¡¯m monopolizing Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    She said that. But you know, I¡¯m not owned by anyone.

    A few dayster, Noa and I rode together on Swaying Bear, and departed for Euphalia.

    Euphalia¡¯s road was no different from the road to the royal capital.

    ¡°Yuna-san, wasn¡¯t Swaying Bear-chan fast today?¡± (Noa)

    Swaying Bear was running faster than usual.

    ¡°Swaying Bear was wearing something you call a power-up item. He wears it so he can run long distances faster.¡± (Yuna)

    The effects of Bearmonite have increased endurance, speed, and attack power, among other things. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have be more powerful.

    ¡°Such items exist?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to make him run all the way, so I¡¯ll switch him with Hugging Bear en route.¡± (Yuna)

    If we switch bears, we can shorten our breaks. That¡¯s why Noa and I ride Swaying Bear together instead of separately.

    And, even though Swaying Bear showed no signs of fatigue, he changed ces with Hugging Bear midway. If I didn¡¯t switch them, Hugging Bear, who was inside the bear puppet, would sulk.

    I asked Swaying Bear to rest inside the bear puppet.

    Then, we continued our travel after switching bears and arrived at the royal capital before evening.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. One day? We got to the royal capital in just half a day.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°We had to keep going because if we go into the Royal Capital, It¡¯ll take up a lot of time.¡± (Yuna)

    If we stay at Eleanora-san¡¯s ce or my house in the Royal Capital, it will take a lot of time. Besides, Noa said that it would be eptable to see Eleanora-san on the way back, so we will continue to pass through the Royal Capital.

    Since it was almost evening, there were no people outside the Royal Capital, and Hugging Bear ran as it was.

    Then, a short distance from Royal Capital, I set up a bear house away from the city roads and stayed there overnight.

    At this pace, we should be able to arrive tomorrow.

    ¡°I now understand why Yuna-san can get to the Royal Capital so easily. I can¡¯t believe we left Crimonia in the morning and arrived in the Royal Capital before evening.¡± (Noa)

    Well, the difference in movement speed between a carriage and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear was immense. Moreover, they were powered up by Bearmonites.

    After taking a bath and eating, we moved to our room.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving early tomorrow, so let¡¯s get to bed early.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to sleep with you, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°With me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I want to hear Yuna-san¡¯s story.¡± (Noa)

    I thought she just wanted to sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I guess not.

    I took Noa and went into the room.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging also slept together with us because my bed was big enough.

    ¡°Fufu, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan are so cute.¡± (Noa)

    Noa copsed on the bed, holding Swaying Bear, who had turned into a bear cub. Hugging Bear came to my side, and I held him in my arms.

    ¡°So what do you want to hear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯ve been to a lot of ces, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, Yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve also been to ces I can¡¯t talk to Noa about.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to hear your story.¡± (Noa)

    Hmmm, which story would it be?

    I think about it for a moment and decide to tell him about my visit to the elven vige.

    I met Ruimin, and her sister Sanya-san, the guild master in the royal capital. We went to the elven vige together, following Sanya-san, who had decided to return to the elf vige because the barrier around the elf vige had weakened. I also remembered a big tree in the elf vige called the Sacred Tree. I told her that the tea Cliff drank was made from the leaves of the sacred tree.

    At first, Noa seemed to enjoy listening to the story, but by the time I finished, she was holding Swaying Bear and snoozing.

    I covered Noa with a nket so she wouldn¡¯t catch a cold.

    ¡°Good night.¡± (Yuna)

    I said in a small voice and went to sleep.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    That¡¯s how Noa and I decided to go together.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?The 16th episode of theicalization has been published on Comic Pash. Please give us your best regards.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?The Comic Pash will start on October 28th (tentative). The first episode will be published on pixivic.

 Chapter 507

    <h4>Chapter 507</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Enters The City Of Euphalia</b></h4>

    ¡°U~u, I¡¯m still sleepy.¡± (Noa)

    Noa yawned a little while holding Swaying Bear in bear cub form.

    ¡°Come on, go wash your face and eat.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yea~h~¡± (Noa)

    We had a light meal and departed for the city of Euphalia.

    Today, we¡¯ll head straight to Euphalia, alternating between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°As I recall, we can just continue down this road.¡± (Yuna)

    I proceeded while looking at the bear map, but the bear map only showed the ce where the bear hood visually saw and recorded.

    Therefore, I do not know the exact location of Euphalia, which I have never been to.

    I asked Swaying Bear to ¡°head the city of Euphalia¡±, but sadly he cried ¡°Kuu-n¡°. I knew it. He couldn¡¯t go to a ce he¡¯s never been to, even if Bearmonite powered him up. And here I thought such an ability had blossomed, but it didn¡¯t work the way I hoped it would.

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san. There is a signpost!¡± (Noa)

    As we continued down the road, there stood a signpost with the names of the viges and towns at a fork.

    We got off of Swaying Bear and checked the signpost.

    ¡°Euphalia is this way.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t make a mistake.

    I got lost in the forest before when I tried to take a shortcut. But this time, I followed the road just as Sulirina-san instructed, and it seemed to be the correct choice.

    It¡¯s often said that you¡¯ll make mistakes when you rush things.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we should arrive by the end of the day.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t want any gs and want to arrive without incident.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we just left Crimonia yesterday.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroke Swaying Bear¡¯s body.

    ¡°Uh, I also want Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa hugged Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be silly, we¡¯re leaving.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ye~s~¡± (Noa)

    I put Noa on Swaying Bear¡¯s back, and we departed once again.

    While Swaying Bear was running on the road, he suddenly cried ¡°kuun~n¡±, and deviated from the route.

    In case there were people around, he¡¯ll try to run offroad so as not to startle them.

    ¡°Looks like another adventurer.¡± (Yuna)

    Looking at the road from a distance, several people dressed as adventurers passed by.

    I didn¡¯t really care about it, but thinking back, we indeed passed by adventurers a few times.

    ¡°Are they heading to the royal capital?¡± (Yuna)

    We came from the royal capital, but I didn¡¯t know the reason because we didn¡¯t enter the royal capital.

    Did Sanya-san know anything?

    We can¡¯t go back to the royal capital now, and if there¡¯s anything to worry about, I¡¯ll just use the bear gate. But it doesn¡¯t really matter right now, and we¡¯re heading to the city of Euphalia.

    We continued on, and the city came into view.

    Nothing happened, and it seems that we were able to arrive safely.

    ¡°That is the city of Euphalia... it¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Noa)

    The city of Euphalia can be seen from the hill we¡¯re on. There¡¯s ake in the center of the city, and the buildings were spread around theke. There were four main roads leading to theke, east, west, north, and south, and four more roads between each road, making eightrge roads leading to theke.

    Noa was right. The view of the city from here is beautiful.

    After all, it¡¯s a good idea to decide on how to build the roads before erecting the buildings. If you build it as you like, you will get lost, and it will look messy. But if a war breaks out, it¡¯ll be easy to get attacked.

    ¡°Come on, Yuna-san, let¡¯s go.¡± (Noa)

    Noa shakes her body while I¡¯m enjoying the view of the city

    ¡°I guess so. We¡¯ll have to find a ce to stay first.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s not dusk yet, but I want to secure lodging as soon as possible. Theter it gets, the more the inns will be filled.

    Swaying Bear, who¡¯s carrying us, ran towards the city of Euphalia.

    And, although I am usually careful, my habit of returning to Crimonia stuck with me. We went near the gate while still on Swaying Bear. The gatekeeper was surprised to see us on Swaying Bear.

    ¡°What the hell?! A bear?!¡± (Gatekeeper)

    I hurriedly got down from Swaying Bear and stood in front.

    ¡°He¡¯s not dangerous, so it¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined to the gatekeeper that there was no danger.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay?¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan would never attack anyone.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, on the back of Swaying Bear, defended him while her cheeks puffed out.

    Seeing the two girls hugging the bear, the gatekeeper was convinced.

    I thought that by returning Swaying Bear back to the bear puppets, we would be able to enter the city, but it seemed it wasn¡¯t that simple and the most important person among the gatekeepers came out.

    The gatekeepers took us to the gatekeeper¡¯s lounge, or rather, the interrogation room.

    Noa became angry at this treatment and revealed her status as a nobleman. In addition, she told them that I¡¯m her escort, so I showed them the knife with the coat of arms that Eleanora-san had given me when I defeated the golems and my guild card.

    But they were surprised at my guild rank of C, even more than the knife with the crest.

    .

    ¡°Thank you, Noa. We were saved.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They¡¯re terrible. Swaying Bear-chan isn¡¯t dangerous, and they didn¡¯t have to look at him like that.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped because he¡¯s a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    In Crimonia, every gatekeeper knows about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so they usually let us through while riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I usually pay attention, but my eyes were glued to the view of theke this time, so I forgot about it.

    ¡°But I was d Noa covered for me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course. It was for Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s sake. I didn¡¯t want to reveal my identity that much, and I didn¡¯t want to be pushy, but I can¡¯t stand to see Swaying Bear-chan and Yuna-san with such eyes.¡± (Noa)

    Either way, thanks to Noa, we were able to enter the city safely.

    She doesn¡¯t want to be arrogant by using the power of the nobility, but sometimes it¡¯s important to use it properly. I am d that she used her power to help Swaying Bear.

    As expected, whenever Ie to a new city, I have to remember to return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear out of sight.

    ¡°Well, those people are just doing their job too, so they can¡¯t help it. Besides, they didn¡¯t do anything to us, so stop puffing your cheeks out, we¡¯re going to the inn.¡± (Yuna)

    After being held up by the gatekeeper, I asked him to show me where I could find an inn as I was being released. His attitude changed when he learned that Noa was a noble, and he dly showed me the way to the inn.

    I didn¡¯t care about the price, but I asked for the kind of lodging that nobles would stay at. It was rtively close. He said it was through the gate and on the main street.

    I thanked him and was about to leave, and then, he stopped me.

    He said they would provide a carriage for Noa, a nobleman, because they could not let her walk. But Noa refused the offer.

    ¡°You could have epted the ride though.¡± (Yuna)

    I said while feeling the gaze of the surroundings. Every time Ie to a new city, I get the same reaction. ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Bear?¡± If we were in a carriage to take us to the inn, I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the curious stares.

    ¡°I guess so. I had forgotten that because, in Crimonia, we never get so many stares when I walk with Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    It seems Noa also felt the eyes of those around us.

    ¡°But I wanted to walk around and see the city for myself.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, never mind. Either way, we were going to explore the city tomorrow, so it¡¯ll all be the same.¡± (Yuna)

    They¡¯ll see us when we walk down the street anyway. It¡¯s no use worrying about it now.

    We arrive at the inn, while still under the pressure of being watched by the people.

    ¡°It¡¯s huge.¡± (Noa)

    The inn that the city¡¯s gatekeeper referred me to about was big and magnificent. It¡¯s an inn where the wealthy people can stay.

    The cost of lodging seems extravagant.

    However, the security was better than anywhere else, and with Noa, a nobleman, I would prefer this lodging even if it¡¯s a little more expensive.

    When we entered the inn, there were no adventurers or other visitors, only a merchant who seemed to have some money.

    I went to the woman at the reception desk. When she noticed me, she looked surprised. I talk to her without minding it, as it¡¯s just the usual urrence.

    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯d like to ask for a double room.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, what about your parents?¡± (Lady)

    The woman at the reception desk made a business-like expression, and even when she saw my outfit, she responded as if nothing had happened.

    She seemed to be well trained. It¡¯s great that they can handle any customer (a girl in a bear suit) thates in.

    ¡°Just the two of us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This ce is more expensive than other ces......¡± (Lady)

    The woman at the reception desk uttered words with difficulty.

    Well, there were two girls in front of her. One was a child, and the other was dressed as a bear, so she¡¯s having trouble responding.

    But I like the fact that she¡¯s not trying to kick us out.

    ¡°How much is it per night?¡± (Yuna)

    The woman thinks for a moment and then answers.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a double room, then it¡¯s this amount.¡± (Lady)

    The price offered was five times higher than that of a regr inn. Certainly, this might not make you think that a couple of children can afford it.

    ¡°Money is not an issue, so can you get us a room?¡± (Yuna)

    As I was taking money out of the bear box, Noa called out to me.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I will pay for the money because my father gave it to me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Kids don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But......¡± (Noa)

    ¡°When we get home, I¡¯ll charge it all to Cliff, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa¡¯s money is Cliff¡¯s money, but I¡¯m notfortable taking it from Noa¡¯s hands. Therefore, I declined Noa¡¯s offer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just take Noa¡¯s feelings.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa was convinced and said no more.

    I paid for a few days of lodging in advance.

    The woman at the reception desk looked surprised for a moment, but after paying, she quickly acknowledged us that we were paying customers and immediately lead us to our room.

    But since a while ago, she has been ncing at me, as if she was curious about my outfit. But she didn¡¯t ask me about it.

    I might stay at this inn again if I ever return to this city.

    ¡°Are you going out now?¡± (Lady)

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll take a rest today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, we will bring your dinner to you when it¡¯s time.¡± (Lady)

    The woman who guided me went downstairs after bowing her head.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    We arrived safely in the city of Euphalia.

 Chapter 508

    <h4>Chapter 508</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Takes A Stroll In Euphalia</b></h4>

    The room wasrger and more spacious than those of an ordinary inn.

    The beds were alsorger, and two rooms in the room looked like they could amodate two people each. The table and chairs in the room also looked expensive. In addition, there was a door to the room, and it looked like there was an adjoining room.

    Noa began to explore the room to see if anythng unusual happened in the inn.

    ¡°Yuna-san, there¡¯s a bath.¡± (Noa)

    Noa opened the door to the room. Apparently, the door I thought was the next room was actually the bathroom.

    There was also a private bath at the inn in the Land of Harmony, but only in the expensive room.

    I sat on my bed, summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub forms, and took a rest.

    I don¡¯t think there was any danger, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were there as insurance. People were never more vulnerable than when they were resting. Besides, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear worked hard by running to the city of Euphalia.

    I held Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on either side of me, and as I was thanking them, Noa came to me.

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san, that¡¯s not fair!¡± (Noa)

    After looking around the room, Noa sat beside me and took Swaying Bear in her arms. She then thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the same way I did.

    ¡°Yuna-san, we are going to explore the city tomorrow, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, we have plenty of time to spare before the appointed time with Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia should already be in Euphalia, ording to the schedule. But because it¡¯s an academy, it seems that we can¡¯t meet her right away. So we were supposed to meet in front of the school in Euphalia.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s a stroll around the city until we meet up with Oneesama. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You want to go to theke?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    As Noa and I were talking about the schedule for tomorrow, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked up and cried ¡°ku~u ~ n¡°. At the same time, there was a knock at the door.

    ¡°I brought you your meal.¡± (Lady)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear hid and I opened the door. A woman with a meal on a cartes through the door.

    ¡°Please eat while it¡¯s still warm. When you have finished eating, please put it in front of the door, and we will collect itter.¡± (Lady)

    After saying that, the woman went back.

    ¡°Looks delicious.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s eat while it¡¯s warm.¡± (Yuna)

    We ate, bathed, andy in bed. Swaying Bear cub upied Noa¡¯s bed, and my bed was upied by Hugging Bear cub, both curled up in a ball.

    ¡°Come to think of it. I fell asleep yesterday in the middle of listening to Yuna-san¡¯s story.¡± (Noa)

    Noa seemed to rememberst night. She asked me to tell the rest of the story, so I decided to tell her the story of the elven vige.

    This time I was able to finish talking before she went to sleep.

    The next morning, after eating, we get ready to leave.

    Well then, what shall we do?

    I¡¯m worried now. I¡¯m worried after a long time. Let me say it again, I¡¯m worried.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Yuna-san? Aren¡¯t you going out?¡± (Noa)

    Noa saw that I was troubled and called out to me.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going out, but¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It seemed like you were thinking about something.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, well. We¡¯re supposed to meet Shia in front of the school today, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Until then, we have time, so we¡¯re going for a walk around the city, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Actually, she asked me to wear a uniform when I met Shia at the mansion. She said it would be easier to get into the academy if I was a student there.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia told me on my way home.

    I was troubled at the time, but nodded my head, thinking that I could not enter Euphalia¡¯s academy dressed as a bear.

    I thought I could handle it because I had worn it at the school festival before, but I am hesitant when ites to changing clothes other than the bear suit.

    ¡°So, were you bothered by it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yea.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san looks cute looking like a bear, but I also think you will look good in a uniform too.¡± (Noa)

    Noa wasn¡¯t shy about her thoughts and spoke them out loud and clear.

    ¡°And this isn¡¯t Crimonia or the royal capital, so a uniform might be better.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, the dressing situation was made clear to me yesterday while resting in the inn.

    ¡°If something happens, my father will help you in Crimonia and my mother would help you in the royal capital, but here, well¡­¡± (Noa)

    Exactly as Noa said.

    I don¡¯t know anyone here as I do in Crimonia, the Royal Capital, the Elven Vige, or the Land of Harmony.

    If it were just me, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it, but I have Noa with me this time. I don¡¯t want to stand out and get Noa involved. The bear outfit was great for protection, but it also invited trouble.

    After much deliberation, I decided to change into a school uniform. This time it was not only my problem.

    And with my bear shoes and bear puppets, I can handle it as long as it¡¯s not a surprise attack.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you look great. But your feet and hands are still bears.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at my feet and my hands. I can¡¯t take these ones off.

    ¡°The gloves are my item bag, you see.¡± (Yuna)

    I also added ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can¡¯t be summoned without them¡± internally.

    ¡°These shoes are also a kind of magical tool, so when pushes to shove, I can move fast, after all, I¡¯m Noa¡¯s bodyguard.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that dangerous in the city, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯ll never know. Noa is so cute, so maybe a guy will suddenly approach you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if you say that, I think they would approach Yuna-san instead of me.¡± (Noa)

    Me?

    That¡¯s impossible.

    I have never been approached by a man since I came to this world, even in my former world.

    Well, in my former world, I was a shut-in who didn¡¯t go to school much, and in this world, I was a bear, so it¡¯s no wonder. Even if I take that out of the equation, I don¡¯t think any man would approach me.

    And if they do call, it¡¯s only for a fight.

    After changing into uniform, Noa and I go for a walk around town until it¡¯s time to meet up with Shia.

    I changed into a uniform, but my legs were so~ ufortable. It¡¯s chilly around my thighs.

    The bear costume regted the temperature, so I didn¡¯t mind the outside temperature, but now, I am mindful of the wind blowing on my arms and thighs.

    ¡°Can I go back to my regr clothes?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Denied. Yuna-san, we¡¯re going.¡± (Noa)

    Noa grabbed my hand and started walking.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pull so hard, I¡¯m going.¡± (Yuna)

    I wonder. Why do I feel more embarrassed walking around in a school uniform than in a bear costume?

    Uniforms should be moremon. As expected, it¡¯s embarrassing to wear clothes you¡¯re not used to wearing.

    There are scenes in mangas where sometimes a girl get embarrassed where they wear clothes they were not used to wearing, and that¡¯s how I feel right now.

    But it¡¯s no use worrying about it forever, so I¡¯ll change my perception.

    ¡°Then, where should we go?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I would like to go see theke. Then I would like to walk around and see the city.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff also told me to see it.

    ¡°But I also would like to see the stores and stuff.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s walk toward theke first.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    We start walking toward theke.

    ¡°It¡¯s different from Crimonia.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°And there¡¯s a lot of people.¡± (Yuna)

    The road to theke was wide, with horse-drawn carriagesing and going. Many of the buildings along the road were huge. The buildings along the big road in the royal capital were huge as well. Crimonia was also a big city, but the streets of Euphalia were more crowded.

    ¡°I think the reason there are so many people is because there are several towns and viges centered around Euphalia. I think it is because Euphalia is also a distribution channel.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You know a lot about it, even though you¡¯ve never been here before.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve studied geography, so I know that much. But the current Crimonia wouldn¡¯t lose to it. Thanks to the connection with the town of Mereera, more and more people are passing through. That has made things harder for my father, though.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Yuna-san. Besides, my father said it calmed down now, so it¡¯ll be fine. When many peoplee to a town, we would also lose that much money to amodate them. We were grateful to Yuna-san, so you don¡¯t owe us an apology.¡± (Noa)

    Quite the lord¡¯s daughter, even if she¡¯s still very young.

    ¡°But he also said that as the poption grows, the number of bad people also increases, and that¡¯s a problem. But it¡¯s my father, the lord¡¯s job, to deal with that.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked dazzling.

    Back when I was 10 years old. I only remember ying with game consoles andputers.

    But, it may have been around the time when my grandfather started teaching me about stocks.

    As we looked around the city, we peered at any shops that looked interesting.

    Noa seems to be enjoying herself. I don¡¯t get people¡¯s attention either, but I¡¯m still restless.

    I don¡¯t think they will suddenly attack me from behind, but it¡¯s unsettling to have zero defense.

    I thought about summoning Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear in cub form, but I decided against it because it would be too conspicuous. That would make it meaningless to change into a uniform.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it¡¯s theke. I can see theke!¡± (Noa)

    Noa started running.

    I followed her as I walked.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it¡¯s enormous.¡± (Noa)

    As Noa said, theke was vast.

    And there was an ind in the center of theke, with a bridge connecting it, and arge building.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Euphalia Academy.¡± (Noa)

    I had heard from Shia that the academy was on an ind in the center of theke, but that seems to be it.

    We have an appointment to meet up with Shia across the bridge, but there¡¯s still time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s walk around theke, shall we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    When Noa replied, she ran energetically.

    Noa seemed to be enjoying it and I was d I brought her.

    Now, if only we could see Shia in action, it would be a great experience.

    Shia has to do her best since I came here in a school uniform.

    When I see Shia, I¡¯m going to have a st.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It has been a long time since I wore a uniform.

    But my hands and feet are bears.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>?I will bete for my next post. Please understand.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]?</b>Comicalization of?<b>[</b>Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear<b>]</b>?has started in pixivics. Thank you for your cooperation. I have linked it below.

    The badges for the book volume 10 and theic volume 1 have been sent out.

    Congrattions to all the winners.

    Please continue supporting Kuma.

 Chapter 509

    <h4>Chapter 509</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Caught By A Girl</b></h4>

    I walked with Noa while looking at theke.

    The weather was nice, and so was the view. Theke was beautiful. There were boats floating on theke, and it looked like you could take a ride on them. It seems like a fun city. Many people were looking at theke just like us. I was walking among them, but no one paid any attention to me.

    As expected, no one would look at me if I wasn¡¯t dressed as a bear. No one even bothered to look at my shoes or hands. Well, unless you look at me up close, I look like I¡¯m wearing ck and white gloves. No one would even notice my bear-feet shoes or my bear-faced gloves.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-san? Hurry up.¡± (Noa)

    As I was walking, while being mindful of my surroundings, Noa, who was walking in front of me, turned around and called out to me.

    ¡°Noa, that¡¯s dangerous. You need to look forward while walking.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­?u wa~a.¡± (Noa)

    At the moment I warned her, Noah, who was walking backward, stumbled.

    Noa stepped forward and tried to adjust her position. I hurriedly tried to reach out to her, but she continued to fall backward, away from my hand.

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    There¡¯s a girl in a school uniform where Noa was about to fall. Just as she thought she was about to bump into the girl, the girl stopped Noa in her arms. Thankfully, Noa didn¡¯t fall down.

    ¡°You have to watch where you¡¯re going, or you¡¯ll get hurt.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Noa)

    Noa apologized as she moved away from the girl¡¯s arms.

    The girl who caught Noa was about the same age as Shia and me. The girl was wearing a different uniform from the one in the royal capital. Perhaps she was a student at Euphalia Academy.

    ¡°It¡¯s all well and good to be cheerful, but girls are supposed to be graceful.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was visibly dejected.

    The girl in uniform stared at Noa.

    ¡°¡­tell me, have we met somewhere before?¡± (Girl)

    When asked, Noa looked at the girl in uniform.

    Their faces came close to each other, and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Noa opened her mouth first.

    ¡°Are you Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)?<b>(</b>¥»¥ì¥¤¥æ<b>)</b>

    ¡°Noire, is it?¡± (Cereille)

    They said each other¡¯s names simultaneously.

    It seems like they knew each other.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Indeed, what¡¯s Noire doing here? Oh, are you here to support Shia?¡± (Cereille)

    The girl Noa called Cereille asked and gave her own guess.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here to support Oneesama who is participating in the magic exchange meet at the school. Yuna-san, let me introduce you. This is Cereille-sama, the daughter of the Forinz family that governs this city.¡± (Noa)

    Noa introduced me to the girl. She¡¯s the daughter of the lord of this city, apparently.

    In other words, it looks like they knew each other through noble connections.

    ¡°It¡¯s Cereille.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Yuna.¡±

    We said our names to each other.

    ¡°You¡¯re a student from the royal capital who came for the magic exchange, right? You should be practicing at the academy by now, so why are you here? And why are you with Noire?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Etto, that is¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m fumbling for words.

    She seemed to think that I was a participant in this magical exchange meet because I was wearing a royal capital academy student uniform. I¡¯m not a participant though, much less a student. However, since I was wearing a uniform, I couldn¡¯t deny nor affirm, so I was at a loss for a response. Noa then followed up with me.

    ¡°Yuna-san is a friend of mine and Oneesama¡¯s. We are not attending the event, but she said she was going to support Oneesama, so I asked her to take me along with her.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Did youe separately from Shia¡¯s group or did you arrive here with Eleanora-sama?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯te here with my mother. I came with Yuna-san this time. Yuna-san is strong, so she is also my escort.¡± (Noa)

    In response to Noa, Cereille looked at me astonishingly.

    ¡°Excuse me, but how old are you? 13? 14?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I am 15 years old.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°15 years old!?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was surprised at my words.

    I¡¯m smaller than the average 15 years old, but I am indeed 15 years old.

    ¡°Let me confirm. You¡¯re not a participant of this magical exchange, right?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Etto, yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    In response to my reply, Cereille frowns and looks at Noa.

    ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t have magic power. Noire, you may have a strong sense of urgency, but it is dangerous for two girls toe from the royal capital. You may be young, but you are still a nobility. You must understand your position as a noble. First of all, do you think that Eleanora-sama and Cliff-sama would approve of youing here alone with her?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, I was given permission to travel with Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯re not lying, are you?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Oneesama knows about it too, and if it would make you happy, you can also check with her.¡± (Noa)

    Cereille looked at me curiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t leave you like this. Noire, I will escort you to the house. I can¡¯t leave you alone like this.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille proceeded to interfere on her own.

    Noa¡¯s not alone, though. I¡¯m her escort. But Cereille clearly doesn¡¯t see me as an escort. I¡¯m not a bear right now, yet she doesn¡¯t trust me in my uniform either.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Cereille-sama. But I don¡¯t need an escort. Yuna-san is stronger than anyone else and can protect me better.¡± (Noa)

    Noa turned her trustful eyes on me.

    Of course, I will protect Noa.

    ¡°I understand that Noire trusts her. But I don¡¯t trust her. You are the daughter of the Foshur¨­ze family. How could Eleanora-sama entrust Noire to a girl who is a mere student, just like this?¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s a terrible thing to say even when I¡¯m not a bear. Although, if I had dressed up as a bear, I would still have gotten even less credit. She might even call me something worse than I am now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to tell Shia about this.¡± (Cereille)

    Somehow, the situation has be troublesome.

    But if you think about it, she¡¯s right. A normal student would not be strong enough to escort Noa, a noble.

    Especially when they wereing alone from the royal capital.

    ¡°Cereille-sama, Yuna-san is really strong.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If Eleanora-sama entrusts you to her, she may be somewhat strong. But what would you do if someone stronger than her appeared? What would you do if you were attacked by monsters or bandits whileing from the royal capital? You are in a position to think about yourself. For the time being, I think it will be alright if you return to the capital with Shia¡¯s group, so I will escort you while you are in town.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille clearly denied me. But Noa tilted her head as if she didn¡¯t understand Cereille¡¯s words.

    ¡°Stronger than Yuna-san? I don¡¯t think there is such a person. Even if a monster or a bandit groupes, Yuna-san will defeat them.¡± (Noa)

    Noa knows that I saved Misa from the orcs, and she knows that I defeated the bandits. She knows that I fought the Knight Commander (I forgot his name) for Shia at the school festival, and she also knows about the ck Viper.?<b>(</b>TN: Rutum is his name.<b>)</b>

    Perhaps Cliff may have told her about the Kraken.

    From Noa¡¯s perspective, she may believe that I will protect her even if some strong people and monsters appear.

    ¡°And there are also Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa murmured in a low voice so that Cereille couldn¡¯t hear.

    ¡°If she¡¯s so strong, as Noire says, she would be selected as a participant this time, wouldn¡¯t she?¡± (Cereille)

    That¡¯s because I¡¯m not a student.

    But I¡¯m wearing a uniform, so it¡¯s not convincing.

    I thought I wouldn¡¯t get in trouble because I wasn¡¯t wearing my bear costume, but I didn¡¯t think a uniform would be more hazardous.

    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked troubled.

    She¡¯s at a loss as to how to exin it.

    ¡°If not magic, then are you good with a sword, perhaps?¡± (Cereille)

    At this rate, Noa would be taken away from me.

    I could not just wander around by myself, leaving escorting Noa to others.

    So I denied Cereille¡¯s words.

    ¡°I can use the sword and magic. I am strong enough to protect Noa. So Noa doesn¡¯t need another escort.¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at my words. She didn¡¯t think I would argue with her.

    When Cereille looked at me, she approached me.

    ¡°Excuse me. Let me see your arm.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille approached me, grabbed my arm, and rolled up my sleeve.

    ¡°You can¡¯t swing a sword with this white, soft, thin arm.¡± (Cereille)

    My arms were white, had no muscles, and were squishy.

    ¡°Then, can you take the weird thing off of your hand and show me your hand?¡± (Cereille)

    That weird thing was my bear gloves.

    For the time being, I didn¡¯t go against it. I removed the ck bear puppet from my right hand and showed my hand to her. She touched my palm.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the hands of someone who has been practicing sword swings.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille released my hand and said clearly.

    Well, I practiced in the game. And since I practiced in the game, I couldn¡¯t build muscle, and I couldn¡¯t even get callouses in my hands.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you, being Noire¡¯s escort, will work. You have never been selected as a member of this magical exchange meeting and have never held a sword.¡± (Cereille)

    I can feel that this girl named Cereille was not a bad person. She was genuinely worried about Noa. She¡¯s the type that imposes her good intentions.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean I would back down for both my and Noa¡¯s freedom.

    Besides, it would ruin Cliff¡¯s image for entrusting her escort to me.

    ¡°You said you¡¯re escorting Noa, but you¡¯re a noble too, yet you don¡¯t seem to have an escort yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    She¡¯s alone. She¡®s a noble, yet she has no guards.

    ¡°There is no danger in the city where my father rules, so it should be fine.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be fine while we¡¯re in the city.¡± (Yuna)

    What she was saying was contradictory.

    ¡°But what if something happens to Noire? If anything happened to Noire in the city where my father reigns, how would I apologize to Eleanora-sama and Cliff-sama?¡± (Cereille)

    She doesn¡¯t back down either.

    ¡°So what would you do in that situation?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am strong. I have studied swords since I was a child, have a background in magic, and am reasonablypetent. I have been chosen as a member of this magical exchange. Please don¡¯t put me with you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°So if I can beat you, that means you¡¯ll ept me as Noa¡¯s escort, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you can beat me, but that¡¯s how it is.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s y a little game. If I win, you will have no say about this, right?¡± (Yuna)

    She looked surprised for a moment at my offer but then smiled.

    ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s fine with me. It¡¯s also good to know what you¡¯re capable of. If I win, Noire will be escorted by me.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Okay. If I win, you¡¯ll get to keep your promise.¡± (Yuna)

    Even though it was a bit of a hassle, I had to y with Cereille.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    She¡¯s not a bear at the moment, but Yuna was still entangled with trouble.

    The next update may be dyed. Please understand.

    PS, the third episode of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡¯sicalization is now avable on pixivic.

    Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

 Chapter 510

    <h4>Chapter 510</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Comes To Euphalia Academy</b></h4>

    ¡°Ha~a~.¡±

    I sighed.

    I didn¡¯t think I would get into trouble for not being dressed as a bear. If I was dressed as a bear, I could shrug it off and assume it would happen anyway. I now believe that I was born under a star that gets me into trouble.

    ¡°So where do you want to y?¡± (Yuna)

    We can¡¯t do it here. We¡¯re in a crowded area.

    ¡°If I win, I¡¯ll give her a proper escort so that we can go to my house, but I want to say something to Shia, so let¡¯s go to the academy. The academy is spacious and will not cause trouble for anyone. There is a bridge over there, so let¡¯s go and cross it.¡± (Cereille)

    She¡¯s assuming she has already won.

    Well, I wasn¡¯t a chosen member of the magical exchange group, and my arms and palms were so squishy and pudgy that she thought I¡¯d never swung a sword.

    please read on website: MYBOX N0VEL. COM

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Yuna-san¡± (Noa)

    Noa grabbed my bear puppet and started walking. I asked Noa...

    ¡°Noa, you know her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve met several times. Thest time was the birthday celebration of His Majesty the King. I didn¡¯t recognize her immediately because she was wearing a beautiful dress back then.¡± (Noa)

    People¡¯s impressions change with their clothes and hairstyles, and it¡¯s hard to recognize them. If I take off my bear costume, the people who have met me before will not recognize me.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, she also ate the pudding that was served at that time with great relish.¡± (Noa)

    She had eaten pudding before.

    Back then, the king suddenly told me to make pudding, and I have fond memories of making it all by myself.

    ¡°So is she strong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am sorry. I don¡¯t know much about it either. We don¡¯t see each other very often, and we don¡¯t talk about such things.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked apologetic.

    They were far apart in age, so it¡¯s no wonder they don¡¯t see each other often enough.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just have to win.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, you have a strong confidence. I have no intention of losing either.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille, who was walking in front of us, turned her head as if she had heard what we were talking about. She confidently dered so.

    But the fact that she has that much confidence must be because she has been practicing since she was very young.

    I feel a little guilty when I think that I¡¯d win against her with the cheat power God gave me.

    So I will at least use the sword I learned in the game to win the match. I can¡¯t hold a heavy sword without a bear puppet so that it won¡¯t be all me, but I think it¡¯s better than using magic.

    ¡°I was wondering why you were there, Cereille-sama? Is everything okay at the academy?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I was just walking because my ss today was over. Then I bumped into you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°U~u, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay because I met you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But, Cereille-sama has been chosen for this magic exchange, right? Don¡¯t you have to practice magic or something?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°The school grounds are open to the students from the royal capital, and It is not fair of us to practice in a ce we are used to until the day of the event.¡± (Cereille)

    Certainly, in the case of home and away teams, the school that performs on its home ground would have the advantage.

    You have a better chance of winning in any sport if you do it on your home turf. It may be a fair judgment to think so.

    ¡°So Oneesama is practicing now, then?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s practicing right now.¡± (Cereille)

    Even so, she said we couldn¡¯t see her right away since she¡¯s in the school. She can¡¯t just slip out ande meet us while everyone else is practicing.

    But it looks like we¡¯ll see Shia earlier than nned.

    Wee to the bridge.

    The bridge extends to the ind in theke.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty long, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    The bridge leading to the ind in theke stretches out, and arge building can be seen at the end of it.

    That seems to be the academy.

    ¡°Is the academy the only one on the ind?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, there are other buildings as well, and some areas are open for sightseeing.¡± (Cereille)

    In response to my question, Cereille told me honestly.

    Noa ran toward the bridge, eager to see Shia as soon as possible.

    I¡¯ve been telling her it¡¯s dangerous to go alone. That¡¯s why she stumbled and bumped into Cereille a while ago.

    Cereille and I followed Noa.

    We crossed over the bridge.

    It was a long bridge.

    I wouldn¡¯t want to walk around without my bear shoes. Great job to the students who cross this bridge every day.

    However, theck of hills made walking easy, and there was a pleasant breeze. On the other hand, it might be cold in winter.

    After crossing the bridge and a bit of walking, we arrived at the front of the school.

    It was as big as the academy in the royal capital.

    ¡°But it¡¯s cool that they built it right in the middle of theke.¡± (Yuna)

    Like in the world of games and manga.

    ¡°When they were nning on building the school, there were buildings around theke, and the only ce avable was on the outskirts of town. This meant that students living on the other side of theke would be far away from the school, so they decided to build it on the ind in theke. Four bridges were built to make it easier for students living in all areas to get to the school.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille tells us how the school came to be.

    She¡¯s not a bad girl. Noa doesn¡¯t seem to dislike her. She was conversing with me normally. I don¡¯t dislike her. However, she seems to be a serious and troublesome girl, who has been living her life appropriately, which would not bepatible with me.

    ¡±Let¡¯s go to Shia first. She would love to see you too, Noire.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, I also want to see Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    Noah was happy to see Shia for the first time in a while. Perhaps we would have to y in public?

    And that¡¯s what bothers me.

    Unable to speak of such a thing, we walked over to the field where Shia and the other students were practicing.

    On the grounds, about ten students were wearing the same uniform as mine who were releasing magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    Noa pointed to Shia, who had golden twin-tailed hair.

    ¡°Good thing they were on the grounds over here.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille-sama, can I go there?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to interrupt the other students¡¯ practice, so let¡¯s just call Shia instead. Please wait for a moment.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille told us to wait here, and then she went for Shia. We saw her talking to Shia. Shia then spoke to a person who looked like a teacher, and then they both came to us.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you brought Noa. Thank you.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Thank you for inviting me, Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s better to thank Yuna-san. It was Yuna-san who said she would bring you here.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Is that so? I thought you had asked Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°And so, why are you guys with Cereille?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I brought both of them here because I wanted to talk to you about it, Shia.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille, who came from behind Shia, dered so.

    ¡°Why did you let your sistere from the royal capital without an escort, leaving her in the hands of such a student? Didn¡¯t you know it was dangerous?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°If it¡¯s an escort you¡¯re looking for, she has Yuna-san with her.¡± (Shia)

    Shia looked at me.

    ¡°You too? Why do you trust this student so much? How far do you think it is from the royal capital to the city of Euphalia, let alone inside the city? What would you have done if monsters or bandits had attacked them?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°In that case, as her escort, Yuna-san will protect her.¡± (Shia)

    It seems that Shia and Cereille¡¯s opinion of me has a 180-degree difference.

    ¡°Shia seems to trust her too. Is she that strong that she can be trusted that much?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°There is no one I know who is as trustworthy and as strong as Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    Shia proudly dered.

    ¡°I understand. If you insist, I¡¯ll let Shia be a witness. I will have a match with her. I will be Noire¡¯s escort while she¡¯s in the city if I win. And when she leaves, she will return with Shia and the others.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Etto, what does that supposed to mean?¡± (Shia)

    Shia, not understanding the situation, turned to Noa and me as if asking for an exnation.

    Noa and I exined briefly.

    ¡°Ah, I see. You mean you don¡¯t acknowledge Yuna-san as Noa¡¯s escort.¡± (Shia)

    Finally, she seemed convinced.

    ¡°Shia, please say something.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that impossible?¡± (Shia)

    Shia said, looking at Cereille, who was adamant and refused to bend her opinion.

    After all, she has this kind of personality. It seems I have to give up and just y with her.

    ¡®Well then, Yuna, wasn¡¯t it? Let us see what you are capable of. Which do you prefer, magic or sword? I will let you choose.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Then, with swords.¡± (Yuna)

    As I had thought beforehand, we would have a sword match. That way, I would feel less guilty when I win than if I used magic.

    ¡°I understand. A sword match. Do you have a practice sword? If you don¡¯t have one, we can get one for you. Even if it¡¯s for practice, it¡¯s better to use a sword that you are familiar with.¡± (Cereille)

    A practice sword? I thought about it for a minute.

    A wooden stick I picked up a long time ago? I still have it in my bear box without throwing it away. I also have a wooden sword of some kind made from wood that I used to teach new adventurers. (Episode 290.5 about teaching swords to new adventurers is in the book)

    I took out my wooden sword.

    ¡°A wooden stick?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It would be safer than a regr sword.¡± (Yuna)

    There were practice iron swords with blunted des. But it¡¯s still made of iron.

    ¡°Very well. If you don¡¯t mind, would you lend it to me too. Do you have another one?¡± (Cereille)

    I took another wooden sword out of the bear box and handed it to Cereille.

    ¡°That strange-faced glove is an item bag, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I showed my bear puppet to Cereille.

    ¡°It matches your shoes. It¡¯s bizarre.¡± (Cereille)

    Apparently, she also noticed my shoes.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s begin so we can end it early and not get in the other students¡¯ way.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Are we perhaps doing it here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± (Cereille)

    Of course, there¡¯s a problem. Aside from Shia, there were other students here as well.

    ¡°Look, if you, a noble, lost to someone like me, wouldn¡¯t there be a problem with your position?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m not ashamed of losing. Because I¡¯m not going to lose.¡± (Cereille)

    I may have to win inconspicuously.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The meeting with Shia was earlier than nned.

    Next time, we will have a match.

 Chapter 511 - Bear-san, Having A Match With Cereille.

    <h4>Chapter 511</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Having A Match With Cereille.</b></h4>

    We ended up having our match in the corner of the grounds where Shea and her team were practicing.

    Students from the royal capital had also stopped practicing and were looking towards our direction.

    U~u, don¡¯t look too much.

    There was no way such a wish would reach them, and their eyes glued on us. But if you look closely, the line of sight was directed at Cereille. It was as if they were observing Cereille in order to know what she was capable of.

    I have to win inconspicuously, as I originally intended.

    Cereille and I took a little distance away from each other.

    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was holding her wooden sword.

    Now then, what should I do?

    I¡¯m in trouble.

    It¡¯s easy to win this. But it¡¯s no good. It would be troublesometer on to win while wearing a uniform and having my face known. The ideal situation was winning while matching Cereille¡¯s movement.

    ¡°If you won¡¯te, then I¡¯lle to you.¡± (Cereille)

    Since I didn¡¯t initiate the action, Cereille made the first move.

    When we were close to each other, Cereille swung her wooden sword at me in the front casually. I parried it lightly with my wooden sword. Cereille looked surprised at this.

    I just took it head-on.

    Cereille¡¯s facial expression tightened, and she attacked me with a right and left swing. I moved and dodged in rhythm.

    That¡¯s a beautiful sword muscle. I don¡¯t know if I would call it smooth. She didn¡¯t just swing her sword. She handled the sword swing properly herself.

    With a heavy sword, just swinging it down can drag your body with it. To put it simply, it¡¯s like holding arge hammer. If you swing it around, it¡¯s difficult to control. If I, who¡¯s not strong enough, try it, I would be dragged around (personal experience).

    However, a wooden sword was lighter than a real sword. Moreover, even a wooden sword will lose its bnce if it gets hit. But Cereille, even if her wooden sword got bounced back, did not lose her bnce and kept striking a follow-up.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>-Cereille¡¯s POV-</b>

    My name is Cereille.

    I am the daughter of the noble Forinz family.

    When I was a small child, I hated conflict, never held a sword, and was too afraid to approach anyone who wielded a sword. But one incident changed me.

    It was when my mother was killed. I wanted to be stronger after my mother died.

    I have learned the sword and also learned to protect myself. I also started learning magic after finding out that I had a background in magic. I, of course, studied hard and thought I had grown up as ady of the Forinz family without being embarrassed.

    I was also happy to be chosen for this magical exchange.

    I wanted to practice magic to live up to that, but right now, the school grounds were being used by students from the royal capital, that¡¯s why students from Euphalia could not use them.

    Unable to practice magic, I decided to explore the city.

    I love this city that my mother loved. Theke was beautiful, the streets were clean, and I am proud of it. I love to stroll around the city.

    As I was walking along, looking at theke, I saw a girl walking backwards. She does not notice me. When I tried to avoid her, she tripped and almost fell backwards. I quickly caught her.

    In my arms was a cute little girl, about 10 years old, with a surprised look on her face. I recognized her from somewhere, but could not immediately recall where.

    ¡°Have we met somewhere?¡± (Cereille)

    I asked, and she looked at me. I looked back at her.

    ......Ah, I remember.

    ¡°Are you, Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noire?¡± (Cereille)

    We said each other¡¯s names almost simultaneously.

    Yes, she¡¯s Noire, the daughter of the Foshuroze family.

    Noire also seemed to remember me.

    We have met only a few times. Thest time was probably at His Majesty the King¡¯s birthday banquet.

    That was only a light greeting. I did not talk much with Noire, who was younger than me. If anything, I talked more with her sister, Shia, who was closer to my age.

    That noblewoman, Noire, said she came to the city of Euphalia without an escort.

    To be precise, a young girl, a student, came with her as an escort.

    Her name is Yuna.

    Yuna was a pretty girl, short for her age of 15, with long hair. She doesn¡¯t look that much, but it looks like she could not protect Noire in the event of getting attacked by monsters.

    At first, I thought that perhaps Noire¡¯s family did not know about this, but both her parents, Cliff-sama and Eleanora-sama, actually did. I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    I offered to escort Noire while she was in town. The city was safe. But if anything should happen to the daughter of the Foshuroze family, it would tarnish the reputation of my father, who¡¯s the lord of this city.

    Yet Noire refused my offer, saying that this girl, Yuna, was strong and will protect her.

    Still, Noire really seemed to believe in her from the bottom of her heart.

    However, even though she¡¯s a student of the royal capital, she has not been selected as a member of this magical exchange meeting. I wondered if her sword¡¯s ability was high, but her arms and palms were soft, it wasn¡¯t the hands of someone who swung a sword before.

    Sorry Noire, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s strong enough.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can be Noire¡¯s bodyguard, as someone that was not chosen for the magical exchange and hands that had never even held a sword before.¡± (Cereille)

    When I said so, she retorted.

    She pointed out that I, a noblewoman, was walking alone.

    This city was safe. However, I have to escort Noire just in case. After all, I can handle swords and magic to some extent. I was also chosen for this magical exchange.

    When I told her this, she said that we should have a match, and if she beat me, she would like to be recognized as Noire¡¯s escort.

    Theoretically, she¡¯s correct.

    I couldn¡¯t withdraw, so I epted the challenge.

    Her magical powers were such that she was not chosen for the magical exchange, and her hand did not seem to have held a sword before. A little bit ofpany may satisfy her.

    And now I have a match with her.

    I thought that if I struck a little harder from the front, the wooden sword in her hand would fly away from her hand, and the match would be over. But she easily parried my strike.

    I was surprised at that. When a sword collides with another sword, there would be an impact. It¡¯s the same with a wooden stick. But she took it lightly with that soft hand of hers.

    I moved closer a little and tried to hit her with a right and left swing this time. But she easily blocks it. I increased my power and speed.

    But she blocked even that.

    Amazing.

    Regarding the offensive and the defensive side, the attacker has the advantage, and the defender would be at a disadvantage.

    It¡¯s not as easy as swinging your sword down where you want and catching your opponent¡¯s sword knowing where it will hit unless you have a difference in ability.

    Furthermore, the defender would often be afraid of being attacked, and her body would not move as it should. But she¡¯s looking straight at me with her beautiful eyes, not even blinking nor panicking. It¡¯s as if she can see through everything.

    The first time Sensei struck me, I was so afraid that I could hardly prevent his strikes. But on the contrary, Sensei blocked all of my attacks.

    To sessfully block an attack, you must watch your opponent¡¯s movements in detail. Of course, not only the sword but also the arm, the hand, and even the opponent¡¯s line of sight. Moreover, you have to look not only up but also down. Where they step and how heavy the step was.

    When sensei taught me that, I immediately told him that it was ¡°impossible¡±. But Sensei said was, ¡°you have to look at every movement of the opponent¡±. That¡¯s impossible, you know. I can¡¯t help but focus on the sword that was shing at me.

    Even so, with practice, I gradually became able to do it.

    However, she¡¯s performing what sensei once said right in front of me. She can see everything. She has such eyes.

    Still, I keptunching attacks. Yet, she easily deflects them.

    Interesting. It¡¯s making me smile.

    There are no girls among the students who canpete with me. Not even the boys.

    Normally, she would have panicked after that big strike, but she handled my sword calmly and swiftly.

    I can see that she was holding back. She would have performed a counter when I attacked her if she were serious. But she didn¡¯t. She seems to be thinking about something. I don¡¯t know why. She was just deflecting my attacks.

    Then how about this one?

    I swing down as a feint. She blocked it. However, when she did, my sword moved to the right. I tried to strike her unguarded torso, but she quickly recovered her sword stance and blocked my attempt.

    Amazing.

    I paused, inhaled a bit, then exhaled.

    Noire is right, she is strong. She is definitely stronger than me. With hands so small and seemingly untrained.

    The word ¡°talent¡±es to my mind.

    There is an insurmountable barrier in front of me called ¡°talent¡±.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll easily lose.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It may hurt a little. But we have an infirmary, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Cereille)

    Thrusts are forbidden in practice. The only way to deal with a thrust is to avoid it. It is difficult to catch a thrust with a sword. Even if you manage to deflect it a little, it will still hit you somewhere in your body.

    I¡¯m not going to make an assumption. If she¡¯s really that good, she¡¯ll avoid it. She will avoid it to the left if I strike a little to the right. That¡¯s where I¡¯ll have a chance.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>-Yuna¡¯s POV-</b>

    Of course, she¡¯s not stronger than the Knight Commander (I forgot his name and face) that I fought during that school festival. So it¡¯s easy to deflect Cereille¡¯s attacks.

    I blocked the wooden sword that Cereille was swinging down at me.

    From the outsider¡¯s perspective, I must be seen as being cornered, unable to do anything against Cereille¡¯s attacks.

    It¡¯s about time tounch an attack and make it a seemingly lucky win.

    I was just trying to make it look like she was slightly stronger than I am.

    When I thought so, Cereille paused for a moment and opened her mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It may hurt a little. But we have an infirmary, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Cereille)

    It looks like she¡¯s going to do something.

    Then just let it loose and be done with it.

    Cereille thrusts out a wooden sword. But it was slowerpared to the thrust of Jubei-san from the Land of Harmony. I ducked her thrust. However, knowing that she was probably going to lose, Cereille spun her body with the same momentum.

    Oh, was the thrust just now a decoy?

    By rotating her body, her wooden sword attacks from the opposite direction.

    I extended my bear puppet, grabbed Cereille¡¯s right arm, used the momentum of her spinning body, hooked her leg, and made her fall. Then I ced the wooden sword on Cereille¡¯s neck as she fell.

    ¡°It¡¯s my victory, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve lost.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille easily conceded defeat.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    As expected, Yuna won.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Due to the bookwork volume 11.5 for a while (I will mainly write new books), I will bete in posting and may not be able to reply to yourments.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>] </b>BOOK ¡î WALKER will get 50 times more coins for the electronic version of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear from November 9th to November 11th (3 days only). It¡¯s not a half-price sale, but it seems that you can get about half-price points. For more information, please contact BOOK ¡î WALKER.

 Chapter 512 - Bear-san, Wins The Match

    <h4>Chapter 512 - Bear-san, Wins The Match</h4> <h4>Chapter 512</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Wins The Match</b></h4>

    ¡°You are strong. I lost.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille admitted defeat and stood up.

    There was no face of a sore loser in her expression but rather an honest admission of defeat. It seems she was not a bad character after all.

    !!

    ¡°You were strong too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be considerate. There was a clear gap between you and me that cannot be bridged. I understand that much.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I couldn¡¯t do anything and was on the defensive side.¡± (Yuna)

    At my words, Cereille looked surprised and then smiled.

    ¡°Yuna, you are a funny person.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Funny? Even though I¡¯m not dressed as a bear? I can understand why she would say that if I¡¯m a bear, but not when I¡¯m dressed like this.

    Noa and Shia came when I was about to refute Cereille¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yuna-san, that was cool.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily hugged me.

    ¡°Noire, you have a good escort with you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-san is very strong. She always helps me when I am in trouble.¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered with a big smile.

    ¡°Yuna-san, to beat Cereille by such a margin, yet still have room to spare, is quite amazing.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Room?¡± (Yuna)

    I tilted my head to Shia¡¯s words.

    Cereille and Shea seemed to have a strange evaluation of me.

    Shia knows I am strong, but did it look like I just won the match with so much room to spare? Or did it just look that way in general?

    ¡°Normally, when someone gets hit that hard, they would panic, get confused, and be vulnerable to attacks, but Yuna-san, you didn¡¯t change a single expression on your face as you received Cereille¡¯s attack head-on.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°At least I wanted to change her expression even once, but no matter how much I pushed in, I couldn¡¯t do it in the end.¡± (Cereille)

    Was that perhaps how they saw it?

    I was on the defensive, I intended to lead Cereille to ae-from-behind victory, but that didn¡¯t look to be how it went.

    Thinking back, I certainly don¡¯t remember changing my expression.

    Apparently, I have no talent as an actress.

    ¡°I did thest thrust, which I thought could be called cowardly in a practice match, but even that didn¡¯t work. I am sorry about thatst one, though.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t anyone use thrust?¡± (Yuna)

    Spears, rapiers, and swords use thrusts. As well as knives. Thrust was a valid attack. Even Jubei-san used it casually.

    ¡°We do not use thrust in practice matches because it is dangerous. Of course, regr attacks are also dangerous, but we must wear protective gear when ites to thrusting. We don¡¯t do it like this because it¡¯s very dangerous.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at the uniforms.

    When you say it like that, it¡¯s certainly dangerous. I didn¡¯t intend to hurt Cereille, and I wasn¡¯t wearing my bear suit, but I felt that even if she hit me with a wooden sword, I wouldn¡¯t be injured. Maybe I still have my game brain on. My life won¡¯t be in danger if I am in a game. And even when I came to this world, I was protected by the absolute protection of the bear equipment. Yeah, I need to be more aware of the dangers.

    ¡°That¡¯s why the thrust was not fair. Still, I felt like you could avoid the thrust. So Iunched my final attack, but I was stillpletely defeated.¡± (Cereille)

    So she knew that I was holding back. That¡¯s why she believed that I would dodge, so she gambled on the final attack.

    So, when I ducked the thrust, she twisted her body and attacked me as if she had read my action. No wonder she acted so quickly after the thrust. It was the action she had nned from the beginning.

    In other words, my performance was as obvious as Shia¡¯s. I¡¯ll have to think a little more next time.

    ¡°I¡¯m returning this. Thank you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille returned her wooden sword, so I put it in the bear box together with my wooden sword.

    ¡°So those gloves not only served as an item bag, but they also protected your hands. Your soft hands also made a little more sense to me now. But how is it that your arms are so soft?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille grabbed my squishy upper arms.

    That¡¯s because I was a hikikomori with no muscle training. Any more rubbing would damage me psychologically, so I ran away from Cereille and moved behind Shia.

    ¡°Shia, I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your practice.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Me and everyone saw something good, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Shia)

    Shia turned her gaze to the right. She looked at the students from the royal capital who were watching us.

    I forgot the existence of the other students.

    Perhaps the students were aware that I was taking it easy on Cereille?

    ¡°Well then, all¡¯s well and ends well. But it¡¯s not magic, so she can¡¯t help you with the exchange.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t magic, it was a great match.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I lost that one-sided match, though.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen how intense Cereille¡¯s attacks and how Yuna-san skillfully deflected it, both of you were amazing.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s a littleforting to hear you say that. Next time we have a match, I¡¯ll show you something a little less embarrassing.¡± (Cereille)

    Next time? There is no next time, you know.

    I want to leave the game lobby once and for all.

    ¡°I will leave you now, as it would not be right to interrupt your practice forever.¡± (Cereille)

    Phew, it looks like the argument about the escort was going to end without incident. I¡¯m d it didn¡¯t turn into a magic match or anything.

    ¡°Noa, what are we going to do now?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Noa.

    After a walk around the city, the n for the day was to meet with Shia and tell her that we had arrived in the city of Euphalia.

    The walk was canceled because Cereille caught us, but we were able to meet Shia early.

    ¡°Oneesama is practicing, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°The day after tomorrow is the day of the event, so we don¡¯t have enough time to practice. Besides, Euphalia Academy kindly offered us a ce to practice, so we have to use it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. It¡¯s been a long time since I saw you, Oneesama, and I wanted to talk to you.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What are you saying. We went to the sea together.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes, but at that time, Fina and the others are with us.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked a little disappointed. Seeing Noa like that, Shia put her hand on Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°I have a rest day tomorrow, so it should be fine. We can be together tomorrow.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Really!?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looks happy at Shia¡¯s words.

    ¡°I want to be with Noa too, so I¡¯ll meet you tomorrow morning at the bridge in front of the school.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s a promise. Well then, I mustn¡¯t interfere with your practice, so we¡¯re going back.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was happy with tomorrow¡¯s promise.

    For now, Noa and I left the ground with Cereille so as not to disturb their practice.

    I think there were some students in the back saying something, but I don¡¯t really care.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to lose. I thought I was already strong, but there is always someone better after all.¡± (Cereille)

    The bear equipment was the reason for my physical ability. Without the bear puppet, I would not be able to hold or block a sword. Without the bear¡¯s shoes, I would not be able to stand my ground. All I did was the technique to block and attack. So I¡¯m not proud of it.

    ¡°Who taught you to use the sword, Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    A game. Though I can¡¯t say that.

    ¡°Hmmm, well, various people.¡± (Yuna)

    There was an NPC (non-yer character) who taught me how to handle weapons in the tutorial. Then there was a time when I was watching and learning how other yers fought. There¡¯s also information from the Inte and other sources, which could also be called a teacher, no exaggeration.

    The rest was learned by being attacked repeatedly, or worse, dying.

    ¡°I see. Even if you are taught, it is very hard to learn it. Some people can¡¯t do it. But you must be very talented to have mastered it at that age, Yuna. I envy you.¡± (Cereille)

    Don¡¯t praise me so much because it hurts my heart.

    ¡°Yuna-san was amazing, but Cereille-sama was also amazing. How do I say it, it was beautiful.¡± (Noa)

    Noa made a follow-up that I¡¯m not sure if it can be called a follow-up.

    ¡°Fufu, thank you for saying that. But my sensei told me that a sword is just a sword, so if you want to be stronger, you need to learn how to properly use it.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But if you can use magic, I think you can do a lot with it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I wanted to have a match using magic with Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to have another match with you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. If Yuna participated in the exchange meeting, I could have had my revenge.¡± (Cereille)

    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t n to participate. After all, even though I¡¯m wearing a uniform, I¡¯m not a student.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Noire. How long have you been in the city?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Since yesterday, I had promised to meet Oneesama at ater time today, so I was taking a walk with Yuna-san until then.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see that¡¯s how you met with me. If you came to the city yesterday, where are you staying?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°At an inn on the main street near where I met Cereille-sama. There was a bath in the room and the food was delicious.¡± (Noa)

    Noa did not hesitate to exin the location of the inn.

    ¡°Oh, that inn. That¡¯s a solid, reputable inn.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille seemed to understand immediately from Noa¡¯s exnation.

    As expected, that inn has a good reputation.

    The innkeeper, who saw my outfit, didn¡¯t look down on me. She may have thought that if I was the daughter of some wealthy family, she would have been in big trouble, so she may have just stayed out of it.

    Cereille thinks for a moment.

    ¡°¡­¡­I see. Noire, please stay at my house with her while you are in town.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That¡¯s.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I am not talking about giving you an escort. Let me entertain you and Yuna, including apologizing for this incident.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°¡­Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked me with her eyes saying, ¡°What are we going to do?¡±.

    ¡°We appreciate the offer, but we¡¯ve already paid for our lodging.¡± (Yuna)

    I gently refused. I don¡¯t feel at ease in the house of someone I just met. If possible, I would like to refrain from doing so.

    ¡°That means, all we have to do is get your money back from the inn. The inn is owned by an acquaintance of mine, so I will go and talk to him.¡± (Cereille)

    It didn¡¯t mean that I wasted money, but it didn¡¯t seem to make sense in a roundabout way.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> We will be releasing volume 11 of Kuma on November 30 this month. Information about the store purchase bonus will be avable soon. We will report it on our activity report and Twitter, so please wait a little longer.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>] </b>The following is the schedule for the release of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.

    November 30: Volume 11 will be released.

    January: Volume 11.5 scheduled for release (SS collection of store specials and newly written SS are nned)

    February: Comic book volume 2 scheduled for release

    March: Volume 12 scheduled for release

    Four books will be released in 5 months. Thank you for your cooperation.

    We will report any changes in the release date.

 Chapter 513 - Bear-san, Goes To Cereilleâ€™s House.

    <h4>Chapter 513 - Bear-san, Goes To Cereille¡¯s House.</h4> <h4>Chapter 513</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Goes To Cereille¡¯s House.</b></h4>

    Well, what could I do? I couldn¡¯t just say no.

    I would have refused the offer if it were just me, but Noa, a noblewoman, was also present. I am sure that there was a rtionship between nobles, and my status was not only Noa¡¯s bodyguard but also a student.

    And Cereille was talking to Noa, who was also a noblewoman. I don¡¯t want to get into trouble by interrupting them.

    ¡°Noa can decide.¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    I will leave this to the judgment of Noa, a noblewoman.

    ¡°¡­¡­I understand. Then we will be in the care of Cereille-sama for a day. Is that okay with you, Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If that¡¯s Noa¡¯s decision, then I¡¯m fine with it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Noire, you don¡¯t have to say for just a day. You can stay until you leave the city.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°We cannot afford to bother you to that extent.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not bothered.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I am sorry, but I cannot abuse Cereille-sama¡¯s hospitality. So, I will only be in your care for one day. Besides, if I am indebted to you for a long time, I will be at a loss as to whom I should cheer for when you and Oneesama have a match.¡± (Noa)

    Noa gently told her that she could not stay long.

    Did she choose a single day by considering the feelings of Cereille and me? Was this the aristocratic response?

    Even if she was small, Noa was still a noble.

    ¡°I understand. Then I shall entertain you for the rest of the day.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille alsopromised and gave ground.

    Well, even for me, I think it was a goodpromise.

    ¡°Well, then, as an apology for the inconvenience I may have caused you while you were out exploring the city, I will show you around the city.¡± (Cereille)

    We decided to explore the city with Cereille as our guide.

    We strolled around the city, peered in stores, or nibbled at food stalls. Cereille paid for the food.

    I wonder. I always pay the bill, so it¡¯s refreshing to have someone else pay for me.

    I informed the innkeeper that we would not return for the night. The innkeeper, in the presence of Cereille, agreed to return my money, but I told her that I woulde back another day and did not ept the deposit back.

    The bill was charged the next day after the social event was over. After the social event was over, we would have an extra day to rx and y.

    Before the sunset, we went to Cereille¡¯s house. As the lord¡¯s mansion, Cereille¡¯s house was pretty extensive.

    ¡°You must be tired from walking. I will have a bath prepared for you, so please rest in your room.¡± (Cereille)

    Once inside the mansion, Cereille called one of the servants and asked her to show us to our room.

    We parted ways with Cereille, and the maid showed us to our room.

    ¡°It¡¯s huge.¡± (Yuna)

    There are tworge beds.

    Noa and I are in the same room, partly because of Noa¡¯s wish.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you all of a sudden?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know that Yuna-san did not want toe to Cereille-sama¡¯s mansion.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just that I get tired of staying at the house of someone I¡¯ve only known for a short time.¡± (Yuna)

    I never stayed at a friend¡¯s house since I don¡¯t have one. The mostfortable ce for me was my home. Now I feel most at home in the bear house.

    ¡°Yes, I am the same way. But I also understand how Cereille-sama feels, so I asked her to let us stay only for one day. If Cereille-sama came to Crimonia, I would not let her stay at the inn either, I would invite her to my house.¡± (Noa)

    Well, I guess that would be normal. If you knew a nobleman in town, you would invite him to your house. I would leave the decision in that area to Noa, who was a noblewoman.

    Noa looked around the room and opened the window.

    ¡°Is that Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    At Noa¡¯s words, I went to the window and looked outside. There, Cereille, who had just left, was swinging her sword.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>-Cereille¡¯s POV-</b>

    I lost. I was beaten by a girl who was shorter and less powerful than me.

    I swung the sword.

    I haven¡¯t practiced enough. I know I have no talent. But I believed that if I practiced, I could be stronger. Thanks to that, I became stronger.

    ¡­¡­I thought so. But I lost.

    At first, I thought that Noire, a noblewoman, was with a student from the royal capital and came here without an escort. However, I was told that a girl smaller than me was her escort.

    It was too incredible to believe. I thought about it for a moment, and then I offered to give Noire an escort because something dangerous might happen in the near future.

    But she says she¡¯s okay with the girl in her uniform because she¡¯s strong.

    The girl then offered to have a match with me to prove Noire¡¯s words.

    I had no intention of losing either in magic or in swordy. I had practiced that much.

    But I lost the match.

    It was not by a small margin. She was far ahead of me within that little frame.

    I have to be strong.

    There¡¯s not much time.

    That man would soon appear in front of me if that wasn¡¯t a dream.

    My mother died when I was five years old. To be exact, she was murdered by that man.

    I was five years old at the time and don¡¯t remember much about the event.

    It was the man who killed my mother. The man appeared in front of me and my mother, he had a conversation with her, and then killed her. I do not remember what conversation the man had with my mother. I only remember that my mother was killed right in front of me.

    My mother asked the man not to take her daughter¡¯s life. Even to the point of death, she told me, ¡°Run away¡±.

    But I did not run away, I held on to Mother¡¯s body. Then the man spoke to me.

    ¡°Cute, daughter. It looks like you¡¯re going to be as beautiful as your mother.¡± (Man)

    I had no idea what the man was talking about.

    I just remember the mouth with a wide smile on it.

    ¡°It would be nice to trade revenge on that man for you. Well then, I wille for you when you turn 16. Until then, grow up beautifully for me.¡± (Man)

    The man stroked my cheek with the bloody hand that had killed my mother. My body trembled.

    ¡°But I need insurance. You have a younger brother?¡± (Man)

    I have a younger brother. My first younger brother. Whenever I smiled, my brotherughed.

    ¡°I would like to ask you to keep this conversation between you and me. If you tell others, your little brother might end up just like his mother.¡± (Man)

    The man¡¯s hand reaches out, and the slippery mother¡¯s blood spreads on my cheek.

    The feeling still haunts me in my dreams.

    The man walked away, and I fell down unconscious.

    The next time I woke up, I was in bed.

    At the time, I was quite emotionally unstable. I had nightmares when I went to bed, was afraid of being alone, and trembled when I thought of the man.

    Still, I told my father what I remembered. I remember that my father was crying at that time. My father tried to find the person who had killed my mother, but he could not.

    But there was one thing I did not tell my father. That was when I turned 16. The man might appear before me. As a child, I could not speak of it because I thought that my brother might be killed and be covered in blood like my mother.

    Ten years have passed since then.

    Now I am not sure if it was a dream, a misremembering, or something that really happened, but after ten years, my memory has be fuzzy. The man has never appeared to me since then. He may never appear again. That¡¯s how I feel.

    However, now that I am 16 years old and the man who killed your mother might appear in front of me¡­

    I gripped my sword tightly.

    I have worked hard for it. I have wielded a sword. I have learned magic.

    I believe thate my 16th birthday, I will be freed from this binding curse, for better or worse.

    ¡­¡­Which would I prefer?

    There¡¯s no answer to that question.

    But now I¡¯m wielding a sword.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>-Yuna¡¯s POV-</b>

    Noa and I head outside after spotting Cereille outside the window.

    In the garden, Cereille was swinging her sword mindlessly, unaware of our presence.

    As we were wondering whether to call out to her, she stopped swinging her sword and locked eyes with us.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you two?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°We could see you from the room. Are you practicing, Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    Noa exined why we came here.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I said I would entertain you, but then I felt like swinging my sword at my own inadequacy in the match against Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Did we interrupt you?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s partly because I wanted to sweat a little before taking a bath.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at me.

    ¡°Yuna, could we have a light spar? Of course, not a match. No thrusting, no irregr attacks. We will just strike each other in a normal way.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked with serious eyes.

    ¡°If it¡¯s really just light sparring, then it¡¯s fine. But If I think Cereille is getting serious, we¡¯ll stop.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille handed me a practice sword. Unlike the wooden sword we used in the match, this sword was made of iron. It should be heavy, but the bear puppet made it light to hold.

    ¡°Well then, I look forward to sparring with you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille readied her sword and struck lightly. I caught it. After two or three strikes, Cereille moved back a little.

    ¡°Your turn, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    I did as I was told and swung down my sword as usual. The sound of iron swords hitting each other reverberated.

    It was done alternately and silently. We were really just having a light spar.

    Then, after several turns, Cereille lowered her sword.

    ¡°Thank you very much. By the way, you¡¯re really amazing, Yuna. I was actually striking with all my strength. A normal girl would have dropped her sword a while ago.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Well, I do my training.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°With those upper arms, no one would believe it even when you say that.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille approached me and squished my arms puyopuyo.

    ¡°Fufu, let¡¯s take a bath together. Noire, I¡¯ll wash your hair.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, I could not make Cereille-sama do such a thing.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I always wanted a little sister like Noire.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille-sama, you have a younger brother.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Of course, my little brother is cute, but a little sister would probably be even cuter. Lately, my brother has be more and more selfish, and it bothers me.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯m selfish too, you know.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If it were your selfishness, Noire, I would forgive you. Oh, don¡¯t tell my little brother about this.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille smiled and put a finger to her lips.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The timing of writing is difficult.

    I think about it all the time. I always wonder when to write the core of the story.

    If I had finished writing the story, I could rewrite it to find the right timing, but that¡¯s not possible with submissions, so it¡¯s difficult.

    That¡¯s why I need a plot, but it doesn¡¯t always work out the way I want it to.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Volume 11 of Kuma will be released this month on November 30. I have written the information about the store purchase bonus in the activity report, so please take a look.

    Or, click on the volume 11 cover below to go to the publisher¡¯s store purchase bonus website.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear will be released on.

    November 30: Volume 11 on sale

    January: Volume 11.5 scheduled for release (SS collection of store specials and newly written SS are scheduled)

    February: Comic book volume 2 scheduled for release

    March: Volume 12 scheduled for release

    Four books will be released in 5 months. Thank you for your cooperation.

    We will report any changes in the release date.

 Chapter 514

    <h4>Chapter 514</h4>

    Bear-san, Takes A Bath

    The three of us took a bath together.

    ¡°Yuna¡¯s body is thin, white, and beautiful.¡± (Cereille)

    !!

    Cereille looks at my body without my uniform. I quickly hid my body. It was embarrassing to be looked at so closely, even by someone of the same sex. Unlike me, Cereille¡¯s body was beautifully toned, making me even more embarrassed.

    ¡°Cereille,-sama, you¡¯re also beautiful.¡± (Yuna)

    I am not sure what to call Cereille. Come to think of it, I had been calling her ¡°Cereille¡± in my mind, but this might be the first time I called her by her name. Because of that, I was lost on how to call her Cereille.

    ¡°Fufu, Cereille is fine. You call Noire by her nickname, and you don¡¯t add ¡°sama¡± for Shia.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Are you sure? Won¡¯t other people stare at me or raise ain?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Even at the school, people who are close to me call me Cereille normally. Also, don¡¯t worry about the words. Just talk to me as you have been so far.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I get it. Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, Cereille-sama, please call me Noa.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, I would be happier with that.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Cereille looked happy.

    ¡°But you are beautiful, Yuna-san, and so is Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you. However, you may not be able to tell from a distance, but I do have scars.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille shows me and Noa her arm. There was indeed a tiny scar on her beautiful arm. Perhaps it was from sword practice. Noa was checking Cereille¡¯s arm seriously.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s small, so it doesn¡¯t bother me that much. I¡¯m fine with it.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille saw Noa¡¯s expression and smiled gently.

    After our little conversation, we headed for the bathroom.

    I knew it would be a big bathroom for an aristocrat. The bathroom in my bear house was quiterge, but this one was even bigger than that.

    ¡°Noa,e over here and sit down.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looks at the small chair in front of her and calls out to Noa. Noa seemed to know what she was going to do, yet, she still sat down in the chair in front of Cereille.

    ¡°I envy Shia. She has a younger sister, whoes from far away, to support her.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But I was able toe because Yuna-san was with me. If it weren¡¯t for Yuna-san, I don¡¯t think I would have been allowed toe.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, your parents, really trust her, don¡¯t they?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille nced at me as I was washing my body next to her.

    ¡°Yes, we all trust her. Yuna-san is a kind person who helps not only me but anyone who is in need.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Cereille)

    You won¡¯t get anything even if you praise me.

    And I am not as kind as Noa ims I am. If I were indeed a kind person, I would use the power of my bear equipment and my knowledge of my former world to help more people.

    I only help those I can see, and those who I want to help.

    But, I¡¯m d that Noa thinks of me that way.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to wash your hair now.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Noa)

    Cereille washes Noa¡¯s long hair. I usually wash Noa¡¯s hair for her, which makes me feel a little sad. Cereille happilythers soap on Noa¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯m gonna rinse it now.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille poured hot water over Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°Next is your back.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I can¡¯t make you do that much for me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I like doing it, so don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m just d to feel like I have a sister at the end of my life.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°At the end?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Forget about it.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille continued with Noa by washing her body, finally pouring hot water over her body to rinse off the bubbles.

    ¡°Yes, now your hair and body are clean. Go rx and warm up in the tub.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and I excused ourselves first and got into the bathtub.

    It feels good, but a hot spring bath was much better when you get to know the onsen of the Land of Harmony. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean that regr baths were no good.

    ¡°It feels good.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, sitting next to me, lookingfortable. Someday, when the timees when I can talk to Noa about the bear gate, I hope to take her to the hot springs in the Land of Harmony.

    Then Cereille, who had finished washing up, came over as well, and the three of us rxed after a hard day¡¯s work.

    A lot happened today. We strolled around town, met with Cereille, I had a sword match with Cereille, and then we continued to stroll around town and came to Cereille¡¯s house.

    After everything that happened today, Cereille was not a bad girl. At first, I thought she was a pain in the ass, or at least I still think so, but. She¡¯s a serious girl who likes to take care of things properly, the exact opposite of me, who was untruthful. Cereille was the type of girl who lives a normal life. I¡¯m the type that lives life as ites.

    If we ever live together, I bet it will be suffocating.

    ¡°Noa, I have a question, is that okay? If you can¡¯t answer, you don¡¯t have to.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s about the story of how Shia was saved from Lord Rutum.¡± (Cereille)

    Lord Rutum? A name I didn¡¯t know came out.

    ¡°I have heard that Lord Rutum tried to marry Shia to his own son.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You know about it, Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I think some of the nobility know about this. Count Rutum Rnd has been stripped of his position as the Knight Commander and has be a teacher at the school. However, it seems that His Majesty the King has ced a gag order about the incident, so even my father doesn¡¯t know the full details. But from the way you talk, Noa, you seem to know something.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Etto, yeah.¡± (Noa)

    Noa nodded and then nced at me.

    What?

    ¡°That Rutum person? Did something happen with Shia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa looks at me with a stunned expression.

    I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s looking at me like that. Did I say something strange? I just asked because I was curious.

    ¡°Yuna, you know Shia, but you don¡¯t know Lord Rutum? I heard that when the school festival was taking ce, Lord Rutum tried to get Shia engaged to his own son in front of His Majesty the King. It¡¯s a terrible story, isn¡¯t it? But then, I heard a man dashingly and quickly appeared. And he told His Majesty that if he won the match against Lord Rutum, the leader of the knighthood, the engagement would never have happened. And that person won the match.¡± (Cereille)

    School festival? Shia¡¯s marriage proposal? His Majesty the King there? Knight Commander?

    The pieces wereing together.

    Could that possibly be me?

    I point to myself while looking at Noa.

    Noa gave a small nod. So that¡¯s why when I asked her, she had a dumbfounded look on her face.

    I don¡¯t remember the name Rutum to begin with. I barely even fought with that uncle, the Knight Commander.

    But wait a minute. Didn¡¯t she just say ¡°a man¡± at the end?

    ¡°Did you say a man?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know the gender, but I think it¡¯s usually a male.¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s a girl. But I cannot raise my voice and simply swallow my words.

    If the gender was not revealed, one might normally assume that it was a man who fought the Knight Commander. And moreover, a person who won against him.

    ¡°Etto, that was¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s eyes were swimming, and she began to think hard. It¡¯s like she¡¯s trying to hide me from me.

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me after all? I asked my father, but His Majesty the King seemed to have issued a gag order, so he didn¡¯t tell me.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, my father also tried to find out how Lord Rutum was stripped of the knight captain and became a teacher at the school, but he said he stopped because he found out that the Gag Order was in ce.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But if you really wanted to find out, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for an aristocrat to do so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, we can look into it. But if we know that His Majesty the King issued a gag order, and you still ignore His Majesty¡¯s words, you will be in trouble if His Majesty heard that you are looking into the matter. His Majesty the King has implicitly said that he will not allow anyone to investigate. There is no value in breaking that rule and investigating Lord Rutum. However, what I am interested in is the man who defeated Lord Lutum. As a fellow woman, I envy Shia for having a man who is willing to go that far. Is Shia in a rtionship with that man?¡± (Cereille)

    You¡¯re a dreaming maiden, aren¡¯t you?

    But that person was not a man.

    It¡¯s me, you know?

    Even so, I wonder if the story at that time got twisted and jumbled?

    Or was it just ack of information?

    ¡°Oneesama is not dating that person. I just can¡¯t tell you who that person is.¡± (Noa)

    Noa apologized.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. But I envy Shia for having such a romantic story. I just thought that if such a strong person was by my side too, he might help me when I am in trouble.¡± (Cereille)

    Her expression was not the kind of face a maiden longing for something, but a very serious one.

    ¡°Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    Noa also noticed Cereille¡¯s expression and called out to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m sorry for asking you to do something you couldn¡¯t. Well then, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Cereille)

    With that said, Cereille got out of the bathtub.

    Noa and I followed suit.

    After drying our hair and getting dressed, we returned to our room.

    By the way, I can¡¯t wear my bear costume, so I¡¯m still in my uniform.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Rutum¡¯s name came up once again.

    Cereille doesn¡¯t seem to know the details.

    [Notice] The 11th volume of Kuma will be released next Friday, November 30. Please check the activity report for information such as the store purchase bonus.

 Chapter 515

    <h4>Chapter 515</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Known For Their Love Of Bears</b></h4>

    After getting out of the bath, Noa and I separated from Cereille, who returned to her room.

    As we went our way, I was concerned about Cerreille¡¯s expression, but could not speak to her.

    ¡°Even so, I didn¡¯t think that the story of that time at the school festival would ever surface.¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    ¡°Yuna-san, I was surprised that you didn¡¯t react when I mentioned Rutum-sama¡¯s name.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I remember his title of knight captain, but not his name.¡± (Yuna)

    Moreover, I haven¡¯t seen him since then, so how could I remember him? He was already erased from my memory.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t think she thought I was a man.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because of the gag order, just like Cereille-sama said. If you look into it, you will soon find out that the girl in the school uniform had a match with Rutum-sama. Perhaps it¡¯s just that Cereille-sama¡¯s father didn¡¯t tell her that much.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, if he talks to his daughter and it spreads, it would be her father¡¯s responsibility.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe he only told her that there was someone who fought for Oneesama against Rutum-sama. That¡¯s why I think she assumed that Yuna-san, who fought for Oneesama, was a man. Also, I don¡¯t think that she personally received any information here, being far away from the royal capital, and I don¡¯t think that she tried to gather information on her own. But since she met Oneesama and me, she may have just been curious about that incident at the school festival.¡± (Noa)

    Noa exined it from Cereille¡¯s point of view.

    Well, even though she¡¯s a daughter of a noble family, Cereille, a student, would not personally investigate Rutum.

    ¡°By the way, thanks for keeping quiet about me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My mother has asked me not to tell anyone. Besides, Yuna-san, you didn¡¯t want to be known either, so you used a false name at that time, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°False name? What are you talking about?¡± (Yuna)

    I tilted my head to the side.

    ¡°¡­¡­Yuna-san, you said your name was Yuuna, right?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked as if to confirm.

    ¡­¡­Yuuna?

    Gradually, the memory of that timees back to me.

    I pped the bear puppets, and they made a pomf sound.

    ¡°¡­¡­Ah, I have a faint memory of saying something like that.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s right. When I was asked by His Majesty the King, I remembered calling myself Yuuna.

    ¡°Noa, you remember it well.¡± (Yuna)

    I had already forgotten about it.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you just don¡¯t remember it. I can¡¯t believe you forgot Rutum-sama¡¯s name after all that happened.¡± (Noa)

    What? Normally, you wouldn¡¯t remember the name of someone you¡¯ve only met once or so, would you? And even more so, the name of someone you were not interested in. Even if you were introduced to someone when you changed sses, you wouldn¡¯t remember the name of the kid you were not interested about. It¡¯s the same thing.

    And I feel bad for Noa, but I only recently learned the name Foshuroze. I didn¡¯t remember it in the beginning, and it was lost in the memory of that time I was angry at Cliff.

    I opened the window and cooled my skin after taking a bath. It feels good. After I cooled down, Cereille came into our room.

    ¡°The food is ready, so let¡¯s go to the dining room.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you here then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about, Yuna? You¡¯reing with us.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille, I think your family would be there. As an escort of Noa, I can¡¯t eat at the same table with the nobles, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. As a friend of Noa and Shia, I would like to introduce you to them and invite you to dine with us. Besides, as I¡¯ve said before, ¡°I¡¯ll be entertaining Noa and your friend¡±. Of course, that means you, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille held out her hand.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa also reached out and grabbed my hand.

    Both of them took me.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I don¡¯t know anything about manners.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry and enjoy your meal as much as you normally would. My father is not that strict either. I think he will be happy to have a meal with pretty girls like Yuna and Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    Is that something I should be happy about?

    Honestly, I would really prefer not to have dinner with a noble family, but I will stay with Cereille for one day as per Noa¡¯s words.

    <b>=====</b>

    After finishing the meal, we returned to our room.

    ¡°Yuna-san. The food was delicious.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I was a little restless, though.¡± (Yuna)

    As it turned out, Cereille¡¯s father was a kind man. Sometimes he asked me about Shia, and Noa was asked about Cliff. We all had a pleasant meal, I think.

    Also, at the table, was Cereille¡¯s younger brother, who was a little older than Noa. He was surprised to see us together, but he still greeted us cheerfully.

    However, it was supposed to be a family gathering for dinner, but their mother was not there. Perhaps she¡¯s working at the castle like Eleanora-san.

    If she works at the castle, she might know me as The Bear, so I have to be careful.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s a little early, but let¡¯s get ready for bed, shall we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa pulled out a nightgown from her item bag and began to change. It was a nightgown with a cute white frill. It definitely wouldn¡¯t look good on me.

    ¡°Yuna-san, are you not changing your clothes?¡± (Noa)

    Changing clothes means changing into that thing, right?

    Well, all I have to do is sleep. I¡¯m not meeting anyone; I just need to get changed early in the morning.

    I took my bear costume out from the bear box and put on my white bear costume.

    As expected, I feel rxed when I wear my bear costume.

    It¡¯s definitely a cursed outfit.

    ¡°Yuna-san looks best in that appearance, after all.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa. That¡¯s not apliment.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at my reflection. I¡¯m a pr bear. I¡¯m tired today, so I¡¯m going to take my fatigue away with my pr bear costume.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll go to bed dressed as a bear too.¡± (Noa)

    Noa then took something out of her item bag and spread it out towards me.

    ¡°That¡¯s from the shop.¡± (Yuna)

    During Misa¡¯s birthday party, an incident urred, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear once ran throughout the city. The people of the city became afraid of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    So, to let them know that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were not scary, Noa, Fina, and Misa once wore my shop¡¯s bear uniforms and yed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    That¡¯s what she was wearing at the time.

    ¡°Yes, sometimes I wear it to bed. If I wore it during the day, I would get in trouble with my father and L.¡± (Noa)

    That¡¯s true. If an aristocratic daughter were seen dressed as a bear¡­ Yeah, she at least pays attention.

    Noa took off the cute nightgown she had just put on and started putting on her bear clothes.

    ¡°The colors are different, but we both dressed as bears.¡± (Noa)

    Noa is dressed as a bear like me and looks happy.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what about Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan?¡± (Noa)

    I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any danger. But I can¡¯t say that there¡¯s nothing like the incident with Misa.

    Besides, you¡¯ll never know what will happen in life. You could be ying a game and be transported to another world while being dressed as a bear. Or a dragon may suddenly appear while you¡¯re sleeping.

    But if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were there, they would tell us if there was any danger. Besides, if I return them in the morning, nobody would notice.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as bear cubs.

    Noa happily held Swaying Bear in her arms. I also held Hugging Bear in my arms, and they both squealed happily, `ku~u ~ n¡¯.

    At that moment, there was a knock, and the door opened.

    ¡°Noa, Yuna, excuse me a little.¡± (Cereille)

    There was a figure of Cereille at the opened door.

    ¡°Yuna, what are you wearing? Even Noa? And are those bears you two are holding?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was surprised to see the bears me and Noa were holding.

    We were alreadyte.

    ¡°Etto¡­¡± (Yuna)

    When people are nervous, words don¡¯te out.

    Cereille reached out to Hugging Bear as she approached me.

    ¡°I, it¡¯s cute. What¡¯s going on? They weren¡¯t here until a while ago, right?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was petting the head of Hugging Bear that I¡¯m holding.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve never seen a white bear before.¡± (Cereille)

    With a big smile on her face, Cereille strokes Hugging Bear¡¯s head, then she goes to Noa and snatches Swaying Bear away from her, and hugs him. Noa and I were stunned and watched as Cereille was left on her own with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°My apologies. I like cute animals, and I got worked-up. I would appreciate it if you would forget about it.¡± (Cereille)

    When she came back to herself, Cereille¡¯s cheeks were a little red with embarrassment.

    ¡°So, would you care to exin?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looks at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I exin that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were my summoned beasts and could be summoned at any time at will. I also told her that they can turn big but right not now because it¡¯ll cause trouble, and that we came from Crimonia riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Riding on bears¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s afortable ride, and it¡¯s swift.¡± (Noa)

    Noa speaks boastfully.

    Cereille was surprised when I made the bears bigger to show it to her.

    ¡°Such a cutie. No, if you have awesome summoned beasts that can change their size, please tell me at the beginning. Also, I¡¯d like to¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    While saying that, she looked at Hugging Bear that I¡¯m holding.

    ¡°So why did you summon your bears?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I have always summoned them whenever I¡¯m sleeping at night.¡± (Yuna)

    I cannot say that I summoned them because in case of danger.

    Besides, it¡¯s notpletely a lie because I always summon them and sleep together with them at night.

    ¡°Okay, I understand about the bears. So why are you two dressed like that?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    What should I do? Should I say it¡¯s my casual wear?

    Or should I say sleepwear?

    ¡°I¡¯m wearing this outfit because I love bears. Both Yuna-san and I love bears.¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered for me.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Ku~u ? n¡±

    Looking at me as Cereille confirms, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear look at her with blunt eyes that I feel like they¡¯re saying ¡°What about it?¡±

    After all this time, I am sure that I have be a bear lover, partly because of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But it would be damaging to my heart to tell Cereille, whom I just met today, that I dress up as a bear because I like bears. That being said, when I look at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I can¡¯t lie about it. If I lie and try to deceive her, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will be sad.

    So I have only one answer.

    ¡°¡­I love bears.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily at my words.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you wore bear gloves.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was convinced with my appearance.

    ¡°But I understand how Yuna feels. It is the first time for me to see a bear this close up, but it is so cute.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille¡¯s expression loosened when she nced at Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I understand that Noa and Yuna love bears and are dressed like that, but the others will be surprised when they see you like that, so change your clothes in the morning and unsummon the bears.¡± (Cereille)

    I n to return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back, to begin with, but does that mean I can¡¯t be dressed as a bear?

    Ah, I wanted to be dressed as a bear tomorrow?

    It¡¯s a curse after all.

    ¡°So, why did you end up here in this room again, Cereille?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I just wanted to tell you a little bit about tomorrow. I have a ss, so I¡¯m going to the academy. And, You and Noa are going to the school to meet Shia, right?¡± (Cereille)

    We are meeting with Shia at the entrance of the academy.

    ¡°I just came to tell you to go together with me. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have to go to bed. Noa and Yuna, you two must go to bed early.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes. Good night, Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    Cereille walked towards the door. But she came back as if she had remembered something and pet Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on the head, a happy expression was left on her face.

    Then she left the room as if nothing had happened.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I have been known to like bears too. (lol)

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Today, episode 11 (first half) of <b>[</b>Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear<b>]</b> will be released on Nico Nico Manga at 11:00 a.m., please check it out.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Episode 18 of <b>[</b>Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear<b>]</b> is now avable on Comic PASH! Hugging Bear is cute.

 Chapter 516

    <h4>Chapter 516</h4> <h4><b>Bear-san, Joins Shia</b></h4>

    Pechipechi~

    I was hit by something soft and fluffy. When I opened my eyes, I saw Hugging Bear pping my cheeks. I looked at the window and saw that the sun was beginning to rise.

    It looks like it¡¯s morning already.

    I get up with Hugging Bear in my arms.

    !!

    It was a soft and fluffy bed, but if anything, the pr bear costume helped me sleep soundly. It¡¯s a lovely morning after a long day.

    I got out of bed, trying not to wake Noa, who was sleeping next to me, and changed into my uniform before someone arrived.

    Hugging Bear looked disappointed, so I patted his head.

    ¡°Only when I¡¯m in this city, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I slipped my arms into the sleeves of my uniform and finished changing.

    Next, I turned my attention to Noa, who was sleeping in her bed. Noa was sleepingfortably with Swaying Bear in her arms.

    It¡¯s time to wake them up.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, wake her up.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear slipped out of Noa¡¯s arms and smacked her in the face.

    That¡¯s a bear punch.

    ¡°U~u, please stop!¡± (Noa)

    Noa brushed off Swaying Bear¡¯s paws.

    ¡°Hey, Noa, it¡¯s time to get up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Please let me sleep a little longer.¡± (Noa)

    That¡¯s not happening.

    Then it¡¯s time for the next step.

    I gave orders to Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, GO!¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear climbed up Noa¡¯s sleeping body. Swaying Bear then covers Noa¡¯s face.

    Gradually, Noa, feeling suffocated, got up.

    ¡°It¡¯s painful!¡± (Noa)

    Swaying Bear seeded in waking Noa up.

    ¡°Yuna-san, that¡¯s terrible.¡± (Noa)

    I was also angry when Swaying Bear woke me up that way.

    ¡°It¡¯s Noa¡¯s fault for not getting up sooner.¡± (Yuna)

    You should be thankful that he didn¡¯t divebomb onto your stomach. That was dangerous, so I had to stop him.

    ¡°Yes, but I wanted Swaying Bear-chan to wake me up gently as well.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at Swaying Bear, who woke her up.

    ¡°No, he woke you up gently first.¡± (Yuna)

    By Pechipechi~

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    At Noa¡¯s question, Swaying Bear nodded and cried, `ku~u ~ n¡®.

    ¡°You still didn¡¯t get up, so he went the hard way.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was tired because of all the things that happened yesterday, but next time, please wake me up a little more gently.¡± (Noa)

    Swaying Bear replied with, `ku~u ~ n¡®.

    ¡°Anyway, now that you¡¯re up, get dressed before someone elsees in.¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t let her dress as a bear forever. If a maides, she¡¯ll be surprised.

    Noa took off her bear uniform and began to change. I repatriated Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while Noa was changing.

    Then Noa changed her clothes, and after a while, Cereille came into the room.

    ¡°Did you both have a good rest?¡± (Cereille)

    Chirachira. (¥Á¥é¥Á¥é¡£)

    Cereille was looking around the room as she asked.

    ¡°Yes, I was able to sleep well until morning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, somehow.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­The bears are not here, I see.¡± (Cereille)

    Oh, she has been looking for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear since a while ago.

    ¡°I repatriated them already.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked a little disappointed. Did she really want to see them so badly?

    I summoned Swaying Bear in front of her to try it out. Cereille quickly smiled. But when I sent him back, she looked sad.

    Her facial expression changes a lot, unlike when we first met.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I think that¡¯s terrible of you.¡± (Noa)

    I was enjoying watching Cereille¡¯s reaction, but Noa got mad at me.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to stay with us until breakfast time, including an apology.

    After breakfast, we head to the school with Cereille.

    ¡°Do you always walk? You don¡¯t take a carriage or something?¡± (Yuna)

    She is a noblewoman. I think she should be riding a carriage, but I remember she was walking alone yesterday.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice to take a walk in the morning, so I walk to school. I love this city after all.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille smiled.

    Then, as we talked, we arrived at the school and saw Shia in her uniform.

    ¡°Oneesama, we¡¯re here.¡± (Noa)

    Noa ran out happily when she saw Shia. Cereille and I followed her.

    ¡°Why are you with Cereille?¡± (Shia)

    Noa exined what happened yesterday.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we stayed at her house for one day.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Actually, you could have stayed for more than just a day while you were in the city.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, as I told you yesterday if I, ept the favors of Cereille-sama any more than that, I will be in trouble if Oneesama and Cereille-sama have a match.¡± (Noa)

    Noa refuses with the same words as yesterday without being rude.

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± (Cereille)

    For some reason, Cereille looked at me, not Noa.

    Do you want to be with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that badly?

    ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t go with you, but I hope you all enjoy the city.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Thank you, Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    Cereille went into the school.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go, too.¡± (Shia)

    Contrary to Cereille, we started walking away from the school.

    ¡°So, where shall we go?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I want to buy souvenirs for Mother and Father.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then we should have asked Cereille yesterday.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I wanted to choose with Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fufu, Noa, thank you. Then, let¡¯s choose together.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    I wonder if I should buy one for Fina too.

    ¡°But Shia, wouldn¡¯t the best souvenir be a story about your sess at the event?¡± (Yuna)

    Normally, for parents, their children¡¯s sess story was the best souvenir they could get.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. When we get back to town, I¡¯ll tell Father about Oneesama¡¯s exploits.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t put pressure on me.¡± (Shia)

    We burst intoughter.

    I want Shia to y an active role.

    We go around to different ces, looking for souvenirs to give to Eleanora-san and Cliff, and to look for something to eat.

    ¡°It was delicious.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I had it with all the students the other night, and it was so good, I thought I¡¯d share it with Noa.¡± (Shia)

    After finishing our meal, we walked down one of the eight main streets. We thought we might get lost because the streets are all simr.

    ¡°Is that the Adventurers Guild?¡± (Yuna)

    There was arge building up ahead, with a signboard for the Adventurers Guild.

    ¡°Shia, are you still going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I sometimes go with Marcus. Buttely, he seems to be going with another girl who is aiming for the same knighthood as him.¡± (Shia)

    I see.

    Were the monsters around here the same as near Crimonia?

    Or were there monsters I¡¯ve never seen before?

    The Land of Harmony had different monsters and magic stones. As a former gamer, I am a little concerned.

    ¡°Yuna-san, would you like toe in?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked me when she saw me looking at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡°This time I am Noa¡¯s escort, and I came to support Shia, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re an adventurer, so don¡¯t worry about it. Besides, you looked like you wanted to go in.¡± (Shia)

    Does it show on my face that much?

    I rubbed my face with my bear puppet.

    ¡°And I¡¯d like to go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, too, because it¡¯s not a ce I can get into very often.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous. We may get entangled with adventurers.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°When I first went to Crimonia and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the royal capital, I got tangled up and had to fight.¡± (Yuna)

    I wasn¡¯t even doing anything.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡± (Noa)

    They both look at me.

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you were dressed as a bear?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I think so, too.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, I feel like I get involved in troublesome things because of my bear outfit.

    If nothing else. I also think it was because I looked like a little girl.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re wearing a uniform this time, so it¡¯ll be okay.¡± (Shia)

    Is that right?

    Shia pulled me into the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°There are few people.¡± (Noa)

    Noa is correct, there are not many adventurers here. Not that there aren¡¯t any, but only a few people are sitting in the chairs in the corner.

    ¡°Are they all outside working?¡± (Yuna)

    Time-wise, it should be working hours. But there were a good number of adventurers at the adventurers¡¯ guilds in Crimonia and the royal capital who were resting at this time, gathering information, or looking for work tomorrow.

    But no such adventurers were doing such things in this Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Furthermore, the receptionist looked bored, as if she had nothing to do.

    ¡°Do you guys want to talk to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± (Lady)

    When our eyes met the Lady, she called out to us.

    ¡°Is that a student¡¯s uniform of the royal capital?¡± (Lady)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a student of the royal capital. I came to participate in the magical exchange meet.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I see. So how did you students end up in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± (Lady)

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re exploring the city.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Oh, so a future adventurer? It¡¯s nice to see a youngster like you.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°I¡¯m registered in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so I came to see how it¡¯s different from the royal capital.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Well, as you can see, we¡¯re not busy, so take your time and have a look.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°Anou, why aren¡¯t there any adventurers?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They went to work.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°I was just wondering why there were so few people here.¡± (Yuna)

    As I said before, it was strange that a town this big has so few people in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s known to the royal capital. But at this time of the year, the number of monsters in the area decreases. That¡¯s why all the good adventurers go to other cities. That¡¯s why the number of adventurers is inevitably few this time of year.¡± (Lady)

    In other words, there are not many adventurers here because they migrated to other ces.

    ¡°Is there such a thing as fewer monsters around this time of year?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Shia.

    ¡°The monsters that tend to appear will differ depending on the season. So I don¡¯t think it will be any different during these warmer months.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Certainly, but it¡¯s been like this since a few years ago, I think? At this time, the sighting information of monsters disappears. If a strong monster appears, the weaker monsters may escape and disappear. As far as the adventurers have investigated, it¡¯s peaceful in itself, however, after a while, the monsters wille back. It¡¯s really strange. ¡± (Lady)

    When a strong monster appears, the weaker monsters would be driven out. I experienced it during my fight against a ck tiger.

    Maybe there were only small and strong monsters?

    ¡°So that¡¯s why there were no adventurers here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not busy because there are no adventurers here.¡± (Lady)

    So it seems that this Lady thought she had found a nice person to talk to.

    As a result, I had to apany the Lady who was spending her spare time with me.

    I wanted to hear more about this Adventurer¡¯s Guild branch, but the Guild Lady wanted to hear the story of the royal capital.

    I broke off the conversation at the right moment because we were wasting time at this point.

    ¡°Well then, please excuse us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you going? I wanted to hear more about the royal capital.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°But there¡¯s an angry person behind you.¡± (Yuna)

    The receptionist looked behind her and saw a man with a scary look on his face.

    ¡°¡­Guildmaster.¡± (Lady)

    ¡°Stop cking off and get back to work!¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°I¡¯m gathering information about the royal capital.¡± (Lady)

    We left the guild while the receptionist was making excuses to the guildmaster.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It seems that the adventurers we saw when we came were headed out to make a living.

    <b>[</b>Usual author request<b>]</b> As always, we are gathering information on future developments. I would appreciate it if you would not write your predictions in thements section, as I will be disappointed if theye true.

    I am busy, but I do read thements section.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you for your reports of typographical errors.

    I can¡¯t write a reply to thank you for the typos in the new system, so please excuse me here.

    We are now able to make corrections with one click and save time.

    It is quite a convenient system, although there are a few drawbacks.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> I am very happy to inform you that volume 11 of Kuma is now avable. Thank you for your cooperation.

 Chapter 517

    <h4>Chapter 517</h4>

    ~Edited

    <h4><strong>Bear-san, Goes To Watch The Exchange Meet</strong></h4>

    On the morning of the social event, I changed into my uniform. Once the event is over, all we have to do is go home, so I won¡¯t have to wear this uniform anymore. This may be thest time.

    Noa is getting dressed after being gently woken up by Swaying Bear. Today she was able to wake up from the gentle stage.

    After breakfast at the inn, we head to the school.

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Noa)

    Noa walks in front of me as if skipping.

    It sounds like she is looking forward to it that much. Of course, so do I.

    ¡°Let¡¯s cheer for them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    As we crossed the long bridge and arrived at the school¡¯s entrance, we saw Shia.

    Huh? As I recall, we didn¡¯t have an appointment to meet up today.

    Noa ran to Shia.

    ¡°What happened, Oneesama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up. I don¡¯t want you to get lost.¡± (Shia)

    Shia pet Noa on the head.

    ¡°I won¡¯t get lost!¡± (Noa)

    Noa puffed up her cheeks.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. I just thought if Yuna-san came dressed as a bear, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get in.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m wearing the uniform as I was told.¡± (Yuna)

    I spread my arms out and showed that I was properly wearing a uniform.

    ¡°It looks good, but Yuna-san, you don¡¯t like to take off your bear clothes, so I was a little worried.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Oh, I know what you mean. Yuna-san, you didn¡¯t wear the dress properly at Misa¡¯s birthday party after all.¡± (Noa)

    Even Noa agrees.

    ¡°Because it¡¯s not clothes, it¡¯s a dress.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a difference between regr clothes and dresses.

    Between dresses and uniforms, I¡¯d prefer uniforms.

    And even Fina didn¡¯t like dresses.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I was thinking that she hated the uniform, and came here dressed up as a bear, I was waiting for her to force her to wear a uniform.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I promised to wear a uniform. I already wore it for two days straight, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Yuna)

    And this is the third day I¡¯ve been wearing it. This may be the first time I¡¯ve done such a thing

    ¡°But it¡¯s you, Yuna-san, so I can¡¯t be so sure.¡± (Shia)

    It turns out, I don¡¯t seem to have any credibility.

    Well, I was reluctant to wear a swimsuit, so she might¡¯ve thought so.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to cheer on you too, Shia. I¡¯m going to follow your words this time. But won¡¯t anyone know that I¡¯m not a student from the royal capital?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The school is huge, not everyone knows every student, so we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Shia)

    Certainly, no one can remember the faces and names of everyone in the school. Sometimes in manga and anime, there are characters who remember the faces and names of all the students, but from my point of view, it is impossible.

    If there was a student directory with photos, they might be able to remember them to an extent. But in a world without photos, I would say it¡¯s impossible to remember the face and the name of every single student at the same time.

    ¡°Oh, and I forgot to mention yesterday, Yuna-san, that you¡¯ve gotten a little famous for your match with Cereille, so watch out.¡± (Shia)

    Come to think of it, we had a match in front of the students.

    ¡°Well then, Yuna-san. Do you call yourself Yuuna-san today?¡± (Noa)

    Noa says jokingly.

    I can tell by her expression that she doesn¡¯t really mean it.

    But there¡¯s a person in front of me who doesn¡¯t understand the joke.

    ¡°Yuuna?¡± (Shia)

    Apparently, Shia had forgotten as much as I had.

    Noa talked about the school festival.

    ¡°Oh right, there was a time when Yuna-san risked her life for me.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t risk my life, though.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Things have calmed down now, but at that time, it was very intense. Everyone asked me a lot of questions, and it was very difficult to cover it up. But, Tilia-sama and I were able to cover it up together, and Rutum-sensei became a teacher at the school, so no one ever talked about it anymore.¡± (Shia)

    Well, no one can talk about that when he¡¯s at school. Besides, ording to Noa, there was a gag order from the king. And Rutum was a nobleman. So it would be shameful to Rutum if it spread, and it would cause him to feel bad about it. But I didn¡¯t know that the order was issued to protect the dignity of Rutum.

    No, it was Rutum¡¯s fault. He chose to stand out in the first ce.

    Dangerous, dangerous. I almost thanked Rutum, albeit in the back of my mind.

    But still, that Rutum became a teacher. I can¡¯t even imagine.

    ¡°Then, would you like me to introduce you as Yuuna to everyone?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need to use a different name.¡± (Yuna)

    Because I¡¯m not going to introduce myself by saying, ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Yuna. I¡¯m a friend of Shia.¡± after all.

    If we were just watching from a distance, I would not need to introduce myself.

    I am just a girl who came to see the event as an ordinary student in the Royal Capital.

    ¡°By the way, what do you do at the magic exchange meeting? Are you going to attack each other?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t do anything dangerous. Basically, we just aim at targets andpete for firepower.¡± (Shia)

    Well, that¡¯s right. Shooting magic at each other is dangerous. If something happens, you won¡¯t get off lightly.

    ¡°Would you like to participate as well, Yuna-san?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m not a student, so I¡¯ll pass. Besides if I participate, I¡¯ll be the only one who¡¯ll win, won¡¯t I?¡± (Yuna)

    I said that as a joke.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If Yuna-san, who can beat Rutum-sensei, participates, Yuna-san will definitely win.¡± (Shia)

    I said that as a joke but it was taken seriously.

    ¡°But in the end, it¡¯s like a match. Well, from Yuna-san¡¯s point of view, it will look like we were ying. Still, it¡¯s exciting.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Yuna)

    We walked to the grounds as we talked. It¡¯s about the size of a ser field, and it¡¯s shaped like a mortar so that you can see the grounds from above.

    In the center of the grounds were students wearing the uniforms of the royal capital and Euphalia.

    ¡°There¡¯s quite a few.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We have about 25 students, consisting of boys and girls. And about the same number with Euphalia.¡± (Shia)

    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a lot or few anymore.

    ¡°But if it¡¯s an event to improve each other¡¯s students, wouldn¡¯t it be a pity for the students in the royal capital to have it in Euphalia?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s advantageous to not be able to watch the game.

    Looking around, I see students who, like me, havee to see the event. Most of them are students in Euphalia uniforms.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. Next year it will be held in the royal capital. We are supposed to alternate between the royal capital and Euphalia every year.¡± (Shia)

    Certainly, otherwise, it will not improve the morale of the students of the royal capital.

    ¡°Shia.¡±

    Someone called out to Shia.

    I looked in the direction of the voice calling out for Shia, and Cereille came over.

    ¡°Yuna and Noa, you guys also came.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°We came to cheer for Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we are cheering for Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    We came all the way from Crimonia for that after all.

    ¡°I envy you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille, you also have your family membersing to cheer you on, don¡¯t you?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I can¡¯t let my family see any embarrassment.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Same goes for me.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Shia, but I can¡¯t go easy on you if we got in a match.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Oneesama will win!¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied emphatically on Shia¡¯s behalf.

    Apparently, Cereille¡¯s father and little brother wereing to see her.

    I have to cheer for her adamantly on behalf of Eleanora-san and Cliff.

    ¡°Fufu, Shia, I won¡¯t lose against the others.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I won¡¯t lose either.¡± (Shia)

    Shia was also being bold.

    It¡¯s better than being timid. They say the game starts with feelings. Well, sometimes you can¡¯t win with feelings alone. There are times when the difference in levels are way too big, or there is a cheat boss. How many times have I lost?

    But if the powers were to be used inpetition, feelings are important. Feelings can be a source of sustenance. It can be the turning point between victory and defeat.

    While we were talking, I heard a voice in the distance calling out to Cereille.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m heading back in. Shia, let¡¯s do our best for each other.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille went towards where the Euphalia students were.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, you said her family wasing to cheer on her. Cereille¡¯s mother didn¡¯t seem to be home, was she working in the royal capital like Eleanora-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    When I casually asked about Cereille¡¯s mother, Noa and Shia looked troubled.

    Maybe it¡¯s not a good idea to ask?

    ¡°¡­ I heard that Cereille-sama¡¯s mother is already dead.¡± (Noa)

    Noa told me with some difficulty.

    So that¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t there yesterday.

    But even I don¡¯t have my parents in this world. Even if I did, it would be the same as if I didn¡¯t.

    Even Fina¡¯s biological father was dead, and the children in the orphanage have no parents.

    Cereille has a father, and her life is not in shambles. So I don¡¯t feel so sorry for her. There were more pitiful people in this world.

    ¡°I think I heard that her mother was killed when Cereille was very young.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Is that so? I didn¡¯t know that.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa knew that Cereille¡¯s mother had died, but apparently, she didn¡¯t know the cause.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not something you casually tell people. So don¡¯t tell anyone else.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone either.¡± (Yuna)

    In the first ce, I have no one to tell it to, nor do I intend to.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think we should ask her.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, you are a noblewoman, so it would be fine for you to ask, but if Yuna-san asked Cereille herself, it would be a big trouble.¡± (Shia)

    Indeed, during a casual conversation, I might have asked her about it.

    I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t ask when we had dinner at Cereille¡¯s house.

    ¡°We better get going, too.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Good luck, Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m rooting for you.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia waved her hand and ran to where the students were gathered.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Thank you for reporting the typographical errors.

    I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t write a thank-you reply for the typographical errors in the new system.

    -292120-

    <strong>=====</strong>

 Chapter 518

    <h4>Chapter 518</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Listens To Noa¡¯s Request</strong></h4>

    Noa and I moved to a ce that seems easy to spectate.

    There were students and teachers from Euphalia around us. Then, there were those who I assume were family members of the students.

    We¡¯repletely the away team. I wished Shia and the other students in the royal capital the best of luck.

    Euphalia¡¯s students and teachers were sitting on chairs, perhaps prepared by themselves.

    ¡°I think they could at least provide chairs for everyone.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s open to the public, so it can¡¯t be helped. Besides, they don¡¯t know how many people wille to watch.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, if we don¡¯t have a chair, we¡¯ll just get one.¡± (Yuna)

    I took a chair for two from the bear box and told Noa to sit down.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Noa)

    As we waited on our seats, a sort of opening ceremony began. The teacher addressed the students.

    They talked long and endlessly about how they wanted the students to show their strength, how they wanted them topete with each other in friendly rivalry, and how they hoped everyone would do their best next year even if they were not as strong as they could have been.

    Will anyone graduate next year or this year? I put a tsukkomi in the back of my mind. Of course, some people are older than Shia.

    Then the long and boring talk was finally over, and the event began.

    After that, one of the teachers moved to the center of the ground and used magic. The earth rose from the ground, and a pole-like object appeared. On top of the pole, a square target was also created.

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re shooting magic at that.¡± (Yuna)

    Certainly, a target made of earth magic would be easy to take form. Unlike arrows, magic disperses after it hits a target. It was time-consuming to make a new target every time it was destroyed. However, if the dummy target was made with earth magic, it would be easier to make.

    The teacher made several targets at equal intervals, creating targets of different distances and heights.

    After the preparations wereplete, we were told that the target shooting by wind magic was about to begin. The participants were to start from the target in front of them and see how far they could hit the target within the time limit.

    First, a female student from Euphalia released wind magic.

    The wind de was sent flying, and the wind de cut the target. A small cheer goes up from the surroundings. The girl hit one, then two, one after another smoothly, but missed on the fifth. However, it seems that she can try as many times as she wants within the time limit. The girl released the wind magic again and cut it off. Still, the further away she gets, the lower the hit rate and the lower the power. In the end, it was only until the fifth target that she was able to hit within the time limit.

    The distance to the first target was about 10 meters, and the following targets were ced approximately every 2 meters further apart. This means that the farthest the girl from Euphalia was able to hit with wind magic was about 18 meters.

    Nextes a female student from the royal capital. It seems they do it alternately. This time, the girl from the royal capital hit up to six.

    The girl was happy.

    The teacher rebuilt the broken targets, and the male students began. First, was Euphalia.

    ¡°Oh, I want to use magic too.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said, looking enviously at the students who used magic.

    ¡°By the way, do you practice magic, Noa? Is it something you learn from the age of 10?¡± (Yuna)

    I remember having a talk about that during the school festival.

    It was said that in this world, magic was not learned until the age of 10, in order for the magic power to be stable. They said this was because if you gather magic power or use magic while in an unstable state, you may not be able to use magic afterward.

    ¡°Yes, I want to learn it as soon as possible, but my father says I can¡¯t learn until I am 11 years old. It seems to be to ensure the stability of magical power.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Does that mean, the older you are, the more stable your magic is?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yuna-san, you¡¯re using magic, right? Why are you asking about that?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Uh, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Yuna)

    It seems that my question was so basic, it made me strange that I, who uses magic, didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°I learned magic on my own, so I don¡¯t know anything about that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so? Wait, your father or mother didn¡¯t teach you that?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have parents or anyone to teach me magic.¡± (Yuna)

    I wasn¡¯t lying. I don¡¯t have parents in this world. And even if I had parents in my former world, they didn¡¯t teach me how to use magic. It was the NPCs in the game who taught me how to use magic.

    So it¡¯s true that I don¡¯t know anything about that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that Yuna-san didn¡¯t have parents.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about it. Besides, I¡¯ve never told anyone, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa made a sad expression, so I answered immediately. I guess I gave her the wrong idea.

    However, as expected, I can¡¯t say that my parents were in a different world, so I have to answer vaguely.

    ¡°But then again, you are amazing, Yuna-san. I can¡¯t believe no one taught you.¡± (Noa)

    I feel a little guilty, but I have no choice.

    In order to change the subject, I¡¯ve invoked my secret technique: Diversion, for the first time in a long time.

    ¡°By the way, Noa, when is your birthday?¡± (Yuna)

    When I asked, Noa looked happy.

    ¡°Actually, my birthday is just around the corner.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that so!?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to get you a present. Is there anything you want? Oh, but not anything unreasonable. Like asking for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if she asked for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I can¡¯t give them to her as a gift.

    ¡°While I do want Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan. I won¡¯t make such a request. Because I know that if I do, you will hate me, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa puffed her cheeks.

    ¡°Sorry, I was just kidding.¡± (Noa)

    She was half-serious, though. I wonder if Noa would really say it.

    ¡°But if you insist, I have a favor to ask you. Will you teach me magic?¡± (Noa)

    Noa thought a little and then said that.

    ¡°Magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course, if my father agrees. Also not every day, only whenever you¡¯re free.¡± (Noa)

    Magic. I once taught magic to a girl who was a new adventurer. But she had mastered the basics, and I just taught her to make her magic stronger.

    The girl was happy that her magic was getting stronger, so there must be nothing wrong with the way I taught her.

    However, I am not sure if I can teach Noa from scratch. I don¡¯t want Noa to be unable to use magic if I teach her badly. I am worried about teaching Noa, who has never used magic before.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I might not be able to make that promise.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Noa)

    Noa made a sad expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to teach you, I just don¡¯t know if I can. Aside from teaching magic, is there anything else you¡¯d like me to do for you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, I understand. Then, I have one more request. I want a big Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Like this big plushie?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to express the size a littlerger than the bear cub size by hand.

    ¡°No. a big plushie of the real size Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa spread her hands wide and used them to express the size.

    Apparently, she wanted the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    ¡°Etto, isn¡¯t it too big?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to imagine it, but it¡¯s big. Just how many times bigger would it be, than the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies that I gave her at Misa¡¯s birthday party?

    It would likely use a significant amount of both cloth and cotton.

    And after making such a thing, it would seem to get in the way.

    For someone who lived in a regr-sized house, one could say, ¡°If it¡¯s too big, it¡¯ll get in the way¡±. However, as a noble, Noa¡¯s house wasrger than an ordinary house, and because it was the residence of the lord, it wasrger than other noblemen¡¯s houses, and therefore, of course, Noa¡¯s room was alsorger. Certainly, Noa¡¯s room would have more than enough space for her life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    ¡°When Yuna-san gave me the plushies as a gift at Misa¡¯s birthday party, I knew I had to have arge version of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies. If you need money, I will give you my allowance, and you can make them.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You get an allowance even though you are a noble?¡± (Yuna)

    I imagined a noble brat telling her parents what she wants and having them buy it for her, rather than having an allowance.

    ¡°I get a certain amount of allowance and go shopping in town because it¡¯s also a learning experience for me to know the prices of things sold in town.¡± (Noa)

    Then, I heard her say in a small voice, ¡°I just bought bread at Yuna-san¡¯s shop these days¡­¡± while looking away.

    Ah, of course, shees to the store alone and eats bread.

    You just go to the shop and eat after getting your allowance.

    Now that she mentioned it, I noticed something.

    Even when I came to this town, I saw her checking the prices of various items.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you were concerned about the price in this city as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have to report to my father what I saw in Euphalia, otherwise I won¡¯t be able to go out next time.¡± (Noa)

    I unconsciously pet Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you. Good girl.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I did it, so I can go out with you and Fina.¡± (Noa)

    I still think it¡¯s great.

    ¡°So if you need money, just let me know.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the money for the plushies. I was just thinking it would be a lot of work to make them.¡± (Yuna)

    Mainly for Sherry, whom I¡¯ll ask to make them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­. Then I¡¯ll help make it too!¡± (Noa)

    Noa thought for a moment and looked like she had a good idea.

    ¡°If you help, it won¡¯t be a gift.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It would still be good as a gift.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said emphatically.

    I guess I¡¯m still holding back when ites to the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    I cannot make this decision on my own.

    I would have to talk to Sherry first.

    However, making it together would be a good memory and would make her feel more attached to it. Not a bad idea.

    I¡¯ll have to put the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies as one of the candidates for Noa¡¯s birthday present.

    Come to think of it, when is Fina¡¯s birthday?

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Noa¡¯s birthday ising up.

    <strong>¡ù </strong>Thank you for reporting the typographical error.

    I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t write a thank-you reply for the typographical errors in the new system.

    <strong>[</strong>Notice<strong>]</strong> In the activity report, we are looking for requests for 12 volumes of store benefits and SS short story newly written books. I would appreciate it if you could refer to it.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> I apologize for not being able to reply to your feedback. It looks like I won¡¯t be able to until next year.

 Chapter 519

    <h4>Chapter 519</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Cheering for Shia. Part 1</strong></h4>

    While we were discussing Noa¡¯s birthday, the wind magic target shooting continued. Some students not only cut the target using [wind de], but also destroyed it with [air bullet]. I guess that means each person has a different image of what they were supposed to do.

    If it¡¯s [wind de], you have to imagine a thin, sharp wind like a razor to cut the target. Otherwise, the wind will only blow through it. Then you will not be able to defeat the enemy.

    The male student, who was now hitting the target, destroyed it by sending air bullets clinging to his fist. [Air bullet] was wind magic, which was helpful for knocking down targets without wounding them.

    Incidentally, the target was created regardless of gender.

    There was no difference between men and women when it came to magic. The only difference was in magical power and image. Since arm strength was irrelevant, even girls could beat boys.

    Anyone can use magic as long as they have magic power and the proper image to create it.

    Conversely, magic cannot be used without a certain amount of magical power. That was the most unreasonable part.

    ¡°Then again, not many students have staves.¡± (Noa)

    Some students have a staff, and some don¡¯t.

    When using magic, having something to use as a medium makes it easier to gather and use magic power. Even adventurers who were in the rear, many mages carry a staff, as they also have to protect themselves. But for some mages who wanted to lighten their loads, they use knives, rings, or other essories.

    Of course, magic can be used without a staff or other medium. It¡¯s only a tool to help gather magical power.

    ¡°Yeah. By the looks of it, they¡¯re using rings, bangles, or pendants.¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t see much from here, but I can certainly see the rings and bangles. And some of the students were grabbing their pendants when using magic.

    By the way, I¡¯ve tried staves and such to collect magic instead of my bear puppets, but they didn¡¯t work.

    I clenched my bear puppet.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    Noa pointed to Cereille, who was trying to hit the target.

    Cereille was very popr, and when she appeared, she was cheered by the people around her. Well, she¡¯s the daughter of the lord. She has a noisy personality, but she¡¯s not the kind of noble who harasses, bullies, or abuses her power. Maybe that¡¯s why she was so popr. And, unlike me, she was stylish and beautiful. She has a lot of curves and mountains on her body.

    I wonder. It makes me sad when I say it myself.

    Cereille responded to the cheers by lightly raising her hand to the audience.

    ¡°Cereille-sama, she sure is popr here. If it were in the royal capital, I¡¯m sure Oneesama wouldn¡¯t be outdone.¡± (Noa)

    Shia was also a noble. And she may also be popr in the royal capital.

    But when I remember Tilia at the school festival, I feel that Tilia overtook Shia¡¯s poprity. Tilia was definitely a famous person.

    Cereille faced the target with a serious expression.

    She gathered magic power in the bracelet she held in her right hand and cut the target with certainty. It¡¯s just as she said. She¡¯s been practicing diligently.

    Of course, I also think the other students were practicing.

    And Cereille, who wentst, got the highest score for the wind category.

    After the wind category was over, the next one was the fire category.

    ¡°It¡¯s over? I think there are still some students who haven¡¯t got a turn. Even Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    Each school only sent about five or six students.

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯ll be split up into wind, fire, water, and earth. Oneesama is good with fire and earth magic, so I think she will be in one of them.¡± (Noa)

    I remember when I first met Shia, she used fire magic at that time.

    ¡°I know she uses fire magic, but she¡¯s good at earth magic too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you built a flower bed with Sulirina. Oneesama started to help take care of the flower beds, and she told me in her letter that she has gotten better at handling earth magic.¡± (Noa)

    The more you use magic, the better you¡¯ll get good at it. I also just started to use bear magic, and my ability to imagine bears improved. If you don¡¯t use it, you won¡¯t improve. If she became good at earth magic by making flower beds, that would mean killing two birds with one stone.

    ¡°Is there any magic that Yuna-san can¡¯t use?¡± (Noa)

    I have no magic that I am bad at. But my favorite magic is bear magic.

    ¡°I can use four kinds of elements at the moment. I¡¯m neither good nor bad at it.¡± (Yuna)

    There were others like lightning and ice. By the way, ice was a higher tier of water magic.

    ¡°As expected of Yuna-san. I also want to use various kinds of magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But it¡¯s also good to master one attribute at a time.¡± (Yuna)

    Elemental magic would sumb to a stronger opposing attribute. Even in games, the one with the stronger attribute has the advantage. Water magic works well against fire magic. Conversely, wind magic would be weaker than fire magic, so it¡¯s difficult to use in every situation.

    But it has more opportunities to work than half-assed magic.

    ¡°I see, but still, I¡¯d like to try some different kinds of magic.¡± (Noa)

    I understand Noa¡¯s feelings. I, too, enjoy using various kinds of magic. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m going to defeat the Demon King or the boss of this world. It¡¯s magic, after all. It¡¯s better to have fun with it.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to consult with Cliff and Eleanora-san first. But ultimately, it¡¯s about you, so you have to decide for yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied.

    Then, the teacher created new targets, and the fire magic category began.

    Fire magic was more exciting than wind magic. Unlike wind magic, which was difficult to recognize from a distance, fire magic can be seen clearly and easily.

    The size of the fire magic varies. Some fireballs were small, and some wererge. In addition, some fireballs of the same size will dissipate immediately after hitting the target, while others continue to burn for a while after they hit.

    It must be the difference in the magic power contained in the fire.

    If it has low magic power, it will disappear quickly. While having a lot of magic power, it can continue to burn after it hits the target.

    It was easier to see the difference in their abilities than wind magic, which makes it even more exciting.

    If I used bear magic, I¡¯d be in big trouble.

    As I watched while thinking about that, Shia¡¯s name was called.

    It looks like Noa was right, Shia was in the fire category.

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s Shia¡¯s turn.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oneesama~~~!!!. Please do your best!¡± (Noa)

    Noa stood up and cheered loudly.

    I wonder if her voice reached Shia, since she raised her hand, albeit looking embarrassed.

    Perhaps thanks to Noa¡¯s cheering, Shia hit the target one after the other without fail. The crowd around her went wild.

    That seemed to ce her in the upper ranks.

    Apparently, points were given for each event¡¯s rankings, and the student with the most points would be hailed as the best.

    Although it seems that it will be the overall winner, not just the best in a category.

    An outstanding student will be chosen from each of the fire, wind, earth, and water categories.

    Shia eventually got up to nine targets and became the best in the fire category. However, the next student from Euphalia also scored nine targets, and ended up tying with Shia. The students cheering for Euphalia were frustrated because they could not surpass Shia¡¯s record.

    It¡¯s frustrating to be tied as well, you know¡­

    But they are both still the best.

    A student from the royal capital was next to try but was unable to overtake the record set by Shia and the student from Euphalia.

    There¡¯s probably one more student left. Shia will be tied for first ce if this keeps up, but she will still be ranked first.

    But the next one that appeared was

    ¡°Cereille? Didn¡¯t she just participate in wind magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s because Cereille-sama participates in every category.¡± (Girl)

    It was not Noa sitting next to me who answered my question, but a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw a girl in a Euphalia uniform.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    Not caring that she suddenly cut in, Noa asked the Euphalia student girl.

    ¡°Normally, we participate in one attribute in order to conserve our magical power, but since Cereille-sama has a lot of magical power and is highlypetent in all attributes, she participates in all of them.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Did the other studentsin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Everyone at Euphalia knows that Cereille-sama is always practicing and working harder than anyone else. So no one would darein about Cereille-sama.¡± (Girl)

    The girl talked happily as if she were in her own world. It seems that everyone was satisfied with the result since they achieved it not because of their status as nobles, but because of their ability.

    Noa thanked the girl for telling us, and the girl went closer to support Cereille.

    Cereille was not only practicing swords, but she was also practicing magic.

    But why does she work so hard? I think with her status, Cereille should have an escort.

    Sereille, who participated in the fire category, surpassed Shia¡¯s record and also set the best record in the fire category. Shia, unfortunately, lost to Cereille.

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but Cereille-sama was amazing.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°As the girl said earlier, Cereille worked harder than anyone else.¡± (Yuna)

    Unlike me, she must have practiced every day.

    But when I was ying games, I logged in every day and used my magic too. Some say I yed games too much.

    ¡°Sadly, Oneesama lost, but she¡¯s number two. That¡¯s good enough.¡± (Noa)

    I agree. It¡¯s not something to be ashamed of. It¡¯s a great achievement in the presence of upperssmen.

    Then the fire magic category was over, and the water magic was next. Even here, Cereille made an appearance. Three events in a row.

    ¡°That Cereille, is her magic power still okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m fine, thanks to my bear cheat. But Cereille was an ordinary person.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s all right because they¡¯re monitoring the magic power of each student. The student also mentioned earlier said it¡¯s normal for her, so I think the teacher gave her permission.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, the teacher would not give permission if there was an issue.

    And then the water magic category was over. My fears were unfounded, and Cereille ended up with the third-best record, but it was still amazing.

    Then, in the final category, earth magic, Shia reappeared following the fire magic, and Noa cheered her on.

    However, even after Shia performed well, she still lost to Cereille.

    Shia was disappointed, but it was good enough against students older than her. Overall, I feel that Cereille was a step ahead of her game.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Shia made it to the top, but Cereille immediately shot her down.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Thank you for reporting the typographical error.

    I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t write a thank-you reply for the typographical errors in the new system.

    <strong>[</strong>Notice<strong>]</strong> In the activity report, we are looking for requests for the SS short story for the store bonus of volume 12 and the book¡¯s newly written SS short story. We would be happy if you refer to them, so please do so.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> I apologize for not being able to reply to your feedback. It looks like I won¡¯t be able to until next year.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> We will be closed during the year-end and New Year holidays. Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 520

    <h4>Chapter 520</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Cheering for Shia. Part 2</strong></h4>

    After the target shooting was over, several human-shaped y figures that were densely packed together took shape next.

    The dolls were then given a ck and white g in their hand, with more dolls bearing white gs than ck.

    The teacher exined the rules. Only hit the ones with the ck gs and not the ones with white ones.

    The contestants can¡¯t do a ¡°spray and pray¡± method this time. They have to hit the correct dolls with precision magic.

    I recalled a simr arcade shooting game. It¡¯s a game where a police officer shoots criminals with a gun. Sometimes there were civilians and hostages, but it¡¯s a game where you shoot only the bad guys.

    Even so,pared to this, that game was less challenging because the civilians and the bad guys don¡¯t suddenly appear, densely packed, on the screen. However, between what is a game and what is real life, there are always differences. In a game, if you identally shoot a civilian, your score will only go down, but in real life, you can injure them or even kill them.

    Perhaps this was a message to the students and the ones spectating to let them know that magic was dangerous if not properly controlled.

    The doll shooting began.

    In the wind magic category, many students used air bullets. This was because a wind de would hit even dolls with white gs nearby. Therefore, Teams swapped the excellent students from the previous target shootingpetition.

    Some students hit the dolls with white gs with their magic, but most of them hit the dolls with ck gs urately because they were specifically chosen for this portion of the event.

    The difference was time management. Some students took their time and carefully aimed. They were the ones that had to hit the target one at a time, so they took their time. And most students used the ¡°hit a few shots at the targets¡± strategy.

    When you think about it, my bear puppet, with aim assist, is a massive cheat. If I aim to a certain degree and release the spell, it would still urately hit a stationary target.

    Then, it was Shia¡¯s turn in the fire magic category, releasing her magic at a good tempo and hitting the dolls with the ck gs. Although she lost to Cereille by one doll count, she still came out on top (in the fire magic category).

    It¡¯s a pity because, without Cereille, she could have had a shot at the highest score.

    That Cereille continued topete with wind, water, and earth magic categories and obtained good results. However, she may not be good at water magic since her score was lower than the other magic scores.

    Thepetition continued, and the contestants were supposed to hit the clumps of dirt that the teacher would send flying toward the sky in the next portion.

    I imagine it like y pigeon shooting, where you shoot at targets that pop up with a rifle. I have never yed this game.

    Was this supposed to be a simtion to fight flying monsters?

    That reminds me, the flying monsters that I¡¯ve fought were Volss and Wyvern.

    It¡¯s challenging to defeat a flying monster with a sword. That¡¯s where magices in. Of course, there¡¯s the bow and arrow, but it¡¯s difficult for an ordinary girl to use. While I have never tried it, I¡¯ve heard that pulling the bowstring is difficult. I also heard that with diligent practice, you could do it. Even so, if you have magic power, it would be easier to use magic than to shoot the bow.

    The y pigeon magic shooting began. Surprisingly, the students were urately hitting the targets. The people-watching cheered every time a target was hit and sighed when the magic missed.

    I don¡¯t want to stand out, but as a former gamer, I¡¯m tempted to give it a try.

    ¡°Yuna-san, would you like to give it a try?¡± (Noa)

    Noa guesses my feelings. Or maybe she can see it on my face?

    I rubbed my cheeks with my bear puppet.

    ¡°Well, I just think it looks fun.¡± (Yuna)

    However, because the bear puppets have aim assist, they almost always hit the target, so it might actually be boring. But as a gamer, it¡¯s in my nature to want to try it.

    And then, the y pigeon target shooting was over.

    ¡°Shia and Cereille did great.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia and Cereille hit all the targets, and both were at the top. However, even here, Cereille seemed to be a step ahead of the rest.

    ¡°I want to hurry up and use magic, just like Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Maybe Cliff gave you permission to go here for the sake of learning magic.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a difference between passionate learning and learning uninterestedly.

    You can absorb everything in your favorite subjects like a sponge, but on the other hand, no matter how much you try, you can¡¯t understand a thing about the subjects you hate.

    But, as the saying goes, if you want to learn, you need to like it first.

    The morning events were over, and there would be a break for lunch.

    It looks like the students will be eating lunch prepared by the school.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have lunch, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    I took the bread out of the bear box.

    ¡°We have a lot, so eat up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Noa)

    Shia came over to eat the bread that Morin made for us.

    ¡°Good work out there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oneesama, good job.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you, but I lost to Cereille even though Noa cheered for me. I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Shia)

    Noa shook her head at Shia¡¯s words.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize. You were cool out there. I respect you even more now.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though you lost, it¡¯s a very close match.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia was happy with our words.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you say that, but Cereille is going easy in every event.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It¡¯s frustrating, but I feel like Cereille is a step ahead.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Cereille-sama is amazing, but I think she wouldn¡¯t have won if Yuna-san was there.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Now that¡¯s not a nice thing to hear.¡± (Cereille)

    I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Cereille.

    ¡°Cereille-sama!?¡± (Noa)

    Noa was surprised at the appearance of Cereille.

    ¡°Noa. I lost to Yuna with a sword, but I won¡¯t lose with magic. Above all, Yuna wasn¡¯t selected for this event, so maybe her magic is inferior to other students?¡± (Cereille)

    Noa had a troubled expression on her face with Cereille¡¯s words.

    She seems to be wondering what to say since I am not a student. As for me, I don¡¯t mind talking about the fact that I am not a student of the royal capital.

    Shia opened her mouth, regardless of knowing how I feel, or she¡¯s just not thinking about it.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because Yuna-san is not a student from the royal capital.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yuna-san is very capable, but she¡¯s not a student, so she¡¯s not participating in this event.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But she¡¯s wearing your school¡¯s uniform, isn¡¯t she?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at me.

    I am wearing the uniform of the royal capital academy.

    ¡°I thought it would be impossible for Yuna-san to enter the school if she was in her usual appearance, so I asked her to wear a uniform instead.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®usual appearance¡¯? It doesn¡¯t matter how she dresses. If she¡¯s someone Shia knows, she cane in, you know?¡± (Cereille)

    If I dressed ¡°normally¡±, that is.

    Cereille doesn¡¯t seem to understand what Shia is saying.

    ¡°Of course. But this was the best way to get in without getting into any trouble, without all those questions and exnations.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°You¡¯re dressed in a way you can¡¯t enter the school without being questioned and had to exin?¡­ Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re naked!?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Wrong!¡± (Yuna)

    I immediately denied it.

    What are you saying out of the blue? No one goes out naked. Those are only perverts. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d say something more embarrassing than wearing a bear costume.

    ¡°You see, Cereille-sama. Yuna-san is always dressed as a bear.¡± (Noa)

    Noa exposed me.

    Well, I¡¯m not hiding it, though. It¡¯s quite well known in Crimonia, and even in the royal capital, I am dressed in a bear costume.

    However, this time I¡¯m just wearing a uniform so as not to trouble Shia.

    Making excuses like this makes me feel like I want to wear a bear costume. Could it be that my soul has been infected by the bear as well?

    ¡°The other day, when we stayed at Cereille-sama¡¯s house, you saw Yuna-san dressed as a bear at night, right? That¡¯s what she always looks like.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That cute bear outfit? That bear outfit is your normal outfit?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looks at me curiously. Don¡¯t look at me like that.

    ¡°You really like bears, don¡¯t you?¡± (Cereille)

    I won¡¯t deny it.

    But I want to say that I don¡¯t wear the bear costume because I like it.

    ¡°I understand now why Yuna is currently wearing a uniform, but I was surprised that she wasn¡¯t a student at the school.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m an adventurer, at least.¡± (Yuna)

    I haven¡¯t done any adventurer-like work from the guildtely, though.

    Oh, but I did a job in the Land of Harmony, so there¡¯s no problem, right?

    ¡°¡­An adventurer. So you are that strong. While I was practicing in a safe ce, Yuna is risking her life at such a young age. I think I now understand the reason for Yuna¡¯s strength.¡± (Cereille)

    No, my sword technique was acquired in the game world where I can respawn when I die. Also, the adventurer¡¯s job was safe thanks to the bear equipment. Not really.

    ¡°I think I understand why Shia and Noa trust her. But that makes me want to know even more about Yuna¡¯s magical abilities.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not a student, so I can¡¯t participate.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How about a special pass?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I shall politely decline.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. By the way, what kind of magic are you good at, Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯m neither good nor bad with magic. I can use all kinds of magic like you, Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It made me want topete against you even more.¡± (Cereille)

    Thepetition sounds interesting, but I wouldn¡¯t do it because it¡¯s too troublesome to deal with Cereille.

    After saying that, Cereille left. What was she doing here again?

    ¡°By the way, Shia, is your magical power still okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Besides, I¡¯m drinking herbal tea that restores magical power.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the stuff the students have been drinking since a while ago?¡± (Yuna)

    They pass the drink along with food around.

    ¡°Well, only a little, but it speeds up the rate at which my magical power recovers. So I drink it during breaks to recover a little.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°So there is such a thing.¡± (Yuna)

    It reminds me of the tea of the sacred tree.

    ¡°I have a simr tea. Would you like some? It also restores magical power.¡± (Yuna)

    Sacred Tree Tea restores physical strength and magical power. But thanks to the white bear equipment, I had no chance of using it.

    ¡°Tea that restores magical power? Yuna-san, the tea that you have had a tremendous restorative rate in magical power.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It can also alleviate fatigue.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m very attracted to the idea, but I¡¯m not going to drink it this time if I recover my magic power from drinking, I feel like I¡¯m doping in thepetition, so this time I¡¯ll have the tea that everyone else is drinking.¡± (Shia)

    When she said the word ¡°doping¡±, I couldn¡¯t let her drink it now.

    I felt like I was cheating myself, so I followed up on Shia¡¯s feelings and stopped serving sacred tree tea.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Thank you for reporting the typographical error.

    I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t write a thank-you reply for the typographical errors in the new system.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Sorry, I will be taking some time off, albeit a little early, as I am not sure how long it will take to work on volumes 11.5 and 12. In the meantime, we are nning to resume around January 10 or 15 at thetest. If I finish early, I will resume early. Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 521

    <h4>Chapter 521</h4> <h4><strong>Bear-san, Cheering for Shia. Part 3</strong></h4>

    The afternoon part of the event has begun.

    The ground was littered with targets that were formed at various distances and heights.

    The teacher exined that the students were supposed to magically hit the targets on either side while riding their horses. In the gaps between the targets, there were also targets that were not allowed to strike. In other words, you can¡¯t just wipe them out with a big area of effect magic. Moreover, they have to ride on a horse within a certain time and use magic precisely. By simply imagining it, you can see just how difficult it is.

    ¡°Can you ride a horse, Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Noa, who was sitting next to me.

    ¡°A horse? I¡¯m not that good at it, but I can ride. I was forced to learn horse riding in case something were to happen.¡± (Noa)

    I guess that¡¯s to be expected for a noble¡¯s daughter. An education in horseback riding, was it?

    ¡°But I am better at riding Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan than a horse. I almost fell from a horse before, but not with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Yeah, that¡¯s the ability of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If not for that, I might not have been able to ride them. Even if I could, there¡¯s a good chance I would have fallen.

    While I was talking to Noa, the preparation was ready, and the first student began.

    The student swung his right hand from side to side to hit the target while controlling the horse.

    Many mages use their dominant hand to perform magic. The same goes for me.

    The hand that holds the chopsticks, the hand that throws the ball, the hand that strikes, the hand that holds the weapon, that hand does everything, and the dominant hand is easier to use. The same goes for using magic.

    Some of the targets were located in positions that were difficult to hit with one hand. And some targets must be shot simultaneously on both sides.

    The teacher knew about it, which was probably why he ced it that way. It was a nasty, yet interesting arrangement.

    The first student could only hit one side.

    The second one was holding a cane.

    Oh, right. It¡¯s not just rings and bangles. I had forgotten about it because I don¡¯t use a cane myself.

    The student swung the cane from side to side and hit the target. They hit the target more urately than I expected. I don¡¯t know if the student was good or if the cane was easier to handle, but this was unexpected.

    The students, who participated in this part, have practiced riding horses and were good at it.

    But were these the horses they brought from the royal capital? If the Euphalia Academy prepared them, then Euphalia students practicing on those horses would have an advantage.

    Even animals have different habits and personalities. Knowing that will change the way you ride.

    However, it appears that they were riding horses provided by their respective schools.

    Then, one student tried their best, and it was Shia¡¯s turn.

    ¡°It¡¯s Oneesama! Please do your best, Oneesama!¡± (Noa)

    Shia gets on the horse and holds the reins.

    Oh, she looks cool. Maybe I¡¯m being too patronizing, but she looks cool.

    Shia went to the starting position. Then, she started riding at the teacher¡¯s signal.

    Riding on a horse, Shia started hitting the targets with earth magic.

    ¡°That Shia, she¡¯s good at riding a horse, isn¡¯t she?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even when she was in Crimonia, Oneesama was good at riding horses.¡± (Noa)

    Shia was shooting magic with both hands and she made sure to hit the target.

    ¡°Amazing!¡±

    And Shia finished almost perfectly.

    Unfortunately, she hit one wrong target.

    Discounting that error, it would have been a perfect run, but it¡¯s a shame.

    After that, Cereille appeared and also achieved high points.

    It¡¯s frustrating, but as expected, Cereille was also good at it.

    Thepetition on horseback shooting proceeded, with a cheer each time a target was hit and a sigh when the target was missed. Then, after thest student finished, the horseback shooting event came to an end.

    This concludes today¡¯spetition, and the top three overall winners in each category were awarded. Unfortunately, Shia was not one of the three.

    Cereille was chosen as one of the top three magic students in the three magic attributes of fire, earth, and wind. She was not good at water magic or seemed inferior to other magic.

    I feel that Cereille was good at offensive magic. Not that water magic can¡¯t be used for offensive magic or anything, but the other magic was more advantageous against normal enemies.

    ¡°I feel bad for Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Noa)

    Shia had excellent results in thepetition, but some of them were poor. From the looks of it, she didn¡¯t evene close.

    Cereille had done well in all thepetitions and was first in fire magic, second in wind magic, and third in earth magic.

    Overall, the number of students who received the awards was higher in the royal capital side.

    And both schools were celebrating the award-winning students.

    ¡°What would have happened if Yuna-san had participated?¡± (Noa)

    With my bear equipment, I could do well. However, the problem was the part where I had to hit the target while riding a horse. I had never ridden a horse, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hit the target while riding a horse.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ride a horse, so I¡¯m not sure. If not for that, I think I would win.¡± (Yuna)

    If I can get on Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear, I can definitely dominate the first ce.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to ride a horse, but I wanted to see Yuna-san participate.¡± (Noa

    I wanted to try it too, but my magic power is a cheat, and I have aim assist. If I participated and won, I would feel bad for the students who had practiced diligently just for thispetition.

    Shia came to us after separating from the royal capital¡¯s students.

    ¡°Shia, too bad.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If I worked harder, I could have gotten 3rd, but I¡¯ll do my best next year.¡± (Shia)

    Next year¡¯s tournament venue will be in the royal capital, so I¡¯d like to bring Fina at that time.

    ¡°By the way, you were saying that you would do something like a match at the end.¡± (Yuna)

    There was no such thing as a match.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be tomorrow.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, tomorrow.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Is there another one tomorrow?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is. Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± (Shia)

    Shia said. I looked at Noa beside me.

    ¡°Noa, did you know that as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know it because I read it in her letter.¡± (Noa)

    Apparently, I was the only one left in the dark.

    Do they do individualpetitions on the first day and something else on the second day?

    After I parted ways with Shia, who told me that she was going to have a meeting to reflect and talk about tomorrow, Cereille came.

    ¡°Shia must have gone back. I was a littlete.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was awarded for something other than water magic. Because of this, she was surrounded by students and was unable to get out of there.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just say congrattions.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Congrattions, Cereille-sama¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ve lost in some events. I can¡¯t win against someone who specializes in something.¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s difficult to win in allpetitions. I can¡¯t win the horseback ridingpetition either. I¡¯d definitely win if I could ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. We all have strengths and weaknesses. It¡¯s difficult to beat someone who specializes in one thing and has worked on it for a long time. It may be better to develop one thing than to broaden the selection.

    ¡°I wanted Oneesama to win. But please do your best next year too, Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Next year¡­ yeah. I need to practice more for next year.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille thought about something for a moment, and then smiled at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I aim to be number one overall.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille made a deration for next year.

    ¡°Now then, I have to go too. Pleasee and watch us again tomorrow.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille heads back to where the Euphalia students are.

    As the crowd begins to leave, we decide to return to the inn.

    ¡°That was fun.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it was a great learning experience. I saw a lot of different kinds of magic.¡± (Noa)

    There are many forms of magic. You must create the form that is easiest for you to visualize and then release it. If you can¡¯t do that, it won¡¯t be powerful enough. The new adventurer girl was also having a hard time at first.

    And the second day of the exchange meet came.

    I put on my uniform once again, which I thought I wouldn¡¯t wear anymore, and went to the academy.

    Shia and Cereille were at the front entrance of the academy.

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna, Noire.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-san, Noa.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Good morning, Oneesama, Cereille-sama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Did you both wait for us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I forgot to tell you that the ce was different today, so I was waiting.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I saw Shia, so I decided to wait with her.¡± (Cereille)

    It seems they will hold the event today by theke instead of the school grounds. So they were waiting to show us around.

    ¡°What would you do in theke?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Production magic.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Production magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Simply put, we create shapes through magic for everyone to see.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°And then someone will judge it and decide whether it¡¯s superior or not?¡±. (Yuna)

    ¡°No, this time there is no preference. I¡¯m going to create something purely based on my own ideas, and let the viewers enjoy it.¡± (Shia)

    Apparently, it¡¯s not apetition or anything of that sort, but an unveiling of something that can be created by magic.

    ¡°What will you make, Oneesama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s something you¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± (Shia)

    Not only us but also the students and spectators were heading in the same direction towards thekeshore.

    We passed by the grounds yesterday and came to thekeshore.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be going then. Please enjoy yourself.¡± (Cereille)

    Shia and Cereille went to where the students from their respective academies were.

    When we found an excellent spot to watch, I pulled out our chairs, and we sat down.

    After a while, the teacher exined the rules. The content was exactly as Shia and Cereille said. It seems that you can make anything you like with magic in thispetition.

    There was a small pier on theke where a student went.

    The student used water magic using the water in theke. You can convert your own magical power into water, but that would consume a lot of magical power. However, they can save their magical power if they use water in the vicinity. It¡¯s the same with earth magic. There¡¯s a difference between using earth from the ground to build a wall and using one¡¯s own magical power to build a wall mid-air.

    As the student made the water float, it took on a shape. The water changed shape and became animal-like. The people around apud.

    ¡°Etto, is that a Wolf?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at the shape of the animal made of water. It¡¯s certainly like a wolf. Magic can be created with images. The clearer the image, the better the shape.

    The student who created the Wolf using water magic left the pier after bowing. Then the second and third students unveiled their works of art using water magic.

    The first thing to consider is the size. Of course, the greater the volume of water, the greater the amount of magic needed. And so, the clearer the image, the better the shape, and the better the magic control.

    A good mage is one that can dobinations.

    Some students made human shapes, others handled water like snakes, and a student made multiple fish shapes and sent them flying into the sky. That was a little beautiful. But why fish? I think a bird would be fine.

    ¡°It¡¯s water, so I think fish is fine.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, when ites to water, the image of fish is stronger than that of birds. But when ites to flying, the image of a bird is stronger.

    After that, something like art using water magic was performed.

    ¡°It was strange to see that water cascading down. I want to use magic as soon as possible. Then I want to make bears like Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    I gathered magic power in my bear puppet and created a small ball of water, transforming it into the shape of a bear.

    ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s cute.¡±

    Noa touched the bear made of water. But the moment she touched the water bear, the water bear broke and sshed to the ground.

    ¡°Ah, it turned back into water.¡± (Noa)

    Well, it wasn¡¯t reinforced, so if you touch it, it will break.

    <strong>=====</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    <strong>Postscript (1/17)</strong>: Sorry, I have already written Episode 522, but I have to dy the release of Episode 523 because I have not been able to finalize the n for it.

    Depending on the story of episode 523, I will have to revise episode 522.

    The teampetition is turning out to be more troublesome than I had expected¡­¡­

    It¡¯s no good if the name is only for the teampetition.

    I¡¯mte. It¡¯s been a while. I would like to resume soon.

    I still have some bookwork to do, so I may bete once again.

    If there is another dy, I will report it in a postscript.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Please note that I have written information about volume 11.5 in the activity report.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> Thanks to the readers who have reported typographical errors. I am unable to reply, so please excuse me here.

 Chapter 522 - Bear-san, Makes Bears

    <h4>Chapter 522 - Bear-san, Makes Bears</h4>

    Chapter 522

    Bear-san, Makes Bears

    The water magic performance was over, and next was the wind magic.

    Unlike water magic, wind magic cannot create form. So, it releases a de of wind toward theke. The wind des create a single line, two, then three. Some students made a circle, while others made a small whirlpool, or drew a picture and used theke as the canvas.

    !!

    ¡°We might need to back up a little to see it better, don¡¯t we?¡± (Yuna)

    Behind us was higher, so it was easier to see the surface of theke. Other people started to move. We followed their lead.

    ¡°That one is good.¡± (Yuna)

    Speed is important because if you do not draw quickly, the lines you draw will disappear. Most of the time, students draw figures. Well, you can¡¯t drawplicated pictures. Wind is almost impossible to change direction after it moves. It is possible to make a kind of curve by bending it at the moment it moves. We can draw a circle by applying this idea. Since it is impossible to make a full circle, we swing our left and right arms to draw a semicircle, and a beautiful circle is formed. It¡¯s a beautiful effect.

    Afterwards, the students¡¯ figurative art continued to be drawn on the canvaske.

    You can do it on the ground, but it looks beautiful because it¡¯s on the water.

    That¡¯s a pretty inconvenience for the creatures in theke.

    Well, with all this magic, the fish should¡¯ve fled already.

    Euphalia students have ake to practice in, but did the students in the royal capital practice in the pool?

    ¡°That was fun.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    The wind magic was over, so it was time for fire magic.

    Many students struggled to form fire. They make circles, move their hands, and write letters. So different magic has different uses.

    ¡°Oneesama didn¡¯te out.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, I think she¡¯s going to participate with different magic.¡° (Yuna)

    Shia did not appear in the fire magic section. But she didn¡¯t say she wouldn¡¯t participate, so she should be joining in the next one, earth magic.

    Finally, the earth magicpetition took ce. I wondered what will they do with the earth magic, and they said they perform in front of theke.

    Earth magic seems to be the main focus of this event, and the students all lined up side by side. Among them was Shia.

    ¡°Oneesama!¡± (Noa)

    Each student started their creation all at once using magic. As the students started making something, the surroundings became more excited.

    ¡°Ah, Oneesama, she¡¯s making a bear.¡± (Noa)

    She¡¯s right. Among the students making all sorts of things with earth magic, Shia was making bear statues.

    Moreover, they¡¯re not based on a real bear, but a cute bear as if I had made it.

    ¡°U~u, that¡¯s not fair. I was the one who¡¯s going to make a bear.¡± (Noa)

    Noa pouted when she saw Shia made bears earlier than her, even though she just dered it.

    Surprisingly, it was well-received, and there were people were gathering in front of Shia¡¯s bear statue.

    Apuse breaks out when everyonepletes their respective y objects.

    And then, it was destroyed, and people expressed their disappointment.

    Now that the production magic at theke was over, we moved to the school grounds. When we were about to reach the grounds, Shia came to us.

    ¡°Oneesama is terrible. Why do you make a bear first!?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Eh? What?¡± (Shia)

    Noa suddenly said that, so Shia was confused.

    I exined to Shia my earlier conversation with Noa.

    ¡°Noa intended to make it first after she learned magic, but you made it sooner than her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oneesama is unfair.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But why a bear though?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been practicing since I saw the bear Yuna-san made for us at the school festival.¡± (Shia)

    I remember making a bear statue for them during the school festival to advertise so that they could sell cotton candy.

    ¡°So, I thought, since Noa is watching, maybe she¡¯d be happy, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Shia)

    Shia apologized while patting Noa¡¯s head.

    So that¡¯s why you kept it a secret until now.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stay mad when you say it like that. Oneesama, the bear you made was adorable.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That means both of you are so much alike.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think I was just influenced by Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    I don¡¯t want to be told that.

    However, it¡¯s hard for me to say that I did not influence Noa¡¯s love for bears and Shia making bear statues. Well, Noa¡¯s love for bears was definitely influenced by me.

    I tried to change the subject by asking about a different topic.

    ¡°So what are you going to do next?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Next is the teampetition. Everyone in the school will get together and have a match.¡± (Shia)

    That¡¯s the one she mentioned yesterday.

    It¡¯s supposed to be thest part of the magical exchange meet.

    ording to Shia, a g would be set up in each camp. You can use magic to burn, cut, or smash the enemy¡¯s g, any way you can. You must destroy the g only with magic. Also, you were supposed to protect your g with magic against the enemy¡¯s magic.

    While listening to Shia¡¯s exnation, we arrived at the school grounds.

    Six gs stood at either end of the grounds.

    The six gs were separated from each other, and a circr white line was drawn around each g pole.

    Shia said the defenders must enter one of the circles and protect the g from the attackers.

    ¡°So if all the attackers attack one by one, the attackers have the advantage.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The rules are: The attackers must aim only at the g. No more than two attackers are allowed. But there is an exception to that.¡± (Shia)

    In any case, if the attackers are able to knock down the opponent¡¯s g, he or she must leave the grounds. Then, the defending student whose g was taken down can also be the attacker, and the two can attack together.

    And if two students attacked and knocked down the g, those two students must leave the grounds.

    In other words, each time a g falls, the number of students decreases.

    If the school¡¯s main force was ced on the attacker¡¯s side, the defender bes weaker. On the contrary, if the attackers were weak, they would not be able to take down the g.

    In addition, if you knock down the g, you have to leave the ground, which was a tricky thing to do. If a student¡¯s weak defense was destroyed by an opponent¡¯s strong attack, the student with a strong attack must leave.

    I recall something simr in a game.

    How to win by the smallest margin of power will be the deciding factor.

    This was a surprisingly thoughtful game. It depends on which student gets the g and which student joins him or her.

    It¡¯s an interesting encore to the event.

    After finishing her exnation, Shia went to join the other students. So Noa and I move to secure a ce to watch.

    ¡°But I also think this as kind of practical thing.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s practical?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°The protectors of the g are the escorts. The attackers are trying to defeat the enemy leader?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°When you think about it that way, yes, indeed.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and I secured a ce where the entire grounds could be seen.

    Looking at the grounds, teachers from each school were talking to each other.

    It seems that they were having a bit of a problem. Rather than a dispute, they were discussing what to do.

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t hear what they were talking about from here.

    The teacher went to where Shia and the other girls were and started talking. Then Shia took the teacher and moved a little away from the other students. Shia started talking with the teacher, and she nced at us. The teacher looked at us too.

    What does that mean I wonder?

    ¡°Oneesama, she¡¯s looking at us.¡± (Noa)

    She¡¯s definitely looking here. Shia, who talked to her teacher, came to us.

    Then she opened her mouth.

    ¡°Etto, Yuna-san. Would you like to participate in this team match?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Shia)

    That team game would be split into men¡¯s and women¡¯s matches. And we were supposed to have a girl¡¯s match 12 vs. 12.

    12 yers, 6 on the attacking side and 6 on the defending side.

    But I heard that some of the children were unable to participate due to the excessive use of magical power, because of what they did earlier.

    So it seems that they were discussing what to do with the number of people.

    They were discussing whether to match the number of students the royal capital has or y the match as is despite having one less student.

    Euphalia Academy does not want to reduce the number of students. Students who were able to participate could not participate. They want to avoid that. But it was also not polite to have a match with the royal capital, who wascking a participant.

    ¡°So we were wondering if you would be interested in joining us, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    Shia looks apologetic.

    ¡°Shia, you know me, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but I couldn¡¯t think of any other way. Well, Yuna-san, if you could, just do it appropriately¡­¡± (Shia)

    I don¡¯t want to be told that.

    If I participate, I will not be able to do such things properly.

    As a former gamer, I like these kinds of games. Since yesterday, I have been feeling the urge to try it. But if I participate, I can imagine myself ying seriously.

    Above all, I am a sore loser, and I cannot ept defeat because I¡¯m holding back. I am sure that I will be aggressive and userge-scale magic.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not a student at the school. Won¡¯t they find out right away?¡± (Yuna)

    That is the biggest problem.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. There are a lot of students in the school. No student remembers all the faces and names. Also, since the teacher is Shugu sensei, so he knows you, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia) (¥·¥å©`¥°)

    ¡°Shugu sensei?¡± (Yuna)

    Even if I was told the name, I don¡¯t remember it.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯ve already met once.¡± (Shia)

    She said that he was the teacher who greeted Shia and her group during the training.

    When I look at the grounds, it might be the teacher at that time.

    ¡°Mother told me to talk to my teacher if Yuna-san did something.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Eleanora-san¡­¡± (Yuan)

    She thought I would do something, so she prepared insurance.

    I¡¯m grateful, but does she think of me as a troublemaker?

    ¡°That¡¯s why Shugu sensei knows Yuna-san, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That makes him extraordinarily aware that I¡¯m not a student, doesn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    I greeted him before as an adventurer.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, he knows, and I got permission.¡± (Shia)

    It seems that was what Shia and the teacher were talking about earlier.

    ¡°But.¡± (Yuna)

    My power is a cheat. I can¡¯t be mixed up with the students who have practiced diligently.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I also want to see you and Oneesama working together.¡± (Noa)

    Even Noa was saying so.

    I¡¯ve been wanting to try it since I saw Shia and the otherspeting yesterday.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please.¡± (Shia)

    Shia puts her hands together.

    It¡¯s easy to say no. But I¡¯d feel sorry for Shia and the others if the event didn¡¯t end well.

    ¡°I understand. But I don¡¯t know how to hold back, so I want to be on the protecting the g side. If I userge-scale magic as the attacker, it will be messy.¡± (Yuna)

    I can adapt to my opponent if I¡¯m just protecting the g. If I¡¯m on the attacker¡¯s side, and my magic got deflected, I may likely get pissed off and use powerful magic.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    Shia looks happy.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san. What would you like your name to be?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Name?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you want to call yourself as Yuuna as you did at the school festival? The teacher knows your name, but the students don¡¯t.¡± (Shia)

    Shia was certainly right. But then again, that name was not a pseudonym.

    Even though I thought of it out of the blue, I have no sense of style.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Then Yuuna, please.¡± (Yuuna)

    I, in my school uniform, shall be Yuuna.

    ¡°Okay, then Yuuna-san, let¡¯s go.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Oneesama, may Ie closer?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and I followed Shia to the grounds.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sorry for the dy.

    The concept of a team battle was more difficult than expected. It took a lot of time and effort.

    Since the plot was decided only as a team battle, so it was quite difficult to write.

    So I decided to have a match with a few special rules.

    Battle Royale is impossible (lol).

    Everyone, when you write a novel, you should write a solid plot. Or else, you will have a hard timeter. (I did write the plot, though. lol)

    [Notice] Kuma 11.5 volume will be released on 1/25. The first printing number is quite small, so if any readers are thinking of buying it, I hope they will pre-order it.

    Also, I have written in the activity report where the autographed books will be distributed. Thank you for your continuous support.

 Chapter 523

    <h4>Chapter 523</h4>

    Bear-san, Participates In The Magical Exchange Meet

    I parted with Noa when we reached the grounds, then Shia and I went to the teacher¡¯s ce.

    ¡°Shugu sensei, I brought her. She will be joining us.¡± (Shia)

    !!

    A man about 30 years old looks at me.

    Indeed, he was the teacher at that time when I escorted Shia and her group.

    I vaguely remember it, but I still remember it.

    ¡°Thank you very much. You¡¯re a big help.¡± (Shugu)

    The teacher thanked me, looking at my face before turning his attention to my hands and feet.

    ¡°So you really are the girl dressed as a bear.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°Please keep it to yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m keeping it a secret that my usual appearance was a bear.

    ¡°But, am I really allowed to participate?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I will ask the other teacher¡¯s permission, just in case. But it will probably be okay. Although, if you are too old to be a student, they won¡¯t give you permission. That being said, you do look younger than the other students.¡± (Shugu)

    In other words, I¡¯m short.

    I¡¯m still in my growth period. A lot of ces will start to develop from now on.

    ¡°Besides, this is a magical exchange meet. The purpose is to show and improve each other¡¯s magic skills. I hope that Yuna-san, who is the same age as them, can serve as a model for the students and inspire their improvements.¡± (Shugu)

    Improvement, huh.

    That was the purpose of this exchange meet, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Besides, Euphalia¡¯s academy has Cereille-sama.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°You mean you want to win against Cereille?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t have that feeling. I just thought it would be interesting to have a person who came out unscathed after beating the ck Tiger participate. And if that strong person joins, who knows what the odds would be.¡± (Shugu)

    Certainly, a single strong person would not be enough to win with such a rule.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll ask Euphalia teachers for confirmation, so please wait here.¡± (Shugu)

    The teacher went to Euphalia¡¯s teachers, talked to them, and returned.

    ¡°I got the permission.¡± (Shugu)

    It seems that he easily obtained the permission needed.

    ¡°I told them that ¡®She¡¯s a strong mage for her age and the Fochuroze family trusts her¡¯, then they said there would be no problem. They seem very confident.¡± (Shugu)

    Well, there¡¯s Cereille.

    Aside from her, many other students were good at magic.

    ¡°Shia-san, please introduce her to the other students and give a brief exnation of the rules to Yuna-san.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°Sensei, shall I tell them that Yuna-san is a student?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It would be less confusing that way.¡± (Shugu)

    I¡¯m wearing a uniform, and it would be a hassle to exin something else¡ªno need to confuse them before the game starts.

    As discussed with Shia at the beginning, I will participate as a student and as a friend of Shia.

    ¡°Ah, sensei. Before I forget, I¡¯ll introduce her as Yuuna-san here, so please remember it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yuuna-san?¡± (Shugu)

    The teacher tilted his head.

    Shia and I talked about my alias.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s much of an alias, though.¡± (Shugu)

    Isn¡¯t it~.

    ¡°Very well, I understand. Well then, Yuuna-san, please take care.¡± (Shugu)

    Shea and I went to the students¡¯ area.

    Ten girls in school uniforms looked at me. I felt a little nervous.

    ¡°Shia, can you introduce her? She¡¯s the girl who had a match with Cereille-sama the other day, right?¡±

    ¡°Etto, she¡¯s Yu, Yuuna.¡± (Shia)

    Shia introduced me under an alias.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yuuna. I am a friend of Shia. I was supposed to be here to cheer on Shia, but I decided to participate since I can use magic.¡±

    ¡°I was watching the match the other day. It¡¯s amazing that you beat Cereille-sama.¡±

    ¡°So there was a strong girl like you in our school.¡±

    The girls surround me.

    They were too close. I¡¯ve been surrounded by kids, but never by girls my age. So I am getting a little nervous.

    ¡°Alright, people, let¡¯s leave it at that. We¡¯ve got a match to win. Yuuna, right? What¡¯s your magic?¡±

    An older, leader-like girl pulled me away from the girls and asked.

    ¡°I can use all types. Shia told me to protect the g.¡± (Yuuna)

    I¡¯m the one who said it, but I¡¯ll pretend that Shia asked me to do it.

    ¡°I agree. The girl who left was also in charge of protecting the g, so I don¡¯t see the problem with leaving it as it is.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry if the g is easily knocked down, and we¡¯ll do our best to make up for it.¡±

    These girls epted me more graciously than I expected.

    Normally, I would have thought that if a girl like me came out of nowhere, there would be at least one person who wouldin. Were this thanks to the introduction of Shia, an aristocrat?

    Once again, I listened to the exnation of the rules, which I¡¯d already heard from Shia.

    ¡°The problem is Cereille-sama. What if shees to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky if she takes it easy on you.¡±

    ¡°U~u, that¡¯s awful.¡±

    Laughter breaks out all around us.

    They¡¯re not making fun of her, and she wasughing as well when she said it.

    ¡°But if it¡¯s Cereille-sama, she would probably be going to Rouge¡¯s g.¡± (¥ë©`¥¸¥å)

    When I asked, they said she was the best we got on the defensive side.

    ¡°I think I might go aim for Yuuna-san. Most likely for revenge.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°True, that¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°But swords and magic are different.¡±

    ¡°Although, I feel bad for Yuuna, if she really aims for her, Cereille-sama will be eliminated earlier, so it¡¯ll be helpful.¡±

    Apparently, I am not counted as part of the defense force.

    Well, they think I go to the academy and was not chosen for this magical exchange meet, so I don¡¯t me them.

    ¡°No, I think Cereille will wait and see first.¡± (Yuuna)

    The rules I was briefed in detail included that the attackers were free to make substitutions.

    If attacker A is attacking defender A and attacker B is attacking defender B, as long as the g isn¡¯t knocked down yet, then attacker A may switch with attacker B to attack defender B, and so on and so forth.

    In other words, if they feel they cannot beat their opponent, they can rece them with someone who was more capable or morepatible than they were.

    That being said, strong people do not participate in g capture at first, but will only watch the situation.

    ¡°And one more thing, you are not allowed to surround the g with earth magic.¡± (Shia)

    She said that the earth wall could only be about a quarter of the way up at thergest.

    Surely if you surround it like a dome with dirt, your opponent will have to use big magic to destroy it. That would be dangerous in many ways and not fun to watch.

    ¡°Come to think of it, Shia, which side are you on? Attacker? Defender?¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m on the defensive. Let¡¯s defend together.¡± (Shia)

    Then the female students, including myself, gathered on the grounds. And gave our greetings.

    Cereille looked at me on the other side as if she wanted to say something.

    After the greetings, everyone was about to move to their post, Cereille stopped me.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to participate, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so either. But do your schoolmates agree to my participation?¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°There is nothing wrong with the participation of girls of the same age, because everyone thinks they are stronger than anyone else in the same age group.¡± (Cereille)

    They were the students who were chosen for this exchange meet. They must be in the excellent category.

    ¡°And I¡¯m happy to get my revenge on Yuna. I¡¯m going to win this time.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to lose either.¡± (Yuna)

    I want to win. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.

    After Cereille dered that, she left.

    I moved to Shia.

    ¡°Shia, which g am I guarding?¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°Yuuna-san, your g would be that one over there.¡± (Shia)

    Shia pointed at the g in the far corner.

    ¡°Yuuna-san. Etto, please do your best to hold back.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I want to win, so I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Yuuna)

    Cereille has dered herself the winner, and I will do my best to make it not happen.

    Games should be fun.

    I move to the g I am guarding. The g was a bit taller than I am. It¡¯s about the length where I raised my hand.

    My role was to protect this g. I am not a team yer, so this might be a good fit for me.

    I looked for Shia,; she was at a g a little ways away, and when our eyes met, she waved at me.

    Then, when all the students were in position, the teacher gave the signal to begin. The students did not run, instead, they slowly walked towards the opponent¡¯s g.

    I thought Cereille woulde at me, but a different student came.

    Cereille was looking at me at a distance, without moving.

    ¡°Where are you looking? I will take down your g.¡±

    A Euphalia student with shoulder-length hair said to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you are not a real student. Cereille-sama said she¡¯ll take your g, but we can¡¯t let Cereille-sama walk away with the g of a student who¡¯s not even a real student.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re the weakest?¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°Unfortunately, yes. So it is my role to take your g.¡± (Girl)

    I called her weak, but she didn¡¯t seem angry about it.

    It¡¯s cool that she says it¡¯s her role. I like it.

    ¡°Now then, here I go!¡± (Girl)

    The girl gathered magic power in her hand and released wind magic. I countered it with the same wind magic.

    ¡°Do you specialize in wind magic like me?¡± (Girl)

    ¡°I wonder~.¡± (Yuuna)

    The girl started running around the white line. I also turn around to chase after the girl around the g. The girl shot wind magic. But I canceled it out as if I were magically parrying it.

    Interesting.

    The girl and I continued to attack and defend against each other. She tried to blow me up with air bullets, but I prevented her from doing so. In between attacks, she sometimes aims at the g. I countered all of her attacks and protected the g.

    The girl did not give up and attacked again and again.

    I won¡¯t show any openings, though.

    ¡°Ha~a, ha~a~¡± (Girl)

    The girl gradually ran out of breath. The distance the girl and I were moving was different. The girl moves several steps, and I only need to move one step. The girl attacking from a distance inevitably must travel long distances.

    The girl stops.

    ¡°You¡¯re strong.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°I can¡¯t let you take the g so easily after all.¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°This is my final attack. I¡¯m going to blow you away. If this doesn¡¯t bring down the g, I¡¯ll give up.¡± (Girl)

    The girl said this and put her hands together in front of her, and the wind began to gather around the girl.

    It¡¯s the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen from her.

    ¡°Here it goes!¡± (Girl)

    She dered and stretched her arms out in front of her. Then a gust of wind flew towards me.

    I made a ¡÷ shaped wall with earth magic and let the wind pass to the left and right.

    ¡°You could also use earth magic.¡± (Girl)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you at the beginning.¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can take your g by myself.¡± (Girl)

    The girl said that and stepped back.

    It looks like she¡¯s going back to discuss it with the other students.

    I looked at Cereille, and she was looking at me without moving.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Thest part of the exchange meet has started.

    It¡¯s a little difficult to write a team battle, so please note that it will be a special rule.

    ¡ù Volume 11.5 will be released on 1/25. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

 Chapter 524

    <h4>Chapter 524</h4>

    Bear-san, Protects The Last g

    Looking at the activity around me, something seemed to be happening elsewhere.

    Both gs of the royal capital and Euphalia were reduced by two.

    I looked toward Shia. She still seems to be okay. Were they ignoring her, or did they just not want to fight her? She has no opponent to engage.

    !!

    I looked at the front.

    Now, will a stronger girl than the previous onee this time? Or, will there be two girls? Perhaps Cereille will finally face me? There were several possibilities.

    In the end, it was a different girl who came. Well, they easily can¡¯t send Cereille or even two students. If they took my g, they would lose tremendous strength. It¡¯s a standard practice to conserve avable fighting strength and find ways to increase it gradually.

    A Euphalia student stood in front of me.

    ¡°I hear you use wind and earth magic.¡± (GIrl 2)

    ¡°I wonder~¡± (Yuna)

    I gave the same response as I did to the other girl.

    This girl held up her wand, and as she gathered magic power, about six balls of water the size of golf balls materialized in front of the wand. The girl waved her wand, and the water balls shot towards me. Her target was the g behind me. If I avoid them, they will hit the g. So, I won¡¯t dodge.

    I shot down all the iing water balls with air bullets. When I looked at the girl, she knew I would counter her offense, and she was already running outside the circle of the white line.

    I turned my body and repositioned myself to be in front of the girl. The girl ran and waved her wand sideways, shooting water balls at me. The water was aimed over my head and under my feet.

    If the top goes through, it¡¯ll hit the g, if it goes through the bottom, it¡¯ll hit the pole. So I have to block both.

    I shoot down the water balls.

    ¡°You blocked it. But you know what? You can use water magic like this too.¡± (Girl 2)

    When the girl said that, the water from her wand grew thin and moved like a snake. I cut the snake-shaped water with wind magic. But the water sticks to the ce where I cut it.

    ¡°You can cut it, but you can¡¯tpletely destroy it.¡± (Girl 2)

    The water snake twitched when the girl waved her wand and tried to get behind me.

    I shot a barrage of air bullets to destroy the water snake. But the girl kept adding magic power, and the water snake regenerated and stretched even more.

    This engagement may be more annoying than it looks to be.

    I think about it as I tried to destroy the water snake that stretched out.

    In that case.

    I gathered water on my bear puppet. Then, just like the girl, I stretched the water into a thin line.

    The girl was surprised.

    ¡°Even if you could use water magic, you can¡¯t beat me, who specialized in water magic.¡± (Girl 2)

    The girl¡¯s water snake moved. I controlled my water like a whip to match her. The water snake and the water whip collided. The girl¡¯s water snake tried to aim at the g behind me. I struck it down with my water whip.

    ¡°Ku~, in that case.¡± (Girl 2)

    The girl made two water snakes and controlled them.

    But the movement of the water snake lost its elegance and became rough.

    It was difficult for people to think of two things at the same time. So the movement of water bes rugged.

    I slipped through the girl¡¯s water snake and flicked off the girl¡¯s cane.

    ¡°Lies¡­¡­¡± (Girl 2)

    The wand dropped and rolled on the ground and the water from her wand disappeared.

    ¡°What now? Still wanna fight?¡± (Yuna)

    She picked up her wand from the ground and shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s frustrating, but I can¡¯t take your g down.¡± (Girl 2)

    The girl said so and moved away.

    To me, this game is an interesting thing to do. Quite a feat to be chosen for this exchange.

    While I was guarding my g, the g capture elsewhere was progressing.

    Another two more gs were taken down, with only two remaining for both schools.

    Moreover, there was no sign of Shia. Apparently, her g has been taken. When I looked toward Euphalia¡¯s gs, I saw Shia with two other girls aiming for the g.

    The g capture continued around me.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost over.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille finally came.

    Herees the boss.

    ¡°I really wanted to fight you when you¡¯re not tired, Yuna. But everyone else wouldn¡¯t let me fight you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯m a student who wasn¡¯t originally scheduled to participate.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Now I can finally fight you. But if we keep this for too long, people wille running. Let¡¯s settle this before theye, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille started running around the white line.

    Cereille shot wind magic. I canceled it out with the same wind magic. She was faster than the student who used wind magic earlier. But that doesn¡¯t mean that it was impossible to block. The wind magic from Jubey-san¡¯s sword was faster. And this time, they could not enter the white line, so they could not attack from close range. So, if I watch closely, I can block it.

    Cereille created a water ball in front of her. Then she shot it.

    Thinking that was all, I sliced it with wind magic. However, the ball of water moved to the side, and the wind de missed. The water ball passed by me like a curveball.

    Controlling water at a distance.

    During the mole subjugation, Marina said it when exining Elle¡¯s water magic. She said it was difficult to manipte water away from you.

    That¡¯s what Cereille was doing. The water ball circumvented and aimed at the g. I built a wall of earth to block it.

    ¡°You handled it well. How about this then?¡± (Cereille)

    Three water balls float in front of Cereille. She shot them at me at the same time. I also created three water balls and shot them toward the water balls that Cereille made. Cereille controlled the water balls to evade. All three at the same time.

    But my water balls chased after Cereille¡¯s water balls.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding!¡± (Cereille)

    My water balls hit Cereille¡¯s water balls, and water sshed on the ground.

    That was close. She might have hit the g if I had reacted a littleter.

    I thought she wasn¡¯t good at water magic?

    However, she doesn¡¯t seem to be able to move it 100% the way they want.

    After that, the offense and defense with Cereille continued. Not only can she use water magic and wind magic, but she can also use earth magic and fire magic as well. Since there were many variations, it was difficult to deal with them.

    Cheers around us gradually got louder as I was defending against Cereille¡¯s attack.

    Cereille and I looked around together.

    Someone took down the g of the student of the royal capital.

    There was only one remaining, the one that I¡¯m protecting.

    The student whose g was knocked down nced at me and then ran to join the attackers.

    Not only that, but Euphalia was also down to a single g. Then the student who was guarding the g came.

    ¡°It looks like our time is up.¡± (Cereille)

    A student who appeared to have been guarding Euphalia¡¯s g came to Cereille.

    ¡°I am very sorry, Cereille-sama.¡± (Girl 3)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I really wanted to defeat the g by myself, but can you help me?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Girl 3)

    ¡°We¡¯re running out of time, so both of us will take you on.¡± (Cereille)

    Two students from the royal capital were alsounching an attack on the opponent¡¯s g.

    ¡°Eliza, let¡¯s go as we practiced.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Eliza)

    Cereille and the student named Eliza started running.

    The two moved diagonally to the left and right, thenunched their attack. Eliza shot a lump of soil. I blocked it with an earth wall while observing the movement of Cereille.

    Cereille shot three water balls. Moreover, she¡¯s changing their trajectories.

    With my left hand, I¡¯m dealing with Eliza, and my right hand, with Cereille.

    I can use magic with both hands, but my head can¡¯t keep up. I can¡¯t keep them both in sight at the same time. They kept a good distance. This was the result of their practice.

    This is bad. It¡¯s so much fun.

    Don¡¯t think. Move your body.

    I have been attacked many times back in the game by more than one. I¡¯ve died, and I¡¯ve survived many times from doing so. I¡¯ve been in many battles on the brink like this.

    I moved my body and released magic. I did not look at the attacks of Cereille and Eliza with my eyes,but felt them with my whole body¡¯s senses.

    It happened sometimes in the game. My body moves before my head thinks, and in these situations, my survival rate goes up.

    Right, left, up, move your body, cast magic, protect the g.

    Just when I thought it would go on forever, there was a loud whistle ,and the teacher¡¯s voice said the match was over.

    At the same time, the biggest cheer goes up.

    ¡°It¡¯s over?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It looks like it. Unfortunately, it seems we lost. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d have a hard time taking your g, even though you¡¯re taking on both of us.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°If it took a little longer, it would have been dangerous.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I feel bad for that girl who was guarding thest g.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at the girl guarding her school¡¯sst g.

    That girl also kept it until the end. It may have been a slight difference.

    But protecting the g was more tiring than I thought.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not a student of the royal capital.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We agreed to that. Yuna, that was a lot of fun.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille smiled and walked to the ce where Euphalia students gathered.

    At the same time, students from the royal capital came to me.

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Shia)

    Shia rushed over and hugged me.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yuna.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh right. But we won the match!¡± (Shia)

    Shia looks happy.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-san.¡±

    ¡°Yuna-san, that was amazing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d I could help.¡± (Yuna)

    Everyone thanked me.

    ¡°But why an amazing student like Yuna wasn¡¯t selected for this exchange meet?¡±

    That¡¯s because I¡¯m not a student.

    Shia and I told them the truth.

    ¡°I see. So Yuna is not a student of the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°Then, there is no problem if you enroll.¡±

    ¡°But then again, she¡¯s not a student, so what will happen to this match?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d we won, though.¡±

    While everyone was talking, the teacher came.

    ¡°This is a magical exchange meet. The purpose is to show each other¡¯s strengths and improve them. Superiority and inferiority are important, but we must not forget the basics.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°But then, what about the match?¡±

    ¡°If we win this match, it will be a draw.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°A draw?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s not a student in the royal capital, but we couldn¡¯t win without her, so this time it¡¯s a draw.¡± (Shugu)

    ¡°Certainly, if it weren¡¯t for Yuna, we would have lost.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if a draw was reasonable, but it might be better than a win. And a draw was a lot better than a loss, which might be a safepromise for both schools.

    ¡°Now then, girls, let¡¯s do the talkingter and move out of the grounds. The boy¡¯s team will y the next match. Please cheer them on as well. That will motivate the boys.¡± (Shugu)

    We left the grounds when the teacher said this and cheered for the boys.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This marks the end of the exchange meet.

    The next post will be dyed. I¡¯m sorry, but please understand.

    [Postscript] I will be able to make time from February 4.

    ¡ù Volume 11.5 is released today. Please check it out.

    ¡ù Thank you to the reader who reported the typo. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t reply to you, so I will just leave it here.

    [Postscript] PASH!Books editorial department is running a giveaway campaign on Twitter for Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Vol. 11.5 and the author¡¯s autographed book. The deadline is 23:59 on 1/30. Thank you for your cooperation.

 Chapter 525

    <h4>Chapter 525</h4>

    Bear-san, Is Restless

    The girls¡¯ match was over, and the boys¡¯ match was next. So we left the grounds.

    Shia and I moved away from the girls¡¯ group before we were surrounded and went to Noa.

    ¡°Oneesama, Yuna-san, that was amazing! It was unfortunate that Oneesama¡¯s g was taken, but it was cool to see you take their g. Yuna-san was also cool to protect her g.¡± (Noa)

    !!

    Noa says excitedly.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Shia and I thanked her.

    ording to Noa, Shia was up against a strong student because of her excellent performance. Still, she said, she managed to defend it, but another joined in, and the pair attacked her, so unfortunately, she could not protect her g.

    However, it seems that Shia, whose g was taken down, immediately turned to offense and got the opponent¡¯s g.

    Shortly after, the tournament organizerspleted the preparation of recing new gs, and the boys¡¯ match began.

    When the boys¡¯ match started, they were being cheered on by the girls around them. The boys from both schools also cheered at the girls earlier. And then, the match started to be heated as the boys tried to show off their good side.

    It¡¯s nice to be young. Ahh, youth. It¡¯s dazzling to a recluse like me.

    ¡°There¡¯s the attack. Look out! Oh, the g has been taken. Now, that magic is great. He did it, he got the g.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, sitting next to me, was excitedly watching the match.

    Perhaps she was cheering like this at us during our match.

    The match went on, and although there were some tactics in y in the beginning, the match became a race against time in the final stages.

    Both schools were down to one g. The boys from both schools, whose gs have been knocked down, ran. All of them were aiming for their opponent¡¯sst g. Both defenders and attackers were moving around, and magic flew everywhere. Attacking the g. Defending the g. The back and forth offense and defense went on.

    But if it¡¯s one against two, two have the advantage. Gradually, the attackers pushed through.

    The cheers got louder.

    The final g defended by the Euphalia school fell. We thought we had won, but the royal capital¡¯s g had also fallen simultaneously.

    Who won?

    All eyes were on the teachers acting as referees.

    Everyone waited with bated breath. The teachers began to discuss.

    And then it was announced.

    ¡°Because they were knocked down at the same time, it¡¯s a draw.¡±

    From the surroundings, I hear voices such as ¡°Ah ~¡± and ¡°If only it was a little earlier¡±.

    With the gs falling at the same time, the boys¡¯ match was also dered to be a draw. Since there were no video cameras to prove otherwise, this was a reasonable decision.

    The match was now a draw for both boys and girls.

    But since I participated, was it actually a loss for the royal capital?

    The boys¡¯ match was over, and the school¡¯s magic exchange meet came to an end.

    They were going to bring the food to the grounds, and both schools would have a meal together.

    I wanted to escape, but Noa started talking happily with Shia, so I couldn¡¯t leave by myself. I tried to stay in the corner to avoid being noticed, but the girls surrounded me.

    ¡°Does Yuuna live in Crimonia?¡± (Girl 1)

    ¡°Well, yeah¡­¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°Are you a friend of Shia?¡± (Girl 2)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you enroll in the school?¡± (Girl 3)

    ¡°Do you have any ns to enroll?¡± (Girl 4)

    I totally missed my chance to escape and was now surrounded by girls.

    I tried to get help from Noa and Shia, but they were not nearby.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! If you enroll, you guys can definitely beat Euphalia next year!¡± (Girl 5)

    ¡°Does that mean you won¡¯t be there next year?¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay since my senior year is about to end anyway.¡± (Girl 5)

    ¡°Maybe next year we¡¯ll have more excellent students.¡± (Girl 6)

    The girlsughed.

    I nodded my head appropriately, and as I was plotting my escape, even the students of Euphalia arrived. They were the girls who had fought with me.

    ¡°I lost this time.¡± (Wind Magic Girl)

    ¡°It¡¯s frustrating, but you are strong.¡± (Water Magic Girl)

    ¡°Even so, you¡¯re using such a cute thing as a magical medium.¡± (Wind Magic Girl)

    The girl who used wind magic at the beginning of the fight holds my bear puppet.

    ¡°I was surprised the first time I saw it, because during the match, you cast magic out of this bear. But still, it¡¯s nice and soft.¡± (Wind Magic Girl)

    ¡°I¡¯m also thinking of getting one like that instead of a staff.¡± (Water Magic Girl)

    The girl, who was controlling the water magic, said as she looked at the staff she was holding.

    If it was another animal, I¡¯m fine with it, but don¡¯t make it a bear.

    ¡°I want to fight you again next year, but you weren¡¯t a student in the royal capital, right?¡± (Water Magic Girl)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Yuuna)

    ¡°Then, enroll in the Euphalia academy, and we¡¯ll be able to beat the royal capital school next year.¡± (Wind Magic Girl)

    I think I heard a simr line earlier.

    ¡°Of course not. Yuuna will enroll at the Royal Capital Academy.¡± (Girl 1)

    ¡°It¡¯s up to her to decide which school to enroll in.¡± (Wind Magic Girl)

    ¡°Yuuna is a friend of Shia, so it¡¯s the royal capital.¡± (Girl 2)

    ¡°A match between friends may also be interesting.¡± (Water Magic Girl)

    Somehow, a dispute between the girls of both schools began.

    If I were a normie, I might say, ¡°Don¡¯t fight over me,¡± but I don¡¯t have that skill set as a recluse.

    I slowly and inconspicuously escaped the ce.

    ¡°Ha~a¡±

    I exhaled in an empty ce.

    Being surrounded by students was exhausting. It¡¯s different from being surrounded by children.

    ¡°Yuna, what are you doing here all alone?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille!?¡± (Yuna)

    I wondered who called out to me for a moment, but it was Cereille.

    ¡°I¡¯m not good withmotions.¡± (Yuna)

    Hikikomoris were not fond of the noise made by arge crowd.

    And I don¡¯t want them to make a fuss about me. If they¡¯re trying to pick a fight with me, I just get on with it, but if they¡¯re not, I don¡¯t know how to react.

    ¡°Is it okay for you, who yed an active part in this event, to be in a ce like this, Cereille?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, like you, Yuna, I¡¯m also not good with noisy groups, so I escaped. Then I saw you.¡± (Cereille)

    And that¡¯s why she called out to me.

    ¡°Yuna, this time I lost. I didn¡¯t think I could lose to you even with magic.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Just barely.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It didn¡¯t look like that, though. I didn¡¯t feel like we could take down your g with abination attack.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± (Yuna)

    By the rules, that¡¯s the limit. Dangerous magic was forbidden, so I was on edge. The same can be said for the attackers like Cereille, so perhaps the situation was mutual.

    ¡°I wanted to have a serious match with you, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That means we will have to kill each other.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, indeed. If we have a serious match, it will happen.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille smiled.

    ¡°Yuna, you¡¯re an adventurer, right?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°For the time being.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done any adventurer-rted worktely.

    ¡°Yuna, have you ever killed anyone on your job?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°A person? I¡¯ve seriously injured them, but I¡¯ve never killed one.¡± (Yuna)

    I have been inflicting severe injuries on people many times. The first adventurer I met, the bandit who attacked us on our way to the royal capital, the merchant who attacked Morin-san and her daughter in the royal capital, the bandit on the mountain path in the town of Mereera, and the guys in a ck outfit that kidnapped Misa. I¡¯ve left them half-dead, but I have yet to kill anyone.

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I just wondered since you had that much power. I am sorry if I offended you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille slightly bowed her head.

    ¡°I just wondered what kind of feelings one would have to have to be able to kill someone.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if you can beat them half-dead, thest step could still be held back. There¡¯s a difference between half-dead and dead.

    ¡°Really, what¡¯s wrong? I will hear you out.¡± (Yuna)

    I would like to say that it¡¯s not like her, but it hasn¡¯t been that long since I met Cereille.

    So, it just felt, somehow, ufortable.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Forget about what I just said.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille said, then she ran away.

    I watched her back.

    What was that about?

    The meal held on the grounds was over, and we dispersed. But Noa would not leave Shia¡¯s side, so we ended up going to the room where she was staying.

    Shia and her schoolmates were staying in a building on Euphalia Academy grounds.

    ¡°Oneesama¡­¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa talks in her sleep.

    Perhaps tired from cheering, Noa fell asleep while we chatted.

    ¡°Fufu, Yuna-san, thank you for bringing Noa. I think I did my best because of Noa¡¯s cheering.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It was fun for me, too.¡± (Yuna)

    I enjoyed thest match for some reason.

    ¡°Thanks to Yuna-san, we won the match.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Well, it ended up in a draw.¡± (Yuna)

    Since I was not a student at their school, even though we won the match, it was still treated as a draw.

    ¡°It¡¯s a draw, which is equal to a win. I think we would have lost otherwise. Though I wish we could have won without your help, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    I am not unaware of such feelings.

    This is a match between the royal capital and Euphalia academies. Yet, an outsider participated in it and won.

    ¡°But, as the teacher said, it was a good inspiration for everyone.¡± (Shia)

    I¡¯m d I was an inspiration to all of them.

    Then we talked about tomorrow¡¯s activities.

    Tomorrow they were going to swim together where the pier was.

    Come to think of it, I was told to bring my swimsuit because we would be swimming in theke.

    I don¡¯t intend to swim, but Noa was looking forward to it, so I have to tag along.

    Above all, I don¡¯t intend to swim in a bathing suit, since many of the girls were about my age and well-developed.

    Well then, I¡¯ll head back.

    We were talking in Shia¡¯s room, and it¡¯s already dark outside now.

    Leaving the sleeping Noa to Shia, I decide to return to the inn.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay the night, Yuna-san?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I have to go back. I don¡¯t want the innkeeper to worry.¡± (Yuna)

    Staying out might cause them to worry, so I have to return.

    ¡°But it¡¯s already dark outside. You¡¯re still a girl, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m strong, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but still¡­¡­¡± (Shia)

    Shia looked worried.

    ¡°Besides, I have reliable escorts to protect me, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± (Yuna)

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cubs.

    They will tell me if there¡¯s any danger.

    ¡°Cute little escorts.¡± (Shia)

    Shia pet Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads.

    I¡¯m here as Noa¡¯s escort, so I¡¯m leaving Swaying Bear behind. Swaying Bear, please take care of Noa.

    `Ku~u ? n¡¯

    Swaying Bear responded and moved to the bed where Noa was sleeping and curled up on the side to protect her.

    I hugged Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯lle back tomorrow morning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡®Yes, please be really careful on your way back.¡± (Shia)

    I nodded to Shia¡¯s worried words as I left the room.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Sorry for the dy.

    My next post will be in 3-4 days.

    Maybe it will settle down by then.

    ¡ù Volume 11.5 is now on sale. Thank you for your cooperation.

    [Notice] E-book, Reader Store is running a PASH! Books campaign until 2/7. The book includes volume 1 to volume 11 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± which is 30% off.

 Chapter 526

    <h4>Chapter 526</h4>

    Bear-san, Picks Up Something In The Lake

    It was dark outside, and the light of the magic stone slightly illuminated the streets.

    I was walking along the shore of theke, holding Hugging Bear in my arms. Theke was dark, and the moonlight was the only thing illuminating theke. Theke where the hot springs were located in the Land of Harmony was beautiful, but theke in this town doesn¡¯t lose to it.

    A pleasant breeze was blowing.

    !!

    ¡°Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go for a little stroll and then head back to the inn.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ? n¡¯

    I decided to enjoy a nighttime walk on thekeshore with Hugging Bear.

    Because it was nighttime, there were no people around theke.

    I wonder if anyone likes toe to such a dark ce. If they did, they might be couples or drunks.

    Theke reminded me of the Land of Harmony and made me want to go to the hot springs. When I get to the inn, I might use the bear gate to go take a dip in the hot springs.

    But since I left Swaying Bear behind, he would sulk.

    I¡¯ve asked Swaying Bear to escort Noa. I would feel sorry for him if I left him behind. When we return to Crimonia, we should all go together.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    As I was thinking about the hot springs, Hugging Bear cried.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? We¡¯re going to the hot springs together with Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear shook his head and stretched out his right paw with all his might. I look in the direction pointed by his right paw.

    A person?

    I immediately thought of hiding Hugging Bear, but stopped myself. It was because the figure was dressed suspiciously. The figure was wearing a hood over his head to hide his face in spite of the heat.

    I can¡¯t really say that to others since I am usually dressed as a bear, but today I¡¯m in uniform. So, that one was clearly suspicious.

    Just in case, it¡¯s better to hold Hugging Bear.

    If we continue as is, we will approach the suspicious hooded person.

    Hmmm, what should I do?

    Should I proceed without concern, or should I call off the walk?

    While I was wondering what to do, the hooded figure suddenly took something out of nowhere. It glows a little in the moonlight.

    The figure reached out toward theke.

    The hood swayed.

    Wind magic?

    At that moment, I thought that the object in his hand flew toward theke as if it were flying out of his hand.

    My eyes followed the flying object.

    Something flung out of the hooded figure¡¯s hand and went far away, reflecting in the moonlight, and fell into theke.

    What did he shoot into theke?

    When I looked back at the hooded figure, He was already gone.

    I wonder what that was?

    I don¡¯t think he was just throwing his trash.

    He even went through the trouble of using wind magic to make it fly.

    It bothers me. Even if I pretend I didn¡¯t see it and go back to the inn, it¡¯s a pattern that I can¡¯t sleep because it¡¯ll keep bugging me when I get back.

    `Ha~a¡¯

    I can¡¯t help it because I¡¯m curious. If I can¡¯t sleep, I¡¯ll be in trouble.

    After checking my surroundings, I put down Hugging Bear and took out my bear costume from the bear box.

    It¡¯ll be a little stuffy, but I wore my bear costume over my uniform.

    Ugh, I¡¯m still wearing my uniform, so it¡¯s ufortable.

    I had to finish quickly; I held Hugging Bear in my arms and used my [bear water walking] skills to walk on theke. Then I moved to the spot where I think the hooded figure threw it.

    It¡¯s around here, right?

    It¡¯s under theke, so of course, it was pitch ck and I couldn¡¯t see anything.

    I used light magic. A bear-shaped light floated in front of me.

    I still couldn¡¯t see what was dumped at the bottom of theke.

    I use the [bear underwater swimming] skill that I learned when I defeated Orochi in the Land of Harmony.

    Well, as the name suggests, diving was an excellent underwater skill. Though there were not many chances when I could utilize that skill.

    Using the [bear underwater swimming] skills, my body slowly sunk into theke.

    When I entered the water, I was in a ball of air. More precisely, I am in a bear-shaped air bubble.

    At first, I thought this skill might get shelved since I thought I wouldn¡¯t use it for a while, but as an ex-gamer, I¡¯m curious. If I were to use it suddenly, I might be in trouble.

    Therefore, I have checked it. Since it has been confirmed before, it can be used normally.

    When I first used it, I didn¡¯t notice it, partly because I was in the air bubble, but upon closer inspection, the air bubble was in the shape of a bear. When I looked up, the ears were there, and behind, the round tail was there. You don¡¯t have to be this obsessed with bears, God.

    I descend to the bottom of theke with Hugging Bear in my arms.

    The [bear light] shines through theke.

    Where is it?

    I think it¡¯s around here.

    I¡¯m searching for the ce where the hooded figure was supposed to have thrown something.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    The Hugging Bear in my arms cried and stretched out its paws.

    I looked in the direction of Hugging Bear¡¯s paws, and something glowed in the illumination of the bear light. I approached slowly.

    ¡°Magic stone?¡± (Yuna)

    At the bottom of theke was a magic stone

    And it¡¯s big.

    ¡°Etto, it was thrown away, so I can pick it up, right?¡± (Yuna)

    I picked up the magic stone.

    It¡¯s about the size of a Kraken¡¯s magic stone.

    ¡°I can have it, right?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    My soliloquy made Hugging Bear cry that could be heard in either direction.

    ¡°You¡¯re my aplice in this.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    I am in theke, so no one would be watching me, but I felt a little guilty, so I scurried around to check my surroundings. I put the magic stone in the bear box and returned to the shore.

    Then I turned off the bear light, took off my bear costume, and hurriedly escaped from the ce, heading straight for the inn.

    When I arrived at the vicinity of the inn, I repatriated Hugging Bear before entering the inn.

    The innkeeper was concerned about myte return, but I exined to him about Noa and went into my room.

    I brought it with me.

    I ced the magic stone on the table, which the hooded figure seemed to have thrown away.

    Illuminated by the light on the ceiling, I could see that the magic stone was green.

    ¡°Oh?¡± (Yuna)

    Is there a magic circle drawn on the magic stone?

    I have no knowledge of how magic circles work.

    I tried to use the [bear¡¯s eye] to see if it could tell me anything, but all it could tell me was that it was a magic stone. It seems that it can¡¯t even tell me about the magic circle.

    I sometimes wish I had the skills to decipher magic circles in these situations.

    There¡¯s no use in asking for something I don¡¯t have.

    But I brought it with me, it¡¯s not really important to the city, right? Actually, it¡¯s possible that the hooded figure didn¡¯t throw it away.

    Hmmm, it¡¯s good that I picked it up, but on the other hand, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep worrying about it.

    Maybe I¡¯ll ask Cereille tomorrow. It could be something needed for thatke, and since she was the daughter of the lord, she might know if this magic stone has something to do with the city. If she doesn¡¯t know, I can ask Cereille¡¯s father.

    That¡¯s what I told myself.

    I put the magic stone with the magic circle on it in the bear box and summoned Hugging Bear.

    Then, I took a bath together with Hugging Bear.

    After the social event, I was sweating quite a bit. With my bear costume, it wasfortable to move around, but with a uniform underneath, it was hot.

    After getting out of the bath, I wore my pr bear costume to rest my tired body from the event.

    Hugging Bear looked happy to see me dressed as a pr bear.

    ¡°We always look the same when it¡¯s bedtime, don¡¯t we?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    I took Hugging Bear in my arms and moved to the bed.

    ¡°Good night, Hugging Bear. Wake me up in the morning.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    I was concerned about the magic stone, but whether it was the fatigue from the event, the sight of the white bear, or the cuddles of Hugging Bear, I soon fell asleep.

    =====

    The next day, Hugging Bear woke me up, and after changing into my uniform, I went to the school to meet Shia and Noa.

    I¡¯m used to changing into my uniform by now.

    After crossing a long bridge, I came to the front of the school and saw Noa and Shia.

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yuna-san, I¡¯m sorry I fell asleepst night.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You were tired from cheering. That¡¯s how hard you worked to support us. So, why are the two of you here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I thought it would be a problem if anyone saw Swaying Bear-chan, so we left early and waited for you, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Apparently, they took that into ount.

    ¡°Thank you so much for lending me Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa returned Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Thank you for escorting Noa, Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    I pat Swaying Bear¡¯s head in gratitude. And then I repatriated him.

    Noa looked a little disappointed, but Noa understood it, so she didn¡¯tin.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get ready to y in theke.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa responded cheerfully to Shia¡¯s words.

    We moved to thekeshore.

    At theke, students already dressed in swimsuits were happily ying.

    ¡°Noa, Yuna-san, I¡¯m going to change over there.¡± (Shia)

    There was a small building at the end of Shia¡¯s line of sight. Was that a changing room?

    ¡°I¡¯m good, you two go and y.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re not going to y?!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I have to talk to Cereille for a while. So I might not be able to y with you. So you should y with your sister. When we go back to Crimonia, you won¡¯t see her again for a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yes, I understand. But when you¡¯re done talking with Cereille-sama, let¡¯s y together.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Shia went to the building to change into their swimsuits.

    I passed the time by watching the students ying on theke until Cereille arrived.

    Lurina told me that they have proper swimsuits. But those were simple swimsuits, not cute ones.

    But still, were they really as old as I am?

    Like a certain part was bigger than the other person. Perhaps they stuffed something in it.

    The students were ying happily, and the fatigue of fighting for two days was a lie.

    Just don¡¯t use water magic to do the sshing.

    Nevertheless, Cereille never showed up.

    Maybe she¡¯s noting or something? If so, could I see her at home? It¡¯s possible that she was somewhere in the academy. When you think about it, I can¡¯t just search for her aimlessly.

    While I was wondering about it, the girl who used wind magic at the match yesterday, came over to me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to y in theke?¡± (Wind Magic GIrl)

    The girl was dressed in a bathing suit, and her body and hair were wet.

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for Cereille,-sama because I have something to ask her.¡± (Yuna)

    Since she seems to adore Cereille, I will mention honorifics since I don¡¯t want her toin about it.

    ¡°Cereille-sama? Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t seen her today. Cereille-sama is not good at this kind of thing, but she always shows her face anyway. I wonder if she has some errands to run? Do you need anything from Cereille-sama?¡± (Wind Magic GIrl)

    ¡°Yeah, kinda.¡± (Yuna)

    I nodded and answered vaguely because I couldn¡¯t tell her about the magic stone.

    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll ask around.¡± (Wind Magic GIrl)

    The girl said so. Then she ran to the girls ying in theke. After talking to the students, she came right back.

    ¡°No one seemed to see her.¡± (Wind Magic GIrl)

    The girl was catching her breath as she told me that.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m going to go over to Cereille-sama¡¯s house then. If Cereille-sama came here, can you tell her I need to talk to her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Wind Magic GIrl)

    After asking the girl, I told Shia and Noa, who were ying at theke, that I am going to Cereille¡¯s ce.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as I¡¯m done with my business, and Noa, you mustn¡¯t leave Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, when youe back, we¡¯ll y together, okay?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If we still have time.¡± (Yuna)

    I refused in a roundabout way.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± (Noa)

    But it seems that it didn¡¯t get through to the pure Noa. At times like this, I felt my heart was dirty.

    I went to Cereille¡¯s house alone.

    When Cereille¡¯s house came into view, the horses jumped out.

    ¡°Cereille?¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille was riding on the galloping horse. But Cereille did not notice me and rode away.

    It was only for a moment, but Cereille had a pained, tensed look on her face.

    Before I could even think about it, I was running after Cereille.

    =====

 Chapter 527

    <h4>Chapter 527</h4>

    Cereille

    -Cereille¡¯s POV-

    The magical exchange meet between the academies of Euphalia and the Royal Capital was over. Normally, I would have been pleased with my good performance, but I was reminded of myck of ability by a girl named Yuna.

    I lost to Yuna with a sword, and with magic. I feel that Yuna and I are fundamentally different. Yuna said she was an adventurer. At first, I didn¡¯t believe her, but after having a match with her, I can believe her.

    !!

    That girl was incredibly strong, which was a far cry from her frail-looking appearance.

    Yuna may have acquired her strength through experience and surviving real battles.

    On the other hand, I have no experience risking my life in actualbat.

    Yuna was an adventurer; I believe she had been fighting monsters while her life was in danger. Yuna, who kept gaining experience under pressure, and I, who have practiced in the safety of a lukewarm environment, have a vast difference in experience even in the same time frame.

    But I have done everything I can to be strong from the day my mother died until today.

    So, to deny what I have been doing till now, there¡¯s no way I can.

    Yuna is Yuna. I am me

    Even Yuna must have worked hard to be an adventurer at that age and to develop her abilities. She must have gone through hardships in a different way than I did.

    And she doesn¡¯t seem to be aiming to be the best.

    When the man who killed my mother appears before me, I hope I can defeat him. I have learned sword and magic only for that purpose. I don¡¯t care if I lose to Yuna. It¡¯s already good for me if I can defeat the man who killed my mother.

    That¡¯s what I keep telling myself.

    In two days, I will celebrate my 16th birthday. If that was not a dream, the man who killed my mother will appear. Everything will be settled on my birthday. That is why I have worked so hard until today.

    But what would happen to me if the man who killed my mother doesn¡¯t show up? If he doesn¡¯t show up, I would lose my goal. That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of now.

    In my mind, I am torn between wanting the man who killed my mother to show up and want him not to show up and for this peace to continue.

    Which am I hoping for?

    The answer to that question is bing less and less clear as my birthday approaches.

    The fatigue from the event caught up, and I copsed on my bed and immediately fell asleep.

    I woke up the next day.

    Today everyone was going to y at theke in order to get to know each other better as students.

    I don¡¯t like noisy environments, but this was part of the exchange meet. I have to participate. In any case, it might be a good idea to have a spar with Yuna. Yuna also said she doesn¡¯t like noisy environments, so let¡¯s ask her.

    At that time, it would be good to ask Yuna¡¯s strength secret.

    I would like to hear Yuna talk about how she became an adventurer at her age and how she acquired her powers.

    As I was changing into my uniform, there was a knock at the door. I gave permission to enter, and Colette, the maid, entered.

    ¡°Good morning, Cereille-sama.¡± (Colette)

    ¡°Good morning.¡± (Cereille)

    Colette looks around the room.

    ¡°Is Keith-sama here?¡± (Colette)

    She asked about my younger brother Keith.

    ¡°He didn¡¯te to my room. What¡¯s up with Keith?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t see Keith-sama, so I thought he might be here.¡± (Colette)

    She said Keith was not in the mansion.

    ¡°Is he not taking a walk in the garden?¡± (Cereille)

    Sometimes he takes a walk in the morning.

    ¡°Well, I had thought about that earlier, so I checked the garden, but I didn¡¯t see him there either.¡± (Colette)

    Then there¡¯s the possibility of missing each other, like in the bathroom, because this mansion was so big.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look in the room again, and if he¡¯s not there, I¡¯ll look elsewhere.¡± (Colette)

    Colette bowed her head and walked out of the room.

    I fixed my hair in front of the mirror and went to the dining room.

    Father was not present. We often eat separately. I finished breakfast alone, and as I walked down the hallway to return to my room, I saw the servants looking for Keith.

    Apparently, he hasn¡¯t been found yet.

    He sometimes hides, but hees out when I call him and I¡¯ve never failed to find him.

    Moreover, he¡¯s not a child who would cause so much trouble.

    Ah, but it reminded me of the time Keith was hiding after he wet his bed a long time ago.

    Did he wet his bed again, by any chance?

    I went to Keith¡¯s room.

    There¡¯s no one in the room.

    He doesn¡¯t seem to be hiding because he wet his bed.

    Really, where did he go?

    ¡°Keith-sama, are you here?¡± (Colette)

    Collette came in.

    But when she saw my face, she got dejected.

    ¡°Cerreille-sama?¡± (Colette)

    ¡°Still can¡¯t find him? (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re looking for him as hard as we can.¡± (Colette)

    ¡°Did he change his clothes?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t seem to have changed his clothes.¡± (Colette)

    If he hasn¡¯t changed his clothes, then that¡¯s weird.

    ¡°What about father?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°When I informed him earlier that we could not locate Keith-sama, he told the servants, all of us, to search for him.¡± (Colette)

    So everyone was looking for Keith.

    Gradually, I was bing anxious.

    ¡°You searched the garden, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Colette)

    ¡°Is it possible that he went out?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°He¡¯s still in his nightwear. Right now we are splitting up and checking the mansion.¡± (Colette)

    If he hasn¡¯t changed his clothes, there¡¯s no way he¡¯s going outside.

    Then, he got kidnapped?

    Such words came to my mind.

    After thinking about that, my body trembled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you look for him.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t you need to go to school?¡± (Colette)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s important right now. We don¡¯t know where Keith is. I hope he is just hiding somewhere, but he may be in danger. Tell the others to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll tell everyone.¡± (Colette)

    The search for Keith begins.

    We searched every room, the garden, the tree tops, the warehouse, the carriage house, every nook, and cranny.

    As time goes by, we get impatient. No matter how much we search, we can¡¯t find Keith.

    Father was starting to panic.

    There was no indication that he had left the house. In the first ce, it was hard to believe that he would go out alone in his pajamas. And yet, he was nowhere to be found in the mansion.

    Father instructed me to go outside to look for him. I went back to my room and prepared to look for him.

    ¡°Where did he really go?¡± (Cereille)

    I noticed a rolled paper on my desk.

    I don¡¯t recall leaving a paper out on my desk.

    I held the rolled paper in my hand. Nothing was written on it. I unrolled the paper.

    My hands were solidified.

    ¡°I have your brother, Keith-sama, in my custody. I will wait for you east of the city of Euphalia. Pleasee alone. If you tell anyone, your brother Keith-sama will die. -The man who killed your mother.¡±

    The body began to tremble.

    I took a deep breath to calm myself.

    He appeared.

    It wasn¡¯t a dream.

    The person who killed my mother showed up. Moreover, he kidnapped my little brother.

    It reminded me of what he said at that time when my mother was killed.

    ¡°If you tell others, your sweet little brother might end up just like his mother.¡±

    The words of the person who killed my mother. They¡¯re not empty threats. My mother was murdered in front of me.

    I remembered the feeling of the man¡¯s hands with my mother¡¯s blood on them at that time.

    My body trembled. I pped my cheeks.

    Don¡¯t run away. What have you been working so hard for?

    I tell myself.

    There was only so much I could do. If I told anyone, Keith would be killed. If it were just me, even if I lost, I would be the only one to die. But Keith was kidnapped.

    Keith¡¯s facees to mind. My precious little brother.

    I have to save him.

    I took out a book from the bookshelf.

    Inside the book was a letter addressed to my father.

    I wrote it down for this moment. I may die this time.

    If I don¡¯te back, Colette would notice the book that I left out.

    I checked the item bag. There¡¯s a sword in it. Not for practice, but for killing people. I have never killed anyone before.

    But now, I have to go kill him.

    If I go and try to kill him, there¡¯s a possibility that he will try to kill me too.

    If my father knew about this, he would scold me for not telling him.

    If Ie back alive, I will ept your scolding, so please forgive me for now.

    I clutched the paper and left the room. Pretending to be looking for Keith, I walked down the hallway and out of the house. I went straight for the stable and got on my horse. I left the stable after making sure no one was there, and jumped out of the gate.

    I made the horse run through the city.

    I rode down the central boulevard and came all the way to the gate.

    The gatekeeper was surprised to see me, but I smiled so as not to arouse suspicion.

    When I got out of the city, I rode my horse toward the east as written on the paper.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This leads us to the Cereille that Yuna saw previously.

 Chapter 528

    Chapter 528

    Bear-san, Listens To Cereille¡¯s Story

    I was curious about the expression on Cereille¡¯s face, so I followed her. Cereille rode her horse, and she kept galloping on as we left the city.

    I followed her to the outskirts of the town, then I summoned Swaying Bear, and hopped on.

    !!

    ¡°Swaying Bear. We¡¯re chasing after Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear replied and started running, chasing after Cereille, who was still galloping in front of us.

    I¡¯m trailing her, but I don¡¯t know what to do next.

    Should I call out to her? Should I just keep quiet and chase after her? I¡¯m worried about the expression on Cereille¡¯s face.

    Cereille did not stop; she only focused on riding her horse.

    Swaying Bear could easily catch up with her, but it¡¯s hard to talk to her with that solemn expression on her face.

    She didn¡¯t kill someone, and now she¡¯s fleeing, did she?

    On the contrary, it looked like someone was going to kill her.

    Either way, it was an expression that was not like Cereille.

    While I was wondering what to do, Swaying Bear cried, ¡®Kuu~n¡¯.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cried once more.

    This cry. Was it a monster?!

    I immediately tried to use my detection skills, but I couldn¡¯t.

    That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not wearing my bear costume right now, but my school uniform. I cannot use my bear detection skills if I am not dressed as a bear.

    Beads of sweat ran down my face.

    I¡¯ve fought in matches with people without my bear equipment, but not monsters. Whether it was a school festival match or a social event, there were rules, and people were watching.

    But fighting monsters was different¡ªmany monsters attack when they see people. However, just because they were dangerous doesn¡¯t mean I will stop.

    I¡¯m equipped with bear gloves and bear shoes, so if I fight them normally, I can win. But there was a possibility that they would attack me from a blind spot. Still, if I was wearing the full set of my bear equipment, I would be unharmed even if I was attacked. However, without the rest of the set, I could get injured and even die. Such thoughtse to my mind.

    Once again, I felt a sense of crisis about not being in my bear suit.

    I once considered changing into my bear equipment, but the few minutes I spent changing would widen the distance between me and Cereille, who was riding on a horse.

    Then, should I stop Cereille and change?

    But then, I will have to decide whether or not to call on Cereille.

    I¡¯m worried, so I¡¯ll call out to her.

    If we go on like this, it would be dangerous for both me and Cereille.

    ¡°Swaying Bear. Close the distance.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear responded and elerated to approach the horse that Cereille was riding.

    ¡°Cereille!¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to her, Cereille gave me a surprised look.

    ¡°Yuna!?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille hurriedly stopped her horse.

    She didn¡¯t notice me until I approached her.

    ¡°Why are you here, Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I saw you dashing out on your horse with a serious look on your face, so I went after you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Did I look that serious?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It was like you were going to kill someone.¡± (Yuna)

    I said jokingly.

    But Cereille didn¡¯tugh at my joke.

    Cereille spread her hands and pped her cheeks hard.

    A loud pping sound echoed.

    ¡°I am sorry for worrying you, Yuna. There is nothing to worry about. And if possible, please do not tell anyone that I am here.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I won¡¯t do that, Cereille. I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re headed, but it looks like there are monsters up ahead.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Monsters¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Are you going to defeat those monsters, by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Yuna, you know that there are monsters ahead?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°This child tells me whenever there are monsters nearby.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroke Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    ¡°Yuna, you understand what the bear is saying?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I understand. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear because they are my precious family.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Precious family? Yuna, can I ask you a question?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked a question after her expression seemed to rx.

    ¡°Yuna, would you risk your life for that precious family of yours?¡± (Cereille)

    I looked at Swaying Bear.

    My precious family. I would risk everything if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were in danger.

    ¡°Can you go to ces where it might be dangerous?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at me with serious eyes.

    Dangerous ces. With my bear equipment, I can safely go to dangerous ces. But that¡¯s not what Cereille was trying to say.

    Danger, to me, represents when I am without my bear equipment. Without it, I am helpless. She¡¯s asking if I¡¯m willing to risk my life in that situation.

    ¡°I will go and save them, but ¡­¡± (Yuna)

    If I have my bear equipment, I can say, ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to save them¡±. But if I don¡¯t have it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the confidence to say, ¡°I will definitelye to save them¡±. I don¡¯t know until the timees.

    This fact made me realize once again that I am truly helpless without my bear equipment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I asked a weird question.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No. That¡¯s fine, but did something happen to your family, perhaps?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille took her gaze away from me and went silent as if trying to escape from my question.

    ¡°Yuna, please head back to the city.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille tried to make me go back to the city.

    But I couldn¡¯t leave Cereille alone in this state and go home.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back without you, Cereille. If you¡¯re going somewhere, you¡¯ll need to have an escort or something, otherwise, it¡¯ll be dangerous. Cereille, you told Noa, right? Since you are a noble, you need to understand your position as one. As a daughter of a noble family, do you consider your position if you go alone to a ce where there are monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s what Cereille said when she tried to take the duty of escorting Noa from me.

    And that is what Cereille is breaking now.

    Cereille grits her teeth hard and seems to be struggling with something.

    ¡°I have said those things, haven¡¯t I? Though there is no falsehood in those words. Still, I am not only a daughter of a nobleman, but I am also his elder sister. So I must go.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked ahead.

    She has no intention of going back to the city.

    I don¡¯t know, but something must have happened to Cereille. I can¡¯t leave her alone here.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be your escort this time, Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Because, you know, nobles need escorts.¡± (Yuna)

    If I change into my bear equipment, I should be able to handle a little danger.

    It¡¯s embarrassing to change into my bear costume in front of Cereille, but I can¡¯t even say that. Besides, she already saw me once, and I usually wear it, so it¡¯s toote now.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You already know how strong I am, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand, even envy, how strong you are, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    Then there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna. I¡¯m very happy with your offer.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille said happily. But the next moment, her expression changed and she shook her head.

    ¡°But it¡¯s not good. I have to go alone.¡± (Cereille)

    There¡¯s no doubt. Something definitely happened to her family.

    Her mother was already dead, so how about her father or younger brother?

    Or it could be grandparents or rtives.

    ¡°Cereille, talk to me. I can help you.¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille stared at me and opened her heavy mouth.

    It seems that her younger brother was kidnapped.

    There was a note from the kidnapper, and it instructed that Cereille had toe alone.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, Yuna, please head back.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I can¡¯t let you go alone after hearing what you said, Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille¡¯s brother, with whom I shared that meal, was kidnapped. We didn¡¯t have much of a conversation, but we did say hello to each other. I think his name was Keith.

    He looked embarrassed when looked at Noa and me.

    If anything happened to the boy, it would leave a bad aftertaste. I couldn¡¯t let Cereille go alone to the person who kidnapped her brother.

    If anything happened to the two of them, it would be the worst feeling I¡¯ve ever had.

    I¡¯d definitely regret that I didn¡¯t follow along with Cereille at that time.

    ¡°The man who kidnapped my brother also killed my mother. There is no guarantee that we¡¯ll get out of there alive. It¡¯s dangerous. So please, Yuna, go back to the city.¡± (Cereille)

    I think I heard from Shia that Cereille¡¯s mother was killed.

    The man who kidnapped her brother. When talking about how dangerous he was, he¡¯s extremely dangerous. That¡¯s why she asked me earlier if I could go somewhere dangerous for the sake of my family.

    ¡°The letter said that I shoulde alone. I don¡¯t know what will happen to my brother if I don¡¯t go alone. So, I¡¯ll just take your feelings. Yuna, don¡¯t worry. And thank you for your concern.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille rejected my help.

    And when I thought that I would just have to hide and follow her, Swaying Bear cried, ¡®Kuu~n¡¯.

    I look behind Cereille.

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s toote to go back now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was wondering why you arete. Ceraille-sama, you have made a mistake in your promise.¡± (Man)

    A hooded, suspicious figure appeared from behind a tree.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Yuna can¡¯t use her bear detection skills because she doesn¡¯t wear a bear costume.

    This is the first time it was ever mentioned.

    [Notice] In celebration of the 4th anniversary of the first issue of Pash! Books, we are pleased to announce that through the following:

    Animate Bookstore

    Amazon, Kindle

    Comic Seymour

    DMM

    Kinokuniya Kinoppy

    BOOK¡îWALKER

    You can read all the contents (including newly written material) for free for a limited time (until 2/21).

    [Notice] The second volume of theic is scheduled to be released on 2/22. The stories posted on Comic Pash and Nico Nico Manga will be deleted in the near future. Please be aware of this. We hope you will read them before they are deleted.

    [Notice] An illustration of Yuna, a store bonus drawn by Sergei-sensei on Twitter and the website of Comic PASH! (¤»¤ë¤²¤¤ÏÈÉú)

    Please take a look at it as well.

 Chapter 529

    <h4>Chapter 529</h4>

    Bear-san, Obediently Complies

    I was talking to Cereille and missed the timing to change into my bear suit.

    The hooded figure walked toward us.

    Considering the words directed at Cereille earlier and the direction in which he appeared, this hooded, suspicious man was the one Cereille after, the one who kidnapped her brother Keith.

    And you can tell from his voice that he¡¯s a man.

    !!

    But I have a feeling I have seen this hooded person somewhere before.

    Where was it?

    The nagging feeling stuck in the back of my head, but I can¡¯t recall.

    ¡°Who is the youngdy with that bear? I should have written that you shoulde alone, but it seems different from the letter.¡± (Man)

    The hooded man looked at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at me and gave me a troubled look.

    ¡°Does that mean I can break my promise too?¡± (Man)

    The manughed and asked Cereille.

    Cereille tried to say something, but she swallowed her words. So I answered the hooded man¡¯s words instead.

    ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Cereille. I saw her running out of the city alone in a hurry, so I chased after her. I didn¡¯t know why she left the city alone, came here, or was going to meet someone. So it¡¯s not like Cereille broke her promise.¡± (Yuna)

    I knew nothing when I left the city, so I¡¯m not lying.

    I only heard about it a few minutes ago.

    ¡°Well, fine. One more student is not a problem. And it¡¯s my first reunion with Cereille-sama in 10 years. I¡¯m open-minded, I¡¯ll forgive it.¡± (Man)

    He is wearing a hood, but I can see the mouth of a smiling man.

    Swaying Bear is also here. I wanted to say something, but I stopped myself.

    ¡°Ten years. Then, I knew it, you killed my mother.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked as she squeezed her voice out.

    ¡°Yeah, I am the man who killed your mother.¡± (Man)

    The man said and took the hood off himself. The face of a man in histe thirties emerges from under the hood. His face was emaciated.

    ¡°You were so young that you would not remember my face.¡± (Man)

    ¡°I do not remember your face, but I remember thatughing mouth. And the unpleasantness when you touched me with your bloody hands after you killed my mother.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Fufu, that would be an honor.¡± (Man)

    The man sarcastically smiled at Cereille¡¯s words.

    Cereille noticeably tightened her fist.

    ¡°So, is Keith safe?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°He¡¯s alive. For now. Although, what happens in the future is up to you.¡± (Man)

    The manughed.

    Now, I think it would be easy to beat the guy here, seize him right here and now, and get him to tell us about Keith. But that doesn¡¯t mean this guy doesn¡¯t have friends.

    Without knowing Keith¡¯s current situation, messing with him here is not a good idea. I guess he knows that, and Cereille was holding back.

    You can tell by the look on Cereille¡¯s face and her clenched hand.

    ¡°Where is Keith? I¡¯vee as promised, so please return Keith.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Was that the promise?¡­¡­¡± (Man)

    The man turned his gaze on me.

    ¡°You said it was no problem.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I was joking. I will take you to your brother to give him back to you. But I will have to ask her toe along as well.¡± (Man)

    I thought of changing into a bear costume and going ahead if he let me go, but it seems useless.

    If only I had any acting ability, I could have cried and said, ¡°Please help me¡±, ¡°I have nothing to do with this¡±, or ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone, so please let me go¡±.

    But, unfortunately, my acting sucks, and I¡¯m notfortable with saying weak words anyway. Also, it¡¯s embarrassing.

    ¡°She has nothing to do with this! I¡¯m the only one you wanted!¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille tried to send me back, even if I¡¯m not involved.

    ¡°Well certainly, she¡¯s irrelevant. But it¡¯s your fault that she knows about all of this. Besides, if she reported this to the city guards, I would be in a lot of trouble. Now then, will you abandon Cereille-sama and run away, Cereille¡¯s-sama friend?¡± (Man)

    The man emphasized the ¡°abandon¡± and ¡°friend¡± parts and gave me a nasty smile.

    But I could kinda grasp the situation.

    The man who killed Cereille¡¯s mother showed up, kidnapped her brother, and called Cereille.

    What I didn¡¯t understand was why did he call Cereille?

    From the way Cereille talks, it sounds like she was with her mother when she was killed. 10 years ago, Cereille was very young. It was hard to believe that the young Cereille would hold a grudge against a man.

    And why, now, after 10 years?

    Currently, there¡¯s not enough information. Either way, my actions will not change.

    Whatever the reason, I need to protect Cereille, beat the guy, and save Keith. That¡¯s all.

    But it¡¯s not a good idea to offend the man now.

    ¡°I understand. I shall go with you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna!?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was surprised at my words.

    If I wanted to escape, I could always do so because I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But if I escape now, I don¡¯t know what will happen to Cereille and Keith. Then, I should stick with them for a while. As long as I knew where Keith was, I could handle it. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that I¡¯m not wearing my bear costume.

    Well, if pushes to shove, I can always wear it over the uniform if I want to.

    ¡°It¡¯s a big help that she¡¯s a very understanding youngdy.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Yuna¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Cereille. I¡¯ll go with you. If I run away here, I won¡¯t know what will happen to you and your brother now, will I?¡± (Yuna)

    Well, if he wants me to follow, I¡¯ll just keep up for a while.

    ¡°Thank you for being so understanding. If you had escaped, I would have had to kill her brother.¡± (Man)

    The man said kill easily. If he really killed Cereille¡¯s mother, he could do it.

    But if what the man said is true, it means Keith is still alive. If he is somewhat injured, he can be healed, so as long as he¡¯s alive, there is a chance to rescue him. So, as long as there is no danger, I will follow the man.

    ¡°Where is Keith then?¡±

    ¡°A short distance from here. He is safe for now, although what will happen to him depends on what you do.¡± (Man)

    The man gave a creepy smile.

    Oh, I want to pulverize that ridiculous face.

    Both the mockingughter and the attitude are irritating, and it¡¯s probably the confidence of knowing that he has the upper hand.

    I want to hit him so badly, but I hold it in now, and be patient.

    People are tolerant creatures.

    I clenched my fists and tried to put up with it.

    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s amazing that a youngdy like you has a bear.¡± (Man)

    The man looked at Swaying Bear beside me curiously.

    I am probably the only person who rides a bear instead of a horse.

    ¡°He¡¯s my precious family.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, you will have to say goodbye to that family of yours.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to kill him?¡± (Yuna)

    I stared at the man.

    ¡°I am a gentleman. I would never do such a terrible thing in front of youdies. Now then¡­¡± (Man)

    He said it as if implying something.

    ¡°However, I don¡¯t want you to get on it and run away, so we¡¯ll walk from here. If you tie the horse and the bear to a tree there or something, that¡¯s fine. If you refuse, I will take care of them here.¡± (Man)

    The man created fire magic in his right hand.

    Swaying Bear would be fine, but not Cereille¡¯s horse.

    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sorry, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille apologized. But it wasn¡¯t her fault.

    Cereille used the horse reins as rope and tied them around the tree so it wouldn¡¯t run away. I took out a rope, attached it to Swaying Bear¡¯s neck, and tied it around the tree as if I were imitating her. I tried to make it look like that.

    ¡°Swaying Bear. I¡¯m sorry, just bear with it a little.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cried sadly.

    But only a little.

    ¡°There, satisfied?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a really quiet bear. If I had more time, I would like to check it out, but sadly, I don¡¯t, so I¡¯ll give up for now. Let¡¯s go to your brother now, shall we? Please follow me.¡± (Man)

    Perhaps satisfied with our actions, the man turned his back on us and started to walk ahead.

    ¡°Oh, and please don¡¯t attack me from behind. If anything should happen to me, your brother will not survive.¡± (Man)

    ¡°I understand, quickly guide us to my brother. Please .¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looks frustrated, and yet she still walks behind the man. I¡¯m at the furthest of the group, but I quickly repatriated Swaying Bear and followed behind them as if nothing had happened.

    It was instantaneous, so the two walking in front of me were unaware that I had already repatriated Swaying Bear.

    Now then, what¡¯s going to happen from here?

    If I could use my detection skills, I could locate Keith, but since I¡¯m in uniform, I cannot use it. Furthermore, there¡¯s a possibility that monsters could be nearby, so I have to be careful.

    Honestly, this situation made me appreciate the bear costume, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear even more.

    However, I¡¯ve been saying many times before, why didn¡¯t you give me the skills and power to do this myself?

    I wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer this hardship, otherwise.

    For now, I will take action only after we ensure Keith¡¯s safety.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    [Notice of postponement] Due to various circumstances, we have decided to postpone the release of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Volume 12, which was scheduled to be released on March 29. Volume 12 will be released on April 26. I¡¯m sorry for the readers who were looking forward to it. And thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter 530

    <h4>Chapter 530</h4>

    Bear-san, Gets Angry

    We walked gently uphill.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuna. I got you involved in this mess.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not your fault, Cereille. That guy is bad news.¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    He kidnapped Cereille¡¯s brother, Keith, and also killed Cereille¡¯s mother in the past. For all intents and purposes, the man walking in front of us was the real culprit to be med.

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Besides, I can protect myself, so you only have to look out for yourself and Keith.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re strong, Yuna. But it is my fault that I got you involved in what happened. I should have been a little more aware of my surroundings before leaving the city.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille had a strong sense of responsibility. She felt guilty for involving me into this. Besides, her brother Keith was kidnapped. It¡¯ll be harsh to ask her to keep her calm.

    ¡°I can assure you, Yuna, that both you and Keith will return home safely, even if it costs me my life.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille seemed willing to sacrifice herself to protect Keith and me. Of course, I have no intention of letting her do that. If Cereille sacrifices herself to save me, I will have to live with the guilt of letting her die for the rest of my life. I don¡¯t want that.

    ¡°I like hearing your conversation, but make sure you follow me. If you try something like running away, well, I don¡¯t have to tell you what would happen, do I?¡± (Man)

    Perhaps thinking we can¡¯t do anything, the man didn¡¯t even turn around.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to feel that much of a crisis? We may attack from behind, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but Cereille-sama would never do such a reckless thing for her brother. Even if you tried to attack me, I am sure she would stop you.¡± (Man)

    He says it as if he knows everything about Cereille.

    ¡°I might not listen to Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t care what happens to her brother, do you? Cereille-sama, you should choose your friends properly.¡± (Man)

    The way he said it was annoying.

    ¡°You can rest assured that you will not be touched by Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Fufu, Cereille-sama seems to understand the current situation better than that youngdy.¡± (Man)

    Yeah, I understand what will be of youter better than anyone.

    ¡°We won¡¯t attack or run away, but since we are just walking, why don¡¯t you answer my questions?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°What would that be?¡± (Man)

    ¡°You killed my mother, but why did you do it? Did she do something to you? Did something happen between you and my mother?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked the man walking in front of her.

    ¡°I have known your mother since we were students. Your mother was a beautiful woman who was kind to everyone. I was also attracted to her. I confessed my love to her when we graduated from school. But she did not ept my love. Your mother had stepped on my goodwill. I have loved her since I was a student, but she married a man who only had money.¡± (Man)

    The man exined while making big gestures.

    ¡°No way, that¡¯s the only reason you killed my mother?!¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was gritting her teeth. Her hands were shaking with frustration.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good enough reason. She rejected my love and trampled on it. However, as kind-hearted as I am, I waited for a few years, but her reply was the same. That¡¯s why I killed her. She refused. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s terrible for me?¡± (Man)

    The man turned around and asked for our agreement. His face was as if to say that he was not in the wrong.

    Sorry, but I don¡¯t agree with you at all.

    Even the other party has the right to choose. An ordinary woman would choose Cereille¡¯s father over this man.

    He was an aristocrat, had money, seemed kind, and would be the perfect marriage candidate from a woman¡¯s point of view.

    Comparing him to this man in front of me is wrong on so many levels.

    If the nobleman we¡¯re talking about had a bad character and had a toad face, like the aristocrat who kidnapped Misa, then people could say that she married him for his money. However, the reality is that it¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s simply jealousy and recrimination.

    But I can see from the man¡¯s grudge expression, in his delusion, he felt that he was betrayed.

    This is worse than I thought. There is no one more difficult to have a conversation with than someone who does not understand the world¡¯smon sense.

    I have never been in a rtionship, but there¡¯s no way I would kill someone just because I was rejected. However, there are stalkers in this world who, like a person they are very attached to. They do one-time favors, and when they are rejected, they go crazy and kill people. Even in my former world, there¡¯s such news.

    Personally, I think it would be more fun to y games, instead of having time for such sticky situations. Even in this world, there are many fun things to do if you look for them. Love is not the only fun thing. And if you get rejected, you can search for a new love.

    But perhaps I can say this because I have never been in a rtionship. Only the person who has been rejected can understand such feelings.

    Even so, that¡¯s not a reason to kill or bind people.

    ¡°You are insane. You killed my mother just because she rejected you?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille, who was listening to the man¡¯s story, said to the man in a squeezed voice.

    Cereille was frustrated when she learned why her mother was killed. She furiously looked at the man, but could not do more because her brother Keith was being held somewhere.

    ¡°So you killed the mother because you got dumped, then what are you going to do with the daughter, Cereille? Are you going to kill Cereille, too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kill Cereille-sama? No way¡± (Man)

    The manughed at my words.

    ¡°I would never kill her. Cereille-sama has grown up so beautifully. It reminds me of those school days. Cereille-sama will marry me.¡± (Man)

    ¡°¡­¡­Marry?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°The time has finallye for you to be united with me.¡± (Man)

    The manughs. He¡¯s totally crazy.

    Could it be that this man has been waiting for Cereille to grow up since the time he killed her mother?

    Just imagining it makes me sick. I am sure that Cereille, to whom this proposal was directed to, would feel even more ufortable than I am.

    ¡°I am not my mother. I am Cereille.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, you look exactly alike. Your looks and that resolute attitude. And you have the same kindness as your mother, such kindness that can never be ruthless.¡± (Man)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to marry you. I¡¯d rather go to the same ce as my mother than marry you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°With your brother?¡± (Man)

    ¡°!?¡± (Cereille)

    So that¡¯s what the hostage Keith is for?

    ¡°You are despicable.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it as apliment.¡± (Man)

    The manughs.

    ¡°Moreover, you and I are in love, aren¡¯t we? We think about each other every day. We have lived our lives thinking of one another.¡± (Man)

    ¡°It is to avenge my mother if you show up.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°And yet you still thought of me. From the time your mother was killed, you¡¯ve thought of me. From the time you were a child, every time you wield your sword you¡¯re thinking of only me, and you also learned magic while thinking of me. Even if it was out of hatred, even if it was to kill me, I was always in your heart. Just the thought of it gives me such joy.¡± (Man)

    The man spoke zealously.

    But it¡¯s unpleasant to hear.

    It¡¯s totally insane. He¡¯s been watching her from somewhere for 10 years. Just imagining it makes me nauseous.

    So Cereille knew from an early age that the man who killed her mother would appear, and she honed her sword skills and learned magic. That¡¯s a long time. I can¡¯t even imagine.

    ¡°So you kidnapped Keith to ckmail Cereille into marrying you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Personally, no. I¡¯m just trying to make her brother happy with us. Well, if she refuses though, I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡± (Man)

    That¡¯s called ckmail.

    Ah, I¡¯m pissed off, I¡¯m sick of this, I feel terrible. It would make me feel better if only I could save Keith and pulverize this guy.

    But Cereille, to whom these feelings were directed at, would be even more ufortable than I was. Being beautiful also has problems such as attracting weird people. On that note, I¡¯m¡­

    Well, let¡¯s not think about it. It makes me feel empty.

    ¡°Cereille, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± (Cereille)

    You don¡¯t look fine. You look pale.

    ¡°I have never been so displeased. I feel sick, angry, and sad for my mother who was killed unreasonably. I feel like my mind is being jumbled up with all sorts of emotions.¡± (Cereille)

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped. If this man¡¯s feelings were directed at me, I would have hit him as fast as I could. The thought of Tirumina-san being killed and Fina being kidnapped makes me so angry.

    I might explode.

    As I worry about Cereille, the man stops walking.

    ¡°We arrived.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Where is Keith!?¡± (Cereille)

    There¡¯s no sign of Keith anywhere.

    I try to use my detection skills to check his whereabouts. But the screen did not appear.

    Right, I can¡¯t use it.

    I can¡¯t get rid of my habit. Whenever I try to find something out, I habitually check it with detection skills and my bear map.

    This makes me realize how much I have relied on my bear equipment.

    ¡°He¡¯s right over there.¡± (Man)

    The man pointed ahead.

    Cereille ran over in that direction. I chased after her.

    There was an unbelievable scene.

    We have been walking gently uphill. But that location was even higher.

    ¡°Monsters¡­¡± (Yuna)

    There were hills beyond our line of sight, and many wolves and other monsters gathered. Their number might even exceed a thousand.

    A child wasid in the center of that horde.

    ¡°Keith!¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille shouts.

    Keith was lying in the center of that monster horde.

    =====

 Chapter 531

    <h4>Chapter 531</h4>

    Bear-san, Getting Ready

    Cereille shouts Keith¡¯s name. But Keith, who is lying in the distance, doesn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Is Keith alive!?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°He is still alive. If he was dead, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep my promise to Cereille-sama.¡± (Man)

    !!

    If I could use my detection skills, I would be able to confirm if he was alive or not, but since I am not wearing my bear costume, I can¡¯t use it. It¡¯s really inconvenient.

    ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t it a wonderful sight?¡± (Man)

    The man spreads out his arms to present us with the spectacle of a horde of monsters.

    There are wolves, tiger wolves, goblins, and even orcs as far as the eye can see.

    But why aren¡¯t those monsters attacking Keith?

    ¡°How did you get all these monsters?¡± (Cereille)

    The man looked thrilled at Cereille¡¯s question and began to exin.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I, who your mother had mistreated, met a man a short timeter. The man said he was a mage who served in the castle. But he had been kicked out of the castle by the king and studied various things to take revenge on the king. As one who shares the same desire for revenge, I got along with the man, and we decided to study together. Finally, we were able to control monsters at will.¡± (Man)

    Revenge on the king. Manipting monsters. Some interesting words came out.

    ¡°There is no way you can control a monster.¡± (Cereille)

    I know of a case of someone manipting monsters.

    I¡¯ve never met him, but there was someone who collected monsters.

    ¡°Is that so? Incidentally, Cereille-sama, your younger brother is in the middle of a monster horde, but he¡¯s not being attacked? Why? Because I¡¯m ordering them not to.¡± (Man)

    The man was right. With all those monsters, they just walk around Keith, and no one tries to attack him. It¡¯s not that the monsters were friendly to Keith. Even from a distance, you can see that the monsters were about to pounce on Keith at any moment. They¡¯re like ravenous beasts that were holding back on their food.

    ¡°Still, if you don¡¯t believe me, why don¡¯t you let me attack your brother for a test? Like ripping off an arm or two.¡± (Man)

    The manughed and asked Cereille.

    ¡°I believe you, so please don¡¯t do it.¡± (Cereille)

    Even if she doesn¡¯t believe it, she cannot simply say, ¡°Do it,¡± because Keith¡¯s life is at stake.

    ¡°So what are you going to do with all these monsters? Is Keith not enough for intimidation?¡± (Cereille)

    I felt that there¡¯s no reason to collect these monsters in the first ce. Cereille¡¯s mother, whom she¡¯s avenging, has already been killed by this man. Conversely, that man¡¯s weird notion of ¡®revenge¡¯ against Cereille, or her mother, was already over to begin with.

    ¡°The role of the monsters? To destroy the city ruled by the man who took her from me.¡± (Man)

    So his target was Cereille¡¯s father all along.

    Indeed, from that person¡¯s perspective; Cereille¡¯s father was the one who took Cereille¡¯s mother away from the man.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what you promised. The inhabitants of the city shouldn¡¯t be involved.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°The promise is the life of your brother. I have never mentioned anything about the inhabitants of that city.¡± (Man)

    That¡¯s how he does things. He didn¡¯t mention the residents, so he made no promises about ¨ªt.

    ¡°How many inhabitants will die now that there are no adventurers, I wonder?¡± (Man)

    ¡°No adventurers?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille repeated the man¡¯s words.

    ¡°Fufu, Miss Cereille-sama, don¡¯t you know that there are few adventurers in the city.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Cereille. There are no monsters in the vicinity of this city, so the adventurers left.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that true?¡± (Cereille)

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t know about the situation in the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    ¡°No doubt, I¡¯ve heard it from the Adventurers Guild.¡± (Yuna)

    I was told that in the past few years, at this time of the year, adventurers would go to other cities to work because of theck of monsters.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite informed, youngdy. Now that there are no adventurers, it is easy to cause damage to the city. There aren¡¯t many adventurers and soldiers in a city this small, to begin with. These monsters should be enough.¡± (Man)

    ¡°You mean you¡¯re the reason for theck of monsters during this time of the year?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re young, but you are quick-witted. That¡¯s right. I live far away from the city to study monsters. Sometimes I go to the city, and whenever it¡¯s nearly Cereille-sama¡¯s birthday, I observe her. I also practice controlling monsters while I¡¯m at it.¡± (Man)

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why every year around this time, there are no monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, it may have been a coincidence. But it may also be God¡¯s way of arranging for me and Cereille-sama to be together.¡± (Man)

    That god doesn¡¯t exist¡ªonly a perverted god who enjoys dressing up weak girls as bears.

    ¡°But the city is walled, so wolves and goblins can¡¯t get in.¡± (Yuna)

    No monsters can easily enter. That¡¯s what the wall was for. Unless it was a flying monster, they can¡¯t enter the city.

    At my question, the man looked up, amused.

    ¡°Fufu, look at the sky.¡± (Man)

    Cereille and I looked at the sky.

    ¡°¡­Wyverns.¡± (Yuna)

    Three wyverns were flying in the sky.

    ¡°As soon as the wyverns break down the gates, the city is finished.¡± (Man)

    He has the same method as the guy in the royal capital.

    There were wyverns at that time, too. However, because they were sleeping, I was able to subjugate them easily. But I had also fought a significant number of wyverns on Targui and in the Land of Harmony recently. It feels underwhelming now.

    And he only has three of them. Or does he also have a hidden trump card? Like the worm during the incident in the royal capital?

    Well, if he has one, I¡¯ll just burn it from the inside out with an army of ming bears.

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What is it, youngdy?¡± (Man)

    Even if I¡¯m the one talking to him, he¡¯s feeling so good that he would reply with a smile.

    ¡°What happened to the man who tried to take revenge on the king?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, fufufu.¡± (Man)

    When I asked, the man burst outughing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sadly, he failed. He used all his magic power, even his life force, to gather about 10,000 monsters, but he failed spectacrly. ording to my research, he was defeated by an A-rank party, who annihted all the monsters, and the king himself killed him. Unlike me, he was not so lucky.¡± (Man)

    He speaks ruefully, but he seems gleeful.

    I would like to say, ¡°You were not so lucky either because I¡¯m here¡±, so badly.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you colleagues who have done research together?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We are not colleagues, just coborators for the same means, he said. Besides, we had different goals. So we were not supposed to interfere with each other¡¯s work.¡± (Man)

    But you were doing the same research; there¡¯s one thing that¡¯s odd, though.

    ¡°You just said that it takes a lot of magic power and life force to control a monster, but you don¡¯t seem to be using any of it.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m not really interested in it, and I vaguely remember it as well. I only heard from the king that the man collected monsters by cutting down his own magical power and his life to control them.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to take revenge until I¡¯m dead like him. Because, you know, if I die, I won¡¯t be able to be together with Cereille-sama.¡± (Man)

    His face was saying what are you talking about? He looked at me as if I were an idiot.

    ¡°Then, how can you control so many monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s the only thing I don¡¯t understand.

    This man was emaciated, but he was lively. Does he possess that much magical power?

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Just minimize the number of monsters, simplify the orders, and supplement the magic power with other things. Youngdy.¡± (Man)

    I understand the meaning of reducing the number of monsters and simplifying the instructions.

    Butpensating the magic power with other things?

    Like another person¡¯s magic¡­¡­ or magic stones?

    I felt like a puzzle piece had clicked into ce in my thoughts.

    ¡°A magic stone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hoh, you understand well, youngdy.¡± (Man)

    The man was surprised at my words.

    ¡°Yes, Magic stones. The magic stone has a magic circle drawn on it, so that simplemands and instructions can be activated.¡± (Man)

    After the man said it, he suddenly rolled up his clothes.

    ¡°A magic stone in your body?¡± (Yuna)

    A magic stone was embedded near the man¡¯s heart.

    ¡°If you kill me now, the order will be lifted, and the monsters will attack your brother. So please do not think of killing me.¡± (Man)

    So that¡¯s why he was confident while talking with us. This exins why we can¡¯t attack the man.

    ¡°And there¡¯s a copy of it hidden somewhere in the city. If I die, it will be activated a few hours after the sunrise, and the monsters will head to the magic stone in the city.¡± (Man)

    ¡°!?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But if Cereille-sama bes mine, I will tell you where the magic stone is hidden.¡± (Man)

    Cereille was gritting her teeth and contemting something.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too generous for someone who¡¯s seeking revenge against her father? I don¡¯t see the benefit of teaching us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll tell you properly. So, Cereille-sama, what will you do? Will youe with me? Or will you die with everyone?¡± (Man)

    Cereille looked at the monster horde. Then she opened her mouth.

    ¡°I will go with you. So please tell us the location of the magic stone hidden in the city.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille!?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, when you hear where it is, please tell my father.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You can¡¯t be sure that this guy is always telling the truth.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But Yuna, you can leave this ce.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Fufu, I like smart women. Now then, take off your clothes.¡± (Man)

    ¡°What!? Why do you want me to take off my clothes?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°If you have a concealed weapon, I¡¯ll be in trouble. Also, when you take off your clothes, please put this around your neck.¡± (Man)

    The man took something out of his item bag and threw it at Cereille. It fell to the ground. It looks like a cor.

    ¡°Cereille-sama, you can also use magic after all. This is a magical tool to suppress magic.¡± (Man)

    Cereille tried to pick up the cor with trembling hands.

    ¡°Cereille, don¡¯t pick it up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What do you mean by that, youngdy?¡± (Man)

    ¡°It¡¯s just that. This guy is not going to tell us where the magic stone is right now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. I¡¯ll tell you properly.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Lake.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°!?¡± (Man)

    He reacted when I mentioned the word ke¡±.

    Now I am convinced. There¡¯s nothing more to hear from this man.

    The magic stone I picked up yesterday at theke. That was the magic stone that this man threw away. So the hooded figure was this man. No wonder I recognized him from somewhere when I saw him.

    It¡¯s all clear now. I took out my bear costume from the bear box.

    At any rate, since it¡¯s an emergency, I¡¯ll wear it again over my uniform.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    Let¡¯s see, put my feet in, ah, the skirt rolled up inside the bear costume. But now was not the time to worry about that. If this had been transparent, my skirt would have rolled up and my panties would have been on full disy, but since I¡¯m in my bear costume, no one can see them.

    ¡°So, what are you doing?¡± (Man)

    I slide my arms in. Oh, it¡¯s hard to put it on because the uniform is in the way.

    ¡°Are you making fun of me!¡± (Man)

    ¡°I¡¯m not fooling around.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m still in uniform so it¡¯s stiff.

    It¡¯s ufortable.

    Finally, I put on my bear hood.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the outfit?¡± (Man)

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    Alright, it¡¯s been a long time since I was in my perfect form.

    I¡¯m safe, no matter what.

    ¡°Why did you dress up as a bear in this situation?¡± (Man)

    ¡°To beat you to a pulp, kill all the monsters, and save Keith and Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed my bear puppet at the man.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This is one of the things I wanted to write about in this story.

    I wanted to write a story where she suddenly puts on the bear costume in a serious scene (lol).

    Now, it¡¯s Yuna¡¯s turn.

 Chapter 532

    <h4>Chapter 532</h4>

    Bear-san, Saves Keith

    ¡°You want to defeat me and kill the monsters while dressed up as a bear? Are you trying to make meugh?¡± (Man)

    The man was reallyughing at my outfit, and he seemed to be having fun.

    I know it¡¯s not convincing as abatant dressing up as a bear in a serious situation, but the way heughs in front of me like this, pisses me off in a different sense.

    !!

    ¡°Yuna. I don¡¯t know why you suddenly dressed as a bear, but I don¡¯t think that would provoke him.¡± (Cereille)

    Even Cereille was looking at me in disbelief.

    I know. Her brother had been taken hostage and countless monsters were about to attack the city. And I started wearing a bear costume next to her, even though the man ordered her to take off her clothes and put on a cor to her magic. Of course, that¡¯s the kind of reaction she¡¯ll give.

    Even so, we have no choice but to fight.

    I let out a small breath, cleared my mind, and pointed my bear puppet at the man once again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fooling around. As I have said, I¡¯ll beat you to a pulp, kill monsters, and save Keith and Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, I have no time for your jokes. Cereille-sama, start undressing, put on the cor, ande to me.¡± (Man)

    The man ignored me and offered his hand to Cereille. He tried to put his hand on her uniform, but I talked to the man to stop him from doing so.

    ¡°Can you still say the same thing after you see this?¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the magic stone from the bear puppet that I picked up at thekest night. I point the magic stone at the man so that he can see the magic circle.

    The moment the man saw the magic stone, his smile disappeared.

    ¡°That magic stone¡­¡± (Man)

    ¡°This is the magic stone you hid in the city. Anyway, after Cereille takes off her clothes and puts on the cor, you¡¯ll say ¡®at theke¡¯. Then, you¡¯llugh at us while we stare at theke.¡± (Yuna)

    It sounds like something a small-time crook would think up.

    This means that this man did not intend to tell us from the beginning.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at the man and the magic stone I¡¯m holding.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, little girl. I threw the magic stone into thekest night. How could you possibly pick it up? That must be a fake.¡± (Man)

    He changed the youngdy to a little girl, and he switched his tone.

    Also, he just revealed to us that he threw the magic orb in theke. His character was broken

    ¡°Do you think a little girl like me would normally have a magic stone of this size? And are you so stupid that you forgot the magic circle you drew?¡± (Yuna)

    Again, I made the man look at the magic circle engraved on the magic stone.

    ¡°Little girl! If that¡¯s the real thing, why, why are you holding it? I threw it into theke. How did you pick it up from that deepke? Furthermore, it was justst night!¡± (Man)

    The man shouted.

    Finally, that sickening smirk was gone. On the contrary, it has turned into anger. This is much better than that disgusting smile on his face.

    ¡°I happened to pick it up when I was taking a walk in thekest night.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you mocking me?¡± (Man)

    I know it¡¯s silly, but it¡¯s true that I stumbled upon it while taking a walk around theke at night.

    Well, picking up the magic stone was a coincidence. I picked it up because I was curious when I saw a hooded figure dumping something in theke. It was also thanks to my curiosity. I¡¯m really d I didn¡¯t hurry back to the inn.

    ¡°So, what now? Will you use your life force to control the monsters like that man who tried to take revenge on the king?¡± (Yuna)

    Iughed like a fool.

    ¡°Little girl, you¡¯ve got a lot of nerve!¡± (Man)

    The man shot fire magic at me. I created a water wall to block it.

    ¡°The monsters will gather around this magic stone. So, if we break this magic stone.¡± (Yuna)

    I try to close the mouth of the bear puppet.

    ¡°Stop! Do you have any idea how long it took me to make that!¡± (Man)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know anything about that.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a big magic stone. While I think it was a bit of a waste to destroy it, it¡¯s a dangerous item that attracts monsters. I don¡¯t know how the magic circle works, but it could attract nearby monsters.

    If it reacts even if it¡¯s in the bear box, there¡¯s a possibility that wherever I go, monsters will approach me. If that were to happen, Crimonia would be in danger.

    The idea of leaving it in Targui came up, but I have no need for such a thing, nor do I intend to give it to anyone else.

    I gathered magic power into my ck bear puppet with a magic stone in its mouth and released an electric shock. The magic stone broke with a cracking sound and the splinters fell to the ground.

    ¡°Little girl¡­¡± (Man)

    ¡°What are you going to do? Now that all you have left is to use your own magic power and life force to control the monsters? If so, you won¡¯t be able to be with Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    I smiled. He has beenughing at us so many times. There¡¯s nothing wrong withughing back a little.

    ¡°Yuna, you¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille, don¡¯t listen to this man anymore.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But Keith.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille turned to Keith, who was in the middle of the monster horde.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I still have him. If I stop giving orders, the monsters will attack your brother immediately. And if you are attacked by this monster horde, you will not survive. If you do not follow my orders, all of you will die.¡± (Man)

    When the man remembered Keith, he thought he was in a better position and started talking happily.

    ¡°Are you perhaps threatening me? That number is not a big deal.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± (Man)

    I shifted my gaze from the man to Cereille and took her hand in mine.

    ¡°Cereille. I know you¡¯ve been working hard to avenge your mother¡¯s death. I really want to punch that man, but I¡¯ll give that role to you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯ll go save Keith. That¡¯s why Cereille, you can go beat that man with your own hands.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you saying? Save her brother? Her brother, in the middle of that monster horde? Don¡¯t make meugh even more. Your outfit was already hirious enough.¡± (Man)

    The man who had been listening to the conversation between me and Cereille, burst intoughter and spoke to me.

    I don¡¯t want to tell anyone, but I¡¯ll say it to refute the man and to reassure Cereille.

    ¡°Oh right, let me tell you something good. You know the man who tried to take revenge on the king? There was no A-rank adventurer who defeated the monster horde, it was me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Compared to that time, this number is small. Isn¡¯t your feeling of revenge insufficient? If you want to take revenge, you have to devote your life and give your all to it.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good way of living. Even the man who tried to take revenge on the king must have been a good mage. However, his way of thinking went in the wrong direction. Otherwise, he would have been an excellent mage and would have been very useful in the royal capital.

    And then there¡¯s Cereille. She¡¯s the daughter of a noble family, beautiful, and well-liked. Such a person has devoted her precious childhood to avenging her mother¡¯s death.

    I have no intention of denying her grudge. If Fina and the others were killed, I would probably go berserk on their killers. No, I would definitely do that.

    But that has to end at some point.

    However, this man killed Cereille¡¯s mother just because he was rejected by a woman, and not only that, he¡¯s trying to get his hands on her daughter, Cereille, as well. His methods include taking hostages and using monsters for revenge. He was trying to get everything while not devoting his life.

    I understand Cereille¡¯s reason for revenge. But it¡¯s not right to hold a grudge just because you were rejected.

    ¡°Cereille, believe in me.¡± (Yuna)

    I urged Cereille with a serious expression on my face, and the bear costume on my body.

    Yeah, I can¡¯t convince myself either.

    Cereille closed her eyes for a few seconds at my words, then opened them.

    ¡°Fufu.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille begins tough.

    ¡°Alright. I believe in you, Yuna. I will defeat that man. So, please take care of Keith.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille lowered her head to me.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Save her brother? You¡¯re heading to that monster horde?¡± (Man)

    ¡°So what? As I said, if you want to stop me, then those monsters aren¡¯t enough.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Little girl!¡± (Man)

    His tone changes immediately. I think he has low resistance to being taunted at.

    ¡°Cereille, I¡¯ll leave Swaying Bear to you. If you think you can¡¯t beat him, run away. I¡¯ll take care of himter.¡± (Yuna)

    When I summoned Swaying Bear, the man and Cereille were surprised.

    ¡°The ck bear from earlier.¡± (Man)

    ¡°But Swaying Bear was¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°He¡¯s a summoned beast, so all I had to do was repatriate him. It was so easy since both of you were only looking ahead. Swaying Bear, please protect Cereille.¡± (Yuna)

    `Kuu~n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cried as if saying, ¡°Leave it to me¡±.

    I also summoned Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with Hugging Bear to save Keith. Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go!¡± (Yuna)

    `Kuu~n¡¯

    I jumped on Hugging Bear, and Hugging Bear ran towards Keith.

    I needed to secure Keith before the man saw what I was doing and order the monsters to attack. It¡¯s a race against time.

    We went straight for Keith. They didn¡¯t attack us, as if they had been ordered not to. But it was only for a short time. The demon began to move and roared. And then they attacked us.

    It seems that the restraint has been released.

    But they¡¯re too slow. Keith is already in front of me.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, go faster.¡± (Yuna)

    `Kuu~n¡¯

    Hugging Bear increased his speed. I used magic and proceeded to defeat the approaching monsters. The monsters began to approach Keith.

    From here, he¡¯s well within reach.

    I blew away the monsters surrounding Keith with wind magic. Then I came in front of Keith, who was lying on the ground. I jumped down from Hugging Bear and took Keith in my arms. He¡¯s alive. He was only sleeping. Maybe he was drugged or something.

    For the time being, I felt relieved.

    I shouted to inform Cereille that Keith was safe.

    ¡°Keith is alive! So don¡¯t worry about him!¡± (Yuna)

    I told Cereille that Keith is alive. The next step would be to ensure Keith¡¯s safety.

    I took the bear house out of the bear box. I held Keith in my arms, went inside the bear house, andy him down on the sofa on the first floor. He¡¯ll be safe here.

    I thought about having Hugging Bear protect him, but there were too many monsters. It would be dangerous for Hugging Bear to fight the monsters while protecting Keith.

    Then, the safest thing to do would be to move through the bear gate, but as expected, it was not possible to use it in this situation, so I ended up with the bear house.

    This ce was safe enough.

    I left the quietly sleeping Keith and went out of the bear house.

    Now all I have to do is to eradicaate all the monsters.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It would have been over if Yuna had punched the man, but she gave the honors to Cereille.

    It¡¯s almost time for the Euphalia arc to end.

 Chapter 533

    <h4>Chapter 533</h4>

    Cereille Fights

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to save Keith with Hugging Bear. Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go!¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    Yuna said that, and before I could stop her, she had already climbed onto her white bear, which was named Hugging Bear, and jumped off the cliff.

    !!

    This ce was quite high.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Cereille)

    I shouted.

    But when Hugging Bear with Yuna riding on itnded on the ground, they sped directly toward where Keith was. Which also means running into the monster horde.

    ¡°That girl is stupid, she¡¯s heading for her death. but I can¡¯t let her go off like that. If you want to me someone, me her.¡± (Man)

    When the man said that, the magic stone embedded in his body under his clothes glowed.

    ¡°What did you do!¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I have just lifted the order. Now the monsters will start attacking her and your brother. Both the girl and your brother will be killed horribly by the monsters.¡± (Man)

    I returned my gaze to Yuna. All the monsters started moving at once and began to attack Yuna simultaneously. There were monsters around Keith. But Yuna proceeded to defeat the monsters with her magic, blew away the monsters that were near Keith, and rushed to him. Then, as she held Keith in her arms, Yuna shouted.

    ¡°Keith is alive! So don¡¯t worry about him!¡± (Yuna)

    Thank God. Keith is alive.

    ¡°Oh, amazing. It seems that she wasn¡¯t all talk. I thought she was just pulling my leg when she said that she defeated the monsters gathered at the royal capital. But still, she¡¯s surrounded by more than a thousand monsters and plus, there are wyverns in the sky above her. No matter how strong she is, it will be difficult for her to fight while protecting your brother.¡± (Man)

    He¡¯s right.

    No matter how strong you are, fighting while protecting the helpless is difficult. They cannot move freely and must be secured at all times.

    Even if they try to escape, they are surrounded by monsters, and there is no way out. Yuna, Keith, and Hugging Bear are all in danger.

    While I was contemting that, Yuna did something, and arge object appeared in front of my eyes.

    ¡°A bear?¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s in the shape of arge bear. It has a bear face and a bear body, and it¡¯s a cute bear. It was an out-of-ce object in the middle of the monster horde.

    In the shape of such an adorable bear, Yuna entered with Keith in her arms.

    My thoughts stop for a moment. I am surprised that the man seems to be the same as me.

    Soon after, Yuna came out of the bear.

    ¡°Cereille! Keith will be safe in this house, so don¡¯t worry about him.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Pfft~, fufufu.¡±

    No good. I can¡¯t hold back myugh.

    Yuna¡¯s behavior was so unexpected that I can¡¯t stopughing. Just when I thought she started wearing a bear outfit, she had a magic stone that attracts monsters that the man has hidden in the city, then Swaying Bear appeared that I thought we left behind, and after she rescued Keith, a strange-shaped bear house appeared. Inside that bear, she said Keith will be safe.

    ¡°Stop messing with me! What¡¯s with that girl? First, a silly-looking outfit, then a silly-looking building!¡± (Man)

    As I was trying to hold in myughter, the man became angry, shouted, and put his hand on the magic stone in his chest. Then the magic stone in his chest glowed, and the man looked as if he was in pain.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill her! I¡¯ll kill that weird-looking girl!¡± (Man)

    Looking towards Yuna, the monsters had gathered even further towards Yuna and her bear.

    No matter how strong Yuna was, it was still dangerous.

    I shot wind magic at the man. The man blocked it with wind magic.

    ¡°I will take you down.¡± (Cereille)

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    Swaying Bear, who¡¯s by my side, cried along with my words.

    It¡¯s a really smart bear.

    I took out my sword from my item bag. I have been working hard for this day, ever since my mother was killed. And Yuna gave me that chance.

    Thanks to Yuna, the city would no longer be attacked by monsters.

    Thanks to Yuna, Keith was able to stay in a safe ce.

    If I could defeat this man, the monsters attacking Yuna may stop attacking as well.

    ¡°Why does everyone always get in my way?! Why won¡¯t anyone listen to me?!¡± (Man)

    The man¡¯s face contorted. The face that had been smiling just a moment ago morphed into wrath.

    Fufu, just seeing this facial expression change in him makes me happy.

    ¡°It¡¯s so simple. It¡¯s because you¡¯re not attractive.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°If you want to go to the same ce as your mother so badly, I¡¯ll send you to her!¡± (Man)

    mes gathered in the man¡¯s hand. I ran to the side.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, run!¡± (Cereille)

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    Swaying Bear and I evaded the mes.

    I also gathered magic power, created mes, and shot them at the man, but he easily deflected them.

    ¡°Do you think you can beat me with just that!¡± (Man)

    ¡°I will defeat you. That is the reason I have studied swords and magic until today!¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°A little girl like you who has never even been in a real battle? Don¡¯t make meugh.¡± (Man)

    He¡¯s right, I have no realbat experience. But I have practiced so hard that my blood was boiling. Above all, I cannot waste the chance that Yuna had created for me.

    The battle between me and the man begins.

    My fight against the man was intense. However, his mobility was slower than I had expected. This may also be due to the fact that the man ordered the monsters to kill Yuna, further draining his magical power.

    The man was breathing heavily.

    ¡°If I was in good shape, you¡¯d be toasted by now.¡± (Man)

    ¡°Is that your excuse for losing?¡± (Cereille)

    But I shouldn¡¯t tone down my pace. I should keep my distance and keep shooting magic.

    However, I could tell that the man didn¡¯t like closebat. Since a while ago, whenever I try to close the distance, he casts magic as if to interrupt me.

    The man was a pure mage. He probably can¡¯t use a sword. In close quarters, I would have an advantage because I can use a sword. If possible, I would like to bring him into closebat.

    A magical shootout is a war of attrition and takes time. If it bes an endurance battle, that means more exposure to danger for Yuna.

    I look for the right moment to approach the man while blocking his magic.

    ¡°Are you sure you can cast that much magic in a row?¡± (Cereille)

    I talked to him to get his attention.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. All of those monsters are no longer under my control. They just follow their instincts and attack whoever is nearby. They don¡¯t need my orders. Once I kill the little girl and capture you, I can gather monsters as often as possible. It was painful, however, when that little girl broke my magic stone.¡± (Man)

    The magic stone that Yuna had was quiterge. It was not an easy thing to get. So there were some things I wanted to say. If I don¡¯t defeat this man here, the same thing will happen again.

    ¡°But I can still call some monsters.¡± (Man)

    The manughed, then a few wolves appeared behind us. Swaying Bear squealed, and at that moment, Swaying Bear knocked them down.

    ¡°Thank you, Swaying Bear.¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s a fantastic bear.

    The wolf that the man had prepared in advance was easily defeated, then the man became frustrated.

    ¡°First, the girl dressed up as a bear. And now that bear. I¡¯m starting to want to kill all the bears.¡± (Man)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Bears are very cute, aren¡¯t they? If you can¡¯t understand that, you are the worst match for me. I don¡¯t like people who try to kill bears.¡± (Cereille)

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    Swaying Bear squealed happily at my words.

    ¡°Then you¡¯re going to watch that bear get killed by a wyvern.¡± (Man)

    I looked at the sky in a panic. But there was no wyvern in the sky.

    Where was it?!

    My tension was high, but it didn¡¯t appear from anywhere.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the wyvern? Quickly, get over here.¡± (Man)

    The man shouted.

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    Swaying Bear squealed as it looked in the direction where Yuna was fighting, and I, caught in the moment, turned my gaze in Yuna¡¯s direction.

    There, I saw the wyverns¡¯ lifeless bodies.

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for the Wyverns, it looks like Yuna has already defeated them.¡± (Cereille)

    I can¡¯t help butugh now.

    Yuna, just how strong are you?

    ¡°What is that! That little girl!?¡± (Man)

    ¡°I told you she is my friend.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I intend to kidnap you, so I¡¯ve done my research on you. If you had a close friend like that, there is no way I would not have known about it.¡± (Man)

    ¡°That¡¯s not surprising because I only met Yuna a few days ago after all.¡± (Cereille)

    That reminds me, Yuna and I had a problematic rtionship.

    At first, I was only aware of Yuna as a student who came as Noire¡¯s escort. Then we had a match, and she instantly became my object of admiration and jealousy. I even let her stay at my house, but only as a friend of Noire.

    At that point, we shouldn¡¯t be friends.

    But Yuna was worried about me and came after me. And I was happy that she said I was her friend, even though I was jealous of her.

    Yuna saved Keith and fought the monsters for me.

    If you don¡¯t call such a person your friend, then who would you call your friend?!

    If Yuna were in trouble, I would do my best to help her.

    ¡°You mean to tell me that a friend you just made would go so far!¡± (Man)

    ¡°She¡¯s the best friend I¡¯ve ever had!¡± (Cereille)

    I will defeat the man and go back with Yuna.

    I ran towards the man. The man cast fire magic. I try to get close to the man while avoiding his attack.

    As if to back me up, Swaying Bear was also running towards the man.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let the bear get in my way!¡± (Man)

    The man shot fire magic at Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± (Cereille)

    `Ku~u ~n¡¯

    When Swaying Bear swung down his right forefoot, the fire magic disappeared.

    ¡°I won¡¯t lose to a bear!¡± (Man)

    The man was about to cast more magic on Swaying Bear. Swaying Bear is in danger!

    I stepped forward, closed the distance between the man and me at once, and thrust out my sword. It was probably the fastest thrust I had ever made.

    My sword pierced the man¡¯s right shoulder and pushed him away. The knock canceled the man¡¯s magic.

    ¡°Ha~a, ha~a, I won.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No, there are no winners.¡±

    The man touched the magic stone embedded in his body with his left hand.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Together, we will go to your mother.¡± (Man)

    The manughs while looking pained.

    As I was about to ask him a question, the ground shook.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It looks like it will be settled next time.

 Chapter 534

    <h4>Chapter 534</h4>

    Bear-san and Cereille

    I left the man to Cereille, whom she had been harboring her vendetta about for many years. Whether capturing or killing the man, I think it has to be done by Cereille¡¯s hands. Even if I defeat the man, I don¡¯t think that his defeat by my hands willpletely appease Cereille¡¯s heart. All I could do was set the situation up for her.

    However, I left Swaying Bear with her, but I¡¯m still worried about Cereille.

    I¡¯ll kill all the monsters here as soon as possible and go to Cereille¡¯s side.

    !!

    ¡°Hugging Bear, if there are any monsters thate near the bear house, take them out. I¡¯ll handle the others.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear squealed with a ¡°leave it to me¡± expression. Both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were so reliable.

    ¡°But don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± (Yuna)

    If a strong monster appears, I will deal with it.

    The monsters may have been holding back until now. They might have thought that we had taken their bait Keith, or that new baits, me and Hugging Bear, had arrived. They attacked us with drool all over their faces even though Hugging Bear nor I looked tasty.

    To teach them how dangerous it was to attack me, I unleashed my wind de magic on the monsters around the bear house, taking down several wolves and goblins.

    ¡°If you run away, I won¡¯t chase you, but if you attack, I won¡¯t hold back.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to the remaining monsters, but there was no way the monsters could understand me, so they climbed over the monster corpses and attacked me and Hugging Bear.

    I defeated the monsters that attacked me one after another. They were not strong, just numerous. If I keep casting magic, I can defeat them.

    As we are steadily reducing the number of monsters, Hugging Bear, behind me, cried out.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear. I know, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    The only monsters in the way were wyverns. While dealing with goblins, wolves, and orcs, we checked the wyverns¡¯ positions in the sky.

    The wyverns glided in.

    Such opponents with whom I had fought many times. I¡¯m ustomed to their movements. I sent the bear¡¯s ws flying with wind magic at close range as they glided toward me, and quickly defeated a wyvern.

    The remaining wyverns that kepting at us were also killed.

    Experience helps. I was able to defeat them with less difficulty than the first time I faced them.

    And speaking of the rest of the monsters, they ran away when the wyverns attacked. Apparently, they were more frightened at wyverns rather than Hugging Bear and I.

    The monsters in the vicinity of the bear house had disappeared.

    I didn¡¯t chase after the fleeing monsters. That was not my role. My role was to protect Keith and defeat the monsters that attacked us.

    The monsters were no longer being manipted, and I had destroyed the magic stone that the man hid, so there was no need for them to go to town. Then there was no need to chase after them and defeat them.

    Now, the monster that had been attacking us was gone. However, it seems that there was still a big one left. As I was wondering what to do, the ground shook.

    The ground rose.

    It looks like I don¡¯t have to dig it up.

    A colossal worm emerged from the ground.

    I¡¯ve already confirmed it with my detection skills.

    Everything he did was a second attempt at the same thing as that mage who tried to attack the capital. However, it was a degraded version of the original attack.

    ¡°Hugging Bear. Stand back.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    When the worm emerged from the ground, it opened itsrge, disgusting maw and checked its surroundings. When it found me, it opened its maw wide and attacked.

    It¡¯s like telling me to attack that part since it¡¯s exposing its weakness.

    I created fire bears and made them charge into the worm¡¯s maw. The fire bears walked inside the worm¡¯s body and burned its body from the inside. The worm suffered for a while and it copsed.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to put everything in your mouth mindlessly.¡± (Yuna)

    With this, I¡¯vepleted the elimination of the monsters in the surrounding area. The monsters that had left the vicinity of the bear house and were in the distance seemed to have fled on instinct when the worm appeared.

    Now my work is done. All that is left is Cereille¡¯s side.

    I asked Kumakyu to take care of the bear house and Keith, and then I headed for Cereille¡¯s ce.

    I¡¯ll beat him myself if they don¡¯t seem to have beaten him yet.

    =====

    -Cereille¡¯s POV-

    The worm emerged from the ground.

    The worm¡¯s body was huge, and it was not an easy monster to defeat. It was a monster that rarely appears, and most people never see it.

    The worm stood in front, overshadowing Yuna, who was dressed as a bear.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Cereille)

    I screamed.

    If she doesn¡¯t run away, she¡¯ll be in danger. The worm opened its big maw and attacked Yuna. But Yuna didn¡¯t even try to escape.

    ¡°Fufu, I hope you die with regrets for making fun of me!¡± (Man)

    The moment I thought Yuna was eaten, she cast fire magic? I think it was fire magic because it looked red. I think she shot it into the worm¡¯s mouth. The worm started suffering ,and after wriggling its body many times, it stopped moving.

    I couldn¡¯t understand what had transpired, but there was no doubt that Yuna had defeated the worm.

    The man looked at Yuna as if he saw something unbelievable and startedughing like crazy.

    ¡°Fu-ha-ha. My decade. Vanished like a bubble because of one girl dressed as a bear?¡± (Man)

    I too, cannot believe what Yuna did. I would have run up to Yuna celebrating if it weren¡¯t for this man.

    ¡°It¡¯s over. You will pay for your sins.¡± (Cereille)

    I pointed my sword at the man.

    And to my words, Swaying Bear came to me.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear was holding a cor in its mouth.

    The man said it was a cor that seals out magic power.

    I received the cor from Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Thanks. Now then, I will have you wear this cor.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me? By giving the order to Worm, it took both my magic power and my life force. My life is not long. If you are going, to kill me, do it now.¡± (Man)

    The man¡¯s forehead was soaked with sweat and he seemed to be struggling to open his mouth.

    I pointed my sword at the man, but the man didn¡¯t move.

    He closed his eyes as if he was prepared to die.

    It will all be over if I kill this man here and now.

    But¡­¡­. I¡¯m not the only one who thinks of my mother.

    ¡°I¡¯m not killing you right now. I¡¯ll bring you to my father.¡± (Cereille)

    My father was also grieving when the day of my mother¡¯s death came. My father also needed to meet this man and make closure with my mother.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die from using the rest of your magic before meeting father, so I¡¯m going to use this cor to seal your magic.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I shall refrain from doing that.¡± (Man)

    The man stood up with a pained look on his face, reached into his pocket, and tried to take something out. When I realized it was a knife, my body involuntarily moved, and I stabbed him with the sword I was holding.

    The man vomited blood from his mouth.

    ¡°Fufu, I don¡¯t want to see your father¡¯s face. If I¡¯m dying anyway, I¡¯ll die with your hands.¡± (Man)

    The man wasughing even though he was about to die.

    ¡°I have killed the woman I loved, and you, whom I thought loved me, have killed me. Nothing could make me happier. What a pity that I cannot be with you.¡± (Man)

    ¡°You are an idiot. My mother was not the only woman in the world.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°She was the only one for me. And when I saw you growing up, I was attracted to you. I really wanted to have you.¡± (Man)

    ¡°You¡¯re doing it wrong.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°This was the only way I knew how.¡± (Man)

    I couldn¡¯t say anything.

    Mother loved Father. Father loved Mother. No one cane between them.

    Of course, I can¡¯t say do your best.

    ¡°I will go to Shuria, to your mother, before he does.¡± (Man)

    The manughed, vomited blood from his mouth, and fell to the ground.

    I wanted to avenge my mother until I met the man who killed her. When he appeared before me, Something seemed to have overcame me, and I felt the urge to kill him. That man is now dead.

    Silence returned, and tears streamed down my eyes.

    Something seems to have caught up to me after the long-standing pressure of my mother¡¯s death had disappeared.

    Whatever I was holding in my hand fell off as if I had lost my strength.

    Now, finally, everything was over.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear snuggled up to me as if saying it was worried about me.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Thanks for worrying about me.¡± (Cereille)

    I was brought back to reality when Swaying Bear called out to me.

    The moment my mind recovered, I remembered that Yuna was fighting the monsters all alone.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. What about Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You called?¡± (Yuna)

    I heard Yuna¡¯s voice from behind me and I turned around to see her dressed as a bear.

    ¡°Yuna! Are you okay? Are you injured?¡± (Cereille)

    I ran over to Yuna and checked her body.

    It¡¯s a bear.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Looks like you¡¯re done there, too.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s like nothing really happened. I was astonished. Yuna¡¯s bear outfit makes me think it was just a dream.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Cereille)

    I regret that I could not take the man before my father, but it¡¯s all over now.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I tried to capture him, but he pulled out a knife and my body moved on its own.¡± (Cereille)

    I exined the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that, but Cereille¡¯s life is more important. Besides, the man didn¡¯t seem to have intended to get caught either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I appreciate you saying so.¡± (Cereille)

    If I had not taken out my sword at that time, I would have been stabbed by his knife.

    ¡°But now it¡¯s all over.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how grateful I am to you, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    I can¡¯t begin to express just how grateful I am to Yuna for her help. If it had not been for Yuna, I would have been unable to do anything, the man would have captured me, monsters would have attacked the town, and I don¡¯t know what would have happened to Keith.

    ¡°As long as Cereille and Keith are safe. It was the man¡¯s fault in the first ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. What about Keith?¡± (Cereille)

    She was reminded of him when Keith¡¯s name came up.

    ¡°Keith is sleeping in the house, so he¡¯ll be fine. No monster can break into that house, and Hugging Bear is watching over him.¡± (Yuna)

    I was relieved to hear that.

    It all ended safely, thanks to the mysterious girl dressed as a bear.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I was worried about what to do with the man until the end.

    Would he die in front of her father, would he kill himself, or would Cereille kill him? In the end, the man chose to die voluntarily and was killed by the hands of Cereille.

    The rest will be the epilogue.

 Chapter 535 - Bear-san, Heads To The Bear House

    <h4>Chapter 535 - Bear-san, Heads To The Bear House</h4>

    Bear-san, Heads To The Bear House

    =====

    Author¡¯sNote:

    I¡¯m sorry. I made some corrections to the previous story.

    I have added a scene where Cereille dropped the sword and cor after stabbing the man.

    !!

    I apologize for the inconvenience to our early readers.

    =====

    ording to Cereille, she was going to capture the man and take him to her father, but the man wanted to die at Cereille¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go to Keith.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was trying to look calm, but having killed someone for the first time, she didn¡¯t seem to be able to notice nor be aware of what was happening around her.

    ¡°Cereille. Your sword is still on the ground.¡± (Yuna)

    I picked up the sword from the ground and gave it to Cereille.

    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille¡¯s hand was trembling as she tried to reach for the sword.

    ¡°Fufu, embarrassing. My hands are shaking.¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. To tremble is more of a human reaction rather than attaining the feeling of ¡®having fun¡¯ after killing somebody.

    She wiped off the blood on her sword and tried to put it back in the scabbard, but it didn¡¯t go in. I waited for her to put the sword in the scabbard.

    Once the sword was sheathed, Cereille exhaled.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m all right. I have shown you my pathetic side.¡± (Cereille)

    I have never killed anyone (though I left them half-dead), but I am used to seeing blood from monsters. I don¡¯t think Cereille has any experience in that area either.

    Besides, I think there was a difference between stabbing a person and stabbing a monster. Even if it was an evil person, only he/she could understand how it feels to kill someone.

    ¡°So what about the man?¡± (Yuna)

    She turned her attention to the man who was lying face down.

    ¡°I could not take him alive, but I would like to take him to my father. Later, I will put him on my horse.¡± (Cereille)

    That would make it twice as hard.

    That said, I don¡¯t want to put the man¡¯s corpse on Swaying Bear¡¯s back. I don¡¯t know because he was lying face down, but Cereille¡¯s sword must have turned him into a bloody mess.

    Then, was that the only way?

    ¡°I will carry him to the horse.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at Swaying Bear.

    ¡°No. I won¡¯t make Swaying Bear carry him.¡± (Yuna)

    I used earth magic to raise the ground on which the man was lying and create a sort of makeshift coffin on wheels. I also put a tight lid on it so that the corpse cannot be seen. After all, continuously seeing a dead body wasn¡¯t a good feeling.

    Finally, I made a mini bear golem to pull the coffin like a carriage.

    ¡°Yuna, you never cease to amaze me.¡± (Cereille)

    We went to the bear house where Keith was staying, along a path that could be passed by the mini bear golem pulling the coffin on wheels.

    Cereille walked ahead as if she wanted to see Keith as soon as possible.

    I looked at Swaying Bear and saw that he had something in his mouth.

    ¡°Swaying Bear. What are you holding in your mouth?¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear showed me what was in his mouth.

    Swaying Bear was holding a cor in his mouth, that¡¯s the same thing the man had tried to get Cereille to wear around her neck to seal her magic.

    Apparently, he picked it up.

    I can¡¯t just throw it away like that, so I put it away in the bear box.

    I jumped on Swaying Bear, controlled the mini bear golem pulling the coffin and followed Cereille, who was headed to the bear house ahead of us.

    Cereille walks around looking at the fallen monsters and finally turns her attention to the worm.

    ¡°Yuna, how did you defeat the worm? I saw you shoot fire magic into its maw. But I don¡¯t think that was enough to defeat it.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I threw this bear me into the worm¡¯s maw and let it walk through the worm¡¯s body.¡± (Yuna)

    I created a bear me.

    ¡°I believe the worm¡¯s bodily fluids would make it disappear.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°This bear me is stronger than normal. That¡¯s why it burned the insides of the worm, even with the bodily fluids, without getting extinguished.¡± (Yuna)

    Bear magic was way stronger than ordinary magic. What ordinary magic cannot do, bear magic can.

    ¡°I¡¯m having a hard time believing it just by hearing it, but now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I have no choice. Still, Yuna is out of the norm in every way. I feel like a fool for trying to win against you. However, I don¡¯t need to do that anymore.¡± (Cereille)

    She said thest part in a small voice, but it reached my ears. She had already avenged her mother, and the man was dead. It means Cereille has no reason to be strong any longer.

    ¡°But then again, Yuna, you must really like bears because even your mes take the shape of bears.¡± (Cereille)

    She said it with a refreshing smile.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Before I could reply, Swaying Bear answered happily.

    ¡°Still, I was surprised when you started wearing the bear outfit in the beginning, is there a point to that look?¡± (Cereille)

    It¡¯s the usual obligatory deceptive words.

    ¡°I have the bear¡¯s blessing, so when I dress up as a bear, my magic gets stronger.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Bear¡¯s blessing? Is there such a blessing?¡± (Cereille)

    No, there isn¡¯t.

    But I can¡¯t say that, so I kept lying. I¡¯m so used to it by now that such deceptive words naturallye out of my mouth.

    ¡°As proof, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are my summoned beasts, and they are fond of me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at Swaying Bear that I am riding.

    ¡°Then, those too? The gloves you¡¯re wearing with a bear¡¯s face on them?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°For the same reason, I guess. It¡¯s easier to gather magic than a wand.¡± (Yuna)

    Yes, it¡¯s a lie. I can¡¯t use magic with a wand.

    ¡°In exchange for strength, you had to dress as a bear¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at my outfit and began to worry.

    ¡°You just said earlier. You didn¡¯t need to be strong.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You heard that?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked embarrassed.

    ¡°Sure, I no longer have a reason to be strong. But I also admire Yuna¡¯s strength. It takes strength to protect the people you love.¡± (Cereille)

    But it¡¯s a bear. When you dress up as a bear, you get stronger.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to be strong yourself, since you are a noble. If anything, you¡¯re in a powerful position to give orders to someone stronger than you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That power is a form of strength.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is not something I earned on my own.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°No one can choose their birth, you know. Then, since you are born into nobility, I suggest you use that power correctly.¡± (Yuna)

    There exist those in this world were pompous just because they were born into nobility. I don¡¯t want her to use her power like that.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, that¡¯s one of my strengths.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at the fallen monsters as she said this.

    The monsters I had defeated were lying all around. After it was over, I felt sorry for the monsters that the evil man controlled. But even after the orders were lifted, they still attacked me, so I was able to defeat them.

    I can¡¯t leave them like this. I¡¯ll have to clean it upter. Most of them had escaped, but still, there were quite a few monsters lying on the ground.

    ¡°There seem to be fewer monsters than when I first saw them?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°When the wyverns and the worm showed up, they ran away. So some of the monsters might have gone near the city or along the road, so I think we should call the adventurers back and ensure the surroundings are safe.¡± (Yuna)

    As expected, I can¡¯t take care of the escaped monsters alone, and it¡¯s not my job to do so.

    ¡°I understand. I will tell my father when I return home.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Also, now that we know why the monsters are gone this time of year, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll show up next year.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have a lot to report to my father.¡± (Cereille)

    When we arrived at the bear house, Hugging Bear, who was guarding the bear house, came to me.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    I patted Hugging Bear¡¯s head. Then, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear rubbed each other¡¯s bodies as if to make sure each other was safe.

    ¡°They¡¯re good friends, these bears.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°They get along so well, it¡¯s hard to leave out the other because one will sulk.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, so that¡¯s how much they like you as their master, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    I¡¯m d to hear that.

    ¡°So, Yuna, this bear is your home, right?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I use it for travel. In that house, I feel safe even if a monster as big as a wolf or a goblines.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Truly, Yuna, you¡¯re a mysterious girl.¡± (Cereille)

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to keep watch then I entered the bear house. Cereille followed me, looking at me as if she were looking at something mystical.

    Then Cereille rushed over to Keith when she found him sleeping on the sofa on the first floor.

    ¡°Keith!¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s just sleeping.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank goodness.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s drugs or magic, but I don¡¯t think we should wake him up right now.¡± (Yuna)

    I stopped Cereille from trying to wake Keith up.

    If he wakes you up here, I will have to exin about the bear house. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were also outside the bear house, and in addition, there were monster corpses and even a dead worm lying on the ground.

    As for me, I want Keith to sleep for a while because it will be more trouble than it¡¯s worth.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. There¡¯s no need to wake him up when he¡¯s sleeping soundly. If we woke him after we got home, he would never even know he was kidnapped. Fear, when you are a child, is something that stays with you. What he doesn¡¯t need to know, he doesn¡¯t need to know.¡± (Cereille)

    It was very convincing when Cereille, whose mother was killed in front of her eyes, said it. I can¡¯t even imagine what it must have been like for me.

    But I too can only know that if Fina or Noa were killed in front of me, I would be forever haunted.

    If he doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s been kidnapped.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    ¡ù The story didn¡¯t go as well as I thought it would. Can we get back to Noa now?

    ¡ù I will resume replying to yourments when I start a new chapter.

 Chapter 536 - Bear-san, Is Having A Discussion.

    <h4>Chapter 536 - Bear-san, Is Having A Discussion.</h4>

    Bear-san, Is Having A Discussion.

    ¡°So, Cereille. About this time, I¡¯d like you to keep it a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What do you want me to keep a secret?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°About this house and how I defeated the monsters.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep not only the house but also about the monsters a secret? If you report it to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I think they will reward you. Of course, I know they won¡¯t believe you, so I¡¯ll be happy to put in a good word for you. I will also inform my father that the town was saved thanks to Yuna, so I am sure he will also thank you.¡± (Cereille)

    !!

    ¡°I don¡¯t want any reward, or even a thank you from your father.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait, then we won¡¯t be able to thank you, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°As I was saying, you don¡¯t have to thank me. Both you and Keith are safe, and that¡¯s all that matters.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t save them because I wanted money or rewards. I just don¡¯t want the people I know to die because I didn¡¯t help them. If I didn¡¯t know Cereille, I probably wouldn¡¯t have cared if I saw her galloping her horse. I would not have chased after her. I even probably would have been a stranger when I heard about Cereille¡¯s death.

    But since I already know Cereille, I had a conversation with her and got to know her. So I decided to help. Not to be thanked by her. It was for myself.

    ¡°Yuna¡­¡­ I would have fallen in love with you if you were a boy.¡± (Cereille)

    Even if a certain part of me was small, I¡¯m still a girl.

    ¡°No, Keith will take over, so even girls can¡­¡­.¡± (Cereille)

    I think I heard something in a small voice, but it was probably just my imagination.

    ¡°But if you keep quiet about this, it would mean Yuna¡¯s deeds won¡¯t be known.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I don¡¯t likemotions. Besides, no one would believe me even if I told them that I had defeated these monsters. If you didn¡¯t see it with your own eyes and only heard the story, you wouldn¡¯t believe it either, would you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°So you don¡¯t have to force yourself to put a good word for me. You will also bebeled as weird.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But thanks to Yuna, I was saved, Keith was saved, and you also saved the city. I can¡¯t stay silent. Besides, there is the matter of the monsters too. If they could see that, they would believe us.¡± (Cereille)

    We will be looked at oddly, strange rumors might circte, and above all, it¡¯s a pain.

    ¡°And you also have to report the monsters lying around. You defeated those, Yuna, and now you¡¯ll lose your im to them.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll stuff it all in my item bag, and I¡¯ll take care of the other monsters. Without the presence of the monsters, we can probably im that you rescued Keith from the man all by yourself.¡± (Cereille)

    That¡¯s the best way.

    Cereille pondered over my suggestion.

    ¡°I understand. If you say so, Yuna, I will not force you to do so. However, I will reveal that you helped me rescue Keith from the man. That¡¯s the one thing I will notpromise on.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°All right.¡± (Yuna)

    I also decided to also give my part. Besides, I think it would be easier to exin things if I was there.

    We found a middle ground with each other, and the discussion was over. Now we just have to deal with the mountain of monsters corpses outside. But first, let¡¯s get out of the bear costume, shall we?

    My skirt was rolled up under my costume, and it was in a weird state. And it¡¯s a little stuffy because of the uniform. But I think I¡¯d better wait until after I deal with the monsters outside. There¡¯s a possibility that more monsters will return to this spot.

    I¡¯d like to change, but I¡¯ll stay in my stuffy bear costume a little longer.

    ¡°What will you do now, Cereille?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What about you, Yuna?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I told you earlier, I¡¯m going to deal with the monsters, then go back. If I leave them like this, it will cause amotion.¡± (Yuna)

    Sorry goblins and orcs, but I don¡¯t want your magic stones, I¡¯ll just bury you.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you with that.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Is it okay? Isn¡¯t your family worried?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at Keith, who was sleeping.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, while I think my father will scold me, I can¡¯t push the clean-up to you, Yuna. Otherwise, I won¡¯t have a face to challenge you to a match in the future.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille shook her head.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Yuna)

    But Cereille would not budge.

    There¡¯s no point in arguing here, so I¡¯ll just get it over with and head back to town. It¡¯ll be faster that way, and it¡¯s not worth the hassle of arguing about this.

    ¡°Then may I ask you to take care of the goblins and orcs? I don¡¯t need their magic stones or anything, so it would be great if you could deal with them for me.¡± (Yuna)

    If the monsters were not disposed of properly, they could attract other monsters, and also if the corpses were left untouched, they could be the source of pathogen outbreaks. They must be either burned or buried.

    ¡°Yes, I can handle that. Leave it to me.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille and I went outside.

    ¡°What are you going to do with the worm? Are you not going to dismantle it?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just put it in my item bag.¡± (Yuna)

    I said and transferred the worm carcass in the bear box.

    ¡°Come to think of it, you did pull out a house from it. Yuna¡¯s non-standards never cease to amaze me.¡± (Cereille)

    Next, I put away the big wyverns and the rest of the wolves. The bear box was really handy.

    When I tried to put the Wolves in the bear box, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked in a particr direction and cried.

    I wonder what that could be. Maybe more monsters?

    Use detection skills to confirm.

    The reactions were people. Several people were moving toward us.

    ¡°What is wrong with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille, who was processing the goblins nearby, asked.

    ¡°It looks like some people are heading over here¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear can even know that?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Maybe they can smell them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh right, animals are supposed to have a good nose.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille seemed to be satisfied with that exnation.

    ¡°For the time being, we have to do something about it. This isn¡¯t good.¡± (Yuna)

    The worm and the wyverns have been cleared away. But the corpses of wolves, goblins, and orcs were still scattered around.

    And the bear house. Ah, and I didn¡¯t change my clothes, so I¡¯m still a bear.

    Well, it¡¯s my usual look, so it¡¯s okay.

    ¡°Cereille, please get Keith¡± (Yuna)

    If Keith was still in the bear house, I cannot put the house away in the bear box.

    ¡°Keith?¡± (Cereille)

    They¡¯re moving fast. They¡¯re probably riding on horses.

    ¡°No. We won¡¯t make it. We¡¯ll not make it in time.¡± (Yuna)

    I saw someone on a horseing toward us.

    I couldn¡¯t make it in time.

    ¡°Ah whatever, Cereille. For now, just deceive them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°How can I deceive them!?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Please do it properly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Cereille)

    If they¡¯re adventurers, we could tell lies. But the most problematic thing about this scene was the exnation of the bear house, and that a wandering adventurer defeated the monsters.

    As I pondered what to do, unexpected words came out of Cereille¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°That¡¯s my father.¡± (Cereille)

    I looked at the person who wasing towards us.

    Indeed. The man on the horse was Cereille¡¯s father. So that means the one with him was an escort?

    Cereille¡¯s fatheres straight to us, looking at the fallen monsters around him.

    ¡°Yuna, what should we do!¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Even if you ask me that, I don¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    This time, Cereille was beginning to panic.

    ¡°You have to report to your father.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not ready for that.¡± (Cereille)

    I can¡¯t do that either.

    Regardless of our feelings, Cereille¡¯s fatheres to us.

    ¡°Cereille!¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father dismounted from his horse.

    ¡°Father¡­ why are you here?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I saw your letter, and found out you left the city, so I came after you.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille looked at me with a troubled expression. I¡¯m the one in trouble, you know. What should I do?

    Cereille¡¯s father looked around slightly, then looked at Cereille.

    ¡°Cereille, are you alright?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I have a lot of questions. But first, is Keith safe?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s uninjured. He¡¯s sleeping right there in that house.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille¡¯s father turned his gaze at the bear house and gave it a subtle look.

    Well, he was informed that his son was kidnapped and yet not injured, but now, he was told that his son was in a house shaped like a bear, he would obviously have that reaction.

    ¡°I see. You¡¯re both safe. So, what about these monsters?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father looked around. Countless corpses of wolves and goblins were scattered.

    I have no choice but to exin it.

    At the very least the worm and wyverns were already tucked away in the bear box.

    ¡°This is not a good ce to talk, why don¡¯t we talk inside the house?¡± (Yuna)

    It may take a while. I guess we could start preparing to head back to town, but they¡¯re definitely not in the mood for that.

    Either way, they will have to go inside the bear house to check on Keith.

    At my suggestion, Cereille¡¯s father looked at the bear house suspiciously.

    ¡°Etto, and you are?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Apparently, he didn¡¯t recognize me because of my bear outfit.

    ¡°Father, she¡¯s Yuna, the one who came to our house the other day together with Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°¡­.Ah, so you¡¯re the one with the youngdy Noa. But why were you dressed as a bear?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Father, let¡¯s go inside first.¡± (Cereille)

    When I was about to answer, Cereille offered me a helping hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go then.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    He asked the escort to stay outside and continue to check the perimeter with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I also informed the escort that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were docile. The escort looked doubtful, but he still nodded.

    Then I took Cereille and her father inside the bear house.

    Cereille¡¯s father looked inside the bear house curiously. Then, when he saw Keith sleeping on the sofa, he rushed to Keith, just as Cereille did earlier.

    ¡°Father, he¡¯s okay. He¡¯s just sleeping.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille told her father the same words I said to her earlier.

    I prepared tea and ced it on the table.

    ¡°Have some tea and talk. I¡¯ll leave you guys by yourselves.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, Yuna, please stay with us.¡± (Cereille)

    I couldn¡¯t escape.

    Cereille and I sat on the sofa, and Cereille¡¯s father sat on the opposite side, facing us.

    Cereille¡¯s father stared at Cereille, but Cereille looked away to escape his gaze.

    ¡°Now then, how about some exnation?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille began to speak slowly and in order.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This is how Cereille¡¯s father arrived.

    Once this is done, we should be able to get back to Noa¡­¡­ hopefully.

    [Notice] The next post may be dyed next week. I hope you understand.

 Chapter 537 - Bear-san, Explains.

    <h4>Chapter 537 - Bear-san, Exins.</h4>

    Bear-san, Exins.

    Cereille began to speak slowly.

    A hazy recollection of the man¡¯s words from the time her mother was murdered. The possibility that the man could have appeared before her on her 16th birthday. The possibility that if she told anyone, her brother would have been killed. That she had carried a sword and learned magic in order to protect herself and avenge her mother.

    Cereille¡¯s father silently listens to Cereille¡¯s narration as she speaks of her past.

    And today, Keith was kidnapped, and there was a letter in his room. That Cereille went alone as per the letter¡¯s demands. Then I added to the exnation that I saw Cereille rushing out and felt ufortable, so I went after her.

    !!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought you were trying to be strong after your mother was killed in front of you. I didn¡¯t think it was for when the person who killed Shulia would show up.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°I, too, have told Father that I was simply protecting myself.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°When I read the letter tucked into the book, I knew you were ready to die. I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of losing you and Keith, so I ran after you.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Father¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I gave you a hard time.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°You¡¯re not to me, father. Mother¡¯s murder was like a nightmare. I didn¡¯t understand at the time that it was real. But I couldn¡¯t tell anyone, even though I was very young, because I knew that if what the man had said was true, I would never be able to tell anyone. All I could do was learn to use a sword, learn magic, and wait for my 16th birthday.¡± (Cereille)

    Thinking about it, it was already a long time. If it were me, I would¡¯ve gone crazy.

    But, atst, something that she has carried for many years hase to an end. Cereille is only 16 years old. Her life is just beginning.

    ¡°So, the man¡­¡­¡± (Count Fornitz)

    To that question, Cereille swallowed her saliva, looked straight at her father, and slowly opened her mouth.

    ¡°I killed him.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille¡¯s father rose from his chair and slowly approached Cereille. Cereille stiffened her body. And he gently hugged her.

    ¡°I¡¯m really, sorry.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Father¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Tears streamed down Cereille¡¯s eyes.

    Good, really good. However, I felt that the girl dressed as a bear next to them was ruining the emotional atmosphere. It¡¯s ruining it image-wise.

    Then I exined what happened here with Cereille and me, while also describing some of the things that happened as vaguely as possible.

    ¡°Manipted the monsters¡­ And she had single-handedly defeated those assembled monsters¡­¡± (Count Fornitz)

    In the end, there was no way I could cover up the monsters lying outside, so I told him that I had defeated them. At first, he thought it seemed incredulous, but after I exined to him about the monsters and showed him my guild card, he was convinced that my adventurer rank was C.

    The only thing I kept hidden was about the worm and the wyverns.

    Just talking about controlling monsters was already unbelievable, but there was no need to talk about the worm and the wyverns, you know.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Yuna. The man said he threw the magic stone into theke, how did you find it?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked me as if she had just remembered. Of course, I can¡¯t answer that. So I replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s a maiden¡¯s secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­You mean, you are a maiden?¡± (Cereille)

    I am dressed as a bear, but I¡¯m still a maiden.

    Cereille gave me a subtle look, but did not ask me any more questions. Perhaps she sensed that I did not want to talk about it.

    Well, that¡¯s the whole story. Cereille¡¯s father couldn¡¯t seem to take it all in, but he didn¡¯t pursue it any further because Cereille and Keith were safe.

    ¡°Yuna-san, was it? Thank you for saving my daughter this time.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    He bowed his head towards me.

    ¡°I¡¯m just d Cereille and Keith are safe.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s the most important thing.

    Then we discussed what we were going to do. Mainly about the monsters outside the bear house.

    I offered that I¡¯ll handle it, but Cereille¡¯s father shook his head.

    ¡°Both of you must be tired. We¡¯ll leave two guards here. Then I¡¯ll request the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to take care of the monsters.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Father, I just heard from Yuna. It seems that every year at this time he gathers the monsters and there are no adventurers.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯ve received reports about it. I¡¯ll let the guild officials take care of it. They should at least have enough hands to deal with the monsters.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Indeed, in Crimonia, the Gentz-san, and the other guild employees were also dismantling monsters. The guys here should have a lot of free time during this time of year, so they might be d to get some work done.

    I would probably want to enjoy my free time, though.

    ¡°But how are you going to exin it? I promised not to mention Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    I asked them to keep quiet about me because it¡¯s a hassle.

    ¡°If the one who subdued it cannot be found, then it will belong to the one who found it. We can keep her involvement a secret. Besides, they will not look into my request too deeply.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Well, he¡¯s the lord of this city. They won¡¯t ask too many questions.

    Also, the material from the monsters would be given to me in mary form.

    Well, I don¡¯t have a problem with money, but I decided to ept it gratefully.

    We decided to head back to the city.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯m going to change, so wait outside for a minute.¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille¡¯s father understood the meaning of my words, and after carrying Keith on his back, he walked out of the bear house. Cereille followed him.

    Once I saw that they were outside, I took off my bear suit.

    `Ha~a~¡¯

    It¡¯s cool. I knew I shouldn¡¯t be wearing a bear suit over my uniform. I¡¯m sweating a little. I need to take a bathter.

    I put my bear costume in the bear box and left the bear house.

    When I got outside, Cereille came to me.

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯m sorry, but could you show that man to my father?¡± (Cereille)

    Apparently, he wanted to see the man¡¯s face before we left. The coffin has a tight lid that won¡¯te off.

    I turned my back on Cereille and went to the coffin on wheels. At that moment, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Cereille shouted.

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n!¡±

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Cereille)

    I turned around.

    ¡°What!? A monster!?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No! Your panties! Your skirt is rolled up!¡± (Cereille)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear covered my front and back, then Cereille rushed over to fix my skirt.

    ¡°Did you perhaps see it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t see any bears!¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°!?¡±

    She¡¯s not denying it. I think my face instantly turned red. I ran into the bear house as if to escape.

    They saw the bear panties.

    ¡°Yuna, it¡¯s okay. Only Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and I saw it. Neither my father nor the others saw it from their positions, so it¡¯s fine.¡± (Cereille)

    From the other side of the door, Cereille did her best to exin.

    ¡°Really?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really! Everyone was looking at the coffin. And when you turned around, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were behind you, right? Before anyone realized it, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were already protecting you. So, no one saw the bear¡¯s panties.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille delivered the killing blow.

    I knew it! She saw it!

    But I can¡¯t stay cooped up in the bear house forever, so I changed my mind and left the bear house.

    When I looked at everyone, they seemed to be looking away.

    That¡¯s right, since Cereille shouted panties, panties, of course, they¡¯ll look away.

    For the time being, I maintained myposure and opened the coffin¡¯s lid again. Cereille¡¯s father did not look at me at all, but checked the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him. From what I¡¯ve heard, he may have been a student at the same academy as Shulia.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father was apparently three years older than his wife.

    One of the people who came as an escort had to pull the coffin with a horse. I did not exin the mini bear golem, so he tilted his head when he saw it. If he said he would pull it, there was no need for me to do it, so I put the mini bear golem away.

    Then I put the bear house away in the bear box. As you can imagine, when I did that, everyone was surprised.

    ¡°I was very surprised when it suddenly appeared, but it was still a surprising thing to see when I see you put items into your item bag.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille¡¯s father then instructed two of the four guards to stay here and the other two to return to the city and ask the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to deal with the monster corpses.

    Cereille¡¯s father rode his horse with Keith on his back. There¡¯s no sign of him waking up, is the drug still in effect?

    If possible, I would like him to sleep until he gets home.

    Cereille rode on Swaying Bear, and I¡¯m riding on Hugging Bear.

    Then we moved to where Cereille¡¯s horse was.

    ¡°Thank you, Swaying Bear.¡± (Cereille)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Cereille dismounted from Swaying Bear and moved to her horse. She lightly pet the horse¡¯s neck then she gets on the horse. The horse also looked happy to see Cereille was back.

    Then, without any further incident, we returned to the city, but the gatekeeper stared at Hugging Bear and me.

    Well, if a girl showed up on a white bear, anyone would be surprised.

    Cereille¡¯s father interceded with him about Hugging Bear, so we never got into trouble.

    As expected of the lord of the city.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, thank you so much. I will treat you tomorrow as my thanks, so be sure toe by.¡± (Cereille)

    I tried to refuse their thanks, but Cereille¡¯s father also insisted, so I couldn¡¯t say no. They had a lot to do today, and Cereille was tired, so it was decided that the treat would be tomorrow.

    Most importantly, Cereille must be physically and mentally exhausted.

    ¡°Go get some rest.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you put it that way, Yuna, you should be more tired than I am. How many monsters do you think you have defeated alone?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille was worried about me, but I¡¯m not tired at all.

    At the very least, my bear shoes will keep me from getting tired even when running at full speed.

    I parted from Cereille and the others and went to the academy.

    Noa, I hope she¡¯s not mad at me.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    There¡¯s a bear next to a parent and child having a serious conversation. (lol)

    But now we can finally go back to Noa¡¯s side.

    [Notice] As I mentioned in the postscriptst time, I will be postingte this week. Please understand.

 Chapter 538 - Bear-sanâ€™s Blunder

    <h4>Chapter 538 - Bear-san¡¯s Blunder</h4>

    Bear-san¡¯s Blunder

    I left Cereille¡¯s group, then headed to Noa¡¯s location.

    I think she¡¯ll be okay, but I¡¯m still a little worried. I was supposed to go to Cereille¡¯s house for a short while and return, but I had no idea I would have to go outside the city to fight monsters.

    I entered the academy grounds, then headed to theke. There, despite my worries, the scene was the same as it had been before I went to Cereille¡¯s house. I could hear the students ying happily, a barbecue was being prepared, and it even smelled good.

    !!

    A little mistake and this scene would have been gone. I¡¯m d we could stop the man from whatever he was attempting.

    One man¡¯s love affair nearly made many innocent people grieve due to his malice. He was a really annoying guy. He had a talent for magic, so other women might have approached him if he had been on the right track.

    Now, where¡¯s Noa?

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san!¡±

    I was looking for Noa, and yet, she found me first. Noa came to me in a bathing suit.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯rete. Were you able to meet with Cereille-sama?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, I got to meet her. I¡¯m sorry it took me so long to get back here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m d to hear that nothing happened to you. You were taking so long, so I thought you might have been roped into some kind of trouble.¡± (Noa)

    She¡¯s got a sharp intuition.

    ¡°But I thought you would be okay because you weren¡¯t dressed as a bear today. I was still worried, though.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, I always get into trouble because of my bear outfit. But that was definitely not the case this time.

    Wait, if I don¡¯t have my bear equipment and still got involved, does that mean ¨C I am a trouble ma?

    ¡°So, you have finished your business with Cereille-sama, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± (Yuna)

    I think Cereille and the others have a lot of things to do, like investigating the man, but I don¡¯t have anything to do with it.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go and y together. Yuna-san, please hurry up and change into your swimsuit.¡± (Noa)

    Noa grabbed my bear puppet.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m good.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You promised to y with me when youe back.¡± (Noa)

    Oh right, I feel like I made that promise. Too many things have happened for me to remember.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily pulled my hand and started walking.

    Ultimately, I could not escape from Noa, so I had to change into my swimsuit and y with Noa and Shia.

    It was nice to y, but there was no way my legs and back could keep up with the youngsters, and needless to say, I went down early. It was hard for a former social recluse to y with young people who were so energetic.

    Incidentally, I put the bear equipment away in the bear box and yed wearing the white bear puppet.

    ¡°So Shia and the others are leaving the city tomorrow, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-san, why don¡¯t youe home with us? You are going to stop by at the royal capital, right?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯ll stop by at the royal capital, but I¡¯m supposed to go to Cereille¡¯s tomorrow, so I don¡¯t think I can join you.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, since I would be riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back home, I would be seen by other students. That would be a hassle, so I would prefer not to go home with them.

    ¡°What about you, Noa? Will you go back to the royal capital with Shia? Or do you want to go back with me?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m here as Noa¡¯s escort, but she should be safe with Shia and the other students.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going home with Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered without hesitation.

    ¡°Are you sure? We¡¯ll be a littlete.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think my father will be angry if it is only for a few days. Besides, if I go home with Oneesama¡¯s group, he might think that you have abandoned your work. Of course, my mother and father will understand if you exin properly, but I don¡¯t think there is any need to add unnecessary trouble.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, if Noa returns to the royal capital alone first, Eleanora-san would find out about it. If that happens, Cliff would be informed about it too. I¡¯m sure it would be okay if I exined it properly, but the ¡®exining properly¡¯ part was the exact problem.

    ¡°Besides, we are going to ride back home on Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan. I can¡¯t miss that.¡± (Noa)

    Noa dered emphatically.

    ¡°I lost to the bears.¡± (Shia)

    Shia deliberately made a sad face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Oneesama. Instead, I promised you that I would sleep with you tonight. Besides, we are going to the royal capital so we can be together again.¡± (Noa)

    Apparently, she promised to sleep with Shia again this evening. However, she was tired of cheering yesterday and just fell asleep in Shia¡¯s room.

    ¡°Yuna-san. I know I took the liberty of deciding, but is it okay if I stay at Oneesama¡¯s ce?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. You haven¡¯t seen Shia in quite a while, right? Go ahead and y with her.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s good that the sisters were close.

    Then, I apanied Shia to buy some souvenirs, and the evening came.

    ¡°Well, then, tomorrow I¡¯ll be in front of the academy at the same time as today¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    By the way, Swaying Bear escorted Noa yesterday, so Hugging Bear will escort Noa today. We have to do it alternately.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, take care of Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Noa held Hugging Bear, who had turned into a bear cub, in her arms and went together with Shia to her room.

    I returned to the inn alone and copsed on the bed.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired ~¡± (Yuna)

    After dinner, all that was left was to take a bath and go to bed.

    I was physically tired because I was not wearing my bear equipment, and I was also mentally tired because of those youngsters, the energetic power of that group.

    Honestly, it¡¯s great to be young.

    Out of nowhere, I heard a voice saying you¡¯re still 15 years old, you know¡­ But I don¡¯t care.

    To be clear, I was dozens of times more tired ying in theke with Noa and the others than fighting monsters. Moving around would be tiring if I don¡¯t have my bear shoes. In the water, it¡¯s much slower to move around and it also puts more strain on the body. It¡¯s good exercise, yeah, but it¡¯s also exhausting.

    It reminds me of pool ss in elementary school. I used to getzy and sleepy afterward.

    I would like to go to the hot spring in the Land of Harmony and get rid of the fatigue of the day.

    ¡°I want to go to the hot springs.¡± (Yuna)

    Feeling that way, the desire to go to the hot springs gradually grew.

    I acted immediately. I took out the bear gate of transition, and I arrived (via bear gate teleportation) at the hot spring in the Land of Harmony.

    The room was pitch ck, so I used the bear light magic to brighten the room. Of course, there were no lighting on in the rooms that were not in use. The only room with a light on was probably Kagali-san¡¯s room.

    I¡¯ll greet Kagali-san and then head to the hot spring. I entered Kagali-san¡¯s room. In the back of the room, I saw Kagali-san in an open window, looking out, and sipping a delicious drink. Her tail, which was sticking out from under her clothes, was wagging, as if she was in a good mood.

    By the way, Kagali-san is still a little girl.

    ¡°Good evening, Kagali-san¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s you, after all. Hot springs?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san seems to be able to tell through her senses.

    Is it because she¡¯s a fox?

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a little tired, so I came to take a dip in the hot springs.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So, what¡¯s with the weird outfit? I didn¡¯t recognize you for a moment.¡± (Kagali)

    I am still in my uniform.

    I would change my clothes once I got out of the hot spring anyway, so I came as I was.

    However, it may look weird from the perspective of the people here. The uniform may be unfamiliar form of clothing to them.

    ¡°Noment on clothes. I¡¯ll be using the hot spring then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This is your house. You don¡¯t need to ask for my permission.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°In the meantime, you¡¯re the one taking care of it.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s amon courtesy. Besides, Kagali-san may feel ufortable about entering the hot spring without being informed.

    So I tried to say a few words to her when I came.

    After saying my piece to Kagali-san, I headed for the hot springs.

    When I came to the changing room, I summoned Swaying Bear, in cub form. I then took off my uniform and went to the hot springs with Swaying Bear.

    I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to get into the hot spring and wash Swaying Bear¡¯s body for protecting Cereille. Swaying Bear looked sofortable. Next time Ie back, I will have to wash Hugging Bear¡¯s body too.

    Now that I thought I should wash Hugging Bear¡¯s body next time, I just don¡¯t know when it would be.

    I finished washing Swaying Bear, so I washed myself and went into the hot spring.

    `Fu ha~a¡¯

    It¡¯s a little hot, but the hot spring water soaks into my body.

    It feels so good. I rubbed my thighs and arms to avoid muscle pain.

    I need to physically work out more, especially without my bear equipment.

    How many times have I thought of that? Most of the time, I ended up as a three-day monk.

    Because muscle training is tiring, tedious, and annoying.

    After I had relieved myself from exhaustion in the hot spring, I dried and brushed Swaying Bear¡¯s fur when we got out of the hot spring. Then, when we returned (via the bear teleportal gate) to the inn in Euphalia, I fell into bed with Swaying Bear and fell into a dream world with him.

    The next day, I was woken up by Swaying Bear, and so we head for the academy. When we arrived at the school gate, Noa and Shia were waiting for me, just like yesterday.

    ¡°Good morning, you two.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, we have a problem.¡± (Noa)

    Noa came running up to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but when I woke up in the morning, Hugging Bear-chan looked like this.¡± (Noa)

    Noa showed me Hugging Bear that she was holding.

    Hugging Bear looked sad.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    In Noa¡¯s arms, Hugging Bear made a sad `ku~u ~ n¡¯ and didn¡¯t look at me. Is he sulking?

    Could it be that he knew that I went into the hot spring in the Land of Harmony alone with Swaying Bear?

    No, he definitely knew about it. I didn¡¯t mean to hide it. Hugging Bear was sulking at the fact that I left him behind and went to the hot spring with Swaying Bear.

    ¡°What should I do, Yuna-san? Did I do something wrong?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looks anxious.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Noa. It¡¯s mine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I went out with Swaying Bear a little bitst night. Hugging Bear felt like he was left behind, so I guess that¡¯s the reason he¡¯s sulking.¡± (Yuna)

    I received Hugging Bear from Noa and embraced it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Hugging Bear. I didn¡¯t mean to leave you behind. Let¡¯s go together next time. I¡¯ll wash your body and sleep with you.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Hugging Bear cried while turning away.

    This might take a while until I could calm him down.

    I learned a lesson today¡­

    No matter how tired I am, I should never go to a hot spring without both of them.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It has been a while since Hugging Bear sulked.

 Chapter 539 - Bear-san, Goes To Cereilleâ€™s Residence To Talk

    <h4>Chapter 539 - Bear-san, Goes To Cereille¡¯s Residence To Talk</h4>

    Bear-san, Goes To Cereille¡¯s Residence To Talk

    I hold the sulking Hugging Bear in my arms and gently stroke it. Hugging Bear then cuddled me as if he wanted to be spoiled more.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan. You thought that Yuna-san had left you and gone away, didn¡¯t you? When I woke up in the morning, you looked so sad that I thought I had done something wrong.¡± (Noa)

    !!

    Noa strokes the head of Hugging Bear I¡¯m holding.

    ¡°Yuna-san. You shouldn¡¯t leave Hugging Bear-chan behind and go somewhere.¡± (Noa)

    I was reprimanded by Noa.

    I was so tired yesterday and couldn¡¯t resist the desire to go to the hot spring.

    But I promise not to leave him behind in the future.

    Then Noa wants to see off Shia and the students heading to the royal capital.

    Over the past few days, Noa has be good friends with the students. After I retired from theke yesterday, Noa and Shia were still ying with the students.

    Since I had also been a great help in the grouppetition, I decided to say hello to them at least.

    So, I repatriated Hugging Bear, not before I promised to summon him properly at night, bathe him, and sleep with him.

    Euphalia students were also there to see them off, and they were talking about next year. Among them was Cereille. She was smiling, but she looked exhausted.

    That incident was just yesterday. It¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s still tired. Cereille came to me like that.

    ¡°So Yuna is here too.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille, are you okay? Shouldn¡¯t you take a break rather than see them off?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My father told me the same thing. But I rested properly, so I¡¯m fine. Yuna is probably more tired than I am.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I took a bath and slept soundly, so I¡¯m okay too.¡± (Yuna)

    I thought she could at least take a break, but it seems she has a lot of things to deal with, like her position as a nobleman and the daughter of a lord.

    She still has some meet and greets to do.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing youter, Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    When Cereille left, she went to greet the teachers and students going to the royal capital.

    Like her position, she probably has a strong sense of responsibility. That¡¯s why she¡¯s well-liked, regardless of grade level. There were always people around Cereille.

    I went to Noa.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see youter, Noa. I¡¯ll head back first. Listen to Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yes. Please return safely too, Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna-san, please take care of Noa.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he gets home.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go back with us, Yuuna and Noire?¡± (Student)

    A student from the royal capital who was listening to our conversation spoke to us.

    ¡°Because Noa and I will have to remain in the city a little longer.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. I would have liked to talk to you, too bad.¡± (Student)

    After every students boarded the carriage, they departed for return trip to the royal capital.

    Noa waved her hand and looked away from the carriage.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯ll see her soon enough when we get to the capital.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± (Noa)

    Euphalia academy¡¯s students have sses, so they will continue to head to their ssrooms. It¡¯s a no wonder because the main objective for students is to study and learn.

    As the others started to move, Cereille remained and came to me.

    ¡°Yuna, here you are. Now let¡¯s go to the mansion.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Are you okay with your sses?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Today, I¡¯m taking a day off because of my family¡¯s circumstances, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Cereille)

    Well, there was a kidnapping. That¡¯s reason enough.

    We then went to her mansion in a carriage. Cereille¡¯s father had prepared it because he was concerned about Cereille¡¯s health.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san, why are we going to Cereille-sama¡¯s mansion?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You haven¡¯t told her yet, have you?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille asked me to confirm.

    ¡°It¡¯s not something easy to talk about, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I appreciate it.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who sensed something in our conversation, asked, ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details, but Yuna saved my life yesterday. I called her home today to thank her for saving my life.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Life¡­¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa muttered in a small voice as if she felt the weight of Cereille¡¯s words.

    ¡°Without Yuna, I would have been dead. And even if I hadn¡¯t died, I might not have been here in front of you. I cannot thank Yuna enough.¡± (Cereille)

    If I had not intervened, I believe Cereille would have given herself up for her brother and the city. It was truly a coincidence that I was able to save her.

    If I had acted a bitte, I would not have met Cereille. If I had not been concerned about what the man had thrown away at theke, if I had not picked up the magic stone, I would not have thought of consulting Cereille.

    This was also thanks to Noa ying with Shia untilte. Thanks to that, I was able to witness the dumping of the magic stone in the site (theke).

    ¡°I see, it all happened yesterday.¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s expression darkens as she listens.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san. You were tired yesterday. But still, I forcibly invited you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa remembered what happened yesterday and became depressed.

    No, that was just because I didn¡¯t have my bear equipment, I normally don¡¯t have stamina.

    It was never because I fought the monsters.

    ¡°Noa, don¡¯t worry about it. I had fun, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡­¡± (Noa)

    I gently pat Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°I am not allowed to go with you to talk about such an important matter, right? I will wait for you at the inn.¡± (Noa)

    Noa concernedly said so.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, Noa cane with us. However, I don¡¯t think we can discuss the details, so I¡¯ll have to ask you to stay in the other room.¡± (Cereille)

    I don¡¯t know what kind of stories they will tell, but if they tell the ones I heard yesterday, I don¡¯t want Noa to hear them. If they tell her about Keith being kidnapped, she might remember the time when Misa was kidnapped. If she hears why Cereille¡¯s mother died, she might be sad.

    There¡¯s no need for Noa to be heartbroken over something that has nothing to do with her.

    ¡°I am also a nobleman¡¯s daughter. I think I understand. If it were in my case, I would not have been able to tell you about private matters too. I know that you care about me just because you told me that, Cereille-sama. So please do not worry about it.¡± (Noa)

    Noa responded in the manner befitting an aristocratic daughter.

    She really wants to know more, but she doesn¡¯t ask deeply because she¡¯s sensible. I really think she¡¯s refined in that part.

    Usually, she acts childish, but in these situations, she acts and behaves like a proper nobledy.

    ¡°Thank you, Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    The carriage arrived at Cereille¡¯s mansion. We entered the mansion, then stopped in front of a room.

    ¡°Noa, please wait in this room. I will have some delicious snacks brought inter.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, thank you for your concern.¡± (Noa)

    I saw Noa off as she entered the room, then Cereille and I headed for another room.

    After a short walk and standing in front of a door, Cereille knocked and opened the door.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯m back.¡± (Cereille)

    In the room was Cereille¡¯s father.

    Cereille¡¯s father asked me to sit in a chair, I sat in front of him, and Cereille sat next to her father.

    ¡°Thank you very much foring.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father bowed his head lightly.

    I first asked the thing I could not ask earlier because Noa was there.

    ¡°Is Keith okay? Did he wake up?¡± (Yuna)

    It would have been a big problem if he had stayed asleep like that. There¡¯s a possibility that he was put to sleep by magic and would remain asleep for the rest of his life.

    ¡°He woke upst night.¡± (Cereille)

    I am relieved to hear those words.

    It didn¡¯t seem to be the worst case situation.

    ¡°When he woke up, he was surprised to find out that the day was over. Apparently, he didn¡¯t remember what happened when he was kidnapped.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°My father hugged Keith, and Keith looked like he didn¡¯t know what that meant.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Hey, you hugged him too, you know.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°It¡¯s natural for a sister to be worried about her brother.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s not weird for a father to care for his son either.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    They worried about each other, it¡¯s a good family.

    It¡¯s too dazzling to me. If I had a family like this, would I have nevere to another world?

    But I have gained many important things bying to this world. So I am d I came here.

    Cereille¡¯s father, looking a little embarrassed, changes the subject.

    ¡°First of all, please ept this. It¡¯s the money for the monsters that Yuna-san defeated.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father handed out a coin pouch in front of me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lot?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It also contains money to thank you for saving my daughter and son. Please ept it.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°As I¡¯ve told Cereille, I just helped my friend, so I don¡¯t need a reward.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This is my appreciation as a father. A parent who appreciates their daughters¡¯ friends. So just because they are my daughter¡¯s friends is no reason not to thank them.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    If you say it like that, I can¡¯t refuse, so I will ept the money obediently.

    I then asked him about the man, but he said he was still conducting further investigations.

    Well, it was just yesterday. They won¡¯t be gathering information anytime soon. Also, they were going to report this incident to the king.

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to believe this.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Cereille¡¯s father seemed less confident.

    ¡°He¡¯ll believe it.¡± (Yuna)

    The king had already experienced that incident when the monsters gathered in the royal capital, he would definitely believe it.

    ¡°If he didn¡¯t believe you, just mention my name.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Mention your name, Yuna-san?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°I think he¡¯ll believe your report at that time.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s going to be a hassle, but thest thing they need is for the king not to believe them.

    ¡°Yuna-san, just who are you?¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little acquainted with His Majesty the King.¡± (Yuna)

    Both of them looked incredulous at my words.

    For a king to believe the words of a person dressed as a bear, right?

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    One or two more episodes to end the Euphalia arc. Thank you for your continued support.

    [Notice] Episode 24 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Comic PASH! A boyes to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and Yuna heads to the ck Viper to save the vige.

    [Notice] The 19th episode (second half) of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± will be released today at 11:00 a.m. on Nico Nico Manga. Please check it out as well.

 Chapter 540 - Bear-san, Attends Birthday Party

    <h4>Chapter 540 - Bear-san, Attends Birthday Party</h4>

    Bear-san, Attends Birthday Party

    =====

    It¡¯s Cereille¡¯s birthday, and although it has been an ambiguous few days, I have decided to carry it out today.

    I have revised the text to match the past text as well. (I apologize for any omissions.)

    -Kumanano

    !!

    =====

    I¡¯ve finished listening to the synopsis of yesterday¡¯s events.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, please wait.¡± (Cereille)

    I was about to get up from my chair when Cereille stopped me.

    ¡°As a matter of fact, today I turned 16.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Really? Congrattions, Cereille!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much. So, after all of what happened yesterday, we are having my birthday party today. I thought about canceling it, but my father told me that since it was originally nned, there was no need to cancel it¡­¡­¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at her father.

    ¡°The cooks are also getting ready. And I think the servants will be worried if we cancel it. Besides, I don¡¯t think thete Shulia would want us to cancel it.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry it became my birthday party, even though it¡¯s supposed to be a thank you party for Yuna. Still, will you join us?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looked at me with serious eyes.

    Normally, I would refuse, but when I saw the seriousness in Cereille¡¯s eyes, it became hard for me to decline.

    ¡°Who will be there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s just us. In fact, I had already asked my father to have only family members at my 16th birthday party, just in case I wasn¡¯t there on the day of the party. I might not be able to show up after all.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille said it with difficulty since her father was standing beside her.

    I was prepared for that, after all.

    ¡°In fact, I told them to prepare food for both you and Noa as well.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I would like to ask you the same. Please join us.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    Even Cereille¡¯s father was asking me to join.

    But I can¡¯t just decide on my own.

    ¡°Can I discuss this with Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course. I don¡¯t mind.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille and I went to the room where Noa was and exined about Cereille¡¯s birthday party.

    ¡°Cereille-sama¡¯s birthday party?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes. You can join us if you like.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t prepared any presents.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t need any of that. But I would be happy to hear the stories about Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll join you. If it¡¯s Yuna-san¡¯s story, then leave it to me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You two are kidding, right?¡± (Yuna)

    They just smiled at my words.

    It¡¯s an invasion of privacy, so I would really like for you to stop.

    But a present, huh? Speaking of birthdays, there¡¯s that.

    ¡°Noa. I know a good gift. Would you like to bake a cake with me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A cake?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I think we can make it since we still have time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, I think that¡¯s an excellent idea.¡±

    Noa agreed with my idea.

    If it¡¯s a cake, I have it in the bear box, but it¡¯ll be more of a gift if we make it ourselves. Noa can prepare it as a present too. If I do that, they won¡¯t have to talk about me, will they?

    ¡°And so, Cereille. Kitchen¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I was going to borrow the kitchen, but I realized I can¡¯t because the cook will be cooking for the birthday party. If we cook together, we will be in the way.

    There¡¯s no ce to make a cake.

    Thest resort would be to put up a bear house in the yard. However, putting up the bear house might startle the servants and nearby residents. It might cause an unnecessarymotion.

    ¡°Kitchen?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I thought I¡¯d make something good for Cereille. But I can¡¯t borrow the kitchen because the cooks are busy, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Yuna)

    Cereille mulled at my words.

    ¡°There is a separate kitchen, so I think it should be fine there. But Yuna and Noa are our guests. So I can¡¯t really ask you for something like that.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Cereille-sama. The cakes that Yuna-san makes are very delicious. I want you to eat them. We can¡¯t prepare a gift, but we can at least make you something else. So would you let us do it?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked on my behalf.

    ¡°I understand. Please feel free to use the separate kitchen. I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, leave it to us.¡± (Noa)

    We quickly move into the kitchen. It¡¯s small, but it¡¯s a decent kitchen. It¡¯s enough for baking a cake.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s start making it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    I took the utensils and ingredients out of the bear box and began to make a cake with Noa.

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t make it together for Misa¡¯s birthday partyst time, but we can do it now.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t invite Noa to join me in making Misa¡¯s birthday cake, so she was puffing her cheeks out.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting good at this, Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you. It makes me happy to hear you say that, Yuna-san. Actually, I¡¯m helping out with the cooking sometimes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯re a daughter of a noble, and you¡¯re cooking?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Before I met you, Yuna-san, I hardly did anything at all. But when I saw you and Fina making them, I wanted to make them too. I enjoyed making bear bread with Fina.¡± (Noa)

    If that bear bread made Noa¡¯s cooking experience fun, I¡¯m embarrassed, but I¡¯m still d.

    Noa¡¯s hands were not skilled, but she followed my instructions and helped me make the sponge cake. All that remained was to spread the cream, top it with strawberries and other fruit, and finally write ¡°Happy Birthday¡± to Cereille. Noa would be in charge of that.

    ¡°Am I allowed to write?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fina was the one who wrote on Misa¡¯s birthday cake, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, I can¡¯t lose to Fina.¡± (Noa)

    I don¡¯t know what thepetition was, but Noa was motivated, so she slowly and carefully wrote the strawberry cream letters.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Happy Birthday¡± was written by Noa. Thispletes the birthday cake.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure this will make Cereille happy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    We then go and tell Cereille that the cake is ready.

    ¡°Have you finished?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Deliciously done.¡± (Noa)

    I told her that we would serve the cake at the end of the meal.

    ¡°Fufu, I understand. The fun part would be at the end. Well, then, we are ready for you too, so pleasee this way.¡± (Cereille)

    What did she mean by ready?

    Noa and I followed Cereille.

    Then, as we followed Cereille, my body froze as soon as we entered the room.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re here, I¡¯ve prepared dresses for both of you.¡± (Cereille)

    Several dresses were hanging on hangers in the room.

    ¡°Uwa~, it¡¯s beautiful~¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I think the one I wore when I was a child will fit Noa. You can choose the one you like from here. Now, Yuna, please choose one from here.¡± (Cereille)

    I knew I would be wearing it, too.

    I have the dress Noa gave me in the bear box if it¡¯s a dress.

    Ipare Cereille¡¯s body shape with my own. I wonder how old she was when she wore that dress. Or was it a dress that she¡¯s still wearing today?

    It¡¯s only for a short time, but I¡¯m conflicted.

    Should I take out the dress Noa gave me and wear it myself? Or should I carry the conversation towards not wearing the dress because it doesn¡¯t suit me?

    Thetter would definitely not be possible. Noa and Cereille were wearing dresses.

    So, the only answer would be¡­

    ¡°I have a dress that Noa gave me, so I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    My face may have looked subtle when I answered that.

    After much deliberation, I decided to wear the dress Noa had given me.

    After all, if I borrowed Cereille¡¯s dress, and there was a big gap in one part, I would wet the pillow with tears. Furthermore, if she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that small,¡± or ¡°You¡¯re the same age as me, right?¡±, I may not be able to recover at all.

    So I chose the dress given by Noa to avoid any fatal emotional damage.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you brought it with you?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I just kept it in my item bag.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked happy when I took out the dress from the bear box.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s pick your dress too, Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Cereille began to choose a dress.

    `Ha~a¡¯

    I can only sigh.

    Unlike the two nobles, I¡¯m not used to wearing dresses. I wanted to shout.

    Noa then chose a bright blue colored dress and changed into it. Cereille changed into a dress with her, and I, reluctantly, changed into a dress as well. I feel even more ufortable than in my uniform.

    After we change into our respective dresses,stly, the maids did our hair.

    ¡°I always thought Yuna was pretty, but in a dress, she¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yuna-san is both pretty and beautiful.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Both of you are cute and beautiful.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa is cuter, and Cereille is more beautiful. The object makes it clear. I look slightly downwards. I look at Cereille¡¯s breasts.

    Yeah, I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t borrow Cereille¡¯s dress.

    It¡¯s making me sad, so let¡¯s notpare them any further.

    I find myself wishing it would end sooner rather thanter, even though it hasn¡¯t started yet.

    ¡°But I¡¯m d you wore the dress I gave you.¡± (Noa)

    At least Noa seemed to be happy about it.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go. Father and Keith are waiting for us.¡± (Cereille)

    When we got into the dining hall, I saw Keith with their father and a cheerful look on his face.

    When I saw him in good health, I was d I was able to sessfully rescue him.

    I think Keith was mesmerized by Noa.

    Even at that age, he¡¯s still a boy. So he can¡¯t help but notice Noa. The dress enhances Noa¡¯s cuteness.

    Cereille¡¯s fatherplimented us on our dresses then we sat down.

    And shortly after, the household staff brought out the food.

    They all look delicious.

    After a brief word from Cereille, we began to eat the food. Then we talked about the school¡¯s event. We talked about the individualpetition and then the final teampetition.

    ¡°Yuna was really strong. If it weren¡¯t for Yuna, Euphalia would have won.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Sister, did you lose?¡± (Keith)

    ¡°Unfortunately, I lost. Yuna was very strong, stronger than me. Stronger than anyone else.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll win for you.¡± (Keith)

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± (Cereille)

    Something about winning against his sister, Cereille, Keith seemed to have made me his rival. Well, I don¡¯t mind it, since I¡¯ll never have a match with Keith.

    ¡°I will be a strong man who can protect my sister.¡± (Keith)

    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t have to be strong anymore, so I¡¯ll leave it to you, Keith. Be strong.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Sister, is something wrong?¡± (Keith)

    He seemed to have sensed something in Cereille that was different from her usual mood.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. But you can¡¯t be just a strong man. It is also important to study hard and be considerate of others. That¡¯s right. I would be happy if you could be like Yuna.¡± (Cereille)

    Me?

    I¡¯m just fighting with my bear equipment, but it¡¯s also causing me so much trouble.

    ¡°Cereille, you should stop following my example¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to rebuke it, but a voice next to me agreed.

    ¡°I think so too. Yuna-san is a strong, kind, and wonderful person.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa. I¡¯m not that good enough of a person to be praised.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case, Yuna-san. You saved the children in the orphanage, saved my father, and saved Oneesama. Not only that. Yuna-san also¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Okay, I get it, don¡¯t say any more.¡± (Yuna)

    I stopped Noa before she said anything further.

    ¡°I was just about to tell them about Yuna-san¡¯s wonderfulness.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, Noa, you really like Yuna, don¡¯t you?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Yes, I like her very much.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, it¡¯s embarrassing, stop it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why is that?¡± (Noa)

    Please, don¡¯t look at me with such pure eyes.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It¡¯s been a while since she has worn a dress. In the books, it may be the first time in 10 volumes.

    ¡ù Thank you, as always, to everyone who has reported typos. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t reply to you, so I will just leave it here.

    [Postscript, 4/1] I will be a littlete because I have to work on the book for a while.

 Chapter 541 - Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital

    <h4>Chapter 541 - Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital</h4>

    Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital

    After the main course, the strawberry cake that Noa and I made together was finally ced in front of Cereille.

    ¡°Is this the sweet that Yuna and Noa made?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I hope you like it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Look at the writing on it.¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    The cake has the words ¡°Happy Birthday¡± written by Noa.

    ¡°Noa wrote it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Noa.¡± (Cereille)

    Noa looked happy when Cereille thanked her.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s cut it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad the letters have to disappear.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Well, cakes are food. I hope you keep them in your heart and remember them forever.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I will keep it in my heart as a memory for the rest of my life.¡± (Cereille)

    I realized I just said something embarrassing myself, but Cereille didn¡¯t seem to mind and agreed with me.

    ¡°Engrave it in my heart. It¡¯s a good word.¡± (Cereille)

    Even Noa got embarrassed by the line.

    I picked up a knife and cut the cake into pieces. Then I put the cake on a small te and ced it in front of each of us.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s try it.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille grabbed a fork, cut the cake into a bite-sized piece, and brought it into her little mouth like ady.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± (Cereille)

    Hearing Cereille¡¯s words, Keith and their father also ate the cake.

    ¡°Sister, it¡¯s delicious.¡± (Keith)

    Keith gave his opinion of the cake with a big smile. Not only the two of them but also their father ate it with relish.

    Good. It seemed to be well received by the three of them.

    I¡¯ll also have a bite.

    Yep, it¡¯s delicious.

    While eating the cake, Cereille¡¯s hand stopped.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna and Noa, for all your help. And thank you, father and Keith. This is the happiest birthday I have ever had. Every year, I was anxious for my 16th birthday to approach. So even though everyone was celebrating me, I felt a bad chill somewhere. But today I am delighted.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille had a big smile on her face, but there were a few tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Cereille.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Sister?¡± (Keith)

    Cereille¡¯s father was worried, and Keith was confused that his sister had burst into tears.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange. I¡¯m very happy, but why? Why can¡¯t I stop crying?¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille tried to wipe away her tears, but once they started flowing, they didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Cereille.¡± (Count Fornitz)

    ¡°Sister, please don¡¯t cry.¡± (Keith)

    Cereille¡¯s father stood up and hugged Cereille. Keith worriedly held Cereille¡¯s hand.

    Perhaps she was acting stoutly, but her 16th birthday may have broken the tension.

    For a long time, she had kept it all to herself, unable to tell anyone. Finally, she was able to talk to her father about it, and she was able to put an end to what had been tormenting her.

    It¡¯s not the same word as before, but in the back of her mind, she thought she couldn¡¯t celebrate her 16th birthday. As such, Cereille may have epted the celebration from her family from the bottom of her heart.

    It¡¯s no wonder that Cereille would burst into tears.

    Cereille¡¯s father hugged her tighter. The only sound in the quiet room was Cereille¡¯s crying.

    ¡°Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to Noa in a quiet voice and slightly looked at the door. Noa seemed to understand and gave a slight nod. Noa and I quietly stood up and stealthily left the room. Only family members are allowed to be there.

    Noa and I went back to the other room.

    ¡°Cereille-sama, she was suffering.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t go into details, but on her sixteenth birthday, her life was potentially in danger. Cereille has been learning sword and magic to prevent that. And now, she¡¯s finally free of that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you saved her, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It just so happened that Cereille was in a dangerous situation. And it was Cereille herself who had to endure it until today. But now that she has finally been freed from her torment, I hope she can enjoy her life from now on without being tied down by anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Noa)

    She¡¯s only 16 years old. Her life was just beginning. There were no more restrictions on Cereille. She can enjoy her school life or hang out with her friends. Being an aristocrat may be a bit of a burden, but I hope she will be able to live freely like Noa.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Noa)

    When I looked at Noa, she looked back at me strangely.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    I stroke Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°Ohe on, what¡¯s with that?¡± (Noa)

    Noa puffed her cheeks at my unintelligible behavior.

    After a while, we arrived at the room. As I was thinking about taking off my dress, Cereille came into the room.

    ¡°Yuna, Noa. I showed you something unsightly earlier. I¡¯m sorry for making you worry.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille looks a little embarrassed. Her eyes are also still a little red.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Cereille, you have worked hard all this time, so I think you have the right to cry. If anyone makes fun of Cereille for crying, I will clobber them up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but I understand that you have suffered so much. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s disgraceful for you to cry.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you, both of you.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille smiles.

    ¡°Cereille you¡¯re strong.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think Yuna is stronger.¡± (Cereille)

    I shook my head at Cereille¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that strength, I mean strong-minded. From a very young age, you¡¯ve been carrying that burden all alone and have kept it all by yourself. I think it wouldn¡¯t be strange if your heart gave up and broke at some point.¡± (Yuna)

    She might have taken it out on people or used the power of her position as a nobleman as a cover. A broken heart would have been enough to do horrible things.

    But that¡¯s not the case, and Cereille grew up strong.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°You can see it in the way the Euphalia students treat you, Cereille. They all adore you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Everyone. They adore me like this? I can¡¯t thank them enough.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve been freed from your curse, I think you should just go on living happily from now on.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s life. He who enjoys it wins.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I will refrain from practicing swords and magic for a while. Until now, I have neglected other things. Not in Yuna¡¯s words, but I will try to find something enjoyable. Things I couldn¡¯t do before.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°Good luck.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Cereille)

    Cereille has a big smile on her face.

    It looks like we don¡¯t have to worry anymore.

    We were asked to stay at Cereille¡¯s house that night. I asked Cereille to take care of the lodging formalities for me. I didn¡¯t even had any luggage at the inn, so I checked out without leaving anything there.

    And although it¡¯s not a hot spring, we borrowed the bath from Cereille so I could wash Hugging Bear and sleep with him that night. Of course, we change into matching pr bear outfits. Hugging Bear looks happy.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll sleep with you, Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa talked to Swaying Bear, who has turned into a bear cub.

    Noa, who knows about this morning, says, ¡°Swaying Bear-chan, you might be lonely. So I will take care of you tonight,¡± and Swaying Bear was wrapped in Noa¡¯s arms.

    Well, Noa seemed happy, and so was Swaying Bear. Swaying Bear has given his consent for me to be with Hugging Bear tonight.

    Swaying Bear seemed to understand this, so there was really no need tofort him.

    We turn off the light and get into our respective beds.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, good night.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°Good night, Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    We went to sleep.

    The next day, we¡¯re returning to the royal capital.

    Of course, I changed into a ck bear in the morning since I am Noa¡¯s escort. When Cereille and Cereille¡¯s father saw the bear, they had an indescribable expression on their faces.

    ¡°Yuna, are you going back dressed like that?¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t say anything.¡± (Yuna)

    For the time being, I deceived them with the ¡°divine protection of the bear¡± trick.

    More importantly, aside from safety features, the bear outfit wasfy and calming.

    ¡°After all, Yuna-san looks best in that bear outfit.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, that¡¯s not apliment, you know.

    Even though I wear it myself, I find it hard to believe when others tell me I look good wearing it.

    Then, through the arrangement of Cereille¡¯s father, I agreed to let them escort us to the city gates in a horse-drawn carriage. Cereille rides in the carriage with us.

    Then we arrived at Euphalia¡¯s city gates.

    ¡°Yuna, Noa. I am happy you showed up, so if you ever find yourselves in Euphalia, pleasee to our house. We would be happy to entertain you.¡± (Cereille)

    ¡°I don¡¯t need hospitality, but if I evere here, I¡¯ll show my face.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll let you know.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise then.¡± (Cereille)

    And with Cereille¡¯s help, we could depart the city of Euphalia without being pursued.

    Looking behind us, we saw Cereille watching us from inside the city.

    ¡°Cereille, see you again!¡± (Yuna)

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Noa rode Swaying Bear and I got on Hugging Bear, who was in a better mood, and we set off for the royal capital.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    This concludes the Euphalia arc.

    Thank you for reading this far.

    I would be happy if you could give me an evaluation of the story, including this chapter.

    Next chapter, I will write one story about the royal capital and the return to Crimonia.

    I think it will be an everyday life story for a while.

    Also, in the activity report, I am soliciting requests for the store bonus for volume 13 and a newly written SS, so please do not hesitate to contact me. The scope will be the desert arc.

    ¡ù Finally, thank you to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply to feedback, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    =====

 Chapter 542 - Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital

    <h4>Chapter 542 - Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital</h4>

    Bear-san, Returns To The Royal Capital

    After leaving the city of Euphalia, Noa and I arrived at the royal capitalter that day and were rxing at Eleanora-san¡¯s house.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan, does it feel good?¡± (Noa)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    !!

    ¡°I¡¯ll do Hugging Bear-chan next, so please wait a moment.¡± (Noa)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Noa is grooming Swaying Bear cub with a hand brush.

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done. Your turn, Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily started brushing Hugging Bear. While I was rxing watching Noa like that, Shia came back.

    ¡°Wee back, Oneesama.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Wee back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why are you both in the house!?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°It¡¯s because we overtook you guys and came back first.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s right, Noa and I passed the carriage the students were riding in on the way. Of course, we moved off the road to avoid being noticed.

    ¡°If you caught up, you could have just called out to us.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Together with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    Above all, I¡¯m not ¡®Yuuna¡¯, but Yuna. I am dressed as a bear, after all. If it were only Shia, I would have called out to her, but since there were other students, I wouldn¡¯t call out to them because it would be troublesome.

    ¡°But I also wanted toe home riding on Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, not on a horse-drawn carriage.¡± (Shia)

    Shia said and held Swaying Bear in her arms as Noa finished brushing him.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so nice and fluffy.¡± (Shia)

    Noa did a great job of brushing him.

    After that, Shia changed her clothes and started ying with Swaying Bear. While I was rxing on the sofa watching the sisters, Eleanora-san came home.

    ¡°Oh my, I thought it was lively in here, and then I saw that my three daughters had arrived home.¡± (Eleanora)

    You have two daughters. Not three. It¡¯s too much trouble, so I¡¯m not going to say anything.

    ¡°Mother, wee back.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san gently pats Noa¡¯s head as she runs up to her.

    ¡°So Shia, how was the exchange meeting?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I did my best. But Yuna-san got the top ce?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yuna-san also participated in the exchange meeting.¡± (Noa)

    Noa added where Shia¡¯s exnation fell short.

    ¡°Oh, did you perhaps enroll in the academy? If you had told me, I would have done the formalities.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. One of the students from the royal capital was unable to participate in thepetition due to mana exhaustion, so I only participated as a temporary helper.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ara~, is that so~¡± (Eleanora)

    She looked a bit disappointed.

    After listening to her daughters, Eleanora-san returned to her room. I left the living room to follow her and called out to her.

    ¡°Eleanora-san, can I have a momentter?¡± (Yuna)

    I thought I would tell Eleanora-san about Euphalia¡¯s incident.

    In case you are wondering, Eleanora-san knows about the 10,000 monsters gathered at the capital, and she also knows that I am involved in wiping it out. I thought exining this to Eleanora-san would be more credible before Cerraille¡¯s father came to report it.

    I tried to have a serious conversation with her, but she started talking nonsense.

    ¡°Ara~, is this a confession of love? But I have a husband and daughters, so I¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± (Eleanora)

    She puts her hand on her cheek and strikes a troubled pose.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just kidding. Let¡¯s talk about it now, rather thanter.¡± (Eleanora)

    We moved to Eleanora-san¡¯s room to talk.

    ¡°So what is it that you want to talk about? Something you don¡¯t want my daughters to hear?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Noa knows a little of it, but Shia doesn¡¯t know anything. It¡¯s not something to talk about in front of them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So, what is it you want to talk about?¡± (Eleanora)

    I told her what happened in the city of Euphalia.

    ¡°Such a thing¡­¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°So when Cerraille¡¯s fatheres to report, you have to believe it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu. I understand. And His Majesty the King is not stupid. After what happened, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll believe it. By the way, Yuna-chan, you are still helping people, I see.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I don¡¯t do it because I like it. It¡¯s just that there happens to be someone in need right in front of me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just because they¡¯re in trouble doesn¡¯t mean you have to fight hordes of monsters alone, engage a Kraken, dig tunnels, or go out and take down the ck viper that attacked the vige by yourself. Well, the golem in the mines was a request from me. And then there¡¯s that incident in the desert. Now, I wonder how many people have been saved by Yuna-chan in the past few months?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. I¡¯m sure there are many more people in this world who are in trouble and dying more unreasonably somewhere I don¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No one can save every single person.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°So, at least I¡¯m helping the ones I can see.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if I have the cheat power, I¡¯m not omnipotent. If an evil person attacked Fina at this very moment, I would not be able to help her without realizing it. I can only protect her from the dangers when I can see her.

    ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s so cool. If I were a man, I¡¯d fall in love with you.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Even in this outfit?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re cute in it.¡± (Eleanora)

    I wasn¡¯t expecting that response, but I didn¡¯t pursue it.

    Then, during the meal, Noa and Shia talked about the exchange meet.

    The next day, Eleanora-san took some time off for Noa, whom she had not seen in a long time, to go out with her.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, you could have joined us, you know.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve seen each other. You two should have fun together.¡± (Yuna)

    Since the parent and child were together, I did not need to be there. Besides, it would be conspicuous if I was dressed as a bear with them.

    ¡°I¡¯m off to see Princess Flora.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m sure Flora-sama will be happy to hear that. She was a little sad because she couldn¡¯t see Yuna-chan for quite a while.¡± (Eleanora)

    That reminds me, thest time I came here was when I brought the souvenirs from the Land of Harmony. It may seem like time has passed, but it hasn¡¯t. Still, a day would feel longer for a child. So it may have felt longer than I thought.

    By the way, Shia went to school looking lonely. She¡¯s a student, after all. So she can¡¯t help it.

    I headed to the castle alone, greeted the gatekeeper briefly, and entered the castle.

    And then there¡¯s the usual sight of one of the gatekeepers running inside.

    I arrived at Princess Flora¡¯s room and knocked. Anju-san opened the door and let me in.

    ¡°Flora-sama, Yuna-san hase to see you.¡± (Anju)

    ¡°Bear-san!¡± (Flora)

    Princess Flora is holding a Hugging Bear plushie. When Princess Flora noticed me, she ran up to me. She jumped into my belly, and I caught her.

    I¡¯m d I came to see her happy like this. If I didn¡¯te today, I don¡¯t know when I wille to the capital next time.

    Well, I cane here any time using the bear gate, but there¡¯s such a thing as timing.

    First, I summoned the regr-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to y with her.

    Princess Flora is riding on the back of Swaying Bear and looks happy. If Tilia had been here, she would have rushed into this room, but since Shia is at the school, Tilia should also be at the school. Timing is challenging, isn¡¯t it?

    After ying with Princess Flora for a while, the queen came alone.

    ¡°Etto, are you alone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If it¡¯s Fol you¡¯re looking for, he just got word that Eleanora ising to work this afternoon, so he¡¯s making sure Eleanora doesn¡¯t get away.¡± (Queen)

    Apparently, the king was unable to escape because Eleanora-san went out with Noa.

    ¡°Fufu, so what are we having today?¡± (Queen)

    The queen sat happily in a chair.

    Lately, even the queen seems to think that whenever Ie, I¡¯m bringing something.

    She¡¯s smiling.

    Please don¡¯t look forward to it so much.

    Zeref should have been making the cakes and puddings, and I have some candy arts in stock, but I just brought some before, so then that one?

    Princess Flora came to her as the queen sat in her chair, Princess Flora also came to her.

    ¡°Are we going to eat something?¡± (Flora)

    Perhaps Princess Flora is the same?

    I took out a basket of bread from the bear box. Then I arranged the bread on a te.

    ¡°Ara~, how cute.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Bear-san!¡± (Flora)

    What I served was bear bread. It¡¯s the most popr bread in my store.

    The Queen and Princess Flora reach for the bear bread.

    ¡°Fufu, such a cute bread. Where should I start?¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Are we going to eat, Bear-san?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°It¡¯s bread, and it¡¯s delicious. If you don¡¯t eat it, the bread will be sad.¡± (Yuna)

    Princess Flora nibbles on the bear¡¯s ears with her tiny mouth.

    ¡°Delicious!¡± (Flora)

    Once you start taking a bite, you can¡¯t stop.

    Both of them were enjoying the bread.

    I also eat bear bread while drinking tea prepared by Anju-san. It¡¯s not cannibalism, you know.

    I also gave bear bread to Anju-san, her daughter, and one for Tilia. I don¡¯t want her toin the next time I see her.

    When I returned to Eleanora-san¡¯s house, I swapped ces with Eleanora-san, who was going to work in the afternoon.

    ¡°Noa, did you have fun?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it was fun.¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s expression suggested that she had a good time.

    I went around the royal capital in the afternoon with Noa, but I was very conspicuous.

    While rxing with Noa in her room, Eleanora-sanes over.

    ¡°Noa, can I have a minute?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± (Noa)

    Noa went to Eleanora-san.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving tomorrow, right?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yes. Father will get angry if I stay here for too long.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well then, I know it¡¯s a little early, but here¡¯s your birthday present.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora gave Noa a beautiful small box.

    ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily epted the small box.

    ¡°Can I open it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Is this a ne?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not an ordinary ne. It¡¯s meant to be a medium for magic. Noa, you will be eleven years old. You will be learning magic, so this is my gift to you.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Thank you, mother!¡± (Noa)

    Noa put the ne around her neck, turned to me, and happily came over to show me.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please take a look.¡± (Noa)

    It¡¯s a silver ne with a beautiful colorless gemstone.

    ¡°It looks good on you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Normally, you can keep it inside your clothes, so it¡¯s less noticeable, but I think it will look good on your dress.¡± (Eleanora)

    Noa is a noblewoman; even if she could use magic, it would probably be for self-defense. There would be no need for a wand, so a fashionable ne would be better.

    ¡°Noa, I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to return to Crimonia on your birthday.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I know you¡¯re busy, mother. So, it¡¯s okay. We can meet like this. Besides, you made time for me today even though you¡¯re busy.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Aw, my daughter is so adorable!¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san hugs Noa.

    ¡°But, Mother. Does this mean I can practice my magic now?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, but only after going back to Crimonia and getting Cliff¡¯s permission.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    That evening, Noa looks at the ne with glee.

    ¡°Quite happy, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course. Having seen Oneesama and Yuna-san, I have always wanted to try my hand at magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But with this, you can use magic too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. But I need practice, so I have to work hard. Besides, I don¡¯t know if I have enough magic power to use magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll work. Both Eleanora-san and Shia can use it, so I¡¯m sure you can too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied happily.

    The next day, on our way home, Eleanora-san gave me a picture book.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, I was going to give it to you yesterday, but I forgot because of Noa¡¯s present.¡± (Eleanora)

    After saying that, what Eleanora-san handed out to me was the 4th volume of the ¡°Bear-san and the Girl¡± picture book.

    ¡°Oh, you have made it into a picture book? Mother, please give me one too.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Sure, here you go.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san gave a picture book to Noa. Noa happily epted it. Noa flipped it open and looked at the picture in which she was featured happily.

    As usual, I received ten copies of picture books and put them away in the bear box.

    ¡°Well then, say hello to Cliff for me.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yuna-san, please take good care of Noa.¡± (Shia)

    Noa and I were seen off by Eleanora and Shia and departed from the royal capital.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were carrying us, started running towards Crimonia.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I had to put this separately, but you could also say that this story is the end of the Euphalia arc.

    I think it will be an everyday life story for a while from the next chapter.

    [Announcement]

    In the activity report, we are soliciting requests for the store bonus for volume 13 and for a newly written SS. The scope will be the desert arc.

 Chapter 543 - Bear-san, Decides To Make Noaâ€™s Birthday Present

    <h4>Chapter 543 - Bear-san, Decides To Make Noa¡¯s Birthday Present</h4>

    Bear-san, Decides To Make Noa¡¯s Birthday Present

    Noa and I returned to Crimonia.

    Returning to Crimonia, I aired out the rooms in the bear house, washed, cleaned, and hung the bedding out to dry. The bedding was soft and fluffy as if Fina had been visiting from time to time.

    Then, in the afternoon, I took the fourth volume of the picture book I received from Eleanora-san to the orphanage.

    !!

    When I arrived at the orphanage, the little ones gathered around me. I patted them on the head and gave them a new picture book. The little ones were so happy to receive the book that they went straight to Nifu-san, and she began reading it to them.

    ¡°Wee, Yuna-san.¡± (Director)

    While I was dealing with the younger group, the director weed me with a warm smile.

    ¡°Director, were there any problems?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, there¡¯s none. We eat delicious meals every day and sleep in a warm room. The children are also doing well.¡± (Director)

    The children reading the picture books were smiling, so I guess they really didn¡¯t have any problems.

    Then I tried to go to the Kokkeko¡¯s coop to talk to Fina about my return and Noa¡¯s birthday party, but I came toote, and Fina and Tirumina-san had already left.

    So I head to Fina¡¯s house.

    When I arrived at Fina¡¯s house, she greeted me with a smile.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    Because of everything that has happened, it feels like it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Fina. But in fact, it¡¯s only been about ten days.

    ¡°I¡¯m back. Anything happened?¡± (Yuna)

    Looking at Fina¡¯s face, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong. I asked just in case since there was also the matter of Cereille.

    ¡°No, nothing happened.¡± (Fina)

    The response came back as I imagined.

    ¡°Fina, are you free right now? I need to talk to you about something.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± (Fina)

    =====

    When Noa and I returned from the capital, we had this exchange of words.

    ¡°Who are you inviting to your birthday party?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, Yuna-san, you¡¯re invited.¡± (Noa)

    Well, of course, I knew that. The problem was the other participants. If I didn¡¯t know anyone, I would decline to participate if possible.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s Misa and Fina, oh and Shuri.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that all?¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s unexpected. She¡¯s an aristocrat, so I think there should be more of them.

    ¡°I had already decided to call Yuna-san and Fina. So I asked father, and he refused to invite anyone else.¡± (Noa)

    It looks like he took care of it.

    ¡°I tried to invite everyone from the orphanage, but my father told me not to. Everyone in the orphanage has no family. Some of them don¡¯t even know their own birthdays. And yet, I tried to invite them to my birthday. When my father told me about it, I realized that I had not taken it into consideration. Even though they¡¯re so cheerful and energetic, they have no family.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff was undoubtedly right. More importantly, Noa is an aristocrat. She grew up in a wealthy family and was blessed with a good family. Some children may not feel good about attending Noa¡¯s birthday party. Some might even feel envy. This was a delicate andplex matter. There was also the possibility that Noa would end up ostracised. After going to the trouble of bing friends with the girls at the store and ying with them at the beach. If they don¡¯t get along, everything they¡¯ve built up will fall apart.

    With that in mind, it might be a good idea to refrain from involving children in the orphanage.

    If you are an adult like me, you don¡¯t worry about having any parents, but the children in the orphanage are children, not only in age but also in spirit.

    ¡°So this time it will be just Fina and the others. But I hope to be able to do something for the orphanage since we¡¯re having a celebration.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best.¡± (Yuna)

    =====

    For now, I understand Noa¡¯s thoughts.

    So I decided to talk to Fina, who was going to be invited to Noa¡¯s birthday party, about Noa¡¯s birthday present.

    Fina lets me into the house to hear my story.

    ¡°Fina, are you alone?¡± (Yuna)

    I was always guided to the room where Fina and her family ate, but no one was in the room.

    ¡°Dad is at work, and Mom and Shuri are out shopping. I¡¯m taking care of theundry.¡± (Fina)

    Really now, she¡¯s a good girl.

    I have to put away the futon when I get home, too.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Noa¡¯s birthday ising soon.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked surprised.

    Was it not a good time to talk about it?

    Well, she didn¡¯t say to keep it quiet, right?

    ¡°Me, You, and Shuri are supposed to be invited to the birthday party.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Noah-sama¡¯s birthday party¡­ you have to participate, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I think she would be sad if you refused.¡± (Yuna)

    Even I, a quintessential person, could not refuse Noa¡¯s birthday party invitation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to be so anxious. It will be just me, Fina and Shuri, oh and Misa.¡± (Yuna)

    I told her the names of the birthday party attendees that Noa had told me. Hearing this, Fina was relieved.

    Apparently, just like me, she thought that many different people would attend.

    ¡°So I¡¯m thinking of giving Noa a birthday present. I was wondering if we could give it to her together, as we did for Misa¡¯s birthday present. Fina, you had trouble with Misa¡¯s birthday present, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, Yuna-oneesan, that would be very helpful. But what¡¯s your gift going to be?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Noa asked for a regr sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina¡¯s eyes widened at my words.

    ¡°I remember now. At Misa-sama¡¯s birthday party, Noa-sama said she wanted a big stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Fina)

    Oh yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure I heard her say that.

    ¡°But she was serious. The cost of materials sounds really expensive.¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s typical of Fina that her thoughts move to money.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the money, Fina, it¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa said she would cover the cost, but even if she¡¯s a daughter of nobility, I¡¯m not going to ept it from a 10-year-old girl. If she was a selfish girl, I would not give gifts in the first ce, not just money. I would not even attend the birthday party.

    ¡°Fina can help me make it, and it¡¯ll be your birthday present to Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Understood. Let¡¯s make it together.¡± (Fina)

    Good. We were going to ask Sherry, but we were going to make it, basically, on our own.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to invite Shuri, too, just in case she wants to sew.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I do it with my mom sometimes, if only a little. Besides, I think she¡¯d be willing to help if she heard what I had to say.¡± (Fina)

    Besides, I would feel sorry for Shuri if she were the only one left out of the group.

    In the meantime, Fina and I will consult with Sherry to make life-size Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plush toys.

    Fina and I went into the sewing shop where Sherry was staying, said hello to Naru-san, and told him we wanted to meet Sherry.

    Naru-san doesn¡¯t look displeased at all and immediately calls for Sherry.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan? And Fina, too, what¡¯s up?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I have a favor to ask you, Sherry. I was wondering if you could help us make some plushies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Plushies? I have made some Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies. I¡¯ll bring them now.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Hold on!¡± (Yuna)

    I stopped Sherry as she tried to go back into the back room.

    ¡°What I want to make are plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but in a different size. We are nning to make a regr sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushie.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, regr-sized Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, about this big ?¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry tried to use both of her hands to represent the size of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. A little bigger perhaps? But Sherry¡¯s tiny arms can¡¯t express how big they were.

    But I nodded anyway because I get what she was trying to say.

    ¡°Yeah, a plushie about that size.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much the materials will cost.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that part.¡± (Yuna)

    As I told Fina, she doesn¡¯t need to worry about money. As long as we have the materials, all we have to do is to make them.

    ¡°So, can you make it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you let me measure the size of the big Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, I think I can make them.¡± (Sherry)

    What a reassuring word.

    I asked Temoka-san and Naru-san, who were working, for permission to borrow Sherry.

    ¡°But what are you going to do with a stuffed animal that big?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°It¡¯s a birthday present for the daughter of the lord of this city.¡± (Yuna)

    The Lord¡¯s Daughter¡­¡­ that¡¯s Lady Noire!¡± (Sherry)

    These words surprised Temoka-san and Naru-san, who were also listening to the conversation.

    We¡¯re always together, so it¡¯s easy to forget. To most people, the daughter of a lord is an unapproachable figure. I remember the first time Fina met Noa.

    Fina is conversing with her normally now, but in the beginning, she was also nervous to talk to her.

    Noaes to eat at my restaurant, so the children who serve her at the restaurant have surprisingly normal contact with Noa. But Sherry has little contact with Noa. She and Noa may have picked out a bathing suit together once.

    Given that, this may be a normal reaction.

    Because it was a gift for the lord¡¯s daughter, borrowing Sherry was easily granted.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Before we get into the new story, we will talk about Noa¡¯s birthday.

    [Notice] The cover of the 12th volume of the book has been released. The cover has been published on various mail order sites, but we have also published it on our activity report. On the cover are Yuna and Tilia in school uniforms. I hope you take a look at them.

    [Notice] The 25th episode of theic book series has been released on Pash Comic. It is a battle against the ck Viper. I hope you enjoy it.

    [Notice] Episode 20 (second half) is now avable on Nico Nico Manga. Please check it out.

    [Notice] We are looking for requests for the store bonus of volume 13 and a newly written SS in the activity report. The scope will be the desert arc.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

 Chapter 544 - Bear-san, Makes Plushies

    <h4>Chapter 544 - Bear-san, Makes Plushies</h4>

    Bear-san, Makes Plushies

    The next day, I invited Sherry to the bear house early in the morning to help her make a life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    Then Fina, whom I consulted about the present yesterday, and Shuri, who Fina invited, were already there.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll measure the size. Please don¡¯t move, Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Sherry)

    !!

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Sherry takes out a measuring tape and begins to measure Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan, please turn your feet this way.¡± (Sherry)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Starting with the sole of the right foot, the length of the foot, the thickness, and the size of various parts of the foot are measured. Swaying Bear followed Sherry¡¯s instructions and moved his body to make it easier for her to measure his size.

    Fina and Shuri followed Sherry¡¯s instructions to measure Hugging Bear¡¯s size. Since Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear have the same body shape, Sherry could have just measured one of them, but it was meant to be a double-check to avoid any mistakes. By double-checking the measurements, we can be sure that there will be no size mistakes.

    Well, the real reason was that Shuri wanted to measure them as well.

    I decided to let her do it because this was one of the things she could learn. This experience could be food for Shuri¡¯s growth. The desire to do it is crucial.

    Shuri made Hugging Bear sit down and pressed the measuring tape against him.

    ¡°Oneechan, is this good enough?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°A little lower, maybe?¡± (Fina)

    Fina answered while looking at Sherry¡¯s instructions.

    Sherry¡¯s instructions were very detailed about what part of the body to measure. She even included a picture of a bear.

    Sherry, on her own, was measuring the size of Swaying Bear, she¡¯s swift and nimble. On the other hand, even when they do it together, Fina and Shuri can¡¯t keep up with Sherry¡¯s speed.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, don¡¯t wag your tail.¡± (Shuri)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Shuri tried to measure Hugging Bear¡¯s tail, but the tiny round tail moved slightly.

    ¡°Shuri, you have to be gentle while measuring it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°U~u, I know.¡± (Shuri)

    It¡¯s an amusing sight.

    But since we can¡¯t move on like this, I decided to help measure Hugging Bear too.

    ¡°U~u, you¡¯re so big.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri, give it here.¡± (Fina)

    Shuri and Fina worked together to measure the torso.

    Well then, I will help Sherry where she cannot measure by herself.

    ¡°Are you going to measure the size of his paws too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I need it.¡± (Sherry)

    Well, better to have it than not. If we¡¯re going to make an exact replica, we¡¯ll need it.

    I followed Sherry¡¯s detailed instructions on the paper and took the measurements.

    Then, with some difficulty, and with the help of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we finished measuring their sizes. The paper was filled in with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear measurements in different sizes. I thought about this when she made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies before. If this had been my own body size, I would have to tear it up.

    By the way, the sizes of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were within the margin of error. Shuri seems to have measured it correctly.

    At least we can have a break now. It¡¯s about time for lunch.

    I prepared lunch. A simple lunch was served on the table.

    ¡°But are you going to make a stuffed animal this big?¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry asked again, looking at the paper with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sizes.

    ¡°Noa wants it. Sherry, if you say you can¡¯t make it, then I¡¯ll cancel it. Fina and I can¡¯t make it by ourselves.¡± (Yuna)

    Bear Sewing skill. With this, I can make plushies and other items that I imagine¡­ Yeah, I wish I had something like that, but I don¡¯t remember having such a convenient skill.

    Well, even if I have it, there would be very few situations in which I could utilize it.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I can make it. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m trying to figure out how much materials I¡¯ll need for these stuffed animalspared to the ones I always make.¡± (Sherry)

    Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand her feelings. When people see somethingrge, they tend topare it with something else. Even in my former world, people often expressed as how many Tokyo Domes it would fit as aparison. However, as I had never been to Tokyo Dome before, I could not imagine how big it was.

    ¡°But when ites to something this big, the lighter the cotton inside, the better.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°That¡¯s true, if it¡¯s heavy, it¡¯ll be hard to move it, so it needs to be light.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The cotton we always use for Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies would be too heavy.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Is there such a thing as light cotton?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is, but it¡¯s expensive.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°As I told Fina, don¡¯t worry about the cost.¡± (Yuna)

    There were sales from the store and the percentage of the tolls for the tunnel to Mereera¡­ And there¡¯s also the money I brought from my original world. Of course, I also have a job.

    One or two stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear was no big deal.

    The question is whether we can make it and materials avability.

    ¡°I understand. Then I will ask Temoka-san for you when I return.¡± (Sherry)

    After lunch, Sherry begins to make a pattern.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be borrowing a table.¡± (Sherry)

    Paper and tools for patterns are also provided, and Sherry draws patterns based on the measurements.

    Basically, the process is the same as making small Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plush toys, only bigger. They are made in parts and sewn together.

    But this time, one part is bigger than the other.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to need a bigger cloth.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Are we going to be okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. The store carries many different types and sizes of cloth.¡± (Sherry)

    You already know your way around the store.

    She has truly be dependable.

    As we were amateurs, there was nothing we could do to help with the pattern making, so we left it to Sherry, who¡¯s an expert in this field.

    Fina and Shuri, who have nothing to do, wanted to work on dismantling, so I asked them to dismantle some wolves. These days, most of the meat goes to the orphanage and stores. Only the pelts and magic stones umted in the bear box.

    I am rxing, leaning against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, as I watch Sherry at work.

    Peace is the best, after all.

    I think even more so because of all that has happened recently.

    Leaning against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Fina and Shuri waked me. I must have been half asleep. I looked outside and saw that it was already evening. The dismantling was also over.

    I looked at Sherry and saw that she was working silently and seriously.

    ¡°Sherry, that¡¯s enough for today.¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to her, she looked at us as if she had juste to her senses.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan? But I¡¯m not finished yet.¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry picks up a pen and tries to continue her work.

    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll continue at home.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°That¡¯s still not good.¡± (Yuna)

    Sherry had a record of staying up all night making stuffed animals. She was the type of person who should not be allowed to bring her work home.

    ¡°But I¡¯m almost done.¡± (Sherry)

    I don¡¯t know how much longer that would be. There¡¯s no need to panic.

    Still, Sherry looks like she wants to do it.

    ¡°I understand. But you are not allowed to bring your work back to the orphanage. You can stay at my house today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is it really okay if I stay the night?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I have my own room. But you will work until bedtime. If I say it¡¯s already bedtime, you¡¯ll go to bed. That¡¯s as much as I can allow.¡± (Yuna)

    If she¡¯s almost done, she can stay up at night. If not, she can stay up until bedtime.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, I want to stay here too.¡± (Shuri)

    I asked Sherry to stay and Shuri said she wanted to stay too.

    ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind.¡± (Yuna)

    I have an extra room and a ce to sleep. If Shuri stays here, then Fina would be worried and may stay here as well.

    I left Fina and the others at the bear house and went to Fina¡¯s house and the orphanage to ask permission from Tirumina-san and the Director.

    At times like this, I understand how valuable a phone call is.

    As a souvenir, I brought the wolf meat that Fina and Shuri dismantled earlier.

    Tirumina-san and the director graciously gave me their permission.

    I then quickly return to the bear house and begin preparing dinner.

    I quickly fried meat and vegetables and prepared the bread Morin-san baked for us. It was delicious if you put it between the bread.

    After dinner, we took a bath and let Sherry work as promised until we went to bed.

    We had nothing to do, so I gave the picture book to Fina and Shuri until it was time for bed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made it into a picture book.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°A~, that¡¯s me!¡± (Shuri)

    Fina looked embarrassed when she saw the cover of the picture book. Shuri was delighted to see the picture book.

    Come to think of it, Shuri wasn¡¯t around when I made the picture book, so this would be the first time she¡¯s seen herself.

    Shuri took a picture book and sat on the couch, while Fina sat next to her and started reading the book.

    ¡°We¡¯re all in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Uncle Guildmaster? Not Dad?¡± (Shuri)

    She¡¯s talking to herself while reading a picture book.

    ¡°Only Oneechan walking alone with bear-san. No fair.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s not me. It¡¯s the girl in the picture book.¡± (Fina)

    Picture book girl = Fina. So, Shuri is not entirely wrong.

    Shuri turned over the picture book.

    ¡°The carriage is under attack¡­¡­¡± (Shuri)

    That¡¯s the scene of a carriage being attacked by monsters.

    The girl is then called to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to meet the lord¡¯s daughter.

    ¡°This girl. Noa-oneechan?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That would be the case, I think?¡± (Fina)

    And then she finished reading it.

    ¡°I wanted to be friends with Noa-oneechan, too.¡± (Shuri)

    She seemed a little disappointed.

    ¡°The girl¡¯s sister can be her friend someday, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri is also Noa¡¯s friend, right? So can she.¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri looked happy at my words.

    It¡¯s gettingte now.

    ¡°Well then, time to go to bed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t finished yet.¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry put down her pen.

    The promise is until bedtime.

    ¡°You can continue tomorrow morning. Rest is important, too.¡± (Yuna)

    Even gamers need rest. The concentration would be down, and you wouldn¡¯tst long. But I¡¯ve said many times before, a little bit more.

    I led the three of them upstairs to their room.

    ¡°This room.¡± (Yuna)

    I showed the three of them around the Japanese-style room. Since I purchased tatami mats in the Land of Harmony, I turned one of the rooms into a Japanese-style room. Sometimes, I alsoy out a futon in this room and sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I took out the futons for the three of them andid them out on the tatami.

    ¡°Are we going to sleep here?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t feelfortable, there¡¯s also a bed.¡± (Yuna)

    There are other rooms avable.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. My feet also feel good.¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry let out such thoughts as she walked on the tatami mats.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri you¡¯re okay, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Fina)

    Shuri happilyid down on the futon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stay upte, get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un~¡± (Shuri)

    The three responded.

    Are they going to be okay?

    I return to my room and sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in cub form.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    [Notice] The cover of the 12th volume of the book has been released. The cover is Yuna and Tilia in school uniforms. It was also published in the activity report. It¡¯s very cute, so I hope you take a look at it.

    Please wait a little longer for the information about the store purchase bonus.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos to us. I am not able to reply to you, so I will leave this here.

 Chapter 545 - Bear-san, Makes Bear Plushies Together With Everyone

    <h4>Chapter 545 - Bear-san, Makes Bear Plushies Together With Everyone</h4>

    Bear-san, Makes Bear Plushies Together With Everyone

    While sleepingfortably on a soft futon, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear woke me up.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, isn¡¯t it too early to wake me up?¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    It seems to be earlier than usual.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried ¡°kuun¡± at the wall.

    I remembered that Fina and the other two were staying with us today. So I recalled asking Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to wake me up earlier than my routine.

    I thanked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and changed into ck bear gear. Then I went downstairs to prepare breakfast for the girls. I put the tes and cups on the table, then ce bread on the tes. It looks as good as if it were freshly baked. Thank God for the bear box.

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    As I finished preparing breakfast, Fina came down from upstairs.

    ¡°Good morning. What about Shuri and Sherry?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I woke them up, so I think they should be here soon.¡± (Fina)

    Fina is reliable, as always.

    As Fina said, the two sleepy Shuri and Sherry came down shortly afterward.

    ¡°Good morning, you two.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Good morning, Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan. Good morning.¡± (Sherry)

    None of the three had dark circles under their eyes. It seems that they slept adequately and did not stay upte.

    ¡°Good morning, Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri hugged Swaying Bear and sat on the sofa, where Swaying Bear curled up on.

    ¡°Shuri, let go of Swaying Bear-chan, go wash your face, have breakfast right away.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Un~¡± (Shuri)

    Sherry took Shuri to wash her face.

    While washing their faces, I took the milk out of the chiller. Now breakfast is ready.

    Shuri and Shelly sat down after washing their faces.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s do our best again today after eating.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un~!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Sherry)

    We all said ¡°Itadakimasu¡± and started eating the bread.

    Then, after finishing breakfast, Sherry continued making the pattern she left yesterday. Until the pattern was ready, Fina and Shuri, who were free, went to work with Tirumina-san and returned as soon as they finished helping.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan. If you could hand this to the shop, I think Naru-san will understand.¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry gave me a piece of paper. It was the list of the materials needed to make the plushies.

    Instead of Sherry, I, who was free, decided to go to the store to pick up the materials.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But, Yuna-oneechan, is it really okay?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m free anyways.¡± (Yuna)

    That would be a more efficient use of time.

    I took the paper and headed to Naru-san¡¯s shop.

    ¡°Good morning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ara, Yuna-chan, wee. What can I help you with today? Sherry went to your ce, but isn¡¯t she with you?¡± (Naru)

    ¡°No, Sherry gave me a piece of paper with the list of materials for the plushies.¡± (Yuna)

    I handed the paper that Sherry wrote to Naru-san. Naru-san looked at the paper.

    ¡°As I thought, you¡¯re going to use quite a lot of cloth. And light cotton. You¡¯ll need a lot of this, too.¡± (Naru)

    It¡¯s a life-size plushie. It will cost a huge amount of materials. I¡¯m not worried about the money. I¡¯m more worried about the materials.

    ¡°Do you have them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, of course, we have it. But we don¡¯t have light cotton in stock, so you¡¯ll have to order it.¡± (Naru)

    ¡°The fabric would be fine right now. We¡¯re still working on the pattern.¡± (Yuna)

    Cotton would be added at the end, so we¡¯re still good as long as we have the cloth right now.

    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll go get it for you now.¡± (Naru)

    Naru-san went to the back room and brought me fabric, thread, and anything else we needed.

    ¡°I think this should be enough.¡± (Naru)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Yuna)

    I gave my thanks and paid for the items.

    I knew it, but it was far more expensive than the cost of the cloth for the bear cub plushies. The cotton would be purchasedter, as it would arriveter.

    I stuffed it all in the bear box and returned to the bear house.

    ¡°Sherry, I got the fabric.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Sherry)

    I took the cloth out of the bear box and put it somewhere out of the way. Then I watched Sherry at work while I hung out with Swaying ear and Hugging Bear in cub form. Sherry was working just as quietly as she was yesterday. I asked her casually.

    ¡°Sherry, are you happy?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What was that, out of the blue?¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry looked at me with a surprised expression on her face at my question.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just asking.¡± (Yuna)

    Sherry grew up in an orphanage and now works in Temoka-san and Naru-san¡¯s store.

    ¡°I am happy. Since Yuna-oneechan¡¯s arrival, everyone has more smiles and seems to be having fun every day. Temoka-san and Naru-san have taught me how to do my job, so every day is fun for me.¡± (Sherry)

    From Sherry¡¯s face, it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s lying.

    ¡°Naru-san said I could stay in the store for as long as I wanted.¡± (Sherry)

    Was that a roundabout way of saying they wanted her to be their daughter?

    ¡°I can see the future, which I was worried regarding. So, I am happy.¡±

    Sherry replied with a big smile.

    ¡°But why are you asking me that?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I was just wondering, Sherry. What if you didn¡¯t want to do your job? It would be my fault you¡¯re in this situation, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    It all started when Sherry gave me a cushion with a bear embroidered on it. She ended up making bear uniforms for the store, stuffed animals, and even swimsuits.

    As the person who initiated the current situation, I am concerned about it.

    ¡°Thanks to Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯m happy. Perhaps everyone at the orphanage thinks so too.¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry answered shyly.

    If that were indeed the case, that would be great.

    Then, while we were having an idle conversation, Fina and Shuri came in after work.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± (Fina)

    We haven¡¯t finished all the stencils yet.

    Well, it was my fault for talking to her, so it was also my fault for beingte.

    ¡°Shall we cut the fabric from the pattern we have already made?¡± (Sherry)

    Sherry suggested that we, who were avable, should try it.

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Yuna)

    We were to cut the fabric ording to the pattern that Sherry had made.

    ¡°Well, Sherry did a great job, so let¡¯s do the same.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un~!¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and I worked on therger parts, and Shuri worked on the smaller details such as ears, tails, and paw pads.

    We cut the fabric ording to the pattern that Sherry had made for us.

    Once the fabric was cut, all that was left to do was to sew them together.

    While we were making stuffed toys, we heard voices outside the bear house.

    ¡°Yuna-san, are you there?¡±

    It¡¯s Noa¡¯s voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s Noa-sama isn¡¯t it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Noa-oneechan?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s Noire-sama!?¡± (Sherry)

    The girls also responded to Noa¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Is it safe for Noa-sama to know?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked around. The room was full of all sorts of stuffed animal parts.

    Basically, a birthday present was something that should be kept from the person in question until the day of the event. This time, however, there was no need for a surprise. After all, it was Noa¡¯s own request. She already knew what she was going to receive. So there was no problem if she saw us making it.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s alright. She requested it herself after all.¡± (Yuna)

    I responded and opened the door.

    ¡°Wee. What brings you today?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Today, I came to talk about the stuffed animals.¡± (Noa)

    There¡¯s a big smile on her face.

    ¡°The Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies as your birthday present?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa responded cheerfully.

    Come to think of it, I remember having a conversation with her about making it together.

    She wasn¡¯t kidding, apparently.

    ¡°May Ie inside your house?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s kinda hard to say, but I¡¯m already in the process of making it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh~¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s eyes went wide.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s just as I said. Right now, I¡¯m making it with Fina and the others.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa entered the bear house.

    ¡°Noa-sama, hello.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Hello Noa-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Noire-sama, he-, hello.¡± (Sherry)

    Fina and Shuri greeted Noa as she entered the room normally. Sherry looked a little nervous.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, Sherry, hello. Why are you making the stuffed animals without me?¡± (Noa)

    Fina looks troubled at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°Because this is a present for Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, Noa-oneechan¡¯s present.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Sherry)

    No offense to you three. I just didn¡¯t tell you that Noa and I were going to make it together.

    ¡°Yuna-san, why didn¡¯t you invite me?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because it¡¯s a birthday present for you, Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I said I would help you make it too.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked a little frustrated.

    ¡°It¡¯s your present, so you don¡¯t have to make it as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you guys are giving me these as a gift. But if we make it together, whenever I see these bears, I will remember that I made it with Yuna-san and the others. I think it will be more memorable than a normal gift. That¡¯s why I want to make them with you.¡± (Noa)

    I know what Noa was trying to say.

    Doing it together was more memorable than doing it alone. She remembers the dishes she made with Fina, but she doesn¡¯t remember the dishes she made by herself.

    If it¡¯s a daily thing, it¡¯s just fine, but for an anniversary, such as a birthday, it will be more memorable.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it together then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are we going to make it together with Noa-oneechan?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes. Please let me work with you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa also decided to make it with us and joined the circle.

    The work on making Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies began at the bear house, including Noa.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    d to see that Sherry is happy.

    [Notice] We have published information about the store purchase bonus for book 12 in our activity report and on Twitter.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos to us. I apologize for not being able to reply, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

 Chapter 546 - Bear-san, Learns Of Finaâ€™s Birthday.

    <h4>Chapter 546 - Bear-san, Learns Of Fina¡¯s Birthday.</h4>

    Bear-san, Learns Of Fina¡¯s Birthday.

    Fina and Shuri helped their mother, Tirumina-san, in the morning and came to the bear house in the afternoon. In the meantime, Noa studied in the morning and came to the bear house in the afternoon.

    Sherry, who had finished making the pattern, was asked by sensei and dropped by this afternoon as well.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please don¡¯t make it by yourself.¡± (Noa)

    Noa told me so. That¡¯s why I decided not to make stuffed animals in the morning so that we could make them together in the afternoon. Thus, in my free time, I took picture books to Aruka in Larousse- and Sakura in the Land of Harmony.

    I gave the picture book to Kagali-san, not to Sakura. It was a little troublesome to go to Sakura¡¯s house. After I gave the picture book to Kagali-san, I went to the hot spring with Hugging Bear, as I had promised.

    !!

    The hot spring at night was lovely, but the hot springs in the daytime were also good with beautiful scenery.

    Then, in the afternoon, we make stuffed animals.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, when is your birthday, Fina?¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who was sewing the fabric, asked Fina.

    Indeed, when is her birthday? I had never asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oneechan¡¯s birthday is alsoing up soon.¡± (Shuri)

    While Fina looked like she was having trouble saying it, Shuri replied for her.

    ¡°Really?!¡± (Noa)

    Noa was surprised.

    I was also surprised when I heard their conversation.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I mean, I hadn¡¯t had a birthday celebration since my Mom got sick.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said such a sad thing.

    It was easy to forget that before meeting me, Fina and Shuri were fatherless, and Tirumina-san was bedridden. Under such circumstances, they could not have celebrated their birthdays.

    But now Gentz-san was here, and Tirumina-san was feeling better. Moreover, I am here. There was no way I could not celebrate Fina¡¯s birthday. But I was not the only one who felt this way.

    ¡°Then, if it¡¯s close to my birthday, we can celebrate it together.¡± (Noa)

    Noa suggested.

    I agree we should celebrate it.

    But Fina doesn¡¯t seem to be getting on board.

    ¡°Etto, I think Mom and Dad will probably celebrate it this time.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll invite everyone to my house, and we¡¯ll celebrate it there. Wouldn¡¯t that be nice?¡± (Noa)

    Fina tried to refuse, but Noa was persistent in her proposal and blocked all escape routes.

    ¡°I have to tell my father when I get home today.¡± (Noa)

    It seems that the decision has already been made in Noa¡¯s mind.

    Fina looked at me as if asking for help.

    I, for one, agree with celebrating Fina¡¯s birthday. I have been chiefly indebted to Fina since I came to this world. And there¡¯s no reason not to celebrate her birthday.

    So, my words to Fina were.

    ¡°I also agree with Noa¡¯s n.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks desperate.

    Fina would refrain or refuse. We should be a little more forceful.

    However, if it was me in her shoes, I would run away as fast as I could.

    ¡°How about a birthday present for Fina? Should we make another Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan plushies?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Those big stuffed animals have no ce in my house¡­¡­.¡± (Fina)

    Well, unless you have a big house, there is no ce to put the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies. Even if you could, they would be in the way.

    ¡°U~u, what shall we do then?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Presents are particrly for¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No! I will definitely prepare a present for you. I will think about it before that day arrives.¡± (Noa)

    I have to think about it too.

    Isn¡¯t there anything?

    Speaking of Fina, it¡¯s dismantling, but she already has a mithril knife, and I can¡¯t give her a wyvern as a gift. In the first ce, it would be strange for an eleventh birthday present to be a monster.

    By the way, it seems that Shuri¡¯s birthday was still far off.

    They also asked me about my birthday, but I don¡¯t know my date of birth in this world, so I just faked it.

    ¡°Then, Fina, let¡¯s show your parents the dress you¡¯ll be wearing for your birthday party.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Anou, am I going to wear a dress, after all?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Of course. Since I gave it to you, please wear it.¡± (Noa)

    That means I¡¯m going to wear it, too.

    ¡°And of course, Yuna-san too.¡± (Noa)

    I was reminded.

    She said only their rtives were invited to the party, so I gave up.

    ¡°Oneechan, all of you, your dresses are nice.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, who was listening to the conversation, looked envious. If you envied me, I would be happy to take your ce.

    But Noa brightened Shuri¡¯s dark expression.

    ¡°Fufu, you don¡¯t have to look like that. I n to prepare a dress for Shuri, something that I wore when I was around Shuri¡¯s age.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Really?!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, so it¡¯s all fine.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you, Noa-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re wee¡± (Noa)

    Noa smiled like an older sister.

    I really wanted to invite Sherry, who is helping us make stuffed animals, but for the same reason as the other children at the orphanage, I decided not to invite her.

    The next day, Fina looked troubled by the words Noa uttered.

    ¡°Fina, we have my father¡¯s permission to invite Fina¡¯s parents as well. My father would also like to say hello to Fina¡¯s parents.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    Yesterday¡¯s conversation proceeded.

    Fina made a troubled face.

    Apparently, Fina had not yet informed Tirumina-san or Gentz-san.

    If the conversation goes all the way to Cliff, she has no choice but to tell her parents.

    It was my fault for not stopping Noa, and it was also my fault for agreeing to the idea of having Fina¡¯s birthday party together.

    Fina looked at me as if asking for help, so I decided to help her this time.

    After we finish making the stuffed animals for the day, I head to Fina¡¯s house with her.

    ¡°Ara, Yuna-chan. You brought my daughters home? Thank you.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san greeted me with a smile.

    ¡°Because I¡¯ll be borrowing your precious daughters again.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, Yuna, you haven¡¯t eaten yet, have you? Please,e eat with us.¡± (Tirumina)

    Since we have a story to tell, I will take up Tirumina¡¯s offer.

    ¡°So, you two, how¡¯s the stuffed animals that you¡¯re giving to Noire-samaing along?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s going great.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, so far, so good.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Noire-sama will be pleased.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s. There¡¯s something I have to tell you, Mom¡­¡­.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Noa-oneechan said that Mom and Dad too.¡± (Shuri)

    While Fina is having difficulty saying it, Shuri opens her mouth.

    ¡°Etto, what do you mean?¡± (Tirumina)

    Shuri¡¯s exnation wascking in many ways.

    Therefore, I have to exin it to add more details to it.

    ¡°Tirumina-san and Gentz-san, you were also invited to Noa¡¯s birthday party. Technically, it was a joint birthday party for Noa and Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t keep up with my thoughts.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Fina¡¯s birthday is just around the corner, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Right.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Noa found out about it and said, ¡®Let¡¯s celebrate it together¡¯. So Tirumina-san and Gentz-san are going to join too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Would it be at the lord¡¯s mansion, perhaps?¡± (Tirumina)

    I nodded.

    ¡°And you¡¯re bringing Gentz and me along with you?¡± (Tirumina)

    I nodded once more.

    Tirumina-san finally understood.

    ¡°Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Unlike Fina and the others, Gentz and I barely know them. Even when Eleanora-sama came before, I was too nervous to talk to her.¡± (Tirumina)

    Unexpectedly, Tirumina-san began panicking.

    ¡°Cliff is not a bad guy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know. I know that. He¡¯s been to the store, and Fina has told me about it. But that doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t a parent out there who wouldn¡¯t be panicked to be told that Fina¡¯s birthday and the lord¡¯s daughter¡¯s birthday party are going to be held together.¡± (Tirumina)

    Well, this is how you would typically react if you had to go to a noble¡¯s mansion.

    And since they were told that they would have the birthday party for their daughter together with the birthday party of the daughter of a lord, there would be some confusion.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk to Gentz about this when he gets back.¡± (Tirumina)

    Then Gentz-san came home from work.

    ¡°Oh, Missy is here too?¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°Yes, sorry barging in.¡± (Yuna)

    Everyone took their seats, and the food was ced in front of us.

    ¡°Tirumina, what¡¯s wrong? You look different from usual.¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I had to talk to you about something.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san told Gentz-san about Fina¡¯s birthday party.

    ¡°How can such a thing¡­¡­ Can we turn it down?¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°Will you turn it down?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°¡­Impossible.¡± (Gentz)

    They sighed as if giving up.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Fina.¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it so much, I¡¯ll go and turn it down.¡± (Yuna)

    If it¡¯s difficult for Tirumina-san to refuse, I can tell them on her behalf. I can¡¯t do anything about Fina and Shuri¡¯s participation, but I think I can do something about Tirumina-san and Gentz-san¡¯s attendance.

    ¡°I appreciate it, but I can¡¯t say no.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    I remember it too.

    I remember the first time I was called to a lord¡¯s house at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even then, there was an atmosphere that I could not easily refuse, and Helen-san asked me to go there.

    Now that I know Cliff, I know that I would have no problem saying no.

    But to the average person, the lord was far above the status quo.

    Tirumina-san and Gentz-san decided to go, worried about what to wear, and finally consulted with Mylene of the Commercial Guild, who decided to rent clothes from Naru-san¡¯s store.

    Naru-san and Temoka-san have been great help to us.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    And so, we will also celebrate Fina¡¯s birthday together with Noa.

    [Notice] For the next issue, I will refrain from posting for around 4 days in order to proceed with the bookwork for volume 13. I apologize for the inconvenience to our readers who are looking forward to it.

    [Notice] Volume 12 will be released this month on April 26th. We will have special offers for store purchases and autographed books. Please see the activity report for details.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply to your thanks, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

 Chapter 547 - Bear-san, Goes To Talk To The Adventurers Guild

    <h4>Chapter 547 - Bear-san, Goes To Talk To The Adventurers Guild</h4>

    Bear-san, Goes To Talk To The Adventurers Guild

    A few dayster, with Noa¡¯s birthday present, the sewing for a stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear doll waspleted. All that remains is to put in the cotton, and we¡¯ll be done.

    But there is no cotton to put in those stuffed animals.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-chan.¡± (Naru)

    !!

    After talking to Sherry, I went to Naru-san to ask for more information.

    Bandits have stolen the shipment of cotton that was being transported to Crimonia.

    Are bandits robbing cotton now?

    Perhaps the bandits were also into the business of making stuffed animals?

    I try to imagine the bandits making stuffed animals, but I quickly erase it in my mind. It wasn¡¯t a charming image. Discrimination is not good, but appearance does distort the impression.

    ¡°Was the person transporting them hurt in any way?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He said he surrendered the goods to the bandits, so they didn¡¯t take his life.¡± (Naru)

    That¡¯s good to know.

    Life is more precious than cotton.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you arrange for another one?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It seems that it will take time. This time, I had to ask for a favor. I told them we would use the cotton shipment to make Noire-sama¡¯s birthday present. Their faces went pale when they heard it. I¡¯d like to arrange another order, but I won¡¯t make it in time. Yuna-chan. Would you like to use another type of cotton?¡± (Naru)

    Hmm, what should I do now?

    I have worked very hard with Fina and everyone to get to this point. We don¡¯t want topromise in the end. If we are going to make something, we want to make it good.

    Then there¡¯s only one thing to do. If the bandits have robbed it, then I¡¯ll just have to repossess it.

    If I don¡¯t hurry, the bandits might sell the cotton, or they might make stuffed animals.

    As expected, even though a thug made it, I couldn¡¯t simply remove the cotton from other stuffed animals to be used in the ones we¡¯re making.

    I hurried to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was the best ce to get information on bandits.

    I talked to Helen-san at the reception desk.

    ¡°Helen-san, can I have a minute?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Have you heard of any bandits in the vicinitytely?¡± (Yuna)

    I told Helen-san what Naru-san told me.

    ¡°Ah, if that¡¯s the case, I think it has something to do with Mylene-saning to Guildmaster right now.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Mylene-san?¡± (Yuna)

    Mylene-san is the guildmaster of amercial guild. It seems that Mylene-san hase to see the guildmaster of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild about the bandits.

    Indeed, if bandits routinely attack and plunder shipments, then themercial guild would be in trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to join in with the meeting. Can I?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Please wait a minute. I¡¯ll go in and ask them now.¡± (Helen)

    When Helen-san left her seat, she went to the back. Then, she returned afterward.

    ¡°It seems both of them are fine with it.¡± (Helen)

    I thanked Helen-san and entered the back room. Inside the room, there were few people. First was the guildmaster of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, Rarock-san, a muscr elderly man, and the guildmaster of the Commercial Guild, Mylene-san, an intelligent-looking woman.

    Additionally, there were other individuals in the room.

    ¡°Gil and Lurina-san. Even Mel-san, Senia-san, and Jade-san¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    And the other guy.

    ¡°Say something.¡± (Toya)

    ¡°The Comedian?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s Toya.¡± (Toya)

    ¡°Just kidding.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We are there too.¡± (Blitz)

    Another acquaintance adventurer in the opposite seat. An adventurer party with three women and one man.

    ¡°Blitz Harem Party!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wrong!¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz shouted in a desperate denial.

    ¡°No, that would be correct.¡± (Toya)

    Toya, however, agreed with my words.

    Well, setting aside whether it was a harem party or not, it was a party of three women consisting of Rosa-san, Ran, and Grimos, surrounding Blitz. What else to call such a group if not a harem?

    ¡°What¡¯s up with the gathering?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was just asking for a request to subdue bandits. Helen told me that you also want to be involved.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the same bandits, but were they the ones who stole the cotton?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, cotton is on the list of stolen goods.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san answered my question while looking at the paper in her hand.

    ¡°Could it be that cotton is what Yuna-chan asked for?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yes, we were making stuffed animals for Noa¡¯s birthday present, but I heard bandits stole the cotton.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you are now here at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Rarock)

    Guildmaster was convinced.

    ¡°The bandits also stole something they shouldn¡¯t have.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°For now, if you want to listen to the details, go grab a chair.¡± (Rarock)

    Guildmaster told me to sit down, so I looked around for a chair.

    Senia-san and Ran waved at me to beckon me to sit there, but I sat next to Lurina-san. This ce seems to be the safest.

    The two looked disappointed, but sitting next to Lurina-san would be the safest considering my safety.

    ¡°Since Yuna is here, I¡¯d like to briefly exin again that recently some of the goods that were being transported have been stolen.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°So far, though, they haven¡¯t even taken lives if we give them the goods. But as amercial guild, we need to do something quickly, so we¡¯vee to you as an urgent request.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°And we were exchanging information with each other just now.¡± (Rarock)

    Guildmaster and Mylene-san exined.

    Now I know why everyone is in this room.

    ¡°I see that Jade-san, Blitz, and the others were also in Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We had just been hired as an escort to Crimonia. So we stopped by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and we were asked to help them take down some bandits.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°We just stopped by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, as we were about to go to Mereera.¡± (Blitz)

    As an adventurer, it¡¯s a job that could potentially kill you somewhere along the line. It¡¯s nice to see them after a long time.

    ¡°Do all of you know Yuna-chan?¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san looks at everyone curiously.

    ¡°We¡¯ve worked with Yuna on several asions.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°We worked together to take down the bandits in Mereera.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I also worked together with Yuna-chan and even received requests from her.¡± (Lurina)

    Jade-san, Blitz, and Lurina-san answered.

    ¡°Guildmaster. Why didn¡¯t you talk to Yuna? Even though she¡¯s dressed like this, you know she¡¯s strong, right?¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san asked to air his question.

    Certainly, I haven¡¯t heard about the request to subdue the bandits.

    ¡°Monsters and bandits are different. Some people can kill monsters, but they can¡¯t kill people. Yuna has fought bandits twice, but she hasn¡¯t killed anyone yet. I couldn¡¯t just ask Yuna to do that.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°How did you know all that information?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I looked over the information ofpetent adventurers. Evenpetent adventurers have their strengths and weaknesses. If there is an urgent request, we must send the right person to the right ce. You have never killed anyone, have you?¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°¡­No, not yet at least.¡± (Yuna)

    I have defeated and subjugated monsters in games, so I have no problems with killing them. But when ites to people, even evil ones, would be a step too far.

    I have caused serious injury, but I have not taken a single human life.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t call for you.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°Then why did you give me permission toe in?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re also an adventurer. If you want to get involved, I won¡¯t stop you. You are a good adventurer. But just because you heard about it doesn¡¯t mean you have to ept it.¡± (Rarock)

    Apparently, the Guildmaster had put a great deal of thought into the matter. He wasn¡¯t just a pure musclehead.

    ¡°We just have to capture them, don¡¯t we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we have to capture the bandits.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll help too. We¡¯ll capture them quickly and recover the robbed goods.¡± (Yuna)

    Otherwise, we can¡¯t make stuffed animal dolls.

    ¡°So, do you know where the bandits are and how many are there?¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san, as the representative, asked Guildmaster.

    ¡°There is a mountain between Crimonia and Shelin. We have information that these bandits are using that mountain as their base. We know that there are more than ten of them.¡± (Rarock)

    ¡°That¡¯s surprisingly few.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine on our own, I guess.¡± (Toya)

    Toya said confidently.

    Where does that confidencee from?

    ¡°Are you an idiot? We have this many people because it¡¯s hard to find them in the mountains.¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san exined to Toya while sighing.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, you know, the mountains are a pain in the ass. There will be lookouts, and there¡¯s always the possibility of them escaping.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yeah, we couldn¡¯t find them back then either.¡± (Blitz)

    Rosa-san and Blitz spoke of the things they were reminded of.

    Perhaps they were referring to the bandits who showed up in Mereera. Blitz and his party were unable to locate the bandits.

    ¡°But if Yuna-chan helps us, that would make things easier. With Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan around, we can find out where the bandits are.¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san looked at me and smiled.

    To Rosa-san¡¯s group, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were the ones who found the bandits.

    Lurina-san was the only one aware of my detection skills.

    However, she didn¡¯t open her mouth, as she thought that it was only used for monsters.

    ¡°We¡¯re counting on you. Bear girl.¡± (Toya)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll leave the cleanup to you.¡± (Yuna)

    After catching the bandits, I will leave the transportation job to them because it¡¯s a hassle. My objective was only the stolen cotton.

    ¡°Well then, everyone should prepare today and leave early tomorrow morning.¡± (Rarock)

    Everyone would head out on horses provided by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    Well everyone except for me.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    It has been a long time since we have had arge gathering of members.

    [Notice] The Bear Book Volume 12 is now on sale. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos to me. I am not able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

 Chapter 548 - Bear-san, Heads Out To Subjugate The Bandits

    <h4>Chapter 548 - Bear-san, Heads Out To Subjugate The Bandits</h4>

    Bear-san, Heads Out To Subjugate The Bandits

    When the discussion for preparing the horses took ce, one person refused.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a horse because I¡¯ll be riding Swaying Bear.¡± (Ran)

    Ran, a harem member of Blitz, said such a thing.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be the one riding Swaying Bear.¡± (Senia)

    !!

    Senia-san reacted to Ran¡¯s words.

    ¡°I think I¡¯d like a ride too.¡± (Lurina)

    Lurina-san also joined in.

    In addition, even Mel-san and Rosa-san participated in the battle for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The only woman who didn¡¯t participate was Grimos, one of Blitz¡¯s harem members.

    ¡°In that case, there can be at least two people each riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so aside from Yuna and I, there are only two more spots.¡± (Ran)

    Ran decided on her own.

    ¡°We are the ones who¡¯ll ride with her.¡± (Senia)

    ¡°I want to ride too.¡± (Lurina)

    Lurina-san echoed after Senia-san¡¯s words.

    The discussion of how to defeat the bandits took a weird turn into who¡¯ll ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The five people who wanted to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were: Mel-san, Senia-san, Lurina-san, Rosa-san, and Ran. However, only two people can ride each bear (although they might be able to ride if they squeeze themselves hard enough). Since I would ride by default, there would inevitably be three spots left, just as Ran had said.

    However, the discussion has remained at a standstill.

    Eventually, Guildmaster got mad and decided to settle it on a coin toss. As a result, the three people who would ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were Lurina-san, Senia-san, and Ran.

    ¡°Deborane was good at this sort of thing.¡± (Lurina)

    Lurina-san, the first to win the right to ride, told me with a smile.

    Who is Deborane?

    Perhaps Lurina-san knows someone good at coin toss games.

    But is that something you can be good or bad at? If I do it myself, I guess I could adjust the rpm.

    The next day, we gathered at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, then moved out of town together.

    ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s been a while, Swaying Bear-chan.¡±

    Ran hugged Swaying Bear. And Rosa-san, another Blitz¡¯s harem member, was petting Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    On the other hand, Hugging Bear was being petted by Jade-san¡¯s party members, Senia-san and Mel-san.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were very popr among women.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to pet him too, Lurina-san?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Lurina-san, who was standing next to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pet himter. But Yuna-chan, don¡¯t do ¡®that thing¡¯ since Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are here.¡± (Lurina)

    ¡°That thing?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Did you perhaps forget? It was my first time being carried like a princess.¡± (Lurina)

    ¡­¡­Pon.

    Now I remember.

    ¡°Oh yeah, from that time.¡± (Yuna)

    After I injured a goblin, one of Lurina-san¡¯s party members, on one asion, I was tasked to eliminate the goblins instead. Lurina-san apanied me on that subjugation mission.

    I didn¡¯t have Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear back then, so I had to princess-carry Lurina-san.

    Indeed, with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear here, there was no need to princess-carry her.

    But it¡¯s actually not quite urate to say that I didn¡¯t have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back then.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t call Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back then since they were in a different ce at that time.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, I wasn¡¯t lying. I don¡¯t know where they were then, but they weren¡¯t with me.

    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why.¡± (Lurina)

    Lurina-san seemed satisfied and did not pursue the matter any further.

    Lurina-san and I hopped on Swaying Bear, while Senia-san and Ran got on Hugging Bear, then we departed to the mountains where the bandits were hiding.

    ¡°That¡¯s the mountain.¡± (Jade)

    Just off the road, we can see a little mountain.

    ¡°What are we going to do? Should we just keep going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There should be a lookout, right?¡± (Lurina)

    ¡°If we go off the road and head for the mountains, they¡¯ll know we¡¯reing for them.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°That¡¯s probably why they¡¯re hiding in the mountains in the first ce.¡± (Senia)

    It wasmon sense to keep watch from a high ce. It would be possible to see farther and to spot the intruders more quickly than from low ground.

    ¡°In that case, should I go by myself and catch the lookout? They wouldn¡¯t be suspicious of a girl dressed as a bear in the mountains, let alone think she¡¯de for the bandits, right?¡± (Yuna)

    With my outfit, I would not be considered an adventurer. Even if the lookout discovers me, there would be little chance they will report me as a threat.

    ¡°Rather than suspicious, should I say surprised? Or even confused.¡± (Lurina)

    ¡°Well, Yuna¡¯s right, if a girl dressed as a bear shows up alone, they won¡¯t think we¡¯re here to take them down.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°Even so, I¡¯m against letting Yuna-chan go in alone.¡± (Senia)

    ¡°Certainly.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we add another woman, or rather, a girl?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Senia)

    Senia-san volunteered.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who moves the fastest in this group.¡± (Senia)

    Indeed, Lurina-san, Mel-san, Rosa-san, and Ran are wizards who mainly provide logistical support. Grimos is a swordswoman and not the speedy type.

    Senia-san moves around nimbly with her knife and attacks.

    She is agile.

    After discussion, the group decided that Senia-san would go with me. No one had any objection.

    We will leave Jade-san and the others and have theme to us once we have captured the guards.

    The group also decided to have Swaying Bear give a signal for them to start climbing the mountains.

    ¡°So, you canmunicate even if you are far away, huh.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°Because I, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear are connected by our hearts.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m jealous. I want a Swaying Bear and a Hugging Bear too.¡± (Ran)

    Ran hugged Hugging Bear.

    Senia-san and I got on Swaying Bear and started heading toward the mountain.

    We moved slowly because they might be surprised if we ran.

    ¡°But is it okay to be riding on a bear?¡± (Senia)

    ¡°Without Swaying Bear, we wouldn¡¯t know where the bandits are.¡± (Yuna)

    I was thinking of the same thing, but the exnation of detection skills would be long and tedious, so either Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear would be needed anyway.

    Well, if they attempt to flee, I¡¯ll think about what to do at that time.

    As we approached the mountain, I used my detection skills.

    They may not be in range yet, or the skill wasn¡¯t responding properly.

    As we got closer and closer, I got a reaction.

    The reaction was not moving. It may be possible that he was a hunter, but I think it was more likely that he was on the lookout.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    Swaying Bear cried.

    ¡°Did you find them, perhaps?¡± (Senia)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to point at them because they might be watching. I think it¡¯s around that little cliff that is sticking out.¡± (Yuna)

    Senia-san didn¡¯t point her finger but only slightly turned her eyes.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s catch him and make him vomit out of his hideout.¡± (Senia)

    We slowly entered the mountains.

    =====

    (A Bandit¡¯s POV)

    I¡¯m keeping watch from halfway up the mountain.

    There are two guards. Me and another guy. Now we take turns watching for any visitors to the mountain. I¡¯m lying down right now.

    ¡°Hey, something strange ising.¡± (Bandit 2)

    The guy who was watching said such a thing.

    I was lying down, but I got up and looked in the direction the guy was looking.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± (Bandit 1)

    I looked at the one who wasing towards us, and it took me aback.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird. She¡¯s dressed as a bear. And she¡¯s riding a bear.¡± (Bandit 2)

    The guy looked at the person dressed as a bear while riding a bear with a smile on his face.

    But I¡¯m notughing.

    ¡°We better run away.¡± (Bandit 1)

    ¡°Huh? Run away? From a girl dressed as a bear while riding a bear and a girl riding behind her? Why are you running away from them?¡± (Bandit 2)

    ¡°For now, I¡¯m going to report. You should also run away too. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡± (Bandit 1)

    I ran towards the hideout.

    I recognise that bear. A few months ago, I was in a town by the sea called Mereera. I broke up with the previous party because of a disagreement, so I came alone to Mereera alone.

    I thought I would spend my new life in that town. But an incident had destroyed that thought within a few days.

    A Kraken appeared in the sea. The wealthy residents fled, and the skilled adventurers fled with them. While I was wondering what to do, a proposal to rob the fleeing rich of their gold and baggage came out of nowhere, and I was invited to join them.

    Of course, I had no intention of going along with it, but I couldn¡¯t refuse the invitation as a strong-looking man red at me.

    Since I had no party members and no prominent skills, I was assigned to be the lookout. My job was to report whenever people appeared on the road. If they have escorts, let them through. Otherwise, I called them.

    I was put in charge of keeping an eye on thoseing to Mereera. The group attacked not only those fleeing Mereera, but also thoseing into the town.

    But no one wasing into the Mereera, having heard about the Kraken and us from those who managed to escape.

    Recently, adventurers have even arrived.

    That day, I was yawning while keeping watch until it was time for my shift to end. But when it was time for the shift change, no one came. I thought they were drinking or sleeping.

    It had happened a couple of times before. I went back to their toin before it got dark.

    But there was no one in the hideout.

    I checked the town and found out they had already been caught.

    They might be looking for me too, so I fled to the mountains.

    After that, I didn¡¯t know what to do, so I hid in the depths of the mountains for several days.

    Then something strange happened in the sea. A Kraken appeared. As I was watching the Kraken, strange objects suddenly appeared around the Kraken and surrounded it.

    I checked through the telescope and saw that it was a rock that looked like a bear. Upon further confirmation, I saw a figure fighting the Kraken. I focused on my telescope. The person fighting the Kraken was a small person wearing strange clothes.

    A bear? A girl?

    The girl dressed as a bear casts magic from the top of the cliff. Steam rises to the surface of the sea. The Kraken was suffering. How long has it been since they started?

    The Kraken stopped moving.

    A girl dressed as a bear defeated the Kraken.

    After that, I hid in the mountains, trying to figure out what to do. I found a cave. From that cave, the bear girl who had defeated the Kraken, a man, and a woman emerged, riding a ck bear and a white bear.

    Perhaps, it¡¯s connected somewhere?

    I can¡¯t stay here forever.

    I ventured further into the cave.

    The cave tunnel was long. But I continued holding a light magic stone, believing it led somewhere. And I was able to get out of the cave.

    After leaving the cave, I arrived in a town. It was an unusual town. It had two lords co-ruling a single town. I got a job as a guard in one of the mansions.

    I want to restart my life here again.

    But while I can¡¯t speak for others, this lord I served did all sorts of nefarious things.

    It didn¡¯t feel good to hear about it, despite the rumors. So, I thought of leaving when I had enough money.

    But my second life ended early when the lord¡¯s idiot son kidnapped a nobleman¡¯s daughter.

    The girl dressed as the bear who defeated that very Kraken barged into the mansion to rescue the nobleman¡¯s daughter.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    The girl dressed as a bear began to fight the man dressed in ck.

    Everyone in the mansion feared the man in ck. He liked to beat people up and was very capable.

    But I know better than that. I know that these bears were stronger than monsters.

    The bear won, as I expected. It was andslide victory.

    And I got caught.

    I was released as a person of interest, with restrictions on my movements, but with the understanding that I had no part in the crime. Still, I was subjected to a lengthy interrogation. They asked me where I came from and how long I had been working.

    I showed the captured lord my guild card once, but he was too stupid to remember people¡¯s names. I had decided to work under a pseudonym with a slight alteration of my real name because of Mereera.

    During the interrogation, they did not know what others called me, so the interrogation proceeded without them knowing that I was using a false name. I was in jail for a while, but after the lord was executed, I was released.

    The fact that I had just started working at that lord¡¯s ce seemed to help.

    I¡¯m free, but I have nowhere to go.

    I didn¡¯t get paid, so I had no money on me.

    For a while, I lived off my remaining money, but my money wasn¡¯t infinite.

    At that time, I was approached by a man whose name I don¡¯t remember, who also worked for the lord.

    When I asked him about it, he said he was assisting a certain merchant.

    At first, I thought it smelled fishy, but I decided to listen to what he had to say since I had no money.

    I never thought it was banditry.

    It seems that the merchants were benefiting from their lord. So, they were in trouble because they could not receive the benefits because the authorities apprehended their lord, so they called out to people like us who needed money and gathered people.

    The general modus operandi would be to attack the wagons, take the cargo, and then sell them to the merchants.

    I listened to the end, and could not refuse, so I epted the offer as I was swept along.

    And I offered to be a lookout again, and I won¡¯t get deeply involved. Someday they will get caught. Ultimately, I was nning to run away once I got some money.

    But the end came too early.

    The girl dressed as a bear came once more.

    Honestly, I wanted to run away on my own. But I will return the debt of gratitude for their help, however brief it was.

    I ran towards the ce we were using as a hideout.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Thanks to bear-san, here is a person who is between happiness and despair.

    It¡¯s 2021! Please take diligent care of yourselves and the bears.

    ¡ù Book Volume 12 is now avable. Thank you very much for your purchase. I would like to proceed with the work on the 13th book, so I think it will take about four days to post. Thank you for your understanding.

    ¡ù Thank you to everyone who always reports typos to me. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

 Chapter 549 - Bear-san, Heads To The Hideout

    <h4>Chapter 549 - Bear-san, Heads To The Hideout</h4>

    Bear-san, Heads To The Hideout

    Senia-san and I slowly entered the mountain. There was no reaction to my movement. After all, it seems that the bandits don¡¯t want to report someone like me dressed as a bear because they don¡¯t think I am a threat. I was a little worried because of Swaying Bear. People don¡¯t usually think that a girl dressed as a bear on a bear was out to get them.

    Sometimes, bear equipment has its usefulness.

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°What did Swaying Bear say?¡± (Senia)

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be rmed.¡± (Yuna)

    !!

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go catch him quickly.¡± (Senia)

    We used the trees to move into a blind spot and had no trouble catching the man we thought was on guard duty. Just as nned.

    ¡°Damn it, let go of me!¡± (Bandit 2)

    Senia-san quickly tied up the watchman with a rope, and now, he was lying on the ground.

    ¡°Be quiet, or I¡¯ll feed you to my bear.¡± (Yuna)

    When I turned my gaze to Swaying Bear, he started acting and approached the man while drooling. It¡¯s more effective for a ferocious beast, Swaying Bear, to intimidate the man instead of me, who¡¯s dressed as a bear, and a cute girl, Senia-san. This has been verified from my past experience.

    Swaying Bear drooled over the lying man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Wait! Even if you eat me, I won¡¯t taste good.¡± (Bandit 2)

    `Ji~yuruuu~¡¯ (tn: cute growling noises)

    Swaying Bear opened his mouth wide.

    ¡°We won¡¯t know unless we try it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait! I¡¯ll tell you anything, just stop it!¡± (Bandit 2)

    The man surrendered easily.

    ¡°You¡¯re one of those bandits who showed up recently, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Swaying Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    When I called out to him, Swaying Bear opened his mouth again.

    ¡°Y-yes. But I was just watching. I didn¡¯t help them steal it.¡± (Bandit 2)

    Well, that¡¯s not for me to judge.

    ¡°Are there any other guards? Where are the rest of your people? If you tell me one lie, I¡¯ll feed you to my bearter, so tell me the truth.¡± (Yuna)

    The man began to speak with a strained expression.

    ¡°¡­¡­There was another lookout, but when he saw the girl dressed as a bear, he hurried over to the others.¡± (Bandit 2)

    ¡°Saw me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, he ran like he was in a panic.¡± (Bandit 2)

    Someone who knows me, perhaps?

    Well, I am an adventurer, and I am based in Crimonia, so it is not surprising that they know me. To begin with, I don¡¯t know what kind of people bandits areprised of. They may have been former adventurers, or they may have been desperate people who failed at their previous jobs. They are probably made up of a bunch of ruffians. A groupprising of all kinds of people. It was not surprising that someone among them might have recognized me. This may have been a mistake.

    I supposed we need to hurry up.

    Then I asked him about how many friends he had and the direction of their hideout. If I knew the direction, I would be able to catch them with my detection skills.

    ¡°There are about ten of us. The hideout is over there.¡± (Bandit 2)

    The man was tied up, so he could only point in the direction of his gaze.

    That¡¯s less than I expected.

    ¡°Any mages?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°None. I mean, if you can use magic, you should be an adventurer in the first ce.¡± (Bandit 2)

    That¡¯s right. The mages were far too few in between. If a person can use offensive magic, they would probably get headhunted and receive invitations from various parties. Unless they¡¯re exceptionally bad at magic, they wouldn¡¯t want to be a bandit.

    After confirming that there were no other guards, I called Hugging Bear toe to us.

    I think he got the message, but I get a little anxious when I don¡¯t hear the [ku~u ~ n].

    ¡°Senia-san. I¡¯ll go ahead first.¡± (Yuna)

    Honestly, I wanted to meet up with Jade-san and the others and then go to the hideout together, but they had already gone to report my arrival. So there was no time to wait for Jade-san and the others.

    ¡°Yuna, I can¡¯t let you go out there alone.¡± (Senia)

    Senia-san grabbed my bear costume.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine because Swaying Bear will be with me. Besides, it looks like my n has failed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Everyone agreed. Yuna, you¡¯re not solely responsible for the banditry. So you don¡¯t have to take responsibility alone.¡± (Senia)

    I appreciate Senia-san¡¯s kind words, but if we wait for Jade-san as is, they will surely escape.

    ¡°Thank you. But I have to go.¡± (Yuna)

    Senia-san looked at me. Then her hand let go of my bear suit she was grabbing.

    ¡°¡­I understand. But don¡¯t do anything rash.¡± (Senia)

    It¡¯s nice to know that someone was worried about me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve also called Hugging Bear over here, so when Jade-san and the others arrive, have Hugging Bear lead the way and follow him.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Senia-san to take care of the rest and head to the bandit¡¯s hideout with Swaying Bear.

    =====

    -Bandit¡¯s POV-

    Out of breath, I arrived at an old hut.

    There were several men outside. One of them came over.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Bandit 3)

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the details inside.¡± (Bandit 1)

    I went inside the hut. The men outside followed me. As I entered the hut, the men, who had been rxing, looked at me.

    ¡°A girl dressed as a bear ising here, so you¡¯d better run.¡± (Bandit 1)

    ¡°A bear?¡± (Bandit 4)

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Bandit 5)

    ¡°Could it be, that bear?¡± (Bandit 6)

    The reactions were divided between those who knew about the bears and those who didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s that girl dressed as a bear who broke into that nobleman¡¯s house. We can¡¯t win against her. We¡¯d better run now.¡± (Bandit 1)

    If they have seen the fight with the ck man in that nobleman¡¯s house, they¡¯ll know that it¡¯s reckless to fight the bear girl.

    ¡°Is that girl dressed as a bear with a ck bear and a white bear, by any chance?¡± (Bandit 7)

    A man asked.

    If I remember correctly, his name was Greed. (¥°¥ê©`¥É)

    ¡°Yeah. She was with a ck bear just now.¡± (Bandit 1)

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no doubt about it. That girl dressed as a bear is an adventurer called ¡®Bloody Bear¡¯.¡± (Greed)

    ¡°Bloody bear, what¡¯s that?¡± (Bandit 1)

    ¡°Goblin King, ck Viper, she defeated them all by herself. Don¡¯t be fooled by her appearance, she may look cute, but her ability is the real deal.¡± (Greed)

    So that girl dressed as a bear had defeated the Kraken and such monsters.

    ¡°Apparently, it seems that this is the end for this group. I also agree on escaping.¡± (Greed)

    When Greed said it, everyone around him seemed to understand that it was a serious situation and that staying any longer was a bad idea. Everyone tried to escape, but there was a man who stopped them.

    ¡°Wait, I won¡¯t allow you to run away.¡± (Man)

    This man was sent by the merchant. Simply put, he¡¯s the watchdog.

    ¡°I have no obligation nor the will to fight that bear just to make money for a merchant. Besides, I have no intention of staying in the mountains forever.¡± (Greed)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! You can¡¯t just run away on your own, and Redent-sama won¡¯t let you go. He¡¯s going to chase after you as far as he can.¡± (Man) (¥ê©`¥Ç¥ó¥È)

    ¡°And that same Redent probably doesn¡¯t know our names or what we look like. Besides, all these people here are probably using aliases, just like me.¡± (Greed)

    From everyone¡¯s reaction, it seems I wasn¡¯t the only one using a false name. If someone was using their real name, they could be caught by that person. But with a fake name, you won¡¯t get caught if the face doesn¡¯t match.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t kill anyone, but we took their stuff, and we got paid by Redent. I mean, we¡¯re not meant to be the good guys, but we¡¯re not going to go along with Redent¡¯s tail-cutting.¡± (Greed)

    If we get caught, we¡¯ll be their scapegoat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit!¡± (Man)

    ¡°I have no time for this. Those who want to stay, stay. I¡¯m going to run away.¡± (Greed)

    All but Redent¡¯s dog chose to run away.

    They all know that even if they stay, nothing good wille of it.

    ¡°Speaking of which, what happened to the other lookout?¡± (Greed)

    ¡°I advised him to run away. I don¡¯t know what happened to him.¡± (Bandit 1)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Greed)

    Greed said nothing more about it.

    This man also knew that if the lookout got caught, there was nothing he could do to help him.

    ¡°What are we going to do with the stolen things?¡± (Man)

    The man, who had been listening silently, asked.

    ¡°Leave it. If that bear girl is here at the guild¡¯s request, her work may be finished when she retrieves the stolen goods. If you run away with it, she¡¯ll likelye after you. So just leave those items behind. And above all, she has those bears. They can trace you by your scent. It¡¯s better to increase the chances of escaping as much as possible.¡± (Greed)

    Greed is the man who manages the group, and he makes quick decisions.

    ¡°This is mine.¡± (Man)

    The moment Redent¡¯s dog turned around and grabbed the item bag, Greed twisted the man¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Ow ow, what are you doing!¡± (Man)

    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening to what I said, were you? There is a possibility that she will chase you. So, we would also be in trouble if you took it.¡± (Greed)

    Greed said and asked someone to bring a rope and tie the man up.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± (Man)

    ¡°No, I was trying to get you to buy us some time so we could escape. Good luck with your excuses. If you honestly say it was Redent¡¯s idea, you might get a lighter sentence.¡± (Greed)

    Furthermore, Greedo covered the man¡¯s mouth, grabbed a pen from the table, and began writing something on paper. He ced the paper on the man¡¯s body.

    It seems that he¡¯s a guy who does interesting things.

    ¡°Now then, if you guys get caught, tell them that the merchant Redent sent you. Your penalty may be lightened.¡± (Greed)

    Certainly, we helpedmit the crimes.

    However, there was no doubt that the principal offender would receive the most severe punishment. The execution of a former nobleman proved this point. Of course, it doesn¡¯t change that we lent a hand to the crime. So we have to run away.

    Next, Greed grabbed the item bag and dumped the contents inside the hut.

    Recently robbed bags of fine cotton were scattered around the room. Furthermore, the item bag was cut up with a knife so that it cannot be used. This way, no one can slip out and take them.

    ¡°With this, the bear girl that ising will have more options. Whether to collect the stolen goods, follow us, or get more details from this guy. Also, you guys, we are all strangers from here on out. If you bump into each other in any town, pretend to be strangers. I¡¯ll do the same. You¡¯ll also have some money, the one we got from Redent. If you can, live decently¡­¡­ I¡¯m not the one to say that though.¡± (Greed)

    When Greedughed, so did everyone.

    ¡°Now then, time to escape. If you get caught, consider yourself out of luck. It was fun for a short time. All of you, get the hell out of here. Flee!¡± (Greed)

    At Greed¡¯s words, everyone nodded and left the hut, running in the opposite direction of the bear girl.

    I also ran away.

    Not going by Greed¡¯s words, but if I sessfully escape from here, I¡¯ll seriously live a decent life this time.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Somehow, the main story has be about the bandits.

    Well, Yuna is still a human. She may also make mistakes.

    [Notice] I am sorry. The monitor I have been using for many years has broken. (It¡¯s still usable, but the screen turns white when I use it.) I will buy a new one soon, but it will dy my posting. Please understand.

    Also, I don¡¯t think I will be able to reply to your feedback.

    ¡ù Thank you, as always, to everyone who always reports typos. I will not be able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    Postscript (5/6)

    We apologize for the inconvenience to our readers who have been purchasing from google y books.

    Currently, volume 12 is not avable for purchase.

    We have contacted the publisher.

    They will confirm the situation.

    Please wait for a while longer.

    Postscript (5/7)

    Volume 12 is now avable on google y books.

    Thank you very much.

    -Kumanano

    =====

 Chapter 550 - Escaped From Bear-san.

    <h4>Chapter 550 - Escaped From Bear-san.</h4>

    Escaped From Bear-san.

    I ran in the lead, and Swaying Bear followed.

    The hideout was hidden in a troublesome ce. The footing was poor, and trees and grass were in the way, making it difficult to advance stealthily. That was why they hid in such a ce. It would have been quite a hassle if it weren¡¯t for my detection skills.

    I proceed in the direction the watchman pointed me, and immediately my detection skills respond to people.

    It seems he wasn¡¯t lying. But there was only one response.

    I hurried to the ce where the reaction wasing from. And when I arrived at the ce where the reaction urred, I found an old hut. Inside the old hut, there was one response.

    !!

    Then, as I moved towards the hut, there were momentary multiple human responses just inside the detection range, but as soon as I stopped in front of the hut, the responses disappeared outside the detection range.

    They totally got away.

    I can¡¯t ignore the response inside the hut and chase after them, so I¡¯ll ignore the ones outside my detection skills.

    But why is there only one person left in the hut?

    Could it be that a person was taken hostage and left behind?

    Or that one of them sacrificed himself to stay behind to let his friends escape? Like, ¡°I¡¯ll buy you time, so get away from here¡±, or something?

    It¡¯s impossible in my former world, but it¡¯s possible enough in this world.

    Mumroot-san said something simr to me. That being the case, it was conceivable that they could attack us the moment we entered the hut.

    So, what do we do now?

    Should I call out to them? Or slowly walk in and capture them?

    After thinking about it for a while, I decided to call out to them.

    If theye out, I¡¯ll just catch them. And if they don¡¯t, I¡¯ll just carefully go inside.

    ¡°I am an adventurer, you can¡¯t escape now, soe on out.¡± (Yuna)

    I waited for a response.

    But no response came out of the hut.

    Time was running out. There was a possibility that the hostages might not be able to move because their mouths were sealed shut.

    I slowly approached the hut and cautiously opened the door. But there was no response. No sudden attack.

    I looked through the door gap and saw a man tied up.

    A hostage!?

    I asked Swaying Bear to watch outside, enter the hut, and approach the bound man.

    This is¡­

    There was a piece of paper on the body of the bound man. The paper said, ¡°At the direction of this man and a merchant named Redent, who have taken the goods. The cotton we took the other day was left behind. The rest, I gave to Redent. I¡¯ll have you know we don¡¯t have anything even if you chase us¡±.

    In other words, his fellow bandits tied up the main suspect, and they escaped.

    I took off the cloth covering the man¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°¡­¡­A bear?¡± (Man)

    I thrust the paper at the man¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Is this true?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Th, that¡¯s a lie. They turned me into a culprit and ran away. Catch the escapees.¡± (Man)

    Even though I was told to catch him, they had already escaped. I might be able to catch one, though. It¡¯ll be too far of a detour. In the first ce, I couldn¡¯t believe what this man said.

    ¡°What about you, then? Are you not involved?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s, yeah. That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been held captive by those guys. So please untie the rope quickly.¡± (Man)

    How dare he make excuses as if he just came up with them?

    I don¡¯t entirely trust what is written on paper, but I can¡¯t believe this man¡¯s words either. In the first ce, I¡¯ve never heard of any captive.

    ¡°Swaying Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    When in doubt, just use threat.

    When I called Swaying Bear, he came inside the hut.

    ¡°Bear!¡± (Man)

    The man was surprised when Swaying Bear entered the hut.

    ¡°If you lie to me, I¡¯ll feed you to my bear.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ji ~yuruuu¡¯

    For the second time today, Swaying Bear¡¯s performance was more polished. He approached the man ready to eat.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± (Man)

    ¡°So, is this true? If it turns out that you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll feed you to my bearter.¡± (Yuna)

    The man looked at the paper and Swaying Bear alternately.

    And even though he¡¯s conflicted, he opens his heavy mouth.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s all true. So, don¡¯t let that beare any closer.¡± (Man)

    The man quickly confessed. I would never have been able to do such a thing after handing him over to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but the man easily confessed.

    At any rate, We have caught the boss of the bandits. I think.

    Now I just need to confirm what was stolen.

    If what was written on the paper was true, then therge bag on the floor contained cotton.

    I left the man alone and checked therge bag on the floor.

    The bag was filled with cotton, just as it said on the paper. When I touched it, it was very soft.

    This must be the cotton I asked for.

    Apparently, they weren¡¯t making stuffed animals here. I am d that I did not have to remove the contents from those stuffed animals. Now we can make the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    I then checked the other cloth bags, but they all contained cotton and no other stolen items. Just as I was about to check the other ces, I heard a voice calling me from outside the hut.

    ¡°Yuna, are you there?¡± (Jade)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here¡± (Yuna)

    When I replied, Jade-san and the others entered the hut.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± (Yuna)

    I exined that the bandit group had escaped and also pointed out the paper was on the bound man.

    ¡°What are you going to do? Do you want to chase them? I might be able to catch at least one of them.¡± (Yuna)

    I know the direction, so I think I can catch at least one of them.

    ¡°No. While it¡¯s a pity that we couldn¡¯t catch the other bandits, we caught the main culprit, so it¡¯s good enough for now.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was entirely my fault.¡± (Yuna)

    For once, I made a mistake in judgment.

    I didn¡¯t think anyone would run away when they saw my outfit.

    ¡°I heard about it from Senia, but don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We took the ¡°strolling girls¡± idea, too. Yuna also caught a lookout. That guy didn¡¯t know Yuna, only the other one recognized her.¡± (Blitz)

    Jade-san and Blitz defend me.

    ¡°I guess so. Next time, why don¡¯t you just dress normally?¡± (Mel)

    ¡°Nobody would think you¡¯re the girl dressed as a bear.¡± (Senia)

    Mel-san and Senia-san said that.

    ¡°But Yuna-chan looks best in that bear¡¯s outfit.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yuna, looking like a bear, is the best.¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran praised my bear outfit. By the way, to me, looking best dressed up as bear is definitely not apliment.

    ¡°But then again, it sounds like someone was smart enough to know what they were doing. I guess they decided that by abandoning the stolen goods like this, we wouldn¡¯t chase after them. They even broke the item bag to prove they didn¡¯t take anything.¡± (Jade)

    A bag of items that can hold a lot is valuable. It was unlikely that a lot of bandits would have plenty of those.

    ¡°Also, they also left behind the main culprit. He¡¯s adding more reasons not to chase them.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Normally, when someone steals a package, they¡¯ll kill the transporter because they saw their faces, but they didn¡¯t even kill them. They probably think there was no problem with letting them go.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t kill the transporter.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°If they¡¯re that thorough, you can¡¯t catch them even if you caught someone in their group.¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san and Blitz shared their thoughts.

    ¡°Besides, the bigger question is, if what¡¯s written in the paper is true, can we arrest the merchant who is the main culprit?¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san made the man stand.

    ¡°In that case, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to bring this man to Crimonia like this.¡± (Blitz)

    Jade-san¡¯s words were answered by Blitz looking at the bound man.

    ¡°If we take him to Crimonia, word will spread that he has been captured. And if that happens, that merchant, Redent, would probably hear about it.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Hey, you. That merchant named Redent, which city he was in?¡± (Mel)

    Most likely in Crimonia or Sheleen. But a smart merchant might¡¯ve considered the risk and let the bandits gather in a remote location.

    It¡¯s like stealing in country A and selling in country B, which is harder to trace.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The man did not open his mouth to Mel-san¡¯s question.

    ¡°If you keep quiet, I¡¯ll gouge your eyes out.¡±

    Senia-san flicked the knife in front of the man.

    ¡°¡­In the city of Sheleen.¡± (Man)

    Misa¡¯s father rules Sheleen. Grandpa Gran used to be the lord, but he passed the lordship to his son.

    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°If this guy¡¯s master is in the city of Sheleen, we can take him to Crimonia. So, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± (Toya)

    Toya answered Blitz¡¯s question.

    ¡°Toya. I thought you were an idiot. Sorry, I guess I was wrong.¡± (Senia)

    Senia-san opened her mouth and let out a sigh.

    ¡°I know, right? I¡¯m smart, right?¡± (Toya)

    ¡°Toya, you are a totally huge idiot.¡± (Senia)

    ¡°But why!¡± (Toya)

    ¡°Merchants have connections. I don¡¯t know how wide that merchant Redentwork is, but it wouldn¡¯t be strange to have an acquaintance in the neighboring city of Crimonia.¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san exined to Toya, who had no clue.

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to ask the Guildmaster to decide without taking him to town.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go. With Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we cane back quickly.¡± (Yuna)

    Let me make up for the mistake I made in letting the bandits go.

    In my words, everyone looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I agree. Yuna is the right person for the job. Then, please do me a favor. Lurina and Gil should be at the foot of the mountain guarding the lookout. Please exin to them what just happened.¡± (Jade)

    Lurina-san and Gil seem to have taken the role of guarding the arrested bandit guard.

    ¡°What about Jade-san and the others?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯ll check inside and around the hut, then join Lurina and Gil.¡± (Jade)

    They decided what they were going to do and acted ordingly, but Jade-san called me back.

    ¡°Yuna, wait. Put the stuff here in your item bag. With your item bag, these will easily fit in there. And since you¡¯re going to Guildmaster, please report about it as well.¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san, who knows that my item bag has a huge capacity, asked me.

    ¡°Can¡¯t it fit in your item bag, Jade-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It can, but I can¡¯t say for sure that they didn¡¯t steal anything else. I¡¯d better leave my item bag empty just in case I found something here. Besides, this cotton is probably what you asked for, right, Yuna?¡± (Jade)

    In order to recover the cotton, I participated in this bandit subjugation.

    I put the bags of cotton into the bear box, and once again, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and I walked down the mountain.

    =====

 Chapter 551 - Bear-san, Brings Mylene-san

    <h4>Chapter 551 - Bear-san, Brings Mylene-san</h4>

    Bear-san, Brings Mylene-san

    After parting with Jade-san and the others, I repatriated Swaying Bear and rode down the mountain on Hugging Bear. Soon after, I was able to return to Lurina-san and Gil at the foot of the mountain. Lurina-san and Gil seemed to be with the man I had captured earlier, who was acting as a lookout.

    ¡°Yuna-chan? What about everyone?¡± (Lurina)

    I briefly exined the current situation.

    ¡°I see, they got away.¡± (Lurina)

    ¡°Since you caught the main culprit, then there¡¯s no problem.¡± (Gil)

    !!

    Lurina-san made a troubled face, but Gil followed up.

    ¡°Then Yuna-chan, are you going back to Crimonia and ask Guldmaster to decide?¡± (Lurina)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, so please wait for a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Roger that¡± (Lurina)

    The Hugging Bear ran at super eleration and returned to Crimonia in much less time than usual. I thanked him for running faster than usual and sent him back. Then I entered the city, ran to themerce guild, and went inside.

    As usual, there were many people in themercial guild. While I was thinking about how to get to Mylene-san, Liana-san, who was sitting at the reception desk, noticed me and slightly bowed to me.

    Then, when Liana finished with the customer she was dealing with, she excused herself for a bit and came over to me.

    ¡°Yuna-san, are you here because of the bandits?¡± (Liana)

    ¡°How did you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I heard from Guldmaster that Yuna-san and the others were headed for bandit subjugation. We were expecting an official report from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Liana)

    Apparently, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was supposed to contact them to report thepletion.

    ¡°I have a report for Mylene-san about that, but can I see her?¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, Liana-san understood and immediately guided me to Mylene-san¡¯s room.

    I thanked Liana-san and entered the room. In the back of the room, Mylene-san was sitting on a chair and working.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, what¡¯s wrong? Have you already finished subjugating the bandits, by any chance?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yeah, I have a report about that¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I reported what happened and took out the bag containing the stolen cotton from the bear box.

    ¡°If there are merchants behind the scenes, we have to catch them, or they will repeat the same thing. Once people get a taste of sweet nectar, they won¡¯t be able to turn their backs on it. Making others steal and sell them. That¡¯s not eptable as a merchant.¡± (Mylene)

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an eptable act, even if you¡¯re not a merchant. Of course, I didn¡¯t say that.

    ¡°We have to catch that merchant Redent!¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Even though it¡¯s just a man¡¯s testimony?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If he says that man is lying, then that¡¯s it.¡± (Mylene)

    I guess she means that that if we want to catch that merchant, we need to have damning evidence.

    ¡°What are you going to do then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan. I¡¯m sorry, but can you take me to that man?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Is it okay to leave your work?¡± (Yuna)

    I look at the work on the desk that has been bothering me since a while ago. There was a tremendous amount of paper on it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it when I get back. Besides, this is part of my job.¡± (Mylene)

    I can¡¯t say anything when she says that. Besides, it would be a great help to have Mylene-san.

    ¡°Oh right, by the way, I haven¡¯t reported this to the Adventurers Guild, should I?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This whole thing is also themercial guild¡¯s issue, and we need to avoid any conspicuous behavior right now. As Jade said, the fewer people who know about it, the better.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san told me to put away the cotton bag, so I put it in the bear box.

    After confirming that I had finished, Mylene-san called a staff member.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while, but don¡¯t let anyone know. I¡¯ll take care of the urgent work when I get back, so please leave it as is.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    The staff nodded without asking any questions.

    ¡°Now then, Yuna-chan, let¡¯s go out the back door.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°The back door?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯ll never know whose eyes and ears will be there. We need to avoid even the slightest conspicuous behavior.¡± (Mylene)

    With Mylene-san¡¯s lead, we exit themercial guild through the back door.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with quickly and get back. If we don¡¯t, the work will just pile up.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Please don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± (Yuna)

    I heard that the guild receptionists are so busy these days that they don¡¯t even have time to sit at the reception desk.

    I hope they weren¡¯t overdoing it.

    Then when we got outside the city, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, Swaying Bear-chan, it¡¯s been a while. You¡¯re still cute.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    When Mylene-san patted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they squealed happily. I let Mylene-san ride Hugging Bear and I got on Swaying Bear, and we started running toward the mountain where Lurina-san and the rest were waiting for us.

    And I made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear run at the same speed as when I returned to Crimonia so that Mylene could get back to work as soon as possible.

    While I was expecting Mylene-san to be screaming right now, she was surprisingly calm.

    Thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s efforts, we were able to return to the foot of the mountain where the bandits were hiding sooner than expected.

    ¡°Mylene-san, you came.¡± (Jade)

    Jade-san and others gather around Mylene-san, who arrived on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Jade, thanks for reaching out to me.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s what we all discussed.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°I see. Thank you, everyone. So, is he the one who knows Redent?¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san looked at the bound man. The watchman was dressed infortable clothing, and the man who supervised the bandit group was dressed a little more exquisitely.

    Mylene-san looked at the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°You look familiar.¡± (Mylene)

    The man wanted to say something, but he couldn¡¯t say anything since his mouth was covered.

    ¡°Did you get any new information out of him?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°ording to the watchman over there and the paper that was left behind, this man was the merchant¡¯s directing agent. The man admits that too. Also, the guy over there had a guild card, but this guy didn¡¯t have a guild card or any other proof of his identity.¡±

    Jade-san looked at the watchman and then at the man.

    ¡°Also, they said that they had already given the stolen items to Redent, except for the cotton that Yuna had secured. In the meantime, we checked the hideout and the surrounding area but found nothing.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz, who did the search, adds an exnation.

    ¡°I thought other bandits might be hiding nearby, but we couldn¡¯t find anyone. We tried to get information from this man about his friends who had escaped, but he said he didn¡¯t know who they were or where they were. They were using fake names it seems. In fact, the guy over there was using a fake name himself.¡± (Blitz)

    Fake name. Of course, you would use a fake name when you¡¯re doing something bad. I also use the alias ¡°Yuuna¡±, but not because I did something bad; I didn¡¯t want people to investigate me. If you think about it, it¡¯s the same thing, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Alright. Thanks, everyone.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san approached the man and took off the cloth that was covering his mouth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°A deal?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Yes, if you help us catch Redent, I¡¯ll lighten your sentence for cooperating with us.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Quit bullshitting! A little girl like you has no right to do that!¡± (Man)

    That¡¯s a valid point.

    Ordinary people have no right to do so.

    ¡°I am Mylene, guildmaster of themercial guild in Crimonia. How do you do?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Stop lying! I¡¯ve seen you sitting in the reception area of themercial guild in Crimonia. Howe a guildmaster sits in the reception area?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Ara, you know me? No wonder you had seen me before. By the way, sitting at the reception desk is a hobby of mine.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san sometimes sits at the reception desk. However, I have heard from Liana-san that she has recently been too busy to sit at the reception desk because someone has built a tunnel leading to the town of Mereera.

    ¡°This is the proof that I am the Guildmaster.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san showed her guild card to the man.

    ¡°Is that real?¡± (Man)

    The man looked at the guild card, Mylene, and those around him, as if checking us out.

    ¡°It may be hard to believe, Mylene-san is the guild master of themercial guild.¡± (Lurina)

    Lurina-san, who was the most knowledgeable about Crimonia, spoke.

    It¡¯s not easy to believe, isn¡¯t it? When I first met her, I thought she was just a receptionist at the guild.

    Because Mylene-san is young, so you can¡¯t help but think of her as a regr receptionist.

    ¡°What do you want to do? Will you ept the deal?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The man looked down and pondered.

    ¡°If I betray Redent-sama, I will lose my future as a merchant.¡± (Man)

    ¡°The moment you get caught, there¡¯s already no future for you. But if you help us catch Redent, the future will open up for you.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°If I betray my master, no one will ever believe me again. Business is a matter of trust.¡± (Man)

    ¡°But you are sorely mistaken. Those who criticize your behavior don¡¯t want to get close to you because they are aware and guilty of the same crime. Of course, they think that way if you ever find out how bad they are. On the other hand, in the eyes of those who are genuinely honest with what they do, they¡¯ll think you¡¯re an honest man who denounced your masters of wrongdoing.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°However, if you betray those people as well, your future as a merchant will disappearpletely.¡± (Mylene)

    Sure, if you didn¡¯t know the details, you might think he was an honest man. But from the point of view of a wrongdoer, they would be too afraid of being snitched at and won¡¯t get close. In other words, bad guys stick together with other bad guys.

    Because they hold each other¡¯s weaknesses.

    Hearing Mylene-san¡¯s words, the man pondered hard and made up his mind.

    ¡°¡­Alright. I will cooperate.¡± (Man)

    A deal was made with Mylene-san.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We¡¯re back with Mylene-san.

    Let¡¯s catch him quickly.

 Chapter 552 - Bear-san, Captures The Evil Merchant

    <h4>Chapter 552 - Bear-san, Captures The Evil Merchant</h4>

    Bear-san, Captures The Evil Merchant

    ¡°Now then, untie him.¡± (Mylene)

    When Mylene-san said so, Jade-san untied the man¡¯s rope.

    The man stood up, rubbing his arms.

    ¡°If only things went well, I would have been entrusted with the management of a store as a merchant.¡± (Man)

    The man who betrayed Redentined.

    !!

    ¡°What are you talking about? How could he entrust the store to someone who could be caught red-handed so sloppily? Did you really think this would go on forever? If the banditry continues, both the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the Commercial Guild will make their moves. Just think about it for a minute, and you will understand.¡± (Mylene)

    Hearing Mylene-san¡¯s words, the man looked around. He looked at the ten adventurers who came out for them, plus three bears.

    ¡°And above all, you should¡¯ve realized that the moment when you are not issued a guild card. Without a guild card, citizen card, or other proof of identity, the adventurers might have identally killed you for thinking you¡¯re one of the bad guys.¡± (Mylene)

    The man hangs his head at Mylene-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be depressed. Can you tell me your name first?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°It¡¯s Miguel.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°So, Miguel. How did you manage to hand over the stolen goods? Without your guild card, you wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the city, would you?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°The handover happens outside of Sheleen.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°Where¡¯s the exact location? And when is the next handover?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°In the forest. The next handover is tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon.¡± (Miguel)

    Tomorrow. Well, there¡¯s no point in keeping the stolen goods forever.

    ¡°Who wille to take it?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Redent-sama, the person himself. Because only Redent-sama and I know about this.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°I see. Thank you. And one more thing. Is there any chance that the ones who escaped might havee into contact with Redent?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°Are there no people trying to make money by selling information about what happened here?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Even if there were, they can¡¯t meet Redent-sama easily. Redent-sama is a cautious person. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the only one who knows about this.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°For now, I might as well stake a lookout at Redent¡¯s shop, just in case. Well, no one would be stupid enough to go to Redent to report this incident unless they are fools.¡± (Mylene)

    I thought that if there were such idiots, I think one or two would have stayed back in the hut.

    ¡°But if you¡¯re supposed to meet tomorrow, we¡¯d better hurry.¡± (Mylene)

    Then we discussed how to apprehend the merchant called Redent. But mostly, we just followed Mylene-san¡¯s n.

    We split into four groups.

    >The first group would be Mylene-san and me riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, heading into the city.

    >The second group would be Blitz¡¯s party, who wille into the city shortly to overwatch the store.

    >The third group, Jade-san¡¯s party, would go to the forest where Miguel and Redent are supposed to meet.

    >The fourth group, Lurina-san, and Gil, would take the watchman to Crimonia.

    We were divided into groups, and our roles were exined.

    The three who had ridden Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when we came here would have to travel by horse and carriage, which the bandits had hidden. The three who could no longer ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were visibly disappointed.

    It can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°But if you just want to catch him, you don¡¯t have to go that far, do you? If we wait for him, he wille to us eventually, won¡¯t he?¡± (Yuna)

    He usuallyes to pick up the stolen goods. I think if we hold the ce down, that¡¯s the end of it.

    ¡°I agree. There are many reasons. If Rendent had no choice but to let his employees do it for a living, there are some extenuating circumstances. The bandits didn¡¯t kill anyone. If they did, I would let the lord decide on their punishment. And if he did it for personal gain, I intend to make him pay more than the current charges. But if the merchant named Redent had even the slightest bit of a good heart, he would order the bandits to disperse and tell them to run away. And he will try to put Miguel in charge of the store.¡± (Mylene)

    Certainly, as Mylene-san said, some people in this world have no choice but tomit crimes. I don¡¯t think that is right. But I do think they could be saved a little.

    ¡°But if not, If he¡¯s not worth saving. Let¡¯s hunt him down.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san smiled. That smile was scary. Jade-san and the others¡¯ faces were also twitching. As one might expect, she¡¯s the guildmaster of themercial guild. Even though she looks like your everyday-receptionist-neesan.

    ¡°You really can¡¯t judge a person by their looks.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, Yuna-chan.¡± (Mylene)

    Everyone nodded at Mylene-san¡¯s words.

    =====

    -Evil Merchant¡¯s POV-

    There were two lords in this city. One was a lord who did bad things to increase his power. The other was a lord who seemed to be a good guy. The good man was exploited by the evil man and would soon disappear.

    But the one who disappeared was the lord, who was doing bad things that I supported.

    I don¡¯t know all the details, but I heard that he was exposed for his wickedness and was caught. And the lord, who was supposed to be decaying, became the lord of this city.

    The lord of this city has been reced, and the power rtions have changed. The guildmaster of themercial guilds was also reced, and all kinds of previous connections were no longer avable to me. As a result, I no longer had a monopoly on goods, and sales plummeted. The money I had given to the lord and the guildmaster had gone to waste, and the situation was worse than ever. Without money, I can¡¯t do anything new.

    Some of the employees have quit, and the store is struggling.

    If I don¡¯t do something, I will run out of money soon.

    Then I thought of stealing. If you don¡¯t have money, steal things and re-sell them. The profit is huge. It¡¯s never been this easy.

    I instructed one of my men and ordered him to gather those who, like me, were parasites on their lord and in need of money.

    The man was reluctant, but when I told him that if he seeded in this job, I would let him have the store, he epted without knowing it was a lie.

    Stealing was going well. For the amount of goods that woulde in for the little money I paid the bandits, I couldn¡¯t stopughing. I should have done this from the beginning. No other job could bring in so much money so easily.

    The only drawback is that you can¡¯t specify what they are stealing. We don¡¯t know what cargo the merchants are carrying, and I can¡¯t give them detailed instructions when I¡¯m in town.

    But that Miguel guy is doing well. He steals things that are worth a good amount of money. Maybe he is a surprisingly talented thief.

    But it¡¯s time for this business practice to end.

    Earlier, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the Commercial Guild contacted us about bandit subjugation.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to move on.¡± (Redent)

    It was sooner than I thought it would be, but I decided to do onest job.

    Only a few people know about this. The more people who know, the greater the chance of leakage. Therefore, I had to do the final cleanup myself. I had decided to do this from the beginning, but it was a hassle.

    The next day, I left town by myself.

    I was supposed to pick up the goods today. The ce to pick up the package was in the forest near the town. There was arge rock at the edge of the forest, and I was supposed to pick it up in front of the rock.

    When I arrived at the appointed ce, Miguel was there as promised.

    ¡°Redent-sama, I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°So, what is it this time?¡± (Redent)

    There arerge bags around Miguel.

    ¡°It is a high-quality cotton. I think it will sell well to the aristocrats as cushions andforters.¡± (Miguel)

    I checked the big bag near Miguel. It indeed contains cotton. When I touched it, it was extremely soft, and I knew immediately that it was high-quality cotton.

    ¡°Well done.¡± (Redent)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Miguel)

    I put the bags of cotton in the item bag.

    ¡°And what about the money to pay the bandits?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± (Redent)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the Commercial Guild have made their move. The guilds will subjugate them soon.¡± (Redent)

    ¡°Then I guess my part is done.¡± (Miguel)

    Oh yes, it¡¯s over.

    ¡°So now you will let me have the store as promised, right?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I will have you do your best at the store.¡± (Redent)

    I tapped Miguel¡¯s shoulder with my left hand. Miguel looked happy. I reached into my pocket with my right hand and grabbed my hidden knife.

    If I kill Miguel, no one will know who I am. Even if the bandits knew about me, there would be no proof.

    It would be best if the adventurers would kill them all.

    The moment I took a knife out of my pocket and tried to stab Miguel, somebody grabbed my arm.

    ¡°What the¡­!¡± (Redent)

    A man I didn¡¯t know was grabbing my arm.

    Is he one of the bandits?

    ¡°Redent-sama, you tried to kill me.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°Miguel, what¡¯s going on? Did you betray me?¡± (Redent)

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t. He made a deal with me.¡± (Mylene)

    A woman in amercial guild uniform appears from behind arge rock.

    ¡°What is amercial guild employee doing here?¡± (Redent)

    ¡°I heard everything you said and the deeds you¡¯ve done on-site.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Miguel!¡± (Redent)

    ¡°I made a deal with her and told her where the handover would take ce.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°Miguel!¡± (Redent)

    I tried to attack Miguel, but the man holding my arm twisted it.

    ¡°Ow ow ow, let go of me!¡± (Redent)

    No matter how hard I try, it doesn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Jade, please tie him up.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Roger that. Toya, help me out.¡± (Jade)

    I was forcibly held down by the newly emerged man, unable to resist, and tied up.

    ¡°You betrayed me.¡± (Redent)

    ¡°It was you, Redent-sama, who betrayed me. If Redent-sama had instructed me to let the bandits go and told me to take charge of the store, you would have been given some leniency.¡± (Miguel)

    Miguel looked at the fallen knife.

    Damn it, Miguel must have set me up.

    I can¡¯t get caught like this.

    ¡°What are you talking about? All of you, think about it. Do you believe the words of a man who used to be a bandit?¡± (Redent)

    ¡°Of course, I believe him. After all, I am aware of your reputation and your current situation.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°What are you talking about, guild employee girl?¡± (Redent)

    ¡°Ara, I haven¡¯t introduced myself, have I? I am Mylene, Guildmaster of the Commercial Guild of Crimonia.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Guildmaster of Crimonia? Stop lying!¡± (Redent)

    ¡°I guarantee that.¡±

    A handsome man in his 30s appears. I know this guy. He is the new Guildmaster of Sheleen.

    ¡°Gi, guildmaster?¡± (Redent)

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you know who I am. I thought you didn¡¯t know me because I¡¯m the new guildmaster. We shall conduct a thorough investigation under my authority in your store and house.¡±

    With those words from Guildmaster, everything ended.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    He naturally became an evil merchant, because of bad business.

    Well, I wanted to get Jade-san, Blitz, and Lurina-san out, so I didn¡¯t think it was necessary to write a long story. Also, I wanted to write a little about the situation in the city of Sheleen after Gran-san quit.

    I think I will finish the story about the bandits in the next chapter¡­¡­ maybe.

    ¡ù Posting will take 5 days. The bookwork is not progressing well¡­ Please understand that I may not be able to reply.

    [Notice] The 27th episode of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Comic PASH! Thank you very much for purchasing.

 Chapter 553 - Bear-san, Goes To Sheleenâ€™s Commercial Guild

    <h4>Chapter 553 - Bear-san, Goes To Sheleen¡¯s Commercial Guild</h4>

    Bear-san, Goes To Sheleen¡¯s Commercial Guild

    Going back in time a little¡­

    We arrived at the city of Sheleen before the sun sets.

    ¡°You¡¯re really amazing, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡±

    This is what happens when Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear get serious. But today I made them run back and forth between the mountains and Crimonia, and then to Sheleen. They look fine though, but I¡¯ll have to give them a treat when things settle down.

    Along with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Mylene-san and I approached the city gate. The gatekeeper standing at the gate was surprised to see me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear. And then he muttered, ¡°Could they be the bears that the lord mentioned?¡± We were able to enter without being asked about Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, or my outfit.

    !!

    Was it Gran-san? Or maybe his son, Leonardo-san, told the gatekeeper about me.

    When I was here before, I had Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear run through the city, startling the residents. So maybe they were just being considerate.

    But I am wondering if the ¡°bear¡± the gatekeeper was referring to was me or Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Yuna-chan. Let¡¯s hurry.¡± (Mylene)

    Once inside the city, Mylene-san and I went to themercial guild. Of course, I repatriated Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we ran from here. ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma?¡± ¡°Kuma-san?¡± ¡°The bear from that time?¡±

    Outside of Crimonia, this would be the kind of reaction I¡¯d always get.

    ¡°Yuna-chan¡¯s outfit really stands out.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san said and started running down a deserted street.

    ¡°Mylene-san, are you familiar with Sheleen?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I sometimes go to the towns around Crimonia, so I know of it to some extent.¡± (Mylene)

    Despite saying that, she took her steps without hesitation, and shortly after, we arrived at the back door of some building.

    ¡°It¡¯s the back entrance to the Commercial Guild. Let¡¯s go in here.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san opened the door to enter the building as if she were entering her own room.

    As we entered the building, they were surprised to see a woman in amercial guild uniform, who suddenly barged in.

    ¡°And you guys are?¡± (Staff)

    To the surprised guild staff, Mylene-san showed her guild card and said, ¡°I would like to meet the guildmaster¡±. The guild staff was momentarily in a daze when she found out that we were ¡°from Crimonia¡±, but still, she quickly guided us to the guildmaster.

    As expected, when they knew she was a guildmaster, it made things quicker.

    The guild staff was staring at me, but I decided to not mind it.

    ¡°Guild master, the guildmaster of Crimonia, Mylene-sama, is here.¡± (Staff)

    When the guild staff called out, a surprised voice could be heard from inside the room.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san thanked the guild staff and went inside the room before she was given permission from inside. I could not stay outside the room either, so I followed her.

    In the room was a slender man about 30 years old.

    The man stood up with a surprised look on his face as Mylene-san entered the room.

    Is this person the new guildmaster? From what I have heard, the guildmaster of themercial guild that had ties to the toad aristocracy was forced to quit and was reced by a new guildmaster.

    ¡°Mylene-san?! Wh- why are you here in Sheleen? If you had called me, I would have gone to Crimonia myself.¡± (Guildmaster)

    Mylene-san is younger than him, but something seems to indicate that the man is in a lower position than her. Is it the difference in how long they served as Guildmaster, not their age?

    To begin with, it¡¯s one of the mysteries of Crimonia that she is the guildmaster of Crimonia at such a young age.

    ¡°Mylene-san. You know the new guildmaster?¡± (Yuna)

    As expected, she knew about him through her connections as guildmaster, didn¡¯t she?

    ¡°Long ago, I helped him when he made a huge blunder and wrote a letter of rmendation for him when the guildmaster of Sheleen was reced.¡± (Mylene)

    I was surprised by Mylene-san¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t think she had written a letter of rmendation.

    The guildmaster of Sheleen tried to prepare tea, but Mylene-san refused.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t have time for tea.¡± (Mylene)

    She exined why we came here.

    She briefly told him about the bandits, that a merchant named Reedent was in the city, and that she was going to entrap him.

    ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying. In other words, all I have to do is to make sure that the merchant named Reedent hears that the adventurer and themercial guild have moved?¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°Yeah, if possible, I¡¯d like you to put it in Reedent¡¯s ear today.¡± (Mylene)

    The handover of the package will happen tomorrow. We need to have it in Reedent¡¯s ear by today or tomorrow morning.

    Otherwise, we would just end up catching him as is.

    ording to Mylene-san, they were going to corner him to make sure he can¡¯t get away with a lot of things.

    ¡°Also, if the adventurers move too soon, he may avoid contact entirely, so tell them that they will move in about three days.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san and Sheleen¡¯s guildmaster finalized the conversation.

    Then, once the conversation was settled, the guildmaster called one of the staff.

    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± (Staff)

    A man in his mid-twenties entered the room.

    ¡°I need you to do something for me ASAP.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°And he is?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Rest assured that he is a trustworthy man.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°My name is Maran.¡±

    The man who introduced himself as Maran nced at me but said nothing.

    The Guildmaster exined to Maran what he discussed with Mylene-san.

    ¡°I understand. I know a merchant by the name of Reedent, and I can spread the word very well.¡± (Maran)

    Maran said reassuringly.

    ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry, okay?¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯ll be fine. Please leave it to me. Also, would it be okay to have an Adventurers¡¯ Guild official help us to add credibility?¡± (Maran)

    ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Maran)

    ¡°How promising~.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Please don¡¯t pull him out.¡± (Man)

    ¡°I would never do that~.¡± (Mylene)

    He seemed really good. As an ally, he would be reliable, but as an enemy, he would be scary. In mangas, novels, and video games, there were often cases where someone you thought was an ally turned out to be an enemy.

    Of course, I don¡¯t want those gs, I want him on our side.

    When I looked at Maran, he smiled.

    I can¡¯t determine if I¡¯m being ridiculed or being treated like a child.

    ¡°You seem to know Reedent, but what kind of merchant is Reedent from your point of view?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°He¡¯s a small man who humbles himself in front of the strong and takes advantage of those who are weaker than him.¡± (Maran)

    Maran answered Mylene-san¡¯s question sinctly.

    ¡°Then I guess everything is fine.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± (Maran)

    Mylene-san and Maranughed.

    What¡¯s this? This duo. I¡¯m scared.

    I think it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Mylene-san¡¯s guildmaster mode.

    She¡¯s usually kind, but she¡¯s a scary person to make enemies with. By the way, when I asked her not to sell eggs to Cliff, she agreed just like that and she really didn¡¯t sell them to Cliff, the feudal lord.

    Let¡¯s not just make enemies of Mylene-san.

    ¡°Also, just in case, we need to keep an eye on Reedent¡¯s shop.¡± (Guildmaster)

    Blitz and his harem were supposed to keep an eye out for any escaped bandits who mighte.

    ¡°Yes, the adventurers I hired from Crimonia will be keeping watch. They will arrive this evening, I think.¡± (Mylene)

    Blitz and his harem were heading here on horseback. Even if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were faster, the distance isn¡¯t so great that it should not make a difference.

    ¡°I could ask the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for help.¡± (Maran)

    At Maran¡¯s suggestion, Mylene-san pondered for a moment.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll arrive, so please ask them to keep an eye out as well. But please make sure it¡¯s a trustworthy adventurer.¡± (Mylene)

    It was certainly important. You¡¯ll never know where information would leak.

    I know a trustworthy adventurer party in Sheleen.

    ¡°In that case, a female adventurer party led by a person named Marina is trustworthy, so if they¡¯re avable, ask them for a favor. If you tell them that it¡¯s a request from Yuna, I think they will ept it.¡± (Yuna)

    Marina and her party had escorted Gran-san many times and were trusted by him. They have risked their lives to protect Gran-san. So they shouldn¡¯t be with the toad.

    They¡¯re the most trustworthy adventurer party in Sheleen right now.

    ¡°Oh, Marina. I understand. If she¡¯s here, I will ask her for a request.¡± (Maran)

    Maran epted my words with an open mind.

    Does he think nothing of me? A bear?

    Like the guildmaster, Maran never asked me about my bear outfit. Whenever I meet people for the first time, they definitely ask.

    Shortly, Blitz and his harem wille to the Commerce Guild asking for the location of the merchant Reedent¡¯s store, so we also asked them to handle that as well.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll try and get it into Reedent¡¯s ears ASAP, so please excuse me.¡± (Maran)

    Maran bowed his head and walked out of the room.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had such a Guild staff.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°He¡¯s a trustworthy subordinate.¡± (Guildmaster)

    Guildmaster proudly replied.

    ¡°He keeps a close eye on things, which makes my job a lot easier.¡± (Guildmaster)

    Not long ago, themercial guild in Sheleen was under the toad. With a new Guildmaster and a new structure, there will be some discontent.

    I don¡¯t know how far themercial guild has been corrupted, but I wish them the best.

    However, with the creation of an enclosure for Reedent, all we have to do now is gather evidence and make sure he can¡¯t get away with it.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I thought the story was going to go to the part where Yuna and Mylene-san go to the forest, but it didn¡¯t¡­

    And it was supposed to connect to the previous story.

    But it didn¡¯t work out.

    ¡ù I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ve finished the manuscript for book 13, but I have to write new pages and deal with the store benefit, etc. I¡¯d like to prioritize writing the web version, so I¡¯ll be taking a break from replying to yourments for a while. Thank you for understanding.

 Chapter 554 - Bear-san, Catches Reedent

    <h4>Chapter 554 - Bear-san, Catches Reedent</h4>

    Bear-san, Catches Reedent

    After the discussion was over and as we were about to leave, the guildmaster turned his attention to me.

    ¡°Excuse me, but the girl dressed as a bear over there, Yuna-san, right?¡±

    ¡°You know me?¡± (Yuna)

    I was a little surprised when my name was called.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you from the lord, Leonardo-sama, and his father, Gran-sama. You are the girl dressed as a bear who, rode alone to the Salvado estate, rescued the daughter of the Fahrengram family that was held captive by the Salvado family, and destroyed them. When youe to town, I have been asked to treat you with the utmost courtesy.¡± (Guildmaster)

    !!

    Perhaps the man from earlier and the staff who showed us to the room didn¡¯t say anything because they were told by the lord, Leonardo-san, and the former lord, Gran-san?

    When I think about it, those two were involved in the response at the city gates.

    ¡°As the new Guildmaster, I want to thank you for preventing the further corruption of the Commercial Guild.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for themercial guild.¡± (Yuna)

    I was just angry because Misa was kidnapped and Fina and Noa were hurt. I didn¡¯t do it for the sake of themercial guild. So it wasn¡¯t something for themercial guild to thank me for.

    ¡°It was also thanks to you, Yuna-san, that I got the job of guildmaster.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°Me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And don¡¯t forget that I rmended you.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Of course. I am also grateful to you, Mylene-san.¡± (Guildmaster)

    ording to the story, it seems that it is not easy to be a guild master even if you want to.

    That¡¯s right.

    If a new city (town) cannot be built, the number of new guild masters will not increase.

    Even for recement, the current guildmaster would have to quit first before he could be reced.

    So, it seems that the guildmaster was thanking me for causing the former one to be reced.

    But I didn¡¯t know that.

    Maybe it¡¯s mainly my fault, but looking at Mylene-san who seems to be busy working, I think being a guildmaster would be troublesome.

    Even for Cliff, the higher the status of the inhabitants of this world, the busier they were. I don¡¯t know why you would want to be in such a position.

    That being said, it¡¯s better than a boss who sat on hisurels all day long and yed around while dumping all the work on his subordinates.

    I said that myself, yet it pierced my own heart.

    Am I a bad boss for leaving the store to Morin-san and the kids to take care of the kokekko, while I go to different ces to y?

    ¡°Mylene-san, you¡¯re not surprised, so perhaps you knew of it?¡± (Guildmaster)

    ¡°Cliff asked me if I could find a trustworthy person to be the guildmaster in Sheleen. I, for my part, would rather have a useful person than a uselessmercial guildmaster from a neighboring city, so I decided to make you the guildmaster.¡± (Mylene)

    So that brings us to the letter of rmendation she mentioned earlier.

    ¡°Well, it was a lot of trouble, but because Yuna-chan brought down the Salvado family, things became easier.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san smiled at me.

    But that smile scares me.

    We then rented a vacant room in themercial guild and stayed overnight.

    In the evening, Blitz and his harem came over and were told where Reedent¡¯s store was located, and they went straight to watch the store.

    The next day, we left the city before sunrise and went to the forest where Jade-san and his party were hiding.

    ¡°Sleepy.¡± (Yuna)

    I fell on Swaying Bear¡¯s back. I¡¯m not good at getting up early, but I¡¯m sleepy when I wake up before sunrise.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, wake me up when we arrive.¡± (Yuna)

    `Ku~u ~ n¡¯

    ¡°Yuna-chan, you¡¯re going to fall.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san, who was riding on Hugging Bear, warned me worriedly.

    You won¡¯t fall off from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear even if you fell asleep, so it¡¯s okay.

    Beside Mylene-san, who was paying attention to me, there was Sheleen¡¯s Guildmaster, who was riding a horse.

    This was so that when the trap was sprung, Reedent wouldn¡¯t be able to make excuses. With two Guildmasters present, there¡¯s no way he would be able to run away.

    I didn¡¯t think it was necessary to go that far, but there were some merchants who had benefited from the toad and were antagonistic to the new lord¡¯s ways. So we were going to crush these bad guys thoroughly.

    ¡°Where are they?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, do you know?¡± (Yuna)

    We went to the forest where we were supposed to meet. If I remember correctly, he said that there was a big rock just a little further into the forest.

    But there¡¯s an easier way to join them than to look for that rock.

    When Swaying Bear cried ¡°Kuu~n¡°, without hesitation, he entered the forest and walked to the ce where Jade-san and his party were. After a while, arge rock came into view, and Jade-san and his party were also there besides the rock.

    ¡°Mylene-san, Yuna-san, I was waiting for you. Who is that man over there?¡± (Jade)

    ¡°¡­Guildmaster.¡± (Miguel)

    Miguel, the one watching over the bandits, opened his mouth before Mylene-san could introduce the person to us.

    He didn¡¯t know the face of Crimonia¡¯s guildmaster, but he knew of Sheleen¡¯s guildmaster.

    ¡°My name is Rokochi, themerce guild¡¯s guildmaster of Sheleen.¡± (Rokochi) (¥í©`¥³¥Á)

    The guild master introduced himself to Jade-san and his party, then looked at Miguel.

    ¡°You are Miguel, the bandit of the merchant named Reedent, aren¡¯t you? You seem to know who I am.¡± (Rokochi)

    ¡±Yeah, I at least know the new Guildmaster¡¯s face.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°Then let¡¯s have a quick talk. I have heard about the incident from Mylene-san of Crimonia¡¯s Commercial Guild. If you help us catch Reedent, I, the guildmaster of Sheleen¡¯s Commercial Guild, promise to reduce your penalty.¡± (Rokochi)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you believe it or not.¡± (Rokochi)

    ¡°No, I believe you. If I don¡¯t, I will fall down together with Reedent-sama. So, if the two guildmasters promised me, I shall believe it. If you deceive me, however, I will resent you in my grave.¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°I keep my promises. Besides, it makes no sense to punish a small fry like you. Our aim is the big fish, we don¡¯t have time with you.¡± (Rokochi)

    ¡°Small fry¡­¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°You don¡¯t even have a store and you are at the mercy of Reedent, you are small fry. If you don¡¯t want to be called as such, work hard, own your own store, and contribute to themercial guild. And only then shall I apologize for calling you small fry.¡± (Rokochi)

    ¡°Pfft~, it¡¯s a promise. So what should I do?¡± (Miguel)

    Miguelughed at the Guildmaster¡¯s words, changed his thoughts, and looked serious.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. If you do something poorly, he may be suspicious, so just having a normal conversation would be enough. You need to be in the position of a subordinate who still trusts Reedent.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Got it. That¡¯ll be easy.¡± (Miguel)

    Then, as we were preparing for when Reedent came. I put down the bag of cotton.

    It¡¯s my cotton, but we have to make sure that the merchant Reedent received it.

    Well, of course. Catching him red-handed would be solid evidence. So, having finished my preparations, I hid behind the rock.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to have a ce to hide.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I guess they didn¡¯t want the handover to be seen. I don¡¯t think even Reedent would expect that to be a bad thing.¡± (Mylene)

    I, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, Mylene-san, Guildmaster, Mel-san, Senia-san, and I hid behind the rock, while Jade-san and Toya hid behind the trees.

    It¡¯s hard for me to hide.

    It¡¯s not because I¡¯m fat. It¡¯s because of my clothes.

    Then, after waiting for a while, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried ¡°Kuu-n.¡±. When I checked my detection skills, I saw a human response.

    ¡°Did hee by any chance?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Seems like it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are amazing.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yeah, very helpful.¡± (Senia)

    Mylene raised her arm to signal to Jade-san and the others. Jade-san saw the signal and raised his arm to signal back.

    We lie low and wait.

    After a while, we heard the sound of someone stepping on the grass.

    ¡°Reedent-sama, I¡¯ve been expecting you.¡± (Miguel)

    Miguel talked to the person who came.

    ¡°So, what is it this time?¡± (Reedent)

    I¡¯m behind a rock, so I can only hear parts of their conversation.

    ¡°It¡¯s High-quality cotton. I think it will sell well to the aristocrats when made as cushions,forters, and such.¡± (Miguel)

    It¡¯s mine. If you get it dirty, you¡¯ll pay for it.

    ¡°Well done.¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Miguel)

    Yeah, you did a good job of letting him steal my stuff.

    ¡°And what about the money to pay the bandits?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the Commercial Guild have made their move. They will be subjugated soon.¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°Then my part is over. Now you will allow me to have the store as you promised, right?¡± (Miguel)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You will have to do your best at the store.¡± (Reedent)

    Are? You were abandoning the bandits, but you will keep your promise to Miguel?

    Mylene-san said that he might be betrayed and killed, but it seems her expectations were off.

    They said they would get him on murder charges as well and make sure he couldn¡¯t get away with it, but it looks like it would be a failure.

    Mel-san and Jade-san were exchanging some kind of signal beside me as I was in thought.

    ¡°He said he¡¯d try to get close because it looked like it¡¯s getting dangerous.¡± (Mel)

    She exined to us in a low voice.

    What¡¯s the danger?

    As I was about to ask, a voice came from the other side of the rock.

    ¡°What the hell!¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°Reedent-sama, you tried to kill me.¡± (Miguel)

    Did Reedent try to kill Miguel?

    I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on from where I am.

    As I wondered about it, Mylene started walking, so I followed her.

    ¡°Miguel, what¡¯s going on? Did you betray me?¡± (Reedent)

    Jade-san was twisting the arm of a man in histe 30s. I looked at the ground and saw the fallen knife.

    Did he perhaps try to kill Miguel with a knife?

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t. He made a deal with me.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Why is there a Commercial Guild staff here?¡± (Reedent)

    Reedent red at Mylene-san and asked.

    ¡°I heard everything you just said and did on the handover site.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Miguel!¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°I made a deal with him and he gave me the location of the handover.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Miguel!¡± (Reedent)

    Reedent tried to attack Miguel, but Jade-san twisted Reedent¡¯s arm, so Reedent¡¯s face contorted in pain.

    Mylene-san instructed Jade-san to tie him up so he couldn¡¯t move, and with the help of Toya, Jade-san tied the man up.

    ¡°You betrayed me.¡± (Reedent)

    Reedent red at Miguel furiously.

    ¡°It was you, Reedent-sama, who betrayed me. If you had instructed me to let the bandits go and told me to take charge of the store, you could have been given some leniency.¡± (Miguel)

    Well, we promised him that, but Miguel looked at the fallen knife. This wasn¡¯t an extenuating circumstance.

    However, Reedent still tried to me Miguel for this incident.

    ¡°What are you talking about? All of you, do you believe the words of a former bandit?¡± (Reedent)

    Reedent appealed to those of us who were around.

    But we¡¯re not stupid enough to believe him.

    ¡°Of course, I believe him. I know your reputation and your current situation.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°What are you saying, staff member girl?¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t introduced myself, have I? I am Mylene, Guildmaster of Crimonia¡¯s Commercial Guild.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Crimonia¡¯s guild master? Stop lying!¡± (Reedent)

    ¡°I guarantee that.¡± (Rokochi)

    The Sheleen¡¯s Guildmaster, who had been waiting for the right moment, appeared on the scene.

    ¡°Gi, guildmaster!¡± (Reedent)

    Miguel knew about it, so it¡¯s not strange for Reedent to be aware of it.

    ¡°I was surprised that you knew who I was. I thought you didn¡¯t know me because I am the new guildmaster. We will thoroughly investigate your store and house under my authority.¡± (Rokochi)

    The Guildmaster smiled.

    =====

 Chapter 555 - Bear-san, Seeing Misa For The First Time After A Long While

    <h4>Chapter 555 - Bear-san, Seeing Misa For The First Time After A Long While</h4>

    Bear-san, Seeing Misa For The First Time After A Long While

    After capturing Reedent, we returned to the city of Sheleen.

    Once we got back to Sheleen, the guildmaster ordered Maran to investigate Reedent¡¯s store. He then talked to Mylene-san about the future, and the conversation took ce in the Guildmaster¡¯s room.

    Blitz and his harem had been watching the store since midnight, so when they returned, they went to the inn with a sleepy expression on their faces.

    Incidentally, even though they were watching, no one suspicious showed up in the end.

    Jade-san and his party were going to rece Blitz and his harem to watch the store. I don¡¯t think any bandit would go near the store while it was under investigation, but just in case, they said.

    !!

    Then, ording to Blitz, Marina¡¯s group kept watch until Blitz and his harem arrived. In case you were wondering, they requested them in my name, so I guess I should go thank themter, shouldn¡¯t I?

    As I was resting alone in a room of amercial guild with these thoughts in my mind, a beautiful silver-haired girl entered the room asking, ¡°Yuna-oneesama, are you here?¡±.

    ¡°Misa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesama! Thank goodness you¡¯re still here.¡± (Misa)

    The one who entered the room was Misa, the daughter of the lord of Sheleen.

    When Misa found me, she made a big smile and rushed over to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you have business with themercial guild?¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe she happened to be at themercial guild, found out I was there, and came to see me.

    ¡°No. I heard that you came to Sheleen, Yuna-oneesama, so I came to see you.¡± (Misa)

    She had nothing to do in themercial guild, my predictions were only half right.

    But who told her about me? I thought, but then it urred to me that there were many sources like the gatekeeper, themercial guild, Marina, and so on.

    ¡°And so, you came all the way out here to see me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because Yuna-oneesama. You didn¡¯te to Sheleen at all, so I came to see you. Please visit my house once in a while.¡± (Misa)

    Certainly, I haven¡¯t been to Sheleen since Misa¡¯s birthday party. I had no businessing to Sheleen, so it¡¯s no wonder.

    The fact of the matter is, it¡¯s a pain to go see them without any reason to do so.

    My interpersonal level was not high enough to go see someone without a reason. In these situations, my level of social interaction was being questioned.

    If I told that to Misa, she¡¯d say something like, ¡°Juste and see me then¡±.

    ¡°Then I¡¯lle to visit you when I have time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise.¡± (Misa)

    Misa smiled widely.

    I can¡¯t break my promise on this one.

    Let¡¯s also bring Fina and Noa next time.

    Then I would have a reason.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, have you heard about the birthday party?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s about holding Fina-chan¡¯s birthday party together with Noa-oneesama, right? I got a letter from Noa-oneesama.¡± (Misa)

    Noa seemed to have sent a letter properly. Noa never fails in that area.

    ¡°Also, the letter said she was working with Yuna-oneesama, Fina-chan, and Shuri-chan in making arge stuffed Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Misa)

    She wrote too much.

    ¡°Because Noa herself requested arge Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Noa-oneesama, she really asked for it, didn¡¯t she? But it looks like she¡¯s having fun making stuffed animals together.¡± (Misa)

    Misa looked envious.

    I didn¡¯t mean to outcast Misa, it¡¯s just that she lives in a different city, so I had no choice.

    ¡°But I never thought that even Noa-oneesama was also making it together with you.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Noa came over while we were making it and said she wanted to make it with us. You think it¡¯s strange to make your own birthday present?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. But it sounds like fun.¡± (Misa)

    Certainly, back in my former world, I didn¡¯t do things like making something together with anyone. That¡¯s why I was having fun making the plushies with everyone.

    ¡°So, is Fina-chan¡¯s present also arge Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan stuffed animals?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°No, she refused. They don¡¯t have a big house like yours or Noa¡¯s, so she can¡¯t put the big stuffed animals in it. That¡¯s why Fina¡¯s present hasn¡¯t been decided yet.¡± (Yuna)

    I need to decide on a gift for Fina soon. It would have been nice if they were just oversized stuffed animals. But that¡¯s not good, apparently, so I have to think of something else.

    Especially because Fina has been taking care of me since I came to this world.

    Even if I ask Fina what she wants, I think she will say ¡°I don¡¯t need it¡± or ¡°I don¡¯t mind anything¡± and never say exactly what she wants.

    It was easier to give a gift to someone like Noa, who clearly told me what she wanted.

    ¡°So, why did youe to Sheleen, Yuna-oneesama?¡± (Misa)

    Apparently, they knew I was in Sheleen, but she didn¡¯t know why.

    I told her that we had almost finished making the life-sized stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with only the cotton missing, but the cotton I had ordered was stolen by bandits.

    ¡°Then, when I consulted with the adventurer¡¯s guild, there was a simr incident involving bandits, so I went to catch them.¡± (Yuna)

    My exnation seemed to satisfy Misa.

    Then, as I was talking with Misa about the birthday party, a new guest entered the room.

    ¡°Both of you were here.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°Grandfather!?¡± (Misa)

    Gran-san entered the room.

    Gran-san looked at Misa and then at me.

    ¡°Youngdy, you¡¯re still dressed, as usual, I see.¡± (Gran)

    If you take away my bear costume, I¡¯ll have nothing left. I would be a helpless girl who could neither use magic nor carry a heavy sword.

    ¡°Gran-san, did you perhapse to see me too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°When Misa found out that you wereing, she ran out of the house.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°Because if I don¡¯t hurry, Yuna-oneesama might leave.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°And since the youngdy who saved us is here, I thought I¡¯d drop by and say hello. My son and his wife are busy, so I came.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°Gran-san, you must be bored.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Not quite. Now that I¡¯ve left everything up to my son and his wife, I¡¯m enjoying the rest of my life with a weight off my shoulders.¡± (Gran)

    The true essence of a retired old man.

    ¡°You say things like that. But father wants you to help, grandfather.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll help him, but it won¡¯t do him any good if I help him all the time.¡± (Gran)

    Apparently, he only helps out asionally, leaving most of the work to his son, Leonardo-san.

    Well, I guess that¡¯s what happens when you hand over a job.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to apany Misa to Noa¡¯s and Fina¡¯s birthday party.¡± (Gran)

    Just as I said, he was bored.

    But I can¡¯t take Misa to Crimonia alone. If Leonardo-san was busy, it¡¯s only logical for Gran-san, who has a lot of time on his hands, toe with her.

    ¡°I see. Thank you Gran-san. You must have told the city gate and themerce guild about me. I was able to enter the city without being questioned or anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so? You are our benefactor, youngdy. You once told me that you wanted to enter the cityfortably. It¡¯s good to hear that the gatekeeper did not displease you.¡± (Gran)

    I don¡¯t me them for looking at me strangely, but being asked about my bear outfit every single time was bothersome and it didn¡¯t make me feel good.

    Most of all, I am d that people don¡¯t say anything when they see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Seeing them being surprised or frightened makes me sad.

    Then, after we finished talking, Mylne-san came to the room to tell me that she was going back to Crimonia tomorrow. I decided to return to Crimonia with her.

    As for where to stay, I was thinking that it would be the same as yesterday, we could rent a room in amercial guild, then Misa, who was in the room, said, ¡°Then please stay at my house¡±.

    Of course, Gran-san said the same thing.

    I thought about refusing because it would be a nuisance, but I felt guilty that I had note to see Misa recently, so I decided to ept her proposal honestly.

    Most of all, I could imagine the sad look on her face if I rejected her.

    Then Marina came over, so I thanked her for yesterday.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I got a little profit from it after all.¡± (Marina)

    She didn¡¯t seem to mind, apparently.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I amte.

    Misa has arrived. Her attendance at the birthday party was confirmed.

    ¡ù I will be a little busy, so I will be postingte and will not be replying to feedback for a while. Thank you for understanding.

 Chapter 556 - Bear-san, Resumes Making Plushies

    <h4>Chapter 556 - Bear-san, Resumes Making Plushies</h4>

    Bear-san, Resumes Making Plushies

    When I came to Misa¡¯s house, I greeted Leonardo-san. And when he heard about our visit, he said, ¡°Please stay with us for as many days as you like¡±. But I politely declined, as I could not be away for too long.

    After greeting Leonardo-san, I moved to Misa¡¯s room.

    Misa looked at me excitedly. She asked for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I summoned them to Misa¡¯s room.

    When I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Misa ran to Hugging Bear and rubbed his body, and then she moved to Swaying Bear¡¯s body.

    !!

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, Swaying Bear-chan, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear happily replied.

    ¡°I envy Noa-oneesama and Fina-chan who can see Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan anytime they want.¡± (Misa)

    Misa happily embraced Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Looking around the room, I found the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies I had given her for her birthday on her bedside table. It seems that she was properly taking care of them.

    It would be pitiful if they were stored in a closet or something. So I am happy to see it on the bedside table.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesama. May I ride on the back of Hugging Bear-chan?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Yuna)

    When I gave permission, Hugging Bear sat down to make it easier for Misa to ride. Then Misa climbed on Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve sat on Hugging Bear-chan¡¯s back. Yuna-oneesama, may I go walk around the mansion?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but won¡¯t they be surprised by it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. The people in the mansion know about both Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Misa)

    Come to think of it, I summoned them at her birthday party, and after that, I rescued her from the toad.

    So maybe it¡¯s better than I thought it would.

    I turned Swaying Bear into a cub, hugged him, and walked outside the room with Misa riding on Hugging Bear.

    And when I saw the iron golem on the second floor, I was surprised for a moment.

    Oh right. I gave it to Gran-san as a gift. I hadpletely forgotten about it. While I was surprised by the golem, the maids were touching Hugging Bear, but the walk went on without a hitch. They were certainly not afraid of the bears.

    At night, the four of us sleep together after listening to Misa¡¯s wish to sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    And the following day. I thanked Gran-san and the others and left the mansion. Misa looked a little lonely, but I can¡¯t help it.

    When I went to themercial guild, the staff took me to the Guildmaster¡¯s room.

    ¡°Mylene-san, it¡¯s not fair!¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s tyrannical.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I thought we should be fair here?¡± (Senia)

    When I entered the room, I saw Rosa-san, Ran, and Senia-san questioning Mylene-san. The men, including Jade-san, were looking at them in amazement.

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Did something go wrong, perhaps?

    ¡°Yuna, good morning.¡±

    Jade-san noticed me and greeted me.

    ¡°Yeah, good morning. What happened?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Simply put, it¡¯s a fight for the bears.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°The bears? You mean Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    When I heard the situation, it was a silly argument about who would ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to Crimonia. That¡¯s why the men were looking at them with dismayed faces.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, who will you put on Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan?¡± (Mylene)

    I didn¡¯t really care who would be riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but still, the argument jumped to me.

    However, there was no single solution that would satisfy them. On the contrary, I have a method that no one will agree with.

    ¡°I will go home alone.¡± (Yuna)

    This way, they won¡¯t argue with each other.

    It¡¯s better if I alone bear their grudge.

    ¡°And there you have it, I¡¯m going home by myself.¡± (Yuna)

    As I was about to leave the room, Mylene-san stopped me.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wait. I really have to hurry back. I came here without telling them, after all.¡± (Mylene)

    Come to think of it, she did. Even though she left a letter behind, she still came here without saying a word.

    ¡°So I have to get back quickly.¡± (Mylene)

    When she puts it that way, it¡¯s hard to be indifferent.

    I exined the situation when I brought Mylene-san here.

    ¡°We needed to report to Mylene-san.¡± (Jade)

    ¡°And everyone agreed.¡± (Blitz)

    Jade-san and Blitz looked at Mylene-san with sympathy.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you have to leave.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy being a Guildmaster in amercial guild. You can¡¯t just throw away your work and go out.¡± (Mylene)

    After discussion, it was decided that Mylene-san and I would ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to Crimonia.

    We might be able to amodate two people more, but the others reluctantly decided not to, saying we were in a hurry.

    So, Mylene-san and I would ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to Crimonia ahead of the rest of the group.

    We can make it back in less than half a day if we hurry.

    Then, we arrived at Crimonia. I went to themercial guild with her because of the cotton.

    Mylene-san scanned the area and went around to the back entrance of themercial guild.

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I don¡¯t see the point in being quiet or anything, because eventually people will know.¡± (Yuna)

    You can¡¯t just go out ande in quietly.

    ¡°I know. But just in case.¡± (Mylene)

    She opened the back door and sneakily walked in, only to find a woman standing all alone.

    ¡°Guildmaster, you¡¯re backte.¡± (Staff)

    ¡°Yeah, I had a sudden job, and it was tough.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you can¡¯t go, but please don¡¯t leave without telling me.¡± (Staff)

    ¡°I left a letter for you, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°As I have said many times, I ask that you do so verbally.¡± (Staff)

    It wasn¡¯t the first time, apparently.

    Mylene-san received a warning, but the staff wasn¡¯t angry that much. Still, when she saw the pile of work on the desk, Mylene-san hung her head.

    Perhaps the guild staff was prioritizing work rather than getting angry.

    I went to Naru-san¡¯s store to officially purchase the cotton. Normally, the person who gets it back has the rights to what the bandit stole, but this time I got amission, so what I got back would be returned to the original owner. So, I officially purchased it.

    Having purchased the cotton, I called Fina and the others to the bear house.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you went to subjugate the bandits in order to recover the cotton?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It was stolen, so I have to get it back.¡± (Yuna)

    What¡¯s mine is mine¡­ (including nned purchases)

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s do the finishing touches.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Un~¡±

    The three replied cheerfully.

    I took the bag of cotton out of the bear box.

    ¡°This is the cotton we¡¯re putting in the stuffed Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan. It¡¯s soft.¡± (Noa)

    Noa enjoyed the feel of the cotton. Mimicking them, Fina and Shuri were also happily touching the cotton.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get started.¡± (Yuna)

    Me and Noa, then Fina and Shuri, split up like so and decided to put cotton in the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    The seam on the back was slightly open as a ce to put the cotton. After putting the cotton, sew it up at the end toplete it.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll start putting them in the feet first.¡± (Noa)

    Noa took the cotton, inserted her hand into the back of the stuffed Swaying Bear, and put the cotton in. I helped her with that.

    The legs, the arms, the little tail, and the big head got swollen with stuffed cotton.

    ¡°Finally, I was able to stuff cotton in its head.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked happy as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was quite hard work, partly because the stuffed animals wererge. She inserted her hands many times to shape it. Unlike the smaller stuffed animals, her movements were muchrger.

    It would be easier if there were zippers, etc., but there were no such things, so the holes for cotton must be minimal.

    It was surprisingly difficult because the cotton had to be inserted through those tiny holes.

    I prepared a handkerchief and cold water.

    ¡°Here, a handkerchief and water.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa wiped the sweat from her forehead and drank a ss of cold water.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, you should rest when you get tired.¡± (Yuna)

    I made sure to prepare enough for everyone.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Un~¡±

    I also drank some cold water, took a break, and resumed helping Noa.

    ¡°Now all that¡¯s left is to put it in its body.¡± (Yuna)

    Thest step was to put cotton in the body. The part where the most cotton would be used.

    Honestly, I wonder how many usual-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies with this amount of cotton we were about to use.

    I¡¯m guessing more than 10? No, definitely more than that.

    Noa inserted arge amount of cotton into the stuffed Swaying Bear.

    Looking at Fina and Shuri, they were also working hard inserting cotton into the Hugging Bear plushie.

    And gradually, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies swelled.

    ¡°Is this enough?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Looks good to me.¡± (Yuna)

    All that¡¯s left was to sew the open back, and we¡¯re done.

    Noa held the stuffed animal down and I sewed it up, neatly and discreetly.

    If it had a zipper, I would have just closed it. But it doesn¡¯t have one, so there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.

    Then, I finished sewing thest part and cut the thread.

    ¡°And done!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We made it!¡± (Noa)

    A life-sized Swaying Bear plushie waspleted.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-san. I will cherish it.¡± (Noa)

    Noa hugged the life-sized Swaying Bear plushie.

    ¡°No, no, not yet. This is a birthday present, so I¡¯ll keep it until that dayes.¡± (Yuna)

    After saying that, I pulled Noa away from the life-sized Swaying Bear plushie and put it in the bear box.

    ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t even had a chance to enjoy it yet. Yuna-san, you¡¯re so terrible.¡± (Noa)

    Call me terrible, all you want, but this is a birthday present. I can¡¯t give it to you now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold on to it until your birthday party.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No way~¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. The life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies were Noa¡¯s birthday present.

    As we were having that conversation, Fina and Shuripleted the life-sized Hugging Bear plushie they were making.

    ¡°We¡¯re done with this one, too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Soft~¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri hugged the life-sized Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡°Shuri. It¡¯s Noa-sama¡¯s birthday present, so that¡¯s not good.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un~¡±

    When Shuri got warned, she obediently let go of the life-sized Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡°Well then, I guess I¡¯ll put this one away, too.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked disappointed when I put it away in the bear box.

    No can do. You¡¯ll have to wait until your birthday to enjoy them.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    We have sessfullypleted the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies.

    All that remains is the birthday party.

    [Notice] Episode 29 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been published on Comic PASH! The story of the orphanage has started.

 Chapter 557 - Bear-san Eating Bear Bread With Noble Girls

    <h4>Chapter 557 - Bear-san Eating Bear Bread With Noble Girls</h4>

    Bear-san Eating Bear Bread With Noble Girls

    With the sewing of life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushiespleted, I asked Sherry to check them, and she gave her seal of approval. I was happy when she said, ¡°They are very well made¡±.

    A few dayster, Misa and Gran-san, with Rufa-san, who looked after their personal needs, arrived in Crimonia.

    Rufa-san was the woman who worked for the toad that kidnapped Misa.

    !!

    The noble toad was brought down after the kidnapping of Misa incident, and his other misdeeds were also exposed. Rufa-san, who worked at the toad¡¯s mansion, lost her ce, but Gran-san took her in and was now taking care of their personal needs.

    And, as usual, Marina and her friends were there to escort Misa and co. Marina and her party would be working at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Crimonia until Gran-san decided to return.

    Just in case, Gran-san said he would also pay for Marina¡¯s party¡¯s lodging so they don¡¯t have to work. But he also said they were free for the time being, so they decided to earn some extra money.

    The reason why I know about it was that Noa came to my house with Misa and informed me about it.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesama, did you finish the stuffed animals?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°We did.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Misa, hear me out. When theypleted making the stuffed animals, Yuna-san immediately put them in her item bag and didn¡¯t let me touch them.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯ve already touched it a little.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But it¡¯s just a little. I wanted to enjoy it a little more.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you put up with it until your birthday party. If you enjoy it before that, you won¡¯t feel the excitement on that day.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if we didn¡¯t make it together, the impression would fade.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see them. I want it promptly.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I want to see them too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Be patient until your birthday party.¡± (Yuna)

    I was actually going to show it to Noa for the first time on her birthday. But I felt I screwed up a little since we made it together.

    Even so, I think it was a good memory we had together.

    After that, at their request, they enjoyed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear until noon, then we decided to go to ¡°Bear-san¡¯s Rest Shop¡± for lunch.

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to tell Cliff, Gran-san, and the others?¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe lunch was already prepared at the mansion.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I told them we would eat outside.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I also got permission from my grandfather, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Misa)

    Well then, we don¡¯t have to worry about getting scolded after they go back.

    We arrived at ¡°Bear-san¡¯s Rest Shop¡±.

    At the entrance of the shop, we were greeted by therge bear statues, as the name of the shop suggests.

    ¡°I would love to have one in my house.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I know how you feel, Misa. I tried to ask Yuna-san to make it for me, but Father said no and wouldn¡¯t let me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I would also have preferred a bear instead of a golem in my house.¡± (Misa)

    By golem, you mean the iron golem I gave Gran-san for his birthday.

    Apparently, the Iron Golem was not popr with Misa.

    Well, a 10-year-old girl would probably rather have a cute bear statue than an Iron Golem.

    When we walked into the store, we saw children dressed as bears working.

    ¡°There are bears everywhere.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Come to think of it, what did you do with the bear uniform I gave you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, sometimes I wear it when I sleep. Also, Noa-oneesama asked me to bring it.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°At night, we¡¯re all going to dress up as bears and have a bear party. We¡¯re nning to invite Fina and Shuri, so Yuna-san, please join us. Of course, you¡¯re fine as is.¡± (Noa)

    Even though I¡¯m told toe dressed as is, I always sleep in my bear outfit.

    I imagine. Everyone looks like a bear¡­

    It¡¯s not a pajama party but a bear party.

    As I was thinking about this, the children noticed using into the store.

    ¡°Wee? Yuna-oneechan!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a meal with Noa and Misa today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°With Noire-sama, Misana-sama? Wee.¡±

    The girl bowed her head.

    ¡°I alwayse here to eat delicious bread.¡± (Noa)

    The girl looks happy at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Can you tell everyone?¡± (Yuna)

    When I asked, the girl replied ¡°yes¡± and went to tell everyone. At the same time, Karin-san came.

    ¡°Wee, Yuna-san, Noire-chan, and Misana-chan, right? We went together to the sea, didn¡¯t we?¡± (Karin)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve taken care of me at that time.¡± (Misa)

    Misa also seemed to remember Karin-san and greeted her.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san. What can we do for you today?¡± (Karin)

    ¡°I just came here for lunch.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°At this hour, you can pick whatever you want.¡± (Karin)

    ¡°Do you have bear bread?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°We still have some. We have different ones, so please go ahead and eat.¡± (Karin)

    Noa seemed to havee to the store many times, and Karin-san was used to dealing with Misa as well.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s choose bread and eat.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Yes~¡±¡±

    We moved to where the bread was lined up.

    ¡°Misa, the bear bread is here.¡± (Noa)

    Noa moved with Misa to the ce where the bear bread was lined up.

    ¡°Misa, which bear bread would you like?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Which one?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°The contents are different. This is a bear bun with cheese used for pizza. This is a bear bun with fruit and cream. Then there is a fried bear bun and a bear bun with meat.¡± (Noa)

    Noa exined to Misa about the different bear bread.

    In fact, bear bread was so popr that the number of varieties continues to grow. At first, it was just regr bear bread. And then came bear bread with cheese, then fruit and cream, to make it easier for women to eat, and bear bread with kokkeko and wolf meat to satisfy the men¡¯s bellies.

    There were many other vors of bear bread.

    This was also when Karin-san asked me if I wanted to make other bread because bear bread was so popr. At first, I gave her an idea to make other animals, but she said, ¡°This store is a bear. What do you think will happen if we make something other than bears?¡± She said with a serious face.

    Apparently, she just wanted to make different bear shapes.

    It¡¯s difficult to change the shape. But it was possible to at least change the expression, so I told her. However, she didn¡¯t seem to be satisfied with that, so I suggested changing the contents of the bear bread.

    Typical examples were anpan and curry bread.

    But those were eliminated from the list of candidates because of the ingredients and the difficulty of making them. So I came up with a few ideas for the contents to put in the bear bread.

    Then, based on my idea, Karin-san made them up after examining the ingredients and adjusting the seasonings. And that¡¯s why they make the bear bread with different expressions.

    By changing the expression of the bears, there¡¯s no need to make a mistake when making the bear bread, and no need for customers to wonder which vor was inside when they take them home. Killing two birds with one stone.

    ¡°The contents are different. I want to eat all of them. But I can¡¯t eat them all.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°You¡¯ll be in Crimonia for a while. So you¡¯ll have a chance to eat it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see. Well then, today I¡¯ll have cheese bear bun and bear bun with fruit and cream.¡± (Misa)

    Noa and I also ordered bread, drinks, and fries.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute. I thought about it before, but it¡¯s a waste to eat it.¡± (Misa)

    Misa was holding the bear bread and wondering where to start eating. But Noa, next to her, started eating it from the ear.

    ¡°Hey, Misa, you need to start eating too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Misa)

    Misa nibbles on an ear of bear bread with her tiny mouth. After one bite, she takes a second, and then a third.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious. I envy you, Noa-oneesama, for being able toe here anytime to eat.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Even I can¡¯te all the time. Ie only once in a while.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Still, you can eat more than me.¡± (Misa)

    Well, Noa lives in the same town as me, but Misa, who lives in a different city, cannot easilye to eat.

    I mean, it is what it is. There¡¯s nothing that can be done about it.

    After lunch, we went to the orphanage because Misa wanted to see Fina and the others.

    Basically, her work ends in the morning, and her afternoons were spent ying with the children at the orphanage, studying, doing housework, or doing dismantling work at my house. Since Tirumina-san and Gentz-san got married, Fina¡¯s dismantling work has decreased.

    However, I want to reduce the number of wolf materials in my bear box, so I provide free wolf food for the orphanage, the store, and Fina¡¯s house. I haven¡¯t told anyone that she sometimes dismantles scorpions.

    ¡°The children from the orphanage work here just like the shops.¡± (Misa)

    When we went to the beach together, I exined it to her, but it was still a shock for Misa to see a child her age working, unlike herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s something we need to do to stay alive. Noa, Misa, you are both upstanding figures, so I hope you would be willing to give some attention to the children who don¡¯t have parents or who are struggling to make ends meet.¡± (Yuna)

    With a minimum of food, clothing, and shelter, crime would decrease and there would be no more children starving to death. When I first saw the orphanage, it was in a terrible state. It was impossible to check all the work of his men, but that was definitely Cliff¡¯s responsibility as the supervisor.

    Well, Cliff, who felt responsible for it, personally paid for the construction of the new building. The furniture and other items were also bought with Cliff¡¯s money.

    ¡°So study hard to be respectable adults.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Yes~¡±¡±

    The two reply cheerfully.

    Then we met up with Fina and Shuri, who were ying with the kids.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Misa made it to Crimonia.

    She ate bear bread with everyone.

 Chapter 558 - Bear-san, Participates In The Twoâ€™s Birthday Party (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 558 - Bear-san, Participates In The Two¡¯s Birthday Party (Part 1)</h4>

    Bear-san, Participates In The Two¡¯s Birthday Party (Part 1)

    The other day, I met Mylene-san. She narrated to me what happened to the merchant who stole my cotton.

    She said that none of the bandits who fled were ever caught. In the end, the only one person who got caught was the one on the lookout. I was responsible for the bandit¡¯s escape, though.

    And Miguel, who was working under Reedent, was told that he had to work as a merchant apprentice at the behest of Sheleen¡¯s Guildmaster.

    !!

    It seems that Mylene-san and Sheleen¡¯s Guildmaster kept their word.

    However, they said he would be supervised and must leave his guild card with his employer. Still, I think it¡¯s better for him than being put in jail.

    And the bandit watchman I caught was going to be an apprentice guard in the city to protect the city¡¯s security. He left his guild card (citizen¡¯s card) with the guard captain.

    Both of them will get their cards back in the future after assessing their performance.

    Well, it¡¯s good to give them a chance at rehabilitation. But a second time would not be eptable. So I hope they will do their jobs seriously.

    After all that happened, Noa and Fina¡¯s birthday party will be at Noa¡¯s house today.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s really right for us to be there.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I know, right. We¡¯re out of ce.¡± (Gentz)

    Tirumina-san and Gentz-san were walking anxiously.

    Tirumina-san asked us to go with them because she was nervous about going to Noa¡¯s house, which was the lord¡¯s house, by themselves.

    ¡°We have invitations, so we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    Tirumina-san and Gentz-san received invitations each. Incidentally, I also received one.

    ording to Fina, she made them together with Noa.

    ¡°Fina, are you going to be okay?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I attended Misa-sama¡¯s birthday party, and I¡¯ve met Noa-sama many times.¡± (Fina)

    Fina made an enlightened expression.

    For Fina, Noa was a friend and a kindred noble. She had been to Noa¡¯s house many times. She stayed at Eleanora-san¡¯s house for Misa¡¯s birthday party. She even had a meal and talked with the king, queen, and princess.

    If you think about it, she might be the only one in this family who isn¡¯t nervous.

    ¡°Will they have delicious food?¡± (Shuri)

    No, there was another girl who wasn¡¯t nervous. Shuri was so familiar with Noa that she even addresses her as ¡®Noa-neechan¡¯. She also yed with Misa in the capital and at the sea, and Shuri feels more used to them now than when she first started.

    Shuri was shy with new people she met but had the ability to befriend them quickly. However, getting too close was also a problem in itself.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t really want to wear dresses because I don¡¯t look good in them, and I don¡¯t want to get them dirty.¡± (Fina)

    Fina doesn¡¯t seem to like wearing dresses, just like me.

    ¡°Fina, you¡¯ll be fine because you look good. I don¡¯t look as good as you, though.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looks cute in her dress. But when I changed into a dress, people were surprised and justughed at me.

    I can even tell that i¡¯m not suited to wearing a dress.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing my daughter in a dress, but I¡¯m also looking forward to seeing Yuna-chan in a dress.¡± (Tirumina)

    And here¡¯s another person who seemed to beughing at me.

    Like Fina, I was happy to attend the birthday party, but I was ufortable changing into a dress. As we were having this conversation, Arge mansion came into view.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± (Yuna)

    We arrived at Cliff¡¯s house. We¡¯vee this far, and we¡¯re hungry. There should be no danger. I¡¯ll just getughed at.

    When we arrived at the house, Lara-san greeted us and showed us to the room.

    I am supposed to change my clothes at Cliff¡¯s mansion. I can¡¯t walk around town in a quirky dress outfit. For a moment, I wondered which would be less conspicuous, the bear outfit or the dress outfit, but it might be either of those.

    ¡°Gentz-sama, please get change in this room.¡± (Lara)

    Of course, the changing room was separated into men and women¡¯s. As Gentz-san was the only man in our group. Gentz-san entered the room with an expression like that of an abandoned dog, looking all lonely.

    Even if they ask for help, they cannot change clothes with you.

    ¡°Tirumina-sama, Shuri-sama, and Yuna-sama, please change inside the next room.¡± (Lara)

    ¡°What about me?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, the only person whose name wasn¡¯t called, asked Lara-san.

    ¡°Fina-sama, please change into a dress in Noa-sama¡¯s room.¡± (Lara)

    ¡°But why?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I understand that Fina-sama has not shown her dress to her family. If that¡¯s the case, the youngdy told me it would be better to have you appear in it as a surprise.¡± (Lara)

    Yes, it would be impressive to show up in a dress rather than changing clothes together. It would definitely be a surprise.

    I think it¡¯s amazing that sometimes Noa¡¯s head turns like this.

    ¡°I think Noa¡¯s idea is a good one, too, Fina. I think Tirumina-san and Gentz-san will be more impressed if you show them after you change your clothes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I see. Fina, we¡¯ll save the fun forter, so let¡¯s get dressed separately.¡± (Tirumina)

    When Tirumina-san said that, Fina nodded obediently.

    ¡°U~u, I want to surprise Mom with Oneechan too.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri made a point.

    After hearing talks about trying it on, Shuri was supposed to borrow Noa¡¯s childhood dress.

    Shuri would also be unveiled for the first time. It won¡¯t be on Shuri¡¯s next birthday, though. It¡¯s her first time in a dress. And it would be even more impressive if the sisters showed up together.

    ¡°Lara-san, can Shuri change clothes in another room from Tirumina-san?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s not Shuri¡¯s birthday party, but that¡¯s about as good as it gets.

    Lara-san pondered over my words.

    ¡°I understand. Please wait a moment.¡± (Lara)

    Lara-san said that, then went into the room and came out of it in less than a minute.

    ¡°I brought Shuri-sama¡¯s dress.¡± (Lara)

    Lara-san showed us the inside of the item bag.

    Apparently, she retrieved Shuri¡¯s dress that was prepared in the room.

    ¡°Then, Fina-sama and Shuri-sama, please go to Noa-sama¡¯s room.¡± (Lara)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri felt like she was being selfish and asked in a small voice.

    ¡°Yes, no problem. It¡¯s not your birthday party, Shuri-sama, but let¡¯s surprise your mother.¡± (Lara)

    Lara-san smiled gently at Shuri.

    Shuri happily replied ¡°Yes!¡±.

    ¡°I hope we¡¯re not bothering you.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked anxiously.

    ¡°I am sure it¡¯s fine. The youngdy considers Shuri-sama an important friend as well.¡± (Lara)

    When Lara-san said that much, Tirumina-san couldn¡¯t say much more.

    ¡°Then take good care of my daughters please.¡± (Tirumina)

    When Tirumina-san bowed her head, Lara-san said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± and walked away with Fina and Shuri.

    Tirumina-san and I, who were the only ones left, entered the room.

    ¡°Ha~a, that was nerve-wracking.¡± (Tirumina)

    After entering the room, Tirumina-san lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t even started yet.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Unlike Yuna-chan, I get nervous just entering the lord¡¯s mansion. And when I think that I am about to meet Cliff-sama, I am so anxious and nervous that I feel like I am going to be crushed.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°You¡¯ve already met Cliff, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, just to say hello to Cliff-sama when hees to the shop. But that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t get nervous.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay because he¡¯s not royalty. Fina already talked to the king.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hearing that story, I still can¡¯t believe it. Conversing with the king. Besides, when we met Eleanora-sama, she didn¡¯t look nervous, and now I¡¯m wondering to whom she got it from. Roy maybe?¡± (Tirumina)

    Roy was herte husband, right?

    ¡°Fina was nervous and timid in the beginning. I think the experience is helping her.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina had been to Noa¡¯s mansion many times and met Cliff. She attended Misa¡¯s birthday party. She met and even conversed with the entire royal family. Tirumina-san and Fina have different experiences.

    Normally, it would be unthinkable for Fina, who does not live in the capital, to have the opportunity to see or even converse with royalty.

    But the king, queen, and princess remembered Fina¡¯s face and name. When you think about it, Fina might have done something amazing.

    ¡°I guess my daughter grew up without her mother¡¯s knowledge.¡± (Tirumina)

    Ah, no, she¡¯s not off to marry someone, so please don¡¯t look at me like you¡¯re looking into the distance.

    I urged the nervous Tirumina-san to change clothes.

    Honestly, it¡¯s like me being reluctant to change, and someone was trying to force me to put it on, but if I were to be unreasonable here, even Tirumina-san might not change too, so for today, I will change on my initiative.

    I took the ck and white dress out of the bear box. I never thought I would wear it again after Misa¡¯s birthday party, even more so to wear it three times.

    As I took off my bear gear and began preparing to change into my dress, Tirumina-san took off her formal wear borrowed from Naru-san and began to change.

    After all, dresses are embarrassing.

    I won¡¯t ever get used to it even after three times.

    But it¡¯s Fina and Noa¡¯s birthday party. So I have to put up with it at least for today. I put on my bear shoes, wore my white bear puppet in my left hand, and put away my bear suit and ck bear puppet in the bear box.

    Now then, I¡¯m done changing clothes.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, have you finished getting dressed?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Tirumina-san, who was wearing clothes different from other dresses, like those worn by aristocrats.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m done.¡± (Tirumina)

    When Tirumina-san looked back, her eyes were dazzled.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-chan?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, go ahead andugh.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯tugh, but if I ran into you on the street, I wouldn¡¯t recognize you.¡± (Tirumina)

    As I imagined earlier, I don¡¯t walk around town in a dress, so it¡¯s fine.

    ¡°Fina would also make quite an impression.¡± (Yuna))

    Fina also made a different impression, as if she were a youngdy somewhere. I¡¯ve never seen Shuri in a dress, but I can imagine how pretty she would be.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to that.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san smiled as she said this.

    Indeed, it was probably a good thing we didn¡¯t change clothes together. If we changed together, it would have been less emotional. It would be a memorable birthday party for both Fina and Tirumina-san.

    =====

    Author¡¯s Note:

    I was able to get to the birthday party venue without a hitch.

    This will be the first time for Tirumina-san to see Fina and Shuri in their dresses.

 Chapter 559

    <h4>Chapter 559</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Participates In The Two¡¯s Birthday Party (Part 2)</b>

    ¡°I forgot to tell you. Yuna-chan, you look great in that dress.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Thank you. Tirumina-san, that dress also suits you.¡± (Yuna)

    Weplement each other. Tirumina-san shyly replied, ¡°Thank you¡±. I know exactly how she felt. There was nothing more embarrassing than wearing clothes you¡¯re not used to.

    But it¡¯s also been proven that if you keep wearing it, you will get used to it. I¡¯m already used to dressing up as a bear. Even if I thought it was terrible, my heart was honest.

    ¡°But you¡¯re still wearing your shoes and gloves.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at my feet and left hand.

    If I sat in the chair, no one could see my shoes, and my white bear puppet was also an item bag, which was necessary to bring out the bear plushies as a gift.

    There was nothing dangerous around, so I put the ck bear puppet away.

    As I wasplimenting each other, there was a knock at the door, and we heard a voice saying, ¡°Excuse me,¡± and Lara-san entered the room.

    Lara-san was surprised to see me but soon returned to her usual expression.

    ¡°Have you finished changing your dress? If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll be happy to assist you.¡± (Lara)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re both done with ours.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you mean you¡¯ll keep your hair as it is?¡± (Lara)

    ¡°I intend to.¡± (Yuna)

    I just let my hair flow straight without doing anything. It¡¯s not my birthday, so I don¡¯t need to change my hairstyle. The main characters are Fina and Noa. It¡¯s their birthday party, so I¡¯m just wearing a dress.

    ¡°Yuna-sama¡¯s hair is long and beautiful, so it might as well stay that way.¡± (Lara)

    My hair is long. It is the only part of my hair that I am proud of as a girl. However, that part is usually meaningless because it¡¯s always hidden when wearing my bear suit.

    ¡°Well then, I will show you to the room where the party will be held.¡± (Lara)

    We left the room, then Lara-san called out to Gentz-san in the next room.

    Gentz-san came out of the room dressed in formal attire. He looked so sharp that I could not imagine him in his usual rough clothes. He was clean-shaven, and his hair was neatly coiffed.

    It almost made meugh.

    If I dress normally, the people around me might feel like this.

    ¡°Tirumina and¡­¡­ Bear girl?¡± (Gentz)

    The pause bothered me, but I got it, so I dared not ask.

    I just say one word. ¡°Yeah¡±.

    ¡°What about Fina and Shuri?¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°They¡¯reingter.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I see. You both look good, by the way.¡± (Gentz)

    Tirumina-san and I just said ¡°thanks¡± to him. I thought I would beughed at or made fun of, but apparently, Gentz-san does not have the luxury of making fun of me. Since a few moments ago, his face has been tense, perhaps from nervousness.

    ¡°Gentz, you look good too.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san¡¯s words made Gentz-san look embarrassed, but his cheeks rxed as if the tension had been lifted a little by Tirumina-san¡¯s words.

    Then, Lara-san called out to us at the right moment, and we moved to the venue of today¡¯s party.

    It¡¯s spacious. The room wasrge enough for dozens of people to join the party with room to spare.

    As expected of a noble¡¯s mansion, it had such a spacious room. However, my expectation was wrong. I thought we would sit on chairs like at Misa¡¯s birthday party, but there were only tables and no chairs. Apparently, it would be a standing party. A standing party would make my footwear stand out.

    ¡°Do we have to do it in this ce?¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°It seems so.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san and Gentz-san looked around the room nervously.

    Cliff and Gran-san were talking inside the room, and when Misa noticed us entering the room, she came over to me.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesama, you¡¯re beautiful.¡± (Misa)

    Misaplimented me with a smile. Misa also looked very pretty in her light blue dress. She will be a beautiful woman when she grows up.

    ¡°You do look like a nobledy from somewhere when you dress like that.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Indeed.¡± (Gran)

    Cliff and Gran-san also came up to me, saw my outfit, and let out such impressions.

    The phrase that fits me now would be, ¡°even a horse¡¯s coat is a garment¡±. <b>(</b>¡¸ñR×Ó¤Ë¤âÒÂÉÑ¡¹<b>)</b>

    ¡°But then again, couldn¡¯t you have done something about the feet?¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff asked while looking at my feet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have shoes to wear in a ce like this, so I suppose it¡¯s inevitable.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t even want one, so I didn¡¯t buy it.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get them ready now, shall we?¡± (Cliff)

    I politely decline, as the aristocratic Cliff could do it.

    ¡°Well, those shoes look good on you too, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± (Cliff)

    Wait, Cliff praised my appearance? And then I turned my gaze to Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Cliff, I think you¡¯ve met them before, but these are Fina¡¯s mother, Tirmina-san, and her father, Gentz-san.¡± (Yuna)

    For the time being, I, who knows both of them, introduced them.

    ¡°Thank you very much for inviting us.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san greeted Cliff nervously. Gentz-san also lowered his head lightly.

    ¡°I invited you out of my daughter¡¯s selfishness, but I wanted to talk to you guys at least once, so I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, there are no words to express my gratitude for having my daughter¡¯s birthday party in a ce like this.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san answered while choosing her words.

    Until now, she¡¯s been saying something like she didn¡¯t want to go, but she can¡¯t say that in front of Cliff.

    ¡°I appreciate you saying so.¡± (Cliff)

    When Cliff smiled, Tirumina-san also expressed relief.

    ¡°May I say hello to you as well?¡± (Gran)

    Since Gran-san is also here, I introduced them to Gran-san as well.

    ¡°You might have met him at the beach, but he¡¯s Gran-san, Misa¡¯s grandfather. Remember Leonardo-san, who came to our house before to apologize for Misa¡¯s birthday party, this person is his father, I think?¡± (Yuna)

    Or maybe the wife¡¯s father. But which is it?

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve met before. It has been a long time. Gran-sama.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I was busyst time and didn¡¯t get a chance to talk to you much, but I want to take this opportunity to apologize. I apologize for not being able to protect your precious daughter at Misa¡¯s birthday party. And thank your daughter for putting herself on the line to protect Misa.¡± (Gran)

    Gran-san bowed his head slightly and thanked them.

    ¡°No, please, we have already received an apology and thanks from Leonardo-sama.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san was troubled when Gran-san, a nobleman, bowed down to her.

    ¡°She is a very good girl. Please take good care of Misa from now on.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure. Please take good care of my daughter as well.¡± (Tirumina)

    They bowed to each other.

    After a brief greeting, there was a knock at the door.

    ¡°I have brought Noire-sama, Fina-sama, and Shuri-sama.¡± (Lara)

    The door opened and entered Noa in a red dress that matches her golden hair, followed by Fina in a light green dress and Shuri in a simr color. Did the sisters wear the same color?

    Shuri went to Tirumina-san¡¯s side, while Noa and Fina moved to the front as if they had discussed this from the beginning.

    Then Noa and Fina began to give their greetings.

    ¡°Thank you foring to my and Fina¡¯s birthday party today.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Th, thank you very much.¡± (Fina)

    Feeling nervous at Noa¡¯s words, Fina also bowed her head and proceeded to give thanks.

    ¡°I finally turned eleven years old. I really wanted my mother and sister to celebrate with me, but they are in the capital. Still, I am grateful that you are all here to celebrate with me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m allowed to celebrate my birthday with Noa-sama, but I also appreciate it.¡± (Fina)

    Maybe that¡¯s Fina¡¯s true feelings. I guess she thought she was out of ce to celebrate with Noa, a noble.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. You may think it was annoying, but I wanted to celebrate with you. So please enjoy Fina.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­ Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    Those words were also Noa¡¯s true feelings.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you for having me today.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Let¡¯s enjoy it together.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    After they finished their greetings, Cliff opened his mouth.

    ¡°I have prepared a wonderful meal for you. And please don¡¯t worry about etiquette. Feel free to enjoy the food and conversation.¡± (Cliff)

    After Cliff said that, the food was brought in.

    ¡°¡­¡­Mom, Dad, does it look good on me?¡± (Fina)

    When Fina came over, she asked while looking embarrassed.

    ¡°Yes, it suits you well. I thought you were a youngdy for a moment.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, you look good. I wish Roy could see you right now.¡± (Gentz)

    It¡¯s a beautiful light green dress. I saw it at Misa¡¯s birthday party and it looks fantastic on her. You could even say she¡¯s a youngdy from somewhere.

    ¡°And me?~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Of course, Shuri also looks great.¡± (Tirumina)

    Shuri also looks happy in her dress. If she acted a little more behaved, Shuri might also look like a youngdy.

    She moves too much.

    As I was looking at the two, I saw Tirumina-san¡¯s eyes overflowing with tears.

    ¡°Mom, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Mom, does it hurt somewhere?¡± (Shuri)

    When Fina and Shuri saw Tirumina-san in tears, they panicked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It doesn¡¯t hurt anywhere, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that I never thought I¡¯d get to see these beautiful girls of mine, so I¡¯m just so happy, I can¡¯t stop it.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°¡­¡­Mom.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but think about what happened a few months ago. It¡¯s thanks to you, Yuna-chan, that I can see my daughters dressed like this. Thank you, Yuna-chan.¡± (Tirumina)

    Maybe she was referring to her illness. I didn¡¯t know what the illness was, but she would have died if they had kept on doing nothing treating as if it was normal. She would never have seen Fina and Shuri in their dresses if that had happened.

    But it wasn¡¯t just because of me.

    ¡°If it was that time, it was because Fina tried so hard. If you want to thank someone, thank Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    If Fina had not worked so hard for Tirumina-san¡¯s sake, it¡¯s possible that she would have died before she met me. I can¡¯t imagine how hard it must have been for Fina to work with her small body and take care of her mother and sister.

    I just helped out a little bit.

    That, and Gentz-san¡¯s support from the shadows, may have made Fina¡¯s work bearable.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Thank you, Fina. And thank you for showing me how beautiful you are.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°¡­¡­Mom.¡±

    Fina looked embarrassed.

    ¡°You too, Shuri. Thank you. I¡¯m counting on you until you two get married.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°It¡¯s still early for that.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a problem if you¡¯rete, but I¡¯ll be lonely if it¡¯s early.¡± (Tirumina)

    Gentz-san looked at Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take them then.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to joke about it.

    ¡°Of course. If it¡¯s you, Yuna-chan, I can give her to you as your wife with peace of mind.¡± (Tirumina)

    She gave me a look that I couldn¡¯t tell if she was serious or joking.

    Well, if I were a man, I might have wanted Fina as my wife.

    She¡¯s a hard worker, can cook, and do housework. I think a man who marries Fina will be happy.

    Then I have to make sure she gets the right guy. If he¡¯s not worthy of Fina, then I have to do something about it.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Finally, the party has begun.

    And I apologize. Due to some urgent bookwork, my next post will be dyed.

    Please understand. (I may not be able to return yourments.)

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>] </b>Episode 29 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been published on Comic PASH! It¡¯s the story about the orphanage. Thank you for your cooperation.

    Also, episode 26 (first half) is now avable on Nico Nico Manga. Thank you very much.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you very much for all the support you have always given me in reporting typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave it here.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 560

    <h4>Chapter 560</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Notices Hair Ornament & Tirumina-san¡¯s Viewpoint</b>

    Marriage talk aside, I wanted Fina to be happy. I asked Fina what I¡¯d been wondering about for a while.

    ¡°Fina. You brought your hair ornament?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina is wearing the hair ornament she got at the school festival. Moreover, Shuri, Noa, and Misa are wearing them as well.

    ¡°Yes, I brought it. I don¡¯t have many opportunities to wear it, so I thought I¡¯d put it on today.¡± (Fina)

    Fina shyly touched her hair ornament a little.

    ¡°Does it look good on me?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It suits you.¡± (Yuna)

    It suits her better than I can wear it.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, I¡¯m wearing it too.¡± (Shuri)

    When I praised Fina, Shuri looked like she wanted to be praised too, so I did.

    By the way, Shuri is wearing a small hair ornament that she and Misa got by themselves, not the big one I gave her. She may have chosen the smaller one because the hair ornament I gave her would stand out more than that of Fina, the birthday celebrant.

    ¡°When choosing a dress for Shuri, we started talking about what to do with her hair. Then Fina came up with the idea of the hair ornaments from the school festival.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I also read about it in the letter, and decided to bring it too.¡± (Misa)

    Noa and Misa, who were listening to us while we ate, told me. They then turned their hair ornaments toward me so I could see them better.

    It wouldn¡¯t be strange for two nobles to have expensive hair ornaments made by a famous craftsman.

    Fina may not mind, but if the two wore expensive hair ornaments, I think Tirumina-san and I would have noticed.

    Even if they didn¡¯t intend to make fun of each other, the differences between the aristocrats and themoners were apparent. Maybe both nobles knew that, or they just felt like wearing the same hair ornament.

    Even so, it¡¯s still a heartwarming story.

    ¡°Both of you are kind.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa and Misa turned their heads here, so I patted their heads. The two didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but they looked happy.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>-Tirumina¡¯s POV-</b>

    At first, I was a bit hesitant abouting, but seeing my daughters in their dresses made me d I did.

    Seeing my daughters in their dresses, I cried despite my age. It could be because I¡¯m getting older that I¡¯m so tearful. I¡¯m not borrowing Gentz¡¯s words, but I wanted Roy to see them too.

    ¡°It suits them so well that I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re my daughters. I have to thank Noire-sama for the dress.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Fina and Shuri are my dear friends. Please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Noa)

    Noire-sama, who heard my words, smiled gently.

    Ever since Fina started hanging out with the lord¡¯s daughter, I sometimes worried about her, but I heard from Yuna and my daughters and learned that Noire-sama was kind. Then she starteding to the store, and we would see each other. At first, I was nervous, but even if the store were crowded, she would wait in line patiently and would not be selfish or otherwise cause trouble for those around her.

    I would not have been able to see my daughters in their dresses this time if Noire-sama had not invited me.

    Thank you Noire-sama.

    As I was watching my daughters, Cliff-sama came to me.

    ¡°I am grateful that my daughter insisted on doing this today.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°¡­No, thank you for inviting me. I can¡¯t thank you enough for allowing me to see my daughters in dresses.¡± (Tirumina)

    I was at a loss for words for a moment, but I could express my gratitude.

    ¡°I just wanted to talk to you once and thank you.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°¡­Thank me?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I am sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused you and your daughters. And thank you for always amodating my daughter¡¯s selfishness.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Father, that¡¯s a terrible thing to say. I didn¡¯t bother Fina, and I wasn¡¯t being selfish.¡± (Noa)

    Noire-sama, who was eating with my daughters nearby, puffed out her cheeks and cutely protested to Cliff-sama.

    Apparently, she heard Cliff-sama¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You should understand that it is selfish to have a party with Miss Fina. For those of a different status, it¡¯ll be mandatory. Nomoners can say no.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Fina, is that true?¡± (Noa)

    Noire-sama verifies this to Fina with a surprised expression. Fina looked troubled.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What would you do if Princess Tilia asked you to throw a birthday party with her?¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff-sama¡¯s words made Noire-sama think a little.

    ¡°I would like to refrain from doing so¡­¡­. Besides, I decided to have a party with only her rtives so that Fina could enjoy herself. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t thought about it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. And that¡¯s why I gave you permission this time. But if you don¡¯t act with more consideration for the other person¡¯s feelings, Miss Fina will hate you.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Ugh, I understand. I¡¯ll be careful. Fina, if you don¡¯t like it, say so. I just wanted to celebrate with you.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff-sama warned Noire-sama, and her expression became a little gloomy.

    ¡°Noa-sama, please don¡¯t make that kind of face. Well, I was a little reluctant at first, but it was fun making presents together. And thanks to Noa-sama, I was able to show my mother and father my dress. And you also lent Shuri a dress. I am grateful to you, Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    I know because I am her mother. Fina wasn¡¯t lying. She was sincerely grateful. Meeting people was important. If Fina had not met Yuna-chan, I would not be here. And if Yuna-chan had not met Noire-sama, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see Fina in her dress. People are connected.

    ¡°I know that my daughter will continue to cause trouble, but I hope your daughter will remain a good friend.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m d to hear you say so.¡± (Tirumina)

    Right now, I don¡¯t know if her rtionship with the nobility will go in a good direction or not. But it¡¯s up to Fina to decide. I n to let Fina do what she wants. If she has any problems, she can talk to us. That¡¯s what makes a family, and that¡¯s what parents do.

    Besides, Noire-sama was thinking about Fina. And Yuna-chan was also there with her. I don¡¯t think it will go bad. I can tell that by looking at the smiles on my daughters¡¯ faces. I hope they will grow up as is.

    After that, Cliff-sama asked me about the store and the orphanage, so I talked about them.

    ¡°I know we are both having a hard time with the bears, but if there is anything I can help you with, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me. If you have something you don¡¯t feelfortable telling me directly, you can tell the Guildmaster of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild or the Guildmaster of the Commercial Guild.¡± (Cliff)

    Yuna-chan sometimes asks me to do difficult tasks, but I never get sick of it. It¡¯s more enjoyable than thinking about that time when I was in pain, bedridden, and being a bother to my daughter.

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to talk about that stuff when the person in question is not here.¡± (Yuna)

    Before we knew it, Yuna-chan, who was near us,ined to Cliff-sama in her usual tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about it here so you can hear me. You¡¯re involving people and making it bigger than it is. I¡¯m not telling you not to do it. Just talk to me beforehand.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Apart from that one time, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything wrong.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know. You¡¯re not bad. You¡¯re doing a good job. But you may not be able to handle the public. That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying you should ask for advice.¡± (Cliff)

    It¡¯s not Cliff-sama¡¯s words, but Yuna-chan¡¯s behavior really amazes me. Thinking back on what happened so far brings a smile to my face. It was all hard work, but it was fun.

    ¡°Tirumina-san. What are youughing at?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just d that I met you, Yuna-chan.¡± (Tirumina)

    Yuna-chan left after being called by Noire-sama, even though she had a dubious expression on my words.

    It¡¯s thanks to Yuna-chan that I¡¯m here. I can¡¯t thank you enough. She¡¯s a really mysterious girl.

    Then Cliff-sama also talked with Gentz about the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. I talked with Gran-sama, and asionally with Yuna-chan and the girls.

    As the conversation went on, the initial nervousness I had gradually disappeared and I was able to talk normally to Cliff-sama. Perhaps this was how my daughter grew up, through experience. Experience makes people grow. But Gentz remained nervous. It seems that some people never change.

    And after I finished cooking it, I decided to prepare a present for Noire-sama.

    A few days ago, I asked Yuna-chan about what I should do for Noire-sama¡¯s gift. At first, she said that it would be fine without it. But I thought it wouldn¡¯t do, so I asked her if she had any ideas, and she suggested that I prepare a cake.

    However, there was a possibility that Noire-sama would prepare a cake, so I asked Yuna-chan to inform Noire-sama that we would prepare the cake.

    I asked Yuna-chan to bring out the cake, and she took it out from the white bear item bag on her left-hand side onto the table. Noire-sama and the others gathered there.

    ¡°It¡¯s bear-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Bear-san~¡± (Shuri)

    The cake on the table was not the kind of cake they usually sell at the store, but a cake the size of a cup.

    It¡¯s a cupcake. It¡¯s a cup-shaped cake with cookies, fruit, and cream to make it look like a bear.

    I knew that Noire-sama likes bears, so I asked Elena-san to make this special edition bear cake for me. It¡¯s good for one person, so it¡¯s easy to eat.

    It turned out so well that we were talking about putting it in the store in the future.

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t prepare something extravagant for you, Noire-sama, so we made something that will make you happy.¡± (Tirumina)

    In case you¡¯re wondering, it¡¯s from me and Gentz.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m very happy.¡± (Noa)

    Noire-sama looks happy while holding the cupcake.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute, but it¡¯s a waste to eat it.¡± (Noa)

    Misana-sama and the girls looked happy. Cliff-sama and Gran-san were smiling, and Gentz was relieved that they were pleased with it.

    Yuna-chan knew this would happen, so she didn¡¯t say anything.

    The cupcakes were actually Yuna-chan¡¯s idea. At first, she was reluctant to tell me about it, but then she seemed to give up. Then, Elena-san and I devised how to create the cute little bear.

    Once the bear cupcakes were distributed to everyone, everyone ate them with great relish. At first, Noire-sama and the girls looked like they were contemting whether to eat it, but once they started eating, they finished it in no time.

    ¡°It was delicious. But now it¡¯s gone.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, we still have more, so would you like some?¡± (Tirumina)

    I didn¡¯t know how many cupcakes to prepare, so we prepared a lot.

    I had Yuna-chan bring out the rest of the bear cupcakes and let them eat freely.

    ¡°Etto, Fina¡¯s mother. Are you going to serve this bear cake at the shop?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If it¡¯s well received by Noire-sama and the rest, then we n to.¡± (Tirumina)

    Noire-sama looked happy at my words.

    ¡°Really? It was a very wonderful cake. I would love to try it again.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well then, I will tell the chef who made the cake.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Noa)

    While Noire-sama looks happy at my words, Misana-sama looks envious.

    ¡°U~u, Noa-oneesama, it¡¯s unfair. I want to eat it too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Well, Misana-sama. If you don¡¯t mind, I will make it as a souvenir when you return to Sheleen.¡± (Tiruimna)

    ¡°Really! Thank you very much¡± (Misa)

    Misana-sama was happy.

    I will have to discuss this with Elena-san ASAP.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Apologies for the dy.

    The typos in volume 13 are corrected, and I¡¯m d there are still more ahead, but I also had to write up the store specials.

    I think things will settle after a while, but if there¡¯s another dy in posting, I will report it in a postscript.

    I wanted to write a story about Cliff and Tirumina-san, so I started from Tirumina-san¡¯s viewpoint in the middle of the story. Comrades who are put through a lot of hardship by Yuna, I think the conversation was lively ughs)

    And it looks like there will be a new item called bear cupcake (good for one person) for sale.

    The cake baker will be Elena for the web version (Nerin for the book version). I apologize for causing confusion to the readers of the book version.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who always reports typos. I will not be able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 561

    <h4>Chapter 561</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Gives The Present</b>

    Everyone enjoyed the bear cupcakes.

    When Tirumina-san asked me about it, I wasn¡¯t sure what to make, but I¡¯m d everyone seemed happy with it.

    I gave them the idea and the basic recipe. Tirumina-san and Elena-san worked on it and came up with the bear cupcakes in their current form.

    The bear cupcakes will also be added as a menu to be sold at the storeter.

    Progressively, it feels like bears are invading that store. There is nothing I can do to stop it now, so I have no choice but to give up¡­

    ¡°Now then, it¡¯s our turn to give the present. This is from me, Fina, and Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, Noa¡¯s eyes lit up. It seemed she had been holding back and not saying anything. I took the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies from the bear box.

    ¡°It¡¯s a present from me, Fina, and Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U wa~a, thank you very much.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily hugged her life-sized stuffed Swaying Bear and buried her face in its belly.

    ¡°So soft~¡± (Noa)

    ¡°The dolls are massive. And only made by four people.¡± (Misa)

    Five, to be exact, if you count Sherry. But Misa doesn¡¯t know that, so we can¡¯t help it.

    ¡°It¡¯s enormous. About the same size as Yuna¡¯s bear.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°You joined the bandit subjugation to recover the cotton to put inside these stuffed animals, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Gran)

    Misa, Cliff, and Gran-san looked at the life-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies and gave their impressions. Tirumina-san and Gentz-san were astonished.

    ¡°As you know, Noa, it was a lot of work to make, so take good care of it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course. Yuna-san, Fina, Shuri, thank you very much. I will cherish it.¡± (Noa)

    We made it together with Noa, but it¡¯s nice to be thanked for our effort.

    ¡°Noa-oneesama, may I touch them too?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Of course~¡± (Noa)

    When Noa gave permission, Misa touched the life-sized Hugging Bear plushie.

    ¡°It¡¯s feels soft. I want a big Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan stuffed animals, too.¡± (Misa)

    Misa looked envious. It¡¯s the opposite of the scene at Misa¡¯s birthday party.

    I would have made them for her if those were normal-sized stuffed animals if those were normal-sized stuffed animals. But as you¡¯d expect, I can¡¯t easily say I would make her the same-sized stuffed animals.

    ¡°Then, shall I make it as a present for your next birthday, Misa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!?¡± (Misa)

    However, it will be a yearter.

    ¡°Yeah. Until then, Misa, if you still want a stuffed animal, that is.¡± (Yuna)

    Perhaps next year, they may have outgrown stuffed animals. Children grow up fast, and their wants may change. But some feelings don¡¯t change over the years.

    ¡°So if you still want it as your birthday gets closer, don¡¯t hesitate to let me know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Misa)

    With this, I don¡¯t have to think about Misa¡¯s next birthday present. Birthday gifts get harder toe up with the more you think about them.

    And next, Noa gives Fina a present in return.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to get Fina as a gift because I didn¡¯t want to give her something expensive. So I discussed it with Lara and decided to make this.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said so and removed a ck and white object from her bag. It was a stuffed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I think you already have a set, but I made it myself. I¡¯m not very good at it, but would you ept it? I think you can put it in your room if it is this size.¡± (Noa)

    The stuffed bear seems to have a slightly, slightly different facial expression. Maybe she worked very hard on it alone, without help from anyone.

    ¡°Thank you, Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    Fina epted it happily and looked a little surprised.

    ¡°Are? The texture is different.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You noticed it, didn¡¯t you? We used cloth that feels good on the skin and the cotton that Yuna-san recovered. That¡¯s why it should be veryfortable to hold.¡± (Noa)

    In other words, it¡¯s a stuffed animal of the highest quality. I touched it with my right hand, which I am not wearing a bear puppet.

    Oh, it certainly feels better than the stuffed animals we made.

    It¡¯s truly a luxurious stuffed animal.

    ¡°At any rate, you were making stuffed animals by yourself?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wanted to give arge stuffed animal to Fina, but she said she couldn¡¯t put it in her room if it were too big.¡± (Noa)

    Tirumina-san, listening to the conversation, said in a small voice, ¡°As expected, you can¡¯t put it down¡±.

    ¡°But I thought this size would be okay. I already knew you had one, but this is the only thing I can do.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Did you make it from scratch by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I used the stuffed toy that Yuna-san gave me as a reference.¡± (Noa)

    She made it after seeing that.

    ¡°It was tough to make.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If you had told me, I would have helped.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This is my selfishness. I wanted to try making it by myself. If that makes Fina happy, that pleasure would be mine.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, if you make it with a lot of people, it would feel like that gratitude will be dispersed.

    There¡¯s a clear difference between getting a ¡± Thank you ¡± with a hundred people, and getting thanks just to yourself.

    Noa¡¯s words make Fina a little embarrassed. Fina looked at Noa.

    ¡°Thank you, Noa-sama. I will treasure it. I am very happy.¡± (Fina)

    Her words bring a big smile to Noa¡¯s face.

    Their friendship, it¡¯s too dazzling.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m next.¡± (Misa)

    Misa then took a piece of cloth out of the item bag.

    What¡¯s that? It¡¯s not a handkerchief. Various fabrics appear to be ovepped.

    ¡°I read from Noa-oneesama¡¯s letter that you were going to make a stuffed animal. So I made this.¡± (Misa)

    Misa unfolded the fabrics she was holding.

    ¡°Clothes?¡± (Yuna)

    What Misa unfolded and showed us was a small outfit. They were even smaller than the clothes worn by Fina and the others and could almost be called baby clothes.

    ¡°Noa, are you getting married by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± (Noa)

    Noa waves her hand in denial.

    ¡°No, this is not for Noa-oneesama¡¯s baby. It¡¯s for Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan stuffed animals.¡± (Misa)

    Misa also hurriedly denied it and told us whose clothes they were.

    ¡°Stuffed animal¡¯s clothes?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I made these because I thought it would be nice to dress Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan in clothes. Is it strange?¡± (Misa)

    Misa asked a little shyly.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not weird.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Misa)

    Even in my former world, it was normal to dress stuffed animals in clothes. It¡¯s not strange because I also dress them ording to seasons and events.

    Misa was amazing for noticing it.

    ¡°I¡¯m amazed you came up with that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I got the idea when I saw the dolls wearing clothes. What do you think, Noa-oneesama, Fina-chan?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s an excellent idea.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I think so too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m d. I¡¯ve made different varieties, so please let them wear it.¡± (Misa)

    Misaid out the clothes on the table.

    ¡°I made clothes like warrior, mage, knight, priest, cook, maid, andmercial guild uniforms.¡± (Misa)

    It looks like she made clothes for many different professions.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring the stuffed animals from my room.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noire-sama, I will bring it.¡± (Lara)

    As Noa was about to run to her room to retrieve her stuffed animal, Lara-san, serving in the corner, left to get it.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s put it on Fina¡¯s stuffed animal first. Which one would you like, Fina?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Etto, the mage?¡± (Fina)

    Fina points to the magician¡¯s outfit.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s make the other one a warrior.¡± (Misa)

    Noa says this, and then the changing of the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies that Noa has made begins.

    The warrior Swaying Bear and the wizard Hugging Bear werepleted.

    Oh, it looks better than I expected.

    ¡°Still, you did a good job of it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, Meshun helped me.¡± (Misa)

    As I recall, Meshun-san was a maid who works at Misa¡¯s house. She helped me a lot during the birthday party.

    ¡°Meshun is good at sewing. Noa-oneesama made it all by herself, but I can¡¯t do that.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Everyone learns to make things from someone else in the beginning.¡± (Yuna)

    People learn from something, even a book.

    Only a handful of geniuses can create from nothing.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I also learned how to make them by making arge stuffed animal. If we had not made them together, I would not have been able to make them. So there is nothing to be ashamed of.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I agree. It¡¯s the same with dismantling. If you¡¯ve never dismantled anything before, you cannot dismantle a monster well. My dad taught me how to do it and I learned through practice. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t have to feel bad about it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I am also being taught by my sister and dad.¡± (Shuri)

    Noa, Fina, and Shuri backed her up.

    ¡°Thank you, Noa-oneesama, Fina-chan, and Shuri-chan.¡± (Misa)

    Misa looks happy.

    Then, when Lara-san brought Noa¡¯s Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies, the four began dressing the stuffed animals.

    Then, the four Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies were dressed. Fina has a warrior and a wizard. Noa¡¯s stuffed animals were a cook and a maid.

    They all looked cute and it suited them.

    Now that Misa¡¯s presents were given, it¡¯s my turn.

    ¡°Fina, here is my gift to you.¡± (Yuna)

    I hand her a sheet of paper.

    ¡°Etto, thank you very much?¡± (Fina)

    Fina epted the paper, not knowing what it meant.

    ¡°What did you get?¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Fina looked at the paper. It says ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s outing ticket¡±. It¡¯s small, but it also has my name on it.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just what it says on the paper. It¡¯s a ticket to go out with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s that? I want one too.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, you already got the big stuffed animals as a present.¡± (Yuna)

    I look at therge stuffed animal. I wondered how much work it took to make it, even though it was made by five of us, including Sherry, who was not here.

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m envious.¡± (Noa)

    Even so, it¡¯s like a shoulder massage ticket. It¡¯s nothingpared to Noa¡¯s present.

    ¡°Sorry about that, Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I am happy. I will treasure it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No, you¡¯re supposed to use it.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m thinking of letting Fina use it since she¡¯s likely to leave it in a drawer unused.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I was worried about what to present to Fina.

    Something that would not be expensive and would please Fina.

    I am not borrowing Yuna¡¯s words, but it is difficult to think of a gift. (lol)

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Episode 30 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Comic PASH! Please give it some love.

    http:/icpash.jp/kuma/30/

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Episode 27 (first half) of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been released on Nico Nico Manga. Thank you for your purchase.

    http://seiga.nicovideo.jpic/36795

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thank you to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 562

    <h4>Chapter 562</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Is Asked To Teach Magic</b>

    Misa was happy because Fina and Noa were pleased with their gifts.

    After that, there were also other gifts presented to Fina and Noa. Incidentally, Cliff¡¯s gift to Fina was a family invitation to a fine restaurant in Crimonia. He gave it to her, saying that it was an apology for this time and that he wanted her to enjoy some time with her family. Fina could not refuse and epted it with a wry smile.

    I know that behind Fina, Tirumina-san and Gentz-san also had indescribable facial expressions.

    Well, it¡¯s a restaurant invitation. I hope you enjoy it with the whole family.

    Then, Gran-san tried to give her a ne with jewelry, and everyone looked at her like she was dumbfounded. Since she couldn¡¯t ept jewelry with stones, she had to decline. Cliff also interjected so she could say no, much to the relief of Fina, Tirumina-san, and Gentz-san.

    ¡°Old man Gran, at her age, I¡¯d say you¡¯d better think of something they¡¯ll be more likely to receive.¡± (Cliff)

    Hearing Cliff¡¯s words, Gran-san looked dejected.

    He also prepared one for Noa, but since Fina didn¡¯t ept hers, Noa didn¡¯t ept it either. So I felt a little sorry for Gran-san.

    Well, this time, I can¡¯t rescue Gran-san from his dilemma, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Cliff advised, ¡°You¡¯d better learn to feel a little more like amoner.¡±

    I wonder about the invitation to a fancy restaurant. But still, my mind decided that it was better than jewelry.

    I talked to Noa, who seemed to be enjoying herself.

    ¡°Too bad Eleanora-san and Shia couldn¡¯t make it.¡± (Yuna)

    I thought maybe they woulde, but neither of them could. Eleanora-san has work to do, and Shia has to go to school, so they can¡¯t easilye to Crimonia.

    In a situation like this, I could have brought them here if I had told them about the bear gate. However, I was hesitant to tell Shia and Noa because if Eleanora-san knew about it, it would cause me a lot of trouble.

    But then, should I tell Noa and take her to the capital instead? While I pondered that, Noa shook her head as if to disagree.

    ¡°I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t miss them, but Mother already gave me a birthday present. Besides, I was able to see her the other day when I went to the capital, so I¡¯m fine. Plus, Mother has an important job.¡± (Noa)

    She looked a little lonely, but her expression said she understood.

    Perhaps they were absentst year or the year before, either.

    Noa looked at the ne around her neck.

    As I recall, Eleanora-san gave it to her so she could learn magic, right?

    Noa looked at the ne and pondered for a moment. She then made up her mind about something and went over to Cliff.

    ¡°Father, I have a request.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to study magic, right? But is it okay if Yuna-san teaches me?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± ¡°Me?¡±

    Cliff¡¯s gaze met mine.

    ¡°Father, you gave me permission to practice magic, right? But if possible, I would like to learn magic from Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If Yuna teaches you magic, won¡¯t your magic turn into a bear?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Usually, I wouldugh it off.

    But I can¡¯t because bear magic exists, and I¡¯m actually using it.

    ¡°Well, with earth magic, it may be possible.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff arrived at his own conclusion.

    That reminds me, he already knows about my bear earth magic.

    But bear magic also has both fire and water. If you include bear ws, that¡¯s wind magic, and there¡¯s even electric bear.

    Cliff looked at me, thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.

    ¡°If Yuna doesn¡¯t mind, I¡¯m fine with it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Really! Yuna-san, please.¡± (Noa)

    Noa grabbed my hand and pleaded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind teaching you. But I¡¯m self-taught, so I might not be able to teach you well.¡± (Yuna)

    Once, I taught a rookie adventurer girl how to use magic, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯ve taught her how to increase her magic power and how to defeat monsters. But Noa has never used magic at all. Teaching someone who has never used magic would be a different story.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯m studying the basic knowledge of magic. So I think it¡¯s okay.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, if it doesn¡¯t work, we can just prepare a magic teacher.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looks happy when I agree. In the midst of all this, Fina looks like she wants to say something.

    ¡°Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ano, I also want to learn magic from Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    When Fina opened her mouth, she looked at me and then at Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t know if I can use magic, but can I study it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me you¡¯re going to be an adventurer, are you?¡± (Tirumina)

    Fina shakes her head.

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. But if I could use water magic, it would make my dismantling job much easier, and if I could use other magic, I could help everyone.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. I don¡¯t have money, but I¡¯ll do my best on my dismantling work. That¡¯s why, please.¡± (Fina)

    Tirumina-san started working, and she does dismantling work from time to time, but that¡¯s for the orphanage or for the store. At Tirumina-san¡¯s request, I don¡¯t offer marypesation. However, I give her meat and other things as payment in kind.

    But I am also building Fina¡¯s savings and so on.

    If Fina says she wants to go to the school in the royal capital, I¡¯m thinking of giving it to her.

    Well, I think that¡¯s a long way off.

    At any rate, I don¡¯t intend to get money from Fina

    ¡°No, Noa, Fina, I don¡¯t need money. But Fina, I need you to ask permission from Tirumina-san and Gentz-san.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t mind getting money from Cliff, though. Although I feel ufortable receiving money from Fina and Tirumina-san. That¡¯s why it¡¯s strange to get payment from Noa but not from Fina.

    Above all, I can¡¯t take money from Fina and Noa, whom I consider my own sisters.

    And I didn¡¯t get any money from the rookie adventurer girl.

    ¡°Mom, Dad?¡± (Fina)

    Fina stares at Tirumina-san and Gentz-san and waits for a reply.

    Tirumina-san lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°I get it. Do what you want.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, but just don¡¯t do anything dangerous.¡± (Gentz)

    ¡°Mom, Dad, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina has a big smile on her face.

    ¡°Good for you, Fina. Let¡¯s study magic together.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    Fina and Noa held each other¡¯s hands.

    Misa looked at them enviously.

    ¡°I envy both Noa-oneesama and Fina-chan. Grandfather, I want to practice magic too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Ask your father, for I cannot give you permission to do so.¡± (Gran)

    Even though she¡¯s his grandchild, he can¡¯t just give her permission. If you think about it, that¡¯s normally how it goes, she needs permission from her parents.

    Misa looks at me as if asking for help, but I can¡¯t help her because Gran-san is right on this one.

    Incidentally, Shuri is also envious, but aside from Misa, Shuri isn¡¯t old enough to use magic, so she has to give up on learning magic.

    After the meal and the gifts, the adults are talking, so we move to the garden, at Noa¡¯s request, to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Are you really going to ride like that?¡± (Yuna)

    They are all still in their dresses.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯re running around, and both Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan are clean, so we won¡¯t get dirty. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Ku~u ~ n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried, protesting that they were not dirty.

    I know best that the newly summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are clean.

    ¡°Besides, getting dressed is troublesome.¡± (Noa)

    After saying that, Noa hugged Swaying Bear.

    ¡°The stuffed animals felt good to the touch, but the real thing feels good too.¡± (Noa)

    I¡¯m not emphasizing that stuffed animals are fake, but the real ones are the best. The best thing about the real thing is that it¡¯s warm. However, in the middle of summer, they get too hot. But the same can be said with stuffed animals.

    ¡°Yuna-san, can I get on?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t do anything that will really stain the dress.¡± (Yuna)

    When I gave my permission, Noa and Misa happily climbed on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, while Fina took care not to get her dress dirty and held Shuri¡¯s arm as she tried to run around some more.

    As for Fina, I think she wants to change her clothes. Especially now that we are here.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get your dress dirty. You¡¯d better change first.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But if you fall¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. As long as I don¡¯t fall down.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and I had such an exchange.

    ¡°Come on, Fina and Shuri, get on.¡± (Noa)

    Hearing those words, Shuri tried to run, but Fina grabbed her arm tightly.

    ¡°Shuri, you absolutely can¡¯t run. You shouldn¡¯t even fall down.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un, I know. I won¡¯t fall.¡± (Shuri)

    That¡®s called raising a g in my old world.

    Both Fina and Shuri climbed on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, which Noa and Misa were also riding, and began their epic journey around the mansion.

    In the end, they weren¡¯t satisfied with onep, so they did severalps.

    I had tea with Lara-san, who came with us, and I spent my time rxing while talking with Lara-san.

    By the way, the g was avoided, and no one soiled their dress.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    She will be teaching magic to Fina and Noa.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thank you to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 563

    <h4>Chapter 563</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Throws A Bear Party</b>

    The birthday party ended sessfully, Tirumina-san and Gentz-san went home, leaving Fina and Shuri behind.

    To hold a bear party.

    ¡°I had a lot of fun today. Usually parties are always a formal asion.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I agree. I also think it¡¯s better to have parties only with people you know.¡± (Misa)

    Misa agreed with Noa¡¯s words.

    When ites to an aristocratic party, there will be people you don¡¯t know, people you haven¡¯t seen in a few years, and people you didn¡¯t have the intention to invite them over in the first ce. On the other hand, even if you don¡¯t want to go to the party, you have to, since attendance is mandatory.

    I understand that feeling. I don¡¯t want to attend a party of someone I don¡¯t want to meet either.

    (Read the first volume of the manga. Yuna¡¯s grandfather is the president of a conglomerate. Did Yuna even attend when she was young? We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause readers due to the additional settings in the manga.)

    Moreover, if you¡¯re a noble, the topic of marriage would likelye up, and that topic seems to be a pain to deal with.

    After the party, we took off our dresses and borrowed a bath.

    The four washed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s bodies, dried them with a hair dryer, and brushed them as thanks for letting them ride.

    By the way, in the bath, I turned them into cubs because, otherwise, it would be difficult to wash and dry them.

    After leaving the bath, all of us changed into bear themed clothes.

    Naturally, I am dressed exactly like a bear. But then again I always dress up as a bear though.

    By the way, I¡¯m wearing my white bear suit. I¡¯m exhausted from wearing dresses today, so I didn¡¯t hesitate to choose a white bear suit.

    After changing into bear clothes, we moved to the guest room.

    It was a strange sight to see us dressed up as a group of bear-suit-wearing girls (seven of us), including Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, walking down the hallway.

    Lara-san, however, gave us a warm look as we passed each other, saying, ¡°You are all so cute¡±. I wanted to ask her if I was included, but I decided not to, as I would have suffered fatal emotional damage if I had.

    (**editor¡¯s note: I had to struggle between using psychological damage, but the meme emotional damage is current, so I hope the relevancy drives home to a point about Yuna¡¯s view of herself¡­ Well, you get it at this point)

    We arrived at the guest room where we will be staying today. Five beds were in the room, and they were ced without gaps. They seem to have prepared this room for five (seven?) individuals to sleep together.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s a bear party all about anyway?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked.

    It seems that Fina was only told to bring bear clothes.

    ¡°It¡¯s about dressing up as a bear and having a chat with everyone.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± (Noa)

    Fina was relieved by those words.

    She thought she was going to do something weirder than that.

    ¡°We have tea on hand, so there¡¯s plenty of time for chatting.¡± (Noa)

    A pot of tea prepared by Lara-san was ced on the table. Noa herself served the tea.

    ¡°Let me help you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. You are our guests today. Besides, even I can brew a cup of tea.¡± (Noa)

    Noa says and makes tea in everyone¡¯s cup.

    We started the bear party with a cup of tea.

    ¡°Then again, I didn¡¯t think Noa could make stuffed animals.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, I thought I¡¯d surprise you.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, it was surprising.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Butpared to the stuffed toy I got from Yuna-san, it pales inparison.¡± (Noa)

    Noapared her stuffed animals with the ones she made.

    In the room, there were the plushies that Noa had and the ones that Noa gave to Fina.

    ¡°Well, it was made by a real professional. And they¡¯ve made dozens of them, so it can¡¯t be helped that it pales inparison.¡± (Yuna)

    Sherry, who was always good at sewing, made the bear stuffed dolls. She loves sewing and was taught by Naru-san every day. It was inevitable that there was a difference between this stuffed animal and the one made by Sherry.

    It was extremely difficult to keep up with people who were doing the work they love.

    ¡°Yes, I did. But I got the hang of it. Now I¡¯ll make one for myself. And someday I will be able to make it well.¡± (Noa)

    Noa dered emphatically.

    Maybe the next time Ie to Noa¡¯s room, it will be full of stuffed bears.

    But I think Noa is amazing. She¡¯s studying and will also be practicing magic. She even have the time to practice making a stuffed animal in between. I honestly think she¡¯s incredible.

    ¡°Go for it, but do it in moderation.¡± (Yuna)

    We talked about stuffed animals, then other things, then magic.

    ¡°I look forward to the magic practice, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m really self-taught, so I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to teach you well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As father said, we¡¯ll just get another teacher then.¡± (Noa)

    Well, if I teach her and she can¡¯t learn magic, then someone else takes over and she can use magic, I would bebeled ipetent as a teacher.

    ¡°I envy you, Noa-oneesama and Fina-chan.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not fair.¡± (Shuri)

    Misa and Shuri, who cannot be taught magic, were envious, but there was nothing I could do.

    ¡°Magic is for people with a lot of magic power, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we all have magic powers, big or small. But to use magic, one must have a lot of it.¡± (Noa)

    Everyone has enough magic power to light up a magic stone.

    But it means you need a lot of magic power to change mana into water or fire.

    I remember the battle at the time of the Kraken. I made a bear big stone statue to keep the Kraken from escaping, and it took all my magic power at once. Then, a series of fire bear magic attacks. Both were created from magic power.

    ¡°But how do you know if you can use magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯ll never know until you try.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Do you have any magical tools that, when you touch crystals or something, tell you the capacity of your magic?¡± (Yuna)

    Often in generic temte settings, there would be magical tools that examine magical power and attributes, then a blinding light would glow when the amount of magical power was high, and the magical tool that measures magical power would then break. Or the light would shine in seven different colors.

    But Noa¡¯s response was.

    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never heard of such a convenient magic tool. You won¡¯t know if you can use magic until you try it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see. Well, then, I guess we won¡¯t know if it really works magic until you try it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. So I¡¯m a little nervous.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But if parents can use magic, so can their children, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. If the parents can use magic, it¡¯smon for their children to be able to do so, but that¡¯s not always the case. Some children can¡¯t use it, so you¡¯ll never really know.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked worried.

    ¡°Eleanora-san can use it, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, and so does my father. Basically, nobles are supposed to marry someone who has enough magical power to use magic for their protection. And to prevent their own children from dying because they cannot use magic to protect themselves.¡± (Noa)

    Yeah, I guess that¡¯s possible with the aristocrats. As the means of passing down a good or strong bloodline.

    ¡°Then Misa¡¯s parents too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, they can use it as well.¡± (Misa)

    Misa answered my questions. I asked the same question to Fina.

    ¡°Tirumina-san was able to use it, wasn¡¯t she? What about¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I was about to ask her about her father but stopped mid-sentence. Fina¡¯s biological father was already dead. I knew I shouldn¡¯t ask.

    ¡°Yes, Mom seems to be able to use magic.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Did she use it before?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her use it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°And Shuri?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un, never.¡± (Shuri)

    Tirumina-san was sick and may not have had the opportunity to use her magic in front of Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°But Dad once told me that Mom used magic to defeat monsters.¡± (Fina)

    Did Gentz-san tell her about that?

    ¡°That¡¯s why I might be able to use it. But even if I can¡¯t, it¡¯s not your fault, Yuna-oneesan, so please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Fina)

    If possible, I would like them both to be able to use magic.

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with it, but can parents who are good at certain magic pass down the traits to their children?¡± (Yuna)

    In many mangas and novels, the parents who were good at certain magic, and their children could inherit the same talent in utilizing the same magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s been said that it doesn¡¯t matter basically, but it seems that children often be good at the magic that their parents can use.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because children grow up watching their parents¡¯ magic, so it¡¯s easier for them to visualize the magic of that attribute.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, if you grow up watching your parents use their magic from a young age, it may be imprinted in your mind.

    ¡°Noa, you know quite a lot.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Or rather, Yuna-san, howe someone like you who can use magic, doesn¡¯t know?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling you, I don¡¯t know that kind of thing because I learned magic by myself.¡± (Yuna)

    After all, I could only use magic the way I had learned to do it in games. I don¡¯t know those details.

    ¡°Ano, do I have to study those things too?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks uneasy.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t know if I can do magic myself either.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about magic, but I can use it, so I think it¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    I believe that what was needed for magic would be magical power and strong imagery.

    ¡°Fina. Speaking of which, what medium do you use for your magic?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa has a pendant from Eleanora-san. But Fina doesn¡¯t have any.

    ¡°Mom said she would lend me the ones she used in the past, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I see. Then, when you learn to use magic, shall I buy one for you as a birthday present?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina shakes her head at my words.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, you already gave me a ticket to be with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. So it¡¯s okay.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said so, but if she could use magic, I would give one to her as a gift.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I wanted to include some bear elements, but it turned out to be a talk about magic.

    Next time we¡¯ll have a little more of the bear elements¡­¡­.

    My apologies.

    I have to recheck (revise) the book and might be a littlete in posting. Thank you for understanding.

    I will also take a break from replying to feedback for a while. I apologize for that.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thank you to everyone who has always reported typos. I will not be able to reply, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 564

    <h4>Chapter 564</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Teaches Magic Part 1</b>

    As we talked about magic, I heard ¡°Kuu~n¡°. When I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw Shuri sleeping while hugging Swaying Bear in cub form in her arms.

    Swaying Bear informed me that Shuri had fallen asleep.

    ¡°Shuri, you have to sleep on the bed.¡± (Fina)

    I stopped Fina from reaching out to wake Shuri up.

    ¡°Fina, don¡¯t wake her up.¡± (Yuna)

    I approached Shuri and carried her in my arms as she hugged Swaying Bear. With my bear gear, it was easy to carry both Shuri and Swaying Bear cub in my arms.

    I carried the two of them to the bed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s tired from all of the activities today.¡± (Yuna)

    While Shuri was wearing a dress, she looked more energetic than usual. She had also taken her bath. Furthermore, it¡¯s already nighttime, so no wonder she¡¯s be sleepy while cuddling Swaying Bear.

    ¡°I think Shuri enjoyed it. She¡¯s never been to a birthday party like this before.¡± (Fina)

    Only now, Fina and Shuri may have experienced something resembling a birthday party.

    Even if it was Fina, her sister¡¯s birthday party, she seemed happy.

    I pat Shuri¡¯s head lightly.

    When it¡¯s Shuri¡¯s birthday, we have to celebrate her birthday properly too.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s alreadyte. We should go to bed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Since Shuri took Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan, would sleep with me.¡± (Noa)

    Noa embraced Hugging Bear cub in her arms after dering that.

    ¡°Noa-oneesama, that¡¯s unfair. I also want to sleep with Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Misa)

    Misa grabbed Hugging Bear¡¯s foreleg. If this became a pulling match, it might be like Ooka Echizen<b>*</b>.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you sleep together with Hugging Bear in between? The beds are connected, so it should be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°As expected of Yuna-oneesama.¡± (Misa)

    They moved to the opposite side of the bed from where Shuri was sleeping and climbed onto the bed with Hugging Bear between them.

    Hugging Bear was embraced by two from both sides.

    Hugging Bear looked at me, but Swaying Bear was also dealing with Shuri. Besides, it¡¯s Noa¡¯s birthday today. I think it would be okay for him to sleep with them for at least one day.

    ¡°Well then, shall we sleep too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    I called out to Fina, turned off the room¡¯s light, and moved to the bed.

    The bed has five lines and two dots. From right to left, Misa, Hugging Bear, Noah, me, Fina, Swaying Bear, and Shuri. And all were bears.

    It would be a quandary and embarrassing if others were to see me in such a ce.

    Even so, the bear party wasn¡¯t too shabby since everyone seemed to enjoy it.

    ¡°Good night, you guys.¡±

    ¡°Good night, everyone.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good night.¡±

    ¡°Good night.¡±

    ¡°U~u, Swaying Bear-chan¡­¡±

    Despite everything that happened, it was a fun day.

    As expected, wearing dresses and other clothes was tiring, and I felt sleepy when I got into bed.

    I fell asleep, surrounded on both sides by girls dressed as bears.

    When I woke up the following day, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sleeping next to me.

    Looking to the left and right, the four girls were sleepingfortably.

    What happened while I was asleep?

    I changed into the ck bear suit and woke everyone up.

    Then the birthday party was over, and a few dayster, Misa went home with Gran-san. Of course, Marina and her party, who hade as their escorts, were with them.

    They also went to my shop andplimented me that the food was delicious. I was genuinely happy to hear that.

    Then, Fina also had dinner with her family at a fine restaurant with a gift she received from Cliff.

    At that time, Tirumina-san notified me that she had borrowed a ring that would serve as a medium for using magic.

    As promised, I will teach Noa and Fina magic.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s practice magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Fina)

    The ce we¡¯re going to practice magic is the garden of Noa¡¯s house. Noa¡¯s house has a wide garden, so we can call someone and take a break if something happens. They won¡¯t be using big magic or dangerous magic. It¡¯s the perfect ce to practice magic.

    We spread a sheet in the garden and sat down.

    ¡°Yuna-san, thank you for your time today.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± (Fina)

    When Noa bowed her head to me and thanked me for granting her request, Fina did the same.

    ¡°As I said before, I¡¯ve never taught magic to someone who¡¯s never used it before, so I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to teach you well.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve taught a rookie adventurer girl before, but this would be the first time I¡¯ll teach someone who has never used magic before.

    Teaching a child who can swim how to swim faster differspletely from teaching a child who has never even been in the water.

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Did they really understand?

    ¡°Well?, first of all, we have Fina, who knows nothing about magic, so let¡¯s touch lightly on the study of magical knowledge.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh~~¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll do it alone with Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I don¡¯t want to. I will study.¡± (Noa)

    But I know little about it either. So, I will ask Noa, a teacher who has been studying magic, to help me.

    ¡°Well then, Noa-sensei. Can you give us the basics of magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You mean me?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, you have studied the subject thoroughly, so you would be more suitable than me, a self-learned. I¡¯m sure Fina feels the same way.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Noa-sensei, please.¡± (Fina)

    Noa looked happy when Fina and I called her sensei.

    ¡°Understood. Please leave it to me.¡± (Noa)

    Too easy.

    ¡°So what is magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Everyone has magic, big or small. And we can use magic at around age 10.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Why around 10 years old?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked for reconfirmation.

    ¡°It¡¯s been said for a long time. There have been many cases where gathering magical powers when one is too young makes it impossible to use magic as an adult. That¡¯s why they say it¡¯s better to use magic only after the age of 10.¡± (Noa)

    I guess it¡¯s based on mankind¡¯s past experience.

    I came to this world just recently, I was over 10 years old, but could I use magic regardless?

    Or was it because of God?

    Thinking about it wouldn¡¯t give me any answer, so I¡¯ll just listen to Noa.

    ¡°Magic is activated by gathering magic power. Therefore, if the amount of magic power you have is too little, or if you cannot gather sufficient magic power in one go, you will not be able to cast magic.¡± (Noa)

    It¡¯s the same thing as collecting magic power in my bear puppet.

    ¡°Noa-sama, can I use magic?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who was listening to the conversation, asked anxiously.

    ¡°As I said at the party, you won¡¯t know until you try it. There are cases where children can use magic even if their parents can¡¯t. I have also heard the opposite, so there is a possibility that I cannot use it either. But Fina¡¯s mother can use magic, so your chances that you can are high.¡± (Noa)

    Noa smiled gently to reassure Fina.

    ¡°So, Noa. Which magic do we learn first?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°First, it¡¯s light magic. Light is the mostmon thing. People prefer bright ces to dark ces. That¡¯s why light is the easiest to visualize and the first magic to learn.¡± (Noa)

    To set an example, I gathered magic power in my ck bear puppet and created light magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear.¡± (Noa)

    A ray of light in the shape of a bear¡¯s face emerges.

    Even if I do it unintentionally and sloppily casts light magic, it¡¯ll be a bear light.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s try some light magic.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said this, Fina looked a little troubled.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. How do you collect magic power?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Even if you ask me, I don¡¯t know how to exin the collecting magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    Yes, it¡¯s true.

    If you could try it, if possible, you don¡¯t need a teacher.

    That being said, I can¡¯t exin how to gather magic power very well. Gathering magical power is a sensory experience.

    If it were easy to gather magic power, no one would have a hard time. Noa said earlier that it¡¯s difficult to gather magical power.

    ¡°Noa, how do you learn magic normally?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s more like practicing to move, or rather gather, the magic power in your body. As I said before, you cannot use magic without gathering magic power.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°By the way, do you know how to practice that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Etto, it seems that it¡¯s not easy to move the magical power inside your body, so I think someone who can use magic should teach you how to move the magical power. I don¡¯t know about that. How was it when you learned magic, Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    I can¡¯t say I learned it from the game.

    ¡°How was it, indeed?¡± (Yuna)

    Iughed and covered it up.

    But should I teach them magic sense?

    Somehow, I think I understand what I¡¯ve said.

    Well, let¡¯s see if they can do it.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s try it. Hold my hand. Who wants to try first?¡± (Yuna)

    When I see the two of them, Fina hesitantly opens her mouth.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll gost, Noa-sama first.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll try it first.¡± (Noa)

    When I offered my ck bear puppet, Noa grabbed it with the pendant in her hand.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll try moving the magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    I tried moving the magic from my body to Noa¡¯s body.

    ¡°Something is flowing from Yuna-san¡¯s hand. So this is magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Do you get what¡¯s your magic now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can understand it somehow. It seems to flow with Yuna-san¡¯s magic power.¡± (Noa)

    I try to move magic to every corner of Noa¡¯s body.

    ¡°It¡¯s flowing right down to my feet. I¡¯m beginning to understand the flow of magic.¡± (Noa)

    She could feel the flow of magic.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll take my hand away, so try to gather your magic power into your hand.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa closed her eyes, clutched the ne Eleanora-san gave her and began concentrating.

    ¡°I can see the magicing together.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Etto, then, light it up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa closed her eyes, then said, ¡°Light!¡±, and Noa¡¯s clenched hand glowed.

    ¡°It glowed. Yuna-san, it¡¯s glowing.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked happily at her shining hand and me.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s glowing.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Congrattions, Noah-sama.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily holds out her glowing hand.

    ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s Fina¡¯s turn.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Good luck, Fina.¡± (Noa)

    I held out the bear puppet to her, and Fina gripped it fearfully.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>* (Ooka Echizen) </b>= Something samurai drama period from the 70s that was broadcasted on Japan¡¯s TBS TV¡¯s ¡°National Theater¡±. Dunno¡­

    <b>=====</b>

 Chapter 565

    <h4>Chapter 565</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Teaches Magic Part 2</b>

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I am sorry.

    I corrected the second half of the previous episode 564.

    Since there are a lot of corrections,

    564 Bear-san teaches magic Part 1 (revised at 22:30 on 7/29)

    (Revised 7/29 10:30 p.m.) For readers who read the title while it was not written, I apologize, but I hope you will read the previous 564 episodes first.

    I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our readers.

    -Kumanano

    <b>======</b>

    I tranted the revised one so no need to worry about it.

    You¡¯ve read the correct version.

    -Attattin

    <b>======</b>

    When I held out the bear puppet, Fina reached it with her tiny hand with arge ring on her index finger. I held her hand in the bear puppet¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s begin.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ye, yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina closed her eyes as I did the same thing I did to Noa. I channeled my magic power and let Fina feel it.

    Fina¡¯s body jolted.

    ¡°There¡¯s a weird thing that is flowing through my body.¡± (Fina)

    Weird thing? That¡¯s magic ¡­ probably.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try pouring it around your body, so feel your magical power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina concentrated with her eyes closed. She imagined the magic power flowing from my right hand to her left hand, chest, stomach, head, and feet. Since it¡¯s not my body, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s actually flowing. I just imagined it. But Fina felt the magic power, and her body jerked.

    ¡°So?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can feel something flowing through my body, just like Noa-sama said.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s magic. Feel it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina nodded at Noa¡¯s advice.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Please let go of my hand. I¡¯ll try.¡± (Fina)

    I made the bear puppet¡¯s mouth let go of Fina¡¯s hand that it was holding. Fina, whose hand was free, clenched her fists in prayer with both hands. I wanted to say, ¡°Good luck,¡± but she was concentrating, so I stopped.

    Fina gathered magic power in her hand. Then opened her mouth.

    ¡°Glow!¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s right hand was glowing dimly when Fina uttered the word.

    ¡°¡­I did it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, congrattions.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you, Noa-sama.¡± (Fina)

    The two were holding hands and rejoicing.

    Yeah, indeed, good for you. It would be a pity if only Fina couldn¡¯t use magic.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect us to be able to use magic so quickly. I had heard that it usually takes days to feel the magic and be able to do it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This is my first time, so I don¡¯t know the details, but both my sister and father said it would take time for the beginners.¡± (Noa)

    Then again, maybe they¡¯re just both excellent.

    ¡°Yuna-san, may I continue practicing my magic?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is your magic power okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m a little tired from collecting magic power, but I think it¡¯s fine.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then, shall we try again?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    Noa tried to collect magic power, but she turned her gaze to me.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I want to check how bright my light magic is, so why don¡¯t we go inside the house? I want to check it in a dark room.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, it was hard to tell how bright it was outside, even when we moved into the shade. Moreover, the light magic that both of them casted was not that strong.

    So it may be good to check the brightness of light in a dark room. I could also see their growth.

    ¡°Sure, why not.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina also agreed, then we entered the mansion.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked because I thought we were supposed to darken Noa¡¯s room by closing the curtains, but she led us to a different passageway.

    ¡°In the basement. There¡¯s a room in there.¡± (Noa)

    It¡¯s an aristocratic mansion. So there should be at least a basement.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like a prison or anything, is it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We have a simr room, but the one we¡¯re going to is basically where we keep our food. Also, there are weapons and things we don¡¯t use.¡± (Noa)

    Well, stockpiling food is important.

    We went down the stairs. It wasn¡¯t dark because the magic stones on the ceiling were shining, but it would be pitch ck without them.

    Noa walked down the underground passage and stopped at the door.

    ¡°Here it is.¡± (Noa)

    Noa opened the door. There was not a single window, so the room was dark.

    ¡°I could turn on the lights, but that wouldn¡¯t be much of a practice, so Yuna-san, would you mind illuminating the room with your light magic?¡± (Noa)

    I cast light magic into the room. A bear-faced light illuminated the room. The room wasrger than I expected, and it was empty.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Noa)

    We entered the room and closed the door.

    ¡°Wish we had chairs.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I have chairs with me.¡± (Yuna)

    I took three chairs out of the bear box.

    ¡°Yuna-san, your item bag contains just about everything.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Not everything. It only contains what¡¯s in it.¡± (Yuna)

    Of course, it only contains what I put in it. I have stocked up on chairs, tables, furniture, and so on because I will use them when I build more bear houses. It¡¯s a hassle to go out and buy them every time.

    I arranged three chairs in a circle and sat down.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-san, but could you turn off the light?¡± (Noa)

    Well, if I had my bear light on, it would interfere with their practice.

    When I turned off the light, the room became pitch ck.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡± (Fina)

    As Fina said, I can¡¯t see anything either. I can only tell they are there by their presence and breathing.

    ¡°Fina. Let¡¯s brighten up this room together.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (FIna)

    Both of them immediately tried using light magic.

    ¡°U~u, I can¡¯t gather magic power well.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I was able to do it earlier.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It would be a problem if I used all the magic power I had earlier.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then let¡¯s hold hands one more time, shall we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡±

    I offered them both of my bear puppets and asked them to hold them. Since it was pitch ck, I made them glow lightly, and then they grabbed onto the bear puppets. After they grabbed the bear puppets, I turned off the light.

    Then I did the same as before.

    ¡°Yes, something like this.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I can feel my own magical power together with Yuna-oneesan¡¯s.¡± (FIna)

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯m letting go¡± (Yuna)

    I let go of both of their hands.

    ¡°Glow!¡±

    ¡°Glow.¡±

    Both of their hands shone brightly.

    ¡°Somehow, I think I understand.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I think I can collect magic by myself this time.¡± (Fina)

    This time, without help, they tried using light magic alone.

    I can¡¯t see their faces, but I can tell they¡¯re concentrating.

    ¡°Glow!¡±

    ¡°Glow.¡±

    Their hands glowed as they both activated their magic.

    ¡°I did it. It¡¯s brighter than before.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes. But my light is dimmer than yours, Noa-sama. Is it because of magic power?¡± (Fina)

    Indeed, Fina¡¯s light looked a little dimmer.

    Since they casted light magic in a dark ce, it was easy topare the brightness.

    ¡°Magic is important, but isn¡¯t there also a difference in the image?¡± (Yuna)

    I have them erase their light magic. Then I imagined a dim light. My bear puppet glowed dimly.

    ¡°It¡¯s darker than our light.¡± (Noa)

    It¡¯s a brightness that was easy on the eyes, which should be called the light of fireflies.

    Next, it glowed bright when I gathered magic power in my white bear puppet.

    ¡°It¡¯s dazzling.¡± (Fina)

    Fina and Noa covered their eyes with their hands.

    The white bear puppet glowed so brightly that it illuminated the entire room.

    ¡°There is a possibility that the amount of magic power is small, but you can also adjust the brightness with your image.¡± (Yuna)

    By the way, I do not know the difference in the amount of magic power between these two types of light magic. I have more magical power than others. Therefore, I cannot perceive the difference. It¡¯s the same as using a drop or two of water from a bucket filled with water.

    ¡°For the time being, practice gathering magical power and imagine a bright light.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know which one theyck, so I made them practice both. Either way, both were important for using magic.

    They replied ¡°yes¡±, and both of them began practicing silently.

    But I¡¯m d both of them can use magic. Now I won¡¯t bebeled ipetent as an educator.

    ¡°Ha~a, it¡¯s brighter than before. But not as bright as Yuna-oneesan did.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°But it¡¯s still brighter than what we did earlier.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was right, and they were also doing this in a dark room, so it was easy to see the difference in brightness.

    The light magic¡¯s brightness was intensifying a littlepared to the earlier one.

    The image training was important. The rity of an image depends on what you know.

    In my former world, there was more light than in this world.

    Living in the city, I could see the light everywhere I looked outside. Like the car lights and all kinds of blinding lights.

    It¡¯s the same as the inhabitants of this world being unable to use magic they¡¯ve never seen before. I don¡¯t think most people can imagine electric shock magic.

    I think it¡¯s the same thing.

    However, in the current situation, I¡¯m at a loss as to whether they¡¯ve gotten better at gathering magic power or at visualising their magic.

    ¡°Can we keep the amount of magic constant?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t fine-tune things like that. I¡¯m just kind of able to gather magic power.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Me too. I can¡¯t do such minor details.¡± (Fina)

    Well, so am I.

    When I use magic, I collect magic power and use magic in a very generic manner. I don¡¯t do things such as only using 10 MP magic points because it¡¯s light magic or 20 MP because it¡¯s fire.

    They also gather magic power and use it as they see fit.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s count numbers.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Numbers?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Use light magic by gathering magic for five seconds. Then you should be able to feel the magic to some extent constantly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see, certainly.¡± (Noa)

    Sometimes expert mages can gather magic power instantly, but with two novices, I think it should be just fine to just have a taste of it. Besides, if they gathered magic power quickly, that¡¯d be a good thing.

    ¡°But, constantly feeling the gathering of magical power¡­¡± (Fina)

    Then they practiced light magic over and over again.

    They were both activating their light magic faster, and the light that appeared also got brighter with each attempt.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for today. You must be tired from using magic you are not used to.¡± (Yuna)

    When I defeated the Kraken, I had an experience of copsing due to the excessive use of magic power. I was exhausted. I don¡¯t know how much magic power these two have, and I don¡¯t know how much they used. So I can¡¯t let them push themselves too hard.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s head back to the room and have Lara make some tea.¡± (Noa)

    We left the dark room and moved to Noa¡¯s room, where Lara-san made tea.

    I wonder if I should prepare some sacred tree tea.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Both of them are able to use magic without incident.

    Around August 7th (Wednesday), the book (includingics) work should be settled.

    I think I¡¯ll be able to return to normal after that.

    <b>[</b>Announcement.<b>]</b>

    Volume 1 of Kuma is included in Kindle Unlimited unlimited reading on Amazon and Kindle. If you are a subscriber, I would appreciate it if you could read it.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thank you to everyone who reports typos to me. I cannot reply to you, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 566

    <h4>Chapter 566</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Surprises Cliff</b>

    In themon room, I had Lara-san brew tea from the leaves of the Sacred Tree, and while we were taking a break, Cliff came in.

    ¡°How¡¯s the magic lesson? It must be difficult.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s challenging. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I don¡¯t have enough magical power to gather or because I don¡¯t have enough knowledge to visualize, so I can¡¯t cast light magic as bright as Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered with a slightly depressed expression.

    However, on the contrary, Cliff had a surprised expression on his face.

    ¡°Wait a minute. I wasn¡¯t expecting that. Are you already able to use magic?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Even if I say I can use magic, it¡¯s just about this much.¡± (Noa)

    Noa asks Lara-san to close the curtains to darken the room. The room bes darker, though not as dark as the basement.

    Noa then held her pendant, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

    And her right hand holding the pendant glowed.

    It¡¯s not dazzling, but it¡¯s not dim, either. It¡¯s just the correct brightness when going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± (Cliff)

    Perhaps he¡¯s disappointed thinking this was just the extent or something?

    ¡°It¡¯s just the beginning. She¡¯s still learning.¡± (Yuna)

    I defended Noa.

    We¡¯re just getting started. Learning magic is not something that anyone can easily do as if learning to breathe.

    ¡°What are you talking about? You cannot learn magic in just a day, not to mention half a day. How to gather magic power, and how to process the image. It takes time to get used to it. It takes time to grasp the trigger.¡± (Cliff)

    Apparently, he was surprised that she was able to use magic.

    Certainly, Noa had said something like that. But I guess that¡¯s not the case because the two of them could use it immediately.

    ¡°Even if you say it like that, both of them were able to use it right away.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, Cliff looked at Fina.

    ¡°Miss Fina too?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s a bit dimmer than Noa-sama¡¯s.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°May I see it?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Etto, yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina took the ring from her pocket, wore it on her index finger, closed her eyes just as Noa did, and concentrated on using her light magic.

    Fina¡¯s hand shone.

    After they showed their magic, Lara-san opened the curtains with perfect timing.

    ¡°Yuna. How did you teach them?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I just taught them what Noa told me.¡± (Yuna)

    He looked at Noa to confirm.

    ¡°Yes. Usually, a person who can use magic holds the other person¡¯s hand and makes them remember the sensation of magic power. Yuna-san just did exactly that. Was I wrong?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong. But as I mentioned, it takes a few days to feel the magic. And even if you can feel magic, you will have difficulty gathering it. And even if you can gather magic power, you¡¯d still have difficulty visualizing magic to be cast. So I couldn¡¯t believe you could learn to the point of casting a magic spell in half a day.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°So then, that means both of you are adept in magic.¡± (Yuna)

    Judging from Cliff¡¯s conversation with Noa, the method I taught the two of them was themon method. In other words, it wasn¡¯t a unique teaching method, and it wasn¡¯t like I was drawing out their potential with bear magic. Well, they don¡¯t have that kind of magic or skill to begin.

    That means they both had a talent for magic from the very start. That made me happy.

    ¡°Yuna-san¡¯s magic moved through my body, so I could just feel my magic right away. I¡¯m sure Yuna-san was very good at channeling her magic.¡± (Noa)

    Fina nodded at Noa¡¯s words.

    I¡¯m happy to hear that, but you won¡¯t get anything by praising me.

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯ve learned how to use magic, that¡¯s good. But from here on out, your growth will depend on the amount of magic you have and your ability to visualize magic. You have a long way to go to be a full-fledged magician.¡± (Cliff)

    Certainly, magic would change depending on the total amount of magic power you have, the amount of magic you can gather in one point, and the power of your imagination.

    Sometimes there were characters in manga and novels that had a lot of magic power but could not use magic themselves. If any of the following wascking; the amount of magic power one has, gathering magic power, or the capacity to imagine, that person wouldn¡¯t be able to cast magic, and if they were weak in any of these areas, the magic would also be weak. It¡¯s a narrow path to thread on to be able to use strong magic. And the one who has honed all of them would be an excellent magician.

    But they have just taken their first step into the world of magic. From now on, because I use magic with cheat equipment, I think we should proceed step by step. Still, I can¡¯t talk big because I use magic with cheat equipment.

    ¡°So where am I going with this?¡± (Yuna)

    We didn¡¯t talk about that part, that¡¯s why I asked. For now, I would like to have a goal.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told Noa, but only to the extent that she can do it. Magic is not something you can just tell someone to do, and there is magic that she¡¯s not good at. She has to find out what she¡¯s good or bad at as she works with her magic.¡± (Cliff)

    Certainly, people have strengths and weaknesses. During the magic exchange session, students also had clear strengths and weaknesses.

    ¡°Father, did you perhaps send me to the magic exchange that Oneesama attended so I could see various kinds of magic?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s not good to stick to one magic. You might get fixed ideas and not be able to use other magic. You get to see various kinds of magic at the magic exchange meeting, so you learn a lot about magic visualization.¡± (Cliff)

    Indeed, fire magices in many forms. There were fireballs, arrows, mes that cling to you, and so on.

    That magical event was probably the best way to practice visualizing.

    ¡°In that case, we should have taken Fina with us.¡± (Noa)

    I agree with that. It would have been a learning experience for Fina, who wants to use water magic, to see it.

    But, in Fina¡¯s case, was it enough to produce the water needed for dismantling work?

    Then Cliff, having heard what we had to say, left the room, and we also concluded our magic lesson for the day. Noa looked disappointed, but it was not a good idea to overdo it, and it was only the first day.

    I reminded Noa and Fina not to use magic for the rest of the day.

    In the current situation, we need to know how much magic they could restore, so it would be better not to overuse magic.

    Fina and I left the mansion, promising to return tomorrow.

    As I walked Fina home, I asked her what I wanted to ask while walking.

    ¡°How can you use the bear phone? You said you can¡¯t gather magic, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s the same as using other magic stones. If I touch and imagine it, I can talk to you, Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then you weren¡¯t intentionally pouring magic power into it, were you?¡± (Yuna)

    It seems to be the same as the light switch in the room.

    When you touch the magic stone, it¡¯ll pass through the magic line and light up the room. The tunnels in Mereera were simr.

    But the bear phone needs to connect with the other bear phone by adding images of ¡°connecting¡± and ¡°talking¡±.

    Think again about magical power.

    Magic was a mysterious thing the more I thought about it. I used to use it as such in games, and in this world, I used it as something like I did in games without paying attention to it. Until now, I had never thought about what magic power was.

    Still, is magical power close to static electricity?

    Even if you have static electricity in your body, you cannot feel it normally. Even if you try it, you cannot gather it intentionally. Of course, if there¡¯s a medium, it¡¯ll be possible.

    When you think about it, magic may be simr to static electricity.

    Thinking like that does not mean there¡¯s an answer, or I cane up with one. There¡¯s no use in thinking too deeply about magic. It¡¯s not that there¡¯s anything wrong with it, so there is no need to worry about the details.

    The next day, I came to Noa¡¯s house with Fina. And just like yesterday, we practiced light magic in the dark basement room.

    ¡°It¡¯s brighter than it was yesterday.¡± (Noa)

    It certainly is brighter than yesterday.

    ¡°Noa-sama, you¡¯re amazing.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You haven¡¯t practiced or anything since yesterday, have you?¡± (Yuna)

    Cliff has also warned her not to use magic too much.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked away and gave an obvious look.

    ¡°You did, didn¡¯t you¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, I did use it, but I didn¡¯t practice. I was just happy to be able to use magic at night when I went to bed, so I just used a little bit of it.¡± (Noa)

    When Noa spoke honestly, Fina also opened her mouth.

    ¡°Well, actually, I was so happy that I also used magic in front of Mom. I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Well, it amazed me when I cast a magic spell for the first time in the game world. I really felt like a mage.

    Because mes and watere out of my hands. I will never forget how impressed I was at that moment. So I understand how happy Noa and Fina are to be able to cast a magic spell for the first time. So I can¡¯t really scold them.

    ¡°Just do it in moderation.¡± (Yuna)

    They both replied.

    ¡°Yuna-san, light magic is fine, but is it okay to use other magic?¡± (Noa)

    I need to check the other magic to see which attributes they¡¯re good at. But it¡¯s only the second day. I think they should practice light magic a little more.

    ¡°For now, we will practice light magic. Light magic seems to be the best way to practice gathering magic power and imagery.¡± (Yuna)

    And unlike other magic, it¡¯s easy to practice.

    ¡°Okay, but how bright do I need it to be?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Hmm, If you can do this much, you¡¯ll pass.¡± (Yuna)

    I created a dazzling light. The bear¡¯s face glowed brightly like a re.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it¡¯s too bright.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Fina covered their eyes with their hands.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Besides, I don¡¯t need to use such bright magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s useful. And I¡¯d rather you two learn this magic first than other magic.¡± (Yuna)

    I put out the light

    ¡°But why?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If anyone attacked you, you can use this magic to blind them.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s amon technique to block an opponent¡¯s vision with a blinding sh of light. Even in my former world, shlights were an effective tool. Whether it¡¯s night or day, if they suddenly received a blinding sh of light in their eyes, they would close their eyes, and yet it would not restore their vision immediately. On the subject of attacking sight, I think it¡¯s effective for both people and monsters.

    However, if you overdo it, you may blind your opponent permanently, but if you care that much about your attacker, you can¡¯t use magic.

    First of all, it¡¯s more important to protect yourself.

    The best thing, of course, is not to be in that situation in the first ce.

    ¡°Certainly, it¡¯s so bright that you can¡¯t keep your eyes open, we can escape that way.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You two are adorable, you just have to be careful.¡± (Yuna)

    They will grow up to be beautiful and pretty. There¡¯s no need to have self-defense magic to protect themselves.

    ¡°So it won¡¯t be a waste of time to learn it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I will do my best.¡± (Fina)

    They nodded obediently and continued practicing light magic.

    But next time, I¡¯ll have them practice other magic as well.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    I finished working on volume 13 of the book and volume 3 of the manga. (It will be released on August 30.)

    The only thing left to do is the final confirmation of the store perks, so I think I¡¯m good to go.

    But next, I¡¯ll have to work on volume 14 little by little.

    And the covers for book volume 13 and manga volume 3 have been released.

    In the book are Yuna and Karina. In the manga are Yuna and Fina.

    Both are cute.

    The images are published in activity reports and on the author¡¯s Twitter below. It¡¯s also published on Amazon and others, so please take a look.

    There are store benefits again this time. If we know the store location, we will report it in the activity report, so please be patient.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thank you to those of you who always report typos. I apologize for not being able to reply.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 567

    <h4>Chapter 567</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Teaches Magic Part 3</b>

    Fina and Noa practiced light magic as hard as they could.

    It¡¯s the right choice to go with light magic when learning magic for the first time.

    Fire magic was too dangerous for beginners, and with other magic, it was difficult to tell the strength just by looking at it. But light magic could be judged by its brightness, and easy to practice changing its shape.

    The best thing about light magic was that anyone could practice it anywhere.

    ¡°Yuna-san. Let me see it once more.¡± (Noa)

    I showed them light magic several times. Noa and Fina watched it and tried to learn light magic from me many times.

    As Cliff said, the best way to visualize it was to see it. Therefore, I changed the color of the light ording to the intensity of the light so that it would be helpful. The colors varied from red, blue, green, yellow, white, and pink.

    ¡°The brightness of the light is the same, but there are so many different colors of light.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s like looking through the light on stained ss.¡± (Fina)

    The light was not one color. Depending on the image, it could be red, blue, or green. I used this when I set off fireworks in the town of Mereera.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful. I like the blue and green ones. But what is the point of changing the color of the light?¡± (Noa)

    Is there anything like a signal re in this world?

    Or maybe they don¡¯t know because they are just children?

    I had never seen a signal re, even in my former world. I only know about them from knowledge. It¡¯s not something you see that often anyway.

    ¡°Noa, Fina. It doesn¡¯t have much to do with you, but you can use it to send a signal to people who are far away. For example, when searching for a monster, you can raise a red light to the sky when you find a monster. Otherwise, you can shoot a blue one, or if you decide on other colors, you can convey the meaning to people far away, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. Indeed.¡± (Noa)

    Noa nodded her head in admiration.

    Besides, they would get bored with practicing only changing brightness intensity. I think it¡¯s better to incorporate other imagery exercises so that they can study magic while having fun.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think there will be a chance for the two of you to use it, but I think it¡¯s good for practicing visualization.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s a great learning experience. Besides, I would like to make bear lights in different colors.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Maybe Shuri will like it if I show it to her.¡± (Fina)

    The two began practicing changing colors as well as brightness intensity.

    They happily practiced their magic. They praised and helped each other, and their magic grew.

    I enjoyed their growth, so I also incorporated exercises to change the shapes while we were at it.

    The ultimate goal was to make the light emerge in the shape and color of their choice.

    I think these two could do it.

    Over the next few days, Fina and Noa were able to make the light brighter or dimmer, with various colors of light and also took form in different shapes.

    ¡°Fufu, the bear is glowing.¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Fina have different colored bear-shaped lights floating around them.

    Getting up to this point was surprisingly tricky. Many times they forced me to create lights of various colors and shapes. And, of course, bear shaped ones too.

    But thanks in part to their hard work, they progressed quickly.

    The most challenging thing they had to do was to release the magic from their hands. They couldn¡¯t do it immediately, no matter how often I showed it. They had difficulty releasing the power from their bodies.

    I¡¯ve said this before, but it¡¯s the same as being told to release static electricity, which you can¡¯t normally do.

    But now, colorful bear-shaped lights were floating above them.

    Now they could gather magic power, change magic power with images, and emanate magic power out of their hands. They were now able to do these three basics. It would be difficult to cast any other magic if one of these were missing.

    ¡°Now that both of you have passed the light magic. Shall we start practicing a different kind of magic element tomorrow?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Alright!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    Noa and Fina looked happy.

    The next day, we came to the garden, where we practiced magic in the beginning. This is because practicing other magic elements cannot be done indoors.

    ¡°Noa, do you know of any other exercises?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Noa-sensei how to teach magic. It¡¯s better to teach Noa the way she knows how to teach rather than in a self-learned and inappropriate way.

    ¡°Etto, magic is made with images. You look at or touch the object of the magic we are working with. If it¡¯s fire magic, you look at the fire, if it¡¯s water magic, you touch the water, if it¡¯s wind magic, you feel the wind, if it¡¯s earth magic, you touch the earth.¡± (Noa)

    It¡¯s the same thing as with light magic.

    Seeing and touching things makes it easier to form an image of the subject.

    On the other hand, it¡¯s difficult to imagine something you have never seen or touched before.

    If I were to ask them to try to imagine lightning, they would not be able to do it. I know what lightning was like from TVs and books. That¡¯s why I can visualize it. But these two don¡¯t know what lightning is, so they can¡¯t imagine it.

    If spells and chanting triggered this, it wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Unfortunately, magic in this world are not clear-cut chanted spells.

    ¡°So, which magic element do you two learn first?¡± (Yuna)

    From this point on, they would practice magic separately. Magic they liked and wanted to learn was often easier to visualize and use sessfully. While magic that they don¡¯t like or don¡¯t want to learn would not be easy to use because they don¡¯t have the motivation to do it.

    ¡°Of course, earth magic. That way, I can make a lot of bears.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I want to learn water magic.¡± (Fina)

    Their hopes seem to have not changed since the beginning.

    They practiced each magic ording to the method Noa said.

    Noa ced her hand on the ground, and Fina ced her hand in a bucket of water, each practicing with their visualization.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first, then.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at the ground, touched it, and imagined it.

    The magic in Noa¡¯s hand changes and turns to earth.

    ¡°I¡¯m on the ground, but something¡¯s not right.¡± (Noa)

    Dirt fell from the palm of her hand.

    ¡°First, you should make it round like a ball of light.¡± (Yuna)

    I showed Noa how to make a round lump of earth and hand it to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the image of turning the soil into a ball, you also need to get the image of hardening it, and I think you can do it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try it again.¡± (Noa)

    Noa resumes her practice, getting her hands dirty.

    I looked at Fina.

    Fina took her hand out of the bucket of water and closed her eyes. After a little concentration, the water flowed down from Fina¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I did it!¡± (Fina)

    If it¡¯s just a change, we can both do it. Now it¡¯s just a matter of what we do from here.

    Both can do it if it¡¯s just to change properties. What do we do from here?

    I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s useful when dismantling, but I don¡¯t know the details because I can¡¯t dismantle anything.

    ¡°I would like to be able to control the flow of water and adjust the density of the water. If I can do that when I¡¯m dismantling, it will be useful in many ways.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then this kind of practice might be good.¡± (Yuna)

    I created water and made it wiggle like a snake.

    ¡°That¡¯s the magic I saw at the magic exchange!¡± (Noa)

    Noa saw my magic and immediately recognized it.

    Yes, this is the water magic she saw at the exchange. If Fina has never seen it, all I have to do is show it to her.

    The water from my bear puppet moved like a snake and stopped in front of Fina.

    ¡°Fina, you¡¯ll do it this way. If you can control it like this, I think you can control the form of water to be denser or not.¡± (Yuna)

    If she can control it like that, that means she can handle water magic. She should also be able to control water strength. Probably¡­

    If she can¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to find another way for her to practice.

    ¡°Yes, I will try it.¡± (Fina)

    Fina scooped the water with her hand, but it fell straight to the ground.

    ¡°You can do it, try remembering when you used light magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    After Fina replied, she tried it again.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please give me some tips. How can I make the soil hard?¡± (Noa)

    Noa had been working on her magic for a while now, she seemed to be able to make soil but couldn¡¯t harden it.

    When I taught the new adventurer girl, I told her if she didn¡¯t make it hard, she can¡¯t hit the monster and defeat it.

    I think the level of this magic depends on how hard and powerful one can make it.

    Well, Noa was aiming for bear statues. But even that had to be solid or it would fall apart.

    ¡°Once you make the shape, you have to solidify it with magic power. It¡¯s like tightening it with magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa didn¡¯t mind getting her hands dirty, so she grabbed a handful of dirt, grasped it in her own hands, and tried to make a ball.

    ¡°Squeeze it with magic, not with your hands.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa practiced imaging it over and over until she seeded.

    ¡°I did it!¡± (Noa)

    A clump of dirt the size of a golf ball formed in Noa¡¯s palm.

    But the moment Noa gripped it, it crumbled easily.

    ¡°U~u¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s still not hard enough. But you can form it now, you¡¯re doing well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied and resumed practicing her magic.

    Fina also continued practicing water maniption.

    And by the end of the day, Noa was able to clump the soil enough that it doesn¡¯t crumble when touched, and Fina can even control the water moving around in the palm of her hand.

    But as we moved on, they shouldn¡¯t be able to do it as easily.

    I think therger the amount of magic power you gather, the harder it is to handle. So, the power of the magic changes, but it¡¯s natural that the size of the magic power changes between creating a small me and arge me.

    This might be where the difference in the magician¡¯s level and innate talentes into y.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    They are learning magic well.

    Will they finish practicing magic in the next issue? I hope so.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 568

    <h4>Chapter 568</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Teaches Magic Part 4</b>

    ¡°Fufu, so many bears.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was delighted to see the little bears lined up in the yard.

    ¡°But their expression is weird. Even though Yuna-san¡¯s bear is cute.¡± (Noa)

    Noapared the bear she made with the ones I made.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. The bears Noa made are cute too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But, as expected, Yuna-san¡¯s bear is cuter. Don¡¯t you think so too, Fina?¡± (Noa)

    Noa showed both bears to Fina.

    ¡°Etto, it¡¯s true that Yuna-oneechan¡¯s bears have a slightly cuter face.¡± (Fina)

    Fina alsopared the bears and gave her honest opinion. I don¡¯t think she would have said such a thing before, but that¡¯s how close she has be to Noa.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I don¡¯t have the image down to the finest detail?¡± (Noa)

    In my case, I don¡¯t have that image in my mind. Maybe, but the bear¡¯s expression depends on the caster¡¯s emotion. If I think of a cute bear, it¡¯ll be a cute bear, and if I imagine an angry bear, it¡¯ll be an angry bear.

    That may be thanks to the bear equipment.

    ¡°But after a while, it will crumble, which I¡¯m having difficulty with right now.¡± (Noa)

    Unfortunately, the bears Noa created crumbled the next day.

    ¡°It¡¯s still weak, and maybe it doesn¡¯t have enough magical power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, I need to practice more!¡± (Noa)

    Noa squeezed her hand and struck a pose of trying her best.

    And Fina can now freely manipte water as long as there¡¯s a water source nearby.

    The range was about 1 meter, but beyond that, she still couldn¡¯t do it well, whether it was because of the magic or because it was difficult to visualize. Incidentally, Fina also practiced making bears with water, as if imitating Noa.

    ¡°As expected, I also have to dress up as a bear to master the bear, after all.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Cliff will get angry, so stop it.¡± (Yuna)

    If she did that, Cliff would be pissed. Eleanora-san mightugh, but I¡¯m the only one who can endure the shame.

    While we were having a leisurely conversation, Cliff came into the garden.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Father, look. I made a lot of bears.¡± (Noa)

    Noa opened her arms to show Cliff the bear statues she made today. The ground was lined with palm-sized, bear-shaped y figurines.

    ¡°As expected, it was all about bears¡­¡­¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff made an exasperated expression.

    I understand that feeling, but we can¡¯t help it because the person herself was motivated. Images were important for magic. You could say she learned magic because she likes bears.

    Cliff crouched down and picked up one of the bears.

    ¡°But still, you¡¯re doing well.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I practiced hard.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Even so, it isn¡¯t strong enough, is it?¡± (Cliff)

    The bear crumbled as Cliff put pressure on his hand. Noa saw it and screamed.

    ¡°Father, what have you done!?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, I was just trying to confirm its hardness.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°But it¡¯s still a terrible thing to crush them!¡± (Noa)

    Noa puffed out her cheeks.

    She can¡¯t help it because, between being broken naturally and being broken intentionally. The former can¡¯t be helped, but thetter left a feeling that it wouldn¡¯t break.

    ¡°Then, you have to make it so that it won¡¯t break.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Someday, I will make a bear that will never break.¡± (Noa)

    Noa clenched her fists and dered so.

    One day this garden will be full of bears, but I want to say it wasn¡¯t my fault.

    ¡°But still, you¡¯ve learned magic faster than I thought you would.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡¯s teaching method was excellent.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff already knew about the bear¡¯s light magic.

    He was astonished even then. But he was more amazed that the girls could create different colors of lights in the shape of a bear.

    ¡°I heard that talented people are not good at teaching others, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be always the case.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Talented?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many mages as talented as you.¡± (Cliff)

    It wasn¡¯t my talent, but the bear equipment God gave me. Noa and Fina had the natural talent to learn magic so quickly.

    ¡°So what about the other magic types?¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff asked Noa.

    ¡°We just changed things.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Let me see it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°U~u, I understand. But please don¡¯tugh.¡± (Noa)

    Noa showed Cliff some non-earth magic.

    The fire was just enough to burn a little, and the water was just enough to flood her hands. The wind was just enough to make her hair sway a little.

    It¡¯s not even close to a footnotepared to the students¡¯ magic meet. There¡¯s also a reason why I have yet to teach them in earnest. Noa and Fina¡¯s growth were just beginning.

    But seeing Noa¡¯s magic, Cliff smiled and praised her.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I need to see. The rest you will have to learn on your own. Yuna can teach you the basics of how to gather magic power and how to create images. But beyond that, it depends on your magical power and preferences. Take your time. Learn the magic you like.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff said to Noa, then looked at me.

    ¡°Yuna, thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. Noa is beginning to understand magic. But now, you can let her learn slowly.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We can¡¯t let magic lessons take up all her time. I told Noa that once she learned the basics, she should also study other things.¡± (Cliff)

    Apparently, she neglected other things due to magic practice.

    ¡°U~u, I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to learn more about magic from Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because she will neglect her other studies. We must moderate magic lessons.¡± (Cliff)

    Magic is one of many things she has to study.

    ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, I don¡¯t want to teach others magic too much.

    The rest were all dangerous magics. Whether fire or wind magic, if it became strong enough, it would burn its opponent or shred them to pieces. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for me to teach that.

    Of course, all magic depends on how the caster uses it, but it would still be dangerous.

    If she needs it after this, she can learn it by herself.

    That may be after she went to the academy or sooner.

    But I am sure Cliff and Eleanora-san will make that decision.

    Although, if she asked me to teach her again, I would do so.

    ¡°Thank you for today, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fina, it was fun practicing magic together. Let¡¯s practice together again. At that time, I will also be able to use water magic even better.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I had a great time practicing with you, Noa-sama. I will also practice making bears using earth magic.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a lot of bears together!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    They held each other¡¯s hands and made a promise.

    It¡¯s a heartwarming scene.

    I could enjoy a leisurely life without fighting monsters for the first time in a long time. I had been caught up in a lot of trouble recently. It was fun to rx with Fina and Noa once in a while.

    When I dropped Fina off at her home that evening, Tirumina-san invited me to dinner. She said it was to thank me for teaching Fina magic.

    asionally, I am treated to a feast on their table, and I ept the generosity with open arms.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, thank you for teaching Fina magic.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°This is nothingpared to what Fina gave me.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina has done a lot for me since I came to this world. This much is nothing.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s always helping me out.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true, Fina. You¡¯ve helped me in so many ways.¡± (Yuna)

    If it weren¡¯t for Fina, I don¡¯t know if I would have enjoyed living in this world. It¡¯s possible that I would have been a shut-in. It¡¯s because I met Fina that I am here now.

    ¡°So how much magic has Fina learned?¡± (Gentz)

    Gentz-san asked.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask Fina to show you her magic instead?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because Yuna-oneesan told me not to use magic after practicing the whole day.¡± (Fina)

    Oh, right, I did say that. I heard that Fina kept her word. She is a good girl.

    ¡°Fina, why don¡¯t you show them then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t feel tired, you should be fine. If you use too much magic power though, you will faint from fatigue, so be careful.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Based on my experience, no doubt about it.¡± (Yuna)

    I felt exhausted when I defeated the Kraken, even though I only used magic power.

    I would have copsed there if Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had not carried me.

    ¡°So be careful not to use too much magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Or maybe you should find out your limits for once?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, don¡¯t let my daughter do anything unreasonable.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± (Yuna)

    I was half serious when I said it¡¯s good to know your limits. But Fina, who was just learning magic, might not want to push it.

    After the meal, someone darkened the room. It¡¯ll be easier to see the light magic. Fina gathered magic power and casted light magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s Bear-san!¡± (Shuri)

    A light in the shape of a bear floated on Fina¡¯s palm.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have to make it into a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Together with Noa-sama, I was practicing making bears, and it was easy to imagine.¡± (FIna)

    Ah, it¡¯s the same way I can easily imagine bears. If she only imagined bears all the time, she could make bears without much trouble.

    ¡°But, you¡¯ve already be able to use such splendid light magic.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Oneechan, you¡¯re awesome.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing. But I¡¯m not going to allow you to be an adventurer.¡± (Gentz)

    Gentz-san said to Fina like a real father.

    Although, I agree with that.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be an adventurer, so don¡¯t worry. If I became an adventurer, I think Mom would be sad.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    Fina¡¯s birth father was an adventurer who died. So she knew that if she became an adventurer, Tirumina-san would be worried.

    ¡°Fina, you¡¯re so sweet.¡± (Yuna)

    I pat Fina¡¯s head, who¡¯s standing next to me.

    Then Fina surprised everyone by creating multicolored bear lights.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    This marks the end of the magic lesson for now.

    Sometime in the future, I¡¯d like to write about the magical appearances of the two as they¡¯ve grown.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Episode 31 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been published on Comic PASH!.

    It¡¯s a story about an orphanage. Please check it.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who always reports typos. I am not able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 569

    <h4>Chapter 569</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Making Fina Use Her Birthday Present.</b>

    ¡°Speaking of which, Fina. You have the tickets to go out with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that I gave you for your birthday, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I have kept it safe and secured.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No, use it.¡± (Yuna)

    As I had imagined it, it would stay in her storage forever.

    So I will force her to use it.

    ¡°Tirumina-san. Can I borrow Fina for a few days?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Tirumina)

    As usual, permission is granted immediately.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be borrowing Fina for a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U~u, again, you just decide on your own.¡± (Fina)

    No, if we don¡¯t decide for you, Fina, you will be hesitant, and the conversation won¡¯t progress, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    In the case of Fina, it¡¯s better to be more forceful.

    ¡°Then, since we don¡¯t have any magic practice, starting tomorrow, we¡¯re going out with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, Shuri opened her mouth enviously.

    ¡°U~u, Oneechan, you have it nice. Yuna-oneechan taught you magic, and you¡¯re going out with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan. I also want to go out with Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    It was true that I had been spending a lot of time with Fina recently. When Shuri gave me such a sad look, I was reluctant to leave her behind.

    ¡°Shuri, don¡¯t be selfish. This is your sister¡¯s birthday present.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san appeases Shuri.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, isn¡¯t it okay to bring Shuri with us?¡± (Fina)

    ¡° Well, I mean, it would be nice if Tirumina-san gave permission.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if I say yes, the final permissiones from the parent, Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Mom¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    When Fina looked at Tirumina-san, Tirumina-san looked at Shuri.

    ¡°Do you promise to be a good girl and listen to what Yuna-chan and your sister tells you to?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes, I will.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°You won¡¯t slip away from the two and go somewhere on your own?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry because I¡¯m watching her closely.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be watching over Shuri, too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Both of you are sweet. Shuri, don¡¯t cause trouble for them.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Shuri)

    With Tirumina-san¡¯s permission, we decided that Shuri would also go with us.

    There was only one person, however, who was listening with a nk stare.

    ¡°Why are you not asking me?¡± (Gentz)

    I heard Gentz-san muttering in a small voice.

    Because Tirumina-san holds a higher position than you, Gentz-san, I wouldn¡¯t say that to the person himself, though.

    The next day. We lined up in front of the bear gate.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were also there.

    ¡°Now then, Lady Fina, may I have your ticket, please?¡± (Yuna)

    I try to look a bit like the receptionist-neesan, and Fina and Shuriugh at me.

    ¡°Yes, right here.¡± (Fina)

    Fina giggled and handed me a piece of paper.

    When I received the piece of paper I gave her on her birthday, I stamped a picture of Fina and Shuri riding on Swaying Bear. It¡¯s the ticket to go out with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, where are we going?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not a round-the-world trip, but I thought I¡¯d take you back to some of the ces I¡¯ve been to.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, there were ces Fina had never been before.

    ¡°First stop, the Elven Forest.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the bear gate in my home and connected it to the bear gate in the elf forest.

    When I opened the doors of the bear gate, there stood a smiling girl with light green hair and slightly long ears.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin. Have you been waiting for us?¡± (Yuna)

    Right, there was an elf girl, Ruimin, in front of us.

    Yesterday, I wanted to know about Ruimin and Mumroot-san¡¯s ns, so I used my bear phone to confirm with Ruimin. After confirming they had no ns, I told Ruimin we wereing.

    ¡°I knew you wereing, so I came to pick you up, Fina-chan. It¡¯s been a while. And Shuri, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ruimin-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un, Ruimin-neechan.¡± (Shuri)

    Even though she had only met her once, she seemed to remember her name. She¡¯s better than me, who tends to forget people¡¯s names.

    ¡°Also, it¡¯s been a while Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin patted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s faces. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also looked happy.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re still dressed as a bear.¡± (Ruimin)

    Well, this is my everyday attire.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be there to greet us, though.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I woke up early and waited all day.¡± (Ruimin)

    No way, you¡¯re not waiting here from sunrise, are you?

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t think there was a bear door here.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°We don¡¯t know what will happen in the sacred tree barrier. So I moved itst night.¡± (Yuna)

    After confirming Mumroot-san and Ruimin¡¯s schedule, I set up the bear gate outside the sacred tree¡¯s barriertest night. As a guide, I must make the proper preparations ahead of time.

    ¡°But thanks to that, I was able to wait in front of the door.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin seemed happy to surprise us.

    ¡°Happy birthday, Fina. I will show you around the vige today.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Ah, thank you. Did you tell her, Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    Fina timidly looked at me.

    When I talked with her on my bear phone, I told Ruimin that I would take Fina to the elf vige as one of her birthday presents.

    ¡°Yes, but was it bad?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked a little embarrassed. But she also looked happy.

    ¡°Now then, let me show you around my vige.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looked like she wanted to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I let her ride in front of me.

    ¡°Fluffy andfortable.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin embraced Hugging Bear as shey down forward.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked up then they started walking.

    ¡°But my vige on Fina¡¯s birthday? My vige has nothing, unlike the royal capital.¡± (Ruimin)

    What are you talking about?

    ¡°Ruimin, you¡¯re in this vige, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­Wait, me?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I thought Fina would want to see you.¡± (Yuna)

    Ruimin and Fina were good friends. They even used to talk to each other on the bear phone. So I let them meet for the first time in a while.

    ¡°Yes, I wanted to meet her. That¡¯s why I¡¯m grateful to you, Yuna-oneechan, for bringing me here. It¡¯s the best birthday present.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I am happy to see you too, Fina.¡± (Ruimin)

    It¡¯s good that they are close friends.

    ¡°Besides, there are some nice scenic spots in this vige, aren¡¯t there?¡± (Yuna)

    When I first came here, I built a bear house near a waterfall. The scenery at the top was also beautiful.

    For Ruimin, perhaps she has lived in the area for so long that its beautiful scenery has be so routine that she does not appreciate its value.

    The city has its urban beauty, and nature has its natural beauty.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. There are more beautiful sceneries out there. I will guide you.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin suggested we visit some of her rmended spots before going to the vige.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we keeping Mumroot-san waiting for us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If we get there by noon, we¡¯ll be fine. Besides, Yuna-san. If you go to the vige, you will be stuck there surrounded by children.¡± (Ruimin)

    Indeed, that would be the case. I yed with many children there. Some of them adored me, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were more popr. Considering that, I can¡¯t move easily whenever I go to that vige.

    ¡°So before we go to the vige, I¡¯ll take you to the ces I rmend.¡± (Ruimin)

    With a quick change of ns, we¡¯re on the move.

    Since we¡¯re riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it shouldn¡¯t take too long, so we should be fine.

    ¡°Beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Huge.¡± (Shuri)

    Arge, beautifulke spreads out before us.

    ¡°Theke at Land of Harmony was beautiful, but thiske is also beautiful.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    The water is crystal clear, and theke has a mysterious feel that makes sense when it¡¯s called the elvenke.

    ¡°If you put an axe in it, will it turn into a golden axe?¡± (Yuna)

    Like a beautiful water goddess with an axe will emerge from thatke or something?

    ¡°No way. Is there even such ake?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s a fairy tale from the ce where I used to live.¡± (Yuna)

    But wasn¡¯t that story about a river, not ake (pond)?

    I told them that fairy tale.

    ¡°Such a fairy tale.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that either.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s limited to where I lived.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a story from another world. So there¡¯s no way they would have heard about it.

    But we¡¯re in a different world, so instead of a goddess, there may likely be water spirits instead of a goddess.

    ¡°Still, good luckes to those who are honest.¡± (Yuna)

    However, the reality is not so sweet. It¡¯s said that good people are susceptible. I have heard stories of people being cheated out of their money because they trusted someone.

    Even so, I would like Fina and the others to see their dreams into reality.

    ¡°Then I must be a good girl because I got to meet Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°So did I.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Me too~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Why, is that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t met Yuna-san in Capital, I would have been in a lot of trouble. It¡¯s my greatest fortune to have met Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m d to meet Yuna-oneechan too.¡± (Shuri)

    Even Shuri followed Ruimin¡¯s lead and said something like that.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m d I was also able to meet Yuna-oneesan. If I hadn¡¯t met Yuna-oneesan, I would have died. And my Mom and Shuri would have been left alone too.¡± (Fina)

    That¡¯s true. But when she repeated it, somehow, it felt embarrassing.

    The words Fina said that she might have died if I hadn¡¯t been there are the heaviest.

    When I transmigrated into this world, I went in the direction of Fina without realizing it. That first step saved Fina and became the starting point of my life in this world.

    If I had walked in the opposite direction, I might have met someone else and had experienced apletely different otherworldly life. I might have saved someone else and been with that person instead. It¡¯s unthinkable now.

    Although I wonder if that¡¯s a good or bad thing.

    Still, there¡¯s one thing I can say.

    ¡°I was also lucky to meet Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    But the fact is, I feel happy right now.

    I am content with the present, even if there is other happiness and enjoyment.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    After studying magic, it¡¯s time to travel with Fina and Shuri.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> I wrote the information on the 13th volume of the book and the 3rd volume of the manga in the activity report, so please check it. You can also go to the publisher¡¯s homepage by clicking on each cover below.

    Thank you.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b> Until tomorrow, August 22, on Amazon and electronic Kindle,

    We are running a 50% off campaign for all [Shufuto Seikatsusha] products.

    [Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear], book versions, and manga are also covered up to thetest publications that are currently on sale, so please check it out.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you to everyone who has reported typos. I apologize for not being able to reply.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 570

    <h4>Chapter 570</h4>

    <strong>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Elven Vige Edition Part 1</strong>

    Then Ruimin led us to the river to see the waterfall.

    ¡°A lot of water is falling.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°So loud.¡± (Shuri)

    The waterfall had a drop height of about 50 meters. (This is only a visual measurement.)

    There¡¯s a lot of water and a lot of noise.

    ¡°The view from up there is beautiful, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°But go up there.¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s rocky and looks like it would be challenging to climb.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll carry you.¡± (Yuna)

    I quickly moved behind Fina and gave her a light foot strike. Fina lost her bnce and fell to the side. I reached out to her and held her in my arms.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s a princess carry.

    I could just set a bear gate up and down here, then go from it, but somehow I felt the urge to carry Fina in my arms and transport her instead.

    ¡°Hold on tight.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh, wait a minute.¡± (Fina)

    Nope, not going to wait.

    I climbed up the rocky hill with Fina in my arms. Fina was screaming in my arms, but I didn¡¯t care. It only took a few seconds. I reached the top of the waterfall.

    ¡°I¡¯m all right now.¡± (Fina)

    I lowered Fina to the ground, and she dropped to her knees and sat down.

    ¡°I told you to wait.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked a little angry, and her mouth was agape. That angry face was cute, too. Pretty girls are a blessing, aren¡¯t they? Although, if I got angry, she would be scared of me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But these things would be less scary if you just go all out.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s like bungee jumping. If you hesitate to jump, you will be even more scared and miss the right moment to jump.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll go get Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    I jumped off and grabbed Shuri in a princess carry as well.

    ¡°It was scary, but it was fun.¡± (Shuri)

    Apparently, all the jumping thrilled Shuri

    Then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear climbed up after me and arrived at the top of the waterfall. We left Ruimin at the bottom of the waterfall.

    ¡°Yuna-san! What about me?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin shouted from below the waterfall.

    ¡°Ruimin, you can climb on your own, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I also want Yuna-san to carry me.¡± (Ruimin)

    No, if you can climb it yourself, let¡¯s climb up on your own.

    However, in the end, I had to carry Ruimin as well.

    I carried Ruimin up the waterfall while Fina and Shuri enjoyed the view.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I can see miles from here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can see a vige over there.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s my vige.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin exined while looking at the vige.

    As Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear watched us from behind, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear reacted.

    Monsters?

    I quickly used my detection skills and found a human response from around the tree behind me.

    One thing thates to mind.

    ¡°Etto, Labta?¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to the tree while remembering the name.

    A few quiet moments have passed. Just as I am about to call out to him again, a tall, beautiful-looking elf emerges from behind a tree.

    What emerged was the person I imagined, Sanya-san¡¯s fianc¨¦e, Labta.

    ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t notice me this time.¡± (Labta)

    Apparently, he wanted revenge for the first time he noticed me following him when we first met.

    ¡°These kids have found you out.¡± (Yuna)

    I reached out to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on either side of me.

    ¡°If the bears notice me, it means I still have a long way to go.¡± (Labta)

    Isn¡¯t it impossible to gopletely unnoticed?

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible without some special skill, like covert magic or something.

    ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you were here, you guys would eventuallye to this ce.¡± (Labta)

    Apparently, we¡¯re Labta¡¯s first ¡®guests¡¯.

    ¡°Are we interrupting something?¡± (Yuna)

    Labta shook his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee here. Take your time.¡± (Labta)

    After saying that, Labta disappeared into the forest behind him.

    We¡¯re wee?

    I looked at Fina and the others, who were gazing at thendscape, unaware that Labta was there.

    ¡°It was breathtaking. Thank you, Ruimin-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Thank you, Ruimin-neechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you enjoyed it.¡± (Ruimin)

    The two were happy, and Ruimin looked ted.

    ¡°Well then, I think it¡¯s about time to go. Grandpa should be waiting for us, so I¡¯ll take you to the vige.¡± (Ruimin)

    Of course, I princess carried them down to the bottom of the waterfall.

    I got permission this time, though.

    Then we came to the vige.

    ¡°Yuna-san, if Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are around, I think it¡¯s going to be a big problem if the children see them, so maybe it¡¯s better to put them back in the gloves.¡± (Ruimin)

    It¡¯s certainly, as Ruimin says. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are popr with children.

    If they get caught, I will not be able to go to Mumroot-san¡¯s ce. I followed Ruimin¡¯s advice and repatriated Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°See youter, Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri waved her hand.

    After sending back Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we entered the vige.

    Fina and Shuri were looking at the scenery of the vige, which was different from both Crimonia and the capital. They made the houses of wood, and many residents were beautiful men and women.

    Because they¡¯re elves.

    As I was heading to Mumroot-san¡¯s house, I saw three girls ying in front of me.

    ¡°Oh, bear-oneechan!¡±

    One of the girls noticed.

    When one of them reacted, the others noticed and came to me.

    ¡°Hello.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±¡±Hello.¡±¡±¡±

    When I greeted the girls, they greeted me back.

    ¡°What about the ck bear and the white bear?¡±

    The girls ask for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    U~u, I¡¯m in trouble. Even without Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I¡¯m still caught.

    As I was wondering what to do, Ruimin helped me out.

    ¡°Yuna-san will go to Grandpa¡¯s ce right now, so don¡¯t trouble her.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Osa?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to show her to the vige chief right now. Besides, it¡¯s about time for lunch. Go back to your homes.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin spoke to the children in a big sisterly manner. With Ruimin¡¯s persuasion, the girls obediently return home.

    I¡¯m d it didn¡¯t turn out to be a big deal.

    ¡°Ruimin, thank you. You¡¯re the granddaughter of the chief. Are you going to be the next chief?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t be the chief. The chief will be my older sister or my younger brother La. When I grow up, I want to go to many ces like my sister.¡± (Ruimin)

    Did her wanderlust resemble Mumroot-san¡¯s younger days? If you think about it, that would mean that Ruimin was the same as Mumroot-san. Especially Sanya-san. Bloodlines were simr, after all, weren¡¯t they?

    We hurried to Mumroot-san¡¯s house to avoid being caught by the other children.

    Because of Ruimin¡¯s advice and the absence of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we could reach Mumroot-san¡¯s house without muchmotion.

    ¡°Grandpa! I¡¯ve brought Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    Without waiting for a reply, Ruimin invited us into the house, saying, ¡°Well then, pleasee inside¡±. We entered the house and moved to the usual room, where Mumroot-san was sitting on the carpet.

    ¡°Wee. I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the unexpected visit today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As I said before, you are always wee here. You cane whenever you like.¡± (Mumroot)

    When I tried to greet him politely, he stopped me with augh.

    Well, that makes me feel morefortable.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    I thanked him and introduced him to Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°You¡¯ve met Fina before, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah yes, from that time, it was the girl who was with the youngdy.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m Fina.¡±

    ¡°And this is her sister Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri.¡±

    They both said their names properly.

    ¡°I am Ruimin¡¯s grandfather, and also the chief of this vige, Mumroot. I¡¯ve heard about it from Ruimin, so take your time and enjoy the vige.¡± (Mumroot)

    As we greeted Mumroot-san, his wife, Bena-san, came over.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wee.¡± (Bena)

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± (Yuna)

    After greeting, I introduce Fina and Shuri.

    The two bowed slightly.

    ¡°They both look adorable. I made you some food, so please go ahead and feast.¡± (Bena)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    Thanks to Bena-san¡¯s kindness, we decided to have lunch with them.

    ¡°It was delicious.¡± (Fina)

    Some kids don¡¯t like vegetables. But both Fina and Shuri weren¡¯t picky, probably because they grew up with hardships. That¡¯s why they¡¯ll eat anything they can eat normally. It makes me happy to see it. Bena-san, who prepared the food, looked delighted when she saw the two enjoying the food.

    Then Bena-san went to wash the dishes.

    Fina tried to help but was politely refused because she was a guest.

    After confirming that Bena-san was cleaning up, I talked to Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Mumroot-san, as I¡¯ve mentioned earlier. It¡¯s Fina¡¯s birthday, and I¡¯m nning to take her to various ces. Would you like toe with us, Mumroot-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Me too?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san has a surprised expression because of the suddenness.

    ¡°After this, I¡¯m thinking of going to the royal capital, the Land of Harmony, the dwarven city, and then finally Dezerto.¡± (Yuna)

    I n to take her to the royal capital, the Land of Harmony, the city of the dwarves, and the city of Dezerto. I have not included the town of Mereera in the itinerary because it¡¯s close to Crimonia. But if Fina wants to go there, I¡¯ll include it.

    I don¡¯t have any ns for that area so it can be decided freely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have acquaintances in the dwarven city, but if you want to meet someone you haven¡¯t seen in a long time, like Sanya-san in the royal capital and Kagali-san in the Land of Harmony, this would be the chance to meet them. I¡¯m sure they want to see you too.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, I promised to take you there when we talked before. Above all, I have not thanked you for what you did for me in the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°Are you sure? Won¡¯t I get in the way?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about it, we can act separately. In the royal capital, while you¡¯re meeting Sanya-san, we¡¯ll tour the city, and while you¡¯re meeting Kagali-san, we¡¯ll take a walk in the city.¡± (Yuna)

    Mumroot-san pondered my words. Mumroot-san helped me when I subjugated the Orochi. I wanted to thank him for that. Actually, it might have been better to do this separately from Fina¡¯s birthday present, but if I go back and forth to distant towns many times, they might get suspicious of me. Moreover, when ites to Dezerto, no one knows about the bear gate, so that¡¯s riskier.

    ¡°Fina, is it alright with you? Mumroot-san took care of me in the Land of Harmony, so I want to take him with us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m okay with it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Thank you, Missy. Well then, sorry for intruding, and thank you for taking me with you.¡± (Mumroot)

    If it were a game, the disy would say, ¡°Mumroot-san has joined the party¡±. When Mumroot-san became a party member, Ruimin, who was listening to the conversation, seemed to want to be a party member too.

    ¡°I-, I also want to see Sakura-chan and Oneechan. Also, I want to see the city of Dezerto where Grandpa went to in the past. Also, I want to go to Yuna-san and Fina-chan¡¯s town.¡± (Ruimin)

    Of course, I have no problem with that.

    ¡°Fina, is it okay to take Ruimin with us?¡± (Yuna)

    I checked with her again, just in case.

    ¡°Of course!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Thanks, Fina-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin took Fina¡¯s hand and thanked her.

    ¡°But you¡¯ll have to get permission from your parents yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ll be in trouble if I be known as a kidnapper.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask permission.¡± (Ruimin)

    After Ruimin said that, she ran out of the room quickly..

    <strong>======</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    I¡¯ve been wondering. Should we have Mumroot-san and Finna in the same story or not?

    But if they go on separate days, we¡¯ll have to do it twice and lose the timing to take Mumroot-san with us.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> As always, thanks to everyone who has been reporting typos. I am not able to reply, so I will just leave this here.

    <strong>======</strong>

 Chapter 571

    <h4>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Elven Vige Edition Part 2</h4>

    ¡°I appreciate it, Missy. Ruimin was also looking forward to meeting Miss Sakura.¡± (Mumroot)

    As Mumroot-san was returning to the room, he thanked us for taking Ruimin with us.

    ¡°If you¡¯re happy, then that¡¯s good enough.¡±

    I am the one who made the connection between Sakura and Ruimin, who are far away. I¡¯d feel if I didn¡¯t let them see each other once in a while.

    Besides, Ruimin has never asked me to take her to the Land of Harmony, perhaps because she thought it would be a nuisance for me.

    So this time I¡¯m going to take her with me.

    Then I apologize to Fina for deciding to talk without her permission.

    ¡°Fina, I¡¯m sorry for deciding on my own.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fun to go with everyone. Honestly, it would have been nice if Noa-sama could havee with us.¡± (Fina)

    I haven¡¯t told Noa about the bear gate, so I can¡¯t bring her with us.

    And even if she knew, I might not have taken her this time anyway. She went to see the magic exchange, practiced magic, and she was neglecting other things. I don¡¯t think Cliff would have given her permission to go somewhere for an extended period of time.

    But I would like to bring her with us someday.

    ¡°I agree. When I can reveal it to Noa, I¡¯ll ask her toe with us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What? Is there someone who is not tight-lipped? In that case, do you want to use contract magic?¡± (Mumroot)

    I politely declined Mumroot-san¡¯s proposal. I think Noa will keep her promise. But the timing to tell her was difficult to find. I could have told her as a birthday present, but I missed it. Well, the chance to tell her wille in time.

    Then Ruimin, who had received permission from his parents, returned to explore the vige.

    As we walked through the vige, the children gathered.

    Apparently, Ruimin¡¯s younger brother, La, told them that we wereing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Earlier, when I came home, I was told that Yuna-san was here.¡± (La)

    Well, it¡¯s within the margin of error, because as we walked through the vige, anyone would easily notice my dress.

    And then there are the girls I met whening to Mumroot-san¡¯s house. It¡¯s not La¡¯s fault.

    I introduced Fina and Shuri to the children.

    ¡°Would it be okay if they could y with you?¡± (Yuna)

    The children nodded and invited Fina and Shuri to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables.

    Apparently, there were children who went to get them.

    Fina and Shuri also wanted to go, so I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and everyone went to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables.

    Everyone hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Fina, Shuri, and the vige children seemed to enjoy themselves.

    Ruimin was like a big sister and took care of the children.

    ¡°Take turns. If you¡¯re too rowdy, I¡¯ll have Yuna-san take them away.¡± (Ruimin)

    With this one word, the children behaved and it went calmly.

    They took turns riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the group went into the forest to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables.

    Fina and Shuri went with the vige children.

    It¡¯s a secret, but Fina shouted because there were poisonous mushrooms among them.

    And today¡¯s dinner was served with mushrooms and wild vegetables they had picked.

    The food was prepared by Bena-san and Ruimin¡¯s mother, Thalia-san. The two of them taught Fina how to cook.

    She would make a good wife.

    I would love for her toe to my house.

    When it¡¯s dinnertime, La and Ruimin¡¯s father, Artur-san, also came to Mumroot-san¡¯s house to eat with us

    Then, that night, there was talk of going back to Crimonia by the bear gate, but Mumroot-san asked us to stay the night.

    I couldn¡¯t refuse his kindness, besides, we were going to go to the capital together tomorrow, so I decided to ept his kindness and stay at Mumroot-san¡¯s house.

    ¡°Did you have a good time today?¡± (Yuna)

    I got under the covers, looked at the unusual ceiling, and asked Fina and Shuri, who were holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cubs on either side.

    ¡°Yes, it was a lot of fun.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, it was fun.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°But I¡¯m tired. Everyone here is amazing.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°For those children, the forest is their yground.¡± (Yuna)

    I thought both Fina and Shuri were already physically strong, but the elven children were even tougher. Without my bear gear, I wouldn¡¯t havested more than a few minutes.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the capital tomorrow, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s strange. Even though the elf vige and the royal capital are far away, I can¡¯t believe we can go there in an instant. Yuna-oneechan is really amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    I am not the great one, but the God who gave me the skills. Without the bear equipment, I would not be able to use magic, skills, or handle weapons because they¡¯re too heavy, and I would be inferior to the physical strength of a child.

    So I¡¯m not great.

    While I was thinking about how to answer, I heard soft breathing from both sides. It seemed that Fina and Shuri were both tired and had fallen asleep.

    ¡°Both of them are resting. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear go take a rest too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡°¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried softly so as not to wake them up.

    I was tired too, so I decided to go to sleep.

    The next morning, I thought for a moment ¡°Huh?¡± when I noticed that the ceiling was different, but then I looked to my left and right and immediately remembered. On either side of me were Fina and Shuri, who were sleepingfortably with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their arms. Fina, who always wakes up early, was sleeping soundly, which means she must have been tired from ying yesterday. Thanks to the pr bear suit, I feel refreshed.

    I¡¯d like to let them sleep a little longer, but we have ns to go out again today, so I decided to wake them up.

    ¡°It¡¯s morning, you two. Wake up.¡± (Yuna)

    I lightly shake their bodies.

    ¡°Oneechan, a little more¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri hugged Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Is it morning already? Good morning, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina immediately got up. Then she looked at Shuri.

    She¡¯s still sleepy.

    Fina got up and sat down next to Shuri and shook Shuri¡¯s body hard.

    ¡°Shuri, hurry up and get up, or you¡¯ll miss breakfast.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°U~u, that¡¯s not good.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Then wake up.¡± (Fina)

    Shuri gets up with a whimper.

    As expected of sisters. They¡¯re used to waking the other one up.

    ¡°Good morning, Oneechan¡­¡­ Where are we?¡± (Shuri)

    She asked while looking around.

    Are you still half asleep?

    ¡°It¡¯s Ruimin¡¯s grandfather¡¯s house. Did you forget?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We came to y.¡± (Shuri)

    She seemed to have remembered.

    Well, I can¡¯t me her. For a moment, I also thought, ¡°Where am I?¡±

    We got dressed, left the room, and headed for the usual room. Mumroot-san was already there.

    ¡°Good morning, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Good morning.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Morning.¡± (Shuri)

    We each greeted Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°We slept soundly.¡± (Yuna)

    When I was greeting Mumroot-san, Bena-san brought us breakfast. Fina saw it and offered her help, and she helped carry the dishes. Shuri imitated that and helped carry them as well.

    ¡°Mumroot-san, is it safe for you to leave the vige for a while?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked in a whisper while looking at his wife.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. She knows that me and Ruimin used contract magic. So she understands that I can¡¯t talk about it. I feel bad for my wife, but it is what it is.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    I feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong. At that time, we had just met for the first time, and Mumroot-san had approached me about contract magic, so I just went with the flow and used that contract magic.

    ¡°Do you want to break the contract magic? You can do that, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can dispel it, but there¡¯s no problem with it as is. I made a promise not to tell anyone. Then it¡¯s the same whether we have a contract or not. It¡¯s the same with my wife, that¡¯s what I promised her. Besides, Bena knows that, so she won¡¯t ask me anything.¡± (Mumroot)

    That¡¯s cool.

    ¡°But if it bes too hard for you to keep quiet from Bena-san, just let me know. I know that Mumroot-san and Bena-san are not the kinds of people to talk about it to others.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll ask you then.¡± (Mumroot)

    Then, as we were finishing breakfast, Ruimin arrived.

    With everyone present, we went to the ce where the bear gate was located.

    When we got out to the vige, Mumroot-san and Ruimin rode on Swaying Bear. Finna, Shuri, and I hopped on Hugging Bear. Fina was in front, me in the middle, then Shuri was at the rear hugging me.

    Just barely made it.

    Mumroot-san looked kind of happy the first time he rode Swaying Bear. Perhaps he really wanted to ride on him?

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ve been looking forward to it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get lost like you did when you first came to the capital.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, that time¡­¡­¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin¡¯s expression, which was happy, became depressed.

    I guess I teased her a little too much.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. It¡¯s a big city so it can¡¯t be helped. Besides, it was your first time there, anyone would get lost.¡± (Yuna)

    Like anywhere, you¡¯d never know where to go for the first time. If you go to an unknown ce with no smartphone or map, it¡¯s inevitable that you will get lost in that situation.

    I don¡¯t know everything about the capital either. I have been lost at times. But basically, the castle was visible, so if I aim for the castle, at least I can get back home.

    Well, I have a bear map, so if I¡¯ve been to a ce once, I won¡¯t get lost.

    ¡°Were you lost too, Yuna-san?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°In my case, I had someone to show me the way, so I was fine, but I think I would have gotten lost on my own.¡± (Yuna)

    Iforted Ruimin.

    Then we came to the ce where the bear gate was ced.

    ¡°Missy. Can we go anywhere through that door?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san asked while looking at the bear gate.

    ¡°Just to the ces where I put the other gate. So I have to go there at least once.¡± (Yuna)

    Even in the game, I could only go to and from ces I had been to once, which I think is normal.

    If we could freely go to ces we have never been, it would not be a game and that would be boring.

    Above all, it¡¯s enough that the ces you can go to are those you have been to on your own.

    ¡°Now then, I will open the door to the royal capital.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door of the bear gate connected to the royal capital.

    <strong>======</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    Sorry for the dy.

    Next stop, the royal capital.

    <strong>[</strong>Notice<strong>]</strong>

    It seems that some ces have already released it,

    Today is the release date of book bear volume 13 and manga volume 3.

    If you see them at bookstores, I would be happy if you could pick them up.

    There are also autographed books and store purchase bonus SS.

    For more information, please see the activity report.

    Thank you very much.

    <strong>¡ù</strong> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

    <strong>======</strong>

 Chapter 572

    <h4>Chapter 572</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Royal Capital Edition Part 1</b>

    We arrived at the capital through the bear gate.

    Mumroot-san and Ruimin looked around curiously, alternating between the inside of the bear house and the elven forest.

    I closed the doors and repatriated Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Shuri and Ruimin looked disappointed, but as expected, we could not take them with us around the city.

    Then we went outside the bear house.

    ¡°We¡¯re really in the royal capital.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san was curiously gazing at the towering castle.

    And then he looked behind him.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯ll always be a bear, no matter where you go.¡± (Mumroot)

    He said slyly while looking at the bear house.

    ¡°Hey, Fina-chan. More importantly, is Yuna-san¡¯s house in the town where you and the others also live in a bear shaped house?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a bear-shaped house.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s a cute bear shaped house.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yuna, you really like bears, don¡¯t you?¡± (Ruimin)

    When she said it so clearly, I wanted to deny it, but I couldn¡¯t because when I looked at the bear puppets, I saw the faces of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, whom I had just repatriated.

    So my response was¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with liking bears?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, nothing at all. I also like bears after all.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Me too! I love bears too!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, so do I.¡± (Fina)

    When Ruimin said that, Shuri and even Fina agreed.

    ¡°Just to let you know, if you meet a bear other than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, don¡¯t approach or even try to touch it.¡± (Yuna)

    Once again, I must correct their perception of bears here.

    Wild bears are dangerous animals. Carelessly approaching one can be fatal.

    ¡°The bears that show up in the vige are good kids though.¡± (Ruimin)

    Oh yeah, I remember her saying that. Although, I¡¯ve never met them before.

    But such bears are rare.

    ¡°The bears at the honey tree were nice.¡± (Fina)

    Even Fina made such remarks.

    Indeed, the bears in the honey tree were good.

    There was too little info to suggest that bears were dangerous. On the contrary, there were more evidence that bears were not as dangerous as people thought.

    Perhaps bears in this world were not dangerous?

    Even if they do, not all bears are good bears.

    ¡°Anyway, nothing will happen if we keep standing here. Let¡¯s go to Sanya-san.¡± (Yuna)

    I broke off the conversation and started walking towards the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Everybody¡¯s staring.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looked around and spoke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because Ruimin is so cute.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin denied it.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s because Fina and Shuri are adorable.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it either.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so too.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri also denied it.

    ¡°Then they¡¯re looking at Mumroot-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Mumroot)

    All of them rejected the notion.

    ¡°Because everyone is looking at us saying ¡°Bear?¡± ¡°Bear?¡± ¡°Bear?¡± ¡°Bear-san?¡± ¡°Bear-san?¡±¡­¡± (Ruimin)

    I know, I know. I can hear them.

    I just wanted to escape from reality, you know.

    In Crimonia, people were less surprised when I walked around town, but in the capital, where I don¡¯te often, the bear outfits still attract unwanted gazes.

    The least we could do was not be surrounded.

    I put on my bear hood to hide my face and hurried to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    And somehow, without being surrounded, we arrived safely at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Ah, the adventurer¡¯s guild, this ce hasn¡¯t changed either.¡± (Mumroot)

    How long has it been since Mumroot-sanst came here that it hasn¡¯t changed?

    With these thoughts in mind, I entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild building.

    ¡°There are a lot of people.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s crowded.¡±

    It was early in the morning, and there were many adventurers looking up requests or working their side gigs as receptionists. Thanks to this, when I entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, no one looked at the entrance.

    ¡°Now then, what shall we do?¡± (Yuna)

    We can¡¯t just go in the back and see Sanya-san without permission.

    It would take a long time to get in the queue at the reception desk. As I look towards the reception desk, I happen to make eye contact with the receptionist.

    ¡°Bear-san!¡± (Receptionist)

    When the receptionist said that, some of the adventurers who heard her reacted.

    From ¡°Bear?¡± to ¡°The bear is here¡± to ¡°That bear?¡± to ¡°Bloody bear!¡± and not missing ¡°Oh, she¡¯s so cute¡± and even a ¡°What¡¯s with the outfit?¡± reaction.

    Those who know me and those who don¡¯t know me have different reactions.

    I knew this was going to be a pain, so I spoke to that receptionist.

    ¡°We need to see Sanya-san, can we meet her? If you tell her that her younger sister and her grandfather are here, I think she¡¯ll understand.¡± (Yuna)

    With those words, the adventurers reacted even more.

    ¡°Guildmaster¡¯s grandpa and sister are here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, my, her sister is cute, unlike the Guildmaster.¡±

    ¡°But I think she¡¯s going to grow up to be as beautiful as Guildmaster though.¡±

    The onlookers were just saying whatever they wanted.

    If Sanya-san heard about this, she¡¯d kill them.

    The receptionist looked at Mumroot-san and Ruimin behind me and stood up.

    ¡°Are you Guildmaster¡¯s family members? Please wait a moment!¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist started dashing towards the back room.

    It was a brilliant side entrance. Well, I¡¯m just going to have them call you, right?

    Besides, if they don¡¯t call her soon, we¡¯re going to cause a lot of trouble.

    Without such concern, the receptionist went to the back of the room, and immediately Sanya-san came from the back, as if in a hurry.

    ¡°Ojii-chan, and Ruimin too.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Oneechan!¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin happily hugged Sanya-san.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Missy brought us here.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yuna-chan? Ah!¡± (Sanya)

    She looked convinced of something.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my room, for now, it¡¯s too conspicuous here.¡± (Sanya)

    I agree with that. My outfit had been attracting a lot of attention, and the appearance of the Guildmaster¡¯s rtives has attracted even more attention.

    Sanya-san red at the adventurers.

    ¡°You guys, go to work, or you¡¯ll regret it.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san grinned and made a nasty smile.

    At that moment, the adventurers began to move in a flurry.

    Seeing the adventurers in motion, Sanya-san smiled with satisfaction.

    ¡°Okay, you guyse over here.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san invited us into the back room as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°So, why did youe here all of a sudden?¡± (Sanya)

    As a birthday present for Fina, I exined that we went to the elf vige using the bear gate.

    ¡°Etto, Fina-chan. It was your birthday?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Happy birthday.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°And, why did youe here to the capital, Ojii-chan, Ruimin?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in Mumroot-san¡¯s care before, so I thought I¡¯d thank him and let him see you Sanya-san for the first time in a long time.¡± (Yuna)

    I also n to take them to the Land of Harmony and Dezereto.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, you say? It hasn¡¯t even been six months since west met, let alone a year.¡± (Sanya)

    This is why the elves are so¡­

    I can only sigh.

    How long should it be for an elf to say, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a while¡±?

    ¡°Oneechan, are we bothering you?¡± (Ruimin)

    Sanya-san shook her head at Ruimin¡¯s words.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. It¡¯s nice to see you. And you, of course, you too, Ojii-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    For Sanya-san, Mumroot-san is like an extra, but in reality, Ruimin is the extra this time.

    ¡°You seem to be doing your job well.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Of course, I do. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not going back to the elf vige just yet.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Mumroot)

    The three haven¡¯t talked since the Sacred Tree incident.

    Not wanting to disturb the three who had not seen each other in a while, we decided to leave the room.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, I¡¯ll take you to see the city, while Mumroot-san and Ruimin have fun with Sanya-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oneechan. Are you okay with your work?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looks at the stacks of paper on the desk.

    It may be her work.

    ¡°I¡¯ll at least make time for you two since you¡¯re here. We can spend at least the morning together.¡± (Sanya)

    Ruimin looks happy at those words.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan, for bringing both of them together.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san happily thanked me.

    If they were happy, then I¡¯m d I brought them.

    Me, Fina, and Shuri left the room and returned to the reception area.

    Perhaps because of Sanya-san¡¯s words earlier, the number of adventurers decreased.

    As expected of the station of a guildmaster.

    As we were about to leave the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, arge-bodied adventurer wearing ck armor stood in front of me, blocking our path.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Suri, who were on my left and right, grabbed my bear suit.

    I immediately tried to protect them.

    ¡°As I thought, it¡¯s you Missy.¡± (Man)

    The manughed.

    ¡°You.¡± (Yuna)

    I recognize this man.

    ¡°Etto, back in the desert¡­ Like, with Jade-san¡­ Uh, uh¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I remember his face.

    But I¡¯m almost up to my throat, but I can¡¯t find the name.

    The man who pushed Karina. The man who took down the sandworms.

    ¡°U, Uu¡­¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s all I got.

    ¡°It¡¯s Uragan.¡±

    ¡°Right, Uragan.¡± (Yuna)

    The adventurer who apanied me to the pyramids in Dezerto.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± (Uragan)

    ¡°Indeed. I rarelye to the capital after all.¡± (Yuna)

    And so, I met Uragan for the first time since Dezerto.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    Fina raised a questioning voice to us who suddenly started talking by ourselves.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s all right. He may look scary, but there¡¯s no need to be scared.¡± (Yuna)

    Strictly speaking, I find it very contradictory. What I¡¯m trying to say is that he¡¯s not a violent person.

    ¡°Were you there earlier by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was on the floor above here. My friends happened to be here and informed me that you were here.¡± (Uragan)

    Was that the man who said Bloody Bear?

    Come to think of it, I think I heard the word ¡°Bloody Bear¡± earlier.

    ¡°So you came all the way out here to see me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I just thought I¡¯d say thanks.¡± (Uragan)

    ¡°Thank me?¡± (Yuna)

    Was there ever anything that Uragan had to personally thank me for?

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The nostalgic adventurer Uragan is here.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I apologize for not being able to reply to you.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 573

    <h4>Chapter 573</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Royal Capital Edition Part 2</b>

    Thanks?

    When I tilted my head to the side, Uragan stretched out his thick arm and showed it to me.

    Uragan¡¯s arm has something like a ck gauntlet attached to it.

    ¡°It¡¯s my armor, made from that Scorpion.¡± (Uragan)

    ¡°And that chest te too?¡± (Yuna)

    The armor on his chest was also ck.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s light and easy to move around in. And it¡¯s sturdy. Recently, I was attacked by a tiger wolf on my arm, but this armor saved my life.¡± (Uragan)

    Heughingly said while rubbing his gauntlet.

    No, it¡¯s dangerous¡­ That is what I would want to say, but I can¡¯t speak for others because I remember attacking the ck Tiger.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Yuna)

    If the armor had been poorly crafted, the attack could have rendered his arm useless. Well, I don¡¯t think even iron could be chewed up easily. If he¡¯s benefiting from the added lightness, then it was worth giving the scorpion carcass to him way back then.

    Materials are only meaningful when they are used. It doesn¡¯t make sense to store it away like a certain someone.

    ¡­¡­Now, I have to figure out how to use the materials in the bear box.

    ¡­¡­Though it seems that there¡¯s no choice but to sell them.

    ¡°Everyone was thankful for this armor. It¡¯s easier to ept high-ranking quests. Soon we¡¯ll be rank C.¡± (Uragan)

    Uragan said happily.

    There is nothing wrong with equipping yourself with good-quality armor and rising in rank. Wearing such high-spec armor would typically be a big deal for a lot of adventurers.

    That¡¯s what I gave away, after all the trouble of getting it.

    Some are are lucky, and there are others unlucky in life. Luck is not equal to everyone. If it were, then everyone would win the lottery and everyone would be rich. But that would never happen. More often than not, more people often miss out. Above all, everyone¡¯s life is unequal from birth.

    I believe luck is also a force of nature.

    If Uragan had a luck parameter, it might be a high number.

    But it must be apanied by action.

    It was only because Uragan had epted the request at that time that he could meet me and receive the materials. He would not have met me if he had not epted the request. If that had happened, I would not have been able to give him the materials of the Big Scorpion.

    The same can be said with the lottery. You won¡¯t win if you don¡¯t buy the tickets.

    ¡°Well, good luck then. We¡¯ll be going now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry for stopping you. Let me know if you need any help next time.¡± (Uragan)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you then.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t have anything to ask for right now, but there might be something in the future. So I¡¯ll graciously ept Uragan¡¯s generosity.

    We parted ways with Uragan, and I took Fina and Shuri outside the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°He had a scary face, but he was a kind man.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, his face was scary.¡± (Shuri)

    And that¡¯s why Shuri was unusually quiet.

    Well, he has a stern face, but his personality isn¡¯t bad.

    More decent than a certain goblin-faced adventurer in Crimonia.

    It seems he kept his promise and didn¡¯t even talk about the giant Scorpion. I think Sanya-san would have kicked up a fuss about it if he did. Or maybe she forgot because she was able to meet Ruimin and Mumroot-san, but that shouldn¡¯t be the case.

    ¡°Where shall we go then? Is there a ce you want to go?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to see Shia-neechan! Also, I want to go to the castle! I want to go to that high ce.¡± (Shuri)

    I asked Fina, but Shuri raised her hand and answered instead.

    Although we can meet Shia, the castle isn¡¯t an easy ce to enter. No, we can, but as expected, I think it¡¯s impossible to go to the top of the castle.

    ¡°I think Shia is at school, so we can meet herter. And we may have to put going to the castle on hold, I guess? Where do you want to go, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to buy souvenirs for Mom and Dad.¡± (Fina)

    Indeed, it might be a good idea to buy souvenirs in the royal capital. Aside from Tirumina-san, I can¡¯t tell Genz-san that I have been to the Elven vige, Dezerto, and the Land of Harmony. But the royal capital is within the range of my activities.

    If he asks where we went, we can answer that we went to the capital and then gave the souvenirs.

    Thinking that far, as expected of Fina.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go see Shia while we do some random shopping.¡± (Yuna)

    We decided to walk around until Shia came back from school.

    As usual, my outfit attracted stares, but I ignored them as long as no one attacked us. I am used to people pointing fingers at me.

    However, I kinda feel sorry for Fina and Shuri, who¡¯re with me.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± (Shuri)

    They suddenly seemed to have no idea what I meant when I apologized.

    ¡°I stand out because of my appearance¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing, but I don¡¯t mind being with Yuna-oneesan, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°¡­Thank you, Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    I was so happy that I stroked Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind either. I love you, Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Thank you too, Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    I also stroked Shuri¡¯s head.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go over there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un!¡± (Shuri)

    We browsed through and went inside various stores. Fina and Shuri seemed to be enjoying themselves.

    Even though I have been to the capital several times, it¡¯s a huge city, and I cannot visit all of it in one or two days. And even in the same ce, there are new discoveries to be made.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been out with Fina and Shuri, and we¡¯re having fun.

    But if only there were no stares.

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped, it¡¯s because of my appearance.

    Seriously, when I meet him, I¡¯d ask God why he put a cheat performance on a bear costume.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri. I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but let¡¯s turn right there.¡± (Yuna)

    In my direction, we turn down the road and go a little further.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. This ce is¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina stops in front of a small, single storefront.

    ¡°It¡¯s Morin-san¡¯s shop.¡± (Yuna)

    Here is where we met Morin-san and Karin-san and invited them to join us in Crimonia.

    ¡°Can we check inside for a moment?¡± (Yuna)

    Morin-san has asked me to visit her store if I go to the capital, at least once in a while.

    I hadn¡¯t been here recently, so I came to check on it.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s ok.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un, OK.¡± (Shuri)

    With their permission, I opened the door with Morin-san¡¯s key and went inside.

    Nothing has changed.

    It¡¯s a little dusty. I¡¯ll have toe back next time to clean it. I would also have to air the ce out if I could, but I don¡¯t have time for that today.

    But I guess Fina read my feelings.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, would you like to clean this ce up a bit?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Cleaning?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Otherwise, I¡¯d feel sorry for her and her house.¡± (Fina)

    She¡¯s a sweet girl.

    ¡°I guess so. Well then, let¡¯s do a little cleaning up.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it too.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri also raised her hand.

    We decided to do some light cleaning.

    Will Morin-san and Karin-sane back here at some point?

    Of course, I¡¯m not going to stop them.

    But I hope they stay in Crimonia as long as possible.

    After cleaning up, I asked Fina and Shuri since I have somewhere where I wanted to go.

    ¡°Can I stop by Ghazal-san¡¯s shop for a moment?¡± (Yuna)

    Ghazal-san is the dwarven cksmith who made my mithril knife. I had brought Rikka-san, who had a crush on Ghazal-san, a little while ago. I¡¯m also curious about how the two are doing, and I¡¯m nning to go to the Dwarf cityter, so I thought I¡¯d check them out before that.

    ¡°Yes, I also want to meet Rikka-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oneechan, who is Rikka?¡± (Shuri)

    It can¡¯t be helped that Shuri doesn¡¯t know her.

    ¡°Etto, Shuri, you know Uncle Gordo, who made the knife for both of us, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, I know him. When I went to Uncle Gordo, Nert-neechan gave me sweets.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°You have to say no.¡± (Fina)

    After hearing that Shuri received sweets, Fina warned her.

    ¡°But don¡¯t tell Mom, Nert-neechan gave it to you.¡± (Fina)

    This is where I feel ufortable. Even though they are husband and wife, they addressed Gordo-san an uncle and Nert-san as neechan.

    Gordo-san is a bearded uncle, while Nert-san looks like a young girl.

    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of how she looks or if Nert-san makes them call her that, but I¡¯m not going to ask why. Some things are better not known.

    ¡°Anyway, Gordo-san knows Ghazal-san, and Ra-san is his wife.¡± (Fina)

    Fina exined it inly.

    Shuri seemed to understand¡­ or not.

    Either way, they permitted me to go to Ghazal-san¡¯s, so we head to his store on artisan street.

    ¡°Here it is.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door and entered the store, where an iron golem greeted me.

    He decorated it properly.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just like the one in Uncle Gordo¡¯s store.¡± (Shuri)

    Not surprised by it, Shuri approached the iron golem and touched it.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I gave them the same one.¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri is happily touching the iron golem.

    And here, I thought Shuri would be surprised if I shouted ¡°Wah~!¡± from behind, but I restrained myself.

    If Shuri cries or something, I¡¯ll be in big trouble. But still, I¡¯m tempted to do it.

    I was about to call Ghazal-san, as there was no point in staying at the entrance forever, but I could hear the sound of ka~n, ka~n, hitting the iron from the back of the room.

    Ghazal-san seems to be at work. But he¡¯s not alone here.

    ¡°Ra-san~, are you there?~¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes,ing ~.¡± (Rikka)

    When I called out to the back of the shop, I heard a reply from the back, and a pretty woman came out.

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Ra-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°U wa~a, it¡¯s really been a while.¡± (Rikka)

    It feels like it¡¯s been a really long time since I¡¯ve been in the Dwarf city. I went to the Land of Harmony, took down a giant snake, then went to Euphalia for a magical exchange meet. I¡¯ve been so busy with so many things.

    ¡°Also, Fina-chan, long time no see.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Yes, Ra-san, it¡¯s been a long time. (Fina)

    ¡°Etto, this girl looks like Fina-chan, so maybe she¡¯s your little sister?¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°This is my sister Shuri. Cmon.¡± (Fina)

    Fina pushed Shuri back.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri.¡±

    ¡°My name is Ra. Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Un, nice to meet you.¡±

    Now that the greetings are over let¡¯s get down to business.

    ¡°Ghazal-san, is he free to talk?¡± (Yuna)

    From the back of the room, I hear a ka~n, ka~n, hitting the iron. I know he¡¯s at work. But if he¡¯s avable, I would like to briefly talk with him.

    ¡°Ummm, I don¡¯t think he can right now, but I think he¡¯ll be done in a bit, so have a cup of tea while waiting.¡± (Rikka)

    Since he¡¯ll be done shortly, we decided to wait.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    ¡­¡­It¡¯s funny, the story doesn¡¯t progress.

    <b>¡ù</b> I¡¯m sorry if Shuri met Rikka-san just now. I checked at one point, but it¡¯s possible I missed it.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I apologize for not being able to reply but thank you.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 574

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Royal Capital Edition Part 3</b>

    I had a few words for Rikka-san and Ghazal-san, so we decided to have some tea.

    ¡°So, Rikka-san, are you used to the royal capital yet?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s tough because there are so many people. But there are a lot of goods, and it¡¯s fun to have all kinds of things to do.¡± (Rikka)

    The capital is vast, and many things are gathered here. I¡¯ve been to the capital several times, but there are many things about the capital city that I still don¡¯t know even today.

    ¡°Are you and Ghazal-san getting along?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m grateful to you, Yuna-chan, for pushing me and bringing me here.¡± (Rikku)

    That¡¯s good, then. It would have been a shame if I had brought her here and they didn¡¯t get along. It¡¯s been a few years since theyst met, so their feelings might have crossed paths. But I could tell from the slightly embarrassed look on Rikka-san¡¯s face that this was not the case.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s a mystery how you brought me here.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡± (Yuna)

    When I brought Rikka-san to the bear house, I had her blindfolded. So she doesn¡¯t know about the existence of the bear gate.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I promised, right? So, did youe to Ghazal to ask him to look for a job?¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°I came today to see how you¡¯re getting along with Ghazal-san, Rikka-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, thank you.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Also, I¡¯m nning to go to Ludn¨ªk city, so if you¡¯re writing a letter or something, I¡¯ll deliver it to Rojina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    Rojina-san is the father of Rikka-san, currently residing in Ludn¨ªk city, and the mentor of Ghazal-san.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re going to Ludn¨ªk city?¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s one of Fina¡¯s birthday presents, and I¡¯m taking her to all sorts of ces.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯ll be the best present you could ever have. I only know my city, so I was really amazed when I arrived at the capital. There are so many people and so many things to see, and I think it¡¯s a good experience to experience another city. You can¡¯t know everything in one visit, though.¡± (Rikka)

    There are still many things I don¡¯t know about the royal capital.

    Even if you go to Tokyo, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll know everything about it in just one visit.

    Especially if it¡¯s a big city like the royal capital.

    ¡°Oh wait, it¡¯s Fina¡¯s birthday? Then I need to get her a present. Do you want something from the store?¡± (Rikka)

    The store is full of weapons.

    ¡°Ra, what are you talking about?¡± (Ghazal)

    It was Ghazal-san who spoke to Rikka-san. Rikka-san was talking to us and didn¡¯t notice that the metal banging had stopped.

    ¡°Ghazal-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah, Missy, you¡¯re still dressed as usual.¡± (Ghazal)

    He said while looking at my bear outfit.

    Well, these are my personal clothes.

    ¡°Ghazal, Yuna is going to Ludn¨ªk city, and said she¡¯ll deliver our letter to my father.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Rikka, you should write one.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Ah, geez. Well, okay. I¡¯m going to go write one. Yuna-chan and the girls might get bored, so please wait and talk with Ghazal.¡± (Rikka)

    With that, Rikka-san went to the back room.

    Then Ghazal-san looked at me and then at Fina.

    ¡°As I recall, I made a mithril knife for dismantling for the little missy over there.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san looked at Fina and seemed to remember.

    ¡°Did Gordo also make you a knife?¡± (Ghazal)

    At the time, she was just saying hello.

    ¡°Yes, he made one for me.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°He made me one too!~¡± (Shuri)

    Ghazal looked surprised at Shuri¡¯s words.

    ¡°She wanted to do dismantling work with her sister, so he made her one too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was surprised that you gave that little missy a mithril knife, but I didn¡¯t expect you to give one to that little girl too.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san looks dumbfounded and unable to say anything.

    ¡°Do you have the mithril knife that Gordo made? If so, may I see it?¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Yes, I have it.¡± (Fina)

    Fina took out the mithril knife from her item bag and handed it over to Ghazal-san.

    By the way, it¡¯s dangerous for Shuri to carry around her Mithril Knife, so it was usually kept in the bear house warehouse.

    Ghazal-san looked at the mithril knife with serious eyes. He looked at it from various angles and in the lighting in through the window.

    ¡°That¡¯s good work for a guy like him.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san returned the knife to Fina.

    ¡°How about your mithril knife?¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san asked me this time.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Show me then.¡± (Ghazal)

    I took my two mithril knives out from the bear box and handed them to Ghazal-san.

    ¡°Have you used it since then?¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Just a little bit.¡± (Yuna)

    I used it a little bit in Ludnik city and in the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem with handling it. It¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°The knives made by Ghazal-san are very well made.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even a good one can chip or break if not handled properly.¡± (Ghazal)

    It was said that even a great sword will break if swung and cut at a wrong angle.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go do a little maintenance. I know it¡¯s boring, but you girls can watch me in the workshop.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san went to the back room with the two mithril knives.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s take a look inside the workshop. But don¡¯t touch anything. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°<i>Un</i>, it¡¯s fine, I know. Nert-neechan let me have a look at it, but she tells me not to touch anything because it¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Shuri)

    Well, a smithy has a lot of intriguing stuff but also a lot of dangerous stuff.

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s that?¡± (Fina)

    Fina starts walking around the store, looking for something. But Fina¡¯s legs suddenly stopped.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oneechan, what happened?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri goes to Fina.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Shuri)

    They¡¯re looking at something. I was curious, so I asked them.

    ¡°What are you two looking at?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°essories.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It looks pretty.¡± (Shuri)

    essories? In this store?

    I went closer to Fina and Shuri and peeked out from behind them.

    There were lines of beautifully crafted essories that did not fit in this store.

    ¡°I wonder if Ghazal-san made it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was the one who made those.¡± (Rikka)

    It was Rikka-san who answered.

    She¡¯s holding a letter in her hand.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, I¡¯ve written it, so I¡¯ll be counting on you, okay?¡± (Rikka)

    I received the letter and put it away in my bear box to avoid losing it.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who made these, Rikka-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m still the daughter of the famous cksmith, Rojina, after all.¡± (Rikka)

    Rikka-san puffed out her small chest.

    ¡°Well, even if I say that it¡¯s just a little hobby of mine. But people oftene to the store to buy them.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°The price was, <i>ugh</i>, expensive.¡± (Fina)

    Fina muttered after seeing the price.

    ¡°It¡¯s very detailed, so it takes quite a bit of time to make.¡± (Rikka)

    Certainly, each one is very detailed.

    The longer it takes to make, the higher the price.

    Fina alternates between the essories and the written price.

    It¡¯s rare for Fina to be interested in essories.

    ¡°Fina, do you want it? Shall I buy it for you?¡± (Yuna)

    It may be expensive for Fina, but it¡¯s just pocket change for me.

    However, Fina shook her head at my words.

    ¡°No, I wanted to give it to Mom and Dad as a souvenir. These matching ones.¡± (Fina)

    A pair of beautifully crafted essories.

    Buying them is definitely expensive.

    ¡°Oneechan, I¡¯ll buy it too.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri takes out her small wallet.

    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t think we can afford it, even if webine our money.¡± (Fina)

    At this point, if I pay for it and give it to them, Fina and Shuri will give it to Tirumina-san and Gentz-san. They will not know whether it came from Fina or me.

    As I was about to say something about Fina and Shuri¡¯s savings, Rikka-san opened her mouth.

    ¡°Was it that expensive?¡± (Rikka)

    Rikka-san looks at the price tag attached to the essory.

    ¡°Oops, this is wrong. Sorry.¡± (Rikka)

    Rikka-san took a pen out of her pocket and erased a single-digit number.

    ¡°I failed as a merchant. Sorry about that. But with this, Fina-chan and Shuri-chan¡¯s money can afford it, right?¡± (Rikka)

    Absolutely not. There¡¯s no way this crafted essory is 1/10th of the original price.

    Even Fina knows that too.

    ¡°But that amount is¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Please allow me to thank you.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Thank me?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I am here because Fina-chan showed my father the knife Gordo made, and Yuna-chan showed him the knife Ghazal made, and because of that, my father started making swords again. So I am grateful to you, Yuna-chan, and Fina-chan.¡± (Rikka)

    Ra-san looked straight at Fina.

    The truth is, maybe she didn¡¯t want Fina¡¯s money. But then, Fina wouldn¡¯t take it, so that¡¯s why she had to act like that¡­ even though it was bad acting.

    ¡°Fina, if you don¡¯t ept Rikka-san¡¯s feelings, I¡¯d feel sorry for her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan¡­¡­Understood. Thank you, Rikka-san. I will buy it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be thanking you. Thank you for the purchase.¡± (Rikka)

    Rikka-san said it in a shopkeeper-like manner and smiled.

    Both Fina and Shuri paid for the two essories.

    They are perfect sisters.

    After sessfully purchasing the essories, Ghazal-san returned.

    ¡°I polished it up a bit.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san returned the two mithril knives.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Yuna)

    I received them and put them away in my bear box.

    ¡°Come to think of it, Fina, what were you looking for earlier?¡± (Yuna)

    She was looking for something before she found essories.

    ¡°I think they¡¯re being sold at general stores, but they also have knives here, so I thought there might be paper knives.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°A paper knife? You use one of those?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, at the birthday party, Misa-sama wrote me a letter and asked me to reply, so I thought I might need one.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Are you sure? Wait, they sell those at the general stores?¡± (Yuna)

    After all, I¡¯ve never written a letter, so I don¡¯t know where to buy paper knives. I¡¯ve never used a paper knife to open a letter, either.

    This is where the difference in personalityes into y.

    I¡¯m not borrowing Fina¡¯s words, but this store sells knives, so it¡¯s not surprising that they have them.

    ¡°So I just thought I¡¯d look for some.¡± (Fina)

    But then she found the essories made by Rikka-san.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s a knife, it might be sold at Gordo-san¡¯s ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask the general store or Uncle Gordo when I get back to Crimonia.¡± (Fina)

    Ghazal-san¡¯s eyebrows twitched at my conversation with Fina.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, you said your name is Fina, right? Wait right there.¡± (Ghazal)

    After saying that, Ghazal-san left and went to the back. Rikka-san wasughing as if she knew the reason for his sudden action.

    I tried to ask Rikka-san about it, but Ghazal-san immediately returned and presented a small box to Fina. Even though Fina made a troubled face, she epted it.

    ¡°Open it.¡± (Ghazal)

    When Fina opened it, a small, shining silver knife was inside.

    ¡°A paper knife?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s for you, Missy.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not for sale. I made it a long time ago, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina, with a troubled look, turned to me.

    The part of the grip has a beautiful pattern carved into it, indicating that it¡¯s intricate. It looks expensive.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, don¡¯t worry about it, just take it. Ghazal is only burning with a rivalry against Gordo.¡± (Rikka)

    Rikka-sanughingly told us.

    ¡°Actually, Gordo came here once after that.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Come to think of it, there was a time when I went to his shop a while ago, and it was closed.¡± (Fina)

    Fina told us.

    ¡°So they were having fun talking about what they¡¯d built. Theypeted about which one was better than the other. So when he heard you were going to Gordo¡¯s store to buy it, you lit a me to his sense of rivalry. Honestly, they¡¯re still kids on the inside.¡± (Rikka)

    When I look at Ghazal-san, his cheeks are flushed, and he turns away.

    Apparently, it¡¯s a bull¡¯s-eye.

    ¡°So, Fina-chan, can you take it?¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°Fina, I think you should just ept it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Okay then. Thank you, Ghazal-san. I will use it carefully.¡± (Fina)

    I¡¯ve also received their letter, so we decided to leave the store.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, pleasee again.¡± (Rikka)

    ¡°I¡¯ll do maintenance on your knives, soe back anytime.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be bothering you at that time.¡± (Yuna)

    Thank you, Ghazal-san, Rikka-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I made it a long time ago, and I don¡¯t need it. So I¡¯ll be happy if you use it.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°I would be happy if you use it too.¡± (Rikka)

    Indeed, it¡¯s normal to want people to use what you¡¯ve made like a sword that was being used rather than just on disy.

    The same goes for the bear plushies I made. Rather than being put on disy on a shelf, I would like them to be used by children.

    We gave our thanks and left Ghazal-san¡¯s shop.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    My apologies. I was checking various past stories and writing, hence the dy.

    It¡¯s hard to write about someone who hasn¡¯t appeared in a while because of this. (lol)

    <b>¡ù</b> Thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I apologize for not being able to reply.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 575

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Royal Capital Edition Part 4</b>

    After leaving Ghazal-san¡¯s cksmithing store, we filled our bellies at a food stall and saw many students in school uniforms walking around.

    ¡°Shia might be home by now, so why don¡¯t we go to Shia¡¯s house?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un!¡± (Shuri)

    As we were walking toward Shia¡¯s house, we heard voices saying, ¡°There she is!¡±, ¡°She is here!¡±.

    I thought the voice sounded familiar, and then two girls in school uniforms came up to us.

    ¡°Cattleya, Shia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I knew it was Yuna-san.¡± (Cattleya)

    They looked at me happily while slightly out of breath.

    ¡°Why are you two here?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That¡¯s my line.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We were hungry.¡± (Cattleya)

    In other words, it is time for a shopping and eating spree.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t inform my mother about this.¡± (Shia)

    I was tempted to ask whether it was okay for an aristocratic youngdy to buy food at food stalls, but she seemed to know it was wrong, so I decided to let it slide.

    ording to the story, Shia and Cattleya, who hade to fill their bellies at the stall, heard the word ¡°bear¡± around them. When they listened carefully, they overheard a girl dressed as a bear walking with little girls.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I figured Yuna-san is here, so I was looking for you. But I thought the little girls with you were Noa and Fina-chan, but it turned out to be Shuri-chan.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Can Noa go out? Even for a bit?¡± (Shia)

    She¡¯s been going out too muchtely. She may not be able to go out for quite a while.

    ¡°Fina, you know Cattleya, right? And, Shuri, is this your first time seeing her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we have met a few times.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I met Fina-chan at the school festival and the cksmith¡¯s shop.¡± (Cattleya)

    ¡°I met her at the school festival.¡± (Shia)

    Shuri met her at the school festival, too. And she remembers it well. Shuri¡¯s memory is also quite good.

    ¡°However, we only greeted each other lightly that time. Once again, I am Cattleya, Shia¡¯s friend. It¡¯s nice to meet you both.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Fina.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri.¡±

    When Cattleya mentioned her name, Fina and Shuri imitated her manner and introduced their names.

    So, Yuna-san, why are you in the capital with Fina-chan and Shuri-chan?¡±

    I exined what had happened.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Fina-chan¡¯s birthday present, and you¡¯re going out with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan? I¡¯m envious.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Fina would be hesitant to ept it if I gave her something expensive as a present. I¡¯m indebted to Fina, so I would buy her anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Uu, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s indebted to you.¡± (Fina)

    The person herself doesn¡¯t know how much I appreciate her instead.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what are you going to do now?¡± (Cattleya)

    ¡°We were on our way to Shia¡¯s house.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I was just thinking of going there when school ended. But if you two have other things to do, I¡¯lleter.¡± (Yuna)

    Shia looked at Cattleya as if confirming my words.

    ¡°Yuna-san, Shia. Can Ie with you too? I want to meet Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan for the first time in a long time.¡± (Cattleya)

    Of course, I granted Cattleya¡¯s request. And we started walking toward Shia¡¯s house.

    ¡°Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, I heard you guys attended Noa¡¯s birthday party. Thank you.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°We¡¯re wearing a beautiful dress.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri talked happily while spinning around.

    ¡°The dress was a dress Noa lent her from when she was little.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa tried to give the dress to Shuri, but Tirumina-san politely refused.

    Well, it¡¯s not easy to receive a dress from someone like her, even if she doesn¡¯t wear it anymore.

    Fina and I were forced into it in a threatening way, though.

    ¡°I would have loved to see Fina-chan and Shuri-chan in their dresses.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan¡¯s dress was also beautiful.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Eh, Yuna-san, you wore a dress!?¡± (Cattleya)

    Shia and Cattleya made surprised expressions.

    ¡°Noa gave me the dress at Misa¡¯s birthday party.¡± (Yuna)

    Without it, I don¡¯t think I would have worn any dress.

    ¡°Ah, I should have taken a break from the academy and gone back to Crimonia.¡± (Shia)

    It¡¯s not worth taking a break from school to see me in my dress.

    But for some reason, even Cattleya was agreeing.

    ¡°So, you gave Noa a birthday present of arge Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan stuffed animals, right?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°You know about that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was written in Noa¡¯s letter. It said that she made it with Yuna-san, Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, and a girl named Sherry-chan and that she had fun making it together. I wish I could have seen it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask Noa to show me next time Ie to Crimonia.¡± (Cattleya)

    I don¡¯t have it, so I can¡¯t show it.

    As we were talking about Noa¡¯s birthday party, we arrived at Shia¡¯s house.

    I greeted the maid, Sulirina-san, and came to the guest room.

    At Cattleya¡¯s request, I summoned the regr-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Tomorrow, I can brag to Marcus and the others.¡± (Cattleya)

    Cattleya is embracing Hugging Bear, and Shia is hugging Swaying Bear.

    ¡°It¡¯s fluffy.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°I envy Fina-chan and Shuri-chan for being able to go out with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Cattleya)

    ¡°I¡¯ll touch it, too.¡± (Shuri)

    Seeing the two of them clinging on to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Shuri can no longer hold back and goes next to Shia and together they hug Swaying Bear. Fina seems to be holding back, though, like the big sister she is.

    ¡°I wish I had a bear as cute as this one.¡± (Cattleya)

    Cattleya gently caresses Hugging Bear¡¯s back.

    I won¡¯t give him to her, and I don¡¯t want her to start keeping a real bear.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you a real one, but I can give you a stuffed animal if you want.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies from the bear box and put them on the table.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s childish, Cattleya?¡± (Yuna)

    Cattleya moved away from Hugging Bear and grabbed the stuffed animals on the table.

    ¡°No way. Can I have these stuffed animals?¡± (Cattleya)

    ¡°As long as you take good care of them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, I will take good care of them. Thank you.¡± (Cattleya)

    When Cattleya got the stuffed animals, shepared them to Hugging Bear sitting on the floor.

    ¡°It looks the same as him.¡± (Cattleya)

    ¡°Because the child who made it worked hard.¡± (Yuna)

    They are really well made. I think Sherry could make it as a craftsman.

    ¡°Cattleya¡¯s been wanting one for a while now.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She saw Tilia-sama holding one at the school festival before, andter, she saw the stuffed animal in my room. She was envious of it.¡± (Shia)

    Come to think of it; I also gave a pair to Shia before.

    I think it was when I had a match with Marcus and Shia, was it?

    ¡°Shia, you didn¡¯t need to say that.¡± (Cattleya)

    Cattleya looked a little embarrassed.

    But if she wants it, then I¡¯m happy.

    After enjoying Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and receiving her plushies, Cattleya left with a satisfied look.

    And after Cattleya left, Eleanora-san came back with a tired look on her face.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, you¡¯re here. Wee.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Sorry for disturbing you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But it¡¯s rare to see Fina-chan and Shuri-chan together with you. Do you have any business in the royal capital?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°It¡¯s Fina¡¯s birthday present. A tour of the royal capital.¡± (Yuna)

    I told Eleanora-san what I had exined to Shia.

    ¡°Oh right, it was also written in the letter from Noa. Happy birthday, Fina-chan.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Th, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to get something for you, Fina.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°No, please, I¡¯m good.¡± (Fina)

    Fina shook her head while refusing.

    ¡°But you made big stuffed animals for Noa, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it alone. I also worked together with Yuna-oneesan, Shuri, and a girl named Sherry to make it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fufu, but Fina-chan, I¡¯d like to give you a gift to thank you for all the help you¡¯ve always given us. I guess so. Do you want to take some of the treasures that are in storage? Maybe there¡¯s something in there that you would like, Fina-chan.¡± (Eleanora)

    I was personally interested in the things sleeping in the warehouses of a noble, but Fina politely declined. Eleanora looked disappointed, but with Fina¡¯s personality, she wouldn¡¯t ept it.

    ¡°Then at least have dinner with me.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Sorry, we have otherpanions so we have to leave now. We just came to say hello to Shia and Eleanora-san since we¡¯re in the capital today.¡± (Yuna)

    I refused her on Fina¡¯s behalf.

    Mumroot-san and Ruimin are waiting for me at the bear house. And so, we have no time to have dinner.

    ¡°<i>Ara</i>, there are others. We can¡¯t have them with us, can we?¡± (Eleanora)

    Since Sanya-san and Eleanora-san know each other, I don¡¯t see any problem with letting her meet Mumroot-san and Ruimin, but it¡¯s not a good idea to decide on my own, so I politely decline this time.

    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san honestly gave up.

    And before we leave, I asked Eleanora-san.

    ¡°Eleanora-san, I have one question. Can I visit the upper part of the castle?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The upper part?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Fina? No, Shuri wants to see the city from the top of the castle.¡± (Yuna)

    It was Shuri¡¯s request, but I heard Fina say in a low voice, ¡°I wonder what the scenery looks like from up there?¡±

    Maybe Fina would also like to take a look.

    I think it would be a good present for Fina. Moreover, I would like to see it too.

    ¡°Yes, it is. Normally, it¡¯s off-limits. Only a select few are allowed in.¡± (Eleanora)

    Well, that¡¯s usually the case.

    ¡°Well, the top floor is off limits, but the middle floor would be fine. The view from that ce is beautiful as well. I¡¯ll take you there as a birthday present.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Since Fina didn¡¯t ept my gift, at least I can give her this.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°You guys have it good.¡± (Shia)

    Shia, who was listening to the story, looked envious.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been there before, Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have, but I rarely get there.¡± (Shia)

    Shia was disappointed since she can¡¯t go with us because she has school tomorrow. Eleanora-san also doesn¡¯t want to give her a day off from school. Skipping school is not good.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    I apologize for the dy. I will be taking a break for a while.

    Although there¡¯s no official announcement yet, volume 14 will be released in December. (I have received permission from the publisher.)

    Since December is the end of the year and the New Year¡¯s holiday, we have an early deadline, and there are some parts I would like to revise, so I would like to take some time off for the book.

    I expect the period to be about two weeks. (If it takes longer, we will report back to you.)

    I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our readers.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am unable to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 576

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Royal Capital Edition Part 4</b>

    After leaving Shia and Eleanora, we return to the bear house.

    When I returned to the bear house, I found Mumroot-san and Ruimin. They¡¯re free toe and go to the bear house as they please.

    ¡°Wee back, Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m back. I¡¯m sorry we¡¯rete.¡± (Yuna)

    The sun will be setting soon.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. We just got back a little while ago.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°What would you like to do for dinner? Would you like to go somewhere to eat? If it¡¯s something simple, I can do it right away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m tired and don¡¯t feel like going out.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m tired from being in a crowd for the first time in a long time. I would appreciate it if you could prepare something light for me.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, are you okay with that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un, It¡¯s okay.¡± (Shuri)

    And so, I prepare dinner.

    I fried the mushrooms from the elf forest with the vegetables, added beaten eggs, and finally sandwiched them between bread. Then I made some soup, and a simple dinner was ready.

    Then, over dinner, we listened to Mumroot-san and Ruimin¡¯s story.

    ording to the story, Sanya-san showed them around the city after we left.

    ¡°There were so many people everywhere, and it was exhausting.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been to royal capital several times, and it still looks the same.¡± (Mumroot)

    It¡¯s the same everywhere, where people gather things, and more people will gather. The best way to make money is where there are many people. Therefore, people will inevitably gather.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Yuna-san. Oneechan took us to an interesting shop for lunch.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Interesting shop?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear shop.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°<i>Bfft! Guho!!¡­</i>¡± (Yuna)

    I choked on my bread. Fina offered me a drink, and I chugged it down. As expected, even with bear equipment, wearing it doesn¡¯t seem to be able to handle choking while drinking.

    ¡°Does that bear store the one with the stone statue of a bear holding a fork and spoon?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I was wondering if Yuna-san had anything to do with it since there were Bears.¡± (Ruimin)

    I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s the restaurant that she¡¯s talking about.

    But, Sanya-san. I want to know what she¡¯s talking about me.

    ¡°Did Sanya-san say anything about it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Nothing. She just said it might be interesting to talk to Yuna-san about it.¡± (Ruimin)

    Sanya-san, you¡¯re pretty amused by all this, aren¡¯t you?

    ¡°From the way she said it, I thought it had something to do with Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    They¡¯re sisters, indeed. Even though they¡¯ve been separated for so long, they understand each other.

    ¡°I¡¯m involved with it, in case you were wondering.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s no point in lying, so I answered honestly.

    ¡°I knew it. The food was delicious . Right, Grandpa.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yeah, especially thest one I had, which was called ¡°purin¡± or something.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Did you like it, by any chance?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, it was delicious.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san said shyly.

    Apparently, Mumroot-san liked the pudding.

    I¡¯ll prepare pudding for dessert.

    However, Ruimin and Mumroot-san¡¯s reaction was dull.

    ¡°Something¡¯s different?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Right, there were fruits and other things.¡± (Ruimin)

    Yeah, there were fruits in those puddings.

    It¡¯s a bit fancy for dessert.

    I served everyone a sumptuous pudding with fruits I had obtained from Targui.

    Not only Mumroot-san and Ruimin but also Fina and Shuri were enjoying it.

    ¡°That reminds me. Mumuroot-san, Ruimin, what are your ns for tomorrow? We decided to go to the castle for a bit.¡± (Yuna)

    I hadn¡¯t made any detailed ns, but if nothing happened, I thought of going to the next town.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re going to the castle?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Because an acquaintance said she would show us the scenery from that high ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That sounds nice.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°So, shall we go then, Ruimin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°You¡¯re acquaintances of Sanya-san, so I think it¡¯ll be okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What about you, Mumroot-san?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m good. You girls go on your own. I will check around the capital.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa, are you sure you won¡¯t get lost?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Unlike you, I won¡¯t get lost easily. Although, in case I get lost, as long as I know where the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is, I can get back.¡± (Mumroot)

    If it¡¯s the location of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, many people should know about it. From there, it seems he can return to the bear house. In the worst case, there¡¯s also an option to ask Sanya-san.

    The next day, we went to the castle.

    The meeting ce with Eleanora-san is at the entrance of the castle.

    ¡°I have been waiting for you. We have heard from Eleanora-sama.¡±

    The gatekeeper greeted us politely and looked at us as if to make sure.

    ¡°There¡¯s one extra person.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°I added one more person but is that not good?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, not really. But I was told there were only three of you. Now, please wait a little while until Eleanora-samaes.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    We move to a position out of the way of the gatekeeper.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re amazing. The soldiers at the castle treated you with the utmost respect.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin says, sounding impressed.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the higher-ups are telling them to.¡± (Yuna)

    Inwardly, he may be thinking, ¡°Why a bear like this?¡±, ¡°Who is this bear?¡±, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the king and Eleanora-sama¡¯s instructions, I wouldn¡¯t have to run so many times just because of this weird-looking bear¡±.

    That¡¯s why he¡¯s also paying attention to us.

    ¡°But was it okay for me toe?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin is fidgeting as she looks around.

    ¡°You¡¯re acquainted with Sanya-san, so it¡¯ll be okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll go bad.

    If they say no, we¡¯ll think about it then.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, Eleanora-sama is here.¡± (Fina)

    Ahead of Fina¡¯s line of sight, I saw Eleanora-san walking toward us.

    ¡°Eleanora-san, good morning.¡± (Yuna)

    When I greeted them, Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin also greeted her.

    ¡°Good morning. You all look so pretty today. So, who is that pretty girl with green hair over there? Did you pick her up, by any chance, Yuna-chan?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Sorry for picking her up.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, the first time I met her, she was lying in front of the bear house, so I picked her up and took her home.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, I¡¯m just kidding. Is she thepanion you were talking about yesterday? An elf girl?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I¡¯m Ruimin.¡±

    ¡°Is it okay for this child to tag along?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t mind¡­. Still, have I met you somewhere?¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san approached Ruimin and stared at her face. Ruimin took a step back.

    ¡°N- no, I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Really? I feel like I¡¯ve met you somewhere before.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san tilted her head and started to ponder.

    ¡°This girl is Sanya-san¡¯s younger sister. So maybe that¡¯s why she looks familiar?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh? Sanya¡¯s sister!¡± (Eleanora)

    That¡¯s rare. Eleanora-san made a surprised expression.

    ¡°Sanya? The adventurer¡¯s guild¡­ Guildmaster? That Sanya?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yeah, that Sanya-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Certainly, the hair color is simr to Sanya.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Oneechan? Do you know her?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s more of a give and take in being indebted, kinda rtionship?¡± (Eleanora)

    Do Eleanora-san, who works at the castle, and the Guildmaster of the adventurer¡¯s guild, Sanya-san, have that kind of rtionship?

    Eleanora-san moved to take a closer look at Ruimin¡¯s face once more.

    ¡°You look like Sanya, you seem to have a promising future ahead of you.¡± (Eleanora)

    Elves are beautiful. So even their children would have pretty faces.

    Ruimin is no exception to this rule, and she has a lovely face.

    But it¡¯s not only Ruimin.

    ¡°Eleanora-san, these girls have a promising future too.¡± (Yuna)

    I pushed Fina and Shuri¡¯s backs.

    ¡°Yes, they are. You two have a bright future ahead of you.¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san looked at Fina and Shuri and agreed.

    Both of these girls are pretty enough.

    Fina looks embarrassed, while Shuri seems happy.

    At any rate, standing around talking is a waste of time, so we decided to talk while walking.

    ¡°Then Sanya¡¯s grandfather is also here?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°I invited him, but he doesn¡¯t seem interested.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity. I wanted to say hello to Sanya¡¯s grandfather.¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°So, why are you with Yuna-chan?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°When I came to see Oneechan, I met her in the royal capital.¡± (Ruimin)

    Just like yesterday¡¯s meeting.

    That¡¯s half true and half false.

    Eleanora-san looked at me a little suspiciously.

    ¡°Eleanora-neechan, aren¡¯t we going to the top of the castle?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asked at the right time.

    Yes, Shuri calls Eleanora-san ¡°Eleanora-neechan¡±. During the school festival, she called Noa, Shia, and Misa ¡°neechan¡±, so Eleanora-san made Shuri call her one, too.

    While Eleanora-san looks young enough to be called a big sister, knowing her actual age makes me feel like going tsk-tsking. But I am afraid to do so, so I won¡¯t go for a tsukomi here.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re headed right there.¡± (Eleanora)

    We entered the castle and walked up the stairs.

    ¡°Am I allowed in the castle?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked while looking around restlessly.

    ¡°Everyone is looking at us¡± (Ruimin)

    People who pass us by are taking a nce at us.

    ¡°Well, Yuna-chan is here.¡± (Eleanora)

    I have been in and out of the castle several times, but only in some parts. So many people must be seeing me for the first time.

    ¡°Then, it wasn¡¯t because of me?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin made a relieved expression.

    ¡°I mean, we also have kids with us, so that¡¯s probably why they¡¯re looking. Well, I¡¯m here, we¡¯ll be fine,e on, let¡¯s go.¡± (Eleanora)

    We went up the stairs.

    Then, after walking down the hallway, Eleanora-san opened the door.

    Beyond the door was arge room.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s huge.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri, don¡¯t run.¡± (Fina)

    Shuri tried to run, but Fina held her hand firmly.

    ¡°This is a room that¡¯s used for parties, and it¡¯s rarely used, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Eleanora)

    So that¡¯s why it¡¯s wide.

    Come on, everyone¨Cthis way.

    Eleanora-san started walking around the room and headed toward the balcony.

    Even from here, you can see the blue sky through the ss.

    Eleanora-san opens the double doors to the balcony. The wind blows in and swirls everyone¡¯s hair.

    ¡°The view is beautiful here, Isn¡¯t it?¡± (Eleanora)

    Eleanora-san says, looking at the view from the balcony.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>¡­¡±

    ¡°Amazing¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s high¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    It offers a panoramic view of the royal capital.

    The building spreads out, and tiny people can be seen moving slightly.

    The scenery is indescribable.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how big the capital was.¡± (Fina)

    Fina widens her eyes as she looks at the royal capital.

    That goes for both Shuri and Ruimin as well.

    I knew it was a big ce, but there were no helicopters or drones to see the royal city from above.

    With this, I am reminded of how vast the capital is when I see it again with my own eyes.

    And the nice weather also added to the beautiful scenery.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the capital beautiful from here?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful. There are so many different buildings, so many different colors, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± (Shuri)

    I also think it¡¯s partly because the roads are well maintained. If the roads are not properly maintained, they¡¯ll look dirty.

    ¡°There are a lot of people walking around.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it? There are so many different people gathered here. Ie up here to see it from time to time. I have to protect the residents living in this country, so I¡¯m looking at them from here. I have to do my best.¡± (Eleanora)

    Supporting a country is a lot of work, I guess.

    I don¡¯t want to do that kind of hard work.

    Even managing a small store is a hassle. That¡¯s why I left that to Tirumina-san.

    Leisure time is the best.

    ¡°Fina-chan, did you like my little birthday present?¡± (Eleanora)

    ¡°Yes, I never thought I would see such a beautiful view. It is the best present. Thank you, Eleanora-sama.¡± (Fina)

    Fina has a wide smile on her face.

    ¡°This is all thanks to Shuri¡¯s request to go to the top of the castle.¡± (Yuna)

    I think she just wanted to go to the top of the castle. But thanks to Shuri, we could see scenery that we could not usually see.

    ¡°Thank you too, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, though.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina shook her head.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, you brought me to the royal capital. If it weren¡¯t for you, Yuna-oneesan, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten to know Noa-sama, I don¡¯t think I would have met Eleanora-sama. I would¡¯ve never seen such beautiful scenery in my entire life, so thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina had a big smile on her face.

    I ced the bear puppet on Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± (Yuna)

    After that, we went sightseeing in the royal capital until Fina and Shuri got bored.

    Ruimin was also impressed the whole time.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I amte.

    And I apologize.

    Next time I will bete again.

    The bookwork, after many rewrites, was not finished.

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers who have been waiting for it.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am unable to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 577

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Ludn¨ªk City Edition.</b>

    The day after we visited the castle in the capital, we arrived in the dwarven city of Ludn¨ªk.

    It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been here in Ludnik.

    I have never been here since I bought the house.

    It can¡¯t be helped because I was busy.

    I was busy exterminating Orochi in the Land of Harmony and eliminating the idiot in Euphalia.

    ¡°It really is the city of Ludnik.¡± (Mumroot)

    When I left the house, Mumroot-san looked at the city¡¯s scenery strangely.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to deliver a letter to someone I know. What about you, Mumroot-san, Ruimin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right since we¡¯re here, I¡¯ll take Ruimin on a tour of the city.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°It seems that we are greeting an acquaintance, so it was decided that I would greet them as the vige chief¡¯s granddaughter.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin¡¯s face has an expression saying it¡¯s a pain in the ass, but since his oldest granddaughter is that and his oldest grandson is too young, Ruimin has to do her best. Still, am I the only one who feels uneasy?

    Well, people experience many things as they grow up. For now, let¡¯s watch over Ruimin with warm eyes.

    And so, I walk through the city with Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, where are we? There are so many little people.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri said while looking around.

    Come to think of it; this was Shuri¡¯s first time here.

    There are ordinary people like us, but there are mostly dwarves around.

    And as we looked at the dwarves, the dwarves looked at us. Or rather, me, to be precise.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear~¡± ¡°A bear?¡±

    Coming to a city I rarely visit, the bear¡¯s outfit stands out and attracts attention.

    Wherever I go, the bear equipment seems to stand out.

    ¡°This is the city of Dwarves. <i>Etto</i>, this is the hometown of Gazal-san and Rikka-san, the cksmiths you met in the royal capital. And Gordo-san and Nert-san in Crimonia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looks around with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°You can¡¯t run anywhere on your own.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I won¡¯t run~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri, don¡¯t ever let go of my hand, okay?¡± (Fina)

    Fina is holding Shuri¡¯s hand.

    Looking at them like this, they are close.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere on my own~¡± (Shuri)

    But Shuri seems to be dissatisfied.

    ¡°Is there anywhere you would like to go, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I would like to buy some pots, pans, and cooking utensils when we go to Rojina-san¡¯s ce. Anzu-san and Morin-san have asked me before to get some for them if I had a chance to get back here.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°We¡¯ll go to Rojina-san¡¯s ce, but that¡¯s not a wish, Fina. It was supposed to be your birthday present.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In that case, I want to see the scenery from up there again.¡± (Fina)

    Fina pointed upwards.

    That¡¯s where the gate of trials is.

    ¡°The elven vige, the castle in the capital, they all had nice views from above.¡± (Fina)

    She likes the view from a high ce.

    She never gets tired of seeing the beautiful scenery, no matter how often she sees it.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go after we stop by Rojina-san¡¯s ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    We went to Rojina-san¡¯s ce.

    ¡°<i>Are</i>?¡± (Yuna)

    The atmosphere of the store has changed.

    Thest time I was here, it looked like a cksmith shop selling cooking utensils. But now the swords are lined up.

    ¡°They don¡¯t have any pots and pans.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s none.¡± (Fina)

    It looks like he was serious about making swords.

    The sound of hitting iron can be heard from inside. He may be striking with a sword.

    It¡¯s unfortunate, but perhaps it¡¯s his joy returning from being a weapons artisan as he should be.

    ¡°Wee!¡±

    As we are looking around the store, a womanes over.

    ¡°Yuna-chan and Fina-chan?¡± (Wi)

    It¡¯s Wi-san, Rikka-san¡¯s mother.

    She¡¯s short and pretty.

    ¡°Hello, Wi-san.¡± (Yuna)

    When I greeted her, Fina and Shuri did the same.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that little girl over there before.¡± (Wi)

    ¡°This is Shuri, Fina¡¯s younger sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri.¡±

    ¡°My name is Wi. Nice to meet you Shuri. Do you know Rikka? I¡¯m Rikka¡¯s mother.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know her. I met her the other day.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°The other day?¡± (Wi)

    I immediately went before Shuri, and Fina covered Shuri¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°We met her before we left the capital.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, I see. I¡¯ll serve some tea, so please tell me about Rikka.¡± (Wi)

    Since there¡¯s also the matter of the letter, I¡¯ll take her word for it and have a cup of tea.

    ¡°So, is she getting along with Ghazal?¡± (Wi)

    ¡°From the looks of it, they seem to get along well. But she seemed surprised at how many people were there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I guess there are a lot of people in the royal capital.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been to the royal capitals of other countries, butpared to other cities and such, there are a lot of people in the capital.¡± (Wi)

    It is the capital. It has the most people.

    ¡°Oh, and I have a letter for you from Rikka-san.¡± (Yuna)

    I hold the letter in the mouth of my bear puppet and present it to Wi-san.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Wi)

    Wi-san received it and opened the envelope to find a letter and essories.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Wi)

    ¡°Rikka-san, it seems like she¡¯s been making essoriestely.¡± (Yuna)

    Wi-san happily holds the essory in her hand. There are two, so the other one must be for Rojina-san.

    Wi-san looks at the essories as she reads the letter.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to see she¡¯s doing well.¡± (Wi)

    Wi-san folds the letter and puts it back inside the envelope with great care.

    I felt guilty for separating parents and children, but I¡¯m d that Rikka-san is happy and that Wi-san seems satisfied.

    ¡°So, Rojina-san, did he start making swords in earnest?¡± (Yuna)

    I can still hear the sound of iron being struck from the back.

    He may be hammering pots and pans, but looking at what¡¯s in the store, it¡¯s more likely he¡¯s hammering swords.

    ¡°Yes, thanks to you. I¡¯m d Rojina started making swords, though. But we still have a few customers looking for pots, knives, etc., so we¡¯re in trouble.¡± (Wi)

    Well, indeed, the cookware made by Rojina-san is very popr in this store.

    ¡°So, you don¡¯t sell pots and pans?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked disappointed.

    ¡°Shall we look elsewhere then?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s unfortunate, but it can¡¯t be helped.

    I can¡¯t ask them to make it, and we don¡¯t have the time.

    Besides, other craftsmen should be good enough. Rojina-san is not the only craftsman.

    ¡°Did you perhapse all the way here to buy those?¡± (Wi)

    ¡°We¡¯re half traveling, half shopping, I think?¡± (Yuna)

    I told her that we were traveling as a birthday present for Fina.

    ¡°Is that so? But don¡¯t worry. The things he made before are stored in the warehouse.¡± (Wi)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°If we have a customer who wants it, we sell it.¡± (Wi)

    ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯d call unsold items.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No. The swords here and the cookware in the warehouse are all just waiting to be sold for a long time, waiting for a suitable owner.¡± (Wi)

    What a fancy way to describe that, but still, products that aren¡¯t selling are unsold items, right?

    Well, some items are just too expensive for anyone to afford, so they¡¯ve been left out.

    We moved to the warehouse, where the unsold cookware was, just waiting for someone to use them.

    ¡°Fina, you can choose whatever you want. I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± (Yuna)

    If they¡¯re using it in the store, I¡¯ll have to pay for it with my own money.

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Fina)

    Fina and Shuri gathered the cookware. Since I was going to the trouble, I decided to buy spares too.

    ¡°Yep, here¡¯s the payment.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Wi)

    She gave me a discount.

    Her way of thanking me wasn¡¯t by making me clear up the inventory of unsold items, was it?

    Well, they¡¯re good products, so I¡¯ll consider it a good purchase.

    Then, as we finished shopping, the sound of iron banging stopped from the back, and Rojina-san came in.

    ¡°Rojina-san. I see you¡¯ve been making swords now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have not yet been able to make the sword I envisioned because of the long nk period. Honestly, I would like to make a sword for you in return. If it¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯d like to make a sword for you in a few years.¡± (Rojina)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting then.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know what will happen in a few years, but I made a promise and left the store.

    Then we went to that high ce where the gate of trials was, which was Fina¡¯s wish.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan. Are we going to climb these stairs?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looks up the stairs. I¡¯ve thought about it before, but there are many steps.

    ¡°Fina, do you want me to carry you?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina opens her mouth as if remembering something.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Shuri, let¡¯s do our best to climb on our own feet.¡± (Fina)

    Saying so, Fina holds Shuri¡¯s hand and climbs the stairs.

    I think it would be faster to princess carry them, but s. Well, maybe the view from the top would be more impressive and inspiring if they climbed up on their own feet.

    They say that climbing a mountain on foot is different from climbing a mountain by helicopter. Well, I have never experienced either of them, so I can¡¯tpare them, but I think the former is more exciting because it¡¯s more difficult.

    We climbed the long flight of stairs one by one. Fina and Shuri both climbed the stairs with nonchnt looks on their faces. I can climb the stairs easily thanks to my bear shoes, but without them, I would never be able to climb such a staircase. I have been cooped up every day, and the two of them have been running around outside every day, so their feet have been trained to some extent.

    Come to think of it, there were quite a few stairs in the capital¡¯s castle, but they climbed them normally.

    And when we finally reached the top of the climb, there were already people ahead of us.

    ¡°Ah~ It¡¯s Grandpa Mumroot and Ruimin-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    When Shuri saw the two of them, she ran off.

    She still seems to have the energy to run. Shuri is amazing.

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san and the sisters came too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Because Fina wants toe. What about you Mumroot-san, Ruimin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I was dragged around everywhere, and finally ended up here.¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot-san is looking toward the Gate of Trials.

    ¡°By any chance, have you also participated in it, Mumroot-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Some of my old buddies used to participate. So I kind of miss it.¡± (Mumroot)

    I wonder how long ago from Mumroot-san¡¯s past that was.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this view with those fellows, but it hasn¡¯t changed.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°It¡¯s close to the elf vige, so why don¡¯t youe here?¡± (Yuna)

    I think it¡¯s safe to say that it¡¯s rtively close.

    ¡°These days, I send the young ones to work with the others. It has been a long time since I left the vige like this. Perhaps it would be a good idea to give the headship to my son Arthur and go on a journey.¡± (Mumroot)

    Considering that, it seems impossible for Sanya-san, Ruimin, or her younger brother La to be chief while Mumroot-san is still alive.

    When I looked at Fina and the other two, they were enjoying the scenery.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, this is amazing.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°The view from the top of the castle was beautiful, but the view from here is also lovely.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin seems to be impressed.

    ¡°Why did you want toe here, Fina?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I saw this scenery from the top of the waterfall in the elf vige and the top of the castle in the capital. Honestly, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to have such an experience. But thanks to Yuna-oneesan, I was able to experience all of it. So I wanted to see all the ces I went.¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s eyes are shining, and she looks happy.

    I¡¯m really d I brought her here.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we build a big tower in Crimonia and have a look at it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A tower in the shape of a bear? Cliff-sama will be furious.¡± (Fina)

    Finaughs.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, watched the scenery until we all got tired of it, then left.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    I¡¯m d I was able to finish the Ludnik edition in one chapter.

    I can¡¯t wait to get to the desert¡­

    Posting will be dyed for a while.

    I have finished the bookwork on the main story, but I need to write a new book for the new store purchase bonus.

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers who are waiting for them.

    Also, thank you for the many requests for new writing.

    I cannot thank you enough.

    I will use it as a reference.

    I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t reply to yourments.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear manga version is now avable on Free Manga Pia.

    You can read one story every 23 hours.

    Since it¡¯s a manga version, it seems that you can also read a manga newly drawn by Sergei-sensei and a novel newly written by yours truly.

    Please visit Pia for more information.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 578

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present: The Desert Experience</b>

    The next stop is the desert city, Dezerto.

    ¡°Fina, it¡¯s your first time visiting the city in the desert, right?¡± (Yuna)

    I have taken Fina to almost every ce where a bear gate is located, but I have never taken her to Dezerto.

    There wasn¡¯t any chance to take her with me since I¡¯d been quite busy.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s my first time there, so I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Fina)

    Fina replies with a smile.

    Initially reserved, she seems to enjoy her excursion with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Even now, Swaying Bear cub is in Fina¡¯s arms. Hugging Bear cub, whom Ruimin has not seen in a long time, is in her arms.

    Seeing Shuri letting them have the bears made me smile.

    ¡°Now then, please do as we discussed.¡± (Yuna)

    And since the ce we are going to is in a bit of a special ce, I asked everyone to do as I say a bit.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to pretend we went through the hot desert.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°And we know nothing about the bear gate.¡± (Ruimin)

    We may have to talk about how hot the desert is with Karina and Balima-san. I don¡¯t want to get in trouble.

    As a prop, I have also prepared cloaks with water magic stones attached. It was purchased in the royal capital. Wearing this is an appeal to the people who have crossed the desert.

    ¡°But is it so hot that you need to wear a cloak like this?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is it hotter than the sea?¡± (Shuri)

    When I answered Fina¡¯s question, Shuri asked me this time.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably the hottest ce you¡¯ll ever know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen a desert before, so I can¡¯t imagine it. It¡¯s all sand, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Shuri)

    Indeed, it may be difficult to imagine with words alone.

    Even if I have never been there, I can easily see it in my former world through images and videos. But in this world, I can only convey them through words and drawings.

    ¡°There¡¯s no grass, no trees.¡± (Yuna)

    There are only cacti.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine it either. But you have been there before, haven¡¯t you, Grandpa?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Indeed, a long time ago. It¡¯s a harsh ce to live in.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But thanks to you, Mumroot-san, and your friends, ake was formed and many people are now living there.¡± (Yuna)

    It allowed people to live there and made it easier for them to travel back and forth between countries.

    Ruimin looks at Mumroot-san in admiration.

    ¡°But I think once you experience living in that desert, your energy will be sapped to nothing pretty quickly.¡± (Mumroot)

    Indeed, the desert is different from ordinary ces.

    Well, I know that because I have been to the desert once and experienced how hot it was when I took off my bear hood to try it out.

    That was back then when I did not know how difficult it was to survive in the desert.

    If someone were to ask me about Antarctica or the North Pole, I think I could only say that it¡¯s cold.

    After all, the weight of the wordsing out of one¡¯s mouth is different if one has not experienced it.

    So, after receiving Mumroot-san¡¯s words, I decided to let Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin, who had never seen the desert, experience the desert a bit.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go and see the desert for a bit. It¡¯s hot, so wear the cloak properly. And if you¡¯re thirsty, drink water.¡± (Yuna)

    Like a teacher leading a group of students, I do some safety checks.

    I have detection skills. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also there, so we won¡¯t get lost, but just in case.

    ¡°Un, I¡¯m okay.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve got it.¡± (Fina)

    I confirmed that everyone is wearing a cloak with water magic stones attached.

    I opened the gateway to the desert. I open the door to the bear gate near the town of Callus.

    ¡°It¡¯s pitch ck.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, it¡¯s dark, and I can¡¯t see anything~¡± (Shuri)

    The bear gate was built inside a big rock, so no light coulde in from the outside. Therefore, it was pitch ck beyond the opened door of the bear gate.

    I casted light magic to make it brighter. Then I moved to the rock wall and made a hole big enough for a person to pass through. Sunlight entered the rock.

    It looks like another clear day.

    I took Fina and the others and went outside.

    The surrounding area is full of rocky boulders. That¡¯s why I hid the bear gate here.

    ¡°Is this the desert?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it starts here. Let¡¯s get on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and move a bit.¡± (Yuna)

    I plugged the hole in the big rock that we came out of and returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, which Fina and Ruimin were holding, to their normal size. I, Fina, and Shuri rode on Swaying Bear, while Mumroot-san and Ruimin rode on Hugging Bear.

    With Fina and Shuri¡¯s small bodies, I can ride together with them, but when they get bigger, will I be able to?

    With such worries about the future, we started moving while riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    After moving for a while, the rocky boulders disappeared and the area was covered with sand.

    Everyone got off Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and checked the sand under their feet.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, there¡¯s nothing but sand.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± (Fina)

    Ruimin looks off into the distance and Fina touches the sand at her feet.

    ¡°How can anyone live in a ce like this?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asks while looking at the empty desert.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible in this condition. But thanks to Mumroot-san and his friends, ake was created in the desert and a ce where people can live there. Now it¡¯s an important town where peoplee and go between countries.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re amazing!¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot-san looks happy when his granddaughter praises him.

    ¡°But Yuna-oneechan. It¡¯s hot even with this cape on.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked at me, feeling the heat. Sweat was floating on her forehead.

    ¡°Shuri, did you touch the magic stone in the cloak properly?¡± (Yuna)

    I wiped the sweat off Shuri¡¯s forehead with a handkerchief, put my hand inside Shuri¡¯s cloak, and touched the magic stone.

    ¡°Ah~, it¡¯s getting a little cooler.¡± (Shuri)

    Apparently, the water magic stone in the cloak wasn¡¯t working correctly.

    When you touch the water magic stone attached to the cloak, the magic line sewn into the cloak cools your body.

    If her cloak isn¡¯t functioning properly, it¡¯s no wonder she feels hot.

    ¡°Even so, Yuna-san, isn¡¯t it really hot in that outfit?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looks at my bear outfit.

    Fina and Shuri knew how I was in the town of Mereera under the zing sun dressed as a bear, so they were not worried about it anymore. But to Ruimin, it seemed odd for her to see me wearing a sweltering bear outfit in the scorching desert.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s the same structure as that cloak, so it¡¯sfortable.¡± (Yuna)

    No matter where I go, the temperature remains the same, which is excellent.

    And it¡¯s difficult to care for the people around me because I don¡¯t know if they feel cold or hot.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. But it¡¯s sweltering without this cloak.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin removes the hood on her cloak to make sure.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it off for too long, or you¡¯ll get sunburned.¡± (Yuna)

    As soon as I warned her, Shuri, trying to imitate Ruimin by taking off her hood, hurriedly put on her hood.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want pain.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°What¡¯s a sunburn?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asks while putting on her hood.

    Perhaps the elves who live in the forest don¡¯t know about getting tan? Or maybe the white beautiful skin of the elves does not tan?

    ¡°Simply put, the heat of the sun burns your skin and makes it sore or something?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t think she¡¯d understand even if I told her about ultraviolet rays and many other details, so I exined it to her in a way that¡¯s easy to understand.

    ¡°The heat of the sun?¡± (Ruimin)

    ?¡±:Ruimin looks at the sun while covering her eyes with her hands.

    ¡°Better not look at the sun directly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even though it¡¯s so far away, it can burn?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen right away, but if you¡¯re under the hot sun for a long time, you¡¯ll get sunburn and your skin will sting.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It hurt a lot when I took a bath.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri told Ruimin about her experiences.

    However, while it looks healthier to be tanned, tanning too much is also not good for the future.

    I imagined a tanned Ruimin.

    A dark Ruimin.

    Would she be a dark elf?

    Perhaps the dark elves were just tanned elves.

    This may be the moment when a new dark elf theory was born.

    ¡°Yuna-san. What¡¯s wrong with you, staring at my face?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    I took the liberty of imagining it and stared at Ruimin.

    ¡°But how far does this sandynd go?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s like it takes forever.¡± (Ruimin)

    I don¡¯t know how wide, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s vast.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, what are those sticks in the distance?¡± (Fina)

    Fina pointed to a pir in the distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s a signpost to the city.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So there¡¯s still some left.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looks at the pirs nostalgically.

    ¡°Was it already there when you came here, Mumroot-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t there when we came here. We made it.¡± (Mumroot)

    It was at that moment when a new fact came to light.

    ¡°When theke was created, we made it so that no one would get lost. Even if there¡¯s ake, if you can¡¯t get there, then it¡¯s meaningless.¡± (Mumroot)

    If there were history textbooks, Mumroot-san¡¯s name would be recorded in them.

    But still, knowing that Mumroot-san was the one who created it, was profoundly moving.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go back to the bear, gate then go to Dezerto city.¡± (Yuna)

    We can¡¯t stay here forever. All three have experienced the heat and seen the sights of the desert. That should be enough.

    ¡°Are we not going to ride Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan like this?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asks while stroking Hugging Bear.

    ¡°It¡¯s kinda far away.¡± (Yuna)

    We have the convenient bear gate. There¡¯s no way not to use it.

    And even if we have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I don¡¯t want to travel through the desert with children.

    The temperature change might make you sick, and there are monsters. Above all, moving around in the desert is a hassle.

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to move through Bear-san gate. Even with this cloak, it¡¯s too hot.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. if we could move through that gate it would be a great help.¡± (Mumroot)

    The two elves have asked me to use the bear¡¯s transition gate to get around. Especially Mumroot-san. He has experienced crossing the desert, so I think he knows how hard it is even more.

    ¡°Shuri, don¡¯t be selfish.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Shuri)

    When Fina persuaded Shuri, Shuri apologized without any further selfishness.

    Well, maybe Shuri just wanted to get around on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    We returned to the rock where the bear gate was hidden near the town of Callus. On our way back, I turned back Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into cubs.

    However, when we returned to the ce where there was a rock pile, we could not figure out which rock had the bear gate. But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear led us to the front of the rock without getting lost.

    They are terrific kids.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I was contemting where to go next, the Land of Harmony or Dezerto city, but it turned out to be Dezerto.

    ¡ù As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 579

    Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 1

    I repatriated Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and I opened the door of the bear gate while imagining Dezerto city. The door opened to a small warehouse.

    ¡°It¡¯s narrow.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri mutters.

    It¡¯s a small house. The bear gate just barely fit.

    We moved from the warehouse to the living room.

    ¡°What¡¯s this house?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I bought this house in Dezerto. It¡¯s small, though.¡± (Yuna)

    However, it¡¯srge enough for one person to live alone.

    Besides, it¡¯s a house I bought just to install a bear gate. I don¡¯t live here, so no problem.

    ¡°Well then, first, let¡¯s head to the lord¡¯s house in this city.¡± (Yuna)

    I want to tour the city, but I have an appointment with Karina, and I want to introduce Mumroot-san to her as soon as possible.

    ¡°A descendant of Quat and Cyan?¡± (Mumroot)

    I don¡¯t know how many generations it was, but it seems to be the name of Karina¡¯s ancestor.

    Lifespans are different between humans and long-lived elves. The same amount of time is short for elves. Ruimin also feels sad about being left behind by Fina and Shuri.

    But that¡¯s not an option.

    Just because it¡¯s painful to say goodbye doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s better not to meet people. Enjoy the present and think about the future then. Don¡¯t stop and move forward.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, you¡¯re fine on your own, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Can we go with you?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They¡¯re not the kind of people who would kick you out or mistreat you. Besides, there¡¯s a girl about Fina¡¯s age, so I think you¡¯ll get along.¡± (Yuna)

    Karina is not the kind of girl who makes fun ofmoners.

    If they mistreat Fina and Shuri, we will leave.

    I opened the door and stepped out of the house.

    I bought a house in a less-trafficked area, so fewer people are around.

    ¡°This is the city they made?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looks around.

    ¡°Where are we? Where¡¯s theke?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Theke is that way, though it¡¯s a bit far away. Balima-san¡¯s house is also near theke, so let¡¯s stop by theke first.¡± (Yuna)

    We start walking towards theke.

    And, as usual, I gather gazes, but I walk without minding them.

    Giving up is the key.

    I notice the people who¡¯re looking at me.

    ¡°Oh right. It¡¯s okay to take off your cloak in the city. It¡¯s less hot here.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina and the others look around and remove their hoods.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s not as hot as where we were earlier.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s like theke is bringing down the ambient temperature.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know because of the bear costume, but I heard a story like that.

    They all removed their cloaks, put them in their item bags, and we started walking again toward theke.

    ¡°It¡¯s changed a lot. There weren¡¯t many buildings, and there weren¡¯t so many people before.¡± (Mumroot)

    Well, buildings and people change over time. It can¡¯t be helped.

    And we arrived at theke in the center of the city.

    ¡°At least the scenery here hasn¡¯t changed.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san stops and looks at theke nostalgically.

    The scenery of theke may not have changed since then. When I think about it, I am deeply moved as when I learned about those desert marker posts.

    When everyone was looking at theke, Shuri pointed at theke.

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, what is that? There¡¯s someone on board.¡± (Shuri)

    I looked in the direction where Shuri was pointing and saw a big duck swimming. The big duck had a child on it.

    What¡¯s its name again?

    Did I ask it in the first ce?

    I took the liberty of calling it something like a big duck, but I forgot if I even asked it what its name was.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve brought a big egg before, right? It¡¯s from that bird.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Bird!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°By any chance, if you ride that bird, will you be able to fly in the sky!?¡± (Ruimin)

    This time, Ruimin reacted.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it can.¡± (Yuna)

    Image-wise, I don¡¯t think it could spread its wings if you got on it.

    I wonder, do all three of them want to fly?

    As expected, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cannot fly or walk in the sky.

    Can they learn a skill to fly?

    I want Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to learn it, even if it¡¯s not me.

    We then head to Balima-san¡¯s house, overlooking theke.

    Then, despite being repeatedly pointed at being called a ¡°bear¡±, we arrive safely at Balima-san¡¯s house.

    It¡¯srge because it¡¯s the residence of the lord of this city.

    When I looked in from outside the gate, I saw a maid, so I went to talk to her, but she happened to look at me, and our gazes met. When the maid saw me, she looked surprised.

    ¡°Yuna-sama?¡±

    She was surprised not because of my appearance as a bear, but because it was me.

    ¡°Rasa-san, it¡¯s been a while. I came to visit.¡± (Yuna)

    Rasa-san is a maid who works in this mansion. When I came here before, she taught me how to make curry.

    Her surprised expression turned joyous, and she rushed towards us.

    ¡°Wee, Yuna-sama. Thank you foring from afar. Both Karina-sama and the Master will be delighted.¡± (Rasa)

    Rasa responds with a smile, even though it¡¯s a sudden visit.

    Well, it¡¯s hard to contact them, so it can¡¯t be helped to visit us out of the blue.

    Rasa-san led us into the house and guided us to a room.

    I will go and inform the Master and Karina-sama, so please wait a moment.¡±

    Rasa-san bowed her head and left the room.

    Shuri tried to move around the room, but Fina silently held her hand to stop her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just sit in the chair and wait.¡± (Yuna)

    Shuri sits in a chair to keep her from moving around.

    After Rasa-san left the room, I heard someone running down the hallway a few momentster, and then the door burst open.

    ¡°Is it true that Yuna-san is here?!¡± (Karina)

    A girl with reddish hair entered the room.

    ¡°Karina, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is you Yuna-san. You came.¡± (Karina)

    The moment she saw me, she smiled and ran up to me. Then, she grabbed my bear puppet.

    ¡°I promised toe again, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. But I didn¡¯t expect you toe sooner.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me, so I cane easily.¡± (Yuna)

    Liese out of my mouth naturally since I¡¯m already used to them.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to meet Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, but who are these people with you, Yuna-san?¡± (Karina)

    Karina asks while looking at Fina and the others.

    ¡°When Balima-san arrives, I¡¯ll introduce them.¡± (Yuna)

    As I was saying that, the door opened, and Balima-san entered the room.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°I¡¯m in the city, so I thought I¡¯d stop by.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re more than wee. And whenever youe to the city, please stop by. Karina will be happy to see you. So you are not alone today?¡± (Balima)

    Like Karina, he looked at Fina and the others.

    Well, of course, you¡¯ll be curious if people you don¡¯t know are visiting you.

    I turned my attention to the two people sitting to my right.

    ¡°These two are my friends from the town of Crimonia. Fina, and Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m Fina.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Shuri.¡±

    Fina and Shuri stood from their chairs and gave their greetings.

    Next, I turned my attention to the two people sitting to my left.

    ¡°And, this is the legendary adventurer Mumroot-san and his granddaughter Ruimin.¡± (Yuna)

    Balima-san and Karina looked surprised at my introduction to the two.

    ¡°Missy, what¡¯s with the legendary adventurer?¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looks embarrassed at my introduction and exnation.

    ¡°Because it seems that your name has been passed down throughout the generations, Mumroot-san.¡± (Yuna)

    He¡¯s legendary enough.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama? You mean that Mumroot-sama, who built this city together with our ancestors?¡± (Karina)

    Karina looks at Mumroot-san in disbelief.

    ¡°I told you before that I knew an elf by the same name. So I checked, and he said it was him, so I brought him here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°After listening to her story, I felt nostalgic and asked her to bring me here. If it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯d like a tour of the city.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s true? I¡¯m deeply moved. To be able to meet Mumroot-sama while I¡¯m still alive.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°Of course. Please feel free to explore the city.¡± (Karina)

    Karina and Balima-san were acting as if they had just met their ultimate idol.

    ¡°I only helped them along the way. After we left, it was Quat and Cyan who developed the city. I¡¯m sure they went through a lot of hardship. But they have made a great city, and their children have protected it. I am the one who should be thankful. Thank you for protecting the city they built for so long.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san lowered his head.

    ¡°We were just doing our part. And when we were about to fail that role, Yuna-san saved us.¡± (Balima)

    Balima-san looks at me.

    ¡°And it¡¯s not just us who support this city. It¡¯s the people, the residents who live here.¡± (Balima)

    Without people, a city cannot exist. But without people to manage it, it would be awless zone.

    Both are essential.

    ¡°So, how long will you be staying?¡± (Balima)

    ¡°Missy, how long are you nning to stay?¡± (Mumroot)

    In response to Balima-san¡¯s question, Mumroot-san looks at me to confirm.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided, but I think if we stay too long, Fina¡¯s parents will worry, so maybe a couple of days at most.¡± (Yuna)

    In fact, I have not decided on the length of our stay. But if I don¡¯t decide now, Karina will likely stick with me, so I¡¯ll use Fina and the others as a reason to keep it vague.

    ¡°I see. Then please stay at our home during that time.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°If it¡¯s a house to stay in, I have my own house, so we¡¯re fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, your house is too small for everyone to stay together, and we would like to entertain you all. Please, let us entertain you.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°What do you say, Mumroot-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Since we¡¯re already here, we might as well take their word, I guess.¡± (Mumroot)

    With Mumroot-san¡¯s word, we epted the invitation to stay at Balima-san¡¯s house.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    We arrived at the city of Dezerto.

    Karina and Fina met in a distantnd. (lol)

    Please note that posting will be slow for a while.

    I will also take a break from replying to yourments.

    I hope to make time by mid-November.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I will not be able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 580

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 2</b>

    ¡°Oh, and what about Ristil-san and Norris? I want to introduce Mumroot-san to them too.¡± (Yuna)

    Norris is Balima-san¡¯s son-inw, and Ristil-san is the descendant of Mumroot-san¡¯s fellow adventurer.

    ¡°Actually, a baby boy was born safe and sound, and Ristil is resting in her room. Norris is staying with his wife. I¡¯m sure he¡¯lle byter to say hello, so please do so at that time.¡± (Balima)

    Oh, it looks like she safely gave birth.

    ¡°Congrats.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thanks to you, Yuna-san, she was able to give birth to a healthy child safely.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, though.¡± (Yuna)

    There was nothing physically wrong with her.

    ¡°No, it was Yuna-san who quelled my wife¡¯s anxiety. She has that kind of personality, so I think she was anxious. Now she doesn¡¯t have to worry anymore, and she can rest with ease.¡± (Balima)

    Certainly, it¡¯s not good to be burdened with anxiety and worry during pregnancy. It can be enough to make you feel ill and dangerous for the baby in your belly.

    It was a lot of work, but I¡¯m d we saved Dezerto city.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll have your rooms prepared, but do you have any preferences? One room per person would be fine as well.¡± (Balima)

    Balima-san asked while slightly looking at Fina and Shuri.

    Apparently, he¡¯s being careful because little Shuri is there too.

    ¡°What will you do?¡± (Yuna)

    I look at everyone

    ¡°Well, if possible, I¡¯d like to be with Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina thinks for a while and answers.

    She¡¯ll be staying in an unfamiliar ce. So she may be anxious.

    ¡°Then Shuri would also be with me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll sleep with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Ah, then I¡¯d like to join you.¡± (Ruimin)

    Even Ruimin raises her hand.

    ¡°In that case, I will be by myself.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looks lonely, but he also sleeps alone in the bear house. It¡¯s definitely on purpose.

    Thus, Mumroot-san was ced in a single room, and the four of us were ced in the same room.

    ¡°I will make the arrangements. So what are you going to do today?¡± (Balima)

    It¡¯s still around noon. We have enough time to go out.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we take a walk in the city?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°That would be good.¡±

    They all agree with the idea of going out.

    ¡°Then I will guide you.¡± (Karina)

    Karina made the offer, and so I took advantage of her generosity.

    We went outside the mansion.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, Fina-chan, and Shuri-chan, then Mumroot-sama and Ruimin-sama. Is there any ce you want to go?¡± (Karina)

    Karina asks everyone in front of the house.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, can I call you Karina-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes, please call me whatever you like. Ruimin-sama.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to call me ¡°Ruimin-sama,¡± because I am not the one who contributed to this city. My grandpa did, not me, so please just call me Ruimin.¡± (Ruimin)

    I understand that feeling. I would never let anyone call me ¡°Yuna-sama¡±.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, then, can I call you Ruimin-san?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°And then, Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, please call me however you like.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Well then, Karina-chan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Karina-neechan!¡± (Shuri)

    They decided what to call each other.

    Mumroot-san joined in and said, ¡°I also would like you to stop calling me Mumroot-sama¡±, but Karina refused tly, saying with a serious look on her face, ¡°I can¡¯t do that¡±.

    Well, he¡¯s one of the people who made this city. Since he¡¯s apanion of the ancestors, Karina would not be able to call him Grandpa Mumroot.

    ¡°So, where should we go?¡± (Karina)

    Once again, Karina asked everyone.

    ¡°I want curry ingredients, so I guess that shop.¡± (Yuna)

    I want to replenish my stock of spices.

    It¡¯s strange because sometimes I feel like eating curry.

    ¡°Me! I want to ride the bird.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri raises her hand.

    ¡°The bird at theke, is it?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Can we ride that bird too?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°You can.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Then I want to ride too.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin also agreed with Shuri¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°What about you, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I, I want to ride too.¡± (Fina)

    She says, a little embarrassed.

    Apparently, Fina also wanted to ride it.

    ¡°Is there anywhere you want to go, Mumroot-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind anywhere as long as I can see the city¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Then, after a quick look at the city, let¡¯s go for a bird ride.¡± (Karina)

    We walked around theke, which is the center.

    Karina, walking next to us, was sneaking a sideways nce.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been looking at us for a while. What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wanted to ask you some questions. I wanted to know where Fina-chan and Shuri-chan came from. I also want to ask Mumroot-sama about our ancestors. But I also want to show you around the city, and I don¡¯t know which I should do first.¡± (Karina)

    Karina replied shyly.

    She¡¯s acting like a fan meeting an idol.

    ¡°For now, I guess we can walk around talking.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. But still, I didn¡¯t expect that Yuna-san¡¯s Mumroot-sama was really Mumroot-sama, who built the city together with my ancestors.¡± (Karina)

    That was over 100 years ago. Such coincidences happen. There is a saying that goes something like ¡®that it¡¯s a small world after all¡¯.

    ¡°When I heard the name, I thought maybe it was. But I was surprised when I confirmed it. I was surprised when I learned it was true.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Grandpa, you used to go to a lot of ces, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Ruimin)

    He has been to the country of harmony, and I think he has been to many ces that I don¡¯t know about.

    Maybe next time, I will take Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to ces I don¡¯t know about.

    Or maybe Targui could take us to a strangend, like the Land of Harmony. It might be a good idea to go to Targui for the first time in a while and check it out.

    Then we stroll through the city, guided by Karina.

    ¡°As always, everyone looks at Yuna-san. <i>Etto</i>, are Yuna-san¡¯s clothes worn by the people of the royal capital as well?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Not in the royal capital, but in the city of Crimonia where I live.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!?¡± (Karina)

    I wasn¡¯t not lying. The kids in the store were dressed as bears.

    ¡°Fina-chan. Is that true? I¡¯ve never seen one in the royal capital.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked Fina.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, maybe. I think she¡¯s talking about the girls who work at Yuna-oneesan¡¯s store because they¡¯re dressed as bears.¡± (Fina)

    Fina quickly exposed it.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you have a store?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just happened. Mostly, I leave it to Fina¡¯s mother, and I don¡¯t do anything.¡± (Yuna)

    I feel like I have been getting fewer consultations from Tirumina-santely. When we had just set up the store, she consulted me a lot, buttely, things seem to be going well, and there are no problems, so she doesn¡¯t consult me much.

    It¡¯s a good thing. But then again, it kind of makes me feel lonely.

    ¡°Fina-chan. Was it difficult to get here?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Eh.¡± (Fina)

    Fina was puzzled by the sudden question.

    ¡°I think it was a long way from the capital. And I think it was hard going through the desert.¡± (Karina)

    Fina looked at me, then looked down and thought a little more.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, yes. It was challenging. But Yuna-oneechan¡¯s bears were there, so it was fine to move. The desert was a bit hot though¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina answers Karina¡¯s question while mixing a bit of a lie.

    <i>Uu</i>~ I¡¯m sorry. I made Fina lie.

    But I think it would have been nice to let them experience the desert for a little while. It¡¯s hard to tell about the desert when you don¡¯t know it, and it¡¯s hard to tell a lie either.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan? I would like to ride Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan to various ces. I envy you guys.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I understand that feeling. Until I met Yuna-oneesan, I didn¡¯t know that the world was so big. I didn¡¯t think I coulde to such a distant ce. Knowing that the world is wide, she took me to various ces. That¡¯s why I¡¯m grateful to Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan helped our mother and took us to various ces.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Me too, I would not havee this far if it weren¡¯t for Yuna-san. If it weren¡¯t for her, I wouldn¡¯t have thought ofing, besides I couldn¡¯te here on my own. So I am grateful to her, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You saved the vige and brought me here. You have my thanks.¡± (Mumroot)

    Even Shuri, Ruimin, and Mumroot-san started saying such things at Fina¡¯s words.

    I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯m getting embarrassed listening to this. This isn¡¯t some kind of shame y, is it?

    After that, Karina asked Fina and Shuri for stories about Crimonia.

    ¡°So, Mumroot-sama, how are you liking the cityscape so far?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful city. And there are a lot of people. Back then, there were very few.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san looked in the distance as if to bring back memories.

    ¡°Mumroot-san, did you stay in the city for a long time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was a long time ago, I don¡¯t remember for sure, but I might have stayed here for a year or so. When people started to gather at theke, those two said they would take care of the rest.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t check, but it felt like he never came back here after that.

    ¡°Lady Karina seems to have a little resemnce to Cyan though.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°That reddish hair color is probably inherited from Cyan too.¡± (Mumroot)

    Karina touches her hair.

    ¡°Your reddish hair reminds me of him. I¡¯m d to see his bloodline was preserved. Thank you, Lady Karina.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°No, that kind of thing¡­¡± (Karina)

    He was happy to see the face of his friend even just a little.

    ¡°By the way, about Balima-san¡¯s son-inw¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I exined it to him.

    At first, I misunderstood, too.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    I was working on the book as you can see in the activity report.

    It looks like Karina, Fina, and the others are getting along just fine.

    ¡ù As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 581

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 3</b>

    ¡°Speaking of which, can you swim? It would be dangerous to ride for those who can¡¯t swim.¡± (Karina)

    I remember hearing that you had to be able to swim to get on the boat because it would be dangerous if you fell. But Fina and Shuri can swim because they practiced in the sea.

    That¡¯s why Shuri confidently raises her hand, ¡°I can swim~¡±. Then Fina and Ruimin nodded.

    ¡°Can you swim too, Ruimin?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s ake near the vige, so I swim there.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Oh right, do you guys have clothes for swimming? If you don¡¯t have any, you¡¯ll have to buy them from a nearby shop.¡± (Karina)

    I have my swimsuit in my bear box, but I have no ns to ride that bird.

    ¡°Fina, what about your swimsuit?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, I brought it along with Shuri¡¯s just in case.¡± (Fina)

    As expected of Fina. She is so reliable.

    But there¡¯s one person with a gloomy look on her face.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, I don¡¯t have one.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin looked sad, but just as Karina said, all she had to do was buy one.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯m sorry, Mumroot-sama, but adults can¡¯t ride it.¡± (Karina)

    Karina says apologetically.

    ¡°In that case, it¡¯s just right. I¡¯m going to go somewhere for a while.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Is that so? In that case, I¡¯ll show you around then.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°No need, I¡¯m going alone, I¡¯ll be fine. Have fun with everyone.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I understand. If Mumroot-sama says so.¡± (Karina)

    I thought about following Mumroot-san because I¡¯m also an adult and cannot ride, but he said he wanted to go alone, so I couldn¡¯t follow him.

    Besides, it¡¯s Fina¡¯s birthday present. I¡¯ll be with Fina as much as possible and see her smile as she enjoys herself.

    ¡°Take care of Ruimin for me.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, I will make sure to take good care of Ruimin-san.¡± (Karina)

    Mumroot-san went and left Ruimin¡¯s care to us.

    Guided by Karina, we went to the store, bought Ruimin¡¯s swimsuit, and went to the big duck.

    ¡°It¡¯s a big bird!~¡± (Shuri)

    Theye to the duck, or should I say the duck boarding tform.

    ¡°Come to think of it, does it have a name?¡± (Yuna)

    I call it ¡°Karugamo¡± in my mind. (TN: (¥«¥ë¥¬¥â) spot-billed duck)

    ¡°It¡¯s called a Kamor.¡± (Karina)

    Yeah, it¡¯s a name simr to Karugamo.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to go talk to the person there, so please wait a moment.¡± (Karina)

    Instead of the Karugamo, Karina went to the man taking care of the ducks.

    Then, after a quick chat, she came back.

    ¡°I got permission. Then let¡¯s change our clothes over there.¡± (Karina)

    Karina points to a small hut.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be watching, so go on ahead.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you too.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°<i>Eh</i>, me too?¡± (Yuna)

    Didn¡¯t she say that adults are not allowed to ride?

    ¡°Yes. I also asked for Yuna-san¡¯s part.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°But I¡¯m an adult, and I might be heavy.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m talking about the heaviness from not having a child¡¯s body. I¡¯m not talking about being heavy because I¡¯m fat by any means.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it¡¯ll be fine if it¡¯s you.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think Yuna-oneesan is heavy.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan is smaller than mom, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yeah, I also think it¡¯ll be fine, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    I want to say a word to all of you. Those are notpliments.

    In the end, after being pulled by Fina and the girls, I also got on a Kamor.

    Well, maybe somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted to get on board.

    Because I can ride the bird.

    It¡¯s an experience as rare as riding a bear.

    We entered the hut and changed into our swimsuits.

    But I never thought I would be wearing a swimsuit in Dezerto city. I wore my ck and white swimsuit. I put my bear gear in the bear box and only had my bear puppet with me.

    When I looked at the girls, I saw that Fina was wearing a ck ruffled swimsuit, and Shuri was wearing a white swimsuit. And surely Shuri has a tail behind her.

    Karina and Ruimin were wearing simple swimsuits.

    ¡°You girls look adorable in your swimsuits.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan made it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna-san made it?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I just drew the images and had them made by someone I know.¡± (Yuna)

    I made sure to make proper corrections in that area.

    Fina¡¯s description makes it sound like I¡¯m the one who made it.

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m a little envious.¡± (Karina)

    However, I cannot ask Sherry to make one for her.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go.¡± (Karina)

    We go to the man who manages the Kamors.

    Then we listened to the precautions about getting on the Kamor. Then Karina rides first, followed by Shuri, Fina, and Ruimin.

    Karina is used to it and rides smoothly, Shuri rides cheerfully, Fina rides slowly, and Ruimin rides anxiously.

    Andst but not least, I won¡¯t be shaken off because I¡¯m heavy, would I?

    I¡¯m an adult, so I thought I couldn¡¯t ride it, but when I got on it, I was worried that I would be thrown off because I was heavy.

    I got on a Kamor more nervously than when I rode my bears for the first time.

    Oh, it¡¯s surprisingly stable. It was floating above the water. It¡¯s like being on a big float.

    I get on the Kamor, and we move around theke with Karina in the front.

    I was briefed on the ride, and it seems that basically, you can only ride on it and not be able to direct it where you want to go.

    The Kamor seems used to it and will move around the same ce and then return. So it could get food from the man who is taking care of it.

    It seems that the Kamors would carry us around theke in order to get food.

    It¡¯s like a give-and-take thing.

    They begin to move in a line, led by the Kamor that Karina is riding.

    The Kamors were well-educated and were moving along theke in a group. It was like the migration of a mother and her ducklings I had seen on TV.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>, it¡¯s amazing!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri, stay still. Think about the poor Kamor.¡± (Fina)

    Fina warned Shuri, who was frolicking on the Kamor.

    As one of the precautions, we were told not to do anything that the Kamor would not like. Of course, jumping around and making noise are strictly forbidden.

    ¡°But I never thought I¡¯d get to ride a bird.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I never thought I could ride a bear.¡± (Karina)

    Karina replied to my words.

    ¡°Well, if you live in the Desert, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d get to ride a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s normally the case even if you live in Crimonia.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Even in the elf vige, there are docile bears, but they still won¡¯t let you ride on their backs.¡± (Ruimin)

    Fina and Ruimin rebuked my answer. It¡¯s true, you don¡¯t usually get to ride a bear.

    ¡°Yuna-san. Would you let me see Swaying Baer-chan and Hugging Bear-chanter?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°When we get back to your house. Otherwise, they¡¯ll cause an uproar in the city.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Of course, I don¡¯t mind.¡± (Karina)

    Karina looks happy.

    And so, the long yet so short ride on the birds came to an end. When the Kamors returned, they went to the man who was taking care of them and got fed.

    It was a really valuable experience. I would never have been able to experience that in my former world.

    Then we changed our clothes and went back to exploring the city.

    On the way there, I went to a store that sold spices for my desired curry and bought arge quantity of spices. The man at the store seemed happy.

    It makes me happy to see them properly remaining in the city.

    <b>-Mumroot¡¯s POV-</b>

    I¡¯m walking alone in the city. The scenery has changed. The only thing that has not changed is theke. I went to the outskirts overlooking the city.

    There are many graves.

    Before I left the house, I asked Balima-dono about the location of the graveyard. These tombs are the resting ces of those who lived in this city. This goes to show that many people have lived in this city.

    I came here to visit the grave of an old friend somewhere in this graveyard.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, he said it was the biggest tomb in the back.¡± (Mumroot)

    After walking through the graveyard towards the back, a veryrge tombstone can be seen in the most conspicuous ce.

    I stood before the tombstone.

    ¡°Is this your resting ce?¡± (Mumroot)

    I feel sad. Elves and humans have different lifespans.

    As the elves move out of the vige, they gradually learn the difference in the length of their lifespan from humans, and it bes hard for them to watch their friends and rtives grow old, so they return to the vige. In an elven vige, everyone has a long lifespan. They can live together. That¡¯s why theye back to the vige in the end. And like me, they never leave the vige again.

    Ruimin will also part ways with the girls someday. But it¡¯s also part of her growth.

    We all meet new people and part ways.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m sorry I came here sote. Still, I didn¡¯t expect the city to be this splendid. As expected of your descendants, Cyan, Quat.¡± (Mumroot)

    When I close my eyes, two facese to mind.

    ¡°Lady Karina has red hair and looks like Cyan. I was happy to see that she properly inherited your blood.¡± (Mumroot)

    When she grows up, she might look like Cyan.

    Then, in front of the grave, I told Cyan and Quat how I had lived since we parted.

    I thought I would nevere here again, but it might be nice to meet an old friend.

    It¡¯s probably because I met Kagali that I now feel this way.

    I was happy to see Kagali alive.

    If I¡¯m not mistaken, you said you were also going to the Land of Harmony. If you had met Kagali, it might be nice to talk about the old days for the first time in a while.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    It looks like I will be posting weekly for a while.

    I also apologize for not replying to your feedback.

    Yuna also rode the Karugamo (spot-billed duck).

    Surely, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear might be angry with her inside her bear puppet. (lol)

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Episode 36 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Comic PASH!

    It¡¯s a story about the director of the orphanage.

    Please have a look.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I can¡¯t reply to you, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 582

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 4</b>

    We went around the city and came back to Karina¡¯s house. Mumroot-san had already returned to the house. When I asked him where he had been, he said, ¡°I went to see an old friend¡±.

    I kind of got the idea, so I didn¡¯t pry into it any further.

    Then Mumroot-san said he wanted to say hello to Karina¡¯s mother, Ristil-san, so we all went to see her.

    There¡¯s a baby in Ristil-san¡¯s room.

    A small, adorable baby.

    I opened and closed the bear puppet¡¯s mouth in front of the baby. The babyughed and reached out to me.

    ¡°He¡¯sughing.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, he seems to be looking at you, isn¡¯t he?¡± (Fina)

    Just as Fina said, I feel like he¡¯s looking at me. As I moved around, his eyes followed me.

    ¡°As expected, he¡¯s looking at you, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    The babyughed when the bear puppet¡¯s mouth pped in front of the baby¡¯s eyes.

    When I tried to leave, his expression began to change.

    ¡°Ah, I think he¡¯s going to cry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Cho~¡±

    I frantically went back and started to cajole him tough by flipping the bear puppet¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°It seems that he likes you, Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    I think he liked the bear puppet more than me.

    ¡°But if Yuna-san leaves, It¡¯ll be troublesome if he starts crying.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take care of him.¡± (Ristil)

    Ristil-san says so, but I¡¯d feel sorry if he cried.

    However, if he¡¯s reacting to the bears, I have a workaround for that.

    I took out a stuffed Swaying Bear from the bear box and ced it in front of the baby, and the baby reacted to the stuffed Swaying Bear.

    ¡°He¡¯s looking at Bear-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    I was right. The baby reaches for the stuffed bear with his tinyl hands. The baby looks happy when I hand him the stuffed bear.

    And even when I left the room, his interest was glued to the stuffed Swaying Bear, and he no longer cried.

    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s going to like bears just as much as I do.¡± (Karina)

    Karina pokes the cheek of the baby who is hugging the bear stuffed animal.

    Also, I put a Hugging Bear stuffed animal next to the baby. Because it feels sad to have only one.

    Ristil-san looked apologetic, but I had more in stock and gave it as a gift to celebrate the baby¡¯s birth.

    We then talked with Ristil-san until it was time for dinner.

    She then thanked me for bringing Mumroot-san here.

    There¡¯s yellow soup lining up on the table.

    Rasa-san made curry.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit spicy, but it¡¯s delicious.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin puts curry on bread and eats it with relish.

    ¡°Indeed. In the vige, we don¡¯t eat spicy food like this very often, so it¡¯s very exquisite.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear you say that.¡± (Balima)

    Both Fina and Shuri enjoyed the food, partly because it was a bit less spicy.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, what kind of people were Cyan-sama and Quat-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you about that too.¡± (Ristil)

    Karina and Ristil-san ask Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Cyan and Quat? Cyan was a dynamic woman. She was good at handling magic. However, she had the personality of poking her nose into anything she was interested in. She was the one who suggested that we attack the pyramid. Quat was always backing her up, partly because he liked her.¡± (Mumroot)

    I guess it¡¯s called blinded by love.

    ¡°And we were able to go deep into thebyrinth of the pyramids with such an enthusiastic Cyan at the center.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! To get to the deepest part of thatbyrinth without a map or the crystal te.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°It was Cyan who found the crystal te. I have fond memories of how everyone panicked when Cyan suddenly touched it, even though there were so many traps around it.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san said with augh, but it would indeed be a problem if that was a trap.

    ¡°So then, Cyan-sama became the administrator of the crystal te?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I remember there was a water magic stone. Didn¡¯t you think of taking it home with you?¡± (Ristil)

    Normally, one would consider taking therge magic stone as a treasure.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember the exact wording, but it said that ake would form if you activated the water magic stone. And so, ¡°Ake in the desert?¡± Cyanughed and then eximed, ¡°It would be great to have ake in the desert.¡± And with thatment, she decided to activate the magic stone without taking it.¡± (Mumroot)

    Somehow, she seemed like an interesting person.

    ¡°And we went outside the pyramid, witnessing water gushing out into the desert. Cyan said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we didn¡¯t take it.¡± I can¡¯t believe Cyan was right.¡± (Mumroot)

    This town exists thanks to Cyan-san. It¡¯s like listening to history, and it¡¯s interesting.

    ¡°Then Cyan, knowing that she was the only one who could handle the crystal te, decided to stay. Quat, who was fond of her, also decided to stay.¡± (Mumroot)

    After that, they helped people live there for a while, but with Cyan-san and Quat-san¡¯s words, Mumroot-san left theke city.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. It was a pleasure to hear about those two.¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°No, it is I who have no words to express my gratitude to you, the descendants who have inherited their will and protected this city. Thank you.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san bows his head.

    ¡°Please, raise your head. We are just doing our part. We will continue to do so.¡± (Ristil)

    Mumroot-san looks happy at Ristil-san¡¯s words. It was supposed to be a birthday present for Fina, but I¡¯m really d I brought him along.

    ¡°And so, I have a favor to ask of you.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°What would that be?¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°Could you take me to the pyramid? I want to see inside for the first time in a while.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°Mother, Father, please let me show them around.¡± (Karina)

    Karina raised her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been there many times already, so I can guide them.¡± (Karina)

    Balima-san and Ristil-san looked at each other and nodded.

    ¡°Then we¡¯re counting on you, Karina, to guide Mumroot-sama.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°Yes. Please leave it to me.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°<i>Ano</i>, what is this pyramid you¡¯ve been talking about for a while now?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asks.

    ¡°Did you see the big triangr-shaped thing when you wereing into town?¡± (Karina)

    Karina asks back.

    Oh, right. When I first came here, I saw the pyramids. But this time, we used the bear gate to enter the city, so we didn¡¯t see the pyramids.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s because Ruimin, Fina, and Shuri were sleeping on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when we arrived in the city.¡± (Yuna)

    Even Fina and Shuri pretended they were asleep so as not to say anything strange. Fina covered Shuri¡¯s mouth, then Fina and Ruimin also quickly interjected, ¡°Yes, I was asleep¡± and ¡°I was asleep, so I didn¡¯t notice¡±. Seeing them like that, Mumroot-san smiled.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. It feels good on top of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Karina)

    Then Ruimin and Shuri also said they wanted to see the pyramids. I said no, because of the crystal te and other secret things, but Balima-san gave them permission because they were rted to me and Mumroot-san.

    Is that alright?

    Maybe that¡¯s how much he trusts me and Mumroot-san.

    And at the end of the meal, Rasa-san served us a pudding made from Kamor eggs.

    It seemed to be creative and very tasty.

    After the meal, we take a bath and go to the room where we will stay the night.

    There are five beds in the room. Apparently, Karina asked to sleep in the same room.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± (Karina)

    I promised Karina that I would bring out Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for her. Karina petted the regr-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and she looked happy to see them again after a long time.

    ¡°The stuffed animals are nice, but I think the real Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan are still the best.¡± (Karina)

    I gave Karina a pair of stuffed animals thest time I visited her so she would not be lonely when Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear left. She seems to be taking good care of them.

    And that night, Karina asked about Crimonia and the elven vige, and Fina and her friends answered happily.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone to bed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Except for Fina and me, the other three fell asleep hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I carried them one by one to the bed and put them to sleep.

    ¡°Fina, are you having fun?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I am having a lot of fun. I didn¡¯t think I could experience so much in a few days. Thank you, Yuna-oneesan, for bringing me here.¡± (Fina)

    There¡¯s no hint of lying or faking in Fina¡¯s expression. She thanked me from the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°Since I met you, Yuna-oneesan, I¡¯ve had so many happy things happen to me that sometimes I think I¡¯m dreaming. My Mom is healthy, Shuri is smiling, and Uncle Gentz is now my Dad.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not a dream. And there are many more fun things toe.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m d I got to meet you too, Fina. Thank you.¡± (Fina)

    We smiled at each other.

    ¡°We still have a lot of ces to go, so let¡¯s have fun.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    After that, Fina and I fell asleep while chatting on the bed.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Yuna and Fina are so close.

    The book ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable for free on Pikkoma, a free manga site.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 583

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 5</b>

    The next day we prepared to go to the pyramids.

    ¡°What a big lizard!~¡± (Shuri)

    This isn¡¯t the first time she has seen a Ragaroot, she already saw it yesterday in the city, but when she saw it in front of her, Shuri began to get excited.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, what do you want to do?¡± (Karina)

    Karina asks while looking at Ragaroot.

    How are we going to get to the pyramid? We can go on Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, or Ragaroot.

    ¡°To be honest, I would be happy to be carried by Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, if possible.¡± (Karina)

    Karina speaks with a slight hesitation.

    Normally, Karina would ride on the Ragaroot. But she seems to want to ride on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. However, there was someone else who was aware of her feelings and another someone who was also interested in the Ragaroot, raised their hands.

    ¡°For the first time in a long time, I¡¯d like to ride the Ragaroot.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I- I want to ride the big lizard too!¡± (Shuri)

    While Mumroot-san was very attentive, Shuri seemed to be interested in Ragaroot.

    ¡°I want to ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡±

    ¡°I also prefer Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Fina and Ruimin are not good with Ragaroot, apparently. Well, I also prefer Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. That makes Shuri a strong-willed girl.

    Thus, Mumroot and Shuri rode on the Ragaroot, then Fina, Ruimin, Karina, and I, rode on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°A big triangle~?¡± (Shuri)

    As we leave the city, Shuri says this looking at the pyramids.

    It¡¯s definitely triangr.

    ¡°Grandpa Mumroot, you¡¯ve been there before, haven¡¯t you?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Ah, it was over a hundred years ago.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Grandpa Mumroot, you¡¯re an amazing grandpa, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri¡¯s words made everyoneugh.

    Perhaps she doesn¡¯t know that elves live long or how long they can live.

    I don¡¯t know how long elves live either, though, and I don¡¯t know how long Mumroot-san has lived. So what Shuri is saying is correct.

    And so, we arrived at the pyramids without encountering monsters.

    It hasn¡¯t been that long, but I feel nostalgic about the pyramid exploration with Jade-san and the others.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go in.¡± (Karina)

    Just likest time, we prepared food and water for the Ragaroot in the hut. Made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear smaller and entered the pyramid together.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>, it¡¯s amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s bigger than I thought it would be.¡± (Ruimin)

    Mumroot walks around nostalgically, Ruimin and Shuri scurry around, looking at their surroundings, and Fina and Karina had a chat.

    ¡°How did they make something this big?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think so too, Fina-chan?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s strange. Do you know Karina-chan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know. How about you, Mumroot-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t even have any idea either.¡± (Mumroot)

    Well, Mumroot-san wasn¡¯t there to witness for himself the ce as it was being built.

    We proceeded while talking about the pyramid, which led us to arge space.

    Checking around, there are many entrances. This is the first hurdle. Without the map on the crystal board, it¡¯s challenging to find the correct entrance.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯s about an hour¡¯s walk from here, but let¡¯s do our best.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°<i>Un</i>!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Fina and the girls responded, but someone interrupted them.

    ¡°Why? With that crystal te, you wouldn¡¯t have to walk that much.¡± (Mumroot)

    Karina made an indescribable expression at Mumroot-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°¡­<i>Etto</i>, Mumroot-sama. What do you mean by that?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°You know, with that crystal tablet, you should be able to get to your destination easily. Cyan has been there many times, and I have been there many times myself.¡± (Mumroot)

    At Mumroot-san¡¯s words, Karina was frozen in ce.

    ¡°By the way, Mumurut-sama, are you sure that the ce you¡¯re talking about is the ce where the wateres out?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°That¡¯s where we¡¯re headed.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So how long does it take to get there easily?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to climb stairs, but it should just take a few minutes, 10 at the most.¡± (Mumroot)

    Short, too short. Thest time we went there it took about an hour, just like Karina said.

    ¡°Is that true?!¡± (Karina)

    Karina also asked back, incredulously.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, but don¡¯t you know about it perhaps?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I am sorry, Mumroot-sama. I, no, not even your mother, know about it. All we know is how to get from this entrance to our destination by following the map on the crystal tablet and walking through the longbyrinth. Do you know the easy way to get there, Mumroot-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Give me a minute. I¡¯ll try to remember.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san twists his head around, pondering.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, Cyan did something like this and that.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san tried to remember talking to himself, as if squeezing out past memories.

    ¡°Somehow, I just remembered. Please do as I said.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Karina)

    Then, just in case, they move to a ce where we cannot hear and operate the crystal board.

    ¡°Yes, just like that.¡±

    ¡°Something like this¡­¡±

    ¡°Next¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    ¡°It should be fine now.¡±

    ¡°Really, with this¡­¡±

    Apparently, it was done.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Are we going to be able to take that shortcut?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, probably. I¡¯m not sure, because I haven¡¯t gone through it yet, but I did what Mumroot-sama told me to do, and I saw an indication on the crystal te that I had never seen before.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll know when we get there. It will prove that Mumroot-san¡¯s memory is correct. But it might be dangerous, so I¡¯ll be on the front.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, no, that¡¯s not it! It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t believe you.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Grandpa, you shouldn¡¯t bully Karina-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯m not bullying her, though.¡± (Mumroot)

    Everyone bursts intoughter.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± (Karina)

    Karina walks, with a crystal te in hand, and we follow.

    Then, just like before, we stood in front of one of the entrances. Karina entered and immediately stopped.

    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s go inside. We¡¯re going to be left behind.¡± (Mumroot)

    At Mumroot-san¡¯s advice, we entered the entrance.

    The stone door then slides to the side and blocks the entrance.

    ¡°Grandpa! The entrance.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. it¡¯s to prevent others froming in. Cyan said that if she was attacked while she was holding the crystal te, she would control the crystal te and escape.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But what if they break down the door?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as we keep going, the path behind us will be blocked, and they¡¯ll be diverted somewhere.¡± (Mumroot)

    As Mumroot-san says, it sounds like the path changes behind us when we go a little further. us.

    ¡°By the way, if we get separated¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. In the first ce, it¡¯s a single path, so I never get lost, and I¡¯ve never strayed too far from Cyan. Maybe we¡¯ll be trapped.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Shuri, hold my hand.¡± (Fina)

    Hearing Mumroot-san¡¯s words, Fina grabbed Shuri¡¯s hand, who had the most suspicious behavior.

    ¡°Then, if you¡¯re saying there is only one path, we¡¯ll walk in the front, and Karina will be in the back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Karina)

    If Karina was thest one, we shouldn¡¯t be trapped.

    Besides, if something happens up front, I can handle it.

    I lead the way, followed by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Fina, Shuri, Ruimin, Mumroot-san, and Karina.

    The passageway was just one aisle and stairs, just as Mumroot-san said.

    Then, after walking for a while, we came out to a room with the water magic stone. The ce we exited was the exit we used thest time we left the room.

    ¡°Really, it¡¯s that easy. All the hard work I¡¯ve done¡­¡­¡± (Karina)

    Karina gets depressed when she sees a room with water magic stones.

    I know that feeling painfully well. If they¡¯d been taking this path, the crystal te would not have been dropped, and I would not have had to fight the giant Scorpion.

    We walk forward and look at the watering out of the cup.

    It seems that the Kraken magic stone is working.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>, there¡¯s watering out of the big cup.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri said while looking at the water overflowing from therge cup.

    Since the water magic stone cannot be seen due to its position, it looks like water ising out of the cup.

    So Shuri and the others look at the cup curiously.

    ¡°Karina-oneechan. I¡¯m thirsty. Is it okay if I drink some water?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asks while looking at the water.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, go ahead.¡± (Karina)

    When Karina gives her permission, Shuri, Ruimin, and Fina scoop up the spring water with their hands and drink the water with relish.

    ¡°Even so, I didn¡¯t think you could get to this room in this way.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°But I¡¯m sure Cyan notes about the pyramid and the crystal te. Didn¡¯t you get it, perhaps?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°There was such a note? But I don¡¯t think either father or mother knows about it.¡± (Karina)

    Well, if they knew, they wouldn¡¯t have taken the long path we took thest time.

    ¡°So did someone stole it or something?¡± (Yuna)

    I, who was listening to the story, interjected somehow.

    ¡°No, I think if something that important were to go missing, all hell would break loose, and it would remain in the lore.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°For now, we¡¯ll just have to check it.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She keeps her important things in this room. This room is the best ce to hide them, because they can¡¯t be easily stolen.¡± (Mumroot)

    Certainly, this room cannot be easily entered, so things can¡¯t be stolen, or important notes copied.

    ¡°But when I came to this room, there was no such thing.¡± (Karina)

    Certainly, there is no such thing in this room. In the first ce, if there is such a thing, there¡¯s no way Karina and the others won¡¯t notice it.

    ¡°Even though I say this room, it¡¯s more of a hidden room. The thing we¡¯re looking for should be in there.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°A hidden room? I¡¯m sorry. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Maybe the lore has died out somewhere, like the path we just took?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not for you to apologize, Lady Karina.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes¡­ So, where is the hidden room?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°If you ce the crystal te at the pedestal over there and pour in magic, a stairway to a hidden room will appear.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But if I put the crystal te on that pedestal and pour in magic, the water will stop¡­¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. If I remember correctly, she ced the crystal te in the opposite way.¡± (Mumroot)

    Karina flipped the crystal te backward and then put it on the pedestal as Mumroot-san had instructed her to do. Then, when she touched the crystal te, we heard a rumbling sound, and part of the floor shifted, revealing a staircase leading down.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    A backdoor has been found.

    I¡¯m d Mumroot remembered it, lol.

    Back then, when I was writing, I was worried about whether or not to use this path.

    It¡¯s a nostalgic memory.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>] </b>Episode 37 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been published on Comic PASH! It¡¯s the start of the Royal Capital chapter.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 584

    Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Dezerto City Edition 6

    ¡°There¡¯s a staircase here.¡±

    A small staircase appeared behind the pedestal fitted with a crystal te.

    ¡°I believe that Cyan and Quat stored various things in the room below this one. Well, it¡¯s been more than a hundred years since then, so I don¡¯t know what has happened since then.¡± (Mumroot)

    Well, Mumroot-san has no way of knowing what happened to Cyan-san, her children, or her descendants after he left the city.

    ¡°Stairs appeared from the floor.¡± (Fina)

    Fina moves in front of the stairs.

    ¡°Are we going down the stairs?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri and Ruimin also asked curiously as they looked at the stairs that appeared.

    ¡°Etto, well¡­¡±

    Karina was at a loss for words while looking at the stairs and us.

    Is it okay for her to take us inside or not?

    Personally, I want to go inside too. But this ce was protected by Karina¡¯s ancestors. So I can¡¯t say I want to go inside that easily.

    If I said I wanted to enter, Karina¡¯s personality would make it impossible for her to refuse my request.

    ¡°We are waiting for them here. Shuri, this is an important ce for Karina¡¯s ancestors, so we can¡¯t enter.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looks at the stairs regretfully.

    ¡°So you¡¯ll have to wait here with me.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Un¡±

    Shuri is a curious girl with many questions, but she is also a good girl who¡¯ll understand if you exin why she can¡¯t do something. Ruimin is also looking at the stairs as if she is leaving something behind, but since Shuri is not being selfish, she has given up.

    ¡°Shuri-chan, Ruimin-san. I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be waiting with my sisters.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Well, then, it would be better for me not to join you there too, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (Mumroot)

    When we refrained, even Mumroot-san started saying such things.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, haven¡¯t you been inside there before?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Well, that was a long time ago.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯m a little scared to go in alone, so I would appreciate it if you woulde with me, Mumroot-sama. Besides, you are looking for something too, right? It might be difficult for me to find it by myself.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Then that¡¯s alright with me.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Karina)

    And so, Mumroot-san and Karina went down the stairs.

    Shuri and Ruimin looked at Mumroot-san and Karina with envy. Honestly, I also wanted to go. Because it was a hidden room. I¡¯m not copying Shuri, but I wanted to see what kind of room it was. However, if I told Karina I wanted to see it, it would trouble her.

    I decided to be patient and wait here with Shuri and the others.

    ¡°Then, shall we take a look at this room as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un. Yuna-oneechan, can I have a closer look at that big cup?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri points to the watering from therge cup. Apparently, there¡¯s still something of interest in this room.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t touch it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un!¡±

    After permitting them, Shuri, Fina and Ruimin also climbed the stairs to get a closer look at the overflowing cup of water. Apparently, Fina wanted to see it up close, too.

    ******

    -Mumroot¡¯s POV-

    I went down the stairs with Lady Karina.

    A short walk down the stairs led to a room a bitrger than the one earlier.

    How nostalgic. The memory of that timees flooding back to me.

    Some of them were nostalgic, but there were also many things I saw for the first time.

    The desk and bookshelves that Cyan used are still there.

    But I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on her desk or the bookshelf.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize there was such a ce like this.¡± (Karina)

    Karina looks at the room curiously.

    ¡°This room is a state of unuse for a long time, but it¡¯s still beautiful.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°It was already like this when we first found it.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Ano. Mumroot-sama, was there nothing in this room?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°There were jewels and other things. But it was all used for the development of the city. Cyan wanted to share it with everyone in the party, but Kodirook and I declined. We made the two of them use these treasures to develop the city so that it is possible for people to live here.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°So that¡¯s what made the city what it is today.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina looks around the room with deep emotion.

    ¡°So, what is it that you¡¯re looking for, Mumroot-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°A letter from Cyan and Quat. I would appreciate it if you could help me find them along with the notebook.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± (Karina)

    We split up and decided to check the room.

    There are more things in the room that I don¡¯t know than when I walked in. I don¡¯t know if Cyan and Quat added them or if their descendants carried them, but there are all kinds of things.

    Lady Karina is looking at various objects with great interest.

    Looking at the wall, I found something nostalgic on disy.

    ¡°These are the weapons that Cyan and Quat used.¡± (Mumroot)

    When I said that, Lady Karina also looked at the staff and sword hanging on the wall.

    ¡°Cyan-sama and Quat-sama¡­¡± (Karina)

    It brings back memories of those two using these weapons.

    I hadpletely forgotten about it, but since I came to this city, I have been reminded of many things.

    And as I was looking at the items on the shelves, I saw a neat little box. I recognized that little box.

    ¡°Lady Karina, do you mind if we check the contents of that box?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°This one? It¡¯s a beautiful box.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina grabs the small box on the shelf.

    ¡°It was a gift from Quat and Cyan. Perhaps there is something in it.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll check inside.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina opens the box.

    ¡°There are letters inside.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina takes out a bundle of envelopes from the box and checks the contents.

    ¡°These are letters from Cyan-sama and Quat-sama to Mumroot-sama and Kodirook-sama.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina handed me the letters.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure both Cyan-sama and Quat-sama won¡¯t get angry.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I appreciate it.¡± (Mumroot)

    I received a bundle of letters.

    The envelopes had the names Cyan and Quat. There are quite a few letters. The date was written in the lower left corner of the name. Apparently, they were written every year.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, were you expecting a letter from Cyan-sama?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Since I came here, I¡¯ve had a lot of things to think about. Then I just remembered what she said. Even so, I hadpletely forgotten about them. I¡¯m such a heartless old man.¡± (Mumroot)

    When conversing with Cyan and Quat in front of their grave, I remembered what she said, ¡°I don¡¯t care how many years pass, one day you¡¯lle and see the city we have built. ¡°I¡¯ll write you a letter¡±.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I am sure they¡¯re d that you came.¡± (Karina)

    That also depends on what this letter says.

    I opened the seal of thest letter, took out the letter inside, and looked through it.

    Mumroot, how are you? I did my best. I was happy, I had children and grandchildren. The only frustrating thing is that I can¡¯t see what will happen to thiske city anymore. That¡¯s why I envy you, Mumroot. I don¡¯t know when you will read this letter, but I am sure our descendants will make this city as good as any other. They are, aren¡¯t they?

    Your descendants are working hard to carry on your will. Don¡¯t worry.

    The letter contained many other things.

    I¡¯m on the verge of tears at this age, but I hold them in. Although, if I read the letter any further, I¡¯m sure I will not be able to stop the tears froming out, so I close the letter without reading it all the way through.

    ¡°Lady Karina, thank you for bringing me into this pyramid.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who should be thankful, I was able to learn more about the pyramid, the crystal te, and this room. I¡¯m sure my mother will be pleased.¡± (Karina)

    This room hasn¡¯t changed, and it brings back a lot of memories.

    ¡°All that¡¯s left is Cyan¡¯s notebook.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°It was also in this small box. It also mentioned details about this pyramid and the crystal te, so I think it was Cyan-sama¡¯s notebook that you mentioned, Mumroot-sama.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina shows me the old notebook.

    How nostalgic. That¡¯s the notebook Cyan used to write in.

    ¡°Ah, this is it for sure.¡± (Mumroot)

    We have finished searching in this room.

    ¡°Well then, Ruimin and the others are waiting for us upstairs, so let¡¯s go back.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Etto, what should we do with this letter for Kodirook-sama?¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina is in trouble with a letter addressed to Kodirook.

    Kodirook is gone. He had already passed away, just like Cyan.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it to his grave.¡± (Mumroot)

    I can¡¯t just take it with me.

    ¡°May I trouble you with it?¡± (Karina)

    But Lady Karina gives her permission so easily.

    ¡°No, wait, it¡¯s better to get permission from your parents first.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, I see. Of course, I¡¯ll check with my mother and father first.¡± (Karina)

    Lady Karina puts the letters for Kodirook in the item bag. She then puts Cyan¡¯s notebook she was carrying back in the small box and returns the small box to where it was before.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take it back with you?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to take it out from this ce. I¡¯lle with my mother and father at ater date. Besides, thanks to you, Mumroot-sama, we can enter this core room easily now.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Very well.¡± (Mumroot)

    After we both found what we were looking for, we returned to the room where Bear Missy, and the girls were waiting for us.

    Before I went up the stairs, I pped my face to get show a normal facial expression because I didn¡¯t want my granddaughter to see my weird expression.

    Lady Karina asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± but I yed it by saying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡±.

    Then, when we got up the stairs, the girls¡¯ clothes were wet, aside from Bear Missy.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°They tried to see where the water came out from, but they got wet in the process.¡± (Yuna)

    ording to the story, they got too close while looking inside the cup overflowing with water and got wet.

    ¡°Fufu, well then, you¡¯ll catch a cold if you stay wet, so let¡¯s go outside.¡± (Karina)

    We exit through the door we entered.

    Author¡¯s Note:

    Next time, the story of the city of Dezerto will be over.

    [Notice]

    Volume 14 of Kuma, which was scheduled to be released on December 20th, will be released on January 7th.

    We apologize for the inconvenience to our readers who have been looking forward to it.

    ¡ù As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am unable to reply, so I¡¯ll leave this here.

 Chapter 585

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Land Of Harmony Edition 1</b>

    ¡°Grandpa, did you find what you were looking for?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin asked Mumroot-san while wiping her hair with a towel.

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°A bunch of letters from Cyan and Quat.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san showed us a bundle of letters.

    There was quite a lot. Perhaps they had written quite a number of them after Mumroot-san left.

    ¡°So these are letters from old friends of yours, grandpa? But they¡¯re already gone, aren¡¯t they? That¡¯s just sad.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I cannot write a reply, but I can still read them. That¡¯s what I, who¡¯s still alive, can only do.¡± (Mumroot)

    I think only he himself knows how he feels.

    But this time, I can tell by the look on Mumroot-san¡¯s face that he was happy to receive Cyan-san and Quat-san¡¯s letter.

    After all, when theye up the stairs, Mumroot-san has a big smile stered on his face.

    ¡°Those letters reached far into the future, didn¡¯t they?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina, who had been listening to Mumroot-san and Ruimin¡¯s conversation, says with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. It may be one-sided, but thinking about it, it reached me because I¡¯m still alive.¡± (Mumroot)

    However, some letters in this world never get delivered.

    And, unlike Japan, there¡¯s no established distribution system. It¡¯s a world where monsters and bandits appear.

    So I¡¯m d that Mumroot-san was able to receive letters from Cyan-san and Quat-san this time.

    And having sessfully aplished Mumroot-san¡¯s goal, we return to Karina¡¯s house. Karina informs her parents about what happened.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°Yes, Mumroot-sama has taught me a lot of things. From now on, we can get to that room easily. And there was also a hidden room where our ancestors had stored various things.¡± (Karina)

    After all, Ristil-san¡¯s father, Karina¡¯s grandfather, lost his parents when he was around the same age as Karina, and at that time, he inherited the crystal te.

    ¡°What about his grandfather or grandmother?¡± (Karina)

    ¡°I heard that they died of an illness.¡± (Ristil)

    That was perhaps when the interruption urred.

    So I heard that Karina¡¯s grandfather said he had a lot of trouble with it.

    I think Karina¡¯s grandfather, who lost his parents when he was a child and took over the role of the custodian of the city without knowing anything, has aplished an amazing feat.

    Even if the information is cut off, no one canin. Considering the circumstances that befell their family, I think they did their best.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Karina)

    Karina seemed to be hearing this for the first time, so she listened attentively.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, when they forced themselves to y the role, I went on a trip to clear the frustration that I had after shutting myself up in the city.¡± (Mumroot)

    Oh, I do remember him saying that.

    ording to the story, he hasn¡¯te back until now.

    ¡°Dad¡­ He might be surprised when he knows you came back.¡± (Ristil)

    Ristil-san smiles as if she had imagined it.

    ¡°He may be disappointed that he wasn¡¯t able to meet Mumroot-sama, though.¡± (Karina)

    ¡°Indeed.¡± (Ristil)

    Ristil-san once again looks at Mumroot-san.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama. Thank you very much for this opportunity. Thanks to you, we are now able to carry on the will of Cyan-sama and our ancestors easier.¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°No, honestly, if only I hade earlier, you wouldn¡¯t have to endure such a hard time. I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Mumroot)

    Then Mumroot-san, who had been looking at Ristil-san and Karina, turned his attention to me.

    ¡°Bear Missy, if you hadn¡¯t invited me, I don¡¯t think I would have ever set foot on thisnd again. Thank you so much.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot-san suddenly thanked me, and because of that, all eyes were on me.

    ¡°I was just returning the gratitude to Mumroot-san for all the help he gave me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about? I was the one grateful for everything that you did. I owe you more than I can ever repay.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We don¡¯t even have words to express our gratitude to you, Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°When I first saw her, I remember thinking, ¡®Who is this girl dressed as a bear?¡¯ How nostalgic.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You too, Mumroot-sama? If it weren¡¯t for the letter from His Majesty the King, I might have turned her away.¡± (Balima)

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s dressed like a cute bear after all.¡± (Ristil)

    Everyone nodded their heads at the words of Mumroot-san, Balima-san, and Ristil-san.

    Even I won¡¯t believe that a girl dressed as a bear is strong and I don¡¯t think she¡¯d be the king¡¯s messenger. Therefore, I cannot retort.

    This is also God¡¯s fault for giving the bear equipment cheat abilities.

    Ristil-san and the others wanted to hear more details from Mumroot-san, so we stayed for another day.

    Fina and the girls once again rode the ducks, walked around the city, and enjoyed many things.

    Mumroot-san went to memorable ces alone and talked to Ristil-san and Karina afterwards.

    The next morning we were seen off by Karina and her family in front of the house.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay from here?¡± (Balima)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine here. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re parting for life.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a bear gate installed here in the city so we cane anytime we want.

    Besides, I can¡¯t use the bear gate once we¡¯re outside of the city.

    ¡°Yes. Of course. Well then, Yuna-san, Mumroot-sama. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Mumroot-sama, we have learned many things, and we have something that our ancestors have carefully protected.¡± (Ristil)

    ¡°I know you will continue to face hardships, but I do hope you will carry on protecting the city that Cyan and Quat have built.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Yes, leave it to us.¡± (Ristil)

    After that, Mumroot-san said goodbye to Balima-san and Ristil-san.

    Karina said goodbye to Fina, Shuri, and Ruimin.

    ¡°Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, Ruimin-san, it was a pleasure meeting you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, me too.¡±

    ¡°<i>Un</i>, me too~¡±

    ¡°I also enjoyed listening to grandpa¡¯s old stories.¡±

    ¡°Pleasee visit again.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Un~¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Yuna-san.¡±

    Well, of course, if you know about the bear gate.

    Then we parted in front of Karina¡¯s house and returned to my house in Dezerto city.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go to the Land of Harmony.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wonder what this is. This indescribable feeling?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Certainly. The sadness of saying goodbye to Karina-chan and the joy of meeting Sakura-chan. It¡¯splicated.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin and the girls agreed with Mumroot-san¡¯s words.

    Usually, on the way home, you slowly ept farewells and move on to another.

    But with the bear gate, we can move around in an instant, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Besides, I think their broken hearts will change if they meet Sakura and others. I stood in front of the bear gate, connected it to the Land of Harmony, and opened it.

    <b>******</b>

    Beyond the door is a room in arge mansion with hot springs in the Land of Harmony.

    When I opened the door, a girl dressed in a kimono stood there.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m here too.¡± (Shinobu)

    Not only Sakura but also Shinobu was in the room.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I got a call yesterday, so I came to pick you up.¡± (Sakura)

    Yesterday, I thought it would be a nuisance if we suddenly barged in and went to see her, so I used the bear phone to contact Sakura.

    But I didn¡¯t tell her the time, so I didn¡¯t expect her to greet us personally.

    ¡°It was tough. Sakura-sama suddenly said she was going to pick up Yuna.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°If Yuna-sama ising, we need to meet her!¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t need to.¡± (Yuna)

    If she does this every time, I won¡¯t call her to let her know I¡¯ming the next time.

    ¡°Also, Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, Mumroot-sama, and Ruimin-san. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°Un~¡±

    The four happily reunited.

    ¡°What, when I thought it was noisy, did that guy Mumroote?¡± (Kagali)

    As everyone was enjoying their reunion after a long time, a blond little girl in baggy clothes appeared at the room¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, I have asked you to dress properly since Mumroot-sama and the others areing.¡± (Sakura)

    The one who came was Kagali-san with fox ears on her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But it looks too loose for a child.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°When I was an adult, I wore adult clothes, so it won¡¯t change.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re so noisy. You used to be so small and cute.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°But now, Kagali-sama is currently small.¡± (Sakura)

    As far as I¡¯m concerned, she¡¯s both small and cute.

    ¡°But you still can¡¯t go back to your original size.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°No, I can go back. I¡¯m just tired.¡± (Kagali)

    When Kagali-san said that, her little girl¡¯s body grew and became the adult version of Kagali-san whom I met for the first time.

    ¡°Kagali-chan, you¡¯re amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looks at Kagali-san with her eyes twinkling.

    ¡°Oh, of course, yeah. Well, I¡¯m amazing, aren¡¯t I?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Can I do it too?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°You too? That¡¯s impossible. I can do it because I¡¯m special.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that so? Too bad.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, did you want to grow up that much?

    ¡°When I grow up, I can help Mom more.¡± (Shuri)

    Apparently, she wanted to help Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Shuri, you¡¯ve been helping Tirumina-san quite enough.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Mom always says she¡¯s happy for your help, Shuri.¡± (Fina)

    Fina, Tirumina-san, and I know that Shuri is doing her best to help Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Besides, this is tiring if you stay in adult form for a long time.¡± (Kagali)

    When Kagali-san said that, she reverted to her little girl form.

    ¡°Is that your magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s kinda psychological. Anyway, you guys are going out with Sakura now, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± (Yuna)

    We¡¯vee all the way to the Land of Harmony. We¡¯re going to take a walk for the first time in a while.

    ¡°And Mumroot?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I wanted to talk to you for the first time in ages.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°What¡¯s that, a confession of love?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. Just a nostalgic moment. I wanted to do it while I was still alive.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Then that¡¯s just fine. We can talk slowly in your vige.¡± (Kagali)

    Everyone was surprised by Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    After the city of Dezerto, we went to the Land of Harmony.

    I don¡¯t think the story of Land of Harmony will be that long though.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    The cover image of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 14¡± scheduled to be released on 1/7 is now avable.

    Yuna finally took off her bear and put on her swimsuit!

    The illustration is posted on our activity report and Twitter.

    Yuna and Fina look so cute in their swimsuits, drawn by 029-sensei.

    I¡¯m sorry for the dy in posting and for not being able to reply to yourments.

    Please wait a little longer, as I have not yet reached the point where I can settle down.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am unable to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 586

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Land Of Harmony Edition 2</b>

    ¡°My vige?¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I have nothing else to do in thisnd. The only thing I can do is watch this child grow up.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali looked at Sakura with warm eyes.

    ¡°Kagali-sama¡­¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. As I said before, I will stay here until you grow up. That will be myst duty. But it will be very short-lived. I have recently been thinking that it would be good for me to be taken care of in the vige of Mumroot. Now, let¡¯s take a tour of Mumroot¡¯s vige. And so, Missy. I¡¯m sorry, but can I use the bear door?¡± (Kagali)

    I feel very ufortable when Kagari-san, who looks like a little girl, calls me Missy, but she is actually older than me and that she is way older than my grandmother.

    ¡°If it¡¯s fine with you, Mumroot-san, then I don¡¯t mind.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was going to talk to Kagali this time, so I don¡¯t mind it. But let me start by saying that there is nothing in the vige that you can enjoy. There are only forests.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been alone for years, decades even, on an empty ind.¡± (Kagali)

    asionally, there were people who came to take care of her, but just as she said, she was basically alone.

    ¡°But Kagali-sama, youe to the castle town asionally, don¡¯t you?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s only when I¡¯m drinking!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san denied Sakura¡¯s words.

    ¡°Besides, there¡¯s alcohol in the elf vige, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, there is alcohol, yeah.¡± (Mumroot)

    I always wonder if it¡¯s okay to drink alcoholic beverages with that appearance.

    ¡°Also, since it¡¯s called a vige, it¡¯s not just you, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but¡­¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go! Missy, open the door.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san grabs Mumroot-san¡¯s clothes and pulls him.

    ¡°Please wait a minute.¡± (Sakura))

    But Sakura stopped Kagali-san with a serious look.

    ¡°What, are you going to stop me?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t stop you, Kagali-sama. But if you¡¯re going to go, please dress properly before you go. If Mumroot-sama takes you in your current appearance, I think it¡¯s going to be a big problem for him.¡± (Sakura)

    All of them looked at Kagali-san again.

    Baggy clothes are too loose and dangerous.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be concerned about.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, just as Lady Sakura says, if I take someone dressed like that, my position as the vige chief will be in jeopardy.¡± (Mumroot)

    I agree with Sakura and Mumroot-san.

    Back in Japan, there is a high possibility of getting arrested for it.

    ¡°Mumroot-sama, please wait a moment. I will change Kagali-sama¡¯s clothes.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Mumroot)

    Sakura and Shinobu walk out of the room carrying Kagali-san, then it instantly bes quiet.

    ¡°<i>Fu fu</i>~¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Fina suddenlyughed, so I asked.

    ¡°Well, just a while ago, I parted with Karina-chan, and I thought I would be lonely. But when I saw Kagali-san and the others, the lonely feeling disappeared and I couldn¡¯t help it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Until a little while ago, I felt that way too. But thanks to them, that kind of thing disappeared.¡± (Ruimin)

    Both Shuri and Ruimin areughing.

    If there¡¯s a parting, there will also be encounters.

    And goodbyes are not forever.

    Besides, with the bear gate, we can always go see them.

    As Kagali-san and the other two left, I looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery, and then they returned.

    ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san is now properly wearing children¡¯s clothes.

    And looked a little ufortable as well.

    I wonder why though?

    ¡°<i>Are</i>? You don¡¯t have your ears.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri noticed Kagali-san¡¯s ears.

    Ah, the fox ears were gone. I¡¯m impressed that Shuri noticed it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone normally has fox ears, just in case. When I go out in public, I at least try to hide them.¡± (Kagali)

    It seems Kagali-san also thought about it properly.

    But Shuri looked disappointed.

    Now that Kagali-san¡¯s preparations areplete, I connected the bear gate to the one in the elf forest, and opened the door.

    ¡°Ah right. Please tell Suzuran not toe for a while.¡± (Kagali)

    As Kagali-san is about to enter the door, she turns and says to Sakura.

    ¡°Yes. I understand.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well then, I will now enjoy the vige of Mumroot.¡± (Kagali)

    Once again, Kagali-san enters the bear gate.

    ¡°Missy, thank you for this time. It was fun because I was able to remember many things.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumurut-san stopped in front of the door once and thanked me.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡± (Yuna)

    Then the door to the bear gate closes.

    Sakura is staring at the door.

    ¡°Do you perhaps miss her already?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I think the time wille when I must say goodbye to Kagali-sama. Besides, Kagali-sama has devoted her life for a long time to this country. If Kagali-sama wants to go, I can¡¯t hold her back. Besides, she said she would stay with me until I grew up, so I¡¯m fine.¡± (Sakura)

    She may look like a child, but she¡¯s an adult at heart.

    ¡°So what shall we do now?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura changes her expression and asks us with a smile.

    ¡°Of course, hot springs.¡±

    ¡°I want to take a bath.¡±

    ¡°Big bath!¡±

    ¡°Me too~¡±

    Apparently, everyone felt the same way as I did.

    Because there are hot springs in this ce, I have to go in. Besides, we have traveled a lot and are mentally exhausted.

    I would like to feel refreshed once we got here.

    That¡¯s why we decided to go to the hot springs.

    ¡°Ah~, that feels good.¡± (Yuna)

    I stretch out my legs sloppily and melt away in the bath together with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who have turned into cubs.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a luxury to be able to take a bath this early in the day.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, it feels good.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I wish I could have gone after grandpa came in here together.¡± (Ruimin)

    We all went and soaked in the hot spring.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to have a hot spring where everyone can enter.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura and Shinobu also entered. It may be nice to take a bath alone in a small tub. But it¡¯s better to take a bath with everyone in the big tub.

    And no one has melons for chests here, so there¡¯s nothing to be jealous of¡­ For now.

    ¡°But the bath stings on my wounds.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu rubbed her arm.

    Some scabs were visible.

    ¡°Shinobu. You¡¯re a girl too, so you should practice moderately.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°No, because I was weak, I caused troublest time. I have to get stronger.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Something like that will never happen again, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Sakura)

    Thest time? Does she mean the big snake?

    I don¡¯t want another monster like that showing up again. No matter how amazing the bear gear is, I don¡¯t want to fight that again.

    ¡°Besides, there are people like Yuna who are stronger than me. I don¡¯t know if Sakura-sama will be attacked by someone like that.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re protecting me, but please do yourself a favor.¡± (Sakura)

    When I hear stories of effort like this, I realize that I am really making it seem easy with my cheat ability. I feel sorry for Shinobu who is making the effort. But I believe that mybat skills are something I have acquired myself, even if it¡¯s from a game.

    Even if you have cheat abilities, whether or not you can demonstrate them depends on the person who uses them. I will try to make excuses to convince myself.

    ¡°Even so, I envy Kagali-sama. I wanted to go to the elf vige too.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that. I also wanted to see Mumroot-sama and Ruimin-san¡¯s vige.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Well then, when I drop Ruimin off, do you want to go?¡± (Yuna)

    As expected, if we go to the elf vige now ande back to the Land of Harmony immediately, Ruimin¡¯s presence will be problematic.

    The only time we could go is when it¡¯s time to send Ruimin home.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay for you to stop by while you¡¯re picking up Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But just like Grandpa said, there¡¯s nothing there.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see what kind of ce you live in, Ruimin-san.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s not as splendid as your house, Sakura-chan, so it might be embarrassing.¡± (Ruimin)

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s any more embarrassing than the bear house.

    ¡°So, how long are you guys staying here?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided in particr, but maybe two, three days?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t n to stay long. Besides, I also have Fina and Shuri in tow.

    I think we have to go home soon.

    ¡°Is that so? In that case, it would be better to tell Suzuran not toe here in the meantime.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Does Suzuran-sane every day?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, she onlyes once every few days. Suzuran seems to want toe every day, but Kagali-sama says it¡¯s okay not toe too often.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably because parting bes painful, so she doesn¡¯t keep her by her side all the time.¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯m not talking about Mumroot-san, but with longevity, you will be the one to see them off. Those who are left behind to bear the burden of grief.

    It¡¯s a very difficult problem.

    And we chatted while soaking in the hot springs.

    Having fully enjoyed the hot spring, we moved to the changing room to put on our clothes. Ruimin looked at the basket and picked up her clothes.

    ¡°What¡¯s with these clothes?¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin was holding a kimono in her hand.

    ¡°Everyone seemed to like this country¡¯s clothesst time, so I have them prepared.¡± (Sakura)

    She even prepared mine.

    It was ced on top of my bear costume.

    ¡°Also, Yuna-sama¡¯s usual outfit will stand out too much.¡± (Sakura)

    Yes, but. I don¡¯t feelfortable unless I¡¯m wearing my bear suit. Still, Sakura prepared it for me, and I can¡¯t be disrespectful.

    Well, we have Shinobu as an escort, so I guess it¡¯s okay if I just wear bear shoes and gloves.

    We decided to receive Sakura¡¯s surprise gifts and changed into kimonos.

    We leave for the town.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, no fair.¡± (Shuri)

    Shinobu, who¡¯s riding her horse, Hayatemaru, looks enviously at us riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Your horse is cute too.¡± (Shuri)

    Perhaps understanding Shuri¡¯s words, Hayatemaru neighs happily.

    ¡°Then Shuri, would you like to ride Hayatemaru too?¡± (Shinobu)

    Shuripares Hayatemaru and the Swaying Bear she¡¯s riding.

    ¡°I¡¯m good with Swaying Bear-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Hayatemaru neighs sadly at Shuri¡¯s words.

    Children¡¯s innocent words can sometimes be cruel.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Kagali-san went to Mumroot-san¡¯s vige.

    And Shuri wounded Hayatemaru¡¯s feelings.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Please note that the number of stories you can read on Nico Nico Manga is increasing due to the campaign for more bears.

    Also, I apologize for the dy in posting and replying to your feedback.

    I am busy with many things, but I also need to start the bookwork for volume 15.

    I wish the bear god would give me more free time. (lol)

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 587

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Land Of Harmony Edition 3 (Kagali¡¯s Point Of View)</b>

    <i>(Editor¡¯s note: We added ¡°(Yuna)¡± from time to time because that¡¯s who Kagali is referring to, but without mentioning Yuna as Yuna, because in this POV, to Kagali, Yuna is another ¡°she¡±. This decision was made to adhere to the tone in the RAW version. Thanks.)</i>

    Beyond the bear door was a forest.

    I¡¯ve heard stories, but it truly is a different ce. She (Yuna) has a magical tool that can take her to a different ce whenever she opens that door, and she has that ability. She really is a girl full of mystery.

    Too bad she was dressed as a bear. If it had been a fox, I would have had nothing to say.

    Maybe next time I¡¯ll dress her up as a fox. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll look better than a bear.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go. The vige is a bit far from here.¡± (Mumroot)

    While I was thinking, Mumroot started walking, so I followed him.

    I breathe in¡­

    The air is different from the ind where I was.

    I thought it was missing something, but I quickly figured it out.

    I don¡¯t smell the sea.

    It really feels like I¡¯vee to a different ce.

    It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like it or anything, but it¡¯s making me feel strange.

    And if looking at it closely, the vegetation here differs from the ones on the ind where I was. That alone is interesting.

    ¡°Let me tell you, it¡¯s a vige with nothing in it. If youin, you¡¯ll be sent home.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to nag me again and again. There was nothing on the ind where I was, so I won¡¯tin about this.¡± (Kagali)

    There was nothing on the ind where I was. There were no shops, nothing interesting.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t hate the forest. And even if there¡¯s nothing there, you elves live there, right?¡± (Kagali)

    Considering that I was alone on the ind, even if people lived there, it was different from the ind where I was.

    I have caretakers, but that doesn¡¯t mean we live together, and they don¡¯te every day.

    Because I asked them not to.

    People grow up fast. They age quickly, and my caretakers keep changing. I tried to keep people away from me as much as possible because the partings made me feel lonely.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s at least a vige.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°For now, I will guide you to the vige, but don¡¯t say anything strange.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°I get it already.¡± (Kagali)

    In a manner of speaking, I am treated as Mumroot¡¯s guest, but I¡¯m also an acquaintance of the bear girl.

    With that exnation, most of the vige residents would likely agree.

    She really is a mysterious girl.

    I came to the vige, looking at the surrounding forest.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s quite a lot of them.¡± (Kagali)

    When I entered the vige, it was bigger than I thought, and many people lived there. All of them are long-lived elves, so it¡¯s a surprise.

    And what caught my eye were the clothes they wore and the houses they built.

    After all, everything is different from the Land of Harmony. It¡¯s just fascinating.

    The clothing seems more rxed andfortable here.

    It¡¯s hard to exin, but the shapes of the houses are also different. What can I say? There are only a fewrge houses like those in the Land of Harmony. In the Land of Harmony, there are many tall buildings and long one-story houses, but the houses in this vige differ from those in the Land of Harmony.

    When I was looking around restlessly, a child came.

    ¡°It¡¯s the chief~ Wee back!¡±

    ¡°Did anything happen while I was gone?¡±

    Mumroot holds the child in his arms.

    ¡°There was nothing~¡±

    The child replied happily. Mumroot lowered the child to the ground and patted his head.

    Then the child looks at me.

    ¡°Who is this girl?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Kagali. I¡¯m Mumroot¡¯s acquaintance.¡±

    ¡°Tell everyone that she¡¯ll be in the vige for a while, but don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s not suspicious.¡±

    ¡°<i>Un</i>!¡±

    The child nodded and left.

    The vigers then greeted Mumroot we passed by, and him introducing me as his guest.

    When asked about my appearance, he said that I was an acquaintance of the bear girl, and it convinced them.

    It was upsetting to me that my attire would be perceived in the same way as that of the bear, but I didn¡¯t argue because I didn¡¯t want to exin in detail.

    ¡°Even so, you are adored.¡± (Mumroot)

    Everyone greets Mumroot then they look at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because I haven¡¯t been in the vige for a while.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I used that door of the Bear Missy to leave the vige for a while.¡± (Mumroot)

    I thought he definitely went straight to me, but it seems I was wrong.

    ¡°That door is really mysterious.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Thanks to that, I was able to meet you again, Kagali, and I was able to save you. I was also able to go to a memorable ce. I really have nothing but words of gratitude for her.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°Indeed, without that door, we would not have met again. The fact that we were able to defeat the Orochi was thanks to the power of the bear girl, but it was also thanks to your help, Mumroot, we were able to keep the Orochi at bay. If you had note to our rescue, we might not have been able to defeat it.¡± (Kagali)

    I, who had remained on the ind to seal the Orochi, was relieved of that duty and even allowed toe to Mumroot¡¯s vige.

    I have no words to express my gratitude to the bear girl.

    But still, the only thing I won¡¯t give up is that the fox is prettier.

    Then, after walking through the vige with Mumroot, we stopped in front of a house. It wasrger than the surrounding houses.

    ¡°This is my home.¡± (Mumroot)

    A woman greets us when we enter the house.

    ¡°<i>Ara</i>, you came back with a cute youngdy.¡± (Bena)

    The woman looks at me. Mumroot introduces her to me as his wife.

    So, I greet her.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kagali, I will be in your care for a while until the bear girles and picks me up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Bena. Nice to meet you, Kagali-chan. When you say bear girl, do you mean Yuna-san?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, she should being back to this vige with your granddaughter in a few days.¡±

    That reminds me, I didn¡¯t ask when she would be back.

    Well, it should be fine for a few days.

    ¡°So, Kagali-chan, why are you here in the vige with Mumroot?¡± (Bena)

    ¡°I was taken care of by Mumroot a long time ago. So, until the bear girles back, I¡¯m going to tour the vige.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Long ago?¡± (Bena)

    ¡°I may look like this, but I¡¯ve been living for hundreds of years now, just like you elves.¡± (Kagali)

    In my words, Bena looked surprised and looked at Mumroot.

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± (Mumroot)

    ¡°You may not believe it easily, but I can turn into an adult. I can¡¯t do it now because of these clothes, still, if you want me to show you, I can show youter.¡± (Kagali)

    That¡¯s why it¡¯s troublesome since Sakura changed my adult-sized clothes.

    ¡°<i>Ara</i>, so you know Mumroot from a long time ago?¡± (Bena)

    ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, Mumroot was in my country for only a short time.¡± (Kagali)

    Mumroot¡¯s stay in the Land of Harmony was brief. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know much about him.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll prepare some tea, so could you tell me your story?¡± (Bena)

    ¡°If possible, liquor would be good.¡± (Kagali)

    Bena was surprised by my words.

    ¡°Yes. If you show me your true form, I¡¯ll give you some.¡± (Bena)

    Bena pats my head and talks to me as if tofort a child.

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t believe our words.

    Perhaps, the word ¡°a long time ago¡± might only be a year for her.

    ¡°Mumroot, your wife doesn¡¯t seem to believe you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Even an elf can¡¯t transform into an adult or a child at will.¡± (Mumroot)

    When he said that, even I can¡¯t argue with it.

    I have never seen anyone other than myself who could do such a thing.

    ¡°Bena was it? Well then, I¡¯ll prove it now, so take a good look.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s a hassle, but if I show her I can be an adult, I can get a drink, so I put my hand on my clothes to prove it by taking off the clothes that are in my way, and Mumroot stops me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take off your clothes in front of me. Bena, I¡¯m sorry, but please take Kagali with you.¡± (Mumroot)

    Mumroot puts his hand on my head.

    ¡°I will tell Talia that Ruimin will be back with Bear Missy a littleter.¡± (Mumroot)

    After saying that, Mumroot left the house.

    Bena told me that Talia is Mumroot¡¯s son¡¯s wife.

    She seems to be the mother of Mumroot¡¯s granddaughter, Ruimin.

    Once again, being told about Mumroot¡¯s children and grandchildren reminded me that so many years have passed.

    And then, Bena was surprised when I turned into an adult in front of her.

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t believe that I had lived for hundreds of years. However, I was able to get her to believe me, and I was able to drink alcohol.

    ¡°I was surprised when you suddenly turned big.¡± (Bena)

    ¡°A while ago, I had a life-and-death battle. Maybe it¡¯s an aftereffect of that battle, but I get tired when I go back to that form.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But it seems like giving alcohol to a child, I feel conflicted.¡± (Bena)

    Bena said such a thing, but she still served me the drinks anyway.

    ¡°I may look like a child, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m an adult on the inside.¡± (Kagali)

    I proceed to drink alcohol.

    The taste is different from the sake that I¡¯ve been drinking, but it¡¯s also delicious.

    Even if Ie to live in this vige, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be in need of alcohol.

    After that, I drank with Bena and Mumroot, who had returned, while talking about Mumroot¡¯s past.

    Tomorrow, we will tour the vige.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Kagali-san was able to drink alcohol sessfully.

    I hope to finish the story of Fina¡¯s birthday present trip in about 2 more episodes.

    I¡¯m hoping, but¡­ (It doesn¡¯t always go as nned.)

    I really wanted to finish it by the end of this year, but I was too busy with various things.

    And I apologize for that. I will be taking a break from posting during the New Year¡¯s holiday.

    I hope to be able to make my next post on 1/7, the release date of volume 14 of the book.

    I would like to make a little progress on the bookwork for volume 15, so my apologies.

    I have written the information about the store purchase bonus SS for volume 14, which will be released on 1/7, in the activity report, so please check it out.

    Thank you very much for your patience with Kuma this year.

    The Kuma will continue next year, so please keep supporting Kuma!

    And thanks to everyone who reported typos and omissions.

    It was really helpful.

    Thank you to everyone who wrote in with their feedback.

    I apologize that I have not been able to reply to youtely.

    But I have been reading them.

    I know a lot has happened this year, and I look forward to working with you again next year.

    <b>-Kumanano</b>

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 588

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Land Of Harmony Edition 4</b>

    We came to the castle town.

    Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Hayatemaru were repatriated before entering the gate.

    Thanks to the permit given by King Suou, Sakura, and Shinobu, we were able to enter easily.

    Well, I¡¯m not dressed as a bear, so I¡¯m not looking suspicious.

    ¡°So then, everyone, is there anywhere you would like to go?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asked us.

    ¡°The castle!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri answers while looking at the castle.

    She really likes castles.

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s huge and stands out the most.

    ¡°I see. I think it¡¯s fine, but I¡¯ll have to check with my uncle first, so is tomorrow okay?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>, okay.¡±

    ¡°Fina-chan, Ruimin-san, and Yuna-sama, do you have any ces you want to go?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with wherever Fina wants to go.¡± (Yuna)

    We¡¯re here because it¡¯s Fina¡¯s birthday present. So, this time, the ce Fina wants to go is where I will go.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, anywhere Sakura-chan and Shinobu-san rmend.¡± (Fina)

    Well, Fina doesn¡¯t know much about the Land of Harmony either, so there you go.

    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t mind either.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin also agrees with Fina.

    There are no pamphlets with rmended spots or information on the Inte, there¡¯s no way you can learn about the Land of Harmony.

    In the end, it¡¯s faster to ask the locals for their rmendations.

    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t know much about the castle town either, so I¡¯ll leave it to Shinobu.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Me?¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You know I don¡¯t go out much, right?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Right.¡± (Shinobu)

    She was a shut-in, just like me. But I guess her reason is different from mine, though.

    ¡°Well, I alsoe to eat delicious food for a change of pace during my training.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Then let¡¯s eat the food Shinobu rmends and walk around.¡± (Sakura)

    There was no objection to Sakura¡¯s words, and when it was decided, we started walking.

    <i>Chirachira~ Chirachira~</i>

    Strange.

    I feel like I¡¯m being watched.

    As I expected, with only my bear puppets and shoes, I didn¡¯t get the usual stares, but I could still feel their eyes on me.

    I thought about this when I was in uniform, but it might be that I¡¯m just overly self-conscious.

    I¡¯m used to being seen dressed as a bear, so to think I¡¯m being watched even if I¡¯m dressed normally.

    Or do I look weird because I don¡¯t look like a bear?

    No, this is not Crimonia, so that shouldn¡¯t be the case, right?

    Shinobu answers the questions I have in my mind.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, you stand out because you have a lot of cute girls with you.¡± (Shinobu)

    I knew they were looking at me.

    But I agree with Shinobu¡¯s words.

    The cute sisters, Fina and Shuri. Then there¡¯s Ruimin, who has the cuteness that¡¯s unique to elves. And there¡¯s Sakura, who looks good in Japanese clothing, it¡¯s understandable to attract attention.

    Furthermore, Shinobu also has an attractive smile, cheerful, andughing.

    If I was a man, it would be a harem.

    ¡°If I was a man, it would be a harem.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu was thinking the same as me.

    ¡°Shinobu, you should check your appearance.¡± (Sakura)

    I agree with what Sakura said.

    Shinobu is always cheerful, so she looks like a cute girl. Plus, she looks cool when she¡¯s fighting.

    I can see how she was attracting attention.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Unlike Yuna, my face is generic. It¡¯s a face you can find anywhere.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Why are you mentioning my name there? It sounds sarcastic when you¡¯re the one saying it, Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    There is no way that Shinobu¡¯s face is generic.

    If she truly believes that, she should take a proper look in the mirror.

    ¡°Well, to me, I think it was you, Yuna, who was the one being sarcastic.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°A mirror?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who needs a mirror.¡± (Shinobu)

    Fina and the others let out a sigh at our exchange.

    Why, though?

    Well, without worrying about that, we strolled around the castle town, ate delicious food, and watched street performances.

    ¡°That was fun.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>, it was amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°He was amazing, juggling the balls round and round.¡± (Ruimin)

    While walking, Fina and the others talked about their impressions of the street performance they saw earlier.

    Shinobu reacts to Fina and the others talking so happily.

    ¡°I can juggle, too.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Of course.¡± (Shinobu)

    Then Shinobu stops, checks her surroundings, pulls out a kunai from her pocket, says, ¡°Yo,¡± and throws it upward. Not one or two kunais. But she started juggling four or more kunais.

    ¡°Wow!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri was excited, and Fina and Ruimin were also watching with wide eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet!¡± (Shinobu)

    After saying that, Shinobu threw the kunais that she was juggling like beanbags high up and caught all the kunai while spinning her body.

    At that moment, apuse erupted from around us.

    Apparently, a crowd formed and apuded after watching Shinobu¡¯s performance.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu was bowing her head to her surroundings

    ¡°What are you doing? We¡¯re leaving.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura grabbed Shinobu¡¯s hand and walked away.

    ¡°What are you doing, trying to stand out? If Juubei finds out, he¡¯ll get angry.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve shown it to my master before.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡­But the children might imitate you, so please stop doing it with kunai.¡± (Sakura)

    I agree with that. Something soft would be preferable. In fact, I saw Fina stopping Shuri from trying to pick up the stone.

    But is Sakura aware that she¡¯s also a child?

    After that, we went to a teahouse and ate dumplings and steamed buns.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. This shop is my rmendation.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Is this perhaps the dumplings you¡¯re bringing to me from time to time?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s this shop¡¯s dumplings.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°No wonder, I thought it tasted like something I¡¯d eaten before.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Even so, there are many delicious foods, so I¡¯m having a hard time choosing which one to eat. But if I eat too much, I can¡¯t eat anything else.¡± (Ruimin)

    Ruimin said while looking at the te with dumplings and manju on it.

    It¡¯s the same with Fina and Shuri, and they get along well, but they split their food in half.

    ¡°Those are basically the same, so why are you splitting it in half?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but I also want to eat various things.¡± (Fina)

    Sakura and Ruimin also cut the manju in half and ate it together.

    When Shinobu saw this, she looked at me and asked, ¡°Do you want to do it too?¡± But I politely declined.

    I don¡¯t need that kind of yuri development.

    And if they¡¯re full, I can just put them in the bear box and eat themter.

    After leaving the teahouse, we continued our walk. I found a familiar stall in front of me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that?¡± (Yuna)

    The stall was selling candy art.

    Because I gave out the candy arts and I sometimes ate sweets whenever I wanted to, my stock was gone.

    Let¡¯s replenish it again.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to buy some candy arts.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I want to eat too.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had one, and I want one too.¡± (Sakura)

    Shuri and Sakura reacted to my words.

    ¡°Fina, do you want some too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    So we came to the front of the stall.

    The clerk at the stall was the same man from whom I had bought the candy arts thest time.

    But thest time I bought from him, I think it was at the port city.

    ¡°Ojisan, are you doing business in this town too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah? Do I know you, Missy?¡± (Man)

    Oh, right. I¡¯m not dressed as a bear right now, so he doesn¡¯t recognize me.

    Besides, a lot of time has passed since then. It¡¯s no wonder he doesn¡¯t remember me.

    ¡°I bought all your candy arts before, don¡¯t you remember?¡± (Yuna)

    I pped my bear puppet¡¯s mouth in front of my uncle.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re the bear girl from back then? I didn¡¯t recognize you because you were so cute in your dress.

    So, don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re not going to say you¡¯ll buy everything this time again, will you?¡± (Man)

    I smiled and said ¡°everything¡±.

    Fina and the others choose the candy crafts they want to eat, while I was talking to ojisan.

    ¡°So why are you here, ojisan?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I sometimes sell them over here in the castle town. If I keep selling them in the same ce, they¡¯ll stop buying.¡± (Man)

    Certainly, that¡¯s true.

    I bought about 100 candy arts.

    And Fina and the others all chose bear-shaped candies and ate them with great relish.

    Not everyone wants to eat bear-shaped ones, right?

    After walking around the castle town all day, we decided to stay at Sakura¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama are adorable, big or small.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura pats the heads of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub forms.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, how¡¯s your body doing? Magic power and all?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked the thing I was worried about asking.

    ¡°Yes. As you can see, my physical condition is fine. As for my magical powers, I was told I won¡¯t know until I grow up.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Everyone went silent.

    ¡°But I have no regrets, so don¡¯t worry about it. There are many people who cannot use magic. Being depressed because I can¡¯t use magic, would be disrespectful to those who can¡¯t use magic.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura smiles softly.

    Well, she can live without magic. Besides, in Sakura¡¯s position, I don¡¯t think she would have to fight monsters.

    Besides, with Shinobu by her side, I think she¡¯ll be fine.

    Sakura wanted to sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we ended up sleeping in the same room.

    Six futons are lined up in arge tatami room.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange to sleep in a ce other than a bed.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°We have a room with a bed, would you like to have that room?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura asks at Fina¡¯s words.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I haven¡¯t slept like this very often, so this is also fun.¡± (Fina)

    Certainly, I¡¯ve been sleeping on a bed since I can remember, even in my former world. I rarely sleep on a futon on a tatami mat.

    The only time I remember sleeping on a futon is when I stayed at my grandfather¡¯s house.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, I just got word from the castle that we¡¯re allowed to go inside tomorrow.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Really?!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri was rejoicing.

    ¡°Good for you, right, Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m looking forward to it. But is it okay for us to enter the castle?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I have my uncle¡¯s permission, so it¡¯s all right. No one willin to my uncle. If anyoneins, just mention my uncle¡¯s name and you¡¯ll be fine. So there is nothing to worry about.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sakura-chan, your uncle is the king, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes. So please rest assured.¡± (Sakura)

    Fina¡¯s face is slightly twitching.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, you don¡¯t have to look worried like that. I¡¯ll go with you, so if anyone messes with Fina and the girls, I¡¯ll protect you.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡­Shinobu-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Besides, if anyone messes with Fina and the girls, the bear over there will protect them even better than me.¡± (Shinobu)

    Shinobu looks at me and smiles.

    I¡¯m tired from walking around today, so I took off my kimono and changed into a pr bear.

    By the way, Fina and the girls looked lovely in yukata.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what would happen to this country if they messed with Fina and Shuri.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like a joke, I¡¯m scared.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°So please behave.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Understood. Even though the country was saved, it would be a problem if the country copsed.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°<i>Ano</i>, will you protect me, too?¡± (Ruimin)

    It seems that Ruimin was worried that her name wasn¡¯t mentioned.

    ¡°Of course, Ruimin-san too. Ruimin-san is Mumurut-sama¡¯s precious grandchild. While you are in this country, I will protect you even if it costs my life.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I want you to protect me, but I don¡¯t want your life, Sakura-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    Everyoneughs at Ruimin¡¯s words.

    ¡°Speaking of Mumroot-sama, I¡¯m worried that Kagali-sama is causing him trouble.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You think they¡¯re not okay?¡± (Yuna)

    As a test, I tried to contact Kagali-san using the bearphone and suddenly hung up the call when a drunk answered.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Happy New Year!

    It¡¯s early in the new year and we have an announcement.

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear will be animated.

    Thanks to all of you for reading this.

    Thank you very much.

    I can¡¯t give you any more details yet, but I hope you will take a look at the activity report as there are some illustrations by 029-sensei tomemorate the anime adaptation.

    Also, please understand that there may be a dy in posting.

    But please keep up the good work with Kuma this year.

    <b>-Kumanano</b>

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 589

    <b>Bear-san, Gives Fina¡¯s Present, Land Of Harmony Edition 5</b>

    The next day, we went to the castle, where a man awaited us.

    ¡°Sakura, I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Suou)

    The lord of this castle, King Suou.

    ¡°Why are you here, Uncle?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°When I heard Yuna wasing, I had to say hello, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Suou)

    No, you don¡¯t have to.

    See, King Suou, while you¡¯re talking to us, people around us look at us with readable expressions like, ¡°Who are those girls?¡± But judging from their reactions, they don¡¯t seem to know about the Orochi incident or anything about me. I don¡¯t want to cause amotion, so it kind of helps.

    Then King Suou changes his gaze from Sakura to us.

    ¡°One of them I don¡¯t recognize, but they are the girls from that time, aren¡¯t they? So Yuna is not here?¡± (Suou)

    I¡¯m right in front of you.

    This exchange has urred many times, but is it really nearly impossible to recognize me unless I¡¯m dressed as a bear?

    Well, I guess that¡¯s why my face is in and doesn¡¯t leave an impression.

    Or perhaps it¡¯s more likely that the image of the bear¡¯s outfit is too strong to forget.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Yuna-sama is here.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura then turns her gaze to me.

    ¡°¡­Is this what¡¯s inside that bear?¡± (Suou)

    It is¡­

    Do you have a problem with that?

    ¡°<i>Hoho~u~</i>¡± (Suou)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You look good in that outfit, too.¡± (Suou)

    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s no need to refute nor retort every single one of his jabs, so I¡¯ll just ept the ttery with an open mind.

    ¡°I can¡¯t go with you, but I¡¯ve instructed the people in the castle not to interfere with you. So you are free to look around the castle. But you must stay with Sakura. I also have lunch prepared for you, so please eat to your heart¡¯s content.¡± (Suou)

    After saying that, King Suou leaves.

    ¡°Well then, shall we go?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°<i>Un</i>~¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Shuri, don¡¯t leave us.¡±

    I said to Shuri, who was about to start running.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave~. Why do you always tell me?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Because it looks like you¡¯re about to go on your own, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>¡± (Shuri).

    Shuri puffs up her cheeks at my words.

    Well, as a matter of fact, Shuri is a child who does what she says. But she also has the tendency to act alone when she finds something interesting right in front of her. On the other hand, it also means that if you¡¯re not alert to her disposition, you will never know what she might do the next moment.

    ¡°Shuri, go with your sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>.¡± (Shuri)

    When Fina held out her hand, Shuri grabbed it.

    And some people were looking at them enviously.

    ¡°I also want a sister like Shuri-chan.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I know how you feel.¡± (Sakura)

    Ruimin and Sakura muttered such impressions when they saw Fina and Shuri getting along well.

    ¡°For me, Sakura-sama is like my little sister.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°I wonder if Fina and Shuri are like sisters to me, too.¡± (Yuna)

    Shinobu and I look at the sisters with warm eyes.

    Then we walked through the castle.

    Thanks to Sakura and Shinobu, the people who passed by did not stop, just like King Suou said.

    Unlike the royal capital¡¯s castle, it¡¯s a Japanese-style castle with a lot of wood.

    After all, as a Japanese person, this castle is more familiar to me. Fina and the girls were somewhat surprised to find that the castle in the Land of Harmonypletely differed from the castle in the royal capital.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>, it¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    Fina and Shuri stopped walking and looked at what seemed like a Japanese garden with ponds and splendid stones lined up.

    ¡°Arge puddle?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°It¡¯s a small pond. They keep fishes there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you eat them?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°No, they don¡¯t eat them. It¡¯s ornamental.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined to Shuri.

    ¡°Yuna-sama is very knowledgeable.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°My country had something simr.¡± (Yuna)

    But there was no threat of deer.

    After that, as we were walking around the castle, I met Juubei-san, and he was surprised at my appearance. He then offered me a practice match, which I politely declined.

    Because I am not equipped with my bear gear, I would be in big trouble if I received a blow from Juubei-san. Knowing Juubei-san¡¯s ability, I don¡¯t want to fight him unnecessarily.

    So instead, Shinobu fought Juubei-san and showed a sparring match without weapons.

    Juubei-san¡¯s movements were sophisticated and astonishing, but Shinobu was just as amazing.

    Shuri and the girls cheered for Shinobu, but she was just no match against Juubei-san.

    After that, Shinobu showed off her kunai throwing skills and challenged me to a match. With the bear puppet, it¡¯s a given that I would win, but without it, I had no chance at all, so I declined. However, Shinobu said, ¡°You must be scared to lose¡±, ¡°Well, Yuna can¡¯t beat me when ites to kunai throwing¡±, and ¡°Nobody wants to be embarrassed, so it can¡¯t be helped¡±, I got a little annoyed, so I went all out with the bear puppet cheat and beat Shinobu.

    Shinobu was shocked, but it was not my fault. I refused, after all.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t very mature of me either.

    After that, we walked around looking at various ces and finally looked over the castle town from the top of the castle.

    ¡°<i>U wa~a</i>, it¡¯s wonderful!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°The scenery seen from the royal capital castle was pretty, but the scenery seen from this castle is also beautiful.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yes. Different cities have different buildings.¡± (Fina)

    As Fina said, it¡¯s apletely different view.

    Not only Fina, but also Shuri and Ruimin have their eyes wide open to the scenery.

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t met Yuna-san, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see such a view. I¡¯m d I copsed in front of Yuna-san¡¯s house.¡± (Ruimin)

    No, a girl shouldn¡¯t be copsing outside of someone¡¯s house.

    It¡¯s dangerous, and there¡¯s even the possibility of her being kidnapped. Besides, Ruimin is a pretty elf girl. She has to protect herself.

    ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s right. If it weren¡¯t for Yuna-sama, Orochi might have destroyed this scenery. There would have been no people and no buildings.¡± (Sakura)

    While looking at the scenery, Sakura turned her gaze to me.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you say ¡°thank you¡± a million times. So I don¡¯t want to hear it anymore. If you want to thank me, live properly and enjoy life.¡± (Yuna)

    Your life is your own. And you only live once, so you should enjoy it.

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura replied with a smile.

    We enjoyed the view from the top of the castle, and then ate a sumptuous meal prepared by King Suou for lunch.

    ¡°I¡¯m already full.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t eat anymore.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s painful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m full.¡±

    ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t it too much?¡±

    ¡°Uncle also wanted to thank you, Yuna-sama.¡±

    That said, the girls were overwhelmed by the sheer volume and extravagance of the food. But in the end, they ate their fill.

    After enjoying the Land of Harmony, we decided to return the next day.

    ¡°Is it really okay?¡± (Sakura)

    I¡¯m sending Ruimin back to the elf vige and picking up Kagali-san. While I¡¯m at it, I also decided to take Sakura and Shinobu to the elf vige with us.

    ¡°You did the contract magic, and I know that Sakura isn¡¯t the kind of girl who would go around telling anyone. You wouldn¡¯t, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Though Shinobu is the suspicious one.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone. I¡¯ll take it to the grave.¡± (Shinobu)

    Well, if you did, you¡¯ll dieughing and literally go to the grave.

    And so, we¡¯re at the mansion that Kagali-san was using.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing to be able to see my vige after seeing Sakura-chan¡¯s country. Unlike Sakura-chan¡¯s town, my vige has nothing.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I want to see the vige where Ruimin-san lives, not because there¡¯s something there. Besides, it¡¯s the ce where Kagali-sama might live someday, so I want to see it with my own eyes.¡± (Sakura)

    When she said that much, Ruimin couldn¡¯t say no.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll open it.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door, which was connected to the bear transfer gate in the forest of the elf vige and led them through the bear transfer gate.

    Sakura was looking around restlessly.

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s strange that the door in the room leads to the forest.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, I was surprised when I saw the door for the first time, too.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Me too~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, me too. When Yuna-oneesan first told me about this door, I couldn¡¯t believe it.¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s no wonder, because when I told Fina, I didn¡¯t know much about the bear gate either.

    I thought there might be a magic circle and magic tools.

    At that time, I thought it was still a game-like world, but I learned that although there are some simrities, the fundamentals are different.

    We head for the elven vige, taking in the scenery around us.

    ¡°So this is the vige where Ruimin-san lives.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing, right?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a very nice, calm vige.¡± (Sakura)

    As she says it¡¯s quiet and there¡¯s nothing to do.

    But some people like this kind of calm atmosphere.

    ¡°So, what should we do? Go get Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Before that, I would like to say hello to Ruimin-san¡¯s parents.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯re going to meet my parents?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Are we a bother?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s kind of embarrassing.¡± (Ruimin)

    And so we went to Ruimin¡¯s house and said hello to Ruimin¡¯s parents Arthur and Thalia.

    ¡°Then you came from the same ce as that Kagali-chan?¡± (Thalia)

    ¡°Is Kagali-sama causing you any trouble?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know because he¡¯s at father-inw¡¯s ce. She was a great drinker.¡± (Thalia)

    ording to the story, when she tried to scold Mumroot-san for giving alcohol to a child, she was told of Kagali-san¡¯s age.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, that¡¯s embarrassing. Kagali-sama, what are you doing?¡± (Sakura)

    Then, after we finished greetings, we went to Mumroot-san¡¯s house to pick up Kagali-san.

    And without asking permission from the people who live there, as usual, we entered the house with Ruimin in the lead. Sakura and Shinobu hesitated at first, but when Ruimin said, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±, they entered the house together.

    ¡°<i>Ara</i>, Ruimin, you¡¯re back.¡± (Bana)

    Mumroot-san¡¯s wife notices us.

    ¡°I¡¯m home, Grandma. I think there¡¯s a little girl here named Kagali-san?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yeah, there is, but now she¡¯s out with Mumroot.¡± (Bana)

    It looks like we missed each other.

    ¡°Do you know where they went?¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°They said you were going out of the vige.¡± (Bana)

    ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Sakura)

    We said goodbye and left the house.

    ¡°But where are they outside?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear might find them.¡± (Yuna)

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to search for them.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear proceed through the forest as if to leave it to them. Then, they cried softly, ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡±.

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re over there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s ake just up ahead.¡± (Ruimin)

    Just as Ruimin said ake was there, the two happily talked.

    ¡°Kagali-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura anxiously calls Kagali-san¡¯s name, so she turns around.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We¡¯re here to pick you up¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Is that so? Well then, I guess it¡¯s time to go home.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What were you talking about with Mumroot-sama?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°How good is the sake, how quiet this ce is, the people that were missed, and the people that I met. I was just telling him how nice this vige is.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡­By any chance, do you want to live in this vige? In that case, even if you stay here¡­¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura spoke while trying hard to endure.

    Kagali-san slowly approached Sakura and hugged her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times. I¡¯ll watch over you until you grow up. I¡¯ll leave when you find a husband who will stay by your side instead of me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So, if I don¡¯t get married, will you remain in the Land of Harmony?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea, but I don¡¯t think a man would ignore a girl as pretty as you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡­ Kagali-sama¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Well, it will be at least for another 10 years. What may seem like a short time to me is a long time to you. Besides, if I see your children, I may not want to leave them.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°So don¡¯t make such a sad face.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sakura)

    It¡¯s supposed to be a heartwarming scene, but since the one doing theforting is a little girl, it¡¯s ufortable to watch.

    This may be what they call a Gap Moe.

    ¡°I¡¯m still a child, aren¡¯t I? If Kagali-sama wanted to stay here, I thought I would be fine with it. But when I saw you in front of me, the thought of you leaving made me sad.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You are more mature than other children, but you are still a child. I¡¯m taking the role of your mother, so you can rely on me instead.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kagali-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    And for a short time, I guided Sakura and Shinobu through the elf vige. Ruimin was embarrassed by the fact that there was nothing there, but the two of them, who had never seen anything like this before, seemed to be enjoying themselves.

    ¡°Well, thank you for your help.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Thank you very much, Yuna-sama. I was happy to see Ruimin-san¡¯s vige.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I had a valuable experience.¡± (Shinobu)

    We said goodbye to Sakura, Kagali-san, and Shinobu in front of the bear gate.

    ¡°Fina-chan, Shuri-chan too, until we meet again.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>.¡± (Shuri)

    The three went through the bear gate that led to the Land of Harmony.

    Then the bear gate closed as we were watching Sakura bowing.

    ¡°Then shall we go home too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Well then, Ruimin, see youter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Next time, I¡¯d like to go to your town, Yuna-san.¡± (Ruimin)

    ¡°Yep, next time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± (Ruimin)

    I opened the bear gate connected to my bear house in Crimonia. After Fina and Shuri entered, I closed the door, and then collected the bear gate.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll be going too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Pleasee again.¡± (Ruimin)

    I used the bear gate in the bear house at the sacred tree to return to Crimonia. When I moved from the room with the bear gate to the living room, Fina was sitting on the sofa and Shuri was sleeping, leaning against Fina.

    ¡°She was tired. She fell asleep when we sat down. I¡¯ll wake her up now.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just carry her on my back to your home.¡± (Yuna)

    I put Shuri on my back and headed to Fina¡¯s house.

    ¡°Did you have fun?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I enjoyed it very much.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But it¡¯s surreal. I get to know people from ces I don¡¯t even know where that ce actually is, talk to them, and even make friends. I even promised to meet them again sometime in the future.¡± (Fina)

    Fina talked happily.

    ¡°Until I met Yuna-oneechan, I never thought I would be able to experience something like this. At that time, I was worried about when Mom would die, so all I could think about was myself and Shuri.¡± (Fina)

    Fina smiles when she sees Shuri sleepingfortably on my back.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Thank you. I¡¯m d I met Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m d I got to meet you too, Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think this birthday will be an unforgettable one, learning magic and going to various ces.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m happy, but if you say that, it would just make me want to make your next birthday even more unforgettable.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneechan, if you give any more than this, I won¡¯t be able to return it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m also getting a lot from you, Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    In my former world, I was often alone. But when I came to this world, I met Fina, and through her, I was able to meet many people. I am grateful to Fina for that.

    As we are talking about this, we see Fina¡¯s house.

    And then, I returned the two daughters that I had been entrusted with, to Tirumina-san.

    After dropping off Fina and Shuri home, Tirumina-san invited me to dinner, and I was treated to a feast.

    I often ate alone in the past, but now I often eat with various people forpany.

    Now then, what should we do tomorrow?

    -Partiallypleted-

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    This is the end of the birthday arc, and it¡¯s partiallypleted.

    I wanted toplete a part of it, so I feel like I¡¯m supplementing various things, and I¡¯m sorry that the birthday edition was long.

    Even though it¡¯s partiallypleted, Yuna¡¯s adventure will continue¡­ (Until the author gets tired of it.)

    I don¡¯t think the second part will be much different¡­¡­

    I am grateful to the many people who have read this far. You have allowed me to continue writing up to this point.

    I was also encouraged by the feedback, bookmarks, and ratings.

    Thank you so much.

    Also, thank you for the reports of typos and errors.

    I believe that your reporting makes it easier for readers to readter.

    I can¡¯t thank you enough.

    And on the next topic, I would like to take a break for a while (a month maybe?).

    Bookwork on volume 15 and tax returns (tax reports).

    This is because I have a lot of other work to do and I don¡¯t think I will be able to write calmly because of the ovepping workload.

    Please understand.

    I will resume as soon as possible after the bookwork is finished.

    Currently, I am looking for 15 SS short stories and 3 SSics for the activity report.

    I hope that my (author¡¯s brain) will be stimted.

    <b>[</b>Campaign Announcement<b>]</b>

    Inmemoration of the release of volume 14 and the anime adaptation, a discount campaign will be held at some e-bookstores.

    Period 1/7 (Tue.) to 1/20 (Mon.)

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Comic Edition)

    Volume 1, 330 yen

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (book version)

    Volume 1: 0 yen

    Volume 2 ¨C 3: 110 yen

    Volume 4 ¨C 10: 550 yen

    Bookstores where it¡¯s being sold

    Kindle

    Comic Seymour

    DMM

    BookWalker

    Bookstore BookLive!

    The first volume of the book is free, so we hope you will take this opportunity to purchase it.

    If we have anything to report, we will do so in our activity report and on Twitter.

    Thank you for your support for Kuma this year.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 590

    <b>Bear-san Goes To Targui To Pick Fruits</b>

    <b>======</b>

    This is the beginning of the second part.

    -Kumanano

    <b>======</b>

    ¡°<i>Ha~a</i>, it feels good.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it feels good.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Fina and I, along with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, are visiting a hot spring in the Land of Harmony.

    It¡¯s a blessing to be able to soak in a hot spring early in the morning.

    ¡°Why are you in the hot springs this early in the morning?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, who is still in a little girl form and in the same hot spring, asked out of randomness.

    I sometimese here at night, but it¡¯s certainly rare to bathe in a hot spring in the morning.

    ¡°Even if you ask why, it¡¯s because there¡¯s a hot spring there.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m not sure if the inhabitants of this world can understand this, but I tried copying a certain quote.

    ¡°Well, this house is yours, so I don¡¯t have a say on it.¡± (Kagali)

    I guess it didn¡¯t get through.

    ¡°Well, I just wanted to go to the hot springs.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan invited me.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°As expected, I don¡¯t understand a word you bears say.¡± (Kagali)

    I think the nuance was that they were saying I invited them.

    ¡°I was nning to go out with Fina, but before that.¡± (Yuna)

    I took a proper bathst night, but when I woke up, I wanted to take a bath, so I couldn¡¯t help it. And when Fina came to my house, I took her straight to the hot springs.

    ¡°Are you guys going somewhere?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, well~¡± (Yuna).

    Today, we are supposed to go to Targui to pick fruits and other things. I also tried to invite Shuri, but she was away from Tirumina-san until the other day, so she¡¯s been all over Tirumina-san since she got back.

    That¡¯s why I decided to take Fina and go fruit picking together.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going, but I¡¯m free, so I¡¯m going to go with you.¡± (Kagali)

    Since Kagali-san no longer has the job of managing and guarding Orochi¡¯s seal, she seems to have too much time on her hands, like a retired person.

    Well, she¡¯s been on duity for a long time, so I think she has now the right to take it easy.

    ¡°You¡¯reing too, Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? Is there something wrong?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Not that there¡¯s anything wrong with it.¡± (Yuna)

    She knows about the bear gate, but my only problem is that the ce we¡¯re going to is Targui.

    ¡°But we¡¯re just going to pick some fruit.¡± (Yuna)

    However, Kagali-san reacts to my words.

    ¡°<i>Hoho~u</i>, fruits you say? Is it delicious?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, I think.¡± (Yuna)

    I look at Fina next to me and ask for her confirmation.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good. It¡¯s very delicious.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then, I shall go with you.¡± (Kagali)

    I couldn¡¯t find any reason to refuse, so it was decided that Kagali-san would go with us.

    When I got out of the hot spring, I didn¡¯t have time to dry Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with a hair dryer, so I dried them using the unsummoned and resummon trick. However, it seems that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were dissatisfied.

    Apparently, they were expecting to get dried with a hair dryer and brushed after taking a bath.

    But that takes time. And since we don¡¯t have time, they just have to give up.

    Then, each of us, dressed in our own clothes, came to Targui ind.

    Incidentally, I asked Kagali-san to wear children¡¯s clothes, not oversized adult clothes. It¡¯s difficult to move around in oversized adult clothes when picking fruits; they will only get in the way.

    As we stepped out of the bear house in Targui, Kagali-san scurried around, fox ears perked up, nose sniffing.

    She looks like a dog. No, I mean a fox.

    ¡°I can hear the waves. And I can smell the tide. Is the ocean nearby?¡± (Kagali)

    As I thought, she might as well be a dog.

    Well, I¡¯m not going to tell her that, because she¡¯ll get angry if I do.

    ¡°Yeah, well, I guess the ocean is close.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You have been vague in your answers since a while ago. Is this a ce you don¡¯t want people to know about so badly? I¡¯m not going to tell anyone about it, and even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t be able toe here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, I guess.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if she knew, it would be difficult toe here. After all, it¡¯s a moving ind.

    ¡°Kagali-san, do you know anything about Targui?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Targui? I think it is the name of a giant creature in the sea. I know at least that much.¡± (Kagali)

    The legend of Targui seems to be alive and well in the Land of Harmony. As Shia remarked, there are those who knew about it.

    ¡°But why did that namee up?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, because you¡¯re stepping on that Targui, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    I was a little worried, but I thought it would be fine if it was Kagali-san, so I answered honestly.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Kagali-san¡¯s eyes became dots.

    ¡°Really?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Really.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said it with a serious expression, Kagali-san¡¯s bodyunched upwards to the sky.

    And after looking around the whole thing from the sky, she floated down.

    ¡°We really are on top of Targui.¡± (Kagali)

    Unexpected words came out of Kagali-san¡¯s mouth.

    How can she tell that it¡¯s Targui just by looking at it from above?

    ¡°By any chance, do you know about Targui? Or rather, have you ever been here?¡± (Yuna)

    Otherwise, just by looking at it, there¡¯s no way to tell that this ce is Targui.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been living in the Land of Harmony for a long time, and I like to take walks in the sky in my spare time.¡± (Kagali)

    She said she takes walks in the sky.

    People normally don¡¯t walk in the sky, you know?

    But Fina and I ignored it.

    ¡°And during one of my walks in the sky, I discovered a strange ind near the Land of Harmony. I thought I knew everything about the surrounding inds. It suddenly appeared. As I tried to explore it, however, the ind started to move so I couldn¡¯t investigate it. Then a few yearster, it reappeared. At that time, I investigated and found out that it was Targui.¡± (Kagali)

    Come to think of it, the reason I discovered the Land of Harmony was because of Targui.

    ¡°But you have done a vulgar thing, building a house on top of Targui.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said while looking at the bear house.

    I heard about Targui from Shia, but I couldn¡¯te up with anything other than a legendary creature. I guess for those who know about it, perhaps Targui is treated as a divine or a sacred beast, perhaps?

    ¡°But the fact that we¡¯re on Targui means you came to the Land of Harmony riding it¡­¡± (Kagali)

    I nodded.

    ¡°What Sakura said, ¡°it came from the sea in my dream¡±, made sense to me now. And I thought you came on a boat, but she said you came across the sea on a bear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°When I was on this ind at that time, I saw and, so I went there and found myself in the Land of Harmony. But I never thought I would get caught up in all that trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, if Targui hadn¡¯t brought you there, the Land of Harmony might have perished. I¡¯m grateful to Targui.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanughed.

    ¡°Well, Kagali-san, I understand why you know about Targui. So, because of that reason, I would appreciate it if you don¡¯t tell anyone else about it. Especially Shinobu.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I know. Besides, it¡¯s not an easy thing to talk about.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s just for confirmation, but is it okay to stay on top of this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s alright because I¡¯ve been up here before and nothing happened to me. Besides, if anything should happen, we can escape through your door.¡± (Kagali)

    Certainly, if a wyvern attacks like before, all we have to do is run away.

    ¡°Then, Kagali-san, do you know about Kryna-Hark?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of this name for a long time. If you¡¯re asking if I know him, then yeah.¡± (Kagali)

    I asked about the stone monument, but she interpreted the question differently.

    ¡°Have you perhaps met him before?¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san ponders about my question.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a secret. Rather than that, let¡¯s go pick some fruit. Come on.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san started walking to dodge the topic of Kryna-Hark.

    Did they perhaps meet on Targui?

    But why dodge the topic?

    I was curious, but even I have one, two, three, four¡­ Right, I have a lot of secrets.

    I don¡¯t really need information about Kryna-Hark right now, so I decided to follow Kagali-san without forcing her.

    ¡°There really are a lot of fruits here.¡± (Kagali)

    Apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, wild strawberries, and various fruits.

    Well, this is all thanks to Kryna-Hark nting all of it.

    ¡°Kagali-san. If you¡¯ve been to Targui, you should know about them, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think these were here when I came here. Or maybe I just didn¡¯t notice them. Besides, it was moving, so I couldn¡¯t stay for that long.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s also a mystery when Kryna-Hark was here in the first ce.

    It looks like Kagali-san won¡¯t answer even if I ask, so maybe I should ask Shia next time.

    ¡°Hugging Bear-chan, I¡¯m going to stand up, don¡¯t move.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Fina stands on Hugging Bear and picks fruits such as apples and orens.

    Kagali-san flies through the air and picks fruit from high ces.

    It¡¯s really convenient to be able to fly.

    I use earth magic to build a staircase and pick the ones high above.

    And the fruits that we have picked are gathered at Swaying Bear¡¯s side.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, is this enough?¡± (Fina)

    Fruits are lined up like a fruit shop in front of Swaying Bear. It¡¯s like a bear opening a fruit stall, it¡¯s a heartwarming sight.

    ¡°Thanks to both of you, Fina and Kagali-san, we were able to get a lot. Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°Of course, Hugging Bear, thank you for your help.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°You too, Swaying Bear, thank you for keeping the fruits.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily.

    ¡°But can you eat that much?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°My item bag is special, it won¡¯t rot or get damaged, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I pped my bear puppet¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t waste food.¡± (Kagali).

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have lunch.¡± (Yuna)

    Wee to the coastline and have lunch with bread and freshly picked fruits while looking at the sea.

    ¡°Delicious.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s always good to have a meal outside.¡± (Fina)

    Both Kagali-san and Fina are enjoying the food.

    I¡¯m not stealing Fina¡¯s words, but it¡¯s strange because eating outside makes the food taste more delicious.

    Besides, the breeze feels nice.

    I take out my knife and cut an apple to make a rabbit.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°A rabbit.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It certainly looks like a rabbit.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san takes the rabbit apple and puts it in her mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little sour, but delicious.¡± (Kagali)

    Fina is staring at the apple.

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve never heard of rabbit apples?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I know. However, I¡¯m just thinking that Yuna-oneesan can easily make anything.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult. Just cut it like this.¡± (Yuna)

    I carved it in front of Fina.

    ¡°Like this?¡± (Fina)

    Fina imitated and tried to make rabbit apples.

    ¡°You¡¯re good at it.¡± (Yuna)

    When we were making rabbit apples, Kagali-san opened her mouth in amazement.

    ¡°Can you guys make that much and eat it all?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Uh~¡± (Fina)

    There are a lot of rabbit apples in a row.

    Admittedly, we made too much.

    I¡¯m going to ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to help me here.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear happily ate the rabbit apples.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    My apologies for the dy in resuming.

    I will try to post every three days.

    As for the information about the animation, I hope you can wait a little longer.

    Thank you for your continued support of Kuma.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Kuma Comic Volume 4 will be released on March 27. Please look forward to the new volume.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 591

    <b>Bear-san Discovers A New Land</b>

    After eating lunch, I sat down on Swaying Bear and looked at Fina sitting beside me. Fina¡¯s hair was swaying in the sea breeze. Did she let her hair grow longer?

    As I watched Fina, she suddenly stood up and began looking into the distance.

    ¡°Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, I can seend.¡± (Fina)

    An ind?

    I got up and turned my attention toward where Fina was looking.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I can see thend.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, lying down like me, also got up and looked at where Fina was looking.

    Certainly, I can see thend just as the two said.

    ¡°What is that ce?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We¡¯re on a moving ind, so I don¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s right. Then that¡¯s and that even you don¡¯t know about.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at thend in the distance and smiled.

    ¡°Wanna go? It¡¯s a good after-meal workout.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said such a thing.

    Well, I also want to go there. I want to see what that new ce has to offer, a whole new world. I am looking forward to it.

    ¡°But this ind is moving. What if we can¡¯te back?¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina says worriedly.

    ¡°I can make as many Bear Gates as I like, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Fina)

    Apparently, she thought it was a magic tool, and there was a limit to the number.

    ¡°I thought you were bizarre, but you¡¯re just super insane.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, Kagali-san. You who lived for hundreds of years can change into a fox, fly in the sky, and turn into a little girl.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t be a little girl because I wanted to, though.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°For me, I don¡¯t believe either of them.¡± (FIna)

    Kagali-san nor I could deny Fina¡¯s words.

    For Fina, who hasmon sense, the two of us might be insane to her.

    When Fina and Kagali-san learned that they coulde back safely, they had no objections, so we decided to go to thend we just saw.

    ¡°Then, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, head for that ind.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    With us on board, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped into the sea and ran over the ocean.

    Targui doesn¡¯t seem to be stopping, but it just keeps going. It¡¯s time to say goodbye for now. But there¡¯s a bear gate so that we cane back anytime.

    With us on board, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are rushing towardnd.

    We¡¯re slowly approaching thend.

    I look out over thend, but I don¡¯t see any harbors or signs of inhabited ces.

    We found a sandy beach and went ashore.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear aren¡¯t reacting, so it¡¯s fine, but I¡¯ll use my detection skill anyway to check my surroundings.

    Yeah, it looks okay.

    Swaying Bear with me on board and Hugging Bear with Fina and Kagari-san started walking.

    Beyond the sandy beach, the meadow spreads out.

    I couldn¡¯t see anything that looked like a harbor from the sea, and even when we got onnd, there was no sign of anyone nearby.

    I don¡¯t see anything of further interest, so I don¡¯t know whichndmark to head to.

    ¡°Which way shall we go?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Fina and Kagali-san¡¯s opinions for now.

    Fina made a troubled face, but Kagali-san said, ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll take a look¡±, and flew up.

    It seems that she will check from above.

    I really envy her for being able to fly.

    I really want upgraded bear skills, like flying.

    Kagali-san was turning 360 degrees in the sky, and then she stopped in a particr direction.

    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It seems so.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san came down. Then, get on top of Hugging Bear on which Fina was riding.

    ¡°Kagali-oneesan, did something happen?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I saw what looked like a building over there, but it was too far away to make out.¡± (Kagali)

    The forest can be seen in the direction Kagali-san is pointing.

    ¡°It¡¯s just beyond that forest. What do we do? Shall we go?¡± (Kagali)

    We didn¡¯tnd here with a purpose.

    I just hope there¡¯s something there. If Kagali-san found something, we have no choice but to go where she pointed.

    ¡°Well, since we¡¯vended here, why don¡¯t we go?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Un</i>.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°We¡¯vee all this way after all.¡± (Kagali)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, started running in the direction pointed out by Kagali-san.

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to tell me when something dangerous was approaching, and I looked around visually.

    ¡°Kagali-san, you saw the building, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is there a person there?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°In any case, it was surrounded by forest.¡± (Kagali)

    We went through the forest, over the river, and along the roadless path

    At that time, Fina, who was looking around, raised her voice.

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-oneesan, isn¡¯t that a road over there?¡± (Fina)

    I looked where Fina was pointing, and sure enough, there was something that resembled a road.

    It resembled a road because it had been unused and unserviced for a long time.

    ¡°There¡¯s no evidence that anyone has passed here for a long time.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san agrees with me.

    ¡°But if we continue on this road, it will lead us to our destination.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s easier to proceed from here than going through the forest, so we decided to use the decayed road. There were fallen trees here and there, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear easily jumped over them.

    Then, after advancing quite a ways, we exited the forest. There, a wall towered over us.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wall.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a wall indeed.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s like a wall surrounding a city like in Crimonia or the royal capital.

    Then, just as Kagali-san said, there seems to be a building inside the wall.

    ¡°But we can¡¯t get in.¡± (Fina)

    Fina is looking at what seems to be the original entrance. The entrance is blocked by a wall that seems to have copsed from above, so we can¡¯t enter inside.

    ¡°Is it possible to enter from somewhere? Well, at worst, I¡¯ll hold Fina in my arms and jump over it.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina¡¯s face paled a little at my words.

    Perhaps she remembered jumping off the long stairs in the Dwarven country.

    ¡°Then wait for me here. I¡¯ll check from up there.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s body floats up on the wall. Kagali-san checks inside the wall and quicklyes down.

    ¡°There was a ce over there where the wall had copsed, and you could go inside. But the inside was in ruins.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ruins?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that big, but it seems like there used to be a town in the past. But everything is broken here and there, and I didn¡¯t see people.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, the road has not been used for a long time, and the supposed entrance to the town has crumbled. I don¡¯t expect people to be there.

    All I have is curiosity.

    We¡¯ll enter from the ce where the wall copsed, which Kagali-san found.

    Guided by Kagali-san, we came to the ce where the wall copsed.

    Indeed, the wall had crumbled just as Kagali-san said. It might be difficult for people to climb. But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear easily climbed up the pile of rubble of the copsed wall.

    Then, on top of the rubble, I could see inside the walls.

    There was a scene that would have been called a town in the past.

    However, just as Kagali-san said, the buildings had turned into copsed ruins, there were no signs of anyone there, and thus it was definitely a ruin.

    ¡°Fina, we¡¯re going inside. Are you okay? If you¡¯re scared, do you want to go back to Crimonia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m scared if I¡¯m alone, but I¡¯m fine because I have Yuna-oneesan and Kagali-oneesan. Besides, I want to go with Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Until now, she tended to be reserved, but she has grown to be able to express her opinion clearly.

    She¡¯s improving just by taking her around.

    I was deeply moved when I recalled how timid she seemed when I first met her.

    ¡°But if I¡¯m a hindrance to you, Yuna-oneesan, then¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not a hindrance.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, if anything should happen, rest assured that I will protect you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah. Thank you. Kagali-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear said that they will also protect you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡± (Fina)

    Of course, I will protect her myself.

    If the four of us protect her, she¡¯ll be fine. Besides, there¡¯s no reaction from monsters, so there should be no danger. The only thing to watch out for is probably a copsing building.

    ¡°Fina, the building might copse, so don¡¯t leave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    We investigated the ruins. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, carrying us, descended the copsed wall.

    For the time being, we head to the center of the town.

    Many of the buildings are made out of stone. Walls and other structures have copsed, exposing the inside of the houses. Large amounts of bottles and barrels have scattered.

    I think a lot of people used to live here.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Why did it end up like this?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks at the copsed building and asks with a forlorn expression on her face.

    ¡°They fled because of the war, or because arge number of monsters attacked, or a huge monster attacked, or because there was an epidemic. It¡¯s also possible that the poption naturally declined. There are many reasons I can think of, but I can¡¯t really tell just by looking at it.¡± (Yuna)

    I answered without using the word ¡°dead¡± as much as possible.

    It¡¯s possible that they were attacked and destroyed in a war, and equally possible that monsters killed them. It¡¯s also possible that many people died from the gue.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Had Orochi rampaged in the Land of Harmony, the same thing could have happened.¡± (Kagali)

    There are monsters that humans simply cannot defeat. Sometimes the only choice is to flee.

    However, I have no way of knowing why this town fell into ruins.

    ¡°Still, how long has it been since it was abandoned?¡± (Yuna)

    I am neither a historian nor an architect. I don¡¯t have any knowledge about it, so I can¡¯t tell how long ago it perished just by looking at it.

    ¡°From the looks of it, it seems like a lot of time has passed, but even I can¡¯t be so sure.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I guess there are some things even the two of you can¡¯t figure out.¡± (Fina)

    Fina says with a smile.

    Apparently, she had the impression that Kagali-san and I knew everything.

    There are a lot of things that neither I nor Kagali-san know. Moreover, I¡¯m not a resident of this world. There are still so many things I still need to learn.

    I think Fina knows more about this world better than I do.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    A newnd has been discovered.

    A little adventure for Yuna and her friends is about to begin.

    Hope it goes well.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Episode 43 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± is now avable on Comic PASH!

    It¡¯s the arrival at the royal capital.

    Thank you for your purchase.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I am not able to reply, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 592

    <b>Bear-san explores the ruins</b>

    We went inside the walls and came to the town centre, exploring.

    The scenery was the same everywhere, and the walls were crumbling. I asionally went inside the buildings to check, but nothing did indicate what had happened to this town, so I remained clueless.

    I expected there might be some people who became bones or something, but there aren¡¯t.

    ¡°If no one lives in the town, it will be like this. It¡¯s kind of lonely.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks a little lonely.

    There¡¯s a difference between no one in nature, such as in a forest, and no one in a town with buildings.

    I don¡¯t have any experience with this, but maybe I would feel this way in an empty school.

    ¡°Nothing of interest.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Has it already been taken by someone? Maybe it¡¯s weathered and disappeared, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m getting bored.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s go to that big building.¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed at therge building ahead of us.

    ¡°You think someone great lived there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe so.¡± (Kagali)

    I wouldn¡¯t call it a castle, but it¡¯s a fairlyrge building.

    I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s the biggest building in the ruins.

    ¡°If so, then there may be a treasure to be found.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Looking at the situation in this town, that¡¯s also doubtful.¡± (Yuna)

    We may not be the first to discover this town when it falls into ruins.

    ¡°Well, even if they don¡¯t have any treasure, if we found something rare, it would make a nice souvenir for Sakura.¡± (Kagali)

    I agree with that. I don¡¯t need money or jewellery, but I would be happy with something rare.

    So we decided to head for thergest building.

    As we headed toward the building, Swaying Bear, who was carrying me, made a small ¡°kuu~n¡± cry.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s hard to judge the way it sounds.

    It¡¯s not a cry that signals danger. But one that wants to tell me something.

    Just in case, I used the detection skill and found that there were two reactions from people behind us.

    Since when?

    Apparently, he was trying to tell me this.

    I reached out and stroked the head of Swaying Bear.

    Beside me, Hugging Bear is looking at it enviously.

    I¡¯ll pet youter. I said it in my mind.

    Hugging Bear understands that. It seems my feelings have been conveyed.

    While we were moving, I was looking at the detection skill, and the two reactions were following us.

    Now, what should I do? It would be safer to have Fina and Kagali-san, with Hugging Bear, go ahead of me and let me handle the situation myself.

    ¡°Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything yet.¡±

    ¡°Your bears have been watching our backs since a few minutes ago. And you heard them squealing just now. Their master patted the bears on the head as if to thank them. And then their master checked behind. Which means something¡¯sing from behind, so you called out to me to go ahead.¡± (Kagali)

    It was as if she was reading my mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting senile, at least.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In other words, I am correct, aren¡¯t I?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, is that true?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who hadn¡¯t noticed until now, asked me in concern.

    ¡°Monsters or humans?¡± (Kagali)

    It seemed that I couldn¡¯t deceive her anymore, so I answered honestly.

    ¡°Humans, they seem to be following us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do your bears know how many there are?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There¡¯s two of them.¡± (Yuna)

    Since it¡¯s troublesome, I answered honestly.

    ¡°Then you and I should be enough to handle it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Handle?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Kagali-san, be careful what you say. Fina will get scared.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. So what¡¯s the n?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°For the time being, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s dangerous or not, so let¡¯s have a conversation with them. If they attack, I¡¯ll deal with them with Swaying Bear. Kagali-san and Hugging Bear, please take care of Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san looks at Fina riding in front of her.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    They both agreed.

    Having decided on a course of action, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, stopped walking and turned around.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re following us. Come on out.¡± (Yuna)

    I checked the direction with my detection skills and called out in that direction.

    ¡°Mia-chan, we have been found out.¡±

    ¡°Calm down.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you, let¡¯s not follow them.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s a bear. Moreover, a white bear is rare, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    Due to the quietness of the surroundings, I can hear the two girls talking to each other from here.

    But the two, who weren¡¯t aware of that, kept talking.

    ¡°And there¡¯s a bear on top of a bear. Isn¡¯t that interesting?¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m also curious about the children riding the ck bear.¡±

    (TN: The author made a typo here and said (ü\¤¤¥¯¥Þ) ck bear, instead of (°×¤¤¥¯¥Þ) white bear)

    ¡°They¡¯re noting out.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at me like, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    So I decided to call out again.

    ¡°<i>Ano~</i>, I can hear your voices, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­!?¡±

    They stopped talking.

    A girl who looks to be a high schooler emerges from behind the copsed wall with her hair tied back. Another girles out as if hiding behind the girl. They are about the same age.

    ¡°<i>Fufufu</i>, it can¡¯t be helped if you noticed us. Who are you? No, wait, it¡¯s polite to say our names before asking.¡±

    The girl asked her own questions and answered them herself.

    ¡°My name is Mia. A venturer, Mia.¡±

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, I¡¯m Carol.¡±

    The girl who introduced herself as Mia proudly announced her name, and the stuttering girl introduced herself as Carol.

    ¡°A venturer? Not an adventurer?¡± (Yuna)

    (TN: [ Ã°ê“¼Ò ] [ Ã°ê“Õß ] basically the same stuff, just different kanji)

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump us with those barbaric adventurers. We are venturers looking for treasure.¡± (Mia)

    Perhaps she¡¯s striking a pose because she thinks it¡¯s cool?

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, why is ¡®that¡¯ kind of adventurer following us?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, in a deste ce like this, if you see a girl dressed as a bear riding a bear, and a little girl riding a bear, you¡¯d be curious, right? Besides, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen a white bear.¡± (Mia)

    The girl named Mia looked at Hugging Bear.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>¡­ You, riding in front of that white bear.¡± (Mia)

    Mia points her finger at Fina and asks.

    ¡°M- me?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, you. So who are you, and why are you here?¡± (Mia)

    So after looking at me, Kagali-san, and finally Fina, she decided who to talk to.

    Well, I am a bear, and Kagali-san is a little girl in a kimono.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks at me as if she¡¯s troubled.

    It was Fina who was asked, but I¡¯m the one who answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yuna. The girl you were talking to just now is Fina. The little girl sitting behind her is Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me a little girl!¡± (Kagali)

    I ignored Kagali-san¡¯s protest and continued.

    ¡°We found this ce while taking a walk (on Targui), so we decided to explore it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A walk? Are you making fun of me? What kind of childrene for a walk in a ce like this?¡± (Mia)

    Children, am I also counted as one?

    I¡¯d like to make an objection, but the conversation won¡¯t progress, so I¡¯ll stop.

    Besides, even if she says a ce like this, I don¡¯t know anything about the surroundings, so I don¡¯t know how crazy this ce is.

    ¡°We have these kids, so we can at least take a walk, even if it¡¯s far away.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Mia looks at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and makes a strange expression.

    ¡°Fine, I get it. So where are you guys from? I¡¯ve never seen anyone dressed as a bear before.¡± (Mia)

    Well, no one in this world wears a weird costume.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the clothes that little girl is wearing either.¡± (Mia)

    That means she doesn¡¯t know about the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°That girl is probably the only one who looks decent.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Fina.

    ¡°Mia-chan, it¡¯s not nice toin about other people¡¯s clothes.¡± (Carol)

    Carol grabs Mia¡¯s arm and stops her.

    ¡°I¡¯m notining, I think it¡¯s cute. I¡¯m just saying I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡± (Carol)

    Mia is a strong girl, and Carol is a timid one.

    ¡°In the meantime, I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t pry about our clothes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m fine with the clothes. So you¡¯re really just here for a walk?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°So where are we? We have no idea.¡± (Yuna)

    It would be helpful if she could tell us, but would she?

    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be helped if you don¡¯t know anything. Then I¡¯ll tell you. This is Hescg.¡± (Mia) (¥Ø¥·¥å¥é©`¥°)

    I don¡¯t understand it even if you say it with a proud face.

    I look at Fina and Kagali-san, but they both shake their heads.

    Good to see I¡¯m not the only one who doesn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Mia-chan, you don¡¯t know how to talk to normal people. Look, all three of them have a face like ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±, you know.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Eh, but it¡¯s Hescg, you know! A town made up of people who research magic tools. Isn¡¯t thatmon sense?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We venturers may know about it, but the normal people have no interest in it, nor do they know about the city that was destroyed.¡± (Carol)

    It¡¯s kind of funny, like watching a stand-upedy.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, you guys really don¡¯t know?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at us as if to confirm.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Dunno.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know.¡± (Fina)

    Mia looked at us as if she could not believe what she just heard.

    ¡°No way, you don¡¯t know Hescg. Then I¡¯ll tell you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at us.

    ¡°Hescg is a town made up of magic tool and grimoire technicians.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Magic tool technicians?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is said that an unknown magic tool made by such technicians is sleeping here.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We came looking for it.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Find it, sell it, get rich!¡± (Mia)

    Mia raised her fist high and dered so.

    ¡°And so, I don¡¯t know where you guys came from, but don¡¯t get in our way, go home quickly.¡± (Mia)

    Mia shakes her wrist as if shooing us away.

    ¡°Ohe on, Mia-chan. Don¡¯t do that. Mia-chan, apologize!.¡± (Carol)

    Carol grabs Mia¡¯s hand to stop her, bows her head, and makes her apologize.

    ¡°But if you¡¯re going to stay, you¡¯d better be careful. There are many mysteries left in this city, and some things can be dangerous.¡± (Mia)

    For some reason, they don¡¯t seem to be bad girls when I see them revealing to me things about this ce and giving me generic advice.

    ¡°Actually, you¡¯re all children, so Mia-chan was worried and followed you.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell them that!¡± (Mia)

    Mia covers Carol¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about the bear. Well, we¡¯ll be on our way, you guys be really careful on your way home.¡± (Mia)

    Mia walked by us with her chest out and continued on the path we were about to take.

    Carol bowed her head as she walked by us.

    We watched the two of them in silence.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    So here is a tsundere girl and a quiet girl.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear,icalized volume 4, is scheduled to be released on March 27.

    The cover design is Yuna and Noa. For more information, please check our activity report and Twitter.

    <b>¡ù </b>As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. Since I am unable to reply, I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 593

    <b>Bear-san Explores The Inside Of The Building</b>

    ¡°Even so, she was a noisy little girl, wasn¡¯t she?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san leaked such an impression while looking at the backs of the two leaving.

    I feel sympathy for Kagali-san, who looks like a little girl when that girl Mia called me a little girl, so I agree with Kagali-san.

    I don¡¯t know if there is a concept of tsundere in this world, but Mia looked like a tsundere. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about you guys,¡± but it¡¯s actually a different concept in her mind.

    ¡°But she cared about us. I think she¡¯s a kind person.¡± (Fina)

    I also agree with what Fina said.

    I believe the other girl, Carol, was just as worried about us.

    But it was also the fact that they were just curious about Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and me, who was dressed as a bear, and that one particr curiosity bothered me.

    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s already been decided. Find the treasure before those girls do.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, I don¡¯t hate treasure hunts, either.

    There should be only a few gamers who know about the treasure and ignored the idea of obtaining it.

    I have fought many monsters to get rare items. As a former gamer, I can¡¯t help but react to treasures.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Are we going treasure hunting?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t like it, Fina?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s interesting, but the people just now are also looking for it. So finding it before those people¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, Fina, you¡¯re so sweet. But you see, treasure hunting is a firste, first-served market. When I thought we were going to participate, they¡¯re our rivals.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But it would feel bad for them if we took the treasure home¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You are very kind. Well, I¡¯m not in need of money, so if it¡¯s something we don¡¯t need, we¡¯ll just give it to them. The real thrill is in the process of finding the treasure.¡± (Kagali)

    I don¡¯t need money either. And if I want to make money, I have so many ways to make money without selling the treasure. I can use the bear gate, the bear item bag, and the knowledge of my former world at my disposal.

    But I won¡¯t do that because it¡¯s too much trouble.

    So just like Kagali san, I have no problem with the idea of giving away the treasure.

    Besides, the treasure is a magical tool. I have the bear gate that can go to faraway ces, the bearphone that allows me to talk to people far away, and my bear item bag that can hold many items, so there are no magical tools that I want.

    Oh, but I might want a magical tool that can make me fly or one that can clean myself instantaneously without using water.

    At any rate, Fina has agreed with our words that we will hand it over, so our purpose has changed from exploring the ruins to treasure hunting.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go~~¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    We set out on our little treasure hunt. We head for therge building before us, just as we had initially intended.

    That¡¯s where Mia and Carol are headed. If there¡¯s any treasure to be found, it¡¯s in the biggest building.

    ¡°Even so, is there a town nearby?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I wanted to know about that, but if someone asked me where we came from, I wouldn¡¯t be able to answer.¡± (Yuna)

    If you can¡¯t answer the same question after hearing what the other person has to say, it¡¯s not an exchange of information, and not answering the question is suspicious. Furthermore, all three of us are wearing different clothes, there are also Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and theposition of our group, Kagali-san (a young girl), Fina (a girl), and myself (an adult), is iprehensible. It¡¯s nothing short of beingpletely suspicious from the first impression.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see any from up there, did you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The only thing I could see that looked like a building was this. Maybe I could have seen it if I went higher. Well, let¡¯s put aside for the moment where they came from, and let¡¯s talk about this ce. I think this is a town called Hele~ or something like that.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s H~ something, what was it again?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s Hescg.¡± (Fina

    Unlike me and Kagali-san, who vaguely remembered this town¡¯s name, Fina remembered it properly.

    Fina has a good memory of remembering side notes after hearing them just once.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s what it was called. If I remember correctly, it was said to be a town made by magic tool technicians. If so, the treasure is magic tools, but what kind of things do you think are there?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Like, something that will do the cleaning for you?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried talking about the magical tool I was thinking about earlier.

    ¡°<i>Hoho~u</i>, that¡¯s a good one. In that case, it might be nice to have one that will cook for you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Both of you are toozy! Do your own cleaning and cooking!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Ugh, sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I just said my wish though.¡± (Kagali)

    We, adults, got scolded by a girl barely turning 11.

    ¡°Then what kind of magic tool do you want, Fina?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Me?¡± (Fina)

    When she suddenly got asked, Fina started thinking.

    ¡°Well, Yuna-oneesan can take me to distant ces, and there are tools that you can use to talk to Yuna-oneesan from somewhere far away.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Let me tell you, none of the magic tools that Yuna has are ordinary. If you have something like that, you can really be rich.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°As expected, that¡¯s right.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Of course. To put it bluntly, even if I ask Yuna where she got it, she doesn¡¯t have any intention to answer it, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t use the magic tools she has as a standard. There¡¯s no way you would find anything like that.¡± (Kagali)

    I know it sounds harsh, but there¡¯s a world of difference between what the gods made and what ordinary people can make. This is something that can¡¯t be helped.

    We came to the target building while discussing what kind of magic tool we wanted.

    There used to be a wall surrounding the building, but it had already copsed. We climbed over the crumbled wall and went inside.

    ¡°Huge.¡± (Fina)

    The building is enormous, and you can barely see something like a tower. But it¡¯s also half-destroyed.

    ¡°Where should we start looking?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Either go after those girls or go somewhere else.¡± (Kagali)

    Mia and Carol must be here somewhere.

    ¡°So we either follow them and steal the treasure like hyenas, or look elsewhere.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, it would be troublesome to get tangled up with that noisy girl again, so it would be better to go somewhere else.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know where they went, do we?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks around restlessly.

    Just by looking around, we can¡¯t tell which way Mia and Carol went.

    ¡°These bears will know where those girls are.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san touched Hugging Bear¡¯s body.

    Even without me using my detection skills, I¡¯d know since Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will make a ¡°kuu~n¡± cry, or they¡¯ll point their paw in a particr direction.

    ¡°Then, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, go in the direction where those girls didn¡¯t go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    After Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear replied, they started walking.

    Mia and Carol¡¯s reactions were on the left path, so we went through the passage on the right.

    ¡°The inside isn¡¯t as copsed as I thought.¡± (Kagali)

    Certainly, unlike the outside, the inside retains its original form somewhat.

    The ceiling is high and doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯ll copse.

    ¡°It¡¯s quiet when there¡¯s no one around.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve never explored ruins in my former world, but it¡¯s quiet.

    There are rooms here and there, but I can¡¯t see anything that stands out.

    Broken tables and chairs, shelves, broken pots.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    It may have already been found by someone else.

    In the game, each yer gets one, but in reality, we are allpeting for one thing. If someone gets the treasure before us, there will be no treasure there.

    ¡°There¡¯s a staircase.¡± (Fina)

    Fina points forward.

    ¡°It won¡¯t copse, will it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯ll probably be fine.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san floats up and then touches the walls and pirs to confirm.

    ¡°It¡¯s magically enhanced.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say that it absolutely won¡¯t break just by looking at it, but if you¡¯re careful, it should be fine. Unless, of course, the bears are the ones walking on it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    ¡°Just kidding, don¡¯t be so mad.¡± (Kagali)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear was like, ¡°We¡¯re not that heavy,¡± Kagali-san seemed to sense the same thing.

    Well, they¡¯re bears, and big ones at that, so they¡¯re heavy enough. Saying such a thing could make Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sulk, so I¡¯ll just keep my mouth shut.

    I believe Kagali-san¡¯s words and go up the stairs.

    ¡°The third floor is probably the same.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This might have been the right direction for those noisy girls to head.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, they seem to know more than us, so it can¡¯t be helped. Besides, if we¡¯re going to find treasure, I¡¯d rather find it ourselves instead of stealing it.¡± (Yuna)

    We then went up to the third floor and searched for about an hour but found nothing that looked like treasure.

    I also found a book, but it was out in the open for a long time, so there was nothing left that I could read.

    It¡¯s hard to find things in good condition unless it¡¯s in a closed room, like at the pyramid.

    ¡°It¡¯s boring when you end up finding nothing.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I feel as if I have wandered into a strange world, and I am anxious and lonely. I wonder why there¡¯s no one left.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, you have a rich imagination.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Once you get older like me or Kagali-san, your sensitivity will dull.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, you¡¯re still young.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you also going to say that I am young?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, Kagali-san. They said you¡¯ve been alive for hundreds of years.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but I look younger than you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That means you¡¯re old at heart.¡± (Yuna)

    Finaughs at my words.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    So Yuna and her friends are going to search for the treasure.

    If you guessed it right, I may get depressed, so I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t write your prediction of the treasure in thements section.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. Since I am unable to reply, I¡¯ll leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 594

    <b>Bear-san Helps Mia And Carol</b>

    I randomly search the rooms but can¡¯t find treasure-like magic tools.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any treasure lying around in these rooms in the first ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Then maybe we should look for a hidden room or something.¡± (Kagali)

    Indeed, when ites to treasures, hidden rooms are the standard. Or rather, a treasure room?

    ¡°That being said, I don¡¯t think a hidden room would be easy to find.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you perhaps going to use magic to break down the wall and look for it?¡± (Kagali)

    A wall could be broken by magic or a bear punch.

    However, Fina, listening to Kagali-san and me, said the opposite.

    ¡°You, you can¡¯t do that. If you destroy the building any more than this¡­.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°No one lives there, so I think it would be fine if we tear it down a little.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if no one lives in it, it¡¯s not good to destroy it.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said seriously.

    Well, I can understand what Fina was saying.

    Just because it was in ruins doesn¡¯t mean that we could destroy it without permission.

    It¡¯s like breaking the ss in an abandoned building or writing graffiti on the wall.

    It was a question of human morality.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m not going to break it. But if I see anything suspicious, you don¡¯t mind breaking it a little, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yeah, if it¡¯s a suspicious ce.¡± (Fina)

    Fina also permitted me to break it only if I found something suspicious.

    As I was looking for somece, anywhere suspicious, I heard the sound of metal nging at a distance.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Did something fall?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That seems to be the case.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>ng, ng, ng, ng.</i>

    However, I began to hear the sound of falling metal repeatedly.

    ¡°What was that?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The sound of a pan or pot being dropped?¡± (Fina)

    Fina answered while tilting her head.

    ¡°Even so, the sound still continues.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>ng, ng, ng, ng.</i>

    ¡°I have no idea what that would be.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Shall we go see it?¡± (Yuna)

    We turn our feet toward the sound.

    ¡°Hurry up, keep running!¡±

    ¡°Wait~¡±

    ¡°I can hear voices.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It sounds like the little girls from earlier.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, besides us, the only other people here are the two girls we met earlier.

    ¡°Perhaps they are being attacked by monsters?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then we have to help them quickly!¡± (Fina)

    Fina yells in a panic at Kagali-san, who seems like she¡¯s taking it easy.

    The fact that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear remaining quiet means that they¡¯re not monsters.

    Maybe it was an animal? It wouldn¡¯t be strange for animals to live in the ruins after all.

    A tiger, a lion, or a bear, perhaps?

    ¡°So what are you going to do? Are you going to help them?¡± (Kagali)

    Well, it would be awkward to abandon them, and if I saw two dead bodies lying around, even eaten by animals, I would be beyond traumatized.

    I feel like I¡¯m dreaming.

    ¡°Well, it looks like they¡¯re genuinely worried about us. It doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re bad girls, so I¡¯m going to help them. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Go to where the voices came from.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    With us on board, swaying Bear and Hugging Bear left the room, moved to the passageway, and then ran down the stairs. And when we went outside, we found that something unimaginable had happened.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Is that armor moving?¡± (Yuna)

    There was something that looked like an armored knight from medieval Europe chasing Mia and Carol.

    The sound of metal nging was the sound of armor moving.

    Rather than running, the armored knight feels like it¡¯s chasing them with a brisk walk.

    I tried using the detection skill to check, but there was no response from the monster. Only the reaction of the two people moving can be seen.

    Is it not a monster?

    Is that why Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear didn¡¯t react, either?

    ¡°Don¡¯te here~¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to move carefully~¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Because we¡¯ve been fine up until now, so I think we¡¯ll be okay.¡± (Mia)

    They are running while arguing with each other.

    Won¡¯t you run out of breath quickly if you¡¯re running while talking?

    ¡°They look fine.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But we have to help them.¡± (Fina)

    Indeed, they¡¯re running away looking fine, but an armored knight is also chasing them.

    The armored knight has a sword in its hand. Both of them are in danger.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go help them, Kagali-san, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear, please take care of Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand. Leave Fina to me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    I leave Fina to Kagali-san, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear, and I stand in front of the two people running.

    ¡°The bear from earlier!? It¡¯s dangerous here!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Run away~~~~¡± (Carol)

    Both of them are worried about me.

    ¡°Just run past me!¡± (Yuna)

    I say to the two running toward me.

    At the same time as the two ran past me, I cast the earth magic I had prepared toward the armored knights.

    The clump of dirt hit the running armored knight, and the armored knight fell apart and crumbled.

    It was easier to defeat than I thought.

    ¡°You okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I turned around and checked with the two.

    The two seemed to be out of breath and were panting heavily, ¡°<i>Haa~ haa~</i>¡°.

    ¡°We, We¡¯re saved. But we have to run away quickly.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Run away? I already beat it¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Just as I was about to continue my words, I heard the sound of metal moving behind me. When I turned around, the broken armor was moving. It started sticking together and returned to its original state.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to run away.¡± (Mia)

    Miained, but who would¡¯ve thought that it would reassemble itself?

    ¡°How do you make it stop?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Somewhere in the body, there is a magic stone that controls it. If you destroy it, it should stop. However, since it varies from armor to armor, I don¡¯t know where the magic stones are! ¡± (Carol)

    Carol told me while raising her voice.

    If I know how to beat it, there¡¯s no problem.

    Either destroy every inch of the armor. Or just destroy the magic stone with an electric shock.

    ¡°Leave the rest to me, the two of you stay back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hey, were you listening to me!? You can¡¯t easily defeat it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright.¡± (Yuna)

    I ran towards the armored knight when I said that to Mia to reassure her. The armored knight brandished its sword.

    Slow.

    I dodged, lightly touched the armored knight¡¯s body with my bear puppet, and sent an electric shock.

    The armored knight stopped moving and crumbled; this time, it didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°You beat it?¡± (Mia)

    Mia asked anxiously.

    ¡°I think so.¡± (Yuna)

    I approached the crumpled armored knight and kicked its rolling head like a ser ball. The head flies far away. The rest of the body does not seem to move.

    Mia and Carol looked relieved to see that.

    ¡°Yuna, are you okay?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san called out to me from a distance.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, carrying Fina and Kagali-san, came over.

    Kagali-san got off Hugging Bear and approached the armored knight.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not moving anymore?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Because I broke the magic stone that powers it. So what is this? It doesn¡¯t seem to be a monster.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Mia and Carol about the armor lying at my feet.

    Mia and Carol looked at each other and started talking.

    ¡°We call them guardian knights.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Guardian Knight?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It means the knight guarding this building.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It seems that the ancient people made it as a countermeasure against intruders.¡± (Carol)

    Does that mean it¡¯s man-made?

    I see it¡¯s not a monster, so it didn¡¯t react to the detection skill nor alert Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Yeah, I¡¯m convinced.

    ¡°So, don¡¯t you have anything to say to us?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, you saved us this time. Thank you. You look so weird, but you¡¯re strong.¡± (Mia)

    It seems wherever I go, my bear costumes look weird.

    Well, I¡¯m having a hard time responding to being told I look beautiful or something as well.

    ¡°Thank you so, so much.¡± (Carol)

    After Carol thanked us, Kagali-san smiled at the two of them as if she was plotting something.

    ¡°Well then, I guess I¡¯ll ask for a littlepensation for helping you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Are you asking for money?!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Wait, we don¡¯t have much money.¡± (Carol)

    The two look troubled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need money. I just want you to tell me a little about this ce.¡± (Kagali)

    The little girl smiled wickedly.

    I see. She¡¯s going to ask us to provide information as thanks. Then we don¡¯t have to tell them our information, and we can listen to them one-sidedly.

    But you won¡¯t find a little girl with such a wicked face anywhere in the world, will you?

    Mia and Carol are also pulling back.

    Well, even though she looks like a little girl, she¡¯s actually an olddy who¡¯s lived for hundreds of years, so it can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°Yuna. Are you thinking of something rude?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s fair of me to say this, but I just realized how ufortable it can be when what¡¯s on the outside doesn¡¯t match what¡¯s on the inside.¡± (Yuna)

    I think my bear outfit would have suited a prettier girl better than a boorish girl like me.

    We then asked them to provide information in return for saving them.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Reunited with Mia and Carol again.

    My apologies.

    I previously wrote that I would be posting every 3 days, but I will be posting between 3 and 4 days for a while.

    <b>¡ù </b>As always, thanks to everyone who has been reporting typos. I am unable to reply, so I will leave this here.

    <b>¡ù</b> <b>[</b>Postscript<b>]</b>

    The next posting will be on 3/27.

    <b>-Kumanano</b>

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 595

    <b>Bear-san Listens To Mia And Carol</b>

    Kagali-san, Fina, and I sat on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, while Mia and Carol sat on some random stones.

    Mia and Carol opened their mouths while looking enviously at us, sitting on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°For a venturer, information is important.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But Mia-chan. They helped us.¡± (Carol)

    Mia is right. Having ess to information is essential. It¡¯s not limited to adventurers; some information bes a matter of life and death. Apany can go bankrupt just because of a leak of information.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell us anything you rather not say. I just want to know what this ce is.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san only asks for information that she can pull.

    Mia seemed convinced by Kagali-san¡¯s words and began to speak.

    ¡°I already told you that this town was created by a group of magic tool technicians, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah, but how did this town end up in ruins?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Legend has it that when the government found out that those guys were making something dangerous, they killed all of the technicians because they were considered dangerous.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But in another book, there¡¯s a story of an attack by monsters.¡± (Carol)

    Carol adds to Mia¡¯s exnation.

    It¡¯s one of the possible reasons I told Fina.

    ¡°There¡¯s also a story about a certain country pulling its technicians out of the country.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Then a story about a serious ident caused by an experiment¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°And another story about the technicians dying of old age. Anyway, for some reason, it seems that the technicians are gone and this ce has be obsolete.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san stops the two as they exin various things.

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t know why this town was destroyed?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Those are the stories we¡¯ve heard, so there¡¯s no point in youining about it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes, so I don¡¯t know which one is true.¡± (Carol)

    Carol bows her head and apologizes.

    ¡°What, that¡¯s all? You¡¯re useless.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What? I took the trouble to tell you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia puffed her cheeks.

    ¡°Besides, does it matter how this ce was destroyed? As long as we find the treasure.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What are you talking about? By asking about the characteristics of the town, what kind of magical tools they studied, and what kind of magical tools they made, you can imagine what kind of magical tools are to be found and where to search for them. Besides, one of the reasons for its demise is that the technicians were ipetent. If the technicians were not good enough and could not create anything significant, then the search for treasures would be pointless.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And if the country destroyed it, or the technicians have been pulled out, there¡¯s also the possibility of the treasure not being there in the first ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, indeed. Now that you mention it.¡± (Mia)

    Mia hangs her head at Kagali-san and my words.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we need the history of this ce.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re a little girl, and yet you¡¯re smart, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°The little girl part was uncalled for!¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san shouted.

    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t know why the town was destroyed, I don¡¯t me you. But still, for a town built by a group of technicians, it¡¯s a bit puzzling. If they were to conduct research on their own, there would be no need to build a new town.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You mean fundraising?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fundraising?¡± (Mia) (ÙY½ð¼¯¤á?)

    It costs money to do research. Collect materials to make things. If the things you¡¯re making are massive, you need people.

    Sometimes, in the manga, there¡¯s a scene where one researcher is hiding deep in the mountains doing research, but it makes you wonder. Where did he get the materials? How did he build the building? How did he build the basement? Is the electricity self-generated?

    Those who work with wood, those who work with stone. And in this world, even magic stones would be used, so they would buy them. If necessary, they might hire adventurers.

    Without sponsors to provide money and materials, I don¡¯t think their money or people will be enough.

    Besides, you need food to keep on living.

    ¡°In that case, a normal town would be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that where the name recognitiones in? When you say ¡®magic city¡¯ it would be a city full of brilliant people in magic or ¡®sword city,¡¯ a city full of brilliant swordsmen.¡± (Mia)

    When one hears of a town where magical tool technicians have gathered, one gets the image of a city with various magical tools. If that were the case, people would gather from various ces to buy magical tools there.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly as Yuna said. If you¡¯re a researcher of magic tools, you might have made magic tools for sale.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s just my hypothesis and may not be correct.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible unless you read a book about how the town was built, or hear stories from people who lived in that era.

    Although, only the long-lived races, such as Kagali and Mumroot-san, can do that.

    ¡­Could it be, Mumroot-san? You haven¡¯te this far, have you?

    After all, he is someone who has been to the Land of Harmony and even to Dezerto city. It doesn¡¯t seem impossible. It¡¯s scary to think about it.

    ¡°So what¡¯s with the knight armor?¡± (Kagali)

    Since Mia and Carol don¡¯t seem to know anything about this town, I decided to ask them about those knight armor.

    ¡°If youe close to it, it will attack you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia speaks with annoyance.

    ¡°But that one doesn¡¯t move, does it?¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed my bear puppet at a nearby knight armor.

    In fact, there was another one nearby, but it didn¡¯t move when I approached it.

    ¡°It seems that some move and some don¡¯t.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s been broken over time?¡± (Mia)

    Mia said appropriately to Carol¡¯s words.

    If that were the case, it might be more impressive that the town has been in ruins for so long that it is moving in the opposite direction, even if only partially.<b>*</b>

    ¡°But I was able to examine that motionless knight armor, so I learned some of its structure.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s why you knew that the position of the magic stone was different.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Carol knows a thing or two about it.¡± (Mia)

    For some reason, Mia proudly puffs out her chest.

    However, even if she sticks out her chest, it¡¯s not that big, so it feels like sarcasm.

    ¡°But you¡¯re doing something dangerous. What are you going to do if it moves?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ll run away. It seems that its pursuit range is fixed, so if I run away from a certain distance, it will stop chasing me.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Then, you were actually fine without my help?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We didn¡¯t need any help. We could have just run away.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan!¡± (Carol)

    Mia¡¯s tsundere mode was activated, but Carol got mad at her.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± (Mia)

    Tsunderes are cute only in manga and anime, but when you meet one of them in real life, they¡¯re just in annoying. Is it because you can¡¯t read or see their internal monologue?

    If Mia has internal dialogue, it must be something like ¡°I really want to thank them honestly, but why can¡¯t I be honest?¡±, or so¡­

    ¡°Yuna, was it? What are you staring at?¡± (Mia)

    As I was staring at Mia, she felt my gaze on her.

    ¡°No, I was just thinking how amazing these cute girls were venturers.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I-Is that so? I¡¯m embarrassed when you say that we¡¯re cute.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks really embarrassed and makes a shy gesture.

    Tsundere and easy.

    ¡°But you three are as cute as well. Especially you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia pointed at me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a cute bear like that before.¡± (Mia)

    Does that mean that the bear costume on the outside is cute, but not the one inside it?

    Well, I already knew that.

    ¡°But once you get to a certain distance, it just stops chasing you?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It seems that the range of activity is fixed, and when it reaches a certain distance, it will return to its original position.¡± (Carol)

    Does that mean that each of them has an area to protect?

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, that knight armor is suspicious.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagari-san, who was listening to the conversation, muttered.

    ¡°Kagali-oneechan, what¡¯s suspicious about it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina. Think about it. Was there any knight armor upstairs?¡± (Kagali)

    Fina shakes her head sideways.

    ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Right? And there was no treasure. In other words, there¡¯s nothing to protect.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then that means¡­¡± (Fina)

    Kagali-san¡¯s words made Fina think of something.

    ¡°Did you get it now? In other words, if there¡¯s a knight armor, there are treasures.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san boasted about her excellent reasoning.

    Well, I agree with Kagali-san¡¯s argument.

    Important things are behind locks.

    The stronger the lock, the higher the treasure value. It¡¯s the same thing.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, even though you¡¯re a little girl, you¡¯re smart.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We also thought so and decided to investigate the area where the guardian was.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But when we got close, they chased us.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you approached it carelessly Mia-chan?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If the right side didn¡¯t move, then you would think the left side wouldn¡¯t move either, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so~.¡± (Carol)

    Mia looks at us as if asking for help.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Do you think so?¡±

    Mia is depressed after being told by Fina.

    ¡°But then again, how could you guys decide to explore a ce like this when you have no fighting skills?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We are venturers. Venturers! We¡¯re not fighters! Our job is to avoid monsters, avoid danger, and get the treasure!¡± (Mia)

    I guess they¡¯re less of an adventurer, but more of a treasure hunter.

    Still, they¡¯re going to a dangerous ce and need some strength to protect themselves.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, aren¡¯t you supposed to achieve your goal without being found by that knight armor?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s as Kagali-san says. In terms of upation in the game, they¡¯re thieves. Avoiding traps and getting treasures.

    But they don¡¯t have that kind of skills.

    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough information, right? I¡¯ve told you the equivalent of what you helped us with.¡± (Mia)

    Mia gets up.

    She is a strong girl.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    <b>[</b>Announcement<b>]</b>

    Today is the release date of Volume 4 of theic.

    Along with that, anime information has been released.

    For more information on the cast, please refer to the activity report.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. Since I am unable to reply, I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>*</b> Sorry, I don¡¯t get this one (¤â¤·¡¢¤½¤¦¤À¤È¤·¤¿¤é¡¢Ò»²¿¤È¤Ï¤¤¤¨¡¢î®¤¬ŽüÐæ¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¤Û¤É¤Î•rég¤¬½U¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤Î¤Ë¡¢Äæ¤Ë„Ó¤¤¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤Û¤¦¤¬Æà¤¤¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤¡£)

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 596

    <b>Bear-san, Helps For The Third Time</b>

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll be on our way. Um, thank you for your help.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Thank you for the information, too.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia turned back as she was about to walk away.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. It would be helpful if you didn¡¯t spread the word about this ce.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We won¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    In the first ce, there¡¯s no one to even reveal it to.

    And even if I do tell someone, they can¡¯te here because I don¡¯t know where the location of this ce is.

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise. Carol, please be careful next time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, thank you very much.¡± (Carol)

    Carol bowed her head to us and followed Mia as she walked away.

    ¡°Now then, shall we go too?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the ce where the knight armors are, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If there is a technician who makes magic tools made those knight armors, then there¡¯s a possibility that these armors are protecting the treasure.¡± (Kagali)

    While Kagali-san and I are excited, Fina is the only one who¡¯s quiet.

    ¡°Fina, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re going to where the moving armors are, right? So do you think it¡¯s okay for me to go with you? I¡¯m not as strong as Yuna-oneesan, nor can I fly like Kagali-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    I was wondering why she was quiet, as she ponders on the question.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It might be a little dangerous.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So then¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks a little lonely.

    Certainly, it might be dangerous for Fina.

    But I don¡¯t feelfortable leaving Fina behind while I enjoy treasure hunting with Kagali-san.

    I approached Fina and put the bear puppet on her head.

    ¡°But I can easily defeat that knight armor, right? So you¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll protect you. Besides, we¡¯vee this far, so let¡¯s go treasure hunting together.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll protect you too, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also said they will protect you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Kagali-oneesan, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Thank you too.¡± (Fina)

    Fina smiles happily.

    If we¡¯re going to do it, we¡¯ll do it together.

    ¡°Then, once again, let¡¯s go!¡± (Kagali)

    Where do we start looking?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We should have asked the little girls where the knight armors are.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll tell us even if we asked.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia and Carol also think there are treasures in the ce where the knight armors are. They are not likely to tell us where to find the knight armors. This information is also to their advantage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to follow those little girls, what should we do?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°For the time being, let¡¯s try going in the same direction, and if there¡¯s a fork in the road, should we go in a different direction?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That would do for now.¡± (Kagali)

    We had no other n, so we decided to follow their trail while keeping our distance.

    ¡°Even so, I don¡¯t think they didn¡¯t know why this town was in ruins.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, Carol says the public doesn¡¯t seem to know much about this town, and it wasn¡¯t really that famous, was it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe so. But, but what are they supposedly protecting using knight armors?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, in any case, it¡¯s a magic tool made a long time ago, so it might not be a big deal.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if the said treasure has a high historic value, it¡¯s possible that it can¡¯t be used as a magic tool.

    Like antique teawares or items used by famous people, even if they had high value, they are worthless to a realist like me. If that¡¯s the case, I personally don¡¯t need it.

    And I don¡¯t know any great people in another world.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s possible. Well, I don¡¯t really want money. I just enjoy treasure hunting.¡± (Kagali)

    I agree with that.

    ¡°But when you think about it, that moving knight armor might be more valuable.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Even if you bring it home, it will just attack you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I thought it might be a good idea to put it at the entrance of the house and have it as a guard. But it would be a problem if it attacked Sakura, so I have no choice but to give up.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks a little disappointed.

    We followed Mia and Carol, trying not to be noticed by them as we talked.

    The inside of the building is surprisingly intricate. Moreover, since they all have simr structures, they all practically look the same.

    When Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turn the corner, Fina shouts ¡°<i>Uwa~a</i>!¡±

    ¡°What happened!?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The armor from earlier!¡± (Fina)

    A knight armor was standing around the corner.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it will move.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Besides, those two are ahead of us, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But, I¡¯m a little wary since that might suddenly move.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Still, seeing as how it doesn¡¯t move, it looks like Mia and Carol were telling the truth.¡± (Yuna)

    I became wary of the knight armors that might suddenly move.

    Even Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear don¡¯t seem to detect the knight armors.

    ¡°Then, do you think there¡¯s something ahead? Hey, bears, go chase after the two.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    With Kagali-san¡¯s order, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped walking.

    ¡°We¡¯re in the same room, can¡¯t you see them?¡± (Kagali)

    Fina talked while looking at a room she passed.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something that those two didn¡¯t see?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Or maybe they¡¯ve already checked it out.¡± (Kagali)

    For the time being, we decided to follow Mia and Carol.

    As we continued on, we heard a familiar nging sound.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!?¡± (Fina)

    <i>ng~, ng~,</i> the sound of iron moving bes louder. Just as loud as the voices of Mia and Carol.

    ¡°Mia-chan, you idiot~¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Stop shouting and run!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m running~¡± (Carol)

    Apparently, the duo were being chased around again by knight armors.

    We can¡¯t just abandon them, can we?

    ¡°Ha~a, I¡¯m off for a bit.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Leave Fina to me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    I left everyone behind, I saw Mia and Carol running in front of me. Behind them are two knight armors chasing after them.

    ¡°Kya!¡±

    Carroll fell.

    ¡°Carol!¡±

    ¡°Mia-chan, run away.¡±

    There¡¯s no way I could do that!¡±

    Mia stood in front of Carol, took out a long knife, and tried to protect Carol from the knight armors.

    There is a difference between courage and recklessness.

    ¡°Now get up and run, quick!¡±

    ¡°Mia-chan!¡±

    ¡°Over here!¡±

    Mia raised her voice to attract the knight armors.

    She was able to attract one armor, but the other attacked Carol.

    I elerated and stood in front of Carol.

    Then, I gathered magic power in both bear puppets, transformed the magic power into electric type, and touched the knight armor.

    The knight armor that the bear puppets touched copsed.

    With a step of my foot, I reached the knight armor at Mia¡¯s side and touched it with my bear puppets which are also coated with electricity.

    The knight armor in front of Mia also copsed without being able to do anything.

    I can¡¯t use big moves in a narrow room, so lightning magic that works within a small area is convenient.

    It¡¯s the lightning magic variety I learned to use against the Iron Golem.

    ¡°You okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to the dumbfounded Mia.

    Mia alternately looked at me and the broken knight armor.

    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia came to her senses and thanked me.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you very much.¡± (Carol)

    Carol also stands up and bows her head repeatedly as if performing a repetitive exercise.

    ¡°But why are you here?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I just happened to be nearby, and I heard a familiar noise, so I came to help.¡± (Yuna)

    That¡¯s a lie.

    I can¡¯t say that we were following behind them.

    Well, thanks to that, they were saved, so that¡¯s good.

    ¡°So what did Mia do this time?¡± (Yuna)

    Secret technique: Diversion.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I told her not to , but she touched the magic stone.¡± (Carol)

    Carol puffed her cheeks in anger.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t touch it, we wouldn¡¯t know what would happen.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Sure. But with just a little more research¡­¡± (Carol)

    The knight armor started moving when she touched the magic stone.

    ¡°Are the little girls okay?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san and Fina on Hugging Bear came from behind us.

    ¡°A little girl just called me a little girl!¡± (Mia)

    Well, I know how you feel.

    You normally wouldn¡¯t think Kagali-san has been living for more than 100 years now.

    ¡°If you want me to stop calling you a little girl, then start getting a little morepetent. In the first ce, with your abilities, exploring these ruins is dangerous, so I think you should go home. Even if both of you are venturers, you should at least be able to defend yourselves. I suggest that you explore ces more suited to your abilities.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I know I¡¯m powerless, but I need money.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Money, money, money, you have to cherish your life more!¡± (Kagali)

    Yeah, no matter how much money you have, it doesn¡¯t matter if you die.

    Even if they survived a fatal injury, they could be bedridden for the rest of their lives.

    Carol opened her mouth as Kagali-san admonished Mia.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Mia-chan has young sisters.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°What about parents?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°They¡¯re missing. That¡¯s why I, the eldest daughter, have to work hard and earn money.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity, I¡¯m going to be a great venturer, make lots of money, and make my sisters happy.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But Mia-chan, it¡¯s dangerous to go any further. If Yuna-san didn¡¯t help us, it would have been dangerous.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But there¡¯s treasure ahead.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Even so, if something happens to Mia-chan, Marin-chan, and Shion-chan will be sad.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­But I have to keep going.¡± (Mia)

    Ever since I met Fina, I¡¯ve been weak to talks like this.

    I don¡¯t hate kids who work hard.

    Besides,pared to Mia and Carol, who were serious about their treasure hunt, we felt a sense of shame that we were just ying around with the treasure hunt.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-oneechan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina is looking at me like saying, ¡°what are you going to do?¡±

    Kagali-san sent me a nce with an ¡°I leave it up to you¡± expression.

    I let out a small sigh.

    ¡°Then we will go with you.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looks happy at my words, and Kagali-san nods a little.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    It¡¯s April Fool¡¯s Day! But it¡¯s just my usual posting.

    If I have any additional information about the anime, I will report it in the activity report and on Twitter, so please look forward to it.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I will not be able to reply to you, so I¡¯ll just put this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 597

    <b>Bear-san, Has More Friends</b>

    I proposed that we follow Mia and Carol. Fina and Kagali-san didn¡¯t raise any objections.

    ¡°Together?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You can tell from watching me that I¡¯m capable of easily taking down a knight armor.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It would be safer if we went together. After all, it would be a terrible feeling if we found your corpses at the end of the road.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me off just like that!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But you would have been in danger earlier if Yuna hadn¡¯te to rescue us.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If we could just run outside their range¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia tried to make excuses, but Kagali-san continued.

    ¡°The little girl over there fell down. And do you really think you can take it down with that knife of yours?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at the knife she¡¯s holding.

    ¡°¡­Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I may look like this, but I¡¯m a full-fledged adventurer, so I¡¯ve been through my fair share of battles.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Adventurer!? Then you two?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Fina and Kagali-san.

    ¡°Not me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Neither do I.¡± (Fina)

    No, you¡¯re not old enough.

    But what about Kagali-san¡¯s case?

    Even if she goes to the adventurer¡¯s guild, she¡¯ll likely be kicked out, but I wonder if it¡¯s possible if King Suou backs her up behind the scenes?¡­

    No, she can turn into an adult for a short time, she just needs to sign up as an adult.

    ¡°But since you¡¯re an adventurer, you¡¯ll be asking for money, right? I¡­ don¡¯t have money.¡± (Mia)

    Mia muttered in a low voice.

    I didn¡¯t mean to charge her any money. But that might not make sense.

    ¡°Then, if you find a treasure and it¡¯s something I want, you can give me first dibs on it. Of course, I will buy it at the market price.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you rich, by any chance?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your definition of rich is, Mia, but as an adventurer, I do have a job and I do have money.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m not lying.

    ¡°But if you betray me and take my treasure¡­¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s good to be suspicious of people.

    But it may be a little refreshing that she doesn¡¯t question my ability while dressed up as a bear.

    I wonder if it¡¯s because I defeated the knight armor in front of her.

    ¡°Mia-chan, it¡¯s not good to doubt them. If they were such people, they wouldn¡¯t save us again and again. They would¡¯ve abandoned us and moved on.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Besides, if I die, you¡¯ll never forgive yourself, Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    Carol stares at Mia. Mia also stares back at Carol.

    Then Mia nodded, seemingly losing her patience.

    ¡°¡­I get it. If Carol says so.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You believe in her, don¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Carol is my one and only best friend. Besides, Carol has a good eye for people.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, you¡¯re terrible. My eyes are not only for seeing people~¡± (Carol)

    Everyoneughed.

    ¡°But are you sure? As Carol said. You could just leave us and move on, couldn¡¯t you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If I just passed by Mia and Carol, I wouldn¡¯t say much. But after talking to you many times, you have taught us things and given us advice, so we know that you are not bad people. Besides, just like Kagali-san said, if I saw your corpses lying around, I wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive myself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As I¡¯ve been saying, don¡¯t kill me off. But you guys are good-natured people.¡± (Mia)

    Miaughs.

    Did she believe me a little bit now?

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan is very kind.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Not many people are this good-natured.¡± (Kagali)

    Fina and Kagali-san started praising me.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m quite selfish. I just do what I want to do.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t want to see two dead.

    If it¡¯s the corpse of someone I don¡¯t know, even if I feel bad about it, I won¡¯t feel sad, I¡¯d be creeped out, and think it¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem.

    I am that kind of person.

    ¡°Then let me introduce myself again. I¡¯m Kagali, I may look like this, but I¡¯m much older than you, so be careful with your words.¡±

    ¡°Older?¡± (Mia)

    Mia tilts her head, but Kagali-san pushes Fina¡¯s back and makes her introduce herself.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m Fina. I can dismantle monsters and animals, but I can¡¯t fight. I can also use a little bit of magic.¡±

    They both introduced themselves, and then I continued.

    ¡°I am Yuna. I have noment on this outfit. I won¡¯t answer even if you ask me. And I guess I¡¯m in charge of fighting in this group. The ck bear over here is Swaying Bear, and the white bear is Hugging Bear. They are my summoned beasts. They are docile as long as you don¡¯t harm them, and if you try to do something to us, they will show no mercy, so please be careful.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡±

    Mia and Carol are looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    They are more interested in Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear than in our self-introductions.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already told you my name, but my name is Mia, and my dream is to be a famous venturer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Carol. I¡¯m Mia¡¯s childhood friend, and I also hope to be a famous venturer.¡±

    They did a simple self-introduction.

    Mia is staring at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Do you want to touch Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to touch them. But if they want me to touch them, then I will.¡± (Mia)

    Mia says while looking happy.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, then fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. I want to touch them. Let me touch them.¡± (Mia)

    When I said that to her, Mia became meek.

    I can¡¯t speak for others, but she has a troublesome personality.

    When I permitted her, Mia approached Hugging Bear and touched his body.

    ¡°It¡¯s soft. It feels good. And it¡¯s pure white, so beautiful.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    Being told that he¡¯s beautiful, Hugging Bear cries happily.

    ¡°Can I touch him too?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Yuna)

    I permitted Carol, and then she approached and touched Hugging Bear.

    ¡°It¡¯s really soft and quiet.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    After petting Hugging Bear, they said they wanted to ride, so I let them enjoy Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the fullest.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to say let¡¯s get going, but that¡¯s enough for today. The sun will be setting soon.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Carol)

    Carol nodded at Mia¡¯s words.

    Indeed, the sun will soon begin to set.

    I think it¡¯s because they both enjoyed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear too much.

    Well, if you¡¯re going to explore in earnest, it¡¯s better to do so when the day changes.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go outside.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Outside?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You guys really don¡¯t know anything, do you?¡± (Mia)

    Mia says in amazement.

    ¡°Mia-chan, you can¡¯t talk like that. We didn¡¯t know about it when we first started either.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°In this town, you can¡¯t use magic tools.¡± (Mia)

    ording to Mia and Carol, the magic tools are useless in the town.

    So they can¡¯t take things out of the item bag, which means they can¡¯t take out the camping set.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, go ahead and check it out.¡± (Mia)

    I was going to check with my bear box to make sure, but my bear box is a skill. Maybe it¡¯s not the same as an item bag.

    So, I asked Fina.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it out.¡± (Fina)

    Fina tries to take something out of her item bag, but it won¡¯te out.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re resting outside.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks triumphant.

    But, ording to Carol, she and Mia panicked when they couldn¡¯t use their item bag. And she said they realized they could use it when they went back outside of town.

    ¡°When I couldn¡¯t use the item bag, I was in a panic. I can¡¯t even take out food. But I¡¯m relieved that I can use it once I¡¯m out of town.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°So, the next day, we investigated the range where magic tools could be used. That¡¯s how we found out that magic tools can¡¯t be used in the city.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°So, I have to keep water and such out, otherwise I can¡¯t drink it.¡± (Carol)

    So, they will rest outside the town, where they can use magic tools for the night.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it because it¡¯s inconvenient.¡± (Mia)

    What about the bear box?

    I took out a water bottle from the bear box.

    Oh, it came out normally.

    ¡°Wait, just now, where did you get that from?¡± (MIa)

    Apparently, Mia was watching.

    ¡°From my item bag.¡± (Yuna)

    I pped my white bear puppet¡¯s mouth in front of Mia.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I get it out?¡± (Mia)

    Mia tries to take it out of her item bag, but nothing ising out.

    ¡°Because my item bag is special.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s special about it?¡± (Mia)

    Mia grabs my white bear puppet.

    ¡°Even so, you really like bears, don¡¯t you? Even your item bag is¡­¡± (Mia)

    I couldn¡¯t deny those words.

    Because Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are watching, and besides, I don¡¯t hate bears.

    ¡°What are you going to do? I have food.¡± (Yuna)

    My bear box can be used, so we can eat without going outside of the town.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We left our horses there, so I¡¯d like to go check them out.¡± (Carol)

    Since they have horses, we decided to return to where the horses Mia and Carol had ridden were.

    ¡°Even so, why can¡¯t I use Yuna¡¯s item bag?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°She¡¯s a bundle of insanity, so don¡¯t even think about it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°As for me, I don¡¯t want to be told that by you, Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    She can turn into an adult, turn into a little girl, fly, be a fox, or even live for hundreds of years. From my point of view, Kagali-san is a concentration of insanity.

    ¡°You think so too, right, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s Yuna, right?¡± (Kagali)

    Fina, who was sandwiched between Kagali-san and me, looked at both of us alternately and opened her mouth.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, which one was it, I wonder?¡± (Fina)

    Fina dodged it with a smile.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Bear-san has new friends.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    The number of stories you can read on Nico Nico Manga is being increased until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 16.

    If there are any readers who have never read it, we hope you will take this opportunity to read it.

    Please enjoy.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. Since I am unable to reply, I will leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 598

    <b>Bear-san, Goes Out Of The Town</b>

    We arrived near the town walls while listening to Mia and Carol. Their camp lied in the opposite direction to the copsed wall from where we entered.

    There were no buildings around the wall, just trees. As we walked around looking at the surroundings, Fina spoke up.

    ¡°It¡¯s Horse-san.¡± (Fina)

    A horse was tied to a tree from the corner of Fina¡¯s sight.

    Mia gently stroked the horse¡¯s neck when she approached it.

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± (Mia)

    The horse looked happy when Mia stroked it.

    ¡°Is there a ce where horses coulde in?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There¡¯s a hole over there. Let¡¯s go outside.¡± (Mia)

    Mia started walking with her horse, and we followed her.

    Indeed, as Mia said, there was a hole in the wall that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could somehow get through.

    ¡°There was a hole in such a ce.¡± (Kagali)

    It was on the other side, so I don¡¯t think Kagali-san could see it from where she checked.

    ¡°Where did you guyse in from?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°From the copsed wall on the other side.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, yeah. We wanted to enter from there, but it was a pity to leave this guy outside the wall, so we looked for another ce to enter.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at the horse with kind eyes.

    ¡°We found this hole when we were walking along the wall.¡± (Carol)

    Carol adds an exnation to Mia¡¯s words.

    We went through the hole. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were able to pass through snuggly.

    After passing through the hole in the wall, we move to a ce where magic tools can be used.

    ¡°How far are we going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s a river ahead. We¡¯re going to take a rest there.¡± (Mia)

    As Mia said, just a little walk and we found the flowing river.

    Mia made the horse drink water and took out the horse¡¯s fodder from her item bag.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s eat together.¡± (Mia)

    Mia and Carol took out something that looked like food from the item bag. Dried meat and hard-looking bread.

    I guess if you¡¯re going to be away from home, you have no choice (but to eat hard bread).

    ¡°Well then, shall we eat too?¡± (Yuna)

    I tell Fina and Kagari-san to wash their hands, and in the meantime, spread a sheet on the ground and put out hot soup, bread, and fruits.

    Mia and Carol were surprised to see it.

    ¡°It looks delicious.¡± (Mia)

    Mia is watching while eating her bread.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, do you guys want to eat with us too?¡± (Yuna)

    As expected, while the two of them were eating what looked like hard bread, I felt ufortable being the only ones eating Morin-san¡¯s delicious bread, so I asked them to join our meal.

    ¡°Is that okay!?¡± (Mia)

    Mia had a big smile on her face.

    However, her expression quickly changed to suspicion.

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna charge me a billter, are you?¡± (Mia)

    She¡¯s skeptical.

    However, there are those who deceive people, so it might be okay to be cautious with someone you¡¯ve just met.

    Moreover, the one she¡¯s talking to is a bear.

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    I put a new loaf of bread on the sheet to show that I have enough for two more.

    ¡°Fina, Kagali-san, let¡¯s start eating too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well then, I guess I¡¯ll take your offer.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Kagali-san and Fina sat down, grabbed a piece of bread, and started eating. Seeing this, Mia and Carol also sat with us.

    ¡°Is it really okay if I eat it?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot, so you can eat until you¡¯re full.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll dig in.¡± (Mia)

    Mia and Carol took the bread and put it in their mouths.

    ¡°What the! This bread is delicious!¡± (Mia)

    That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the bread that Morin-san made.

    I am happy that it¡¯s being praised.

    I poured them a cup of drink.

    ¡°Do you like fruits?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s free.¡± (Mia)

    After Mia and Carol said thanks, they wholeheartedly enjoyed the food.

    ¡°Yuna. Do you have <i>onigiri</i>?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at the food lined up on the sheet and asked.

    Apparently, Kagali-san would instead prefer eating rice balls to bread.

    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± (Yuna)

    I gave Kagali-san a rice ball.

    ¡°I prefer this one.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san eats her rice ball with great relish.

    ¡°What¡¯s that! Give me some too.¡± (Mia)

    Seeing Kagali-san enjoying the rice ball, Mia also took a rice ball.

    ¡°Ah, wait~¡± (Yuna)

    Mia puts the rice ball in her mouth before I can stop her.

    Mia¡¯s expression changes.

    I offered her a ss of water, which she drank down in one gulp.

    ¡°S-Sour!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to wait. That rice ball contained something sour called <i>umeboshi</i>.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Nobody can eat this.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. It¡¯s delicious for me and Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    To prove it, I eat a rice ball with pickled plums.

    Yup, it¡¯s sour and delicious.

    However, it seems impossible for people who are not used to eating it. Fina doesn¡¯t like pickled plums, either.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll like this one.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a rice ball with seasoned meat.

    Mia timidly picks it up and brings it to her mouth.

    ¡°Indeed, this is delicious.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Do you want some rice balls too, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked at me happily, so I handed her a rice ball.

    ¡°Yes. I will eat it.¡± (Fina)

    I ask Mia and Carol while eating rice balls.

    ¡°Mia, Carol. How long have you been here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We came here three days ago.¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s difficult to tell whether it¡¯s short or long.

    ¡°So I was doing some research and found you guys today.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yuna-san, was it? Did youe from a vige nearby or something?¡± (Carol)

    Carol hesitated to ask.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Having trouble answering, I turned my attention to Fina and Kagali-san.

    ¡°We came from a hidden vige, so I can¡¯t tell you about it.¡± (Kagali)

    When I was at a loss for a response, Kagali-san answered for me.

    ¡°I see. Actually, I don¡¯t think we can stay here very long, considering the food situation. So I was hoping to find a vige nearby where we could get some food.¡± (Carol)

    Carol looks disappointed.

    The vige Kagali-san mentioned was made up, so they couldn¡¯t procure food from there.

    I feel a bit guilty.

    ¡°Where did you guyse from?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°In a town called Galletta, just south of here.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡±¡±¡­¡­¡±¡±¡±

    I asked, but I can¡¯t respond because I don¡¯t know the name of the city.

    ¡°Could it be, you don¡¯t know? How long have you been living in a remote vige?¡± (Mia)

    Mia says dismissively.

    ¡°Mia-chan, don¡¯t talk like that. Some people have never left their vige. Some of our acquaintances have never left the town after all.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but isn¡¯t it better if you know the name at least?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. As you can see, I¡¯m still young.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san evaded.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you were older than us?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You must have heard wrong.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped that a child doesn¡¯t know about it. But if it¡¯s you, shouldn¡¯t you know about it? You¡¯re an adventurer, aren¡¯t you?¡± (MIa)

    It has jumped to me.

    As expected, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t know, so I nodded vaguely.

    ¡°Ah, yeah, I know. Galletta, right? More importantly, since we¡¯re going to act together, let¡¯s share information.¡± (Yuna)

    Since it would be troublesome for me to ask about the town any further, I activated my secret technique, diversion.

    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re going to talk one-sidedly. If you¡¯re just listening, then we¡¯re done here.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°How can I make you trust us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah. Then it would be helpful if you could share some food. If you don¡¯t want to tell us your vige, that¡¯d be enough, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re fine with that. Is bread okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± (Mia)

    I take out some of the bread I have inrge quantities.

    ¡°Are you fine with this?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty more where that came from. I also have some wolf meat and chicken meat I can give you. They¡¯re frozen, so you can thaw them and grill them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that melt?¡± (Mia)

    I took out a cooler box.

    ¡°If you put it in here, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s an ice magic stone inside. Well, it¡¯s technically a small freezer at this point.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you this one too. Ah, will it fit in the item bag? If not, I can give you another item bag.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wa-wait a second!¡± (MIa)

    Mia stopped me when I tried to take out the item bag from my bear box.

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We can¡¯t take that much.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s something I don¡¯t use and I don¡¯t need it right now. I still have some in stock. If I need it, I can just make it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, just who are you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Just your average adventurer.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia and Carol looked at Kagali-san and Fina. I wonder if my response was not good enough.

    ¡°She¡¯s a coagtion of insanity, there¡¯s no point in worrying about it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Because Yuna-oneesan is an amazing person.¡± (Fina)

    Mia and Carol looked at each other.

    ¡°Just the bread is fine. If you do that much, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll take it back while we¡¯re sleeping or from behind.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I won¡¯t do that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s what it feels like.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan has never been treated so kindly before.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°No, if someone you just met today treated you so kindly, you¡¯d normally be suspicious, wouldn¡¯t you? If Yuna were a man, I would definitely think she was after my body.¡± (Mia)

    I¡¯ve heard stories about how men are kind for a reason.

    Even Gentz-san was looking out for Fina because he liked Tirumina-san.

    ¡°Could it be, Yuna. Are you a man or something?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m a girl!¡± (Yuna)

    No matter how much of a pancake I am, I¡¯m not a man. Besides, it¡¯s impossible to judge the size of my chest because of the bear costume.

    ¡°Because you act so manly, I thought you could be a boy in a cute outfit.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That possibility is zero. If you say any more crazy things, I won¡¯t give you any food. I want information and Mia and Carol¡¯s trust.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, your lines stink.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You said it yourself. So what do you want to do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll stop doubting you anymore. Either way, if Yuna attacks me, Carol and I won¡¯t be able to win. In that case, I have no choice but to believe in you.¡± (Mia)

    Negotiation; sessful.

    Mia and Carol put the bread in a cloth bag and put it in the item bag.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Mia ate rice balls with pickled plums.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    Volume 15 of Kuma, which was scheduled to be released on April 24, has been rescheduled for May 22 for various reasons.

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers who were looking forward to it.

    <b>[</b>Notice<b>]</b>

    We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

    Episode 45 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been published on Comic PASH!

    It¡¯s a match with Shia. Please check it out.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t reply, so I¡¯ll just leave this here.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 599

    <b>Bear-san, Hears From Mia</b>

    ¡°Can I ask you one thing before we get to the story?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    I asked what was bothering me.

    ¡°You have sisters, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I have two cute little sisters.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°And you don¡¯t have parents, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They¡¯re missing.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Then your sisters¡­¡± (Yuna)

    It reminded me of myself back in my former world.

    I remember my parents just ying around, rarelying home, and always leaving me alone at home.

    It allowed me to do most things on my own. But at the same time, I became a hikikomori gamer.

    ¡°Ah, about that. My sisters are fine, Grandma is taking care of them.¡± (Mia)

    I am relieved to hear that.

    It seems that they won¡¯t be lonely waiting for their sister, Mia, toe home.

    I was worried about the food, but the situation seemed fine.

    ¡°But we¡¯re not that rich, and my parents are probably already dead somewhere. So I have to do my best for my sisters.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-oneechan, aren¡¯t you lonely because you can¡¯t see your mom and dad?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked a bit thoughtfully.

    Perhaps she¡¯s ovepping with her old self.

    Fina didn¡¯t have a father either.

    ¡°They haven¡¯t been around since I was little, so it was my grandma who raised me up. She is getting old, and I want to get rich and let her livefortably.¡± (Mia)

    I thought she was just a silly girl, but she was kind.

    ¡°So I need money for that!¡± (Mia)

    Mia raised her fist that was holding bread.

    And when she lowered it, she started eating the bread.

    ¡°So how did Carol end up with Mia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Carol was kind enough to follow me.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s wrong. Mia-chan always protects me from the jerks. That¡¯s why I want to help her in return.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I just don¡¯t like bullies.¡± (mia)

    No wonder Mia tried to protect Carol with just a knife.

    ¡°I understand your purpose now. But then, how did you find out about this ce?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, when I was cleaning grandpa¡¯s room, I found a note that said about this ce.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Your grandfather?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My grandpa was a venturer, too.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re a family of venturers for generations.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Mia)

    Mia said while proudly stretching her nearly t chest.

    ¡°But it seems you¡¯re poor for that.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Uu, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia bowed her head at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Anyway, when I was cleaning my grandpa¡¯s room, who was a venturer, to see if there was anything I could sell, I found a note about this ce.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Do you have anything to sell?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m poor. Maybe there¡¯s a treasure sleeping somewhere or something?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Just to confirm, where¡¯s your grandfather now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He died a few years ago.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not a child anymore.¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s a delicate topic for someone about the age of a high school student.

    But I am independent and about the same age, so when people call me a child, it makes me feel ufortable.

    ¡°But if there was a note that mentioned this ce, isn¡¯t it possible that your grandfather already found the treasure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not the case.¡± (Mia)

    Mia says emphatically.

    ¡°How can you tell?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If Grandpa had found the treasure, he would¡¯ve definitely bragged about it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, your grandfather already said many times about the time he found the treasure.¡± (Carol)

    Carol says nostalgically.

    ¡°Grandpa kept bragging about how he found the treasure. But since I never heard him talk about this ce, I¡¯m convinced that grandpa definitely didn¡¯t get the treasure.¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s a persuasive exnation.

    Sometimes some people repeatedly brag about their past glory whenever they meet someone.

    Some of my rtives would tell me stories of theirpany¡¯s sesses over and over every time we met.

    I¡¯ve heard it enough to have calluses on my ears.

    ¡°Then is it possible that someone else has taken it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I, a novice venturer, would know that.¡± (Mia)

    Then don¡¯t brag about it.

    ¡°But Mia-oneechan, does that mean your grandpa didn¡¯t find it either?¡± (Fina)

    Fina gets to the point.

    ¡°But that moving guardian knight? Everyone calls it knight armor, right?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Whichever is fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, I think the fact that the knight armor is moving means that it¡¯s protecting something. That¡¯s why I think there¡¯s treasure behind it.¡± (Carol)

    Carol indicates a possible treasure.

    ¡°Certainly. My hunch also said that it was suspicious. There¡¯s a possibility that it¡¯s protecting something.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s also possible that they¡¯re protecting the treasure, not knowing it¡¯s already been taken.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    They got silenced by my words.

    ¡°I can¡¯t rule out that possibility, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t go looking for treasure.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Besides, we¡¯vee this far, so we can¡¯t just give up now.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Surely there must be something.¡± (Carol)

    Well, even I have no intention of going home like this.

    Besides, if I go home as is, I¡¯ll be curious whether there¡¯s treasure. I just want to confirm.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to go treasure hunting like everyone else.

    ¡°So what do you know about those knight armors?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As I mentioned earlier, there are two types of knight armors, those that move and those that don¡¯t. The moving ones have a specific range of action, and if you go outside of that range, you won¡¯t be attacked.¡± (Carol)

    Carol exins.

    ¡°Will I be attacked if I enter that range?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to work unless you get close enough.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°So, from a distance, it¡¯s hard to tell the difference between a moving and a non-moving knight armor.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s undoubtedly annoying.

    But there is a way to deal with it.

    ¡°In that case, all you have to do is destroy them all.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Everyone looks at me as if my suggestion dumbfounds them.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly as Yuna said. It doesn¡¯t matter whether it moves or not. If you destroy it, there shouldn¡¯t be any danger.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, certainly, Yuna who can easily defeat a knight armor might be able to do it.¡± (Mia)

    As for the knight armors, we agreed that if we find them, we will destroy them regardless of whether they move.

    ¡°Come to think of it, did your grandfather¡¯s note say anything about this ce?¡± (Kagali)

    Mia and Carol look troubled at Kagali-san¡¯s question.

    ¡°What, you can¡¯t talk about it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Not that I can¡¯t talk about it, but I can¡¯t read it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You can¡¯t read it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Grandpa¡¯s handwriting was so bad, all I could figure out was the location of this ce.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Show me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If you can read it, then by all means.¡± (Mia)

    Mia hands out a dirty piece of paper to Kagali-san.

    After receiving the paper, Kagali-san looks at it. Fina is also interested, and she peers from the side.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I can¡¯t read it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it? Grandpa¡¯s handwriting has been so bad since long ago that I couldn¡¯t read it. He¡¯ll just say ¡°As long as I can read, that¡¯s all that matters¡±. There¡¯s a map of this location, so I somehow understood it. Even so, just reading the name of the town is already a big hurdle.¡± (Mia)

    I received the paper from Kagali-san, who gave up reading.

    Ugh, it sure is messy.

    But it doesn¡¯t seem impossible to read.

    <i>¡°I have finally found the city of Hescg.¡±</i>

    ¡°Wait, you can read it?¡± (Kagali)

    Perhaps thanks to my otherworldlynguage trantion capabilities, I can read the text as if it were normal Japanese characters. It seems that they are properly recognized as characters. However, the characters are expressed to the point of being even beyond messy.

    But I can read it because it¡¯s converted to Japanese.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, I guess, somehow?¡± (Yuna)

    I gave a vague answer and decided to keep reading.

    <i>¡°Somehow I managed to find the town of Hescg. I immediately began our search, but I immediately discovered that I couldn¡¯t use any magical tools in the town. This is going to make my search very difficult.¡±</i>

    ¡°So it was written that you can¡¯t use magic tools.¡± (Carol)

    <i>¡°I was looking for something in the town, but the buildings are crumbling and there¡¯s nothing of interest. Still, I can¡¯t leave here without getting something. My first grandchild will be born soon. I want to find something for him.¡±</i>

    ¡°Grandchild, could it be me?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Unless you have cousins or cousins in your rtives, then I suppose.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there are, as far as I know.¡± (Mia)

    <i>¡°There are knight armors in a certain ce. Suspicious. There must be something ahead. However, when you get close, the knight armors will attack you. I don¡¯t have the means to fight, so I can only run away.¡±</i>

    ¡°Grandpa, he can¡¯t fight like me.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s amazing that he came back safely even though he can¡¯t fight.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that. If it wasn¡¯t for Yuna, I¡¯d be dead by now.¡± (Mia)

    Mia said reluctantly.

    I continued reading.

    <i>¡°It turns out that the knight armors are gathering at a certain ce. That one big building.¡±</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s where Mia and Carol were attacked, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What about the rest of it?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I understand that part. There¡¯s a map.¡± (Mia)

    As Mia said, it was a simple map. It¡¯s a map of the town, there¡¯s a circle drawn on the map, and somebody wrote the word ¡°armor¡± on it.

    ¡°Anyway, it said armor, it had a ©– on it. You went to the ce and saw the knight armors, right?¡± (Yuna)

    Apparently, I couldn¡¯t read the characters that were supposed to say knight armors.

    ¡°What was there?¡± (Yuna)

    Mia shakes her head.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t looked into it in detail. But, it wasn¡¯t a big building. Besides, if there¡¯s anything like it, it¡¯s more likely to be the building where Yuna saved us, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah, that building is suspicious, since there are knight armors in that ce. There must be a reason to have knight armors stationed there, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Grandpa¡¯s note say something?¡± (Mia)

    I look at the note.

    <i>¡°I can¡¯t do it anymore. It¡¯s too dangerous. I give up. I can¡¯t die before I see my grandchild. If I tell my son, he will go. But he, just like me, will not be able to handle a knight armor. He will have a child. I don¡¯t want him to do anything dangerous. So I will not tell him. I will take this ce to my grave.¡±</i>

    ¡°Grandpa¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    He took it with him to the grave.

    But it may have been difficult to tell his son about the knight armors.

    ¡°Regardless of grandpa¡¯s feelings, father and mother went somewhere and never came home.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for reading it, Yuna. It was nice to get to know Grandpa a little better.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks happy when she receives the note.

    I¡¯m d I could help, even if it was just a little.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    For some reason, I thought it would be better if the letters written by Fina were different from those written by others, that¡¯s why Grandpa¡¯s note was messy.

 Chapter 600

    <b>Bear-san, Brings Out The Bear House & Mia Takes A Bath.</b>

    ¡°Then let¡¯s prepare for camping.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Camping in the wild¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Ipletely forgot.

    To join forces with Mia and Carol also means we¡¯re sleeping together as a group.

    ¡°Could it be that there is a vige nearby where Yuna and the others live. Will they let us stay?¡± (Carol)

    Unfortunately, the vige doesn¡¯t exist. Kagali-san lied.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, even if I say it¡¯s close, it¡¯s not really that close, I think?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is it really that far?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Uh, Yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What about these children, then? Are you going to make these young children stay in the field with you? If they don¡¯t go home, their parents will worry.¡± (Mia)

    Mia says worriedly while looking at Kagali-san and Fina.

    ¡°Are you treating me as a little girl?¡± (Kagali)

    No, that part can¡¯t be helped.

    Fina turns to me with an expression asking what to do.

    Hmm, what to do¡­

    Should I take out the bear house or not?

    Mia and Carol don¡¯t know where we live, nor do we intend to tell them at the moment.

    ¡°Mia, Carol, you got a minute?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°In exchange for afortable camping experience, can you promise not to ask questions or talk about it to anyone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? If you ask me to shut up, I won¡¯t tell anyone¡­ Besides, I don¡¯t have friends to tell.¡± (Mia)

    I heard thest part in a small voice, but it was sad.

    But I too, had no friends in my former world, so I know the feeling.

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone either.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°And ask you to do the same with your family. Well, even if you told them, I don¡¯t think they would believe you.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked around to see where I could ce the bear house.

    ¡°I think it would be good here.¡± (Yuna)

    After confirming the area where to ce the bear house, I took it out.

    ¡°¡­A bear-shaped house?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­Bear-san¡¯s house.¡± (Carol)

    Mia and Carol are looking at the bear house dumbfounded.

    ¡°Well, of course, you¡¯d be surprised when you see it for the first time.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yes. I was also surprised when I first saw it.¡± (Fina)

    Kagali-san and Fina nodded while looking at Mia and Carol¡¯s expressions.

    I can¡¯t stay outside forever.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go into the house and rest for the day.¡± (Yuna)

    I took Fina, Kagali-san, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear into the bear house.

    Behind us were two people staring still at the bear house.

    ¡°Hey, Mia, Carole on in.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wha- what is this!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I said no questions. Or do you prefer to sleep outside?¡± (Yuna)

    Mia thinks for a moment and opens her mouth.

    ¡°Let me just say this.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why is it a bear?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­Noment.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if I exined to them that the bear shape increases strength, they would not understand. I don¡¯t know the details either.

    ¡°Any more questions and you¡¯ll really be camping outside.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    Mia and Carol looked like they were about to ask something, but they didn¡¯t want to stay out, so they swallowed their words.

    Mia and Carol looked at each other and entered the bear house.

    ¡°It really is a home.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°How does a house like this fit in the item bag in the first ce?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If she has such an amazing item bag, I think I understand why Yuna-san isn¡¯t interested in magic tools.¡± (Carol)

    Mia and Carol muttered their impressions while looking around the room.

    I spoke to Mia and Carol.

    ¡°Now then, Mia, Carol go take a bath.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Bath?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I mean, you haven¡¯t taken a bath in a few days, right? It would be a problem if you went into the futon all sweaty like that.¡± (Yuna)

    After all, I¡¯ll wash the sheets and the futon.

    Washing sweat-smelling or dirty sheets is a hassle.

    At times like this, I want the cleaning magic that appears in asional novels and manga.

    ¡°Futon¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Bath¡­¡­¡±

    I lead them to the bathroom and exin to them how to handle the bath.

    At that moment, the two of them looked at the bears with hot watering out of it, and they had indescribable expressions on their faces, but I decided not to worry about it.

    ¡°I have prepared towels, so feel free to use them.¡± (Yuna)

    I left the two in the bathroom and returned to where Fina and Kagali-san were.

    I have something to do while those two are in the bath.

    ¡°Is it okay if you don¡¯t go home today, Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It should be a few more days before Suzuranes, so I guess it¡¯s still fine.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well then, I just need to ask Tirumina-san¡¯s permission to let Fina stay overnight.¡± (Yuna)

    I pulled out my bearphone, connected it to Shuri¡¯s bearphone and called.

    I gave it to her when we went to the dwarven city. It was pitiful to take it back, and I knew I would have to go out with Fina like this time, so I left it in her hands.

    Shortly after, it connected with Shuri¡¯s bearphone.

    <i>¡°Yuna-oneechan?¡± (Shuri)</i>

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Etto, sorry, but can I talk to Tirumina-san?¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°Yeah, wait a minute.¡± (Shuri)</i>

    The sound of running can be heard from the bearphone.

    <i>¡°Shuri, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    <i>¡°Yuna-oneechan wants to talk to you, Mom.¡± (Shuri)</i>

    <i>¡°Yuna-san? I just need to talk to this, right?¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    ¡°I can hear you just fine.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°What happened? It¡¯s about time for dinner. Where¡¯s Fina?¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    ¡°Well it¡¯s about that. Can I have Fina stay at my house today?¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine.¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    ¡°I wish I could have contacted you sooner.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°It¡¯s okay. Even if I make a lot, Gentz will eat it. So, is Fina there?¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    I pointed my bearphone at Fina.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here. Mom.¡± (Fina)

    <i>¡°Try not to trouble Yuna-chan, okay.¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Fina)

    <i>¡°Well then, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing there, but have fun.¡± (Tirumina)</i>

    ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡± (Fina)

    The call was disconnected.

    DidTirumina-san knew that we¡¯re not currrently in Crimonia?

    <b>******</b>

    <b>-Mia¡¯s point of view-</b>

    ¡°I have prepared towels, so feel free to use them.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna left the dressing room after exining how to use the bath.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    I don¡¯t understand thebination of that group.

    The oldest, Yuna, is dressed as a bear, and next to her is Fina. She¡¯s probably about 10 years old. But the one I don¡¯t understand the most is the girl named Kagali.

    She¡¯s no different from my youngest sister, yet her tone is firm, and her way of thinking about things is like talking to an adult.

    My sister would say things like, ¡°neechan, neechan, I¡¯m hungry,¡± or ¡°neechan, sleep with me,¡± or ¡°neechan, I love you,¡± and it would be childishly cute.

    But that girl named Kagali is cute, yet she doesn¡¯t have the aura of cuteness.

    Besides, Fina calls the younger Kagali ¡°Kagali-oneechan¡±, and Yuna also uses the honorific ¡°Kagali-san¡±, so I really don¡¯t get it.

    ¡°Mia-chan. I was surprised at the bear¡¯s house, but I didn¡¯t think there was a bath.¡± (Carol)

    While I was thinking, Carol started taking off her clothes.

    ¡°Why are you undressing?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Because you can¡¯t take a bath without taking off your clothes.¡± (Carol)

    Carol states the obvious.

    ¡°I know that. But doesn¡¯t it make you wonder?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I do. But I don¡¯t think they¡¯re bad people.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± (Mia)

    She saved me many times. Those were actually close calls. If she had not helped me, I would have been injured or even dead.

    She treated us to a meal and provided us with a bath and a ce to sleep.

    I just don¡¯t understand why she¡¯s so kind to us, whom she just met.

    I¡¯m afraid to think about what happens the moment she betrays us.

    ¡°Mia-chan, You don¡¯t need to worry so much. I have a good eye for people, don¡¯t I?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­Carol.¡± (Mia)

    Carol smiles reassuringly at me.

    Seeing Carol¡¯s smile made me feel foolish for thinking such things. I let out a sigh and took off my clothes.

    I have a lot of doubts, but I have decided to trust Yuna and her group.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s be thankful and take a bath.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I agree.¡± (Mia)

    We took off our clothes and became naked.

    Then we washed up and soaked in the bathtub for the first time in a few days.

    ¡°Mia-chan, it feels good.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, I never thought I¡¯d take a bath in a ce like this.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But that bear has bad taste.¡± (Mia)

    There are stone statues of bears in the bathtub. Hot water ising out of the mouth of the bear statues.

    ¡°Really? I think it¡¯s cute.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Even so, going through all these bears, you¡¯ll get past being surprised and just be amazed.¡± (Mia)

    She¡¯s dressed as a bear, she has ck and white bears in tow, she takes out items from a bear-shaped item bag, takes out a bear-shaped house, and it even has a bath in it.

    ¡°How much does she love bears?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I bet she loves bears very much.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She even dressed like a bear herself. I don¡¯t mean to criticize other people¡¯s hobbies though.¡± (Mia)

    I, too, would be offended and annoyed if someone made fun of something I like. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t intend to make fun of Yuna¡¯s outfit.

    ¡°And by the way, Yuna-san¡¯s bear outfit was adorable, but so were Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve never seen a bear that friendly before.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah, normally I¡¯d be too scared to go near them.¡± (Carol)

    The little girl is a mystery, Yuna is dressed as a bear, and the only decent one is Fina.

    She said her specialty was dismantling monsters and animals. They were truly a mysterious trio.

    ¡°Even so, it feels so good. I think I¡¯m going to fall asleep.¡± (Mia)

    I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lot, but I just can¡¯t find an answer.

    But more importantly, it feels so good to take a bath for the first time in a long time that all of it doesn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°You can¡¯t go to sleep here.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I know, but it feels so good.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯re right about that.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°<i>Uha~a~</i>~¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Haa~h~</i>~¡± (Carol)

    Carol and I soaked in hot water, shoulder-deep.

    It feels good.

    Yuna came to check on us when we didn¡¯te out of the bath, which caused us a lot of trouble.

    And what was waiting for us when we got out of the bath were warm futons.

    She told us that we could sleep without worrying because we were in her house, so there was no danger, and if any monsters attacked, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Yuna¡¯s bears, would tell her about it.

    After turning off the light in the room, Carol and I get into the futons for the first time in a while.

    It smells of the sun. It¡¯s fluffy andfortable.

    I¡¯m not going to give in to temptation and fall asleep. I had nned to spend the evening with Carol discussing tomorrow¡¯s ns, but the moment I got under the covers, sleep hit me.

    The darkness of the room also intensified drowsiness.

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>, I¡¯m sleepy.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan. I can¡¯t go on much longer.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°No. We have to talk about tomorrow.¡± (Mia)

    There¡¯s no reply. I can hear Carol sleepingfortably on the futon next to me.

    Maybe it was the fatigue for several days, so I fell asleep without even thinking about tomorrow.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Congrattions, you¡¯ve reached the 600th episode.

    It¡¯s been five and a half years since I started writing.

    I can¡¯t thank you all enough for reading this far.

    Thank you for the many bookmarks, ratings,ments, and reviews.

    I have been busy with various things and have not been able to reply to yourments, but I am reading them.

    The animation is progressing step by step, so I hope you will wait for it.

    The bears are still going on, so please continue your support.

 Chapter 601

    <b>Bear-san, Starts Exploring</b>

    The following day, I asked Fina to check on Mia and Carol, who had yet to wake up, while I prepared breakfast. I only took out the bread from the bear box, though.

    However, since Kagali-san insists on rice, I served her rice with pickled plums, miso soup with tofu and wakame seaweed from the Land of Harmony, and takuan (pickled radish).

    Fina came downstairs with Mia and Carol when we prepared everyone¡¯s breakfast.

    ¡°Uu, I¡¯m sleepy.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Did you stay upte?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I took a bath and immediately went to bed.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°My tired body, taking a bath for the first time in a while, and the soft futon kept me sound asleep until morning.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well then, good for you.¡± (Yuna)

    I thanked Fina for waking up Mia and Carol and started eating breakfast.

    ¡°The breakfast is also good.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Thank you for preparing breakfast, Yuna-san.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°You can eat as much as you want.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯ve never experienced such afortable adventure.¡± (Mia)

    Mia puts the bread in her mouth as she says that.

    After breakfast, we prepared for departure and began our exploration.

    We left the horses that Mia and Carol rode in the same ce as they were yesterday.

    We continued where we left off yesterday, heading for therge building.

    ording to Mia and Carol, it¡¯s possible to avoid the knight armors by detouring the path, but because we have to secure an escape route, we decided not to detour but to charge through while defeating the knight armors.

    Fina and Kagali-san are riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, respectively, while I walk so that I can respond immediately in case something happens.

    ¡°But what is the treasure?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It is said that the magic technicians honed their skills to create the greatest magic tools ever made. Surely there must be some magical artifacts left that no one has ever seen.¡± (Mia)

    Mia answers Fina¡¯s monologue on Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Treasure, I hope we find it¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I will definitely find it.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Fina and then at me.

    ¡°Um¡­if I find treasure, will you really buy it from me?¡± (Mia)

    Mia hesitated to ask.

    ¡°Well, if the thing you find is what I want.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I doubt there¡¯s anything you could possibly want with such an awesome item bag that could fit a house.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Even if Yuna-san won¡¯t buy it, we¡¯ll take it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the Commercial Guild, and they¡¯ll pay a good price for it.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Maybe so, but still.¡± (Mia)

    I would love to buy it from them, but buying something I don¡¯t want will be trash.

    ¡°But first, we have to find the treasure.¡± (Yuna)

    Find the treasure first before we discuss the purchase.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a knight.¡± (Fina)

    Fina points forward.

    A knight armor stood guard in the aisle.

    I told everyone to wait and approached the knight armor by myself. I came right in front of it, but it didn¡¯t move. Well, just in case, I decided to destroy it with electric magic.

    And regardless of whether the knight armor was moving or not, I touched the knight armor with my bear puppet, which was covered with electric magic. The knight armor copsed.

    ¡°You really took it down so easily.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Was that magic?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of lightning magic.¡± (Kagali)

    When I was thinking about how to respond, Kagali-san answered.

    ¡°Lightning?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Um, like when it rains heavily, the sky shines?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Well, I won¡¯t give you a detailed exnation because it¡¯s too bothersome, but you can spread it to every corner of your body.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san also used lightning magic. I don¡¯t know how much she knows about lightning, but she exined it to them for me.

    ¡°As I recall, when lightning strikes a tree or something, it can set it on fire, right?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°So you mean fire magic?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s a little different, but well, you can think of it as advanced fire magic.¡± (Kagali)

    It may really be troublesome for Kagali-san. Her exnation bes sloppy.

    Well, I don¡¯t think they can understand electricity or electric shock. You can¡¯t actually touch lightning, and even if you could, you would die.

    You have to be extremely lucky to be struck by lightning and live.

    Besides, I don¡¯t think there are any who would want to be struck by lightning themselves.

    ¡°Such magic existed?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°So you¡¯re destroying the knight armor¡¯s magic stone that you don¡¯t know where?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was also surprised when I saw Yuna use it for the first time.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised that a little girl like you knows such things.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me a little girl.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then a young girl, maybe?¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san didn¡¯t say anything more, perhaps because objecting was troublesome. Are you going to keep your adult version a secret?

    Her transformation into the adult version is even more insane than my magic, so she probably prefers for it not to be known as much as possible.

    I know how she feels, so I won¡¯t discuss it either.

    ¡°However, do the citizens of this country fight while wearing something that looks heavy? In my country, no one fights while wearing a lump of iron.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looked at the copsed knight armor and gave her impression.

    I¡¯ve heard that Japanese armor is also heavy, but I¡¯ve never worn one, so I can¡¯tpare. But from what I¡¯ve seen, the western armor, like this one, is much heavier.

    ¡°My country, you say? Where do you live?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I just mispronounced my vige.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Well, surely there are no knights in a vige.¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san¡¯s lie convinced Mia.

    ¡°But it sure looks like it¡¯s hard to move around.¡± (Yuna)

    It will be either mobility or defensive power.

    I can¡¯t say which one is better. It depends on who you are fighting against. As far as anything goes, there¡¯s no almighty equipment. It¡¯smon in games to be strong in one thing and weak in the other. Some armor is strong against magic, some are strong against physical, and some are strong against attributes. So no single armor is strong against all attributes, magic, and physical.

    No, I stand corrected. Only one almighty set of equipment exists.

    I looked at the bear equipment that I¡¯m wearing.

    It¡¯s durable, highly defensive, can withstand magic, even enhances my magic, can lift heavy objects, and has no weaknesses. Although, if I am to name one, it looks like a bear.

    We continued down the aisle until we came to the area where we met Mia and Carol.

    I think this is where Mia and Carol were attacked.

    ¡°We came here so quickly. Last time we had to take a lot of time-consuming detours.¡± (Mia)

    Well, we went almost straight.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We can¡¯t defeat knight armors like Yuna-san.¡± (Carol)

    Ignoring Mia, who¡¯sining about such things, I move on.

    From a distance, I thought it would be a continuous passageway, but it turned out to be a descending staircase.

    Although, it¡¯s pitch ck.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a magic stone that will turn on the light over there?¡± (Fina)

    A magic stone is attached to the ce where Fina is pointing.

    It¡¯s like a switch that turns on the light magic stones in the staircase.

    ¡°I thought so too, but when I touched the magic stone, the knight armor started to move.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I tried to stop her, but she refuses.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Because if it¡¯s dark, we won¡¯t be able to move.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°So did the light switch on?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it didn¡¯t.¡± (Mia)

    For some reason, Mia said it proudly.

    Mia touched the magic stone attached to the wall to confirm once more, but the staircase didn¡¯t light up.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, so it must be broken, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If the magic stone still has magic power, it should light up.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Have you forgotten that you cannot use magic tools? It should be the same with magic stones to light the passage.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± (Mia)

    Mia seemed to think that magic tools could only be held in hand.

    Well, so did I.

    But without light, we can¡¯t move forward.

    However, in this world, there¡¯s something convenient called magic.

    ¡°I will make light with magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yu- Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    When I tried to use light magic, Fina raised her voice.

    ¡°Yeah? What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ca- can I do it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Light magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t fight, so I want to do what I can to help out.¡± (Fina)

    Perhaps she thinks she¡¯s being useless.

    Going solo is fine. But I also feel lonely sometimes.

    So this time, I¡¯m having fun going on an adventure with Fina. Even if she¡¯s just following me around without being able to do anything.

    So I¡¯ll ept Fina¡¯s feelings here.

    ¡°Can I ask you to do it then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    Fina looks happy.

    Fina gathered magic power in her hands, and when she said ¡°glow¡± a glowing little bear floated above us.

    ¡°Bear?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear.¡±

    ¡°A bear indeed.¡±

    The three looked at the glowing bear and muttered their impressions.

    ¡°Fina. It doesn¡¯t have to be in bear form, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve practiced with Bear-san many times, so it¡¯s easier for me to visualize it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°But it¡¯s cute though.¡± (Carol)

    Well, as long as it lights up the ce, there¡¯s no problem.

    We went down the stairs while being illuminated by the bear light that Fina made.

    ¡°Mia, Carol. Can¡¯t you use magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t, but Carol can.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yes, a little bit. So, if Yuna-san and Fina-chan didn¡¯t start talking about it, I was going to do it myself.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°In that case, Mia will be the only one who can¡¯t use magic in this group.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You can¡¯t use it either.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, I feel sorry for you, so I¡¯ll just leave it at that.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯smon knowledge that people cannot use magic until they are about 10 years old. It¡¯s only natural that Kagali-san, a supposedly little girl, cannot use magic.

    Therefore, if Kagali-san were to use magic here, it would be troublesome to exin, so we should certainly refrain from doing so.

    This time, it felt that Kagali-san was hiding more secrets than I do.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    During this adventure, Fina used magic for the first time.

    In the beginning. I had the idea of having Fina learn magic early on and go on her own adventure, but I decided against it.

    I also have fond memories of thinking about dressing Fins in a bear suit and having her use magic.

    Thanks for the manyments on episode 600.

    As well as your ratings.

    I may bete in posting due to animation and bookwork, but I hope you will continue to support Kuma.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the corrections of kanji characters have not been corrected since they have been adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Bear-san Explores The Room, Part 1

    Bear-san Explores The Room, Part 1

    Three bear-shaped lights float above us, made by Fina¡¯s light magic.

    ¡°A bear? A fox would be cuter, Fina, how about changing it into a fox?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san said while looking at the bear-shaped lights.

    ¡°Well, I practiced imagining Yuna-oneesan¡¯s bear, so I can only make bears.¡± (Fina)

    Fina makes an apologetic gesture.

    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be helped. Next time I¡¯ll train you hard with foxes.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<em>Etto</em>, yes?¡± (Fina)

    Fina nodded at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Fina, you don¡¯t have to train with her if you don¡¯t want to. Kagali-san, Fina has a personality that makes it difficult for her to refuse, so please don¡¯t make unreasonable requests.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked at Kagali-san and me, then nodded after worrying a little.

    ¡°What, is it an unreasonable request to turn it into a fox light? Well then, when Sakura starts practicing magic, I¡¯ll make her learn fox magic.¡± (Kagali)

    Fox magic. That means it¡¯s in the form of a fox.

    Well, I thought that was cute.

    I don¡¯t know if Sakura can use magic after what happened, but I hope she can.

    ¡°You guys, you¡¯ll never know when a knight armor might attack, so how about being a little nervous.¡± (Mia)

    Mia warns us against making a fuss over the bear light.

    ¡°Even if it attacks, we¡¯d notice it because we¡¯d hear the sound of moving metal.¡± (Yuna)

    We descended the stairs, illuminated by the bear light. After descending the stairs, a long corridor stretched in front of us.

    ¡°Wait a minute. There¡¯s knight armor in the back.¡± (Mia)

    Mia speaks up.

    But I can¡¯t see it.

    ¡°Fina, move the light forward.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<em>Etto</em>, yes.¡± (Fina)

    After replying, Fina moves one of the bear lights floating ahead.

    The movement is awkward, but she¡¯s doing it properly.

    She seemed to continue practicing even after her magic study session.

    The bear¡¯s light illuminated the end of the passage, and we saw a knight armor.

    ¡°There really was a knight armor. I¡¯m surprised you noticed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<em>Fufu</em>, My eyes are good.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go take it down now.¡± (Yuna)

    As usual, I silence the knight armor with a lightning-d bear puppet.

    And after confirming the safety of the surroundings, I called everyone.

    ¡°A door.¡± (Yuna)

    Behind the knight armor was arge double door.

    ¡°<em>Uuuuuuuu, eh</em>~¡±

    <em>Gacha, gacha.</em>

    Mia pushed the door and turned the knob, but the door didn¡¯t budge.

    It looks like it¡¯s locked tight.

    ¡°Looks like we have no choice but to break it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There won¡¯t be many knight armorsing out from inside, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we open it.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s no way to tell with detection skills, and there¡¯s no way to confirm.

    ¡°But how do we break it?¡± (Mia)

    While Mia was wondering, my bear puppet was holding the doorknob.

    Then, I put all my strength into it. With a loud thump, one of the doorses off.

    ¡°Hey, what did you do!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I just tore the door off.¡± (Yuna)

    With the help of my bear puppet.

    ¡°No, no, it shouldn¡¯t be that easy.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the door was already damaged. Now, let¡¯s go inside.¡± (Yuna)

    I am not going to be bothered with a lot of questions, so I decided to put the broken door up against the wall and went inside. Before doing so, I peeked in to make sure it was safe. Fina moved the bear light ordingly.

    Fina¡¯s bear light illuminated the doorway.

    I can see what looks like a fence in the front.

    We moved up to the fence.

    The fence goes all the way to the end, and it looks like arge room. A bit big may be an understatement.

    ¡°I have no idea how big it is.¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s magic light alone can¡¯t illuminate the whole room, so I also cast my light magic.

    ¡°Water?¡± (Yuna)

    It was water that was illuminated by my light.

    ¡°A reservoir?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But it¡¯s quite spacious.¡± (Mia)

    Mia leans against the fence and looks out into the distance.

    Bigger than a school pool.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fall off, because if you do, I can¡¯t help you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t help anyone with that kind of appearance.¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s quite wide, but if it¡¯s a reservoir, it¡¯s okay to have this much. On the contrary, it¡¯s rather small.

    I moved the bear light, but there was nothing suspicious about it.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also not responding.

    ¡°Then again, Yuna¡¯s light magic is a bear too.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looked at the light of the bear floating near the ceiling and said genuinely.

    ¡°Next time, maybe I should try practicing bear magic too.¡± (Carol)

    Since Carol said such a thing, then Kagali-san said ¡°A fox would be better¡±.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you and foxes?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Because I like foxes.¡± (Kagali)

    Well, as expected, Kagali-san can¡¯t call herself a fox.

    Fina spoke up as I looked around therge room while this conversation was going on.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Over there, there¡¯s a door. And a knight armor.¡± (Fina)

    There are several doors leading out of the entrance, with passageways on either side. And in front of one of those doors is a knight armor.

    ¡°That means that door is suspicious.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I wonder if the person who put the knight armor over there was stupid. There are so many doors, but to put the knight armor only in front of that door.¡± (Mia)

    Mia said what everyone was thinking.

    ¡°Well, it takes courage to leave things defenseless.¡± (Yuna)

    Especially if there are countless treasure chests in there, it takes courage to leave without securing it.

    I think it¡¯s human nature to want to lock up the things that are important.

    I defeated the knight armor that was blocking the way and came to the door.

    The door was locked, but it never mattered. I broke down the door, then cast bear light into the room and checked it.

    There are no knight armors in sight.

    ¡°It seems to be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned off my bear light, and when Fina and the others entered the room, Fina¡¯s bear light illuminated the room instead.

    The room was kinda small. It¡¯s the size of two rooms that are about 6 tatami mats wide.

    I looked around the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s in a lot better condition than I thought it¡¯d be.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Maybe because it¡¯s underground, so it¡¯s not that bad.¡± (Mia)

    As Kagali-san and Mia said, it was in a better condition than expected, probably because it hadn¡¯t been exposed to the outside air.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s see what we can find.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since they went to the trouble of putting the knight armor out there, there must be something in here.¡± (Mia)

    Mia gets motivated.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. I want to search too, so can I get off from Swaying Bear?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± (Yuna)

    There isn¡¯t anything particrly dangerous, so I gave my permission.

    Then we split up and searched the room.

    ¡°As expected, the light doesn¡¯t turn on.¡± (Mia)

    Mia touched the magic stone attached to the wall, but there was no reaction.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Fina. Can you please help me get some light into the room?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Y- yes.¡± (Fina)

    When Mia asked Fina, the three floating bear lights moved and lit up the entire room.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Mia)

    Fina looked happy when Mia thanked her.

    It seemed that she was happy to help.

    ¡°There are bookshelves, but no books.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If there were books, we would know what kind of magic tool they were making.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wonder if they disposed of them when they left or took them. If so, there¡¯s little hope for the other rooms.¡± (Kagali)

    I think it was the room of a researcher who was making magical tools, but we couldn¡¯t find anything noteworthy.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bed. There¡¯s something bulging in it.¡± (Mia)

    At Mia¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s eyes turn to the bed.

    ¡°I have a bad feeling,¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Same here.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Fina, don¡¯t look.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Fina)

    I asked Fina to step back and have Swaying Bear cover her view.

    After confirming that, Mia puts her hand on the nket.

    ¡°Here we go!¡± (Mia)

    Mia slowly lifts the nket.

    The dust was flying around.

    And underneath the nket was exactly what we imagined.

    <em>¡°U~u¡±</em>

    Mia and Carol lightly avert their eyes.

    A skeletal remainsy on the bed.

    I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t let Fina see this.

    ¡°Fina, you absolutely must not look this way.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kagali, you shouldn¡¯t look either.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ve seen more than my fair share of dead people.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re a little girl. What kind of life are you leading?¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san stares at the skeletal remains.

    ¡°You really aren¡¯t afraid, are you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be afraid of something like this.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If it were my sister, she would be crying by now.¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san ignores Mia¡¯s words and observes the skeleton.

    ¡°It got something in its hand.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± (Yuna)

    A short cane-like object was held by the hand of the skeletal remains.

    But no one wanted to reach out to it.

    ¡°Come on, Mia. It¡¯s your turn.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°M- me?! I¡¯m going to take it?¡± (Mia)

    Mia is surprised when Kagali-san pushes her back.

    ¡°What, are you letting a little girl like me do it?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san used her appearance just for this moment.

    That¡¯s a nasty thing to do. But I don¡¯t want to call her out because I don¡¯t want it toe back to me, so I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia shifted her gaze from Kagali-san to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired from fighting, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a lie. But If possible, I don¡¯t want to touch the skeletal remains either, so I¡¯d like to refrain.

    Mia gives up after looking at Kagali-san, me, and Carol.

    Carol was shaking her head as hard as she could.

    As expected, Fina, who is hiding behind Swaying Bear, doesn¡¯t want to do it, so she prepares herself.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it.¡± (Mia)

    Mia slowly reaches out to the skeleton.

    Her hand is trembling.

    Why do people want to surprise others at times like this?

    But, as expected, I held back. I weighed myself here.

    While I decided to hold back, Kagali-san slowly approached Mia.

    Then, when Mia¡¯s hand grabbed the staff held by the skeletal remains¡¯ hand, Kagali-san raised her voice.

    ¡°Waa~¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kyaa~¡± (Mia)

    A cute girlish voice that was different from usual came out from Mia.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite a cute voice.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanughed, perhaps because she liked Mia¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°You¡­ There¡¯s a limit for mischief.¡± (Mia)

    Mia is a little teary-eyed.

    ¡°What, did you leak?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t leak!¡± (Mia)

    What leaked?

    I always did this kind of thing.

    ¡°Yuna! What are youughing at!?¡± (Mia)

    The boomerang curved at me.

    ¡°Keep an eye out on Kagali. You¡¯re her guardian.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m her guardian or something.¡± (Yuna)

    In the first ce, Kagali-san is older than me.

    ¡°If you learn such mischief from an early age, you won¡¯t grow up to be a good adult. I really want you to follow my cute little sisters¡¯ example.¡± (Mia)

    No, Kagali-san is an adult, an olddy even. Besides, she¡¯s not a person, to begin with.

    ¡°You stay on top of the bear.¡± (Mia)

    Mia picks up Kagali-san and puts her on top of Hugging Bear.

    <strong>======</strong>

    <strong>Author¡¯s Note:</strong>

    And so, we are exploring underground.

    With Yuna¡¯s bear magic, the door opened easily. (lol)

    <strong>======</strong>

 Chapter 603

    <b>Bear-san Explores The Room, Part 2</b>

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Am I still not allowed to see it?¡± (Fina)

    While we were doing something stupid, Fina tried to check us out from behind Swaying Bear. But Swaying Bear moves his body to block Fina¡¯s view.

    Swaying Bear¡¯s defense is like an iron wall.

    ¡°Ah, just a little longer.¡± (Yuna)

    We checked the skeleton to ensure there was nothing but the wand and then covered it with a sheet.

    Of course, that role also goes to Mia.

    Mia does it with a disgusted look on her face. At that time, she was doing it while ncing at Kagali-san so as not to be surprised.

    ¡°<i>Ugh</i>, it¡¯s fine now.¡± (Mia)

    After making sure the sheets properly covered it, I called Fina.

    Fina came out from behind Swaying Bear¡¯s back. Swaying Bear didn¡¯t block her.

    ¡°So what happened?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°A wand or something?¡± (Yuna)

    Our gaze turns to the wand in Mia¡¯s hand.

    A wand about 30 cm long, with a magic stone the size of Fina¡¯s small fist, iid at the tip.

    Mia looks at the wand, but quickly gives up and gives it to Carol.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a wizard, Carol, what do you think?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I can use magic, but I¡¯m not familiar with wands either.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°What about you, Yuna?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Likewise, I don¡¯t know much about it.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve never used a wand before, so I don¡¯t know any more about it than Carol.

    ¡°Hey, let me see it.¡± (Kagali)

    As everyone gave up, Kagali-san, who was on Hugging Bear, reached out her hand.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re just a little girl, you don¡¯t need it yet.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just show it to her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Mia)

    While saying that, Mia hands over the wand to Kagali-san.

    Upon receiving the wand, Kagali-san moves it around to check it from different angles.

    ¡°Do you know what it is?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°They put a lot of things on this wand.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Kagali-san with suspicious eyes.

    You can¡¯t tell just by looking at it.

    ¡°In the first ce, can a little girl like you understand? To me, it just looks like a normal short wand.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah, even I can¡¯t see it.¡± (Carol)

    Carol also agrees with Mia¡¯s words.

    ¡°It¡¯s the difference in life experiences.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Life experience, you say? How old are you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask a woman her age.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why are you talking like a grown woman?¡± (Mia)

    Fina and Iughed at those words.

    Well, she¡¯s an olddy on the inside, so what Mia is saying is correct.

    ¡°For the time being, Yuna. Try pouring magic into this wand. It might tell us something.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san held out the wand toward me.

    ¡°Me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I could do it myself, but it would be troublesome.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s not dangerous, is it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that this is no ordinary wand.¡± (Kagali)

    When you put it that way, it¡¯s tough.

    I receive the wand from Kagali-san, and bite it with my bear puppet¡¯s mouth.

    Then I try to use bear eyes.

    But it simply showed a ¡°wand¡± and nothing else.

    <i>Hmmm</i>, there isn¡¯t anything suspicious about it.

    Just like Kagali-san did, I turned the wand around and observed it.

    Lines and circles were carved into the wand, which looked like a series of magic circles. Kagali-san might be talking about this.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, Yuna. You don¡¯t have to do it If it¡¯s dangerous. I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you, Yuna.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? Is it bad if I worry about you, Yuna!? If I can use magic, I¡¯ll do it for you instead.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You probably need a certain amount of magic to make it work.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it.¡± (Carol)

    Carol slowly raises her hand.

    ¡°Fine. I get it. I should do it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯s not definite that something will happen.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, I¡¯m the only one who can respond if something does happen.

    Mia, who¡¯s not a magician, might not have enough magic power. Carol, who seems to be athletically inept, would be a liability, and having Fina do it was out of the question. Also, Kagali-san is not in perfect condition.

    I have my bear costume to protect me should anything happen.

    Fina looks worried, so I reassure her by saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine¡±.

    I asked everyone to stand back a little. After confirming this, I poured magic power into the wand. There was no response, so I poured more magic power.

    Then, the magic stone attached to the tip of the wand glowed and immediately disappeared.

    We looked at the wand.

    ¡°Nothing happened?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So it¡¯s a normal wand?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I thought there would be some kind of reaction, but that¡¯s strange.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san tilts her head.

    ¡°What? You made me worry for nothing?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Maybe the reason is that we can¡¯t use magic tools here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So, is that wand different from a normal wand?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Dunno.¡± (Yuna)

    My bear eyes only say ¡°wand¡±.

    ¡°Can you use magic with that wand?¡± (Carol)

    A long time ago, I took off my bear puppet and tried using magic with a wand, but the magic didn¡¯t activate.

    In other words, there is no point in doing it without my bear puppet, if I can¡¯t do it with my bear puppet on, but I cannot be sure.

    I looked around the room and gave Carol the wand.

    Carol is the right choice for this.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any danger, so Carol go ahead and try it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, yes. I¡¯ll try casting light.¡± (Carol)

    When I give Carol the wand, she tries to cast her magic, but it does not activate.

    ¡°Just as Kagali-chan said, we can¡¯t seem to activate the magic of the wand here.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°And it didn¡¯t glow this time.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Perhaps I have less magic?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That would be different. If that¡¯s the case, it won¡¯t serve as a magic wand. You should think that the purpose of the use is different.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to use it, then, isn¡¯t it trash? The magic stone is reasonablyrge though, so it could be sold.¡± (Mia)

    The magic stone is about the size of Tiger Wolf¡¯s magic stone.

    ¡°Do you think it would sell well? Yuna, how about it?¡± (Mia)

    If you¡¯re asking me whether I want it or not, I don¡¯t.

    But magic stones are sometimes useful.

    ¡°Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll buy it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!? Thank you.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks happy.

    ¡°So, how do we go from here? Do you want me to pay now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Later is fine. Besides, that may not be the only treasure, so it would be better to settle it all up togetherter.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna think I¡¯m running away without paying?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know that Yuna would never do such a thing. In the first ce, there¡¯s no merit for you to run away from us. Besides, even if you escaped, you have saved us many times, so the cost is already paid for.¡± (Mia)

    Unexpected words came out.

    I feel a little embarrassed when someone tells me how much they trust me, face to face.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep this wand then.¡± (Yuna)

    I put the wand in the bear box.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s resume our search in this room.¡± (Kagali)

    We split up and explored the room again.

    Besides the bed, there¡¯s a bookshelf, drawers, a desk, and a table. It¡¯s like having a bed in aboratory.

    I looked around the room for anything of interest, but there was nothing in particr.

    Kagali-san also looked around the room restlessly, and Mia looked under the bed while feeling sick. Carol is walking around the room wondering where to look.

    I looked at Fina and saw her pulling a desk drawer.

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>, it won¡¯t open.¡± (Fina)

    Fina is trying very hard to pull the desk drawer, but to no avail.

    Swaying Bear is cheering for her by crying ¡°Kuu~n¡±.

    ¡°Fina, let me handle it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That, right there, should be a thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­Yes, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    In ce of Fina, I put my hand on the drawer and try to pull it lightly, but I can¡¯t pull it out.

    Something seems to be stuck.

    Is it the lock?

    In that case, I¡¯m going to pull as hard as I can.

    Then the desk copsed with a loud noise and the drawer I pulled out was yanked out.

    ¡°What!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What!?¡± (Kagali)

    I got pushed backwards by the momentum and fell on my buttocks.

    I guess I put more effort into it than I thought I should.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, are you okay?!¡± (Fina)

    Fina approached me worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m alright.¡± (Yuna)

    Thanks to the bear equipment, my butt doesn¡¯t hurt.

    If it weren¡¯t for the bear equipment, my delicate butt might have been bruised.

    ¡°Jeez, you scared the crap out of me.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Don¡¯t startle me! I hit my head on the bed.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That surprised me.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was just trying to put a little bit of force into it.¡± (Yuna)

    For the time being, it was my fault, so I apologized.

    ¡°So, Yuna-oneesan. Did you find anything in the drawer?¡± (Fina)

    I look at the drawer in my hand.

    ¡°There¡¯s a box in here.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s a metal box.

    It¡¯s about the size of a toolbox held by an elementary school student.

    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s in it?¡± (Mia)

    Mia p eers in from the side.

    Lured by that, Carol and Kagali-san alsoe.

    ¡°I¡¯ll open it.¡± (Mia)

    Mia takes the box out of the drawer that I am holding.

    ¡°Mia-chan, it might be dangerous.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like any of these knight armors are going toe here.¡± (Mia)

    After saying that, she tried to open the iron box, but it wouldn¡¯t open.

    ¡°It¡¯s rusty and won¡¯t open.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Let me open it¡± (Yuna)

    I picked up the box and opened the lid with all my strength while being careful this time.

    ¡°You really have such incredible power. So what¡¯s in it?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Book?¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the book inside.

    ¡°A book? Or rather, more like a notebook.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s too thin to be called a book, and it¡¯s more fitting to call it a notebook. (TN: That¡¯s a doujinshi!)

    Inside the box were two notebooks.

    One of the notebooks had the word ¡°record¡± written on its cover.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    [Notice]

    Although volume 15 has not been released, we are soliciting stories for writing volume 16 and for store special offers in our activity report.

    As you may know from our activity report, I will take a short break after the next posting on the 10th due to bookwork on volume 16.

    I¡¯m sorry, I have just restarted.

    Please refer to the activity report for more details.

    -Kumanano

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji characters may have not been corrected since getting adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 604

    <b>Bear-san, Reads The Notebook</b>

    ¡°So what was written in it?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san kept asking me pesteringly.

    I turned over the cover of the notebookbeled ¡°records¡±.

    <i>¡°To the person who discovers this book.</i>

    <i>This is a record of my apology.¡±</i>

    That¡¯s what it said on the first page.

    <i>¡°The town was destroyed. This is also a consequence of the researches we have done.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We shouldn¡¯t have made something like that.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Kryna-Hark was right.¡±</i>

    ¡°Kryna-Hark, you say?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san reacted to Kryna-Hark¡¯s name.

    ¡°You mean that venturer, Kryna-Hark?!¡± (Mia)

    Mia reacts in the same way.

    ¡°What? You know about Kryna-Hark?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There isn¡¯t an aspiring venturer out there who doesn¡¯t know the name Kryna-Hark.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But Kryna-Hark is a mysterious figure. Only his name remains and there¡¯s no description of what kind of person he was in any of the books.¡± (Carol)

    Carol seems to know it too.

    Shia in the royal capital knows about Kryna-Hark, and so do Mia and Carol. We knew people who knew more.

    I don¡¯t know where we are, but I wanted to know if Kryna-Hark also rode Targui to get here.

    ¡°Could it be that he was an ugly man and hid his face with a hood?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, you¡¯re being rude.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If he was a first-rate venturer and had a good face, no woman would leave him. If he were married and had children, he would have had a lot of offspring by now. I¡¯ve never heard of him having such a thing.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Or maybe, he had a bad personality.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you respect Kryna-Hark?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I know his story as a venturer, and I respect him as an adventurer. But I don¡¯t know what he looks like or what he¡¯s like, so how can I judge him in that part?¡± (Mia)

    It¡¯s exactly as how Mia puts it.

    Even if you know the history of a person, you can only know what he looked like or what kind of personality he had if someone knew and left a record of it.

    Perhaps Kagali-san knows?

    I nced at her, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

    I thought if she had met him, she would¡¯ve somehow reacted to Mia¡¯s words.

    ¡°But I¡¯m kinda concerned that it says the town was destroyed because of them.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was the research on magic tools that destroyed it. One of the lore was right.¡± (Mia)

    Mia and Carol mentioned that one of the reasons for the town¡¯s destruction was dangerous magical tools, and it seems it was not mistaken.

    ¡°Mia-chan, it¡¯s not yet definite.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°You¡¯re right. So, Yuna, what¡¯s next?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Hold on a second.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at the notebook.

    <i>¡°I should have followed Kryna-Hark¡¯s words.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°But Kryna-Hark was young at the time, so no one listened to him. And I was one of them.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°As a result, a few years after Kryna-Hark, the town was destroyed.¡±</i>

    ¡°Did Kryna-Hark just stop by?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It seems so.¡± (Kagali)

    <i>¡°However, the magic tools we made stopped due to the magic tool left behind by Kryna-Hark.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We should be thankful the destruction extend to parts out of town.¡±</i>

    ¡°That?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get the point earlier. Couldn¡¯t they have written it more clearly?¡± (Mia)

    Mia shakes my shoulders.

    ¡°Even if you tell me that¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m just reading what¡¯s written in the notebook.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something he¡¯d like to write about, but can¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    And it kinda feels like it was written during a tea break.

    ¡°They should at least write down the details.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But I think now I understand why there was so little information about this town.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It was hidden.¡± (Mia)

    I continued reading.

    <i>¡°But we were able to stop the magic tool we made, however, if someone breaks the magic tool left behind by Kryna-Hark, that thing could move again.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I, who survived, inherited Kryna-Hark¡¯s wishes and decided to remain alone in the empty town to protect Kryna-Hark¡¯s magical tools.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°First of all, we got rid of all the magic tools that were left in the town. If there were no magical tools left in the town, those who came to steal magical tools would give up and return home.¡±</i>

    ¡°So that¡¯s why there weren¡¯t any magic tools in town.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t think they need to make those knight armors.¡± (Mia)

    <i>¡°We were able to dispose of the magic tools, but Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools must not be discarded. This is the only thing that needs to be protected.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The problem is after I pass away. As the years go by, people¡¯s memories fade. It¡¯s good that this town has faded. But there will still be people who wille to this town.¡±</i>

    Me, Fina, Kagali-san, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear looked at Mia and Carol.

    ¡°What.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Nothing, I was just wondering if the person who wrote this notebook had foresight.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°After I¡¯m gone, I need someone to protect this town. I am a magic tool researcher. So I decided to create the knight armors to protect the magic tools left behind by Kryna-Hark.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°But the research was extremely difficult to begin with. Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tool stopped all magic tools in the town from working. I tried turning on the light in theboratory, but the magic stone did not glow due to Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tool. I can¡¯t use any magic tools, not just light.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°So I did my research outside of town, researching applications of the knight armors as guards.¡±</i>

    ¡°He must have been an excellent magical tools researcher if he created those knight armors.¡± (Kagali)

    <i>¡°But the knight armors I made throughout my life were useless in town. No matter how I tried, they wouldn¡¯t work in town.¡±</i>

    ¡°Then why not just leave those things outside of town?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He left it there. When we checked the perimeter of the town as we were entering it, there were some knight armors that had been destroyed.¡± (Mia)

    Mia answered my question.

    ¡°I think it was probably defeated by someone who came to this town a long time ago.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s how grandpa got into the town. Grandpa can never defeat a knight armor.¡± (Mia)

    I wonder if she knows she¡¯s not bragging when she proudly talks about her grandfather.

    <i>¡°If only I could ask Kryna-Hark himself for more information about magical tools, I might be able to make the knight armors move around the town, but such a wish would nevere true.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I waited for Kryna-Hark to appear while researching, but no matter how long I waited, he never came.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I have to do it myself.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°No good, I failed.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°No, I¡¯ve failed.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It still doesn¡¯t work.¡±</i>

    For a while, the notebook was filled with words of anguish, followed by the words ¡°failure¡± and ¡°not working¡±.

    I flipped through the notebook.

    <i>¡°Studying the magic tools left behind by Kryna-Hark, I managed to discover a loophole.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Although the range is small, it¡¯s now possible to make the knight armors work.¡±</i>

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why when the knight armors reaches a certain ce, they will return to the original positions.¡± (Mia)

    <i>¡°This is the end of my role.¡±</i>

    The rest of the note only described the creation of arge number of moving knight armors.

    There may be a magical tool of Kryna-Hark near the knight armors in the town.

    In that light, the researcher may have been a fool to have ced a knight armor in front of this room.

    They say there is a fine line between genius and stupidity.

    <i>¡°I thought about getting rid of this notebook, but I would like to bequeath it to the person who¡¯ll finally make it to this ce.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°To anyone reading this note, consider it myst wish. Please, leave Hescg untouched in silence.¡±</i>

    And finally, there was a name written on it.

    <i>¡°-Magic Tool Researcher, Gabby¡±</i>

    All the pages after that were nk.

    ¡°In other words, there¡¯s a magic tool made by Kryna-Hark, right? If we find it, it will be a big discovery.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Wait, wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous to mess with Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°But it¡¯s a magic tool made by Kryna-Hark. If we find it, we¡¯ll be rich.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± (Carol)

    Speaking of which, I remember Shia saying that Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools are being traded at a high price.

    ¡°No, it would be better to turn back from here as the notebook says.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I also agree with Kagari-san¡¯s words.¡± (Yuna)

    It¡¯s not good sticking your neck into this kind of thing.

    In cases like this, it¡¯s standard for a stupid kid like Mia to screw up and get herself into a lot of trouble.

    ¡°But the treasure.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, let¡¯s go home.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>¡± (Mia)

    Mia starts getting distressed.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give up on Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools, but we better check other rooms. I¡¯vee this far after all.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°However, they may have been disposed of by this researcher.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There¡¯s only the other room in this basement. Maybe there are some left.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia probably doesn¡¯t want toe all this way and leave empty-handed either.

    If there were nothing in the other rooms, Mia would have to give up.

    Besides, all we have to do is not stop Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools from fulfilling its original intended duty.

    ¡°Well, then, after we check the other room, we¡¯ll leave town, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Mia)

    That wraps it up.

    ¡°Come to think of it, there was another notebook. Is there anything in that one?¡± (Mia)

    Mia picked up the other notebook I had left beside me and flipped through it. But there¡¯s no response.

    ¡°This one looks nk.¡± (Mia)

    Mia gave it back to me.

    Indeed, there¡¯s nothing on the cover.

    But the words float on the cover of the notebook in a woozy way.

    It wasn¡¯t written when Mia was holding it, but the moment I held it in my hand, the letters appeared on the cover of the notebook.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Kryna-Hark¡¯s name was mentioned in the notebook.

    [Notice]

    In the activity report, I reported the cover illustration of the Kuma book volume 15.

    It¡¯s Yuna in a swimsuit again. I hope you will take a look at it because it¡¯s very cute.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also included, so the cuteness is doubled.

    I hope you enjoy the illustration.

    [Notice]

    As I saidst time, I will be taking a break for a while.

    I¡¯m aiming for the end of May, but it might be eventer.

    Please understand that this will depend on the progress of the work.

    [Notice]

    I¡¯¨¢m looking for SS for volume 16 and store bonus in the activity report, so please help me out here as well.

    ¡ù Thank you very much for your continued support in reporting typos.

    Please note that after adapting this to the book I have not corrected some of the kanji.

    Postscript:

    [Notice]

    I have added the information about the store purchase bonus for volume 15 in the activity report.

    Please check it as well.

    -Kumanano

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 605

    <b>Bear-san Escapes From Water</b>

    When I received the other notebook from Mia, the letters began to appear.

    Without a doubt, there were no letters written on it when Mia was holding it. Otherwise, Mia would have reacted and read them.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked me since I kept staring at the notebook.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯m curious about the contents of this notebook, but as the quote says, ¡°it¡¯s better neither knowing about this sort of thing nor to talk about it with the others¡±.

    But I¡¯m still curious about the contents, so I will read it slowly and aler. I put the two notebooks in the bear box.

    ¡°Now then let¡¯s search the other room.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, don¡¯t rush, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Carol)

    Mia and Carol are about to leave the room. At that moment, the room lights up.

    ¡°Wh- what!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It looks like I touched the magic stone.¡± (Carol)

    Carol abjectly apologizes.

    ¡°What, don¡¯t surprise me like that.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Wait a minute, it didn¡¯t light up when I touched it earlier.¡± (Mia)

    Indeed, when I recalled prior events, yes.

    When Mia tried to turn on the light in the room, it didn¡¯t.

    Mia approached the wall, and then Carol removed her hand from the magic stone. The light in the room went out, and when Mia touched it, it became brighter.

    ¡°Did you touch it properly?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I did.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, it looks like I can use my item bag.¡± (Fina)

    Fina takes out a towel from her item bag.

    Seeing this, Mia and Carol also tried using their item bags.

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Bute we¡¯re able to use it now?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Well now that we can use magic tools, it¡¯s easier to explore.¡± (Mia)

    Mia takes out something like antern from her item bag and lights it up. The area around Mia bes bright.

    Fina looked saddened at Mia¡¯s words and gently turned off her bear light.

    I approached Fina.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary anymore.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about? This kind of light only brightens my hands. We still need your magic.¡± (Mia)

    Mia said to Fina, who turned off her light magic as if she had heard Fina¡¯s voice.

    ¡°¡­Mia-oneechan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s dark outside the room. Hurry up and turn on the bear light. It¡¯ll still be useful.¡± (Mia)

    Carol can do it, but Mia asks Fina.

    ¡°Y, yeah.¡± (Fina)

    Fina casts the bear light once again.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Mia)

    Fina looks happy when Mia thanks her.

    Then, Mia screams as Fina¡¯s bear light goes outside the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s this!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Yuna)

    <i>Pha~</i>

    I heard a sound under my feet.

    ¡°What the?¡± (Mia)

    When Mia looked at her feet, they were wet with water.

    ¡°Why is there water here?¡± (Mia)

    Turning to the cistern outside the room, I saw it overflowing with water.

    ¡°Could it be that the rooms are getting flooded!?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It seems so.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You can¡¯t search other rooms with this. But we still have a bit more time, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, it¡¯s dangerous. If this continues, you won¡¯t be able to escape and will die.¡± (Carol)

    This is underground. It¡¯s different from above ground. If this gets submerged, it¡¯ll surely be dangerous.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, just a little bit.¡± (Mia)

    While Mia and Carol continued to go back and forth with each another, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried, ¡°Kuu~n!¡±.

    At that moment, the water in the cistern rises.

    ¡°Wh- what the!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, but we¡¯ve gotta get out of here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Swaying Bear! Grab Mia and Carroll!¡± (Yuna)

    Then I grabbed Fina and jumped behind Kagali-san, who was riding on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°<i>Eh</i>¡°

    ¡°<i>Kuu -n</i>¡°

    Swaying Bear moves to get Mia and Carol.

    ¡°Quickly!¡± (Yuna)

    Mia and Carol hopped on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, run!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu-n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started sprinting.

    They ran along the aisle next to the cistern and headed to the destroyed door.

    The water in the cistern swelled like a living creature and came at us.

    It¡¯s not ordinary water.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, hurry!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu-n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran through the door that I broke and down the passage.

    ¡°Fina, hold on tight.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Kagari-san, you too, try not to fall.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know, but don¡¯t treat me so carelessly though.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-sanined to me, who was holding her so that she didn¡¯t fall.

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen to yourintster.¡± (Yuna)

    Right now, our immediate priority is to get out of this predicament.

    ¡°The water ising at us.¡± (Mia)

    Mia, who was riding on Swaying Bear, shouted.

    When I looked behind me, the water was closing in on us.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there, there¡¯s a staircase ahead, if we make it that far¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran down the aisle and up the stairs.

    I checked behind, and the water was rushing up.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Keep going and go to where the horses are.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu-n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear elerated further.

    After getting out of the building, they run directly to where Mia and Carol¡¯s horses are.

    ¡°Mia, horse!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know.¡± (Mia)

    Mia dismounts from Swaying Bear and runs over to her horse.

    Fina also extinguished the bear light that was left out.

    ¡°Get out of town as fast as you can.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia takes her horse and leads it out of the hole in the wall. We followed them.

    I filled the hole with earth magic, just in case.

    ¡°What was that? It was like water just came pouring out of nowhere.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, it was a little strange. But it seemed like the water was moving like a living thing.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You too, huh? I noticed that, too.¡± (Yuna)

    It looked like a living creature to me as well.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried ¡°Kuu-n¡± as if to tell me something.

    Could it be a monster?

    I used my detection skills.

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± (Yuna)

    The word slime popped out.

    It¡¯s not just one or two.

    The town was filled with the word slime.

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, I mean¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know how to exin it.

    ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense. If you know something, talk.¡± (Mia)

    Even if I stayed silent here, the conversation would not proceed, so I answered honestly.

    ¡°It¡¯s slime.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You mean that thing is a slime?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Huh? Slime? The harmless creature you sometimes see? That slime?¡± (Mia)

    I don¡¯t know how it works in this world, but the slime I know is both the weakest and the strongest creature.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Slimes can stick to each other and get bigger.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it. They attack animals and people.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, you should study a little more.¡± (Carol)

    That could be a conglomerate of slime clumped together.

    So, it¡¯s a myriad of slime reactions?

    But why didn¡¯t they respond to my detection skills?

    And why did Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear not notice it, either?

    Maybe because they were hiding deep inside the cistern?

    The answer is no.

    ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯m gonna go check it out.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Check, how?¡­¡± (Mia)

    Before Mia could finish speaking, Kagali-san¡¯s body floated up and rose higher than the wall surrounding the town.

    ¡°Wait, that little girl just flew through the air!¡± (Mia)

    Mia pointed at Kagali-san flying in the sky in surprise.

    ¡°It would be helpful if you don¡¯t mind it now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it? She¡¯s flying in the sky!¡± (Mia)

    After all, it seems crazy to fly in the sky here as well.

    Kagali-sanes down after confirming it in the sky.

    ¡°You can fly?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Now is not the time to talk about that. It¡¯s bad. It¡¯s turning into a giant slime.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Giant slime? Is it about the size of these bears?¡± (Mia)

    Mia asks while looking at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. I said gigantic. It¡¯s about to cover the whole town. I¡¯ve never seen or heard of a slime this size.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why, where did that slimee from?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It seemed to being from underground, not just from the entrance where we came out.¡± (Kagali)

    Then it came from underground?

    ¡°Look at the wall!¡±

    ¡°Water?¡±

    ¡°A slime!?¡±

    Wateres out of the gap in the wall.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here as fast as we can.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take the horse, so let Carol ride on that bear.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But-¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Besides, it won¡¯tst long if it keeps running while carrying two girls. Yuna, take care of Carol.¡± (Mia)

    Of course, I won¡¯t say no.

    Mia rides on a horse, Carol rides on Swaying Bear, Kagali-san, Fina, and I ride Hugging Bear and start escaping.

    We ran along the town walls and headed towards the town front. From there, we¡¯re taking the road no longer used to escape.

    We moved to the front of the town.

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    Mia and Fina shouted.

    Water ising out of a gap in the rocks and blocking the entrance to the town gate.

    ¡°Slime!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Just keep going!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But there¡¯s a tree down on this road.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯ll pave the way for you, so keep running.¡± (Yuna)

    I lead the way on the abandoned road.

    ¡°Yuna! The tree!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡± (Yuna)

    Even horses take a long time to reach maximum speed once they stop. It can be deadly in this situation.

    Moreover, Mia is riding a horse. Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it can¡¯t reelerate easily.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Mia)

    Mia shouted.

    I used the bear w to tear down the fallen tree before me and casted wind magic to blow away the fallen splinters.

    A path opened up.

    On that road, Hugging Bear with me, Fina, and Kagali-san on board, Mia¡¯s horse, and Swaying Bear, carrying Carol, kept running.

    ¡°I thought it was incredible when you defeated the knight armors, but you¡¯re doing unbelievable things really easily.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s too early to feel relieved.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I know.¡± (Mia)

    There¡¯s more than one tree blocking the road.

    I blew away the trees blocking the road in a simr fashion and kept going down the abandoned road.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Apologies. This is not a reboot.

    I am posting this because I have a number of announcements to make.

    First, volume 15 is being released today.

    Again, there will be autographed copies and special offers for store purchases.

    I have written the details in the activity report, so please take a look there.

    Also, PASH! Books 5th Anniversary Fair will be held.

    PASH! Books e-books will be 55% off.

    Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear will also be avable up to volume 14.

    Please see the activity report for the e-book store where the event will take ce.

    Please wait a little longer for the next resumption.

    I am also looking for short stories for volume 16 in the activity report.

    Thank you for your cooperation.

    ¡ù Thank you very much to all those who have been reporting typos.

    Please note that some of the corrections of kanji characters have not been corrected since they have been adapted to the book.

    -Kumanano

    [Postscript]

    PASH! Books is running a campaign where you can win a 5th-anniversary book card by following and tweeting on Twitter.

    The illustration will be Yuna, by 029-sensei.

    For more details, please refer to the activity report.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 606

    <b>Bear-san Escapes From Slime</b>

    With us on board, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran along an abandoned road in the forest.

    My wind magic tore fallen trees into small pieces, and wind magic also blew away the shredded trees.

    I was surprised by the slime¡¯s size, but I think we can escape like this.

    ¡°Mia-chan!¡± (Carol)

    As I felt at ease, Carol, who is on Hugging Bear, shouted.

    Looking behind me, I see that Mia¡¯s horse isgging.

    Now that I think about it, there¡¯s no way that an ordinary horse can keep up with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s speed.

    Mia is pushing her horse to the limit. But no matter how great her horse is, it can¡¯t keep running at top speed for so long.

    Because I¡¯m used to riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I had forgotten to take into ount Mia¡¯s horse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll slow down a little, go ahead.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    Carol is worried.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan.¡± (Fina)

    Fina also looks worriedly at Mia and her horse.

    I use my detection skill to check the slime. The slime¡¯s movement speed has reduced, and it¡¯s just barely inside the detection skill.

    I guess it¡¯s okay if we¡¯re far enough from the slime.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take it slow from here.¡± (Yuna)

    I slowed down Swaying Bear.

    Mia¡¯s horse came up next to us. Her horse seemed in pain as she had forced it to run continuously. I should¡¯ve realized there was no way it could run as well as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Just go ahead.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m not. These children are telling me it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I touch the body of Swaying Bear, which I¡¯m riding.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°So it¡¯s okay to slow down now.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia looked relieved at my words.

    We slowed down to a walking pace.

    ¡°But are you sure it¡¯s okay to take it slow? Won¡¯t it suddenly attack from behind?¡± (Mia)

    Mia scurried around and checked the area with trepidation.

    ¡°If ites closer, these children will tell me.¡± (Yuna)

    We should be able to rely on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for everything. That should make Mia and the others feel more secure.

    ¡°I see, okay. I¡¯ll trust you guys, so definitely let me know if the slime gets closer.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, asking for a favor.

    ¡°But is that watery stuff really slime?¡± (Carol)

    Carol asks for confirmation.

    ¡°I saw it with my own eyes. The liquid was moving as if it had a will. It must be a slime. Water doesn¡¯t move like that in the first ce.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san answered Carol¡¯s question.

    The water that followed us was something more like jelly or moving water in a stic bag. It was definitely not ordinary water. And it¡¯s definitely not slime because it¡¯sbeled as a single slime in my detection skills.

    ¡°As I recall, slimes are monsters that go <i>puyo puyo</i> and eat bugs and leaves.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯recking in knowledge. Slime is basically the strongest creature that can live practically anywhere. They change their ecology to suit the area. In hot ces, they¡¯ll be resistant to heat, in cold ces, they¡¯ll be resistant to cold, and if it¡¯s in a poisoned swamp, they¡¯ll blend in the poisoned swamp. However, it¡¯s also true that they are said to be the weakest because their magic stone is visible from the outside, making them easy to defeat.¡± (Kagali)

    Come to think of it, there were various slime creatures in the games too.

    But do slimes live in cold ces freeze?

    Or dofortable, cool slimes exist that survive and thrive in the summer?

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen slime before, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If you¡¯re aiming to be a venturer, you should know that.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡­.¡± (Mia)

    After being told the truth by a little girl named Kagali-san, Mia can no longer do anything but mumble.

    ¡°But if it¡¯s a slime, how can it grow that big? If it were a monster that could grow that much, even I would know about it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°A slime is a small creature by nature, but on rare asions, it can attach itself to other slime and growrger.¡± (Kagali)

    There used to be an event in a game where slimes would stick together and get bigger. As they get bigger, they inevitably get stronger, and beginner adventurers, or those at the initial level starting out, can no longer defeat the amalgamated slime.

    ¡°But that thing was so huge. It was bigger than animals and ordinary monsters.¡± (Mia)

    I agree with Mia on that.

    It¡¯s bigger than anything around it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the one to tell you this, but let me correct you, it¡¯s way bigger than you think. It may be the size of a swamp, ake, or evenrger.¡± (Kagali)

    Mia made a disgruntled face at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    Come to think of it, the only person who saw the whole creature in its entirety was Kagali-san.

    I know the slime was congregated in my detection skills, but I have not seen with my own eyes how big it was.

    ¡°So what are we going to do about that slime?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We should leave it alone. It¡¯s not like people live there. If it gets dangerous, some adventurers will defeat it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we can defeat a slime as big as a swamp.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, as long as it won¡¯t do any damage, it¡¯s fine.¡± (Kagali)

    I think we can leave it alone as long as it doesn¡¯t harm people.

    There must be ferocious monsters living in ces we don¡¯t know about. As long as there¡¯s no vition of the boundary between humans and monsters, there¡¯s no need to forcefully subjugate them.

    If this was a game, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move on or get a valuable item. But it doesn¡¯t mean that we can¡¯t go on without defeating this slime, or that we need the valuable items we can get from defeating that slime.

    That¡¯s why I agree with Kagali-san¡¯s idea.

    Put aside whether or not to fight it, can you even beat that slime?

    I had never fought or seen a slime since I came to this world. Much more a gigantic one. So I should have taken a closer look before I ran away.

    I¡¯m nning to set up a bear gate when we return, so it might be nice toe and see it alone.

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    As we were talking, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried.

    I used my detection skills.

    The slime was approaching.

    ¡°Did it catch up with us?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s still far away, but it seems to be slowly chasing us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Those bears are really good.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily at Mia¡¯s words.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s get out of this ce.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia, is your horse okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s not as fast as before.¡± (Mia)

    We increased the speed of our movement a little.

    ¡°But why is that slime heading to where we are going? Shouldn¡¯t it be going in the other direction?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Beats me.¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know how monsters think. Furthermore, we¡¯re talking about slimes here.

    ¡°Maybe, just maybe, it¡¯sing after us.¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who was listening to the story, opened her mouth.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°My father told me that slimes don¡¯t have eyes, so they use the power of the magic stone inside their bodies to see what they are dealing with.¡± (Fina)

    To have knowledge about slime, as expected of a girl specializing in dismantling.

    Maybe they are studying without me knowing.

    ¡°Does that mean it recognizes us even though we¡¯re so far away?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s getting bigger, or maybe it¡¯s expanding.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re saying it¡¯s going to keeping after us?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, that means, when we get to town¡­¡± (Carol)

    Carol asks about one possibility.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t go back to town!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If it¡¯s chasing us, we¡¯ll be bringing a giant slime to town.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No way¡­¡± (Mia)

    If the need arises, we can escape by using the bear gate. But the problem is Mia and Carol. And even if we escaped together through the bear gate, there¡¯s no guarantee that we would be able toe back. It would be aughable joke if I opened the bear gate and found ourselves inside the slime.

    ¡°Then I can¡¯t go back to my sisters¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia¡¯s face turned pale.

    If it can follow us, even at a slower speed, Mia and Carol will be chased by the slime for the rest of their lives.

    If we use the bear gate, we can escape, but they may never see their family again.

    Even if we head to Mia and Carol¡¯s town, we would be bringing the slime with us.

    We need to find another way to get home via a different route.

    We can return to Crimonia, but if I talk about the bear gate, it¡¯s going to be troublesome.

    ¡°How could this happen?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I said I¡¯ll go and investigate the town of Hescg, Carol, I¡¯m sorry for getting involved.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Mia-chan. You were just trying to do your best for your family.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Besides, it hasn¡¯t been decided yet that it will follow us indefinitely. For now, we need to keep our distance from the slime and see which way it¡¯ll move.¡± (Kagali)

    Right, if we change direction and it follows us, then it means the slime is chasing us.

    We changed direction and started running at a speed that won¡¯t put a burden on Mia¡¯s horse.

    ¡­¡­And the slime followed us even when we changed direction.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Sorry for the dy.

    I think I will have more time thanst month, so I will try to post more.

    The second key visual for the anime has been released. (It is avable on the official anime website, Twitter, etc.)

    I hope you are looking forward to seeing the new information that will be released in the near future.

    <b>¡ù </b>Thank you, as always, to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the corrections of kanji characters have been made in ordance with the book, and there are some parts that have not been corrected yet.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 607

    <b>Bear-san Recalls The Other Notebook</b>

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°Even if we change the direction, it seems to being this way.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear answered as if they were taught.

    ¡°This ain¡¯t good.¡± (Yuna)

    We changed direction twice, but the slime kept changing direction toward us.

    It¡¯s definitely following us.

    However, the slime is slow and moves sluggishly.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Now it¡¯s just a matter of getting away from it, if the distance from the slime increases, they will probably give up.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No matter how far away we are, if it keeps chasing after us¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We will be chased for the rest of our lives.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No way¡­¡± (Mia)

    I don¡¯t feel threatened since I can escape through the bear gate, but it would be terrifying for Mia and Carol.

    If I had to, I could take Mia and Carol and escape together, but I wonder if I could return them to the city they reside in.

    ¡°For the time being, I guess we¡¯ll just have to keep our distance and see if it¡¯ll keep chasing us.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But this child can¡¯t keep running¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia caresses the horse gently.

    Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Mia is riding an average horse. Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it can¡¯t keep running for too long,

    I thought about putting her horse in something like the bear car I made when I went on an employee trip to Mereera, but I quickly gave up after looking at the ground.

    ¡°Yuna, do you have any ns?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san asked me while I was pondering.

    ¡°I was thinking of making a carriage with magic that can carry horses in it.¡± (Yuna)

    I made a bear carriage with ground magic that will be big enough for a horse to ride in it.

    ¡°But the road is bad, so I think it wouldn¡¯t run properly.¡± (Yuna)

    Even though the road is t, it¡¯s bumpy. If a carriage with wheels runs here, the horse in the carriage will tumble around. Of course, the same applies to people.

    ¡°Bear¡­¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°You really like bears, don¡¯t you?¡± (Mia)

    Carol and Mia are looking at the bear carriage in amazement.

    Fina is smiling because she has seen it before.

    Meanwhile, Kagali-san silently approaches the bear carriage.

    ¡°Then Yuna. If I can make it so that it runs without worrying about bumpy roads, then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will pull it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Before I could reply, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear responded in high spirits.

    ¡°Bring it on, they said.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were okay because they weren¡¯t running fast to match Mia¡¯s horse and had rested quite enough.

    Kagali-san nodded at my words and took out a small bag from her pocket. She then pulled out a magic stone from inside the bag.

    And then, she attached the magic stone to the bear carriage.

    ¡°What are you going to do with the magic stone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even though it uses a little magic, I still need some assistance.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san went around the bear carriage and attached a magic stone to the bottom of the bear carriage as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s about right. Mia, take the horse inside.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°In there?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looked a little uneasy while staring at the bear carriage.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to abandon your horse, just do it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Alright, I get it.¡± (Mia)

    The horse obeys Mia¡¯s words and obediently walks into the bear carriage.

    ¡°I put it in. Is this okay?¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san checks the bear carriage and touches it. Then the bear carriage floats up. While it¡¯s only a few centimeters above the ground, it¡¯s still floating.

    ¡°It¡¯s floating?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s a heavy lifting spell, it only lifts objects a little bit off the ground, but you should have no problem pulling it now.¡± (Kagali)

    When Kagali-san lightly pushed the bear carriage, it moved.

    ¡°Kagali-san, I didn¡¯t know you could do this kind of magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how a little girl like you can do magic! Come to think of it, you can also fly! What¡¯s up with that?¡± (Mia)

    Mia seems to have remembered that Kagali-san flew into the sky.

    ¡°Now is not the time to pursue such a thing. Is it okay if we leavete and let the horse be swallowed by the slime?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san used deception¡­ It¡¯s super effective!

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Now, get a rope from the carriage, and start moving.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Hold on a second.¡± (Yuna)

    As a test, I try to move the bear carriage in the same way as moving a golem.

    The bear carriage moves forward.

    ¡°Oh, it worked.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried moving it left and right.

    It moves.

    I tried moving it up, but it didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°It¡¯s not moving upwards.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s floating just a little above the ground, so you can¡¯t move it up or down.¡± (Kagali)

    But it looks like it¡¯s hovering and easy to pull.

    ¡°Come on, if you can move it, then let¡¯s go. Once the effect of the magic stone that¡¯s assisting it gets depleted, it won¡¯t float anymore.¡± (Kagali)

    Fina, Kagali-san, and I are riding on Swaying Bear, and Mia and Carol are riding on Hugging Bear. Then, I pulled the bear carriage carrying the horse with my magic.

    The bear carriage does not touch the ground, so it moves smoothly. With this, the horse riding in the bear carriage should be fine.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear kept running away from the slime.

    <b>******</b>

    It¡¯s evening.

    We¡¯re now resting inside the bear house.

    ¡°It¡¯s a really convenient house.¡± (Mia)

    Mia sat down on a chair and slumped on the table.

    The horse is feeding and resting in the bear¡¯s carriage.

    I¡¯m d to hear that it wasn¡¯t overburdened and that it was in good spirits.

    ¡°So, is the slime still chasing us?¡± (Carol)

    Carol asked anxiously.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re too far away, even these kids wouldn¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    I turn my attention slightly to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are curled up in a ball in the room, resting.

    Of course, even with detection skills, they can¡¯t tell because it¡¯s out of range.

    But the slime moves so slowly that it¡¯s quite a distance away.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. These bears ran incredibly fast, so the slime should be far away. If it¡¯s that far away, the slime won¡¯t be able to follow us.¡± (Mia)

    Mia says optimistic words, I guess it may really be what she wishes for.

    But, you know, that¡¯s what you¡¯d typically call a g.

    I would like to break that g, but this is not something I can break on my own.

    ¡°But then again, why would there be slime in that basement?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Even if we try to investigate, we can¡¯t go back to that town.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It was vague in that notebook, but the research may have been about the slime.¡± (Carol)

    When she mentioned the word notebook, it reminded me of the other notebook we found in the room where the skeletal corpse was.

    ¡°Wait a minute, maybe there¡¯s something written in this notebook.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the 2nd notebook from the bear box.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t write anything about the slime in that notebook.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s different. It¡¯s a totally different notebook.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just a nk notebook?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you earlier, but when I touched it, the letters suddenly floated.¡± (Yuna)

    I held out the nk notebook in front, and the letters appeared on the notebook¡¯s cover.

    The title of the notebook read ¡°Actual Record¡±.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing written on it.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at the notebook.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan, is there something really written on it?¡± (Fina)

    Fina is staring at the notebook.

    ¡°Well, it says ¡°Actual record¡± on the cover.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san reacted to the words written in the notebook¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± (Carol)

    Carol said as her breasts swayed.

    Apparently, only me and Kagali-san can see the words.

    I remember this feeling. It¡¯s the same thing with Kryna-Hark¡¯s book.

    ¡°Yuna, what¡¯s written in it?¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san urged me to open the notebook.

    ¡°<i>If you can see these words, it means you possess a high level of magical power.</i>¡°

    ¡°High-level magic?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It seems that you can¡¯t read it unless your magical power is high enough. It¡¯s the same with Kryna-Hark¡¯s book.¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san nodded while peering in from the side.

    Apparently, Kagali-san thought the same thing.

    ¡°Kryna-Hark? You mean that Kryna-Hark?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen a simr phenomenon before when I picked up one of Kryna-Hark¡¯s books.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why would a little girl like you ever see Kryna-Hark¡¯s book? It¡¯s a precious book, and there¡¯s no way a little girl like you can easily see it. Only a handful of people can see it, like the rich and influential people¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia said that much and then stared at Kagali-san.

    ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re a princess somewhere!?¡± (Mia)

    Mia eximed as if she had understood something.

    But she doesn¡¯t really understand anything.

    ¡°That exins how she can fly, use magic to make that strange bear carriage float, and see the words in the notebook.¡± (Mia)

    Nah, I don¡¯t think even a princess can do it without a talent for magic.

    ¡°Then that means, Yuna is the bodyguard and Fina is the servant who takes care of her. Now I understand why Yuna is so strong. She has to be that strong to guard the princess. And that exins why they both called the young Kagali by her honorific title.¡± (Mia)

    Mia makes a triumphant look as if to say she guessed everything.

    No, it¡¯s not the right answer, no matter how triumphant that look you¡¯re making.

    However, Kagali-san made an expression as if she had been exposed.

    ¡°Well, now you understand. We had to hide our identities.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, my eyes cannot be deceived.¡± (Mia)

    No, you are the one being deceived here.

    ¡°Eh, Kagali-chan, you¡¯re a princess? What should I do, did I say something rude? Am I going to get killed?¡± (Carol)

    Even Carol starts believing that Kagali-san is a princess and begins to panic.

    ¡°Getting killed?¡± (Mia)

    Mia turns pale at Carol¡¯s words.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, Kagali, Kagali-sama. Am I going to be killed?¡± (Mia)

    Suddenly, Mia¡¯s tone shifted.

    Well, when you find out that the girl you thought was amoner turned out to be a princess, you can¡¯t help but change your attitude.

    She¡¯s actually a fox youkai, though.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t have you killed. And you don¡¯t have to change your tone.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Really? You won¡¯t kill me?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Mia)

    I approached Kagali-san and talked to her in a low voice.

    ¡°Is it really okay to lie?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not a lie, you know? There¡¯s no one nobler than me, and I¡¯m even called a Fox God. In other words, I¡¯m a god. I can lower my social status and call myself a fox princess.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I think you¡¯re more of a queen than a princess.¡± (Yuna)

    When I think of her actual appearance, I feel like she¡¯s not a cute princess but an arrogant big-breasted queen.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I always have trouble remembering what I was going to write whenever the posting period opens.

    [Notice]

    The introduction of the characters of the anime is now avable on the official anime website and official Twitter.

    Please take a look.

    [Notice]

    Episode 47 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± has been released on Comic PASH!

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you very much to all of you who have been reporting typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji characters have been corrected in ordance with the book, but some parts may have not been corrected.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 608

    <b>Bear-san, Reading The nk Notebook</b>

    ¡°Then what about your vige?¡± (Mia)

    Ah, right, there was such a setting.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Fina and I turned to Kagali-san.

    Kagali-san was the one who told a lie, so we¡¯ll just leave the consequences of her actionster to Kagali-san alone.

    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s put that aside. More importantly, let¡¯s take a look at the notebook.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san thought for a while but gave up immediately and turned her eyes to the notebook to deceive Mia.

    She escaped¡­

    Well, certainly, there is a better time to clear Mia¡¯s misunderstandings.

    Mia didn¡¯t seem convinced either, but since she mistakenly thought Kagali-san was a princess, she couldn¡¯t question her.

    Since it would be troublesome if it bounced at me, I turned my attention to the notebook and decided to read it, as Kagali-san said.

    <i>¡°I¡¯m going to write down the events that took ce in this town, just in case.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We were doing slime research.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Slime has the property of being able to live anywhere, and it changes its body into something that¡¯s suitable for that environment.¡±</i>

    ¡°Oh, just like what Kagali-san said earlier.¡± (Yuna)

    Kagali-san raised her nose at my words.

    <i>¡°On the other hand, however, we found out that it can dpose whatever it takes into its body, clean it even, and spit it out.¡±</i>

    So does that mean it purifies impurities?

    I imagine slime taking objects into that jelly-like body and dissolving everything.

    ¡°Is that what slime is?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Kagali-san, who is familiar with slimes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a swamp that used to be poisonous became clean after the slimes appeared a long time ago.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Long time ago, just how old are you?¡± (Mia)

    Mia whispered.

    Since Kagali-san may be a princess, Mia can¡¯t make strong tsukkomi.

    Without minding it, I decided to continue reading the notebook.

    <i>¡°We started researching slime, wondering if we could use the power of that slime to clean sewage, dirty rivers, and poisoned areas.¡±</i>

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe someone would think of such a stupid thing.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I think so, too.¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san and Mia nodded.

    But, having lived in Japan, I understand.

    Rivers without proper sewage treatment are the worst. Many people have died after drinking from the water source and the spread of pathogens and gues.

    It¡¯s the right thing to do to keep it clean.

    That slime was apparently studied a long time ago, so it may have been contained in the sewage system, which the researchers did not properly maintain, but rather, they just routed the sewage to the river, and it got mixed with river water.

    <i>¡°Even though it was a slime, there was no way to study monsters near the castle, so it was decided to do it in a small town far away, and that town was Hescg.¡±</i>

    ¡°Now we know why there was a slime underneath that town.¡± (Yuna)

    The notebook also mentions that they were making other magic tools to fund their research.

    Mysteries such as why this town was called the town of magic tools, and the story about the slime have been solved.

    When I turned to the next page, the process and results of the slime research were written.

    <i>¡°The slime has no brain and moves by instinct. So I thought of making a magic tool to replicate the brain.¡±</i>

    That¡¯s why they¡¯re researching magic tools as well.

    I¡¯ve fought against mages who control monsters before, but the methods seem different.

    <i>¡°First, we examine the slime¡¯s properties. The slime splits up when it growsrge. But we also found that they attract each other. It¡¯s a contradiction, but it seems to vary between individuals.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We put the slime in the sewage. The slimes take in dirty water and spit out clean water. However, not all slimes were like that. Some turned into a poisonous slime.¡±</i>

    Poison slime, I mean sewage slime. It¡¯s awful. I definitely don¡¯t want to fight that thing.

    It seems Mia and Fina were also trembling.

    <i>¡°I created a magic tool with an imperative form to purify the slime¡¯s body, but it doesn¡¯t work as ordered.¡±</i>

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you can make such a magic tool.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san was appalled.

    But I know people who have risked their lives to control monsters for revenge.

    If taming monsters were that easy, they wouldn¡¯t have any trouble, even if the monsters are hostile.

    It may be strange for me to say this since I am the one who is defeating the monsters, but there is a difference between subduing and subjugating.

    <i>¡°We have decided to collect only the ones that purify what it takes into its body, and we proceed with our research.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°While I was in the middle of researching slime, a man named Kryna-Hark came to me, asking me where I got the information.¡±</i>

    ¡°Now this is where Kryna-Harkes in.¡± (Yuna)

    The other notebook said that he should have followed the words of Kryna-Hark.

    <i>¡°I had heard the name of Kryna-Hark, but he was too young, so I couldn¡¯t believe it at first, but when I talked to him, I knew immediately that was the real deal.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°But I couldn¡¯t ept the words of Kryna-Hark suggesting to stop research.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Kryna-Hark came to persuade me many times, but after a while, he stoppeding.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°And, when he came back for the first time in a long time, he handed me a wand and told me to store arge amount of magic power into the wand in case something happened.¡±</i>

    ¡°The wand?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Wand.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You mean, that?¡± (Yuna)

    I can only think of the wand that was in the room where the skeletal corpse was.

    In the meantime, I resumed reading.

    <i>¡°Kryna-Hark handed over the wand to me and left, never to appear again.¡±</i>

    The same line was written in the previous notebook.

    <i>¡°And now, several years have passed since Kryna-Hark left.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The slime cleans sewage. Thepletion of our research is near. The question is how much and how big can it clean. We¡¯ll find out by using therge amount of sewage that lies beneath this town.¡±</i>

    Could it be that they were storing sewage in thatrge cistern?

    <i>¡°And finally we seed. The slime moves ording to our instructions.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°With this, polluted rivers can be revived. It should be useful in many ways.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°However, the slime is multiplying beyond our expectations.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It takes in dirty water and grows. And not just the dirty water, it absorbs everything.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It was not a sess. That magic tool was a failure. The slime recognized us, the people, as objects to be purified.¡±</i>

    That means it recognized people as trash.

    It may not be wrong for the slime to recognize those who pollute nature as objects of purification.

    <i>¡°My fellow researchers were gobbled up by the slime.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We have to stop the slime. The only possibility to stop the slime is to destroy the magic tool we have created. That form is the source of the misconception. If we destroy the magic tool, there¡¯s a possibility to stop the slime.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We tried every way we could to break the magic tool in the slime, but all the magic was absorbed and every weapon was dissolved.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Those who were in theboratory used every means at their disposal to strike at the magic tool inside the slime¡¯s body, but they couldn¡¯t reach it.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The slime grewrger andrger, and the magic tool inside the slime¡¯s body moved deeper and deeper out of reach, making the magic tool impossible to break.¡±</i>

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that magic tool dissolve inside the slime¡¯s body?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, since they¡¯re going to put it in the slime¡¯s body, they had to design it so it won¡¯t happen.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san answers Mia¡¯s question.

    ¡°If we make a weapon out of that insoluble material.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, we could have checked, but it might be in an out-of-reach ce by now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Besides, it seems that the researchers were absorbed into the body of the slime before they could create such a weapon in the first ce.¡± (Kagali)

    Mia closed her mouth as if she was satisfied with our exnation.

    <i>¡°And then the slime starteding through the sewers and attacking people in town.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The slime doesn¡¯t stop. It¡¯s swallowing up more and more of the town¡¯s inhabitants.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It¡¯s a nightmare. If this is a dream, please wake me up.¡±</i>

    ¡°How stupid.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s what you get for trying to control monsters.¡± (Yuna)

    <i>¡°No one can be saved.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I, too, was also busy running away.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°At that time, I was reminded of Kryna-Hark¡¯s words.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The wand.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I remembered the wand that Kryna-Hark had entrusted to me.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°From the item bag, I took out the wand.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Kryna-Hark told me to pour magic into this staff in case something happened.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I grasped the wand and began channeling magic power into it.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It¡¯s not working.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Then I recalled the words of Kruna-Hark. If anything happens, I was told to pour all my magic power into it. So I grabbed the wand and gave it everything I¡¯ve got.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°A miracle happened. The slime stopped, but the price was far too great.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The people were swallowed by the slime, and most of them died.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°The gigantic slime that was gobbling the town moved underground and fell silent as if it was falling asleep.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°It seems that the staff of Kryna-Hark was the thing that nullified the effects of the magic tool. Its range was wide, extending over the entire town.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°I¡¯m surprised that Kryna-Hark could make something like this as if knowing that this would happen.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°At that time, I regret that I hadn¡¯t listened to Kruna-Hulk¡¯s story properly.¡±</i>

    So this is what he was referring to in his previous notebook about Kryna-Hark.

    <i>¡°The utilization of the slime failed and resulted in many deaths. Furthermore, the king of this country, fearing that if the neighboring countries knew about this would create magic tools to control monsters and start a war, was forced to cover this up.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°But since they needed a reason for the disappearance of a town, they decided that the town had been attacked by a giant monster that appeared out of nowhere and wiped it out, making it a dangerous town, and in the process, the town of Hescg was erased from the map.¡±</i>

    ¡°So that¡¯s why there weren¡¯t any records of this town anywhere.¡± (Mia)

    Mia nodded approvingly.

    <i>¡°There are also magic tools around town that can stop the other magic tools, and it seems that the wand activated them.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°As a surviving researcher, I have decided to remain in this town and protect the magic tools that Kryna-Hark created. That is myst role as the sole survivor.¡±</i>

    ¡°In the previous notebook, the vaguely written part was about slime research.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°On the one hand, he didn¡¯t want the dirt to be known, and on the other, he wanted someone to know the truth.¡± (Kagali)

    There was a part in the first notebook where this researcher supposedly created the knight armors to protect the magic tools of Kryna Hark.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    The nk notebook contains detailed information about the slime.

    Thank you for your requests for volume 16 and the SS for the new writing and store purchase bonus.

    We will close it today.

    I will write it as a reference.

    Thank you very much.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you very much to all of you who have been reporting typos.

    Please note that some of the <i>kanji </i>have not been corrected since they have been adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 609

    <b>Bear-san, Feeling Responsible</b>

    I flipped to the next page to see if anything else was written.

    <i>¡°My work is done. All I have to do now is to dispose of the wand I used for my research. But I have no more strength left to move. If anyone reads this book, I ask you to take it as this senile old man¡¯sst request. Please dispose of Kryna-Hark¡¯s wand that I have. Never put magic power into the wand. It may deactivate Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tool, and the slime may start moving again. Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible unless you have as much magic power as I do. Remember, whatever you do, never pour your magical power into it. You mustn¡¯t!¡±</i>

    The moment I read that sentence, I dropped the notebook on the floor.

    It was so severe that he bothered to write it twice, emphasized!

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What!?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Carol)

    Fina and others around me were surprised at my actions.

    I picked up the notebook I had dropped to the ground and informed everyone what was written.

    ¡°Remember this wand?¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the wand that the corpse had from the bear box.

    ¡°I guess so.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I put a lot of magic into it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°So that slime started to move because of me, didn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    There shouldn¡¯t be any mistake in the timing because the slime appeared when we left the room after I poured my magic power into that wand.

    In other words, what caused the slime to start moving was the fact that I poured magic power into the wand, which in turn interfered with the magic tool¡¯s function to seal away the slime in the first ce.

    This time, it looks like I wrought havoc by unleashing the slime rather than stopping it.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because I asked you to do it. It¡¯s not your fault, it¡¯s my fault.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Even if Kagali-san didn¡¯t ask me, I would have done it as a test just for fun.

    ¡°It was because I went to the town of Hescg to check it out and met with Yuna and the others.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah. If we hadn¡¯t met Yuna-chan and the others, we might not have found the wand.¡± (Carol)

    Even Mia and Carol say it¡¯s their fault.

    Pushing responsibility is not good, but neither is a self-sacrificing mindset.

    ¡°No, we would have investigated that town and that room regardless of you being there or not. It¡¯s not your responsibility.¡± (Kagali)

    As Kagali-san said. Even if we had not met Mia, based on both my and Kagali-san¡¯s characters, we would have still explored the town and still ended up going to that room. Also, If we did, we would have still found the wand and channeled our magic powers into the wand as we did this time.

    <i>(E/N: basically, they would have still done this even if this was aa different timeline / another instance, they know their behaviors well)</i>

    ¡°In the first ce, you shouldn¡¯t hold that thing dear to your heart even in death!¡± (Mia)

    I agree with Mia¡¯s screams.

    None of this would have happened if I had just gotten rid of the wand quickly.

    ¡°But Mia-chan. That person researched alone, protected Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic tools, and he could no longer move at the end.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°It may be so, but¡­¡± (Mia)

    He devoted his life to research, protected the magical tools of Kryna-Hark, and miserably died alone in that room. I don¡¯t want to speak ill of such a person.

    In fact, thanks to him, we have been protected from the slime threat until today. But I broke the knight armors and poured magic power into the wand.

    After all, I am the most responsible.

    But as for the wand, Kyrna-Hark could have done something more about warning users about what would happen if the magic was poured into the wand.

    ¡°Also, he probably didn¡¯t think that someone with enough magical power to spare would appear.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°He also didn¡¯t think you¡¯d pour magic into the wand before reading the notebook.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s my responsibility. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san, like the elder she is, assumes responsibility.

    She looks like a little girl, though.

    ¡°But now we know why the slime is after us. It seems that the slime was trying to purify us by taking us into its body.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Just in case, even if we die here¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s no good. I don¡¯t know how far it can detect, but someday someone wille across a slime. If that person runs away from the slime, it will chase after them as a target of purification.¡± (Kagali)

    If someone encounters a giant slime, they¡¯ll run away like us. If that person flees to a vige or town, the slime will chase them there.

    If that happens, the slimes will attack the residents.

    I can¡¯t imagine how much damage it will cause.

    Unless someone or something is in there to take down the giant slime, there¡¯s no end to the possibilities.

    ¡°As I am the one responsible for awakening that slime, I have no choice but to defeat it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Can you beat it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. After all, I look like this.¡± (Kagali)

    It seems like she can use magic, but not as powerful as when she was in her prime state.

    ¡°I will fight with it because I¡¯m the one who poured magic into it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait a minute. Are you really going to fight that slime? It was huge, you know.¡± (Mia)

    I saw the slime once albeit from a distance.

    A huge pond? I might call it a littleke instead.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m responsible for pouring magic into that wand.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault for telling you to pour magic into it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Having said that, I found that wand.¡± (Yuna)

    The conversation goes in circles.

    ¡°<i>Uwa~aaaaaaaaaaaa~ah</i>¡­ It¡¯s nobody¡¯s fault anymore!¡± (Mia)

    Mia shouted.

    ¡°If I had to say it, it would be everyone¡¯s responsibility. To put it more simply, it was the idiot-bone-head-corpse fault in that room. He died while holding such an important wand. End of story!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s no one¡¯s fault. But everyone is responsible. Except Fina, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Kagali)

    Fina shakes her head slightly at Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>. I used light magic to illuminate the room, so I¡¯m also responsible.¡± (Fina)

    Even Fina said such a thing.

    In the first ce, Fina¡¯s light magic doesn¡¯t affect anything.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t used your light magic, Fina, I would have.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. A child like you shouldn¡¯t be med. It¡¯s my responsibility as an adult.¡± (Mia)

    Mia sticks out her nonexistent chest.

    ¡°That¡¯s so nice of you.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not being nice. I¡¯m just telling you the truth.¡± (Mia)

    Mia blushes in embarrassment.

    ¡°¡­Well, just to confirm, since you¡¯re a princess, can¡¯t you call strong knights and mages¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s also a lie.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°That¡¯s a lie!?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I did my best trying to hide it.¡± (Kagali)

    After saying that, Kagali-san took off her clothes.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing, taking your clothes off?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Because it¡¯s gonna get ripped.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s body grew. And gradually, she became a plump adult, with ears popping out of her head and a tailing out of her butt.

    It¡¯s the second time, but it¡¯s still a strange sight.

    ¡°Wha- wait!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m a fox.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°A fox?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°A fox that has been living for hundreds of years.¡± (Kagali)

    Mia and Carol looked at Kagali-san in disbelief.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°This is the truth.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san made her ears and tail move.

    ¡°In other words, I am a fox princess.¡± (Kagali)

    She thinks she¡¯s a princess there.

    ¡°Really?!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s true that I¡¯m the greatest of my kind, because I¡¯m the only one left.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then that means, you have special powers to defeat that slime?¡± (Mia)

    Kagali-san shook her head at Mia¡¯s words.

    ¡°A while ago, I fought a huge serpent called Orochi and used up all my strength. That¡¯s why I¡¯m in that form to recover.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san returns to her young girl form.

    ¡°I can use magic, but I honestly don¡¯t know how well I can fight in this condition.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks apologetic.

    Her fox ears and tail droop in tandem with her expression.

    ¡°<i>Haa</i>~, I understand, so hurry up and get dressed.¡± (Mia)

    Mia picks up the clothes on the floor and drapes them over Kagali-san¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°So Yuna and Fina are animals, too? Yuna is a bear but what about Fina?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at Fina and me as if she is trying to figure out who we are.

    ¡°I¡¯m human.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°So am I.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, Fina may be human, but Yuna is a bear. You can¡¯t find anyone in the world dressed like a bear.¡± (Mia)

    Mia strongly affirmed, but there are several kids in Crimonia who work dressed up as bears.

    ¡°Well, even if there are children that do so, adults won¡¯t.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Ugh</i>¡± (Yuna)

    Certainly, no adult would be willing to.

    ¡°Then what kind of rtionship do the three of you have?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You also lied about there being a vige nearby, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I¡¯ll just say that we came from somewhere far away. We¡¯re only here for a walk.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°As you¡¯ve probably figured out from riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, these kids can easily travel great distances.¡± (Yuna)

    I turn my attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, curled up like a ball in the room.

    ¡°Indeed, those bears might be able to do it.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°As you can see from my appearance, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t answer your questions in detail.¡± (Kagali)

    In order to keep my secrets, Kagali-san uses herself to deceive them.

    ¡°¡­I understand. I won¡¯t pry anymore. But let me ask you one thing. Why didn¡¯t you leave us and run away? With those bears, it should be possible for you.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Even if we did, there¡¯s a possibility that it wille after us. More importantly, I don¡¯t like the idea of abandoning people.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Same here.¡± (Yuna)

    I strongly agreed with Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything. But I also don¡¯t want to abandon you Mia, Carol.¡± (Fina)

    Fina also expresses her feelings.

    If they were bad people, I would¡¯ve left them. But Mia and Carol weren¡¯t bad people.

    If we abandoned them and went home via the bear gate, I would be so worried about those two that I won¡¯t be able to sleep.

    ¡°Idiots¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia smiles happily.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s gettingte, so let¡¯s sleep and think about what to do tomorrow.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you going to sleep?¡± (Mia)

    Mia was surprised at my words.

    ¡°First, we have to see if it still follows us at this distance. If the slime doesn¡¯t chase us, it means we can go to your town.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If we can get to the town, we may be able to gather strong people and subjugate the slime.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯ll be bad if the town doesn¡¯t have enough people to kill that slime.

    ¡°Either way, thinking about things now is often a waste of time. Might as well take a break when you can.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I get it but, by any chance, we won¡¯t be inside the slime while we¡¯re sleeping, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will let me know if the slime approaches even in the middle of the night.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried as if saying leave it to them.

    ¡°I¡¯m really begging you. I¡¯ll put my trust in you guys.¡± (Mia)

    Mia makes a serious request to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Time moves fast.

    Time flies when I¡¯m writing a new book or a web version.

    [Notice]

    As I mentioned in the activity report, a bear TVmercial will be aired.

    Please refer to the activity report for details.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you very much for all the help in reporting typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji have not been corrected since they have been adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 610

    <b>Bear-san & Mia, Goes To Sleep</b>

    We decided to sleep in the same room, as a precautionary measure. Unlike Kagali-san and me, Fina is an ordinary 11-year-old girl without any fighting capabilities.

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>, what about you, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    I ask Fina, who is about to enter the futon with Swaying Bear cub.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina tilts her head slightly.

    Apparently, she didn¡¯t get my hint, as the crux of the matter went over her head.

    ¡°Are you going back to Crimonia?¡± (Yuna)

    This time, Fina is surprised by my words.

    ¡°What about you, Yuna-oneesan, Kagali-san?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m staying because I can¡¯t leave Mia and Carol behind.¡± (Yuna)

    When we return to Crimonia, it¡¯s either when we have defeated the slime or when we failed to do so and fled with Mia and Carol.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, for the time being, you could stay here until it gets perilous. As I said earlier, it¡¯s also my responsibility. I will do everything I can.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I was the one who poured the magic into the wand, even though Kagali-san instructed me to do so. But Fina¡­¡± (Yuna)

    The person herself tried to take the me by saying that the whole ruckus happened because she used light magic, but to me that¡¯s not a reason to stay here.

    Still, Fina shakes her head a little.

    ¡°No, I think it would be better if I stayed too. Otherwise, Mia and Carol would find it strange if I suddenly disappeared, but if you think that¡¯s the only way¡­¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina hesitates while embracing Swaying Bear.

    Fina has a valid point. If Fina suddenly disappeared, the two of them would panic. How could she have left, or why did we let her go home alone, or wouldn¡¯t the slime chase after her? Not telling them about the bear gate would make them uneasy.

    Besides, Fina is not a hindrance.

    If anything, Mia and Carol are ¡®the baggage¡¯, not Fina.

    ¡°It¡¯s troublesome to exin to those two, and it¡¯s helpful if you stay. But if I think it¡¯s getting too dangerous, I¡¯ll have you return to Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    If Fina is in danger, her life is more important than hiding the bear gate.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If we think you are in danger, you¡¯ll have to go home.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Can you promise?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    Fina nodded honestly. Her expression looked a little happier.

    ¡°Kagali-san, can you actually pull it off?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are several ways to deal with it, but whether or not I can do it is another matter.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Do you have a n, Kagali-san?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who was listening to our conversation, asked.

    ¡°First is to put magic power back into Yuna¡¯s wand to stop the slime from moving. The magic tool of Kryna-Hark should be somewhere in the town, so we have to go back there.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then it¡¯s not good for Yuna-oneesan to put magic into the wand here, is it?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The next step is to destroy the magical tool located inside the slime. If we destroy it, themand ¡®purify people¡¯ may get cancelled.¡± (Yuna)

    With themand core, the slime might continue chasing us.

    ¡°The question now is, where is the magic tool in that giant slime.¡± (Kagali)

    It¡¯s like searching for a coin in a hugeke.

    Well, it¡¯s easier than looking for pebbles out in the desert.

    ¡°Even if we could find it, there¡¯s the question of whether we could destroy it. The notebook said that the slime absorbed the magic. I don¡¯t know if our magic will be able to damage the slime.¡± (Kagali)

    I don¡¯t know what the mages¡¯ level was at the time, but it¡¯s possible that magic won¡¯t work.

    Even if ordinary magic doesn¡¯t work, bear magic might.

    ¡°Well, it just means we¡¯ll never know until we try.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°The best thing that could happen would be for the slime just to give up and go away to the middle of nowhere.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, that will depend on how the slime behaves in the future. So, let¡¯s take a rest for now. Bears, if the slimees, I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san asks toward Hugging Bear, whom I am holding, and Swaying Bear, whom Fina is holding. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried ¡°kuu~n¡± as if to say leave it to us.

    And then, Kagali-sany down on the futon and fell asleep just like she had done what she said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed, too. Fina, you must be tired. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are here, so you can sleep with peace of mind.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± (Fina)

    I darkened the room and decided to rest now.

    <b>******</b>

    <b>-Mia¡¯s Point Of View-</b>

    I got into the futon, but I¡¯m worried about the slime, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to sleep immediately.

    ¡°Carol, what are you going to do?¡± (Mia)

    While covering myself with a nket, I asked Carol on the bed next to me.

    ¡°Yeah, what to do?¡± (Carol)

    Carol returns the same words I just asked.

    I was thinking about various things while running from the slime, but I had no answer.

    ¡°But is there really a way to beat it?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If it¡¯s going to chase us no matter what, why don¡¯t we get on a boat and go out to sea? Then, won¡¯t it sink to the bottom of the sea and die?¡± (Mia)

    If it sank to the bottom of the sea, it may die.

    ¡°Slimes can live underwater, so I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. On the other hand, it might absorb the water and get bigger.¡± (Carol)

    The method I devised, which sounded stupid, was quickly dismissed.

    It grew up in that underground water, so there¡¯s a good chance that it may even thrive.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, if it grows bigger than it is now, the world might end.¡± (Mia)

    I don¡¯t even want to imagine it.

    ¡°I know Kagali and the others said it wasn¡¯t my fault, but it was. It¡¯s because I came to Hescg. Because I tried to search for the treasure.¡± (Mia)

    When I think about the cause, I feel like I¡¯m the worst.

    Carol just followed me, so she¡¯s not at fault.

    ¡°Kagali-chan¡­ Kagali-san said that. Even if we didn¡¯te, those two would have explored it anyway.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying I¡¯m not responsible?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying that we ¡ñ¡ñ are not responsible. We actually went to Hescg, met with Kagali-san and the others, negotiated, went to that room, and found the wand.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But without Yuna¡¯s magic.¡± (Mia)

    Would the wand not have been activated if it were just the two of us?

    In front of Yuna and the others, I said coolly that I was responsible, but in reality, I wanted to think I wasn¡¯t ountable. Somewhere in my heart, I want to run away.

    I don¡¯t think I could shoulder the responsibility if that slime attacked the city and many people died. So when Kagali said it was not my responsibility, I was relieved.

    My heart is filthy, and my soul is dirty.

    Even so, I can¡¯t defeat such a huge slime-like monster.

    It¡¯s enormous, even from a distance. It¡¯s tall and wide. How can you attack such a thing?

    I can¡¯t do it with my knife. Even Carol¡¯s magic is useless. there¡¯s nothing we can do.

    I¡¯m so helpless. I am painfully aware of my powerlessness.

    ¡°It¡¯s all that researcher¡¯s fault. If it weren¡¯t for that wand, nothing would have happened. Take responsibility until the end!¡± (Mia)

    If that researcher¡¯s skeleton had not had the wand, I would not have found it, Kagali would not have made Yuna put her magic into it, and Yuna would not have done so. It was all the fault of the researcher¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°But the three of them are kind, aren¡¯t they? They could leave us behind and run away, yet they didn¡¯t, and they even rescued the horse we rode.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re a bunch of good-natured people.¡± (Mia)

    I think it¡¯s possible to escape by riding on those bears called Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    They ran while carrying us for quite a distance, yet they didn¡¯t show a hint of tiredness.

    So I asked, ¡°Will you leave us and run away?¡±

    Their reply was kind.

    It¡¯s different from my dirty mind, which was only thinking of getting treasure with the help of Yuna and the others.

    Right, even the little Fina says she¡¯s responsible for using light magic.

    All three of them are truly good-natured.

    So, it makes my heart look even more ck.

    ¡°But I never would have imagined that Kagali-san was a fox.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Indeed. She suddenly became an adult and grew fox ears and a tail.¡± (Mia)

    I¡¯ve never seen or heard of an animal bing human.

    ¡°I¡¯d still rather believe that Yuna is actually a real bear.¡± (Mia)

    She easily defeats the knight armors that we can¡¯t even hope to beat, she has two bears with her, she is dressed as a bear, and Yuna is more convincing as a bear than Kagali is a fox.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, that¡¯s right. If Yuna-san was actually a cute bear, like Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, I would definitely believe it.¡± (Carol)

    In that case, would Yuna be the bear princess?

    Just imagining it makes me smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand the rtionship between those three.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°A fox who can shapeshift into a human, a girl dressed as a bear, and a normal girl.¡± (Carol)

    I really don¡¯t understand their rtionship.

    When we met for the first time, the rtionship between a girl, a little girl, and a bear already made no sense, but now that Kagali is a fox and has be an adult, their rtionship has be even more confusing.

    ¡°But a girl like Kagali exists, the world is vast. There are many things I don¡¯t know. I want to see more of the world.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, perhaps your grandfather and your parents may have be venturers because they feel the same as you now, Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    It makes me feel bad when people say I¡¯m like my parents, but I might understand how they felt if I wasn¡¯t thinking about money.

    But that is no reason to neglect your children!

    While talking about Kagali and Yuna, I already forgot about the slime and gradually became sleepy.

    Perhaps the threads of nervousness have snapped.

    I can hear Carol calling, but I can¡¯t even answer anymore.

    ¡°Good night, Mia-chan.¡±

    In my mind, I replied, ¡°Good night,¡± and fell asleep.

    <b>=====</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    They all went to sleep, thinking about how to deal with the slime.

    [Notice]

    New anime information has been released.

    The broadcast date of the anime has been released and the casts of Noa, Misa, and Shuri have been announced.

    For more information, please see the activity report and the official anime website.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you, as always, to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji characters have not been corrected, as they have been adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 611

    <b>Bear-san, Discusses The Future</b>

    I wee the morning typically without being woken up by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. Hugging Bear, who¡¯s rolled into a ball, sleepsfortably beside me. Apparently, the slime didn¡¯te and attack us.

    When I look at the bed next to me, Fina is unusually sleeping while hugging Swaying Bear. Kagali-san is also sleeping with a child-like face. It¡¯s a face that doesn¡¯t really look like an adult¡¯s.

    But I can¡¯t let them sleep forever, so I wake them both up and then had them move downstairs.

    I asked Fina to go and wake Mia and Carol up, as she did yesterday, while I prepared breakfast.

    A great day must start with a good breakfast.

    If you are hungry, you will not be able toe up with good ideas, and you will not have the strength to fight.

    There¡¯s even a saying, ¡®You can¡¯t fight on an empty stomach¡¯.

    When breakfast is on the table, Fina arrives with Mia and Carol. We eat breakfast and talk about our next step.

    ¡°The slime didn¡¯te?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It didn¡¯te. Unless, this house is already inside the slime.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia looked out the window at my joke.

    ¡°Stop scaring me.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Besides, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are here, and they¡¯ll tell me before ites to that.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia looked at the normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were curled up, and when she felt relieved, she sat back in her chair.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We¡¯re going to stay here and see what the slime does.¡± (Yuna)

    While Fina went to wake up Mia and the others, I briefly discussed with Kagali-san.

    ¡°Why? If it¡¯s not after us, that means we¡¯re safe now, right?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°We¡¯re still don¡¯t not sure about that. Maybe the slime was sleeping at night.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san exins on my behalf.

    ¡°Do slimes even sleep?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Well, monsters sleep, don¡¯t they? Even slimes need to rest. I think it¡¯s rare to find a creature that keeps moving non-stop.¡± (Kagali)

    There are delicious fishes in the sea that will die if they don¡¯t keep swimming, you know.

    But, just as Kagali-san said, there are not many creatures that can actively keep going non-stop.

    If you move, you will get tired. This is true for any living creature. So, Kagali-san and I decided to observe the slime a little longer.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that if I attack at night, I can defeat that slime?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia, I think the slime will move if you attack it. Even you would wake up if you were attacked while you¡¯re sleeping, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± (Mia)

    Of course, it may be slow to react, slow to wake up, and so on, but it will no doubt wake up if weunch an attack.

    If we do attack, it should only be when we can take it out within the first blow, like when I took out a flock of wyverns a while back.

    The former is far more manageable if you ask which is easier to defeat, a sleeping wyvern or an active wyvern.

    ¡°Besides, how are you going to fight in the dark? The fact that it¡¯s night means that we also have to fight in the dark.¡± (Kagali)

    Of course, there are no streetlights and no lights at all. The only light source is from the moon and stars. But if there were clouds, it would be so dark that it could be called pitch ck.

    It¡¯s perilous to fight in that environment.

    ¡°Then illuminate it with light magic and fight it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯re a hopeless fool, you know that? Shine a light on, and you will also wake up the slime.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>U~u</i>¡°

    Mia chokes on her words in response to Kagali-san¡¯s reply.

    I don¡¯t really know how the slime judges light.

    That giant slime might also discern other things such as brightness, temperature, or even ultraviolet light, but there¡¯s no way of knowing that.

    Either way, it¡¯s not like light magic can cover all the darkness, so fighting in the dark is still pretty much dangerous.

    If the opponent wakes up, the sneak advantage disappears. On the contrary, it can even be a disadvantage.

    ¡°<i>Ano</i>, what if the slime doesn¡¯te?¡± (Carol)

    Carol asks quietly.

    ¡°In that case, I think you and Mia can go back to your town.¡± (Yuna)

    If we confirm that it won¡¯t chase us if we keep this much distance away from it, then there will be no problem returning to town.

    ¡°What about your group, Yuna-san?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°We¡¯ll do something about that slime.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you supposed to do about it? Just because you¡¯re strong, Yuna, it doesn¡¯t mean you can defeat a slime that enormous.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I talked to Kagali-sanst night about something I want to try with the slime, so I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You mean, like, dropping slime in the ocean? If so, I¡¯ve thought of that too.¡± (Mia)

    Mia said confidently.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    The room became quiet.

    ¡°You do know that most of the slime¡¯s body is made of water, right? So if you do that¡­¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san says in amazement.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to imagine it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told youst night, Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I- I¡¯m just kidding. I just thought I¡¯d point out to you that it¡¯s impossible if you were thinking about it by any chance.¡± (Mia)

    Mia tries to fake it by whistling¡­ she can¡¯t even whistle.

    She was earnest about it.

    But I don¡¯t think the slime would drown by taking in seawater.

    ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I can see two ways to do this. First, destroy the magical tool inside that slime. If that is the thing that¡¯s giving themand to purify, we can stop it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You mean, if we destroy the magical tool inside the slime, it won¡¯te after us?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It¡¯s a possibility.¡± (Yuna)

    You won¡¯t know until you actually try it.

    It could be possible that purifying humans have be so ingrained in their bodies that they can¡¯t break the order.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the other one?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia, you¡¯re the one who found that wand, right?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You mean the wand that the skeletal corpse had in its hand?¡± (Mia)

    Mia speaks hatefully.

    ¡°Yes. If we use that wand again, there¡¯s a chance that the slime will stop.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And to do that, you need to get close to that slime back in that town?¡± (Carol)

    Carol seems to understand what I¡¯m trying to say.

    ¡°It would be worthwhile to go back to the town and check out the slime.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san smiled, and Mia stood up.

    ¡°That¡¯s it! If it¡¯s Kryna-Halk¡¯s wand that stopped the slime, then you can use it again to stop it from moving. Actually, I thought that one, too.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Etto</i>¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Mia-chan¡­¡± (Carol)

    Everyone seemed to understand that it was a lie.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, if you know how to deal with slimes, slimes aren¡¯t scary anymore.¡± (Mia)

    Mia¡¯s expression, which had been dark until now, suddenly brightened.

    ¡°So, if something happens, what will you guys do?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If something happens?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°If the slime does appear, will you stay here? As I said before, whether the slimees after us or not, Yuna and I will deal with it. To be clear, your presence will not be helpful, and I cannot say that I can l protect you.¡± (Kagali)

    Not being able to protect yourself is dangerous.

    Even I can¡¯t promise to protect them.

    ¡°Yeah, but you don¡¯t have to say it so bluntly.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°But even if we stay here, there¡¯s a possibility that the slime wille to us.¡± (Carol)

    Carol asks what worries her the most.

    It was also within expectations.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get close to the slime and draw it away.¡± (Yuna)

    If we pass near the slime, I think it will chase us without reacting to Mia and others in a distant position.

    It¡¯s more about the food that¡¯s near than the food that¡¯s far away.

    ¡°But what about, Fina-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°I¡¯m taking her with me. Fina is the only one I have to protect no matter what. I¡¯ll have her by my side.¡± (Yuna)

    I need Fina to be by my side when I escape at the bear gate.

    Besides, if Mia and Carol are not there, I can use the bear gate without worrying about anything.

    ¡°I understand. If the slimees, we will stay here and wait for everyone. That¡¯d be enough, right?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We can¡¯t go back to our town like this, so I¡¯ll be waiting for the slime subjugation report. But if you know you can¡¯t defeat it, you have to run away.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s obvious. I¡¯m still young and my life is just beginning, so I can¡¯t afford to be killed by a slime.¡± (Kagali)

    Is that a joke, or is Kagali-san showing her kindness in her own way?

    Is this the part where Iugh?

    She looks like a little girl, but she¡¯s a fox who has lived for hundreds of years, so it¡¯s hard to judge.

    But I agree with Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    A slime will not kill me, and I refuse to live my life being chased by it.

    I¡¯m not going to abandon Mia and Carol either.

    ¡°If ites to it, I can just fly away. Besides, Yuna and I are the best of partners. I trust my life with her.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks at me.

    We fought the Orochi together in the Land of Harmony. We know each other¡¯s strengths.

    The only problem is that Kagali-san is not in her best form.

    However, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and even Fina reacted to Kagali-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    ¡°I have been with Yuna-oneesan longer than Kagali-san¡­¡± (Fina)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried in protest, while Fina muttered in a low voice.

    What is this, a triangr rtionship, or rather, a quadrteral rtionship? If we consider Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as individuals, then a pentagonal rtionship?

    No, no, no, I don¡¯t need such a quagmire rtionship.

    Then, as if waiting for us to finish our discussion, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stood up, looked outside, and cried ¡°kuu~n¡±.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Do slimes sleep?

    At any rate, the girls were able to get a good night¡¯s sleep.

    [Countdown]

    About 3 months to go until the air date of the animation. (Season 1)

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the corrections of kanji characters have been made in ordance with the book, so there are some parts that have not been corrected.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 612

    <b>Bear-san, Splits Up And Catches Up</b>

    ¡°Could it be that it came!?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who started squealing.

    I checked it with my detection skill. There¡¯s a reaction indicating that the slime is approaching.

    ¡°Yep, it looks like it¡¯s here.¡± (Yuna)

    Unfortunately, our hope that it would note after us was shattered.

    ¡°Well then, shall we go?¡± (Kagali)

    As we had discussed, we would return to the town, drawing the slime¡¯s attention toward us.

    I gave Mia and Carol some more food, took the horse out of the dismantling room, and then we went outside the bear house.

    ¡°Are you really going?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Since these kids are here, it won¡¯t catch up to us, so don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll return to the town while skillfully kiting it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys will be fine, but still, be careful.¡± (Mia)

    (Editor: Kiting = basically keeping the monster engaged at a certain length, like ying tag, intending to lure their attention away for a specific period while another action is ongoing)

    We rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, while Mia and Carol rode their horse.

    ¡°Well then, off we go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you, soe back, you hear!¡± (Mia)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, ran in the direction of the slime¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°Mia-oneechan and Carol-oneechan, are they going to be okay?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°If we can draw the slime toward us, I think they¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    There¡¯s a possibility that other monsters will attack us, but we can¡¯t take care of them there. Besides, Mia and Carol are adventurers. We came all the way to the town of Hescg. We should be able to handle that.

    ¡°I can see it now.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san leans forward and looks ahead.

    In the distance, I could see the water reflecting light¡­ That¡¯s the slime.

    ¡°You might want to take a little detour.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, we¡¯re going to move in a big left turn.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    While maintaining a distance from the slime, we passed by the left side of the slime, attracted its attention, and lured it directly to the town of Hescg.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, ran at a distance that prevented us from being attacked by the slime.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if the slime is changing direction since it¡¯s so big.¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t tell by using my detection skill. It¡¯s just a huge dot of slime reaction. If it moves a little more, I can see the reaction.

    I check the slime¡¯s behavior with my detection skill while riding on the back of Swaying Bear.

    ¡°¡­¡­Hmm?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    Looking at the detection skill, the slime is moving strangely.

    Just as an obstacle splits a flowing river in two, a stream of slime splits into two.

    A part of the slime moves toward us, and the other moves in a different direction.

    ¡°It looks like the slime is splitting in two.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°It¡¯s the direction where Mia and Carol are!¡± (Yuna)

    In my words, Kagali-san and Fina are at a loss.

    ¡°It can split up?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure, but¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I can¡¯t tell now, but it looks like it¡¯s stretching from left to right.

    I don¡¯t know what will happen in the end.

    ¡°What happens to the magic tool if it splits up?¡± (Fina)

    It¡¯s just as Fina says. What will happen to the other half that doesn¡¯t have a magic tool?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen, but dividing is bad. If the other half is heading toward Mia and Carol has the magic tool, we would have to chase Mia and Carol all the way back to their town. And even if we could draw the slime chasing us into Hescg, it would be meaningless we had no magic tool. Right now, we should avoid the unexpected.¡± (Kagali)

    The idea of breaking it down and defeating each of the smaller parts pops into my mind, but Fina¡¯s words countered it.

    ¡°But then, even if we head to the town, Mia-oneechan, and Carol-oneechan¡­¡± (Fina)

    In the first ce, even if it splits into two, it¡¯s still a big slime.

    It would be easier to destroy each individual if they were divided into at least 100 equal parts.

    ¡°For now, we have to retreat to Mia and Carol¡¯s positions. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, turn back! Return to Mia and Carol!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turned around, and they started running.

    <b>******</b>

    <b>-Mia¡¯s Point of View-</b>

    ¡°They¡¯re gone.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yeah. Will they be okay?¡± (Carol)

    Carol and I saw the three people riding on a ck and white bear.

    ¡°It seems that both of them care about Fina-chan, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll push themselves too hard. Even so, I still don¡¯t really understand the three of them, but I think they¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I agree. Kagali-san is a fox with mysterious powers, Yuna-san can defeat knight armors, they also have Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, and Fina-chan is cute.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Thest part has nothing to do with it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, indeed.¡± (Carol)

    They truly were a strange trio.

    We move to a shady spot under a tree and wait for Yuna and the others to return.

    All we can do now is pray for Yuna and the others to return safely.

    ¡°What if Yuna and the others don¡¯te back?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    It was a word I casually said, but Carol did not respond. She knows that there¡¯s no answer to such a question.

    Kagali said she would escape by flying, but there¡¯s even a chance she could fail and be eaten by the slime.

    ¡°Then I guess we have no choice but to ask someone for help.¡± (Carol)

    Carol gives it some thought and then speaks her mind.

    Even if we were to ask for help, there are no adventurers who can defeat that slime. The same thing for the knights and mages under the royal family. There¡¯s no telling how many people the slime would attack during that time.

    But, just like Carol said, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else we can do.

    ¡°Is it okay if we leave the town immediately after asking for help?¡± (Mia)

    If the slime chases us, the damage can be minimized.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Even if we leave the town, it may still attack the people. At the moment, we don¡¯t know if it¡¯s chasing us for personal reasons or if it¡¯s because we are humans. If it reacts when it finds many people, it might ignore us and head for the town.¡± (Carol)

    If the town is attacked, we may be able to escape at the cost of many people¡¯s lives.

    Even if we can escape, we will carry the sin of the weight of many deaths for the rest of our lives.

    I can¡¯t bear the weight of that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Carol. It¡¯s my fault that you¡¯re in this situation.¡± (Mia)

    Carol wouldn¡¯t have been involved if she hadn¡¯te with me.

    Everything is my fault.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not your fault, Mia-chan. I said I would follow you because it was my intention.¡± (Carol)

    Carol has always been kind. She is my only best friend. So I am distressed that I have involved Carol in this situation.

    Time has passed since Yuna and the others went. It seems so long, yet it¡¯s short and unsettling. Even if they could stop the slime¡¯s magic tool, it would take two days at the earliest for them to return.

    ¡°Mia-chan, have some tea and calm down a bit.¡± (Carol)

    Carol hands me a cup of tea.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Mia)

    I drank the tea in one go.

    Thanks to the tea, I¡¯ve calmed down a little.

    But that was only momentarily, and the horse let out an unsettling neigh.

    ¡°What!? What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Mia)

    I ran to the horse, stroked it, and calmed it down.

    ¡°Mi, Mia-chan!¡± (Carol)

    ¡°What?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Look at that!¡± (Carol)

    Carol¡¯s pointing hand is trembling.

    In the direction of her trembling fingertip is a humongous slime.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­¡­Slime!¡± (Carol)

    Why did the slimee to us?

    ¡°Could it be that Yuna and the others were eaten?¡± (Mia)

    Since it ate Yuna and the others, did it target us next?

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. Both Yuna-chan and Kagali-san are strong. Besides, they¡¯re riding Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.¡± (Carol)

    Certainly, with that inexhaustible physical strength to keep running, and those fast legs, I think those bears would be able to escape from the slime easily.

    The moment I said that something terrible came to my mind.

    ¡°Could it be that they used us as decoys and ran away?¡± (Mia)

    If Yuna and her friends are safe since Yuna and her bears can escape from the slime, then¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Then why is the slimeing this way? ording to them, Yuna and the others were going to attract the slimes and take them to Hescg!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡± (Carol)

    Betrayed¡­

    I believed in them.

    No, everyone values their own life.

    Besides, it¡¯s a life that Yuna and her friends have saved many times.

    It can¡¯t be helped if they decided to abandon it.

    We were just helpless.

    ¡°Mia-chan, run away!¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± (Mia)

    We ran away from the slime when Carol and I got on our horse.

    Once again, you can clearly see the abnormality of Yuna¡¯s bears. Horses will gradually get tired. Unlike Yuna¡¯s bears, the horse can only run for a short time.

    What¡¯s more, it¡¯s running with me and Carol on board.

    If the horse keeps running like this with two people on it, the horse could topple over. If that happens, both riders will die.

    I don¡¯t want Carol to die.

    I had to make a decision before the horse trips.

    ¡­¡­No need to even think about it.

    I stopped the horse and got off.

    ¡°Mia-chan?¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Carol, go. If you¡¯re alone, you might be able to escape.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± (Carol)

    ¡°At this rate, both of us will die.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Then I¡­¡± (Carol)

    Carol tries to get off the horse, but I silently hit the horse¡¯s butt.

    The horse must have felt the pain and it started running with Carol on it.

    ¡°Mia-chan!¡± (Carol)

    At least, I can save Carol.

    Please take care of my sisters.

    Besides, someone has to tell them about the slime.

    If Carol meets someone, she could tell them about the slime.

    My death will not be in vain.

    My death to save Carol.

    The slime approaches.

    It¡¯s like a massive movingke.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>¡°

    This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a movingke, but it could be better described. No wonder, I¡¯m an idiot.

    I can¡¯t help but smile.

    I closed my eyes because I¡¯m scared of the approaching slime.

    If the slime eats me, I won¡¯t be able to save myself.

    Do I suffer like drowning in water? Or will my body melt away?

    I don¡¯t like it either way.

    At least I wanted to die painlessly.

    ¡°Mia!¡±

    From somewhere, I hear a voice calling my name.

    That¡¯s strange.

    When I open my eyes, a ck bear and a white bear are running in front of me.

    Why are they here?

    ¡°Mia, reach out.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna¡¯s ck bear gloves grasp my outstretched hand with great strength. I am relieved by its strength. Then I rode on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    Yuna¡¯s back is warm.

    She¡¯s a bear. So it¡¯s natural for her to be warm.

    The warmth brings tears to my eyes.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    I¡¯m sorry for not progressing much.

    I imagined what would happen if it split up, so I wanted to write about it.

    <b>¡ù</b> As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji characters have been corrected in ordance with the book, so there are some parts that have not been corrected.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 613

    <b>Bear-san, Concerned About A Runny Nose</b>

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    7/13 Major revisions to the second half

    <b>======</b>

    I rode on Swaying Bear while Fina and Kagali-san rode Hugging Bear. We kept running ahead.

    ¡°I hope they both escaped.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Those two are not stupid. If they see the slime approach, they¡¯ll probably run away.¡± (Kagali)

    Mia escaped on horseback, but unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it couldn¡¯t continuously run for long. And besides, this time, the horse would be carrying two people.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, hurry up!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear elerated further.

    Because of the slime, we made a long detour, but we passed through the area where we parted ways with Mia and Carol.

    The slime is here.

    If they ran away, it should be in the opposite direction from where the slime ising from.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear kept running.

    Mia, Carol, where are you?

    I waited for a reaction from my detection skills.

    But there was only one human reaction.

    Why only one?

    Is it Mia or Carol? Or is it someone I don¡¯t know?

    Anyway, we head to where the reaction is.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. It¡¯s Mia-oneechan!¡± (Fina)

    Fina shouted. Yeah, I can see her too.

    Mia is standing alone.

    ¡°What the hell is she doing out here all alone?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Carol-oneechan is not with her!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Neither the horse. Perhaps she stayed behind by herself to let Carol go? That idiot.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Once I grab her, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, shake off the slime at once.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    The distance between Mia and us gradually shrank.

    Mia closed her eyes and remained still, oblivious to our presence.

    She may have already given up.

    ¡°Mia!¡± (Yuna)

    I shouted.

    To my voice, Mia opened her eyes. And she looked at us in amazement.

    ¡°Mia, grab my hand!¡± (Yuna)

    Mia reached out her hand. I grabbed her arm with my bear puppet and ced her on the back of Swaying Bear I was riding.

    Mia hugged my back.

    ¡°Yuna, why?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Why? Well, the slime split and started to move in both ways, so we came back in a hurry.¡± (Yuna)

    I briefly exined why we came back.

    Mia buried her face in my fluffy back.

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What are you apologizing for?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I was thinking that you and Yuna used us as decoys and ran away by yourselves.¡± (Mia)

    Indeed, if we say that we¡¯ll attract slime, yet the slime goes towards them, it may be unavoidable for them to think so.

    ¡°So you were crying out of despair?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Mia, are you crying?¡± (Yuna)

    Mia is on my back, so I can¡¯t see her face.

    But I can hear a sniffling noise.

    ¡°I¡¯m not crying!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Don¡¯t put snot on my back!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not crying. <i>Guju</i>.¡± (Mia) (¤°¤¸¤å)

    ¡°No, I can hear the sound of sniffling.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°More importantly, what about Carol-oneechan?¡± (Fina)

    Fina is more worried about Carol than the snot on my back.

    Well, she¡¯s right.

    Besides, the snot shouldn¡¯t stain the bear gear, so it should be fine.

    It¡¯ll be okay, right?

    ¡°I put Carol on the horse and had her escape by herself.¡± (Mia)

    As we guessed, that was the case.

    ¡°So you stayed behind to save Carol?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Carol is my best friend. Besides, it was my fault that Carol followed me to Hescg, and I would rather let her live than both of us die.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I understand how you feel, but when you meet Carol, you should apologize properly. You should also think about the feelings of those you¡¯re leaving behind. Especially if they are important to you.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san answered like an elder.

    Kagali-san has lived a long time. Perhaps she has lived through the death of a loved one.

    Although, this would have been more convincing if she wasn¡¯t in her little girl form.

    ¡°Thank you. If I see Carol, I¡¯ll apologize.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°For that to happen, I have to meet up with Carol first.¡± (Yuna)

    As if reacting to my words, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear elerated.

    And we were able to catch up with Carol in no time.

    ¡°Mia-chan, you¡¯re so cruel!¡± (Carol)

    Carol hugs Mia.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I, I- I thought you were dead, Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    Carol is angry, with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Mia-oneechan, Carol-oneechan, I¡¯m d to see you both safe.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yeah. If we didn¡¯t make it in time, Mia would have been eaten by the slime.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia would have died in that case, just as Carol said.

    I¡¯m happy we made it in time.

    Carol scolded Mia for her behaviour, and I asked Fina to make sure there was no snot on my back.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Fina)

    Fina smiles while touching my back.

    Relieved, Fina and I took care of the horse Carol was riding.

    The horse seemed tired and started drinking happily when I offered it water.

    ¡°You did a great job.¡± (Fina)

    Fina gently caresses the horse.

    ¡°I see you can handle horses too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The adventurer¡¯s guild has horses, so I¡¯ve also taken care of them.¡± (Fina)

    I let Fina take care of the horse, I brought out the cart for it to ride, and Kagali-san cast a levitation spell on it.

    Fina pulled on the horse¡¯s reins and ced the horse on the back of the cart.

    Now we are ready to move.

    Even though we made some distance from the slime, we couldn¡¯t stay for too long.

    I looked at Mia and Carol. They¡¯re still hugging and talking.

    ¡°Hey, how long are you girls going to keep flirting with each other?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°W, we¡¯re not flirting!¡± (Mia)

    Mia screamed, and Carol looked embarrassed, and then they moved away from each other.

    ¡°Everyone, thank you for helping Mia-chan.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We were naive.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°We never thought it would split up and move both ways.¡± (Yuna)

    We exined the behavior of the slime.

    ¡°So part of the slime came to us, so I thought, Yuna-chan¡¯s group, we¡­¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Mia told us. Even if you think so, it can¡¯t be helped. We don¡¯t mind it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry guys, but you have toe with us to Hescg.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°It seems that there is no other way.¡± (Carol)

    Mia and Carol ride Swaying Bear, and then Fina, Kagali-san, and I ride Hugging Bear. I¡¯m also pulling the cart with the horse on it.

    We ran arge detour while checking the movement of the slime.

    ¡°It seems fine now.¡± (Yuna)

    Combining Kagali-san¡¯s eyesight from above and my detection skills, we confirm that the slime is moving in one mass and is currently trailing us.

    ¡°Now we can go back to Hescg.¡± (Kagali)

    We confirmed that no matter how much distance we created, it would follow us. So we decided to put this knowledge to good use.

    We hurried to the town of Hescg.

    ¡°These bears are really unbelievable.¡± (Carol)

    After running for a long time, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear arrived at the town of Hescg.

    ¡°So we¡¯re looking for something that Kyna-Hark made somewhere in town to stop the magic tools, right?¡± (Mia)

    That¡¯s why I rushed back here.

    We thought there might be a device or contraption of sorts that Kryna-Hark may have made that could affect the giant slime lying in some part of town.

    A little information to point in the right direction would be nice, though.

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, then my grandpa¡¯s notes wille in handy.¡± (Mia)

    Mia happily takes out the notebook.

    Mia¡¯s grandfather¡¯s notes show where the knight armors were. In other words, the researcher in the basement must have had the knight armors protect what Kryna-Hark had made, so there must be something that Kryna-Hark had made in the ce where the knight armors used to be.

    It¡¯s like they¡¯re saying since we let some knight armors protect it, you¡¯ll find something important there. This time we have to thank that idiot because we don¡¯t have to randomly look for something made by Kryna-Hark, which we don¡¯t even know where in the town it is.

    ¡°This way. Swaying Bear, let¡¯s go!¡± (Mia)

    Perhaps happy to be of help, Mia gave instructions to Swaying Bear and started walking in the lead.

    ¡°ording to the map, it should be around here.¡± (Mia)

    I look around while looking at the notes.

    All around us are abandoned buildings.

    ¡°There should be a knight armor here, look for a knight armor.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. There¡¯s a knight armor over there.¡± (Fina)

    Indeed. A knight armor is lying on the ground.

    ¡°Last time I saw it, it was moving.¡± (Carol)

    Carol approaches it.

    ¡°Carol, be careful.¡± (Mia)

    Carol begins investigating the knight armor.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a magic stone.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°You mean someone killed it and took the magic stone?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. In the first ce, you don¡¯t need to reassemble a knight armor after taking the magic stone.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°The fact that the knight armor wasying down here means that there must be something near here to stop the magical tool that Kryna-Hark must have made. Let¡¯s split up and look for it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Then, some knight armors may still be active, so Swaying Bear should go with Mia and Carol.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Swaying Bear-chan, please take care of us.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°If something happens, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    ¡°Then Carol, Swaying Bear. We¡¯ll take a look over there.¡± (Mia)

    Mia and Carol walk into a nearby building with Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, follow Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m fine by myself.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You know you¡¯re not in your top shape. Sakura will be sad if anything happens to you, Kagali-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>, I understand. Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Hugging Bear picks up Kagali-san and starts walking.

    ¡°Then Fina, you¡¯reing with me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah!¡± (Fina)

    We split into three groups to investigate the area where the knight armor had fallen.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:</b>

    Postscript 7/13/13 21:30

    <b>¡ù</b>Sorry about this¡­

    I have made significant changes to the second half of the story.

    I had written the rest of the story, but the tempo of the story became slow, so I decided to revise it.

    Thank you for your patience.

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers who have been correcting the spelling errors.

    I am using the first half of the story that I was able to correct.

    I apologize for wasting the second half.

    -Kumanano.

    <b>¡ù </b>As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

    Please note that some of the kanji characters have not been corrected since they have been adapted to the book.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 614

    <b>Bear-san Examines The Basement</b>

    I entered a nearby house with Fina.

    It¡¯s dusty.

    The dust dances as we walk.

    I told Fina to put a handkerchief over her mouth.

    When I pull down the bear hood, even if dust gets in front of me, it won¡¯t get to my eyes or mouth, so I won¡¯t inhale it. I feel like I¡¯m being protected by something I can¡¯t see.

    It really is a versatile piece of equipment as long as you don¡¯t mind how it looks.

    ¡°Here, Yuna-oneesan. A handkerchief.¡± (Fina)

    But Fina, who doesn¡¯t know about that, handed me a beautiful white handkerchief.

    It would be easy to say no here. But since I can¡¯t turn down the handkerchief that Fina has given me, I simply thanked her and epted it.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    I put the handkerchief to my mouth and examined the room.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. What should I be looking for?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I¡¯ve never seen it before. Something suspicious, I think?¡± (Yuna)

    I don¡¯t know if Kryna-Hark would have made it to mimic something as familiar as a broken chest, drawers, or bookcases like the one in front of me. We found a researcher¡¯s dead body in the basement, so maybe I¡¯ll recognise it when I see it.

    ¡­But when I look around the house, I can¡¯t find anything that looks suspicious.

    ¡°Is there really something made by Kryna-Hark-san here?¡± (Fina)

    Fina also frantically searched around, but couldn¡¯t find anything.

    ¡°The researcher in that basement was trying to protect it, and he had his knight armor close, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s somewhere nearby.¡± (Yuna)

    We had no luck in the first house, so Fina and I moved to a smaller house next door.

    This ce is just as dusty as the first house.

    Fina and I checked one room at a time.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Yuna)

    When I entered the room, I felt omnious. There¡¯s a bed in the middle of the room.

    If that were all, there would be no problem, but there are scratches on the floor like someone dragged it from the wall.

    My intuition, which has seen a lot of anime and manga and yed many games, whispers to me that it¡¯s definitely questionable.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I just thought that bed looked suspicious. Fina. Stay away from me for a minute so I can move the bed.¡± (Yuna)

    After making sure Fina went to the entrance of the room, I grabbed the edge of the bed and pushed it against the wall. At the same time, dust flies.

    I used wind magic to break the wooden window frame and let the dust escape outside the window.

    ¡°Fina, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Even if you protect your mouth and nose with a handkerchief, it¡¯s still a problem if the dust gets in your eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay. Yuna-oneesan, there¡¯s a door under the bed.¡± (Fina)

    Fina pointed to the floor while holding a handkerchief to her mouth.

    There was indeed a door on the floor, hidden under the bed.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. Did you know that there¡¯s a door under the bed?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>, this kind of concealment is a ssic.¡± (Yuna)

    The bed had drag marks, which was a deciding factor.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Fina)

    In games, removing a carpet would reveal a basement, or moving a bookcase would reveal a hidden door or passage. They could be escape routes or hidden treasures. This technique has been used many times in manga and video games. This time, that knowledge came in handy.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll open it. Fina, stand back.¡± (Yuna)

    There could be traps. I¡¯m okay with bear gear, but it¡¯s dangerous for Fina.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina nodded and moved back.

    After ensuring Fina was safe, I lifted the door on the floor.

    A hidden staircase has appeared.

    Yep, as expected.

    ¡°Fina¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan!¡± (Fina)

    I looked at Fina as I was about to say, ¡®wait here¡¯, she had already casted light magic.

    It seems like she¡¯s going toe with me.

    Since Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not with us, leaving her alone in the room may be dangerous.

    After thinking for a moment, I concluded that she would be safer near me, so I took her with me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave my side, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    I led the way down the stairs.

    It could be a lot deeper.

    ¡°What is this ce? Fina, light up the whole area.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina¡¯s light magic illuminates the surroundings.

    At the bottom of the stairs was a little basement.

    ¡°Yuna-oneesan. On the floor.¡± (Fina)

    As I look around the room, Fina points to the floor.

    ¡°A magic circle?¡± (Yuna)

    The floor is carved with circr and intricate patterns and iid with magic stones and other objects.

    But it¡¯s broken.

    It was easy to see that the floor on which the magic circle was carved was cracked and no longer served the purpose of a magic circle.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way to fix it.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if the floor is reinforced with earth magic, there are ces where it haspletely copsed. Repairing the floor doesn¡¯t mean that the magic circle will be repaired.

    ¡°Is this something I should consult with Kagali-san?¡± (Yuna)

    Before that, we checked the basement for anything else.

    If this is what Kryna-Hark left behind, there might be something here.

    But I soon discovered that there was nothing there. There was only a magic circle in the basement, not a single piece of paper, a bookshelf, or a desk.

    However, if Kryna-Hark used this house, I thought there might be clues in other rooms, so I checked the other rooms with Fina, but I couldn¡¯t find anything like the basement.

    I gave up and heard a voice from outside as we were about to leave the house.

    ¡°Yuna~, Fina~, where are you~¡± (Mia)

    We heard Mia¡¯s voice calling us from outside the house.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, there you are.¡± (Mia)

    When Fina and I left the house, Mia and Kagali-san had already regrouped.

    ¡°Yuna, did anything happen on your side? No luck in mine.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Our ce was covered in cobwebs.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Mia-chan, don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll remove the cobwebs.¡± (Carol)

    Carol removes the spider web from Mia¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Are there still more? Take it off quickly!¡± (Mia)

    As always, they are good friends.

    ¡°We found a basement that seems to have been made by Kryna-Hark.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined to Kagali-san and the others that we found a basement where a magic circle was.

    I took Kagali-san into the house as mentioned earlier, and went to the room where the basement is located.

    ¡°A hidden basement under the bed? Good job finding it.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°My experience served me well.¡± (Yuna)

    Not a real experience, but from my knowledge of anime, manga, novels, and video games.

    When we were about to go down the stairs, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried out, ¡°<i>Kuu-n</i>.¡±

    Apparently, it¡¯s because they couldn¡¯t get through.

    I can take them if they are small enough.

    ¡°You two wait here.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cry sadly.

    ¡°I would feel safer with you two guarding the entrance, so please.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±<i>Kuu~n</i>¡°¡±

    As I asked, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear sat on either side of the stairs, with satisfied faces, as if to check their surroundings.

    ¡°They really are amazing bears. They understand what people are saying, they¡¯re fast, and they can keep running while carrying us.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Also, they¡¯re cute and soft.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Foxes are more amazing.¡± (Kagali)

    As Mia and Carol praise my bears, Kagali-san counters.

    ¡°You three, go to the basement. Hurry up or the slime wille.¡± (Yuna)

    I also vote for bears. Kagali-san might get annoyed if I said that, so I made them go down the stairs.

    When Fina follows me, the three of them silentlye down the stairs.

    ¡°Oh, there really is a basement down here.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Perhaps this magic circle was created by Kryna-Hark.¡± (Yuna)

    I point at the magic circle on the cracked floor with a bear puppet.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s broken. With this, even if you use Kruna-Hark¡¯s staff¡­¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks dejected.

    It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand that feeling.

    What was supposed to be a way to stop the slime was no good.

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know that. Until a few days ago, it was definitely effective. Things in other ces are safe, and it might be okay even if one is broken.¡± (Kagali)

    The effect may diminish, but the possibility of stopping is, indeed, possible.

    And certainly, you don¡¯t know that until you try.

    ¡°Is there anything in the room? Something to fix the magic circle?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Not even a single piece of paper.¡± (Yuna)

    Mia and Carol were also looking around the room and were disappointed when they heard what I said.

    ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯t leave anything behind to prevent anyone from knowing what this magic circle was.¡± (Kagali)

    If they wanted to keep the magic circle in this basement a secret, they might have gotten rid of whatever Kruna-Hark left behind. They¡¯d even hide it under the bed.

    Personally, I thought they could just fill it up with magic, but maybe they kepting back for research.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s investigate thatboratory.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there was anything like that there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°<i>Uu</i>¡± (Kagali)

    The only notable things we found in the researcher¡¯s basement were those two notebooks and a wand.

    ¡°For the time being, going with Kagali-san said, if there is a ce simr to this one, how about checking other ces? There may be clues in other rooms.¡± (Carol)

    Carol suggests.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In Grandpa¡¯s notes, there are other ces where knight armors were.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Alright. There¡¯s no use talking about it because we can¡¯t find an answer here. We should check other ces and then talk about the future.¡± (Kagali)

    We left the basement, joined Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and headed out to our following location while looking at Mia¡¯s grandfather¡¯s note.

    Please note that I have not corrected some of the kanji characters, as they have been adapted to the book.

 Chapter 615

    <b>Bear-san, Discussing Tomorrow</b>

    We were able to locate seven basements with magic circles, but there were many things that needed to be fixed.

    ¡°This is bad.¡± (Kagali)

    Including the one we found at the beginning, there were three where the floor was broken.

    Four magic circles seemed to be fine.

    Nearly half of them were broken.

    We discuss the future inside the bear house.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we can¡¯t use the Kryna-Hark wand?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, four circles may or may not be effective. Until a few days ago, they kept the slime¡¯s magic tools inactive.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san¡¯s words made everyone quiet.

    Kagali-san didn¡¯t create the magic circle, and it was created by Kryna-Hark a long time ago. Even the person who made it would have no way of knowing if it would still be activated if the three locations were broken.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just fix it? There were unbroken magic circles, weren¡¯t there? We can make it just like that.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°No way.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°The pattern of the magic circle was different. Maybe they were made to have an effect in each direction.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Wait, you remembered all seven locations and figured out the pattern is different?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Not really. But I can at least tell you that it¡¯s not the same. If you doubt it, go check it out.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do such a troublesome thing.¡± (Mia)

    Me too, I don¡¯t remember such minute details either.

    ¡°Look at the map of this town and where the magic circles are.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san points to the ces where the magic circles that Kryna-Hark seems to have left are located on the simple handwritten map of the town.

    There are six magic circles at equal intervals lined up in a circle, and then 1 in the centre, for a total of 7 locations.

    ¡°The magic circles are evenly spaced. Maybe they were designed to concentrate the magic power in the centre. If it¡¯s a little far from the town, that may be the reason why the magic tools be usable.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°How could you tell just by looking at the magic circle?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°My age doesn¡¯t reflect my appearance.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°How old are you?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ask a woman her age.¡± (Kagali)

    By the way, Mia and Carol know that Kagali-san can grow up and that she is a fox, but they don¡¯t know that she¡¯s been living for hundreds of years.

    ¡°Besides, if we can copy the magic circle so easily, we won¡¯t be having this problem.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Kryna-Hark should¡¯ve left something to deal with the slime.¡± (Mia)

    I thought that Mia was right and that there might be some notes about the slime or the magic circle, but there was not a single piece of paper left in any of the rooms.

    If you think about it, it¡¯s obvious. Kryna-Hark only took precautions if the slime got out of control and left town before he knew what would happen to the slime research.

    Kryna-Hark may have yet to learn in detail whether the slime would go out of control.

    That could be why he created a wand to stop the magic tool.

    Besides, as Kagali-san said, when we found the first magic circle, the researcher in the basement may have taken all of Kryna-Hark¡¯s things back to study the magic circle.

    But there was nothing in theb.

    ¡°The only thing we can do now is to activate the remaining magic circles. The only saving grace was that the magic circle in the centre was still intact. If the magic circle in the centre had been broken, the rest would have beenpletely useless.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°But the other three are broken, so it might not work, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times, we won¡¯t know until we try.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°If, if Kryna-Hark¡¯s wand can¡¯t stop it, then¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°In that case, the only option is to destroy the magic tool inside the slime directly.¡± (Yuna)

    I answered on behalf of Kagari-san.

    It¡¯s the only way.

    ¡°Can you destroy it? The note said the attack didn¡¯t work on the slime.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s impossible.¡± (Yuna)

    I have my bear magic.

    Electric magic should also be effective if the slime is a water-based monster.

    So there is a way to destroy the slime¡¯s magic tools.

    The only problem is, where can I find the magical tool in that colossal body? And even if I find it, whether my attack can reach it. I¡¯m not borrowing Kagali-san¡¯s line, but I¡¯ll only know for sure once I try.

    That, and the fact that even if we could destroy the magic tool in the slime, we don¡¯t know what would happen to the slime.

    Will it stop chasing us, or will it keep chasing us?

    Even if it doesn¡¯te after us, it will still be a threat, depending on what the slime does in the future.

    It may start moving wildly.

    Just the thought of such a gargantuan slime moving around freely is terrifying. No ordinary vige or town can handle it.

    ¡°For some reason, when Yuna says it, it makes me feel like she can do it.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Probably because you have seen some insane things in your life.¡± (Carol)

    Carol answers Mia¡¯s question.

    ¡°I know, right. Defeating the knight armors, followed up by summoning bears that can keep running fast for a long time.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°And she has an item bag that can even fit this house in.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°She can also read the notes that no one else could see.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I can also see it well, you know.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°And when I look at that bear outfit, I feel calm.¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Yeah, I get it. Worrying about it seriously is going to be ridiculous.¡± (Mia)

    Mia and Carol ignored Kagari-san¡¯s words and started talking about my appearance.

    ¡°Looking at Yuna¡¯s outfit makes me feel at peace, isn¡¯t it? Or maybe it¡¯s those bears.¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at the curled-up Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with a smile.

    ¡°Yeah. I think so too.¡± (Carol)

    Carol agrees with Mia¡¯s words and looks at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the same way.

    And we decided to rest our bodies in preparation for the slime that is expected toe tomorrow.

    ¡°Yep, It¡¯s done.¡± (Yuna)

    Meat dishes, bread, pizza, and fruit tters lined up on the table.

    It looks more luxurious than usual.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s ourst supper. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so luxurious, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Mia)

    Mia looks at the dishes lined up on the table with a cramped face.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s my energy fuel for tomorrow.¡± (Yuna)

    In the first ce, I don¡¯t intend to die, and if pushes to shove, I¡¯ll escape through the bear gate.

    ¡°Actually, you can use us as bait¡­¡± (Mia)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die, and I¡¯m not going to use you or Carol as bait, Mia.¡± (Yuna)

    Could it be that she was traumatized by being chased by a slime after we left?

    We sat down and started eating.

    ¡°Delicious!¡± (Carol)

    ¡°Oh,e on. Yuna can even cook?¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Just a hobby.¡± (Yuna)

    I was alone a lot in my former world, and I used to cook for myself, albeit simple food. When I was eating only delivery food, pizza, and convenience store bento, my grandfather got angry with me and almost took me to his house, so I started to cook for myself.

    ¡°She has money, is strong, can use magic, has cute bears, she herself is cute, and she can even cook. I can¡¯t win. Life is so unfair.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°Yep, life is not fair.¡± (Carol)

    Miains so, while Carol nods while eating the food with great relish.

    There were some parts I wanted to deny, but I¡¯m afraid that saying it would cause even more rambling, so I¡¯ll just keep my mouth shut.

    ¡°Kagali can fly, and in her true form, she¡¯s an attractive woman. After all, she is knowledgeable and smart.¡± (Mia)

    ¡°You can praise me more.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san looks happy after being praised.

    Mia looks at Fina next.

    ¡°I¡¯m a normal girl.¡± (Fina)

    Fina noticed Mia¡¯s gaze and answered first.

    ¡°You know, girls your age don¡¯t usuallye to ces like this. You can use magic, and when you see the slime, you¡¯re not as scared of it as we are. No normal children are like that.¡± (Mia)

    If you ask me, Mia is certainly right.

    An 11-year-old girl would nevere this far or be brought this far away.

    ¡°In other words, Fina is no ordinary child!¡± (Mia)

    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±

    Fina looks shocked at Mia¡¯s words.

    What is she shocked about?

    I want to question Fina a little.

    Then, after discussing tomorrow¡¯s ns and having a definitely notst supper, we decided to take a bath before having a good night¡¯s sleep.

    ¡°It feels good.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san soaks in the bathtubfortably.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a hot spring, though.¡± (Yuna)

    We can use the bear gate to return to the hot springs, but even Kagali-san wouldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡°Can Mumroot-san fix the magic circle?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Kagali-san while I was washing Fina¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Even Mumroot, who knows a lot about magic, probably couldn¡¯t do it. And even if he could, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to do in just a few days.¡± (Kagali)

    In that case, it seems we have to pray that the remaining magic circle will be activated.

    If it doesn¡¯t work, break the magical tool. If that doesn¡¯t stop, then subjugate the slime.

    I don¡¯t even know if I can subjugate that massive slime until I fight it.

    Well, tomorrow¡¯s wind wille tomorrow.

    I washed away the foam on Fina¡¯s hair.

    <b>======</b>

    <b>Author¡¯s Note:¡¡</b>

    Yuna¡¯s grandpa is the guarantor of her apartment.

    He appears in the newly written novel in the first volume of the manga.

    Sorry, it¡¯s a little confusing for readers of the web version.

    [Notice]

    I¡¯m sorry. I was about to finish thest part of the book.

    I will be taking a break for a while again.

    I have a lot of urgent working in, and it is unlikely that I will have time to write the web version.

    I hope to resume in two weeks at the earliest, or three weeks at thetest. (I hope to be done by then.)

    I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers who are looking forward to it.

    [Notice]

    Chapter 50 of ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡± manga is now avable on Comic PASH!

    Princess Flora makes an appearance. I hope you have time to take a look.

    Thank you very much.

    [News]

    Wake Azumi-san¡¯s 3rd single ¡°Itsukanokioku¡±, the OP theme of the anime ¡°Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear¡±, will be released on October 7.

    Please check this out as well.

    <b>¡ù</b> Thank you very much to all of you who have been reporting typos.

    Please note that some of the corrections of kanji characters have been made in ordance with the book, but some of the corrections have not been made.

    <b>======</b>

 Chapter 616

    E/N: Hi, everyone. We are unable to reach out to Attatin for around 12 weeks now. After waiting for so much time, we have decided to let our other long-time trantor Kazumi trante a few chapters of Kuma. Once Attatin returns, he will take over again. I hope that he is healthy and doing well. Please let us know if you spot any errors. Thanks.

    <b>¡­</b>

    <b>Bear-san uses the Kryna-Hark Wand</b>

    ¡°It¡¯s about time that thing gets here, right?¡±

    We are standing on the barrier at the entrance to the town.

    ¡°¡±Kuun.¡±¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s getting closer.¡±

    The Slime was heading toward us, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was safe to stay here.

    Now we just had to see if the Kryna-Hark Wand would work.

    I prepared as much as I could before the Slime arrived.

    In case I had to fight the Slime, I built a tform.

    When the Slime arrives, the ground surface will be covered with the Slime, and there will be no footholds. The only footholds would be the tall buildings.

    Even those buildings could be caught in the Slime. With this in mind, I erected cylindrical pirs with earth magic here and there in the town to secure footholds other than the buildings.

    The buildings and the cylinders could be used to move around. Again, I was not sure how useful these would be, but I figured it was better to have them than to have nothing prepared

    And the bear house where Fina and the others were supposed to hide was also set up outside the barrier opposite where the Slime wasing from.

    ¡°If you¡¯re scared, why don¡¯t you just stay inside?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not scared.¡±

    Mia was trying to be strong, but the idea of the huge Slime loomed over her. It would be strange if she weren¡¯t scared.

    I wanted them to stay inside the bear house, but Mia and Carol wanted to see for themselves, so they came out of the bear house.

    ¡°Fina could have stayed too, you know.¡±

    ¡°¡­I mean, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d befortable on my own. I¡¯d like to stay with Yuna Onee-chan if I¡¯m not in the way. But I¡¯ll go inside the house if I think it¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    Yes, it may be unsettling and scary to stay inside the house while the outside of the house was in an uproar.

    Then, as we waited for the Slime, Mia raised her voice.

    ¡°I can see it!¡±

    Mia really had good eyesight.

    So much so that she even noticed the reflection of the water in the distance when she said it.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s move to the back barrier to bring the Slime into town.¡±

    We got on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and moved to the other side of the bulwark.

    ¡°It¡¯sing in!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s disgusting.¡±

    The slime moving like living water was creepier than I thought it would be. It wasn¡¯t the cute, squishy, droplet-like Slime that appears in video games.

    It was like a sticky liquid.

    It was like Slime jelly, a toy I had seen in elementary school.

    The liquid climbed up the barrier and entered through the cracks.

    When it entered the town, I realized how big it was.

    As a hermit, I had never been inside Tokyo Dome, so I could not tell precisely how big it was, but it was about the size of the dome that I saw on TV.

    It was such a huge Slime.

    I definitely wanted to avoid being taken in by it.

    The Slime was moving slowly but gradually toward us.

    I took the Kryna-Hark Wand out of the bear box, ready to use it anytime.

    ¡°I hope it works.¡±

    Kagali-san mentioned, looking at the wand.

    ¡°Actually, do you think it will actually work, Kagali-san?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who created the magic circle. I don¡¯t know if it will work at all or if it will only work to some extent, but we won¡¯t know for sure until we try it.¡±

    I guess so.

    If we knew about it, no one would get anxious.

    The first part of the Slime approached the center.

    ¡°Is that bluish dot-like thing in the Slime a magic stone?¡±

    I could see a small blue dot, though it was too far away to see it clearly.

    ¡°Yes, I think so. It must have grown by multiplication or by the Slime sticking to each other.¡±

    Was it a water magic stone or a blue magic stone because the Slime was bluish. It was hard to see because of the same color, but there were several magic stones.

    If we could defeat it, we would have enough magic stones tost us a lifetime.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time?¡±

    The Slime wasing straight at us through the center of the town.

    ¡°No, wait a little longer. It won¡¯t do any good unless the Slime¡¯s whole body is in there.¡±

    The Slime crosses the center of town and gets closer and closer.

    ¡°Kagali-san!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Yuna. Put your magic into it.¡±

    I cast my magic into the Kryna-Hark Wand.

    There was no response.

    ¡°Yuna, put more magic into the Kryna-Hark Wand.¡±

    I put more magic into the wand as Kagali-san told me to.

    Then, the ce where the magic circle was supposed to glow.

    ¡°It¡¯s activated!?¡±

    ¡°It moved!¡±

    Mia and the others were overjoyed.

    When I confirmed that the magic circle had been activated, I stopped the flow of magic into the wand.

    If the Slime could be stopped by putting more magic into the wand, I would put as much magic as possible into the wand. But this Wand served as a switch. I was surprised to find out at what point it was supposed to be turned on and off.

    It would be meaningless if I stopped the magic circle after it was activated.

    Disabling it would also be pointless, as we did in the basementboratory.

    ¡°It seems that the three magic circles are not working after all.¡±

    The only ce that was glowing was, as I thought, the ce of the magic circle that was still normal.

    Those magic circles must have malfunctioned.

    ¡°The Slime, it doesn¡¯t stop.¡±

    Mia was right. The Slime was heading towards me.

    But four magic circles were working, including the one in the center.

    There was a good chance that the Slime would stop.

    All I could do was watch and wait.

    But the Slime was still moving.

    ¡°Was it no good?¡±

    ¡°No, look closely. It¡¯s slowing down.¡±

    It was slowing down.

    ¡°Then, I should keep going.¡±

    As I looked around, the light of the magic circle disappeared.

    ¡°Kagali-san!¡±

    ¡°The magic circle only glows when it is activated.¡±

    Surely, if it glowed all the time, it would stand out, and it would be strange if it were not glowing when we arrived in town.

    ¡°But be careful!¡±

    We watch the Slime¡¯s movements. It was squirming around.

    But then the Slime¡¯s movements gradually stopped.

    ¡°Did it work?¡±

    ¡°It seems so.¡±

    Kagali-san sat back down as if relieved.

    ¡°Hooray!¡±

    ¡°Mia-chan, it stopped. It stopped.¡±

    Mia and Carol hugged each other, and Fina looked relieved.

    ¡°Now, then, I can go home in peace.¡±

    Well, we¡¯ll have to leave the giant Slime behind, but if people don¡¯te over here, I doubt the Slime would attack people either.

    In truth, it would be better to defeat it, but since Fina, Mia, and the others are here, I won¡¯t force myself to fight it. If I did fight it, and it started attacking people nearby indiscriminately, it would be a pain in the neck.

    They say the God you never touched won¡¯te to curse you.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get ready to go home.¡±

    It was when Kagali-san turned around when Fina shouted.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan! The slime is,¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s moving.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s moving. Maybe it¡¯s going to the basement.¡±

    ¡°I hope so.¡±

    We watched the Slime as it moved.

    ¡°Hey, is it approaching us?¡±

    Mia was definitely right. The Slime was certainly moving toward us.

    ¡°What about the magic circle??¡±

    ¡°Could it be¡­¡±

    Kagali-san looked like he had an idea.

    ¡°Kagali-san?¡±

    ¡°Yuna, I need you to put the magic into the wand again.¡±

    ¡°But won¡¯t that deactivate it?¡±

    ¡°It is already working. If it did deactivate, then you just have to do it again to reactivate it.¡±

    Well, it was better to do it than not do anything.

    I poured magic into the Kryna-Hark Wand.

    ¡°The magic circle doesn¡¯t glow?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it was just deactivated. Try it again.¡±

    I poured magic into the Kryna-Hark Wand one more time.

    But, unlike the first time, there was no reaction.

    ¡°I knew it.¡±

    Kagali-san looked frustrated and jumped up into the sky. Then she circled the town and returned.

    ¡°Kagali-san!¡±

    ¡°What happened, suddenly jumping and running around?¡±

    ¡°I have checked the magic circle of Kryna-Hark from above. The magic circle was buried under the Slime.

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°It is possible that the Slime flowed into the basement and destroyed the magic circle. Or, more urately, it may have absorbed the magical power of the magic stone.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no.¡±

    The floor cracked over the years, and it would not be surprising if the Slime entered through it.

    It would also exin why the magic circle didn¡¯t activate the second time around.

    ¡°Come to think of it, the door at the entrance was also tattered,¡± Mia said as if remembering.

    It was half destroyed, most of it.

    I should have at least repaired the entrances and exits before we started the n.

    It was toote to do anything about it right now.

    ¡°Well, it was already half as effective, to begin with. It may have simply been broken. All we know is that Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic circle was ineffective!¡±

    It could not be confirmed what really happened.

    It was because the magic circle was inside the Slime.

    ¡°Then we will do what we originally nned until the effects of the magical circles arepletely destroyed. While I am attracting the attention of Slime, Yuna will take the girls into the house.¡±

    Kagali-san flies through the air to draw the Slime to her.

    ¡°Fina will take the girls to the bear house.¡±

    ¡°Are you really going to fight that Slime?¡±

    Mia asked anxiously.

    ¡°We¡¯re just going to defeat it before it destroys the magical tool.¡±

    ¡°Even if Yuna and Kagali are strong, they can¡¯t fight a Slime that big. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about us?¡±

    ¡°Of course, if Yuna and Kagali die. I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will stop the Slime, so the three of you can rest in the house.¡±

    I escorted them to the bear house with Mia and her horse, then moved to the room with the Bear Transfer Gate.

    I opened the door to the Bear Transfer Gate. The destination was the basement of the bear house in Crimonia. This was the room where Fina and the others hid when monsters appeared at the time of the Targui.

    ¡°Fina, take care of them, will you?¡±

    I asked Fina to tell Mia and the others the truth and ask them to go outside Crimonia in case of an emergency.

    Well, I was nning to escape before anything happened so that it wouldn¡¯te to that, but just in case.

    ¡°¡­Yeah, leave it to me, Yuna Onee-chan, be careful.¡±

    Fina looked worried.

    I smiled and patted Fina¡¯s head to reassure her.

    I also left Swaying Bear with her to reassure her.

    I asked Hugging Bear to apany me, who was inside the Bear-san puppet, just in case.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, take care of everyone as well.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m off then.¡±

    I walked out of the room and closed the Bear Transfer Gate.

 Chapter 617

    <b>Bear-san Fight¡¯s the Slime (1)</b>

    After moving Fina and the others to the basement of the bear house in Crimonia, I returned and climbed up on the barrier to look for Kagali-san.

    Kagali-san was jumping around, guiding the Slime to stay away from the bear house.

    The Slime spread over the town, and the center of the Slime was growing.

    It was like a giant pudding, if I may use an analogy.

    Could I just be honest and say it was a mountain?

    A part of the Slime stretched out and tried to capture Kagali-san.

    Kagali-san sessfully dodges the Slime¡¯s attack. She was able to avoid Slime¡¯s attack and came to me.

    ¡°Kagali-san, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I can easily avoid that thing. And the three of them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve moved them to a safe ce.¡±

    They were moved to the basement of the bear house in Crimonia, where the Slime would not attack them.

    ¡°I see. Then we can deal with the Slime in peace.¡±

    Now that they were safe, I could deal with the Slime without any worries.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start looking for magical tools. I¡¯ll search for the magic tools from above, and you can search around the perimeter without taking any risks.¡±

    Kagali-san jumps away.

    I moved around, using the buildings and the pirs I had created beforehand as footholds.

    Without my bear gear, I would not be able to do this.

    I looked down and found the ground teeming with Slime.

    I didn¡¯t know what would happen to me if I fell, even with my bear gear on.

    Just the thought of the Slime crawling inside my hood made me shudder.

    I definitely did not want to fall.

    As I hop around like a rabbit, even though I¡¯m a bear, a part of the Slime reaches out like an outstretched arms and attacks me.

    As I jumped around, I avoided the Slime¡¯s attacks and used wind magic to retaliate.

    The parts of the Slime that were cut off fell down like water.

    It doesn¡¯t pose much of a threat when detached from the main body.

    However, it seems that the Slime could not be damaged even if it was cut off.

    While going around the Slime¡¯s pudding pile, I searched for something resembling a magic tool.

    At least, I wish I knew what it looked like.

    But there were only countless blue magic stones in the Slime.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    As I ran around the Slime, I spotted a square ck object floating in its body, about the size of my fist.

    Could that be the magic tool?

    ¡°Kagali-san!¡±

    ¡°Yuna!¡±

    Kagali-san and I shouted each other¡¯s names at the same time.

    ¡°There it is!¡±

    ¡°I found something that looks like that too!¡±

    Kagali-san came over to me and looked at the square ck thing.

    ¡°I knew it¡­¡±

    ¡°Knew what?¡±

    ¡°I knew when I got closer to the Slime that my ears sensed something here and there. I saw what looked like a magic tool when I got closer.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°That means there is more than one magic tool that could control the Slime.¡±

    ¡°But are you sure it was the ck one?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure of it. I found one just like that one lying around in the basement. But when I found it, I only saw it as a box, so I thought it was optional. When I saw it in the Slime, I realized that the ck square thing was the magic tool needed to control it.¡±

    The basement was also aboratory, and they had made many containers to draw forms that would prevent it from being dissolved inside the Slime¡¯s body.

    ¡°Then that means there is more than one of those magic tools¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to destroy them all, won¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°How many are there?¡±

    I asked, and Kagali-san¡¯s ears twitched.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how many there are, but I¡¯m sure there are a lot.¡±

    It was a huge slime. It would be a challenge to find all of them.

    If Kagali-san could find them, it would be a good start.

    ¡°Well, for now, let¡¯s attack.¡±

    Kagali-san sends a ball of me toward the ck magic tool inside the Slime.

    The moment it entered the Slime¡¯s body, it disappeared like a fire in water.

    ¡°As I thought, no good. If the Slime was normal, I could break through it with this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like water, so maybe fire won¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Then what is effective against water?¡±

    In games, it would be standard that the water (blue) attribute would be weak against the green attribute. Green could be wind or wood, depending on the game. Of course, the weak points vary from game to game, and sometimes even in real life.

    Also, electric shocks work as well.

    ¡°Wind magic?¡±

    At any rate, we¡¯ll have to find a weak point.

    Kagali-san shoots wind magic, but it was stopped in the middle of the Slime¡¯s body and turned into a bubble.

    The power of the wind weakened, and it did not reach the magical tool.

    ¡°As I thought, the power of my magic has decreased. If I had my true power¡­¡±

    Even if she had her true power, it might still be difficult.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try it this time, Kagali-san. Distract the Slime.¡±

    While keeping my distance, I magically create a clump of dirt the size of a ser ball and shoot it at the Slime.

    Once inside the Slime, the lump of dirt loses its momentum as if caught by a cushion and stops inside the Slime¡¯s body.

    It is as if the water has killed the momentum.

    And then, the clumps of soil slowly dissolve and disappear.

    ¡°Why did that dissolve? It¡¯s not dissolving the buildings.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because it absorbed the magic power used to create it, or maybe the Slime feeds on magic power.¡±

    ¡°But the pirs I made¡­¡±

    ¡°Look, they are slowly melting away.¡±

    I looked at the ce where Kagali-San¡¯s gaze was directed and saw that a part of the pir I had magically made had melted.

    So I was throwing food into it?

    I tried several times to release earth magic, but the result was the same.

    ¡°This may not be so easy.¡±

    Kagali-San looked at the Slime as she expressed her opinion.

    As with anything, every creature should have a weak point.

    No monster could withstand all the attributes.

    There could be enemies that physical attacks would be effective, enemies that magic attacks would be effective, enemies that attribute attacks such as fire, water, earth, and wind would be effective, etc.

    Even in ast boss, there would be a way to attack it.

    So, there must be a way to defeat the Slime. I guarantee it.

    ¡°How about this??¡±

    If it were bear magic, it wouldn¡¯t melt so easily.

    I imagine a bear and create it with earth magic.

    ¡°Go, bear!¡±

    When the bear created with earth magic entered the Slime, it changed direction in an arc and was ejected out of the Slime as if spewing something unpleasant.

    The ejected bear flew in a parabolic arc, hitting the building and copsing.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    ¡°It seems that it didn¡¯t like it.¡±

    It was not a matter of liking or disliking, though.

    Next, I tried using the wind magic that Kagali-san had tested.

    However, the air bullet stopped inside the Slime¡¯s body, then rose up like a water bubble and exited the Slime¡¯s body.

    It sent a de of wind that looked like a bear¡¯s w flying. Unlike Kagali-san¡¯s wind magic, it did not disappear as a bubble of air but was thrown out of the Slime¡¯s body.

    Wind magic would be like air bubbles flying inside a body of water. In water, air would rise up due to buoyancy.

    It was originally a dominant attribute, but it wasn¡¯t a weakness for the Slime, which had arge body.

    ¡°Then how about fire bear magic!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t very effective against water, but the bear¡¯s mes should be able to evaporate it.

    Poor thing, but I would bring the Slime to a boil, like I did when I killed the Kraken.

    I created a fire bear and shot it at the Slime.

    When the fire bear entered Slime¡¯s body, it was ejected just like the earth bear.

    The building that the fire bear hit started to burn on impact.

    Did it not really taste good for the Slime?

    No one could retort that being burned from inside was way worse than tasting bad.

    Next, I tried to manipte the bear magic so that it would not spit out, but the deeper the y bear went inside the Slime¡¯s body, the more it became inoperable, and finally, it was spit out.

    Was the Slime¡¯s body interfering with the magic operation?

    It would be absorbed with weak magic, and with strong magic, such as bear magic, it would be spat out.

    Unlike the ck Viper and the Worm, being able to spit out impure matter from anywhere on the body might be troublesome.

    Next, I tried ice magic, but part of the surface froze, and the ice bear could not move.

    It was like it froze its surroundings and ended up stuck.

    Even with bear magic, it was impossible to freeze the Slime deep enough to the center of its body.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll use my secret technique, lightning magic.

    I gathered an electric charge into my Bear puppet and formed it into the shape of a bear.

    I thenunched the bear lightning magic at the magic tool inside the Slime.

    Lightning in the shape of a bear enters the Slime.

    If the electric current reaches the magical tool, it should be able to destroy it.

    However, the Bear Lightning was diffused like an electrical discharge and only traveled on the surface of the Slime. It did not reach the magical tool in the back.

    ¡°Ahaha.¡±

    I startedughing.

    This could be worse than I imagined.

    I was high on the idea that if I had bear magic or lightning magic, I¡¯d be able to get by.

    I didn¡¯t think it wouldn¡¯t work.

    I didn¡¯t think it would be so troublesome when dealing with a huge Slime.

    It was definitely nastier than the wyverns, ck vipers, and Kraken, more so than any of the monsters we¡¯ve fought so far.

    Not only was it difficult to defeat, but it was impossible to even break the magic tool inside the Slime¡¯s body.

    A Slime may be the weakest when small, but it would be one of the strongest if it wererger.

    It could change its body to suit its environment and thrive, so it could be the strongest creature.

    I tried to shoot some lightning magic a few more times, but the charge did not reach the magic tool.

 Chapter 618

    <b>Bear-san Fight¡¯s the Slime (2)</b>

    Kagali-san and I put a distance between ourselves from the Slime for a moment.

    ¡°Yuna, you have no other way? You must have some kind of bear power.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any special move, Kagali-san? You¡¯re a fox, right?¡±

    ¡°As I said before, I have not regained my powers as I had hoped. Simply put, I am not powerful enough to use magic while flying in the sky. I underestimated the Slime¡¯s capabilities.

    I was not so sure about that.

    I never thought that magic would be so ineffective.

    Even if I tried to destroy the inside of its body, it would be immediately ejected. Even if I tried to use lightning magic, it would diffuse in the process.

    Actually, I was optimistic because of my bear magic and lightning magic.

    I had no idea that giant Slime would be so troublesome.

    Even in games, I had never fought a Slime this big. At most, it was as big as a person, maybe a little bigger.

    I doubt anyone had ever fought a Slime big enough to cover a part of a town.

    ¡°Well, what are we going to do now?¡±

    Kagali-san looked at the Slime from a distance.

    The least we could do was ensure its movements were slower than expected.

    Strength really was not proportional to appearance.

    The biggest problem was that magic could not be controlled once inside Slime¡¯s depths.

    How to manipte magic at a distance¡­.

    The word ¡°manipte¡± reminded me of the time I was with Marina and the others in the town of Shirin when we were defeating moles.

    Elle was manipting magic by putting water magic into the mole¡¯s hole.

    I exined to Misa that it would be harder to manipte it if it was removed from her hand, but easier to control it if it was still connected to her hand.

    That was what I was told at that time.

    ¡°Kagali-san, can I try something?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Kagali-san looked for the magic tools, and I moved to a position where I could see them.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll try around here.¡±

    I created a rope from my Bear Puppet. The rope was made with earth magic.

    I then stretched the thin rope of earth made with earth magic towards Slime.

    The rope that came into contact with the Slime from the mouth of my Bear Puppet and went inside.

    It was being dissolved as I expected, but I supplied it with more earth magic to reinforce the rope each time it did so.

    And as I went deeper into the Slime, the earth magic was still connected to me, so I could still operate the magic.

    Well, if wireless was not an option, I would use it wired.

    Even in games, the wired connection worked better than the wireless one, and it never cut off.

    Another example would be a wireless cell phone charger. If you take it away from the charger stand, it won¡¯t charge. But if it was connected to a cable, it would still charge no matter how where you ced the phone, as long as the wire could reach it.

    This time, I was the machine that supplies magic power, and the earth-magic rope served as the cable.

    And if I could not connect wirelessly, I decided to use wired instructions.

    The earth magic, extended like a cable, goes deep inside Slime¡¯s body.

    No matter how deep inside, it can be manipted. I extend the earth magic toward the magic tool.

    ¡°I see, so you keep the magic power flowing. I guess, that is only possible because Yuna has arge amount of magic power.¡±

    But unexpectedly, it was difficult to keep the magic power flowing because the earth magic was being melted.

    But if I used earth magic to grab the magic tool and crush it, that would be the end of it.

    ¡°Almost there.¡±

    When the earth magic stretched like a rope was about to catch the magic tool, the magic tool moved.

    ¡°It dodged!?¡±

    The rope of earth magic passed through the side of the magical tool.

    I aimed at the magical tool to pull back the rope of earth magic, but again it evaded me.

    Finally, it moves out of sight to the back of its body.

    I suspended my earth magic, making the rope dissolve with its magic power supply removed.

    ¡°Is it protecting the tool?¡±

    I could only assume so.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think Slime has the intelligence to protect magic tools.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but it may have been the created who ced a form together to protect it from being broken?¡±

    There was arge number of magic tools made. It was created with the intention of manipting the huge Slime. Even with a normal-sized Slime, it would be a big problem if the magical tools were to break.

    ¡°It could be. It¡¯s a tricky thing to deal with.¡±

    Well, it could also be possible that the Slime had a will and was protecting the magic tool, different from what Kagali-san said.

    Then again, I tried several times and the biggest problem I had was making the magic tool move far away from me.

    The further away they were, the more difficult it would be to track them.

    Moreover, if they entered our blind spot, I could not do anything.

    Kagali-San would give me instructions from above, but I could not see them from my side.

    Even if I wanted to move, I would have to make a big detour.

    The only one who could follow the magic tools was Kagali-san, who could fly.

    Also, as a matter of fact, the longer the earth magic was, the more magic power I had to keep pouring into it so that the part protecting the earth magic would not dissolve.

    ¡°Kagali-san, can you carry me and fly?¡±

    Only I could attack the magic tool inside the Slime.

    And only Kagali-san, who could fly, could chase after it.

    Then all I have to do was to have Kagali-San take me along when flying.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to ride on a little girl like me?¡±

    ¡°No, I am not going to ride Kagali-san as a little girl. I just thought maybe for a short time you could be a big fox and let me ride on your back.¡±

    I have no interest in riding Kagali-san as a little girl.

    I could not let people see me in a stuffed bear costume riding on top of Kagali-san as a little girl.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to look transform into that since I¡¯m not in good shape yet.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡±

    Then I would have toe up with another idea, but I couldn¡¯t think of one immediately.

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t do it. However, it will consume a lot of magic power, so I won¡¯t be able to do anything except fly.¡±

    ¡°All you have to do is carry me and chase after the magic tools.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I will give you a ride if you can destroy that magical tool.¡±

    Kagali-san agreed and took off her clothes.

    Naked, Kagali-san¡¯s body glows gold, and her body transformed. Her face bes pointy, her arms and legs turn into animal feet, her body is covered in golden fur, transforming her into a big fox. At the same time, her body growsrge enough for me to ride her.

    ¡°Here, get on!¡±

    I ced the clothes Kagali-san had taken off in my bear box and climbed onto her back.

    ¡°Here we go. Hold on tight, I can¡¯t help you if you fall into Slime.¡±

    Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, there was no fall protection.

    If I fell into Slime, it would be the end of me.

    Kagali-san flew with me on her back.

    After all this time, I think this might be the first time I¡¯ve flown. If this wasn¡¯t the time to take down Slime, I would have enjoyed it.

    Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it was unstable. If I didn¡¯t ride it properly, I might really fall off.

    ¡°There it is!¡±

    Kagali-san¡¯s ears twitched as she discovered the magic tool. I firmly mped Kagali-san¡¯s body to prevent myself from falling, put magic power into my Bear Puppet, stretched out the earth magic like a rope, then chased after the magic tool inside the Slime.

    Then, when the magic approaches, it was avoided in the same way as before.

    I, on Kagali-san, continued to chase after the magic tool.

    ¡°How can it move so fast!¡±

    It avoided me the moment I touched it.

    It was difficult to catch it.

    The longer the earth magic goes on, the more disadvantageous it bes for me.

    Then, if one didn¡¯t work, two should do.

    I sent out another earth magic from my other Bear Puppet, and chased the magic tool that escaped. Nevertheless, the Slime¡¯s body was so big that chasing it was troublesome.

    I could chase around if it were near the surface of the Slime, but chasing further inside the Slime¡¯s body was difficult.

    Finally, I managed to trap the magic tool, which had lost its escape route, and pushed it out of the Slime.

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    Just when I thought all that remained was to destroy it, a part of Slime stretched out, seized the magic tool, and returned it to its body.

    It was an in an instant, and neither Kagali-San nor I could react fast enough.

    ¡°Again!¡±

    I tried to push the magic tool out of the Slime in the same way, but it was immediately taken back into my body again.

    ¡°Yuna, can¡¯t you catch it inside your body?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t, the grimoire moves too fast, and the longer the magic goes on, the more magic power I have to pour into it to keep it from melting.¡±

    When chasing the magic tool, the earth magic would inevitably be longer.

    Furthermore, perhaps because I was inside the Slime, it was more difficult to manipte the magic than I had expected.

    It moves slower than in water.

    The unique viscosity of Slime was making it slower.

    ¡°Kagali-san, you can¡¯t use magic after all? Like, hit it with magic the moment it pops out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m too upied with flying in this form and chasing after the magic tools. I could have done so if it was before the fight with the serpent.¡±

    The fox¡¯s ears drooped.

    Was there any other way?

    I was too busy chasing after the magic tool with both hands.

    If I could fly.

    But bears couldn¡¯t fly.

    There was a famous saying, ¡°A pig that can¡¯t fly is just a pig¡±.

    A bear that couldn¡¯t fly is really just a bear.

    ¡°Well, Kagali-san, can we take one more rider?¡±

    ¡°Another rider?¡±

 Bear-san Fightâ€™s the Slime (3)

    Bear-san Fight¡¯s the Slime (3)

    ¡°With my current form, I can only carry one more child.¡±

    ¡°Then Fina will be fine, won¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°Fina?¡±

    The fox¡¯s face turned surprised.

    ¡°Kagali-san will carry me and Fina, and we will chase after the grimoire. I will use earth magic to drive the grimoire outside. And finally, Fina will break the grimoire with magic.¡±

    I knew that Fina was practicing magic.

    Maybe she could at least break the grimoire.

    ¡°She just recently learned magic, didn¡¯t she? Can she do it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe she can at least break some of the magic tools.¡±

    In the name of a temporary retreat, Kagali-san and I ran into the bear house and opened the door to the bear¡¯s transition gate.

    Incidentally, Kagali-san was back in her original juvenile form.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan!¡±

    ¡°Yuna, Kagali!¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness. You came back safe and sound.¡±

    The three of theme running up to us, looking worried.

    ¡°So, what happened to the Slime?¡±

    Kagali-san and I exined briefly to the three of them.

    ¡°Fina, can you help me with that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to use magic to¡­¡±

    Fina said anxiously.

    Seeing Fina, Carol interjected.

    ¡°I¡¯m not good enough, am I?¡±

    Carol asked, but Kagali-san looked at Carol¡¯s chest.

    ¡°You can go if you shave off that big thing on your chest.¡±

    ¡°Kagali-san, that¡¯s terrible.¡±

    Maybe, Kagali-san¡­you were not trying to say that because there were not any heavy things on my and Fina¡¯s chests. It¡¯s okay to carry them around, are you?

    ¡°It has to be a child, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the best I can do with my current form.¡±

    With conventional powers, it would be possible, apparently.

    ¡°I know Fina is practicing magic.¡±

    She could use earth magic.

    Now if she could only hit it.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t, I¡¯ll think of another way.¡±

    If Fina did not want to do it, we would not force her. There must still be another way.

    But Fina looked as if she was making up her mind, and then she looked straight at me.

    ¡°¡­If I can be of help to Yuna Onee-chan, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯s dangerous. Of course, I will protect Fina first and foremost.¡±

    ¡°I want to be useful to Yuna Onee-chan!¡±

    The quiet Fina raised her voice, which was unusual for her.

    ¡°Yuna, since Fina has gone this far, why don¡¯t you just let her do it? You¡¯re the one who asked her to do it in the first ce. Then you should take responsibility.¡±

    Mia had a point.

    I had asked her to do it, but what I was doing was contradictory in terms of keeping Fina in a safe ce.

    ¡°Well then, Fina, can you take care of it?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    I asked again, and Fina nodded happily.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to leave, Mia and the others here for a while.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going too, I can¡¯t stay in this room while Fina tries to do her best.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not safe.¡±

    ¡°Yuna, Fina and Kagali are going to break magic tools, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are.¡±

    ¡°I believe in you, so please.¡±

    Mia smiled.

    ¡°I understand. But you mustn¡¯t leave Swaying Bear¡¯s side.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Swaying Bear, take care of me.¡±

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤Fina Perspective©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤

    Bear-san¡¯s door closes.

    Yuna Onee-chan left us again and went off to fight.

    This was the second time.

    The first time was when the monsters gathered on the ind of Targui.

    That time, she left me, Shuri, and Shia-sama in this safe ce and went off to fight alone.

    ¡°There is no window, is there?¡±

    Mia Onee-chan wandered around the room.

    There wasn¡¯t a single window in the walls.

    ¡°Is it safe here?¡±

    Carol Onee-chan asked.

    This ce was a room under Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s house in Crimonia.

    Slime would nevere inside.

    ¡°This ce is fine, Mia Onee-chan and Carol Onee-chan, would you like something to drink?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have one.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Fina-san.¡±

    I took out a cup of tea from the refrigerator, put it on the table, and they both sat down on chairs. I sat down and drank the tea. The cold tea goes down my throat.

    ¡°By the way, the door is not appropriate for the house.¡±

    Mia Onee-Chan said so as well as she looked at Bear-san¡¯s door.

    It was called Bear-san¡¯s transition gate, and it¡¯s a door that can go far away. So it was a little different from a normal door.

    ¡°I hope you two are okay.¡±

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan is strong.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s incredibly strong, even though she¡¯s dressed so weirdly.¡±

    Looking at Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s outfit, no one thinks she was strong.

    ¡°Since Yuna isn¡¯t here, I have to ask, where did Fina and the otherse from?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    I have an idea where we might be, but I couldn¡¯t tell you about this room because I promised Yuna Onee-chan I wouldn¡¯t tell her.

    ¡°I knew it, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    ¡°I see, sorry for asking.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just thought that if the three of you are from somewhere far away, I would like to go there too.¡±

    I wondered how they would feel if they knew we were in Crimonia.

    If I hadn¡¯t met Yuna Onee-chan, I wouldn¡¯t have believed that there was such a magical tool.

    Many things have happened since I met Yuna Onee-chan.

    She saved me from being attacked by a Wolf. She cured my mother¡¯s illness. Then he showed me the royal city, the city where Misa-sama lives, the sea with lots of water, and the desert with no water and only sand. He also took me to the city of the dwarves and the vige of Elf.

    Monsters attacked us everywhere, but Yuna Onee-chan was there to protect me.

    Whenever there was danger, I was always in a safe ce, waiting for Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s return.

    That was why I was so happy when I learned that I could use magic.

    I thought that I could help Yuna Onee-chan one day.

    But Yuna Onee-chan was very strong and would do just fine without my help.

    I wanted to help Yuna Onee-chan as much as possible, so I used my light magic in the basement.

    But even if I did not use light magic, Yuna Onee-chan already ced tools that could use light magic in this ce.

    In fact, I was of no use to Yuna Onee-chan.

    ¡°What are you looking so bitter?¡±

    Mia Onee-chan said to me as I was thinking.

    I wonder if I look that bitter.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s wrong? Are you worried about Yuna?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m always getting help from Yuna Onee-chan, so I wanted to know if she thinks I¡¯m in her way.

    ¡°You were thinking about that?¡±

    Mia Onee-chan and Carol Onee-chan, who heard the story, look stunned.

    ¡°Yuna-san doesn¡¯t think of Fina-san as a hindrance, she looked happy when she saw Fina-san using light magic.¡±

    ¡°I can tell that Yuna is very protective of Fina, even though we just met her. She is always looking out for Fina when she eats and when she is in her room.¡±

    ¡°Above all, she trusts Fina-san, which is why she entrusted us with your care. You see, when she left the room, she said, ¡®Please take care of the rest,¡¯ and I think that¡¯s because she trusts Fina-san.¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t know where you¡¯reing from. If you thought you were a hindrance and a drag, she wouldn¡¯t have brought you here.¡±

    Yuna Onee-chan always invited me to join her.

    That always made me happy.

    But when it came to danger, I was always protected.

    I was sad that I was so helpless.

    ¡°But someday, I would like to be useful to Yuna Onee-chan.¡±

    ¡°Fina is still a child, she¡¯ll just have to work harder from now on.¡±

    ¡°Besides, sometimes the best thing you can do is to be with us.¡±

    Carol Onee-chan looked at Mia Onee-chan with kind eyes.

    ¡°So you can stay with Yuna-san until she doesn¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t stay with her until she doesn¡¯t want to.¡±

    Mia Onee-chanughed, and Carol Onee-chanughed as well.

    ¡°Mia Onee-chan, Carol Onee-chan, thank you.¡±

    After having the two of them listen to me, I lost a little bit of the fuzziness in my mind.

    Yuna Onee-chan taught me magic. Let¡¯s practice more and more and do our best.

    After a while, Bear-san¡¯s door opened, and Yuna Onee-chan and her Kagali Onee-chan came in and asked for my help breaking the magical tools.

    At first, I was confused, but I was happy to know I could help Yuna Onee-chan.

    So I decided to help Yuna Onee-chan, even though I was a little scared.

    ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤Yuna Point of View©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤

    Just in case, I changed into a white bear and went outside.

    ¡°Is there a reason you¡¯re a white bear?¡±

    ¡°When I wear it, it increases my magic power and magic recovery.¡±

    Having already gotten tired of hiding things, I answered Mia¡¯s question.

    ¡°It was such an amazing outfit. I thought it was just Yuna¡¯s hobby.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    Carol agreed with Mia¡¯s words.

    Most people probably think I wear my bear outfit because I like it.

    No, I didn¡¯t dislike the bear outfit. But I don¡¯t consider them as battle armor.

    ¡°You¡¯re here, let¡¯s start then. Take care of my clothes.¡±

    When Kagali-san arrived at the top of the barrier, she removes her clothes and gives them to Mia. She then transforms into arge fox.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories, but it¡¯s amazing to see it with my own eyes.¡±

    ¡°Well then, you two get on.¡±

    I hop on top of Kagali-san.

    Swaying Bear, who was watching me, squealed.

    Apparently, he didn¡¯t like me to ride on anyone but either of the two bears.

    But Swaying Bear could not fly, so it could not be helped this time.

    A bear that can¡¯t fly is just a bear.

    ¡°Fina, you ride with me, as well.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Unlike the Swaying Bear, you have to hold on tight, or you¡¯ll fall off, so be careful.¡±

    Fina rides Kagali-san, hugging my back.

    ¡°It¡¯s so heavy.¡±

    I¡¯m not fat, and neither is Fina.

    ¡°Can you fly?¡±

    ¡°Well, just barely.¡±

    Kagali-san slowly floated up, and Fina hugged me tightly.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my first time flying.¡±

    Like me, Fina had never experienced flying in the sky before.

    I had seen images from the sky on TV and the Inte, so I could imagine what it would be like, but for Fina, it was an unknown experience.

    ¡°If you are scared, will you stop?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not scared. I want to help Yuna Onee-chan, so I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°Okay, when this is over, I¡¯ll take you for a walk in the sky as a reward. So, for now, we must defeat Slime.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Alright, let¡¯s do this.

    I would like a reward for a walk in the sky too.

    When Fina gets invited, I¡¯ll also ask her to take me for a walk in the sky.

 Chapter 620

    <b>Bear-san Beats the Slime</b>

    Fina¡¯s hands were trembling as she grabbed my bear clothes.

    She was still an eleven-year-old girl, after all. She must be scared. Besides, she was flying in the sky for the first time. She must be afraid of falling.

    I conjured a rope with earth magic and wrapped it around Fina and me.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan?¡±

    ¡°With this, we¡¯ll be together even if we fall.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t. If I fall, I¡¯ll fall alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding, it¡¯s just a way to save Fina if she¡¯s about to fall. I¡¯ll save you no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan¡­ yes, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°You two are near the magic tool. Get ready.¡±

    As Kagali-san approached the Slime with Fina and me on board, it stretched out its tentacles like arms, but Kagali-san avoided them and slipped past them. Fina, behind me, lets out a little scream.

    ¡°It¡¯s around here.¡±

    Kagali-san¡¯s ears twitched; just as Kagali-san had said, there was a ck box floating inside Slime¡¯s body.

    They¡¯re useful ears. I wondered if it was sensing some kind of frequency or magic power.

    ¡°That ck thing is a magic tool. Does it really work?

    ¡°It moves when my magic gets close to it. Then, I¡¯ll do as I nned. I will use my magic to drive the magic tool to the surface of Slime, and Fina, the moment the magic tool is outside of Slime, I want you to be careful and hit it, because Slime will immediately try to take the magic tool in.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll try.¡±

    Fina¡¯s hand on my waist tightened.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t do it.¡±

    We just have to think of something else. There must be another way to do it.

    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Kagali-san flew, keeping the magic tool in clear view. I used my ropes of earth magic from my Bear-San puppets to drive the magic tool inside Slime¡¯s body, which seemed to be moving away from me more like an N-pole to N-pole, S-pole to S-pole ma than like a willful avoidance.

    Kagali-san chased after the magic tool, avoiding Slime¡¯s attack so I would not lose sight of it.

    I drove the magic tool into Slime¡¯s surface, blocking its escape route from the left and right.

    Fina¡¯s magic was still weak, so I had to be close enough so that she could hit it easily.

    Kagali-san, perhaps feeling the same way, moves closer to the magic tool to make it easier for Fina to hit the target as if to gauge the timing.

    With onest push, my earth magic pushes the magic tool out.

    ¡°Fina!¡±

    Even before my shout, Fina¡¯s small hand released a fist-sized bear-shaped piece of earth magic.

    Fina prepared herself behind my back.

    The magic tool pops out from inside the Slime. At the same time, a part of the Slime extends and tries to take the magic tool in.

    ¡°Hit it!¡±

    Fina shouts.

    At the same time that the Slime tried to take in the magic tool, Fina¡¯s bear-shaped earth magic hit the tool.

    ¡°Was it no good?¡±

    Fina sounds a little sad.

    That was the limit, timing-wise.

    Almost as soon as it came out of Slime, it was back inside.

    ¡°No, look at it.¡±

    At Kagali-san¡¯s words, we looked at the magic tool.

    The magic tool, reabsorbed into the Slime, cracked and began to melt. It seems that Slime has entered through the cracks and melted it from the inside.

    It seems that the inside of the magic tool was not designed to prevent melting.

    ¡°¡­I did it, Yuna Onee-chan, I did it.¡±

    I turned around to see Fina¡¯s happy expression as if the anxiety she had felt earlier had vanished.

    ¡°Yeah, it was perfect.¡±

    ¡°Well done.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Yuna Onee-chan and big Kagali Onee-chan made it easy for me to hit the target.¡±

    Apparently, the slime waste to notice.

    ¡°Because my magic is slow and less powerful.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? That¡¯s enough. But there¡¯s still more.¡±

    ¡°Fina, can you continue?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can.¡±

    After the first sess, Fina seems to have gotten the timing right, and broke the magic tools with two or three bear-shaped y spells.

    It was going well.

    But why a Bear?

    ¡°Fina, aren¡¯t you getting better at magic?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been practicing with light magic, and I was hoping to have an adventure with Yuna Onee-chan someday.¡±

    Fina said shyly.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you were thinking about.¡±

    ¡°But Yuna Onee-chan is so strong, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d be much of a help¡­¡±

    Her voice changed from back to a lonely one.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. If you were a liability, I wouldn¡¯t have asked you to go out with me, and even if Fina couldn¡¯t use magic, I¡¯d want her to stay with me¡­¡±

    Something embarrassing.

    ¡°¡­Yuna Onee-chan.¡±

    ¡°You guys, we¡¯re not flirting on top of me, are you.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not flirting!¡±

    ¡°Then, do you know what¡¯s going on? We are approaching the next magic tool.¡±

    ¡°Fina, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Un!¡±

    The magic tool was steadily being destroyed.

    At this rate, we can destroy all the magic tools.

    Just when I thought so, Kagali-san suddenly changed direction.

    ¡°Whoa!¡±

    Fina, who was behind me, lost her bnce and fell off.

    However, Fina and I were firmly connected by earth magic, so we didn¡¯t fall.

    It was a good thing we were connected by earth magic.

    ¡°Are you two okay?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡±

    ¡°Un.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We were attacked from an unexpected direction, and it took me a while to respond.¡±

    It was a good thing I had prepared insurance to tie Fina and me together.

    Insurance was a must.

    And then, as we destroyed a few magic tools, I heard Fina¡¯sbored breathing from behind my back.

    ¡°Fina?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    No, it looks like she¡¯s in pain.

    ¡°You must be out of magic. You shouldn¡¯t lie.¡±

    There were still some magic tools left.

    I was in my white bear outfit, with more magic output than most people.

    Fina had just learned magic and didn¡¯t know how to distribute it. Maybe she was putting all her magic power into each blow, one blow at a time, as hard as she could.

    If it were a game, there would be a numerical value, so you know how much magic power you have left, but there was no such convenient thing in this world.

    You have to know the limit by yourself and use magic power while thinking about it. But it was too much to ask of Fina, who had just learned magic.

    She should take a break and recover her magical power.

    ¡°Kagali-san, to the bear house.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I can still do my best.¡±

    ¡°Kagali-san, what about the rest of the magic tools?¡±

    Kagali-san¡¯s ears twitched.

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    No need to overdo it here. After Fina¡¯s magic power recovers, there would be no problem to fight.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Just one more time.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Kagali-san searches for the magic tool, and I use earth magic to throw the magic tool out of the Slime. Normally, Fina¡¯s magic should have hit the magic tool, but no magic appeared.

    Just when I thought it was hopeless.

    I heard a sound like a gust of wind, and something passed by me at a tremendous speed.

    And before Slime was able to reabsorb the magic tool, something hit the magic tool, before the Slime was able to fully re-absorb it into its body. An arrow pierced the magic tool.

    ¡°Arrow?¡±

    I looked behind where the arrow flew and saw Mia on the back of the Swaying Bear, holding a bow on top of the cylinder I had made.

    Could it be that Mia was the one who shot the arrow?

    The Kagali-san carrying us flew to where Mia was.

    ¡°Fufu, I hit the target!¡±

    Mia was in a good mood.

    But seeing her holding the bow while straddling a bear was surreal.

    ¡°Is that the arrow you just shot?¡±

    ¡°As you can see, Fina was in a lot of pain. Carol said Fina was using too much magic, so I asked Swaying Bear to bring us to a ce where I could shoot the arrow.¡±

    ¡°From here is quite a distance.¡±

    It was not within the reach of a normal arrow.

    It was quite a distance away.

    ¡°This bow had a wind magic stone and other various abilities added to it, so it could make the arrow fly farther than an ordinary bow.¡±

    ¡°My Lady, if you can do that, then tell me quickly.¡±

    ¡°How can I tell you that? This girl said she wanted to do something for Yuna. But if her magic power has run out, it¡¯s a different story. From here on, it¡¯s my job as the older one.¡±

    Mia¡¯s puffing out her chest, which we don¡¯t have.

    But she was like a watchful big sister.

    ¡°Fina, leave the rest to me.¡±

    ¡°¡­yes.¡±

    Fina nodded sadly, bowing her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad, Fina did her best. You might have wanted to do it all on your own, right up to the end. But leave this part to Mia Onee-chan.¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes, Mia Onee-chan, please.¡±

    Smiling this time, I asked Mia for help.

    ¡°Then, Mia, I can leave it to you, can¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to say leave it to me, but I don¡¯t have that many arrows in my arsenal. How many more magic tools left?¡±

    ¡°Two more, I think.¡±

    ¡°Thank God. I had three arrows left. I used them when I was attacked by the monsters when I came to this town. And they don¡¯t work on armored knights. But it¡¯s cool to have ast turn.¡±

    It would have been cool if she hadn¡¯t said it herself. Now that she said it, she messed up.

    But I wondered how Mia and the others got here. To reduce the burden on Kagali-san, I left Fina in the hands of Swaying Bear and Mia while Kagali-san and I went to chase down the magic tool.

    Knowing the range of her bow and arrow, Mia kept her distance from Slime and fired her arrows at the magic tool.

    ¡°This is thest.¡±

    The arrow pierced the magic tool as it emerged from Slime¡¯s body.

    ¡°It¡¯s really thest one. You¡¯re sure you didn¡¯t miss anything?¡±

    ¡°Last time, all the magical tool¡¯s responses that I could sense are gone. Besides, look at that.¡±

    Kagali-san looked at the edge of Slime.

    ¡°It¡¯s splitting?¡±

    The giant Slime copsed and became a smaller Slime; the Slime went in and out of the town. More and more Slime dispersed.

    In other words, the Slime had been liberated.

    The magic tool created by someone made them do something they didn¡¯t want to do, and they protected the magic tool. If it had been me, I would have gone crazy.

    The Slime may be a monster, but I feel sorry for it for once.

    So, I would not attack the fleeing Slime.

    The rest was a matter between the people who came here and the Slimes.

    And this was the end of our battle.

    ¡°It¡¯s over~¡±

 Chapter 621

    <b>Bear-san says Goodbye to Mia</b>

    The Slime has been defeated, and the town is now quiet.

    Kagali-san and I meet up with Fina, Mia, and Swaying Bear.

    ¡°For once I am more tired, than ever.¡±

    Kagali-san dropped me off and returned to her original little girl form.

    ¡°Come on, you¡¯ll catch a cold. Get dressed.¡±

    Mia handed Kagali-san the clothes she had been keeping for me.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be this hard to fight with a body that¡¯s not in good shape.¡±

    Kagali-san puts on her clothes and sits on the ground, apparently exhausted.

    She looked fine, but she was probably pushing herself too hard.

    ¡°Is Fina okay?¡±

    Fina leaned back against Swaying Bear.

    Fina pushed herself too hard as well.

    ¡°Yeah, I took some rest. I¡¯m sorry. I was not able to end it.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Thanks to Fina, we were able to defeat Slime, right? Mia got the best part in the end, but if Fina hadn¡¯t broken the magic tools, it wouldn¡¯t have been enough for Mia to break all of them, who was short on arrows.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I was a bonus. I¡¯m an extra; I¡¯ve been watching Fina work her magic hard. So, get it off your chest. You saved a lot of people.¡±

    ¡°¡­Mia Onee-chan, thank you.¡±

    A smile returned to Fina¡¯s face.

    After all, Fina would be better off smiling.

    ¡°Mia-chan!¡±

    Carol ran over and hugged Mia.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay~¡±

    ¡°I told you not to worry. I¡¯ve got this one.¡±

    Mia pats Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear squeals ¡°Kuu~n¡±.

    ¡°Carol was in more danger by herself than I was.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m far away from here. If anything happens, I¡¯ll just run back into the house.¡±

    It was safe beyond the bear transition gate, but I wasn¡¯t sure if the bear house itself was safe.

    I was d that the Slime did not go to Carol¡¯s ce.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t think you had the skill to handle a bow like that.¡±

    Kagali-san looked at Mia with a tired expression.

    I agreed with that.

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m still an adventurer. I should at least be able to protect myself.¡±

    That didn¡¯t seem helpful to the armored knights, though.

    ¡°Well, that said, it¡¯s all thanks to this bow.¡±

    Mia looked at the bow she was holding.

    Whatever it was, she said, it was also a kind of magical tool.

    There were magic stones and unseen patterns etched into the bow.

    The arrows were said to be imbued with wind magic to extend the distance.

    It was kind of cool.

    If I were an archer, I would also have wanted those arrows for myself.

    But unfortunately, I had never used a bow, so I could not use it.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t know you had such an amazing bow.¡±

    ¡°My grandpa gave it to me when I was little. Since then, I¡¯ve been using it to hone my skills. I¡¯m a little confident with it. But that doesn¡¯t mean I hit it because I have a great bow.¡±

    ¡°I know that. No matter how good a weapon is, if the person handling it is ipetent, it will never be able to disy its true power. It was your power that allowed you to hit it from that distance.¡±

    ¡°If you know what you¡¯re talking about, that¡¯s fine. Sometimes people say it¡¯s because of the bow.¡±

    Mia looked happy to be praised by Kagali-san.

    The arrow¡¯s effective range boost may have been thanks to the bow, but it was Mia¡¯s shooting ability to hit the targets urately.

    And Fina, too. She was on top of that Kagali-san and hit the magic tool while flying in the air for the first time.

    They were both amazing.

    When you think about it, Bear Armor with aiming support wasn¡¯t something to brag about when ites to hitting targets.

    ¡°Mia-chan, you really practiced hard.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t use magic, and this was all I had.¡±

    Mia looked happily at the bow.

    ¡°But now it¡¯s really over, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen at first, but I¡¯m d I met Yuna-san and the others.¡±

    Thanks to all of you.

    Looking around at everyone, I noticed that a certain presence was missing.

    ¡­Hugging Bear.

    I hurriedly summoned Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Hugging Bear?¡±

    Hugging Bear turned its back on me and refused to look at me.

    No doubt, Hugging Bear was sulking.

    It reminded me of the first time we met.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been a little out of the loop, and Hugging Bear was a hidden weapon in case I ever had to run away.¡±

    I had to keep Hugging Bear in the Bear Puppet around in case we had to run away. Since we managed to defeat it without needing to utilize an escape avenue, this is why we are now having this situation.

    Hugging Bear nced at me but quickly looked down.

    I adjusted my Bear puppet and apologized.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, I am so sorry, I wanted Hugging Bear to stay inside the bear puppet because I wanted Hugging Bear to help me when things became dangerous.¡±

    I hugged, Hugging Bear gently from behind.

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    ¡°So, please get back in a good mood.¡±

    I promised to stay with Hugging Bear, and it forgave me.

    ¡°Fufu!¡±

    Mia giggled at the sight of us.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think bears could be so cute. I want a bear too.¡±

    ¡°Normal bears are dangerous.¡±

    I had only seen bears living near honey trees and in the Elf forest.

    Neither of those bears were ferocious.

    Maybe the bears in this world may not be so dangerous?

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯d like you to give me this Swaying Bear.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean you want to die right here?¡±

    I created a Bear me.

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m kidding. Just kidding.¡±

    Mia ran away and hid behind Swaying Bear.

    ¡°By the way, can¡¯t these bears use magic? I thought I heard something about them being able to use it from Shinobu.¡±

    Kagali-san says as if recalling.

    I believe they were using wind magic.

    ¡°They can use it.¡±

    ¡°Then can they still use magic when they¡¯re small?¡±

    ¡°¡­!?¡±

    Kagali-san¡¯s words made Fina and I look at each other.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, can you use magic when you are in a smaller form?¡±

    I had never seen them use magic when they were in a small state.

    Besides, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear don¡¯t often fight.

    ¡°Well, wait a minute. What do you mean by getting smaller? Can bears use magic?¡±

    Mia asked.

    Wow, what a hassle.

    In the end, I exined to Mia and the others that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could get smaller.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so cute!¡±

    Mia cuddled Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Mia-chan, me too.¡±

    Carol and Miapete for Swaying Bear.

    I held Hugging Bear in my arms to keep her in a good mood.

    ¡°So, Swaying Bear, can you do magic in that state?¡±

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    Swaying Bear swipes his ws at the crumbling building.

    A de of wind flew out, simr to my wind magic, andpletely destroyed the building, turning it into ruins.

    ¡°It¡¯s not very powerful, but it seems to work. I guess they can be used.¡±

    ¡°Then, what I¡¯ve been trying to do is¡­¡±

    Fina started to feel depressed.

    ¡°You see, the Swaying Bear was Mia and the others¡¯ escort.¡±

    ¡°But then there¡¯s Hugging Bear.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I almost forgot about that.¡±

    ¡°Kuuu~n.¡±

    This time, the Hugging Bear in my arms squeals sadly.

    Uwwaaaahhh.

    I screamed in my heart.

    Then after resting, we went exploring, curious about the city.

    ¡°What is this building?¡±

    A domed building.

    It was actually the building that I had wondered about when I was fighting against the Slime.

    We went inside.

    ¡°It looks like an auditorium.¡±

    What looked like chairs were lined up in a circle, and the walls were faintly marked with stars. And,

    There was something in the center.

    ¡°Could this be thearium?¡±

    ¡°Aarium?¡±

    Fina tilts her head.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°You could say that it¡¯s a ce to watch the stars in the daytime.¡±

    I exined in a way that was easy to understand.

    ¡°How can you see the stars in the daytime? Are you stupid, Yuna?¡±

    I get a little annoyed when I am called an idiot by an idiot child. But I was an adult. Therefore, I respond in an adult manner.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s not the real stars. It¡¯s more of an imitation of a real starry sky, that¡¯s all.¡±

    I moved to the center of the room.

    Maybe this was it.

    There was a pedestal in the center, a round object.

    There was no magic stone. It probably needed a magic stone of light.

    Well, was there any magic stone that I have that would be suitable?

    I took out a magic stone from my bear box and put a magic stone of light in the hole, then I just needed to make it shine, but this was not enough.

    I looked at the ceiling and saw that a part of the ceiling had copsed.

    I casted earth magic to seal the copsed ceiling and walls so that no light from outside could enter.

    ¡°Yuna, what are you doing making the room go dark?¡±

    ¡°Just wait for a bit.¡±

    I touched the switch of the magical tool to which I had just attached the magic stone.

    Then, a beautiful set of stars appeared on the ceiling.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    ¡°It really looks like the starry sky at night.¡±

    I wondered if there were constetions in this world as well.

    I didn¡¯t know much about the stars in my original world, either.

    I knew the constetions¡¯ names but didn¡¯t know where I could see them. That¡¯s the extent of my knowledge.

    ¡°But why would I want to make something like this? At night, you could look at it all you want.¡±

    ¡°There are all kinds of things that can be the cause. Like, for lovers, or for children who fall asleep at night.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it can be a luxury to see the stars in the daytime.¡±

    We enjoyed thearium and rested.

    ¡°It¡¯s a great ce to sleep.¡±

    I agreed, but I didn¡¯t like the idea that Mia and I were on the same page.

    Then we walked around town, but there were no Slimes in town, either, as they seemed to have run away.

    ¡°Are you sure the money is good?¡±

    The following day, we parted ways with Mia and the others.

    ¡°Sure, Yuna has saved my life more than once. It¡¯s not like I have any use for that staff, either.¡±

    Kryna-Hark¡¯s wand was only to activate the magic circle.

    She said it was safe to say that it had no value.

    If anything, the magic circle was more valuable.

    It, too, had been destroyed by Slime and was in tatters.

    Thearium was given away, saying that it was something I had found.

    ¡°But what about your sisters?¡±

    ¡°Well, Carol and I will do our best to find more treasures.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m the older one here, so I¡¯ll give them a present.¡±

    Kagali-san then pulled something out of his bag of items and tossed it to Mia.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    Mia epted it.

    ¡°Jewelry?¡±

    It was a beautiful red-colored jewel about the size of her thumb.

    ¡°Sell it, and you¡¯ll get some money for it.¡±

    ¡°I, I can¡¯t ept it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, little girl.¡±

    ¡°Say¡¯s the little girl. I know you are older than me, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can ept it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s free. It¡¯s a fee to keep them quiet.¡±

    ¡°Hush money?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone about what happened.¡±

    Oh, I see. If word spreads about us, it could be a problem.

    ¡°What? You think we¡¯re going to talk? We won¡¯t tell anyone if you ask us to shut up. We were attacked by the Slime and fought together. So there is no need for this.¡±

    Mia held out the hand holding the jewelry to Kagali-san, but her hand shook slightly.

    She¡¯s taking it too far.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to call me a friend, take it; I got Kryna-Hark¡¯s staff and the, you know,arium, or whatever it was, and I am giving that to you. You can think of it as half of that.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you put it that way.¡±

    Mia withdrew the hand that held the jewelry.

    She wanted it after all.

    Well, I worked hard to get here for my sisters. A reward would be nice.

    ¡°Well then, I and the others will be going.¡±

    ¡°So in the end, you didn¡¯t tell us where you came from.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. But you shoulde to our town sometime.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be happy to entertain you.¡±

    I was told where Mia and her friends live.

    Maybe I could see them when I have time.

    ¡°We¡¯ll all be there when we do.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Mia and the others mounted their horses and walked away.

    ¡°She was a noisy one, wasn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she was. I¡¯ll pay for the jewelry, if you want.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I have a lot of jewelry of that size. Besides, I owe you more than I can ever repay.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t worry about the jewelry either.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    When she said that much, I couldn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Well, then, let us return home.¡±

    I had to set up a bear gate somewhere.

    I ced the bear gate in the basement where Kryna-Hark¡¯s magic circle used to be, and return to the Land of Harmony.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bed. What about you?¡±

    Kagali-san dered that she was going to bed, even though she had been asleep until an hour ago.

    Well, I understand how she feels. I would like to rest when I get home, as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m going home, I have to drop Fina off.¡±

    It was longer than we had nned.

    Tirumina-san and the others might be worried.

    ¡°Well, then, Fina, we¡¯re going home.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I opened the door to the bear¡¯s gate in Crimonia and walked through the portal with Fina.

 Chapter 622

    <b>Bear-san receives a Letter from a Summoned Bird</b>

    A few days have passed since the Huge Slime incident.

    I have been holed up for the first time in a long time, and I had to stay indoors. However, I could not stay at home alone like in my former world.

    Since I came to this world, more and more people havee to my house.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, please watch over my magic training again, even if it¡¯s just once in a while.¡±

    Fina started to say such a thing, probably because of the Slime.

    Fina asked earnestly, so I said, ¡°Sure.¡±

    It was nice to have more means to protect myself than anything else.

    Then Noa came to visit me between studies.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Over here.¡±

    Noa yed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cub-sized bears.

    ¡°I knew it, Bear-san is the best.¡±

    Noa looked satisfied as she hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as they approached her.

    ¡°Now I can study hard again.¡±

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m d.¡±

    Peace.

    Then I heard from Tirumina-san that the store was doing well, and the director of the orphanage told me there were no problems with daily life, and I was left with nothing to do but rx.

    I enjoyed my adventures, but spending time rxing like this was also nice.

    While I was lounging on the bed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear squealed and looked out the window.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear look out the window and see arge bird.

    For a moment, they were surprised but soon realized it was Sanya-san¡¯s summoning bird.

    The bird was asrge as an eagle, and when I opened the window, it entered the room and perched on the back of a chair.

    Sanya-san, were you watching me?

    Sanya-san could see things far away through the summoned bird¡¯s eyes.

    It was useful but also an ability that could be used for criminal activities.

    If you put it that way, magic could be used for various crimes.

    A kitchen knife could be used to make delicious food, but it could also be used as a weapon to stab a person.

    As with anything, the power depends on the mind of the person who uses it.

    I waved my hand in front of the bird, but it didn¡¯t respond, as it was not supposed to be able to control the bird.

    At any rate, as before, I looked at the bird¡¯s neck and saw that a tube was strapped to it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a message, right?¡±

    I opened the lid of the tube attached to the summoned bird¡¯s neck, and a curled-up piece of paper came out from inside.

    ¡°What is it? It¡¯s not a problem, is it?¡±

    I had a bad feeling about this, but I couldn¡¯t help but look at it.

    I unfold the rolled-up paper.

    I knew it was from Sanya-san.

    I thought it would be a hassle, but I was wrong.

    It was more like a letter to Fina.

    It said that once a year, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of the Royal Capital sponsored an event topete in dismantling techniques.

    The letter was a request for Fina to participate in the event.

    I didn¡¯t know there was such an event.

    Maybe I should tell Fina about it.

    ¡°Kuh.¡±

    The summoned bird chirps.

    ¡°Here, you can return now.¡±

    ¡°Kuh.¡±

    The bird didn¡¯t fly out the window.

    ¡°Are you waiting for a reply to your letter, by any chance?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t reply right away, so I just wrote what I would tell Fina on a piece of paper and put it inside the bird¡¯s tube.

    When the bird confirmed that the letter was inside the tube, it flew away from the window.

    I closed the window and went to Fina¡¯s house.

    Fina was helping out at home, and Tirumina-san and Shuri had gone shopping.

    And instead, there was an unusual person in the house, even though it was daytime.

    ¡°Gentz-san, you were at home.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my day off.¡±

    As a matter of course, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was not closed on regr holidays. So it was a rotating day off.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, have some tea.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    I drink the tea.

    Yes, it was delicious.

    ¡°So, what happened today?¡±

    I told him I had received a letter from Sanya-san and what it said.

    ¡°They have a dismantling¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I remember something like that.¡±

    Gentz-san, who was listening to the conversation with me, interjects.

    ¡°Father, do you know about it?¡±

    ¡°Fina doesn¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s an event sponsored by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital. Besides, Fina has been a member of the guild until recently¡­¡±

    Gentz-san seems to remember something about Fina in the past and closes his mouth.

    Yes, I know. It was easy to forget because it was hard to imagine now, but not so long ago, Fina was busy living.

    It was only natural that she didn¡¯t know about events like that in King¡¯s Landing.

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m happy now.¡±

    Gentz-san smiled happily at Fina¡¯s words.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡±

    The letter only said that there was a demolition event and that he wanted Fina to attend.

    It did not say anything about the contents.

    ¡°Simply put, it¡¯s a Dismantling Skills and knowledgepetition. The main participants are adventurers and employees of the adventurers¡¯ guild.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever participated in this event, Gentz-san?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    No need to be so puffed up and proud.

    ¡°Well, basically, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital will take the lead, so transportation and lodging will be at their own expense. There¡¯s no merit in taking time off work to go.¡±

    ¡°So no one from the guilds in Crimonia will be participating?¡±

    ¡°No. I will be away from Crimonia for a few days. Besides, it¡¯s just a festival organized by the royal capital, so we won¡¯t get paid for dismantling.

    It would certainly be hard not to get paid.

    Given that, the benefits of participating from Crimonia were low.

    ¡°Besides, the staff can¡¯t participate unless the guild master gives permission.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°If we all joined, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would run out of staff.¡±

    That was true. If every personnel from the Guild joined, there would be problems with the work of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Besides, if the guild master gives permission, he¡¯s like the guild¡¯s representative in town.¡±

    ¡°So if I¡¯m a representative of Crimonia?¡±

    ¡°That would be different. Fina is not a guild member, and ording to Yuna, she will be introduced by the guild master of Royal Capital. Right?¡±

    ¡°Me, with an introduction from the guild master in the Royal Capital¡­ Impossible!¡±

    Fina shook her head.

    ¡°Just to confirm, are adventurers free to join?¡±

    ¡°Adventurers have freedom. What is it? Is Yuna going to be part of this? Did you get the ability to dismantle without us knowing about it?¡±

    Gentz-san looked a little surprised, but there was no way I could dismantle the ce.

    ¡°I don¡¯t participate, I can¡¯t dismantle, and I never will.¡±

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan is fine with not being able to dismantle for the rest of her life.¡±

    Fina raised her voice.

    I wondered. Was it my imagination that it sounded like I should be a useless girl for the rest of my life?

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not going to dismantle you for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°How is that that even possible for an adventurer?¡±

    Gentz-san looked at me dismayed, but dismantling was impossible for a city girl.

    I didn¡¯t have the skills, knowledge, or experience to dismantle monsters, and that¡¯s a triple whammy.

    Even if I were to participate, I would probably fail the first round or fail the qualifying round.

    I did not intend to participate, though.

    ¡°Fina, why don¡¯t you participate?¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    ¡°It would be a good experience.¡±

    ¡°¡­but¡­¡±

    ¡°Besides, Yuna is going with you, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    If Fina would like to go, I would go with her.

    Then I felt safe.

    ¡°But my mother¡­¡±

    ¡°You think Tirumina will stop me?¡±

    Fina thought for a moment and shook her head.

    ¡°I bet, Fina, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll let you go alone, but Tirumina¡¯s trust in Yuna is very high.¡±

    She was ttered but embarrassed to be told so clearly.

    As I was talking with Fina and Gentz-san, the door opened.

    ¡°Oh my, Yuna-chan.¡±

    ¡°Yuna Nee-chan!¡±

    Coming out of the door were Tirumina-san and Shuri, who had gone shopping.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°We were just talking about how Tirumina-san has a high level of trust in me, so I can let Fina go.¡±

    When I replied, Fina said shyly, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t!¡± Fina said shyly.

    ¡°And what were you talking about?¡±

    Tirumina-san asked as she put away the items she had bought.

    I told her about Sanya-san¡¯s letter.

    ¡°So, if Yuna-chan goes with you, that means I¡¯ll give you the green light¡­Gentz is right¡­there¡¯s no better adventurer to trust than Yuna-chan.¡±

    It was nice to know that they believed in me.

    ¡°Oh, but since you¡¯re escorting her this time, I wonder if there¡¯s amission? I¡¯d be happy to give you a discount on the friend price.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want your money.¡±

    I had no intention of taking money from Fina and her family.

    ¡°But I¡¯d like to see Fina¡¯s courage too.¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    At Tirumina-san¡¯s words, Shuri also raised her hand.

    ¡°Well then, Tirumina-san, would you like to go too?¡±

    ¡°Sure?¡±

    ¡°As long as there are no problems with my work.¡±

    She knew about the bear¡¯s transfer gate.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure Liz-san and the others can take care of the eggs for a bit, and I¡¯m sure we can get the store done ahead of time.¡±

    ¡°Okay then, me too.¡±

    Hearing Tirumina-san¡¯s story, Gentz-san expresses his willingness to go with them, but was rejected.

    ¡°Gentz-san must have caused trouble for everyone in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild when he went to the sea.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Besides, as the head of the family, I wish you the best of luck.¡±

    Tirumina-san smiled at Gentz-san.

    ¡°Good luck, father.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±

    Shuri even said all he could do was nod.

    Gentz-san, I feel sorry for you, but it was the husband¡¯s role to be depended on by his family.

    Above all, they can¡¯t depend on me when I¡¯m single, so maybe this would be a good thing for them.

    As I am now, I might end up being single all my life.

    From out of nowhere, I heard Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cooing.

 Chapter 623

    <b>Bear-san, went to see Sanya-san</b>

    ¡°I still can¡±t believe it. Who would have thought that this thing can instantly bring us to the Royal Capital.¡±

    Tirumina-san said as she looked around the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t believe it myself either if there somebody imed that such a teleportation door exists in my former world.

    It was like a tool that everyone dreamed of in the cat-shaped robot anime, where you could go anywhere you wanted once you opened the door. It was a simr magic tool.

    But it wasn¡¯t as convenient as in the cat-shaped robot anime because it didn¡¯t allow you to go anywhere you wanted to go.

    So I wouldn¡¯t be able to move to any bathrooms.

    ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s go.¡±

    I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate. Beyond the door was a room in the Bear House in the Royal Capital.

    Theyout of the room was simr to Crimonia¡¯s, but Tirumina-san had never stayed at the Bear House in the Royal Capital, so I gave her a quick tour of the Bear House.

    ¡°The bathrooms are there, the toilets are there, and there are guest rooms upstairs, so Tirumina-san and the others can use those.¡±

    There were only two beds in the guest room, so if the three of them were going to sleep in the same room, I would need to prepare another one.

    We could discuss thatter, I guess.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll take care of your meals during your stay.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll clean Bear bath!¡±

    Shuri raised her hand.

    ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯ll ept your kind offer then.¡±

    Tirumina-san¡¯s food was delicious, I was looking forward to it.

    ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll-¡°

    ¡°Fina, you have something to do. You should focus on that.¡±

    Fina tried to think of what she could help with, but Tirumina-san stopped her.

    ¡°¡­but¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always working so hard, you can count on us at least at a time like this.¡±

    ¡°¡­Mother. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Well then, Fina and I are going to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, what about you, Tirumina-san?¡±

    ¡°Should I at least pay her a visit and say hello?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming along too!¡±

    Shuri also raised her hand.

    ¡°That embarrassing for me, mom, do you really have to¡±

    ¡°Well, I will be leaving my daughter in her care after all.¡±

    Fina refused her suggestion, but Tirumina-san wouldn¡¯t back down.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    In the end, Tirumina-san pushed through, and we all decided to go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°I also thought about it thest time I was here, but there are so many people in the Royal Capital.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And thest time I was here, I also thought that everyone was looking at Yuna-chan.¡±

    Whenever I walked around, people always looked at me as I passed them.

    ¡°I tend to forget this when I¡¯m in Crimonia, but I guess Yuna-chan¡¯s outfit really stands out.¡±

    In Crimonia, where we live, seeing me or children in bear outfits had be so familiar that people rarely point at me as a ¡°bear¡± anymore.

    But in the Royal Capital, people still point at me or stare at me.

    We arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with such stares.

    ¡°Things haven¡¯t changed, have they?¡±

    ¡°Come to think of it, you were a former adventurer, right?¡±

    ¡°That was before Fina was born.¡±

    Just as we were about to head to the reception desk, a group of adventurers noticed me and started to make amotion.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bear,¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ cute,¡± ¡°She was in the capital,¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± What¡¯s with the outfit?¡±

    There were a variety of reactions when they saw me.

    I rarely visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the capital, so some of them did not even know who I was.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, what did you do at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡±

    Seeing the reaction of the adventurers who seemed to know me, Tirumina-san looked at me with a stern look.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really do anything.¡±

    ¡°By the way, does Fina know?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Fina shook her head.

    I would usually go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild by myself, so Fina would not know about it.

    ¡°Well, knowing Yuna-chan, I guess you just turned the tables on some adventurers who got involved, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    She instantly knew.

    As we were about to continuetalking about the subject,

    ¡°Hey, girl. Long time no see.¡±

    Arge man speaks to me in a familiar manner.

    It was a familiar face.

    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve forgotten me.¡±

    I remember him. He was the adventurer who pushed Karina out of his way when I went to the desert and helped me with chores after the subjugation of arge number of san

 Chapter 624

    <h4>Chapter 624</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, raided by Ellura-san</b>

    The next day, as we were eating breakfast and discussing our ns, I heard a woman¡¯s voice calling me from outside.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, I think someone¡¯s at the door.¡±

    The voice sounded familiar.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a minute.¡±

    I left the room and opened the front door to find someone standing there, just as I had imagined.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, good morning.¡±

    ¡°Ellura-san, what are you doing here so early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°I heard Yuna-chan was in the capital, so I came to see you before I go to work.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to show up.¡±

    ¡°I heard that Fina-san and her mother, Tirumina-san, are also here. I should at least say hello.¡±

    ¡°How did you know they were there?¡±

    ¡°Because Sanya told me.¡±

    From what Sanya-san said, I remembered that Ellura-san suggested inviting Fina in the dismantling event would be a good idea.

    ¡°Besides, this whole thing was my idea, so I felt I owed Fina-san an apology if she was bothered by it.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s willing to do it, so I¡¯m sure it will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡±

    I asked Ellura-san to enter the house, as I didn¡¯t want to talk to her at the door.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, who was your guest?¡±

    Tirumina-san asked when I came back to the room.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    The guest herself greeted Tirumina-san.

    ¡°E, Ellura-sama!¡±

    Tirumina-san¡¯s voice surprised Fina and Shuri as well.

    ¡°Fina-san, it¡¯s been a while, Shuri-chan as well.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Fina greeted a little nervously.

    Shuri also greeted her, imitating her sister Fina.

    ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t be so nervous. You and I are good friends with Fina-san, right?¡±

    I would like to ask her what kind of rtionship they have.

    Fina had a troubled look on her face when she was told that they were close.

    So, I helped her out.

    ¡°Fina is troubled!¡±

    ¡°Oh, did I do anything to trouble Fina-san?¡±

    ¡°Ellura-san¡¯s presence is bothering her.¡±

    ¡°Yuna-chan, that¡¯s terrible!¡±

    Ellura-san mimics crying.

    I wish a good adult wouldn¡¯t do that kind of mimicry.

    Ellura-san might look young and pretty. Yet, she also appeared to be an evil woman because I knew her true nature.

    I was sure Ellura-san would make a great viiness.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, are you thinking about something strange?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking about anything.¡±

    I lowered my Bear hood, so she couldn¡¯t read my expression.

    ¡°So, Fina-san, I¡¯m sorry I told Sanya-san about Fina-san. You might just be participating because you thought you couldn¡¯t say no to a letter from Sanya-san.¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s all right. I came of my own volition. I will participate.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d to hear that.¡±

    Ellura-san smiled.

    ¡°Well, thank you again, Fina-san, foring.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean¡­¡±

    Fina was troubled by being thanked by Ellura-san, a noble.

    ¡°You¡¯re bothering Fina again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible. I was just thanking her. But Fina-san, if it really bothers you, please let me know. I won¡¯t force you to do anything. I¡¯ll tell Sanya.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. But don¡¯t worry. I am willing to participate.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you. I should also thank you in advance.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will just be a small token of my appreciation.¡±

    Hearing those words, Fina felt a little relief.

    But her next words made Tirumina-san, not Fina, turn pale.

    ¡°Fina-san, I¡¯m going to invite your family to the castle.¡±

    ¡°¡­!?¡±

    ¡°Tirumina-san.¡±

    ¡°Ye, yes.¡±

    Tirumina-san was surprised when her name was suddenly called out.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, you have never been in the castle, have you?¡±

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s not an easy ce to get into, and I¡¯ve only been to the royal capital a little in the past.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a long way from Crimnonia.¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±

    Even if they lived in the capital, it would be challenging to get into the cfastle.

    My position on the other hand, was just weird.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go now!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Look, Fina-san and Shuri-chan, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Fina was perplexed, while Shuri raised her hands in joy.

    Tirumina-san looked at me as if asking for help.

    I don¡¯t think I could be of any help, but I¡¯ll at least give her a helping hand.

    ¡°Ellura-san, are things going well at work?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Isn¡¯t it an important job to show customers around?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I shook my head as if to indicate to Tirumina-san and Fina, ¡°Give it up¡±.

    I could almost hear Tirumina-san¡¯s heart cry, ¡°Yuna-chan!¡±

    I could think of no reason to refuse.

    And so we arrived at the castle.

    The gatekeeper noticed me and tried to move. But Ellura-san stopped him.

    ¡°They are my guest today, so you don¡¯t have to tell His Majesty.¡±

    The gatekeeper looked troubled, but Ellura-san nodded in agreement as if to say, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it¡±.

    ¡°What was that exchange you just had?¡±

    ¡°It is a kind of custom to inform His Majesty when Yuna-chanes to the castle.¡±

    Ellura-san answered Tirumina-san¡¯s question.

    But what¡¯s with the custom?

    Thinking about it, that might be to be expected, but it might be different from I was thinking about.

    ¡°Reporting to His Majesty the King?¡±

    ¡°When Ie to the castle, I bring food for them to eat.¡±

    Because of this, I got into the habit of bringing food every time I visited the castle.

    I originally only nned to bring it for Flora-sama, but now it has ended up to the point where I have to prepare food for the King, the Queen, Tilia, Zeref the head chef, and Ange the maid.

    But since I had no ns of visiting the castle today, and since Ellura-san invited me out of the blue, I didn¡¯t bring any new food with me, so I didn¡¯t want to be bothered if they came.

    We walked around the castle.

    Tirumina-san was looking around anxiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m d we get to see the inside of the castle, but I¡¯m nervous.¡±

    Well, I¡¯ve been here many times, so I was not nervous.

    ¡°Is Fina okay?¡±

    Tirumina-san looked at Fina.

    Fina held Shuri¡¯s hand to keep her from walking alone.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve been here a few times,pared to the first time.¡±

    Fina had gotten stronger.

    I guess one gets used to it after a few experiences.

    I¡¯ve gotten used to wearing a bear costume every day.

    Now it almost became normal for me to dress up as a bear.

    I think the bear costume may have taken over my mind.

    ¡°What about Shuri?¡±

    ¡°The castle, it¡¯s fun.¡±

    Shuri didn¡¯t seem nervous, her eyes sparkling.

    But I wouldn¡¯t want her to be disrespectful, so I¡¯ll watch her closely.

    Shuri sometimes behaved in unpredictable ways.

    ¡°But when Fina first came to the castle, you were extremely nervous.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any memories of that time from halfway through the trip from before.¡±

    Fina had no memory of what happened after she met Flora-sama. So she did not know that I was drawing picture books.

    Fina was furious at me when she found out about the picture bookter.

    ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t be so nervous. Just feel like you¡¯re in your own home.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think that was possible.

    ¡°But really, are you sure you want a normal person like us in the castle?¡±

    People we were passing by looked at us, but when they saw that Ellura-san was with us, they bowed their heads and acted as if they had not seen anything.

    No oneined to us.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here. Besides, Yuna-chan is here.¡±

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡±

    ¡°Yuna-chan is permitted by His Majesty the King to freely enter and leave the castle. As long as Yuna-chan and I are here, no one willin. So as long as you don¡¯t move away from us, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    At Ellura-san¡¯s words, Tirumina-san grabbed my shoulders from behind, and Fina grabbed the Bear puppet.

    Shuri then grabs the Bear puppet on the opposite side of Fina.

    Apparently, Shuri imitated both of them.

    ¡°Fufu, Yuna-chan, you are very popr.¡±

    Ellura-san smiled at us.

    Ellura-san was probably right, and as we toured the castle, no one judged us.

    After a while, Tirumina-san calmed down and was able to walk normally.

    As I was thinking this, I felt someone hugging my waist.

    I thought it might be Shuri, but it was not.

    ¡°Oh, Flora-sama?¡±

    ¡°Flora-sama?¡±

    Flora-sama, the princess of this country, was hugging me.

    Ange-san was a little further away, and when our eyes met, she bowed her head lightly.

    Apparently, she had spotted me during our walk.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, let me introduce you. This is Flora-sama, the princess of this country.¡±

    ¡°Princess?¡±

    Tirumina-san looked at me for confirmation.

    ¡°I am the daughter of His Majesty the King and a princess.¡±

    She repeated the same thing.

    Tirumina-san¡¯s mouth was agape.

    I understand how she felt, but that would be considered disrespectful.

    ¡°Fweena, Shuwi.¡±

    ¡°Flora-sama, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Hime-sama.¡±

    Flora-sama apparently remembered Fina and Shuri from the school festival.

    That¡¯s amazing.

    I wasn¡¯t very good at remembering people¡¯s names.

    But there was something I couldn¡¯t understand.

    Why was I still called Bear-san?

    I felt like I was losing something between the two of them.

    ¡°My daughters are talking to the princess.¡±

    They just greeted each other.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    Flora-sama looked at Tirumina-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s my mother.¡±

    ¡°Ti, my name is Tirumina, Flora-sama.¡±

    Tirumina-san bowed her head in greeting.

    ¡°I am Flora.¡±

    Flora-sama said her name and grabbed my clothes.

    ¡°Bear-san, let¡¯s y. Fweena and Shuwi, too.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I was going to give you a tour of the castle, but I guess we can¡¯t refuse the princess¡¯s invitation, can we?¡±

    Ellura-san smiled, Tirumina-san¡¯s face twitched, Fina looked troubled, and Shuri looked at me.

    I could not refuse Flora-sama¡¯s invitation and escape.

    So I asked Tirumina-san to give up.

    But going to Flora-sama¡¯s room would be a big problem, so I decided to go to the garden.

    Fina and Shuri have already been there, and it should be easier to talk there.

    As we walked to the garden, holding Flora-sama¡¯s hand, we saw someone ahead of us.

    ¡°Mother!¡±

    Flora-sama lets go of my Bear puppet and rushed over to the Queen.

    ¡°Mother?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Queen, Kittia-sama.¡±

    ¡°The Queen¡­¡±

    Tirumina-san turned pale with the arrival of a new member of the royal family.

    Yes, I understand that feeling.

    ¡°Oh, was that Fina-san and Shuri-chan?¡±

    ¡°Hi.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Even Fina, who was not used to being spoken to by the Queen, was nervous.

    Shuri was a little shy and greeted the Queen while hiding behind Fina.

    Then, as a favor to the Queen, she invited Shuri and Fina to have tea together. Tirumina-san froze like a robot.

    After the event, ording to Tirumina-san, she had almost no memory of meeting the Queen.

    They were so much alike, Mother and daughter.

    It was probably a lucky thing that His Majesty the King did not show up.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 625

    <h4>Chapter 625</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Tours the Venue</b>

    After returning from the castle, we rested in the bear house, partly at the request of Tirumina-san, who was mentally exhausted. Then, Sanya-san arrived.

    She suggested that we should go and see the venue where the dismantling event was going to take ce.

    ¡°I think it would be a good opportunity for you to see it before you attend the event, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    We agreed to take Sanya-san¡¯s word for it and have a tour for ourselves.

    It was a good way for Tirumina-san to refresh her mind.

    The venue for the event seemed to be a bit far away, so we boarded a horse-drawn carriage that Sanya-san had prepared for us.

    My bear outfit was quite conspicuous, so I was grateful for the horse-drawn carriage ride.

    It might be possible that Sanya-san had decided to take the carriage because she was embarrassed to walk with me.

    ¡°You are not going to hold it at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, right?¡±

    ¡°The guild building is big, but not big enough to amodate visitors. So we¡¯re renting a bigger ce for thepetition. The ce is also used to host various events, so it¡¯s very convenient.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know such a ce existed.¡±

    Was it like the Tokyo Dome, the National Stadium, or the Japan Budoukan?

    What we arrived to was arge building. Surrounded by high walls, we could not see the inside.

    We parked the carriage in what looked like a garage and got off.

    ¡°This way!¡±

    Sanya-san asked the caretaker to valet the carriage, and we started walking.

    We walked through a passageway, up a flight of stairs, and out of the building.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s huge!¡±

    Shuri eximed.

    It was shaped like an arena, circr, with a spectator seating area around it. There was a magnificent spectator¡¯s seat in the center of the auditorium.

    Perhaps it was a seat for His Majesty the King or some other great person to watch.

    ¡°They are used for knight¡¯s tournaments and other events. They used it for His Majesty the King¡¯s birthday celebration before.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know that.

    Maybe I could have visited the ce during the birthday celebration.

    But the Royal Capital was huge. You couldn¡¯t see everything in a few days.

    Even in Tokyo, it would take days to see everything, especially just around the train stations.

    ¡°Ugh, I didn¡¯t think it would be in such a big ce.¡±

    Shuri was running around, Fina was looking around, stunned at the size of the ce, and Tirumina-san was also surprised at the size.

    ¡°We won¡¯t utilise all of the space. If we¡¯re too far away, the audience won¡¯t be able to spectate it.¡±

    The organisers were going to gather the contestants and spectators in one ce of the arena, but they would be flexible depending on the number of participants and the monsters to be dismantled at that time.

    ¡°I will prepare seats for Tirumina-san and Shuri-chan so that they will have a good view of Fina-san.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Tirumina-san thanked her.

    ¡°I like it, sister. I wish I could join too.¡±

    ¡°Shuri-chan, can you dismantle as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not as good as my sister, but I can do it.¡±

    ¡°Fufu, when you get better at it, I¡¯ll ask you to join us next time.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure, and I¡¯ll be counting on you then.¡±

    Shuri was happy to hear Sanya-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, can I have a word?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Do you still have the monsters that you killed at the Elven Vige? It¡¯s still in that item bag, right?¡±

    Volgwrath and the cockatrice remained in the bear box, not even dismantled.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you tomorrow about that in more detail, can you spare some time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any particr ns, so that¡¯s fine.¡±

    I was thinking of taking Tirumina-san and the others on a tour of the Royal Capital, so it was fine.

    After touring the event site, we were taken back to the bear house by horse-drawn carriage.

    Then, over dinner prepared by Tirumina-san, we talked about what we would do tomorrow.

    ¡°Tomorrow, I have been invited by Sanya-san, so can Tirumina-san go with Fina and the others to tour the Royal Capital?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, but don¡¯t we have to join you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s will be about the monsters that I defeated, so you don¡¯t need to.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll go with Fina and the others to the Royal Capital tomorrow.¡±

    The next day, I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild alone to meet Sanya-san. I thought about it the other day, but there were not many adventurers present. I looked around and approached the receptionist, who, perhaps having been well-informed, immediately showed me through to the room where Sanya-san was.

    ¡°Yuna-chan,e in. Please take a seat.¡±

    I sat down in the chair she suggested.

    ¡°So, should I offer hand over the cockatrice?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for being so quick. Yes, I was thinking about what to do with the main monster. Then I remembered the cockatrice. Of course, I¡¯ll pay you a fair price for it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the money, but I don¡¯t want to give away the material.¡±

    As a former gamer, I was inclined to hoard materials that I might not know when I would use.

    Well, it was more or less unused as it was, and often the materials continued to be storedp in my item box, but there were more than a few times when I was d to have them.

    So, since I was never in need of money, I preferred to keep the hard-to-find materials on hand.

    If I did have a problem with money, I would just sell it.

    ¡°The stuff you take apart is supposed to be sold, right, no?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it when you say that so cutely.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say no. I thought the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was supposed to provide the items to be dismantled. You don¡¯t have it prepared?¡±

    ¡°Well, we have prepared them. We¡¯ve worked out some preparations, so the monsters are now in storage, using magic to prepare them for this event. But if a rare monster is hunted down, word will spread quickly and people will know about it before the event.¡±

    I see, thinking about it, when I defeated the ck Viper, the word spread so quickly.

    It was also known that I had defeated Tiger Wolf.

    If it was brought to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, there would be publicity and no way to keep it hushed up. Inevitably, news would spread.

    People could not keep their mouths shutpletely.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to bring out a monster that was unknown to either the adventurers or the guild staff.¡±

    If they knew the monsters they were going to dismantle, they could prepare for it.

    That would give the adventurers and guild officials in the Royal Capital an advantage.

    Sanya wanted to avoid that.

    ¡°So, Yuna-chan, I was wondering if you still have the cockatrice, and if you could give it to me.¡±

    ¡°Only if I can have some of the materials.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you. Let¡¯s talk about what part of the material you would be willing to share with us.¡±

    We were about to start talking about the finer details when there was a knock at the door.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Sanya-san grudgingly allowed the person on the other side of the door to enter, and the receptionist entered the room.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Well, we have a visitor who hase to ask for an urgent request, but we don¡¯t have any adventurers who can ept the request at the moment, so I would like to inquire if we should decline the request.¡±

    Apparently they couldn¡¯t say no.

    ¡°What is the request?¡±

    ¡°They say that a Tiger Wolf has appeared in a vige.¡±

    A Tiger Wolf appeared in a vige. That would be a problem for the livestock and other animals they had.

    ¡°I see, a Tiger Wolf is too much for a low-ranked adventurer to manage, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the adventurers with ranks suitable to eradicate the Tiger Wolf were out of town, preparing for the event.¡±

    By event, do they mean the dismantling event?

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them for now.¡±

    Sanya-san left the room, and I somehow followed her.

    When I walked to the reception desk, a man was there.

    ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡±

    ¡°Are you the Guild Master?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Sanya, the Guild Master. I¡¯ve heard about your request. As the receptionist said, there are no adventurers avable at this time that could hunt it.¡±

    ¡°There should be some adventurers avable, right?¡±

    The man looked at the adventurers in the guild.

    The adventurers look away or fled from the adventurers¡¯ guild.

    ¡°They are not good enough to defeat a Tiger Wolf.¡±

    ¡°This is the royal capital, right? Why aren¡¯t there any around?¡±

    ¡°There is an eventing up soon, and the leading adventurers are out of town hunting to prepare for it. If you give us some time, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be back.¡±

    ¡°When will they be back?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t really know how long it will take them to get from their quests. And even if they doe back, it will be up to the adventurers whether they ept the request or not.¡±

    ¡°Then the vige¡­¡±

    The man drooped his head.

    Was it my imagination that I was having a d¨¦j¨¤ vu?

    I could imagine what he would say if I approached him here.

    But that didn¡¯t mean I could just walk away and pretend I didn¡¯t see him.

    ¡°Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°Yuna-chan? That¡¯s very kind of you, but is it okay?¡±

    ¡°If I hearter that the whole vige was wiped out, I won¡¯t be able to sleep well.¡±

    Given my personality, there was no doubt in my mind that I would regret it.

    Even I, with my bad character, I still have a bit of humanity.

    ¡°Then may I ask you to help them?¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±

    The man raised his voice.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way a girl dressed like that can defeat a Tiger Wolf!¡±

    I have missed that. It has been a long time since I¡¯ve had this reaction.

    I didn¡¯t get this kind of reaction recently, so it feels fresh.

    I mean, I was a well-known member of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Crimonia. I rarely received requests directly from clients.

    So it was not the first time recently that I have received this kind of reaction.

    ¡°She may be dressed like this, but she is an excellent adventurer. You can trust her to take care of it.¡±

    ¡°How can I believe that?¡±

    ¡°If she fails to defeat the Tiger Wolf, I, the Guild Master, will take responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Sanya-san, are you sure you want to say that?¡±

    ¡°I trust Yuna-chan more than any other adventurer. Besides, you can beat a Tiger Wolf, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, I can beat them easily.¡±

    I have records of hunting them down, and they were not that challenging.

    ¡°Then there should be no problem.¡±

    It was embarrassing to be trusted so much.

    ¡°Oh, please keep the damage low if you can, because I want to use Tiger Wolf in the event as well.¡±

    ¡°¡­Okay.¡±

    The man listened silently to our conversation.

    Guild Master Sanya-san said she would take responsibility, so he couldn¡¯t say anything.

    After the decision was made, I asked him about the location of the vige and decided to leave as soon as possible.

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 Chapter 626

    <h4>Chapter 626</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Fights the Tiger Wolf</b>

    The gatekeeper looked at me suspiciously as I departed from the Royal Capital, but I didn¡¯t care. I left the Royal Capital and summoned Swaying Bear a short distance away.

    ¡°Well then, Swaying Bear, please.¡±

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    I straddled Swaying Bear, and Swaying Bear started to run.

    Fina and Tirumina-san might get worried if I was even slightlyte, so I decided to defeat the Tiger Wolf pack quickly so that I could go home as soon as possible.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, let¡¯s hurry up.¡±

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    Swaying Bear elerated at my words.

    Thanks in part to the fact that I took turns running with Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear along the way, I arrived in the vige the man had told me about in no time.

    ¡°This must be it.¡±

    I got off Hugging Bear.

    I didn¡¯t want the vigers to mistake Bears for the Tiger Wolf and be rmed, so I unsummoned them.

    I entered the vige, looking around for any signs.

    Some of the fences were broken, and the vige was quiet.

    I have an omnious feeling.

    I used my detection skill to check.

    There were signs of people.

    ¡°Thank God.¡±

    I pat my chest in relief.

    It seemed that they were hiding inside the house.

    And there was no sign of the Tiger Wolf or any other monsters in my detection skill so far.

    ¡°Well then, I wonder what¡¯s going on.¡±

    I could go and take down the Tiger Wolf, but should I talk to the people in the vige first?

    They might know where the Tiger Wolf is.

    No matter how good my detection skills are, I won¡¯t be able to find the Tiger Wolf pack if they are out of my detection range, and I also won¡¯t be able to find them if I go in the wrong direction either.

    While wondering what to do, I heard a ¡°squeak¡± sound.

    I looked towards the sound and saw a window slightly open and a person looking at me.

    ¡°Are you a person?¡±

    It was the first time someone asked me if I was a person.

    Did I look like a ferocious bear?

    Well, I know I¡¯m not.

    ¡°I¡¯m dressed like this, but I¡¯m a person.¡±

    I took off my hood.

    ¡°What? A girl.¡±

    At a distance, with my hood up, how would they know?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯vee to the vige for, but I suggest you leave as soon as possible. There is a Tiger Wolf around the vige. It showed up again this morning.¡±

    So that¡¯s why they stayed inside their houses.

    Even though the Tiger Wolf had left, unlike me, they didn¡¯t have detection skills, so they must have been hiding because they suspected that the Tiger Wolf might still be nearby.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to take down this Tiger Wolf, can you tell me more about it?¡±

    I asked the frightened man politely.

    ¡°A girl like you, a youngdy, is hunting down the Tiger Wolf?¡±

    What was the name of the man who came to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?

    ¡°Do you know the man who came to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital?¡±

    ¡°Shreid?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Shreid-san.¡±

    I remembered his name was something like that.

    The man thought momentarily and then asked me to go inside the house.

    Inside the house was a woman who looked like his wife and one boy.

    ¡°Are you sure Shreid asked you to do this?¡±

    ¡°To be precise, I epted the request from Shreid-san, who came to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital.¡±

    ¡°So you are an adventurer, then?¡±

    ¡°I certainly am.¡±

    The man looked me up and down and held his head.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a funny looking girl to ept it.¡±

    ¡°You.¡±

    A woman puts her hand on the man¡¯s shoulder as he holds his head.

    I understand how they feel, but it was rude.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose any other adventurers wille to visit us.¡±

    ¡°Nope, only me.¡±

    It was too much trouble, so I lost myposure.

    The couple both looked incredulous at my words. And it was like the end of the world.

    I knew it, but this reaction was terrible.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me, but give me some information about the Tiger Wolf. Just tell me which direction it came from, or where it lives.¡±

    Once I knew where it was, I could use my detecting skills to find it.

    ¡°Tiger Wolf is in the woods straight out of this house.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    I wanted to get this over with and return to the Royal Capital as soon as possible because Fina would be worried if I didn¡¯t finish the job.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just the Tiger Wolf. There¡¯s a pack of Wolf with it.¡±

    Was the Tiger Wolf leading them?

    ¡°Oh, okay, so you want me to take down the Wolves as well?¡±

    I wondered what he wanted because he looked so serious, but it was just a pack of Wolves.

    Should I ask for an additional charge, I wonder?

    Well, as long as I get the materials, I wouldn¡¯t need to charge them more.

    ¡°It¡¯s a herd. It¡¯s not something you can handle on your own.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about additional fees, don¡¯t be. I¡¯ll take the materials in return.¡±

    The man looked at me with an expression that said, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, and I¡¯ll bring back the Tiger Wolves carcarcases after I kill it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t ask what kind of contract was made with the man who came to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to put in the request, but Sanya-san asked me to get the Tiger Wolf carcasses for the event, so it should be fine.

    ¡°Girl. You¡¯ve got to be kidding.¡±

    The man¡¯s body was trembling.

    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding around.¡±

    ¡°Girl. My husband is worried about you.¡±

    The man¡¯s wife was interpreting for him.

    She seemed worried that I would be in danger not only because of the Tiger Wolves, but also because there were so many Wolves.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take down both the Tiger Wolf and the Wolf pack in a jiffy.¡±

    I was about to leave the house, wasting no time, when I heard amotion outside.

    ¡°Don¡¯te here! Somebody, help me!¡±

    ¡°That voice, Dante.¡±

    The man stood up and picked up a spear propped up against the wall.

    ¡°Dear!¡±

    His wife grabbed the man¡¯s arm and shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have to go.¡±

    The man shook her hand off, walked past me, and ran out of the house.

    I followed him out of the house.

    I used my detection skills.

    There were wolves in the vige, and also not only one Tiger Wolf.

    I could have summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear so that I would have noticed it earlier, but regrets were not an option.

    I followed Shreid and found a man with a spear surrounded by Wolves. The man was standing before a broken door, waving his spear to protect his family inside the house.

    ¡°Dante!¡±

    Shreid ran towards the Wolf, swinging his spear.

    The Wolf dodges the spear and attacks the man. I pierced the Wolf¡¯s body with an ice arrow from the side. After being pierced, the Wolf copses.

    ¡°Mi, missy?¡±

    I dashed past the startled man, and quickly knocked the wolves down with an ice arrow, as well as the wolf who was attacking the man in front of the door, who was trying to protect his family from the Wolf with his spear.

    ¡°Dante! Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Thanks foring to my rescue.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? We¡¯ve known each other since we were kids.¡±

    ¡°And who is this little girl?¡±

    The man guarding the house asked, looking at me.

    ¡°She seems to be an adventurer from the Royal Capital.¡±

    ¡°An adventurer, huh?¡±

    The man looked at me carefully.

    Well, they requested someone to take down the Tiger Wolf, and a girl dressed as a bear like me arrived, so it was only natural that he would react that way.

    ¡°Both of you, move to a safe ce, and I¡¯ll take care of the wolves.¡±

    ¡°But-¡°

    ¡°Defeating them is my job, you know. Besides, you saw me take down a Wolf, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The men looked at the fallen Wolf.

    ¡°Okay. Thanks.¡±

    The man bowed his head.

    The man who was attacked by Wolf beckoned his family to head outside. He then instructed them to go to Shreid¡¯s house, where I first met him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to summon a bear, but don¡¯t be surprised and point your weapon at it.¡±

    I said and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Bear!?¡±

    The men were surprised by the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that appeared.

    ¡°They are my summons, they are not dangerous, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please take care of the wolves in the vige.¡±

    ¡°¡±Kuhn.¡±¡±

    I asked, sending Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear running.

    I escorted the men to the house of the man who had just left because I didn¡¯t want the men to be attacked by the Wolf on the way.

    ¡°Well then, make sure you lock the door tight and never go outside the house.¡±

    I made sure that the men nodded in acknowledgment and then closed the door before heading to face the Tiger Wolf.

    I ran on the roof and made a beeline to where Tiger Wolf was.

    I hopped off the roof andnded cleanly right in front of the Tiger Wolf, and that Tiger Wolf growled at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to take you down.¡±

    The Tiger Wolf attacked me.

    I avoided its charge like a bullfighter, but Tiger Wolf quickly turned itself around and attacked me again.

    Toote.

    The Tiger Wolf jumped, opened its big mouth, and tried to bite me.

    Sanya-san asked me to make it a clean kill.

    Conveniently, the Tiger Wolf opened its mouth wide as if asking me to attack inside its body.

    I fire an ice arrow into the Tiger Wolf¡¯s mouth.

    Just when I thought I hadnded a sure killing blow, the Tiger Wolf crushed the ice arrow.

    Oh, this was unexpected.

    The Tiger Wolf that chewed up the ice arrow attacked me with its wide-open maw. I avoided it.

    I felt bad for the vigers, but I had been stressed out from the battle with Slime, so I was having fun in the battle for the first time in a long time.

    Contrary to my enjoyment, Tiger Wolf was growling and seemed enraged.

    Tiger Wolf opened its mouth and attacked me again.

    I avoided it by stepping backward.

    ¡°Water Ball¡±.

    I created a water ball and aimed it at Tiger Wolf¡¯s head to choke it to death, but Tiger Wolf dodged the water ball to the left and right.

    This Tiger Wolf was strong.

    I gave the Tiger Wolf a bear uppercut under the chin as it continued to attack me.

    The Tiger Wolf¡¯s body rose into the air and then dropped to the ground, rolling.

    I approached it and shoved an Ice Arrow into its mouth, reaching its brain. It was still unconsciously kicking the air but soon stopped.

    ¡°Phew.¡±

    It was a little tricky, but I sessfully took down the first Tiger Wolf cleanly.

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 Chapter 627

    <h4>Chapter 627</h4>

    <b>Bear-san working together with Swaying Bear.</b>

    The first Tiger Wolf kill took a little bit of time, so I had to get to the second Tiger Wolf quickly.

    I used my detection skills to locate the other Tiger Wolves.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    There was a Tiger Wolf and Swaying Bear in the same spot.

    Maybe they were fighting?

    When I checked the Hugging Bear¡¯s response, she seemed to be fighting the Wolves, and the Wolves¡¯ signals near Hugging Bear were fading away.

    I concluded that Hugging Bear was OK, so I headed for Swaying Bear.

    When I ran to the Swaying Bear, I found the Swaying Bear and the Tiger Wolf fighting.

    Tiger Wolf attacked Swaying Bear. But Swaying Bear kept the Tiger Wolf away from him by cleaving the front paw.

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    Just as Tiger Wolf moved away, Swaying Bear gathered magic power in his ws and swung his arm; it transformed into a de of wind from Swaying Bear¡¯s ws and attacked Tiger Wolf; the Tiger Wolf evaded by crouching and distanced itself further away.

    The Swaying Bear¡¯s attack felt strange, even though he could have easily taken down a Tiger Wolf. It was as if Swaying Bear was holding back and stalling for time.

    Swaying Bear looked at me.

    Could it be¡­?

    ¡°Swaying Bear!¡±

    ¡°Kuh~n!¡±

    I shout, and Swaying Bear sprints towards the Tiger Wolf, and the Tiger Wolf also charged at him. The distance between them closed, and they collided, Tiger Wolf¡¯s ws and Swaying Bear¡¯s ws striking each other.

    The attacks seemed synchronised, but Swaying Bear¡¯s arm was swept out too quickly, and Tiger Wolf was blown away.

    Swaying Bear then runs straight at it and ces his leg on the body of the Tiger Wolf, which fell after being blown away, to stop it from moving.

    ¡°Kuh~n!¡±

    Swaying Bear cries to me.

    I understand Swaying Bear¡¯s thoughts and create water magic, shooting water at Tiger Wolf¡¯s face.

    Tiger Wolf iled about, but Swaying Bear held it down and prevented it from moving, causing it to drown.

    The Swaying Bear could have defeated the Tiger Wolf, but he didn¡¯t. It was probably to aplish my goals (to capture/kill those wolves as intact as possible).

    On the way to the vige, I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that Sanya-san wanted me to defeat Tiger Wolves and ensure the carcasses were as pristine as possible.

    So it seems that Swaying Bear was waiting for me to defeat Tiger Wolf without damaging it.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    Looking at his happy face, it seemed I wasn¡¯t wrong.

    ¡°But Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are more important than keeping my promise to Sanya-san, so you don¡¯t have to do anything dangerous.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were much more important than keeping my promise to Sanya-san.

    If they didn¡¯t knock them down when they could, if they made the slightest mistake and got hurt, or even the other way around, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop worrying about them.

    ¡°Kuun!¡±

    Swaying Bear cried sadly.

    It wasn¡¯t that I was angry.

    ¡°Thank you, though.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    I thanked him and patted his head; this time, he looked happy.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s take down the rest of the wolves in the vige.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    Hugging Bear did a good job, and the number of Wolves had reduced considerably.

    Perhaps the two of them had discussed and divided their roles.

    When Swaying Bear and I joined in the wolf hunt, we quickly finished eliminating the wolves in the vige.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, thank you.¡±

    I pat them both on the head.

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    After collecting the wolves and the Tiger Wolves¡¯ carcasses after the hunt, I headed to the house of the first man I met.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right now. I¡¯ve defeated all the monsters in the vige.¡±

    I said to the house, and the door slowly opened.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    They asked through the doorway.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. I¡¯d like you to confirm it and sign the certificate of subjugation.

    The man opened the door uneasily and stepped out of the house.

    ¡°Are you sure you killed that many wolves?¡±

    ¡°You can see for yourself, can¡¯t you?¡±

    No matter how much I told him I had defeated them, it would be meaningless if he didn¡¯t believe me. If that were the case, it would be quicker for them to see the monsters I had defeated.

    When the man left the house and saw the mound of vanquished monsters, the man went to the vige chief¡¯s home and other houses and told them it was safe.

    The vige chief and other vigers then confirmed that the monsters were defeated.

    ¡°Thank you so much.¡±

    The vige chief thanked me.

    At first, he looked doubtful when he saw my outfit, but many people in the vige had seen the fight between me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear.

    They heard a noise and looked out their windows. Because of their words, even those who seemed sceptical about me believed me.

    Many of them seemed to think that it was the work of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, rather than me.

    They were right since Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear defeated most monsters.

    ¡°There are no other monsters in the area, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, all we¡¯ve seen are two Tiger Wolves and a pack of Wolves.¡±

    Then, the request waspleted.

    I was d we could defeat them before they caused too much permanent damage to the vige.

    And, as promised, the Tiger Wolves and Wolves that were killed were given to me.

    Thanks to Swaying Bear, I beat the Tiger Wolves cleanly, meaning I had to take them back home (so that they could be used for thepetition).

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going back.¡±

    ¡°Are you leaving already? I haven¡¯t even thanked you enough yet.¡±

    The vige chief tried to keep me from leaving, but further hospitality was unnecessary.

    The children in the vige looked disappointed at my words.

    While I was talking to the vige chief, they were admiring Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I would like to say something. Fathers and mothers, you should not let your children near bears. They may be dangerous.

    ¡°It¡¯s my job, so don¡¯t worry about thanking me.¡±

    I asked the kids to step away from the Swaying Bear and the Hugging Bear and was about to get on the Swaying Bear when someone came running toward us from outside the vige and came right in front of us.

    They had been running for a long time, sweaty and out of breath.

    ¡°Uwah, a Bear!¡±

    The sweaty man was surprised to see Swaying Bear and me.

    No, he probably noticed us before he got too close.

    But he was out of breath and wobbly, so maybe he wasn¡¯t looking ahead properly.

    ¡°You are, Jimmy from the nearby vige. What¡¯s up? Why are you in such a hurry?¡±

    ¡°Ah, vige chief¡­¡±

    The man called Jimmy looked at Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure these bears are safe.¡±

    Does that include me?

    ¡°Are you sure they are safe?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they were the benefactors of the vige. What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°The vige was attacked by monsters.¡±

    More monsters?

    How many were there?

    The man said he was from a nearby vige.

    The vige was attacked by a monster called Giant Spider.

    The name sounds horrifying.

    A spider, huh?

    I was born and raised in the city, and I disliked insects.

    I was especially bad with insects that have lots of legs.

    Spiders, next to cockroaches, rank high on my list of insects that I disliked.

    The man was telling us about his vige.

    He said that while working in the vige, Giant Spiders appeared. At first, he said, everyone in the vige tried to defeat them, but not just one, but several appeared, and the vigers became confused when more Giant Spiders appeared.

    Amidst all this, he said, the vige chief asked him to go to the next vige to ask for help, and he ran to this vige.

    The manter added, iming that giant spiders attacked him on his way to this vige, but two adventurers saved him.

    ¡°If those two people hadn¡¯t saved me, I would have been killed by the spiders.¡±

    ¡°Who were the adventurers?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They were just passing through. I exined to him what was happening in the vige, but he told me to go to the vige to ask for help.¡±

    The adventurer parted ways with him and said they would go to his vige.

    I hoped the adventurers were strong enough to go and take down the spiders.

    Well, what do I do now?

    Just imagine. Giant Spiders have many legs, and that hideous mouth, and those creepy movements. No amount of bear equipment would protect my spirit.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-san.¡±

    The vige chief looked at me with a troubled expression.

    If it were a pack of ¡®normal¡¯ monsters, I would feel free to go and subjugate the horde, but it was a group of oversized spiders. I want to pretend I didn¡¯t hear that and go home instead.

    A spider. I would rather not fight if I could.

    If I could leave it to someone else, I would.

    But I could not just leave it to others, could I?

    I let out a small sigh.

    ¡°The vige is over that way, right?¡±

    ¡°Yuna-san!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go there. But I¡¯ll ask other adventurers to go instead if it seems impossible.¡±

    It would leave a bad aftertaste if I abandoned him andter heard that a spider had eaten that poor soul.

    ¡°Vige chief, are you sure you want to ask this youngdy? It¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Yuna-san may look like this, but she was the strong one who saved our vige from a pack of Tiger Wolves and Wolves.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    But, as if to encourage the vige chief¡¯s words, the vigers also raised their voices.

    ¡°That little girl is strong, she¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°I saw her fight the Tiger Wolf.¡±

    ¡°Bear-san, strong.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, that¡¯s fine. If you don¡¯t trust me, that¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just ask another adventurer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. There are girls as big as you in the vige. I don¡¯t think they could fight a monster like that. If you were to get eaten by a spider¡­¡±

    Apparently, he was worried about me.

    ¡°I can use magic, and I have these two with me, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I turned to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The man looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and bowed his head.

    ¡°Please, help our vige.¡±

    I decided to head for the vige, thinking that I would be lucky if the adventurers who helped the man had killed the spiders.

    For now, I should check out the current situation.

    I mounted Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    I moved with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear towards the vige that the man had told me about.

    Given the location of each vige to each other, perhaps Tiger Wolves and Wolves were fleeing from the Spiders.

    What a nuisance this could end up being.

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 Chapter 628

    <h4>Chapter 628</h4>

    T/L: Hi, everyone. We have re-edited and re-uploaded 616 to 627. From now on, release rate will be as before.

    Other than that, we have recently found that now novelupdates only shows links when you are logged in. Thanks for the wait.

    <b>A Certain Adventurer</b>

    ¡°Damn, what¡¯s with this number?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Deborane-san, what do we do now?¡± (Lanz)

    It was by chance that we passed by the vige.

    We were returning from killing some monsters when we encountered a man attacked by a Giant Spider. Lanz and I defeated the Giant Spider and saved the man.

    Small spiders are cute but look disgusting when they are as big as Wolves.

    The man we saved told us that numerous Giant Spiders had appeared in his vige. So the man said he was going to a nearby vige to ask for help.

    I handed him my canteen and told him to go to the vige and get help. The man drank the water in one gulp, thanked me and ran off.

    ¡°Deborane-san, what do we do now?¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do it.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz and I ride off in the opposite direction the man rode off.

    We saw a Giant Spider moving around the vige when we arrived in the vige.

    Some of the vigers were armed and trying to fight them.

    That was not bravery. That was just recklessness.

    Fighting should be left to the experts.

    If one could cook, one should be a cook.

    If one could farm, one should be a farmer.

    If one wanted to do business, one would be a merchant.

    One would be a lord if one wants to organize a town.

    And if one wanted to fight monsters, they would be an adventurer.

    In other words, me!

    ¡°Lanz, tell the people in the vige to go inside and hide because they are in the way.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz and I ran around the vige and told them to retreat into the houses.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, stay inside the house.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Orya!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Stay inside the house and don¡¯t make a sound.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°You¡¯re slowing us down, so go inside and board up!¡± (Deborane)

    When the vigers identified us as adventurers, they followed my instructions and went inside their houses.

    Amidst all this, a woman came running up to me.

    ¡°My husband failed to escape and was caught by a big spider in the field.¡± (Viger A)

    The woman asked for help.

    Giant Spiders capture their prey but do not eat it right away. They had the habit of wrapping their threads around it and preserving it.

    But if they were hungry, you never know.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get my rewardter, okay?¡± (Deborane)

    I mounted my horse and headed for the field the woman told me about.

    There were two Giant Spiders in the field. There, lying on the ground, was what appeared to be a person wrapped in spider silk.

    ¡°That one?¡± (Deborane)

    I brandished my sword and defeated the Giant Spider.

    I got off my horse, ran up to the man, and carefully put my knife close to where his face would be.

    The threads were sticky and hard to cut.

    But the man¡¯s face emerged from under the coiled thread.

    He was breathing. And his eyes slowly opened.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Oh, and you are?¡± (Viger B)

    ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer. You can thank meter.¡± (Deborane)

    I tried to cut the threads around the man, but more Giant Spiders appeared and gathered around us.

    There were so many of them.

    I lifted the man wrapped in string, ced him on my horse¡¯s back, and rode off.

    I mount my horse, ride through the Giant Spiders, and head for the woman¡¯s house.

    ¡°Thank¡­!¡± (Viger A)

    ¡°Get inside the house and hide!¡± (Deborane)

    I dismount with the man from my horse and throw him inside the house.

    ¡°Thank you, si-¡± (Viger B)

    ¡°If you want to thank me, don¡¯t use words, just get the money prepared and I will take itter.¡± (Deborane)

    I headed out to take down the Giant Spiders, but there were more of them than I expected.

    I looked outside the vige and saw more Giant Spidersing into the vige.

    ¡°Damn, there are more of them.¡± (Deborane)

    Lanz and I couldn¡¯t handle this number of spiders.

    The faces of two adventurerse to mind.

    Gil, who, like me, had a big body.

    Rurina, who provides cover for us with magic.

    ¡°Haaah.¡± (Deborane)

    It was so unlike me to think about those who weren¡¯t here.

    I mount my horse and rejoin Lanz.

    ¡°Lanz, are you okay?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°What about the vigers?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°The vigers have gone into hiding in their houses as instructed.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deborane)

    Well, at least they had time to hide in their houses.

    ¡°And the Vige Chief would like to see you.¡± (Lanz)

    The Vige Chief, huh? We needed to hear what he said to understand what was happening.

    Lanz and I headed for the Vige Chief¡¯s house.

    We apologized to the Vige Chief, but we didn¡¯t want the Giant Spider to feed on our horses, so we will have to let the horses go inside the house.

    ¡°Thank you for helping everyone in the vige.¡± (Vige Chief)

    I just saved a few vige residents and killed a few Giant Spiders. That was easy for me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet.¡± (Deborane)

    I got the vigers still loitering outside to escape into their houses, but the Giant Spiders were still around the vige.

    Even after we killed them, they kept springing up like insects.

    ¡°So, is it possible to defeat the monsters? Of course, we will do all we can to help you.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief asks me with a sullen look in his eyes.

    I would say it depends on the reward, but that number would be too much for just me and Lanz.

    ¡°We can defeat them individually, but there are too many of them.¡± (Deborane)

    I looked through the window and saw them crawling around.

    If only Gil and Rurina were here¡­

    The two of them left the party because of my rivalry with that bear.

    I do believe that an adventurer should be a strong man.

    If you were not strong, you would die.

    Since bing an adventurer, I have seen many new adventurers who never returned.

    So when that bear told me someday she wanted to be an adventurer, I thought, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding¡±. Being an adventurer is something other than something you do for fun. You have to fight for your life.

    I have many scars on my body from monsters. Scars that would never go away. I did not be an adventurer for money.

    That¡¯s why I taught those who would be adventurers how hard it was to be an adventurer.

    But the bear¡¯s ability was real.

    I was beaten easily; she had in various monsters and even a ck viper.

    The difference in ability between me and the bear was obvious.

    She was dressed like one as a joke, but she was truly a fearsome bear.

    Just remembering that bear frustrates me.

    So when that bear set up a store, Gil and Rurina offered to help, but my pride wouldn¡¯t allow it, so I didn¡¯t help.

    Disgusted by my behavior, Gil and Rurina left the party.

    ¡°So, Deborane-san, what do you want to do?¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz asked.

    Lanz followed me even after the two of them left the party.

    I couldn¡¯t let Lanz die.

    ¡°Do you want to run away?¡± (Deborane)

    Lanz asked me in a quiet voice, so quiet that the Vige Chief couldn¡¯t hear me.

    I looked out the window again and saw Giant Spiders roaming around, too many of them.

    Even if we tried to escape, it would be impossible if such arge number of them attacked us.

    We would be finished if we got tangled up in their threads while running away.

    What should we do? Think!

    Right now, thanks to the Giant Spider¡¯s habits, there would be no imminent threat to our lives.

    But it was only a matter of time.

    As time passes, some residents might be food for the Giant Spider.

    We need more time and more people to fight.

    There were no answers.

    ¡°Deborane-san and Lanz-san, please run away. The two of you can leave the vige.¡± (Vige Chief)

    While I struggled with this, the Vige Chief said something like that.

    ¡°No, no. Please go outside the vige and get help. If you stay here, you could only end up as food. But, if you leave the vige while you have strength, you have a better chance of survival.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief was right. As time passes, it would be more and more difficult to escape.

    But considering the additional Giant Spiders from outside the vige, we may have missed that golden hour moment as well.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m staying.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Deborane-san!?¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Outside the vige, I helped a man who left the vige. That man must be asking for help. We will have to wait for him to bring a strong adventurer with him.¡± (Deborane)

    Not many adventurers were stronger than me, though.

    ¡°Did you see Jimmy? Is he all right?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°I saved him from being attacked by a Giant Spider.¡± (Deborane)

    The Vige Chief was relieved to hear my words.

    The problem was after he left us. Who knows what would have happened if another Giant Spider had attacked him again?

    If the man could safely get to the nearby vige, help would be on the way.

    The problem was the number of peopleing to help and the quality and time they would take to get there.

    No matter how many people there were, if they were not capable, they would just end up dead.

    And above all, there may not be enough time.

    If they failed to arrive in time, there might be casualties.

    As we talked, the Giant Spider gathered around the house and began spitting out threads towards the house.

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re wrapping the whole house in string.¡± (Deborane)

    It seemed like they were preserving the whole house and us.

    Lanz examined the ceilings, walls, etc. There were sounds of crawling on the roof and crawling on the walls. It sounds disgusting. I would like to sh it right away. But for now, all we could do was sit tight.

    And then, after who knows how long, a scream could be hearding from outside the house.

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    I did not know if they were trying to escape or if it was time for the Giant Spider to eat, but the people of the vige had been attacked.

    ¡°Damn it, Lanz, you stay.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be joining you.¡± (Lanz)

    I opened the door, which I had cut the threads from the gap before, and looked outside.

    There were no spiders nearby, but the screams came again.

    But there was another scream.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Lanz!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz and I run.

    There were five Giant Spiders in front of one house.

    A man was fighting the Giant Spiders at the door, trying to keep them from entering the house behind him alone.

    But the man was holding his spear with his back to the wall and with a weak, sloppy stance.

    You couldn¡¯t protect what you want to protect with a stance like that.

    ¡°Lanz, I¡¯ll deal with the Giant Spider. After you secure the man and the people in the house, take them to the chief¡¯s house!¡± (Deborane)

    Part of the house was destroyed. It would be dangerous to stay in that house any longer for safety.

    ¡°Deborane-san, I can¡¯t leave you alone.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine on my own. Besides, if there were children in the house, they would run away if I approached them.¡± (Deborane)

    Lanz looked at me.

    ¡°Well, Deborane-san¡¯s face is scary.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°That¡¯s the part you should deny. No one else is this handsome.¡± (Deborane)

    Lanz and I started running towards the house that was being attacked. I ram into the Giant Spider, swinging my big sword, and cut it down, clearing a path for Lanz to pass.

    Lanz ran past me and headed for the guy.

    I turned my back on Lanz and the guy and dealt with the rest of the Giant Spider.

    ¡°Come at me!¡± (Deborane)

    I swing my big sword down at the Giant Spider.

    But the Giant Spider ducks backwards.

    The Giant Spider¡¯s eight legs move at high speed.

    If Rurina had been there, she could have stopped it or predicted where it would run away and unleashed her magic.

    With Gil, I could have left half the work to him.

    Fufu, there was no point in thinking about people who arent here.

    ¡°Deborane-san, there were two people in the house.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz called from behind.

    I looked behind me, keeping an eye out for the Giant Spider.

    They¡¯re a husband, a wife, and a child.

    ¡°I¡¯ll clear the way.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Orya! Come on! I¡¯m your opponent!¡± (Deborane)

    I put all my strength into my hand, gripping the great sword and was about to run towards the Giant Spider in front of me when more Giant Spiders gathered around me.

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    Even if I killed a few of them here, it would be the end if they chased after the fleeing Lanz and the others.

    Think, what should we do?

    Well, that was easy.

    Then all I have to do is to reduce the number until Lanz and the others can escape.

    ¡°Lanz, stay where you are. When I tell you to run, run.¡± (Deborane)

    I brandished my greatsword at the Giant Spider.

    ¡°Orya!¡± (Deborane)

    I smash the greatsword to the side.

    Smack, the greatsword sliced into the spider¡¯s body.

    The other spiders started spitting out threads.

    I blocked it with my great sword. The threads cling to my greatsword.

    That makes it impossible to slice with the sword. Then, I just have to stab them with the sword.

    ¡°Orya! Die!¡± (Deborane)

    I thrust my great sword into the Giant Spider.

    But no matter how many I killed, the Giant Spiders kept gathering around.

    They¡¯re all over me like moths to amp.

    My weapon would be rendered useless if I didn¡¯t do something about it.

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz shouted, and at the same time, wind magic flew out of nowhere and sliced the Giant Spider to bits.

    Who was it?

    I looked for the person who had cast the spell.

    There I found a Bear.

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 Chapter 629

    <h4>Chapter 629</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Reunites with the Goblin</b>

    I used my detection skills as I approached the vige.

    ¡°Uwah!¡± (Yuna)

    I got a lot of responses indicating the presence of Giant Spiders.

    Howe there were so many spiders?

    Just the thought of it made me shiver.

    I would like to go home. I would like to pretend I didn¡¯t see the Giant Spiders.

    But I couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s proceed slowly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuh~n¡±

    ¡­

    I thought I had prepared myself properly.

    I was not going to be surprised when it showed up.

    But the image and the actual thing were different.

    ¡°Gya ¡«¡«¡± (Yuna)

    I screamed when I saw the Giant Spider that appeared before me.

    It was a big spider.

    It was about the size of a Wolf.

    Even the palm-sized tarant I saw on TV made me shudder, but a Wolf-sized spider was impossible.

    I could see its ck body, eight legs, and mouth ticking, giving me goosebumps.

    ¡°Bear Cutter.¡± (Yuna)

    The Giant Spider splits into three equal parts and dies.

    I had used bear magic and identally caused excessive damage.

    When I looked at the Giant Spider, cut into three pieces, I saw its legs twitching.

    ¡°Ugh, I want to just go home.¡± (Yuna)

    There were cartoons andics before young girls who were turned into sorcerers were thrown alive intorge numbers of insects to feed. Either the sorceresses died, or the insects died. I got goosebumps when I saw that.

    If they did that to me, I would go crazy.

    I wouldn¡¯t even want to look directly at it up close.

    The thought of arge spider¡¯s face in front of me gives me goosebumps.

    Terrible. It might be my worst enemy ever.

    The thought of facing a ce full of spiders, which I dislike, depressed me.

    Somehow, ter on) I screamed many times when encountering Giant Spiders during my journey to the vige.

    I finally arrived in the vige, but now I felt like I would have a mental breakdown.

    ¡°I want to go home.¡± (Yuna)

    I lost count of how many times muttered this phrase non-stop.

    I wanted to go home, forget about everything, hug Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and go to sleep.

    I would love to spend time with Fina and Shuri.

    But, looking at the current situation in the vige, I could not say so.

    Giant Spiders wandered around the vige in swarms and spider threads coiled houses.

    It was as if they were trying to keep the people inside the house from getting out.

    I used my detecting skill to check. There were some reactions from people.

    They may have been trapped inside the house but still alive.

    I was relieved that I made it in time, but I had to defeat the many Giant Spiders on the prowl and do something about this mess of a situation.

    The strings it spits out were a nuisance, but I could defeat them without too much trouble.

    The question was whether my spirit wouldst.

    I checked around with my detection skill and found quite a few of the Giant Spiders in the vige. There were 30, 50, or more. It was too much trouble to count them.

    Then, I might not like it, but I should start defeating the spiders.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please take care of the back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuh~n¡±

    I¡¯ll have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stay by my side for once.

    Normally, it would be quicker to defeat them separately, but if I were attacked from behind by a Giant Spider, I would suffer psychological and emotional damage.

    If that happened, I would be traumatized for the rest of my life.

    The thought of being haunted by countlessrge spiders would make me faint.

    Therefore, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would be my escorts.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, protect me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuh~n¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s cries sounded like, ¡°Leave it to us¡±.

    I trust you both!

    We move through the vige, defeating the Giant Spiders that roam the vige.

    The Giant Spider¡¯s body was soft, so it was easy to defeat it, but please don¡¯t make its legs twitch after defeat.

    I want to see it in my dreams.

    Today, I should sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms.

    If I hugged both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms, I was sure the spiders would not appear in my dreams.

    Even if Fina and Shuri ask me to lend these bears to them, I would refuse even if I had to be an ogre this time.

    As I was moving through the vige, defeating the Giant Spider, I heard a man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Orya! Get out of the way!¡± (???)

    Were they fighting?

    Could it be the adventurers?

    I remember the man who came to the vige to ask for help told me that two adventurers had saved him.

    I wondered if it was those adventurers who were fighting.

    That means that after rescuing the man, they went to the vige attacked by Giant Spiders, instead of running away.

    And even in this situation, he was fighting without running away.

    I admire that.

    Maybe I could leave it all to this adventurer?

    I would like to leave it to him.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuhn.¡±

    I headed toward the voice for now since it could have been a viger.

    ¡°There he is.¡± (Yuna)

    Arge man with a goblin face was fighting a Giant Spider, wielding arge sword.

    Another man who looked like an adventurer was behind him, protecting his family.

    Where have I seen that goblin face with the big sword before?

    Where was it? Now was not the time to think about it.

    Spiders surrounded the goblin-faced adventurer, and behind him was a man, a woman, and a child who looked like a family.

    I ran forward and fired wind magic from behind the Giant Spider, slicing it to pieces.

    Strange-colored liquids spurt out of the spider, and then it falls over.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked the goblin-faced adventurer, who looked at me startled.

    I knew I had seen him somewhere before.

    ¡°¡­You, bear.¡± (Deborane)

    I thought he was surprised by my outfit, but I guess not.

    You what? This means that he knew me.

    I was not mistaken.

    ¡°Why are you here, Bear Lady?¡± (Lanz)

    The man guarding the family behind me also seemed to know me.

    Indeed, this man also looked familiar to me.

    ¡°Well, are you all right? I¡¯m here to help you. And have I met you somewhere else?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­you.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    Goblin-face was angry, and the man protecting his family uttered the name of the man who seemed to be Goblin-face.

    Deborane, Deborane.

    It sounded familiar.

    I have it tucked away somewhere in my brain.

    But it never came out of that memory drawer.

    ¡°You forgot the face of the man you beat up when you came to register as an adventurer.¡±

    ¡­

    Poof.

    ¡°Goblin.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s Deborane!¡± (Deborane)

    I remembered. I remembered.

    It was the adventurer who had tried to bully me when I went to register with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. And I had beaten him back.

    It was a nostalgic memory.

    I hadn¡¯t seen Deborane muchtely and had forgotten about him.

    Wasn¡¯t the guy behind Deborane named Lanz?

    He was a former member of Rurina¡¯s and Gil¡¯s group, and he said they had split up, but here he was.

    ¡°Why are you two here? We¡¯re far from Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s what we would like to ask you?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I went to kill a Tiger Wolf in a nearby vige at a request from the royal capital, and a man from this vige asked me to help him because this vige was being attacked by spiders.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that man is safe, then?¡± (Deborane)

    I knew it was these two men who had saved that man.

    ¡°He was tired, but he¡¯s fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane looked relieved.

    ¡°Deborane-san, now let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz said while looking around.

    The surroundings were safe for now because I defeated the Giant Spiders, but you never know when they would gather again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane called out to me as I wondered what I should do.

    ¡°You,e with us.¡± (Deborane)

    I wanted to say, ¡°Why?¡± but they were protecting a family in the back, and I also wanted to get some information, so I decided to go with them.

    We arrived in the Vige Chief¡¯s house.

    ¡°Bears!¡± (Vige Chief)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear closed in on the house and surprised the man inside the house.

    This man seemed to be the Vige Chief.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about these bears.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane said, and without waiting for the Vige Chief¡¯s permission, he sat down in a chair and asked for a ss of water.

    The Vige Chief then offered water to the tired Deborane and Lanz, who drank it all in one gulp.

    The family, who had been attacked, thanked Deborane and were allowed to rest in an adjoining room.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up with that cute littledy dressed as a bear, and the bears?¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief turned to me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Well, even though she¡¯s dressed like this, she¡¯s an adventurer.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Adventurer?¡± (Vige Chief)

    Deborane said I was an adventurer.

    That was quite an improvement from the first time we met.

    ¡°Also, these ck and white bear are her pets.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n!¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cry out in protest at Deborane¡¯s introduction.

    ¡°Are they really Pets?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°Kuhn!¡±

    Again, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried out again in protest.

    The conversation was not going anywhere, so I joined in.

    ¡°They are my precious friends. So as long as you don¡¯t do anything to them, they¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried happily when I said they were my friends.

    The Vige Chief had a puzzled look on his face but did not inquire any further about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°So, that means you¡¯re here to help us take down these Giant Spiders, right?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane asked as he cleaned up the Giant Spider¡¯s threads and blood that clung to his sword.

    ¡°I intend to, but do I need to?¡± (Yuna)

    He might tell me to stay out of it or that he didn¡¯t need your help.

    ¡°I need help. I and Lanz couldn¡¯t use magic.¡± (Deborane)

    Oh, he could honestly ask for help.

    It seemed that he didn¡¯t say no to protect his pride when the lives of the vige residents were at stake.

    I wouldn¡¯t pick a fight with someone if they didn¡¯te at me. Because I am an adult.

    ¡°Well, then, brief me the situation.¡± (Yuna)

    ording to the Vige Chief, the Giant Spiders appeared out of nowhere and attacked the vige.

    Deborane and Lanz were on business near the vige and saved a man from being attacked by a spider.

    My goblin stock has gone up.

    I respected him foring to the vige and not running away.

    And ording to Deborane¡¯s instructions, the vige residents were trapped and locked up inside their houses.

    So the residents were inside their houses.

    That reminds me again that Deborane was also a proper adventurer.

    ¡°Giant Spiders have a habit of wrapping their threads around their food and saving it forter to eat. If they stay inside their houses, they won¡¯t be eaten right away.¡± (Deborane)

    Most of the houses were wrapped in web string.

    ¡°It¡¯s not pleasant, though. But in the meantime, their lives are spared.¡± (Deborane)

    Some would say that they were waiting for their turn to be eaten.

    But Deborane was right. The vigers would not be eaten right away, which means the adventurers have time to process the situation.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that we just have to defeat the Giant Spider in the vige, right?¡± (Yuna)

    Then my original goal remained the same. We just have to defeat the Giant Spiders that have attacked the vige.

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 Chapter 630

    <h4>Chapter 630</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Fighting Spiders Part 1</b>

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we should defeat the Giant Spiders in the vige, right?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to be strong in front of Deborane but to tell you the truth; I didn¡¯t want to fight. Fighting that big spider was damaging to my psyche. Even the best bear gear would not protect me from the mental damage.

    So I wanted to leave everything to Deborane. But I can¡¯t do that either, so I want to avoid at least cleaning up the mess.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you take down the Giant Spiders, but I won¡¯t process the Giant Spiders.¡± (Yuna)

    This much was non-negotiable.

    Sorry, but I would not even want Giant Spiders in my bear box.

    Of all the insects, spiders were super hard for me to deal with. I didn¡¯t even want to think about bringing home a spider that big, and I didn¡¯t want Fina to dismantle it, either.

    So I have decided to have Deborane take care of the Giant Spiders.

    I didn¡¯t think I would be punished if I did that.

    By the way, I buried the spiders I had defeated until I arrived in the vige.

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re giving me all the materials for all the Giant Spiders?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane frowns.

    Did you really think I would want all of Giant Spider¡¯s materials?

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you all of it. I don¡¯t want it. I can¡¯t even look directly at it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really. Then we¡¯ll deal with the Giant Spider you killed.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane grinned.

    It was a nasty grin, but we had a deal.

    Dealing with the Giant Spiders would mean touching them with my hands and sticking a knife into them. I couldn¡¯t even imagine it.

    For the first time, I might have some respect for Deborane.

    ¡°First of all, let me tell you, it¡¯s toote to demand itter.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for it. So keep your word. If you don¡¯t keep your word, this is what you get.¡± (Yuna)

    I made a straight punch.

    Deborane¡¯s face twitched as she remembered the punch I had given him.

    I was pleased to see the smirk disappear from Deborane¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hey, wait a minute. Are you really going to let that youngdy dressed as a bear fight?¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief, silently listening to me, asked as he looked at me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this bear is not just any bear. She¡¯s stronger than I am.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Stronger than Deborane-san?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°Only a little bit.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t mean to unt my strength since it was thanks to the Bear Equipment God had given me. But why did I feel annoyed when he said I was slightly stronger than him?

    I guess I didn¡¯t make a good first impression after all.

    They say first impressions matter.

    ¡°So don¡¯t worry.¡± (Deborane)

    At Deborane¡¯s words, the Vige Chief looked at me with concern.

    The Vige Chief¡¯s impression of me might be that of a little girl who wants to defeat a monster. If a strange girl told me she would defeat a monster, even I would be worried.

    I turned to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and reassured the Vige Chief, ¡°They will protect me, don¡¯t worry¡±.

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Deborane)

    The Vige Chief turned to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as he said so.

    I was d he was concerned, but I didn¡¯t want to be held back.

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going to take them down, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been sitting on the floor, stood up.

    ¡°Lanz, we¡¯re going too.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane and Lanz, who had been tending to their heavy swords, also got up from their chairs.

    Apparently, they would fight the Giant Spiders together.

    ¡°Vige Chief. When we leave the house, make sure the door is tightly closed.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes. Everyone, thank you for your help.¡± (Vige Chief)

    Deborane opened the door and, along with Lanz, me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear, walked out of the house. Once we were all out, the Vige Chief bowed his head and closed the door behind us.

    ¡°Don¡¯t slow me down.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to Deborane walking in front of me.

    It annoyed me, but if they died, I would feel bad about it.

    Deborane didn¡¯t even bother to respond; instead, he drew his greatsword.

    A nearby Giant Spider reacted and attacked Deborane, who was walking in the lead, but with one swing of his great sword, he split the Giant Spider¡¯s body in half.

    ¡°Who says I¡¯m slowing you down?¡± (Deborane)

    He proudly said as he turned back around.

    It annoys me, but he seemed to be doing okay.

    But I wouldn¡¯t want Giant Spider¡¯s legs to wiggle around when cut in half.

    Thank goodness for Deborane, who said he would process the Giant Spiders.

    ¡°Lanz, we¡¯re going, from the right!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°Then Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, we¡¯ll go left!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    Starting from the Vige Chief¡¯s house, Deborane, Lanz, myself, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear run off in different directions.

    Normally, it would have been faster to take down the monsters by going around with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear separately, as we did when we took down the wolves, but for my own mental health sake, I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to escort me.

    ¡°Kuu~n!¡±

    We moved on, and soon a Giant Spider came crashing up to us, moving its eight legs.

    Ugh, it was disgusting.

    Even small spiders were no good for me, but a big spider¡­

    I released ice arrows at them since it would be grotesque if I cut up the Giant Spiders with wind magic. The ice arrow pierced into the spider¡¯s brain, and it still tried to move, but its legs stopped, and it fell.

    It was better than using wind magic to slice it up.

    The legs still twitch at the end, though.

    Burning them with fire magic would be nice, though. In fact, I once killed a spider with fire magic. The spider was engulfed in fire, but it moved for a while.

    Furthermore, I couldn¡¯t use fire magic because there were houses around, and it would be serious trouble if it caught fire. Earth magic was the same as ice magic, but ice magic had the additional effect of freezing the spider from inside its body so that it would drop dead faster.

    So ice magic was more effective than earth magic.

    I moved through the vige with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in tow.

    I used ice magic to kill the Giant Spiders, gathering one after another. Perhaps they might be thinking that their food had escaped.

    Six Giant Spiders surround us.

    ¡°Swaying Bear! Hugging Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    When I called their names, the Swaying Bear and the Hugging Bear started to move in unison, forming a triangle.

    I dealt with the Giant Spider in the front, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear dealt with the Giant Spider in the back.

    I killed two of them with my ice arrows, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also killed two of them, each with wind des from their ws.

    I felt safe knowing that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear protected me.

    When we moved to arger area, spiders gathered around us.

    There were so many of them.

    Some of them were newly arrived spiders from outside the vige.

    ¡°How many spiders are there?¡± (Yuna)

    I know this may be a reference to cockroaches, but it was often said that if you see one spider, there could be a hundred of them.

    At least it wasn¡¯t a very strong monster, except it was creepy.

    The threads that the Giant Spider spits out can be burned with fire, and ice arrows could be used to stop it.

    And as I was steadily defeating the Giant Spider, Hugging Bear, behind me to my left, shouted, ¡°Kuh~n!¡±.

    I turned around and saw a spider about to leap at me from the roof of my house. Hugging Bear stood before me and pierced the Giant Spider¡¯s body with its pointed ws.

    If Hugging Bear had not protected me, the spider would have attacked me from behind.

    And I might have been traumatized for life.

    ¡°Thank you, Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    Hugging Bear turned around.

    ¡°Hu, Hugging Bear¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Hugging Bear turned around and backed away a bit.

    ¡°Kuu~n?¡±

    The Hugging Bear¡¯s white fur was now covered in the Giant Spider¡¯s blood.

    Blood was sticky from the arm where the Giant Spider had pierced him all the way down to his body.

    That beautiful white fur¡­.

    Hugging Bear approached me as if wanting to praise it.

    ¡°Hugging Bear! Stop. Wait a minute. You¡¯re a good boy, don¡¯t move.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun?¡±

    Hugging Bear tilted its head and stopped walking.

    If Hugging Bear hugged me, I would be in big trouble.

    After confirming that no Giant Spiders were around, I unsummoned Hugging Bear. Then, I re-summoned it again.

    A beautiful white Hugging Bear appeared in front of me.

    This secret technique allowed me to send back and summon a clean Hugging Bear.

    Unlike games, there was no time cooldown penalty for the number of summons or re-summoning.

    ¡°Kuu~n?¡±

    Hugging Bear had a ¡°Why did you return me?¡± look on its face.

    ¡°Nothing, Hugging Bear, thank you for protecting me.¡± (Yuna)

    I moved closer to the Hugging Bear, and this time I hugged her around the neck and thanked her for her protection.

    She had fluffy, beautiful white fur. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear should be beautiful, right?

    Hugging Bear purred happily.

    We then run around the vige, trying not to be surrounded by Giant Spiders, and take them down.

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to use magic as much as possible to defeat them and avoid closebat.

    No matter how many secret techniques they have, I would not like to see a dirty Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I should give them both a bath and feed them with honey when we return home.

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 Chapter 631

    <h4>Chapter 631</h4>

    T/N: Hi, everyone. New chapters will be on Wednesday and Saturday. Thanks.

    <b>Bear-san, Fighting Spiders Part 2</b>

    <b>Deborane¡¯s POV</b>

    Lanz and I split off from the bears, and we proceeded to engage the Giant Spiders.

    ¡°Deborane-san, it¡¯sing from the right.¡± (Lanz)

    I took down the Giant Spider in front of me and immediately turned to the right.

    ¡°Orya, you¡¯re dead!¡± (Deborane)

    When Rurina and Gil were there, it was Rurina¡¯s job to check the perimeter. But now that the two were gone, Lanz would let him know the location of the monsters as they fought. He could see not only the enemy in front of him but also what was happening around them.

    ¡°Deborane-san, one from behind. I¡¯ll go.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz precisely shed the Giant Spider¡¯s legs, stopping it in its tracks when I was unable to move.

    In the past, he used only to see the monsters in front of him, but he¡¯s grown up.

    I left Lanz to check the surroundings and continued to y the monsters that caught my eye.

    ¡°This time, they¡¯reing from the left.¡± (Lanz)

    I nced to my left at Lanz¡¯s words and saw a Giant Spider about to spit out its strings.

    I grabbed a knife from my waist and threw it at the Giant Spider¡¯s mouth. The knife pierced into its mouth, and it stopped moving. I finished off the Giant Spider in front of me, and then I quickly killed the other Giant Spider, which was slowed down by the knife in its mouth.

    I collected the knife still lodged in the Spider¡¯s mouth and sheathed it back on my hip.

    Then Lanz and I moved through the vige, taking down more spiders.

    ¡°Damn, they just keep showing up one after the other, Lanz, are you okay?! How about your equipment¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. My gears are fine too. But isn¡¯t your sword covered by threads?¡± (Lanz)

    That¡¯s the same with mine. I tried to avoid the Giant Spider¡¯s threads as much as possible, but the threads I couldn¡¯t avoid were wrapped around my sword because I was trying to cut them or block them with my sword.

    ¡°After we defeat the monsters here, we¡¯ll trade weapons.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Lanz)

    After defeating the spider in front of me, Lanz and I exchanged weapons and took a deep breath.

    My arms felt heavy.

    I¡¯ve been swinging my sword so many times that my arms started fatiguing.

    ¡°Lanz, can you still go? If you get tired, go back to the Vige Chief¡¯s house.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I can still fight.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deborane)

    One after another, more Giant Spiders appear, but fewer than I expected. That bear must be grinding their numbers down. It was frustrating, but that bear was strong.

    When I heard about defeating the Goblin King, I couldn¡¯t believe it. But Rurina saw her take down the Goblin King, and Gil and Lanz confirmed the Goblin King¡¯s corpse that had been brought to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ording to Rurina, there were 100 goblins as well. Even if the four of us could defeat the goblins alone, it would be impossible to fight the Goblin King simultaneously. However, that bear defeated 100 goblins and the Goblin King by herself.

    How would it have turned out if we had run into the Goblin King and its horde back then?

    And when I heard the story of the bear¡¯s defeat of the ck Viper, I thought it was a joke.

    But when I learned they would dismantle the ck Viper outside of town, I went to see. The ck Viper had really been defeated.

    I touched it, but its skin was hard.

    How could such a big monster be defeated?

    ording to the guild official dismantling it, the fire magic that entered through its mouth went deep into its body and burned it.

    ording to Rurina, a monster thatrge would not have been able to let the magic reach inside its body. At best, she exined, it would have to be fired inside its mouth. It would also require a lot of magical power to do that.

    She had the power to beat me up, but she also had a talent for magic.

    She¡¯s a very powerful woman, even though she was dressed like a bear as a joke.

    The thought of having to borrow the power of such a woman made me feel miserable.

    ¡°Orya!¡± (Deborane)

    I channeled my irritation into cleaving a Giant Spider.

    But I would think of it as a bear defeating a Giant Spider for me.

    I¡¯ll make sure that bear keeps her promise to give me the materials.

    Speaking of that bear, I sometimes hear yelling in the distance, but I decided not to worry about it. I doubt that that bear could be easily beaten. The fact that I kept hearing it repeatedly meant she was okay.

    Above all, the ck and white bear was with her, so she should be fine.

    Well, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the bear felt the same way this time. I, too, find Giant Spiders disgusting, and Lanz, too, was fighting them off with a disgusted look on his face.

    But I was an adventurer. If it attacks me, I would just take it down.

    ¡÷¡÷¡÷¡÷¡÷¡÷

    ¡°Oriya, die!¡± (Deborane)

    I could hear Deborane and the others from a distance.

    Deborane seemed to be doing his best.

    I wanted to get home as soon as possible, so I decided to do my best.

    Using my detecting skills, I went around with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, focusing on the areas where the Giant Spiders were gathering.

    The more Giant Spiders I killed, the easier it would be for Deborane and the others.

    It was not for Deborane¡¯s sake.

    I just didn¡¯t want to see Deborane being eaten by spiders.

    I do not hate Deborane in the first ce.

    I was harassed only once when I first met him and have not been harassed since then.

    Lanz thanked me for my help in defeating the goblins.

    However, Deborane¡¯s attitude and arrogance annoyed me.

    And he treated me like a bear.

    But there were so many spiders.

    It was not easy for those who are not strong enough to engage in a fight with such arge number of enemies.

    Even in my previous world, just encountering a boar was a big deal. The average person did not have the means to defeat a boar. That¡¯s how dangerous it was. Without bear gear, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to defeat a single Wolf.

    I sent out ice arrows and killed the spiders one after another. The spiders stopped attacking me.

    The Giant Spiders have started to resort to ambush tactics.

    I used my detecting skill to urately eliminate the Giant Spiders hiding on top of houses, behind houses, on top of trees, behind bushes, and so on.

    I was sorry, but I couldn¡¯t let any of them escape for the vige¡¯s safety. It was inevitable since the monsters had entered the territory where people were living.

    Finally, I finished defeating the spiders that were inside the vige.

    ¡°This is thest.¡± (Yuna)

    The Giant Spider that was hiding behind the house was defeated.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    With Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear at my back, I felt safe to fight.

    If I had been alone, I do not know how many times I would have screamed. My heart might have suffered a lot of EMOTIONAL DAMAGE.

    So I couldn¡¯t thank Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear enough for protecting me.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane and Lanz approached me as I was petting Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads.

    I wanted to close my eyes when I saw Deborane and Lanz, both covered in Giant Spider blood and threads.

    Maybe adventurers could handle this, but not me.

    Just the thought of it gives me chills.

    But perhaps it would be the true adventurer¡¯s way of not worrying about having spider threads and blood from monsters on their bodies.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s over there, too.¡± (Yuna)

    I talked to Deborane and the others, trying not to look directly at them.

    ¡°Yeah, now we just need to see if there¡¯s anyone else hiding.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Then we¡¯re good to go. I took down the Giant Spiders that were hiding, so they¡¯re no longer in the vige.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve already checked with my detecting skills.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°These two told me.¡± (Yuna)

    I reached out to the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on either side of me and patted them.

    ¡°They¡¯re very handy bears, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°So, Deborane-san, I guess, I leave the rest to you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, for the time being. The only problem is the forest where the Giant Spider appeared. There may still be some left.¡± (Deborane)

    Indeed, they say that there are a hundred when you see one creature.

    They were also emerging from the forest while we were fighting them. They might have been still in the forest.

    At the very least, I should check the nearby forest.

    Deborane looked at me.

    You¡¯re not going to ask me to go check, are you?

    ¡°Hey, bear. We¡¯ll stay in the vige. You go report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane¡¯s words were unexpected.

    ¡°You sure?¡± (Yuna)

    I have detection skills, so I could find them and take them down.

    Deborane should have known that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could do it, but he didn¡¯t give the order.

    No, ¡°Go report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡± might be an order.

    ¡°That bear will get you back to the capital quickly, right?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then get going. I¡¯ll make sure the Giant Spider is taken care of as promised.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Yuna)

    Despite how he said it, I took Deborane at his word at face value this time.

    I didn¡¯t want to fight any more spiders, and if the other adventurers would take care of the rest, I would leave it to them. So I decided to go along with Deborane¡¯s idea.

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 Chapter 632

    <h4>Chapter 632</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Decides to Fight</b>

    ¡°But are you sure the two of you can handle this situation?¡± (Yuna)

    The Giant Spiders in the forest mighte to the vige.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so weak as to have a bear worrying about me. You go to the royal capital instead of worrying about me.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane waved his hand in a gesture as if to ward off puppies.

    ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve taken down so many of them that even if the Giant Spiderse, they won¡¯t amount to much. I¡¯ll take them down myself.¡± (Deborane)

    That¡¯s called raising a g.

    But someone had to report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and take care of the Giant Spiders that had been defeated.

    It would be faster for me to go to the royal capital than for Deborane to go there, and I could not dismantle the Giant Spiders.

    I might be the right person for the job.

    ¡°All right.¡± (Yuna)

    As I was about to depart to go to the capital on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear alternately and let Hugging Bear rest, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear reacted with a ¡°kuu~un.¡±

    ¡°What? Why are you suddenly cooing at me?¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were looking out of the vige.

    Did they show up again?

    A Giant Spider¡¯s response was heading toward the vige when I checked with my detection skill.

    ¡°I think one of them showed up again.¡± (Yuna)

    I knew that he had set up a g.

    But it¡¯s just one spider, so it¡¯s not really a g.

    ¡°That¡¯s a handy bear. Well, I¡¯ll take it down myself, just like I said before.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane and Lanz started walking out of the vige.

    The Giant Spider was heading our way.

    Hm? It was too far away to be sure, but it seemed to be one sizerger, and it was red.

    As I wait on the sidelines behind Deborane, the Giant Spider picks up speed.

    ¡°Lanz!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Lanz)

    It approaches.

    It was bigger, and it was red.

    The two of them drew their weapons.

    The red spider jumped in front of them. Lanz tried to block it with his sword, but suddenly his sword and body were wrapped in threads.

    ¡°Lanz!¡± (Deborane)

    The Red Spider remained in the air; its sharp legs pointed at Lanz; Deborane twisted his body and waved his greatsword to the side. The greatsword hits the Giant Spider¡¯s leg. Thanks to that, the trajectory of the red spider¡¯s leg shifts, resulting in itsnding position also shifting.

    Deborane then swings his greatsword in pursuit, but the Red Spider evades.

    What was that spider?

    Its movements were different from those of the Giant Spiders I¡¯ve killed. Besides, it¡¯s bigger, and its color is red.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding. Why would something like this show up?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane looked at the Red Spider with disbelieving eyes.

    The red spider clicked its mouth, and its body glowed red as it attacked Deborane again.

    Deborane swings his sword, but the red spider avoids him.

    ¡°Bear! Attack!¡± (DeboraneYuna)

    Deborane shouts with a look of urgency on his face.

    I quickly fired an ice arrow, but it was easily dodged.

    It was fast.

    ¡°Move Away!¡± (Yuna)

    I have a bad feeling about this, so I shoot a rain of ice arrows at the red spider, making it impossible for it to escape.

    The red spider¡¯s body glows red, but countless ice arrows hit it.

    ¡°Did you beat it?¡± (Deborane)

    He set a g again.

    An unharmed red spider, glowing red, appeared from the rain of ice arrows. A WW golden pattern was floating on a part of its body.

    The red spider¡¯s eyes looked at me.

    I was horrified, and at that moment, I unknowingly released a bear wind magic. I had a gut feeling that I had to defeat it here.

    The bear¡¯s wind de hit the red spider.

    I thought I had cut it up, but the bear wind de only left three carved marks on the ground where it went through, while the red spider was undamaged.

    Are you kidding?

    The red spider withstood bear magic.

    The red spider was angry, and its mouth was ticking. Just when we thought it would attack us, it moved towards the vige.

    We could only look on in wonder.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding. I didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a thing.¡± (Deborane)

    Sweat broke out on Deborane¡¯s forehead.

    Then, as if remembering, he looked at Lanz.

    Lanz, entangled in the threads,y motionless on the ground.

    ¡°Lanz!¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane reached out to help Lanz, who was wrapped in the thread, but let go the moment he touched the thread.

    ¡°Damn, numbing thread.¡± (Deborane)

    Numbing thread?

    Apparently, if you touch the Giant Spider¡¯s thread directly, you could go numb.

    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± (Yuna)

    I grab the thread with my Bear Puppet and forcefully tear it off.

    ¡°Lanz, wake up!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Ah, Deborane-san. I¡¯m sorry, my body is numb.¡± (Lanz)

    There was still a chance that that red spider would attack us again.

    There was no time to hide it.

    I will cast a healing spell on Lanz.

    I imagined toxins disappearing from his body.

    ¡°Move.¡± (Yuna)

    Lanz moved his arm.

    ¡°You can also do something like this?¡± (Deborane)

    That was not what I was interested in at the moment.

    ¡°What was that spider? It¡¯s not moving like a normal Giant Spider.¡± (Yuna)

    I knew in the short fight that this was no ordinary Giant Spider.

    It moved fast, avoided my attacks, and even withstood bear wind magic. It was no ordinary Giant Spider.

    ¡°That¡¯s a King Spider.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°King Spider?¡± (Yuna)

    Is it like a leader of the Giant Spiders?

    So it was like a Goblin King?

    ¡°Deborane-san, are you sure?¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about it in documents and stories, but its color is red, and when it used its magic power, a golden crown pattern appeared on its body. That is a characteristic of the King Spider.¡± (Deborane)

    When I released bear wind magic, a jagged, grass-like pattern appeared on the red spider¡¯s body.

    ¡°It is said among adventurers that if you encounter one, you should run away. You probably saw it, too. It moved fast, easily parrying my sword, dodging and withstanding your magic. Its attacks emit toxic threads, and its hard legs can pierce even iron armor.¡± (Deborane)

    The Goblin King also withstood the bear wind magic, but it inflicted damage. But against the red spider, the bear magic didn¡¯t feel like inflicting any damage. I couldn¡¯tpare them with just one hit, though. However, I could tell that the gigantic red-colored spider was strong.

    ¡°Bear, I don¡¯t want to make the suggestion I made earlier. I¡¯m going to ask you straight to the point. Can you beat that thing?¡± (Deborane)

    Earlier?

    ¡­You mean about going to the royal capital?

    The impact of the red spider¡¯s appearance was so strong that I didn¡¯t know what he was talking about for a moment.

    ¡°You must have felt the strength of that spider, too.¡± (Deborane)

    I felt it.

    It was not something I would want to fight if I could.

    ¡°Deborane-san, even an adventurer like me has at least heard of the King Spider. No matter how strong the bear is, that thing is impossible.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°You beat the Goblin King and the ck Viper all by yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane ignores Lanz¡¯s words and confirms to me again.

    ¡°Are you trying to get me to do something?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m just confirming. If you can¡¯t beat it, I¡¯ll withdraw from the spider fight. Please don¡¯t feel bad about it.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to have materials from that spider?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What¡¯s the point if I die before I can get any? There is a saying among adventurers that if you meet a king of monsters, you should run away.¡± (Deborane)

    If the armor was just hard, I should be able to kill it with bear fire from the inside. However, because of its size not being big enough, I could not use that strategy.

    If I want to defeat it, I may have to use a series of bear magic attacks, like when I first defeated the Goblin King.

    ¡°It should have appeared in the past, right? How did they defeat it then?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but I heard that theyyou sacrificed a lot, hunted it down, and defeated it.¡± (Deborane)

    Many sacrifices¡­

    I could tell from that brief attack and defense alone that ordinary adventurers would be no match for it.

    ¡°Even just one Giant Spider has the power to best an adventurer. A Giant Spider of that size if found in a vige can be defeated with the right number of adventurers, but a King Spider, even with the right number, will still suffer from casualties.¡± (Deborane)

    I agree with that.

    No matter how many adventurers you have, they would only end up as a pile of corpses if they were not capable.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t defeat the King Spider, I¡¯ll let the vigers escape right now. I¡¯ll help you with that.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Deborane-san, to let everyone in the vige escape¡­¡± (Lanz)

    I couldn¡¯t possibly think that it would be possible with the number of people in the vige.

    ¡°We¡¯ll use horses.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°I saw several horses dead. We don¡¯t have enough horses.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll prioritize the young ones and leave the old ones behind. In the worst case scenario, the old ones can act as decoys for us to escape.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane¡¯s words made me angry.

    ¡°Does that anger you? Neither I nor Lanz can defeat the King Spider. If you can¡¯t either, then we can only escape with the vigers. And if we can¡¯t all escape, then it¡¯s only natural that the young people who can rebuild the vige should be the first to escape.¡± (Deborane)

    What Deborane was saying was right. It was a good argument.

    Even adventurers could not defeat everything. If they could defeat any adversary, no one would have any trouble in this world.

    And Deborane was only airing his opinion on what he could do.

    In return, I would be the coward who had a way of letting everyone in the vige escape but kept quiet because I didn¡¯t want my secret ability (of bear portals) to be exposed to the public.

    I have no right to be angry with Deborane.

    Deborane behaved more like an adventurer than I did.

    If I did not want the popce to know about the transfer gate; if I wanted to protect the vige¡¯s inhabitants, and if I could not ept Deborane¡¯s idea, then there is only one choice avable: I had to go back to the vige and defeat the King Spider.

    ¡°All right. I will fight. No, I will defeat it.¡± (Yuna)

    Deborane grinned at my words.

    I felt like Deborane was taking advantage of me, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. But I have bear equipment and bear magic. This was neither an ocean nor a small space. I think I could not take it down with no effort.

    But the problem was that King Spider had escaped into the vige. If I used magic, the vige and its people would be harmed.

    I regret that I couldn¡¯t defeat it before it escaped into the vige.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll head back to the vige for now.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll inform the vige chief.That if you can defeat it, there will be no problem, but in case of emergency, we¡¯ll ask him to decide whether to flee the vige or stay in the vige as long as we could return to inform the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital.¡± (Deborane)

    It would be best if no one were harmed.

    But we must also consider what would happen if I could not defeat it.

    Either we all remain in the vige and wait for the adventurers to gather, or only those who could escape will run away.

    In the former case, they might all die. Thetter would leave the weak behind.

    If I didn¡¯t have the bear cheat ability, would I be able to make a decision like Deborane?

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 Chapter 633

    <h4>Chapter 633</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Fights the King Spider Part 1</b>

    Back inside the vige, I saw a spider lying near the entrance, in a miserable state.

    ¡°Huh, it looks like it was half-eaten by something¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Cannibalism?

    ¡°We¡¯re lucky. If it hadn¡¯t been for the dead spiders, the vigers would have been eaten.¡± (Deborane)

    There was a risk of that, so I used my detection skills to confirm its location from the moment the King Spider had fled into the vige.

    But so far, no reaction that I considered to be the King Spider had approached people. I said ¡°seems¡± because the reaction of the detection skill treated the detected icon as a normal giant spider, so there was no distinction between them. I have said this many times before; it would really be nice to distinguish between monsters of different strengths.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m off to fight the King Spider.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t die so easily.¡± (Deborane)

    I was surprised at the unexpected wordsing out of Deborane¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Are you worried about me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you die, who will take care of the King Spider? Go fight for me. If you die, at least take the King Spider down with you.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane decided on his own how I would die and headed to the vige chief¡¯s house with Lanz.

    I could not tell if he was worried about me or not.

    I shudder at the thought of Deborane saying, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about you, but be careful,¡± turning him into a tsundere.

    Stop imagining weird things. My psyche was damaged.

    I made my way with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the King Spider.

    ¡°There it is.¡± (Yuna)

    It was eating a spider that had been lying near a house.

    I could hear the crunching noises.

    Ugh, it¡¯s disgusting.

    The least I could do was look behind it and not see its mouth as it eats.

    And that was also a chance to take it down.

    Sorry for the unexpected attack, but I have to attack from behind. I have no sense of justice, such as waiting for the spider to finish its meal or moving to the front and attacking it after it notices me. Leave that kind of role to the heroes of justice.

    My motto would be to defeat the enemy when I could.

    I gathered magic power in my hand and shot a bear wind magic towards the King Spider who was eating, and when I thought the King Spider had stopped moving, it moved to the side and dodged.

    Did it have eyes behind its back!?

    Some spiders have more than one eye. This spider had four.

    I did not know if it could see me, feel my magic, or sense my presence, but it seemed like surprise attacks were ineffective.

    The King Spider avoided my attack and watched us while ticking its mouth.

    I felt like I was being observed, which made me feel ufortable.

    Since it did not move, I moved my arm to attack again, and the moment I moved my arm, the King Spider moved.

    Was it reading me?

    I released wind magic, but it moved so fast that I couldn¡¯t hit it.

    The King Spider moved from side to side, and its movements were erratic, making it impossible to focus on the target. It could also stop and change direction in an instant.

    It was like dealing with a flying cockroach. No, there aren¡¯t any cockroaches in my house. Not that I would tell anyone, but I¡¯ll deny it.

    The King Spider jumps slightly, and at the same time, it spat and weaved threads.

    And in multiple ces.

    King Spider¡¯s eight legs, stomach, and mouth all emit threads simultaneously.

    The threads spread out like a.

    There was nowhere to escape. I could avoid it if it were just me, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were nearby.

    In my mind, I thought of tearing it apart with the wind or burning it with fire, but I quickly dismissed the idea.

    I quickly built a wall of earth to block the spider¡¯s threads.

    That was close.

    If I had not blocked the web spit with attack magic, I would have attempted to cut the threads and destroyed the house or burned it down as coteral damage.

    If the houses were destroyed, the people in the house would have been in trouble.

    With relief on my face, I found that the y walls were melting down.

    It started melting from where the spider threads were attached.

    That spider¡¯s threads didn¡¯t just have a numbing effect.

    If numbing threads or fire-starting threads like this were stretched in the forest, it would be challenging to defeat the King Spider. Even if the threads were cut, they would remain, and if the threads were burned in the forest, the fire might spread to the trees and cause a lot of trouble.

    The idea of fighting the King Spider in the vige would be tricky, but it might be better than fighting in the forest.

    Beyond the wall of melted earth, the King Spider was observing me, perched on the wall of a house.

    Its eyeballs twitched.

    I wondered if it looked at me or Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear quickly dodged backwards.

    The King Spider ignores me and heads for the Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    Swaying Bear backed away to prepare for the attack.

    Swaying Bear and the King Spider started fighting after closing in on each other. Swaying Bear fired wind magic from his w, but it didn¡¯t hit anything, and the King Spider spit out threads as it chased Swaying Bear down.

    Swaying Bear and the King Spider were moving around so much that I couldn¡¯t join in the fight.

    They were ignoring me.

    Did it think that the Swaying Bear was my weak point?

    Or did it start attacking because it thought I was weaker than Swaying Bear?

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I will have you return for now.¡± (Yuna)

    When I was about to do it, they responded.

    ¡°Ku~n.¡±

    However, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear shook their heads in disapproval at my suggestion.

    I didn¡¯t want Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to get tangled up in those strings and melt.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n!¡±

    Even though they squeal in protest, unsummoned them.

    When I finish this, I shall pet them, and give them some honey, so please forgive me, Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear.

    Swaying Bear disappeared before the King Spider¡¯s eyes, and the King Spider¡¯s body turned red with magic power.

    Even without being able tomunicate with it, I could feel that it was angry with me.

    But I was angrier. Much, much angrier.

    Even I would be angry if my precious Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were about to be killed.

    Then the battle between me and the King Spider begins.

    The King Spider was very agile. It moved around, taking advantage of every obstacle in the vige.

    It also escaped to the area behind a house. The King Spider was good at hiding and often took potshots from hidden locations.

    And when I attacked, it escaped.

    It was using hit-and-run tactics.

    Hit-and-run, the type of opponent I disliked.

    If this had been in the woods, it would have been an even harder opponent to fight than it is now.

    And the longer we fought, the more skillful it became at hiding.

    It would be on the roof, stick to the wall when it went around, or attack from behind objects and structures.

    The detection skill could only give me an approximate location. If it were on a roof or stuck to a wall, it would be able to surprise me.

    Until now, I have beaten my enemies by brute force using my Bear Equipment, so I was not very good at dealing with enemies that ran away from me.

    I have always disliked enemies that moved around a lot in games, so maybe agile monsters who keep moving around were simply a bad match for my type.

    I was tempted to use magic to blow up the whole house, but I couldn¡¯t because there were people in the house.

    I tried many times to release magic when the King Spider stopped moving, but the house was in the way by being just behind the Spider King.

    If I cast magic, which required long casting times, it would be avoided, and when I thought I had a chance to attack, there would be a house behind the King Spider, and I would not be able to attack.

    If it weren¡¯t for the house, I would use my super-powerful bear magic to take it down.

    I tried to trap the King Spider with earth magic, but it was moving too fast for me to catch it. It also avoided the pitfalls I conjured. Even if it fell down, it would climb right back up.

    I thought about using wall magic to trap the Spider King, but it was moving so fast that it ran away before I could close it.

    The game of tag situation irritates me.

    What was even more irritating was that the spider would spit out web threads to interrupt my actions.

    Several times I stepped on spider threads, but thanks to my bear footwear, I suffered no damage.

    If I had been wearing an ordinary shoe, I might have been in trouble if I had been hit by the sticky or the fire-starting threads I had encountered earlier.

    It would have been very difficult for any ordinary adventurer to deal with the Spider King.

    However, the King Spider also seemed to dislike me and was constantly ticking its menacing and angry maw, and its eyes glowing red.

    But then again, its behavior was strange.

    Whenever the King Spider stopped moving, whenever it tried to unleash its magic, there was always a house behind it.

    If it uses powerful magic, it could destroy the entire building, and the people inside the house would be harmed. They could lose their lives if trapped under a copsed house.

    Perhaps the Spider King understood that I could not attack the houses?

    I checked with my detection skill, and the King Spider was moving through the house with people inside.

    Again.

    As if to prove it, the King Spider stops moving in front of a house with people in it.

    If it was doing this purposefully, this spider was highly intelligent.

    Monsters were stronger than people. But it was said that people can defeat monsters because of theirck of intelligence.

    People would fight them by setting traps or driving the monsters into ces where people could gain an advantage over them. Of course, even animals and insects do this, but I never thought they would fight while taking hostages.

    This might be a more troublesome opponent than I had thought.

    While I was dealing with the King Spider, thinking about how to defeat it, something jumped down from the roof. A spider? I thought, but then a goblin holding a sword came down from the roof.

    ¡°Orya!¡± (Deborane)

    No, it was not a goblin, or a goblin king. It was Deborane.

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 Chapter 634

    <h4>Chapter 634</h4>

    <i><strong>Bonus Chapter</strong></i>

    <b>Bear-san Fights the King Spider Part 2</b>

    I leave the Bear to deal with the King Spider while Lanz, and I run inside the Vige Chief¡¯s house.

    ¡°Deborane-san, Lanz-san, you are safe.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief greeted us.

    I felt sorry for the Vige Chief but had to sit on a chair without his consent.

    I was tired, especially after encountering that monstrous thing. That Bear moved around more than us, killing more spiders than we did. Yet, she didn¡¯t even show any sign of fatigue.

    What a monster.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the girl?¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief asked, looking at the door. Maybe he thought we¡¯d abandoned her.

    ¡°She¡¯s still fighting.¡± (Deborane)

    I informed him of the current situation. I exined that the spiders that appeared in the vige had been eradicated, but a King Spider appeared. The Vige Chief, unfortunately, did not react well.

    As an ordinary person, it was no wonder he didn¡¯t know about the King Spider, so I exined the same thing I exined to the Bear.

    ¡°Is it that strong?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°It can¡¯tpare to the spiders that appeared in the vige. You have to decide if you want to flee the vige or stay.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°¡­But, to leave the old people behind.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The Vige Chief looked pained.

    ¡°Yes, because even if we escape, there is no guarantee that we will all survive.¡± (Deborane)

    If they were attacked while fleeing, they would likely be abandoned.

    ¡°It¡¯s only one enemy, can¡¯t even Deborane-san and Lanz-san defeat it?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°I wish I could say we could beat it, but we can¡¯t.¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°If there¡¯s anyone capable of defeating it, it¡¯s only that Bear.¡± (Deborane)

    I hate to admit this, but that Bear defeated a Goblin King and a ck Viper alone.

    I have also heard many other rumors, some unbelievable and some not.

    If anyone here could beat that King Spider, only that Bear could do it.

    ¡°The youngdy dressed as a Bear¡­¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°It¡¯s no surprise that you don¡¯t believe me.¡± (Deborane)

    A long time ago, at first, I couldn¡¯t believe her, either.

    ¡°Regardless if that Bear beats the King Spider, you¡¯ll have to make up your mind before the end.¡± (Deborane)

    This was not my decision to make.

    It was up to the Vige Chief to decide.

    I was simply following instructions.

    I gave him my report and stood up from my chair.

    I rested a little, which allowed me to catch my breath.

    ¡°Lanz, let¡¯s go.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Where to?¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but I¡¯ll help the Bear improve her chances of defeating the King Spider.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Are you going to fight the King Spider?¡± (Lanz)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, stay here.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°No, if Deborane-san wants to go, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz and I left the Vige Chief¡¯s house to look for the Bear and the King Spider, who were still moving around in the vige, and we soon found them.

    ¡°What the heck was that speed?¡± (Deborane)

    Bear and King Spider were moving around the vige with incredible movement.

    Right, left, and inhumanly fast.

    Were they enhanced with magic?

    ¡°Deborane-san, you know, we might just get in the way of the fight.¡± (Lanz)

    I know.

    I couldn¡¯t keep up with those kinds of movements.

    I couldn¡¯t even enter the fight.

    I specialize in one-hit kills.

    Observing the movement of the Bear and the King Spider, I noticed that the King Spider often stopped in front of a house.

    Bear also tried to attack, but her hand would stop.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she attack?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the houses.¡± (Lanz)

    I have seen the Bear¡¯s magic several times, and it was powerful.

    And in order to defeat the King Spider, she would have to increase the power of her magic.

    If she unleashed a powerful spell, the house near the King Spider would definitely be coteral damage, and the people inside would be trapped under the copsed house. Therefore, Bear could not attack.

    Looking around for a way out, he found adder propped up against the wall of a house.

    ¡°Lanz, I¡¯m going to attack from the roof. Tell me the location of the King Spider and the Bear.¡± (Deborane)

    Lanz immediately nodded in understanding.

    I slowly make my way up thedder to the roof of one of the houses.

    I have only one chance.

    I duck low on the roof and watch Lanz.

    Lanz used hand signs to tell me where the King Spider was.

    Hand signs could be used tomunicate with distantpanions when pinning down monsters or animals.

    Lanz¡¯s hand sign said they were still moving around. I wait with my big sword in hand.

    Come on, get over here.

    I stay low, waiting for Lanz to give me a sign.

    Lanz looked a little flustered and sent me a signal.

    I could hear them approaching.

    I saw the Bear and the King Spider approaching.

    They were fast. I could never defeat a monster like that head-on. But the fact that Bear could keep up with the King Spider¡¯s movements was also amazing.

    Even though she¡¯s wearing such a strange outfit. If you are that strong, you should wear clothes that make you look strong.

    While I was thinking about that, Bear and the spider came to the front of the house where I was.

    They came in front of the house where I was.

    The king spider ran away from Bear and hid from her view.

    It seemed to know that the Bear couldn¡¯t attack it, so the King Spider stopped moving when it came in front of the house.

    It was my chance.

    I clenched my greatsword tightly and jumped down from the roof, aiming at the King Spider.

    ***

    <b>Yuna PoV:</b>

    ¡°Orya!¡±

    A goblin screamed as he went crashing. Wait, I thought it was a goblin, but it was Deborane with a greatsword in hand.

    Deborane jumped off the house¡¯s roof, aiming for the King Spider.

    Perfect timing, even for Deborane.

    The King Spider could not avoid the unexpected attack from above.

    Just as Deborane¡¯s great sword was about to pierce the King Spider, the King Spider¡¯s body glows red, again revealing the golden pattern resembling a shining crown.

    Then Deborane¡¯s sword, which was supposed to pierce the King Spider, was repelled, and Deborane, having his sword repelled, tumbled to the ground. The King Spider, surprised by the attack of the sword, fled.

    ¡°Deborane-san, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Lanz rushed to the fallen Deborane, and Deborane stood up with Lanz¡¯s help, looking frustrated.

    ¡°Damn, even that timing didn¡¯t work.¡± (Deborane)

    I could understand why he yelled.

    Well, that spider might have also sensed his presence.

    It did avoid my attack from behind before.

    ¡°Why did you two do that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because you couldn¡¯t defeat the King Spider quickly, it¡¯s taking a lot of time!¡± (Deborane)

    So that¡¯s why they came to help.

    ¡°The vigers¡­¡± (Yuna)

    The people of the vige have a choice: they could sacrifice some people and abandon their vige, or they could stay.

    ¡°This also depends on you. If you determine that you can¡¯t defeat that thing, then the Vige Chief will decide. If I had a weapon that could pierce that spider¡¯s body, I wouldn¡¯t be relying on you.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to buy Mithril¡¯s sword.¡± (Lanz)

    Lanz answered Deborane¡¯sint.

    ¡°Shut up, a small sword like that doesn¡¯t fit me.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, Deborane-san¡¯s sword is so big, a Mithril sword with such a big de is too expensive.¡± (Lanz)

    ording to Fina, even Mithril knives were expensive. An ordinary sword would be even more expensive; let alone arge Mithril greatsword the size of which Deborane¡¯s preferred size definitely would not be easy to buy.

    ¡°Bear! You said you¡¯d beat it. Why are you holding back?¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane started to get angry at me as if he couldn¡¯t talk back to Lanz. I didn¡¯t want him to take it out on me.

    ¡°Even if you say that to me, I can¡¯t hit it with my attacks because it¡¯s moving too fast. Even when I have a chance to attack, I am not able to use powerful spells because it would stick to a house preventing me from unleashing my spells.¡± (Yuna)

    It was stressful for me as well.

    Bear Wind de, Bear Fire, Bear Electric magic, couldn¡¯t be unleashed carelessly.

    Besides, one hit of powerful magic would not be enough to beat it. I did hit it with Bear Wind Magic before, but it barely damaged it.

    If I released Bear magic in close sequence in the vige, the surrounding area could suffer a lot of damage.

    Who was it that said that if the fight was not in the ocean, it would be okay as long as it was not in a confined space?

    It was me!

    But Deborane¡¯s and Lanz¡¯s words reminded me of my Mithril Knives.

    The Mithril knife would be more powerful if I put my magic into it, although Lanz did not say that Mithril weapons could cut that King Spider.

    Besides, if I attacked with a knife, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the houses that it uses to escape. I didn¡¯t want to get too close to the spider, so my deep psyche tucked the memory of my Mithril knives away in my mind.

    If there were any problems, it would be how to approach it.

    At that speed, it was not easy to approach.

    I looked at Deborane and Lanz.

    ¡­Poof.

    I had a good idea.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that smile?¡± (Deborane)

    Apparently, I was smiling when I looked at Deborane.

    I thought I was good at putting on a poker face, but it showed in my expression. I dusted off my cheeks with my Bear Puppet.

    ¡°I have a n in order to defeat King Spider.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Deborane looked at me with disgust when he heard my idea.

    ¡°So you can really defeat it?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°If we don¡¯t do it that way, we¡¯ll be out of luck, and if it escapes into the forest, I think we¡¯ll have even more trouble defeating it.¡± (Yuna)

    If it escaped into the forest at that speed, it would be difficult to defeat it even with my detection skills.

    Besides, if it were to escape into the forest, the vige¡¯s residents would have to live with the constant fear of not knowing when the King Spider would return.

    Leaving the vige and living elsewhere would be challenging.

    ¡°So what will you do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Damn! I¡¯ll take that King Spider¡¯s material when we beat it! Come on Lanz!¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡± (Lanz)

    Deborane and Lanz started to run.

    It seemed that they had reluctantly epted my idea.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for help.

    When I summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they look unhappy. Apparently, they were angry with me for returning them.

    ¡°Sorry, don¡¯t be so mad, I need you both to help me with something.¡± (Yuna)

    I pat Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on the head and tell them how to defeat the King Spider, putting them in a good mood.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were a little ufortable with my strategy.

    Well, I would hate it if I were Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I couldn¡¯t leave them to their deaths.

    ¡°If we can¡¯t beat it here, there will be damage, please. I¡¯ll give you more honey for a week, then we¡¯ll bathe together and sleep together.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked as I put my Bear Puppet together.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked at each other and cooed as if to say, ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice¡±.

    ¡°Thank you. Now, Swaying Bear, follow Deborane and let me know when everything is ready.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun!¡±

    Swaying Bear cooed and followed Deborane.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, we¡¯ll be dealing with the King Spider.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun!¡±

    I only concentrated on keeping the King Spider from escaping and drawing its attention to me so that it would not cause damage to its surroundings until Deborane and Lanz were ready to go.

    When Hugging Bear was targeted, I would return or re-summon it, not let it take damage. The King Spider gets annoyed when I do that.

    Then, after a while, Swaying Bear¡¯s cry could be heard from somewhere in the vige.

 Chapter 635

    <h4>Chapter 635</h4>

    <b>Bear-san defeats the King Spider.</b>

    ¡°Kuu?un¡±

    Somewhere in the vige, I heard Swaying Bear¡¯s cry, and I used my detection skill to locate Swaying Bear.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, tell Swaying Bear I know where he is.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    Swaying Bear¡¯s response to the Detection skill begins to move.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go to where the King Spider is guided to.¡±

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    We soon joined with Swaying Bear, blocking the way and restricting the King Spider¡¯s actions with thebination of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, making it guide the King Spider to the ce we nned.

    That way, there you go. I created a wall of dirt. Since the King Spider could easily try to climb up the wall, I casted a magic spell, which the King Spider escaped from. But this magic was designed to guide the King Spider to a certain location.

    We were almost there.

    In front of us, we saw an old house.

    I checked it against with my detection skills and found that it was the ce where the Swaying Bear had cried.

    There was a certain house on that location.

    My detection skill showed two human presence inside the house.

    The King Spider clung to the wall of the house and used the house as a shield; the King Spider thought I was incapable of attacking it. That was the first time the King Spider was caught off guard.

    I gathered my magic power in my hands and released enough wind magic to destroy the house, as if to vent my previous frustration.

    ¡°Blow it up ¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«!¡±

    The wind became a tornado and rose up, engulfing the King Spider and the crumbling house.

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    ¡°Deborane-san!¡±

    In the tornado that caught the King Spider, Deborane, and Lanz were caught in the tornado as well as the copsed house.

    I stopped the tornado and jumped into the debris. Heading in a straight line towards King Spider.

    I saw an unpleasant sight in front of me. Its mouth was agape, and its eyes were ring at me.

    It was the first andst time I would endure this.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape from me while floating in the air, can you?¡±

    In my left and right hands were Mithril knives. The ck Bear Puppet holding the Swaying Bear knife with the ck handle. The white Bear Puppet was holding a white-coloured-handle Hugging Bear knife.

    The King Spider¡¯s defenses may just repel Bear Wind Magic. It may also withstand other magic.

    Therefore, I used the Mithril knife to make sure that it would be defeated.

    I poured magic power into the two knives.

    The King Spider closed its mouth, its body turned red, and the golden crown pattern emerged.

    It was in full defensive posture.

    This was my only chance.

    There may not be a second chance.

    I did not n to cut the King Spider¡¯s body, but its legs, and its joints.

    I swung the Swaying Bear knife toward the King Spider.

    Without resistance, the King Spider¡¯s leg was cut off.

    Even though it was hardened by magic power, it could not prevent the Mithril Knife with my magic power in it.

    The joints were the weakest part.

    Joints tend to be softer than other body parts because they have to bend. And it was a spider with high flexibility. There was a limit to how hard it could be fixed.

    Then, I hacked off all of its eight legs with my Swaying Bear knife and Hugging Bear knife.

    At the same time, I, who was in the air, fell to the ground with the King Spider and the broken house, pulled by gravity.

    When Inded on the ground, the broken house fell behind me, and a terrible noise echoed through the air.

    Then, the body of the King Spider, which had be only its torso, rolled in front of me.

    There was no escape now.

    As I approached the King Spider, it opened its mouth and tried to spit out its threads in ast-ditch effort.

    I endured the sickening sensation and stabbed the King Spider with my knife to finish it off.

    It was over.

    I turned around and looked at the copsed house.

    ¡°Two people didn¡¯t die in vain, right?¡±

    I was sure that Deborane and Lanz would be trapped under this copsed house¡­.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill us on your own!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re killing us!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    I chuckled when I heard Deborane and Lanz emerge from the rubble,ining.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh.¡±

    That was impossible.

    Because Deborane and Lanz were being held in a princess carry by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it was impossible not tough at this.

    Again, when I saw Deborane and Lanz being held by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I burst outughing.

    ¡°Bear! Enough, get me down!¡±

    Deborane iled in Swaying Bear¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Let them go.¡±

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear drop Deborane and Lanz to the ground as if they were throwing out trash.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t throw us!¡±

    Well, we finally got the results we were looking for.

    The n had followed the script to the tee. First, I had Deborane and Lanz stay in a vacant house, and when the Swaying Bear was ready, I would have it cry out to lure the spider, and on cue, I would use my detection skills to locate Swaying Bear.

    Once that location was confirmed, I and Hugging Bear (and Swaying Bear, who would join us) would lead King Spider to the house.

    Then, when the King Spider was attached to the house, I magically sent the entire house flying into the sky.

    The spider was fast on the ground but could not move in the air.

    The King Spider must have thought I could not attack it because people were in the house.

    It was a pity that the King Spider¡¯s intelligence turned out to be a disadvantage.

    I took down King Spider in the air while Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear secured Deborane and Lanz as they fell down.

    Deborane and Lanz agreed to this n, even though they might get slightly injured.

    I did ask Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to save them when the house got blown away, but they didn¡¯t want to do that.

    Well, I didn¡¯t want to carry Deborane in my arms either (even though its possible because of my Bear equipment).

    As promised, I would have to give them honey, a bath, and then sleep with themter.

    ¡°Damn, you really were relentless, I thought I was going to die when I flew through the air with the whole house.¡±

    ¡°I thought I was dead the moment I flew through the air.¡±

    ¡°But that way, you two became a decoy.¡±

    When Deborane told me my n, he looked disgusted, but when I told him I would be able to defeat the spider with that n, he agreed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like you, but I know you¡¯re good at what you do.¡±

    ¡°I only agreed to do it because Deborane-san told me to.¡±

    I would never have done it if it had been Fina or Noa. I wouldn¡¯t let them do it in the first ce, and I wouldn¡¯t ask them to do it.

    Of course, even a viger I didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t be able to do it.

    Because it was the two of them, I could blow up the whole house with magic without hesitation.

    In the future, if I needed a decoy, I might ask the two of them to do it. It was valuable to have someone I could use magic on without hesitation.

    ¡°But I¡¯ll take all the spider¡¯s materials, as promised.¡±

    Deborane said as he looked at the defeated King Spider.

    ¡°About that¡­¡±

    ¡°I told you. Later, if you want it, I won¡¯t give it to you.¡±

    ¡°No, no. I just want you to use a little bit of the money for the sake of this vige.¡±

    Deborane and Lanz looked at the vige.

    I remembered the spiders in the vige and the people Deborane and Lanz helped. The vige was in a terrible state of disarray because of the spiders¡¯ rampage.

    Lanz just told me that some horses have been killed and crops have been damaged.

    However, some houses were destroyed.

    Reconstruction, like everything else, would definitely cost a lot of money.

    ¡°Normally I would get paid for helping them, but, well, I guess it¡¯s okay this time.¡±

    Deborane thought for a moment and responded.

    I expected him to resist, but I didn¡¯t expect him to agree quickly.

    ¡°But with this, it should be really over, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Those were Lanz¡¯s words, but I agree it was over.

    It should have been an easy request to take down a Tiger Wolf, but it became an extremely tiring task.

    Once again, I realized that no opponent was more difficult to fight than one specializing in running away.

    We went to the Vige Chief¡¯s house to report that we had defeated the King Spider.

    ¡°It¡¯s all done!¡±

    Deborane called out to the house, and the Vige Chief came out.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    He then went around the vige with the Vige Chief to get confirmation of the subjugation.

    The Vige Chief expressed his disappointment at the damage to the vige, but when Deborane told him that some of the monsters killed would be used to fund reconstruction, he seemed happy and thanked Deborane several times.

    When Deborane said, ¡°That¡¯s what that Bear told me to do,¡± he also thanked me.

    The house we used was apparently empty, but it was still important for the vige.

    He then informed the vigers hiding inside the house that the spiders were gone.

    But the spider¡¯s threads prevent them from getting out of the house, so Deborane and Lanz use a knife to cut off the threads tangled around the door.

    This was going to be a big job to deal with all the threads wrapped around the house.

    They said they would leave it as it was, as it mightpromise the house¡¯s strength if not properly dealt with.

    Of course, we removed the threads on doorways and windows.

    The vigers thanked Deborane and Lanz when they came out of their houses.

    No one thanked me. On the contrary, they looked at me as if they were looking at something strange.

    It was like Deborane and Lanz, who instructed them to hide inside their house and not to look outside.

    And when they went outside the house, the spiders had been exterminated. Everyone thought Deborane and Lanz had defeated it.

    No one thought that the girl in the Bear outfit had saved them.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be taking my leave, can you take care of the rest?¡±

    Having rescued the vigers, I decide to leave. If I waste, Fina and the others would worry.

    I could use my Bear phone to tell them the current situation, but there was no need to make them anxious.

    ¡°If you¡¯re leaving first, report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±

    Oh, indeed, that would be necessary in this case.

    ¡°Besides, there might still be spiders left in the forest. Report about that. It¡¯s up to this vige whether to send a request to the adventurers to search the forest, but, well, this time you said you would give up all the spider material, so that¡¯s where the money for that request shoulde from.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being kind? Are you trying to trick me?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m a nice guy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡±

    If Deborane was nice, he wouldn¡¯t have bullied a rookie.

    I do admit that Deborane was a proper adventurer.

    Well, Deborane was right, I should report this matter to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as soon as possible.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s make Deborane be the one to defeat it, shall we?¡±

    Since I was leaving the materials to him, it would be easier to push over the results.

    ¡°Screw you! I can¡¯t make a monster I haven¡¯t defeated into my own problem! Besides, I don¡¯t want people to think that I can defeat King Spider and then have to fight the next time it appears again.¡±

    Even if someone imed to have defeated a strong monster, it would not be proven without the strength to show that they could defeat it. And I agree that it would be annoying if people thought that that person could defeat the same monster when it appeared again.

    Being vain without being worthy of your stature would only destroy you.

    I left Deborane and Lanz to take care of the rest and left the vige.

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 Chapter 636

    <h4>Chapter 636</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Returned Home After Work</b>

    I left the vige where spiders attacked and returned to the vige where the Wolves and Tiger Wolf attacked. Then, I entered the vige after returning Swaying Bear that I was riding.

    This vige had also been attacked by Wolf and Tiger Wolf a few hours earlier, so there were vigers who were dealing with the destroyed houses and fixing the fences.

    As I walked to the vige chief¡¯s house, I saw a man standing in front of a house.

    ¡°Miss from that time!¡± (Viger)

    The man in front of the house noticed me and ran up to me.

    He was the one who came from the vige attacked by spiders, asking for help.

    ¡°How is the vige?¡± (Viger)

    The man grabbed me by the shoulders.

    Too close.

    ¡°The spiders that were attacking the vige have been eliminated, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? I can¡¯t just tell a lie that will be easily discovered, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Viger)

    The man looked relieved and removed his hand from my shoulder.

    ¡°So everyone in the vige is okay?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Probably, I think so.¡± (Yuna)

    By the time I got to the vige, I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that someone had been killed, but looking at the vige, it didn¡¯t look like anyone had died.

    Deborane had let the vige residents flee into their homes. I think that was a good first move.

    I didn¡¯t appreciate it, but many lives were saved thanks to Deborane and Lanz.

    ¡°At first I was worried when a girl dressed strangely like Miss told me that you were going to defeat the monsters, but the chief of this vige was right, I guess.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you not to worry.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The vige chief spoke from behind the man.

    He hade out of his house, perhaps noticing my return.

    ¡°Well, when you look at this youngdy, I suppose you really won¡¯t expect her to be able to fight monsters.¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°Well, yes.¡± (Viger)

    The vige chief looked at me and nodded at the man¡¯s words.

    ¡°But I told you the part about how she defeated Wolves and a Tiger Wolf, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Viger)

    The man looked at me again.

    ¡°Thank you so much, Miss.¡± (Viger)

    The man scratched his head and thanked me shyly.

    ¡°Ask the vige Chief of your vige for the rest of the details.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay. So, about the request fee¡­¡± (Viger)

    The man looked a little ufortable saying it.

    He asked for help but had no money. It was like a scam.

    ¡°If it¡¯s about themission, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Yuna)

    I think that was a bad choice for an adventurer by nature.

    Adventurers put their lives on the line to fight and get paid. There might be people who wouldin that ¡°that adventurer didn¡¯t take money¡± or ¡°he helped us for free.¡±

    But, despite the hypocrisy, I could not ask someone who didn¡¯t have money to pay for my assistance.

    In the first ce, I was never in need of money, and my purpose was to enjoy another world, not to take money from those in need.

    ¡°But this is only one time. Next time, make sure you have the money ready before you make a request.¡± (Yuna)

    I emphasize that this would be the only time.

    If I didn¡¯t make that clear, he might ask me again and again.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t offer much hospitality, but if you are ever in the vicinity of the vige, please drop by my ce. Thank you so much.¡± (Viger)

    The man bowed his head, thanked the vige chief, and returned to his vige.

    After that, I told the vige chief that I was leaving, then made my way back to the royal capital.

    I rode the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear back to the Royal Capital. All I had to do now was to report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and then go home. We¡¯ll probably make it back home before it gets dark.

    ¡°You¡¯re back? And about the vige? And the Tiger Wolf?¡± (Shreid)

    When I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I found someone waiting for me.

    When I arrived, I was immediately greeted by the person who hade to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild this morning to request my help in defeating the Tiger Wolf.

    Apparently, he had been waiting for me at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild ever since.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I took down the Tiger Wolf.¡± (Yuna)

    I felt like I¡¯ve said this line many times today.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Shreid)

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I have proof that I killed the Tiger Wolf.¡± (Yuna)

    Unlike the spiders, the Tiger Wolf was recovered at Sanya-san¡¯s request, so it¡¯s easy for him to believe me.

    ¡°Tha, thank goodness.¡± (Shreid)

    The man looked relieved.

    He may have been anxious all by himself until I came back.

    Good thing I came back early.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wee back!¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san arrived.

    Apparently, the receptionist saw me and called Sanya-san.

    ¡°Well, I guess I don¡¯t have to ask how it went, do I?¡± (Sanya)

    This one didn¡¯t seem worried at all.

    I think she should be slightly worried, but Sanya-san, who knew about the 10,000 monsters and Elf Vige raid, would probably not worry so much about me defeating a Tiger Wolf.

    ¡°I¡¯ve taken down Tiger Wolf. I have something else to report, though.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Another matter? Okay, let¡¯s go to my room and talk about it. But first, we need to confirm that you have dealt with the Tiger Wolf and arrange for a reward.¡± (Sanya)

    The man from the vige also joined us to confirm that the Tiger Wolf had been killed.

    After showing the Tiger Wolf, the man thanked me repeatedly and apologized for his outburst at the beginning.

    After bowing his head, the man left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    He would be returning to the vige first thing tomorrow morning.

    As promised, the Tiger Wolf carcasses were handed to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The guild staff member who came to pick up Tiger Wolf was surprised to see how clean it was.

    In addition, they also wanted the Wolves, so I handed them over as well.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s this other thing you want to report?¡± (Sanya)

    I moved to the guild master¡¯s room and told her about the spiders.

    ¡°A swarm of spiders and a king spider. Thank you, Yuna-chan. King spiders are nasty monsters, so I¡¯m d you were able to take them out early. If it hadn¡¯t been for Yuna-chan, I don¡¯t know how much damage would have been done.¡± (Sanya)

    Well, Deborane did tell me to run away when we saw the King Spider. That indicated just how dangerous it was.

    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t even want to think about fighting in that guy¡¯s hunting grounds.¡± (Sanya)

    As with anything, there were ces where one could fight to an advantage.

    In our case, we fought in the vige, so it was manageable.

    If the other spiders, including the King Spider, were to fight together in a ce where spiders specialize, it would be doubtful that we could defeat them.

    That is, if they won¡¯t allow me to burn the forest to the ground, turn a mountain bald, or attack without regard to the damage I might cause, then I would be able to defeat them.

    ¡°So the cause of this Wolf and Tiger Wolf case is that the spiders and king spiders entered their territory making the Wolves and Tiger Wolf that live there escape towards the vige.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san checked the map.

    The two viges were close together.

    If so, maybe both Wolves and Tiger Wolf were victims.

    ¡°So, are you going to have a search party checking the forest?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can put out a request for a small price. Then, depending on how much the vige could add to the request fee, I will let adventurers decide whether to ept it or not.¡± (Sanya)

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild would indicate the possibility of spiders in the forest, and then the adventurers would have to kill them and buy the materials.

    If the amount were worth it, the adventurers would sometimes ept the request without any additional money from the vige.

    But in this case, it was okay because there was already a n to sell the spider materials and use the money to pay for the request.

    ¡°Oh, and I think an adventurer named Deborane will bring the report and the spider materials, so please take care of that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is wasteful of you to give away all the materials, though.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I don¡¯t like bugs.¡± (Yuna)

    I could manage small spiders, but one the size of a Wolf is impossible. I did not want to touch or even look at it.

    ¡°Fufu, you don¡¯t like bugs, Yuna-chan is acting like a cute little girl.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I am a girl.¡± (Yuna)

    That was rude. Adorable or not, I was a girl.

    ¡°Just kidding. There are many female adventurers who dislike bugs, so it¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of.¡± (Sanya)

    Of course, some women also like bugs, so to each their own.

    ¡°By the way, what about you, Sanya-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m an Elf who grew up in the woods.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°So you¡¯re fine with that.¡± (Yuna)

    Elves do live in the forest, after all.

    ¡°Fufu, If it¡¯s big ones though, I can¡¯t handle it as well.¡± (Sanya)

    Despite the rejection, she still said it with a smug look on her face.

    I doubt anyone could tolerate a bug of that size.

    No one, male or female, ought to like those things.

    When I think about it, Deborane was amazing at fighting the spiders, even though he was covered in their blood. And he even took care of the dismantling process, so let¡¯s let bygones be bygones with our previous involvements at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. In the first ce, I¡¯d already forgotten about it.

    ¡°Well then, when this Deborane adventureres, I¡¯ll talk to him and see what I can do with it.¡± (Sanya)

    Leaving the rest to Sanya-san, I returned to my Bear House.

    The Bear House made me feel at ease.

    Although it was not the same as the Bear House in Crimonia, seeing my own house made me feel like I hade home.

    And when I entered the house, Fina greeted me.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, wee home.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± (Yuna)

    These ¡°wee home¡± and ¡°I¡¯m home¡± used to be a little embarrassing, but now they have be the norm.

    I guess that was just because Fina was around my house more often.

    ¡°Yuna Nee-chan, wee home~¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wee home!¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san and Shuri also greeted me.

    Having someone at home when I came home from work was nice.

    Tirumina-san was preparing dinner, and Fina and Shuri set the tes on the table.

    I tried to help, but everyone told me to sit down and wait for them to finish since I was tired aftering home from work.

    I sat in a chair¡­ it was as if I was a fathering home from work¡­

    No, no, Fina¡¯s father was Gentz-san. I am not that old, and of a different gender, so I would like to think that I am just a big sistering home from work there.

    Then we had dinner prepared by Tirumina-san and took a bath with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs and given them honey, as promised.

    They also slept together with me when I went to bed.

    Shuri wanted to sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I asked her to be patient this time.

    When I got into the futon and opened my arms, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came into my arms.

    I held Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms.

    Even if I dream that I was attacked by spiders, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will help me. I would be able to sleep peacefully.

    I promised to sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but I was also worried about spiders, so I might have wanted to sleep with them.

    And thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I didn¡¯t suffer nightmares of being attacked by spiders.

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 Chapter 637

    <h4>Chapter 637</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Hands over the Monsters</b>

    Yesterday I missed the timing to hand over the cockatrice due to an urgent request, etc., so I visited the Adventurers¡¯ Guild again.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wee!¡± (Sanya)

    When I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, the receptionist immediately called for Sanya-san.

    She acted quickly, whether to avoid trouble or because Sanya-san told her to. I hope it was thetter and not the former.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I¡¯ve put you through.¡± (Sanya)

    It couldn¡¯t be helped that I waste yesterday because of all the things that happened.

    ¡°Well then, Yuna-chan,e here.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san started walking, and I followed behind her. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital was big. We walked down a corridor, away from the adventurers¡¯ gathering ce.

    Sanya-san was the guild master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the Royal Capital, which was amazing. But she didn¡¯t look like such a great person.

    ¡°Speaking of which, is Deborane back?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told the receptionist to call me when Deboranees to the guild, but I haven¡¯t heard from the receptionist yet.¡± (Sanya)

    Well, that was yesterday. Maybe he stayed behind in the vige to process and discuss things.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯ve decided to send a guild official to the vige, so I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll hear from them soon. Do you want me to let you know when theye back?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°No, not really. If Deborane doesn¡¯t spend the money for the vige, let me know.¡± (Yuna)

    Then a bear punch would be waiting.

    Proceeding down the aisle while conversing, Sanya-san stops in front of arge door. She then touched a fist-sized crystal fitted into the wall near the door and the door.

    ¡°This way.¡± (Sanya)

    The door led us to a staircase that led to the basement.

    Sanya-san descends to the basement, and I follow behind her.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s a storage room in the basement. The cockatrice should go there.¡± (Sanya)

    Down the stairs, the room was about the size of a gymnasium.

    ¡°There¡¯s a ce like this in the basement of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, this is a ce that normal adventurers rarely enter. When valuable monsters are killed, they are brought to this ce for safekeeping.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°How can they carry them here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you store stuff in your item bag, as well?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± (Yuna)

    My item bag was given to me by God. So I could understand that it was possible with that method.

    ¡°We do it the same way. We use magic circles, magic tools, and other to keep them in storage. We have different reasons for storing them, but we sometimes keep them here to use them for events like this one, and sometimes to study monsters with the castle¡¯s research institute.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Research, you are doing that as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If we can examine the monsters and find out their weaknesses, etc., it will make it easier the next time we fight them. Like which part of the body is more easily damaged, or how this part of the body is being attacked but does not take any damage, etc.¡± (Sanya)

    That was in the game, as well. That part of the body only takes 20% of the attack, or this part of the body takes 80% of the damage because it was a weak point.

    There were also things like magic resistance. Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, which resistance was stronger or weaker? Are des weak, do they have to be stabbed deep by a spear, or are blunt weapons such as hammers effective? Sometimes it was hard to tell just by looking at it. If the monster looks like a fire or water-type monster, it would be easy to understand, but for other monsters, it would often be difficult to tell their weak points.

    I understand the importance of this, as I used to look at video game strategy sites.

    ¡°That¡¯s because, as an adventurer¡¯s guild and for the country, the weaknesses of monsters are valuable information. Well, the kind of monsters that are studied will not be encountered many times in a lifetime, but you never know what the future holds. Maybe what is studied today will be useful in a few decades, or maybe it will never be useful. But it may be useful tomorrow. You never know. But when they do show up, the odds of defeating them with or without knowledge will be different, and most importantly, the odds of survival will be different.¡± (Sanya)

    That was how important knowledge was.

    Even in a game, knowing information about your enemy and not knowing it will change your odds of winning, and even if you do win, the time it takes to fight will be different.

    ¡°So, do you want me to put the cockatrice out here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± (Sanya)

    I took the cockatrice out of the bear item box.

    The carcass was exactly as it was when I beat it.

    ¡°Thank you. I forgot to check yesterday. Do you have any other monsters that are quite rare?¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san asked, smiling.

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I slowly turned away from Sanya-san.

    ¡°Fufu, I knew you had some. What do you have in your hand? Come on, Yuna-chan, give it to me.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-sanes up to me with a creepy look on her face.

    ¡°Even if you handed it to us, you may still take all the materials, after, you know.¡± (Sanya)

    Now I have no need for money, but my gamer mind was telling me that I didn¡¯t want to give her just the materials. (Spiders excluded.)

    Even I reluctantly agreed to give it the Cockatrice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do what Yuna-chan wants with the materials. But I¡¯d like to ask you to give some of it for us as well.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san held her hands together as she made her request.

    Should those monsters on the same level as the cockatrice?

    Well, I was thinking of dismantling it someday and using it as material. No matter how much I could preserve it, I couldn¡¯t just leave it in the bear item box.

    I also couldn¡¯t ask Fina to dismantle arge Scorpion in my dismantling ce.

    ¡°Okay, I understand. Of course, I¡¯ll let you handle the materials, but can I ask you for one more favor?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? Of course, I¡¯ll do everything I can to amodate your request.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Let Fina take a closer look at the disassembly.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know if Fina would ever dismantle it, but it would be a good learning experience for her to watch. Of course, I would not force her to do this; I would respect Fina¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s only what you would like to ask?¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san agreed to my terms, so I told him about the monsters I had.

    Excluding the monsters at 10,000 monsters and the cockatrice, I have wyverns, Iron golems (which are impossible to dismantle), Volcrows, Scorpions, the Giant Scorpion, Sandworms, and Kamaitachi.

    ¡°¡­huh.¡± (Sanya)

    Upon listening to the monsters I told her about, Sanya-san sighed and had given me a look of disbelief.

    ¡°Where can you find an adventurer who has encountered, fought, and defeated that many monsters?¡± (Sanya)

    In front of you, Sanya-san.

    ¡°The same goes for the number of Wolves. Even Wyverns aren¡¯t something you encounter over and over again.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And that big Scorpion, you don¡¯t normally find them twice or three times as big.¡± (Sanya)

    It was crazy big, after all.

    It was about the size of a three-story building, I¡¯d say.

    ¡°Yuna-chan has killed a ck Viper, a ck Tiger, a Goblin King, and a King Spider, right?¡± (Sanya)

    In addition, I have defeated a Kraken and an Orochi. I wouldn¡¯t mention those, though.

    I didn¡¯t have the materials, and if people knew I had defeated them, it would be even more troublesome.

    ¡°How could you have met that many monsters and still be alive?¡± (Sanya)

    I agree. It was weird.

    Well, the reason I survived and was able to defeat them was because of the bear equipment that God gave me. That¡¯s why I was having trouble taking it off.

    It had everything from temperature control to offensive and defensive power, had an Item Bag, and could summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, making it all-purpose.

    As long as you didn¡¯t mind how it looked, it was a great piece of equipment.

    ¡­ That¡¯s right, as long as you don¡¯t mind how you look.

    ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s Yuna-chan¡¯s adventurer rank?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°¡­C.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh, why? Why?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t report the 10,000 monsters, or the Scorpion, Sandworm, or Cockatrice.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t report about the big monsters, and kept everyone involved silent about it. There was no way my rank would increase because of that.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, sorry. The cockatrice was also because of me. I can¡¯t believe His Majesty the King also kept quiet about the Scorpion. Well then, let¡¯s move you up to a B rankter.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine if I stay in C.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Because even at C rank, people look at me with disbelief, think about what would happen if I switch to B rank.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t me you, but I¡¯m certain that Yuna-chan is very talented, you know?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Besides, didn¡¯t I get into trouble with some adventurers when I first came here because of my rank?¡± (Yuna)

    An adventurer got involved with me because I was ranked C, saying that if he beat me, he would be ranked C. That adventurer flew through the air. I had that adventurer fly in the sky. It was just a hassle to be challenged to a fight.

    There was no merit in raising my rank.

    I would never use my rank as a bargaining chip, and I didn¡¯t want to be asked to do unreasonable things just because I have a high rank. My motto was freedom.

    ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t force you to raise your rank. But it would be nice to be able to raise your rank at any time, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m good with this rank for now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s negotiate with the monsters next.¡± (Sanya)

    She looked like a businessman even though she was the guild master of an adventurer¡¯s guild.

    I guess she wasn¡¯t sitting around idly as a guild master of the adventurer¡¯s guild.

    ¡°I won¡¯t give up the magic stone.¡± (Yuna)

    Then I refuse to give up the big Scorpion, as well as the valuable parts that Jade-san taught me about. And so on like that, me and Sanya-san negotiate with the monsters, and when we have reached a mutually eptable agreement, we wrote down a contract.

    In the bear Item Box, there remained Wolves, Iron Golems, and some monsters for Fina¡¯s dismantling. Iron Golems couldn¡¯t be dismantled, because they were too hard to dismantle.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan. The money will have to wait until after the event.¡± (Sanya)

    Some of the materials would be returned to me, and I would get money for parts to be sold.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    And before leaving, Sanya-san did something to my guild card.

    Just looking at the card, I couldn¡¯t tell that anything had changed. It would appear that without the crystal te in the guild, I would not be able to see it.

    ¡°If the timees when you want to raise your rank in another ce, just show your guild card to the Guild Master in that ce, and they¡¯ll do it for you.¡± (Sanya)

    I didn¡¯t know if that time would evere, but I thanked her and returned to my bear house.

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 Chapter 638

    <h4>Chapter 638</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Went to see Rica-san</b>

    When I returned to the bear house after negotiating with Sanya-san, I hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, which had been turned into cubs, to heal yesterday¡¯s psychological damage.

    Sorry for the bug lovers, but I don¡¯t like bugs. If I¡¯m going to cuddle, it will be with fluffy fur.

    ¡°Uuh, so soothing~¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    ¡°Fluffy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    ¡°Uuh, so soft.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    ¡°Uuh, happy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuun.¡±

    I thought about Fina as I hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    When I returned from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Fina asked me to bring out some wolves for her to practice dismantling.

    Fina doesn¡¯t need to practice dismantling wolves now but she seemed restless as the event approached.

    I didn¡¯t think she was like that until yesterday, or was she hiding it from me?

    I put out the wolves, and Fina started dismantling them.

    Tirumina-san went shopping for dinner with Shuri to give Fina something tasty to eat.

    I was a little worried about Fina.

    Fina, I hoped she would be ok.

    ¡°¡­Yuna Onee-chan?¡± (Fina)

    As I hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while thinking about Fina, she suddenly called out to me.

    ¡°Uwah, Fina, you¡¯re here?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina was standing in front of the door.

    ¡°Did you see that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No¡­ but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are so cute.¡± (Fina)

    Fina then approached Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and patted them on the head.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine when I¡¯m dismantling them, but when I¡¯m done, I start to wonder if this is the right thing to do.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be too uptight about it. Besides, Gentz-san taught you how to do it, so just do it as usual, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± (Fina)

    She nodded, but she didn¡¯t seem okay.

    I guess a breather was in order on this one.

    Tirumina-san and Shuri were out. That leaves me in charge.

    But what should we do?

    ¡°I am thinking of dropping by Ghazal-san¡¯s ce. Want to join me on my way to see Ghazal-san and Rica-san?¡± (Yuna)

    I thought about it for a moment and suggested it.

    It would be a nice change of pace for Fina, and it would be good to see them after a long absence.

    Fina pondered momentarily, then said she would clean up the dismantling areademolition and prepare to leave.

    So, we went to the Ghazal-san¡¯s store, where I gotmade my mithril knife.

    Thest time I came here was for Fina¡¯s birthday present.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, Fina-san, have some tea.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°Thank you, Rica-san.¡± (Yuna)

    Rica-san puts the tea in front of us.

    Looking at her face, she looks happy.

    Ghazal-san might be making a sword, and I could hear him pounding iron from the back of the room.

    ¡°Rica-san, how is life in the Royal Capital?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ghazal is here, and there are good people around, so I¡¯m fine.¡± (Rica)

    Rica-san smiled at me with a big smile.

    From her expression, she didn¡¯t seem to be forcing herself toment.

    ¡°But I¡¯m a little worried that Ghazal is being mistreated because of my arrival.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°Ghazal-san is being mistreated?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu.¡± (Rica)

    Rica-san smiled happily, even though Ghazal-san she said he was being mistreated.

    Rica-san and Ghazal-san were unmarried, but she said that people around her looked at her as Ghazal-san¡¯s wife. So their fellow cksmiths around them, who were unmarried and did not have girlfriends, were jealous of them.

    ording to the story, cksmiths have difficulty finding partners because they are dirty, noisy, hot, etc.

    If they did get married, they would help out in the store. Craftsmen tend to be shunned because they work with sweat, make a lot of noise from hammering iron, and use fire, which is extremely hot, ording to some.

    Furthermore, because of the nature of their work, they rarely meet women, so they have even more of a hard time finding women.

    It was a tricky issue.

    So, Ghazal-san, who had never had a shadow of a woman in his life, was tormented with jealousy when Rica-san appeared on the scene.

    And because Rica-san was cute, things escted even more.

    ¡°Is Rica-san okay with it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Me? I am the daughter of a cksmith. I¡¯ve been raised in such an environment since I was born, so I don¡¯t mind it. My father smelled of sweat, but my mother told me it was proof that he was working hard for us. I think she¡¯s right, too, and the sound of iron being struck was like a luby to me as I slept, so I¡¯m okay with it.¡± (Rica)

    So Rica-san was a girl born ready to be a cksmith¡¯s wife. It would be easier to get married if one had an understanding of the other¡¯s profession, as with any profession.

    For me, who had no feminine instincts, it was challenging to aplish.

    ¡°By the way, Yuna-chan and Fina-san don¡¯t live in Royal Capital¡­I was surprised when I tried to go see Yuna-chan and Ghazal told me that you don¡¯t live here even though you have a house here.¡± (Rica)

    Oh, I just remembered that I should mention that.

    I used my Bear Transition Gate to get back to the Royal Capital, and when I came to Ghazal-san¡¯s she was already there, so she might have arrived when I was still in Crimonia.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to tell you. Sorry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But I thought it was strange, because I could have sworn I heard that you came to the capital when you heard about me from Gold.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°I bought a piece ofnd and built a house in Royal Capital because I do drop by here once in a while.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you onlye here once in a while, but bought somend, but I¡¯m also surprised about the bear house. But I¡¯m d you came to see me like this, and thank you Fina-san for visiting me too.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina-san, what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯ve been quiet for a while now.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    It seemed like she was out of it.

    I let out a sigh.

    ¡°Fina¡¯s going to be at the uing dismantling event at the Adventurers Guild, and she¡¯s a bit overwhelmed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, that? Fina-san, you¡¯re going to participate?¡± (Rica)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve decided to participate. But I¡¯m getting more and more worried about whether I¡¯m the right person for the job, and whether I¡¯ll disappoint Sanya-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As long as Fina does the dismantling as usual, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t think it would be such a big ce to do it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°But Fina-san, I didn¡¯t know you could dismantle things.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°Fina is excellent at dismantling.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not so good at it. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good enough. Besides, I¡¯m mostly dismantling wolves. (Fina)

    ¡°Fina-san is in the category under the age of 19 years oldthe underis under 19 years old, so I don¡¯t think other participants have dismantled any rare monsters before. I don¡¯t think such monsters will be at the event in the first ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If I knew more about it, I could tell you what kind of monsters were present. I¡¯ve only been in the Royal Capital for a short time, and it¡¯s only recently that I found out about such an event. Oh, I could ask Ghazal.¡± (Rica)

    Fina tried to stop Rica-san from turning her attention away fromto the workshop.

    ¡°Rica-san, thank you for your concern. I am fine.¡± (Fina)

    Then we listened to Rica-san¡¯s story about her time in the Royal Capital, and Fina seemed to enjoy listening to Rica-san¡¯s story as well.

    ¡°Ghazal is so sloppy, he can¡¯t do things without me.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°He seems like a solid man though.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°As far as work is concerned, yes. But his personal life is totally messed up. I¡¯m really d I came.¡± (Rica)

    Ghazal-san, could it be that you¡¯re being wrapped around the neck?

    ¡°Rica, don¡¯t talk to the girls about that.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san came out from the back with a stern look on his face.

    ¡°Ghazal-san, hello. sorry to bother you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hello.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°What¡¯s up today? Are you here to have your knives maintained?¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°No, no. I¡¯m in the Royal Capital, so I thought I¡¯d drop by and show my face. Also, I thought it would be a nice change of pace for Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A change of pace for Fina?¡± (Ghazal)

    I told him that Fina would participate in a dismantlingdemolition event organized by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Ghazal, do you know anything about it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been to a few, but I¡¯m a seasoned veteran. Sometimes there are rare monsters and such in my category. But the Bear Girl is right, I¡¯ve never heard of any rare monsters appearing in theon the category under the age of 19, which is the age group you belong to.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°See, I told you so. So, Fina will be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Un.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t help you with that.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°No, that information is enough, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing I can do about the event, but I can give me a hand in maintaining your dismantling equipment, right? It¡¯s the least I can do for you.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It would be more of a problem if something happened to the dismantling tools while you were taking part in the event, and you couldn¡¯t use them to your full potential.¡± (Ghazal)

    Certainly, if it was a monster she had never dismantled, it could not be helped. But the most frustrating thing would be not being able to do it because the dismantling tools had problems, even if it was a monster she was familiar with.

    ¡°Fina-san, it¡¯s okay, Ghazal wants to do it, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Rica)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then, why don¡¯t I pay him and ask him to do it, and then it will be a job?¡± (Yuna)

    If they did so, there would be no problem for either of them.

    When I tried to pay, Fina stopped me and tried to take out her wallet, but Ghazal-san stopped her again.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, let me do it myself then.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t need money. You girls have taken good care of me. Besides, I¡¯ve already got the money from the bear girl.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Oh, you mean the Iron Golem.¡± ( RicaYuna)

    I wondered what he was talking about, but then Rica-san reminded me.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough money. I could take care of your weapons and tools hundreds of times and still have enough change.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°Fina, since he has said so far, why don¡¯t you do them a favor?¡± (Yuna)

    It would be rude to keep refusing.

    Above all, it would be disrespectful to Ghazal-san¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°¡­Then, please, I leave it to you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina worried a little and took her dismantling tools out of the item bag.

    There were three knives. Two were mithril knives and an iron knife made by Gold-San, a cksmith in Crimonia and Ghazal-san¡¯s colleague. The other knife was one I see every once in a while.

    ¡°So there are three knives and this one is a set of dismantling tools.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san holds up a knife.

    ¡°Gold made the Mithril knivesknife and this iron knife, right?¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°You can tell just by looking at them.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina showed him the mithril knife thest time we were here, but not the iron knife.

    ¡°Because we showed each other what we made. But this one is different.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san holds up one of the remaining knives.

    ¡°That¡¯s the dismantling knife my father used when he was an adventurer.¡± (Fina)

    Father? It was probably not Gentz-san, but herte father.

    ¡°That dismantling tool set is also the one my father used when he was an adventurer.¡± (Fina)

    Ghazal-san looked at the set of dismantling tools.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s well cared for and beautiful. The cksmith who made it must be very happy.¡± (Ghazal)

    Fina always took good care of her tools after dismantling them.

    Then Ghazal-san adjusted, polished, and cared for Fina¡¯s dismantling tools.

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°If you do what you can do now, no one willin. Of course, it can be hard to be as good as you always are. I can¡¯t make the same good sword every time either. But I must not deny what I have done until now. That would be denying the person who taught you how to dismantle it, missy.¡± (Ghazal)

    Ghazal-san said to Fina as if saying to himself.

    ¡°Not deny what I have¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina reflected on Ghazal-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not very good at exining.¡± (Ghazal)

    ¡°No, thank you. I will do my best to do what I can now.¡± (Fina)

    Perhaps Ghazal-san¡¯s words had reached Fina¡¯s ears because the look of distress on Fina¡¯s face had disappeared.

    I was d I dropped by.

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 Chapter 639

    <h4>Chapter 639</h4>

    <b>Bear-san heads to the Event Site</b>

    The day of the Dismantling Event.

    Ellura-san and Shia, who were supposed to go to the Dismantling Event together, arrive at the Bear House.

    Taking advantage of Ellura-san¡¯s hospitality, we took a horse-drawn carriage to the site of the Dismantling Event.

    Once inside the building, about 100 tables were set up on the ground, creating a dismantling area.

    I wondered if that¡¯s how many participants there would be.

    ¡°Uuu, I¡¯m so nervous.¡± (Fina)

    Fina mutters as she looks at the ground where the tables wereid out.

    Today, the Dismantling Event for participants under 19 years old, in which Fina will participate, was scheduled to take ce first, followed by the main Dismantling Event by the veteran group.

    ¡°Fina will be fine. Besides, there¡¯s no shame in losing, because being able to dismantle at Fina¡¯s age is an amazing feat in itself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Fina)

    I think her technical side would be fine, but she might be nervous about doing it in front of people.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, Fina is going to do dismantling here, in public.¡± (Tirumina)

    Like Fina, Tirumina-san seemed nervous as well.

    ¡°Look, if Tirumina-san is nervous, Fina-san will also be nervous and won¡¯t be able to show her true ability.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san, who hade to cheer Fina on, eases their nerves.

    ¡°Fina-san, I can only cheer you on, but please do your best.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Shia-sama¡­yes. I will do my best.¡± (Fina)

    I heard students could also get a day off if they wanted to observe the event.

    There were students here and there at the venue.

    Perhaps they were students who performed the dismantling event at the school festival.

    ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t forget anything.¡± (Fina)

    Fina anxiously touches the bag of items.

    ¡°You checked it many times this morning, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Fina)

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild would provide the dismantling tools, but participants who have their own tools would be allowed to bring and use the tools they were ustomed to using.

    Basically, those who participate should be expected to bring their dismantling tools.

    Well, at least those who didn¡¯t have it could participate in the event. It would not be surprising if participants brought their own dismantling tools.

    We were moved to a special seat, which was not appropriate for our status, by the authority of Ellura-san¡¯s peerage and Sanya-san, the guild master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Ellura-sama, we have been waiting for you. And Yuna-chan, too.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san greeted us as we came to the special seat.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s alright for us to watch from here as well?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked with a hesitant look on her face.

    Unlike the other spectator seats, we were isted from the rest of the audience.

    There were walls on either side. I have seen something like this on the news: Was this the so-called ¡°press box¡±?

    There was a roof over the seats, so they would be safe even if it rained.

    In addition, the dismantling area was right before us, making it easy for us to see the work being done.

    As such, it was a special seat, unlike the other seats.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s only used by a few important people.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Important people¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at Ellura-san and Sanya-san. They were an aristocrat and a guild master. They were great people.

    ¡°Fufu, Fina-san is a dear friend of my daughter. Besides, this was my suggestion, so don¡¯t worry about it Tirumina-san, you should support Fina-san.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Ellura-sama, thank you.¡± (Tirumina)

    We epted Ellura-san¡¯s and Sanya-san¡¯s kindness.

    ¡°But I¡¯m d there were fewer people than I thought there would be.¡± (Yuna)

    Indeed, the audience seats I had seen at an Idol concert or on the pro baseball news were packed. Compared to that, the current audience was sparse.

    There were empty seats more often than not.

    This indicated that not many people were interested in dismantling, even though it was an Event.

    If it had been just me, I doubt if I would even havee to observe the event.

    But if I could see rare monsters, I mighte.

    ¡°Today¡¯s 19 and under event doesn¡¯t have much in terms of monsters, and there¡¯s not much of an audience. People inevitably show up on the day when rare monsters and veterans with good dismantling skills are in attendance.¡± (Sanya)

    Apparently, many people think the same way I did.

    As with anything, whether it was sports, Idol Concerts, oredy, the professionals (veterans) attract more people than the new amateurs.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many civilians, but people from the dismantling industrye to watch. New adventurers, and then there were people who have never seen a monster before, so theye just for the fun of it.¡± (Sanya)

    The average person may never encounter a monster or even have the chance to see one.

    It might be about the same chance as seeing wild animals in the cities of my former world.

    Even if they left the royal capital, it was unlikely that they would encounter monsters on the road, and there were few opportunities to see them.

    ¡°That is why we are opening our doors to the public on asions like this.¡± (Sanya)

    It would be difficult tobel something you¡¯ve never seen before as dangerous. But if you¡¯ve seen a monster, even one that was defeated, you could learn to recognize it as dangerous.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were cute, though. If one had never seen or heard of a bear, one would not know how dangerous they could be.

    They said that beautiful flowers have thorns.

    If you go near a pretty Bear-san, you could potentially be attacked.

    ¡°You have a lot of thoughts in mind while holding this event, don¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-chan, do you understand? It¡¯s not easy being a guild master. If we only do this every year, we¡¯ll get stuck in a boring routine, so I¡¯m d that Fina-san is joining us.¡± (Sanya)

    As a freedom-lover, I could never be a guild master or a guild official.

    I hate it, but then again, I guess I inherited my parents¡¯ school of thought.

    That didn¡¯t mean I was going to change my mind, not at all.

    ¡°Well then, Fina-san, it¡¯s almost time to go to the waiting room.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, be strong.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Good luck, big sister.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll see youter.¡± (Fina)

    Fina was seen off by her family (one of them was missing, but I¡¯m sure he was cheering her on from afar) and headed for the waiting room with the staff Sanya-san had called for her.

    All we could do was to believe in Fina and cheer her on from the bleachers.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off, as well.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san had some work to do, so she left her seat and went down to the field, where she sat down in one of the seats that had been prepared for her.

    As we sat on the chairs and looked down at the venue from above, a man dressed in a suit appeared on the field.

    The man, dressed in a suit and tie, held an object in his hand close to his mouth and began to speak.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen. We are now going to start the Dismantling Event for those under 19 years of age.¡±

    Apparently, that thing in his hand was a magical device that made his voice louder, like a megaphone.

    I didn¡¯t know such a thing existed.

    But thanks to that magical tool, his voice reached the entire venue.

    ¡°Now then, everyone who will be attending, please enter.¡±

    As the man said this, people came out from the entrance and into the venue.

    Among them, there was a little girl who walked in the doorway.

    There was no mistaking who she was.

    ¡°It¡¯s big sister.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri stood up from her chair as she cheered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay, everyone is so bigpared to her.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked worried.

    Indeed, Fina was the smallest among the participants.

    The attendants then guide the participants to their respective tables.

    Fina was at the front. It was easy to see.

    Perhaps Sanya-san was considerate of this as well.

    ¡°We have 105 participants. Thank you for your participation.¡±

    The man with the magic tool, whose voice gets louder, bowed.

    Apparently, the man with the magical tool was someone like a TV program host AKA master of ceremony.

    ¡°Well, this is something we do every year, but I¡¯m sure some of you are doing this for the first time this year.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony nced at Fina.

    ¡°Some of you may not need an exnation, but I will give you one. The evaluations will be based on speed of dismantling, cleanliness and knowledge. And the top 60 rated as sessful will proceed to the second round, so I encourage everyone to do their best.¡±

    It looks like about half of the contestants will be sifted out in the first round.

    ¡°And for the first round of the event, we¡¯re going to have you work on dismantling two Wolves.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    As the master of ceremony said this, an attendant brought wolf bodies on a cart to the participants¡¯ side.

    ¡°Here are two wolves. As you can see, one wolf was killed by a veteran adventurer with a single blow, and the other one was killed by a rookie adventurer with multiple strikes. Now, how fast and cleanly can these two wolves be dismantled?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina told me before that between a monster that was killed with one blow and a monster that was damaged many times; dismantling would be easier with the former.

    Of course, a monster that was attacked many times would have a lot of holes in it. They would be ripped to shreds if they could not be neatly dismantled.

    ¡°Cheating is an immediate dismissal. The attendants are keeping a close eye on you, so don¡¯t do it.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ***

    There were about 30 attendants who would be judging the event.

    ¡°How can one cheat when dismantling?¡± (Yuna)

    If it was a paper test, there would be cheating or something. How could someone cheat in dismantling? And the only other way I could think of would be a recement?

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, they reced the fur with a previously dismantled one.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san answered my question.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be easily discovered?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, apparently, but someone still did it.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Why would they do that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I heard that cheating ismon among first-time participants. They do it because they want to get through the first round.¡± (Ellura)

    They may feel embarrassed to fail the first round. Everyone would like to at least get through the first round.

    ***

    ¡°Those who have finished dismantling, please raise your hands. The staff will then check your work. Any other questions?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony confirmed with the participants.

    But before the start was announced, a man in histe teens beside Fina raised his hand.

    ¡°Yes, what is it, that gentleman over there?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony points to the man who raises his hand.

    ¡°Um, why is there a child here?¡± (Participant)

    The man pointed to Fina at the table next to him.

    ¡°If her age is under 19, she can attend, no problem. Does she look over 20 to you?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think she looks that way.¡± (Participant)

    ¡°Then there is no problem.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony dismisses the question.

    Sanya-san looked at me and smiled.

    She had already told the staff about Fina.

    ¡°I see no other questions. Now, everyone, please begin preparing for the dismantling. We have dismantling tools avable for borrowing, so please feel free to use them.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Each of them started preparing dismantling tools.

    Fina also took out her dismantling tools from her bag of items.

    Then a Wolf carcass was ced on each of the tables.

    ¡°So, are you ready? Once it starts, there¡¯s no stopping it.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony looked around. No one raises their hand.

    It looks like they were ready to go.

    ¡°Then¡­begin!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    At the same time as the man said these words, the sound of drums banging echoed through the venue.

    All at once, the dismantling event had started.

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 Chapter 640

    <h4>Chapter 640</h4>

    <b>Bear-san cheers for Fina in the first round</b>

    The participants begin to move as the moderator calls for the start, and Fina begins dismantling the Wolf.

    ¡°And now, every participant is starting their dismantling!! Number 1 Deed-kun, who wonst year, is aiming for a second straight win; Deed-kun is 19 years old this year. Next year, he will not be allowed topete under 19. He wants to win onest time, win two in a row, andpete in the Veteran¡¯s division next year. But the one who wants to put a stop to that is Garde, number 11, who came in secondst year. His age is 18, one year younger than Deed-kun, will he run away with it this year and not let Deed-kun win?!¡±

    The master of ceremony skillfullymented on the profiles of the participants.

    This gets the audience excited.

    He mentioned the numbers, and I appreciated knowing where to look, thanks to the gs with the numbers on them next to the tables.

    ¡°Some of the others have been honing their skills for the past year to keep up with Deed-kun and Garde-kun. Who knows how thepetition will turn out!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I looked over at the others and saw that they were dismantling with defeated faces¡­ However, they were satisfied just being able to participate, and they were all very good at it.

    ¡°Whoa, among the participants, there is someone who is dismantling the Wolf with knife work that is as quick as the rest! The number is 51, um, the material.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony was searching for something.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, her name is Fina-san, she¡¯s the youngest participant, 11 years old. I don¡¯t know where she¡¯s from, but she was rmended by our guild master. As such, let¡¯s ask the guild master, what kind of girl is Fina-san?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony waved to Sanya-san, sitting a little further away.

    The conversation flowed steadily, as if there had been a meeting.

    Sanya-san took a magic mic, the same one the master of ceremony was holding, and started speaking.

    ¡°Fina-san is a girl who has supported her family by dismantling since she was very young. That¡¯s why, at the age of 11, she has mastered the art of dismantling.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°It¡¯s a story that makes you cry. A little flower that bloomed in the midst of the bitter, smelly men. I wish her the best.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    When the master of ceremony said this, the other women participants who were also dismantlingined.

    ¡°You have a lovely, beautiful flower here as well!¡± (Woman Participant)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Participant)

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the women; the men were in on it (raising theint as a banter) as well, though Fina being the youngest was correct.

    ¡°I beg your pardon for this. From the adventurers, we are joined by a new adventurer, ire. Although their party consists only of female members, she is an adventurer who is making a headway. I¡¯m sure there are many male adventurers who would like to join their group of female adventurers. With me being one of them.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience bursts intoughter and excitement.

    Several other female adventurers were also in attendance.

    Of course, there were also women participants, not only adventurers but also women wearing the uniform of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Another girl who participates is Eliza, from the guild staff. She is a girl who works as a receptionist and even dismantles when she has time. I wish her the best of luck. Let¡¯s have the other dainty, beautiful flowers do as well as the men.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Well-spoken.

    I think he could be a pick-up artist.

    ¡°Sanya-san, you knew a lot about Fina, but you must not have known she could dismantle until Ellura-san told you. Perhaps it was Ellura-san who told you?¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my gaze to the most suspicious person.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san denied it.

    ¡°Then how did she know?¡± (Yuna)

    Someone raised a small hand in response to my question.

    ¡°Well, maybe it was because of me? The other day, when I was invited to tea, we talked about how Fina can dismantle. So¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    The culprit was her mother, Tirumina-san.

    What an unexpected revtion.

    ¡°Looks like Fina is embarrassed, and her hands have stopped.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Huh?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oh, she can¡¯t even respond.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina¡¯s hand stopped as everyone looked at her.

    ¡°Oh, no big sister! Keep up the good work!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri cheered loudly. Shuri¡¯s cheering brought Fina back to her senses, and her hands started to move again.

    ¡°Alright, it looks like her sister cheered from the audience. Cute sisters.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Thatment made Fina shy again.

    ¡°Such a family-oriented girl is entering thepetition. Let¡¯s not let those sisters lose, even against her big brothers and sisters participating around her.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    More attention was drawn to Fina.

    And the dismantling continued.

    Fina, who was nervous at first because of the Master of Ceremony, was quietly dismantling.

    There was no hesitation in her dismantling.

    She dismantled hundreds of wolves that I know of, and there was no way that Fina could not do it.

    There was no way that Fina could not dismantle a wolf.

    If she couldn¡¯t, it would be because she was under pressure.

    As I stared at Fina, the man who was the master of ceremony (MC) of the event raised his voice.

    ¡°Whoa, so fast, and it looks like some of them have finished their first Wolf! The first is Deed-kun, the previous winner. But soon to follow, Garde-kun is also about to start his second Wolf.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    More and more other participants finished dismantling their second Wolf, but not Fina. But it was almost over.

    ¡°One after another, they started with their second wolf, but be careful, because points will be deducted if you fail in your haste.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina finished.

    The master of ceremony noticed that, too.

    ¡°Ohh, the 15th one to finish the Wolf is the youngest girl, Fina-san! That¡¯s great.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience was excited.

    After all, when a little girl was doing her best, you wanted to cheer her on, didn¡¯t you?

    ¡°Fina-san, that¡¯s awesome!¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Go for it, big sister!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°But now it¡¯s the damaged Wolf. Unlike the Wolf we saw earlier, it¡¯s going to be more challenging, can Fina-san do it?!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony eximed with concern, but Fina continued dismantling the damaged Wolf.

    Her knife movements have no hesitation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times, but remember that points will be deducted if you can¡¯t dismantle not only fast, but also carefully and neatly. Moreover, dismantling the second Wolf you will be dismantling have been more damaged than the first, so if you rush it, you will fail!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Just looking at them made my hands sweat.

    Perhaps it was because I have apetitive nature, but I was torn between wanting Fina to win because she was going to do it and wanting her not to overdo it.

    But Fina was not in thepetition to lose.

    ¡°Fina, go for it!¡± (Yuna)

    I wasn¡¯t shy to raise my voice and cheer for Fina.

    Fina was trying her best. I couldn¡¯t ask her to cut corners. So, I cheered her on.

    ¡°Big sister, keep up the good work!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina-san, do your best!¡± (Shia)

    Shuri and Shia both shout.

    Perhaps it was my imagination, but I felt Fina¡¯s movements became faster.

    ¡°If you make it to the top 60, you¡¯re through to the second round. Some of the participants might therefore be thinking about the second round and rxing. But that¡¯s not the way it should be! Are you going to cut corners in front of a girl who is working so hard!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I felt as if every participants¡¯ speed had increased with the urging of the master of ceremony.

    He was good at stirring things up.

    But I was sure the excitement was building.

    The other women participants were also doing their best; as a fellow female, I was inclined to root for the women.

    The dismantling of the Wolves continued to progress.

    Even ayman like me could tell that the end was near.

    ¡°Oh, herees Deed-kun, the winner, raising his hand! He was the first one to raise his hand!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    He did raise his hand.

    ¡°But as I have said many times, being fast is not enough. If there is a mistake in dismantling, points will be deducted, so it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean first ce.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Then, a littleter, a second person raises his hand.

    ¡°The next person to raise his hand is Garde-kun. Garde-kun, you look frustrated. But even if you take first ce here, it has nothing to do with the final winner, so don¡¯t be frustrated.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Then, one after another, they raised their hands.

    How about Fina!?

    Fina was nearing the end. Then after finishing dismantling, she raised his hand.

    ¡°Ohh, herees Fina-san raising her hand! She is 13th. Earlier, when she was doing her 1st wolf, she was 15th, but now she has overtaken two people and finished 13th!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The crowd goes wild.

    There were 60 participants going through the first round, so unless there was a significant point deduction, there should be no doubt they would make it through the first round.

    Then the scoring started, starting with those who had finished.

    The dismantled furs, meat, and various other items were scored.

    Then everyone finished dismantling, and the scoring began to be tallied.

    ¡°The nervous ones are the ones who finished dismantling around the 60th position, because the scoring is always variable in this area. But even if apetitor finishes dismantling early in the top rank, if the dismantling is in a bad condition, they will fall to the lower ranks. If the results couldn¡¯t be sold, they would receive zero points.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    That was to be expected since the material was dismantled for the sake of selling the material. If the materials couldn¡¯t be sold, they would receive zero points. No, it would be a minus.

    Supposing that a monster was originally worth a gold coin when sold, but that was at the cost of the adventurers¡¯ lives fighting and defeating the monsters. It would be worth nothing.

    The same goes for a guild that buys it from the adventurers. If it failed to be properly dismantled the profit was zero, and the amount of money paid for it would be a negative figure.

    ¡°Then, the one whose number and name are called will advance to the second round!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°What number are you, big sister?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Number 51.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°First, number one, Deed-kun.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    There was a round of apuse and cheers.

    ¡°There was no change in the ranking. And second ce goes to number 11, Garde-kun.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    This part of the show was pretty much as expected.

    The problem was around number 13, where Fina finished dismantling.

    Then the rankings, numbers and names were called out.

    ¡°In 11th ce¡­number¡­you, in 12th ce¡­number¡­you.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony read out the rankings, numbers, and names.

    Fina¡¯s name was not announced yet.

    Shuri keeps muttering ¡°number 51¡± over and over again in her breaths.

    If they were going to call her, it would be soon.

    ¡°Thirteenth ce, number 51, Fina-san.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina¡¯s number and name were called.

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 Chapter 641

    <h4>Chapter 641</h4>

    T/N: Hi, everyone. Some of you might have noticed that we have started to use LN names instead of previous WN names at some point. It started off as a mistake, but if possible, we would like to continue with the LN name. There are multiple reasons for it.

    As we don¡¯t have a list of old WN names, there are chances that we might end up using wrong names (like now). Other than that, LN names are also more urate (reason why we didn¡¯t notice name change), so they are easier to keep track of.

    Here is the list of names affected:

    Nore (<b>Noa</b>) => Noire (<b>Noa</b>)

    (Nickname will be the same, so it won¡¯t affect reading.)

    <b>Cliff</b> Foshur¨­ze => <b>Cliff</b> Foschurose

    (Onlyst name is affected, so it won¡¯t affect reading.)

    Elerora => Ellura

    Serena => Selena

    Lara => L

    Gordo => Gold

    Nert => Nelt

    Nifu => Neff

    Petora => Petra

    Foru¨­to => Folhaut

    Ranzeru => Ranzel

    However, if you feel strongly about it, please let us know in thement. We will hold a poll to make the final decision. Thanks.

    <b>¡­</b>

    <b>Kuma-san cheers for Fina at the Second Round</b>

    Fina¡¯s entrant number and name were announced.

    ¡°Onee Chan¡¯s name was announced!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Indeed!¡± (Tirumina)

    Shuri was delighted, and Tirumina-san looked relieved.

    Fina gave us a small wave, Shuri returned it with a big wave back, and I waved back.

    Considering the order in which they finished dismantling, I knew she would make it through to the first round, but I was still anxious until they called her name.

    ¡°Fina-chan, I knew you could dismantle, but I didn¡¯t know you were this good. Some people participate for money, but against those who have a certain level of confidence, 13th ce is amazing.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san mentioned admiringly.

    ¡°They get paid?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, Sanya didn¡¯t tell you? When they sell the materials you dismantle, you get a portion of the money. It¡¯s like extra ie. So the higher ranked you are, the more money you¡¯ll get.¡± (Ellura)

    Given that the higher the rank, the more money thates in, it would be like a cash prize.

    It might be a necessity to attract participants.

    Then, the numbers up to 60th ce seemed to have been announced by the master of ceremony, and some participants were both happy and sad.

    Those whose numbers were announced had a variety of reactions. Those who thought it was a given that they would pass did not react at all, while others showed a small guts pose, and those whose numbers and names were announced just before the 60th ce were overjoyed.

    The male master of ceremony introduced a female adventurer and a female receptionist, who seemed to have made it through the first round. Several other women also made it through to the first round.

    They were a little older than me, but very impressive.

    Well, the most amazing one was our Fina.

    ¡°Now, the 60 participants who made it through to the first round will take a 30-minute break, and then we will start the second round, so please wait a little bit. Those of you who failed the first round will receive a scoring sheet from the officials, so that you can correctly understand what went wrong and improve on your dismantling skills. And we look forward to your participation next year and see how much you have grown.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Each person received a scoring sheet from the staff members.

    No one seems to make a fuss orin.

    Well, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was in charge, and no one would pick a fight with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The participants then disbanded once the discussion was over.

    As I watched Fina, people started to gather around her.

    Maybe they thought she was a cheeky little girl, or they failed because of her, or they were flirting with her, and it might also be a group lynching. I could notin to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, so I went directly to Fina.

    When I was about to jump out, they shook her hand, put their hands on Fina¡¯s head, and started talking to her happily.

    Apparently, they seemed to like her.

    ¡°Oh, Fina-chan, you have be very popr!¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san smiled as she looked at Fina being surrounded.

    Well, I guess it was expected. There was no way they would lynch a group with so many people watching.

    In the first ce, Sanya-san would never allow it.

    But I was d it wasn¡¯t a group lynching. I would have jumped out and made everyone fall prey to my Bear Punches.

    After a while, Fina, who had been surrounded, was released and returned with Sanya-san at thementary table.

    They had to prepare for the second round, during which they took a short break.

    ¡°Fina, good job. Congrattions on getting through the first round.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina gives a big smile.

    Her spirit seemed to have been lifted now that she had made it through to the first round.

    ¡°Fina, you did great.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Congrattions, Onee-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Tirumina-san pats Fina¡¯s head and Shuri hugs her.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be this nervous just watching my daughter dismantle.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san pats her chest.

    ¡°¡­Mother.¡± (Fina)

    Well, maybe it¡¯s like a mother watching her child¡¯s arts and crafts. Like a mother watching her child to ensure she did not mess up.

    ¡°But you¡¯re really great, Fina-chan.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Indeed.¡± (Shia)

    Ellura-san and Shia were all smiles as Fina made it through the first round.

    ¡°By the way, I didn¡¯t think Fina-chan¡¯s dismantling skills were this great.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san, who had never seen Fina¡¯s dismantling, said excitedly.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve only made it through the first round.¡± (Fina)

    Fina didn¡¯t realize she was referring to as ¡°only¡±. But within her, she wants to go even higher.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Do you know how great that is?¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san grabbed Fina¡¯s shoulders and shook her.

    ¡°If you were number 62 or so, I would have used my authority to get you past the first round, but since you¡¯re number 13, I didn¡¯t have to do that.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°That¡¯s an abuse of authority.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to fail the 60th kid. It¡¯s a point system, so all I had to do was raise Fina-chan¡¯s score a little bit to make it a tie.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Still, I think that¡¯s abuse of power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m a guild master, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Sanya)

    We had a viin here.

    They abuse their authority.

    Well, there¡¯s a word for that: necessary evil. A little evil might be forgiven if it makes things more exciting.

    But, because of Fina¡¯s ability, it wasn¡¯t necessary this time.

    ¡°But thirteenth ce, that¡¯s really great.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because Yuna Onee-chan let me dismantle a lot of wolves.¡± (Fina)

    She often dismantles wolves because they were consumed at the orphanage or used in my store. Besides, one reason was that I simply had a lot of wolves.

    ¡°Huh, but it¡¯s a bigger sess than I expected. Everyone was watching Fina-chan, and it was a lot of fun, thanks to Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Speaking of excitement, that coordinator was excellent, wasn¡¯t he?¡± (Yuna)

    The words flowed from his mouth, one after another.

    He must have studied the event to some extent to be able toe up with those words. Perhaps he had already checked the materials on the participatingpetitors. Above all, he was quick-witted. Or, he was the type of person whose mouth moved more than he thought.

    ¡°That guy hosts all kinds of events. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so good at making this kind of thing happen.¡± (Sanya)

    No wonder he seemed so adept at it.

    If I were asked to do it, I could never do it. The right person for the right job I would say.

    The right ce for me would be a shut-in. I would say, ¡°I¡¯m not a shut-in,¡± however, I haven¡¯t holed myself up recently, I think.

    ¡°Ellura-sama, thank you for telling me about Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how great Fina-chan was either, since I only heard about her from Noa and Shia.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Again, thank you so much, Fina-chan!¡± (Sanya)

    Fina was embarrassed by everyone¡¯s praise.

    But this dismantling technique was honed with blood, sweat, and tears to support her sick mother and young sister.

    I gently ce the Bear Puppet on Fina¡¯s head.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I was thinking that Fina is awesome.¡± (Yuna)

    It was not only in dismantling, but if such a little girl was working so hard, it might make the people watching her feel like they couldn¡¯t lose.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because Yuna Onee-chan let a kid like me do a lot of dismantling, Yuna Onee-chan, thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina smiled, and I smiled back.

    She was so cute. If I had a sister, I would want her to be like this.

    It sounded like a nice thing to do, but if one would hear that I was making an 11-year-old girl do a lot of dismantling work, I couldn¡¯t help but sound like a terrible person.

    Then the short break was over, and the second round was about to begin.

    ¡°Fina, good luck.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Good luck, Onee-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina, have a good show.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Fina-chan, good luck!¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Fina-chan, I¡¯m rooting for you!¡± (Yuna)

    When I cheered for her, they cheered for her, as well.

    I know it was not good to put too much pressure on people, and I know it was not good to tell people who are working hard to do their best, but all I could get out of them were words of support.

    And I couldn¡¯t tell people not to work hard.

    But Fina epted everyone¡¯s words and said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do my best,¡± and then she left with Sanya-san.

    ¡°Are you all well rested?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony called out.

    ¡°The next to be dismantled are horned rabbits!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    An attendant brings in horned rabbits on a cart.

    ¡°Following the Wolf, the horned rabbit is another monster that we often have to dismantle. You may think it¡¯s happening again, but if you can¡¯t dismantle it as quickly and neatly the way it should be dismantled, you¡¯re hardly considered a full-fledged expert!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The horned rabbit was a familiar monster, although not as numerous as the wolves. They were dangerous monsters with long horns on their heads, and when they were in a straight line, they would use the force of their leap to stab you with their horns.

    Moreover, it was said that it was challenging to defeat it because it moved while jumping from side to side. In my case, I could finish them with a single shot using magic, but for new adventurers, they were said to be more difficult monsters than wolves.

    ¡°There are 40 of you who will advance past the second round. If you cut corners just because it¡¯s an easy monster to dismantle, you won¡¯t make it past the second round. Don¡¯t lose out to the girl who tries her hardest!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Even if it was just to liven things up, please don¡¯t encourage too many participants; it could diminish Fina¡¯s chances of making it through to the second round.

    The horned rabbits were ced on the table to be dismantled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start the dismantling of the horned rabbits!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The dismantling of the horned rabbit started at the signal of the Master of Ceremony.

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 Chapter 642

    <h4>Chapter 642</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san, Second Round in Support of Fina</b>

    The drums sounded with the master of ceremony¡¯s voice, and the second round began.

    Fina dismantled a Horned Rabbit using her knife and dismantling toolkit.

    The main difference between a Wolf and a Horned Rabbit would be the horn.

    I had heard from Fina before that dismantling a horned Rabbit was difficult. That may be why dismantling Horned Rabbit was chosen as the next stage after the Wolf.

    ¡°All the participants are now processing Horned Rabbits at once, who will be the first to finish! Would it be Deed-kun and Garde-kun, who are dismantling it at a tremendous speed!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Compared to the other participants, the two of them were dismantling their Horned Rabbits very swiftly¡­

    It was apparent that the skill level differences between the two and the other participants were as wide as a gulf. To begin with, Fina was no match for them neither in terms of physical size, strength, or everything else; Fina¡¯s strength might be less than half of what they were capable of. She was also shorter, so Fina was using a stepping stool.

    Compared to those two championship contenders, she was far inferior in all aspects, but still, Fina did her best with her small body.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s look at the other participants. The third ce during the Wolf round was Jaws-kun, and right now he¡¯s way behind the rest. Does he not have enough experience in dismantling Horned Rabbits?! Simrly, those who were in the top ranks during the wolf dismantling were allgging behind. Is theirck of experience showing? No matter how high they rank in the first round, if they rank low in the second round, they will not be able to proceed to the third round!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    It was the same for Fina, whose speed was slower than she had been when she dismantled Wolf.

    ¡°Let¡¯s look at thedies next. As I thought, we would start with her, right? Fina-chan, the youngest, handles her knife without hesitation; at the age of 11, I wonder how much effort she had to put in to hone her dismantling skills to such a degree?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Our Fina did put in a lot of effort.

    Other participants might have done the same, but I didn¡¯t care about them.

    ¡°People will proceed step by step. That step may be fast or slow, depending on the person. But if you don¡¯t have the will to go on, you won¡¯t progress, and Fina-chan must have worked many times harder than others.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    When the master of ceremony mimed crying a little, the audience cheered, ¡°Go for it!¡± and Shuri, who was next to me, was cheering loudly.

    He focused on pointing out Fina, perhaps to inspire the people around her, as Sanya-san had mentioned.

    They may look at Fina¡¯s dismantling and rethink their approach to life.

    Step by step, a path would open up.

    Of course, sometimes that path might get blocked.

    Some may pass through that blocked path with effort, some may go through it in a big circle, and some may stand still.

    But if one could pass through, one would grow.

    They would not even realize the road was blocked if they did not press on forward. Indeed, one would not grow if one stood still, even if one could advance.

    In my original world, I stood still, stagnant, not moving forward.

    But by meeting Fina and the inhabitants of this world, I think I stepped forward.

    So I hope Fina will be rewarded for her efforts to live.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the other women in the group. Eliza-chan, who works as a receptionist at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and dismantling work, is making good progress. ire, the adventurer, is a little behind?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    But I see that some women in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild also participate in the dismantlingpetition. Maybe they wanted to be a receptionist but got sent to dismantle?

    Sometimes, I have heard stories that when people join apany, they end up in a different department from what they wanted to work in.

    Being a shut-in might be best for me, as I could do what I like.

    But that would only be possible if I had enough money. Most people work hard at jobs they detest to survive, and even Fina couldn¡¯t do dismantling the first time she tried it. No one could dismantle a monster from the beginning.

    The only way to get used to it would be to do it over and over again.

    Thinking about it that way, I would look like a useless person.

    ¡°Actually, in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, Horned Rabbit is handled by women most of the time.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san, who was at thementary table, replied to the master of ceremony¡¯s words and told us about the inner workings of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony waved to Sanya-san.

    ¡°Yes, the men tend to do the creepy monsters, and the women tend to do the rtively less creepy ones that have fur. You see, the men don¡¯t want the young girls to hate them. And then they fancy themselves up and say, ¡®I¡¯ll take care of the monsters over here, can you take care of the Horned Rabbit?''¡±

    Oh, I could sort of imagine that.

    The appeal of a kind man.

    He would dismantle the disgusting monster himself and let the woman dismantle the Horned Rabbit.

    From my point of view, all dismantling would be the same. But if I had to choose between a spider and a Horned Rabbit to dismantle, I would choose the Horned Rabbit.

    ¡°I can see the ulterior motives of the men. They are trying so hard to make the women like them. But this is convincing. I now understand why the men working in the guild are slow to dismantle Horned Rabbits.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience booed the men when they heard the story.

    ¡°Shut up! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let the woman I love dismantle a disgusting monster!¡± (Jaws-kun)

    ¡°Oh, Jaws-kun reacted. Apparently, there¡¯s a woman in the same office that he¡¯s interested in. It¡¯s nice to be young. Don¡¯t you think so? Guild Master Sanya-san.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony casually turned to Sanya-san, who was at thementary table.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m young as well.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The guild master is a young woman, indeed. So does that mean you can understand how Jaws-kun feels?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Of course, as a young person, I can understand.¡± (Sanya)

    From Sanya-san, I could see something like a ck miasma, but I was sure it was just my imagination.

    I doubt she could transform into a dark elf, right?

    The definition of a dark elf varied from one work to another, so it wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean they were evil. Right now, Sanya-san might be an evil dark elf.

    In a human sense, Sanya-san¡¯s age was that of a grandmother. But in an elf¡¯s sense, it would be very young.

    In fact, Sanya-san did look young and beautiful. Elves really were a cunning existence.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, I can see the ckness on Sanya-neechan¡¯s body.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri asked, rubbing her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± (Yuna)

    I gently put Shuri¡¯s face between my Bear Puppets and made her look at Fina.

    I had no idea that Shuri could also see that ck aura.

    Regardless of Sanya-san¡¯s ck aura incident, dismantling the Horned Rabbit continued to progress.

    ¡°We are already around the middle of the dismantling, but Deed-kun and Garde-kun seem to be a step or two ahead of the others! Fina-chan, the youngest, was 13th in the first round of Wolf, but the Horned Rabbit is a little behind! Quickly, I¡¯d say she¡¯s about in the middle of the group!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Maybe it was inexperience. I had never asked her to dismantle a Horned Rabbit as much as she did with wolves.

    The more experience one had with dismantling, the more confidence one would have, and the more one would be able to dismantle it without hesitation. If it were Fina now, she might be able to work with a Wolf, even with her eyes closed. But that would not be the case with a Horned Rabbit.

    As with anything, experience was an asset and an advantage above all else for the individual.

    It was natural that one would be better with a sword or magic if one had used it many times than if one had used it for the first time.

    Bread tastes better when it has been made by an experienced hand rather than an amateur¡¯s hand¡­

    If you were not a genius, experience would make the difference.

    I wish I had hunted down more Horned Rabbit and asked Fina to do the dismantling for me.

    But if she was in the middle of the 60 people, she was around number 30. Her ce is already within 40¡­so she could make it through the second round if she continued doing her best.

    You did not have to force yourself to aim for the top. Right now, it is important to go step by step.

    Although I wasn¡¯t Tirumina-san, I was more nervous than when fighting a monster by myself.

    Despite my worries, Fina¡¯s hands continued to dismantle the Horned Rabbit.

    Good luck, Fina!

    Then, the master of ceremony looked at the audience and let it proceed.

    ¡°We are almost at the end of the dismantling. Some of you are starting to see the end.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I could see it. They were the two candidates for the championship.

    ¡°Whoa, Deed-kun raised his hand! He¡¯s fast, very fast! After the first round, he is the best in the second round as well. You can feel that he is determined not to let anyone else win! And a littleter, Garde-kun also raised his hand. Depending on the scoring of their dismantling, there could be a change in the standings!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    And as they finished dismantling the Horned Rabbit, more and more people raised their hands, one after the other, as if following after them.

    Fina was still dismantling.

    ¡°¡­Onee Chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri watches worriedly.

    ¡°Whoa, looks like Eliza-chan finished too! She¡¯s around number 15 or so! She¡¯s the fastest of the women participants!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    That woman who works as a receptionist and in dismantling has also finished.

    Fina was nearing the end, but more and more people who had finished dismantling were raising their hands.

    ¡°Onee Chan, she raised her hand!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Whoa, here the youngest Fina-chan also raised her hand.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    At the same time as Shuri, the master of ceremony also noticed.

    Perhaps he was watching.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, I guess she¡¯s number 30 or so. That¡¯s a good enough rank to get through to the second round. However, as I have said many times, points will be deducted for messy dismantling, so it is not a definite ranking.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Number 30. The order has not changed since the halfway point.

    I was relieved to see that her ranking had not dropped.

    As the master of ceremony said, this ranking was enough to pass through to the second round.

    Fina¡¯s dismantling was very careful. The ranking should be as high as it is now.

    The judging began with those who had finished dismantling, and Fina was nervous as she was being scored.

    While Fina was being graded, others were finishing dismantling one after another.

    After all the dismantling and judging wereplete, the master of ceremony announced the rankings.

    ¡°Only the top 40 who can go to the third round! The rest, you did your best so that you should not have any regrets!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    He was a good emcee.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll start with first ce, Deed-kun in first ce and Garde-kun in second ce, so the order here remains the same!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    There were cheers saying ¡°I knew it!¡± from those around us.

    These two were exceptional.

    ¡°The rankings after the third ce have changed a lot,pared to the dismantling of wolves!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony called out the rankings, numbers and names.

    ¡°In 16th ce, ¡­ number 16, Eliza-chan.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience cheered.

    Eliza-san waved her hand toward the audience, which drew even more cheers.

    She worked hard, had a pretty face, and was probably the most popr woman in the audience.

    Above all, she was the highest-ranked female participant.

    Then they called out to the 20th ce, but Fina¡¯s name was not listed.

    ¡°Is Onee Chan okay?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looks worried.

    ¡°It will be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina was around number 30, so it was no surprise that her name was not called yet.

    The master of ceremony continued to call out the rankings, numbers, and names one after another.

    ¡°Twenty-sixth, ¡­ twenty-seventh ¡­ twenty-eighth, number 51, Fina-chan!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    There were cheers from all around.

    The cheers were heard when the receptionist¡¯s name was called, but when Fina¡¯s name was called, the cheers were just as loud.

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina-chan, that¡¯s great!¡± (Shia)

    Shuri and Shia shouted in delight.

    ¡°Fuuuh!¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san exhaled tiredly.

    ¡°Fina-chan, you really are amazing!¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san is impressed.

    Although she dropped ces from the first round, she made it through to the second round without a hitch.

    This time, the difference was the amount of experience she had.

    But she still made it through to the second round.

    By the way, ire, the adventurer who voiced her opinion in the first round, was ranked 38th, and several other women made it through to the second round.

    Considering this, Fina¡¯s 28th ce was great enough.

    Still, it was exhausting to watch.

    This might be the first time I have ever cheered for another person from the bottom of my heart.

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 Chapter 643

    <h4>Chapter 643</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Cheer for Fina in the Third Round</b>

    Fina and Sanya-san returned together after finishing the second round and leaving thementary table.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan!¡± (Fina)

    Fina ran up to me with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Fina, congrattions.¡± (Yuna)

    Since a while ago, all I have said was congrattions, but that¡¯s all I could offer her, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    I wish I coulde up with something more thoughtful, but it didn¡¯te out immediately.

    And everyone says ¡°congrattions¡± to her. It seemed that everyone else could only say the same thing.

    But Fina smiled happily at everyone¡¯s words.

    ¡°That¡¯s still rude,¡± she says. I¡¯m so young.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san says, her mouth is a little agitated.

    Apparently, she was offended by the master of ceremony¡¯s words earlier.

    ¡°Age aside, I think you¡¯re young for an elf.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I wish you wouldn¡¯t say it in human terms.¡± (Sanya)

    Well, people wanted to look young, not just elves. Some kids wanted to be taller and look a little more mature, though.

    ¡°Sanya-san, what¡¯s the next monster?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. But, as I said before, there will be no unusual monsters in the 19 and under section.¡± (Sanya)

    That unusual monster would be the challenge. It may be different in Crimonia than in the royal capital.

    Just like the food produced in the region would be different. Even in games, the zones inhabited by monsters were different. What might bemonce in one area might be insane in another.

    ¡°But from the third round, it gets a little more difficult. There should be a difference between those who have experience in dismantling and those who don¡¯t.¡± (Sanya)

    What about the scorpions, I wonder. Perhaps they were rare in the royal capital, or perhaps they would not be unusual, I can¡¯t say for sure.

    If it were Scorpions, Fina would have enough experience to have a good chance of making it past the third round.

    ¡°If you want Fina to y an active role, I think you could give us a little more information.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, when you put it that way, I can¡¯t deny, but actually, I haven¡¯t been informed either.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san discloses.

    ¡°Normally, I would have been informed in advance, but since I rmended Fina-chan, the deputy guild master made sure that I was not informed. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s terrible?¡± (Sanya)

    The vice-guild master, I believe, was the one who was in charge of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild while Sanya-san and Ruimin were away in the Elven Vige.

    I had never met this person, but I wondered what kind of person they were.

    From what I¡¯ve heard, this person was much more organized than Sanya-san.

    ¡°So Sanya-san wasn¡¯t involved in the selection of the monsters to be dismantled?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I wasn¡¯t involved. The selection of monsters is usually decided by guild officials. I then verify and pick up the right monsters to be used from the selection, but the deputy guild master stopped me this time from reviewing the selection.¡± (Sanya)

    Well, the person at the top should do only some of the work in the guild. If they didn¡¯t delegate where they could to their subordinates, they wouldn¡¯t be able to develop their people, and the work would be concentrated on a single point, in this case a single person.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that they don¡¯t trust Sanya-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, that¡¯s terrible.¡± (Sanya)

    Laughter escaped from those around us.

    Fina was smiling as well. I hope it relieved some of the tension.

    The preparations for the venue were finished, and the third round was about to begin.

    Sanya-san apanied Fina back to the event site.

    ¡°Is everyone ready? We are finally down to 40 yers. Only half of them, 20, will advance to the fourth round. Gradually, it would be sad to see the beautiful flowers disappear, but this can¡¯t be helped. If you are not good enough, you will just fade away. However, my feeling is that I want the beautiful flowers to do their best, not to lose to the men.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    There were about six women remaining, including Fina. The percentage of women did not even reach 20%.

    That may be a sufficient number since there were many male participants.

    ¡°I wish Fina-chan, whom I am secretly rooting for, can go through with it, but this next one may be tough.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    As the master of ceremony said this, the next item to be dismantled was brought in by an attendant.

    This time, it was covered with a cloth.

    I could hear a voice from the audience saying, ¡°What is it?¡±.

    A cart was lined up next to each participant, and the cloth was taken all at once.

    There was a buzz around the room.

    ¡°Mom, what¡¯s that?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri leaned forward to see what was on the cart.

    On top of the cart was a long, thin, greenish body with a long tail and a long, thin head. It had a long tail, a long, thin face, and arge mouth. If it bites you with that mouth, it won¡¯t let go.

    In conclusion, it was an alligator.

    This was the first time I had seen one since I came to this world.

    ¡°That¡¯s a gator.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°A gator?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Gators are monsters that live in rivers and swamps. They are dangerous monsters that appear out of the swamp and attack you when you are near a swamp.¡± (Tirumina)

    They call them Gators.

    Of course, there were other monsters that I didn¡¯t know about.

    There may be rivers and swamps near Crimonia, but I have never seen one. I guess not all rivers and swamps have these monsters.

    It would be the same in my previous life as crocodiles did not live in every river in Japan.

    But the fact that I didn¡¯t know about it means that I have never asked Fina to dismantle it.

    ¡°Has Fina ever dismantled a Gator?¡± (Yuna)

    As far as I know, there have been no such cases. So I asked Tirumina-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what kind of monsters Fina has dismantled in the past. She doesn¡¯t talk much, and I was sick, right? I think she didn¡¯t want me to be worried, so she rarely talked about dismantling. That makes me a bad parent.¡± (Tirumina)

    When her mother was sick and down, Fina was getting dismantling jobs from Gentz-san.

    Fina was a sweet girl. She might have kept quiet to not worry her mother, who was lying in bed sick.

    ¡°But instead, it¡¯s good that Gentz-san knows, isn¡¯t it? I think it would be good if one of the parents knew.¡± (Yuna)

    My parents had no idea what I did for a living. Considering that Tirumina-san was being a good parent.

    ¡°Right. And now she is with Yuna-chan, too. And just because Fina doesn¡¯t talk to me doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s doing anything wrong, and more importantly, she¡¯s my proud daughter.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Proud of your daughter?¡± (Ellura)

    I didn¡¯t know where she was getting this from, but Ellura-san¡¯s response to the ¡°proud daughter¡±ment was¡­

    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about proud daughters, I¡¯d like to be part of the conversation. I could start with Noa, of course, but Shia is an excellent student at the school as well¡­ and¡­¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Oh, mother, you¡¯re embarrassing me, stop!¡± (Shia)

    Shia panicked and stopped her mother, who suddenly started talking about herself.

    ¡°What, it¡¯s normal for parents to talk about how proud they are of their daughters?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Even if it is, don¡¯t do it in front of your daughter.¡± (Tirumina)

    Surely, it would be embarrassing if my parents did it in front of me.

    ¡°Well then, Tirumina-san, next time, let¡¯s brag about each other¡¯s daughters.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Well, I mean, I don¡¯t know how to show off my daughter to Noa-sama or Shia-sama¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°You see, Tirumina-san is troubled.¡± (Shia)

    I suppose she couldn¡¯tpare her own daughter¡¯s boasting inparison to the daughters of the nobility.

    Tirumina-san had not known Ellura-san that long yet, and it might be difficult for them to hit it off.

    While we were talking, an alligator, or rather a Gator, was ced on the table to be dismantled by each of them.

    Fina was staring at the gator.

    She may be in trouble.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good enough that Fina made it this far.¡± (Ellura)

    I agree with that; only a few kids Fina¡¯s age could have made it this far in dismantling.

    Just being one of the 40 out of over 100 participants was amazing.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t dismantle it, and then you can exit in the back, we¡¯ll give you a proper reception.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Participant 1)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Participant 2)

    ¡°You made it through the second round, that¡¯s great enough.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina mighte back depressed because that was just how Fina was. If she did, I would praise her.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    At the same time as the master of ceremony spoke, drums were heard, and the third stage of the dismantling event started.

    Everyone started moving at once.

    Even Fina, who we thought could not dismantle the Gator, grabbed a knife, cut the Gator¡¯s belly, and, without hesitation, started to dismantle it.

    ¡°Fina-chan, are you dismantling it?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    They all look at Fina curiously as she dismantles the gator.

    ¡°That girl could dismantle a Gator, huh?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at Fina, dismantling the gator as if she was seeing a new side of her daughter for the first time.

    I didn¡¯t know what Fina was doing before I came to this world and met her.

    Maybe Gentz-san taught her how to dismantle a gator around the time before we met. Since I had never visited the dismantling site of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I knew very little about what Fina had dismantled before. I felt like I was seeing a new side of Fina, too.

    ¡°Some of the participants are still stuck, as if some of them have never dismantled a Gator before, but the youngest Fina-chan¡¯s hands are moving!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fina¡¯s hands continued to work as the master of ceremony continued to makementaries, but at a slower dismantling speed. She seemed to be doing it slowly and thoughtfully.

    But for some of the other participants, their hands have stopped altogether.

    They may be a little umon monster for neers, after all.

    ¡°Fina-chan must have learned from somewhere and gained experience and knowledge. That¡¯s great. But, not wanting to give up the win to such a girl, the two candidates for the championship, Deed-kun and Garde-kun, dismantle the Gator at a great speed, without even reading the air.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audienceughed when the master of ceremony said, ¡°Let the girl win!¡±, ¡°Go easy on her!¡± The crowd yelled.

    ¡°I understand how you people in the audience feel, but this tournament doesn¡¯t care if you are under 19 years old, what your gender is, or what your background is. So please forgive Deed-kun and Garde-kun.¡±(Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s words broughtughter from the audience.

    But Fina was dismantling the gator silently as if she didn¡¯t hear the voices of those around her.

    I guess that¡¯s how focused she was in her dismantling.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 644

    <h4>Chapter 644</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Cheered for Fina, Third Round Ending</b>

    As Sanya-san said, unlike in the first and second rounds, there was a difference between those who could dismantle and those who could not.

    There were those who dismantled as fast as the two candidates, those who dismantled as slowly as Fina, and those who could not dismantle at all.

    This was the beginning of the third round, where differences in experience, knowledge, and many other things came into y.

    ¡°Oooh, some of them are taking out their dismantling notepads. By the way, there is nothing wrong in bringing in dismantling notes. The reason for this is that even if they do it while looking at the paper, the dismantling will be slower than for those who have memorized the procedure in their heads.¡±

    Well, between doing it with the knowledge in one¡¯s head and doing it while looking at something on paper, the former would be much faster.

    Just as in cooking, if you cook with a recipe in your head, and you cook while looking at a recipe on paper, the one with the recipe in mind would be faster.

    Fina¡¯s hands often stopped to think a bit, but she continued dismantling the gator, albeit slowly, as if she had the gator dismantling instructions in her head.

    ¡°ire¡¯s hands are stuck, you know, one of the few female participants. She¡¯s looking around as she tries to dismantle it, but she¡¯s having trouble understanding the procedure. Maybe this means she¡¯s never dismantled a gator before. What do you think about that? Guildmaster.¡±

    The master of ceremony asked Sanya-san, who was sitting at thementary table.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because this request to take down a gator is too difficult for new adventurers to ept.¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡±

    ¡°Gators are ferocious monsters that live near rivers, ponds, and swamps. Once it bites you, it won¡¯t let go. It could be drawn into the water. Furthermore, if they escape into the water, it will be difficult to defeat them. That¡¯s why it¡¯s difficult for new adventurers to defeat them.¡±

    ¡°I see, so if they can¡¯t defeat them, it¡¯s no wonder others won¡¯t have experience in dismantling them.¡±

    ¡°But if they gain some ability and know how to defeat it, it won¡¯t be a monster that¡¯s hard to defeat.¡±

    The same could be said in games.

    There would always be a pattern of behavior from the enemy. What kind of attack methods they have, what parts of the body are their weak points, when to attack, there would be a world of difference between knowing a strategy to defeat an enemy and not knowing how to do it.

    ¡°What¡¯s the trick to beating a gator?¡±

    ¡°The gator¡¯s mouth is its strongest attack, but also its weakness. When it opens its mouth, you just have to stick your sword deep into it. Or you can simply unleash your magic on it.¡±

    ¡°Sounds easy enough.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? That¡¯s the hard part. When a gator opens its mouth in front of them, most of them try to run away from the fear of being bitten. But you can defeat that fear by oveing it, stepping in, and attacking.¡±

    ¡°Sure, it sounds easy to listen to, but if I had that gator¡¯s mouth in front of me, I¡¯d certainly be running away.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult to face your fears.¡±

    Sounds easy, but not so easy.

    I couldn¡¯t have done it without my bear gear. Because I have bear equipment that protects me, I could fight against monsters.

    If I had the ability to attack, but my personal safety wasn¡¯t guaranteed, I might have been too scared to fight.

    ¡°Maybe that is the one step that can get a new adventurer through.¡±

    It was hard to take that step, however.

    One step in defeating a Wolf, another in defeating a Horned Rabbit, another in defeating a Gator. When you think about it, an adventurer¡¯s path also seems tough.

    ¡°We also train new adventurers so that they can take that first step. Veteran adventurers and guild staff apany them and teach them how to defeat monsters and dismantle them. Of course, they have to work with or without pay during the training, but it¡¯s a good way to learn.

    So this was how they manage adventurers in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    Are they doing that in Crimonia?

    When I was a new adventurer, I never heard anything like that.

    As I was thinking about this, I thought I heard Helen-san¡¯s voiceing out of nowhere, saying, ¡°New adventurers don¡¯t kill wolf packs or tiger wolves¡±.

    As in any profession, if those who join the ranks did not grow, they would simply fade away. If all of them could no longer fight monsters, people might be wiped out.

    In that light, new adventurers have to grow.

    ¡°Thank you, Guildmaster, for your valuable words. Now let us return our attention to the venue.¡±

    At the master of ceremony¡¯s words, I turned my attention from Sanya-san to the venue.

    ¡°Unlike the adventurers, the guild officials are experienced in dismantling. Among them, you¡¯ll see Eliza-chan, the receptionist.¡±

    ¡°If they were brought to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, they would dismantle them, so that makes a difference.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s still a difference in experience from the ones that have never done dismantling before.¡±

    Fina was great, but that Adventurer¡¯s Guild employee woman was also great. She was around 17 or 18 years old, but she must have been doing dismantling since she was much younger to have honed her current dismantling skills to such a degree at that age.

    ¡°Eliza had some debts from her parents, and to earn money for them, when she joined the guild as an employee, she asked me to let her do some dismantling work as well. So she is a hardworking and serious girl, just like Fina-chan.¡±

    ¡°I see. I like to support girls who work hard.¡±

    ¡°And because she¡¯s family oriented and kind, she¡¯s popr with the male staff.¡±

    ¡°Guild Master!¡±

    Eliza-san exims.

    ¡°Why are you talking about that! I asked you not to mention anything about me.¡±

    ¡°Well, it just kind of went with the flow?¡±

    Sanya-san held her hands together and apologized.

    No, you shouldn¡¯t tell people¡¯s secrets if they¡¯ve asked you to.

    It was certainly the right thing to do to make her have a contract with me about my secret. It would have been terrible if she had told anyone about my secret in the course of a conversation.

    But that woman Eliza-san was also struggling, wasn¡¯t she? People in this world must really work hard to make a living.

    I wish my parents could take some of their hard work.

    I might not want them to say that about me because I lived a shut-in life.

    But I was able to make a living on my own, so I would like to think that I was better than my parents.

    Then Sanya-san started exposing others to escape from Eliza-san.

    ¡°And then there¡¯s Garner-kun, he¡¯s working hard to save money for his wedding. Even though he doesn¡¯t even have a partner.¡±

    ¡°Guild Master!¡±

    Now, the guy exims in shock.

    No, saving money from a young age was a great thing. Even if he did not have a partner, he would need it someday when he found one. It was better to have money than not to have it at all.

    But that didn¡¯t mean it was okay to reveal it.

    To begin with, thest word was unnecessary.

    ¡°I wish both men and women the best of luck, but no matter how hard they try, only 20 will make it through the third round. It may be ruthless, but those are the rules. I especially want Fina-chan, Eliza-chan, ire, and the other women to do their best. Call me a patronizing person, but I will support thesedies!¡±

    Was I the only one who thought that was a no-no for a host?

    But as a woman myself, I want to support the women.

    Regardless of my feelings, however, the two male candidates for the championship were still dismantling at a great speed, as if they werepeting with each other.

    Then, the dismantling progressed to the second half.

    Some of the participants gave up. They informed the staff and dropped out of thepetition.

    Fina was dismantling slowly but surely.

    I couldn¡¯t tell the ranking from this point of view.

    Fina, keep up the good work.

    I was cheering for her in my heart.

    The proceedings went on amusingly, with the master of ceremony and Sanya-san providing thementary.

    Then, the end came in sight.

    ¡°As I thought, the two who are in the battle for first and second ce are these two. Deed-kun Mr. and Garde-kun. The end is already in sight!¡±

    Even to my amateur dismantling eyes, they were a step or two ahead of the rest.

    ¡°Oooh, Deed-kun raised his hand now. As expected, it was Deed who finished first. Deed-kun, you are an adventurer, right?¡±

    The master of ceremony asked Sanya-san.

    ¡°Yes, he belongs to a party of veteran adventurers. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re firmly trained him in dismantling techniques.¡±

    A veteran group should be able to take down a gator. That¡¯s why he was so good at that dismantling.

    ¡°And a littleter, Garde-kun will finish dismantling too! How is Garde-kun doing in that aspect?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s in a party with people his own age. It¡¯s a growing party with a good leader.¡±

    Given this, it may be inevitable that there would be a difference between Deed-kun, who had veterans in his party, and Garde-kun, who did not.

    But then again, Garde-kun, who came in second by a narrow margin, might be superior.

    And after a while, after the two had finished, the other participants finished dismantling one after another.

    ¡°Ohh, it was Eliza-chan who finished at number 15. The first woman to finish!¡±

    The receptionist finished.

    Fina, by the way, was still dismantling. But the end is in sight.

    In the meantime, the 16th, 17th, 18th hands were being raised.

    The order in which they finished dismantling would not be the same as the order in which the results would be ced, but the earlier they finished dismantling, the higher their rating.

    That¡¯s why I want Fina to be in the top 20.

    19th was also raised.

    One more.

    Tirumina-san, Shuri, Ellura-san, and Shia all looked at Fina anxiously.

    I think it was enough that she made it to the third round.

    But I also want her to win because she did her best.

    Fina, keep up the good work.

    Then Fina and a few others raised their hands almost simultaneously.

    ¡°Ohh, four hands raised at the same time! One of them is Fina-chan¡¯s hand. What do we make of this? For now, it¡¯s up to how the dismantling is scored to determine the ranking!¡±

    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s Fina-chan¡¯s number?¡±

    Shia asks excitedly.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s between 20 and 23, since there were 4 hands raised after 19 along with Fina-chan.¡±

    ¡°¡­number 20, Fina-chan, it¡¯s okay, right?¡±

    If tied for 20th position, the rest would depend on the cleanliness of a truly dismantled gator.

    Three out of four would fall.

    From here, it was hard to tell the difference between the four dismantlers.

    Maybe Sanya-san¡¯s authority might get her through the third round, though.

    Regardless of my concerns, the other participants also finished dismantling the gators one after another.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 645

    <h4>Chapter 645</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Watched Over Fina, Third Round Scoring</b>

    At the same time, Fina and the other four who have finished dismantling the monsters would be scored.

    Ugh, I felt so nervous.

    ¡°Onee-chan, I wonder if you¡¯ll be okay¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Next to me, Shuri looked anxious.

    ¡°Fina-chan will be fine. Besides, if anything goes wrong, Sanya will use her guild master powers to let her win.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san replied softly to Shuri¡¯s words.

    ¡°Really?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Ellura)

    I assumed that she was only saying that so as not to worry Shuri. That would be out of line if Sanya did that.

    Tirumina-san also looked troubled by Ellura-san¡¯s words, as it is not good for Shuri¡¯s education.

    ¡°Um, Ellura-sama, if you could please not say those things to my daughter.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san, unable to speak firmly to Ellura-san, who was a noble, said hesitantly.

    So, I decided to rify for her.

    ¡°Ellura-san, don¡¯t tell Shuri anything bad because it will be bad for her education. Besides, I don¡¯t think Fina would be too happy to get through the third round with Sanya-san¡¯s help.¡± (Yuna)

    It would be like a fraudulent pass.

    Fina worked hard and reached the third round. We should not make that effort based on injustice. The only people who would be happy with an unfair pass would be people like my parents, who didn¡¯t put in any effort, took it easy, and wanted to get to the top.

    ¡°Ugh, Yuna-chan, I¡¯m just kidding. Fina-chan will win on her merits, no problem.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Ellura-san, when you say it, it doesn¡¯t sound like a joke.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes. When mother says it, it sounds like she¡¯s serious.¡± (Shia)

    Even her own daughter told her.

    When Ellura-san, a noble, said something like that, it seemed really possible, so it didn¡¯t sound like a joke, so I had to point it out.

    Besides, Sanya-san said the same thing.

    ¡°Even Shia is saying so, that¡¯s terrible!¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san mimicked crying, but I decided to ignore her.

    Then, there was a movement in the hall.

    ¡°Oh, one of the Judges who did the scoring is calling up some of the participants.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Among them was Fina.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony headed over to the assembled judges.

    ¡°This dismantling process is not good. Deducting points¡­ This part is not cut properly¡­ This dismantling process is incorrect.¡± (Judge)

    ¡°Apparently, they are exining about the scoring of the dismantling.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°In contrast, him and her have done it well. Therefore, I have graded them in this way. Is there anything else?¡± (Judge)

    The voice of the judge who did the scoring leaked from the microphone held by the master of ceremony.

    ¡°I see. It looks like the people who were just barely ced past the third round have been checked. If they remain, they would know their standings, so I leave the rest to the staff.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony returned to his original spot.

    Then, the people who have been gathered have been briefed, and a piece of paper with a scoring sheet attached was handed to the master of ceremony.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience. It seems the results are in; out of the 40 who can go to the fourth round, 20 will make it. Five have already withdrawn, so there were 35 of youpeting. The most nervous are probably those who finished the dismantling at around number 20.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Among them was Fina.

    ¡°Then I will announce the rankings. Whether you cry orugh, there are only 20 people who will make it through the third round. First ce is Deed-kun, second ce is Garde-kun, and you are in position here.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Deed-kun looked relieved and made a small gut-punch while Garde-kun looked frustrated.

    If there were no difference in the cleanliness of the dismantling process, the speed of dismantling would inevitably remain in the rankings.

    At that dismantling speed, it would be great if they were dismantling cleanly.

    Then, following the two, the rankings and names were called one after another.

    The members, up to about the single-digit number, lookedfortable. Even if they were not as good as the first- and second-ce finishers, they still possessed a certain degree of dismantling skill. The lineup remained the same from the first round, even if there was some back and forth.

    ¡°Thirteenth ce, Eliza-chan! The rank in which she finished her dismantling was number 15, but she moved up two ces to 13th ce. The evaluation points came out high because of the careful dismantling. (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Careful dismantling is a given for a guild official. If they neglect dismantling in favor of speed, they will not be allowed to participate again.¡± (Sanya)

    The organizers of the event could not allow the participants to dismantle improperly. It may be harsh, but Sanya-san¡¯s words were right because we have to set an example for everyone.

    ¡°More than speed, care was needed. So the guild officials are properly trained. So, next, 14th, ¡­15th, ¡­16th, ¡­17th, ¡­¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    One after another, the rankings and names were called out.

    But Fina¡¯s name was not there.

    ¡°What you are probably wondering about is the ranking of the four people who finished the dismantling at the same time in 20th ce. To my surprise, among those four people who finished at the same time, there was one who finished in 18th ce. That is Fina-chan!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°It¡¯s Onee-chan!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Shia)

    Shuri and Shia get up from their seats and rejoice.

    The others were also surprised.

    ¡°Out of the four of them, Fina-chan stood out a step, edging out two others anding in 18th ce. ording to the judges, Fina-chan was very careful in her dismantling until the very end, while many of the others were in a hurry to dismantle theirs, making it messy at the end. And in 19th ce was Dolly, who raised her hand at the same time for 20th ce. And in 20th ce was Lurna, who also raised her hand at the same time! The other Roth was a close behind, in 21st ce. By the way, Guy and Pat, who finished in 18th and 19th ce, had a messy dismantling and were overtaken by four others, and were eliminated in 22nd and 23rd ce. Do either of you have anything to say?¡±

    They both shook their heads.

    Apparently, they had been briefed before the announcement was made and were satisfied with the results.

    Rather than fussing after the scoring, they could not make a fuss if they were convinced, in advance, that their scores were low.

    Was this also a result of their experience over the years?

    ¡°They were in a hurry because everyone else was finishing the dismantling. But I think it¡¯s great that the four of them did their dismantling so carefully right up to the end. I¡¯m especially disappointed for Roth, who came in 21st, but I hope he keeps the feeling he has now and continues to do well in the future.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°The guild master has given hermentary. Roth, you¡¯re getting a little shy. I know that the Guildmaster is a beautiful, stunning woman, but remember that she¡¯s older than your grandmother!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s words brought a chuckle from the audience.

    ¡°Yuna nee-chan, from Sanya-nee, another ck thing is¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri pointed at Sanya-san.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± (Yuna)

    I gently removed Shuri¡¯s gaze from Sanya-san.

    I hoped that the master of ceremony would make it out of the venue alive.

    He may be the type of guy whose wordse out before he could even think about them.

    I just hoped he wouldn¡¯t go missing the next day.

    ¡°Now then, for those of you who have made it through the third round, we have only the fourth and final round left. Please do your best to stay for the final round. Now, please take a short break as we prepare for the fourth round.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s words started the break. The staff also put away the dismantled gators.

    Fina returned with Sanya-san, as usual.

    The ck aura from Sanya-san disappeared.

    Thank goodness.

    But I wonder if only Shuri and I could see it.

    It was a mystery.

    ¡°Good job, Fina!¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°You¡¯re great, Onee-chan!¡± (Shuri)

    Tirumina-san called happily, and Shuri hugged Fina.

    ¡°Fina, I didn¡¯t know you could dismantle a gator. I had never been requested to acquire one, so when the gator was presented to you, I assumed that you couldn¡¯t dismantle it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was when I was working for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I saw them dismantle gators, and twice, I also had to dismantle them.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Twice? That¡¯s all you experienced?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina¡¯s words startled all of us.

    Handling swords, handling magic, cooking food, making swords¡­ Like anything else, you get better the more times you do it. The one who managed to do those things well with only a few attempts would be regarded as a genius. Even I learned by swinging a sword and using magic many times in the game.

    And here she stood before me¡­

    ¡°So you are very observant and remember things quickly.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san said, impressed.

    Indeed, it was important to observe. The same could be said of fighting monsters, swordsmen, wizards, and other opponents. If you watch your opponent carefully and predict the next pattern of action, you have a better chance of winning.

    Even in the game, some yers would get the same attack repeatedly, but I sometimes wondered if they were looking at their opponents properly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I am not a good learner. So I tried my best to remember what I was taught by writing it down on paper and looking at it before I went to bed.¡± (Fina)

    Fina denied Ellura-san¡¯s words.

    Someone said that being able to work hard was also a talent. Those words sound like they were meant for Fina.

    ¡°Besides, if I couldn¡¯t dismantle it, I wouldn¡¯t get the job.¡± (Fina)

    Before she met me, Fina had asionally worked for Gentz-san, doing dismantling work for the guild.

    She might not have gotten a job if she couldn¡¯t do it.

    As with any job, you wouldn¡¯t ask someone who couldn¡¯t do the work. If this had been a guild employee, there might have been some training. But Fina was not a guild employee.

    If she was judged to be useless, she might not have been given work even with Gentz-san¡¯s rmendation.

    That¡¯s how hard Fina worked.

    I gently ced the Bear Puppet on Fina¡¯s head and patted it.

    ¡°Even some of our guild members have trouble remembering things, I hope they can learn from Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°So Fina-chan¡¯s diligence is what got her this far.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Onee-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you, buddy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s face turned bright red as everyone praised her.

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m going to lose in bragging about my daughter. But Fina-chan is indeed really great.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°We don¡¯t have topete with each other, and I think Fina, Noa, and Shia are all daughters to be proud of.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I guess so. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to be superior or inferior.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Besides, they all have different things to be proud of.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, you think like an adult, I can¡¯t believe you and Shia are the same age.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Mother, please don¡¯tpare me to Yuna-san, there¡¯s nothing I can do that can beat Yuna-san.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Unlike me, Shia has a good personality, is beautiful, and is very friendly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, Yuna-san, is that sarcasm? Yuna-san is more beautiful and lovely, and if she sees someone in trouble, she will fight and protect them, no matter how dangerous it may be. Yuna-san is such a good person, and even if she says I have a better personality than she does, I¡¯m still just a normal girl.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Am I beautiful? Beautiful? A good person? Do you think I have a good personality? Is that supposed to make meugh?¡± (Yuna)

    Even if I ept herpliment of being beautiful and pretty, I have be a bit popr, and I wouldn¡¯t say I am a bad person, but I am not a good person. My personality is twisted if I do say so myself.

    ¡°I am selfish, egotistical, and do things my own way. I don¡¯t care about other people¡¯s problems. I push troublesome jobs to others. Furthermore, I never do anything I don¡¯t want to do.¡± (Yuna)

    Once again, I had a bad personality.

    Well, I guess you couldn¡¯t expect a former reclusive gamer to be a good person.

    But everyone looked appalled at my words.

    No, only Tirumina-san could be heard saying in a small voice, ¡°Indeed¡±.

    I wondered why. I felt ufortable that they were not convinced.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 646

    <h4>Chapter 646</h4>

    <b>Fina¡¯s Point of View</b>

    When I was first asked to participate in the dismantling event, it wasn¡¯t a good idea for me to do so.

    Besides, I was afraid to show Yuna Onee-chan how pathetic I looked after losing so quickly.

    But if I did my best, I might be recognized and stay by Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s side forever.

    I participated with that feeling.

    The Wolf in the first round was a monster I had dismantled many times. My body remembers how to dismantle wolves, so I can do it even with my eyes closed.

    I mean that I had dismantled so many wolves that I could do it with my eyes closed.

    You cut here, take this out, and move your hands before your mind can think.

    In the first round of wolf dismantling, I was number 13 out of over 100 participants.

    I did not expect such a high ranking.

    I was a little embarrassed when the master of ceremony and Sanya-san talked about me while I was dismantling the wolf. But Sanya-san, how did he know so much about me?

    When I finished the first round, I was supposed to return to my mother¡¯s ce with Sanya-san, so I went to Sanya-san¡¯s ce.

    ¡°Congrattions, Fina-chan. That was awesome.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-sanpliments me.

    ¡°Thank you. Was I doing it okay?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It was fine. Everyone was impressed with Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    Ugh, how embarrassing.

    ¡°Those of you who are ranked lower than Fina-chan, I hope you will be motivated and learn more dismantling techniques than you are doing now. For those of you watching from the audience, who were thinking you can do the dismantling, I want you to try as well. In actuality, it¡¯s difficult to do. But the beginning is the key, and I hope Fina-chan will give those people the push they need.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I¡­¡± (Fina

    I couldn¡¯t be any of those people.

    ¡°Hmmm, you could just do your normal dismantling. Look, Yuna-chan and the others are waiting for you.¡± (Sanya)

    As I walked around talking with Sanya-san, I returned to Yuna Onee-chan and the others.

    Yuna Onee-chan greeted me happily.

    Both mother and Shuri looked happy.

    When everyone looked happy, I was delighted as well.

    The number of times my dismantling job has made me smile has increased since I met Yuna Onee-Chan.

    In the beginning, I hated dismantling.

    Now, I can dismantle and process carcasses normally. However, the first time I dismantled a wolf, I felt so bad I threw up.

    But no other job would give money to a kid like me. So, I persevered and did my best to dismantle the wolf.

    If the old me could see me now, she might be surprised.

    My sister Shuri might be amazing.

    At first, she said it was weird, but she worked hard to dismantle it. She simply did it because, in her words, ¡°Father and big sister are always doing it, so I will try it as well¡±.

    She might be better at it than me if she keeps at it. But both mother and Yuna Onee-Chan said they wanted Shuri to keep her eyes wide open and see if she liked to do anything else other than dismantling.

    I agree with them. After meeting Yuna Onee-chan, I havee to believe that it was possible for me to do what I wanted to do.

    Previously, I had never thought about that until I met Yuna Onee-chan.

    Sometimes Yuna Onee-chan woulde to watch me dismantle things, and she would have an indescribable expression.

    I may have looked like that in the past, as well.

    But Yuna Onee-chan was an adventurer, but why couldn¡¯t she dismantle things?

    Oh, but if Yuna Onee-chan could dismantle things, I would be a child she wouldn¡¯t want.

    So, if Yuna Onee-chan wanted to learn how to dismantle, I would refuse to teach her.

    Because dismantling was the connection between me and Yuna Onee-chan.

    Then, the second round started.

    The second round was Horned Rabbit.

    I have dismantled quite a few Horned Rabbits, though not as many as I have dismantled Wolves.

    The dismantling process was not so different from a wolf, but the skeleton of the body was different, so I could not put a knife into it in the same way.

    I couldn¡¯t dismantle it as fast as a wolf, so I thought I might not make it past the second round. However, the surrounding others were not so fast either, and I could make it through to the second round, although I lost some ces from the first round.

    In the royal capital, were there so few Horned Rabbit?

    Or maybe there were too many other monsters to be dismantled?

    When I returned to Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s ce, she greeted me as happily as in the first round.

    Mother, Shuri, Shia-sama, Ellura-sama, and Sanya-san. They all look happy.

    It made me happy, too.

    So, I continued to do my best in the next round.

    Then, the third round begins.

    This time, the monster to be dismantled was covered with a cloth and brought in on a cart.

    Could it be that it was hidden because it was a rare monster?

    Please make it a monster that I have dismantled before.

    I looked at the cart as if praying.

    When the cloth was taken away, arge green creature came out. It was a gator.

    I had dismantled a gator with Uncle Gentz, who was not yet my father at the time.

    He disapproved of me working on it, but since I was in financial trouble, he agreed to let me try.

    The first time I dismantled a gator, it was tough. They were so different from a Wolf, Horned Rabbit, etc., that my previous experience in dismantling them didn¡¯t help.

    I had to learn to dismantle them from scratch.

    But Uncle Gentz kindly taught me how to do it.

    When I somehow managed to finish dismantling the gator, Uncle Gentz praised me, saying, ¡°You did a great job¡±.

    When I got home that day, I wrote down the disassembly steps on a piece of paper so that I would remember how to disassemble gator carcasses.

    Then, I went back to the paper and studied it repeatedly so that the next time I had to dismantle a gator, I would be able to do it.

    If I ever had to dismantle a gator again, I would be able to do it.

    The second time, I was able to dismantle the gator, albeit slowly, without Uncle Gentz¡¯s help, and I was happy when Uncle Gentzplimented me, saying, ¡°That¡¯s great, I only had to teach you once¡±.

    But after that, I had never worked on a gator again.

    Iter learned that Uncle Gentz was handed a warning for making me work on a gator.

    I felt sorry for Uncle Gentz.

    Such a gator was put on the table.

    It was a long time ago since I dismantled it.

    Remember, I wrote it down on paper, looked at it many times, and studied it. I could clearly recall the procedure of dismantling the gator in my head.

    Yeah, it¡¯s okay. I remember how to dismantle it.

    I didn¡¯t want Yuna Onee-chan to think I couldn¡¯t do it.

    Then, the master of ceremony said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin!¡± and the sound of the drum goes off simultaneously.

    Everyone started disassembling at once.

    I took a deep breath to calm myself before dismantling the gator.

    First, I cut off the belly, flush it with water, and take out this part. Next, I open this part further to secure the magic stone.

    Let¡¯s see, next is the skin¡­

    I dismantled them slowly but carefully, remembering the order of dismantling.

    My father has often told me that things I dismantle will be sold. So, I have to dismantle them so that the buyers will be happy.

    The seller would rather sell something clean than something messy. Themercial guilds would appreciate it.

    And if the dismantled items are messy, they would not buy the merchandise.

    So we have to do a clean dismantling. That¡¯s what I learned from father.

    Besides, if the dismantling was messy, Yuna Onee-chan might not let me dismantle anything anymore, so I must be careful.

    I wouldn¡¯t want Yuna Onee-chan to say, ¡°Fina¡¯s dismantling is messy, so you don¡¯t have to do it anymore¡±.

    Dismantling was the bond that held Yuna Onee-chan and I together.

    Therefore, I would not want people to think in front of Yuna Onee-chan that I lost in the third round because I was messy.

    Even if I don¡¯t make it through to the third round, I am confident that despite losing, I was still able to dismantle it cleanly and neatly.

    Besides, Yuna Onee-chan would praise me for my beautiful dismantling even if I lost.

    I dismantled it carefully but as fast as I could.

    Here, as I recall, I cut here first, then here, and then I take this out.

    I worry about my surroundings, but I try not to nce at the others because if I looked at them, I would want to hurry up the dismantling process.

    But even though I didn¡¯t want to, I could hear the master of ceremony¡¯s words ringing in my ears.

    I heard that Deed-san and Garde-san were dismantling at a tremendous speed.

    I wish they would stop making the announcement.

    Furthermore, I got curious, sped up the dismantling, and almost broke my pace.

    If I tried dismantling a gator faster than I was used to, it would be messy.

    I have to concentrate and dismantle carefully.

    Then, when about 70% of the dismantling process was done, the master of ceremony voiced his opinion.

    ¡°Ooh, Deed-kun has raised his hand here. As expected, it is Deed-kun who finished first. Mr. Deed is an adventurer, right?¡±

    Oh, he was done already?

    That was fast.

    His dismantling of the Wolf in the first round and the Horned Rabbit in the second round was fast, but the dismantling of the Gator was also fast.

    And then he was followed by Garde, who also finished.

    I still had more to do.

    The man who was dismantling next to me started to increase his speed.

    No, everyone around me started to speed up, too.

    I was tempted to speed up too, but that would make the dismantling process messy.

    I have no skills to dismantle a gator quickly and neatly.

    If I worry about my surroundings, I might have been tempted to dismantle the gator in a hurry.

    I proceed to dismantle the gator, keeping my pace so as not to be bothered by those around me. But every time the master of ceremony called out the order and names of those who had finished, I got impatient.

    I would like to cover my ears with my hands.

    But if I did that, I would not be able to dismantle it.

    If I keep my hands still, the dismantling will not be finished.

    ¡°Number 15 is Eliza-chan!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Even the women were able to finish so fast.

    It was impossible not to care, but I had to do what I could. No matter how hectic it was, no matter how I felt rushed, I stillpleted the dismantling carefully.

    Of course, it would be frustrating if I lost, but it was better than rushing and getting a messy result.

    I concentrated and worked on the rest of the dismantling process.

    Now, all that was left to do was to flush this ce down with water, clean it up, and I was done.

    Done!

    I raised my hand.

    ¡°Ohh, four people raise their hands at the same time.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I looked around.

    There were three other people who raised their hands.

    And we were all 20th at the same time.

    There were 20 people who could make it through to the third round. Of these four, three would fall. Depending on the scoring of the dismantling, the ranking may go up or down.

    I should be fine. I dismantled it carefully and neatly.

    A little further away from me, the person scoring the work said, ¡°This is terrible¡±. If I heard such ament, I would have been shocked.

    As I felt this uneasiness, an attendant came over and graded the gator I had dismantled.

    ¡°Oh, great. It was disassembled properly. There were no mistakes in the disassembly procedure.¡± (Judge)

    He praises my dismantling.

    I was happy.

    And the judging was over.

    Please, please, please.

    As I looked around praying, the people judging gathered around to talk about something, as if there were some problems.

    ¡°Guy-kun, Pat-kun, can I have a word with you?¡± (Judge)

    The person judging called them over.

    ¡°Regarding this dismantling process, points are deducted, this part is not cut properly. This dismantling process is wrong.¡± (Judge)

    They are saying what the problem is with their dismantling.

    Then theye to the others and to me.

    ¡°In contrast, him and her have done it well. So I have graded them in this way, what do you think?¡± (Judge)

    They both shook their heads in agreement.

    Then, they slumped their shoulders and returned to their seats.

    Maybe, just, maybe.

    Then, after everyone had been graded, the rankings were announced. First and second ce were the two who were tremendously fast. I really would have liked to see them dismantle, not as participants, but up close.

    In 13th ce was a woman, Eliza-san.

    It was amazing that a woman could dismantle things so fast.

    When I saw Eliza-san, she noticed me and lightly waved her hand.

    She seems like a kinddy.

    I hope I can talk to her about dismantling next time.

    While thinking about that, the names and rankings were being called out one after another.

    ¡°The 18th ce goes to Fina-chan!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    What, me?

    Not 20th, but 18th? I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    I was praised for my careful dismantling.

    The two who were called were faster than me, finishing the dismantling, but their dismantling could have been better, and they lost their positions,ing in 22nd and 23rd ce and not making it through to the third round.

    Incredibly, I was able to make it to the fourth round.

    ¡­

    Editor¡¯s note: Folks. Learn about your friends. Befortable with them, for whoever they are. Here¡¯s a ss, toast to your friends. Living and dead. Cheers. And folks (who are feeling like Fina), be confident. Sometimes friends want to be friends because you¡¯re you. Not because you got this or that skill.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 647

    <h4>Chapter 647</h4>

    <b>Judges, Guild Staff Perspective</b>

    I¡¯m Beggad, an employee of the Adventurers Guild.

    Today, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is hosting a dismantling event.

    The purpose is for those who have never seen a monster before to see how dismantling is done.

    For new adventurers to see how well they can dismantle demons.

    And for those who can dismantle to have a friendlypetition with each other and hone their dismantling skills.

    This event is filled with a variety of ideas.

    Today, those who are 19 years old or younger will be doing the dismantling work.

    If theypete with us veterans, the younger participants will surely lose. The difference in dismantling skills between them and us may even make them lose their motivation. The purpose is to let thempete and grow among the younger participants.

    So, from my point of view, everyone is a novice.

    No, those two guys, Garde and Deed, are good. They are a step or two ahead of the other participants.

    They are fast at dismantling and careful in their processing.

    Not only that, but they are as good as any of us when ites to dismantling things. If they can process any kind of monster, they can join our ranks.

    Amidst all these hopefuls for the future, there is a little girl who looks out of ce.

    She is smaller than my daughter.

    I am not sure if she can hold a knife.

    I heard that the Guild Master rmended her. Not only that, but I asked her about it, and she said it was to inspire the young people.

    In the first ce, can such a girl dismantle monsters?

    If it were my daughter, I would ban her from even going near a dead monster, let alone dismantle it.

    I hade from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to grade the event as a judge, and I was assigned to the girl and a few others.

    No matter how much of a rmendation it was from the Guild Master, I was going to make sure the scoring was correct.

    Then, as soon as the master of ceremony said the opening words, the dismantling of the wolves started all at once.

    The girl holds her knife and cuts the wolf¡¯s belly without even bothering to look at it.

    She is fast.

    She is also very good with the knife.

    If it were my daughter, I would be too scared to let her hold the knife. But the girl in front of me is not afraid and handles the knife well with her small hands. Even with blood on her hands, she dismantles the wolf without worrying about it.

    If it were my daughter, she would cry and hate it if she got blood on her hands. It¡¯s the same for children everywhere.

    I wonder what kind of environment a child has to grow up in to acquire this level of dismantling skills at such an early age. Above all, she has a strong heart.

    While I was thinking about this, the master of ceremony and the Guild Master began to talk about the girl¡¯s background.

    Hearing this, I almost started to cry.

    I couldn¡¯t cry at a ce like this.

    I never thought I would be this sensitive.

    What was I like when I was 11 years old?

    I was running around with my friends.

    I know what the Guild Master meant when she said she would inspire people. If a girl like her is doing dismantling, there is no way for them to stay idle.

    They will be thinking that they cannot show their embarrassing side.

    My eyes followed the girl.

    It is not only the girl that I am grading. There are five people I am in charge of. However, I can¡¯t help but notice the girl. I can¡¯t help but look at the girl¡¯s work.

    But it¡¯s not just me. Other graders who are not in charge of the girl also nced at the girl.

    Don¡¯t stare at her. You guys are in charge of someone else.

    But I don¡¯t me them.

    That¡¯s how impressive the girl¡¯s dismantling is.

    I take my eyes off the girl momentarily and check the others¡¯ dismantling.

    That¡¯s my job.

    Then, one after another, the participants finish dismantling the wolf. The girl is nearing the end.

    Fast.

    Among the more than 100 participants, her dismantling speed is among the fastest.

    If she continues like this, there is no denying that she will make it through to the first round.

    Also, the girl does not slow down until the end, raising her hand to indicate that she has finished dismantling.

    I begin the final scoring.

    The dismantling procedure, the skill, the handling of the dismantling tools, and the condition of the dismantled wolf.

    There is nothing to deduct points from.

    The only word thates to mind is ¡°Amazing¡±.

    Where did the guild master bring such an amazing girl from?

    The girl¡¯s final ranking was 13th out of more than 100 participants.

    Even though only 19 years old or younger participated, it is still an astounding rank.

    After the first round, my friends who were judging together with me gathered around me.

    ¡°Hey, what the heck. That girl.¡± (Judge 1)

    ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s 11 years old?¡± (Judge 2)

    ¡°She¡¯s smaller than my son.¡± (Beggad)

    They start fussing about the little girl.

    ¡°Damn, I wish I could have seen her up close.¡± (Judge 1)

    ¡°I was pretty close so I could see her, but she was pretty good with the dismantling equipment and procedures.¡± (Judge 2)

    ¡°To put it bluntly, more skillful than any of the new adventurers.¡± (Judge 1)

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Rookie adventurers have never done much dismantling before. It would be a pity topare them with someone like that.¡± (Judge 2)

    ¡°Everyone is like that in the beginning.¡± (Beggad)

    New adventurers gain experience and grow.

    Everyone starts out as a novice. They grow through repeated experiences.

    That¡¯s why I wonder.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, how long has that girl been dismantling?¡± (Beggad)

    How long did it take her to master the art of dismantling? Those of us who have been dismantling for many years can figure it out.

    Dismantling one or two bodies is not enough to acquire such skill.

    Even if a person has mastered the technique, the mind might be unable to do so. Everyone is afraid of monsters, even if they are dead.

    Those who have experienced it know how hard it is to dismantle a bloody body initially.

    That little girl used to smile every once in a while. It would take more than a few jobs to reach that level of expertise.

    ¡°If what the Guild Master said was true, she had been doing it to support her family.¡± (Judge 1)

    Would my daughter do the dismantling and processing of monsters for us if my wife and I were sick or injured and unable to work?

    I know it¡¯s a bad idea, but I can¡¯t help butpare it to my own daughter.

    My daughter, who has never struggled in her life, would not make it.

    ¡°If I were injured and unable to work, would my son do it for me?¡± (Judge 2)

    Like me, I have a buddy whopares her to his own child.

    We all might be thinking about it.

    But where did she hone such an amazing degree of dismantling skills?

    It is a rule that guild employees work on the monsters that gather at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. We don¡¯t ask outsiders to do it. And even if the child asked the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to allow them to do the dismantling, there is no way they would let the child do it.

    They would normally be kicked out of the guild.

    The only other possibility would be being the daughter of an adventurer.

    That, too, is unlikely.

    It¡¯s not likely that they would take her with them to kill monsters, and in the first ce, would they even let their daughter do the dismantling?

    The Guild Master mentioned it was for the sake of the family.

    Or maybe some big bear-like man forced her to do it, saying, ¡°Look, you want money for your family, don¡¯t you?¡±.

    If my own daughter grew up in such an environment, I would not be able to stop crying.

    ¡°What was the next monster dismantling challenge?¡± (Beggad)

    ¡°Same asst year, Horned Rabbit.¡± (Judge 1)

    The first round is determined to be a Wolf just as it is every year, and the second round is not an umon monster, although it changes from time to time.

    From the third round, it gets a little more difficult and bes a different monster fromst year.

    ¡°Horned Rabbit. Next to the Wolf, it¡¯s a good monster to check out the contestants¡¯ dismantling ability.¡± (Beggad)

    A monster that is somewhat different from Wolf, but if you have the basics down, you can dismantle it with no problem.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking in this ce and start getting ready.¡± (Beggad)

    We start preparing Horned Rabbits.

    Then, the second round of 60 people begins.

    I¡¯m assigned to that girl again.

    And then the second round begins, and the girl dismantles the Horned Rabbit with the same familiarity as the Wolf.

    No hesitation.

    That means she has dismantled it many times, just like the Wolf.

    Those judging around her are also ncing at the girl.

    They must be curious.

    That¡¯s for sure. A girl smaller than their own children is dismantling things. It won¡¯t be strange for them to not be curious about her.

    And they want to cheer her on.

    As a judge, I can¡¯t favor her, but there is a part of me that is inclined to be lenient in scoring.

    But I don¡¯t need to worry about it right now. The girl¡¯s dismantling of the Horned Rabbit was excellent, and she finished the dismantling of the Horned Rabbit with great care. There were no points to be deducted, and she moved up a little higher than her previous position in the order in which she finished the dismantling, and made it through to the second round.

    The third round was a Gator.

    The master of ceremony signaled the start of the third round.

    In our opinion, we all agreed that the gator is impossible.

    This is different from the Wolf and the Horned Rabbit. To dismantle it would require a different set of skills and knowledge.

    The gator is a monster that only sometimes younger members of the Adventurers¡¯ Guildes across.

    So, the advantage is limited to participants working in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and those adventurers who can defeat Gators.

    At the start, five people offered to abstain.

    Those who could not continue would receive a free dismantling lessonter on. So, getting to the third round will not be in vain.

    If they can¡¯t do it, they just have to learn.

    I thought the girl might also volunteer to abstain, but she is dismantling the Gator.

    Not as fast as when she dismantled the Wolf. Sometimes, her hand stops to think, but she dismantles it ording to procedure.

    She knows how to dismantle a Gator!

    I and the other judges around me look at the girl in amazement.

    She may be a little inexperienced, but she knows how to dismantle a Gator.

    All the judges are cheering her on.

    Good luck.

    Then, one after another, the top ranker finished dismantling the gators.

    Each time the master of ceremony announced the order in which they finished, the remaining ones increased the speed of dismantling.

    But even among them, the girl is keeping her own pace in dismantling.

    She has great mental strength.

    If it were apetition for a position, I would be tempted to increase my own speed because I¡¯m concerned about those around me.

    And every year, there are several people whose dismantling products be a mess because of that.

    But the girl is not distracted by her surroundings and carefully dismantles the monster.

    I want her to pass the third round.

    I look around.

    The girl¡¯s current ranking is right on the edge of making it through to the third round. Moreover, there are a number of people who are also working fast around her current ranking.

    I want you to finish the dismantling as soon as possible.

    If the condition of dismantling is the same, the one who finishes the dismantling as soon as possible will be ranked higher.

    At first, I was not nning to favor her, but if she finished dismantling the gator so willingly, I would want to cheer her on.

    Soon after, the girl finished dismantling the gator.

    She was ranked number 20, but three other people also finished at the same time, making a total of four people who finished at number 20 at the same time.

    I graded their work.

    I am tempted to y favorites, but I must not.

    I was almost tempted to be lenient in my scoring.

    But regardless of my feelings, the dismantling was excellent.

    There was no problem in the dismantling procedure, the use of tools, and the final state of dismantling.

    Excellent.

    It was perfect.

    If we take out the speed of disassembly, it gets a perfect score.

    Now, we have topare it to the other participants.

    ¡°Is this correct?¡± (Beggad)

    We show each other our scoring sheets.

    ¡°You might want to tell them about this before they get themselves in trouble.¡± (Judge 1)

    ¡°Right. Some of them hadined before about favoritism and made a fuss.¡± (Beggad)

    We head over to the 17th and 18th participants who have finished dismantling before the rankings are announced.

    We don¡¯t normally do this, but we do when we feel the event should run smoothly.

    The two men who finished 17th and 18th were immediately convinced and didn¡¯t make a fuss when we told them that we had deducted points from them because they had prioritized dismantling speed so much that it was a terrible dismantling, and when we showed them the quality of dismantling work of the other participants.

    And no oneined about the ranking, and that girl came in 18th and made it through the third round.

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 Chapter 648

    <h4>Chapter 648</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san watched over Fina as the 4th Round Started</b>

    ¡°Fina, it looks like it¡¯s about to start.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san says, looking at the venue.

    Preparations for the fourth round were about to be finished.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m off then.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Good luck.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Good luck, Onee-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina-chan, good luck.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Fina-chan, I¡¯m rooting for you.¡± (Ellura)

    Each one of them gives a word to Fina.

    I didn¡¯t want her to be overworked, but I knew that the only words I could say to her would be, ¡°Hang in there,¡± which would only be a burden for her.

    While I was thinking about what to say to Fina, she waited for me to say something.

    ¡°You¡¯vee this far, there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, so just give it your all.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Fina)

    I didn¡¯t have much to say, but Fina nodded and went down to the contest grounds with Sanya-san.

    ¡°Twenty people left! Only 10 will remain for the final!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I looked at the hall and felt sad; there were nearly 100 people there, but only 20. There were only three women, including Fina.

    One was an Adventurer¡¯s Guild employee named Eliza, and another woman raised her hand at the same time as Fina¡¯s. Unfortunately, ire, the adventurer, lost in the third round.

    Fina should be proud to be one of them.

    ¡°If you made it this far out of more than 100 participants, I hope you will do your best to make it to the finals. But the number of people who can remain is down to the best 10.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    It really was a fiercepetition. Not even Fina was one of the best during the Wolf round and was able to make it into the top 10.

    For the Horned Rabbit, in the second round, she dropped even further down the rankings and made it through the second round because only 40 would be selected¡­

    The monsters to be dismantled from the third round became more difficult, and some of them had never dismantled a gator before. Moreover, they were able to get through the third round thanks to those who were in a hurry to dismantle them.

    Given that, the situation depends on the monster theme revealed in the fourth round, but the situation was unknown.

    ¡°Then, I am sure that everyone has calmed down. Now, please carry the monsters to be dismantled in the fourth round.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony announced, and they were carried on a dolly by the attendant.

    Like the gator, the cart was covered with a cloth.

    It appeared to be the same as the gator or slightlyrger.

    If possible, I would like to see a monster that Fina had not dismantled before. But if it was a monster that she had not dismantled before, she would have to work hard to dismantle it, and she may even end up losing. That would also be frustrating on a different level.

    Even if she loses, I want her to fight back.

    There would be nothing more painful than not being able to fight and having to admit defeat.

    I wish.

    Even if it was just once, I would like to see a monster that Fina had not dismantled before.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll announce it. For the fourth round, the monster will be a Scorpion! A monster that lives in the desert, a bit rare in the royal capital, but in desert areas it is amon monster to encounter. They are rarely dismantled in the royal capital, but they do appear from time to time, so if you are a guild employee, you might have been given a chance to dismantle one. If you¡¯re an adventurer who has been working for a while and worked in various ces, you¡¯ve probably at least defeated one.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    But the reactions were mixed.

    Those with dismantling experience were silent. But some who have never dismantled anything responded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any experience encountering them. I don¡¯t go to the desert.¡± (Participant)

    ¡°Adventurers are free! You can go anywhere you want. If you¡¯re an adventurer, you should go there at least once. It will broaden your knowledge. Besides, those who have made it to the fourth round should be adventurers of great ability. Don¡¯t be satisfied with just Wolves and Horned Rabbits, but be diligent and grow day by day.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Participant)

    The adventurers whoined would not be able to say anything if they were called ¡°ipetent¡±.

    The fact that they¡¯ve stayed this long means that they were promising young adventurers. It means that they have defeated and dismantled a good number of monsters.

    Otherwise, they would not be able to acquire the skills to dismantle them.

    Besides, if I deny that they have the skills, I would be denying the word ¡°talented¡± to them. What those other guys need is experience in dismantling.

    But if the monster this time was a scorpion, Fina had experienced dismantling it before.

    Maybe, just, perhaps, she might be able to deal with it¡­ and then the monster was unveiled from its cover.

    ¡°This will be the next target for dismantling¡­ a Scorpion. Now then, there are probably those among you who have no experience dismantling this monster, so those who wish to withdraw, please step forward.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    At the master of ceremony¡¯s words after the reveal, three people offered to withdraw.

    That brings the total to 17. That did not mean that the best of the best withdrew; Fina would have to make it into the top ten.

    ¡°Well, then, it seems everyone is ready. Then, let¡¯s begin the fourth round.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony signaled the start of the fourth round, and they all started moving at once.

    Fina also grabbed her knife and prepared for dismantling.

    ¡°Three declined; a 17-person contest started. As usual, Deed-kun and Garde-kun were still dismantling Scorpion with great dexterity. Is there anyone who can stop these two!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Quite right, they were the two candidates for the championship.

    The veteran adventurer party and the promising party consisting only of youngsters seem to have dismantled Scorpion before, and they dismantle it faster than anyone else.

    The eyes of the audience are drawn to the two, cheering them on and getting excited.

    ¡°Eliza-chan, who works for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, is also dismantling. The guild employees may have the advantage? No, the other remaining adventurers are also dismantling. They are indeed the best of the best who have made it this far.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Fierce young men, but not young enough to feel bad about being called those words. I think they would continue to be diligent in the future.

    I just hoped they would not fight recklessly.

    Being an adventurer was a dangerous job.

    ¡°In such a situation, surprisingly, the youngest girl, Fina-chan, is also dismantling Scorpion with a sense of familiarity. Have you ever dismantled a scorpion before!¡±

    ¡°Go for it, Onee-chan!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri cheers, not to be outdone by the two candidates for the championship.

    ¡°The three remaining women among the 20 are Eliza-chan, Amie-chan, and Fina-chan. It is sad to see the beautiful flowers fall. I would love to see them remain among the 10!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    But these three have never been in the top 10 beforeing to this third round. Not in the words of the master of ceremony, but they were the ones who remained this far, and they were the ones with the right amount of talent. It may be difficult to think of them that way.

    ¡°But it is hard or time-consuming for the women to remove the Scorpion¡¯s shell. Especially Fina-chan, who is small, seems to have the most difficulty.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    When she dismantled the scorpion before, Gentz-san helped her to remove the shell. But now she had to do it all by herself.

    ¡°I am tempted to offer a hand to Fina-chan.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The coordinator made a gesture of extending his hand.

    ¡°That may be the same feeling for everyone in the audience.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Being small is a disadvantage, after all.¡± (Shia)

    Shia muttered as she watched Fina use her small body to remove the shell.

    Fina slipped a knife into the gap between the shells and tried to remove the shell.

    ¡°But, looking at Fina-chan¡¯s handiwork, she must have dismantled a scorpion before. What do you think about that, Guild Master?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony turned to Sanya-san, who was at thementary table.

    ¡°To tell you the truth, I am also surprised because I didn¡¯t know that Fina-chan could dismantle so much. I had only heard about Fina-chan from other people.¡± (Sanya)

    You mean Ellura-san.

    ¡°I see, I thought you were familiar with Fina-chan since you rmended her. Fina-chan was an unexpected surprise for the Guild Master, but here the difference in physique was bing a handicap for her.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    If only Fina could use the skill that could make Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear bigger or smaller. Or if she could use magic to turn her into an adult.

    ¡°Mom, can¡¯t Onee-chan work on that?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°You need strength to hold heavy things, right?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Likewise, it takes strength to remove a Scorpion¡¯s shell. That¡¯s why it¡¯s hard for Fina, who is still a child.¡± (Tirumina)

    The more strength you have, the easier it would be to remove the shell. Inevitably, being a woman and a child, Fina would be at a disadvantagepared to an adult male.

    ¡°Onee-chan¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked at Fina with concern.

    ¡°But she¡¯s doing her best, so let¡¯s make sure we support her.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes! Onee-chan, keep up the good work!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Good luck, Fina-chan!¡± (Shia)

    Shuri cheered, and Shia followed her lead.

    There was a big difference in physique when it came to handling the sword. Anyone with a bigger body size would have the advantage if the skill level was the same.

    If the arm was even one centimeter longer, the tip of the sword would reach the opponent faster. If your legs were longer, you could step closer to your opponent.

    When ites to running, if the movement speed was the same, the difference would widen as the number of steps taken increased.

    The difference in physique between children and adults could not be bridged.

    I wish she could make up for it with knowledge, but she couldn¡¯t. The only people who have made it this far have also acquired a solid understanding of thepetition. The more I think about it, the more I feel Fina could not win.

    However, Fina worked hard to remove the shell and dismantle the scorpion using her petite body.

    Fina, hang in there.

    My hands tighten.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s see the others.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony took his turn talking about the event¡¯s progress and other things.

    Those who remained here were of the highest caliber and did not withdraw from thepetition.

    But some of them were having a hard time.

    ¡°After all, like Fina-chan, Eliza-chan is also struggling; she is more powerful than Fina-chan, but she is a woman. This tournament has never been won by a woman in the past, and I wish Eliza-chan the best, but the two candidates for the championship are too strong!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The two examples were as fast as ever. While everyone was struggling, more and more, the scorpion shells were being removed.

    At the words of the master of ceremony, the speed of the other participants¡¯ dismantling increased.

    ¡°Scorpion shells are used for armor. It is strong and light, so it is very popr as a protective gear. So, everyone, please dismantle it neatly. If you dismantle it in a hurry, and it looks dirty, points will be deducted.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s words slowed down the hands hurriedly trying to dismantle it. It was interesting to watch.

    Even in such a situation, Fina kept her own pace and dismantled Scorpion without fail.

    By the midway point, the gap between the top and Fina was quite wide.

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 Chapter 649

    <h4>Chapter 649</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Cheers for Fina, Fourth Round Ends</b>

    ©¥Fina PoV©¥

    It was heavy.

    My dad helped me before, but I didn¡¯t realize how hard it would be to remove the shell by myself.

    Even though it was a monster that Yuna Onee-chan let me dismantle, I wasgging behind.

    ¡°Quick, Deed-kun, finished removing the shell.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I heard the master of ceremony¡¯s voice.

    Have they already taken it all off?

    I was not even half done.

    I have no strength.

    And also, I was looking at Eliza-san, another female participant, who was struggling just as much as I was, but she was doing her best. Looking around me, I saw that everyone was sweating while dismantling.

    I was not the only one who was having a hard time.

    ¡°Onee-chan, keep up the good work!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Fina-chan, hang in there!¡± (Shia)

    I could hear Shuri and Shia-sama¡¯s voices.

    I looked at Shuri and Shia and saw mother looking anxiously at them and Yuna Onee-chan staring at me.

    I exhaled, calmed down, and resumed dismantling.

    I have no choice but to do what I could do. Even if it was slowly. I carefully, neatly, and surely dismantled it.

    Remove the shell, cut here, be careful of the stinger in the tail, insert the knife here, and use this tool for this part.

    I dismantled the body step by step, moving forward slowly.

    Time was moving forward, and it was definitelying to an end.

    But it was not over yet.

    At that moment, a cheer went up, and the man in charge of facilitating the event shouted out.

    ¡°Ohh, Deed-kun, who is aiming for a second consecutive victory, has finished dismantling Scorpion first!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I looked up and looked around to see one of the men raising his hand to signal that he had finished dismantling.

    Already done?

    Fast.

    ¡°And a little behind, continuing in second ce is Garde-kun¡­Garde-kun, you look frustrated, but your ability is very close. Considering that he is one year younger, that¡¯s good enough to be considered. On the other hand, Deed-kun may not want to lose to Garde-kun, who is younger, albeit by only one year.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Those two were exceptional. I couldn¡¯tpete with them.

    But the others were not finished yet.

    I moved my hand to finish the dismantling.

    After that, one after another, people around me finished dismantling the Scorpion.

    They have already called names up to number 10.

    But I was not yet finished.

    ¡°Eliza-chan, number 12, finished!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I looked up and saw Eliza-san. She looked so beautiful like she did her best.

    Maybe she was satisfied because she had given it her all.

    My eyes meet Eliza-san¡¯s.

    Her mouth moves. I couldn¡¯t hear her voice, but her mouth seemed to say, ¡°Good luck¡±.

    ¡°Do your best, Onee-chan!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri¡¯s loud voice reached me.

    I was not done yet.

    My arms were heavy but still moving.

    By the time I finished, everyone¡¯s name was called, and I was thest one to finish the dismantling,ter than anyone else.

    ¨CYuna Point of View¨C

    ¡°Fina-chan, the youngestpetitor, just finished 17th. This achievement is great, despite her small size disadvantage.¡±

    There was apuse from all around.

    Since three people had already given up, there were only 17 participants in the Scorpion dismantling, which means she was at the bottom of the list.

    So far, all the remaining members were good at dismantling.

    The woman who finished at the same time as Fina in the third round was number 16. Eliza-san, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, fought hard and finished 12th.

    Eliza-san was the only woman who could make it to the finals.

    ¡°Is Onee-chan okay?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri said worriedly.

    To put it bluntly, I didn¡¯t think so.

    No matter how good she was at dismantling, I wonder if she would be able to stay among the top 10.

    So neither Tirumina-san, Ellura-san, nor Shia could reply to Shuri¡¯s words.

    I doubt that even Sanya-san would put the 17th lowest ranked person within the top 10.

    Then, the scoring was done, and the ranking list was handed to the master of ceremony.

    ¡°There are 17 of you left here. Of these, only 10 will make it to the finals. Who can go to the finals?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I knew it was impossible, but I wondered if maybe she could do it.

    ¡°First ce, Deed-kun! First round, second round, third round, and now this fourth round is also first ce. Never once conceded first ce to anyone, and you are in the finals!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience gets excited.

    Depending on the type of dismantling, they would have to be good at it or not. It would be great to take first ce in all of them.

    It would be like winning first ce in a fight with all those weapons: swords, knives, axes, bows, magic, throwing, and so on.

    In any study, it would not be surprising if one was better at it than others. It would be really great to be good at math, good at English, good at everything evenly.

    ¡°And second ce is also Garde-kun, who was second in everything from the first round to the fourth round.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    This was also an outstanding achievement. He never once dropped to third ce.

    Then, starting with third ce, the names were called out in order.

    ¡°In tenth ce, Eliza-chan!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Eleventh and twelfth ce, Batte-kun and Geggat-kun, you were in a hurry to get to the finals. Their final dismantling process was messy, and they seemed to be in too much of a hurry to handle their precious dismantling tools. In exchange, it is written that Eliza-chan carefully dismantled the piece until the very end.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience apuded.

    It was amazing. The only woman to make it to the finals. At the same time, Fina¡¯s ce in the finals was no longer avable.

    ¡°Did Onee-chan lose?¡± (Shuri)

    Neither Tirumina-san nor Ellura-san could respond to Shuri¡¯s words.

    Neither could I, for that matter.

    Fina didn¡¯t make it into the top 10; Shuri was right, she lost.

    The fourth round also announced the ranking of the remaining yers.

    Fina¡¯s ranking was 17th, just like the order in which she finished.

    ¡°¡­Onee-chan, lost.¡± (Shuri)

    With the rankings finalized, Fina¡¯s elimination from the fourth round was decided.

    But that was not the point.

    ¡°Shuri, no. Even if she doesn¡¯t make it out of the ten, she¡¯s number seventeen out of over a hundred. It¡¯s a great achievement in a big group of people.¡± (Yuna)

    In the fourth round, she may have been at the bottom of the list.

    But based on the number of participants, she would still belong in the top tier.

    She didn¡¯t lose, and she survived to get this far.

    ¡°So when shees back, we should greet her with a smile; if Shuri is sad, Fina will be sad too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, Fina-chan¡¯s dismantling skills were excellent. We¡¯ll praise her when shees back.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes, Fina-chan is the best in my opinion.¡± (Shia)

    Ellura-san and Shia also said cheerfully as if to change Shuri¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Hmmm, I guess I am not that great of a mother. Thank you, Yuna-chan, for teaching us.¡± (Tirumina)

    Everyone was ready to greet Fina.

    All we have to do now is to greet Fina with a smile.

    ¨CFina PoV¨C

    Done.

    17th ce. I was inst ce.

    It was frustrating.

    At first, I thought losing to someone bigger than me was OK. But when I lost, I was so frustrated.

    Everyone might be disappointed with me, even though they cheered for me. I was afraid to look at everyone¡¯s face.

    ¡°What, why are you looking down?¡± (???)

    Someone called out to me as I looked down. I looked up and saw a woman.

    ¡°Um, Eliza-san?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°You know my name. I¡¯m so d you do. Fina-chan.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Yes, because we are the both female participants after all, and a great one at that.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Hmm, thank you. But it¡¯s too early for Fina-chan to call herself a woman.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-sanughs.

    ¡°Look, don¡¯t be so sad. You can puff out your chest with pride.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°¡­Eliza-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Those of us who stayed here worked hard because we didn¡¯t want to embarrass ourselves against Fina-chan. An 11-year-old girl like this was working so hard to dismantle, so we couldn¡¯t let ourselves, who are bigger and more experienced in life, be outdone.¡± (Eliza)

    People were gathering around me.

    And they nodded at Eliza-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Fina-chan, you should havee back to the waiting room when the dismantling was over, we were waiting for you.¡± (Eliza)

    I would not be going to the waiting room like the otherster and was waiting for Sanya-san who would be apanying me returning to Yuna Onee-chan during the break.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°As I said, you don¡¯t have to apologize.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°We all respect Fina-chan. Everyone who has done dismantling knows how hard it is. At first, I thought there was no way a little girl like her could dismantle.¡± (Eliza)

    Everyone nodded in agreement with Eliza-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°But Fina-chan managed to do it, and when I saw Fina-chan dismantle it, I thought it was amazing. But at the same time, everyone was thinking that we couldn¡¯t lose. Of course, I was one of them.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Yes¡­.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad. The first time I participated, I lost in the first round.¡± (Eliza)

    I was able to reach the fourth round.

    And even almost made it to the finals.

    ¡°You did well making it to the finals, as well, Eliza.¡± (Deed)

    Even Deed-san and Garde-san came over.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you two toe over.¡± (Eliza)

    Laughter broke out.

    ¡°Anyway, Fina-chan should be proud that you made it to the fourth round. Anyone who has participated understands how hard it is to get this far.¡± (Deed)

    ¡°But I also understand the frustration of losing. That feeling is important. You can use that feeling the next time and to improve on it.¡± (Garde)

    I could see that everyone wasforting me.

    They were all older than me. It couldn¡¯t be helped if I lost to them.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯m okay now.¡± (Fina)

    I was disappointed, but I wasn¡¯t sad anymore.

    I did my best. But the people here worked even harder than I did. They spent more time and went through more dismantling than I did.

    I was 11 years old and not ready to be in the same league as those people. It would be disrespectful if I didn¡¯t do as well as them, and I still feel sad when I lose.

    ¡°Fufufu, you¡¯ll have to cheer for me in the finals.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Yes, good luck, Eliza-san.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°But I¡¯m in tenth ce, so I don¡¯t know how far I can go.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san¡¯s smile makes me smile too.

    I was d to have participated this time, even though I lost.

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 Chapter 650

    <h4>Chapter 650</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Comforting Fina</b>

    In this dismantling event, Fina ended up in 17th ce.

    The number of participants exceeded 100 people. Considering that, it was an outstanding achievement.

    But when Fina heard her name called out as 17th ce, her face fell dejectedly.

    ¡°Onee-chan, are you crying?¡± (Shuri)

    From here, I couldn¡¯t see Fina¡¯s face.

    ¡°Ellura-sama, may I go to Fina?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san got up and tried to run over to Fina, but Ellura-san stopped her.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, wait a minute.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san said as she looked at Fina in the hall.

    Eliza-san walks over to Fina, who is depressed with her head down.

    The surrounding participants, as well as Eliza-san, begin to gather around Fina.

    ¡°Onee-chan is surrounded!¡± (Shuri)

    I wondered what was going on for a moment, but then I realized that they wereforting her.

    Their voices were too far away to be heard, but I could make out theirughter and other sounds. The participants smiled and spoke to Fina, and Fina¡¯s face turned into a smile as she talked to them.

    ¡°Onee-chan is smiling.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Tirumina-san, it looks like it¡¯s not our turn. When Fina-chan returns, we will greet her with a big smile.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes, we will.¡± (Tirumina)

    Everyone nodded in agreement with Ellura-san¡¯s words.

    If we looked sad, it would be a burden for Fina.

    Then Fina returned with Sanya-san, after the gathering with other participants ended.

    ¡°Onee-chan!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Shuri!¡± (Fina)

    Shuri ran and hugged Fina, who gently epted her and patted her head.

    Tirumina-san called out to Fina.

    ¡°Fina, you did a fantastic job!¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes, but I lost.¡± (Fina)

    She lost, but there was no sadness on her face.

    The people who participated in the dismantling must have brought a smile to Fina¡¯s face.

    ¡°Fina-chan, I don¡¯t know what to say, but it was spectacr. I¡¯m d I was there to see it.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Shia-sama¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Hmmm, it was worth rmending Fina-chan.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san looked happy.

    Finally, I called out to her.

    ¡°Good job, Fina!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s eyes waver, and she looked down when she thought she saw it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Why are you sorry?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina had nothing to apologize for.

    ¡°Because it was supposed to have been a monster that Yuna Onee-chan took down, and I have also dismantled¡­¡± (Fina)

    Did she care about that?

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you couldn¡¯t dismantle it; Fina did it to the end.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked apologetic that she lost with a monster I had brought for her.

    ¡°Fina did her best. It¡¯s not the skill or the knowledge of dismantling that wascking. I think it was your height and strength that wascking.¡± (Yuna)

    I smiled and ced my bear puppet on top of Fina¡¯s head.

    She was so small.

    ¡°Ugh, I want to grow up.¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s cheeks puff out.

    ¡°Yes, Fina is going to grow up and get bigger and stronger.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina was certainly growing up.

    At the age of 11, she made it to the fourth round with the other participants. That was something to be proud of.

    The bigger she gets, the easier it should be for her to dismantle.

    I did not know if Fina would continue to dismantle as she got older, but Fina was still a child. The future holds all kinds of possibilities.

    She will continue to grow.

    Who knows what the future holds?

    I think it would be cool for a former recluse to say something like this.

    ¡°What do you n for the finals, Yuna-chan along with everyone?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san asked.

    Fina¡¯s dismantling event was over, but there would be a final for the remaining 10.

    Our goal was to cheer for Fina. But I was curious to know what kind of monsters would be in the finals and who would be the winners.

    Well, we are sure that one of those two would win.

    ¡°What do you think, Fina? Do you want to watch until the end? Or go home and rest if you¡¯re tired?¡± (Yuna)

    She should have been physically tired from the dismantling and mentally tired from participating in an unfamiliar event. But Fina shook her head.

    ¡°Ummm, I promised Eliza-san that I would see it through to the end.¡± (Fina)

    We decided to stay behind and do what Fina wanted. Besides, I was curious to see who would win and what Eliza-san¡¯s ranking would be.

    ¡°Well, the finals are about to start, so I¡¯m going, but Fina-chan, if you want to stay, do you want to go with me? You can watch from up close.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san invited Fina to join her.

    Fina looked at me and Tirumina-san with a worried expression on her face.

    ¡°Have a great time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san and I had the same thought.

    It would be for Fina¡¯s sake.

    ¡°Un, I¡¯m off.¡± (Fina)

    Fina was taken by Sanya-san down to the venue.

    ¡°I wonder what the finals will be like, have you watched them in the past Ellura-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the under-19petition. I¡¯ve only been to over 20petitions once in a while to see the monsters.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°What about Shia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been interested, so I¡¯ve nevere to see them either.¡± (Shia)

    Well, I would only go to a monster dismantling event if my acquaintances were participating in it.

    Even in my previous world, if I had the chance to see a pig or a cow being butchered, I would not have taken the initiative to go see it.

    I didn¡¯t mean it the same way as Shia said, but I wouldn¡¯t have been interested either.

    I came to watch because Fina was participating.

    When I looked at the venue, preparations for the finals were over, and the 10 finalists were lined up.

    As a woman, I would like to wish the best to Eliza-san, the other female finalist, but with her ranking in the previous round, I doubt she would win the championship.

    I¡¯d like to see her move up in the rankings, even if it¡¯s only by one ce.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience. We will now begin the finals with the 10 remaining contestants.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The audience was excited as the master of ceremony took the microphone and announced.

    It was a little disappointing that Fina was not there.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s hear from the 10 finalists.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony speaks to Deed-kun.

    ¡°Deed-kun, congrattions. You¡¯ve ced first in all the first rounds and are now in the finals.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Deed)

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re going to win the championship for the second time in a row, doesn¡¯t it?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I would like to give a good report to my seniors.¡± (Deed)

    Deed-kun gives a safe response.

    ¡°Deed, go for it!¡±

    ¡°If you lose, I¡¯ll educate you from the ground up!¡±

    A voice called out from the audience.

    He was dressed like an adventurer. They may be his party members.

    Next, the master of ceremony approaches Garde-kun, whoes in second.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Garde-kun, but you came in second in all of them. Of course, this is another great result.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°In the finals, I will win. That¡¯s all.¡± (Garde)

    He said while looking at the best Deed-kun.

    ¡°Good luck leader!¡±

    ¡°Garde, don¡¯t lose!¡±

    Someone from the audience shouted as well, just like with Deed-kun.

    ¡°We have high expectations of you, so please do your best.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony then went on to talk to the rest of the remaining people.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let them see me in an embarrassing state.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to show you what I can do.¡±

    ¡°I want you to watch me dismantle and learn from me.¡±

    ¡°Those two aren¡¯t the only ones who are great.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Somehow, I think he was looking toward where Sanya-san and Fina were sitting at thementary table.

    The microphone was then turned to Eliza-san, who came through in 10th.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s hear from Eliza-chan, the only woman to make it to the finals. First, congrattions on making it to the finals.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°How are you approaching thepetition?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how well I can do because everyone is so good, but I want to show them that I¡¯m not ashamed to be seen.¡± (Eliza)

    After all, Eliza-san¡¯s eyes also seem to be on Sanya-san and Fina.

    At first, I thought it was an appeal to Sanya-san, the guild master, but Eliza-san¡¯s words made me think it was a statement everyone was pushing to Fina.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s hear from Sanya-san, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Guildmaster.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    At the master of ceremony¡¯s words, Sanya-san also picked up the microphone.

    ¡°Up to this point, the next generation of young people who have stayed behind, those who work in the guild, and those who are adventurers and defeat monsters. I can¡¯t thank you enough for all the different people who have joined us. Guild workers hone their skills every day, and adventurers do dangerous work. I hope you will grow step by step, without overdoing it. I am sure there will be many people who would like to see your dismantling skills again next year. So please don¡¯t lose a single person and join us next year.¡± (Sanya)

    In other words, they didn¡¯t want to reduce the number of people participating, so please join us next year. Was that what he was trying to say?

    I may have a dirty mind for making such an evil guess.

    ¡°Being an adventurer is a dangerous job, and some of the people who participated today may not be able to participate next year.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san said what I had in mind.

    That¡¯s right. I was safe because of the bear equipment God gave me, but other adventurers would not be so lucky.

    They might be injured. Worst-case scenario, they might be dead.

    It appears that my heart was tainted.

    ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s hear thest word from Fina-chan.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°What, me?¡± (Fina)

    Fina panicked when the master of ceremony suddenly dumped on her.

    Sanya-san gently handed the microphone to Fina.

    ¡°You are all excellent at dismantling, so I would like to watch and study you all carefully.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s the word. Gentlemen, I can¡¯t show you anything embarrassing. By the way, who will Fina-chan be supporting?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Umm, I want Eliza-san to do well. I want Eliza-san to do well, too.¡± (Fina)

    Fina replied shyly.

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 Chapter 651

    <h4>Chapter 651</h4>

    <b>Bear-san reunites with Deborane</b>

    ¡°For the finals, you will be tasked to dismantle five monsters, including the monsters you have dismantled so far and also a secret monster.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Dismantling five monsters at one go? That sounded like it would take a lot of time and energy.

    ¡°The scoring will be tabted based on a total of five different scores: Wolf, Horned Rabbit, Gator, Scorpion, and the secret monster. Because there are so many carcasses to dismantle, the final event will end when the first three participants have finished dismantling. Those who have not finished dismantling will still be judged at that point. Some participants may be good at some things yet not so good at other things. You may dismantle the monsters you are familiar with at first, or you may also take your time to carefully dismantle the ones you are not so good at. As I have said many times before, even if you are fast, you should not do a messy job. Points will be deducted from mishandling the materials, so please be careful.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    If the dismantling was messy, the dismantled material would not be good enough to be sold.

    No one would buy tattered fur.

    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the secret monster?¡± (Shia)

    ¡°A Tiger Wolf?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A ck Tiger?¡± (Shia)

    Shia and I tried to imagine.

    ¡°A Tiger Wolf is one thing, but a ck Tiger is not the kind of monster you can find around here.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Umm, indeed. Then, I guess Yuna-san might be right¡­ so Tiger Wolves?¡± (Shia)

    I doubt there would be that many Tiger Wolves, but I think I could hunt about 10 of them if I put in the effort to locate them.

    While we were talking about the secret monster, the master of ceremony continued to officiate and proceeded with the highlight event.

    ¡°Now then, please bring in the monsters to be dismantled for the finals.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    At the behest of the master of ceremony¡¯s words, a Wolf, a Horned Rabbit, a Gator, and a Scorpion carcass were brought in, each on a cart. But only one cart was covered with arge cloth so that we couldn¡¯t see it.

    That was the supposed secret monster to be dismantled.

    I had a bad premonition the moment I saw the cartsing in.

    My bear intuition was agitated.

    The cart carrying the monsters stopped in front of each participant.

    ¡°Then please take off the cloth!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony said, and the attendants who had brought the cart with the monsters on it took the cloth at once.

    I got goosebumps when I saw the monster that appeared from underneath the cloth.

    ¡°This time, the secret monster is a spider!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Why would there be a spider here?

    Could those be the spiders I defeated?

    The audience was in an uproar.

    Some of the participants in the dismantlingpetition looked ufortable.

    It was hard to see clearly from here, but Fina¡¯s face next to Sanya-san¡¯s appeared pale.

    ¡°Tirumina-san, do you think Fina hates bugs?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, for the record, you can¡¯t ssify that as an insect. No one likes a spider that big.¡± (Tirumina)

    It seems that everyone in this other world shares the same perception as I do.

    No one liked gigantic spiders.

    Even spider lovers in the original world would not like spiders bigger than people because people can get apprehensive towards creatures that are as big or evenrger than human beings.

    It would be impossible to imagine an ant, a grasshopper, a praying mantis, or even a bug called ¡°G¡± being bigger than you were. It gave me goosebumps just thinking about it.

    (T/N: That ¡°G¡± meant cockroaches.)

    ¡°Mom, those big spiders, they¡¯re disgusting.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I can¡¯t handle that one. I don¡¯t even want to encounter it.¡± (Shia)

    Neither Shuri nor Shia could handle it.

    ¡°But if you are an adventurer, an adventurer guild employee, or a dismantler, you must be able to deal with it.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san rebuked harshly.

    ¡°But not a spider the size like that.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°In the first ce, is there any way you can sell that material?¡± (Yuna)

    Deborane mentioned that it could be sold, but¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it myself, but of course, you can sell magic stones, and you can sell spider skins. Though you can¡¯t consume the meat like a wolf or a horned rabbit.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san¡¯s words reassured me. No one seems to be eating those in general. I also remembered Deborane said something simr, not that I didn¡¯t believe his words. It was a reassurance.

    ¡°Anyway, it seems like the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has chosen a rather difficult monster to deal with.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there are a lot of people who aren¡¯t very good at dismantling a gigantic spider.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°As expected, huh?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I guess it would be difficult for new adventurers and younger people to deal with.¡± (Tirumina)

    Well, I agree with that.

    I would be willing to fight it if I could defeat it with magic from a distance, but I would want to avoid fighting it in closebat.

    ¡°But there are adventurers who defeated that monster, right? That¡¯s amazing. I guess they are veteran adventurers after all.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Could those be the monsters I defeated?¡± (Yuna)

    I responded to Shia¡¯s words.

    ¡°Did Yuna-san encounter them somewhere and defeat them?¡± (Shia)

    I exined about my recent visit to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, as usual, you solve big cases so easily.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°But I believe I asked the adventurers who were with me to take care of the spiders.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked both Deborane and Lanz to take care of the spiders, so why would they be here?

    Or rather, were they spiders that were taken down by other adventurers?

    ¡°Yuna-chan, processing doesn¡¯t just mean dismantling it. If you take them to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, that¡¯s also a good way to dispose of them.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°And then they process them and also deal with the remains.¡± (Ellura)

    I guess that was also the case.

    I wouldn¡¯t dismantle the monsters and animals I killed, but I would put them in the Bear Item Box and ask Fina or take them to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    When I asked Deborane to dispose of the spiders, he epted the job with a chuckle.

    Maybe he took it to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild without dismantling it.

    As I casually looked around the hall, I noticed arge adventurer and a man who was with him like a pair of goldfish.

    They were Deborane and Lanz.

    Have theye to also spectate the event?

    I got up from my chair.

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Hey, I saw someone I know, I¡¯m going to go meet him.¡± (Yuna)

    I head over to Deborane.

    Crossing his legs, Deborane stared at me as I approached.

    ¡°Bear. How nice of you to have such a special seat to watch.¡± (Deborane)

    Apparently, Deborane noticed me.

    Well, I guess my outfit would be easy to spot even from a distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I know the guild master of the adventurers¡¯ guild in the royal capital. She prepared a special seat for us.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ll skip exining Ellura-san and Fina because it would be too much trouble.

    ¡°So what is it? You didn¡¯te here to see me, did you?¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°Just to confirm, those spiders¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The spiders from that time.¡± (Deborane)

    I knew it.

    ¡°Since then, a guild official came to the vige and retrieved those spiders. They also told us that they would deal with the dismantling, and we agreed.¡± (Deborane)

    Deboraneughed.

    ¡°I thought Deborane was going to take care of it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Handing it over to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is part of the process in dealing with the spiders. It¡¯s not just dismantling them.¡± (Deborane)

    Tirumina-san said the same thing.

    ¡°Besides, I promised you that I would take care of the spiders and use some of the profits from their disposal for the good of the vige.¡± (Deborane)

    That was a good point.

    Deborane was right. All I asked for was the disposal of the spiders and the use of some of the material from the spiders to fund the restoration of the vige.

    ¡°I kept my word to you. You have nothing toin about.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Deborane is not wrong.¡± (Lanz)

    Deborane exined with a smirk on his face, followed up by Lanz.

    I wanted to punch him. I was a fool to think he was even slightly nice at the time.

    ¡°Besides, it was the guild official who came to the vige who made the proposal.¡± (Deborane)

    When he said that, I couldn¡¯t say anything further in response.

    I wondered if Sanya-san knew about it.

    ¡°Most of the spiders were taken down by you and the bears and after reporting, the the guild officials took back the spiders and the money would be processed when we returned without the hassle of dealing with them.¡± (Deborane)

    Deboraneughed loudly as he said so.

    I really wanted to punch him in the face for that viinousughter of his.

    But it was definitely true that Deborane and Lanz fought for the vige.

    It was also true that I was the one who asked them to deal with the spiders.

    Deborane was not at fault.

    ¡°And the vige?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told the guild about the money and the request, it was now being handled by the guild. I simply told the guild about it. And about how the money is going to be used. I don¡¯t know anything about anything after that.¡± (Deborane)

    That was to be expected, to be sure.

    There was no need for the adventurers to hang around until the end. The rest was a matter for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the vige to deal with.

    ¡°Okay, I understand. Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    It disgusted me, but Deborane didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I held back the urge to punch him.

    ¡°Hey, wait.¡± (Deborane)

    I turned on my heel to go back to Tirumina-san and the others, but Deborane stopped me.

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Take this.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane throws something at me.

    I quickly caught it with my Bear Puppet, which was now holding a magic stone in its mouth, a magic stone with a different luster than ordinary magic stones.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°This is the King Spider¡¯s magic stone.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°King Spider¡¯s magic stone? Why give it to me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That stone is proof of the one who defeated the King Spider. I can¡¯t have it, it¡¯s just a nuisance. I don¡¯t want people to think that I killed it.¡± (Deborane)

    ¡°What about the rest of the materials?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I left them over for the guild to deal with. There are cases where you just take the magic stone and leave the rest behind. No adventurer would leave a magic stone unattended.¡± (Deborane)

    He could have just told the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that I had given them to him.

    But since this happened, I decided to take it.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Now get the heck out of here.¡± (Deborane)

    Deborane shook his wrist like he was chasing off a dog.

    I put the magic stone in my Bear Item Box and returned to the audience where Tirumina-san and the others were sitting.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, do you know that adventurer?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°He was the adventurer who was with me when I defeated those spiders, so I just asked him about it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. I was afraid that Yuna-chan would prefer a man like him.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Ellura-san, don¡¯t even joke about that.¡± (Yuna)

    I got goosebumps from her statement, but not in the same way as how spider carcasses spooked me.

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 Chapter 652

    <h4>Chapter 652</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Observes the Finals</b>

    While I was talking to Deborane, the finals had already started.

    ¡°Everyone has started dismantling the monsters, each starting with the ones that each of them is good at! It¡¯s like the participants have split into Wolves team and Horned Rabbits team, haha!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Just as the master of ceremony said, the participants had split up, each began dealing with Wolves and Horned Rabbits. None of the participants bothered to dismantle the spider¡¯s carcasses.

    ¡°Guildmaster, what do you think of this decision?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a fair judgment. Wolves and Horned Rabbit are basic, and easy monsters to process. With the members who have remained so far, the margin of error will not be so great.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°If Fina-chan was up there on the stage, which monster would you have first dismantled?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony asked Fina, pointing the microphone to her, who was standing next to Sanya-san.

    ¡°Umm, I think I will start with the wolf, because I am the best at dismantling wolves.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked embarrassed as the microphone was pointed at her and replied in a small voice.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Now let¡¯s take a look at the venue. There is little difference as the guild master said, but aren¡¯t these two participants exceptional? Deed-kun and Garde-kun are fast. They have been battling for first ce since the first round. Even in the finals, it¡¯s going to be a contest between these two!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    If things continue as they were, one of those two would probably win, but looking at it from the first round to the fourth round, Deed-kun would probably win. But you never know; Garde-kun might take the lead, or Deed-kun might make a mistake. And depending on the dismantling of the spiders, who knows what might happen.

    If Deed-kun was not good at dismantling spiders, he could possibly get flipped over.

    ¡°The other participants will not want to be outdone in the dismantlingpetition. I would like to see Eliza-chan, the only woman who made it to the finals, do her best.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Eliza-san worked hard to dismantle, but she seemed to be one step slower than those around her.

    It wasn¡¯t that she was sloppy or bad at disassembling, but she was still slowly losing ground. But after 5 or 10 minutes, the difference becamerger andrger.

    I felt the same way with Fina, but the difference was very minor but easy to see.

    Whether it was a difference in strength, physique, or technique, I did not know.

    ¡°Deed-kun has finished dismantling his first monster which was a Horned Rabbit, and had already started with his second monster. Oh, and Garde-kun following behind him also finished his Horned Rabbit and was preparing for his 2nd monster. Can you give us yourments Guild Master about how they proceed with their dismantling?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Well, I expect the two of them to dismantle everything, so it doesn¡¯t really matter which order they follow, so I have noment about it.¡± (Sanya)

    Wasn¡¯t it that the event will be called to an end when the first to third participant finishes dismantling every creature?

    If so, then the two candidates for the championship were better off finishing the dismantling of what was in front of them than having time to think about what to start with if they were going to finish it all.

    ¡°But in the case of Garde-kun, he will probably dismantle the same monsters as Deed-kun in order to put pressure on him in his pursuit.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Then it¡¯s a psychological battle.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Besides that, we don¡¯t know if they were both capable of dismantling spiders, and they will probably deal with itst.¡± (Sanya)

    Well, it would certainly put more pressure on the one that was running ahead. The one in pursuit should finish off the prey when it was caught off guard.

    Even in a game of tag, if the speed of the two yers were the same, it would be easier for the ¡°it¡± than the one being chased.

    A short time after the two started dismantling the Horned Rabbit, the other participants who weregging behind started dismantling their second monster.

    As expected, Eliza-san was a little behind. She was probably the least skilled among them.

    Soon enough, the finals were reaching its end, and Deed-kun finished the scorpion, which was the fourth monster to be dismantled.

    ¡°Deed-kun is the first to start dismantling the spider! After all, will the winner be Deed-kun!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Garde-kun, in second ce, was also doing his best, but wasgging behind. In total, it seemed he was trailing behind a bit.

    ¡°But it seems like Deed-kun¡¯s hand movements have slowed down. Is he not good with spiders?!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Indeed, his movements were not as sharp as when he was dismantling the other monsters.

    ¡°It seems like he has taken down some, but I¡¯m sure he hasn¡¯t worked with as many as Wolves and Horned Rabbits.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san responds as if to exin.

    So spiders weren¡¯t monsters that showed up that often?

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be true of gators and scorpions as well?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Gators and scorpions are more likely to be encountered because we know the areas where they appear. But spiders are harder to find because they are often deep in forests, and they seldome to inhabited areas, so the chances of encountering them are low.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I see, so just because someone is a veteran adventurer party member doesn¡¯t mean they have a lot of experience fighting spiders.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°And if one of the party members doesn¡¯t like spiders, they might not be willing to take on the job.¡± (Sanya)

    Sure, I¡¯ve encountered Wolves and Horned Rabbits many times before, but this was the first time I¡¯d encountered spiders.

    When it came to scorpions, you could go to the desert and you¡¯d see them. With gators, you could find them in areas where they breed, such as swamps and rivers.

    The deeper the forest, the harder to find spiders.

    ¡°And since few people want spider material, they won¡¯t go out of their way to go deep into the forest to kill spiders unless they are bing a danger somewhere.¡± (Sanya)

    That¡¯s true. There was no point in putting in the time and effort if it didn¡¯t pay off. There was no need to take such a risk.

    I would never go into the forest to kill spiders unless they attacked a vige where I was present, as they did the other day.

    That would mean that the spiders appearing in that vige the other day was just bad luck.

    ¡°By the way, Fina-chan, have you ever dismantled a spider?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony directed the microphone to Fina. However, since they were at a distance from each other, the microphone could not reach her, so Sanya-san pointed her own microphone to Fina.

    ¡°¡­.Ummm, I¡¯ve never dismantled it. So I don¡¯t think I could do it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°And I¡¯m not very good with big bugs.¡± (Fina)

    She answered while fidgeting and looking embarrassed.

    ¡°That¡¯s very girly of you.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Fina, like me, apparently hates bugs.

    If I had asked Fina to dismantle a spider, she would have done it in tears, but because of her nature, she would not have refused.

    That said, I was d I didn¡¯t ask her to dismantle the spiders. And the big bee I killed before.

    From now on, I should only ask Fina to dismantle any new monsters I found after checking whether she hates them or not.

    ¡°After all, Fina-chan is no good at it either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are many people who don¡¯t like insect monsters, you know.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t like them either.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it as well.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t do it either.¡± (Shia)

    Shia, Shuri, and Tirumina-san nodded in agreement with Ellura-san.

    I was d to have so many like-minded friends.

    I hate even ordinary insects, but I clearly couldn¡¯t handlerge insects. Especially spiders, which were my least favorite kind of insects.

    If it were an ordinary butterfly, I could hold it in my hand. But if it were a giant butterfly, it would be impossible.

    I tried to imagine it, but couldn¡¯t do it.

    Maybe the big eyes were no good.

    ¡°Ooh, there are the participants who want to stop the dismantling!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    One person asked the attendant.

    Apparently, they were not going to dismantle the spiders, but instead grade them up to what they have finished so far.

    One or two others see this and withdraw from dismantling the spiders, as well.

    ¡°Wow, three people have declined to dismantle the spider so far!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience boos as the participants withdraw.

    I guess when they got to the finals, they were expected to finish the job.

    But what they couldn¡¯t do, they couldn¡¯t help. Everyone had something they weren¡¯t good at.

    ¡°In the midst of all this, there is someone who was dismantling the spiders at a tremendous speed!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience groaned.

    It was an unexpected person who was dismantling the spider faster than anyone else.

    ¡°Eliza-chan, that¡¯s amazing. She¡¯s taking things apart in a fluid motion.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s words brought the audience to its feet.

    It was not that Eliza-san¡¯s dismantling speed was fast. It seems faster, partly because the speed of dismantling around her had slowed down.

    But it was still amazing.

    ¡°Why is this so? Guild Master.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know the details either. Usually in the guild, they let the men dismantle the spiders.¡±

    She said that the men in the dismantling department often didn¡¯t let the women do it. After all, Spiders belong in the creepy category.

    ¡°In no time at all, she has cut off the legs, finished dismantling all eight quickly, and is about to start dismantling the body!¡±

    She was a step or two faster in her dismantling than the other participants dismantling the spiders.

    Faster than both of those two potential winners, Deed-kun and Garde-kun.

    ¡°Is there a chance of an upset in this!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Even though she was faster in dismantling than the two of them, the difference between them was obvious. It was a gap that could not be filled by any other dismantling.

    But Eliza-san¡¯s dismantling was fast enough to make the audience feel that, maybe.

    The audience¡¯s eyes were drawn to Eliza-san and the two candidates for the championship.

    ¡°Deed-kun, the end is in sight. Can he keep it up and secure the crown for this year?!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    After all, Eliza-san could not catch up.

    ¡°Deed-kun has raised his hand! He finished the spiders, which he was not good at, with flying colors!!!! Then, he gives a small gut-punch.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Garde-kun then also finished the spider carcass dismantling in second ce, unable to make up the difference by dismantling Wolf, Horned Rabbit, Gator, and Scorpion.

    With five carcasses to work with, the difference was more than I thought it would be.

    After all, Deed-kun was faster in total performance as a whole.

    ¡°Two of you have finished, so we will finish when one more person is done.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The rest of the participants made theirst spurt for third ce.

    And the one who finished all the dismantling in third ce was Eliza-san, who managed to plow through the dismantling of the spider in one fell swoop.

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 Chapter 653

    <h4>Chapter 653</h4>

    <b>Kuma-san Watching the Awards Ceremony</b>

    ¡°Eliza-chan finished the third! It is finished. Ladies and gentlemen, please stop dismantling. We will start grading.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    All three have finished dismantling and signaling the end of the event.

    Everyone stopped, and an attendant checked the state of the dismantling and graded their work.

    I was a little disappointed that Fina was not standing on the stage with the finalists. But it seemed that she couldn¡¯t dismantle spiders, so she probably wouldn¡¯t have made it to the finals, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I would have liked to see Finapete in the finals.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait. The rankings have now been determined. Many of you may have expected the first ce to be Deed-kun, and you are right, the first ce is Deed-kun!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience was so excited that it was like they knew it.

    By all ounts, he was expected to be the winner. If not, there would be a protest, I believe.

    ¡°Congrattions on your victory. You have won the championship for the second year in a row.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Thank you. I didn¡¯t have to show my seniors an embarrassing moment.¡± (Deed)

    He waved his hand towards the adventurers in the hall.

    They must be his party members.

    ¡°I was very lucky.¡± (Deed)

    ¡°Luck?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°If I had been born a littleter, I wouldn¡¯t have won two championships in a row.¡± (Deed)

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    Deed-kun looked at Fina, who was standing next to Sanya-san.

    ¡°When I was that age, I couldn¡¯t have dismantled anything. So I am lucky.¡±

    He might be saying that he might not have been able to beat a grown-up Fina in a dismantlingpetition.

    ¡°I see, so please say onest thing.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°I would like to challenge the seniors next year, so please continue to support me next year.¡± (Deed)

    Next year, he would be 20 years old, and it looked like he would bepeting in the veteran¡¯s category.

    It would be interesting to see how good Deed-kun, the winner, would be in the over 20 event.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Now for the announcement of second ce. As expected, second ce is Garde-kun!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    This was also as expected.

    ¡°Next year, first ce!¡± (Garde)

    ¡°Well done, Garde!¡± (Random Adventurer)

    An adventurer, who I assumed was a member of his party, shouted out encouragements.

    ¡°Next year, there will be no Deed-kun, your rival. So, next year, you will be aiming for the championship, right?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Up until now, I¡¯ve only been looking up. It¡¯s good to know that next year there will be someone catching up from below.¡± (Garde)

    He nced over at Fina, who was at thementary table.

    Perhaps everyone was thinking of Fina?

    ¡°And I know I fell behind in the spider dismantling, but next year I¡¯m going to win!¡± (Garde)

    He dered, this time looking at Eliza-san.

    Maybe he thought that he had lost to Eliza-san in the spider dismantling.

    First and second ce were announced, and the results were as expected. However, third ce was someone that no one had initially expected.

    ¡°And the third ce went to Eliza-chan, who moved up a notch by dismantling the spider!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    A big, roaring apuse from the audience.

    The final push was amazing.

    No one would have thought she would finish in third ce. And because of her careful dismantling, as she had done from the first to the fourth rounds, there was no point deduction, and she finished in third ce as it was.

    ¡°Eliza-chan, I was disappointed. If it had been only spiders in the final, Eliza-chan would have won.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°It is indeed a pity. But, I wouldn¡¯t be happy if it was only by chance that I won because the monster prepared for finals was something I was familiar with. If I won with that, I doubt anyone would recognize me as the winner.¡± (Eliza)

    Indeed, they would just im that she was lucky.

    Eliza-san dismantled well, but she has never won first ce in all of her dismantling. By all ounts, Deed-kun and Garde-kun would be seen as the two winners.

    In that light, dismantling all the monsters from the first to the fourth rounds is a fair measure of total ability.

    However, the dismantling of the spider definitely gave Eliza-san an advantage.

    ¡°But it is also a little disheartening. After all, if the spider was presented in the fourth round instead of the finals, I might have a chance to make Deed-kun and Garde-kun to be a little panicked.¡± (Eliza)

    If that had happened, Deed-kun and Garde-kun would not have taken first and second ce in all the rounds.

    In a sense, the two were saved by the rules.

    But if the spider hade out in the fourth round, Fina would not have been able topete and would have withdrawn; considering Fina, it was a good thing that the spider dismantling was in the finals.

    It was better to fight and lose than to lose without a fight, which would have been more satisfying to me.

    Of course, I would still be disappointed to have lost in anypetition.

    ¡°I have a question for Eliza-chan. I am sure everyone in the audience is wondering, howe you are good at dismantling spiders?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°Yes, I have seen spiders dismantled many times since I was a child.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-sanughed.

    Her smile was a little scary.

    ¡°Umm, since you were a child?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°A few times a year, a spider would stray from the depths of the forest and appear near the vige where I lived.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous vige, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    ¡°One or two spiders¡­¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that makes you any better at dismantling spiders, though.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been ying with bugs since I was little, so I¡¯m not afraid of them.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re the same size¡­¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The master of ceremony looked at the spider that remained not dismantled.

    I agree with the master of ceremony. I definitely couldn¡¯t handle a big bug.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that disgusting. Besides, I got paid to help dismantle it, so I was helping.¡± (Eliza)

    I think everyone in the audience probably had face cramps.

    I surely would not be close friends with Eliza-san.

    I wouldn¡¯t me her for not having the same interests, but if she pushed me to do something I wasn¡¯t good at, I¡¯d run away.

    But I think she was about 18 years old, but she was so good at dismantling and had such an iron will.

    That could be why when she joined the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, she was allowed to ask them to let her do some dismantling work as well.

    I think Eliza-san went through the same hardships as Fina.

    I respected her.

    And so thepetition for the under the age of 19 was over, with awards given to the top 10 ces.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Ellura)

    I thought it was over and was about to get up from my seat when the master of ceremony continued his words.

    ¡°Now, I would like to announce the final award for fighting spirit.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Fighting Spirit Award?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, I did remember that they have such a thing.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san mentioned as if only now remembering.

    ¡°It¡¯s given to the person who did their best this time.¡± (Ellura)

    There was such a thing, wasn¡¯t there?

    I wonder who it is. Was it Eliza-san who was the best female?

    But the master of ceremony looked at Sanya-san.

    ¡°The judges unanimously decided on Fina-chan for the Fighting Spirit Award!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°Eh, me?¡± (Fina)

    Sanya-san¡¯s microphone picked up Fina¡¯s voice.

    Fina was puzzled when her name was suddenly called out.

    ¡°Fina-chan, pleasee this way.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony puts his hand out to the side, guiding her toe to his side.

    ¡°Um.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina-chan, go ahead.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san, next to her, gently encouraged her, and she stood up from her seat in confusion and walked slowly over to the master of ceremony.

    ¡°Fina-chan has made the event so much fun. Above all, it is an aplishment to make it to the fourth round at such a young age. No oneined.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Me? But then, I think Eliza-san, who made it to the finals and came in third, is more impressive.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at Eliza-san.

    ¡°Thank you, Fina-chan. But I got mine two years ago, so I can¡¯t get it this time.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Yes, if you have received it once, unfortunately you will not get it again. The Fighting Spirit Award is given to those who have never won a prize and have not received a Fighting Spirit Award in the past. The reason for this is that they will be given this as a gift.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony then took a piece of cloth that was ced on the table beside him.

    I wonder what the prize trophy looked like.

    I couldn¡¯t see much from here.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°This is a set of dismantling tools made by a veteran craftsman. It is given with the hope that the participants will use it and continue to devote themselves to their work.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    It was a prize typical of a dismantling event.

    Fina looked confused.

    ¡°Fina-chan, take it. Do you doubt the eyes of all the judges?¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san said, looking at the line of judges.

    ¡°Yes. We all chose unanimously. No one disagreed with it. So please ept it.¡± (Judge)

    One of the judges said, and the other judges around him said, ¡°Yes, take it.¡± ¡°You doubt our eyes?¡±

    ¡°Fina-chan, I don¡¯t have any objections, and neither do the other judges. So please ept it.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san asked the others to confirm. I hear nodding from the surrounding participants.

    Fina looked around again and saw us, and I and Tirumina-san nodded.

    Fina seemed to have made up her mind and looked at the master of ceremony.

    ¡°Um, thank you very much. I will take good care of it.¡± (Fina)

    Fina received the dismantling tools and was apuded by everyone around her. We apuded, too.

    But because of my Bear Puppets, it didn¡¯t sound like apuse.

    ¡°Well, that concludes today¡¯s event. Tomorrow, the dismantling event will take ce for those over 20 years old, so please join us again tomorrow.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    This time, it was over.

    Each of us started to move.

    Fina was surrounded by those who participated in the dismantling event again. It was like she was being congratted. To which Fina responds with a big smile.

    It was like Fina was growing up all at once, and I somehow felt lonely.

    It was like Fina was leaving me.

    ¡°I thought she was just a kid, but she¡¯s growing up so fast. I feel a little lonely.¡± (Tirumina)

    Next to me, Tirumina-san said out loud what I had been holding in.

    Perhaps it was parental love?

    ¡°Tirumina-san, children are like that. My Shia is learning and growing in many ways that I don¡¯t know.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san patted Shia¡¯s head. Shia looked embarrassed by her mother¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°Noa, too, grows up while I don¡¯t see her for a little while. I wonder if ¡­she won¡¯t change much?¡± (Ellura)

    That was pitiful.

    Noa is still growing every day, as well. Right?

    All I could remember was Noa yelling, ¡°Bear!¡±

    I found it funny.

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 Chapter 654

    <h4>Chapter 654</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Felt the Family Bond</b>

    After a while, Fina, whom the other participants had surrounded, was released and returned to us with Sanya-san.

    ¡°Fina, wee back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wee back, Sanya-san.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san and I called out to them. They both looked a little tired.

    ¡°Finally, it¡¯s over. But thanks to Fina-chan, it was a lot of fun. Thank you so much, Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t do much.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Humility is great, but too much of it will hurt your own self-esteem and make you weak, and Fina-chan did a great job, so you should be proud of yourself. Well, a pompous Fina-chan will not be like the Fina-chan I know.¡± (Sanya)

    I agreed with Sanya-san on that.

    I didn¡¯t want Fina to be someone who likes to brag about being able to dismantle monsters, and I would like her to stay the way she was.

    ¡°But it¡¯s also true that Fina-chan made thepetition a lot of fun to watch. I saw a different look in the eyes of those who attended and those who were in the audience. They were so motivated. I think everyone was inspired by Fina-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    Fina looked embarrassed when Sanya-san praised her.

    ¡°Fina-chan, if you can, will you join us again next year?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure about next year yet¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fufu, there¡¯s still time, so take your time and think about it. Please.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°¡­yes.¡± (Fina)

    Sanya-san did not force her, and Fina gave a quiet reply.

    I could only look forward to next year¡¯s dismantlingpetition.

    However, Fina might be interested in something different by then. I wouldn¡¯t restrict her to dismantling only. Her mother, Tirumina-san, who was previously ill, is now healthy enough to resume working again, and she now also has a new father, Gentz-san, so Fina no longer needs to force herself to work dismantling monsters.

    The future was free for her to decide.

    ¡°But it¡¯s not every day you find a girl as young as Fina-chan who is so determined. This is something I¡¯ll have to write to Cliff and educate Noa about.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san might have awakened to the idea of educating her child.

    Noa, I am sorry for your loss.

    Well, that aside, we parted ways with Sanya-san, who still had some work to do, and headed back to the bear house in the carriage Ellura-san provided for us.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have a goodbye partyter, shall we?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san said to us as we got out of the carriage.

    Ellura-san offered to celebrate Fina¡¯s sess in reaching the fourth round, but Fina declined, saying she didn¡¯t want to make a big deal out of it.

    To be fair, everyone else wanted to celebrate. However, we understood Fina¡¯s feelings, so we decided to have a ¡°farewell party¡± at ater date.

    As we parted ways with Ellura-san and Shia, as they dropped us off in front of my house in their carriage, we went inside the bear house.

    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri said so as they entered the bear house, and I responded with, ¡°Wee home.¡±

    Tirumina-san, who was standing behind me, smiled at me and also followed with, ¡°Yuna-chan, wee home, as well.¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m home.¡± (Yuna)

    I replied, a little embarrassed.

    Shuri came into the living room and dived onto the sofa. Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Fina.

    ¡°Yes. Big Sister, show me the dismantling tools you got!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, too, was interested in the dismantling tools and asked Fina to show them to her. I guess she was at that curious age.

    ¡°Yes, sure.¡± (Fina)

    Fina pulled out a wooden box containing the dismantling tools she received for her fighting spirit award from her item bag and ced it on the table.

    It looked a little heavy.

    ¡°Come on, show it, show it.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll open it.¡± (Fina)

    Tirumina-san and I both joined them at the table.

    Fina opened the lid of the wooden box.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen something simr to this before.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at the dismantling tools and tilted her head.

    I had no idea.

    I thought all dismantling tools looked the same.

    Of course, there would be a difference in quality among those tools.

    Shuri eximed, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just like the dismantling tools my Big Sister uses!¡±

    I didn¡¯t get a chance to look at Fina¡¯s dismantling tools in detail, so I didn¡¯t remember it. But if Shuri, who worked with Fina and used her dismantling tools, said so, then it was most likely the case.

    Fina slowly picked up one of the dismantling tools.

    ¡°It really is the same.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yeah, probably the same type.¡± (Fina)

    Fina pulled her own dismantling tools out of her item bag andpared them.

    They looked older and more used than the other, but they were the same.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, the dismantling tools Fina uses are¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it was the set of tools that myte father used.¡± (Fina)

    Didn¡¯t Ghazal ask her the other day that he would perform maintenance on her dismantling tools for her?

    ¡°Tirumina-san, why is this so? How did she end up getting the same set of tools?¡± (Yuna)

    Could it be that the same ones were avable for purchase?

    ¡°I knew that Fina used Roy¡¯s dismantling tools, but¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san thought for a moment and then answered, ¡°Oh, I remember now. When we came to work in the royal capital, he once proudly showed me his dismantling tools.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps Fina¡¯s father also attended this event when he was younger? And did he get a fighting spirit award like Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My dad is¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Tirumina-san, don¡¯t you remember?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, at that time, Roy and Gentz were in charge of dismantling because I couldn¡¯t do it.¡± (Tirumina)

    Perhaps Tirumina-san was a charming woman when she was young?

    For a moment, I pictured her treating herte husband and Gentz-san in a good way.

    ¡°Come to think of it, I remember being invited to something simr at that time¡­ Now that I recall it, it was the dismantling of monsters. But I wasn¡¯t interested in dismantling monsters, and I have a faint memory of shopping alone.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Tirumina-san¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I wasn¡¯t interested in dismantling.¡± (Tirumina)

    Well, if someone asked me out on a date to a monster dismantling event, I¡¯d probably walk away. Even if he asked me toe and watch because he was going to attend, it might still be difficult to convince me.

    In my previous world, if I was asked toe watch a pig dismantling event, I would refuse.

    Well, to be fair, I wouldn¡¯t have anyone to invite me in the first ce.

    ¡°Father attended the same event as me, and got the same items.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at the dismantling tools with a nk look.

    Maybe she had mixed feelings about the tools. Probably because she was thinking that if her father was still alive, he might have been the one participating in the dismantling event instead of her.

    ¡°But Gentz-san, I don¡¯t think he said anything about it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmmm. Being the man that he is, maybe he forgot? Or maybe he simply didn¡¯t say anything.¡± (Tirumina)

    I mentally thought it was more of him forgetting to mention it.

    ¡°Big sister. Having two sets of dismantling tools is nice.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked enviously at the two sets of dismantling tools. She had a basic knife for dismantling, but she didn¡¯t have any special dismantling tools.

    Fina looked at the two sets of dismantling toolsid out on the table and then decided to do something.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll give this one to Shuri.¡±

    Fina said so as she moved the set of dismantling tools she had worked so hard to acquire today in front of Shuri.

    ¡°Eh, is it okay?!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri looked happy and tried to reach for it but retracted her hand soon after.

    ¡°But ¡­this set of dismantling tools is the reward you got for doing your best¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri would like to have it, but she knew, even at a young age, that it was something her big sister worked hard to gain.

    ¡°I have father¡¯s dismantling tools. So I want Shuri to use mine.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina, are you sure about this? You worked so hard to get it.¡± (Tirumina)

    It was also a trophy. It was something that was not easy to obtain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a good girl. I don¡¯t think I can give Shuri the dismantling tools that father was using, and I think Shuri had no recollections of him.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°¡­Fina¡± (Tirumina)

    I doubted even Fina remembered much of her father. Maybe she remembered the warmth of his arms around her, but Shuri couldn¡¯t be old enough to even remember that.

    ¡°So Shuri, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    Fina made an apologetic look.

    ¡°Big Sister. Why are you apologizing?¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Because I¡¯m a selfish big sister.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Big Sister is not selfish. You¡¯re kind. Whenever I was hungry, you always shared your portion of food with me.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°¡­Shuri¡± (Fina)

    That¡¯s indescribable sisterly love.

    Tirumina-san also looked at Fina and Shuri with an ufortable expression.

    If no one else was there, she might have cried.

    ¡°Thank you Shuri, I want you to use these dismantling tools, can you take care of them for me?¡± (Fina)

    Shuri looked at Fina¡¯s face and then at Tirumina-san¡¯s and my face as if checking us out.

    Tirumina-san and I nodded in agreement.

    We could not deny Fina¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Shuri, take good care of it.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll take good care of it!¡± (Shuri)

    The dismantling tools of ate father were given to her daughter.

    Now, a sister¡¯s dismantling tools went to her sister.

    Gentz-san, who had been involved in teaching Fina, also joined her family, which was the reason why Fina was involved in dismantling.

    An invisible thread connected this family¡¯s ties.

    Come to think of it, though, Ghazal-san was surprised to see Fina¡¯s dismantling tools. Perhaps he knew that it was a prize trophy from a previous event many years ago.

    He should have told us.

    I wondered if he was being thoughtful.

    Then, while Tirumina-san was cooking, Fina went to take a bath with Shuri ahead of us in order to rx and recover from her fatigue.

    ¡°Kids grow up in ces I don¡¯t even know. I almost cried watching their exchange.¡± (Tirumina)

    I knew she was about to cry.

    ¡°I wish Roy could have seen Fina and Shuri grow up.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°If he was still alive, the two might have been more childlike, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina had worked hard to support her family, so she was a little more mature.

    If her father had lived, she would have been a spoiled child.

    ¡°If he had, maybe me and Fina would have never met.¡± (Yuna)

    The connection made between me and Fina was also due to dismantling. Without that encounter, I doubted we would have the rtionship we had today.

    ¡°Yes, I agree. You know, sometimes the connections between people are made through small events or links, and if those small events or links didn¡¯t happen, the connection might not have been made.¡± (Tirumina)

    It truly was a strange link that connected us.

    Depending on which path one follows, one¡¯s life could change drastically. But no one could know which path was a good one or a bad one until they went on it.

    ¡°I never thought I would end up helping out at the orphanage or the store, and I never thought I would get to know the Lord. And most of all, I never thought in the past that I would get to know such a lovely Bear-san.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at me and smiled.

    I doubt anyone would have thought to make an acquaintance with someone in a bear suit.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, thank you so much. Hmm, it¡¯s embarrassing to say it again.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing for me to be told as such as well.¡± (Yuna)

    Both of us might be blushing.

    ¡°The bath felt so good.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Mom, Yuna Nee-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri came out of the bath and came over to us.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    Tirumina-san and Iughed to cover up our reaction.

    I could say that I ended up on a good path meeting Fina and the others.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 655

    <h4>Chapter 655</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Went to See the next Dismantling Event</b>

    After taking a bath and finishing dinner, Fina¡¯s body swayed, and her eyes started to close.

    I think she was physically and mentally tired after participating all day in an unfamiliar event today.

    She took a bath and had dinner, and maybe the tension for the day had been lifted, making her sleepy.

    Tirumina-san must have sensed it, too, as she told Fina gently, ¡°Fina, go to bed. You must be tired after working hard the whole day.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina obeyed Tirumina-san¡¯s words and got up from her chair. Shuri, who was sitting next to her, stood up with her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep with Big Sister, too.¡±

    Shuri followed sleepily while walking with Fina.

    They were really close sisters.

    Tirumina-san said nostalgically, ¡°Thanks to Yuna-chan, I was able to see how hard Fina was working and remember Roy.¡±

    ¡°I also learned again how great Fina¡¯s dismantling skills are.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina¡¯s hard work made me feel like I had to work hard as well. Others who attended the event may have felt this way, too.

    ¡°That¡¯s how hard I made that girl work, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Tirumina said somberly.

    Then Tirumina-san and I chatted about Fina and Shuri over potato chips untilte into the night.

    The next morning, when I went downstairs from the second floor where the bedrooms were, Fina was preparing breakfast.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, good morning.¡± (Fina)

    She greeted me with a smile when she noticed me. It was strange that her smile made me smile, as well.

    ¡°Good morning. You¡¯re up early.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I went to bed earlyst night, so I woke up early.¡± (Fina)

    So that¡¯s why you were preparing breakfast for me.

    I was d to hear that she was feeling better.

    ¡°Mom and Shuri are still sleeping, but Yuna Onee-chan is up early.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s because Swaying Bear and Hugging bear woke me up.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned my attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging bear, walking behind me.

    They became bear rm clocks.

    Today, there would be a dismantling event for those over 20 years old. I was supposed to see it, so I asked the Swaying Bear and Hugging bear to wake me up.

    ¡°Fufu, is that so?¡± (Fina)

    Fina chuckled and patted Swaying Bear and Hugging bear on the head.

    I was d to see that she seemed to be in good spirits.

    Yesterday, she looked a little sad, as if she was remembering her father who passed away.

    She really is a strong girl.

    While Fina and I were talking, Tirumina-san and Shuri woke up.

    Tirumina-san and Shuri looked a little sleepy.

    Maybe it was because Tirumina-san stayed uptest night chatting with me while Shuri was still a child. They do say that a child who sleeps grows up fast.

    We all gathered for breakfast, which Fina had prepared for us.

    The day started with breakfast, of course.

    ¡°Are you sure Ellura-sama wille to pick us up again today?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°She definitely will.¡± (Yuna)

    Yesterday, she said she would pick us up.

    For my part, it would have been nice to be picked up by a horse-drawn carriage, as someone dressed as a bear would stand out. But Tirumina-san seemed to be different.

    ¡°I know Ellura-sama is a good person, but she makes me nervous when I¡¯m with her.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Because she¡¯s a noble?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s part of it, but sometimes I feel like she can see right through me.¡± (Tirumina)

    I could understand her point,as sometimes I also wondered if Ellura-san could read people¡¯s minds.

    While we were rxing and conversing, Ellura-san and Shia came to pick us up at the bear house in a horse-drawn carriage, just as they did yesterday.

    I was thinking about it yesterday, too, but the image of a noble carriage stopping in front of the bear house was surreal. And then there was the bear girl riding on the carriage.

    ¡°Ellura-sama, thank you for the carriage ride for Fina.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san nervously thanked her. She was still not used to Ellura-san.

    Well, the other party was a noble, so it would be difficult no matter how often they met.

    ¡°Huh, don¡¯t worry about it. Our daughters are friends with each other, so let¡¯s be friends between parents as well.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°¡­yes.¡± (Tirumina)

    The words ¡°nope¡± and ¡°no¡± were not an option for Tirumina-san. It seemed that ¡°Hai¡± and ¡°Yes¡± were the only options.

    It wouldn¡¯t make a hole in Tirumina-san¡¯s stomach from nervousness, would it?

    ¡°But is your work alright? You usually work at the castle, right?¡± (Yuna)

    And she was with us for two days in a row.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no problem. I am after all technically working right now. It¡¯s called an inspection.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san smiled wickedly.

    It sounded like something someone who knows where and when to ck off would say.

    But I wondered if it was really okay. After all, Ellura-san was doing a lot of work, and I guess some people would be in trouble if Ellura-san didn¡¯t do her job.

    Well, it was not me who was troubled, so I decided not to worry about it.

    With Ellura-san¡¯s authority, we could easily enter the venue with a face pass, and probably adding to that was the authority of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Master, who offered us to be seated in the special guest area yesterday. All in all, we managed to get the same seating today.

    ¡°There are so many people here.¡± (Yuna)

    Tirumina-san¡¯s words made me look towards the general seating area, and there were already many people there. There were about the same number of people as yesterday. I do not doubt that the number of visitors will continue to increase, so there will be more spectators than yesterday.

    ¡°Wee!¡± (Sanya)

    While we were looking around the venue, Sanya-san came in.

    ¡°Sanya-san, thank you again for getting us the same seats today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Tirumina-san and Fina also thanked her for the seats, and Shuri, mimicking them, also thanked her.

    Sanya-sanughed as she replied, ¡°I promised Fina-chan, so don¡¯t worry about it¡±.

    ¡°But you know, there really are so many people.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s to be expected, this is the main attraction, after all. But as expected, the number of people attending has decreased aspared to previous years.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Oh really?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But you know, the actual number of participants is gradually decreasing every year.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Eh, really?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, did you feel anything when you saw the participants in yesterday¡¯s dismantling?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yesterday¡¯s participants? I thought it was great that they were able to dismantle the carcasses.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say because I was not really one who was capable of doing it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have asked you that. What did you think of their abilities?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°¡­?¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know what Sanya-san was trying to exin.

    For me, there was no way I would say that everyone was great.

    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t you think there was a big gap in overall ability amongst the participants?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Oh, indeed.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t think that was the case until she said it.

    ¡°Except for Deed and Garde, there is a huge gap in dismantling techniquespared to other participants, and they were probably not as good as they should have been.¡± (Sanya)

    It was no exaggeration to say that yesterday¡¯s event could only be summed up as a battle between them. Elsa-san did manage to put up a good fight, but only because there were spiders thrown into the mix, and that¡¯s where she caught up and even beat the duo and managed to ce third.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to know that they were willing to participate, but more and more people stop participating after they first try because of thinking that they¡¯re not good enough. That¡¯s why I want Fina-chan to participate, to continue participating, so the others would see that even a little girl like Fina-chan is doing her best and participating, which would make the others think that they can do it too, or learn more skills in order to aim higher next year.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°What about the idea of not participating because they don¡¯t want their kids to see them lose?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If that¡¯s the kind of excuse they have, there¡¯s nothing I can say to them. It¡¯s an excuse for someone who has no intention of putting in the effort from the beginning.¡± (Sanya)

    Indeed.

    There were often people who didn¡¯t even try, and then made excuses for not doing anything.

    For example, I was told to go to school and make friends, but I made excuses and didn¡¯t try to.

    It would be pointless to encourage someone unwilling to make friends from the start to start making friends. I understood that better than anyone else.

    ¡°Besides, people who used to participate in the under 19petition stop participating in the over 20 dismantling events when they reach the age of 20.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°But why? Deed-kun is expected to participate, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Indeed, but what about the others who didn¡¯t make it to the top?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Oh, I see¡­if they can¡¯t make it to the top in the 19 and under division, they won¡¯t see the point in participating in the over 20 division.¡± (Yuna)

    And then there were those who were already good at dismantling. It was a waste of time for them to participate in such an event.

    ¡°You see, there are also fewer and fewer young people participating in the over 20 events, leading to more and more middle-aged people participating in the event. There¡¯s a lot of pride in younger people not wanting to show that they¡¯re not good at something, and all sorts of other troublesome things. So, thinking about it, we decided that if we train the young people both in terms ofpetence and spirit, we will gradually increase the number of participants over 20 years old.¡± (Sanya)

    That was a grand project.

    There wouldn¡¯t be a sudden increase in the number ofpetent participants.

    It could be a steady process of nurturing them.

    ¡°Plus, some of the veterans are retiring, so we need the young people to do their best.¡± (Sanya)

    If the art of dismantling were not passed on, high-quality products would no longer be avable.

    I think many traditional crafting techniques in Japan had fallen into disuse because no sessors to inherit those skills existed.

    (Editor¡¯s note: It¡¯s true. There are a lot of documentaries made by Japanese on this issue.)

    ¡°That¡¯s hard work.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you understand my hardship? If things continue as they are, there will be no more participants. But I¡¯m sure many of the participants yesterday who were watching Fina-chan dismantle were inspired to work harder.¡± (Sanya)

    Like any job, it was hard work.

    After all, the easiest thing to do might be to live as a hermit.

    Or maybe leave the tedious work to someone else.

    I nced at Tirumina-san.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked, noticing my gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯m just d you¡¯re here, Tirumina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you thinking that you have someone who can do the tedious work for you?¡± (Tirumina)

    She looked a little offended.

    Apparently, she had read what I was thinking in my mind.

    ¡°Well, I am grateful to Tirumina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. It¡¯s been a lot of work, but I¡¯m enjoying it. Most of all, I¡¯m just happy to be able to move and work now, so I¡¯m grateful to Yuna-chan.¡± (Tirumina)

    Many people in this world wanted to work but couldn¡¯t.

    When I thought about those people, I felt terrible for having been a hermit.

    But since I came to this world, I have also been working.

    Even in my previous world, I was earning my living expenses¡­

    I did not tell anyone about it, but I still made such excuses in my head.

    Sanya-san then invited Fina to a special seat (thementary seat) down the hall, but she politely declined.

    I think she declined because she had a hard time yesterday when the master of ceremony suddenly started talking to her.

    Sanya-san looked disappointed and went back to thementary table by herself.

    We waited for the event to start.

    I was looking forward to seeing what kind of monsters would appear.

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 Chapter 656

    <h4>Chapter 656</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Watching the Dismantling Event Part 1</b>

    Everything was ready, and the same master of ceremony as yesterday showed up at the venue.

    Finally, it began.

    ¡°Oh my, that guy is still alive.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san said something scary in a low voice. I agreed with her, however. Yesterday, he had offended Sanya-san by calling her an olddy or something. If he had been reced and were missing, I would have suspected Sanya-san first and foremost.

    I was d to see the master of ceremony in one piece.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience. Today we will be having a dismantling event for those over 20 years old.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience cheered.

    The spectator seats in the arena were definitely filled up more than yesterday.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped that this would be the main event.

    ¡°Well then, participants, please enter.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    With the master of ceremony¡¯s voice, people came out of the entrance.

    Participants were from a wide range of ages, not to mention genders.

    Some were around 20 years old, while others were around 60.

    There were about 60 participants in the event.

    ¡°As Sanya-san mentioned, there really aren¡¯t that many participants.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina looked a little sad as she looked at the participants.

    So this was why Sanya-san was trying so hard to increase the number of participants.

    At the venue, Sanya-san and the guild master said a few words of encouragement to the participants and began to prepare for the first round of the tournament.

    ¡°I wonder what the first round will be?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be Wolves at least.¡± (Yuna)

    I doubt it would be the same monsters as the 19 and under division. Moreover, Wolves would only be suitable for beginners.

    As we waited, imagining the monsters to be dismantled in the first round, the monsters were brought in on carts.

    ¡°Wolves?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Looks like it.¡± (Yuna)

    It was wolves that were brought in on a cart.

    My expectations were wrong. But the number of monsters brought on the cart was unusual. Each of the carts came with about 10 wolves on them and were brought in one after another. Even by simple calction, there were about 300 wolves. Could it be the remaining of the Wolves I gave her?

    I still had arge number of wolves left from the 10,000 monsters I defeated, so I gave some wolves to Sanya-san as a way to reduce the amount I currently carry. Of course, I kept a lot of those wolves for Fina.

    Sanya-san had a troubled look on her face at that time. Was this a way to clean up their inventory?

    ¡°The first round is to see how many wolves participants can dismantle in a given amount of time! I know this will be easy for the veterans, but please dismantle them carefully as points will be deducted if it¡¯s messy.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    I came upon a realization, they were definitely using this event to clean up their inventory.

    If they had 60petent people dismantling wolves, the dismantling would be done in a fraction of the time.

    I thought the audience would be disappointed with the wolves, but on the contrary, there was a buzz of excitement when they saw such many wolf carcasses. Some were surprised by the sheer number of them, while others were frightened.

    ¡°It would be scary to imagine that many Wolves all attacking at once.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes, scary.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to imagine.¡± (Shia)

    Tirumina-san looked at the pile of wolves, and Shuri and Shia agreed.

    I¡¯ve fought nearly ten times that many wolves by myself.

    Well, I wasn¡¯t afraid because I had the bear gear that God bestowed on me, but if I didn¡¯t have my bear gear, I would have been scared of even one wolf.

    Because of the bear gear, my senses have be numb these days. I have to be careful.

    While I was thinking about such a thing, wolves were ced on each table.

    Preparations were already made.

    ¡°Then, please begin!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    It started with the master of ceremony¡¯s call.

    Naturally, everyone started dismantling without hesitation.

    The way the participants showed their skills in dismantling the wolves was superior to what I saw yesterday in the under 19 division. Everything, in terms of skill, strength, and speed of dismantling.

    It felt the same way as how Deed-kun, the winner of the under 20 categoriespetition, dismantled them.

    Fina muttered, ¡°They¡¯re all so fast¡­¡±

    From Fina¡¯s perspective, that was the case, after all.

    ¡°That guy in particr is awesome.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Which one?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The older guy on the right.¡± (Fina)

    I spotted the person Fina was referring to.

    On the right side, there was an older man among the participants.

    Ellura-san asked, ¡°Fina-chan, what¡¯s so great about him?¡±

    Apparently, not only I, but everyone else was looking at the man Fina mentioned.

    ¡°Well, there is no wasted movement. Maybe it¡¯s the way he ces the dismantling tools. Separating the tools that he was using, into tools that he will use again, and tools that he won¡¯t use. The tools that he will need are within his reach.¡± (Fina)

    As Fina said, I could understand it. The dismantling process was fast, even though there was little movement. The time it took him to switch tools with the others was different. It was as if he decided how to use the dismantling tools and put them in the right ce.

    ¡°I can tell because I canpare them with others, though. If you didn¡¯t tell me, I wouldn¡¯t have known how he was doing it so fast.¡± (Yuna)

    I thought this before, but maybe Fina was just a good observer.

    ¡°Also, I think he has done a lot of wolf dismantling. I think that¡¯s why his hands move before he thinks.¡± (Fina)

    I have heard when you get used to doing something, your body would move before you could even think about it.

    If you repeated the same action for a long time, your body would memorize it.

    When I was fighting, my body would sometimes move without thinking. I believe it worked the same way.

    Fina watched the participants¡¯ dismantling with a fixed gaze.

    We watched her quietly so as not to disturb her.

    Time went on, and they reached the final stage of the process.

    The many piles of wolves had almost disappeared.

    ¡°You have three minutes left.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony¡¯s voice signaled the final spurt.

    Then the signal to end was given, the scoring began, and the results were announced.

    Forty people were able to move on to the second round.

    First ce went to the person who barely finished the 6th body in hisst spurt. However, the person who finished after him was in the middle of the 5th body, so it would not be an exaggeration to say it was a very close call.

    That old guy had also made it through the first round without incident.

    And soon enough, everyone finished dealing with wolves, but there were still those who were in the middle of dismantling, but the audience already apuded those who won the first round.

    There were young ones, old ones, and each had their different dismantling techniques. Everyone was awesome.

    I thought the audience would be disappointed because the first round was to dismantle wolves, same as yesterday, but I probably thought so because I couldpare them with yesterday¡¯spetition.

    My impression of the first round was that the participants¡¯ overall skill level was very high.

    As Sanya-san said, it might not be possible for someone who just turned 20 years old to join the tournament out of the blue. Even if they did, I doubt they would participate again if they were shown the difference in ability between them and the others.

    I could understand why certain people would only want to withdraw from participating if they knew they had much less dismantling experience inparison to other participants.

    Increasing the number of people participating seemed like a challenging task. It was like putting an average person against cheaters. That was why Sanya-san was trying to raise the overall level ofpetence.

    Shouldn¡¯t participants be grouped ording to ability rather than ording to age?

    ¡°Yuna-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san asked me as I was thinking.

    ¡°I just thought it would be better to group the participants ording to their abilities, not ording to age.¡± (Yuna)

    I exined to Ellura-san what I had in mind.

    An advanced group for the best of the best. An intermediate group for people that have a fair amount of dismantling skills. A beginner group for people that could dismantle a little so that people could join the level that suited them and, as they get better, move up in rank.

    In sports, they often divided participants into elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, and adult groups. In other words, they separated them by age.

    But in gaming, people tend to be divided by levels. There was no age barrier there. Even elementary school students wouldpete with adult gamers if their level was high enough. And sometimes the kids even won.

    ¡°Yeah, it makes sense. Instead of limiting by age, base it on skills, like Fina-chan would join an advanced group where the best would have gathered.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± (Fina)

    Fina shook her head in refusal at Ellura-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just kidding. But I guess Sanya and everyone else was too hard-headed. And maybe because they have been doing this for so many years, they were bound by this method. You¡¯re right, Yuna-chan. I¡¯ll talk to Sanya about itter.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°But will it be that easy to change it?¡± (Yuna)

    It was usually difficult to change something that had been done for so many years.

    It was like bringing in high school and junior high school students to a professional baseball team just because they were good at it.

    If they failed, there was a possibility that people around them wouldin about it.

    ¡°That is the job of the guild master, Sanya. I think I can help a little bit, as well.¡± (Ellura)

    I really wondered what her job title was.

    While we were talking, the preparations for the second round began.

    What would the second round be like?

    I hoped that this time, there would be a monster that I didn¡¯t know about.

    As if to betray such feelings, the monsters for the second round were brought in.

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Spiders?¡± (Yuna)

    A lot of spiders.

    ¡°The spiders that appeared in yesterday¡¯s under 19 finals have appeared in the second round again!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience gasped. I could hear people saying things like, ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± and ¡°Scary¡±.

    I was not scared, but I was ufortable.

    If there was a profession called ¡°Monster Tamer¡± and I was asked whether I would rather have a Wolf or a Spider as apanion, I would choose the Wolf without hesitation. Of course, if there were a bear, I would choose the bear.

    I already have Swaying Bear and Hugging bear with me, so I might as well be called a Monster Tamer.

    While pondering about this, I somehow heard Swaying Bear and Hugging bear squealing ¡°ku~n¡±. It was as if they were saying, ¡°We are not monsters.¡±

    However, following the wolves in the first round, the second round also had monsters I knew.

    Perhaps, like the wolf, they collected the spiders I had defeated but sent them to the event because it was too much trouble to dismantle them?

    Yesterday, only seven spiders were dismantled because some people declined to dismantle them, so I couldn¡¯t help but make such an unwarranted assumption.

    ¡°Well, then, everyone, are you ready?¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The audience went quiet.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin!¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony signaled, and the second round began.

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 Chapter 657

    <h4>Chapter 657</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Watching the Dismantling Event Part 2</b>

    The dismantling of the spiders started.

    No one abstained. All of them dismantled the spiders with a sense of familiarity.

    I thought yesterday¡¯s finals were great, but today¡¯s event was on apletely different level. There was no doubt that all of them were more talented than those who participated in yesterday¡¯s final.

    With such great people in the mix, it was not surprising that fewer people might be interested in participating.

    The difference in experience was too great.

    Fina stared at those who were dismantling.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t stare so much, I¡¯m not going to let Fina dismantle monsters that you don¡¯t like.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina said she was not fond of insect-based monsters. I would not ask her to deal with it in the first ce if she didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°Uuum. I¡¯m not good with insect monsters, but if I can¡¯t do it when I need to, I¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± (Fina)

    I think this was a great response.

    It is the same with the studies we learn in school, but well, those studies often be useless when we be adults. But I believe that¡¯s not the case.

    Studying was about thinking and about confronting things you didn¡¯t want to do.

    If you run away from things you dislike from childhood, I think you will also run away from things you dislike even when you grow up.

    So it was important to confront unpleasant things from when you were a child and not run away from them. I believed that this would improve their growth and would even help them as they grow into an adult.

    Of course, it would be better to run away from bullying, violence, and other unreasonable things, but it was better not to run away from things that would nourish you, such as studying. There were children in this world who wanted to study but could not do so.

    I should not say this, though, because I did not go to school.

    Maybe it was my parents¡¯ blood that made me run away from troublesome things.

    Blood rtions could not be disputed, as they used to say.

    ¡°I knew it, he¡¯s an expert.¡± (Yuna)

    I watched the same old man who was fast at dismantling the wolves, and I could tell he was using minimal movement as he continued his dismantling.

    Compared to others around him, his movements were still few and far between. It was a good way to conserve physical strength. For Fina, who was smaller, it could be a learning experience.

    And the dismantling of spiders finished one after another, faster than yesterday¡¯s finals.

    Only 20 could make it to the third round. But they were all so skilled that even I could not tell who would actually advance to the top 20.

    The judges were having a hard time too.

    ¡°Fina, how was it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, they were all great.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°How do theypare to Gentz-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think we canpare properly because no one in the guild dismantle in such a hurry.¡± (Fina)

    That¡¯s true, it was a dismantling event, and they were only doing it at this speed because they werepeting with someone else. If they were to dismantle at this speed daily, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold themselves up.

    ¡°Then maybe next year we can get Gentz-san to join the event.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, it would be a problem if he loses in the first round, so please don¡¯t do that.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san stopped my suggestion.

    It was true that if he participated and lost in the first round, he might lose his dignity as a father and a dismantling teacher. But I doubt that it would hurt their family rtions.

    But there was someone who believed in Gentz-san.

    ¡°Ehhhh, dad would be the best. Dad is amazing.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri denied the notion of Gentz-san¡¯s first-round defeat.

    ¡°Yes, he is a great guy. Your father is amazing, right? He must be the best.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san replied, not wanting to ruin Shuri¡¯s dream.

    I already knew that Gentz-san was good at dismantling, but I didn¡¯t know how good he was inparison to the participants of this event.

    It would be a pity to destroy Shuri¡¯s father figure, so it might be better not to ask him to participate.

    This kind of thinking may be the reason why the number of participants was decreasing.

    While talking about such things, the names of the 20 people who had made it through the second round were called, and preparations were made for the third round.

    In the third round, I hoped a monster I didn¡¯t know about would appear.

    However, my expectations were betrayed again.

    The third round was to dismantle three sets of Scorpions, Gator, and Tiger Wolf.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, what¡¯s wrong? Is it boring for you?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san asked, perhaps noticing my expression.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just a little disappointed because I thought I would get to see some monsters I didn¡¯t know about today.¡± (Yuna)

    The people in the audience, who had never seen monsters before, eximed in surprise every time a monster appeared, but as for me, all I saw were the monsters I knew, which was not enough for me.

    ¡°Well,ing from an adventurer like Yuna-chan, I can¡¯t me you for being that way.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Are monster encounters really that rare?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°For an average person, yes. Some of them have never been out of this royal capital. And even if they go outside the royal capital, they rarely encounter them unless they go out of the city or off the roads.¡± (Ellura)

    Was that how things went? Well, certainly, in my previous life, as a city dweller, how would I feel about encountering a wild bear?

    If you never went to the mountains or forests, you would never encounter wild bears. Especially if you live in the city, you probably would not see them.

    ¡°And even if they do see them, they¡¯re usually far away, and as soon as a report is filed with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, those ces are properly searched, and if they find a monster, they¡¯ll take it down.¡± (Ellura)

    I felt sorry for the monster who would be taken down that way even if they did nothing, but there was a high risk of humans being attacked if someone encountered those monsters.

    There was a monster called Lagarut that coexisted with people like horses did in the desert, but such monsters might be rare.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve encountered a fair amount of monsters.¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe it was because I was not a shut-in in this world, but I did encounter many types of monsters.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because Yuna-chan is an adventurer and goes out to ces where monsters can be found?¡± (Ellura)

    When she pointed that out, I couldn¡¯t respond in any way.

    I often went to ces where I had heard that monsters had appeared.

    If I was only on the roads, I might have only encountered wolves.

    The Kraken was already there when I went to that location. The moving ind, Targui, was also originally something that people didn¡¯t approach, and in the vige of the elves, there was a monster problem, the same thing happened with the pyramids.

    Huh? Then why did it seem like monsters were waiting for me everywhere I went?

    ¡°Was I destined to encounter monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    I refused to ept such a fate.

    My motto was to live a happy, easygoing life, doing what I love.

    While Ellura-san and I were talking about this, Fina was looking intently at the event.

    Shuri said, ¡°Wow,¡± as she watched while talking about it with Tirumina-san.

    Shia was also watching while talking to Ellura-san from time to time.

    Even to my amateur eyes, the dismantling skills of all thepetitors were so great that it did not seem surprising if any of them won.

    In the midst of all this, five of them advanced to the fourth round.

    ¡°There are five of them left in the fourth round.¡± (Yuna)

    There were 20 of them before, so I thought there would be 10 of them who would make it to the fourth round, but instead, they were down to five.

    ¡°Maybe it was because of the monsters to be dismantled in the fourth round. The monsters presented changes every year, and then the challenge would depend on how many of those monsters have been defeated and brought back to the guild.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san answered my musings.

    It was true that there could not be more than a few rare monsters. A dragon, a cockatrice, arge scorpion, etc., if there were many of those things roaming around every year, there would be a great deal of trouble.

    If that was the case, I might have high expectations for the monsters appearing in the fourth round since the number of participants had been narrowed down.

    I was looking forward to it.

    Then, after the cleanup of the third round, the five winners of the fourth round remained in the hall.

    ¡°Well then, here we go. There are five of you left. To tell you the truth, I can¡¯t even imagine who will be the winner.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    I agree with the master of ceremony.

    Unlike Deed-kun and Garde-kun yesterday, today¡¯s participants were so highly skilled that I, as an amateur, could not at all tell who would win.

    However, there was one person left that I was curious about: the older man that Fina had been watching since the dismantling of wolves. He had not won first ce in any rounds till now, but he remained this far.

    ¡°Now, I will announce the details of the fourth round, which is what you are all interested in. I will ask the remaining five of you to choose two of those who did not advance to the fourth round to form teams.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    The master of ceremony said this and extended his hand. At the end of his outstretched hand were the previous participants who didn¡¯t make it to the fourth round.

    ¡°Teams? Isn¡¯t this an individual match?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That is usually the case, unless you are dealing with arge monster. Big enough that you won¡¯t be able to do it by yourself.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Maybe it will be a team like when we dismantled the ck Viper?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who was listening to Ellura-san¡¯s reply, said as if she remembered.

    Certainly, just like when they had to dismantle a ck Viper. At that time, Gentz-san and several guild employees had to dismantle it together. Fina even joined them.

    As Ellura-san and Fina said, even dismantling a ck Viper by yourself would be a challenge.

    It would be impossible for Fina to even think about dismantling a ck Viper by herself, both physically and time-wise. I could just imagine her crying and saying, ¡°I can¡¯t finish dismantling this thing¡±.

    ¡°But when they get help from other people, won¡¯t they not feel like they¡¯ve won by their own strength?¡± (Yuna)

    Yesterday and today, the participants have survived through individual efforts. It felt strange to turn it into a team fight suddenly.

    ¡°Huh, Yuna-chan, that¡¯s not correct. Those who stand on top need to have the skills to give instructions on dismantling and also to grasp the situation of the people dismantling around them. Individual strength is only up to the third round, and from the fourth round, in addition to the rare monsters, it¡¯s going to be a matter of being able to give the right instructions.¡± (Ellura)

    It was true that if the dismantling was carried out selfishly, it would be difficult to keep track of the situation.

    In short, it was a matter of whether they could take the leadership role or not. No matter how good they were at dismantling when it came torge monsters, there was a limit to what they could do on their own. In games, that would put them as a party leader. To defeat a strong monster, the group would need to work together. When to attack, when to use magic, when to recover. If the members couldmunicate well, they may be able to do it, but to get to that point, the leader had no choice but to give instructions.

    In this world, when I talked about a party leader, Jade¡¯s face came to mind, and I was convinced.

    As with a certain goblin face, even if an individual had the ability, if they had a difficult personality, they could ruin the party.

    And with that perspective, the contents of the fourth round made perfect sense.

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 Chapter 658

    <h4>Chapter 658</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Watching the Dismantling Event Part 3</b>

    One of the participants couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°I think the choice to select helpers would depend on what kind of monsters we are going to dismantle.¡±

    Indeed, if they ended up picking people like Fina and me, who have difficulty dealing with insect-based monsters, as their teammates, that would only slow them down.

    ¡°So, after seeing for yourselves the monsters to be dismantled in the fourth round, we will ask you, the participants to choose one.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    After the Master of Ceremony said this, five attendants came out.

    The five attendants distanced themselves from the container. Then, when they put their hands in their magic bags and pulled out their contents, giant monsters, wyverns, appeared.

    The audience buzzed as the wyverns came out.

    ¡°A big bird!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°No, those are not as cute as birds, right?¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed out Shuri¡¯s words.

    ¡°In this fourth round, a group of three will have to dismantle a wyvern.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    It was true that it would be impossible for one person to dismantle a wyvern.

    The wyvern is a creature the size of a two-story house when it stood upright. If a civilian were attacked by something like that, that person would surely die. If I didn¡¯t have my bear gear, I¡¯d probably be killed, too, if I met one.

    The wyverns had their heads cut off and separated, so those looked simr to those I had defeated during the royal capital raid, specifically the ones I killed while they were asleep.

    ¡°Now, the five of you who have qualified to the fourth round will now get to choose two assistants each to form a group. Each group will dismantle one wyvern together.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    ¡°But how do we choose the two people who will help us? I think it would be unfair depending on what order we choose them.¡± (Participant)

    If the person in first ce gets to choose first, he would obviously choose the next immediate best two to be in their team. In that case, the person in fifth ce would have no choice but to choose the lesspetent helpers than others. This would put the person in first ce with an overwhelming advantage.

    They could also decide via Lottery, but that would depend on luck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they are trying to be fair in that aspect. See, they¡¯ll exin how to choose.¡± (Ellura)

    Perhaps because the Guild has organised this event every year, as Ellura-san exined, so the organizers should have been prepared for something like this.

    How thepetition would proceed is the participants would choose from 1st to 5th of the top 5, selecting their first team member, and then, the 5th cing participant now gets to choose their second member first, in reverse order.

    In other words, even if the first-ce to fifth-ce participant picked the best assistant avable in the first round, that same participant could end up with the worst pick in his second choice, which would bnce the team, having a preferred first-choice pick and a possible unwanted second choice pick.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a decent rule. This should at least even things out to some extent, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, not only that. There¡¯s also the possibility of specifically choosing only people they know or an acquaintance of someone they know, so there can be a synergistic effect.¡± (Ellura)

    Ah, I see, if selected helpers were fellow adventurers, or fellow guild officials, or acquaintances, they would be more likely to follow directions properly.

    Even if selected helpers werepetent, if they didn¡¯t get along with the participants, they wouldn¡¯t have a good time following directions, and it would be harder to coordinate with them.

    Even in games, it would be more efficient to party with someone who had partied with you many times than with someone you didn¡¯t know.

    But a level 100 would definitely be more capable than a level 1, so I expected there to be some guiding required.

    ¡°Whatever the case may be, the higher ranked participants who get to choose first will still have an advantage, won¡¯t they?¡± (Yuna)

    Well, I suppose it¡¯s still better than using methods that had an element of luck involved.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start with the first ce in the overall score and choose.¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Names were called, and the first person was nominated. Then, those who were second, third, fourth, and fifth chose. Afterpleting one round, the fifth-ce participant got the first pick in the second round to select the second team member.

    When every participant finished choosing, a brief exnation of the rules were given.

    The people assisting must not do anything other than follow instructions. Waiting for instructions would usually be frowned upon when dismantling outside ofpetition, but this was apetition for the five remaining participants who reached the 4th round. And it was their leadership that was being tested.

    They had to keep track of who hadpleted which tasks at any given time.

    ¡°In other words, you can¡¯t be so focused on what¡¯s in front of you that you lose sight of what¡¯s going on around you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m usually so focused on what¡¯s in front of me that I can¡¯t possibly dismantle something while giving instructions.¡± (Fina)

    Fina muttered when she heard the rule.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Fina has always been a gentle girl who is very aware of her surroundings, so I¡¯m sure you can do it right.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yuna Onee-chan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s just that even though you can see what¡¯s going on around you, you don¡¯t seem to be very good at instructing other people on what to do.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Fina)

    Fina had the personality of wanting to do everything herself instead of asking others to do it, as she did when Tirumina-san was sick, and maybe she just wasn¡¯t very good at relying on others.

    I wondered if she was aware of this because she did not argue with me about it.

    ¡°On the other hand, Yuna-chan always asks people to do everything for her.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san said it a little sarcastically.

    It was best to leave the troublesome things to others.

    Besides, there was a saying about the right person being in the right ce at the right time. If someone else could do it better, it would be better to leave it to them, making it easier for everyone.

    If I did everything, everyone else would lose their jobs. I don¡¯t want that, because I want to be in charge of just beingzy.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I guess if you add Yuna-chan¡¯s and Fina¡¯s personalities and divide them into two, it would be just right.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-sanughed as she looked at me and Fina.

    I could agree with Tirumina¡¯s words, but there was also a possibility that it would end up as a half-baked and weak personality.

    And so the 15 people in the venue, one participant and two chosen ones each, stood before the wyvern carcasses.

    ¡°So, are we ready?¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    Everyone gulped.

    ¡°Then please begin!¡± (Master of Ceremony)

    The five groups simultaneously started dismantling the wyverns.

    Everyone who remained until the fourth round were the best of the best.

    The five leaders gave instructions to theirpanions.

    The wyverns¡¯ head, wings, ws, and other parts were dismantled with practiced hands. This could only be done if the people doing this had the knowledge in how to dismantle them in the first ce. That included having the people they have chosen from the failed participants who also possess such knowledge.

    The wyverns were dismantled one after another by these fiercepetitors.

    Fina watched as the wyverns were dismantled.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t wyverns scary?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Their faces are scary, but I¡¯m fine with them.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Then, would you like to try dismantling a wyvern next time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at me with a surprised expression.

    ¡°I still have a few wyverns, so if you want to try it, I¡¯d be happy to let you do it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, that may be easy for you to say, but Wyverns are rarely encountered and usually not easy to defeat.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san, who was listening to my words, said in exasperation.

    I defeated wyverns during the time of 10,000 monsters raid and more during my time on Targui Ind.

    By the way, I did not give all the Wyverns to Sanya-san. I have a few left in my bear box if I ever need them.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never dismantled a wyvern, and¡­¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re watching and learning, right? Besides, you can ask Gentz-san to teach you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wonder if he has ever dismantled a wyvern?¡± (Tirumina)

    Could Gentz-san¡¯s reputation be so low from Tirumina-san¡¯s point of view?

    ¡°He was able to deal with a ck Viper, so maybe he can do it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think he can do it because the structure of its body is the same as regr vipers. And the main difference is in the hardness of the skin and other parts.¡± (Tirumina)

    That reminded me of the time when I asked Fina to dismantle a Tiger Wolf, she said she could do it because it had the same body structure as a Wolf. Was it really that simr?

    ¡°Well, you could ask him first, and if Gentz-san can dismantle a wyvern, you can ask him to teach you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Actually, Fina might have wanted to try dismantling a wyvern.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen a wyvern before, and it¡¯s enormous. I can¡¯t believe Yuna-chan fought and defeated such a monster. Where did you encounter it?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°It¡¯s not really that much of a problem. ¡­but, Tirumina-san, is this really the first time you have encountered a Wyvern?¡± (Yuna)

    I encountered some when dealing with the 10,000 monsters and others when I was on the sea.

    I didn¡¯t tell her about the 10,000 monsters raid, nor did I speak in detail about the ones I encountered at the sea.

    ¡°As I said before, even adventurers don¡¯t normally get a chance to see wyverns. Even if they do see them, it¡¯s only when they are flying far away or when they are already a corpse.¡± (Tirumina)

    In other words, if you run into them up close, they would likely kill you.

    Just when I thought I¡¯d managed to divert the subject safely, Shia¡¯s casual remark rendered it futile.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve seen wyverns before, and they¡¯re enormous.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen them before?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san reacted to Shia¡¯s words.

    Shia immediately thought it was a bad idea and shut her mouth.

    After I killed the wyvern that appeared in the Targui. Shia, Shuri, and Fina were there to look at the fallen wyverns.

    Shia, perhaps feeling ufortable, looked away from Ellura-san.

    ¡°Shia-chan, where did you see a wyvern?¡± (Ellura)

    Funny, Ellura-san appeared to be smiling, but not her eyes.

    ¡°I, I saw it from a distance.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Oh, when did you see it? If you saw it over the royal capital, there would have been an uproar.¡± (Ellura)

    Shia¡¯s eyes darted around and then finally settled on me as if pleading for help.

    ¡°Yuna-san~~~¡± (Shia)

    When Shia said my name and asked for help, it was proof enough that I was involved.

    Since I couldn¡¯t hide what happened during our ind visit anymore, I told her about when we went to the ind during our time at the beach on our employee trip.

    Of course, I didn¡¯t mention Targui ind, but I exined that we had encountered wyverns while exploring a particr ind.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s when it happened.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san heard the story and immediately understood when it was.

    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t want to worry you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was surprised to hear about the spiders yesterday, but I didn¡¯t realize that you had even killed a wyvern when we went to the beach.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°But you two, Fina and Shuri, didn¡¯t tell me about it, even though it happened.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°And Shia, too.¡± (Ellura)

    Tirumina-san looked at Fina and Shuri while Ellura-san looked at Shia.

    ¡°It¡¯s not because the three wanted to lie. Everyone was having fun, so I asked the Shia, Shuri, and Fina not to tell anyone else because I knew it would cause unnecessary tension if the rest of the people on the trip found out that Wyverns were in the area.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad. I know how kind Yuna-chan is. And I know that if they had known that Wyvern was on the nearby ind, they would have been too scared thinking that the wyverns may attack, and they wouldn¡¯t have a good time.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I just asked Shia, Shuri, and Fina not to speak about it, so please don¡¯t be mad at Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    I defended Shia because I would feel sorry for her if she ended up being scolded.

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯m the one who took down the wyvern, and I made sure it was safe when Shia, Shuri, and Fina were watching me deal with the corpses.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I heard both Shia and Noa had a great time on that trip. And that Yuna-chan was very considerate.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes, it was great. If the others had heard that there were wyverns during the trip, they might not have enjoyed it as much as they did.¡± (Yuna)

    Ellura-san and Tirumina-san agreed with my exnation.

    ¡°I think Yuna-chan simply thought about us and was thinking that it was necessary to keep quiet about it.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Thank you, Tirumina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    It made me happy to hear her say that.

    ¡°Tirumina-san trusts Yuna-chan, doesn¡¯t she?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Well, yes. We have been saved by Yuna-chan many times.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Oh, indeed. I¡¯ve been saved by Yuna-chan many times, as well.¡± (Ellura)

    They looked at me warmly.

    I wish they would stop looking at me that way.

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 Chapter 659

    <h4>Chapter 659</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Finished Watching the Dismantling Event</b>

    Participants¡¯ instructions were flying around while the wyverns were being dismantled at a tremendous pace.

    It was difficult to say who was going to clearly win, in my opinion.

    ¡°Who do you think will win, Fina?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Fina who had the best dismantling skills of all of us.

    ¡°Well, maybe that old man over there.¡± (Fina)

    Fina replied, a little worried.

    It was the old man she had been eyeing on since the Wolf round.

    He was not a notable dismantler, but he steadily led thepetition with his dismantling.

    ¡°Fina-chan, why do you think that?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Well, because the people who are being instructed by him are doing the dismantling with ease.¡± (Fina)

    Fina answered Ellura-san¡¯s question earnestly.

    The other group leaders were raising their voices as they gave their instructions, but only the group with the old man was quietly dismantling.

    Their group exuded a different atmosphere from the rest.

    ¡°I think the dismantling is going smoothly because that old man is guiding his helpers in the process in more detail, while the other group leaders are focusing on dealing with the difficult parts of the dismantling and while only giving rough instructions to their helpers.¡± (Fina)

    I understood what Fina was saying. Indeed, that old man had been guiding his helpers quietly, helping them with the dismantling processes, and then returning to his own dismantling part after a short while, over and over again.

    The old man seemed to be moving as if he knew exactly what kind of work he should assign to his helpers and what kind of work he should do himself as helpers would have difficulty in dealing with them.

    And Fina¡¯s judgment was correct, the old man won the fourth round and advanced to the finals.

    Two contestants made it to the finals.

    I could already imagine what kind of monsters would be used in the finals. I think it could be the two cockatrices I once gave away to the Adventurers Guild.

    And as expected, the monsters used in the finals were cockatrices, and the winner was, unsurprisingly again, the old man.

    In the end, I did not see any new monsters. But the audience roared when the wyverns were presented, and when the cockatrices appeared, there were shrieks of surprise, fear, and all sorts of emotions from the crowd.

    The winning old man was presented with a winner¡¯s award, and the audience apuded.

    ¡°Fina, how was it? Did you learn a lot?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes, I still can¡¯t do things as good as them, but it was nice to see how they deal with the wyverns and cockatrices, which I had never seen any in Crimonia.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well, even in the royal capital, you don¡¯t get to see wyverns and cockatrices that often as well.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san chuckled at Fina¡¯sment.

    ¡°Next, following the instructions of the winner, Barog-san, the four other contestants that reached up to the fourth round will dismantle a very special monster.¡± (Master of ceremony)

    At the Master of ceremony¡¯s words, the giant Scorpion I had defeated appeared. The audience was buzzing at the sheer size of the scorpion.

    ¡°Oh, was that the one Yuna-chan defeated?¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san, who knew about the giant Scorpion, asked me. She found out about it when I reported after returning from the desert.

    A part of its shell had been removed, which somehow was the identifying feature that it was undoubtedly the giant scorpion I had defeated.

    ¡°Eh, really!¡± (Shia)

    Shia was surprised.

    Today was the day that a lot of things were revealed.

    ¡°Sanya-san asked me to hand it to her.¡± (Yuna)

    Besides, there was no point in keeping it forever, so I might as well have the carcass dismantled and let it be processed into usable materials.

    ¡°I was surprised when I heard about the ck Viper hunt, but how could you defeat such a big monster?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san said as she looked at the giant Scorpion.

    The battle happened underground, and there was barely enough space for the giant scorpion to move around, so I filled up the room with seawater and defeated it by drowning.

    I could tell Tirumina-san about it as she already knew about the Bear Transfer Gate, but since Ellura-san was here, I kept quiet. If Ellura-san knew about the Bear Transfer Gate, she would turn me into a ve, abusing the cheat ability to ferry her back and forth between Crimonia and the Royal Capital.

    And then, the whole event ended with the demonstration performance of the dismantling of the giant Scorpion by the old man and his selected partners.

    Finally, Sanya-san thanked those who participated in the event and the adventurers who helped defeat dangerous monsters.

    ¡°I can¡¯t thank all of you enough for participating and all the adventurers who provided the monsters that they defeated.¡± (Sanya)

    I think most of the monsters the participants dismantled were sourced from the pile of monster carcasses I provided. Of course, it didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t want her to say thanks to other people, especially on a public stage, so that was fine.

    ¡°I think there are people in this venue who have never been outside the city or have never seen a single monster.¡± (Sanya)

    There were some ordinary people in the venue.

    ¡°I want you to remember that our daily peace is protected by adventurers, knights, and soldiers in ces we do not know. I want you to know what the dangers are.¡± (Sanya)

    The nation¡¯s intercity paths and roads were regrly patrolled by adventurers to ensure people¡¯s safety. Of course, it may not be 100% safe, but it was much safer than if the paths and roads had been left alone.

    ¡°As I recall, adventurers also do patrols around the city, don¡¯t they?¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯ve never taken such a job, but I do know that some adventurers do patrols around the city and have been doing it for a long time. Because it would be a posted request with little to minimal risk, the money paid to do it was small, and it was a request that mostly new adventurers were given.

    It seemed to be a way for new adventurers to be familiar with the geography of the area around the town and learn the skills of detecting monsters from a distance and what to do when they discover the presence of monsters.

    ¡°Although Sanya also mentioned knights and soldiers, we don¡¯t usually send them to patrol outside of the city unless we have a good reason to.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Why not?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked.

    ¡°Doing so would take away work from adventurers. If we dispatched knights and soldiers to various ces, and while they were away, something happened that would endanger the royal capital, the dispatched knights and soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to respond in time. So the intercity path patrols and remote jobs, usually dispatched by the country¡¯s government, are subcontracted to the local lords, who were given the authority to deal with it as they see fit.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Fina)

    When the timees, if a country or city falls into danger, and the knights and soldiers can¡¯t return in time to protect it, what would be the point of having knights and soldiers dispatched far away from the capital city? We listened to Sanya as she continued.

    ¡°Also, passenger carriages regrly go between towns and cities. Part of the money paid during an escort request for those passenger carriages is paid for by the country and the towns these convoys go to.¡± (Sanya)

    Ah, I recall that when Morin and Karin came to Crimonia from the royal capital, they were given an escorted carriage ride.

    ¡°If the adventurers work together in maintaining public safety, the travel paths and roads would be safer, and adventurers will also get paid for their work. If they defeat monsters when they encounter them on the road, they can ensure the safety of the next person who uses that same road. Doing so, they would secure the movement of both people and goods.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± (Yuna)

    Sanya-san¡¯s words came to an end as we listened in amazement to Ellura-san¡¯s exnation, and the event ended with apuse from the audience.

    As we wondered what we would do next, a tired-looking Sanya-san came to our ce.

    ¡°I¡¯m so tired!¡± (Sanya)

    She looked so disheveled that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had been talking with a dignified expression on her face earlier.

    But she¡¯s the event organizer. So she must be tired from dealing with all kinds of things in setting up the event and watching it topletion.

    So, I said a few words of encouragement to her.

    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± (Yuna)

    Following me, everyone else also said the same to Sanya-san.

    ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s finally over for now. Thanks to Yuna-chan, the event went great.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Why is it that all the monsters presented were the ones I defeated? I was looking forward to seeing some rare monsters.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, about that. That¡¯s because we didn¡¯t have enough money to pay Yuna-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°¡­?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°While nning the event, I calcted the amount needed to be paid for the monsters that Yuna-chan handed us. And then, lo and behold, it turned out to be a ridiculous amount. When I told the vice guild master this, he was livid. He insisted that we must dismantle those monsters as soon as possible and sell their parts to make money to pay you. So we had to change the monsters we nned the contestants to dismantle, and it was a lot of work.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Is the adventurers¡¯ guild in the royal capital that poor? In the first ce, don¡¯t themercial guilds buy the materials of the monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    I have an image ofmercial guilds as being rich.

    ¡°No, we are not poor. The monsters that Yuna-chan defeated were way too amazing. The selling price for that giant Scorpion alone could build a small mansion. Besides, we have a fixed budget for the event. We¡¯re allowed a little leeway, though.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you have that much money?¡±

    ¡°Yuna-chan, if assets worth millions are given away to someone, the recipient normally won¡¯t be able to liquidate them immediately.¡± (Sanya)

    This was true. If I had assets worth a whole 100 million yen and I gave it all to someone, those assets could not be used that easily and immediately. That person could only liquidate them slowly over time.

    ¡°Besides, if we put it up for auction in haste, there¡¯s no telling how much we would get. So we n to discuss what to do with the other guilds. Besides, I¡¯d rather sell the materials in small batches rather than all at once, so the prices for the material won¡¯t go down drastically and crash the economy. That¡¯s why I wanted to dismantle the monsters Yuna-chan entrusted to me as soon as possible.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry, so take your time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s okay to be friendly, but if the fact that there were monsters to be processed and it was found out that we didn¡¯t pay Yuna-chan properly, it would affect the credibility of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell anyone that you didn¡¯t pay me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t talk about it, there are a few people who do know, like the Adventurers¡¯ Guild staff, the Commercial Guild staff, and a few others. You never know where the information will leak out. Of course, there is punishment for leaking such ssified information. But there have been people in the past who have had a few drinks and got drunk and talked about ssified information.¡± (Sanya)

    I had never had alcohol because I was not old enough to drink, but they say that when you drink alcohol, you lose your guard and be light-mouthed. It seemed to destroy their thought processes.

    Just by listening to the stories, alcohol sounded like a dangerous drink.

    Even if I was old enough to drink alcohol, I should not drink it.

    I would want to avoid identally talking about the world I came from.

    In the first ce, was there an age limit for drinking alcohol in this world?

    ¡°Hmm, they do say that if you want to enjoy drinking, you should also be sure not to get yourself drunk.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san, who was listening to our conversation, chuckled.

    Ellura-san seemed to be a person who could hold her liquor well.

    A little could be simr to good medicine; drink too much, and you¡¯ll get sick. As with anything, moderation was best.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to talk to the Commercial Guild and prepare the money, so please wait for a bit.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Understood.¡± (Yuna)

    After she finished talking to me, Sanya-san spoke to Fina.

    ¡°Also, I think I¡¯ve already told Fina-chan. Can youe to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild tomorrow orter? I¡¯ll give you the fee for this request and the money for the monsters you dismantled.¡± (Sanya)

    Fina tried to refuse, but Tirumina-san instead replied with, ¡°We wille back again tomorrow.¡±

    Her participation was a job that she was asked to do, but she was entitled to the money from the monsters that she had dismantled. It would be wrong to refuse and disrespectful to Sanya-san.

    So Tirumina-san said they woulde tomorrow on behalf of Fina as Fina was shy.

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 Chapter 660

    <h4>Chapter 660</h4>

    <b>Bear-san goes to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild</b>

    Sanya-san had more work to do, so she returned after speaking with us.

    ¡°Well, we should go home, too.¡± (Yuna)

    We had no reason to stay here, so Ellura-san took us back to the bear house in a horse-drawn carriage.

    The carriage rocked and swayed as it went along.

    Fina, Tirumina-san, and Shuri were sitting on a three-person seat, and I, Ellura-san, and Shia were sitting on the seat across from them.

    It was then that Ellura-san spoke to us.

    ¡°We talked about Fina-chan¡¯s party yesterday, but I was wondering if we could hold it tomorrow.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± (Fina)

    Fina was also a little surprised.

    We hadn¡¯t set a specific date, but it was out of the blue.

    ¡°Fina-chan and the others are going back to Crimonia, right?¡± (Ellura)

    The dismantling event was over, so we would be leaving.

    ¡°Yes, we are. My husband is waiting for me, and I don¡¯t want to be home toote.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san muttered to herself at Ellura-san¡¯s words.

    It would be pitiful to leave Gentz-san alone for so long.

    ¡°Hmmm, so let¡¯s do it tomorrow. I¡¯ll take care of the preparations. I¡¯ll pick you up at Yuna¡¯s ce around evening, so make sure you¡¯re hungry.¡± (Ellura)

    I had no reason to refuse, and Fina had agreed to a farewell party, not a celebration, so she did not refuse.

    It was decided that tomorrow night would be an excellent time to have a farewell party for Fina.

    And as we were talking about today¡¯s events, the carriage stopped in front of my bear house.

    ¡°Ellura-san, thank you.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± (Ellura)

    The carriage with Ellura-san and Shia left, and we went inside the bear house.

    Tirumina-san cooked another meal, and I spent the rest of the evening rxing.

    The next day, we went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to get money for Fina¡¯s request and the monsters she had dismantled at the event.

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was crowded as usual, and Tirumina-san was walking around holding Shuri¡¯s hand to keep her close as we walked.

    At first, I had nned to go to the guild with just Fina, but Tirumina-san, as her guardian, asked me if she could join us. Fina also wanted her to join. So, Tirumina-san and Shuri also came along with us.

    We went to the reception desk, where there were several vacant booths.

    When we arrived at the reception desk, the receptionist looked at us in surprise.

    And it was not me this time that surprised the receptionist but Fina.

    ¡°Oh, Fina-chan?¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Umm, Eliza-san!¡± (Fina)

    Fina said the receptionist¡¯s name, and then I remembered.

    It was Eliza-san, who participated in the dismantling event and made it to the finals. I heard she was working as a receptionist at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and doing dismantling work, but I didn¡¯t expect to see her so soon.

    ¡°It¡¯s been two days. Is this about the reward from the dismantling event the other day?¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Yes, Sanya-san asked us to visit.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m the one who is assigned to give you the reward for the dismantling of the monsters at the event, Fina-chan and ¡­.. umm, Yuna-san, right?¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san asked, looking at me as if to confirm.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The Guild Master asked me to show you to her office when the two of you arrive.¡± (Eliza)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°She didn¡¯t give me any details, but she said she wanted to present you the reward herself.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san stood up and led us to the guild master¡¯s room.

    ¡°But I never thought Fina-chan was acquainted with Yuna-san.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san, walking a little ahead of us, spoke.

    ¡°Do you know me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think all the receptionists who work at this guild know you. The Guild Master had instructed me that if a girl dressed as a beares in, I should treat her respectfully, which made me familiar with your outfit and your name.¡± (Eliza)

    Then she looked at my outfit.

    ¡°And I have also seen Yuna-san before.¡± (Eliza)

    Eliza-san was a receptionist. I had also been to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild a few times, so it was not surprising that she may have seen me during one of my visits to the guild.

    ¡°So you saw Fina then, too?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can only remember that you were with a little girl, but Yuna-san¡¯s outfit was so striking that it made me forget all about Fina-chan.¡± (Eliza)

    It was simr to a situation where you meet a shy Character and another person with them. You would remember the shy Character, but not the person tagged along with them.

    ¡°I had seen the two of you together in the event though.¡± (Eliza)

    Well, Fina was returning to us after every single match. No wonder Eliza-san, who was at the same event, had seen us together.

    As we discussed this, we arrived in front of the Guild Master¡¯s room.

    Eliza-san knocked on the door and told Sanya that she had brought us. Immediately, a reply came back from inside the room.

    ¡°Let them in.¡± (Sanya)

    We entered the room.

    Sanya-san was working at the far end of the room, sitting in a chair by the window.

    Eliza-san bowed her head and went back to her work.

    Fina looked like she wanted to talk more to Eliza-san, but Eliza-san was currently at work, so there was no choice.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Please sit down.¡± (Sanya)

    There was a small table and chairs in the room. We sat down on one of the chairs.

    ¡°Fina-chan, thank you again. I really appreciate your help this time.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°No, I mean, I¡¯m d I could be a part of it. I learned a lot.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d to hear you say that.¡± (Sanya)

    Fina looked a little embarrassed when she was thanked.

    Sanya-san stood up and came over to Fina with a small cloth bag.

    ¡°The fee for thismission and the money for the monster that Fina-chan dismantled.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina epted the small cloth bag with a happy face.

    ¡°Check inside, and if everything is okay, please sign your name here.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san ced a piece of paper in front of Fina.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina responded and opened the cloth bag. She looked surprised.

    ¡°This much?¡± (Fina)

    Seeing Fina¡¯s surprised expression, Tirumina-san, standing next to her, looked into the cloth bag as if to confirm.

    ¡°That¡¯s really a lot!¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Fina-chan helped make this event so much fun, so I added a little more. Also, Fina-chan¡¯s dismantled monsters were clean, so I was able to get a higher price for them.¡± (Sanya)

    The messier the dismantling, the lower the selling price. It was evident that a clean wolf pelt would fetch a higher price than a battered wolf pelt.

    ¡°But so much.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s a fair price, Fina-chan has done her job well. So take it.¡± (Sanya)

    Fina looked at her mother, Tirumina-san, who gave a small nod and said, ¡°Take it.¡± Fina nodded in response.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Fina)

    Fina thanked Sanya-san, checked the amount, seemed okay with it, and signed the paper.

    ¡°And now for Yuna-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°As I said yesterday, I¡¯m not in a hurry, so it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already prepared something for you.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Already? So fast?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go to the storage room first. And I¡¯m sorry, but Tirumina-san and the others will have to wait here. I¡¯ll have someone bring you some tea and snacks.¡± (Sanya)

    As Sanya-san touched the magic stone on her desk, there was a knock at the door of the room, and a guild official entered.

    ¡°Please bring tea and snacks for guests.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Staff)

    The guild official replied and left the room.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯d better go.¡± (Sanya)

    Leaving Fina and the others behind, Sanya-san and I went to the underground warehouse where I handed over the monsters thest time. Sanya-san then went in front of a sturdy-looking door in the underground warehouse and used a key to open it.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wait for me there. This is a room that only authorized people can enter.¡± (Sanya)

    Saying this, she entered the room. Just as Sanya-san entered the room, I saw a door that looked like arge safe.

    I wondered if they kept important things in there.

    After about a minute or two, Sanya-san came out of the door.

    ¡°Here you go.¡± (Sanya)

    In her hand was an item bag.

    ¡°First, please check the dismantled parts of the monsters I promised you.¡± (Sanya)

    After receiving the item bag, I pulled out the contents, which were materials from the giant Scorpion and the two Cockatrice.

    ording to Sanya-san, they were all valuable.

    I recall that in the past, Jade and the other adventurers were thrilled when they received the scorpion¡¯s shell before as payment. And, as for the materials from the cockatrice, I would think of something to use them on in the future.

    ¡°And here are both magic stones.¡± (Sanya)

    The giant Scorpion¡¯s magic stone was colorless and transparent, while the cockatrice¡¯s magic stone was greenish-colored.

    The giant Scorpion¡¯s magic stone wasrger, and the cockatrice¡¯s magic stone was smaller.

    I checked the stones and put them in my bear box.

    ¡°And the money, it¡¯s a lot of money, so be careful.¡± (Sanya)

    Sheid out the gold coins on a nearby desk and handed me a piece of paper with the transaction value of the material.

    I trusted Sanya-san, since I clearly had no idea what the market price was, and after confirming that the amount on the document was the same as the amount she handed to me, I signed the documents and put the gold coins away in my bear box.

    ¡°But I¡¯m surprised you were able to prepare this so soon.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We were able to sell some of the monster parts in bulk and got a batch payment for it. The rest came from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the Commercial Guild¡¯s reserve fund.¡± (Sanya)

    For my part, I was d I didn¡¯t have toe back several times to get the payment.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m sorry Yuna-chan, but I¡¯d like you to meet the person who purchased the materials.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Oh, why? If possible, I don¡¯t want to go through the hassle.¡± (Yuna)

    I was even willing to wait for the paymentter if that was the case.

    ¡°I understand how you feel, but I couldn¡¯t say no since the buyer is His Majesty the King.¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Oh, it was His Majesty the King?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°His Majesty the King knew about the Scorpion, right?¡± (Sanya)

    ¡°Yes, I showed it to him, so he knew.¡± (Yuna)

    I showed Scorpion to the King when I reported to him after I finished the request in the desert.

    ¡°So, His Majesty the King knew about this¡­¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya murmured, but why did he want to see me?

    Ugh, what a hassle.

    But if I didn¡¯t go, there would be problems in the future.

    I might still be able to meet with Lady Flora and Tilia if I reject meeting the King this time.

    But the King would no doubt meet me at times when I visit those two.

    I let out a sigh.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll go see him.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san looked relieved.

    Well, it shouldn¡¯t be anything to be upset about, so suppose it was okay.

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 Chapter 661

    <h4>Chapter 661</h4>

    <b>Bear-san goes to the Castle</b>

    After receiving the materials and money from Sanya-san, we returned to the Guild Master¡¯s room, where Fina and the others were.

    When I entered the room, Fina and Shuri were eating some delicious snacks that Sanya-san had prepared, and Tirumina-san was drinking tea.

    ¡°We¡¯re back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you done?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    Sanya-san looked at Shuri, who was still eating, and gave her a piece of paper to wrap the leftover sweets in for her to finishter.

    Sanya-san then guided everyone out of the guild.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan.¡± (Sanya)

    Sanya-san thanked me.

    This time, the bear box felt cleaner, and I also had more money to boot.

    ¡°Thank you, as well.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know what to do with the extra money, though. However, when I needed money, it would be a problem if I didn¡¯t have any. Having money without an idea to spend it was better than having none.

    ¡°What are you going to do until the evening?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Tirumina-san and the others as we left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Well, we could spend the rest of the day looking for souvenirs. We were thinking of buying some souvenirs for Gentz and the children at the orphanage.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Hmm, okay, I¡¯m going to the castle then.¡± (Yuna)

    After a moment¡¯s pondering, Tirumina responded, ¡°The castle?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been summoned by the King.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t want to be summoned by the King again because of not meeting him this time, so I decided it would be better to go there and get all this annoyance over with.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, what did you do?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked, her face turning pale.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I did anything wrong. I was probably just summoned to discuss the monsters I provided for this event.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san¡¯s expression changed to one of relief.

    ¡°Since Yuna-chan is involved, I thought you had done something to the King.¡± (Tirumina)

    I wonder what kind of person she thinks I was.

    If the king was a terrible king and showed hostility to me, then I might have done something about him. I think the King of this country was a <b>good</b> Kingpared to the ones I imagined (from manga, novels, and anime). He was not arrogant and did not get angry when I interacted with him in a casual speech.

    (Editor¡¯s note: In certain cultures, customs, and nationalws, speaking using casualnguage to a member of the monarchy can be considered as l¨¨se-majest¨¦.)

    However, I doubt that he was <b>that</b> great of a King when he would skip work just to meet me and eat the food I brought along with me.

    I was once told that if a superior skips work, the work of those below them would also be affected. Hopefully, the people around the King would assist him with his work to avoid that pitfall.

    I left Tirumina-san and the others and arrived at the castle alone.

    A soldier standing in front of the castle gate looked at me.

    I wondered, was it really possible to just show up and meet the King?

    It would be challenging for an ordinary person to meet the King in manga and novels.

    And originally, I didn¡¯t even have a letter of introduction either.

    Sanya-san only told me about being summoned. If I asked Ellura-san for more details, I would be owing her a favor, and I also didn¡¯t want to bother the gatekeepers by telling them that I hade to see the King directly, either.

    However, I had an idea.

    If I went to see Flora-sama, the King would definitely try toe to see me. If he didn¡¯t, I would think of something else then.

    So I decided and informed the soldier that I hade to see Flora-sama.

    Then, as usual, I passed through the gate with a face-pass, or bear-pass, and one of the soldiers ran towards the castle. This should let the King know that I havee to the castle.

    I walked through the passageway I had passed many times before and arrived at Lady Flora¡¯s room.

    I knocked on the door to Flora¡¯s room, and Ange, who was taking care of Flora, came out of the room.

    ¡°Yuna-san?¡± (Ange)

    ¡°Um, it¡¯s been a few days?¡± (Yuna)

    When we arrived at the royal capitalst time, Ellura-san kidnapped us which led to Ange meeting Tirumina-san and the others when we were touring the castle.

    ¡°What brought you to visit us today? Did youe to see Flora-sama?¡± (Ange)

    ¡°I was actually summoned by the King, and I was wondering if it was alright if I just showed up here.¡± (Yuna)

    When I told the truth, Ange-san looked surprised.

    ¡°I am surprised that you have been summoned by His Majesty the King, but I am also surprised that you came to Flora-sama¡¯s ce first instead of meeting His Majesty.¡± (Ange)

    ¡°I was actually thinking of asking the gate guards at first, but thinking again, I considered that doing this was a better idea since the King will also be contacted when Ie here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Ange)

    Hearing my story, Ange-san now had a troubled look on her face.

    ¡°I can go to His Majesty to tell him about Yuna-san¡¯s visit.¡± (Ange)

    ¡°You probably didn¡¯t need to. If I wait here, he¡¯lle, I think, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Only Yuna-san would treat His Majesty the King that way. Ah, no, Ellura-sama might treat him like that as well.¡± (Ange)

    ¡°What, I¡¯m treating him like Ellura-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Anyway,e right in, for now.¡± (Ange)

    Ange-san brushed off my question with a smile and let me into the room.

    ¡°Bear?¡± (Flora)

    As I entered the room, Flora-sama noticed me and came running up to me.

    ¡°You came to visit me?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°I¡¯m here to see Flora¡¯s father, so I thought I¡¯d meet him here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My father?¡± (Flora)

    ¡°Yes, so can I stay here for a while?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Flora)

    Flora-sama showed me a big smile.

    Then, I summoned Hugging-bear and Swaying-bear to y with Flora-sama, while I sipped the tea Ange made for me and waited for the King.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what are you going to do if His Majesty the King doesn¡¯te?¡± (Ange)

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go home.¡± (Yuna)

    My calctions should be happening soon.

    There was no doubt that the soldier who was guarding the gate went to the King. And he would have been notified of my arrival.

    Even if the King himself did note here, he would send at least someone to summon me.

    Ange looked troubled at my response, but soon enough, the King arrived at Flora¡¯s room.

    ¡°Why are you in Flora¡¯s room?¡± (King)

    He said this to me as soon as he entered the room.

    ¡°I thought if I came here, I could see you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What do you think you are making a King do?¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s because I didn¡¯t know how to properly meet the King.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask Ellura about it?¡± (King)

    I also thought about that idea but decided not to go ahead with it.

    ¡°I only got notified by Sanya-san earlier when we were at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Anyway, what¡¯s the reason for the summons?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I heard that you gave that big Scorpion to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (King)

    ¡°They said they needed it for an event, and I didn¡¯t want to keep it forever.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told you that if you ever want to sell it, I would buy it.¡± (King)

    I did remember him saying something like that.

    ¡°But how did you know about it when it was only shown once during the event yesterday?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because Ellura reported it to me; you were watching the event with Ellura, right?¡± (King)

    I also remembered that Ellura-san had said something about an inspection tour. I thought she was just using it as an excuse to skip work.

    Was she really doing her job?

    ¡°And I also heard about cockatrice.¡± (King)

    ¡°For those, they were monsters I encountered and defeated when I went to the elven vige with the Guild Master, Sanya-san¡± (Yuna)

    I made no promises to the King regarding that.

    ¡°It looks like you had wyverns as well.¡± (King)

    ¡°It¡¯s the wyverns I defeated when I encountered the 10,000 monsters. Did you want them as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not picking on you. You killed those monsters. You¡¯re free to do what you want with them.¡± (King)

    I didn¡¯t get his point.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the reason for the call?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m just checking in with you. I heard that you won¡¯t give up on those monster¡¯s magic stones. Are you going to sell it to someone else?¡± (King)

    ¡°Hmm? I have no intention of selling them to anyone right now.¡± (Yuna)

    I was simply collecting them.

    It was only instinctive for gamers to keep rare items in reserve.

    Like the Scorpion¡¯s shell, materials originally intended to be used only for crafting armor. I have the Bear Equipment given to me by God, and as long as I have this set of armor equipped, I wouldn¡¯t need any new armor soon. Even if I had the materials to make something, I only intended to sell them if it was necessary.

    On the other hand, when it came to magic stones, I couldn¡¯t just sell them to someone. There was basically only one magic stone in a monster, so it was more valuable than any other material.

    Besides, there could be various ways to use a magic stone.

    Moreover,rge magic stones should be even more valuable.

    It was not easy to find a huge monster, and it was not easy to defeat it, either. Nor were monster cores something that could be easily bought with money.

    ¡°I see, so you¡¯re not going to sell it to anyone.¡± (King)

    ¡°I have no such ns right now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, let me repeat it. If you are ever in need of money and n to sell it, sell the magic stones to me. Don¡¯t sell it to anyone else.¡± (King)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Arge magic stone is precious. They can be used for good, but they can also be used for evil. You have seen it, right? The one in Dzelt was used to grant water blessings, and the one in Eupharia was used to summon monsters. Not everyone can do it, but people in this world can use them for incredible things. A small magic stone can only create small scale effects, but the bigger the magic stone is, the bigger, and the more powerful the effects it could create.¡± (King)

    It was impossible for a small magic stone to supply water to the whole city of Dzelt. It was only possible because of the Kraken¡¯srge water magic stone. It would not have been possible to attract monsters to the city of Eupharia with a small magic stone.

    ¡°As a country and as its King, it¡¯s my responsibility to ask you what you would do with the magic stone you have.¡± (King)

    So that¡¯s why I was summoned.

    ¡°For now, I don¡¯t n to sell it to anyone, and I¡¯m not going to give it to someone who will use it for something evil.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But you know, sometimes you don¡¯t even realize that those materials will be used for evil. There are people in this world who may look like good guys on the outside, but behind their masks, they are evil people.¡± (King)

    There was no denying that.

    It wasn¡¯t always easy to figure out a person¡¯s true nature.

    You need to be able to read minds to judge good and evil at the first meeting.

    ¡°If I ended up giving it to the wrong person, then I would be responsible for dealing with it.¡± (Yuna)

    For the record, I was not trying to set up a g.

    I have no ns to give it to anyone else in the first ce.

    ¡°Those who have strong power. Those with strong tools. Those with great strength. If used in the wrong way, it will only bring misfortune to those around them.¡± (King)

    The King said, as if reminding himself.

    If a person with bad intentions were to use my Bear Equipment, they could easily kill people, they could destroy cities, and even if they did something evil, they could easily escape by using the Bear Transfer Gate.

    On the other hand, it could also be the power to be a hero who saves people¡¯s lives.

    Power could be wielded for good or evil, depending on who used it.

    Well, I was the kind of person who thinks it would be best if I and the people around me were happy without bing either side of the coin. I have neither the qualities of a Demon King nor those of a Hero.

    But if there was ever a threat looming around me, I would do my best to protect the people around me, especially those with connections to me, with my Bear Equipment.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I want to talk about. So, any good food today?¡± (King)

    He sounded cool at first, like an actual King, but his closing words spoiled the moment.

    It was almost lunchtime, so I served the eel rice bowl I had bought in the Nation of Wa, and the three of us, including Flora, enjoyed it.

    I again asked Ange-san to apologize to Zeref-san, the head chef, and handed her some unadon to share with him, which should make him pleased.

    By the way, Ellura-san and the Queen did not show up.

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 Chapter 662

    <h4>Chapter 662</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Celebrates with Fina Part 1</b>

    Satisfied with his Unadon meal, the King returned to his work, while Flora-sama yed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    After some time, Flora-sama, perhaps tired of ying, began to feel sleepy.

    Seeing her like this, Ange-san gently called out to Flora-sama.

    ¡°Flora-sama, let¡¯s take a nap.¡± (Ange)

    But Flora-sama hugged Swaying Bear and shook her head.

    ¡°I still want to y with the bears.¡± (Flora)

    It was true that Flora-sama was sleepy. But I could imagine how sad she would be to discover that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were gone after she fell asleep.

    So, I gently called out to her.

    ¡°Flora-sama, I wille back again, so will you y with them again at that time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried as if agreeing to my words.

    Flora-sama nodded her head and said, ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± and moved away from Swaying Bear. Then, rubbing her eyes, she went to bed and hugged a Hugging Bear plushie on the pillow beside her. Perhaps because she was sleepy, she fell asleep right away.

    Seeing Flora-sama like this, Ange-san and I smiled.

    I unsummoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and left the room.

    In the end, neither the Queen nor Ellura-san came.

    I was curious, so I asked the King about it earlier, but he told me that the Queen was attending a tea party, and he did not know what Ellura-san was up to.

    If the King knew everything Ellura-san was doing, that would be scary.

    After leaving the castle, I returned to my bear house without stopping.

    Fina and the others had not returned yet, so I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and rxed.

    I suddenly recalled my conversation with the King in the castle. As I thought before, neither a hero nor a Demon King would suit my character. I have no desire to be a Hero, nor do I desire to conquer the world. Both were just too much trouble for me. The best thing I could do would be to rx with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms like this.

    I may not be Flora-sama, but hugging Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made me sleepy.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were soft, warm, andfortable. I closed my eyes and fell into dreams¡­

    ***

    ¡°We¡¯re home.¡± (Fina)

    I heard Fina¡¯s voice.

    It seemed like I had fallen asleep.

    Still sleepy. I didn¡¯t want to get up.

    I recognized the sound of footsteps as Fina and the others walked into the room.

    ¡°Yuna Nee-chan is sleeping.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Yeah, it seems like she¡¯s sleepingfortably.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Maybe even Yuna-chan is nervous and tired after meeting the King.¡± (Tirumina)

    Apparently, they were already back from shopping.

    I should get up.

    I slowly sit up.

    ¡°Nn, did you finish shopping?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked, yawning a little.

    ¡°Oh, did we wake you up? Sorry.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at me as I got up and apologized.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If I didn¡¯t want anyone to wake me up, I would have gone to my room to sleep.¡± (Yuna)

    I had no intention of sleeping in the first ce. I got sleepy from being toofortably sandwiched between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in the living room.

    Shuri and Fina stayed with me, ying with Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear until Ellura-san arrived.

    ¡°We¡¯re here for you.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san came to the bear house in a carriage with Shia.

    ¡°Shall we get going?¡± (Yuna)

    We got into the carriage with Ellura-san and Shia.

    It was dusk, and the streetlights were beginning to glow.

    ¡°So, where are we going to do this? Ellura-san¡¯s house?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°At a restaurant. The food is delicious there, so look forward to it.¡± (Ellura)

    Since Ellura-san, a noblewoman, rmended this restaurant, it should be great.

    ¡°Is it okay formoners like us to go in there? Besides, I¡¯m dressed like this¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Me and my daughters are both dressed likemoners¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san, Fina, and I looked at our outfits.

    We were not ¡°appropriately dressed¡± in a way that would be allowed in a high-ss restaurant where noblese to eat. I knew that my prejudice might be biased because of the things I have read in Manga, Novels, etc., but I couldn¡¯t help but have an image of nobles only going to fancy restaurants wearing fancy outfits.

    ¡°Oh my, do you think there is such a thing as a restaurant that would refuse customers I rmended?¡±

    Ellura-san said with a smile.

    That would be Tyranny. A misuse of power.

    I doubt any restaurant would decline Ellura-san¡¯s guests unless they were in an extraordinary situation.

    ¡°Fufufu, I¡¯m kidding. We¡¯ve rented out the whole restaurant, so there won¡¯t be any other customers but us. So don¡¯t worry about how you look.¡± (Ellura)

    Wait, that didn¡¯t sound like a joke at all. And, renting out a whole restaurant today just because of what we discussed yesterday was clearly abusing her authority.

    Even I, an amateur, knew that renting out a whole restaurant at such short notice would not be easy.

    I could just picture the restaurant owner, unable to defy Ellura-san, and with tears in their eyes, agreeing to the booking.

    Tirumina-san and Fina also looked a little pale when they heard that the whole restaurant would be rented out.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, are you thinking something strange about me?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Too much abuse of power can lead to uprisings by the people, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    That was what history taught me.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not abusing any power. I just mentioned Yuna-chan¡¯s name to the other party, and they agreed to do it.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Yuna)

    Before she could answer my question, the carriage stopped.

    It looked like we had arrived.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± (Yuna)

    When I exited the carriage, I saw a bear figurine in front of the store.

    ¡°Wait, so you brought us here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan has been here before, right? So everyone can eat here without worries. A chef from the Royal Pce prepares the food, so the food tastes top-notch.¡± (Ellura)

    Indeed, I had been here more times than any other restaurants in the capital, and Fina had also been here. And the cooks knew me, so I could dine here without hesitation.

    ¡°There are also bear figurines here¡­ could it be that Yuna-chan made this ce?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked, looking at the bear figurines on either side of the door.

    ¡°Ellura-san made this store. The bear figurines were just created ording to Ellura-san¡¯s imitation of my store in Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, was it from that time.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san remembered the time when Ellura-san came to Crimonia.

    I had just left with Sanya-san and was headed to the Elven vige, so I was not in Crimonia then, but I did hear that Tirumina-san and Fina had taken care of Ellura-san.

    (Editor¡¯s note: See chapter 238.)

    ¡°Well then, I think they are waiting for us, so let¡¯s go inside.¡± (Ellura)

    With Ellura-san in the lead, a girl dressed as a cook happily rushed to us as we entered the restaurant.

    ¡°Yuna-san, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    Our entourage was greeted by Sha, the niece of Zeref-san, the Royal Pce¡¯s head chef. She had been training in cooking while working at this restaurant.

    ¡°Long time no see. How are you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been doing well. I¡¯m learning how to cook from my seniors every day.¡± (Sha)

    She said happily.

    She seemed to like cooking.

    I heard culinary training was tough, but I would like to know if it was doable by just anybody.

    Or the seniors were teaching her kindly.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t this ce quite popr? Is it alright to let the restaurant be rented out all day?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What are you talking about? Every day has been tough for us. Just like today, Ellura-sama suddenly asked us that she would like to make reservations for a private party and rent the whole restaurant.¡± (Sha)

    ¡°I knew it. Did you force them to do this?¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Ellura-san for confirmation.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t force them. I only made a reservation request and asked if they could rent the whole restaurant for a day.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes, I can confirm that. I know it was out of the blue, but we are usually closed during this day, so we are not inconveniencing any other regrs. Instead, we simply lost a day-off.¡± (Sha)

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± (Yuna)

    I felt terrible about it.

    There was nothing worse than going to school on a holiday or working on a holiday.

    ¡°Even in the Royal Pce, there are times when unexpected visitors arrive, and we are sometimes dispatched even on our days off at those times, and even on our normal day off, we are sometimes taught to cook by Uncle, so you don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡± (Sha)

    If it were me, I would be angry, disgusted, and refuse to ept why I must work on my days off.

    So, I could only express my gratitude to Sha.

    ¡°Sha, I told you not to call me Uncle during work. I told you to call me Head Chef.¡±

    Someone, perhaps overhearing our conversation, called out to Sha from behind. It was a short, stout man over 30 years old.

    ¡°We are usually closed today, and we are also not in a Study Session currently. So isn¡¯t it okay if I call you uncle?¡± (Sha)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. As long as we are cooking, and I am the Head Chef, be sure to be formal about this.¡± (Zeref)

    ¡°Ugh, I understand. Head Chef.¡± (Sha)

    The two of them seemed to be the same as ever.

    ¡°Oh, Zeref-san, why are you here?¡± (Yuna)

    Zeref-san was the Head Chef of the Royal Pce and was not working in this restaurant.

    ¡°I heard that this is a celebration for Lady Fina, so I thought that it might be fun for me to cook for her.¡± (Zeref)

    Zeref-san said as he looked at Fina.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Fina-dono.¡± (Zeref)

    ¡°Ah, yes. It¡¯s been a while.¡± (Fina)

    Fina replied hurriedly when Zeref-san suddenly approached her.

    Zeref-san smiled and then looked at Tirumina-san and Shuri.

    ¡°Tirumina-dono has been a great help to us at Crimonia.¡± (Zeref)

    ¡°No, it was my pleasure to be of service.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san bowed lightly.

    I wondered if they knew each other for a moment, but then I remembered that Zeref-san hade along with Ellura-san to Crimonia.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Shuri-dono, as well.¡± (Zeref)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri shyly replied after grabbing Tirumina-san¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Today, I will be cooking for everyone, so please eat to your heart¡¯s content.¡± (Zeref)

    Zeref-san bowed lightly and went back to the kitchen. Then Sha, who also bowed to us, followed after him.

    Today, Ange-san should have given the Unadon to Zeref-san, but Ange-san didn¡¯t mention anything about <b>this</b> when she returned to Princess Flora¡¯s room.

    She could have at least given me a hint about this.

    ¡°Is it really okay for us to be here, though? I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m going to have the Royal Pce Chef cook for us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Zeref said he wanted to repay Yuna-chan for her hospitality.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything for Zeref-san, though.¡± (Yuna)

    Rather, I was disturbing Zeref-san¡¯s schedule by giving food I brought to Flora-sama and the King.

    He should have been preparing the food for the King and Flora-sama since morning. Then I, who came out of nowhere, made him waste his time.

    A typical chef would have hated me for doing so, but Zeref ended up thanking me every time instead.

    ¡°Well, at the start, he did somewhat hate it, but now he is grateful to Yuna-chan for letting him discover new cuisine and showing him that there is no end or limitations when one is walking the path of a cook.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Such an exaggeration.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Zeref¡¯s position as the Royal Pce Head Chef didn¡¯t allow him to travel to other countries, let alone cities, easily. So, if Yuna-chan ever discovers any unusual food in the future, please bring it to Zeref.¡± (Ellura)

    Certainly, in Zeref-san¡¯s position, he would only be able to make a trip to look for rare food if he quit his job.

    ¡°Well, since you put it that way, I will try.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, bring some for me, as well.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san, I want to try some as well.¡± (Shia)

    ¡°Me too!¡± (Shuri)

    At Ellura-san¡¯s words, Shia and Shuri also raised their hands to join the fun.

    What she said should have been a good point, but now it was all ruined.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll bring something next time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I have your word.¡± (Shia)

    Well, as long as it was not something absurd like the most unique cuisine in the world, there was no problem.

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 Chapter 663

    <h4>Chapter 663</h4>

    T/N: Hi, sorry to make you all worried. I have exams soon, but I will try my best to ensure that chapters are released on time. Thanks for reading.

    ¡­.

    <b>Bear-san Celebrates with Fina Part 2</b>

    Zeref-san and Sha entered the kitchen, and we took our seats.

    ¡°Zeref-san is really the head chef of the pce, right?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san asked, as if to confirm.

    ¡°Yes, he is the one in charge of cooking for His Majesty the King and the royal family.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°How could such a person cook for Fina¡¯s celebration?¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°As I said before, Zeref is indebted to Yuna-chan, and Fina-chan met him at Misana¡¯s birthday party, and you gave him a tour when we went to Crimonia. So he likes Fina-chan as well.¡± (Ellura)

    That being said, Fina was also acquainted with Zeref-san.

    ¡°That¡¯s going to further increase my daughter¡¯s interaction with high ranking people she wouldn¡¯t normally be associated with.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked a little uneasy.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to apologize for. I was just thinking that normally, Fina could never have gotten involved with Noire-sama, Misana-sama, Ellura-sama, Cliff-sama, or even Zeref-san. So I was just a little overwhelmed by it.¡± (Tirumina)

    The other parties were all people in the higher social ranks.

    From a mother¡¯s point of view, she might be right to be worried.

    ¡°Mom¡­ I¡¯ll make sure we don¡¯t get in trouble.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t say such things and don¡¯t distance yourself from Noa and Misana. You¡¯ll only make them sad if you do that.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yes. If you two don¡¯t mind, I would like to remain friends.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the two of them will be happy to hear that.¡± (Shia)

    In manga and novels, normally the stories would portray that it would be difficult for a noble and amoner to be friends. But this world was neither a manga nor a novel, and I hoped the three of them would remain friends forever.

    ¡°Right. You should treasure your friends. The friends you make as a child are important. They will be your friends for life.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± (Fina)

    Friends¡­ childhood friends, my heart hurts. You could grow up without them, just like I did. I didn¡¯t miss not having any at all. Really¡­

    ¡°By the way, Yuna-chan, I heard you came to the castle today.¡± (Ellura)

    Ellura-san asked as I was feeling emotionally damaged.

    ¡°Sanya-san informed me that the King wanted to see me about the monsters, so I went there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just as I expected, it was about the matter with the event.¡± (Ellura)

    She had an inkling of what it was about.

    ¡°Surprisingly, you didn¡¯t show up, Ellura-san.¡± (Yuna)

    When I went to the castle, there was usually a high probability that Ellura-san would show up.

    Mainly to get the food I brought.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been out and about for the past two days, ski¡­ I mean inspecting that event.¡± (Ellura)

    She almost said ¡®skipping¡¯ just now.

    I knew it. She was skipping work in the name of inspection.

    ¡°So I had a bunch of work that needed to be taken care of.¡± (Ellura)

    But I think it was great to see that she properly took care of her own work, instead of forcing it on someone else.

    ¡°Can you also tell us why the King invited you, Yuna-chan?¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san, who was listening to the conversation, asked me.

    I simply exined the reason for which the King had summoned me.

    ¡°Magic Stones. It¡¯s true that a magic stone of such a big monster is not so easy to get.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°So, as I mentioned before, he simply told me that if I wanted to get rid of Scorpion materials in the future, I should sell it to the King, though I did forget about it at some point in the past.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked at me in disbelief.

    ¡°Well, and following the conversation, he simply asked where I was nning to use the Magic Stone.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh, is it really alright? The King, he wanted the Magic Stone, right? And you turned him down.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san looked a little worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he only asked me to sell it to him when I required money so he could secure it, and he is not forcing me to sell it to him because he wants it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, no matter how you say it, it sounds like they want you to sell the Magic Stones only to them. Could it be that soldiers and knights will suddenlye to Yuna-chan¡¯s house and Yuna-chan will be arrested?¡± (Tirumina)

    She had quite the imagination.

    But I would have thought the same thing if I had never met the King of this country.

    Royalty and nobility with power always included people who wanted to fatten their own pockets. But contrarily, it was also true that there were good leaders among them.

    The history of the world speaks of that.

    I think the current King of this country was a good national leader, and I think Cliff was a good lord, as well.

    ¡°Yuna Nee-chan, are you going to get caught?¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri, who was listening to Tirumina-san, asked worriedly.

    No, I wouldn¡¯t get caught.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He is just an uncle who likes good food, he won¡¯t do anything bad.¡± (Yuna)

    Tirumina-san sighed at my words.

    ¡°Only Yuna-chan would call the King just an uncle.¡± (Tirumina)

    No, I think everyone would think so if they actually knew the King in person, and most of the people who knew about it simply just didn¡¯t mention it.

    ¡°Fufufu, Tirumina-san, don¡¯t worry too much. If the King was the kind of person who would do what Tirumina-san imagined, he would only be seen as an ipetent King.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Ellura-sama¡­¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°As it stands, there is no merit in doing something that Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t like, for it would only be a bad thing. In the first ce, the King has given an order to make sure Yuna-chan doesn¡¯t leave the country, so I don¡¯t expect the King himself to do something that would cause Yuna-chan to leave.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Yuna)

    This is the first I¡¯ve heard of that.

    ¡°A decree to prevent talented people from going to other countries? A directive? Something like that. I don¡¯t have all the details.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°You mean I can¡¯t leave this country?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. You are free to go anywhere you want. It¡¯s just that you can¡¯t abandon this country and go ¡®serve¡¯ another one.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Yuna)

    Wasn¡¯t I given the freedom to live wherever I wanted?

    ¡°This is not limited to Yuna-chan. It is normal for a country to want to secure the best and the brightest. Those who run the economy, the knights and wizards who protect the country. There are many talented people running the country in various ces.¡± (Ellura)

    I understand that a wide variety of people ran the economy and protected the country from monsters in ces I did not know about.

    ¡°The same is true for the development of magical tools, for example. Ordinary people can¡¯t develop magic tools on their own. By having people who are excellent in their field research and create new magical tools, society has been able to develop.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Fina)

    Fina muttered as if impressed.

    ¡°In the past, magic lines were not yet developed, so people had to use magic stones to activate magic tools directly. But now, just by touching a far away magic stone, you can activate a magic tool connected to a magic line from a different location.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    If someone with information went to another country and was headhunted, it would lead to information leaks. If it were a knight, it would be an asset to the war effort. When someone with some talent disappears from the country, that country would fall behind in that field.

    It was the same in Japan, where many people work for foreignpanies that offer high sries.

    This would be a problem regardless of what world you live in.

    ¡°What do you think would happen if there were no more talented knights, wizards, and adventurers in the country?¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°If monsters attack the country, we may perish because we have no way to fight them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s the point. That¡¯s why the state has to secure the best and brightest and offer them the most benefits to make them stay and remain.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of work, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is the job of the state and the lords to manage that.¡± (Ellura)

    Managing the country, while important, was also a lot of work.

    ¡°But why am I included in that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s obvious. There is no way that His Majesty the King would let go of someone with enough talent to defeat gigantic monsters single-handedly, hordes of monsters, and can even cook delicious food to boot.¡± (Ellura)

    Thinking about it from the country¡¯s standpoint, it made sense, but I didn¡¯t know if I would be convinced.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never been informed of such a directive or proposal.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s because Yuna-chan might leave if you knew about it, especially if you think we are forcing you to stay. And even if we try to stop you by force, it will probably be our side who will suffer the consequences. So rather than convincing you to stay, the King decided to just let you be as long as you feel like continuing to stay in this country.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Certainly, I will prefer that.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t want to be ordered to do a job like a ve after all.

    ¡°That¡¯s why His Majesty is doing his best to ensure that Yuna-chan wants to continue living in this country. His Majesty actually wants Yuna-chan to live in the royal capital. And if possible, he wants you to serve the country. But you have never expressed the desire to do so.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Yuna)

    I was never asked nor would I want to be told.

    ¡°Well, after meeting Yuna-chan for a while, we have reason to believe that if we said such a thing, you would likely leave the country. So, I want Yuna-chan to live freely in this country. You can tell me, His Majesty the King, or Cliff if you are dissatisfied with anything. We will do everything we can to make things better.¡± (Ellura)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have noints at the moment.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Ellura)

    So, there was a reason for all the shenanigans that had urred.

    It was only natural for a superior to want to be surrounded by powerful people. Even in the Warring States period, the stability of the country and its protection depended on how many capable military and civilian officials were secured.

    Well, I only appeared to be excellent because of my Bear Equipment that God gave me and my knowledge from my original world. So, I never considered myself worthy of such a station.

    Now that I think about it, the King knew I had defeated the Kraken and the giant Scorpion. He would consider those threats to the country. And yet, he allowed me to act freely, and even inside the castle. This would not be possible under normal circumstances.

    Perhaps my freedom was also being protected in ways that I was unaware of.

    While we were having this conversation, the food arrived.

    Tirumina-san was surprised, Shuri was happy, and Fina thanked Sha every time she brought the dishes.

    Sha, being Sha, wanted to say that her cooking skills had improved, and reported that she had helped with several of the dishes presented.

    And the dishes on the table were all dishes that one would not be able to eat in a regr restaurant.

    It was the kind of food you see in manga, where various exotic food was served at a noble¡¯s party.

    Ellura-san and Zeref-san told us to eat without worrying about manners. We took them at their word and ate without worrying about table manners.

    At first, Fina and Shuri ate with no concern for dining ettique, but when they saw Shia eating with noble manners, they started to imitate her.

    At first, Shia was embarrassed to see them imitating her, but she seemed to be satisfied and showed them an example, saying, ¡°This is how you dine,¡± and taught Fina and Shuri noble manners in eating.

    It would be good to remember this etiquette, as it may be necessary for Fina¡¯s continued rtionship with Noa and Misa in the future.

    As for me? I had no intention of attending such a party hosted by royalty or nobility, so there was no need for me to do so.

    Not only that, but I also wanted to avoid learning it, because it would be too much trouble just listening to how to hold the knife, how to put it down, and the order in which to use it.

    And at the end of the meal, a pudding with fruit parfait on top was served.

    When I tried it, it tasted better than the one I made.

    Perhaps Zeref-san did his own research and made something tastier and more pleasing to everyone.

    As expected of an actual chef.

    Zeref-san looked satisfied as he watched us enjoy the food.

    All of Zeref-san¡¯s dishes were delicious, and by the time we finished eating them, everyone had a smile on their faces.

    I couldn¡¯t eat anymore.

    I was too full.

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 Chapter 664

    <h4>Chapter 664</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Rxing</b>

    I had already informed Ellura-san, Shia, and Sanya-san at the meal that I was leaving, so I went to tell Ghazal-san and Rica-san that I was leaving and the results of Fina¡¯s participation in the dismantling event.

    Besides, I was also curious about Fina¡¯s old dismantling tools that were a prize from a past dismantling event, so I asked Ghazal-san whether he knew anything about it.

    ***

    ¡°So about that¡­¡± (Ghazal-san)

    Next, Ghazal-san told me that the dismantling tools for the event were made by a famous cksmith every year at the request of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The shape and type of dismantling tools have stayed the same over the years, and apparently, there was a mark on the bottom of the hand-held wooden part so that you could recognize it immediately.

    As to why he did not mention this, he must have noticed it when he maintained Fina¡¯s dismantling tools, but heard that it belonged to herte father, and he felt sorry to remind her of her past.

    He nned to tell us about itter if the time was right.

    However, he also mentioned that he did not expect that Fina would actually get the Fighting Spirit Award and receive the same dismantling set.

    After Ghazal-san told me about the dismantling tools, he also decided to maintain my Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear knives while I spent some time chatting with Rica-san.

    I was also happy to see Rica-san happy.

    ¡­

    After saying goodbye to everyone, we stood before the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°Did anyone forget anything?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Shuri)

    Tirumina-san and Fina checked their belongings, and Shuri held up her hands to let me know she was okay.

    Today, we would return to Crimonia.

    Well, even if they forget something, I could use the Bear Transfer Gate toe right back, so it wasn¡¯t that big of an issue¡­

    ¡°Well then, I will use the Bear Transfer Gate to return to Crimonia, but this gate will remain a secret, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we know.¡± (Everyone else)

    I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate leading to my bear house in Crimonia. We went through the Bear Transfer Gate and finally returned to Crimonia.

    ¡°It¡¯s so bizarre. I can¡¯t believe this is Yuna-chan¡¯s house in Crimonia.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san curiously walked past the Bear Transfer Gate, followed by Fina and Shuri.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna-chan. It was fun. Besides, I got to see my daughter in action.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Gentz-san, though.¡± (Yuna)

    Gentz-san was not able to see Fina in action. I was sure he would be disappointed when he listened to our story.

    ¡°Hmmm, well. We¡¯ll quickly bring him back in a good mood when we return home. Can both of you help me out?¡±

    ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡± (Fina and Shuri)

    Tirumina-san asked Fina and Shuri, and they responded.

    If they were willing to indulge Gentz-san, he would soon be in a better mood.

    I have heard that fathers have a soft spot for their daughters, and I have heard that Gentz-san also had a soft spot for his daughters. That would mean that he thinks of them as his own daughters even though they are not rted to him.

    Inparison, my father didn¡¯t care about his daughter that much. He was also not as kind.

    Tirumina-san and the others thanked me once more and left the bear house.

    The house became quiet as the door closed. Having constantly heard Fina, Shuri, and Tirumina-san¡¯s voices over the past few days, I suddenly felt lonely when the three left. Feeling a little down, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear came close to me, probably noticing my feelings. I pet Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear had be my family.

    Two dayster, Fina came to my house and told me about what happened at their ce: Gentz-san was lonely and hugged them as soon as they came home.

    And that Tirumina-san got angry when she saw the mess the house was in.

    She said that even though they had only been away from home for a few days, the rooms had be a mess, the dishes had not been washed, theundry had not been done.

    Come to think of it, I remembered hearing that before Tirumina-san and Gentz got married, he had not done anything to prepare for their moving in together, which made the move to living together under a roof very difficult for both of them.

    It seemed that while Gentz-san could work properly, he was actually awful at housework.

    So, for two days after we returned from the royal capital, Fina happily told me that they had to spend the whole day cleaning the house.

    ¡°Good job!¡± (Fina)

    Then, over tea and snacks, she asked Gentz-san about the dismantling tools she had gotten at the event.

    Gentz-san said that he knew and had kept quiet intentionally, because if Fina had found out that herte father had also attended the same event, she might have been ufortable and unable to show her true potential.

    It was true that Fina might have felt overwhelmed if she knew that herte father had also previously participated in the event, and she might not have been able to show her true potential.

    When Tirumina-san heard what he had to say, she said, ¡°Well, then, you could have told me too,¡± and he responded with ¡°What were you going to do if I told you?¡± Tirumina-san also mentioned before that she was not really interested in the event. After all, when Fina asked her about the event, she didn¡¯t even seem to have the slightest idea what happened. This made Gentz-san also conclude that she had forgotten about it.

    Gentz-san was right because Tirumina-san did not remember the dismantlingpetition event from when herte husband was alive.

    ¡°But mother said that maybe father didn¡¯t tell us because he was disappointed that he had lost to myte father.¡±

    That could also be the case.

    Especially since Gentz-san did lose to Fina¡¯ste father.

    Today, Gentz-san returned to work while Tirumina-san and Shuri were at the orphanage and store, leaving Fina alone with me.

    ¡°Fina, don¡¯t you have to go with them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was wondering if Yuna Onee-chan is okay.¡± (Fina)

    Unexpected words came out.

    ¡°Me? There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°When we left, you looked a little sad.¡± (Fina)

    I may have looked a little sad when they left. But I felt sad only after the three of them left. Perhaps my face already made that sad expression when I saw the three of them off.

    But I didn¡¯t think that Fina would have noticed my feelings.

    ¡°Thank you for worrying about me. I¡¯m fine now.¡± (Yuna)

    Two days had passed, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were there, so I didn¡¯t feel lonely anymore.

    Besides, Fina came to my house to visit today.

    ¡°And um, Yuna Onee-chan¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina and I spent the day rxing, chatting and not doing anything.

    ***

    The next day, I went to various ces.

    I went to the orphanage, where the children cared for the birds as if they were used to it. I remember how fearful they were at first in taking care of them. Liz-san was also giving instructions to the children.

    Tirumina-san was checking the eggs she had collected. Shuri and Fina were beside her. After a quick morning greeting, I entered the building. Inside the building, the director and Neff-san cared for the youngest children.

    When they noticed my arrival, they smiled at me.

    When I asked if anything was troubling them, the director replied, as usual, that nothing was wrong. I got the same answer from Neff-san, so she was not lying or enduring anything.

    Next, I went to Bear Lounge.

    The store was packed with customers, and children were hard at work. In the beginning, they were still not used to working there, but now everyone was working independently without needing Karin to remind them what to do continually.

    When I visited the kitchen, I found that the children were also thinking independently, deciding what was selling and which bread was about to run out, and then asking Morin-san¡¯s permission to make the bread.

    The final decision still came from Morin-san, but the children were thinking it through and voicing their opinions.

    Once again, I could see the growth and development of the children.

    After receiving bread from Morin-san on my way home, I headed to Anzu¡¯s store.

    I looked inside the restaurant and saw customers eating grilled fish, rice balls, seafood hot pot, and other dishes prepared by Anzu, all looking delicious.

    Inside the restaurant, Seno was busy working.

    I was going to have a quick bite to eat but decided to get out of the way.

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Seno)

    Seno-san, who noticed me peeking out of the window, came outside to greet me.

    ¡°Did youe here to eat?¡± (Seno)

    ¡°I was going to, but it looks crowded, so I¡¯lle next time. (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, what are you talking about? There¡¯s no reason to not let Yuna-chan eat at this restaurant. Come in.¡± (Seno)

    Seno-san grabbed my hand, pulled me inside and seated me in an empty seat.

    I decided to ept Seno-san¡¯s offer and have my meal.

    ¡°So, what would you like to eat?¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Well, for the first time in a long time, I¡¯d like a seafood hot pot, please.¡± (Yuna)

    Seeing the customers eating seafood hot pot made me want to eat it.

    ¡°Yes! Anzu, one serving of seafood hot pot, please, right away.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Seno-san, what¡¯s the rush? There are still orders being processed that we have toplete.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°That¡¯s because our employer, Yuna-chan, ordered it.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Alright! Yuna-san, I¡¯ll make it as soon as possible.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu¡¯s loud, animated response could be heard booming all the way from the kitchen.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry, so you can take your time.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to break the workflow just to amodate me. Moreover, the other customers would be upset.

    After a short wait, Anzu brought out a steaming seafood pot with rice.

    ¡°I made it today with fresh seafood brought in from the town of Mile.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°This is all thanks to Yuna-chan, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, thanks to Yuna-chan, we can eat our hometown¡¯s food even in distant Crimonia.¡±

    ¡°And also to have fun doing my job.¡±

    Anzu and Seno, as well as the others who came from Mile, nodded their heads.

    Neff-san, ended up working at the orphanage, but she was also d toe to Crimonia and seemed to be enjoying her work.

    And the seafood hot pot, which I hadn¡¯t had in a long time, was as delicious as I had expected. I thanked them and left the restaurant.

    After leaving the restaurant, I headed to Noa¡¯s house to deliver something.

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    Noa greeted me with a smile.

    ¡°I heard¡­ you went to the royal capital with Fina, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t know where Noa heard this, but she apparently found out.

    ¡°I wish I could have gone with you.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together next time.¡± (Yuna)

    It would have been nice to let Noa see Ellura-san and Shia asionally.

    To aplish that, I would need to decide when I should reveal the Bear Transfer Gate to her, and I was not sure if Noa would keep quiet about it.

    ¡°That¡¯s a promise.¡± (Noa)

    Noa beamed a big smile.

    Maybe someday I could tell her about the Bear Transfer Gate, and we could go out together.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up with you today?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I have a letter from Ellura-san and Shia.¡± (Yuna)

    I received it from them after Fina¡¯s celebration meal.

    ¡°From mother and big sister!¡± (Noa)

    Noa beamed at my words.

    Noa read Ellura-san and Shia¡¯s letter and seemed to miss them a little.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to stay with her until I returned.

    When I returned to the Bear House, I ate bread from Bear-san¡¯s store, took a bath, and slept with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It was a peaceful day.

    I hoped days like this would continue for a while.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 665

    <h4>Chapter 665</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Receives a New Request</b>

    After returning from the royal capital, I spent a leisurely time.

    Perhaps it was thanks to the King and Cliff that I was able to spend my time in such a leisurely manner.

    I would have loved just to rx and do nothing, but I couldn¡¯t stay idle forever.

    Fina asked me yesterday, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going out again today?¡± To which I replied, ¡°I¡¯m going out tomorrow,¡± and so I decided to go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild today.

    If something piqued my interest in the request boards, I might take it.

    When I entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it was bustling with people as usual.

    ¡°Rurina-san, Gil-san, when you¡¯re done with your current request, please ept this job.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Um, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± (Rurina)

    ¡°That means you¡¯ll think about it, but you won¡¯t ept it.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san, the receptionist, was questioning Rurina-san and Gil. But Rurina-san stood before Gil and seemed to be trying to keep Gil from saying anything strange.

    Back in the royal capital, when I first met Deborane and Lanz, they seemed to be focused on working together over there, but over here in Crimonia , Rurina-san and Gil had continued their partnership.

    ¡°I¡¯ll only register the request if you seed, so if you fail, I won¡¯t record it on your guild card, please.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that when I get back. Then I am going to finish my current request. Gil, let¡¯s go.¡± (Rurina)

    ¡°Rurina-san!¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san was talking loudly, but Rurina-san pretended not to hear her and came towards me at the exit, pulling Gil along with her.

    ¡°Oh, are you working today as well, Yuna-chan?¡± (Rurina)

    ¡°I was wondering if there are any interesting requests.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Interesting request. ¡­Looks like, Helen-san just the thing for you then.¡± (Rurina)

    Rurina-san thought for a moment, then smiled and turned to Helen-san.

    ¡°Helen-san! Yuna-chan said she¡¯ll listen to what we were talking about earlier.¡± (Rurina)

    ¡°Rurina-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re going to work, so you take care of the rest.¡± (Rurina)

    Rurina-san left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with Gil.

    I looked at Helen-san, who was beckoning to me.

    I didn¡¯t want to approach her. But her smile looked like she was waiting for me toe.

    I guess I had no choice but to go.

    ¡°Yuna-san, long time no see. It¡¯s been a while, Yuna-san. I have a request that is perfect for Yuna-san right now.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Can you provide me with something other than what Helen-san has in mind right now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, that¡¯s terrible.¡± (Helen)

    I didn¡¯t want to ept the request because Rurina-san had avoided it as if she was trying to escape. Even if it was indeed interesting, I wouldn¡¯t want to ept such a request.

    ¡°Please just listen to what I have to say.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san grabbed my Bear Puppet.

    ¡°Alright, what is it? But this doesn¡¯t mean that I will ept the quest. You can¡¯t force me to ept it, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Since even Rurina-san turned it down, I wanted to rify that just because I listened, did not mean I would ept the quest offer.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°You promised me. So, what¡¯s up?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you believe in ghosts, Yuna-san?¡± (Helen)

    Was she really serious about asking me about the existence of ghosts?

    ¡°Ghosts? Just to confirm, are you talking about ghosts of dead people?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That kind of ghost.¡± (Helen)

    I didn¡¯t think this world had the concept of ghosts.

    I had never talked about such a topic with anyone before, so I never knew.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one, so I¡¯m a skeptic. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to outright dismiss it without a second thought.¡± (Yuna)

    There were mysterious things in this world that science could not exin. The fact that I came to this other world could not be exined by scientific knowledge, and that alone was far more mysterious than the existence of ghosts.

    ¡°What is it about ghosts? Did ite out of somewhere or from something?¡± (Yuna)

    The real question would be, what kind of beings were ghosts in this world?

    This was a world where monsters and other strange things existed. It would not be surprising if there were actual ghosts.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. A report came in, detailing ghost encounters.¡± (Helen)

    Was it really a ghost?

    Really?

    Ghosts?

    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d be asked to deal with ghosts. I don¡¯t even know if I can do anything about them, much less exorcising them.¡± (Yuna)

    Ghosts were not my area of expertise.

    I have never fought with a ghost in the first ce. Moreover, would ghost-type monsters not be immune to physical attacks? Would magic work like in the stories, though?

    I have no holy or saintly powers. All I had was the power of bears.

    And wouldn¡¯t the extermination of ghosts be the job of priests and exorcists?

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that. I only need you to verify the report.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Just to verify?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like you to defeat it if you can, the ghosts¡­¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san¡¯s true feelings leaked out.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t do it, so please find someone else to do it.¡± (Yuna)

    I could see why Rurina-san ran away.

    I wouldn¡¯t want to be a part of it if I could.

    As I tried to leave, Helen-san reached out and grabbed my bear clothes.

    ¡°Wait!¡± (Helen)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s really impossible for me to deal with ghosts. Ask other adventurers to do it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve already asked various adventurers, but they seem to have heard rumors that there were ghosts actually appearing, so they avoided it.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Rumors?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There¡¯s a house, but the owner sold it to amercial guild, and it¡¯s been abandoned for the past few months. When the guild decided to sell that house, and was cleaning the inside of the house, a woman¡¯s voice came out of nowhere crying out the words, [Pleas, help, me~].¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san said so with some animated acting.

    ¡°And there are some people who can hear and some who can¡¯t. The people who can hear are freaked out, and the people who can¡¯t hear are scared because the people who can hear are making so much noise.¡± (Helen)

    If some could hear it, but others couldn¡¯t, that would certainly be frightening.

    ¡°But is hearing a voice alone enough proof to say that there¡¯s a ghost?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not all. Some have seen flickering lights or curtains shaking even though the windows are closed, or a vase on a shelf rattling.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Human souls or poltergeists.

    But was that really a ghost¡¯s doing?

    ¡°By the way, have any adventurers seen them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Some have.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± (Yuna)

    I decided to run away.

    I didn¡¯t want to be haunted by ghosts or anything like that. Most of all, I would not be able to go to the bathroom alone at night. I would need Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to go to the bathroom with me. And as an adult woman, I would rather not have to do that.

    ¡°Please wait.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san grabbed my clothes again and tried to keep me from escaping, but thinking about it, I tried to reason out what might be going on.

    ¡°Can¡¯t that ghost be just someone¡¯s prank. They might be using light magic or a magic stone of light.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Who would?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Someone who doesn¡¯t want to give the house to someone else, so they scare others away?¡± (Yuna)

    I was about to say that I¡¯ve seen this in someic books or novels.

    ¡°For what reason?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Probably, to lower the value of the mansion or something?¡± (Yuna)

    If it was proven to be a haunted mansion, it wouldn¡¯t sell, and the price would undoubtedly drop. It was possible that they were trying to cause haunting disturbances to get the property once the price had dropped low enough.

    ¡°But you know, some people can hear the ghost and some people can¡¯t.¡± (Helen)

    It seemed like some people do, but well, this was a different world after all. There were ways to do that.

    ¡°Hmmm. Maybe they used wind magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wind magic?¡± (Helen)

    Sounds were transmitted through vibrations. If you use wind magic to your advantage, you should be able to carry the sound just far enough and limit who can hear it.

    ¡°What? You seem to be on to something.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Guild Master?¡± (Helen)

    While we were talking, the guild master appeared from behind Helen-san.

    ¡°So, you think one can do that with wind magic?¡± (Guild Master)

    I wanted to exin, but it might be difficult.

    ¡°Sure it can be done, but I think it¡¯s a veryplicated process.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, I doubt people could do it in the same way that I used wind magic.

    I tried to demonstrate it to the Guild Master and Helen-san.

    ¡°I have activated it. As we speak right now, the Guild Master won¡¯t be able to hear us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even though we are so close?¡± (Helen)

    Close, but not close enough. They were about 2 meters apart. Usually, at that distance, the two of them should be able to hear each other well enough.

    The distance between me and Helen-san was also 2 meters.

    Then I decided to have a conversation with her.

    ¡°Is the Guild Master working?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, he is.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask the Guild Master to take down the ghosts?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. The Guild Master is afraid of ghosts.¡± (Helen)

    I looked at the huge Guild Master.

    ¡°Such a big man is afraid of ghosts?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, even though he looks like that¡­¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san and I looked at the Guild Master again.

    ¡°Wait a minute, what are you two talking about?¡± (Guild Master)

    It seemed like the Guild Master didn¡¯t hear our conversation.

    I released my wind magic.

    ¡°Guild Master, did you not hear us?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I could see that you guys were looking at me and having a conversation, but I couldn¡¯t hear any words nor sounds from both of you.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Then this concluded that someone might have used wind magic to be the ghost.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. And Wind Magic can also be used to shake the curtains.¡± (Guild Master)

    The two of them were convinced by one of the possibilities I had presented.

    ¡°That¡¯s why it should be fine. So, I¡¯m going home.¡± (Yuna)

    I should leave that to some other adventurers to determine if it was true.

    ¡°Wait a minute. That is just Yuna-san¡¯s imagination, and we still don¡¯t know if that is the case, right?¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san was correct; using wind magic was possible, but it didn¡¯t prove that ghosts didn¡¯t exist. Even the ghosts could be real.

    ¡°Well then, I am suggesting that Yuna-san should go and check it out.¡± (Helen)

    As I have said many times, wind magic was just one of the possibilities. It was just in the realm of my imagination. And yes, it did not prove that there were no ghosts.

    I would hate it if there were ghosts.

    By the way, I hate horror stories.

    I simply could not understand why people like to watch horror movies and enjoy them while eximing that they were frightening.

    I could understand if it was a couple watching it together. But I just never understand the feeling of watching them alone.

    If I watched it, I might be unable to go to the bathroom ale at night.

    As I was thinking about how to say no, Guild Master and Helen-san followed up.

    ¡°A magician like you would know if it was someone who was just using magic.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°You can just verify if there was someone around doing magic. Please help us out.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san asked, sping my hands.

    ¡°Umm, I have to go home.¡± (Yuna)

    I was trying to escape.

    ¡°Please.¡± (Helen)

    But Helen-san wouldn¡¯t let me go.

    ¡°Can you not ask a weak girl to do that for you?¡± (Yuna)

    Again, I let loose my words and tried to run away.

    ¡°A weak girl will not be able to defeat a Goblin King or a ck Viper by herself.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san shot the words back at me, blocking my escape route.

    ¡°That is that, and this is this¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Please, I only want you to check.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san stared at me.

    ¡°Sigh, fine. I¡¯ll just have to check, okay? If there really is a ghost, I¡¯ll run away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Helen)

    Helen-san and the Guild Master looked happy at my words.

    No one really took on the job, huh?

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 666

    <h4>Chapter 666</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Goes to a Haunted House</b>

    Having been entrusted with the keys to the haunted house, I left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and headed for the haunted house.

    My steps were heavy.

    I didn¡¯t want to go there.

    I wanted to go home, cover myself with a futon, and sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms.

    After doing nothing for a while, it was a mistake to look for work at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    Maybe the thought of seriously trying to work every once in a while in itself was actually a mistake.

    I think God must have punished me for trying to work diligently.

    ¡®You should not work. A life as a recluse would suit you better.¡¯ I could almost hear him saying something like that.

    Maybe I should just pretend that I went to the haunted house and report falsely that the ghosts didn¡¯t exist.

    As I was walking along thinking about those things, someone spoke to me.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Pretending to be going¡­ Are you going somewhere?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­Noa?!¡± (Yuna)

    It was Noa who spoke to me.

    ¡°Why is Noa here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk and shopping. It is also a learning experience to see how the Father governs the city. Father always said that it is important to see things with your own eyes because there are things you can¡¯t understand just by looking at numbers on paper.¡± (Noa)

    Perhaps he was saying this to himself about what happened at the orphanage.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san, are you going to pretend to go somewhere?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°How do you know what I was thinking in my mind?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You were saying it out loud.¡± (Noa)

    Apparently, I was thinking my thoughts out loud.

    ¡°I kind of didn¡¯t want to go somece, but I had to.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to pretend that you went there. By the way, where were you nning to go?¡± (Noa)

    I told Noa about the request I had epted at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°A ghost? I¡¯d like to see one.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said with a sparkle in her eyes.

    Here, I found a horror lover.

    I was at odds with her.

    ¡°It¡¯s ghosts. Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A little. But even if I am scared, I would like to see it because I have never seen one before. If I could talk to the ghost, and it wants my help, I¡¯d like to help it.¡± (Noa)

    Ugh, what a sweet girl.

    Or perhaps, ghosts over here (in this world) were not that scary? But both the Guild Master and Rurina-san were scared and didn¡¯t want to go to the haunted house to check out the situation.

    ¡°I have heard that ghosts appear when there are still some unresolved feelings. If you get rid of those unresolved feelings, I¡¯m sure the ghosts will disappear.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°As for me, I just don¡¯t want to see them, no matter if they are bad ghosts or good ghosts.¡± (Yuna)

    If only it was a ghost of a pretty girl like inic books and novels. I would not want to see a ghost who was killed and had a messed up face, or a knight with a grudge, or a youngdy with a grudge. I believe such ghosts would not be able tomunicate. Unresolved feelings were like that.

    My body trembled.

    ¡°Hmm, even Yuna-san has something she was afraid of.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°There are many things I¡¯m afraid of. I don¡¯t like ghosts, and I don¡¯t like bugs either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san is just a normal girl, huh?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, I am a normal girl.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you. Count me in as well.¡± (Noa)

    Noa chuckled at my ¡°normal girl¡±ment.

    ¡°Noa? There might be ghosts there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Or it could be someone¡¯s magic, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But there¡¯s still a good chance that there really is a ghost.¡± (Yuna)

    If anything, I think the possibility was higher.

    After all, this was another world. It would not be surprising if there were ghosts here.

    ¡°In that case, we can run away.¡± (Noa)

    Unable to refuse Noa¡¯s suggestion, I headed for the haunted mansion with her.

    Because I was afraid of being alone, I had no choice. I needed someone to talk to. If something happened, I could take Noa with me and run away as fast as I could.

    ¡°This is the ce.¡± (Yuna)

    In front of us stood a magnificent mansion.

    It was not as grand as Cliff¡¯s house, but it was grand enough.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course I am, I¡¯vee this far.¡± (Noa)

    I finally gave up trying to make her leave.

    I opened the gate, and we entered the grounds.

    The garden was covered with weeds, indicating that it had not been tended for a long time.

    Maybe a sickly youngdy who lived in this house had passed away.

    It could also be the ghost of a beautiful, sickly girl who was suffering and asking for ¡°help¡±.

    If someone granted her request to see the outside world before she died, or to touch a Bear just once, she would be granted peace and happiness.

    ¡°Yuna-san, we are going in?¡± (Noa)

    Noa tugged on my hand as I was escaping reality with my weird fantasies.

    ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll take safety precautions.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Safety precautions?¡± (Noa)

    I let go of Noa¡¯s hand and held out the Bear Puppets in front of me, summoning Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear~~¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the same as she did when she met them the other day.

    I checked with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to make sure they were okay.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, are you okay with ghosts?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n¡±¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear shook their heads to the side while squealing in a frightened tone.

    ¡°Are you afraid?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    They looked a little scared.

    ¡°Even though you are Bears?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    They made a face saying that being bears had nothing to do with it.

    ¡°They say bears are like their owners, and I guess it¡¯s true. But if something happens, I¡¯ll protect you, don¡¯t worry.¡± (Noa)

    Saying this, Noa hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°No, it will be us who will protect you.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to run away with us immediately if anything happened.

    We walked through the courtyard to the magnificent front door. Then we inserted the key and turned it. And with a click, the key unlocked the door. I slowly opened the door.

    I was told that the house had been abandoned, but the inside was cleaner than I had expected.

    And just to make sure, I used my detection skill.

    The ghost might be a monster.

    But there was no reaction from monsters or even people in my detection range.

    The guess about people hiding and using wind magic to startle workers also disappeared.

    ¡°So, where is the ghost?¡± (Noa)

    Well, I was told that the supposed ghosts were in the mansion, but I wasn¡¯t told which rooms they appear in. I wondered if they appear regardless of the room.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, so let¡¯s just walk around.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Why did she reply so happily?

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t leave without permission, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, if Noa tries to go anywhere on her own, stop her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuun.¡±¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t go anywhere on my own.¡± (Noa)

    But children had a habit of wandering off when they found something they were interested in.

    ¡°What is that?¡± (Noa)

    Noa ran out of the room just as I was saying that.

    I followed Noa and saw a picture on the wall. It was a picture of a fat man.

    I wondered who he was. I couldn¡¯t help but feel the urge to punch him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this man several times in our house before.¡± (Noa)

    Well, he was a person who lived in a big house like this, so it was not surprising if he was rted to Cliff.

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t seen him recently.¡± (Noa)

    So it might be the ghost of this person.

    My sickly beautiful girl setting was falling apart.

    No, this did not prove that my setting was off yet. He might have a pretty girl as his daughter.

    It could be a case of a dragonfly giving birth to a hawk.

    Then I inspected the rooms with Noa, but nothing ghostly appeared.

    ¡°Maybe they are noting out because they are afraid of the bears?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuun.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked happy and proud. Probably because they thought that ghosts were afraid of them.

    ¡°Then, if you return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it mighte out, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed sadly.

    ¡°I won¡¯t return them. If there are no signs of ghosts at this point, I¡¯ll just report that there aren¡¯t any.¡± (Yuna)

    If I report that I have thoroughly checked the house and no ghosts have appeared, my work was considered done.

    The guild should have no reason toin as long as I have technically inspected the property.

    ¡°Besides, for Noa¡¯s safety, I¡¯m not going to return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If I have to make them return, I¡¯m going to ask Noa to leave.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Umm, I understand.¡± (Noa)

    After checking the first floor, we went upstairs to continue our investigation.

    ¡°But I really don¡¯t see anything. Should wee here at night? I¡¯ve heard that ghosts appear at night.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°They might note out at night either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Other people have been witnessing the events during the day, so I don¡¯t think it will matter if we search during the day.¡± (Yuna)

    It wasn¡¯t a big mansion like in some Western-style mansion, but I still didn¡¯t want toe here at night. There might be zombies. Going to a haunted ce at night would be foolish.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, let¡¯s go into this room.¡± (Noa)

    Noa entered the room with Swaying Bear. I followed along with Hugging Bear, and we entered the room.

    [Can you hear me?]

    Hm?

    I thought I heard something.

    [Please, help me.]

    I think I heard something again.

    ¡°Noa, do you hear something?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­? I don¡¯t hear anything, but¡­maybe you did hear something!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± (Yuna)

    Shaking my head, I denied it.

    It must be my imagination.

    Yes, I didn¡¯t hear it.

    I told myself.

    [Can you hear my voice?]

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡± (Yuna)

    By mistake, I answered.

    [You can hear me?]

    Not good.

    ¡°Noa, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything going on, so let¡¯s go home.¡± (Yuna)

    I faked as if I was talking to Noa, not the owner of the voice I could hear.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t looked in all the rooms yet.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve seen this much, that should be more than enough.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t see anything anywhere.

    I did hear a voice.

    Likewise, I tried again to use my detection skill. Someone might have entered the house while we were exploring it.

    But I didn¡¯t detect anything other than us inside the mansion.

    ¡°Yuna-san, the curtains are shaking!¡± (Noa)

    I looked in the direction Noa pointed and saw the curtains shaking. The window was supposed to be closed.

    ¡°Could it be the ghost?¡± (Noa)

    It did not respond to my detection skills, but I could hear voices, and the curtains shook even though the windows were not open.

    Was it a ghost?

    I looked at those curtains and saw something glowing.

    ¡°A light?¡± (Yuna)

    Could it be a Hitodama?

    (T/N: You can read about Hitodama here.)

    ¡°Yuna-san, what light are you talking about?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, can¡¯t you see it, that light?¡± (Yuna)

    A bluish-white light floated near the curtains.

    It was not a light created by magic.

    I might be able to create something simr, but it was not the time to think about that.

    ¡°Noa, we¡¯re leaving the room!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who saw my expression, answered immediately without even asking.

    As we were about to leave the room, the door closed by itself.

    The light was moving in front of the door.

    [Wait, don¡¯t go. Please, listen to me.]

    This was bad. We might as well escape, even if we had to break the walls and windows with magic.

    If theyined, I could pay for itter.

    Right now, our priority should be to get out of this house and secure our safety.

    When I was about to use magic, the light became brighter, and the human soul changed into human form.

    There, I saw the existence of a fairy for the first time since I came to this world.

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 Chapter 667

    <h4>Chapter 667</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Talking to the Fairy</b>

    ¡°A Fairy?¡± (Yuna)

    She was a pretty girl, about the size of two handsbined, dressed in a green dress-like outfit, with long golden hair. She also had wings on her back that people did not have. From every angle, she looked like a fairy herself.

    ¡°Did you just call me a fairy? Perhaps you can see me?¡± (Fairy)

    The fairy flew in front of me as if to assert herself.

    ¡°Yes, I can see you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure you can see me? It¡¯s not just light, or like an insect.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°You look like a girl dressed in green with long golden hair tied up on either side.¡± (Yuna)

    I told her what I saw, and she looked happy and started to fly around me.

    ¡°You really can see me, huh?¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°Are you really a fairy?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You can¡¯t believe what you see with your own eyes?¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never seen a fairy before. You are not an insect, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump such a pretty girl like me with a bug!¡± (Fairy)

    The fairy girl jumped at me, but I ducked to the side.

    ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t avoid me!¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°Well, if you fly straight at me, I could not help but dodge.¡± (Yuna)

    The fairy girl looked frustrated.

    I thought it was better that I didn¡¯t reactively swat her like an insect. If it had been a bug, I would have swatted it.

    ¡°Um, Yuna-san, did you just mention a fairy?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked while I was talking to the fairy girl. Noa was looking around at where I was telling her, but her gaze passed over the fairy, which showed that she couldn¡¯t see the fairy.

    ¡°It¡¯s right in front of me, though.¡± (Yuna)

    With the Bear Puppet, I pointed to where the fairy was.

    Noa stared at where I was pointing with the Bear Puppet. The fairy stopped still in front of it.

    ¡°Uuuh, I can¡¯t see it.¡± (Noa)

    I tried my best to guide her, but she still couldn¡¯t see the Fairy at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she can see us fairies. Only a few people can see us.¡± (Fairy)

    The fairy flew in front of Noa, but Noa didn¡¯t react.

    ¡°By the way, you can¡¯t hear a fairy¡¯s voice either, can you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t hear it. To me, it looks like Yuna-san is talking to no one.¡± (Noa)

    I would look like a strange person from a different angle, wouldn¡¯t I?

    I could imagine looking like a really creepy, evil person muttering to myself, performing a monologue.

    If I saw such a person from afar, I would immediately flee to avoid getting involved with such a strange person.

    ¡°But the fairy does exist, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Do you believe in fairies?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course I do, Yuna-san says she can see them, so I believe you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa could neither hear nor see the fairy, but she believed me just by my statement.

    ¡°This girl is a sweetheart.¡± (Fairy)

    I agree with her. Noa treated Fina normally and was not overbearing even though Noa was born into nobility. However, she can sometimes be a bit selfish when ites to bears, such as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    The fairy flew around Noa and tried talking to her, but Noa didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°But why is it that only some people can see you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is said that in order for a person to see a fairy, they have to be on the same magic wavelength as that fairy.¡± (Fairy)

    Does that mean that my magic was on the same wavelength as this fairy?

    It might have been thanks to the power I received from God, right?

    Or maybe our magic were actually on the same magic wavelength which somehow miraculously established a connection.

    I couldn¡¯t possibly figure it out right now, so I didn¡¯t worry about it.

    ¡°But at first, I couldn¡¯t see you either.¡± (Yuna)

    I could hear her voice, but I couldn¡¯t see her.

    ¡°That¡¯s because our magic wavelength was not a perfect match, so I had to synchronize mine to match your magic wavelength for you to be able to see me.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°So, if you match your wavelength to Noa¡¯s, or rather her magic wavelength, she can see you, too?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked, looking at Noa.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. It is not possible for me to synchronize with a wavelength far different from mine. I could only adjust my magic wavelength to match those who were close to matching mine.¡± (Fairy)

    So that was why only I could see her.

    ¡°Noa, it seems like you can only see fairies if you have simr magic power as them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, I see. They say that fairies can only be seen by a limited number of people. So it was because of the magic power.¡± (Noa)

    When I told Noa the reason, she looked disappointed.

    ¡°But I, too, wanted to see the fairies who are said to be beautiful and lovely. I wanted to talk to her.¡± (Noa)

    If I could, I would like to show Noa the fairies, too, but this time, there was nothing I could do.

    Just as I was about to give up, the fairy girl said something I hadn¡¯t expected.

    ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering, that girl might be able to see and talk to me, as well.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°But you said that you can¡¯t show yourself earlier.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s because, until now, you weren¡¯t there. But if you, who are on the same magical wavelength as me, lend me your magic power, I can make it possible for her and others to see me.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°How can I help you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just give me a little bit of your magic power.¡± (Fairy)

    Magic power¡­

    I looked at Noa. She looked disappointed that she couldn¡¯t see the fairy.

    ¡°It won¡¯t affect me in any strange way, will it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it won¡¯t. I am receiving your magic power, so if anyone will be affected, it will be me.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°Well, then.¡± (Yuna)

    I reached out to the fairy, and she climbed on top of the Bear Puppet.

    ¡°Noa, watch my hand. You might see the fairy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Okay, here we go.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know if this was necessary, but I channeled my magic power into the Bear Puppet.

    The fairy took in my magic power, and as soon as I thought her body was glowing, Noa shouted.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the fairy! I can see it!¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s eyes opened wide as she watched the fairy on top of my Bear Puppet.

    ¡°It looks like she can see me now, as well.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°You are beautiful. Very pretty.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That human has a good eye for things.¡± (Fairy)

    The fairy started to fly around Noa, thrilled to be told she was beautiful and pretty.

    Well, I think she was beautiful, but her personality seemed a little arrogant.

    Noa reached out her hand, and the fairy stopped on her hand, which made Noa smile.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a fairy, but there really are fairies.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky. You don¡¯t get to see a fairy like me that often.¡± (Fairy)

    ¡°Yes, it will be a memory I will cherish forever.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± (Fairy)

    Noa¡¯s straightforward words left the fairy girl dumbfounded.

    ¡°Um, and¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa was about to ask something from the fairy, but then she realized that she didn¡¯t know her name.

    ¡°My name is Primme.¡± (Primme)

    Just as Noa was about to ask, the fairy said her name.

    ¡°I am Noire; please call me Noa. Umm, Primme-chan?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m older than you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Umm, I¡¯m sorry, Primme-san.¡± (Noa)

    Apparently, ¡°chan¡± was not eptable.

    She looked like a miniaturised 15-year-old girl, but she was a fairy. I have no idea how old she really was.

    ¡°Noa. And you¡¯re Yuna, the funny-looking one, right? That¡¯s what the girl called you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to say my name, but she called my name first.

    Besides, I know that my outfit was weird, but I felt ufortable when the fairy said it.

    ¡°So, what we discovered here is that the ghost is actually a fairy prankster.¡± (Yuna)

    I have read stories of prankster fairies in mangas and novels. But I never thought they would appear before me.

    ¡°But with this, the request isplete, and I¡¯m d that it did not end up as an actual ghost, right Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    I was no longer afraid once I knew that the ghost was a fairy.

    Just as Noa said, the request was now aplished.

    The pay would be enough for a bit of spending money.

    ¡°Noa helped me out too, so with the request fee, let¡¯s buy something delicious to eat.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sure!¡± (Noa)

    Noa beamed with happiness.

    The fact that Noa was here with me made me feel half as scared as I would have. I should thank her at least that much.

    I looked at the fairy again.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Don¡¯t y pranks and scare people anymore. Everyone was in a lot of trouble because they thought that there was a ghost in this house. If you could, you shouldn¡¯t stay in this mansion.¡± (Yuna)

    I said this to her as if I was talking to a child.

    She was small, so she looked like a child.

    ¡°Wait, who are you talking about ying tricks on people and startling them?¡± (Primme)

    She left Noa¡¯s hand and flew right in front of my face.

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was not ying a prank to scare people.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You tried to startle us by imitating ghosts and saying ¡®save me¡¯ and moving the curtains around, taking advantage of your invisibility.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I just wanted people to find me.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Yuna)

    Primme answered a little sadly, and Noa looked at her and asked.

    ¡°Because I wanted someone to help me, as I mentioned before.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said with a serious face.

    She did not seem to be mischievously ying a prank, lying or joking.

    ¡°Please, help me.¡± (Primme)

    Primme perched on top of my Bear Puppet and bowed her head to ask for help.

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 Chapter 668

    <h4>Chapter 668</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Listening to a Fairy¡¯s Story</b>

    ¡°Please, help me.¡± (Primme)

    It was me taking this quest that started this, and if I listened to her more, I would probably end up in some trouble. But, more than that, Noa was with me. If I listened to the Fairy¡¯s problem now, Noa might also get involved, which would be an even bigger problem for me. Sorry, but I think it was better to leave this ce before I listened to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but can we leave this ce for now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait, why are you trying to leave? Why can¡¯t you just listen to what I have to say?¡± (Primme)

    Primme grabbed my bear suit and tried to keep me from escaping.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The fairy is asking for help.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I know that, but¡­¡± (Yuna)

    It was in my nature to want to help someone after hearing what they had to say.

    ¡°Yuna-san, it is said that if you grant the fairy¡¯s wish, you will be happy, and conversely, if you fail to grant the fairy¡¯s wish, you will be unhappy.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That means it¡¯s better if I just don¡¯t <b>listen</b> to her after all.¡± (Yuna)

    If not fulfilling a fairy¡¯s wish made one unhappy, then there was no need to force myself to listen to that wish in the first ce, especially since there wasn¡¯t really any problem with my current life.

    Different people define happiness in different ways. Some wanted to be rich. Some wanted to be popr with the opposite gender. Some wanted to be a good person. Some wanted to be strong. Some wanted to be smart. But for me, I did not need any of those things.

    I enjoy my current life, blessed with the people around me, even though I sometimes get caught up in difficult situations.

    Then, there was no need for me to gamble to get more happiness.

    If I were to seek more happiness, there would be no end to it.

    If I could make a wishe true, I would say, ¡°May the world be at peace,¡± and y the good guy. No matter how many fairies there were, there was no way they could make such a wishe true.

    And since that was the case, it would be better not to listen to the fairy¡¯s request regardless if it would make her unhappy.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy with my life now, Noa. If one can be happy by helping fairies, I think I should give this chance to someone who is not happy with their life.¡± (Yuna)

    There must be many people in this world who are unsatisfied with their life and want to be happy. It would be better to have this fairy go to those people anyway.

    ¡°Umm, yes, but the fairy is asking for help.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, listening from a while ago, I can tell you that I don¡¯t really have the power to make people happy or unhappy, you know?¡± (Primme)

    Primme said with a proud smile.

    Then there was no need to listen to her.

    It would only get me in trouble.

    But Noa seemed to think differently.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s okay for us to listen to what she has to say, right?¡± (Noa)

    I think it was unfortunate that I got caught up in all the trouble.

    ¡°In the first ce, isn¡¯t meeting a lovely fairy like me good luck in itself? It would make one happy.¡± (Primme)

    That¡¯s just you saying that yourself, you know?

    I had never seen fairies in my original world, and I heard that even in this world, it was not easy to see fairies, so maybe I was indeed lucky. That might be right, but it made me feel ufortable to hear it from the being itself saying so.

    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s even rarer for people to see our actual form.¡± (Primme)

    It was true that many different people hade to this mansion, but no one was able to see Primme beyond what others could only see as light.

    ¡°Please, listen to me. It is hard to find someone who can see me as well as you can. You are the only one.¡± (Primme)

    The fairy stopped in front of me, her joking expression disappeared, and she became serious again.

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll just listen to what you have to say. And if there¡¯s anything I can do to help, I¡¯ll lend a hand. That is only if I am able to help you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Tha, thank you.¡± (Primme)

    Primme¡¯s smile was as wide as it can be, as if she was satisfied with my response.

    If I couldn¡¯t say <b>no</b> anyway, I decided to just listen to what she had to say. Perhaps it might be better to listen at least.

    ¡°So, what do you need my help with? Do I have to kill a wolf or a goblin or something?¡± (Yuna)

    That would be easier than fighting ghosts.

    ¡°No, I want you to find my sister.¡± (Primme)

    It wasn¡¯t about defeating monsters or ghosts. It was a manhunt.

    ¡°My sister said she was going to meet a human, but she never came back.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°A human. So the person can see your sister, then.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what my onee-chan told me. Many times, onee-chan mentioned that she was meeting with a human who came close to the fairy forest. Then, one day, she went out as usual, saying that she was going to see that person again. But then, she never came back, even after some time passed by. That has never happened before. So I think humans may have caught her.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°By the way, have you ever seen that human?¡± (Yuna)

    Primme shook her head.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even interested. I didn¡¯t think about going to see that person with her because that person wouldn¡¯t have been able to see me anyway.¡± (Primme)

    No information, huh?

    ¡°You, did you really think you could just go looking for your sister on your own?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Most people can¡¯t see me or hear me. And even if they could, they would be startled and run away. So, for a while now, I have been looking for someone who may be able to see me or at least hear me to start.¡± (Primme)

    Indeed, it would be difficult to find someone in a ce where no one understood yournguage. Furthermore, if they could literally not see or hear you, it would be almost impossible to ask for help from others.

    That included me, who might not be able to see other fairies.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, are you refusing?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, you also mentioned that you have never seen a fairy. Even if I help, it¡¯s practically impossible for me to find other fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    Even with my detection skills, there was no response from the fairy, nor was there any response from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. In other words, only a fairy would be able to find another fairy.

    Finding such a fairy would be next to impossible, even for me.

    ¡°Yes, but¡­. Um, she may have a clue as to where her sister might be?¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered, so I looked at Primme to verify if it was as Noa had expected.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where she is, but I can tell the general direction of where she might be.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You can?¡± (Yuna)

    Primme pulled out something from under her clothes. As it was something a fairy used, it was small. However, after a careful look, it appeared to be some sort of cloth.

    ¡°You know, fairies¡¯ clothes are made up with fairy magic power.¡± (Primme)

    Primme sounded like it was something obvious, but I didn¡¯t know themon knowledge regarding fairies.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t havemon knowledge about fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    Thinking that it might bemon knowledge in this world, I looked at Noa to confirm.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that either.¡± (Noa)

    Noa apparently didn¡¯t know about it, either.

    ¡°Really, humans are so ignorant.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s simply impossible for us to know since we barely have any contact with fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, let me exin. Our fairy clothes are made of magic. I made these clothes myself. Aren¡¯t they pretty?¡± (Primme)

    Primme held up the hem of her dress.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very pretty.¡± (Noa)

    Primme looked happy at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s with the outfit?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It has nothing to do with the clothes, but this handkerchief is made by my sister with her own magic power.¡± (Primme)

    Somehow, I could see what she was trying to tell me.

    ¡°Are you saying that the handkerchief made with her magic power can tell us where your sister is?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve made it this far by following that hint.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re amazing.¡± (Noa)

    Noaplimented me, but that was just borrowed knowledge for me. There were stories of people finding others from things they had in their possession, like a dog finding someone by the smell left behind from something someone possessed.

    So I felt indescribable when Noa praised me because I just came up with an idea I was familiar with.

    ¡°So, with this handkerchief, you can sense where she is headed, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, using that, we will be able to find her, right?¡± (Noa)

    Primme, however shook her head in response as she clutched the handkerchief.

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t be able to find her that easily if she was too far away. I also think it¡¯s because this ce is far away from the fairy forest where we live that I am having a hard time finding her.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Away from the fairy forest? Where is the fairy forest?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know where I am.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then how did you end up here when you don¡¯t even know where you are?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I came from over there.¡± (Primme)

    Primme pointed to a mirror on the wall.

    ¡°The mirror?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I came through that mirror, so I don¡¯t know where I am or where the fairy forest is where I live.¡± (Primme)

    Noa and I approached the mirror.

    It was oval with an ornate frame. It wasrge enough to be held in one¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°Is it okay if we touch it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It won¡¯t suddenly take us to the fairy forest, will it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, it should be alright.¡± (Primme)

    I touched it, but to me, it was just an ordinary mirror. In the mirror, I could see a reflection of myself in a stuffed bear costume. Once again, it reminded me just how ridiculous I looked while walking around town in this outfit.

    Primme approached the mirror.

    ¡°This mirror is a fairy mirror.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±A fairy mirror?¡±¡± (Yuna and Noa)

    Noa and I looked in the mirror again.

    Despite the ornate decoration on the edges, it looked like an ordinary mirror to us.

    ¡°I think it was made a long time ago, but the mirror has fairy magic in it. Perhaps the fairies made it so that they coulde and go as I do now.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So is there another mirror like this on the other side of this mirror?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is no mirror on the other side. I guess you could say that I am using fairy water as a catalyst to create a simr phenomenon on the other side that connected me here.¡± (Primme)

    Fairy water.

    It sounded mysterious and special.

    If I poured that on a ghost or something, maybe it would make it vanish. It was not holy water, though.

    ¡°So, using that mirror and returning to the fairy forest, I will be able to sense my sister¡¯s whereabouts.¡± (Primme)

    That means we would need to find the location of the Fairy Forest first before we could start all of this.

    But you know, I was also starting to want to go there.

    After all, we were talking about a fairy forest, you know. It was a fantasy staple.

    ¡°So, if I help you find your sister, can you let us enter the fairy forest where you live?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Actually, we are usually not allowed to bring people to the fairy forest. The Queen has permitted me to bring someone as long as that person would immediately leave the forest soon after we arrive there, along with guiding them to escape the forest.¡± (Primme)

    Wait, did that mean we could go to their forest but had to leave immediately?

    But imagining a Fairy Queen ruling over a fairy forest sounded so interesting.

    As a gamer, I was really tempted to go there.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I envy you. I want to visit the fairy forest too.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It might be dangerous, so I can¡¯t take you this time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I understand. Then, please tell me a lot of storiester and get me some souvenirs.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll alsoe along and tell you stories as well.¡± (Primme)

    The fairy flew in front of Noa after saying so. At that moment, the handkerchief she was holding fell from her hand.

    ¡°Ah, it fell.¡± (Noa)

    Noa spread her palms to catch it with both hands.

    The handkerchief fluttered down, and just as it seemed tond on Noa¡¯s hand, it disappeared as if melting into her hand.

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 Chapter 669

    <h4>Chapter 669</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Deciding to Help Primme</b>

    ¡°Wait, where did my sister¡¯s handkerchief go!¡± (Primme)

    Primme climbed on Noa¡¯s hand, trying to find her handkerchief.

    ¡°When I tried to catch it, it disappeared in my hand.¡± (Noa)

    Even to my eyes, Primme¡¯s handkerchief seemed to have disappeared into Noa¡¯s palm.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying. It might have fallen on the floor.¡± (Primme)

    Primme didn¡¯t seem to want to believe Noa¡¯s words and started searching around Noa¡¯s feet. Both Noa and I crouched down to search but couldn¡¯t find the small handkerchief.

    ¡°It¡¯s not there. I finally found someone who could see me and talk to me. I thought I could go look for my sister¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Do you have anything else of your sister¡¯s?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No. I only have that.¡± (Primme)

    Until a little while ago, when she saw me and agreed to let me go to the fairy forest, she was smiling. Now she looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°Hey, did it really go inside your body?¡± (Primme)

    Primme asked as she climbed onto Noa¡¯s hand to check, touching it.

    ¡°I tried to catch it in my hand, but it disappeared when itnded on my palm.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, did anything happen to your body?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa touched herself, opening and closing her hands.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine¡­ but I can somewhat feel something different.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said as she put her hand on her chest.

    ¡°Hey, are you feeling alright?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin it. I can feel a different kind of magic power inside me, a tiny bit. It is simr to the feeling I had when Yuna-san taught me how to use magic before, and where you channelled magic power into my body.¡± (Noa)

    I once channelled magic power into Noa and Fina¡¯s bodies when I was teaching them how to use magic.

    ¡°But I could barely feel it. However,pared to the Yuna¡¯s magic power entering my body before, the Fairy¡¯s magic power did not disappear.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Maybe my sister¡¯s magic power has resonated with you?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous? Is there any risk of something strange happening to Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, it¡¯s not something that will affect Noa. It¡¯s like me having a bit of your magic power.¡± (Primme)

    If it was simr to the way I channelled magic power to Noa and Fina to teach them magic, then it might not be that dangerous.

    ¡°The magic power is still in that girl¡¯s body, then maybe¡­ Hey, do you think you can tell us where my sister is? Do you feel as if you are connected to something from far away?¡± (Primme)

    Primme asked Noa with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

    Noa closed her eyes and put her hands on her chest.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know. But I do feel something. Maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s far away, just like Primme-san said.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, maybe, if you go to the fairy forest¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Will you take me to the fairy forest as well?!¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked happily, thinking she too might be able to go to the fairy forest.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why not?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It will take time to find someone, let alone a fairy. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find her in a few hours. That means you will have to stay away from home for a while. And I don¡¯t think Cliff would allow you to go to a ce he doesn¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Primme, I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s the reason I can¡¯t take Noa with me.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa was not a child who could join me on an adventure without permission. On the other hand, I could ask Tirumina-san to bring Fina along with me without any problems.

    But this time, I would need Cliff¡¯s permission. Besides, Noa was the daughter of a noble family. She was not someone who could easily go on an outing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because of me¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa understood her situation and apologized.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It was me who made so muchmotion that I dropped my sister¡¯s handkerchief. You were just trying to catch that handkerchief so it wouldn¡¯t fall on the floor.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯m sorry. Even though you told me you were going to help me.¡± (Primme)

    Primme apologized profusely.

    But my feelings haven¡¯t changed.

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? But, we don¡¯t have any clues.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I can at least go to the nearby vige or town and ask if there are sightings of fairies around. Your sister usually left the fairy forest after all, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then, for now, we can just look around for nearby ces where there might be people who can give us clues. There might be some information about people who have seen fairies nearby. But if there is no information, and we don¡¯t have any means to find her, we will have to give up.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t promise that I would be able to find her sister.

    It might be possible to find someone if it was simply a human we were looking for or if someone might have seen the fairy.

    However, even if someone had noticed that fairy, it would be all useless if they had kept quiet about it. There would be no information to work with, so it would be impossible to find her sister.

    Without checking, we would not know anything at this point.

    ¡°Yuna, thank you.¡± (Primme)

    For Primme¡¯s sake, I really wanted to help her find her sister, but I also have a great desire to go to the fairy forest.

    It was a give-and-take.

    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll go, too.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said with a look of determination on her face.

    ¡°If you really want to go, then ask your father for permission. If your father allows you, I will bring you with me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Noa¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But if I, who is helpless, go with you, I might cause trouble for Yuna-san. I will do my best to avoid causing trouble. If I can help the fairies, I would like to help them. If father permits me, may I go with you?¡± (Noa)

    Noa had a serious expression on her face, not because she wanted to go to the fairy forest like me or because she had impure motives. She was not motivated by a desire to go to the fairy forest like me, but she seemed to regret what happened to Primme, even though it wasn¡¯t her fault.

    ¡°Noa, are you sure? We¡¯re going to a strange ce. It could really be dangerous.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m a little scared, but I¡¯ll be fine with Yuna-san. Besides, I don¡¯t want to be the kind of person who waits and does nothing when there is something I can do. But if Yuna-san thinks I¡¯m a nuisance¡­¡± (Noa)

    I looked at Noa¡¯s sad face and then at Primme.

    ¡°Just to confirm, we¡¯re going through that mirror to the fairy forest, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Can we take Noa with us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The Fairy Queen said I¡¯m only allowed to bring one person, so she¡¯ll be mad if she finds out, but as long as we leave the fairy forest right away, I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Primme)

    As a Fairy Queen, she probably wouldn¡¯t overlook the idea of bringing a bunch of humans into the fairy forest.

    Well, there was also the possibility that I could go ahead of Noa and use the Bear Transfer Gate to bring her with me if needed.

    If I decided to do that, then I would have to reveal the Bear Transfer Gate to Noa.

    And also, if it was dangerous, I could use the Bear Transfer Gate to let Noa escape to a safe ce. It might be just the right time to tell her about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    I was a little worried that she might tell Cliff or Ellura-san, though.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that. For now, let¡¯s go ask Cliff for a favor, shall we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s serious expression quickly turned into a happy one.

    A smiling expression better suited Noa, after all.

    ¡°But promise me. Don¡¯t do anything dangerous, and don¡¯t act alone. If you really have to leave me, then at least stay with either Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuhn.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear approached Noa.

    ¡°Yes. I promise.¡± (Noa)

    If pushes to shove, I would just throw her inside the Bear Transfer Gate to protect her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask father for permission to go out for a while, so wait for me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going with you. He¡¯ll believe me if I exin it to him.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sure father will believe me when he sees Primme-san.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, it might be easier to convince Cliff if the fairy was right in front of him.

    ¡°If that¡¯s decided, please take the mirror with you. Actually, I can¡¯t get too far away from the mirror.¡± (Primme)

    ording to Primme, if she gets too far away from the mirror, the fairy¡¯s water will lose its effect.

    That was probably why the ghostlymotion appeared only in the mansion. If she wanted to find someone who could see her, it was certainly better to go to a ce where many people might be around.

    I picked up the mirror hanging on the wall and held it with both hands.

    Surely, I wouldn¡¯t be used as a thief because of this, right?

    ¡°Yuna-san, is it heavy?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Not really, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    It was big, but it would be easy to carry if I could store it in my bear storage.

    But I didn¡¯t know what would happen if I stored it, so I simply carried it along.

    We left the supposedly haunted house and headed for Cliff¡¯s house. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who have turned into cubs, walked along with us while Primme hid in Noa¡¯s clothes because it would cause amotion if other people found her.

    As we moved along, Noa asked Primme.

    ¡°Primme-san was looking for someone who could see her, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, at first, I went to the nearest vige to look for someone to help me, but I didn¡¯t find anyone who could see me. I also tried to look for my sister alone, but she seemed too far away for me to chase after.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Were you not scared? You were doing it on your own, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I could only do it on my own even if I¡¯ve hardly ever been out of the fairy forest, and I¡¯ve only been to the nearby viges a few times.¡± (Primme)

    With such a small body, I guess it would have been close to impossible.

    Even if she could fly, I doubt she would be able to fly as fast as a bird.

    ¡°Feeling hopeless, I decided to use fairy water to connect me to a ce where someone could find me. It has always been said that fairy water will guide fairies in finding those who can see them. So I guess that¡¯s why I ended up connecting to that fairy mirror.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So Yuna-san and Primme-san were destined to meet.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said that without embarrassment.

    While listening to their conversation, we soon arrived at Noa¡¯s house and went to see Cliff.

    Cliff was working, but when he saw us with the fairy, his expression turned to surprise, but he soon understood the situation.

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 Chapter 670

    <h4>Chapter 670</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Exining to Cliff</b>

    Noa and I exined to Cliff what had happened at the haunted house.

    Cliff clutched his head in his hands as he listened to Noa, Primme, and me. He also looked at Primme again and again.

    Primme¡¯s appeared more visible after absorbing my magical power.

    ¡°¡­That¡¯s why I need Noa¡¯s help in finding this fairy¡¯s sister. Can I take Noa with me? I will protect her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Father, please. I won¡¯t do anything dangerous. Just let me help Primme-san find her sister.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff looked at Noa and then at Primme, who was sitting at the table.

    ¡°Haaah, a fairy. I never thought I¡¯d see a fairy with my own eyes. Do you really need Noa, Yuna?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°We still have to go to the fairy forest to confirm our hypothesis. But I think we will most likely need her help.¡± (Yuna)

    The fact of the matter was that we would need to find out if Noa would be needed in tracking Primme¡¯s sister before entering the fairy forest. Above all, I would like to respect Noa¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Granting a fairy¡¯s wish. If we don¡¯t grant the fairy¡¯s wish, we will be unhappy or¡­¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°As I said to these girls. We don¡¯t have the power to make people happy or unhappy.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, even if the fairies themselves don¡¯t think so, if that¡¯s what the legend says, I can¡¯t deny that it¡¯s impossible.¡± (Cliff)

    I guess you could say there¡¯s no smoke without a fire.

    They may be making people happy or unhappy without people knowing.

    ¡°As for Noa, I will protect her. Moreover, we might find Primme¡¯s sister sooner, and no other event may happen.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not doubting yourpetence, not really. I¡¯m just concerned about your tendency to invite trouble.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Invite trouble?¡± (Yuna)

    What was he talking about?

    ¡°You, when you went to the sea, there was a Kraken. When you went to the royal capital, there were 10,000 monsters. When you went to the school festival, you ended up in trouble with the Knight Commander. The Golem when you were looking for Mithril. The same happened with the dessert case. There was also the strange person who appeared in the town of Euphalia as well when you went there. Wherever you go, there is trouble.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff listed the incidents I¡¯d been involved in one after another.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t refute him.

    But still, it seemed like Cliff knew a lot of things that happened. Most of those cases were known to Ellura-san and the King, so it was not surprising that Cliff had heard about them.

    There were also things that Cliff didn¡¯t know about, such as the Elven Forest event, the trouble in the Land of Harmony, and the Slime event.

    Certainly, everywhere I went, something was happening.

    But¡­

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m inviting those troubles, you know. It was already happening before I arrived.¡± (Yuna)

    The Kraken was already in the sea in Mile before I went there, an acquaintance of the King caused the appearance of 10,000 monsters in the royal capital, and themotion at the school was to protect Shia. The incident in the desert had already happened even before I arrived, and the case with the golem was simply a coincidence; all I did was defeat it.

    The incident in Euphalia was also caused by a man who wanted to take revenge. In the Land of Harmony, there were signs of the resurrection of the serpent, and in the Elven Forest, I only followed along with Sanya-san when she said he was going to the Elven Forest.

    I was not the cause of anything. It wasn¡¯t my fault, you know.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not your fault. I just can¡¯t help but feel uneasy about where you¡¯re going.¡± (Cliff)

    It was a normal reaction for a father.

    ¡°But at the same time, I know how many people you have saved. Without you, many of them would have been unhappy, and the same goes for Shia.¡± (Cliff)

    With that, Cliff bowed his head.

    ¡°Take care of Noa.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine with you.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff then switched his attention to Noa.

    ¡°Thank you, father.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You are heading to Fairy Forest. And who knows what might be in there. Be careful.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna¡¯s instructions must be obeyed, and you must not act selfishly.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes, I will not leave Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    She then hugged me, who was sitting next to her.

    ¡°Yuna, take care of my daughter.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect her, I promise.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuuunn.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were hugged by Noa and me, squealed as if to say, ¡°We will as well¡±.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll also ask you, little ones, to take care of Noa.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff said to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in return.

    ¡°And Primme. I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t do anything dangerous involving my daughter.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. We¡¯ll only need a little bit of help from her, that¡¯s all.¡± (Primme)

    Well, we wouldn¡¯t be heading to a ce where we would need to defeat some monsters.

    But we should be careful about the possibility that the people who were with Primme¡¯s sister could be dangerous. They could also be keeping Primme¡¯s sister locked up. If that happened, a discussion wouldn¡¯t be enough to settle things.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll need to prepare for Noa¡¯s journey. Can you tell L to help with preparations as well? L may end up worried if you don¡¯t tell her about the situation.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied happily.

    I was about to leave when I realized.

    ¡°Oh, what should I do about the Adventurers¡¯ Guild report? If I told them, there was a fairy, it would cause amotion, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (Yuna)

    With so many eyes on us, it would not be surprising if someone thought of doing something bad.

    Primme, she might be arrogant and naive, but it was not a good idea to expose her to the eyes of so many people.

    Even though without my magical power, Primme would not be visible, there was no advantage in spreading rumors about a fairy appearing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as I see fit. I¡¯ll also have them ban people from entering that mansion until you guys return, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    Cliff seemed to know how to deal with this situation, and he was more than willing to keep the fairy thing a secret.

    Leaving Cliff in charge of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, we moved to Noa¡¯s room.

    ¡°What do we need?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the basics, don¡¯t worry.¡± (Yuna)

    We have a Bear House and arge food supply in my bear storage. Even if we were lost on a deserted ind, we would have enough food to survive.

    There would be no problems with food and shelter.

    ¡°I guess all you need is a change of clothes or something.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at Noa¡¯s clothes and realized.

    ¡°Maybe you should change into something that looks like amoner girl¡¯s outfit?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied as she looked at the dress-like outfit she was wearing.

    It would not be suitable for travelling.

    This time we might end up travelling in the forest or going to unknown viges and towns on our search. Considering the situation,moner clothes would be better.

    ¡°But you don¡¯t change your clothes, do you Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I always wear this wherever I go.¡± (Yuna)

    It was toote for me to change that.

    Besides, this time I had to protect Noa, so I couldn¡¯t take my outfit off.

    ¡­I wouldn¡¯t take it off even if I was alone.

    ¡°I feel like you are running away from something, but it is indeed better to wear clothes that are easy to move in, and I¡¯ll discuss it with L when she arrives.¡± (Noa)

    Not wanting to be pursued further about my attire, I changed the subject and asked Primme something that I was curious about.

    ¡°Anyway, why did Primme use the Fairy Water toe here? Why didn¡¯t you use it to go to another vige or town to look for her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is an old saying, ¡®The Fairy Water will show you what you are looking for¡¯. So I did use fairy water to find her. Besides, the only ce I know where people live is a vige nearby to the forest, so I can¡¯t really think of other ces.¡± (Primme)

    I wonder if the fairy forest was in a secluded ce.

    Well, if people were nearby, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the word about fairies spread more widely.

    As we were talking about this, there was a knock at the door, and L entered.

    ¡°Young Lady Noa¡­I heard from Cliff-sama that you are going away¡­¡± (L)

    L-san¡¯s words stopped.

    Ahead of L¡¯s eyes was Primme, flying around us.

    ¡­

    ¡°A fairy¡­¡± (L)

    We exined the situation to L.

    ¡°I see. So Young Lady Noa is going to look for a fairy? I thought they were just fantasy stories, but there really are fairies, huh?¡± (L)

    L looked at Primme.

    ¡°But it¡¯s going to be a hassle if Primme can be seen by just about anyone. Can¡¯t you make yourself visible only to those you want to see you?¡± (Yuna)

    This time, it was L who saw her, so it was fine, but there was a possibility of strangers seeing her.

    From L¡¯s line, it sounded like fairies were on a fantasy level. If someone saw Primme and told everyone about it, it would be a big problem.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can do something that convenient. I¡¯m just using your magic to make myself visible to other people.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then it will be a little inconvenient when we travel, you know?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Primme)

    Primme puffed out her cheeks.

    ¡°In that case, please wait a moment.¡±

    L left the room.

    ¡°I wonder what she was up to.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± (Noa)

    L-san quickly returned with something.

    ¡°How about hiding here?¡± (L)

    It was a cute little pouch, the kind that a girl would carry around with her.

    ¡°Since Noa-sama is wearingmoner clothes, I don¡¯t think it would stand out if you had it with you.¡± (L)

    ¡°You want me to get inside this thing?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°When we go out in public, I can just stop the magic from Yuna, you know?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t be able to see Primme-san, and I won¡¯t be able to talk to you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked a little sad.

    ¡°Ugh, I understand. I just have to stay inside it, right?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Primme-san, thank you.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Hmph, it might not be really necessary. But, it certainly would be a problem if I couldn¡¯t have a conversation with you when asking about my sister.¡± (Primme)

    Now she was acting like a tsundere.

    ¡°So when are you leaving?¡± (L)

    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, I want to leave soon, so will tomorrow be okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then you can leave the rest to me. I¡¯ll have everything the Young Lady would need by tomorrow.¡± (L)

    Alright, I would leave that part to L-san.

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 Chapter 671

    <h4>Chapter 671</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Moving Out</b>

    The next day, we convened at the Bear House.

    Noa was dressed infortable clothes. Her clothes were patterned in red and white, which suited her well. She may not look like an aristocrat, but she exuded the air of ady.

    This might be because of her upbringing as a noble.

    And on her waist was a pouch carrying Primme.

    ¡°I think it may have been fine to do it at my house.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It is more convenient to do it here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    In theory, Primme should be able to move around anywhere as long as she was in range of the fairy mirror. So, we could have stayed at Noa¡¯s house as Noa said.

    But if I had to return using the Bear Transfer Gate, I would have to exin to Cliff how we returned withouting out of the fairy mirror. Things could getplicated if that happened, so I decided to use the fairy mirror in my Bear House.

    I had to predict every possible oue and prepare for it.

    Although I didn¡¯t believe what Cliff said was right, I do end up in trouble everywhere I go, in one way or another.

    However, I doubt I would get into trouble this time too.

    For now, I am in the mood to travel.

    Noa didn¡¯t seem convinced of my decision, but she didn¡¯t press me too hard.

    ¡°Well then, Primme, please.¡± (Yuna)

    After I said that, Primme approached the fairy mirror on the wall and touched it. The mirror shook like ripples.

    ¡°We¡¯re connected. Let¡¯s start with Yuna. Noa, please wait for a moment.¡± (Primme)

    I ensured Primme was on top of my Bear Puppet and slowly touched the fairy mirror. Then, as if being sucked into the mirror, I walked through it.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± (Yuna)

    I looked around.

    ¡°Ake?¡± (Yuna)

    I was on a small ind at the center of ake. Theke was surrounded by what looked like a forest.

    When I turned around, I saw a mirror-like object floating in the water, about the same size as the mirror we entered.

    This was the water mirror, huh? It looked like we came out from here.

    It was fantastical.

    ¡°It¡¯s ake in the fairy forest. I¡¯ll exin the detailster. For now, I¡¯ll go get Noa here.¡± (Primme)

    After saying so, Primme flew back into the water mirror.

    I checked the map with my skill, but as I expected, the map was all ck, showing only the location where I stood. I couldn¡¯t zoom out, so I couldn¡¯t even tell where I was.

    While I was looking at the map, Primme came out of the water mirror with Noa.

    ¡°Is this the fairy forest?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked around, as did I.

    ¡°Noa, check first. Can you feel anything?¡± (Yuna)

    I would ask her to return to Crimonia if she could not sense anything.

    ¡°Wait.¡± (Noa)

    Noa put her hand on her chest and closed her eyes.

    ¡°I feel something in the distance.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s get out of this forest.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said and once again touched the water mirror. The water mirror copsed, turning into in water.

    Apparently, fairy mirrors aren¡¯t supposed to remain forever.

    ¡°But how do we get to the other side?¡± (Noa)

    We were on an ind in the center of a smallke.

    ¡°I can fly, but¡­I forgot to think about what to do after bringing someone.¡± (Primme)

    Fairies could fly, but we couldn¡¯t. I could use a certain skill, however.

    I could walk on water with my skills.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Noa, for now, hold tight.¡± (Yuna)

    I carried Noa in my arms.

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, you won¡¯t fall off.¡± (Yuna)

    I ensured Noa had a firm grip on me, and we started walking on theke.

    ¡°Wow¡­ We are walking on theke.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know humans could walk on water. How strange¡­¡± (Primme)

    Primme said as she flew around us.

    ¡°No, they can¡¯t. Yuna-san, how can you walk on water? (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s sort of like magic.¡± (Yuna)

    Exining skills would be too much trouble, so I just gave her a rough idea.

    ¡°Magic¡­ So you can do this as well with magic¡­¡± (Noa)

    I walked across theke, and as I came to the shore, I put Noa down.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get out of here. If the Queen finds out I brought two humans with me, she¡¯ll be furious.¡± (Primme)

    It was a pity that we couldn¡¯t explore the fairy forest. Now that I have reached this ce, I could set up a Bear Transfer Gate somewhere nearby, and next time, I coulde here on my own. Would they wee me?

    Right now, our priority was to find Primme¡¯s sister.

    ¡°Primme, I told you that if you brought a human with you, you should introduce them to us.¡±

    As we started to walk away, a voice came out of nowhere, speaking to Primme.

    ¡°Y, Your Highness!¡± (Primme)

    A fairy wearing a beautiful transparent green dress was floating in the direction Primme was looking.

    If what I heard from Primme was true, then she would be the Queen of fairies. The greatest fairy of all.

    ¡°Primme, what is the meaning of this? Did I not tell you that you can only bring one person?¡± (Queen)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The human dressed as a bear over here could see me, but my sister¡¯s handkerchief went into the other human.¡± (Primme)

    Primme then exined to her the details of what had happened and why she had brought us here.

    ¡°We do not often leave our fairy forest. Some humans are kind, some are cruel. Some fairies have lived happily together with people in the past, but some have been made a spectacle.¡± (Queen)

    Fairies were rare. If apatible human was a bad person, they might have caught them and forced them to show themselves to others.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell you to trust me, but I would never do that to you fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Neither would I.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything as long as we are not harmed, and on the contrary, I¡¯d like to be friendly with all of you.¡± (Yuna)

    If not, I wouldn¡¯t be able to tour the fairy forest.

    Queen-sama stared at me intently. I felt as if she was looking right into something.

    ¡°You are not lying, it seems.¡± (Queen)

    She said so after seemingly scanning us for a moment.

    ¡°How can you tell that just by looking at us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can only see your feelings as colors. Now you are looking at me with great curiosity. If you were malicious, I would know that you were trying to catch me or trick Primme.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know fairies could tell such things.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Only some fairies who have lived long enough to protect themselves could do so.¡± (Queen)

    How long was a ¡®long¡¯ time wise to a fairy, I wondered. Maybe about as long as what an elf would feel like. Perhaps they could live even longer than elves.

    ¡°But why can we see you?¡± (Yuna)

    I was told that we could only see fairies that werepatible with us. However, the Queen was definitely visible and spoke to us.

    In my case, I could chalk it up to being a result of my Bear Blessing, but Noa seemed to be able to see her as well.

    ¡°This is the fairy forest. Everyone within this forest can see us. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t want people to know about this ce.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Then we really should have note here¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No one was normally allowed to enter this ce.¡± (Queen)

    What she was saying was harsh, but also justified.

    I agreed with her regarding the ¡°only one person¡± arrangement, and thought that even that arrangement was already quite a stretch from their rules considering their situation. We were not supposed to be here. It was a miracle that we were even allowed to step inside this ce, I guess.

    ¡°But I also understand that Primme wants to find her sister Ronne, so I allowed her to bring one person.¡± (Queen)

    If not for that, she would not have given us permission to enter the fairy forest.

    ¡°Primme, be sure and bring Ronne back.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But if she is living happily, let her do what she wants to do.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    Queen-sama, who had been talking to Primme, looked at me.

    ¡°You are Yuna, right? Primme is a bit of a goof, but she is a kind girl. Please take good care of her.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know how much I can help her with, but I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Yuna)

    Queen-sama then looked at Noa.

    ¡°You are Noa, right? I¡¯m sorry to drag you into this, please take care of Primme as well as Yuna.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m d to meet you fairies, and I¡¯ll do my best to help Primme-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fufu, thank you very much for your understanding. I apologize for not being hospitable enough, but the other fairies are already bing frightened.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I understand.¡± (Noa)

    From a moment ago, I could see the fairies spying on us from behind the trees.

    I think it was warm-hearted of them to let us into the fairy forest without much trouble.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be going soon, don¡¯t worry.¡± (Yuna)

    The fairy forest¡­ I have a desire to explore it, but if fairies dislike having humans here, it might not be possible for me to visit this ce again in the future. If I could be friendly with them, maybe someday I would get the chance to check out the ce.

    ¡°Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Primme, you also take care of yourself. And be sure toe back. I would miss you if you were to disappear as well.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes, I will return safely. We¡¯re going. Yuna and Noa, let¡¯s go.¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew ahead of us.

    Noa and I bowed to Queen-sama and followed Primme.

    ¡°This way. If you get lost, you won¡¯t be able to get out, so be careful.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°This is the route that links the fairy forest to the outside world, you see? This area is called the <b>Forest of the Lost</b> by humans.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°The Forest of the Lost¡­¡± (Noa)

    It was a scary name.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to take the proper path, or you¡¯ll get lost.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So there are specific routes?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m sure it will be difficult to remember.¡± (Primme)

    I checked the bear¡¯s map and found that the route was well-marked. If I didn¡¯t stray from this route, I would be able to return to where we came from.

    As expected of my bear skills.

    And soon after, we exited the forest, revealing a vast clearing.

    ¡°Well then, what shall we do next?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Uh, wait a minute.¡± (Noa)

    Noa put her hands together on her chest and closed her eyes.

    Then, after a moment, she opened her eyes and pointed.

    ¡°I feel somethinging from over there.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head in that direction.¡± (Yuna)

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that those bears were summoned beasts. It is quite spectacr how they can grow big and shrink.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were both wonderful.¡± (Noa)

    Noa praised Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear on my behalf.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily at the praise.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll take turns on the ride, Noa, ride Hugging Bear for now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    I got on the Swaying Bear and Noa climbed on the Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go!¡± (Yuna)

    After I dered so, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with me and Noa riding on them, started moving.

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 Chapter 672

    <h4>Chapter 672</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, On the Road</b>

    ¡°The Queen was quite regal, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. She is dignified yet approachable. On the outside, she looks like an uptight person bound to etiquette and protocols, but she was definitely worried about Primme-san and showed concern for her sister as well.¡± (Noa)

    Typically, the fairy forest was an area which forbade human entry. There were exceptions, where some humans who had been permitted to enter, though it was restricted to only one person at a time. This time, though, there was an extraordinary exception to that exception, allowing two people in.

    ¡°Perhaps she came to check up on us, the people Primme brought with her, to see if we were the right people to be allowed to go with Primme.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then does that mean we¡¯re approved?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I doubt that¡¯s the case.¡± (Primme)

    The Queen did mention that she could read emotions. And I could only assume that the reason she met up with us was to use that ability, which would be able to assess the true nature of anyone Primme brought inside the forest.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s probably more concerned about me because of the disappearance of my sister, which was likely caused by humans.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. Anyone would worry if their people suddenly disappeared.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right. I will worry the same way if someone else I am acquainted with suddenly disappears.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna and Noa.¡± (Primme)

    Primme smiled.

    ¡°What¡¯s most amazing is that she didn¡¯t seem bothered by my outfit.¡± (Yuna)

    Seeing my bear outfit didn¡¯t elicit a reaction from the Queen at all, nor was it pointed out during our conversation. She was speaking to me casually as if it were normal.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna¡¯s outfit? Is there something wrong with it?¡± (Primme)

    Primme, on my shoulder, jumped in front of me and looked at my outfit.

    ¡°My outfit is a bear, right? People often look at me strangely when they see me for the first time.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Primme)

    Primme didn¡¯t seem to understand and tilted her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Yuna¡¯s outfit is weird. You look good in that outfit.¡± (Noa)

    I think the fact that wearing the bear suit would have annoyed me if someone told me that I didn¡¯t look good in it, but being told that I looked good in it also left me with conflicted feelings.

    Come to think of it, Primme also didn¡¯t have a big reaction when she saw my outfit.

    Maybe fairies have different sensibilities than humans do.

    ¡°I also think it looks good on you.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you. So, just to confirm, do you know which country we are in?¡± (Yuna)

    First, I needed to confirm the location. It could be near Crimonia, or it could be near the royal capital.

    ¡°There is no way for me to know the names of human countries, like how Yuna also didn¡¯t know about the fairy forest where we live.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡­True, I didn¡¯t have any idea that it even existed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Does the fairy forest have a name?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°The fairy forest is called Leticia.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful name.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fufu, yes, it is indeed.¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked smug because of ourpliment.

    ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s because fairies aren¡¯t very well known, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Possibly so, but I am not familiar with any humans either, so I guess it¡¯s the same on our side.¡± (Primme)

    I could understand Primme¡¯s point.

    If I was asked if I knew the names of all the ces on earth, I would say no. I didn¡¯t even know many of the names of the prefectures in Japan.

    I would have known if I had a friend or acquaintance who lived there, but s, such a person did not exist for me.

    ¡°So, you said you¡¯ve been to a nearby vige. Is it close?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I did say it was the closest vige outside the fairy forest, but I don¡¯t really know how close it is.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You don¡¯t know, even though you¡¯ve been there before?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Humans are so focused on such things. If you ask a bird flying the same distance at great speed and an ant on the ground the same question, do you think you will get the same answer?¡± (Primme)

    I understood what Primme was trying to say, but that was a weird depiction.

    Differences in size and speed could create different perspectives of distance.

    When I was riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it would feel like I would reach the destinations faster. However, on the other hand, while walking, it would feel as if the location were so far away.

    Flying would create an even bigger difference in perception in the distance of location.

    ¡°But why are you asking me that?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I just thought it would be better to gather information in the vige first.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to just go straight to my sister¡¯s location?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°We can continue following the direction that Noa detected, but first, we will have to stop by somewhere to have a grasp of the area. And most of all, I want to at least know where this ce is, the situation with monsters in the area and if we are moving on a safe path. We might as well try to get some information about fairies while we¡¯re at it.¡± (Yuna)

    If this were a strange country, far from Crimonia or the royal capital, collecting relevant information would be vital.

    The name of the country, the names of nearby towns. What kind of country was it? What kind of cities do they have? On the other hand, there might also be countries that were at war with each other.

    This time, Noa was with me, so I could not do things the way I normally do. In order to avoid unnecessary dangers, I needed information.

    ¡°So Noa, can you tell where the direction is?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think it¡¯s still in the same direction I pointed before.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, for now, let¡¯s continue in the direction Noa indicated earlier and stop by any viges we pass by as we continue.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m fine with that.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, as well.¡± (Noa)

    While riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we could just keep going at a leisurely pace.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to travel this way. When I was flying on my own, I often had to rest because it was so tiring. The scenery also never changed too much, so it was a little boring.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said as she perched on top of Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    We continued to travel until the sun started to set. After that, we finally decided to call it a day and prepared to rest.

    I think we¡¯ve made a lot of progress, albeit being a leisurely ride, but we never passed by any vige or even encountered any humans at all.

    After finding a good spot, I put up the Bear House, where we would be staying for the night.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Primme)

    Primme asked as she looked at the Bear House.

    ¡°It¡¯s a house I use when I am away from home. It will be too much trouble to stay in the field, and if Noa catches a cold, it will be a big problem.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, I¡¯m not that weak.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how strong you are. You¡¯ll catch a cold even before you realize it, more so when you are fatigued. Even though we were riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear today, that won¡¯t change the fact that we are still travelling. And when travelling in a foreignnd, even if you think you¡¯re fine, taking a proper rest is a must.¡± (Yuna)

    She may be excited and fine now, but because of being away from home and traveling through unfamiliarnds, her mind was most likely exhausted.

    ¡°Yes, I know. There was once a time when several other maids working in the house took a break at the same time. So L had to take over the work of those maids. She was swamped with work, but she insisted that she was fine. But suddenly, she copsed, and the doctor determined the cause was because of fatigue. She also had a fever, making me worried.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s not only when you are physically tired that things can be dangerous, but also when your mind is tired. When you¡¯re out in the field, you can get overwhelmed by many things that can cause a lot of fatigue build-up.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t feel that way with the Swaying Bear and the Hugging Bear around, and I slept just fine.

    We then entered the Bear House.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to prepare dinner.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then, I will prepare the bath.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Do you know how to handle it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I learned it from Fina during the trip to Mile.¡± (Noa)

    When we went to the beach, Noa was working with Fina to clean the bathroom at the Bear House in Mile.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± (Noa)

    Saying so, Noa headed for the bath.

    ¡°What about me?¡± (Primme)

    Primme asked.

    I looked at Primme.

    ¡­She was so small.

    ¡°You can rest with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told you I would like to help as well, hmph.¡± (Primme)

    With puffed out cheeks, she flew over to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    She was so small that there was nothing I could ask her to do, so I didn¡¯t have much choice.

    Leaving her with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I prepared a meal. The bread, meat, vegetables, etc. were on the table for Noa and me to eat. There was a small dish of honey that I had bought for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as well as for Primme, along with a small slice of bread.

    The fairies ate mainly what they could find in the fairy forest, but they do not consume meat in any form.

    So far, the food that Primme enjoyed the most was honey and bread.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as good as the honey from our forest, but it¡¯s delicious.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuun.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed.

    ¡°What, you want honey from our forest as well?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear nodded.

    ¡°Well, if we find my sister safely, I¡¯ll let you have some as a thank-you gift.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n!¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear purred happily.

    ¡°Um, are you sure? I don¡¯t think a little bit of honey will be enough.¡± (Yuna)

    At my words, Primme looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs.

    ¡°¡­Can¡¯t they be a little smaller?¡± (Primme)

    I looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were now in their cub form, but they were still muchrger than Primme, a fairy.

    ¡°They can¡¯t¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, maybe a spoonful will be enough.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not much at all.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah, sorry, I don¡¯t think I can prepare more¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡­¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed sadly.

    Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    No matter how small they became in cub form, they were still bigger than fairies.

    We took a short break after finishing our meal and cleaning up the dishes.

    Noa was holding Swaying Bear, and Primme was lyingfortably on top of Hugging Bear. I, on the other hand, was thinking about my future ns.

    I have concluded that letting them know of our ns would be the best course of action for now.

    ¡°Yuna-san, should we take a bath soon?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, but wait a minute, there is something I want to tell Noa before that.¡± (Yuna)

    I decided to tell Noa about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°Before that, can you promise not to tell anyone, not even Cliff or Ellura-san?¡± (Yuna)

    The only reason I rejected the idea of telling Noa about it so far was because of my fear that she might reveal it to Cliff or Ellura.

    ¡°You want me to keep it from father and mother¡­. It¡¯s not a bad thing, is it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s not something bad. It also won¡¯t be a problem if you told them. It¡¯s just that if you did tell them, things could really be annoying.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay, if Yuna-san wants me to keep quiet, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you. Pleasee to this room then.¡± (Yuna)

    We then moved to the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was located.

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 Chapter 673

    <h4>Chapter 673</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Telling Noa about the Transfer Gate</b>

    ¡°Hey, what about me?¡± (Primme)

    I was about to take Noa to the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was ced when Primme called out to me.

    ¡°Am I intruding?¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked like a child who had been excluded from the group.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you were listening, but I¡¯ll just ask, can you promise not to tell anyone?¡± (Yuna)

    I doubt she could even talk to any human, let alone about the Bear Gate.

    ¡°Not even the Queen?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes¡± (Yuna)

    If I was nning to ce a Bear Transfer Gate near the fairy forest, I might as well brief Primme about it.

    Besides, I doubt that anything would happen just because the Fairy Queen knew about it.

    However, it was also true that it wouldn¡¯t do any good for me if Primme informed the Queen about the existence of Bear Gate, so I made that request.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯d appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t talk about it.¡± (Yuna)

    If I were to talk to the Fairy Queen after the quest, I¡¯d like to get permission to erect a Bear Transfer Gate in Fairy Forest.

    ¡°Yes, I understand. I promise to do the same.¡± (Primme)

    Once again, we moved to the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was located.

    The Bear Transfer Gate was ced against the wall as camouge to make it look as if it were connected to the next room. However, unlike ordinary doors, the Bear Transfer Gate wasrge enough to make the room feel strange.

    ¡°This is a wonderful Bear-san door. Does this door lead to a room rted to Yuna-san¡¯s secret?¡± (Noa)

    The door of Bear Transfer Gate was carved with a relief of a bear, so I did expect Noa to admire it.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a door to a secret room. You see, this door leads to my house in Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    Actually, each Bear Transfer Gate could be set up to connect different ces, but that would be too much trouble to exin, so I just gave her a rough idea for now.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-san, is that a joke?¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s expression seemed to be saying, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±, so I was not sure if she would really believe me.

    As expected, no matter how much I told her about it, she just would not believe me, so I had to prove my im.

    I opened the Bear Transfer Gate, and it led us to the Bear House in Crimonia.

    To remove any doubt, I even asked Noa to look out of the window.

    ¡°¡­I can¡¯t believe it. We really are in Crimonia.¡± (Noa)

    Outside the window, we could see the sight of the town lights that had been lit. Previously, we were supposed to be in a ce where the Bear House for outings was supposed to be located, which was in the middle of nowhere, so there was no way you would see the town lights outside if we were still in the same house.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s your town?¡± (Primme)

    Primme stuck to the window and looked out.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. It¡¯s the town where I was born and raised.¡± (Noa)

    Noa had been to my house so many times that there was no way she could be wrong.

    ¡°Are humans capable of such fantastic things?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, I have never heard of a door that you can just open and go to another ce.¡± (Noa)

    Noa dismissed Primme¡¯s statement.

    So far, I had never heard of such a thing either.

    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of magical tool. By connecting gates to each other, we can go back and forth to both locations. So, Noa, remember that if there is any danger, I will ask you to use this door to escape to Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If something happens, Noa¡¯s safetyes first. So, when I tell you to enter this door, don¡¯t hesitate to do so. Promise me.¡± (Yuna)

    This one thing was non-negotiable.

    Noa stared at me for a moment, then gave a small nod.

    ¡°Understood. I will follow Yuna-san¡¯s instructions then. But I¡¯m d Yuna-san told me such an important secret, though I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t even tell Fina.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fina knows.¡± (Yuna)

    Not mentioning that Fina knew about the door made no sense at this point, so I told Noa about it.

    ¡°What?¡± (Noa)

    Noa was surprised at my words.

    ¡°I told Fina about it before.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear about this from Fina.¡± (Noa)

    She puffed out her cheeks a little.

    ¡°Well, I did ask Fina not to tell anyone about this. So it is to be expected that she won¡¯t tell you about it as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­. Is there anyone else who knows?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°There are a few, but the only people Noa knew among them would be Shuri and Tirumina-san.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa did not know about Sakura and the others in the Land of Wa, or Mumulute and the elves, so I didn¡¯t tell her about them.

    ¡°Shuri and Aunt Tirumina as well? I am disappointed that it is not a secret only between me and Yuna-san, but I understand.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°And by the way, I¡¯ll give you this as well.¡± (Yuna)

    I handed Noa my new Bear Phone.

    Since I already let Noa in on the secret about the Bear Transfer Gate, she should also know about the Bear Phone. It would be a hassle to tell herter if I needed her to use it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a cute Bear!¡± (Noa)

    Noa happily epted the Bear Phone.

    ¡°This is called a Bear Phone, and it¡¯s a magical tool that allows you to talk to me from afar.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked at the Bear Phone in disbelief.

    I decided to let her test it out to see if it worked. But I couldn¡¯t go outte at night when we were in Crimonia, so we could only test the device by having one of us staying on the first floor, and the other moving to the second floor of the Bear House, which was more than enough distance to test the Bear Phone.

    After exining how to use the Bear Phone, I went upstairs and tried to use it.

    ¡°Noa, can you hear me?¡± (Yuna)

    [Oh, yes, I can hear you.] (Noa)

    [Wow, I can hear Yuna from this bear.] (Primme)

    I could also hear Primme¡¯s voice, perhaps she was with Noa.

    It was working properly.

    ¡°Using this magic tool, no matter how far away I am, you will still be able to talk to me.¡± (Yuna)

    [Around how far away?] (Noa)

    ¡°It can be as far as Crimonia to the royal capital, we can still talk even with that distance.¡± (Yuna)

    [Really, that far?] (Noa)

    In fact, I could talk from the Land of Wa to Crimonia.

    [So I can talk to Mother in the royal capital as well?] (Noa)

    ¡°If I am with Ellura-san, you might be able to talk to her. But this magic tool is also a secret, so please don¡¯t leak the secret to Ellura-san or Cliff about it.¡± (Yuna)

    [I am a little disappointed, but I do understand. If Father or Mother knew about it, they would definitely ask to be allowed to use it.] (Noa)

    I also wanted to know if a magic tool simr to the Bear Phone existed. There might be one such magic tool in the royal family¡¯s treasury, but that would be a very first-ss magic tool.

    I determined that such a magical tool on par with Bear Phone was not avable to the public, so there was nothing good about spreading the word about its existence.

    I then asked Noa to try it herself, and after confirming that it was connected to me, I returned to the first floor. Then Noa came up to me excitedly.

    ¡°Yuna-san, this is great. I could hear Yuna-san¡¯s voice from this Bear.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If you ever get separated from me, or if you are in danger when I am not around, use it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Noa)

    I may have to leave Noa in an emergency. There was also the possibility that she might get lost or separated from me. It was a good practice to be cautious about everything.

    She may never need to use it, but that didn¡¯t matter. I would not want to regretter that I should have told her about it earlier.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. If only my sister had one of these, I could have asked her where she was?¡± (Primme)

    Primme said as she flew around the Bear Phone Noa was holding.

    Indeed, I agree. However, the Bear Phone could only contact me.

    ¡°By the way, does Fina know about this as well?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, she knows.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, she knew after all? Why didn¡¯t she tell me about it? Howe you didn¡¯t tell me earlier?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want Cliff and Ellura-san to know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have told them if you asked me to keep quiet.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. But you know, to show you my trust, I¡¯m now revealing it to you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then I forgive you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa smiled smugly.

    ¡°Yuna-san, like the door you just mentioned, where did you get this magic tool?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret where I got it. This is something I never told anyone, not even Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t tell her that I could make them with the skills God gave me.

    ¡°Not even to Fina¡­I understand. I won¡¯t ask for details.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was as understanding as Fina, thank goodness.

    ¡°Well then, now that we¡¯ve finished talking, let¡¯s take a bath.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    I headed to the bathroom with Noa, followed by Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs. And Primme, for some reason, also followed us.

    ¡°Humans like getting into warm water, huh?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Don¡¯t fairies do the same?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°We do, but only for bathing.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then why not just join us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I cane along and join you?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, I never mentioned that you can¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    While we took off our clothes, Primme¡¯s clothes simply disappeared.

    ¡°Your clothes are gone.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°They are made with magic power, so they can disappear at will.¡± (Primme)

    After exining this to Noa, Primme flew after us and entered the bathroom.

    Indeed, with her wings, she might have difficulty getting dressed.

    ¡°There¡¯s hot watering out of the bear¡¯s mouth, Yuna really likes bears, doesn¡¯t she?¡± (Primme)

    I knew from experience that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would be sad if I denied that I really like bears, so I didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°The Bears are cute, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna, you look so different without the bear outfit.¡± (Primme)

    Well, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were indeed adorable.

    Then, we took a good bath to recover from the day¡¯s exhaustion. Of course, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear joined us. We washed them to thank them for giving us a ride for the day.

    Primme got into a tub of hot water and lookedfortable.

    ¡°Hot water feels so good, Yuna. The water is getting lukewarm, please.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± (Yuna)

    I scooped up some hot water from the tub and slowly poured it into Primme¡¯s tub.

    Primme lookedfortable in the new hot water.

    Then, slowly, we finished our bath.

    ¡°Oh, that felt so good!¡± (Primme)

    Primme said, and then, poof, her clothes appeared.

    It seemed she could change freely.

    After drying Noa¡¯s hair as well as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we moved to the bedroom.

    ¡°Yuna-san, can I sleep in the same room with you?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked, a little embarrassed.

    We were far away from her home and her parents. Maybe she was anxious. She used to sleep with Fina when we travelled, but Fina was not here this time. I agreed, and we slept in the same room. Of course, Primme was also in the same room with us.

    Noa slept with Swaying Bear, and I slept with Hugging Bear, while I made Primme a small futon bed in a basket, and she happily went inside the cloth in the basket.

    I turned off the magic stone of light as I went to sleep.

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 Chapter 674

    <h4>Chapter 674</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Stopping by a Vige</b>

    The following day, after breakfast, we departed.

    ¡°Noa, it¡¯s this way, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I can feel as if a thin thread connects us.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Primme, where is the closest vige?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ummm. Maybe around that way.¡± (Primme)

    Noa was pointing a little to the left, while Primme, on the other hand, hesitantly pointed a little to the right.

    ¡°We will need to go in a different direction, huh?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What should we do?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, it might be a bit of a detour, but I¡¯d like to get some information, so let¡¯s stop by the vige.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Are you really sure, Primme?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    And so we decided to stop by the vige and gather some information.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n!¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran off towards the vige that Primme had told us about.

    After running for a while, without encountering any monsters or people, the vige came into sight.

    ¡°If someone sees you, there might be amotion, so Primme, stay hidden, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know.¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew and went inside Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°Noa, you mustn¡¯t leave my side.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t know what kind of vige this was. It could be a dangerous ce. But as we approached the vige, a man near the vige entrance screamed, ¡°Girls riding on bears areing to attack the vige!¡± assuming that we might havee to attack.

    After riding closer towards the frightened man, I exined that the Swaying Bear and the Hugging Bear were safe.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t attack them, they won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure those bears are really safe?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°They¡¯re safe.¡± (Yuna)

    The man nodded after listening to my words.

    For the first time in a long time, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were allowed to walk along with us while we were inside a vige.

    ¡°First, let me ask you, why are you dressed like that, youngdy?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°I want to dress like a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can tell that much by the way you¡¯re dressed¡­ Is that a popr outfit in your town?¡± (Viger)

    Apparently, he thought we were from a nearby town.

    Since I couldn¡¯t tell him the truth, I decided not to clear the misunderstanding.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not popr there, but¡­ you see¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. Since I¡¯ve never been to the nearby town, I thought that kind of dress was in style. So what are two girls riding on bears wanting to do in a deste vige like this? Are you lost?¡± (Viger)

    Sure, it was not lively, but he shouldn¡¯t have called the vige where he lived a deste vige.

    ¡°We¡¯re not lost. We were just wondering if there are any dangerous ces around here, as well as looking for the nearest town, and also if we can find anyone with information about fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fairies? You mean those little things in the shape of beautiful people, right?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Wait, we are not little things, we are¡­ mogomogoho.¡± (Primme)

    Noa stepped back, clutching her pouch.

    ¡°Did you say something just now?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to cover it up.

    ¡°I can tell you about dangerous ces and the nearest town, but you¡¯d better ask Grandma about fairies.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Grandma?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, because I heard that she saw one a long time ago.¡± (Viger)

    The man told us about the dangerous ces near the vige while leading us to the Grandma.

    The vige was quite typical. There was nothing unusual about it.

    ¡°From the entrance you came in, if you turn to the left, you will find a forest and a meadow. You shouldn¡¯t go there because that area is infested with monsters.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°What kind of monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Mostly wolves.¡± (Viger)

    So there were wolves around here as well.

    Well, if the monsters were actually as powerful as the monsters around a vige near a final boss, like in a game, this vige¡¯s inhabitants would likely be dead by now.

    ¡°You guys are not going to hunt them down?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They live far enough away from the vige, so we don¡¯t think they¡¯lle this far. Also, as long as no one from the vige enters their territory, they won¡¯t attack, so we¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Viger)

    Of course, that also implied that monsters would attack the vige if the vigers repeatedly trespassed their territory.

    ¡°So we leave them alone. As long as they don¡¯te to our vige, we also won¡¯t force ourselves to hunt them down.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°What if they attack you at some point?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked.

    ¡°I also thought about that in the past, but even after all these years, that has never happened. We do not want to risk our lives to deal with it. Besides, it will cost us a lot of money to ask adventurers to help us. If that¡¯s the case, both sides should leave each other alone.¡± (Viger)

    That was a usible way to look at it.

    If it were me, I would have just driven them away to eliminate the risks.

    The idea of leaving each other alone was rough, since it would still leave a chance for something unwanted to happen in the future.

    ¡°Oh, and speaking of the town, there¡¯s a road leading to it just outside the vige, so you can just follow that road. Wagons and carriages also use it.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°How far is it from here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s about three days by carriage.¡± (Viger)

    That was quite far. But with the speed of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we should be able to reach it in only a day.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, you girls probably came from the nearest town, right? While riding on those bears, I assume.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Noa)

    If I said <b>no</b>, I might not be able to answer a possible follow-up question, ¡°Where did youe from?¡± but that didn¡¯t mean I could also answer <b>yes</b>.

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t tell me, did you really end up in this ce because you got lost from that town, and asked for directions on your own?¡± (Viger)

    The man nodded his head after assuming so.

    Even if we denied it here, there was no better way to answer his possible follow-up questions, so I pretended that we were lost.

    However, it would make it harder to ask the name of the town or the name of the country we were in. It would be strange not to know their names when you were their resident.

    ¡°Yes, we came here to try to look for fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    At any rate, now that I have figured out some of the monsters and the location of the town, I decided to divert the conversation.

    ¡°Yuna-san?¡± (Noa)

    I looked at Noa and shook my head to ask her not to say anything. Noa nodded her head as if she understood my intention.

    ¡°When you return home, be sure you apologize to your parents. And don¡¯t make your parents worry about you too much, okay?¡± (Viger)

    The man spoke gentle, warm words.

    Noa and I nodded in agreement.

    ¡°But in the town, do people ride bears instead of horses?¡± (Viger)

    The man asked as he looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°No, these bears are special. We are the only ones who ride bears.¡± (Yuna)

    I have to clearly deny that part because if he got the wrong idea, he might make a fool of himself if he visited the town or someone from the town came here to ask.

    I doubt there would be any towns where people ride bears instead of horses, as fancy as that may sound¡­

    ¡­There wouldn¡¯t be any, right?

    And when we arrived at a lonely house, the man took the liberty of opening the door and calling out the person who was inside the house.

    ¡°Are you there, Granny? There are girls here wanting to enquire you about fairies.¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Fairies?¡± (Granny)

    An olddy came out from the back room with her hands around her waist.

    ¡°Bears!?¡± (Granny)

    ¡°Sorry to startle you. They are not dangerous.¡± (Yuna)

    I apologized and exined about the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made little ¡°cooing¡± noises.

    ¡°They are really bears. And now that I look at you more closely, I see that you are dressed as a bear, as well.¡± (Granny)

    Grandma looked at me and smiled.

    ¡°These girls came all the way from the town to look for fairies. Why don¡¯t you tell them about it?¡± (Viger)

    ¡°Well, if they don¡¯t mind me telling an old story, I¡¯ll be happy to tell them about it. Come inside.¡± (Granny)

    We parted with the man and went inside the house.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stayed in front of the house while Noa and I went inside.

    ¡°So, as you have said, did you reallye to this vige to look for fairies?¡± (Granny)

    Even if we have now confirmed that fairies have been to this vige before, we could not confirm directly if it was the same fairy we were looking for or that we were actually looking for a specific fairy, so I told Grandma our purpose foring to this vige in a runabout way.

    ¡°Yes. There was someone who imed that fairies were once sighted in this vige, so we came here to check if anyone had really seen them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I have seen them. They are so beautiful.¡± (Granny)

    A happy smile emerged from the old Granny¡¯s face. As if to follow up, Noa also asked.

    ¡°Have you really seen a fairy, Grandma?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, that was when I was young. There have always been rumors around here that there is a ce near this vige where fairies live.¡± (Granny)

    I wondered if she was referring to the fairy forest where Primme and the others lived.

    ¡°Do you know where the fairies are?¡± (Yuna)

    Grandma shook her head.

    ¡°No one knows. It¡¯s only that fairiese to visit this vige asionally.¡± (Granny)

    ¡°But I heard that not everyone can see fairies.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Oh, girl, it seems like you know a lot about them. Certainly, some people can see fairies while others can¡¯t.¡± (Granny)

    Fairies could only be seen by someone with a matching magical wavelength to their own.

    ¡°During that time, no one could see the fairies, even when I pointed at them as I asked the people around. I didn¡¯t want to be called a liar, either, so I stopped talking about it after a while.¡± (Granny)

    It would be difficult to convince someone who couldn¡¯t see ghosts to believe me even if I could actually see ghosts. And if I already had a bad reputation, they might even think that I was an insane person. However, if the person saying that was a well-renowned medium or someone deemed to have special powers, then people might believe it.

    ¡°I was chasing a fairy all by myself. The fairy was happily flying through the vige. But she didn¡¯t even know that I could see her, and before I could go near her, she had already flown off into the distance. I looked for her again and again, but I never saw her again. How many times I wished I had called out to her back then? I would have loved to have talked to the fairy.¡± (Granny)

    Seeing a fairy was almost a miracle.

    You never knew when a fairy with the same magic wavelength as yours would visit this vige.

    The probability of them being in the same ce at the same time and on the same day would be ridiculously low. If I hadn¡¯t checked the haunted house, I would not have encountered Primme. If I were living like a hermit, the chances of us meeting would have dropped to almost impossible.

    ¡°I¡¯m too old now. If possible, I would have wanted to see that beautiful figure onest time.¡± (Granny)

    The olddy said sadly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was a little sad of a story.¡± (Granny)

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t mind.¡± (Yuna)

    I felt awkward.

    I looked at Noa and saw that she was also troubled.

    ¡°That¡¯s about all I know about fairies. I hope that was helpful.¡± (Granny)

    ¡°Yes, thank you very much for the story.¡± (Yuna)

    In reality, the information didn¡¯t really help us.

    But then again, I was not so heartless as to dismiss it tly.

    Just as I was about to thank her and leave, Noa¡¯s pouch moved.

    ¡°Do you want to see us so badly?¡± (Primme)

    Primme stepped out of Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°Primme-san!¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at Primme as if she were in trouble, but Primme flew in front of the olddy.

    ¡°Fairy¡­¡± (Granny)

    ¡°Yes, I am a fairy.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Granny)

    The olddy started to have tears rolling down her eyes.

    ¡°A fairy¡­ a real fairy¡­ I¡¯m so d that I got to see one before the end of my days.¡± (Granny)

    Grandma held out her hand, and Primmended on it.

    ¡°Well, after hearing your story, I¡¯ll feel terrible if you die of regret just because you could not see a fairy before the end of your time.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t really have any regrets¡­¡± (Granny)

    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you have regrets of not being able to see fairies? If you consider yourself so lucky to have met me, you should live longer.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, indeed you are right. I should live longer because I might meet the fairy again.¡± (Granny)

    The olddy smiled.

    ¡°Grandma, haven¡¯t you heard of anyone seeing fairiestely?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There may be some, but I think they will be keeping it a secret. We are a small vige, so if someone did make amotion about it, they will be known throughout the vige.¡± (Granny)

    ¡°Ah, just as I expected.¡± (Yuna)

    Hearing the Grandma¡¯s words, we concluded that if someone did see Primme¡¯s sister, they should be easily trackable due to themotion.

    ¡°But you said you were looking for a fairy.¡± (Granny)

    Grandma asked as she looked at Primme on her hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s her big sister we¡¯re looking for. We are trying to track her whereabouts.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be of assistance.¡± (Granny)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. We do have some clues.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, our primary purpose behinding to this vige was to find information about dangerous ces, towns nearby, and, if possible, the country¡¯s name. Also, we wanted to check if there were any interesting stories about fairies. Since we had aplished half of our goal, we were good to go.

    We thanked Grandma and left the house.

    ¡°The Grandma looked so happy to see Primme-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, we can now be certain that fairies do indeed make people happy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°When I saw Primme-san for the first time, I was moved as well. It made me delighted.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, I was surprised when I saw Primme, but at the same time, I was also moved since it was my first encounter with a fairy.

    ¡°Hmph, praising me so much won¡¯t bring you happiness.¡± (Primme)

    Despite denying it, Primme did look happy, as she turned her face away.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 675

    <h4>Chapter 675</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Starting The Search Again</b>

    After thanking the Granny and the Guard, we left the vige.

    ¡°In the end, we didn¡¯t get to hear the name of the country or the name of the town.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. We couldn¡¯t have outright asked them about those since we imed we were from a nearby town. After all, there is no one who would not know the name of their own town or country.¡± (Yuna)

    If I lived in Japan and asked a passerby, ¡°What country is this?¡± they would definitely reply with, ¡°Huh?¡±

    It might have been easier if our group looked like a travelling merchant or an adventurer from afar, but we were a strangebination of a strange girl in a bear suit and a girl who looked like she was from a wealthy family.

    ¡°Yes, I agree. On the other hand, if we asked them if they knew about Crimonia, they probably wouldn¡¯t know.¡± (Noa)

    Noa quickly understood what I was trying to say.

    She was quick-witted and understanding for her age.

    ¡°Well, at any rate, we did manage to get some information about the fairies, the monsters in the area, and the location of the town, so there¡¯s no problem. Above all, the Granny was happy to see Primme.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Hmph, this is all thanks to me.¡± (Primme)

    Primme puffed out her chest.

    She looked happy, so I was d that we stopped by.

    ¡°So, Noa, can you still sense Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s location?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa meditated for a moment, then slowly pointed.

    ¡°That way.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I guess we might not need to go to the town we heard about, after all.¡± (Yuna)

    The location Noa pointed at was different from the location of the nearby town the vigers told us about.

    ¡°But, Yuna-san, I¡¯m sure this direction goes to¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa seemed to have picked up on the issue as well.

    Not only was it in the opposite direction of the town the viger told us about, but it was also in the direction where the monsters were supposedly located.

    Why did it have to be in the direction where monsters reside?!

    I was only borrowing Cliff¡¯s words, but was I really a ma for all sorts of troubles and cmities?

    No, I didn¡¯t think so. This time, we just happened to be passing by a location with monsters blocking the way to our destination.

    ¡°I¡¯ll decide whether to avoid them or continue on, once we get close enough to the area.¡± (Yuna)

    I have detection skills as well as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so we could decide how dangerous it would be after we closed in on the location.

    Noa nodded. After getting on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, respectively, they started running in the direction Noa indicated.

    ¡°By the way, can monsters see fairies?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmmm¡­. I¡¯ve asionally been out in the fairy forest and encountered monsters, and some of them did react to me.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Does that mean that monsters might be able to see fairies?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Why not?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, are you stupid?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡­me, stupid?¡± (Yuna)

    I was called stupid again.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s ask Noa about it¡­ Noa, what would you do if a monster was nearby?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I would definitely try to escape.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s the answer I expected. After all, even fairies will run away if they see a monster.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Even though the monsters may not be able to see them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They might be able to see us, you know?¡± (Primme)

    I see. Even if the monsters couldn¡¯t see them, it would still be scary, and the priority would be to flee rather than verify it.

    ¡°As I said before, there were some monsters that reacted to me. Maybe they can see me. Or perhaps they can feel my presence. They may be sensing my magic power or smelling me. I don¡¯t know how monsters react to my presence. But unlike people, you can¡¯t really talk to monsters about it.¡± (Primme)

    I couldn¡¯t argue with that.

    I wouldn¡¯t dare ask a monster, ¡°Can you see me?¡± And if it really could, there would be a higher chance of it turning hostile and attacking me.

    Primme might be right about how monsters detected her, but only monsters would know the truth.

    If it was by smell, one might notice a movement on the monster¡¯s nose. If it was by site, then the monster would be looking directly or moving its eyes. Regardless of what method it used, the danger remained the same.

    ¡°Regarding the monsters, they normally can¡¯t enter the fairy forest, just as humans can¡¯t, and the number of times I¡¯ve encountered them is not that frequent.¡± (Primme)

    I guess that probability might be the same as encountering a wild animal in my previous world.

    While we were talking, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear continued to run slowly. Then, they suddenly stopped and cooed.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden stop?¡± (Primme)

    Primmeined while hovering over Swaying Bear¡¯s head after the sudden stop.

    I used my detecting skills.

    ¡°It looks like there are monsters around.¡± (Yuna)

    It was just as I had heard in the vige.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what should we do?¡± (Noa)

    It would be easy for me to defeat them, but I would like to refrain from showing Noa how bloody the result of the battle would be. She might even be frightened by the encounter.

    But Primme had an opinion.

    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll avoid them. I don¡¯t know how dangerous it will be even if we do have these two around.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said, patting Swaying Bear¡¯s head.

    Noa and I looked at each other.

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡± (Noa)

    We both understood what Primme was thinking.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Primme-san didn¡¯t know about Yuna-san, right?¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, we didn¡¯t really have the chance to talk about me.

    ¡°Primme-san, Yuna-san is strong and can even defeat monsters.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked at me in disbelief.

    ¡°Well, I probably couldn¡¯t defeat every monster. But, I can certainly take down some wolves.¡± (Yuna)

    Primme was still looking at me in disbelief.

    ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons why my father allowed me to go.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Oh, I do remember that agreement. I thought it was because of these two mysterious bears.¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Actually, I thought for sure Yuna would refuse. Or say that it would be too dangerous. After all, you are also a young girl. However, after being together with these bears, I think I can understand why you two girls were given permission to help me.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°That¡¯s not all, it¡¯s simply that Yuna-san is a powerful adventurer, you see.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Adventurers, as I recall, are people who defeat monsters, right?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you seem to know a lot about adventurers.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen them before, but Yuna doesn¡¯t look like a strong adventurer to me.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I get that a lot.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So what are we going to do? Keep going? Take a detour? I don¡¯t want Yuna to push herself too hard, even if she is strong.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, since Noa is with us, I¡¯ll also suggest taking a detour.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, I don¡¯t think you need to¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to sound like Primme, but I just don¡¯t want to take any risks.¡± (Yuna)

    If that vige were to get attacked as retaliation for me entering the wolves¡¯ territory, it would be a big problem. I would appreciate it if I could defeat all the wolves, but that was not my goal this time. The objective was to find Primme¡¯s sister.

    There was no need for me to break the rules that the vige had established and adhered to.

    ¡°Alright, with that decided, we¡¯ll continue on our way while avoiding the ces where Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear detects the wolves.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear responded and started running.

    I could leave the rest to them, as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could also detect monsters.

    We bypassed the ce where the wolves were, and continued on our way.

    ¡°Yuna-san, if we keep going like this, we¡¯ll end up running over a mountain¡­¡± (Noa)

    There was a small mountain ahead of us, not as high as the one between Crimonia and Mile, but it still had a high altitude.

    ¡°Are we moving in the right direction?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to stop running for a bit to let Noa concentrate.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    The mountain road was not paved, so if ordinary people wanted to ascend, even if it was a small mountain, it would still be a challenge. But we have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear carried us through the mountain, stopping at the top for some rest before heading back down.

    It was getting dark when we reached the bottom of the mountain, so we decided to spend the night there.

    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re getting pretty close to Primme¡¯s sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we¡¯d be in trouble.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna and Noa, thank you foring with me. I don¡¯t think I could have done it on my own.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I think it was good that you decided not to do it alone.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. Without your help, it would have been hopeless.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m d to be of help.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    ¡°They were asking if they were of help as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, you two are. Thank you.¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew over Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s heads and patted their heads.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily.

    The next day, we continued our journey, avoiding monsters and potential dangers.

    If I were on my own, I would have gone ahead in a straight line, killing any monsters I ran into, but this time, I prioritized safety, given that I was with someone else.

    As we were making good progress, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped again.

    ¡°What!¡± (Primme)

    Primme, who was sleeping on top of Swaying Bear¡¯s head, almost fell off.

    I immediately used my detection skill to look at the distance, because of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s reactions.

    There was a reaction of monsters and a reaction of people.

    The monsters were many Wolves. The number of people fighting the wolves seems to be over 5 with others waiting on the side.

    ¡°It looks like there are monsters up ahead. And people with them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are they being attacked?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°They might be adventurers in a fight.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But what if they are just ordinary people?¡± (Noa)

    The worst thing that could happen in such encounters was to worry about it and be toote to help. However, in the current case, we still had some leeway to decide on what we should do.

    ¡°What should we do? Save them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to be found deadter, so that might be the best choice to do.¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t have any intention of helping anyone unless I encountered them directly, but now that I found out about them, I couldn¡¯t just leave them be.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let¡¯s go quickly!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n!¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear ran at great speed, and soon, the wolves and people came into view.

    The moment I saw them, I gave Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear instructions.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, hide behind that rock.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, what¡¯s the matter?¡± (Noa)

    I ced my finger in front of my lips to signal them to be silent. Though in actuality, I was instead cing my bear puppet in front of my mouth, but Noa seemed to understand my gesture.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear moved behind a rock diagonally to the right.

    I dismounted from the Swaying Bear and peeked out from behind the rock.

    It was Knight-like men who were fighting with a pack of wolves.

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 Chapter 676

    <h4>Chapter 676</h4>

    <b>Bear-San, Observing the Knights</b>

    After hiding behind a rock, I got off the Swaying Bear and peeked at the knights from behind the rock.

    Noa got off Hugging Bear as well, and peeked from under me.

    There were about 10 knights, and someone was giving them instructions. I wonder if that was the captain.

    ¡°Hey, why are you hiding and watching? They are also humans, right?¡± (Primme)

    Primme, who was flying over my head, asked me.

    ¡°We¡¯re all humans, but not all humans get along.¡± (Yuna)

    If every human were friendly, there would be no wars, no conflicts, and no fights.

    ¡°Besides, because of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they might attack us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are attacked, it would be very troublesome.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°People are such troublesome beings.¡± (Yuna)

    Primme agreed with myment.

    But that does not mean we should be hostile to anything and everything.

    First, information was necessary.

    I observed the Knights fighting the wolves, but they were not dressed like the knights I saw in the royal capital, where Ellura-san worked.

    ¡°By the way, Noa, have you ever seen Knight¡¯s in those outfits?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­No.¡± (Noa)

    I thought she might have seen knights from other countries, since she was the daughter of a noble family, but she had also never seen a simr outfit before.

    While we were talking, the knights were defeating wolves one after another.

    They seemed to have a certain amount of ability.

    To get information about the knights, I used the wind magic I previously used in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    [Damn, this is a pain in the neck.]

    [Don¡¯t let them get away]

    [I know.]

    I made it possible to hear the voices of the knights.

    ¡°I hear voices.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is this voice the voice of those distant humans?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes. Hey, I want to listen to what they have to say, so you two, be quiet.¡± (Yuna)

    When I told them so, they covered their mouths with their hands.

    The knights finally defeated the Wolves.

    [This is the end.]

    [Yeah, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to be making any difference beyond taking down the Wolves.]

    [What, you¡¯re saying. We¡¯re the ones who caused the adventurers to¡­]

    [Enough chit-chatting. Go collect the wolves we killed. No, wait¡­]

    A captain-like figure started to look around.

    [Captain, is something wrong?]

    [There¡¯s a strange magic floating in the air around here¡­]

    The wind magic had been noticed!

    [Captain, is it true? To me, it just feels like a nice breeze.]

    [Be quiet.]

    Was he checking the flow of magic power?

    If they were to sense my magic, they would soon discover that I was hiding here.

    If they found us, we might get into trouble.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could be returned, but there would be no answers as to why we were hiding behind rocks in the first ce, and why I cast wind magic, or why we were even here.

    Previously, I changed the direction of the wind so we could eavesdrop on the knights. At the same time, I made sure that our voices would not be heard by the Knights. Although not knowing what the situation with the knights was would make me uneasy, I could not continue eavesdropping on them.

    The person who seemed to be the captain looked in the direction of the wind and made a gesture as if confirming something, and then called out to his subordinates. The men started collecting the Wolf carcasses, and when they were done retrieving them, they mounted their horses and moved towards the direction where I redirected the flow of the wind.

    ¡°¡­That was close. Let¡¯s leave before theye back.¡± (Yuna)

    We left the ce, riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°What were those knights doing? I thought defeating monsters was the job of adventurers.¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked.

    Sanya-san and Ellura-san mentioned something simr when the golem appeared in the mine.

    Basically, defeating monsters was supposed to be the job of the adventurers. Usually, only when the adventurers failed to defeat monsters would the country¡¯s knights and soldiers take action.

    I doubt that knights would move just to defeat wolves.

    ¡°That is normally the case. If you ask me why the Knights were the ones defeating the wolves, I don¡¯t know. It made me feel rather ufortable.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Did they happen to run into those monsters?¡± (Noa)

    That was a good probability, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    Why would knights be around this area, was it by chance?

    If they did just run into those monsters by chance, they should have a reason for being here. If they were escorting someone, there should have been someone who would look like they were being escorted, but there was no one who fit the description.

    ¡°But they were saying that it was their fault, and about the adventurers, and so on.¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t get to hear all of their conversation all the way to the end, but maybe they came here to take down wolves instead of adventurers doing it?

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps there are not many adventurers in this ce.¡± (Noa)

    That might be a possibility.

    ¡°Even so, when that knight started looking around, I was a bit scared that he might find us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to notice my magic.¡± (Yuna)

    He mentioned something about sensing the magic in the wind, so I immediately changed the direction of the wind flow.

    The knights moved away as I changed the flow of the wind.

    ¡°Yuna-san, is it still Magic that allowed us to hear those voices just now?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, it is. It¡¯s an application of wind magic. I used wind magic to bring their voices to us. But it seemed like they noticed me, so I changed the direction of the wind.¡± (Yuna)

    As pointing out about vibrations and other details would be tooplicated, I gave her the simplest exnation.

    ¡°So that¡¯s one way to use wind magic.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I believe there are infinite ways to use magic. Or rather, I should say, magic power has infinite uses. Magic can be fire, water, earth, wind, it¡¯s a mysterious power.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how magic power could be transformed.

    In the game, I used it without thinking, but again, using it in real life, it made me think about how mysterious the power was.

    Well, there were many mysterious things in science as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, Noa, you should try as many things as you can. Since you have enough magical power to use magic.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. It also seems fun to do. I¡¯ll think about it with Fina next time.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Still, I wonder how he can notice my magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t put too much magic power in my spell. I simply created a weak breeze and let it carry the voices our way.

    ¡°In a way, I can also sense Primme-san¡¯s sister¡¯s magic power. Perhaps it can be perceived in some way.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I think that¡¯s because Noa has absorbed the handkerchief of Primme¡¯s sister which was made from magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    I doubt she would be able to sense the magic of someone she had never met or been involved with.

    ¡°Indeed¡­ and it seems like only one of those knights noticed it.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was right, it was only the captain-like person who noticed my wind magic.

    Maybe that captain was the only one who was special.

    ¡°Either way, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to get involved with them, so it was a good decision to stay away from them.¡± (Yuna)

    I would have liked to get information, but the disadvantages of getting involved with those knights seemed to be higher.

    On the other hand, I was still left with many questions to which I could not find the answer.

    ¡°Wow, Yuna is really more amazing than I imagined?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, not really¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-san is a fantastic person.¡± (Noa)

    I was about to say, ¡°I¡¯m not really amazing,¡± but Noa interrupted me and answered.

    ¡°So that means it will be okay if we encounter a monster?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, I think we will be okay against rtively weak monsters like wolves.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Actually, I was a little worried before. I was afraid that if a monster appeared and attacked Yuna and Noa, it might be dangerous, but when I found out that these bears were summoned beasts and that they coulde with us, I was d. But I didn¡¯t expect Yuna to be so strong.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You know, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are strong as well, so it was not a mistake.¡± (Noa)

    Primme seemed to feel guilty that she was putting us in harm¡¯s way.

    She may be a little arrogant, but she seemed to be a kind girl, worrying about her sister and us.

    However, it seemed that her sister had a higher priority than us. That was to be expected when it came to family.

    After silently moving away from the knights, I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to stop and let Noa check the direction we needed to go.

    After running for a while, we found what seemed to be a town.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped running and Noa once more concentrated with her eyes closed.

    ¡°I can feel it from the direction of that town.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then is my sister in that town?!¡± (Primme)

    Primme was about to jump out of her pouch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. It could be beyond the town.¡± (Noa)

    But I think there was a good chance that Primme¡¯s sister was there.

    However, I didn¡¯t want to give her any false hope, just in case her sister wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°It will take some time, but let¡¯s circle around the town.¡± (Yuna)

    That would give us an idea if she was really in the town.

    Primme and Noa agreed, so we circled the town.

    After going around to confirm, we have verified that Primme¡¯s sister was indeed inside the town.

    ¡°That confirms it. My sister is really in this town.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I know you¡¯re happy. But remember, don¡¯t act so careless.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, I know. I wouldn¡¯t have known that she was in that town if it weren¡¯t for Noa.¡± (Primme)

    If I hadn¡¯t stopped her, she might have rushed towards the town.

    ¡°Well then, Primme, for now, hide in Noa¡¯s pouch. Also, when we get close to the town, I will make Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear smaller, and we will walk the rest of the way.¡± (Yuna)

    I doubt we could get inside the town withrge bears along with us.

    Since we did not know the situation in the town, I let Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stay in their cub form as guards.

    After that, we approached the gate of the town with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub form in our arms.

    ¡°Noa, please do as we discussed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa responded nervously.

    After entering the town, if anyone asked us where we came from, we would just tell them that we came from a nearby vige.

    We couldn¡¯t say that we were from Crimonia. They probably wouldn¡¯t even know where it was. Moreover, we looked like two kids.

    Well, not me¡­

    If I was more mature looking, I might have been able to fool them into thinking I was an adventurer or a merchant or something, but neither Noa nor I looked like adults. Moreover, Noa was a blonde girl, so we didn¡¯t really look like sisters, so we made our background setting being from the same vige.

    ¡°Will we be able to use guild cards or citizen cards?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t n to use cards for now.¡± (Yuna)

    There was ack of information, so I didn¡¯t want to stand out as much as possible.

    I wouldn¡¯t mind using my guild card at the Guild since the guild employee would only have to hold it up to a crystal panel. However, it would be troublesome if town residents found out various things about me that were recorded on my card.

    That was why this time, we decided to enter as vige girls from a nearby vige.

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 Chapter 677

    <h4>Chapter 677</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Visits the Adventurers¡¯ Guild</b>

    With Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in our arms, we approached the city gate.

    The man who manages the gate noticed us and called out to us.

    ¡°Why are you dressed like that?¡± (Guard)

    ¡°I just want to be dressed as a bear.¡± (Yuna)

    There was no other answer.

    ¡°Well, I can see that.¡± (Guard)

    If you can see it, then don¡¯t ask.

    ¡°I¡¯m just doing this because I like bears.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed happily at my answer.

    ¡°Is that a bear you¡¯re hugging?¡± (Guard)

    The man looked at the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that Noa and I were holding.

    ¡°I see, so you really like bears. What about you, are you a fan of bears as well?¡± (Guard)

    ¡°I like bears as well. I even have simr clothes.¡± (Noa)

    After saying so, Noa pulled out a store bear uniform from her item bag.

    Why was she carrying that?

    ¡°So you also have the same outfit. My bad, it seems like you two really like bears.¡± (Guard)

    The man was satisfied with the bear stuff and didn¡¯t pursue the matter further.

    ¡°Well then, can I have your card?¡± (Guard)

    ¡°I¡¯m new in town, so I don¡¯t have a card, but¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I lied, just as we had discussed.

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll need to pay entrance fees if you want to enter the town. Did you twoe here together for the first time?¡± (Guard)

    ¡°Yes. My father was injured and couldn¡¯te to town himself, so we took his ce.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see. But rules are rules. If you can¡¯t pay, you can¡¯t enter the town, even if you are a child.¡± (Guard)

    If I could pay to enter the town, it would be a small pricepared to getting caught and questioned.

    I offered the man our money. The man¡¯s expression changed slightly as he epted it.

    ¡°What is this? Is this money from somewhere else?¡± (Guard)

    Noa and I looked at each other.

    ¡°It was given to me by a merchant a long time ago, and I was wondering if I could use it.¡± (Yuna)

    I quickly lied.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t ept this money. Do you have anything else to offer other than money?¡± (Guard)

    I didn¡¯t have any jewelry of any kind, and even if I did, it would look suspicious if I offered it here.

    I considered what I had on hand that could be used as money.

    ¡°Well, we dide here to sell materials from monsters¡­ Can we use those?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked politely, a little subdued.

    The gatekeeper nced at me and Noa.

    ¡°Huh, okay. I really shouldn¡¯t, but let me see.¡± (Guard)

    At first, I showed him about five Wolf magic stones.

    ¡°Magic stones, huh?¡± (Guard)

    ¡°Father defeated them, and we¡¯re here to sell them.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, it will cost you about four magic stones, including the little bear¡¯s.¡± (Guard)

    It may be a rip-off, but I epted it since we didn¡¯t know the market price.

    The man happily epted the magic stones.

    I still felt ripped off, but why did he have to charge the bear cubs an entrance fee in the first ce?

    But I didn¡¯tin because I could simply use Wolf¡¯s magic stones, which were justying around in my bear item box. I also didn¡¯t want to cause amotion by taking out more valuable items.

    Besides, it would have been more troublesome if I was told that I couldn¡¯t enter town with bear cubs.

    ¡°Oh right, we want to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the Commercial Guild. Where can we find them? Also, a ce to stay.¡± (Yuna)

    I asked politely, and the man was generous enough to tell us.

    It appeared that paying entrance fees wasn¡¯t all that bad. Four Wolf Magic Stones was a small price to pay if we could get a lot of information.

    ¡°But going to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild may be futile.¡± (Guard)

    The man said something very strange and meaningful.

    I was about to ask him why, but someone arrived behind us that was also nning to enter the town, so the guard told us to move inside already, as he went to the next visitor.

    I wanted to get some more information, but we had no choice.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the money we have wouldn¡¯t be usable¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. And since they don¡¯t even know about money from our country, it might not even be in cirction around here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, what are you going to do now?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°We have to find my sister!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted from inside Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°I know how you feel, but first we need to find a ce to stay.¡± (Yuna)

    Finding an inn was within the basics of traveling. If we looked for itter and it ended up being full, we would be in trouble.

    Even if I did have my Bear House, I couldn¡¯t use it in town, and people would think we were crazy if we went outside during the night.

    ¡°But that would cost money¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s why, first I¡¯ll sell some monster materials at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for money. The question is whether they will buy it from me or not.¡± (Yuna)

    I would prefer not to use a guild card or anything that would reveal my identity.

    Even if I told them I was an adventurer, they might not believe me.

    If they didn¡¯t buy the items, I might have no choice but to show them my skills directly.

    ¡°Anyway, it looks like the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is close by, so let¡¯s go there first.¡± (Yuna)

    We started walking towards the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that we learned about.

    As people passed us by, they stared at us.

    ¡°Hey, everyone is looking at us. Maybe they know I¡¯m here.¡± (Primme)

    Primme asked, peeking out from inside Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it, so Primme, stay well hidden.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But everyone is staring at us.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°It¡¯s me they are looking at.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, Yuna-san is dressed so adorably that everyone is looking at her.¡± (Noa)

    Noa exined to Primme, choosing her words carefully.

    I wouldn¡¯t mind if she called it a strange outfit.

    I made an 11-year-old girl be considerate of me.

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t understand.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°If I were dressed like how Primme-san is dressed, I think people would have still looked at me in the same way.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Eh, are you saying that my clothes are strange as well?¡± (Primme)

    The dress-like outfit that Primme wears was also not something that wasmonly worn by normal people.

    It was so beautiful and mysterious that it would be difficult to see it as ordinary clothes.

    I wouldn¡¯t feel ufortable if Primme, a fairy, was wearing it, though. I think it was a very fairy-like dress. But if Noa or I were to wear it, I think it would be too eye-catching for a different reason.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Yuna)

    As if to prove my point, we could hear people around us saying, ¡°What¡¯s with that outfit?¡±, ¡°Is that a bear?¡±, ¡°That girl is cute¡±, ¡°What are those two holding?¡± and so on.

    It seemed like our Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were also getting a lot of attention.

    ¡°By the way, Yuna-san, I wonder where we are.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If we were to ask people about it, it would look suspicious, so we can¡¯t ask them outright.¡± (Yuna)

    If by any chance they asked us back where we came from, we would not be able to answer correctly.

    It would be difficult to gather information without disclosing our own.

    ¡°The streets are not so different from those of Crimonia.¡± (Noa)

    It seemed like the culture was also not so different from where we came from. There were some slight differences, but nothing major.

    Noa seemed to have no problem with the letters and numbers they were using while we were walking around, since she could read the letters on the merchandise and see the mary figures on the products. In my case, it would be thanks to my auto trantion skills that I could read and write in anynguage, so I could not judge the difference.

    ¡°Ah, Yuna-san, isn¡¯t that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± (Noa)

    Noa pointed to a sign that looked simr to the typical sign of an Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    When I got closer, I noticed that it was clearlybeled as [<b>Adventurers¡¯ Guild</b>].

    ¡°Noa, there might be adventurers who want to cause trouble, so don¡¯t leave my side, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    In my experience, such adventurers were everywhere.

    It was usually my outfit that got me into trouble.

    After Noa said ¡°yes¡± to my request, we entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    There were no noisy adventurers.

    ¡°Huh?¡± (Yuna)

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was quiet and empty. Looking around, I saw a few people sitting in the corner, drinking quietly. No one bothered me.

    ¡°It¡¯s so quiet.¡± (Noa)

    This was unexpected.

    At any rate, I headed for the reception desk, but there was no one present. The reception desk was empty.

    Maybe they were taking a break?

    However, we didn¡¯t find anyone in the reception area either.

    ¡°Oh, what a cute customer for such a deste adventurer¡¯s guild.¡±

    I heard a voice from behind me and turned around to see a woman in her mid-twenties holding a bottle of alcohol.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone at the reception desk.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, of course there¡¯s no one there.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because I¡¯m here.¡±

    Does that mean that the woman drinking the alcohol was the receptionist?

    Unlike the guild officials in Crimonia, I didn¡¯t recognize her as a receptionist because she wasn¡¯t wearing a uniform.

    ¡°Fufu, you are dressed so cutely. But wait, are those bears you¡¯re both holding in your hands?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Yes, but they are our friends.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n.¡±¡±

    ¡°What cute little friends you have. I¡¯ve heard that if you take care of bears from the time they¡¯re born, they¡¯ll grow attached to you. I guess this is true.¡±

    The woman gently patted the head of Swaying Bear in my arms.

    ¡°So, what are two pretty girls doing in this deste adventurer¡¯s guild?¡± (Receptionist)

    I couldn¡¯t believe that she would say that it was a deste ce on her own.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re looking to sell some monster materials to the guild.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Monster materials?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°It¡¯s a monster that my father killed, and I¡¯d like you to buy it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, did you twoe to this town with your father?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°My father was injured and couldn¡¯te to town, so we took his ce toe over here.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But you two are not sisters, are you?¡± (Receptionist)

    I had ck hair while Noa had blonde hair. We didn¡¯t even look alike, nor did we look like sisters.

    ¡°The only one who was injured was her father. As she couldn¡¯te to this town by herself, I, who lives in the same vige, came to escort her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that. You look like as well, you know¡± (Receptionist)

    With my fluent lie, I was able to convince the woman, but I was a little ufortable with the woman saying that I too was small.

    ¡°Well anyway, let me see it, so can you please put it out on that counter for me?¡± (Receptionist)

    I ced some magic stones and wolf pelts on the counter.

    Because I used materials from wolves, it shouldn¡¯t look strange, knowing that there were a lot of them around here. We also encountered the knights fighting them on our way to this town.

    ¡°Oh my, you have a cute item bag.¡±

    The woman said as she looked at my white Bear Puppet.

    She then checked wolf magic stones and pelts on the counter.

    ¡°I see it has been dismantled neatly.¡±

    The woman examined the pelts, one by one.

    ¡°It seems like your father is quite skilled.¡±

    The woman said as she looked at Noa.

    ¡°Oh, why do you say so?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It seems like he took out the Wolf¡¯s head with a single strike. And the dismantling was beautiful.¡± (Receptionist)

    Well, I actually killed it with an ice arrow, and Fina dismantled it beautifully.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you a little more for it.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s so beautiful. We¡¯ll get to sell it for a lot more than usual.¡± (Receptionist)

    Fina would have been ttered by thepliment.

    The woman offered us the payment.

    I didn¡¯t know what the market rate was, but it didn¡¯t look like we were being cheated, so I epted it as is.

    Even if I had been cheated, that couldn¡¯t be helped. We had too little information about this town or this country. Currently, what we needed the most was to at least have some usable cash to spend in this country.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No problem. From now on, if you have any more materials, please don¡¯t hesitate to sell it at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± (Receptionist)

    The woman happily stored the materials away.

    At any rate, thispleted our first objective.

    I decided to ask for the next piece of information.

    ¡°Um, I have a question.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Why are there so few people in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you¡¯ve never been to this town, it¡¯s no wonder you don¡¯t know. There are hardly any adventurers in this town.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    An unexpected answer came out.

    ¡°The only ones remaining here are adventurers who are doing nothing but drink or those who can¡¯t even fight.¡± (Receptionist)

    The woman nced at the adventurers by the wall.

    ¡°Why are there no proper adventurers?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because¡­¡± (Receptionist)

    As the woman was about to exin, the entrance to the guild became noisy.

    ¡°This ce is still as grim as ever.¡±

    ¡°Yuna-san, those people¡­¡± (Noa)

    Those people were the knights who were fighting with the wolves before we came here.

    Why were they here?

    ¡°You girls should go hide in the back.¡± (Receptionist)

    The woman told us before facing the knights.

    Noa and I followed her words and moved to hide at the back of the counter where the pirs could cover us.

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 Chapter 678

    <h4>Chapter 678</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Gathering Information</b>

    ¡°Here, I¡¯ve got a job for you.¡± (Knight)

    The knight said, and then he randomly ced a wolf¡¯s carcass out of his item bag on a nearby table.

    ¡°I¡¯m bringing you a job, so be grateful and dismantle it.¡± (Knight)

    Other knightsughed and ced the wolves on the table one after another.

    That table was not the counter on which monsters¡¯ corpses were to be ced. It was originally a table for adventurers to eat and drink.

    There was a separate counter to put monsters on. If I had been the receptionist, I would have punched them. However, the receptionist did not sound angry and thanked the Knights instead.

    ¡°Thank you for everything.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I heard that the adventurers in this town can¡¯t even defeat a Wolf, you see.¡± (Knight)

    One of the knightsughed as he looked around at the adventurers, and then the other knights followed.

    The Captain who was able to detect my magic was not with them. Judging from the Knight¡¯s behavior, I could assume that he might also be a bad person.

    I pulled Noa¡¯s body closer to me, who was peeping at them, and hid her behind a pir so that she wouldn¡¯t be noticed.

    We waited for the knights to leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    After confirming that the knights had left the guild whileughing, we came out from behind the pir.

    The knights were gone, there were in wolves lying on the table, and the receptionist was making a <b>certain finger</b> gesture toward the door through which the knights had exited.

    I understood the gesture, so I silently blocked Noa¡¯s eyes. After all, that was not good for education.

    As soon as I noticed that the receptionist had stopped making that gesture, I headed over to her.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve shown you my embarrassing side.¡± (Receptionist)

    When the receptionist realized that we were watching her, sheughed to cover it up.

    ¡°Who are those knights?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Those knights¡­ Well, they have basically stolen the adventurers¡¯ jobs, and have been doing it on their own.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Stealing adventurers¡¯ jobs¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The lord of this town has his knights kill monsters, so there are no jobs for adventurers.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Oh no, I can¡¯t believe that the lord of a town would take away adventurers¡¯ jobs.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, a lord¡¯s daughter, puffed out her cheeks as sheined about the way this lord was doing things.

    ¡°Since no one can defy them, most adventurers have moved to other towns, and the only ones left here are those without power.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist nced at the adventurers in the corner.

    They seemed indifferent, not looking at us, even though there was such amotion.

    ¡°And they are forcing the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to dismantle the monsters they defeated. But well, if it weren¡¯t for those dismantling jobs, we wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain this Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch, so we can¡¯tin openly about it.¡± (Receptionist)

    So that¡¯s why she thanked the knights when she received the monsters from them and made that gesture when they left.

    ¡°As the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, can¡¯t you sue them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Every town has its own rules. We are the sole guild in this town. There is the option of shutting down operations in this town, but our Guild Master said that as long as there is at least one adventurer in this guild, we should continue to operate. Those of us who agree with his idea remained here, while the rest moved out.¡± (Receptionist)

    Even after all of that had happened, I did notice that the adventurers were just drinking as if it were the usual when the knights arrived at the guild. And based on that, I could conclude that those adventurers we saw did nothing but drink all day.

    ¡°Besides, if you stay in this town, you will be deprived of your magic power, so the magicians immediately left.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Deprived of your magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, since you live in a nearby vige, you probably don¡¯t know about this. I thought it was pretty well known around here though.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°About that¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then again, if you¡¯ve never been to this town, how would you know? About a few years ago, there was an order given to the townspeople to give away their magic power.¡± (Receptionist)

    I never expected to hear about magic power being drained from the citizens of this town forcefully.

    ¡°The order applied to everyone, from ordinary people to adventurers. That¡¯s why the magicians fled the town, as well as the members of their party. The only ones left were adventurers who couldn¡¯t use magic. And those <b>Fairy Knights</b> are the ones doing the work after the normal adventurers are also gone.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Fairy Knights?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s what those knights call themselves. And because those knights are taking care of the work of the adventurers, I can¡¯t reallyin.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But no one can go against them. Instead of going against them, the adventurers simply decided to move to another town. The guilds couldn¡¯t fight, either. If the lord orders us to leave, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will have no choice but to do so. If that happens, the remaining adventurers in this town will have nowhere to go.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Can¡¯t those adventurers be able to go to other towns, as well?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Some people just don¡¯t want to leave their hometowns. They were born here, grew up here, and have families here. We have to endure for the sake of those people.¡± (Receptionist)

    I couldn¡¯t reallyment.

    However, there was something that bothered me¡­ <b>Fairy Knights</b>. Primme¡¯s sister, who happened to be a fairy, was also in this town. So I was thinking whether there might be a connection between the two.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I can talk about. I¡¯m sorry. I have some dismantling to do.¡± (Receptionist)

    I was about to ask more about the Fairy Knights, but the receptionist stopped talking to us and called out to the surrounding adventurers.

    The adventurers started moving around and carried the wolves from the table.

    It seemed like she was going to let them do the job.

    I wanted to ask about the Fairy Knights, but I couldn¡¯t interfere with their work, so I decided to leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for now.

    ¡°Yuna-san, those Fairy Knights¡­¡± (Noa)

    I knew Noa was also curious about it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance that they might be rted to Primme¡¯s sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can sense my sister¡¯s magic power from those guys!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted from Noa¡¯s pouch, so Noa hurriedly held the pouch down. Fortunately, no one noticed Primme.

    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have enough information right now, so we need to collect more information. Let¡¯s head to an inn for today. We¡¯ll think about what to do next after finding some amodation.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa didn¡¯t object, and Primme agreed, albeit reluctantly.

    We arrived at an inn that was the closest to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of the several inns we had been told about at the town¡¯s entrance gate.

    There was a possibility that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would not be allowed to stay at the inn, so we temporarily returned them before entering the inn.

    Once inside, a girl about Noa¡¯s age was helping out around.

    ¡°Wee!¡±

    She called out when she noticed us entering the inn.

    But soon, when she saw my outfit, she looked surprised.

    ¡°Bear?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just the two of us, can we stay here?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked, ignoring the girl¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°Oh, yes. That¡¯s fine. Oh, mom, we have two guests!¡±

    The girl called to the back of the room, and a woman who I guessed was her mother came over.

    ¡°Wee. Let me show you to your room now¡­¡±

    A woman came over, calling out to us, but suddenly froze when she saw my outfit.

    I again ignored her reaction and called out to her.

    ¡°Please show us to our room.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ah, yes. Are you two alone? Or will you be with your parents?¡± (Inn Lady)

    I knew she would ask that question.

    ¡°Just the two of us. You don¡¯t have to worry since we have sufficient money for us to stay. We came from a nearby vige to take over her father¡¯s errands.¡± (Yuna)

    I answered politely while presenting Noa when talking about the father figure so as not to arouse her suspicion. When I presented her some money, she seemed to have epted our story and showed us to our room.

    ¡°That¡¯s great of you to take over your father¡¯s ce. Well then, call me if you need anything.¡± (Inn Lady)

    The woman looked at my outfit curiously, but did not ask in depth about it.

    Primme came out of Noa¡¯s pouch after making sure the woman was out of the room.

    ¡°Everyone is surprised when they see Yuna¡¯s outfit for the first time¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Because no one wears clothes like Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    I wondered if there was a dreand town somewhere with its citizens dressed up in a costume.

    I already knew it was a pipe dream since even I mentioned it being a <b>dreand</b>.

    I re-summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for security measures before we discussed the future. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear curled up next to me.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯d like to get serious about finding Primme¡¯s sister¡­ Noa, can you tell where she is?¡± (Yuna)

    After I asked, Noa closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

    Normally, she would say ¡°over there¡± right away, but this time it took her a little longer. She tilted her head and looked as if she was having a hard time.

    ¡°SO, how is it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I can feel it from many ces.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Many ces?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I feel it all over the ce.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to exin, but I could tell which direction it wasing from before, but now I can feel it from all over the town.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°So you can¡¯t tell where my sister is?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know right now, but when we get closer, I might be able to find her. And then¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is there anything you think you can do to detect her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if my assumption is right, but I did sense for a moment a stronger presence. It may have been Primme-san¡¯s sister using magic. So, perhaps, if she uses her magic power again, I might be able to find where she is.¡± (Noa)

    It was certainly possible that when someone used their magic, they would give off a stronger presence.

    ¡°Well then, it¡¯ste today, so we¡¯ll start gathering information tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we should go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild again and talk to them. I¡¯m also curious about those Fairy Knights.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. There might be a connection between the Fairy Knights and Primme-san¡¯s sister.¡± (Noa)

    Fairies and Fairy Knights, I didn¡¯t think they were unrted.

    ¡°Do you both think that my sister is with a bad human?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°People often have a connected reasoning behind naming things, but just because something has the same name doesn¡¯t mean that they are connected to each other. It is just one of many possibilities.¡± (Yuna)

    There were meaningless names as well, of course.

    Like Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear for example. The ¡°Bear¡±es from them being bears, of course, but ¡°Swaying Bear¡± and ¡°Hugging Bear¡± have no particr meaning.

    But when you name knights ¡®<b>Fairy Knights</b>¡®, it was natural to assume that they had something to do with fairies¡­ Sorry Primme, but knowing that Primme¡¯s sister was in this town, it only increased the chances of connection.

    We had a quick meal at the inn and went to sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

    The next morning, I woke up a sleepy Noa, returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, had ate breakfast, and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    We walked around with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, which I summoned again in their cub forms, after we left the inn.

    It was a defensive measure after all. If Noa ever got separated from me, Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear would be able to protect her.

    And, as usual, people continued to nce at me as we walked around.

    As we walked, I kept my Bear Hood lowered to cover my face.

    And then.

    ¡°Yu, Yuna-chan!¡± (???)

    Someone hugged me, shouting my name.

    ¡°What!¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to shake her off, but the person hugging me looked familiar.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Yuna-chan. It¡¯s the real one.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Rosa-san?¡± (Yuna)

    The person who hugged me was Rosa-san, with whom I had worked together to defeat bandits when the town of Mile was under attack by the Kraken.

    Behind her was Blitz, the handsome harem man, and Ran and Grimos were there as well.

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 Chapter 679

    <h4>Chapter 679</h4>

    <b>Harem Party Rosa¡¯s Viewpoint</b>

    I am Rosa, a magician and adventurer.

    Together, I am in the party with Blitz as our leader, Ran, another magician, and Grimos, a swordsman.

    We work in various ces and visit multiple ces.

    However, we were currently lost in the middle of nowhere.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°We¡¯re lost.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± (Grimos)

    Ran exined the situation to me, and for some reason, Grimos apologized.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Grimos.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault for suggesting to Blitz that we should go to another port town.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure everyone had no objection to that.¡± (Blitz)

    We were not lost in the royal capital, or in a town, or in a forest, but we lost our bearings in the world itself.

    ¡­

    <b>(T/N: shback.)</b>

    Our party often went to different ces instead of settling in an area. After finishing our work in Mile, we came to Crimonia through a tunnel with a stone statue of a bear, aiming for a new town. Then, after that incident, we traveled freely to the royal capital and various other ces while earning money as we went.

    Some time ago, we receivedmissions in the desert town. At that time, we met Yuna-chan, with whom we had defeated bandits in the town of Mile.

    At that time, we were happy and surprised to meet someone we knew so far away from home.

    Her bears could move across the desert as well.

    After reuniting with Yuna-chan and parting ways, we continued to visit various ces, crossing deserts and moving from one town to another. Then we arrived at arge port town by the sea.

    Unlike the town of Mile, this port town was lively and crowded.

    However, if the Kraken were to appear, it was quite possible that many of the people here would lose their jobs, be stranded on the roads, and go out of business.

    Looking out at the sea, we started to miss the town of Mile.

    Since we travelled quite a distance, we decided to head back, so we asked people at the port about the route to Mile, but the people here didn¡¯t seem to know about Mile at all.

    It would have been nice if we could have taken a ship back to Mile from here, but it did not seem like we could take the easy route back.

    But the townsfolk did say that there were ships that went to other port towns.

    ¡°Those other port towns might know about the town of Mile, so let¡¯s go there.¡± (Blitz)

    At Blitz¡¯s suggestion, we boarded a merchant ship as an escort for the ship. We might as well earn money and get a free ride by escorting the ship.

    We heard that there were pirates on the sea, but the chances of being attacked were slim. We thought it would be an easy job, but unfortunately, we were attacked by pirates.

    For some reason, the ship we were escorting allowed the pirate ship to approach freely, and we had to fight the pirate ship to defend our ship.

    To minimize damage to our ship while we were fighting, we decided to move the fight to the pirate ship by jumping to their ship.

    Blitz and Grimos fought in the front, while Ran and I supported them from the rear lines with magic. The pirates flinched from our unexpected counterattack. To be fair, pirates were weak in terms of individual strength. The only advantage they had over us was their superior numbers.

    However, being on a rocking ship was troublesome.

    Running on a ship caused people to lose their bnce. The same would happen when they wielded weapons because of the unstable ground they were on.

    Ran and I were fine because we were just shooting magic from behind, but Blitz and Grimos were having a little trouble when they got on the ship.

    We worked in tandem to ensure we took pirates out individually, reducing their number.

    Just when we thought we could defend the merchant ship if we kept going, the merchant ship suddenly started to move away from the pirate ship, leaving us behind on the pirate ship.

    By the time we realized it, it was already toote to jump over to the merchant ship.

    We screamed, but the merchant ship left us and moved away from the pirate ship.

    In a nutshell, they pushed the pirates toward us and ran away to save their skin.

    After defeating all the pirates, we tied them up, negotiated with them, and got them to move their ship to the port of the nearest town.

    On the way, unfortunately, the weather changed, and a storm broke loose, destroying the ship¡¯s sails. We were cast adrift, losing control of our destination.

    We thought we were going to die, but a passing fishing boat rescued us, and we somehow made it to the harbor town safely.

    We delivered the captured pirates to the security forces and thought we were safe, but this port town was just a small port town, and not the one where we came from.

    There was no trade with other towns, and no ships were going to Mile, let alone to the port town we had sailed from.

    We had no way to return home.

    Worst of all, we could not spend the money we had.

    We researched the area while selling our possessions and earning money at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    This was a small country, and few people knew about other countries. We had some information about the guilds, but we were unable to get any information about how to return home.

    To find a way to return home, we decided to go to the capital of this country.

    We thought that we might be able to get some information about how to return to our original country in this country¡¯s capital.

    We moved along, escorting the wagons that travelled between the cities.

    As we were escorting the wagon for the first of several times, a monster appeared. We got off the carriage and fought the monsters.

    While we were fighting the monsters, the carriage we were escorting fled, leaving us behind as if using us as bait.

    I would like to ask if it was a custom in this country to utilize escorting adventurers as decoys to escape from danger?

    Well, I knew that I was exaggerating it. We have had many escort requests before we came here. Some of them were kind. Some gave us a lot of money for nothing.

    Some were good, some were bad. We could only say that we were unlucky this time, too.

    After defeating the monsters, we walked along the road and took turns sleeping at night, but monsters sometimes continued to attack us.

    Our bodies were tired, but we decided it was better to move on, so we started moving as soon as the sun rose. We were lucky enough to be picked up by a horse-drawn wagon on our way.

    The driver said he was going to sell vegetables to the town from a nearby vige.

    We took advantage of their kindness and were allowed to ride in the wagon.

    We all fell asleep in the wagon, partly because of the battle with the monsters, partly because we could not sleep, and partly because we were tired from walking.

    When the owner of the wagon woke us up, the wagon had stopped at the entrance of an unknown town.

    After thanking the man for giving us a ride, we got off, and the wagon drove into the town.

    The rest of us also decided to enter the town to gather information.

    We asked the gatekeeper the town¡¯s name, but it was not a ce we knew of.

    The chain of us bing lost had gone so far that I could only think we might be cursed.

    At the entrance to the town, we were told some advice, so we tried to ask back, but people were entering the town from behind us, so we could not ask, and we were forced to enter the town.

    ***

    <b>(T/N: Back to present.)</b>

    ¡°If that merchant ship hadn¡¯t left us on the pirate ship, none of this would have happened.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°If we hadn¡¯t crossed the desert¡­¡± (Ran)

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have boarded that merchant ship.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°It¡¯s no use saying it now. If we keep going, surely a path will open up. If we don¡¯t give up, we can make it back.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz¡¯s optimism may be a relief, at least. It was better than being gloomy.

    They knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but they would return to their hometown even if it took years.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t go home anymore, I¡¯ll have to live here alone with Blitz.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± (Rosa)

    While I was thinking positively, Ran said something outrageous.

    Blitz would never marry Ran.

    Because with me¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the future some other time. It hasn¡¯t been decided yet that we can¡¯t go back.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz, who had no sense of the air, said something brainless.

    I casually looked at the other side of the street and saw a girl dressed as a cute bear walking.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m hallucinating Yuna-chan walking over there.¡± (Rosa)

    It seemed I was mentally disturbed enough to hallucinate.

    Yuna was a strange girl I met in the town of Mile. She was dressed as a cute bear, but she was a strong girl.

    I have seen many countries and cities, but I have never seen a girl dressed like that.

    So I think I¡¯m hallucinating.

    ¡°I am also seeing Yuna walking around.¡± (Ran)

    Ran said while looking in the same direction.

    It appeared that Ran was also tired and was hallucinating like me.

    I wanted to see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. I would like to fluff them up. I would like to hug them.

    That girl was holding an animal, a bear.

    It felt like a bear was holding a bear.

    ¡°To me, it looks like Yuna herself.¡± (Grimos)

    It appeared that even Grimos had finally started hallucinating.

    There was no way Yuna-chan would end up in a ce like this. After all, it was a ce which we didn¡¯t even know where it was located.

    ¡°We¡¯re probably just tired. Let¡¯s go rest at the inn.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s really Yuna, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Blitz)

    Even Blitz said something like that.

    ¡°Hey, you guys, look properly.¡± (Rosa)

    I looked again at the person who resembled Yuna-chan.

    She was dressed like a bear. Her costume with that slightly bulging belly¡­ That cute-looking girl.

    Before I realized, I was already running.

    As I got closer, I could tell.

    There was no doubt.

    It was Yuna-chan.

    ¡°Oh, Yuna-chan¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«¡«!¡± (Rosa)

    I hugged Yuna-chan.

    ¡°Rosa-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s Yuna-chan. It¡¯s the real Yuna-chan.¡± (Rosa)

    Yuna-chan looked at me with a surprised face.

    It was definitely the Yuna-chan I knew.

    Yuna-chan was puzzled, but she followed my lead and Ran, who noticed me hugging Yuna-chan, also hugged her.

    ¡°It¡¯s really Yuna!¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Why are you two here?¡± (Yuna)

    That should be my line.

    Why was Yuna-chan here?

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 Chapter 680

    <h4>Chapter 680</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Reunites with the Harem Party</b>

    It was Rosa-san who hugged me.

    We defeated bandits in the town of Mile and met again in the desert.

    After Rosa-san, Ran also hugged me.

    I almost fell over, but I could stand my ground thanks to my bear gear.

    ¡°Why are Rosa-san and the others here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That should be our line.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°You are the real Yuna, right?¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran looked at me as if they were checking me out.

    I also couldn¡¯t believe this, so I reaffirmed, ¡°It¡¯s the real Rosa-san and her friends, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re real. I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re meeting Yuna-chan here of all ces.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Thank goodness.¡± (Ran)

    The two of them were so happy to see me again that it didn¡¯t feel like they would separate from me anytime soon.

    ¡°Can you get away from me, for now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to run away, right?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not running away.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t talk to them about the details with them holding on to me.

    ¡°Rosa, Ran, get away from Yuna. She¡¯s probably troubled.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yuna, long time no see.¡± (Grimos)

    As I was having trouble with Rosa and Ran, Blitz and Grimos appeared,pleting the full harem party with three beautiful women.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a long time, Blitz and Grimos. Thest time we met was in the desert.¡± (Yuna)

    I haven¡¯t seen them since then, so it has really been a long time.

    However, I didn¡¯t expect to encounter them here.

    Maybe this ce was closer than I thought?

    ¡°Yuna-san, who are these people?¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who was behind me, asked, not understanding what was going on.

    ¡°They¡¯re adventurers I¡¯ve met a few times.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If anything, we are the ones who have been taken care of by Yuna.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°We worked together to defeat bandits in the town of Mile.¡± (Ran)

    Ran added to Rosa-san¡¯s words.

    It was a few months ago, but it was a fond memory.

    ¡°I see.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m Rosa. Nice to meet you. Um¡­¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°My name is Noire.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noire-chan.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I am Ran. Nice to meet you.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Grimos.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°I¡¯m Blitz.¡± (Blitz)

    Each one of them introduced themselves.

    ¡°So, Yuna, may I ask you something?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Where are we?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°¡­huh?¡± (Yuna)

    Blitz¡¯s sudden question left me confused for a moment. Why was he asking me ¡°Where are we?¡±. I should be the one asking that.

    ¡°We have lost our way and ended up here somehow.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°But since we have now met Yuna here, we can return to Mile, right?¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran rejoiced.

    Then Rosa-san and the others told me how they ended up in this town.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why we don¡¯t know where we are or how to get home. But meeting Yuna-chan, I¡¯m relieved. I don¡¯t care if we¡¯re dropped in the capital or in Crimonia. I would appreciate it if you can tell us how to get home.¡± (Blitz)

    Everyone looked so relieved.

    Apparently, they thought I knew the way back to Crimonia.

    Well, normally I wouldn¡¯t me them for thinking that.

    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know the way back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What, why! Then how did you get here?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Maybe Yuna got lost the same way we did?¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran asked.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± (Yuna)

    To exin that we came here using fairy powers, we needed to tell them about Primme, but it wasn¡¯t an easy thing to talk about.

    ¡°Is it something you can¡¯t tell us, by any chance?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz asked, perhaps reading the expressions on my and Noa¡¯s faces.

    ¡°It¡¯s not something I can¡¯t answer. It¡¯s just hard to say it <b>here</b>.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then just answer me this: <b>Will Yuna be able to go home?</b>¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz cut to the chase.

    ¡°¡­Yes, we have a way to get home.¡± (Yuna)

    So, I answered them honestly.

    We could go back to Crimonia, either by fairy mirror or by Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°What kind of way? Can we also use that way to go back?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°If you are asking me whether we can use it, we can, but it won¡¯t be easy. I need permission as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you need money, I¡¯ll pay you.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I¡¯ll work hard.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not about the money.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you saying that we can¡¯t leave?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Rosa-san and Ran became depressed.

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa pulled at my clothes when she noticed that I was in trouble.

    To use the fairy mirror, we needed Primme. Moreover, we had to go inside the fairy forest, so we needed the Fairy Queen¡¯s permission as well to use the fairy mirror. I doubt that the Fairy Queen would let four additional people in.

    The Blitz and the others were not bad adventurers. If anything, they were good people. But that did not mean that I could take them to the fairy forest on my own.

    However, that also didn¡¯t mean I could just abandon my acquaintances who were in trouble in this strangend.

    As ast resort, I could get Rosa-san and the others to return to Crimonia with Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll tell you how I got here for now, but you have to keep it a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A secret? Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± (Ran)

    As I didn¡¯t want anyone else to hear what I had to say about fairies, we decided to talk about it in the inn where we were staying.

    When we returned to our room at the inn, Rosa-san, Ran, Noa, and I were sitting on the two beds, while Blitz and Grimos were sitting on the two chairs provided.

    ¡°Where should I start?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You can start from the beginning and tell us as much as you can.¡± (Rosa)

    Then I should let the person who brought us here, it is time toe out.

    ¡°Primme, I¡¯m sorry, but can youe out? These people are okay.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really?¡± (Primme)

    Primme emerged from Noa¡¯s pouch and appeared in front of Rosa-san and the others.

    ¡°A fairy?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°This fairy, Primme, asked us to look for her sister, and we used the power of the fairies in the fairy forest to get here. Using that power, we were able to move from Crimonia to the fairy forest, and from the fairy forest to this ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So if we join you when you return to the fairy forest, will we be able to return home too?¡± (Rosa)

    Primme replied, ¡°No, you can¡¯t. If I bring all of you back to the fairy forest, the Fairy Queen will be furious with me. She might not even let us in. Originally, she only allowed me to bring one person, but I ended up bringing two, making her mad at me.¡±

    ¡°Two?¡± (Rosa)

    This time, I replied, ¡°Noa is not from here. She came with me from Crimonia.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± (Rosa)

    Next, I exined why Noa came with me from Crimonia.

    ¡°So Noire-chan joined you from Crimonia to this ce because the handkerchief filled with Primme-chan¡¯s sister¡¯s magic power went inside her?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It must be hard for Noire-chan toe to such a strange ce, even though she is still so young.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. Yuna-san is with me along with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You¡¯re strong despite being so young.¡± (Rosa)

    The way Noire acted could not be helped. After all, she was the daughter of a noble family. She was well-educated, she had associations with Fina, and she didn¡¯t look down onmoners.

    I have no idea if it was because of Cliff¡¯s education or because of Ellura-san¡¯s bloodline that caused this, but I think she was raised in a good manner.

    ¡°I understand how Yuna-chan and her friends got here. Ah, as expected, we can¡¯t go home that easily.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I thought we could go home now that we¡¯ve met Yuna.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I guess, we don¡¯t have any other choice.¡± (Blitz)

    Rosa-san and the others looked at Primme and tried to give up.

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just ask Yuna. She could¨C.¡± (Primme)

    I quickly grabbed Primme.

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I smiled and tried to cover it up.

    I had nned to use the Bear Transfer Gate from the beginning when I decided to talk to them, but my confidential disposition kicked in.

    ¡°If we can find Primme¡¯s sister, you all might also be able to enter the fairy forest as a reward.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    Primme was surprised, but I continued with my story.

    ¡°However, the location of the fairy forest is a secret, and so is the method of travel. I think you¡¯ll have to be blindfolded as we travel to that ce. If that¡¯s okay with you.¡± (Yuna)

    If we blindfold them and have them go through the Bear Transfer Gate, they would never know how they were transported.

    Rosa-san and the others could go home, and I could keep my secret. That was a good idea.

    Besides, if Rosa-san and the others helped me, it would be easier to get information about Primme¡¯s sister. After all, I was just a strange girl dressed as a bear, and Noa was a child. Not the best choice when ites to gathering information.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what we need to do for us to leave, I¡¯m fine with it.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°The Fairy forest, and how to get there. I wanted to know.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s have Ran stay behind here. After all, if the Fairy Queen is displeased with us, we won¡¯t be able to go back home. We¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°That¡¯s mean, Rosa. I¡¯m a person who keeps my promises.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. We¡¯ll help Primme find her sister.¡± (Blitz)

    Rosa-san and the others agreed with Blitz¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask this, but are you sure?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We really want to go home, but I¡¯d like to help Yuna-chan.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°And I¡¯m sure I can curry some favor with you.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°No problem.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°Ignoring Ran¡¯sment, it¡¯s always better to impress the fairies a little bit.¡± (Blitz)

    The four of them agreed to help Primme find her sister.

    [Yuna, what are you nning? We can¡¯t enter the fairy forest even if they are blindfolded.] (Primme)

    Primme said in my ear.

    [It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll use that gate. But I don¡¯t want people to know too much about it, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you can pretend that we used the fairy¡¯s power.] (Yuna)

    [Well, if that¡¯s the case, I think it will be fine.] (Primme)

    Primme understood my point of view and agreed with me.

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 Chapter 681

    <h4>Chapter 681</h4>

    T/N: Hi, everyone. I am going to have important exams soon, so I will have less time for tranting. Fow now, I intend to reduce the release rate to 2 chapters for one week and 1 chapter for next, then repeat. Thanks for reading.

    ¡­

    <b>Bear-san Having a Discussion</b>

    I exined how we had arrived in this town since Blitz and the others were going to help us.

    ¡°So you came all the way to this town based on a clue just from a reaction from the handkerchief in Noire-chan¡¯s body.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Is there something we can help with? Noire, can you tell us where Primme-chan¡¯s sister is? You know the direction, right?¡± (Ran)

    Ran looked at Noa as if to confirm. Noa shook her head in response.

    ¡°I can sense Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s magic, but I don¡¯t know where she is in this city exactly. Her magic is spread out everywhere¡­ Or maybe she used a wide-area spell? It¡¯s difficult to exin, but I can feel her magic from many different directions.¡± (Noa)

    Noa exined apologetically.

    ¡°Well basically, Noa can¡¯t pinpoint my sister¡¯s location in this town, so we n to gather more information about this ce. Yesterday, we heard the term <b>Fairy Knight</b>¡­ Rosa-san and the others, have you ever heard about them?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Fairy Knights?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°What a very interesting name!¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Fairy knights, huh? Well, we have just arrived in town today, you see.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I remember someone mentioning it somewhere¡­¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± (Ran)

    Ran didn¡¯t seem to know, but Blitz and Rosa-san seemed to have heard it. But they didn¡¯t seem to remember where exactly they heard it.

    Finally, Grimos, who had been listening in silence, opened her mouth.

    ¡°I think we heard it when we were entering the town.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°¡­Oh, that time.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Ah¡­ yes¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± (Ran)

    At Grimos¡¯ words, Blitz and Rosa-san responded, but Ran¡¯s response seemed to tell us that she didn¡¯t remember.

    ¡°What did you hear?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, when we entered the town, we were warned that we should not get involved with the knights in the town, especially to not reveal to them that we were adventurers.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°That¡¯s when we heard the term <b>Fairy Knights</b>.¡± (Blitz)

    I wondered if it was the uncle at the entrance of the gate who told them about it.

    ¡°Um, did you hear about anything else?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I tried to ask him more about it, but there were people lining up behind us to enter the town, so we couldn¡¯t press him for more details.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz answered Noa¡¯s question.

    ¡°Besides, we were too busy wondering where we were.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Fairy knights¡­ is Primme¡¯s sister involved with them?¡± (Ran)

    I guess they also felt so.

    ¡°Yesterday, when we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we saw the fairy knights, but they were arrogant and didn¡¯t seem very nice.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So maybe that¡¯s the reason why the people in town warned us?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yesterday I couldn¡¯t ask them at the guild about the fairy knights because of bad timing, so we were nning to go and ask them again today.¡± (Yuna)

    On our way there, we ran into Rosa-san and returned to the inn.

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Right. We also want information from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Blitz)

    If Rosa-san and the others came with us, it would be a great help.

    If it was just me and Noa, it would be difficult to ask about the fairy knights because of our appearance and age. If they asked us why we wanted to know about them, we would not be able to answer them.

    Above all, since we have set ourselves up as <b>ordinary girls from a vige</b>, it would be strange for such vige girls to ask about the fairy knights.

    But for the adventurers, Rosa-san and the others, it would be easy for them to ask.

    ¡°Thank you. It would be helpful if you coulde with us.¡± (Yuna)

    We had decided what we were going to do, and I was about to get up from the bed when Noa spoke up.

    ¡°Um, just to confirm, Rosa-san and the others arrived in this town today, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t know about this town, do you know what country we are in?¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t pay much attention to that because we had a method to get back to Crimonia, but I was also curious about our current location.

    ¡°Like the name?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I think the name of this country is Sahel, if I recall correctly.¡± (Blitz)

    Sahel. I had never heard of this country.

    I have heard about a few other countries, but not nearly that many, and this was one of those I did not know of.

    Well, someone like me wouldn¡¯t normally have information about other countries unless I research about it.

    It was something I didn¡¯t mention, and regarding the research, I was simply making excuses to myself.

    ¡°Noa, do you know any country with that name?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa shook her head.

    I thought she might know about it, being the daughter of a noble family, but she didn¡¯t seem to know.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably a country that doesn¡¯t have much interaction with its neighbors, and it looks like this ce is surrounded by a bunch of small countries. I might know the names ofrger countries.¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t even know the names of all the countries in my previous world. Even if I had heard the names of some of the smaller countries around the Middle East and Africa, I would not know the urate names or locations of all the countries.

    I wonder how many people would know the exact location of all the countries in the world, including the smaller ones.

    And I didn¡¯t even know if there was a world map in this world, and even if there was, it wouldn¡¯t generally be avable.

    In the first ce, an average person in this world would not need a world map. They would not even be educated enough to use it.

    On the other hand, if it was a member of themercial guild, they might be able to read the world map because the guild would definitely be using one (if it exists) to contact other guilds. They might even hear news from as far as neighboring countries. There was no TV, radio, or inte in this world that could be used as a source of information. Well, if it was something that didn¡¯t affect my life, I wouldn¡¯t even try to research it unless I was going to other countries. That was just the way it was.

    ¡°Right, well, we were on our way to the royal capital of this country because we thought there might be some people there who knew about Mile.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°We didn¡¯t expect to meet Yuna-chan on the way, though.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I was so happy to see Yuna.¡± (Ran)

    Ran was right, it was nice to meet Rosa-san and the others in a strangend. It felt lonely not knowing anyone.

    In the past, I didn¡¯t feel that way very often, but nowadays, perhaps because I know so many people, I often feel that way.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s find Primme¡¯s sister and go back home.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Grimos)

    Grimos nodded at Rosa-sans¡¯ words.

    ¡°That said, can you please let Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear go?¡± (Yuna)

    Rosa-san and Ran held Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs, in theirp and petted them all the way around.

    They let go of the two bears, but their faces showed no signs of longing.

    Grimos also wanted to touch them, so I let her, and she was all smiles.

    Since we would be working together and sharing information, Rosa-san and the others would stay at the inn where we were staying.

    ¡°One room for four, please.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz, as usual, asked for a room for four.

    He was a harem man, after all.

    But, as they say, there was no such thing as a man or a woman among adventurers. It would not be so strange for party members to stay in the same room if they entrusted their lives to each other.

    We left the inn and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    When I walked, as usual, people would look at me and say, ¡°Bear?¡±, ¡°Bear?¡±.

    ¡°They¡¯re looking at you.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can hear them saying <b>bear</b>.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    I simply responded like an answering machine to Blitz¡¯s words.

    ¡°I guess Yuna-chan¡¯s outfit always catches attention, no matter where you go.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°It¡¯s also because of the bears the two of us are holding.¡± (Yuna)

    Ran turned her attention to the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear that Noa and I were holding.

    Basically, I summoned them to be Noa¡¯s escorts.

    ¡°Um, should we split up and go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild separately?¡± (Yuna)

    If they were embarrassed to be watched, they could just go their separate ways from us.

    But Blitz, who did not seem to even be bothered by my words, said.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll go with you. We are not going to die just because we are being watched. I¡¯m more worried about leaving Yuna and Noa alone. Besides, if we¡¯re with you guys, there won¡¯t be anyone bothering you.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz walked with us, while keeping a close distance to us.

    He was like a ssic hero from aic book or novel.

    I could see why women flocked to him, but that didn¡¯t mean I was going to join his harem.

    I have to be careful about Noa, too.

    But Noa hugged me as if she werepeting with Blitz for my attention.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave Yuna-san either.¡± (Noa)

    Either way, Noa should not leave my side.

    While still attracting stares, we arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    Once inside, the guild was just as deserted as it was yesterday.

    We looked for the receptionist from yesterday, but as we expected, she was not at the reception desk, and we found her sitting on a chair in the bar area. The receptionist also noticed us. It did not seem like she was drinking alcohol.

    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you the girl dressed as a bear from yesterday? What are you up to today? Didn¡¯t you go back to the vige?¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist¡¯s question was valid because after selling the intended Wolf materials, we should have been on our way back to the vige.

    [Why is she asking you that question?] (Rosa)

    Rosa-san asked in a whisper.

    [Well, when we got here, we needed this country¡¯s currency. So I hid the fact that I was an adventurer and had them ept monster materials from me in exchange for some funds. At that time, we pretended to be people from a nearby vige.] (Yuna)

    [Oh, I see.] (Rosa)

    With my exnation, Rosa-san immediately understood.

    ¡°And why are you with adventurers?¡± (Receptionist)

    She didn¡¯t recognize me as an adventurer, but she immediately recognized Blitz and the others as adventurers. I knew it, it was the way I looked.

    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of doing something bad by tricking these girls, you will be in for a world of hurt.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist stepped between me and Blitz and the others, as if to protect me and Noa.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know these girls.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Is he telling me the truth?¡± (Receptionist)

    She looked at me and Noa as if to confirm.

    ¡°Yeah, so we¡¯re fine. Thank you for your concern.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡± (Receptionist)

    She rxed her guard against my words.

    She was a kind person.

    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t adventurers in this town, are you?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°No, we¡¯re adventurers from another town, or rather, another country.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Another country? How did you end up in this town from somewhere far away?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a long story.¡± (Blitz)

    They couldn¡¯t really say they were lost, could they?

    ¡°So, I have a few questions¡­¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can answer them, but what is it?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°It¡¯s about those Fairy Knights.¡± (Blitz)

    The receptionist¡¯s face hardened at Blitz¡¯s words.

    ¡°Did something happen to them? Did they do anything to you two?¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist asked me, not Blitz.

    ¡°No, nothing happened to us.¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe she thought that the knights had tried to do something to us, but Blitz and the others saved us.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. Then you¡¯d better get out of this town as soon as possible.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°What will they do if we continue to stay in town?¡± (Blitz)

    Yesterday, her words insinuated that the knights might do something to us if we stayed in town.

    Was that the reason why yesterday, when the knights showed up, we were told to hide ourselves from them.

    Blitz and the others were also told to leave.

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 Chapter 682

    <h4>Chapter 682</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Talks to the Receptionist</b>

    We sat down nearby, and the receptionist began to talk.

    ¡°Those knights think they are very strong and thus make fun of adventurers. They will try to get involved with adventurers whoe here unaware of the situation, so be careful.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Are they strong?¡± (Blitz)

    I saw them fight wolves yesterday, and I could tell that they were good at what they do. That didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t win against them.

    ¡°Yes, they are strong, so no one can raise ain.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist affirmed.

    ¡°They are that strong?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°If it was just one person, we could manage, but not against their numbers.¡± (Receptionist)

    It was true that it would be easier to deal with one person but not with all the knights. It seemed like not only those knights we saw possessed that power. It would be normal to think that there were more.

    Maybe that¡¯s why the receptionist couldn¡¯t even get mad at the knights yesterday and kept quiet.

    ¡°It¡¯s infuriating, you know. It¡¯s not even their own power.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°¡­not their own power?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz uttered.

    ¡°I guess the adventurers in other ces don¡¯t know. As I told youdies yesterday, they are using someone else¡¯s power.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°You mentioned that yesterday, how can they do that?¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to ask yesterday, but was interrupted before I could ask.

    The receptionist seemed a little distressed, and then started to whisper in a hushed tone.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the fairies are said to be taking the magic of the town¡¯s inhabitants and passing it to the knights.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°¡±¡­!?¡±¡±

    At the receptionist¡¯s words, we looked at each other, bewildered.

    ¡°There are fairies involved?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never actually seen them, so it¡¯s just a rumor. But we have heard many times from the knights about fairies, and they call themselves fairy knights, so we believe that fairies do exist and are involved. Above all, I doubt that weak knights will suddenly be strong without the help of someone.¡± (Receptionist)

    Was Primme¡¯s sister granting power to the knights?

    If we looked into those fairy knights, we may be able to get some information about Primme¡¯s sister.

    ¡°But why are you asking about the fairy knights?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Because¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Perhaps you heard a rumor that there are fairies here and tried to ask knights about it yesterday? Then you shouldn¡¯t have done that. They are ones who like getting involved with women and children. Besides, even if someone asks them directly, they wouldn¡¯t tell. Sometimes they divulge it themselves, but if you ask them, they get tight-lipped.¡± (Receptionist)

    I was troubled.

    Should I tell her the truth?

    ¡°Also, I didn¡¯t tell you yesterday because I thought you¡¯d be leaving town soon, but you should get out of town fast. Especially the two magicians over there.¡±

    I looked at Rosa-san and Ran.

    ¡°Why?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Because regardless of the town¡¯s inhabitants, if they stay in this town, they will be deprived of their magic power. It¡¯s not a problem if you just want to spend the day, but it will be a matter of life and death for those who dabble in magic. That¡¯s why every single magician in this town has left. Well, it¡¯s not only the magicians who are in trouble but also the craftsmen who use magic.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°So people are still being robbed of their magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Not yesterday, not today. Every few days, at midnight, magic power is taken away. If you feel tired in the morning, you should think that you have been deprived of magic power. You might think you¡¯ve be ill if you don¡¯t know any better.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Well, you mean to say that the fairies themselves don¡¯t take away people¡¯s magic power <b>directly</b>, but just by being in the town, your magic power will be taken away?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve also heard stories of people saying that they have been robbed of magic power <b>directly</b> by fairies, but those might have been hoaxes, and in reality, they were simply deprived of their magic power by being in town. That¡¯s why you guys should get out of town as soon as possible.¡± (Receptionist)

    I now understand why there were no adventurers in this town.

    Being in the town would rob you of your magic power.

    I also found out why those knights called themselves fairy knights.

    There was a possibility that Primme¡¯s sister was the one who was giving these knights their power.

    I wanted to ask the receptionist for more information, but I needed to figure out how much it was okay to probe around.

    ¡°Sorry, but we can¡¯t leave this town. Actually, we¡¯re looking for a fairy.¡± (Blitz)

    As I was wondering, Blitz asked.

    ¡°Looking for a fairy? You shouldn¡¯t be. There have been others like you in the past, but none have returned. If you value your life, you¡¯d better get out of this town.¡± (Receptionist)

    Did that mean they were killed when they tried to look for the fairy?

    ¡°What if I told you that we are here to take down that fairy?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. We don¡¯t know where the fairy is. If you want to defeat the fairy, those fairy knights wille to you.¡± (Receptionist)

    It meant that to find Primme¡¯s sister, we had to deal with those fairy knights.

    ¡°Excuse me, may I have a word?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Receptionist)

    Noa, who had been silently listening, spoke up.

    ¡°A knight is supposed to obey the king of the country and the lord of the town, right? What kind of person is the lord of this town, and what kind of orders does he give to the knights?¡± (Noa)

    That certainly was true.

    I was so distracted by the talk about fairies that I forgot about the knightsmitting unchivalrous acts.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I can¡¯t tell you anymore. It would put you and the others in danger. I can¡¯t me you for being interested in the fairies, but you shouldn¡¯t go any further. Return to your vige as soon as possible.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist said gently.

    ¡°The same goes for you, adventurers. If you care about your fellow adventurers, you shouldn¡¯t pry any deeper into the matter.¡± (Receptionist)

    I knew that the receptionist genuinely cared for our wellbeing.

    Well, we could talk to the receptionist about Primme and ask the guild to help us.

    However, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to let the guild branch know about Primme while we were in this town.

    If someone assumed that Primme was involved with the fairy knights, and those who had bad intentions towards fairies found out, there would be a possibility that they would attack us.

    The receptionist may also attack us out of the blue upon discovering that we had connections with fairies.

    But if Primme¡¯s sister was involved with the knights and even the lord of this town, I wanted information about them from someone who knew about the town.

    I decided.

    ¡°Is there a room where no one can hear us?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course there is. Why?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I have something important to tell you.¡± (Yuna)

    She saw the serious look on my face and let out a sigh.

    ¡°Okay. Come here,¡± she said and led us to a back room.

    ¡­

    ¡°This room is safe from public eyes. So, what do you want to talk about?¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Primme,e on out. I think we need you to get some information out of them.¡± (Yuna)

    As I said this, Noa¡¯s pouch moved, and Primme came out.

    ¡°Fairy¡­¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°She¡¯s Primme, a fairy.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait, can¡¯t fairies <b>only</b> be seen when they are on the same wavelength as you? So howe everyone in this room, including me, can see her?¡± (Receptionist)

    Everyone in the room looked at Primme.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details, but if Yuna is here, the others can see me as well.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. Then maybe you¡¯re the fairy who is stealing magic from the city¡¯s residents and giving power to the knights¡­¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist narrowed her eyes and red at Primme.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not Primme. I think it¡¯s Primme¡¯s sister who grants those knights their power.¡± (Yuna)

    I told the receptionist the real reason why we came to this town.

    ¡°Well, this fairy asked us two toe to this town to find her sister. And then, by chance, we ran into some adventurers we had met before, and they agreed to help us.¡±

    I didn¡¯t mention anything about Crimonia, the fairy forest, or the fairy mirror.

    ¡°So that story about the monster your father dismantled was a lie.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Not everything we told you was a lie. I am an adventurer. I am the one who defeated the monster, but not the one who dismantled it. I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me even if I told you that. I also had other reasons for not telling you the truth.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A fairy, a bear girl, an adventurer¡­¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist held her head in her hands.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny. I haven¡¯t even had a drink yet today.¡± (Receptionist)

    She was starting to escape reality, you know.

    ¡°Missy, the tone of your voice is different from yesterday.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°¡­oh.¡± (Yuna)

    I was talking normally now,pletely forgetting that yesterday I was wearing a bear outfit, acting like a meek cat, and ying the role of a weak girl from a nearby vige who didn¡¯t know any better.

    ¡°Sorry. This is the way I normally talk. I talked differently yesterday as I thought that would be less suspicious.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that cute girl was acting.¡± (Receptionist)

    She seemed to be disappointed in me.

    It could be easier tomunicate if I continued acting that way, but I didn¡¯t think I wouldst long in that kind of character setup.

    The sham would be found out eventually. Since that was the case, it was better for me to reveal my true self early on.

    In the first ce, I had forgotten entirely about acting and was now talking in my usual tone.

    ¡°Just to confirm, that girl over there isn¡¯t an adventurer by age, is she?¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist asked, looking at Noa.

    ¡°Yes. I am not an adventurer, so please don¡¯t worry. You can think of me as an ordinary girl next door.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied politely.

    Knowing Noa¡¯s true identity, I was tempted to respond, ¡°You are far from just an ordinary girl anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Are you some youngdy in disguise? I mean, your tone and mannerisms are very different.¡± (Receptionist)

    She was certainly the daughter of a noble family.

    But I couldn¡¯t mention it, and knowing I could not exin it, Noa just smiled smugly.

    The way she responded was not that of a normal girl, either.

    ¡°What, Noire-chan is a youngdy?¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san asked.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just an ordinary girl from anywhere, so please continue to call me Noire-chan as you have always done.¡± (Noa)

    She smiled like a youngdy.

    Maybe noble daughters exuded a certain elegance even when they had changed their attire.

    It was the same as how I wouldn¡¯t look like a nobledy even if I was wearing a beautiful dress.

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s okay for us to do that.¡± (Receptionist)

    I think it would be alright because Noa would not punish anyone for something like that, even if they did discover that she was a noble youngdy.

    In the first ce, I was calling her ¡°Noa¡± the same as ¡°Cliff¡± and others.

    I could have been punished for disrespect (lesse majeste) now that I thought about it.

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 Chapter 683

    <h4>Chapter 683</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Interviewed at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild</b>

    ¡°So we came to this town looking for my sister. If you know anything about fairies, please do let us know.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t want you guys to get involved because it¡¯s dangerous. But if it¡¯s for your sister, I don¡¯t me you for doing so. The ordinance on the transfer of magic power was established about three years ago.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I know this is a littlete, but when did Primme¡¯s sister disappear? I always thought it was only recently.¡± (Yuna)

    Since we arrived in this town, it felt like the presence of fairies had been here for a while now.

    ¡°My sister has been missing for a while now. I think it¡¯s been about three springs since.¡± (Primme)

    That made Noa and me want to hold our heads in our hands.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve been searching for your sister all that time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, at first, I thought [I haven¡¯t seen hertely], but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to the matter. Some timeter, I remembered that she said she was meeting with humans, so I went and asked around, but I couldn¡¯t find her, and then I remembered the handkerchief and checked it out, and I got a response from outside the fairy forest. So I decided to find someone who could see me and whom I could trust.¡± (Primme)

    So that¡¯s the reason she used the fairy mirror to go through and look for someone who could help her, huh?

    Like elves, long-lived creatures have a different sense of time than we do.

    Three years have passed, but from how she reacted, it must have felt very recent.

    Noa looked at Primme in disbelief.

    ¡°Um, can we continue our conversation?¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist seemed to want to continue the conversation.

    ¡°Sorry for changing the subject.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Anyway, you see, magic power is taken from the residents every few days at night. I still remember the first time the magic power was taken from us. I felt weak, the magicians couldn¡¯t use magic anymore, and there was an uproar in the guild.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°But magic power recovers over time, doesn¡¯t it?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked as if it was a standard urrence.

    Magic power recovery worked the same way as physical strength. They both recovered constantly over time.

    ¡°Yes, it does. If you just want to live a normal life, you can do so with only a small amount of magic power. But for a magician who is an adventurer, it is a matter of life and death. Just when you think your magic power is restored, it is taken away again. If you fight monsters without realizing that your magical power has not been fully restored, and you end upcking magical power, you could die. It is impossible to fight monsters in such a dangerous condition. So the magicians were the first to leave the town, and the adventurers who had been party members with the magicians followed them.¡± (Receptionist)

    I heard about themotion yesterday, and now I understand the reason for the ruckus.

    It was true that if the magicians were deprived of their magical power, they would not be able to fight monsters. If they couldn¡¯t sense that their magic power was only half restored, their lives would be in danger.

    In such a state, it was no wonder they could no longer ept requests and ended up leaving the town.

    ¡°A few days after most of the adventurers left, those Knights appeared and started defeating monsters in ce of the adventurers. So, the remaining adventurers also left, saying that they couldn¡¯t find work in this town.¡± (Receptionist)

    Some parties worked without the magicians. However, those adventurers also left since they could not find good work, and the only ones left were those who couldn¡¯t leave.

    ¡°But how did the knights get into this business of defeating monsters? Was it originally to protect the town?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The knights would usuallye here to buy magic stones. That was before the ordinance of taking the residents¡¯ magic power was announced. Even after the ordinance, the lord is still buying up all avable magic stones. At the start, the town¡¯s residents were pretty confused. The lord then coerced us to make collecting a certain amount of magic stones mandatory. Following that ordinance, however, the magicians and most adventurers strong enough to hunt monsters went away from this town. So we can¡¯t fulfil the requests of the Lord anymore because the number of magic stones being delivered to the guild steadily started to decrease.¡± (Receptionist)

    The Receptionist continued.

    ¡°Following that, under the lord¡¯s direction, the knights were sent out on the task of killing monsters, and we, the adventurers¡¯ guild, started to take care of dismantling the monsters they brought in. They were only taking the magic stones with them. We were the ones who would dismantle the monsters to be used as materials. The excess materials would be sold. This was more than enough profit for the guild to survive on.¡± (Receptionist)

    So the receptionist had to put up with the knights making fun of her to keep the guild going.

    ¡°I wonder how those magic stones are being used.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Do you have any idea what the magic stones are used for?¡± (Rosa)

    At Blitz and Rosa-san¡¯s words, the receptionist shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I asked the knights before, but they didn¡¯t reveal anything to me.¡± (Receptionist)

    I also wondered what those magic stones were used for.

    ¡°From what we know so far, I think we can assume that it¡¯s to steal magic power?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Is it really Primme¡¯s sister who is doing this?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°What is Primme¡¯s sister doing here in the first ce?¡± (Ran)

    The role of the magic stones.

    The role of Primme¡¯s sister.

    We still didn¡¯t understand how everything was connected.

    ¡°First, just to confirm, can fairies give or take magic power? Since they call themselves fairy knights, it is highly likely that they are granted power by fairies, right?¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san¡¯s words drew Primme¡¯s attention.

    ¡°I can certainly take it away, or rather, absorb it. The reason everyone can see me is that I have absorbed a bit of Yuna¡¯s magic power.¡± (Primme)

    Although the wording was different, ¡°taking away¡± and ¡°absorbing¡± were basically the same thing in the sense that magic power was transferred from a person to the fairy.

    ¡°Then, what about giving?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t give power to a human to strengthen them, and I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing happening.¡± (Primme)

    Giving magic power¡­ It was a difficult question to answer.

    I, too, have channeled magic power into Noa and Fina¡¯s bodies to teach them the flow of magic power, but I doubt that they have be stronger.

    In manga and novels, there were scenarios where the people would receive magic power from their friends and use that to release even more potent magic. For the knights around here though, that power was limited to stay only up to a few days.

    There was also the question about whether it was possible to umte magic power taken from other people.

    But this was a different world, so something might not work the same waypared to how they worked in my previous world¡¯s fiction works. There must be some way to do this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found out many things, but eventually, the lord appears to be the most suspicious.¡± (Receptionist)

    A lord who may be stealing magic from the town¡¯s inhabitants, giving orders to the fairy knights, and capturing Primme¡¯s sister.

    ¡°What kind of person is this lord?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The previous lord, Zenora, passed away a few years ago, and his son, Bernd, took over, but I don¡¯t know much about him because he¡¯s been living in the royal capital since he was a child.¡± (Receptionist)

    He was living in the royal capital, away from his parents, since he was a child.

    Shia was with her mother, Ellura-san, but she might have ended up in a simr situation if Ellura-san was not in the royal capital. It was not a strange story when you think about it.

    ¡°How old is he?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Around 25 years old, I think?¡± (Receptionist)

    He was young for a lord.

    ¡°So, if that¡¯s the case, what are we going to do now? Are we going to investigate the lord?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz, who was listening to our conversation, asked.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ We, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, also tried to investigate this matter in the past, but we couldn¡¯t get much information. Now, we can only request those knights to hunt monsters even if it ends up harassing us.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Is there no one else who can hunt down monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is one, the Guild Master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Receptionist)

    I had forgotten about the existence of the Guild Master.

    If possible, I would like to hear from the Guild Master as well.

    ¡°The Guild Master is the one hunting down monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    As I asked, the door to the room suddenly opened.

    ¡°Ca, is it true that you brought a handsome man into the room?¡±

    A reluctant old man over 40 entered through the door and said something like that.

    ¡°Guild Master!¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°Not only a handsome man but some beautiful women too, I see.¡± (Guild Master)

    The man called Guild Master watched Rosa-san and the others.

    This austere elderly man was the Guild Master of this town.

    He was in good shape and not inferior to the Guild Master of Crimonia.

    ¡°And there¡¯s a youngdy dressed as a bear and a promising-looking youngdy. Could it be that this handsome guy brought them all in?¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master said as he looked at Blitz.

    I looked again and saw myself, Noa, Rosa-san, Ran, Grimos, and the receptionist. One male Blitz among many females. Perhaps it was unsurprising that the Guild Master would think of us that way.

    ¡°I¡¯m Blitz. I¡¯m an adventurer who is a party member with these three over here. The two over there are my friends.¡± (Blitz)

    It was astonishing how Blitz could simply say that we were friends, not that we were just acquaintances.

    Maybe I could even consider this a skill, just from the way he answered so nonchntly, rather than getting annoyed by how he was described.

    ¡°So what were you plotting behind the scenes in a room like this? Count me in.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Masterughed.

    ¡°Let me introduce him again. This is the Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild¡­¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I¡¯m Volk. Nice to meet you. It¡¯s quite a pleasure to meet you, handsome brother, and beautifuldies. As well as the pretty youngdy dressed as a cute bear, and the lovely youngdy.¡± (Volk)

    The receptionist tried to say his name, but the Guild Master himself introduced himself.

    ¡°And, who¡¯s the handsome brother over there?¡± (Volk)

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me handsome brother. I¡¯m Blitz.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± (Volk)

    ¡°I¡¯m Rosa.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ran.¡±

    ¡°Grimos.¡±

    The Blitz Party each said their name, so I also introduced myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yuna.¡±

    ¡°Noire.¡±

    ¡°And the ck bear is the Swaying Bear, while the white bear is the Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    I introduced Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who we were both carrying.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, I haven¡¯t told you my name either. I¡¯m Ca, nice to meet you.¡± (Ca)

    Finally, the receptionist mentioned her name.

    We finished introducing ourselves, but the Guild Master kept looking at Noa. He was staring at Noa¡¯s pouch, to be exact.

    ¡°So, no introductions to the fairy hiding in there?¡± (Volk)

    Primme hid herself the moment the Guild Master entered, returning to her hiding ce in Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°Guild Master, if you look like that, she won¡¯t show herself.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°You mean to say that she¡¯s embarrassed to be seen by such a, well, handsome man?¡± (Volk)

    The Guild Masterughed as he said hysterically.

    I think I made a mistake. Maybe he was not a handsome man but an obnoxious old man.

    ¡°Well, he has this personality, but he¡¯s someone you can trust. I¡¯ll leave it to you to decide, but I¡¯m sure he can help out.¡± (Ca)

    We looked at each other.

    If the Guild Master was connected to the lord and the knights, information might leak out. If that happened, it might hinder our search for Primme¡¯s sister.

    There was too little information.

    If something happened, we could always escape through the Bear Transfer Gate; if they turned hostile, we could fight them.

    But it would certainly be helpful if the Guild Master and the Adventurers Guild could help us.

    ¡°Primme, I¡¯ll protect you if anything happens.¡± (Yuna)

    After I said that, Primme came out of Noa¡¯s pouch.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a fairy before. Is this the one that¡¯s working with the Lord from the rumors?¡± (Volk)

    The Guild Master looked at Primme as if ring at her.

    He didn¡¯t seem to have good feelings for the fairies after all.

    ¡°No, she is not, so could you not look at her like that?¡± (Yuna)

    I red at the Guild Master as if to protect Primme.

    ¡°Ahaha, sorry about that.¡± (Volk)

    The Guild Masterughed to cover it up.

    I was sure his eyes looked like he was holding a grudge against the fairies.

    I continued, ¡°But I can¡¯t say there is no rtion. The Fairy on that lord¡¯s side might be her sister.¡±

    We exined to the Guild Master that we hade to this town to look for Primme¡¯s sister.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll help out.¡± (Volk)

    ¡°Is that all right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If the fairies disappear from the lord¡¯s hands, it will be beneficial for us too.¡± (Volk)

    ¡°Well, we probably won¡¯t have to fight people if we can settle this problem that seemingly involved fairies soon, and we could also get back to where we came from quickly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so? Then, feel free to take the fairies back to where they should belong. As long as they stay out of this town.¡± (Volk)

    The Guild Master said with a serious look on his face.

    ¡°I promise. I will take my sister and bring her back to the fairy forest.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Ooh, do keep your promise, fairy girl.¡± (Volk)

    We made the Guild Master one of us.

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 Chapter 684

    <h4>Chapter 684</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Shows her Skills to the Guild Master</b>

    ¡°So, Guild Master, what do you know about fairies?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve never seen any fairies before. I only know about them through rumors and what I¡¯ve heard from the knights talking about them, and from what I¡¯ve heard, I was convinced that they were real. Also, it seems like there is someone they know who can see fairies.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Is it the Lord?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It is most likely him or someone rted to him.¡± (Guild Master)

    Was Primme¡¯s sister using the Lord¡¯s magic power to show herself to others?

    If so, Primme¡¯s sister might be lending her power to the Lord.

    There was a thin line between being captive or only trying to help someone.

    Hmmm, how should we approach this?

    ¡°Ca-san doesn¡¯t seem to know about the Lord, does the Guild Master know about the current Lord?¡± (Noa)

    I was curious about Primme¡¯s sister, but right now, we needed information about the Lord.

    ¡°You¡¯re a smartd even for your age. Well, what I know is that he is really skilled with magic.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°But you don¡¯t know the details of what happened after he went to the royal capital, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I researched about him.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master answered Noa¡¯s question.

    ¡°Ca-san didn¡¯t seem to know though.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask anyone to look it up for me. I simply used my privilege as the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Master to do a little personal research about him.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°And the results?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I heard that he excelled at the royal capital¡¯s academy. His magic and his studies were excellent.¡± (Guild Master)

    A genius, huh?

    ¡°So, when he was a student, apparently, he was passionately researching something.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Could it be?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Right, it¡¯s about fairies. His research focused on fairies.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Then, probably at some point, he met Primme¡¯s older sister and brought her with him.¡± (Noa)

    For now, we have at least found some kind of connection, albeit not proven.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he will be able to see us fairies just because he¡¯s been studying us, though.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it might not just be some random fairy he met. It probably just happened that the Lord could see your sister or something.¡± (Guild Master)

    Everyone agreed with the Guild Master¡¯s words.

    When I went to the fairy forest, there were many fairies, and I was sure that there were even more hiding or not living in the forest.

    This time, however, we could only conclude that maybe the Lord was on the same magic wavelength as Primme¡¯s sister, making her visible to him.

    ¡°Still, there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand. If he only wanted to learn about fairies, why is he taking the magic power away from the residents and giving that power to the knights to collect magic stones?¡± (Rosa)

    The Guild Master shook his head at Rosa-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know that much either, but it might surely be rted to fairies.¡± (Guild Master)

    Since his main focus in his research was about fairies, it was quite possible that the current events were rted.

    However, just as Ca-san said, we didn¡¯t really know.

    ¡°Could it be¡­ to extract power from fairies¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°My sister¡¯s!?¡± (Primme)

    Suddenly, the thought that came to my mind leaked out of my mouth, and Primme reacted.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just a possibility, and it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s really the case. So calm down.¡± (Yuna)

    Fairies always had a special ce in fantasy.

    It wouldn¡¯t be strange if they had some mysterious powers.

    There was a good chance that fairies had outstanding powers that we just didn¡¯t know about.

    The Lord was a person who was researching fairies, so it might be possible that he knew something about those unknown fairy powers.

    But I couldn¡¯t outright mention this in front of Primme.

    It was possible that Primme¡¯s older sister had suffered an even worse fate. And if I also mentioned that right now, Primme might just move out on her own to look for her sister without thinking about the consequences.

    ¡°Speaking of which, why did Ca-san say it was dangerous when I tried to ask about the Lord?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°If you speak ill of the Lord in this town, you will be purged. In the past, people who opposed having their magic powers taken away suffered harshly. That¡¯s why everyone tries not to talk about the Lord. It would be troublesome if the knights heard about it.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible. It¡¯s the role of a lord to make sure the residents can live happily. He should not take away the magic power of his people and subject them to cruel treatment!¡± (Noa)

    When Noa heard the story, she reacted with a shocked expression.

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re still a child, you have a good head.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°No, uh, that¡¯s just what came to my mind.¡± (Noa)

    Well, Noa was the daughter of a feudal lord after all, and although Cliff failed in the orphanage case, he basically did his best for the town¡¯s residents. To Noa, who grew up watching her parents¡¯ backs, the Lord of this town must seem like a terrible lord.

    Personally, I¡¯d read about feudal lords who exercise bad governance by squeezing money from the residents in novels and manga. There were also those who seized women for themselves. I believe that such bad lords really existed out there.

    Then again, it was not limited to feudal lords. There were both good and bad people everywhere.

    ¡°So, in the end, what are we going to do? Maybe try to investigate what the lord¡¯s aim is? And of course, we want to find out where the fairies are, but I also hope to find out why they are collecting magic stones.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Hey, I won¡¯t mind helping you harass them.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master offered a suggestion in response to Blitz¡¯s words.

    Apparently, the Guild Master had been subjugating monsters by himself.

    Come to think of it, Ca-san did mention that.

    Basically, if the Adventurer¡¯s Guild received a request to subdue a monster, or if there was a monster on the roads, normally the Adventurer¡¯s Guild would inform the Knights to deal with it.

    So, from that angle, the Guild Master would be stealing the jobs of the knights and giving away some of the magic stones to the residents.

    After all, most of the magic stones were taken by the knights and the feudal Lord by using various tricks, so the residents were also in trouble, so it seemed like he started this project to help the residents at least a little bit.

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s just a small amount with me doing it on my own. But I hope that I could increase the amount I gather even by a little bit.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Are you not buying magic stones from other towns?¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s question was to be expected from a feudal lord¡¯s daughter.

    Usually, if a town didn¡¯t have enough supply of something, they would buy it from somewhere else, like from a neighboring town.

    ¡°It seems like merchants and themercial guilds are doing it. After all, that¡¯s their job. It¡¯s not our business.¡± (Guild Master)

    That¡¯s a reasonable argument.

    Each guild had a role.

    If they didn¡¯t stick to their roles, it would be like a Japanesenguage teacher teaching math.

    ¡°So, that means we only need to defeat more monsters before the knights can do so to steal magic stones.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Only your party is capable of doing so in this town right now. Also, be careful, I don¡¯t want any of you dying on me and giving me trouble in the process.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master said as he looked at Blitz and his party.

    ¡°We may not be as good as Yuna over there, but I think we¡¯ve been through quite a few battles of our own. We at least won¡¯t get in the way.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz said in response as he looked at me.

    ¡°Hey, I can understand your strength with your party, but that little bear girl? I don¡¯t know if I can rely on her. No, if I think about it normally, can I really rely on her?¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master said so while pointing at me.

    I guess he wasn¡¯t taught to not point fingers at people.

    However, I could understand the Guild Master¡¯s feelings. I think anyone would be troubled if they were told to work with a girl dressed like a bear.

    However, Blitz and the others looked at each other andughed.

    ¡°Well, if you look at Yuna-chan¡¯s style, you¡¯ll think so. She¡¯s a small girl after all.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yuna, is the strongest.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Yuna, is strong.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°The bear there is stronger and more kind-hearted than any adventurer I know.¡± (Blitz)

    Ran, Grimos, Blitz and the others continued following Rosa-san¡¯s words.

    ¡°W-what are you talking about!¡± (Guild Master)

    It was embarrassing and I wish they would stop. After all, I was the kind of person who only acted out of self-interest. Not the kind of person that Blitz and others said I was.

    ¡°Yeah, Yuna-san is a strong adventurer.¡± (Noa)

    I tried to deny it, but even Noa agreed with Blitz and the others.

    ¡°Interesting. If you¡¯re going to say that much, I¡¯ll check out the girl¡¯s ability. I¡¯ll decide after that.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t decide on your own.¡± (Yuna)

    He was now going to check Blitz¡¯s ability, so why was he checking my ability?

    ¡°Yuna. As an adventurer, I don¡¯t know why you want to hide your abilities, but it¡¯s better not to hide them right now. No one will open their hearts to those who hide their true strength.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Ugh¡± (Yuna)

    Blitz seemed to have read my mind and said so.

    But Blitz¡¯s words were correct, so there was nothing I could say in return.

    ¡°Also, if you are nning to do something dangerous, it would be annoying to have them worry about you every time. Yuna likes to do things by herself.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz said so as if he were reading my heart.

    Did he have a skill to read minds?

    Was that why he was able to capture the hearts of women?

    ¡°Also, Yuna should consider the feelings of people that are waiting for you while not knowing your abilities. If they think of you as a normal girl, they won¡¯t allow you to do anything dangerous. They¡¯ll be very worried. Of course, even if you showed them your power, their anxiety and worries might still not go away, but that would at least make them less anxious.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz was right, I guess.

    If I were to fight the knights, I would make Ca-san and the Guild Master worried. But if they knew my abilities, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry that much.

    Maybe Blitz said something like that to show the Guild Masters how good I was.

    I understood what Blitz meant, so I decided to prove myself to the Guild Master.

    I moved to the field behind the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and made arrangements with the guild master.

    ***

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    The Guild Master was now on the floor crawling.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Ca-san said.

    ¡°As expected of Yuna-san¡­¡± said Noa.

    ¡°Yuna is strong after all.¡± said Blitz.

    ¡°It¡¯s outstanding, and she can also use magic.¡± Rosa-san said.

    ¡°One person that can act as both a warrior and a magician.¡± Ran said.

    ¡°I want to try fighting Yuna as well.¡± Grimos said.

    Blitz and others who were watching the match between me and the Guild Master shared their thoughts.

    ¡°I lost to a girl dressed as a bear¡­¡± (Guild Master)

    I showed my abilities to the Guild Master so that he wouldn¡¯t get worried.

    Of course, I didn¡¯t use my strongest attacks such as bear magic.

    If I used it, he would definitely die.

    ¡°By the way, that girl over there.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master looked at Noa, who was younger.

    Well, I guess, I expected that reaction from him.

    ¡°I have studied magic, but I can¡¯t fight.¡± (Noa)

    The Guild Master and Ca-san looked relieved at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°Noire-chan, you can use magic?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes, Yuna-san taught me the basics.¡± (Noa)

    Saying so, she created a palm-sized y bear doll.

    Everyone was impressed when they saw the bear made of y.

    The more precise the shape, the more precise the magic maniption and image needed.

    It seemed like she had been studying properly since then.

    I also told them about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and how they could transform, and that they were Noa¡¯s bodyguards.

    ¡°Mymon sense is crumbling.¡± (Guild Master)

    It bothers me when I hear people say things like that, but to me, this other world itself was outside mymon sense.

    Magic? What was that? How mind-blowing!

    ¡°I understand the girl¡¯s abilities. Then, why don¡¯t I test out the abilities of the rest of you.¡± (Guild Master)

    Blitz and his party also showed their abilities to the Guild Master.

    The Guild Master was strong, but so were Blitz and his party.

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 Chapter 685

    <h4>Chapter 685</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Primme, Moving Out</b>

    We split up and began our designated tasks.

    Blitz and the others went off to defeat the monsters, while Noa and I went together to check out the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°About Primme-san¡¯s sister, is she working with the Lord of this town?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked me on our way to the mansion.

    ¡°Judging from the information we have collected thus far about fairies and piecing the other information that Noa has detected Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s magic from this town, I think we can be sure that she¡¯s there.¡± (Yuna)

    Now, if she were not here, we would be in trouble for a different reason.

    ¡°What is your sister like, Primme-san?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°She is a kind sister. She doesn¡¯t do anything bad, and when I misbehave, she warns me. So I don¡¯t think she would help a bad person.¡± (Primme)

    If that was the case, then it¡¯s more likely that the Lord forced her to do everything that has happened to the townsfolk.

    But they say people could easily be influenced by their surroundings.

    Maybe she was happy to meet someone who could see her, and she listened to what they asked her to do.

    Whatever it may be, we could not proceed further without understanding Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s situation first.

    ¡°It looks like that¡¯s the ce!¡± (Noa)

    We were near the Lord¡¯s house that Ca-san had told us about.

    The Lord¡¯s mansion upied arge plot ofnd away from the center of town, with a forest a short distance away.

    Only in this town was the Lord¡¯s mansion located in a location that you could say ¡°As expected of a Lord¡¯s Mansion in Another World¡±.

    ¡°If we get any closer, we¡¯ll be noticed, so let¡¯s check from here.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Can we do it from here?¡± (Noa)

    Even though what I said sounded like we were close, we were so far away that we could only glimpse the mansion.

    I then turned my attention to arge tree.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look from above that tree.¡± (Yuna)

    Looking up at the tree, Noa replied, ¡°I can¡¯t climb trees.¡±

    That¡¯s to be expected. I couldn¡¯t climb a tree as well without bear equipment.

    So, I used earth magic to create stairs behind the tree.

    ¡°Yuna-san can use magic effortlessly.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, if you practice a lot, you¡¯ll be able to do it as well.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa and I climbed the dirt stairs and looked at the mansion above the tree.

    A knight stood in front of the mansion¡¯s gate, looking bored. The inside of the wall was arge area like a garden, and the distance from the entrance to the mansion was about 100 meters.

    Typical rich people¡¯s houses.

    ¡°Is my sister in that house¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Noa, can you feel her magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    Since we were now closer, Noa might be able to sense the magic power of Primme¡¯s sister more clearly.

    Noa closed her eyes and started to focus.

    Then, she immediately opened her eyes and stared straight at the mansion.

    ¡°How was it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just like yesterday, I can feel the presence of Primme-san¡¯s sister from all over the town, but I can also feel it from inside that mansion. And¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°And?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can feel it from that knight.¡± (Noa)

    Noa turned to the knight standing in front of the gate.

    ¡°Perhaps the magic power I felt, from Primme-san¡¯s sister, wasing from the knights patrolling the town.¡± (Noa)

    As Guild Master and Ca-san said, Primme¡¯s older sister may be granting those knights her fairy powers.

    Primme mumbled to herself in a low voice, ¡°My sister gives power to those humans¡­¡±

    ¡°So, Noa, you said you could feel the presence of Primme¡¯s sister from the mansion, but can you tell if she is really inside?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if Primme-san¡¯s sister is in the mansion or if it¡¯s because there are so many knights, but I can feel a strong connection from the mansion.¡± (Noa)

    We didn¡¯t know for sure, but there was no doubt that Primme¡¯s sister was involved with whoever was in that mansion.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to look for my sister. Yuna and the others can go back first.¡± (Primme)

    Primme jumped out.

    ¡°Hey¡± (Yuna)

    Before I could stop her, Primme flew towards the mansion. Primme¡¯s form became smaller and smaller until she was no longer in our view.

    We couldn¡¯t follow her because of the knights patrolling in the mansion.

    ¡°Will Primme-san be okay?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m worried as well, but fairies can¡¯t be seen, they can fly, and they¡¯re small, so I think it¡¯s a better option than us exploring the mansion.¡± (Yuna)

    I was worried about Primme, but I didn¡¯t want Noa to worry too much either, so I gave her some reassuring words.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, but we can¡¯t chase after her right now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Right. So what do we do? Shall we wait for Primme-san?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯d like to get some more information, but I think I¡¯ll leave this part to Primme for now. And I don¡¯t think it will be toote to make a move after obtaining more information from Primme.¡± (Yuna)

    I still needed more information for me to act.

    ¡°I see, I understand.¡± (Noa)

    At present, there is nothing more we can do at the moment.

    <b>-Primme¡¯s POV-</b>

    Sister, where are you?

    I cut off the magical power from Yuna and headed towards the building without being seen by humans.

    The building wasrge and had many windows, muchrger than Yuna¡¯s bear house.

    I could not open human-sized doors, so I searched for a ce from where I could enter inside.

    As I flew around the building, I noticed some of the upper windows were open.

    When I approached one of those windows, I saw a human woman wiping it with a cloth.

    I entered the building through the open window without worrying about it.

    The human woman didn¡¯t notice me when I entered the building.

    I took a long detour.

    The houses where humans lived wererge and had many rooms. However, I could not just enter them as I pleased if the doors and windows were closed from inside.

    Thankfully, I could enter this house, but the same could not be said for the rooms inside, as most of them were locked.

    If Yuna and Noa were here, they could open them.

    But I left them and came here on my own.

    I think even if I asked them toe with me, they would have stopped me.

    But when I found out that my sister was here, I couldn¡¯t help but go.

    Sister, where are you?

    Somehow, I managed to get into some of the rooms through open doors, small windows, and gaps. All the rooms looked the same, and worse, there was no sign that my sister was there.

    If Noa was here, she might have found out where my sister was or if I had my sister¡¯s handkerchief.

    That¡¯s what I thought but¡­ It was only because Yuna and Noa came with me to find my sister that I managed to arrive here.

    It was wrong of me to say that <b>¡®if only I had my sister¡¯s handkerchief¡¯</b> as that would deny help provided by Yuna and Noa.

    Noa could have refused to help, but instead, she joined my search, and the same could be said for Yuna as well.

    But now, I was just being selfish.

    I couldn¡¯t have found this town without Yuna and Noa.

    <b>No</b>, I couldn¡¯t have reached this remote ce by myself, even if I knew about it.

    I didn¡¯t think I had the courage to do so. I would have been scared and turned back if I had been alone.

    That was why I was grateful to them.

    What about this room?

    There¡¯s a nice little door. But like any other door, I couldn¡¯t open it. I started looking for a ce where I could enter.

    ¡­there.

    Like the other rooms, a small window was opened above.

    I slowly entered the room through the small window.

    There were no humans inside. Looking around the room. The atmosphere felt different from other rooms.

    There might be something here.

    As I looked around the room, a picture hanging on the wall caught my eye.

    ¡°Huh, sister?¡± (Primme)

    There was a fairy drawn in the picture, and that fairy was my sister.

    I approached the painting

    My sister in the picture was dignified and beautiful.

    ¡°Big Sister¡­¡± (Primme)

    I touched my sister¡¯s picture.

    Then, was my sister really in this ce?

    There might be a clue about my sister somewhere in this room.

    I searched the room, but since I didn¡¯t know much about humans, there were many things I didn¡¯t understand.

    Yuna or Noa might have discovered something, but I was alone right now.

    As I was looking for clues about my sister, I heard a clicking sound, followed by the sound of a door opening. I quickly hid behind something.

    Even though I knew that they couldn¡¯t see me, I still did so thinking that there might be a possibility of being discovered.

    A human man entered the room.

    When the man entered the room, he stood before the picture of my sister hanging on the wall and stared at it.

    ¡°¡­You are mine.¡± (???)

    This man might be the Lord of this town that Yuna and the others had talked about, and he was the one who might have seen my sister and brought her here.

    I wanted to jump out and ask him about my sister, but I was scared.

    I didn¡¯t know why, but I felt like I wanted to get away from this person as soon as possible.

    I had to run away quickly.

    Looking at the human, he stared at my sister¡¯s picture and didn¡¯t move.

    Should I escape right now?

    While I was thinking about this, I moved and identally touched something.

    There was a slight rattling sound.

    The human reacted to the sound and turned around.

    Did he notice?

    Even if he noticed me, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see me.

    But I have a feeling that maybe he could see me. I used my small body to move while hiding behind objects.

    The human went to the ce where I was just a moment ago.

    Then, as if searching for something, he started looking around the area.

    He couldn¡¯t see me as I was hidden, so he wouldn¡¯t notice me.

    I caught a glimpse of the human¡¯s face, but his eyes were scary.

    They were different from the eyes of Yuna and Noa.

    I could tell that the two of them had kind eyes.

    The human walked around the room as if searching for something.

    The man was approaching me.

    I have to run away. I looked around.

    I noticed that the window was still open.

    I immediately flew towards the window and escaped.

    I didn¡¯t look back.

    I wanted to get away from this person as soon as possible.

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 Chapter 686

    <h4>Chapter 686</h4>

    <b>Each Taking Action</b>

    <b>*Town Gatekeeper¡¯s PoV*</b>

    It really pisses me off.

    The knights were arrogant and overbearing just because they had the Lord behind them.

    Moreover, they were so strong that I couldn¡¯t even raise aint with them.

    How did they get that power in the first ce?

    Originally, the Knights were weak. Then, a few years ago, they suddenly became much stronger.

    Everyone felt that the magic power that had been stolen from us was used by the knights to be stronger, but we did not dare to say it out loud.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped for us to assume so since after we lost our magic power, it was also known at the same time that the knights had be stronger.

    I have very little magic power, and I couldn¡¯t really cast magic. But even with my meager amount of magic power, knowing that it was stolen and used by those knights made me feel infuriated.

    They were looking down on us andughing at us while iming that, ¡°We defeated the monsters in the area,¡± and ¡°We protected you¡±.

    Some of the adventurers were arrogant, but they had earned their power.

    I did not want to be told such things by knights who had not earned their power through hard work.

    What mattered most was that the Lord giving orders to the knights had started hoarding magic stones. This had caused a shortage of magic stones in the town, and the prices had gone up, making life difficult for the people.

    The merchant¡¯s guild and merchants were doing their best, but some were bad ones, plotting to make more money by ripping off others, and others were just trying to get a leg up to sell at a higher price.

    But I couldn¡¯t say anything bad about those merchants either.

    I¡¯ve fallen from grace myself, getting a magic stone by cheating a youngdy like that.

    I remember the girl dressed as a bear.

    The girl had no money to pay for entering the town, so she offered me a magic stone.

    I guess she didn¡¯t know the value of magic stones in this town.

    I was given four magic stones to get the two girls into town.

    Two of them were for the little bears the two girls were holding.

    There was no need for them to pay that many magic stones to get into the town.

    I could have even covered the money they needed to enter the town, but instead, I overcharged them and put those extra magic stones into my own pocket.

    It felt disgusting.

    What I did was the same thing that I hated the merchants for.

    The girl didn¡¯t know I practically scalped her, and she didn¡¯t suspect me. On the contrary, she even thanked me for letting her into the town.

    She came to this town to help her injured father. I felt guilty for deceiving that pure and innocent girl dressed as a cute bear.

    This was all the Lord¡¯s fault.

    That¡¯s what I told myself.

    Then, the next day, the Guild Master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild came to the gatekeeper¡¯s office.

    I was nervous, thinking it might be about the girl I scalped yesterday, but that was not the case.

    The Guild Master introduced me to the adventurers.

    They were the adventurers who had entered the town earlier that morning.

    I was envious of one man with three beautiful women, but I remember warning him to be careful with the knights because I disliked them even more than him.

    Not many adventurerse to this town in the first ce.

    When I was wondering what business they had with me, I was asked to tell the knights that I did not know about these adventurers¡¯ings and goings in the town, even if they asked.

    He said that they hold the fate of this town in their hands.

    Originally, I did not like the knights, and I was indebted to the Guild Master. So I agreed without asking for more details.

    <b>*Rosa¡¯s PoV*</b>

    ¡°We have finished hunting down monsters.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Oh, thank you very much. You helped a lot.¡± (Vige Chief)

    The vigers bowed their heads and thanked us.

    Based on the information given to me by the Guild Master and Ca-san, I could take advantage of the information and get the request before the knights could take it.

    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m just d we happened to pass by.¡± (Blitz)

    Since telling them that we were working for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild could cause them trouble, we posed as adventurers who happened to be passing by and took on the task of defeating monsters.

    The Guild Master and Ca-san assured us that our kills would be recorded on our guild cardster, but we didn¡¯t mind.

    We did not think it was necessary to register what we had done this time.

    In return for defeating the monsters, the vigers gave us a small amount of money and materials from the monsters we killed. We have also asked the vigers to report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that an adventurer party passed by the vige and took down the monsters.

    That way, the Knights could notin to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°We were told that the Knights would being, but we were not sure when they would arrive, so thank you.¡± (Vige Chief)

    Apparently, the Knights were inconsistent and would only sometimes arrive on time.

    Also, they had to be treated politely, despite being arrogant, so the vigers were grateful that we had defeated the monsters.

    I¡¯ve never met this town¡¯s Knights, but they didn¡¯t seem to enjoy a good reputation.

    The vigers asked us to have dinner with them as a thank-you, but we politely declined since we could not stay in the vige for long.

    We left the vige after receiving only a small token of appreciation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s camp around here for the night.¡± (Blitz)

    We dismounted from our horses. My back ached a little, so I stretched out.

    We were traveling by horse.

    Since most of our transportation was by carriage, we were not ustomed to riding horses.

    It wasn¡¯t that I couldn¡¯t ride, but a horse-drawn carriage was morefortable over horse riding.

    However, individual horses moved faster and were more maneuverable. They didn¡¯t have wheels that would get stuck in ditches, and they could move around in ces where the roads were unpaved.

    The only drawback though was that we were unable to rest. After all, we could not take turns as we do while guarding the carriage and leave the operation of the carriage to someone else.

    This time, it was not necessary because we were not traveling at a leisurely pace.

    ¡°Camping out in the field ¨C why didn¡¯t we just have dinner in the vige and stay there?¡± (Ran)

    Ran looked annoyed as she prepared water and food for the horses.

    ¡°If we run into the Knights, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°But they wouldn¡¯t necessarilye at night. I think we could have just left early in the morning.¡± (Ran)

    Ran had a point, but the Guild Master also told us to especially make sure that we didn¡¯t run into the knights. It was better to reduce the chances of encountering them as much as possible.

    If we ran into them, it would definitely be more troublesome than staying in the field.

    ¡°But you know, I didn¡¯t expect to meet Yuna-chan at a ce like this, did you?¡± (Rosa)

    I spoke to her while preparing to camp out in the field.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Yuna-chan seems to pop up everywhere. I guess she has been to many more ces than we do.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Yuna-chan has Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, after all.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I envy her.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°They can traverse the desert, they are strong, and they also understand humannguage, they are wonderful bears.¡± (Rosa)

    Yuna-chan always rode those adorable bears to get around.

    ¡°Above all, they are sofortable to ride. So soft.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°The little bears are adorable.¡± (Grimos)

    Even Grimos, a woman of few words,plimented Yuna-chan¡¯s bears.

    Well, I agreed with Ran and Grimos.

    ¡°But it¡¯s such a relief just to see someone we know in such a faraway ce.¡± (Rosa)

    Having met Yuna-chan had put our minds at ease.

    My anxiety did not disappearpletely, but it was great news that we found a way to go back home.

    The question now was whether the Fairy Queen would ept us.

    To achieve that, we needed to find Primme-chan¡¯s sister and bring her back.

    <b>*Ca PoV*</b>

    ¡°Guild Master, are you really going to involve those girls?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°They have a fairy with them. I can¡¯t help but get them involved.We¡¯re going to help them. And I¡¯m not going to let them do anything dangerous. If things turn out to be dangerous, I¡¯ll protect them.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°But it will still be dangerous.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°I know. But if that fairy takes the other fairy in town with her, we can finally change the situation. You don¡¯t want things to stay the same, do you?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Besides, that bear girl is a real talent.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master looked at me with eyes as if he was looking into the distance.

    Even now, I couldn¡¯t believe it even though I saw it with my own eyes. How could such a pretty girl beat the Guild Master? That movement, her judgment, she had no fear when the Guild Master confronted her. The strength to stand up to those with weapons.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen many adventurers, but I¡¯ve never seen a girl <b>that</b> out of the ordinary.¡± (Guild Master)

    The girl dressed as a bear was strong. The way she moved, the timing of her approach below the Guild Master. All of them were first ss.

    The Guild Master couldn¡¯t even touch her, and I, who had been with the Guild Master for many years, could tell that the Guild Master was fighting without restraint.

    Even a male adventurer would be afraid to fight a scary-looking individual as the Guild Master.

    But Yuna fought without showing any fear of the Guild Master.

    ¡°I guess we can only put it in one word: talent.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Blitz also said the same.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°However, no matter how talented a person is, if they don¡¯t have experience, they will be afraid. And that¡¯s even with practice.¡± (Guild Master)

    People would normally be frightened if a sword were pointed at them. I have seen many adventurers like that. But Yuna was not afraid. She did not turn away, and she even dodged the attacks of the Guild Master without problem, as well as blocking and parrying some of the attacks.

    No one could fight without fear from the start. After all, fighting may very well lead to death.

    I didn¡¯t know how much experience Yuna had at that age.

    ¡°Moreover, she can even use magic. And at a high level. And she was still holding back some of her power.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°You think she¡¯s even more powerful than she showed us?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°I can tell because I was fighting her directly. She was definitely holding back.¡± (Guild Master)

    To me, it looked like she had some leeway but not that much, but if the Guild Master who was fighting her directly said so, then it must be true.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know a girl like that existed. When I first saw her, I thought she was just a girl dressed as a cute bear.¡± (Ca)

    When she first came to the guild, I thought she was a cute frail girl dressed as a bear.

    But when I discovered that her tone of voice was different and that she was acting, I felt awkward.

    I wanted to tell her, ¡®Give me back my feelings at that time.¡¯

    ¡°And the other girl, too. She is not a normal vige girl, I guess.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Yeah, I can see that. What should I say? Maybe a youngdy from some ce. Or she was like the daughter of a well-educated merchant family.¡± (Guild Master)

    I¡¯ve met a number of girls who live in ordinary viges, but they were not that smart when I had a conversation with them.

    ¡°Yeah. In the talk about magic stones, there were a number of words she said that you would never hear from a vige girl who lives a normal life. Above all, that stance, the posture, and the manner in which she spoke. What in the world kind of pairing are those two?¡± (Guild Master)

    I could tell by looking at her that she was out of the ordinary. Many kids around that age had a hard time sitting still. But she listened quietly, expressed her opinion, and could see the big picture of things.

    ¡°I guess you could say that they were a pair of a Young Lady and her escort, dressed in a bear from somewhere, right?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°The question is, what brought them to this town?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Maybe it was just like what they said. The fairy really asked them for help.¡± (Ca)

    I could not think of any other reason.

    ¡°Also, a youngdy like that without many escorts? I don¡¯t think her parents would normally allow it.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°That¡¯s because her parents knew what the bear girl was capable of, so they allowed her to go with only her.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Well¡­ but still, even if her parents let her go to a strange ce, they would have normally given her more escorts.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what makes Yuna so great? After all, she even beat the Guild Master.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. But yes, she is strong.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°I know what you mean. I¡¯ve seen many adventurers myself, but never have I encountered anyone like her.¡± (Ca)

    She was no ordinary adventurer.

    I asked her to allow me to check her guild card, but she tly refused.

    I couldn¡¯t say much about it¡­ How strong she was and what ridiculous records would I find if I were able to inspect her guild card?

    ¡°All I can say, however, is that I¡¯m starting to see hope.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°It¡¯s pathetic, though, we have no other means, and we have to rely on a little girl like her.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re making our move, as well.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°This time, we have nothing to hold back.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°I apologize for investigating the lord without telling you.¡±

    (Guild Master)

    ¡°I can understand. I know you don¡¯t want any harm toe my way. But. We¡¯re on the same side from here on.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± (Guild Master)

    It was also time for us to move.

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 Chapter 687

    <h4>Chapter 687</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Tracking the Knights</b>

    Primme had gone to the mansion alone, and Noa and I were about to return to the inn when Noa spoke to me in a small voice.

    ¡°Yuna-san, a knight hase out from the shed.¡± (Noa)

    I looked towards the mansion grounds and saw a single knight on horseback heading towards the gate from a shed.

    He then spoke a word or two to the knight at the gate and rode away from the mansion on his horse.

    ¡°Is he going to hunt monsters?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He¡¯s going alone.¡± (Guild Master)

    I saw the knights fighting with monsters before, but they were fighting in a group of several people.

    Even for the captain who noticed my magic, it was unthinkable that he would go alone to defeat monsters.

    ¡°Then, is it just a normal shopping trip or something?¡± (Yuna)

    That line of thinking was possible, but riding around on horseback?

    The town was big, so at first nce it didn¡¯t seem abnormal, but there was also the possibility of him riding out of town.

    Hmmm¡­what to do? Should we follow him?

    We wouldn¡¯t get any new information if we stayed here after all.

    I couldn¡¯t follow Primme into the mansion, and even if I waited for Primme to return, I would still need to find out when she would return.

    So, I decided.

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow him for a bit¡­ Noa¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I needed to decide whether to have her wait alone at the inn, or stay with Ca-san at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, or use the Bear Transfer Gate to get to a safe ce.

    I was thinking about what to do.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can Ie with you?¡± (Noa)

    Noa said a little reservedly.

    What to do?

    Noa was staring at me.

    ¡°If I think it¡¯s dangerous, I¡¯ll ask you to evacuate.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied happily.

    Noa and I decided to follow the knight, but my outfit was so conspicuous that I had to keep my distance, or he would notice us.

    My outfit was unsuitable for tailing, as proven when I followed Jubei-san in the Land of Wa.

    ¡°Yuna-san, he will be out of sight.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If we leave now, they will notice us, so we will move when he is a little further away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But if he keeps going like this, we¡¯ll lose sight of him and¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s going to be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    I have already marked him with my detection skills. But that didn¡¯t mean it was a point-on-point tracking since I was only following his marker on my map.

    Unfortunately, my detection skill was not sophisticated enough that I could add a specific tracker per individual, so I was making sure I did not lose track of him.

    I would love to have a tracking function, but that would turn it into stalker skills. But well, I would be able to stalk people and say, ¡°I see you¡¯re here now.¡± or ¡°Maybe you¡¯re at another woman¡¯s ce.¡± without actually following my target physically.

    Well, even if such a tracking function were added, I wouldn¡¯t use it for such things.

    Once we had confirmed that the knight had left, we chased after him.

    ¡°Noa, let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa and I followed the knight from a distance so that we wouldn¡¯t be noticed. He was on a horse, but he was not galopping, so we could catch up with him if we ran at a short pace.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I don¡¯t see him, but do you know where he is?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked me as I made good progress despite the Knight being outside our sight.

    ¡°Yes, well, you see¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I told her that I was following him using detection skills.

    ¡°Is that what Yuna-san was looking at a while ago?¡±

    I nced at the map from my detection skill that Noa couldn¡¯t see.

    Probably, it looked to Noa as if I were looking at an empty space.

    Fina had already confirmed this. The disy of the detection skill was visible only to me.

    ¡°And so, by magic, I can tell where that knight is.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You can also do that with magic¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa didn¡¯t even question my statement, she just agreed with me.

    This was a skill, so it was different from magic, but I couldn¡¯t exin the skills to her, so I had no choice.

    The Knight was moving forward slowly.

    Still, it was faster than a person walking. We tried keeping up by speed walking.

    Noa was slowly bing exhausted from walking. And well, I was also starting to gain even more attention not by the fact that I was walking quickly but because of my outfit.

    So, to escape the attention and also let Noa rest, I decided to move to a deserted back alley.

    ¡°Noa, I¡¯m going to give you a little hug.¡± (Yuna)

    I said, and gave Noa, who was holding Hugging Bear, a princess carry.

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    Noa was surprised, but I didn¡¯t care, I just held her.

    ¡°Swaying Bear is clinging on my back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ku~~un.¡±

    Swaying Bear jumped on my back.

    ¡°Hold on tight.¡± (Yuna)

    I ran down a secluded back alley to avoid being seen.

    It was also in the direction where the knight went.

    I used my detection skills to monitor the knight¡¯s location.

    The Knight¡¯s signal was moving away from the centre of the town, where the buildings were densely packed, and started to move toward the outskirts of the town.

    On the outskirts of the town, near the walls, I could see a tall column that was not part of the town wall.

    Looking up, it resembled a watchtower.

    There was a door at the bottom of the column, and it looked like we could enter through it and go up to the top.

    I put Noa and the bears down and looked at the Knight.

    The Knight hooked the reins to a nearby tree and used a key to enter the door.

    ¡°Is it a change of guard?¡± (Yuna)

    I followed him, but we might have just been wasting our time.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what should we do?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuh~n.¡±¡±

    As we decided to leave, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed.

    It was not an emergency cry.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    Swaying Bear looked behind me.

    I used my detection skills.

    There was a human response heading towards us.

    Who was it?

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s cries were not for emergency.

    ¡°Yuna-san, are Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear reacting to something?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked as if she could understand Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°It looks like someone is approaching us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is it a Knight? Can Yuna-san tell with your magic?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t tell.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa meditated.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel any magical connection, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a knight.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You can check something like that now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Until now, I was confused because I felt the magic powering from different ces, and I couldn¡¯t understand it. Now that I¡¯ve seen the knights and I know the reasons why, I can kind of understand.¡± (Noa)

    Noa may be better than me when it came to magic sensitivity in this town.

    As we talked like that, the person¡¯s reaction was getting closer.

    We hid ourselves and looked around to see what was going on. It was the Guild Master who came toward us while being stealthy.

    Why was the Guild Master here?

    Hmm¡­ It seemed that the Guild Master¡¯s aim wasn¡¯t us, but rather the watchtower.

    Was he investigating something?

    I appeared in front of the Guild Master to ask him.

    ¡°Ladies?¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master looked surprised.

    I was surprised as well.

    ¡°Why are you here,dies?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°We only came here after following a Knight. What about the Guild Master?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave the job only to you, so I thought I¡¯de and check things out.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°What¡¯s here? I thought it was just a watchtower.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is indeed a watchtower.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°I know that, so what is in this ce?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It used to be a job for soldiers or, forck of a better word, a low-ranking soldier to guard this ce, but after the new Lord took over, that position was transferred to the knights. The knights then started going into those towers, and the ones who previously guarded the towers were sent to do other jobs instead.¡± (Guild Master)

    That was indeed strange.

    There was no better way to put it, but guarding a tower was not a job that a knight would usually be assigned to, unless there was a war.

    I could imagine those guards yawning and looking bored.

    ¡°So you think there is something on the watchtower, Guild Master?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re very perceptive, missy.¡± (Guild Master)

    Noa looked a little pleased at thepliment.

    ¡°But I have some idea what to expect. There¡¯s something here that is stealing the town¡¯s residents of their magic powers.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Is it a Magic Circle?¡± (Yuna)

    Normally, if you want to steal and absorb magic power from the residents, you would make it so that the Magic Circle surrounds the town.

    ¡°Oh, and there are several simr watchtowers.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master picked up a tree branch and drew a simple picture of the town on the ground, circling the locations of the watchtowers.

    There were 6 locations.

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried a few times to find locations in town where magic is not being taken from us, and those locations can be found either outside of the walls of the town, or near the walls.¡± (Guild Master)

    Did that mean those locations were outside the magic circle?

    ¡°Were you searching alone?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, yes. When I was discovered, I could make excuses, so it was better for me to do it alone.¡± (Guild Master)

    That¡¯s true. The more people moving around, the more likely the knights would be suspicious of them. But if fewer people participated, it would take longer to spot them.

    Maybe he wanted to avoid involving Ca-san or the adventurers of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and was trying his best to do it alone.

    To protect the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I think he even bowed down to the knights, whom he hated, and took on the task of dismantling the monsters that the knights had killed.

    At first, I thought that if I relied on Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s handkerchief in Noa¡¯s body, we could easily find her and bring her home.

    But now, we know that the Lord was involved along with the knights while the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the town¡¯s inhabitants were suffering.

    Primme¡¯s big sister had gotten many people involved and caused trouble for many people.

    I just hope this was not Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s intention.

    ¡°So, what are you here to find out?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was wondering if I could get inside.¡± (Guild Master)

    That was a reckless move.

    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous.¡± (Noa)

    Noa seemed to think the same thing I did.

    ¡°I know. I don¡¯t n to do anything dangerous either. I was wondering if I could ask the fairy to check it out for me. A preliminary check. After all, they won¡¯t be able to see fairies, right?¡± (Guild Master)

    Since he didn¡¯t seem to understand Fairies, I exined to the Guild Master about Primme and how he was able to see her.

    I further added, ¡°Also, even though they can¡¯t see her, we can¡¯t be reckless. It is possible that she can be seen by the knights that were involved in the likely event that it really is her sister who did this. If they find out, what do you think will happen?¡±

    Noa also said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I thought as well. Also, it¡¯s not like you would be able to see them. I heard that even as sisters, they won¡¯t be seen by the same people.¡±

    ¡°I see, but the fairy you brought with you holds the future of this town¡­¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°We know, but I feel like the knights were also deliberately guiding you to investigate this ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I might have indeed tried to check it out, but I have been stonewalled, right now. I¡¯ve been looking into details on what I could find out, but I haven¡¯t been able to find anything concrete and useful thus far.¡± (Guild Master)

    Well, there were limits to what one person could do alone. And even if he had some helpers, I doubt he¡¯d be able to make a big enough move. Moreover, if they made the wrong move, it would be the end.

    Maybe I could understand why he wanted to join our group, as well as with Blitz and his group.

    Since we were outsiders, it would be easy for him to let us escape and make some excuses in case something terrible happened.

    Well, I might also be imagining bad things happening again, influenced by readingic books and novels.

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 Chapter 688

    <h4>Chapter 688</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Meets Another Fairy</b>

    ¡°Kuu~n¡±

    While we were talking, Swaying Bear suddenly squealed.

    I looked in the direction the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were facing and saw the knight exiting the door from earlier.

    We closed our mouths and ducked for cover. The knight went to his horse, untied the reins hooked on a tree, got on his horse, and rode away.

    It seemed like he didn¡¯t notice us.

    ¡°He must have gone somewhere else. I¡¯ve seen the knights making their regr rounds a few times.¡± (Guild Master)

    Really, they must be checking things out.

    It was good that we notified the Guild Master why we came to this town.

    Information sources genuinely do matter.

    After that, Noa and I left the ce, leaving behind the Guild Master, who said he would investigate this ce.

    We went to check the other watchtowers that the Guild Master had mentioned to us.

    If these watchtowers yed an essential role in stealing the town residents¡¯ magic power, it would be better to know their locations.

    ¡­

    We returned to the inn after confirming the location of all the watchtowers.

    We told the innkeeper that Blitz and the others had some work to do and might be unable to return.

    They were supposed to join us in looking for Primme¡¯s sister in town, but they ended up subjugating monsters instead.

    We were told, however, by the innkeeper, to inform them that if they returnedte, the inn would not be able to prepare dinner.

    Well, Blitz and the others would probably know that.

    After informing the innkeeper about the Blitz and the others, we moved to our room. Then, arge bug jumped on us.

    ¡°Yuna! Noa!¡± (Primme)

    It was Primme, not a bug.

    Apparently, she had returned safely.

    ¡°You¡¯rete. Where have you been?¡± (Primme)

    Apparently she had been waiting in front of our room, unable to get inside.

    ¡°Primme, why did you suddenly go to the mansion without a n? We were worried.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, anyway, are you all right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. But I was scared.¡± (Primme)

    We entered the room to hear Primme¡¯s story.

    Primme climbed on top of the Swaying Bear, which I re-summoned, and then told us about her experience.

    Once Primme got inside the mansion, she searched various ces, but failed to find anything useful. However, when she was beginning to lose hope, she finally came across a fine door and entered it. Inside, she discovered a picture of her sister.

    She said that while she was searching for clues about her sister in that room, a man came in and started looking for something, and she thought he was looking for her, so she ran away.

    ¡°If the picture of Primme-san¡¯s sister is in there, then we can conclude that she is also in that mansion, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I think she¡¯s in there. Besides, the guy saw my sister¡¯s painting and said she was <b>his</b>.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So, I guess she¡¯s being held captive, then?¡± (Noa)

    This reminded me of the scene in a manga where a fairy was trapped in a birdcage.

    If she was being held captive, we had to get her out of there as soon as possible.

    ¡°But there are servants working in the mansion, right? I thought there was no one inside since the Guild Master mentioned that there was no source of information about the Lord.¡± (Noa)

    I certainly forgot to factor in this minor detail.

    I took it for granted that a noble would always have knights and servants.

    I could understand that the knights might be at the Lord¡¯s beck and call, but what about the servants?

    I was wondering if there was any information we could extract from them.

    Maybe we could ask the Guild Master and Ca-san about it.

    ¡°So, where did you two go?¡± (Primme)

    We exined to Primme.

    ¡°We still haven¡¯t confirmed if there was anything there, but that¡¯s what we¡¯ve been doing.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, from Primme¡¯s point of view, the actions of the knights and the town¡¯s stolen magic power were probably low on her list of priorities.

    For me, the matter of Primme¡¯s sister was important, but I was equally concerned about the matter with the Lord, the knights, and the magic power being stolen.

    Even if we find Primme¡¯s sister, I doubt that we would be able to leave the situation as it was.

    Above all, from what I have heard from the Guild Master and Primme, the Lord seemed to be quite obsessed with fairies, so it was unlikely that we would be able to bring Primme¡¯s sister back home easily.

    It would be better to assume that the Lord and the knights would interfere with our objectives. In any case, we needed to gather as much information as possible.

    The next day, we headed to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to meet with the Guild Master and Ca-san.

    The Guild Master looked sleepy, but he was present.

    Apparently, he lived here in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you get any information from someone who works at the Lord¡¯s mansion?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked about the servants in the mansion, based on the information Primme had obtained.

    ¡°Many of the servants were given time off before the rumors about fairies started spreading.¡± (Guild Master)

    Rather than being given time off, it sounded more like they were forced to quit.

    ¡°But Primme said she¡¯s seen people working in the mansion.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That is to be expected, but they nevere out of the mansion grounds.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°What about shopping? If they are alive, they will need supplies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A favored merchant brings foodstuffs and other necessities directly to the mansion.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°So, what about that merchant, did you not get any information from them?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Information and trust is the lifeblood of a merchant. Even if a merchant knew something, they would not talk about it. Especially if they are dealing with the Lord of this town. There is no way they would give up something that would continuously make them plenty of money.¡± (Guild Master)

    Even merchants needed money to survive. And if they were dealing with a Lord, that would make them the best customers. It may be the worst situation for the town, but it could be the best situation for that merchant.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If you are a merchant who has a contract with a noble, you wouldn¡¯t tell the noble¡¯s information to anyone. If it bes known that you have told someone about it, you would not be able to do business with other nobles at best. Even worst, your existence will be ¡®erased¡¯. Even if you survive, your client might also spread a bad rumor about you that would also greatly damage your reputation. After all, people who easily spread their client¡¯s information are not people one should trust.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Ca)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master and Ca-san looked surprised at Noa¡¯s words.

    ¡°Noire-chan, are you really a vige girl?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Um, well, yes, of course. I¡¯m just an ordinary vige kid.¡± (Noa)

    Noa smiled deceptively.

    That deceptive smile practically screamed that she was not.

    Now that I think about it, it might have been difficult for Noa, who had been raised as a noble¡¯s daughter, to y the role of a vige child.

    If she didn¡¯t speak, she would just be a pretty little girl, but if she did speak, her amount of knowledge would be vastly different from that of a vige girl. It would be difficult to mask her identity.

    ¡°Well, anyway, it will be difficult to get information from the merchant, just as the youngdy said.¡± (Guild Master)

    But the Guild Master and Ca-san did not pursue Noa¡¯s reply, which was obviously a lie.

    ¡°Also, you¡¯ve mentioned finding the picture of a fairy inside the mansion, right?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So can we assume that Primme-chan¡¯s sister is definitely there?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s there.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t find her, did you?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°No, I was too scared when I saw that man. I ran away.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I think that¡¯s good. If they managed to capture you, it would have been a big problem.¡± (Guild Master)

    If Primme had not returned, it would have been difficult for us to do anything else.

    It would have also been difficult to locate her since we wouldn¡¯t know where she was imprisoned.

    And at worst, she could have been used as a hostage if we were in a confrontation with whoever kidnapped her.

    It was good enough for me that she came back safe and sound.

    After that, the Guild Master asked me to do something for him.

    It was regarding yesterday.

    He wanted Primme to explore the inside of the watchtower if possible.

    But he also asked her to run away if she felt something was wrong.

    Primme agreed.

    ***

    We were now located near one of the watchtowers.

    ¡°So you want me to check this one then?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, as the Guild Master said, don¡¯t do anything careless.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said and flew up.

    It sure was nice to be able to fly.

    Although I could not fly, I could jump up to the watchtower, but then I would be noticed, and people would scream, ¡°A bear is flying in the sky!¡±

    I decided to wait with Noa for a while.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah? What do you mean?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to act like a vige girl.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You were worried about that? It¡¯s okay. Noa can act as herself.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You are thinking about information that only nobles are supposed to know, right? Since we don¡¯t know how nobles behave, only Noa, a noble among us, will be able to understand their motives or what their behavior entangles.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Besides, it appears that the Guild Master and Ca-san are aware of it, but they don¡¯t seem to want to pursue it too deeply. So, if Noa notices anything strange about Lord¡¯s actions as noble, don¡¯t hesitate to tell us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied happily.

    ¡°I wonder if Primme-san will be alright.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°If she thinks it¡¯s dangerous, she¡¯ll run away.¡± (Yuna)

    We looked up where Primme was headed. She was able to return safely from the house where her sister might be held hostage. She could make a reasonable judgment about such things.

    If something did happen, we could go in and retrieve Primme. However, that would hinder our future actions, so I hoped she would return without any problems.

    After waiting for a while, Primme returned safely.

    ording to Primme¡¯s report, she was unable to confirm if there was something that resembled a magic circle or at least a part of it, but she did mention that there was arge amount of magic stones ced on some kind of vessel inside the watchtower.

    Considering the situation, there was no need for arge number of magic stones to be ced in the watchtower.

    It seemed sure that the watchtowers were being used to steal the magical power from the town¡¯s residents just as the Guild Master had thought.

    After reporting this to the Guild Master, we returned to the inn.

    That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, I heard someone¡¯s voice.

    I listened quietly.

    Someone whispered, ¡°Primme, wake up.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, who?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Hurry up and wake up already.¡± (???)

    ¡°Eh, Sister!¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Primme, it¡¯s been a long time!¡± (???)

    Primme¡¯s shout awakened my half-asleep brain.

    Primme¡¯s sister was here?

    I continued to pretend to be asleep to grasp the situation.

    ¡°Sis, why are you here? I came here looking for you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, I know you did. You came to that mansion the other day, right?¡± (???)

    ¡°Did you notice me? Then why didn¡¯t youe out? No, it doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s go home, sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I came here today to tell you that I¡¯m not going back, so you go back to the fairy forest by yourself.¡± (???)

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted.

    I couldn¡¯t stand silent any longer.

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± (Yuna)

    I got up.

    In addition to Primme, there was another fairy in the room.

    It was Primme¡¯s sister¡­

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 Chapter 689

    Chapter 689

    <b>Bear-san Speaking with Primme¡¯s Sister.</b>

    When I got up, there were two fairies in the room.

    Based on the conversation, I could assume that the other one was Primme¡¯s sister.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I thought I made everyone inhale the sleeping powder so that they wouldn¡¯t wake up.¡± (Ronne)

    Primme¡¯s older sister said so.

    ¡°Noa! Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to them, but they didn¡¯t respond. They were sleeping.Was I unaffected, thanks to my bear gear?

    ¡°Ronne, I believe. What do you mean by you¡¯re not going home with Primme?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s just as I said. I¡¯m staying here.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why do you say that, sister? If you are being held captive by humans, why are you not trying to escape with us?¡± (Primme)

    Ronne shook her head.

    ¡°I have someone important here, so I can¡¯t go back with Primme.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted, but Ronne ignored her and turned her attention to Noa.

    ¡°I can feel a connection to my magic from that girl over there.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°That¡¯s because Sis¡¯ handkerchief went inside Noa.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I see. Well, okay, Primme, get out of this town and go back to the fairy forest. Also, forget about me.¡± (Ronne)

    She shut Primme out.

    ¡°And a word of advice,ter tonight you will be deprived of your magic power. It may affect your health, so be careful.¡± (Ronne)

    Primme¡¯s sister then turned her back to Primme.

    Primme tried to say something, but she couldn¡¯t utter any word. Nheless, we couldn¡¯t just let her sister go just like that.

    ¡°Wait a minute, even if you say that, neither Primme nor I will be convinced to back off like this.¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne looked straight at me, at my words.

    ¡°Just answer a few questions.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll answer them in return for bringing Primme here.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°You¡¯re the one granting the Knights power, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why do you give power to the knights?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To collect magic stones.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why are you collecting magic stones?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To gather magic power.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why are you collecting magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that <b>he</b> doesn¡¯t die.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Not to make the knights stronger?¡± (Yuna)

    Then all the magic power was not used directly for the knights?

    Was it to keep the Lord of this town from dying?

    ¡°I¡¯m done talking. I have nothing more to say.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Onest thing. What if we force you out of this ce?¡± (Yuna)

    I moved.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted.

    ¡°Fufu, I don¡¯t think you can.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne chuckled, and the wind whipped around the room, and then she was gone.

    She must have gone out of the open window.

    I immediately looked out of the window, but I couldn¡¯t find her anymore.

    Things were much trickier than I thought.

    ¡°Sis¡­¡± (Primme)

    Primme didn¡¯t even try to follow, looking at the window where Ronne left with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Primme¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯m sorry. You brought me all the way here and this¡­¡± (Primme)

    Primme apologized as she held back her tears.

    ¡°Are you giving up?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Primme)

    She looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

    ¡°If your sister is helping someone who is clearly doing something bad, you, as her sister should wake her up and stop her. That¡¯s what family is for, and that¡¯s what you, as her sister, should do.¡± (Yuna)

    My parents were¡­ Well, not that great, I would say, and I have no siblings, so I never knew what it was like to have siblings. However, from my observation of both Fina¡¯s and Noa¡¯s family, I could tell that everyone in their family looked out for each other.

    If an important family member was heading towards the wrong path, it should be a family member or someone close who should stop them.

    ¡°Primme, you came here because you are worried about your sister. If she was not bothering anyone and was living happily, I think it was okay for us to leave her be.¡± (Yuna)

    I have read love stories between fairies and humans.

    I have no intention of denying that I also enjoyed them.

    ¡°But since her love is built on the inconvenience of other people, we have to stop this.¡± (Yuna)

    It was causing trouble for the Guild Master, Ca-san and others, and even for the people of this town.

    It was no longer a question of whether to take her back with us or not.

    We now knew what was going on, and we could not just leave her like that.

    Primme thought about my words as if she were chewing on them.

    ¡°¡­Yuna, I understand. I¡¯ll talk to my sister again.¡± (Primme)

    Primme¡¯s eyes, which had looked like they were dead a while ago, were now filled with motivation.

    Even if we couldn¡¯t bring her sister back, we at least needed to understand the situation clearly to decide what we should do next.

    But I wonder if I¡¯ve been more meddlesome than usual.

    I think I¡¯ve be more meddlesome since I came to this world.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s make a move first.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Move?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I was warned by your sister, Ronne, that I would lose my magic power if I stayed here, so I¡¯m going to take measures to prevent that from happening.¡± (Yuna)

    I did not like the idea of losing my magic power, even if it did not cost me my life.

    I put out the Bear Transfer Gate and returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were sleepingfortably, then held Noa in my arms, as well as the basket that became Primme¡¯s bed.

    Then, we moved through the Bear Transfer Gate to my Bear House in Crimonia.

    Moving to Crimonia would prevent me from losing my magic power.

    I put Noa, who was sleepingfortably, on the bed.

    Iy down on the bed next to Noa because I didn¡¯t want her to make a fuss when she woke up.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna.¡± (Primme)

    Primme, who was in the basket instead of the bed, turned around and thanked me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s just that things have be a little tricky, and we can no longer take your sister back with us easily.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Primme)

    At first, I thought that we could bring her back after finding her.

    Next, I thought that the Lord might be keeping her in captivity, and I believed I could rescue her if that were the case.

    But if Primme¡¯s sister, Ronne, out of her own volition, was siding with the Lord.

    Things would be a lot moreplicated, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¡°Sleep well, and we¡¯ll do our best tomorrow.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Primme, good night.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Good night.¡± (Primme)

    The room was quiet, and I settled down to rest in my home for the first time in a long time as I drifted into slumber.

    ¡­

    The next morning.

    ¡°Ugh, Yuna-san, good morning?¡± (Noa)

    Noa woke up.

    ¡°Noa, good morning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Huh, where am I? Is this Yuna-san¡¯s house?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked around.

    ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a dream. You are in my house in Crimonia. We movedst night.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why?¡± (Noa)

    I exined to Noa what happenedst night.

    ¡°So Primme-san¡¯s sister showed up in the middle of the night?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, she doesn¡¯t seem to be nning to leave.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then what are we going to do about it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°As I told Primme, if she¡¯s helping with something bad, we need to open her eyes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s what family and sisters are for, right? If my sister is doing something wrong, I will do whatever it takes to stop her.¡± (Noa)

    I knew Noa would say that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that only Primme, as her sister, can do that because she would not be convinced by us.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Only I¡­¡± (Primme)

    Even if Primme gave up and said she was going home, I would do my best to settle things.

    Primme again expressed her determination.

    ¡°¡­Yeah, I will definitely stop my sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild again today and talk about it.¡± (Yuna)

    ***

    And so we returned to town and went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Are Yuna-chan and the others okay?¡± (Ca)

    Ca-san asked when she saw us enter the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Today, she was looking a little sluggish.

    ¡°It looks like our magic power was taken away from ustest night.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master also arrived, but he seemed to be okay.

    ¡°We are fine. Yesterday, Primme¡¯s sister came and told us it will happen.¡± (Yuna)

    He looked surprised at my words.

    We moved to a private room to talk about the details.

    Ca-san seemed to be getting tired, so I took a refrigerator out of my bear item box and pulled out some bottles from the fridge.

    It was a bottle of tea made from the sacred tree.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°It¡¯s a tea that restores magic power. Drink it, and you¡¯ll feel better.¡± (Yuna)

    It also relieved fatigue, and it restored magic power over time.

    I took out cups and filled them for Ca-san and the Guild Master.

    They both thought it stank, but they still drank it. It wouldn¡¯t work right away, but the concoction should work after some time.

    Meanwhile, I exined to them what happenedst night. Of course, I misrepresented the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°So Primme-chan¡¯s sister is really here.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes. But she said she didn¡¯t want to leave the town. But if she¡¯s doing something wrong, we¡¯ll do our best to stop her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you guys.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°But the reason they¡¯re collecting magic power is to keep someone from dying, right?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Apparently so, that¡¯s why she¡¯s been empowering the knights and collecting magic stones.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is the Lord sick?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°As I told you before, we don¡¯t have much information about the Lord. I¡¯m sorry, that includes no information about his health.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s okay to steal other people¡¯s magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. To the extent that the residents of the town are suffering. Some have lost their jobs, and some have even died.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°But if the Lord¡¯s side loses their source of magic power, the worst that can happen is that the Lord will die, right?¡± (Noa)

    Noa said something that no one else had mentioned.

    If Primme¡¯s sister was right, and the magic power supply was stopped, the Lord could end up dead.

    That¡¯s what everyone here thought. But no one said anything about it. However, 11-year-old Noa ended up saying it out loud.

    ¡°Oh, yes. But that doesn¡¯t mean they can continue like this.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes. A Lord must make sure that the local residents are happy. He must not trouble the residents just so that he can live.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said as if telling herself.

    Perhaps she was thinking of what she would do if the same thing happened to Cliff and Ellura-san.

    Should she choose to save her family or the residents? This was something she had to weigh in her own mind.

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 Chapter 690

    Chapter 690

    <b>Primme¡¯s Sister Ronne Part 1</b>

    <b><i>POV of Primme¡¯s Sister</i></b>

    I did not expect Primme to be in town looking for me.

    I was happy when I found out that she was in town, but I could not leave.

    I looked at the man sleeping on the bunk.

    I remembered the first time I saw him.

    I was flying a little far from the fairy forest, and there I found a man. I thought he couldn¡¯t see me anyway, so I flew in front of him, but then I noticed that he seemed to be following me with his eyes.

    When I moved left and right, the human¡¯s eyes followed as I moved.¡°Could it be that you can see me?¡± (Ronne)

    When I spoke to him, his eyes lit up, and he replied, ¡°Yes, I can see you. Are you a fairy?¡±

    He could also hear my voice.

    The human¡¯s name was Ryan.

    He hade here because he had heard rumors about fairies.

    ¡°Is there a ce nearby where fairies live?¡± (???)

    He asked me with a sparkle in his eyes.

    But I couldn¡¯t tell him that.

    Even though the Lost Forest existed, we fairies would be in big trouble if humans knew where we lived.

    I knew there were good humans, but I also knew there were bad humans.

    Some fairies lived happy lives after meeting humans, while others were miserable.

    Therefore, no fairy was allowed to tell humans where they lived.

    ¡°No, there is none. I just happened to pass by alone.¡± (Ronne)

    Ryan looked disappointed at my words.

    ¡°You are alone, aren¡¯t you? If you like, why don¡¯t youe with me to the town where I live?¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I can¡¯t go with you because I have my own ce to stay.¡± (Ronne)

    I declined Ryan¡¯s offer.

    I was interested in a town where humans lived, but I would be in trouble if this human were a bad person.

    ¡°I see. Then will you meet me again when Ie back here?¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Well, if I feel like it.¡± (Ronne)

    I didn¡¯t mind if we met only once in a while.

    I had never met any human who could see me before.

    Since then, Ryan visited me a few times a year.

    He came from a faraway ce. He told me it took him a long time to get here.

    Ryan informed me that where he lived, there were plenty of humans.

    I have been to a nearby vige, so I asked if it was ¡°That many?¡± but he simplyughed at me.

    He mentioned to me that there were many more, so many that he could not even begin to count them.

    I had never seen that many people.

    Ryan shared with me that he attended an academy in that town.

    He informed me that the academy was a ce where human children studied.

    ¡°Is Ryan a child?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Hmmm, I don¡¯t know. I am still a child because my parents are paying for me to go to the academy, but I consider myself an adult. I¡¯m graduating soon.¡± (Ryan)

    Graduation, apparently, referred to someone who hadpleted their studies.

    Then, the next time he came to see me, Ryan told me that he had graduated from the academy.

    Ryan mentioned to me that he had graduated from the academy and was now living in another town, working for the Lord of that town.

    Lord?

    ording to Ryan, the Lord was the most important person in a group of humans.

    He asked me again toe visit him in the town where he lived, and if the Lord of the town would also be able to see me.

    I told him that if I could use Ryan¡¯s magic, other people might be able to see me.

    I did not know if such a thing was actually possible because I had never done it before. But it was something that had been passed down among the fairies. I heard that it was actually possible.

    ¡°A senior at my school? A friend, you could say? I have been asked by that person if it was possible to meet you.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Did you tell him about me?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Yeah, sorry.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan said apologetically.

    Ryan¡¯s friend was interested in fairies just like Ryan, and wanted to see one just once.

    I really wanted to say no, but I liked talking to Ryan. So I couldn¡¯t refuse his request, thinking that if I said no, he might note to see me again.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine, if only for a little while.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Really! Ronne, thank you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to send you back here.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan smiled widely.

    I was a little concerned about my sister Primme, but in the end, I decided to leave quietly, knowing that as long as I came back soon, it would be fine. Besides, if I told her everything, she might insist oning with me.

    After preparing myself, I headed for the town where Ryan lived.

    We crossed mountains, rivers, and faced monsters along the way.

    Monsters sometimes attacked us fairies, though we did not know whether they could see us or not.

    That was why we fairies tried to stay away from monsters.

    However, Ryan was able to defeat such monsters with his magic.

    I would not be able to go to where he lived on my own.

    But Ryan crossed that dangerous road again and again just to see me.

    I felt a little happy when I thought about that.

    A few days after leaving the fairy forest, I arrived at the human town where Ryan lived.

    There were many humans. It was totally different from the nearby vige. Everywhere I looked, there were people all around. Ryan was worried that someone could see me, but there was no need to worry about that.

    Ryan was special to me.

    As I was looking around, Ryan told me that he would show me around the town some other time and that we had to go to our destination first.

    I wanted to see more of the town, but I took Ryan at his word.

    We arrived at arge building far away from the crowd.

    It seemed to be the biggest building in the town.

    Even if humans were big, this building was too big. I wondered if orcs were living in this building.

    Then I was introduced to a human man.

    His name was Bellung.

    He was a normal human guy.

    A friend of Ryan¡¯s? Ryan called him ¡°Senpai¡±.

    Ryan also told me that the term ¡®Senpai¡¯ means senior in his academy.

    His friend Bellung became a Lord not long ago.

    As a Lord, he was the most important person in this town.

    Ryan said that, like himself, Bellung loved fairies and had been doing a lot of research to meet them, but when his father died, Bellung, who was in the academy, came back to this town.

    ¡°Is there really a fairy here?¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung scurried around looking for me, but he could not see me.

    I tried to channel Ryan¡¯s magic. Now he should be able to see me.

    Bellung¡¯s eyes, which were looking around, caught a glimpse of me.

    ¡°¡­Fairy.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°I¡¯m Ronne, nice to meet you.¡± (Ronne)

    When Ryan¡¯s friend Bellung saw me, he was even more excited than Ryan.

    Bellung asked me many questions.

    He asked me if there were any other fairies besides me and where I came from.

    Even if he was a friend of Ryan¡¯s, I couldn¡¯t tell him about other fairies. I have not even told Ryan about it.

    So I said the same thing I said to Ryan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Fairies do things on their own.¡± (Ronne)

    Bellung was dismayed by that answer.

    He was even more disappointed when he learned that he was unable to see me without Ryan¡¯s magic.

    ¡°Um, was what was written in the book true? That only the chosen ones can see fairies. Does that mean I wasn¡¯t chosen?¡± (Bellung)

    Not exactly. Each fairy had their own magic wavelength, and only those who matched that wavelength could see them.

    I had many friends in the fairy forest.

    Perhaps there might be a fairy who matched his magic wavelength, but I could not tell him the location of the fairy forest.

    Moreover, we fairies simply met humans by chance. So it could be concluded that meeting us fairies could certainly be considered really good luck.

    Then he asked me to stay in town for a little while until Ryan could take me back to the fairy forest.

    Since I was also interested in the human town and wanted to spend a little more time with Ryan, I decided to stay.

    At that time, I was still unaware of Bellung¡¯s feelings, and I was still excited to be in a town with so many humans.

    The next day, Ryan showed me around the town.

    It really was different from the nearby human-inhabited vige. The number of humans and the size of the buildings were so vast unlike anything I had ever seen.

    Despite the presence of so many people, not a single person noticed me.

    asionally, there were people who reacted, but they could not see me.

    I was told that people with a close wavelength to us would be able to notice us, and some could even see us in the form of a flickering light and could sometimes even vaguely hear our voices.

    It was said that it was rare for humans to be able to perfectly see us fairies as is, but with this many people in the world, there might be others who could see me as well besides Ryan.

    But Ryan told me to be careful because I might cause amotion if anyone noticed me.

    I didn¡¯t want to make a scene either, so I decided to be careful.

    So, right now, only Ryan and Bellung were the only two people who knew how to use magic power to make me visible to others.

    Then, a few days into my stay in town, Ryan and Bellung asked me to help them with their research.

    I knew that Ryan and Bellung were researching fairies. That was the reason why Ryan and I were able to meet.

    ¡°What can I help you with?¡±

    ¡°Ronne, can you let us check out your magic power?¡±

    They said that they wanted to investigate the wavelengths of magic and other mysteries that cause other people to not see us fairies.

    I was also curious. Why was it that only certain people could see us?

    So I agreed, if only for a little while.

    In essence, when I used Ryan¡¯s magic, other people would be able to see me.

    And as a result of our research, we found out that Bellung could also see me by taking in Ryan¡¯s magic power.

    But that was only for a short time. It was not possible for long periods of time.

    ¡°Soon, I won¡¯t be able to see Ronne.¡±

    ¡°Is it because my magic power will be converted into Bellung senpai¡¯s magic power?¡±

    ¡°You mean like water from different sources mixing to make simr but different water?¡±

    I thought that water was just water, so how could it be different?

    He exined that there were different kinds of magic powers as well.

    Ugh, it was difficult to understand.

    I could barely understand what Ryan and Bellung were saying, but it seemed that Ryan¡¯s magic power, Bellung¡¯s magic power, and my magic power were basically the same, but with different subtleties.

    I even tried it the other way around. I tried to channel my magic power to Bellung so that he could see me, but he could not.

    Bellung was disappointed.

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 Chapter 691

    Chapter 691

    <b>Primme¡¯s Sister Ronne Part 2</b>

    Bellung was chagrined by the results of his research, but it was great to know that people could see me a little bit if some of Ryan¡¯s magic power was transferred to them.

    ¡°But if I use Ryan¡¯s magic power, Bellung can always see and talk to me, so that¡¯s good.¡±

    I think that¡¯s a good enough method. It also didn¡¯t involve all the tedious research and such.

    It was the same as transferring Ryan¡¯s magic power, but the only difference would be me absorbing Ryan¡¯s magic power instead of transferring it to Bellung.

    ¡°Yes, but without Ryan, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see or talk to Ronne.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°But I have to go home someday, too, so it won¡¯t make a difference.¡± (Ronne)

    My words made them both look sad.If I leave, they won¡¯t be able to see or talk to me anyway. This research itself would be a waste of time. If they wanted to converse for a little while, all they had to do was to let me use Ryan¡¯s magic to make myself visible.

    But humans were different, it seemed.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a waste of time. People research and study many things and develop.¡± (Bellung)

    He also told me that these big buildings were built with strong assemblies to prevent them from copsing and made after much research. He also informed me that the weapons humans used were developed the same way.

    Which materials were harder and sharper? What weight wasfortable for humans to handle? What should be the center of gravity while attacking?

    ¡°So there¡¯s no such thing as wasted research. Besides, we are more than happy to learn a little bit about Ronne and other fairies.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Yes, it has also been a dream of mine since I was a child to meet and talk to fairies.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°But the more I researched about fairies, the more I despaired. Very few people had ever seen fairies, and all they had were legends. So when this guy told me about Ronne, I couldn¡¯t believe it.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung looked at Ryan.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you it wasn¡¯t a lie.¡± (Ryan)

    The two of them talked happily.

    I didn¡¯t know what was going on, but if Ryan was happy, I was happy, too.

    So I decided to help them with their research a little more.

    I was a little worried that I had left without telling my sister. However, fairies have a different sense of time than humans, so she might not have noticed that I was gone.

    Ryan and Bellung had to work, so their research was done in the evenings when they had some spare time. Both of them mentioned that they wanted to return to being students and just do their research without stopping.

    Then, as we proceeded with our research, we learned many things.

    When I channeled my magic into Ryan, his magic became stronger.

    Ryan told me that the power had increased by 20 to 30 percent.

    ¡°So, a fairy¡¯s magic power has this kind of power¡­¡± (Ryan)

    I tried the same with Bellung, but it had no effect.

    In other words, it only worked on people who could see me and were on the same wavelength as me.

    ¡°Ronne is my only partner in the world.¡± (Ryan)

    Those words made me happy.

    ¡°But the world is a big ce, so you may not be the only person who can see me.¡± (Ronne)

    There might be someone who was on the same wavelength as me. If I look for them, there might be at least one in this country.

    ¡°It¡¯s sad to hear you say that.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°But right now, Ryan is the only one.¡± (Ronne)

    Ryan looked happy to hear my words.

    While Ryan and I were talking happily, I felt a strong gazeing from nowhere. I looked for the direction of that gaze and found Bellung staring at us. But as soon as he noticed my gaze, his expression changed.

    ¡°I envy you. I would love to have a lovely fairy partner like Ronne.¡± (Bellung)

    He said so with a smile on his face.

    Was I reading his expression wrong?

    But it turned out that I didn¡¯t make a mistake.

    After that, I often felt his eyes on me when Ryan and I were together, and I would catch him staring at me.

    I was afraid of the way he looked at Ryan.

    When I told Ryan about this, he did not believe me.

    Ryan did not seem to notice Bellung¡¯s strange gaze.

    After that, Bellung started talking to me more than usual.

    ¡°Is there anything you want?¡± ¡°Are you dissatisfied with your life?¡± ¡°Are you enjoying life in town?¡±

    He was very concerned about me and kind to me when we were alone, but when I talked to Ryan alone, he would sometimes look at us with scary eyes.

    I have tried to keep my distance from Bellung, except when I help him with his research.

    When the day came for me to go back to my home, Ryan disappeared.

    No matter where I looked, I could not find him.

    I was scared, so I went to see Bellung.

    ¡°Oh, Ryan is sleeping in the basement of this house.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung answered with a smile.

    He was smiling, but his eyes were scary.

    But I was worried about Ryan, so I followed Bellung as he took me to a certain ce.

    We went down the first floor hallway and opened a tightly closed door to find a staircase.

    It was dimly lit and scary.

    But when Bellung touched the magic stone on the wall, a light illuminated the ce.

    When the light lit up, I felt a little relieved.

    Going down the stairs, we came to arge hall.

    In the center of the hall, there was a bed where Ryan was sleeping.

    I jumped up and went over to him.

    ¡°Ryan!¡± (Ronne)

    I called out to him, but he didn¡¯t wake up.

    I hit him, I iled about on his face, but he still did not respond.

    ¡°What did you do to Ryan?!¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°I just had him help me. Permanently.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung replied with a smile.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°It means that I¡¯m going to be able to see you for a long time.¡± (Bellung)

    I disconnected from Ryan¡¯s magic.

    ¡°I can still see you, you know.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± (Ronne)

    I moved, but Bellung¡¯s eyes followed me.

    ¡°You and I are connected. You are now mine.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellungughed.

    I was afraid.

    I wanted to run away right now.

    I turned my attention to the stairs behind Bellung.

    ¡°Are you going to leave him like this and run away?¡± (Bellung)

    He asked me, as if he realized that I was trying to escape.

    I turned to look at Ryan.

    He was sleeping like he was dead in his bed, but he was alive.

    I couldn¡¯t leave Ryan and run away by myself.

    ¡°If you run away like this, he might die.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°What have you done to Ryan?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°His magic flows to me sporadically.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I think you understand. I¡¯m receiving his magic power to see you.¡± (Bellung)

    There were a lot of things around Ryan¡¯s bed that I didn¡¯t understand. The only thing I could make out was a magic stone, something the two of them sometimes did research on, but was it because of that?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, I can just use Ryan¡¯s magic power, so anyone will be able to see me.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you just cut off your connection to Ryan in an attempt to escape, I won¡¯t be able to see you when you do that, right?¡± (Bellung)

    Indeed, I just made myself invisible.

    Normally, he should not be able to see me or hear me. But Bellung could right now.

    So it was true that Bellung had somehow managed to incorporate Ryan¡¯s magic power into himself as he could see and talk to me.

    ¡°If I continue to use Ryan¡¯s magic power, he may die. If you stay here, I will continue supplying him with magic power from the outside, but if you run away, I will just stop the supply, and you can imagine what will happen next.¡± (Bellung)

    In other words, he indicated that if the magic power connection was cut, Ryan would die.

    ¡°And even if you escape, you and I are still connected. I will follow you wherever you go. I should be able to do it through Ryan, but you may not be convinced that I can do it.¡± (Bellung)

    Did that mean he would know where I was located even if I was far away?

    If that was true, I would be bringing this man to the fairy forest where my friends lived even if I escaped to the fairy forest.

    Even if I were to die, that would not be something that I would do.

    ¡°Ryan and you weren¡¯t friends?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°We are friends. That¡¯s why we share each other¡¯s things, like right now.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°I¡¯m not a thing, and Ryan didn¡¯t get anything from you.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°What Ronne doesn¡¯t understand is that research costs money. I have paid for all the research he has done. We were both friends chasing after fairies. But when I heard that Ryan had seen fairies, I was jealous of him and started hating him.¡± (Bellung)

    I finally understood how he felt when he saw me and Ryan together for the first time.

    After that, I sometimes saw the look of hatred with which he looked at Ryan.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s your response?¡± (Bellung)

    Once again, I turned my attention to the sleeping Ryan.

    The one who could see me.

    I could not abandon Ryan.

    And even if I did, I would not be able to return to the fairy forest.

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Just stay by my side.¡± (Bellung)

    Apparently, he just wanted to keep me to himself.

    I didn¡¯t belong to anyone.

    However, I could not run away from this man right now.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll stay here. But let me be free to do what I want.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Fine. However, if I think you¡¯ve escaped¡­¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°I understand.¡± (Ronne)

    He would chase after me wherever I would go until Ryan was dead.

    If Ryan died, I would be able to run away, but I could not abandon him right now.

    I would like to see that smile on his face again.

    As long as I didn¡¯t lose my freedom, I would have a chance to rescue him.

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 Chapter 692

    <b>Primme¡¯s Sister Ronne Part 3</b>

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even think of forcibly stopping the process. Because if you do that, the magic in his body will be released indiscriminately, and he will surely die.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung then said that to keep Ryan alive, they would have to keep the magic power flowing to Ryan.

    ¡°So much magic power, where does ite from?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Huh, there are many inhabitants in the town, right? I got it from them.¡± (Bellung)

    A scene of the town came to my mind.

    A town in which everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

    He said that he collected the magic power from residents of such a town.I asked, ¡°Were they not residents of your town?¡±

    Bellungughed at me and said everything in this town belonged to him.

    He was crazy.

    Now he was no longer an innocent person who liked to see and enjoy things about me, but an ugly human being.

    ¡°And don¡¯t even try to ask for help from others. If, if you do¡­.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung pulled out a knife and thrust it into the side of Ryan¡¯s head.

    ¡°If you kill Ryan, you will not be able to see me.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Well, if Ryan escapes, I will never be able to see you again either way.¡± (Bellung)

    To Bellung, Ryan¡¯s rescue and death meant the same thing.

    After this day, Bellung became a demon.

    He drove out all of his subordinates who had anyints against him, so only those who listened to him remained in the house.

    The town was spied on, and there was a great deal of dissatisfaction among residents with Bellung for forcibly collecting their magic power.

    But Bellung continued to ignore them.

    As a result, more and more people left the town, and the adventurers who had been defeating monsters also left. With that, a problem arose.

    To take away magical power, one needed magical stones. With the decrease in the number of adventurers, the supply of magic stones became insufficient.

    If Ryan could no longer be supplied with magic power, he would die.

    Bellung ordered me to give my power to the knights so that they could defeat monsters in ce of adventurers.

    Research had shown that if I mixed Ryan¡¯s magic power with mine and gave it to them, they would be stronger. The problem was that the power would disappear if I did not give it to them regrly.

    I didn¡¯t want to use Ryan¡¯s magic for the knights to obtain power, but I had toply to protect him.

    I would appear before the knights and give them power.

    The knights were skeptical at first, but when they saw that they had be stronger, they were grateful and started calling themselves fairy knights.

    The empowered knights started hunting down monsters on behalf of the adventurers, and they were able to secure a steady supply of monster magic stones.

    And as the knights became stronger, no one could openly stand against Bellung. Those who hadined in front of his mansion were silenced and were banished.

    When anyone was discovered talking ill of Bellung in the shadows, they would soon disappear with news of them being sent outside town.

    The joyful atmosphere of the town when I first visited was gone, and it became gloomy.

    What was I doing?

    I wanted to throw everything away and run away.

    But I couldn¡¯t do it.

    I gave up thinking, and time just kept on passing.

    Meanwhile, Bellung¡¯s research on fairies continued, and so did the effect of my fairy power on the knights.

    Since continuing his research was in exchange for me to see Ryan, there was no way for me to decline.

    ¡°I want to see Primme.¡± (Ronne)

    I picked up a handkerchief.

    Primme made this handkerchief for me. I also made one for her and we exchanged them.

    I¡¯m sorry.

    ¡°Primme¡­ I miss you¡­¡± (Ronne)

    I wanted to see her smile.

    But I could never see her again.

    I couldn¡¯t take that man to the fairy forest.

    Clutching my handkerchief, I felt Primme closer than usual.

    Lies.

    Holding the handkerchief, I could feel Primme.

    I grasped the handkerchief again.

    No way¡­

    I closed my eyes and concentrated.

    I could feel that Primme was nearby.

    Was she in this town?

    No, it was much closer.

    No way, in this mansion?

    I jumped out of bed.

    Where was she?

    I looked around the house and found Primme.

    Did shee all the way here to look for me?

    When I saw Primme¡¯s face, I started to cry.

    I would like to see her, but I couldn¡¯t leave.

    I have been a bad fairy.

    I couldn¡¯t face Primme.

    Ah, you can¡¯t go in that room.

    Primme, who did not know what I had been through, went into Bellung¡¯s room.

    If Bellung found her, she would be in big trouble.

    I looked into the room from the small window where Primme entered.

    Primme was looking at my painting.

    It was a picture of me that Bellung had painted himself.

    He was obsessed with me, but if he knew that Primme was here, Primme might end up like me.

    Just then, I saw Bellunging toward me.

    Primme, get out of here.

    Even though I knew he couldn¡¯t see Primme, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would happen if he saw her.

    Bellung entered the room and stopped in front of my painting.

    ¡°You are mine.¡± (Bellung)

    I feel sick.

    Bellung sensed something and started to walk around the room.

    Perhaps he noticed Primme?

    Bellung had also been working on a study to see all fairies.

    If his research waspleted, and he could see Primme, she would be in big trouble.

    Bellung was walking near where Primme was.

    I did not know what to do, but I had to somehow protect Primme.

    Primme managed to leave the room and escape.

    Bellung also looked where Primme had run off to.

    I moved in front of Bellung so that he wouldn¡¯t follow Primme.

    ¡°Oh, Ronne, you were there?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Yes, I was here. I was just messing with you.¡± (Bellung)

    I guess he was convinced by my words because he extended his hand to me. I stepped onto his hand, and he looked pleased.

    Bellung was unaware that Primme was in this room.

    I resist the urge to go after Primme right away.

    ¡°It¡¯s always beautiful to see you.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Ronne)

    Then, after a few moments, he let go of me, perhaps satisfied.

    I went to see Ryan to calm myself down.

    ¡°Ryan, my sister came looking for me. What should I do?¡± (Ronne)

    But there was no reply.

    Ryan remained sleeping since then.

    He was emaciated and kept alive by magic.

    In my heart, I knew I should not let him suffer like this, but I couldn¡¯t leave him to die as well.

    ¡°I wish I could hear Primme¡¯s voice.¡± (Ronne)

    I thought about it a lot and finally decided to go see Primme.

    Primme would not leave until she found me. If she came back and Bellung found her, she would be in big trouble.

    At night, I left the house unnoticed by Bellung and the knights. It was dark outside and the town was quiet.

    I looked for Primme¡¯s location, relying on her handkerchief.

    This was it.

    A slightlyrger building¡­ From the sign, it must be a building where people stay.

    I wonder if it was this room.

    Primme¡¯s handkerchief allowed me to know that she was staying in this ce.

    The window was closed.

    Using wind magic, I lifted the lock upwards and released the sp.

    When I entered the room, I found two people and small bears sleeping together on the bed. And Primme was sleeping in a small basket.

    She¡¯s with humans?

    Could it be that they could see Primme?

    At first, I took out sleeping powder from my pocket and sprinkled it on the sleeping humans.

    This should keep them asleep even if we make a bit of noise.

    I approached Primme.

    She was sleeping well.

    I haven¡¯t seen my sister¡¯s face in a long time.

    I was happy to know that she came all the way here to look for me.

    But I couldn¡¯t respond to Primme¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Primme, wake up!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ugh, who?¡± (Primme)

    She didn¡¯t wake up.

    ¡°Come on, wake up.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Oh, sister!¡± (Primme)

    She opened her eyes and was surprised to see me.

    ¡°Primme, it¡¯s been a long time!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis, why are you here? I came here looking for you.¡± (Primme)

    I knew she hade all the way here to look for me.

    I was so happy.

    ¡°Yes, I know you did. You came to that mansion the other day, right?¡± (Ronne)

    I resisted the urge to hug her.

    ¡°Did you notice me? Then why didn¡¯t youe out? No, it doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s go home, sister.¡± (Primme)

    I would like to go back to the fairy forest with Primme just like this. But I couldn¡¯t go back.

    ¡°I came here today to tell you that I¡¯m not going back, so you go back to the fairy forest by yourself.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    If I told Primme everything, the kind Primme would try to help me.

    If that happened, that man might find her.

    Just as I was about to ask her to give up, the person who was sleeping in the bed woke up.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Yuna)

    It was not a person who got up, but a bear.

    No, it was a human girl dressed as a bear.

    ¡°I thought I made everyone inhale the sleeping powder so that they wouldn¡¯t wake up.¡± (Ronne)

    How did she manage to get up?

    The girl dressed as a bear called out the name of the other girl as well as the bears sleeping next to her.

    I think I would have also called those bears ¨C Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    She was an interesting girl.

    I wonder if this girl dressed as a bear was Primme¡¯s partner.

    ¡°Ronne, I believe. What do you mean by you¡¯re not going home with Primme?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s just as I said. I¡¯m staying here.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why do you say that, sister? If you are being held captive by humans, why are you not trying to escape with us?¡± (Primme)

    I shook my head.

    If I could go home, I would. But now that Bellung and I were connected, I couldn¡¯t go back to the fairy forest.

    ¡°I have someone important here, so I can¡¯t go back with Primme.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    Primme shouted, but I ignored her and turned my attention to the sleeping girl with the bear in her bed.

    From a moment ago, I could feel a faint connection with this girl.

    When I mentioned this to Primme, she told me that the handkerchief I made for her went inside this girl¡¯s body. How did that happen?

    Either way, it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°I see. Well, okay, Primme, get out of this town and go back to the fairy forest. And forget about me.¡± (Ronne)

    I said to Primme in a dismissive way, for her to at least hate me and leave.

    I wanted her to get out of this town as soon as possible, even if she hated me.

    I also warned Primme that her partner might get sick because she might be deprived of her magic powerter tonight.

    That was about all I could do.

    The effects of having one¡¯s magic power taken away varied from person to person, but I could only hope that Primme¡¯s partner would not be affected too much.

    Primme¡¯s eyes were teary, and she was depressed at my words.

    I wanted to hug her, but I couldn¡¯t. I wanted her to return to the fairy forest as soon as possible and forget about me.

    If I stayed here any longer, I would end up crying, too. However, when I was about to leave, Primme¡¯s partner stopped me.

    I couldn¡¯t leave like this, so I answered her questions that made sense to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one granting the Knights power, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why do you give power to the knights?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To collect magic stones.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why are you collecting magic stones?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To gather magic power.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Why are you collecting magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that he doesn¡¯t die.¡± (Ronne)

    It was to prevent Ryan¡¯s death.

    That was the only reason I worked so hard until today.

    I didn¡¯t know how long it wouldst.

    I wanted to run away many times. But when I saw Ryan sleeping, I couldn¡¯t run away.

    ¡°Not to make the knights stronger?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m done talking. I have nothing more to say.¡± (Ronne)

    I was not going to leave with you guys even if we talked more.

    ¡°Onest thing. What if we force you out of this ce?¡± (Yuna)

    Primme¡¯s partner moved.

    I used that moment to turn around and escape outside the room.

    She seemed like a kind partner.

    She came all this way to bring me back for my sister.

    If that man found out about Primme and her, he might do the same thing to her as he did to Ryan.

    If that happened, Primme would be very sad.

    So, please get out of this town as soon as possible.

    Come to think of it, I thought I had turned off my magic power with Ryan so that people wouldn¡¯t see me, but that girl dressed as a bear was able to see me and was talking to me.

    No way, that should not be¡­

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 Chapter 693

    <b>Thoughts of Each</b>

    *<i>Knight A¡¯s POV</i>*

    With information from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, we were on a monster-hunting mission.

    Today, as usual, we were on the road to defeat a monster, but it turned out the monster had already been killed.

    ¡°An adventurer party passing by took down the monster.¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°A party of adventurers?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Yes. A party of four, one male and three females.¡± (Vige Chief)

    There were no more adventurers in the town that could subjugate monsters.This was because the adventurers who used magic had be useless and left. Consequently, other adventurers also left. In their ce, we were the ones who were subjugating the monsters.

    So, as vigers said, that adventurer party must have just been passing by coincidently.

    We headed for the next vige, only to find that the same adventurer party had also dealt with the monsters there.

    ¡°An adventurer party passing by subjugated them?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Vige Chief)

    Was it really a coincidence?

    The captain remained silent as he thought about it.

    Then he asked the man, ¡°What kind of adventurers were they?¡±

    ¡°They were adventurers, one man and three women. When they heard that we were in trouble, they immediately went to defeat the monsters. We tried to thank them, but they said they had to leave the vige as soon as they could.¡± (Vige Chief)

    It was the same as in the previous vige.

    No doubt it was the same adventurer party.

    They mentioned that a man and one woman were sword wielders, and the other two women were magicians.

    ¡°And also¡­¡± (Vige Chief)

    ¡°What¡¯s more?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°The three women seemed to have feelings for the man.¡± (Vige Chief)

    Thatst piece of information was insignificant to me.

    But as a man, it was information that made me want to punch him in the face.

    If we ever see them anywhere, we should humiliate him in front of the women.

    And I would not let them get away with this, for snatching the monsters we were supposed to be hunting down.

    After that, we continued on our way to hunt monsters, but we never encountered any.

    *<i>Gatekeeper¡¯s POV</i>*

    The Guild Master of Adventurers¡¯ Guild asked me to take care of the new adventurers, so we had to keep an eye on theings and goings of the town to ensure that the new adventurers coulde back at any moment.

    The worst thing that could happen would be that the new adventurers and the knights would run into each other. While doing our jobs, we monitored the Knights¡¯ movement inside and outside the town to ensure they didn¡¯t run into those adventurers.

    As we stood at the entrance to the town, the knights returned to the town.

    ¡°What¡¯s with those adventurers!¡± (Knight Captain)

    ¡°What are we going to report to our Lord?¡± (Knight)

    The knights came in, annoyed.

    ¡°Just tell him what happened.¡± (Knight Captain)

    ¡°But Captain¡­¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Besides, since monsters were eliminated near this town, the chances of theming to this town¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ Guild are high. You guys go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild after this and check on them.¡± (Knight Captain)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Knight)

    Apparently, they were unable to defeat the monsters.

    That meant that those adventurers seeded in getting there first.

    That was a pleasant surprise.

    As I wasughing in my heart, one of the knights approached me.

    ¡°Hey, have any adventurerse to this town?¡± (Knight Captain)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you all know very well that adventurers who know about this town would nevere here? Even if they did, they would onlye to escort the merchants. Even then, they would immediately leave for another ce.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± (Knight Captain)

    I was lying.

    I was not going to tell them the truth.

    ¡°If you doubt me, why don¡¯t you ask the Adventurers¡¯ Guild? If an adventurer came to this town without knowing anything, they would probably go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    Even if they went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, they would not get any information.

    Everyone hated the Knights and the Lord.

    ¡°If any adventurers arrive to the city, be sure to report them!¡± (Knight Captain)

    The knight yelled at me and walked away into the town.

    If it were true that those adventurers could save this town, I would tell as many lies as I needed to help them.

    *<i>Ca¡¯s POV</i>*

    Yuna and the Guild Master had teamed up together to get Primme-chan¡¯s sister back. However, I was working as usual at the reception desk of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The fact that there were no adventurers to take requests did not mean that the monsters had disappeared. There were still people who asked for help. I have to deal with them andpile information on requests from neighboring viges and people from other towns who havee here for business and seen monsters.

    But once that was done, I was free.

    Today¡¯s work quota waspleted, and while I was rxing, the knights came in.

    They looked different from usual.

    ¡°Hey, did some adventurers who hunted down monsterse in here?¡± (Knight Captain)

    They suddenly yelled at me as they came over to me.

    I didn¡¯t want them toe closer to me because their breath stank.

    But by adventurers, were they talking about Blitz and the others?

    Either way, I feigned ignorance.

    ¡°They won¡¯te to this deste Adventurers¡¯ Guild. I can¡¯t even do my job well because of the situation, as you all know.¡± (Ca)

    I replied a little sarcastically.

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± (Knight Captain)

    ¡°More importantly, please bring us the monsters.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°We didn¡¯t bring any today.¡± (Knight Captain)

    He was in a bad mood.

    ¡°What do you mean? Don¡¯t tell me that our information was wrong?¡± (Ca)

    We provided the Knights with information about the monsters.

    It pissed me off, but I had not fed them with false information.

    If I offered them false information, the people who did their best to bring the information would be in trouble with no one to handle the request.

    ¡°No, an unknown party of adventurers defeated the monsters first.¡± (Knight Captain)

    I see, so it was Blitz¡¯s party, huh.

    The same information was given to Blitz and the others as the knights.

    ¡°So there is no dismantling work to be done today, is there?¡± (Ca)

    If Blitz and the others continued to defeat the monsters, these knights would bring nothing again tomorrow.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t give you any magic stones today then.¡± (Ca)

    Without monsters to dismantle, I could not give any magic stones to them.

    Laughter was welling up inside me, but I tried not to let it show on my face.

    ¡°If that adventurer party everes here, report it to us!¡± (Knight Captain)

    The knight yelled at me and kicked a nearby chair out of the way to relieve his frustration.

    ¡°Hah, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen frustration on those knights¡¯ faces.¡± (Ca)

    It looked like Blitz and the others had gotten a head start and seeded in taking down the monsters.

    I knew they were capable, but it would have been tough to continuously fight a series of battles.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just Blitz who was strong; the other three women were also strong.

    If they were going to follow that man, they would have to be strong enough to defend themselves and protect that man¡¯s back to stay with him.

    It was fantastic to see them fight the Guild Master.

    ¡°I wonder if there was any good man out there somewhere.¡± (Ca)

    After we get this situation under control, I should try looking for a good man to be my partner.

    To achieve that, we have to do something about Primme-chan¡¯s sister.

    We would have a better future once this town was free of fairies.

    *<i>Guildmaster¡¯s POV</i>*

    I never thought I would lose to a girl dressed as a bear like that.

    What was that move? She avoided my attacks with ease and was not afraid of my attacks.

    I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not afraid of me.

    Normally, I would see emotions such as fear, anger, and more in a person¡¯s eyes, which speak louder than words.

    But that bear girl was different.

    Usually, when you wave a sword around, people be frightened or even hesitant to approach you.

    But her eyes were neither frightened nor puzzled.

    It was filled with observations.

    She was observing me, what kind of attack I was going to make, as well as what kind of habits I had, she seemed to be looking into every minute detail.

    The girl dodged my attacks smoothly. At first, I went easy on her, but she was so good that I got mad and attacked her with all my might, but it still didn¡¯t hit her.

    What surprised me the most was that she saw through my attack and started parrying it with a small knife.

    The girl also said, ¡°If you know the flow of power, it¡¯s easy to counter.¡±

    No, there was no way someone could do such a trick so easily. Moreover, just by looking at their target for a moment,

    It was as if I were fighting a veteran adventurer who had fought and survived many life-threatening battles.

    A first-rate adventurer must be able to sense danger, immediately spot an opponent¡¯s weaknesses, and win the fight.

    A young girl of no more than a few years of age should not be able to do that.

    That alone was already an impressive feat, but she could also use magic.

    I could understand what Blitz and the others said about them being no match for this youngdy.

    So I understand how she arrived in this town, along with that girl Noire.

    I didn¡¯t know where they came from, but the world was big.

    If Yuna had been here earlier, this town could have been saved much earlier too.

    *<i>Rosa¡¯s POV</i>*

    We returned after finishing our work on subduing monsters. Of course, it was impossible for us to fulfill all the requests, both in terms of the number of people and the time avable. Therefore, we onlypleted the requests that were near the town.

    Ca-san told us that the knights tended to defeat monsters from nearby ces. Therefore, we anticipated where the knights would confront the monsters and went there ahead of them to kill monsters.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in bed in a long time.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I need a bath.¡± (Ran)

    As we approached the entrance to the town, the gatekeeper ran up to us.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t carelessly approach the town. I hope no knights are patrolling outside.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fine. We checked the perimeter as we approached.¡± (Blitz)

    The Guild Master told us not to be noticed by the knights.

    We were wearing hoods so that we would not be recognized as adventurers from a distance.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of the horses, so get in quickly.¡± (Gatekeeper)

    We thanked him and entered the town. We took a less crowded street and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    We entered the guild through the back door.

    We were told to enter the Adventurers¡¯ Guild through the back door, as there was a possibility that someone might be monitoring the guild from the front.

    Once inside the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, a guild employee silently led us to Ca-san.

    ¡°Wee back.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°We¡¯re back.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°We¡¯ve taken care of the monsters in the area.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Excellent.¡± (Ca)

    We reported on the monsters we¡¯ve in.

    ¡°This many?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Compared to Yuna-chan, this is nothing.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Who is that girl really? She¡¯s not only dressed like a bear, but she¡¯s carrying a bear with her as well.¡± (Ca)

    ¡°We don¡¯t know why she¡¯s dressed like that either. As I recall, she said she had the blessing of the bears or something.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°She likes bears.¡± (Ran)

    Ran added as well as if that were the only answer she coulde up with.

    Well, Yuna was dressed like a bear. She also had two bears with her, Yuna-chan¡¯s house in Crimonia was shaped like a bear, and the store Yuna-chan owned was full of bears.

    Ran¡¯s conclusion was not strange. After all, that made more sense than being told that bears blessed Yuna.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been asked to work with her a few times, and we¡¯ve heard rumors about her.¡± (Rosa)

    I said, and Ran and Blitz continued.

    ¡°But I can tell you that Yuna-chan is a very strong and gentle girl, just like she looks. But she can be terrifying when she¡¯s angry, so be careful.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± (Ran)

    Monsters or people, if they provoked Yuna-chan, she would retaliate in full power.

    But she was a kind girl who would lend a hand if someone was in trouble.

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 Chapter 694

    <b>Bear-san, in a Discussion</b>

    We gathered at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to discuss the n to get Ronne back.

    ¡°That man is not worthy of my sister. I¡¯m going to wake her up even if I have to beat her.¡± (Primme)

    Primme said so in a firm tone.

    If Ronne were part of something heinous, she must be stopped.

    ¡°I hope you do.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°But what¡¯s so good about a man like that?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I agree. You¡¯d like a man like me.¡± (Guild Master)The Guild Master said to everyone as if asking for their agreement.

    But no one said a word of agreement.

    ¡°No, it should be a man like Blitz.¡± (Ca)

    At Ca-san¡¯s words, everyone turned their attention to Blitz.

    Blitz and the others have returned and joined in the talk about Ronne¡¯s retrieval.

    ¡°I¡¯m just an adventurer you can find anywhere. As a man, I¡¯m no match for Guild Master.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I guess only Blitz knows what a good man I am.¡± (Guild Master)

    If there were adventurers like Blitz who unknowingly hung out with women everywhere, it would cause huge problems everywhere.

    Well, it wouldn¡¯t affect me if adventurers behaved like Blitz, but many women who prefer a man like Blitz would be in a predicament.

    However, if I heard news that Blitz somehow ended up being stabbed by a woman, I would think, ¡°As expected¡± or ¡°I knew such a thing would happen one day¡±.

    There might also be some female-on-female conflict, so it would be best not to get involved with him.

    ¡°What is it, Yuna?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz asked when he noticed that I was ncing at him.

    ¡°Nothing, I was thinking that if Blitz ends up dying, it will not be because of monsters, but because of women.¡± (Yuna)

    Blitz looked at me with a visible ¡°?¡± look on his face, but Rosa-san and the others nodded their heads. There may have been various problems with women caused by him that I was unaware of.

    ¡°So the real question is, what are we going to do now?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to convince Ronne.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be easy to persuade her or to meet with her.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going to that house by myself.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t. That man probably knows about Primme.¡± (Yuna)

    I rejected Primme¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just my imagination at that time.¡± (Primme)

    Primme mentioned that the man who seemed to be the Lord was acting as if he were looking for Primme when she looked around and ended up in that room with Ronne¡¯s picture. From what we knew so far, the Lord could see Ronne. Since Primme and Ronne were sisters, there might be a possibility that Primme would also be on the same wavelength as that man. Making it dangerous if that man found her.

    ¡°So what are we going to do then?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I guess we¡¯ll just have to go into the mansion through the front door and ask something like, <i>[Give us Ronne back!]</i>¡± (Yuna)

    That would be the quickest way.

    Then we would just grab Ronne and run away, even if we had to force her.

    But everyone looked at me with dismay at my idea.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding, okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to cover it up.

    ¡°Of course you are¡­¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Of course.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re kidding. I thought Yuna-san would actually do it.¡± (Noa)

    Only Noa seemed to think differently.

    In fact, I was half-serious, so there was no mistake in her words.

    ¡°After all, Yuna-san, I heard about what you did when Misa was kidnapped ¨C You entered the nobleman¡¯s house head-on and defeated the soldiers. In the end, you even beat up the noble involved.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re joking about beating up a noble in their house¡­ right?¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a joke¡­ Noa likes to joke like that. Isn¡¯t she funny? Hahahaha.¡± (Yuna)

    I said, looking away.

    I think Noa was referring to the event during Misa¡¯s birthday party.

    Noa and Fina were attacked, and Misa was kidnapped, so I lost my temper and went on a rampage.

    Normally, it would be unthinkable for someone to raid a nobleman¡¯s mansion.

    [Noa, don¡¯t tell them anything too strange.] (Yuna)

    I whispered to Noa, who was sitting next to me.

    [Sorry. I was thinking that Yuna-san might do it since we are not dealing with monsters this time.] (Noa)

    Did Noa think of me as someone who would just attack anyone?

    I¡¯m a pacifist. I don¡¯t like conflict. That¡¯s the truth.

    I would never try to solve anything with violence.

    I will resort to using force if I feel that is needed as ast resort

    ¡°But I think we have to go to the mansion to see Ronne, regardless of whether we enter through the front gate or not.¡± (Yuna)

    Unless Ronne came to see us on her own ord, we could not meet her. Moreover, she disappeared after saying goodbye to us, so I doubt she¡¯d evere to see us.

    ¡°So, if we can¡¯t enter directly, maybe we can sneak in?¡± (Yuna)

    I suggested my second idea.

    ¡°Hmmm, is that the only way?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Well, I know you¡¯re strong, missy, but I don¡¯t think you should go in head-on because of the knights.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Knights, huh? They didn¡¯t look that strong, so a frontal attack should be more than possible.

    But that captain was different from the other knights.

    I wonder if he noticed my magic simply because he had good detection skills.

    ¡°Speaking of knights, they were angry at us, Adventurer¡¯ Guild, because they haven¡¯t been able to defeat any monsters thanks to Blitz and the others.¡± (Ca)

    Ca-sanughed as she remembered.

    Hearing that, Guild Master¡¯s expression changed as if he had thought of something.

    ¡°I have an idea. How about making the knights go somewhere far away, then? So far, the knights were basically fulfilling subjugation requests in nearby ces. But now, thanks to Blitz and the others, the requests from nearby ces should have been cleared up. So, the only choice for them to find monsters is to go a little further away, and I don¡¯t think they will be able to return quickly if I intentionally assign a request for them to a faraway ce.¡± (Guild Master)

    They would have to head to a distant location.

    ¡°Well, if that happens, we would have some window of time to move before theye back, right?¡± (Ca)

    ¡°Yeah. I think quite a few of the knights will have to leave the town, so it should be easier to break in.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°In that time, do you want us to go into the mansion to see Ronne-san?¡± (Noa)

    Noa confirmed Ca-san and the Guild Master¡¯s intention.

    ¡°You wanted to meet Ronne-chan, right?¡± (Guild Master)

    Instead of looking at Noa, they looked at me. I was nning to go, even if everyone stopped me.

    Whether it was through the front door or by sneaking in.

    ¡°Then it would be better if the knights were not there for a bit.¡± (Ca)

    Fifty people rather than a hundred, ten people rather than fifty. The fewer people remained, the less likely it was for them to find me.

    ¡°Well then, Ca-san, can you help us? Primme and I will go there to meet Ronne.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wait a minute. Wait, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Noa)

    Noa shouted.

    ¡°No, Noa, you can¡¯t.¡± (Yuna)

    I wouldn¡¯t expect a knight to hurt a child like Noa, but some adults in this world would mess with children without any remorse.

    But Noa did not back down.

    ¡°What if Ronne-san is hiding and won¡¯te out? I would know where Ronne-san is hiding.¡± (Noa)

    When she said that, I couldn¡¯t refute her.

    The fairies were tiny. They could be hiding in a wardrobe, in a small box, or in a tree in the garden. The Lord¡¯s mansion was huge as well. If she hid somewhere, it would be almost impossible for me to find her.

    But if Noa was with us, we would be able to tell the general direction of Ronne¡¯s location, which would make it easier for us to find her.

    ¡°Besides, maybe you might not be able to see Ronne-san, right?¡± (Noa)

    Originally, I should have not been able to see Ronne. However, I did not know if it was because Ronne was using the Lord¡¯s magic, but when she came to see Primme, I could see and speak with her.

    So, if she cut that connection off, I might not be able to see her.

    In that situation, only Primme would be able to see Ronne, making it more difficult to find her.

    This time, I lost to Noa in the argument.

    ¡°All right,¡± I said, ¡°but if I think it¡¯s dangerous, be sure to follow my instructions. Be sure to keep that promise.¡± (Yuna)

    That would be to escape in the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°Yes, I will keep my promise.¡± (Noa)

    If that was the case, I would not say anything more.

    Besides, I would also protect Noa no matter what.

    ¡°Then it would be better to reduce the risk as much as possible. I¡¯ll make a move on my part as well.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master said so.

    ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯ve been preparing for a long time. I¡¯m going to execute it.¡± (Guild Master)

    He said that he was nning to destroy the ces that might be connected to the cause of the magic power drain.

    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why we encountered you when we were following that knight.¡± (Yuna)

    The Guild Master was examining the watchtower.

    ¡°Yeah, thanks to Primme, we now know the structure inside the watchtowers and where the magic stones are ced. If we can destroy those watchtowers, the knights¡¯ magic power should be reduced.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°So if you seed, the knights¡¯ magic power will probably reduce, adding to that will be their fatigue from fighting monsters, then they won¡¯t have any power left to fight, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, if youdies manage to snag the fairy at that time and destroy whatever device connected to the magic draining mechanism, there should be nothing the Lord or the knights can do to stop you.¡± (Guild Master)

    But wouldn¡¯t they try to hold us off with brute force?

    ¡°But if we take Ronne-san back with us, I don¡¯t think the <b>remaining</b> knights will be enough to help the town after we are gone.¡± (Noa)

    (T/N: Noa was worried that there would not be enough knights left to protect the town after Yuna¡¯s rampage if all the knights got involved in the fight and tried to hold them off with brute force. She knew that Yuna would certainly incapacitate the knights.)

    Noa was right; our goal was simply to take Ronne away from this town.

    There was no need for me to destroy the knight order forcefully if we could avoid it.

    ¡°It is more important that you guys escape immediately with Ronne. However, if Ronne decides not to go with you and gives the knights even more power to stop you, things will be really troublesome.¡± (Guild Master)

    If Ronne wanted to stay with the Lord, she might decide to give more power to the knights to get rid of us. If that happened, it would certainly be troublesome.

    ¡°Besides, if the knights end up weakening, then it will be our responsibility to deal with the aftermath.¡± (Guild Master)

    They weren¡¯t that strong before, huh.

    ¡°Then should I be the one to break all the watchtowers?¡± (Yuna)

    I could easily break them with bear magic, I think.

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t know the limit of your power, but I don¡¯t want you to mistakenly break the walls. It will take time to repair them. It will also be disastrous if monsters attack during that time as the knights will be weakened and there are so few adventurers around.¡± (Guild Master)

    I thought I should be able to fix any damage I caused with magic, but I guess, there was also the chance of me not being able to return after we took Ronne back, making it impossible for me to fix the damages.

    ¡°So, please leave this to us.¡± (Guild Master)

    When he said that, I just had to leave it to him.

    After some discussion, it was decided that Noa, Primme, and I would break into the mansion and take back Ronne.

    The Guild Master, Blitz and the others were to destroy the devices that were stealing the magic power from the town¡¯s inhabitants.

    ¡°But there are five watchtowers that have devices to steal magic power, and I don¡¯t think the Guild Master and the others will be enough to destroy them all.¡± (Yuna)

    If they destroyed even one of those watchtowers, the knights would be alerted and make a move, but the Guild Master did mention that they were nning to destroy all the towers in one coordinated raid.

    That made me think that maybe some of the residents of the town would be involved. However, that would ultimately defeat the purpose of their n to help the residents by leading them into danger.

    ¡°What are you talking about? There are adventurers left in this town as well, you know?¡± (Guild Master)

    I remember. There were indeed adventurers who were in the corner of the guild before, some of them drinking from noon onwards.

    ¡°Those are the ones who stayed behind, hoping to one day rebuild the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in this town. Of course, some have nowhere to go, but most of them stayed for this day.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°They¡¯ve stayed until now, with very little money on hand left.¡± (ra)

    ¡°So, Primme, please. I¡¯m not going to hold a grudge against your sister or do anything to her. Nor do I want to punish you for it. I just want you and your sister to get out of this town.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll convince my sister and bring her back.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Guild Master)

    I would also do everything I could to help.

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 Chapter 695

    <b>Bear-San, In Action</b>

    We discussed the date of the move.

    ¡°Then we will take action in two days.¡± (Guild Master)

    We decided on that time after considering the approximate interval between each time town residents¡¯ magic power was drained.

    ¡°For my part, tomorrow would be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have things to do, too, so I need a day to prepare.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°For my part, I will need to carefully examine the various guild requests to find one that will need to be carried out at a ce that is neither too far away nor too close to ensure that the knight order will ept it.¡± (ra)

    If it was too far away, there was a possibility that the knights might not ept the request.¡°Well, since that¡¯s the case, you guys can rest and rx until the day of the event.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master and Ca-san got up from their seats and exited the room.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll take your words and rest, but what about Yuna and the others?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t want to be conspicuous, so I think we should head back to the inn.¡± (Yuna)

    There was nothing we could do right now. Our n will be in jeopardy if we get involved in any trouble.

    Noa looked disappointed at my words.

    ¡°Walking around the town is a bad idea after all, isn¡¯t it? I was eager to explore a bit of the town to study them.¡± (Noa)

    Come to think of it, Cliff had always asked Noa to study the towns that she visited.

    Perhaps she wanted to do that this time as well.

    ¡°Hey, Noire-chan, are you the daughter of some merchant family?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°The way she speaks, the way she thinks. She is not a normal child.¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran inquired about Noa¡¯s background.

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to tell us if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m just a little curious.¡± (Ran)

    Apparently, they were all aware that Noa was masquerading her identity.

    Noa and I looked at each other, wondering what to do.

    ¡°As long as Yuna-san is okay with it, I don¡¯t have a problem talking about it.¡± (Noa)

    Rosa-san and the others know that we are not residents of this town. They also know that we came to this country with the help of fairies. Either way, they will know about Noa¡¯s true identity once we return to Crimonia together. In the first ce, it would be fine for Rosa-san and the others to know about Noa.

    ¡°Noa is the daughter of the Lord of Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    Rosa-san and the others were surprised at my words.

    ¡°So Noire-chan is the daughter of a nobleman?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes, I am Noire Foschurose, daughter of Cliff Foschurose.¡± (Noa)

    Noa introduced herself like a youngdy.

    ¡°Am I going to be punished for disrespect?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I hope you will let me die in peace.¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran started to mutter strange things.

    Grimos was the only one who didn¡¯t speak, and her expression was indescribable.

    ¡°No, everyone else is not to me. If you¡¯re going to punish someone, make it just me.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to punish you all for disrespect. Besides, it¡¯s my fault for not revealing my identity to your party.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, thank you, Miss Noire¡­-sama¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san thanked her awkwardly.

    ¡°And please just call me Noire as you have always done.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san and the others looked at me as if asking for help.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I call her Noa too, and I call Noa¡¯s father Cliff.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±¡±¡­¡±¡±¡±

    Blitz and the others looked at me in disbelief.

    Well, it was not customary to address an aristocrat without mentioning their honorary title.

    ¡°Yuna-san can¡¯t be helped, but if you are speaking to me in front of Father or someone else, you can just change the way you speak to me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t be helped?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, because aside from me, I once heard from a merchant who was visiting Father that he was upset by the way you addressed Father. But Father told him not to worry about it andughed it off.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, then, when I go to the mansion, should I call you Noire-sama as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Please don¡¯t. If you call me that, I will get angry.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa puffed out her cheeks.

    ¡°Okay, Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked happy when I called her that.

    ¡°Then we will continue to call you Noire-chan as before, is that okay?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    With Noa¡¯s business over, we took a short detour back to the inn to fulfil her wishes.

    After returning to the inn, Noa and I rxed and took it easy.

    However, Primme was still restless or perhaps feeling uneasy.

    ¡°Hey, are you sure you two areing with me? It will probably be dangerous.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to go together. I will protect you if things go wrong, and Primme will convince Ronne-san to do the right thing.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°To tell you the truth, I am afraid, but I will do my best to find Ronne-san so that Primme-san can settle things with her.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡­Thank you, both of you.¡± (Primme)

    Primme smiled.

    We passed time for the entire day by spending time with Noa, Primme, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear. Rosa-san and Grimos arrived mid-day, and Primme was having a good time, although it was not exactly the time to rx.

    Then came the day of the mission. We waited at the inn for the contact since going outside would increase the risk of being discovered.

    We were not the only ones waiting; Blitz and the others were also with us.

    Noa said with her eyes closed, ¡°Ronne-san¡¯s connections (knights)¡­ they are moving out of town.¡±

    Noa closed her eyes and sensed the actions of the Knights.

    Noa could now tell what the Knights were doing as they got their power from Ronne.

    ¡°Also, there are reactions from the mansion and from inside the town.¡± (Noa)

    It could be the reaction of the Knights remaining in the mansion, the Knights making their rounds, or the Knights on the watchtowers.

    Noa further said that more than half of the responses went out of town.

    If that was half of their forces, things were going well.

    ¡°Then maybe it¡¯s about time.¡± (Yuna)

    The Knights left town just a while ago. We wanted to ensure they didn¡¯t suddenly return, so we waited a bit before moving out.

    After a few moments, there was a knock at the door, and a guild official, a receptionist, came in.

    ¡°Ca has a message for you. The knights have left the town. After this, the Guild Master and the adventurers will attack the watchtowers. If there is amotion, the knights still in the town, including the Lord¡¯s mansion, will gather around the Guild Master and his men. When they do, please enter the mansion.¡± (Receptionist)

    The woman exined what they were nning to do.

    ¡°Hey.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Receptionist)

    Yuna asked her with curiosity, ¡°Can you trust me dressed like this?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I was watching you when you fought the Guild Master. At first, I thought that you were just a pretty girl, but when I saw you fight the Guild Master, I knew you were the real deal. Like Ca, I have seen many adventurers, so I know whether they are capable.¡± (Receptionist)

    I guess that would mean this receptionist was one of the few remaining employees of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Please, let¡¯s make the Adventurers¡¯ Guild the vibrant ce it used to be.¡± (Receptionist)

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise the future of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. All I can do is to take the fairy who is with the Lord out of this town.¡± (Yuna)

    Even if the fairy was gone, it did not necessarily mean that adventurers would return to this town again. That was something I had no control over.

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s our job.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist smiled.

    ¡°Please, save the town.¡± (Receptionist)

    The receptionist bowed her head and walked out of the room.

    ¡°We have to do our best, don¡¯t we?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m definitely going to wake up my sister.¡± (Primme)

    This time it was not just about Primme and us. There were many things at stake. We didn¡¯t know what the future held, but we had to get Ronne out of this town no matter what.

    We left the room, and just as we were about to go down the stairs, Blitz and the others came out of their rooms. Together, we moved to the first floor.

    On the first floor, the innkeeper¡¯s daughter, who had no idea what would happen, sent us off with a smile and said, ¡°Have a good day¡±.

    For the sake of her future, we must return her town to the way it was.

    We said our goodbyes and left the inn.

    I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been transformed into cubs and hid in the forest near the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    It was quiet.

    With my detection skills, I checked the inside of the mansion.

    The people inside the mansion were scattered, but a light count showed me that around 30 people were still in the mansion.

    I assume there were maids, cooks, and other servants as well, so the number of knights should be fewer than this.

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m nervous because I¡¯ve never broken into someone¡¯s house or anything like that.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone usually does¡­ because breaking into someone else¡¯s house without permission is something thieves do.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, I have. I¡¯ve gone inside some houses when I¡¯ve been to a vige before.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°That¡¯s not something to brag about.¡± (Yuna)

    Since ordinary people could not see fairies, they could invade houses as much as they wanted.

    ¡°Yuna-san, there¡¯s smoke.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who was looking in the opposite direction of the mansion, said in a small voice.

    It signaled that the Guild Master, Blitz, and the other adventurers had attacked the watchtowers where the magic-draining devices were installed.

    The smoke was intended to inform those of us who were far away and to make the knights in town think that something had happened at the watchtowers. The knights in the mansion also noticed the smoke, and about ten knights rushed out of the mansion.

    ¡°When those knights leave, we¡¯ll make our way into the mansion.¡± (Noa)

    That was the strategy we discussed with the Guild Masters.

    But considering the number of knights, it seemed better to take them down here.

    ¡°That was the n, but I¡¯ll go deal with them right now.¡± (Yuna)

    If these knights went to where the Guild Master and the others were, the Guild Master and the others may suffer a pincer attack.

    Even if these knights did not aim for that, many knights still patrolled around the town. All those knights should also be rushing to where the Guild Master and the others were. The fewer of them there, the better our chances of winning.

    ¡°But, Yuna-san, that¡¯s not part of the n¡­¡± (Noa)

    The Guild Master and the others knew the risk, and they took the bait.

    But if too many knights reached the watchtowers, the lives of the Guild Master and the others would be in danger.

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear take care of Noa and Primme. I will return soon.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuhn.¡±¡±

    I left the forest and stood in front of the knights at a distance from the mansion.

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 Chapter 696

    <b>Bear-san Fighting Knights</b>

    I stood before the Knights.

    One of the knights asked, ¡°What?¡±

    Following that, another knight reacted, ¡°Bear?¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here, mydy?¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°This is not the ce for you.¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°Or are you here for us?¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°Sorry but, don¡¯t waste our time.¡± (Knight ???)¡°Go away.¡± (Knight ???)

    Ignoring them, I tried to walk through.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you leave this ce.¡± (Yuna)

    With those words, I made a surprise attack.

    Numerous bars of dirt were erected from the ground and surrounded the Knights like a jail. The rods bent in the middle and became a giant dome, blocking the ceiling.

    ¡°A magician!¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to stay in there for a while¡­¡± (Yuna)

    As I was about to move on, a Knight drew his sword, shed at the prison, and broke it.

    Even though it was made of y, it was still hardened by magic, so it should not have been that easy to break.

    When I caught some bandits before during the King¡¯s birthday celebration, I caught them the same way. So it was a surprise that the cage was easily broken.

    ¡°Little girl, do you know who we are and what we¡¯re doing?¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°Are you by any chance involved in the surrounding smoke?¡± (Knight ???)

    His gaze changed, and he red at me.

    I was not following the agreed n, but my decision to hold them back here was correct.

    If I let these Knights go to the Guild Master and the others, they would have been in big trouble.

    So, I have to take care of these Knights here.

    That way, I could also do my part without worrying.

    If they could escape from a regr cage, I had to trap them using bears.

    With that n in mind, I summoned earth bears from the ground and surrounded the Knights.

    This time, I was not careful enough, so I could not encircle all of them.

    But the ones caught would not be able to escape.

    The bears surrounding them closed in, and I created a ceiling.

    That captured about three of them.

    The knight trapped in the Bear Cage swung his sword down toward the pir bear, but his sword sh only bounced off.

    ¡°What the heck. I can¡¯t cut it.¡± (Knight ???)

    It seemed like they could not break my bear magic.

    Bear magic was the strongest.

    The Knights who avoided the bear enclosure tried to rescue the others that were trapped in the Bear Cage, but they failed.

    I created more bear cages around the Knights trying to rescue trapped knights.

    ¡°Get away! Stop, or you will also be caught!¡± (Knight ???)

    One of the Knights yelled.

    Hearing themands, the Knights moved away from the cage to escape.

    They were quick in making judgements.

    A Knight raised his voice to bark instructions to the surrounding Knights who were not trapped. This knight cut the first cage to escape and was not caught in the Bear Cage. He may be their captain.

    ¡°She may look strange, but she¡¯s more powerful than the magicians around here. You need to brace yourself. Don¡¯t underestimate her just because she¡¯s dressed funny.¡±

    He was different from the captain I met outside the city, but he seemed to be a good Knight, unlike the other Knights. He also didn¡¯t insult me because I was a girl dressed as a bear.

    The only thing that irritated me was him pointing out my outfit.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°You little prick!¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°¡­!¡± (Knight ???)

    About three Knights attacked me without thinking. I guess they still have some sense of reason because they haven¡¯t pulled out their swords.

    A man who looked like a captain shouted, ¡°Wait!¡± but it was toote.

    I avoided the Knight¡¯s arm and punched him in the stomach.

    Bear punch, Bear punch, Bear punch.

    The three Knights who were hit by my bear punches flew backwards.

    The direction they flew away to was the Bear Cage.

    I created a gap between the bears big enough for a person to pass through. Then I sent the Knights through the gap, trapping them inside the cage. Finally, I closed the gap I created.

    ¡°The rest of you, please stay in the cage.¡± (Yuna)

    I said, which seemed to have pissed off the rest of the Knights.

    One of the Knights drew his sword.

    There were five of them left.

    ¡°Will you¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Surround her.¡± (Captain)

    The five of them moved to surround me.

    ¡°Do you know that we are fairy Knights?¡± (Captain)

    ¡°Yes, I know. But do you think this is the right way to harness the power of fairies?¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t be harsh with my words on the Knights. After all, I was also taking advantage of the power of a God.

    Hearing my words, the Knights suddenly got angry.

    People get angry when they are told the truth, huh?

    The captain-looking knight giving the orders was the one person I needed to watch out for in this situation. His judgment and skill were a step ahead of the other Knights.

    The Knights kept their distance from me and waited for the right moment to attack.

    The captain¡¯s face drooped a little. He then gave the signal.

    The Knights surrounding me moved, but I moved one step faster than them. I ran towards the man who seemed to be the captain.

    One of the Knights tried to intercept me with his sword. I sessfully dodged his attack, but he quickly shed again.

    He reacted quickly.

    But I parried the sword with the ck bear knife I took out of my bear box. Just as I was about to strike him, another Knight attacked me from behind. Perhaps it was because of the power of fairies enhancing their abilities, making everyone move fast.

    But I was faster. I created a wall behind my back with earth magic.

    The captain in front of me looked astonished.

    There was no time to y around. I stepped forward and hit him in the stomach with a Bear-san uppercut from bottom to top.

    His face contorted in pain as he was sent flying upward. He fell on top of the Bear Cage. I then opened the ceiling of the cage, making him fall inside the cage.

    I was holding back so he didn¡¯t fall from a very high ce, but it was still a good amount of distance, so he should be suffering a concussion.

    After falling to the ground, the captain was in pain and could not get up.

    The remaining four Knights watched the scene in dismay.

    ¡°Captain!¡± (Knight ???)

    What was there to worry about the captain?

    Even if they possessed the power of fairies, their ability to act and judge the situation was still lower than that of the captain.

    Simply put, even if they have gained power, they have not changed. Their added power was simply like pearls to a swine.

    If you gain power, you must make the effort to learn to fully master it.

    After losing their captain, the remaining four Knights attacked me without any coordination.

    I easily knocked them out and locked the remaining Knights in the Bear Cage one by one.

    ¡°Alright, done.¡± (Yuna)

    I pped my Bear-san puppets as if to brush the dust off my hands.

    They were not weak, but they were utterly unskilled.

    ¡°What are you?¡± (Captain)

    A Knight shouted from the gap in the Bear Cage.

    ¡°I¡¯m just here to get the Fairy back.¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne may not be mine, but she was Primme¡¯s family. So I was not wrong.

    ¡°Lady Ronne¡­¡± (Captain)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Ronne-sama is the one who gave us our power.¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°You can¡¯t take her away from us.¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°Ronne-sama is ours to protect.¡± (Knight ???)

    Was it possible that they adore Ronne?

    ¡°No, she¡¯s not yours. She¡¯s my sister!¡± (Primme)

    I wondered when she approached us¡­ Primme also showed herself to the Knights trapped in the Bear Cage and yelled at them.

    ¡°A Fairy?¡± (Captain)

    The noisy Knights grew silent the moment they saw Primme.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bring my sister back, I promise.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Ronne-sama said she has nowhere to go.¡± (Captain)

    ¡°She was taken hostage by a man called the Lord of this town.¡± (Primme)

    Ronne told us that she didn¡¯t want to follow us, but I naturally wouldn¡¯t mention that.

    If I told them, we would be in trouble.

    ¡°The lord of this town¡­¡± (Captain)

    ¡°So, I will definitely bring my sister back. She¡¯s an important member of my family.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Family¡­¡± (Captain)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but do you know where Ronne is in the mansion?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Captain)

    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡± (Knights)

    The Knights exchanged nces.

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t know. We only see her once in a while. Besides, the Lords won¡¯t let me see her on our own.¡±

    I guess we have to bring Noa with us, after all.

    I wouldn¡¯t have to take Noa with me if I had information on Ronne¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. You¡¯re going to have to stay in there for a while. I¡¯ll let you out when everything is over.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Who the heck are you, girl? Why did you have to beat us?¡± (Knight ???))

    ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer who this fairy asked to rescue her sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°An adventurer¡­ How did you manage to beat us?¡± (Knight ???)

    ¡°You are asking how I beat you? Simple, even if the help of a fairy boosted your power, that didn¡¯t mean your basic skills were improved. The only one who was decent was that Knight over there.¡± (Yuna)

    I turned to look at the Knight, who seemed to be their captain.

    I wondered if he was sitting because he was in pain from being knocked to the ground.

    ¡°Although you gained power, your actions and judgment are still below par. It¡¯s a sign ofziness.¡± (Yuna)

    The knights fell silent.

    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry. Can you toss out your weapons? I don¡¯t want you to attack me after I let you go. Or do you want me to burn you?¡± (Yuna)

    I created a fireball and threatened them.

    I didn¡¯t want them to attack me after I let them go.

    The Knights looked at their captain.

    ¡°¡­Okay.¡± (Captain)

    The one who looked like the captain tossed his sword through the gap between the bears.

    Then, the other knights threw theirs as well.

    Now, they should not be able to attack us even if I release themter.

    After capturing the knights, I called Noa, and she hugged me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was scared, it made me think that if something happened to Yuna-san, I couldn¡¯t do anything to help and would only be a burden.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You know how strong I am, don¡¯t you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that you were in a dangerous situation¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡± (Yuna)

    I pat Noa¡¯s head gently.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go find Ronne.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    ¡°Sister, I¡¯m on my way!¡± (Primme)

    We started walking towards the mansion.

    ¡°But, will we still be going undercover, even though the knights here have already discovered us?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Even if they did encounter us, it¡¯s not like the Lord or Ronne saw us.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that how it works?¡± (Primme)

    There have been games in which we have to infiltrate and kill enemies from behind to reach our destination.

    The core tactic behind those games was that even if you were discovered, you simply needed to prevent those who saw you from telling others about you.

    Those Knights in the cage couldn¡¯t escape, so they should not be able to report us to their Lord.

    The only way we could fail in sneaking in would be if the knights assigned to the city ground or those who went outside the town came back and discovered the trapped knights.

    Currently, the Guild Master and the others were making a scene to attract the knights who were inside the town. On the other hand, those who went outside the city should have no way of knowing what was happening in town.

    ¡°And, look, if Ronne finds out we¡¯re here, she might show up on her own. If she doesn¡¯t show up, we can just let Noa do her best.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m worried that Yuna-san will ruin the strategy that the Guild Master and the others have worked so hard toe up with.¡± (Noa)

    I felt like I was being told something terrible.

    ¡°Yuna, Noa,e on, let¡¯s go!¡± (Primme)

    I ignored what Noa said and followed Primme.

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 Chapter 697

    <b>Bear-san meets Ronne</b>

    Having locked the Knights in the Bear Cage, we sneakily headed toward the mansion to avoid being seen from the windows.

    ¡°Yuna-san, the walls are too high.¡± (Noa)

    Naturally, the mansion was surrounded by high walls to prevent intrusion. I could use magic to build a staircase, but I would also have to build one on the other side to get down.

    So¡­

    ¡°Noa,e here for a minute.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Noa)

    I held Noa in my arms as she approached me.

    A princess carry.¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Quiet!¡± (Yuna)

    Noa raised her voice at my actions, so I warned her.

    ¡°¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa covered her mouth with her hand.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to jump over the wall, so keep your mouth closed tightly.¡± (Yuna)

    I warned her that she would be in trouble if she bit her tongue.

    After confirming with my detection skill that no one was nearby, I jumped over the wall. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped over after me, and Primme flew over.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please don¡¯t suddenly carry me. It startled me.¡± (Noa)

    Noained in a whisper as I set her down on the ground.

    ¡°Besides, I was not ready to be suddenly lifted up and carried over a wall and thennding on the ground.¡± (Noa)

    It might be simr to bungee jumping for her.

    But exining my n and then waiting for Noa to get mentally prepared would have wasted a lot of time in this urgent situation.

    ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll jump after you tell me you are ready.¡± (Yuna)

    I ignored Noa¡¯s protests and, using my detection skills, started walking in the direction where there were no people.

    Noa silently followed me.

    ¡°Noa, do you know how many more knights there are?¡± (Yuna)

    My detection skill could tell the number of people, but it could not distinguish between knights and civilians. When I asked, Noa closed her eyes.

    ¡°They are scattered, but I can sense around five connections in this mansion.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Can you sense Ronne¡¯s presence?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. As we are really close right now, I feel a strong connection from that direction.¡± (Noa)

    Noa pointed in the direction Ronne was supposedly at.

    ¡°Primme¡¯s sister is just up ahead.¡± (Noa)

    Seeing Primme barely restrain herself from jumping out, I reminded her not to act alone. In return, I promised to make sure she sees Ronne.

    After confirming with my detection skills that no one was around, I entered the mansion through what looked like a back door.

    Thanks to my detection skills, I could tell where people were and proceed safely through the corridors and around the corners.

    ¡°Yuna-san, are you sure we can continue going ahead as fast as we are currently going?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Because there¡¯s no one around. But if I tell you to stop or to be quiet, you must follow my instructions.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa nodded.

    We slowly moved forward to Ronne¡¯s location as indicated by Noa. With Noa¡¯s and my help, we should be able to find Ronne easily.

    ¡°There are people in this room, so we¡¯ll pass quietly.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa and Primme nodded. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also let out a small ¡°ku¡± sound.

    With my detection skills, I could tell that there was someone in this room, and since Noa said she couldn¡¯t sense any connection inside, it may be a servant who works there.

    Using this method, we made good progress through the mansion.

    ¡°Is Ronne getting closer?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can feel her from close by. It is a little further. But I feel another response nearby. Maybe it¡¯s a knight because it¡¯s a weak connection.¡± (Noa)

    Indeed, there was a human response.

    And it was moving toward us. If we continued on, the Knight would find us.

    It would take a lot of time even if we tried to go around.

    I would have appreciated it if I could go behind that knight like in a manga and knock him out with a smack on the neck, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have that kind of skill.

    Could that be done in the first ce?

    As we were looking for somewhere to hide, we heard a small cry from Swaying Bear, who had turned into a bear cub. I checked with my detection skills, and a new response wasing from behind us.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Swaying Bear-chan?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Someone ising from behind.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa immediately closed her eyes at my words.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t detect Ronne¡¯s presence from that person.¡± (Noa)

    If Noa didn¡¯t sense any connection, then it wasn¡¯t a knight. A servant?

    If we remained like this, we would be caught in the middle.

    I looked around the corridor.

    There was a door in front of us.

    I moved in front of the door and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked.

    I entered the room with Noa and the others.

    I put my ear to the door.

    ¡°Dorito!¡± (???)

    ¡°Rena?¡± (???)

    ¡°The knights just left, what happened?¡± (Rena)

    A man and a woman started talking at the door.

    Don¡¯t talk, just go away.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t know? Smoke went up from the town. That¡¯s why some of the knights left.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°And Dorito?¡± (Rena)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think all the knights can leave the mansion. The Lord is not well-liked by the people of the town, so you never know what might happen.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°I agree. After the Master died, his son Master Bellung came back from the royal capital and started studying fairies, and after Master Ronne showed up, the people around here have changed.¡± (Rena)

    ¡°Yes, some of the residents resent the Lord for going mad because of the fairies.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°It used to be said that the fairies brought happiness, but the only ones who are happy are the Lord and you knights who were given the power.¡± (Rena)

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean this power willst forever. If Ronne-sama doesn¡¯t give it to us continuously, we will lose it. That is the extent of this power. But there are knights who are fascinated by it.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°And you?¡± (Rena)

    ¡°I was delighted to gain more power. But the people who wielded this power soon aimed it at the town¡¯s inhabitants. This power should be wielded against the nearby monsters. I would have been thrilled if I could challenge stronger knights outside this town and monsters in other ces, like the royal capital. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I am not happy receiving this blessing. I have decided to protect Ronne-sama as repayment for giving me such power.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°How does Ronne-sama look?¡± (Rena)

    ¡°Well, I guess you don¡¯t know, but you don¡¯t need to know. Ronne-sama can make herself invisible and rarely shows herself to people. I said I am willing to protect her, but I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t think much of me or anyone else.¡± (Dorito)

    ¡°Well, I suppose so. To be fair, I don¡¯t think anyone would break inside this mansion.¡± (Rena)

    The voices gradually became more distant. Even my detection skills confirmed that they were moving away.

    They doubt anyone would be breaking in here, huh?

    ¡°Why do they think it was a blessing that my sister is giving them power? It is not even a power they can use properly¡­¡± (Primme)

    Primme wasining about the knight¡¯s words, but those words also stabbed me, so I didn¡¯t respond.

    I have be strong thanks to my Bear Equipment, which God granted me. If God decided to antagonize me, what would I do? Would I fight that God? If the power of this bear equipment was made up of things taken from other people, would I be able to separate myself from it? If I had to part with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, would I be able to do it?

    ¡°Yuna-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Nothing.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried cing myself in the position of the Knights, but I could not answer my doubts.

    All I could think about now was meeting Ronne.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go to Ronne¡¯s ce. Do you know where she is?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I do. I have confirmed it.¡± (Noa)

    We left the room and headed back to Ronne¡¯s ce.

    ¡°I can feel her presence through this door.¡± (Noa)

    There was an iron door in front of us.

    The door was tightly closed. But something unnatural had been drilled in the top part of the door, a hole big enough for a fairy to pass through.

    ¡°My sister is just beyond this door.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Primme!¡± (Yuna)

    Knowing that Ronne was simply beyond the door, Primme went ahead of us, passing through the hole in the iron door.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what should we do?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going in.¡± (Yuna)

    I used a miniature bear cutter to cut a joint in the gap between the door and the wall where I think the lock was supposed to be.

    The door opened.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    We opened the door and followed Primme.

    Beyond the iron door were stairs that led down to a basement.

    I think there should be lights somewhere, but I used magic to create lights as we descended the stairs.

    ¡°Sister!¡± (Primme)

    I heard Primme yell.

    Me, Noa, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear ran down the stairs.

    ¡°Sister, let¡¯s go home!¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Primme, why did youe here? I told you to forget about me and go home on your own.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± (Primme)

    We went down the stairs to arge room.

    In the center of the room were Primme and Ronne.

    ¡°That fairy is Primme-san¡¯s sister, Ronne-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa was sleeping when Ronne came to the inn, so this was the first time she saw Ronne.

    ¡°I suppose you brought those humans along with you.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne noticed us.

    ¡°Why would my sister do something bad to humans? That¡¯s not the sister I know.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Sorry. There is someone in this ce that I couldn¡¯t leave behind. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t leave this town.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne said andnded on top of something.

    ¡°Yuna-san, someone seems to be sleeping there.¡± (Noa)

    Noa was right. Was that an altar? A person was sleeping on what looked like an altar or a bed.

    Ronne was snuggled up to the person sleeping in the bed-like structure.

    We approached.

    A man was sleeping.

    Was this the Lord?

    Why would a Lord be sleeping here in the basement?

    There were magic circles painted on the floor, and magic stones were set all over the ce.

    My head was spinning in confusion.

    Could I be wrong about many things?

    ¡°May I ask you something?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Who is that sleeping man? He is not a Lord, is he?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t put him together with those people.¡± (Ronne)

    I knew it. He¡¯s not a Lord.

    ¡°Then who is he?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The man who can see me. He is my precious.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne gently touched the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yuna-san, this is¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t the Lord of this town the one who can see you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake, please don¡¯tpare him to that person. That person is¡­¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne retorted angrily.

    I was mistaken.

    We thought the Lord was Ronne¡¯s partner, but we were wrong. The man sleeping here was Ronne¡¯s partner. But why was Ronne¡¯s partner sleeping here in the basement? He was also very skinny.

    The iron door that we entered, the basement, the magic circle, the magic stones, the skinny guy, who didn¡¯t wake up¡­

    I could only imagine what unpleasant things this could be.

    ¡°It seems that I, Primme, and the people of the town have misunderstood many things, Ronne, so tell me about the rtionship between that sleeping man and Ronne, and also about the Lords of this town. Without hearing that, neither Primme nor we will know what to do from now on.¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne looked at Primme and us.

    ¡°¡­sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne started to speak up.

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 Chapter 698

    <h4>Chapter 698</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Listens to Ronne¡¯s Story</b>

    The man lying in bed was named Ryan.

    He seemed to be the one who could see Ronne. Ronne came to this town at Ryan¡¯s request, and then she met the Lord. After meeting the Lord, Ryan told her that they had been studying fairies and whether Ronne could help them with their research.

    The Lord had locked Ryan up and taken away his magical power so that he could have Ronne for himself. This situation continues to this day.

    Ronne also exined how this room was giving magical power to Ryan. As well as why Ronne was depriving the residents of their magical power to supply it to Ryan. Basically, Ryan would die if the magical power being supplied to him was cut off.

    She also told us the reason for giving some of the knights power to defeat the opposition of the residents and monsters.

    Ronne told us everything.

    ¡°Sis¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Poor Ronne-san.¡± (Noa)

    In other words, the Lord was jealous of Ryan being able to see Ronne, a fairy and went to such lengths to be able to imprison Ronne for himself.

    I was appalled and could not say anything.

    But there were people who would alienate, hate, and forcibly take away what they wanted from the other person if that person had what they wanted.

    ¡°So the magic circles in this room are for supplying magic power, then?¡± (Yuna)

    The floor was fitted with magic circles and stones around the ce where Ryan wasid down.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°But how can it enhance the knights¡¯ powers?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works, I just know that the two of them have done some research and found out that it can be done.¡± (Ronne)

    From what Noa and Cliff have told me, fairies have been considered dreamlike existences, and it was considered good luck if you could meet one. Because of this, not much was known about fairies.

    Perhaps no one who could see fairies ever tried to study them in so much depth.

    ¡°Also, how do they keep Ryan-san¡¯s magic power flowing to the Lord?¡± (Yuna)

    I think it would be possible if they were near each other, imaginatively speaking. Even in the manga, they would say, ¡°Use my magic!¡± and then hand over the magic power. But even that was only possible if they were close to each other and touched each other.

    When I taught Fina and Noa how to use magic, I held their hands and let the magic power flow through them.

    But as far as Ronne was concerned, the magic was still flowing from Ryan to the Lord at this very moment.

    ¡°Look at his body.¡± (Ronne)

    I resisted looking at the sleeping man¡¯s body, but I did as I was told.

    He was so emaciated that it was a wonder how he was still alive.

    ¡°Noa, you don¡¯t have to look at him.¡± (Yuna)

    I told Noa, who was about to look at Ryan.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Noa)

    Noa answered emphatically.

    Like Fina, Noa was strong.

    ¡°So, how will we know just by looking at his body?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just roll up his clothes wherever you want.¡± (Ronne)

    A 15-year-old maiden would be a little ufortable rolling up a sleeping man¡¯s clothes, but we did as Ronne suggested and lightly rolled up his clothes.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Both Noa and I were speechless.

    His arms, legs, and body were covered in what looked like magic circles.

    ¡°The magic circles on his body channel magic power to that man.¡± (Ronne)

    After looking around the room, I looked at the man¡¯s body again.

    ¡°So this room is for putting magic power into Ryan and those magic circles on Ryan¡¯s body are for channeling magic power to the Lord.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If we carry Ryan-san away from here¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa noticed what I was thinking.

    She¡¯s quick-witted.

    ¡°If we took Ryan-san away from this room, he would no longer be able to receive a supply of magic power, but his magic power would still continue to be drained.¡± (Ronne)

    It would have been easiest if taking Ryan out of this room would cut off the magic flowing to the Lord.

    ¡°What, what do you mean?¡± (Primme)

    Primme was the only one who seemed to need help understanding.

    ¡°We can¡¯t take him out of here. If we do, he might die. And Ronne can¡¯t leave this ce without him.¡± (Ronne)

    So Ronne was at the mercy of the Lord, who basically treated her like a pet.

    That made me furious.

    ¡°On top of that, my little body couldn¡¯t take him out of here and run away.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°¡­Sis.¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked at Ronne, who had a sad expression on her face.

    ¡°I see. So, can we disable these <b>unusual patterns</b>?¡± (Primme)

    Primmended on the sleeping man¡¯s stomach and began rubbing it with her small hands, but the magic circle never disappeared.

    ¡°Primme¡­¡± (Ronne)

    I scrubbed the magic circle on his arm with my Bear-san puppet, but there was no change.

    I may try using detergent, but I doubt it would work¡­ I wonder.

    There was no oil-based magic marker in this world, and I doubt it was a tattoo either.

    ¡°What did the Lord use to draw these?¡± (Yuna)

    If we could figure that out, we could perhaps erase them.

    If we could erase them, we could take Ryan out of this room.

    ¡°I think it was probably drawn by magic.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said, staring at the magic circles painted on the man.

    ¡°Drawn by magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. There are many ways to draw magic circles. Like the ones that dig trenches in the ground to get a longsting effect.¡± (Noa)

    Ah, the pyramids in the desert were like that. Then again, Mumroot-san¡¯s carpets would be the same.

    ¡°If it¡¯s for temporary use, it can be drawn with a regr pen. But the magic circle on this person¡¯s body seems to have been drawn using magic.¡± (Noa)

    After saying this, Noa created light magic, and a pattern appeared on the ground. She ced the light magic on top of it.

    ¡°What is this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It is a lighting magic circle. Simply put, it¡¯s a magic circle that will continuously supply magic power to this light magic for a good amount of time. Usually, you would need like 10 units of magic mower when casting light magic to make it glow for 1 minute. However, with this magic circle, you may keep it glowing longer by only consuming as little as 1 unit of magic power, which means it can stay glowing 10 times longer than a normal cast. However, the brightness will be weaker inparison.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That is remarkable, Noa. I didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I have been studying magic recently.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked happy to be praised.

    ¡°So, if it¡¯s painted using one¡¯s own magic, won¡¯t it disappear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will easily disappear, or it will be erased by just rubbing it off or something. It might only disappear if the magic power ispletely erased.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then, what about breaking the magic circles with magic?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If it was drawn on the ground, we could have tried it, but¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at Ryan, who was sleeping.

    We couldn¡¯t try it on people.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that! If we do that, Ryan will die.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne was right. It would be very dangerous to use attack magic to deal with magic circles on Ryan¡¯s body.

    Maybe I could do it with some recovery magic, but that¡¯s thest thing I wanted to try¡­

    ¡°So I think Ryan-san¡¯s magic circle will not disappear as long as the magic power used to create this magic circle persists.¡± (Noa)

    The source of the magic power that this magic circle used was Ryan¡¯s.

    And he remained asleep. Despite being unconscious, his magical power still flew to the Lord. His supply of magic power wasing from this room.

    If he was moved out from here, the supply of magic power to him would be cut off, but the magic power would still flow to the Lord. If this happened, his magical power would only decrease unterally, and the Lord would continue to drain him of magic power.

    In such a situation, he would¡­

    First, we have to break the connection between him and the Lord.

    ¡°If we move him farther away, will the flow of magic power to the Lord stop?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Come to think of it, I was once doing some research to see how far apart the two of them could be¡­¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne started to say such things.

    ¡°Really? How far apart can you be?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I remember that guy being happy that he could see me even when we were separated from Ryan when he was outside this mansion doing some work.¡± (Ronne)

    Was that the limit?

    ¡°So what about outside this town or even further away than that?¡± (Ronne)

    If I brought him to Crimonia¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, we haven¡¯t really verified going that far out.¡± (Ronne)

    Well, I guess they simply didn¡¯t think about it.

    If it was something simple like, ¡°How far does a walkie-talkie signal go?¡± Surely, one could easily find out.

    They could look at the manual or ask the manufacturers.

    ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s give it a try.¡± (Yuna)

    If you don¡¯t know something, just try it. That¡¯s how people grow.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take him to a very faraway ce and see if I can break the magical link with the Lord using that method.¡± (Yuna)

    I also didn¡¯t want to damage the magic circles in this room and make it unusable just for precaution.

    ¡°That man will notice us while we carry Ryan far away. Besides, we don¡¯t know how far away we have to go to break the connection¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis, Yuna can use something like a fairy mirror.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Prinne¡­ well, fine, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Ronne)

    I brought out the Bear Transfer Gate and connected it to Crimonia.

    Noa, Primme and Ronne soon followed when I went inside the door.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne wondered while looking around the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was connected.

    ¡°Just think of it as an awfully far away ce.¡± (Yuna)

    I did not know the distance, but if Rosa-san and the others were right, we should be quite far from that town.

    I made sure everyone, including Ryan, moved to the bear house in Crimonia and closed the Bear Transfer Gate. If the connection to the Lord were to disappear, half of the n would be aplished.

    Iid Ryan down on the sofa of the bear house.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Maybe it worked?¡± (Ronne)

    I thought, but it didn¡¯t work out as we expected.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Ryan!¡± (Ronne)

    The man started to agonize.

    The connection was not broken.

    I opened the Bear Transfer Gate, returned to the original room, andid the man on his bed.

    The man started to calm down, as if his magic power had returned to normal.

    From the result of the experiment, I concluded that he could not be moved.

    My only choice would be to ask the Lord how to get rid of the magic circles.

    While I was thinking about what to do, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed and looked toward the stairs where we hade from.

    I used my detection skills.

    There was a human reactioning from the direction of the stairs.

    Someone was approaching fast.

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 Chapter 699

    <b>Bear-san, Talk with a Knight</b>

    ¡°Yuna-san, I am sensing an enchanted Knight is approaching us.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said as she looked at the staircase. Steady footsteps could be hearding from there. Then, the owner of the footsteps appeared in the room. It was undoubtedly a knight, just as Noa said.

    ¡°I thought a rat entered the room, but it was a bear, huh?¡± (Knight)

    This man¡­the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

    ¡°Cyrus. Why are you here? Didn¡¯t you go outside of town to kill monsters?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ronne-sama is here too, huh? And what are you doing here?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Rather than asking me why I¡¯m here, I¡¯d like to ask you why you¡¯re here. I thought that man told you not toe in here.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I was looking for you because there was an intruder in the house.¡± (Cyrus)He was looking for intruders? That would mean us, I guess?

    ¡°I just came to check the door, which was supposed to be closed, but the lock was broken.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Well, then, since you checked, why don¡¯t you go away now?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Not so fast. As a knight in the service of this mansion, I can¡¯t just leave you with two strangers and a bear in this room. Above all, if I see another fairy.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man Ronne called Cyrus looked at Primme.

    Primme hid behind me, but it was toote.

    Making Primme visible backfired.

    ¡°Yuna¡­¡± (Primme)

    Primme said my name anxiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to Primme to reassure her and turned my attention to the knight.

    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in the bear girl than anything else.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You fought outside the mansion against ten knights, right?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Were you watching that battle?¡± (Yuna)

    Did he witness my fight?

    But that ce was quite a distance from the mansion.

    ¡°I was expecting somebody toe to the mansion, so I waited.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there was no one nearby.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There are many ways to see at that distance.¡± (Cyrus)

    Telescopes, magic, sure, there were ways to observe.

    But someone would only use them if they knew we wereing.

    From what the man said earlier.

    ¡°So, was the Lord expecting us toe here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Information is not something that can be concealed. You have to make sure that everyone who knows the information keeps their mouths shut. But I can also make a person talk.¡± (Cyrus)

    When the number of associates with important secrets increases, there will be many targets from which information can be obtained. And from the perspective of the person who wants to gather confidential information, they simply have to get one of those people to talk about it.

    So, does that mean someone leaked information about what we had nned?

    Was it through threats, coercion, or force?

    ¡°The Lord and some of the other knights know about this, too.¡± (Cyrus)

    That would be bad.

    ¡°I told you earlier. The more people who know, the greater the chance of information leaking out. The same goes for our side. Well, if we let someone leak our ns, there was also a big chance that your operation would have been canceled.¡± (Cyrus)

    That was true.

    If we had known that the Lord had discovered our ns, the operation would have been called off.

    But from this man¡¯s point of view, that seemed like a disadvantage.

    ¡°So you are the only one who knows that we are here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Quick witted are you, I¡¯m not that stupid. I have instructed one of my men who went to defeat the monster to return immediately with everyone else, so they may be back by now. If they return to town, they will probably notice the smoke.¡± (Cyrus)

    If that happened, the Guild Master and the others would have to fight the returning knights.

    However, there was nothing I could do about it now. I was d that I captured the knights who were about to leave the mansion. If they had joined those who returned, the trouble would have increased.

    The Guild Master and the others have already epted that the knights from the Lord¡¯s mansion wille to stop them. But since I have already caged them here, the early return of knights who went outside would only make our advantage zero.

    ¡°But we didn¡¯t know just who was going to break into this mansion, so we were looking forward to it, but what showed up were two children and two bears. Oh, and a fairy.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man looked at us.

    ¡°It was so unexpected, I was troubled when I saw you. But I changed my mind as soon as I saw you fight.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man looked at me.

    ¡°The power given to me by Ronne-sama is great. However, the other knights are not as strong as I am, and I cannot go to other countries to test my strength. The monsters nearby are weak. I have always wanted to use this power to the fullest.¡± (Cyrus)

    The knight who was talking in the hallway said the same thing.

    The power they were given was temporary. They would lose it if they did not continuously receive it from Ronne.

    ¡°So when I noticed that youngdy and the knights fighting, I wanted to fight her. It looks like she can use a strange kind of magic. She can also move well. For me to defeat a girl with such talent, me who has gained unreasonable power. Wouldn¡¯t it be interesting?¡± (Cyrus)

    The man smiled slyly. Noa and Primme¡¯s faces twitched at the expression. I stepped in front of them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to think about it. The power you have acquired through unwarranted means is meaningless if you can¡¯t harness it properly.¡± (Yuna)

    The knights I fought could not utilize the power they got from Ronne.

    If I had been an ordinary girl with no experience in the game, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to wield a weapon. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to adapt using magic.

    Even though it was a game, I fought others in that game as if I were facing them in real life, making it possible for me to utilize the bear equipment that God gave me fully.

    Fina and Noa, who had never fought before, would not have been able to use all the abilities of the bear equipment even if I had allowed them to.

    When they are attacked, they might close their eyes, which also dulls their sword movement or be rooted on the spot out of fear.

    ¡°I am d to hear you say so. For all who have fought me, say that I am cowardly. I gave up my pride and swore an oath to my Lord to master this power.¡±

    Well, it sure was cowardly to fight with power given to you by someone else.

    I, too, fight with bear equipment given to me by God.

    But there was one difference.

    I have not used my power for evil. I could say that with confidence. I never used my power tomit unreasonable violence (although I do hit people who piss me off), nor do I intend to use it to rule a country (ruling a nation would be too much trouble), nor did I use it to build something useless like a harem (I don¡¯t want to be popr with the opposite gender).

    On the other hand, I have no intention of using my power to be a hero or a heroic person (I consider this the most troublesome thing of all).

    I was using my bear powers to enjoy this world in a leisurely manner.

    But there was a big price to pay to use that power.

    I took another look at my outfit.

    I have to dress up as a bear to fully utilize its power.

    I wonder if he would also be willing to dress up as a bear.

    I want to ask him about that.

    I, too, have epted the bear after many struggles.

    This man dressed as a bear¡­.

    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Yuna)

    I imagined it and burst outughing.

    ¡°What are youughing at?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°I just thought that you didn¡¯t have that much pride at all being a Knight. If you truly are willing to throw away your pride, you have to be willing to do as much as I am doing right now.¡± (Yuna)

    To me, to abandon pride would mean dressing up as a bear, like I do.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by that, but it¡¯s time to fight. Shall you show me the power you used to fight the knights?¡± (Cyrus)

    He licked his lips.

    Apparently, this man was a fighting maniac.

    ¡°Cyrus, are you telling me that you would fight with these children? I did not give you the power to do this!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ronne-sama, I hope you understand your position.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°What do you mean by my position? Didn¡¯t I ask you only to use my power to protect yourselves?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why we have knights protecting you?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for that.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°And do you know how hard the knights are working to protect that man?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­,¡± Ronne trailed off in silence.

    ¡°Enough of that. Collecting magic stones is your fault for taking away the adventurers¡¯ jobs. It¡¯s also because you took away the magic power from the residents. Aren¡¯t you ashamed to talk about it as if it were Ronne¡¯s fault and then corner her?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. A Lord¡¯s job is to protect the livelihood of the residents. Of course, he can¡¯t solve every problem, but he shouldn¡¯t make his citizens unhappy.¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who had been silent, raised her voice.

    Noa understood what a Lord was supposed to do, even though she was only a child.

    ¡°A person who makes the people unhappy for his personal gain is not fit to be a Lord. And a knight who follows such a Lord is also not a worthy knight. A true knight protects the weak and feeble.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Hmmm, that is the illusion of a child. A knight does not protect the weak. They obey their lord¡¯s orders. If the lordmands them to fight monsters, they fight with their lives. If he orders you to kill a person, they will kill that person. That is a knight who serves.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Will you still do it while knowing that what the Lord is doing is wrong?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°A knight swears an oath to his lord, regardless if that lord is good or bad, and knights keep their oaths. Enough chit-chat. Either way, I am looking forward to fighting this youngdy.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man drew his sword.

    ¡°Are you going to fight here? Wouldn¡¯t it be a disaster if this room was destroyed?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that meant as a warning to me or to you?¡± (Cyrus)

    For both of us, of course.

    But depending on how much the man knew about how things work here, it would be less concerning for him than for me.

    For my part, I¡¯d rather not have this room destroyed right now.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have any sense of chivalry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am honored by yourpliment.¡± (Cyrus)

    It seemed sarcastic ad hominem does not work on him.

    ¡°Besides, those earth bears are a nuisance.¡± (Cyrus)

    I guess he had seen me use those earth bears, so he decided to fight me here.

    I see that this man did not like to fight fair. He just wanted to trample and bully people beneath him, that¡¯s all.

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 Chapter 700

    <h4>Chapter 700</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Fights the Knight Captain</b>

    ¡°Everyone stay away. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, take care of everyone.¡± (Yuna)

    I let Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear take care of everyone as they backed away.

    Now, how do I get that disgusting face to deform?

    But we were currently in a basement, and I couldn¡¯t break the magic circles on the floor, so I was unable to go wild.

    If we were to break the ceiling, we might end up getting buried alive, and the magic circles would be destroyed as well.

    If I were to use fire bear magic in the basement, it would be dangerous in more ways than one.

    The type of magic I could use in this battle was restricted, but the situation is still salvageable.

    Besides, if push came to shove, there was always the option of entering a melee brawl .

    I fired an air bullet at the man to test him out.

    ¡°Is this the only level of magic you¡¯ve got?¡± (Cyrus)

    The man shed the air bullet with his sword.

    The air bullet was cut in half.

    I fired a barrage of air bullets like firing a gun without a pause.

    But the man cut all the air bullets in half.

    The air projectiles that were cut in half collided with the wall behind the man, breaking part of the wall.

    Even with magic that weak, the wall could still copse. That means that I couldn¡¯t use any more potent magic than that.

    Even more troublesome was the sword the man was holding.

    ¡°A mithril sword¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I could tell what weapon he was using because I also possess a mithril knife. It was easy for me to know that he was not using an ordinary sword, at the very least.

    ¡°A mithril sword is the best way to fight against magic. Besides, being able to use a fine sword is one of the reasons why I follow my Lord.¡± (Cyrus)

    In short, he was just ttering the person who would give him power.

    But well, I could say that he was not all talk at the very least. He was definitely stronger than the other knights.

    ¡°Hm? This wind magic, I think I remember it from somewhere¡­¡± (Cyrus)

    When I was about to make a move, thinking that if magic was no good, then closebat was the better choice, the man let his hand wander as if he could feel the remnants of air bullets.

    Then he looked as if he remembered something.

    ¡°The same strange magic that was mixed in the wind when we defeated some monsters a few days ago.¡± (Cyrus)

    Now that he mentioned it that much, I remembered.

    He was referring to the time I used wind magic to eavesdrop on the conversation of the knights hunting wolves on our way to this town.

    At that time, one of the knights, the man they called captain, noticed me eavesdropping using wind magic.

    ¡°So you were nearby.¡± (Cyrus)

    He didn¡¯t seem to know I was using wind magic to listen to their conversation.

    ¡°To see the difference between someone¡¯s magic power¡­ how did you know about that?¡± (Yuna)

    I have no idea how to tell the difference between someone¡¯s magic power.

    ¡°I was able to tell since I started receiving power from Ronne-sama. Ronne-sama¡¯s power is truly wonderful.¡± (Cyrus)

    It seemed that the other knights couldn¡¯t tell, so maybe it was just this guy. Perhaps that was why he was stronger than the other knights.

    And he was drunk by the power he obtained. But then again, it was not umon for people to be twisted after suddenly bing powerful.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you something. I like to break the noses of those who think they are strong.¡± (Yuna)

    Or, more urately, to break the noses of those who think they were overpowered. I have noints if they worked hard to get that power and didn¡¯t use it for bad things. But I wouldn¡¯t condone abusing the weak and having fun with it.

    ¡°I, too, like to break the noses of kids who use their natural talents to humiliate adults.¡± (Cyrus)

    My power was not a gift I was born with. My power was also given to me by someone just like his illegally obtained magical enhancement.

    But there was a difference in our skill level.

    I made the first move.

    In my hand was a Swaying Bear knife.

    I swung it in a horizontal line before closing in on him.

    The manughed, perhaps believing that I would not be able to reach him.

    However, the de of my Swaying Bear knife unleashed a de of wind.

    This was a technique used by Jubei-san and Shinobu in thend of Wa.

    Anyone would be puzzled if someone attacked them with a knife but thenunched magic as a follow-up.

    But the man expected it and shed at me with his sword.

    ¡°I¡¯m sensitive to magic, you know.¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Is that part of Ronne¡¯s power, as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it is. Isn¡¯t it wonderful? The joy of gaining power that could not be obtained. The joy of being able to get back at someone who has looked down on you.¡± (Cyrus)

    I, too, enjoyed things in the game that I couldn¡¯t do in real life. I enjoyed getting back at someone who made fun of me because I was a woman.

    But that was only because I worked hard and honed my skills in the game.

    Now I have the bear¡¯s help, but I worked harder than anyone else to get where I am now.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll fight and beat you at what you¡¯re good at. I¡¯ll show you that there is a higher level that you will never reach.¡± (Yuna)

    It was a game of whose cheat was stronger, and a battle to see who had better control of those cheats.

    I closed the distance at once. The man responded. His physical ability also seemed to have been increased. His reaction was fast. But I was equipped with cheat equipment given to me by God, and I felt bad for Ronne, but the power of a fairy was nowhere near as strong. My bear mithril daggers would never lose to a mithril sword.

    The mithril sword and the Swaying Bear knife collided.

    I was able to parry the man¡¯s downward sword sh.

    With the power of the bear equipment and the experience of fighting in the game so far, I could do this without any difficulty.

    The man¡¯s sword was parried, and he bnce was thrown off momentarily, but he quickly regained his footing.

    But he was too slow.

    The wind magicing from my knife made up for my knife¡¯s short reach.

    ¡°A knife user overpowered me¡­¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°Bigger weapons don¡¯t always give you an advantage. The bigger the weapon, the slower your next move will be. If the weapon is heavy, all you can do is swing it around. On the other hand, a knife is small and can move faster than a sword. It can also be wielded much more easily.¡± (Yuna)

    The man barely kept up with the speed of my knife.

    And he could not attack me carelessly, not knowing when my wind magic would be activated.

    But this was not my limit.

    ¡°I¡¯ll increase my speed.¡± (Yuna)

    True to my word, I increased my speed.

    ¡°How can you move like this even in such a difficult-to-move-looking outfit?¡± (Cyrus)

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡± (Yuna)

    There were fighters who were physicallyrge and fat, but moved quickly and were strong.

    That did not mean that I was fat.

    I moved from side to side, toying with the man.

    Gradually, he couldn¡¯t keep up with my speed.

    I moved around with my knife, and as I approached him, I switched the knife to my other hand and sent a fist towards the man¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man¡¯s face contorted.

    ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got, and yet you were so arrogant? If I was using my knife right now, you¡¯d be dead.¡± (Yuna)

    Well, I didn¡¯t intend to kill him.

    It wasn¡¯t cool to bully the weak.

    ¡°Did you think that if I couldn¡¯t use my powerful magic, I wouldn¡¯t be a big deal?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, this is a lie! This is an illusion! You do not scare me!¡± (Cyrus)

    The man shouted.

    Well, no matter how much he yelled, it didn¡¯t make up for the difference in our abilities.

    ¡°I have fought more battles than you could ever imagine.¡± (Yuna)

    Even in the game, I treat every fight as a serious battle. I¡¯ve fought many times against other people. In several instances, I have been fighting all day long. It was because it was in-game, so I could fight as long as time allowed me to. I could sleep in my bed to regain my strength after a long day, and in-game, I have healing items. I could fight as many times as I wanted without worrying if it was a practice or a death match.

    I have fought opponents who were proficient with wielding diverse weapons types.

    In the game, the number of times I have fought for my life was different. I have died many times in the game, but that also gave me lessons.

    But in this reality, no one would be able to fight to the death so many times.

    If you die, there would be noing back. If you sustained an injury, you could not easily heal it even with healing items.

    The most significant difference between us was that I was a shut-in and fought every day, and this man would only fight safely on several asions.

    ¡°What the hell. What are you! Are you kidding me, looking down on me while wearing that weird outfit!¡± (Cyrus)

    The man¡¯s expression, who had been making fun of me all this time, changed drastically.

    He couldn¡¯t believe that a tormentor like him had turned into a tormented one.

    He must have thought he had be a strong man by gaining the power of the fairies.

    ¡°You know the term ¡®frog in a well¡¯? Even if you are pompous in this town, it will only be in this town. The world is a big ce. Just because you have fairy power doesn¡¯t mean you automatically be the strongest. There are many people in this world who are more powerful than you, even with the power of fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    I think Jubei-san in the Land of Wa was stronger than this man.

    If magic were involved, Kagali-san would be strong, too. Well, if she attacked from the sky, the ¡®fight¡¯ would not even be a match.

    On the other hand, this man was surely strong, but not strong enough to brag about it.

    He simply had better chemistry with Ronne than the other knights.

    ¡°Screw you! I don¡¯t ept this!¡±

    The man kicked out his leg, just as I thought he was swinging his sword.

    Was that supposed to be a feint?

    In the game, there would be hidden knives, hidden items, magic, and all of those things that people would use.

    I kicked his leg.

    ¡°If you¡¯re a knight, you should use your sword properly.¡± (Yuna)

    But the man was out of it, and he couldn¡¯t hear what I said.

    So, after kicking his leg, I also followed up with a punch in the face, mming him against the wall.

    ¡°Oh my, that girl. She is that strong?!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Well, my partner Yuna is strong.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yuna-san is the strongest person I know.¡± (Noa)

    Ronne, Primme, and Noa were behind us, watching us fight and saying things like that.

    Though I wouldn¡¯t agree with Primme bragging about it as if she were in charge.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Cyrus)

    The man stood up, using his sword like a walking stick.

    I shall give him credit as an eptable knight for not letting go of his weapon even after he was blown away and hit the wall.

    ¡°Ronne-sama! Please give me strength!¡± (Cyrus)

    The man looked at Ronne as he shouted.

    ¡°More power, please! I want to defeat the evil bear right here in front of me.¡± (Cyrus)

    Wait, who are you calling an evil bear?

    Anyone who looked at me wouldn¡¯t see me as an evil bear.

    I mean, I would be a cute bear if I had to say it myself.

    ¡°No! Why would I grant you more power?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°What, don¡¯t you care what will happen to that sleeping man?¡± (Cyrus)

    The man¡¯s sword glowed.

    Magic?

    ¡°If you do that, that person (Lord) won¡¯t let you off. Besides, if Ryan dies, I won¡¯t need to give power to anyone anymore. I will also leave this ce.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°If I lose here and they take you away, I will end up dead anyway, so I might as well just kill that man to apany meter in hell. What will you do Ronne-sama?¡± (Cyrus)

    Just as I was about to make a move before Ronne could speak, something unexpected happened.

    ¡°Swaying Bear! Hugging Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    I shouted.

    At the same time, a sword poked out of the knight¡¯s chest.

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 Chapter 701

    <h4>Chapter 701</h4>

    <b>Each Battle: Rosa¡¯s PoV</b>

    We headed towards our assigned watchtower.

    If our presence were noticed, the ambush would fail, so we moved inconspicuously.

    Usually, nighttime would be the best time for an ambush, but we also wanted to lure out the remaining knights from the mansion and the town after we attacked the watchtowers.

    Since night also had its advantages, it was challenging to decide the best time to initiate a raid, but the surprise attack was carried out in the daytime to make it easier for Yuna-chan and her friends to enter the mansion and find Primme-chan¡¯s sister.

    ¡°I wonder if Yuna-chan and the others will be okay.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are there too, so they¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Yuna is unbelievably strong.¡±

    Everyone trusted Yuna-chan. I also naturally believed in her, but I was still worried about her.

    Yuna-chan had to bring Noa-chan with her to find Primme¡¯s sister and convince her to go with them.

    In the worst-case scenario, if the knights and the Lord found out about our ns, it would be toote to persuade Primme¡¯s sister. So, we had to break the magic circles in the watchtower, which would negate the flow of magic power. On the one hand, this would alert the knights in the mansion that the watchtowers had been attacked, but it would also significantly alleviate Yuna-chan and her group from more pressure.

    ¡°More importantly, conversation is strictly forbidden from now on. Let Yuna take care of the mansion raid, and we will do our own work.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz was right. We must conduct our raid properly.

    If Yuna-chan and the others managed to convince Primme-chan¡¯s sister, this town¡¯s residents could finally get out of this life of being deprived of their magic power.

    From this point on,as we proceeded wemunicated with each other by hand signs as we proceeded.

    Blitz and Grimos would lead the way, while Ran and I would be the rearguard and provide support.

    This was our party¡¯s battle formation.

    Blitz, who was hiding behind a tree, sent me a hand sign, telling usme toe over there.

    Grimos moved first, followed by Ran and me.

    A little further ahead, there was a door leading into the watchtower. As the Guild Master informed us, there were no guards in front of the door.

    ording to the Guild Master, there was a guard at first, but recently, no one had been going near the door. Additionally, he also said that the door was locked.

    At first, I thought we would break down the door and enter, but the Guild Master had prepared duplicate keys.

    He was ready to execute the operation at any time.

    That was all the more reason to put significant effort into this operation.

    If we failed, the Guild Master and the others would be in deep trouble.

    The Lord and the knights didn¡¯t know who we were, so we could just run away, but the Guild Master and the others couldn¡¯t. So we must seed this mission.

    Blitz took out the key that the Guild Master had given him. After confirming the situation above, he sprinted towards the door. He put his ear to the door and listened. He checked to ensure no one was near the door on the other side, then inserted the key and turned it slowly.

    He seemed to be able to unlock the door, so he slowly opened the door and checked inside through the crack.

    After confirming that no one was on the other side, Blitz made another hand sign and signalled us toe to him.

    Grimos, Ran, and I checked our surroundings and sprinted for the door. We then entered the door that Blitz had opened for us.

    Once inside, we found ourselves on a spiral staircase.

    The Guild Master¡¯s information said there was a room at the top, and the knights were stationed there.

    Blitz led the way, walking slowly and noiselessly up the stairs. We followed him.

    Blitz gave us a hand sign when we reached the top of the stairs.

    He signaled that there was a knight was at the end of the staircase. As we slowly ascended the stairs, we heard voices talking to each other.

    ¡°I¡¯m not busy, I wantwanted to join you in defeating the monsters.¡± (Knight 1)

    ¡°There is nothing wrong with being on guard. It¡¯s easy.¡± (Knight 2)

    ¡°True, but it¡¯s not like there¡¯s going to be a monster attack at this tower, so why do they need us here?¡± (Knight 1)

    ¡°Well, the monsters aren¡¯t the only reason we have to be on guard, right?¡± (Knight 2)

    ¡°Yes, but who will attack us?¡± (Knight 1)

    ¡®We¡¯re here,¡¯ I would like to say to them.

    ¡°In the beginning, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was very noisy, but now it¡¯s deserted, and they¡¯re at our mercy.¡± (Knight 2)

    ¡°Well, most of the adventurers have left the town, and the only ones left here are the ckers who can¡¯tin.¡± (Knight 1)

    They wereughing at us.

    The adventurers must have left the town because you people took away their magic power.

    I was irate.

    Blitz, who had been peering inside through the door gap, sent us a hand sign. Signaling to us that there was one in front and one on the right. He then instructed us on who to attack first and who should do it.

    We nodded in agreement.

    Then, on Blitz¡¯s signal, we rushed into the room.

    ¡°What!¡±

    Those knights were sitting on chairs, so their reaction was dyed.

    I cast a wind spell on the Knight in front of me while Ran cast the same on the Knight on the right side.

    The knights were sent flying to the wall by the impact of the wind magic and then fell to the ground.

    At the same time, we fired our magic, and Blitz and Grimos each ran towards the knights. They pointed their swords at the fallen knights and did not allow them to get up.

    ¡°How can a knight who is entrusted with a job put his weapon at a disadvantageous distance?¡±

    Blitz said as he looked at the sword propped up against the wall.

    Even if that Knight could have stood up, he would not have been able to counterattack immediately.

    ¡°What the hell. Who are you people?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t give you a name, but I¡¯ll just tell you that we are adventurers who havee to destroy the device that deprives people of their magic power.¡±

    The men looked astonished at these words.

    ¡°Do you think you can get away with doing that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. But what do you think will happen if we destroy all those devices and the fairy disappears from this town?¡±

    They must have understood what Blitz was saying.

    The man¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°You guys, you¡¯re here to take Ronne-sama¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to rob you.¡±

    ¡°Hah, what can just four people do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just us. Many people are working under my orders.¡±

    Blitz announced in a viinous way.

    This time, we intended to role-y a viin.

    We were setting a scenario in which rogue adventurers from who-knows-where would kidnap the fairy and leave town in a shy manner.

    This was the only way to ensure that the Guild Master would not get med and could continue to live in this town.

    Even if we managed to take Ronne away, our crime of breaking into the town¡¯s watchtower and injuring a Knight would not be erased. If the Guild Master and the others were held responsible, they themselves might be banished from the town.

    The me wouldn¡¯t matter much to us, outsiders, but the town needed the Guild Master and his people.

    After all, they cared a lot about this town.

    Therefore, Blitz decided to take on all the me.

    When we heard what he had to say, we agreed.

    And then, with the Knights unable to resist, we bound their feet and hands with earth magic, and Blitz covered their mouth with a cloth,

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    A man came down the stairs.

    But Grimos reacted faster than anyone else and shed at him.

    The knight who called out was unable to react in time. He was shed over his armor and fell down the stairs, and Grimos chased after him immediately.

    We left Grimos in charge of the man who fell down the stairs while Ran, and I watched at the top of the stairs. Blitz covered the Knights¡¯ mouths and restrained them. We may get in trouble if they make a fuss and call for help.

    But other than thest one, no one descended from the top, and Grimos returned from the lower part of the stairs.

    ¡°He passed out, so I tied him up.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°So there are only three of them¡­¡±

    The situation was per with the Guild Master¡¯s proved intel.

    That should be all of them. But the Guild Master also mentioned that some Knights patrol to the tower, so we never let our guard down.

    We climbed the stairs and went to the top floor of the building.

    It appeared that the knight Grimos just dealt with was certainly thest one, and no one else was on the top floor.

    The view was marvelous.

    The top floor was covered with magic circles.

    There were also many magic stones in ce.

    ¡°So these are the magic circles that take away the town resident¡¯s magic power¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess we should break them¡­¡±

    ¡°As a magic researcher, I don¡¯t want to destroy them, but I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Ran said as she looked at the magic circles.

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave them alone. Let¡¯s destroy them, as we discussed in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Wait, at least let me have the magic stones!¡±

    Ran¡¯s words did not reach Blitz, and Blitz destroyed one of the magic circles with his sword.

    ¡°There is no time. The magic stones belong to the residents of this town. We can¡¯t take them with us.¡±

    ¡°I think taking just a little bit would not be a problem.¡±

    Ran¡¯s proposal was promptly rejected, and we followed suit by breaking the other magic circles.

    ¡°Now all we have to do is to put out some smoke to let them know that something happened at this watchtower.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we can burn some of the things there.¡±

    There was a box containing a pile of clothes.

    There was even a chair for the knights to sit on.

    We burned the boxes, clothes, and chairs to produce smoke.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and get to the next target.¡±

    Once the smoke was in in sight, the knights in the mansion and in the town would rush here.

    This would create an opportunity for Yuna-chan and the others to enter the mansion.

    I wanted to destroy every magic circle on all the watchtowers simultaneously, but we didn¡¯t have enough manpower to pull off such a stunt.

    I blocked the stairs with earth magic and left the watchtower as if to harass them.

    The knights would need some time to assess the situation, which should give us more than enough time toplete our next task.

    Then, we arrived at the second watchtower and seeded in breaking the magic circles in it in the same way. By that time, smoke was already rising from other watchtowers.

    I was relieved to know that the Guild Master and the others had also seeded.

    When we finished breaking the magic circles in the second watchtower and went outside, about five knights were waiting for us.

    ¡°One man, three women.¡±

    One of the knights gave us a condenscending look as if they were underestimating us.

    ¡°You must be the adventurers who killed the monsters around the town. We finally get to see your faces.¡±

    Do they know who we are?

    ¡°Sure, you have three beautiful women with you. I¡¯m still better looking than you, so I guess that¡¯s the difference between us.¡±

    Had he never looked in a mirror?

    Or maybe he had terrible eyesight?

    But from how he called us ¡°beautiful,¡± it sounds like he didn¡¯t have bad eyesight, so I guess he¡¯s never looked at himself in a mirror.

    ¡°But I¡¯m d we did what the captain told us to do.¡±

    ¡°Just as the captain said?¡±

    ¡°Our captain saw through your n, so we pretended to be heading out to defeat the monsters and returned to the town immediately.¡±

    So our raid ns was somewhat leaked, and the knights who had gone out of town to kill the monsters have returned¡­

    ¡°But the magic circles have been destroyed by us.¡±

    Our objective was almost aplished.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to fix them. It¡¯s the Lord who has to do the hard work, though.¡±

    The manughed.

    ¡°But if you guys lose and the fairy is taken away, there¡¯s no point in fixing the magic circles, is there?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the captain is still in the mansion. He¡¯s a strong man.¡±

    The Guild Master told us that the captain was one of the strongest.

    That¡¯s also why we nned to settle the matter while the knight-captain was out of town.

    ¡°I see. Then the captain who stayed in that mansion wasn¡¯t so lucky. And we¡¯re lucky. We just have to deal with the small fry.¡±

    Blitz held up his sword.

    If the captain had been as strong as the Guild Master said, it might have been tricky if we were the ones who had to deal with him.

    But Yuna-chan would not be defeated by someone only on that level, no matter how powerful he was. As far as we know, Yuna was the strongest and kindest adventurer.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that if the person who is watching over the mansion is the strongest, then he would also face our strongest. That makes the ones we are facing now small fry.¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    The Knights attacked.

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 Chapter 702

    <h4>Chapter 702</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Meets with Lord</b>

    ¡°I will not allow you to kill him.¡± (???)

    ¡°My Lord¡­why¡­¡± (Cyrus)

    The knight died before he even heard the answer.

    Yes, he was dead.

    It was not pleasant to watch someone dying in front of your eyes.

    Unlike the corpses of monsters and animals, it evoked a different emotion.

    ¡°What happened, Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan, please move aside. I can¡¯t see.¡± (Noa)

    Noa tried her best to look at the knight, but Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear blocked her.

    It seemed that they understood my intention. I was d that Noa didn¡¯t have to witness the moment when a person was killed.

    Seeing the moment someone was killed was different from seeing a dead body.

    But I didn¡¯t even notice this guy approaching us.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear didn¡¯t warn me about him either, and when I looked at them, they looked apologetic.

    Ronne jumped out from behind Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°Bellung!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne came up beside me, shouting the man¡¯s name.

    Bellung¡­this man was the Lord of this town, the one who tried to make Ronne his own.

    He was the main culprit, the reason so many people were suffering.

    Such a man was right in front of me.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that Knight a Knight in your service?¡± (Yuna)

    I turned to the in knight.

    ¡°I don¡¯t consider him my Knight when he tries to kill my dear friend. He is my enemy.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, you call Ryan your dear friend, yet you did this to him.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ryan is just doing his best as my best friend, which is to keep showing me fairies.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°That is not something a best friend would do. You didn¡¯t even consider his feelings when you did this to him.¡± (Ronne)

    Actually, if I considered someone a friend, I wouldn¡¯t directly mention our rtionship (as friends) or brag about it (the friendship). I was not one to express my emotions regarding such topics directly.

    If it was not for me being awkward about these things, I would not have trouble making friends.

    ¡°He brought Ronne to me, we studied fairies together, and he gave me his magic power. What would you call that if not friendship?¡± (Bellung)

    When he said so, I couldn¡¯t retort anything in return.

    Ryan brought Ronne to the Lord of his own volition, and together they studied fairies, and ording to Ronne¡¯s story, Ryan even offered him his magic power of his own volition.

    ¡°But he wouldn¡¯t have expected you to keep him sleeping in a ce like this to drain his magic power.¡± (Ronne)

    I agree with Ronne¡¯s statement, and I never would ever think of doing something so horrible.

    Some people might give their lives for the sake of their family, friends, and loved ones. But no one would agree to give their magic power to another person until they were bedridden just to show them a fairy.

    ¡°You have never even talked to him about this, what do you know about his feelings regarding this? Perhaps it is his intention to continue to give me his magic power, you know? Well, that time would probably nevere. After all, these magic circles are supposed tost for a lifetime.¡± (Bellung)

    A lifetime¡­ that would mean that Bellung didn¡¯t wish for Ryan to wake up at all.

    There was certainly no way for us to confirm Ryan¡¯s will currently.

    Dead men tell no tales. Ryan is still alive, but since he couldn¡¯t speak, it was basically the same thing as being as good as dead.

    For years, Ronne, Ronne¡¯s partner, and the residents of this town suffered because of a man who was willing to do anything to achieve his selfish motives.

    It just made me furious.

    ¡°So, here¡¯s another question for you, who are you people? What are you doing in a ce like this?¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°We are here to rescue Ronne from you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will allow you to do that.¡± (Bellung)

    The man¡¯s face warped at my words.

    However, I had no intention of following what he wished.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for your permission.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But did Ronne herself say that she would go with you?¡± (Bellung)

    I was told by Ronne that she didn¡¯t wish to leave her partner, Ryan, behind. Besides, she could not return to the fairy forest where her friends were because this person could use their connection to locate her.

    In the worst-case scenario, I could escape to Crimonia by using my Bear Transfer Gate, but Ronne would not be able to return to the Fairy Forest as well.

    However¡­

    ¡°Well, she did say that if we cut the magic connection between you and Ryan, she would return home.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you think you can do that?¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°If I blow it all away, it won¡¯t matter anyway.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Houh, you¡¯re a funny youngdy. You are even dressed funnily as if you are trying to make meugh.¡± (Bellung)

    Disgusting bastard.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dressed like this to make youugh.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, people dress differently. I guess you are not dressed like this to make meugh. Would you be so kind as to introduce me to that person, though?¡± (Bellung)

    The man looked behind me.

    Primme should have been hiding behind Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but now she was currently floating on top of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and about to go forward.

    ¡°Primme, don¡¯te out!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°So you¡¯re the person who took this person¡¯s magic so that you could see my sister.¡± (Primme)

    Primme ignored Ronne¡¯s words and came over to us.

    ¡°You are Ronne-san¡¯s sister, are you not? You are beautiful as well, just like your sister.¡± (Bellung)

    He looked at Primme with ecstasy in his eyes.

    He was really fascinated by fairies.

    However, as the one who was receiving such a stare, Primme did not feelfortable.

    ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s harsh. Why don¡¯t you be mine? I guarantee you a life without any inconvenience.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m not a thing, and besides, you can¡¯t see me.¡± (Primme)

    Primme should have disappeared by now, and when Primme moved, the man¡¯s gaze followed in her general direction but not focused on her.

    ¡°Indeed, I won¡¯t be able to see you. Perhaps one of thedies over here is your partner?¡± (Bellung)

    The man turned his gaze to me and Noa, who was behind Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± (Yuna)

    I answer honestly, not wanting Noa to be mistaken and attacked.

    ¡°Primme,e out.¡± (Yuna)

    I called out to Primme to prove that I was her partner, and the man¡¯s gaze turned to Primme now that he could see her.

    ¡°Oh, so you are her partner.¡± (Bellung)

    Now, he was looking at me as if he were licking me.

    It was disgusting.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe and live with us? I will give you the best hospitality.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Hospitality? You mean sleeping eternally like that guy?¡± (Yuna)

    I looked lightly at Ryan, who was sleeping.

    I didn¡¯t know what this Lord was nning to do, so I looked at him with minimal eye contact to keep track of him while looking at Ryan.

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you. As long as you don¡¯t suddenly start talking about sending her home like he did.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Ryan¡­ he said so¡­¡± (Ronne)

    So Ryan did want to send Ronne home. On the other hand, this man in front of me was opposed to that. To keep Ronne in this ce, he even did such a horrible thing to his supposedly best friend. How selfish¡­

    ¡°And you lied to me about it. I thought you said you had no family or acquaintances. Is it possible that you have other fairy friends?¡± (Bellung)

    The man¡¯s expression changed as he smiled at me.

    ¡°I only said that because my sister and I had a falling out a long time ago, and I didn¡¯t know where she was. Of course, I¡¯ve never met any other fairies, so I don¡¯t know where they are.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne lied, trying to protect her sister and her fairy friends.

    If this man knew about the fairy forest, he would definitely bring a lot of trouble.

    ¡°Well then, that sister of yours, Primme-san, right? Shall we hear what she has to say about this? Where did youe from? Are there many more of your fellow fairies out there?¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Hmph! Who¡¯s going to talk to you?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°So you don¡¯t care about what happens to your partner?¡± (Bellung)

    The man now looked at me.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell us that.¡± (Yuna)

    The guy looked at the sleeping Ryan.

    ¡°You think you can do it¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think so, but¡­¡± (Bellung)

    I wonder.

    Well, that knight under him certainly looked strong, if only from his point of view.

    Even if Bellung hadn¡¯t seen my match with that Knight, he should have at least witnessed the final stage of the match.

    And yet, he was still looking soposed.

    ¡°It seems that you are quite a skilled fighter, far from how you appear, so let¡¯s fight, though I will definitely win.¡± (Bellung)

    He said as he looked at the Knight he had killed.

    ¡°If I win, you will stay here with the fairy for the rest of your life. If I lose, I will release Ronne.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Do you expect me to believe such a promise?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, all you have to do is beat me.¡± (Bellung)

    The man then rolled up his clothes at his chest.

    ¡°¡­a magic stone.¡± (Yuna)

    What came out from under the rolled-up clothes was a magic stone embedded in his body.

    Then, just like the man who was lying down, there was a magic circle also etched on his body.

    ¡°If you win against me and break this magic stone, the supply of magic from him will stop. That means you will be able to take him and Ronne away.¡± (Bellung)

    If the man was saying was true, I could take Ronne and Ryan out of this ce if I won the battle and destroyed the magic stone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fight, Primme, it¡¯s not toote. Run away with your partner.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°¡­Sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You can run away, Ronne¡¯s sister, but I won¡¯t let that beardy go.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Kuh¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Because with your partner¡¯s magic power, I will be able to find you, no matter where you go. If you could stay with us, I would be pleased.¡± (Bellung)

    Ronne did mention that he could locate Ronne by tracing her magic power.

    So that means if I was ever captured and studied, he would be able to find Primme¡¯s location.

    ¡°Well, what do we do now? Beardy.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°That¡¯s obvious. I¡¯m going to beat you to a pulp and get Ronne out of here.¡± (Yuna)

    I pointed my Bear-san puppet at the man.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go outside. It¡¯s too small for both of us here. Besides, we¡¯d both be in trouble if anything happened to him.¡± (Bellung)

    He said so as he looked at the sleeping man. Unlike the Knight who was killed, this man would be more annoying in many ways.

    But I see no reason to refuse the proposal.

    Even if this man could fight me at his full power, I could also fight him at my full power.

    So I epted the man¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Yuna)

    The man smiled at my words and walked silently up the stairs.

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 Chapter 703

    <h4>Chapter 703</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Fights Bellung Part 1</b>

    ¡°Yuna, are you sure you want to fight?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I know you are strong, I saw that in the fight earlier, but you can¡¯t fight that man. My power makes him so much stronger than that Knight.¡± (Ronne)

    Primme and Ronne look worried.

    ¡°So, just take Primme and run away when you see an opening. And thank you for bringing Primme. I was d to see her.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne smiled gently and tried to push Primme away.

    ¡°¡­Sis.¡± (Primme)

    Even after seeing Ronne act like that, I wouldn¡¯t budge from my original motivation to bring Ronne away.

    That man¡¯s confidence was probably due to the power he received from Ronne just like the Knight.

    But that didn¡¯t mean he was way stronger than the knight.

    ¡°Ronne, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m going to defeat that man, and we¡¯re all going home together.¡± (Yuna)

    After all, I have the strongest bear equipment.

    There was no way that I, with my bear gear, would lose just because someone had wielded the power of a fairy.

    After reassuring two of them, I went over to Noa, who was behind Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°¡­Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at me with concern.

    I ced the Bear-san puppet on top of Noa¡¯s head.

    ¡°Noa, this time, can you wait for me at my house in Crimonia?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa bit her lip while agreeing in a small voice.

    ¡°Thanks to you, Noa, we were able to get this far.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa looked a little happier at my words.

    I think it must have been hard for the youngdy of a noble family to be in a strangend. If it weren¡¯t for Noa, finding Ronne would have been even more difficult ordeal.

    ¡°Primme, along with Noa, please evacuate for the moment¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Before I could finish, Primme interrupted me¡­

    ¡°I won¡¯t run away. If I run away, it will only be with my sister.¡± (Primme)

    Primme¡¯s will seemed firm. There was no point in arguing.

    ¡°I understand. But if you think you¡¯re in danger, just disappear and run away.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate and sent Noa to the other side.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please be careful. I¡¯ll be waiting for you, so make sure youe back.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Primme-san, please be careful too.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, thanks Noa as well. It was thanks to Noa that I met my sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Ronne-san, too. Pleasee back with everyone, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± (Noa)

    While looking at Noa¡¯s worried expression, I closed the door of the Bear Transfer Gate and retrieved it.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s quickly beat that man and go home together.¡± (Yuna)

    I took a nket out of my bear box, and as I walked past the murdered knight, I covered him, and continued to ascend the stairs.

    Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, Primme, and Ronne followed behind.

    ¡°You are so slow, I thought you were trying to escape.¡±

    The man was waiting at the door at the top of the stairs.

    ¡°There is no escape route in the basement is there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°If you can use magic, can¡¯t you at least dig a hole and escape?¡± (Lord)

    Well, that was certainly possible.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see the other youngdy.¡± (Lord)

    ¡°Who knows, I wonder what happened to her.¡± (Yuna)

    I have no intention of exining.

    ¡°Well,e on. If you and Miss Primme are here, there is no problem.¡± (Lord)

    He didn¡¯t seem interested in Noa.

    But if he knew that it was because of Noa that we were able to use Ronne¡¯s handkerchief to know where Ronne was, he would have been interested in researching her.

    ¡°So, where are we going to fight?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The garden would be a fine location.¡± (Lord)

    The man walked off silently.

    I wanted to attack his defenseless back, but my tiny sense of justice refused.

    I guess I still had some conscience in me.

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re not going to attack me, are you?¡± (Lord)

    He seemed to have read my mind and spoke to me.

    ¡°If I did, would it have been okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I would have fought back. But I don¡¯t want you to do that because it would destroy the mansion.¡± (Lord)

    ¡°Do you think that if we fight in the garden, the mansion will not be destroyed?¡± (Yuna)

    With some Bear Magic, it would be easy to destroy such a mansion. But if we destroyed it, Rhyan, who sleeps in the basement, would be buried alive, and the other servants would be trapped under the copsed building.

    Considering this, it was not a good idea for me to fight inside the mansion.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than fighting inside the mansion.¡± (Lord)

    I didn¡¯t like it, but I agreed with the man¡¯s logic.

    We went outside the house.

    ¡°Is that smoke the work of your friends?¡±

    The man asked, looking at the smoke rising in the distance.

    We could see some smoke rising from the town. Apparently, Blitz-san and the others seemed to be doing well.

    ¡°Yes, they are. I¡¯m sure the magic circles that take away magic power from the residents should have been destroyed by now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, I can just rebuild them. It will be necessary to increase the amount of magic power we take away from residents in the future, so we need to strengthen magic circles anyway.¡± (Lord)

    The man turned to Primme and Ronne.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to rebuild them because it won¡¯t be needed. I and Ronne¡¯s partner, Ryan, will be out of here when this is over.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±¡­Fufufu.¡±¡±

    The man and Iughed at each other.

    Then we arrived at the center of the mansion¡¯s garden.

    There was supposed to be a flower bed, but now it was just filled with weeds. I wonder if there used to be flowers grown in this ce. Perhaps, because of the change of owners and the decrease in the number of servants, there was no one left to take care of the garden.

    ¡°But still, why did you decide to fight with a funny-looking woman like me?¡± (Yuna)

    Normally, people would not think of fighting when they see me dressed like this.

    Most people wouldugh at me, make fun of me, or try to catch me right then and there.

    ¡°What are you talking about? That overflowing magic power¡­ I know you are no ordinary girl.¡± (Lord)

    ¡°Overflowing magic power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thanks to Ronne, I can <b>see</b> magic power.¡± (Lord)

    Was that the same as the knight who could <b>feel</b> my magic power?

    But this man said he could see it, not feel it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone with this much magic power like you.¡± (Lord)

    ¡°No surprise, since you¡¯re stuck in this town. You haven¡¯t left town since Ronne came to this town, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I could tell that the amount of magic you have is way out of the norm.¡± (Lord)

    I wouldn¡¯t know because I¡¯ve neverpared my magic power with others, but since I could use powerful magic and bear magic, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they said I have a lot of magic power.

    After all, this body was created by God.

    ¡°So, I asked you toe outside because I would be in trouble if I went on a rampage in that room.¡± (Lord)

    ¡°But if you can see my enormous magic power, why don¡¯t you admit defeat and return Ronne?¡± (Yuki)

    ¡°Well, because I will definitely let that magic power be mine.¡± (Lord)

    The man¡­ Bellung, adopted a stance.

    ¡°Why not try it if you think you can do it?¡± (Yuna)

    I also adopted a fighting stance.

    ¡°The amount of magic power is not proportional to the skill of the fighter. You are too young. I don¡¯t think you have the experience.¡± (Lord)

    Normally, one would think so.

    But I have more fighting experience than anyone else.

    ¡°Primme and Ronne. If you think it¡¯s dangerous, get out of the way. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Kuhn~¡±¡±

    ¡°Yuna, if you lose, I won¡¯t ept it.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Take care not to push yourself too hard.¡± (Ronne)

    Primme and the others backed away.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s fight.¡± (Yuna)

    I fired a wind spell as a test.

    Bellung held his hand in front of him and blocked it with a wall of wind magic as if nothing had happened.

    He could easily block this level of magic. It appeared that he was not all talk.

    So, I tried releasing wind magic one after another, but it was blocked as well.

    ¡°Is that all you can do?¡±

    Annoying.

    I switched from wind magic to earth magic.

    The earth magic shooted out from the ground like a spear and attacked Bellung.

    But the moment it got in between Bellung¡¯s legs, the spear of earth turned into ordinary earth and crumbled away.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    What happened?

    The magic was broken?

    ¡°I told you that I can see your magic power. So I knew the magic wasing from the ground, so I canceled it out with my magic power and returned it to normal soil.¡± (Bellung)

    Easy for you to say, but how could someone do such a thing instantly?

    ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you rely on your enormous magical talent!¡±

    Bellung shouted, and the surrounding ground moved. I moved quickly and left the ce. Dirt stuck out of the ground like a spear.

    Did he just return my attack?

    ¡°Oh, you avoided it? Your reaction is good. And you don¡¯t move like a magician.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung said, amused.

    ¡°I don¡¯t rely on my enormous magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    But this amount of magic power was also my weapon.

    I used bear earth magic to make bears appear around Bellung. Even the all-knowing Bellung shouldn¡¯t be able to offset Bear Magic.

    ¡°Ugh!¡±(Bellung)

    Bellung moved. This time, instead of canceling it out, he avoided the bears that surrounded him.

    ¡°What is this? What¡¯s with that ridiculous magic?¡± (Bellung)

    It seemed that in Bellung¡¯s eyes, Bear Magic looked like a huge mass of magic power. So, when he realized that he couldn¡¯t cancel it out, he avoided it?

    ¡°You don¡¯t move like a magician either.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am the son of a Lord, and I have been learning swordsmanship and bodywork since I was a child. Of course, I have also learned and practiced with magic and other things in the ssroom.¡± (Bellung)

    As he said so, he unleashed a wind magic.

    I waved my arm and canceled it with my own wind magic.

    So he could use a sword as well as magic.

    The sword on his waist wasn¡¯t just for decoration.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to pull out your sword?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you mistakenly. I can go easy on you with magic.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°You¡¯ll lose if you talk about going easy on me.¡± (Yuna)

    I cast a wind spell.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± (Bellung)

    It was canceled out and became just wind.

    I released a fireball.

    He countered it with the same spell, and the fire disappeared.

    Wind, fire, earth, water, the basic magic. All of them blocked.

    Then there was electric magic¡­.

    ¡°Is that also what you got from Ronne¡¯s power?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I studied Ronne and Rhyan¡¯s magic, no matter how trivial it was. And I thought that one day I would be able to see Ronne without Ryan¡¯s magic. But that dream never came true. So this power was a product of that. It was not relevant to me, but it was necessary to protect Ronne from those who wanted to take her away from me.¡± (Bellung)

    This guy was definitely a twisted genius.

    He had be a researcher of the worst kind, whose thoughts were driven solely by his own desire to study fairies. In addition, he was a Lord, the worstbination of money and power.

    If he had studied in another direction, he might have be a Lord well-liked by the inhabitants.

    But this man did not use his talents for anything but fairies. A genius but with a narrow and limited mind.

    I might not be able to take it easy fighting him.

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 Chapter 704

    <h4>Chapter 704</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Fights Bellung Part 2</b>

    The battle between Bellung and I continued.

    I found out that strong magic, like bear magic, could not be canceled out.

    Bellung avoided bear magic without attempting to nullify it.

    In other words, even if it was not bear magic, it could not be canceled out as long as it was strong enough.

    Then, all I had to do was to increase the magic power output.

    But if the magic was too strong, it would end up killing Bellung the same way as bear magic would.

    I released my magic while gradually increasing its power.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use!¡± (Bellung)

    A spear of earth magic shot out of the ground, but it crumbled back to ordinary earth.

    It was still weak.

    I created a spear of earth magic with even more magic power.

    An exchange of magic attacks started between Bellung and me.

    Bellung also unleashed magic, but I was able to withstand it without problems.

    Our magic attacks gradually be stronger, confirming each other¡¯s abilities.

    Bellung moved his arm.

    A de of wind attacked me.

    I tried to block it with a wall of earth magic, but the wind de circled in.

    I moved in the opposite direction of the wind de and started running towards Bellung.

    I used earth magic with more magic power than before.

    Bellung¡¯s expression changed.

    The spear of earth magic copsed again, but the speed of the copse was slower than before.

    Did the cancetion not work in time?

    In other words, the borderline of whether Bellung was able to offset my attacks should be¡­

    ¡°Around this much, huh.¡± (Yuna)

    I created a spear at Bellung¡¯s feet with earth magic that had more magic than the previous one, but he could easily nullify it to be normal earth.

    Did Bellung also increase the magic power he was using?

    How much magic did Bellung have?

    No, it would be better to rephrase it as the amount of magic his body could contain.

    Even if he had a massive amount of magic power, it would only be meaningful if he could output the amount needed.

    However, Bellung¡¯s expression was beginning to change.

    Theposure he had at the beginning was gone.

    None of Bellung¡¯s attacks were a threat to my bear equipment.

    I created an earth bear and used it to attack Bellung in a manner that I could direct his movements.

    It was a sess, and Bellung moved as I expected, with his tongue clicking every time he was forced to move from my magic attacks.

    He dodged quickly, but I was only moving the earth bears to ¡®guide¡¯ him.

    Bellung kept erecting walls of earth to keep me away from him, but I smashed them with a bear punch and continued to charge towards him.

    ¡°¡­!¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung¡¯s expression changed as if he didn¡¯t expect me to fight him in close quarters.

    The distance between Bellung and me closed.

    I let the electric charge cling to my hands.

    A secret technique. Electric Magic.

    In this world without electricity, it was impossible to imagine an electric shock.

    Few people knew about Electric Magic. If one did not know something, they would naturally not be able to respond to it properly.

    Bellung, too, had never seen electricity before, so he was transfixed by the electric charge that clung to the bear puppet in my right hand.

    ¡°That magic is dangerous.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung¡¯s expression changed once more.

    Even though he knew that it was dangerous, it would be meaningless if he could not avoid it.

    I closed the gap at once.

    Bellung may have sensed the danger of the electric magic and used wind magic to move away, but I also created wind with my white bear puppet to chase after him. I then closed the distance between us once more, aiming to punch him in the face with my bear puppet, which was covered in electricity.

    I have weakened the electric shock on my bear puppet so as not to kill him.

    But if I managed to touch him, he would be numb and unable to move.

    I had already proven its effectiveness on a red-d adventurer I had met on a previous trip to the mine to obtain mithril.

    If Bellung got immobilized, I would easily win.

    I chased down the fleeing Bellung.

    Bellung pulled out his sword to keep me at bay.

    The sword and the electric bear puppet collided.

    At that moment, we moved backward.

    ¡°This numbness¡­¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung dropped the sword he was holding and pressed down on his arm.

    The electric shock may have been instantaneous, but not so instantaneous as to cause him to fall.

    But his movements slowed down.

    I casted electric charge on my gloves once more, and went to strike my fists at Bellung.

    That¡¯s it.

    Bellung pulled out a sword from what looked like an item bag, pulled it out of its sheath, and blocked the weak electric bear punch.

    This time he did not get hit.

    A mithril sword¡­

    Bellung was holding a mithril sword.

    When I fought the mithril golem, the electric punch had no effect on it.

    Did he see the weakness of the electric attack?

    Bellung looked at me with an observant eye as if to examine the electric charge on my bear puppet, and then he brandished his sword to keep me at bay.

    ¡°I thought I could do it without killing you, but I guess I can¡¯t.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°That¡¯s a line I would like to say, you know.¡± (Yuna)

    We were fighting each other while holding back.

    Bellung wanted to study me alive.

    Meanwhile, I was trying to avoid killing people.

    But one sentence from Bellung changed the way we fought.

    Bellung¡¯s magic became more powerful, and he tried to kill me.

    Our magic intersected.

    The bear¡¯s wind magic!

    Three des of wind struck Bellung.

    Bellung also used wind magic, but failed to block my wind despletely.

    The weakened wind des managed to pass through his defenses.

    When they did, Bellung was grazed, and blood oozed out of his arm.

    He couldn¡¯t offset the bear magic, but he weakened it enough for him to withstand it.

    Then, I could just make Bellung use his magic power until he ran out of it. After all, it would take a lot of magic power for him to prevent bear magic.

    To sum it up, I nned to force Bellung to use his magic power. After that, I would hunt him down.

    Bellung also fired magic at me, but I counteracted it with bear magic.

    Gradually, the equilibrium was broken.

    I had an overwhelming advantage just based on the number of attacks we couldunch. That showed the difference in the amount of magic power we possessed.

    Bellung¡¯s legs became tangled as he avoided my magic.

    He was running out of stamina.

    Thanks to my bear gear, I have enough stamina and magic power tost for a while longer.

    But Bellung¡¯s stamina was not so good.

    People have limits. He was still a human¡­. Well, I am also a human, just you know.

    I created a wall of bears that surrounded Bellung when he stumbled.

    Bellung reacted to the magic and tried to leave, but it was toote. And so he was surrounded by a wall of bears and could not escape.

    I caught him.

    ¡°Yuna, are you done?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m done, but don¡¯t go near him yet.¡± (Yuna)

    I caught him, but I didn¡¯t know what he would do.

    I slowly approached Bellung.

    ¡°I win. I¡¯m afraid I have to destroy the magic stone.¡± (Yuna)

    I could impact Bellung¡¯s body through the gap between the bears, which would break the magic stone.

    Good thing I didn¡¯t end up killing him somehow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung red at me.

    Well, he probably didn¡¯t expect to lose to a girl dressed in a silly looking bear suit.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you do it.¡± (Bellung)

    The moment Bellung said so, his magic power was amplified, to the point that it was visible to me who could not see magic power.

    And then an incredible scene happened before my eyes.

    The bear wall copsed.

    Did he just cancel bear magic?

    ¡°Ouch, ouch!¡± (Ronne)

    As I was surprised, a voice shouted from behind me.

    I turned around to see Ronne holding her body in agony.

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    ¡°What did you do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am only receiving her magic power, she will be fine.¡± (Bellung)

    Did you mean that he was forcibly sapping away Ronne¡¯s power?

    He could do that as well?

    ¡°But it¡¯s your fault. I didn¡¯t want to do this either. But you didn¡¯t want to be mine.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung¡¯s eyes curved into narrow crescent slits.

    I didn¡¯t need that kind of proposal-like line.

    You just wanted me for Primme in the first ce.

    ¡°Ugh, it hurts. My body hurts. Be, Bellung, could you possibly¡­?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne started to suffer again. Primme hugged Ronne with concern.

    ¡°Yuna, Bellung is taking magic power from the residents.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°The magic power of the town¡¯s residents? How is that possible? I¡¯m sure everyone has destroyed the device that takes away residents¡¯ magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    There was smoke. It was a signal that they had destroyed the device that took away the magic power.

    ¡°Did you think that I only prepared those obvious ones? That¡¯s not the case, you know. After all, I have always prepared in case someone who wants to take Ronne will appear, so I prepared even more that were hidden.¡± (Bellung)

    So that¡¯s why he was indifferent when those watchtowers were destroyed.

    ¡°But you know, I didn¡¯t want to use this because there is one problem.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung¡¯s expression changed.

    His light smile and petnt mockery disappeared, and his eyes became serious.

    ¡°I will not give you Ronne, even if the other party is the King himself, and I will not allow anyone to take Ronne away from me.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung shouted, and Ronne started to cry out in pain even more.

    All the magic power being collected was flowing to Bellung through Ronne!

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    My voice was muffled by the wind.

    After I said so, wind wrapped around Bellung¡¯s body, creating a storm around him.

    The flowerbeds broke, trees fell, and the windows of the mansion shattered.

    Soon, the storm subsided, and I saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were protecting Primme and Ronne.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, and I¡¯ll kill anyone who takes Ronne away from me.¡± (Bellung)

    He looked like a different person from the one I had been fighting earlier.

    ¡°Yuna, be careful. That¡¯s not the Bellung you saw earlier!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne said in pain, and Bellung attacked me.

    It differed from earlier when we were attacking each other to know our limits.

    I could feel a strong killing intent from him.

    Ronne said, ¡°This is the side effect. A little bit of magic power is okay, but when he absorbs too much magic power to make himself stronger, it changes his personality. Someone tried to take me away from him before. The angry Bellung destroyed the whole area.¡±

    Side effects¡­ such things.

    Come to think of it, I heard that the Knights became arrogant after they became stronger. I had thought they became arrogant because of their power, but maybe that was also a side effect of being drunk on magic.

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 Chapter 705

    <h4>Chapter 705</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Fights Bellung Part 3</b>

    ¡°How do we bring him back to his senses!¡± (Yuna)

    I asked as I avoided Bellung¡¯s attack.

    Bellung was not in his right mind. His instincts probably dictated that anyone taking Ronne from him was his enemy. Thoughts of Primme disappeared from his mind as well, so his restraints had been removed.

    ¡°Now that Bellung has be like this, he will not stop until he runs out of magic power. The magic power is currently being drained from the residents and transferred to Ryan through me.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne held her chest and replied in pain.

    ¡°So what happenedst time?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That time Ryan managed to stop Bellung by cutting off the supply of magic power on his end.¡± (Ronne)

    But Ryan was currently sleeping in the basement, so I couldn¡¯t ask him to do that.

    ¡°Can¡¯t Ronne stop him?¡± (Yuna)

    If Ryan could, there was a chance that Ronne in the middle of it could stop him, too.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I used to be able to, but now I¡¯m being forcibly siphoned of my magic.¡± (Ronne)

    All of this was probably done by the magic circles on Bellung¡¯s body, right?

    Bellung¡¯s body had magic circles drawn on it and even magic stones embedded in it.

    Those magic circles seemed to be rted to how Bellung was able to siphon the local residents¡¯ magic power.

    ¡°So, it won¡¯t stop until the magic power of the people in this town is depleted.¡± (Yuna)

    Until the magic power of the residents depletes¡­

    ¡°Does that mean that the residents will continue to be siphoned off of their magic power even after they copse?¡± (Yuna)

    That would not be good.

    I copsed when I used up all my magic power when defeating the Kraken.

    In the Land of Wa, Sakura and Ruimin used their magic power to strengthen the serpent¡¯s seal; at the end, both were on the verge of losing consciousness and copsing.

    If Bellung could continue to rob residents of their magic power even after they lost consciousness¡­

    I didn¡¯t even want to imagine it.

    When Bellung held up his hand, a tornado was created and headed for me, engulfing the surrounding area.

    I created a tornado as well. The two tornadoes collided, making grass, stones, and other debris fly into the air.

    Just as I noticed that the ground was shaking, countless spears shot out from the ground and attacked me.

    I avoided them and ran.

    I sent him a wind de, but Bellung also countered with the same attack, nullifying each other out.

    Bellung could still detect that an attack was approaching him.

    I tried to close in on him after the wind des were nullified.

    My hands were covered with electric current.

    This time, the electric current I was using was far stronger than what I use to paralyze people.

    If it hit him, he might die.

    Even so, I had to stop Bellung here.

    Bellung retreated backwards as if to escape.

    Perhaps afraid of the unknown magic, electric magic, Bellung did not want me to approach him.

    But I, who had bear equipment, chased after Bellung, who was running away. The distance between us was getting shorter and shorter.

    Soon enough, we were in melee range.

    Bellung¡¯s mithril sword and Bear puppet collided.

    ¡°What the heck? That glove¡­¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung muttered to himself, but I didn¡¯t answer. In Bellung¡¯s mind, he shelved the thought of keeping me alive to further study Primme.

    He wanted only to get rid of the obstacle in front of him.

    His mithril sword was about to strike me.

    I created a bear out of the ground, but the earth bear was cut down.

    The mithril sword was glowing.

    A magic infused mithril sword!

    Bellung used his weapon to destroy my bear magic attacks.

    I took out my mithril knife and parried Bellung¡¯s sword, which threw Bellung off bnce. I kicked Bellung with the sole of my foot.

    As a result, Bellung was blown away and rolled on the ground from my kick.

    ¡°Haah, haah.¡± (Bellung)

    There was no time for him to catch his breath.

    Bellung had been fighting me too hard, and now he was paying the price for it.

    Ronne was suffering, and so were the people of this town.

    It was my fault.

    But even if I had fought seriously from the beginning, the situation might have turned out the same.

    Bellung stood up.

    The amount of power behind my kick should have been enough to knock someone out.

    I guess he was currently buffed up.

    It was correct to let Noa go home.

    As dangerous as it was, I couldn¡¯t let Noa see a fight between people trying to kill each other.

    I had to do it.

    It was my own decision.

    I would never change my mind to help Primme.

    However, knowing how bad people could end up, I should really prepare myself to kill if I had no other choice.

    ¡°Phew.¡± (Yuna)

    I stepped back for a bit to catch my breath.

    Bellung used his fire magic to create a swirl of mes around me, keeping me from getting too close. The mes ignited the surroundings. The surrounding trees were burning, and I was in the middle of the fire.

    I created a stream of water to douse the vortex of mes and stepped into it, and as I stepped forward, I coated my bear puppet with electric current.

    But Bellung was aiming to keep me at bay with his mithril sword and magic.

    Bellung¡¯s fire magic attacked me from the side.

    I created a wall of earth bears to protect myself from the mes.

    He was doing his utmost to stop me from getting nearer.

    Bellung certainly became stronger when he stopped thinking about anything else.

    ¡°Bear Cutter.¡± (Yuna)

    Three des of wind struck Bellung.

    Bellung¡¯s mithril sword glowed, and when he swung it down, the bear¡¯s wind de was cut. The cut bear wind de slipped through Bellung¡¯s attack.

    He received minor injuries from it.

    No surprise, given that he could even destroy the earth bears.

    But I wondered how much more magic power he needed to counter my bear magic?

    The more powerful my attacks became, the more magic power he drained from the residents.

    <b>*Rosa¡¯s POV*</b>

    ¡°So I guess this is as far as you go.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz pointed his sword at the man.

    The man dropped his sword with his arm bleeding as he groaned.

    ¡°Argh!! That¡­ hurts!!¡± (Knight)

    At first, he was smug, but then Blitz beat him with a sword, so he called around for help, but there was no way we were going to let that happen. The other knights also sumbed.

    The knights were strong but all fighting for themselves, and there was no proper coordination. Since they were only attacking us individually, we could deal with them even if they were strong.

    ¡°If you move, you will bleed to death, so don¡¯t try anything.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. I can¡¯t believe I lost.¡± (Knight)

    ¡°You are powerful, but your movements are mediocre. No matter how powerful you are, you will lose the battle if you don¡¯t have skill. Fighting only with strength is the same as monsters. No, there are even monsters who think to survive, and you are no better than them.¡± (Blitz)

    The Knights were pretty reckless in their methods. Even monsters had to think before they engaged in a fight

    Well, some monsters simply attacked with a deadly strike.

    However, those monsters would never stop fighting just because they were cut by a sword or even if they were heavily wounded.

    These knights were not prepared to fight at all.

    This may also be because they have gained the power of fairies.

    Blitz gave the order to tie up the fallen knights tied up, so Ran and I blinded them with earth magic.

    ¡°Blitz, what do we do now?¡± (Rosa)

    We could head to two ces: To help Yuna or help the Guild Master.

    We have already destroyed two watchtowers.

    If the Guild Master¡¯s side was still struggling, we should go there, but when I looked up, I saw smoke in other ces.

    We were making good progress.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go to Yuna. The other ces will be fine since the Guild Master is with them.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Right.¡± (Rosa)

    Since our n was leaked, the party exposed to risk would be Yuna-chan and the others who were headed for the mansion.

    I know Yuna-chan was strong, but Noa-chan and Primme-chan were also with her. Even Yuna-chan might be in danger if she had to fight while protecting them.

    There was no opposition from Ran and Grimos, so the moment I was about to head for the mansion, I was struck by the sensation of something being sucked out of my body.

    The strength left my body, and I fell to my knees.

    ¡°What?¡± (Rosa)

    Not only me but everyone else fell on their knees as well.

    ¡°Is our magic power being siphoned away?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°How? I thought we already destroyed the devices that take away magic power.¡± (Ran)

    Ran and I have a lot of magic power, so we felt difort.

    ¡°But I can clearly feel magic power getting drained from my body.¡± (Rosa)

    It was like the feeling after using arge amount of magic.

    It was difficult to put into words, but only the sensation of reduced magic power remained.

    ¡°Hey, what is going on here? Wasn¡¯t the towers the source that takes away magic power?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz stood up and asked the knights who were tied up, but they were also suffering.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. But there must have been something else here to take away the magic power, since the Lord sometimes did things on his own. We don¡¯t know where that might be either. That means he never trusted us, either.¡± (Knight)

    The man replied in pain.

    So all we did was for nothing?

    ¡°But why are you all also getting your magic power siphoned off?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°The only ce that is not siphoned of magic is thepound where the mansion is located.¡± (Knight)

    So that¡¯s why magic power was siphoned from residents in the middle of the night.

    If the knights stayed in the mansion, they would not have their magic power siphoned off.

    ¡°But why would he drain magic from us now?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°The most likely exnation is Yuna. Maybe they needed the magic power to give it to their Lord or the knights in the mansion.¡± (Blitz)

    That means Yuna-chan was fighting alone.

    ¡°Can you guys move?¡± (Blitz)

    I said after standing up, ¡°I can move somehow.¡±

    Grimos replied, ¡°I¡¯m okay too.¡±

    ¡°I can move, but I don¡¯t think I can fight.¡± (Ran)

    Ran checked the magic power in her body.

    I also checked my magic power, but it was drained significantly.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go alone.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, you¡¯re going by yourself?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave the two who can¡¯t use magic. So, Grimos, you take care of them.¡± (Blitz)

    Grimos nodded, seemingly satisfied with the reason for Blitz¡¯s instructions.

    But I was worried about letting Blitz go alone, and I was also concerned about Yuna-chan.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°But you are¡­¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I have some magic stones I could use, so I can still muster a fight.¡± (Rosa)

    I should be able to use magic stones to restore my magic power for a little while.

    ¡°I won¡¯t slow you down. Besides, once we¡¯re on mansion grounds, we won¡¯t be drained of our magic power anymore.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°¡­I understand. But just promise me you¡¯ll run away if you see any danger.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Rosa)

    Just as Blitz and I were about to go to the mansion.

    ¡°Rosa!¡±

    Ran called my name and tossed me a small bag.

    I epted the small bag and looked inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Rosa)

    Inside the small bag were magic stones.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here, take it with you.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Rosa)

    I gratefully epted it.

    ¡°You two, meet up with the Guild Master.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Ran)

    We split up and started moving towards our goal.

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 Chapter 706

    <h4>Chapter 706</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Fights Bellung Part 4</b>

    <b>*Ryan¡¯s PoV*</b>

    I could feel Ronne¡¯s feelings.

    Ronne was always crying.

    I was tormented by the realization that I brought Ronne here.

    I did not expect Bellung¡¯s obsession with fairies to go this far.

    I just wanted to make Bellung happy. But Bellung was jealous of me for being able to see fairies and wanted to make Ronne his own.

    When I tried to make Ronne leave, Bellung refused.

    He became angry and said that he would not allow such a thing.

    And I was drugged andid here for a long time. I couldn¡¯t open my eyes or my mouth, but every once in a while, I would regain consciousness. Sometimes, I regain consciousness when Ronne was near me or when I felt a great emotional response from her.

    But that was always when Ronne was crying.

    I was unable to reach out to her, talk to her, orfort her.

    I would like to see Ronne¡¯s face.

    ¡°Ryan.¡± (Ronne)

    She was crying again today.

    ¡°My sister came looking for me. She asked me toe home with her. But I said terrible things and turned her away.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I can¡¯t go home with her.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Primme would be in danger if I left with her.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I think Bellung wille after me.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Well, listen, Primme¡¯s partner is dressed as a bear. But she is a lovely girl.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne narrated what happened that day. Sometimes happily, sometimes sadly.

    ¡°But it was nice to see Primme onest time.¡± (Ronne)

    It wasn¡¯t thest time. I wanted to tell her they would see each other again.

    However, I couldn¡¯t even speak those words.

    Ronne was sad, but I couldn¡¯t do anything to help her.

    I gradually fell asleep, as if sinking into the depths of darkness, and my consciousness was vanishing.

    Ronne¡­I¡¯m sorry.

    ¡­

    A shock of pain suddenly struck my body.

    I was awakened again.

    I could hear Ronne¡¯s voice.

    It appeared that Ronne¡¯s sister came to attempt to rescue Ronne with somebody.

    It might be her sister Primme¡¯s partner, the girl dressed as a bear that I heard the other day.

    They then started to take me away with them but gave up when I started to suffer.

    This room was designed to channel the magic of the inhabitants of the town to me, Ronne, and Bellung.

    The effective range was within this room. If I moved further away, I would not be able to receive the magic power, but Bellung would continue unterally to take magic power away from me. Therefore, I could not leave this mansion without Bellung¡¯s permission.

    The fact that they have abandoned the idea of carrying me away eases the bitterness.

    Ronne, just abandon me and run far away with your sister.

    I wish I could tell her that, but I could not.

    Then I heard a knight of the mansion appear, and a girl named Yuna, who came to help Ronne, decided to fight.

    The girl was fighting the Knight to get me and Ronne out.

    If the girl were to die, I would not be able to forgive myself.

    Please, just leave me and take Ronne and run away.

    In vain, I could hear nothing but the sound of the Knight and the girl, fighting.

    Then, while the knight and the girl were talking, Bellung appeared, and I knew that he had killed the knight.

    For Bellung, now I have nothing but hate.

    I could not forgive Bellung for causing Ronne to suffer.

    He trampled on my kindness and Ronne¡¯s kindness.

    Bellung also had his eyes on the girl named Yuna, who could see Primme, Ronne¡¯s sister.

    And he wanted the girl for himself.

    I didn¡¯t want the girl to be like me.

    I wanted her to escape.

    But she agreed to fight.

    Then Bellung said that they would be moving to another ce to fight to prevent the destruction of this room.

    I did not care about myself anymore. Destroy this room, kill me, and take Ronne with you.

    Please¡­

    Just kill me.

    No one could hear me.

    The room became empty and quiet.

    How much time had passed since then?

    No one returned.

    At that moment, arge amount of magic power flowed into my body.

    I had experienced this once in the past.

    Bellung would only do this when he urgently required a surge of magic power.

    Magic power entered and left my body at the same time.

    It hurts. I could feel Ronne¡¯s pain as well.

    I wanted to run to her immediately but couldn¡¯t move my body.

    What is happening?

    As the flow of magic power subsided, I noticed a strange sensation.

    My eyelids, which I was unable to open before, opened.

    I was inside the room. Perhaps the enormous flow of magic power at once woke me up?

    However, when I tried to get up, my body didn¡¯t move.

    How long have I been asleep?

    I have no sense of time, so I didn¡¯t know.

    All I could feel was Ronne¡¯s feeling of anxiety.

    Please, please move.

    I put effort into it, but I could barely move at all.

    I could not walk, nor could I stand up.

    I wanted to go to Ronne.

    Just then, I heard someoneing down the stairs.

    ¡°What is it? What is this room?¡±

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this cloth?¡±

    ¡°Uwaah!¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

    ¡°Captain¡­ he¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°How could he be dead in a ce like this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. This ce is off-limits, the door is always locked. You know that, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But the lock is broken, and the door is open, so I just came to check what happened here.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡±

    Wait, please don¡¯t go.

    I moved my body.

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a guy over there¡­¡±

    He noticed me.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    A man and a woman approached me.

    ¡°Is this man¡­?¡±

    ¡°This is Ryan-san.¡±

    I recognized him. A knight and a servant woman in the service of this mansion.

    ¡°How did he end up here, in a ce like this, looking like this?¡± (Knight)

    I tried to open my mouth, but my voice wouldn¡¯te out.

    ¡°Ryan-san, are you okay?¡± (Maid)

    ¡°Water¡­!¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Ryan-san, wait a minute.¡± (Knight)

    The knight magically created water and poured it into my mouth.

    The water quickly went down my throat.

    ¡°Thank, you, thank you.¡± (Ryan)

    My voice was raspy, but I was able to speak.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± (Maid)

    The room shook.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talkter, but for now, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I know, Ryan-san, I¡¯ll carry you on my back.¡± (Knight)

    The man helped me up, and with the help of the woman, he put me on his back.

    ¡°Thank¡­ thank you.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°For now, I¡¯m going to leave the room, so please hold on tight.¡± (Knight)

    I grabbed onto his shoulders with all my strength, trying not to fall off.

    That was all I could do.

    The man took one look at the dead man on the floor before walking up the stairs.

    ¡°What the heck happened to you?¡± (Knight)

    I could not answer that question at the moment.

    The only thing I could think of was the uneasy feeling Ronne was conveying.

    <b>*Yuna¡¯s PoV*</b>

    Bellung¡¯s power was getting stronger and stronger.

    He was moving at an unbelievable speed for a human, unleashing powerful magic when he was far away, and attacking with his mithril sword when I closed the distance.

    Bellung gathered the magic power of the town¡¯s inhabitants and was further strengthened by Ronne¡¯s power.

    I, on the other hand, was strengthened by bear magic.

    I wondered if his supply of magic power siphoned from the local residents or if my own power would run out first.

    Our mithril weapons collided.

    Bellung staggered, but he quickly got back up.

    I might believe him if he said he was no longer human.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    Primme looked at me, concerned.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault. Don¡¯t fight anymore.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ronne¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna, thank you for fighting for me, thank you for letting me see Primme.¡± (Ronne)

    She looked at me with a look of realization, of having made up her mind to do something.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked, anxiously.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the courage to die.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne pulled out something small.

    A knife!

    ¡°I should have done this from the beginning.¡± (Ronne)

    Next, Ronne gripped the knife-like object with both hands and swung it down towards her throat.

    I was too far away to do anything. Thankfully, Primme, who was nearby, reacted first and stopped her in time.

    ¡°Sis!¡± (Primme)

    I could see what looked like blood flowing from Primme¡¯s tiny hands.

    She was holding something that looked like a tiny knife, which Ronne was holding.

    ¡°Primme¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis, stop. Why should my sister have to die for that man? It¡¯s not your fault.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because I helped Bellung with his research.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°That was for your partner, Ryan, wasn¡¯t it?¡± (Primme)

    Ronne liked Ryan.

    I could tell just by listening to her talk.

    She was helping out for the sake of that favorite Ryan.

    ¡°Primme is right, Ronne is not the one who should die. I won¡¯t say that Ronne doesn¡¯t have any sin. But you simply had no choice and were at the mercy of that man, and you were only helping him to protect Ryan.¡± (Yuna)

    There was nothing wrong with making others unhappy to protect someone you care about.

    But sometimes, that would be the only path you could take and you would have no choice but to move forward.

    Even if it was a path you didn¡¯t want to take.

    There were times in this world when choices were not avable.

    ¡°Yuna¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I know¡­ you were probably thinking how I am going to defeat Bellung, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you can win. And even if you can, the people of this town will be in trouble because of me. Please, let me die¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Sis¡­¡± (Primme)

    Things ended up this way because I was trying not to kill people as my mind refused tomit to it.

    Even now, I remain perplexed by the thought of killing someone.

    As a person who had lived a normal life beforeing to this world, I never had the nerve to kill people, even when I had the power to do so. It was not easy to change my mind and kill someone just because I arrived in this new world.

    That only happens in mangas and novels. I never had the instincts to do so.

    But if I did not kill Bellung here, no one would be saved.

    While my heart wavered, a voice answered.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    A man and a womane out from the mansion.

    They wore the clothes of a Knight and a maid. And there was someone with them piggybacking on the Knight¡¯s back.

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 Chapter 707

    <h4>Chapter 707</h4>

    <b>Bear-San Fights Bellung Part 5</b>

    The knight and the maid looked at us.

    ¡°Ronne-sama and another fairy. And three bears¡­¡± (Knight)

    Did you just say three bears?

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, right?

    Could they have bad eyesight?

    I wanted to ask him a few questions, but now was not the right time.

    ¡°Ronne¡­¡±

    The figure on the knight¡¯s back called Ronne¡¯s name in a quiet voice.

    ¡°¡­Ry, Ryan.¡±

    Ronne burst into tears and flew to the three peopleing out of the mansion.

    On the knight¡¯s back was Ryan, who had been sleeping in the basement.

    ¡°Ryan, you¡¯re awake!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne hugged Ryan¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Ryan)

    He replied in a low voice.

    ¡°Jeez, you¡¯re up toote.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°You¡¯re so skinny.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne cried, hugging Ryan¡¯s face.

    I knew that if Ryan were to leave the room, magic power would stop being supplied to him, and he would start to suffer.

    However, there was no sign of that happening right now. Was he still in effective range?

    Ryan smiled at Ronne and turned to Bellung.

    ¡°Bellung¡­¡± (Ryan)

    Bellung stopped moving and looked at Ryan with a nk stare.

    ¡°Is that Master Bellung?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Really¡­?¡± (Maid)

    When Ryan mentioned Bellung¡¯s name, the Knight and Maid were surprised to see the change in Bellung¡¯s appearance.

    Bellung¡¯s appearance had changed.

    He had already lost his confident appearance at the start of their battle.

    ¡°Where are you taking that man?¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung asked the Knight.

    ¡°Master Bellung. Listen to me. The lock on that door that was off-limits was broken, and the door was open. So, when I went to check the basement, I found the captain dead and Ryan-san sleeping there.¡± (Knight)

    The Knight exined to Bellung.

    Well, the person who killed your captain was the man you were talking to.

    ¡°Where are you taking him¡­¡± (Bellung)

    Hearing the same question, the Knight repeated his answer again, but Bellung still didn¡¯t seem to understand what the knight was saying.

    Perhaps the only thing Bellung could think of was Ryan and Ronne.

    ¡°Bellung, you¡¯ve be such a sad figure¡­¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan said while looking at Bellung with sad eyes.

    ¡°Ronne is mine.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Ronne is not yours. Bellung, it¡¯s time to end this.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan let out a pained cry as he pushed himself off the knight¡¯s back, causing Ryan to fall to the ground with a plop.

    ¡°Ryan-san!¡± (Knight)

    The knight was surprised by his sudden action.

    ¡°Ryan!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne looked worried as Ryan copsed to the ground.

    ¡°Yuna-san, right? I apologize for not saying hello, but please take good care of Ronne for me.¡± (Ryan)

    How did he know my name?

    Ryan slowly sat up, with a knife in his hand¡­ where did he get it from?

    ¡°Ryan-san, that knife¡­¡± (Knight)

    Before we could stop him, Ryan plunged the knife into his chest.

    ¡°Ryan!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne hugged Ryan.

    ¡°If I don¡¯t do this, there will be no stopping the power that is being channeled to Bellung. Please stop Bellung.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

    Ryan¡¯s eyes were closed, and his body was motionless.

    ¡°Ryan, Ryan.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°That is my¡­¡± (Knight)

    Ronne cried out. The knight and maid were stunned and stupefied, unable to process what was happening in front of their eyes.

    Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, and Primme were also just watching.

    So was I.

    ¡°Ryan! Ryan, wake up. Please wake up. You¡¯ve barely woken up, and you¡¯re being so mean to me.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne cried into Ryan¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t die.¡± (Ronne)

    I came to my senses and tried to approach Ryan to cast a healing spell, but Bellung shot a magic attack at me. Thankfully, I managed to dodge it.

    ¡°Ryan!¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung wobbled as he approached Ryan. He kneeled in front of the fallen Ryan.

    ¡°Ry, ya, n.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault. It¡¯s your fault that Ryan is dead.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne pped Bellung in the face with her tiny hand.

    But there was no response from Bellung.

    ¡°Ry, ya, n.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung touched Ryan¡¯s body again, calling his name in a low voice. Suddenly, Bellung¡¯s body started to glow as if it were overflowing with magic power.

    ¡°What!¡± (Yuna)

    The people around Bellung were sent flying by his magic power.

    The knight and the maid rolled on the ground. Ronne was also sent flying in the air, but I managed to catch her in time.

    ¡°Ugh, it hurts.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne began to feel pain again.

    It was the same situation as when Bellung forcefully drained magic power from Ronne earlier.

    Was he trying to get more power?

    But why? Ryan was dead.

    ¡°Ronne!¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It hurts!¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne passed out from the pain.

    ¡°Ro¡­nne.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung slowly got up and looked at me. Next, he attacked me with great speed.

    Bellung swung his sword down at me.

    I blocked Bellung¡¯s sword with my mithril knife.

    How was he still getting power?

    Was he using Ryan¡¯s corpse as a medium?

    Or, was Ryan still alive?

    Bellung was releasing an unprecedented amount of magic power.

    ¡°Give me back Ronne¡­¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°I can¡¯t just give her back to you. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear!¡± (Yuna)

    I shouted and kicked Bellung away at the same time.

    Then I put the unconscious Ronne on Swaying Bear¡¯s back.

    ¡°Please take care of her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuhnnn!¡±

    ¡°You guys get away from here as soon as possible.¡± (Yuna)

    I said to the knight and the maid.

    ¡°Where to?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Anyway, if you don¡¯t get away from Bellung, he will kill you!¡± (Yuna)

    Bellung and I resumed our battle.

    Ryan was bleeding and lying on the ground.

    He may still be alive, but even if I wanted to help him, Bellung would get in the way.

    Bellung was furious and attacked me without regard.

    Fast¡­

    <b>Rosa¡¯s PoV</b>

    We borrowed the horses the knights rode and headed straight for the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    The town was in chaos.

    Some were in pain, some copsed. Some were being cared for.

    It seemed that they had been siphoned off their magic power.

    What in the world was happening at the mansion?

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Rosa)

    I was feeling weaker and weaker as my magic power was getting drained.

    I gripped the reins tightly and tried not to fall off the horse.

    ¡°Rosa, are you okay?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz, who was worried about me, also looked pained.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Rosa)

    I used the magic stone I borrowed from Ran and felt a brief respite.

    ¡°Are you okay, Blitz?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m fine, but it¡¯s a little tough. However, I am worried about Yuna and the others.¡± (Blitz)

    We knew Yuna-chan was strong, but we were still worried. After all, knowing that our n was already leaked to the Lord, it was quite possible that the Knights have been waiting for someone to attack the mansion, that being Yuna-chan.

    Under such circumstances, Yuna-chan might be fighting against the Knights strengthened by the power of fairies while protecting Noa-chan and the others alone.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Rosa)

    We could not save the town residents right now.

    All we could do now was to go to the Lord¡¯s mansion and clean up this mess.

    We rode our horses to the Lord¡¯s mansion.

    We saw something in the shape of a bear as we approached the mansion. There were several of them, and those bear-like shapes were standing there as if they were imprisoning someone.

    Looking more closely, there were knights being held inside the bear shaped cage.

    ¡°Yuna did this?¡± (Rosa)

    I could only assume so. Yuna-chan must have been the one to stall these knights.

    If these knights had gone to stop the Guild Master or us, the operation would have failed.

    Thanks to Yuna-chan¡¯s efforts to stop these Knights here, we managed to destroy the devices draining the resident¡¯s magic power.

    Still, our efforts were for naught, and the attempt to destroy all the magic-draining devices ended in failure.

    The Knights were suffering in the bear cage, but now every moment counts. There was no time to help them as well as the inhabitants.

    Besides, if we help them, they might attack us, so we must leave them alone for now.

    Passing by the knights locked in the bear cage, we encountered more Knights and maids who seemed to havee from the mansion but had copsed in agony.

    Our horses galloped past them, but the knights did not seem to pay attention to us.

    Maybe they did not have the luxury of worrying about us.

    We, too, were feeling weak as every moment passed by.

    ¡°What in the world is going on in the mansion?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry!¡± (Blitz)

    And then, we finally arrived at the front of the mansion.

    Without the horses, we would have never made it here.

    The walls surrounding the mansion, somehow had been destroyed. The same went for the walls of the mansion itself. The fight between Yuna-chan and a creepy guy was still ongoing.

    The fight between the two did not look like a human battle.

    They moved fast, with sword and knife shing.

    When they unleashed their magic, the ground was gouged, and more walls were destroyed.

    ¡°So this is how you really fight, missy.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Blitz¡­¡± (Rosa)

    We all know that Yuna-chan was strong.

    But we only knew it from what we were told, we had actually never witnessed her in any real fights.

    ¡°She looks so astonishing that it makes one jealous.¡± (Blitz)

    I could understand that feeling. Not only was her magic top-ss, but her movements and knife handling were also top-ss. Blitz would not be able to win against Yuna in a fight using magic, nor would he be able to win against her if he fought with his sword.

    That¡¯s how wide the difference was between Yuna-chan¡¯s fighting ability and ours. Who was that guy who was fighting Yuna-chan on equal terms, though?

    ¡°Rosa, over there is Yuna¡¯s bear.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then a man and a woman, and then someone who was injured and had fallen down.

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 Chapter 708

    <h4>Chapter 708</h4>

    <b>Bear-san, Settling the Battle</b>

    *Rosa PoV*

    We dismounted from our horses, climbed over the copsed fence, and rushed over to Swaying Bear-chan and the others.

    ¡°Primme-chan!¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Uh, Rosa and Blitz?¡± (Primme)

    Primme-chan noticed us.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who is that man?¡± (Rosa)

    I approached the man lying on the ground.

    He was emaciated and bleeding from the chest.

    A knife was lying on the ground nearby.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± (Rosa)

    I asked the knight.

    ¡°It¡¯s my knife, but Ryan-san stabbed himself.¡± (Knight)

    ¡°It¡¯s true. It wasn¡¯t him.¡± (Maid)

    The maid said as she, too, defended the man.

    I asked Primme-chan for a brief update on the situation.

    Yuna and the team had sessfully met with Primme¡¯s sister, Ronne.

    Then, they met Ronne¡¯s partner, Ryan.

    Next, Bellung, the Lord, found out that Yuna-chan is Primme-chan¡¯s partner and decides to fight Yuna-chan to get Primme-chan for himself.

    While Yuna-chan and Bellung were fighting, the Knight and Maid brought Ryan, who just woke up from aa in the basement, to here.

    And that Ryan stabbed himself with a knife in the chest.

    That Lord Bellung went crazy and Ronne fainted.

    Ronne was now on Swaying Bear-chan¡¯s back.

    Before we started listening to Primme-chan¡¯s story, Blitz had already begun treating the copsed man named Ryan. While Blitz was treating the man, he noticed various patterns painted on his body.

    I think these were the magic circles that Primme-Chan was talking about.

    ¡°Blitz, what is his condition¡­¡± (Rosa)

    Blitz shook his head as he said, ¡°Barely alive, but it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡±

    We recalled the state of the town.

    We could not afford to help others right now.

    There was also nothing we could do for Ryan.

    I looked around me. One person who went with them to the mansion was not here.

    ¡°Primme-chan, I don¡¯t see Noa-chan.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Kuh-uh.¡±

    Swaying Bear-chan squealed at Primme-chan.

    ¡°I know. Well, Noa is in a safe ce, so don¡¯t worry about her.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s in a safe ce.¡± (Primme)

    If she said so, then I would stop worrying about Noa-chan. We must take care of our current problems one at a time.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s get away from here.¡± (Rosa)

    Behind me, two people were fighting.

    A gust of wind was blowing. It would be dangerous to stay here.

    ¡°Kuh~n.¡±

    Hugging Bear approached and crouched down next to the fallen man.

    ¡°You want me to put him on your back?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Kuhn.¡±

    It was not a good idea to move Ryan, but that didn¡¯t mean we could just let him lie here like that.

    We would never know when Yuna-chan and her opponent might identally send their attack magic to our location.

    Blitz and I slowly put the man on Hugging Bear¡¯s back, and we left the ce where Yuna-chan was fighting.

    And then the man dressed as a knight, who had also calmed down, asked us.

    ¡°Hey, who are you guys?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°We¡¯re adventurers who came to rescue Primme¡¯s sister.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz turned to Ronne, who was unconscious on the back of Swaying Bear assisted by Primme, and the Knight and Maid also turned to look at her.

    ¡°Ronne¡¯s sister¡­. So you guys are taking Ronne-sama with you?¡± (Knight)

    ¡°Yes, we intend to. That¡¯s what we promised Primme.¡±

    ¡°And the smoke at the outskirts of town¡­¡± (Knight)

    The knight looked out of the mansion.

    Blitz and I nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we had to destroy the devices that siphon the inhabitants of their magic power.¡±

    ¡°But some of them were installed in locations that even the knights didn¡¯t know about, so we couldn¡¯t destroy them all.¡±

    If we had destroyed all the devices, we would have been able to stop the man fighting Yuna-chan.

    There was another gap in the Guild Master¡¯s information.

    The knight wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth tightly.

    When the knight did not say anything, Blitz turned his attention to the fight between Yuna-chan and Lord Bellung.

    The battle between the two was so fast-moving and their magic attacks were so fierce that there was no room for intervention. If we entered their battle, we would be in Yuna-chan¡¯s way.

    Blitz was watching their battle with a suspicious look on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°There is something wrong about the way Yuna-chan is fighting.¡± (Blitz)

    I watched Yuna-chan¡¯s fight, but I couldn¡¯t figure out what was wrong.

    But Blitz, standing beside me, said, ¡°She¡¯s doing it again¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean she¡¯s doing it again?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°There are a few times when Yuna intentionally slows down even though she clearly had an opening to attack.¡± (Blitz)

    I soon understood after Blitz pointed it out.

    It was true that Yuna was hesitating when it was time to attack.

    But Yuna-chan and Bellung were moving so fast that it was difficult to tell without being aware.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz looked convinced.

    ¡°Did you figure something out?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Rosa has experienced this before¡­ the first time you killed someone¡­¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz¡¯s words made sense to me.

    The first time I killed someone was when I went out to gain some experience adventuring.

    At that time, I was escorting a merchant.

    The transportation routes between towns were basically safe. Because of the various people who routinely use the route, monsters have been exterminated, but this does not mean monsters will never appear.

    Merchants typically hired adventurers as escorts to ensure their safety.

    I, too, thought it was an easy job until that time.

    I was not attacked by monsters but by bandits.

    I was noticed because I was a female adventurer.

    I fought the attacking bandits with all my might. And for the first time, I killed a person. The bandit was in agony as my fire magic burned his body. Finally, he died crying, ¡°It hurts¡±.

    It was the first time I killed someone.

    He was a bandit.

    If I did not kill him, I would have been the one who was killed instead.

    For a while after that, I couldn¡¯t eat, and the man with the burnt face kept haunting me in my dreams.

    ¡°It had been a while since I remembered that.¡± (Rosa)

    Now, I could better handle my emotions.

    I have no mercy for those who want to kill me.

    If I be hesitant, not only myself but also my friends would be in danger. I would betray the trust of those who asked me to protect them.

    A senior adventurer told me that if I was hesitant, I would end up dead. And he informed me that if I didn¡¯t want to die, I should be prepared to kill.

    They asked me not to think about those I killed, but to look at the faces of those I protected at the time.

    The people I saved and the people I protected thanked me.

    Their words of gratitude and smiles saved me.

    ¡°If one continues to be an adventurer, one day they will definitely run into such a situation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But Yuna-chan is still a child, right?¡±

    A girl dressed as a cute bear.

    A strong, young girl, despite her appearance.

    A girl who could defeat strong monsters single-handedly.

    Stronger than me and Blitz.

    But she was a 15-year-old girl.

    When I was 15, I was learning magic, and that was when I defeated a wolf for the first time.

    I still remember the fear I felt then.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s the role of a senior adventurer to help her, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, if there is a senior adventurer close by who can take over for her, they should.¡±

    Blitz and I walked over to where the two of them were fighting.

    <b>*Yuna¡¯s PoV*</b>

    The bear¡¯s wind magic hit Bellung, who blocked it with a simr wind magic. I expected him to block it. While he was distracted by the magic, I turned around and kicked Bellung in the face.

    Bellung was knocked down.

    If I release the bear magic directly¡­

    A moment¡¯s hesitation dyed my action.

    Bellung immediately got up and attacked.

    No matter how much I hit or kicked him, he never lost consciousness. An average human would have been finished off with a single blow of my attacks.

    I thought I would have to break his arms and legs to stop him, but his magic power reinforced him, and it was as if I were punching a lump of rubber.

    I created a tornado around Bellung.

    Bellung¡¯s body was shredded by the tornado, sending blood everywhere.

    To counter my attack, Bellung¡¯s magic power umted once more, creating a powerful wind around him, erasing my tornado.

    Furthermore, the wounds on his body healed.

    A half-hearted attack forced Bellung to use his magic power, causing Ronne to suffer. The citizens of this town also continued to be drained of their magic power as well.

    I decided not to think about it.

    I punched and kicked Bellung, sending him flying backwards. I released the bear¡¯s wind magic at the right moment.

    Bellung¡¯s right arm, which was holding the sword, flew off with a spray of blood.

    For the first time, I cut a person¡¯s arm. My heart was shaken.

    But Bellung never stopped. He extended his other arm and produced a whirlpool of me.

    I blew away Bellung¡¯s mes with wind magic and clenched my mithril knife. Then I started running towards Bellung, and went around him from a blind spot where his arm was missing.

    I gripped the mithril knife tightly and thrust it toward Bellung¡¯s chest.

    Plunging this knife into his heart would end it.

    However, before I extended my arm to stab the knife into Bellung¡¯s body, a sword came out from Bellung¡¯s chest.

    The magic stone in Bellung¡¯s chest broke, and he coughed up blood.

    ¡°¡­Blitz?¡± (Yuna)

    It was Blitz who stabbed the sword through Bellung¡¯s back.

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯m sorry. For taking the best part¡­¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz¡¯s words made me understand why he did so.

    Bellung fell to the ground after being stabbed in the chest with the sword.

    When I looked around, I saw that Rosa-san was also present.

    I didn¡¯t even notice that Blitz and Rosa-san were there.

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 Chapter 709

    <h4>Chapter 709</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Talks About What Would Happen After</b>

    Blitz stabbed Bellung in the chest with his sword from behind, making him fall to the ground.

    ¡°Yuna, are you okay?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I nodded as I looked at Bellung lying on the ground.

    Bellung was on the ground, bleeding from his chest.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you needed help, but I didn¡¯t want to prolong the fight.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°¡­Nah, thanks. You saved me.¡± (Yuna)

    In my mind, I found myself feeling relieved.

    But in return, I had to let Blitz kill Bellung.

    Technically, he was still alive, but it was only a matter of time.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew in as I was talking to Blitz.

    ¡°Did you beat him?¡± (Primme)

    Primme turned to Bellung, who was lying on the ground.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung made a pained sound and opened his eyes.

    ¡°¡­Did I lose?¡± (Bellung)

    At first, Bellung looked distressed, but soon his power-obsessed expressionless face was gone, and he looked refreshed.

    Now that he had regained his sanity, I could talk to him.

    ¡°Why did you betray Ronne and Ryan¡¯s feelings?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t intend to at first. But during research, the side effects of transferring magic power strengthened my emotions. As I continued my research, I started to feel that I wanted to take Ronne away from Ryan, and I couldn¡¯t stop myself from doing so. And soon enough, I ran out of control.¡± (Bellung)

    A side effect of using Ronne¡¯s power.

    Perhaps, though, things only went out of control because he himself had a desire to make Ronne his own. The side effect of using Ronne¡¯s power was probably like a devil¡¯s whisper. It magnifies negative emotions.

    ¡°I have onest favor to ask. ¡­I want you to kill me.¡± (Bellung)

    Healing magic shed through my mind when he said so.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cast a healing spell.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I doubt that will help. It won¡¯t save me. The only reason I¡¯m still alive right now is that magic power is still flowing through me.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Even though the magic stone is destroyed?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Destroying the magic stone only cut off my ability to control magic power. Now magic power is flowing unchecked and unrestricted.¡± (Bellung)

    If Bellung did not die, the transfer of magic power would not stop.

    We had to kill him or Ryan to stop the flow of magic power from Ronne¡­.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just destroy the device that takes away the magic power now?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is no time. I can feel the suffering of the residents from the magic power flowing through me. If we don¡¯t do something, there will be deaths. This is retribution for a crime Imitted. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Bellung)

    The bnce between the residents¡¯ lives and Bellung¡¯s life was now hanging on the edge.

    ¡°Also, do me a favor. Please dispose of all materials rted to fairies so that no one like me ever appears again.¡± (Bellung)

    Bellung spoke in agony but told the location of the fairyboratory and magic circles.

    Then, when he finished, he closed his eyes.

    Blitz spoke to Bellung, ¡°Anyst words?¡±

    ¡°Tell Ronne I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Bellung)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz nodded and plunged his sword into Bellung¡¯s heart once more.

    Stabbed with the mithril sword, Bellung died.

    It was over.

    I found myself relieved that I didn¡¯t have to kill someone with my own hands.

    ¡°Blitz, thank you for that.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yuna, when the timees, don¡¯t hesitate.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz said as he ced his hand on my head.

    Did he notice that I was hesitant to kill Bellung?

    Did Blitz realize that and kill Bellung on my behalf?

    ¡°I once hesitated as well and, as a result, injured arade of mine. If my friends had died, I would not have been able to forgive myself.¡± (Blitz)

    Not everyone could kill people wily nily or if they wanted to¡­ even if the other party was pure evil.

    We worry, we think, we kill. This world was that kind of world.

    ¡°However, Yuna might be able to find a way forward without killing. But just don¡¯t choose a path where you or your friend end up getting hurt or dying because of a moment of hesitation.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz told me and smiled softly.

    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± (Yuna)

    I could now understand why Rosa-san and the others adored Blitz.

    There maye a time when I, too, must kill someone.

    I would like to know if I can do it properly then.

    ¡­

    The day after the fight with Bellung¡­.

    We destroyed everything rted to the fairies that Bellung had asked us to destroy and burned all his research materials and other things involved.

    At that time, Ran was screaming, ¡°The precious materials!¡± and was making a fuss about it.

    It was true that some of their research may be valuable, but there was information that was better hidden from the world. The research material with information about fairies was something that definitely should stay hidden.

    However, as a former gamer, I couldn¡¯t help but understand Ran¡¯s feelings.

    I wanted to get my hands on the precious items as well.

    After all was said and done, we were now in a room on the upper floor of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it, then.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said from the window of the room, looking out.

    After the battle was over, Rosa-san asked about Noa, so I immediately used the bear¡¯s transfer gate to bring her here.

    Of course, I set up the bear gate in a hidden ce so that Rosa-san and the others would not know about it.

    I stood next to Noa and looked outside.

    Although many of the residents had lost consciousness from the loss of magic power, they seemed to be alive and well.

    At least, none of the residents died.

    However, I heard that quite a few people have been bedridden. They should recover in the next few days.

    ¡°Yeah, thanks, Noa, you also did your best.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sad that I didn¡¯t get to see Yuna-san¡¯s fight at the end.¡± (Noa)

    For my part, I was d Noa didn¡¯t see Bellung die.

    As Noa and I looked out, Primme flew over and sat on the window sill.

    ¡°Yuna and Noa, thank you so much.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m d we were able to help you find Ronne-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°So, have you heard what Ronne is going to do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard yet.¡± (Primme)

    Ryan somehow managed to survive.

    I managed to heal Ryan just when he was barely hanging at life.

    He probably survived because he was in a simr state to Bellung.

    The magic power of the residents kept flowing, and it barely kept him alive.

    That mansion room with magic circles was destroyed. And with Bellung dead, there was no more magic power flowing towards Ryan or being drained from him.

    However, Ryan was still severely injured, so he was now sleeping on his bed.

    The wound was closed, but the blood he lost was not restored, and he was still in some pain.

    My healing magic was not a perfect.

    But I could at least heal him enough to give him time to recover.

    ¡°Fuuu, I¡¯m so tired.¡± (Rosa)

    While we were rxing in the room, Rosa-san and the others returned.

    ¡°Wee back.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m back. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, I¡¯m tired.¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san hugged Swaying Bear, who was now in bear cub form.

    ¡°Me as well.¡± (Ran)

    Ran also hugged Hugging Bear as if to take it away from me.

    ¡°How was the town?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ummm. Well, it¡¯s calm for now. Although there are some people who are speaking out against the knights who lost their power.¡± (Rosa)

    Well, it could be said that they deserved it since they had been using the magical power they had stolen from the residents to assert their authority and make fun of them until now.

    ¡°But it appears that there were some knights among them who were kind before, so I¡¯m sure they will work hard for the town.¡± (Rosa)

    So there were people like that.

    Knowing that not all of them were bad guys was a huge relief.

    ¡°The problem is Blitz.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°What happened?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Blitz, he became too popr.¡± (Rosa)

    Ran¡¯s cheeks puffed out as she said so.

    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild exined that the Lord had died.

    They did not disclose the reason for the Lord¡¯s death, but word spread through the town that Blitz and his party had defeated him.

    It was also known that he had been seen riding to the Lord¡¯s mansion on horseback, and that he had been fighting with the Knights.

    Furthermore, the gatekeeper also told the residents about the Blitz and the others, so they were treated as heroes for defeating the corrupt Knights and overthrowing the Evil Lord who was responsible for all the bad things that happened.

    ¡°Just by walking around, Blitz is appreciated, and there is a line of women approaching him with twinkles in their eyes.¡± (Rosa)

    Well, knowing that he saved the town, and he was also good-looking, I was not surprised by that reaction.

    Someone who was good-looking, had a great personality, and was strong would naturally be popr.

    Besides, Blitz originally acted as if he was the ringleader of this whole thing.

    The Guild Master and the others were on board with Blitz¡¯s idea because they didn¡¯t want to get in trouble with the people.

    So this time, Blitz and the others were supposed to be the main instigators of the whole thing.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, are you sure you don¡¯t want to reveal the truth?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No, thanks. Besides, even if I told them that I fought the Lord, they wouldn¡¯t believe me.¡± (Yuna)

    After all, I was dressed as a bear.

    No one would believe I defeated the Knights in the mansion and fought Bellung.

    Besides, it was Blitz who had ended up with blood on his hands. It was Blitz who technically saved the day.

    After hearing about the town, I went to the room where Ryan was sleeping to check on Ronne.

    When I entered the room, Ronne was sitting by Ryan¡¯s side.

    ¡°Yuna?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°How is Ryan?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He¡¯s fine. We had a little conversation earlier. Since he¡¯s a little exhausted, he¡¯s just sleeping now.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ronne, have you decided what you are going to do?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne answered without hesitation.

    It seemed like she had already found the answer.

    ¡°Ronne-san¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°People in this town don¡¯t have a good impression of fairies.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°It¡¯s not like the others can see Ronne, you know¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Without her partner¡¯s magic, others could not see the fairy.

    ¡°Besides, I talked to Ryan earlier, and he said that he will live for this town to make up for what he, Bellung, and I did.¡± (Ronne)

    Ryan apparently wanted to make amends to all three of them.

    Ronne might be feeling responsible for this guy as well.

    ¡°If I stay by his side, I will only be getting in his way. After all, if word gets out about me being by his side, someone mighte after him.¡± (Ronne)

    Until now, Bellung was protecting Ronne.

    But that Bellung was no longer around.

    ¡°Therefore, I am leaving this town. That¡¯s what the residents want, and that¡¯s what Ryan wants.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne touched Ryan¡¯s cheek with her tiny hand.

    ¡°Besides, Ryan promised me that he woulde see me when he was done making amends to the town, so it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll never see each other again.¡± (Ronne)

    If Ronne and Ryan had made their decision, I would not interfere with it.

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 Chapter 710

    <h4>Chapter 710</h4>

    <b>Bellung</b>

    I have loved fairies since I was a little boy.

    I wanted to see them.

    They were the size of my palm, had beautiful wings, and were mysterious and beautiful.

    The fairies of such fairy tales do exist.

    As the son of a town Lord, when I started going to the academy in the royal capital, I went to the library daily to look up fairies.

    Very few people have actually met fairies.

    At one time, some said they existed as a spectacle.

    Sometimes, they traveled with adventurers.

    Other times, fairies were signboards for innkeepers.

    asionally, some would say that they saw a fairy flying in a flower garden.

    Another time, they said that they saw a fairy flying in a town.

    Such records have remained.

    In the case of shows and adventures, various people saw the fairy.

    But in another town and in a flower garden, there was a written record that only one person could see the fairy.

    The information was mixed up in various ways.

    Some people could see fairies, and some could not.

    I even found a picture of a fairy who could be seen at the time that picture was taken.

    The beauty of a fairy was different from others¡­ Lovely. Mysterious.

    When I was going to the library to look up information on fairies, I met Ryan, a junior student at the academy.

    When I discussed fairies, other people made fun of me or looked at me like I was some weirdo, but Ryan seemed to enjoy listening to me.

    We met many times at the library, and each time we discussed fairies, Ryan gradually became interested in fairies.

    Then I started researching fairies with Ryan.

    After graduating from the academy, I didn¡¯t go home, but stayed in the royal capital to research fairies. Whenever I heard a rumor about fairies, I would go there and talk to anyone who imed to have seen fairies.

    My rtionship with Ryan continued even after I graduated from the academy.

    He was my best friend with whom I could talk about fairies.

    But it didn¡¯tst long.

    I had to return to my hometown.

    I received the news that my father had passed away. My mother had already passed away when I was very young, and I was the only heir. As the son of a Lord, I had to return to the town.

    When I informed Ryan of the situation, he said he woulde to my ce after he graduated from the academy.

    So I said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask my aide to wee you.¡±

    Ryan did as he said and came to my territory after he graduated from the academy.

    I was happy to see him again after a long time.

    As promised, I asked Ryan to assist me, and we resumed our research on fairies.

    After a while, Ryan asionally took a break and left town for a few days.

    When I asked him about it, he said, ¡°I will tell you about it in some time. You need to wait a little longer.¡±

    After a while, he told me why he had been going out of town.

    He mentioned that he had met with a fairy.

    I asked him why he didn¡¯t tell me earlier.

    He said that fairies could only be seen if they werepatible with that person. He then added that because I couldn¡¯t see the fairy, he couldn¡¯t mention it because he thought it would depress me.

    Such things were written in books.

    But there were also stories about various people seeing them, such as the fairy on shows, the fairy following an adventurer, the fairy at the inn, and so on.

    But there were many other stories about how only one person could see the fairy, and no one believed that person when he told others about it.

    Nevertheless, Ryan told me that with his magic power, even I might be able to see them.

    The contradiction with the story about the fairy show was resolved.

    I had thought that the stories about [<bpatibility</b>] and the [<b>fairy being seen by everyone in shows</b>] didn¡¯t match and that one of them must be false.

    However, if the magic of the partner, who could see the fairy, could be used by the fairy to make itself visible to others, then all stories could be right.

    Then Ryan said he would go meet the fairy and promised to bring her to me if he could get her permission.

    However, he told me that he would respect the fairy¡¯s feelings and if she refused, he would give up.

    I was reluctant to give up, but I had no choice but to let the fairy decide this matter.

    Even if I wanted to see the fairies, if they did not want me to see them, I would not be able to.

    I was looking forward to the day Ryan would bring the fairy to me.

    During that time, I was so busy with my work as a Lord that I couldn¡¯t do anything.

    And then Ryan came back.

    But the fairy was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the fairy?¡± (Bellung)

    I asked, and Ryan looked at the empty space.

    Was there a fairy there?

    I looked, but I was unable to see anything.

    Ryan looked at the empty space, smiled, and said, ¡°Ronne.¡±

    It was then that the fairy appeared in front of me.

    She was about the size of my palm and floating.

    Her beautiful wings were moving.

    It was cute, beautiful, and mysterious.

    I had wanted to meet a fairy since I was a little child.

    She was even more beautiful than in the pictures.

    ¡°I am Ronne, nice to meet you.¡± (Ronne)

    The fairy said her name.

    Then Ronne told me about fairies.

    I did already know that onlypatible humans could see fairies.

    She said she did not know about other fairies.

    We were disappointed, but happy to have a fairy in front of us.

    Then, with Ronne¡¯s permission, we started our research on fairies.

    I did need to use Ryan¡¯s magic power to see Ronne with my own eyes.

    If my research was sessful, I could see not only Ronne, but many other fairies.

    I studied about fairies while doing my work as a Lord.

    We learned many things.

    As a byproduct of this research, we discovered that by using Ronne¡¯s magic power, our physical bodies and magic power could be strengthened.

    At the same time, as we were doing our research, I felt envious of Ryan.

    Why Ryan?

    Why not me?

    Why didn¡¯t the fairy show itself to me?

    My emotions were going haywire.

    It was as if, while amplifying my power, my emotions were also being amplified.

    Jealousy, envy, and the desire to own Ronne started to increase.

    The feelings became uncontroble.

    When Ronne¡¯s magic power was granted to the knights as a part of research, some became more aggressive and assertive.

    ¡­Side effects.

    But the research could not be stopped.

    I could not stop the desire to make Ronne my own and to meet other fairies.

    It whispers to me to proceed with my desire.

    Time passed, but I could not find a way to eliminate the side effects.

    I was so involved in studying fairies that I neglected my work as a Lord. I dismissed those who warned me and became a tyrant myself.

    Then one day, a certain Noble, who had heard about fairies from somewhere, contacted me to give him the fairy. He even made fun of me because I was a young Lord.

    When I refused in a letter, he came to the town with his knights in tow.

    I asked Ronne to disappear and exined to the noble that Ronne was not here, but he would not withdraw.

    I tried to settle things with a friendly discussion, but the negotiations broke down. He said he would take Ronne from me by force.

    The side effect of the magic transfer had already made my emotional state uncontroble.

    Anger, hatred, and a desire to kill swelled up against the man.

    I wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to try to take Ronne away from me.

    The knights surrounded Ryan and me at the man¡¯smand.

    It was then that I unleashed my amplified magic power.

    Ryan and Ronne¡¯s magic power entered my body.

    I moved with my emotions, and used magic to attack, as well as my sword.

    I wanted to stop myself, but I couldn¡¯t.

    It whispered to me to kill anyone who wanted to take Ronne away from me.

    Ryan tried to stop me, but I could not control my emotions.

    I could no longer stop myself.

    I went wild following only my emotions.

    In the end, Ryan barely managed to stop me.

    Blood was flowing from Ryan¡¯s body.

    It was as if he forcibly stopped the magic power that was flowing into me.

    ¡°Bellung-san, are you okay?¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Yes.¡±(Bellung)

    It felt as if it was all a dream, but I remembered what I had done.

    Now, I was surrounded by knights and a man lying on the ground, bleeding.

    Many people were dead or wounded.

    It was my doing.

    It was because of me losing control of my emotions.

    The nobleman was still alive.

    He told me that he would have died if Ryan did not stop me.

    The man got down on his knees and apologized.

    ording to Ryan, the way I looked at the nobleman was very scary.

    The nobleman was terrified when he saw the knights protecting him getting killed one by one.

    I made him promise not to mess with us again and not to tell anyone about what had happened.

    I threatened him that if he broke his promise, he would be the same as the dead knights.

    But someone mighte again, to take Ronne away from me.

    I decided to create the strongest Order of Knights to protect Ronne and Ryan.

    I also decided to increase my magic power by siphoning magic power away from the residents of my town; this was also to protect Ronne.

    That¡¯s when my heart started to break, and even Ryan¡¯s words stopped reaching me.

    In a corner of my mind, I thought Ryan was right, but I could no longer suppress my urges.

    That¡¯s when Ryan said he would stop studying fairies and let Ronne go back to where she came from.

    He, Ryan, wanted to take Ronne away from me as well.

    He said he was doing it for my sake, but I was so angry that I didn¡¯t listen to Ryan¡¯s words.

    I locked Ryan in the basement and threatened Ronne.

    No one could have Ronne.

    Ronne was mine.

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 Chapter 711

    <h4>Chapter 711</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Bids Farewell</b>

    After cleaning up the mess of the situation, we were ready to return to Crimonia.

    I would say that the cleanup was over for us, but it was just getting started for others.

    The Guilds and the influential people of the town were discussing the future.

    With Lord Bellung¡¯s death, no one was left to rule the town.

    Since Bellung did not seem to have any siblings, ording to the Guild Master, a distant rtive of the Lord may be the one to take over the town as a ruler.

    We decided to leave the town after hearing that Bellung¡¯s distant rtive would be visiting soon.

    Blitz was now a hero in town, but he was also the one that killed the Lord.

    Although he was not going to be captured now, there was a good chance that Blitz would be captured if Bellung¡¯s rtive came to the town.

    No matter what the reason, killing a Lord was unforgivable. And if the other party were a nobleman, it would even be a bigger deal. Even if said nobleman did something wrong.

    There was a possibility that they would be executed as criminals.

    In this town, the influences of my acquaintances were also limited.

    If this were in the area near Crimonia, where I live, or in the royal capital, many people would lend me a hand, but in this unfamiliarnd, nothing would be of use.

    We had no choice but to leave the town.

    ¡°Blitz, I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Guild Master)

    The Guild Master apologized for putting all the me on Blitz this time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m not from this country. If anyone has to take the me, it should be me. The Guild Master and the others are the ones this town needs. Besides, I¡¯m the one who ultimately killed the Lord, so it¡¯s not exactly wrong.¡± (Blitz)

    It was because I could not kill Bellung.

    If Blitz had note, I might have killed him.

    Not only did Blitz have to bear the responsibility, but he would also have to bear the weight of killing a person.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Guild Master, I¡¯m counting on you to take care of the town.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± (Guild Master)

    We would not be involved in what the town would do from now on. It would be the Guild Master, Ca-san, and the residents of this town who would have to work hand in hand to move in the right direction.

    We could only hope that the rtive of Bellung, who would rule this town, would be a good person.

    Not all the nobles were good.

    I remembered the Lord who ruled the town where Misa lived. A lord who looked like a toad and did terrible things to Misa¡¯s family. I hope this new Lord would not be like that.

    ¡°And thank you, Yuna and Lady Noire. Without you girls, this whole thing wouldn¡¯t have been a sess.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that my goal and the Guild Master¡¯s goal were the same.¡± (Yuna)

    Our goal was to take Primme¡¯s sister, Ronne, with us.

    I would have done the same thing even if the Guild Master had not asked me to.

    Noa added, ¡°Yes, I just did what I could.¡±

    I would not have found Ronne if Noa had note with me. And even if I had, it wouldn¡¯t have been this easy.

    With that in mind, Noa may have been the one who contributed the most this time.

    ¡°Maybe for Lady Noa, it didn¡¯t mean much, but it was with your help that Primme managed toe all the way here and speak with Ronne. We couldn¡¯t have done this without you, missy.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°At first, I was surprised when a cute girl dressed as a bear came to sell me monster materials. I didn¡¯t expect her to save the town.¡± (Ca)

    When I first met Ca-san, I lied to her because I didn¡¯t know what was happening.

    Sorry about that, but I had no choice.

    ¡°Well then, should we get going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Where are Primme-chan and Ronne-chan?¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san looked around.

    ¡°Ronne is saying goodbye to Ryan, and I think Primme is with her.¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne was going back to the fairy forest.

    So she went to bid Ryan goodbye for thest time.

    We didn¡¯t know when she would see him again, so we gave them some time together.

    With that in mind,

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew in.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ryan wants to talk to you, and then Blitz and the others.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Us as well?¡± (Blitz)

    We went to Ryan¡¯s room.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to call you here.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan-san was up and sitting on his bed.

    His health was improving day by day, but with all the blood that had been spilled and the fact that he had been sleeping in aa for so long, it would take a while before he could move around again.

    ¡°You are leaving today, right?¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Yes, it looks like some noble ising to rece the Lord.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t get a chance to thank you.¡± (Ryan)

    Ryan-san bowed his head.

    Ryan had already thanked us many times for saving his life, stopping Bellung, and protecting Ronne.

    But I believe that Ryan-san had a hard time forgiving himself.

    From now on, he would shoulder responsibility and repercussions for his actions.

    ¡°If you are sorry, then do your best for this town.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I will spend the rest of my life taking responsibility for what I and Bellung have done.¡± (Ryan)

    I wonder if this would be easy.

    But it may have helped that the residents didn¡¯t know about Ryan-san, since he had been lying in the basement for so long.

    If they knew that Ryan and Bellung researched fairies together, Ryan would not have been able to work for the town. Even if he managed to work here, he would have been kicked out immediately if he did poorly.

    ¡°I will not forget this favor.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Then promise me one thing. That you will never study fairies again.¡± (Yuna)

    I got rid of all the fairy-rted research materials and spells, but there was one thing I couldn¡¯t get rid of.

    That was Ryan-san.

    Ryan-san¡¯s head and body still contained things rted to fairy research. If Ryan-san resumed his research, he could be a second Bellung.

    ¡°I promise you. I will never do research again. I will not tell anyone. I am not going to keep any documents. That is also my promise to Ronne. If I ever perform research on fairies, pleasee and kill me.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that kind of trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    Killing someone was no easy task.

    If I had to dye my hands in blood, I should be prepared to see the person I killed in my dreams.

    I didn¡¯t want to go through that kind of hassle.

    Ryan-san smiled at my response and turned to Noa, standing beside me.

    ¡°And, Noire-chan, is that correct?¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Thank you for finding Ronne.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°No, it just so happens that Ronne-san¡¯s handkerchief went inside me, and I started to sense her location.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Still, it must have taken a lot of courage for a little girl like you to go to a ce so far away from home.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°That¡¯s because Yuna-san was with me. Without her, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to show up.¡± (Noa)

    Noa grabbed my arm.

    ¡°There is onest thing I want Noire-chan to confirm¡­¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Right now, Ronne is using my magic to make herself visible to others. Let us see if you can see her without my magic.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Ryan?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne looked surprised.

    ¡°Ronne, please.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°¡­Okay. I¡¯ll stop using Ryan¡¯s magic then.¡± (Ronne)

    She said that, but Ronne¡¯s figure did not disappear.

    But the reaction of the others was different.

    ¡°Ronne-chan is gone.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t see her.¡± (Ran)

    Rosa-san and Ran were looking at where theyst saw Ronne, but they couldn¡¯t see her anymore.

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t see her either.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz was in the same state.

    But I could see Ronne.

    Ryan asked Noa softly, ¡°How¡¯s that? Can you still see Ronne?¡±

    Noa stared at the ce where Ronne was.

    Ronne was also looking at Noa.

    ¡°I can see her, yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It means that you can see Ronne just as well as I can.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°Is it because Ronne-san¡¯s handkerchief is inside me?¡± (Noa)

    I thought so too, but Ryan shook his head.

    ¡°No, Primme-san¡¯s handkerchief didn¡¯t go inside your body when itnded on your hand. You werepatible with Ronne from the beginning. That¡¯s why you could somehow absorb the magical essence from Ronne¡¯s handkerchief into your body.¡± (Ryan)

    In other words, not only one person could bepatible with a particr fairy; there could be other people, too.

    ¡°I¡¯m one¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at the hand that received Ronne¡¯s handkerchief.

    ¡°Now I feel relieved, Noire-chan, please. I want you to see Ronne once in a while and talk to her.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Ronne is a loner.¡± (Ryan)

    ¡°I¡¯m not a loner. But if you insist, I¡¯ll see you once in a while.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne said in a tsundere-like tone.

    Noa looked at Ronne and smiled gently.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Ronne-san.¡± (Noa)

    Then, even with Noa¡¯s magic, Ronne¡¯s figure became visible to everyone, and Ran was envious.

    I shouldn¡¯t tell them I could also see her here, right?

    If I reveal it to them, it would obviously cause some trouble.

    It was definitely an effect of my bear outfit that I could see Ronne.

    Then we said our final goodbyes and left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The Guild Master, Ca-san, the other guild members, and the remaining adventurers in town. Everyone saw us off.

    ¡°Thank you very much again from the bottom of my heart.¡± (Guild Master)

    ¡°Yuna-chan, Noire-chan, if you ever stop by town, please don¡¯t hesitate to drop by.¡± (Ca)

    Ca-san and the others did not know where we were going, since we had yet to tell them about it.

    I did not set up a Bear Transfer Gate near town as I could not exin it, but I would set up one near the fairy forest.

    With Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, we would be able to reach this ce in less time than before.

    So, I said, ¡°I wille back.¡±

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 Chapter 712

    <h4>Chapter 712</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Heads for the Fairy Forest</b>

    They all saw us off as we left the town.

    ¡°Now we can finally go home.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°That is, if I get permission from the Fairy Queen¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I told that to Rosa-san and the others.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne was the only one who didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    I exined everything to her.

    After hearing it, Ronne replied resolutely, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°Really? We¡¯ve been told that by Primme-chan.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No human can enter the fairy forest. I can¡¯t believe the Fairy Queen actually allowed even one human to enter the fairy forest. Primme, you did something so dangerous by bringing in two humans against the Fairy Queen¡¯s decision.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Because, sister, you¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°But still. If things had gone wrong, these children¡¯s lives could have been in danger.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    Noa expressed her surprise.

    ¡°That¡¯s just the worst-case scenario. Usually, we put humans who mistakenly enter fairy forest to sleep with sleeping powder and leave them somewhere.¡± (Ronne)

    Ah, was it that the sleeping powder which Ronne used on me and Noa when she came to see Primme? Well, it didn¡¯t work on me.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I never told Ryan about the fairy forest. I was surprised that Yuna and Noa even met and talked to the Queen before that.¡± (Ronne)

    It seemed that the Queen rarely appeared in front of people.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s how worried she was about Ronne.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Umm, that¡¯s¡­ But there are more than a few fairies who leave the fairy forest.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Still, I think she was worried about you. You should apologize to her when we get back.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne looked ufortable.

    But I could tell that it was rare for the Queen to forgive them without a little punishment.

    ¡°So is it impossible for us to go home using your fairy powers?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Normally, I don¡¯t think so, but I guess it depends on Yuna and Noa.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Well, in the end, we¡¯ll have to go and ask the Fairy Queen for permission. After that, we¡¯ll have to figure out what to doter.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz was right.

    Either way, I was nning to use the Bear Transfer Gate to transfer them while blindfolded, so I didn¡¯t need the Queen¡¯s permission or anything like that.

    However, it might be a good idea to tell Ronne.

    I called Primme.

    ¡°Yes?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Tell Ronne about the Gate in a way that the others can¡¯t hear you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that okay? It¡¯s a secret, right?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°If it¡¯s Ronne, it should be fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Primme)

    Primme nodded and flew over to Ronne, grabbing Ronne¡¯s hand and pulling away.

    ¡°So how are we going to reach the fairy forest? Even if we ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, all of us won¡¯t be able to ride.¡± (Rosa)

    Blitz, Rosa-san, Ran, Grimos, Noa and I. There were six of us.

    If they were children, three people should be able to ride on each of my bears, but not grown-ups.

    ¡°We can¡¯t return the horse if we borrow it, so are we going on foot?¡±

    ¡°I have a solution.¡± (Yuna)

    After saying that, I pulled out the Bear Bus from the bear storage that I had made for the employee trip to the sea.

    ¡°What?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°¡­!?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°A bear?¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°A bear indeed.¡± (Yuna)

    Blitz, Grimos, Ran and Rosa-san were surprised to see the Bear Bus.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Bear Carriage!¡± (Noa)

    Noa, who knew about the Bear Bus, rushed to it with delight.

    By the way, I think they wouldn¡¯t get the idea if we said buses, so Noa called it Bear Carriage.

    ¡°A bear carriage?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Could it be that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear will be pulling it instead of horses?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡±Kuhn!¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed in denial.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. This is moved by my magic power.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Something this big?¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san and Ran walked around the Bear Bus, while Blitz and Grimos touched it.

    ¡°But Yuna really likes bears, doesn¡¯t she?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°True.¡± (Rosa)

    Primme and Ronne came over to watch as well after talking about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Then they started flying around the Bear Bus.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re leaving now, so get on.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door to the side of the Bear Bus.

    Blitz and the others stared at the doorway, and then, as if determined, began to board.

    It wasn¡¯t like they were going to be eaten.

    ¡°You can sit wherever you want. The very front will be my seat, so you¡¯ll have to sit somewhere else.¡± (Yuna)

    I said this, and Blitz and the others sat down in various ces.

    But there was one person who sat at the very front, Noa.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind me sitting in front, right?¡± (Noa)

    Well, it was fine if it was just Noa.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear transformed into their cub forms and entered the Bear Bus as well.

    I sat next to Noa, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, now cubs, sat next to me and Noa.

    Primme and Ronne were flying around the Bear Bus.

    They were like insects.

    I was not going to tell them that because they might get mad at me for saying that.

    ¡°Primme and Ronne, sit down as well.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, for some reason, they climbed on top of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Well, I hope Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get going.¡± (Yuna)

    I channeled magic power into the Bear Bus, and it started to move.

    ¡°It¡¯s moving!¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Hold on tight!¡± (Yuna)

    Initially, the Bear Bus moved at the speed of a horse walking.

    Then, it gradually became about the speed of a horse sprinting.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, aren¡¯t you going too fast?¡± (Rosa)

    Basically, a horse-drawn carriage would only let a horse run up to a sprinting pace.

    So, even at this speed, it would already be considerably fastpared to other methods of travel in this world.

    ¡°I¡¯m nning to increase the speed even more.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°More!?¡± (Rosa)

    The wheels of the Bear Bus started to rotate even faster with magic power.

    ¡°It might be a little bumpy, but bear with it.¡± (Yuna)

    The Bear Bus would shake if it ran on an uneven path, especially a rocky road.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, are you sure you can use that much magic power?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    It would only drain enough of my mana to affect me if I let Bear Bus run at top speed, but at our current speed, I would be fine.

    ¡°Noa-chan doesn¡¯t seem surprised.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve ridden it before.¡± (Noa)

    We rode it when we went to the beach, after all.

    The Bear Bus was using my bear map skills to return to where we came from as we traveled towards this town.

    The Bear Bus kept going and finally reached the foot of a mountain.

    This was the area where we had camped when we passed by this area.

    We have to cross this mountain to get back to the fairy forest.

    ¡°Yuna-san, what are you going to do?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Are we going to cross this mountain?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Yes, our target is just beyond this mountain.¡± (Yuna)

    Rosa-san looked out the window of the Bear Bus.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any road for a carriage.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Are we going to walk?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a little bumpy, but it will be okay. Hold on tight.¡± (Yuna)

    I channeled magic power into the Bear Bus, turning the tires into bear paws.

    Well, other than me, they didn¡¯t know that the Bear Bus had transformed.

    Then I felt the Bear Bus rock a little.

    ¡°Yuna-chan?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Okay, We¡¯re moving.¡± (Yuna)

    The Bear Bus started walking slowly.

    And then it made its way through the trees and up the mountain.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to fall over, are we?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°My body is swaying from side to side.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°My body fell backwards, that was scary.¡± (Ran)

    The Bear Bus was moving forward.

    Noa was having a good time beside me.

    Noa would probably enjoy riding roller coasters.

    Primme and Ronne were holding on to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I was thinking if I should make Bear Bus fly, but I kept my mouth shut.

    The Bear Bus was going steadily up the mountain.

    And then the Bear Bus crossed the summit and headed down.

    ¡°Yuna-chan! Please slow down!¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m falling forward.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk, or you¡¯ll bite your tongue.¡± (Yuna)

    Behind me, it was noisy.

    Noa was saying, ¡°It¡¯s great!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fun!¡± and so on.

    Noa, you were too strong.

    Primme and Ronne were flying to avoid the vibrations.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were holding their seats tightly to keep themselves from falling.

    Soon, we finally crossed the mountain and arrived at the tnd.

    The bear legs changed to wheels and started running.

    Behind us were Blitz and the others, looking exhausted.

    ¡°Are you okay? Do you need some rest?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine as well.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°But Yuna-chan, is your magic power okay? Can you continue making this vehicle keep moving like this?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can continue anytime.¡± (Yuna)

    The Bear Bus picked up speed and started to run toward the fairy forest.

    Thanks to the Bear Bus, we arrived near the fairy forest.

    ¡°We made it back.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne stared at the forest.

    The fairy forest was at the far end of this forest.

    For Ronne, it was her first time back home in years.

    ¡°Blitz and the others, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to wait here.¡± (Yuna)

    We couldn¡¯t take Blitz and the others with us.

    I and Noa got off the Bear Bus and returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to their original size.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, please.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I trust you.¡± (Rosa)

    Rosa-san and Ran looked at us with pleading eyes.

    They might be worried that if the Fairy Queen refused our request, they would not be able to leave thisnd.

    Well, I was already nning to use the Bear Transfer Gate before asking the Queen, so everything would be fine regardless.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off then.¡± (Yuna)

    Noa and I got on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, while Primme and Ronne flew ahead of us.

    The Lost Forest.

    If one entered normally, one could get lost, and they would not be able to reach the ce where the fairies live.

    If things go badly, it would even be impossible toe out of this forest for the rest of one¡¯s life, so they say.

    Even in such a forest, with the help of the fairies, we continued to go deeper.

    Ronne¡¯s expression was half happiness and half confusion.

    After a while, we heard voices around us.

    ¡°Ronne is back,¡± ¡°It¡¯s the bear,¡± ¡°The bear fromst time,¡± ¡°Report to the Queen,¡± and so on.

    As we continued deeper into the forest, we came to the location of ake.

    When I saw thiske, I felt that we had finally returned home. Thiske was where it all started.

    ¡°We have returned.¡± (Noa)

    Noa must have felt the same way because she looked at theke and said so.

    But it was my job to get Noa back to her home in Crimonia.

    While we were looking at theke, Ronne reacted.

    ¡°Queen¡­¡± (Ronne)

    I turned around and there she was, the Queen.

    ¡°Primme, Ronne, wee home.¡± (Queen)

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 Chapter 713

    <h4>Chapter 713</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Made a Deal with a Fairy</b>

    ¡°Queen¡­¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne stared at the Fairy Queen and did not move.

    Then, the Fairy Queen slowly approached and hugged Ronne.

    ¡°Wee home.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°¡­Queen, I¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I shall ask you about the minute detailster, but Yuna and Noire, thank you for bringing Ronne home.¡± (Queen)

    She bowed lightly to us.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you were able to bring her back to us safely.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is there anything I can do to thank you?¡± (Queen)

    To thank us?

    As an ex-gamer, I would want something unique or super rare as a reward from the fairies.

    Fairy drops, fairy tears, fairy¡­.

    I had to suppress these urges.

    ¡°Well, can you allow me to drop by sometime?¡± (Yuna)

    At my words, the Queen¡¯s face tightened.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± (Queen)

    ¡°I just want to speak with everyone, that¡¯s all. Also, if there are any rare medicinal herbs, I¡¯d like to have some.¡± (Yuna)

    Like that Sleeping Powder?

    There are various rare herbs found here in the fairy forest that could be identified and used, notwithstanding the fairy Sleeping Powder.

    I could definitely find something useful here.

    ¡°That water pathway can¡¯t be connected unless we create it, so you won¡¯t be able toe back here as freely as you think.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s okay¡­ I have this door that I can move through.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°I can feel the tremendous magic power in this¡­¡± (Queen)

    The Queen said so as she looked at the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Could she also feel Magic Power?

    ¡°It¡¯s a magic tool. When this door is opened, it connects to the other teleportation doors.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s a fantastic tool.¡± (Queen)

    I exined that like the water passage, only I could open this door.

    ¡°So may I put it outside the fairy forest? If I try to do something bad to the fairies, you can make me wander in the Lost Forest, or put me to sleep, or kill me.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    Noa was startled.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not going to do anything bad to the fairies. I just genuinely don¡¯t want to break the connection.¡± (Yuna)

    Because they are fairies.

    I¡¯ve never even seen one before until the recent turn of events.

    It would be a shame to break my connection with them like this.

    ¡°Okay, I understand, but there is a condition.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Condition?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You will make a contract with the fairies. As you know, anyone can see us fairies in this fairy forest. We cannot allow you to act freely in such a ce. If you act maliciously toward the fairies, you will continue to sleep until you die.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Fine.¡± (Yuna)

    I heed the Queen¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any ill will towards fairies, but it¡¯s not fair for the contract to be so one-sided. Will you promise that you won¡¯t do anything bad to me? I will only have ill will against someone, if they do something bad to me.¡± (Yuna)

    The Queen looked around.

    ¡°They won¡¯t do terrible things to you, but there may be many naughty children.¡± (Queen)

    The Queen did not deny my words.

    ¡°I will warn them. If they do something bad to you, just tell me and I will take care of it.¡± (Queen)

    So you¡¯re saying I could be mad at them but not do anything terrible to the fairies?

    That could be where we coulde to apromise.

    In the first ce, there was no merit for the Queen to let me enter the fairy forest. To be clear, it was an incredible deal for me.

    ¡°But, are you sure? The fairy forest is a secret, right?¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne didn¡¯t even tell Ryan-san about it.

    ¡°I feel a nostalgic magic power from you. Like you, I also feel I must not cut connections with you. However, I am still the Queen of the fairies. I have to protect everyone under me so I canpromise this much. This is where I draw my line.¡± (Queen)

    Nostalgic magic power?

    Was that why we were allowed here?

    But I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d ever met in the past.

    ¡°So how do we make a contract?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Just stand still. The others should stay away from the Bear Girl.¡± (Queen)

    Noa and the others stepped back as the Queen had ordered.

    Noa looked worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    As everyone moved away from me, I saw the Queen¡¯s body light up, and a magic circle was drawn on the ground.

    My body was enveloped in light, and after a moment, the light disappeared.

    ¡°It is done.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n.¡±¡±

    Noa, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear came running up to me.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Noa)

    I checked my body.

    I didn¡¯t feel any difort anywhere.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Queen. Please do the same for me.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. As I said before, she is special.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But I will grant you permission for you toe here, only if you are together with her.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But if you bear any ill will toward the fairies here, she will pay for it instead.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± (Noa)

    Noa would never do anything bad to a fairy, would she?

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­ Yes! I would never do such a thing.¡± (Noa)

    Well, anyway, the Bear Transfer Gate can only be opened by me, so she cannote here without me.

    ¡°Well then, Primme, let¡¯s go.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna¡­¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting again soon.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I got you into this, Noa.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, it was a valuable experience, and I had a lot of fun. But I couldn¡¯t do anything when everyone was in trouble.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa did what she could do. Your role is not to fight, but to lead us to Ronne. That¡¯s something only Noa could do. It was my role to fight, Primme to convince Ronne. Each of us had a different role.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°So don¡¯t tell me you couldn¡¯t do anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Noa. I know you worked very hard, so thank you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied happily to our words.

    ¡°So, where should I ce the teleportation door?¡± (Yuna)

    We could not simply erect the Bear Transfer Gate without permission. I didn¡¯t want them to get mad at me for cing it in a strange location.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see. There is a simr smallke a little away from the fairy forest. That ce is considerably far from our residence. Primme, Ronne, show her the location.¡± (Queen)

    It looked like I would be staying with Primme and Ronne for a little while longer.

    ¡°Human child with nostalgic magic power. If you need anything from me, feel free to visit me again.¡± (Queen)

    ¡°Yes, I will.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, I¡¯ll be joining as well.¡± (Noa)

    Finally, I thanked the Queen for her hospitality, and we left the ce.

    ***

    ¡°Yuna-san, good for you. We were able to put that door nearby.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°We have to be good at deceiving Blitz and the others.¡± (Yuna)

    We decided to take Blitz and the others to the fake fairy forest area where we would ce the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ***

    When we returned to the Bear Bus, Rosa-san, who was inside the vehicle, came outside to see us.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, you¡¯rete!¡± (Rosa)

    We wandered deeper into the fairy forest, talked to the Fairy Queen, and then returned to the Bear Bus.

    It seemed like quite a while had passed.

    ¡°So, how did it go? Did you get permission?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°It was fine. We did.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± (Ran)

    ¡°We can go back to Crimonia.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna.¡± (Blitz)

    Rosa-san and Ran looked happy, Grimos, who was not very talkative, also looked happy, and Blitz looked relieved.

    ¡°But we can¡¯t let you know where we are going, so we¡¯re going to have to blindfold you all.¡± (Yuna)

    I took out towels from my bear box.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it if that¡¯s all you want.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Sure.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    With everyone¡¯s approval, I wrapped a towel around Rosa-san and the others¡¯ eyes.

    With this, they should not be able to see us.

    But just in case.

    ¡°Primme, Ronne, please?¡± (Yuna)

    [Yes.] (Primme)

    [I¡¯ll take care of it.] (Ronne)

    I whispered a request to them.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re off.¡± (Yuna)

    The Bear Bus started moving, and Primme and Ronne flew over to the Blitz, with the others sitting in the back.

    Then, after a few moments, I heard them fall asleep.

    ¡°They have fallen asleep.¡± (Ronne)

    I asked the Fairy Queen for some sleeping powder. Next, I asked Primme and Ronne to sprinkle it on the Blitz and the others.

    Blindfolded and tired, the Blitz and the others fell asleep easily from the sleeping powder.

    The Bear Bus travelled through the forest and came to anotherke, guided by Primme and Ronne.

    It was a long walk from the borders of the fairy forest, but if I were riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it would take a little time for me to reach it.

    ¡°Where should we put the teleportation door?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I guess we should put it in the middle of theke.¡± (Primme)

    Just like theke in the fairy forest, there was a small ind in the middle.

    ¡°It would stand out.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°People wouldn¡¯te here, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Besides, if we put it in the middle of theke, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to cross.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Indeed.¡± (Ronne)

    No normal person would travel so deep into the woods just to swim in ake.

    ¡°But how do we get there? I know that Yuna-san can walk on theke, but are you going to carry them one by one?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa, if there¡¯s no path, we¡¯ll just make one.¡± (Yuna)

    As I said so, I built a bridge that crossed over theke, made of earth magic.

    ¡°Yuna-san, that¡¯s wonderful!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna, you¡¯re unbelievable.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Really.¡± (Ronne)

    I ignored the backgroundmentary, got the Bear Bus going, and eventually crossed the bridge and came to the ind.

    I destroyed the bridge and set up the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°So this is really the end.¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked crestfallen.

    ¡°Noa, good job.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It was fun, but I¡¯m sad.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But, Noa, aren¡¯t you going to be busy from now on?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why is that?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because you have been away from home for quite a while, your studies will be waiting for you¡­¡± (Yuna)

    We were away from Crimonia for about ten days.

    Cliff might be worried.

    ¡°Ugh, right.¡± (Noa)

    This was the fate of a noble¡¯s young daughter.

    I hope she studies hard and bes a respectable noble¡¯s daughter.

    I didn¡¯t want her to be a selfish youngdy or a youngdy who wastes taxpayers¡¯ money.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll open the door.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate.

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 Chapter 714

    <h4>Chapter 714</h4>

    <b>Bear-san Sends Noa Home</b>

    The Bear Transfer Gate opened and led to Crimonia.

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, help carry Blitz and the others.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡±Ku~un¡±¡±

    The Blitz and the others were sleeping quietly in the Bear Bus.

    I slowly put them on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s back so as not to wake them up.

    After crossing the Bear Transfer Gate, Iid Blitz and the others down in the bedroom on the second floor of the Bear House.

    The sleeping powder must have worked well because they didn¡¯t wake up while they were transported.

    ¡°Is this really a town far from the fairy forest?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne looked out the window of the Bear House.

    ¡°It¡¯s a town called Crimonia, and Noa is the daughter of the Lord of this town.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. But father is not the kind of person who would do anything to a fairy, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I met Noa¡¯s father, too, and he wasn¡¯t a bad person.¡± (Primme)

    Ronne looked out the window as if she were stuck to it.

    ¡°So, how long before the Blitz and the others will wake up?¡± (Yuna)

    I asked Primme, who was putting a nket over the Blitz and the others, and Ronne, who was looking out the window.

    ¡°It depends on the person¡¯s sleep condition. If a person is sleep-deprived, getting up will take a while. Someone who gets enough sleep wakes up fast. Sleeping powder is something that induces sleep in a person.¡±

    In other words, it depends on the person¡¯s physical condition.

    If the body was tired or sleep-deprived, it would take longer to wake up.

    If they were in good shape and slept well, they would wake up earlier.

    In the end, since I didn¡¯t know when Blitz and the others would wake up, I had onest job to do.

    That was to send Noa to Cliff¡¯s ce.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to take Noa home, what about you two?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m going, I have to thank Noa¡¯s father.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m going with you. All this happened because of me.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you guys join us, but I don¡¯t want you to be seen by others. It will cause amotion, so hide in Noa¡¯s pouch or disappear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll disappear then.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Me too.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I can¡¯t see Primme-san anymore.¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s eyes were now unable to see Primme-san.

    ¡°But you can see me, right?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Yes, I can see Ronne-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But instead, Yuna can¡¯t see me anymore.¡± (Ronne)

    Maybe I should just tell her now.

    ¡°Well, I was wondering when I should tell you. But I can see Ronne, as well.¡± (Yuna)

    Ronne was surprised by my words.

    ¡°No way!¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I could also see you when Ryan-san was doing his little experiment. I didn¡¯t tell you about it at that time because I thought it wouldplicate things.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So Yuna-san is also a partner for Ronne-san?¡± (Noa)

    I shook my head.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re partners. I think I can see all the fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s just my guess.¡± (Yuna)

    Maybe thanks to the Bear Equipment, I could see all the fairies.

    It was a God-granted cheat equipment, after all.

    But there was no way to confirm it now.

    The only way to confirm it was if there were other fairies here.

    In fact, miraculously, it may be possible that I was reallypatible with two fairies, Primme and Ronne. And all of this had nothing to do with Bear Equipment, but that also meant the other fairies may not be visible to me.

    I couldn¡¯t bring any other fairies to confirm it, so I would not be able to verify this right now.

    But I also wondered about what the Fairy Queen said.

    Nostalgic Magic Power.

    It could have something to do with that.

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair that only Yuna-san can see the two of you.¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t want to hear such a statement.

    I think this was a blessing from God as well.

    I calmed Noa down and left the Bear House.

    ¡°We have finally returned to Crimonia, haven¡¯t we?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked around her and said, with a somber look on her face.

    ¡°A lot has happened, but this is the end, right? I¡¯m a little sad.¡± (Noa)

    If there were a beginning, there would be an end.

    When it ends, you just have to start something new.

    But I¡¯d like to rx for a while.

    ¡°Aftering back to Crimonia, I feel like I¡¯m back in reality. Everything that has happened before seems like a dream and a strange experience.¡± (Noa)

    Well, we encountered many unusual things on our journey.

    Fairies, and then for Noa, the Bear Transfer Gate as well.

    As we were having this conversation, Noa¡¯s house came into view.

    As soon as we approached the house, the gatekeeper noticed and contacted L-san, who led us to the room where Cliff was.

    ¡°Father!¡± (Noa)

    Noa ran up to Cliff.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± (Noa)

    Noa smiled at Cliff.

    Cliff was relieved to see her smile.

    ¡°Oh, I see. But it looks like you were quitete.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff looked at me.

    I replied ¡°Well, there¡¯s been a lot going on, you see.¡±

    ¡°Before we get into all that, what happened with the fairies?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Thanks to Noa, we found Primme¡¯s sister. Primme, Ronne, can you two show yourself?¡± (Yuna)

    Cliff¡¯s eyes turned to Primme and Ronne, who were standing by Noa¡¯s side, as I called out to them.

    ¡°So they came here with you.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yeah, they said they had to thank you.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that fairy is Primme¡¯s sister.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Ronne. Noa has been a big help to us in finding her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m d you found her. I hope Noa¡¯s part in all of this is over.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes, thank you, it was a great sess thanks to your daughter.¡± (Primme)

    Cliff expressed relief at those words.

    ¡°So, are you going to exin what happened?¡± (Cliff)

    I told Cliff what I could.

    ¡°A fairy-obsessed human ran amok, huh? Even abandoning the role of Lord and tormenting the people.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°So, Father. Do you know where a country named Sahel is located?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Never heard of it. I do know of a cluster of small nations across the sea. It might be one of them. If you ask the name of arge country nearby, then I might be able to tell you.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°So there are some things even Cliff doesn¡¯t know.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Local lords are like that. The most someone like me would be involved with is a neighboring country. And the chance of getting involved with a country across the sea is almost slim to none.¡± (Cliff)

    If you put it that way, I couldn¡¯t say anything.

    Not knowing the names of countries he had no connection with was to be expected.

    Even I knew very little about small countries in the Middle East and Africa, including their names and exact locations, in my previous life.

    I sometimes wondered where even the prefectures of Japan were located.

    I think only a Geoguesser would know all the countries¡¯ names and locations.

    (Editor¡¯s Note: Google it, it is a legitimatepetition)

    In this other world, I am curious to know if there is even a detailed world map avable.

    ¡°If you really want to know, ask Ellura in the royal capital. If it¡¯s your request, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll look into it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯ll ask her if I feel like it.¡± (Yuna)

    The fact was that it didn¡¯t matter where that town was. The Bear Transfer Gate was already in ce.

    I have no ns to go on a boat to that town.

    ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing. I have to tell you something.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think something is weird?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What do you mean by weird?¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff looked at us, but didn¡¯t seem to notice anything strange.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are implying. What do you think is weird?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°About you being able to see fairies?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that apatibility thing? So most people can¡¯t see fairies¡­ ah¡± (Cliff)

    After saying all that, he seemed to realize what was going on.

    Cliff looked at Ronne.

    ¡°How is it possible that I can see them?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Simply put, it seems like Noa and I arepatible with them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Noa?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°It¡¯s not me who is special, Yuna-san ispatible with both Primme-san and Ronne-san. I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Noa)

    Cliff¡¯s eyes, which had been watching Noa, turned to me.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°That seems to be the case.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Who really are you, Yuna? You¡¯re more mysterious than any mysteries I have been involved with.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary adventurer.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you want a mirror? There¡¯s one right there.¡± (Cliff)

    Cliff pointed to a mirror hanging on the wall.

    Was he asking me to look at myself?

    I didn¡¯t need to look; I already knew that I was dressed like a bear.

    And that I wasn¡¯t an ordinary adventurer.

    ¡°Well, does it matter?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No problem. I just thought I¡¯d let you know. Besides, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be seeing Primme and Ronne that often.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯lle visit you, okay?¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne denied what I had said.

    ¡°Really?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Because I promised Ryan that I would. You promised Ryan that you would be my friend.¡± (Ronne)

    Ryan did ask for it.

    But I didn¡¯t expect to hear it from Ronne.

    ¡°Not only my sister, but I¡¯ming to visit as well.¡± (Primme)

    In other words, it sounded like both sisters wereing to visit me and Noa.

    ¡°Cliff, first of all, I want to warn you not to spread rumors about fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    There were people in this world who approached fairies with malicious intent. Sometimes, even goodwill could turn into malice.

    ¡°I won¡¯t talk about it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Also, you shouldn¡¯t even try to study fairies.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No one is going to!¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°What? Does that mean you¡¯re not interested in us?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Why would I? You are friends with Yuna and Noa, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I consider myself a decent person. I don¡¯t want to study my daughter¡¯s precious friends. Above all, I don¡¯t see the benefit of picking a fight with that bear.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°You mean you¡¯d do it if I wasn¡¯t involved?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away. Fairies can make people either miserable or happy. It depends on how humans and fairies interact with each other. It¡¯s the same with humans. So, I¡¯m not going to do anything as long as you guys don¡¯t harm my daughter.¡± (Cliff)

    In other words, if you do something terrible to his daughter, he¡¯ll take action.

    Well, that¡¯s normal for any loving father.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do anything terrible to Noa, would you?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I won¡¯t. I promise that.¡± (Ronne)

    After the discussion, Noa made arrangements to meet Primme and Ronne.

    Noa then happily told Cliff about her experience.

    ¡°Thank you Yuna, I think Noa had gained a valuable experience.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I¡¯m d it was a good experience for her because I want Noa to be a respectable noblewoman.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I am already a respectable youngdy.¡± (Noa)

    Noa said proudly.

    Cliff and Iughed at her.

    Finally, as Noa started to look sleepy, perhaps relieved to be home, I left Noa¡¯s house with Primme and Ronne.

    We returned to the Bear House and went to the fairy mirror.

    ¡°Yuna, thank you so much. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to help my sister.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°It was tough, but I¡¯m d I was able to help you.¡± (Yuna)

    After all, in the end, I let Blitz kill the Lord instead of doing it myself.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna and Noa, for saving Ryan.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne also thanked me again.

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go see Ryan-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to go see him. I¡¯m sure that Ryan wille to see me when he¡¯s ready. I will wait until then.¡± (Ronne)

    I have no idea when that would be.

    But I do not doubt that Ryan-san woulde to see her.

    ¡°Well, I have to report to the Queen, so we¡¯re going home.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Alright.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Thank you. It felt so good riding on your fur.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~un¡±¡±

    ¡°And tell Blitz and the others thank you, as well.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°I will.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Primme, let¡¯s go.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Primme)

    She touched the fairy mirror as she looked at us longingly.

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯ll see you again!¡± (Ronne)

    With these words, Primme and Ronne entered the fairy mirror as if they were being sucked into it.

    I approached the fairy mirror and touched it.

    I was not sucked into it. It was just like a normal mirror.

    It was just me in the mirror, dressed as a bear.

    I took the fairy mirror, carried it into the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was located, and hung it on the wall.

    Just as I was done, I heard a voice calling me from outside.

    I opened the door to find an out-of-breath Fina.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, you¡¯re back.¡± (Fina)

    Seeing Fina made me feel like I was home.

    ¡°Fina, I¡¯m home.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Wee home.¡± (Fina)

    When Fina smiled, I smiled as well.

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 Chapter 715

    <h4>Chapter 715</h4>

    <b>Bear-san. Talking with Blitz and the Others</b>

    The day after returning from thend of fairies, Blitz and the others still have not woken up.

    ording to Primme and Ronne, the effect of the fairy sleeping powder should have worn off, so we decided to wait until they woke up normally.

    There was nothing much to do, so we ate potato chips, drank fruit juice, and yed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs. I was full of energy.

    While I was thinking about what to eat for lunch, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made a ¡°kuu~n¡± and looked up.

    It seemed they had woken up.

    I went up the stairs and opened the door to the room on the second floor where Blitz and the others were sleeping.

    Originally, the room had only two beds, but I added extra beds for a total of four beds in a row.

    It was Rosa-san who first got up from the bed.

    ¡°Rosa-san, good morning.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan? Have I been sleeping until now?¡± (Rosa)

    Well, it was mostly because of the fairy sleeping powder.

    ¡°¡­Rosa.¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz woke up at the sound of our voice.

    Ran and Grimos woke up as well.

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± (Ran)

    Blitz and the others looked around the room.

    ¡°This is my house in Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯re back?¡± (Ran)

    Ran got out of bed and moved to the window, followed by Rosa-san and the others.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t checked yet.¡± (Rosa)

    I don¡¯t think they could tell where they were just by looking out the window.

    ¡°You will find out when we go outside. But first, aren¡¯t you guys hungry? It¡¯s almost noon.¡± (Yuna)

    The Blitz and the others had slept almost the entire day, so they had not eaten.

    ¡°We slept that much?¡± (Blitz)

    We moved downstairs, leaving the details forter.

    I quickly put away the chips and other snacks I was about to eat and started preparing lunch.

    ¡°Do you need any help, Yuna?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear!¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n.¡±¡±

    ¡°Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, thank you for weing us.¡± (Rosa)

    Said Rosa-san and Ran while petting Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°So, this really is Crimonia, huh?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see, Yuna, thank you.¡± (Blitz)

    The four of them look relieved.

    They were relieved to be back.

    ¡°So, why were we sleeping?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°As I recall, the location of the home of the fairies and how they move around was a secret, so we had to cover our eyes.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°We covered our eyes, and then we started to get sleepy.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I tried to resist it.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°But you all ended up sleeping.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°All together?¡± (Blitz)

    Everyone seemed to be puzzled.

    ¡°Sorry, I asked Primme and Ronne to put some fairy sleeping powder on everyone. You guys fell asleep because of it.¡± (Yuna)

    I told them honestly and apologized.

    I knew that if they stayed awake, there was a chance they would notice the Bear Transfer Gate, so using sleeping powerpletely eliminated that possibility.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. That was your promise to Primme and the others, wasn¡¯t it?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes, it was. I am just grateful to be back.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Ugh, I wish I knew how you were able to get back here.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°Thank you, Yuna.¡± (Grimos)

    Each of the four expressed their feelings in their own way.

    I was d to make them fall asleep when I heard what one of them said.

    ¡°So, where are Primme-chan and the others?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°They went home. They told me to inform you guys that they are thankful.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m d to hear that Primme-chan and the others made it back safely.¡± (Yuna)

    Primme was back in the fairy forest with Ronne, and Blitz and the others were back in Crimonia. I could keep my secret, and Noa was returned safely to Cliff.

    Despite everything that had happened, I was d to see everyone back in one piece.

    ¡°So, Yuna, I want to thank you once again.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. Blitz and the others kept their word and helped us to save Ronne.¡± (Yuna)

    Blitz and the others helped me save Ronne and even killed Bellung so that I didn¡¯t have to do it myself.

    Considering that, it was not something I deserved to be thanked for.

    So I politely declined.

    But Blitz said, ¡°Please let me know next time you have a problem. I will help you as much as I can.¡±

    I epted his words dly, and we finished discussing this matter and ate lunch.

    Blitz and the others finished their lunch and discussed their ns when Noa visited. Did she slip out of her house to check on their situation?

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked my father for permission, and he has given me some time.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I see that Noire-chan is back safe and sound.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes, and I¡¯vee to ask a favor from Blitz-san and the others.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°A favor from us?¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°I told father about the Blitz-san and the others, and he wanted to talk to your group.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Who¡¯s Noire-chan¡¯s father?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°The Lord of this town, I think¡­¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Yes, my father is Cliff Foschurose, Lord of this town.¡± (Noa)

    Noa replied politely.

    ¡°Blitz, what are you going to do?¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°Are you going?¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    The three of Blitz¡¯s party members looked at him.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I can refuse.¡± (Blitz)

    I was reminded of myself in the past.

    I remember when I was invited to Cliff¡¯s house, and I didn¡¯t want to go.

    So I offered them a helping hand, just as the Guild Master had told me to do then.

    ¡°Cliff is a decent noble among the nobles I know, so it will be alright.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, by ¡®decent¡¯ do you mean¡­?¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s expression turned sullen at my words.

    Well, being told that their father was a ¡°decent¡± person would not sound like apliment to any children.

    ¡°Well,pared to the toad noble I met at Misa¡¯s birthday party, he is extraordinary, and I¡¯m sure that he has been a good father to you. And then there was the nobleman who tried to get Shia to marry his son¡­¡± (Yuna)

    There was also an outrageous nobleman who had captured a fairy.

    Misa¡¯s parents and grandfather, Gran-san were good nobles.

    There were good nobles and evil nobles among the nobility.

    ¡°Please don¡¯tpare Father to those nobles.¡± (Noa)

    Noa puffed out her cheeks a little as she refuted me.

    ¡°Well, there are some outrageous nobles, but Noa¡¯s father doesn¡¯t do anything unreasonable, so I mean it¡¯s okay.¡± (Yuna)

    It was undoubtedly rude topare those aristocrats to Cliff.

    ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t hear anything bad about him in Mile either.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I think the townspeople had more positive things to say about him, as well.¡± (Rosa)

    There may have been a small amount of criticism. Some residents imed that Cliff had made the town noisier, but they preferred a quiet town. It took a lot of work to get a favorable opinion from everyone.

    ¡°Atora-san said he was a nice guy, as well.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    ¡°Shall we go?¡± (Blitz)

    Blitz and the others seem determined to meet Cliff.

    ¡°If he tries to be unreasonable, just mention my name, and you¡¯ll be fine, Cliff owes me a favor.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-chan calls the Lord by his name¡­¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± (Ran)

    They were more interested in how I called Cliff by his name than in the fact that he owed me a favor.

    Blitz and the others looked at me with stunned eyes.

    Sometimes, even though I thought I should be more polite with my words, I still spoke the usual way.

    ¡°Only Yuna-san would call Father like that. But Father has never been angry with it, so it¡¯s all right.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Why don¡¯t Blitz and the others try calling him that way as well?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Blitz)

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± (Rosa)

    ¡°No.¡± (Ran)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Grimos)

    Lastly, Grimos shook her head in silence.

    After all, it seemed unusual to call Cliff, a noble and Lord, by his first name. However, I did not intend to change how I address him now.

    The four of them thanked me at the end and left with Noa.

    I spent the day rxing with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Peace was the best, after all.

    ¡­

    This was a story that happened a while after I came back to Crimonia. I went to check on the town where Ronne had been held captive.

    The town was back to normal.

    The residents, whose faces had been dim, were smiling and seemed to have regained their normal lives.

    The new Lord was the third son of a distant rtive, and he was working hard.

    The Guild Master told me that the new Lord had beenmenting during his work, saying, ¡°Why me, the third son¡±.

    He might have ended up with the short end of the stick and was chosen to be the new Lord which he found troublesome.

    But he was an earnest person at heart, and he worked hard.

    Then, Blitz and the others were treated as heroes.

    Everyone was praising them. I saw a picture of Blitz for sale, so I bought it.

    When I showed it to Blitzter, he tried to tear it up, while Rosa-san and Ran wanted it. But I only gave it to Grimos, and she seemed a little happy and put it away in her item bag.

    When Rosa-san and Ran saw that, they said it was unfair and asked me to buy one for them with their money, but I politely refused.

    If they wanted pictures, they could have asked an artist to paint a picture for them. There was no need for me to go all the way to that town to buy them.

    Also, no one in that town knew that it was me who fought the previous Lord. The only people who knew about my fight were those associated with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    When I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I was weed by the Guild Master and the receptionists. The adventurers in the corner knew who I was.

    And, by the consensus of the entire Adventurers¡¯ Guild, ¡°something¡± had been made.

    It was a stone statue of a bear.

    A stone statue of a bear had been ced in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild training centre.

    He also mentioned that the bear¡¯s image would be passed down as the true hero of that event inside the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    I thought about destroying the bear statue for a moment, but I could not do so because there were two fairies on top of the statue.

    Because of obvious reasons, fairies were detested in this town. But I hope that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will acknowledge them and start to like them.

    And when I told Noa, who was probably wondering about the town, she seemed happy.

    But she alsoined that I should have taken her with me.

    Well, Noa knew about Bear Transfer Gate, so I might as well take her there next time.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 716

    <h4>Chapter 716</h4>

    Hi, everyone. I have an important exam soon, so I will not be able to give as much as time to TL as before. Because of this, I will be reducing the release rate to 1 chapter per week for next 6 weeks. Once my exams are over, I will release bonus chapters to make up for lower release rate right now. Have a great day.

    <b>Bear-san Introduces Fairies to Fina</b>

    It was the first time in a long time that I was home and rxing.

    After all I have done, I have the right to rest. Too much work is not good for your health. One could even die from overwork. I wanted to take it easy.

    Contrary to my feelings, two insects happily flew in front of me.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, fairies are beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said as I looked at the fairies as if they were flying insects.

    Let¡¯s rewind the clock for a moment here.

    Today, Fina came over to dismantle a wolf carcass.

    Meanwhile, I have been inzy mode with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    I decided to bezy today, so I lounged on the sofa.

    After spending the morning in a leisurely manner, it was almost noon, so I went to the dismantling facility to invite Fina to take a break.

    ¡°Fina, how¡¯s the dismantling going? I¡¯m about to have lunch¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I said as I opened the door to the dismantling area, and there I saw Fina seemingly done with her work.

    There were two big bugs flying around Fina¡­ not bugs, but Primme and Ronne.

    Of course, Fina couldn¡¯t see them.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan? About dismantling, we just finished it.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yuna, this girl is dismantling monsters even though she is so small.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°And she is so dexterous at it as well.¡± (Primme)

    Primme and Ronne were sitting on Fina¡¯s shoulders.

    Of course, Fina did not notice the two fairies.

    I couldn¡¯t help but head over.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± (Fina)

    Fina didn¡¯t notice the fairies on her shoulders. Therefore, she didn¡¯t understand why I had my hand on her head.

    ¡°Fina, are you okay? They didn¡¯t do anything to you, did they?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°That¡¯s rude. I didn¡¯t do anything to her.¡± (Primme)

    Primme, on Fina¡¯s shoulder,ined.

    I didn¡¯t trust her words, which you could say to be a bad part of me not being able to trust anyone that easily.

    I thought for a moment and then finally decided to introduce Primme and Ronne to Fina for future reference.

    ¡°Primme, Ronne, can you make yourself visible to this girl?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. She knows my secret, and you can trust her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, alright.¡± (Primme)

    Primme and Ronne jumped off Fina¡¯s shoulders and darted around her.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan? Where are you looking, and who are you talking to?¡± (Fina)

    Well, if someone suddenly walked into the room, and started talking to ¡°Primme¡± or ¡°Ronne¡± that only that person could see, the other person watching wouldn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan¡­could it be a ghost¡­? Father told me that Yuna Onee-chan went to a haunted mansion at the request of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s face grew pale as she looked at me.

    Then she took a step away from me.

    ¡°That¡¯s rude. I¡¯m not a ghost.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Eh?¡± (Fina)

    Fina heard a voiceing from nowhere and started looking around.

    Primme was on my shoulder, but Fina couldn¡¯t see her.

    It was like aedy act.

    Fina was seriously scared however, but the two fairies ignored her feelings and just continued flying around her.

    ¡°¡­Yuna Onee-chan?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Primme, Ronne, don¡¯t scare her further and just show yourself.¡± (Yuna)

    Hearing me, Primme and Ronne flew towards me and finally made themselves visible.

    Fina¡¯s frightened expression changed to one of surprise when she saw them.

    ¡°¡­Yu, Yuna Onee-chan!¡± (Fina)

    Fina pointed her finger at Primme and Ronne.

    Her fingertips trembled in surprise.

    ¡°Let me introduce them. They are sisters, this is Primme, the younger sister, and this is Ronne, the older sister.¡± (Yuna)

    I introduced each of them.

    ¡°F, Fairies!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°This is Fina, she¡¯s one of the few who knows my secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Fina, I¡¯m Primme. Nice to meet you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m Ronne.¡± (Ronne)

    Fina looked at me and the sisters alternately with her mouth agape.

    ¡°Can¡¯t she speak?¡± (Primme)

    Primme flew around Fina in a circle.

    ¡°She¡¯s just shocked at seeing you two. Fina, are you okay?¡± (Yuna)

    Fina returned to her senses at my words.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan! It¡¯s a fairy!¡± (Fina)

    Her eyes began to glow with surprise.

    ¡°Yes, fairies indeed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why are there fairies here?¡± (Fina)

    Fina was getting more and more excited. I tried to calm her down.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re surprised, but you need to calm down.¡± (Yuna)

    Regardless of how Fina and I felt, Primme and Ronne started flying around Fina.

    The dismantling job was over, so we moved to another location with Fina and the others.

    When we returned to the room where Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were sleeping on the couch, Primme dived onto Swaying Bear¡¯s back andid down.

    ¡°It¡¯s so nice up here on these cubs.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I agree with that.¡± (Ronne)

    Ronne slowly climbed onto Hugging Bear¡¯s back as well, enjoying the feel of it.

    Well, I do agree that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were great to cuddle with.

    Primme and Ronne began to lounge around on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear woke up, but did not shake them off.

    Then, having moved around, I introduced Primme and Ronne again to Fina, who had calmed down a bit, and briefly exined why the fairies were here in this house.

    ¡°So you are saying that the one haunting that haunted house was actually a fairy, and that¡¯s why Noa-sama and¡­. you¡¯ve been gone for the past few days.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°This must remain a secret, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    Fina nodded and then looked at Primme and Ronne.

    ¡°Primme-san, Ronne-san, nice to meet you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, nice to meet you.¡± (Ronne)

    The introductions ended without incident.

    Primme and Ronne started flying around the room.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, fairies really are beautiful.¡± (Fina)

    She said as she watched Primme and Ronne fly around us.

    They were beautiful, but they were also very noisy.

    I was going to rx today, so I wish they¡¯d be quieter.

    ¡°Fina, you¡¯re a good judge of character. But you¡¯re pretty too.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Oh, thank you?¡± (Fina)

    Fina was puzzled when a fairy told her that she was pretty.

    ¡°But I never knew fairies existed.¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked curiously at the fairy she saw for the first time.

    Although their existence had been more or less confirmed, fairies were still generally considered a myth.

    ¡°You have to be on the same magical wavelength to be able to see them.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan and Noa-sama can see Primme-san and Ronne-san, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m good with just Yuna seeing me.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°For me, it was Noa and Ryan. Yuna is like a special person who could see all the fairies, right?¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°Ugh, sis, you¡¯re so mean.¡± (Primme)

    Only I could see Primme, but Noa and Ryan-san could see Ronne.

    Furthermore, just as Ronne said, it was likely that I could see all the fairies, so I might actually be ipatible with Primme.

    But since that part was unconfirmed, there was still a miraculous possibility that I could see only Primme and Ronne.

    Then, I discovered one thing.

    I could see Primme and Ronne even without the bear gear.

    When I was taking a bath, I could see Primme and Ronne. I initially thought it was because of the bear¡¯s blessing, but I was wrong.

    Or was it because I was from another world?

    I tried not to think about it anymore because I couldn¡¯t find an answer.

    ¡°So, what are you two doing here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What? Can¡¯t wee here unless we have something to do?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking.¡± (Yuna)

    We had just parted ways the other day.

    And their sudden arrival would ruin my ns for today¡¯s rxing time.

    ¡°Yuna, I¡¯m sorry. She said she wanted to go out and y¡­¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°You said you wanted to go, as well, didn¡¯t you, Sis?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± (Ronne)

    The sisters started arguing with each other.

    Sure, fairies were beautiful, but I wish they¡¯d be quiet.

    The first time I witnessed it, I could feel the sisterly love and care between the two, but what was happening in front of me right now was just a typical sisterly quarrel.

    ¡°Is it okay for you two to go back and forth between the fairy forest and here so often? Won¡¯t the Queen be angry with you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have the Queen¡¯s permission.¡± (Primme)

    I have nothing toin about if the Queen had given her permission.

    I permitted the fairy sisters to visit my ce freely so Ronne could visit Noa anytime she wanted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if youe visit me. But don¡¯t let anyone else see you.¡± (Yuna)

    It would be a disaster if she was spotted in town. All the residents might start a hunt for the fairies.

    I was afraid that other fairies might even start visiting as well.

    So, I firmly warned Primme and Ronne.

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t bring any other fairies with you, okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We can¡¯t?¡± (Primme)

    ¡°Well, even though the Fairy Queen allowed us toe over¡­ I don¡¯t think the other fairies are allowed to do so.¡± (Ronne)

    ¡°We have been given permission by the Queen and will be responsible for our own actions. All fairies like and respect the Queen, so I don¡¯t think they woulde over if the Queen didn¡¯t allow it.¡± (Primme)

    ¡°That would mean, on the contrary, that if the Queen gives them permission to visit, they will show up.¡± (Yuna)

    Next time I see the Queen, I should ask her to prevent other fairies from visiting my ce.

    Even if fairies came here, no one would usually be able to see them.

    However, it would be quite a troublesome task if I was asked to provide magic power to all of them to make them visible.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, fairies, are there many of them?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°There is a forest where fairies live. There are many fairies there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A Fairy Forest¡­. There are many fairies there¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at Primme and Ronne and let her imagination run wild.

    ¡°Right, Yuna, you need to change the location of the mirror. We can¡¯t get out of that ce.¡± (Primme)

    The fairy mirror was currently ced in a room where my Bear Transfer Gate was located.

    Well, that ce was like a warehouse. Once the door was closed, Primme and any other fairy could not get out of that room. Of course, they would also be unable to go outside the house either.

    I moved the mirror to the wall of the living room.

    As Primme wanted toe and go outside freely, I decided to remodel the room.

    Well, I ended up only adding small windows that Primme and Ronne could use to move around the house and also go outside.

    However, Primme and Ronne were more than thrilled with those changes.

    <b>Can¡¯t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click </b><b>here</b><b> to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!</b>

 Chapter 717

    <h4>Chapter 717</h4>

    Hi, everyone. I have an important exam soon, so I will not be able to give as much as time to TL as before. Because of this, I will be reducing the release rate to 1 chapter per week for next 6 weeks. Once my exams are over, I will release bonus chapters to make up for lower release rate right now. Have a great day.

    <b>Bear-san Went to Report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild</b>

    Yesterday, I could not rx because of Primme and Ronne¡¯s visit.

    So I had made up my mind in the morning that today would be the day when I would simply rx, but that wish came crashing down. This time, Cliff visited my house in the morning.

    ¡°¡­What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so angry.¡± (Cliff)

    No, I wanted to be angry. Normally, Cliff never came to my house. I could only assume that he had brought trouble with him.

    After all, my ns for rxing had been foiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s about that haunted house request. You just came back the other day, so I couldn¡¯t talk to you about it. You¡¯ll have to report on the request to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. I¡¯m just trying to smooth things over.¡± (Cliff)

    Oh, It¡¯s about that.

    I hadpletely forgotten that I had received a request to investigate the haunted house.

    When I checked that haunted house, it turned out that there was a fairy in that mansion. Somehow, I ended up going to the fairy forest, and when I returned, I didn¡¯t report my findings to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    But I could not say that there was a fairy in that haunted mansion.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would take care of it? What went wrong?¡± (Yuna)

    Cliff exined.

    Apparently, he simply notified Adventurer¡¯s Guild that there were some children ying in the house without permission.

    ¡°If you report that to the guild, the request will be fulfilled.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Did the guild agree to that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°They did. Or rather, they also want to get rid of this request as no one other than you is even willing to take it. Well, it ys in our favor as we cannot say that there was a fairy there.¡±

    If word got out that there was a fairy in that haunted house, there would be an uproar.

    ¡°And I bought the house, so neither the Adventurers¡¯ Guild nor the Commerce Guild willin.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°You bought that mansion?¡± (Yuna)

    It was a ratherrge mansion.

    I wondered what kind of rich nobleman would buy a house like that, but well, technically, Cliff was a nobleman and was also the Lord of this town.

    ¡°But what are you going to do with it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I n to turn that mansion into a luxury inn. Thanks to someone, people will now be able to travel back and forth between Mile and Crimonia.¡± (Cliff)

    By ¡°someone,¡± I assumed that it was me.

    ¡°Especially these days, some people can¡¯t stay at the normal inns as they are already full and are hanging around on the streets, or even pitching tents in the middle of nowhere. If this continues, it will be unsafe. We need to deal with it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°But even if you turn the mansion into an inn, won¡¯t the cost of lodging be so high that no one will stay there?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on the details yet, but I¡¯m going to make the top floor more expensive and the lower floors less expensive. There are servants¡¯ rooms on the first floor, so if I open them up to the public, there should be no problem.¡± (Cliff)

    Ah, I see.

    It was like a tower apartment.

    The premium pent suites on the top floor, the cheaper, more affordable suites at the bottom.

    ¡°Also, there is nock of merchants with money and so on. If nobles evere to visit our town, we can also have them stay there.¡± (Cliff)

    That¡¯s a lot of calctions involved.

    ¡°Thank you for going out of your way toe and inform me.¡± (Yuna)

    I would have just asked someone to call me over to his home if I were in Cliff¡¯s shoes.

    Considering the arrangements he already made before paying me a visit, I would forgive him for interrupting my leisurely schedule.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I guess, sometimes, you have to see the town on your own feet to know what¡¯s going on.¡± (Cliff)

    That was what Cliff often said to Noa.

    When a noble visits other towns and their own town, they should take a good look around and study the environment carefully to understand what is happening there.

    Learn the good and the bad of that town.

    Take in the good and remove the bad.

    It was an element of being a good Lord.

    What about Noa?

    Was he educating Noa because she may end up somewhere else after getting married to another noble?

    ¡°Now go to the Adventurers Guild and then report back to me. I can¡¯t apany you and show my face at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as it will cause unnecessarymotion.¡± (Cliff)

    I thanked him for his concern.

    After thanking Cliff, I put aside my rxation ns and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    The number of horse-drawn carriages and merchants increased as I walked around town.

    But that was not all.

    I also noticed that there were many people saying ¡°bears?¡± ¡°bears?¡±.

    They seemed surprised to see me dressed like this.

    Crimonia was a big ce. I didn¡¯t expect everyone to know who I was. However, I have walked the road from my house to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild many times, so only a few people in this area did not know me.

    They also knew Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and would sometimes give me food.

    If they were surprised to see me dressed like this, it meant that they were not from around here.

    It gave me a nostalgic feeling of when I came here for the first time.

    I arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild under such gazes.

    ¡°What the heck. There¡¯s a strangely dressed youngdying in.¡±

    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s cute.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know this town even had such strange-looking girls.¡±

    An adventurer looked at me andughed.

    At that moment, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was abuzz.

    ¡°You guys, stop!¡± (Crimonia adventurers )

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± (another adventurer)

    ¡°Stay away from that bear!¡± (yet another adventurer)

    ¡°Have you forgotten the warning about the Bear Warning?¡± (again another adventurer)

    The adventurers all moved in at once, pinning the adventurer whoughed at me and covering his mouth.

    ¡°Hey there, miss bear. Did you hear these idiots?¡± (Crimonia Adventurer)

    ¡°Ummppphhh.¡± (Outsider Adventurer)

    The man had his mouth covered.

    I decided to be an adult here and responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    Everyone was relieved to hear my words.

    There was no point in going ballistic about something like this.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if I won¡¯t be able to hear it next time.¡± (Yuna)

    The adventurers nodded their heads vigorously, indicating that they understood my words.

    I needed to give them a warning, after all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to tell these new guys, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Crimonia Adventurer)

    The other adventurers nodded.

    I didn¡¯t want to cause a scene, either.

    I knew that being calm was the best way to go.

    So I headed for the reception desk.

    ¡°Yuna-san, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Helen)

    Helen, the receptionist, smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m d no one was hurt.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I won¡¯t rampage randomly.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, Yuna-san has a prior criminal record¡­¡± (Helen)

    Please don¡¯t talk about me like I was some real career criminal.

    The previous incident was out of self-defence.

    ¡°And what is your business today?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I¡¯m here to report on the haunted house request I received before.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I see. Cliff-sama told me about it. May I have your guild card?¡± (Helen)

    I handed my guild card over to Helen-san, and she processed the request fulfillment and gave me the money.

    ¡°But Yuna-san, using Cliff-sama as a messenger is an incredible thing to do.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°¡­?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I was surprised when Cliff-sama came. He said Yuna-san sent him.¡± (Helen)

    I had no choice, though, since I was going to the fairy forest. This made it look like I used Cliff, a nobleman and Lord, as my messenger.

    ¡°Yuna-san, even if you have something urgent to do, please show up for a bit and report back to me.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll be careful next time.¡± (Yuna)

    I had time but couldn¡¯t think of a good excuse, so I left it to Cliff.

    ¡°If you are dealing with something important and can¡¯te to report yourself, please ask someone else to do it, not Cliff-sama.¡± (Helen)

    I talked to Cliff normally, but to the average person, Cliff was above the clouds.

    Anyway, my report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild waspleted, so I decided to drop by the Bear¡¯s Lounge.

    When I arrived in front of Bear¡¯s Lounge, I was greeted by arge bear holding a loaf of bread.

    Next, a small Bear-san greeted me as I entered the store.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan!¡± (Orphan Helper)

    I petted the cute Bear-san on the head and headed to the counter to buy some bread.

    I looked around and saw that the ce was thriving. The Little Bears were moving around, thinking, and working independently without Karin¡¯s direction anymore.

    ¡°Yuna-san, please enter.¡± (Karin)

    ¡°As usual, Morin-san¡¯s bread is very popr.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯re selling both pudding and pizza. The other day, the old man who brought the cheese was so happy.¡± (Karin)

    If the cheese sold well, that vige would get some money, and we would also have good cheese to use.

    ¡°He said he would buy more cows and make more cheese.¡± (Karin)

    ording to the story, Zeref, the royal cook, also bought cheese and made new dishes.

    While the Old Man would like to see more delicious dishes made with cheese, he would also prefer cheese not spread too widely, making it impossible to purchase cheese or raise its price.

    As demand for something increases, it bes more and more difficult to obtain it and prices will also rise as a result.

    I hoped the vige would do their best and let Grandpa increase the supply he could deliver.

    The bread I purchased was put away in the bear box. Next, I headed to Bear-san¡¯s Diner.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, wee. Would you like something to eat?¡± (Seno)

    Seno-san called out to me as soon as I entered the restaurant. Fo-san, who was also in the restaurant, looked at me and seemed happy to hear my voice.

    It was lunchtime, and quite a few customers were in the store.

    Compared to when the restaurant first opened, it seemed to have calmed down.

    However, it was not deserted, so there was no problem.

    ¡°You haven¡¯te to eat here recently, so I was wondering what happened to you.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°I¡¯ve been away from Crimonia for a bit, on a job.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. So what would you like to eat?¡± (Seno)

    Apparently, she thought that I was here to eat.

    I originally nned to go home and have some bread, but I decided to save the bread for dinner and lunch.

    I ordered the grilled fish set meal for the first time in a while.

    ¡°Anzu-chan! One grilled fish set meal, please! It¡¯s for Yuna-chan.¡± (Seno)

    Seno-san yelled out to the kitchen.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re here!¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu peeked out from the kitchen. Bettle-san peeked out from behind her.

    ¡°Yuna-san, just in time¡­we¡¯ve added tempura to the menu, the one Yuna-san told us about. Would you like to try it? Or would you like the grilled fish set meal as ordered?¡± (Anzu)

    Tempura.

    I taught Anzu how to make tempura.

    It was difficult to control the oil temperature when cooking tempura, and Anzu struggled a lot with it initially.

    If the temperature was too low, the fish would be fried raw, and if the temperature was a little too high, it would be burnt. The time it took to fry the tempura properly was also difficult to measure.

    It takes a cook with a lot of experience to master making tempura.

    So Anzu tried again and again to make good tempura.

    ¡°Okay, then, please give me some tempura.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay. Please wait a moment.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu returned to the kitchen.

    And after a while, the tempura arrived.

    Vegetable tempura, shrimp, octopus tempura, and more.

    Pure white rice.

    I took a bite of the shrimp tempura.

    I could hear the crunching. It was delicious.

    All the tempura was well fried.

    ¡°Tempura is very popr these days.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Sometimes I help out too, but it¡¯s hard work because it¡¯s so hot.¡± (Bettle)

    ¡°Be careful not to burn yourselves.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I am being careful about it.¡± (Anzu)

    If the oil caught fire, it would be a big problem.

    Eating good food was always risky.

    After I finished my tempura set meal, I headed for the orphanage.

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 Chapter 718

    <h4>Chapter 718</h4>

    <b>Cliff, with his Head in the Sand</b>

    [Cliff¡¯s POV]

    While I was working, Yuna and Noa came to my office.

    They had something to discuss with me.

    After hearing what they had to say, I wanted to bury my head in the sand.

    Fairies?

    I had heard that there were fairies somewhere, but this was the first time I had actually seen one.

    The fairy¡¯s name was Primme.

    She requested that I help her find her sister. To do so, she needed the help of Yuna and my daughter Noa.

    She needed Yuna¡¯s magic power to allow others to see her as a fairy. And to find her sister¡¯s whereabouts, they needed Primme¡¯s sister¡¯s handkerchief, which had entered Noa¡¯s body.

    I couldn¡¯t simply refuse a fairy¡¯s request.

    If I refused, I never knew what would happen in retribution.

    There were both good stories and bad stories about fairies.

    I didn¡¯t want to put my precious daughter in danger, but I knew that she would be safe if Yuna was with her, so I gave my permission.

    Yuna may look strange, but she was a skilled adventurer. Above all, she cared about my daughter. I knew that Yuna would not let Noa do anything dangerous and would protect her.

    How many adventurers would be able to defeat 10,000 monsters, ck vipers, ck tigers, and krakens all by themselves?

    Besides, this kind of experience was not something that someone could simply have, even if they wanted to. It would prove a valuable experience for Noa.

    But one problem remained.

    Yuna had been asked to investigate the mansion.

    Although I told Yuna I would take care of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I could never say there was a fairy in the mansion.

    That would cause a huge uproar which would be good for neither the fairies nor for Crimonia.

    The next morning, Noa came in.

    ¡°Well, then, father, I¡¯m off.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure you will be fine with Yuna, but be careful.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    Noa left the house to look for the fairy.

    She seemed happy, but a little nervous.

    Noa was not a selfish girl, but I couldn¡¯t predict what she might do when it came to anything rted to bears. But for now, I have no choice but to trust her.

    After a while, I left the house and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    When I entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I found the adventurers quarreling among themselves about what kind of requests they would receive.

    The ce was as noisy as ever.

    I headed for the reception desk.

    I think the receptionist¡¯s name was Helen.

    ¡°May I have a moment?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°This is Cliff-sama! Yes, yes, it¡¯s all right. Are you asking for me, sir?¡± (Helen)

    The receptionist asked nervously.

    ¡°The other day, Yuna-san received a request to survey a mansion, I believe.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°A request received by Yuna-san? Yes, indeed, Yuna-san was asked to investigate a mansion that is said to be haunted¡­¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I¡¯m here to report on that, on Yuna¡¯s behalf.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Cliff-sama is going to report for Yuna!¡± (Helen)

    The receptionist was surprised.

    ¡°Yeah, it seems there were some children who entered that mansion without permission.¡± (Cliff)

    I thought about it for a day and decided to go ahead with this excuse.

    It was not as if I could mention that there was a fairy in the mansion. And if I said that there were thieves, we¡¯d have to catch them. So, to keep things quiet, I just said that the children were in the mansion.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t you believe me?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not true. But¡­. The light, the voice¡­¡± (Helen)

    My story had a lot of loopholes, so she must be suspicious of my words.

    ¡°Even if there was a ghost, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°But it was a request from a Merchant¡¯s Guild¡­¡± (Helen)

    Even as the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I guess they could not handle it themselves.

    ¡°Okay. I should just go to the Merchant¡¯s Guild and report it, right?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, Cliff-sama, that¡¯s not¡­¡± (Helen)

    ¡°It will be faster if I go and tell them directly. I¡¯ll head there now.¡± (Cliff)

    It was a pain in the neck, but it had to be done.

    This was all for the sake of keeping Crimonia a peaceful town.

    If it had been known that fairies existed in Crimonia, it would have obviously caused a hugemotion, with people moring in frenzy to catch them or see them.

    Regardless of that situation, there were already more people than beforeing and going out of the town.

    Those people brought money to the town, which was fine, but if they ended up looking for fairies after hearing rumors about them, they would end up as a hindrance.

    You never knew what kind of people woulde.

    ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have toe.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, they will end up confirming it with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as well, so I¡¯ll go with you.¡± (Helen)

    Helen, the receptionist, asked the other receptionist to rece her and followed me as we left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°Cliff-sama, are you alone here?¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I don¡¯t need an escort to walk around my town.¡± (Cliff)

    The receptionist was surprised at my words.

    Even my daughter Noa was used to moving around the town on her own.

    I didn¡¯t need an escort either, if I was just going out for a walk.

    There were guards patrolling the town. The residents remained safe.

    I started walking toward the Merchant¡¯s Guild.

    The receptionist followed behind me with a nervous look on her face.

    Behind me, I heard ¡°Yuna-san is an idiot¡± and ¡°Yuna-san, why are you making Cliff-sama do this?¡±

    ¡°Sorry about this, and you don¡¯t have to me Yuna for this, I am just doing a quick favor for her since she is not in town.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°No, Cliff-sama has nothing to apologize for.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear you say that.¡± (Cliff)

    I said that much, and the receptionist went silent.

    She may be having a hard time dealing with Yuna¡¯s shenanigans.

    Then we arrived at the Merchant¡¯s Guild.

    It was a hassle, so I asked the receptionist to call Mylene.

    ¡°Cliff? And you, Helen?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°We need to talk.¡± (Cliff)

    I said, and she took me to the Guild Master¡¯s room in the back of the building.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up? Isn¡¯t it unusual to have Helen and Cliff together?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin.¡± (Helen)

    The receptionist then told Mylene about the haunted mansion.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s about that mansion.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°So, I asked Yuna-san to investigate it, and Cliff-sama is here to report on the investigation.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°Why Cliff?¡± (Mylene)

    It was tedious, but I once again said what I had told Helen at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    ¡°That¡¯s suspicious. So why is Cliffing to exin on Yuna-chan¡¯s behalf? And if some children had entered the house, there must have been some sign of it¡­?¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene looked at Helen.

    ¡°A report like that would be¡­¡± (Mylene)

    She smelled trouble.

    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that mansion anymore.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works. If the people who bought the mansionter find out that it¡¯s haunted, it will hurt the Merchant¡¯s Guild¡¯s credibility.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll buy it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure this way it won¡¯t cause you any problems.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but what would you do with a ce like that?¡± (Mylene)

    I remembered that there had been some rming reports recently.

    There needed to be more inns to amodate the growing number of people wandering around town at night, staying in horse-drawn carriages, or pitching tents in empty ces without permission.

    ¡°I¡¯ll turn it into an inn.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°An Inn?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yeah, you know what I¡¯m talking about. Lately, there aren¡¯t enough ces to stay.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Yes, merchants are indeed asking us to introduce them to ces where they can stay, and we often introduce them to several ces, but they are all upied.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s Guild also increased the number of rooms to rent out to adventurers from other towns who can¡¯t find a stay.¡± (Helen)

    ¡°That¡¯s why I decided to turn that mansion into an inn.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it too grand to be an inn? If you are going to turn that mansion into an inn, you¡¯ll have to charge a reasonable price, right?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Do you have a blueprint of the mansion?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Blueprint? Of course, I do.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene asked the staff to bring ns of the mansion.

    The staff member immediately brought them.

    The drawings were spread out on the table.

    It was the mansion where that man used to live, the man who had embezzled the money from the orphanage and other ces.

    I really wanted to tear it down, but the building itself was not so bad.

    It was spacious, with many rooms on the first floor that the servants probably used.

    I pointed to the first floor.

    ¡°Just as I thought. There are many rooms on the first floor that servants used. We can keep the price of these rooms down so that ordinary people can stay in them.¡± (Cliff)

    There was also a kitchen and a storage room with a ce to keep food.

    Next, I turned my attention to the second floor.

    ¡°There are many guest rooms upstairs. These rooms are bigger, so we¡¯ll just have to raise the price a little here.¡± (Cliff)

    Those rooms were two to three timesrger than the servants¡¯ rooms.

    There were other rooms as well, such as a conference room, but it was difficult to believe that those idiots father and son were using it.

    Maybe they just had it built to make themselves look good.

    However, since they were given instructions during the clean-up to send all the valuables left in the mansion that could be used for money to their rtives in the royal capital, nothing of value might have remained.

    Well, it would be necessary to check what was left in the mansion again.

    Then, I turned my attention to theyout of the third floor.

    There was a room that appeared to be that guy¡¯s room, and in therge adjoining room there was a bath as well.

    ¡°Thisrge room can be used as the most expensive room.¡± (Cliff)

    I doubt I would ever want to stay in this room, but no one from another town would know that that guy had ever lived here. Why not let the rich people stay there?

    ¡°Yeah, we could do that if we set a price for each floor.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°If we turn it into an inn and there¡¯s a ghostlymotion, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Something is fishy here. It¡¯s like you¡¯re convinced that it won¡¯t be haunted¡­¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I already said that it was just some kids ying pranks.¡± (Cliff)

    The fairy appeared because of the fairy mirror, which Yuna had already relocated to her own house.

    Thus, fairies (or ghosts) would not appear again in the mansion.

    ¡°Huh¡­okay. If you say you will purchase it and be responsible for it, then as the Merchant¡¯s Guild we don¡¯t have a problem with that. And as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, would you be okay with that?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yes. If the Merchant¡¯s Guild is okay with it, then we will process the request asplete.¡± (Helen)

    With that, this matter should be over.

    ¡°So, can I leave the rest to Mylene?¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­you¡¯re really just going to leave dealing with this to me?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°That¡¯s your job, isn¡¯t it? I want you to calcte the number of people who will be working at the inn, cook, maids, cleaners, and the number of people who will be needed at the inn and their wages, and report back to me the cost of the inn.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°Are you asking the Guild to treat this as a job?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Basically, yes, I¡¯m not going to interfere with the inn¡¯s operations. I¡¯ll simply take 20% of the profit. The rest is yours to keep for your Merchant¡¯s Guild.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°80% for us¡­¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I would like to recoup the cost of the mansion eventually.¡± (Cliff)

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Lord would be so generous with his money.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°It¡¯s not much.¡± (Cliff)

    Mylene wanted toin, but then she started thinking about making a profit.

    She was very clever.

    Finally, I returned the key to the mansion that Yuna had given me to Mylene, and that was the end of the matter.

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 Chapter 719

    <h4>Chapter 719</h4>

    <b>Mylene, Making a Move</b>

    Mylene¡¯s POV

    ¡°Haah.¡± (Mylene)

    I sighed.

    Cliff had put me to the wringer.

    That mansion had a lot of history behind it.

    First, the previous owner of the house had passed away for some unknown or vague reason.

    The circumstances of that person¡¯s death was something that couldn¡¯t be made public.

    So, when the mansion got passed on to a distant rtive of the original owner, they in turn sold it to the Merchant Guild at a low price, for a quick buck.

    The property was then listed on the market, but no buyer could be found, partly because the building was so opulent.

    Some people even wondered who would live there in the first ce.

    As a result of neglecting it for a long time, rumors of ghosts surfaced.

    The mansion, which was already difficult to sell, had an even more omnios reputation tacked on it.

    I had no choice but to instruct the staff to investigate the matter.

    When about five staff members went to check the mansion, one of them said he saw a shimmering light.

    He pointed his finger in that direction, but the other staff members could not see it.

    The rumors the house was haunted spread even wilder.

    Later, I heard that some people could see ghosts from the mansion while others could not.

    By the way, I have never seen a ghost.

    Anyway, to put the rumors of ghost haunting to rest, I sent a request to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    I only submitted the request to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to get them to investigate, expecting it to result that no ghosts would be found.

    However, the report from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was that ¡°ghosts may be present¡±.

    Some of the adventurers saw the shimmering light as did our staff, but those who went with me did not see it.

    There were even reports of hearing voices, but no one was there.

    There were also reports of other things.

    Was there really a ghost?

    Not only would it be costly to tear the mansion down, it would also be a waste to destroy that magnificent building.

    It would be impossible for the Merchant¡¯s Guild to ignore such a good property.

    While I was thinking about what to do, Cliff came to the guild with Helen from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.

    They came to talk about the haunted house.

    Helen told me about Yuna-chan receiving the request to investigate the mansion.

    Why did Cliff with Helene to report it?

    I never expected thisbination.

    It appears that Cliff came to report on behalf of Yuna-chan.

    The ghost of the house were said to be children who trespassed into the property.

    Such a scenario was impossible from the start.

    When we asked them to check the house, they reported that all the locks were securely closed and there were no signs of break-ins.

    So there was no way that children could have gotten inside the house.

    But Cliff was confident that there would never be another haunting incident.

    Moreover, he even agreed to buy the mansion himself. It would certainly help if Cliff would buy it. If it did not sell, we would suffer losses.

    And after buying the mansion, Cliff said that he would turn it into an inn.

    If Cliff really turned it into an inn, the oue would certainly look great. Amodation fee for the rooms would be high to maintain the property. Well, he could simply increase the price enough that it would not bother other inns and would only attract the wealthy patrons.

    Cliff then asked me to bring out the blueprint of the mansion.

    Cliff then exined his ideas while looking at the drawings.

    Many of the rooms on the first floor were previously used by servants. We could open these rooms to the general public. Then, he said, the prices would be higher for the rooms on the second and third floors.

    That would certainly separate the upants depending on their budget tiers.

    There was a kitchen in that mansion, so food could be served to every room.

    There was also a warehouse, so they would have a ce to store their food.

    A bathroom was also avable.

    Certainly, it would be possible to convert that mansion into a multi tier inn.

    With this n, the Merchant Guild would finally be able to get rid of that mansion and free up its invested funds.

    Not only that, this would also solve the shortage of lodging, which has been a problem recently. If that happened, more people and merchants from outside would gather in the town, increasing the flow of money.

    The ie of every guilds would also increase.

    When I agreed with him, Cliff even provided an outrageous suggestion. He said that he would entrust the management of the inn to us, the Merchant Guild.

    ¡­We would be forced to go through a lot of trouble.

    But the conditions that Cliff offered were not bad at all.

    Cliff would get 20% of the profits. The rest of the profits would go to us, the Merchant¡¯s Guild.

    There were many people who wanted work, so the guild should be able to hire staff for inn¡¯s management and day to day operations quite easily.

    Above all, Cliff had said that he would take responsibility if another ghost incident urred in the future.

    If there was any damages, Cliff would pay for it from his share.

    There would be no disadvantages to the Merchant Guild.

    So I decided to ept Cliff¡¯s proposal.

    But¡­

    ¡°¡­haah.¡±

    I sighed once again.

    If I were to start refurbishing that mansion, I would be inclined to keep the costs down. Even if the initial cost of the work would not be much, it would still not be from zero.

    Yuna-chan spent money without thinking about it when she set up her store, but I wonder where she got that kind of money.

    ¡°If you want to check the condition of the ce, you¡¯ll have to go there on your own.¡± (Cliff)

    I decided to head over to the mansion to see for myself the state of the mansion.

    Although Cliff promised that there wouldn¡¯t be any ghosts, I was still afraid to go alone, so I decided to take one of the staff members along with me.

    ¡­

    Outside the haunted mansion¡­

    ¡°Why am I here with you?¡± (Liana)

    I was apanied by Liana, whom I asked to take care of Yuna-chan when I was busy.

    ¡°You should be happy because you get to work by the Guild Master¡¯s side.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I would be happy if we weren¡¯t in a haunted house.¡± (Liana)

    I felt the same way.

    ¡°Anyway, you mustn¡¯t leave me.¡± (Mylene)

    Because I was scared.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave you, even if you don¡¯t tell me to.¡± (Liana)

    Liana moved closer to me so that I wouldn¡¯t leave her.

    We entered the mansion and checked the first floor first.

    The first floor had many rooms that seemed to have been used by the servants, just as Cliff had said.

    ¡°The beds, chairs, and tables are still there, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Liana)

    Liana was right, each room had a bed, desk, and chair still in ce.

    Some rooms even have two beds, so these rooms could be used as a room for two.

    ¡°It needs to be cleaned, but I think we can use it as is.¡± (Liana)

    Liana touched the desk, it was covered in dust.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go through it and if there are no problems, we¡¯ll bring in the cleaners once we¡¯re done.¡± (Mylene)

    Leaving the room, she checked the rest of the ce.

    There was the kitchen and the dining room.

    The tableware and other items have been left untouched. They were stored in drawers, so they were clean.

    ¡°I guess we can use these as well.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°And since there are also some high-end cutlery, it looks like they could be used for guests staying in the expensive rooms.¡± (Liana)

    I looked around the first floor and found the stairs to the basement.

    ¡°Guild Master, are you going down?¡± (Liana)

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to check.¡± (Mylene)

    We went down to the basement.

    There was a door, and when we opened it, we discovered a warehouse.

    It was clean and there was a bouquet of flowers on the floor.

    As we approached, we saw that the bouquet was dead.

    ¡°Did the previous upants put them there?¡± (Liana)

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°This ce could be used as a warehouse.¡± (Liana)

    ¡°¡­You can¡¯t use this ce.¡± (Mylene)

    I didn¡¯t know the details of what had happened.

    ¡­But I could guess.

    ¡°Are we clear?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll keep it locked up tight, and I will make sure to ry it to the Merchant¡¯s Guild to take care of it.¡± (Liana)

    After leaving the basement, we moved to the second floor.

    Unlike the first floor, the rooms on the second floor wererger and included a guest room and a parlor. The furniture was still intact, so we could use it.

    As we were about to move to the third floor, we saw a painting on the wall between the second and third floor staircases.

    ¡°Guild Master, what do you want to do with this painting?¡± (Liana)

    Liana¡¯s eyes fell on the image of a fat figure.

    The painting of that man.

    Though I¡¯ve met this person a few times, I¡¯m tempted to burn this painting.

    Cliff said that everything in this house was free for us to modify, and burning this painting would be the best use of it.

    If I invited Cliff to the burning of this, he might be willing to watch.

    Or maybe I could just put it up in that basement.

    I¡¯ll discuss this with Cliff.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Cliff about it, but we¡¯re going to have to take it down.¡± (Mylene)

    The decision to remove the painting was made.

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Liana)

    Liana made a note.

    But I was tempted to hang something else in ce of that painting.

    Well, we would figure that outter, slowly.

    Next, we started checking the third floor.

    It was furnished with fine furniture, probably as a deration that it was the former homeowner¡¯s private room.

    After the former owner¡¯s death, his rtives who inherit his property decided to sell the mansion along with things in it.

    Turns out it was a good thing for us, it would have cost a lot of money just to furnish this room with high-end furniture.

    After that, I continued to give instructions on what we could use and what we had to get rid of. Liana took notes on everything.

    There were more usable items left than I had expected. It looked like we would be able to keep our initial expenses down.

    Now we had to determine the price of amodation so that we could make a profit.

    ¡°¡­Ghosts won¡¯t appear, will they?¡± (Liana)

    Liana¡¯s words reminded me.

    I had forgotten that we were here to verify if there were still any ghostly happenings in this mansion.

    I¡¯ve been in the mansion for quite some time and haven¡¯t encountered anything that looked like a ghost.

    There have been no lights shaking, voicesing out of nowhere, curtains shaking even though the windows were not open, or anything else that would indicate a ghostly disturbance.

    Could it have been a children¡¯s prank, as Cliff suggested?

    Liana said, ¡°Could it be that this whole ghost incident was something that Cliff-sama orchestrated?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Like you see, if the ce was reported to have ghosts in it, no one will want to buy it. For that reason, the price of the property will have to be lowered to sell it.¡± (Liana)

    I lightly poked Liana on the forehead.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re being ridiculous. That can¡¯t be true.¡± (Mylene)

    After the orphanage incident, I did my research on this mansion and its owner.

    From what I heard, I knew that Cliff himself very much hated this mansion and couldn¡¯t wish more than to simply demolish this building.

    So I could assure her that Cliff did not set up such a scheme.

    As a Lord, he simply found a way to utilize it, and that was the reason he bought the ce.

    However, he did not have good memories of this mansion, so I think he forced it on me.

    Perhaps I epted Cliff¡¯s proposal because somewhere in my heart, I understood Cliff¡¯s sentiment.

    Then, as soon as I heard the news of Yuna-chan¡¯s return to Crimonia, I decided to ask her for a favor.

    I asked Yuna-chan to paint a picture to hang in ce where the fat guy¡¯s picture used to be.

    Of course, I wanted a picture of a cute bear patron saint.

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 Chapter 720

    <h4>Chapter 720</h4>

    <b>Sherry¡¯s Repair Shop</b>

    Sherry¡¯s POV

    I did embroidery and made Bear-san stuffed animals, and now I was receiving education on how to make clothes.

    ¡°Sherry-chan, you are going to the town square tomorrow, right?¡± (Nar)

    Nar-san asked me as I was cutting a mould for a dress.

    Nar-san was Temoka-san¡¯s wife, who ran a sewing shop.

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Well, you can take those scraps of fabric and threads with you.¡± (Nar)

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± (Sherry)

    I visit the town square several times a month to mend the children¡¯s stuffed animals.

    ¡°Sherry-chan is very kind.¡± (Nar)

    ¡°I think stuffed animals hold a special ce in children¡¯ hearts. The children in our orphanage also cherish Bear-san stuffed animals a lot. Even children who cry at night fall asleep when they hold a stuffed animal.¡± (Sherry)

    For children, stuffed animals providedfort.

    If such a stuffed animal were to be torn, children would be sad.

    ¡°Sherry-chan is just a child, isn¡¯t she?¡± (Nar)

    Nar-san said, exhaling a sigh.

    ¡°A child¡­ I¡¯m still just a child after all?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I think Sherry-chan is working well in our store. But from my point of view, you are still a child. I don¡¯t think you need to grow up so fast.¡± (Nar)

    ¡°Nar-san¡­¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°But I also know that Sherry-chan has cared for children younger than herself. You¡¯ve been everyone¡¯s big sister, mending clothes with holes in them, right? Sherry-chan was trying to be more mature than everyone else.¡± (Nar)

    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t. I have an older sister, Mil Onee-chan, who is stronger.¡± (Sherry)

    Mil Onee-chan was now working at Bear¡¯s Lounge.

    She was more mature than anyone else and took care of everyone.

    ¡°I liked embroidery, so I just mended torn clothes as much as I could.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°That¡¯s really sweet of Sherry-chan.¡± (Nar)

    ¡°Nar-san¡­¡± (Sherry)

    The next day, I went to the square.

    The square was filled with people from all walks of life.

    There were food stalls.

    There were also merchants from other towns who had their own stalls to sell their wares.

    I went to the ce I have been using for a while now.

    It was a little far from the busy square.

    I took out a cloth sheet from the Item Bag I borrowed from Nar-san andid it on the ground.

    Next, I took a sign shorter than my height out of the Item Bag and put it on the ground right in front of the cloth sheet. It was a small sign.

    The sign read ¡°Stuffed Animal Repair Shop¡±.

    I repaired stuffed animals here for free.

    I took off my shoes, stepped onto the cloth sheet, andid out the tools needed for the job on the cloth sheet.

    ¡°Now, I guess I¡¯m ready to go.¡±

    I sat on the cloth sheet for a while and waited, and then I saw a little girl approaching.

    The girl¡¯s face looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°My doggy¡¯s tail came off.¡±

    The girl sadly showed me the stuffed dog she was holding. It seemed like the tail hade off just as the girl said.

    ¡°Do you have the tail?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The girl pulled out the tail of the stuffed dog from her small bag.

    I took the stuffed dog and the tail and looked at the part where the tail hade off.

    ¡°Alright, this will be fixed in no time.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Just give me a minute.¡± (Sherry)

    I took out a piece of thread and attached the tail of the stuffed dog.

    This time, I reinforced it so that it wouldn¡¯te off easily, even when pulled.

    It should be okay now.

    ¡°Alright, I fixed it.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Thank you, big sister.¡±

    The girl hugged the stuffed dog happily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pull it off next time, okay?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The girl hugged her stuffed dog carefully as she left.

    Next came a stuffed animal whose eye had dislodged.

    I sew the eye back on with a piece of string.

    Next, it was a stuffed animal that had be ttened.

    Even cotton fillings inside a futon would be bby if the futon was used for a long time.

    It was the same with the futon in the old orphanage.

    Sometimes it could be restored by washing and loosening the cotton, but since there was no time, I decided to rece the cotton fillings inside.

    I asked permission to cut the stuffed animal¡¯s seam with scissors to put cotton inside it.

    I once made a girl cry when I cut the seam without saying anything.

    So now, whenever I use scissors, I always exin the reason before cutting.

    After receiving permission from the girl, I cut the seam a little and made a hole just big enough for the cotton toe out.

    The girl looked sad, so I gently told her, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±.

    I took out the old cotton and put the new cotton into the stuffed animal.

    After I finished putting in the new cotton, I sewed the seam that I cut open.

    Finally, I cut the thread, and it was done.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to feel a little different in touch, but it¡¯s proof that it¡¯s feeling better.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Wow, thank you, sister.¡±

    The girl hugged the stuffed animal with a big smile on her face.

    I was d that she was happy as well.

    The girl thanked me and ran away, and soon the next customer arrived.

    It was a big ck bear with a white belly¡­ but not a stuffed bear.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan!¡± (Sherry)

    It wasn¡¯t a stuffed animal, it was Yuna Onee-chan.

    ¡°I see you.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna Onee-chan said with a smile.

    ¡°Sherry, I didn¡¯t know you were a stuffed animal restorer.¡± (Yuna)

    She said as she looked at the signboard.

    I was a little embarrassed.

    ¡°Yeah, I thought it would make children happy¡­ It seems there are many kids whose beloved stuffed animals are damaged. Kids whose mothers won¡¯t fix them or who keep quiet because their parents will get angry. For the stuffed animals that have been torn to pieces, usually, their parents would simply say that they would buy the children a new one. But these children cherish their stuffed animals that they first received. So I wanted to fix them up so that children can keep them for a long time. After all, even if it¡¯s the same stuffed animal, from a child¡¯s point of view, only the first one they received would be their precious stuffed animal. They are memories of the time they spent together.¡± (Sherry)

    Yuna Onee-chan looked at me and put her hand on my head, and gently stroked me.

    ¡°Sherry is so sweet.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°When Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies were made, I wanted them to be cherished and used until they fell apart, instead of sitting on the shelf gathering dust. If they started to fall apart, initially I thought they could simply be reced with new ones. But I guess that was not how children who received them thought.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmmm, that was also my idea. I think it¡¯s okay to get a new one. I just felt sorry for the tattered stuffed animals.¡± (Sherry)

    I saw a girl once who was forced by her parents to throw away her stuffed animal because it was too worn out.

    They asked her to throw it away so that they could buy her a new one. The girl didn¡¯t want to. But the parents said having such a tattered stuffed animal was embarrassing.

    So I thought that if I fixed it up and cleaned it up, it wouldn¡¯t end up like that.

    When I told Yuna Onee-chan about it, she stroked my head until my hair was crumpled.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan! My hair¡­¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Sorry, Sherry is too nice.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna Onee-chan lifted her hand away from my head.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, why are you here?¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I was just passing the time, going around town. Then I saw Sherry.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯te here because someone told me to.

    ¡°But you¡¯re doing this for free?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Little kids don¡¯t have money, and it¡¯s something I want to do. Besides, at first, I paid for the materials out of my own sry, butter Nar-san found out about it and gave me scraps of fabric that she no longer needed and told me that I could use the threads freely, so it no longer cost me any money.¡± (Sherry)

    Yuna Onee-chan stared at me.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me? If you had told me, I could have helped Sherry.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well¡­ I was embarrassed, and Nar-san only found out by ident, so I didn¡¯t mention it to Yuna Onee-chan.¡± (Sherry)

    I hurriedly made an excuse.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so nervous. I¡¯m not mad at you, I just felt a little lonely. Sherry thought about something and acted on it on her own, didn¡¯t she?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°So, can I ask you one more question? Why are you wearing the bear outfit from the store?¡± (Yuna)

    I looked at my outfit.

    I was wearing a bear outfit from Yuna Onee-Chan¡¯s store.

    ¡°I was fixing stuffed animals here before and got tangled up with a scary man. Aunt Tirumina, who was passing by, helped me out. She told me that if I wore this bear outfit, I would have the bear¡¯s blessing, so scary people wouldn¡¯te near me, and even if I got tangled up again, other people would help me out¡­¡± (Sherry)

    Yuna Onee-chan looked taken aback by my words.

    ¡°But really, since I¡¯ve been dressed like this, scary people don¡¯te near me, and I only got tangled up once, but the people nearby said, ¡®Do you want to die¡¯, or ¡®Don¡¯t you know who¡¯s backing that girl?¡¯ and they helped me.¡± (Sherry)

    Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s face turned subtly funny at my words.

    At that moment, a little girl appeared from behind Yuna Onee-chan.

    ¡°Um¡­ My friend said you can fix Mimi-chan here¡­¡±

    The girl was holding a stuffed rabbit.

    ¡°Yes, I can fix it.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°Really!?¡±

    ¡°Let me see.¡± (Sherry)

    The girl handed me the stuffed rabbit.

    It was in bad shape.

    The ears had been removed, there was a big hole in the belly, and cotton fillings were sticking out.

    ¡°Can you fix Mimi-chan?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Sherry)

    I first added more cotton and sewed the ears back together. The stuffed rabbit¡¯s ears stood up. Next, the belly¡­it was not enough to just sew it up.

    I stared at Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s belly.

    ¡­That looked good.

    I took out a piece of white cloth that Nar-san gave me and cut it into a circle.

    Next, I sewed the round piece of cloth onto Mimi-chan¡¯s tummy.

    ¡°Alright, Mimi-chan is fixed.¡± (Sherry)

    Just like Yuna Onee-chan¡¯s tummy.

    The girl epted the stuffed rabbit and looked at Yuna Onee-chan before thanking her.

    ¡°Thank you. Onee-chan.¡±

    The girl happily hugged the stuffed rabbit.

    Then she thanked us again several times and left happily.

    ¡°Did you perhaps use my belly as a reference?¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna Onee-chan touched her own belly.

    ¡°No, no. I was going to sew the big hole with the other fabric. It¡¯s just¡­I decided on white colour after I saw Yuna Onee-chan.¡± (Sherry)

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you.¡± (Yuna)

    Yuna Onee-chan smiled.

    She really didn¡¯t seem to be mad at me.

    I continued working at the stuffed animal repair shop, and Yuna Onee-chan bought me food for lunch and stayed with me until I was done.

    It was nice to chat with Yuna Onee-chan for the first time in a while.

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 Chapter 721

    Chapter 721

    <b>Bear-san Paints a Picture</b>

    Primme and Ronne kepting to my ce, but the Queen warned them not to.

    Also, I didn¡¯t know Sherry was a stuffed animal mender.

    When the orphanage was poor, she used to mend clothes, so maybe she ended up bing good at mending during that time.

    I would prefer it if they yed with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear plushies until they were damaged, instead of letting them sit on the shelf gathering dust.

    I had thought that if the stuffed animals fell apart, I could just buy new ones for them, but for those children, their stuffed animal was unique and there was no recement for it.

    But Sherry could have told me that she was going to the market to help fix children¡¯s stuffed animals.

    If she did, I would have been able to do something for her.

    Just as I was about to rx again today, a rare visitor came to my house.¡°Yuna-chan, is this a good time?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That means you¡¯re free, right?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I said I was going to bed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°And that means that you have time, right?¡± (Mylene)

    She didn¡¯t understand a word I was saying.

    Sleeping was also an important job.

    If you don¡¯t sleep properly, you could even die.

    But the person in front of me was not going to leave.

    I gave up and asked her toe inside the house.

    ¡°Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± (Mylene)

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were rxing in their room when Mylene greeted them and patted their heads.

    ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask Yuna-chan to do a painting for me.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, a painting.¡± (Mylene)

    I was so surprised that ¡°What?¡± was my immediate reaction.

    ¡°By painting, do you mean drawing on paper?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, yes. What else could it be?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I¡¯m not a painter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But you drew picture books for the orphanage. I¡¯ve seen them.¡± (Mylene)

    Did she find out about those picture books?

    Mylene said in a regretful voice, ¡°I would have loved to sell those picture books, but the royal family is involved.¡±

    ¡°You know about that?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°There is a small royal emblem on the back of those books. Even I can¡¯t interfere if the Royal Family is involved.¡± (Mylene)

    It seemed that even the great Mylene couldn¡¯tpete with the King.

    ¡°But I¡¯m sure asking you to paint will be fine.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°But is painting something you can request from an adventurer?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s not a request for Yuna-chan as an adventurer. It¡¯s a personal request.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Then I can decline, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Do you really not want to paint?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Well, yeah, there¡¯s no reason for me to paint in the first ce.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if it is for your friend?¡± (Mylene)

    I was not so cold-hearted as to deny her implying that ¡°we are friends,¡± and it was true that I was indebted to Mylene.

    She helped me when I was building the store, and she even did me a favor when I asked her not to sell eggs to Cliff, even though there was no benefit to her in doing so.

    Considering the future, I could not treat her badly.

    ¡°All right. You just want me to draw a painting, right?¡± (Yuna)

    I took a piece of paper out of the bear box to draw a picture.

    ¡°What should I draw? Do you want me to draw Mylene?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯d love it if you could draw me, but that paper is too small to begin with.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Small?¡± (Yuna)

    I always use this size of paper when I draw.

    The same size was also used when I was making the picture book, and when I drew Fina in a kimono in the Country of Wa.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged arge enough paper but since it¡¯s too narrow here, we will have to move somewhere else. ¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Too narrow?¡± (Yuna)

    Was she going to let me draw on a bigger than usual paper?

    ¡­

    Mylene took me to the haunted house where I met Primme for the first time.

    ¡°I heard from Cliff that he ns to make this ce an Inn.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s also why I want you to paint a picture to hang in the inn.¡± (Mylene)

    I remembered a painting that was in this mansion.

    One of the rooms of the mansion was decorated with a painting of a man with a face that made me want to punch him.

    Once inside the mansion, Mylene took me to a ce I expected.

    Just as I had imagined, a painting of a man was on disy.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get rid of this painting, so I want Yuna-chan to paint a picture to hang here.¡± (Mylene)

    So they were getting rid of this¡­ I didn¡¯t know who the person in this painting was, but I feel sorry for him.

    That said, if you asked me if I wanted a painting of this man, it would immediately be sent to the trash as soon as possible.

    Well, I suppose if they were going to make this ce an Inn, there was no need for a painting with such a figure in it.

    ¡°But do you really want me to draw such a big picture?¡± (Yuna)

    It was farrger than the sizepared to a picture book or the piece of paper I scribbled on in thend of Wa.

    It was over one meter in height.

    I have never painted such arge picture.

    The bigger the picture, the more difficult it would be to draw.

    ¡°I might not be able to draw it well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, modesty is good.¡± (Mylene)

    It wasn¡¯t about modesty or anything like that.

    I didn¡¯t know if I could do something I didn¡¯t have experience with.

    ¡°Well then, let me show you to the painting room.¡± (Mylene)

    After saying so, Mylene led me upstairs to one of the spare rooms.

    The canvas was already set on an easel, ready to be painted.

    Some paint-like materials were also provided.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve painted with colors, but I wonder if I would be able to use them properly.

    ¡°In how much time do you need it?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not in such a hurry, don¡¯t worry. The inn is still being prepared. We¡¯ve done the cleaning, but we still have a lot of work to do. And of course, we need to recruit people, but we also need to train them.¡± (Mylene)

    It was true that just because a building was avable did not mean that the Inn could be started right away.

    Even if employees have been gathered, if they were not trained, they would not be able to provide a good service. What kind of food would they serve? Bed-making also had to be done. Setting up cleaning andundry rules. There was also the purchasing of food supplies.

    It was not an easy task.

    My restaurant was no exception.

    So, I left it to Tirumina-san to take care of it because it was too much trouble for me.

    ¡°It would be great if Tirumina-san helped me.¡± (Mylene)

    As if reading my mind, Tirumina-san¡¯s name came up.

    ¡°If you attempt to take Tirumina-san away, I¡¯ll disassociate myself from Mylene-san.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯d say I could technically do so with my job, but I¡¯m not going to do something that will antagonize Yuna-chan. Besides, Yuna-chan, have you forgotten who I am? I¡¯m the Guild Master of the Commercial Guild.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to use your power to make Tirumina-san leave¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What kind of crooked merchant do you think I am? I would never do such a thing. But it sure is true that Tirumina-san is someone I actually want.¡± (Mylene)

    I think I¡¯ve also got what it took to be an excellent recruiter.

    ¡°There are many people looking for work, but it¡¯s difficult to find people who are serious about their work. No matter how good they are at their job, if they can¡¯t lead their subordinates, they can¡¯t be entrusted with a higher position. Since the inn will be serving customers, it cannot be entrusted to someone who can¡¯t be nice or who is arrogant. On the other hand, Tirumina-san is serious and has experience in store management. She¡¯s an excellent person, that¡¯s why I want her. But I don¡¯t see the merit in making an enemy of Yuna-chan by pulling her out.¡± (Mylene)

    It was true that Mylene was benefiting from me while I was benefiting from her.

    Maybe it was a ¡°have-it-all¡± rtionship.

    ¡°Also, I was thinking of having the children at the orphanage work for me. What do you think?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°If they want to change upations, that¡¯s fine, but I don¡¯t want anyone to force them to do it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it would be cute to dress them up as Bear-san and have them work?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°I don¡¯t want them to dress up as bears, because I don¡¯t own this ce.¡± (Yuna)

    If they dressed up people who worked here as bears, people would start a rumor that I run this inn.

    ¡°If you did that, I wouldn¡¯t be painting.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. Don¡¯t worry about the children thing, it¡¯s just a joke. Besides, even if I offered those kids to work here, no one would want to do that.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Why not?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Because this inn has nothing to do with Yuna-chan.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°¡­?¡± (Yuna)

    I did not understand why the children would not work here if it had nothing to do with me. I think I would have to ask the children to find out. Some kids might want to work at the inn.

    ¡°Hmmm, the answer is because they all want to be praised by Yuna-chan.¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene said with a smile and walked out of the room, saying, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡± (Yuna)

    I didn¡¯t understand what she meant.

    I would praise the children, no matter where they worked, as long as they worked hard.

    It had nothing to do with my store or anything else.

    I didn¡¯t know what Mylene meant, but now that I had epted the job, I had to paint a picture.

    Come to think of it, I forgot to ask her what kind of picture I should paint.

    I wonder if it could be anything.

    Well, it was not my store, so bears would be excluded.

    Then, I could only think of one thing.

    I picked up a pencil and started to draw a rough sketch.

    I¡¯m sure it was something like this.

    This was how it should look like here.

    A smile would be nice.

    Raise the mouth.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, the painting waspleted.

    Mylene was busy, or maybe she simply didn¡¯t have the opportunity to see me.

    Instead, a guild employee came to see the painting.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you are superb.¡± (Liana)

    Liana-san looked at my finished painting and praised me.

    I thought I did a good job, too.

    On the canvas was Mylene.

    She sat elegantly in her chair with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the Guild Master will be pleased.¡± (Liana)

    ¡°Then I¡¯m happy for her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I told her that you would be done today, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be hereter.¡± (Liana)

    As we were talking, the door opened.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, I heard your painting was done.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s done.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­!¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san looked at the painting and froze.

    ¡°I think I did a good job myself, what do you think?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Why me?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Because Mylene asked me to paint a portrait but didn¡¯t mention who it would be. Naturally, the portrait can¡¯t be of that man in the previous painting.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then why did it end up as a picture of me?¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want your portrait painted to show people who own this building?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I told you to make something like the picture book. I wanted you to draw a bear.¡± (Mylene)

    ¡°First of all, you never asked me to draw a bear. Second, I wouldn¡¯t draw a bear since I am not the owner of this Inn.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, anyway, I am quite amazed. What¡¯s this? I didn¡¯t know that Yuna-chan could draw such a detailed picture.¡± (Mylene)

    I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say that it was an urate photo of her, but I think it was close enough.

    Recently, I painted a picture for Fina and her friends when we went to the country of Wa.

    ¡°But I thought that you wanted me to draw a picture of yourself, so people would know who the innkeeper was¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I have no hobby of asserting myself.¡± (Mylene)

    Liana-san helped me out and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a shame if you throw this away since Yuna-san painted it for you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but Yuna-chan, could you draw a lovely Bear instead?¡± (Mylene)

    Mylene-san held her hands together and asked.

    ¡°Then what about this Mylene-san¡¯s picture?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± (Mylene)

    I worked hard on painting it, you know?

    I didn¡¯t want it to be disposed of or to gather dust in a warehouse.

    ¡°What about hanging it in the Merchant¡¯s Guild?¡± (Liana)

    ¡°No!¡± (Mylene)

    Liana-san suggested an idea, but Mylene quickly dismissed it.

    And then, after much discussion.

    In exchange for recing the picture with a bear painting, they would hang Mylene¡¯s picture in the reference room of the Merchant¡¯s Guild.

    There was a suggestion to put it in the Guild Master¡¯s room, but she didn¡¯t like the idea of having her painting in her own room, and she didn¡¯t want visitors who came to see the Guild Master to see it.

    So, Liana-san came up with apromise, and they ended up deciding for it to be ced in the reference room. Mylene also added that she could put up with the disy if only the staff could see it.

    And so I painted a picture of a cute bear and its mother in the style of a picture book.

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 Chapter 724

    Chapter 724

    <b>Bear-san Guides Deiga-san, Part 3</b>

    Fina and I arrived in the room that was currently being used as a storage room.

    There were indeed some belongings in the room, but there was also a bed, so if we cleaned this room a bit, Deiga-san could use it.

    I put the big things in the bear box, and Fina opened the window to let in some fresh air.

    ¡°Uncle Deiga was pleased to meet Anzu-chan.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Anzu seemed happy as well.¡± (Yuna)

    It was not what Anzu would have wanted, but I wish Deiga-san had contacted me first beforeing. This way I could have arranged for Anzu to spend quality time with him. Maybe close the shop for a few days¡­

    I¡¯ve already asked someone to do the shopping for me, so if I suddenly close the shop now, it would cause problems for that person.

    Well, if I simply put supplies in the bear box, it wouldn¡¯t cause issues even if the number of supplies was quite a lot, even if we were just moving it for one day.But if I suddenly close the shop now, it would cause trouble for my regr customers. There may be families who were nning to go out to eat.

    When I think about it that way, taking a day off without letting people know beforehand could cause many trouble.

    Knowing this, maybe Anzu also felt that she couldn¡¯t take a day off so easily.

    This was a difficult part of working in the service industry.

    Well, for me, Deiga-san¡¯s arrival to Crimonia was not something that happened many times a year, so I thought that it would be alright to close the shop. However, I doubt that Anzu probably would take a day off just for that, so I might have to force the store to close.

    As I was thinking about this, Fina was preparing a bucket.

    ¡°Shall I fetch you some water?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said and reached for the bucket.

    ¡°Ei (water magic)!¡± (Fina)

    At the same time, water filled the bucket.

    It was water magic.

    Fina then put a cloth into the bucket, wrung it out, and started wiping the floor.

    Her magic control was getting better.

    I suppose Fina was growing as well.

    And if the two of us do the cleaning together, the room would be clean in no time.

    For now, I moved the luggage in the bear box to the corner of the hallway.

    If they needed anything, it would be a problem for Anzu and the others.

    When we finished cleaning and moved downstairs, some guests had already arrived for dinner.

    And in the kitchen, there was also Deiga-san¡¯s figure.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, have you finished cleaning?¡± (Petora)

    Petora-san spoke to me.

    ¡°Yes, we are done here. So why is Deiga-san here?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Uncle Deiga was helping me with the prep work, but then he just started cooking.¡± (Fina)

    I see.

    As I thought, he could not hold back from helping them.

    I looked into the kitchen.

    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re in the way.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°What do you mean I am in the way? Are you telling me, your father, that I¡¯m a bother to you?¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Well, you are big.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Anzu, where is ¡®that¡¯?¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°It¡¯s on that shelf.¡± (Anzu)

    They seemed to be arguing, but they also looked like they were having fun.

    And since I couldn¡¯t keep Fina waiting for their argument to end, I sent her home.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan, you can¡¯t bezing around here all day either, okay? I¡¯m going home.¡± (Fina)

    Fina left after saying so.

    Fina¡¯s mother was strict.

    It was my job to make others work hard while I ck off.

    As it would be a shame to just leave, we alldecided to have dinner at Anzu¡¯s restaurant.

    Then, when the store closed, everyone helped to tidy up the ce, and the day was over.

    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯ve worked hard!¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°We¡¯re done.¡± (Petora)

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± (Seno)

    Everyone took a seat.

    ¡°Dinner time!¡± (Deiga)

    Deiga-san made dinner for everyone.

    I already ate, so I just watched them.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since Uncle Deiga cooked for us.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°I wonder what it is. It¡¯s the same dish as Anzu-chan¡¯s, but it¡¯s slightly different.¡± (Petora)

    ¡°Even though they look the same, Deiga-san¡¯s food tastes slightly better.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, maybe it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t reached the level of my father¡¯s cooking yet.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu also said this while eating the food.

    ¡°Is it the subtle control of the heat or the way the ingredients are stirred?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Anzu-chan, it¡¯s the muscles. Uncle Deiga has amazing muscles, so if you train your body, you will also have muscles like Deiga-san¡¯s.¡± (Seno)

    I imagined Anzu with muscles like Uncle Deiga¡­

    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t help butugh when I pictured Anzu with bulging muscles.

    ¡°Oh, Yuna-san. You were just thinking of something very strange, weren¡¯t you?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°It¡¯s not that weird. I was just imagining Anzu getting muscr like Deiga-san, as Seno-san said.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said that, everyone looked at Deiga-san and then at Anzu. Then they startedughing.

    ¡°It won¡¯t suit you.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Anzu-chan with muscles.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°I think Anzu-chan looks good just the way she is.¡± (Petora)

    ¡°You¡¯re all so mean.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Well, cooking is a physical job. I trained Anzu from a young age, but she never got any muscles.¡± (Deiga)

    Indeed, cooking all day was hard work.

    And whether muscles were necessary was another matter.

    If it weren¡¯t for my bear outfit, it would be impossible for me to keep moving all day with my current level of fitness.

    Just thinking about the preparations they had to do every day was scary.

    In the middle of such a pleasant conversation, Deiga-san dropped a bombshell.

    ¡°Speaking of which, has Anzu found a boyfriend?¡± (Deiga)

    Deiga-san asked everyone with a serious expression.

    ¡°Oh, Father!¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Does Anzu-chan has a boyfriend?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Petora)

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her together with a man.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to have any luck with men in any town. Even in Mile, the men there didn¡¯t even approach her.¡± (Petora)

    Could it be that men didn¡¯t approach her because Deiga-san was around?

    But that wouldn¡¯t be a reason why she couldn¡¯t find a boyfriend in Crimonia.

    ¡°Anzu-chan is so focused on cooking.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°She¡¯s always talking about cooking, and if she sees any rare ingredients, she¡¯ll buy them.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°She made me taste-test so many things.¡± (Petora)

    ¡°So you are saying that cooking is her lover?¡± (Yuna)

    When he heard those words, Deiga-san looked at Anzu sadly.

    ¡°Anzu¡­you¡¯d better start learning how to pick a good guy, or you¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Dad, please don¡¯t talk about embarrassing things.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°It¡¯s not embarrassing. I¡¯m just trying to be a good father.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°You¡¯re just meddling.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu turned her head to the side, looking away.

    Deiga-san looked sad.

    I wondered if he wanted to see his grandchild soon.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve seen each other, so don¡¯t fight.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s because my father is saying strange things.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°As a father, I just want to see my grandchildren¡­¡± (Deiga)

    Ah, I knew it.

    ¡°Tell that to my brother. He should get a wife and get married.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°He¡¯s always out at sea, but when hees back home, he works behind the scenes.¡± (Deiga)

    That was why I didn¡¯t really get to see Anzu¡¯s older brother either.

    He might not be as sociable as Anzu.

    Even after that, Anzu happily chatted with Deiga-san, despite herints.

    The next day, when I left the house, Fina was there.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to see Uncle Deiga, right?¡± (Fina)

    Fina¡¯s mother found out about our ns.

    All joking aside, when I went to Anzu¡¯s shop with Fina, I saw Anzu chasing Deiga-san away.

    ¡°Come on, Dad. The shop will be fine, so go for a walk.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu pushed Deiga-san¡¯s back.

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°You saw yesterday, too. We don¡¯t need your help.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°We¡¯re here as well, so don¡¯t worry.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave Anzu-chan in your care.¡± (Deiga)

    Deiga-san, who had been pushed out of the shop, made eye contact with me.

    ¡°Missy.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Did they kick you out?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You were watching?¡± (Deiga)

    He looked embarrassed.

    ¡°Anzu told me to go around the town.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Since you¡¯vee all the way to Crimonia, I think it would be nice to take a walk around the town.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I guess I will.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll show you around.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina and I decided to show Deiga-san around Crimonia.

    Deiga-san, who was a chef like Anzu, wanted to see where the ingredients were sold, so we went around the shopping district and market where the shops were lined up.

    At lunchtime, we ate bread at the ¡°Bear¡¯s Lounge¡±.

    Then we went to the orphanage.

    ¡°Uncle Deiga!?¡± (Neff)

    Neff-san, who came from Mile, looked surprised.

    Neff-san now resided at the orphanage and looked after the children there.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Anzu, but you look well.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Yes, I get my energy from the children every day.¡± (Neff)

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡± (Deiga)

    They both responded with smiles.

    Then we headed over to see Tirumina-san, who had just finished her morning work. Tirumina-san often spent her mornings having tea with the director and Liz.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Deiga-san.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Tirumina-san also. I am grateful for the care you give to my daughter.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Haha, Anzu-chan is such a good girl, so it¡¯s not hard work for me, and I¡¯m grateful for that.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°Uncle Deiga!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri came running over.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you, too, Shuri. How have you been?¡± (Deiga)

    Deiga-san patted Shuri¡¯s head with his big hand.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Next time youe to Mile, let¡¯s go digging for bamboo shoots.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Shuri)

    We did all went looking for bamboo shoots and digging them before.

    Since then, bamboo shoot dishes started appearing on the menu at Deiga-san¡¯s inn.

    After that, we ate at various restaurants with me escorting Deiga-san, to the point that my stomach had reached its limit.

    I liked to eat, but I couldn¡¯t eat a lot.

    Fina was the same, and she looked distressed.

    She probably couldn¡¯t eat dinner anymore.

    ¡°Thank you for today, girls.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll be going around town with Anzu, right?¡± (Yuna)

    After all, it was impossible for me to go on a food tour for two days in a row.

    I¡¯d rather not.

    Besides, I¡¯m sure Anzu would be able to show Deiga-san around from a different perspective than Fina and I.

    If it were me, the ces I would show him would be very limited to ces I go to.

    If someone liked food, I could guide them to a food shop.

    If someone liked fashion, I could guide them to a clothes shop.

    If someone liked books, I could guide them to a bookstore.

    If someone wanted to see the scenery, I could guide them to a ce with a spectacr view.

    Everyone, however, had their own rmendations for ces to visit.

    After I parted with Deiga-san, I took Fina home and then went home myself.

    And a few dayster, Deiga-san returned to Mile.

    This time, we also made a promise to visit Mile.

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 Chapter 725

    Chapter 725

    <b>Deiga-san Goes to Crimonia Part 1</b>

    <b><i>PoV: Deiga</i></b>

    My name is Deiga. I run a restaurant and an inn in the port town of Mile. My precious daughter Anzu had already moved to Crimonia.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Anzu will be fine. All the children who visited us from Crimonia were good, weren¡¯t they? Tirumina-san, who came to say hello, was a good person, too. So Anzu should be fine under their care, you know?¡± (Coachman)

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I have to see for myself.¡± (Deiga)

    I didn¡¯t mean to doubt the Bear missy.

    Anzu¡¯s letter said that she was enjoying herself and that the restaurant was doing well. When she visited the beach, she also updated me about the restaurant.

    I knew everything was fine.But it was a parent¡¯s instinct to worry about where their child was working.

    ¡°What I¡¯m worried about is whether her skills have declined.¡± (Deiga)

    I said as if making an excuse.

    It was not a lie. She could have forgotten what I had taught her and been cutting corners because I was not watching over her.

    ¡°The merchants who stay at your ce also say that Anzu¡¯s cooking is delicious, right?¡± (Coachman)

    ¡°But¡­¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°If you¡¯re so worried about Anzu, go and see her.¡± (Coachman)

    My wife said the same thing as the merchants I asked before.

    ¡°You have the Inn, who¡¯s going to cook with you leaving it behind?¡± (Coachman)

    ¡°My stupid son will handle it with my wife. How many years do you think they¡¯ve been cooking with me? If they needed more hands, I already asked someone I know.¡± (Deiga)

    Actually, I was forced out of the Inn and ended up going to see Anzu in Crimonia.

    ***

    During the time when my Inn was less busy, I made a reservation for a shared carriage.

    A coach service started running between Crimonia and Mile. It was supposed to run once every two days.

    The coach usually left first thing in the morning, so it would arrive in Crimonia in the early evening.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to take the coach to Crimonia.¡± (Deiga)

    The woman at the reception desk said, ¡°Great timing. There are still coaches with avable seats, no problem.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then, I¡¯ll take the earliest one to depart.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Okay. But, did you make arrangements to be able to stay in Crimonia? The carriage should reach there in the evening. It should be fine if you know someone there, but it will be difficult for you to find amodation after reaching there in the evening.¡± (Coach Manager)

    That was true.

    I couldn¡¯t just go straight to Anzu¡¯s ce and stay the night.

    Above all, it would be a nuisance to just turn up unannounced.

    ¡°You know, regarding that, we do have a n that includes both the carriage fare and amodation.¡± (Coach Manager)

    Actually, my Inn also offered the same service. I have prepared several rooms at my Inn for the visitors from Crimonia.

    ¡°However, the fee must be paid in advance. There are no refunds during cancetions.¡±(Coach Manager)

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll take that.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Understood. Is it only for one person?¡±(Coach Manager)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Deiga)

    The woman at the reception desk processed the application quickly and handed me a piece of paper.

    ¡°Then, please go to where the carriages are located on the day of departure with that paper. We will depart on time, so please don¡¯t bete.¡± (Coach Manager)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Deiga)

    I always get up early in the morning for work.

    There was no way I would oversleep and bete.

    On the day of departure, I left my wife and son in charge of the inn and headed for the carriage station.

    Even though the sun had not yet risen, several carriages were already ready to depart.

    I approached the carriage and called out to the person in charge of the carriage.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯d like to get on the carriage I reserved.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Yes, could I see your reservation slip?¡±

    I took out the paper.

    ¡°Um, oh, see this number? Please find a carriage with that number.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    I got my paper slip back and found the carriage they asked me to take.

    There were people on the carriage who looked like merchants and travellers.

    As the Lord of Crimonia predicted, people started to visit Mile in increasing numbers.

    At first, there were many merchants, but gradually, ordinary tourists also started to arrive.

    I saw them looking at the sea, which we were familiar with, and I saw them having fun and talking to each other many times.

    For us, the sea might be ordinary, but some people had never seen the sea before. Some people would spend all day looking at the sea, enjoying the view.

    People whoe to Mile stay at my inn, buy food at other shops, buy souvenirs, and spend money in the town.

    It was a quiet town in the past, but now I could hear people having fun everywhere.

    It was just as the Lord had imed.

    Some people say that they prefer a quiet town, but I, personally, prefer a lively and fun town.

    Rather than an inn where no one visits, I was happier to have many people staying and eating my food.

    That was why I was grateful to the Lord of Crimonia.

    But I never imagined the man Miss Bear brought here would be the Lord of Crimonia.

    I was surprised when I found out the full details muchter.

    And as the sun rose over the sea, the carriage started to move.

    The tourists were watching the sunrise and talking about how they woulde back again.

    Words like that made me happy, having been born and raised in Mile.

    The carriage entered the Bear Tunnel, a tunnel that led to the town of Crimonia.

    There was a bear statue at the entrance of the tunnel.

    It seemed to have been made by the Bear missy who saved Mile.

    It was said that this tunnel was discovered by chance, but I knew that the Bear missy had made it to take Anzu to Crimonia.

    She was a girl who could do incredible feats.

    And, perhaps because it was early in the morning, most of the passengers on board fell asleep.

    I thought I would be fine because it was my working hours, but I also ended up falling asleep in the carriage, which was swaying monotonously without me doing anything.

    Then, after passing through a long tunnel, we have a short break to rest the horses. This was a chance to have a light meal or use the bathroom.

    After the short break, the carriage would set off for Crimonia.

    And without any danger, the carriage arrived at Crimonia.

    Most of the passengers got off the carriage, but those who had paid for the carriage with amodation were told to remain on board, and the carriage started moving again.

    And we were taken to an Inn.

    This way, even if someone was visiting Crimonia for the first time, they wouldn¡¯t be lost.

    It had all been carefully thought out.

    Then, we were instructed to follow the person who was sitting in the coachman¡¯s seat, and we were guided to an Inn.

    My Inn offered a simr service, but for people who were not used to travelling, they really appreciated this service.

    Finding and securing amodation in a town for the first time could be challenging.

    The first meal I had in Crimonia was a meat dish served at the Inn.

    It was delicious, but they probably needed more time to prepare it properly.

    It would have been a lot tastier if they had taken proper time.

    Then, I was shown to my room.

    The feel of the room I was assigned to was not much different from my Inn.

    There was just a bed, a desk and a chair.

    We didn¡¯t put any other things in my ce either because cleaning would take too long.

    It was naturally easier to clean a room with fewer things in it.

    And then Iid down in bed.

    I won the cookingparison, but it seemed like I had to admit that the beds in this Inn were morefortable.

    However, it couldn¡¯tpare to the futon I had tried before in the Land of Wa.

    I was once asked by a merchant from the Land of Wa if I wanted to buy a futon, but the price was so high that I could not afford it.

    More so for every guest room.

    ¡­

    The next day¡­

    I was thinking about staying at that Inn again for today, but the room I stayed in was no longer avable, so I couldn¡¯t stay there anymore.

    I should have made reservations yesterday.

    Even at my inn, rooms sometimes get booked quickly, but I didn¡¯t think of that.

    Anyway, I thanked the innkeeper and left.

    While I was making my way to Anzu¡¯s shop, I took a stroll around the town.

    There were all kinds of shops. This was Crimonia.

    So, this was the ce where Anzu worked.

    As I was walking around looking in the shops, my name was suddenly called out by someone.

    ¡°Deiga-san¡± (Yuna)

    It was a girl dressed as a bear who spoke to me. There I found the bear girl who saved the town where I live, Mile, and the girl Fina who came along with her to dig bamboo shoots with me.

    When I exined why I was there, she looked at me in disbelief.

    She said she would have liked to have been contacted if I wasing.

    The Bear missy said she would take me to the restaurant where Anzu was working.

    I was also given directions when I asked at the Inn, but Crimonia was a much bigger ce than I expected, so it was a big help that I found the Bear missy.

    I asked the two about Anzu¡¯s recent situation, and she appeared to be enjoying herself.

    Then we arrived at the restaurant where Anzu worked.

    Arge bear figurine was holding a fish in front of the restaurant.

    The shop was more extensive and more impressive than I had imagined. I was happy to think that Anzu was working here.

    Then I caught a glimpse of someone working in the shop through the window.

    What caught my eye was Seno, who went to Crimonia together with Anzu.

    I peeked into the shop, hiding behind the bear figurine.

    The Bear Missy and Fina looked at me shocked as I did this.

    I made up all sorts of excuses, but the girls pulled my hand and took me inside the shop.

    As soon as I entered the shop, Seno noticed me and called out for Anzu.

    I gave up and told her that I hade to see Anzu.

    Anzu looked a little angry but also happy.

    We sat down and started eating.

    I looked around until the food arrived.

    There were many customers, and they were all eating the food with relish.

    Looking at the customers¡¯ faces, I could see that Anzu¡¯s cooking was being well received in the town of Crimonia. I was happy about that.

    While I was greeting the merchant who usually stayed at my inn, the food that Anzu had made was brought in.

    I checked to see if the taste had deteriorated.

    It was delicious.

    The dishes had been prepared properly. The preparation was also done well.

    Some chefs cut time when they have more customers.

    I taught Anzu not to cut corners, no matter how busy she was.

    It made me happy to see that she was following my teachings.

    And while I was in Crimonia, I ended up being taken care of at Anzu¡¯s restaurant.

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 Chapter 726

    Chapter 726

    <b>Deiga-san Goes to Crimonia Part 2</b>

    <b><i>PoV: Deiga</i></b>

    When I woke up in the morning, Anzu and the others were already at work.

    ¡°Good morning, Dad. Did you sleep well?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Yeah, I slept well. Are you preparing for the restaurant opening, Anzu?¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re checking the ingredients and making sure we know which dishes we can serve today. Unlike Mile, here we can¡¯t just go out and buy more ingredients as soon as they run out.¡± (Anzu)

    In Mile, when ingredients ran out, people went to the nearby store to buy more or asked the fishermen they knew to give them any extra ingredients they had.

    But that was not possible at Crimonia.

    Apparently, some shops sold fish, but they didn¡¯t have as good a selection as the ones found in Mile.¡°Is there anything I can help with?¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Not at the moment. Why don¡¯t you go and take a look around the town of Crimonia? You¡¯ll learn a lot.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°But I thought you will need¡­¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°This isn¡¯t Father¡¯s restaurant.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Uncle Deiga. Anzu-chan is now a full-fledged cook.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Besides, we¡¯re here to help, so it will be fine.¡± (Fo)

    I was pushed out of the restaurant by Anzu and the others.

    Miss Bear and Miss Fina were watching the scene.

    After listening to my story, Miss Bear agreed to show me around the town of Crimonia.

    As I thought yesterday, it really was a big town.

    There were many different shops and many people doing business, as well as many shops selling things I¡¯d never seen before.

    At my request, Bear Missy and Fina agreed to take me around mainly to look at ingredients and food.

    There were all kinds of shops. Each one of them was a learning experience.

    There were many ingredients and dishes which I had never seen before. If I lived in a ce like this, I¡¯d probably learn how to cook new dishes, too.

    Yesterday, I was looking at Anzu¡¯s cooking, and there were a few new dishes.

    And someone from our hometown of Mile had opened a shop just like Anzu.

    The shop owner said that he initially had a hard time, but gradually, his customer base grew, and he was epted by the residents of Crimonia.

    It made me happy, but I also felt a little sad to think that people were leaving Mile.

    Then again, taking on new challenges in a new town was also a good thing to do.

    Anzu also tried new things and became what she is today.

    All of this was thanks to the Bear Missy next to me.

    Bear Missy helped with the preparations for opening the restaurant, and Tirumina-san, Fina¡¯s mother, helped with things like arranging the ingredients.

    Furthermore, many people had promoted Anzu¡¯s shop by word of mouth, attracting customers to Anzu¡¯s shop. Anzu told me that this had spread from person to person, making people starting to the shop.

    When I thanked the Bear Missy for this, she said:

    ¡°That¡¯s how it was at first, but the reason peoplee back to the restaurant a second or third time is because Anzu¡¯s food is delicious.¡± (Yuna)

    The Bear Missy was right. If the food was inadequate, customers wouldn¡¯te back to the restaurant.

    For customers, there were many other restaurants to choose from. If the food was subpar, they would go to another restaurant.

    That was why they couldn¡¯t afford to cut corners with the food.

    Then, we went to another shop run by Bear Missy. It had also something to do with food.

    The bakers there were Morin and Karin, whom I had met when they visited Mile.

    I tried some bread, and it was mouthwatering.

    The food was distinct from mine and Anzu¡¯s, but I could tell that much passion had gone into the bread.

    It was not a taste that could be effortlessly reproduced. It must have been challenging to achieve such a taste. I respect them as a chef.

    In addition to the taste, many dishes with shapes of bear faces, such as bear bread, would make children delighted.

    This was the kind of food that would make children want toe back again as repeat customers.

    The vour of food was important, but so was how it was presented.

    Octopus and squid were delicious when cooked, but when I once showed a live octopus and squid to a customer, they made a fuss.

    We were used to seeing them, but it must have looked a bit weird for people who didn¡¯t know about octopus and squid.

    The taste was great.

    Then, we went to see Tirumina-san, Fina¡¯s mother, to thank her for caring for Anzu.

    Even though we couldn¡¯t eat anymore, I still wanted to say hello to the people who had taken care of Anzu.

    ¡°Wee, Deiga-san. Fina told me you came to see Anzu-chan.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I¡¯m quite embarrassed about that.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of worrying about your daughter. It¡¯s better to be a parent who worries than a parent who doesn¡¯t.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°It¡¯s a great help to hear you say that.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°But if you meddle too much in their life, the child will grow to hate you, so you should still be careful.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san said this and looked at her daughter, Fina.

    Although I had been raising children longer than her, I felt that she knew how to deal with children better than me.

    Although I have raised my daughter and son, I may have left the actual raising of my children to my wife when they were young. When my daughter wanted to learn how to cook, I raised her as a cook instead of a normal child.

    So, that was why I thought she might have felt lonely after she left me.

    My wife seemed to have been able to let go of her children, but I didn¡¯t seem to have been able to.

    ¡°So let us both watch over them from afar. That¡¯s the role of parents.¡± (Tirumina)

    ¡°I suppose so.¡± (Deiga)

    If Anzu ever needed help, I would naturally lend a hand.

    ¡°Oh, if Anzu gets a boyfriend, please let me know. I¡¯ll check out what kind of guy he is.¡± (Deiga)

    Tirumina-san¡¯s eyes widened, and she burst outughing at my words.

    Did I say something funny?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you said the same thing as my husband. But, from a woman¡¯s perspective, if my father did something like that, I would have thought that it was none of his business and started hating him, so please be careful.¡± (Tirumina)

    My wife had mentioned the same thing to me before.

    But it would be a disaster if Anzu got involved with an abnormal man.

    ¡°Besides, as long as Yuna-chan is around, no strange men wille near her, so don¡¯t worry. No one would want to risk losing their lives.¡± (Tirumina)

    Tirumina-san said something scary, so nonchntly.

    However, I kind of understand. The Bear Missy was protecting Anzu.

    Everyone believed in the Bear Missy.

    Even I believed in her, which was why I was able to leave Anzu in her care.

    I felt like something that had been bothering me for a while had been lifted.

    Then, after Bear Missy finished ying with the children, we went back to sightseeing the town square with her.

    After eating various kinds of food, I thanked Bear Missy and Fina for staying out sote with me, and then I went back to Anzu¡¯s shop.

    The girls went home, rubbing their bellies.

    I made them try all sorts of different foods.

    When I got back to the restaurant, many customers had arrived for dinner.

    I looked in through the window and saw more and more customersing in. Inside the restaurant, Seno and the others were moving around busily serving customers.

    After the meal, they clear away the tes, wipe the table, and show new customers to their seats. They then take orders and pass them on to the kitchen. And then, one after another, the food is brought out from the kitchen.

    I thought the same yesterday, but it looked like they were doing a good job.

    I silently looked around the restaurant.

    As my thoughts switched to observing the restaurant until it was closed, my eyes met with Seno, who was wiping a table near the window.

    Seno opened the window.

    ¡°Uncle Deiga, you¡¯re back!¡± (Seno)

    I gave up hiding and approached Seno.

    ¡°I¡¯m back. ¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Do you want something to eat?¡± (Seno)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Well, I never thought that I¡¯d see such a day. You, eating food cooked by someone other than Anzu-chan.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m eating to study.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°It¡¯s a betrayal.¡± (Seno)

    ¡°Seno, don¡¯t embarrass Uncle Deiga.¡± (Fo)

    Fo showed up and gave Seno¡¯s head a light nudge. Then she looked at me.

    ¡°Uncle Deiga, if you¡¯re not hungry, please help us.¡± (Fo)

    ¡°But this is Anzu¡¯s shop, and she said you guys didn¡¯t need my help in the morning.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°I only said that because I wanted Uncle Deiga to see Crimonia. If you¡¯re finished with that and have some spare time, then that¡¯s a different story.¡± (Fo)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Besides, even though Anzu-chan said that, she seemed happy to be cooking with you yesterday.¡± (Fo)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lie to say that she wants Uncle Deiga to see Crimonia.¡± (Fo)

    Fo smiled.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll have to work to pay for the lodging.¡± (Deiga)

    I went inside the restaurant and headed for the kitchen.

    ¡°Dad?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the town, so I¡¯m now free and have time. Give me some instructions. You¡¯re the chef here.¡± (Deiga)

    Anzu looked at me intently, then nodded.

    ¡°Then, you can start by filleting the fish over there.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Oh, I understand.¡± (Deiga)

    I moved as Anzu instructed.

    Anzu¡¯s instructions were without hesitation and were on par with those of a veteran chef.

    She prepared the food quickly and gave instructions to Petora, who assisted her.

    Seno and Forne took the finished dishes and served them to customers.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Customer 1)

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back again, Seno-chan.¡± (Customer 2)

    The customers left the restaurant with satisfied looks on their faces.

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll have the meat next time.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Okay.¡± (Deiga)

    I remembered the time we were cooking together in Mile.

    It was fun.

    I thought the same yesterday, but she was really making progress.

    I never realized how much she had grown in the time I wasn¡¯t looking.

    ¡­Such a fun time came to an end.

    ¡°Well then, Uncle Deiga, please help out when you¡¯re in Crimonia, even if it¡¯s just for dinner.¡± (Fo)

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°Well, tomorrow is a holiday, so please go out and have fun with Anzu-chan.¡± (Fo)

    I nodded in response to Forne¡¯s request.

    Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

    All of this was thanks to you, Bear Missy.

    The next day, I went out with Anzu because the restaurant was closed.

    As a resident of Crimonia, Anzu was knowledgeable about the town, and exined many things to me.

    ¡°Dad, are you listening?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m listening.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°There are ingredients here that you can¡¯t get in Mile, so it¡¯s fun.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°They¡¯re alsoing into Mile.¡± (Deiga)

    Thanks to the tunnel connecting Crimonia and Mile, a number of new ingredients have started to arrive.

    ¡°I know. But the problem with Crimonia is that it¡¯s difficult to get the seasonings and ingredients from the Land of Wa. Even so, they¡¯re still giving us priority. Thanks to Yuna-san.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯ve been like that for a while now.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just happy to know that Anzu is growing up well, but I also feel a little lonely.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°I know you¡¯re happy, but why are you lonely?¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°As a parent, it¡¯s a joy to see your child grow up. But it is also sad to see them leave your side. You¡¯ll understand when you get married and have children of your own.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°And how many years is that from now? Besides, I¡¯m not going to leave Dad just yet. I may be working at Crimonia right now, but I¡¯m learning many different dishes, and someday I will go back to Mile and serve them to everyone.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°At the time Anzu leaves Crimonia, Bear Missy will be sad.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°She won¡¯t have to worry about cooking. There appears to be a girl at the orphanage who likes to cook, so if I teach her, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem. It seems that Neff-san is teaching her various things right now. I will let her try it out at our restaurant next time.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°The taste of my father¡¯s cooking will be passed on to many people.¡± (Anzu)

    Anzu smiled.

    ¡°My taste is not something that can be easily imitated.¡± (Anzu)

    ¡°That¡¯s why every day is a training session.¡± (Deiga)

    It was incredible to be able to see Anzu¡¯s face.

    No matter where she ended up, she was still my daughter.

    She continued to cook without bing conceited.

    My only worry was whether I would be able to hold my grandchildren or not.

    Well, I guess all I could do was wait patiently.

    A few dayster, I returned to Mile.

    I received various ingredients from Anzu and the Bear Missy as a souvenir.

    They said they would send them over if I ever need more ingredients in Mile.

    I also had to study hard if I wanted to keep ahead of Anzu.

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 Chapter 727

    Chapter 727

    <b>Bear-san¡¯s Rxing Time was Interrupted by Noa</b>

    I wanted to rx and take it easy today.

    No matter, even if the Lord, the Guild Master, or the Kinges, I just want to rx.

    I steeled my resolve and entered into rxed mode, sandwiched between regr-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    It was the ultimate luxury to bezy when other people were working.

    I knew I was thinking like a useless person, but I wanted to bezy. I really wanted toze around.

    So today, I¡¯ve decided to rx with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Mmm, it feels good. So soft, fluffy and warm.

    I would appreciate it if there were manga and games here.But it was also nice to close my eyes and indulge in azy afternoon nap.

    Happiness.

    After a while, as I was in myzy mode, I heard someone calling me from the entrance.

    ¡°Yuna-sa~n¡± (Noa)

    Noa¡¯s voice.

    I thought about pretending to be out, but I decided to go and greet her because I felt sorry for her.

    I got up, enduring my slothful side, and opened the front door to see Noa, full of energy and radiance.

    And so, I greeted her and let her in.

    Noa found Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and hugged them.

    ¡­that was supposed to be my ce today.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up? Did youe to see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That¡¯s part of it, but I also wanted to confirm something with you, Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Confirm?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Fina also knows about that ¡®door¡¯, right?¡± (Yuna)

    By ¡®door¡¯, she meant the Bear Transfer Gate, right?

    ¡°Well, kind of.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Since when have you told her about it?¡± (Noa)

    Am I being interrogated right now?

    ¡°Well, I think it was when I first went to the royal capital with Noa.¡± (Yuna)

    I remembered that when I was first in the royal capital, I used up the eggs I had brought with me, so I used the Bear Transfer Gate to return to Crimonia.

    At that time, I didn¡¯t know how incredible the Bear Transfer Gate was.

    That was why I casually told Fina about it and used it.

    Now, when I think about it, I am d that I only told Fina about it.

    Fina kept her promise and didn¡¯t reveal to anyone about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°Does that mean she knew about it since the King¡¯s birthday festival?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, sort of.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So she has known about it for a while?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa pouted.

    When she put it that way, I was at a loss for words. The Bear Transfer Gate was a secret. If the system of teleportation gates had been somethingmonly avable and essible to themon folk, I would have told her, but it wasn¡¯t like that.

    If the existence of Bear Transfer Gate became known to everyone, it would be a disaster for me.

    For example, if Mylene found out, she¡¯d want to use it as a way to transport goods. If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild knew about it, they¡¯d make me take on long-distance quests. If Cliff or the King discovered it, the kingdom might take advantage of me.

    ¡°Even Noa can understand that it¡¯s not something I can talk about easily.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I think any country would want it. With Bear Transfer Gate, sendingrge numbers of soldiers, knights, and wizards into the enemy country would be easy. You could send as many supplies as you like. If they get injured, they can be sent back immediately. You could even replenish your soldiers. If I were the King, I would put one of those in every country.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Don¡¯t say such scary things.¡± (Yuna)

    It was dangerous for an 11-year-old girl to talk about sending soldiers.

    But as expected of a noble¡¯s daughter, she was quick-witted.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s a secret. As I¡¯ve told you before, you can¡¯t tell anyone, not even Cliff, about it.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± (Noa)

    If Cliff had heard about it, there was a possibility that it would have reached Ellura and even the King.

    Phew, but I guess that¡¯s the end of that.

    I thought that was the end of it, but it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°But that¡¯s a different matter. Did you think I would tell my father or someone else? Is that why you didn¡¯t tell me?¡± (Noa)

    Noa continued to press the issue.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think Noa would intentionally tell anyone, but¡­ Noa can be a bit of a loose-lipped person, so I thought she might identally let something slip?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san, that¡¯s terrible. I¡¯m not that kind of person.¡± (Noa)

    When I went to the Royal Capital, the rtionship between Noa and I was just starting out.

    It would not be an exaggeration to say it was our first time together adventuring as a team.

    Besides, on the times we went out, she was always looking forward to riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    Which was also the main reason why I never got around to revealing to her about the existence of Bear Transfer Gate.

    Also, I thought it would be better not to talk about the Bear Transfer Gate too much. That¡¯s why I still only told people I could trust or Mumroot-san, who did the contract magic for me, about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    Just as I thought the questioning was over, Fina arrived at the worst possible moment.

    There was supposed to be no dismantling work today.

    ¡°Fina, wee.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Noa-sama!?¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who didn¡¯t expect to find Noa at my house, was surprised to be greeted by Noa.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s just perfect timing.¡± (Noa)

    It was the worst possible timing for me and Fina.

    ¡°What is it?¡± (Fina)

    Fina was a little frightened by Noa¡¯s expression as she inched closer.

    ¡°Look, Fina is scared. Leave her alone.¡± (Yuna)

    I pulled Noa away from Fina, who was about to question her at any moment.

    And then I told Fina about Noa finding out about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°Fina knew about it too, didn¡¯t she?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible that you never told me about it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Noa, don¡¯t bully Fina.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not bullying her.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I already told you before. I asked Fina to keep quiet about the Gate to keep it a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay. So where did she take you, Fina?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well¡­ many ces. ¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Where is this <b>¡®many ces¡¯</b>!?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well¡­¡± (Fina)

    Fina looked at me as if to ask for help.

    Fina was having trouble with whether she should tell Noa or keep her promise to me.

    ¡°Fina is feeling troubled. Next time, I¡¯ll take you somewhere using that Gate, so don¡¯t question Fina any further.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really!?¡± (Noa)

    Well, no problem if it was just giving Noa a tour.

    ¡°I promise. But you¡¯ll have to get Cliff¡¯s permission to stay over.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You mean we¡¯re going to spend the night?¡± (Noa)

    We might go to a hot spring while looking at the stars in the Land of Harmony. If that happened, an overnight stay would be necessary.

    It would also take time to look arounddifferent ces and checking out all the attractions in the area.

    ¡°We can also just go for a day trip, but that would probably shorten the fun. It would be better to have time to enjoy while we can.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Okay, but I have one more request.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°What?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Can¡¯t I tell Misa about that door? It¡¯s hard for me to be the only one who knows and keep it a secret from her.¡± (Noa)

    Misa was Noa¡¯s childhood friend and the daughter of the Lord of a nearby town.

    Fina and I were also invited to her birthday party and attended.

    The three of them were close friends as a trio.

    Misa was not the kind of girl who would b someone¡¯s secret.

    But if it spreads too much¡­

    ¡°Can¡¯t four of us have fun together¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Um, Yuna Onee-chan, I feel the same way as Noa-sama. It was hard for me to keep quiet about it, as well.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Alright, I understand. Next time, let¡¯s go out with Misa as well.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yuna-san!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan!¡± (Fina)

    They seemed happy.

    I knew from our previous interactions that Misa wouldn¡¯t spread the word.

    But I nned to make sure they kept their word.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start making ns for our outing right away.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Noa)

    They replied happily together.

    Maybe it was nice to have a friend you could share secrets with.

    On the other hand, it might have been painful to keep something secret from your friends.

    I didn¡¯t understand this because I had no friends in my previous life, but it was probably hard for Fina to keep secrets from her friends.

    Meeting Fina and Noa helped me understand a little bit about how painful it would be to be left out by your friends.

    ¡°But, Noa, will it be okay? You were out and about just a few days ago. Will Cliff allow you to go out again so soon?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa had been away for about a week because of the fairy incident.

    I didn¡¯t think Cliff would give her permission to go out so frequently.

    After all, Noa was the daughter of a Lord.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. That trip was also part of my studies. When I came back, I wrote about the town and submitted it.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Something like a report?¡± (Yuna)

    Sounds like she was made to submit a report.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t write everything that happened there, did you?¡± (Yuna)

    There were things that I didn¡¯t want Cliff to know.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t write anything more than Yuna-san reported to Father about that incident. However, I did write about the damage done to the residents by the actions of the Lord, as well as the arrogant knights who obeyed the Lord¡¯s orders and the inconveniences faced by residents. I also wrote about the thoughts of the adventurers who left the town, merchants, etc.¡± (Noa)

    Oh, you also wrote about that?

    It really did sound like a report or a written ount.

    ¡°You see, my father told me that nobles have power and can make the residents obey. But at the same time, he also mentioned that this is only possible because actual people are living in the town.¡± (Noa)

    If the residents disappeared from the town, there would be no one to give orders to.

    Without any residents, money would not flow in. That might be why there were so few servants at the Lord¡¯s mansion in that town.

    ¡°Also, he said that power should be used to protect the powerless. He asked me to look at various ces, listen to other people¡¯s words, but not to take them at face value.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Cliff-sama is wonderful.¡± (Fina)

    Fina, who had been listening to the conversation, was impressed.

    ¡°Yes, but Father also said that even he makes mistakes and doesn¡¯t always notice wrongdoings.¡± (Noa)

    Every time I hear these words from Cliff, I think of the orphanage.

    People had limits, and it was normal for one to make mistakes. But even if they made mistakes, the number of suffering residents would decrease as long as they followed a proper path.

    I, too, never thought that all my actions were correct.

    Everyone makes mistakes.

    It would turn out fine if they realize their mistakes and corrected them.

    Well, I guess I shouldn¡¯t be the one saying this, being such azy person.

    ¡°Nobles must be having a hard time.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s challenging. But I was also told to keep studying because expanding my knowledge will increase the information I can use to make necessary decisions. That¡¯s why it¡¯s okay for me to go out and enjoy a trip!¡± (Noa)

    A good story ruined at the end.

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 Chapter 728

    Chapter 728

    <b>Bear-san and Fina Cleaning</b>

    The day after I promised Noa that I would take her somewhere using the Bear Transfer Gate, I set up Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as my cushions, intending to rx today.

    But you could also say that they were just curled up on the floor.

    Noa said she would write to Misa to confirm the ns.

    Misa was also the daughter of a lord, just like Noa. I think she would not be able to go out as easily, even if she wanted to. So, all things considered, this trip will take ce sometime in the future.

    Furthermore, there was no dismantling work for Fina today, so it was a day when Fina wouldn¡¯t be visiting my house.

    So I decided to rx today.

    I was sandwiched between Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and I started to rx.

    There were no games orics, but just rxing without doing anything was also a great moment.After rxing for a while, Fina visited my house.

    ¡°I told you that there was no dismantling work today, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here to help with cleaning.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said something that made no sense.

    ¡°Cleaning?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Have you been cleaning your house recently?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°¡­¡± (Yuna)

    I looked away.

    I haven¡¯t been cleaning the house recently because I¡¯ve been busy.

    But I usually keep things tidy, so it was not a mess. Above all, I have a convenient box called a ¡°bear box¡± for tidying things away.

    But the answer was no, when asked if I¡¯ve done things like mopping the floor.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I came to help you clean.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°So, you mean Fina is going to do the cleaning?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I will, but Yuna Onee-chan will be doing it with me.¡± (Fina)

    It wasn¡¯t that nice and easy to escape.

    ¡°Mother Fina is strict.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not your mother!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Look, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, please help me as well.¡± (Yuna)

    I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who were curled up on the floor.

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n¡±¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear raised their bodies and tried to start cleaning.

    ¡°You¡¯re betraying me? We promised to rx and unwind together today, remember?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Fina)

    Fina asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to confirm.

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked at me and Fina alternately with troubled expressions.

    Could Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear¡¯s feelings be leaning towards Fina?

    ¡°Look, let¡¯s clean up. We have to throw away the trash too. And the weather is nice, so we have to hang out the futons.¡± (Fina)

    Mother Fina pulled my hand.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it.¡± (Yuna)

    I couldn¡¯t disobey Mother Fina, so I ended up cleaning the room.

    If Fina were my birth mother, I would have ignored her and continued to shut myself inside my room, but I was unable to disobey Mother Fina.

    I hung out the futon and washed the sheets.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear skillfully cleaned the floor, windows and the bathroom, following Fina¡¯s instructions.

    It was surreal to see cute little bears cleaning.

    Fina cleaned and tidied the area that she had always used.

    Even though Fina had already cleaned the ce after use, we still cleaned it again.

    ¡°Fina, are you a clean freak?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think so. When my mother was sick, I was looking after her and Shuri, and I was working to earn money. I only did the minimum amount of cleaning.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Yuna)

    I think it was tough for Fina at that time to make a living.

    ¡°I think that when we started living with my father, I saw how my mother often scolded him, and I thought that I had to do a good job of cleaning and tidying up.¡± (Fina)

    Oh, that reminds me, when Gentz-san and Tirumina-san got married and started living together, I remember going to Gentz-san¡¯s house to pick up the boxes for the move, and the rooms were a mess.

    ¡°My dad is very casual. That¡¯s why my mom often gets angry with him. I think that¡¯s why me and Shuri also started to do our share of cleaning and tidying up.¡± (Fina)

    I guess you could call him a bad example.

    And if Fina and Shuri didn¡¯t want Tirumina-san to get angry with them, they had to clean up.

    ¡°But my father is meticulous when ites to looking after his work tools. Even when I was helping out at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, he would give me many annoying reminders, like making sure I wiped off the blood on my knife properly or not leaving it wet.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I think that¡¯s just how craftsmen are.¡± (Yuna)

    In any job, if workers don¡¯t treat their tools carefully and well, the tools will betray them.

    Some might say that you could just buy a new one if something breaks. But taking good care of what you have was a much better principle to live by.

    ¡°But, Father¡­ He¡¯s hopeless at everything else.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said this, but she was still talking happily. What¡¯s more, she didn¡¯t stop cleaning.

    And, for the first time in a while, my big spring cleaning was over.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were cleaning the bath and were wet, so I dried them off.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± (Fina)

    Now, all that¡¯s left to do is rx.

    ¡°Well then, Yuna Onee-chan. Let¡¯s go to the next house.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Next house?¡± (Yuna)

    What could this adorable girl be talking about?¡­

    ¡°We¡¯re going to use that Gate to go out with Noa-sama, right?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Well¡­ I promised.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So we have to clean up the other houses of Yuna Onee-chan as well. It would be terrible if we took Noa-sama and Misa-sama to a dirty house.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°We haven¡¯t decided on a schedule or a destination yet, right? We can do it after we¡¯ve decided¡­ Besides, they can¡¯t be that dirty.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡­probably.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-chan is always busy. We¡¯ll have to do it when you have time.¡± (Fina)

    Mother Fina nodded with a smile.

    It was precisely because I was always busy that I wanted to rx.

    But Fina didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of backing down.

    I gave up and moved to the Royal Capital¡¯s Bear House with Fina, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear.

    As Fina said, the Bear House in the royal capital hadn¡¯t been cleaned in a long time, so there was a thickyer of dust on the shelves and other ces.

    ¡°I can tell that you haven¡¯t been cleaning this ce.¡± (Fina)

    I couldn¡¯t argue with that.

    I decided to follow Mother Fina obediently and do the cleaning.

    And I opened the window to let in some fresh air. Then, using my wind magic, I swept the dust outside and started to clean.

    When I brought out the dust cloth, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started wiping the floor as if they were used to doing it.

    I left the floor and bath cleaning to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and Fina and I cleaned the ces that Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear couldn¡¯t reach.

    There was also dust on the table.

    I wiped the table, chairs and empty shelves with a wet cloth.

    Fina cleaned the tall windows despite her petite body.

    I hung theundry, such as sheets, to dry in Crimonia, as there was a possibility that people in the royal capital would find out that I had arrived.

    Because we didn¡¯t use it much, cleaning the Bear House in the royal capital was rtively quick.

    ¡°I¡¯m so tired~.¡± (Yuna)

    Even though I had my bear equipment with me, I didn¡¯t know why I was so tired.

    ¡°Well then, Yuna Onee-chan. Next, let¡¯s go to Mile.¡± (Fina)

    Fina said something terrible.

    ¡°Are we still doing this?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s starting to be fun.¡± (Fina)

    Mother Fina said with a smile.

    I, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear could not disobey Fina, so we moved to Mile.

    The Bear House in Mile was the biggest.

    It was four stories high, after all.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start from the top then.¡± (Fina)

    There was arge bath on the fourth floor.

    It was not being used, so it was not dirty.

    But under Mother Fina¡¯s instructions, we started cleaning.

    We also cleaned the stairs from the 4th floor down to the lower floors.

    The third floor was my room and a guest room.

    The second floor was arge room where the children from the orphanage could stay.

    I opened the curtains and the windows to let in some fresh air.

    It felt like a different world.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear used their big bodies to clean the floor.

    The first floor was used as a kitchen, a small storage room, and a dining room.

    There was dust on the table.

    We carefully wiped it off.

    ¡°Fina will make a wonderful mother.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Really? As a mother?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes, you seem like you¡¯d be able to discipline your child properly. And you can cook too.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can, but if the child was like Yuna Onee-chan, she might listen to me.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Mother Fina. Can we have some food?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°We¡¯ll have dinner after we¡¯ve finished cleaning up.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Mother Fina is strict.¡± (Yuna)

    Fina and I both let out a giggle.

    Joking aside, we got down to serious cleaning.

    Cleaning was a chore, but it felt good when it was done.

    It was obvious that it was better to be clean then dirty.

    From now on, it might be a good idea to clean up when I have time.

    And we sessfully finished cleaning the Bear House in Mile Town.

    Now that we¡¯ve finished cleaning the Bear House in Mile Town, we moved on to the one in the Dwarven Town, unable to stop Fina¡¯s desire to clean.

    Of course, we had a meal.

    The house in the Dwarven Town was not a Bear House. It was a very ordinary old house.

    It had been a while since we¡¯d been to Dwarven Town, so there was a lot of dust. And it was dirtier than the houses in the other towns.

    However, the house in Dwarven Town was only purchased for the purpose of installing the Bear Transfer Gate, so there was no need to wash the bedsheets or anything. So we just did a quick sweep, cleaned the shelves, and cleaned the windows.

    By now, we were so used to doing this that we divided up the work and cleaned the house. Fina did the sweeping, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear wiped the floor, and I did the window cleaning.

    It took a little bit of time to finish cleaning the house in the Dwarven Town.

    ¡°Fina, it¡¯ste, so is that all for today?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll do the rest tomorrow.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Are we really going to do everything?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I think that everything will be fine in the Land of Harmony because Kagali-san is there, but I wonder if Kagali-san cleans?¡± (Fina)

    ¡­I wonder why. All I could picture was sake barrels lying around the room.

    ¡°Kagali-san said that there was someone whoes to look after her from time to time, so it¡¯ll be okay, I think?¡± (Yuna)

    I would rather not do the cleaning if I could help it.

    And it was such a big house.

    I think I¡¯d only clean the rooms I use, but Fina would probably insist on cleaning everything.

    I managed to avoid cleaning the house in the Land of Harmony, but I had to clean the house in the other towns.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to take Noa everywhere.¡± (Yuna)

    I tried to put up a futile resistance.

    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t go there, we still have to clean.¡± (Fina)

    Her sound argument soundly defeated me.

    It would be a while before I could rx and take it easy.

    Also, how many other Bear Houses did I have again?

    I stopped thinking.

    I, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear worked hard to finish cleaning the other houses as well.

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 Chapter 729

    Chapter 729

    <b>Bear-san, Noa and the others went to Mile Part 1</b>

    A few days after the cleaning frenzy with Fina, the day Misa wasing to Crimonia arrived.

    Noa asked me about my schedule and Misa¡¯s schedule.

    I have spare time from work, so I had no problems regarding the schedule.

    ¡°Hey there, it¡¯s been a while.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°Gran-san, Misa, wee.¡± (Yuna)

    Misa¡¯s grandfather, Gran-san, and Misa came to the Bear House.

    It seemed that Gran-san had been nning to hand over the title of Lord to his son Leonardo and live a life of retirement, but Leonardo was still not entirely dependable, so Gran-san was assisting his son for now.

    And this time, it seemed like he came along because Misa wanted to go to Crimonia.Cliff said that Misa¡¯s father, Leonardo, had asked him for advice about what to do because Gran-san was so doting on his granddaughter, Misa.

    Could this be what they mean by ¡°daddy friend¡±?

    (T/N: ¡°Daddy friend¡± here means that the dads of Misa and Noa are friends.)

    Come to think of it, what about Cliff¡¯s parents? I wonder if Noa had any grandparents.

    I¡¯ve never heard of them.

    If there was any problem with Noa¡¯s grandparents, Cliff probably wouldn¡¯t be able to talk about it easily.

    I couldn¡¯t talk about my family either.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-sama, it¡¯s been a while. Thank you for inviting me on this trip.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I heard it¡¯s a trip of a few days, but where are you going?¡± (Gran)

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided anything yet, but it¡¯s probably a secret trip. Don¡¯t ask Misa where we went.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m curious.¡± (Gran)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not going anywhere bad.¡± (Yuna)

    I¡¯d be in trouble if she started talking about the Land of Wa.

    I told Noa to tell Misa that it was a secret trip and not to tell her family.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t take her to a dangerous ce.¡± (Gran)

    I¡¯m d that they trust me.

    I looked behind Misa and Gran-san.

    There were four female adventurers.

    They were the female adventurers who had been guarding Misa and Gran-san during the King¡¯s birthday celebrations.

    ¡°Yuna is still wearing a bear costume, I see.¡± (Adventurers)

    Well, it was something like cursed armor.

    If I take it off, all my stats would be 1, and I would be the weakest person with no strength, attack power, magic power or speed, not even as good as Fina.

    In other words, it would mean that I could die easily.

    Rather than being a curse of the bear, it was just that my base stats were almost zero and not improving at all.

    But I do havebat skills.

    Without Bear Equipment, my physical strength and speed might be at the lowest possible values, but mybat skills would still remain at the highest possible value of 100. But even mybat skills would be useless without physical strength and the speed to back them up.

    That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t take off the Bear Equipment.

    ¡°Well then, now that I¡¯ve said hello to the bear girl, I¡¯m going to drop by Cliff¡¯s ce.¡± (Gran)

    It seemed that Gran-san came straight to my house as soon as he arrived in Crimonia.

    He should havee to see me after visiting Cliff.

    ¡°Yuna Onee-sama, I¡¯m also going to greet Noa Onee-sama.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Yes, by the way, we¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Misa)

    Gran-san would be returning home with Marina and the others after his meeting with Cliff, leaving Misa with Noa. I would be one taking Misa home after our nned trip

    After Misa waved goodbye to me, Gran-san, Misa and the others went to Noa¡¯s house together.

    The next day, Fina and Shuri came to the house.

    I had been on an outing trip with Fina and Shuri before using the Bear Transfer Gate, so this time I was initially nning to only take Noa and Misa with me on this trip.

    However, Noa told them, ¡°As the members of XYZ Club, Fina and Shuri areing too.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly, but it seemed like they were in some kind of club.

    I asked Fina, but she looked away and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see, I wonder what club it was¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to going out with everyone!¡± (Shuri)

    It had been a while since we went out together, and Shuri was happy.

    Since I didn¡¯t take Shuri out very often, all of this might be for the best.

    ¡°Shuri, this time it¡¯s for Noa and Misa, so you can¡¯t be selfish.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri pouted.

    When I went to ask Tirumina-san for permission to borrow Fina and Shuri this time, she said, ¡°You can have them for as long as you like.¡±

    ¡°But, Father, he looked lonely.¡± (Fina)

    Apparently, their father Gentz-san was lonely because his two daughters were going out.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Gentz-san ask you where you were going?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°He did ask, but my mother managed to deceive him.¡± (Fina)

    Tirumina-san knew about my Bear Transfer Gate, so she was probably able to talk it out with Gentz to let the sisterse with me. Her help was reassuring.

    I was d I told Tirumina-san about the Bear Transfer Gate.

    However, it pained me a little that she had to keep it a secret from her husband, Gentz-san. Maybe I should tell Gentz-san about the Bear Transfer Gate some other time.

    ¡°So, Yuna Onee-chan, have you decided where you¡¯re going?¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Hmm, for now, I think I¡¯ll go to Mile and the Land of Harmony?¡± (Yuna)

    There was also the desert town, the elf vige, the royal capital, and the towns that were on the way to the elf vige. I¡¯ve also cleaned up all my houses in different ces with Fina, so even if we suddenly decided to go there, it would be fine.

    I should take my time and think about it.

    Fina and Shuri were ying with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when Noa and Misa arrived.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Fina-chan, Shuri-chan. It¡¯s been a while.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Misa-sama, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you today.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Good morning, Misa-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri were happy to see Misa after such a long time.

    ¡°And also, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Misa)

    Misa cuddled with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Kuu~n.¡±

    She seemed happy to see Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear after such a long time.

    Noa quietly watched over Misa.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Noa want to give them a hug?¡± (Yuna)

    Normally, when she saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, she would rush over to hug them.

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll let Misa hug them today.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You look like an older sister.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m Misa¡¯s older sister.¡± (Noa)

    She said this while puffing out her chest.

    Noa and Misa might not be rted by blood, but Misa called Noa ¡°big sister¡±, so Noa might want to act like an older sister.

    ¡°Please take good care of me, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Kuun~.¡±

    I wanted to let Misa y with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear a little longer, but it was time to leave, so I called out to her.

    ¡°Well then, shall we be leaving soon?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    We moved to a room with a Bear Transfer Gate.

    ¡°I heard from Noa Onee-sama yesterday, but is it true that opening this Bear Door leads to another ce?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Only to ces where simr doors are installed.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even so, that¡¯s wonderful. There are such magical items, huh?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Noa told you, but you have to keep this a secret.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, it sounds like it would be difficult to talk about it.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Speaking of which, was Noa okay? Didn¡¯t Cliff ask you many questions?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I told him that we are going to the Fairy Forest, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to cover for you as well.¡± (Noa)

    Certainly, a Bear Transfer Gate also had been ced in the Fairy Forest.

    It was not aplete lie.

    It was certainly the best way to fool Cliff.

    ¡°So, Yuna-san. Where are you taking us?¡±

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s go to the nearest town that is Mile.¡±

    I said this and opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate.

    It led us to Mile.

    ¡°Is this really Mile?¡± (Misa)

    The Bear Transfer Gate was kept in a secret room next to my room on the third floor of the Bear House in Mile.

    It was impossible to look outside from this room.

    ¡°You will know it when we look outside.¡± (Yuna)

    I led everyone to the next room, which was my room.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you two go and take a look outside.¡± (Yuna)

    When I said this, Noa and Misa ran to the window, followed by Fina and Shuri.

    Noa opened the window and looked outside with the energy of someone about to jump out.

    ¡°It¡¯s the sea.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°It really is Mile, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°It¡¯s the sea!¡± (Shuri)

    The four of them watched the sea, which they hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, and looked happy.

    The view of the sea from this house was the best.

    ¡°Well then, shall we go to town?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Yay!¡± (Shuri)

    The three other than Fina cheered with joy.

    Fina seemed to be taking a position to watch over the three of them.

    We left the Bear House. We kept Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear small so as not to cause a disturbance.

    By <b>disturbance</b>, I mean that if they were big, they would stand out.

    After leaving the Bear House, we continued along the road.

    If we keep going straight, we¡¯lle to a prime location with a beach right in front of us.

    There used to be a bear slide around here, but it has been hidden for now.

    The bathing season was over, so it wasn¡¯t needed at the moment.

    ¡°We all went swimming here a while ago, didn¡¯t we?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I want to y with everyone again.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°We cane again next year.¡± (Yuna)

    I was thinking of having an annual staff trip.

    That way, Anzu could see her family at least once a year.

    Of course, if Anzu wanted to see her parents, I was more than willing to let her have a day off from work whenever she wanted.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to next year.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Me too.¡± (Misa)

    Noa and Misa were happy.

    ¡°Have Fina and Shuri been visiting since then?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t join. Because Yuna Onee-chan only takes my older sister, I always have to stay at home.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    Noa looked at me and Fina.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. It¡¯s been a while since I came to Mile as well.¡± (Fina)

    Fina denied it.

    We dide to clean Bear House the other day, but we didn¡¯t go into town, so I wouldn¡¯t say that counts as a visit.

    ¡°But, Sis. You often go out with Sis Yuna.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask you about that in more detail.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, I have to ask too.¡± (Misa)

    Fina was cornered by the three of them.

    ¡°Yes, yes. Don¡¯t trouble Fina. She couldn¡¯t discuss the Gate, and we¡¯re all going together now.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ugh, I understand.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°But I¡¯m still curious about where Yuna Onee-sama and Fina-chan went.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Me too!¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°You promised.¡± (Noa)

    Well, I would only discuss where we went as much as I could.

    When I walked around the town, people would look at me, but no one would talk to me.

    Apparently there was an unspoken rule in Mile that they wouldn¡¯t bother me if I was around, so this time, they didn¡¯t gather to greet me. That was a relief for me. Being conspicuous was something I wasn¡¯t good at.

    We headed for the harbor at the request of Noa and Misa, who wanted to see the boats up close. It seemed that the morning fishing was over, and there were few people around.

    Amidst all this, there was Damon-san, whom I had saved in the snowy mountains before.

    ¡°Long time no see, youngdy. What¡¯s going on?¡± (Damon)

    ¡°I came to y with these kids.¡± (Yuna)

    When I looked over at Fina and the others, the four of them bowed slightly.

    ¡°We met before. If that¡¯s the case, do you want to go on the boat?¡± (Damon)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Noa)

    Noa reacted before I did.

    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± (Damon)

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to try it again.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Me too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I want to ride too!¡± (Shuri)

    Following Noa, Misa and Shuri also raised their voices.

    ¡°Well then, I guess I¡¯ll take your kind offer and ride with you, Damon-san.¡± (Fina)

    Not only the three of them, but Fina was also happy.

    This was the second time for Noa and Misa to be on a boat, but they seemed to enjoy it, even though it had been a while since theyst went on a boat.

    Of course, Fina and Shuri also enjoyed it.

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 Chapter 730

    Chapter 730

    <b>Bear-san, Noa and the others went to Mile Part 2</b>

    After disembarking the boat, we wandered around the town of Mile and came across an entric.

    ¡°Yuna!¡± (Atora)

    However, that person was not an entric; it was Atora-san, the Guild Master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Mile.

    I wondered if she ever felt cold.

    ¡°Yuna, it¡¯s been a while. What brings you here today?¡± (Atora)

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought these kids to y with me.¡± (Yuna)

    Atora-san looked in the direction I was looking.

    ¡°Fina-chan and Shuri-chan, and the other two were the ones who came to the beach to y before, right?¡±She also remembered Noa and Misa.

    Noa and Misa each greeted her.

    ¡°Why are you here, Atora-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m just taking a break. I thought I¡¯d go somewhere and have lunch.¡± (Atora)

    So Atora-san was just wandering around like us, too.

    ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯m hungry.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hungry as well.¡± (Shuri)

    Noa and Shuri were rubbing their stomachs.

    ¡°Well then, how about we have lunch together? I¡¯ll treat you.¡± (Atora)

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem.¡± (Atora)

    We took Atora-san up on her offer and ended up being treated to a meal.

    We ended up at the inn of Deiga-san, Anzu¡¯s father.

    His establishment was both an inn and a restaurant.

    ¡°Why are you girls here?¡± (Deiga)

    As soon as he saw me, Deiga-san said those words.

    ¡°We¡¯vee to have lunch.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I invited them.¡± (Atora)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I asked. Well, I owe you girls a debt of gratitude for taking care of me at Crimonia, so I¡¯ll treat you today. Order as much as you like.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not okay. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s treating them.¡± (Atora)

    ¡°Oh, I see. Then I¡¯ll take care of your meal as well, so that should be fine.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°I want to thank Yuna.¡± (Atora)

    ¡°Me too. I was helped when I went to Crimonia a while ago.¡± (Deiga)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who should be paying. I¡¯m the one who was taken care of by the town and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± (Atora)

    I didn¡¯t quite understand, but Deiga-san and Atora-san started arguing over who should be the one to foot the bill.

    ¡°Yuna-san¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yuna Onee-san¡­¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Yuna-chan¡­¡± (Shuri)

    Fina was also looking at me.

    Wait, do I have to deal with this?

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the meal. Is that okay?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No!¡± (Atora)

    ¡°No!¡± (Deiga)

    I couldn¡¯t do anything to stop them.

    It was troublesome to stop well-meaning, pushy salespeople.

    Fina and the others told me to give up, so I left Deiga-san and Atora-san arguing and went to see Anzu¡¯s mother.

    ¡°Here, Auntie. This is a souvenir from Anzu.¡± (Yuna)

    I handed her a paper bag.

    Anzu had asked me to give it to her if I ever went to Mile again.

    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± (Anzu¡¯s Mother)

    Anzu¡¯s mother epted the gift from Anzu.

    I didn¡¯t ask what was inside, but I suppose it was probably not something remarkable since the contents were bought at Crimonia.

    When I returned to the dining room, Deiga-san had a triumphant look on his face.

    ¡°I lost.¡± (Atora)

    Atora-san looked frustrated.

    I didn¡¯t see what they werepeting in, but it seemed like Deiga-san won.

    ¡°Help yourself to as much food as you like.¡± (Deiga)

    We took advantage of Deiga-san¡¯s kindness, and we were treated to a bountiful meal.

    It was just as delicious as Anzu-san¡¯s cooking.

    As expected of Anzu-san¡¯s Master.

    ¡°Do you have nothing to do?¡± (Atora)

    That was not good manners.

    ¡­I undoubtedly have free time, though.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a fixed job, and I have a lot of spare time, so I can visit whenever I like.¡± (Yuna)

    Unlike Deiga-san, my work schedule was flexible.

    I choose when to work and when to go where I want to go. Basically, I was not bound by anyone.

    Yeah, that sounds great.

    Well, even in my old world, I was a shut-in, but basically, I was free as well.

    ¡°So, how long are you guys staying for?¡± (Atora)

    ¡°We are just going to look around for a bit and then head home.¡± (Yuna)

    There were still more ces I wanted to go.

    ¡°I see. I¡¯d like to show you around, but¡­¡± (Atora)

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Aren¡¯t you busy, Atora-san?¡± (Yuna)

    Despite her appearance, Atora-san was still the Guild Master of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    I didn¡¯t know how much work she had, but I doubt she would push work onto her subordinates. I think that Atora-san, as the boss, was also busy with various things.

    After filling our stomachs with Deiga-san¡¯s cooking, we thanked him and left the Inn.

    Atora-san also went back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

    ¡°Yuna-san, you¡¯re popr.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°We can see that everyone adore Yuna Onee-sama.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I may have said it before, but I just helped someone who was in a bit of trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s just a small thing for you, Yuna-san, it¡¯s a big deal for everyone in town.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I think so too.¡± (Misa)

    Noa and Misa praised me, but I was only doing what I could.

    I wouldn¡¯t have been able to help without the Bear Equipment.

    That was why I couldn¡¯t take off this bear outfit.

    We went shopping at a souvenir shop.

    They were selling things like bear charms.

    ording to my memory, I heard that fishermen who go out to sea buy them as a charm for safety.

    So I think only the residents of Mile buy them.

    ¡­but then Noa and the others started looking at them as if they were going to eat them.

    ¡°There are more kinds now.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± (Misa)

    Apparently, they bought some when we were on apany tripst time.

    Noa and Misa started choosing the bear charms. Then Shuri joined in, and in the end Fina also joined in.

    ¡°Uncle, are they selling well?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Of course. People who have heard the story of the fisherman buying them as a charm to live safely.¡±

    Could it be that the residents of Crimonia were also buying them?

    ¡­I decided not to think about it too much.

    As we who had bought bear charms set off, Shuri called out to me.

    ¡°Yuna-chan, there¡¯s a suspicious looking person over there.¡± (Shuri)

    There was a person walking around, looking around nervously, in the direction that Shuri was pointing.

    ¡°Jeremo-san?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Bear Girl. Don¡¯t scare me like that.¡± (Jeremo)

    He looked at my face, surprised, then relieved.

    This person was Jeremo-san. He was the Guild Master of the Commerce Guild. He was a serious and kind person at heart, but he often skipped work and left the Commerce Guild.

    ¡°Skipping work again?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°No, I¡¯m taking a break voluntarily because I have too much work.¡± (Jeremo)

    That¡¯s called cking off. I dislike work as well, so I couldn¡¯t me Jeremo-san.

    ¡°Are you that busy?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Ever since that tunnel opened, I haven¡¯t had a moment to rest. How many times have I wanted to destroy that tunnel!?¡± (Jeremo)

    He said this while making a clenched fist.

    He seemed to be serious.

    ¡°If you do that, everyone will be in trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m just saying. Everyone is living more happily than before. I can hearughter everywhere. I¡¯m happy to think that I¡¯m even a little bit helping to bring those smiles.¡± (Jeremo)

    ¡°Jeremo-san¡­¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°But you know, I have so much work. Recently, I¡¯ve started doing business with the town of Shirin Town, and the amount of work just keeps increasing. No matter how much I do, it never seems to get any less.¡± (Jeremo)

    Come to think of it, didn¡¯t you say a while ago that you were going to start doing business with the town of Shirin?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there more guild employees?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Youngdy, don¡¯t you know that when there are more staff, my work increases?¡± (Jeremo)

    ¡°What? If there are more staff, won¡¯t Jeremo-san¡¯s work decrease?¡± (Yuna)

    Noa, not Jeremo-san, answered my question.

    ¡°Yuna-san, if the number of subordinates increases, it¡¯s the job of those above to check on them. If the number of employees goes from 10 to 20, the number of reports will also double.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Exactly. When the number of subordinates increases, so does the amount of work. You¡¯re a smart girl.¡± (Jeremo)

    Jeremo-san praised Noa.

    ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of a Lord, after all.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Lord¡­?¡± (Jeremo)

    ¡°This girl is the daughter of the Lord of Crimonia.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, yes. Now that you mentioned it, she is indeed the daughter of the Lord of Crimonia, I saw her when I went to greet him.¡± (Jeremo)

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Jeremo-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa introduced herself once more after Jeremo-san remembered her.

    Apparently, Jeremo-san had been to Crimonia before. Well, Cliff wouldn¡¯t be able toe to Mile without difficulty, so if they were to meet, it would be Jeremo-san who would go out to see him.

    ¡°By the way, this child is the daughter of the Lord of Shirin Town.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The lord of Shirin¡¯s town¡­ I am indebted to your father and grandfather.¡± (Jeremo)

    Jeremo-san bowed deeply.

    ¡°There sure are plenty of people here now.¡± (Yuna)

    I looked around.

    There was no trace of the desertedndscape I had seen when I first came to Mile.

    Even when I came here on ourpany tripst time, it was lively and there were more people around, but the atmosphere hasn¡¯t changed that much.

    ¡°Ah, this is all thanks to you, youngdy. We¡¯re all grateful for the seafood sales.¡± (Jeremo)

    Then, as we were talking, a member of the Commerce Guild took Jeremo-san away from his spot of idleness.

    After that, we enjoyed the town of Mile and returned to the Bear House in the town of Mile.

    We decided to stay in Mile for the night.

    ¡°The room and bath are clean.¡± (Shuri)

    We then took a bath and rxed in my room.

    ¡°The other day, when I decided to bring Noa and Misa here, I came with Fina to do some cleaning.¡± (Yuna)

    That was hard work.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I apologize for the troubles I have caused.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Ugh, I want to help too.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll get Shuri to help.¡± (Yuna)

    It would really be a big help if more people could help with something as bothersome as cleaning.

    What¡¯s more, it was great that she volunteered to help with the cleaning.

    I guess this was thanks to Tirumina-san¡¯s education.

    Then, we fell asleep while gazing at the night sea.

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 Chapter 731

    Chapter 731

    <b>Bear-san and the Other on a trip to the Land of Wa (Part 1)</b>

    After exploring Mile all day yesterday, we decided to go somewhere different today.

    ¡°Where are we going today?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°To thend of Wa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°The Land of Wa, that¡¯s the name of the country that deals with the town of Mile, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°You have studied very well.¡± (Yuna)

    I patted Noa on the head.

    ¡°Of course. As the daughter of a lord, I naturally study the towns my parents rule.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then what supplies do Mile import?¡± (Yuna)I posed the question to Noa, who said she was studying things like this.

    ¡°I heard that the amount of rice we are importing is increasing. Then¡­ as well as soy sauce and miso. Currently, it¡¯s just food, but Father also mentioned consulting the Merchant Guild about making arrangements to import other things.¡± (Noa)

    She seemed to be studying hard.

    She also listened to Cliff¡¯s story.

    ¡°One of the products Father was thinking of importing is wind chimes. Father likes it. The wind chimes we have at home were the ones you bought from the Land of Wa.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yesterday, Noa Onee-sama showed it to me, and it sounded very impressive.¡± (Misa)

    I remembered that I had not bought Misa a wind chime.

    I must buy one for her when we go to the Land of Wa.

    ¡°The Bear Transfer Gate can only go where you have already put a simr Gate, right?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Then does that mean Yuna-san took the boat to the Land of Wa?¡± (Noa)

    Oh, that¡¯s what one might think.

    In fact, I just happened to pass by the Land of Wa when I was riding Targui, a moving ind.

    ¡°Hmmm, not exactly. Maybe we should go over there first.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Over there?¡± (Noa)

    I took everyone with me into the room where the Bear Transfer Gate was ced.

    Then I opened the Bear Transfer gate connected to the Bear Transfer Gate on Targui¡¯s Back.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Is this the Land of Wa?¡± (Misa)

    Because we were inside the Bear House installed on Targui, they have yet to know where we were.

    I told Fina and Shuri, who have been here before, to keep quiet.

    ¡°Remember when we all took a trip to the town of Mile?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°That, of course, I remember because it was fun.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes, me too.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Do you remember when we talked about a moving ind?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°¡­Yes, I remember that.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°A fisherman once told me about it.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°This is that moving ind.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is that so!?¡± (Noa)

    Noa and Misa were surprised.

    ¡°There are many delicious fruits here.¡± (Shuri)

    Shuri said as she remembered the fruit she had once eaten.

    ¡°Have you been here before, Shuri?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes. I picked many fruits with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°Ugh, I wish I had been invited along too.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I envy you.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Well, anyway, let¡¯s take a short walk before we go to the Land of Wa.¡± (Yuna)

    We left the Bear House.

    Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear transformed into two big bears.

    Noa and Misa rode on Swaying Bear, while Fina, Shuri, and I rode on Hugging Bear.

    ¡°This is the fabled moving ind¡­¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Well, when I was on this ind before, when I happened to pass by the Land of Wa, and so I was able to ce a Transfer Gate there.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it happened.¡± (Noa)

    We walked out to the shore.

    I asked the children not toe down from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear because we were on a cliff.

    Noa and Misa stared out at the sea.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°It¡¯s just the ocean all the way out.¡± (Yuna)

    The horizon could be seen from the shore.

    The sea stretched on endlessly.

    I was d that we could not see anynd. If we had been able to see anynd, maybe they might have said, ¡°I want to go there¡±.

    Not to mention, I would also have wanted to go there.

    However, even if we sawnd, I would not be able to take Noa and the others to a ce that might be dangerous.

    ¡°The wind feels good.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± (Misa)

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a clue where we are.¡± (Yuna)

    I opened up my bear map, but all I saw was a dot. The surroundings appeared in ck.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonder how the ind can move.¡± (Noa)

    I decided to keep the only secret that this moving ind was the legendary creature Targui.

    Telling them that would only startle them, so I kept quiet.

    Then, at Noa and Misa¡¯s request, we went fruit picking. After all, there were seasonal fruits here regardless of the season.

    When they were satisfied, we decided to head back to the Land of Wa.

    ¡°Yes. First, let me tell you that there is a kid named Kagali-san at the house we are moving to¡­¡± (Yuna)

    Hmmm, how do I exin this?

    I couldn¡¯t just expose Kagali-san¡¯s secret.

    ¡°Is Kagali-san a child living at Yuna-san¡¯s house in the Land of Wa?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I met her in the Land of Wa, but for various reasons she has to live alone.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°A child all by herself?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s terrible.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. There is someone who is taking good care of her.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Oh, I see. Do Fina and Shuri know about that child?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Um¡­yes.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes. I know of her.¡± (Shuri)

    Fina and Shuri had met Kagali-san before, so there was nothing to worry about, but Noa and Misa were meeting her for the first time.

    Incidentally, I contacted Kagali-san a few days ago to see if there was anyone who could take care of her.

    ¡°She is not a normal child, so I hope you don¡¯t mind her behavior.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I understand.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes. I understand.¡± (Misa)

    I opened the door of the Bear Transfer Gate again.

    On the other side of the door, Sakura was sitting on a cushion reading a book, Shinobu rxing, and Kagali-san drinking a sake at a distance from the door.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you, Yuna-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°You¡¯re here atst.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Kagali-san is here, but why Sakura and the rest are here as well?¡± (Yuna)

    I had also called Sakura on her Bear Phone.

    After all, I didn¡¯t want her to be surprised by my sudden visit.

    ¡°I heard you wereing, so I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°She has been waiting for you since yesterday.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°Shinobu, you don¡¯t have to say that.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡± (Yuna)

    It seemed that they showed up because I told them I was going to visit them.

    ¡°Yuna-san, who are they?¡± (NoaSakura)

    Noa called out from behind me.

    Oh, that¡¯s right.

    Anyway, I asked Noa and the others to move from the Bear Transfer Gate.

    The Bear Transfer Gate in the Land of Wa was also inside the Bear House.

    We all took off our shoes and moved directly onto the tatami mats.

    ¡°Fina, Shuri, it¡¯s been a long time. And those are two of your friends, right, Yuna-sama? My name is Sakura. Pleased to meet you.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura greeted politely.

    ¡°My name is Noire.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I am Misana.¡± (Misa)

    Noa and Misa also introduced themselves.

    ¡°I understand that you are of higher status than Yuna-sama, Noire-sama and Misa-sama.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yuna-san, what is she doing? Her manners are beautiful.¡± (Noa)

    Even if I kept quiet, they would probably find out about itter, so I told them the truth directly.

    ¡°I believe she is the niece of the king of the Land of Wa.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°What a personage!¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I am not officially rted to royalty while I am here. Please treat me simply as Sakura.¡± (Sakura)

    Noa and Misa looked at me as if they were troubled.

    The other party was of royal blood, after all. I knew it would not be easy for them to treat Sakura as an average individual.

    ¡°How doWhat should Fina and Shuri address her?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I call her Sakura-chan.¡± (Shuri)

    ¡°I call her Sakura-chan as well.¡± (Fina)

    ¡°I see.¡± (Noa)

    Noa made a determined expression as she answered.

    ¡°Please call me Noa. I will also call you Sakura.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Then please call me Misa. I will call you Sakura-san.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡± (Sakura)

    After introducing themselves to Sakura, Shinobu walked over to them.

    ¡°I am Shinobu, Sakura-sama¡¯s escort, and I am looking forward to meeting you both.¡± (Shinobu)

    That¡¯s a little too casual.

    Well, typical of Shinobu.

    Finally, everyone¡¯s attention turned to Kagali-san, who was drinking.

    ¡°Yuna-san, is that alcohol that girl is drinking? I can smell alcohol. Am I right?¡± (Noa)

    I didn¡¯t know because I was underage and didn¡¯t drink, but I had seen beer-like and wine-like drinks at Crimonia and other ces.

    But I think Kagali-san was drinking sake-like alcohol.

    ¡°Kagali-sama, please, I told you not to drink alcohol.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura headed over to Kagali-san and took the sake away from her.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Uncle told you to refrain from drinking.¡± (Sakura)

    When I asked Sakura about that, she said that Kagali-san was not supposed to drink with a child¡¯s body, but I guess Kagali-san simply ignored that.

    ¡°He said it¡¯s fine, as long as no one is watching.¡± (Kagali)

    ¡°Yuna-sama¡¯s guests are watching.¡± (Sakura)

    Kagali-san looked at Noa and the others.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san reluctantly followed Sakura¡¯s words and stopped drinking.

    ¡°Yuna-san, is that Kagali-san? Is that girl of high status too?¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Hmmm, yes. She may or may not have a status. But she is a person who is very important to the King and many other people.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Kagali-sama is a very important person in this country.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°Yes, she is. Although she is just a little girl, she is a very important person.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin anything to anyone.¡± (Kagali)

    Kagali-san stood up and came over to us.

    ¡°My name is Kagali. You can call me whatever you like, but not Kagali-chan.¡± (Kagali)

    Did someone call her Kagali-chan?

    Well, she is actually way older than any of us here, evenbined.

    That said, I think she would be offended if I called her Grandma.

    ¡°Yuna, are you thinking of something strange?¡± (Kagali)

    So sharp!.

    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking about anything.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Well, then I will call you Kagali-san, the same as Yuna-san.¡± (Noa)

    Noa seemed to have decided to call her Kagali-san, the same as me.

    Misa followed suit.

    Although the girls felt strange to call someone who looked younger than them by ¡°san¡±, there was nothing they could do about it.

    ¡°Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, it¡¯s been a long time. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura patted the heads of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.

    ¡°¡±Kuu~n.¡±¡±

    ¡°So, Sakura and the others were waiting to greet me?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes. I came over here after being contacted.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell anyone about anything and just told them that I am travelling near this ce, right?¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s also why I waited for your arrival, so please don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Sakura)

    No, of course, I did not mind. No, that was not the point.

    I made her wait more than a day to meet up with me.

    At least if we didn¡¯t stop by Targui, she wouldn¡¯t have to wait so long.

    ¡°Besides, I wanted to check on Lady Kagali as well.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I told you that Suzuranes by every once in a while to check on me, so everything should be fine.¡± (Kagali)

    But still, Kagali-san, you still haven¡¯t returned to your original form.

    She may stay like this for the rest of her life.

    Since it was a secret that Kagali-san was an adult with the body of a child, I couldn¡¯t ask her about that in front of Noa and the others.

    ¡°So, Yuna-sama. What are you going to do now? Do you want to go to town?¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°I want to take a hot spring bath, and I¡¯m going to rest here for today.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Is there a hot spring here?¡± (Noa)

    Noa asked.

    From the way she talked, Noa seemed to know about hot springs.

    I wonder if there was one over on our continent somewhere.

    ¡°Yes. There is a natural hot spring around here. We can go there whenever you want.¡± (Sakura)

    Sakura answered on my behalf.

    ¡°Well, before we get into that, where are we? I can see ake outside the window.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°This is a building located a little far from the town where we live.¡± (Sakura)

    ¡°By the way, this mansion was given to Yuna by the King.¡± (Shinobu)

    ¡°¡±A mansion?¡±¡± (Noa and Misa Noa)

    Noa and Misa were surprised.

    ¡°Yuna-san, I would like to visit theke.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°I would like to see the inside of this building.¡± (Misa)

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for today, so you can go and y. But don¡¯t get too far from Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear.¡± (Yuna)

    ¡°Shuri, Fina, you have been here before, haven¡¯t you? Please show us around.¡± (Noa)

    ¡°Yes!¡± (Fina)

    ¡°Yes! This way, please.¡± (Shuri)

    Noa and the others rushed out of the room.

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